Is this true that you eat rats? Each to their own I guess.

grant wrote on 7^th Feb, 2014 at 6:06am:


The field rice rat look tastey .I'll eat it.

Yep exactly. The Kathu are from Xekong province, somewhere around there.

"New generation" people often lack very basic skills such as lighting matches, like one of the singers from Caribou said "Kid's these days don't have the ability to light matches." I really like to see handy people that have a lot of nature skills, not just the ability to use a cellphone and a computer. Honestly I would take a crash course that teaches you how to survive in a jungle with no resources if there was one near me. I might start looking. It'd be very, very useful to have a wife that could keep you alive in the jungle for months with no supplies, rather than a wife who blows all your/her money and time on new shoes, filling her cellphone balance, going to bars/clubs.

I'm rather fond of the old days where people relied on their own skills rather than technology, so I'm kinda in a hurry to find that type of gal before they all disappear. I myself am not much of a DIY guy but I wish I was and I am currently trying to be one.

Also I thought the Lao were above that Thai-style discrimination on other ethnic groups, but according to what you say, apparently not. It sickens me to see this kind of hatred because it usually ends in the less privileged group losing their rights, their land, and their culture. Yep, I have my own special name for this kind of discrimination, I call it "Thai-style discrimination." While others know Thais for their food, their nightlife, or even their smiles (IMO they don't smile that much, maybe more than Westerners though) I know Thais well because of their discrimination and disllikeof other ethnic groups. Maybe I'm thinking about this too much though. Maybe it's the same way everywhere in the world. Anyways, it's always the little guy that gets picked on. I feel bad for these tribal people in Laos sometimes.

Peter , you need to take him drinking .

Yep, although the sad thing is that Thai women used to be like Lao women a couple decades ago. The whoring started around the Vietnam war when American soldiers got stationed in Thailand so they could drop bombs on Lao villagers. Naturally the greedy Thai scum wanted to find a way to make money off of this golden opportunity, so they mobilized their women to service these GIs. I think it also has to do with Thailand being a free capitalist economy. Even Pattaya used to be a quaint fishing village but those Thais will do anything for a quick buck so they sold their girls to Americans. By uptight I mean they strictly adhere to their own narrow "new-gen" state of mind. They are uptight in a different way. as no one can convince them to change or respect their own culture. They're going to like Western Influenced music, cellphones and they don't care to eat "poor people's food" or otherwise known as the food their parents and grandparents grew up eating. They've been digitalized and they don't care about the old, they prefer to bring in the new. They want to "move up" in the social ladder, and doing so requires discarding the very essence of one's cultural identity, because this is the Digital age and traditions are so Dark Ages.  Poverty is often the best preserver of culture. Millionaires could care less about nationality-they just mingle with other millionaires. Isan people are the same as Lao people but look how being in Thailand has changed them. This being said. I admit that there are still good girls in Thailand, though they are probably around 10 times harder to find than in the past.

So tell me, what is kwam pen Thai? Selling your country and your countrymen out to Farang?

If you speak Thai then it's definitely a plus. You'll find most good Thai girls working or in school. (avoid the ones in bars or hangout spots, all the good girls are working to help their parents and won't be sitting around wasting time) Many Thai university girls are still celibate and though they may no longer be traditional due to having been in the educational system for many years and exposed to the media (television, internet) they are still better than girls you will find hanging out around Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. You just have to have a good handle of the Thai language and know where to look. Don't expect to see any traditional Thai culture though, they are all digital in Thailand, except for maybe some hilltribes. Anyways, when marrying Thai women you still have to pay Sin Sods, even though you get no culture in return, and it is expected that you help send money to the girls' families when marrying both Thai and Lao women.

Thai women are like Coors lite Asian wives, very diluted stuff, won't get you far, while most Lao girls in the country would be like Vodka Asian wives, the real thing, but only for those that can handle the culture shock. (At least for now, as a lot of Lao people seem to be changing in the urban areas..Nothing gold can stay right?) I know Laos is slowly being invaded as well, but I'll be happy to visit this country up until the day of its final destruction. I already see Mixed race worship of Half Lao Half Farang kids starting to happen like in Thailand. There's K-pop invading, singers are starting to use the English language combined with Lao. It's only a matter of time before we reach the end.

The capitalist pigs and demons of greed won't stop until they destroy every society worldwide. They just want us to be consumers, they never cared about us for anything except for how much money we can contribute to the GDP..Just conform, conform, obey, obey, speak and understand English so the capitalist overlords can lull you into a hedonistic world of greed and material wealth. Let's all start forgetting who we are, just forget, forget, and embrace English, embrace french fries and hot dogs, forget it all.

Lol, it was a bit dramatized, but the hill tribes are only impoverished because of companies snatching their land and developing it.

If they have full use of their traditional lands, they live their lives as good as anyone else..why do people assume that anyone not dependent on the international currency flow is impoverished?

You are right.Thailand is the whorehouse for southeast asia.

Too much of anything is not good for anyone.I understanding
what ya saying,but you can't live on an island forever.
Its all bout how you approach it.Japan is a good example.
They are very modern .What ever you can think of ,i think
them and the south Korean are at the top.But yet they
still no how to preserve their heritage. As for Laos ,most
people never had that kinda luxury.