A family's exploration of Laos through family travel, local food, and the country's hidden wartime history, highlighting the country's unique blend of French and Chinese influences.
On the banks of the Mekong, from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, this writer explores Laos through family travel, local food and the country's hidden wartime history.
In Laos, food stalls also doubled as makeshift moneychangers due to the unavailability of currency exchange services outside the country. The writer's family had to rely on Thai baht to exchange for the local currency, and they managed to negotiate a rate with the help of a worn calculator at the khao jee pate stall.
The pace of life in Laos was slower compared to more tourist-friendly destinations like Vietnam and Thailand, making it an ideal getaway for the writer's ageing parents and young children. The family found it easy to book a car on affordable ride-hailing apps such as LOCA, and they enjoyed immersing in local culture and sightseeing. The writer had heard about Laos from their ethnic-Lao French friends in France and was excited to see the country for themselves.
However, upon arrival, they found that the remnants of French colonization were minimal, with only a few colonial-era buildings and baguette sandwiches remaining. The writer was struck by the prevalence of Chinese influence in the country, with Chinese signage, tour groups, and the use of the renminbi as accepted currency. The Laos-China Railway, a US$6 billion flagship Belt and Road Initiative project, had connected Vientiane to Kunming in southwestern China and had recorded over 59 million passenger trips.
The new railway stations in Laos were designed in the same style as the ones in China, and the writer felt like they were in China when they visited the stations. The increased tourism had brought in Chinese entrepreneurs who set up one-stop travel businesses catering exclusively to their compatriots. The writer's family also experienced the surreal feeling of being in the capital and also on its border with Thailand, with the lights of Thailand twinkling across the Mekong.
The ride on the mini ferris wheel was exhilarating until the operator walked away, leaving them spinning for what felt like an eternity.
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