This blog should have been posted a while ago (2 weeks that is) but I forgot to publish the post... but this is about the "National Stadium of Laos". And it is possibly the weirdest, creepiest, and most random thing in Laos.
It all started with an Aussie Rules Football tournament that a friend invited us to: there was a Lao team, a Falang team (made up of falang / Western guys who were mostly in Laos for mining jobs) and a team of Falang from Thailand that came up for the tournament.
The team we were cheering for was the "Pink Elephants" (Lao/ Falang team).
In addition to pink T-shirts, they also had boxers with the words "Phants Pants" on them.
(This is a picture of the friend we came to watch. He is definitely aware that I am taking a picture of his behind, so the picture is far less creepy than it seems.)
The tournament was fun: I knew nothing about Aussie Rules Football, but between all the Aussies who were willing to explain what was going on, I got pretty into it. The Thai / Falang team won, with the Lao/ Falang team coming in second.
But about two hours into the tournament (between the beers everyone was drinking and the pretty sad hot dogs that were available), Nick suggested we explore the National Stadium grounds. (The games were being played on a practice field next to some MASSIVE buildings.) So off we went exploring.
The main structure is the Stadium. It is ENORMOUS. Nick said it would fit 20,000 people but it felt bigger than that.
There was a benefit concert going on that night that people were setting up for, and a bunch of police hanging around, but they seemed fine with us coming in and taking pictures.
What's super weird about the National Stadium grounds, though, is how overgrown everything is.
Some background: Laos hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 2009 (this is kind of like Asia's regional Olympics, from what I gather). They (or another country, likely China?) spent TONS of money building these state-of-the-art buildings: a shooting range, a bunch of tennis courts, the stadium, a huge pool facility, and the largest parking lot I've seen in Laos (still pretty small, but hey, it's Laos).
And then after the games finished? Empty. Unused. It's a ghost town, except for the police that patrol it, the random events they hold there, and people who apparently live in the old locker rooms and other buildings. (I would have taken pictures of them, but it already felt like the set-up to a horror film where a young couple goes missing, never to be seen again... I didn't want to provoke anyone by taking pictures).
This is one of the main entrances to the New Lao National Stadium (above picture)
And a lot of the buildings were closed, but not locked. This looked like a building that would hold wrestling matches, but I seriously have no idea. (and that's Nick)
Gorgeous tennis court (there were a bunch, but this was the only one in a stadium). This gate is locked, but about 10 feet away was a stairwell leading to the seat area, and it's super easy to just climb onto the court. WHY LOCK IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
This was the weirdest part. This is a MASSIVE, super deep pool that they used for diving and races and such. And after the games they DIDNT EVEN EMPTY THE POOL. They just let the water sit there and accumulate algae. It's so gross!!
YOU COULDN'T EVEN DRAIN THE POOL BEFORE YOU ABANDONED IT?!
So that's the New Lao National Stadium. It has a big stadium (used for concerts and soccer matches), a practice field that's kept in pretty good condition, a couple families randomly living in the department and planning offices, and a bunch of athletic facilities that nature is slowly but surely reclaiming as its own.
The place seriously gave me goosebumps, it was so creepily random.
On the other hand this would be the BEST PLACE FOR A SPOOKY HALLOWEEN PARTY EVER.
For more on the stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Southeast_Asian_Games#Venues
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