Sao Lao

I have to confess that I have no sense of style. I was a tomboy so most of my clothes in high school were sporty and if not there were mostly black. I started to wear dresses and skirts during my undergrad years but still went for black color mostly. Later I added blue and white to my shirts and blouses. You can’t go wrong with a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans I think.

I don’t wear jewelry unless I have to for special event. To this day I still can’t pick out my clothes properly because I don’t know what match and what doesn’t. I take Johan shopping and he picks out my clothes, LOL.

I don’t think I’ll be in style for this spring and summer. These are the must have accessories for those that want to dress in style. I think I will just stick to my two years old pair of sunglasses.

Great accessories:

5. Hats, make a statement with yours.
4. Goggle Glam. Go bigger with your sunglasses.
3. Necklace. Make people notice you.
2. Platform shoes. Add a few extra inches.
1. More bling for your bag. Go flashy and shinny with your purse.

According to NBC News’s coverage of cosmetic surgery in Rio de Janeiro, Americans spend about 12 billion dollars a year on cosmetic surgeries. It’s no wonder cosmetic tourism is a big business for countries like Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and even Thailand.

Cosmetic surgery is the next big thing to come packaged with tourism in India. India promises cosmetic-surgery tourism for anything from hair implants, scalp reductions, rhinoplasty (reshaping or re-contouring of the nose), face-lift, cosmetic eyelid surgery, brow lifts, and sub-metal lipectomy for double chin, chin and cheek. Largely cost-driven and banking on international goodwill of Indian medicos, the initiative is hoping to benefit both hospitality and healthcare industry and become a standard in cosmetic surgery such as the Maryland Cosmetic Surgery already has become.

Clothes shopping in the Netherlands is something that I hardly look forward to. I always wait till I go home for clothes and shoes shopping. In the US, my favorite shopping stores are Gap, The Limited, Express Clothing, and of course the local Dillards and Macys, which finally showed up in Kansas City last year.

I like to shop at Bijenkorf, Dutch department store which reminds me of Dillards or Macys. Now and then I can find brands from the US for 30% more in price. The problem is that if I wait for the sale price to kick in, then there is nothing in my size anymore. So, I can only look at the clothes and then talk myself out of not buying anything since to spend money on something that I can buy at half price in the US would bring too much guilt on me. I’m a poor student and having to send money to my Grand-Mama on a regular basis means setting a priority for myself.

Since I have found out about Steps Womenswear last year, I have become a regular member of this clothing company. They actually have size 34 for me most of the time. I have noticed how many foreigners are hanging out at the store, whether Asians or other ethnic groups that are about the same height and size as me.

I was at Steps for their summer sales and got me a couple of skirts for my next trip to Laos. When I saw those skirts I was like yeah these will be perfect for Laos next year. I can’t wait to wear them in Vientiane and Pakse.

After a short walk around Nam Phu area I was picked up by my aunt for some shopping at the Morning Market.

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We didn’t stay too long at Patouxay Monument because we were called home for dinner. After dinner, my aunt took my parents and I to do some shopping at the Lao International Trade Exhibition and Convention Center (Lao-ITECC). It was Sunday and the last day of some sort of trade convention.

My mother was busy looking for clothes to take back as gifts for family members and friends. When my aunt told my mother about the owner of the clothing store was a daughter of my mother’s friend, it made her spend more money. I wouldn’t mind wearing some of the above dresses.

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Clash is a very popular Thai band in Laos. It was not a surprise for me to hear their latest CD while driving around with my male cousins. They were surprised to know that I like the same band as they do since their wives and girlfriends don’t care much for their taste in music. I have one cousin who even named his son “Bank” as the lead singer of the band “Bank”.

I’m very happy to know of Saolao Magazine, which will be launched later this year in Laos. I’m going to have to get my hands on the first publication. See the news articles for complete details.

Women’s issues the focus of new magazine

In Lao culture, women are always described as the ‘rear legs of an elephant’, unequal to the men who ‘hold up the animal’s front’, but this metaphor is set to crumble thanks to an upcoming new publication.

The Deputy Head of the Information Department of the Lao Women’s Union , Mr Saysamone Bouthdavong, said yesterday that his organisation was preparing to launch a women’s magazine, which would aim to promote gender equality in accordance with the policy of the Party and government.

The magazine, entitled Saolao (Lao Girl), will be introduced in Vientiane in July, he said, and would be published in both Lao and English.

“We have submitted our proposal to the President of the Lao Women’s Union to allow us to publish the magazine, and she is currently considering it. At this stage, we don’t anticipate any problems with getting a publication permit,” he said.

Mr Saysamone, who is also the magazine’s editor, said its content would not only inform readers of the government’s policy on gender, but also reflect the true nature of the policy’s implementation, and highlight areas where it is not being enforced.

“There will be several critical articles on the implementation of the government’s policy on gender equality,” he said.

He said the magazine would also cover many issues relating to women and the family institution, with the intention of promoting Lao culture while condemning violence.

However, Mr Saysamone maintained that the magazine would not be a completely serious publication, as it would contain profiles of outstanding women, information on weaving, shopping, the charms of the traditional Lao girl, how to raise children, new stars, sports, and travel.

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The only thing I know about Japanese Cuisine is sushi and sashimi. I’m very fortunate to have a sushi restaurant that you can dine in or carry out in town so I can visit on a regular basis.

Today’s weather is very wet and cold. After walking around the center for a few hours of shopping I didn’t feel like making anything for dinner or go out for that matter. Since Johan was such a good helper with carrying my shopping bags I told him dinner was on me. We picked up sushi and sashimi package and had a nice meal.

Guess who got to eat the only two oysters? Me, of course.

While I was in Kansas I gave away my digi-cam to my youngest sister. She’s the only one in the family that doesn’t have a digi-cam and I wanted her to have my old one so she can use it at school. In my family we have this practice of passing down old clothes, used furnitures, used appliances, as well as old gadgets. We even passed down old cars to other relatives and nothing goes to waste. I am sure other Laotians are the same way.

Before I came back to the Netherlands I went to Best Buy to find a replacement for my old digi-cam. Well, to my luck it was out of stock and then the store didn’t have it on the list anymore since the new model was coming out. To my surprise Johan got me a new Ixus 800 for my belated birthday gift. I am very happy with the new camera and still trying to get familiar with all the settings.

Since I like to take lots of pictures I decided to reward myself with a Media Drive. I went to a local media store (Dixons) over the weekend and bought a late Christmas present for little me. I did some research online for about a couple of weeks and couldn’t find one in stock for the price that I want to spend. Dixons has the Sitecom media drive for the lowest price in all over Europe but was out of stock online. It was meant to be when I walked into the store on Saturday and found one in stock. I bought one in less than 5 minutes of browsing around.

This baby will come in very handy when I am on a vacation. I can’t wait to test it out. I have a feeling that I will pass this media drive to one of my siblings in a year or two.

Vientiane, the capital of Laos is a sleepy borough located by the Mekong river. It is rather a messy collection of villages than a real city. For a captial Vientiane has a little over 133,000 inhabitants. There is not much movement in the city but will soon be very active in the near future.

Laos was colonized by France in the 1890s and was part of the French Indochine (Laos, Cambodia and vietnam). The French chose Vientiane as administrative capital. Vientiane means “Sandalwood city” and is pronounced as Wieng Chan, but the French gave its “romantic” orthography to the city.

Here you can follow Floortje (the show host) to Vientiane and Luang Prabang. The video clip is about nine minutes long and in Dutch but that shouldn’t let it stop you from seeing the beauty of Vientiane and Luang Prabang (World Heritage City).

Since the collapse the Soviet Union in 1991, Laos has changed many rules and has rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors.

Vientiane is in a tempo for change. Nowhere else in Laos has modernisation gone more rapidly than in the capital. Although much of the old French style houses in the old districts have been expired and replaced, there are still plently of temples and colonial buildings to explore.

Enjoy your stay in Laos, wherever you desinations might be. While you are there, make sure you sample plenty of Lao food and Beer Lao, the best beer in Asia.