Vientiane, the capital city of Laos

We were picked up early by a tuk tuk to take us to the bus station to catch our VIP bus to Vietiane, a supposedly 10 hour trip over the mountains and then south. The bus was quite large with comfortable seating which proved to be useful as we began our journey. We quickly exited the river valley and started our five hour drive through the mountains in one of our most slow moving and winding bus trips we have ever taken. It wasn't long before we could hear people starting to vomit and moan as we swayed around corners and everyone hung on! 

Then the back tires started to smoke and the bus would pull over where they could find water and spray down the tires...not very comforting on high mountain passes!

However the scenery was stunning...

There were times though we were both concerned we were not going to make it to our destination as even when we got through the mountains and on the straight road it was very narrow with stretches of dirt road, but over 11 hours later we rolled into the bus station and joined other travelers for a 10 km ride into the city. I think we were all relieved to be there!

As we reached the city centre we were quite surprised to see how modern and bright it looked...

This Namphou Fountain in the Center of an entertainment district on one of the main streets. 

 

It seems there were bright lights everywhere and a lot of people on the go, though we were so tired we found our guesthouse, something to eat, in this case pizza and went to bed.

We were pleased to see that our guesthouse was only a 5 min walk to most everywhere so the next morning fueled by a good breakfast served by the owner of the guesthouse we were ready to go for the day. The owner, a Malaysian woman who was visiting from Penang was very interesting as she told us about her life and her decision to invest in Laos. As we have already noticed Laos is one of the most expensive countries we have visited and she confirmed this when she told us she spent over 1 million US dollars to buy her building four years ago and that was before renovations.

The top tourist attraction in Vietiane is COPE, Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise, which works to ensure that people with physical disabilities have local, free access to a quality, nationally-managed rehabilitation service.  To do this in a sustainable manner COPE’s strategy has been to partner long term with the Government of Laos' (GOL) Center for Medical Rehabilitation (CMR) through which all Government’s physical rehabilitation work, excluding military personnel, takes place. 

An art installation built from scrap metal left in the fields after the bombings.

Here is where we learned more about the effect of the bombing on Laos as this organization works to provide treatment to the many victims who suffer when the bombies explode. It is estimated that at least one person a day is killed from this. There are many more people who are seriously injured and require ongoing treatment. At this Center we learned more of the victim's stories and the impact on their families and villages. There were powerful displays and documentaries which we took time to listen to and try to understand the situation here. To see and hear how a farmer in the field is maimed and blinded so he can no longer care for his family, to the little boys who hunt for scrap metal and are killed while doing it, to the villagers who need to expand their fields so they can feed their families but they are covered with bombs. It was heartbreaking to think that indiscriminate bombing in the 1960s have such a long lasting effect on one of the poorest countries in the world.

The red areas on the map show the greatest concentration of bombs. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years.

Another installation built from a cluster bomb and it's contents.

Here they make a lot of prosthetics, but there is much more work that needs to be done...

After that sobering visit we took to walking around to explore the city which has a population of approximately 200,00 and discovered it has a lot of energy and seems to be a city that is progressing. There are massive, new malls that are being built with Chinese money...

Huge construction projects...

This will be a new World Trade Center where the country hopes to attract international business and conferences.

Lots of street art...

Even Anna and Elsa under the palm trees...

It is also obvious that the French cultural influence survivies in the city, the legacy of the colonial period which lasted from the late 19th century until the 1950s. It can be seen in the Royal Palace built for a former French governor...

 

The wide boulevards built by the French...

And a Arc d' Triumph...

The National Cultural Centre, they have a symphony here...

There are also lots of different cuisines to try...

Parisian style cafes...

And of course on every corner, fresh baguettes...

We even found a Diary Queen, our first ice cream in three months! I look longingly at the homemade ice cream on the street stalls with very interestingly favours but always pass on them. We both enjoyed our chocolate covered cone!

Here are some street scenes...

As we were stopped for a snack this shopkeeper was having a manicure and pedicure done by a lady who rides around with her supplies on her bicycle.

There are monks everywhere...

Always ladies on the street selling their goods...

And the large Night Market which was really more for locals, but interesting to sit and watch the people go by...

The streets were bustling at night...

There are also lots of temples and stupas here like the Black Stupa which reportedly was once covered with gold leaf...

Entrance to one of the temples...

Some street scenes...

However we did not have enough time to see much here as I listened to people say there wasn't much to do and see here but we disagree and wish we had booked a couple more nights. We also lost a day as Don came down with gastro here. Again, hopefully this will be the only bout for both of us!

Northern Laos has been wonderful from the trip on the boat to Luang Prabang, a wonderful stay there and now Vietinane. A lot of travellers stay in the North and never venture South but we are going tomorrow on the overnight bus, should be another adventure!

Luang Prabang, Laos

After our slow boat down the Mekong River we spent a few days in our next destination, Luang Prabang which was a very relaxing stop. This town of  50,000 is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Kham which makes for beautiful views as we strolled along...

There are a number of bamboo footbridges across the river and I caught some monks walking across to the temple on the other side.

There are lots of places to eat along the river as well so we stopped for one of my favourite treats, spring rolls, these were made of bamboo and quite crispy!

Enjoying the view...

Since the town is located in a valley it is also surrounded by many hills so it is a lovely setting everywhere we looked...

Laos has a strong French influence since it was ruled by France on and off since the 1700s before it was declared an independent country. The influences can be seen everywhere even in the schools which are bilingual, Lao and French.

Also in the architecture...

And lots of French cafes...

Every little alleyway and street demanded a picture...

This is the Main Street...

So It is easy to see why this is one of the most visited towns in Lao and has a fair number of expats living and working here mostly in the tourist industry. However it stills retains the Lao culture with lots of places for tourists to eat, stay and visit. 

Lao is a Communist country but still has a king, the Lao and Communist flags fly side by side...

The Royal Palace...

The throne room...

In order to get a good view we climbed up the mountain in the Center of town...

It was hazy as is a lot of places in SE Asia because of the burning of the forests, here they call it "Burmese Fog".

We had a nice guesthouse owned by an American and his Lao wife and it was well located near the Center of town..

It was right by the Morning market, though it was noisy early when right outside our windows they start to cut up the meat to sell in the market. People here start early and work hard for very little.

The produce here is unbelievably fresh...

They even sell puppies....

This lady was getting her soup ready to sell...

There is also a Night Market every night which is one of the largest we seen thus far on our travels and is filled with goods for tourists not the locals...

So many beatiful textiles...

We did try the food at the market which was served buffet style, fill up your bowl for 2 dollars. We didn't really know everything we were eating, but some of it tasted good!

We also went out for Lao BBQ with our new friends that we had met on the boat. They open up a hole in the table and put in a bucket with charcoal...

Then a metal container is put on top, filled with broth for the veggies and chillies to cook and the strips of meat are grilled on top. All of this is then eaten in a bowl like a soup, it was very flavourful and enjoyed by all!

Also thanks to my friend, Sharon for these two pictures since after my motorbike accident my camera's flash no longer works... hoping it lasts until the end of the trip!

Here in Luang Prabang we walked, stopped, ate, drank and generally relaxed but we did take the opportunity to visit the OXO Visitor's Center which outlines one of the greatest challenges that Laos faces and that is how the unexploded bombs that were dropped in the Vietnam war are dealt with.

Many of us may not know that Laos per capita is the most heavily bombed country in the world and it was never officially in the war! The US government bombed this country in secret for years as it tried to stop the Vietnamese from using the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It also indiscriminately unloaded excess bombs over the countryside before returning to base! Now up to 30% of these cluster bombs lie in the fields of Laos still waiting to explode!

The cluster bombs were filled with what the Laos people called bombies, small bombs that were inside the larger bomb, up to 400 that scattered over a wide area as the larger bombs opened. These small bombies are different shapes and are now buried in the ground all over the country.

Small children pick them up thinking they are toys, farmers strike them when they are digging in their fields or they explode when villagers light fires on the ground. The results are devastating and lead to death or life changing injuries!

This UN supported organization funded by the Austrailan government with help from others works with Lao Nationals to find and clear the fields so life can return to normal for the people of Laos, though  even after years of work only a fraction of the land has been cleared. This is such a sad and disturbing story!

My final day here was spent inside as I dealt with my first bout of gastro on this trip...don't know what caused it, might have been the 2 for 1 Lao cocktails I shared with Sarah called " tomorrow never comes" or the wild buffalo meat or just my body saying you need to slow down and rebalance your system! Unfortunately that meant we never got out of town to see the many wonderful waterfalls, I didn't get my earrings at the Night Market or my Spainish tapas we were going to try on our last night, but I had a good rest! And Don had a day to explore the town on his own which I think he very much appreciated some solo time, so all is good!

Luang Prabang was one of our favourite places so far in all of our trip and we were happy to have spent four days here and could have been longer for sure, but the next day means we are moving on to the capital of Laos, the city of Vietiane. Laos is a big country with poor infrastructure so we are not looking forward to the 12 hour bus trip.