What are the signs to look out for to know if you are settling in in a new environment? How do you know you have “arrived”? My personal indicators in no particular order: When your favourite café (out of three) organises soy milk for your hot chocolate because you are lactose-intolerant. Status: Usually successful (except on Sundays when they have one staff less on the team despite a lot of customers and once we had…
When we were looking for a house in Thakhek, high on our list of criteria was, as can be expected of any self-respecting expatriate, that the house should have a bit of garden. It was not so easy to find, as most house owners in Thakhek seem bent on banning nature from their immediate surroundings and cement their front and back yards as soon as they can afford it. Nevertheless and very interestingly, people in…
I always loved passion fruit and since I am in Laos, I have become the all-time biggest passion fruit juice consumer. The mix of tart and sweet served ice cold makes the perfect refreshing beverage for me in the hot and sticky climate and while it is also in Asia one of the more expensive fruits, it is still far cheaper than in Europe. As hardly anyone in Thakhek knows English, the only hindrance…
There are a few markets in Thakhek for food and household items. For food, there’s Naboo market, which is busiest in the mornings and then there is KM 2 market, called Lak Soong, which is better in the afternoons. I usually go to KM 2 as it is bigger and has more variety. At the entrance, there are girls and women without a regular stall or stand who sell a few home made goods…
The party of our mostly expatriate circle took place in a private restaurant and had a silent bystander. The lady is generally considered to be mentally challenged and is known all over town. She looks slightly dishevelled but not dreadfully dirty nor famished. She doesn’t talk, just sits and watches, however, it is difficult to say, how much she actually takes notice of. Well, she did take notice of my pullover that I had…
How to start a blog? Friends, who neither of them has a blog but certainly a lot of experience in other domains and in questions of life in general, tell me: you just start. Write an entry and post it. Don’t wait with posting because you feel unsecure, because you think what you have to say is of no importance, because you doubt anyone could be interested in what you have to say. Just do…