Laos and Language

The international bus from Mukdahan to Savannakhet takes just under an hour. The two towns sit on the Mekong River directly across from each other. A couple years ago the new “Friendship Bridge” was built to connect Thailand and Laos. Someone described Laos and Thailand as having a brother/sister relationship - Thailand seeing themselves as the big brothers.

It seems Laos, colonized by the French, has gotten the short end of the stick in Southeast Asia. Alongside Cambodia, the people have mostly endured hardship in the recent past. But around 1000 years ago, before the colonial borders were drawn on a map, the area that is Laos today was part of the Angkorean empire that dominated much of the Southeast Asia peninsula.

Today, Laos may be on its way back due to a growing tourist industry and relatively improving economy. Many young backpackers and travelers now chose to visit Laos in order to escape the engulfing westernization of today’s Thailand. Many describe Laos in comparison to Thailand 30 to 40 years ago.

I was applying for a visa in Savannakhet when I met an interesting young lady. She had a small photo shop set up in a ramshackle structure taking visa-size photos for people who were passing through the Thai consulate. I wasn’t very confident when she sat me down behind the thatched bamboo divider to take my picture, but it was going to be an easy transaction since she spoke clear English.

After the third take, in three minutely different positions, she was finally satisfied. I walked up to her aging computer to take a look just as she dropped the picture into Photoshop. In a matter of a few seconds she adjusted the colors and tone, took the shine off my sweaty face, artistically removed the strap from the bag over my shoulder, and moved me around in the frame to a perfectly centered position. Now I was impressed.

I asked her if she was from Laos, and yes she was. I asked her how she got so good at speaking English, and she insisted her English wasn’t very good. She told me she was much better in French and Vietnamese because she couldn’t write well in English – Thai was easy because it is very similar to Laotian. She spoke five Languages, now I was even more impressed.

While my six passport-size pictures were printing, She told me she looking to get out of Laos. I asked her where she wanted to go? Vietnam. There is much more money to be made in Vietnam she told me. Her sister was in Vietnam and she was going to join her soon, hopefully. And truth is, even for English instructors, there is good money to be made in Vietnam.

She was happy. She was talented, especially in language. She had many people around her shop that day and her small business was doing well. There are so many talented people in the world; this is just one fine example.

Visa Across The Mekong

One of the requirements for teaching English in Thailand is - you must enter the country on a “non-immigrant B” (business) visa. To get the non-immigrant B visa you are required to have an official letter from the school you will be teaching for, and, present the letter to a Thai consulate in another country. This requires foreigners who have the inappropriate visa to leave Thailand, then return, before they are able to get the necessary work permit to legally work in the country. Most common, this means a trip to Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam. For me it was a trip to Savannakhet, Laos.

I needed to get to Mukdahan, the Thai border town just across the Mekong River from Savannakhet. I opted against taking a flight, which is the easier, faster, but more expensive way to get to Mukdahan. Instead, I would travel by local bus. This venture required a seventeen-hour ride including three transfers. So, as the sun set in the smoke-filled air, (it is currently burning season) the large bus swayed from side to side leaving the small streets surrounding the bus terminal.

The route would take me through Northeastern Thailand, or what is known as Issan. (pronounced “ee-sawn”) As far as tourism is concerned, Issan is one of the lesser-beaten paths. In the northern reaches of Issan, mountains dominate the landscape. As you head further East and South, towards the Mekong River, the land levels off and water buffalo still outnumber tractors. It is not uncommon to see the large beasts knee deep in mud, pulling a wooden plow, preparing the flooded rice fields for planting.

After the long ride I stepped off the air-conditioned bus into the hot air and crawled onto the tuk-tuk (a colorful modified motorcycle with 2 rear wheels and covered seating for 3-4 people) I stretched my back and realized I had survived the marathon ride. The tuk-tuk dropped me off at the Submukdah Grand, one of the nicest mid-priced hotels I have encountered in Thailand. For 500 baht, or about 14 US dollars, I laid down in a quiet room that was so clean it sparkled. When you find a clean place like this in Thailand, after a long journey, you feel like you just hit the lottery.

Boats from all over East Asia travel the Mekong, making Mukdahan a trade center. The pleasant and attractive small town, about 40,000 strong, is known for it’s riverside Indochina market. There is an endless string of shops selling everything one could possible imagine. Here you can buy fingernail clippers, bug zappers, steering wheel covers, cleavers, underwear, toys, musical instruments, rugs, bamboo birdcages, key chains, sunglasses, cooking supplies, candy, scarves, jewelry in all shapes and sizes, hats, and anything else you could possibly imagine. If you need a widget or gadget, with a little searching, you can find it here.

Later that evening I listened to the shops shutting down. I watched young boys learning to break-dance on the pier, bugs swarming around the large street lamps, and the lights from small fishing boats flicker on the water. It was a warm summer evening in Southeast Asia when the full orange moon rose slowly over the Mekong River.

The next day I would go to Laos…