Category: Laos

Three Weeks in Laos

Laos offered much more than I expected. I intended on staying for maybe a week or so, but I stayed longer because I wanted to get off the beaten path. My general impressions: super friendly people, amazing sandwiches, the cutest children I’ve ever seen, amazing scenery, and an overall authentic country. Laos is what Thailand was 20-30 years ago. I hope it stays this way.

Huay Xai

My first destination in Laos was the border town of Huay Xai. Crossing the border was painless, but was an entire day of traveling by bus. Most people only come here to do the Gibbon Experience (a zip-lining and treehouse living activity which I skipped since I did not want to spend $200-300, though it seemed wonderful). Really nothing to see here, except a temple at the top of a hill.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO world heritage site with beautiful French colonial architecture and history. I was thrilled to have my first taste of real bread here, not that terrible packaged bread that tastes like air. Sandwiches! Baguettes! Almond croissants! Thank you French people for your bakeries and cuisine. I loved just walking around the town, going into temples and talking to monks, sitting at the cafes, walking along the Mekong river, and visiting the stunning waterfalls nearby. The Kuang Si waterfalls are absolutely worth the trip, as are the other ones. I’ve never seen a prettier waterfall in my life.

The market here was one of the best I’ve seen, and the all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffets for $2 were a delicious steal. I really miss my sandwich lady.

Nong Khiaw

Just a day before leaving Luang Prabang for Vang Vieng, I learned about this village town in the mountains of northern Laos. A group of people I had befriended were going, so I decided to join their caravan. Not many people go here, as it is off the typical backpacker route. It was so worth it. This little town had some of the most stunning scenery I had ever seen. Nestled between enormous mountains, Nong Khiaw is the perfect place to relax and enjoy nature. It doesn’t have much to do here except explore the villages in the countryside by bike, kayak, and hike. The viewpoint hike at sunset was a highlight of the trip, with a glorious view of the river winding through the mountains. Sidenote, the Indian restaurant here had the best chai I’ve ever had in my life.

On the second day, the six of us took motorcycles and drove through the countryside. Instead of doing an organized, commercialized tour, we found and explored the villages ourselves. This was so much better and gave us a much more authentic experience. We stumbled upon a New Year’s party where the villagers were celebrating with music, drinking, dancing and delicious food. Of course, we joined the festivities. They continued to push Laolao, the local rice whisky, and BeerLao in our hands. One Laotian man was very keen on dancing with me, which consisted of walking in a circle, slowly moving your hands. They would be shocked if they saw us back home. The kids were absolutely fascinated with us, always saying hello and following us around. The children in Laos are the cutest I’ve ever seen. So sweet, so happy.

Phonsavan

I’ve written an entire blog post on the Secret War and the Plain of Jars in Phonsavan, which was what took me to Eastern Laos. Again, another town off the beaten path. The area was not as pretty as Nong Khiaw or Luang Prabang, but it was beautiful in a different way. War torn, dusty, and very industrial. The land reminded me so much of California, I felt like I was transported back home.

There were so few tourists in this town. My friend and I got the chance to play Snooker with the locals, which took a while to learn but we got the hang of it. MUCH harder than pool. It was definitely the local activity everyone participated in, with lots of BeerLao. None of them spoke English, and we spoke zero Lao, so it was fun trying to communicate with them with broken sentences, hand gestures, and Google translate.

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng… beautiful scenery, amazing caves, and adventurous treks, but most travelers don’t come here for that reason. Infamous for drunk tubing down the river, Sakura Bar bro tanks, and happy pizzas, Vang Vieng has developed a huge backpacker party reputation. It’s definitely a problem and I find it very disrespectful. There are signs telling people not to roam around shirtless and in bikinis, but people don’t follow the rules. Many people have died in the past tubing down the river because they got irresponsibly drunk, forcing the town to shut down the majority of the bars. I’ll be honest, I partied one night— it was fun— but I could do no more than that. I didn’t even go tubing, which is the only reason some people even go. Instead I grabbed a bike on two of my days there and explored the outskirts myself. I found a couple caves that were just dazzling and jumped off a tree into an aquamarine lagoon (this was way scarier than I expected, and I stood there paralyzed in fear while a million Chinese tourists were chanting at me to jump). I topped off my stay here with a hot air balloon ride that took me high above the limestone mountains.

Vientiane

The capitol of Laos, but not much to see here. The market and river were nice, but the highlight was really the COPE center. I spent a little more time here just so I could sit and do work, before I headed off to the 4000 islands (which I didn’t end up doing). From here I headed straight to Siem Reap in Cambodia, because the 4000 islands didn’t seem worth the time in the end.

February 21, 2016
The Secret War

We need to talk about Laos.

To not know about the Secret War, which was a crime against humanity, is truly a disservice to the people of Laos. This country is beautiful, full of people who are genuinely happy and grateful for what they have even in the midst of such devastation and pain. Despite what they have dealt with, they still welcome us with warm smiles.

I had no idea what happened in Laos. I thought I knew the history of our most recent American wars fairly in-depth, having taken extremely rigorous human rights, world, and U.S. history courses. But no, I had no idea of the tragedy that happened here for not a few years, but 9 years total.

During the Vietnam War, Laos was also dealing with its own civil war. Secretly, the American CIA was supporting the Royal Lao Government against the Communist group, Pathet Lao. So, the U.S. bombed Laos for nine years— illegally and covertly, since Laos was designated a neutral country by the 1961 Geneva Accord. Regardless, the U.S. bombed Northern Laos to attack the communists and bombed the south to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All of this was kept a secret from not only the American public, but also Congress.

Because of these unjust actions, Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world:

“From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years – making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history.”

For what reason? Like all reckless violence, none really. Their homes were destroyed and villages annihilated. They were sprayed with Agent Orange, a poisonous chemical herbicide. They were forced to hide in caves for years. What’s tragic is the aftermath the people of Laos are now forced to deal with.

A third of the bombs dropped in those nine years went undetonated. As a result, around 80 million bombs still continue to maim and kill the people of Laos everyday.

Laos is contaminated with millions of unexploded ordnance (UXO), which are risky, expensive, and difficult to get rid of. Thousands of people are dying because of them, and many more are injured. It happens randomly and unintentionally. Children find ‘bombies’ that came from cluster bombs littered on the ground, thinking its a ball they can throw around. A farmer or builder will be digging in the ground. Others try to use them for the gunpowder or high quality metal. There goes another life, a lost arm or leg, someone’s eyesight. These people are in constant threat of being blown up.

Imagine being a parent who is fearful for their child’s life all the time when they simply go outside to play.

The only reason I learned about all of this was because I wanted to visit the Plain of Jars, in the east of Laos. The Plain of Jars is like an Asian stonehenge: ancient megalithic stone figures all over the place, but no one knows where they came from, who made them, and why. They are thought to be funeral urns, as human bones have been found in a few. Some of them were taller than me. Some of them had lids. It was cool to walk around (some) of the plains…

I say some because it’s not safe to just walk around anywhere. The Plain of Jars also happens to be located in the area of Laos with the highest concentration of bombs. Some of the jars are destroyed and in pieces because of the bombs. Enormous bomb craters are everywhere. Remnants of war are everywhere: Russian tanks, makeshift uses of bombs as planets, spoons made from the metal. Bombs are a part of life here in Laos.

There are efforts to get rid of the bombs and help the victims. A non-profit organization, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) works extensively in Laos to clear the land of UXOs, but the process is slow and dangerous. It will take decades to get rid of all the bombs. You can see areas that have been marked clear with stone plaques on the ground with MAG initials. At one point my friend and I wandered off the designated areas to find more jars. Walking back, I was looking at my feet the entire time. I’ll admit, I was a little afraid to be walking around in uncleared areas. I can’t imagine living in fear like that all the time.

In Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, I visited the COPE center. COPE is another non-profit created to provide UXO survivors with support, providing rehabilitation services and prosthetics. While I was there, my heart felt so heavy. It was amazing to learn about so many stories of people with debilitating injuries who are managing to rebuild their lives with the help of COPE.

Just recently I’ve learned that an international treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, was created to ban the use of cluster bombs. More than 100 countries have signed or ratified the treaty since its inception in 2008.

One of the countries that still refuses to sign or ratify the treaty? The United States.

It’s unfortunate that most people who visit Laos never learn this dark history. Most travelers visit the UNESCO world heritage site, Luang Prabang and the backpacker party paradise, Vang Vieng. But there’s so much more to Laos than those two destinations. I’m very glad I made it out to Phonsavan, because it was worth the extra long bus rides to see the real Laos—not through a pair of rose-colored glasses. I only hope one day Laos is able to fully recover from the ravages of war.

February 19, 2016