Christos Falireas | Vientiane | Laos | Southeast Asia

Christos Falireas | Vientiane | Laos | Southeast Asia

Laos (officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic) is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is very famous for its landscapes, mountains and rivers and gained its independence in 1945 after the Japanese occupation.

In the country there are 68 to 119 different ethnic groups, referred to as the hill tribes, living in remote mountainous areas that are hours away from the nearest road. Christos Falireas, now a permanent resident in Laos, tells us a few things about this beautiful country in Southeast Asia.

Tell us a few words about Laos as a country where you now live permanently

Laos is a small country in terms of population but with an immediate prospect of population growth, which the government is also promoting. Of course, the number of undeclared births is sufficient, since there are many ethnic groups that have their own dialect (something like our Roma), that do not have writing, but strongly preserve their character.

In some cases they also have another religion such as the Hmong (pictured left), they also have an alphabet that was made for them by the French colonialists. Some ethnic groups are not Buddhists but believe in the spirit of their ancestors. So they can and do marry many women as long as they can take care of their good survival.

Laotians (inhabitants of Laos) are an exception in Indochina (Southeast Asia) and stand apart from Thais, Vietnamese and Chinese. They are the most receptive and open-hearted people of the region to foreigners. They will very easily call you to their house or company to drink their pride which is Lao beer and Lao spirits something like a very strong tsipouro.

Especially in the Lao New Year, the well-known here Lao New Year (Pi Mai) which coincides with our own Easter, everyone is in the courtyards of the houses, grilling meatballs and consuming cases of beer and whoever passes by is showered with cold water, giving wishes and inviting him to table as before throughout Greece.

It is a very big spree that someone who will be in Laos for tourism during the country’s new year (which coincides with the dates of April 13/14 approximately every year) will have an unforgettable experience.

Vietnam War 1955 – 1975

The involvement of Laos in the war with the Americans (Vietnam War, November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975) cost them unimaginably, since they had too many victims, mainly civilians from the bombings. They have the world lead: one ton of US bomb / per person, still in the damn process of bomb detection and destruction. Laos at that time had a population of about three million. Today its population has more than doubled.

Vietnam for them is a sister country since through the war many Vietnamese who stayed here married and became one with the Laotians. After the wars against the French and the Americans, the country remained isolated from the west, even today it is not recognized by the countries of the west and no seal and signature of the Laotian government has passed (what I drew with my papers is not said), since an intermediate guarantor it is only Thailand that has recognized the seals and signatures of the Laos embassy in Thailand.

In other words, a paper must be checked, approved and stamped by Thailand in order to be accepted in Greece and the European Union. They have an embassy in Brussels recognized by the European Union where you do the same as Thailand does, as far as documents are concerned. Always the comparison with other countries in a similar economic situation to Laos.

(The photo on the right is of Khone Phapheng Falls located in Champasak Province, on the Mekong River in southern Laos, near the border with Cambodia. The falls are characterized by thousands of islands and countless waterways, giving the area the name Si Phan Don or the 4,000 islands).

Laos in Southeast Asia, from Google Maps

So when I first came here as a tourist 16 years ago, imagine there were no traffic lights anywhere, very little traffic and everything was very traditional and very natural and that was one thing that fascinated me.

I saw good-natured people, the word crime was unknown and even to this day I have not seen people arguing and shouting. On the street they keep their folk culture in percentage, beware 90%!

You won’t go to a wedding where all the women are 100% not wearing their traditional clothes. The same in their jobs, in the public and private sectors. So Laos essentially opened its borders 12 years ago and since then there has been leaps and bounds, although it has fluctuated for some years. But what stance should he take when there is interest from the West to get involved in a country that has a border with China and start the well-known cooking of cannibalism. As you understand, that is where the small-episodes of coldness between China and Laos started, which have now been put aside, since the development through China and the direct military alliance with Vietnam have now been launched.

Their tables at feasts are very rich with a lot of meat, and in general they resemble us gluttons, who do not stop eating. They drink and eat in large quantities unlike neighboring peoples such as Thailand, Vietnam, who are more restrained.

Briefly, my personal observation about the people of Indochina is that the Vietnamese is the Italian of the area, a drunkard, a patentee, a slaveholder, a conman, a sly one, while the Thai is something like a Brazilian head, but also a petty mafia and always looking for some profit.

Laotian is much closer to us in everything and Happy Holidays. Whatever he can, he leaves it for tomorrow, as he also revels too much. They have a good heart on a permanent basis and are not at all aggressive. I have been to hundreds of parties, with a lot of drunks and believe me, not once have I seen them holding hands, fighting and misunderstandings. Same with their festivals etc. Also one thing you come across in Laos is that Lao people are ashamed to disturb their neighbor for any reason. There are many times I have argued with my wife about her asking about the price, for the second and third time.

The left and top left photos are from the tourist area of ​​Vang Vieng, a small town north of Vientiane on the Nam Song River in Laos. It is surrounded by green limestone mountains, as the photo shows, and caves.

The Vang Vieng area is suitable for outdoor activities such as kayaking, hiking and mountaineering. Several companies offer kayak trips on the river, often combined with hiking, caving or a visit to a local farm.

We would like to hear a few words about the Lao language and their educational system

The Laotians understand the Thai language and script, but the Thais do not. This is because the Lao language or Laotian (Lao, sometimes referred to as Laotian) is like speaking ancient Thai, like we say to Cypriots and Pontians and Norwegians to Swedes.

Regarding education, it is sad that at the lower levels of education (primary, middle school and high school) they know nothing about Greece, except for the Olympic games and the Pythagorean theorem in mathematics. They made sure that the French colonialists taught them that everything started in Paris and a little bit in London. All other ancient cities like Rome, Athens etc. are gone. Of course those who have been to university know more.

Laos was a French colony and even today the presence of the French in all things and issues is very large. Since the families close to them, mostly of the upper class, never stopped having close contacts with the French and having financial prosperity and high education, due to their social class, they are everywhere and in key positions.

The Soviet effort with scholarships to Russian universities and schools to thousands of students was mitigated. Languages ​​spoken here as a second language in order are Russian, French, Vietnamese, Thai and English. For the education level and potential of Laos, the second and third language speakers and the education level in general are very satisfactory.

Does crime exist at all?

Crime is limited to petty theft, mostly motorbikes, we still sleep with windows and doors open across the land in Vendian City. In the services, the ministries, the banks, everywhere everything is open, simply human without special security measures that scare and terrify the ordinary citizen. This is why I will find it difficult to live in a country where security has become a science. The tourist feels this security from the first moment he sets foot in the country. For us older people, it reminds us of the 60s, 70s, 80s in Greece.

They still trust everyone here, which is misunderstood by many ill-intentioned people who try to take advantage. In general, you don’t have the fear and insecurity that you have in the big cities, which is a very serious and important thing, but of course here, too, things are slowly changing towards the inevitable. Very positive facts and since I am quite well-travelled, I classify Laotian in the category between the Greek and the good-natured Latin-American but with almost no traces of criminality.

It is no coincidence here that there is very little news about crime in the news bulletins. The courts here, as strange as it may seem, are under-functioning and citizens rarely end up in them.

Differences are resolved between them and between families, in an exemplary way, without irritations and shouts that would be the envy of even the most civilized country.

Of course, a big role is also played by the fact that the state has given the right to the ordinary policeman to play the role of mediator and to resolve disputes before him, they replace the judge and make the parties involved sign a joint agreement! These for all cases such as territorial disputes, traffic, financial, family etc.

There have been no cases of 2019-nCoV in Laos

Although we have a border with China and a lot of dealings with the Chinese, we currently have 0 cases in Laos. Laos, like Burma (Myanmar), is one of the most parthenogenic parts of the planet in terms of flora and fauna, there are bacteria and microbes that do not exist elsewhere, as a result of which nature has almost its primitive balance.

The capital of Laos, Vientiane in Southeast Asia, from Google Maps

Some of the beautiful places to travel in Laos, any suggestions?

As far as the trip one can take, I would highly recommend “going down” the Mekong River route to the historic city of Luang Prabang, a two-day riverboat trip. From the city of Chiang Rai in Thailand you go to the border of Thailand and Laos. From the border you walk into Laos, you spend the night in a Lao village and in the morning at seven o’clock you board the riverboat to go down the river. Fantastic ride! You spend the night in a small village in the area, at sunset.

In the morning at seven o’clock you board the riverboat again and arrive at sunset at six o’clock in the historic city of Luang Prabang. From there with a one-day rental motorbike you can travel to the Kuang Si Falls (pictured right) with the very nice park they have and in the evenings you can return back to the city of Luang Prabang and take walks in the afternoons with the many bars and restaurants that they exist for tourists.

Depending on one’s mood after staying in the very nice aristocratic traditional accommodations of Luang Prabang, one takes the regular bus to Vientiane. I recommend from the bus station (their own KTEL) and not the Mini-Bus, which run unimaginably and squeeze you.

You enjoy the route with a stop for food and several other smaller intermediate stops and in the early afternoon you arrive in Vang Vieng where you can find everything a tourist wants. Depending on the time and mood of each one, stay in very nice facilities that cover all tastes. From Vang Vieng there is any transport you want to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and within 4 hours you have arrived. It has bus stations where you can go anywhere you want, such as Vietnam, Southern Laos, Northern Cambodia and of course Thailand.

From Huay Xai city to Luang Prabang city, to Vang Vieng and from there to Lao capital Vientiane.

 

What developments do we have in the tourism sector?

In the tourism part, we must not forget the great project currently under construction, which will connect Vientiane, the capital of Laos, with Beijing, with a state-of-the-art train of 240 kilometers per hour in the first phase. This project will be delivered after 2021.

This is a state-of-the-art very large and difficult construction which will pass through mountains and more specifically it will pass through Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng (Vangvieng), Vientiane (Vientiane) in Laos and will reach Singapore, using the network of of Thailand.

The project is being advanced by the Chinese who have every reason to make their dream come true, namely the union of Beijing with the Chinese of Bangkok and Singapore. The benefits for Laos are unimaginable, since the problems of transporting personnel and goods through these huge mountains and mountains of the country are overcome.

The Lao section will be owned by AeroLaos the airline that connects with daily flights all large and medium cities in Laos with success and good service. A large increase of Chinese tourists is expected, who with a special status can easily buy land for large crops, set up businesses and whatever your mind imagines and of course the creation of recreational resorts, since the Chinese love the beautiful virgin nature and the many waters.

So that’s it for the transport sector, which at the moment in the northern part is a drama, since the morphology of the ground is such that after the heavy rains that fall every year, they destroy everything and everything starts again from the beginning.

This is one of the disadvantages of Laos, the bad road network that exists in the country and of course it is changing for the better at a very fast rate, but as is known everywhere the contractors are state in state, people of the remula. The railway line being built is a huge project, modern and high cost, which will indeed be a panoramic journey for passengers passing through tunnels and over bridges, an elevated line on pillars overlooking the landscape. I will try to be on the virgin journey, God first.

Kunming–Singapore railway, the Pan-Asia railway Network

The Kunming-Singapore Railway (Pan-Asia Railway), is a railway network planned or under construction that will connect China, Singapore and all countries in mainland Southeast Asia.

The idea originated with the British and French, who sought to connect the railways they had built in southwest China, Indochina and Malaya. In October 2006, 18 countries in Asia and Eurasia signed the Asia Rail Network Agreement.

The proposed network consists of three main routes from Kunming, China to Bangkok, Thailand: the eastern route through Vietnam and Cambodia, the central route through Laos, and the western route through Burma (Myanmar).

 

A few things about arts and products of Laos

We should also mention the folk art part, the very good silk art that exists in the country and especially in the remote villages. The world’s unique hand-loom fabrics, with designs that come and envy even the Japanese and Koreans, as well as the Chinese, who copy their designs for their machines, which Laos officially complains about to UNESCO.

Even the most indifferent man cannot fail to notice this famous art by illiterate women in their huts, how they achieve such beautiful designs and such symmetry. This is indeed one of the country’s most famous exports, as well as the well-crafted furniture that appeals mainly to wealthy Asians. Everything they wear at weddings, even their everyday clothes, is made of silk, so here the prices are affordable and, especially for us, very cheap, one would say.

Other products are a type of charcoal produced from a special tree that is used for pencils, water filters and for design in luxury restaurants in Japan, Korea and China who buy it by pre-paying the production for 10 years. Excellent quality wood also which they try to stop is also used for gun stocks.

 

The timber from the forests is Iroko Teak and other expensive woods from centuries-old trees that have been submerged by water in huge hydroelectric dams. They die slowly in water, making them invulnerable to fungi and hard as marble. After processing them we get a perfect result. Divers undertake to cut them and retrieve them in large logs/pieces.The Russians import a lot in repayment of the war material they were given, although the Russian president Putin gave them the largest debt to Russia.

Finally, the famous black wild sesame from the mountains of Laos whose oil is used for ointments, medicines and this is even bought and pre-paid by Japanese, Chinese and Koreans. Also Laos has many hydroelectric plants and has a surplus of electricity. In fact, the electricity is from the export products to other countries, including Thailand.

Regarding food issues for the country

Laos is the only place where they eat bread, exactly the same as ours, the white loaf in old ovens with wood and even in villages, with the same process we once had in Greece. It is characteristic that many tourists take a lot of bread with them when they leave, many of them Thai. They like it warm, with sweetened milk (like our Vlach milk), as well as in sandwiches spread with pork, in which sandwiches they also add some vegetables (see the video below). It is also characteristic that the cyclist passes with the loaves on the bike and a kofa (the large straw or hemp coffin used by farmers and workers), through the neighborhoods and as a signal he has an air horn.

One thing we also have in common is that they like goat, which in Thailand they don’t eat, they eat it on charcoal and even eat the skin after it is shaved very well. In their language it is called be and they make it with yachni and potatoes. They cook it like we do, 80% same method. They also make baby pigs and the tricycle with the baby pig on the vehicle passes by and sells it by the kilo. He cuts the piglet with a cleaver and then weighs it, just like it used to be in Greece until the 80s. But what drives tourists crazy is the skewered veal, especially the Thais, about 30 to 40 kilos which is also the their best mezes together with the goat.

Even to this day they refuse to cook with gas and electricity. Not because they don’t have anything to buy, but because the food doesn’t taste as good as they say. Does it seem strange to you? But 80% cook with wood and charcoal, even in villas. The gas completely helpful and at half the price of the price from Greece.

There are shops that only have this type of food, where mostly men gather and where there is also plenty of beer (Beerlao, produced by the Lao Brewery Company). At their weddings, they must have ragout, which is exactly the same as our yachni with potatoes and tomato paste.

As well as clean veal accompanied by bread and eaten as we say in Greece “dipped” with the bread. Indispensable on every table is the lapa which is chopped clean fresh beef or cooked for half an hour in chili, salt and serve with plenty of salad, basil, mint and lemon.

This is eaten with the sticky rice known for its quality in Indochina. There is a wide variety of rice with the Greek name Aroma in fact that is only made in Laos, which is excellent.

Of course, the high quality of rice is controlled by the state, which prohibits any processing of it, because rice produces substances for creams, baby food, etc., in contrast to Thailand, which has taken all its substances and that’s why you don’t get full when you eat rice there.

They only allow one production per year in their fields and now in recent years they also allow the export of A quality ecological rice. The logic is that rice is the basic food of the citizen of Laos and it must be strong and of good quality and not surplus for many businesses. The same of course applies to the quality and very good coffee they produce as well as to the tea.

There is no misery in the food and it is obvious. Whoever is eating and you pass by invites you to their table, be it a foreign passerby, with the idiom “Kin Khao”, it is disrespectful for them not to invite you.

So in Laos, no one is hungry for sure. Nowhere are people eating leftovers from garbage cans either. There are no beggars either, or rather I would say very few, counted on the fingers and they are under the guidance and transportation of a manager.

Regarding paperwork

11 years ago, I was the only Greek who got married in Laos, following the entire procedure provided by the state in order to be completely legal here, but also in Greece.

Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy and Laos the process of my papers took 1 1/2 years and in two years they gave me a Laotian identity card and I am also entitled to medical care and insurance. And in 4 years they gave us an apartment almost in the center of the city and all this without a single euro. There was a portfolio for other countries in the office where foreigners get married, but there was none for Greece. With my own wedding, a new folder called “Greece” was opened for Greeks. My wife is also now a resident of West Mani with a VAT number and a NAT health certificate, all correct and legal.

We Greeks are served by the German embassy only for matters concerning our visa in Laos. For any other matters, the Embassy of Greece in Bangkok, Thailand serves. Other Europeans are served by the French embassy.
Laos also belongs to the dollar zone unlike Thailand which is now in the euro zone. Euros here become dollars and then local currency which is Lao kip. Of course, you can freely take dollars from exchange offices. The tourist visa is currently $33 to enter the country which foreign travelers can and do pass upon arrival at the border and it’s not like Vietnam where you need a consulate and a prepaid visa when you get to the border.

Climate

The climate is much nicer and cooler than Thailand and much more European friendly with little to no winds. We also have a bit of winter in December to January from Vientiane and up north.

Cost of living in Laos

Cost of living is one of the lowest in Indochina along with Cambodia from what I hear. Transportation is very cheap, even by their standards. The electrical minimum (I have two houses, three clocks and a full air conditioner. I don’t spend more than 15 to 20 euros a month).

For example, I have a Grand Cherokee, a 3,500cc jeep and a Mitsubishi Van. Both together 30 euros per year road tax. Gasoline, although they do not have their own refineries and no ports for oil tankers, is always at a fixed price. Always at a dollar compared to other places it is reasonably priced. It always follows the rate of one dollar. Also first order drugs are laughable compared to us, so cheap.

Meat is expensive with European prices having to do with multinationals. Grocery prices in Laos are 30% cheaper than ours. As well as imported fruits and vegetables the same but don’t imagine too easily. For example, apples are at 1.5 euros, while grapes at 2.5 euros.

To understand the exploitation of Laos from my own experience, for example a container from Piraeus to Bangkok, Thailand, the cost with a Chinese shipping company is around 1,100 to 1,300 dollars. From Bangkok to Vientiane the capital of Laos is about 2,500 dollars + logistics 500 dollars = 3,000 dollars. We all hope that the new railway line being built will change the whole predatory scene. In general the cost of living is not unbearable although the trend lately is quite upward, not in all products, but in food with the exception of seasonal vegetables which are cheap. Rents are tight by Lao standards and most want pre-paid months ahead.

The beer that interests the tourist is at 1 to 1 1/2 euros for 630 ML. And the accommodation for the many people hotels and Guest Houses are between 10 and 20 euros, spacious constructions with the well-known international standards bathroom, air-con, hot water, TV and refrigerator.

As the case may be, by paying 30 to 40 euros you get a room in a good area that in Greece you would pay 120 to 150 euros.

Nightlife in Laos doesn’t have the glory of Thailand, it’s much more laid back and packed. There are very few people who have fun after 11.00 at night, since most shops close even earlier.

Most for the local youth are clubs, but with very good food, live music and beer. Beer always plentiful on offer. For example you order 6 + 3 free = 9 for the price of 7, so they are always full.

The same goes for karaoke restaurants which are plentiful and a favorite pastime for locals of all ages. For western tourists, there is everything in the center to ask for, from pizzerias, hamburgers and the like, as in any tourist destination.

Also MacDonald and KFC have not come to us because of ideology. But we have others like it, which are less American than the many hammer and sickles that always adorn the city.

For the Greek tourist in Laos, driving is easy since they drive on the left like us, without major traffic junctions, side roads, etc. And most importantly, no tolls anywhere. I get mad when I have to pay 30 euros for tolls for 240 kilometers, to go from Athens to Kalamata.

Everything here at present is so simple, humane, and so manageable as the sailors say that the well-meaning intelligent citizen sets aside. There are of course some cleanliness problems, such as dust and mud during the rock season, as well as many potholes on the roads. Of course, there is also the lack of good service in restaurants and taverns, enough sloppiness in street markets, lack of serious hygiene and safety standards in markets and public areas. But this is Asia, this is Indochina and this is Laos.For those who have traveled a lot and who are looking for the quality of life of Switzerland, in Indochina you better not spend and suffer because here you will have to live with the fly and the mosquito and not only with the Asian beauties with umbrellas and carrying baskets with tropical fruits.

What wages? Mythological comparison to make as many patriots from Greece ask me. When you build up to three floors without town planning, IKA, mica, figs, etc. and when you don’t pay tolls anywhere, the withholding tax is 10%. The word heating does not exist. The good god has taken care of it and wanting to buy a heater will be useless to you. You don’t need hot water at all and your nutritional needs are completely different.

The Laotians (residents of Laos) are not indebted to banks and lately this carnage has started to arrive here as well. Citizens do not only have businesses and incomes with a very flexible and friendly system to file a tax return.

 

What they have little or much is theirs. The large area and the small population gives the option of buying land, depending on the ability of each one.

The unity of family and kinship is also of great importance, which still holds good here. Of course, all this until today because the development is great and the fate of modernization is inevitable.

It took 60 years to understand that poverty is more cerebral and that happiness lies more in the good harmony of man with nature. If one comes to Laos from a settled point of view and not from circumstances one will have a good time and enjoy the beauty of simplicity and the grandeur of freedom.

Here are some videos from Laos at the bottom of the page from YouTube

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