What a weekend

When I first got to Laos, I was really stumped as to why everyone had told me that Laos was their favorite country in southeast Asia. Compared to Chiang Mai, and other spots I have visited in Thailand, Vientiane is a lot more laid back. Laid back is cool, but typically more fun if there is beach involved. The city closes down around 11 or 12 on the weekends, and there is not the plethora of evening activities like night markets or food stalls to offer late night entertainment.

After a few days though, I really began to enjoy the city's demeanor. As you can imagine, the laid back nature suits me very well. With each passing day, I also befriend my new Lao acquaintances a bit more. This has opened up some great doors that have allowed myself and my flatmates a chance to see the less beaten path in and around Vientiane.

Last Friday, we had a bit of a house warming party. Due to the early closure of many Lao establishments, house parties are key. Kind of like Macon, except there it's due to the dull nature of the entertainment establishments. The party began when we arrived home from work around 6pm to be met by our neighbor/housekeeper/cook who had prepared a huge dish of pork lap, a spicy minced meat dish that is very common on Laos, a couple huge containers of sticky rice, also a Lao staple, and two ginger-lemongrass boiled fish from the Mekong. We sort of remember the conversation we had with her about cooking, but just meant for her to bring over some Lao snacks when she and her large family came over to the party. The food was great and far better than anything we had had at restaurants. My friend Jase and I hopped on our motorbikes (my new favorite way to travel) and went down the street to pick up drinks for the party. When making purchases on a motorbike it is very important to not overdue it as there is very little cargo space on the bike. Fortunately we had planned ahead and made use of our backpacks. After we dropped off the cups, Lao whiskey and snacks it was time to head down the street to pick up beer and ice. Every shop sells BeerLao, but no one sells it in a nice prepackaged case. Instead you just tell the shop keeper how many big bottles you want and the plop them into the hard plastic BeerLao crates. We purchased 2 crates of beer and some ice, and after seeing our neighbors navigate their motorbikes while carrying a crate of beer, I figured Jase and I could do the same with ease. This was not the case, and we fortunately found this out before attempting to ride back home. The shop was close so we left our bikes there and walked back home leaving an amused group of Lao people behind to snicker at our inability to balance beer and ride.

Our neighbors came over to the house around 9pm in full force. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest joined us for what was a great evening. We supplied the BeerLao, snacks and ice and they brought over some playing cards and attempted to teach us the game they were playing. Continuing to test my modest language skills, I took full advantage of having the english speaking Lao neighbor. I pestered him with questions and had him critique my poor pronunciations. The neighbors, who are all great sports, got a kick out of my efforts, and I appreciated their patience.

After relaxing on our porch for a few hours we headed inside for a dance party after the younger kids were sent home to go to bed. We had a great time singing and dancing along to the American hip hop that I provided. It was quite amusing to see how readily the supposedly modest Lao people had picked up on western club culture. In fairness though, the people are very modest outside their home and village, but when you are amongst friends, it's okay to relax a bit. Thankfully the party died down around 12:30 because Sarah, my co-intern at CARE and flatmate, and I, along with fellow intern Melissa, were scheduled to meet Ting Toung, who works for CARE, for a trip to a museum dedicated to Kaysone Phomvihane.

Kaysone, was half Vietnamese and half Lao and was the leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, which is still the party in control. The museum was recently renovated at a cost of around $8 mil(USD). From the price tag, the overbearing statue of Kaysone that greets museum goers and the size of building, one would think the inside was filled with wonderful information. I guess, if you are a dedicated follower of Kaysone or a hard line LPRP member, then the museum would be great. Not being either of those things, the museum is sort of odd. It is basically a time capsule commemorating the man who brought communism to Laos. While he did not encourage a cult like following during his life, the pictures and artifacts in the museum make up for any humility he may have had. It is a very interesting place, and something completely foreign to those from the west. It was the first time I've been in a museum that proudly recounted events of people overthrowing the tyrannical American imperialist. Probably a waste of $8 mil(USD), but quite unique.

After the museum stop we headed to a small art gallery showcasing some local artists. I was really impressed at the range of styles the local artists employed. One sometimes gets the impression that less developed countries have failed to move forward in terms of culture, but the art was quite modern and very similar to what would be seen in many American galleries. Ting then took us for a much needed lunch at a cafe near That Dam, the black stupa. He and I had a traditional Lao sandwich made with cucumber, pork, pork pate and carrots. The idea of a sandwich in Southeast Asia sounds kind of odd, but thanks to the French influence, the pork pate sandwich on a baguette was quite delicious. After lunch we headed home and quickly found ourselves napping. Not wanting to waste a beautiful day, Sarah and I drove over to a huge market near our house.

The markets here make our "markets" look like a 7-11. You can get literally everything you might need for your house at the market. Cooking supplies, shoes, clothes, beds, shampoo and every locally grown fruit, vegetable and animal imaginable. There were rows of carrots, eggplants, kale, rice, chillies, lettuce, ducks, chickens, catfish, river fish (their description), eels, prawns, frogs and turtles. The animals by the way could be found in bot the living and dead stages of life. After walking around a bit, I decided I had gone too long without a haircut and found a barber who was set up near the open air cafe and meat counter. After a great 15 minute shampooing I got a decent haircut. I'm not too picky to begin with, but for $2 there's not much room for complaint.

After a great day full of Laos culture, our Saturday was capped off by a party at the French cultural center to celebrate Fête de la Musique, world music day. The concert featured some very loud playing, and even louder singing, Lao metal bands, a rock-reggae group and a few French guys featuring a guitar, sax, liquid courage and a small command of Lao phrases. It was an awesome night and me and my flatmates had a great time. It is so much fun to be in a place where there are cultural ingredients from just about every continent.

After a late night, we woke somewhat early for a trip out to our neighbor's family farm outside of Vientiane. Many Lao people have some property outside the capitol city where they will go on the weekends. Our get together included more family members, lots of food, BeerLao (beginning at about 10:30am) and a trip a waterfall/swimming hole. The food, as with most home cooked meals, was amazing. We had some great boiled fish, papaya salad, local bamboo soup and cow heart from the grill. The papaya salad, which is part of almost every meal, like sticky rice and BeerLao, was prepared two ways, mak phet and baw phet. The first being the normal stuff for the Lao people and the later being for the falang who cannot handle the spice. I had to try the real stuff and it was as advertised...really hot! The tingling was subtle at first, but within about 2 minutes my lips had gone numb. The cow heart, fortunately, just tasted like cow heart. It was not spicy or marinated in anything. Just a bit of salt and then it was thrown on a grill over an open fire. Take my word, if you can get some cow heart, give it a try. Maybe it was the fact that I have not had beef in about a month, but it tasted like a medium well done steak and was great.

After our big picnic, we headed to the waterfall, or what was billed as a waterfall. We rode to the falls in the back of a flatbed, passing around a cup of BeerLao which was constantly refilled, all while being tossed around on the dirt road. I should mention, the BeerLao is not a twist off top, and there were no bottle openers around. So, using the next best thing, the women took turns opening bottles with their teeth. After a boisterous 20 minutes ride, we arrived at the falls, which turned out to be a few man made walls built across a stream to slow the flow of the water. We were greeted by a pond full of Lao people, Lao music blasting from the cafe and cabana style patios full of families, food and BeerLao. Being that they are modest outside the village and home, all the women were swimming in their full clothes, and many of the men were also swimming in pants and shirts. This also included Dena and Sarah, who were swimming their dresses. Our neighbors daughter and friend went swimming in pants and t-shirts. And no one changed afterward. In the hot, hot heat of the afternoon it only takes about 30 minutes to get completely dry. I've had many enjoyable swims in my day, but after sitting out in the sun and eating the spiciest food I've ever had, this ranks up there as one of the best dips ever.

After a full day of eating, swimming and drinking, we headed back to town around 4pm. It was loads of fun spending the day with our neighbors, and a great weekend. So, after being a bit skeptical of Laos, and Vientiane, my misgivings were more than dashed. It has been great to be in a place long enough to not just see the points of interest mentioned in a guidebook, but to have a real chance to get to know the people and culture.