It was a little strange going on holidays without Craig, but with Nanny & Ampar in tow (my parents), the four of us set off to explore Laos. We really had no idea what to expect and so we prepared for it - we'd had our shots, we had our anti-malaria medication, had the mosquito repellent with DEET, packed long shirts to protect us from the mosquitos at night, and I even bought a 'travellers emergency medication kit'. I was ready for everything from a bout of conjunctivitis to rabies!
I had arranged a private trip - with the itinerary pre-organised and local guides and air-conditioned cars to ferry us around. It worked SO well! We were picked up at the airport in Vientiane (the capital), checked into our hotel and were off visiting temples in no time. Our guide was great - a local Laotian who was quite a character! Zoe drove him crazy asking SO many questions - she would raise her arm like in school. By that evening, she could say hello, hello how are you, and thank you in Lao, and knew the meaning of most of the buddah's hand positions.
The next day, we flew Lao airlines (yep - I was a little worried too) from Vientiane, to Luang Prabang in the north. It's a World Heritage listed town and it lives up to it's reputation. We had 6 days in Luang Prabang and loved it.
We learned alot about the history and culture from our guide. Did you know, in Lao, it's compulsory to study as a monk for a minimum of 3 months.... Amazing huh - in some countries it's compulsary to do military service to learn how to defend your country, and in Lao it's compulsory to learn how to uphold Buddah's values - a bit like our 10 commandments (but don't quote me on that!). Our guide in LP had been a monk for 14 years - leaving the monastary when he was 28 - every Lao mother's dream catch for her daughters! A virgin, learned, gentle man who knew how to look after himself.
In LP, we saw many, many more temples, took a day trip up the meekong by boat to the Pak Ou caves, visited many hilltribes who still specialise in local silk weaving, rice wine and crafts, visited the beautiful Kouang Si waterfalls and walked and walked......
The highlight of the trip was Zoe's birthday. She was a pig in poo when she discovered she'd got a Nintendo DS for her birthday -finally! After breakfast, we set off to the Elephant camp where they rescue injured and tortured elephants from the logging industry. Zoe got to not only ride the elephant on a trek, but to sit just behind it's head as the mahout. A mahout is an elephant's master - but it goes much further than that - they are best friends for life, living, working and sleeping side by side. The elephant responds to the mahout's touch and voice. It's amazing to see the bond between them. It was a brilliant day, and one that I don't think she'll ever forget.
It was also pretty unforgettable watching Nanny and Ampar hanging on for dear life - they had an elephant that had a mind of it's own:)
Mum and I also manged some serious silk weaving shopping - it has to be said. The silks were just amazingly beautiful and intricate.
Dad and I experienced the famous morning ritual of the monks walking through the town taking their food from the locals at sunrise. It was pretty amazing. They eat only twice a day and must finish eating by lunchtime. They rely heavily on the sticky rice and other food given to them by the locals.
The country was beautiful and I would definately love to go back again and explore more of it. It was clean and safe. The threat of mosquitos or other diseases and illnesses were non-events. It is an amazingly beautiful country with very gentle people - influenced by french, chinese, japanese and american cultures that have impacted or invaded them. We all felt very safe even at night. The older generations could all speak french, but the younger people couldn't. They are being taught english or russian in school now.
My most memorable experience was just watching the Meekong - from the sunrises (only managed one of those), to sunset, watched the fisherman, saw locals commute across the river for work, heard the kids playing in the water - everything happened on the river.
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