Laos 2015: Notes from an Occasional Visitor

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » August 13, 2015, 12:22 pm

Thanks Khun Aardvark, yes, my walk is quite liviely now and there seems to be a permanent smile on my face.

Khun Jack, yes I will head to the nearest House of the Catholic God and confess that I have put my faith in something that stirs the soul, and explain to the Priest why he should give up the habit, the cross and all the rest of it, and get on with living before it is too late for a redeeming move in a positive direction. Jesus!

Post by **FrazeeDK** » August 13, 2015, 12:37 pm

hey... LYM... you are aware that if you get rousted by the Lao police for having intimate relations with someone other than your wife up there you can go to jail right? T'is against their laws...

Post by **747man** » August 13, 2015, 1:19 pm

So Uncle, Have you woken up from your DREAM Yet,Or Did you Miss your flight to Bangkok.....???

If You Did'nt Have a Nice Flight Home,Not That Long till you'll see SNOW Again.....

Post by **LoongLee** » August 14, 2015, 4:39 am

The secret of Laan Yaa Mo's recent great success with the ladies is no great secret to me. His has been very blessed by his "patron saint" Yaa Mo. The big question from me is "what exactly did you promise her, Uncle?" Maybe dancing naked at her shrine in Korat? 555 ,,, You had better pay up, and fast. 555,,, Cheers

Post by **parrot** » August 14, 2015, 5:42 am

BobHelm wrote:Delighted that you had such a fortunate ending......?.

I'm sure Bob meant to say 'happy'

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » August 14, 2015, 5:58 am

LoongLee wrote:The secret of Laan Yaa Mo's recent great success with the ladies is no great secret to me. His has been very blessed by his "patron saint" Yaa Mo. The big question from me is "what exactly did you promise her, Uncle?" Maybe dancing naked at her shrine in Korat? 555 ,,, You had better pay up, and fast. 555,,, Cheers

555+ Yes, it is something like that, and will take place next year in central Khorat at the shrine.

747man wrote:So Uncle, Have you woken up from your DREAM Yet,Or Did you Miss your flight to Bangkok.....???

If You Did'nt Have a Nice Flight Home,Not That Long till you'll see SNOW Again.....

The flight left on time, but I am stuck in Hong Kong for ten hours...no good fortune here. In about three hours I am off to Helsinki and then on to Toronto, where, I hope, there is no snow on the ground...yet.

And, I can't get rid of the memories for very long. Sitting in the chair on the plane will provide me with ample time to reflect on recent events.

FrazeeDK wrote:hey... LYM... you are aware that if you get rousted by the Lao police for having intimate relations with someone other than your wife up there you can go to jail right? T'is against their laws...

Yes, I am aware of that rule, and they are posted in most hotels; however, I also discovered that Chinese hotels, for the most part, ignore the rule, and all's well that ends well. They also do not ask for a passport and rarely have the customer fill out the card identifying the person staying at their establishments. In addition, some popular guesthouses make rooms available for both short-time and long-time visitors.

parrot wrote:
BobHelm wrote:Delighted that you had such a fortunate ending......?.

I'm sure Bob meant to say 'happy'

He is right, and so are you. It was a combination of both. I still can't believe why such a lady, who has everything going for her, would waste her time with an old guy like me. But, c'est la vie, and I am both happy and filled with feelings of good fortune. 55+

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » August 14, 2015, 6:02 am

I took Lao Airlines three times on this trip:- Viang Chan - Luang Nam Tha, Luang Prabang - Pakse, and Viang Chan to Bangkok. One very interesting point is that on all three flights the airplane took off ten minutes early! I have never experienced this before, and wondered about those stragglers running on the tarmac after the plane...'wait for me, I've got my ticket...come back'!!!

Post by **GT93** » August 14, 2015, 2:19 pm

OT, please note you'll need to swig that expensive Shiraz a bit more quickly if flying Lao Airlines. Ex-pats who have gone native and live on Thai time perhaps shouldn't fly Lao Airlines. KP and Ontarians should be OK.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » August 31, 2015, 7:56 pm

[quote]GT93: Uncle will have entered that period where one's recent holiday seems long ago.[quote]

Actually, it is still vivid in my memory. Anything lost was brought into sharp focus last Thursday when I visited the doctor and found that I had lost 13 lbs., and was down to 185 lbs., a weight I have not seen since my mid-40s. Furthermore, my 3-month blood sugar level had dropped to 6.5, and I no longer have to take 4 of the diabetes pills I had been ingesting every day for the past five years.

Holidays in Laos, and Khon Kaen, does wonders for one's health.

Post by **farlong68** » August 31, 2015, 9:02 pm

congrats on getting your blood sugar under control...I follow you writings about your adventures in issan and laos with great interest as i haven't been to laos since 1973; a beautiful country with lovely people my issan bride of 45 years and I will visit issan for our 16th trip since moving to united states in 1973.we will be bringing our 24 year grandson with us for his second trip home. he last visited and rode the elephants in chaing ria at 9 years old hes a terrific lad and great photographer hope to share some of his work here...my quest with diabetes has been long and is finally after 20+ years showing progress my figure below 6 for first time in forever. we wish you all the best with your health and journey sincerely kularb and john scoggins

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » August 31, 2015, 9:16 pm

Thanks for that, it is much appreciated. Your grandson would love Laos as it is a photographer's dream with its many hills, valley, rivers and waterfalls, and diverse population. All the best to you on your journey to defeat diabetes, it is not an easy battle. I find travel and activities in Laos helps me greatly by keeping me moving and improving my diet. Take care.

45 years of marriage, now that is something to celebrate!

Post by **farlong68** » September 1, 2015, 1:57 am

yes 45 years and to the same woman lol will send photos when we get to homeland in nov and dec thanks for your reply john

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » September 1, 2015, 10:07 pm

I look forward to that. Thanks again for your interest.

Post by **Jay-R** » October 9, 2015, 11:56 pm

Hi LYM,

I've really enjoyed reading your dispatches from you various Laos trips. In one of your past threads, you talked about tracking down VCDs/music throughout the country.

Do you find that certain VCDs/music styles are only available in certain cities? For example, are there CDs/VCDs that are only available in Luang Prabang or Savannakhet, or can you find pretty much everything in Vientiane?

I am taking my first trip to Vientiane soon, and am really interested in learning more about the country's music offerings.

Thank you!

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » October 11, 2015, 1:27 am

Jay-R wrote:Hi LYM,

I've really enjoyed reading your dispatches from you various Laos trips. In one of your past threads, you talked about tracking down VCDs/music throughout the country.

Do you find that certain VCDs/music styles are only available in certain cities? For example, are there CDs/VCDs that are only available in Luang Prabang or Savannakhet, or can you find pretty much everything in Vientiane?

I am taking my first trip to Vientiane soon, and am really interested in learning more about the country's music offerings.

Thank you!

Hi! There is more available in Viang Chan (Vientiane), in particular, in Talat Sao where there are three large places selling DVD's and CDs. At night one can find a couple of places selling the more popular ones at the Mekong River market. One place at Talat Sao has a number of older ones that date back to 2003-2010.

In Savannakhet, the market beside the bus station has a large selection including old ones that they have dug up for me. On the main road (I will try and find the name tomorrow), there are three stores that are useful looking at. One small one is run by an old guy and has a small selection, which are mostly old popular ones. There is also a grocery store owned by a lady that contains a large collection of dusty titles from years back. It is near the porno section. A smaller one has a mixture of some old and some new discs.

In Luang Prabang, I came across two stores. One store is run by a young lady, who usually has her young daughter and mother, in their 'tent' in the night market. It is one of the first places you see. There is another place across from the statue of the 'Red Prince'. I will try to find the street. They have old and new songs.

In Pakse, I found two stores almost beside one another in the day market by a hospital. I will tell you the exact location tomorrow when I find my guidebook. Mostly, they have recent songs, but there are some oldies.

I found some small shops with interesting collections at pit stops in small towns on bus trips from Luang Prabang to Xieng Khouang, on the Bolaven Plateau (stopped for lunch on a tour), and on the way from Xam Neua to Xieng Khouang. By the way, Xam Neua had two very good stores for mostly newer songs in the market.

Finally, the day market in Sayaboury had two shops beside one another that had both older and newer collections. I was able to find some good stuff from 2003 and 2004 at these places.

By the way, these shops sell all styles of Lao music. The VCDs are about 15,000 kip each, and the DVDs are 18,000 kip. Sometimes you can bargain for a cheaper price especially if you are purchasing more than one.

I hope this helps.

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » October 11, 2015, 1:31 am

Oh, I forgot there are a couple of places near the local bus station, across from Talat Sao, where you can get the international bus to Udon and Khon Kaen that have a wide selection. They are to your left across the lanes from the bus that goes to Thailand.

Post by **Jay-R** » October 11, 2015, 9:52 pm

Wow, Laan Yaa Mo! Thank you for such a detailed reply. That's more than I could've ever hoped for. I'll let you know what I find when I'm in-country.

Thanks again!

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » October 11, 2015, 11:26 pm

I forgot to mention the small town of Muang Khoun, which is about 30-40 minutes from Xiang Khouang by bus. There is a market just behind where the buses/mini-vans park. There are two fairly large DVD/VCD stores located here that have mostly current songs, but some old ones too.

Luang Prabang: the store in the night market is the first one you come to walking east. It is on Thanon Sisavangvong. The other one i came is across the road from the statue of Prince Souphanouvong just south of Thanon Wisunarat. You can see it from the road.

Pakse: The two stores I found here were outside, but part of, the Champasak Plaza Shopping Centre. It is an easy 5-10 minute walk from the tourist hotels (Route 13).

Post by **Betphph** » April 27, 2016, 2:56 pm

I am looking to hire a car for two days with or without driver to go from Vientiane to Luang Prabang no return in February.
Any suggestions?
Many thanks
Martine

Post by **Laan Yaa Mo** » April 29, 2016, 7:00 pm

I have never gone in that direction except to Luang Namtaa by airplane and then come south to Luang Prabang by bus via Oudomxay (usually called Xay). Once I took the bus from Vang Vieng to Viang Chan (Vientiane). The scenery is spectacular as it would be to Luang Prabang. The highway is twisting with many sharp curves. Always remember to honk your horn when you are going into a blind curve in the hills to warn the oncoming traffic.

Anyway, I am sure you can find out about car hires easy enough when you arrive simply by asking or perhaps looking on the internet. Such as this, http://www.economycarrentals.com/promo. ... AnDL8P8HAQ

I just googled car rentals in Vientiane and the above popped up.

Enjoy.