Memoirs of a Lost Gaijin » Phongsali

Lao Airlines

peter — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:43:09 +0000

The aircraft we flew from Bounneau Airport (serving Phongsali and environs) to Vientiane. A very pleasant 1 1/2 journey. Probably better than United!

Bounneau Airport about 30km outside Phongsali, Laos.

Bounneau Airport

peter — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:54:27 +0000

…. with its two flights a week to and from Vientiane. Basically out in the middle of a remote village. Perhaps the smallest and most remote airport I have ever seen.

Bounneau, Laos (about 30km from Phongsali).

Billboard

peter — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:33:23 +0000

I have noticed several billboards such as this one around Laos. Just a friendly reminder I suppose that Laos is still very much a communist country.

Phongsali, Laos

Phongsali – Night View

peter — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:39:18 +0000

Just after dusk, from Phou Fa (I think the highest point in the town).

Tea Plantation

peter — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:13:22 +0000

A worker tends to the crop.

Went on a trek around Phongasli through the jungle and to a few villages. Towards the end, we walked through this tea plantation. Our guide told us how the Chinese, who have a large influence in the region due to China’s proximity to the region, were selling their factory produced tea at cheaper prices and driving the price of the locally produced tea down by a factor of five.

Phongsali, Laos

Lunch

peter — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:23:50 +0000

Went on a trek around Phongasli through the jungle and to a few villages. We stopped at this Phu Noi village for lunch. The menu consisted of sausages, sardines, chicken, vegetable soup, sticky rice, all washed down with copious amounts of lao-lao (Lao whiskey, produced in the village).

Phongsali, Laos

Lao Wedding – Evening

peter — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:38:31 +0000

And here we are again, celebrating with the newlyweds. This time a dinner/dancing reception. An interesting experience, but the loud music and persistent whiskey shots finally got to us, and we ducked out. Of course, we can still listen in, since the reception venue is right across from our guesthouse!
Phongsali, Laos

Phongsali

peter — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:50:49 +0000

The view of Phongsali from Phou Fa. Phongsali sits at the “top end” of Laos, near the borders with China and Vietnam, and the mountains. It’s at an elevation of about 1400 meters (4600 feet), so it has a relatively cool climate compared to the rest of the country. And because it’s near China, it has a bit of a Chinese influence. Actually, 70% of the population is Phu Noi, not native Lao.

Lao Wedding – the Morning Ceremony

peter — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:03:43 +0000

After the “whiskey line,” the people went inside a building for a brief ceremony.
Phongsali, Laos

Lao Wedding – Morning

peter — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:45:05 +0000

We stumbled across this ceremony this morning. People were lining up to drink shots of whiskey to celebrate a wedding. They were extremely gracious to us, offered us some whiskey, and invited us to join them at both the luncheon and then the evening reception. A very interesting experience no doubt, but I’m not usually in the habit of drinking whiskey shots at 9 in the morning.