A week in Laos…

I just spent a week in Laos, and I thought I'd share! To start us off, here are some fun facts about Laos:

Laos consumes more sticky rice than any other country
Laos is the most bombed country in the world (more on that below)
Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia
Lao coffee is underrated and not talked about, but quite tasty
Despite being landlocked, Laos is home to four thousand islands

I flew into Luang Prabang and enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle for a few days. In Luang Prabang, there's not actually a ton to do, but the pace of life is slower and everyone is super chill and laid back. The surrounding area is quite nice as well, as it's quite green.

On the first morning in Luang Prabang, I did a tour with Orange Robe Tours. I don't usually do tours, but this was highly recommended. In Laos, most men join the monastery when they're 10, become monks, and usually drop out when they're 18 or 19 to pursue university. Orange Robe Tours hires these young men to lead tours, as they have a deep understanding of life as a monk and the Buddhist faith in Laos in general and because they were recently monks. The tour was quite interesting and educational; my tour guide explained the importance of Buddhism in Lao culture and how big of a role it plays in society. In Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia they practice one form of Buddhism, whereas in Vietnam and China, they practice a different form. In the latter two countries, Buddhism is not as visibly seen in society.

Another thing that I did was attend the Giving of the Alms ceremony. This happens every morning at sunrise on the main street in Luang Prabang. Locals prepare food (mainly sticky rice) for monks and give it to them. It is an old tradition that has unfortunately been tainted recently by disrespectful tourists.

Later that day, I went to Kuang Si Falls. Kuang Si Falls is a really cool waterfall about 45 minutes south of Luang Prabang. A must-visit place!

After a couple of days there, I headed to Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is 5 hours south of Luang Prabang (by minivan). Vang Vieng is known as the adventure spot in Laos. There are a lot of things to do: hiking, tubing, rock climbing, you can ride in a hot air balloon or go up in a paramotor. While I was there, I rented a motorbike and checked out some of the peaks. It's pretty scenic when you get to the top, however getting to the top is quite a task. The "trails" are nonexistent for the majority of the walk, so sometimes it feels like you're rock climbing to the top. An adventure nonetheless!

I also went tubing. Basically, they drop you in the river, you float down the river (8km total), stop at two bars along the way and then they pick you up at the last bar and drive you back. I wanted to do this for the tubing, but this activity was more about the alcohol. They literally have a couple of bars in random spots on the river and they toss you a rope and pull you in. Tourists hang out for a few hours, drink a lot, and then get back in the water. This is quite controversial because a couple of years ago 27 people died in one year while tubing. They used to have about 6 bars open, and they would serve a ton of alcohol and drugs. You can imagine that mixes well with tubing down the river. Because of the deaths, they closed the whole thing down, removed the drugs, and re-opened it with two bars. However unfortunately a disproportionate amount of time is still spent at the bars compared to actually tubing.

For my final stop, I headed four hours south to the capital, Vientiane. Most people say there's not a lot to do and only worth staying a night, if anything. I didn't expect much and only stayed a night. I walked around quite a bit during my time there and found it wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. Vientiane was definitely the busiest place in the country I visited.

In Vientiane and Luang Prabang, I visited COPE and UXO (unexploded ordinances) Luang Prabang. They are two organizations (I visited their visitor centers) working to help people who suffer from the “Secret War.” During 1964-73, the United States dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs in more than 580,000 bombing missions over Laos (during the Vietnam War). That is the equivalent of one planeload every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 9 years (!). Not many people know about this. An estimated 30% of the bombs dropped did not explode, and continue to kill or injure about 300 people per year in Laos. Many have died and many more have lost limbs. The vast majority of people who are currently alive in Laos were born after the war, and are just going about their daily lives. Typically, people find unexploded bombs while farming and either don’t know what they are, or accidentally hit them with a shovel (or any tools they may be using) and they explode. Kids often find bombs and treat them as toys.

COPE in Vientiane focuses more on all the people who have lost arms or legs as a result of a bomb. They have 5 medical clinics around the country to help people. UXO Luang Prabang talks more about the history, and the areas of the country that have been most affected (mainly the central/southern parts, very rural areas). UXO Luang Prabang also sends teams to rural villages to safely detect and remove unexploded bombs, and educate people living in villages. They both have extensive information and stats on all the people who have lost their lives as a result. President Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Laos in 2016. At the time the US was contributing $30M annually to help clean up the bombs, but he pledged to triple it to $90M. Trump on the other hand cut it to $10M per year in his last budget proposal.

To conclude, Laos was great. It was a fun and educational experience.

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