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| This is my
friend Noi selling one of the weavings in her parent's
shop to a couple of French tourists. Her friend, who is their
tourist guide, looks on as the tourists try to bargain down the
price. I like being able to come and talk to Noi and sit
in the back and watch tourists walk by on the street or when
they come into the shop and browse. II
get to see tourists as the Lao do. |
Now you know
why I wasn't able to regularly upadate my reports. This cafe
is right across from Noi's parent's shop. |
I arrived in
Laos as they were getting ready to celebrate National Day. That
means hanging out flags, including the old hammer and sicle.
You have to remember, Laos is really Lao People's Democratic
Republic, a communist country. |
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| The old French
colonial buildings present many interesting photographic compositions. |
I want to go
back and photograph some people against these doors. They don't
seem real to me. |
Here you see Wat Long Khun across
the Mekong. |
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| I have video
of these girls being taught this dance number which they were
also singing too. I have been a slow adopter of video technology,
but after investing in my digital video Song TRV900, I can definitely
see it's advantages. I will eventually provide QT video of these
girls singing and dancing. I was mesmerized. In the bottom photo
in the same children's cultural hall, these girls are being taught
English. |
I've usually
stayed at the Phusi Hotel, which is one of the nicer hotels in
Luang Prabang, and they have a small meeting room that is often
booked for workshops. One late afternoon I walked by, the door
was open and I gazed in. I thought their agenda that day was
interesting and took these two photographs. |
I later talked
to Dr. A. Fredrick Christopher, MCom., D.C.P. Ph.D., Cheif Technical
Advisor for the Income Generating Activities Project for UNDP
(United Nations Development Programme). Whew, what a title! A
very nice gentleman actually and he told me that the training
and upgrading of skills for the Lao workers in NGO's was a priority. |
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When we walked through this
little Hmong village between Ban Khon Kham and Luang Prabang,
we came upon this boy with his slingshot. Chou
talked to him and he said he had just shot a bird
and taken it to his grandmother to clearn. We continued walking
and when we came to the girl's house in the photo to the right
and above, it ended up that this boy was her brother and he brought
out the bird that his grandmother had already cleaned! |
A Hmong family portrait. In
this photo you see the grandmother of the boy on the left who
cleaned the bird he shot. I like the boy's pose with the baby.
Here we were complete strangers and they made us feel right at
home. Such beautiful smiles. |
I brought my polaroid camera
and took several photos I gave to the family. Some women nearby
saw I was taking polaroids and came over with their children
to see if I would take a photo for them. Of course! |
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| These five
shots are all taken of the Haw Pha Ban, what the Lonely Planet
calls a "religious pavilion" where the Pha Bang will
be housed that is apart of the Royal Palace Museum. |
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This was taken on a dirt road
going toward Sayabouli. I would have liked to have
taken the time to walk that path and explore the village. It
looked like such a peaceful setting. |
This was taken
from Lao Aviation shortly after taking off from Luang Prabang
heading back to Vientiane. I think it is interesting to see how
the villages are laid out along the rivers. |
During the
dry season, as the rivers recede, the Lao take advantage of the
rich exposed soil banks to plant gardens. Here this man and his
wife are getting theirs ready. |
