In A Sleepy Town

There isn't much going on in Champasak, Laos. This sleepy town sits quietly by the composed yet mighty Mekong River. Its one main street runs parallel to the river and is dotted with stilted traditional wooden houses, few French colonial villas, a handful of restaurants, guesthouses and shops for the locals. The World Heritage site, Wat Phu Champasak, is located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the center of town. The temple was built during the Angkor period with a road from it leading south to the grand temple Angkor Wat; but unlike the Cambodian temple, few tourists visit, and when they do, they don't stay long.

When we first arrived the children of the neighborhood looked at us and giggled, without any uncomfortable stares or demand for attention. Our eyes met in a playful dance and we immediately became friends. They were busy chasing the bugs that feed on the large mango tree growing in the middle of the backyard, overlooking the Mekong. As they slap the hanging branches with the bamboo pole small green insects fly from the tree. The kids all run around laughing and catching the small beetles that fly about. At first, I thought the kids were collecting them to keep in the plastic water bottles they carried with them. Instead, they tore off the hard outer-shell wings and popped them in their mouth, chewing with delight as if they were M&M's.

Other travelers have warned us before we visited Laos that the country was living a slow life and that the food was not tasty. We found that out first hand in Champasak, and eased into the place by playing with the children and settling into a good book. The food, as one Japanese backpacker put it, "tastes bad," and wasn't too inspired. Come to think of it, how many Lao restaurants do we know and frequent back home? I can't remember any off hand.

Bicycles and motorbikes pass occasionally, automobile less frequently. Other audible sounds are limited to crying babies, kids laughter, chickens and ducks, cicadas calling, long-tail boats' motors, and the sounds of rain and wind. The only sense of urgency we've felt since crossing the border into Laos was in the city of Pakse, when a young man rushed us into a sawngthaew (pickup truck where the back is covered and converted to two rows of bench seating, common transportation). Carrying our backpacks to his vehicle, he asked, "Where do you go?" Even that seems days ago.

Riding a rented motorbike to Wat Phu was a breeze, as there wasn't much traffic to look out for. To the west of the Mekong River harvested rice fields cover the valley in a landscape of golden yellow. The gradual slopes of the hills rise up into the blue and gray silhouette of mountains shimmering on hot hazy air. The temple sits on one of these slopes, mostly in ruin. Although predominantly a Buddhist temple, there are Hindu deities and symbols interwoven into the overall architecture. Carved in fading sandstone, the expressions on some deity figures are crafted in the Angkor style, with slightly smiling thick lips and cast down eyes. The Buddha statues are similar in face to those in Thailand. Where the site may lack in spectacular objects and views when compared to the awesome Angkor Wat, it offers a quiet introduction to the Angkor tradition.

Less than half a day was enough to visit Wat Phu and enjoy a leisurely ride back to town, leaving us more time to kill. "So what would we do now? Uh, I guess we can play with children, take a nap, or read" was what came to our minds. As I spend a few days here I am reminded that I am a "product of modern society", and that I lack in the skills of doing nothing, resting and totally relaxing. It's as if we are being tested on that capacity in a place where locals are known to think, "too much work is bad for your brain" and feel sorry for people who work too much and don't have fun. One point of advice on visiting Laos: bring many good books to read, and a yoga mat will help.