Word: vangelis
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...Shades of Blue Cruising Del Paso heights in an unmarked police car, Chou Vang, 33, gestures toward a section of tired apartment houses and talks about gang violence. "Back in Laos, the Hmong are a minority ethnic group," he explains, "and the ethnic Lao ruled and ran the country. They have carried their old tensions to this country...
...Vang Viang, that has meant a leap in the number of guesthouses from three in 1999 to more than 35 today. No one tracks the exact number of tourists coming through town each season, but the village chief, Phet Hinthapatha, estimates the increase is something like 100% a year. He believes the foreigners are having a positive impact in a town that as late as 1998 was getting no tourists. "Look at all the stuff we can sell them," says the chief, sitting shirtless on a wooden bench, flicking at a wasp with a loose sarong. "Food, skirts, backpacks, toilet...
...boys and girls sitting around sipping lao-lao cocktails in Hope's Oasis, most probably won't try opium during their stay in Vang Viang, and a few will sample the drug once for the experience and not feel compelled to pick it up again. Clarky, the Canadian proprietor of Hope's, admits that some of his customers are in town for the dope, but insists most of them are here "because Laos is a full-on, rad place that's totally blowing up. Everybody's coming to Laos and not just for the dope but because of the people...
...Hope's Oasis is among the first establishments of its kind in Vang Viang?a casually vibed hangout where foreigners can smoke ganja, drink beer and listen to early '90s house music. It's the sort of place you might expect to find on Khao San Road in Bangkok or in Ko Samui?and its appearance along with a few Internet caf?s means Vang Viang is in the initial throes of a tourism boom. Indeed, the first video bar has opened down the street. Martin Dillon hasn't even named his joint yet. But as the twentysomething Englishman sits...
...abuse, can leave travelers with a nascent addiction that can cause problems once they return to Toronto or Tokyo?where opium is scarce but its more addictive chemical cousin heroin is readily available. Local Lao addicts seldom try to stop?and when they are occasionally picked up by the Vang Viang police, they are usually released from the corrugated-steel jail after a few hours because the cops can't stand listening to their cries. Guidebooks stress that narco-tourists are directly supporting local addicts and contributing to social and cultural problems. But that won't discourage a curious American...