LOW DOWN ON LAOS

Sunday, May 24th @ 17:52

Kevin

Lan Xang, or “Land of a Million Elephants”, as it was named by warlord Fa Ngum in the 14th century, later became known as Laos (with a silent “s”) in the 18th century when the French negotiated with Siam for its ownership and renamed it. Unlike much of Asia, the population of Laos is a mere 6.5 million people, or equal to the size of a large Western city. Laos is a landlocked nation surrounded on all sides by its neighbors, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.
In 1953, France granted Laos full sovereignty and just in time for a civil war to begin brewing between the Communist supported Pathet Lao and the Democratic (US) supported Royal Lao. From 1965 to 1973 the US, in an attempt to counter the presence of North Vietnamese forces, devastated east and northeast Laos with constant carpet bombing. This is often referred to as the Secret War. When the US withdrew in 1973, the country was in shambles, domestic support against democracy and in favor of the communist increased, the civil war ended and the People's Democratic Republic was born. It was only recently, within the last decade or so, that Laos reopened its tightly sealed borders and began allowing a steady stream of tourists to mount a new type of invasion. This country, like most of its Southeast Asian neighbors, is primarily Buddhist, and of the Theravada tradition.










We arrived in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, in the early evening of Friday, May 15th, with just enough time to wait for the rain to stop, grab some cash and have dinner by the shore of the Mekong river. Our guest house, though on the main strip, was nothing special and was simply chosen because of its proximity and the fact that we did not feel much like shopping around in the heavy rains resulting from the start of the monsoon season in this part of the world. On our first full day we attempted to beat the afternoon rains by starting early. As is our most recent tradition, the day begins with a breakfast which includes the most majestic coffee mixed with sweet condensed milk and ice and a French inspired, and very tasty, baguette in some form of a sandwich. This particular day, we visited a historic wooden wat (temple) known as Ha Pha Kaew, followed by the most amazing and awe inspiring Wat Si Saket, the oldest wat in Vientiane, built by King Anounvong in 1818, which contains over 10,000 statues of the Buddha ranging from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Then on to Patuxai, Vientiane's equivalent to the Arc de Triomphe, where we climbed to the top for a view of the city, and surprisingly enough did some souvenir shopping on of its interior chambers. Last was Pha That Luang, a brilliant golden stupa that is the national symbol of sovereignty and the Buddhist religion. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived it was closed and we could not enter, but it is just as impressive from outside the low perimeter wall.

The following day was another round of sightseeing with a 25km bus ride to the outskirts of the city to a place called Xieng Khuan, better known as Buddha Park. Upon arrival and inspection, we found this grassy field alongside the Mekong river with towering sculptures akin to Coral Castle, for those of you who have been there and have been fortunate enough to marvel at its grandeur! Built in 1958 by an eccentric yogi/priest/shaman, known as Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, Xieng Khuan (or spirit world) contains several concrete statues of Hindu and Buddhist deities as well as one very odd egg shaped structure that you can enter to view several floors of diorama scenes of...well, I am not really sure. The following day, Monday, turned out to be all business. Hearing conflicting information regarding the status of visa requirements for the “unofficial” land crossing into Cambodia, we decided to visit its embassy early in the morning and inquire with those in the know. As it turned out, we were able to fill out a visa application on the spot and returned later that day to pick up our now slightly heavier passports containing our approved single entry visas into the Kingdom of Cambodia. There was also just enough time to upload the most recent post, check emails and spend some quality time in the “air conditioned” post office writing out and mailing post cards, if you did not yet get one check your mail box, before catching a tuk-tuk to a mini-bus, a mini-bus to a large sleeper bus, a large sleeper bus to a VIP bus, a VIP bus to a short walk, a short walk to a long tail boat, a long tail boat to the island of Don Det, in the southern tip of Laos known as Si Phan Don, or the Four Thousand Islands and then a very long and hot 2.5km walk, with backpacks in tow, to the final resting spot of Don Khon Island.







Originally, we expected to spend a week in this area. However, after four days, two of sightseeing on bikes and two doing absolutely nothing but soaking in the placid scenery and sound of the river, we decided to move on. Not only would this get us into Cambodia a bit faster, it would also help us to make up a few days to tack on to the next paradise location that we may encounter. The people of the island were great and life there was very similar to island life anywhere, lots of fishing, sleeping, drinking, reading and relaxing, primarily in the two hammocks provided on our bungalow's cantilevered balcony. Four days turned out to be plenty of time for lazing around, seeing several waterfalls, some sandy beaches, a few hikes around the river banks and one rain soaked bicycle ride that had us taking cover in an abandoned school house and sharing mangoes and the magic of a combination bike lock with some of the local kids. A beautiful place, a fantastic experience and a chance to connect with people of a country that are fighting to preserve their culture, protect their environment and maintain balance in a world whose not so distant past has been riddled with death and destruction.