10 Amazing Experiences in Laos

Laos is stuck in time. A time which was pre-industrial. In so being, they have much to teach us about a way of life which has almost disappeared.

Consider that this is a country without a functioning railroad. Yet it has Laotian French Colonial architecture. Not to mention a lot of orange clad Buddhist Monks.

Even in the bigger cities like Luang Prabang, you will find a rhythm to life that meanders at a pace not found in the teeming cities of Vietnam, Cambodia, or Thailand.

All of which makes for unique and amazing experiences in Laos.

History and Geography

Laos is a landlocked country in what was considered French Indochina.

Laos and Cambodia are considered the “Indianate” part of Indo China (because of the influence of Indian Hinduism and Buddhism).

Vietnam is considered the “Chinese” part (due to the Chinese ethnic lineage of the Viets).

Source: World Bank, Economist, CIA Handbook

Of the many experiences in Laos one of the first is sensing the lack of people. In most Asian cities – Hanoi, Jakarta, Kolkata – the throng of the crowds is overwhelming. You can feel the crowds.

Not in Laos.

After all, this is a country with only 7 million people; yet it is the size of France (source).

The lack of the pressure of the population is evident in the Luang Prabang, the former Royal Capital. A sleepy town majestically perched on the banks of the river Mekong, it has a famous night market.

If you look at the Luang Prabang night market, pictured above, you'll notice the lack of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

While every city in Southeast Asia has a night market, none of them avoid the sheer chaos as the ones in Laos. It’s kind of the tropical version of the Christmas Market in Strasbourg, France.

One of the amazing experiences in Laos is the equanimity in the eyes of the Laotian people. This in contrast to the pain one sees in the eyes, hidden by angelic smiles, of present-day Cambodians.

You would have tranquility in your eyes too if you had pure water, clean air and a sense of time which does not require everything to be increasingly done faster.

You can see the purity of the water in the many waterfalls. Experience breakfast and have a swim at the above pictured Kuang Si falls.

The clean air comes from a lack of industry. This is practically a carbon-neutral country. The table above mentions that their energy is generated primarily from renewable resources. Primarily hydro electricity. Increasingly, however, also solar. But it does not stop there.

The most popular form of transportation within cities is bicycles. Farming is still done by ox not tractors.

It is no coincidence the boat rides from Luang Prabang to the Thai border are called “Slow” Boats. In Laos, slow is better.

As the Laotian monks teach them, slow means living in the moment. The key word is “living”; which in Buddhism means consciousness of the present moment.

The net result is that the pressures of life in Laos are seemingly non-existent. A country untouched. Pure tranquility. An ideal place for digital detox. 

In a pre-industrial society, there is practically full employment. That is because self-sufficiency replaces efficiency. The result is something for everyone to do.

In these societies when people are not farming, gathering, or hunting they are doing something else useful for the community. For example, handicrafts for barter.

One of these handicrafts is hand loomed textiles. They are made by Laotian hill tribes. Laos is famous for this weaving.

An interesting company which promotes Laotian village-centered weaving is called Ock Pop Tok. You should visit them. It definitely is one of the more memorable experiences in Laos.

They have a Living Crafts Center in Luang Prabang, on the banks of the Mekong.

There you will find rooms to stay (5 villas). A Laotian restaurant called the Silk Road Café. Classes to teach you weaving. Even a store to purchase textiles handmade by Laotian tribeswomen.

Here’s a 64 second video on a folk-art market in Luang Prabang created by Ock Pop Tok.

If you stay there, you will get the feeling of what it is like to live in a communal village. You will also discover a business run by women which creates employment for local women.

We’ve long been a supporter of the approach which Ock Pop Tok takes. That is, empowering local women by connecting local artisanry to world markets. 

Luang Prabang has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for a number of reasons. One of them is the morning alms ceremony. Indeed, this rite ranks high amongst the amazing experiences in Laos.

Get up before sunrise and at 5:30 am see hundreds of saffron-robed Buddhist monks in a peaceful and silent procession through the sleepy streets of the city.

Their daily morning ritual (Tak Bat) involves locals giving alms of sticky rice to the monks - their only meal of the day.

Since these monks have taken a vow of poverty, they depend on the generosity of the local Buddhist laypeople for their only meal of the day.

The sacred ceremony is designed to reproduce what Buddha (Siddharatha Goutama) did in India. He also roamed the streets barefoot each morning to beg for his food. 

This timeless tradition in Laos goes back to the 14th Century (source). This was the time when Theravada Buddhism became the chosen religion of the Laotian kings.

Let us hope this tradition does not end. With the increasing onslaught of tourists, "National Geographic wannabes circle the monks like moths to a flame." They miss the sincerity of the occasion and treat it like a photo-op.

In case you are wondering, despite what the tour companies call "alms packages," no you should not buy rice to to participate in the ceremony. This is a ritual of self-sacrifice. The giver sacrifices by making the sticky rice themselves. This is what gives it meaning.

The Laotian devotion to Buddha is so great they even adapt Hindu epics – like the Ramayana - to incorporate Buddha.

In the Pra Lak Pra Lam, the Lao Ramayana, instead of having Rama portrayed as an incarnation of Vishnu (Hindu Avatar of the forces of Preservation), Rama is an incarnation of the Buddha. Now that’s fusion.

The Jeep ride from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is fantastic – that is if you like unpaved potholed gravel roads. Eat light before the ride!

On the positive side, the views during the ride are intriguing. You see rice paddies, vast vistas, villages, not to mention local farmers and merchants.

Furthermore, the picture from our hotel room made the harrowing ride getting there worth it. The setting of Vang Vieng alone makes it one of the amazing experiences in Laos. 

Ensconced by karst topography, the perspective is stunning. Karst is a type of topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks (limestone, dolomite and gypsum) due to the affects of water. 

Distinctive features of this topography are underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves (as shown above).

Although the population of Vang Vieng has grown over time, it remains a small town with small town virtues.

It is a great place to have a Lao beer (Beerlao) and a Burmese cigar. Or simply decompress. 

Life on the Mekong river takes place at a meandering pace. One of the amazing experiences in Laos is to take a “Slow Boat” from the Thai border (Houay Xai) to Luang Prabang.

As you drift through the water you will surrender to the languorous flow of the Mekong. On both sides will be vistas of incomprehensible beauty. 

You’ll witness small villages accessible only by boat. This is where the hill tribes live.

Hidden in lush jungles you can explore mysterious caves filled with Buddha statutes. You can also witness elephants used by local villagers to carry wood.

Most of all you will witness the pace of life. It will relax you.

If you don’t want to spend the night on a boat, you can take a less expensive option.

That option is to find a boat company where you’ll journey during the day and spend the night at a hotel in one of the small towns on the riverbank.

With this option if you upgrade you can stay in high quality hotels, like the one above.

If you want to experience staying on a luxury boat overnight, use Mekong Kingdom. You can take their Boheme boat (picture above); you’ll luxuriate in one of 13 suites for this 3 day/2 night journey.

It’s amazing how the Lao stay so tranquil given that history has rarely given them a break. Before the modern era, Laos was sacked by the Siamese Kingdom (Thailand), Viets (Vietnam) Khmers (Cambodia) and Chinese.

Eventually the idea emerged that Laos was supposed to be the Switzerland of Indo-China.

In 1954 the Geneva Convention recognized Laotian independence from France and designated it neutral territory. However, few major powers respected that neutrality.

The first incursion into that neutrality came during the Vietnam war.

The Viet Minh (North Vietnamese Communists) invaded the northeast of Laos to create jungle enclaves. These were linked into a supply route to Communist guerillas in South Vietnam (Viet Cong).

This supply route became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The second incursion into that neutrality came when the US, in a joint US-Thai police action, built an air strip in Vang Vieng, Laos. This was eventually followed by US bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

These incursions resulted in the heaviest aerial bombing campaign in history (source).

Today the Ho Chi Minh Trail is the site of historical adventure tours.

One of them is a motorcycle or Jeep ride through the Mụ Giạ Pass in the Annamite Mountain Range between North Vietnam and Laos. This ride is one of the amazing experiences in Laos not to be missed.

The above picture shows the pristine wilderness with a pile of detonated bombs. Just one of the remarkable sights you will see in this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

You can arrange a ride through the Ho Chi Minh Trail by contacting Chris and Virginia at Lao Adventure Tours.

The Hmong are a Laotian nomadic tribe. If you’ve ever seen the movie Apocalypse Now, the Montagnard tribes depicted with Marlin Brando are Hmong and other Laotian hill tribes.

They hold a special relationship with the US. They fought on the American side during the Vietnam war.

Many of them were given refugee status in the US, as a consequence of their support, and have created large communities in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

One of the great experiences in Laos is visiting a Hmong village. While there, try their Lao Whiskey called Lao Hai. It is distilled from rice and stored in large jars with snakes, scorpions, and lizards.

The venom from the serpents is said to add strength to the alcohol.

What makes Lao cuisine distinctive is the flavor profile. You will find lots of lemongrass, garlic, chilis and Lao fish sauce (Padek).

Central to this Laotian cuisine is sticky rice (Khao Niao). A staple of the Lao diet, every meal will have it.

Unlike white rice, sticky rice is steamed (not boiled) in a bamboo basket over a pot of boiling water on a charcoal stove.

There is more to Laotian street food than local fare. French culinary influence has lead to a fusion with local flavors.

These dishes are not just reserved for eclectic restaurants frequented by the gourmand. They are also available as part of the street food culture.

Their baguettes (Khao Jee) are one example. Inside crusty French bread you will find spiced meats, fresh vegetables, and coriander.

Another example of this fusion is the Lao crepe. It is like the traditional French crepe but served with bananas and tropical fruits inside. 

Laotian street food is one of the great experiences in Laos.

There’s an air about a city like Luang Prabang which makes you feel like you are in a classic black-and-white movie. The sense of mystery. The French Colonial Architecture. It creates an ambiance.

One can find French Colonial Architecture in Hanoi and Morocco of course. However, in Laos it seems more resonant.

France colonized Laos from 1893-1953. During this time it integrated its architectural elements into traditional Lao architecture and modified them to suit the climate (source).

A good example of this fusion architecture is the picture above. I came by it while searching for a restaurant in Luang Prabang.

The classic lines with tropical touches exemplified the fusion which is Laotian French Colonial architecture.

This fusion architecture is one of the fantastic experiences in Laos you will remember.

Feel Laos One Last Time

Below is one of the best videos I have seen on Laos. Although it is 17 minutes long, It allows you to feel what makes Laos unique.

Conclusion – The Meaning of Life in Laos

From the misty mountains of northern Laos to the banks of the Mekong, I went off the beaten path in search of something.

That something is the reason I travel. It is the search for the answers to existential questions and the discovery of the way the people in each country answer those questions.

One of these questions is asking what the point of life is. What is its meaning?

Is it to spend more than we earn, plug the gap with debt, then wake up every morning to pay off that debt?

In a pre-industrial society, the meaning of life seems simpler. Through the lens of Laotian Buddhism, the meaning of life is not to search for meaning. In fact, it is to not search for anything at all.

Instead, the meaning of life is to just live – with farmers farming, fishermen fishing and weavers weaving.

Consider for a moment what it means to call a boat a “Slow Boat” and hold this up as a selling point. When the rest of the world is going faster and louder, Laos reminds us that there’s value in stillness and silence.

In Laos we find that the meaning of life is simply to live in the present moment. 

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