There was a time when Laos was the end of the world: a pinnacle on the Golden Triangle rarely seen by outsiders. Today, the tourist industry thrives, with visitors largely focusing on Luang Prabang. The north truly caters to Western tourists: wine bars, comfortable accommodations and no shortage of fun activities, like drunk bowling and drunk river tubing.
If you’re not on your gap year, however, and you don’t need to be within shouting distance of a banana pancake, then you might think about the country’s beautiful and less-well-trod southern region. I had the opportunity to visit there recently at the invitation of a friend who lives in the capital, Vientiane. A professional photographer, he was working on a book on Laos and wanted to get coverage of some of the more remote southern areas. A motorcycle tour through the southern jungles, he explained, is safer in pairs than alone. We agreed to meet in Vientiane and fly to the southern city of Pakse.
FRONTIER TRAVEL
Photo: Dean Karalekas
The capital of Champasak province, Pakse is an ideal base for the region. Several of the hostels rent motorcycles, and a good way to get your feet wet is with a ride out to Paksong. This small crossroads town is an access point to the fertile coffee plantations on the Bolavan Plateau. It’s cooler here, with the change in temperature conspicuous on the ride up. This is less a place to see the sights (there are none) than it is to pick up some coffee, experience the remote, edge-of-wilderness ambiance and take a respite from the Lao heat found at lower elevations.
Most travelers to the south are seeking the mountain temple complex of Wat Phu, and the nearby stretch of road known as Champasak town. Established in the fifth century, many of the structures that remain there date to the 12th and 13th centuries, and are dedicated to Shiva. Wat Phu is often called “little Angkor,” and in fact there was a road connecting it with that famous Cambodian temple city during the height of the Khmer empire. Its location near the Mekong and the excavated reservoirs called barays suggest the region’s economy was based on hydrological engineering, like that of Angkor. The barays are believed to have been built by Suryavarman II in the 12th century, and represent the oceans surrounding Mount Meru, the center of the spiritual universe according to Hindu mythology.
On the way to the Katang village of Toumlan in search of their famed silk weavings, our next stop was Salavan — an easy ride at about 125km from Pakse. The road east virtually ends in Salavan, and while it’s technically a border town, the 100km to Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province is a tough slog onward. By happenstance, we discovered that a small loop of the Sekong River on the east edge of town was a center of social activity; kids tossing out fishing nets, bathing or just strolling. Drivers would come down to the river — or more accurately into the river, half-submerging their cars before getting out and washing down the other half while the kids splash and play. Surprisingly plentiful traffic across a slender, rickety bridge ensures that you’ll meet half the town’s population if you spend enough time there.
Photo: Dean Karalekas
LOCAL COLOR
The stark contrast is palpable between the poverty of the people and the obvious money that went into large government office buildings (Salavan is the capital of the province of the same name), which largely sat empty on our visit. While surveying the town upon arrival, we found our way blocked by a house in the middle of the street. The victims of government land expropriation, this family was forced to move house, as it were, to a new location. The locals performing the task jokingly asked us to help push, and we jokingly obliged; a mitzvah that led to our spending the rest of the afternoon in occasional spurts of pushing, interspersed with smoking, talking and drinking as the foremen reset the rolling logs. Once word got round that there were falang (foreigners) in town, the governor made an appearance, and joined us in the effort (by which I mean the smoking, drinking and talking portion).
Once the house was firmly installed into its new address, a housewarming was held at which my traveling companion and I were the guests of honor. The women prepared a traditional Lao feast, the piece de resistance of which was duck’s blood salad (the ingredients are in the name). My friend, being a long-term Lao falang, felt no compunction to partake, but I’m weak-willed, and found it hard to say no. Truth be told: the salad was good.
Photo: Dean Karalekas
Of course, there’s more to see and do in Salavan than heavy lifting: for one thing, the town is home to a unique display of unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the Vietnam War. Per capita, Laos was the most heavily bombed nation in history, with more than two million tons of ordnance dropped there between 1964 and 1973, according to the Mines Advisory Group. That works out to one bombing mission every eight minutes for that nine-year period, with almost a third of that ordnance failing to explode as intended. It is therefore advisable to exercise caution when venturing off the beaten path.
THE ELUSIVE PANGOLIN
For another, Salavan hosts one of the most colorful and intriguing markets you’ll find, even if you’re an old Asia hand. Partly due to poverty, and partly due to a different attitude toward wildlife protection, the Lao people will eat virtually anything, and Salavan being so remote means that all manner of crawling, slithering or swimming creatures find themselves for sale in the town’s market. My partner and I were on a mission: to find and purchase a pangolin. While in Champasak, we met a European gentleman who works with the lepers of Laos when almost no one else will, providing clean bandages, medicines and building sanitary homes and latrines. He asked us to keep our eyes open for pangolin, as he wanted to have it examined to determine if this creature was a possible vector of the disease (as its cousin, the armadillo, has been shown to be). Alas, we never found any.
Photo: Dean Karalekas
There is so much more to discover in southern Laos: tribal villages that produce the most intricate textiles; the waterfalls at Tad Lo; the rugged and culturally diverse ethnic groups of Attapeu. The tourism infrastructure is nowhere near as extensive as it is in the north, but if you are the type of tourist who is not afraid of a little discomfort, if you don’t expect WiFi or plentiful tuk-tuks, and most importantly, if you are able to be culturally sensitive in a fragile place largely bereft of foreign visitors, then head south.
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Both China Airlines and Vietnam Airlines offer flights from Taipei to Vientiane, with stopovers in either Bangkok or Hanoi. Return air tickets cost between NT$13,500 and NT$16,000
INFORMATION AND TOURS: www.tourismlaos.org
VISA INFORMATION
30-day visas are available on arrival for most nationalities: Citizens of Japan and the ASEAN states do not need a visa
WHAT TO BRING
Passport with 6 months’ validity
Photo ID (for the landing visa)
Driver’s license (good for motorcycle)
Hat, sunblock, mosquito repellent
Basic first aid kit, water purificatio n tablets
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