Laos: The Appalachia of Southeast Asia

A lush, green countryside of rolling hills and mountains. Striking limestone cliffs and a honeycomb of caves. Good people who want to work just hard enough so they don't have to work when they aren't actually at work. A rural place where very few people have much money, but families take care of each other and have some peace of mind. Homemade liquor and tubing down light rapids on a river. Whenever I thought of these things, I used to automatically think of Appalachia. Now I have found another place that looks and feels a lot like this, and the irony is that it is just about on the opposite side of the planet from Appalachia: Luang Prabang, in the Southeast Asian country of Laos.

Luang Prabang

The best place to start a visit to Laos is Luang Prabang, which is a short, sometimes bumpy flight from the major air hub in Bangkok. Nestled into the valley of the mighty Mekong River, new arrivals cannot get a better exposure to the Laotian countryside than what they will see just walking around the streets of Luang Prabang. This quaint town of a mere 25,000 people is a mix of crumbling French colonial architecture, modest Buddhist temples, and lovely traditional houses. One can become acquainted with Luang Prabang in its entirety in less than a single day of determined walking. The thing is, though, if you are being determined about anything, you are missing the point in Laos.

The day starts early in Asia, and unless you bring earplugs, the roosters will make sure you get out of bed at around the same time the locals do. One morning, however, you should make a point of getting up that early and find your way down to the riverfront street of Khem Khong and watch the orange-robed Buddhist monks collecting alms and making their way to Luang Prabang's main temple, Wat Xieng Thong. Follow this with a visit to that same Wat later in the day. While very modest compared to the grandiose temples of Thailand, Wat Xieng Thong is enchanting in the manner of the most interesting old parish Churches, and is easily the loveliest temple in Luang Prabang.