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Other entries in Thakhek

Whats going on in the planning of these places?

The minibus I jumped into for the ride north to Tha Khaek quickly became crowded and uncomfortable, the two people either side of me were using me as a pillar on which to lie on, and exert as much of there wieght as possible, I was just glad they weren't Burger King Olympians and the usuall size of Asian people as may have finished the trip a few inches thinner than I already am. One thing to be said about the minibus, was that it came equipped with and LCD TV, that flipped down from the ceiling, unfortunately it was playing Thai karekoe, but quietly.

The people on this bus all seemed to be equipped with mobile phones, some of them looked like new colour touch screen Nokias. They still had dirty, holey clothes but a mobile in the hand is obviously a status symbol. Going on what UK kids consider to be poor in Britain, not having a mobile phone and not being able to go on school trips, would make these people rich in their. They have mobiles, there probably aren't any school trips to not be able to go on, and most houses in this central to northern part of the country were still made of bamboo and rice rooves but more and more had TV areials and sat dishes, some as big as the rooves themselves.

'This is still a poor country!' you have to keep reminding you self as your travel through Laos, and infact most of Asia. The NGOs seem to have missed the part in their education for local people, that before getting Mobiles and Sat TVs, -running water, health and education should be some of the first things to get sorted, before thinking about mod cons from the West.

The things people value in this modern world, seem to be continually in conflict with a better life for themselves, and more materialistic.  

What a strange world we live in!

 When I first got into Tha Khaek, I thought for one awful moment that we had ended up in Vietnam, not that I have a problem with Vietnam, its a very nice country. There were more signs in Vietnamees than English, but we hadn't gone through any check points, so I guessed that we hadn't, it was in the back of my mind though, a scarry thought, as I had no visa for Vietnam, and especially as I was heading further north in Laos and not heading to Vietnam, or any where near.

 The guesthouse was good, full of back packers, as there only seems to be one place for people to stay here, every one was here. This was 1 of the only back packers that I have been to in Asia, a central meeting place for people to sit out and chat they tend to be more hotels and guest houses here, clean clinical and dull, instead of  the Aus or kiwi back packer scene. I think the centre of the town could have been under construction some where, but it was another km away from where I was. There seemes to be very little action, spread over a very large area. Towns and cities seem to have no life or soul to them with out a central meeting area, with bars and resturants, or they certinaly have a different feel to them.

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