So I'm way behind and very eager to get onto India so I'm going to try to sum up Laos in one or two posts (well, I'll try - I can be a bit verbose at times.)
If I had to describe Laos in one word it would be LAZY. Now, there are good things and bad things about being a lazy country: you don't feel the need to rush anywhere or do anything, which is the good thing. And the bad thing, no one is going to rush to go anywhere or do anything for you. The good and the bad. Take it or leave it.
There was no sense of customer service anywhere at anytime. I had a bit of a hard time with this (I know it's part of the experience) - maybe it's my age or certain expectations or remember my book/movie idea? The Princess Backpacker? That could be it too. While I really would never refer to myself as a princess, nor call myself a true backpacker (and I'm totally ok with this now) I think the title has a nice ring to it. One thing I've learned for about myself is that I don't need to stay in crappy hostels or hotels in order to get the real feel of a place. I need a good, clean and bug-free night's sleep : )
Okay, back to Laos...
I flew from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Luang Prabang, Laos. Luang Prabang is in the northern part of Laos and the temperature was a bit cooler (Thank God!) but it was very hazy due to burning of the rice fields and the common practice of slash and burn. So the views and scenery were far from spectacular being that they were engulfed is a haze. Some days were better than others.
It’s really charming and you can really see the French colonial influence here, which I love! Old lightly coloured buildings with wooden shutters we try so hard to replicate by antiquing. The first day I did the Lonely Planet’s walking tour around the city and its many temples.
I met a monk named Lan who invited me into see the temple where he pratices and lives. He spent about 20 minutes with me telling me about how he became a monk and that he used to be a cooking instructor at Tum Tum Chen cooking school and there’s even a picture of him in the “Stay another day” Luang Prabang brochure. I ended up taking a cooking class here where I learned how to make a very tasty crispy rice salad! Very yummy.
I met two sweet girls from Israel, Noa and Shani. I ended up hanging out with them for a couple of days exploring the waterfall and the local handicraft villages. We climbed to the top of the waterfall and swam in some of the pools of fresh blue water. We met a bunch of middle-aged women from Israel who shared some treats from Israel with us. (Noa and Shani taught me that the red Teva-like sandals were the dead give-away they were from Israel... keep an eye out for them when traveling, you’ll see.) The handicraft villagaes – a.k.a. tourist traps were interesting but were essentially small stores.
Noa and Shani told me about a three day weaving course they did at a place called Ok Top Pop (East meets West) a traditional weaving company that is owned by a local and foreigner, hence the name. It sounded cool and I felt the need to learn something so I thought I’d give it a go... my three day course turned into seven days of solid weaving! While a little back-breaking, the riverfront setting was relaxing a beautiful. And the weaving itselft felt a bit theraputic with the rhythm I got into. I ate lunch every day with the staff and weavers and had a 20 minute nap afterwards. I’m really digging siesta and think Western countries really need to adopt this. It’s brilliant. I’m not sure how I’m going to cope when I’m back home and back to work without my afternoon nap. (Pictures: me on the loom and two of the four scarves I made.)
My last morning I got up early to watch the Giving of the Alms ceremony, where monks walk around the city early in the morning collecting food from locals (and foreigners) for their day. Monks don’t earn any money so they rely on this tradition for their food. It’s fascinating to see the locals line the streets at 5:30am and watch the procession of monks down the streets in their saffron coloured robes. Sadly, it’s also becoming a tourist attraction and disrespectful tourists get in their faces snapping flash photography, complaining that the monks are moving too fast to get a good shot. For real.
I was a little sad to leave Luang Prabang as I was getting into a nice routine: getting up early and grabbing breakfast at Joma Cafe, weaving, watching a movie and then going to bed. But it was time to move on.
Some other highlights:
Finding Utopia... last day there I rented a bike and rode around the city. This is when I found Utopia. A restaurant/bar that overlooked the river. Open air with different platforms for lounging around.
Saw a Laos fashion show complete with Laos hip hop dancers to celebrate Earth day at Hive Bar (owned by a French Canadian). They had fire puppets and signs lit up by flames – they were doused with gasoline and lit on fire – way to celebrate Earth day! Supposedly there was supposed to be a live band but some of the members didn’t show up. “Typical Laos” the owner said.
More soon...
xoxo
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