The official name of Laos is the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), although the acronym represents the country equally well as Please, Don't Rush. Lao people and the pace in which things are done in the country is very relaxed and without worry. A key idea in Lao is represented by a common phrase, bo pen yung, meaning no problem. Big muddy puddle in the middle of the road? Bo pen yung, drive on through on the motorbike, the mud won't hurt you. Pigs escape from their pen in the middle of the night again? Bo pen yung, they won't cause too much damage if you wait til morning to put them back in again.
When working with Lao people or trying to accomplish something in Laos, it is important to keep that idea in mind. Happenings in Laos can be unpredictable, sometimes the power or running water may go out for a few hours or a few days, and you will fare a lot better if you assure yourself that it doesn't need to be a problem to you. Flexibility is key. The plus side, of course, is that Laos is an incredibly relaxed place to travel and rules are flexible.
Vang Vieng, the town near where I am volunteering, is a tourist hub. One of the most popular things to do in the area is to rent an innertube and float down the Nam Song River, while stopping at the various bars along the way (good article about this here). It is also very popular to rent a large tuk-tuk, bicycle, or just walk around the area, including the Blue Lagoon, right next to where SaeLao is. Some of the local children who live on the road to the Blue Lagoon have been trained by all of the tourists passing through. When a Westerner is spotted, they run into the street to beg for money or food. The downsides of tourism are very evident around Vang Vieng.
A week or so before October ended we headed north to the beautiful and very tourist-friendly city of Luang Prabang. There's a lot of French influence, many of the locals speak French and there is even a bilingual Lao-French school. One of the most memoriable things we did there was give blood at the Lao Red Cross. It wasn't too different from giving blood in the US, except the nurses didn't speak English (although the main doctor did). After giving they gave us strawberry cakes (from Thailand), strawberry milk (also Thai) and Lao Red Cross t-shirts! They took a photo of us wearing the shirts and printed off the photo for us. The language barrier did not fail to convey the generousity of the nurses and doctor.
Another highlight of Luang Prabang was the Ethnik Fashion Show at Hive Bar. Eighteen students work as models to pay for their schooling, sporting 95 different traditional costumes made by ethnic minorities in Laos. The costumes were incredibly beautiful and there was some information about the minority groups that they came from. If you are interested in minority groups I would strongly recommend the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. It is about Hmong refugees in the US who have a daughter with epilepsy and the clash between their culture and that of their American doctors. A truly amazing book which does an incredible job of explaining both sides of the story.
After giving blood we bicycled to the Luang Prabang's UXO (unexploded ordinance) Center. More than 2 million tons of ordinance were dropped on Laos between 1964-1973, making Laos the most bombed country in the world per capita, according to the center. Of this ordinance, there were 270 million submunitions from cluster bombs, up to 30% of which did not explode on impact as they were supposed to. The country is also littered with artillery and mortar shells, mines and rockets. Someone dies roughly everday in Laos because of UXOs, and many more are hurt because of them.
In parts of Laos where there are the most UXOs (around the Plain of Jars and the Ho Chi Minh trail along the border with Vietnam) there is education about UXOs, teaching the villagers to stay away. However there are still countless stories of accidents happening, or city kids coming to visit and not knowing better. Additionally, it is many of the poorest provinces that have the most UXOs, and also the lowest amount of tourism. Despite the risks involved, the scrap metal from the UXOs is a way for villagers to make a high profit.
When travelling in less developed countries such as Laos, I think it is important to not just have a good time, but to learn about the issues impacting the local people, and the colorful cultures inside of the country.
