Word: laotians
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...plaque has done little to resolve the Hmong's plight in Southeast Asia. Thousands live in poverty in Thailand, and a few armed bands still live in the Laotian highlands, refusing to surrender to the government of Laos. Earlier this month, there were signs that the conflict might be easing: Vang Pao, now 80 and living in California, said he wanted to return home and help reconcile the Hmong and the Communist government in Vientiane. But officials reportedly replied that they'd welcome him back by executing him. It's no wonder Thailand's Hmong refugees are worried that...
First-time visitors to this hamlet on the Nam Song River can be forgiven for feeling a little lost. With shirtless young backpackers drinking beer and suntanning, it looks more like an Ibizan beach town than a Laotian village. But no, you didn't take a wrong turn at the Thai border. This is Vang Vieng - a farm town turned full-moon party, smack in the middle of a communist state. Once a resting place for opium-addled sojourners on sweet, slow tours of the East, Vang Vieng is now a haven of a different sort. It has become...
...marijuana or other drugs. In some backpacker cafés, for instance, so-called happy food gets its kick from illicit materials. At the same time, drug convictions in Laos warrant heavy punishments, with the death penalty applicable for cases involving more than 500 grams of heroin. (However, the Laotian government says no one has been executed on such a drug conviction since 1989.) With Orobator's sentencing, perhaps the pizzas in Laos will taste a little less happy in the future...
...landlocked Southeast Asian nation that's a favorite of backpackers enchanted by its laid-back vibe and vibrant Buddhist culture. But she lands in jail on drug-smuggling charges that could result in execution. Then events take a melodramatic turn: the woman becomes pregnant while in jail - and a Laotian state newspaper claims she impregnated herself with semen from a fellow prisoner to escape the death penalty, since local law precludes putting expectant mothers in front of a firing squad...
...Villa Maly, www.villa-maly.com. Either the hotel or local tour operators can arrange the cruise, which costs $35 per head for lunch or dinner. The earlier sailing departs at 10.30 a.m. and makes for the Pak Ou caves. The later departure weighs anchor at 5.30 p.m., and stops at a Laotian village for dinner and dancing...