Laos with the Vang Family - Part One

We have traveled in Korea with the Vang family before, but this time we went international!  All the way to Laos.  This trip had definite significant meaning for the Vang family, since they are second-generation Hmong-Americans, born to Hmong refugees from the Vietnam war.  This was their first trip to Laos, where their parents emigrated from. I felt very lucky to make the trip with them and experience it alongside them.
We first flew into the capitol city, Vientiane.  We arrived before midnight; the plan was to stay at the airport overnight and then fly to Luang Prabang in the morning.  We did not anticipate the airport actually closing and them kicking us out at 1AM, forcing us to scramble and come up with a new plan.  We managed to get the name of a nearby hotel from an airport worker (who spoke a little English in a heavy accent) and somehow communicated that to the last taxi driver left outside (who had a smartphone that we used to type in the name of the hotel).  Thankfully, he had a taxi van that could hold all 9 of us plus luggage.  He drove us the 0.87miles to Khamsaner Hotel and charged us $20USD for his services.  We had no room, or ability even, to negotiate.  Once at the hotel, we woke up the 2 staff bunked at the entrance.  Through hand signals we got 2 rooms for $70USD total.  We immediately went to sleep and then were gone again by 7AM.

Our 45-minute flight to Luang Prabang was on a tiny propeller plane.

We could see beautiful jungle mountains and the wide Mekong River from the airplane windows as we flew north.  We were picked up at the Luang Prabang airport by the Santi Resort shuttle driver.  It is a beautiful resort sprawling over 30 acres, just 15 minutes southwest of town.

View from our balcony

We immediately hit the pool, which had freezing cold water!

After a swim and lunch, we took the hotel shuttle into town.    Click to see the Interactive map.

Luang Prabang is situated at the confluence of the Nam Khan River and the Mekong River.  First we explored the Nam Khan River.  There was a bamboo bridge that we crossed to the other side.

On the far side of the river, we found some artisan shops, displaying their handmade jewelry, wooden carvings and hand woven silks.

  We hung out at Cafe Toui until it was near sunset.

Then we started our hike up Phousi Hill.  Along the hillside we saw many golden Buddha statues.

Until this point, we had not seen many tourists at all.  It felt like we had the town to ourselves.  But we found all the tourists at the top of Phousi Hill.  Apparently they had all consulted Trip Advisor for best sites in Luang Prabang and found Phousi Hill ranked as the best place to see the sunset.  

This would have been a great shot if other people’s cameras weren’t all along the bottom.

We gave up before the sun actually set because the crowds were just too much.  And that’s when we ran into our first Hmong family!  James was so excited, he just started speaking Hmong to the man.  I was floored that he was so fluent.  They seemed to be getting along famously.  James introduced all of us.  We couldn’t walk away without getting a photo.

Taken as we descended the hill.

This lady was the first of many that we saw selling tiny birds in these little cages.  The idea was that you buy the birds and then let them go. It is supposed to give you good fortune.  

From the hill, we walked down towards the Night Market.  It was truly a sight to behold.  It seemed to go on forever in both directions.

Haw Pha Bang behind all the tents of the night market.

Janny and James taught us about Hmong story cloths.  These came about because for thousands of years Hmong didn’t have a written language.  The embroidery or needlepoint was their way of making a historical record of their past.  The two examples below are variations on the same theme, the escape from Laos to Thailand by crossing the Mekong River.  You can see first the Hmong farmers in their fields, then soldiers in green with big guns pointed at the Hmong, some of whom have their hands raised in surrender, the Hmong crossing the river in boats or rafts, and Thailand on the other side with airplanes to take them to America.  In the upper left of each, you can see a serpentine wall, The Great Wall, with soldiers in red, riding horses and brandishing huge swords.

We walked on through the night market stalls until we found this man and his daughter.  Janny recognized him as also being Hmong, and started up a conversation with him in Hmong.  I was equally impressed with her fluency in the language as I was with James’.  She said she recognized him as Hmong because of how the baby’s ears were pierced.  There was a piece of string through the hole, not an earring.

At first, I did not realize what he was selling, but after reading his sign, I was just heartbroken.  I bought a dove keychain, since doves are a sign of peace.  We learned more about the bombs on the last day of our trip.

We saw more examples of needlepoint and some beautiful paintings as well.

We had dinner in an open air plaza with many food vendor stalls to choose from.  I was ecstatic to find dim sum.

We ended our day with a Tuk Tuk ride back to our resort.  The Tuk Tuk in Laos are certainly bigger than the ones we rode in Cambodia.  Just one held all 9 of us!

Stay tuned for what happened the second day!