Thailand/Laos: Simply Beautiful

 “Traveling is a way to discover new cultures and ways of life, to learn about the world and ourselves, and to create lasting memories.” – Unknown

November 24-December 14, 2023

Sawadee Ka or hello. I think the first thing I noticed about Thailand and Laos was how quiet it was, no deafening horns as we traveled through the country. Cars, motorcycles and tuk tuks pretty much stayed in their lanes in contrast to the chaotic roads in India and Nepal. The roads, however, were filled with cars, pick up trucks, mini-buses, tuk tuks and motor bikes. Children as young as nine were driving scooters in Laos – with no helmets. The tuk tuks here were a little different than other places. They had seats perpendicular to the cab with room for 6 to 12 passengers, depending on the size, both of the vehicle and the riders. We used quite a few tuk tuks. We also rode the MRT – very clean, an overnight train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok and a new Chinese-built high-speed train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. Without the high-speed train- an hour ride, it would have taken 7 hours by minibus – I was very happy for the train. Our travel from Vang Vieng to Vientiane was cut in half by an expressway, also built by the Chinese. Generally, both countries were very clean. In Thailand, people collect plastic bottles to turn into the government for money, which provides a sizable boost to their incomes. Occasionally, you’d walk around with a empty container in your hand looking for a trash bin – which were surprisingly rare, given how clean the streets were, and someone would reach out and offer to take it from you. Temperatures were in the mid-90’s and very humid, so felt much warmer. Even so many of the locals had on sweaters and jackets as this was the beginning of winter for them.

During these three weeks, I spent 6 days at a beach resort in Khao Lok, Thailand, stayed 3 days in Bangkok before joining a tour which took me to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, then across the Friendship Bridge into Laos where I took a two day boat ride down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang, then the high speed train to Vang Vieng, ending the tour in Vientiane, Laos’ capital. Bangkok, a modern and traffic clogged city of over 11 million people was very different than the other places I visited. My group consisted of 12 solo travelers. This is actually pretty unusual as most groups have a number of couples included in them. Also, we were split evenly between men and women, again surprising, as more single women travel than men – at least in my experience. We ranged in age from 27 to 80. Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Scotland, Switzerland, and the USA were represented. Issy was our fantastic tour guide. It was a fun and interesting crew.

After Bhutan, where the young and old wore their traditional dress, there was none to be seen Thailand. Everyone there was in Western attire, except as uniforms at the beach resort where I stayed, where they donned various styles of ancestral dress. However in Laos, the sinh, a long straight wrap around skirt were worn by many women. Occasionally, it was paired with a classic blouse that crossed over the front and was tied with strings on each side. A pha biang, or shawl, wrapped from one shoulder to the waist, is worn on more formal occasions. We were given a pha biang to wear the morning we participated in the alms giving in Luang Prabang. A subset of my travel group, stumbled from our beds at 5 am and made our way down to the main street. There, we were provided bamboo containers of sticky rice, purchased from a family who arose early each morning, cooked the rice, set up their booth, and sold it as a way to supplement their incomes. It’s not unusual for individuals to have 2 or three ways of earning money to provide for their families. We then donned our pha biang, settled into small stools set up by the family along side the road, and waited. A few minutes later, a parade of monks, dressed in maroon and saffron robes, passed by and we placed a ball of the sticky rice into their begging bowl, careful not to touch the vessel. Once a line of 40 or so went by in one direction, another group of about 30 passed by in the other. The procession winds through the city, with dozens if not hundreds of locals and tourist alike filling their pots. The food gathered in the morning: sticky rice, morsels wrapped in banana leaves, and packaged snack foods, are the only substenance that they have each day. The monks ranged in age from about 7 or 8 to almost 70.

Sticky rice was a common alternative to steamed rice at many of our meals. I learned at a wonderful Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai, Cooking@home, that rice has almost as many varietals as apples. Of course we’re all familiar with Basmati, Jasmine and Arborio rices and probably have seen or eaten black, red and brown rice but that’s just the beginning. There are different qualities which translates to varying prices, different lengths, and rice for different uses – sweet and savory dishes. It’s not really surprising, I just hadn’t thought of it like that before. But when you eat rice three times a day, the flavors and uses became more apparent and important. We also tasted sticky rice cooked in bamboo, mixed with sweet potatoes and stewed in banana leaves, and well as sweetened for mango sticky rice-yum! The restaurants we ate at all had huge menus, often making it hard to make a choice. A variety of fried rice dishes was common, as well as different stir fried items, noodles including the well known Pad Thai and various kinds of curry – not necessarily hot. Fried spring rolls were a favorite. Papaya salad was everywhere and that was hot, sometimes really hot! We learned that eating cucumber is a great way to cool down your mouth. The food is often prepared with hot chilis but the heat is expected to be tempered by the rice eaten with it. It is intended more for flavor than fieriness. Lots of seafood was offered in Thailand such as prawns, squid and wonderful whole fish steamed or grilled. And black snapper and catfish from the Mekong in Laos. Water buffalo was seen on the menus throughout Laos, I didn’t have any, but fellow travelers said it was good. I did however enjoy some buffalo milk ice cream – tamarind and pumpkin spice flavors. Veggie dishes were aways available. Soups abounded here and as I watched my fellow travels slurp them down they must have been tasty. I did have a traditional khao soi soup which was wonderful and we made Tom Yum Gai at our cooking class – fast, easy and so yummy. I hope to find the ingredients at the Asian market at home. And in most places Western dishes, especially pasta was to be found. I alternated fried rice/noodles and veggies with eggs for breakfast from the buffets and snuck out once for pastry as French bakeries could be found in Laos and once for avocado toast in Chiang Mai – I do miss having that for breakfast. I really liked the passion fruit and mange juices, either plain or mixed with alcohol. In Laos, I ordered baguette sandwiches when available, cause what’s not to like about crusty bread. Sliced baguettes also appeared on the buffets in Laos, remnants of French colonialism.

Although there are commonalities between Thailand and Laos, there are also differences. Thailand has over 70 million people while Laos is about 7.5 million. Thailand was never colonized though there was close relations with the British while Laos was part of Thailand for almost one hundred years and then colonized by the French, they gained their independence in 1975. Laos is landlocked while Thailand has access to both the Bay of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. One dollar got you about 35 baht in Thailand but over 20,000 kip in Laos. About 51% of Laos’ GDP is based on agriculture and only 8.5% in Thailand. Thailand is a democracy while Laos is a socialist state. They are both Buddhist countries, in Thailand 95% of the population is Buddhist though only 80% in Laos. I visited many Buddhist temples, some dating to the 15th and 16th centuries, many resplendent in a renovated state. Several times we had to climb hundreds of steps to reach the temples, providing adequate exercise for the day. In Luang Prabang alone, a small town in Laos, there were 33 temples – though I did not see them all. A very unusual one on our way to Chiang Rai, was the white temple. This was being restored by a famous and successful Thai artist and included pictures of super heroes – from superman to kung fu panda and comic book villains depicting the struggle of life. It was surprising to see them but our guide felt it was a way to get the younger generation into the temple. It was kind of ironic that I had just read an article on how the superrich for the first time are not stepping up in the time of crisis such as war and sharing their wealth and then before me was a rich man spending over a billion baht and many hours of service restoring a temple.

I also saw thousands of Buddha statues, from a giant marble brick Buddha overlooking Phuket bay and a huge reclining Buddha in Bangkok to rows and rows of tiny Buddhas placed two by two in niches at Wat Si Saket in Vientiane. An unusual and highly valued one was a jade Buddha in the Grand Palace, whose outfits are changed 4 times a year according to the seasons. There are Buddhas tucked away in caves along the Mekong and set up along side country roads. I also enjoyed seeing both the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the Summer Palace an hour or so drive from the capital, Ayutthaya, a UNESCO Historical Park founded in 1350 – once the capital of Siam, the Victory Gate in Vientiane and numerous other ruins and wats.

One of the highlight of every city and town were their markets, be it morning markets, night markets, floating market, flower markets or food markets. I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the crowds as you wander from stall to stall or cart to cart to find the best bargain or the tastiest dishes. In Bangkok, our wonderful guide Issy, purchased Michelin rated donuts and soup on the street for us to try in Chinatown. At the morning market in Luang Prabang she had us try fried riverweed – thin sheets of salty goodness, fried mushrooms – similar in texture to a soft jerky and just as tasty, and sticky rice in various forms. At one market, she had the group try grilled grubs – luckily I wasn’t there, though I saw them wriggling in a pan later in the day waiting for their turn to be cooked. Another night in Chinatown, I was with a group from a day tour, one of the guys bought bugs and we ate a few – well I didn’t, I had them in Vietnam and once was enough. Durian fruit was in season and sold everywhere, unfortunately the smell is so bad I don’t even want to be near them let alone taste it. The variety of items found either produce, cooked items and clothing and souvenirs is amazing, a feast for the eyes. I managed to keep my purchases of ‘stuff’ to a minimum buying only a $3 pair of Ray Bans – I’m sure they are real; earrings, always earrings; a couple of shirts for my grandsons; a dress; small painted stones; and some greeting cards.

I also enjoyed the wonderful natural elements of both countries. In Khao Lok, I went snorkeling around the Surin Islands. Such an astonishing array of fish and coral. I floated down a river on a bamboo raft underneath a canopy of trees, passing a least 8 snakes resting in their branches. I had two elephant experiences: in Thailand I bathed with elephants and in Laos took a jungle walk with them. Both times I smiled through the whole encounter. I think I like elephants. I took a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and enjoyed the wonderful sunset as well as the display of lights on the shore. I also used the river to get from spot to spot during the day on their water taxis. A trip along the canals off the river provided multiple sighting of small and large Komodo dragons. On our trip down the Mekong in Laos we saw unusual rock formations along the shore, and green lush mountains and jungles lining both sides of the river. The river was also lined with farms- a small patch would be planted with banana trees, corn, cabbage and other veggies. Fish was farmed and well as bean sprouts at the rivers edge. Fishing lines were strung all along the river and occasionally we’d see children naked playing in the water – oh to be young again.

We visited a beautiful waterfall that cascaded down layer after layer with pools of clear blue water at each landing. We enjoyed a refreshing plunge in one of the lagoons, getting a massage under the waterfall. The place was filled with tourists as it was too cold for the locals to swim. It was enjoyable to sit by the Mekong River in Luang Prabang watching all the boat traffic go by as the sun set. And the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng was heavily utilized for recreational purposes. Two ladies and I from my group kayaked down the river one morning and then was joined by another woman to drive dune buggies into the countryside in the afternoon. Our adventure took us through villages and farms with the craggy mountains in the background, a beautiful setting. It was a really fun day, especially when we went off-road, which may have been in a restricted area, to look for a waterfall which we never found. Other options for our day in Vang Vieng included zip lining, tubing – both in caves and on the river, hot air ballooning, swimming in the blue lagoons, and paramotoring – if we had more time I would have tried that.

On my dinner cruise in Bangkok, I was one of three caucasians – the other two were men with Asian families. The entertainer that night asked people to raise their hand to indicate what countries people were from, as they do – Korean? Vietnamese? Chinese? Phillipino? Malaysian? I realized I was hard pressed to differentiate between the different nationalities. Later in the trip, I asked our guide if she could tell the difference. She shrugged and said not very often, stating the Japanese and Chinese might have lighter skin. If she heard them speak, she probably could. But I realized looking at our group, they all could be Americans by the appearance. I do think if I observed them for a while or heard them speak, I might be able to narrow down their home countries. So I guess, how you look really says very little about you, it’s your dress, mannerisms, speech and actions that help us distinguish and understand each other. That’s enough philosophizing for one post.

One last experience before I end. In Chiang Mai, 4 of us went and got Thai massages. I get massages fairly often but this was a different experience. First, you don’t get naked but don a loose fitting set of pants and a shirt – similar to scrubs. Second, you’re not in a private room but in a large space with multiple beds. And then they basically climb on the bed with you, using their whole body to press into your muscles, leveraging limbs with their arms and legs as they pull and stretch, and using your arms to pull your torso off the bed. You hear all the grunts and groans coming from the victims in the room as they’re manhandled, yours included. We all agreed, it was wonderful. Unfortunately, I didn’t find another opportunity to get second massage, using our free afternoon to get a pedicure and a haircut instead. It’s a good thing hair grows is all I can say. Okay, one more thing. I found these fascinating little houses in front of most of the homes and hotels. I was told they are spirit houses, built to give the spirits a comfortable place to be without intruding into your space. The bigger the house, the bigger the spirit house. Each day you give an offering to the spirits so they stay content and don’t give you any trouble.