Vietnamese New Year's Eve feast in Laos.
The first time I set foot in Laos left me with countless emotions, memories and new lessons. Laos is a truly peaceful country with poetic landscapes and simple, kind people.
Bringing the taste of Tet from home to our brother country
Traveling about 900km from Nuoc Ngam bus station (Hanoi, Vietnam), it took my Lao friends and I about 24 hours to reach Savannakhet province bus station (Laos), including immigration time.
Knowing that I was a Vietnamese visiting and celebrating the Lunar New Year in Laos, the people here welcomed me very enthusiastically and thoughtfully, treating me like a relative they had not seen for a long time. Above all, when talking, everyone always mentioned the Vietnam - Laos friendship, an extremely special and close relationship, and then sang me the following songs: "You are in the West, I am in the East / The two countries hear the same rooster crowing in the morning / The land of Champa, the land of the Dragon and Fairy / Together we walk to build a love / The love of Vietnam and Laos, the love of Vietnam and Laos / Will never fade away".
In response to the warm affection of the Lao people, I personally went to the market to buy sticky rice, green beans, pork, vermicelli, rice paper... and some other ingredients and spices to create a Vietnamese Lunar New Year tray right in your country, inviting everyone to enjoy the flavors of Vietnamese Tet.
Vietnamese New Year dishes are made by the author in Laos.
At 22 years old, this is the first time I have prepared a complete Vietnamese Tet feast by myself. I washed the rice, soaked the beans, marinated the meat… to wrap the banh chung. Without dong leaves or a banh chung mold like in Vietnam, I had to wrap the cakes in banana leaves.
Although the banh chung cakes are made by clumsy hands and are not square or beautiful, the "finished product" is considered by Lao people to be "xép lợi", meaning very delicious.
For me, Tet cannot be without fried spring rolls and pickled onions to relieve the feeling of fullness, so I searched for ingredients to make these two dishes. The Tet tray I made in Laos included 6 dishes: banh chung, fried spring rolls, ham, pickled onions, boiled cauliflower, boiled chicken, and a bowl of fish sauce.
Seeing me make Vietnamese dishes, the Lao people were quite excited and wanted me to teach them. Everyone confided that they wanted to learn how to make them so that when I returned to Vietnam, they could know how to make them themselves, because Vietnamese dishes are very delicious, especially banh chung and nem ran.
Lao people learn to cook Vietnamese food.
Then the Lao people showed me how to make Lao banh chung and how to make flower towers to offer on holidays.
The ingredients for making banh chung in the land of a million elephants include sticky rice, black beans, ripe bananas, salt and sugar. All the ingredients are wrapped in fresh banana leaves, tied tightly with string and boiled for about 5 hours.
The flower towers for offerings in Laos are very beautifully made, although they are only made from two main materials: banana leaves and flowers. However, to create them is very elaborate, requiring the maker to be really meticulous and skillful.
Learn to make Laotian Chung cake.
And learn to make flower towers.
Discover new things
Savanakhet (Laos) is a province bordering Mukdahan (Thailand) across the Mekong River. While here, I did not miss the opportunity to watch the sunset over the famous river. The image of the bright orange sun reflected on the river with the boats docking at the dock created an extremely poetic scene, like a fairyland.
Romantic sunset scene on the Mekong River.
In addition to Savannakhet province, I also have many friends in the capital Vientiane (Laos). Therefore, after many days in Savannakhet, I took a bus to the capital Vientiane, about 500km from Savannakhet, to explore new interesting things.
Arriving in Vientiane, my Lao friends took me to visit some special buildings here. The first was That Luang Pagoda, a famous Buddhist building with a history of more than 450 years and a place that contains the culture and beliefs of the local people.
With a height of 45 meters, including a main tower and surrounding sub-towers, all beautifully painted with gold. The temple is not only known as That Luang Pagoda but also known as the famous golden temple of Laos, attracting many tourists from all over the world to worship.
Laos has many pagodas, with about 1,400 pagodas across the country. Pagodas in Laos are usually built on a central plot of land, with the main gate facing west and side gates on the other three sides.
The temple complex usually has three main buildings: the Buddha Hall, the Buddha Hall, and the monks' quarters. The Buddha Hall is the most important place, reserved for monks to perform Buddhist rituals. The Buddha Hall is the common living space for monks and is where believers come to worship. The monks' quarters are where monks live.
The pagoda also has some auxiliary structures such as a library, drum tower, guest house, etc. In addition, in the Lao pagoda complex there is also a system of towers consisting of 2 types: Towers to worship Buddha's relics or those related to Buddha and towers to store the bones of the deceased.
That Luang Temple - the famous golden temple of Laos.
Next we visited Patuxay Gate, considered a must-see destination for tourists when visiting the capital of Laos.
Patuxay Triumphal Arch is a symbol of victory for the Lao people, built in 1957 to commemorate the heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the resistance war against the French invaders in Laos, so it is also known as the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.
Standing on the top floor (7th floor) of the tower, we can see all the best of this peaceful capital.
Patuxay Gate (Laos).
I was also taken by friends to admire the Lao National Assembly, a gift from the Party, State and people of Vietnam to the Party, State and people of Laos, a symbol of the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, two Governments, two National Assemblies and people of Vietnam and Laos.
Lao National Assembly House.
Saying goodbye to Laos after 15 days of attachment, in my mind I will always remember the image of a beautiful, peaceful brotherly country with gentle, hospitable people and breathtakingly beautiful scenery.
Photo: DIEU HUYEN
"My Tet Moment" Contest
My Tet Moments contest is an opportunity for readers to introduce the most beautiful moments and unforgettable experiences during Tet with relatives and friends.
Each article should be a maximum of 1,000 words in Vietnamese, and should include photos, photo albums or videos.
Contest entries share ideal destinations and unique lands . Through your stories, you will help many people have the opportunity to know new lands and places not to be missed when traveling during spring.
It could be an article recording the moments when friends and relatives gather, celebrate Tet and have fun together.
These are notes and recounts of personal experiences from trips and business trips away from home during Tet that you have experienced.
The photo contest highlights the beauty of the landscape, place or land you have visited. This is an opportunity to recount the vibrant colors and beautiful scenery of Vietnam or the countries you have visited.
From January 25 to February 24 , readers can send their entries to [email protected].
The award ceremony and summary are expected to take place in March 2024. The prize structure includes 1 first prize (15 million VND in cash and gifts), 2 second prizes (7 million VND and gifts), 3 third prizes (5 million VND and gifts).
The program is sponsored by HDBank.
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