Laos-Gem of Indochina

Laos is a former French colony. French cultural heritage is still present in Laos in many ways. A fun fact is that most elderly people living in cities are fluent in French and with a good accent! People were even proud to speak in English! Yet more funny, signs of administrative places in Laos were written in Lao and French even new buildings: the post office, police, hospitals ...

So we very quickly felt very comfortable in this country, because of the Lao people are welcoming and warm.
We loved our stay in Laos. Admittedly, it is a very small country, there is still little infrastructure, few roads, no electricity anywhere, there is no running water anywhere The journeys are sometimes very long and difficult because they are very old bus. In fact, Laotiane people traveling with no matter what. But it is also probably the country to live the most unforgettable moments with the local people.

When we were in Pakse, we learned quickly that it is the third largest city in Laos and far different from Vientiane or Luang Prabang, this town was too noisy, with too much traffic , too many buildings ( of two floors at most). We were able to discover later that actually compared with the rest of Laos (almost only villages) Pakse was one of the most troubled province, it gave you an idea of fast- paced life ... We visited some temples in which we could talk with monks (those are about the only to have access to high education level, they are to speak or at least gabble in English, they try to practice as much as possible with foreigners, even if they are not English-speaking) and discover a little Buddhism and the practice of religion in the countries of Southeast Asia. We also visited the local markets, and a school. The children were excited because the New Year holiday in Laos was near, and teachers were rather tired, no one really spoke English, therefore we hadn't not really managed to communicate but it was still a nice time, the children knew t a single English word "thank you" and they keep saying "Thank you" whenever they want to communicate with us, it was very funny!

We then travel to Champassak, the ancient capital of Laos (30 years ago). It was difficult to imagine that this could be the capital there is so little time ... This gives an idea of the new development of Laos. Champasak is on the other side of the Mekong, we had to take a mini ferry to come there. We spend our time exploring the city (well, the trip was not very long ...), watch the Mekong (people fishing, children played and swam in the water ...), visit d other temples (including a very old dating from the time of Angkor) as well as another school. This time, we managed to find an old man speaking English who has played the translator, so there was no problem of communication! We spent the day and the next day to show our books on France and school in France . The children were very surprised to discover that in France students do not uniform! During those few days we had the chance to find ourselves face a meter of a cobra of a meter which was not at all happy to see us. Fortunately but we keep calm, we fell quietly and they eventually left without bothering us more than that!(to be continued)

The trips to Muang Sing is the high light of our holiday in Laos, only after the visit to Vientiane. We travelled to eight villages there accompanied by our two guides - Santi and Soya for three days. We thought it would be very nice to spend several days in my vacation with minorities.

Muang Sing is located in Luang Nam Tha in the north of Laos We took a trek Meet the Akha culture. Dating back to the thirteen centuries, the Akha culture was born and grew between Tibet, China and Southeast Asia, over the political conflict. Today, AKhas tribes lived on the high hills of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. At the end of our first half-day walk, we encountered the first two residents of the village: they are wearing traditional Akha women costumes, including a cap , crimped pellets of money and, surprisingly, large French coins. The engravinga are devilishly aesthetics and picturesque.

We got to the village after crossing the beautiful landscape, overlooking the valley and rice fields . They were alternated with fields of sugar cane . It was the after-noon, children are still in school. We arrived in time to discover how, with nothing, the game are invented. The school are equipped with simple palettes, some girls playing hopscotch and marbles. Later, we see other children playing bowling street. We are even more surprised at seeing small pieces of cabbage washed only in a fountain in the village. We discover the wooden houses on stilts. Rudimentary but functional, charming. During these three days, we learn to decipher the lifestyle of Akhas. It was a total immersion.

the Akhas believe in spirits and rice cultivation guide the pace of life. The weeks have twelve days, and each village holds its own timetable. Luckily, we came at the right time: one of the villages was having New Year festival! In the evening, we therefore join in the feast: on the square, colored strings delineated a dance floor or adolescents meet under the gaze of parents all around. The Akhas marry young, and the first children are expected between fifteen and seventeen years. Our guides tell us about the "single hut, built a private room in each village or boys and girls can get together before the age of marriage ... If a girl is pregnant after passing by, she is considered lucky and there is no requirement to marry the father of the child ...

That night on the town square, all eyes are on us. Few tourists pass through here, much less joining evening fete. So we decided to make the most of our opportunity We join the dancers and share our best dance? People got hilarious about our performance.

We had other nice thing to report: Some villagers invited us to their houses for a plate of food. Rice, buffalo meat cooked or raw, omelet ... Beer and whiskey house also (Lao PDR) ... And in a tractor , we returned to our hut under a sky of millions of stars. We really feel alone in the world with these fascinating tribes.

The fourth day in Laos we crossed the Friendship Bridge to reach Noung Khai, a border townl. We had only 3 hours so we just managed to do some sightseeings and shopping in the centre of the town. In Noong Khai super market, most goods come from China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. We had lunch in a respectabe restaurant inside the supermarket, whose most impressive dish is Lau thai. Then from Noong Khai we travelled back to Vientien for a visit to That Luong and Wat Sisaket which houses thousand of Buddha statues. At 5 o’clock in the afternon, we left Vientiane by air for Luang Prabang, the former capital city of Laos. This city was the highlight of our ten day trip to Laos. Out of the plane window, I can see verdant and rugged mountain and forest with some rooves littered below. We arrived in Luang Pra bang after 45 minute flight. We then settle in Rama hospital and take a rest before going down Luang Prabang night market. The market opens overnight and sell mostly local speciality and unique handicrafts. On the next morning we hire bicycle of the hotel to explore the downtown. In the early morning sun, Luang Prabang is so imposing, tranquil and peaceful. There are many restaurants here serving Asian and Western food. You can even find Pho Hanoi here. Located in the riverside street are nice guesthouse and restaurants. Visitors here are mostly foreigner , especially European. Then we come to visit the National Royal Palace Museum. This former palace of Laos dynasty now makes a museum and it houses many royal object such as royal sword, weapons, costumes, palanquins etc. We took a lot of photos inside this museum and to tell the truth it looks much more glamorous than the palace in Hue, Vietnam. After the museum, we walked through the Luang Prabang market to board a boat up Mekong river. Along the way we enjoyed the great view of primitive forest and lush bamboos. After one hour and 20 minutes we reach caves which house inumberable Buddha statues. Then we stopped for lunch on the river banh and afterwards visited a local village watching them make wine and buy some local textiles and handicrafts. We came back to Vientiane on the 19.00 flight. Here we enjoy a Laos meal of sticky rice, wild animal's meat and natural fish. The delicious and enjoyable meal cheered us up before we went to visit an Chinese-owned recreation area. In the next morning after a breakfast of Pho Lao we visited Lao Sang the biggest market in Vientiane. Goods sold in this market offer very good value for your money and the best-seller here is the Lao tongs. It is beautiful, durable and cheap. Garments and machinary are from China, Vietnam and Thailand so they don’t sell very well. The market was also the last destination in our trip to Laos. At 10.30 that morning we take a flight back to Vung Tau, Vietnam. We all regret that there was just a little of time so we still missed some popular attractions such as Vang Vieng. Anyway, it was a very interesting and memorable trip to the land of million elephants.