A new photo gallery, "Muang Sing Market", is available for viewing on my photography web site

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Travel/Muang-Sing-Market/11495580_B6YHJ#808876502_aVSCi

Laos Day #4 - Xieng Kok Market

One of the places on our agenda to visit was the market at Xieng Kok. The market is open on the 14th and 28th of each month. Xieng Kok is a river port on the Mekong River. Across from Xieng Kok is Myanmar which was and in some places still referred to as Burma.

We got up at 4:00 A.M. to be ready to leave in the van at 5:00 P.M. with Jorgen and Helga. I twas a typical morning in the region for this time of year - foggy and at times a mist. However you can almost set your watch to it disappearing at 11:00 A. M.

The first leg of our trip was to retrace our previous journey out to Muang Sing. Traveling in the van made a world of difference. Whereas I was concerned the other morning that our driver was driving much too fast and we arrived in Muang Sing, on this trip we were quite comfortable and arrived in 1-1/2 hours. It was too early to get something at the Muang Sing market so we took the fork in the road that leads to Xieng Kok. After aways down the road we stopped at a small village market and had some breakfast. We didn't need to buy too much because Helga had brought along some muffins from a bakery in Luang Namtha.

Xieng Kok is another two hours by dirt road, Lao Highway 17B, southwest of Muang Sing. By the time we got to Muang Sing, the sun had rose and we were able to view the countryside as we bounced along. We passed through many villages and a beautiful countryside. There was a good sized banana plantation where bananas on the stalk were draped in thin blue plastic.


Every where broom plant was being harvested. Often both sides of the road were flanked by harvested broom plant carefully laid out to dry in the sun. Once it is dry it is bundled together into sheaves and transported to central locations to be weighed, and loaded onto large trucks for transport to China. For the larger fields, the large semis drive into the fields. There is a tent made out of an old tarp where some of the farm workers camp out to watch over the harvest through the night. Whether in the large fields or small settlements, the broom plant sheaves are weighed on a small portable spring scale most likely 25 kilogram (50 pound) capacity. The sheaves are stacked in groups upon the scale. To accelerate the weighing process, sometimes boards are placed on top of the scale to allow the stacking of more sheaves each time. A scribe sits in the shade and records each weight in a notebook, the paper kind - not the electronic kind, as called out by the weigh master.

Sheaves that are not loaded directly onto the big trucks are transported by all other means - strapped to the backs of woman with sheaves almost as long as the women are tall, some women haul the sheaves in a woven bamboo basket strapped to their back with the large fluffy heads of the broom plant bouncing up and down above their head as they trudge along the road towards their destination. Some men carry sheaves balanced atop one of their shoulders. Children are also part of the migration of the harvest from the remote fields to a central gathering location.

Small farm wagons pulled by 5 HP diesel engines are sometimes used to transport the harvest from scattered locations along the road in the middle of nowhere to a tiny village closer to some where. Some larger Chinese olive drab farm trucks, powered by perhaps a 10 HP diesel engine and using fan belts instead of a metal drive shaft carry even larger loads.



We arrived in Xieng Kok and observed some workers offloading coconuts from a large river boat. Across the rapidly flowing Mekong River, we could see into Burma - a large mass of hills and dark green vegetation. Other than the swift current there appeared to be nothing to stop anyone from going into Burma (Myanmar) - if you wanted to or leaving Burma. I don't know what would happen if you got caught in Myanmar without proper documentation. This area was once a hot bed for opium cultivation and production going back to the days of French colonial rule. Opium poppies are still cultivated in the area but obstensibly to supply drug manufacturers literally and possibly figuratively in China. Myanmar is also recognized as a source of much of the amphetamines that find their way into Thailand. The Xieng Kok area is one of central points to smuggle the drugs into Laos on their way into Thailand. This could go part of the way in understanding the people's shyness at being photographed at the market.


The market was smaller than I anticipated, perhaps one acre total. The market did have just about anything for sale. It was very busy. Outside of the entrance to the market there were two tables set up with hand cranked machines that shaved blocks of ice that was served with various flavored syrups in small plastic bowls - Lao Snow Cones (Bowls?). The vendors were doing a landmark business. The twice a month market was an obvious treat for the children as well as the adults.



The women, mostly from the Akha minority, filled their woven bamboo baskets with their purchases. The baskets were worn on their back like a backpack but had a rope from each side of the basket bottom up to a wooden yoke on the woman's shoulders. The middle of the yoke was cut into a semicircle to allow clearance for the neck and to allow the yoke to rest fully as well as squarely upon the shoulders. A rope from each end of the yoke rose and was attached to either a cloth or braided band across the woman's forehead. What ever the mother or grandmother could not carry in this manner, their daughters carried in their basket. Girls, as young as 8 years old, were participating in market day in this manner. Quite often younger girls, 6 or 7 years old, were carrying their baby brother or sister in a sling over their shoulder resting against their hip. It seems that the shaved ice treat had to be earned. Childhood in the villages of Laos is a short term experience. Everyone has a contribution to make to the success of the family.


When we were about ready to leave, a man arrived with four cases of tangerines or mandarin oranges to sell. He was immediately surrounded by a horde of woman reminiscent of the film clips of the wedding dress sale at Macy's in NYC. I thought that fights would break out. The decibel level increased dramatically. I could see that every piece of fruit was being meticulously inspected, selected, and argued over. I focused my photography efforts on woman in particular. She had an attitude which was enhanced by the large wad of betel nut that she was chewing in her mouth - staining her mouth a deep red. Perhaps it is a masterful negotiation strategy - who wants to upset or argue with a woman who has a mouth full of red saliva and organic matter? In 15 minutes all the fruit was sold and the vendor was gone. There is no need to worry about shelf life at the Xieng Kok market.

Some of the young Akha ladies were looking at silver ornaments to wear on their hats, ears, or clothing. They also used their time at the market to socialize and catch up on gossip. I also saw some flirting between some young women and young men. It was an intensive 1-1/2 hours at the market. Jorgon and Helga were terrific travel companions. We enjoyed their companionship immensely. The 12 hours that we spent traveling in the van reinforced our initial impression of the "travelers" - They are definitely "Khun jai dai" - Nice people. People with good hearts.

Our long day was half over but there was plenty of additional adventures and encounters to write about - subjects of future blogs.

Muang Sing Market - Laos Day 2

We awoke at 4:00 A. M. Tuesday morning, 26 January, to be able to leave the hotel at 5:00 A. M. for our two hour journey to the market at Muang Sing. The market opened at 7:00 A. M. and I wanted to be there to get the full experience of the place. Before going to Luang Namtha, I had done extensive research, much like I do for all our journeys, to determine places, peoples, and events of interest to visit. Visiting the markets at Muang Sing and further on to Xieng Kok were on my list of priorities for our trip.

Muang Sing is a sort of link to my past. Just as I had read and heard in elementary school about exotic venues such as Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, when I was young I had read a book about a famous American doctor in Laos during the late 1950s, Dr Tom Dooley. He founded a hospital in Muang Sing and was well known for his humanitarian efforts in Vietnam as well as Laos. He was a vehement anti-Communist and is known to have assisted the CIA in their efforts against them. His contributions were to in the arenas of publicity and propaganda. Just as I was able to visit Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu, I, as an adult, would be visiting the area of Laos that Dr. Dooley had written about.

Muang Sing is located in a broad river valley created by the Nam La River and is about 7 miles from the border with China. The area still produces opium, approximately 4 tons a year but much of it is consumed by the local minorities such as the Akha people. Young people in the district also consume heroin and amphetamines. Sometimes they sell narcotics in the market to falangs (foreigners). I had been approached in Vientiane about buying drugs during my last trip to Laos a year ago. I was not approached to buy opium, heroin, or even amphetamines, I was approached to purchase Viagra! Fortunately I have no need or interest for such "medication" so I was not interested. The same remains true on this trip - no need or interest for drugs or any variety. However some tourists do go to the area for recreational drug use. Posters in hotels and restaurants in Lao as well as English ask people to refrain from such activities.

We had hired the same "taxi" and driver that we had employed the previous day. The two bench seats in the pick up bed were about 6 inches wide and not heavily padded. The sides of the pick up bed had several small pads attached to it but hardly enough to make a two hour trip reasonably comfortable. Anticipating comfort issues, I had requested the driver the evening before to place a saht, woven reed mat, on the floor of the bed.

We set off for Muang Sing in a heavy mist typical of the weather in Luang Namtha at this time of the year. Seated on the bench seat, I was unable to see much of anything due to darkness and mist. Duang quickly decided to lay down on the saht and rest if not go back to sleep with the spare tire laying on the floor as her pillow. We bounced along the rough paved road out of Luang Namtha towards the NPA (Namtha Protected Area). The NPA is 2,224 square kilometers of preserved heavily forested lands which is home to tigers, elephants, leopards,and gaur. We took Highway 17A through the NPA to get to Muang Sing. The NPA is heavily forested with large towering trees on each side of Highway 17A, a 1-1/2 lane wide paved road.

Many small villages are situated alongside of the highway just like we encountered last year along Highway 13 to Luang Prabang. The drive was very rough. I toughed it out for about an hour on the bench seat before I joined Duang on the floor. It was interesting to watch the sun rise over the mountains of the NPA. Duang was concerned that it would rain. Before we had left home I had printed the long range weather forcast for Luang Namtha. The forecast for the day was for 80% chance of precipitation. I told Duang that it would not rain until 3:00 P. M. We had driven 1-1/2 hours and encountered only one other vehicle on the road. During the final 30 minutes of our drive, as we approached Muang Sing, traffic picked up and we saw about 6 other vehicles.

As we drove along the valley floor there were many more villages. These villages were more established than the mountain villages with concrete and brick rather than wood or bamboo structures. As the sun rose, the valley villages came to life. Women were outside of their homes starting the fires to cook the morning meal as well as warm up the family. Night time temperatures had gone down into the 50s Fahrenheit. The fresh smell of the rain forest was gradually replaced by the smoke and smell or wood or charcoal fires.

As the sun rose, our trepidation and fear of speeding along a dark, narrow, and winding road through the forest eased into an overall weariness of bumping along rough roads in the back of a very small pickup truck.


Muang Sing is not much to see and even less to write about. It was destroyed during a battle between Royalist and Pathet Lao troops in 1962. The town was rebuilt to a small extent after the 1975 revolution.

The market was very interesting. We arrived just as it was opening. The market is comprised of several buildings. Two of the buildings were permanent shops, similar to those that you encounter throughout South East Asia, that sold a variety of goods. Another building contained several restaurants where people went to have their breakfast. There was a very large open sided structure where fruit, vegetables and some clothing items are for sale. There was another building where meat was for sale. On the paved area around the vegetable and meat buildings, people had placed tarps and blankets to sell their produce. At one end of this row of vendors was the chicken vendor. She had 6 large woven bamboo baskets with 5 to 6 chickens underneath each overturned basket. These must have been hens since there didn't seem to be any fighting - just protests. There was a rooster but he was not caged. he was tied to a string around his foot with the other end of the string tied around a rock. A little toddler kept getting into trouble much to my amusement by constantly moving the rock. With a few snaps of his mother's fingers to his forehead, he was eventually dissuaded from his fun.

I was very impressed with the quality of the produce. The tomatoes were especially beautiful. They were nicely rounded and bright red - even to me and I am color blind. I found out later that the produce comes from China - a mere 11 kilometers away.

There was some excitement when a new pickup truck arrived at the market and set up a sound system. The government telephone company was selling cell phones and SIMM cards. There was a big demand for them.

The meat market section of the market was also very busy. Four separate hind legs of water buffalo were suspended on ropes from the rafters. Men were busy cutting portions from the legs as selected by the many customers. In the two hours that we were at the market, three of the hind quarters were completely sold - down to and including the hoof. I have a photograph of a man leaving the market with the lower leg and hoof slung over his shoulder. I know that it was water buffalo by the hoof and the severed head leaning up against the end of the counter.






We had not had breakfast until we arrived at the market. We found a booth selling bread, fresh French bread, and a pastry similar to what is called "Bear Claw" in the USA. Rather than spreading butter, jelly, or even peanut butter on the bread, the vendor cut the bread open and drizzled sweet condensed milk on the inside of the bread. We bought one loaf of bread the size of a Subway 12" sandwich and one Bear Claw for 5,000 Kip (around $0.60 USD). Duang bought some small diameter bamboo tubes filled with sticky rice and coconut cream called "Kao laam"- 10,000 Kip ($1.40). With two bottles of water we had a great breakfast that we ate in the back of our taxi pickup truck. So good a breakfast and so delicious that Duang went back and bought another french bread and Bear Claw for me.

It had taken us 2 hours to get to the market from Luang Namtha but the journey back took 5-1/2 hours to get back to the hotel. But that is a different story - a blog for another day.

Big Box Battle -The Struggle Against the Multinationals

My stated goal in both this blog as well as my photography is to share and show how different people in various lands are but in doing so, show how much we are alike.

My experiences have demonstrated to me that people all want the same things - they want to be able to take care of their families, they want to be happy, and they want to live in peace - "Peace" as in the absence of armed conflict, and excessive interference from governments.

With the common desires of people, there are common conflicts and issues that confront people no matter their culture or location.

Earlier this week, I became aware of a current conflict in Khumphawapi that is not unlike the conflict that confronts many smaller communities in the United States. The conflict is the encroachment and impact of "big box" multi-national retailers such as Walmart upon the local business environment.

In Isaan, most people purchase their goods from small stores and markets. I have written about the market in Khumphawapi where vendors rent space either inside the open sided structure or outside to sell their items. These markets are situated throughout the larger towns. In smaller villages, such as Tahsang Village, some people run very small markets, approximately 10 ft by 10 ft, out of their homes to support some of their neighbor's needs. Night markets are set up on specified nights throughout the week to support the greater needs of people living in the smaller villages.

In addition to the above locations where goods and perishables can be purchased, there are larger distribution shops. These larger shops, typically around 30 ft by 30 ft and stacked from floor to ceiling, sell bulk items. It is at these locations, sort of like micro Costco or Sams Club, that the small village shops purchase their inventory to sell back in their village. The price of the goods in these distribution shops, typically owned and run by ethnic Chinese Moms, Pops, and Sons, reflects a discount to the bulk buyer.

Larger cities such as Udonthani have Western style big box retailers such as the British chain "Tesco-Lotus", and the French chain "Carrefour". These stores could be transported to the USA and would not be any bit out of place. In fact it is my understanding that "Tesco-Lotus" is venturing into the American marketplace.

Here in Isaan, the status quo is being challenged mainly by Tesco-Lotus. They are establishing stores outside of the metropolitan areas very similar to the Walmart practise. In addition they are building smaller local mega-shops sort of like mega 7-11's in cities. These endeavors are a threat to the status quo, culture and social fabric of the local peoples.

The current system of markets serves their communities on a very personal level. The vendors for a large part are selling items from their farms or that they have gathered. Duang's sister and brother-in-law often rent space at the Kumphawapi market to sell vegetables from their farm. Other people sell mushrooms that they cultivate at their homes. Shopping at these markets is a social event as much as it is about buying what you need. Gossip, news, and pleasantries are exchanged during shopping. This strengthens and cultivates a sense of community and community commitment unlike the sterile and impersonal experience of shopping in a big box multi-national establishment.

Tesco Lotus is planning on building a large store just outside of Kumphawapi. The land was back filled and prepared for building earlier this year. Construction has not started yet but appears to be imminent.

Just as Walmart entering into a small community, the planned arrival of Tesco-Lotus has stirred up some opposition. Across from the market in downtown Kumphawapi a sign has been erected - a very serious sign. The sign, as translated by Duang, states "You work for Lotus, You will die, now!" I guess it is up to the reader's supposition as to whether their death would be to natural or un-natural causes. For me, it gets my attention and I believe! Interestingly this sign in the middle of town, on the main road through town, 100 feet from where Police are either directing traffic or checking motorcycles for compliance to various laws, remains for over 5 days. We do not know who is behind this sign or similar signs erected around Kumphawapi as well as at the entrance to the projected Tesco-Lotus site but the commonly held suspicion is that it is the ethnic Chinese merchants. It is fairly common in Southeast Asia for the ethnic Chinese merchants to be suspected of any and most nefarious plots.

The struggle against and issues related to big box multi-national stores in Khumphawapi is very much like in the USA however the degree of intimidation being employed is obviously much more transparent.