Day 16- Travel to Laos.

(pictures are on their way)

The tide this morning still wasn’t conducive for exploring the cave so our morning kayak excursion got nixed.  Morning Tai Chi was on, though.

Coffee was fine for the rest of us.

Getting back to the harbor took a lot longer than we expected due to heavy traffic.  On the way in, we passed several big container ships that in some cases have to sit at anchor as much as 3-4 weeks waiting to clear customs.  Must be pretty costly (cheaper to bribe some official).

The 4-hour bus ride back to Hanoi Airport was punctuated with stops to check out rice harvesting,

to photograph waterbuffalo along the highway,

to watch bull fights,

and to pick up Jeri’s dress.

Molly and Anne both bought Miss Saigon outfits as well.

And the shopping continued.

                            

We’ll have to have a Vietnamese night at home (and, of course, serve spring rolls).

The flight to Luang Prabang, Laos was only about an hour in a tiny prop plane.  On arrival, the difference between Hanoi and Luang Prabang were very obvious.  This airport had one gate, slightly smaller than Lebanon Airport, not quite chickens on the runway, but close.  We were worried about getting our visas on arrival, but the visa process was brief and the passport checks were cursory.  We were met by our local guide, Paan and whisked away in two minivans (with WiFi) to our hotel. Paan gave us a running commentary on life and culture in Lao PDR (the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic), a bit of vocabulary, and some history.  I am always skeptical of country’s whose names have to tell you that they are “Democratic”, and a “Republic”, these include several one party countries like China, N. Korea, Vietnam, etc. Here is a bit of the information she gave us in the 15 min trip to the hotel.

Laos had been a monarchy for years until their communist revolution in 1975 when the king abdicated his throne and his son and family were sent to “re-education camp” from which they disappeared (a euphemism for executed).  Part of the remaining royal family lives abroad, but part that remained converted their country estate to a hotel/resort, Villa Santini, our home for the next 3 days.

Laos is way behind Vietnam in terms of industrialization and modernization.  Luang Prabang, it’s 2^nd largest city after the capital Vientianne, has a population the size of Hanover (without the Dartmouth students). 

Major industries here are farming (rice, sesame seeds, cotton, and opium, though the government is trying to stop this by providing incentives for the farmers) and tourism. 

Women are married off at 14 or 15 and receive a dowry from their husband.  They are expected to cook, raise children and take care of the household.

Because of the agrarian nature iof the society, people got up at the crack of dawn and consequently went to bed very early.  As Paan said, there is no nightlife in Luang Prabang.

Buddhism and animism (ancestor worship) are the major forms of religion with sometimes blurring of the two. The people of Laos are very religious and follow customs and traditions closely.

Education is limited for both men and women, but much more so for women, and quite costly.  I have a hard time understanding a communist country like Vietnam or Laos that does not provide free education (or healthcare for that matter) for their populations. 

Driving through the town felt like driving back through time.  Our hotel, though, was quite beautiful, with lush gardens and a decent restaurant.  We arrived pretty late, and had dinner before checking in. We started our Malarone tonight to ward off malaria.  We are all hoping for no GI problems or hallucinatory dreams with it.  Why do we like to travel, again?  Food here in many ways different from Vietnam, no chopsticks, and a Thai influence rather than Chinese.  We were thrilled to find out, though, that spring rolls are still a staple.  They also eat sticky rice (using their hands) which is stickier and more nutritional than white rice. 

Tomorrow we explore Luang Prabang.