Impression "One journey, two destinations"

(Baonghean) - Following the air tour from Vinh City to Vientiane Capital (Laos), a group of reporters from Nghe An Newspaper had an exciting journey, exploring the lives of Lao tribes, and the cultural and historical exchange that formed the Northeast region of Thailand.

Vientiane - the "worry-free" capital

According to the schedule, at exactly 9:40 am on August 16, Vietnam Airlines flight VN 910 took us to the capital Vientiane. We were greeted at the airport by Xom Sac, a handsome tour guide who spoke Vietnamese so fluently that we mistook him for a Vietnamese. According to Sac's introduction, we would all get on the bus to visit the famous temples of Vientiane, then have lunch in Vientiane, depart at 2 pm and have dinner at 7 pm in Udon Thani in the Northeast of Thailand. Thus, in one day, having breakfast in Vietnam, lunch in Laos and dinner in Thailand made everyone in the group excited.

Staff and reporters of Nghe An Newspaper visited That Luang Pagoda in Vientiane (Laos).

Vientiane means Moon City, located on the left bank of the Mekong River, in the northwest of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The capital Vientiane has an area of ​​3,920 km2, with a population of about one million people. This place is home to many scenic spots, majestic and ancient temples. We stopped at the first temple called That Luang, majestic and splendid. The tower was built in the shape of a wine jar, on the ruins of a 13th century Indian temple. According to Sac, anyone who has not been to That Luang is considered to have not been to Laos. Simply because this famous temple is a national symbol, printed on paper money and the national emblem of Laos. Next, we were taken to other famous temples such as the Jade Buddha Temple, Phrakeo Temple, (Arc de Triomphe) Patousay..., where monks "tied" strings on our wrists for good luck.

At the temples, there are local photographers, but the way they behave makes us wonder. When the group of tourists gather to take souvenir photos, the photographers also stop by to take photos of the group, they print the photos they just took and then give them to us. If the tourists like them, they can take them, if not, the photographers are still very happy. Another interesting thing is that at the tourist spots, the Lao people who sell ice cream on 3-wheeled vehicles basically speak fluent Vietnamese, and you can pay in Vietnamese currency instead of kip (Lao).

Visit Buddha Park in Noong Khai (Thailand).

In Vientiane, there are streets called “temple streets”, lined with tall, majestic temples on both sides of the street. Xom Sac explains: Temple grounds in Vientiane are often larger than government administrative grounds.

Laotians in Vientiane mostly use cars because of the cheap import price, on the road, there are many vehicles, but the traffic culture is "paradise". Car horns in Laos are considered "redundant", because here you almost never hear car horns, honking is impolite, uncultured, only in cases of "anger" do you honk. That's why in Laos there is a practice of removing the horn before buying a car. On the roads, just when there is a crosswalk, all vehicles stop and give way. Suddenly thinking about the streets of our country, vehicles "honk" indiscriminately, when will it be as peaceful as Laos?

Lao people live slowly, do not compete or jostle, all of which you will feel immediately when coming to Laos. In the midst of the fast-paced modern life, we found people living in the capital Vientiane to be very peaceful and serene next to the quiet pagodas. No matter what work the Lao people do, they do it slowly. For example, the office hours in Vietnam are 8 hours/day, but here they only work 6 hours/day, around 4 pm the administrative offices close. Even more surprising is that all the restaurants, shops, and businesses along the streets also close at 4 pm. When our group went into a shop to buy something, the owner smiled, but "signaled" that it was time to close and no longer sell anything.

Besides the overseas Vietnamese who have been in Vientiane for several generations, there are now many Vietnamese people who come to Vientiane to make a living and do all kinds of business. According to statistics, there are about 10 large hotels owned by Vietnamese owners. It is also very easy to "discover" Vietnamese people in Vientiane. Some people, in addition to using Lao, speak Vietnamese to each other. When entering some houses, you see Vietnamese TVs. We invited each other to go to the Morning Market on Lan Xang Avenue. Most of the goods are Thai, and customers can pay with Thai baht, Lao kip, and Vietnamese currency. You can freely look at the items, and if you don't buy anything, you don't have to worry about being glared at by the shop owners. We met a Vietnamese man named Minh Phuc who sells clothes at the Morning Market. Phuc excitedly said: We came here to do business since 1996. Although we are far from home, our whole family still speaks Vietnamese regularly, and there are many Vietnamese stalls at the Morning Market.

To show filial piety to their parents, every Lao man must once in his life enter a temple to become a monk and return to purity. If a Lao man does not become a monk, it will be very difficult for him to get married. Vientiane people often wake up early every morning to do the most respectable voluntary work in life, which is to offer food to monks. According to Xom Sac: The custom of the Lao people is that the dead are often cremated in temples, and their ashes are worshiped at the temple. The monks here are the bridge between the two separate worlds of life and death, and every day they take that food to pray for the dead to bless the living in the world with health and peace. And the strange thing is that monks in Vietnam are often forbidden from eating meat, but monks here are allowed to eat meat freely, even dog meat, as long as they have not seen the animal. Monks in Laos only eat one meal a day, which is why over a long period of time, many monks in Laos often suffer from stomach problems and have a reduced lifespan. To overcome that situation, nowadays, in addition to the main meal of lunch, in the afternoon monks often eat light dishes such as bread, instant noodles, etc. Unlike in Vietnam, families who have a "precious son" often slaughter pigs and chickens to celebrate. In Laos, when a "precious son" is born, many families are "sad and depressed", because sons in Laos often have to live with their in-laws, which makes it easy to "lose their son".

Lao people are like that, living slowly to accumulate something from the sincerity of the heart. Saying goodbye to the capital Vientiane in the late afternoon, we clasped our hands in front of our chests and said “Sabaidi!” (Hello!), “Khop chay!” (Thank you!) to say goodbye to our close, kind friends, to say goodbye to the peaceful country with its curved pagoda roofs along the Mekong River.

Vibrant Udon Thani

Saying goodbye to the capital Vientiane (Laos), we continued our journey to Udon Thani in the Northeast of Thailand. It is said to be going to Thailand, but the border between the two countries is just the Mekong River crossed by the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge not far away, funded by the Australian Government, inaugurated on April 12, 1994. The bridge is 1,174m long, 12.7m wide with two lanes. After crossing the bridge, we arrive in Nong Khai province of Thailand. Here, the provincial road is wide and spacious with 4 lanes running fast, but driving on the left hand side. Driving on the left was passed from England to Thailand, from the time of ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, driving on the left so that people can draw their swords on the right. On the roads are massive welcome gates, all dedicated to the snake god Na Ga and hanging pictures of the King and Queen of Thailand. For Thai people, snakes are the spirit of the vagina, the mother goddess. In spiritual culture, snakes are sacred creatures that bring good luck to people. Therefore, at any entrance or exit gate in Thai temples, there are many places to worship snakes.

At around 3 pm, we arrived at the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Site in Nong On village, Xieng Phin commune, Udon Thani province. The site is located on a large campus, bearing the appearance and silhouette of the homeland of Vietnam. It has a thatched roof, many artifacts that overseas Vietnamese have preserved, and the tools that Uncle Ho used in the past such as hoes, shovels, scythes, hats, etc. The house has a kitchen, a well, a vegetable garden, a hibiscus fence, a granary, a pigsty, a chicken coop, etc. Those scenes made us all feel moved. It is known that during his revolutionary years, Thau Chin (Uncle Ho's alias) was protected by overseas Vietnamese and the Thai people here.

Entering the inner city, I was completely surprised by the bustling Udon Thani, with shops lining both sides of the road. At first, I thought Udon Thani was just a small mountainous province and not as grand as that. As the sky was getting dark, in the cool breeze of Nong Prachak, we enjoyed a picnic with many Thai “specialties”, listening to ancient songs with melodious, romantic music.

Our group also took the opportunity to go to supermarkets and night markets to buy souvenirs. The impressive thing is that at all the markets, there are Vietnamese people doing business, making us feel like we are in our homeland. At Ban Huoi market (a famous fruit market), when we were waiting for an interpreter to buy fruit, the stall owner smiled and said he was Vietnamese. Mr. Tran Tri - the fruit stall owner said: Ban Huoi market accounts for nearly 40% of overseas Vietnamese people selling fruit, the goods sold here are very convenient, especially on Saturdays and Sundays when Lao people come to buy. In particular, since Vietnam opened the Vinh - Vientiane flight route, there have been quite a lot of Vietnamese people coming. Before returning, they often come to buy fruit in large quantities. When we arrived at Udon Thani, the tour guide told us that this place does not have a "red light district" like in Bangkok. But Udon Thani also has dozens of "pole dancing" spots.

On the way back, in the pouring rain, our group stopped by the Sala Keoku Buddha Garden. It was overwhelming, perhaps nowhere else, in a garden, I saw so many Buddha statues, with such a large, majestic scale, full of Buddha statues with sad, happy, and ascetic faces. The statues here are a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism, gods in the Ramayana epic, Buddha statues and gods Shiva, Arjuna, Visnu, Rama, Sita... These works all use bricks and cement materials, through the talented hands of people, they have turned into very soulful statues.

The Vinh - Vientiane - Udon Thani tour brings a lot of emotions. There are many things to remember, to think about, to be interesting and impressive for those who have been there once and can never forget.

Photo story:Vuong Tran