VIENTIANE

Our last excursion with Language Corps was a memorable trip to Laos: Vientiane, the Capitol and Vong Vien, a river area several hours away by van. I loved Vientiane so very different from where I had been in other cuntries. A quiet, French influenced city on the banks of the Mekong, it is manageable, provincial and a place where one could retire. It lacks the hustle and bustle of a major Asian City but nonetheless has its own character but shares with others the pervasive Buddhism as reflected in numerous Wats, temples and monasteries. The most famous in the center of the city is enriched with colorful gold and mosaic buildings with incredible paintings of the life of the Buddha inside. I was startled to see one such painting with a very St. Christopher like figure carrying the Buddha on his shoulders and which reminded me how very similar are the beginnings of all of our religious cultures.

Some great Laotian local restaurants are situated right on the river which is really a main part of the City and we enjoyed several great meals. One such dish is a ground pork dish made with lime, cilantro, garlic and served with sticky rice. One just rolls the rice up into a ball and scoops up the main dish with it. My first experience with sticky rice was a delight. Sitcky rice with mango is also favorite breakfast dish. What I have learned in this part of the world is that there are maybe 80 varieties of rice grown here and sticky rice is only one and it is a type of its own. It is much more glutinous than other rice which gives it its texture. Did you know that Thailand is the world's largest exporter of rice with Vietnam being second? But I digress from Vientiane. It is a lovely city to walk around in and we did a lot of that along with visiting its very famous Wat and the incomplete Arch of Triumph, which is patterned after the French but quite a bit smaller. Begun in 1962 it will probably never be finished given the current political status of the country. That does not mean that there is not still leftover French influence in the architecture, and especially the cooking. The greatest French bakeries with the baskets of French breads of all kinds are everywhere and we enjoyed our morning coffee in one every day that we were there.

Our trip included visiting the village of Vong Vien, now a jumpoff site for kayaking, trekking, tubing, and just laying back. Our sport of choice was kayaking for several hours down the Nam Song river - if found it truly exciting. Fortunately for me, last winter when Greg and I were in Puerto Escondido he encouraged me to go kayaking with him on the lagoon outside our city in a natural reserve. I had always been scared of kayaks thinking if I was in danger I would never be able to roll it around, upright and escape. But there in Mexico, we went out on a sea kayak with legs free to jump out if need be. We had similar kayaks in Laos. When we teamed up, however, I chose to go with the guide as the river was full enough to have some decent white rapids which would be a first for me. We proceeded down the river surrounded by incredible landscapes of forest jungle mountains, rice paddies, and a variety of all the tropical flowers one might expect to see on a riverside. Some of the mountain peaks were clouded with mist creating a dreamy atmosphere. In full sun everything sparkled with green and gold light on the water. Like every river I have been on so far, the water is that milk chocolaty brown which comes from the rapid flow of the river churning up the bottom.

Later we went to Luang Prabang, the earlier capital and seat of the monarchy. This is a really small capital but full of again French influence. Our first outing was to the night market as we arrived late afternoon. So many items for sale along two blocks of the city which is closed to traffic every night. What was of most interest were the crafts from the Hmong tribes. Lovely woven items of all sorts with multicolored yarns and scroll stamping...bedspreads, purses, friendship bracelets and more. This is truly a very colorful market that is sometimes left in the drk as the lights flicker and go out from brownouts. It is a bit difficult to shop in the dark, but people seem to manage. A nice aspect of LP is the lack of raging. The pace is much slower and there are fewer around, so that helps with walking. I am amazed that no matter where I have been in Thailand, pedestrian traffic is essentially ignored and one cannot even walk on the sidewalks, if they exist at all. Even in Chang Mai I found myself having to step off the blocked sidewalks as shops and restaurants extended to the curb.

I enjoyed another of boating on the Mekong as we travelled upriver to visit the Buddha caves. A very large limestone cave contains hundreds if not thousands of Buddhas left there by the faithful. In fact in the past the King used to lead the boat procession to the caves once a year (and I forget which holiday) followed by the faithful and leave a Buddha in tribute. Again on this trip we stopped at a Hmong village which was very poor indeed but full of tourist souveneir racks. Even in Thailand, one has to be sure you are finding Thai goods. There are lots of items available from all over Asia and if I were to buy anything, I wanted it to be made in Thailand. At this village, there was one woman who was actually weaving cotton oblongs which were quite soft and simple in design. They were finished off with a little fringe and can be used for a scarf, a table piece, or a kitchen towel. For only 20 baht, I bought one because it was genuine. (33 baht to a dollar).

We visited the National Museum which used to be the National Palace. The last king disappeared mysteriously after the Pathet Lao overturned the monarch and has never been heard of. Although it is strongly written in many places that he and his wife and son were carted off to the mountains and basically starved to death in jungle conditions. The Museum was, of course, a gold and red fantasy which lots of silk brocade, couches, king's room, queen's room and all that goes with royalty although at this point probably not as elaborate with items that might have been originally found there. A real highlight were the brightly colored mirrored glass mosaics on the walls which threw off great light and sparkles to the rooms they decorated. Later that evening we went to the Royal Ballet performance in what used to be the Royal Theater. The performance was done in the Thai dance tradition of masked performers, elaborate costumes, and wonderful hand motions from the women dancers. The male dancers were quite athletic as they performed so many routines with legs at 90 degree angles. I still prefer traditional ballet, but this was fun to see.

I had a great outing through villages and mountains to one of the country's large waterful. Just standing at the bridge at the bottom was like being in the rain. I did manage to swim in one of the lower pools but was pretty careful so that I would not lose any balance. I do not think I would have been swept over the next small fall, but did not want to take any chance. No one else did. But I just could not resist having a refreshing dip in this beautiful place. On our walk back, we came across a bear sanctuary and it was fun to see more of these beautiful creatures. While I was doing all this, Greg was off elephant trekking and kayaking.

As I write this I am in Phuket where the political protestors have shut down the airports. It is safe where I am but there is a determination to shut down this current government and closing of travel for tourists seems to be one of the tactics. This country cannot survive without tourism, its number one industry. We are in a delightful lodge complete with tropical gardens, swimming pool and all in all a delightful place full of travellers from all over the world. Waterfalls provide the soothing gurgling backdrop to this oasis just 100 yards from a main road. It is very near the school where I will be teaching and I will stay here until I can find something closer so that I can walk to school. If all goes well and the airports open, Greg flies to Chiang Mai on Sunday to attend the Language Arts School at the University for a month.

Love to all. Please send me a line now and then. I will catch up on Chiang Mai next time.

Geraldine