Laos: a land of a million elephants

My experiences in Laos were incredible, unexpectedly so: a mix of old and new, traditional but creeping slowly into modernity, extremely poor and developing yet content and satisfied. I know people have told me how charming and warm the people are and how calm the energy is but I couldn’t really understand it until I was there in person. Let me try to walk you through it in my eyes. 

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO world heritage site so the majority of the buildings are intact and old European looking. Absolutely gorgeous! The old town sits between two rivers; the Mekong and the Nam Khan. These rivers are a huge part of life here. And get this fun fact: there are only TWO car accessible bridges that cross the rivers. TWO. As in, everything is done by long boats and ferry boats. How crazy is that! But also adds to the magic of the city because you don’t see lots of traffic. You do get to see monks cross a very narrow some scary bamboo bridges. So cool.

Our guide for the week was a friend of our closest family friends, named Phet. He was the kindest, sweetest, nicest man. Willing to bend over backwards for us and also super knowledgeable and eager to share what he knows about his country.

   The old town itself is such an interesting mix. Stuck in between every French style alleyway and crevice is a wat. There are over 30 wats in the city. You turn the corner, and there is a new one, more beautiful than the one on the street before. I’ve never seen religion and culture so integrated into a community like this. In fact, before it became a touristy thing to do, the community was responsible for giving alms (aka food) to the monks and novices every morning. There are hundreds of novice monks at the various wats.  We learned that for many boys, entering the monastery as a novice is a great way to get proper education, and many leave at ages 18 or 19.  We were able to see the alms giving ourselves and participate. At first I felt like I was part of a giant tourist trap; a horrible commercialization of something so sacred and beautiful, but once they started to come, it was really very moving to offer some sticky rice to these adorable boys!! It didn’t feel like exploitation but like I was part of the community.

Being with my mother of course meant shopping! And we visited the night market many times. What I loved about this night market was how calm it was. Unlike Bangkok, no one was pushy, no one tried to get us to buy anything, and it was a generally nice place to walk around. And elephant slippers? yes please!

We visited the former palace, which is now a museum. Until recently there was still a royal family in Laos and people honor the palace with reverence. After taking our shoes off, we were guided around by Phet, learning about all the international government officials over the years who have visited this palace, I had no idea!- a simple, yet elegant place, hardly ornate but still felt regal. I learned a lot about Laotian history and it saddens me to know that the country’s politics are still so messy. China puts pressure on it form the north and the government allows China to build the highway and the infrastructure, as long as the Chinese can pass the borders easily and do their business (even the airport was built by China!).  I can only hope that Laos can get back on its feet in the future and gain more independence.

On a different day, we got to enjoy the natural beauty of Laos and went to a waterfall. Not just any waterfall. A waterfall unlike one I’ve ever seen. The water was so turquoise I felt like I was at Disney World in a fake setting. I can only show you photographs in the hope that you appreciate it as much as I did. We also rode some Asian elephants at a conservation center since there are less than 1,000 elephants in a country where there used to be millions. Needless to say ), it was not my favorite moment. I was so carsick! But the elephants were cute and the location was gorgeous. As were my parents.

On our last night, we had a delicious dinner with our guide and his wife. The nicest people, they just oozed kindness and happiness, I found in them a true kindness, unaffected by technology, by modernity, and by futile things I always thought I couldn’t live without. There was true warmth that I have never experienced elsewhere. I hope that Laos does not lose its sense of self as the world becomes increasingly smaller. It is truly a special place and I’m so glad I was able to visit with my family so we could appreciate it together.

also have i mentioned the iced coffee in a bag??? southeast asia is the best!