Happy Lao New Year!

From April 14th-16th the country of Laos (and neighboring Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia) celebrated entering into year 2554 (Buddhist calendar year). Lao New Year (Pi Mai Lao) lasts roughly 10 days during which work in Laos slowed to a standstill as numerous parties and baccis are held nation-wide. The parties usually include exorbitant amounts of food, beer and loud music. To add to the party atmosphere, the throwing of water on the streets begins. In Vientiane and Luang Prabang specifically, water throwing can be quite torrential and baby powder is thrown and/or used liberally to cover the faces of passers-by. Gangs of teens, roam the streets riding in the back of trucks looking for anyone to splash. A massive city wide water fight soon commences between these roving trucks and groups on foot, who splash each other with buckets of water. Children line the roads with super soakers and water pistols at the ready. Music from parties saturate town as the whole city celebrates.

Ready, Aim...

Needless to say we were a little nervous to be in the big cities to experience our first Lao New Year. Since work in Tha Thom virtually halted we decided to forgo the village celebration and the chaos in Vientiane to visit southern Laos instead. In the south we soon realized that Pi Mai festivities are quite tame compared to the merriment of the north. While visiting three locations we enjoyed the soaking of several pitchers of water and the occasional spray from a water gun. Being doused while traveling isn’t too bad especially when the temperature is 90 plus during the day! The only thing to remember is to wrap anything you don’t want wet in plastic bags.

Soaked while Riding

Getting Refreshing Nam Oye (Sugar Cane Juice)

We traveled to the south via a night sleeper bus…which really was quite a novelty to us. Some of the busses in Thailand and Laos are certainly decked out as you can see in the pictures. Our bus was a double decker with beds instead of chairs. It was quite a comfortable way to travel…although probably not the safest!

Bed in Sleeping Bus

Our Night Bus

A Decked-Out Bus from Thailand

    While visiting the south we ventured to the 4000 Islands (not reminiscent of the salad dressing). These islands speckle the Mekong as it slows and widens prior to entering Cambodia. The remains of French colonial structures remain in this area.

Our Private Beach on the Mekong

The Speedy Turbo Delight!

Determining Our Next Move While Drinking Coconut

We also visited Wat Pu Champasak. These are ancient ceremonial ruins, built originally as a Hindu temple in the 11th and 12th centuries, and later converted to an important Buddhist site. The ruins were part of the Khmer Empire which stretched to the south (Cambodia) and includes the ruins of Angkor Wat (a famous sprawling ruined city and temple complex in Cambodia). The construction and symbols are notably Hindu with architecture reflecting that of India. During Lao New Year people often visit temples to wash the Buddha statues with perfumed water. This symbolizes purifying or cleansing ones' self for the coming year. It is custom to visit 7 temples, if possible, to perform this action thus ensuring good luck for the new year.

Wat Pu Champasak

Nice Stone Frame

Hibiscus Flower

Short Doorway

For Their Next Brochure

This a a 360 Pan from the top of level of Wat Pu. Click Here for the full screen experience! (It may take a while to load on slower connections)

We spent the last few days our Lao New Year on the Bolaven Plateau, a region in southern Laos over 1000 meters in elevation. The area is covered by nationally protected forest land and coffee plantations. We were eager to explore as it was our first time to hike the jungle paths of Laos. We were refreshed and rejuvenated by nature, the cool weather and the resort bungalow that we occupied for two days.

Tad Fane Waterfall

Foreign Food

It’s a warm Sunday evening in Tha Thom and if you sit inside the house it’s a bit stifling. But relaxing on the floor of our open porch, feeling the cool breeze, listening to the night insects and the temple ring the gong for the coming Buddhist Sunday, and sharing food with Lao friends…we realized one can’t ask for a much better evening.

Kaarina Cooking

The interesting aspect of this particular evening was not the time or place, but rather the meal we were sharing. After almost five months in Tha Thom and a recent trip by our Project Manager to the forests of our beloved ‘birth country,’ Nepal, we decided to treat our Lao counterparts to something foreign. This night we enjoyed jasmine rice (expensive in the village, but it is available), dahl (traditional Nepali lentil soup, served on top of rice), tarkary (curried potato and vegetables), samosa (deep-fried breaded vegetables), sag (fried spinach) and chia (spiced tea with milk, caned milk that is).

Dinner Time

It was an interesting learning experience for all that attended. Our guests enjoyed the meal and were kind to try the new dishes, but most were unsure of the ‘curry’ that Nepalese food uses liberally! Personally, while sharing the meal, we realized this interesting fact, ‘Food that is foreign is always foreign.’ Living in our new home, we’ve tasted some food that we would have never imagined eating (you can read our previous blog on food to get an idea of what we’re talking about). We wrinkle up our noses at some of the food and flavors we taste in Laos, but our Lao friends also wrinkle up their noses at some of the food that we accept as ‘normal.’ We often wonder, ‘How can you not like milk, bread or cheese?’, while they ask us, ‘How can you not love bamboo shoot soup and fermented fish sauce?’

Welcome to Phonhome

What would it be like to look around one of the project's target villages in 359 degrees?



Click Here for the full screen experience! (It may take a while to load on slower connections)