just a quickie: Khmu tribe’s plight

the past 4 days I’ve traveled up north from Vientiane to Vang Vieng up through to Xaignaboury
we experienced an earthquake there, magnitude 4.6, epicentre 31km from Xaignaboury
we also went to visit a remote Yeo tribe
and also a small Khmu tribe just before the Mekong River on the road that leads to Xaignaboury
and the plight of the Khmu tribe hit a nerve

this Khmu tribe has no access to clean water
their kids swim, bathe, brush their teeth using water from a pond shared with little fishes, ducks and goodness knows what else
drinking water comes from such ponds as well
having sanitary water would eliminate up to 85% of waterborne diseases causing suffering and death amongst these people
building a well and water filtration system does not take much, just a mere 2,000USD
and it would teach them a skill so that they in turn would be able to educate and help other tribes build wells and water filtration systems

i’m going to raise that money to build them one
and help build it too

who’s with me?

lack of updates

i’m guilty as charged..
initially wanted to use this blog as a platform for people to get connected to voluntary work, especially independent efforts
but where i’m staying, i do not get internet on my laptop
hence the lack of updates

anyways, i’ve got a new haircut!

short hair is great for voluntary work especially when you’ve got no shower heads, no heater, having to shower extremely cold water in cold weather with the wind blowing in to the almost outdoor bathroom, and at times extremely hot weather!

during my short visit back to Malaysia, Josephine Woon (Jo) whom i met 4 years back posted on facebook that she’s got some baby clothes to give away.. so i contacted her and got a HUGE luggage worth of baby’s and kids clothes along with a few smaller bags of kids stuff..
and when i told her about the kids and them not having english books and colour pencils, she went out and bought me a whole load of them!
THANK YOU JO!

the following two pictures were taken with my phone (nokia e72).. the quality is.. questionable.. sorry

before i landed, i posted on my facebook that i needed notebooks and pens and blackboard dusters..
in less than an hour, Charlene Yap, whom i also met 4 years back said that she’ll buy them for my students!
here is a shot of my adult class using the workbook Jo got with the pens that Charlene bought..
THANK YOU CHARLENE!!

i was pretty sure my luggages were gonna be overweight.. so the night before i was going to fly back to Lao, i took a chance and emailed Mr. Tony Fernandes and told him about my situation
the next day, i got an email from Frank Bateman of Customer Care informing me that i’ve been awarded 15kg extra on top of the 30kg that i bought! And that my new flight itinerary was already waiting in my inbox for print!
that was AWESOME!
i had 45kg total!
THANK YOU MR. TONY FERNANDES and FRANK BATEMAN!

although, at the airport, i was charged RM100 cos i was 5kg over my 45kg..
-.-
oh well.. its for the kids.. its worth it!
too bad the lady at the counter was super rude to me, the security too.. when i walked pass them, they looked at me and went “seorang je bawak semua ni?!” (one person bringing so much stuff?!) *sarcastically*
oh well..

and THANK YOU MOMMY for the IQ books, pencil boxes, colouring books, and toys for Kao and Lo
THANK YOU NING for the clothes for them too

so i gave a huge bag of baby clothes, few toys, new bottle to baby Matthew, will upload pictures if i can.. the parents were super grateful they thanked me publicly on Sunday..
gave the notebooks and pens to my adult students who were super happy and excited some of them started using them already, the rest felt it too precious so they decided to keep them for later
gave jewellery to my Lao mom and Matthew’s mom.. its something when you see them wear it over and over
gave the colour pencils to the kids
gave some IQ and colouring books with toys and colour pencils to Kao and Lo (two kids at the farm) and they were super duper mega excited when i taught them how to do the IQ games! that was a sight to behold.. the joy on their faces!
and later on used the colouring english books with the kids english class and they LOVED english class for the first time since i’ve been there (i’ve only taught them a few times).. they LOVED the books, Poo even hugged the book almost the entire time unbelieving that its hers to keep.. the rest had to ask my permission whether they can colour every single picture in that lesson.. its their first time actually colouring..

the things we take for granted, others treasure with all their hearts
certainly puts things into perspective, time and time again

Lao: buses and songtiaos :)

One of the many hidden pleasures of Lao are their public transportation, be it the bus, songtiao, tuk tuk or motorbike…
I can honestly say that these rides are a tremendous bundle of fun and an experience you wouldnt want to miss!
mind you, if you decide to venture on any one of these public transportation, you’ve got to leave your rush-rush mindset at home because by traveling on any of these, you’ve got to allocate extra amounts of time just so that you wont be somewhere late..

Say, the bus for example..
you take the bus, to any of the Bans (villages) in Vientiane Province (mind you the Vientiane province is HUGE!) and you’ll see a wonderful sense of helpfulness and extraordinary patience!
for example, once they find out that i am not Lao, and i tell them my destination e.g. Song Keua Khang Saeng (the farm), which the bus driver generally wouldnt know where as its too small a village, i’ll have to tell them either Ban Ilay or Nokeo Resort..
and the minute i turn to look for a seat, a few people, or at least one person would start to relocate people just so that there’s a seat for me.. and this does not only happen to foreigners, the special treatment i mean, they do it for anyone, especially the women and children. they’ll make sure you’re comfortable and you’re seated well then they’ll go back to daydreaming or whatnot..
and then half way through the trip, the bus would suddenly stop, and some people would get off.. and i’m sitting there wondering, on my first trip on the bus, ‘why’s everyone getting off and the bus not moving?’.. then i realize that the bus driver stopped the bus, and at times would ask the passengers whether they want to buy food or groceries, and he’d wait! like ‘FWAR!’ if anyone were to ask the bus driver in Malaysia to wait for them as they buy food, they’d get cursed at and the bus driver would either drive off or tell them to shut up and sit down or to go get a cab lol!
so people generally just get off, buy whatever they want to buy, then the bus driver makes sure everyone’s on board again, and off we go…. lol! that certainly is an experience not to be missed!
then comes the caring part.. see, Ban Ilay is quite a big village.. so if i say Ban Ilay, they’d start to panic for me once we arrive at the village.. they’d start pointing out the window and trying to ask me where i wanna stop at and i’m sitting there all calm saying ‘no no not yet!’.. but then i pulak get kancheong and i’d sometimes tell the other passengers to inform the bus driver to stop too early -.- and i end up having to walk… hahaha… but its quite a sight-seeing the ladies, or on one occasion, a man so worked up and worried that i’d miss my stop! lol..
(that man, because i was taking the bus from the farm to the airport, when i got off, he saw me looking the wrong way and he poked his head out the window and yelled to me that the airport’s that way that way! all while gesturing frantically in the direction of the airport.. lol!) all this is definitely a sight to behold..

BUT, my favourite of trips are trips on the songtiaos..
see, songtiaos are trucks, half a ton or one tons converted into bigger versions of the tuk tuk.. rarely when you get on the songtiao, you’ll find it completely empty, unless you go at an odd hour or the songtiao just started work..
so (this is all so exciting! eeeeps!) you get on after informing the driver of your destination, and you’ll find all these other people on the truck as well, and almost all the time they’ll be happily chatting away, laughing and just talking.. and mind you, these people, most of them, dont know each other.. they’ve either never met, or they’d recognize each other by passing.. and they’d just chat and chat and chat and its so heartwarming as you wouldnt get this anywhere else in developed countries! and then when the songtiao stops to pick other passengers up, they’d shift and move to make space for the new people even if its already so full that a kid is sitting on a stool in the middle and people are standing at the back of the truck.. and the bestest part is, whenever a lady with a child comes on, the others would carry the child and they’d let the child sit on their laps as the mother carries her bags on or try to look for a seat, and the child just sits on the stranger’s lap quietly like it happens all the time! okay, maybe it does happen all the time but its such a sight.. talk about being helpful and loving your neighbours as yourself.. its so evident here.. this actually also happens on buses.. the kids sits on someone else’s lap especially when a mother with two or more kids comes on..

for me especially, they’d squeeze themselves to make space for me so that, as one lady put it today, i wont ‘roll out’ of the song tiao.. it was quite hilarious and moving as this lady had a 2 year old child on her lap and she was still worried that i’d be sitting in the sun and not have enough space to be comfortable..
me on the other hand, like sitting with one leg hanging out the back or just standing out back as its somewhat like surfing, just on land lol! so off you go listening to the chatter and the laughter and the songtiao would stop for people to get off and everyone would help everyone unload their fish in plastic bags or big basins and if the fishes flops around everyone would laugh.. *happy sigh* what happiness
if you’re worried you’ll be forgotten, fear not.. they wont forget you even if they’ve got 10 stops prior to yours all at odd locations.. they’ve got your back lol!

though, as fun as these experiences are, there’s also a downside.. you’ll arrive at your destination covered in dust from head to toe to hair.. lol.. your lungs would probably be layered with dust as well and you’ll also be knackered..

but, i guarantee a smile on your face because this is humility and love in its purest form

uncharted uncertainties

i’ve been learning and un-learning this lesson for a very long time now..
that anything you plan for the future, may change in just a second.

being partially ‘scientific’, i am a little OCD, i like things in order, and if possible know every surprise and prepare for any ‘off road bumps’ i may encounter along the way..
however, also being more ‘creative’, i’ve got a massively jumbled up brain, constantly dreaming up new ideas, spontaneous in decision making and always taking things as it comes..
see my dilemma?!

ya, so i thought i’d be heading to Lao to teach IT English at a college, but it turns out i was placed at a farm under Lao International Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (LIFPA), to teach and learn agricultural skills, which meant watering and planting a whole load of plants i’ve never seen or knew existed, feeding and washing pigs, feeding a whole load of feathery birds, growing ducklings and chicks, shovel soil, dig holes, mix cement, plant pillars, board, repair etc etc
and then i found out i was to teach english to kids, which i did not mind as i love kids and the initial aim of coming to Lao was to work with kids.. but i then transferred to teaching the new farm boys english from scratch, which meant i had to buck up on my Lao and learn to write in Lao or i’ll drown in lack of communicating abilities (we would either act or draw things out followed by heaps of laughter)

in the first month, i was asked by one of the graduates to head to Luang Prabang to teach english to the people in his village.
i agreed to do so as i wanted to experience anything and everything i could and also to meet and learn new cultures.
after visiting Luang Prabang a couple of weeks back, i decided i was going to make my way there early in november to teach for a month before having to return to Vientiane for a charity fund raiser and awareness concert.
it would also give me a chance to visit the Hmong people as they celebrate their new year from mid november to mid december..

alas….
plans failed always within 48 hours of my making them..
its getting a bit tiresome by the way lol!
am now the event organizer for the charity concert which i was suppose to only be spectator of.
dont get me wrong, i aint complaining. its always good to take things as they come. i believe that this is the best way, for people doing what i am doing, to experience everything to the fullest.
nothing ever goes according to plan. something somewhere always changes.
the ‘scientific’ me gets frustrated but the ‘creative’ me goes WOOHOO!

i am actually going to miss the farm as i’ll be moving into town for the coming month to help plan for the concert.
no more riding on motorbikes carrying ridiculously heavy and big objects, holding on to dear life while the kids maneuver the motorbike over potholes and mud, getting wet washing pigs, being surprised pecked by ducks when i get pig’s food on my legs, writing Lao on the whiteboard and listening to my students pronounce certain words so hilariously, swinging on the hammock with a cool breeze in the air, having the satisfaction of hearing the boys start to converse in english, the kids’ laughter and smiles….

oh well.. life’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get

Laos 2010: Day 2 (19/08/10)

got up at 7:30am and lazed in bed because it was still so quiet outside..
boy was i wrong!
by 8:15am people started coming up for morning worship and devotion. sigh.
imagine having to walk out in your pajamas while people are singing. malunya..

at breakfast i was told that i’ll be going to the farm, so i got ready malaysian style and got told to change to long pants and long sleeves as it is more cooling that way (still cant understand how being all covered is cooler)
was given a pair of shoes because i didnt own one.
at 11am we headed over to the farm where i was told to pick a task
dig/shovel soil or wash pigs?
i chose to wash the pigs first.
washing the pigs meant having to stand on the wall of their den and hose down the den to clean out all their shit and pee then hose them down to get them clean
some of the pigs like to drink from the hose so that was pretty cool!!

it was a little nerve wrecking though because the wall wasnt high and the adult pigs can stand up on the wall and they’d not only be tall er than humans, they’d be able to push you off the wall as well!
luckily none did so we proceeded to feeding the piglets.
gosh the minute they smell food they start squeeling and ‘honking’ its so so noisy….!!!
the sounds they make is so loud it gets unbearable!
feeding also meant having to stand guard so that the ducks and guinea hens dont come steal the food. that meant having to stand there with a stick to whack them off.
after that it was on to shoveling soil
it wasnt too tough.
it was just really hot and your body just slows down in such heat

at 12:30pm they brought me back.
lunch break is from 12pm – 2pm
so i sat down, brought my notebook out and started learning Lao from them
they were in turn learning pronunciation of English words from me!

at lunch i was served cow intestines, i think
they looked terrible
it came in the soup and its common courtesy to finish everything they serve you
OMG!!! it taste terrible!
gewy, chewy, bitter, sandy…. YUCK!!
After that i immediately went up to get my vitamins and swallowed them! haha!
at 2pm i took a half hour nap before having to head out to the farm again, this time to cut grass.

the farm boys had bible class so after teaching me how to operate the machine, they left me to it.
it aint easy let me tell you!
its one of those you see some lonely guy using to cut grass in the middle of the roads in KL with, but this is not as high tech..
the balancing wasnt right so the distribution of the machine’s weight was poor.
someone said its about 10kg
-.-
fml..
so at 3pm – 4:30pm i was cutting a huge patch of grass until my shouder couldnt take it anymore, i headed back to get some water
i swear the sun somehow shines extra brighter and hotter in Lao!
lucky it isnt all too humid though there’s barely any wind

after grass cutting (i finally ran out of fuel) Hubert, Arnold and another Cambodian guy came by
they brought with them pumpkin plants
they were all still baby plants and Hubert asked me whether i wanted to watch them plant them
so i went
i ended up planting all of them and Wai Pon told me that they are now my responsibility.. *sweat*
so there i am in the middle of a pineapple farm and jungle planting pumpkin baby plants

FUUH! what a day!
Hubert said everyone’s been praising me all day saying i’m hardworking..
i think they’re just now used to seeing people work without stopping
and here i thought i’m slow and lazy as it is..
but i guess you cant blame them.. the heat really slows you down.. a lot!

During dinner i had the worse headache so i took a nice long shower. washed my hair and headed up to check out my new SIM from TIGO this time and found that it works so i’m connected to the internet via mobile! WHOOPIE!
sent some emails, sent some text and off to bed it was!

only to get up at 2am in EXCRUCIATING pain…!
my arms felt as though they were broken and everything in both my arms hurt so badly it wasnt funny!
from palm down to elbow it was pain, pain and pain
probably from the grass cutting flinsy machine and all it’s vibration..
and it wasnt even good vibration if u know what i’m sayin’
-.-

Laos 2010: Day 1 (18/08/10)

i got up at 7:30am and started getting ready almost immediately as i didnt know what time we were to leave then at 7:50am i get a call from Hubert telling me to be ready at 8:30am
i took the final opportunity to use the internet one last time then headed out..

we traveled around town looking for something but i didnt know what as i did not understand Lao.
finally it appears that we were to pick 4 other people up.
one of them is Amy whois american born Lao and she was Miss Asia International or something.
we finally found the hotel (Hubert got Orchid mixed up with Orchard) and had breakfast while waiting for them.
after an hour or so they came down and we set off  taking in some of the local sights.
i got to talking to Alan who’s also ABL.
we connected through photography and kids.
Amy’s mom and cousin were too busy talking and looking out the window.
it was Alan’s first time back to Laos after leaving at age 2 to Chicago.
Amy and her mom also lives in Chicago but she flies to NY for work a lot it seems.

after a short tour we got onto Route 13 which leads all the way to Luang Prabang and ultimately China.
on the way we stopped by a couple of ATM’s for me to try to use my card but IT WONT WORK!
*grumble grumble*
we then set off traveling for about 45 minutes and suddenly we pulled off the road and was swamped with people
o.O
they took my bags out and i was wondering why
turns out Wai Pon stays in/behind a mini food shop and i was to stay in the office that’s above the shop.
i was still confused, however because they told me i was to stay in the village
o.O”
well, in Lao, a village is along the main roads
sporadically along main roads you’ll find civilization and shops and houses
these are the villages
you can also see this from the plane as you are descending.
road, some buildings, road, some buildings, road, some buildings bla bla bla…

after showing me to my room and putting my thigns away, we pilled back into the car to go to the farm.
it wasnt all too far.
maybe about 15 minutes walk.
it was pretty far in so the change of scenery was vast!
it went from dusty main road to kampung houses then silence and greenery then an open land which is the farm
i was intrigued as there were pigs on the farm!
there were 5 one month old piglets and some 3 month old piglets and the rest were giants!!
the only male looked so sad in one corner (its got HUGE BALLS)
we took some pictures, met some of the farm boys who’re training to be pastors, looked at some plants then left.
the rest wanted to go back into town and i needed a phone line so i followed them
suddenly we stopped and everyone got out
turned out the ladies wanted to shop
-.-
so we walked around a bit and i got my first SIM card, ETL (which sadly doesnt work all too well cos it somehow doesnt allow me to connect to the internet via mobile) and walked around some more

finally we piled back in, dropped them off, changed cars (were were using the hyundai starex which is Hubert’s godsister’s) and picked up the 2 other malaysian missionaries that are staying here as well, Slyvia and Gloria.
the Lao people pronounce Gloria as Claudia so i keep looking around for Claudia only to find Gloria. CIs.
i thought in wishing CLaude was here it would make her appear for real. SO WRONG!

we headed back and i got to settling in.
there are around 15 kids in this house. not all are Wai Pon’s.
some are his deceased sister’s and another sister’s kids and some relative’s kids as well as Hubert’s adopted daughter.
they all looked at me rather curiously the entire time
i felt like a foreign thing at an exhibition! haha
there was a lot of things to get used to
shower is quite a walk away and it is situated outside the building.
after 10pm if anyone wants to use the toilet they will have to go through the main house.
i also needed slippers to shower and move around the house in but i stupidly only brought my Birks so i had to walk across the street to get a pair.
Gloria was kind enough to come with me.
i also had to get use to the fact that all the upstairs hall switches (i.e. aircon, fans, lights) are all in my room!
oh and the door has a glass panel so its now got 2 pieces of newspaper stuck on so i can change in modesty hahaha
also, night times meant English lessons and it also meant they had worship first then class and it happens right outside my ‘room’!
oh and did i mention the abundance of LIZARDS?!
argh!! walking to the bathroom outside was a scary gamble of weather a lizard was gonna fall on me or not..
urgh!
one thing i like, though, is the fact that people sleep early here
there’s just nothing to do here at night so i got a chance to catch up on my reading and go to bed at 11pm.
so nice

Laos 2010: Arrivals (17/08/10)

As i left KL, i wondered what’s in stored for me in Laos.
I’ve never been there and didnt know what to expect!
the trip did not start out as great as i hoped it would.
At LCCT the plane was delayed by more than half an hour and i had two very heavy bags with me. One of which’s strap broke while i was walking to the plane.

Upon arrival, i just had to punish myself by choosing the slowest line at immigration
-.-
every other line was getting shorter and shorter and mine stayed pretty much stagnant except when people jumped lanes.
i stupidly stayed on and ended up being one of the last few people left and still the guy at my counter took his own sweet time. I’m guessing he’s new or cant read.
In the end it was down to one last person at every counter so i waited for the next free one.
the guy at my lane’s counter took 3 times the time to precess the simple ‘chop’ and ‘welcome!’
one of the good things about this Lao airport was that at baggage claims, they arranged all the backpacks together neatly in a row and luggages in another row. that was pretty cute a sight i must say!

Hubert was waiting outside with Wai Pon, whom i met 2 years ago in Cambodia during Friends Around the Table. I was to stay with Wai Pon and his family but for the first night i get treated to a night at one of the hotels in town, Asian Pavilion Hotel.
As we drove from the airport i realized that Vientiane is not as ‘backward’ as some claims it to be!
someone actually told me there’s nothing in Vientiane and i’m beginning to think that she must have expected New York City or something..
-.-”
Vientiane is quite similar to certain parts of Bangkok and Siem Reap.

The hotel we were staying at is located in Nan Pu or centre point. It is one of Vientiane’s more popular streets.
the hotel is considered 3 stars in Lao but i think in Malaysian standards it should be around 1 star.
it was livable though.
clean and there were not a single bug or insect in sight.
the room however looked to be from the past!
nothing matches hahaha
even my bed covers and the next was different!
mine’s floral and the other as Donald Duck! hahahaha
the towels had holes in them but they were clean and the shower head sprayed water in every direction!
all the light switches or switches for that matter are all upside down.

i was given about an hour to rest before heading out to dinner.
thank goodness there was wifi but it went off almost every minute.
apparently the network is a little wonky.
its good during the night starting 9pm and is best towards morning but sometimes during the afternoon it goes off and on on its own.
from 6pm-8pm, dont even think of using the wifi because you’ll just end up trying to bald yourself haha!

at 7pm, it was already dark as we walked towards the food area.
we passed by Swensons and the Pizza Place. its new and is currently one of the hotspots of Vientiane!
as we got to central street, we could see food everywhere! there are any types of food you want, asian only though..
there were book shops and clothing shops and small supermarkets that resembles something that came out of a picture dating 50 years back in Malaysia (ok its a bit exaggerated)
we met up with a friend of Hubert’s, Arnold who’s been working in Lao for a very long time.
we had korean by the way.
come all the way to Lao and what do i eat on the very first day? korean. well done.
we got to talking about traveling and between both Hubert and Arnold, they’ve pretyt much covered all of Asia, backpacking and driving and they agreed that if they were given the opportunity to do it again, they’d say NO!!
but Hubert says to go. it will be dangerous and we may encounter a whole load of shit along the way but it should not deter us from it!

after dinner, arnold drove us back and we retreated into our rooms to use the internet.
i somewhat knew that  that would be the last time i’m going to be able to use the internet on my laptop for a long long time.

p.s. oh btw, as we were descending (plane) we were going through cloud after cloud as it was a cool/rainy day. we were also going pass mountains and beautiful greenery it seem like the hallelujah mountains in Avatar! gorgeous sight!

Laos 2010: a preview

ARGH! finally! internet!
okay maybe i’m exaggerating a little.. i’ve got mobile internet but you know how its like.. tiny words, tiny screen.. cant upload pictures, cant chat cant everything lah!

anyways, i’m in a village called Nee Lai which is about an hour from town..
i’ve been working in a farm there, sleeping on a tiny mattress in an office, and teaching kids how to catwalk and pose for the camera..
(ya ya i know.. odd thing to teach! haha)
i’ll be updating whenever i can and will try to upload pictures when i can as well

there are a lot of things to get used to such as sleeping early, getting more then 8 hours of sleep, lizards EVERYWHERE imma die, eating weird organs, seeing nearly everyone use iphones, lefthand drives, bathroom super far away, pigs governing your daily lives and having to plant pumpkin plants every other day…
oh and have i mentioned that here, and a few other asian countries, the men do lesser work but boss the women around and make women do harder work then the men? yah… i’ve been subjected to that… gone are the sight of gentlemen.. oh well, i asked for it..

oh and because i wished to do Dirty Jobs, i’m actually getting what i asked for..!
gotta be super careful what i wish for next time round

will update soon!

p.s. have you seen how big a male pig’s balls are?! they are the size of my HEAD! pictures soon mwahahahahahahahahahaha!