I was so proud of myself for getting up to date on my Vietnam posts that I forgot I had a whole other country to be writing about. Laos is a country that seems to get less attention from the typical SE Asia travel crowd.
It's landlocked so it doesn't have beaches, it's not set up for super easy transportation/tourism like Vietnam and Thailand, and it doesn't have any world wonders like Cambodia. But if it isn't one of the prettiest places I have ever been.
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| View from the trail in Luang Namtha |
I've spent several long windy minivan/bus rides listening to music and just staring out the window at the villages along the road and the rolling hills full of trees. Be warned if you get motion sick. I'd never been on a bus where anyone pukes until a couple weeks ago. The Lao people are incredibly friendly, and the language is difficult and confusingly similar to Thai. Just to clarify, the country is pronounced Laos with the S, the the people food and language of Laos are pronounced without the S, Lao.
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| One of the villages we walked through |
Unfortunately, even though Laos was officially declared neutral during the Vietnam War, when the U.S. began bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam, the North moved the trail over so that it went through Laos. Of course, the U.S. adjusted their bombing locations. The U.S. was bombing Laos for six years before the public in the U.S. was aware. For three more years after that we continued to drop bombs on Laos. It is the most heavily bombed country in the world and many of the devices lie on/in the ground in the countryside causing injuries and casualties currently. Think of it this way: the U.S. military dropped almost as many bombs on Laos as were dropped in the
entirety of World War II. And it went on through multiple presidencies because we were so petrified about the domino effect if Vietnam fell to socialism. (I know I know, I'm simplifying a lot, but sound familiar anyone?)
A lot of land that should be available for farming or other use, will not be used until a specialzed bomb team clears the area.
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| Mobile made of bombies in the COPE exhibit. |
This is yet another piece of history I never learned about in school. And its another instance where I definitely w
ouldn't advertise I'm American. We visited an organization called COPE that has an exhibit outside of the hospital that they operate in. It was fascinating to get to see. COPE provides prosthetics and therapy to those who cannot not afford it. If you're curious, the documentary called Bomb Harvest follows the training of some Laos bomb disposers. You can also donate to the organization here.
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| Funny? |
Anyways, it's a beautiful country and it has been the perfect time to relax between two countries that were and will be action packed (Vietnam and then Myanmar). It's been a great place to enjoy some temples, sunsets, amazing noodle soups and great trekking.
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| You could say its been a great to have time to get all my ducks in a row. |
