New Years and Doorways
A girl covered in white powder and coloring during the Lao New Year celebrations
A couple of weeks back I went to Luang Prabang in Laos for the Lao New Year celebrations. If you’ve ever heard of Songkran in Thailand, it’s really similar to that. Traditionally all the Buddha statues and furnishings would be taken out of the temples and washed by the community during ceremonies and parades. Young people would also wash their elders hands in a symbolic show of respect. Read more »
Hmong New Year (Part 3)
Hmong Chic
The next day of Hmong New Year was supposed to be much of the same. Another bullfight, more tennis ball tossing. More Hmong girls in traditional costumes wearing sunglasses and talking on cellphones. I’d already gotten quite a bit of nice material of both subjects, plus I was a bit hungover from the the bombshell barbecue, so I woke up a bit late. After a headachey breakfast and a couple of much-needed stiff coffees at our favorite local eatery “Craters” (two huge unexploded bombs in front for decoration) we headed over to the bullfight.
Hmong New Year (Part 2)
Hmong Beauty
I’ve complained to a few different people back at home and in other parts of the world that I’ve been very, very cold throughout much of this trip. Everybody seems surprised to find out that it could be cold here, usually fuelled by a belief that every corner of Southeast Asia must be a sweltering sweat hole. Well, during the hot season that is true, the heat in Laos can be unbearable, but during the winter much of the country is quite cold indeed. Much of the country is at a higher altitude, which in and of itself will cool things down quite a bit, and large parts of the north/north central area of Laos are really more influenced by the weather patterns in southern China than they are by the southern monsoons.
Hmong New Year (Part 1)
Early Morning in Phu Khoun
I’ve spent the vast majority of the last two weeks doing nothing. Quite literally just sitting around, doing absolutely nothing whatsoever. Well, either that, or spending long, long hours on a little Korean motorbike I bought, trying to find somewhere that I can do something. Believe me, it’s not by choice. Aside from one beautiful, clear morning in Phu Khoun at the beginning of the trip, the weather has been awful. After that last post I wrote it’s basically been grey, windy, cold and often raining.
Leaving Luang Prabang
Cute Kiewkacham Kids
So after basically a solid week of awful weather it was time to leave Luang Prabang. There was actually one day that was perfect from dawn ‘til dusk, and I made great use of it by shooting most of the day at Wat Xieng Thong, which is arguably the most beautiful temple in Laos. On my final night there I met two other photographers, a guy named Branden who I met on top of Phou Si hill at sunset, and another guy, Paul, who’s living and selling photos in Luang Prabang. We hung out and talked cameras and photos for quite a while, but before too long it was time to head back to my room and get some sleep before the long ride back to Vang Vieng in the morning.
Luang Prabang Arrival
Handmade Mulberry Paper Star
So, I’ve been in Luang Prabang for a few days, and here’s what I’ve figured out:
- I should have rented a house in Luang Prabang, not Vientiane
- Lao tuk-tuk and boat drivers are great fun, and you should get drunk with them
- When you get drunk with them on Lao whiskey, your head hurts really bad the next day… I mean, like, REALLY bad. Don’t let that stop you, though
- When there is sunlight coming from the direction you want, there are thick clouds where you need blue skies. And vice versa
- Tourism hasn’t spoiled the locals
- Luang Prabang is one of the most beautiful small towns on Earth
Will I keep adding stupid lists to all my posts? Keep checking them, and we’ll both find out! For the moment, they serve my purposes. Don’t expect me to expound on each point.
Highway to Luang Prabang
The view from Phoxai village, Vang Vieng District
Photography in Laos is not easy, I’ve been averaging about two photos a day which I can use, and for those of you that don’t know, that’s definitely not enough. But I think I’m figuring out how to work here… more on that towards the end of the post.
Yesterday I tried to rent a motorbike in Vang Vieng. I wanted a real Honda, not some Chinese piece of junk. I asked a guy if I could rent one for 10 days, and he got very suspicious. “Where are you going to go?” he asked. “Kasi”, I replied, which isn’t all true. Kasi is only 56 kilometers from Vang Vieng. Yeah, I was going to go through Kasi… but I was going to keep driving another 150 kilometers or so through the mountains to Luang Prabang. He said Kasi was too far, then became very aloof and stopped looking at me, which is the Lao way of saying no. Being the bastard that I am, I stood and stared at him and basically forced him to actually tell me no. Which he did. I asked another guy, went through the same questions, and was told a ridiculously high price for the bike. So, what should I do now?
Houses and Detours
My House in Vientiane
Well, it’s been about a week or so since I posted, so it’s time for another. Overdue, actually, but internet access is a pain in the ass here, so… bear with me.
I know the photo I started this entry with is less than exciting, but a few people have asked to see my new house, so… there it is. I signed my contract 12 days ago, and moved into the apartment unit next door while I waited for them to finish fixing up the house for me. I was assured that it would be ready in 2 or 3 days, and 12 days later it’s finally ready! Now, this is Laos, so I wasn’t expecting it to be ready on time. But my patience was starting to wear thin. I wouldn’t have even been getting too concerned yet, except for the fact that tomorrow I’m taking off for Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang in the early morning, and won’t be back until the day before Hans, my friend, will be arriving and moving in with me. I’m not positive, but my gut feeling tells me that Hans wouldn’t be too happy if he arrived and I told him that we would be sharing a bed until the house was ready. In fact, I’d be a hell of a lot more concerned if he wasn’t upset about that.
Week One in Laos
Wat Sisaket in Vientiane
Well, I’m in Laos now. I have been for 9 days, in fact. For those of you that checked in to see what’s been going on, sorry for the delay. I did, in fact, write a post while I was in Pochentong Airport in Phnom Penh, which I was going to add to when I got here. However, I had a little bit of trouble retrieving it when I discovered in Vientiane that the motor in my hard drive had somehow died on the flight over.
Seeing as how I shoot digital, not being able to use my computer poses a few problems for me. Problems, irritations, maddening, head scratching, cursing, foot stomping… well, you get the idea. So, I spent the majority of my first week getting my computer problems figured out and solved, finding, renting and moving into a house, getting a nice new LCD that I can optimize images on, and in general just getting situated and figuring out my way around town. Now, after encountering a few difficulties, and spending quite a bit of time and money, I’m ready to go.