A CUP OF LAO

In a village on the Bolaven plateau.

In 2000, Laos had registered 622 tourists. I was one of them.  This was my first, very brief, visit staying 4 days in Luang Prabang. At the time, Sisavangvong Road, the main drag of this sleepy little town, had about 6-7 bars, every night packed with a few backpackers and expats working for NGOs. I loved the feel of the place with it’s French architecture and buildings on the way to be restored and I promised myself I would give Laos a better in depth look. Fast forward to 2006 where I went back followed by 4 more trips exploring different areas of this remote country. By 2019, tourist numbers In Laos had grown to close to a million, the majority still only going to border towns along Thailand and in Luang Prabang. But there is so much more to this stunning country wedged between Thailand and Vietnam.

 One of the areas I loved in Laos was the Bolaven Plateau. Spreading across parts of all four southern provinces of Laos, the fertile plateau is famous for its cool climate, dramatic waterfalls and… high-grade coffee. The plateau has a majority Mon-Khmer groups around the area, especially from the Katu tribe. Shamanism, animal sacrifice, and local beliefs are part of culture in this area. For example, you never speak of future as evil spirits will know your plans. 

 The plateau has the same climate and topography that feeds coffee plants in Ethiopia and Sumatra. French colonists were very quick to realize that if they could not grow vines, they could grow coffee…And they started cultivating the first arabica, robusta and liberica coffee plants in Laos, around the 1900s, importing them from their farms in Vietnam with success. But coffee plantations suffered many problems from 1930s to 1980s, from frost and leaf rust fungus, to wars and carpet-bombing bringing death and destruction to many villages on the plateau. 

 In the 1990s, coffee plantations re-started, this time with an approach of “quality over quantity” and regrouped all local growers under the “Bolaven Plateau Coffee Producers Coop”. Coffee now employs over 10,000 families who live on the plateau. Laos exports 25,000 tons of coffee a year from the plateau, compared to 1.4 million tons from Vietnam. If you want a real buzz, Lao people really know how to do it! Get an iced coffee served with condensed milk, ice cubes, in a plastic bag and a straw…not environmentally friendly at all but I guarantee you, you won’t need sleep for the next 48 hours.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT:

Laos is one of the world's 5 remaining communist countries (alongside North Korea, China, Cuba and Vietnam)

BEST MONTH TO VISIT:

Between October and April, when the weather's warm and dry throughout

Longitude 80 offers a full Lao itinerary including time spent in the capital Vientiane, a private cruise n the Mekong and a few nights on the Bolaven plateau. Contact us if you would like to plan your adventure for 2022 or 2023!