ASIA TRAVEL BLOG

With 17 years’ experience navigating the Mekong River, Mr Puoy is reckoned to be the best riverboat captain in southern Laos. The watery labyrinth he works in contains a reputed 4000 islands, so he needs to be pretty good.

But right now, at the end of a harsher than usual dry season, the region’s Lao moniker Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands), seems just a tad inaccurate.

In a fading tropical dusk, Mr Puoy is steering the imposing teak-trimmed hulk of the Vat Phou through a dynamic environment of sand bars and swirling eddies, ripples and rapids.

Rustic nets are being cast in graceful arcs from low-slung boats bobbing just centimetres above the waterline, as local ferries transport monks, buffaloes and backpackers across the Mekong’s silvery expanse.

Like any good riverboat, the Vat Phou comes with an interesting backstory. It used to transport teak and rice down the Mekong, and was once owned by a Lao princess.

Recently rock royalty Sir Mick Jagger chartered the whole shebang, replicating our own itinerary of visiting local villages, French-colonial towns, and Khmer temples.

In a telling reminder of the area’s remoteness, apparently no one recognised rock’s most iconic hips and lips.

David Beckham would no doubt be mobbed by the kids playing on the Mekong’s sandy makeshift football pitches, but in one of Indochina’s quieter corners, music’s most kinetic 65-year-old was just another skinny falang with a flash camera.

Si Phan Don hasn’t always been drifting off the edge of the map. On the tiny islands of Don Det and Don Khon lies evidence of a grand French plan to transform Asian trade in the 19th century. Linked by a bridge from French colonial times, the twin islands are now a sleepy haven for backpackers who arrive for a night and stay for a month.

Amidst the scrawled signs for bumpy onward transport to Vietnam and Cambodia, a compact French locomotive and a few metres of rusted track are all that remain of Paris’s designs.

Downstream the Khon Phapeng waterfalls thunder towards the border with Cambodia. During the wet season the cataracts swell to a width of 11km, and year round, travel and transport upstream is impossible.

The French planned to link the Mekong’s southern and northern banks by Don Det’s toytown railway, eventually hoping to expand the lucrative trade caravan all the way from Beijing to Saigon and the South China Sea. The weed-strewn and rusted hulk of a locomotive remains a poignant counterpoint to lost colonial dreams.

More colonial ambition lingers in the sleepy riverside town of Champassak. Before the Pathet Lao Socialist revolution in 1975, the town was the seat of Lao royalty, and amid the Chinese shophouses and wandering cows and buffaloes are glorious French mansions. The faded ochre residences are now dusty and overgrown, but still stately and elegant, if curiously out of place in the shimmering tropics of Laos.

More layers of history reside at the nearby Wat Phu temple, arrayed on the gentle slopes of the Phu Pasak range, and trimmed with mini-glens of frangipani. Sanskrit and Chinese inscriptions confirm the Unesco World Heritage site was inhabited in the 5th century, but the star focus in contemporary terms is the pair of gracious Khmer temples – male and female – that predate Cambodia’s Angkor Wat by several centuries.

Compared to the tourist bustle of Siem Reap, this is a sedate and relaxing scene, with just a few Lao tourists ascending the temple’s 180 steps slowly in the afternoon heat.

By the 12th century, the focus of Khmer society had moved on to the architectural overachievement of Angkor Wat, and this sleepy but spectacular slice of Indochina again drifted into languid obscurity until the thwarted 19th century dreams of Paris merchants. And despite a recent visit by an incognito rock superstar, it’s still in little danger of becoming the Next Big Thing.

Four thousand islands, they reckon. On a river cruise this laidback and relaxing, who’s counting?

CHECKLIST

Getting there: One of the best ways to get there is to go on Cathay Pacific to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City and then connect with Vietnam Airlines.

Cruising: Mekong Cruises runs three-day trips on the Vat Phou in southern Laos, and two-day cruises ending in Luang Prabang on the Luangsay in northern Laos. Accommodation is in well-appointed, air-conditioned cabins. All meals are included, with a focus on Lao, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. See mekong-cruises.com for full itineraries.

Brett Atkinson travelled in Laos with the assistance of Mekong Cruises.

By Brett Atkinso

NZherald.co.nz

Like beautiful people, beautiful towns are always adored. While Laos as a whole is a poor communist country, Luang Prabang glides along in a golden bubble of coolness, propelled by quaint French colonial architecture, spectacular mountain setting and its storybook Buddhist temples.

Vat Xeng Thong Temple

Royal families lived here until overthrown by the communist Pathet Lao in 1975. Now, Western tourists are the kings and queens.

Cell-phone service, the internet, ATMs and satellite TV have arrived, plus pizza, bratwurst, ice cream, an English book exchange shop, white picket fences, fine dining and boutique hotels.

Eco-tourism is big, too – hiking to waterfalls, elephant riding, visiting villages, taking a slow boat up the Mekong River.

I liked it, but it must be said it has an atmosphere that you either love or hate.

The local people are formal and polite. Unfortunately, Luang Prabang is packed with snobbish international tourists who want to be first to visit a cool spot then get mad when they discover anyone else there.

Deemed a World Heritage site in 1995, the city of about 100,000 in northern Laos is in a fortunate location, hugged by two rivers – the Mekong and the Nam Khan.

Only an hour’s flight from Hanoi and two from Bangkok, it is a world away in terms of pristine setting and small-town feel.

Gentle mist lingers at the top of lush green mountains. At dawn, hundreds of orange-robed Buddhist monks walk down the street, accepting rice from tourists and the devout for
their breakfast, while hundreds of cameras snap. (I saw the monks’ laundry hanging on a line at one monastery – orange, orange, orange and orange.)

The town is walkable, picturesque, and the World Heritage status gained in 1995 prevents its quaint downtown from ever building above two stories.

Its architecture remains a charming combination of French (who ruled here from 1880 to 1954) and Lao – blue shutters, sloping roofs, small passageways, lush gardens.

Compared with its Asian neighbors, Laos did not open itself to international tourism until 1989. And Luang Prabang, its major tourist attraction, has a lot worth seeing:

At the top of my list are the National Museum’s cut-glass mosaics. The former home of the Lao royal family was made a museum in the 1970s after the Pathet Lao took power and exiled or imprisoned the monarchy. Chief among the beautiful things left behind was a throne room. Its walls are covered with cut-glass mosaics on a bright red background. Created in the 1950s, the mosaics make a glittering rainbow of light on sunny days.

The vista from the top of Mount Phou Si. Yes, it’s 328 steps up to the top of the downtown hill (the first 100 steep steps are killers), but those who persevere will be rewarded by the spectacular mountainous green view and a tiny temple – Wat That Chomsi – at the peak.

The temples. Luang Prabang is known for its gorgeous temples, particularly Wat Xieng Thong from the mid-1500s.

The ride on a long-tail Laos slow boat up the Mekong for lunch, stopping at Pac Ou Caves, which has a collection of 5,000 Buddhas.

The handicraft village of Ban Sang Khong near Luang Prabang, which has beautiful handmade saa paper and textiles. The village also has incredible butterflies – not in a cage but flitting around wild.

Tourism to Laos is growing 9.2 percent a year, accounting for 34 percent of its gross domestic product.

That is significant in a country with only a couple of major tourist attractions – Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane. But it is relatively unspoiled compared with neighbors Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

In Laos, the air is clear and the views are sweet, and the only thing you have to worry about are those stuck-up tourists.

by Ellen Creager- The Standard

Images by Asianway

Ubon Ratchathani is the shortest land link to southern Laos whose pristine waterfalls and beguiling nature would snare many a heart

Most waterfalls lack flourish in summer but not the Khone Phapheng in Champasak Province of southern Laos which, thanks to the mighty Mekong River, rages almost unabated all year round, venting its fury against huge boulders standing in its path.

Stretching the breadth of the Mekong, the Khone Phapheng is strewn with rocks of all size, and the roar of the waves crashing against them is so loud it can be heard from miles away.

”Summer is the time when the waterfall is at its peak beauty because the water is clear,” said Dalath Khampaseuth, my local tour guide when I visited the fall recently, before adding, ”the water turns brick-red during rainy season when no one can swim nor ride a boat across the Khone Phapheng because the cascades are too strong, the layout rocky and unnavigable, and any such attempt can result in death.”

Visitors observe the waterfall from a designated viewpoint. Though risky, some climb down the cliff on which it is built for a closer view. They sit on boulders absorbing the scenery dotted with fishermen casting their nets in the fast-flowing river. But they can’t venture this far during rainy season when the level of water is quite high submerging everything in view.

From the viewpoint you get a panoramic view of Khone Phapheng dubbed the Niagara of Asia. Besides the cascades in the middle of the river, there are others, smaller ones, which flow into the Mekong. Khone Phapheng marks the end of the Mekong’s passage through Laos before the river curves and crosses into Cambodia.

We were only given 30 minutes to admire the waterfall, though it took us about two hours to drive there from Pakse. The two-lane road leading to the fall was in good condition and the traffic easy. But you couldn’t drive fast because you ran the risk of pigs or cattle cutting into your path any time.

If you have extra days to spend, visit Li Phi Waterfall, Si Phan Don (4,000 Islands) and Wat Phu, a Unesco World Heritage site.

The closest point for crossing into southern Laos from Thailand is the Chong Mek border checkpoint in Ubon Ratchathani, home to pre-historic rock paintings at Pha Taem National Park. Alternatively, you can hire a long-tailed boat in Khong Chiam district for a cruise on the Mekong.

For its part, Ubon Ratchathani has the makings of a potential hub for visitors crossing from Thailand into southern Laos and travelling onto Cambodia and Vietnam, a point that’s not lost on domestic carrier Nok Air, which recently has been looking at the northeast Isan region with renewed interest and where, asserts its Vice President _ Coporate Communications Suriyapa Bunnag, ”There remain many hidden gems along the Mekong and Moon rivers waiting to be explored.”

Ubon Ratchathani is 629 kilometres northeast of Bangkok. Nok Air operates three daily flights there from Don Mueang Airport at 6.10am, 12.20pm and 18.20pm. The return flights depart Ubon Ratchathani at 7.45am, 1.55pm and 7.55pm. Flight time is about an hour. For more information, visit http://www.nokair.com or call 1318.

- Pha Taem National Park: http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve, tel: 045-318-026 and 045-246-332.

- Khone Phapheng Waterfall is about 150 kilometres south of Pakse, accessible via Highway 13 in Laos.

- Tad Pha Suam is about 30 minutes drive from Pakse. Take Highway 13 and at KM 21 turn left to a local road. The fall is about 3 kilometres from the junction.

- For information, visit the Lao National Tourism Administration website at http://www.tourismlaos.org.

- Motorists driving to Laos need a permit from the Department of Land Transport (http://www.dlt.go.th), car insurance which can be bought at the border checkpoint, car registration book, and driver’s license. Visit http://www.ubonratchathani.go.th/borderpassed.html for details.

Wat Tham Khuha Sawan in Khong Chiam district sits in a cave where preserved is the body of its former abbot Luang Pu Kham Khaning Chula Mani, which is still in good condition although he’s been dead more than 20 years.

Pre-historic rock paintings dating back 3,000 years are the main attraction at Pha Taem National Park. Shown here is the largest of the four groups of rock paintings found along a three-kilometre-long cliff. Measuring 180-metre in length, this group depicts a large fish which is believed to be the the giant Mekong catfish, together with several smaller fish, an elephant, jars and human palms. They were painted using red sandstones and hematites.

Fishing is the main source of income for people living by the Moon River in Khong Chiam district. Men prowl the river with their fishing nets while kids enjoy a swim by its banks. Tourists generally travel to the confluence of the Moon and Mekong rivers, a point the locals call ‘mae nam song si’ because of the difference in colours of the water from the two rivers, especially during the rainy season.

Pakse is the capital of Champasak Province and this is its biggest wet market where you can buy fresh meat, vegetable, fruit, pickled food, bread, rice, clothes and fashion items. The market is about 45 kilometres east of the checkpoint and opens daily during 5am to 5pm.

Khai katha’ (fried eggs) is a popular breakfast dish in Ubon Ratchathani. The eggs are usually topped off with ‘moo yor’ (traditional pork sausage) and ‘kun chiang’ (sweet Chinese sausage). Some restaurants also add fried ground pork and dry shredded pork. It is served with bread and tastes good with freshly brewed coffee.

Six ethnic groups live in a demonstration village that is part of Bachiang Resort. The woman wearing large earrings made of elephant tusk belongs to the Lawae tribe. Bigger earrings denote higher levels in the social heirarchy. By tradition, Lawae women cut the front row of their upper teeth at midpoint when they turn 18 years old because it is considered beautiful. The woman weaving cloth (bottom right) hails from the Tariang ethnic group. Tariang women are adept at using their feet when weaving. The clothes are for sale and the prices start at 200 baht. Other ethnic groups living in this village are the Alak, Katu, Ta Oi and Ngae.

This waterfall, Tad Pha Suam, a popular site for tourists who drop by for lunch or overnight stay, is located in Bachiangchaleunsouk district of Champasak. The natural waterfall is part of Bachiang Resort run by Thai businessman Wimol Kijbamrung who won a 45-year concession from the Lao government to develop the area for commercial purpose. It took him seven years to put everything together

Another view of Khone Phapheng.

Bangkok Post

When planning a trip to Laos you must include Luang Prabang and the Pak Ou caves. Luang Prabang is the former capital of Laos. 25km north of town on the Mekong are the Tham Ting (lower chamber) and the Tham Theung
(upper chamber) of the Pak Ou caves. These spiritual caves are home to over 4000 Buddhas in various shapes, sizes and positions, including meditation, teaching, peace, rain, and nirvana. They come from locals and pilgrims who have made the two-hour boat trip to visit this sacred site. Every New Year pilgrims from Luang Prabang and other areas of Laos take the trip to worship in Pak Ou.

You can make the trip to the Pak Ou Caves by road, boat or songthaew. If you take the road to Pak Ou, the trip will take about an hour. Hiring a songthaew will bring you out on the opposite side of the river where you can hire a boat to take you across. As you approach you will see the Tham Theung cut into the high limestone cliffs. As your boat slowly gets closer, you will begin to see the white steps. These steps can be taken to each of the chambers. Tham Thing is better lit than the upper chamber and houses various Buddhas. The upper cave houses the balance of the Buddha statues. If you plan to visit both caves it is recommended that you bring a headlamp.

While the Pak Ou Caves are a must-see when visiting Laos, you’ll want to spend time in Luang Prabang as well. This historic city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, meaning that it has been nominated for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s International World Heritage program. The program aims to preserve sites of cultural and natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. This unique city offers a spiritual experience in the numerous temples. These temples house more sacred Buddhas in addition to those found in the Pak Ou Caves. The greenery of Laos offers a dramatic backdrop to the bright colors of the temples.

ASW/Topix

The houses are made of reddish teak. The children play in the muddy streets. Piglets, ducks, chickens and dogs wander in the yards. Lush gardens of beans, corn, squash, onions and lettuce grow as if they’re in a hothouse. Up at the plateau near the top of a mountain, the mist hovers just above, just beyond the town, letting the sunshine peek through.

No wonder many Hmong people had trouble when they emigrated to America after the Vietnam War. This is about as far as you can get from American life.
For tourists interested in minority cultures, a visit to this Hmong village south of Luang Prabang is a brush with a fascinating group with ties to the United States. The visit is pure cultural tourism — you meet people, you tread lightly, you go away. They are not selling anything. There is no welcome committee.
It takes nearly two hours to drive the rutted dirt roads up the mountains from Luang Prabang into the highlands where the Hmong live. Once, our vehicle got stuck in the red sloppy mud and had to be pushed out.
The Hmong (pronounced Mong), a poor mountain people, are not beloved by their countrymen because they helped the American CIA during the Vietnam War.

The ethnic minority came to Laos centuries ago from the highlands of China. They are not Buddhist like most Laotians. Instead, they have their own ancestor- and spirit-worship religion, which often made them targets of persecution.
Thousands left after the Vietnam War, many escaping to refugee camps in Thailand. Some went on to the United States and culture shock. Others finally returned to Laos. Most are subsistence farmers.
About 210,000 Hmong now live in the United States.
Meanwhile, an estimated 490,000 Hmong still make Laos their home, out of a population of 6.7 million, the U.S. State Department estimates.
Ban Long Lao seems a zillion miles from America.
Yes, the village has electricity.
It also has a white stucco school built by international assistance groups, although it appeared closed the day I visited.
The men and older children were away tending the lush hillside fields by hand. Left in town were mothers, elderly people and young children.
On a stoop in front of a one-room house, a mother held on her lap a toddler, who held on his lap a chicken, which had a string around its leg.
Up the hill at a pump, a woman washed a huge basket of beans so vividly green they looked as if they’d been painted.
Most of the children played outside in the red mud. Many of them, barefoot and in shabby clothing, had a persistent cough. The Hmong use shamans and healers instead of modern medicine.
As a reminder of the nation’s spectacular natural beauty — and poverty — a trip to Ban Long Lao is a trip worth taking, even if you don’t understand everything you are seeing.

ASW/The Seatles times

Luang Prabang, the UNESCO-listed world heritage town in northern Laos, attracts many tourists who like to visit temples, waterfalls, caves and markets, but there are many attractions that visitors miss.

Mr Thongphan Chanthasa works on a lampstand.

Chan village in Chomphet district, just across the river from the town of Luang Prabang, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to see a community involved in producing clay pottery using traditional processes.
The village is located a short 15 minute boat ride across the Mekong River.
When the boat pulls up on the other side of the river the lush greenery is amazing and villagers can be seen making their way to the river to collect river weed.
Visitors can soak up the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the village as they slowly walk from house to house to observe potters producing numerous items of various shapes and sizes.
In the late afternoon and on weekends schoolchildren can be seen learning the craft from their parents and producing small clay elephants, buffaloes, pots, flowers, dogs and chickens which tourists can buy and take home as souvenirs.
One potter in the village, Mr Thongphan Chanthasa, 50, said “I have been earning money from pottery since 1982. I learnt the craft from my grandfather and he learnt it from his forebears.”
“In the past my family only made items like mortars and jars, but now we produce many different items to supply to hotels and guesthouses and local households.”
He manufactures jars, flower vases, fish ponds and other decorative items, with the most popular a lampstand used to decorate gardens and light footpaths.
“We get a lot of orders from hotels and guesthouses in Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, and Luang Namtha provinces and we just received an order for lampstands from a customer in Vientiane,” said Mr Thongphan.
“We are very happy our products are proving popular and hope to learn how to expand our range and improve the quality and quantity.”
“Originally our village had only eight potters but as demand increased more families turned to pottery to earn an income. In the last nine or ten years almost all the households here work in pottery and tourists are starting to visit the village to see the traditional Lao pottery process, ” said Mr Thongphan.

Source: Vientimes

Luang Prabang is a unique place in Laos, if not the world. The ancient royal city is surrounded by mountains at the junction of the Mekong and its tributary, the Khan River. Towering over the town is Mount Phousi which provides stunning views of the surrounding temples and landscape.

Luang Prabang is a city of complete calm and total beauty. Named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995, there are strict guidelines on renovation and new construction which have helped preserve the city’s streets and structures while maintaining relatively little traffic on the road. Everywhere columns of monks stroll through this city of a thousand pagodas.

From four in the morning till the early evening, there’s an unending procession of monks padding through the streets in their beautiful orange robes with school bags over their shoulders and umbrellas under their arms. The morning call to alms sees the monks serenely queuing for food contributions from the locals and the handful of tourists, who manage to drag themselves out of bed early enough.

Peacefully holding out the brass vessels to collect sticky rice, the monks do not seem to ever notice the flashing cameras of the rather intrusive visitors. Sadly it must be pointed out that as tourism grows in this city the monks have increasingly less space to meditate or go about their modest daily lives. Of course the monks and locals are far too polite to ask anyone to stop.

Ranging in age from the adolescent to the ancient, the monks spend their days chanting, studying and working in and around the grounds of the many wats (temples) in the city streets. On my visit, I saw groups of monks engaged in various activities, including cleaning out a pond, building a boat and keeping the tropical gardens tidy. Even though they are generally shy, they do appreciate the chance to converse with foreigners to practice their English.

The monks are incredibly softly spoken and courteous at all times. But there is evidence that western culture is starting to have an influence on their behaviour. I saw one teenage monk sending text messages on a mobile phone. Most of the people who work in restaurants are also said to be former monks.

The magnificent wats where these monks reside are another aspect of Luang Prabang’s beauty. Largely built in the 16th to 18th centuries, these decorative traditional structures with their multi-tiered tiled roofs are surrounded by other lesser stupas and functional buildings used to house and educate the monks. Murals depicting the life of Buddha cover certain walls of these impressive buildings.

Tall and angular, the wats are in direct contrast to the rustic French colonial buildings that line the main street of the town. The atmosphere within their grounds is calming and humbling. Used frequently for religious occasions and festivals, the wats provide another more utilitarian function, as places of accommodation and learning for thousands of young boys throughout Laos.

As a poor remote country which lacks the education infrastructure of its neighbours, Vietnam and Thailand, particularly in rural areas, the wats double as schools where boys are not only schooled in Buddhist teachings but also in subjects ranging from computer studies to foreign languages.

I guess girls in Laos are schooled in housework and the land as the wats are a boys-only domain. Between the majesty of the wats and the serenity of the orange-robed monks, along with the charm of Luang Prabang itself and the green landscape around it, this is a captivating destination for a weekend getaway.

Under a codeshare arrangement Vietnam Airlines and Lao Aviation fly daily from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. Call Vietnam Airlines for details. Hanoi 04 830 0320 or Ho Chi Minh City 08 832 0273.

Source: timeout