Click on an ‘About Us’ page for pretty much any travel company these days and there’s a sure-fire bet you’ll find a generic paragraph or two about ways in which they’re ‘giving back’.
Unless you’re us.
Here at MagRail, we don’t do ‘generic’ and we don’t feel the need to make a big deal about it on a website so much. Because travel is so much more than just ‘seeing’ – it’s a chance to ‘do’, which is why every one of our itineraries come with purposeful experiences that bring real, meaningful change for the communities we visit. We know exactly where this support should go, because we partner with local communities through our ‘boots-on-the-ground’ teams.
The ‘giving back’ just happens naturally – you’ll find no ‘hero’ complex here. Our guests know that watered-down, manufactured-for-the-masses travel isn’t our style and appreciate knowing that when they travel with us, they’ll be making a positive impact in the lives of the people they’ll meet… like in Southeast Asia’s most underrated destination… Laos.
Moving Beyond the Legacy of the Past with COPE
The word ‘quiet’ was an unfathomable thing for the people of Laos not so long ago. To this day, it holds the unenviable title of being the most heavily bombed nation on earth.
Ever.
From 1963 to 1974, two million tonnes of ordnance were unleashed on the landscapes of Laos during the CIA’s clandestine ‘Secret War’ against Vietnam.
That equates to a B-52 planeload of bombs being dropped every eight minutes for nine years.
Do you suddenly have an impulse to hug every Lao local you meet now? We know the feeling.
A morning at the COPE Visitor Centre in Vientiane will make that urge even harder to curb. With around a third of the country still contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO), you’ll witness first-hand how events of the past still impact present day lives. It’s a hard history lesson to swallow. But you’ll be buoyed seeing the incredible work the centre does to provide physical rehabilitation and prosthetics to UXO survivors and people with mobility-related disabilities.
We think helping people lead fuller lives with dignity is a pretty awesome mission! Which is why every visit Magnificent Rail (and our sister brand Fencox) makes to the centre, supports their work through the donation of a prosthetic limb. Because such simple actions can lead to powerful change.
Meet the Women Who Say, ‘Anything Is Possible!’
Imagine spending a morning in a room filled with women who believe anything is possible. How energising would that be?
You’ll get to experience their irrepressible life-force at the Women’s Development Centre in Vientiane, a non-profit run by and for women with disabilities. Here, you won’t just get to see the uplifting work the Centre does; teaching income-generating skills like needlework, weaving, IT and English language skills, you’ll be able to support their efforts through purchasing handicrafts directly from the makers too!
‘Everyone has a story to tell’ and our visit helps the Centre bolster these differently-abled women to tell theirs – stories filled with creativity, resilience, independence and empowerment. All intertwined with the potent joy that women supporting each other brings.
Once you’ve spent time in their extraordinary company, we’re certain you’ll agree that the word ‘disabled’ is long overdue for extinction from the dictionary. It’s high time ‘diff-abled’ is embraced into the world’s vocabulary.
Experience ‘Off-the-Map’ Village Life
We love hunting out experiences that feel like you’ve just stepped off the edge of the map.
Which is why we’ve fallen head over heels for Laos!
It still has those ‘time stood still’ feels about it, which you’ll get a sense of when you visit the remote rural villages of northern Laos and spend time learning the traditional ways of the indigenous minority tribes who call this region home.
Footstep by footstep, you’ll stroll far from modernity as you take a guided walk through the Lantan, Tai Dam and Tai Lue villages, observing how each tribe masterfully creates handicrafts from the products that nature provides.
Age-old skills like bamboo paper-making, weaving, silk production and natural dyeing techniques still play their part round these dusty paths, and if all that learning has got you feeling a little parched, the Khmu tribespeople have got you covered with a little rice-wine making lesson to quench your thirst. ‘Tham Keo!’
Ever had a ‘cultural experience’ that felt like it was all for show? Well, that kind of thing gives us the ‘ick’, too.
There’s no ‘showmanship’ here in these villages. This is everyday life. Real, unhurried and far from the traps of technology, where subsistence farming and blacksmithing still reign supreme.
Want to meet the tribeswomen of the Akha and Hmong villages whose textile skills are unrivalled?
You will. You’ll even have the opportunity to bring home some of their expertly embroidered handicrafts if you wish. They’re famous for them!
Connection to custom, culture and animistic spirituality runs deep amongst these tribes and our visit helps bring an income to these remote communities, so they can face down challenges that threaten their heritage.
Spend a little time with them and you’ll feel a world away from the fast-paced ‘gotta have it now’ impatience gripping the rest of the world. And who knows, maybe you’ll leave, longing for a return to some of their traditional ways…
Feel Blessed to Dine with Local Families
Loatians might seem shy at first but they’re also some of the most welcoming people you’ll ever meet. While away a few hours in their company and you’ll soon feel like family! There’s no better way to bond than swapping stories over a shared meal – but you’ll have to cook it first, with the help from your teacher and host, Mrs Noy!
Off to the market you go where you’ll forage up all the ingredients for one of her favourite dishes. Don’t you just love the liveliness of a community market and buying straight from the seller? With shopping bags filled with herby goodness, it’s back to her village and into her home kitchen to teach you the secrets of Laos cuisine.
Go ahead! Slurp away on those perfectly cooked soft noodles you’ve just learned to prepare. Mrs Noy won’t mind! You’ll leave her wonderful company with a brand new recipe and a full heart (and tummy!), knowing your visit helps provide a livelihood for her village and family.
It’s a feeling so good, you’ll want seconds. And you shall have them!
But this time with another family in Bano Mano and they won’t be calling Uber eats!
They’ll be calling your ‘kwan’ (soul) to your body in a traditional Baci ceremony.
Performed during births, marriages and farewells, this sacred ritual invokes the spirits to bring you harmony, good health and prosperity through a captivating performance of prayer, chanting and dance.
After the family elder ties the symbolic thread of well-wishes around your wrist, you’ll feel blessed to feast at their family table knowing your visit helps support their income. And that’s a taste you’ll savour forever!
Walk with Giants in Nature
Once upon a time Laos was known as the ‘Land of One Million Elephants’ and you’ll get to meet some of these fabled giants at MandaLao – an ethical elephant sanctuary, wild about education and conservation.
This isn’t the kind of cringe ‘animal tourism’ experience that no longer has a place in the world. We’ll have no part of that here at Magnificent Rail which is why we support the incredible work the carers at MandaLao do; freeing elephants from logging camps and low-welfare tourist attractions – giving them a home where they’re able to wander, unchained from fear and mistreatment.
In a country rumoured to have just 400 wild elephants remaining, you’ll learn all about these pachyderms and MandaLao’s conservation efforts to increase the country’s untamed elephant population as you amble alongside them on a path of their choosing.
Are those tears of joy rolling down your cheeks?
Or did an elephant just spray you with water?
We won’t judge you if your eyes get a little misty. It’s emotional stuff! You’ll definitely be feeling all the feels when you spend time stepping alongside these kings and queens of the jungle.
In Laos and Buddhist culture it is believed that elephants represent prosperity and luck. You’ll leave MandaLao with a jumbo sized heart filled with the knowledge that your visit will help bring good fortune to these gentle giants too, for future generations to come.
How We Choose the Initiatives We Support
Every initiative we support is done so with consideration to make sure that our presence is welcomed and that the footprints we leave behind are ones that are worthwhile to the communities we visit, in real and measurable ways.
Because travel shouldn’t just be about selfishly ticking boxes as you scurry along the surface of a destination. This kind of action leaves your soul empty. And who wants to lie awake at night knowing you’ve missed an opportunity to feel what it means to ‘be’ in a place – rather than simply seeing what it’s like to ‘pass by’?
Not us. And if you’re reading this, we’re guessing not you either.