Hidden war, underrated food, Chinese influence: I explored Laos and\nfound it at the crossroads<\/p>\n
On the banks of the Mekong, from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, this\nwriter explores Laos through family travel, local food and the country\u2019s\nhidden wartime history.<\/p>\n
We were waiting for the grandma at the khao jee pate stall to come\nback on her scooter. We did not know where she went or how long she\nwould be gone for, but when she eventually returned, she had what we\nneeded.<\/p>\n
In Laos, we found that food stalls also doubled as makeshift\nmoneychangers. Because the kip could not be exchanged outside of the\ncountry, we were prepared with Thai baht in hand. Luckily, the lack of a\ncommon language didn\u2019t stop us from negotiating a rate on the grandma\u2019s\nworn calculator.<\/p>\n
LOOKING FOR LAOS<\/p>\n
For a quick getaway in the region, Laos was often overlooked by\nSingaporeans partly because airfare to Vientiane was not as competitive\ncompared with other destinations. We really had to keep an eye for the\noccasional promotions.<\/p>\n
But the pace of life was slower and there were less things to do\ncompared to more tourism-savvy Vietnam and Thailand \u2013 ideal for my\nageing parents who cannot walk as much as before, and my two young\nchildren with an early bedtime. It was also easy to book a car on\naffordable ride-hailing apps such as LOCA.<\/p>\n
Besides, none of us had been to Laos before and I knew my parents\nwould enjoy sightseeing, immersing in local culture over staying in a\nbeach resort.<\/p>\n
I, too, wanted to see for myself the country I had heard so much\nabout from my ethnic-Lao French friends in France. The Lao community\nthere was among the largest outside of Southeast Asia. It was somewhat\nironic that my first encounter with Lao people took place in Paris. And\nit was also there where I had my first taste of Lao food \u2013 mok pa,\naromatic steamed fish wrapped in a banana leaf parcel.<\/p>\n
I came to Laos expecting to see remnants of French colonisation, but\nforgot that so much time has passed. All that\u2019s left were baguette\nsandwiches, pastries, colonial-era architecture, and a handful of French\nsignages at government institutions.<\/p>\n
BETWEEN VIENTIANE AND KUNMING<\/p>\n
Only upon seeing the row of national flags flying alongside the red\nhammer-sickle flags of the Lao People\u2019s Revolutionary Party at Patuxai,\ndid I recall that Laos was one of the last five communist countries in\nthe world, alongside China and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
What struck me more was the Chinese presence. China is Laos\u2019 largest\ntrading partner and investor \u2013 that much was clear from the prevalent\nsignage, tour groups, and use of the renminbi (or yuan) as accepted\ncurrency.<\/p>\n
One morning at a market, we saw two middle-aged female tourists from\nChina trying to purchase local produce.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much is this in renminbi? You tell me,\u201d they asked gruffly in\nMandarin, gesturing at the vendor\u2019s calculator and repeating \u201crenminbi\u201d\nseveral times, expecting the vendor to understand.<\/p>\n
Opened in December 2021, the Laos-China Railway (LCR) was the US$6\nbillion flagship Belt and Road Initiative project that linked Vientiane\nto Kunming in southwestern China. As of September 2025, the LCR has\nrecorded over 59 million passenger trips.<\/p>\n
These new railway stations in Laos were designed in the same style as\nthe ones in China. With Chinese signage and announcements, Chinese staff\nand Chinese-speaking Lao food vendors \u2013 it almost felt like we were in\nChina.<\/p>\n
Prior to high-speed rail, travel time via bus or minivan between\nVientiane and Luang Prabang was at least eight to nine hours. The\njourney now took about two hours and one could easily book train tickets\nseven days in advance on the LCR app without a local number.<\/p>\n
No one batted an eyelid seeing hordes of Chinese tourists ambling in\nthe streets or Chinese tour guides live-streaming loudly on phones,\npromoting their services to potential customers.<\/p>\n
Yet, Laos is struggling to service its foreign debt, half of which is\nowed to China for the financing of ambitious infrastructure projects\nlike the LCR. It\u2019s unclear whether Laos is reaping the benefits from the\nincreased tourism as shrewd Chinese entrepreneurs have set up one-stop\ntravel businesses catering exclusively to their compatriots.<\/p>\n
NIGHTS BY THE MEKONG<\/p>\n
On our first night in Vientiane, we strolled to an amusement park on\nthe banks of the Mekong River, blasting thumping dance music no one\nseemed to mind.<\/p>\n
High up on the rickety mini ferris wheel, it was surreal to see we\nwere in the capital and also on its border. Thailand was just right\nacross the Mekong, lights twinkling in the darkness.<\/p>\n
The ride was exhilarating until the operator walked away midway,\nleaving us spinning for what felt like an eternity before he finally\nsauntered back.<\/p>\n
We were also lucky enough to have dinner at Doi Ka Noi, one of the\nbest places in Vientiane to discover the diversity of Lao food before\nthe untimely passing of its owner-chef Ponpailin \u201cNoi\u201d Kaewduangdee,\nshuttered it permanently.<\/p>\n
Ob gai pow Linten (Linten-style slow-braised chicken) and sup pak\nluam (steamed vegetables tossed with sesame seeds) were standouts,\ndelightful in every bite. Everything we ordered received my mom\u2019s stamp\nof approval.<\/p>\n
LAOS\u2019 HIDDEN WAR<\/p>\n
Before coming to Laos, I did not know that the United States had\nwaged a secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War. The Central\nIntelligence Agency (CIA) had recruited a proxy army of Hmong fighters\nand carried out brutal aerial bombardment for almost a decade to counter\nthe spread of communism.<\/p>\n
The Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE) Visitor\nCentre in Vientiane offered a sobering account of life in the world\u2019s\nmost heavily bombed country per capita, and the organisation\u2019s work in\nsupporting unexploded ordnance (UXO) survivors.<\/p>\n
With about 30 per cent of the cluster munitions failing to detonate,\nUXO remains one of Laos\u2019 most pressing issues today.<\/p>\n
Despite the decades-long clearance efforts, there are still\napproximately 10 times more UXO in Laos than people. Tens of thousands\nof people, almost half of whom are childre<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hidden-war-underrated-food-chinese-influence-i-explored-laos-and-found-it-at-the-crossroads-1781401864", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }