A few days in Laos, many years ago

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Ray.Charles
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A few days in Laos, many years ago

Post by Ray.Charles » September 26, 2014, 9:23 pm

I thought about putting this article in 35 Days in Laos thread started by Laan Yaa Mo. I continue to be a follower of that thread; it is enjoyable reading. Then I thought that a separate thread is perhaps more appropriate here.
A few years before I settled in Udon around 2008, I spent a few days travelling in Laos. I wrote to my daughter about the trip; I have copied here some texts from my mail to her.

Tonight I am in Udon Thani, a provincial town in northeastern Thailand. In the evening I went to a bar. At one-o-clock that night, Thai boys and girls and I were watching England vs. Portugal on TV. At every turn of fortune for either team, the boys and the girls would break out into dance moves, quite impartially. That was priceless.
I have now traveled to Nong Khai by bus, and staying at a hotel overlooking the Mekong River. From my balcony, I can see Laos across the river; I expect to cross over to Laos in a few days.
I have now I crossed the Mekong river bridge from Nong Khai in Thailand to Laos. A little bit up the road, I got to Vientiane, the capital; I walked the riverfront for about an hour. Beer Lao is very good; you just sit at a riverside shack and drink, watching the sunset across the river on the Thailand side. Deep fried cricket was on the menu, and from the vendors, you could also get deep fried roaches, scorpions, and little snakes. I had never seen a smaller U.S. embassy with hardly any security.
Flew to Luang Prabang by Lao Airlines; yes, there is one. Luang Prabang is a world heritage city; I do not know what that means, but it is a cute place. Again there is that riverfront to explore, and by now I have seen about a thousand Wats, temple for you.
I tried to fly to Chiang Mai in Thailand, nothing there for a week, and there was no assurance of that either. I settled for a boat going upriver on the Mekong to Huay Xai in Laos to cross over to Chiang Khong, Thailand. There were slow boats, and there were speed boats. I read that the speed boats topple over regularly, and was very, very noisy; I took the slow boat. After traveling on the boat from Luang Prabang for 10 hours, I booked for the night at a village guest house for $4. They did not tell me that they would turn the lights off at 10-00 p.m. They did that because their only source of electricity was a generator run by diesel brought by boat. Had I known that I would have limited my beer intake that evening. Try to find the communal bathroom in a new place in complete darkness.
But there was a little moonlight, and a balcony, and the Mekong river below it. Emptying my bladder into the river below was interesting. More interesting while emptying my bladder in the dark was to hear clear American voice. I tuned into that voice, and realized that it was the popular TV show ‘Friends’; received via satellite, I assumed, and played with power from the diesel generator. Hard to forget that.
Anyway, the next day another 10 hours on the boat to reach Huay Xai, still on the Laos side. It was too late to cross back to Thailand because immigration closed at 6-00 p.m.
In the morning, crossed over by a small boat to Chiang Khong on the Thai side, and then took a bus to Chiang Rai, where I am now.
A side note
Perhaps because of my ethnicity, I found the temples and the Buddha images more absorbing than perhaps someone brought up in a western culture would. My family was not religious, but I was exposed to all that while growing up. The names were sometimes distorted but I could make out the origin. Perhaps it helped that I studied Sanskrit for two years as a child.
Indian culture stopped in eastern Laos at the mountains separating that area from Vietnam. I understand that Vietnamese culture is closer to the Chinese. Culture transfusion takes a lot of migration, but religion got taken across the mountains all the way to Japan.



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Laan Yaa Mo
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A few days in Laos, many years ago

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » September 26, 2014, 10:10 pm

Very interesting and enjoyable read, thanks.

Laos would have been even more primitive in your time compared to my recent trip. I plan to go to Phongsali next year, and I have heard that there is no electricity at night. I might not relish the thought, but I am willing to experience it.

By the way, there is Theravada Buddhism in the south of Vietnam, but as you mention most of Vietnamese culture has been influenced more by China although there are a large number of Catholics too.
You only pass through this life once, you don't come back for an encore.

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GT93
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A few days in Laos, many years ago

Post by GT93 » September 27, 2014, 6:39 am

Yes, a good read. I spent 7 days in Laos in 1998 and it was I think the best holiday I ever had. I have very fond memories of Laos. I always visit Nong Khai on my now annual trips to Udon. I love Nong Khai.
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