Vientiane, Laos - Jan 9, 2012 Once More Down the Rabbit Hole

1971 - View from my bus ride to school in K-6

Down the Rabbit Hole - to another world.
In Roger Warner's excellent book Shooting at the Moon, I believe he uses this phrase as well.  I've always thought of Laos as a kind of Wonderland - things make sense here, but only if you suspend everything else you always thought.  Then it all falls into place.    At least, that's how it was during the war.  
The phrase comes from the custom of shooting guns into the sky during an eclipse, to scare away the Frog who is eating the moon.  It works every time.  The Frog hears the noise, retreats, and the moon is fine. Logic intact, right?


So I am wondering, as we approach arrival in this place again, after all this time, will it still feel that way? Or has Laos lost the magic in its rush to modernity?   Will I be one of those people who mourn the loss of the old ways, forgetting the leper colony we rode our ponies past, the lack of education, the horrendous infant mortality, the cholera, of forty years ago - while I decry all the "awful Westernization"?    Gosh, hope not.  The goal would be an open mind here, or I've learned nothing.

Courtesy of Col. Qaddaffi, Lao Airline has some spanking new jets.  It seems the Colonel has a bit of trouble paying for these new planes, so Lao Air snatched them up from the manufacturer at a great "revolution sale" price.

There's a blurry photo of the Arabic tray instructions.


The flight attendants were beautiful, and taking great care to do everything right - but we were taking off before they got finished with seat belt instructions.  Learning curve!  
Were the pilots ready? "Excuse me Captain, which switch puts the wheels up again . . .?"  But no, they had it together - a perfect flight.  Nothing like the first time in 1969, on a canvas sling seat facing the center aisle of a CAT plane, getting our fillings shaken out of our teeth.  That flight was a blast, though!  And Civil Air Transport pilots?  Brave, and best.    But times have changed . . .

Our hotel, the Don Chan Palace, is built on a small island off the shore of the Mekong.  Totally western and modern, many stories, it is the cornerstone of a huge new complex of hotels and shopping now under construction. 








    
Here are a couple of photos to show the difference in Vientiane - two are of the Morning Market as I knew it, ca. 
1970 - where our cook would go every morning for the food for meals for the day.  The others are Talat Sao now, a growing shopping complex with everything imaginable for sale.   The old original building is still in there somewhere.


In the old market, just like Alice's Restaurant, you really could get anything you wanted - which is one reason why American students were generally sent home at 10th grade.

And below is the interior of part of the new mall.
Luxury shops.

 While exploring Talat Sao, I got lost in the maze.  By the time I was on the second floor, and found myself looking at rows of washers and dryers, I couldn't take it anymore.  I'm not a big shopper anyway - and this was just too overwhelming a change.  I got out of there before meltdown point.


Laos is developing at a very rapid rate.  Chinese money, Japanese money (and sustainability guidance, thank you Japan!) is changing life at an exponential rate in the city.  Laos is rich in resources - it seems to me they are again at the center of a tug-of-war, only this time, the Lao themselves get to make the decisions.  American, European and Asian nations all have their hands in, but so far the Lao government is keeping traditional heritage sites intact and safe.  Our old French Colonial homes in Vientiane are mostly still there.   


The view from our high room, looking over the Mekong to Thailand.  The river is low in January, but lower than it should be, thanks to China's most recent dams up North.  
The new King Anouvong Park River Walk is being constructed to east and west, and the section so far has a beautiful wide area for a good Night Market, very good prices and a peaceful environment.




Kids can paint, do crafts, and a lot of young adults were playing too.
Western tourists were there, but mostly this was a Vientiane people's lovely evening out, for cheap.

Check out the link describing King Anouvong's importance to the people.   http://www.laos-travel-guide.com/king-anouvong-statue-erection-ceremony.html   



This will give you a flavor of the language the government uses to describe their past - and reminds us that there is an immense amount of history before the Communist government installed itself.  
The statue of King Anouvong points toward Thailand - Laos' old nemesis.  There are various interpretations of his stance - pride, defiance, friendship as equals?   


Tomorrow, Tuk-tuk tour of Vientiane's sights!