Yesterday we walked down to the Royal Palace Complex which has been renamed as the National Museum since 1975 when the country became the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos. The building is a French Colonial contruction of 1904 but built to accommodate the Lao lifestyle. The displays were well set out and interesting showing historical Buddhist artifacts and the regalia and history of the monarchy. The Royal Ballet Theatre is also on site and performs traditional stories three nights per week. No cameras are permitted so this will be just the wriiten story.
Afterwards we walked through the Morning Market again. Once again we were impressed by the size of some of the fish on display for sale. These are locally caught in the Mekong and include catfish, some scaled fish, and some that resemble barramundi. We then walked back to the hotel via the river one last time. After our afternoon relax we organised our packing and discussed the taxi to the airport with staff. A very typical last day.
We have really enjoyed LP and are glad we had the 6 days here. Today we fly to Bangkok for an overnight stay. This is to avoid an 11 hour hiatus between flights if we had continued straight home to Perth. So we will be home early on Thursday morning after an overnight flight.
Monday, 24 February 2020
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Photos from Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls
Laos: LP Day 3 23/2
We had a lovely day today. Went by minibus to Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls and Bear Rescue Centre. The falls area is protected forest and we didn't realise until we got there that the bear rescue centre is located in the grounds. This is a very polished set up started by an Australian woman. I remember the publicity when she started fund raising. We had some fun watching the bears antics as they worked at getting their fruit out of the treat containers. These were a large drum which rolled on a spindle and plastic balls suspended on chains. They also had huge hammocks made out of rope and lined with large leaves that they could snooze in.
The waterfall/s are beautiful with clear mountain water coloured blue by the calcium carbonate from the rocks. I will send numerous photos. It is possible to swim in the lower pools and our fellow pasengers said it was very cold. The two Aussies sitting near us had come off their motorbike and they said the fish startled them by coming and nibbling at their scabs.
We walked up to the highest level which was not difficult and the most beautiful part of the falls. We saw a bit more of the countryside on the 30km trip which took an hour each way because of the winding nature of the road and roadworks. Also saw what seemed to be teak plantations, lots of vegetable growing and lots of buffaloes.
This afternoon we walked around to the supermarket again in persuit of fresh milk and then had a very nice dinner at a restaurant just around the corner. And so to bed.
I will post the photos in the morning as I need stronger wifi than we receive in our room.
The waterfall/s are beautiful with clear mountain water coloured blue by the calcium carbonate from the rocks. I will send numerous photos. It is possible to swim in the lower pools and our fellow pasengers said it was very cold. The two Aussies sitting near us had come off their motorbike and they said the fish startled them by coming and nibbling at their scabs.
We walked up to the highest level which was not difficult and the most beautiful part of the falls. We saw a bit more of the countryside on the 30km trip which took an hour each way because of the winding nature of the road and roadworks. Also saw what seemed to be teak plantations, lots of vegetable growing and lots of buffaloes.
This afternoon we walked around to the supermarket again in persuit of fresh milk and then had a very nice dinner at a restaurant just around the corner. And so to bed.
I will post the photos in the morning as I need stronger wifi than we receive in our room.
Saturday, 22 February 2020
Photos LP Day 3
LOAS : LP Day three 22/2
My post for yesterday was brief because I forgot to say we went to the night market after dinner. The market is acknowleged as one of the best in SE Asia. It is huge, very well laid out and with good quality products. A lot of the stalls have the same products and there is a large component of Hill Tribes craft work. This means that you are sure to get a good deal if you bargain. We didn't do much buying last night but had the chance to think about what we might go back for once we had the overview of what is available. We will probably venture back tonight.
This morning we walked around the foreshore of the tributary of the Mekong the Nam Khan River towards the junction. The houses along there are beautiful French contruction houses or modern copies. Most of them are now guest houses. It was an area we hadn't explored before but we were on the hunt for the one and only supermarket. Things were desperate because we had almost run out of tea. The hotel only supplies Liptons which I don't much like and all the local shops only sell green tea. We were relieved to find Twinings English Breakfast so the next few days are covered.
We then retraced our path slightly to the steps up Mount Phou Si : all 328 of them. This is a steep mount on the tongue of land between the junction of the rivers. The town wraps around the base and there are steps up from opposite sides. Of course we inadvertantly chose the steep side to climb. There is a stupa at the top which dates from the early 1800's and a small temple along with numerous smalĺer niches in the rocks housing very variable statues of the Buddha. As it is Saturday there were quite a lot of locals bringing offerings to the temple as well as a few large tour groups so there was quite a crowd at the top. Naturally the view was much photographed and there was a lovely breeze so we lingered for a while. I was most amused to be grabbed by a young Asian man along with an attractive blond woman to be in a photo with him. Observation subsequently revealed that he and the blond where in the same tour group so I suspect he was temporarily confused into thinking I was part of their group too. Walking down took only half the time especially as it was a more gradual path. For lunch we headed to a favourite bakery only to discover that it had been ocupied by a cycle group. Undaunted we moved down the street and were successful in obtaining our lunch just 10 minutes before a tour group of 20 arrived.
This evening we plan to walk down toward the night market to photograph a couple of temples that have different and distinctive colour decoration. Then dinner and a bit more shopping.
This morning we walked around the foreshore of the tributary of the Mekong the Nam Khan River towards the junction. The houses along there are beautiful French contruction houses or modern copies. Most of them are now guest houses. It was an area we hadn't explored before but we were on the hunt for the one and only supermarket. Things were desperate because we had almost run out of tea. The hotel only supplies Liptons which I don't much like and all the local shops only sell green tea. We were relieved to find Twinings English Breakfast so the next few days are covered.
We then retraced our path slightly to the steps up Mount Phou Si : all 328 of them. This is a steep mount on the tongue of land between the junction of the rivers. The town wraps around the base and there are steps up from opposite sides. Of course we inadvertantly chose the steep side to climb. There is a stupa at the top which dates from the early 1800's and a small temple along with numerous smalĺer niches in the rocks housing very variable statues of the Buddha. As it is Saturday there were quite a lot of locals bringing offerings to the temple as well as a few large tour groups so there was quite a crowd at the top. Naturally the view was much photographed and there was a lovely breeze so we lingered for a while. I was most amused to be grabbed by a young Asian man along with an attractive blond woman to be in a photo with him. Observation subsequently revealed that he and the blond where in the same tour group so I suspect he was temporarily confused into thinking I was part of their group too. Walking down took only half the time especially as it was a more gradual path. For lunch we headed to a favourite bakery only to discover that it had been ocupied by a cycle group. Undaunted we moved down the street and were successful in obtaining our lunch just 10 minutes before a tour group of 20 arrived.
This evening we plan to walk down toward the night market to photograph a couple of temples that have different and distinctive colour decoration. Then dinner and a bit more shopping.
Friday, 21 February 2020
Photos of tge Mekong and Pak oh
Laos, Luang Prabang Day 2.
This morning we had decided on a boat trip up the Mekong to the Pak On Cave complex. This was really more to enjoy the river scenery than to visit the cave complex. We had been solicited by a local spruker yesterday to go on the boat trip and opted for that arrangement as it didn't include expensive extras that we didn't want. However when he wasn't as the appointed meeting place five minutes after 9am we approached another man we had also seen yesterday who said "I have a boat and can take you up the River". We negotiated a price and destination with him excluding a stop off at the "Whisky Village". He did in fact have access to a boat which was a smaller version of the tour boats we had seen setting out and we had exclusive occupancy. It was pleasantly cool on the river which is very clean this close to the headwaters. We could almost see through the clear blue green water. The caves didn't do much for me but were interesting enough. Life and lifestyles along the river were much more interesting. I will include more photos tomorrow.
More photos from Pak On Caves.
Photos from Day 1 & 2 Luang Prabang
Thursday, 20 February 2020
Luang Prabang Day 1 20/2.
Well Luang Prabang ( henceforth LP ) is proving to be everything that we had heard it would be. More tourist oriented than Vientiane but not over run with tourists. Beautiful city located on the junction of the Mekong and a smaller river. The hotel is comfortable and the staff are wonderful, very helpful in every respect. Our super king size bed is of the typical hard Asian type but the housekeeper put an extra layer of mattress cover on it when we asked. Bob says is is more than comparable with Hoi An in Vietnam , another World Heritage city.
We spent the day walking the city , doing some shopping at the Fair Trade shop, exploring the morning market, and planning what we wanted to do with the next few days. The restaurants here are of a better standard without going high end and the food is delicious.
On our way out to dinner last night we were inviegled into an open English Discussion Group run by volunteers. It was in an old shop and was crowded with noisy discussion groups. We were paired off with a young monk each to chat and apart from it being difficcult to hear because of the background hubub it was remarkably easy. Both boys had a good command of English already although Bob's partner was 16 and ahead of my 15year old. He was asking Bob to correct his written work as well. My young man had to leave for another committment after half an hour and another young student slid into his seat before I could blink. He was also able to sustain conversation after very short tuition, just lacked a range in his discussion. Interesting experience and a great job by the organizers.
We are planning a river trip today so more later.
We spent the day walking the city , doing some shopping at the Fair Trade shop, exploring the morning market, and planning what we wanted to do with the next few days. The restaurants here are of a better standard without going high end and the food is delicious.
On our way out to dinner last night we were inviegled into an open English Discussion Group run by volunteers. It was in an old shop and was crowded with noisy discussion groups. We were paired off with a young monk each to chat and apart from it being difficcult to hear because of the background hubub it was remarkably easy. Both boys had a good command of English already although Bob's partner was 16 and ahead of my 15year old. He was asking Bob to correct his written work as well. My young man had to leave for another committment after half an hour and another young student slid into his seat before I could blink. He was also able to sustain conversation after very short tuition, just lacked a range in his discussion. Interesting experience and a great job by the organizers.
We are planning a river trip today so more later.
Photos from Road to Luang Prabang
Wednesday, 19 February 2020
Trip to Luang Prabang 19 / 2
Tuesday was a very relaxed day as we had no further sight seeing on our list. We did some shopping for our breakfast for Wed morning because the transport to the bus station was due any time after 7am. By the time we went out to dinner we were packed and ready to go. We did have a chat with an interesting man at the hotel. He is an Italian by origin but has lived in the USA for 20 years and now China for 20 years. He came to Laos on holiday and was intending to go to Thailand for cataract surgery. Now he has been told that he will not be able to return to China for 12 months. While in Loas he has discovered that he can have his surgery there cheaper than Thailand so was settling in for a stay.
When we arrived at the bus station we discovered that our travel agent had rorted us by booking us onto the cheaper local 20 seater bus while we paid for the tourist standard bus. Nothing to be done at that stage and it only had 8 passengers so we had plenty of space. Because we were early we also had front seats with the best view.
Our driver proved to be careful and the countryside was fascinating. We made reasonable speed until lunchtime but after that it was up into the mountains. The road was constantly winding with plenty of hairpin bends.. There were huge heavily loaded trucks which were just grinding up the hills. I was amazed at how the driver managed to scoot around them on very short straitish sections and avoid on coming traffic. The road was reasonaably wide so it was possible for one truck, one commuter bus and one motor bike to be abreast but that diidn't seem to happen.. It was like someone weaving the traffic and was obviously down to the bus driver's experience. Never the less I had full front view and was always watching for that unexpected vehicle to loom around the corner. Closer to LP there was lots of road works where they had ripped up broken bitumen and put down clay ready for resurfacing. This was either crumbly and rough or had been watered and was ridged with wheel tracks. Either way it was dusty. After lunch our driver started periodically breakining into a yodelling accompanyment to the pre recorded music and we both wondered what his liquid lunch had been. His off -sider slept almost all the way except when bellowed at to open the door , buy cold water or put a rock behind the wheel when we stopped at roadworks. We came across three tankers stopped on the side of the road and soon saw that two were protecting traffic and the middle one which was on it's side. It had gone to close to the drain and tipped over on to the bank . Fortunately it was on the hill side not the cliff side. The waiting staff were nonchalantly squatting along the top of the tank out of the way of traffic.
This may sound like a trial and it was certainly a long 10 plus hours but we saw interesting village life in action. Women still following traditional foraging of the jungle for bamboo and various leaves which were then threshed for basket weaving I think. Children going too and from school riding their bikes one handed and holding unbrellas aloft. All styles of housing from thatched bamboo to wood to concrete. The village often lined the highway for some distance and houses were built over the precipice because there was no other space. We saw dogs, hens, ducks, goats, pigs and cattle all free ranging and with highly developed road sense. Toward evening the villagers were often bathing , very discretely, at the village water tap. Community toilet blocks were in every village and in entrepreneurial style there was the equivalent of a 30 cents charge for travellers. We stopped only for 1/2 an hour for lunch and two ten minute toilet breaks so arrived tired and dusty. Took ourselves of to a recommended restaurant for dinner which was posh, down beside the Mekong and double what we usually pay but we felt we had earned it.
When we arrived at the bus station we discovered that our travel agent had rorted us by booking us onto the cheaper local 20 seater bus while we paid for the tourist standard bus. Nothing to be done at that stage and it only had 8 passengers so we had plenty of space. Because we were early we also had front seats with the best view.
Our driver proved to be careful and the countryside was fascinating. We made reasonable speed until lunchtime but after that it was up into the mountains. The road was constantly winding with plenty of hairpin bends.. There were huge heavily loaded trucks which were just grinding up the hills. I was amazed at how the driver managed to scoot around them on very short straitish sections and avoid on coming traffic. The road was reasonaably wide so it was possible for one truck, one commuter bus and one motor bike to be abreast but that diidn't seem to happen.. It was like someone weaving the traffic and was obviously down to the bus driver's experience. Never the less I had full front view and was always watching for that unexpected vehicle to loom around the corner. Closer to LP there was lots of road works where they had ripped up broken bitumen and put down clay ready for resurfacing. This was either crumbly and rough or had been watered and was ridged with wheel tracks. Either way it was dusty. After lunch our driver started periodically breakining into a yodelling accompanyment to the pre recorded music and we both wondered what his liquid lunch had been. His off -sider slept almost all the way except when bellowed at to open the door , buy cold water or put a rock behind the wheel when we stopped at roadworks. We came across three tankers stopped on the side of the road and soon saw that two were protecting traffic and the middle one which was on it's side. It had gone to close to the drain and tipped over on to the bank . Fortunately it was on the hill side not the cliff side. The waiting staff were nonchalantly squatting along the top of the tank out of the way of traffic.
This may sound like a trial and it was certainly a long 10 plus hours but we saw interesting village life in action. Women still following traditional foraging of the jungle for bamboo and various leaves which were then threshed for basket weaving I think. Children going too and from school riding their bikes one handed and holding unbrellas aloft. All styles of housing from thatched bamboo to wood to concrete. The village often lined the highway for some distance and houses were built over the precipice because there was no other space. We saw dogs, hens, ducks, goats, pigs and cattle all free ranging and with highly developed road sense. Toward evening the villagers were often bathing , very discretely, at the village water tap. Community toilet blocks were in every village and in entrepreneurial style there was the equivalent of a 30 cents charge for travellers. We stopped only for 1/2 an hour for lunch and two ten minute toilet breaks so arrived tired and dusty. Took ourselves of to a recommended restaurant for dinner which was posh, down beside the Mekong and double what we usually pay but we felt we had earned it.
Monday, 17 February 2020
Photos that I couldn't find yesterday
Photos from Zoo & Lunch 17/2
Photos from COPE & Zoo.
Asian black bear. Good population at the Zoo. Mostly rescued.
Vientiane 16/2 & 17/2
Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to visit COPE. This was not a high priority for me because I knew it would be disturbing but the write up promised that once you had been told the grim reality the positive achievements of current work compensated. COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic&Prosthetic Enterprise and the visitor's centre is located at the Rehabilitation Hospital. The work here is to provide mobility supports and artificial limbs to people injured by the cluster bombs which remained in Laos after the Vietnam War.
The bombs were dropped on Laos because the North Vietnamese were using the southern border area for the Ho Chi Minh Trail to move troups and equipment. There was also a large area of Northern Laos bombed for "political reasons". Ie. The Pathet Laos were in control and were "communist". In all 260 million cluster bombs were dropped, each one containing 680 "bombies" with a 30metre radius of destruction. 30% did not explode upon landing leaving 80 million unexploded devices scattered through rural communities. Because they were often buried in the soil and didn't explode until hit by a farming implement or had a fire built near them civilian injuries have been high. Also the scavenging of war metal debris was lucrative to impoverished communities and the consequences sometimes destructive. In recent years support from overseas agencies has increased the efficiency of finding and exploding the remaining devices and it is hoped that they will be eliminated by 2021.
Meanwhile COPE has developed local clinics to identify those needing limbs or other support and have trained local technicians in the manufacture and fitting of artificial limbs. They have also developed a pro active program for treatment of " club foot". It was positive to read about the work being done but I still found it disturbing.
Today we hired a car and driver and went 60 kms out into the countryside to visit the Lao Zoo. This is really now the Laos Wildlife Recovery Centre where mainly native animals are housed because they are threatened or have been rescued from captivity. It is a much cooler day today and although the facilities didn't exactly come up to the standard of the Perth Zoo the animals were obviously well cared for. We enjoyed a leisurely walk around, learnt a bit about the native animals and were impressed by the efforts of the staff. We were intrigued to find an emu comfortably cohabiting with some native deer.
On the was home we stopped for lunch at a riverside restaurant complex. It was very pleasant but we forgot that they would be used to catering for foreigners with no tolerance for chilli. When we said "not spicy" it came out very bland. Won't make that mistake again at an obvious tourist spot.
Tomorrow is our last day in Vientiane an we have yet to work out what we will do. Photos following.
The bombs were dropped on Laos because the North Vietnamese were using the southern border area for the Ho Chi Minh Trail to move troups and equipment. There was also a large area of Northern Laos bombed for "political reasons". Ie. The Pathet Laos were in control and were "communist". In all 260 million cluster bombs were dropped, each one containing 680 "bombies" with a 30metre radius of destruction. 30% did not explode upon landing leaving 80 million unexploded devices scattered through rural communities. Because they were often buried in the soil and didn't explode until hit by a farming implement or had a fire built near them civilian injuries have been high. Also the scavenging of war metal debris was lucrative to impoverished communities and the consequences sometimes destructive. In recent years support from overseas agencies has increased the efficiency of finding and exploding the remaining devices and it is hoped that they will be eliminated by 2021.
Meanwhile COPE has developed local clinics to identify those needing limbs or other support and have trained local technicians in the manufacture and fitting of artificial limbs. They have also developed a pro active program for treatment of " club foot". It was positive to read about the work being done but I still found it disturbing.
Today we hired a car and driver and went 60 kms out into the countryside to visit the Lao Zoo. This is really now the Laos Wildlife Recovery Centre where mainly native animals are housed because they are threatened or have been rescued from captivity. It is a much cooler day today and although the facilities didn't exactly come up to the standard of the Perth Zoo the animals were obviously well cared for. We enjoyed a leisurely walk around, learnt a bit about the native animals and were impressed by the efforts of the staff. We were intrigued to find an emu comfortably cohabiting with some native deer.
On the was home we stopped for lunch at a riverside restaurant complex. It was very pleasant but we forgot that they would be used to catering for foreigners with no tolerance for chilli. When we said "not spicy" it came out very bland. Won't make that mistake again at an obvious tourist spot.
Tomorrow is our last day in Vientiane an we have yet to work out what we will do. Photos following.
Saturday, 15 February 2020
More Photos; The Great Supa
Photos Vientiane Day 2
VIENTIANE Day 2
Today was forecast to be 36C ; acknowledged as unusually hot for this time of year. We decided to breakfast at the hotel and then set off early for the two temples that we rated to be our last such visits. The first, Wat Si Muang houses the city pillar which was placed here by King Setthathirat in 1563 when he moved the Capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Today the temple is a favourite with locals who go to obtain blessings from the monks. We were told Saturday could be very busy but found it very relaxed and interesting. I will attach photos separately.
From there we took a tuk tuk actross to the Great Stupa which is a monument to Buddha rather than a temple. It is surrounded by a cloister in which ancient artifacts are displayed and we could stroll in shaded comfort. As usual we learnt a bit more about styles of Buddha as there were some 17th C bronze statues which had survived intact from various destructive invasions. The most damaging one was by the Siamese in 1828 and perhaps explains the some of the tension with Thailand today. At both these sites there is evidence of Khmer construction as far back as the 12th C. The Stupa is impressive in it's own right at 45 metres high , renovated in 2018 and coated in gold paint.
We tuk tuked to a nearby shopping centre which offered mostly garments for locals or tourist items from the Hill Tribes area. We didn't do any buying because we will be going closer to the Hill Tribes areas at Luang Prabang. It did have a good food hall and we had traditional style chicken and noodle soup which was delicious.
This afternoon was pretty relaxed with some local domestic shopping. We are just now researching ideas for tomorrow. So more to follow. Photos to follow.
From there we took a tuk tuk actross to the Great Stupa which is a monument to Buddha rather than a temple. It is surrounded by a cloister in which ancient artifacts are displayed and we could stroll in shaded comfort. As usual we learnt a bit more about styles of Buddha as there were some 17th C bronze statues which had survived intact from various destructive invasions. The most damaging one was by the Siamese in 1828 and perhaps explains the some of the tension with Thailand today. At both these sites there is evidence of Khmer construction as far back as the 12th C. The Stupa is impressive in it's own right at 45 metres high , renovated in 2018 and coated in gold paint.
We tuk tuked to a nearby shopping centre which offered mostly garments for locals or tourist items from the Hill Tribes area. We didn't do any buying because we will be going closer to the Hill Tribes areas at Luang Prabang. It did have a good food hall and we had traditional style chicken and noodle soup which was delicious.
This afternoon was pretty relaxed with some local domestic shopping. We are just now researching ideas for tomorrow. So more to follow. Photos to follow.
Friday, 14 February 2020
More photos from Vientiane
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