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Laos | ||||
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room with a view 17 December 2006
Vang Vieng's main claim to fame is the view from my hotel room. Its beautiful. The blue green karst hills towering over the Nam Song river like a Chinese silk painting. The mountains most dramatic and spectacular at sunrise and sunset, when the mist and blackness of the night lift to reveal nature in all its pristine beauty. Vang Vieng's other claim to fame is as a backpacker's paradise. There are thousands of young Americans and Europeans whiling away their days here, floating endlessly in hollow tubes down the river and downing countless bottles of beer along the way. There are so many of them that they form their own little commune, watching reruns of 'Friends' at the restaurants, chatting on the internet, and partying late into the night, high on cheap whisky. Its a sad sight, of a foreign self absorbed world, totally unconnected to Laos or the Lao people. to be kayaked
Daybreak and I was off to visit the Tham Chang caves. They are in an idyllic location, just off the Vang Vieng resort, with very many steps and superb views. The afternoon was the more interesting part of the day. I went kayaking down the Nam Song river. Or to be more correct, I was kayaked. I have never gone kayaking before and I can't swim to save my life. So my kayaking guide paddled away whilst I sat like Cleopatra, beaming at my world around me. I did try to help him out. Picked up the paddles and moved them here and there, but eventually was told quite firmly to "sit still, and NOT move please". So instead we chatted about his life and he sang local Lao songs for me. It was pretty wonderful all in all. Quite and peaceful. And if it wasn't for the bars with loud western music that kept popping up on the banks and the hordes of backpackers swarming on the waters, it was close to paradise. giving back a bit
Laos was ranked 135 out of 177 countries in the 2004 Human Development Report and is the most underdeveloped country in the Mekong region, ranking even lower than Cambodia and Vietnam. More than 75 percent of the population are subsistence farmers and only 10 percent of its villagers are anywhere near a road. Nearly one child in ten dies before its fifth birthday. Over one-third of the population aged above 15 cannot read or write, the diet is inadequate, sanitation poor and only a quarter of the population have access to safe drinking water. Weakening and fatal diseases, from malaria to bilharzia, are endemic in rural Laos while health and education systems are limited. What was especially nice about our tour and our Lao country guide was that they gave us the opportunity to interact at a grassroots level with the local community and give something back to the Lao people, in some small yet significant way. We bought stationery, posters and footballs to give to the children in the primary schools along the rural roads. Most of these schools receive no funding from government or otherwise and are community based projects. It was a touching experience, seeing the children lined up outside their shack like classroom, barefoot and dirty, beaming from ear to ear at their newly acquired pencils and notebooks. Incredibly hungry to learn and exceedingly grateful for being given a chance. so much joy for so
very little
Travelling north, our bus winds its way over high mountain passes and down through breathtaking scenery for seven hours, on to Luang Prabang. Its a long and arduous journey. We stop at small little towns with dirty bathrooms, restaurants reeking of onions, and Lao children with the most beautiful, warm, guileless, happy smiles on their faces. I'd bought a packet of chips for lunch. The yellow plastic packet soon became the centre of attraction for the children of the entire village. As I gave handfuls of the salted potato wafers to those starry eyed faces, their smiles just glowed. Oh, the look on their faces. It was priceless. So much joy for so very little.
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