Visiting Laos was a great experience. However, we’re three for three. In May we went to France and learned that our beloved dog, Sparty, died. In September we went to the UK and four days from the finish we learned that my father had died. This year we went to Laos and on our last night in Laos we learned that Marie’s mother had died. We can only pray that things like this come in three’s and this is the end.
– Laos is a beautiful country. It is landlocked which puts it at a huge disadvantage. After reading Brett Dakin’s book “Another Quiet American” and having visited the country I have to say that the book is a good read and quite insightful. The Lao’s are beautiful, quiet people but their culture is suffering. The Thai culture is what the Lao’s see in the media. All popular culture comes from Thailand. The Thai’s see Laos as a backwater while the Loa’s absorb Thai culture while seeing themselves as morally superior, which they may be. I’ve traveled in many foreign countries but it’s my estimation that the Lao’s treat visitors with more forthrightness, honesty and respect than probably anywhere else I’ve been. The “norm” isn’t that they are going to steal from you or cheat you. That’s not the case in a lot of places.
– There are a lot of foreign interests operating in Laos. The Chinese probably have the greatest presence while the Japanese and the Vietnamese have their interests. Again, a landlocked country is going to be exploited and overrun by some interest that is trying to get from one place to another.
– The Chinese are becoming the “Ugly Americans” of the 21st century. Just biking down a road and having a caravan of Chinese pass you somehow leaves you with a sense that these guys are really a bunch of arrogant bastards. That observation can’t be defined in fact, it is a sense that can’t be readily defined. On one had it indicates that they are about to become the #1 power in the world yet they will be admired and detested as much or more than the Americans. The trouble is, the Chinese have nothing like the American Constitution to keep the power of the government in check.
– Our guides made the best noodle soup that we had the entire trip. They made it on the side of the road on a propane stove. It was wonderful!
Maybe I’ll have more points to offer so check back.