School-age kids will walk to a packed classroom housed in a basic building with one or two teachers. Secondary students often board during the week se there are fewer secondary schools and it can be too tar to commute. Almost any family who can afford it pays for their kids to learn English, which is seen as a near-guarantee of future employment.
Given that about 75% of people live in rural communities, work is usually some form of manual labor. Depending on the season, and the person’s on and gender (women and men have clearly defined task when it comes to farming), work might be planting or harvesting rice or other crops. Unlike neighbouring Vietnam, the Lao usually only harvest one crop of rice i year, meaning there are a couple of busy periods followed by plenty of time when life can seem very laid back.
During these quiet periods, men will fish, hunt and repair the house, while women might gather flora and fauna from the forest, weave fabrics I collect firewood. At these times there’s something wonderfully social and uncorrupted about arriving in a village mid-afternoon, sitting in the front of the local “store” and sharing a lào lao (whisky) or two with the locals, feeling like you’re stealing their time.
Where vices are concerned, lào-lao is the drug of choice for most Lao, particularly in rural areas where average incomes are so low that Beerlao beyond most budgets. Opium is the most high-profile of the other drugs traditionally used - and tolerated - in Laos, though recent crop-clearing has it less available. In cities, yaba (methamphetamine), in particular, is becoming popular among young people.
Because incomes are rock-bottom in Laos - US$100 per month could be considered middle-class - the Lao typically socialize as families, pooling their resources to enjoy a bun wat (temple festival) or picnic at the local waterfall together. The Lao tend to live in extended families, with three or e generations sharing one house or compound, and dine together sitting on mats on the floor with rice and dishes shared by all.
Most Lao don some portion of the traditional garb during ceremonies and orations - the men a phàa bjang (shoulder sash), the women a similar sash, tight - fitting blouse and phàa nung (sarong). In everyday life men wear near but unremarkable shirt-and-trousers combinations. However, it’s still normal for women to wear the phàa nung or sin (sarong). Other ethnicities living Laos - particularly Chinese and Vietnamese women - will wear phàa nung when they visit a government office, or risk having any civic requests denied.
Newer news items:
- 10/11/2009 14:38 - Exploring the Mekong River - from Laos to Vietnam
- 05/11/2009 10:46 - Riverside Paradise - Xong river in Vangvieng, Laos
- 29/08/2009 07:00 - Luang Prabang, Laos - A city of calm
- 28/08/2009 07:00 - Feeling the “REAL LAOS”
- 27/08/2009 11:20 - The National Psyche
Older news items:
- 27/10/2008 07:00 - Laos hotels & resorts
ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA kicks off Kayaking Halong Bay 3-Day Tour for Summer Promotion 2010 in Vietnam 
Voyage of Discovery: Vietnam, Cambodia 
ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) launches Great Summer Promotion 2010 
Special Vietnam Motorcycle Tours with Taste of the Ho Chi Minh Trail 2010 
Sapa – the trekking wonderland in Vietnam 
China Beach, Vietnam is listed in Top Ten of Asia's best beaches 
Top things to do in Cambodia 
Cu Lao Cham island, Vietnam - The Vietnamese Hawaii 
About Us 
Phong Nha Cave, Vietnam - A World Heritage site 
