Travel: Monks, meditation and the mighty Mekong

Published October 5, 2014
Luang Prabang — Spot the golden Wat in the middle of the hills
Luang Prabang — Spot the golden Wat in the middle of the hills

“Have you seen the movie, Taken, in which a girl doesn’t listen to her father, befriends a stranger in a foreign country and gets kidnapped?” asked my father while I was preparing for my first backpacking trip outside Pakistan. I had seen it, I assured him. “Do you remember how the girl’s father came to rescue her?” he continued. Yes, I said. “Good. Because I’m not going to do that!” he responded. In short: don’t be stupid.

My mother had prepared a similar chat for me. She asked if I had seen Jailed Abroad and listening to them, you would think I was preparing to go for war, not a vacation in a harmless little country called Laos.

That’s right. Laos People’s Democratic Republic — popularly known as Laos PDR (“Please Don’t Rush!” is how the locals jokingly like to expand it). Whereas everyone and their grandmother has been to Thailand, know about Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia, most are unaware of the existence of a tiny little strip of a country nestled in between all four of them. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that most people I knew had never been there and that it isn’t as popular a tourist destination for Pakistanis as Thailand — enough incentive for me to want to go.


Backpacking in Laos PDR (Please don’t rush!)


One-hour visa

Don’t believe any of the horror stories you hear online. Getting a visa from the Laos embassy in Bangkok, Thailand took one hour. All I needed was a photo. The visa fee is approximately around Rs5,800 and they did not ask for a “clearance letter from the Ministry of Culture” in Pakistan as was listed on numerous travel websites. Which was just as well because I did not have one.

Alms giving ceremony
Alms giving ceremony

Old-world glamour in the modern era

You know you’re hovering above Luang Prabang, one of Laos’ oldest cities (it has been declared a World Heritage City by Unesco) when you look outside your aeroplane window and see beautiful lush green hills surrounded by the mighty Mekong River that runs from the Tibetan plateau through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The sheer greenery of the hills is contrasted by the reddish-brown of the Mekong and the Nam Khan River that converges into it and the view is nothing short of breathtaking.

Stepping into Luang Prabang is like stepping back in time but with modern amenities like cell phones with 3G network and Wi-Fi. From the airport to the temples, the former royal palace and even the post office — all have been preserved and run pretty much the same way as when they were first constructed. The cobbled streets of Luang Prabang and the French architecture of the more modern enterprises pay homage to the influence the French had on the country when they had declared it as one of its ‘protectorates’ (1893-1953) in French Indochina. As do the numerous restaurants and bistros serving well-made coffee and specialising in some of the finest French cuisine outside of France.

All of the temples and Haw Kham (the former royal palace, now a museum) are located on the same street as the Night Bazaar and the backpackers’ hostels. On a map they might look far apart but they are within a roughly five-kilometre stretch and can be seen in one day. I must warn you that by the time you reach the last temple, they all begin to look the same. Laos is traditionally a conservative country so make sure that your ‘upper arms and upper legs’ are covered before entering a monastery, temple or the palace, otherwise you not only have to rent a jacket or sarong, but you will also be fined.

The dragons that keep the city safe
The dragons that keep the city safe

You will find no fancy money exchangers setting up shop in modern complexes. What you will find is a man behind a desk outside the airport. And don’t expect him to give you a receipt. Whereas the local currency is the Laos Kip, most traders will accept US dollars as well.

Backpacker’s paradise

Luang Prabang has a very large backpackers’ district. It is right next to the Mekong River. You can prepare and book a hostel in advance, but even if you don’t, there are tons of places to choose from. I shared my room with seven other backpackers. There were two attached toilets and, in classic European style, two sale de bain. My bunk bed was large enough for me to accommodate my bags and stretch out completely on without falling off. And I paid a grand total of approximately Rs450 per night for it.

Night bazaar’s night buffet

The location was great. Right opposite the backpackers district is a large monastery and at any given time during the day you can see monks of all ages, shapes and sizes walking about the area. Up ahead down the road was the Luang Prabang Night Bazaar — a haven for shopaholics. It was also frequented by backpackers looking for cheap food because in the first half of the bazaar was a Laos vegetarian buffet stall that served everything from boiled rice, an assortment of basic vegetables found here as well, boiled bamboo, noodles and dips. The seating arrangement was a basic wooden table that stretched down a narrow cobblestone alley with benches to sit on. One did spot a fly or two buzzing around the buffet but that’s a given at any roadside food stall. Price of buffet: approximately Rs130.

Thai women in their traditional dress
Thai women in their traditional dress

Indecent proposals

Tuk tuk drivers line up the street outside the bazaar and can be quite relentless in their pursuit of a customer — for just about anything. You can find yourself responding to the strangest of offers. Hostel mates complained about having similar conversations as below:

“Tuk tuk?” “No.” “Cigarettes?” “No.” “Pot?” “No!” “Cocaine?!” “No!!” “Woman?” “What the hell!”

For the record, prostitution is illegal in Laos. In fact, it is against the law for a Lao woman to have any kind of ‘intimate relations’ with a foreigner out of wedlock. Ask a local and they will claim that the women the Tuk Tuk drivers are trying to peddle are actually ‘Thai’. In fact, Thai bashing seems to be quite popular among the locals. One told me that in the Thai language, women end each sentence with ‘kha’ and men with ‘khap’ because, they laughed, in Thailand you need to be told who is a man and who is a woman! For those wondering: a hostel mate decided to accept a Tuk Tuk driver’s offer for a woman (out of harmless curiosity so he claims). What the driver came back with was a crate of Beer Lao.

A massage for charity

The one thing you want to do at the end of a day of walking or cycling, since bicycles are available for rent almost everywhere, is get a massage at the Laos Red Cross office. They use a balm to soothe your muscles and the money goes to charity.

The morning march of the monks …

There is an alms ceremony that takes place in the early hours of the morning, traditionally around sunrise and it is worth waking up early for. Devotees spread their mats on the pavement and gather with food that they will donate to the monks who are due to arrive. Monks, I was told, do not eat anything after noon and they accept whatever is given to them.

Haw kham — the former Royal Palace
Haw kham — the former Royal Palace

What I found even more entertaining than the monks were the hoards of tourists gathered in their pyjamas one very chilly morning. They were armed with their cameras, waiting for the monks to arrive. Sure enough the monks appeared in organised queues from the youngest and tiniest to the oldest and tallest, with each procession led by a senior monk.

… And the media circus it inspired

Upon spotting them, the tourists went crazy. The amount of cameras flashes that went off during the monk walk would’ve been the envy of any red carpet event back home.

Some tourists went as far as to jump in front of the monks, taking photos from under them, from on top of pillars, following them around and what not. Most of the monks did their best to ignore the tourists with a few actually giving them disdainful looks out of the corner of their eyes. The whole circus lasted roughly around 20 minutes before the monks disappeared into the monasteries to retire for the day.

Coins of the realm

For antique lovers, Luang Prabang is a paradise. Where the Night Bazaar has goods that can be found in pretty much any bazaar in South East Asia, a walk down the main street of Luang Prabang will bring you face to face with a variety of shops dealing in antiques as well as hand-crafted replicas. You can also get coins from the French colonial era directly from Haw Kham.

Go off the beaten track and make a trip to Laos. It will be well worth your time and money, especially if you’re looking to immerse yourself in culture unadulterated by rampant tourism and harbour a love for history. It’s also a great place to practise your French!

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, October 5th, 2014

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