Laos is for the adventurous. There are oases of luxury - upscale hotels and riverboats - but the attraction of Laos is the great out-of-doors: the most pristine wilderness in Southeast Asia. The size of Great Britain, Laos is populated by only five million people, belonging to some 68 ethnic groups. The great swaths of uninhabited virgin rain forest are organized into National Biodiversity Conservation Areas (NBCA).
Stretching north to south 1,200 kilometers from China to Cambodia, with the majestic Mekong River forming its western border with Thailand, Laos enjoys of fascinating topography of mountains, plateaus and river valleys. If we begin our explorations in the north, we will find ourselves in the midst of the greatest human diversity. Along the Chinese border are an amalgam of hill tribes, all with unique languages, dress, customs and spiritual beliefs.
Apart from the Lao Loum, or lowland Lao who make up about half the country's population, there are the Lao Thai living in upland river valleys, various Thai groups named by their preference in dress - black, white and red - and a plethora of hill tribes: the Mien, Akha, Lanten, K'hmu and Phu Noi. Those living on the highest mountains are the Hmong, again divided by their favorite colors: white, black, red, striped.
Luang Nam Tha province, near the Chinese border, has the greatest variety of hill tribes in Laos and trekking tours with sleepovers in various villages can be arranged for days or weeks. Nearby we can explore the Nam Ha NBCA, a vast area of triple-canopy virgin forest, home to elephants, tigers, leopards, gibbons, macaques, loris, civets, Asiatic black bears, Malayan sun bears, tapirs, gaurs and barking deer. The forest itself consists of a top layer of dipterocarps, reaching as high as 30 meters, a middle layer of teak and Asian rosewood, and a bottom layer of smaller trees, shrubs, grasses and bamboo.
As an alternative to camping treks, boat trips are available through rivers enshrouded by jungle, with stopovers in tribal villages. After roughing it in the forested mountains, a change of pace is dictated by a luxury river cruise toLuang Prabang, in the center of northern Laos, the former royal capital and a Unesco World Heritage site with 700 historical sites and 32 temples. "The best preserved city in Southeast Asia," was Unesco's judgement.
Stay in a boutique hotel with a verandah overlooking the Mekong and venture out to discover the many delights of this charming city. The historical heart is the one-kilometer-long peninsula, replete with ponds and gardens, which pushes out between the Mekong and Khan rivers. Here graceful Buddhist temples mix with traditional wooden Lao homes and brick-and-stucco French colonial buildings with tiled roofs. There are 500-year old monasteries such as Wat Xieng Thong and Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham and a majestic Royal Palace Museum.
The riverside palace was built in 1904 for King Sisavang Vong and is a blend of traditional Lao and French Beaux Arts styles. This is a treasure trove of Buddha statues, murals, mosaics, carved elephant tusks, paintings, silverware, china, royal vestments, musical instruments and dance masks.
From Luang Prabang we can fly east to Phonsavan and the mysterious Plain of Jars. In this area of green mountains and white kharst rock formations, temperatures plummet during the winter, necessitating fireplaces and hot baths. Estimated at 2000 years old, the huge stone jars, carved from solid boulders, range from 600 kilograms in weight to nearly six tons. Were they used for tombs or wine fermenters or rice storage? Theories abound. Archeologists are hard at work to unravel the mystery.
Further east, toward the Vietnamese border, is Vieng Xai and the huge caverns in a hidden valley that were the headquarters for the Pathet Lao during the war years. There are a total of 102 caves in the district, with five of the largest named for leaders who had sheltered in them: Prince Souphanouvong, the "Red Prince"; Kaysone Phomvihane, prime minister and president of Laos from 1975 till 1992; Nouhak Phoumsavang, president from 1992-1998; and Kamtay Siphadone, the current president. Wooden walls and natural formations divide the caves into bedrooms, meeting rooms, weapons storage areas, libraries and recreation rooms. There are also outdoor kitchens and meeting areas. The deepest cave, at 200 meters, is Xieng Muang, used as a hospital. Other caves housed weaving mills and printing presses. Unassailable by air or land, the Pathet Lao were able to remain self-sufficient from 1964 until final victory in 1975.
Flying west, we return to the Mekong River and the sleepy capital of Vientiane. With a population of only 133,000, Vientiane is a laid back city of tree-lined boulevards and colonial architecture. The Presidential Palace is a vast Beaux Arts-style chateau, built originally for French governors. Colonial era hotels have perfected the art of pampering.
The city curves along the Mekong and following its course is a brick-paved promenade, shaded by banyan and teak trees. Cafes afford a resting place to watch the river flow. Of the many temples in the capital, Wat Si Saket, built in 1808, is perhaps the most interesting. The interior walls house 2,000 silver and ceramic Buddha images. In the ordination hall are faded murals of the Buddha's life dating from the 1820s.
The great stupa of Pha That Luang is the most important national monument, built in 1566 by King Setthathirat when he moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Vientiane is a shoppers' paradise: gold and silver jewellery, hill-tribe crafts, traditional hand-woven silks and cottons, exquisite carvings, bamboo and rattan furniture, and a wide variety of antiques. Ban Nong Buathong is the neighborhood of silk weavers and visitors are welcome to watch them in action. Laos boasts 16 different weaving styles across four regions. Housed in a two-story French-Lao building, Lao Textiles, founded by American designer Carol Cassidy, is the most famous vendor of top-end silks, traditionally woven and naturally dyed.
Moving south, back into the heart of nature, we come to Khammuan province. Covering 1580 square kilometers, the Phu Bin NBCA is a rugged expanse of dramatic limestone outcroppings, scenic rivers and roaring waterfalls. One little known river meanders past Lao villages and through a kilometers-long cave. To the east of Khammuan province, along the border with Vietnam is the largest NBCA in Laos. Nakai-Nam Thuen covers 3,710 sq km. One of the largest herds of elephants live in this region, along with clouded leopards, gaur, banteng, Asiatic black bear and the rare spindlehorn antelope.
From Khammuan one can cross the border into Vietnam, arriving in the coastal town of Vinh within a few hours. A longer route to Vietnam is to the south, connecting the Lao town of Savvanakhet with the Vietnamese port of Dong Ha. Further South, inland from the town of Pakse is the Bolaven Plateau. In these cool fertile uplands are grown some of the world's best, and most expensive, arabica and robusta coffee.
The Lavan is the predominant tribe here. Other Mon-Khmer groups are the Alak, Katu, Tahoy and Suay. The animistic Suay are famed elephant handlers, while the Alak and Katu perform a ritual dance before slaughtering water buffaloes on a full moon night in March. Unfortunately, many of these tribes' customs have disappeared under Lao communist rule.
Waterfalls abound, Tat Lo and
Tat Fane being the most popularly visited. From here, we can explore the nearby Dong Hua Sao NBCA. As an alternative to camping at night, visitors can put up in a jungle lodge that overlooks a thundering waterfall. Dong Hua Sao stretches from the Bolaven Plateau down to the wetlands near the Mekong river. Here, an elephant ride takes visitors up to the mysterious sanctuary at Phou Asa.
Returning to Pakse, we can board a luxurious teak barge for a leisurely three-day cruise down the Mekong to Khong Island, stopping off at the pre-Angkorian Wat Phu Champasak temple, another World Heritage site.
The earliest temple structures here date from the Chenla kingdom (500-700 AD). Additions were made during the Angkor period (800-1200). The site is divided into three main levels which are joined by promenades flanked by lion and naga serpent statures. At the lower level are ponds and palaces. The middle section consists of two sandstone pavilions for separate worship by men and women of Hindu deities. On the uppermost level of the mountain is the sanctuary. This once housed a Shiva lingam (phallus) which was bathed by the sacred spring above, issuing out of a shallow cave. The mountain peak itself is shaped like a lingam. From the 600-meter-high upper level, there is a magnificent view of the surrounding plains. Here too is a boulder carved into the likeness of a crocodile, which may have been used for human sacrifices during the Chenla era.
And finally we come to the Si Phan Don - Four Thousand Islands - a scenic 50-kilometer-long section of the Mekong, just north of the Cambodian border. During the rainy season, the river reaches 14 kilometers across, its widest breath over a 350 kilometer journey from the Tibetan plateau to the South China Sea. During the dry season, the river recedes leaving a multitude of islands and sandbars. Communities inhabit the permanent islands year round, attaining self-sufficiency by growing rice, vegetables and coconuts, catching fish and weaving textiles.
There are magnificent rapids and waterfalls in the area as the Mekong suddenly drops towards the Cambodian border. If we're lucky, we can spot the rare school of freshwater dolphins. And if we have a Cambodian visa in our passport, we can cross into Cambodia at the town of Voen Kham.
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