tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98335612009-11-04T22:40:33.605+07:00Life in the Greater Mekong Region of Southeast Asiachanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.comBlogger462125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-9717382246539388922009-11-03T21:42:00.004+07:002009-11-04T21:56:51.585+07:00

Did I mention yesterday that I wrote almost 10,000 words for NaNoWriMo in one day. It felt good to stretch out and write. The backdrop of the weather didn't provide any distractions - cold and windy with the threat of drizzle in the air. The gusts of wind rattled the window and I was glad to be inside, though without heat the insides of houses in Xieng Khouang are nearly as cold inside as outside

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-57794659110887241472009-11-02T19:09:00.003+07:002009-11-02T19:36:22.587+07:00

Being based on the lunar calendar, the main Buddhist holidays occur on the days of the full moon. Many Lao names also revolve around the moon. My own name, Chanpheng, means "full moon". The person who gave me the name said that 'The full moon is beautiful and likes to have fun.' It also has Buddhist meaning, because of the main religious days being on the full moon.That Luang itself is a gold

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-25594595652611660802009-11-01T09:51:00.002+07:002009-11-01T10:08:14.323+07:00

The past few months have been kinda wild and I haven't had much of a chance to write. I visited the US for what should have been for a month, but circumstances dictated otherwise.My first week in Seattle was interesting. As I fought off jet-leg, I attended the annual Family Practice Update at the University of Washington. It's my favorite continuing medical education conference, with a wide

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-8630345648436759972009-08-29T07:52:00.002+07:002009-08-29T08:00:28.925+07:00

While I was drinking coffee and deleting the posts of Disa, the spammer, I came upon my TBR list (To Be Read Challenge) that I posted in December. I've read about 60 books this year, but still haven't gotten around to most of the books below. Ah well, will be going on home leave soon so better bring a few of these with me. List One:1. Baghdad Burning II by Riverbend - I used to follow her blog

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-19503659484044477872009-08-28T16:31:00.003+07:002009-08-28T16:41:04.770+07:00

Sorry to say, I've just put comments on verification and moderation cause some spam bot is leaving comments in Chinese on old entries. I myself find having to do the verification thing for commenting to be time-consuming when I'm on dial-up and sometimes the comments don't go through but I'm feeling desperate. Anyway, I think I'll reconsider when and if the coast is clear....I just can't imagine

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-44384464551812599252009-08-07T22:04:00.003+07:002009-08-07T22:27:34.198+07:00

I took the train to Bangkok. There is now a rail link between Thanaleng, Laos and Nongkhai, Thailand. This is a view back towards the Lao side.These guys were hanging out on the bridge. Not sure if they just like seeing the train go by or whether the cell phone reception is that much better.I spent the next few days in Bangkok - dental work and sleeping. Finally felt some energy and walked around

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-21561914044481681452009-07-31T21:33:00.002+07:002009-07-31T22:06:17.521+07:00

It's been six weeks since I last posted. I've been un-well, I suspect dengue fever. Fever, fatigue and whole-body aches. I have had zero enthusiasm about everything, even lifting my camera up. Fortunately, it's going away and I find myself with both the strength to carry my camera around, and the interest in looking at things and saying, "I'd like a picture of that."Sky over Salavan on 12 July.

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-69718626447383352042009-06-19T16:56:00.002+07:002009-06-19T18:05:06.127+07:00

I've been traveling a lot. I broke a tooth and have had to have all sorts of dental work, requiring voyages to Bangkok. This was the scene on Tuesday 9 June at the Nongkhai Station. The train had to pass through that weather later in the night. It rained a lot while I was in Bangkok - these violent kinds of thunderstorms that can turn a street into a river in the period of five minutes, before

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-62223637892885940742009-06-05T18:37:00.003+07:002009-06-05T18:53:59.124+07:00

At the start of the week, I caught sight of these clouds as I was walking home. By the time I got my camera out, they were just past their peak but still amazing. It's also amazing how quickly clouds can change.On Tuesday, as we were driving down to Champasak, I requested a stop to take a panoramic shot of pictures of the Krading River. After an afternoon and evening of thunderstorms, we headed

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-9120099419412258942009-05-29T22:31:00.000+07:002009-05-30T10:37:39.450+07:00

The weather has moved into rainy season, at a much faster gallop than last year. The skies are either crystal clear or covered with thunderclouds. Although I haven't had much chance to post over the past month, I'm still taking pictures. I snapped the above picture on a moody late afternoon, where thunderclouds were directly overhead but the light from the sunset lit up the Buddhist temple from

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-52861387753331509352009-05-27T23:16:00.000+07:002009-05-28T17:38:18.355+07:00

I took this picture late at night, because I realized I had not taken my picture of the day, then I found the shapes feature.... and it's cool.

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-70374330492437753202009-05-27T18:10:00.001+07:002009-05-28T21:08:24.128+07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I walked around the Morning Market in Vientiane, looking for reflections and light. And I found silver. These bracelets were enticing - I took the picture but did not take my wallet out of my bag - this time.And sleeping - this woman lives behind her shop, and her shop is an extension of her home, so she can take a nap anywhere and any time. Not sure about the profits

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-45895842494208559322009-05-26T19:04:00.000+07:002009-05-28T07:08:14.381+07:00

There's a lot of back-breaking manual labor jobs, with low pay. This truck delivers drinking water around Vientiane, with their staff of a driver and the man who carries the 50 liter water bottles to the houses and businesses.I wonder what he is dreaming about....While there is a municipal water system, we only use the water for bathing and cooking. Very few people use it for drinking water - too

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-32367671267878658932009-05-25T18:57:00.000+07:002009-05-28T07:02:50.098+07:00

The Naga are serpents which move between earth and the other world, and have a central place in Buddhist images in NE Thailand and Laos. The legend is that the Naga King sheltered the Buddha from a thunderstorm while he was meditating. Naga images grace every templeyard, at the entrances to the buildings and along the roofs. I bought a Nikon D5000 and I've enjoyed taking photos with it, even

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-85042567601830584402009-05-24T23:29:00.000+07:002009-05-28T06:56:18.567+07:00

I endured my dental appointment and then resolved to get back to Vientiane for a frantic week of work. The new airport at Bangkok (well not so new, it's about two years old now) is gigantic and ultra-modern. I haven't gone through there so many times so I arrived two hours early so I could have lunch and make sure to get to my gate on time. Since my last visit, they have installed some beautiful

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-61974969514836003772009-05-23T22:19:00.001+07:002009-05-28T06:26:42.068+07:00

I just realized that while I'm taking pictures and contributing to several photography communities, I haven't kept up with my own blog. Well, whoever is following me, here's a special picture:I just bought a new camera, in anticipation of a dental work I'll have to endure tomorrow. And I'm learning how to play with photoshop, so I can turn three turtles into six. I took this shot at the park next

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-37816807248483353102009-04-17T19:23:00.002+07:002009-04-19T18:32:24.507+07:00

I've been spending the week of Lao New Year in Xieng Khouang. My closest friends are here, and I've been going to several baci, or string tying ceremonies, every day. The only problem is that I don't have access to fast internet so I haven't had a chance to upload pictures and post journal entries. And I haven't had the time, what with all the activities going on.Lao New Year means traveling

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-42203392966982349732009-04-10T00:45:00.003+07:002009-04-10T01:02:40.455+07:00

Bangkok haze was thick last week - though it started raining every day. Not just rain but the kind of deluge which makes you think that the whole atmosphere is coming down. It did bring down the dust and pollution, so the clouds building up on the weekend were very impressive against a clean sky.This photo was taken between the Champa trees. The Champa flower is the national flower of Laos -

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-20249128871137344982009-04-03T11:40:00.003+07:002009-04-03T11:52:32.527+07:00

I viewed the skies in two places this past week. In Vientiane, the hazy skies became more clear when washed by several thunderstorms. I arrived in Bangkok on Weds morning, just after a storm so the sky has been unusually clear here as well.Last week, I went on one of my long walks. I was enjoying the shape of a palm against the intense blue sky when I saw something special in the tree.He was

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-9499245258497986772009-04-02T23:57:00.001+07:002009-04-03T00:04:25.912+07:00

A few shots of my life on this Tuesday. I woke up in Vientiane.I took this picture before I started my morning run. This is a picture of one of teh Naga heads which will adorn the stairways leading into the new building housing the Buddha images. I wanted to get a shot of the workmen molding the images but they have eluded me. So I set off on my three mile route. About halfway through, I saw this

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-81894561823699111532009-04-02T00:05:00.000+07:002009-04-03T12:10:46.318+07:00

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

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-90155418000623276652009-03-29T14:43:00.003+07:002009-03-29T14:49:38.219+07:00

These PVC pipes are blue but somehow the shadows and the way they make the pipes so round, only seem to jump out in B 'n W. Check out more shadows here:

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-84750133943655199932009-03-28T14:51:00.000+07:002009-03-29T14:52:27.080+07:00

I took a series of 3 photos at this temple but it wasn't until I uploaded them that I realized I had gotten the vendor both coming and going. I'm going to try more of this stitch photos with the same people in different poses in different parts of the composite.

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-61826905656697541752009-03-27T18:12:00.003+07:002009-03-27T18:21:11.206+07:00

A couple of wild thunderstorms have passed through the area. The clashing of the heat rising from the plains and the clouds at this time of the year is very dramatic.The really nice thing is the dust in the air gets cleaned up and the skies are so clear in the mornings. The air feels lighter.This is the new building at Wat Meuang Wa. The lovely mural of the Buddha surrounded by the animals coming

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9833561.post-35003485532528359682009-03-25T21:12:00.000+07:002009-03-26T21:15:02.928+07:00

These kids looked full of joy. The adults don't look that happy but children find something to turn them on - the wind, the dust, the adventure of the tok-tok ride.This is my contribution to ABC Wednesday!

chanphenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04948273579090324776noreply@blogger.com3