It's easy for me to write lengthy posts sometimes, but I know people don't have a lot of time these days and attention spans are short, so I like to feature some of my favorite photos of Laos from time to time.
Aerial photography in Laos if one is traveling in the ATR or MA 60 going to destinations like Luang Prabang is not great because your flying at a relatively high altitude. But if you can fly on a small aircraft like Lao Airlines used to fly and Lao Air used to fly, such as when flying to Sam Neua there can be outstanding opportunities for getting some great aerial shots because the planes fly much lower than the ATR and MA 60's.. Lao Air has now stopped flying commercial flights and so we will find out what it's like flying Lao Capricorn (we're hoping they still have flights to Sam Neua...)
The first photo below is of a village located at the bend of a small river with only one narrow dirt road/path leading down to it, and even then you can only cross over to the village by a walking bridge. This is a village far away from paved roads and "civilization." Doesn't it look like a village you would want to visit?
The second photo is taken of a wat compound which really shows all the essential "components" of a wat, including the sim, monks quarters (with motorcycles parked out in front), a stupa, drum tower (being constructed), etc. From John Holt's Spirits of the Place, "While every wat is presided over by its venerated guardian phi, it is also the case that every wat contains a stupa symbolizing the presence of the Buddha and smaller votive stupas containing the cremated ashes of various pious laity as well. The stupa for the Buddha is always located in a position of central prominence, while the votive stupas of the deceased laity are invariably located alongside of one of the compound walls marking the sima or boundary of the wat." You can see both the main stupa and laity stupas as described above in the photo.
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