OK first of all, I would like to start this post out by clearing up a seeming matter of confusion between Laos and the rest of the world. It’s in the name: Laos. 

At first, it would be natural to think that the word would be pronounced as it’s spelt – Lah-ouse. But then one would be told by some well-meaning traveler that, in fact, those in the know pronounce it “Lah-Oh”. So then everyone goes around pronouncing it “Lah-Oh”, thinking they’re so worldly to know that this obscure country’s name has a silent “S”, only to be corrected by a Laotian (person from Laos – whose name was, interestingly, Lao) saying that, in fact, they do pronounce the “S” at the end of Laos. LAh-Ohh-SSS. You heard it here first.

My first few days in Laos have been incredibly positive (even though we were slightly put off that Canada has to pay the highest price for the Laos visa – at $42, where the US only pays $35 and Denmark only pays $20!! What’s up with that!?). A friend of mine who’d been to Laos told me that there was nothing to do here but smoke pot and watch movies, but actually I haven’t found that at all. In Luang Prabang, there is a waterfall 40 minutes out of town, and it is actually the most beautiful waterfall I’ve ever seen in my life (and I’ve seen plenty). I didn’t even want to bother going cuz it was like not another waterfall, but god I’m so glad I did! Check it:

The water was so cool and refreshing.

It’s true that the 12am curfew is odd – the place becomes like a ghost town after everyone rushes inside like they’re about to turn into a pumpkin. There is a bowling alley that all the foreigners go to after midnight, since it is the only place that stays open past 2am. But we went there the other night, and we were not impressed at all. It felt eerie and weird, like it was out of some strange 80s horror movie. The lighting was clinical, the place was dingy, and everyone was crowded around six lanes, bowling in their bare feet, most of them drunk. Gross. We promptly left.

But so what, partying is not the reason we’re here anyways. Eating, however, that is definitely a draw. The other night, Martha and I split a Lao barbeque. It was soooo yummy! It’s a lot like Korean barbeque – they put a pot in the middle of the table with water and light a fire underneath it, and you get raw meat and veggies to put in and cook, and then tamarind sauce to dip them in when they come out. That is entertainment in itself! 

As for Lao people (you can say Lao people, or Laotians), they seem quite friendly, similar to the Thais, but slightly more apprehensive of foreigners. Last night, we tried to stop a few of them in the street to get directions, and it was difficult to get someone to stop for us. We were quite put off by this, because normally people are always happy to stop and keen to help us out. What if we were in trouble? They didn’t even stop. That said, there were also some lovely women at a shop that we met on our way home from the bowling alley who kindly gave us all oranges to munch on for our walk home – at no cost.

Today, Martha and I did an incredibly challenging trek up the Laos mountainside in 40 degree heat with little shade from the sun. It was difficult as hell, but when we finally reached the villages at the top – it was worth it. Imagine living so far from the rest of the world that you don’t need any money whatsoever – everything you have you have built and grown yourself, everything you eat has been picked from the village lands, and your friends and family (and pretty much the only people you know) are among the 325 people that live amongst the village. That is what these village people’s lives are like. It was amazing to see, and it really showed me a different side of life.

Laos kind of fascinates me. There is so little known about it, and it’s so far from Western culture. The midnight curfew is incredibly odd. The people, with their apprehensive friendliness, seem to be concealing from us all a great secret. Perhaps it’s something that we’ll never know.

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