A postcard from Luam Prabang

Imagine a far away place, blended with French finesse and Asian mystique, tucked away between lush mountains, streaming rivers and edenesque waterfalls, with secluded caves inhabited by thousands of little Buddha statues. Imagine boutique hotels of colonial architecture, and traditional guesthouses and hostels that serve banana pancakes for breakfast. Think of gourmet Asian street food, alleyways infused with the smell of lemongrass, ginger, and cedar wood. Think of street vendors that laugh embarrassingly when someone asks them for a better price, and taxi drivers that spend their day resting in the back of their spotless tuk tuk. This is Luam Prabang in Laos.

The orange sunset haze embraces this sleepy town, giving everything a shade of dream, which is matched by the robes of the Buddhist monks, who, barefoot and silently, as is befitting to their vow of poverty, walk the streets before dawn to receive rice from locals and visitors. I was surprised by the locals’ gentleness and kindness, cliché as it might sound, and I was touched by their shy manners that brought back memories of Asian cultures and peoples I only read about in books in my childhood. Their city radiates an innocence and peace that gives a feeling of stepping into an old postcard, one of those that Jules Verne would have written.

A visitor can almost forget that this a country of unspeakable suffering. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history, with more than half a million missions completed by US bombers between 1964-73.  Forty years later, eighty million bomblets that did not detonate still pose a threat to civilians, waiting to change forever the lives of people that weren’t even alive during the war. I tried to imagine what it is like living in a country enveloped in such beauty, contradicted by the grotesque effects of war decades ago. Every year, more than 300 people in Laos are killed by bombs dropped in the 60s and 70s. As I walked down the night market, past all kinds of food and souvenir stalls , I stumbled upon one filled with all sorts of metallic trinkets, jewellery and utensils. “Made of Unexploded Ordnance”, a small, handwritten sign read on the corner of the table. I can’t think of a better way to summarise the kindness of the Laos people: “We receive bombs, we give back gifts.”

 To read more about Laos and the unexploded bombs please follow the link below:

Irish Times: Death from below in the world’s most bombed country