uch of Northern Laos was like this for us. We stayed in bigger villages and ventured out to smaller ones making friends along the way. One day we went caving and passed through a few villages on the way. As we were on our return trip, we were corralled with a few other tourists into the yard of a family. There were about 20 villagers there, and the mood was festive. An old skinny man with few teeth appeared carrying a drum that rivalled him in size. As he began to pound out a beat, the villagers broke into song each taking a foreigner as a dance partner. (The lady who was paired up with Dave could only giggle about cutting a rug with someone twice her size.) Soon, Lao Lao, the local whisky, was passed out, and someone told us it was the village's New Year celebration. After a few more songs, all foreigners departed in mass, listening to the drumbeat fade, heading towards home.
illage life is truly interesting, but can be taxing on a Westerner with its spartan accommodations, little to no palatable food, electrical outages, and rats. As a beautiful respite to most of these things, Laos has a traditional tourist attraction - the historical city of Luang Prabang. A sleepy town with too many temples and monasteries to count, it's easy to spend a week temple hopping and people watching. Formerly a French colonial town, Luang Prabang still has some of the picturesque and charming French style buildings left behind. Now local shops or international restaurants, these buildings offer some very quaint atmosphere and it seems there is something for everyone here. French bread never found the door and is part of a Lao sandwich, the streetside breakfast for Luang Prabang'er's "on the go". Even Starbuck's seems to have taken clues from this city where iced coffees are sold on street corners in the Laotian style commuter mug, a bag with a straw and a rubberband for a handle.
he longer we stayed, it seemed the friendlier people became recognizing us from one day to the next. Dave had a favorite Lao sandwich lady, and we seemed to visit a certain spring roll lady everyday. Jill became so well acquainted with some Hmong ladies who sold their embroidery in town, that they took to stroking her arms and face. When she made one of them laugh, they'd occasionally slap her chest. (That took awhile for her to get used to!)
ur final destination was the big city capital, Vientiane. It was here that we discovered a few things about Laos as a whole. Except for Vientiane, Laos was cheap! One week in the North, we spent $66 total for two people! Budget accomodation alone for one week in Vientiane costs more than that. It seems this disparity in the standard of living is something else we've seen in these developing nations. Corruption in government and business has made a few rich and left the rest poor. Rumors of foreign-donated medical supplies being sold on the black market for top dollar allow you to see how life has really changed for some, and why it hasn't changed for others. We didn't stay long in Vientiane. It was the only city in Laos where U.S. Dollars were used (or quoted) more often than the national currency.
uch of Northern Laos was like this for us. We stayed in bigger villages and ventured out to smaller ones making friends along the way. One day we went caving and passed through a few villages on the way. As we were on our return trip, we were corralled with a few other tourists into the yard of a family. There were about 20 villagers there, and the mood was festive. An old skinny man with few teeth appeared carrying a drum that rivalled him in size. As he began to pound out a beat, the villagers broke into song each taking a foreigner as a dance partner. (The lady who was paired up with Dave could only giggle about cutting a rug with someone twice her size.) Soon, Lao Lao, the local whisky, was passed out, and someone told us it was the village's New Year celebration. After a few more songs, all foreigners departed in mass, listening to the drumbeat fade, heading towards home.
illage life is truly interesting, but can be taxing on a Westerner with its spartan accommodations, little to no palatable food, electrical outages, and rats. As a beautiful respite to most of these things, Laos has a traditional tourist attraction - the historical city of Luang Prabang. A sleepy town with too many temples and monasteries to count, it's easy to spend a week temple hopping and people watching. Formerly a French colonial town, Luang Prabang still has some of the picturesque and charming French style buildings left behind. Now local shops or international restaurants, these buildings offer some very quaint atmosphere and it seems there is something for everyone here. French bread never found the door and is part of a Lao sandwich, the streetside breakfast for Luang Prabang'er's "on the go". Even Starbuck's seems to have taken clues from this city where iced coffees are sold on street corners in the Laotian style commuter mug, a bag with a straw and a rubberband for a handle.
he longer we stayed, it seemed the friendlier people became recognizing us from one day to the next. Dave had a favorite Lao sandwich lady, and we seemed to visit a certain spring roll lady everyday. Jill became so well acquainted with some Hmong ladies who sold their embroidery in town, that they took to stroking her arms and face. When she made one of them laugh, they'd occasionally slap her chest. (That took awhile for her to get used to!)
ur final destination was the big city capital, Vientiane. It was here that we discovered a few things about Laos as a whole. Except for Vientiane, Laos was cheap! One week in the North, we spent $66 total for two people! Budget accomodation alone for one week in Vientiane costs more than that. It seems this disparity in the standard of living is something else we've seen in these developing nations. Corruption in government and business has made a few rich and left the rest poor. Rumors of foreign-donated medical supplies being sold on the black market for top dollar allow you to see how life has really changed for some, and why it hasn't changed for others. We didn't stay long in Vientiane. It was the only city in Laos where U.S. Dollars were used (or quoted) more often than the national currency.
