Sunset Arrival
Posted by Stuart at 11:54 PM on April 12, 2004The four of us, Ted, Than, Piyawat and I, have made it safely to Luang Prabang, Laos. We flew Lao Aviation from Bangkok with a transfer in Vientiane. I knew from my past experiences that I shouldn't expect much from this airline (just get me there in one piece, please!) but the plane from Bangkok to Vientiane was brand new and quite nice.
However, when we arrived in Vientiane, the real fun started. We had a 45-minute layover that ended up being 45 minutes of chaos. First, we had to get our visa-on-arrival. Then, we were rushed through the 4-gate International Terminal over to the no-gate Domestic Terminal. We scanned our check-in bags and had to go to a third building to get our boarding pass. Of course this office had no computers, just reams of paper with passenger lists and handwritten tickets.
Once we got our boarding pass, we crossed to the opposite side of the terminal to go through security. Or should I say "security"? When Ted went through the metal detector, the alarms sounded. But there was no one working there and since Ted knew that he was not carrying any weapons, he just walked right through.
The air conditioner on the second plane wasn't working, but thankfully the flight was very quick. We then took a taxi to my friend Noy's guesthouse on the river, arriving just as the sun was setting over the mountains on the other side of the Mekong. Beautiful!
The four of us had dinner at one of Luang Prabang's nicest restaurants. The food was good, but I am so used to Thai prices that now paying US$8 for a plate of pasta seems outrageously expensive to me. On the other hand, I have to admit that it was the best cream sauce I have had in Asia.
After dinner we walked through the night market and to a big fair. One of the highlights was seeing the motorcyle show. (I'm not really sure what to call what I saw, so "motorcyle show" will have to do.) Basically, the show took place in a big circular enclosure. (Imagine a 30 foot tall wooden bucket.) We climbed to the top of the circular wall and looked inside where teenagers would take turns riding the motorcycle around the walls, perfectly horizontal to the ground.
It is the Songkran holiday, so everyone is in a very festive mood. Luckily, the water splashing hasn't begun yet, but Than made a super-soaker water gun purchase at the fair in preparation for New Year's Day tomorrow.
Playing Songkran
Posted by Stuart at 10:35 PM on April 13, 2004It has been an amazingly fun and exhausting day today. We started our New Year by eating breakfast at our guesthouse's restaurant on the river. After walking around town a bit (and dodging kids throwing water) we headed up the hill to where Ted and Than were staying at the Pan Sea hotel.
The Pan Sea Hotel sits on a beautiful location overlooking the back side of Luang Prabang (if you consider the Mekong to be the "front side"). The infinity pool and the rooms are beautiful as well. But are they worth the US$200 price? I don't think so. I'll take my US$15 guesthouse on the river, thank you. Not to mention, the hotel charged Piyawat and me US$10 for laying out at their pool with registered guests. Just plain tacky, in my opinion.
In any case, we eventually headed back to the downtown area to "Play Songkran". Basically the idea is to splash everyone who walks by or drives by with ice cold water. When no one is driving by, then you just turn to your friend next to you and pour a big bucket of water over his head. Add freely flowing Beer Lao and you have perfect low-tech fun. Needless to say, you get very wet, very quickly.
After a few hours, we needed to take a break, so the four of us took a boat across the river. We wandered through the small village watching the festivities. At one point we sat down on a tiny bench underneath a wooden house to eat fresh spring rolls and a solid dried rice pudding inside lettuce leaves.
Eventually we made it back over the river to our guesthouse where the party was still going strong. Only the setting sun slowed down the revelers. At dinner (on the river again) we sat and relaxed and watched lightning from an approaching storm light up the mountains across the river. From the sounds of it, nature will have her own "water splashing" festival tonight.
New Year Parade
Posted by Stuart at 09:27 PM on April 14, 2004It's been another exhaustingly fun day today. We started the day with breakfast at the Scandinavian Bakery. Then, we walked around town a bit, visiting the temples and again trying to avoid getting splashed by little kids. (We were only moderately successful in the latter.)
The big event in Luang Prabang today is the New Year's Parade. Luckily we saw Ted and Than just before the parade started and so we joined them for a Beer Lao at a sidewalk cafe -- front row seats for the show.
And what a show it was! I have never seen anything like it. Row after row of costumed people walked by, along with a few flat bed trucks carrying very old monks or monks beating big drums, or monks just sitting there getting soaked by the crowds.
Finally, the highlight of the parade was a big float carrying a huge (fake) boar with a beautiful costumed Lao girl lounging on top of it. After the boar passed, the crowd followed in the streets, splashing water, throwing flour, and laughing and talking and having the best time. I think I took about 50 pictures during the 30 minute parade alone.
After the parade, the four of us walked around visiting more temples and doing a very bad job of staying dry. After a little snack back at our guesthouse we just had to take a nap. It's amazing how tiring it is to walk around laughing all day...
Pak Ou Caves
Posted by Stuart at 08:05 PM on April 15, 2004Songkran Day #3 was the most relaxing so far. We spent most of the day on a boat ride up the Mekong to visit the Pak Ou caves. The caves hold hundreds (thousands?) of Buddha images that have been placed there by worshippers over the past few centuries. When Laos had a king, the king would visit Pak Ou caves on Songkran to pour water over the images.
After visiting the caves, we crossed the river to a tiny village called Baan Pak Ou, where we ate the usual Lao/Isaan snacks of som tam (spicy papaya salad), larb blaa, (spicy ground fish salad) and kao neow (sticky rice). And of course, plenty of Beer Lao to wash it all down.
On the way back down the river to Luang Prabang, we stopped by another village which is supposedly famous for making Lao Lao (Lao Whisky -- same word but different tones). Luckily our boat driver was friends with people in the village, so we were welcomed with open arms and shot glasses of Lao Lao.
