Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Roaminallover-Here, There and Everywhere
Vientiane is the capital of Laos, located midway between the North and South, it's a relatively sleepy place by world capital standards, but that adds to its charm. Traffic drives in an orderly manner on the right hand side of the road. Cars and mopeds/ scooters vie for position on the highway appearing in similar numbers, and the French colonial influence has provided stylish buildings, boulevards and crusty baguettes. Like all the other places on the trip so far the sun's been hot, and the humidity high, so dripping is the order of the day. We met up with Sandy and Rey again here, fellow travellers who we'd originally met at the Laos border. They had booked into a £12 night hotel with a pool, so we accepted the invite to book there too. It turned out to be a good decision as we were able to pop in and out of the water to cool off during the day. One of the main reasons for planning extra days in Vientiane was to get our Vietnamese visas, so this was our first mission. As we headed out from the hotel we discovered a mixture of concrete, bamboo and wooden buildings housing a variety of businesses. Some had piles of coconuts, others fridges stocked with soft drinks and Beerlao. Women cooked a variety of foods on sticks over charcoal barbecues, or fried things in woks containing small lakes of oil. Everyone seemed to commune with their neighbour, chatting and sharing news. The route to the Vietnamese embassy took us past the Laos equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe, which was set amid a delightful park. Carefully tended shrubs were complemented by dancing fountains, and clean wide paths. A few days later we were able to climb inside the monument to take in the views from the top. On arriving at the embassy we were surprised to find no queue and a simple application form. The official, who spoke clear English was able to advise us that we wouldn't need a photograph, just 60 US dollars each for next day service. In and out in a matter of minutes we were impressed with the efficiency. Next day we returned as requested to collect, and again were in and out before our bottoms had chance to stick to the seat. We combined our embassy trip with a walk to the That Luang temple, as it was about half a mile further along the road. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise as it was situated within a complex with other wats, and provided a host of great photos. During our stay in Vientiane we discovered the local wet and dry markets, a thriving commercial sector of banks, government depts, and lots of nice park areas. There were few if any global brands, except maybe the odd coffee chain, and certainly no malls as we know them. As we walked to the COPE centre we passed a huge development promising "shopping, relaxation, community, fitness, safety, style, entertainment, culture" so it could all be different in years to come. The development taking place alongside the pitches of traditional vendors, selling bananas from street carts, puppies and birds from small shops, and cafes where women cook foods over hot charcoal. It's difficult to know what the impact of globalisation will be on somewhere like Laos. Certainly it's starting to make inroads with mobile phones and satellite dishes, although for many, especially outside the capital , the lifestyle remains that of subsistence farmers, reliant on neighbours for community and support. The COPE centre, the rehabilitation and prosthetic centre in Vientiane, has a visitor centre recounting the stories of life in Laos following the bombing which took place during the Vietnam war. Between the years 1964 and 1973 America dropped 2million tons of ordnance on Laos, up to a third of which didn't explore and is buried across the Laos landscape. The bombings equated to a plane load every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years. The unexplored devices continue to maim and kill large numbers of people every year, many of them children, who are digging, or lighting fires in the countryside, unaware of the locations of the bombs. To date only about 1% of the bombs have been located and detonated despite ongoing efforts. The COPE centre raises money to provide free treatment, and rehabilitation to those who are unable to fund their own care. For many people prosthetics and psychological support has enabled them to participate once again in their communities where they are reliant on health and fitness to survive. The visit to the centre was a reminder of the struggles these communities have gone through, and continue to go through as a result of the American UXO (unexplored devices) legacy.
- comments