Water Festival in Laos

Sorry all for the radio silence from our end for quite a while. Life has been busy, per usual, and I find that I only have time to focus on one computer-related task at a time. So I've been having a long email conversation and restocking some staples via the internet rather than blogging. Plus, I've also done a fair amount of traveling.

Speaking of traveling, here are the long-awaited photos of my trip to Laos over Water Festival (yes, that was in April, two months ago).

After traveling to Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, and Thailand as a family, Nathan and I decided to try something different: separate grown-ups only vacations. We're close to exhausting the reasonably cheap family-friendly vacation spots in the region, and we were both struck by how expensive even a cheap family vacation was. Once you pay for all the plane tickets, two hotel rooms or a suite, airport and visa fees, and all those meals out, you're paying an awful lot...especially when you consider that a lot of our time is spent doing kid-oriented things we don't think are too exciting or unique to that area--visiting parks, zoos, and swimming pools. The price for each visit Nathan and I get to make to a museum or other locally unique site is pretty high. So, we decided that we'd do some less kid-friendly travel separately. I would spend a week in Laos with my married friends Cullen and Vanessa in April, while the next month Nathan would help his Geneva-bound friend look for houses and schools there.

Vientiane

Lonely Planet describes Vientiane as "the world's most laid-back capital city" and it's hard to argue with that description. On the banks of the Mekong, this sleepy low rise city feels a little bit like Phnom Penh with half the people and one tenth of the cars. We rented bikes every day to get around, and that was a blast. Biking on Phnom Penh roads is foolhardy as the traffic is crazy, but it was a stress-free experience in Vientiane, and since temps were in the 90s we were glad for the extra breeze.

Sleepy Vientiane from the city center

Vanessa and I in front of Patuxai, a beautiful monument built in the 1960s with American-donated cement intended for construction of a new airport, leading expats to refer to it as the "vertical runway."

Pha That Luang is the most important national monument in Laos. It's a giant stupa, supposedly holding the a piece of the Buddha's breastbone. From a distance, it looks a lot like a gilded missile cluster.

Adorable twins hanging out on the banks of the Mekong at sunset.

Now, those pictures of Vientiane only give you part of the picture. In between chatting with cute kids and visiting pretty monuments, we were also trying and failing to avoid getting completely soaked. We were taking advantage of the Khmer New Year holiday to travel to Laos. Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia all celebrate their new year in April, but Thailand and Laos, they take it a step further...

Lao New Year (Bun Pi May) is the traditional time to clean the house, put on new clothes, and wash Buddha statues. Water that touches the Buddha statues becomes holy and is collected and taken home for later use.

Now, the Laos have a real reputation as a not terribly serious or industrious folk who really enjoy having a good time. "Fun" is an important cultural value, much the way that the Protestant work ethic or the American dream shape our culture. So, those fun-loving Laos decided that Buddhas weren't the only thing that needed to get wet during their country's hottest month.

As a result, Lao New Year is basically like a three-day, drunk block party meets mega water fight, with groups of people standing outside drinking beer and dancing, buckets and super soakers ready to soak anyone who comes down the street. It's all very good natured and people are actually very considerate about getting you wet. They do a very thorough job, but often pour the water right down your neck where it really cools you off. Foreigners are especially valued targets. Here you can see the women holding buckets about to get this pair on a moto.

This young girl was armed and ready--part of one of many groups of young people that were roaming around on the back of pick up trucks looking for victims. Some of the most fun was watching two groups of teenagers in pick ups soak each other completely.

Near the end of the three days of wet fun, we were all starting to get a bit tired of the process and longed to just go about our touring in dry clothes. One afternoon we were walking back to our hotel in clothes that had mostly dried from our most recent soaking when I saw this young man in the black t-shirt a few feet ahead of me holding a 5 gallon bucket full of water and smiling at me. He was clearly going to enjoy making the nearly dry blond foreigner his next victim. Instead, I surprised him by grabbing the bucket and to my surprise, he good naturedly let me pour all five gallons on him! In the end, though, the joke was on me as he then gently grabbed me by the arm and led me to where his friends were a few feet away and asked me politely in his best broken English: "Please to sit in the water bucket." It was clear that I wasn't going to get away without a bit of a struggle and seeming like a big grump, so I decided to take my turn graciously and laughed while I sat in the bucket and got completely soaked again. Fortunately, my friends were nearby to take my camera from me (the Laos were very considerate about waiting for me to hand that off before dousing me) and taking this photo!

Vang Vieng

After a long, wet, fun weekend in Vientiane, Cullen headed back to work while Vanessa and I headed north to the small town of Vang Vieng. The town itself isn't very exciting--overrun with backpackers and restaurants serving pizza, pot, and re-runs of Friends, but the setting is absolutely spectacular. (Thanks to Liz for recommending this stop!) We avoided the backpackers, who seemed awfully immature to us old foogies, and soaked up the beautiful surroundings.

Clouds moving in over Vang Vieng's distinctive limestone karst formations.

In addition to cycling around on our own and getting great massages, Vanessa and I also did a day-long caving and kayaking tour.

This cave was over a little creek...

...so the only way in was by inner tube, with flashlights on our foreheads!

After caving and a terrific lunch of grilled kebabs at the cave, Vanessa and I kayaked 10 km down the Nam Song river.

Luang Prabang

We had taken a bus north from Vientiane to Vang Vieng and our original plan had been to continue north by bus from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. However, in Laos we learned from embassy friends that there had been several recent armed guerrilla attacks on locals and foreigners alike on the highway just north of Vang Vieng--a reminder that the insurgency still bubbles up now and again in Laos. We didn't want to miss out on anything on our itinerary nor did we want to take our chances with the guerrillas, so we bussed back from Vang Vieng to Vientiane and then flew to Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is a sleepy, lovely little French outpost in northern Laos. Exactly the sort of place where it is wonderful to be an adult with a friend, cycling around, reading in coffee shops (I read about 900 pages during the week), visiting temples, and just relaxing. But where it would be lethal to be with bored kids who don't enjoy those things, and where there is nary a swimming pool or zoo to be found.

Wat Xieng Thong, one of the largest and most beautiful of Luang Prabang's many temples.

Beautiful detail at Wat Xieng Thong

Luang Prabang has a bustling night market (which actually gets started in the late afternoon). We found this friendly and saavy Hmong vendor there, who was only too happy to pose for a photo for us, and then entice us to try on some of her clothes, knowing that we'd buy some things to say thank you.

It was a great trip, and just the right amount of time with terrific company!