Lao Voices

Since Ginger made a very informative post about the 529 Plan, I just wanted to mention another neat idea to save for college. These plans are similar to shopping reward cards, but the rewards is cash to be deposited into your child’s college savings fund. With every purchase you make, the retailers will deposit [...]

During my visit to Laos in January and February earlier this year, the giant Tang Chareon Home Appliance store in Pakse was doing some final touches. The day I left for Vientiane was the grand opening of the store and so I didn’t have a chance to be there to take photos. It wouldn’t have [...]

A TV commercial from the Lao Telecom company.

If anyone has visited Nye Noona’s blog lately, they will definitely notice her beautiful coverage of Elle Fashion Week Thailand. I won’t be surprise to see some of the designers cross over to the US soon. And one of the most popular fashion designer of Thai descent (here in the US) is Thakoon [...]

During my visit to Laos in January and February of this year, I saw a big construction site across the street from Dao Heuang Market in Pakse. I was not able to figure out what they were building and forgot to ask one of my relatives. I asked my cousin about the construction last month [...]

The airport in Pakse is being expanded at the moment. New roads will be created to go around the airport for the villages that have given up homes and rice farms for the new airport. Ban Houayrao for example will need a road near the Mekong River since the main road will be in the [...]

I was talking to someone who is in a position to lend money, he said that an Asian restaurant that he often visits, the owner approached him and asked if he’d borrow money from him. At first, he thought it might be a couple of thousands, but after he learned that it’d be about [...]

I came across an article from CFO magazine about China Olympics, very interesting that the Olympics event will begin on 8/8/08, which the Chinese regard eight as a lucky number, and a triple eight compounds its value. All this time, I thought that 7 and 9 are lucky numbers. This is very interesting article, one [...]

When I first introduced Big Brother Mouse (BBM), I didn’t expect many questions over the matter and only wrote on my post here and also my blog that “I don’t know a lot about them”, but ignorance on my part is no excuse and I feel that I owe to my readers an apology for [...]

Investing in Laos takes time and perseverance. Any potential investor should study Laos’ rules and regulations carefully in order to be abel to create a successful business in Laos.
According to the Worldwatch Institute, any foreign investor seeking to establish Lao operations must submit project proposals to the ForeignInvestment Management Cabinet (FIMC) committee for investment and [...]

Building the Nam Theun 2 dam could become a very beneficial project for Laos. Not in the way you would expect. The highest expectations of Nam Theun 2 are direct financial gains for the Lao government. That remains to be seen. The investment in the Nam Theun might not be a very profitable one.
Hans Luther [...]

Most Lao families probably have a couple of traditional silk scarves already. But in case anyone is still looking for one, this company A World of Good has them for sale at $20. They also sell Lao made placemats and handbags too. Each one of your purchases will go a long way. [...]

In the light of education most people focus on schools and educational programs. After all, schooling programs provide the power of knowledge to many. Learning to read and write are essential skills for the citizens of a country and will build the country as a whole. Without sufficient education, little or no economic growth is [...]

Americans are classified as “hard workers”, but not necessarily the most productive, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. It has compared America’s output per worker, and output per hour, with that of other rich countries.
Using output per hour, however, shows a different picture. Employees in Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and France all churn out [...]

During my visit to Laos in January and February of this year I couldn’t help but to notice consumer products from China, flooding the markets all over the country. I asked many of my relatives In Vientiane Province as well as in Champassack Province how they feel about products from China and they all agreed [...]