Scout Camp and Celebrations (1-22)

The first Scout Camp was on Friday. This one was for grades 4-6, which meant that I didn’t see two of my Friday classes. It was held at the school. I was wondering how it would work at this school in the city. In the morning, students did large group activities in the common area. The loud speaker was on and was very loud, making it difficult to teach in the classes above it. 

In the afternoon, they did the usual “challenge” activities in the open area across from the school. They some of the same ones my other schools always did 

and a couple activities I hadn’t seen before—walking across a single rope holding onto an anchor rope that moved along with the walker and hoisting a student sitting in a bicycle tire up to a bell in a tree. Unlike the country schools, where students walked in the country five to ten minutes between activities, these students walked about 20 seconds between activities. That was the difference between Camp in the city and in the country. After the activities, they set up their tents in the field beside the blacktop and among the trees on the other side of the blacktop. 

In the evening, they cooked dinner and had the “campfire.” I watched them cook for a few minutes and was given a taste of one group’s food. Then I went home.

The Camp for grades 1-3 is Monday and is only a one-day Camp. The Camp for grades 7-9 is Thursday and Friday. So no classes with them for two days, meaning that I’ll miss five of my classes next week. They’ll sleep at the school two nights.

Saturday Khun Toy and Khun Dakom had a blessing ceremony and lunch for Khun Kwan to celebrate her new status as a government teacher. They are quite proud of her. The lay leader who does the ceremonies in the village came. Many of the teachers from the village came. The student dancers from that school performed. Khun Kwan’s friends also attended. The party was also to celebrate Bitoy’s birthday on Thursday; so there was a table for her friends, too.

Kru Oy drove me to the hotel at 10:00. Khun Kwan, Khun Joy, and the girls were the only other people there. Others started arriving after 11:00. The ceremony began at 11:30. The lay leader chanted a blessing, mentioning Khun Kwan’s name several times. Then we did the string tying for Khun Kwan and Bitoy. Lunch was served: fish, sweet-sour pork with fruit and mushrooms, fish soup, and a couple dishes I couldn’t eat. Then the karaoke began. I sang my song and enjoyed dancing. As is usually the case, we left long (over an hour) after I was ready to leave.

I enjoyed seeing and greeting the teachers. Many commented on how good I looked. Khun Pannee suggested that I teach at the school again and live with her. She’s so sweet. Khun Kumtom’s grandson came up to me, said my name, and took my hand. He stood in front of me holding my hand, with my other hand on his shoulder, for a several minutes. Later, when I stopped at the table where he was sitting, he took my hand briefly again. He was my first friend in the village (He was 2.5 years old then), but we haven’t had much of a relationship other than an occasional greeting for a few years, and I’ve been gone almost a year. So I was quite touched by his wanting to connect with me. I wondered if it had to do with the recent death of his father.

The other interesting guest was Gary, the British man I met at my birthday party. He was here then for two weeks to meet the woman he had met on the Internet and see if he wanted to marry her. He returned in November and they spent ten days together in Phuket. They got married on Tuesday. He’s here for three months and then will return to England to work for seven months. I find myself fascinated by this aspect of the culture and the way the women treat the foreign men so much differently than they treat Thai men. And, of course, so much differently than a Western woman would treat the men, which, of course, is why they are looking for a Thai woman. Both get something they would not get from a marriage with someone from their own culture.

What seems to happen with these marriages is that they develop a culture of their own that is neither Thai nor Western. Blending of customs seems to be more toward Western—the male’s—customs. They usually hold hands in public or have their hand on the other person’s body. Thais do not publically display affection. But they also behave in ways that are neither Thai nor Western. An example of this occurred when we were eating with Bruce and Joy last week. They had already eaten and were relaxing while we ate, since we arrived much later than they did. Bruce sat leaning against the rails with his feet in Joy’s lap and she massaged his feet. This is not something he would do with an American; nor is it something that two Thais would do. But it is deemed OK because she is Thai and he is American. It’s what Thai women think Western men want, and it is probably what the men want from a Thai woman.

This is where I have some respect for Tony, who will probably marry Sampong soon. He bought (in her name, as foreigners can’t own property) some land outside Ubon two weeks ago, and she got officially divorced last week. They have been living together for over a year and have established a relationship, and she speaks enough English that they can communicate most of the time. This is different from the men who communicate on the Internet, come for a brief visit and then get married to someone they hardly know and have no common language with. Their relationship is also different in that Tony follows Sampong’s customs. Part of this may be because she is an older woman and is a strong person.

Khun Dakom told me that Khun Kwan would like to have a different job now but there are no jobs available. He added that new graduates are having in many fields are having trouble finding jobs.

He also told me that if I want to teach at the Amnat Charoen school, he will talk to Khun Somlan because the school has told Khun Somlan that they are interested in having me there when I finish at this school. I’m not interested in that school, as their classes have 50-60 students. In addition, I really feel like I’m done teaching here. But it was really sweet of him to ask. They do care about me.

Sunday afternoon I decided to go for a massage at a place I’ve seen on the main road, as my usual woman is gone for a few months. As I was leaving, Khun Dakom called and told me to go to his sister’s house for Chinese New Year. She is married to a Chinese (meaning Chinese ethnic Thai) man, and they were having a special lunch for the occasion. Another big lunch, featuring Chinese foods: duck, bamboo cooked a way I’ve not had it before, omelet with oysters, Chinese fruit for dessert, steamed buns, rice-wrapped sweet cooked in bamboo, Chinese (Mandarin) oranges, Chinese wine. I was sent home with a bag of Mandarin oranges. There were also some Thai foods that I couldn’t eat, but there was more than enough Chinese food; so that wasn’t a problem.

Weather this week was hot. I have a fan on most of the time. Thursday night and Friday morning it rained heavily.  Fortunately, it stopped in time to go to school and didn’t interfere with the Scout Camp. It rained again briefly Saturday evening. This is the first precipitation we’ve had since October; so it is needed.

Vacation in Southern Laos--Champassak (1-16)

After three days on the island, it was time to move on to Champassak. While I was waiting for the boat to the mainland, I met Lior, a young Israeli. She was leaving her friends with whom she’d been traveling for 1.5 months and going to Bangkok  on her own to meet up with an Israeli friend. I think she wanted a companion to ease the transition. We sat together on the bus, and I invited her to stay with me in Ubon for a night. She went on to Pakse, as she had left her big bag there, and I got off in Champassak, but we arranged to meet at the bus station the next afternoon.

Champassak is a small town. I was surprised how little it is prepared for tourists. We took a boat across the river, as the road the bus uses is on the other side. Then I walked to the guest house, which was a longer walk than I’d anticipated. I planned to relax and then go to Wat Phu in the morning. At the guest house, I learned that the only transportation to Pakse is in the morning; so I needed to go to Wat Phu then. The owner arranged for his friend—or maybe his wife—to take me on a motorcycle. There are songtaews, but I needed to leave soon because it was already after 3:00 and this seemed like the easiest thing to do. I had thought Wat Phu was closer to town than it is, but it took about half an hour to get there, as the road isn’t very good and she drove slowly and carefully, which is a good thing. When we arrived, the woman told me to return to the parking lot at 5:30. I understood the need to leave then, as it gets dark at 6:00 and I didn’t want to be on the road after dark any more than she did. Although I felt a bit rushed, I was able to see what I wanted to see.

Wat Phu is the ruins of a 6^th century Khmer temple. It is at the base of the mountains, which were lovely in the late afternoon sunlight. On the ground level are two large temples. I read that the one on the right was for men, and the one on the left was for women. 

Then you walk up a lot of stairs to the top of the mountain. The stairs are lined with frangipani trees that had their white flowers on the top of otherwise bare branches. 

The view from the top was beautiful. 

The main sanctuary is at the top. It has a lot of beautiful carvings. 

In back of the building is a cave that has spring water dripping from the rocks. People collect this sacred water in bottles to take home.

After my quick tour—about 1.5 hours, I was just about at the parking lot when my driver came to meet me. It was 5:30. We took a different road back to Champassak. It wasn’t full of potholes, but it was dirt most of the way and had a couple hills. I don’t think she had been on it recently, as she seemed surprised by the depth of the dust. It’s the dry season, and the road had about 2” of dust on top in many places. It was a slow, dusty trip. But we got back safely.

When I went to dinner at the guest house restaurant, I learned that my driver is also the cook.

At 7:20 the next morning, the guest house owner knocked on my door to tell me the minibus was there. I guess he had told them I was there and needed to go to Pakse.

He and another man I asked at the hotel in town had told me that the minibus to Pakse leaves at 7:30 and there are songtaews until 9:00. Since my bus wasn’t until 3:30, I didn’t need to be at the bus station too early and decided to take a songtaew. After getting ready to leave, I took a walk through town, which didn’t take long, since the guest house is in the middle and there really isn’t much there. I saw a songtaew at 7:45 and one at 8:15. This was good. At 8:30 I took my bags and stood by the road to wait for the next songtaew. At 9:00 the owner joined me. We waited until 9:30. Then he asked about a motorcycle. I’d already realized that that was how I was going to have to go to Pakse. He’d offered to arrange one the day before and had reduced the price, but I didn’t want to pay that much when I could take a songtaew for much less. But now it was 9:30 and no songtaew. Since I was going to pay for the motorcycle, I decided to relax at the guest house and go in the afternoon, as that was a more pleasant place to wait than the bus station. So I put my bags in the room, which had already been cleaned, and sat on the chair beside the river for a few hours. Then I ate lunch. It was a relaxing way to finish the holiday.

The motorcycle trip to Pakse was a 40 minute ride, my longest. But all worked out well. Lior arrived at the bus station with our tickets, and we were off to Ubon.

Vacation in Southern Laos--Don Khone (1-16)

The second stop of my journey was Don Khone, one of the islands in the Mekong River at the very southern end of Laos. The area is known as the 4000 islands. Most that I saw are very small. The three largest are set up for tourists. I chose to stay on the one that is described as being quiet. It was a good choice.

The town itself is about 1 km long and is mostly guest houses. Villagers’ homes are outside town. There are a few old French houses in town. There is a school that has ruins of an old house on its grounds. Children play in it.

After settling in at the guest house, I set out on a walk. I found a map at a restaurant/guest house shop that turned out to be a good purchase. The first day I decided to walk to the waterfall outside town. 

On the way, I stopped at the old wat. I enjoyed watching the water buffalo in the fields. 

And the pigs, which are different from ones I’ve seen elsewhere.

Li Phi waterfall features water coming from several places and flowing among the huge rocks into a narrow canyon. I also walked down the path to the beach on the river. There the water is quiet.

That night there was loud music, which surprised me, since the island is supposed to be quiet. In the morning I went for a walk before breakfast and found the big stage where the music had come from. That day, 30 December, there was a big celebration. There was a market set up in the street. After breakfast I rented a bicycle, which is the main transportation around the island. Almost every place rents them. I decided to ride around the other side of the island to Khong Soi waterfall. 

When I went through the market, I noticed that people were standing around along the river waiting for something. Soon a long boat came by, and I realized that there were going to be long boat races. I watched the boats practice for a while and then rode on.

The road went along a river. In one place there were water buffalo in the river, which I don’t usually see. 

The waterfall is small but quiet. I was the only person there. In the river there was a huge contraption I think is some kind of fish trap. There wasn’t anyone I could ask about it.

I then continued around the island, riding through a forested area to the port from which one can get a boat to see the Irawaddy dolphins. I decided to do this and hooked up with a Swiss couple to share a boat. The dolphins are fresh water dolphins that come to this area between December and May. They don’t come high out of the water, but we were fortunate to see about twelve. We could see several well enough to see their arched backs. The boat goes out into the river and then stops so passengers can watch for dolphins. You really have to watch a spot and keep your eyes there or you will miss the quick jump. Across the river is Cambodia. The boats can only go half way across, as that is where the border is.

When I returned to town, I looked for a tour to Khong Prapheng waterfall. I had decided that I wanted to go there, partly because it is advertised as “the big waterfall” and partly because Khun Dakom had told me about it and how beautiful it is. It seemed like something I should do while I was in the area. I went to a few places that advertised tours, but they didn’t have anyone going. One man told me to find a friend, as they need two people to take a tour. Then another man then agreed to take me alone for only a few dollars more than I would pay if I had a friend; so on I went. He took me by boat to the port on the mainland. Then he put me on a motorcycle with another man. The ride was 30 minutes, the longest motorcycle ride I’d had for over thirty years. I had no idea it would be so far. The sign at the waterfall calls it “the pearl of Asia.” It is the largest waterfall in Asia—or in southeast Asia. I’ve seen it described both ways. I have also seen it described as the widest waterfall in Asia—or in the world. Either way, there is a huge volume of water flowing. It’s amazing to think of that amount of water in the same river that is quiet elsewhere.

The third day I rented a bicycle again. First I went to the wat. Then I crossed the river on the old French bridge that was used by the train to Don Det. Don Det has many more tourist guest houses than Don Khone. They just went on and on. The river looks different there; so I was glad I went. 

I stopped at the wat and ate lunch at a noodle shop. When I returned to Don Khone, I went back to Li Phi waterfall because I decided to buy a silk shawl I’d seen. The woman weaves them there and was happy to have sold one. A man was doing the selling that day, but the woman thanked me as I left. Then it was time to return the bicycle and eat dinner.

Since my guest house was not on the river side of town, I decided to eat dinner every night at a restaurant on the river. Each night I arrived early so I would be there for sunset, and each night I was rewarded with a lovely sunset. Also good food. I had expected dinners to be more expensive on the island because so much has to be brought in by boat, but the prices were quite reasonable. Breakfast was as expensive as dinner, I think because more of the breakfast foods had to be brought in. Bottled water was twice as much as in Pakse. Food always took a long time to come because everything was cooked after it was ordered. The last night I had a local specialty—fish cooked in banana leaf.

The river: People use the river for washing clothes, bathing, and swimming. It is amazingly wide. I read that it is10-14 km wide in some places in this area. Going from Don Khone to Don Det and realizing that both are in the middle of the river was amazing. Seeing the river in Champassak, it is hard to believe the difference.

Vacation in Southern Laos--Bolaven Plateau (1-16)

The tour was quite good. We had ten people from eight countries—France, Belguim, Hong Kong/China, Australia, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and the U.S. The guest house has its own guides; so we had a guide, Lang, in the van with us. The Bolaven Plateau is 700-1000 meters high and is known for its coffee and tea plantations. 

Our first stop was an organic tea plantation owned by a Vietnamese family. Lang explained the growing and harvesting processes. Tea grows at elevations of 600-900 meters. Plants are cut every five years to keep them small, the highest being about five feet. The quality of tea is better during the dry season because the plants grow more slowly. At this time, leaves can be picked every 15 days while they are picked weekly during the wet season. The leaves are then dried. 60-70 kilos of leaves produce 5 kilos of dried leaves.

Next we stopped at the first of three waterfalls: Tad Fone. Since they are across the river, they can be viewed only from a distance.

Then we went to a coffee plantation. I learned more about coffee than I’ve ever known. I’d seen plants before but hadn’t been to a plantation. I was surprised at how big the trees get. They grow both Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Most trees are the former, but the latter are now in more demand and are plantations are changing to grow more Robusta trees. I read later that Arabica coffee beans are mostly used in instant coffee and mass-produced coffee. So it made sense that Arabica is more popular now, as specialty coffees and coffee shops are increasingly popular. The fruit on the trees is called “cherries” and each cherry produces two beans. Coffee is harvested from October to December; so we were there at the end of the season. Coffee trees live up to 40 years.

On the way to the coffee factory, we stopped at Tad Greung waterfall. It is in a beautiful setting. We walked along the river and then to the bottom of the waterfall.

Since coffee is the main source of income on the Plateau, every village has a processing factory. The beans are soaked in water. Those that sink are the best quality. Those that float are second quality. The soaked beans go to the fermentation tub. Then they are spread on racks to dry. They are considered to be dried when the moisture level is about 11%. This is determined by weight. Drying the beans takes about two weeks. They are then sent to Vietnam for export, since Laos is a landlocked country. It is the dried beans that are exported. They are then are roasted in Europe.

I also read later, at a restaurant that is affiliated with a Laotian-owned- coffee plantation, that most plantations and factories are owned by Vietnamese who don’t pay their Laotian employees well. And, if they are Vietnamese-owned, most of the profit is not going to local people.

Next we stopped at two ethnic group villages. Both are stops for tourists who take day tours, which provides income for the villages. The guest house has tours almost daily at this time of the year and three or four times a week in the low season. Other tours also visit the villages, but not the school in the second village. 

First was an Atak village. The village was founded in 1971 when the Atak people were moved from the Vietnam border to the Bolaven Plateau. About 40 families live in the village, with 2-4 families living in one house. The people speak their native dialect, but most also speak Lao. Children attend a school that is about one kilometer away. This is an animist village and the spirit house is at its center.It is used only on special occasions to sacrifice animals. Pigs roam around the village but are only killed for ceremonies. Chicken is eaten.

The next village was a Katou village. Kok Phang Tai village was founded in 1974. The guest house sponsors the school here

 and has recently helped build a new library. The foundation also provided a water pipe for the village; so water is readily accessible. 

About 1000 people live in the village. Families are big and have up to ten children.

 Before they die, people purchase a coffin for their body. These are not buried but are set on top of the ground in the burial ground. They used to be made of wood, but now people prefer concrete, as it is cheaper.

The next stop was Tad Lo waterfall. We were lucky, as the water was low the previous day because the dam had not been opened. It was in full flow when we were there.

On the way back we stopped at a weaving village. Women use a foot loom. They were selling their goods, mostly scarves. Since they were unique and like to purchase from such women, I bought two. When it started to look like I was a serious buyer, several women surrounded me, which is overwhelming.

We were also lucky to have a beautiful sunset on the way back. Lang had the driver stop so we could take photos. It was a long but excellent day. I was ready to eat dinner and rest when we arrived back in Pakse.