Vientiane : Day 1 (Part 1)

17 November 2016

Geri was in labour I think but I’d no time to await the arrival of her pups. Seems like I’m always away when pups are born; I was in Moscow when Molly’s pups arrived.

2 and ½ hour flight to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. “Lao” means kingdom and “Prabang” means Buddha; so the kingdom of Buddha. Lao People’s Democratic Republic or Laos has a population of about 5.5 million people. There are about 500,000 people in Vientiane. Laos is 1 hour behind Malaysia, so we arrived at about 9 am Malaysia time, 8 am Laos time. Our guide Phet (pronounced Pat) met us at the airport, we left our bags at the hotel and had Lao coffee (it’s done with condense milk and comes with plain tea on the side) and a baguette (a remnant of the French colonists).

Present day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao (Kingdom of a Million Elephants Under the White Parasol), existed for four centuries as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. It was founded in the 14^th century by a Lao prince Fa Ngum, who with 10,000 Khmer troops, took over Vientiane. Fa Ngum was descended from a long line of Lao kings, tracing back to Khoun Boulom. He made Theravada Buddhism the state religion and Lan Xang prospered. His ministers, unable to tolerate his ruthlessness, forced him into exile to the present-day Thai province of Nan in 1373, where he died. 

It was not until 1637, when Sourigna Vongsa ascended the throne, that Lan Xang would further expand its frontiers. His reign is often regarded as Laos's golden age. When he died, leaving Lan Xang without an heir, the kingdom divided into three principalities — Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three territories uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.

Laos is a one-party republic. The government came into power in 1975 after overthrowing the royal government. According to Phet, it is 50% communist and 50% socialist, and 80% of the Lao people are happy with the present government. The official language is Lao. Apparently it is one of the most heavily bombed countries in the world, thanks to the Vietnam war. There are still bombs and land mines around, undiscovered.

Laos is a multi-ethnic country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60% of the population, mostly in the lowlands. 75% of the population are Buddhists; 25% are animistic. The minority tribes are Khmu, Hmong and Tibetans, who are usually animistic. The main exports of Laos are gold, copper, silver and timber, electricity generated from the Mekong river, and tourism. The currency is known as “kip”. US$1 is equivalent to about 8,300 kip. “Sabaidee” means hello and “Kop Chai” means thank you.