as explained in many guide books, Luang Praban is a magical city. it's a peninsula city caught between two rivers (one being the Mekong river), the surrounding nature quite serene, and every few blocks there are beautiful temples with orange-robed monks residing in them. there's no wonder why the whole city is a world heritage site.
more impressive to me than the physical beauty of this place though, is the feeling of the people. they are warm, soft, and they like to smile. it's so nice to have smiles get returned right back at you.
we met a Japanese national who had traveled all throughout Asia, and he mentioned that the Laotian people were "nice." it got me thinking for a bit, what is it that shapes the general characteristic and sensibility of a city (or a whole country) to be identified as "nice"? of course there will be individuals that don't fit the stereotype, but on the average, i too think that there's a common feel for a country, state, city, or village. Japanese people seem quiet, reserved, and a bit robotic at times. Chinese people seem aggressive, full of force and hungry to live. sorry for stereotyping, but the differences felt in each region are undeniable. religion? history? political climate? economic status? tourism? food? nature? weather? TV? celebrities and pop-culture? family values? the list is endless and i can imagine the affects of each of these influences on people, while these influences also being affected by the people who receive them.
i can't pinpoint the single aspect of life that has the greatest affect on a human being, but throughout this trip, i've learned that people will do almost anything to survive. i'm fortunate that i've never had to worry (just yet) if there'd be enough food on the table for me and my family for the next day, but if i were ever to be in such situation, i can see myself losing all values taught to me by my parents, school, and could see myself possibly breaking the law.
the people in Luang Praban are making a good amount of money off of tourists, but they aren't pushy and the prices aren't outrageous. many shops and restaurants have prices listed on every product (for those that don't know, this isn't always common). i can trust the people here, and be at peace with my position in their lives. if i decide not to buy a piece of cloth at the Hmong Market, the shopkeeper doesn't push any further, I say "thank you for your time," she says "thank you for looking," we smile at each other and go about minding our next business. there's no way to tell how these folks are doing financially, but they seem to be at a nice place.
here are some unedited pics from Luang Praban:
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| first Tuc-Tuc! |
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| Dad on bicycle |
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| Boss monk watching over as he smokes. |
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| sandwich lady |
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| kids fighting at the Hmong Market |
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| Buffet for 10,000 Kip ($1.25) |
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| river in front of our hotel |
i suspect for china, it may have to do with living in difficult times when communism took over and resources became scarce (like during the cultural revolution). if you don't get to the front of the line first, you may not get enough food during the handouts or something. i may be wrong though!
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