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 Less than a decade ago, Laos (pop. 5.25 million) was
largely unknown to Western travellers. Other than a brief period
during the 1960s, when the former French colony became a player in
the Vietnam War , it has been largely ignored by the West - a situation
that only intensified after the 1975 revolution and the years of
xenophobic communist rule that ensued. However, since the Lao People's
Democratic Republic reluctantly reopened its doors in the 1990s,
a steady flow of visitors has trickled into this poverty-stricken,
old-fashioned country, and a few traveller-oriented services have
begun to emerge. For many, a journey through Laos consists of a whistlestop
tour through the two main towns of Vientiane and Louang Phabang,
with perhaps a brief detour to the mysterious Plain of Jars or ancient
Wat Phou. However, those willing to explore further and brave difficult
roads and basic, candlelit accommodation will be rewarded with sights
of a rugged natural landscape and ethnically diverse people not much
changed from those that greeted French explorers more than a century
ago.
Laos's
life-line is the Mekong River , which runs the length of the
landlocked country
and in places serves as a boundary
with
Thailand. Set on a broad curve of the Mekong, Vientiane is
perhaps Southeast Asia's most modest capital city, and provides
a smooth
introduction to Laos, offering a string of cosmopolitan cafés
to compensate for a relative lack of sights. From here, most
tourists dash north, usually by plane, to Louang Phabang ,
though it's worth
taking more time and doing the journey by bus, stopping off
en route at the town of Vang Viang , set in a spectacular landscape
of rice paddies and karsts. Once the heart and soul of the
ancient
kingdom of Lane Xang , tiny, cultured Louang Phabang is Laos's
most enticing destination, with a spellbinding panoply of gilded
temples and weathered shop-houses. The wild highlands of the
far north aren't the easiest to get around, but the prospect
of trekking
to nearby hilltribe villages has put easy-going Muang Sing
on the map. From here, you can travel to the Burmese border
at Xiang
Kok
, and then down the Mekong River to Houayxai , an entry point
popular with travellers arriving from Thailand in search of
a slow boat
for the picturesque journey south to Louang Phabang. Lost in
the misty mountains of the far northeast, the provincial capital
of
Xam Nua gives access to Viang Xai , where the Pathet Lao directed
their resistance from deep within a vast cave complex. Following
Route 6 south brings you to the ramshackle town of Phonsavan
, set beside the Plain of Jars , a moonscape of bomb craters
dotted
with very ancient funerary urns. In the south, the vast majority
of travellers zip down Route 13, stopping off in the three
major southern towns: uninteresting Thakhek , the genial and
cultural
Savannakhet - also a handy border crossing with Thailand, and
offering buses to Vietnam too - and the important transport
hub of Pakxe
. Further south, near the former royal seat of Champasak ,
lie the ruins of Wat Phou , the greatest of the Khmer temples
outside
Cambodia. South again, the countless river islands of Si Phan
Don lie scattered across the Mekong, boasting scores of traditional
fishing communities and the chance to spot the rare Irawaddy dolphin. |
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