We've been in Laos (the "s" is silent so it's pronounced like WOW…with a “L” of course) for about a week - the first couple of days we took a "slow boat" down the Mekong River from northern Thailand, and we last five days we have been in the ancient capital city of Luang Probang.
Spending two full days on the Mekong River was quite an experience, but I think that we were both ready to be stationary by the end of the second day. The landscape was amazing - extremely lush and mountainous, and we also saw many small villages along the way.
Luang Probang is significantly different than what we have seen thus far of rural Laos - the main town is comprised of French architecture mixed with traditional Buddhist temples (there are over 30 Wats in this small town), and cafes and galleries line the main road. The Royal Palace has been turned into a national museum, which houses numerous examples of traditional Laos paintings, sculptures, and clothing, as well and gifts presented to the Royal Family from nations throughout the world (including a piece of the moon gifted from the United States which was brought back from the first manned mission). On the Royal Palace grounds, we also saw a few modern art exhibits – one photography exhibit of a monk retreat, a short film about modern day Laos in the context of the United States “silent war” against Laos in the early 1970s, and mixed media exhibit featuring local artists.
Needless to say, we have really enjoyed Laos thus far. We will be here for another few days and are heading south later today…we’ll update the blog as soon as we can (especially because Camille’s photos are amazing and I was only able to upload a few of mine).
Brian and Camille
