Laos: Visit Laos!

A Peek into Luang Prabang 

At first glance, there is no indication that Laos is a communist country. There is a surprising absence large red propaganda billboards, no pictures of cult leaders, no stark grey buildings, and no police standing at every street corner. In fact, I was really surprised to find out that religion plays such a large role in the population’s everyday life. The little city of Luang Prabang, "Royal Buddha Image," lies between two rivers: the Nam Khan and Mekong. Decorated with 42 Buddhist temples, the city gleams with golden stupas, multi-colored glass designs, and 2,000 chanting monks. Because of high levels of poverty, many families submit their boys ages 8 to 21 to monkhood in order for them to get educated and be looked after. Thus, a large population of Laotians have been monks at some point in their lives.

Vow of Poverty

Every morning, the town’s monks walk around collecting alms from the residents and tourists. One morning, my mom and I participated in an alms ceremony at a city sidewalk at 5:30 am. We were instructed to take our shoes off as to be on the same level as the monks who don’t wear shoes. We sat cross legged on the floor on mats and waited for group after group to show up. Fortunately our hotel prepared sticky rice for us. We were told that often tourists give the monks packaged snacks or fast foods and that this kind of food does not suit the monks well and they tend to gain weight. Instead, people are supposed to give out home cooked food like rice and eggs. When the monks did walk by, we put a handful of sticky rice into their bowls avoiding eye contact.  It’s important to maintain the monks’ dignity when they are begging for food. Monks are not supposed to ever ask for anything and giving them their food for the day made me feel like I was helping them get through their day. This ceremony does not need recognition, the merit is in the act of giving itself. The selfless sharing is rewarding and adds to one’s karma.

Bearly Rescued

The adorable little city is also home to some natural beauties such as the Tat Sae waterfall and Kuang Si waterfall. The later has tiers of turquoise pools and is a central tourism sight for Laos serving as a natural swimming pool and waterpark. At the base, there is a moon bear (Asiatic black bear) sanctuary run by an organization, Free the Bears, that has set up a rescue and raise program for the endangered animal. On our tour, we were told that many poachers capture these bears to sell them as pets or kill them for the supposedly “miracle working” bile. These bears are tortured as they often lose limbs during capture and are kept in very small tight cages. Free the Bears has done tremendous work in rescuing and nurturing these beautiful creatures and without the organization, the Moon Bears would definitely be more endangered, if not extinct. To learn more about their worthy work, please check out their website here.

Laos’s natural beauty and cultural jewels are harshly contrasted by the toils of communism and corruption.

Corruption, Communism, and Central Planning

The country of Laos remains one of the last five communist countries in the world along side Vietnam, Cuba, China, and North Korea. Even though it is ruled by a communist party monopolizing the political scene, Laos does hold elections for their National Assembly. However, the only legal party is the communist party, so no real power is actually given to the people. The concentration of economic power and hence enormous corruption also contribute to the poverty of the people. With one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, one third of the Laotian population lives under the international poverty line, at a shocking $1.25 per day. The country struggles to educate its public and provide electricity to households. Additionally, being a landlocked country infringes on easy trade. Less than 5% of the land is fit for agriculture, yet 80% of the work force is agrarian.

Dam that's (probably) not gonna work

A very poor country, Laos looks to the Mekong River to harbor electricity for its own population, but mostly to supply the rest of Southeast Asia. Laos already has 23 hydroelectric dams functioning on the Mekong and plans to have 93 more by 2020. The Laotian government plans to have these electricity exports be its main source of revenue by 2025. This is all great news for the Laotians- they have an accessible natural resource they can take advantage of and use to grow their poor economy. There is just one problem: the Mekong River flows through three other countries, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, each of which is worried about how these dams will affect their fish populations and communities. NGOs and the neighboring countries have been trying to persuade the Laotian government to stop building these dams but, plugging their ears to concerns for the future, the government digs on. 

Strength Through Struggle

In addition to a brutal history of colonization by the French, Laos was deeply scarred from involvement in the Vietnam War. Because Laos borders Vietnam to the west, Northern Vietnamese soldiers would go through Laos for a safer transport route to the South. Consequently, Laos also became a target of vicious United States bombings: "...Laos, the most heavily bombed country on earth...was hit by an average of one B-52 bomb-load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the second world war."

Though it all, the country has stayed strong at heart and pursued a beautiful culture illustrated by their dedication to Buddhism.