President Donald Trump
I assume it's still acceptable to have a Trump thread in a Politics forum?
So this is an obvious lie - basically aimed at
Exploitation by China also seems to be a huge problem for Laos and Cambodia right now.
And you were in the north where I heard it's like all Chinese.
That being said, I hope to take a ride to luang prabang or maybe all the way to Kunming next winter on that fancy new high speed train courtesy of china.
And you were in the north where I heard it's like all Chinese.
That being said, I hope to take a ride to luang prabang or maybe all the way to Kunming next winter on that fancy new high speed train courtesy of china.
I rode the train. It's nice. I can only imagine what Laos traded away in exchange for China building that rail line.
why would that mean more power for the democrats? anyone that came here illegally would not be able to vote
Oh, they are all voting. LOL It is almost like you don't even follow right-wing media. The Dems flooded the country with illegals and stole the Presidential election in 2020. The only thing that prevented it from happening again in 2024 was that the Dems were so unpopular that even their army of illegals could not steal the election again. 
I rode the train. It's nice. I can only imagine what Laos traded away in exchange for China building that rail line.
yeah, the kool thing about your country is they take your **** and you get nothing
roc - curious what kind of conversations you guys had walking past obvious brothels and restaurants offering drug laced food and milkshakes - i'm used to the one eye open one eye closed type of enforcement of that stuff in asia but never seen it so brazenly put out and advertised as i have in lao
I rode the train. It's nice. I can only imagine what Laos traded away in exchange for China building that rail line.
I found this ...
Both passenger and freight traffic on the China-Laos Railway has exceeded targets with a high growth rate, according to Liu Hong, general manager of the Laos-China Railway Company, in which the Lao side holds a 30 percent stake and the Chinese side a 70 percent stake — operating the Lao section of the railway.
According to wiki Looks like it cost 5.9 Billion
roc - curious what kind of conversations you guys had walking past obvious brothels and restaurants offering drug laced food and milkshakes - i'm used to the one eye open one eye closed type of enforcement of that stuff in asia but never seen it so brazenly put out and advertised as i have in lao
My son is 18 and grew up in a major city. He saw far more hard drugs within five blocks of my apartment than he saw anywhere in Laos. Were you mostly in Northern, Southern, or Central Laos? I saw one or two bars that were implicitly advertising drug shakes, but it certainly wasn't all over the place. I also didn't see any open brothels, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the massage places offered a full range of services.
I wasn't in the 4000 islands area, which I'm sure is more of a party scene.
My son is 18 and grew up in a major city. He saw far more hard drugs within five blocks of my apartment than he saw anywhere in Laos. Were you mostly in Northern, Southern, or Central Laos? I saw one or two bars that were implicitly advertising drug shakes, but it certainly wasn't all over the place. I also didn't see any open brothels, although I wouldn't be at all surpris
i think it was in vang vieng where i saw all of that but don't recall - just checked my google photos and was reminded that i don't have any photos of that time because my phone was stolen out my hotel room when i left it there charging as we went out for dinner
vientiane had none of that - was super surprised by how many french expats still go out there to this day and spent a lot of time in a french hipster run coffee shop there
edit: def vang vieng - was thinking you thought i just meant weed so went to look for examples and found a bunch all labeled vang vieng so that place must be special for it
none of it was hidden, they literally had placards on the sidewalk with this info - went in one and asked and they said "so long as you don't take it outside the cafe the cops will leave you be"
idk, was just thinking how for me even as an adult it'd be a little weird traveling with my parents and walking past that bar
also, my expat friends who grew up in asia told me of their parents regularly unknowingly paying for their handjobs when they went to get massages as a family - kids never even needed to ask nor tip extra it would just start happening and they wouldn't do anything to stop it 😀
one of the funniest mental images i have in life is those stories
but imagine there was some exaggeration to it, as i'm sure they were likely pursuing/tipping for it more than they let on
i think it was in vang vieng where i saw all of that but don't recall - just checked my google photos and was reminded that i don't have any photos of that time because my phone was stolen out my hotel room when i left it there charging as we went out for dinnervientiane had none of that - was super surprised by how many french expats still go out there to this day and spent a
I was in Vang Vieng for a bit, and I didn't see anything like this. For the reason I mentioned before, my son barely would have raised an eyebrow at those placards if they had still been there. For better or worse, hard drug use (not by me or my wife) has been in his line of sight ever since he was born.
I assume you were there some time ago. I gather that it is much tamer than it used to be. Among other things, the Australian government pressured Laos to crack down on the "tipsy tubing" because several Australians drowned. You can still do it, but I don't think it is quite the same.
I assume you were there some time ago. I gather that it is much tamer than it used to be. Among other things, the Australian government pressured Laos to crack down on the "tipsy tubing" because several Australians drowned. You can still do it, but I don't think it is quite the same.
I did it in 2008 and it was a scene. Vaguely recall placards like that but wasn't really my scene. Did some happy shakes one day in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and was tripped the eff out and didn't enjoy it.
I did it in 2008 and it was a scene. Vaguely recall placards like that but wasn't really my scene. Did some happy shakes one day in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and was tripped the eff out and didn't enjoy it.
Was there in 2009 which was still at the tail end of its heyday. The whole village was on mushrooms.
Was awesome
I don't know where Rick went where he saw so many in your face brothels, seemed like the tamest of all SEA countries when it comes to this stuff minus Myanmar.
Was there in 2009 which was still at the tail end of its heyday. The whole village was on mushrooms.
If that is what it was like in 2009, it is very different now.
Yeah, there was one too many young 20's deaths one year that they had to clamp down on the place. Launching off homemade waterslides 20-30ft high into the river during dry season tripping balls was always going to end badly. Glad I got to experience it.
Housenuts also lucky he got to see Sihanoukville before it became ground zero for the scam centers.
The way that place changed due to Chinese investment is a good example of what not to do.
Tying Laos in with Trump, I thought it was bizarre that before his most recent immigration ban of 75 countries he had another one of like 6 countries with Laos being one of them. I was like wtf, what did Laos do to deserve that? I guess close ties with China? Kind of give up trying to find logic in any of his decisions.
idk, was just thinking how for me even as an adult it'd be a little weird traveling with my parents and walking past that bar
This seems odd to me. Did you grow up on an Amish farm?
I did it in 2008 and it was a scene. Vaguely recall placards like that but wasn't really my scene. Did some happy shakes one day in Sihanoukville, Cambodia and was tripped the eff out and didn't enjoy it.
Yeah, who would have guessed doing illicit drugs in a foreign country would lead to a bad trip, eh?
This seems odd to me. Did you grow up on an Amish farm?
Yeah, who would have guessed doing illicit drugs in a foreign country would lead to a bad trip, eh?
I dunno if bad is the right word, just not really my vibe. Live a little. No ragrets.
Lord Drumpf signs yet another deal that looks like existing deal… but worse.
He just wants the theatre and ego stroking.
It’s pathetic.
why would that mean more power for the democrats? anyone that came here illegally would not be able to vote, and if they have children that can vote they can easily move to a different state. and it would take 18 years for them to be able to vote starting from the point of birth, which is really 18 years and 9 months of waiting, if they conceived child on the same day that they
Seats in the house are determined by total people living in each state regardless if those people are legal. Also, dems are going to continue to work to legalize as many illegals as they can. Your point about the kids is another factor, but it is a distant 3rd to these other two IMO.
If I do a project to raise money for and install solar and batteries in a village in Laos, you think that would be feasible? Useful? Are many of those places without reliable power?
I visited Laos and Cambodia ~10 years ago and I remember seeing quite a few homes run on what appeared to be car batteries, but I don’t recall which country I saw that in.
What's your vibe?
TACO sure lived up to the name.
I guess Trump has now been distracted by his Bored of Peace, which seems to be 18 autocrats + Tony Blair.
