This is mine and Karen’s second time to Laos. The previous visit was three years ago. Just in the last three years we have seen a significant amount of change. Tourism has soared and the Chinese seem to be investing vast quantities of money to help Laos develop its infrastructure.
Laos is still a very rural country with a lot of its population living in small villages along the road and rivers. All of these communities are agriculture based. People live in everything from bamboo huts to wood houses to new concrete and brick houses. Three years ago, except for the cities, the housing was bamboo and thatch. Now I would say at least 25% is new brick and concrete houses. Construction is going on everywhere. A sure sign of increasing prosperity.
This new found prosperity has led to a significant increase in costs here, some for tourists and some for the locals. Food and drink was a noticeable item for us. Dinners ran about $8 per day (double three years ago) and soda and beer is around a $1 – more than double before. For us this is not a big deal, but for the locals I am sure it is a shock. As for rooms for the tourists, we found most had tripled in cost or more. This is definitely a result of the massive increase in tourism. We averaged around $8 per night for a room (usually not as nice as we where we stayed three years ago). As an example, a room where we stayed in Luang Prabang was 100,000 kip and is now 300,000. We found even more increase in Vang Vieng. Where we stayed three years ago was 40,000 and is now 350,000.
With the inflow of tourist dollars and money from the Chinese, the locals seem to be doing pretty good. In the past, a normal mode of transportation was the family’s two wheeled tractor hooked up to a wagon. Although these are still a normal sight (see photo), most people are driving newly purchased scooters (also known as the family wagon) and there are growing percentage of cars and trucks (many quite nice – Lexus). So much for the bicycles from a few years ago.
The wealth has also led to a massive increase in technology as well. Most people seem to have cell phones. Internet is easier to find and cheaper to obtain here than in Australia or New Zealand. Finally, I am still stunned by the amount of satellite TV dishes there are. You can be in the most remote village with all bamboo huts and there will be 20% of the homes with a satellite dish for their TV. Between the TV and the computers, the world is becoming quite a small place (good and bad).
The primary crop farmed is rice, but we did notice significant portions of jungle have been cut down and rubber plantations have sprung up in place of the jungle. Our understanding is that the Chinese are financing the rubber plantations as well as the new road that runs from the border between China and Laos down through the center of the country to Cambodia. This is to become a major trade route from China through Laos.
One of the things that has stayed the same is the amount of children. Every where you look there are babies and kids of all ages. The average age in Laos is mid teens. One consequence of the baby boom is that the schools can’t keep up with the volume of students. As you move around the country, it is clear that not all kids get to go to school. Quite a lot are at home working on the farm or they get jobs in the city trying to sell things.
Another thing that hasn’t changed is how wonderful and friendly the people are. Everyone says hello as they walk down the street. Greetings of "Sabadee" are a constant sound. This is still our favorite place in South East Asia.
~Jeff~
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