Author Archives: Grand Escapades

Hwange National Park – Elephant Territory

12th August, 2019 | Article By Grand Escapades

AnimalsCampingNational ParksSafarisWildlife

Once Hwange National Park was declared a National Reserve in 1929 one thing became clear soon. To support a stock of game on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, a permanent water supply was needed, especially during the dry season. Over 60 holes were drilled and the water pumped up by noisy diesel powered pumps. Although the animals can roam freely around this park the size of Belgium, they have become dependent on the water holes maintained by the ZimParks Authorities. Unfortunately, suffering from lack of funding, many of these pans stay dry, due to broken pumps or the lack of diesel.

Unaware of the borehole business, we followed the routine of a typical game drive, thinking early mornings and evenings are best. Quickly we found out that driving around was much less rewarding than waiting at one of the few waterholes where the pumps were still working. And ironically, we came across a lot more animals around noon: warthogs, all kinds of gazelles, hyenas, zebras, the occasional buffalo. But above all, this is elephant territory. And they decide who is allowed at the boreholes!

The second lesson learned was that the far more experienced South African visitors favor the remote “Wilderness Camp Sites”, the ones close to the waterholes, like the Masuma Dam Camp… There, they can view wildlife from sunrise to sunset without getting out of their camping chairs. A true privilege and out of reach for those who stay in camps, like us – from there it is up to an hour drive to the main waterholes and self-driving is strictly prohibited before 06:30 am and after 06:00 pm.

Nevertheless we enjoyed our stay in Hwange Main Camp and the two nights in Sinamatella Camp, on the Western fringes of Hwange National Park. Inside the chalets it was definitely warmer than in a tent. And keeping warm was essential during those wintry nights. Have you ever wondered how wimps like us get access to hot water in such exposed places? Outside of each hut, little wood-fired brick stoves heat barrels filled with water, which finds its way inside and to the bathroom. A clever technique and a convenience surely appreciated at these temperatures…

Near Sinamattela, on the western fringes of Hwange National Park, we enjoyed the best game viewing. Two evenings in a row, we watched about 200 elephants gather at the Masuma Dam waterhole, the bigger ones shoving, pushing and trumpeting for a good position. Cheeky baby elephants sneaked underneath big bellies, curious what the commotion was all about.

Every minute something different, exciting caught our eye: a baby elephant falling on its rear end, young ones spraying themselves with mud and then standing perfectly still to dry the shiny crust in the sun. Just watching them suck up the water in their trunk, curl it up, throw back their head and gurgle it all down, was pure delight. It was a constant coming and going of large herds. The closer the caravan got to the water, the faster they ran, whirling up large clouds of dust. Trotting back into the bush was done in a more composed way…

Other animals were also approaching: gazelles, zebras, warthogs, buffaloes, but keeping a respectful distance to the elephants. Our lesson learned, buffaloes are the most daring ones, whereas zebras are even scared off by young elephants practicing a mock charge.

You would expect hundreds of camera-yielding tourists at such a place. Wrong, we were maybe 15 to 20 people, sometimes just a few, staring out there, at this mass of grey bodies. Nobody said a word, like in a secret agreement. The true privilege is to watch this spectacle all evening and late into the night, which only a couple of well informed South Africans enjoyed. They had managed to reserve the few rare camp sites at this strategic spot, overlooking the waterhole. Drinks in their hands, slumped into camping chairs, they marked their territory. We had to leave, heart-broken, while things were still rolling. No driving within the park after 6 pm is allowed and we had to get back to our camp before that.

www.grandescapades.net

The 7 Highlights Of My Two Laos Trips

21st February, 2019 | Article By Grand Escapades

AdventureSightseeingTemplesTravelTravel Ideas

What immediately amazed me (during both trips) was how green this country is and that I could travel for hours without passing a village. But above all, it was the genuine friendliness of the Lao and their attitude towards their visitors that I found captivating. None of that pushy and constant “buy from me” business that you often see in other countries throughout the world.

The younger backpackers keep spreading the myth that “Laos is what Thailand was 20 years ago”. I think this is certainly not true. Thailand’s many sights, even back then, were well-known destinations that attracted backpackers and package tourists alike. Whereas Laos has only three places with a fairly developed tourist infrastructure: Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng & now 4.000 Islands, apart from the capital Vientiane. Besides, comparing Laos to Thailand can be misleading. It is enchanting for other reasons. It is very rural and large parts are Off The Beaten Track. During the off-season, you can easily find yourself to be one among a handful of other visitors in such places.

If you stray from the backpacker circuit, traveling can sometimes be time consuming and uncomfortable, but full of lively and often funny experiences. Driving a scooter or motorbike is often the best way to reach an interesting destination. The main activities visitors enjoy in Laos are trekking through the many National Parks, home-stays in remote minority villages, various activities on rivers, a few archeological sites and its stunning Temples or Wats.

Highlights Of The Trip

  • Phonsavanh
    • We truly enjoyed exploring the Plain of Jars, and were stunned to hear that the three sites that are mainly visited are only a small part of a large archeological complex. Of the more than 100 sites, 77 are actually accessible for visitors with almost 2.000 Jars thrown into the landscape.
    • To us, the real highlight was the time spent at the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) office watching the videos and displays (http://grandescapades.net/uxo-the-aftermath-of-americas-secret-war/). To learn the horrid details about the “Secret War” was overwhelming. Apart from that we drove through villages and even got to see some of the “war scrap architecture”.
    • Last but not least, during the trip to Phonsavanh in November 2014, we were lucky enough to be there for the Hmong Festival. We did not even know about it. A fantastic surprise!
  • Wat Phu Champasak – This temple is truly amazing, but we especially enjoyed traveling there, crossing the Mekong on a small raft and the location up on the hill with a great view.
  • Vientiane – Laos’ very relaxed capital city has a lot to offer and several days are the minimum to enjoy the chilled atmosphere.
  • Driving around on a scooter… No matter if it was in Luang Nam Tha, Phonsavanh or the region of Pakse, those trips were all a highlight!
  • Believe it or not… We truly enjoyed Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng had changed a LOT! During our first trip in 2008, we found it bizarre to observe those young “Adventurers” to Southeast Asia spending their days watching re-runs of “Friends” on TV or getting drunk while tubing down the river. In the evening, they crowded the Internet cafés bragging about their daily escapades. Nevertheless, even then it was very easy to avoid the party crowd and noise by staying far away from the tiny island. In 2012, the government started clearing Vang Vieng from the party / booze / drug scene and now is developing the city towards outdoor activities. And there is a lot to do around Vang Vieng: the landscape of karst formations is simply breathtaking and offers various activities, like tubing down the calm river (we loved it!), kayaking, horseback riding, trekking, caving…

More information about budgeting a trip to Laos: http://grandescapades.net/budget-guide-to-laos/

El Cerro Rico

23rd September, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AttractionsCultureHistoryLocal LifeSightseeing

Discovering The Working Conditions Of The “Devil’s Miners”

Already in 1545, the Spanish were aware of the enormous wealth inside of Cerro Rico and forced thousands of Indigenous to work in the mines extracting the huge deposits of silver. To increase production, the “Ley de Mita” was passed that forced Indigenous and later African slaves to work 16 hour shifts. They were kept underground for 4 months. The working conditions were beyond description and an estimated 8 to 10 million died of the forced labor over the three century of Spanish rule! Nobody knows how much silver was taken out of Cerro Rico during colonial times, but a popular estimate claims that is was enough to build a bridge made of the very metal across the Atlantic.

Today, about 15.000 miners work in Cerro Rico, only independent cooperatives who must buy their own equipment and sell the ore to the privately owned smelters. Nowadays it is tin, zinc, led and also silver the miners are after. But very little has changed concerning the working conditions: dust, toxic fumes, temperatures of up to 54 degrees Celcius, accidents due to a complete lack of safety standards, primitive equipment.

Extreme poverty forces 2.000 children, all younger than 14, to work in the mines, mostly orphans. After working 10-15 years most miners develop silicosis pneumonia, those working with powered drills after two years. Life expectancy among miners is 40 – 45 years, 20 years less than the already low level for Bolivia.

As soon as you enter the mine you start swallowing dust. It is extremely hard to breathe, especially while crawling on your knees through extremely low passages. It is hot… And we were just moving around and not further down than level 3: there are mines with 16 levels. So we were kept in a relatively cozy environment, even so a few times we thought of quitting.

We had the chance to talk to various groups of miners all doing different job, like chiseling a hole into the rock with a hammer. All the ore is extracted by putting dynamite into these holes, in colonial times wood was driven into these holes and than water was put over it. Other men were carrying rocks in bags crawling through passages not higher than 50 cm. Others were pushing carts with rocks weighing 2 tons and shoveling these rocks into baskets to be pulled up to the surface.

At times we felt truly ashamed of watching these people slaving away, while we were busy breathing. On the other hand we felt they took great pride in the fact that their job is so hard that people take the effort to come down into the mines to see. One group of sixty miners moves 120 tons of rocks to the surface per day. That is 2 tons per person! But again, no matter how hard one tries to describe this kind of work, it is impossible.

Every mine has a Tio, a devilish-looking creature that has to be kept content by offering coca leaves, alcohol, cigarettes. Otherwise he would bring harm upon the miners.

To take tourists down the mines is nothing new, it started about twenty years ago, but under different conditions – without helmets, one torch for a group and off they went. We do not know how they managed, because we constantly banged our heads against the rock. And the individual headlamps kept you from panicking if the group was a bit ahead.

Since 1997 Cerro Rico is an UNESCO World Heritage Site commemorating its tragic history. The dark side of this coin is that mining done on the outside is restricted.

More information about traveling to Bolivia ? http://grandescapades.net/travel-guide-to-bolivia

Magic Machu Picchu

12th September, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

CultureHistoric BldgsLandmarksPhotographyScenery

WATCHING THE SUN RISE OVER MACHU PICCHU IS MAGIC! No matter how often it has been said … We both had very high expectations and were a bit afraid of finding something that was only “fashionable” and too well marketed. Well, Machu Picchu DID surpass all our expectations! This place just puts a spell on you. If you do it right!!!

We were at the gate at 06:00 o’clock, taking the 05:30 o’clock bus from Aguas Calientes, together with about 200 other people. Once inside, we immediately climbed up the stairs as fast as we could to get to THE place where the world famous postcard photo was taken. We stopped only to catch our breath and then suddenly there it was, just laying in front of us, untouched, quiet, nobody inside, only some lamas and alpacas leisurely grazing down at the grassy bottom.

The next 15 to 20 minutes we spent there were simply incredible. We were able to absorb the uniqueness of the place in total serenity, when we noticed that the sun was just peaking around the mountain top opposite, about to touch Wayna Picchu, the mountain behind, and the ruins. We patiently waited for the whole of Machu Picchu to be bathed in the early morning sun, covering it with a different color by the light. Unique, especially because the site was designed in a way that no building would cast a shade on another building!

What makes Mach Picchu so special is the scenery that surrounds it, lush green cone shaped mountains all around it and the river below. It is indeed one of the most beautiful places we have ever been.

Apart from this overwhelming first impression, we discovered that the “Lost City” of Machu Picchu is in an astonishing state, much better preserved than any other Inca ruins we have seen in the last four weeks. We just could not take our eyes off this unbelievable view for more than half an hour. Then it was time to let go and to climb down to the ruins, because by then the first groups had arrived with their guides talking away in all kinds of languages. The people who took the first buses like us were all individual travelers, who quietly marvelled.

Naturally we first explored the ceremonial section, because there you find the finest stone work, the highlight being the Intihuatana, a little pillar, which the Incas used to predict the solstices of the sun. The stonework you find in the residential and industrial sector is much less refined, although no less impressive.

After about an hour of exploring the ceremonial section of Machu Picchu, we decided it was time to climb Wayna Picchu, the world famous mountain “behind Machu Picchu”, before it was getting too hot. It is a one hour climb for averagely fit people as we are, but not that difficult because early morning the trail, basically stairs, is in the shade. Only four hundred people are allowed to climb each day, and at 10:00 am, right when we returned, the quota had been reached. You can only wonder what it must be like in July or August, the high season.

The view from the top is outstanding, especially since from above you can see the whole of Machu Picchu. It is only then when you realize that a large part of it consists of terraces and only a smaller part constitutes the temples, the residential and industrial part with its storages. From atop you can also see the last bit of the world famous Inca Trail with the Sun Gate!

Once we got back down into the archeological park of Mach Picchu, we had an extremely funny experience: some resident lamas, alpacas and vicunas of Machu Picchu went on a “tour through their city”. It was hilarious, them walking confidently and determined with their heads up past puzzled tourists. It seemed as if they knew exactly where they were going, leaving the tourists not knowing whether they should laugh, take photos or get out of their way quickly.

If you want more information about how to reach Machu Picchu without hiking the Inca Trail, check here grandescapades.net/magic-machu-picchu

Salar De Uyuni

5th September, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AdventureLandmarksNaturePhotographyScenery

Four days on the Southwest Circuit.

The so-called “Salar de Uyuni” tour actually covers a much larger area than the Salar de Uyuni itself … On a four day tour, we only spent half a day in the Salar de Uyuni, the biggest salt lake in the world. Truly, this is the highlight of the tour. But nevertheless, the other 3.5 days took us through absolutely amazing sceneries.

To start the tour from Tupiza rather than Uyuni was an excellent choice. Tupiza is a nice city with beautiful surroundings whereas I found Uyuni simply depressing. Moreover, while traveling through the whole Southwest Circuit, we were alone, whereas we once saw up to 20 jeeps coming from Uyuni when we were further north. And last but not least the four day tour gave us a better opportunity to discover the southwest of Bolivia, even though it is not enough!

The first day was “Altiplano puro”: shortly after leaving Tupiza, we climbed up to 4.500 meters, and spent the day between 4.200 and 4.500 meters on the Altiplano. This is not a very spectacular experience after having spent 4 weeks in the south of Peru and more than 6 weeks in Bolivia, but the landscape is still impressive.

The second and the third day were simply amazing, driving from one “Laguna” to another and from one desert to another: red deserts like the “Desierto de Dali”, where you find many Vicunas, some of the rarest and most gracious animals in the world; lakes of many colors like the Laguna Verde. The green color comes from the high concentration of lead, sulfur, arsenic and calcium carbonates, the background is dominated by the 5.960 meters high Volcan Licancabur. Another highlight is Laguna Colorada, a red and green and blue colored lake full of flamingoes, at more than 4.300 meters!

The nights are spent in very simple lodgings, all dormitories, which gives it a bit of summer camp feeling, if it were not for the freezing temperatures at night. In November we were lucky, it was only around 0 degree early morning. In July and August it can get down to minus 30! Needless to say that the rooms have no heating, which finally justifies the four thick blankets that seem to be standard in every hotel bed in Bolivia at a certain altitude. The sheer weight of these and the high altitude make breathing a very conscious act.

But of course, on the fourth day, you reach the highlight of the tour and surely one of the highlights when visiting Bolivia, if not South America: the Salar de Uyuni! At 3.653 meters, with a surface of 12.106 square kilometers, this is the largest salt lake in the world. It covers as much as half of Switzerland! It is 40 meters deep in its center and the most fascinating fact is that this salt lake grows every year: 2 to 3 centimeters in depth and also in surface.

It is not only the biggest reserve of salt in the world, but of many other minerals. For instance, in the Salar de Uyuni there lies no less than 50% of the world reserves of Lithium! But fortunately, the commercial exploitation of the resources of the Salar has been so far controlled and limited to very small areas near Uyuni.

The only sad development is the growing number of “Salt Hotels” that pop up like mushrooms on the edge of the Salar, often lacking proper sanitation facilities. More and more, tourists are recommended avoiding them and not giving them business because of the dangerous environmental impact they have.

The vastness of the white plain is the main attraction, especially since this creates spectacular visual effects. The reflection of the sun makes the little “islands” or hills that exist throughout the Salar seem to float in the air when seen from a distance. The most famous island is Incahuatasi, which is covered with cactuses that grow up to 12 meters.

More information about traveling to Bolivia ? grandescapades.net/travel-guide-to-bolivia

The Chauchilla Cemetery

30th August, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AttractionsCultureHistoryMuseumsSightseeing

A sight less often visited in Nasca is the Cemetery of Chauchilla, a truly groovy place about 25 km north of Nasca right in the desert. The cemetery was used by the Ica-Chincha, a civilization that lived in this region long before it was conquered by other cultures, the last one the Inca, who also used this cemetery. Scientists estimate that there might be 2000 graves, but only about ten were fully excavated and restored.

The Ica-Chincha mummified all of their dead and buried them in graves about 1.5 meters deep, either in single or in family tombs. The status of a person is clearly marked by the clothes the mummy is wearing and the offerings that are buried alongside. Those offerings are thought to be used by the dead person in the next life.

In the 1970s and 1980s, grave robbers caused irreparable damage by opening the tombs and stealing the most precious offerings and textiles, leaving the mummies strewn around the desert. Although these mummies were exposed to wind and sun for years, they are still in a good state, only their hair and their skulls are bleached.

The more important people wore their hair all the way down to their ankles, it is amazing how well preserved it is. The Ica-Chincha also had a tradition to cut a corpse’s head of. These heads were also preserved and carried around at religious ceremonies. To do so easily, a hole was put in the head, so a string could be fastened.

Only in the 1990s did archaeologists systematically start to research the cemetery. Now, the mummies are put back into the tombs, although only one mummy is in its original place, since only one tomb has been found untouched so far.

Apart from the mummies and tombs, we truly enjoyed the late afternoon in the desert: it is completely quiet and the setting sun gave the mountains a soft glow.

Sunset over the Nascan desert …

If you would like more information about traveling to Peru (Nazca, Arequipa, Colca Canyon, the Sacred Valle, Machu Picchu, Puno & Lake Titicaca) check here: http//:grandescapades.net/travel-guide-to-peru

Biking Down “Death Road”

26th August, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

ActivitiesAdrenalineBiking-CyclingRoad TripsScenery

The World’s Most Dangerous Road!

The name “La Carratera de la Muerte” or “Death Road” is not an invention of sensational journalism but was given to the road which starts in La Paz, descending 3.450 meters down into the Yungas, within only 64 kilometers in 1995 by the Inter American Development Bank. Every year, about 300 people have died on this short stretch. In one year about 25 vehicles fell off the road, making it one every two weeks.

Why is this road so dangerous?  First of all, at some parts of the, if you want to call it a road, are so narrow that it seems hardly a car can pass, about 3 meters wide. High rock walls go up on one side, whereas on the valley side the cliffs go down hundreds of meters. Irresponsible driving, alcohol and the conditions of the vehicles are others. During the dry season the road is a ribbon of dust with clouds of sand engulfing the vehicles and bringing visibility down to zero. Fog is quite common in this area and during the rainy season cascades of water rush down the mountain turning the surface into a slippery, slimy mass. Now this notorious 64 kilometer road was not a path that connects a couple of villages, but was the main and ONLY link from La Paz to the fertile Yungas region with its coffee and coca plantation, and then further into Bolivia’s Amazon Basin and at last into Brazil. It was heavily frequented by trucks, buses and all kinds of vehicles…

Accidents were so common that special driving rules were introduced for this road: vehicles going up had to drive on the mountain side of the road, forcing trucks going downhill to slow down and allowing their drivers to be able see more accurately how far the outer wheels were from the cliff’s edge, especially when passing each other. Hence, this road was the only one in America where people drove on the left. People from La Paz and Coroico told us how horrifying that trip was and that drivers would have all kind of rituals before starting out hoping for a safe trip, like praying or bringing offerings. The side of the road is full of crosses or plagues remembering those travelers whose prayers went unheard.

Talks about building a new road started 20 years ago, but only in December 2006 was this one opened. So all this is history now, since most cars take the new road and “Death Road” has been given a new purpose – it has become a Mecca of mountain biking in Bolivia, something we could not miss.

This trip down the mountain was one of the most memorable experiences of our trip so far. What promised to be a scenic ride with a bit of adrenaline exceeded all our expectations! It was one of the most wonderful experiences for both of us, using only gravity to descend from 4.640 meters to 1.295 meters, within only 64 kilometers.

When you start out at freezing La Cumbre, an hour from La Paz, the landscape is the typical barren Altiplano scenery with snow-capped mountains, 6.000 meters or higher, lurking from behind smaller mountains. We were lucky since it was not raining or snowing, which is often the case there. The first 30 km is a paved road with the steep slopes of the Altiplano gliding by.

After 30 kilometers we reached the part where the new road begins and the old road branches off following the mountain slope with the Coroico River deep below, like a silver band. Here the dirt road began, we were not immediately aware that this was already THE road, because it seemed more of a gravel path than anything else. It was only then that the expression “Death Road” did not seem all that…

The landscape and the temperature changed quickly and the view became simply breathtaking. The green steep slopes of the Yungas region are full of lush vegetation and it became hard to concentrate on the road. The closer we came to Coroico the more beautiful the landscape became, which made us decide to stay here for a couple of days…

More information about traveling to Bolivia

The Magical Rice Terraces Of Yuanyang

23rd July, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

CultureFood and DrinkLocal LifeSceneryTravel

Squashed in our narrow seats riding the bus for almost 8 hours from Kunming to Yuanyang, we often asked ourselves if this trip was worth the trouble. The air was stuffy and even worse, some passengers were smoking. The trip took us along farmland where rice, tobacco and corn are grown. Often we passed long stretches plastered with greenhouses.

The old town of Yuanyang is on top of a mountain, an hour from the new town. To our surprise, we found the most relaxed place we had seen so far in China, without the typical crowds of tourists, souvenir shops, but lots of Hani and Yi women wandering around wearing traditional dresses. These two groups indeed constitute the larger minority groups in the area. The best time to visit the “prime spots” of the vast rice terraces is at sunrise and sunset. There are numerous viewpoints near small villages about 20 kilometers west of the old town of Yuanyang.

At 05:00 am, we set off and arrived at the village of Duoyishu, long before the sun peeked around the mountain edge. We listened to the village coming to life and gasped at the unreal scenery, an enormous area of terraces carved from the mountain slopes, still sitting there in the semi-darkness. Even the chilly temperatures could not distract us from this most impressive scenery. It was just the six of us enjoying this magic awakening. For two hours, we watched the ever changing light and took photo after photo.

Later on, we stopped at many other view points, each breathtaking, literally. We had “breakfast” in a small village, buying various foods from the Hani ladies: dumplings filled with sweet cream and many fruits. We soaked up the village life in the wee small hours.

It took us a while to realize what was so striking about this environment. All these people who dress and work their fields like a hundred years ago, all live in modern houses, built of brick and covered with whitish tiles, like everywhere in China.

Around noon, we were back in Yuanyang and we started out again at 04:00 pm to see the sunset at a place 25 kilometers northwest. We arrived two hours too early so wandered around and found a nice view point, closer to the terraces. Again, it was our little group and the same Chinese tourists. We looked into a valley of terraces cascading down the surrounding mountain slopes. The vastness of the cultivated area was simply overwhelming.

For more pictures of the Rice Terraces of Yuanyang:

http://grandescapades.net/the-rice-terraces-of-yuanyang/#more-8337

5 Things To Do in Vientiane

9th February, 2016 | Article By Grand Escapades

AttractionsCultureFood and DrinkRestaurantsTemples

Vientiane, Laos’ very relaxed capital city, has changed in many ways since my last trip in 2008. Though still a very chilled and somewhat slow-moving place, the center is now bustling with a new well-off middle class, driving expensive cars and enjoying themselves in trendy restaurants. Looking at the menu it could be any place in Europe.

Tourism here has changed a lot as well. Of course you will find throngs of (young) Backpackers, who all congregate in the same area. But surprisingly, you now see a significant number of mature independent travelers (in their fifties or even sixties), as well as large groups.

Vientiane is full of highlights and well worth spending a few days discovering the city:

  • Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the city… Vientiane is still a very quiet and relaxed capital city, reminding me more of a large village … Even Tuk Tuk drivers are not (too) pushy!
  • Visit spectacular Wats – Do not expect to see them all, at every corner there is a magnificent Wat. Most of them can be visited free of charge. The most stunning ones to me were: Pha That Luang, Vientiane’s iconic Great Stupa; Wat Si Saket, Vientiane’s oldest Wat, with its 1.000 small Bhuddas; Wat Si Muang and its Emerald Bhudda & Wat In Paeng and its artistic carvings.
  • Discover the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic & Prothetic Enterprise) Visitor Centre, and learn more about the horrible long term consequences of a war that never existed. During the Vietnam War, the USA relied on carpet bombing to cut the supply line of the Ho Chí Minh Trail that ran along the eastern part of the country bordering Vietnam. This made Laos the most heavily bombed country on this planet. With the many documentaries shown, you can easily spend half a day.
  • Pay your tribute to Kaysone Phomvihane, Laos First President, at his Memorial – dive into the most pristine Communist Propaganda – very well researched and presented, though!
  • Enjoy great food, no matter what your budget is… For cheap, great Lao food in a very pleasant outdoor setting head to the Mekong River, upstream from the City Centre. There, you find a mile of food stalls selling Lao specialties, from Grilled Mekong Fish to Lao Noodle Soups. If you want to splurge a little, you will find a great number of excellent Lao restaurants in the centre, like the outstanding “Lao Kitchen” or the new “iPho” (amongst many others). And of course you have a large choice of (expensive) international cuisine…

More information about traveling through Laos.

Hmong New Year’s Celebration

| Article By Grand Escapades

CultureEventsFestivalsLocal LifeRomance

We arrived in Phonsavanh in the midst of the Hmong New Year’s Celebration – to our great surprise! This event seems to be widely unknown amongst Western visitors. On the first evening we missed the Bull Fights, so the next day we were determined to see the Festival on the edge of town. After a rough 12 kilometer drive, we reached what seemed to be a fair-ground, with various games going on, like throwing darts. Needless to say, serious karaoke singers were trying to out-do each other, a must at every social gathering in Laos. Again, no lack of food stalls serving cheap and delicious local food.

The reason for this celebration is to allow a large gathering of Hmong people. Hill Tribes like the Hmong usually live in very remote and lonely areas, making it difficult for singles, both men and women, to find “the perfect match” and get married. To make things worse, Hmong people cannot marry a Hmong of the same tribe, like a Black Hmong is not allowed to marry a Black Hmong, but only a White or Blue Hmong. Their traditional clothing can easily identify the various groups of Hmong. Black Hmong wear traditional black dresses, White Hmong white ones, and Blue Hmong – take a guess…

After the Vietnam War, many Hmong emigrated to the USA (mostly California) and the Hmong New Year’s Eve Celebration brings back many of them to catch up with family and friends or to look for a husband or wife. These “rich relatives from overseas” are resented by young Lao Hmong as “unfair competition”, due to their significant financial means. Several young men we talked to were not amused by this massive influx of potential suitors!

What made this event so very special for us was that we became part of a truly genuine local festival. We were among maybe 6 to 8 tourists, who also found their way there. But it was much more than that… What took us completely off guard was the eagerness to pose for photos. The answer to the question “Can I take your picture?” was always a “Yes”. Especially the young ladies in their beautiful traditional dresses were so proud to have their picture taken.

People react differently in different countries when asked to have their pictures taken, from mostly friendly (India, Iran, Oman, partly China) to downright aggressive (Malawi) or “materialistic” (Tanzania, Southern Ethiopia). But very seldom did we experience such openness and enthusiasm to pose for pictures…

More pictures of Laos: http://grandescapades.net/laos-a-selection-of-43-pictures/