Laos, the Real Thing

Two days in Vientiane was sufficient to see that that there wasn't much to see. It's the current capital, but not nearly as beautiful as Luang Prabang, and much quieter (perhaps because we were there on Jan 1st!). Luckily, we found Le centre culturel francais stocked with Asterix, 'Tit Oeuf and Tintin, and ahem, some current affairs magazines and newspapers. Julien was in absolute heaven, they had to throw him out at closing time. He would have stayed an entire week, suddenly, this was the best city Laos! How wonderful to see him so excited about having the chance to read.

The second half of our trip took us from Vientiane all the way to south, and allowed us to discover the rural side of the country (which does, after all, represent the majority, since 80% of the population still lives in villages) In Phu Kao Khuay Park we did a three day trek, which included one night sleeping in a watch tower (desperately) waiting for wild elephants to come to the salt lick (they never showed up) and one night sleeping (in our mosquito nets) on a dried up riverbed, where our guide assured us the elephants would not come, since they only go where there is water. We did however see lots of elephant tracks, trampled bamboo plants, and poop, so we know they do actually live in this park. We also spent two days in Ban Na, a a beautiful village on stilts just next to the park, where we did a homestay. This means you sleep in a family's home and they provide you with meals, similar to what they would eat, although they never actually ate with us. They would serve us first, and then eat after we had finished. After four days of sticky rice and vegetables for breakfast, lunch and supper, with an occasional omelet, the reality of life in rural Loas was starting to hit us. (And to think we complain when we have to eat the same thing two nights in a row!) The village of Ban Na is entirely dedicated to the production of bamboo baskets for steaming sticky rice, apparently supplying baskets to most of the country. One afternoon we just plunked ourselves down beside a group of women and got an impromptu lesson in basketweaving, Julien and the girls got the hang of it quite quickly, but we never got as fast as the locals.

Next stop, Ban Kam Lo where we took a boat through a 7 km long cave, getting in and out of the boat in the shallow spots and wading through the water. The tunnel is entirely unlit (except for one spot with incredible stalagtites and stalagmites), so it's kind of spooky, you can barely see the roof in some places, it is so high. We did another homestay in this village with a highschool history teacher and his wife. Unfortunately, their English was quite limited and my Lao extremely limited, so the conversation was very basic. Still, we managed to talk about our families, and share a bit about our respective cultures. The night we slept there was extremely cold, the wind was howling, I thought for sure the house, a bamboo hut on stilts, full of gaps, was going to collapse, but it stayed up despite the elements. I guess it was more solid than it looked!

It is here we met another family traveling around the world, and yes, more Canadians! A family of six - wow, was I impressed. (A special hello to the McConnery family if you are reading this) We spent an afternoon together sharing travel stories, and hooked up again a few days later in a small town a bit further south called Pakse, where we spent another day visiting What Phu Champasak, an ancient Kmer religious complex, kind of a mini Ankhor Wat. Meeting this family (with a teenage girl Noemi's age and three boys, 8, 10 and 13) was a true blessing, since Julien got to spend the day amidst a bunch of boring old ruins playing with boys his own age, instead of walking around a bunch of boring old ruins with his family! An entirely different experience! The next day our paths again went separate ways, and we were quite sad to say good bye to our new friends.

Finally, we stayed a few nights on the Bolaven Plateau, where they grow Lao coffee. And boy is it good. After months of Nescafe and chai, we were thrilled to taste the freshest coffee in the country. We actually stayed in a guesthouse run by a family who has a coffee plantation, so we got help out with some picking. Of course, all of it is done by hand, mostly by young girls, and from my personal experience (a whole two hours), I can assure you it is hard work! After picking, the beans are spread out on the ground to dry for a month and a half, raked regularly, and then roasted in a small fire heated, hand turned roasting oven. This was very exciting for me, as I had never seen coffee plants before (what a sheltered life I have led). Now I will really appreciate my coffee (as well as my rice!).