hmm. laos... very enchanting country. only remaining socialist country in ASEAN. poor, but never desperate. in vientiene, the provincial capital, most buildings are less than 3 storeys tall. no traffic congestion. no signs extreme poverty like beggars or crime. the children are earnest and dignified, preferring to work rather than beg.
unlike the end of the world scenarios forwarded by castells or william lim of asian cities, wat i saw here is uncannily peaceful and lazy townships. neither is there a dichotomy of dual economies that sets the rich gated communities against the deprived poor. here in laos, mansions and dilapidated wood houses stand side by side, tuktuks parked beside the toyota prados. this country doesnt feel communist or oppressive at all, or even the presence of a state or government.
either i am blinded by romanticism, or there is really something unique about laotian culture. its resilience and self dependence of the people.
lao GDP comes mainly from... rice and tourism. it is non industrial. it doesnt even have a train system. its best interstate bus service called VIP bus breaks down several times enroute.
it is idylic. but it is unfair for me to say it should remain that way. i dun believe it is right for rich brats like me to put pple into a time capsule or a theme park for me to enjoy.
right now it seems lao will face a surge of tourists in the coming years. already prices for tour packages are soaring, gentrified by the hordes of tourists with their american dollar. china in 2006 passed a new regulation allowing chinese to travel freely into laos, which is expected to contribute to 25% of tourists there. how will the laid back culture handle the surge of materialism coming straight into their very doorstep? (literally, many of them operate in shophouses and guest houses).
lets all hope that a sensible future for them, not one that is marred by senseless short term gratification that left a bitter taste in other vice ridden countries as they tried to take off to modernity overnight. let these children enjoy a decent future and happiness.
4 comments:
anyway, i think they are highly endangered.
after having been to vietnam and bali...i think soon Laotian people will soon speak english/ chinese...become ticket touts...become postcard sellers...become bottled coke and water sellers...haiz
economically, this is the best and probably only thing that must happen to them.
otherwise, they'll *forever* be a third-world economy that's even more pegged as an exotic tourist location.
hmm... i cant really make such broadstroke statements regarding the future of an entire nation...
lemme cite an eg... there's this tuktuk driver in vientiene who we hired to drive us ard for a day offered to drive us to the bus station for free on the last day, speaking limited english, he shook all our hands and hoped we enjoyed laos. he wasnt keen on taking our money even we offered it. that man, mind u, isnt even the friendly all smiles "i love tourists" kind of GEMS award winner material. in fact he is aloof most of the time.
there are pple in this world that does not evaluate their livelihood and livestyles so directly materialistically. for us its idealism, for them, it is just natural. my only hope is that there are more such pple ard in laos for it to adopt a sensible development.
chez, my "broadstroke statement(s)" was made in view of established economic models on developing/ third world countries. it wasn't asserted because i had a psychic vision of their future.
of course, economic models are essentially theoretical and soft-sciency, so who's to know what the future really holds right?
but i reject your citation of the particular tutuk driver as comprehensive empirical evidence for your argument. apart from which, i'll like to highlight the alien observer perspective we're prone to commit; as the great coffeeshop philosopher jarvis cocker once had it:
You'll never live like common people,
you'll never do what common people do,
you'll never fail like common people,
you'll never watch your life slide out of view,
and dance and drink and screw,
because there's nothing else to do.
Sing along with the common people,
sing along and it might just get you through,
laugh along with the common people,
laugh along even though they're laughing at you,
and the stupid things that you do.
Because you think that poor is cool.
"Common People" (1995)
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