Laos

All images and associated pages copyrighted © by Don Chesnut, 2007

30 June 2007 Saturday

...We landed in Vientiane at 1:50 pm (1 hour time zone difference with China). I went through customs and went out to the common area. A man holding a "Mr. Chestnut" sign was waiting for me. His name was Phouvong (Phouvong Keoduangchane). Phouvong works for Indochina Services (www.indochina-services.com). He and the driver took me to my hotel and along the way, he explained a little about Vientiane history, etc. We turned onto a road that paralleled the Mekong River. The river was low and a broad sand bar occupied a large portion of the river. Wet season will start this month. I was surprised to see so many Westerners here on holiday. Most appeared to be backpackers. I checked into the very fancy Lao Plaza Hotel (www.laoplazahotel.com). I had the rest of the day off, so I sent my dirty clothes to the laundry and searched for the internet service at the hotel. It was on the main floor and costs $2 per 15 minutes, the most expensive for anywhere I have been. I sent out a bunch of e-mail journal entries.

• northern Laos, from Google Earth
• Vientiane, from Google Earth
• sign at Vientiane airport, drive to downtown
• the Lao Plaza Hotel, the lobby, my room, another view, instead of the usual Gideon Bible at the bedside, they have a Buddhist book, bathroom, view from my room, another view

After that, I walked down to the Mekong River. I took photos of the exposed sand bars and the Thai bank of the river. There was a little open-air bar and restaurant on the bank and I had a Lao beer. Other people there were from Netherlands and England. The owner of the cafe taught me some Lao phrases, which I'll need to practice. I took a couple of pictures of the sunset over the Mekong River.

• temple on walk, the Mekong (downstream, note sandbar), the Mekong (upstream, Thailand on other bank), sunset along the Mekong, another view, yet another view

Afterwards, I went to a seafood restaurant and had mussels and snails, which were very good. Then I went to a fruit stand and bought a durian fruit. The fellow at the stand cut it for me and took out the edible part and put it on a Styrofoam platter. I ate lots of it, but couldn't eat it all. By then, it was late and I went back to the hotel.

1 July 2007 Sunday

I got up about 7, took a shower and went to breakfast which was included. The hotel restaurant was also a French bakery. They had an excellent selection of Western and Eastern food. I had lots of fruit including rambutans, lychees, dragon fruit, pineapple, cantaloupe, small cinnamon danish, custard danish and croissant, and good coffee.

• part of the buffet, the bakery

I met Phouvong at 8:30 and we drove around Vientiane to look at a variety of historic sites, most of which were Buddhist. These included Sisa Khat (Wat Sisaket) temple (museum), Ho phrakeo (Haw Pha Kaew) museum, Si Muang (Wat Simuang) temple, Phra That Luang (That Louang), and finally Patouxay (Patouxai) monument (an arch built in the 1960's).

• Wat Sisaket, sign for Sisaket, entrance to Sisaket, series of white stupas, old stupa, old buddhas in cloistered walls, buddha with missing arm, chart with Buddha poses and year emblems, each niche with two buddhas, row of buddhas, metal buddha, rain buddha, courtyard, another part of courtyard, buddhas damaged by Thai army, close-up, Phouvong and row of buddhas, buddha with broken naga (multi-headed protective cobra), hang hod for washing buddha statues, other end, sign for hang hod, another view, central temple building in courtyard, eaves of temple, buddha in temple, Buddha and disciple outside courtyard, larger buddha, buddha and naga
• Ho Phra Keo, sign for museum, statue of Laotian people (minus Frenchman), jar from Plain of Jars, another view, sparrow-like birds on fence, central temple, under eaves of temple, elaborate doorway, carved stone buddhas, standing buddha at temple entrance
• Wat Simuang, Hindu statue near entrance, ancient structure behind gate, white and brown bird of prey, dark gray bird of prey, another view, monkey trying to grab my glasses, dragons outside temple, altar, worshippers, making offerings interior, very young bananas and buddha, the temple, buddha under nine-headed naga, girl with lion, stork
• That Luang, entrance to courtyard in front of That Luang, entrance courtyard with side buildings, one of the side buildings, entrance courtyard with That Luang in background, statue of King Setthathilat, another view, close-up of King, entrance to That Luang stupa and courtyard, sign, Phouvong and cloistered walls in courtyard, buddha in cloistered area, Phouvong and friend, stone obelisk, smaller stupa, buddha head, central stupa, birds on stupa terrace
• Patouxai, Patouxai arch in central courtyard of large boulevard, closer view of arch, one of the entrances, ceiling of entrance level, view of fountain from top, view from corner, view of Mekong in distance, panorama from arch, photosynth, one of several shops in arch (I bought T-shirts here)

Phouvong asked me what I wanted for lunch. I said Lao food. He and the driver (Theu) took me to Kualao Restaurant (www.kualao.laopdr.com) about 2-3 blocks from my hotel. The restaurant specializes in Lao food. He helped me order and I had pork Larp, shrimp Tom Yum, and black sticky rice. All three were delicious. The tom yum had a large variety of items in it. The larp ("lahp") included banana flower strips and dried salty fish. The food and service were excellent.

• Kualao Restaurant, bar at restaurant, dining area, part of my meal, sticky rice in basket
• That Dam stupa near the restaurant and my hotel

After lunch, we went to the "Morning Market" and walked around. I was overwhelmed. I walked down the fabrics aisle and then the jewelry aisle. There were about 50 stalls for each aisle and they were all selling the same things.

• outside part of Morning Market, fruit and dried items,

After the market, I was dropped off at the hotel. I worked on my daily journal and sent e-mails.

In the evening I had Sri Lankan food including rice with cashews, pork cooked with spices, potatoes, spicy chicken, and eggplant, all cooked with Sri Lankan spices. It was an excellent meal. After dinner, I went back to the hotel and went to bed.

2 July 2007 Monday

I got up about 7, took a shower and had breakfast. I had a fruit plate, pastries and coffee. Then I checked out of the hotel. Phouvang was waiting to take me on a morning excursion. We drove about 40 minutes and stopped briefly to look at the long Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos. It was financed by the Australian government, I think. We drove a little further and arrived at the Buddha Park. The park was built by a monk in the late 1950's. He built statues depicting Buddhist and Hindu history and famous stories. The statues had a brick and rebar core with concrete exterior. The park was never completed because the Pathet Lao took control. He fled to Thailand across the river; he may still be alive, but we don't know for sure. I took lots of pictures. The Mekong River is up and the water muddy today. There must have been lots of rain in China.

• drive to Buddha Park, Friendship Bridge and Mekong River, Thailand on the other bank
• Buddha Park, sign, multi-armed deity, pumpkin-like structure, another view, tree at top of pumpkin, gaping-mouth entrance to pumpkin, view to right from pumpkin, view to left, reclining Buddha from pumpkin, deities in front of pumpkin, deities directly in front of pumpkin, sitting buddha with elephant, starving buddha, reclining buddha, buddha stopping fight, black butterfly with white spots, more multi-armed deities, man on two-headed elephant, sitting deity and coils of snake, old man reclining, statue with long hair, bad man turned to monster, statue of the artist, pyramid, man on elephant, man holding cricket by the leg, fish swallowing man, sitting buddha, large warrior?, row of deities with large cobra

The weather is becoming hot and very humid; perspiration is dripping constantly. We drove back to Vientiane, directly to the airport.

• grocery on way back, motorcycle and umbrella, water buffalo (not true buffalo), sand and gravel dredged from the Mekong, outdoor restaurant, more sand and gravel, roadside stand, grocery, countryside, flooded rice paddy, working in rice field, temple entrance, government office

Phouvong got my boarding pass and airport tax and escorted me to security. I gave him a tip and one for the driver. I boarded an Air Lao prop plane for the 40-minute flight to Luang Prabang. I sat next to a young Lao lady. I practiced some Lao phrases with her and she corrected some of my mispronunciations. For snack, we were served a bun and three very nice lychees and some water.

Luang Prabang is nestled among steep-sided, tree-covered mountains. The Mekong still appears swollen and muddy, but the weather is dry here. My guide "Nith" (Somsanith Rattana) and driver drove me to the Villa Santi hotel. It was once the home of the princess and built in the French style. I checked into my room, took a few photos and went to the atrium or courtyard "Jazz Bar." I ordered a Beer Lao and filled out my journal. The heat is in the upper 90's, but the humidity is very high. The air in the courtyard is not moving at all. There have been lots of butterflies, but they are very difficult to photograph. I recognize some that I saw in Viet Nam and Cambodia last year. So far, I have not seen any internet service in the hotel. There is no TV in the room either, which is fine with me.

• northern Laos, from Google Earth
• Luang Prabang, from Google Earth
• Luang Prabang airport
• Villa Santi Hotel, sign, front of hotel, courtyard in front of hotel, open lobby, front desk, Jazz Bar, my room, another view, small bathroom, another view

Luang Prabang ("Luang Pabang") is a World Heritage city and only has 70 thousand people; Vientiane had 600 thousand.

I walked the length of the town and back.

• young monks in front of Three Elephant Cafe, view down Xiang Thong street in front of hotel, naga steps to Phou Si hill?, entrance to Wat Hosian, Hmong markets, market stalls, typical house, side street with guest houses, Royal Palace Museum?, stupa, temple at base of Phou Si hill, umbrella and motorcycle, side street with guesthouses, walking back to hotel, mountain in distance
• black, white and red prob. Common Mormon butterfly (Papilio polytes Linn., black and white are females, multicolored are males, mimic other species) in Butterfly Bush behind my hotel room, another view, same butterfly, Checkered Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio demoleus Linn.) at top, closer view, another view, yet another view
• apple, rambuttans and longans in my room

When I got to the hotel, I reserved a spot at the hotel restaurant for 7:00 pm. It started raining off and on at 3:30, so I didn't walk any more. I sat in the lobby and talked to two couples who had just graduated from business school in Chicago. They asked me where to go in Vietnam and Cambodia and I told them about my experiences there last year. They recommended a French bakery about a mile down the street (actually more like 1/2 mile). I will stick to Lao food I think. I got sunburned today, my shoulders and face feel like it.

I went to the restaurant above the lobby of the hotel. I ordered a set menu which included Kai keng Khao Poor Chin (hot chicken soup with Chinese vermicelli), Kula Kai (chicken Kula stewed in red curry), Jeun Sin Moo (deep-fried pork with oyster sauce), Kaikhovam (deep-fried stuffed boiled egg with minced pork), Tom Jeaw Pa Nam Kong (boiled fish relish with mushroom and herbs), Yam Yai (cooked vegetable with mushroom and nut salad), Jaew Maklen (grilled tomato relish). I also had a carafe of house red wine which I could not finish. This is the time to be out. I sat on the balcony and the breeze and temperature feel great for a change. The ceiling fans are going full tilt. Judging from the view, this is the off season, there are not many tourists.

• hotel restaurant, my table on balcony, my dinner

After a while a fellow started playing a hammered dulcimer on the small stage. Another young man played a drum, but was apparently in training. The dulcimer player was very good, playing in the oriental style. The older fellow adjusted the drum for the younger fellow. It's a double-sided drum. I had a cup of coffee at the end of my meal. I gave the musicians a dollar and took their picture. There are geckos on the walls everywhere. They are on the walls of the restaurant and on the balcony.

• musicians

When I got back to my room, I saw that my toilet was stopped up. I went to the desk and told them about it. They sent a fellow with pliers to fix it. He flushed the commode after I told him not to and water went all over the floor. He came back a few minutes later and plunged it, which worked. Now, however, I'm worried about the quality of the floor. I went to bed about 11 after a walk. I saw several internet cafes.

3 July 2007 Tuesday

During the night I heard geckos making the "gec-ko" noise, which is how they got their name. I also heard a strange call that sounded like a high-pitched female ghost, "wuh, ah, ah, ah, ah." It must be some nocturnal bird.

I got up at 7, took a shower and went to breakfast in the same restaurant as last night. Breakfast is included. I had a nice fruit plate, sliced baguette bread, fried spring roll and Lao salad, and coffee.

Nith and the driver picked me up at 8:30 and drove about 2 blocks. Nith and I got on a long Mekong river boat and went upstream about 2 hours. There were many rocks in the river and the current was swift. There were also submerged rocks and sand bars and the captain, Don, had to navigate through these. We landed at the village Ban Xang Hai where they distilled rice whiskey, lào-láo. I had a sample and walked around the village, taking lots of pictures. We then took the boat to Ban Houey Ko and the village men invited me to join them. We had several rounds of rice whiskey. By the time I left, I'd had too much.

• Pak Ou cave and Mekong River, from Google Earth
• boarding our boat, Don, our captain, one of the long, narrow boats on the river, Nith and our boat, mountains along the river, view along the top of our boat, riverboat with cabins, another view, front of the big riverboat, riverboat with basket shelter, riverboat construction, riverboat gasoline station, typical family boats, rocky shoreline in places, fast flowing water, cross section through sand bar, another view, red riverboat with shelter, rocks and fast running water, sandbar with trough crossbeds?, truck getting sand and gravel, truck filled with sand, fast flowing water and submerged sandbar, five boys in a canoe, Laotian pink cattle, view of the river, rocky shore, distant mountains in rain, passing a tourist boat, swirling water, view through riverboat, fast boat, limestone along the shore,
• Ban Xang Hai, climbing mud steps, working rice still, rice fermenting in jug, schematic chart, rice whiskey pouring into jug, different grades of rice whiskey, cobra snake whiskey, scorpion whiskey, next group of tourists, sampling whiskey, too strong, stand with opium pipes (I bought one for Anne), another view, walk through village, village temple, temple drum, scenes about Buddha's life, longboats, modern house with satellite dish, another house, small loom, movie about cotton spinning (YouTube), spinning, kids in lower part of house, typical house, weaving sticky rice basket, street in village, grocery, clothes, movie with homemade erhu (YouTube), very nice fabrics, another rice still, Nith at end of foot bridge, getting back on boat
• heading upstream, mountains in distance, mountains in rain, fishing poles and fishing baskets, rocks and fast-flowing water, Don navigating around rocks
• Ban Houey Ko, sign, boy on water buffalo, Nith climbing muddy path, lower part of village, a place to hang things, woven walls, cluster of houses,  woven walls and thatched roofs, another view, children in house, houses and palm trees, children in rain, another view, more houses, inside a house, small pig, everyone lives on the second floor, casting net and door, goat, horizontal poles, more kids, crossing small valley, new bridge under construction, another kid, lady, firewood and machete, cluster of houses, making sticky rice basket, houses uphill, baskets, more children, another house, invited to lao-lao ceremony (we stayed here a long time), local men on woven mats (I thought I would break through the mats as I walked), Nith with lao-lao, men clapping and singing, more clapping, the ladies started coming in, the ladies, Nith taking my picture while I try not to break the floor, fellows now drinking beer, a toast, talking about families, another view, ladies in the back, father and son, some food was brought in, I'm soaked with perspiration (I'm the only one with heavy long pants), fellows to my right, another view, finger pointing, I promised to send them pictures, our captain Don on left, Nith, man with plaid shirt, last picture, time to go

We proceeded up the river to Pak Ou cave. I could tell we were near because I saw some pinnacle karst. It must have been limestone on a folded or faulted block because the karst appeared to follow a band on one side of a mountain range that wasn't karst. I took several photos. The trip down the river was only 1 hour.

• heading to Pak Ou cave, Nith explaining about difference between highlanders and lowlanders, karst limestone mountain, forested mountain in distance, Don
• Pak Ou cave, Don and our boat at Pak Ou dock, Buddha statues in cave, many levels of statues, more statues, Nith with statues, even more statues, tiny carved buddhas in niches, view from cave, hang hod in cave (to wash buddhas), Nith in cave
• turning downstream, dark Laotian cattle (there are two types, dark and pink)

When we got back to the hotel I took a nap. After I woke up, I walked down the street. There are a great many backpackers here, but very few regular tourists. Regular tourist season is December through March, I believe, when the weather is milder. The backpackers must be on summer break, however, and can't come during regular tourist season. There are many guesthouses along the side streets and that is where the students stay.

I did not eat a regular meal but finished a bag of longans and rambuttans. I went to bed about 11.

4 July 2007 Wednesday

Happy July 4th, America.

It rained during the night. I got up about 7, took a shower and went to breakfast. I had a fruit plate, french toast and honey and Lao coffee on the restaurant balcony. It was cloudy but very humid. I packed and left by 8:45.

Nith and I walked around the town, visiting the Hmong markets and numerous Buddhist temples and neighborhoods. I took lots of photos. However, it was sweltering and very humid. My shirt was wet and the papers in my pant pockets were wet.

• assortment of fruit at Hmong market, bamboo buds and other vegetables, more bamboo and banana leaves, rambuttans and something else, hornet nests with larvae for sell, assortment of dried fish, dried roots? (I don't remember), chilis and aubergines (egg plants), the street market, baskets and basket pillows, cow parts, greens, hog parts, local fresh fish, steamed fish and fly whisk, hornet larvae hand picked from paper nest, some large fish, marigold temple offerings, cooked fish
• Wat Visoun (Vat Visounnarath), sign, main temple (inside are items saved from raiding Chinese), ornate door, intricately carved panel, assortment of buddhas, another view, palanquin?, rain buddhas, another view, two rain buddhas and peace buddha, sitting buddha touching earth, outside the temple, sitting buddha, That Makmo (or watermelon stupa), slanted arch stupa, two stupas at adjacent Wat Aham?
• downstream Khan River, upstream Khan River, another view, closer view
• Wat Sensoukhabam, gold stupa and temple, another view, small ornate building, gold rain buddha, student preparing for tests, mural depicting Buddha stepping on man covering puddle, red building with sign
• street scene
• series of Wats (which ones are these?), blue and gold stupa, pink and gold temple, sitting buddha in ornate building, yellow drum pavilion, several houses, two lions guarding temple, gold and red temple, ornate white house, another red-and-gold temple, red room with gold buddha, pink and gold building, typical house, Siamese fighting fish, construction following World Heritage guidelines, small white building
• confluence of Khan (on right) and Mekong (left and back), another view, Mekong
• Wat Xiang Thong (Vat Xiengthongratsavoravihanh), sign, tiger at base of wat steps, looking down steps to Mekong, main temple, back of main temple, flame tree mosaic in back of main temple, longboat shed, woven stick and cowhide glue construction, mural, pink and metallic Sitting Buddha shrine, Sitting Buddha pavilion, Reclining Buddha shrine, reclining Buddha in back, many buddhas, entrance of funerary carriage hall, funeral carriage, another view, rain buddhas, main temple, another view, intricate door, drum pavilion, large buddha, closer view, ceiling, view toward front, one of the recent monks
• street on walk back to hotel, making chips (from taro?), drying chips, pressing the dough, quiet street
• Wat Nong, entrance, temple, naga steps

I went back to my room and took a shower. My deodorant is completely ineffective. I did not eat lunch but had 6 or 7 longans and some water.

At 12:30p Nith and driver took me to the airport. I gave them their tips and went through security. I had to wait in the airport lobby till check in at 1:20. I checked in my red pack because this is a small plane. I paid my airport tax (US$10, but in Lao kip) and went through passport control and then into another waiting room. There was another 1.5 hour wait there.

I boarded the plane to Bangkok, got there, went through customs, etc. I got a cab for 465 baht and arrived at the Amari Boulevard Hotel (www.amari.com/boulevard) by about 6:20 pm. I checked in, went to my room and walked around the hotel. I am only here for a few hours. I have to get up at 3am for my flight back to the US. I didn't feel like eating, so walked around outside the hotel. I found a durian stand and bought a sweet potato-sized piece of durian flesh. There are about 4 to 8 sweet potato-shaped cells of flesh in each durian. Because most hotels don't allow durian, I walked around while eating it. Several of the Thais gave me a thumbs up for eating it. Most Westerners cannot eat it because of the pungent smell. After I finished the durian, I went back to my hotel and went to sleep.

• aerial view of Luang Prabang, flooded rice paddies nearby
• Amari Boulevard Hotel, hammered-dulcimer player in lobby, my room, bathroom, another view, view from my room, swimming pool, adjacent (to pool) Season Thai restaurant

5 July 2007 Thursday

I got up a little after 3am, took a shower and checked out of the hotel. I got a taxi to the airport for 500 baht plus tolls. We must have been going 100 mph; it was a scary ride.

I checked in at Northwestern Airlines and got my boarding passes all the way to Lexington. This is going to be a long day. It's really two days in one because we cross the International dateline.

I boarded the plane and we flew to Tokyo. At Tokyo, I boarded a 747 and took my aisle seat. A family with a young child sat next to me. The mother had to sit in another row. They asked if I would change with the mother. She was not sitting along the aisle but crammed into a row in the middle of the plane. I reluctantly agreed to change, but didn't like the new arrangement at all. We flew all the way to Detroit, Michigan; I was unable to recline or use my elbows or see the movie. There were a bunch of babies on the flight and they cried most of the way to Detroit, only to fall asleep as we prepared for our landing.

After going through customs, I boarded a small jet to Lexington. I noticed a colleague of mine, Zhenming, also on the flight. We talked about each of our trips to China. When I boarded the plane I noticed a young man who looked familiar. He went to Tates Creek High School and had played soccer with my daughter on a soccer league. He and his mother had just visited Bangkok and were returning home as well.

After landing at Bluegrass Field, I came down the escalator to the baggage-claim area. Elizabeth and Nora were waiting there for me. I hugged them and told them I missed them. We got my red pack and Elizabeth drove home. It was good to be back.

Parent Page