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Shortly after the half empty
plane rocketed to 1500 feet above the ground the pilot pulled
back the throttle abruptly and simultaneously leveled off
treating our stomachs to a brief moment of negative gravity.
A little aggressive I thought for a commercial airline. Nevertheless
we found comfort in our pre-trip research. It seems all of
the “incidents” with Lao Aviation have been due
to “pilot error” at night and in foul weather.
The weather was forecast to be clear and hot for our morning
flight. I couldn’t wait for the landing forty-five minutes
later! After a short bumpy flight over the lush green impenetrable
jungles of Northern Thailand and Laos the pilot again yanked
back the throttle and began to descend into the smoky haze
that blanketed the mountainous jungle. Our pilot aimed for
a valley and as the wheels hit the ground and the brakes began
to take effect we sighed with relief. Shortly thereafter found
ourselves queued for visas in the terminal.
The communist government in Lao Peoples’
Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), in search of the big juicy
dollars lying just under the crust of the tourist pie, has
recently eased travel restrictions on foreigners. Laos, with
its five million people, is about the size of the state of
Utah. (for comparison: Vietnam with its 77 million people
is about the size of New Mexico). The country attracts world-class
Olympic-caliber drug enthusiasts in search of high quality
dope and mellow surroundings to enjoy the high. The government’s
apparent tolerance has more to do with lack of enforcement
than an open acceptance of drug use although drug trafficking
competes with government sources of revenue and is awarded
Draconian punishment.
Opium trade was once legal in Laos. The
Lao government learned how to exploit this lucrative source
of income from the CIA who funded its efforts to undermine
the Vietminh in the years leading up to the “War of
American Agression” in Vietnam. And, going even further
back in time, the CIA picked up the ball dropped by the colonial
French who forced growing opium poppies onto the Hmong hill
tribes to finance their recovery from WWII and their war against
the Vietminh in the 1950’s. It’s an amazing story
with many parallels to current events and it makes one wonder
what governments are really doing behind the scenes. Needless
to say we met some colorful characters who had traveled from
the opposite side of the planet to the land of a million elephants
in search of inexpensive high quality dope. Not our thing
to partake but an intriguing part of the backpacker culture
none-the-less.
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