12/9/11 FRIENDS AND FENCED PADDY FIELDS

As I woke up, siting to have my breakfast at the corridor outside my hotel room, at the Water Front Walkway, two brothers, enjoying to their favourites. They were in raged, look dirty with all those mouthful chocolate or as such which I couldn’t verify. At a distance, a mother with three kids, one a small daughter, sucking her morning breakfast. The mother just let herself go. In front of them seated a young girl tendering to the sale of her honey dews. One by one passers-by gone by, no one stop to buy. Seem not a Honey Day for her. Laos, the longer I stay the only word I could say: day by day, the real images becoming into play, what you see here is just an International Display of what I called a new colonization way.

(2) I took the tuk-tuk to the airport. Purposely to be early anticipating some hiccup along the way. I made the tuk-tuk to make quick round the town, there are so many things still to study. Preservation and restoration works are all over the places. Good to really study probably for a week. All are made according to local standard and culture. Simple but pleasant. The only complain, all works seem a strategy for foreign ownership. UNESCO supervised it, the France and American bought them. The local just manage the properties with small fee, just like my new known friend Yang Lee the Luang Prabang River Lodge Night Care Taker, paid U$80.00 a month with no other fee. A new way of re-colonization, if not through war but by money, the corporate way. CSR may be they called it. This, we must be aware in our pursuit to develop fast all that we have and left, especially when funding is not with our controlled.

(3) Since Vientien to Luang Prabang, the Cities are clean. I don't see the gabbage lorries running around. I don’t see pile of rubbish be even at the back alleys. I don’t see stray dogs or cats. I don’t encounter rats. There is no beggar. I don’t see homeless. I don’t see so many that I see even in Singapore. Amazing, despite they are poor. The night lives are nice and calm. No pom pom boom boom the Bangkok way. People just sit by the Cafés, Restaurants, or Bars and enjoy thing a cool and quiet way. How, why? The socialist has it way.

(4) Tourists are to respect the Buddhism norms: No kissing in public, Lady No Hug the monk, Help the Old, No Encourage Bagging, No Bare Chest, No Half Bikini, No Loud (Drunk and Shout), Can Take Photo with Permission, and many others posted at the Guest House, Tuk-Tuk, Public places, etc. I wonder, no complain. Try this in Malaysia, the whole world would say we are undemocratic, uncivilized, inhumane, etc. Why? Probably because we speak too good English and the angmo just want us to be one of them. I would say, since we understand the west too much, thus they just want us not to go too fast or they would be by pass.

(5) Let put on only sarong or kemban and let walk in New York Main Street, their eyes will stare at us as if we are monkeys. But see them here, or at Silom Street in Bangkok, I would say, they just look like pig! Unfortunately, such word doesn’t mean anything anymore as hoard is already their sleeping partner pet.

(6) I sat at the boarding hall. My name many times was called, but due to the way my dad was called:Mr Cha Ha Mat, I thought it was not me that they called, till Yang Lee pat on my shoulder. I was shocked. He took me to the Check-In counter. They just need to have my passport photocopy. Lee really made an effort to see me. Yesterday, he promised to see me before he left from work, but since I didn’t came out of my room till 0800 hours he just went off. Here, at the airport he made his way just to say goodbye to me. He bluffed the security saying that if he couldn’t see me, he will just cry and don’t want to go back. Probably his luck, he was allowed to be in even in that security area.

(7) This is Yang Lee account of his life. He came from the southern district. He came over to Luang Prabang to work. He started at the Beer Brewing Factory. The salary is reasonably good but he had to work from seven in morning till three in dawn. He can’t stand the long hours. He then work in many places. He hardly can survived until one day he met a traveller whom he shown him around. He then was advice to get to College and the Switz traveller paid for his two full years study. Later he work as the Library assistance and photographer. All paid him bad. Then he joined the hotel whom paid him only U$80.00 a month. He did many part time jobs to get more. He is thin and weak. I could see he don’t eat and rest well.

(8) He had been my buddy for the duration of my stay at Luang Prabang River Lodge. We talked and I took him for good food. I encourage him to learn better English, but he said he has no money to pay for the tuition. My advice to him is rather simple, following my pathway. Initially, my English was neither good when I first join the service. I studied in Kelantan who hate English or even other than Kelantanese dialect. Later I went over to the National University of Malaysia which used total Malays in all its courses. Thus, when I joined the service in 1986, I felt I was in another part of the world. But since I don’t have money for my English tuition: I took the old news papers back home. I read and read. First silently, later a bit of murmuring. I memories the spelling and meaning of words day by day. I dare myself then to say aloud many words and start talking to friends. I don’t bother their cynical smiles when my pronunciations were not correct. Thereon, I learnt how to get them perfect. I also tried hard to write. Many instances, my papers in English were marked with many red. I don’t bother, I never gave up, I worked on my English, then there am I as I am today. I told Lee that. I advised him to do as that. Just read and read and understand. Never be shy. He promised me he’ll do it. And here he is just next to me to see me boarding.

(9) Rosane, a taxi operator in Vientien. He came from the poor far northern province, probably equal to Belaga back home. When he first set his feet in Vientien, he can’t even eat. Things were so expensive for him. He met his present wife who was a government servant then paid at U$150.00 a month, she came from far south. This is really North met South and they settled in the Center. A fair choice. Rosane himself had gone through the rough life of Yang Lee, moving one job to another. He was determine to change and he made it. He took the hard decision to quite his public service job, and run his on taxi. At the last day dinner, the wife asked me how old am I, and she smile at the husband who is merely 35, but look much older than his age. Poverty, miseries had taken away his life, his age. That night as we depart, I was handed over by the wife three packs of nice Laos mountain coffee which I used to drink at the Luang Prabang River Lodge. She seriously requesting me to take my family to visit them soonest and would love to cook for us. I was touched. Really touched.

(10) At least here in Laos I met hard working and honest poor people: Rosane and Yang Lee

(11) Yesterday Laos country side sceneries really makes me think hard all the way in the flight from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap. Going through those in my PC, by accident I took some scenes in a much cynical way. To some it was a photographic art, but, thinking through, I found I was capturing a very different message.

(12) The green paddy fields, the blue distance mountains as the larger back drop while the teakwood forest at the forefront, they seem to give us a cool nice thing to see. Fantastic. Great. Peaceful and delighting. Our soul come to peace with nature. We are very much at ease. Tranquil in fact. Take a deep breath. Walk into the village. Sit down. Observe carefully all the scenes. Not the paddy fields, mountains or the forests. See the people. Kids under the house. In torn rag and bare footed. Some may just naked even the girls. Firewood pilling. Look into their eyes. Look into their lives. Can we not see their miseries. A dollar to us is just a drink. A dollar to them is a whole day living. Why? For the Laos, that is for them to answer, but for us in Malaysia or Sarawak for that matter, do many of us have that feel. We don't have to go far, just have an evening drive to Bintawa, Gita Kubor, Tabuan Lots, Samariang Batu,or any of the low cost housing. We don't have to go to Serpan, Tambak, Tui, Kuala Niah, Kuala Tatau, or all those Kuala including Kuala Lumpur.

(13) In this entry, the posted image of fenced paddy fields are well guarded sustenance of poverty and miseries. This morning as I sit by the corridor to have my breakfast, the two brother kids, the mother and the young girl are products of what I called love for money and authority but soal rakyat, mampus mereka sendiri, I pray I’m totally wrong.

Siem Reap, Kambodia
2 Sept., 2011