Laos: Laid Back Nature

I've found my favorite country in Southeast Asia. OK, well, it is only my second so far, but it's definitely at the top of the list! Laos is like the geographical love child of Costa Rica and Nepal. It's got a positively beautiful landscape in the mountainous northern region, the world's happiest people (I have never seen so much spontaneous laughter!) and the laid-back nature of a California surfer dude. I mean to say, it is positively lovable and I really don't think I stopped smiling during my much-too-short ten days here.

When I crossed the border from Thailand into Laos, I took a two-day "slow boat" ride down the Mekong River. Though it was filled with half tourists and half locals, this was defintely a segregated event. That said, it was a really nice way to connect with some really great people from all over the world, seeing as we had about 16 hours to pass together. This photo is of one of the local stops that we made along the way where goods were loaded onto the plywood roof by a woman in her canoe. It was a positively beautiful ride through the jungles, gardens and mountains of northern Laos.

Though I was here for only 10 days, I feel like I had enough experiences to write a book! One day, Gerdien and I walked through our small town (Nong Kieu) to a smaller village of maybe 40 homes. We were, of course, greeted enthuasiastically by a group of children - probably ages 3 to 10. For the next 2-3 hours, we proceeded to entertain them without any shared words. We invented games, had relay races (yes, I slept hard that night!) and went to the river to go swimming. They were so poor and their toys were things like plastic water bottles (undoubtedly left by tourists) cut open and with a string tied to it like a car, and old bicycle tires. I so wanted to go back and bring them some books, clothes, notebooks or anything, but unfortunately Nong Kieu didn't have anything for us to deposit. You can bet that I will be dreaming for a long time of going back and leaving a meaningful gift.

This video above is a little over a minute long, and might take a while for you to download, but it shows the sheer joy of the kids while they played by the riverside and the simplicity of rural Asian life. Remember that these kids don't have Guitar Hero or even running water!

The next night, we received an invitation to come to a "village celebration". We gratefully accepted, and then entered into one of the most memorable days of my trip. The party was absolutely like nothing I have ever experienced! First of all, the Southeast Asian people - Laos not excluded - really love to eat any kind of meat that they can find. We arrived after not having eaten since breakfast, feeling rather famished, only to find that the ONLY food available was sticky rice with three different kinds of buffalo mixture - one that included dried buffalo skin. Ummm...quite a difficult situation for a hungry vegetarian. So, I practiced the "when in Laos" philosophy and ate buffalo meat. OK, I only had a few bites and about a pound of sticky rice but I did it. And it was really disgusting. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to become a buffalo-tarian any time soon. Doesn't that look good? (Yes, that is lard floating on top.)

About that time, the whiskey started to flow. And this isn't just any whiskey, it's Lao Lao - the very potent homemade beverage they pride themselves on. And it's not a matter of you asking for whiskey. It is just given to you and then the whole table stares at you (smiling, of course) and waits for it to go down the hatch. I had a few shots before sneaking away from the table and hiding out of view of any food or liquor.

Then, the dancing started up! And, it wasn't Western style dancing. It wasn't even really dancing for that matter. More like a barely-wiggling-your-hands-while-sidestepping-in-a-line-while-facing-but-not-touching-your-partner dance. It was slow and boring, and I couldn't stop laughing. Until I realized that maybe I was being rude (they were all drunk, so maybe they didn't notice?) so I put on my best poker face and had Gerdien in stitches all night long with my overly serious face. We were the "Belles of the Ball" and danced with every man and child in that room over the course of the next six hours. It was not until the very end of the evening - the last dance - that the young kids got brave enough (or drunk enough?) to bust out a few wild moves and dance out of line. It was as if they had to wait for all the adults to go to bed before they could misbehave. We had fun with that last dance, too! (I also had a hilarious experience at a Lao disco...but that dancing story will have to wait!)

One of our last days, we walked to a cave that had served as the town for six years during the Laos Secret War from 1968 - 1974. It was a big cave, but not seemingly big enough to house nearly 1,000 people as well as host all of their civil functions as well (banking, medical, grocery). It was really eye opening to stand in this cave and look out over the beautiful fields and mountains, knowing that for six years while the bombs dropped no one left that cave without the threat of death. I don't know much about the war as I wasn't able to communicate with the locals enough to understand, but I am looking forward to learning more about the political forces at work here.

This photo was taken after hiking to the top of Laos' largest waterfall and then tryng to find our way down. It was a beautful place, and the monks also appreciated the cool respite from the hot afternoon.

Today I said goodbye to Laos, and hello to Cambodia. It is impossible for me to describe how these last six months have shaped my awareness, expanded my consciousness, and opened me so much more than ever to serendipity. I am so blessed to be here, to have created this space, and having these amazing experiences. I never stop reminding myself of this beautiful gift!

With love,

Pam