Laos - From New Years to Elephant Treks!

We were awoken early our first day in Laos to music pulsing from temples and gatherings in the streets as Laotians welcomed their New Year.  Everyone flocked to the temples with buckets of flowered water to wash the Buddha statues and give thanks and prayers to their ancestors and to make their wishes for the coming year.  It was joyous and very moving to participate alongside the Laotians in their beautiful tradition of giving thanks.

After visiting the temples, we moved with everyone to celebrate in the streets and partake in their playful tradition of pouring water on people to wish them a prosperous year ahead.  Strangers ran up to us and gave us a thorough dousing of water – squirt guns, buckets, hoses – anything was fair game.  The boys loved running around attacking people with their large squirt guns. In addition to soaking us on the outside, people also just handed us beers to soak our insides!  We all agreed that this was one of the best New Year’s we have ever celebrated.  The Lao people know how to have fun!  Plus there was the added benefits of being consistently soaked during a 100 degree day and being able to actually ring in the New Year with our boys.

We had a sobering experience the following day visiting the COPE museum and learning what happened when Laos was caught in the Vietnam War that was raging on its Eastern border.  The North Vietnamese used the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos to shuttle its troops and supplies to fight the war in South Vietnam.  The US wanted to stop the supply lines and thus Laos became the most heavily bombed country ever – despite the fact that they were never officially even in the war.  On average, there was a bombing mission every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day for 9 years, dropping thousands of bombs each time.  About 30% of the cluster bombs never exploded upon impact and, 40 years later, they still exist in the ground, causing casualties and hindering farmers and other people going about their daily lives.  Luke decided to write a letter to President Obama and the American Ambassador in Laos asking why we weren’t doing more to clean up our mess (see attached). 

After a few days in the capital of Vientiane, we headed north to Luang Prabang, a picturesque, quiet, travelers’ town along the Mekong River.   Here we tried to stay cool in the 95 degree heat by taking boat trips up the river to Buddhist Caves, jumping off rope swings into refreshing waterfalls, and bathing friendly elephants in the river. 

We all loved the 24 hours we spent at the Elephant Camp, learning how to ride and take care of elephants.  Previously, we had ridden on the back of an elephant, but riding on its neck without anything to hold onto (except its ears!), was more unstable than we thought it would be.  The elephants were gentle and kind and took care of us during their daily routine.  Our favorite experience was picking them up from the jungle in the morning and taking them into the river for a needed bath.  Swimming next to them when their trunk suddenly appears and shoots water up from below the muddy water is quite the memorable experience.   

Laos is a communist country of only 7 million people who make on average $1,100/year.  Although income is not high, people seem to be healthy and happy, and there is a vibrant feel to the country that fills you with life.  Based on the attitude of the people and the unbridled capitalism, Laos is clearly not an old Soviet-style communist country.  The economy is sustained by small businesses, many supporting the tourist trade.  We even visited a hip-hop bar one night that was as Western as it gets.

We will always remember Laos for the exuberant New Years festival and for the visions and sounds of the villagers along the river at sunset.  As naked children giggled and splashed in the slow moving river, men fished with make-shift nets and families repaired their boats for work the following day.  We only had one week to spend in Laos, but it feels like we experienced one month’s worth of adventures. 

Luke's letter to President Obama is here.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Friends introduce us to the "Maximum City”

Maximum - people, traffic, chaos, noise, heat, politics, religion, construction, kindness, opportunity....  The road was packed with cars, three-wheeled pedal rickshaws, motorbikes, motorized rickshaws, people, piles of dirt and other construction materials.  Vehicles haphazardly inched their way forward, across or backwards – usually only centimeters from other people or vehicles.  There appeared to be no traffic laws, no center lines, no turn signals and no one to stop cars from going down the wrong side of the road when the traffic got bad.  At one point we watched a legless man, barely visible in the chaos, successfully scoot his way across a "three lane road" which held five lanes of traffic!  The only certainty was the maximum pressure exerted on car horns and the maximum volume that resulted!

Sweat poured down our faces and drenched our clothes in the sweltering heat, and we just had to smile.  What an amazing place!  Different in so many ways from back home – making it our favorite type of country to travel in.  Bangladesh was 4 days of intense learning and wonderful reconnecting with our friends Moushumi (Mou) Khan, her husband Munaf and their daughter Sarah.

Mou and Munaf ensured we saw and experienced everything possible during our brief visit to Dhaka.  They hosted us for a tour of the city, a peaceful boat ride and village visit outside the city, spa treatments, shopping and of course, amazing food.  Luckily,  Mou encouraged us to visit during Bengali New Year so we were able to meet many of Mou and Munaf’s friends and crash all the big celebrations throughout the city.  Mou can tell you funny stories about how her foreign friends were the only thing that got her past security into one exclusive neighborhood party!  Funnily enough, we felt like minor celebrities in Bangladesh.  It turns out people like to meet and be seen with foreigners.  People even kept stopping Luke and Ryan to take pictures with them (and inviting us into private parties). 

Now for a quick history and geography lesson!  Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world (aside from city-states like Monaco and Singapore) and has the 7th largest population with over 160 million people.  87% of the country is Muslim with the rest predominantly Hindu.  Bangladesh is a relatively new country, having gained their independence from Great Britain in 1947 (as part of the partition of India and Pakistan) and then achieving independence from Pakistan after a war in 1971.  Today, the country is messily democratic in a dynastic sort of way (think Nehru/Ghandi, Kennedy, Bush) and is having political instability with frequent strikes that are shutting down commerce and hurting the economy.  We loved learning from our friends and their community about what is occurring politically and what they aspire to achieve.  A fair segment of the population live in less than ideal situations but there seems to be an agreement among the people (maybe not the politicians) that the country must work together to advance living standards for all.  There is a lot of work to do in Bangladesh but also a lot of enthusiasm for a better future.  We look forward to following Bangladesh's path over the next few years and visiting again when we have more time.

Bangkok - Back in the Vibrant City

The next leg of our journey took us to Bangkok, our beloved home base for several previous trips in South East Asia.  For us, Bangkok radiates all the positive craziness of Asia -- the millions of entrepreneurial people with shops everywhere, the wild traffic (which is so much better now that the sky train is open), the wonderful smells of any kind of foods you can imagine...we absolutely love Bangkok! 

Yet again, we were blessed to have friends living in a city we were visiting - including, Bee (Rangsima) Bhakdibhumi, our classmate from Dartmouth/Tuck who we had not seen since our five year reunion twelve years ago.  Bee, her husband Joof and youngest son Bing, welcomed us with open arms and showed us a beautiful riverfront area we had never seen.

We spent the next day getting our visas for Myanmar/Burma and showing the boys parts of Bangkok.  Our visa application process became interesting when a protest group marched outside the Embassy and we had a few nervous moments thinking about  the movie Argo.  The protesters were angered by recent attacks against Muslims in Myanmar and were burning the Myanmar flag.  In between applying for and picking up our visas, we visited Wat Pho to see the Reclining Buddha and experience their famous foot and body massages.  After Ryan's foot massage, he exclaimed that he "had new feet!"

That evening we caught up with Jay's brother's friend, Waan.  She showed us the famous four faced buddha near a massive shopping center and we enjoyed a great dinner with her while getting new dirt on Loron (Jay's brother).

All too quickly, it was time to leave on our way to Bangladesh to visit yet more friends.  Thanks to Bee and her family, and Waan for their hospitality on the first leg of our stay in Bangkok!

Singapore - City of Friendship!

Imagine traveling with only your family and not seeing anyone you know for three months.  You might be getting a little tired of each other, wanting a break from Mom and Dad (and freedom from the kids), and desperate to change it up.  Then imagine seeing three of your dearest friends and their awesome families in the span of four days.  This was what it was like for us Singapore.  We could not have asked for a greater gift than spending time with the Hayling/Misner and Entwistle families that Christy knows from her Henry Crown fellowship at the Aspen Institute, and the O’Callaghan family that Jay has known since 4^th grade. 

I am not sure who had more fun in Singapore, the parents or the kids.  Luke and Ryan felt like they were back in the US as they played with their English-speaking friends.  They did everything from lounging on the coach and eating pizza while playing Wii and watching movies, to jumping on a trampoline, playing soccer, having squirt gun fights in the pool, and just running around like crazy kids. 

Jay and Christy were wined and dined by their friends – enjoying an adult dinner along the Quay, lunch at the China Club and coffee at a hip breakfast spot.  The grand finale was the BBQ/pool party that Laura & Brooks hosted at their home for the Orris and Hayling/Misner families.   Our combined 7 kids and their dog Aspen splashed in the pool, ran around enjoying grass between their toes and played board games as the adults indulged in wonderful wines, food and conversation.  We can’t thank our friends enough for the huge boost of love and support they gave us which helped propel us on to the next stage in our journey.      

In addition to seeing our friends, we took in a few of Singapore’s sights.  In the beginning, we tried walking, but the scorching sun and withering heat quickly convinced us that taxis were a better mode of transport.  Singapore has continued to grow rapidly, enhancing its skyline and river front with artsy buildings and fun attractions.  We were awed by the giant 3-tower hotel complex which has a large boat shaped structure sitting on top of it, complete with the hotel pools and restaurants - 56 stories in the air.  We also loved visiting a Lego art exhibit where the artist created fascinating sculptures all out of legos.  We are now inspired to see what we can create with the numerous boxes of legos we have in our basement.