Sabaidee, Laos

Sabaidee. This greeting means "hello" in Lao and you'll hear it everywhere you go. Coupled with a warm smile and a slight bow, Laotians will greet you not with the pretense of hospitality but with a genuine desire to welcome you. Sabaidee. You'll hear it at the cafe, the guesthouse, the restaurant, the street, the night market. Everywhere.

I liken this eagerness to the way Laos is at the moment: at the cusp of embracing what could be a huge tourist boom. After being overshadowed by its more popular neighbours like Thailand, Laos seems to have begun showing the world that it is beyond its image of a poor, and landlocked country.

When my friends and I booked our flights back in February, we didn't know what to expect in Laos. All we knew was that the flights were on sale and it seemed like a really interesting destination. Little did we know that we would be embarking on a trip that would show us a side of Southeast Asia you won't commonly see. A side which is, to me, more genuine than most of the countries I've been to in this part of the world.

Our first stop was the capital, Vientiane. Situated right along the Mekong river, Vientiane is really just one large town. Very unlike the other nearby cities like Bangkok, Manila, KL, or Singapore where everything seems to be in a hurry, I find that Vientiane is this place that minds its own business. As if its not pressured to develop at all and is taking its own time and at its own pace. It's wonderful, really. We ate lunch at the riverside eateries along the Mekong that served fantastic grilled food and was the perfect welcome lunch. If only we weren't pressed for time, I could have easily suggested to stay by the river and go on siesta the whole afternoon.

We visited the the Pha That Luang temple which is Vientiane's most important buddhist site. The whole structure was built to look like a budding lotus flower that signifies one's journey from ignorance to enlightenment. Cool stuff. Afterwards, we dropped by their version of Paris' Arc de Triomphe, Patuxai. Took photos, melted in the scorching sun, and got ripped off by the tuktuk driver. Oh well. Haggling for a decent fare will always be part of trips like these.

We only had a few hours to spend in Vientiane as we had to catch another flight to Luang Prabang, a town in Northern Laos and is basically where most of the action is. Luang Prabang used to be Laos' ancient capital and is just a small town where you can get a better idea of what Lao life is all about. Most of the visitors would stay on the main street, Sisavangvong, where guesthouses, cafes, bakeries, internet shops, and tour companies are located. Here you'd find the concentration of random white backpacking tourists having a bottle of Beer Lao or cycling their way through the streets.

One thing I'd like to point out about this place is that although there are tourists, there are no tourist hordes. Most of them are just small groups. There are also no tour operators that slam you with guided tours in your face upon checking in your guesthouse. It's great and I think it adds to the charm since everyone is unconsciously asked to do things at their own pace, sort of like how the whole country goes.

Buddhism is deeply rooted in their culture and is evident the way there are so many little temples around town. Every morning, a long line of monks walk around town barefooted to receive alms from the townsfolk. Every neighborhood manang would be out there on the sidewalk even in the rain just to give their alms, commonly in the form of food such as sticky rice.

On our only full day in Luang Prabang, we first dropped by the Royal Palace Museum. No photos could be taken inside but all I have to say is that if there were still Lao royalty now, they'd rock. Right across, we climbed up Mt. Phu Si which is really just a hill in the middle of town where you'd have a great view of the surrounding area. Little did we know that those 300+ steps to the top would only be a prelude to some serious jungle trekking a few hours later.

Our next stop was the Kuang Si waterfalls 30 kilometres outside of town. The place is clean, well-maintained, and the scenery is great. You'd really feel that you were in a park in the middle of the jungle. Funny thing about this visit here was that we were all set to go swimming. The information that we had was that you had to climb up to the higher levels to go to where swimming is allowed. We unknowingly began what would be a lung-busting hike to the very top of the waterfalls through very steep, slippery and muddy terrain. All this, in flip-flops! Marvelous. To add insult to injury, when we finally reached the top, we found out that there's nothing but a stream and swimming isn't allowed. Wonderful. Thankfully, our positive attitudes allowed us to see how fun that whole thing was, in spite of the hunger and fatigue. We did manage to swim in one of the pools at the lower levels afterwards.

Back to the town, we had dinner in one of the nice restuarants to sample Lao food. For the most part, it's heavily influenced by Thai cuisine but manages to be distinct enough to be differentiated properly.

One of the best parts of Luang Prabang would have to be the night market. Possibly the quietest yet most charming night market I've ever been to, they mostly sell local handicrafts, silk weaves, and clothing. Maybe it was the ambience or the non-palengke atmosphere of the whole place, but this whole market is simply fantastic.

If I were to use one word to describe Luang Prabang, it would be quaint. It's not about the big, the bold, and the badass. Here, it's about the small, the simple, and nondescript. And I notice that it is in this simplicity where I see what Luang Prabang, and perhaps the entire country, is all about.

The next day we take a 10-hour bus ride through the Laotian mountains back to Vientiane. Talk about road trip, man. We had been driving for four hours straight along winding roads yet still, all we could see were mountains, mountains, mountains. The green, uninhabitated type. You pass by little villages along the way but you start to wonder where all the Laotians were. After that major butt-flattening bus ride, we basically just settled back in Vientiane and treat ourselves to one nice French dinner. We flew to KL the next morning.

Sigh. The only regret I have with our trip is that we didn't stay longer. I wouldn't mind staying there for a week or more just so that you can soak up everything and go to the other places worth visiting. I know that Laos has so much more to offer and its simply waiting for you to arrive to greet you with sabaidee. I can definitely imagine myself going back there in the next few years.