Vang Vieng adventure

Around the time of the G20 summit, I set out on an outing with our own little G5 to Vang Vieng. With five people from five leading Western nations (Germany, England, France, Australia, USA) exploring in Laos, it was bound to be a cultural experience. The first day we set out from our guesthouse in kayaks. The water level was low, but we were the only ones out and it was quite beautiful and peaceful. As I had not really kayaked before, I partnered with Bertrand from France in the one double kayak while the other three set out in single kayaks. Things were going quite well, until we came to a small rapid with low water levels. Bertrand and I ended up hitting the bottom and eventually capsizing. After expending significant effort to retrieve our boat and empty it of water, I moved to a single kayak and let some other folks try the double. Wise decision on my part, as that double kayak had suffered an injury and began taking on water. The hole grew as did the water problem in the craft. We made it a couple kilometers further downstream before watching the duo in at the time sink suddenly to the bottom of the river. We were reluctantly forced to abandon the double kayak at a guesthouse along the river. The five of us then set out in the remaining three single kayaks--I therefore took to swimming. It would have been fine, except the water level was so low that crossing the rapids in the current was a bumpy, painful experience. As we entered the area where the backpacker crowd was having their drunken, drugged fun, we just watched in fascination. It is amazing that more people don't get injured there than do as it looks like pure stupidity. As evening was approaching, we paddled and swam toward town, but it turned out to be further than we anticipated. The swimmers were getting cold and tired and eventually we hired a boat to take some folks into town. Irwin and I continued paddling. As dusk turned to dark, we had still not arrived at the town and I was thinking new thoughts about stupidity. Irwin and I were quite thankful to see the lights of town and were more than happy to climb out on shore. I think we all slept soundly that night.

The next day we set out on a trek to a cave where there were reportedly rock climbing routes. This turned out to be another adventure as we came across a very, very rickety bridge across the river with not enough bamboo to reliably hold up under a person's weight. Several of us ended up fording the river which was its own adventure. After asking many locals, we finally came across the cave, but did not think it was the cave we were actually seeking. After a lot of pondering, we finally realized that we needed to walk through the 150 m long cave to get to the rocks on the other side of the mountain. As one member of our group was quite claustrophobic, she and I trekked over the mountain. It was a nice view from the top, but I would have much preferred the cool, much less strenuous tunneled route. I think we were all quite amazed when the overland travelers caught up with the tunnelers at the long sought climbing routes. The fried rice our guesthouse owner had prepared for our lunch was very welcomed, even if it did leave its grease all over several of the backpacks. I watched the climbers do their thing and then we set out in reverse. We all went back through the cave and traversed with locals who led the way with their flaming torches. It was quite an experience. We all forded the river on the way back, but this time, I slipped and end up walking back in a very wet state. Again, we were quite relieved to make it back to the guesthouse, but it was that good kind of tired after a wonderful adventure.

Bowling Fun

Part of the bowling crew. Dr. Veokham throws the first bowling ball of his lifetime while Dr. Sisomphone looks on in her bowling skirt.

There was a fair amount of anxiety in the air in April as the end of the academic year was drawing near. The current residents were anxious about their final exam; the new residents are anxious about orientation and starting the program; and I was anxious as to whether any of it would actually happen. Thankfully, however, things seemed to have gone well and we are set to begin a new academic year on a positive note. To celebrate, I decided we should turn Thursday night lecture into a bowling extravaganza. It was a great night of laughter and cheer. For most, it was the first time they had ever bowled and the different bowling styles were quite amusing. It was good to see everyone having a good time and experience something new. They all seemed to be truly appreciative of the outing and I think it was money well spent, even if some of the first-timers did out bowl me

And, yes I did give it a try myself.
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Queens Day Football Tournament

Australia vs. Multinational Team


Netherlands vs. England


Sweden vs. Vientiane International

One of the things I enjoy about living in Vientiane is the interaction with the expatriate community. People from a wide variety of countries live and work together and I enjoy learning more about their countries and cultures through them. My knowledge of Australia has increased significantly through my interactions with friends here as well as listening to the Australian Broadcasting Channel. Like today is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand to honor war veterans. Today, I was asked to help with the first aid tent at the Dutch Queen's Day football tournament held at the Vientiane International School. Teams from the Netherlands, Sweden, France, England, Australia and a hodge-podge interanational team took on a few local Lao teams. It was quite entertaining. Of course, the whole time I was hoping there would be no serious injuries since for all my medical training, I don't have a lot or practical skills for things like sports related injuries. Thankfully, I just had a few superficial abrasions to clean. I enjoyed watching the soccer and wonder why America doesn't adopt this sport. It just seems so much more entertaining, safer and requires less equipment than American footbal.

Lane Xang Bug

So I came out of my gate the other day to find the partner VW bug to the Lane Xang scooter. It certainly is eye catching, but I still strongly dislike the idea of advertising alcohol on motor vehicles.

Beer Lao Scooter

What is wrong with this picture? At the recent elephant festival, we found the Beer Lao booth promoting their special festival brand beer--Lane Xang (Million Elephants--name of the former Kingdom in what is present-day Laos). They were having a raffle and it looked like the grand prize was this Lane Xang Beer scooter. Alcohol plays a large role in the Lao culture and being unable to perform emergency surgery because you are drunk or driving while intoxicated is not shameful or unaccepted. During Jon and Rose's visit, Jon gave an excellent grand rounds about the physical and societal effects of alcohol including trauma, fetal alcohol syndrome and professionalism in the medical community. I have found myself in some uncomfortable and unsafe situations due to the lack of societal understanding of drunk driving. I once was riding with someone I thought had drank more than he should have and listened as he told me about his long time physician friend who had died in an alcohol-related crash that week. There seemed to be no understanding that this could happen to him (or innocent others), too.

I have noticed some signs around town placed by the Beer Lao company discussing responsible use of alcohol, but they are not wide-spread and I doubt they are effective. The government has a significant financial stake in Beer Lao which is a conflict for public health issues. The no smoking campaigns have taken off in the hospitals. We will see how long it takes for responsible use of alcohol to be aggressively promoted.

Reanimation Unit

Entrance to the adult intensive care unit at Mahosot hospital. Somehow I suspect the outcomes aren't as good as this sign makes it sound. Animation is a pretty complex task that is not easily re-done.

It's a bird; It's a plane; It's SuperMom!

I have to admit I was a little nervous about my mom coming to SE Asia for a month for her first real travel in the developing world. How would she do with the food, accomodations, heat, TOILETS? Well, I was very impressed with how well she did. It seemed that everywhere we went there were tall steps, hills, boats or other general obstacles and she did quite well. Other than the heat stroke I almost induced for her walking from the few blocks between the Grand Palace and Wat Pho in Bangkok, there were no major catastrophes. I think she is an adventure traveler at heart, but just didn't know it before. Way to go, Mom!