Menu-directed Bubble and Neo-colonists：On Nostalgia Tourism among Western Visitors in Laos

In contemporary Laos there are three popular spots where attracts many
western tourists. In “Chiti Chenter”, most of international tourists spent their
stay with familiar western situation. The “whole town” of Luang Prabang,
well-known ancient capital in central Laos, is core administrative location of
previous kingdom under colonial domination. In the present this particular city
corner is full of foreign tourists as well. In addition, the northernmost Muang
Sing is also welcome by Euro-American visitors based on the existence of a
mini-former local palace, colonial legends and imaginations on historic wars
and drugs popularly planted in borderland alongside China and Myanmar. One
of the most important things shared by these three touristic spots is that it is
easy to find western food services for international tourists. The tourists within
“authentic” Lao traditional situation always unwittingly entered into “food /
menu-directed bubble” to have their home-style food for acquiring feeling of
comfort or even safety. Nostalgia becomes enjoyable in such particular “home
out there” situation. A complicated phenomenon of separation between
western tourists and local Laotians, inside bubble and outside bubble, and
western food and Lao food indeed reflects factual irreconcilability in today’s
Lao touristic arena. To summarize, a plural situation with less communication
between locals and outsiders has appeared during the processes of adding
Laos in the hot destination list of world tourism.