Our flight landed at Luang Prabang, an exotic town in north-central Laos. Luang Prabang is the European spelling, whereas the locals call it Louangphabang, meaning ‘royal Buddha image’. Before the aircraft landed we were able to get rare glimpses of the Mekong, and the hills, towns and villages on the riverbank. At the airport we got visas on arrival. We were a threesome – Tanuja, Pavithra and me.
Built in the Lao-colonial style, the Mekong Riverview Hotel lives up to its name. It is located right on the river front, and at sunrise you can see the boats sailing, the morning walkers and the cyclists. We stayed on the wooden upper floor, which had solid wood and cane furniture and abundant space. The hotel is located on a peninsula at the point where the Nam Khan River flows into the Mekong. The peninsula has three more or less parallel roads, and all of them can be explored on foot.
We went to the night market and made some random purchases. On the next day we hired a cab and went to see the famed Kuang Si waterfall, which has exquisite turquoise blue pools and cascades spread over a wide area.
After spending a couple of hours at the Kuang Si waterfall, we went on to see the Tad Sae waterfall. A long boat ride took us to the location. We enjoyed the boat ride more than the falls.
We also visited the Pak Ou Caves where thousands of Buddhas are packed into a cracks and crevices on the mountainside. There are two caves, a lower cave and an upper cave. A lot of steep climbing involved, so I stopped with the lower cave and let my companions climb to the upper cave.
The number of monasteries in LP has declined from 60 in the 18th century to 35 in the 21st century. Buddhism is of the Thervada school we are told. The names of the temple ring familiar, for they have an unmistakable touch of Sanskrit. For instance, Souvannakhiri may have have been Suvarna-Giri or ‘golden hill’. We visited some of the temples, Wat That Luang, Wat Sop Soukharam , Wat Sen Soukharam, Wat Xieng Mouane, among others. The Chinese dragon often appears alongside the Buddha.
Mount Phousi is a 100 metre high hill in the centre of the main street. We climbed to the top to see the shrine and the sunset. Tanuja counted 460 steps.
One morning we rose early to witness the monk-feeding ritual. When the horde of monks emerged from the monastery to collect the humble offerings of food, the enthusiastic donors and photo-enthusiasts virtually outnumbered the monks. We did not see any nuns or bhikkunis.
We chose not to visit the elephant sanctuary because we have plenty of elephants and elephant sanctuaries in our own country, and we felt we had seen it all.
Three days after our arrival in Laos we took a train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. The hotel staff had arranged our tickets. We arrived at a posh China-built train station, where we had to queue up to enter the train in single file. Perfect discipline. I could see in my mind’s eye the usual rush to board trains in India, especially the Mumbai locals. What a contrast!
The train was China-built too. Arrived on time. Comfortable seats, spacious, superfast. Best way to get around. We were told that the border with China was closed, so the train came from the border, instead of from China. We reached our destination in 11 dollars and 90 minutes. It seemed to be full of tourists. Perhaps the locals find it too expensive. The Lao kip can drive you crazy. At around 18,000 to a dollar, it effectively means you have to pay for everything in lakhs. While in Laos we enjoyed the luxury of spending in lakhs on a daily basis.
Laos is said to be communist country, but we saw no sign of any communist thought, except the occasional red flag. The country is apparently aligned with its big brother China, and thus perceives itself as communist. Coming from India’s only communist-ruled State I was struck by the obvious differences. The common man seemed poor, simple, innocent, and voiceless. Political awareness appeared to be minimal. Perhaps, the language barrier prevented me from understanding better. I can’t be sure.
