Luang Prabang, Laos
I'll be honest, when I was flying into Laos the first thing I thought was "What the fuck is this place and what the fuck am I doing here". Coming to a country I know next to nothing about (prior to my trip I barely even knew Laos was a country) and spending two months here. Flying in was an amazing experience though, watching the Mekong River weave back and forth as we descended, with the rolling hills covered with a light mist and small villages dotting the landscape. Exciting until you realize that where you are going is not a big city like you expected, but a town that is borderline third world and is more dirt, shacks and jungle then it is an actual civilization.
The airport is no larger than a supermarket and there are only maybe two or three smaller planes docked at the terminals. The one main road going by the entrance is dirt and some old buildings and run down structures and shacks line the street. If you've ever been to Mexico, this is like Mexico with Asians. If you haven't been to Mexico though, your first impression of this place (at least for me coming from a big city) might be like "What a shit hole". But looks can be deceiving, once you get into town about twenty minutes away things start to look up, and you realize that no, you will not be sleeping in a hammock in the middle of the jungle or spending your days under a pile of leaves and sticks somewhere deep in the mountains eating plants and bugs for the rest of your life.
The town is actually quite charming once you learn to ignore the random trash everywhere and the many abandoned and obviously never up kept buildings. There are temples everywhere, in Luang Prabang alone, which is maybe ten square miles, there are 49 temples. These temples range from the very simple to the extremely extravagant. I still have yet to go in one and check it out but even from the outside they look quite magnificent.
At first everything is a little overwhelming, the difference in architecture, the abundance of plant life everywhere, the Mekong always flowing around you wherever you go, and the motorbikes. Everyone out here rides motorbikes. There are cars here and there but for the most part everyone has their bike and no one has any idea about any road rules that the government may or may not have in place which leads to an interesting system on the streets of Luang Prabang. It will be an interesting two months out here, and between teaching and exploring, should be a fulfilling experience.
0 comments:
Post a Comment