We walked around the city to see some of the temples. There's also a big French influence here, since it was once a colony of France (so that means lots of bakeries, yum!) In terms of the food, it seems to be heavily influenced by Thailand, China, Vietnam, and of course French pastries.
Our first full day, we rode bikes around the city. Margo & I have to get re-used to driving on the right side of the road...we had to let Michelle lead the way after I lead us down the wrong way. Our second-day bike adventure took us to "Buddha Park," a park 27 km outside the city with large concrete statues of Hindu gods and Buddha. One looked like a bizzare giant pumpkin, which had a dark staircase leading to the top from which you could get a good view of the whole park. You can see the "pumpkin" in the background.
The ride back was deathly hot. We returned drenched with sweat, and at least for me, a farmers' tan.
Our next stop was Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng was a soul-less tourist town. The town was full of guest houses, restaurants, internet cafes, tour companies and little else. The best part was our 6 hour tubing adventure down the river...stopping at a bar with an awesome zip line into the river. The first time I tried the zip line, my hands slipped and I plunged into the water from quite a height. The second time I made it to the end and dropped the few feet that we're meant too. Besides that, the town had little to offer on our limited budgets. We had to splurge on a meal or two since there were no cheap options (when I say splurge I mean a bit more than $2 for a meal.) The odd thing about Vang Vieng- it seemed as if every restaurant played FRIENDS on the tvs there. It was scary, that no matter what restaurant we passed, I knew exactly what episode it was, and possibly what season it was from.
Louang Prabong, our next destination, was my favorite city in Laos. We spent the first afternoon wandering around the city visiting temples and shops and absorbing the culture. Luang Prabang has a good mix of cultural sites and cafes, so it was nice and relaxing to spend a few days there. Our second full day there, we rented 2 motorbikes to drive to the Kouang Si waterfall outside the city. This was my first time driving a semi-automatic motorbike since the first time Margo taught me how to ride, more than 7 months earlier, but I got the hang of it quickly. Our only problem was just a flat tire on Margo & Michelle's bike a few kilometers into the ride. Luckily we were near a village and had it patched up in no time. The waterfall was gorgeous- pool after pool of crystal-blue pools which were perfect for swimming.
Michelle went on a 2-day trek, so Margo and I had extra time hanging around the city. We spent the days at cafes, visiting wats, and researching English camps in Korea. We spent the nights at a cafe drinking sangria and watching movies (including "Smart People," which I highly recommend) with other tourists and spending too much money on local crafts at the night market.
We left Luang Prabang for Phonsavan, the site of the Plain of Jars. On the bus, the guy behind me proceeded to get sick on my leg, yuck! Luckily it was only a splash and I soon as I felt it I jumped out of my seat to join Michelle a few rows up. The buses in Laos don't have toilets and there are no public toilets, so on long bus rides, they stop every few hours the let their passengers empty their bladders on the side of the road. Its hard to find privacy when 40 people are using the "bathroom" at the same time.
We arrived in Phonsavan and found a guesthouse that would fit 3 of us in one room, which has proved to be difficult in most places. We found a place that had a mat that the third person could sleep on, but after seeing a cockroach or two, we opted to squeeze all three of us on the bed, which we did with relative comfort.
The Plain of Jars is exactly as it sounds- a plain full of jars. The large jars are made of sandstone, are 2000 to 3000 years old, and a mystery. No one knows what they were actually used for. Most scholars believe they were giant urns, while a local legend says they were containers of alcohol. My personal theory is that the king at the time had many children who liked to play hide-and-seek. The lack of hiding spaces on the wide-open plains made it difficult, so he had the jars created to keep them out of his hair.
Our tour guide would gather us all together to tell us about the sites or a specific jar. Unfortunately I couldn't understand about 60% of the words that came out of his mouth, so I can't share those stories with you. Our tour around the 3 sites, also included a stop at a lao-lao (local Lao whiskey) village, where we see how its made. The only way to describe it is throat-burning. After seeing the conditions in which its made and trying a shot, I don't feel the need to ever drink it again.
The site also had many craters created by the dropping of bombs by the US during "The Secret War" from 1965-1973. The US dropped two million tons of bombs in Laos in order to cut off ties to Vietnam. A good portion of the bombs were filled with 600 or so cluster bombs, or "bombies," many of which never detonated. Even today, UXOs (unexploded ordanances) are scatterend in the region, which deter the farmers from expanding their farms. We were told not to stray from the paths when walking around the Plain of Jar sites, since not all areas had been cleared of UXOs. Locals use the bomb shell casing as fence posts and plant pots. Scrap metal hunting is a lucrative, but very dangerous business in the area and leads to several deaths and amputations a year. We visited the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) office in town and learned a lot about what they are doing to deal with the situation. They have trained locals, mostly women, to safely check and clear areas by safely exploding the UXOs. Margo & I were interviewed by an expat who works there. He asked us questions about the display in the office and what we learned about UXOs. I must have sounded like a bumbling idiot because I tend to use the word "like" every third word. Apparently it will be played on BBC radio at some point in the next month or so, so keep an ear out.
Our next destination was Pakse, in the south. We stopped for a few hours in Vientienne before getting on a 10 hour overnight bus. This marks the end of the northern portion of our trip.
The map of Northern Laos below shows our route (in dark green) and stops (in lime green)
No comments:
Post a Comment