Laos Stories

The last two hostels the Laos men running them both had interesting life stories.

Iyan 

Iyan -  a large (muscular) man in his mid forties - greeted us at the Chanthavong Hostel with a smile and an, "Hablas Espanol?" - he likes to joke. It backfired on him this time as one girl checking in was from South America and started talking in Spanish. "Oh" he laughed, "I'm just messing with ya. I like to mess with people!" ...." I like to pretend I don't speak any English" - he spoke excellent English with a distinct American accent. He was a lovely friendly guy, helpful and chatty with the guests and I later asked him if he had lived in America, because of his accent, and he proceeded to tell me some of his life story.

His parents were both from Laos but had to leave during the Vietnam war - the secret war - where the Vietnamese used Laos for 'guerrilla running' and hence the US bombed the hell out of it. His Mum was 16 at the time and she had to swim, or basically float, across the Mekong river with her 7 year old sister clinging to her back. This is incredible as I've seen the currents in the Mekong river and it flows very fast in places. 

They escaped to Thailand where his parents met, married & he was born in Thailand. They then emigrated to America where he grew up. He said he was basically a good kid but with no direction. A bit of a jerk, he said, messing around at school, stealing stuff from Woolmart occasionally - nothing really bad. 

One day, in California, as they were coming back from his Grandmother's funeral, they were travelling in convoy. He was in a car behind and in front his cousin was in another car, with some other friends and family who were mixed up with gangs in the neighbourhood.

Some altercation occurred as they were driving, with a rival gang, and someone in the car in front fired some shots and killed two men from the other gang. He didn't see who fired the shots and his Cousin claimed it wasn't him.

Iyan and his cousin were later arrested and Iyan told the police he wasn't involved. He was just a passenger in the car behind and he didn't see anything. The police wanted to charge his Cousin with murder and wanted Iyan to testify against his cousin as a witness. Iyan refused. "I wasn't gonna lie and send my Cousin to jail for life to save my skin - I couldn't live with that!"

Because he wouldn't co-operate they accused him of being in the gang and charged him with accessory to murder. He ended up being tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison. "If my family had had money I never would have gone to jail" he said. His family were 'dirt poor' and couldn't afford a lawyer to defend him.

"You served 10 years?" I asked. "Yeah! that's where I got my tattoos". His upper arms were covered in tattoos. He said that being in prison taught him a lot. He spoke about it as though it was not the worst thing that could have happened to him and that it made him grow up and get focused.

About 14 months ago, he happened to be walking along the street and got picked up by Trump's ICE agents. He was questioned and - probably due to his previous criminal record - he was deported to Laos - just like that! "It was crazy" he said, and illegal. He said he was lucky he got sent to Laos to be honest. A couple of other guys he knew got sent to Africa. They resisted getting off the plane and were shot by the ICE agents - no questions, no warning - just shot dead. 

"It's pretty good here in Laos & I'm happy" he said, "so the jokes on Trump!"

He said he thought he could speak Lao pretty well - 80% he thought - but it turned out it was more like 20%. "They have so many dialects" he said.

He's managing though and making a life in Luang Prabang. He said there is plenty of work but you have to look hard for it. He Loves his job at the hostel, where he has a small area with a bed next to the reception. "I get to talk to all you lovely people!" he said.

We talked about how, essentially, you don't need much to be happy. Food and a roof over your head. Friends. You really don't need lots of stuff. It doesn't bring you happiness in the end. 

Above: the entrance to Chanthavong Hostel - you can see the rubbish piled up outside. This is kind of 'normal' and you learn to accept it as it's a poor country. There were some odd people at the hostel - particularly one middle aged American man who was an alcoholic. He'd been there for two weeks and never washed or changed his clothes. He just drunk himself into a stupor every night and did weird stuff like taking off his shorts and pants in the cafe or pissing in other peoples beds. He'd been kicked out of several other hostels. I heard he gets sent $250 a month from his family which is enough to live on in Laos. It buys a lot of alcohol at least.

The hostel itself is good - just a bit far out of town (which is sort of why I changed) - and the dorms are lined with that triangular patterned sponge that you get inside studios to absorb the sound. That's not a problem but I think it made the inside very hot and dark and I didn't sleep well there.

The Hostel cafe.

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Sompasong

Sompasong, a smiley man in his 50's, introduces himself as 'Mr Song' and goes over and above to help his guests. He is a local to Luang Prabang.

One Guest's Review:

'OK Hostel' is more than OK - it has nice comfy beds. a small kitchen area. He let me use the washing machine for free. It's a bit run down but it's no surprise as he is currently the only one working there, "I have to do everything!" he jokes. There was a cleaner but she left to work somewhere else where she got more money. 

It's cheap to stay - 110000 kip or £3.87 a night - the same price as the previous hostel. 

I got chatting to him and he told me that when he was a young boy he went to the temple and was a monk for 9 years. He said it was strict and they learnt all about the teachings of Buddha. 

He said they used to watch the young lads outside the temple playing football and wanted to play themselves but it was not allowed. They used to hide behind a big tree and try to play, but the head monk would find them and beat them with a stick.

When he left the order, he had a shaved head (as do all monks) and he grew his hair long and didn't cut it for 6 years! "I had to cut it in the end" he said, "My mother was mortified". She said it made him look like a gangster.

He got a government scholarship and spent 6 years at University, studying Architecture. When he graduated, he had to work for the government - essentially for free - for two years, otherwise you have to pay back the scholarship money. It was there that he made a lot of friends inside the government which serves him well now. " My best friend is a government official in the office in Luang Prabang" he boasts "If I need a permit for my bike or something I get it - no problem!"

He said he gets reduced rates for the electricity and water at the hostel. 

It was interesting to hear about the 'One party State'. He said they vote but they are really only voting for the different leaders inside the party. It depends on who they get, how well things turn out for the people. For a time they had a man running things who prioritised education and the schools became really good for a period. There is plenty of corruption and dodgy dealings. I suppose this is true for all governments though!

He just manages the hostel. It is owned by a Chinese man. He said a lot of Chinese are coming and buying up land and starting businesses. In general the locals don't really like the Chinese. He said the Chinese have built dams in a lot of the rivers which has driven up water prices.

His English is very good. He worked as a tour guide for 16 years, all around Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It sounds like he put his all into it - trying to give his guests the best and most authentic experience. 

"Some tour guides were lazy and just took them to fake places" he said. For example, they would encourage the people to buy jewellery and souvenirs from places where they got commission. "They are just buying fake stuff" he said, "I wanted my guests to get the real deal."

I asked about the tours now - the ones that go to the villages - whether it's a real village you see or just for tourists. He admitted its set up for tourists. He said he goes with his friend to the remote villages sometimes to take food and supplies. Some of them are very poor, many living in wooden huts still with straw walls. They are still quite 'tribal' and live with 'the old ways' For example, they are very spiritual and believe in bad spirits that can linger in the forests if bad things happen. He said you have to know how to behave and understand the ways of the village. Only the locals really know. When you enter you have to be respectful and go to the chief first. 

When Covid 19 hit, the tours stopped and he then invested money and bought a small farm with some buffalo and pigs etc. He said it was hard work and he didn't really have the farming skills. 

"I lost a lot of money" he said, "But it's OK. It was an experience. Life is all about experience"

I could tell he was very lonely. He'd never been married and I felt like he could do with a partner or a wife. I think, because we are the same age, he latched on to me a bit. When I said I wanted to get food at the night market he wanted to come too and we went on his electric scooter. (The petrol one was out of petrol). We ate at the night market and had a trip down to the river where the River Khan meets the Mekong. It was very peaceful at night.

We sat and chatted for some time, over a beer or two. I asked him what the locals thought of the European tourists. He said they think they are funny. He said that locals think only prostitutes have tattoos.

The Lao women do dress very modestly, of course. Many wear quite smart clothes and jackets. 

He said some guests are just a bit stupid and thoughtless. Like one Italian woman who complained about the kitchen. "This is not a 4 star kitchen!" she said. We laughed. He said he thought, " Come on! think about where you are and what you are saying." 

..........I wonder what people expect from a cheap hostel in a third world country.

I told him some of the young English backpackers on the boat were complaining because they had 'bugs' in their room and a lizard........It's the countryside - what do you expect!

What was funny was I told him about the weird American guy at the other hostel and it turned out he had stayed there too. "Oh my God!" Sompasong said, "It was awful". "I tried to help him. He is in a bad way and can't even walk properly. Drinking too much! I even bought him a pair of shoes because he lost his, but he wouldn't wear them". 

He had to ask him to leave in the end because he was upsetting the other guests.

OK Hostel Inside & out

We sat around the small table and chatted first with a Chinese guy who had travelled there on the bullet train. He didn't speak any English - only Chinese - but we managed to have a conversation with Google translate.

We also spoke with a French guy who was 'stuck there' as his flight back had been cancelled due to the conflict in Iran. He said he didn't mind so much. He had a friend who was stuck in Doha, waiting for a flight out, and had to stay in his hotel room all day. 

So the US & Trump are still creating chaos in the world and still causing problems for the people of Laos and the tourists. Everywhere is running out of petrol and this will drive up the cost of buses and minivan transport. At petrol stations you can see people sharing out the fuel for their scooters.

Cheers Mr T!