Ever So Lovely, Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, in Laos, is hands down one of my favorite stops in SE Asia. It is unbelievably chilled out (no excessive motor bike traffic here), the people are lovely, and everywhere you turn there are fantastic photo opportunities. I could have spent much longer here and hope that if I return someday it doesn't lose the peaceful atmosphere that I love so much. I spent a couple of days trekking and kayaking, the highlights of which were stumbling upon an elephant working in the forest and playing with all of the kids in the village we visited (see the picture of the boy we dubbed "Bat Man" as he was playing with a dead bat-which he kindly offered to let me hold, but I didn't- and sported his bat mask crafted from a plastic container). Of course I can't forget to mention the friends I've made along the way. I can't believe I ever worried about feeling alone and bored on this trip!

Vientiane

(1)Pha That Luang- The Quintessential Symbol of Laos
(2)Buddha at Buddha Park
(3)Curious Little Girls at Buddha Park

Leftovers of War

I visited the Lao National History Museum today with the expectations that it would be fairly interesting, but not that it would bring me to the brink of tears. The exhibition went through the prehistoric times, era of Dutch exploration and trading, French occupation before leading up to the time in which the "American Imperialists and their Puppets" had a presence (mid 60's - early 70's). The photos on the walls depicted people killed,affected by Napalm,children missing limbs, temples destroyed, beaten up prionsers of war, etc. Of course I knew a bit about this history and how all of the country's actions were rationalized as part of preventing the "domino effect" spreading of communism within this region. However, knowing the story and seeing the reality are two entirely different things. I walked out feeling a mixture of shame and sadness, yet grateful that there are musuems like this to preserve history. However, it's not all just in the past as there are people still living with the physical and emotional scars as well as bombs (dubbed UXO's or UXB's) in this region still undetected which pose a horrible threat to the people here. This article explains more on the subject. I don't completely agree with the comment of our ambassador made in the article. While I agree that it makes more sense to spend time dealing with cleaning up the problems versus pointing fingers, I do believe a sincere apology should be given to the innocent people who, to this day, are being impacted. That is essentially the message that I left in the guestbook as I left the museum this afternoon.

Pictures