From Chiang Khong, in Thailand, we see the famous Mekong River. On the other side of the Mekong is Laos. We took the ferry across the Mekong and we set foot on a completely different world. Yes it is a different country but to us it was another world; we’ve been accustomed to the faster pace of Thailand, the pressure salespeople, the food stands everywhere and the more luxurious things in Thailand. Laos does not have any of that.
First of all, crossing the Mekong by boat was pretty cool. We’ve heard so much about this famous river that flows across six countries; China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam all share the privilege of claiming a piece of this river. It took a whole two minute to cross the Mekong River to get to Huay Xei in Laos. Every time I cross a border, I can’t help but get a little nervous. Well this border could not have been easier to cross. After the ferry, you walk up to the first window past the shore to apply for a tourist visa, then wait forty minutes and grab your guaranteed approval visa at the next window beside it. Then they send you to the next window over to the Immigration Check Point and voilà, everything done in forty minutes. No one checked our bags, no one asked what our intentions are for visiting Lao, no dogs sniffed our bags, no grumpy officers with guns patrolling the border... Why could it not be the same in Canada?
En route to Louang Namtha we noticed it is completely different in Laos and I think The Lonely Planet describes it best: “Were Laos, Thailand and Vietnam tùk-tùk drivers, the Thai driver would take you to your destination via a silk shop, the Vietnamese would almost run you over for your customs, while you’d probably have to go find the Lao driver, wake him up and then persuade him to do some work. No teeming, smoggy metropolis, no aggressive entrepreneurialism, this is Southeast Asia’s most relaxing country to travel in.”
We shopped around for an affordable guesthouse and three times we walked in the reception to find the hosts sleeping. The waiters at restaurants can be found sleeping when they’re not taking your order and bringing you the food. I went to have a haircut, I ended up going to probably a more expensive place because I didn’t want to wake up the hairstylist at the more modest looking salon. Oh, and the hairstylist ends the haircut with a shoulder rub and head massage.
There aren’t a whole lot to see or do in Louang Namtha. The district is comprised of several small villages of straw and bamboo huts built on dirt. The main tourist quarter has some very beautiful houses, buildings and guesthouses. The government buildings are normally massive and beautiful. None of that mattered, Gen & I were more interested in Louang Namtha’s eco-tourism and volunteering program. Well both fell through: it is the low season and we weren’t able to find people interested in joining us for a trek in the jungle to visit hill tribes. And the volunteering program folded. We wanted to donate our time to read and play with children in English. We were also hoping to help any locals wanting to practice their English conversation but since the program folded, we didn’t get very far with our mission to volunteer.
But then we met the nicest guy who was so keen in learning English at a restaurant. He was our waiter :) After our meal, he invited himself to our table and asked if we would help him with an English song he was trying to learn. It wasn’t quite clear at first what he was asking of us but we got it all figured out after a while. Jay (pronounced Ji-a) is a friendly 20 year old who just picked up English two months ago and is a diligent and curious student. So right there and then we found our volunteering program :) Everyday for a week, we would go have a delicious and traditional lunch at the Papaya Restaurant then we would stay for an extra two hours to help Jay with his English homework. He was very appreciative of our time but I think he had no idea that he was the one doing us a favour, to allow us to share our knowledge with him and to better understand his culture just by being with him. This was our goal wherever we go. Over the week, we mostly laughed, studied and bonded (and yes, eat great food too!). He made great progress, I hope one day he will become a teacher like he wants to be. The last night we went out with him and we all had a great time, we will miss him dearly.
We mainly stayed in Louang Namtha to be with Jay but we did rented bicycles to tour around the villages to kill time and that was fun. I took a few pictures of the tour and posted on Facebook. My older sister saw the photos and shared some really insightful comments on them. Being the oldest, she has the most vivid souvenirs of our family’s past and lifestyle in Vietnam before fleeing the country to come to Canada. Looking at the photos, she noticed some resemblance in the scenery and conditions we grew up in. I now look even more forward to visiting Vietnam and see for myself where I grew up the first four years of my life and in what circumstances.
We continued to be surprisingly impressed with the beautiful guesthouses we’ve stayed at the past two weeks. They were all beautiful and luxurious. We truly feel like we’re jet setting around Indochina instead of being shoestringers :) We stayed at the Namkhong Guesthouse in Louang Namtha and it was perfect. The room was nice and modern with a king size bed, free wifi and cable TV. We can get used to this!
One thing that still amazes us (but not surprise us anymore) is how like in Thailand, the Laotians too always find ways to do things and not surrender to a “sorry that cannot be done” attitude. We took the bus from Louang Namtha to Louang Prabang today and these are the two most unusual things we witnessed:
- along with the passengers’ luggage, the driver and his crew strapped a scooter and a bicycle on the roof rack, upright
- while the bus was going at 60+ km/h, one crew member was on the roof trying to tighten the straps (I can only suppose), then he opened one of the side windows from up top with his foot and proceeded to re-enter the bus. All this while wearing flip flops!
We hope to find more volunteering opportunities in Luang Prabang. The city here is much bigger and has a more city feel to it. I think we’ll enjoy our time here.
FACT: the food here is super good. Mom, it tastes a lot like your cooking! I even found PHO.
FACT: people bathe together. The women wear a sarong covering their body from the bust to the knees while the men keep only their Hanes on. This way everyone stays decent and this makes it a possibly fun communal shower. They splash water on themselves with a little bucket over the sarongs or undies and the rest is just like how we would do at home.
