Laos
Laos: The Asia of Adventurers
Laos is a country of silks and sights, but that does not make it comparable to most other Asian tourist spots. This destination has a reputation among travelers for departing from the usual “touristy” character of today’s popular locations, specifically by presenting an Asia that many argue to have already passed from other areas. To put it simply, it is said to be more laid-back, more culturally-appealing to those seeking a deep departure from “global culture”—to quote the country’s own tourism slogan, it is “simply beautiful”.
It is probably no surprise that simplicity and beauty would be assigned to Laos. Visitors can experience a lot of old-fashioned adventuring in this land. Laos has its modern and urban places, yes, but a great deal of it remains as it ever was: as green, as fertile, as beautifully ancient as any explorer’s dream. It would be little surprise for Indiana Jones to visit the country for his vacation, were he a real person.
The real-life Indiana Jones visiting Laos has a lot of things to look forward to. There are the stunning megalithic jars of Xieng Khouang, which look like enormous pots plunked down on the plain by some gigantic hand. There are the beautifully finished caves of Vieng Xai, where people used to live during the Vietnam War, and where they even had a hospital and a theater. For those wishing to touch the spiritual nature of the land there are the Pak Ou caves hosting hundreds of Buddha statues and sculptures. There is the golden height of Pha That Luang, the breathtaking width of the falls at Si Phan Don, the endangered Irawaddy Dolphin of the Mekong, the colonial quaintness of Luang Prabang, and even more.
Laos is a country for adventurers, especially those who wish they had been alive in the days when lands were still fresh and ripe with the age of their histories. Are you one of those? Well, then, Laos beckons you!
