The Land of a Million Elephants is as magical as the name would suggest. Cruising down the Nam Ou river in the shade of the sawtooth mountains, hiking to the hill tribes of Luang Namtha, living the Hmong life in Muang Sing, biking the royal city of Luang Prabang, and celebrating at the Elephant Festival in Sayaboury…Laos wooed us at every turn. The towns can be rough around the edges and god knows they have the scars from the carpet bombings of the Secret War, but despite it all…the people possess a sense of positivity and warmth that’s humbling. Resilient as can be, here are few of the unique ways Laotians get things done and have a little fun.
You know you’re in Laos when…
– Bugaboo is getting into the printing business
– Tribal costumes include traditional Nike socks
– You have the most delicious beer in all of Asia…fact!
– You are welcomed to a guest house with a shot of Lao Lao whiskey (homemade rice wine made more potent with anything from herbs to scorpions).
– A baby brother is the coolest new accessory.
– The backdrop choices for your family portraits are the American dream or Rainbow Bright on acid.
– Roadkill…it’s what’s for dinner.
– You are the most bombed country in history (270 million shells)…and it barely made the news.
– Your $1 bowl of noodle soup is garnished with a farmer’s market worth of vegetables.
– All river towns are full of children skinny dipping, cannon-balling, and laughing pure happiness.
– Tractors are taxis by dusk.
– Being far from the ocean doesn’t stop you from making seaweed…okay, not really, but river-weed is close enough.
– Parades don’t use floats they use pachyderms.
Did you ever visit Vientiane? I don’t pretend to know Laos at all but I spent a day-and-a half in Vientiane roughly years ago and for me, Vientiane was a city that shut down by 11 a.m.
Hi Rashaad! We didn’t make it to Vientiane, basically because of reviews like that lol. We stayed in the northern half of Laos and loved it!
Laos is a country easy to love and your comments about the bombing are spot on. You have some great photos in there. Btw, I made it to Vientiane while I was there and, if your time is restricted give it a miss, however it is worth a peek and there are some great villages in the hills surrounding the city. It’s worth a couple of days on your way down to the islands of the south.
Thanks, Tim! We would have loved to make it to Vientiane, the surrounding hills, and to the islands in the south. We agree Laos has a lot to love and we’ll be back!
This is great! Would love to get back to Laos someday…
Oh my goodness you really nailed Laos…especially the children swimming.
We knew we were in Laos when we got to pay to see their sun bear and their monkey in a cage out back