ABC Wedesday: K for Kites

This is the season when the hot winds blow constantly and kids run around flying their kites.



This boy couldn't stand to just got home when it got dark. He had to continue flying his kite.

These pictures were actually taken over a year ago but as I was going through my flickr pages, I laughed when I saw these. I hadn't seen them for a while.

This is my contribution for the letter "K" for ABC Wednesday! Check it out!

ABC Wedesday: Imperial

Just in case anyone doubted, Cats are really Gods in disguise. This cat knew that he was entitled to drink the water on the altar. It was offered to him after all.



I saw another imperial cat in residence in a spirit house, waiting for offerings to be brought to him.

ABC Weds - H's

This is a Haystack of rice straw in Xieng Khouang Province. When the rice is cut, the stalks are carried to the haystack and they are laid down with the head of the stalk, with the rice kernels, on the inside. It's built up and a cap made of rice straw laid on top, to seal the stack. After a week, the straw and rice kernels are dry enough to thresh.

Some people make patterned woven symbols at the top of the stack, which keep out bad influences and keeps the spirit of the rice within.


And here are some farmers cutting the rice. Harvest is usually October through November, though it depends on the region of the country.

After a hard day at work, the farmers return home with their cows. Homeward:



This is my contribution to the letter "H" on ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday: Some G's?

Good enough to eat?



This was lunch on 7 March, in honor of International Women's Day. Sour fish soup, spring rolls, sticky rice and goi pa, a spicy fish salad.

This is a picture of a dazzlingly red flower in a garden by a restaurant, made even more intense by using the color accent on my camera.



Kinda looks like an animal.

And a gas station near my office, on a busy Friday afternoon:



These pictures are in honor of ABC Wednesday, even though I usually don't post on Wendesdays!

F for Food

Whoops! It's Saturday morning and I forgot about ABC Wednesday. It's been a busy week, so I'm just catching up with myself before I go back out into the field tomorrow.

Well, I'm sure many people think of F for Food, so here's my take on a few of my classical food shots over the past few months.

This is one of my favorite food stands for breakfast in Bangkok. When I got for a doctor visit, I get my blood draw then head over to this alley under the Skytrain for breakfast:



A food vendor in Huay Kwang Market in Bangkok. Oh, and she's selling fish, so got in another F.

Well, there are many varieties of F in the world. I'll try to see how many I can view on other people's blogs this weekend!



And back to Laos - another variation on Food stand. This woman is selling sticky rice and grilled frogs, fish and dried meat.

ABC Wedesday: E for Elation

As I was sitting at a restaurant, I watched this father and son playing together. The baby looked elated by his discovery of his toy and the father seemed to glow in the child's enjoyment.

That's it for my E contribution for ABC Wednesday. I'm on dial-up so gotta sign off!

ABC Wednesday: Some D's

Just before the weather gets really hot, people collect the tall grass and dry the stalks on every available flat space. Then they braid the stalks into brooms.



Here's a vendor selling the brooms door to door:



And a sign for a favorite Lao dish - a special kind of duck salad:



Maybe the reader doesn't wish to know the details about this kind of salad.

I just wonder - is this Daffy Duck or Donald Duck promoting the virtues of eating other ducks?

This post is for ABC Wednesday, which going into it's fourth round. Check out other people's alphabets from around the world!

ABC Wednesday: C for Cart and Cockles

A bit late this week - so I'm backposting. On Weds, I was up to my neck in logistics for a donor visit, followed by a long trip back to Vientiane. Had a meeting on Friday, and Saturday, I've been recovering.

These pictures are of mobile markets. People go around the neighborhoods selling food and other items during the mornings. This woman is selling vegetables from a hand cart:



The folks in this truck are selling cockles. Lao people steam them and eat them with a sauce of fermented fish, lemon juice and chile peppers, further lubricated by beer. Although Laos is a landlocked country, fish travel from Thailand via the overnight train or by truck. Not exactly fresh, but people consider seafood to be a delicacy so in spite of the consequences, these vendors sell out their stock quickly.



This is my contribution for ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday: B for Bricks

There always seems to be construction going on around Vientiane. Even when people have finished building their houses, they rip out a wall to make a porch or an open air kitchen. The people next to my office just tore down a dilapidated building and are putting something else up. The bricks, which are made from local clay, are wood fired and are interesting structures when stacked up.

This is my contribution for ABC Wednesday, a bit late this week!

PS After looking at Photodito's entry, I realized that a few banana shots would go down well. The fruit that we buy in SE Asia is amazing compared to the bland relatives in US or Europe.



My landlady gave me these bananas, freshly cut off the tree.

Real bananas look like this:



The soil in southern Laos is excellent for growing delicious fruit, so the bananas are transported all over the region. These bananas are going to Vientiane.

ABC Wednesday: Another Round starting with A's

I travel a lot by plane to Xieng Khouang. So these two pictures illustrate 'airborne':

Airborne:


When the wheels descend, that means that we're getting close to landing.

View of rice fields, Sept 2008:

Accident:


I'm always amazed by the way Lao people drive. When I see accidents like this, I wonder how they managed to collide. Did the driver of the truck turn in front of the motorcyclist? And if so, how did the back of the motorcycle end up stuck on the back fender of the truck? No one seemed to be seriously injured - I saw a group of people at the street corner, one of them with his motorcycle helmet under his arm, arguing and making big arm motions. I hoped the police got there on time.



Aquapark:
This was taken behind a Chinese shopping center. Both Lao kids and the children of Chinese vendors in the shopping center seem to have a good time.



This Round #4 of ABC Wednesday. This round I intend to get all the way through to Z. I think I stopped around H last time around.

G week

It's been a tough few weeks and I'm just catching up on blogging. Well, I have to deal with all this stuff because what else would I write about? I think my NaNoWriMo novel will be about a free-spirit kind of person having to take on the responsibilities of country director in a small country in Asia.

On to my G's -

Garlic is a major cash crop during the dry season. I visited a friend's village for Lao New Year - this is the underside of their house. They gave me a gift of three bunches of this garlic - the cloves are small and a bit difficult to peel but the taste is both sweet and strong.

From ABCs

Garlands for sale next to the Hindu Temple in Bangkok. This whole street has Indian restaurants, Northern and Southern, with booths selling garlands between them.

From ABCs

Also from Xieng Khouang Province - Grazing Water Buffalo. This picture was taken at the beginning of the year. Although Laos is a tropical country, it gets cool between December and February with early morning fog:

From ABCs

Garden in the early morning. This was also taken in Xieng Khouang during the cool season.

From ABCs

A picture from Salavan Province - Goats out for a stroll. People raise many goats here, mainly for the meat. This part of the country is very hot so I imagine it would be difficult to try to milk the goats and make cheese.

From ABCs

For more of ABC Wednesday contributions, go to ABC Wednesday

ABC Wendesday: The E's

Elephants being loaded on a truck:

Took these pictures in Vang Vieng last year - my colleague told me that they were elephants working for a logging company; they were being moved to another site.

Elephant statues at Pa Suan in Champasak province in southern Laos. These elephants are a little less than life-sized, and the kids like to play around them. Some times when we've visited here, people have garlanded the statues and lit incense in front of them.

Eating together at Lao New Year in a friend's village. The young people did most of the cooking while us elders sat together and talked. The kids served us and when we were finished, they all sat down to eat.

Equipment that our organization provided to a district hospital.

Evidence of spring - I took this at Wat Sribounheung in Vientiane City in February. The first shots of this impressive Bodhi tree were starting to sprout. I looked up this picture because I walked along the river to look at the flood damage this past week - and was horrified to see that the impressive tree had been pruned. I guess maybe they were worried that the branches over the Buddha images might do some damage if they fell - but why did they have to cut the limbs that stretched out over the river bank?

This is my contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more variations on the letter 'D', go to ABC Wednesday, Round 3

ABC Wendesday: The D's

Posting my D's late this week - earlier in the week, I was in a remote southern province of Laos for a meeting. The Definition of remote in this case being - outside internet contact! It's actually a three hour drive along a good road from Pakse.

So here a few D's:

The word for flower in Lao is Dok and this is the national flower of Laos, called Dok Champa

I travel a lot in remote areas. This is an example of a Difficult Road:

The transport truck was trying to Descend into a Detour, and somehow fell over. We carefully went over the bridge and headed on our way. The following day, bulldozers had removed the truck and smoothed the detour and it looked like nothing had happened.

This was a strange picture - last March, I was riding my bike along a dirt road and saw this dust devil. It swirled and moved back and forth along the road for about a half hour. And I stood there and watched it for that long!

These are Dragons on the roof of a Chinese temple in Pakse:

This is the Doorway into the Chinese Temple:

And a Drum in a village temple:

The drum wakes the monks for morning meditation, and calls the people for the alms giving at lunchtime.

This is my contribution to ABC Wednesday. For more variations on the letter 'D', go to ABC Wednesday, Round 3