Dear All,
A week ago I was sweating it out with a stomach bug and intense pervasive windless heat really making being in Bun Tai somewhat ghastly. And I had 800kg of rice in my living room. And I still do as apparently the government here locally thinks it might be the wrong kind of rice […]
Dear All,
Yes indeed I do have 800kg of seed rice in my living room and jolly good it looks too. Indeed who needs a coffee table when you can have a pile of creaking pink leaking rice sacks that have transformed my house into even more of a barn than it already was. I just […]
Dear All,
I’m safely back up in Bun Tai, in Phongsaly province, after a really great break in Vientiane and some meetings in Thailand. I dearly love being back up here, but I really can’t say why I love it so much.
The journey up had a slightly strange moment, when I lost control of my truck […]
Dear All,
On Monday morning I start the long drive back up to Bun Tai, in Phongsaly province; this time I’ll split the drive over 2 days (the drive takes between 18-20hrs usually).
And I’m nervous. It is a little like how when you go in for dental work the first time is scary because it is […]
Dear All,
I’m writing this update in the rather more luxurious surroundings of central Vientiane, having just visited my favourite French-Lao cafe. I’ve been dreaming for months of having my perfect Saturday morning again, a lazy breakfast, a gentle stroll, butterflies and hummingbirds dancing around me as I strolled. It is my favourite time of the week, […]
Dear All,
It has been an odd week, no I mean a really odd week. Some weeks here are merely a little odd, but some like this past one really push the boundaries a little. It all started last Sunday with some pork I’d bought in the market the previous day. My cleaning lady didn’t come […]
Dear All,
The other morning I was standing outside the door of my house, drinking my normal strength coffee, when I saw a house walk down the street accompanied by some extraordinarily amourous grunting from the 30 or 40 poor souls who were carrying it. Instead of building a new house, the family had obviously decided […]
Dear All,
I’m tired, really horribly tired at the moment, and finding life up here pretty tough at the moment in lots of ways. I struggle with all the obviuous things, singleness is like a sore that doesn’t heal for me and it is quite an isolated life up here. But I’m learning a lot about […]
Dear All,
This morning, whilst doing something or other on my computer and drinking my coffee, I saw an elephant walk about 200 yards from my window. It was one of the ones used for logging trees and looked in wonderful health. This is a land that used to be known as the “Land of a […]
Dear All,
Life up here really is rather hectic at the moment, but I adore working up here and adore the work so much. I’m very happy indeed being up here, working with the hill tribes. We have a disease outbreak in one of our villages, it is nasty disease called Leptospirosis (sometimes known as Weils […]