Peaceful Laos
Door: Stephanie
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Stéphanie
28 Maart 2009 | Laos, Vientiane
Keeping in mind that Laos has been one of the most bombed areas on earth, I arrived at the Lao-Thai border (Friendshipbridge). First I had to cross the border illegally, before I was able to pay the visa with real Laotian money named Kip :)
We had to wait for a while until a man slid the small window open and gave my friend's passeport back but told me to wait for one hour at least because I had a big problem with my passport. But while repeating this words, a big smile appeared on his face and he said 'Just Kidding' :)
On the first morning in Vientiane while I was taking a shower, my friend came back from the toilet and ran into the housekeeper who was, dressed in just a towel, looking in my backpack for my money (or maybe she was cleaning it ;)). By the way she reacted, it became clear she wasnt doing the right thing.
My friend, totally flabbergasted, demanded her to take off her towel to make sure she didn't hide anything under it. But the only thing she saw was her naked body!!
When I came back from the shower, I missed all my Lao kips. Hearing the story from her, I knew that the person she was talking about, was the one taking a shower after me.
Well, in the end I got my money back (found it myself in her bra) and we decided to look for another guesthouse.
Calling for the police was no option because they didn’t answer at all. An Englishman who was with us at that moment, couldn’t get hold of the police either. The same day, in the afternoon, I met a policemen who stood during his break in front of a temple I visited at that moment. When I told him about that morning’s event, the only thing he understood was that I proposed to him to continue his break in a guesthouse together, if I , in my turn, understood him correctly :); so that was of no use either!
After escaping to another guesthouse far away from the stealing housekeeper, I met an educated, friendly Laotian young man of my age. During the day he had his job as a receptionist in my new guesthouse and in the afternoon, he taught English in a private school (where teenagers learn extra English after school time).
Later, he invited me to join him during the lessons. So the pupils welcomed me as a 'farang farang' meaning “stranger”, a word coming from the French colonial period (same as they called me 'belanda' in Indonesia, a word coming from the Dutch colonial period)
First they were very shy, but when I explained I wouldn’t bite them, they started questioning me and didn’t stop anymore. After that first time, I went several times more to give lessons together with my friend by having conversations and some grammar afterwards.
Then, my travel mate decided to move on as she needed to travel with a bit more speed than I do and I stayed behind because I wanted to stay longer with my Lao friend and visit things with no hurry.
So now I am traveling alone, but I don't feel alone at all. There are enough travelers to meet and if not, there are enough families to join whatever you do, like I already said in my previous story. Here in Vientiane, while having breakfast in my favourite restaurant, I look at the woman who is doing her make-up, waiting for the toilet cause her little girl is taking a shower before going to bed. Or in the evening during my dinner, I watch TV together with the family. Each moment of the day it is possible to join them because they daily work from 7am - 10.30.pm
It means that being a workaholic is very close to being lazy at home and they are not the only ones. Even an educated person who has a job in a public organisation from 8.30am -4.30 pm continues a second job in the evening cause ...one job is not enough...
The same to my Lao friend; he studied economics at the university and at this moment he works as a teacher in the afternoon and evenings till he goes to bed, to start the next morning at 7.30pm at the guesthouse again..
My Lao friend became also my guide and took me to each 'must be seen' in Vientiane on his motorcycle.
When my friend finished his primary school, his parents weren't able to pay the highschool. So, as a teenage boy, living near the chinese border, he went to one of the Vientiane's temples to become a monk until two years ago. Then he decided to leave the monastery and to look for a job, but he is still close to the world of the monks. And of course, he told me a lot about his life with the monks and the Buddismn.
'When I was a monk, I was used to do many things. I always got up early in the morning. Then I cleaned the temple ground with other monks. Afterwards I took a bath, put on my yellow robe to pray to Buddha. After that I joined a long line to take food for breakfast. Then I went to my school or temple school until 4 pm. After having finished my classes, I went to the temple at 5 pm to take a bath, prayed to Buddha and meditated for 20 minutes. I went to study special english class from 8 pm until 9 pm. Then I went to bed.'
Being friends with me, after having been a monk for so many years, was a new event in his life. So was celebrating his birthday for the first time which we did on March 17th when he became 26 years old by having a Lao BBQ/Buffet in a restaurant next to the Mekong river.
Keeping in mind that Laos has known war as probably no other country in the world, is hard to believe when I compare the people with the Russians or Polish I' ve met on previous journeys. It was so hard to get in touch with them, whereas in Vientiane you will even learn some Lao words the same day you arrive because when you forget to say hello, the lao people will remind you.
How could they hold on to this happiness-way-of -life after all the wars in the past?
Et pour ma famille en France je veux vous dire: après les vagues de touristes Français en Thailande, en ce moment au Laos à Vientiane, il y a la radio et télévision Française, le Mekong festival organisé par des Français. Et si c'est pas assez, il y a aussi des Francais habitant au Laos que j' ai déjà recontrés le premier jour que je suis arrivée ici. Je n'ai pas été en France depuis longtemps, mais il n’y a pas de raison pour que la France me manque parce que la France est partout ici! Ce qui manque seulement c’est vous bien sûr!
A big lao kiss to everyone :)
(means a kiss not in public)
We had to wait for a while until a man slid the small window open and gave my friend's passeport back but told me to wait for one hour at least because I had a big problem with my passport. But while repeating this words, a big smile appeared on his face and he said 'Just Kidding' :)
On the first morning in Vientiane while I was taking a shower, my friend came back from the toilet and ran into the housekeeper who was, dressed in just a towel, looking in my backpack for my money (or maybe she was cleaning it ;)). By the way she reacted, it became clear she wasnt doing the right thing.
My friend, totally flabbergasted, demanded her to take off her towel to make sure she didn't hide anything under it. But the only thing she saw was her naked body!!
When I came back from the shower, I missed all my Lao kips. Hearing the story from her, I knew that the person she was talking about, was the one taking a shower after me.
Well, in the end I got my money back (found it myself in her bra) and we decided to look for another guesthouse.
Calling for the police was no option because they didn’t answer at all. An Englishman who was with us at that moment, couldn’t get hold of the police either. The same day, in the afternoon, I met a policemen who stood during his break in front of a temple I visited at that moment. When I told him about that morning’s event, the only thing he understood was that I proposed to him to continue his break in a guesthouse together, if I , in my turn, understood him correctly :); so that was of no use either!
After escaping to another guesthouse far away from the stealing housekeeper, I met an educated, friendly Laotian young man of my age. During the day he had his job as a receptionist in my new guesthouse and in the afternoon, he taught English in a private school (where teenagers learn extra English after school time).
Later, he invited me to join him during the lessons. So the pupils welcomed me as a 'farang farang' meaning “stranger”, a word coming from the French colonial period (same as they called me 'belanda' in Indonesia, a word coming from the Dutch colonial period)
First they were very shy, but when I explained I wouldn’t bite them, they started questioning me and didn’t stop anymore. After that first time, I went several times more to give lessons together with my friend by having conversations and some grammar afterwards.
Then, my travel mate decided to move on as she needed to travel with a bit more speed than I do and I stayed behind because I wanted to stay longer with my Lao friend and visit things with no hurry.
So now I am traveling alone, but I don't feel alone at all. There are enough travelers to meet and if not, there are enough families to join whatever you do, like I already said in my previous story. Here in Vientiane, while having breakfast in my favourite restaurant, I look at the woman who is doing her make-up, waiting for the toilet cause her little girl is taking a shower before going to bed. Or in the evening during my dinner, I watch TV together with the family. Each moment of the day it is possible to join them because they daily work from 7am - 10.30.pm
It means that being a workaholic is very close to being lazy at home and they are not the only ones. Even an educated person who has a job in a public organisation from 8.30am -4.30 pm continues a second job in the evening cause ...one job is not enough...
The same to my Lao friend; he studied economics at the university and at this moment he works as a teacher in the afternoon and evenings till he goes to bed, to start the next morning at 7.30pm at the guesthouse again..
My Lao friend became also my guide and took me to each 'must be seen' in Vientiane on his motorcycle.
When my friend finished his primary school, his parents weren't able to pay the highschool. So, as a teenage boy, living near the chinese border, he went to one of the Vientiane's temples to become a monk until two years ago. Then he decided to leave the monastery and to look for a job, but he is still close to the world of the monks. And of course, he told me a lot about his life with the monks and the Buddismn.
'When I was a monk, I was used to do many things. I always got up early in the morning. Then I cleaned the temple ground with other monks. Afterwards I took a bath, put on my yellow robe to pray to Buddha. After that I joined a long line to take food for breakfast. Then I went to my school or temple school until 4 pm. After having finished my classes, I went to the temple at 5 pm to take a bath, prayed to Buddha and meditated for 20 minutes. I went to study special english class from 8 pm until 9 pm. Then I went to bed.'
Being friends with me, after having been a monk for so many years, was a new event in his life. So was celebrating his birthday for the first time which we did on March 17th when he became 26 years old by having a Lao BBQ/Buffet in a restaurant next to the Mekong river.
Keeping in mind that Laos has known war as probably no other country in the world, is hard to believe when I compare the people with the Russians or Polish I' ve met on previous journeys. It was so hard to get in touch with them, whereas in Vientiane you will even learn some Lao words the same day you arrive because when you forget to say hello, the lao people will remind you.
How could they hold on to this happiness-way-of -life after all the wars in the past?
Et pour ma famille en France je veux vous dire: après les vagues de touristes Français en Thailande, en ce moment au Laos à Vientiane, il y a la radio et télévision Française, le Mekong festival organisé par des Français. Et si c'est pas assez, il y a aussi des Francais habitant au Laos que j' ai déjà recontrés le premier jour que je suis arrivée ici. Je n'ai pas été en France depuis longtemps, mais il n’y a pas de raison pour que la France me manque parce que la France est partout ici! Ce qui manque seulement c’est vous bien sûr!
A big lao kiss to everyone :)
(means a kiss not in public)
-
28 Maart 2009 - 12:00
Alex Van Der Zee:
Hi Stephanie,
Het is een plezier om je -gedetailleerde- reisverslagen te lezen. De foto's zijn geweldig en ze vullen je verhalen prima aan, m'n compliment.
Heel goed om te weten dat je plezier hebt en dat het goed met je gaat!
Over tien dagen ga ik naar Suriname en misschien hebben we een kans om, als we alle twee terug zijn, eens met elkaar verhalen uit te wisselen.
Een hartelijke groet,
Alex van der Zee -
28 Maart 2009 - 12:44
Olivier Thouvignon:
Hi Stéphanie,
Quelle aventure ! Obligée de fouiller ta logeuse ! On dirait que tu n'as pas le temps de t'ennuyer !
Enjoy
Ton cousin -
28 Maart 2009 - 13:38
Leonie:
Hey :)
Wat leuk om weer wat te lezen! Ik vind dat je er een mooi verhaal van hebt gemaakt!
Wel stoer hoor, dat je helemaal alleen durft te reizen. Veel plezier weer!
Liefs,
Leonie -
28 Maart 2009 - 16:50
Ina:
heb nog steeds geen mail met link ontvangen, dus zoek je laatste verhaal maar even direct op op de site. leuk om al die lieve koppies te zien van die kinderen :)
de onderschriften van de foto's gaan minder snel dan de foto's, dus dat was wel even lachen toen ik je op die brommer zag en eronder stond: having fun with the monks!!!!
ha ha ha!
-
29 Maart 2009 - 13:37
Vanja :
Hello girl,you are really learning a lot about Laos and its culture and people and you are not keeping on the surface that is for sure.It is good that you are all the time in touch with the people and it is better, knowing you, that you are travelling on your own,I think that you will see things better that way.I am only concerned about your safety and some new housekeeper who likes nosing int other people's wallets and hiding them in in interesting places I must say.;-)
That Laos man you are talking about seems very nice and it good you are socialising with him from many reasons.;-)
Kiss, a big one, from Montenegro -
29 Maart 2009 - 19:00
Cecile:
nice pictures!! Love to read about your adventures. Cute kids by the way ;)Looking forward to your next story!
love
Cecile -
29 Maart 2009 - 22:26
Erik:
Hoi Stéphanie,
Geweldig hoor, wat je allemaal meemaakt. Mooi dat je zo laconiek blijft onder de diefstal. Ach ja, mensen op zoek naar gratis geld heb je overal!
Een heel fijne tijd en tot je volgende bericht + foto's.
Groeten,
Erik -
14 April 2009 - 18:38
Laura:
Hoi Stephanie,
Wat een lange verhalen schrijft jij. Chris doet korte stukjes, maar wel vaak. Dan kunnen we per paar dagen volgen wat hij meemaakt.
Je bent wel een avontuurlijk typetje zeg,helemaal alleen door verre landen reizen. En je engels is uitstekend!\
Nu veel plezier maar weer de komende tijd.
groetjes van Laura
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