A Common PracticeMost people from Western countries would not consider eating insects, and would consider the practice almost a taboo. However, honey is a popular sweetener in those cultures, despite obviously having been execrated by a flying insect.The RationaleInsects are a rich source of proteins…Read More

A Common Practice

Most people from Western countries would not consider eating insects, and would consider the practice almost a taboo. However, honey is a popular sweetener in those cultures, despite obviously having been execrated by a flying insect.

The Rationale

Insects are a rich source of proteins and are grown quicker and more efficiently than mammals. Thus, many cultures suffering from a difficult access to animal protein have chosen insects as a complimentary source of protein.

Legitimized by Invisibility

Apparently the problem appears once the insects’ body parts are visible to the eater; at that moment the appetizer becomes an unthinkable aberration. "If I don’t see them, then it’s OK," we apparently think. Nonetheless, in some instances it is hard to avoid – or detect – the insects being used to prepare the food. For example, in Laos and Thailand ground insects are used in some of the meat-balls added to the ubiquitous noodle soup. In such a form, the protein source is undetectable and the product is quite tasty and agreeable to Western taste buds.

The Real Thing

In the Vientiane’s Morning and Night Markets there are many stalls selling fried and living insects for consumption. They can be consumed as a snack – while exploring the merchandise in the nearby market, for example – or as a meal. Many Laotians take with them little plastic bags filled with fried insects while traveling; whenever the bus stops for a meal they just buy some sticky rice which is then eaten coated with the flying proteins brought from home.

A Rich Variety

The most popular products include crickets, ant eggs, cockroaches (especially those carrying eggs), grasshoppers, scorpions (which are eaten with their tails), water beetles and, bamboo worms. South of Vientiane, in the Cambodian town of Snuol, spiders (which aren’t exactly an insect, but are close enough to be included in this entry) became a popular snack due to the lack of food which resulted from the Khmer Rouge regime.

Hygiene

Despite the popular belief on the issue, no one in Laos hunts for insects in the Mekong River Plateau; most insects are professionally grown in special farms and thus do not contain pesticides or undesired filth.

Spicing Up Insects

As almost every single dish served in Laos, insects are spiced up with chili. Since they were first fried, they are covered by oil which helps to spread around the hot spice evenly. The outer shell gets thus very crunchy and spicy, while the interior reminds a kind of tasteless gray puree.

Once in Our Lifetime

Having spent so much in a travel aimed to see exotic places and cultures, shouldn’t a Western traveler try – at least once in his or her lifetime – a fried insect, especially when they are such a popular part of the local diet?
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Each one of my visits to the central part of Laos or its south, were enlightened by this unique delight. Much earlier, at the end of the 19th century, French settlers planted coffee in the volcanic ground of the Bolaven plateau in south Laos, a…Read More

Each one of my visits to the central part of Laos or its south, were enlightened by this unique delight. Much earlier, at the end of the 19th century, French settlers planted coffee in the volcanic ground of the Bolaven plateau in south Laos, a place originally inhabited by the Laven people. Despite the extremely high quality of the local product, both Arabica and Robusta varieties, it is mainly ignored by the world, maybe a result of the low yields; for example in the year 2000 it was just 13900 metric tons, most of them used in the local market. The small quantities exported, always get record prices without any dependence in the international coffee market situation, a modest recognition of its high quality. In blind taste tests, the Laos coffee get almost always the first place, a result of optimal geographical conditions with a slow paced organic growth, a subtle reminder of the charming local culture. They still place quality before quantity.

The best place to experience it is in the morning market of Vientiane, Laos' capital, one of the most impressive markets in South East Asia. Other two exciting markets and coffee centers are in the French sisters of Vientiane, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and Saigon.

South of Vientiane, the coffee quality is also high, especially as you get closer to the Bolaven Plateau, but when you start moving to the north or the east the quality deteriorates rapidly, as a result of high transportation costs that dictates the use of diminished quantities of coffee in the preparation process and the lack of French settlers in this areas in the past to introduce the taste. Coffee beans in Laos are roasted to a very dark grade, called by experts "Italian grade", without creating a bitterness that sometimes accompanies this long roasting process, another testimony of their high quality. The basic preparation technology is shared also with Cambodia and Thailand, although Laos is by far the highest coffee producer and consumer among them.

A coals oven, made from a conical bucket filled with concrete and with an aeration open in it bottom, is placed over a few layers of bricks, ordered perpendicularly to each other, is the basis to a big evaporation vessel. This vessel is cylindrical, with the diameter of the bucket and in his upper side there are two circular openings the size of a kettle, partially obstructed by two kettles. Inside the kettles there are filters made from a circular metallic frame, to which a conical cloth filter is attached. The diameter if the filter is about 13 centimeters and the length of the cotton cone is 15 centimeters when new and about twice this size after it is used for a while. The preparation starts by putting around fifty grams of very coarse grounded coffee to the cloth filter. Almost boiling water from the vessel is poured over the filter into the kettle and the filter is left inside the kettle that is continuously heated by the vapors from the vessel. As the filter with the coffee is immersed inside the filtered coffee, it experiences a prolonged process of cooking. The length of this stage is not constant and it depends on the number of customers, time of the day and other similar variables. Since from time to time more grounded coffee is added to the filter, any practical evaluation of this time is impossible. Long cooking time can cause the appearance of a mild acidity to the taste; therefore, it is preferable to approach the stalls early in the morning to enjoy the best quality product.

The result of this process is an extremely condensed coffee, used as a base to the preparation of several coffee drinks, the most popular being the coffee with milk To prepare it, around 15% of the volume of a small glass is filled with condensed milk, the cloth filter is placed over the glass and the condensed coffee is poured again over the filter and flows down to the glass. Only around half of the remaining volume is filled with coffee and the rest is filled with hot water from the vessel that has the double effect of diluting the strong coffee and gives a final heating to the mixture. As in Vietnam, the result is a black and white dichotomy, transformed after mixing into an opaque dark brown. The coffee, both because of the preparation method and the addition of condensed milk is very dense, with an extremely heavy body, reminding very much of a chocolate drink, leading to the most popular impression of first time drinkers: coffee-tasted chocolate. Another colorful characteristic is the, luckily temporal, effect of blackening the drinker teeth and tongue.

There are several stalls selling it, the easier to find are just across the bus terminal but the ones placed around the corner in front of the main post office are more comfortable if you are planning a much-recommended long stay. Due to its strong taste, locals wash it with a cup of tea, which is added free to each cup of coffee. If you are planning to drink more than one cup of coffee during your visit, it is wise to alert the seller so that the tea would be served only at the end.
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Vientiane, the Laotian capital, is by far the main attraction in the country. Few cities in the world manage to impart such a strong sense of being a capital, while keeping a sleepy and relaxed ambience. Wide, shaded avenues create a comfortable space between the…Read More

Vientiane, the Laotian capital, is by far the main attraction in the country. Few cities in the world manage to impart such a strong sense of being a capital, while keeping a sleepy and relaxed ambience. Wide, shaded avenues create a comfortable space between the monuments, ministries and markets. The town is small and can be explored in a couple of days, but it creates tons of empathy and few would be able to leave it in less than a week.

The main sights are the Pha That Luang, which is one of the biggest stupas in the world, Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in the city and Wat Pha Kaew, a former royal temple. That Luang Festival takes place in November and offers unforgettable views of crowds walking around the stupa with lighted candles together with a huge market in its surroundings. The socialist-era Lao Revolutionary Museum is an interest place to visit; try to spot which events in the Laotian history are avoided there. Another interesting museum is the Haw Pha Kaew, the museum of Lao art.

Lao food is similar to the Thai, with the addition of bread and coffee. Excellent places to meet it are any of the night markets next to downtown. Coffee at the Morning Market can turn to be an addictive experience. Tam mak hung (spicy papaya salad), baguette sandwiches, fruit shakes and ping kai (grilled chicken) are other popular dishes. Western food of excellent quality and at budget prices is easier to find than in Bangkok or any other city in South East Asia. Read more about these topics in my journal about Vientiane.

Accommodation in Vientiane is quite expensive, much more than in most Thai cities, except for two dormitories, the Mixok and the Sabaidy; both are close to the Mixok Temple and to the promenade over the Mekong.

Buddha Park

Xiang Khouan or the "Buddha Park" (daily 8am-6pm; 2000K) was created by Luang Phu Boonlua Surirat and is twenty-five kilometers south from Vientiane, very close to the Friendship Bridge to Thailand. The concrete sculptures' garden is a kind of open encyclopedia to his Hindu-Buddhist beliefs. After the revolution, he fled across the Mekong to Nong Khai in Thailand, where he established a similar version at Sala Kaeo Kou, see my journal about Nong Khai for further information. Bus #14 from Vientiane's main bus station gets there.

Lao Pako

Lao Pako is a bungalows' resort on the Nam Ngum River, 50km northeast of Vientiane. Take the bus to Pakxap from Vientiane's Morning Market, get off at Somsamai, and take a boat downriver to the site. The resort offers pretty much the same activities and facilities as Vang Vieng, but at much higher prices. Moreover, getting there is a time-consuming detour from the main road spanning the country from north to south, while Vang Vieng sits on it.

Vang Vieng

The most popular resort in Central Laos, Vang Vieng is four hours north from the capital and can be reached by buses leaving from the terminal in front of the Morning Market. Beyond its natural beauty, the town offers water sports, trekking and caves exploring in a fashion similar to Luang Prabang in the north. Its tourism infrastructure is excellent, despite the guesthouses that work as a cartel and charge a bit too much. The now inactive runway, running parallel to the highway is a reminder to other, more dramatic times. From the bus stop next to the highway, you can catch all the buses leaving from Vientiane to the north.

The Special Area

Looking in a map of the country, it is possible to see the Special Zone just north of Vientiane. To reach it, is necessary to travel to a town called KM52, which is at that distance from Vientiane. Buses depart to there from the terminal in front of the Morning Market. KM52 has a single guesthouse at the main road, after sleeping there, take the 07:00 or the 08:00 bus leaving for the special area from the main road. Once in the special area main town, there is a single guesthouse renting rooms to foreigners. However, as soon as the police will spot you, you will be politely requested to return in the same way.
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Northern Laos is better approached in a one-way trip. It is possible to enter from Thailand to Huay Xai and then to continue to Vientiane through the main attractions or to do the way in the opposite direction. However, if this is your first trip…Read More

Northern Laos is better approached in a one-way trip. It is possible to enter from Thailand to Huay Xai and then to continue to Vientiane through the main attractions or to do the way in the opposite direction. However, if this is your first trip to Laos, entering from the north may be too much of a shock. A trip beginning from Vientiane, leads gradually into the wilderness and allows to visit on the way the northeastern part of the country before leaving it from the north.

Short trips to the north, mainly to Vang Vieng, Kasi and Luang Prabang are available from the bus terminal next to the Morning Market in Vientiane. Long distance lines depart from the northern terminal, in the northern outskirts of the town.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang was the former capital of the northern principality and the center from where this nation was born; however, it feels as a cobblestoned village. The town sits at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and is 1km long and 0.25km wide. Its streets are much narrower here than those in Vientiane and the distance between the houses is smaller; hence, the place imparts a sense of compactness that the capital, as other cities in the country, lacks. It was the capital of the last king; hence, it specializes on souvenirs from the royal era.

The main attractions are the historic temples, mainly the Royal Palace Museum, Wat Xieng Thong and Wat Wisunlat, and the gorgeous scenery encircled by mountains. Along the Mekong River are the Buddha images filled Pak Ou caves, and the striking Kuang Si waterfalls. Seen from far away, at the town's center is the steep Phou Si ("Holy Hill"), with a Buddhist stupa at its top. Crossing the Mekong to Xiang Men, allows seeing amazing views of the city at sunset. Other attractions are the markets, which sell silver ornaments, royalist regalia and hill tribes clothes.

Luang Prabang is the place for traveling decisions, you can continue to the north or to head northeast to Phonsavan and Xam Nua.

Udom Xai

Although it is a small town, it is the most important traveling center in the north of the country. From here it is possible to reach any one of the arms in the north of the Laotian territory. Phongsaly, Xam Nua, Luang Nam Tha are directly accessible. Muang Sing and Huay Xai can be reached passing through Luang Nam Tha. From the nearby Boten, there is an open border cross to China. Beyond its connectivity, the town has little to offer beyond a beautiful temple on a hill near the town's center; it provides a good look of the town and the green hills around it

Luang Nam Tha

Northwest of Udom Xai, Luang Nam Tha is the main trekking and rafting center in northern Laos. The Luang Nam Tha Provincial Museum (Mon-Fri 8.30am-noon & 1-3.30pm; 1000K) is worth a visit, but the main attractions are the Nam Tha NBCA and the nearby Hmong and Leten villages. A curious sight is the solar panels operated Internet shop.

Muang Sing

Sixty kilometers northwest of Luang Nam Tha, Muang Sing is a small town trying very hard to transform itself into a tourism center. It's a hill tribes trading center, an excellent place from where to book treks to the surrounding villages and a very friendly place to spend a couple of days. Trucks connect it hourly to Luang Nam Tha. A border cross with China is nearby, and can be visited with a rented bike, though cannot be crossed even if you have a visa to that country.

Huay Xai

Isolated from the rest of Laos, the town looks and feels more like a Thai one. Trucks from Luang Nam Tha arrive daily, but on the wet season, the travel is dangerous and can be delayed for days if fallen trees block the way. Slow boats connect it to the south, but they are overpriced and more expensive than flights within the country. However, the option to cross the river to Chiang Khong in Thailand creates an excellent opportunity to exit Laos and save extra trips. Chiang Khong is close to the Golden Triangle and has many buses to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.

Don Sao

This island-market in the Laotian part of the Golden Triangle is accessible from Ban Sop Ruak in Thailand and is not connected with roads to the rest of Laos. More details about how to reach it are in my journal about the Golden Triangle.
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The narrow, long strip of Southern Laos, reminds in its geometrical and geographical characteristics of Vietnam. The coast here is by the Mekong River and the mountains are in the eastern side, but otherwise the set is similar.The south is the most accessible part of…Read More

The narrow, long strip of Southern Laos, reminds in its geometrical and geographical characteristics of Vietnam. The coast here is by the Mekong River and the mountains are in the eastern side, but otherwise the set is similar.

The south is the most accessible part of the country. The most overwhelming entry is from Cambodia, in a boat floating over the shallow Mekong; see details in my Planning Cambodia journal. Continuing north, along the string of cities in the way to the capital, would give a good overview of the area. Nakasong, Pakse and Savannakhet will appear in this order. To reach Saravan and Attapeu, it is better to take any of the buses departing to the east from Pakse.

Thailand's southernmost cross is through Chong Mek, or Ban Mai Sing Amphon as it is called in Laos, the only overland cross between the countries.

Chong Mek is about one hour from Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand, therefore it is a breeze to get there, and forty kilometers from the bridge over the Mekong and the city of Pakse in southern Laos; the triple border with Cambodia is nearby.

Here, it is possible to cross to Laos without a passport by paying five baht at the Thai side, but only if you stay in the village and return to Thailand in the same day. However, it is possible to get an exit stamp from Thailand and to make a visa on arrival at Laos. The Laotian side is better developed and has a big market catering for Thai shoppers; I saw a young gray owl, unable to flight yet, at sale for a bit more than one dollar. Another option is to cross by ferry from Mukdahan to Savannakhet, or from Nakhon Phanom to Thakhek. From Vietnam there is a somewhat less accessible cross, see my Planning Vietnam journal for details.

If entering from Cambodia, the Four Thousand Islands or Si Phan Don area is the first sight. It is famous for its Irrawaddy Dolphins; however, the town of Kratie in Cambodia is a better place for a close encounter with them. There, the Mekong is narrower and deeper and the dolphins concentrate in a better-defined area. Nonetheless, the Laotian side is perfect to see the classical Lao-Thai riverside villages. The long way to the area and its slow pace invite for a significant stay of a week or so. Nakasong is the southernmost town in the area, and the village of Voem Kham is divided between Laos and Cambodia.

At the confluence of the Mekong and Xe Don rivers, and halfway between the Thai border and the Bolaven Plateau, the town of Pakse is the far south's biggest city. The terminal is some eight kilometers south of the town; if the bus drops you at the old northern terminal, then you have a similar distance to the town. The backpackers' zone is east from the bridge. Champasak, the ruined capital of the southern principality is close enough to the city to explore it in a daytrip. East from the town's center, on route 13 is the Champasak Provincial Museum (Mon-Fri 8-11.30am & 2-4pm; 1000K), which houses pre-Angkorian sandstone lintels. Eight kilometers southwest of Champasak, are the ruins of Wat Phou (daily 8.30am-4.30pm; 5000K), a series of ruined Khmer shrines dating from the sixth to the twelfth centuries. The way to Saravan splits 7.5kms north of the town; hence, if planning to visit it, the best option is to do it as a stop between Pakse and Savannakhet. Since the bus returns through the same route, is a time-consuming detour.

Saravan is the closest town to the Bolaven Plateau and beyond a visit to the growing area of one of the best coffees in the world there are very few reasons to visit it. As with most Laotian provinces, the capital is the only town in it and it serves as an administrative center and as a huge market, which occupies the town's center.

From Pakse or Saravan, there are trucks to Pakxong, the main settlement on the Bolaven Plateau. The circular plateau has an altitude of around 600m and therefore is cooler than the rest of the south. It is a good place to visit hill tribes; Lawae, Katu, Alak, Ta-oy, Suay and Mon-Khmer groups inhabit the area.

Savannakhet is one of the busiest cities in Laos due to its location along the trade line between Thailand and Vietnam. Despite being a port, it lacks many of the maladies of those, its small center is clean and offers a look into a utopian, semi-industrialized Laos. In the afternoons there is usually a problem to get fresh water; hence it is better to shower in the morning. Unless you're planning to head north and skip the south, or to go south and exit immediately to Cambodia, it is an error to enter Laos here. The "only one way to each town" characteristic of the Laotian roads will cause you to travel several times along the same route if you plan to begin an exploration of the south from this town. Route Nine leads from here to the Lao Bao crossing into Vietnam and crosses the Ho Chi Minh Trail. If you do not plan to leave the country from there, then it is better to see the trail from Phonsavan in the northeast.

Halfway between Savannakhet and Vientiane is the town of Thakhek. All Laotian towns are relaxed; hence, Thakhek cannot add much on the topic, beyond being seldom visited by tourists. However, it is a good place from where to explore the Khammouane Biodiversity Park and the Mahaxai Caves. It is in front of Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, but entering or exiting from here is not recommended due to the same reasons as in Savannakhet.
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Take a Break in Nong Khiaw By Hun Ohm After 8 hours of riding the wood planks of a slow boat up the Nam Ou (originating in Louang Phabang), we were happy to do anything that did not involve sitting. Thus, our day of leisure involved…Read More

Take a Break in Nong Khiaw
By Hun Ohm

After 8 hours of riding the wood planks of a slow boat up the Nam Ou (originating in Louang Phabang), we were happy to do anything that did not involve sitting. Thus, our day of leisure involved strolling in and around the market town of Nong Khiaw. Situated above the Nam Ou, Nong Khiaw can be reached by road or river from Louang Phabang. Although the town itself is rather unremarkable aside from a certain dustiness, the river valley and surrounding karsts make it an ideal place to break up the journey if you are doing some road/river travel into the more northern regions of Laos

A Short Day’s Stroll to the Cave
Once you have your bearings (and assuming you begin in the town proper), head east to the bridge that spans the Nam Ou. Feel free to stop and gaze now. Make note of the colors and scene before heading farther east. You will pass by a small village that is on the shore opposite of Nong Khiaw. If you turn in, you will find the Sunset restaurant. Save that for later and continue walking along the road for a few kilometers. Don’t be too alarmed if you hear an occasional gunshot. We were told it’s simply a villager hunting small game in the surrounding forests. You will eventually reach a turn down a small drive that will lead to the entrance of a large cave in one of the limestone karsts, where some of the locals lived/hid during the Second Indochina War. We had to wake the slumbering gatekeeper for the key to enter. The entrance fee was nominal, and for whatever reason, there were no other people there. Be sure to bring a torch to check out some of the darker nooks and crannies.

Feel free to continue meandering along this road until you’re ready to head back into town. On your way back, stop by the Sunset restaurant, which has a nice deck where you can enjoy a drink and some decent food. The view is not quite as good as the one from the bridge but certainly adequate, and a cold Beer Lao will soothe any parched throat (and obstructed view) quite nicely.

Back to the Bridge
Head back to the bridge during the late afternoon/early dusk. Stop again at the middle and you will quickly realize that you can spend an inordinate amount of time gazing at the river valley below. Think a cross between Claude Lorrain and the Hudson River Valley School. It’s a fascinating view that changes with the time of day. Indeed, in the early evening, when you see some of the locals chatting and joking while they wash off the day’s labors in the shallows, some slightly romanticized notions of paradise lost may come to mind.

The Kids
You are bound to meet scores of curious children while you’re exploring the country, and chatting with them was one of the most special experiences we had during our travels. In Nong Khiaw, they approached us on the bridge over the Nam Ou, and we spent some time trying to ask them basic questions in Lao, Thai, and English. One boy provided us with some tamarind (I think) that he had recently picked, while another tried to describe what he was doing with a scuba mask when he was in the river. A pair of girls was particularly intent on taking us to another cave nearby, but as the sun was beginning to set, we had to decline.

Drinking with the Governor
Chance encounters are plentiful when you travel in Laos. As we mentioned before, we rode the slow boat up with a couple of Dutch midwives. Now, I must admit that when I hear "midwife," I imagine a frumpy, robust middle-aged woman with sturdy hands and a creaky voice. This duo, however, were young, blonde, and approximately 6 feet tall, which caused them to stand out, particularly in an upriver village like Nong Khiaw. Anyway, there are a couple of small restaurants immediately before you hit the western edge of the bridge over the Nam Ou, and we had dinner with the Dutch duo at the one closest to the river (sorry, but I didn’t jot down the name,). The food was decent, though the service was a bit slow, even for Lao standards. There was good reason, however -- apparently, the "governor" of Louang Phabang province had dropped by (along with his entourage of about 10 men) just after we did. They were returning from some sort of survey of roads in the province, and after a hard day of kicking the route’s tires, they had worked up a sizable appetite and had the poor restaurant owner cooking up a fury on her few flames. This, of course, meant that we had a long wait before our orders were completed. Not a big deal, however, as the governor seemed to take a quick fancy to our Dutch friends, and thus we spent an evening speaking with the officials, drinking Scotch and sampling some of the more favored local drinking snacks, e.g., sautéed worms.

Where we stayed
We got off the slow boat and performed the customary backpacker’s walkabout town, guidebook dutifully in hand. We finally settled on a guesthouse named Phayboun. The newer wing is a perfectly fine concrete building with rooms with private bath (which we chose). The room rate was approximately $5 per night. The room was functional, though the running water was a little timid. Our only concern was a large black spider (the size of a 6-year-old’s hand) that needed to be shooed away when we first arrived, but otherwise, the stay was uneventful. The guesthouse also can prepare decent food, which is convenient if you are too weary from your day of travel to wander about town for sustenance. What appeared to be a small tour group stopped by while we were there, so we suspect that the guesthouse may fill up somewhat quickly, especially during the busier times of the year. Close

On the Local in Laos: From Phonsavan to Louang PhabangBy Hun OhmThere would be other moments from the trip to Phonsavan that I would remember in the months to come. After all, we had spent an entire day driving across the Plain of Jars, a…Read More

On the Local in Laos: From Phonsavan to Louang Phabang

By Hun Ohm

There would be other moments from the trip to Phonsavan that I would remember in the months to come. After all, we had spent an entire day driving across the Plain of Jars, a moonscape bereft of forest, and yet full of craters courtesy of the unprecedented air raids of the Second Indochina War. For hours, we had meandered around the Jar Sites, opining about the meaning of the immense size of the ancient jars (our musings vacillated between funerary, decorative, and fermentative). It was December now, so while we passed through the countryside of Xiang Khouang province, we witnessed the Hmong New Year festivals in full swing. Every few kilometers, lines of young Hmong women dressed in mosaics of bead and embroidery tossed tennis balls with young men 3m away, each waiting to hear the song that would announce they had fallen in love. At a tiny village, we sampled homebrewed Lao Lao from an old soda bottle, an essential rite of passage for these travelers from Amsterdam, Nagano, and New York. We made a toast to Laos, and then to good health. Alas, my finicky constitution disagreed. Within an hour, I began what stretched into an interminable night of nausea.


Still, it was the next day I would remember most. There was a sharp chill in the morning air as we lugged our backpacks to the bus station. An inauspicious omen on some other day, perhaps, but I was eager to begin and finish the 7-hour journey to Louang Phabang. In my weakened state, I could not object to the age of the rusting, third-hand bus –- 30 years old, if a day. Nor did I pay much mind to our machine gun toting escort, a jean jacket clad youth barely awake behind the uneven bangs that obscured his eyes. In the back, a Lao farmer clipped his toenails onto the floor in a happy scherzo. A duo of Hmong women climbed on board, full of chatter; each clutched a sack of steamy, all-too-fragrant snacks purchased from the metal carts outside. The roof boomed as the assistant strapped our backpacks to the rack, and liquid from an unseen source trickled down my window. Finally, after a few uncertain clanks, the engine roared awake, and the bus lumbered out of the dirt staging area.


I thought I should close my eyes for just a moment to ward off any inopportune bouts of dry heaves. However, when I opened them again, we had already left the rolling plains. How many kilometers had passed, it was hard to say, but the bus had begun the serpentine climb up the densely forested mountains of western Route 7. The world was enshrouded in a sfumato quiet, even when witnessed from the bus’s rattling windows. Indeed, the groaning engine was accompanied by the syncopated hack and retch of one woman who could no longer hold down breakfast, but this duet too was oddly soothing. The bus stopped periodically for the men to disembark to urinate or have a smoke. Our machine gunner’s head lolled with sleep. It went on like this for what seemed a timeless, half-remembered dream, until suddenly we entered the rooftop of this world. Sunlight rained upon the road, and an ocean of clouds stretched for kilometers beneath us. We passed through a thatched roof village perched along the steep road banks. Baskets of chili peppers lay drying in the cool air while the women wove, and in the red Roland Garros yards the children were full of laughter, jumping on a piece of corrugated metal lain across a shallow ditch. They waved frantically, and I cracked a parched but appreciative smile and saluted back.


But all such moments are bound to end, and somewhere between the mountain villages the bus abruptly stopped. A collective mutter rippled through the rows but then all was quiet. Even the bus-sick woman regained composure and replaced her hacking with soft moans. Then, a few authoritative words filled the air, and our young machine gunner, dazed by slumber, rose from his seat and stumbled to the back of the bus. Six men in camouflage climbed aboard. Some had handguns strapped to their waists. Others held automatic rifles in their hands. But my attention was most piqued by that particular one with an RPG. I silently grumbled about our protection, as my already knotted stomach squeezed more tightly. In my delirium, I vaguely recalled our guidebook’s general warnings about bandits and occasional death, but could not remember if this route was flagged.


One man, the ringleader, barked again, and the bus restarted its journey along the winding road. The young men seated themselves throughout the middle of the bus, settling in for the task at hand. They chatted in the brash voices favored by the heavily armed. To my dismay, one sat across the aisle from me and leaned his machine gun against my seat. Barrel up, of course, and I quickly concluded that the angle would pass a stray bullet quite cleanly through my thorax. My wife and I glanced at one another briefly, and our eyes agreed. Just let it stay there, let it stay. Don’t even think about moving it.


The other passengers remained quiet as the bus chugged along. We passed through a few villages without slowing down. The children looked up with anticipation, but we no longer dared to wave. I tried to occupy myself by following the kilometers of spider webs that flanked the road, their existence still betrayed by the glistening dew. But it was to no avail. My neck ached with strain as I endeavored to not gawk at the paint-chipped barrel leaning in the aisle. For a time, the men had been speaking in low tones amongst themselves. All laughter had gradually petered out. Suddenly, the ringleader rose from his seat, machine gun in hand. The others began to rise as well.


"Jawt nee dae," he bellowed. "Jawt, jawt, jawt." And even though my Lao was near nonexistent, I knew what he was saying. Stop right here. Stop. Stop. Stop.


*****


Laos is a country with a long history of war and brutally repressive governments, and its inhabitants live in a state of poverty most outsiders seldom see. But at the same time, it is a country whose people are full of hospitality and deep pools of kindness that overflow. In the sharing of a bottle of Lao Lao, or laughter, or a lift, you will see great generosity in the face of hardship. At every turn, it is there, and it will humble you when you realize the world you come from is so very far away.


And so the soldiers finally stepped off the bus with their cache of weapons, perhaps a nod of thanks to the bus driver. Our still drowsy escort assumed his position at the front. A stomach gurgled. Chatter ensued. And then we continued on our way without delay, as there were still three hours before we would reach Louang Phabang.



Where we stayed
We stayed in a guesthouse named Dokkhoun (tel. 061/312189), which was perfectly functional with a large bedroom and private bathroom with shower for approximately $4 per night. The available breakfast is okay for Phonsavan but not much beyond basic sustenance. Don’t forget to check out the decent collection of old bomb casings and the like in the main building.


How we got there
Our route was a bit redundant—local bus from Louang Phabang to Phonsavan, and then back again to Louang Phabang on the same roads. The trip was roughly seven hours and costs approximately US$7, one-way. There are reportedly daily flights to Phonsavan from Louang Phabang (and Vientiane), which will certainly be faster. However, the local bus takes you through some of the most exquisite scenery in Laos, so if you have the time, we would recommend going the slow route. Though banditry has historically been an intermittent problem along these roads, it has been virtually nonexistent over the past year (2003).


Visiting the Jar Sites
We struck a deal with one of the locals who had transported us the short distance from the bus station to our guesthouse: approximately US$9 per person for a full-day excursion, including lunch. He was amiable and spoke English well enough, and his explanations of the jars, while not exhaustively researched, were passionate, personal, and entertaining. Most guesthouses should be able to arrange comparable tours.Close

Thought of as the most enigmatic of the three French Indochina states, Laos is definitely the sleepiest. At least for the moment. After years of isolation, Laos is now slowly opening its doors to the world - mainly a result of the Friendship Bridge over…Read More

Thought of as the most enigmatic of the three French Indochina states, Laos is definitely the sleepiest. At least for the moment. After years of isolation, Laos is now slowly opening its doors to the world - mainly a result of the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River linking Vientiane with Thailand. these days you have to actually look both ways before crossing the road in Vientiane and the main road in Lung Prabang is lined with western restaurants. Having said that, tourism (and life!) is remarkably low key even on the tourist axis of Vientiane, Vang Vien and Luang Prabang. Off the axis life is much the same as it has been for years.

Vientiene, the capital, is emerging from hundreds of years of slumber and the centre now even boasts a number of restaurants and bars. The hotels aren't much with the exception of the Villa Manoli - a beautiful old villa in a sumptuous garden. It even has a small swimming pool - all for about $20 a night.

After a day's wandering around the magnificent temples, there is nothing better than strolling up the river bank to the stilted restaurants and enjoying a great Mekong sunset over a cold Bia Lao and a spicy pork Laap (minced meat salad) or sizzling Mekong catfish.

Vang Vieng has become something of a backpacker centre in recent years. Positioning has probably been the key to its popularity as it is half way between Luang Prabang and Vientiane and is therefore used to breakup an otherwise long day on the road. It is also prettily situated on the Nam Song river, the focus of the town. There are a few riverside places (bars would be too flash a name) to buy a beer and watch people float by - either in inner tubes or canoes. There is also a small market and a few stalls off the river selling handicrafts and some travel agents who can organise day trips up the river or to local caves.

Luang Prabang is the jewel in Laos' crown and has been a UNESCO heritage site since 1995. It has recently seen a sudden influx of tourists resulting in an explosion of restaurants and handicraft shops along the main drag. Five star hotels have also started appearing along the fringes of town. Despite this, there are so many temples to see they are never crowded. In addition, the back streets are usually deserted and if you are lucky enough to happen upon a temple festival you are more than likely to be one of only a few foreigners present. There is also the timeless view of the Mekong River, behind which the untamed jungle goes on into the distant hills.

Make sure you check out more descriptions and photos of South East Asia and beyond on the website Wanderings Asia

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The 4-hour boat ride from Muang Khua ended in Hat Sa, a small village that is the boat landing serving Phongsali town an hour drive away. My Dutch companion Annetta and I arrived in Hat Sa at just before 6pm to find no road transport…Read More

The 4-hour boat ride from Muang Khua ended in Hat Sa, a small village that is the boat landing serving Phongsali town an hour drive away. My Dutch companion Annetta and I arrived in Hat Sa at just before 6pm to find no road transport in Hat Sa and no guesthouse! We were told no one owned any vehicles in Hat Sa, so we'd have to stay the night and wait in the morning. A shop owner by the boat landing offered us his shop floor for 8,000 kip each. Considering that I've been paying 10,000 kip in Northern Laos almost everywhere for my own room, I felt that was a bit steep. Even the 6,000 kip he came down to was too much, so out with the tent I've been carrying these last few months! Annetta was keen to camp so in the darkness, I found a sandy bit of ground just big enough and pitched the tent, not without difficulty, by torch light. It's just big enough for 2 small people, like Annetta and myself. I found a single noodle stall in Hat Sa a 10-minute walk up the hill almost out of the village. It was inhabited by 2 very drunk locals who continually pestered me to drink with them while I ate my noodles. I was pleased to pay and leave!  After a fairly restless night, we were awoken at 5:30am by the locals coming down to their boats and hanging round the tent which was obviously a bit of a novelty for them! I packed up everything ready to leave on the 9am truck. However, this truck ARRIVES in Hat Sa at 9am; it doesn't leave for Phongsali until 2pm when the scheduled boats from Muang Khua arrive! No other options presented themselves, so I unpacked my tent, laid it out to dry in the sun and waited. About half an hour later, another pick-up arrived, having been chartered by a group of Chinese who then took off in a speedboat. Negotiations started as the pick-up driver didn't want to upset the scheduled truck driver by stealing his passengers. In the end, whoever jumped onto his pick-up as he drove away, he took! One hour later, at last, we were in Phongsali. Hat Sa proved an interesting diversion and I found some French in the back of my memory to speak to an old man in the village. The boat landing was also very picturesque in the morning as the mist lifted but I wouldn't recommend Hat Sa as a planned stopover!Close

We found the villagers to be very friendly in contrast with the German girls' experience in their Pu-Noi village and Yin and his family really looked after us well. As I found earlier in my trip in Borneo, staying overnight in a local village can…Read More

We found the villagers to be very friendly in contrast with the German girls' experience in their Pu-Noi village and Yin and his family really looked after us well. As I found earlier in my trip in Borneo, staying overnight in a local village can be very interesting at meal times and this was no exception! We had rat and rice! Actually bamboo shoot and rat stew with wild, green vegetables, sticky rice and lao lao moonshine liquor. Apparently it's rude for visitors to refuse to drink at least one glass of lao lao when it's offered in someone's house and I found drinking that the hardest part of the meal. It's very strong and invariably disgusting reminding me of paint stripper! We slept on bamboo mats all lined up like sardines in a can and next morning started out at about 9am.

 

Two local villagers accompanied us apparently going the same way to go hunting. I wondered how much of this was to help Tonchang find the right directions as there were quite a few forks in the trail! One of the villagers had a home-made spear gun to hunt with. It was made of wood with thick rubber bands for the trigger and the missile was three metal prongs tied together. We walked through primary rainforest most of this second day and we had to wade one river waist-deep. The leeches couldn't believe their luck! We all got dozens of them around our ankles and in our boots and when I took my shoes and socks off to wade the river, I was already dripping blood from 3 different bites after only 1 hours' walking.

 

Birds were hard to spot through the thick forest but we saw many butterflies, particularly by the streams in addition to beetles, dragonflies...and leeches! We carried more sticky rice from Khlum Luang for lunch and we walked a little quicker than Tonchang expected again. We ambled the last hour stretching it to 2 hours to enjoy the forest rife with ferns, lichens and mosses before we arrived at Chanteun, the Akha village we were overnighting in at about 2pm on a damp and cloudy afternoon.

 

The Akha village was a collection of about a dozen bamboo and thatch huts with dirt floors. We stayed with Asai and his family of 3 boys, wife, father, sister and sundry other family members either permanent hut residents or otherwise; it was difficult to tell in the dark of the hut. After sitting inside during a 1-hour downpour, we took a walk around the village. All the female members, small kids included, were wearing their traditional black tunics edged with red and yellow, and the adult women wore headdresses decorated with red and yellow tassles, coins, and metal links. No way would any of them allow any photos to be taken, they all ran and hid when the cameras came out, but I got some pictures of the village and of the young lads after a bit of coaxing.

 

The Akha village had turned into a bit of a mud bath after the downpour but it was beautifully situated on a ridge with a backdrop of cloud-muffled mountains. Most of the Akha's tools were made of bamboo; all baskets and mats were woven from it; water was collected from a stream in big bamboo tubes like organ pipes and there was a bamboo loom in our house. Only the cooking pots were metal. For dinner we had wild, green vegetables, sticky rice and lao lao again, this time supplemented with bamboo-borer moth grubs deep fried! Asai's father, who said he was "about 60," told us a lot about the Vietnam War. There was a lot of fighting in the mountains around his village and they had to move a few times. Tonchang really had his work cut out translating, as Asai's father seemed to talk for several minutes without drawing breath! Both the villages we stayed at overnight were subsistence farming; consuming everything they grew with nothing to sell at market in Phongsali. Asai's father had told us hardly anyone goes down to Phongsali from the village which made me wonder what they would do with the money Tonchang paid them for our food and accommodation. It also explained why Tonchang and the villager that came with us lost the trail! The villager had a sweetcorn field right where the trail used to cut through the forest. There's no forest on that hillside now or any trail, so they had to go searching for it where the forest started again! The trail was very, very overgrown and we had to bend under the bamboo stems and thorny branches to get through before it opened out a bit an hour or later as we approached another Pu-Noi village. From here, the trail was clear & still in primary rainforest.

 

The ritual shoe & sock removing to cross the Nam Long River again where the bamboo bridge had collapsed, revealed a veritable metropolis of leeches on my legs! My socks were almost completely blood-red! From the Nam Long, where we had more sticky rice for lunch, onwards was really hard for me! The trail went steeply uphill for 3 hours! The much younger Czech couple found it easier, but they sweated a lot, too! They found time to stop for some bird watching, but I just trudged on trying to get the climb over with as quickly as possible dripping with sweat and blood!

 

That last day's walk was 10 hours! Tonchang had told us it would be a long 8-hour day and that extra, unexpected 2 hours were really tough. That was the final stretch to Phongsali along an open dirt road in the hot afternoon sun! I managed to get a lift on the only vehicle to be spotted on the road at this time of day which saved me about a half an hour of walking into Phongsali. I'd walked part of that road before the trek and it has some stunning views of the rolling hills beyond Phongsali and there are dozens and dozens of gorgeous butterflies flitting around the many streams coming down from the mountains. I couldn't appreciate any of it this time; I just wanted to get showered, off my aching feet and the pack off my sore back!

 

Next morning, I was ready to walk some more. I felt very little reaction to the previous day's exertions! Only a dozen bumps on my legs from the leeches that had got a really good suck! It was an excellent trek having everything I'd hoped before I'd arrived in Phongsali; lots of primary rainforest, friendly and interesting villages; I hope I learned something about them. Tonchang did work very hard for us when we had finished our days walking and wanted to ask questions of the villagers even though he was as tired as we were. I'd recommend him to other tourists, but you can't find him in Phongsali, you have to wait until he finds you. He's been guiding for a year now, he told us, so maybe some of the guesthouse owners know how to contact him. He goes to different villages on his 3-day trek to the other guides but he also does a 6-day trek which I think is the same one the Phoufa Hotel guide does. His English is very good and the Pu-Noi & Akha villagers seem to know and trust him.

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