Loy Kratong Festival in Savannakhet

Loy Kratong Festival in Savannakhet 2010

Last year in this time, it was first time for all of us to come to Laos. We didn't know it was the Loy Kratong Festival in Laos. Actually the trip was one of my best and the most memorial trip in my life.

Morning at 6:30AM, we (my sister, friends of sister and I) left for a temple and pray and feed food to our ancestors called "Sai Bart"

And Night time by Mekong River, there are so many booths selling staffs and thousands of people, it's really like the one I joined last year in Vientiane. And I made my own beautiful Roy.

But Whole of this day, I got heavy stomachache,
so I didn't really enjoy the festival.

People often think about past,
but most of the people know we should see our future.
But sometimes seeing my past gave me power.
Happy time was always happy time to think back.

雄揮 / Yuki / ยูกิ

เรือนบุน (Huan-Bun) Ceremony

Last Sunday Morning, I went to a Ceremony called Huan-Bun in Savanakhet with my Sister here. This ceremony invite Monks for a house for giving foods for their ancestors. And hosting house invite many relatives and neighborhood to do together.

Normally once or twice a week, my sister and I will feed food for monks in front of our house at 6AM.

Do you know why Monks get food or everything from the others?? Not buy it by themselves.
I got this information from a book, this is because Buddhism doesn't like to have "Class" between people and Buddha chooses to be the beggar and demonstrate no class between us.

I like this idea =)

My Friends

In the last month, two of my best friends in Thailand visited to me at Savannakhet.
I hope all of my friends around the world could visit to me and spend wonderful time together.

Both of them really like Savannakhet, because we don't have anything except nature and warm of the people. (I took the picture of water fall at PAKSE, which is different province from Savannakhet.)

Let me host you guys from all over the world.

Amazing Savannakhet

Marketing Research on national highway

ODOP products have to be nigh values products, so it should be more expensive than normal products and most of the Laos people don’t have more money. At that result, one of the biggest potential markets for the products is foreigner. In Savannakhet, we have national highway 9 road bridging between Thailand and Vietnam. And a few days ago, we ODOP team went down to Vietnam for searching market for ODOP. It took 15 hours from 7AM to 10PM.

We went to three big cities (market) and the border of the Vietnam, and asked the people about the information of people visiting to the place and looking for the potential shops where we could sell our products.

In researching, we found the construction for a roadside station supported by Japanese foundation. It will be completed in two months. But looked around the place, we couldn’t see any houses or people around the place…… Just wonder who gonna come and sell the things, and the money is coming from Japanese people’s task, such a wasting money. This is one of the typical examples that developers don’t think of the benefit of the local people.

Found something special on the way .

Social workers has to see situation of the grounds,
otherwise the supports gonna be wasting or even worse for the local people.

雄揮 / Yuki / ยูกิ

調査の為に、ベトナムの国境まで行ってきましたぁ。
15時間くらいかかって調査終了したから、くたくただぁ