DAYS 64-70:LUANG PRABANG & VANG VIENG (LAOS PART 1)
M E K O N G R I V E R , L U A N G P R A B A N G , L A O S
I had no idea what to expect when we arrived in Laos. It wasn’t one of those places I remembered being forced to memorize in geography class or I saw frequently highlighted on the traveler’s channel. I had never eaten at a Lao restaurant or seen ‘made in Laos’ written on the back of a shirt tag. It was completely and utterly foreign to me…
But I fell head over heels for the country before we even landed. My forehead glued itself to the plexiglass window as we flew over soft pillowy mountains covered in jungle and a giant mud-colored river that carved the land in half and spilled into hundreds of hairpin-turn tributaries. Probably the only mud-colored thing I have ever classified as beautiful.
And I continued to fall in love once we got off the plane.
I loved how peaceful the town of Luang Prabang felt our first night as we sat at a tiny restaurant along the Mekong and watched long, skinny slowboats inch their way up and down its banks.
I loved the the way the sun hugged everything in a warm orange glow before heading to bed behind those jungle covered mountains.
I loved walking down the sleepy streets at dusk and admiring the French influenced architecture and Parisian style cafe’s.
To me Luang Prabang still felt very much like third world Asia - there were the usual chickens roaming the sidewalks and questionable looking meats for sale on street corners. But there were also croissants and baguettes and a sense of slowness. A stark contrast from most of the other places we have traveled thus far.
Laos has an absolutely heart wrenching history. It was a French territory until 1953 (hence the baguettes) and has had a pretty shit time ever since. The year after they gained independence, a brutal civil war erupted between a communist party and the Royal Government of Lao. In 1964, when the US was trying to smack down communism in Vietnam, we also got involved in Laos. And between 1964 and 1973 we dropped more than TWO MILLION TONS of of explosives here. That’s over 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years – making it the most heavily bombed country per capita. Ever. In history.* And to make it worse, up to one third of those bombs didn’t explode - so now they’re just sitting there – littering the countryside - waiting to be disturbed by some poor farmer who accidentally walks in the wrong direction. Over 20,000 people have been killed or injured from these unexploded devises and today, 40% of the victims are children. Ugh.
In the end, communism won the battle and Laos remains one of the poorest nations in the world. It wasn’t until the 90s that the government loosened up its economic chokehold and the borders were opened to tourism.
And being here and learning about this has been so eye-opening. And what I can’t even begin to fathom that all of this suffering could have happened in such a beautiful place to such beautiful people who are so kind and smile and wave at us as we pass by. Who have invited us into their homes and resturants and excitedly shared with us their homemade wine. They’re the definition of bravery and resilience. And I adore and admire them. But I suppose that’s enough of a history lesson…
We had ourselves a few adventures in Luang Prabang. We took a dip under Kiang Si Falls, this beautiful waterfall that cascades into these crystal blue pools which continue to empty into more pools and more pools and more pools of gorgeous ice blue water. We explored a nearly empty nature conservatory with stunning views of the rainforest that continually made me think Tarzan was about to leap out of the bushes and start beating on his chest. We got ourselves into our first motorbike wreck involving an unpaved dirt road, giant pothole and the two of us flying through the air towards the gravel (thankfully escaping with a couple skinned knees). And then we headed south to this little town called Vang Vieng.
Getting there was a little bit insane. Most of the road is unpaved and for four hours we had the pleasure of a batshit crazy driver who flew around corners, dodged herds of cattle and hit bumps so hard we literally flew into the air. I have never been so thankful for a seatbelt in my life. Brad was practically green by the time we arrived. But the views of the Laos landscape that bounced their way past our windows were absolutely stunning.
Vang Vieng isn’t much - a tiny town that sprang up around an airstrip that the CIA built during the war. But in the past 15 years or so it has become a backpacker’s destination - a stopover for young travelers looking for a good time. Brad and I did our best to disguise ourselves amongst the 20 something’s and went bar hopping down the Sam Nam Song river via tube. I drank a wine cooler for the first time since college and we had a blast floating from bar to bar, occasionally crossing paths with a water buffalo or two. But I’m sure our complete lack of interest in the free “whiskey buckets” (gag) and vodka beer pong (ugk) didn’t do much to camouflage the fact that we’re practically senior citizens in the backpacker world.
The next day we climbed some of the area’s crazy limestone crag and did some of the most beautiful yoga that I think I will ever do in my life…on a rickety little platform in the middle of a rice patty at sunset. The green and yellow in the field and the purple of the mountains and the burning pink sky…and the tiny people in their round pointy hats shuffling around in the distance…and that wonderfully fantastic sound of no sound at all. It was unreal.
I really had no idea what to expect when we arrived here. But the landscape, the people, the coconut pancakes...the absence of traffic and big buildings....the way that life moves a little slower - it's all been such a pleasant surprise. And I'm excited for it to continue to unfold in front of us.
- Kenz
* For more info about the effects of the Vietnam war bombing and Laos check out the website below (also where I got my statistics). If you want to feel really awful, read the casualties & survivor stories...they'll make your heart hurt.
