This is the food court in the Morning Market, Vientiane, where shoppers can enjoy quick and simple meals.

When I am not busy, I will show exclusive photos inside Hi-So restaurants where wealthy people eat out.




Food court in the Morning Market

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I like ghetto in the alley food stall.lol
Seriously though for us in the state . We wanna
eat like the local not like the tourtist. All good though
for the people who like clean . hahaha

Aw man, there are no more than 6 users who frequent this forum, so who are you gonna post these photos of "hi-so" restaurants for? I'm sure if I wanted to spend big money on wannabe rich people food I wouldn't go to Laos to do it! Lmfao!

Just face it, no one in the outside world looks at Lao people as being Hi-so, most Americans have never heard of Laos and those that have think we are primitive jungle people.

We have hundreds of guests who visit this forum every day, they may not be posting but they are here for information.

I'm very busy at the moment with the ruby slippers so I will have a discussion later. All I can say is you many not visit the "Hi-So" restaurants but obviously there are people who do otherwise we wouldn't have them.

Quote:

All I can say is you many not visit the "Hi-So" restaurants but obviously there are people who do otherwise we wouldn't have them.

Yes, that's the same for everything. Why do you think we have police? Obviously there are people who want to commit crimes otherwise we wouldn't have them.

Obviously Southeast Asians think they are Hi-So because their minds are still stuck under the influence of the Indian caste system that came along with other aspects of Indian culture to Southeast Asia.

What good have "Hi-So" people ever done for their country? For people in general? They drive around in fancy cars, and so what? Why do they matter? Do they contribute anything to society?

Do Hi-So people's lives even have any more value then your average beggar on the street? We're all people aren't we?

Do you think the people who discover new technology and cure diseases drive around in Lamborghini's and talk about their stock portfolios?

What do they do besides manipulate the economy and pocket foreign aid money?

So, basically, I've come to the conclusion that Hi-So people may be no better than impoverished subsistence farmers, because they contribute nothing to the world, and they just suck up natural resources so they can look fancy and upload pictures of their expensive meals to Facebook.

Hi-So people are worthless.

If people want to drive around in a Lamborghini, that's their business, let them, they obviously have the money. Don't be jealous of them, when they die they can't take anything with them.

To say that people are worthless because the choose to eat at nice restaurants or own a nice house and car, I mean really?

I don't condone people who are corrupt, but I can accept Hi-So people who make a living the right way, and they are entitled to live a luxurious life.

I'm not jealous, very much the opposite. You know people are just another species of animal, so we have animal instincts.

Do you know why people like unhealthy sweets such as candy and ice cream? Because our instincts developed in order for us to enjoy eating fruit, which was a good source of nutrition.

The modern world is just a huge arbitrary construction made to manipulate our animal instincts in order to produce dopamine in our brains.

All these toys mean nothing, they just stimulate a chemical in your brain that gives you an illusion that you are happy.

If you studied some science you would know.

A Lamborghini means nothing to me, and I stand by my statement that Hi-So people are worthless.

Who cares if you earned your money the honest way or whatever way? Just because you earned enough money to buy a car doesn't mean you have any merits.

Cars will not make the world a better place, in fact they use up natural resources and make the world a more polluted and dirty place.

We're all born with a brain and the only people who are worth something are the people who use their brain for good, it's not about the money you have for self indulgence.

Anyways, Hi-So people are worthless, end of story.

It's just all talk from you, and I can't really take you seriously.

If your parents owned a Lamborghini, I'm sure you would prefer to drive in it than ride a bicycle or catch a bus. You're not seeing things from other people's perspectives.

I can say I don't want a million dollars and it means nothing to me, but if Bill Gates offered that money to me, yep as if I will decline it.

Like I said, it's just all talk from you. If you were born in a Hi-So family, you wouldn't trade that sort of lifestyle to be on the streets of Laos collecting bottles for sale.

Planet flourishes with biodiversity, not monoculture.
;)

I didn't say living in the streets was good. I never said I wanted to live on the streets

Do you even know what Hi-So is? It's just like the Indian Caste system where the rich look down upon the poor and flaunt their wealth.

In America it's not like that, you actually have to work and earn your way up. I don't consider most American people Hi-So. There are some Hi-So people though.

And I wouldn't want to drive a Lamborghini anyways, I'd pick some other car.

Yes, I wouldn't mind having money, but do you really think you can make that much money honestly, without exploiting other people or exploiting the Earth?

It's possible, but it's unlikely.

I can live any way, as long as I have enough money to sustain myself. I don't need a Lamborghini. I don't even care what car I have as long as it works. Why does it matter what kind of car you drive? Some people just want to show off.

If I was born into a rich family I'd use that money for meaningful things like education and not useless things like luxury cars just to show off to people.

I would pay for college, and a lot of things to better myself.

What Hi-So means to me is just the Asian people who think they are better than everyone and shows off their luxury items, kind of like Thai people.

I'm typing this poorly because I am a bit annoyed that you don't get my message.

Right now I'm not rich but I have some money and no, I'm not jealous of anyone who has a Lamborghini. That's not something to be jealous of, like I said any car that drives well and works is fine with me.

If I had a Lamborghini I would just sell it, because I don't have a gated home to park it in and if I parked it on the streets around here it would get smashed.

Hi-So doesn't mean that they look down on the poor or anybody, it's just the way they live. It's their money and they can do whatever they want with it. Honestly, they don't care what you think of them.

Maybe Hi-So people pay for college among other things. Just because they have a luxury car, it doesn't mean their money is only spent towards that luxury car.

Nobody is dumb enough to park their Lamborghini on the streets at night. If you could afford a Lamborghini, you would have the money to build a garage or even live elsewhere. That Lamborghini could just seem like a normal car for you that works.

If given a choice between driving a luxury car or riding a bicycle, in most cases I would choose the bicycle.   Why would I operate a heavy, complicated piece of machinery when I could manually peddle a bike and get some exercise? Why should I want to show off my wealth and what benefit would it be for me to garner attention because of the vehicle I drive? People who flaunt their wealth do so because of an insecurity and because it is in the instincts of the species to make displays of resource abundance. People at a higher level of consciousness see this flaunting of wealth as pointless and do not feel the urge to conspicuously consume luxury and status products.

The administrator poses the question: "Would you rather drive a lamborghini and come from a hi-so family or live on the streets and recycle cans for a living"

I would rather take the middle way. Why should one human-being have the option to drive a lamborghini while another suffers from abject poverty? I would rather have the lamborghini because I can sell it and then start a business or charity to develop my society and allow the poorer classes to have a more dignified existence.

What the administrator and many Lao people often times don't understand is that many Westerners are not interested in generating or consuming excessive wealth and resources. Many of us live by the ethic that the more things we own, the more imprisoned we are to those possessions. Many if not most Westerners strive for a simple, dignified middle class existence that includes adequate food and nutrition, a suitable home, access to functional medical facilities, and the opportunity for children to pursue an education. Traditionally in the West, there was an expectation that people would pay a ten percent tithe to their local church. The church organization would use the tithe money to maintain the church, possibly to expand, and also to take care of the needy. We did not donate because we hoped to increase our karma and prospects for a future life, we donated because we genuinely cared about the well-being of our fellow humans.

Westerners generally do not respect the wealthy because of their wealth. We might respect them because of their personality or because of their talents and skills involved in generating the wealth but we do not respect them simply for being wealthy. We respect people who obtain prosperity through hardwork and diligence and who use their wealth to cultivate themselves and to benefit their society.

Members of the high society class often times lack education and discipline. Everything has been given to them since they were children and they have never had to work for anything in their whole lives. Thus, they have no appreciation for the , blood, sweat, tears, and toil that sustains their lifestyle. While the high society kids party and drive drunk in the streets of Vientiane in their daddy's Bugati, any number of farmers toil everyday to produce the food that ultimately makes its way into the bellies of the high society class. How is this rich kid's existence at all beneficial to anyone else? What are his talents and merits to deserve such a lavish lifestyle? If he is Laotian, there is a good chance that his wealth is due to his family's connections. Because he is connected to the right people, he can profit from the destruction of the environment of Laos.

Another reason why the high society deserve to be held with contempt is because members of the high society in any country determine the direction and future of their country. Instead of guarding the environment and planning for a sustainable economy that will protect the nature of Laos, real estate is being auctioned off to foreign companies and there is little oversight with how they manage their projects. What is more: all of the foreign investment and immigration from China and from Vietnam means that the Lao people will always have to rely on foreign workers to manage their economy and they themselves will never have or be able to take the opportunity to rise to the occasion on their own. This means that the wealthier classes will increasingly be comprised of Chinese and Vietnamese as it is ultimately the educated and skilled who generate and accumulate abundant wealth. Laotians will become a minority in their own country and they will have to pander to the Chinese and the Vietnamese. This development is already underway.

If you don't believe me, look at the case of Thailand. Less than 20% of the population is comprised of Chinese Thais and yet they own more than 90% of the manufacturing sector. All of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small minority of Chinese.

But ultimately the Lao people have themselves to blame. Stupidity, cupidity, and laziness are too intertwined in the culture for the high society to make anything but shortsighted decisions.

Yes, I know they don't care, but the problem I have with it is that it destroys our religion and culture. Lao is a Buddhist society so it should only live by Buddhism and Buddhism states you must not attach yourself to wordly objects.

The best thing Laos has is its culture and this is too valuable to trade for mere toys

Is the true Buddhist culture even alive? Everything in Laos seems more and more to be about money these days.

Its no use, admin you wont even hear my opinion. The way mány rích people think is destructivé and the problem is that you dont even see a problem.

You are like those Americans who drive gas-guzzling hummers just because they can. Exporting capitalism and the middle class to the rest of the world was a big mistake because of many reasons.

Bicycles are good and they dont waste gas.

If everyone in the world had a car then the environment would collapse in a matter of years. Do you even understand environmental science?

Well it is, in the animist subsistence villages, ironically, as they arent even Buddhist.

There's a legend that says when Fa Ngum was transporting the emerald Buddha it wouldnt budge because he was an immoral man and tried to sleep with his noble's wives.

I dont think true Buddhist culture ever existed in Cambodia, Laos orThailand. They just adopted the religion for show to make allies with their neighbors and look good in front of the Indian merchants. Tai peoples were never even Buddhist anyway, they just stole it from Khmers.

There are indigenous people in Malaysia who practice a sufficiency lifestyle but they are constantly under attack from loggers and the govt.

The emergence of a middle class can be a positive development. The middle class is essentially a class of moderately productive people with the skills necessary to generate resources to fulfill their basic biological needs as well as to pursue other interests and passions.

It is inevitable that Laos will open up to the rest of the world and it is inevitable that globalization will fundamentally change the culture. However, safeguards should be in place to promote the Buddhist ethical approach and way to life and the government should prevent the infiltration of foreign media and values into Lao society. Foreign media will only undermine the traditional values of Lao society and will only serve to poison the minds of the youth.

I take side with Admin this time with this debate poped up by food court in Lao.

I dont take bike to office because of pollution. I dont ride car to office because of high parking fee.

Hi-So is not will not become a caste system I think. Even Hi-So people want it to be, it takes hundreds years or much more. Yet, caste system mentality stays in people's mind always.

I take 14 minutes subway, and 20 minutes walk to office.  ;D

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If your parents owned a Lamborghini, I'm sure you would prefer to drive in it than ride a bicycle or catch a bus. You're not seeing things from other people's perspectives.

Quote:

I take 14 minutes subway, and 20 minutes walk to office.

You didn't take sides with the admin, you took sides with me, because you said you walk and take public transportation.

Read between the lines, Peter.

No, I take side, but I dont express myself better. Because I dont have enough money to park a car. As Admin stated it would be OK to build a garage if someone owned a Lam.

As I dont have, I have to take alternative


Buk Nut wrote on 11^th Dec, 2014 at 2:03pm:

Quote: If your parents owned a Lamborghini, I'm sure you would prefer to drive in it than ride a bicycle or catch a bus. You're not seeing things from other people's perspectives. [quote]I take 14 minutes subway, and 20 minutes walk to office.

You didn't take sides with the admin, you took sides with me, because you said you walk and take public transportation.

Read between the lines, Peter.
[/quote]

Hi-So is a part of biodiversity. Let it be, Lo-So the same.

We are animals, sophisticated, we need forest to live in, forest has many stratum of life.  ;D ;D ;D

As to protect Laos cultural or traditional purity, it is just impossible under the current of globalization.  Society needs evolution not protection. ;D

My foolish opinion is that Mak Nad's argument would benefit from a change of tone and a refrain from scathing criticism and personal attack. Words have the power to cause lasting internalized harm and we should think and speak in a productive and restrained manner. Criticism is justifiable in this context because there is much in Laos that deserves criticism and only speech and discussion can change opinion and behavior.

Although I disagree with Miss Administrator's point of view, I respect her talents and capability nonetheless.

Development is necessary to lift the masses out of poverty and to provide material support for a growing middle class. People mostly act in what they perceive as their own self-interest. Often times, however, their perception is misguided and founded upon ignorance. Therefore, it is imperative for the Lao PDR to guide its subjects, to instill in them excellent habits, and to provide them with correct information and to stop the contaminating influence of Thai media culture from corrupting the hearts and minds of the whole-hearted Lao people. Therefore, the Lao PDR is correct to require women working for the government to wear the traditional sinh. Therefore, the Lao PDR is correct to impose curfews and to censor foreign sources of media.

Yes, personal attacks do damage one's own credibility.  Probably why Admin doesn't take me seriously.  It's too late now though,  I lost my temper because I was irritated at everyone's lack of understanding.  Nothing alive can br permanently preserved in its current state to be honest.  Everyone posting in this thread will expire someday as well.

Also I don't exactly believe that Laos has to open up to the world, Cuba seems to be doing just fine.  I just wish Laos could be more like Cuba. They are still traditionally Communist but have been doing well for themselves lately. I'm not sure whether they have Hi So people or not, but to me Hi So is more of an East Asian concept,  since westerners aren't so snobbish about it.

Buk Nut wrote on 12^th Dec, 2014 at 1:54am:

Also I don't exactly believe that Laos has to open up to the world, Cuba seems to be doing just fine.  I just wish Laos could be more like Cuba. They are still traditionally Communist but have been doing well for themselves lately. I'm not sure whether they have Hi So people or not, but to me Hi So is more of an East Asian concept,  since westerners aren't so snobbish about it.

I would have to disagree with ya on this one my friend.
People risk there live on boats alot of time over loaded to get out of that country.Since the fall of communist their
source of aid for a long time .The average Cuban been
suffering.Food stamp society does not work. You open
up the country you get money rolling in .The one that work
hard will open up business and reinvest. Communism only
work for an ant farm.

Well now food is harder to find in the bushes/forest because there's a higher population than before so everyone needs more land for farming, and more trees get cut down and less habitat for animals which were traditionally hunted for food. Back then all the tribes were warring and killed rival tribes for resources. This couldn't go on forever because eventually slash and burn would've decimated the forests until none are left.

Anyway, in Laos there are so many uneducated rural people that I think it will take maybe 100 years or more for it to reach Thailand's development status. Even if Laos becomes developed only a minority of wealthy people will benefit from it, while the majority remain impoverished. Thailand had universities since the early 1900s I think, or maybe before.


One of the reasons Thailand is so developed is because of its infrastructure, most rural areas have internet and schools, but even despite having access to school, lots of Thai kids drop out because Thai culture is just stupid and doesn't place importance on intelligence. That is why all the Chinese families have money and the Thai people are stuck doing the low wage jobs. I think if Laos ever gets as developed as Thailand, maybe in 50-100 years, then we will see the Vietnamese and Chinese making all the money and the Lao kids still getting pregnant at 12 years old. No offense to Lao people but the culture is similar to Thai culture and they mostly just want to get married and do the S-E-X but aren't interested in academic pursuits.

You have a good point  :applause.But i also think that they
had help along the way.Just like the king that they have now. He devoted his life to helping the people of Thailand
rich or poor.It also help during the war the United State
use Thailand as a place to launch their airstrike.For a country to become successful the people must want change.
The one that's in charge of Laos is a bunch of corrupted
communist thugs.Yes i call em thugs. I really feel sorry for the poor in Laos. i can go on n on.But its pointless

Yeah, the Siamese had their king to help them, the Laos had nobody.

That's one of the reasons why Laos is still underdeveloped, also because the leaders are conservative and don't let foreigners run wild in Laos.

In Thailand foreigners can go anywhere and do what they want.

In Laos they have a law that prohibits foreigners from having sex with Lao nationals. I don't care what Lao people say or any unhappy foreigners say, I think this is a good law. I actually think all foreign things should be completely banned from the country 100%.

The fact that Laos is underdeveloped might be bad for some Lao people, but it's good for people like me, who believes that the traditional culture of Laos is worth keeping alive.

Yes, Thailand is developed, but it doesn't have its identity anymore. There is nothing really "Thai" about Thailand anymore. Do you want that for Laos?

I'm not gonna criticize Thai people anymore, and I won't criticize westernized Lao people, but the leaders of the country should block all foreign languages and media and not allow foreigners to enter the country, that way there wouldn't be any westernized people in the first place.

For those who say the people were starving, I don't think so. There used to be a lot of frogs and animals to eat, until they brought in pesticides which is a foreign good. The pesticides kill all the animals and contaminate the land.

And for those who say there's not enough food for the population, back then women had several children, but not all of them survived. Nowadays thanks to modern medicine women can have as many children as they want and all of them can survive, which makes the population high.

Of course people should have medicine, though, but there should be no foreign films, foreign music, and foreign cultures attacking our beautiful country and causing its destruction.

And also for the sake of preserving the traditional Lao wife, who is a virgin. The woman must be a virgin only, and only wear Sinh.

If you go into the countryside in Laos every girl wears sinh, and I've talked to girls in the city of Laos, and I don't like them for the most part. I have had one girl tell me she only wants to wear pants and she uses internet and Facebook and other things. I don't see why a woman needs to use Facebook, it doesn't help them be a better wife.

I don't like those fancy women who want to eat at restaurants and go on dates. Most Lao girls in the countryside aren't those types, but now there are some due to development.

Hi so in this country are for the most part pathetic. Many of them study in Thailand and return to Lao speaking a blend of central Thai and Lao. This is Lao country and Lao people should speak Lao in Laos.

Hi so lack morality. Almost anyone with any wealth will quickly acquire a 'mia noi' and make regular visits to the whorehouses. Many people 'higher up' as they say are shameless about acquiring a girl friend on the side and will even brag to their friends and show off their second significant other. The children of hi so Lao who have spent time in the US often times speak a dialect similar to ebonics and they cannot follow a conversation in standard American English.

Most are barely educated. You'll find more students drinking beer than reading books.

Most lack compassion for their fellow man considering that they will drive around in their new Lexus while there are huge numbers of people who are completely impoverished. Most hi so don't have any friends who aren't also hi so. Very few of them have done anything to warrant their success.

I pretty much agree with this and the general consensus is that Southeast Asians don't read books, maybe Vietnamese people do but I'm not sure.

Anyway, a Lao person won't understand why one would be against Hi-So tendencies because even though many of them are poor and don't have modern luxuries, they don't understand the concept that life is about other things besides just material objects.

Lao people, like Thais, can be very materialistic, but it just doesn't show because they're poor, but it's there in their brains. I've had multiple Lao people show me their fake iPhones to try and impress me. I've seen some real iPhones shown off as well, because Lao people think iPhones are the pinnacle of human achievement.

Not all Lao people are like this but I'm willing to bet a great majority are. As for the minorities, well, they are in general much less materialistic and more honest, but a lot of them are beggars, you may have seen the black-skinned upland Lao people begging in the cities. Even the ones that aren't beggars are always asking for freebies.

Why a fake Iphone? I think it is obvious to know a facke one from a real one. The operating system is different and the app store.

Do you know where the fake comes from? I am curious! the fake one has ISO system?

{I pretty much agree with this and the general consensus is that Southeast Asians don't read books, maybe Vietnamese people do but I'm not sure.}

I doubt it.  From what college teachers told me Lao students here at college are trying hard to study, they are slow learners. Because they dont have solid background of knowledge. 

As for study, family tradtion and local surroundings are core factors . Sometimes, one's study attitude depends one's "Wake Up" time as we say here. I dont know what to say in standard english.

I just feel you are not so lucky to meet so many dont-read-book teens. ;D ;D ;D

The Lao who study abroad in China are generally some of the best and the brightest that the country has to offer. Many of them attended the best schools in Laos and a few even have an actual work ethic. They are not representative of the typical Laotian student.

Culturally Lao people and Isan people are the same group and I've met a lot of Isan students and I can tell you that they are lazy almost to an extreme level. I know Isan boys who dropped out of school in 5th grade because they were too lazy to learn how to read. There are some that can't even comprehend the concept of 1+1=2. A lot of Lao girls I met, even in the city cannot read and do jobs like washing dishes for Vietnamese restaurants. I never see Lao people running restaurants, only Vietnamese.

Even for the Lao diaspora in the U.S., they have some of the lowest college attendance rates among Asians in America. Out here in CA there is a Khmu diaspora from Laos and some Hmongs. Dont get me wrong though, some of them do go to college, about 12%.

As for Thais in the US, they are relatively successful business owners but they regularly bring over workers from Thailand and use them as slaves because they dont have papers.

That is the problem of family circumstances. But, good luck for them, knowledge is so f..king important.


Buk Nut wrote on 30^th Jan, 2015 at 12:15am:

Culturally Lao people and Isan people are the same group and I've met a lot of Isan students and I can tell you that they are lazy almost to an extreme level. I know Isan boys who dropped out of school in 5th grade because they were too lazy to learn how to read. There are some that can't even comprehend the concept of 1+1=2. A lot of Lao girls I met, even in the city cannot read and do jobs like washing dishes for Vietnamese restaurants. I never see Lao people running restaurants, only Vietnamese. Even for the Lao diaspora in the U.S., they have some of the lowest college attendance rates among Asians in America. Out here in CA there is a Khmu diaspora from Laos and some Hmongs. Dont get me wrong though, some of them do go to college, about 12%. As for Thais in the US, they are relatively successful business owners but they regularly bring over workers from Thailand and use them as slaves because they dont have papers.

It is important, unless you are a slut. Nowadays, all of the ethnicities can be had in a hotel room for a certain price, which means we are equal, all equally low.

You can have a Thai girl in a hotel room, a Lao, a Vietnamese, a Burmese, a Hmong, a Cambodian. They can all be bought for a certain price. No one's better than anyone these days.