In Thailand the wealth gap is smaller, at least among the "Tai" speaking groups. These days even country people have tractors, cars and at least somewhat of a highschool education. This is not true in Northern Thailand where there are a cluster of ethnic minorities who still live without any infrastructure and practice subsistence agriculture, with some ethnic Padaung villages being exploited by the Thais for tourist money. The Thai-subhuman gutter filth will exploit anything for quick money.

My personal opinion is that the ethnic minorities should just be left undisturbed so they can continue to keep their culture, but in practice this is impossible because if they aren't citizens of Thailand then they won't have the deed to the property they live on and a Thai-dog can come and seize it from them. Once they obtain Thai citizenship, the Thai dog-government will build a "school" (brainwashing institute) in their village and that school doesn't mention anything about what ethnicity they are, it just teaches them to be Thai. So the schools are effectively destroying ethnic minorities in Northern Thailand.

Apart from these minorities, Thailand is a worthless facebook country. They have no brains and don't know how to do anything except use Facebook. There are no more traditional women in the new generation in Thailand. All the traditional women are old and are going to die soon. I've never seen a Thai woman under 30 wear a "sarong" or "sinh." I don't see why Thailand needs to exist anymore, it is just a Facebook country, there is nothing Siamese left except the corruption and materialistic greed. Thai kids these days don't even listen to Thai music anymore, they prefer western styles. I'm afraid Laos will be this way in 20 years.

Anyways, in Laos, as in any non-developed nation, there is a huge gap between the rich and poor with not much of a middle class to speak of. Even in 2014 many kids are illiterate and can't attend school. In Laos you can still get a traditional girl but it's getting harder with each passing year because it's slowly becoming a Facebook country like Thailand. I don't know how many of you have travelled extensively through Laos but there are many cute girls who don't use  smartphones or social media and haven't been exposed tothe western world. That is very hard to find these days as our society is devoured by the western filth culture and our women stop being pure. Sometimes I wonder if I will save up enough money to marry a traditional Lao girl in time or whether it will become a Facebook country before I get the chance to.

I never thought the 21st century would be such a hellhole.

Yes, there are people with fancy cars in Laos, but Peter, if you think they are the majority it makes me wonder, have you really even been to Laos before? Obviously you said you have, but have you ever gone outside the city? The people with money and fancy cars in Laos is a small minority and also I don't respect them because they embrace western values. The only Lao people I respect are the "real" ones.

It's not about the houses nor the cars, and I didn't say I hated them. I'm a purist I guess you could say, and they are too international for me. The poorer Lao people aren't international at all, and the city girls all think they're too "hip" to wear sinh so they prance around in their jeans like American girls and they also listen to English music.

It's true that some minorities do participate in logging, but Lao people are just as guilty. There really is no difference between the diet of Lao people and that of minorities,  they all eat bushmeat except for people in the city.

Why do you think I see the ethnic minorities as important? I'm not even talking about the Hmong, the Khmu were here even before the Lao people so they should be treated respectfully. The minorities are less westernized than Lao people, and the women are more likely to be virgins and wear 'sinh' while Lao girls these days are getting more and more westernized. I feel like minorities preserve 'Lao' culture even better than many Lao people do.

I want to keep my culture alive so I will go to Laos to get my wife and I won't marry a westernized girl. I want a traditional Lao girl not some fakeass jeans wearing Taylor Swift facebook Lao girl. If I can't find a Lao Lum girl like that then I would get an ethnic minority. Why do you hate them so much? I see Lao people marrying Khmu all the time.

Yeah the Tai Dam are Tai speaking people like us, and they are more traditional than Lao girls, so ideally if I married a minority I would marry a Tai Dam, Phutai or Tai Daeng, or I would just marry an ethnic Lao girl from Sieng Taeng, Cambodia which used to be Laos until the French gave it to Cambodia.

Thailand should definitely keep their minorities, because they are the only humans in the nation. Thais are not humans.

Lao high society ladies

Please click on image to view a larger version

The Lao economy is growing at around 7%-8% per annum, it is becoming more and more modern. This is the reason why they look more international, I see no problem with Lao Lum women wearing western clothing while only wearing traditional Lao clothes during ceremonies, religious festivals etc. At the end of the day they are still Lao. The ethnic minorities can dress themselves as Lao people all they want, it still doesn't make them Lao as they are not ethnically Lao.

Why do I hate the minorities? They make up 45% of the population, they breed like rats and will surpass us in numbers. If we allow this to happen it is us Lao that will be the minority in our own country. Not to mention that they demand to be treated on equal terms with us Lao Lum yet have contributed nothing to our civilization. They are also the main culprits when it comes to ripping off and stealing from tourists which gives Laos a bad image.

However their days are numbered with the construction of the dams and the proposed railway line connecting China to Laos and SE Asia. And that's only the beginning, soon we'll need more and more of our land that they illegally settled in for development.

Looking at that photo of the Tai-Dam, they really do need our help to get them out of the poverty line.

You might have to double your efforts in your search for that traditional Lao girl as the Lao Government plans to get Laos out of the developing nations group by 2020 and into the upper-middle income group by 2030 at the latest. In any case best of luck to you.

No, of course the indigenous groups won't just vanished into thin air. But with modern development in rural areas it is the indigenous people that will lose their living space and farming grounds which in turn will deplete their population size. Just like the native Indians of America and the Aborigines of Australia their numbers will be greatly reduced within the next hundred years. And do you really think the development will stop at these two major projects? The Chinese, Vietnamese, Thais and Koreans all want a piece of the pie. Nothing can stop the development into the indigenous peoples settlements. There is too much money involved, the Government won't hesitate to displace and destroy the lands that the indigenous people live on. The welfare of the ethnic minorities means absolutely nothing to the Government, Government officials are making hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of dollars on the side through modernization.

My resentment towards the ethnic minorities is no different to your hatred shown towards the Siamese.

And yes I have been to Laos on many occasions as I have a lot of relatives from my dad's side that reside in Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Quite a few of them work for the Government and are doing very well for themselves.

Regarding the Lao people with little or no education, it obviously won't help them in the short term but it will in the long term. Nothing happens overnight.

Laos is moving inexorably forward to becoming a modern state while staying true to her traditions and culture, that is a fact. You can embrace the new Laos or you can despise it, it's your choice.

By the way I wasn't insulting you when I said best of luck in your search for a traditional Lao girl.

This is for local Laotians and tourists with a bit of money. An elegant and cleaner place to dine and watch Lao dance routines like this. I will show more photos later on a different thread.

Luxurious place in Laos to dine

Please click on image to view a larger version

With the pics in mind, Mak Nad you have to triple your effort to find the lao girl you have in your wild imagination.

By the way peter, the insult was not directed at you, it was for this no good shemale pretender. I hope you get dropped off in Syria and left with IS, LpB7.