Conclusion after my trip?
Udon Thani was not much to write home about. It was clean, tidy and boring.
Vientiane was also clean and tidy, but not so boring. They had no 7-Elevens but they had French restaurants. They had no gay bars but gay boys kept popping up. They had no shopping centres but why would you need one?
The French imperialist pigs who planned the city did a good job, with splendid architecture and grand views and broad avenues.
I heard that Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world. The centre of the capital didn’t look poor. There were no beggars or filth or chaos, and no obviously destitute people. Maybe they were somewhere else.
I read the Vientiane Times for breakfast at the Scandinavian Baker. The lead story was that the grateful masses had received another statue of a communist liberation hero, a three ton bronze piece.
Petty minds may claim that most of the liberating was done by the Vietnamese army, but the newspaper didn’t mention such sour grapes. It didn’t mention what the country was liberated from either. The ruling Lao royals were sent to re-education camp and are probably still there as nobody have seen them since 1975.
I understand that the victorious leaders of the peasant revolution, themselves of royal blood to be on the safe side and absolutely not Vietnamese puppets, live very modestly in their huge mansions in Vientiane.
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Communist nightlife closes at 11pm so the proletariat can go home and sleep and be ready for progress and development the next day.
But there were signs of creeping capitalism in The People’s Democratic Republic of Laos. Smart designer shops had opened. Many people had shiny new motorbikes. Someone drove a Hummer. And of course Laos used American money, but all revolutionary countries do that.
Maybe the rest of the country is worth seeing? Luckily the Laotians speak perfect Thai, which they pick up from traitors of the class struggle on Thai television. This made it possible for me to talk to people, even as many Laotians spoke English too. The tuk-tuk drivers in Laos spoke much better English than their brothers in Thailand do.
I understood little of the Lao language, just some numbers and a word here and there.
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The gay subculture seems to be universal. I felt at home with the gay boys in Laos. The scene had a certain innocence or small-town restraint, this was certainly not Pattaya.
Vientiane felt safe. I had a feeling that theft or violent crime against foreigners was rare. When I had hired a taxi to go back to Friendship Bridge I left my bag in the car while having lunch. The driver said I could, nothing would be stolen. He was right.
December 15th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
A fascinating insight into a country so little known. Of course you know Australia paid for the bridge across the river from Thailand to Laos. I wonder who we were trying to impress with that expenditure? Can’t recall now.
December 15th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Everything you have said about Vientiane is appealing to me, the sole exceptions being “the smart designer shops” and the Hummer. People who live in warm climates should go nude and walk anyway.
I must print out your whole tale for reference.
Thanks SF.
December 15th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
You are welcome. The designer shops are few and small. Pretend you don’t see them. I saw one Hummer, a shiny black beast with orange Christmas lights along the sides. It is probably the only Hummer in the country. They are too wide for the roads.
December 15th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
I have just spent 3 weeks in Laos and I have been going there for 9 years.Your ideas of the communists there are out of date. Following Vietnam the government allows private enterprise at every turn and welcomes foreign investment. (The elegant Wattay Airport is Japanese built and run) Go into the countryside to find the poverty. You can drive to Luang Pra Bang and see it everywhere. Luang pra Bang is the most beautiful place in all SE Asia. The Royal family is dead, having ben imprisoned. So far from being good communists members of the government attend the big Buddhists ceremonies and when they die have religious funerals.Most Lao just want to get on with their lives and are uninterested in politics.
The designer shops are very recent and are aimed at the tourists. Motor bikes have been widespread for a long time: they are usually owned by a whole family. There are many NGO workers there. The big flashy vehicles probably belong to them or the few rich people and members of the ruling oligarchy.
December 15th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Thank you, comrade. That’s what I say too. Capitalist decadence is ruining the place. Go see Laos while it still has picturesque poverty.
December 15th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Would you ever consider living there or Cambodia?
December 15th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Living there would take some getting used to.
December 16th, 2007 at 10:47 am
I like Laos, but it is a quiet life if you want that. Meaning no excitement, just gentle living which maybe great when you approach 60.
December 16th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
I love Laos and used to do it regularly for visa runs before I became legal in the LOS. A favourite pastime of mine was just to sit on the Meakong bank sipping a cold Beer Lao and watch the sunset over Thailand. Magical and never to be forgotten.
December 17th, 2007 at 12:03 am
Go to Luang Prabang before it gets even more overrun than it was 5 years ago! Also, you can
take the train to Nong Kai, and avoid the bus
ride from Udon Thani ….unless you don’t like Thai
trains. There is a fantastical Wat Kaek (Thai side) for a scarey head trip. Taking the train allows you to overnight in Nong Kai, meet friendly Isaan guys along the river, then go over the bridge the next day. Well, whatever. I’m glad you went, and
had a good time.
OK, so what does Luang Prabang have…. fresh
bagats that you cannot get in BKK.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:28 am
I worked in Vientiane last year and it was a wonderful time. The gay life is not obvious but it is there if you want it. The best part is the people themselves. They are so friendly and hospitable and accepting, gay and str8.
The govt actively discourages the “Thai excesses” and except for a few nightclubs that mysteriously manage to stay open late the whole country shuts down and goes to sleep at 11 pm, and they mean it.
This doesn’t seem to discourage the tourists however that also seem to like the slower pace of life as numbers are growing exponentially each year.