trains and buses

after travelling up the nam ou for two hours, we were finally there.

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women were preparing food

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joyful sights and sounds surrounded me. a new baby was born... the school was closed, nobody went to work.. it was a day of celebration.

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before anything else, we were welcomed with lao lao. my stomach is not really one that can take whiskey on an empty stomach... and it was still something like 9 in the morning. i did not have the heart to refuse so i took a sip. i was later informed that it was brewed by the mother in law of mang's friend - the father of the baby. strange food followed... pork's blood... it didn't taste that bad, but i don't think i can eat it again.... the water was strange too. it was all red... it was water from the nam ou purified with herbs...as interesting and stimulating this was, i was relieved when they offered us omelette and rice.

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the lao practice animism. they worshipped the spirit of the earth and the spirits of their ancestors. when the ceremony finally began at noon i was asked to sit with them in a circle at the veranda area of the house. we all touched a circular tray which had roasted pork, incense, flowers and other decorations... money was handed over to the parents of the new baby, white strings were tied on wrists, even on mine to do away with the bad and let in the good. i was overwhelmed by their willingness to share their intimacy with such a stranger like me.

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after the ceremony there was more lao lao, a lunch of laap ( lao dish of minced meat, chilli, onion, herbs and lemon) and buffalo sashimi, beer lao and more singing. it could have been a scene from asterix and obelix as soon i met with the village chief and their own cacophonix. the lao lao made me forget a lot, however i remember that it was bright with sunshine and people erupting with laughter all around me.

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we left for nong kiaw around 4 in the afternoon. mang's dad took us back just like he took us there.

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i saw some faces i might never forget

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as mang had promised, he knocked at our door at 6 in the morning. we followed him down to the river where his wife and his dad was waiting with a long tail boat. we drifted into the misty river. the sun was just emerging, the quietness quietened my soul and i was humbled by my own insignificance.

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nong kiaw took my breath away.

the little rustic town....

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right next to the beautiful nam ou

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the generous lao people offered us "lao lao" ( rice whiskey) and food when we strolled the streets.... chickens, ducks and dogs walked beside us....everything we stepped on was wobbly... and i couldn't stop gazing at the nam ou and the surrounding mountains

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we even found a friend. his name was mang. he invited us to a ceremony at his village and promised to come knock at our door at 6 the next morning.

beautiful vang vieng.... the little town is surrounded by giant karsts that made me feel tiny.

in vang vieng your experience depends on which side of the bridge you decide to stay. by bridge i mean a really wobbly affair on which the very brave drive tiny trucks and push lines of cows.

on one side of it, cafe's crowd the streets serving "happy shakes" and munchies while their customers watch episodes of friends, family guy and simpsons. i heard music coming from a place called "the party island" though i never managed to go check it out.

i myself got stuck on the other side.

vang vieng

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a giant three story pumpkin depicting hell, heaven and earth.....giant buddhas....hindhu gods.....some decorated with skulls.....demons...people....

buddha park

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giant buddha

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demon

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winged visitor

the lao call it xien khuan. it was built in 1958 by priest and shaman luang pu.

to get there, we took a bus from vientiane. its just a couple of hours away. we sat comfortably crammed in a bus filled with joyful lao people catching small glimpses of the lao way of life and being attended by an enthusiastic female bus conductor who made sure that everyone was comfortable and also that everyone who needed a ride got one.