Plain of Jars

One of my must see destinations before I leave this earth just got crossed out.  I have seen so many pictures and heard so many stories from people – But I finally got a chance to see it myself.  Supposedly, there are three main Plain of Jars sites and the most accessible is site one shown below.  The other two sites aren’t as accessible because of road conditions and long hilly trails of hiking to the site itself.  So, I’ll pass on those two sites :-).

This site was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War – I am amazed that a lot of those jars survived the war.  The bomb craters are scatter throughout this site.  After 30+ years, the sizes and depth of those craters remained unbelievable large.

A short trail leading to the site.

The tallest jar on this site, it stand approximately 6 feet and 3 inches.

We picked the hottest day to be out touring the site.

She have to update her Facebook page... even from the middle of no where.

Typical size of bomb crater... The sign reads.. "Kome Bomb... bomb craters during war in 1964-1973.

On the background of this picture is a cave. It was used for shelter during the bombing, So many people died inside that cave according to the local. I walked in the cave but didn't stay very long.

 

Xieng Khouang, Laos

I finally made it to Xieng Khouang after all these years I visited Laos.  I am so glad I included Xieng Khouang as one of my destination on this trip.  We decided to fly up Xieng Khouang instead of driving, I’ll take my chance on air versus those windy mountain roads.  Even though it seems to be a bit expensive for 45 minutes flight.  It costs us about 1.5 million kips ($180) each for round-trip tickets.  The price was little high due to the changes departure location – we flew back to Vientiane from Luangprabang instead of Xieng Khouang.

This trip would be difficult if I try to do it alone.  It is nice to have a friend that knows the streets around town and have a nice place to stay – especially when it is free of charge :-).  I actually stayed at the Mulberries Farm just the edge of the town.  Check out their website http://www.mulberries.org/.

Yep!! That is it folks... That is Xieng Khouang Airport.

The Melberries Farm

shop

Workers clearing the weeds..

Hours of labor before finish products

Love the foggy morning.. That is the farm house I stay during my visit.

pine trees

The view from the top floor of farm house.. Across all those rolling hills is the Airport... So peaceful and quite there... awesome place to relax and ponder about life.

We sat out there chit chat til the darkness falls... I miss that town... I miss that one person also 🙂

Stay tune for more pictures from Plain of Jars.

Sok Dee Pee Mai (Happy Lao New Year)

Sok Dee Pee Mai as all laotians throughout the world say to each other.  I wish all my friends, families and readers a happy and healthy new year.  There are several new year celebrations throughout the Northern California, but the weather might spoiled the parties.  I hope to attend at least one of the festival, so stay tune for pictures.

Bane Lard Kuay, Vientiane

Most of my friends from Vientiane have no idea where Bane Lard Kuay located or some never heard of it at all.  It is about 18 Km Northeast of town center.  This is where my cousin and his wife relocated to – they both retired early and decided they had enough of U.S.  Sold the house and most of their belongings to start a new life in Laos about 3 years ago.  They are both fortunate to inherited some nice chunk of land along Nam Ngeum River.  But, they did a lot of clearing the woods and earth moving before the house can be built.

Personally, I don’t think I can live out there.  It is kind of far from the city and it is middle of no where.  Their neighbors are probably 1/2 miles away.  The back side of property sits along Ngam Ngeume River, its the most peaceful view to ponder about life.

It is still early for dokchampa season. This picture was taken back in middle of February. It is probably full bloom right now cause it is close to Lao New Year. This champa tree is right on the edge of river bank.

up close..

It is not fully ripe yet.. I didn't get to taste it

Mark Kang..

They raises livestock on other side of property...I lost counts of how many type of animals are in this barn.

This dog likes to watch the fishermen from edge of river bank.

Life can't get any better than this...

 

2012 Elephant Festival – Xayabouri, Laos

As I traveled throughout the Northern part of Laos for a week and one of the destination was Xayabouri.  I am so glad, I had the opportunity to attend this year 6th Annual Elephant Festival.  There are 6 of us total, we rented a van with drivers included for $1,000,000.00 kips($125) that takes us from Luangprabang to Xayabouri.  The road condition is horrible – mostly dusty dirt road cutting through the hills.  It took us good 4hrs hours on the road and that’s including the down time waiting for the ferry boat.  We made it to the town almost noon and we missed most of schedule events.  That’s including the elephants parade and the traditional baci ceremony.  But, I still manage to captured some pictures.

I heard from the locals, this is probably one of the biggest turn out. Half of the people probably left already by the time I took this picture.

Those folks on the mound are waiting for their turns to ride them elephants. It is so unsafe trying to get on and off. I don't know how much they charge for 10 or 15 minutes ride.

It was hot and dusty that afternoon. I was wearing slippers, which was a very bad idea. There is no set tracks or directions for those elephants to follow. They seems to be going around the circle.

poo sao 🙂

They even had a beauty pageant contest.. I'm not sure if anyone of those gals are excited to be call Miss Elephant 2012. hahahhaha I spotted this gal whooshing through the crowd, I quickly snap my camera..

Our drivers for this trip... Looks like they are enjoying the festival as well..

There are vendors set up along the road that sells just about anything you can think of. In this case it is fresh bamboo shoots.

Fresh squeeze sugarcane...

Hungry anyone???? Looks like chicken heads bbq

The organizers of this event should built a ramp to allow easy access for people. These poor elephants knee down and up all day so folks can get on.

Those elephants love the water and never wants to leave..

We left Xayabouri as soon as the festival was over. By the time we got to the MeKong River, the line for ferry crossing is pretty long. I think we waited for an hour before it was our turn.

This is the ferry got us across the river. They are building a bridge just south of this ferry crossing and should be done in a year.

So, we made it back to Luangprabang around 8:30pm that evening.  Stay tune for more blogs about my trip.

Signs

If you ever travel through Laos, most likely that you will run into some odd signs along the way.  I didn’t captured all the crazy signs I saw, but managed to come back with few funny signs.  Perhaps, the Department of Transportation ever thought about standardized their road signs.  Throughout the country, most streets are without names or not post it properly.  I am not even sure if some of those streets are given its name to begin with.

Also, signs from various tourist destinations aren’t standardized at all.  This blog is simply bringing out some humors of all these signs.  I love Laos, but common people.. Let’s get this right!! Some of these signs might take couple times of reading before you bust out a laugh.

Talking about missing in translation... Those words in Lao simply said.. Caution, Slippery Area.

Tharng pai yil... hahahah Love the picture

Noodle shoup for 10,000 kips.. hahah I actually ate there once and it is pretty good.

Why bother paying for the sign? When you can go ahead and write it on the wall.. hahhahah This is pretty typical in Laos.

Again.. Lao word said.. No Passing but in english.. Danger!! hahaha This sign is from one of the waterfall in Champasak.

walkingdow??? lol

hahhaha This one is pretty funny.. In Lao, it simply said.. This way down to the bottom of fall..
Way down.... lol

I found this sign at Wat Phou, Champasak..

Construction site next to Khop Chai Deu Restaurant.. Classic!!

Wat Sisaket, I was charged as the locals... 2,000 kips($0.25)

This is probably the funniest sign of all. I found this sign at the Victory Gate Monument(Arnousawaree).

Luangprabang Morning Market

It has been almost 6 years since I last visited Luangprabang morning market.  You can find just about anything at this market ranging from silk to wild animals.  This particular morning I got up super early for the morning alms and had some time to kill afterward.  I decided to stroll down to the morning market.

The entrance..

dried fish anyone? shrimps or tiny frog??

fresh catches from MeKong River

chickens... dried cow skin

ka nom koke..

banana and papaya... and there are also undies and bra

riverweed from MeKong or Nam Khan River.

wild mushroom (het hu nu)

fresh meats

noodles..

ready to eat meal.. grill fish, chicken, sausage, and beef jerky.

fresh fruits..

check out those papayas.

 

Sabaidee Luangprabang

I’m home… Glad to be back

Human Trafficking

After reading this article below,  I am sad and heart broken to see so many young laotians women are the victims of human trafficking.  Most of these young ladies are probably from small villages and promised good paying jobs in Thailand.  Since, there aren’t much jobs available in villages near them.  Majority of these young ladies are probably misled by the recruiter to work at some fancy hotels or restaurants.  Once they arrived in Thailand, it is totally different story.  Part of the blame is the government, not creating jobs for the people.  It is sad stories for all those young ladies, dreams of making a good living turns nightmare quickly.  I hope the two countries are working hard on battling this issue of human trafficking.

Flesh trade’s newest victims

Dozens of Lao girls have fallen prey to a gang in Songkhla’s tourist district

• Published: 3/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Young Lao women and girls seeking a better life in Thailand are at risk of being lured into the flesh trade by human trafficking gangs, a senior police officer has warned.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Division has been closely monitoring one gang following the arrest of two Thai women accused of conning girls into the prostitution business and illegally detaining them.

Benjawan Chaiprew, 32, and Pranom Kottirak , 47, both natives of Kalasin, were arrested on Sept 20 following a complaint filed by a woman, who asked not to be named, that her 14-year-old daughter had been lured into the sex trade by Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom, who were their neighbours.

The two women had persuaded her daughter to work as a waitress at a restaurant in Songkhla’s Sadao district, which is a popular tourist spot.

When her daughter arrived there, she said she was forced to provide sexual service to clients. The girl said she managed to flee the brothel _ for which the restaurant was a front _ after being held there for five months.

After arresting the two women, a team of police from the Anti-Human Trafficking Division expanded its investigation and found at least 50 Lao girls had allegedly been victimised by the gang.

When the girls arrived in Sadao district, they were reportedly taken to a restaurant run by a Singaporean man and his Thai wife to earn their keep.

Another woman, identified as Yupin Chaipaew, allegedly worked with Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom to procure girls for the brothel.

Police secured warrants for the arrest of the three women. Ms Yupin is still at large.

Ms Benjawan and Ms Pranom denied any involvement in human trafficking, but police believe they have obtained evidence to implicate them and other suspects in the gang. “The gang works systematically to lure women and girls, into the sex trade. They particularly target Lao women. It is human trafficking and it goes against the law and against humanity,” said Pol Col Prasert Pattanadee, deputy commander of the division.

Members of the gang normally looked for victims in remote villages. They try to get close to the families of their targets to gain their trust, Pol Col Prasert said.

The gang would offer to find well-paying jobs at a restaurant for the girls and would then pay a cash advance to the families before taking away their daughters.

If the victims were Thais, the gang would normally take them to Bangkok first to join other girls before a vehicle took them to Sadao.

If the victims were Lao, they would be sent to a halfway house in Nong Khai province before being transported to the same destination in Sadao. Some of the Lao girls who fell prey to the gang had entered the country legally, Pol Col Prasert said.

Most of the Lao victims are aged between 14 and 18 years old.

“The underaged girls are forced to provide sex to male customers for a salary of 2,500 baht a night. Some of them were lucky enough to escape, but others ended up being sex slaves for a long time,” said the deputy chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division.

His agency is gathering additional evidence to arrest others members of the human trafficking network.

He has also received many complaints about brothels with Lao workers in Nong Khai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon.

Pol Col Prasert warned families to be wary of anyone who tried to persuade their daughters to work with them.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/259415/flesh-trade-newest-victims

British Man Died In Vang Vieng

Even before I even finish reading the article of below, I immediately assume that alcohol and drugs are involved.  As I commended on my previous blogs, Vang Vieng is best known throughout backpacker communities for the cheap drugs.  I am surprised that there aren’t as many death as reported it.  Not too many cities in Southeast Asian countries that you can order your drugs directly from restaurant menu.  Alcohol, drugs, hot sun and water just doesn’t mix well together.  It is only going to get worse if the government doesn’t step in and clean up the mess.

Bournemouth man died after river ‘tubing’ in Laos

A Dorset man drowned after “tubing” down a river during an adventure holiday in south-east Asia, an inquest has heard.

Benjamin Light, 23, of Bournemouth, was on holiday in Laos when he took part in the extreme sport on 13 April at Phoudindaeng Village near Vang Vieng.

The court heard the trip on a tube down the river also involved several stops to drink shots of alcohol.

The coroner sitting in Southampton recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Gordon Denson, deputy coroner said that Mr Light’s mother, Andrea Lowehry, had been in contact with a professional lifeguard who had been on duty on the river bank the day her son died.

He had described how all the participants of the activity had been given alcohol during stops on their way down the river.

‘Eyes rolled back’

Mr Light then swung on a rope swing and jumped into the river.

“He was immersed for some time then crawled back on to the riverside,” Mr Denson told the inquest.

“He then stood up, said ‘excuse me’ and fell backwards.

“His eyes rolled back and, when attempts were made to resuscitate him, a little bit of water came out of his mouth and at that point he passed away.”

Mr Light’s embalmed body was repatriated to the UK. where a post mortem-examination revealed no clear cause of death, although there were signs of cardio-respiratory failure caused by drowning.

Mr Denson said: “Benjamin Light was on a holiday to Laos to experience what a lot of people want to do, an adventure holiday.

“He was riding down on a tube in the river, but the difference in this was that during the course of his experience he obviously consumed alcohol and then swung across the river on a rope.

“He went into the river and I can only surmise that while immersed in the water he took on board a lot of water into his body, which ultimately caused the cardio-respiratory failure.”

He added: “I wish to pass on my own personal condolences to the family.

“It’s always difficult when you lose a family member, especially when one is so young as Benjamin who was 23 years of age.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-14918533