The Practical Part:

It is very useful to know a few Lao phrases, and especially the numbers. I have included a few that travelers will want to know:

(Phonetic spelling, except “Ph” is pronounced like “p.” To get the lilt you will have to hear the language pronounced.)
Sabaidee – Hello
Sabaidee baw? – How are you?
Khawp jai – Thank you.
Khawp jai lai lai – Thank you very much
Baw Penn Nyang – No problem, it’s okay.
Thao dai? – How much
Kip thao dai? – How much in Kip? (Lao money)
Phaeng phot: - Too Expensive
Sep – delicious
Gang – Thumbs up – way good!
Noi – small
Sinh – Lao skirt (so, “sinh noi” would be a small skirt)
Mon falang – (French Fries. They are good in Laos!)
(Adding baw to a phrase makes it a question)
Numbers:
1 – neung   2 – sawng
3 – saam    4 – sii
5 – haa      6 – hok
7 – jet       8 – paet
9 – kao   10 – sip
0 – soun

Being somewhat obsessive and wanting to prepare as much as possible for this trip, I kept poring over travel websites, wishing I had a packing list that told me what I would really need to have with me. I kept a mental list while in Laos to share with future LAST Study tour members. Below are a few things you’ll be glad to have with you:

A Packing List for Future LAST Tour Members

• I took a wheeled backpack-like thing that I bought at Costco for $40. I also took a big suitcase, which I left in Vientiane to carry my purchases home in. I also bought (Again at Costco, for $12.99) a packing kit made by Eagle Creek. It includes a couple of mesh pockets which zip shut and are good for t-shirts and underwear, a plastic-lined one for stuff that can spill and a big fold-over thing to wrap your big clothes in. I thought it was pretty dumb and consumerish of me, and almost returned it to the store, but in the end I was glad to have it. Packing was so easy – it kept my suitcase organized and my clothes unwrinkled. I really recommend it.• A daypack to carry your camera, journal, snacks, whatever else you need during the day.
• An extra bag – one more than you think you will need. I brought a lightweight rip-stop nylon duffel that fits into a small pouch. When we stopped and bought stuff, I could just take it out of my daypack and it held a lot. It was not fancy - very inexpensive - $10. I know it sounds like I took a lot of bags, but it turned out to be almost right. While on the road I just had the wheeled backpack thing and my daypack and at times the small ripstop duffel. Quite compact, actually. I had to buy one more large zippable plastic bag before leaving Luang Prabang, however, to bring my treasures home. To continue:
• Clothes for hot weather – cotton is good. Anything you wear will be kind of wet all the time, but cotton feels best. Those fancy quick-wick fabrics get just as wet as cotton, and are way more expensive. I took two things made of that fancy stuff, and decided I had wasted my money on them.
• It is better if your clothes don’t bare too much skin. Laos is a conservative country.
• Loose clothes are more comfortable than tight ones. You need some air movement.
• Tevas or Chacos – sandals that are water-proof and excellent for walking and hiking. I think Tevas are pretty ugly, but I didn’t ever wear any other shoes. I love them now! I took tennies and never once wore them.
• An extra pair of sandals if you, too think Tevas are ugly. I’d have liked to have them for evenings, or more special events.
• Cotton handkerchiefs. Your face sweats a lot – I kept wishing I had one!
• Clips to hold your hair up if it is long.
• Sunscreen – non-greasy.
• Ballpoint pens to give to children. ( When they say “pen” that is what they want – it is not a word in Lao!)
• A sarong for wearing to and from bathroom in some guesthouses. It also makes a good lightweight blanket and towel.
• (This one is for women) Several bras. White ones will get irrevocably dirty. Avoid them if you can. And don’t think you will be able to buy one there. Chances are, you won’t be able to! White clothing was not a problem to get clean otherwise.
• Plan on having your laundry done in the hotels and guesthouses. It is not worth the trouble to do it by hand, and it never dries in time. The hotels do a good job and are very cheap and quick.
• You can buy an umbrella in the market for a dollar or two – save space in your suitcase and buy one there.
• Lightweight jacket for the rain – it won’t get cold, but it gets very wet sometimes.
• If you bring a hairdryer you needn’t worry about the electrical plugs. The normal U.S. plugs worked fine everywhere we went. You do need to have appliances that are convertible to 220V, however. I found such a hairdryer at a travel store that worked very well.
• About those little money pouches. I had one, and while it was useful for passport and ticket in the airport, it is not especially useful for Lao money, as it is so bulky. There is no way to subtly wear one of those under your clothes with Lao money in it. Not to mention getting the money out of it when you want to buy something.

I guess that is all for now about packing. If you have questions, I’d be glad to answer via email. In the next chapters I will tell about the various places we visited.

Vientiane, Capitol of Lao P.D.R.

Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, is a beautiful third-world communist city, somewhat crumbling in places, with streets full of small motorcycles and tuk-tuks, little motorcycle taxis. There are also plenty of cars, but they don’t go very fast. One does feel pretty vulnerable, moving through traffic at about 20 mph on the back of one of these little bikes, no helmet, just putting along, turning in front of cars and trucks when the street appears to be clear enough to make it without being hit. The most frequent mode of transport, however are tuk-tuks, which will take you where you want to go for about 20 cents. Crossing the street is something of an adventure at times. People just kind of drive all over the road - not especially fast, but sort of wherever they want to. There are no crosswalks, you just pick your time and cross between spurts of traffic. It isn't too scary because no one is going very fast, but one does question whether they would stop for you if you were in their way.

Vientiane has a flavor of crumbling colonialism. Laos is a third world country, but Vientiane has a charm and cleanness that belie that status in world levels. Old French architecture can be seen all around; it is not being maintained and is disintegrating far more quickly, it seems than the ancient stupa which sits calmly in the neighborhood of the U.S. Embassy, or the Wats that proliferate in this city.

Life in a communist country, even a calm one like Laos is not like a democracy. Photo That is all there is to it. Protests are not allowed - not even to be thought about. ALL the media is government owned, no Non-governmental organizations are permitted, no American military is allowed to enter, nor are American professors allowed to do any training here. They have not forgotten about that war 30+ years ago, and are wary of American intervention. Despite this, it is hard to imagine feeling unsafe here.

They don't seem to care about American tourists, as long as you are really a tourist when you say that on your entry visa. In June two European journalists and an American Hmong interpreter entered the country to do some investigative reporting but said they were tourists. They went to a troubled area, which is off-limits to tourists and while they were there a Lao officer was killed. All three were arrested in the next couple of days, and were sentenced to fifteen years in prison within the next month. Fortunately, the Lao powers-that -be offered to release them to their respective governments upon request, and all were returned home within a month or so .

The Lane Xang Hotel

In Vientiane we stayed at the Lane Xang Hotel. This is a beautiful French Colonial building which is located across from the Mekong, down the street from the Presidential Palace. It is a short walk to the Morning Market, the Scandinavian Café, Internet cafes, and many other local places of interest. It is quite elegant, actually, reminiscent of a hotel you’d see in a black and white movie from the 1930’s. They ask that you leave your key at the front desk when you go out of the hotel, and behind the desk is a little room with safe deposit boxes for the convenience of the guests. One feels quite pampered when staying there. The floors are cool tiles, and the rooms are air conditioned. The room keys have a plastic tag attached to them. Upon entering the room, the tag is inserted in a little box on the wall, which allows the air to be turned on. Each day the maids leave a bottle of water and a plate of fresh fruit in the room. Laundry service is available and quite inexpensive, and they do a good job. All this and a huge breakfast is included!

The American Embassy

We met with the American Ambassador and the Political officer and the Cultural Affairs officer (something like that) at the embassy one day. It is quite a big deal to get into that building – security is pretty tight. It was fascinating - I could have listened and asked questions all day. I asked about the Hmong situation and got some interesting responses, the biggest one being that there is truth in everything we have heard, but 99% of what we hear in the States is false. Apparently a small picture is being exaggerated to monumental proportions. They warned us against traveling on Route 13 on our trip to the North.

The Morning Market

The Morning Market, which is open all day, is a warren of stalls selling fabric, jewelry, artisanry, household goods, food, school supplies…anything you could possibly need. The people are friendly and willing to participate in a gentle sort of bargaining. I bought a blue shirt – probably a man’s garment – and fabric for some skirts . I paid $8.00 for 4 yards of fabric and $5.50 for the shirt. I also came across some old Blue Hmong skirts – very worn – for about $6.00. They were in moderate condition – most appeared quite worn. A person could find just about anything in this market, from clothes and fabrics to food and appliances, it is all available.

The National Library

We visited the national Library our first morning in Vientiane. What a sad thing the library is. It is an old, dusty crumbling building which houses relatively few books in small rooms. There are many more books upstairs, donated by who knows what benefactor, stacked in great dusty mounds in the hallway. Photo They are tied up in bundles and appear to be very old and yellowed. Most are probably not even written in Lao, rather in Russian or Japanese, perhaps.

Yet, despite this state of ruin some interesting things are happening here. One is a collaboration with the Germans to collect, videotape and record indigenous music of Laos. This is an arduous project, which has required a great deal of travel to remote locales. They are doing a marvelous job from what I could see in the bits of video we were able to view. We bought copies of these music videos for the equivalent of $10.00 US each, but they are in a format which does not work on our VCRs, so must be converted here in the States. (I don’t know yet how much that will cost, but I have heard it can be expensive, so be forewarned!) Another project is the restoration and preservation of the old palm leaf manuscripts. These are written in Pali, a round script which is similar to Lao – possibly a precursor.

As I sat in the meeting with the deputy director I looked around the room – one of the main bookrooms – and thought that I have more books in my classroom than are contained in this main room of the library. And this is the National Library! The Deputy Director, Oudomsavanh Kennuvvong told us the following information about the library:

• They are planning to build a new building but there are still no funds. This building is in bad repair. Vietnam, France, Japan want to help but haven’t given funds yet. The government has okayed the idea, but is offering no money.
• There are 38 government staff hired for this library. 8 are contracted by other agencies. Some of these people are collecting and taping indigenous music, and some are restoring and preserving the old palm-leaf manuscripts.
• After the new building is constructed, there are plans to collect letters and archives from all over Laos, to make a national collection.
• There are still not enough books for all to read, but there are more now than ever before. Books have been donated by various countries, such as China, Russia, France, England, Japan – not all are good or even readable. More books written in Lao are needed. English books are also wanted, but mostly Lao. They need English books that are easy to read.
• Book donations (such as our book boxes) are difficult because shipping is so costly. Delivering the boxes to the villages in the North can be problematic because many villages are all but inaccessible and few people travel in those areas. Direct donations of books, such as the book boxes is the only way to avoid time-consuming bureaucratic problems. The government takes a great deal of time to approve donations of anything, and they do not place a high value on books.
• Literacy Stats:
o In 1975 90% of Lao people were illiterate.
o In 1992 70 % of Lao people were illiterate
o In 2001 45% of Lao people were illiterate
o In 2003 it is estimated that only 40% of Lao people are illiterate. Yet without books to read, literacy skills quickly diminish.
• Last year 170 book boxes were donated. (On this trip we donated 11 boxes.)
• The National Reading Promotion Program is making a big difference – they now have an (aging) mobile library. This year there are no funds for this project, however, so they are waiting for help from an NGO (Non-governmental organization).
       We visited the Children’s library as well, which is considerably brighter and more welcoming than its adult counterpart. We had an opportunity to meet and spend time with the Children’s Librarian. She is a delightful woman who clearly loves her job.

The Patuxai Monument

After leaving the National Library, we decided to go check out the Patuxai Monument, or “Vientiane Victory Monument” – a great arch-like structure resembling the Arc d’Triomphe in Paris - that sits in the center of the road near the Morning Market. It was built in 1962 of concrete donated by the U.S. government for an airport. The Lao decided to build this monument instead and dedicate it to freedom. Photo

The Revolutionary Museum

We also visited the National museum - formerly the Revolutionary museum. There are many exhibits of ancient Laos, before it was called that - 13th and 14th century stuff, and then it jumps to the war. Nothing in between, really, aside from a couple of bamboo elephant chairs for Kings. It quickly becomes very Communist oriented and stays that way, with many references to the "U.S. Imperialists and their puppets." I met a young Lao man who had graduated from the university with a degree in English and is now working as a guide in the museum. His English was pretty good - considering that he has probably only rarely ever spoken with a native English speaker. After a rocky start when he tried to explain the "Golden Buddhas" to me, it got smoother and I had an enjoyable time learning about the exhibits. I took his picture in front of a table and chair that once belonged to Kaysone, and he seemed pleased. At the end of the tour, I saw a beautiful small Blue Hmong skirt that I thought was part of a display. When I realized it was for sale, I bought it for $6.00. It is in very nice condition and a good example of the various types of artisanry that are involved in making such a garment.

We had lunch one day at a lovely French restaurant with Grant Evans, an anthropologist who has written several very interesting books on Lao history and politics. It was so interesting to talk to him - he is so knowledgeable about this country. I asked him about the situation with the Hmong. He told me to just observe what I observe and be aware that no one can know the whole truth of the situation. He has been studying Laos for the last 20 years and is not American so he had very interesting insights about it all.

The first day here we ate at a little stand on the Mekong, where I could look across and see Thailand. I ate sticky rice and red curry and drank a mango fruit shake...heavenly! I am getting pretty brave with the chiles here. The rice kind of cuts the burn.

Today we visited three wats: Wat Sisaket, Wat Simouang and That Luang. It is so incredible to see the things in real life that I'd read about before coming. I feel lucky indeed. I'm also very glad I read so much before coming on this trip.

Baci Ceremony

The day before leaving Vientiane we were given a baci ceremony. We arrived at Peter's house at about 3:00 in the afternoon. He introduced us to a young (24 y.o.) former monk named Sond. He thought we might like to know what it was like to be a monk. This young man had become a monk at the age of 21, and just became a man (That's how he says it -"I'm not a monk anymore. Now I am a man.") Buddhist monks are quite restricted in their activities and interactions. He took us on a tour of the wat across the street, where he was a monk.     

Then we returned to Peter's house where a ceremony was being set up. When it was time to start, people just began to arrive, as though a gong had sounded. First a very old man I'd seen at the wat, then a woman of about 50 something who was very attractive except for her teeth which have been destroyed by chewing betel nuts. Then other neighbors came, including a shy little boy who no one really knew. They spread a plastic tablecloth on a woven plastic mat on the floor, and then began to set up the ceremony. Two large gold colored metal vases were brought in, one filled with flowers, little bags of chips, long white strings and a candle. The other one had more little white strings, fruit, a bowl of rice, a boiled chicken and a little bottle of Laulau, the Lao version of “white lightening.” You could smell the alcohol the minute it was uncapped. Everyone sat around these items, in a circle on the floor.

The old man began to chant and do a spirit calling . We all held the long white strings between our praying hands as he called and chanted. After a while he began tying strings on our wrists - we were instructed to hold the chicken on a plate with one hand (he tied the string on this hand) and hold the other hand up, palm facing our head. Friends touched the hand holding the plate, in a gesture of symbolic support as he tied the string and chanted a prayer. After he had made it around the circle, other people began tying strings and money to our wrists and making wishes until we each had about ten strings - knots and ends ragging out around our wrists. Tang told us we must leave the strings on for at least three days for the wishes to come true. Photo

After the ceremony ended, Peter began to pour Laulau and Beerlao and pass it around the room. Needless to say it got pretty animated. The Betel-chewing lady is the neighborhood singer, and she sang some songs in the traditional Lao style - kind of an Appalachian sounding nasally singing style. She sang and laughed and clapped. Photo It was great. .

A Sauna and Massage

While in Vientiane we went for a sauna and massage. It was an open-air place, all concrete, under a tin roof - in case of rain. When we arrived, we paid about fifty cents and were given a sarong to wrap up in, a small can of sterilized milk and a little package of tamarind pulp and seeds. After undressing, wrapping up in the sarong and showering to get wet, we went around to the sauna. It was a wooden room filed with herbal smelling steam - the herbs included lemon grass, ginger and some other leafy thing, maybe mint, I'm not sure - actually more camphor-like. Everything was outdoors - after as long as you could stand it in the hot steam, you came outside and sat on chairs or benches, women on one side and men on the other, everyone wrapped in these wet sarongs. We crumbled the tamarind in the canned milk and rubbed it all over our exposed body parts - face, arms, legs. It was kind of like a full-body facial. Then we went back into the steam, then back to the milk and tamarind, then back to the steam. It was so hot in there, yet somehow the herbal aroma kind of tempered the heat so it was not unbearable.

After the sauna we went next door for a massage. This was quite interesting...the massage is done in a room with four mattresses on the floor, curtains between each, like in the emergency room of a hospital, sort of. We were given some pants and a shirt to wear. The masseuse began with a gentle foot massage, then went on to perform a typical Thai massage. The next day, I found myself sweating profusely. I think the sauna cleared my pores and let them breathe. It feels good to sweat, despite being wet all over. The breeze evaporates the sweat and cools one off a bit, although I’m always glad for a bit of air conditioning!

Most Lao women wear graceful looking wrap skirts called “sinhs”. They are elegant, often made of silk with beautiful woven borders. It amazes me how the women here never look rumpled despite the incredible heat and humidity. Some of us had sinhs made, by a seamstress that Bai and Peter know. The fabric for each cost about $4.00 and the tailoring $5.00 each. They are well made and fit perfectly. Photo

The next leg of our journey was to Luang Prabang, the Royal Capitol, via the infamous Route 13.

Luang Prabang

We left Vientiane at 8:30 A.M., headed for our first of two visits to Luang Prabang.

We met in the lobby of the Lane Xang at 8:00 A.M., and after our drivers loaded our bags on top and tying them down, we took off, ten of us in a Toyota van.

As we got outside of Vientiane we began to see houses on stilts, and rice paddies, dry still due to the lack of rain so far this year. Although the rice paddies are dry, the surrounding countryside is lush and green, with flowers and banana trees everywhere. The homes are mostly wooden although we saw many new and beautiful concrete houses. Peter says those are probably testament to overseas relatives. Cement is very costly and the people here are very poor, so the certainly had to have some help to build these homes.

We wound through this lush countryside for about three and a half hours, arriving in Vang Vieng at lunchtime. The guidebook says this is an attractive town. Our guide, Tang helped me buy some lovely silk scarves in there. Two of us ate in the market. Tang and I had delicious noodles and Jessica had Laap, probably the best I tasted anywhere in Laos. After an hour or so we took off again.

We began to climb into the most incredible mountains, passing many Lao Loum and Hmong villages along the way. The Hmong villages are recognizable by their houses, which are built on the ground, as opposed to the Lao Loum houses on stilts. That is the only apparent difference – both are equally poor, dusty and dirty. Up here the houses are of bamboo or wood, rarely of concrete. The Hmong houses have thatched roofs, rather than tin.

As we passed through village after village, I noticed many children – five and under, by appearance, and very few adults. Peter said the adults were all off in the fields – I guess the kids pretty much take care of themselves. Occasionally you see an older child, or an adult or two. The Hmong grow rice and corn and even bananas on hillsides so steep I don’t know how they walk or work on them. We passed one mountainside which had been completely cleared, with little huts scattered here and there where the families stay sometimes. Evidently their residence was in the village, but they stay there during planting and harvest, when going to and from the village takes too much time.

All in all, it was a very long, superbly interesting day, which ended at the Phousi Hotel in Luang Prabang.

The Phousi is a lovely place – huge verandah, tile floors, rats running in the ceiling, but not visible. The rooms are ample and clean. We went for a walk along the main street, Sisavangvong Road, which is closed off for an evening crafts and food market. We ended up at a little open air restaurant for a bit of dinner before bed. The papaya salad, or tom sum was delicious, not as heavy on the fish sauce as that which I’ve tasted in the states. It had peanuts on top, and tasted a little of lime juice, as well as chile and fish sauce. Tang and Bai ordered it, and I will continue to do so. I could eat that every day.

Luang Prabang reminds me of Alamos, Mexico or Antigua, Guatemala. It moves at a kind of slow pace, has markets that sell everything you could ever want to buy; the people are friendly enough, but also kind of leave you alone. There are quite a few falang – more Europeans than Americans, although we did meet a few people from the States. There are many Colonial sorts of buildings, lots of craftspeople selling their weavings and artisanry. Buddhist temples abound and the old Royal Palace is right downtown. Few cars drive here. Transportation is mostly by motorbikes and tuk-tuks.

Kouang Xi Waterfalls

One day we drove a few miles outside of Luang Prabang to a beautiful waterfall. It is like a park – developed in a subtle way. There are several little thatched gazebos along the path where you can order lunch. Below the main path is a little animal sanctuary of sorts, with a tiger in one cage and baby bears in another. We climbed to the top of the falls, a steep and very beautiful climb. The jungle is lush here, with plants growing wild that we buy in little pots at Home Depot. Photo We were almost the only people there for quite a while, leaving just as a large group of young, dread-locked Europeans arrived. We stopped for lunch in one of the thatched gazebos – Tang and Bai helped prepare the food, and showed us how to make papaya salad at the same time.

On the way back from the falls, we stopped in a weaving shop, which had an overwhelming bounty of beautiful things. And they took Visa cards…making it a dangerous place! The prices were a bit higher in this shop, but the quality is excellent.

Lue Village

On our second day in Luang Prabang, visited a 200 year-old Lue village. We had to take a little teak boat across the river to get there. We visited the family of our guide, Kham Fhan, where we bought some unique textiles they had made. According to Kham Fhan, the village was offered the opportunity to move next to the road. Some of the villagers chose to do this, but the majority refused, preferring to stay in their homes. This is such a beautiful little village, nestled in the trees on a little rise above the river. It was fascinating to see the traditional way of life that persists here. Photo1 Photo 2 At the entrance is a sign which delineates the areas in and around the village. This makes it very clear what activities may be performed on each part of the surrounding land – a system of zoning, if you will. The sign also tells how many people and how many families live here.

On the way there we saw an elephant walking along the road with a couple of guys on its back - it was their work animal. That was quite exciting. On the way back to town from the Lue village we went to Ban Phanom, a weaving village where there is a cooperative of weavers selling their wares. All around the room are platforms on which weavings are displayed. The women sit behind their wares, all very aware of what visitors are looking at. After buying one set of woven napkins, I was offered napkins at every booth I passed. Women even called out to me, offering their napkins. I ended up well-supplied with cloth napkins.

When we got back to town we went to the place they make Sa paper. It is so beautiful, made in frames, which are left to dry in the shade. After the pulp is poured in the frame, the papermakers carefully place flowers and leaves on top in some of the frames.. Peter has some lovely photos on his website of them making this product. They make it into lamp shades, photo albums, journals and just large sheets of paper. Some of it is very plain, some of it loaded with flowers. All is very reasonable, and woven bamboo tubes are available for packing the large sheets.

Lotus of Laos Massage

Lotus of Laos is a beautiful, carefully designed massage place, which is located on the main street of Luang Prabang. In front of it is a large sign with a massage “menu,” which tells what services are available. The sign is banked with torches on either side, which light it up enough that it can be read in the dark. Massages available are Traditional Thai, Aromatherapy and foot massage. I opted several times for the foot massage. Upon entering, you remove your shoes, where you walk on smooth, cool, immaculately clean tiles to a padded teak lounge chair. Every consideration has been given to the ambience here. The walls are painted colors of soft lavender and gold, the lighting is indirect, art graces the walls, and a fountain softly bubbles. World music plays (they say it is Asian, but on occasion I heard music in Spanish.) quietly in the background. Upon sitting down, you are instructed to sit on the front of the chair, where your feet are scrubbed with a brush in cool water. You then sit back while the masseuse removes the bowl of water and hands you a cup of hot sweet ginger tea, and the massage begins. The feet are massaged with a milky substance, which I assumed was something quite exotic like coconut milk mixed with something I had never heard of…but no, it is Nivea lotion and baby oil. One foot is wrapped in a thin blue towel while the other one receives reflexology and massage treatment. The first foot is then wrapped while the other is massaged. After about 45 minutes of foot massage, the client sits forward on the chair again, to receive a neck and shoulder massage for the last fifteen or so minutes. The workers are warm and friendly, and quiet, and have been well trained to deliver the same quality of massage every time. I experienced foot massages from at least four different people, and each was equally good. The price? About three dollars, plus a tip. This is a not-to-be-missed experience! I could be found there each night we were in Luang Prabang – it was such a relaxing way to end the day.

To sum up, Luang Prabang is a gentle haven, a wonderful place to relax and rest up for further delicious adventures, which, when traveling with Peter, are always waiting. We wandered about, alone and together, just enjoying being there. The early morning market, the evening market, the covered market – all offer different things to look at and perhaps buy. Each is an interesting venture in itself. Luang Prabang surrounded by rivers and abundant with wats, is indeed a special place in the world.

Travel to Muang Sing

Muang Sing is a tiny little town on the outer reaches of Laos, about ten miles from the Chinese border. We drove for about nine hours on windy, bumpy, fascinating roads to get there. The roads in Laos are something of an adventure. Under good conditions they are paved in sections and unpaved in sections. They are riddled with big potholes that become ponds when it rains. Our driver constantly swerved and honked to avoid all manner of things: pigs, tuk-tuks, motorbikes driven by 12 year-olds, chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs, children, old ladies, families, Chinese lorries, roadwork trucks, wooden carts loaded with firewood, cattle, water buffalo, giant lizards, and even elephants. Frequently we passed people chopping away at the vegetation along the side of the road, maybe to use it as feed, or maybe just keeping it from taking over the road, I’m not sure.

In some places they were resurfacing the road. They do one side at a time and put branches and rocks on that side so no one will drive on it. Because it was very windy, we constantly honked to let other cars know we were coming on the wrong side of the road. Our horn was so weak I can't imagine anyone actually heard it, but it valiantly sounded all along our journey. We passed Lao Loum and Hmong and Lantien villages mostly. Those along the highway are pretty barren, none more impoverished than the next, all dilapidated and many of them completely devoid of vegetation. It was interesting that the villages we encountered in the hills, and even a few of those on the side of the road, were lush with fenced gardens, flowers, and sometimes paddy rice. They were so lovely. Since they are all, including the road villages, in former jungle, which they fight constantly to keep at bay, I don't know why some are so barren and others so lush. In the highest villages, where the mist surrounds the mountaintops, rice is grown on the dry hillsides, dependent on rainfall to grow.

In Muang Sing one is only about 10 miles from China. We drove to see the border - it was tantalizing. The road is pretty and lush, the kind of road that beckons to me to follow it. It was unsettling to know that if I did follow it, I would be arrested. The town of Muang SIng has a strong Chinese influence. In the afternoons big military-looking lorries covered in blue tarps come through town and stop, loaded with goods for import and export. Everything is old and dusty and hot. Every evening you can hear the monks chanting from the monastery behind our guesthouse. First you hear the sound of an old monk chanting over a rusty-sounding speaker. His voice is followed by a chorus of children’s voices. This struck me as odd until I saw them on the streets. The monks in Muang Sing seem to be younger than anyplace else. We often saw them playing in the road, popping wheelies on their bicycles, doing what children do, but wearing the orange robes of a Buddhist monk. Peter calls them “monklets.” Photo

The streets are populated with Lao people going about their business. The outdoor market has narrow aisles, and offers an amazing variety of food. Grilled flat frogs seemed to be a special delicacy the morning we were there. The people seemed to be in a hurry, annoyed by the impediment of a slow shopper. One man actually pushed me! I got out of his way quickly and found other places to wander. There is a very small crafts market - just a few stands - where Hmong and Tai Dam women sell a variety of handmade goods, from headwraps and sinhs to baby carriers and woven hangings and paj ntaub. These women are delightful - funny and friendly and good saleswomen. The Tai Dam ladies had great fun with me, because I told them I could not buy sinh fabric from them. “I’m too big!” I said, to which they answered, patting my hips (and rear end) and laughing uproariously, “Big, big!” If we had spoken the same language, I think we’d have easily been friends. They were great. We ended up going to their villages and to their homes and bought a lot of beautiful artifacts from them, which I will treasure as much for the memories they offer as for their beauty. Photo

On the streets of Muang Sing are also many Akha women selling their bracelets and head coverings and marijuana. These tiny, barefoot women with very persistent characters can be found all over town. Their costume is quite interesting. They wear short black skirts and for a blouse, if they wear one at all, a tiny little band around their chest, tied with strings on one side, suspended from a single diagonal strap over one shoulder. They wear small, beautifully colored leggings and, in town, a little jacket. On their heads are plaid woven scarves, under which are amazingly intricate headwraps. They tend to just wander around town, interrupting meals at restaurants and stopping people on the streets with their offerings. They were usually just as happy with leftovers from a meal as they were if you bought things from them. They are poor and food is scarce. If you didn’t buy anything, they would say “no-no-no..ssssst!” and walk away haughtily. Until a few minutes later when they once again caught your eye, and it would begin again.

We met a youngish man here who claimed to be Cambodian, raised as a child by Pol Pot. His blonde hair and fair complexion made me doubt this heritage, although he was interesting to talk to. He said they had to bring things into Laos on lorries because the river was so low this year the barge couldn't get down it to bring cargo to the cities along its banks. The lorries roll in every afternoon, and by early morning are gone. All along the principal street of Muang Sing are open-front shops with TVs, mechanical parts, electronics and Chinese motorbikes. Our guide, Tang, says the motorbikes are very low quality - cheap to buy but break very quickly. And the Chinese motor parts are of inferior quality too, so repairs don't last long.

One day we went to a lovely Hmong village - lush flowers, trees and gardens everywhere. Two members of our group had brought some Hmong books their school district had published, which they wanted to donate. We were all seated in a home, and the ladies asked to whom they should give the books. Our hostess indicated that her son would give them to the school. We were inside her house with about half of the people of the village when our tour members broke out the books...the scene that followed made me cry. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest just pored over them, handling them with such care, as if they were a magical treasure. Photo One girl could read and demonstrated her skill for all to hear…except everyone was so engrossed in books of their own, only about 5 people heard her reading. It was such a touching scene, I just couldn't get enough of it. The beauty filled my heart. This dark and smoky bamboo house, filled with people, lit only by the open doors and the spaces between the wood and bamboo, was such a place of joy, all because of a gift of books.
When we went outside the women had set up a little market for us. They had arranged their paj ntaub on a wooden firewood cart, colorful applique work piled layers deep, looking opulent in the sunny garden. It was a feast for the eyes. We bought a great deal of it, and finally we had to go. As we were leaving the yard, a little old lady toddled in with a few little paj ntaub in her arms. She had arrived too late and was going to miss out on the money the falang (us!) were spending. Someone told us she has no husband, so needs the money. We bought almost all she had, I think. I bought two and Peter bought a couple. We just kind of surrounded her and gave her money. When we left she was just standing there, smiling, looking bewildered. I took a lot of pictures of those people and their work. One lady asked me to send her pictures, so I got the address of the village and will do so. That was truly a high point of the trip.

While in this village, I had a chance to ask a lady about her living conditions. She said that she is happy and feels safe there. She moved to that village from the mountains near Luang Prabang because in this village she could grow rice and in the mountains she only had a garden but couldn't grow rice. Interestingly enough, her mother had moved back to the mountains. She was also growing hemp, as evidenced by a huge plant in her yard.

One day we visited two Akha villages and a Mien village. We walked up a short hill to get to the first Akha village, where the women crowded around us, offering to sell pieces of their clothing, silver, opium tools, even marijuana. We had a thirteen year-old boy who spoke Lao and Akha as our guide. After some time in the first village, he offered to take us to a second one, which was very close. We eagerly agreed to follow him there, and set off down a path through the jungle. We soon discovered that our definitions of close were not the same. We climbed and climbed, up a mountain, along a ridge and partway up another to get there. This village seemed nearly devoid of adults. There were many children here, who seemed to be on their own, the adults apparently working in the fields. Akha villages have spirit gates on both sides. Visitors must not pass under the gate unless they are visiting a home in the village. If one is simply passing through, the gate must be bypassed. It is clear that the gate is a powerful spiritual presence. The Akha are such an interesting people. They are very spiritual and quite secretive. The villages have a giant swing built on a hillside, which is used for a religious ritual that they refused to explain to us.

After our grueling climb to the village, we dropped down the hill to a Mien village which was quite close, and to which we could have driven our van. I was glad not to have known that – the sweaty, painful climb had made the visit that much more special. As we left the Ahka village, Peter and I walked a ways behind the others, passing a small cornfield. A woman was tending her crop, and when she saw us she began to shout at us. This is actually not uncommon from the Akha, and we wondered what we had done to offend her. As we walked, she continued to yell at us, and came running from her field, in our direction. It turned out she had some marijuana to sell and didn’t want to miss an opportunity. We politely declined the offer, laughing between ourselves about the insistence with which she offered it.

The Mien village was quite sophisticated in comparison to the Akha. We met with a very kind woman who generously showed us her handcrafts and explained a great deal about her culture. The Mien wear such a beautiful costume. The women wear very intricately cross-stitched pants which are short and full in the leg. They wear a black jacket which is adorned with a huge red fringe or ruff around the neck. Their headwrap is large, and appears to be very complicated to arrange. Our hostess put it on in seconds, however, without even looking in a mirror. We bought some things from her and greatly enjoyed the visit.

All in all, despite being somewhat less than comfortable at night, Muang Sing was one of the highlights of the trip. The memories of the villages and people remain bright, while those of discomfort have faded into a weak joke.

We went from Muang Sing to Luang Nam Tha, where we stayed at the Boat Landing Guesthouse. What an amazingly beautiful place that is. Perfect honeymoon cottages, idyllic in every sense. This is an eco-tourism spot, bamboo bungalos with big windows to allow for air movement, comfy beds with real mattresses, western (bucket-flush) toilets and solar heated showers. Truly a utopia! The food is delicious and the environment free of cars and motorbikes, and gloriously free of diesel fumes. One hears crickets and a rooster, and the breeze blowing through the trees. I sat on my porch and watched a small herd of water buffalo amble by on the other side of the river. Photo As if by mutual accord, they all just walked into the water, ducked under and swam away. Right across from the spot where the buffalos swam is a bamboo raft-like thing where children swim and people bathe. I watched as the people came and went in little groups to this spot. The youngest kids arrived first, then the teen-aged boys. The women were next, followed by a lone man. By this time is was raining quite vigorously, and it didn’t seem to faze them. They continued to wash bodies and clothes. Baw penn nyang! No problem.

The visual impressions one gets from Laos are so amazing. Imagine having to stop and wait because a water buffalo with a string in his nose, being led by an old Hmong man in baggy black trousers is crossing the road. Or a guy walking along a high mountain highway through a dirty village of bamboo houses, covering himself from head to knees with a single banana leaf because it is raining. Or an endless line of orange-robed monks each holding a black umbrella and an alms bowl, walking down the street at 5:30 A.M. collecting their morning's food. Everywhere are weaving villages, and the patterns and colors of the weaving are so complex and beautiful - it is like magic - I can't imagine how they learn how to do what they do. And all on these little bamboo and wood looms that look as though they could topple over at any moment. It is a visual feast.

Back to Luang Prabang and the Pak Ou Caves

Today we took a trip down the Mekong in a long skinny boat that sat right down in the water. We went to visit the Pak Ou caves, which are filled with hundreds of Buddhas.Photo The caves were powerful. I sat deep in the highest one and ran my energy and prayed - I dripped with sweat (aren't caves supposed to be cold?) and felt an intense field of energy all around me.
It took two hours to get there, and as we putted along the river, we watched the life of the Mekong. We saw so many Sampans that people live on anchored next to a garden spot. These are long, somewhat narrow boats with a large cabin on them. You see stove pipes sticking out of the sides or the roof, and clotheslines with clean clothes hanging to dry stretched across the back of them, kids and parents moving around inside. They fish using big nets that are suspended from crossed bamboo poles which they dip into the river over and over again. They anchor their little fishing boats with two bamboo poles stuck in the water's edge, one at either end of the boat, with little strings tied to the poles and the boats. Seems like a strong wind would dislodge them, but they all do it that way.

The trip to the caves was magical. The day was drizzly, the limestone karsts that line the banks of the Mekong shrouded in mist. Our boat was low, close enough to the water that I could drag my fingers through it. I marveled all day at the fact that I was actually there, in Laos, with my hands in the Mekong. I took many pictures, I think in an attempt to convince myself that it was not a dream.

We spent a few more days in Luang Prabang before continuing our trip. I made sure to end each day with a visit to Lotus of Laos for a foot massage. One night when I came out, Peter was still inside snoozing his way through his foot massage. In the street were three children doing a funny little dance they had probably seen on TV. Thinking maybe I’d wait to walk back to the hotel with Peter I stopped to play with the kids. Soon I was dancing along with them, to the delight of all the workers of the massage shop who didn’t have clients at the moment. I changed my mind about waiting for Peter. I gave the children some ink pens and returned to my hotel.

This second time, we changed hotels. We stayed in the Rama Hotel, which is located across the street from the Office of Immigration and Foreigners Management. I wondered how they manage foreigners, but (probably fortunately) never had to learn about that. The Rana is a very nice hotel. It is not as close to the center of town as the Phousi, but is an interesting walk past the city market to get there. It was very clean, the beds were comfortable, the air conditioning mighty, and the staff very friendly. And the breakfasts were delicious. What more could one ask for?!

On this visit we visited the royal palace, which is a place out of a chlidhood storybook. The reception rooms are sumptuous beyond imagining, with gilded everything and amazing mirrored mosaics on the walls. The furniture is huge, with a throne in a prominent spot. Then you go to the bedrooms, the queen’s especially, and find they are quite simple. Large, but without ornamentation. The king’s and queen’s bedrooms were next to each other in an “L” configuration. Each opened into another one behind them, but not into one another. Did they sneak into one another’s rooms through this back room? Did servants use these doors to attend to the needs of the royalty? It is an interesting setup, which we were not permitted to photograph.

There are very strict rules about what clothing must be worn to visit the royal palace. Lao women are required to wear sinhs. Western women do not have this requirement, but are expected to cover their shoulders. One of our travelers, who was wearing a tank top, was sent away to get a different shirt before she was permitted to enter.

In the royal palace is a room for displaying gifts from other countries. The U.S. gave some of the worst gifts! Our gifts looked like things you’d pick up from an awards center, after having them engraved. There was a pen set, and a key to Washington D.C.. The prize-winner, in my opinion, was a metal disc, about the size of a silver dollar imprinted with the head of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Other countries gave beautiful dishes and amazingly beautiful artwork typical of their nations, but we gave LBJ. Go figure!

All too soon our time in Luang Prabang ended. We prepared for the next leg of our journey, to Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars. Stay posted!

Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars

After leaving Luang Prabang, we flew to the northeast of Laos, to a town called Phonsavan, where we met Sousath Petrasy and stayed in his hotel, the Maly. He took us to the mysterious Plain of Jars where he gave us some history, as far as it is known, of the jars. This is one more of Laos’ mysteries. Sousath is quite knowledgeable about this area, and has done a great deal of work to develop the jar sites so that people may see and learn about them. We only visited one site, the one that is the easiest to get to and the most developed, and it was beautiful. It is sad to see the bomb craters in this area that are left over from the war. Thirty years later, and still nothing grows in them. Photo

On the way back from the Plain of Jars we passed a rice field that was being planted by a group of women. They waved at us with huge friendly smiles, so we stopped and asked if we could help them plant some rice. They gladly accepted our offer (Very kind of them, since none of us knew the first thing about planting rice!) and we waded into the mud, leeches and all and started shoving those rice plants in. The woman I was helping kept handing me more and more plants , and they seemed to stand up okay, so maybe I helped her a little. Or maybe not, I couldn’t tell! She was very friendly at any rate. Photo

After our fieldwork we stopped in Old Xieng Khuang so Peter could buy some mushroom lau-lau. Not being a drinker, I thought I’d just wait in the van for him to return. Wrong – four rounds later we left, and I noticed that talking had become something of a challenge for me. On the way back to the hotel I learned that the guide, Suen, who works at the Maly is Hmong and teaches English to Hmong teenagers. He invited me to visit his class when we passed through Phonsavan in a few days.

The Maly Hotel is lovely. It definitely provides stiff competition for the Boat Landing Guest house in Luang NamTha. One entire wall of my room was windows overlooking the rice paddies. The moon was bright, creating beautiful reflections in the water. The room was clean, bed was comfortable, the solar-heated shower hot and the food delicious. Who could ask for more? The first night we stayed there, the town’s generator was not working so we had candle light in our rooms after the hotel generator went out at about 9:00 P.M. On our return visit however, there was cause for great festivity: the town had finally gotten electricity twenty-four hours a day. There was a party at the Maly that night!

After leaving Phonsavan, we headed out Xam Neua and the Pathet Lao caves. On the ay there we stopped at the former Mines Advisory Group (MAG) office to see and learn about the UXO (Unexploded Ordnance, or bombs) that pervades Laos. This is an area that was very heavily bombed by the U.S. during the Vietnam War (when we weren't supposed to be in Laos because they were neutral, according to the Geneva Convention). The war in Laos is called The Secret War because we supposedly weren't there. Anyway, we bombed Laos very heavily - more lead fell on Laos than fell during the entire WWII.

About 30% of those bombs failed to detonate and are still laying around in the jungles and buried not too deeply in the ground around people's houses, in their rice paddies, along jungle trails. They are called bombies. Every so often one goes off when a villager hits it with a hoe or something. We went to visit the place that deals with trying to clean up all that UXO, as it is called, up. It is so hard - they know where there is a lot of it, but not exactly, and they just don't have the money to pay to get rid of it. We were told that just last week a woman was killed when she hit a bombie, while preparing her rice field for planting. Peter had the idea that we should visit the family of that woman. At first I was horrified by the idea. I couldn't believe he would even consider going there. But he did and we went. When we got there the man was not home. He is in the Lao military and was at work. I heard Peter say he wanted to leave some money for the family, so I got out of the van to give some money, too. Then, the lady we gave the money to said he would be there on Friday if we wanted to visit him on our way back through the area. Again I felt great uncertainty, but Peter said he would want to meet us because we gave him money.

On our way back from the Pathet Lao caves, we stopped to visit him and his children. We all sat on these tiny little benches on the floor and he told his story. Tears ran down his face as he told us that he and his family were at the rice field preparing to plant. There had been a big termite hill in the middle of the field for a long time, but this year he decided to get rid of it so they could have more rice. They just about had finished knocking it down and preparing the soil when he said they should stop and eat lunch and his wife said okay, but she just wanted to finish one little part so it would be all ready. He turned away, and he heard the explosion. At first he wondered where it came from, and then he turned and saw his wife. Their little girls saw the whole thing. They were so beautiful and silent - huge eyes, they just sat there looking shell-shocked.

When asked, he said that the government had given him 20,000 kip to help out. That is about $2.00. He now has to take the girls to work with him because there is no one to care for them at home. We again pulled out money - I think we gave him a total of $55.00, which is about what most people earn in a month or two. We all felt we want to sponsor his family somehow so the girls can afford to go to school. The oldest one has started already. It is so little we can do to help, and he is only one person. It happens all over this country. So we left him in the doorway, clutching a pile of money, his baby tied to him and the other two watching, all of them waving goodbye. I was glad we had been able to help a little, and no longer felt it was wrong to stop to see them.

Later that night we went to an English class with Suen, the young Hmong teacher we had met earlier. He teaches English to teenagers (all boys because the class ends after dark and the girls’ parents won’t let them be out so late) and he had invited me to come and talk to them. We all went, and when we got there he said, "I think I will not teach tonight, Lynn. You go teach them something." So I just walked up there in front and winged it. It was great. They were eager to learn, and so good humored. I taught for about half an hour and then had the others come up and I introduced them and had the students ask them questions. It turned out great - the class went for an hour and a half instead of the normal hour. I think everyone, students and teachers alike, enjoyed the class.

Xam Neua and the Pathet Lao Caves

The drive to Xam Neua is phenomenal. It is located in the Northeast of Laos, near the Vietnam border. We traveled for about nine hours to get there, through such high mountains, weaving in and around them, through villages and jungle. We stopped in a village where they weave ikat, silk and cotton. This is a weaving process that seems like magic to me. They tie-dye the weft with up to four or five colors. When they weave it, a pattern is created. I don’t know how they know how to dye the thread just so to create the patterns they do – maybe it is like a kaleidoscope to them too, watching the new patterns emerge from the specially dyed thread. Or maybe they have done it for so many generations, they know exactly what pattern will emerge. I can’t imagine – it just seems like magic to me.

Buying weavings or other crafts in a village is such a fun process. You stop and ask one person if they have any weavings to sell and then you wait a few minutes. Soon the whole village is there, each woman with a plastic bag under her arm. Then everyone gathers by the fence and watches the selling. This particular village was La Pon, related to Khmer. According to Peter, they speak an Astronesian language, very different from Lao. They had the sort of beauty that Cambodians have, so it was easy to see the Khmer connection.

In Xam Neua we visited the morning market, Photo which was a riot of colored umbrellas, produce, costumes. It was a rich site for photography. Photo Photo Even the bowls that held buffalo blood were bright blue, creating a lovely contrast with the red of the blood. Photo1 Photo2 It was interesting, in fact, to see how it is sold. They just cut a wedge out, and because it is kind of congealed into a firm jelly it holds its shape. But enough about that. Peter and I discovered that 6:00 A.M. is a good time to visit the market – it is in full swing by that hour and it is still not too hot out. The light is good then as well.

After the war Xam Neua was rebuilt by the Vietnamese. Apparently they even considered building a second capitol there. It looks very austere, with wide streets and concrete buildings. Early each morning a loudspeaker blares out propaganda to the townspeople. I wonder if anyone hears it anymore?

From Xam Neua, we went to visit the Pathet Lao caves. The area in which they are located is amazingly beautiful. Huge limestone karsts are the sites of the caves which were quite developed by the Communist leaders during the war. They lived in these caves to escape from the American bombing. Today the grounds are aiyllic. They are lush, with flowers and fruits growing everywhere. I found the caves themselves to be quite oppressive-feeling. Photo I was glad when our tour of them was over, actually. Photo1 Photo2

We ended our trip with a couple more days in Vientiane. We attended a Fourth of July party at the home of the U.S. Ambassador, Mr. Douglas Hartwick. The party was lovely. In these last days we had time to go to the market one – or two or three - last times and to figure out how to get all of our treasures home. We bought huge striped market bags and stuffed them full. Photo It was hard to leave. We ended our stay with a visit to the U.S. Embassy, giving a report to the ambassador, Mr. Douglas Hartwick. He is most gracious and friendly and it was a nice way to end the trip.

Going Home – Bangkok again

On our way home, some of us stopped in Bangkok for a few days. We stayed at the Asia Hotel, which was very comfortable and convenient, having a station for the elevated right at the doorway of the hotel. This hotel has a great bookstore, where we were able to purchase some out-of-print- books about Asia. It is also the home of the Calypso Cabaret, the most popular transvestite cabaret show in Bangkok. We did a bit of touring and shopping and photography there. In Bangkok everything is fast and loud and anything goes, it seems. Quite a switch from the slow and peaceful pace of Laos!

Final thoughts

May you go well if you decide to travel to Laos with Peter. I can guarantee you will have a rich and full experience, one you could not find with anyone else. Peter and Bai love to share Laos with others, and he knows many interesting people there, who you will be invited to meet. Be ready for the jet-lag when you return to the U.S. The trip home takes a few days to recover from, so prepare to coddle yourself a bit when you return. It was a special time for me.
About the political situation: it is a conundrum. As many people as you ask what is happening in Laos with the government and the Hmong is as many answers as you will get. There does not seem to be any one right or complete answer. Just pieces that don’t exactly fit together. So did I learn anything about it? I learned a lot of people’s ideas about it – many of them very well informed and credible, all of them slightly different. I felt safe and welcome in Laos, and I saw no evidence of one group of people being treated any differently than others. I did not see everything, nor did I travel everywhere. There is an area where no one may travel. We can’t really know what happens there.

For people considering traveling to Laos, I highly recommend that you read as much as you can before you go. I feel my experience was richer because I had prepared extensively prior to traveling. I also feel it is a respectful and responsible way to travel. Taking the time to learn about the people and places one will visit enables one to behave in appropriate ways in unfamiliar places.

When traveling in a country as different as Laos is from the United States, it is important to suspend ones own values for a time. Laos is a poor, third-world Communist country. Their food is different from ours as is their standard of living. Laos is also incredibly beautiful and gentle and kind to outsiders. People live all over the world in many different ways, and to judge another culture by the standards of the U.S.A. is not only unfair, it defeats the purpose of travel. At this time, when the world viewpoint of the U.S.A. is so shaky, it is imperative that we travel with soft eyes and peaceful hearts, judging not lest we also be judged.
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