March 6, 2007
Vientiane, Laos (more accurately--on the plane to Houei Xai).
Arieh here. We made it to Laos (DON'T pronounce the "s")--the home of the Plain of Jars, the CIA's "Secret War" in the 1960s and 70s, and a very different lifestyle compared to Vietnam. According to our Lonely Planet guidebook, if whatever the Lao people are doing does not include the concept of "muan" (fun) then it it not a great idea. This manifests itself in the closing of shops for an hour at lunch, the closing of stores at 5PM and the closing of restaurants around 9 or 10PM (in the capital city, no less!). In VN, everything is open from early AM to late PM. In fact, there is another quote from LP that is kind of funny (but not so complimentary): "The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice grow, and the Lao people listen to the rice grow.". The other huge and noticeable difference between Laos and VN is traffic. In Laos there are many less people, cars and "motos". The driving style is also extremely different in that the horn is not used as a replacement for brakes, the drivers slow down for pedestrians when they are crossing the street, and the drivers actually look over their shoulder before changing lanes.
I wrote at the beginning of this entry that we were flying on the way to Houei Xai. This is a border town across from Thailand in the Northwest of Laos. It is a 1-hour flight. We were flying there (one way) so we could take a boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang (a UNESCO-designated heritage town), be in LP for 3 or 4 days and then take 2 days getting back to Vientiane before flying on to Bangkok. Sounds pretty simple and organized, right? WRONG. First we couldn't get on the flight for Tuesday, 9AM (there are only 3 flights per week). Our choices were to fly "standby" (needed 3 seats, no less) or reverse direction, go overland and fly back. Off to the airport we went at 7 AM and, wonders never cease, by 8 AM we were told we could board the flight. Which we did. We flew all the way to Houei Xai and back again WITHOUT landing. Too much haze and not enough radar, apparently. So, back to Vientiane by 10 AM. "Come back at 1 PM" they say to us. Off we go for breakfast (no food was provided on the flight) and we show up at 1 PM. When does the flight leave? Maybe Wednesday morning. What do we do? We change plans--we fly to LP at 13:40 and all is well. We actually do land.
And guess who was on the plane with us? Some "guy" got on the plane last, sat near the rear (just in front of the 3 of us) and was accorded special treatment both on the plane and upon arrival (off first and met with an entourage and car on the tarmac). Turns out it was the President of Laos (according to the flight attendant), well-liked by the "people", and travelling as one of us. It was quite unbelievable (compared to Western-style PMs and Presidents), but just part of life in Laos. The other curiosity about our 13:40 flight was that it was full. That's because the 12:15 flight was cancelled and those passengers were combined with ours to make for a more economically viable run. Obviously, any student of economics could tell you that a full flight is better than 2 half-empty flights, n'est-ce pas?
Vientiane, Laos (more accurately--on the plane to Houei Xai).
Arieh here. We made it to Laos (DON'T pronounce the "s")--the home of the Plain of Jars, the CIA's "Secret War" in the 1960s and 70s, and a very different lifestyle compared to Vietnam. According to our Lonely Planet guidebook, if whatever the Lao people are doing does not include the concept of "muan" (fun) then it it not a great idea. This manifests itself in the closing of shops for an hour at lunch, the closing of stores at 5PM and the closing of restaurants around 9 or 10PM (in the capital city, no less!). In VN, everything is open from early AM to late PM. In fact, there is another quote from LP that is kind of funny (but not so complimentary): "The Vietnamese plant the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice grow, and the Lao people listen to the rice grow.". The other huge and noticeable difference between Laos and VN is traffic. In Laos there are many less people, cars and "motos". The driving style is also extremely different in that the horn is not used as a replacement for brakes, the drivers slow down for pedestrians when they are crossing the street, and the drivers actually look over their shoulder before changing lanes.
I wrote at the beginning of this entry that we were flying on the way to Houei Xai. This is a border town across from Thailand in the Northwest of Laos. It is a 1-hour flight. We were flying there (one way) so we could take a boat down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang (a UNESCO-designated heritage town), be in LP for 3 or 4 days and then take 2 days getting back to Vientiane before flying on to Bangkok. Sounds pretty simple and organized, right? WRONG. First we couldn't get on the flight for Tuesday, 9AM (there are only 3 flights per week). Our choices were to fly "standby" (needed 3 seats, no less) or reverse direction, go overland and fly back. Off to the airport we went at 7 AM and, wonders never cease, by 8 AM we were told we could board the flight. Which we did. We flew all the way to Houei Xai and back again WITHOUT landing. Too much haze and not enough radar, apparently. So, back to Vientiane by 10 AM. "Come back at 1 PM" they say to us. Off we go for breakfast (no food was provided on the flight) and we show up at 1 PM. When does the flight leave? Maybe Wednesday morning. What do we do? We change plans--we fly to LP at 13:40 and all is well. We actually do land.
And guess who was on the plane with us? Some "guy" got on the plane last, sat near the rear (just in front of the 3 of us) and was accorded special treatment both on the plane and upon arrival (off first and met with an entourage and car on the tarmac). Turns out it was the President of Laos (according to the flight attendant), well-liked by the "people", and travelling as one of us. It was quite unbelievable (compared to Western-style PMs and Presidents), but just part of life in Laos. The other curiosity about our 13:40 flight was that it was full. That's because the 12:15 flight was cancelled and those passengers were combined with ours to make for a more economically viable run. Obviously, any student of economics could tell you that a full flight is better than 2 half-empty flights, n'est-ce pas?
1 comment:
Hi you two! Remember me, the Californian from Halong Bay. Small world....I was boarding that plane you got off in Luang Prabang (with the President on it). Looks like you two are having fun! Take a boat from Luang Prabang across the Mekong to the village on the other side to see the caves. Walk up to the temple on top of the hill then a child will sweep you off to the caves for a small fee.
Keep having fun! Michelle
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