jan's diary

In our ten years long tradition to spend New Year’s Eve in a different country every year we slept our way from Bangkok to Nong Khai and crossed the Mekong river over to Laos on the train below.

Laos opened up for tourists fifteen or so years ago. On many buildings and private homes two flags are swaying.

In our desire to visit Luang Prabang we took a bus to Vang Vieng, one third of the way, and almost too far for the kids’ patience,  after one night in the capital Vientiane.

I am enjoying Tom Yam on the riverside of Mekong our first night in Vientiane.

The streets are called Rue and one of the favourite past times is also a French heritage.

Jan Thomas ready for kayaking for the second time this year. This time on a river in Laos.

Rule #1: Keep your tongue straight!

Restaurant with view in Vang Vieng.

We decided Luang Prabang was out of reach this time, so we returned by bus to the capital. Four hours with the most common speed sign saying 30km/h and bridges advising drivers to enter one vehicle at a time. Both rules were violated. We would like to have returned by boat, but Sebastian’s young age did not go down well with the captain. Next time. Laos has no railways and the roads are far from straight so river locomotion is a better way to travel.

Art found on a restaurant wall.

Happy New Year!

Waiting for the train to Bangkok.

If the rest of the world cannot get it right in these unhappy times, this tiny Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalayan mountains says it is working on an answer.

“Greed, insatiable human greed,” said Prime Minister Jigme Thinley of Bhutan, describing what he sees as the cause of today’s economic catastrophe in the world beyond the snow-topped mountains. “What we need is change,” he said in the whitewashed fortress where he works. “We need to think gross national happiness.” More

Some years back I came up with my own definition of a materially wealthy person. It is someone who very seldom thinks about money. It is someone who does not let money drive his life. He can be materially very rich or materially very poor according to the traditional views. A happy man in Vanuatu.

How does the average temperature during the year differ in various places I have lived, or may like to live?

The image below gives the answer. Click it to get a better picture. Source.