Christmas Blues

One if the MDG for Laos is "Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger". However, chances to be realized are "Unlikely", according to UNDP. French Queen Marie Antoinette was once quoted "Let them eat cake" when she learned about a shortage of bread. In Laos, I see "All you can eat" and "Mammoth burger" events coming up. For me, it is a quite cynical (as a B52 drink is). I am not complaining about (luxury) expat life in general. It is more about the message and how it may received by those how can't participate in the events. Maybe it's just my Christmas blues.

What's the future for Laos economic boom?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/18/us-laos-investment-idUSTRE7BH06F20111218 I disagree with this article. First of all Western countries pay a lot for health and rural development. Second, China and Vietnam just buying the country. A lot of property in Vientiane is already in VN hands. Logging takes place in the south, basically unregulated, and in the north China is building ghost towns for future gamblers. None of the Lao phone companies makes profit, and the same goes basically for most SOEs. Beer Lao might be different. The income from dams is nice, but will not be enough. Yes, there is a boom, but it will not take long then Laos is facing the same problems like Vietnam right now: Investors cash in and run away. Regional companies, especially from the neighbors, just have one advantage: They can deal better with corruption. This and the total lack of law enforcement is the reason why Western companies are careful. In Vietnam we saw that investment and return of investments isn't the same process. Just an example: I was told that in Laos local DVDs are not much copied because people are afraid to be sued. But copying foreign movies isn't a problem at all - because a foreign company has basically no tools for getting justice here. I still believe the current boom won't last long. While Vietnam can rely in a export crisis on it's large population and the domestic market, Laos doesn't have this advantage. It is depending on foreign investment, what means giving concessions and creating income based on the fees and taxes. Mining seems already to be on it's peak, logging might decrease following more protests of local farmers suffering from landslides, and most property in Vientiane is sold already. As long as there is no market supervision and regulation, a safe business environment and enforced laws, Laos is still a high risk place for business.

Getting a taste for wine in Vientiane (Laos)

It is not that we don't have wine in Laos. Compared to Thailand wine is actually cheap here and we have quite a good selection so far. Thanks to the french community, wine is accepted here, thanks to winemakers around the world good wine is available here as well.

Today started a new aera of wine in Laos. The shop Wine 95 (named after the the years it's owner Vansom Vilivong started his wine business, an import-export company) is located right in the heart of Laos, next to the Jazzy Brick Bar and just a few meters from the Phimphone supermarket. It is a classy wine bar. The concept is new and refreshing. I am one of the kind of wine lovers who don't really care about a label. I drink wine that taste good for me. The problem: Most venues have only a small selection of wine by the glass, so you usually stick with that to avoid the risk of opening a (expensive) bottle you don't like. That's where Wine 95 comes in. First of all they have different wines every week. Seven red wines, 4 white and sometimes sparkling. Then, for 10.000 KIP (a bit more than one Dollar), you get a tasting glass. If you like it, you can have a half glass, a full glass or a bottle. The owners daughter told me that they see the place as a venue for people who love to drink wine and having a new experience sometimes. But a wine bar isn't just good because of the wine selection. Interior is also important, and that is something the Phonesavanh family did just right. It is cosy and classy, but not too High-So. It has style, but it's not the kind of overexposed luxury you will find in Asia too many times. The design has been done by someone who had a vision about this place and just realized it. You feel comfortable and relaxed here, especially upstairs. No Smoking, what just fits well to enjoying wine. Jazz music, sometimes live performances (I heard there will be Mozart in January).

Of course it is not a cheap place, but style and taste have it's price. I rather pay more for something well done and executed than for a trendy place where the owners have no clue what they actually sell. Wine 95 is open Tuesday - Sunday (closed Mondays) from 5pm to midnight. No food, but wine and cocktails.

Looking for a job in Laos ?

My friend Keo launched today the JOB108 magazine and website. While the magazine will be published three times a month with 4000 copies, the website of course provides jobs 24/7 for everyine interested in human resources in Laos.

The magazine in black and white with some color pages provides job ads as well as advice for jobseekers, something that is really important in Laos. Since the basic idea of career isn't developed that much in this country, 108Job wants to fill the gap and being a bridge between employees and employers. So in case you have some job advertising or jou are looking for a job, give it a try. The magazine is just 5000 KIP, less than a Dollar. Advertising isn't that expensive either, just call the editors. More details given on the website http://108job.la/

B-52 in Laos - the drink and the background

For all hipsters in Laos, who don't know the background of the B-52 drink. The name refers to the US B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber. This bomber was used in the Vietnam War for the release of incendiary bombs, which likely inspired today's flaming variant of the cocktail; another hypothesis centers on B-52 combat losses ("Burns like a B-52 over Hanoi"). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-52_(cocktail)) Yes, these bombers were also used in Laos. So please think twice before celebrating with a B-52 drink in Laos.

How to Create Jobs? Ask an Award-Winning Social Enterprise in Cambodia

I just post the press release here. These guy do a pretty good job, I just hope they will get more contracts from the private sector. An American job-creating social enterprise was recognized with the eAsia Award for Best Employment Creation Initiative in Asia. The award was presented to Digital Divide Data at a ceremony in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Digital Divide Data is an innovative social enterprise that delivers high-quality content business process outsourcing services to clients globally. “Digital Divide Data has created hundreds of jobs for youth in Cambodia, Laos and Kenya,” said Michael Chertok, a co-founder and board member. “We accomplish this through a strong recruiting and training program, coupled with a business that provides content digitization services to clients, including eBook creation, newspaper and archive digitization, handwriting transcription, and survey data entry.” For the past 10 years, Digital Divide Data has used a model called “impact sourcing” to consistently grow enterprises that build skills and create jobs. eAsia is an annual international event with the objective of reinforcing technology and knowledge-centric growth and needs of Asia. The eAsia Awards have the aim of acknowledging unique and innovative initiatives in the use of Information and Communication Technology for Development. Nominations for the awards are screened by an eminent jury, which selects award recipients in each category. The Award for Best Employment Creation Initiative is in the category of Driving Economy. eAsia is sponsored Cisco Systems, GPiT, HP, Huawei, Intel, Polycom, Samsung and UNDP. Digital Divide Data (DDD) is an innovative, internationally acclaimed social enterprise. They deliver high-quality data conversion services to global clients to create jobs for talented youth in developing countries. Their clients receive competitively priced, world-class data preservation and content conversion services. This business empowers their staff with the skills and experience they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

short movies in luang prabang

kind a live blogging from the luang prabang film festival. please go to the visitors center at project space and watch the lao short movies. i really like calendar and A Small Dog Life. And The Risk produced by Kino. Every day 10am and 2pm