Tag: lifestyle

• The waterfall💦 in Luang Prabang is the paradise on earth

  Am I living in the reality? Yes, or No?

  

  Kuang Si Falls, located in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

  “Have you not seen that the waters of the Yellow River come from upon Heaven, surging into the ocean, never to return again;”

  From Translation of Li Bai, Bring in the Wine

  Although the poem above was describing the yellow river in China, I found its home in a authentic country in Southeast Asia. The breathtaking scene reminded me of the poem I read 6 years ago. I couldn’t imagine myself seeing the world depicted by a dreamy poet like Li Bai.

  Unlike the waterfall I saw, Kuang Si fall is surrounded by mountains and the beautiful animals in the area. There are bears (but they were sleeping😴 most of the time), snake and squirrel everywhere. You will never be alone, even if you are a solo traveler.

  

  Apart from the waterfall that catches everyone’s attention, a small lake nestled in the foliage is another must-visit spot. The sunlight filters through the leaves, creating a beautiful scene with patches of light hopping on the earthly surface of the rushing water.

  

  Visitors can jump into the lake and feel the coolness of the water.

  Unfortunately, even though I wasn’t at work👩‍💻, I still couldn’t stop worrying the process of my work and preparation for the grant even that was happening very soon.

  “While my companion was soaking his legs 🦵 in the cool, crisp water, I found myself worrying about the deadline for my photo book. What a fool I was!”

  Maybe I still have to learn about work-life balance.

  Hope everyone can come and visit this amazing waterfall. I can guarantee you will not regret about it. 😁

  Source: 085 李白 將進酒 Translation: Bring in the Wine, by Li Bai | East Asia Student https://share.google/FKkmIvjhmhL5DIa6f

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  2025.09.13

• My first city bike experience

  

  My first unofficial ride in my life.

  After arriving in Luang Prabang, a province in Lao PDR, I saw a green object that aroused my interest. On first glance👀, I thought it was a bike. However, when I saw the slingshot and metal engine, I soon realized it was a city bike, 🚴🏻.

  When I first turned on the engine, I nearly lost my footing. The city bike thrashed forward before I could pull it backward. It hit the back of a car, and I was frightened to death. 💀💀💀

  Fortunately, no damage was done to the innocent car🚙

  At the same time, the receptionist from the hotel witnessed the whole incident. He walked out of the entrance, and asked,

  “Do you know how to use it?”

  I said no, and he showed me how to use it.

  “The left handler is the brake, and the right one is for starting the engine.”, he said.

  And I soon understood his meanings. I hopped on the back of the grasshopper and began my exciting journey. Since it was my first ride, I drove very slowly to avoid losing my balance.

  I could feel the air whipping my face tenderly. These experiences gave me confidence. Images of me driving different cars bloomed in my mind. I saw myself driving a jeep in a desert, or riding a motorcycle on a deserted highway located in a verdant mountain⛰️. pictured my free, amazing future in my mind.

  But my imagination was crushed by the reality within ten minutes. 🤣🤣🤣

  When I reached the highway, there were more vehicles heading towards my opposite direction. Although most drivers were behaving well, I was overwhelmed by the flux of cars and noise. Only at this time that i suddenly realized driving is more exhausting and riskier than I thought. Thus, I nearly forgot that I was driving in Luang Prabang, a place without any traffic light.🚦

  At last, I ended my journey and proceeded to my hotel. Somehow it made me realize I don’t want to drive in Lao. Even though I acquired the skills to control the city bike, I lack the courage to traverse the highway in Laos.

  PS: When I sent told my friend that I learned how to ride a city bike, she said I can get one. 💵 But now I changed my mind. I would rather spent money to catch a cab.

  What do you think of this experience? Feel free to leave your comment and share it with your friends!💖🍡💖

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  2025.09.09

• Creating an Emotional Interview Video: A Personal Experience

  

  All in a sudden, I wanted to make a professional interview video for my Japanese colleague, who will be leaving Laos very soon.

  A month ago, when I just arrived in a office located in this landlocked country, I met her at my first team meeting. Both of us couldn’t speak in Laos, so English became our common language. Sometimes our accent and pronunciation caused some misunderstanding between us, but that didn’t affect our relationship at all.

  From time to time, we would share our worries with each other. When I told her my crush betrayed and lied to me, she would try to lift my spirit, stating that it was better to loss an unsuitable person than being in a relationship. As women, we understood each other. (No offence, men can understand other people’s emotions as good as women). Apart from matters related to work, we talked about our aspiration, and the reasons we came to work for this international organization. Although our conversation was not deep and did not make us smarter, it was more pure and genuine than the small talk I had had in my life.

  But time flies. Nine days later, she will be going back to Japan and prepare for her exchange program in Switzerland. During this time, she told me her team does not allocate any task for her, so she asked me if is there anything she can help. I wanted to assign some tasks for her. I was confused for I didn’t know how she could help me to finish my tasks.

  In the mean time, my senior colleague was invited me to help him record an interview video. And I was intrigued by this new experience. He set the camera stand on the floor, and he asked some questions to the interviewees. And the girl answered his questions. Then, a few days later, you will see a clean, refreshing interview video popped up on the screen. The whole process looks magical.

  I want to try it as well. I thought

  “Maybe I can shoot an interview video with her? I can make something like my consultant did a few days ago?”

  And I suddenly wanted to have an interview with her.

  New update: She agreed to make an interview video with me. I am going to write a script for her tonight. Hope I will make an interview video that will leave a strong impression on the audience. Let’s see if I can make a video that fits her needs and my expectation. 🙂

  2025.08.13

• The 32 th day in Laos: Visiting the Lao Textile Museum

  

  The Lao Textile Museum is located in Ban Nongtha Thai, Vientiane, Laos.

  “Are you interested in textile?”

  “A bit.”

  Then my friend and I hopped on the journey to Lao Textile Museum. It took us 30 minutes get to this tiny museum. On the outside, this museum was made up of several wooden cottages standing on a verdant garden that rarely existed in a city. We dropped off at the entrance and headed to the reception desk.

  Each ticket costed 30,000 kip (1.39 USD) for all visitors. Does it worth our money? The answer is YES!

  The Lao Textile Museum is located in Ban Nongtha Thai, Vientiane, Laos. This is a museum that showcases the female clothes worn by Laos women during the 20th century.

  

  

  

  When my friend and I entered the first station of the museum, we saw some local women weaving textiles with their weaving looms. It was the first time I saw people maneuvering the clumsy and intricate machine in my real life, and I was fascinated by their skills and professionalism. There was a placard on the wall, stating that they did it for better demonstration of how people in the past created textile through the weaving looms. The person who came up with this idea must be a genius, for I had never seen a museum that would “hire” real person to showcase their exhibition. Now I saw the real-life experience, and I found it admirable.

  

  

  The upper floor of the main building was a collection of tools, dress and gowns in Laos in different time periods. Unsurprisingly, the room adopted the modest design from the entrance to the exit. Visitors couldn’t find any air conditioner or electronic monitor in here. Although there were no fancy technologies presenting the history of the dress or textile in the past, its design did not affect our understanding about Laos textile and dress.

  

  

  To be honest, I’m not a fashion enthusiast, so I wasn’t familiar with the patterns and styles of this vintage design. However, most of them were created for special events and festivals. For example, some dresses could only be worn on a specific day of the year, which meant women couldn’t wear them on ordinary days. I was surprised by the similarities between Chinese and Laotian cultures. Although they are quite different from each other, rituals still hold an important position in their lives. But what I didn’t expect was the function of the dresses. Apart from being worn for celebrations, they also served as the “uniform” of witch doctors during the 20th century.

  

  When our tour was over, we visited a shop that sold handmade textile products. The goods were very unique, but they were expensive. We decided to rest and waited for the taxi inside the shop. At that moment, the shop owner prepared two cups of chamomile tea for us. When the afternoon sunlight filtered through the window, the tea was as bright as purple crystal. When I took the first sip, the unique taste of the chamomile melted in my mouth. The flavor was mixed with the taste of the herb and dried flowers. It lingered in my mouth for a long time, even though I had finished it a while ago.

  Hope you guys will visit it in the future!!!

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  2025.08.10