Laos - Final Thoughts

Even though I've described the way I've come through Laos, a general impression of the country has formed within me that I was hardly able to express during those descriptions. Even though a scenic and quite interesting country, I left it with mixed feelings and a diverse opinion.


I had crossed more than a thousand kilometers of the norther half of Laos and I've come to the conclusion that despite the beauty of the endless mountains and valleys with the madly bent roads winding climbing and falling through that landscape you get tired of just that after some days. Everything is slow, each of the simple original villages look the same, made up of some bamboo mat huts and wooden houses with little children playing on the street and the bigger children and adults, though mostly the women, working with rice or making brooms. There is nothing else, no side roads, nothing to be discovered unless you dig very deep into the country, take a guide or speak the language well, and you walk, possibly hundreds of kilometers, to the remote parts of the region that will not reveal much more than original villages hidden in the forrest covering the mountains.


At first, I was admittedly overwelmed and faszinated by the impressions. The little villages are very different from what you get to see in Thailand and rather reminded me of some areas in Africa. But that wears of, unfortunately. There is nothing in the village but the village life itself. If one would want to dig into that coming to Laos is just what one should do. Otherwise, especially if you're just one of those farang tourists looking for something new to discover, you shouldn't spent so much time, so these impressions won't get the chance to wear.


Not to give a false impression, Laos is much more than little villages scattered in an endless sea of mountains. It is much more diverse than the previous two paragraphs could imply. But travel times between places are enormous and that makes it tedious for the spoiled adventure-driven farang tourist to discover it all. Even I, who had adapted a different feeling for time and space than I had had back in Europe, felt a growing urge to leave that region behind and move on to a different environment. Arno and I have argued much about how much of an influence the food could have been in that. We really did miss good food, especially in the more remote areas of Laos, and we have tried everything, from farang driven restaurants to the local night market. Nothing came close to Thai food until we reached the very touristy areas of Vang Vieng and Vientiane. It think that might have been driving me back towards Thailand to an extend that should not be underestimated.

I've come to the conclusion that if I'd ever travel nothern Laos again, I'd do it rather quickly, likely on the Mekong River, or take very much time, much local advise and help, and an abundance of motivation for walking. Insect repellant would be another good addition in the latter case.


I will refrain from forming a general opinion about the Lao people as I have met too many different characters any the majority of who I got to know better where biased with being around tourists very much. I had the impression though that we left the land of the many smiles when we crossed the border. People are still friendly, polite, and courteous, but the experience was different from that in Thailand and I found the average Lao more cautious towards us tourists that the average Thai. Other Asian characteristics such as the attitude towards time, promises, bargaining and gratitude are all found again in Lao, even though I had the impression that the structure in society was somewhat less strict that I had experienced it in Thailand. That is even reflected in the less formally polite language patterns.

The most fun time I definately had in Vientiane meeting other farangs, a thing that I had been missing for about half a year. On the other hand, that could have been anywhere on the planet and would not have made a difference. Furthermore, I was just hungry for some people of my kind and got lucky to find a real nice bunch of them, or rather for them to find Arno and me. But even during those days in Vientiane I found it easy to discover interesting places just by going down some street until the last farang had disappeared and a little further. Everywhere in Lao where one can move one can discover, it seems. If one manages to leave the tourists behind that stream into the country following the trend of the new undiscovered and original Asian country, there is much to discover, if you can figure out how to move, and there is a great impression to be taken home if you manage to keep moving or dig in deep.