The Traveling Duo

A Breath of Fresh Air

Entering Laos from China, one cannot help but give a great sigh of relief.  Traveling from China’s in-your-face culture, mostly due to the sheer number of people, to a land of only 6 million and an unmistakable laid-back attitude can only force you to finally relax.  Everywhere you travel, you are greeted with smiling faces and children shouting sa-baai-dii.  We pedaled through small dirt path villages and watched as young boys danced naked through the rice patties.  On the side of the road, water buffalo cruised the rivers with a surprisingly docile nature.  There are baby animals every where you look.  Piglets chasing each other, chicks hiding between their mother’s legs, puppies hanging on as their nursing mother crosses the road.  On our bikes, we no longer fear for our lives as even the traffic moves at a much slower pace. 

As a tourist, there are two paths in this country:  one is a well-paved backpacker and family scene and the other unpaved territory.  Fortunately, we have already been able to see a little of both.    In Luang Prabang, we relaxed by sipping red wine in a cozy little cafe along a palm-tree lined street or parachuting ourselves from a rope swing and landing into a limestone pool next to a gushing waterfall.  In Muang Khua, we experienced mountainous village life by trekking 7 hours into the jungle and staying with the village headman who has only met a few other westerners in his entire life.   Connecting these two experiences, we cruised down the Nam Ou river passing by stark limestone peaks and ragged rocks.  Women and children line the coast washing clothes and themselves while young men sporting snorkeling masks dive with spear-guns to catch tonight’s dinner.  As we pass by, each person looks up, gives an enormous smile, and waves. 

It was only thirty five years ago that the US dropped more than 2 million tons of bombs on Laos, and as we relax, we hear the occasional rumble of UXOs exploding in the distance.  It is a haunting boom that echos from miles away, where dedicated government workers are still clearing the remains of Laos’ tragic history.  We have only begun to understand the country’s history and a small fraction of what living in Laos is like.  The one thing we do know is that we have yet to find a place in the world where we’ve been greeted with so many smiles.