Friday, August 01, 2008

Skywatch Friday for 1 August 2008



This week has seen some strange weather. Thunderstorms followed by clear skies and hot muggy weather. I also dropped my camera while bicycling and by the time I retrieved it, a car had run over it - the camera works as well as before but the LCD screen is cracked.



The picture above is of That Dam, which must be several hundred years old. Legend has it that it was entirely covered with gold until the invasion of the Siamese (the Thai) in 1828, when they removed all the gold.



Last week, I stopped by the river after work. A thunderstorm blew up, which blew leaves around but produced only a few drops where I was standing. In this view, the rain is over the far eastern part of Vientiane but moved east over Thailand. The Mekong River is very high now, just about a meter below the edge of the levee. It has been raining a lot in the northern parts of the country and Thailand - in fact, too much. There have been floods and landslides - while in the southern Laos, there has not been enough rain.



View of another threatening cloud while I was driving home this week.



Yesterday I went to pay my internet bill in one of the taller buildings in downtown Vientiane and took this picture of the Morning Market. The old buildings, making a U around the lot in the middle, were built in 1995 and for as long as I've been around, has been the center for buying silk, appliances, handicrafts and jewelry. Two years ago, they opened a four story mall on top of an old parking lot. And last year, they tore down the central section of the market, which was newer and had air conditioned rooms. A Lao-Vietnamese joint venture will build a new mall in the central lot.

This post is my contribution to Sky Watch Friday. Click on the link and see the skies around the world.

22 comments:

Gemma Wiseman said...

Your pics are beautiful! But the added bonus is your commentary. Loved wandering a little of your world!

Jane Hards Photography said...

Interesting as well as great pics.

Michele said...

All beautiful photographs, put together perfectly. Very nice post indeed!!! =)

Brenda said...

Beautiful!!

alicesg said...

Beautiful scenery of Laos. Love your sets of photos which showed the street scenes.

Lilli & Nevada said...

wow those are all beautiful photos

Texas Travelers said...

Your photographs are outstanding. I enjoyed them very much,

Thanks for the visit,

Pretty Life Online said...

Wow! I like the first photo... I would love to see it in person...Perfect catch for skywatch!! Mine’s up too hope you can drop by. Happy weekend!

AphotoAday said...

Run over by a car and it still works -- must be a Timex... (old watch commercial)
Interesting shots.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots.
The first one deserves more taken and your comments. That is a beautiful and historic view.

Dewdrop said...

They stole all the gold?! Thieves! Great shots! Almost looks like you have something descending out of that cloud base in that second shot. Was there any rotation?

Rune Eide said...

Very picturesque photos for us up in the North - exciting!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you made a great contribution for the skywatch. The top one is expecially beautiful.

Kristi said...

Fantastic photos. Very interesting

Anonymous said...

What a nice shots! Mine is up as well. Hope to see you there! Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
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esnorway said...

great shoots have nice weekend

Tom said...

Not just great views, a great insight to your way of life and the area you live and work... a great Sky Watch Post.


Forgive this part of my comment as this is done by Copy & Paste.. but with over 300 to visit and check I am sure you will understand...
May I thank you on behalf of the Sky Watch team for your post this week and for helping to make Sky Watch special.
Tom :O)

Markus Latva-aho said...

Hi! You really have been getting turnings in weather. That temple shot was very nice!

Marie said...

Great sky watch photos!

Catherine said...

Beautiful sky~watch captures! OH, I love that first shot..very beautiful sky~and that temple..wow!
Love the clouds in the last shot too! Sorry about your camera~but pretty amazing it still works after being dropped,& ran over!
Have a beautiful week!
And, happy sky~watching!
Cat

GMG said...

Hi Chanpheng! Finally I found some time to enjoy your excellent blog…
The sky pictures are awesome, though I prefer the blue one... ;)
Loved to see the B's post: from babanas to buffalos; amazing to see them on the road!
Many thanks for your comments on Blogtrotter, now with the second and last post on the MoMA! Hope you enjoy and wish you a great week and a nice holiday, in case you have the chance to profit from it! ;))

TR Ryan said...

Your photos are ALIVE!! Stunning. The temple photo is one of my all time favorites of yours. Its even more beautiful without the gold.