Right after the last day of school I took a 2 week trip to Northern Thailand and Laos with my friend Helena. We started out in Chang Mai, Thailand and we spent abour 4 days there. We got to experience some of the tribal villages and the HUGE Sunday night market. We also did a 3-day, 2-night, trek into the mountains where we saw beautiful scenery including villages, rice paddies, and water falls. We slept in straw huts both nights and ate the food that our guide prepared for us. On our last day of the trek we got to ride an Elephant and then we took a bamboo raft down the river. We were expecting the trek to be more intense, but it was actually pretty relaxing. Even though were hoping for something more hard-core, we were thankful that it was not because we were so exhausted from the end of the school year.
After our stay in Chang Mai we headed north to the Laotian boarder. On the way we stopped by the White Temple, which was beautiful on the outside, but the interior had some odd paintings. We stayed in a guest house at the boarder and the next morning we crossed the Me Kong River into Laos. The next two days we took a slow-river boat down the Me Kong River to the city of Luang Prabang. The boat trip was beautiful; the river curved through the green mountains and was boarded by sand bars and eclectic rocks. As we drifted down we would see straw-hut villages nestled on the hillsides, and children, water-buffalo, and fishermen enjoying the river water. At one time we even saw an elephant along the shore, taking a break from a day’s work of hauling trees. Life on the boat was just as entertaining, with tons of people packed on the boat along with a motor bike, a live monitor lizard, and chickens in baskets.
Here is a poem that Helena and I wrote while floating down the river on our first day. We took some creative liberty with the rhyming.
Me Kong Limerick
There once was a river called Me Kong
Upon which we thought we would find Hong Kong (not really, but it rhymes…)
It was murky and brown
Which we floated on down
To our surprise we arrived in Luang Prabang
As you can see, it was sometimes hard to keep ourselves entertained on the long boat ride.
Luang Prabang is a beautiful town with many buildings that reflect a French colonial style because of Historical French influences. Thanks to the French, we also enjoyed baguettes, croissants, and crepes during our stay! We spent our first day exploring the town and neighbouring village by bike, and just taking it easy in the town. Some other activities in Luang Prabang included visiting tons of temples, the museum, and a Hmong village. We also visited some breath-taking waterfalls and watched the sun set from a view point in the middle of the city.
The next day we took the road-of-a-thousand-turns to the city of Phonsavan, where the amazing Plain of Jars is located. The Plain of Jars contains huge jars that were carved out of stone. Historians believe that the jars were carved out of the rock cliffs in one area of the region, and then transported to different sites via elephants. There are approximately 65 different sites where these Jars are located. On our tour, we visited 3 different sites. One of these sites alone had 150 stone jars! Imagine how many there are together! And these jars are not small; I could fit inside most of them! They are believed to be at least 1000 years old and there are various stories about what their purpose was. Archaeologists believe that they were used for burial of cremated bodies. Other suggestions in addition to burial have been food, money, or water storage. This was a fascinating aspect of Laotian history that we thoroughly enjoyed.
During our time in Phonsavan, we also learned about what was known as the Secret War between the USA and Laos. The first sign of war that we noticed was the shrapnel that was used to decorate every place we went. We saw big bomb casings lined up all over town in restaurants, shops, and homes. Despite the easy-going feelings the décor suggested, many Laotian people today are still suffering from the effects of this war. Loas is the most bombed country, per capita, in the world today because of the Secret War. Millions of cluster bombs were dropped in Laos, most of which were just drop-off bombs that could not be used on the Vietnamese. Approximately 30% of these bombs did not explode before they hit the ground, and therefore there are thousands of bombs, and bombies (small bombs inside the big ones) are hidden in Laotian soil. Today, many people are killed or maimed by these bombs. There are detonation crews who go into areas to rid them of bombs. One village has been visited 18 times already. I was so surprised to realize that many Laotian people go about life everyday into areas that could be deadly for them. As sad and heartbreaking as this was for us to discover, it was encouraging to see that there are different organizations that have been active in helping Laotians overcome the effects of these bombs. There is a village were women make spoons and bracelets from old scrap metal, and there are programs where people who have lost limbs can be educated in a new area to support their family. Although this aspect of Loas’ history was shocking and hard to learn, it has given me a new perspective.
After our time in Phonsavan, we took a VIP night bus to Vang Vieng. This epic journey of 6-7 hours included things such as people sitting in the aisles, the bus door flying open and things falling out, a near collision with a van, and a 30-minute break-down. We were happy when we finally arrived at our destination early the next morning and saw how beautiful it is there: towering limestone cliffs bordered the river along one side of the town. During our time in Vang Vieng we were able to explore some fantastic and HUGE caves. The first cave had huge ceilings with beautiful formations, the second was very long (they are unsure how long it is!), and the last cave was a water cave that we pulled ourselves into with tubes and floated out of. We were also able to do some trekking to the other side of the mountains where there were stunning views and beautiful waterfalls. On our way to and from the trek we did some kayaking and swinging into the river. It was a great time in a town that we never planned on visiting!
Finally, we headed down to the capital, Vientiane where I only stayed for one day. There was only enough time for us to visit the national museum and get a Laos massage before I had to fly out to Jakarta. We had a great time in Thailand and Laos and I would totally recommend this trip to anyone who is interested. I especially loved Laos because I did not know what to expect and knew little about it.
I am now back home, enjoying my family, and I only have 2 weeks of summer vacation left! Crazy how time flies when you are having fun!
