The woman from the local herbal medicine shop invited me in and gave me a drink. It smelled and tasted wonderful, like a rich honeyed mulled wine but with layer upon layer of unfamiliar spices. After one glass I went home and slept for hour upon hour of completely restful sleep which felt so wonderful after such a long time of showering several times in the night just to cool down. I awoke at 9 am - around 4 hours later than usual, and the following night slept even longer. It felt fantastic.
While I had been talking to her, she had invited me to her garden at the weekend. It is a fairly typical situation to have a town house and a garden a few kilometres out of town. She told me that her family go there often at the weekend, there were pools where you could swim, I could bring my puppy, and we'd have a picnic. I had this image of the whole family snipping and pruning, digging and weeding the mystical herbs - maybe they would teach me about the different uses and as my Laos gets better I would become more and more knowledgeable.
I was told to arrive at 7am. Not a minute later! When I arrived they were all sleepy. We ate some breakfast together and we were each given a spoonful of a thick sticky black syrup to drink. I drank mine first - something like malt extract made bitter, very bitter. The children wiggled and squirmed trying to escape their grandmother's clutches as she administered the morning medicine. They were ready for the bitterness.
Eventually we were ready to go. The car was loaded up with provisions - three or four cases of beer, several ice boxes full of food, pepsi, the Lao equivalent of Red Bull. And off we went five of us in the cab and several more strewn across the back, leaning on the crates and boxes.
They didn't look dressed for gardening - the grandson who (shall we say is more in touch with his feminine side) wore a white lace halterneck top and white hotpants, the others a little more soberly dressed but I could see that not much gardening was planned - maybe the old lady and I would do the gardening whilst the kids all played in the garden. She had told me of course of the pools I could swim in. And it was all boys and men who'd joined us - the women had stayed behind.
We stopped at several shops en route. Each one sold fish - small ones in tanks, but it wasn't until the fifth one that they came out with a couple of cut off water bottles, a small black fish in each. And off we set. Around 18 kilometres outside town we turned on to a dirt track at a sign for a fish garden. This sounded wonderful. After driving for a couple more kilometres until the track ended we all piled out.
The animals all greeted us as we carried the food to the building, a weird restaurant with a very basic kitchen to the side. They opened up the kitchen as I sat to one side on one of the benches that looked like those in a sauna, three levels of thin benches. I put the dog in one of the big circular ponds in the middle of the room. It seemed a bit strange to have these concrete ponds in the middle like this but I guessed that they had been there when they bought the place as they were now carpeted so obviously hadn't seen any fish for a long time. I tried to help but I was the honoured guest so wasn't allowed to. I got a bit bored so went off for a wander. The dogs were mangy and thin didn't begin to describe them scrawny puppies sheltered from the sun. The geese looked healthy but the chickens looked really rough - most of them had bearly any feathers. The goats looked good though, as did the ducks.
We wandered down to the pond, right next to the loo. It didn't look inviting. The water was muddy, there was rubbish in the pond and I didn't like to think were the toilet emptied itself! So a swim was most definitely out. We (puppy and I) wandered back to the restaurant. The boys had emptied the two new fish into one bottle and were all sat around staring intently. I think it was at this point I subconsciously realised what today was about but consciously I just mused at how amazingly capable of doing absolutely nothing people are here - I just get stupidly bored.
I got back to the restaurant - no sign of any gardening happening and they wouldn't let me help. There was nothing much to do and they showed me to a bed and suggested I have a sleep before lunch. As I'd had less than four hours sleep the night before, this really appealed. My puppy and I fell asleep quickly and woke to the noise of many many excited men. Hundreds of motorcycles were now in the parking area and the men were all on the benches around the circular pits, yelling and laughing, betting and eating. Suddenly I realised with a sinking feeling what was going on - the pits, the three levels of seating, the cocks with their feathers missing, and the fish - this was a day of cockfights. Even the boys had been watching fighting fish.
I felt like I was in the outer reaches of hell. I really did not want to see cockfighting - even though I could hear it - I just wanted to get out of there, but I was twenty kilometres from home with no transport and no lift back for 9 hours. I decided to walk. Even if no bus or songthaew came along I'd still be home sooner and away from this place immediately. Someone phoned me then and as no one there spoke any English this gave me the opportunity to lie about a problem at home that I had to deal with immediately. The walk to the main road wasn't bad and almost as soon as I got there the bus arrived - just 40 cents for the bus home. I felt very tired.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
We set off early for the waterfall and at the first garage filled the jeep with petrol. Half a kilometre further along a passing motorist yelled to the monks in the back that petrol was pouring from the car. We stopped. I had to U turn to get to the garage, following a monk on a motorbike! I was watching where he was going and didn't notice as the lights changed - stupid. I pulled to a halt in front of the police box where I discovered that the monk card does beat the foreigner card - I'm fairly sure that without them in the back of the jeep, I'd have had a substantial amount demanded (and possibly the jeep impounded for good measure). Definitely the documents checked and I was a little nervous as my passport and ID card are both off with immigration for the updated work visa to go on, though I figured my driving licence would count now that I have a Laos one. Anyway the policeman just asked me to reverse. Hooray.
The garage took around three or four hours to fix the car. Apparently the weight of the fuel had opened up a rust hole, hence the fuel pouring on the road. They took the thing to pieces as I panicked about the cost. I wandered off to look at a wood shop I'd passed. I fancy getting a blanket box made and thought one of the attractive doors would make a great front. Saw one I loved - beautifully hand carved. $1450 though is a little steep for me! Was stunning though.
Anyway, got back to the garage. They assured me that the work was nearly done, but the engine was still in bits next to the empty car. I sat at the back next to a small lake with coconut trees reflecting beautifully - the best mechanics lounge I've ever had to wait in. I dreaded the bill - five men seemed to be working on it. Finally they drove it round to me. They passed the bill over. One of the monks looked at it first - he knew that I was concerned about how high it would be. He looked worried - it was expensive. He handed me the bill but told me as he did that he might be able to help to pay as full moon day had just happened which meant he had a few kip. I declined him and checked the bill - 100, 000 kip. (around 5 gbp). I think it's fair to say it surprised me but maybe not in the way I expected.
We went on to the waterfall. Two late teen novice monks, three mid teen students of dance, seven week old puppy, and myself. Monks, I assume, stuggling hard with the vows as the stunning dancing girls frolicked in the water. Puppy didn't like the water and looked up at me with huge disappointment that I had put her through such an ordeal. Picnic by the river was lovely, but then scrambling over rocks to get to the waterfall, carrying very timid and scared puppy, I spent too much time looking down at her, and the rocks, not enough time looking ahead. Didn't think anyone ever really walked into a tree. Very embarrassed and a touch sore.
Spent the night in a hotel. Seemed clean but the problem with sharing a room with a puppy is that they hunt out everything they can find. Can't say it was my favourite moment ever to find myself walking to the look in the middle of the night with a used condom stuck to my foot. Yuk doesn't even start to go there!
After trying hard to find a 2007 calendar that I could actually write on, I decided to make one. It's fairly well underway, then I found out about a calendar that's produced following a photo competition. So I've entered - so maybe there will be two calendars with photos of mine on next year (maybe none I guess if they don't pick my photos and for some reason mine doesn't come off - but hopefully two). Anyway, tomorrow night is the judging so they're holding an exhibition of all the pics. It'll be an interesting evening. The theme is Wonders of Laos, so didn't bring enter any of my favourite people pics, just a couple of two of the major attractions of Laos - That Luang - the most revered stupa in Laos, and a monk looking into a jar at the Plain of Jars site.
Also tomorrow, the bods who we're hoping to take on a trip to Australia have said that they will give us their answer - so hopefully tomorrow will be a great day - not a disappointing one!
Photos as always on the flickr account. Still unable to upload them on to this site.
The garage took around three or four hours to fix the car. Apparently the weight of the fuel had opened up a rust hole, hence the fuel pouring on the road. They took the thing to pieces as I panicked about the cost. I wandered off to look at a wood shop I'd passed. I fancy getting a blanket box made and thought one of the attractive doors would make a great front. Saw one I loved - beautifully hand carved. $1450 though is a little steep for me! Was stunning though.
Anyway, got back to the garage. They assured me that the work was nearly done, but the engine was still in bits next to the empty car. I sat at the back next to a small lake with coconut trees reflecting beautifully - the best mechanics lounge I've ever had to wait in. I dreaded the bill - five men seemed to be working on it. Finally they drove it round to me. They passed the bill over. One of the monks looked at it first - he knew that I was concerned about how high it would be. He looked worried - it was expensive. He handed me the bill but told me as he did that he might be able to help to pay as full moon day had just happened which meant he had a few kip. I declined him and checked the bill - 100, 000 kip. (around 5 gbp). I think it's fair to say it surprised me but maybe not in the way I expected.
We went on to the waterfall. Two late teen novice monks, three mid teen students of dance, seven week old puppy, and myself. Monks, I assume, stuggling hard with the vows as the stunning dancing girls frolicked in the water. Puppy didn't like the water and looked up at me with huge disappointment that I had put her through such an ordeal. Picnic by the river was lovely, but then scrambling over rocks to get to the waterfall, carrying very timid and scared puppy, I spent too much time looking down at her, and the rocks, not enough time looking ahead. Didn't think anyone ever really walked into a tree. Very embarrassed and a touch sore.
Spent the night in a hotel. Seemed clean but the problem with sharing a room with a puppy is that they hunt out everything they can find. Can't say it was my favourite moment ever to find myself walking to the look in the middle of the night with a used condom stuck to my foot. Yuk doesn't even start to go there!
After trying hard to find a 2007 calendar that I could actually write on, I decided to make one. It's fairly well underway, then I found out about a calendar that's produced following a photo competition. So I've entered - so maybe there will be two calendars with photos of mine on next year (maybe none I guess if they don't pick my photos and for some reason mine doesn't come off - but hopefully two). Anyway, tomorrow night is the judging so they're holding an exhibition of all the pics. It'll be an interesting evening. The theme is Wonders of Laos, so didn't bring enter any of my favourite people pics, just a couple of two of the major attractions of Laos - That Luang - the most revered stupa in Laos, and a monk looking into a jar at the Plain of Jars site.
Also tomorrow, the bods who we're hoping to take on a trip to Australia have said that they will give us their answer - so hopefully tomorrow will be a great day - not a disappointing one!
Photos as always on the flickr account. Still unable to upload them on to this site.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Life and socialising
I've almost cut out teaching - but still doing a little, and I've now had a photo exhibition confirmed for October. Should be fun. They reckon I can sell my pics for around vast amounts which would be rather lovely if it happens!
All amazing. One of the things about a capital city that's so small is that you end up socialising with such a range of people - from monks, to people who work for embassies, NGOs, artists and business people. It means I get some really interesting invites (which I can now take up as the teaching is no longer all time consuming). This week I've been to an exhibition opening, a Japanese opera, been invited to take photos at a fashion show (actually begged would probably have been a better word) but I was already busy, taken a jeep full of monks to the rabies clinic after one of them was bitten by a dog, been to a party to celebrate the anniversary of a death - and sat next to a professional singer at the meal, I'm not going to a concert tonight I've been invited to, I am going to a party tomorrow evening - after spending the afternoon at the steam baths (that may be alone as most people think I'm mad to go to a steam room in 37 degree heat), may have a massage too (steam bath and massage will cost total of around $3) and then I'm going on a picnic and boat ride with a load of pop stars on Sunday!
All amazing. One of the things about a capital city that's so small is that you end up socialising with such a range of people - from monks, to people who work for embassies, NGOs, artists and business people. It means I get some really interesting invites (which I can now take up as the teaching is no longer all time consuming). This week I've been to an exhibition opening, a Japanese opera, been invited to take photos at a fashion show (actually begged would probably have been a better word) but I was already busy, taken a jeep full of monks to the rabies clinic after one of them was bitten by a dog, been to a party to celebrate the anniversary of a death - and sat next to a professional singer at the meal, I'm not going to a concert tonight I've been invited to, I am going to a party tomorrow evening - after spending the afternoon at the steam baths (that may be alone as most people think I'm mad to go to a steam room in 37 degree heat), may have a massage too (steam bath and massage will cost total of around $3) and then I'm going on a picnic and boat ride with a load of pop stars on Sunday!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
hoooooooooooooooot
It's a little on the warm side. The walls are radiating heat, the floors are radiating heat - even the sheets on the bed are radiating heat. I think the physical temperature has been more, but it must be the build up - I made many many visits to the shower - dive in, cold water blast (or as cold as it can get in this heat), twirl around, and lie back dripping wet under the fan trying to find the perfect spot that's cold enough to sleep!
Finally ventured out by myself - on wheels that is. Driving on the 'wrong side' was remarkably simple, avoiding the potholes less so - thank goodness for four wheel driving.
Finally ventured out by myself - on wheels that is. Driving on the 'wrong side' was remarkably simple, avoiding the potholes less so - thank goodness for four wheel driving.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Urban skimming and bags of frogs
John wanted some photos for his article so we decided to get together for a combination of urban and traditional stoneskimming photos. Puddles, the sludge of the dug up roads, and drains were all skimmed and photoed. A novice monk joined in and then we headed down to the Mekong for something a touch more traditional.
The pics are on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/sets/72157600238818620/
Heading over there I shared a tuk tuk with one woman, one policeman and several rice sacks. As I got in she gently moved the bags to one side. I figured that as they had something in she didn't want damaged, I'd just sit with my feet out. They started moving. She told me what they had in them but I knew I must have misunderstood - they didn't contain shoes - must work more on the Laos! So she opened them up. Some of the frogs had swollen up to the size of a cricket ball, others just crawled over their 'mates' gasping for breath. She offered me a discount on a kilo. urgh.
The pics are on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/sets/72157600238818620/
Heading over there I shared a tuk tuk with one woman, one policeman and several rice sacks. As I got in she gently moved the bags to one side. I figured that as they had something in she didn't want damaged, I'd just sit with my feet out. They started moving. She told me what they had in them but I knew I must have misunderstood - they didn't contain shoes - must work more on the Laos! So she opened them up. Some of the frogs had swollen up to the size of a cricket ball, others just crawled over their 'mates' gasping for breath. She offered me a discount on a kilo. urgh.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Movies and holidays
I was asked to be in a movie yesterday. I have no idea what it's about. A friend of mine is making it and wants a foreigner in it as that's what they do in Thailand - they normally have stunning foreigners that they've headhunted (head and body hunted???) so not exactly crying out for me but hey - I've been on telly - why not a movie - it'll be an experience.
I'm almost certainly taking a group of Laos bods to Australia later this year. If it goes well and we enjoy the experience we'll do more. Got some other business things going on now too and so I've cut back on the teaching to try to make some of them take off. Hopefully it'll all be fun.
I've borrowed a jeep. It's fabulously being mobile - so easy to get out of the city. Seeing fishermen casting their nets, women washing clothes in the riverr, children bent over legs and arms straight and on the ground, bottom high in the air, as the mother cleans their bottom with a stick. Delightful??!!??
I'm almost certainly taking a group of Laos bods to Australia later this year. If it goes well and we enjoy the experience we'll do more. Got some other business things going on now too and so I've cut back on the teaching to try to make some of them take off. Hopefully it'll all be fun.
I've borrowed a jeep. It's fabulously being mobile - so easy to get out of the city. Seeing fishermen casting their nets, women washing clothes in the riverr, children bent over legs and arms straight and on the ground, bottom high in the air, as the mother cleans their bottom with a stick. Delightful??!!??
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Hooray - radio 4
I'm having speakers fitted - which means that along with the computer and the broadband connection, I can now listen to radio 4 streamed live all the time, everywhere in the house. So happy!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Animal tales
My classroom was filled with weird flying fat maggotty things with huge lacy yellow wings today. They were divebombing me and the students and losing their wings. As the class finished one of the students turned to me and announced, as she left the room, that these insects, delicious.
Downstairs another two students told me the same thing.
Turns out the snail wasn't popular - it makes you really ill if you eat it. I carried it outside myself then left the gate ajar for it to make it's escape in it's own slow time.
And my neighbours have cut down most of my plants in the garden. Apparently some snakes were living in them and they were worried about their daughter.
All's well but busy.
More soon
Jo
Downstairs another two students told me the same thing.
Turns out the snail wasn't popular - it makes you really ill if you eat it. I carried it outside myself then left the gate ajar for it to make it's escape in it's own slow time.
And my neighbours have cut down most of my plants in the garden. Apparently some snakes were living in them and they were worried about their daughter.
All's well but busy.
More soon
Jo
Monday, May 14, 2007
Slimy house guests
I've got a visitor. A snail has arrived in my house. Now this wouldn't normally be remarkable except it's enormous. The shell is about 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. The sluggy bit's scary. How does a snail that big sneak into the house - dash in while I'm not looking? Mosquitoes struggle to get into my house yet........ I'm fascinated. And revolted - you can't keep something leaving that much slime in the house so in a minute I've got to go and remove the cardboard box. But I have a theory. I can't believe anything that large isn't snacked upon - so I'm going to get the neighbours round - wussy and generous and mean to snails all in one action.
I've found out my cow's having twins. Hooray.
Anyway, snails to deal with......................................
I've found out my cow's having twins. Hooray.
Anyway, snails to deal with......................................
Friday, May 04, 2007
The amazing short tamarind tree
So the major tourist attraction for the area is the short tamarind tree. Monk, mother, sister, granny and I set off early in the morning – I’d been woken up early again as we had to get an early start. I have to admit that as tourist attractions go it didn’t quite have the oomph of the blue lagoon and caves in Vang Vieng, or 2000 islands in the south but they were all keen to get there.
We caught a songthaew for around half an hour, Then walked for another half hour. We got to a house where the whole village gathered to stare at me. No one spoke. No one. Not one person would say anything at all to me. They just stared. After a while we resumed our journey to the short tamarind tree. We walked through paddy fields – now just dry stumps, as the hot season was well underway, along the ridges between each section, the earth cracked and dry. I would guess it hadn’t rained for months. We passed buffalo. Not the black variety I had seen elsewhere – these were pink – somehow they looked naked. Elephants were ridden past us heading for the logging fields further along. A few turkeys on a wander looking for grasshoppers and frogs glanced briefly at us then continued on their way.
I was so tired. The lack of sleep was really affecting me now. I just wanted to sleep. The heat was relentless as we walked through the open fields. My head was feeling heavier and heavier. They wanted me to speed up – I wanted to take in everything and talk to people I passed. Eventually we arrived – the short tamarind tree. Except that it wasn’t short. Looked a little like an oak tree. It was lovely. Old and knarled. A fabulous climbing tree but not, in any way, short.
Odd.
Then it started raining. The dry cracks filled with water then mud as the heavy water soaked deep below the surface. We sat in the shelter of the not short tamarind tree. Then the thunder and lightening started so they said we had to go to one of the little bamboo shelters that dot the fields. We squelched through the mud, ran and slipped and reached the shelter. I wanted to sleep there – I was so tired and it looked like it would rain for a long time. The noise of the heavy rain hitting the bamboo matting of the shelter was soothing. I felt I was being sung to sleep. Then the sister started banging a nail in with her shoe. I lay there so sleepy but unable to rest. Then suddenly I was told we had to continue. It was still raining. I couldn’t understand the rush, but..... We started walking. After around 45 minutes we passed a noodle stand. A little bamboo shed with a roof that stopped about three feet off the floor. We went in but as I ducked down to get under the roof my head scraped a nail that hung down. Blood poured from my head. Everything pixelated. I sat down heavily. Touching the wound. I couldn’t see straight. I couldn’t think. I just wanted to sleep. I was so tired. Tears started pouring down my face. I couldn’t stop. I sat under that bamboo roof in the rain, surrounded by the monk’s family and I bawled. I couldn’t stop.
We got back to the house and I slept.
I slept for about 15 minutes until once again little girls sat over me giggling. I gave up. It was a tiring visit.
We caught a songthaew for around half an hour, Then walked for another half hour. We got to a house where the whole village gathered to stare at me. No one spoke. No one. Not one person would say anything at all to me. They just stared. After a while we resumed our journey to the short tamarind tree. We walked through paddy fields – now just dry stumps, as the hot season was well underway, along the ridges between each section, the earth cracked and dry. I would guess it hadn’t rained for months. We passed buffalo. Not the black variety I had seen elsewhere – these were pink – somehow they looked naked. Elephants were ridden past us heading for the logging fields further along. A few turkeys on a wander looking for grasshoppers and frogs glanced briefly at us then continued on their way.
I was so tired. The lack of sleep was really affecting me now. I just wanted to sleep. The heat was relentless as we walked through the open fields. My head was feeling heavier and heavier. They wanted me to speed up – I wanted to take in everything and talk to people I passed. Eventually we arrived – the short tamarind tree. Except that it wasn’t short. Looked a little like an oak tree. It was lovely. Old and knarled. A fabulous climbing tree but not, in any way, short.
Odd.
Then it started raining. The dry cracks filled with water then mud as the heavy water soaked deep below the surface. We sat in the shelter of the not short tamarind tree. Then the thunder and lightening started so they said we had to go to one of the little bamboo shelters that dot the fields. We squelched through the mud, ran and slipped and reached the shelter. I wanted to sleep there – I was so tired and it looked like it would rain for a long time. The noise of the heavy rain hitting the bamboo matting of the shelter was soothing. I felt I was being sung to sleep. Then the sister started banging a nail in with her shoe. I lay there so sleepy but unable to rest. Then suddenly I was told we had to continue. It was still raining. I couldn’t understand the rush, but..... We started walking. After around 45 minutes we passed a noodle stand. A little bamboo shed with a roof that stopped about three feet off the floor. We went in but as I ducked down to get under the roof my head scraped a nail that hung down. Blood poured from my head. Everything pixelated. I sat down heavily. Touching the wound. I couldn’t see straight. I couldn’t think. I just wanted to sleep. I was so tired. Tears started pouring down my face. I couldn’t stop. I sat under that bamboo roof in the rain, surrounded by the monk’s family and I bawled. I couldn’t stop.
We got back to the house and I slept.
I slept for about 15 minutes until once again little girls sat over me giggling. I gave up. It was a tiring visit.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
I can't crouch with my feet flat
How can I put this delicately???
I can’t crouch with my feet flat. The loos here are meant for people who can. And something about the resulting angle I’m in means that I’m having a problem going. The return to Vientiane (after one week away) was a huge relief to my insides. I hadn’t been at all. Got to do something about the Achilles tendon to lengthen it so I can crouch better.
I came out of the loo at the end of the garden with a stomach ache as I’d still not succeeded in going. Everyone else I know gets the opposite problem in Asia. I think I prefer it this way round but a week of not going is just ridiculous. I don’t think the enormous resident spider helps though. I’ve been assured it’s not poisonous but it’s huge so I’m a little wary of it – and if you are going to be bitten you at least want it to be somewhere like your arm.
Still at the monks family I was having sleeping problems. I’d been tired since we arrived as the monk had called me at 4.30 am to see if I was up yet. I wasn’t. The first night I’d been told that the granny would be sharing my mosquito net with me. I’m used to having the whole house to myself so the idea of sharing not just a bedroom, but a mosquito net with someone wasn’t a plan I exactly relished – but figured that there must be a shortage of mosquito nets so offered to go and buy one the following day – oops. There wasn’t. It had been a friendly gesture – she liked me and was fascinated by this weird woman who couldn’t even crouch properly, didn’t like sheat fish (as the recipe book of traditional Laos food had called the contents of the bowel which is a very popular ingredient in cooking here (when we open up fish to eat the monks will generally exclaim their disappointment on realizing that this one is depriving us of the delicacy by announcing to the others that there isn’t any fish poo today)), and didn’t know how to do the simplest thing to do with living. And I’d rejected her. She didn’t seem to mind, but I felt a bit bad.
The woman looked ancient - I was so shocked to discover she was just 60 - I'd have guessed at least 80 - probably closer to 100. And she had a horrible habit - often she went around in just a bra - weirdly I realised that these huge bras that are often on show here have an additional part under the boobs whereby money etc. can be stored in a zipped pouch. And then again she often found wearing the bra just too much effort - breasts of that age are not something I'm overly keen on being able to see that much. I was still staying at the monk’s family home and things were starting to become a little frustrating. Such lovely lovely people but the clash of cultures can be hard.
The old lady couldn't quite grasp why I hadn't spoken to her at all the first time I'd visited and why I was now speaking really badly and couldn't understand a lot of what she was saying. She had met almost no one who didn't speak Lao as a mother tongue and couldn't understand the concept. She spent a long time telling me a story - the gist of which I think I understood (but I couldn't be sure as the idea of slowing down or using simpler words wasn’t grasped at all). Basically I was better than the last foreigners that she had met. However, as she went on to tell me that they were the French colonialists who had been shooting at her this somehow wasn’t that great a compliment!
Anyway so that first night I’d had a mosquito net to myself, but I’d gone to sleep with dreadful Thai movies playing at full volume and a little row of around 6 small girls who’d all gathered to watch the weird white woman. They sat crosslegged immediately outside my mosquito net, discussing my strangeness amongst themselves as I tried to get to sleep. The fan was switched off. They were worried that I was cold. I wasn’t.
I’d love to claim that I was woken by one of the chickens that kept popping their heads into the room but it was the cat running over my hand – the chicken would have made a better story though.
I tried to get back to sleep. Then the granny came in. 5 am is obviously a perfect time to start sorting out all the pans and other noisy metal objects that were dotted around the sacks full of rice in the ‘bedroom’. I thought I’d try to ignore her. It wasn’t easy. Then a motorbike revved up right by my head – I had to be dreaming this. No. The bike was brought in for safekeeping purposes every night so that cloud of exhaust fumes noisily penetrating the mosquito net were real. I was determined not to give in. I was so tired from the trip and they would be gone in a minute. They were. But by now it was nearly 5.30 am so everyone was up and about. My diminutive audience was back. And because I was ignoring them the TV was turned up louder…..and louder…..and louder. You know how well meaning Aunties want to wake a new born baby buy know that they shouldn’t so just sabotage it’s sleep instead? I was that new born baby.
I can’t crouch with my feet flat. The loos here are meant for people who can. And something about the resulting angle I’m in means that I’m having a problem going. The return to Vientiane (after one week away) was a huge relief to my insides. I hadn’t been at all. Got to do something about the Achilles tendon to lengthen it so I can crouch better.
I came out of the loo at the end of the garden with a stomach ache as I’d still not succeeded in going. Everyone else I know gets the opposite problem in Asia. I think I prefer it this way round but a week of not going is just ridiculous. I don’t think the enormous resident spider helps though. I’ve been assured it’s not poisonous but it’s huge so I’m a little wary of it – and if you are going to be bitten you at least want it to be somewhere like your arm.
Still at the monks family I was having sleeping problems. I’d been tired since we arrived as the monk had called me at 4.30 am to see if I was up yet. I wasn’t. The first night I’d been told that the granny would be sharing my mosquito net with me. I’m used to having the whole house to myself so the idea of sharing not just a bedroom, but a mosquito net with someone wasn’t a plan I exactly relished – but figured that there must be a shortage of mosquito nets so offered to go and buy one the following day – oops. There wasn’t. It had been a friendly gesture – she liked me and was fascinated by this weird woman who couldn’t even crouch properly, didn’t like sheat fish (as the recipe book of traditional Laos food had called the contents of the bowel which is a very popular ingredient in cooking here (when we open up fish to eat the monks will generally exclaim their disappointment on realizing that this one is depriving us of the delicacy by announcing to the others that there isn’t any fish poo today)), and didn’t know how to do the simplest thing to do with living. And I’d rejected her. She didn’t seem to mind, but I felt a bit bad.
The woman looked ancient - I was so shocked to discover she was just 60 - I'd have guessed at least 80 - probably closer to 100. And she had a horrible habit - often she went around in just a bra - weirdly I realised that these huge bras that are often on show here have an additional part under the boobs whereby money etc. can be stored in a zipped pouch. And then again she often found wearing the bra just too much effort - breasts of that age are not something I'm overly keen on being able to see that much. I was still staying at the monk’s family home and things were starting to become a little frustrating. Such lovely lovely people but the clash of cultures can be hard.
The old lady couldn't quite grasp why I hadn't spoken to her at all the first time I'd visited and why I was now speaking really badly and couldn't understand a lot of what she was saying. She had met almost no one who didn't speak Lao as a mother tongue and couldn't understand the concept. She spent a long time telling me a story - the gist of which I think I understood (but I couldn't be sure as the idea of slowing down or using simpler words wasn’t grasped at all). Basically I was better than the last foreigners that she had met. However, as she went on to tell me that they were the French colonialists who had been shooting at her this somehow wasn’t that great a compliment!
Anyway so that first night I’d had a mosquito net to myself, but I’d gone to sleep with dreadful Thai movies playing at full volume and a little row of around 6 small girls who’d all gathered to watch the weird white woman. They sat crosslegged immediately outside my mosquito net, discussing my strangeness amongst themselves as I tried to get to sleep. The fan was switched off. They were worried that I was cold. I wasn’t.
I’d love to claim that I was woken by one of the chickens that kept popping their heads into the room but it was the cat running over my hand – the chicken would have made a better story though.
I tried to get back to sleep. Then the granny came in. 5 am is obviously a perfect time to start sorting out all the pans and other noisy metal objects that were dotted around the sacks full of rice in the ‘bedroom’. I thought I’d try to ignore her. It wasn’t easy. Then a motorbike revved up right by my head – I had to be dreaming this. No. The bike was brought in for safekeeping purposes every night so that cloud of exhaust fumes noisily penetrating the mosquito net were real. I was determined not to give in. I was so tired from the trip and they would be gone in a minute. They were. But by now it was nearly 5.30 am so everyone was up and about. My diminutive audience was back. And because I was ignoring them the TV was turned up louder…..and louder…..and louder. You know how well meaning Aunties want to wake a new born baby buy know that they shouldn’t so just sabotage it’s sleep instead? I was that new born baby.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
What little boys are made of
Happy New Year 2551!
The Buddhist New Year celebrations are just coming to an end - amazing times!
I took off for the countryside with one of the novice monks and escaped the heat of Vientiane for a few days.
Food was a major theme - I had a close shave on avoiding the bee larvae - going with the plan to either check beforehand or never - and this banana wrapped offering was almost in my mouth when I asked. It was 6a.m. and my stomach wasn't yet ready for that! Bags of live frogs hung from the trees and the 'door to door' saleswomen brought bags of live lizards as suggestions for a delicious afternoon snack (these were later to be seen for sale at the market lined up as a perfect photo shoot - with no camera to hand - bugger!). The frogs were eaten head first after being boiled alive and sat on the balcony after lunch I looked on bemused as the visitor was offered as a small snack one of the dead beetles that were lined up on the balustrade – funny they hadn’t offered me one!!!!! I’d caused deep consternation recently when someone had shown me their pet rabbit. Dogs and snakes are okay food, as are insects and fish poo, but rabbit is a truly terrible thing to have eaten! I bought a Laos recipe book the other day. Many many recipes for ‘sheatfish’. Took a while to realize that these were not recipes for a breed I’d not heard of – shit of the fish is probably a better way to put it!!!! There was some amazing food too – the clean taste of a soup of chicken breast in a stock with nuances of chilli and lime, and heaped with freshly cut coriander and spring onions, noodles served with stacks of mint and basil, again delicately flavoured with chilli and lime, fish, freshly caught and stuffed with lemongrass, heavily salted and barbecued then served with raw cabbage and lettuce leaves, white noodles, mint and coriander and, after you’ve made yourself a parcel from these ingredients, you dunk it into a sauce made from peanuts, dry fried, dehusked and lightly crushed, fish sauce, garlic, lime, sugar and water. Sour mangoes thinly sliced and served with a bowl of sugar, chilli, soy sauce, shallots – finely sliced, rice powder made from dry frying some grains till they are toasted and then pounding them into a rough powder. This is an excellent thickener for all manner of sauces. Laap - a minced pork (or chicken, beef, tofu, fish, etc), mint, lime and chilli mix – the key being to add an enormous amount of mint to give a fabulous flavour. Fish steamed in banana leaf baskets with red curry sauce, and chicken breasts shredded and served with all the ingredients of laap plus handfuls of bean sprouts and thinly sliced red peppers. I introduced them to the delights of sweet ripe mangoes served with sticky rice and coconut cream – made fresh from a coconut off the tree, the flesh shredded on a wooden spike and then soaked in water and rung out to make the creamy sauce. Toasted peanuts make the sweet perfect.
We caught the boat there. A six hour ride along the Mekong at breakneck speed. We skimmed the waves, zigzagging to avoid the rocks emerging from the shallow waters. They wanted to charge me double because I was a foreigner. I negotiated this down to one and a half times then realized I couldn’t fit in one seat – how do people sit on a cushion – no chair and squeeze their legs into a space which gives them little over a foot from bum to toes??????? And stay there for several hours. The extra cost no longer seemed unreasonable. As the sun shone down, bouncing off the Mekong, my nose and legs turned pink. When I was comfortable, I was in my element. The mountains loomed around us – memories of canoeing down the Zambezi, being rowed along the Ganges, and being chased by a new mother swan on the Severn all drifted through my mind. Then it started to rain. The drops slapping hard into my face – suddenly the crash helmet I’d been ignoring until now seemed an excellent accessory. I watched my rucksack darken as the rain was absorbed into the fabric – the loosely fitting helmet being whipped back off my head as we speeded across the water. My hair tangled and soaked. We stopped for some fuel. The Novice Monk bought us a bag of crisps each – our first food of the day. The chilli crisps too hot to eat. The only other option durian flavoured biscuits. Durian is a curious fruit. It smells as if someone has been sick in a drain. For me it tastes much like this too. But we’d been up since 4.30 and now it was nearly midday. I chose the drains and puke over the ridiculously hot – I’m not keen on food that hurts. My back and bottom ached from the bouncing and ridiculous seat. We passed a broken down boat and stopped to help. Presents for the novice monk’s mother had found there way into this boat so as the boat was fixed, I took back my possessions – delighted to have found them. We dropped someone off who wanted to get into Thailand illegally leaving him on the Thai side of the Mekong to find his own way. The sun broke back through the clouds and as I dried out I enjoyed the journey once more.
We sat around in the heat sipping from freshly cut coconuts in the garden during the break – the guy digging the well had emerged, thirsty from the depths and needed something sweet to snack on. When we’d eaten most of it, the shells were just dropped where we sat so that the chickens could feast on the remnants. As we sat there a business proposition was put to me. How about I bought a cow? Then when they’d bred ten cows they’d give me five cows and keep the rest.
Owning five cows didn’t really appeal overly – not a great ambition of mine – but these people would really benefit from this. I mulled it over for a while. They are dirt poor. And so generous and hospitable towards me. This is my second visit and they’ve done so much for me. Eventually I decided what to do. I’m buying a cow in calf and her one year old daughter. When they have a few cows, they’ll sell enough to repay me the money I’ve lent, and in the meantime if the cows get ill, I’ll pay the medical expenses and they’ll owe me for that too. But if they die, they’ll owe me nothing – not the best business plan but it’ll help them.
Okay, loads more to upload but I’ll continue this soon.
The Buddhist New Year celebrations are just coming to an end - amazing times!
I took off for the countryside with one of the novice monks and escaped the heat of Vientiane for a few days.
Food was a major theme - I had a close shave on avoiding the bee larvae - going with the plan to either check beforehand or never - and this banana wrapped offering was almost in my mouth when I asked. It was 6a.m. and my stomach wasn't yet ready for that! Bags of live frogs hung from the trees and the 'door to door' saleswomen brought bags of live lizards as suggestions for a delicious afternoon snack (these were later to be seen for sale at the market lined up as a perfect photo shoot - with no camera to hand - bugger!). The frogs were eaten head first after being boiled alive and sat on the balcony after lunch I looked on bemused as the visitor was offered as a small snack one of the dead beetles that were lined up on the balustrade – funny they hadn’t offered me one!!!!! I’d caused deep consternation recently when someone had shown me their pet rabbit. Dogs and snakes are okay food, as are insects and fish poo, but rabbit is a truly terrible thing to have eaten! I bought a Laos recipe book the other day. Many many recipes for ‘sheatfish’. Took a while to realize that these were not recipes for a breed I’d not heard of – shit of the fish is probably a better way to put it!!!! There was some amazing food too – the clean taste of a soup of chicken breast in a stock with nuances of chilli and lime, and heaped with freshly cut coriander and spring onions, noodles served with stacks of mint and basil, again delicately flavoured with chilli and lime, fish, freshly caught and stuffed with lemongrass, heavily salted and barbecued then served with raw cabbage and lettuce leaves, white noodles, mint and coriander and, after you’ve made yourself a parcel from these ingredients, you dunk it into a sauce made from peanuts, dry fried, dehusked and lightly crushed, fish sauce, garlic, lime, sugar and water. Sour mangoes thinly sliced and served with a bowl of sugar, chilli, soy sauce, shallots – finely sliced, rice powder made from dry frying some grains till they are toasted and then pounding them into a rough powder. This is an excellent thickener for all manner of sauces. Laap - a minced pork (or chicken, beef, tofu, fish, etc), mint, lime and chilli mix – the key being to add an enormous amount of mint to give a fabulous flavour. Fish steamed in banana leaf baskets with red curry sauce, and chicken breasts shredded and served with all the ingredients of laap plus handfuls of bean sprouts and thinly sliced red peppers. I introduced them to the delights of sweet ripe mangoes served with sticky rice and coconut cream – made fresh from a coconut off the tree, the flesh shredded on a wooden spike and then soaked in water and rung out to make the creamy sauce. Toasted peanuts make the sweet perfect.
We caught the boat there. A six hour ride along the Mekong at breakneck speed. We skimmed the waves, zigzagging to avoid the rocks emerging from the shallow waters. They wanted to charge me double because I was a foreigner. I negotiated this down to one and a half times then realized I couldn’t fit in one seat – how do people sit on a cushion – no chair and squeeze their legs into a space which gives them little over a foot from bum to toes??????? And stay there for several hours. The extra cost no longer seemed unreasonable. As the sun shone down, bouncing off the Mekong, my nose and legs turned pink. When I was comfortable, I was in my element. The mountains loomed around us – memories of canoeing down the Zambezi, being rowed along the Ganges, and being chased by a new mother swan on the Severn all drifted through my mind. Then it started to rain. The drops slapping hard into my face – suddenly the crash helmet I’d been ignoring until now seemed an excellent accessory. I watched my rucksack darken as the rain was absorbed into the fabric – the loosely fitting helmet being whipped back off my head as we speeded across the water. My hair tangled and soaked. We stopped for some fuel. The Novice Monk bought us a bag of crisps each – our first food of the day. The chilli crisps too hot to eat. The only other option durian flavoured biscuits. Durian is a curious fruit. It smells as if someone has been sick in a drain. For me it tastes much like this too. But we’d been up since 4.30 and now it was nearly midday. I chose the drains and puke over the ridiculously hot – I’m not keen on food that hurts. My back and bottom ached from the bouncing and ridiculous seat. We passed a broken down boat and stopped to help. Presents for the novice monk’s mother had found there way into this boat so as the boat was fixed, I took back my possessions – delighted to have found them. We dropped someone off who wanted to get into Thailand illegally leaving him on the Thai side of the Mekong to find his own way. The sun broke back through the clouds and as I dried out I enjoyed the journey once more.
We sat around in the heat sipping from freshly cut coconuts in the garden during the break – the guy digging the well had emerged, thirsty from the depths and needed something sweet to snack on. When we’d eaten most of it, the shells were just dropped where we sat so that the chickens could feast on the remnants. As we sat there a business proposition was put to me. How about I bought a cow? Then when they’d bred ten cows they’d give me five cows and keep the rest.
Owning five cows didn’t really appeal overly – not a great ambition of mine – but these people would really benefit from this. I mulled it over for a while. They are dirt poor. And so generous and hospitable towards me. This is my second visit and they’ve done so much for me. Eventually I decided what to do. I’m buying a cow in calf and her one year old daughter. When they have a few cows, they’ll sell enough to repay me the money I’ve lent, and in the meantime if the cows get ill, I’ll pay the medical expenses and they’ll owe me for that too. But if they die, they’ll owe me nothing – not the best business plan but it’ll help them.
Okay, loads more to upload but I’ll continue this soon.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
listening to the rice sing
I read a saying about Laos the other day - Thai plant the rice, Vietnamese harvest the rice and Lao listen to it sing. It's wonderful. Tied in with the Laos expression that you shouldn't feed the baby till it cries, it sums up how wonderfully laid back life is here.
I think I'm going to buy some land. It's about a fifth of an acre and covered in teak trees. (around 40 - all about 10 years old). I'm then going to slowly build a place to stay in - so that I can come over at weekends and clear the land of the rubbish plants, plant some vegetables and fruit trees and generally have it as a weekend getaway from the rest of my life (which isn't exactly stressful - but hey!!!).
I had a cooking class last weekend - I can now cook all my favourite Lao dishes - or rather I could but it's a bit more difficult now that chicken and eggs have all disappeared from the shelves. A couple of people in this town have died from bird flu and (especially as they didn't have any connection with poultry farming - beyond walking past loads of them like we all did here) all birds have been slaughtered in Vientiane and it's now illegal to sell chicken or eggs, so I can cook the pork and fish dishes, but not the chicken one.
The rains of the last few days have gone now (apparently they always come when the mangos are ripe on the trees) and it's now stinking hot - general outfit complimented by a layer of sweat - how attractive! I find myself getting up in the night to shower, just to cool down. At least I don't get woken anymore by the cockerals - it's a complete lie that they just crow to welcome the dawn - everyone I've come across happily crows all night long - and a large percentage of the day too! And they like to compete with one another to see who can make the most noise - or at the most inconvenient time!
Opportunities seem to abound here - I'm being offered some really interesting projects that should prove fun and lucrative - but I'm waiting to clarify the details.
I've got a long weekend coming up soon so I'm thinking of going away for a few days - no definite decision yet, but I fancy checking out Wat Pho - a massive ruined temple in the South of the country.
The pictures have been chosen now for the calendar - apparently I'll need to submit them to the government for approval which sums up so much about this place! The photography is continuing to go well. Some photos of mine are appearing in the Vientiane Times this week and a friend has recommended me to a couple of people with a view to holding an exhibition and sale of paintings.
Really looking forward now to having some visitors - which should happen soon. Can't wait!
I think I'm going to buy some land. It's about a fifth of an acre and covered in teak trees. (around 40 - all about 10 years old). I'm then going to slowly build a place to stay in - so that I can come over at weekends and clear the land of the rubbish plants, plant some vegetables and fruit trees and generally have it as a weekend getaway from the rest of my life (which isn't exactly stressful - but hey!!!).
I had a cooking class last weekend - I can now cook all my favourite Lao dishes - or rather I could but it's a bit more difficult now that chicken and eggs have all disappeared from the shelves. A couple of people in this town have died from bird flu and (especially as they didn't have any connection with poultry farming - beyond walking past loads of them like we all did here) all birds have been slaughtered in Vientiane and it's now illegal to sell chicken or eggs, so I can cook the pork and fish dishes, but not the chicken one.
The rains of the last few days have gone now (apparently they always come when the mangos are ripe on the trees) and it's now stinking hot - general outfit complimented by a layer of sweat - how attractive! I find myself getting up in the night to shower, just to cool down. At least I don't get woken anymore by the cockerals - it's a complete lie that they just crow to welcome the dawn - everyone I've come across happily crows all night long - and a large percentage of the day too! And they like to compete with one another to see who can make the most noise - or at the most inconvenient time!
Opportunities seem to abound here - I'm being offered some really interesting projects that should prove fun and lucrative - but I'm waiting to clarify the details.
I've got a long weekend coming up soon so I'm thinking of going away for a few days - no definite decision yet, but I fancy checking out Wat Pho - a massive ruined temple in the South of the country.
The pictures have been chosen now for the calendar - apparently I'll need to submit them to the government for approval which sums up so much about this place! The photography is continuing to go well. Some photos of mine are appearing in the Vientiane Times this week and a friend has recommended me to a couple of people with a view to holding an exhibition and sale of paintings.
Really looking forward now to having some visitors - which should happen soon. Can't wait!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Weddings and photos
I was invited to two weddings last weekend. It's wedding season at the moment so they are happening all over the place. The first one was for a friend. You are sent the invitation and put some money in the envelope as a gift to the bride and groom. How much you give depends on how well you know the couple but also where the wedding is being held - if it's at a hotel you give more because it has cost more. The day before the wedding the bride was panicking because she hadn't been able to find a photographer, so someone had suggested me. So I became their photographer - so just a bit of pressure there then!!!!!
It gave me some wonderful photo opps but I was so worried that there would be some dust on the lens or something dire would happen that I couldn't relax. They came out alright though so I'll post them up soon.
The bride is at home, serene and waiting for her future husband, the grooms party maraudes it's way alcoholically and noisily towards the house, where they are greeted by girls holding silver and gold chains. They are supposed to pay their way through but at each of the weddings I've attended, they pay their way through the first couple then barge through the rest.
A baasi is then held where people wish one another good luck and yet more alcohol is consumed. Then the bride and groom head for the bedroom, together with the photographers!!!!!!! They have a heap of pictures on the bed, blessing the bed, kissing one another, standing on the bed - holding his sword! and then the family come in for the parents of the bride, parents of the groom, etc. pics! Most surreal. When I asked the bride how she was enjoying married life she blushed profusely and became really coy. Of course for them the major thing about married life to start with is the consumation of the marriage - so broadly I had inadvertantly asked her whether she was enjoying sex!!!!!
I had a call from my landlady earlier this week. She wanted to know whether I was home as someone wanted to view the house as she was selling it - and they were outside at that moment! I was a touch surprised to find out that the house was being sold. So I'm househunting again. I've been offered some land (for free!) on which I could build a very small house, but this doesn't appeal. We'll see how things pan out. I'm sure something will work out somehow.
Anyway, just heading for a wedding and then a festival. I'll post the latest pics soon.
It gave me some wonderful photo opps but I was so worried that there would be some dust on the lens or something dire would happen that I couldn't relax. They came out alright though so I'll post them up soon.
The bride is at home, serene and waiting for her future husband, the grooms party maraudes it's way alcoholically and noisily towards the house, where they are greeted by girls holding silver and gold chains. They are supposed to pay their way through but at each of the weddings I've attended, they pay their way through the first couple then barge through the rest.
A baasi is then held where people wish one another good luck and yet more alcohol is consumed. Then the bride and groom head for the bedroom, together with the photographers!!!!!!! They have a heap of pictures on the bed, blessing the bed, kissing one another, standing on the bed - holding his sword! and then the family come in for the parents of the bride, parents of the groom, etc. pics! Most surreal. When I asked the bride how she was enjoying married life she blushed profusely and became really coy. Of course for them the major thing about married life to start with is the consumation of the marriage - so broadly I had inadvertantly asked her whether she was enjoying sex!!!!!
I had a call from my landlady earlier this week. She wanted to know whether I was home as someone wanted to view the house as she was selling it - and they were outside at that moment! I was a touch surprised to find out that the house was being sold. So I'm househunting again. I've been offered some land (for free!) on which I could build a very small house, but this doesn't appeal. We'll see how things pan out. I'm sure something will work out somehow.
Anyway, just heading for a wedding and then a festival. I'll post the latest pics soon.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Valentines day and how to upset senior monks
Valentine's day here is celebrated with an explosion of flowers. Everywhere you walked there were stalls selling red roses - about every 20 yards it seemed. I started the day with a text message from a married man with a picture of a rose and the message that he was missing me. I was a touch surprised, but turns out this is fine - probably just a friendship thing! Many phone calls, and texts followed during the day wishing me a happy valentine's day - including from novice monks! And then my students gave me loads of heart shaped sweets. Some came early to class to give me the sweets, others left after class, then came back to the classroom to hand me beautifully wrapped chocolates and sweeties. Most of the male teachers received roses from their students.
Then the following day I went to a novices inordination as a monk. He had been getting so excited about this and wanted lots of photos to give to his family. I turned up early and checked with him where I could walk, where I could stand, where I could sit and whether there were any other potential problems. Basically as long as I didn't go on the platform where the monks sit, there were no restrictions and he wanted as many photos as possible.
His alms bowl was wrapped up in white cloth that was twisted into a weird shape - it looked like a bad attempt at making a chicken shape. It transpired it was to represent the Nagar, which watches over us all. We walked three times around the temple, following the three novices who were being ordained. A gong was 'played' and the women whooped as they threw rice wrapped in 5,000 kip notes. Everyone scrambled to get the note as it landed in the procession.
Then into the temple. The ceremony lasted around an hour. It was swelteringly hot - the weather has changed dramatically over the last few days, and none of the fans were switched on so everyone sweated profusely. I took heaps of photos, but suddenly started getting really bad looks from the monks and hand signals to indicate I should go and sit down and stop taking photos immediately. I had no idea what the problem was and assumed I'd just taken too many for the Abbot's taste. So I put my camera down and sat down to watch the rest of the ceremony. It was amazing - lots of chanting, bowing to the Buddha, and general Buddhist stuff. (Whatever that may be). Afterwards I apologised for whatever I'd done wrong. It transpired that standing up during chanting so that your head is above a monks head is a major no no! Just a pity I didn't know that - still, I will next time!
One of the senior guys at the school I work for has tentitively suggested holding an exhibition of my photos - it might not happen but if it does - wow - I'm very excited. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/)
I'm off to two weddings and a party this weekend - that should be good for photo opps - I'll update my flickr account soon.
The Laos classes are going well. I'm really loving the reading - I'm really slow, but getting faster. Hopeless at remembering the conversation part of it though - strange one - I would have thought that I would have been better at that bit than at reading. I get confused from time to time and keep accidently using the word for penis instead of buffalo or other such faux pas (and you'd be amazed how often the word buffalo comes up in conversation!
Anyway, better go now, more soon.
x
Then the following day I went to a novices inordination as a monk. He had been getting so excited about this and wanted lots of photos to give to his family. I turned up early and checked with him where I could walk, where I could stand, where I could sit and whether there were any other potential problems. Basically as long as I didn't go on the platform where the monks sit, there were no restrictions and he wanted as many photos as possible.
His alms bowl was wrapped up in white cloth that was twisted into a weird shape - it looked like a bad attempt at making a chicken shape. It transpired it was to represent the Nagar, which watches over us all. We walked three times around the temple, following the three novices who were being ordained. A gong was 'played' and the women whooped as they threw rice wrapped in 5,000 kip notes. Everyone scrambled to get the note as it landed in the procession.
Then into the temple. The ceremony lasted around an hour. It was swelteringly hot - the weather has changed dramatically over the last few days, and none of the fans were switched on so everyone sweated profusely. I took heaps of photos, but suddenly started getting really bad looks from the monks and hand signals to indicate I should go and sit down and stop taking photos immediately. I had no idea what the problem was and assumed I'd just taken too many for the Abbot's taste. So I put my camera down and sat down to watch the rest of the ceremony. It was amazing - lots of chanting, bowing to the Buddha, and general Buddhist stuff. (Whatever that may be). Afterwards I apologised for whatever I'd done wrong. It transpired that standing up during chanting so that your head is above a monks head is a major no no! Just a pity I didn't know that - still, I will next time!
One of the senior guys at the school I work for has tentitively suggested holding an exhibition of my photos - it might not happen but if it does - wow - I'm very excited. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jolidbetter/)
I'm off to two weddings and a party this weekend - that should be good for photo opps - I'll update my flickr account soon.
The Laos classes are going well. I'm really loving the reading - I'm really slow, but getting faster. Hopeless at remembering the conversation part of it though - strange one - I would have thought that I would have been better at that bit than at reading. I get confused from time to time and keep accidently using the word for penis instead of buffalo or other such faux pas (and you'd be amazed how often the word buffalo comes up in conversation!
Anyway, better go now, more soon.
x
Thursday, February 08, 2007
photo opps
I was reading a letter in the newspaper a few days ago. It was from some Lao students. They had written to the paper because they are too young to get driving licences. They had applied several times and always been told that they were too young. This, they felt was ridiculous and causing them loads of problems as they drove themselves to school every day and by refusing them a licence, the authorities were causing them no end of problems as they kept getting stopped by the police. They really felt that this was outrageous and something should be done about it as it was costing them too much money.
I loved that article.
It’s been too cold to go swimming in the morning lately, but the temperature seems to be rising now. I can’t believe how cold it’s been. It drops to around 9°c overnight, so people are wrapped up well, monks are wearing their football socks, and I have a queue of people wanting to use my hot shower, rather than throw bowls of cold water over themselves. Can’t say I blame them.
More fabulous photo opportunities seem to be coming my way – I’ve been asked to provide the photographs for a calendar for 2008 by a business, that intends to send it out to all the major businesses in the city – so my name and contact details should make there way around the city, and also I’ve been asked to take some photos for the school I work for to be used on their marketing and to update their website. I’ve got some wonderful experiences coming up which should give me some more pictures – Chinese New year, two weddings and a friend becoming a monk all happening next week. I’m off shortly to get some ‘Sinhs’ (Lao skirts) made for these occasions. Then the following week That Luang is having a festival – I’m trying to find out what the occasion is – but haven’t managed to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the festival is yet. Hopefully I’ll know before it’s happening.
The country’s main English language newspaper has been advertising for people to help with the editing. I’ve sent in my CV and I’m waiting to hear from them. I think it’d be a really interesting way to learn more about the culture here, and hopefully get some interesting photo opportunities, as well as getting to know some more interesting people here. I’m just waiting to hear back now.
I’ve been learning Laos. I’m a hopeless language student so it’s a slow process, but I’ve almost learnt to read – as in I can read a syllable at a time if I have a list of the vowels next to me (there are 26 consonants – one of which effectively makes a vowel sound, half a dozen compound consonants, and hundreds (literally – unfortunately) of vowels. If I can see the order I learnt them in, I can read, but I often can’t remember all the letters alone. To complicate matters slightly more, the vowels are written before, above, below and after the consonant that they follow (and sometimes all four), and there are also tones to contend with which are added afterwards. But hey – slowly getting there. Hopefully in just another couple of weeks I’ll feel I’ve cracked it – more to follow! The conversation is coming along too. A few things have just clicked into place recently and I am understanding more and more of what is going on around me. A hugely long way to go still, but I’m slowly sussing it.
I was taken to visit the art school last week. It’s a wonderful place that does pottery, sculpture, painting, carving, etc. and I might enroll once my Laos is up to it. I bought a couple of pots and some nightlight holders, but plan to go back when there are more students around as there were a couple of pottery items I’d love to buy. It feels great to get the house feeling more and more like my own place by filling it with my taste, rather than the hand painted fans and wall hangings that filled the rooms originally.
I’m teaching in the evenings, Monday to Friday and I also teach a seven year old Korean girl. She’s from a well off family and is so happy when the lesson is two hours, not just one, or when there will be classes every day. The classes fit around her piano classes and she is non stop. I left the folder of exercises at her house overnight by accident and the following day she’d sorted all the papers and had completed about 10 exercises. Her English is superb but.......
I’m going to Vang Vieng again next week. Just for a day. Seng is becoming a monk. He has been a novice for around 6 years and is really excited about becoming a monk. The ceremony takes place next Thursday in Vang Vieng, near his home and he has asked me along. After being a novice and before becoming a monk the temples encourage them to spend a few days or weeks as a layman so that they can get some of the experiences that have been denied to them for such a long time (generally they become novices at around 12 and become monks at around 20 or 21) and both get some stuff out of their systems, and be sure that they want to continue with these constraints on their lives before they become monks. Generally they get drunk, eat in the evening, play sport, play cards, and spend a few days having a bit of fun and being treated normally. Seng was looking forward most to playing some sport with his friends and I’d promised to take him out to a Korean restaurant one evening, as he’d love it but as it’s a very communal way of eating and only available in the evening, he can’t do it as a novice or a monk. His father’s refused him permission to be a layman though. I am still astounded at how much people will do what their relatives tell them, even to their own detriment, when it’s really nothing to do with them. It just seems such a shame that he can’t have a week of normality. The ceremony should be interesting though. He’s being honoured at the start of a festival in Vang Vieng and is really excited.
I’ll put some pictures of the ceremony on flickr when I get a chance.
I loved that article.
It’s been too cold to go swimming in the morning lately, but the temperature seems to be rising now. I can’t believe how cold it’s been. It drops to around 9°c overnight, so people are wrapped up well, monks are wearing their football socks, and I have a queue of people wanting to use my hot shower, rather than throw bowls of cold water over themselves. Can’t say I blame them.
More fabulous photo opportunities seem to be coming my way – I’ve been asked to provide the photographs for a calendar for 2008 by a business, that intends to send it out to all the major businesses in the city – so my name and contact details should make there way around the city, and also I’ve been asked to take some photos for the school I work for to be used on their marketing and to update their website. I’ve got some wonderful experiences coming up which should give me some more pictures – Chinese New year, two weddings and a friend becoming a monk all happening next week. I’m off shortly to get some ‘Sinhs’ (Lao skirts) made for these occasions. Then the following week That Luang is having a festival – I’m trying to find out what the occasion is – but haven’t managed to ascertain exactly what the purpose of the festival is yet. Hopefully I’ll know before it’s happening.
The country’s main English language newspaper has been advertising for people to help with the editing. I’ve sent in my CV and I’m waiting to hear from them. I think it’d be a really interesting way to learn more about the culture here, and hopefully get some interesting photo opportunities, as well as getting to know some more interesting people here. I’m just waiting to hear back now.
I’ve been learning Laos. I’m a hopeless language student so it’s a slow process, but I’ve almost learnt to read – as in I can read a syllable at a time if I have a list of the vowels next to me (there are 26 consonants – one of which effectively makes a vowel sound, half a dozen compound consonants, and hundreds (literally – unfortunately) of vowels. If I can see the order I learnt them in, I can read, but I often can’t remember all the letters alone. To complicate matters slightly more, the vowels are written before, above, below and after the consonant that they follow (and sometimes all four), and there are also tones to contend with which are added afterwards. But hey – slowly getting there. Hopefully in just another couple of weeks I’ll feel I’ve cracked it – more to follow! The conversation is coming along too. A few things have just clicked into place recently and I am understanding more and more of what is going on around me. A hugely long way to go still, but I’m slowly sussing it.
I was taken to visit the art school last week. It’s a wonderful place that does pottery, sculpture, painting, carving, etc. and I might enroll once my Laos is up to it. I bought a couple of pots and some nightlight holders, but plan to go back when there are more students around as there were a couple of pottery items I’d love to buy. It feels great to get the house feeling more and more like my own place by filling it with my taste, rather than the hand painted fans and wall hangings that filled the rooms originally.
I’m teaching in the evenings, Monday to Friday and I also teach a seven year old Korean girl. She’s from a well off family and is so happy when the lesson is two hours, not just one, or when there will be classes every day. The classes fit around her piano classes and she is non stop. I left the folder of exercises at her house overnight by accident and the following day she’d sorted all the papers and had completed about 10 exercises. Her English is superb but.......
I’m going to Vang Vieng again next week. Just for a day. Seng is becoming a monk. He has been a novice for around 6 years and is really excited about becoming a monk. The ceremony takes place next Thursday in Vang Vieng, near his home and he has asked me along. After being a novice and before becoming a monk the temples encourage them to spend a few days or weeks as a layman so that they can get some of the experiences that have been denied to them for such a long time (generally they become novices at around 12 and become monks at around 20 or 21) and both get some stuff out of their systems, and be sure that they want to continue with these constraints on their lives before they become monks. Generally they get drunk, eat in the evening, play sport, play cards, and spend a few days having a bit of fun and being treated normally. Seng was looking forward most to playing some sport with his friends and I’d promised to take him out to a Korean restaurant one evening, as he’d love it but as it’s a very communal way of eating and only available in the evening, he can’t do it as a novice or a monk. His father’s refused him permission to be a layman though. I am still astounded at how much people will do what their relatives tell them, even to their own detriment, when it’s really nothing to do with them. It just seems such a shame that he can’t have a week of normality. The ceremony should be interesting though. He’s being honoured at the start of a festival in Vang Vieng and is really excited.
I’ll put some pictures of the ceremony on flickr when I get a chance.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Oh so much to say - a mixture of parties, exams and reports to write and mark, trips away and then the earthquake in Taiwan screwing up internet access have all conspired to keep me offline for ages - but hey - been having a wonderful time.
Now where had I got to?
I'd got a house and a job. Well and truly settled into those now. I had my favourite pictures mounted and those are around the house. They look fab, but also it's meant that various people have seen them resulting in me potentially being offered some photography work here. Which is just fabulous. I'm so excited.
Christmas and New Year combined into an exhausting mixture of parties and the end of term (on 29th December to ensure minimum rest over Christmas). I had a group of people over for Christmas morning - novice monks and a few others for a barbecue in the sunshine, then western friends for alcohol - far far too much alcohol - in the evening. Earlier in the week it had been one of the novices' birthdays so I threw a surprise birthday party for him. I had went to get a cake for the party, but he walked passed the cake shop while I was there. The cakeshop owners weren't quite sure what to make of the weird behaviour of the strange foreigner who dived down behind their counter for no apparent reason. Must learn to communicate better. So have now Lao classes. I'm such a terrible language student so it's a real uphill struggle - even though I am living here. I've got around three or four weeks coming up though with people staying at my house who don't speak any English, which will hopefully accelarate the learning curve.
For New Year I ended up back in Vang Vieng, swimming in caves on New Year's day, climbing and caving, cycling and generally reminding myself how terribly unfit I am! It was a wonderful trip - the family held a baasii for me, which was great, and I skipped out before the heavy drinking got properly underway and went with friends to one of the caves, just spectacular.
We rented bikes for the whole trip. They came without lights and when we left we had to cycle in the dark. One of my friends was really scared of dogs and when she saw one in front of her she swerved to avoid it, cycling over the edge of the road and into the river around six feet below, hitting her head.
When we got her out her face was covered in blood and swelling rapidly. We woke some people who found her a chair and someone went off to find a tractor to take us to hospital (that's a sentence you never expect to write!). She wasn't overly keen on hospitals so they did their best and then we headed back to Vientiane to take her to a bigger hospital there. The blood continually dripping through her eye patch was somewhat unnerving, but the end result seemed to be that at worse she will have an almost invisible scar and a few less eyelashes.
Hopefully I'll start the photography thing soon - it's a new business that's been awarded grants and funding from various sources. They are growing a crop - to fit in with rotational farming methods, and will use this to make a light, strong material for clothing for travellers, etc. They need some photography for there website and brochures so they've asked me. Hope it all comes together.
So New Year's resolution - don't wait nearly a month before updating blog!
Be back here soon
Now where had I got to?
I'd got a house and a job. Well and truly settled into those now. I had my favourite pictures mounted and those are around the house. They look fab, but also it's meant that various people have seen them resulting in me potentially being offered some photography work here. Which is just fabulous. I'm so excited.
Christmas and New Year combined into an exhausting mixture of parties and the end of term (on 29th December to ensure minimum rest over Christmas). I had a group of people over for Christmas morning - novice monks and a few others for a barbecue in the sunshine, then western friends for alcohol - far far too much alcohol - in the evening. Earlier in the week it had been one of the novices' birthdays so I threw a surprise birthday party for him. I had went to get a cake for the party, but he walked passed the cake shop while I was there. The cakeshop owners weren't quite sure what to make of the weird behaviour of the strange foreigner who dived down behind their counter for no apparent reason. Must learn to communicate better. So have now Lao classes. I'm such a terrible language student so it's a real uphill struggle - even though I am living here. I've got around three or four weeks coming up though with people staying at my house who don't speak any English, which will hopefully accelarate the learning curve.
For New Year I ended up back in Vang Vieng, swimming in caves on New Year's day, climbing and caving, cycling and generally reminding myself how terribly unfit I am! It was a wonderful trip - the family held a baasii for me, which was great, and I skipped out before the heavy drinking got properly underway and went with friends to one of the caves, just spectacular.
We rented bikes for the whole trip. They came without lights and when we left we had to cycle in the dark. One of my friends was really scared of dogs and when she saw one in front of her she swerved to avoid it, cycling over the edge of the road and into the river around six feet below, hitting her head.
When we got her out her face was covered in blood and swelling rapidly. We woke some people who found her a chair and someone went off to find a tractor to take us to hospital (that's a sentence you never expect to write!). She wasn't overly keen on hospitals so they did their best and then we headed back to Vientiane to take her to a bigger hospital there. The blood continually dripping through her eye patch was somewhat unnerving, but the end result seemed to be that at worse she will have an almost invisible scar and a few less eyelashes.
Hopefully I'll start the photography thing soon - it's a new business that's been awarded grants and funding from various sources. They are growing a crop - to fit in with rotational farming methods, and will use this to make a light, strong material for clothing for travellers, etc. They need some photography for there website and brochures so they've asked me. Hope it all comes together.
So New Year's resolution - don't wait nearly a month before updating blog!
Be back here soon
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