Saturday, March 27, 2010

You Got Me Floatin'

Last weekend we got invited to a friend's birthday bash. He's a Canadian gent whose wife is Uzbeki. He is, apparently, the "condom king" of Laos. His company manufactures and distributes millions of condoms in an attempt to encourage safe sex practices amongst the locals. There were about 40 guests at the party and everyone received a nice box of condoms as a party favor. Whoopee!

The party was held mid-afternoon on a barge/restaurant floating down the scenic Nam Ngum River north of Vientiane. The riverside restaurant complex was huge, with large groups of mostly Lao people either dining on terra firma or opting to do the float 'n' eat thang. We all assembled aboard the barge, watched the feast being laid out on the long low table, and when everything was ready, shoved off down the river.

The food was great (even though we had already eaten and ended up just nibbling), and I broke one of my rules by consuming alcoholic beverages before 6 PM. Sipping a glass of Beer Lao seemed appropriate to the occasion somehow. Maybe it was the realization that karaoke was just around the proverbial bend! Yes, it was a karaoke boat and soon the Abba, Journey, and especially Bryan Adams was ablastin' (did I mention the birthday boy was Canadian?). After a few glasses of beer, I felt compelled to grab the mike when I heard some strains of Always Something There to Remind Me come thru the speakers (does everyone know how much I love Burt Bacharach?).

We floated downstream for a couple of hours, turned around and motored back. It was fun. I wish I had been hungrier 'cause the food was really tasty. I wish I hadn't had so many glasses of beer 'cause I was ready for bed at 6:30. Oh, we met some really nice people who gave us a ride out to the gig. The guy is a retired Mountie - talk about a serious Canadian!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dusty Roads

Dusty Roads was a name read at the end of each church service back when I was a kid (and a churchgoer). It was read from a long list of names of those we needed to pray for. The name was intriguing. Now, I find I can actually weave it into one of our blog entries about our trip down to The South. So "Dusty Roads" (not sure if that was the spelling) . . . here's to you!

Last weekend Joe and I traveled to Pakse in the very Southern Province of Champasak. The reason I say "traveled" was that it was a combination of taxi, plane, and car. The Pakse airport is closed for construction, so we took a plane to Savannakhet. A driver met us there and drove us the 3-4 hours to Pakse. The drive was pleasant . . . much dry territory, numerous farm animals leisurely walking alongside and occasionally into and across the paved road. Dogs, chickens, pigs, goats, cows, calves, water buffalo  and their calves . . . it seemed to be baby season. Luckily, all that came into harm's way were spared - thank goodness for slow and careful Lao drivers! The landscape was very dusty with plains that might make you  think of Africa a common sight as we neared Pakse.
Upon arrival, we ate at a restaurant called "Pizza Boy". The most memorable thing about our experience was not the pizza, but a gigantic centipede that ran under a nearby table causing two western tourists to spring from their chairs. Not thinking about the potential poison factor, I jumped into photojournalism mode and snapped a pic. You can just barely tell by comparing him/her to the table legs that he/she was about a foot long. No joke! One of the restaurant workers took matters into his hands and whacked it with a broom, breaking it in two. Only one half continued to flip around long after we finished our meal.

Joe's workshops were a hit in spite of the heat that ensued after lunch. Temperatures reached about 100 degrees that day, so heading to the market to take photos lasted only about 30 minutes for me. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon in the deluxe new Chinese hotel enjoying the A/C. A highlight was a side trip to Wat Phou an ancient Hindu temple - unique to this area. It was hot there too and involved a long bumpy dust-inducing car ride on an unpaved road and a wait for what looked like a home-made car ferry - however, the adventure was well worth it! Looking at the photos afterwards reminded us how exotic it truly was.

The next day we were driven back to Savannakhet where we were to catch the plane back to Vientiane. We decided to stay a night and check out the town. Awfully hard to do, again, when it is so hot. However, at dusk and the next morning at dawn, we meandered around the town checking out the remains of the French Colonial architechture. It is a crumbly town, but with so much potential. Hopefully, one day the government will help rennovate some of the buildings and facilities to make it the next Luang Prabang. But for now, the infrastructure of hotels and restaurants is pretty much non-existant. We did however make it to the Dinosaur Museum with a very enthusiastic guide who took us to the back room where some finds were still encased in dirt and dust - still needing to be cleaned up for display.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Ummm...What Do You Plan on Doing with That Handkerchief?

Every culture, every society has its taboos. There are also behaviors that, while not rising to the level of taboo, could be considered violations of basic societal norms or maybe just poor form. When we lived in Indonesia, any intimate contact, like kissing, was strictly forbidden in public or in the media. (Oddly, any gross verbal obscenity was perfectly all right, as long as it was in English). In Bulgaria, polite people just did not talk about Gypsies (Roma), or even acknowledge their presence. One day in Ukraine, I started absentmindedly whistling a tune to myself (Do You Know the Way to San Jose?) when the person next to me whirled, horror etched on her face. It wasn't bacharachophobia. I learned you cannot whistle indoors without incurring the certainty of losing every kopeck of your hard earned money. In my own country, I guess it’s pretty much anything goes – with the exception of running for public office as an avowed atheist, or expressing remorse over becoming a parent.

Here in Laos, people have their own “dos and don’ts”. Here is a partial list:

DO
eat anything that moves
take off your shoes when entering a home
use any excuse to have a holiday or a party
smile, laugh, and say “sabaidee” a lot
ride an entire family of 5 on a motorbike
eat all day and stay skinny
wear high top sneakers with a long skirt
listen to the same half-dozen songs over and over for months (years)

DON’T
act angry or aggressive in public
ever touch a monk if you’re female
ever touch a female if you’re a monk
blow your nose in public
stay out past 11:00 PM
hug or kiss in public
use your car’s horn excessively
hold your head higher than the Buddha
touch someone’s head (unless you’re a hair stylist)

As you can see, it’s pretty easy to live within the limits of society, provided you’re not a bellicose, sex-crazed, night owl with a bad head cold.