OT-Laos (15 Images)

Last month I spent three weeks in northern Laos, my first time in Southeast Asia.
I chose Laos because it was much less touristed than its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam. It turned out to be an excellent choice!
The landscape was beautiful, and the people were very friendly, hospitable and extremely helpful every single place I visited.
I was never treated like a walking ATM, for which I'm profoundly grateful.

My first week was spent trekking in the mountains near the Chinese border, hiking from one remote hill tribe village to the next through semi-evergreen submontane forests, upland broadleaf woodlands and riverine plains.
The second week was spent boating on the Nam Ou and Mekong rivers, stopping off at villages that still rely on river transport for sightseeing, hiking and spending the night when I felt like it.
The next day I would just hop the next boat coming downstream.
The third and final week was spent in Luang Prabang for some much needed r & r. Luang Prabang is the old capital of Laos that possesses a brew of over a dozen Buddhist temples ('wats'), crumbling French provincial architecture, street markets and spicy food, all of which combine to captivate even the most jaded traveler.
LP is surrounded by mountains and is set at the confluence of the Nam Kahn and Mekong rivers. At 2200 ft. above sea level, the climate was warm and dry.
Best of all, not a single 'chain' type of restaurant to be seen, the availability of a local dark beer called (fittingly enough) 'Beerlao Dark' and $5/hour massages. The perfect place to unwind and relax!
On a side note, Laos was the cheapest place I've ever visited, with both meals and lodging costing less than $10 (for what I was after on my budget).

I tried to learn as much of the Laotian language as possible, but it's a terribly difficult one to speak correctly. Fortunately, enough English was spoken for me to get by. I was constantly approached by friendly strangers wanting to practice their English skills.

Although I managed to get a few good landscape/nature styles of images, I didn't have the time or equipment (notably, a tripod) to really concentrate on that style.
Instead, I put on my travel photographer's hat and mostly photographed people and places. I carried a Canon 5DII with a 24-105 lens and a Canon G11, both of which served me very well.

The following are my favorite images from the journey...

Trident Falls

My name for one of 14 waterfalls that this stream produced along its course in the mountains of northern Laos.

Nam Ou River Scene

Taken from the back of a boat while riding downstream to the next village.

Nam Ou River Scene 2

Ghost Trees

Taken from a boat along the banks of the Mekong River on a steep limestone karst cliff.

Meditation Along The Mekong

A statue of the Buddha taken from inside of a limestone cave along the Mekong River.

Wat Roofline 1

Wat Jam Khao - Huay Xai, Laos near the Thai border.

Wat Roofline 2

Wat Pa Phai - Luang Prabang, Laos

Wat Roofline 3

Wat Xieng Muan - Luang Prabang

Alms

In every town and village that has a wat, Buddhist monks arise early to walk the streets collecting food from the people. As the monks are not allowed to grow food nor raise livestock, this is how they survive. The people who donate are 'making merit' to help ensure that they don't return in the next life as a cockroach or some such.

The life of a monk isn't all serious meditation, though...

Dragon Moon

Wat Choumkhong - Luang Prabang

Blended exposures for optimum focus of both the moon and the roofline.

Akha Princess

I encountered this young lady along the trail as she was hauling a load of firewood in a basket with a strap that crossed her forehead. I indicated that I'd like to take her picture, and she was pleased to do so. Probably pleased to drop that heavy load for awhile, too.

Her headdress with multiple coins sewn on indicate that she is married. Single Akha tribeswomen wear similar headdresses with little or no adornment.

Opium Eyes

The communist government of Laos has done a good job of eradicating opium poppies in this area of the Golden Triangle. However, they can't be everywhere, and the use of opium is tolerated among elders who seek relief from a lifetime of very hard labors.
This opium addicted tribeswoman followed me for a half an hour along a very steep trail attempting to sell me some of her stash.

Finally, it wasn't all a bed of roses.
Yours truly after disembarking from a 6 hour journey in the back of this Chinese made rattle trap of a pickup truck along 150 miles of some of the worst road I've ever had the pleasure of traveling on. I was crammed in the back with 9 Laotian passengers, every single one of whom got carsick at one point or another.
My hair was dark brown before I took this trip! (j/k)

Thanks for tolerating this long, drawn out thread! Please forgive any compression and/or sharpening artifacts as they do not appear in the higher res. copies.

Wow, what an epic trip, John! Great shots. I really like the Akha Princess shot, and Ms. Opium. The 2nd shot kills. too. All great stuff.

Great shots John!! I really like the B&W boat shot and love the architectural shots - Dragon Moon is great! What an adventure.

John

John, what a fabulous thread! Thanks so much. I'm sure this is a trip you'll never forget. You've got some great images here, but my favorite is Opium Eyes. You should consider writing a travel article based on this adventure.

Actually, a longer post would have been welcome! Thanks for the travelogue. What a great experience. Nice images too, I am with Todd on #2.

Absolutely beautiful collection John!!

Great stuff John, thanks for sharing.

What an awesome adventure and these images really tell the story well! Quite the break from the normal desert southwest fare! It would be fun to sit down with ya over a beer or two and hear some of the many stories I'm sure you have.

Thanks for sharing John! Way cool! I like them all, though Opium Eyes stands out to me.

All great stuff John! Not many guys would attempt that type of trip. Thanks for sharing!

Great stuff, John, thank you! Opium Eyes stands out for me too. I also like Nam Ou River Scene 1 quite a bit. Not that there's anything wrong with any of the others....

Wow what an adventure, and really nicely portrayed in your collection of images!. I really like the B&W's, and the portraits!.

Nice collection. Opium Eyes is a truly great shot and Ghost Trees also caught my eyes, though I kind of wish the tree on the right wasn't partially cropped off.

Thanks for sharing that journey, but the truck ride? Not so much! It looks and sounds like a magical trip and images are astonishing.......... the people shots are really great!

Oh, and did you happen to pick up any Vientiane-Phuket-Moab bumper stickers for us?

Wow, John, terrific work! I especially liked Ghost Trees and Opium Eyes. Glad you really enjoyed your trip.

Wow! I like them all, but the people images are spectacular! What a trip you had! Thanks for sharing!

Epic trip and a fantastic collection of images. Prefer the river shots myself, but all are solid work. Getting to see and enjoy the different culture along with photography would have made this trip. Everyone in the back of the truck getting sick makes it one of those priceless experiences.

Wow, what a trip. And some great shots to go along with it.

What a fantastic experience and photos, John! Man, you look beat in that last one. My favorites are #2 (great clouds) and all of the portraits.

Thanks so much for your time and comments...I appreciate them more than you know!

I'm not even going to bother with favorites. This is a beautiful collection. What a wonderful visual escape! Excellent work all around, John.

Sounds like the trip of a lifetime! Your images really capture the essence of the place. The BW are really dramatic!

An amazing trip, John--thanks for sharing!! The landscapes are cool, but what really blows me away here are your portraits--absolutely stunning!

Ive been waiting to see these images after you told us about your trek. John, you got some fatastic images, here.....and by the way, you showed some very polished portrait photography skills here, my man! A photographer of many talents...what are you going to show us next......good work, my friend.
Joe Rogers

Fantastic trip with some stunning images. And I wish I could see more, 15 is only a tease

A most excellent trip! Thanks for sharing the adventure. "Opium Eyes" is superb, but that can be said for all the others as well.

Your trip had to be the experience of a lifetime. It would be for me. Your images are excellent! I would be typing too long to really comment on all the ones I found interesting. Great trip and great images!

Awesome!! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure.

Now, that's "Adventure Travel"! Fantastic collection of images and experiences! How in the world did you even come up with the idea? Did you have any travel companions?

Thanks for sharing this amazing set. I really like the portraits. I they more than anything transport us into a different culture.

Awesome trip, John! You came away with some great images too. Great work!

What an amazing experience John! It sound like you took the right approach too: learning as much of the language and culture as you could and traveling with the people. Great images as well!

Thanks again for the kind words, folks!
Don, my wife was my companion (always).
She's one tough cookie!

Thanks again!

John...I am a bit late to comment here... but loved every one of them..

John - really great stuff. I love all of the images, especially the unconventional framing of the roofs.

LOL on the self portrait!!!

Thanks for sharing.