A remote-work week in Vientiane: a moped full of giggling girls yelling faster, a jog to the temples, a tuk-tuk ride home, and where the prayer birds in those little cages actually come from.
Nancy Carleton spent a remote-work week in Vientiane, Laos, in July 2022, where a moped carrying two little girls raced her on a run. At Vientiane's temples, caged birds are sold for merit release, a Buddhist practice of freeing animals for good luck. The most detailed study of the trade, in neighboring Cambodia, estimated nearly 690,000 wild birds of 57 native species were sold for release in Phnom Penh in a single year, and their survival after release has never been properly measured. Reported first-hand for That Layover Life.
The best race I ran all year was against a moped, and nobody involved was trying very hard to win it.
Remote work, Pacific Northwest edition
Last week I escaped for a remote working adventure in Vietnam's neighbor to the west. Vientiane had some Pac NW vibes that were refreshingly welcome: laid back, smiling faces, and a sense of calm that I needed.
ໄວກວ່າ, ໄວກວ່າ!
The best part happened on a run. A moped carrying a mother and her two young daughters fell in beside me on a dirt road and started pacing me. The little girls, overcome with joy, began asking their mom to go "ໄວກວ່າ, ໄວກວ່າ!" Faster, faster!
So we raced. Slowly. But to the absolute delight of these small ladies, who waved and giggled fiercely the whole way.
Prayer birds and a ride home
On another morning I jogged to the Buddhist temples, where you could buy a small cage of prayer birds and release them for good luck. Then I jumped into a tuk tuk with a friendly guy who gave me a breezy tour all the way back to my hotel.
How a prayer bird gets into the cage
Those little cages are part of a practice called merit release. In Buddhist tradition, freeing an animal that is trapped or headed for slaughter is an act of compassion, and compassion earns merit. Buy a bird, open the door, make a wish.
What took me longer to think about was where the birds come from. To be set free, a bird first has to be caught.
Nobody has measured the trade in Vientiane, as far as I can find. The most detailed study comes from next door, in Phnom Penh, where a Wildlife Conservation Society team watched vendors at two release sites for 13 months. They estimated that 688,675 birds passed through those stalls in a single year. There were 57 species, all of them native wild birds, and nearly two-thirds were just two kinds: scaly-breasted munias and barn swallows. Trappers caught them in the surrounding provinces and sold them to wholesalers, who supplied the vendors, and sales peaked on Buddhist holy days.
What happens after the cage opens is the part nobody has pinned down. The Phnom Penh team said plainly that without survival data, the impact cannot be assessed with certainty. The scraps of evidence from elsewhere are not encouraging. In Hong Kong, six of 12 released birds tracked in one study died within ten days. In Bangkok, a single banded weaver was caught and sold for release twice more over 15 months. The Phnom Penh team also found influenza A in about one in ten of the birds they tested.
None of which makes the wish less sincere. It does mean that a lot of the luck in those cages has been around the block before.
Between runs
Most of Vientiane's big sights fit inside a good morning run, which is exactly how I saw them: the gold stupa of Pha That Luang shining against a cloudy sky; Patuxai, the city's victory gate, at the end of a long brick promenade; the old, weed-crowned brick spire of That Dam, the Black Stupa, sitting in the middle of a traffic circle; and a World Peace Gong under a gilded pavilion. Along the dirt roads on the edge of town, a gray mare and two fuzzy-maned foals came over to supervise.
Patuxai comes with the best backstory in the city. The version every guide tells is that the cement was supplied by the United States for a new airport runway, and the Royal Lao Government built a monument with it instead, which is why it is nicknamed the vertical runway. The monument is even honest about itself: its own sign says that up close it looks "even less impressive, like a monster of concrete." I found it charming. Most monuments do not roast themselves.
Evenings were for the night market, where durians and longkong were heaped under bare bulbs, and for a cold Beerlao Gold next to a plate of blue sticky rice under toasted coconut.
If you go
- Visa. US citizens need a visa. You can get an eVisa ahead of time at laoevisa.gov.la, or a visa on arrival at major ports of entry, including Wattay International Airport in Vientiane. Your passport needs at least six months of validity and two blank pages.
- Cash. The currency is the Lao kip, and few places take cards. You cannot carry kip into or out of the country, so plan on ATMs once you land.
- Getting around. Tuk-tuks are easy to find in Vientiane; most drivers speak little English, so have your hotel's name written down. LOCA is the local ride-hailing app.
- Running. Go early. The rainy season runs from May to October, which means big skies, puddles and heat.
- The prayer birds. If you want to make merit without supplying a trapper, leave an offering at the temple instead.
Fierce giggling
Things abroad are not always easy. But it's moments like these that open up my worldview, calm my spirit, and help me see my life through a lens of appreciation and joy.
To be set free, a bird first has to be caught.
What is merit release?
A Buddhist practice of freeing captive animals, often small birds sold in cages near temples, as an act of compassion believed to bring merit and good luck.
Where do merit-release birds come from?
They are wild birds trapped for the trade. A peer-reviewed study in Phnom Penh found 57 native species for sale, mostly scaly-breasted munias and barn swallows, caught in surrounding provinces and sold through wholesalers.
Do released prayer birds survive?
Nobody knows for sure. Survival has not been measured in Cambodia or Laos; small studies elsewhere found high mortality and birds recaptured for resale.
Why is Patuxai called the vertical runway?
Guides say it was built with cement the United States supplied for an airport runway. The story is widely told but not documented in a primary source.
Do US citizens need a visa for Laos?
Yes. Apply for an eVisa at laoevisa.gov.la or get a visa on arrival at major ports of entry such as Wattay International Airport. Passports need six months of validity and two blank pages.
Sources used in reporting this story:
- Characterizing the trade of wild birds for merit release in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Gilbert et al., Biological Conservation, 2012
- Buddhist ceremonial release of captive birds may harm wildlife, Scientific American
- Laos country information, US Department of State
- Lao official eVisa, Government of Lao PDR
- Patuxai, Atlas Obscura
No links in this story are affiliate links.
Traveled with
Every story carries its receipts. Something out of date? Tell the editor and the "Last updated" line changes when we fix it.
Spot a fact that's off? A name we misspelled? Tell us. It gets fixed within 24 hours.
hello@thatlayover.life →