Kia Kaha KL: Laos

Laos was my final South East Asian frontier. It was the one country in this region I had wanted to visit but had not gotten to. What appealed to me prior to visiting was its isolation. This is a country of less than 6 million and its Thai and Vietnam neighbours number around 150 million combined. The isolation of Laos which appeals to tourists like me is a huge disadvantage to the Laotians in terms of following the consumer dream. There is little there that the West wants. Except a holiday to get away from it all. And that is just what we got. Very quiet. Very beautiful.

We flew into Vientiane, a city described by some as the most laid back capitol in the world. I would have to agree, although Windhoek, Namibia would challenge closely. It sits beside the Mekong River and has no must see sites but is a very welcome relief from the busyness of KL. We got our first taste of Laotian food with the compulsory sticky rice included. More on the food later.

We spent a couple of days in the capitol walking the streets, enjoying being able to walk around without threat to life and limb from cars and also the cooler temperature. We spent some time at the Settha Palace Hotel. We were not well heeled enough to stay at this fine looking establishment, however we had lunch and lounged by the pool, making an excellent imitation of guests. We visited the national museum which was brilliant for its rusticness. Most of the exhibits resembled a school project. It makes sense for a country to put its money into development of the country rather than a museum I guess. The story of Laos was told and it was a reminder that the country remains the Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR). The authorities well remember the horrific bombing that occurred here during the Vietnam war by the ‘American Imperialists’ and it is clear that the French have not been entirely forgiven for the misdeeds during their tenure either.

Luang Prabang is the jewel in the crown of Laos as far as main stream tourism goes and we headed there via a 40 minute white knuckle Air Lao flight. This is a gorgeous little part of the world which retains a mix of French colonial and local flavour. And speaking of flavours, the food! I love French food and there was no shortage of this. Our favourite was the Coconut Garden where we enjoyed some superb Lao-French fusion food. Laap is the most well known of the local dishes and can be prepared with pork, beef or, chicken. It is a spicy mix of meat and herbs and at this restaurant, nuts also accompanied. Also new to us and equally delicious was the condiment, Jaew Bong complete with its distinctive ingredient of Buffalo skin. This stuff had a kick as hard as any bovine and was perfect with sticky rice. We topped this with a couple of Lao beers and I was most satisfied.

The main centre of Luang Prabang is nestled on a narrow finger of land, flanked by the Mekong on one side and the Mae Kok on the other. It’s no more than 3 or 4 blocks wide and the main street which bisects the centre of this peninsula is full of cafes, galleries, artesian shops, and the occasional resident cooking their lunch on the wood fire. The town is surrounded by mountains just to complete the picture.

It is such a relaxing part of the world with minimal traffic (a big deal coming from KL) and the locals are very friendly. Walking is the way to truly explore this place and I kept up my fitness by lugging Isaac around and you will see in the photos, there are plenty showing him asleep on my shoulder. He didn’t appreciate the walking part quite as much as us!
So as you can tell by now, it wasn’t quite the action holiday as per our Vietnam trip. Laos is not an adventure destination, and that suited us just fine. It is an ideal destination if you live in a big city and want to relax. As long as you don’t mind the absence of a beach for your holiday: the coast is hundreds of kilometers away. In the end Laos met my expectations, and then some.