Back from Laos

My friends' reaction when they heard I was going to Laos was "for what?". Some even thought I was going there for a mission or expedition trip. Well, truth be told, visiting Laos didn't really cross my mind until I heard that Cindy was going there to teach for a month. It presented the perfect opportunity for me to visit yet another ASEAN nation. I've always had a softspot for Southeast Asian nations, for they are rich in culture and heritage. The language, the tradition, the culture, the architecture, the art, the costumes are all so beautiful and mystical.

It's a pity this whole move towards development. Who defines what being a developed country is? Increasing GNP? Rising economy? Industrialisation?

We visit these people and we think to ourselves: They are so poor. They live in thatched homes. They work in the padi fields. The children are scantily dressed. But they are poor by whose standards? Ours? Won't there always be people richer than us? They have their 3 meals too. They have their own homes. They have sufficient to live day by day. They even have their own transportation. Some own their own motorcycles. Others own tuk-tuks or even boats for their business.

This whole move towards development kills the heritage of a place. Especially when somehow development equates itself to westernisation. When there is a need to artificially preserve the heritage of the place (think S'pore)... danger presents itself.

Its sad when I see the children who speak such good English, using it to sell their goods. Education is the key to development, we say. Build libraries say the humanitarians. But do they even need libraries? Is imposing what we think they need going to improve their lives? And who are we to say that their lives are not good? That it even needs improving in the 1st place?

I'm no economist or politician. But I do know that Americanisation isn't the blueprint for a better life. It isn't the icon of economic development. Each country must know what it is they have that others don't and flaunt their assets, rather than imitate in an attempt to be like others. Because imitation will never rise up to being equal to the real thing.

Vientianne, Luang Prabang, they are charming little towns.