Our next step was Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Going there

Our trip to the city was quite an adventure!

We decided to take a sleeping bus which would allow us to travel through the night and arrive in the morning, ready to start our adventure.

However, before we even got on the bus, we noticed that the front window had been smashed. Also peopel were still working below the bus with tools. This made us a little uneasy.

As we set off on our journey, we quickly realised that something was not right. The bus stopped almost every hour as the driver and other staff members attempted to fix various issues. We would wait patiently as they tinkered with the engine, wondering if we would reach our destination. At one point, they had to wake up a mechanic who was sleeping at a nearby village to help with a problem - we watched as they cut and soldered a piece of the engine. Despite this, we still held onto hope that we would soon make it to Vientiane.

Finally, after what seemed like endless stops and delays, the bus was supposedly fixed and we were able to ride without any further disruptions. Morning came, and we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in Vientiane, but also a little relieved to finally get off the bus. We had made it, albeit with a few bumps in the road, and were ready to begin our exploration of the city.

A bit of history

Laos today is the result of an amalgamation of different ethnic groups, each with its distinct language and culture. It has a more straightforward history than Cambodia.

The first documented kingdom of Laos is Lan Xang (The Kingdom of a Million Elephants) was established by Fa Ngum in 1353. This kingdom covered also a part of now Vietnam and Northeast Thailand. Over the centuries, conquered people fought back, the kingdom became three separate kingdoms and eventually in the late 1700s to the early 1800s, Thai people dominated large portions of Laos.

In Vientiane, we saw the That Dam Stupa, or Black Stupa, which was built in the 16th century during the reign of King Setthathira:

In 1893, France proclaimed Laos as part of France’s Indochina through an agreement with Thailand. So, a natural boundary (the Mekong River) between Thailand and Laos was established. After periods of control by France and Japan, Laos gained full independence in 1954, right after the communist leader Ho Chi Minh defeated the French army. One particular monument celebrating the victory over the French and the independence of the country is Patuxay:

It is a stylized version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with a Lao twist.

COPE Centre

We visited the city the COPE Centre. COPE is an association that focuses on the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO), the provision of assistance to UXO survivors, and the raising of awareness about the dangers of UXO throughout the country. How did such a situation happen?

Some more recent history

During the Cold War, Laos was an officially neutral state. Despite that, from 1964 to 1973, it became a victim of bombardment by the United States and became the most heavily bombed country in history.

The US dropped two million tons of ordnance on Laos- more than all the bombs dropped during World War II combined. The CIA executed 580,000 bombing missions in its secret attempt to support the Royal Lao Government against the Communist Pathet Lao, a force affiliated with North Vietnam and the Soviet Union during the Vietnam War.

This “Secret War” in Laos had a long-lasting effect on Laotian history, hindering Laotians’ health, education, and migration choices even today. The bombings destroyed many villages and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lao civilians. A third of these ordnances remained unexploded and it still is an issue today, as they are still taking lives to this day, especially of children playing and people digging the earth for farming.

Pi Mai (Lao New Year)

Pi Mai takes place in April (from the 14th to the 16th) and marks the start of the monsoon season. New Year in many other countries in South Asia is also celebrated at the same time.

As it occurs at the hottest time of the year, it is also partly a water festival. Water is used for washing homes, Buddha images, monks, and soaking friends and passers-by. The water is perfumed with flowers or natural perfumes. Over the years another tradition has developed with Lao New Year: people will smear or throw cream (shaving cream or whipped cream) or white powder on each other during the celebrations.

So after walking on the street on New Year Lao, you end up looking like this:

During these three days, celebrations don’t stop. As two people who are not unfamiliar with parties, we’ve never seen such a celebration vibe in the city (apparently in Luang Prabang it is even crazier).

During the daytime many people go to the temple to worship, hoping to have a healthier and happier life in the new year. During the evening, people of all ages put on music and dance in front of their houses or on the street and offer people the famous Beerlao.

There was also a more official celebration in one of the main streets, with a procession composed of monks and religious wagons:

But also groups people playing traditional music and dancing, doing acrobatics:

What else did we do?

We found a pretty cute coffee place in the surroundings of our guesthouse, where we had breakfast with bread and butter and a very nice (and strong) Lao coffee.

At some restaurant, we had a plate of fried crickets! It was the first time try these insects, this a was tasty and quite filling food.

What is next?

We initially had the plan to go north from Vientiane, via Luang Prabang and then go back to Thailand, going through Chiang Mai. Unfortunately, these regions were experiencing a sustained level of pollution unseen before, due to wildfires and slash-and-burn agriculture (see the picture on the left, red means bad air quality). The pollution was already visible in Vientiane, here is a nice picture of the sunset with the sun hiding behind the pollution haze:

So we decided to head south instead, next stop is Isaan!