Goodness, who would have thought that I was a threat to the Chinese gerontocracy? Now I am sure that my little blog is only one of millions of sites banned by the Chinese authorities but it does give me a degree of pleasure to be informed that my blog is banned there and know that I am seen as a danger to the maintenance of the despotic regime. Although the Lao regime does, quite correctly, not enjoy much respect overseas, at least it allows my idle observations to be shared with anyone wishing to see them. Though whether that is intentional or whether they simply lack the means to suppress WWW activity I do not know.
Oh, I have found a suggestion box for the police. It is on the wall at the Dara Market. It says it is checked daily but it does not looked well used. However, I think I shall start using the facility. Suggesting that the police force might be halved and the money spent on education or health care, or in fact on anything mildly useful, will I suppose, not get a positive response. But I think I shall enquire why policemen do not wear crash helmets whist riding their motor bikes, yet fine ordinary citizens for doing the same.
Apart from one old one, included to demonstrate a point, this blog will again have no photos. Why? My camera has been stolen. It was stolen from Khamphone’s house along with his laptop and 2 million kip. Anyone who has visited the house (the following photo might give you some idea) will not be surprised that things get stolen; there is no security whatsoever.
It is just puzzling that he should keep leaving things unattended in his house. I have lost track now of the thefts over the last 6 or 8 months, but I think it is 2 motorbikes, 2 laptops, one mobile phone,2 million kip, 14 bags of rice , 2 cameras, some cooking pots and a pair of shoes. Even the motorbike that was the subject of the Hmong blessing rode itself off into the night…presumably in the direction of the Cambodian border.
The loss of my camera is a real pain. It may not have always been evident from some of the photos posted on here, but it was a nice little camera and it and it and I had reached an understanding about our own limitations. We agreed on a pact that I would stop trying for clever close ups and would ignore the video facility. I should have liked to have been able to record the birthday cake and the flowers that my students gave me for my birthday. But sadly, the cake has gone and the flowers are already drooping slightly in the heat.
It continues to be very hot, and the rain a blessing. By afternoon it really is too hot to think of doing much beyond retiring to bed with the fan on maximum. But that is a luxury that most people here cannot enjoy. Certainly the Vietnamese building team on the new house do not take a siesta, although starting at 5.30 am, even on a Sunday and working through until darkness, about 6.30pm they might deserve one. It is 6.30 am as I write this and to judge from the rising smoke it looks as though their breakfast (I shudder to think what) is ready. They have been adopted by a local dog which spends all his time in their company; but I am not sure how wise that is given Vietnamese culinary habits.
I am not sure what happens about work permits for Vietnamese. There appear to be few restrictions on them working here; which does cause occasional ill-feeling among the locals. I know that the neighbouring countries do not require visas of each other, but I am unsure about work permits or working visas. Certainly, any Burmese, often to be found on building sites, are usually ‘illegals’ who have fled their own country. For work as an illegal , and therefore exploited worker on a Lao building site and living rough on the site, to be preferable to living at home I suppose tells us much about Burma today.
Once again I was to have spent this weekend on a motorbike trip, but this time it was the bike had other ideas, so spent it pottering about and having a few beers with friends.
One topic I think I have rarely mentioned is the wild bird life here. This is a largely rural country and I live in a semi rural area but I see relatively few wild birds. I have sparrows nesting in my eaves but I do not see many other birds. I know that on the hilltops in central Laos they have special traps for catching, I think, swallows, which are marinated and made into some kind of alcoholic drink, and along the river I have seen dippers and something like a kingfisher. There are from time to time splendid looking hawks and falcons for sale in the produce market but they are usually dead. There are also the little finches that get caught time and time again in and around the temples, to be purchased and released (briefly) to bring good fortune to the buyer. And of, course Khamphone for a while owned a magnificently angry eagle, so they must be out there, but one seldom sees them. Following a heavy storm, there is a period when there is a lot of bird song, but it seems you have to have better eyes than I to be able to spot the singers.
On a more domesticated note, my neighbours have a family of turkeys. My goodness, what ugly birds they are! But it is quite a brood, Mum, Dad and possibly 10 ‘chicks’ if that is what young turkeys are called. Another neighbour seems to be a single mum with, oh, maybe 8 children (maybe more; I think I can count 10 today , but there may be some non family members among the ranks) .They never stand still long enough for me to be able to count them There is no sign of the father(s), but they seem happy enough and well enough fed and turned out. But none of them seems to go to school. Mum goes to work about 8am and then they look after themselves for the rest of the day, presumably for want of money for uniforms, fees and books for school. It is difficult to feel confident about the future of children with no education at all.
Not that anyone is at school right now. Schools seem to be on some kind of midterm break. In the rural areas I understand that the primary and lower secondary schools in particular may not open again until the autumn. I assume that this is because of the problems teachers and pupils have getting to school in the rainy season. I also wonder how weather proof some of the actual buildings are.
In fact, since writing that, I am told that this year this is the start of the long vacation generally here in LPB. It has been moved forward to accommodate the National Games which will be held here in December.
One downside of no school is that the Pink Guitarist next door will have more time to engage in making dreadful noises. It is quite extraordinary how such appalling sounds can emerge from a few bits of wood and wire. It may be that he uses authentic cat gut from strings which might give it its unusual feline qualities.
As might be apparent, I write this blog over a couple of days, which sometimes means that by the time I come to send it out, some things have changed. Well, indeed; my camera has been found! Found, sadly without a battery, but found in most amusing circumstances. Someone in Khamphone’s village called round to see him to tell him that they had just bought a camera but did not know how to use it and could he help them…yes it was mine ! Even the memory card is in place so the photos K. took of the burial grounds are in place. I am not sure that I shall find a battery here and so it may not be usable until I get home next. But I certainly did not expect to see it again.
Sorry vegetables fans, no room for you this week again
ALAN
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