Sao Lao

Last month was a busy time for Aunt Kiane and Aunt Phone because they had to attend several weddings. Two of the relatives also held wedding on one weekend (one on Saturday and one on Sunday) so everyone had to help out the best they can with setting up the food for the reception after the Baci ceremony.

On this beautiful Saturday, it was a wedding of Uncle Khao’s niece. The bride’s father is an older brother of Uncle Khao’s father. Her parents passed away when she was very young and a relative on her mother’s side adopted her. The groom’s parents also passed away when he was very young and he was also adopted by a relative. Now they will begin a new life together.

Here comes the groom.

Beautiful Lao girls all dressed up and ready to party.

Bee Bee on the right at the wedding.

I wonder what the head and feet of the pig is for…

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On January 28th of last month, my relatives in Vientiane got up extra early for a special Morning Alms Giving. On that day Buddhist Monks from the nearby temples would travel beyond the usual routes. There would be around 40 Buddhist Monks that would make a procession pass a short and tiny street where Aunt Kian’s house is located. Aunt Kian is very religious if I compare her to other relatives for the fact that she takes part in the rituals of Morning Alms Giving daily and often attend religious events at her local temple. Some other relatives that I visited in Laos would not even take part in the Morning Alms Giving, not even once a week or once every two weeks.

Even though I am not a Buddhist anymore Aunt Kian always tell me that she tum boun and thuk badt for me as well because of the money I sent on a regular basis, which she used part of it for merit making. She told me that if we tum boun together and the next life we would see each other again. I told her that I don’t mind at all to see her and the other relatives again in the next life if there is such a thing.

A few weeks ago my relatives in Vientiane were invited for a visit at a papaya garden at K50 or Lak 50. It was a day full of fun for the kids and adults. My cousins were having fun feeding and playing with the animals. They got to ride on the the wagon and helping with collecting papayas. All the relatives that went for the visit all got enough papayas and bananas home and for the next two weeks they were eating green papaya salad and riped papaya.

This green papaya salad became part of a lunch that day.

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I got special treats this week with a package from the A Team in Spain and one from aunt Kian in Vientiane. From Vienne was the Lao Cook T-Shirts in size small. I tried it on and it was a perfect fit. Now I just need for the warm weather to get here so I can put the T-Shirt on and advertise Laocook.com all over the Netherlands. I didn’t expect to get some homemade jeow bong and prawn crackers and will be enjoying eating them all by myself. If you are nice, maybe I’ll share some with you.

I didn’t get any food from aunt Kian this time but she sent me 5 photo CD and that should be plenty of pictures to keep me busy posting at all my sites for awhile.

For the majority of the people in Laos there is no such thing as taking a vacation. Most of my relatives (the poor ones) have never been anywhere beyond their town or province. If they are fortunate enough to have relatives outside of Laos that would often visit them, then they have a chance to go to places they have only heard about or seen on TV.

After Bay’s engagement party, her finance took everyone out on the town. This waterfall in Pakse is one of the spots they went to. The name of this waterfall is Huay Xe (if I read the sign correctly) and one of the places I didn’t get a chance to visit during my stay in Laos last year. This waterfall is simple and many people like to take a shower underneath it. It is not as grand or as spectacular as Khone Phapheng, Lipi, Tad Fane, or Tad Paxuam but it is a place where many locals would go to for a family picnic with green papaya salad, BBQ chicken, and sticky rice. Mo (pictures above) told me that no one should take a shower there and he would never do it again himself. The reason? Well, the water might be clear but near the source on higher ground there are pig farms. Guess where the farmers dump the waste? Down with the water of course.

For my relatives in Vientiane that are well to do they often take vacation outside of Laos. For a quick vacation they would go to Thailand so they can enjoy the sun at the beach or shop until they drop. For a longer vacation they would go to the USA and visit relatives and then go to New York or go to Europe like Paris or London. Just like anywhere in the world, when you are poor, you keep busy trying to find enough food to eat. When you have enough money at a certain level then vacation is a luxury that you can afford.