Blogs from West, Laos, Asia - page 6

No worries about the kayaking. A few little rapids made it a teensy bit exciting as we followed the guide. Nothing like white water rafting. I only got splashed at the front a couple of times and we ran aground once avoiding the long tail boats coming flat out up river towards us. The scenery was spectacular with the vertical limestone Karst mountains rising vertically on one side of us and lush green bush on the other. We passed two or three large Hotel construction sites on the way down to cater for the rapidly increasing tourist trade from China and South Korea. Occasionally we were accompanied by groups of young backpackers who went much faster than us, leapt in the water, or fell out, or who were chilled out ‘tubing’ with the flow. There was ... read more

A very full day today, in Vientiane, pick up at 8.30 and drop off after a drink at sunset overlooking the Mekong towards Thailand. Our guide Don, had a bit of a hiccup getting to us as the Chinese Premier is in town and many roads were blocked. From a golden stupa and Buddha to the temple where the Emerald Buddha used to be before it was moved to Thailand, to a concrete pumpkin with three levels representing heaven, hell and middle earth, plus the Cope Centre where victims of land mines are assisted with prosthetic limbs, we’ve seen it all! The golden Stupa has just had renovations carried out. The top part is solid gold, as is the Golden Buddha which the guide said weighs 10kgs. Very impressive. The whole city is very clean and ... read more

Traveling While Asian I woke up at stupid o’clock on Thursday. My plan was to catch the first bus of the morning to the border, cross into Laos, and then make my way to the boat pier to catch the 11am boat to Luang Prabang. While I was in Chiang Rai, I resisted the urge to buy my passage there as I read that it gets cheaper closer to the departure point. So, I caught the 6am bus bound for Chiang Khong near the border for 65 baht. There were about a dozen travelers, plus some locals, on that bus. The conductor collected 65 baht from all the westerners without ascertaining their destination, and then froze when she came to me. Ah, the joys of Traveling While Asian. People often hesitate because they assume I’m from ... read more

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "neglected tropical diseases" (or NTDs) refers to a diverse group of communicable diseases that are prevalent in tropical and subtropical conditions and affect over one billion people annually, often in the most underdeveloped regions of the world. The term "neglected" is used to differentiate these diseases from the three communicable diseases that typically receive a much greater portion of international research and treatment funding: HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria. While there is neither a precise nor exhaustive list of all neglected tropical diseases, as of 2017 the WHO had prioritized twenty such diseases: Buruli ulcers, Chagas disease, dengue and chikungunya, dracunculiasis, echinococcosis, yaws, foodborne trematodes, African trypanosomiasis, leischmaniasis, leprosy, lympathic filariasis, onchocerciasis ("river blindness"), rabi... read more

It's been almost three weeks since I first arrived in Laos and already my perspective on the country has changed immensely. For the first two weeks, I stayed entirely within the confines of Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. While this area is full of cafes, coffee shops, and other places that the falang (i.e. foreigners) like to frequent, the landscape and quality of life change drastically once you enter the provinces outside Vientiane. For my first "field" experience, I joined the communications team from the local World Health Organization (WHO) office and a crew from the Ministry of Health's media production unit (called the Center for Information Education for Health, or CIEH) in order to film a short educational documentary about viral hepatitis for World Hepatitis Day, which takes place every year on July 28. ... read more