November - December

The rest of November has seen me settle into work, which has mainly involved me trying to work out what it is I'm supposed to be doing.  Since my placement description was prepared, the staff at HJA have changed, which has meant I’ve been defining a role for myself and keeping my fingers crossed it’s what my colleagues need.  So, I now need focus on financial management, anything IT related (procurement, setting up a network, website development - all the things I know nothing about); marketing; strategy development and policy development & documentation review.  That should all be achievable in six months! Given I haven’t worked in many of these areas, I have started crossing future careers off the list, with finance and IT being the first to go.  Still, plenty of time to work out what I could be good at! 

The office

I have sorted out the essentials and between work and home (with only some minor detours) are the local market, swimming/gym, yoga class and all of which I’m managing to visit at least once or twice a week.  And yes, that does mean that we’re finally getting round to cooking at home a couple of times a week – when you can get dinner for a couple of dollars, it hardly seems worth it, but with the luxury of having evenings free (even with doing sport after work we have a full evening left to play with) As evenings are something I've yearned for a number of years, it would be churlish to waste them.

November has also see the arrival of a VSO intern, to join our merry band of volunteers and so we dusted off our party shoes and attempted to paint the town red.  Aside from the plethora of restaurants to suit a variety of tastes and wallets, Vientiane also has an abundance of Karaoke bars (a particular favourite of Lao people - more on that later) and a few nightclubs for our delight.  There are some differences between Lao and English nightclubs (although it has been a while since I last went clubbing at home, I'm assuming things haven't changed so much).  Over here, clubs are free to get into and table service is the order of the day - which takes the fun out of spending half the night trying to get served at the bar - and the beer Lao, at normal bar/restaurant prices, just keeps flowing (although that was probably more due to the hospitality of the people we were with).  There are no dance floors. Nor are you allowed to move tables to create a space.  Basically, Lao people don’t dance and given that the music is too loud to speak over, there isn’t really much they do do in nightclubs.  Before you say I’m showing my age, teenagers I’ve spoken to say exactly the same.  On the bright side, they close at midnight.  Now you can say I’m showing my age.  Being a night of firsts, it is also the first time that I’ve cycled home from a nightclub, which is a great alternative to the usual freezing your proverbials waiting for the elusive taxi to pour yourself into.

Festival time, again

This month has also seen the celebration for 450^th anniversary of Vientiane being the capital city and That Luang Festival, both in the same week.  The two festivals coinciding in the same week can only mean two things – chaos and confusion.  So, taking confusion first, my previous observations around vagueness amongst locals on what is going on were reinforced when it came to the anniversary celebrations.  Being assured that the Sunday would see celebrations all day across the town and based on our experiences at the river festival we thought we’d go into town early, find somewhere to leave the bikes before the crowds arrived (once the motorbikes arrive there is precious little space to put our lowly little push bikes) and spend the day wandering. 

There were, in fact, no celebrations, no crowds, no anything.  It isn’t however just us poor unsuspecting Falang that suffer from the confusion.  My colleague turned up for work on Monday with her two year old daughter in tow.  Taking her to pre-school as she does every morning she was told that it would be closed for the week due to the celebrations.  So we had a very cute addition to the team for the day.  It makes a refreshing change that you can bring your child to work here (our cleaner brings her baby granddaughter in a couple of days a week) and no one runs around fretting about health & safety. 

I should explain how the term Falang works in Lao.  Technically, Falang in Lao means French but is used generically for all Europeans/westerners.  When kids ask me if I’m Falang (which, if they mean it in the generic sense, I would have thought was quite obvious) I have explained that I’m not French but English, but this just confuses even though my Lao was tone-perfect.  It is actually quite a handy term as it is easy to tell when locals are talking about you, usually when they’re laughing at us being overcharged.  In these cases, it's best to join in and laugh at yourself (one thing you need to be able to do to get along here – thankfully it’s something that I’m well practised at).

Anyway, I digress…

That Luang Festival spans a number of days and is Lao’s biggest festival.  The grounds of That Luang are turned over to trade show-come-carnival, with the last day of the festival being the ‘Giving of Alms’ ceremony where monks from all over the country come to receive alms, starting from 4 a.m.  Inside the grounds are well-constructed rows of tables with monks and their pots.  It is outside that chaos prevails - namely the traffic.  Generally speaking, traffic in Vientiane is good, except around morning and afternoon rush hour, which you’d expect anywhere. 

It’s worth explaining at this point how the road system here works.  Most junctions have a free right turn, so you can go even if the lights are red (looking first to see if there is oncoming traffic is optional); priority on the roundabouts usually goes to those joining not those already on it; if your turning left, it’s customary to cross to the left side of the road before you reach the junction to turn. 

So, in normal everyday traffic, as long as everyone keeps their wits about them everything keeps moving.  But this was no ordinary day.  Although the giving of alms starts at 4 am, most locals aim to get there by 6 am and as we are neither local nor Buddhists, we didn’t leave home until 7.30 am, hoping that we hadn't missed everything.  That Luang is probably about 6km from our house and the first few kms were relatively painless cycling.  Then we hit gridlock, which slightly surprised us given our tardiness.  One of the great things about being on bicycles is that you can overtake on the left or right; cycle the wrong way up a road and even overtake using the pavements.  So you would think it would be a breeze for us to circumvent.  Sadly not.  We had to admit defeat, lose the bikes and walk the last couple of kms.





That Luang



That Luang - Giving of Alms



Inside (once we managed to squeeze through) was a sea of monks behind trestle tables, all lined up to receive alms.  The usual offerings seemed to be sticky rice (the nation's staple) which everyone brought, sweets, biscuits and money, with each person spreading their donations around a dozen or so monks each.  Each monk has a bowl, all of which were full of rice.  They also have a bag to empty the pot into so they can keep collecting rice.  I appreciate there is an element of symbolism behind the rice but given that the sticky rice is cooked and doesn’t really keep, that’s an awful lot of rice for each one to eat in one day, no matter how much they like it (and they didn't look like they were about to share it).  What they actually do with it will go down as one of my life’s many unanswered questions.



As well as the masses of monks, there were a very small number of nuns present at the festival.  As Buddhism doesn’t recognise nuns as in Christianity, they are allowed to join the temple and reside as a lay-nun.  As they have lower status, they are not allowed to sit on chairs as the monks do, and are required to sit on the ground, so their heads are lower.  In contrast to the monks, they wear white robes as opposed to the customary orange and there is a real sense of serenity and gentleness about them.

26-27 November - Nam Ngum

Having not left the city for a few weeks it was time for a break, so a few of us went to Nam Ngum for the weekend.  Aam Nam Ngum is a man-made lake, covering 250 sq km, that has been formed by diverting the original river and building a dam.  The hydro power dam comes with some controversy – resettlement of villages and subsequent loss of livelihoods; foreign funding resulting in the majority of electricity produced being exported to Thailand and so on (Lao is increasingly being referred to as the battery of SE Asia).  I did ask one of the locals about it and he said the dam was a good thing – the fact that he owns several tourist boats on the lake may have something to do with his view.

So, after successfully finding the right bus in Vientiane we piled on to what was an already overcrowded bus; the locals conjured up some seats for us and well, as one of our group was taking their time to get to the bus, we managed to get the bus to wait… and wait… until we thought we may be outstaying our welcome and decided to get off, which was done with the same amount of kerfuffle as getting on, so no slipping away quietly.  Thankfully the locals seemed more amused than irritated as their references to ‘Falang’ were interspersed with laughter.  So our efforts to make it a cheap weekend by using public transport were to no avail as we had to negotiate with a songthaew driver, which is never easy and ending up paying about five times as much as the bus would have cost.  Again when the locals travelling with us found out how much we were charged, which was at least double the Lao rate, they were definitely amused.  It is good to spread some joy and laughter in whatever way we can!

With pit stop at Thalat to change to a tuk tuk, we filled up on Lao’s equivalent to Starbucks.  These are street or market stalls where you can get iced coffee or juices, usually served in a plastic bag with a straw. These stalls are as ubiquitous as Starbucks but there the similarity ends – the coffee is good and strong, although you do need to allow the ice to thin the condensed milk a bit so you can use the straw.  We then headed for the lake and Long Ngum View Resort.

The lake is stunning and is seemingly endless and we spent a peaceful afternoon out on the lake (at least it would have been peaceful if it weren’t for the boat engine) on a longboat.  It was odd to think that underneath us were remains of the villages and temples that were flooded.  Even stranger was although there are many islands on the lake and fish in the lake, there is very little visible wildlife above water level, most notably there weren’t any birds which is slightly unnerving.

As just sitting around on a boat for a couple of hours gave us an appetite, we were invited to a Hmong fishing village (comprising of two families) on one of the islands for a late lunch of freshly caught fish.  The families were very welcoming.  When asking one of the villagers to take photo she was surprised (and I think a little over-awed) by the camera and how it worked.  She did well though and considering it was her first time using the camera, she almost got all of us in the photo!  Although these people live not far from the mainland, they are still so cut off from the wider population. Whilst they have means to get the basic provisions they need, I suspect that this is regular but infrequent.  Whether or not the children are able to attend primary school remains a mystery, but as is sometimes the case in Lao it may be unlikely if there isn’t one that is accessible or if the family’s income isn’t enough to fund it. 

December

As a couple of volunteers would soon be leaving Vientiane to start their placements across country, Ramon and I thought we’d kick December off with a farewell party for them.  We also had a new volunteer join us the same week, so we were able to welcome him at the same time.  With most of our guests being Lao friends and colleagues, it was only inevitable that Karaoke would crop up in the planning.  Karaoke is the Lao people’s raison d’être and no party can be planned without making provision for it.  For those of you who know me well, I am sure you can gauge the level of my dismay when the one person with the Karaoke discs was, at the eleventh hour, unable to make it and singing was suddenly off the agenda.  Well, at least I didn’t have to stick pins in myself, which was my preferred alternative to Karaoke.

We had great plans to get a disposable barbecue to cook a fish on and we successfully managed to acquire both barbecue and fish.  This left us with two problems – the first was how to prepare the fish.  Grateful as we were that the lady in the market killed it for us, we were left to work out how to gut and dress it.  Being products of the modern western world, neither Ramona nor I were equipped for such a task and there was no Mr Marks or Mr Spencer on hand to do the honours.  Thankfully our lovely Filipino friend was able to take control.  The second problem was the barbecue not working.  This time, our lovely Lao neighbours from the village came to our rescue and built a fire in the garden for us.  Problems solved.  One of the great things about our village is that the sister of one of the VSO staff lives close by and so the family is always on hand (assuming we can rustle up enough Lao to explain what we need).  So anyway, everything went as you’d expect it to, and if our Lao guests were saddened by the lack of Karaoke, they didn’t let it show. 

One of the things our village lacks due to the poor accessibility, is any form of rubbish collection service (this is a problem even in accessible areas of the City and the government are gradually putting services in place).  As we’re not so keen on doing as the locals do and burning our rubbish, we put what we can on the plants for composting and then every day we have to take our rubbish to the office where there are collections.  Given the levels of debris you accumulate at parties you can understand how I wasn’t looking forward to spending the following month carting bottles and bags to the office, every day, on our bikes.  You can therefore imagine our gratitude when our neighbours that run the village eatery turned up in the morning with a crate and took away all the empty Beer Lao bottles.  You just can’t fail to love these people and their thoughtful ways.

6-12 December – The South

This week we went on another recruitment drive, to finish recruiting interns for the 2011 intake, in the South of the country.  As with the trip to the North the previous month, we were recruiting in remote areas so this meant a considerable amount of on the road to reach these places. 

The South of the country is flat and not least because it is after all the dry season, very dusty.  That said, it is beautiful and in contrast to the North everything seems more spacious, but I suppose that’s pretty obvious as there are no mountains in the way.  Food is cheaper in South than in the North, possibly due to it being slightly more accessible and prices at the market are on average a fifth of the cost in Vientiane.  Papaya, which is the nation's favourite fruit, is only about 10p each in the South and a massive 50p in Vientiane - at that price it makes me glad we have our own papaya tree in the garden!

One of the great things about these trips (and sadly this may be my last as our recruitment is now done for the year) is the opportunity to experiment and discover different foods, under the experienced guidance of my colleagues.  So, as a result of this trip, I have added a few more culinary delights to my experiences - barbecued frogs on a stick, lotus flower buds seeds, contents of the intestine (I think from a pig, but I felt too queasy to ask), barbecued chicken organs (including the intestine tube) on a stick.



Candidates, me & Bey



Having spent the night on the bus to get to Salavan province and getting no more than a couple of hours sleep (they may call the bus VIP, however it was anything but), we arrived at about 8.30 am and had just enough time to get changed before starting interviewing an hour later.  The people we were recruiting with were running a microfinance project in their district, set up by a INGO.  Much to our surprise and gratitude, two of the girls lived in the office, which meant there was a bed in the back room.  So obviously Bey and I didn't hesitate to take them up on their offer to take naps at every available opportunity, throughout the day!  The day was topped off by the staff cooking us a lovely dinner (except for the intestinal juices).  My other first for this trip was not only riding a motorcycle (which I've always had a fear of, so something I always avoid) but having to do so side saddle.  As sinh (Lao skirts) are long, it was either that or lose my dignity (which we did debate before settling on side saddle).  All I needed was to find a couple of kids to wedge between me and the driver and I would have truly been a local.  As it was, it was as much as I could do just to keep myself upright - it really isn't as easy as Lao women make it look.

The rest of the week continued in the same vein - buses, interviewing, eating.  We have now almost finished recruiting, in time for the induction and training which will start in the last week of December.  This organisation of this is something that will need to be seen to be believed and I am so glad it is something that my colleagues have in hand. 

There are so many factors involved just to get everyone here.  Just to give you an idea: we will be having 15 volunteers, the majority of which are coming from remote villages, which involve them finding transport to the nearest town (neither cheap nor easy) to be able to get a bus to connect to a larger town to connect for Vientiane.  Volunteers who may not have ever left their rural areas before will be arriving at two different bus stations (several kms apart) at different times of the day and some of them don't speak Lao.  There are two HJA staff (I don't include myself in this as I will be of no use) that will need to be in several places at once just to make sure everyone is able to get to the hotel. All we have between us to achieve this is a pushbike and a motorbike.  Easy.

Transport

I’m finally beginning to understand a bit more about the transport here (not how it works, more why it is like it is).  Take travelling around the South.  We had to go to three different areas, in neighbouring provinces which I would guess were all in a radius of 200 km of each other.  So it really shouldn’t take a week to do, surely?  Okay, so the journey down is probably about 400 km, so you can expect that to take a while, although in reality it is more like 450 km because there are so few roads you have to travel further south and then come back up a bit. 

The overnight bus was 13 hours journey time in total, arriving at 8.30 am.  The alternative would have been to catch an earlier bus at, say, 3 pm which would also arrive at 8.30 am.  Strange but true.  When trying to work out bus times with my Bey (there is no handy website or even a central phone number to find these things out) we looked on one travellers' website and it said that buses were slow, quote ‘.. they stop very frequently to pick up passengers and because they stop all the time to let people pee.’.  When we read this I felt a bit embarrassed as I was not sure if she would be offended by this, as it was a bit of a slur on her nation.  My mind was put at rest when, an hour into our journey and the bus stopped for about the tenth time, she quoted it back to me and laughed. 

It is definitely true that buses will stop for anything, hence buses leaving earlier in the day taking as long as a night bus to reach its destination.  There is, however, a lot to be said for this.  It means that people who have to travel a long distance and happen to be passing through their home village are able to pop off the bus to give presents (usually food) to their families (as one of my colleagues did on our previous trip north).  Similarly, on the way back you can pop off and pick up goodies your family has for you to take back home (usually a few month's supply of rice).  The unofficial bus stops are valuable to those that have moved across country and have to use any opportunity they can to see family members, as they are invariably a long distance away and low income levels prevent non-essential travelling.  I makes me hope that, as the country develops and buses have to run to schedule, which is inevitable, they do not forget the value of these small actions to the individual.  (I also have to confess that, on our return journey from the South, we took advantage of this – not only did one of our lunch guests phone the bus driver to get him to divert to our hotel to pick us up, we also got the bus to wait 15 minutes whilst we finished eating).  It’s all about who you know!

Okay, so that’s buses.  Roads themselves are another thing.  There really aren’t enough of them.  There are so few roads that to get from A to B, which may be a 100 km or so as the crow flies, you may find yourself travelling twice the distance as there may not be a direct road.  For one of our journeys between districts in the South, we were fortunate to pay someone to drive us privately from Luangam to Sepong.  They thought the drive would be about 4 hours, as there is short cut they can use which public buses can’t as it takes unsealed roads.  The journey was in fact 9 hours (with two of us crammed in the gap between the seats and the back of the truck cab), with the shortcut.  Were we to do that by public transport, it would have taken two days. 

The unsealed roads are something to be seen and given the craters in them (the term ‘pot holes’ just wouldn’t do them justice) I am glad the public buses don’t use them, as they are accident prone enough.  I can now understand why when the government secures funding, usually through corporate investors, to tarmac roads on routes that will be good for trade with neighbouring countries, it makes the headlines in the newspapers (which are of course state controlled, so that might be another reason...). 

The best road we've travelled on so far has been one leading to/from the gold & copper mines.  I wonder why?