Laos in chaos

Bernd
May 24, 2024
4 min read

Water Festival in Luang Prabang April 13th - 15th, 2019

Romantic river landscape photographed from a small hill. Laotian houses in the foreground, jungle in the background.

The landlocked state of Laos has an area of almost 237,000 square kilometers and 7.3 million inhabitants. That's 32 inhabitants per square kilometer. It borders China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Mass tourism is not yet on the radar of this extremely beautiful country. Backpackers dominate everyday tourist life here. The capital Vientiane is about an hour's flight from Bangkok. Another hour to Luang Prabang. It was the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom for 200 years. In 1995, Luang Prabang with its royal palace and 32 Buddhist monasteries received UNESCO World Heritage status.

Water battle in Luang Prabang

Golden dragon with its mouth open and its red tongue sticking out. — Even the dragons don't breathe fire anymore.

The Water Festival or Pi Mai, New Year's Festival, is a special spectacle in Luang Prabang. This year it is from April 13th to 15th, 2019. The whole city is upside down, around 70,000 inhabitants. Everywhere people of all ages rush through Luang Prabang's streets alone or in groups with buckets, cans, pots or water guns. The goal is to spray or paint as many people as possible. Not a single eye stays dry. There is an exuberant celebration everywhere. Vehicles of all kinds are also not spared. The residents line up on the side of the road, some forgo water containers and just use the garden hose. Bad luck if you only travel by bike or scooter.

Overloaded pickup trucks, tuk-tuks, flatbed trucks race through the streets. On the loading area, the otherwise controlled Laotians - men, women, children - in short, everyone who can stand on their feet, dance, bawl and sing until their vocal cords fail. They have one water fight after another. This goes on until late in the evening.

People follow the monks in their processions. In the picture we see a procession, a monk sits in his golden sedan chair. — A highlight can be so beautiful.

A highlight is the procession of Buddhist monks along Sakkaline Road. Anyone who thinks that the Buddha figures are spared from the water is wrong. They are also watered for the New Year celebrations. Around 2,000 monks and novices live in almost 30 monasteries. And her life is anything but relaxed. Their day begins early in the morning at 3:40 a.m. with chants from 4 to 5:30 a.m. Then it goes to the alms walk: the monk collects food for breakfast and lunch, the only two meals of the day, followed by fasting, study and meditation. It's time to rest at around 9 p.m. Or as a Swiss man once shouted to us in a hostel: "Turn out the light."

Bernd takes a selfie in the middle of the procession. — Yes, just stare nicely into the camera.

The festival has its origins in ritual ablution. The young pay respect to their elders by washing their hands with water scented with flowers. I take a quick selfie surrounded by people. The atmosphere here is simply indescribable. Too bad I wore my good shirt. Because as I turn back to the procession, I am hit by a violent rush of ice-cold water, probably reserved specifically for the noble farang. What luck, the hairstyle lasts. The contact lenses also stayed in their position thanks to the practical sunglasses. Rejoice! At least they spare me the red and black paste.

A group of Laotian men, women and children spray water on a woman riding her scooter.

Tips that will only help you to a limited extent

A group of exuberant young girls and a boy, wet and smeared with paint, celebrating exuberantly on the street. — I've holed up with my cell phone

The time of the water festival changes every year. Maybe you feel the desire to experience the extremely wet state of emergency of the city. Here are a few tips:

Avoid going out in your favorite clothes during the celebrations.
Sometimes you don't just make people happy with a load of water. That means that
You can also enjoy colored water or rubbed with a paste of paint.
Cameras, cell phones and anything that is sensitive to water or color should be stored in a waterproof backpack and then again in a plastic bag. Even better:
Leave your backpack at the hotel.
Even if you are very pacifist, a correspondingly large water pistol (ridiculous) or water guns with an XXL container are a fun way to (still) fend off any attackers without success.
You don't have a chance anyway.
A lot of alcohol flows on these days, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
Unfortunately, few Lao people speak English. The national language is Lao, but people understand a smile in all languages.

A Buddhist monk sits relaxed on a bench. His face radiates calm and serenity.

Kuang Si Waterfall

About 30 km southwest of the city of Lugang Prabang lies the Tal Kuang Si Nature Reserve. Here you will find, in addition to an enchanting landscape, the multi-tiered waterfalls. Rent a car or book a private transfer. Opening times are Monday to Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If possible, visit the park during the week, and if possible shortly after it opens. Then it is less crowded. Swimming is permitted in the turquoise pools. There is also a restaurant within the park. I recommend you plan a day.

Staircase cascades filled with turquoise water.

When the bile overflows: Bear Rescue Center

Inside the park, just inside the entrance, you will find the Bear Rescue Center. Asian collared bears are nurtured here. In Chinese medicine, bear bile is considered medicine. There are breeding stations in China, Vietnam and Korea where bile can be removed from animals using a catheter. Just a few grams costs $100. A lucrative business from which the animals living in Laos are not spared. Even a hunting ban doesn't help much. In this respect, every tourist who can support the project directly here on site benefits. And there is plenty of information about the work of the project here.

30 meters high to the summit

Anyone who dares to climb along the waterfall will be rewarded with a magnificent view over the nature park. The main waterfall, as I will call it here, plunges 30 meters into the depths.

View from the top of the waterfall over the misty jungle. — On the Top.

I suspect that very few visitors accept the hardships of the climb. The way up is slippery, the steps are worn out but manageable. The hot, humid climate and the high humidity here in the jungle are exhausting. Once at the top, a small swimming pond surprises visitors, some of whom plunge into the cool water in full gear.

At the summit there is a surprising small swimming pond. A group of young people jump into the cool water or photograph life.

Fascination Laos

Laos is worth a visit in every respect. The Mekong flows majestically through the country, which impresses with a variety of landscapes. The people are open-hearted and friendly. Not a given. The cities impress with old French colonial buildings and countless coffee houses. The Buddhist faith is deeply rooted among the population. The old temples, which look back on centuries of history, are correspondingly magnificent.

But there are also dark sides. The country is still suffering from the consequences of the Vietnam War. What many people don't know is that Laos is one of the countries most heavily bombed. Between 1964 and 1973, the small country was littered with over 200 million tons of explosives. More than was dropped over Europe in World War II. Large parts of the country are still covered with unexploded bombs, in fields and in the dense forests. As long as the cluster bombs have not been defused, you should not march through unknown terrain on your own.

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