Hello PH Family… Greetings from the “Land of a Million Elephants”
Arghhhh… I am so sorry for the short update last night, I told everyone it was a long day and that I was tired. But, what I did not say was that I had a pounding headache, the price I paid for drinking Beer Lao all afternoon. One thing about hangovers, they all hurt just the same, regardless of which continent or country you’re in. I am shock that I remembered to update you at all, let alone form understandable and complete sentences.
In Laos, family ties are still very strong, much stronger than their Hmong counterparts in the US, I believe. They depend and need on each other in ways that we can no longer understand or feel. For example, almost every relative that lived in KM52 came to help celebrate my “hu plig” ceremony yesterday. This is not an exaggeration, everyone, including the more distant relatives came to help cook food, eat and clean up. There were even some who came just because they were of the same clan name. It has always been this way, my grandmother tells me. During the planting and harvesting of crops, everyone offers a helping hand. If you’re done with yours, you go help your cousins, your aunts, your uncles or your in-laws. And if they are the ones to be done first, they come and help you. That’s just the way things are, all for the sake of the family and all for free. Only by doing things this way, could we have survived for so long my grandmother tells me.
Beer Lao comes in 330 ml and 640 ml bottles or 330 ml cans and is the national beer. In fact, it’s the only beer sold in Laos. After the main meal and after most of our guests have left, my cousin and I walked down to the corner store and purchased 2 cases of 12 – 640ml bottles and 4 bags of ice. Rarely, will you ever find a cold or refrigerated beer in Laos. Each case costs 90,000 kip or a little over 10.00 US Dollars. There were 5-6 of us, just talking, eating, sharing stories and having a good time. Soon, the beer was gone.
My young cousin, whom I am guessing has not been drunk many times before, decided to open the 1.75 liter of Jack Daniels I had brought him as a present from America. At some point during our drinking, a couple of the young ladies from the neighborhood had come to join us. Both ladies were recently divorced, probably in their late 20s and were living with their brothers nearby. Having a couple of women totally changes the dynamics of our conversation.. . we were now talking about relationships and heartbreaks. After a few more shots, the conversation turned to sex, lies and betrayals. I have never laughed so hard in my life. And wow!!! Can those ladies drink!? At one point, they even got my poor little cousin, who has never ever sung before, to “hai kwv txhiaj” on a dare.
My young cousin eventually got dragged away by his wife, the two ladies left and we all went to bed. Good times in Laos.
Today, I am going to explore KM52 and maybe find where the cheap hotels are, before May gets here. I am only kidding, just kidding!
Talk to you all soon,
LHG
Topic: Going to Laos... For Dummies (Like Me) (Read 227126 times)