Halolao
Home Stay, Luang Prabang
After a very short flight,
probably the shortest ever, a taxi took us to our hotel called a “Home Stay”
which could have been anything. As it turned out, it was a clean, a new house
with a few rooms to let. It was nice actually to find ourselves in a hard
building again and to sleep without our little friends the ants and other beasts
that have fun during the night in the jungle at the ecolodge. Though the
adventure was great, it is not for everyone!
We strolled down the main
street of Luang Prabang trying to find our bearings which doesn’t take that
long. It is not a big place. But Luang Prabang is the must-go-to place in Laos
in all the guidebooks and it is very beautiful. The architecture looks
extremely colonial and all the houses are built upon the same architectural
model, definite French influences. Definitely very pretty! There are a great
many temples, another reason for visitors here. On a sad note, however, being
so talked about in the guides, it is swarming with foreign tourists and as much
as there’s nothing wrong with that, everyone caters to them, from breakfast menus
to guest houses and happy hours etc… The local economy rests on them spending
as much as possible.
Coming here, we knew there
wasn’t a lot to do in town but that there were several options for day trips
and the likes. True enough, the main street comprises mainly of eating and
sleeping places, and local tour operators to take you to that village or that
cave or that waterfall. What we decided to do on our second day was to rent
bicycles, take the ferry across and go to a pottery village. We never made it
to the village that day and we weren’t the only ones to declare defeat at the
sight of the muddy path. On our way there, we met a French couple who, like us
but on foot, had wanted to trek to the pottery village and were retreating. Our
bikes got stuck in the thick mud and it was quite an art getting back on the
road. However, the day was still young so we continued biking through the
countryside and the villages. It rains so much here that a river had gone over
a small bridge and this allowed us to wash the bikes and for Leo to have a
swim. He joined younger children who were also having fun in the river. Quite a
nice and fun day!
Kuang Si Waterfall was our
destination the following day. We hired a TukTuk and though it was raining
quite hard, the view from the top of the waterfall was magnificent. We climbed
the dodgy path (there’s no sense of safety yet, no proper steps and no railings
and it was really dodgy- watching people climb back down did not inspire me at
all, still we climbed…) and when we got to the top, you could walk across which
gave you a view of the waterfall and of the valley deep in the mountains. Spectacular
views! Carrying on we discovered another path down that was less difficult and
less dangerous than the way up. Later on, the boys swam in one of the pools at
the bottom of the waterfall and jumped off a tree branch dozens of times. Great
fun!
On our third day the weather
looked like it would hold so we rented bicycles again and went exploring in and
around town. Something to add about renting bicycles here: it is always an
adventure and for Leo the adventure turned into a bit of a nightmare each time.
The chain came off the first day about a hundred times. That day, one of the
tyres was flat and we had it repaired, then the chain came off again and again…
it was becoming a drag I have to say. Endurance and resolve! Two mottos when
travelling.
For our last day we had
figured it would be good to go on a boat trip since we had walked, cycled, taken
the TukTuk but no boat as yet. And this time we made it to the pottery village.
We were going to visit two villages but our boat was less than charming or
secure… and our visit at the village left us with a bitter taste in the mouth.
What a scam! Not only was it raining which didn’t lift our spirits but the
visit was so disappointing that we asked the man to take us back to Luang
Prabang, we’d had enough. We hadn’t been made to feel like cash machines in a
long time but that afternoon was exactly like that. We chilled for the rest of
the day.
Luang Prabang’s geographical
situation is quite interesting: the town lies between and along the Mekong
River and its tributary that joins it in a curb on that far east side of town.
This provides a stark and striking contrast between the town, its rich and
affluent houses and tourists buying textiles, going places etc… and the locals
who live on its opposite banks in the jungle and countryside. I have been most
amazed by that. However, where there were only a few houses/ huts or villages
on the other side of town 7 or 8 years ago, there are now many and many local
businesses that, I hope, strive from the booming tourism in town. Houses like
in Luang Prabang are never going to be built on the other side of the river or
the Mekong but the ripple effect of tourism allows for the villagers to develop
too. And though a town with merits such as beautiful views, an ideal location
and stunning architecture, it is with mixed feelings that we left. The
juxtaposition of wealth and poverty, clean streets and dirt roads where people
live in dirty houses, has given me food for thought.
Naphavong
Guest house, Vientiane
In Vientiane for one day only
and I will have to agree with the guidebooks on that one, this capital city
does not offer much to stay longer. It is not necessarily the lack of
activities but more the lack of buzz. It feels apathetic.
We decided to go to the Army
Museum, as with three boys, tanks and the likes are always interesting and they
have visited many temples over our five years in Asia so fair enough.
Unfortunately, it was closed for lunch when we arrived- the French may have a
lot to answer for there! Never mind, we went back toward town and stopped at
the Victory Monument, a replica or sort of replica of the Arc the Triomphe in
Paris, built by the French. Not too impressive but a seven-storey high building
that deserves a stop all the same. There are a great many temples and Buddhist
monks in their orange dress holding a black umbrella roam the streets endlessly
(we’ve all seen those paintings or postcards, right?). They are part of the
population and there is something reassuring about that. Too often religion has
been a reason for war, oppression or discrimination, but in Laos the monks are
supported and according to people we spoke to, everyone experiences that life
once in their lives for however long they want. It is like a pilgrimage.
Final
thoughts
Our two weeks in Laos have
been enlightening in many respects. We expected it to be cheaper than China, it
isn’t; but unlike China, the prices they charge are not warranted. We always
say we get what we pay for in China. Here, you don’t even get what you pay for!
Laos needs foreigners and tourism must be the way for the economy to develop.
However, villages are not kept and though they drag the interest of the
tourists, they don’t seem to have any pride in what they show. Then, you have Lao
people’s prices vs foreigners’ prices in museums and such places, in view of
all and in English as well as in Lao. Quite amazing to blatantly display the
difference!
I am glad we came. I am not
sure we’ll ever come back, however. If we did, we’d only stay a couple of days
in each place and see more of the country. Having said that, we have no
regrets.
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