UXO

People in Laos are ever smiling, happy, 'Bopinyang ' (Never mind) attitude and generally minding their business because it is their "Karma", honest and generally peace loving. Why then did somebody else in the world object to how they wanted to change their Governance? Well that is what had happened about 40 odd years ago.
Laos was ruled by three kings, two of whom wanted autonomy and the third wanted to hold on to his throne and betrayed the other two. He also allowed the French to colonise his country for petty favours in return.
America at this time was occupying Central Vietnam in the hope that they can stop the Vietcong. They also wanted to stop communism stepping into Laos: this is to preserve the balance of power in the world - yes it was the days of Cold war between two great powers :US and Soviet Union.
The Vietnamese were sending defense supplies to Laos through the HoChi Minh trail. So the Americans with the Royal Thai Army bombarded the Ho Chi Minh trail to stop this transport route. and they wanted to purge out the communists from the caves in teh Nort Eastern part of the country. It seems they bombed every 9 minutes a days for days on end and that they had one bomb for every citizen of Laos.
All the bombs did not explode and many got embedded into the ground: Even now years after the war, whenpeople plough their land or dig to lay foundations while building a house, a cluster bomb or a 500 pounder explodes taking many innocent lives. There are many NGOs, the Government and even the United States Army are looking for these UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE to prevet further accidents. It is like looking for a needle in the haystack as the numbers are plenty and it might take them years to find. Good luck to them and to the people of Laos. May there be no more lives lost due to some stupid political strategy of idiotic human beings.

hydro electric power

In the Northern most part of Laos, Electric cables have not reached. The innovative Locals make use of the little rivers and hang some tins on wires which in some manner produce electricity to light their bulbs and enlighten their lives.

Karl Marx and Lenin are very much alive in the northern most corner of Laos .

The suicidal chickens

It is only when they see a vehicle coming that the chickens want to cross the road. And none of them stop, two things can happen: either they live or they get squashed. When I asked our driver what happens if he runs over a chicken? he replied, The owner of the chicken will be happy;that he can have a good dinner. Bopinyang: that means never mind! Compare this with an Indian scenario: Not only will the owner take the dead chicken but will also fight with you to get five times its cost.
Ducks also cross but they do not scamper like the chickens: they amble along, forcing the automobiles to slow and let it pass. Dogs and puppies also try to share the road with all but they are not respected so much and the souls reach their maker soon while the flesh lands up on the table of the owner for dinner!!!!

trip from Oudamxai to Phongsaly

20th To Phongsaly from Oudamxai

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Chan the driver arrived at 1030AM Started out for Meungla by 1050 hours . Stopped at Mueng La to see the 400 year old Buddha. Till Pahd Nam the road was asphalted and good and Chan zipped around the bends as if he is driving in formula-1 racing.
We stopped for lunch here at the weekly market- all tribes converge here to buy their monthly rations. It was fete time for most. The Thaimeung women were trying to sell silver bracelets but I was not interested. The lunch offered were mostly tribal food but I tasted the rural fare of Steamed bamboo shoots with chilli powder, steamed spicy sea weed with sticky rice and two bananas and two very juicy oranges from China.Usha would not have survived seeing the barbecued squirrels looking so alive.
The mountain side was swiddened i.e., slashed and burned for cultivation. When the ground looks charred and scarred it looks bad but then this is the way they rotate the richness of soil to grow rice. If It was rice alone then it is ok, but the poverty of losing land due to many reasons has tempted the people go in for Rubber which will create a vacuam in the cycle after 30years and there will severe aforestation. Some of these plantations are partly owned by the companies from China and Thailand. At the end of 30years when the present rubber trees will be cut and the next one starts yielding after 8years will create such a vacuam the people will be forced to sell their lands to tidy over the gap. and thus loose their land too! Watermelon, pumpkins, sugarcane and corn are other cash crops that get exported to China everyday .
The road from then on was worse ; no surface, the sand has dissolved and through stones were like cobblestone paths some hundred times worse. The cinnarizine I took helped a lot and so did the belt and the seat belt which protected me from whiplash injury. This continued for about 90 odd kms when we reached the cross roads to China and the road became makkan. Reached Phonsaly around 5-45PM. Chan recommended the only good hotel in town : it was clean but very shoddy. Am not too comfortable in it. Like the one in Satana , a shade smaller and more grubbier.
Dinner is by 7PM and the town shuts by 10PM Even the electricity shuts at 9PM and supposed to come on at 6AM No life after sunset. We went walking trying to find a place to eat and found this hotel called Phou Far hotel set in a wide open space with neat modern rooms and very clean with A/Cs too. The same price as the one we are staying in. And … we could not find a place to eat. Called for Chan who took us to a Chinese restaurant and ordered a typical meal that every body shares: Soup, rice, vegetables and a plate of beef curry for them This came with chilli oil. The soup had Tofu and the veggies were only green leafy ones. It was very tasty thanks to the veg. Plate and the chili oil . Feeling like a python now.
TOMORROW WE ARE SHIFTING TO THE OTHER HOTEL.

3 tribes out of 49

Out of the 49 ethnic tribes living in Laos , I can identify three of them by the clothes they wear. Only if they are women.
The Aka women wear a sin(a sarong like thing) with a blouse on top; what differentiates them is a piece of cloth on their heal folded back and the inevitable basket that hangs from their crown at their back.
The Lantein women wear a uniform black top and black skirt and black leggings with silver necklaces. Very socialistic their can be no class distinction among them.
The Hmong women are the most elaborately dressed with silver beads/plates on their head dress and very nicely embroidered Sins.
I just went into a chinese supermarket. What a range of chinese goos! but no smile or warmth in those who run the shop. This is a common find in all establishments that the Chinese have:be it a restaurant or a guest house or a hotel: no smile; no hospitality; no warmth. Being used to the Lao smile and warmth and hospitality and openness , this characteritic of the neighbour stands out.

photos of yesterday's post

This ubiquituous vehicle on the above right is the famous "Tuk-tuk". A multi purpose vehicle for all terrains; The rear has two boards for seats and the top takes all the luggages: you could even see two jars of Lao lai -the Laon Whiskey tied on top

not an alien invasion

Watermelons are cash crops and are harvested once a year . Most of it are exported to China and Thailand .

In place of beasts of burden

These are simple machines that do everything that satisfies the transportation needs of the rural Laos. It has a kat-kata- engine in front with a kind of belt going somewhere into the bowels of the vehicle, makes a lot of noise and carries a cart like carriage in the back that can carry anything and everything including human beings : lots of them ;

Little businesses

eating houses are plenty in Laos. The front room of the house opens , a few tables and chairs are piut , the wife ccoks and serves with the children growing amonsgt all this , the TV blaring out Chinese/Laos soap operas; the family gets food from outside and eats ; at night everything is cleared and the beds are laid out .
Sometimes the room is large with a partioned bedroom in one corner, the kitchen is in the front veranda; and business is on.
The popular domestic business is a shop of all sorts in the front room.

caves full of Buddhas

Pat Ou caves

On the banks of River Mekong 25 kms frm Luang Prabang are these caves where old, found, destryed buddha statues are kept. People in the region come on their new year- 14th April and clean up the place, the buddhas, offer incense, Marigold flowers and worship them. the rest of the yaer it is a tourist attraction. One has to climb steep stairs. There are two caves one very near the water front another one that you climb higher and is set a little deeper where there is no direct light that you have to use torch lights. A fat buddhja guards the entrance of the upper cave.

Lao Hai

The whiskey of Laos is flavoured with snakes , scorpions, lizards and centipedes.

slash and burn - gold panning

the whole of the Mekong river banks had a haze. It seems it is like this in the dry season , when the locals cut and burn the forest to prepare for agriculture. Every year it is a different part and thus all of the forest gets systematically destroyed. The Govt is trying to stop this method of farming and to introduce the step culture with the wet method - but then any change takes a lot of time to happen.

Gold, gold , gold - In the river minerals get dissolved or get carried - in the Luang Prabang region these people try and sediment Gold from the waters. We saw groups, individuals, women & children in this occupation all day.

gas stations on the river - aerial roots

Filling stations on the river -- no cans weighing down the boat, just pull by the boat and fill through the hoses

The roots of the trees on the banks of the river are hanging on to dear life as the soil gets eroded as time passes .

10000 kip is equal to 53.something Rs. Laundry is done by weight. 1kg of laundry costs 10000-20000 kip. You put your dirty clothes into a plastic bag and give to the laundry who will weigh it on a kitchen scale and that's it. Collect the same evening washed and ironed clothes.

I had a Laotian Tom yaum soup today with tamarind, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, shitake mushroom besides other veggies. It was yum but the servings in Laos being very big, I could not finish. I had it with steamed rice and it was like having rasam satham with vegetables, sllllllllurrrrrrrrrp!

River transportation on mekong has been stopped froa while. Because there is not enough water in the river for the boats to move. This decision was taken after two speed boats collided unable to move. There is going to a drought in Southwest China this month. Laos will face water problem just when the water festival to celebrate the Lao New year next month will happen. this festival attracts a lot of tourists and during this time people splash coloured water on each other like our Holi.

cables picturised

Cables overhead

Have you ever been to Old Delhi through its streets? It is better not to try and see the sky above you. You might get paranoic seeing the electrical cables running haphazardly crisscrossing madly . You cannot say when one of them will fall and electricute you as they hang precariously.

In Vientiane as I was walking dow the road, I just stopped fro a minute bursting out with laughter. Imagine the same cables above but in an organised manner-That is Laos for you!

laos

Hi. am back again after almost a year. Been to a few places in between but nothing new-Paris, Coutainville, Mumbai, Allahabad, Varnasi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Virinjipuram, Egmond in Holland, Satana, Vindyachal but what has triggered me to write again is being in Laos.
I reached Vientiane from Allahabad via Delhi and Paris- a circuitous route I know!
Vientiane is the capital of Laos. been so for a few hundred years. It is called Vieng Chan in laos. This city amazed me in many ways: The airport is just 4kms from city centre. The streets are clean with well laid out roads. My hotel is functional, simple and clean with all the reqd. amenities. No food or hot drinks, though. No problems 'cause the street down the hotels and several others around it are filled with little cafes and bistros where one can have a snack, breakfast , a quick salad / sandwich -at 4 kadam distance. The area around my hotel houses the National theatre, stadium , a fountain park surrounded by French, Italian restaurants reminding me of Toulouse. There is a chennaiwasi from Mylapore who has a restaurant that gives authentic Dosas if you please.
The presidents palace is 500mtrs away. very big and neatly kept. It has a huge temple on its grounds that is open to the public.
Last evening I went on a recce to the largest market complex, a kind of shopping complex with everything to everything available there. It looked like a bigger version of that plaza in Egmore.
People cannot prounce R - so evellything is velly velly nice. If there is a X in a word it is pronounced as S.
Lot of two wheelers- mostly scooty's , cycles, for hire too. Merc is a poor cousin, from lomborgini to porsche to mercs, to high end toyota nad hondas are seen in plenty. the mini markets are full of all imported stuff sold as normal 'cheeze';Bookshops are many. Old and new and copied books sold.
Street shops at night sell handicrafts to t-shirts to traditional clothes to silks to plastic to stuffed toys you name it it is there.