Korea is funding street lights?

So now it's the Korean's turn to enlighten the city. New streetlights will build by a Korean company, as a report in the Vientiane Times aka Lao Prawda stated. Ok, will might be not right. Shall, because for now they do a feasability study. No, not for lighting, but for funding. The task is basically to see how the Korean government can fund it.
The interesting part is, that the problem in Vientaine when it gets dark is not only the lack of street lights but also the lack of working street lights. Go to the Friendship Bridge to see what happend to the recent Thai street light funding.
In Laos, there is zero understanding what maintaining even means. Also, NGOs and foreign government organisations still don't forsee this problem. Installing street lights is easy, but having back up bulps (or LEDs) and having (and paying) a maintanance guys is another story. Too many projects in developing countries have suffered from this flaw, and too many still do and will.
So even if Korea will fund the light, do not expect too much of a bright future.

Dog boarding in Vientiane - not available anymore

This content was removed because the place I once recommended isnt recommended anymore.

What is a tourist attraction in Laos?

Vientiane Times todayt writes about a new urban development project calles the That Luang Marsh:

Under the agreement, Wan Feng Shanghai will spend 12,000 billion kip (more than US$1.5 billion) to develop the marsh into a tourist attraction and cultural centre.

So, what does attract tourists? Let"s have a look on the status quo. There are two main tourists sources, Thai and western foreigners. Thai people visit mainly waterfalls and Wat Phou, some Luang Prabang. They are looking for the nature and landscape. Western tourists are looking for the ancient Laos and culture, that's why most of them go to Luang Prabang. So, what kind of tourists can be atracted by a urban development? The article says:

The development will include open spaces, a public park, lagoon, drainage, roads, a sports centre, and trade and service centres that contain five-star hotels, shopping centres and entertainment venues.The project will also include a residential area and facilities that it is hoped will attract tourists to Laos.

Will tourist come for shopping? I don't think so, since there is nothing to buy in Laos that isn't available in other countries and is cheaper there (except wine). Will tourists come for entertainment? I think Singapore, Malaysia and Hongkong are better choices, even Bangkok. There won't be a new Disneyland, instead expect a chinese park for kids, like the current waterpark. Nice for locals, but not a reason to get a plane from Bangkok or even Europe. So, I dont see any tourists coming. I see middle class Lao and expats, in particular Chinese and Korean, moving in there, as it happend in Saigons Phu My Hung area.

Do Lao people don't need to work?

Yes, this title sounds harsh, but I actually heard it from a Lao friend. We ware talking about the work force problem and that it is hard to find skilled people. Yesterday I read in the Vientiane Times that mining companies are trying their best to hire local people - however, it is still a skill problem. But as you may know from my podcast episode with Titi about career development, there is also a lack of knowledge about what working in a job means at all. For example: I know a girl working in a coffee shop. She is looking for a better job, so I arranged an interview with the owner of a foreign owned restaurant. Guess who did not show up? She said she wasn't feeling well and had headaches. I had this experience many times when I try to help Lao people finding another job. Don't the need to work? Let's have a look into the Lao society. In general, it is build around the family (there is a new trend I will explain later on). Family has a very high value in the Lao (also the Asian) society. The main reason is that family is providing shelter and security. It is kind of a big holding company where some enterprises are more and some other are less successful. At the end, the money is the family's money and you help each other. Also, parents want to get their kids a better life (as in most other cultures as well), so they will pay for nearly everything to make the kids happy and successful. The latter is important as they expect the kids to generate the income in the future. So as long as some of the family make enough money, the others can be a bit more relaxed. Unfortunately this is changing dramatically. Two trends are important: single young males and females moving to the cities and young couples moving into their own house or room. The singles are basically workers and students, exploring new opportunities and experiences a new life style (there is a reason why most movies in Lao covering this topic). They actually need to work hard to survive. But they still struggle with the tradition of living laid back and taking things easy. When they fail, they fall hard. The young couples have a different approach: They are middle class people, with a family that can afford to build them a house or buy an Apartment. Without the family support they rarely can afford their life style. since they are more educated and even studied abroad, they are kind of the ones creating the future of Laos. But as long as there is a huge support from the family, there is not much of an incentive to work hard and build a career. As my friend said: "They don't suffer." For now it is nearly impossible to find senior accounting staff in Laos. Also, it is quite hard to get motivated staff in hospitality. One is a education problem, the latter a mindset. Both has to be changed, if Laos wants to keep pace with other countries. It is not about lazyness, it is a bout adapting to a modern world. And get me right: The world is changing, and the huge majority of Lao people appreciate this. They just have to figure out how to find their place in it.

Gabriel Kuperman, director of the Luang Prabang film festival

Gabriel Kuperman, director of the Luang Prabang film festival, a photo by thomaswanhoff on Flickr.

Listen to him in my latest episode of the From Asia With Love podcast wanhoff.com/?p=197

Japanese investments in Laos

Interesting read about investments in Laos, in particular from Japan. It seems that EU and Japan are the doners, while the business goes to China and Vietnam. http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Japanese-firms-see-strong-investment-potential-in-Laos/3/215960.epi Why that? First of all I think that EU and Japanese business are not taking as much risk as VN and China: They look for return on investment rather than market share or to be the first. Also, business procedures are different: Industrialized countries are less likely to pay bribes and follow instead international business standards.

These emerging countries will need to transport their goods through Laos so they can increase trade value and economic cooperation. Laos' land-linked status can provide Japanese investors with investment opportunities in the service sector, including international freight operations.

This sounds nice, but Laos is quite far away from becoming a freight-hub: No streets, and if so they are not maintained and broken in less than a year. The high-speed railway is in fact on hold, since China seems to demanding way to much (a 10km special chinese business zone along the track). Once the government can assure the assure the consistence of infrastructure, this can indeed become a great income source for Laos.

Laos also has a strong workforce as most of its population is of working age.

This is when you look only at numbers. In fact, most of these workforce is unskilled, and the Japanese (and other) government trying to improve the skills. But as long as there is no major change in curriculums in public schools and in business oriented education (more practice, less textbooks), the workforce will be useless.

At present, there are 87 Japanese investment projects in Laos worth about US$540 million, with most in the areas of agriculture, hydropower and construction.

Sounds nice, but actually a lot of them failed. It all comes down to two issues: Governance and Education. This has to be improved, then Laos can have a brighter future.

Nam Phou gets "facelift" aka "We sold the heart"

In case someone wants to know what transparency means:

Work is underway to develop the Nam Phou fountain square in Vientiane after local authorities gave the go ahead for a company to build a restaurant, in a bid to attract more tourists. The development project, which will change the face of one of Vientiane’s most popular spots, will see the building of a restaurant which it is hoped will bring more visitors and business to the area. In recent weeks, people passing the fountain have become concerned about the status of this public space and have become worried that they will no longer be allowed access. Their concerns arose after the construction company erected a fence around the area in order to secure the site. A senior official from the Vientiane Administration Office told Vientiane Times yesterday that public access to the area would be allowed to continue even though some parts will become part of a private business venture. People will still be able to sit in the area to enjoy the environment provided by the fountain and there will still be an open space maintaining the overall impression of a public square.

Beside the fact that there isn't really a lack of restaurants in this area anyway and no tourist will come to Laos because of a new restaurant at Nam Phou: It is interesting that there was no advance notice about the project. It still has a bad taste. Oh, and maybe it is because mainly foreign restaurants are suffering - and who cares about them?