I'm just back form Laos (5 weeks holidays) During my trip, I was really shocked when i saw many lao people just leave their rubbish (plastics..) everywhere in the streets, along roads, and natural places. At the begining, i thought it was foreigners/tourists behaviour, but in fact no.... it's really lao people
Seams "modern" lao people don't have any ecologic consciousness... as keeping nature clean of industrial/plastic rubbish is the basis of a responsible behaviour toward nature.
But when i saw people doing this in a very poor and simple village, i think i understood something: "Modern products, with "modern" but pollutive packages are something relatively new for many lao people (i mean, they didn't have those products when they grew up and where educated by their parents). A few decades ago, people mostly consumed very natural products that generate only very natural rubbish (fruit and vegetable skin...), that we can leave on the ground without causing any trouble (on the contrary, by rapidely disapearing, those rubbish can make the ground better to grow other vegetables and so on)
Now , those people can buy and consume the modern products... and they just do with the plastic rubbish the same thing they always did with their rubbish. The problem is that those new rubbish are dirty and dangerous: they need decades and decades to disapear, and when they disapear, they pollute the ground and make it dangerous. But many people in Laos never received any information about that and didn't receive the education to know how to treat them.... so we cannot really angry them, but there is for sure a big big and critical educational work to do urgently in order to protect the country from this horror!
When lao people will stop leaving their garbage anywhere? when they will walk into 10 cm of plastic rubbish? This day, it will be too late to clean the country!
during my trip, i met another tourist who just came from Vietnam. He told me the problem of rubbish in Vietnam is the same as Laos, but TEN times stronger!
One World Two Different Regimes. Where would you like to live in? Ha ha...It is clearly shows how the GVT. run their country as simple is that. "The project has still not come in reality. Money to develop Laos goes some where else;" This is the annual report says Great picture, thanks for sharing..
Around 6 kms along Mekong bank at Vientiane will be developed as tourism point providing flower garden, pavement, public park but some special point you have to pay for entrance to enjoy nice view along Mekong bank, so it must be much more beatiful and larger than Mukdahan. The good new is now goverment has enough budjet for this project already and the project will be completed by 2010 to welcome 450 Vietiane capital. Do not be seriuos with this issue more! Great day!
Very disappointed to see Vientiane a capital of a country and Moukdahan just a City of another country looks totally apart. It's different world indeed. Shameful.
Lao peoples are lazy and don't know how to beautify the environment. Look at the Thais. They love beauty. They love flowers and they love plants. Their are a lot cities and country are so beautiful and cleaner than Laos.
Thanks for the last 3 pictures. Infact some places along Mekong bank in Vientiane are very beutiful and some places along Mekong bank in Mukdahan are very dirty. The question is why the you post this topic? people who visit this page are not children at all. Please pay respactation for the readers. Something more i want to share is before you make a comparision of 2 diferent objects, they must be in the same condition. Example: you can not compare Thailand and Singapore in many ways also. Sorry if i say something wrong. Regard! Laoboy
The purpose of posting these photos is to raise awareness about trash in our beloved city of Vientiane, especially in that area where many tourists gathering. Of course there are both nice places and ugly places all over the world.
along the bank of Mekong river at Vientiane,Laos (you can see Don Chan Hotel in background)
along the bank of Mekong river at Mukdahan,Thailand
No doubt, the author of this topic makes bias to look down Lao people, especially compared with Thailand.
Obviously, he is not someone who has Lao citizen that is why he doesn't know exactly what Lao people would feel about this topic " Two Different worlds?", which he or she want to reflect that Lao people are really bad compare with Thai people.
In fact, if he or she is Lao, he would put this topic other wise. He would suggest how to address with such issue.
It's true that Laos garbage management would in no way compare with Thailand. But having looked the photos, it seems to me that in Thailand everything is perfect. That is a real bias.
To be honest, if I have to choose to live in Bangkok and Vientiane, I would choose the latter one.
Yes, I must accept that our Lao people haven't got a high culture to preserve our society to be clean when compared with developped society. No doubt, Lao people would need to improve our behavior starting from small kids. And this cannot be done over night, but needs time.
I believe it's a good idea if Lao organised 'A CLEAN UP DAY' . It also helps Lao people to be aware of the rubbish problem, and therefore asking people not to litter.
Welcome back Paris_vientiane, where did you travel to in Laos for 5 weeks?
Hello yes, i'm back. Sad to leanve Laos, but also happy to be back at home sweet (but so smalllll.... crazy France)home i stay most of the time in Vientiane and Ban Dongphosy (just near the future train station, i have tons of pics of the work) I went to Luangprabang (5 days), Vangvieng (2 days) and Takhek (3 days)
I couldn't start my project of building a house in Laos, because it seems ver difficult there to know precisely what you can get for what price "just spend the money little by little and you'll know at the end the cost of your house"... this is definitely not my way of driving such project. I hope we will be able to start the house next year.
I have more than 900 pictures.... give me a few weeks to select the best one and put them on my website http://www.paris-vientiane.fr
No doubt, the author of this topic makes bias to look down Lao people, especially compared with Thailand.
Obviously, he is not someone who has Lao citizen that is why he doesn't know exactly what Lao people would feel about this topic " Two Different worlds?", which he or she want to reflect that Lao people are really bad compare with Thai people.
In fact, if he or she is Lao, he would put this topic other wise. He would suggest how to address with such issue.
YOU PEOPLE ARE PATHETIC.
You darn right I am looking down on Lao people. But only those that throw their trash all over the place.
I don't give a flying monkey arse whether they are American, Italian, Hispanic, Thai,......dare I say it??.....YES......even KHONE LAO. I look down on you for not taking good care of your own country.
YOU should be ashamed of the thrash littlering the Mekong water front. You are so much in denial you have to say other people look down on you for pointing out the obvious. It is your country. You live there. CLEAN THE PLACE UP.
ARE YOU HAPPY THE PLACE LOOK LIKE THAT???
STOP DEFENDING A TOPIC THAT IS NOT even debatable.
yes i am thinking that the person who post the pic, thathave intention to discredit lao gov.-ment. i am sure this person not live in laos, or he is die hard who alway not accept the fact of changing.
yes i am thinking that the person who post the pic, thathave intention to discredit lao gov.-ment. i am sure this person not live in laos, or he is die hard who alway not accept the fact of changing.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU LACK COMMON SENSE OR ARE YOU BLIND?
IF the site was a LAOS GOVERNMENT ASSIGNED GARBAGE DUMP THAT we would be criticizing the government.
WE ARE CRITICISING YOU BECAUSE YOU DUMP YOUR TRASH THERE NOT THE GOVERNMENT.
Viangchan is like any other city in the world. There are cleaner part of the city and there are filthy part of it. If you going to look for negative aspect of the city or life, you don't have to go that far. Start with your own houses and your personal hygene.
WHAT REALLY STUPID IS WHEN YOU POINT SOMETHING IS BAD TO A PERSON, INSTEAD OF LOOKING INTO IT THEY REFLECT IT BACK BY POINTING OUT OTHER PEOPLE PROBLEM.
MY LAO BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THAT IS NOW HOW TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEM. IF YOU KEEP THIKING THIS WAY PROBLEM JUST KEEP PILING UP.
WHAT REALLY STUPID IS WHEN YOU POINT SOMETHING IS BAD TO A PERSON, INSTEAD OF LOOKING INTO IT THEY DEFLECT IT BACK BY POINTING OUT OTHER PEOPLE PROBLEM.
MY LAO BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THAT IS NOW HOW TO SOLVE ANY PROBLEM. IN FACT IT WILL NOT IF EVER GET SOLVED.
IF YOU KEEP THINKING THIS WAY PROBLEM JUST KEEP PILING UP.
One World Two Different Regimes. Where would you like to live in? Ha ha...It is clearly shows how the GVT. run their country as simple is that. "The project has still not come in reality. Money to develop Laos goes some where else;" This is the annual report says Great picture, thanks for sharing..
Its a people problem. People need to be educated, to take pride that cleanliness is a good thing. It isn't the government's problem, you can't blame them for everything.
Japan is the cleanest country in the world, hands down. I stayed there for two months and no one liters. The Japanese word for clean is the same word for pretty, that shows how much their culture loves cleanliness.
"What is your point of show these pictures? Do you think it is acceptable that Laos is dirty because other countries are dirty too?"
The point is, they way you show the pictures. The comparision is not fair. And some of the people commenting start trash talking Laos and Laos people.
If you wants to make a point about cleaning up the carbage, you should used more friendly words and suggestions. By saying, hey, we should start recycle and clean up garbage and lets talk to the people and set up a young group over the internet on how they should start a movement, to clean up the carbage.
What are you doing about it?. Are you cleaning up your trash and recycle it at home.? Do you use energy efficient light bulb?. Are you using energy efficient cars. Do you throw your weeds in the trash?. Learn and teach others
Yeah, some Lao peoples want to live in filth and refuse to listen to or to accept or admit criticism from other Lao peoples. Those who don't admit their bad attitude or laziness are laid-back Lao and irresponsible.
Yes, in Laos the second language is French after Lao. The third is English, although Lao people mostly know English better than French. There is an agreement between Laos and France.
"Dock Fa Ngum" - sounds like Laos has a lot of ships and the word " dock' has no relation with "Tha Non Fagnum" at all.
Probably, the author of this poster has learnt the " Farang Dong" language. Or else he knows French not well.
That is not Russian, for sure and not Lao either.
If that word was Lao, the author of this poster would have gone to prison. Who dare would call Fa Ngum, the person who all Lao people really respect, as a Kwai. (just for fun).