A Lao Christmas

25 December is just another day in Laos. But for expat offices, like CARE and the U.S. Embassy, Christmas is a free day. WOohoo! However, I spent the better part of today working on the protocol, but the good news is...I FINISHED IT!! I am absolutely ecstatic. I've been the picture of stress for the past month, and today on the way to drinks by the Mekong was the first time in a looooong while that I could bike along and enjoy the scenery of Laos. Nice.

I met up with Hannah and Irwin, and two of Hannah's new French rock climbing buddies whom I'll call Lili and Bertie (since we're having trouble saying their names). A nice chilled out time by the river, Kopjay Deu, and Jazzy Brick.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading with my little brother Peexiong to his hometown of Kilometer 52 in Vientiane Province for Hmong New Year. I'll stay at Peexiong's house, and his mom will find a traditional Hmong dress for me to wear. I look forward to seeing all the customs, rituals, and celebrations. It's supposed to be a time for courting among the young folk as well...something about throwing a ball around to each other.

So we're off to a healthy holiday season start. And on behalf of everyone in Laos and my favorite young gentlemen from Parkview, I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and safe, warm holiday season among family and friends!!

Last Day at CARE

But doesn't mean last day of WORK! CARE Lao is virtually on holiday for the rest of the year, and so...so am I! Today was my last official day sitting at CARE, but it was rather anticlimactic since I've been caught under the weight of an insomniatic cough and confusing sampling statistics. Last night's cold medicine didn't wear off till 4pm today, so today was a bit of a blur.

We did eat a special lunch to celebrate the holiday as well as my farewell. And the AI team got me a beautiful handwoven scarf (presented by Mel above). I even got a wedding invitation from one of the Lao staff, but I probably won't be able to go. Sad. And I myself presented CARE with a number of "presents," not to be read "castaways." The AI team was happy to accept my motorbike helmet, and by the end of the day, it had been adopted into the inventory family (note black sticker!).

The Giving Tree

A couple and a tree by Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam

Up from the Valley

I am just recovering from a valley. Woo, the last three days have been the most extreme dip (rapid down and up) I've encountered during my time working in Laos.

I have just three days of work remaining to wrap up my project into a tidy package to hand over to CARE Lao and the University of Health Sciences. But our last technical meeting on Wednesday only offered up more questions than answers. Questions that made me anxious: reconsidering the objectives of the assessment, the purpose of it all...with huge ramifications for study design, etc. Pushback from different partners to do more than our power or resources would allow.

But I encouraged UHS to take a position today and luckily, they did. I do have to redraft some portions of the protocol and questionnaire, but all in all, I can leave the project in a good place. Phew!!

Here are photos of CARE Lao's end-of-the-year party yesterday. Plenty of food and drink, birthday cake for the October-December birthdays, frantic wrapping of presents for the gift exchange, and Lam Vong dance around the table!

Official Business 2.0

CDC/CARE Vietnam invited me to go talk about my work in Laos as they prepare for their own health seeking behavior assessment. It was a great meeting and definitely a two-way exchange. Not only did they get a solid start to their assessment, but I also went away with a few ideas to improve our own project in Laos.

I went a few days early to look around the city, and here are about 70 photos of my sightseeing in Hanoi. David was meeting his roommate Jessica coming over for a visit, so it was perfect timing for all of us. Photos include sights of Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, the Temple of Literature, the Water Puppet Theater, Hoan Kiem Lake, and lots of food!!

A number of people warned that I might not like Hanoi or Vietnam, but on the contrary, I found it quite refreshing. In comparison with Laos, Vietnam is a lot rougher around the edges, but the bustle of the city is fresh, and the Old Quarter is a throwback to the old days.

Official Business 1.0

Tomorrow I am traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam for my second official trip. I will provide consultation to CDC/CARE Vietnam as they plan to do a similar health seeking behavior assessment.

Below are photos from my first official trip out to our field site in Sayabouli Province, northern Laos, to gather village information for the protocol and questionnaire. Sorry no captions yet. It’s taking multitudes longer than my trip out there to upload these photos online.

Day 1: My flight from Vientiane Capital to Sayabouli Town, the site of our CARE project office and just getting situated before our travel into the mountain villages. We had to bring all of our own food into the villages since they suffer food shortages for six months out of the year.

Day 2: Travel to the field site office in Doikao Village, a 3-hour 60km drive out from Saya Town. These are just the 63 best photos. ;o) Note the poor road conditions. Thank you, donors, for funding those 4-wheel-drive trucks. Money well spent! We got into Doikao before sunset so were able to get a tour of the village from the office guard.

Day 3: The one hour trek to get to Housaylot Village. My translator and I were accompanying the mobile health clinic (team 2) staffed by district public health nurses. Here is preparation of the pharmacy and vaccines for the haul and some lovely images of the hike over the mountain.

Additional photos forthcoming of the mobile health clinic, Day 4 with team 1, and our feast.

My Daily Commute

Here are some images of my daily commute to work.

The sight of this lady this morning totally made my day.

Yes, those are chickens tied upside down in those baskets.

A few other sights along my commute to work. This is Wat Si Saket. I'm getting better at these driveby shots.

This is Patuxai which sits in the middle of a massive rotary. The CARE Lao office sits at the complete opposite end from where I come. The serenity pictured here belies the crazy traffic I have to dodge each morning around this thing!

Vang Vieng

I decided to spend my last, completely free weekend in Laos in Vang Vieng, Laos' backpacker and adventure sports destination, a 4-hour 150km bus-ride north of Vientiane. The bus schedule isn't all too clear, as there are local buses, VIP buses, mini-buses, and pick-ups with different schedules and pickup locations. To maximize my time out there, I took the earliest 7am local bus out of the Talat Sao bus station.

The guard recommended that I take my bike with me for an extra 20,000 kip because it'd be cheaper than renting a bike there. So they strapped my bike to the top of the bus (though I'd question the judgment later), and we were off.

I got into Vang Vieng right before noon and rode my bike 4km north to Phoudindaeng Village to check into my room at the Organic Mulberry Farm. The farm is right on the banks of the Nam Song and is also the starting point for the famous Vang Vieng tubing, hence all the songthaews passing me up along the way carrying loads of half-naked, half-baked falang and big black tubes.

The farm's restaurant has a modest, but nice menu of organic, vegetarian dishes. Above is lunch of Harvest Curry with tofu, accompanied by iced mulberry green tea. Afterwards, I rode my bike back into town to figure out something to do for the afternoon.

When I randomly stepped into Riverside Tours, the very genki man at the desk practically jumped out of his seat with, "Let's go kayaking now! I'll take you myself!" They had just delivered a large group upriver, and we could still catch up with them. Hey, why not? So Phanh brought me upriver...back to the farm where the tubing begins.

And I thought I was getting away from the falang debauchery by staying north of Vang Vieng at the farm. Was I ever wrong! The farm keeps a mojito bar right at the launch site, granted to raise money for children, but the music would never stop blasting!

Within sight was the first "stop" of the tubing/kayaking journey down the river: a giant swing river plunge contraption, replete with an island bar, thumping music, and tons and tons of falang. There are about five such bars along the route down the river, with the first ones being the loudest and crowdiest.

Ugh, this isn't what Laos is supposed to be about! Phanh brought me to a more bearable one with fewer people while we waited for the rest of the group to catch up with us. Phanh got some Beer Lao and jumped from the big swing. I didn't have much faith in any of these operations, but after watching enough turns, it seemed fine enough, so I took a go with the slide. Plus, Phanh was watching out for me to make sure all conditions were safe.

Below: Phanh flying; me getting ready to go; my splash (Phanh wasn't fast enough!)

Continuing along the Nam Song by kayak. So glad I wasn't tubing... All those people stuck without a current after 3 hours. What a bore! I'm sure it's somewhat enjoyable with friends...

The next morning I decided to get away from it all by visiting the famous limestone karsts and caves on the other side of the Nam Song. Tham Phu Kham 6km out is hugely popular because of the blue lagoon. At this point, I really wished I had rented a motorbike. The rocky, dusty roads and high noon sun wore on my bicycle or body, but at least I got a lot of exercise and a tan!

(More photos to come)

I eventually found the blue lagoon after about an hour of weaving around rocks, but the only people there were two French guys smoking some questionable herbs. It wasn't till after they'd left and I was able to look around a bit that I was convinced that it was the right place. Just as I was told...the blue water, little fish, rope jump. I'm pretty sure the cave itself was another kilometer's ride farther up the road, but I was content at that point to just have the blue lagoon all to myself. Strange that no one else was there on a sunny Sunday afternoon...

(More photos to come...internet is sloooow!!)