http://www.laopride.com/pictures1/happy-valentines-day-from-judy-garland.jpg


Judy Garland has the best female singing voice ever

thanx

Thank you LP Admins and happy Valentine's Day everybody.
;) :)

Not wanting to sound like an old sourpuss, but what is all the fuss about Valentines Day in Laos?  In no way is it part of Lao culture or tradition, but I think many Lao city youngsters are unaware that it is hardly an event at all in European countries.  In Europe, it is something between two lovers, or someone who secretly loves someone.  The couple will send each other cards and maybe flowers or a small gift.  Secret admirers sometimes send cards anonymously.

It is not an excuse for a big party like Christmas or New Year.  I am saying this because my two teenage sons have just asked me to give them 4,000 baht for 'Valentines Day' in Vientiane.  WHAT?  Sometimes I think I should take my sons out of the capital, away from their cool rich friends and bring them back to live on our farm in a rural village where, I'm pretty sure, there'll be no mass partying on Valentines day.

Well, maybe I am an old sourpuss.

We celebrate nearly everything in Laos, except Easter because it's about the same time as the Lao New Year.

We probably take Valentine's Day more seriously, and celebrate it more in Laos than people in Western countries.

It's funny, because it's not part of our culture, but many things have changed. Lao people these days are becoming lazier and enjoy partying more than those of past generations.

Happy Valentine's Day Admin!

May you find your true love on this day, if you already found your true love........may you keep that love forever  ;)

That's good to hear. Growing up in the West I didn't know about Valentine's Day celebration in Laos. Most holiday in the West is connected to business. The more people spend the better for economy. For Christmas you buy family gift, Thank giving you buy turkey have dinner with family, Halloween you buy candy, custom candy and party. Its very fun. 8-) ;)


Admin Saovaluck wrote on 7^th Feb, 2011 at 1:39am:

We celebrate nearly everything in Laos, except Easter because it's about the same time as the Lao New Year. We probably take Valentine's Day more seriously, and celebrate it more in Laos than people in Western countries. It's funny, because it's not part of our culture, but many things have changed. Lao people these days are becoming lazier and enjoy partying more than those of past generations.

A little bit later but thank you any way.

26-year-old Judy Garland receives a kiss from
co-star Gene Kelly in The Pirate (1948).

http://www.laopride.com/pictures3/judy-garland-gets-a-kiss-in-the-pirate1.jpg


Judy Garland Board

Happy Valentines Day on Feb. 14th

In US and Canada we don't celebrate it as a national holiday, it is more of a novelty like mothers day, or st. patricks day, we don't get a day off work for it. Most people I know just ignore it now cause it's another stupid reason for girls to expect something from a guy. I knew some Lao girls in Vientiane who would buy themselves flowers just to make it look like they received them from guys. That is really pathetic how Lao people are so controlled by these hi-so things and secumb to peer pressure.
There are rich Lao people due to corruption and the inequality of communist dictatorship in Laos. They have nothing better to do except spend this dirty money and show off, hi-so. Their kids grow up spoiled and selfish, they don't even try to help the country or it's peope who are suffering. In Laos, if you have, then hold onto it and hoard it to yourself. Everybody for themselves is the motto.
My friend returned to Laos a few years ago and he would help out people he knew and his Lao wife would say to him "why you help them for, what are they going to give you?" I guess people in Laos don't understand. I guess that's how it is in a country that is very poor, you have to think of yourself first and be selfish/greedy in order to survive.

Let me ask the guys, have you ever received anything on Valentines day from a girl? And if so, what was it? They don't even say thanks after, they would just remind me a few days before, that Valentines day is coming up you know... hint hint... damn.

This year, I have no valentine... maybe I'm better off alone.

It's okay to help people you know, particularly poor relatives but don't overdo it. Laotians are like children. If you keep spoiling children with lollies, it becomes a habit and they will keep begging for more. In the case of Laotians, if you keep helping them financially, they'll never stop bothering you.

Corruption will never go away from Laos and many Asian countries are in the same boat. You can be a failure at school but if your parents are wealthy, you will live a better life than others.

Valentine's Day is an excuse to take the day off in Laos because some people want to spend the special day with their loved ones. In Laos, we complain about low wages but when you think about it, we deserve the low wages.

Valentine's Day and other 'holdidays' are good moneymaking events speciifically for retailers.  This is good for the country because money is being recycled to genenerate more tax revenue to be spent on something to hopefully better everyone.

Laos does not have a sales taxation system yet.  Is this true?

The help I was talkin about wasn't financial, just mostly favours like driving someone somewhere, or helping do something. It builds trust and respect between fellow people. One day you might need help in some way and someone will help you. Almost like a pay it forward.

Valentines day helps the retailers, not the consumers. I'd rather save the money and keep it in my pocket for something really worth while, like my retirement. And if my kid ever asked me for 4000 baht ($133.11 USD) just for Valentines day, I'd kick his/her ass out of the house and tell them to get a job. When I was a kid, I didn't even get $5 to buy food to eat at lunch.

I don't think anyone deserves low wages. I think the wages should reflect the living costs in the region. The problem in Laos is that you have a huge discrepancy in wealth amongst the demographics. There is about 5% of the population that are wealthy, I'm talking wealthy even by western standards. I would say 15% are average middle income, meaning they aren't poor but they aren't well off either. Then you have the remaining 80% who will remain in poverty probably their entire lives cause of the inequalities that exists in Laos and many asian countries in general. This can clearly be seen in terms of what the Admin pointed out, education, employment, corruption, who you know in the gov't. etc... The rich hang onto their wealth and guard it while the poor see no opportunity to change their situation.
Laos needs to resolve this large disparity between the rich and the poor by increasing the demographics of the middle class. I see no middle class in Laos, only super rich or dirt poor. The super rich hi so want a certain lifestyle and are willing to pay for it at any cost since they have unlimited spending potential, but the poor and not so rich cannot manage to keep up with that lifestyle so they continue to fall deeper into poverty. It is so evident when you look at the plans for developement. Megamalls, high speed trains, and new hotels and infrastructure are being planned to accomodate the rich who will benefit and can afford these ammenities, but only 20% of the population can make use of it. How can you generate enough revenue to sustain that development, and it also doesn't cater to the entire demographics. The 80% will continue to get left behind as "they do not matter" by the gov't.
Who is going to be able to afford riding this high speed train or shop at the mega mall or stay in one of these high end hotels/restaurants? And the jobs that get created for the average Lao person, the wages aren't going to be high paying either so poor are still taken advantage of so they will remain poor, while the rich keep spending the foreign aid cause of corruption. They pretend to devlop things for their own benefit and show to the world that Laos is "developing" but it's all smoke and mirrors.
I know very well the problems in Laos. I could probably do a better job at running the country but the powers that control Laos won't let anyone take their "wealth" away from them. The poor people of Laos makes them rich and they like to keep it that way. Plea for aid and help from foreign countries by showing them how poor the people are and when they get the money, another mercedes for some rich biatch. Poor still remains poor because there is no opportunity. And the gov'ts reaction to it: oh they are just lazy, that's why they are poor. Look at the other people who are rich, they worked hard to get that. But really, they never worked a day in their lives, dumber than dumb too. And the cycle continues...

Anyways, sorry about the rambling... Happy Valentines Day... let's go out and spend money when we really don't have to cause we can't even afford to!

Beef Cake wrote on 11^th Feb, 2013 at 9:15pm:

Laos does not have a sales taxation system yet.  Is this true?

We do have a sales tax system on certain local items and imports. We called it "value added tax".

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 12^th Feb, 2013 at 5:29am:

I see no middle class in Laos, only super rich or dirt poor. The super rich hi so want a certain lifestyle and are willing to pay for it at any cost since they have unlimited spending potential, but the poor and not so rich cannot manage to keep up with that lifestyle so they continue to fall deeper into poverty.

The wages should reflect how much you work. In Laos we have too much time on our hands, therefore deserving of the low wages.

In your country in America, do the teachers go home for 2 hours to relax and enjoy lunch? Do you have labourers sitting around and enjoying a beer with their co-workers as if deadlines doesn't mean anything?

There's plenty of middle class in Laos. If your household owns a motorbike or two, a fridge, TV and some mobile phones then you're considered a middle class family. Middle class citizens can't afford to buy a car, but they can afford to own these basic essentials.

If you are super rich in Laos, the chances are you are involved in corruption.

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 12^th Feb, 2013 at 5:29am:

Poor still remains poor because there is no opportunity. And the gov'ts reaction to it: oh they are just lazy, that's why they are poor. Look at the other people who are rich, they worked hard to get that. But really, they never worked a day in their lives, dumber than dumb too. And the cycle continues...

Lao people are lazy in general. There are opportunities but the job won't come to you by sitting around and doing nothing.

There are businesses operating in nearly every corner of city, restaurants and guesthouses are plentiful. Why not drop in, or give them a call to ask if they require more staff? It's called "cold calling."

Some rich people, particularly those operating a normal business work hard and earn a legitimate income, but the super rich is what concerns me because we don't really know their activities.

So jobs are of plenty in the country but why many go to Thailand? Perhaps the obvious reason is the relatively higher wages for ‘general labourers’ on the other side of the River.


Admin Saovaluck wrote on 12^th Feb, 2013 at 7:03am:

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 12th Feb, 2013 at 5:29am: I see no middle class in Laos, only super rich or dirt poor. The super rich hi so want a certain lifestyle and are willing to pay for it at any cost since they have unlimited spending potential, but the poor and not so rich cannot manage to keep up with that lifestyle so they continue to fall deeper into poverty. The wages should reflect how much you work. In Laos we have too much time on our hands, therefore deserving of the low wages. In your country in America, do the teachers go home for 2 hours to relax and enjoy lunch? Do you have labourers sitting around and enjoying a beer with their co-workers as if deadlines doesn't mean anything? There's plenty of middle class in Laos. If your household owns a motorbike or two, a fridge, TV and some mobile phones then you're considered a middle class family. Middle class citizens can't afford to buy a car, but they can afford to own these basic essentials. If you are super rich in Laos, the chances are you are involved in corruption.

Jobs in this part of the world tend to pay a monthly salary, rather than a wage.

Laotians who go to work in Thailand are mostly from poor rural areas. It's not that Laos doesn't have jobs available, they have a choice and can travel to one of the Lao cities to work if they really wanted to, but the higher salaries in Thailand persuaded them to cross the river. 

The salaries in Thailand is not much difference for low-skilled jobs, maybe they pay around $50 more than the same job in Laos and Thai employers are known to be very strict with Lao employees. Being away from family also means they are at risk of entering the sex industry, particular girls when desperate times call for desperate measures.

Aha...I see now.  Salaries of low skilled labourers needed to increase to lure them to work in the country.  Hopefully this can be accomplish about 5 years from now. 

We will see in about 5 years, but they don't deserve an increase at the moment. Around $100 per month is the norm for low-skilled labourers.

The Vietnamese and Chinese are working in Laos, and many more still want to come to Laos to work. The salary is acceptable for them so Lao workers should be happy too.

I want to move to Lao. The problem is I will not be given citizenship permit. I can not buy land.


Admin Saovaluck wrote on 14^th Feb, 2013 at 4:45am:

We will see in about 5 years, but they don't deserve an increase at the moment. Around $100 per month is the norm for low-skilled labourers. The Vietnamese and Chinese are working in Laos, and many more still want to come to Laos to work. The salary is acceptable for them so Lao workers should be happy too.

It is good to have reminder to say some day is coming. It is a good hint, you pay you gain. That is common. You pay, you don't gain, that is a trade protectionist you find. It is your problem now. Today, hope your bilateral trade goes well. Ha ha ha ha ;D

Let me ask the guys, have you ever received anything on Valentines day from a girl? And if so, what was it? They don't even say thanks after, they would just remind me a few days before, that Valentines day is coming up you know... hint hint... damn.

peterpan wrote on 14^th Feb, 2013 at 9:26am:

I want to move to Lao. The problem is I will not be given citizenship permit. I can not buy land.

Put it in someone else's name.

You won't live forever anyway. Your land will be in the possession of others, or the Government.

peterpan, I met a Lao-American last summer in Luang Prabang who owned a restaurant. He invested more than $200,000 into the business which includes the property and the renovations done to a former house that he remodeled into a restaurant/bar. Even though he has invested a considerable amount into the local economy he won't even qualify for citizenship until he has lived in Laos for an extended period of time. At this point he isn't even able to register the business in his name and so has to put it officially in someone else's name. I want to say that he will have to wait for five years or so before he gains citizenship. He also mentioned that the government has called him for numerous interviews, so the level of bureaucracy to even progress as far as he has is considerable. 

That guy is a nice one. try to be internationally local, it is easy to get the citizenship as one of my friends did.

I think I met the guy this time I stayed in Luang Prabang. ;D


sakyant wrote on 14^th Feb, 2013 at 12:54pm:

peterpan, I met a Lao-American last summer in Luang Prabang who owned a restaurant. He invested more than $200,000 into the business which includes the property and the renovations done to a former house that he remodeled into a restaurant/bar. Even though he has invested a considerable amount into the local economy he won't even qualify for citizenship until he has lived in Laos for an extended period of time. At this point he isn't even able to register the business in his name and so has to put it officially in someone else's name. I want to say that he will have to wait for five years or so before he gains citizenship. He also mentioned that the government has called him for numerous interviews, so the level of bureaucracy to even progress as far as he has is considerable.

Well. to be frank. lao people I met were not lazy, give them the title to land and conditions, every lao is John Galt. You feel them lazy is they must be lazy because they can not get more otherwise. My experiences from companies in Lao.

Under any condition, working hard wont make you rich. Behind the door, that is something can make you rich.


Admin Saovaluck wrote on 12^th Feb, 2013 at 7:56am:

Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 12th Feb, 2013 at 5:29am: Poor still remains poor because there is no opportunity. And the gov'ts reaction to it: oh they are just lazy, that's why they are poor. Look at the other people who are rich, they worked hard to get that. But really, they never worked a day in their lives, dumber than dumb too. And the cycle continues... Lao people are lazy in general. There are opportunities but the job won't come to you by sitting around and doing nothing. There are businesses operating in nearly every corner of city, restaurants and guesthouses are plentiful. Why not drop in, or give them a call to ask if they require more staff? It's called "cold calling." Some rich people, particularly those operating a normal business work hard and earn a legitimate income, but the super rich is what concerns me because we don't really know their activities.

Your last sentence is 100% right. Earn it is one thing, keep it another.


Admin Saovaluck wrote on 14^th Feb, 2013 at 9:49am:

peterpan wrote on 14th Feb, 2013 at 9:26am: I want to move to Lao. The problem is I will not be given citizenship permit. I can not buy land. Put it in someone else's name. You won't live forever anyway. Your land will be in the possession of others, or the Government.

How about this year Day? ;D


Buk Hoo Kee wrote on 10^th Feb, 2013 at 10:57pm:

Happy Valentines Day on Feb. 14th This year, I have no valentine... maybe I'm better off alone.

There will always be somebody for someone ;)!

Happy Valentine's yall!

---

Australian man plunges to death at Thai hotel



http://www.laopride.com/pictures3/surin-thailand.jpg
View of Surin, Thailand, where an Australian man jumped to his death.



In a Valentine's Day-linked tragedy a 44-year-old Australian man, "broken hearted" over the loss of his Thai girlfriend, has died after plunging from a hotel balcony in northeast Thailand.

Anthony J Scarrabelotti, from New South Wales, died from injuries sustained after falling from a sixth-storey hotel balcony in Surin, 490 kilometres from Bangkok.

Mr. Scarrabelotti survived the initial fall and was rushed to the nearby Surin General Hospital but died late Wednesday from heavy loss of blood, a punctured lung and multiple internal injuries.

Hotel staff said the Australian was not a resident at the Pechkasem Hotel but had been searching for his girlfriend there.

Hospital staff said Scarrabelotti had been admitted to the hospital but had later died from his injuries.

"He thought his girlfriend had somebody (in the room) and has a broken heart," a Thai staff member said.

Thai police said they are investigating the death and had attempted to contact the girlfriend.






http://www.laopride.com/pictures3/lao-girl-from-luang-prabang.jpg
Luang Prabang girl.

Nice Lao girl not living luang prabang

Nice Lao girl living in Champassak.

The young lady is very light skinned therefore and I think she's from the northern part of Laos?

Yes, but when it comes to "nice", I think women from Champassak are better than us in Vientiane and northern Laos.

They are not strikingly attractive, but they have the good characteristics of wife material.



http://www.laopride.com/pictures3/lao-girl-from-champassak-1.jpg






http://www.laopride.com/pictures3/lao-girl-from-champassak-2.jpg

Since women from the south have a limited supply of money to spend on luxurious materials and social events,  these women spend most of their time doing daily women chores like coooking and preparing family core necessities.  In addition, they probably spend most of their time outside to do other womanly duties.  I think these are the reasons for this visual segregation between women of the south and north.  I have to admit that strong 'core family' values supercedes 'materials'.