Driving a motorcycle with a parasol
From what I've observed the Thai people are more outgoing than the Laotians, and more likely to smile and say "sa-wa-dee-kah", which is Thai for hello. The Laotian people appear to be more reserved and less likely to look you in the eyes and say "sa-bai-dee", which is Laotian for hello. Maybe they are too polite - a flaw shared by both Laotians and Canadians? In the country-side yesterday I saw farmers and villagers living and working in some pretty basic conditions. People carried bundles of sticks on their backs, I suppose as fuel for fires. Farmers worked the rice fields wearing iconic straw hats shaped like cones. Women carried two straw baskets attached by rope to a wood stick that rested on their shoulders. There were many muddy roads, small one-room houses with corrugated steel roofs, and an abundant use of simple bamboo structures and platforms to keep people and goods off the muddy ground. Despite the modest houses, the wooden doors on the buildings w...