31 March Storm over Thailand

From Vientiane Daily Photo

I was out on my morning run when I saw the clouds building up over Thailand. I figured that I'd be able to do my 3-mile loop and get home before if rained here - if it did rain. I figgered wrong and I was nearly home when the storm broke. I spent a half hour on a person's porch and finally decided to run in the rain, which was starting to ease. Of course, once I got home, the rain stopped.

The first storms during this time of the year are pretty exciting.

30 March Naga Head

From Vientiane Daily Photo

The community has been building a new Bodt, building to house the main Buddha images. Even though the building itself is not quite completed, the painting in the main areas of the temple and construction of the stairway is moving along. These figures are heads of the Naga, the serpent which protected the Buddha while he was in meditation in search of the Middle Path.

29 March - starting to harvest

From Vientiane Daily Photo

The main rice growing season runs from the start of the rainy in May/ June through October. There are broad flat areas of land around Vientiane, which can support a second growing season. The fields are irrigated and the weather is warm. Most people start harvesting in May but I think these folks must have planted early.

The rainy season also seems to come earlier around Vientiane and later in the provinces. The effect of climate change? A few years ago, people could plan their planting so they would harvest in May - but the rains came early, causing the rice plants to mildew and the rice itself to ferment.

28 March Fishing in the Mekong

From Vientiane Daily Photo

Millions of people depend on the Mekong for food. In Vientiane, there are both fish farms, raising tilapia, as well as people living along the banks. I often see people carrying one or two fish up the steep embankment, on their way to a nice breakfast.

People also use a variety of nets. With this kind of net, smaller fish can be caught - sink the net and pull it up. Each time, the man seemed to be able to catch a few minnows.

27 March 2009 Early Morning Market

From Vientiane Daily Photo

Market near my house in the early morning with all the essentials that people need - baskets, brooms, rice and charcoal produced locally.

Phiavath Nagas

From Vientiane Daily Photo

The Naga King protected the Lord Buddha from a thunderstorm, while he meditated under a Bodhi tree. The Naga are part of the architecture of Buddhist temples in Laos, especially part of the stairways.

Wat Sri Meuang

I thought this bird was a statue - until it started to move. I thought maybe it was like a scarecrow to frighten other birds away from nesting on the stupa. Anyway, it seems that it is the king of the mountain, or the stupa.

Vientiane Street Scene

Corner along the river road. I've been amusing myself by using Photo-stitch, although some of my images don't stitch together too well. Check out the power lines; they look like they are stuck between two universes.

Dok Khun

From Vientiane

Commonly known as the 'golden shower tree,' the Dok Khun flowers start to bloom just before New Year. In Thailand and Laos, the flowers, tied together in bunches, are used for scattering water for water blessing ceremonies. They are also in the silver bowl of water used for the New Year's blessings. Since they have so many cultural uses, it's easy to see why the Dok Khun is the National Flower of Thailand.

Whenever I see the flowers, I feel the great lazy feeling of this time of the year. March through May are the hot season, with the hottest part of the year during mid-April, which is the time of the Lao New Year.

Starting out

I've been taking pictures and uploading them to a variety of blogs but I suddenly realized that there's a whole collection of blogs focusing on cities around the world. I decided that it was time to put Vientiane on the map.

Vientiane is the capital city of Lao PDR (which stands for People's Democratic Republic). Many people pronounce the name 'Vi-en-tee-en;' however, the Lao pronounce their city 'Vieng-chan.' The name means 'City of Sandalwood,' although Chan can also refer to the moon and many people believe it means 'Beautiful Moon City.'

Lao people call their country Meuang Lao or more formally, Prathet Lao. The French renamed the country Laos, which the Lao can not pronounce easily as there is no final s sound in Lao and Thai languages. To confound matters, the adjective form of Laos because Laotian, which Lao people don't ever use (except in English language lessons). The adjective form is Lao. However, most people, Lao included, use the word Laos to talk about their country.

Here's the Lao map, which shows Vientiane, on the Mekong River. Directly across the river is the Thai city of Sri Chiang Mai. 20 miles to the east is Nong Khai. With the opening of the Friendship Bridge, it's very easy to take day trips to Nong Khai for sight-seeing and shopping. I often meet my neighbors over there on the weekends.

From Vientiane

From Vientiane

This is my first photo - Wat Meuang Wa, which is near the airport. It's one of the older temples in this area of the city. The old community hall was a beautiful old teak building, which finally had to be rebuilt because of termites. There are now two dormitories for the monks and the new concrete building to the right of the picture is offices and classrooms. An old concrete building housing the main Buddha image is in the process of being rebuilt.

I hope that many people will stop here sometime to see my photos of one of the most beautiful and laid back cities in Asia. I also hope posting photos every day will help me to look up the histories of spots that I pass by every day.