Beautiful Laos! ! !

Sabbai Dee~!

On the 29th of March 2008, I joined my fellow coursemates as well as American Degree Program (ADP) students to participate in a community service mission to Laos. Not expecting what the outcome would be like, I paid RM1, 500 for the trip (does anyone think it is expensive ). DEFINITELY COSTLY, EXPENSIVE, SUPER CUT-THROAT. . . Well, as a student, asking one to take out money from their own pocket is like taking a candy from a 4-5 year old child. Curious of the break down of the cost for the trip, we actually asked the Program Director , Ms Turkey to give us the break down. How terrible hor~! Being an accounting & finance student, we have to maintain our inquisity ( aka kepoh) of how our money is being spent. Well, we can only hold our grudges and am-kan looking at the break down. Aih. What to do. Nasi sudah jadi Air. Since we have paid, then might as well enjoy this trip to the fullest right? Ok. Without whatsoever information or knowledge about Laos, I hopped on this journey hoping to experience the Laos culture, lifestyle and tradition. I think I got more than what i bargained for.

Day 1 @ 29 March 2008

Gathered at Taylor's Business School at 6am. Still feeling a bit grumpy and sleepy. Why TBS must book the flight so early in the morning? Can't they just book the night flight so that we won't waste time traveling in the afternoon where we could use it for better purpose like sightseeing in the country? Geram-nya. I took some pictures the night before at Shaun's house.

12.00am

*Dirty, Messy Clothes (aiyer, chou chou eh)*

*Stinking socks and shoes* ~~Some more wrap in J& Co plastic bag. Sia Sui J& Co only~~


*wonder who is this hunk* giggles *

6.00am

Dragging myself out the bed, I was thinking "So darn malas man to go Laos-even though already pay RM1500". Never mind la since its only 4 days, I said to myself. Then we gathered at TBS to commute to LCCT (Local Cheap Cheap Terminal, according to James).

Manage to take pic before boarding the bus

***

from the aiport until we touched down in Vientiene.

*one. . . two. . . three. . .SMILE*


*my beautiful cartel*

*Three of us again- taking pics in the plane*


*James: Walau-ye. . .this aunty damn keng man. . . hopped from another "table" to ours* ~~Actually James couldn't believe that he lost because that was the aunty's last card. . . hehe~~

*so up close with my baby - its the plane, not Air Asia*

*the Wattay International Airport*


*Sabbai-dee Vientiene*

* Mr Ah Da, our ever funny, crazy and sporting tour guide*


*short briefing before we depart from the airport*


*Sabbai-dee Laos, here i come~! ! !*

***

Next Destination

After checking into the hotel, we went to Khop Chai DeuRestaurant, which literally meant "welcome thank you restaurant". I was kinda excited, expecting what the food we would be served. To my amazement, this restaurant has very nice bars, pool table (not so ulu as i thought it would be) and really cool decorations.

*Khop Chai Deu Restaurant, Laos*

*Fu - yo. . . they have sushi and crabstick *

*don't ask me what meat is that. . . chicken, beef, pork, dog meat, cat meat? don't want to know*


*isn't it delicious? I love this dish the most throughout the whole trip*

***

Next

We visited the famous That Luang Sturpa which used to be covered with real GOLD but later on was stolen by people. Sad case, right? If not, Laos would have been a richer country like the rest of the world but due to some inconsiderate, selfish people, Laos remains what it is today. I had a great time there, taking pictures and posing like a poser. Didn't I, Shaun? haha.

*the Sturpa behind me*

Then, the Laos Garment Factory was next on the list. So, here we come~! I was quite amazed that even big brands like Umbro, Lonsdale and etc manufacture their clothing in this factory. Can you believe it that one Lonsdale windbreaker would actually cost only USD8, which is equivalent to RM25? In Malaysia, they are selling for RM100-RM200. OMG~! ! ! Profit margin is incredibly high and thats why they are one of the top clothing industry in the world. Damn~! That aside, I was actually quite sympathetic for the workers there because they are only paid USD70-80 a month. Convert it to MYR, it is only MYR 320 tops. Crazy isn't it. In Malaysia, we begin to complaint as long as we felt that we are under-paid (after kepo-ing and asking how much their peers earn). In this instance, I began to realize that we are actually very fortunate and lucky to be able to live in a prosperous country. We should be counting our blessing that Malaysia is a developing country and thus, providing us the job opportunities that we need.

*me at the garment factory*

*this is how the working environment looks like*

As night approached, we gathered and headed towards Lane Xang Hotel for dinner. It was quite entertaining as there were performance by the Laos people. We met the Malaysian Ambassador and some Malaysian & Singaporean businessmen working in Laos. I must admit that I learnt a lot from the businessmen and it dawned on me that vast business opportunities are actually awaiting for us to take advantage. Working and living in Laos? Er. . . Maybe few years later, I might consider but definitely not now. . . Haha. . .

Day 2 @ 30 March 2008

Originally, we were supposed to wake up at 5am! Wth? But luckily, the lecturers were kind enough to let us sleep in till 6am. But still have to wake up at 5am to get ready. Aih. Kadelei Kadelei.

***

First Destination

Visit to the Handicapped Center. I was kind of looking forward to this visit as I really wanted to see and experience mingling with the handicapped as I have not done so before in Malaysia. What an irony! I did not pay any visit to the handicapped center in Malaysia but now, I am here! Moving on, I really had the time of my life playing with the deaf and dumb kids. Especially the Aubergine and Lime Game. That was very new to me as I have not seen this game being played in Malaysia before and I am proud to bring this game back to my country to teach my friends. ( I am sure they will be rolling on the floor, laughing like a mad person).

*see what i mean?* *me in the middle with the bunch of pupils*

After that, we were assigned to cleaning the classrooms, toilets as well as the kitchen. I volunteered to clean the kitchen as well as painting the walls. At first glance, I thought that this would be impossible as we only had 2-3 hours to complete our tasks. Well, guess what? We managed to finish in time as we worked in a group efficiently. However, I was kind of disappointed with some of the ADP students because while we were working our asses in the kitchen, they just sit and talked in the classroom. Darn inconsiderate and selfish, ain't it? But I have got to give my utmost credit to some of the ADP girls who always contributed their help in touching up the final task. Phew. . . Tiring but Lao ITech here i come. Lao ITech is supposed to be an expo for the Thais to sell their merchandises, food, and etc. It was kind of similar to the Thai expo in Malaysia.

*humongous snacks in Lao ITech*

*eh eh. . . where is my Beerlao?*

Day 3 @ 1 April 2008

Today, the first destination would be the visit to a primary school. Our group has prepared some games for the students : 1. Crayon-Scrapping Drawing 2. Fashion Show Well, our arrival was welcomed with a group of students lining up along the entrance into the school with flowers in their hands. I was touched and I must tell you that the kids are really adorable. No wonder Angelina Jolie adopted kids when she is on a fund-raising mission to Cambodia. They are so adorable that one could not resist the temptation to bring them home.

*Sabai-Dee, Pu Sal Noir*

*super duper cute*

*me, Shaun and Ms V learning how to write Laos*

*choo . . . choo. . . choo. . . Train passing by*

*playing eagle, hen and chicks game*


*my favourite students*


*kawaii. . . they posed and give me a Peace sign once i took out my camera*

Then, it was time to depart from the students. I couldn't express how I felt when it was time to say goodbye to them. They are ever-adorable and that makes it even harder to say goodbye. Before we left, we presented the whole class with some stationaries and the happiness in their eyes when they received it was the best moment for the entire trip. It made the whole trip worthwhile despite of all the complaints.

***

Next, we headed for lunch. Donechane is the place.

*hungry hungry me. . . Donechane, here I come!*

*my fav noodle*


*Laos Crepe with Watermelon and Payaya Stuffing. . . weird stuff*


*another bowl of noodle with beefballs*

***
After filling up our tummy, now it was time to fill up our tummy with Beerlao, the most famous beer brand in Laos with 90% consumption in the country itself. We moved on to our next agenda, BeerLao factory. They gave us some introduction to the background of the company and kindly provided us with their BeerLao, which was so awesome. The lady in charged gave us a short tour around their production departments. However, I had expected more from this visit as I wanted to know how the beer is actually produced, rather than how it is bottled. Great experience, I must say.

*take a break, have a Beerlao*

***
Rattana Business Administration College. Wow. I love their college. Know why? Because the chicks are so cute. hehe. I enjoyed the visit to this college as we managed to talk and interact with the Lao students. At least, we know that their education is not that bad as what I have expected.

*sanh and I*

*ma lat lou with some Laos chicks* *before I leave. . .Smile. . . *

That ends my journey in Laos and I seriously had a great time with my friends - the shopping, community service, makan makan, sightseeing. Everything was marvelous except that it was time for us to go home. 4 days 3 nights is definitely not enough for us to know and understand Laos. I will definitely come back again. Through this trip, I realized that adapting to changes along the way really helped in making the journey smoother where being flexible and making immediate decision are concerned. I seriously got to admit that the attitude of the Lao people is far more superior than any of the Malaysian because they are humble and friendly to any person that they come in contact with. If you were to smile at a stranger in KL, the chances of you getting a BIG FAT SLAP or a "what-are-you-looking-at" stare is inevitable. Besides, I've learnt something very essential from the people is that I should be grateful for the things that I have and the facilities that I enjoyed. The people are being paid so low and yet they still continue to survive without any complaints. Social mobility is hard but they are definitely improving gradually. So, since I have the chance to break the mobility in my family, I should really appreciate it and make the fullest use of the opportunity given to me.