Laos : the conclusion

Lao was a crush for us : friendly people, beautiful landscapes… so let’s have a look to our conclusion :

Luang Prabang and Muang Gnoi : Beautiful landscapes again !!!

As Lao has only few inhabitants and is mountainous, we saw beautiful and wild landscapes.

First, just few kilometres from Luang Prabang, town well known for its elephants and its temples, we discovered the beautiful Kuang Si waterfalls!!! A clear blue water, enough water to swim… That was enough for us to put on our swimming suits and jump into the water!!! It was cold (yes, it is a waterfall, not a hot spring) but we enjoyed it!!! And now we can say “we did it!!! » ;-)

Small bracket : As you can notice, I didn’t start this post with elephants or temples… There are several reasons for that: Regarding elephants, we asked few agencies about their tours; they all offer the same service: a ride on elephant... in a “gondola”!!!! And we know that “gondola” hurt elephants, so we don’t support this practice!!! If you want to discover how an elephant journey is, without being a last (and a pain) for the elephant, then we suggest you to go out of the city and find a real preservation centre for elephants!!! Then, regarding temples and Buddhism here in Luang Prabang; yes, at 6AM you can assist at the monk ceremony (people on their knees offer food to monks who walk on line and who then sing a prayer to “thank” the donators) but in this city, it is now the first touristic attraction: donors are not local people anymore but curious tourists not even enough respectful to stay on their knees!!! Monks don’t sing anymore (it is not necessary as tourists don’t understand Lao language …) and the other tourists (the ones who just assist at the ceremony) have big cameras and stand 10 centimetres away from the monks… So we went there with the thought that we will see something very traditional and we just saw a tourist parade… Fortunately, we saw one “real” monk ceremony in a village in the North. No tourist, just local people waiting faithfully for the monks, and monks who sing after getting the food!!! That was really intense this time and meaningful!!! Bracket closed !

Later, we went by boat to Muang Gnoi : Along the river, we saw river weeds fishermen, buffaloes, drying hemp and maïs culture.

After a “peaceful” night (because the boat wasn’t really comfortable) we hiked, with our bags without really knowing where to go!!! It is very steep in this region!!! After 4,5 hours we finally reached the village at the top of the mountain… Very hungry and thirsty!!!! The village is beautiful and there is no signs in English, no shops, no homestays…. Just a REAL village! While walking in “the street”, we asked a guy (with body language) where we could eat and he invited us in his house. We sat on the floor. In one side of the house, hemp was drying. He explained us that it was then sold in Vietnam and transformed in fabrics. His son, Klit, arrived. He looked very shy  but when we showed him our football ball that we had (you remember, the one we won in Mozambique, during the World Cup), a big smile appeared on his face and he ran to get a pump. Once the ball ready, Romain and Klit went outside to play. Our meal was served (noodles and omelette) and Kilt and Romain came in ; Kilt with his new ball securely in his arms. As thanks his father offered us a cigarette (that e denied of course) but we accepted the Lao Lao drink (traditional alcohol). We drank it the same way as the tradition: only one glass for everybody: the first one drinks the glass and refills for the second, etc, etc, until the last one!!! For his warm welcome and hospitality we gave him some money and we were really pleased to see that he gave the money to his son in order to buy clothes for school!!!

We spent a lovely time with this family but it was already time for us to come back… 3hours walking were waiting for us!!! We arrived at the bottom very tired after 30kilometres but really happy!!! A nice day!!

After these two days, we took the boat to the “gate to Vietnam” city!!! Next stop for us: Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam!

Vang Vieng : Our Christmas gift from the French School of Mouvaux

Vang Vieng is a small town near the Nam Song River. The city centre is not really a must see place except if watching Friends while smoking “happy stuff” is what you like. (Actually Vang Vieng was famous among the ravers and people who liked to party all night as the place with no limit but after some deadly incidents, the city closed many bars and tries now to upgrade and change the image of Vang Vieng. Anyway you still feel this atmosphere and some bars are still open)

But we found a peaceful place just across the bridge, in a small bungalow surrounded by a great countryside.

While driving our motorbike through rice fields and villages, surrounded by mountains, we met a very friendly bunch of children. They were playing together with a ball. In team of 2 they formed a circle. One of the two children of the team was “sitting on the back” of his friend like a jockey on a horse. The “jockeys” were passing the ball from one to another. If the ball hit the ground, then all jockeys had to run away and the “horses” had to catch the ball as soon as possible. While staying in the circle, the horse with the ball could try to touch one jockey with the ball. If he matched his target, then all horses became jockeys and the jockeys were horses!!! After 10-15 minutes of watching them, one of the girls, called us to play with them!!! That was really funny! For us, for the children and also for all adults who were watching us and laughing at us. A lot of fun without any words (except « Sabaidee » (=Hello) and « Khop Chaï » (=Thank you))

The next day, we “climbed” a small montain to have a great view on the region. But after having paid the entrance fees, two kids followed us on the hike. We knew they wanted money and we have one rule than we always apply: We never give money to children; first because it keep them in the street instead of sending them to school and second because the money is never for them but for someone else! So we tried to tell them to stop as we won’t give them money but as they don’t speak English, they keep following us. One of them is sick and coughs a lot but he still climbs faster than us!!! At the top we took some pictures, it is beautiful. The children are making fun of us because of all the pics we take!!! Once at the bottom, they ask us for money (the only english word they know). Of course we refuse but we propose them some food. At the beginning they hesitated but after few seconds, they accepted our offer and brought us in a nearby restaurant. On the way, they met 2 of their friends and proposed them to come with. That’s how we had lunch with 4 boys between 8 and 11. 4 children who might not have any lunch and who had a big plate of chicken rice!!!! A great great time together, once again without any conversation, but smiles!!!! After we did the traditional “funny face picture” and we left. So please, if a child is asking you money, just give him some rice!!!!!

After this wonderful day, we had another unforgettable time. As we were “celebrating” our first 9 months on the road (it is going soooo fast) and as the children and their parents from the school in France gave us some money for Christmas, we decided to fly over Vang Vieng in a hot air balloon.

Just before the sun set, we took off. Pomme Pidou in the front row of course!!! We flew over the market, it was beautiful to see all umbrellas from above. Kids and parents were looking at us and making hello signs!!! Then the sun started to disappear behind the mountains; and the sky took amazing colors. 40 minutes later, we touched the floor again!!!

Once again, a big thanks to the French School of Mouvaux! Without them, we could not afford this extra in our travel!!!! And we would have missed an amazing experience!!! 

Vientiane : another tragic story but also new games !

After a long (dusty and uncomfortable) bus journey, we arrived in Vientiane, capital city of Lao, where we were warmly welcomed by our hosts Pierre and Cathy, both teachers at the French School. So the next morning, after a lovely evening and a delicious breakfast, we went to school with them!

During 3 days, we played with 5 different classes (from 6 years old to 9-10 years old)! We discovered plenty of games!!!

-        At the “sardines” game, one player hides himself while the others are counting (until a predefined number). When they are finished, they have to find the hidden player. If one of them finds him, he has to stay quiet and stays with him. The looser is the last player who discover all other people!

-        For the “lunch box” game, you need a ball (or a lunch box???). One child is the wolf and the playing field is determined. At the beginning, all players are in the middle of the field, near the ball and the wolf. One player shoots the ball in order to send it as far as possible. The wolf has to take the ball and bring it back to its place. During that time all kids hide themselves. The wolf tries then to find the other players. If he finds someone, he has to touch the ball and says loudly who he saw and where (for example: I saw John behind the tree). If it is correct, the found player comes and sits next to the ball. To be delivered, the player needs to wait until one other player comes and touches the ball without being seen by the wolf. The game is finished when all players are prisoners.

-        Ngad Khay Tao (turtles ‘eggs): we draw (or define) a small circle on the ground (1,5m diameter). One child goes inside and the others put their right shoe in it. They have to take back their shoe without being touch by the turtle (the kid inside). If someone is touched by the turtle, then he takes its place and the turtle becomes a normal player (and put his right shoe inside). When everybody has his shoe back, the turtle counts until 20 and the children have to hide their shoe. Then the turtle has to find all shoes in a predetermined time!

-        Ban Khouk (or “Lao prisoner ball”) is a game with 2 teams and one ball. Players are divided in two teams like on the sketch: one team in the centre of the field, the other team divided in two, one part on each side of the field. The “external” team has the ball and has to touch the players from the “central” team. If one child is touched, he get out of the field. If a child catches the ball before it touches the ground, he wins a life: he can either use it for one player of his team who was out of the game and who now can play again or for himself: he will need to be touched twice to be eliminated. When there is only one player left on the central field, the team has 10 chances to touch him. If the players fail then, the central team wins the game!

-        In the « bull » game, all children are in circle and one is in the middle. The players from the circle have a ball and pass it to each other (with the hand or the foot). If the bull (the child inside the circle) catches the ball, the player who was passing the ball becomes the bull and the bull can enter the circle and play!

-        The “007” game is similar to “stone, paper, scissors”: 2 players are facing each other. They can either shoot, protect themselves or recharge their guns. Of course you can only shoot if your guns are charged. One player wins a point if he shoots and the other is charging his guns. The first player with 3 points is the winner.

-        For the flag game, 2 teams are facing each other and one flag (or ball or something) stands on each side of the playing field. The players have to “steal” the flag from the other team without being caught and when they have the flag, they have to bring it back on their side of the field. (if it is a ball, the players can send the balls to make the game more difficult)

We spent 3 great days in this school. Our game collection is getting bigger and our smiles keep going to be spread out!!!

But in Vientiane, there are unfortunately also some places which are not so smiling than a school. We visited the COPE Centre (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Entreprise), which is an organism which tries to offer rehabilitation services to all physically injured people. Actually, Lao is the most bombarded country in the world, sad record! Officially Lao and the US never declared a war but Lao received more than 500000 American bombardments between 1964 and 1973 which represents 200 billion of tons of bombs. (Lao is on the Ho Chi Ming road, and as the US aircrafts couldn’t land if they were full, they “had to” leave their bombs on Lao). 30% of all these bombs have not exploded yet and it is the biggest issue nowadays. When a farmer is harvesting or doing some work on his land, a bomb can explode and the man can lose an arm, a leg, the sight, the life…. COPE tries to help this devastated population (because an injured man cannot support his family anymore) and does also some demining campaigns. These operations are dangerous, long, and expensive and it will need dozens and dozens of years until the country will be totally free from these hidden and dangerous unexploded bombs. That is also one the reason why a large part of the country is not exploited (nor by a farming field, nor by a plant, not by a village, neither by a road…)

Once again, it is very painful to discover this part of History but it is also frustrating and revolting!!! Lao did not ask anything, was not in war and is the country with the most remaining consequences!!!

At last but not least, Vientiane has also something else to offer: beautiful colonial constructions, good pastries and bakeries, even a triumph arch… It is a small town where it is nice to live!!!

4000 islands, Thakhek and Konglor : Mother Nature in all its beauty

After a not so quiet border crossing (or at least, a corrupted border crossing) we arrived at 4000 islands. This place is, as you can guess, a group of islands on the Mekong River (sorry we didn’t count if they are 4000!!!). 

Here the River is not polluted (at least not enough to refrain us of swimming); so even if the temperature of the water was quite low, we did some tubing!!! It is really nice, slow and quiet. While lying in the tubing, you have time to discover the place from another angle. For example we saw boats transporting motorbikes, women fishing riverweeds or doing their laundry, kids playing in the water or taking a shower, ducks having fun…

By bicycle, we visited the Mekong waterfalls. They are huge and impressive!!! We were especially impressed by the courageous ones (and pro) who did some kayak in it!

On the island we stayed, people are also making their own charcoal: they stack pieces of wood together and cover it with clay and straw. They light a fire at the base of this “house” and as the smoke cannot go away, wood is consumed slowly and becomes charcoal. When everything has burnt, the “house” is destroyed and charcoal taken.

In Lao, the French influence is still strong and visible ! People play pétanque, how funny is that ?? As kids don’t have the right bowls to play they have invented another version: instead of the jack they use rubber bands, small wood pieces or just “something” and to replace the petanque bowls they use their flip flops. They throw their shoe in order to touch the “jack”! Some of them are really good at it!

This venue in Lao is really peaceful and beautiful… We enjoyed spending time in our hammocks in front of our bungalows and smiling at the very friendly population.

But after 3 days on “our” island we arrived in Thakhek. This limestone region is well known for its caves. We took a motorbike and drove through a mountainous landscape to discover caves. Some of them only contains beautiful stalagmites and stalactites, some of them contain a lot of Buddha…. Really nice… but not as nice as French caves J!!

With « very » local transport we moved to Konglor, another place known for its cave. 

This one is crossed by a river and measures 9,5kilometres. It connects 2 villages. The cave has beautiful limestone formations but is also the place where the biggest spiders are living (25 centimetres… with the legs of course). Unfortunately we couldn’t see any: we cross in a boat in the dark, with only our headlamps but it is not enough for this huge cavity. Anyway we really appreciated the boat ride!!!