My Laos-y vacation
Friday, April 12, 2013 at 10:01PM OK, it wasn't Laos-y (lousy) at all, but interesting and enjoyable. The last six days in Vientiene, a long bus ride, and finally Luang Prabang gave me just a taste of Laos - tourist Laos anyway.
The guidebooks often describe Laos as "sleepy" and "laid-back." Well, maybe ten years ago. Vientiene is experiencing urban sprawl and serious traffice problem. No McDonalds or Starbucks that I saw, but you can by an iPad or haut couture in a mall - as well as scorpion wiskey in dusty market.
Anyway, a few, eclectic photos and comments - to help me remember mostly....
The bank of the Mekong in Vientiene. I chose my hotel because it had a river view. Silly me. No Internet at the hotel for the three days I was there - the repair guy had to come from Thailand. And you think your service is bad...
Scruffiest dogs - most of them long haired - I'd ever seen.
More temples than you can shake a stick at. I gave up trying to remember their names.
The "Arch de Triumph" of Laos - build with concrete donated by the US to build an airport runway. The sign on it reads "From a closer distance, it looks even less impressive - like a monster in concrete." Somebody slept through marketing class.
Pha That Luang, the national symbol of Laos. Don't know how the tourist got in my picture. My favorite temple name - Wat That.
Took the recommended bike tour in the Lonely Planet guide. "With its wide, flat streets and relatively few cars, Vientiene is a great place to explore by bicycle." Relatively few cars compared to where? (Terrifying, but fun.)
Monks singing prayers around a sacred tree. Moments like this reminded me I wasn't in Kansas anymore.
The 11 hour bus ride from Vientiene started with a breakdown a half hour out of town. As we drove up and down mountain sides, I could only hope the guy with a bucket (literally) of tools had done a good job replacing whatever he was broken in the wheel.
Tough to do from a moving bus with dirty windows, but I tried to capture the beauty of some of the countryside heading north to Luang Prabang.
Fresh veggies were a part of evey meal I had in Laos. And I bet they were locally grown.
Pig in a basket. I hope they let him get a little bigger before they eat him.
Build a better rat trap and they will come. From the ethnic people's cultural center in LP.
Path on the way to enlightenment Pho Si temple on top of a high hill in the city.
They must have missed the sign.
Beerlao is served warm to be drunk over ice. Doesn't take long to acquire a taste.
Part of celebrating Lao New Year, like Songkran in Thailand, is dousing passersby with water. Buckets, garden hoses, squirt guns all work - as did my stern teacher-face to avoid drenching.
Naga head in some temple. No comment, just liked the light.
Tak Bat - the Monks' Alms Procession - commences each morning at about 6. Hundreds silently walk in single file collecting food from residents sitting on the curb. Tough to get a photo without getting in their faces which is considered rude. Actually that's rude about everywhere.
Not as prevalent as in Cambodia, but urchins are out selling trinkets in Laos as well. An appalling number of kids did not seem to be in school.
At Whiskey Village on the Mekong north of Luang Prabang. Streets line with booths selling weavings and liquors. Pure tourist trap.
I can only think he represents the god of tourists.
Scorpion liqueur. It's got a bit of a sting.
Maintenance day at the monastery.
The sun sets over the Mekong in Luang Prabang. I'd like to come back and get out into the country side. I saw just enough to only whet my appetite. I wish I'd visited here even 10 years ago.
Another 96 photos can be found here on my public SmugMug account: http://dougj.smugmug.com/Travel/Laos-13
Reader Comments (4)
Thanks for posting Doug. Always enjoy your travel photos.
Sandra
Thanks, Sandra. Nice to know someone reads these.
Doug
Doug,
What took you to Laos? I have done work there in 2009 and 2010. You can see some of my photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmreesescott/sets. Luang Prabang is one of my favorite cities. I love the people and culture so much! Hope you enjoyed yourself.
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
I was working at a conference in Bangkok so I added a few days on to my stay in SE Asia to visit. I'd been to Cambodia, Malaysia, and Burma before, so I just thought I'd give Laos a taste. I liked it very much. What work did you do there?
Doug