Take a good traveling anytime!
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Indochina s Open Door Policy |
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A part from its impressive length of over 4,000 kilometers, the mighty Mekong River has another important distinction: vast historical evidence of ancient civilizations. These civilizations predominate in an area of Southeast Asia known as Indochina, comprising Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia, former French colonies and scenes of centuries of bloody wars and conflicts. Today, peace prevails over the region and the ravages of past wars have gradually been replaced by growing interest from around the world in Indochina’s rich cultural heritage, much of which has been passed down from these ancient civilizations. As the three countries increasingly introduce open-door policies to attract overseas visitors to inspect their cultural “assets”, the impact of tourism, as a major source of foreign currency earnings, is abundantly clear. This prompted the formation of the Mekong Sub-Regional Cooperation Program to facilitate intra-regional networking to expand travel and tourism by increasing air links and other, important infrastructure. From its place as a regional aviation hub, Bangkok plays a strategic role as a gateway to Indochina and Myanmar (as well as Thailand) by helping to promote inbound and outbound travel between neighboring countries and the rest of the world. It is probably the charm of Indochina and Myanmar that attracts tourists from all over the world to this land rich in cultural heritage. In the ancient city of Luang Prabang (formerly the capital of Larn Chang) in today’s Lao PDR, tourists are frequent visitors to this small, peaceful town situated in a valley bordering the Mekong River. The city is also known as Ban Pha Muang Phu – the birthplace of Larn Chang culture. Running through Laos from north to south is a 1,825 kilometer stretch of water called the River Kong, its smooth flow broken by rocks, cascading waterfalls and fast flowing rapids. Particularly beautiful, and of great interest to tourists, are the cascading waters around Kwang Jumpa Sak known as Korn Pa Peng. At this point, the Kong is some ten kilometers wide. Although Laos is more open to the outside world, much of the national identity remains evident, for example in the traditional pha sin still worn today by Lao women as they go about their daily business. Also of note is Phra That Loung, a sacred temple much revered by local people. Indeed, within Vientiane City there are hundreds of temples still used today as places of worship. Travelers and traders heading south from Hanoi in olden days encountered different races, none the least in Vietnam’s old capital of Hue with its Royal Citadel, Flag Tower, Royal Palace and Royal Tombs. An important historical and cultural heritage site in Vietnam, Hue welcomes many foreign visitors anxious to see the Forbidden Purple City, once reserved for the royal family and Nam Giao Hill or Heaven’s Alter, a religious site approached by four staircases facing north, south, east and west. Running through the old city is the Horm River also known as the Perfume River. Not far From Hue is Hoi An, a small port town in the middle of Vietnam with many shopping opportunities particularly tailors. A very interesting cultural performance, which is a must for visitors to Vietnam, is water puppetry, a unique form of traditional theater in which a river of pond is used as a stage. The water conceals the bamboo pools and strings used by the puppeteers. Performances are based on folk culture originating from the natural environment that exists in complete harmony with nature mostly linked to the essential contribution that water makes to life in Vietnam’s rice farming communities. Cambodia, the third Indochina country on our tour exhibits a cultural heritage made famous by the splendor of Angkor Wat a great complex of ancient ruins with more than one hundred temples accessed from Siem Reap, which is connected by air from Phnom Penh and Bangkok. Suriyavaraman II built the Vishnu temple at Angkor Wat famous for its bas relief carvings depicting stories of Hinduism. Nearby Angkor Thom, the “center of the universe”, was partly the work of Jayavaraman VI whose rule saw the building of as many as 20,000 shrines. After being closed to the outside world as a result of wars and conflict, Indochina is today an open gateway. Many travelers from all over the world flock to the region’s cultural centers to learn more of each country’s glorious past and cultural heritage oft times referred to as the jewel of the Mekong. | ||||||
| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 October 2008 ) | ||||||
