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In Leiderdorp, in de achtertuin van Ome Jan en Tante Ria groeide een hele grote bos Lavas. Ik keek mijn ogen uit. Recht voor het schuurtje was het helemaal groen. Zo’n grote bos groen had ik nog nooit gezien. Het rook zo lekker en van de blaadjes kon je snoepen. Er was toch genoeg. Dat is een Maggiplant zei Tante Ria. Het is meer als onkruid zei Ome Jan. Het blijft maar groeien. Gewoon niet te stoppen. Tante Ria stak nog een keer een sigaretje op. “Lekker toch!”, zei ze met een melodieuze stem zoals alleen echte Leienaren kunnen praten. Tante Ria was altijd goed gestemd. Ome Jan ook maar dan op een iets andere manier. Ome Jan had overtuigingen en meningen waar niet aan te tornen viel. Hij bracht zijn opinies en ideeën met groot enthousiasme en luide stem naar voren en hield stand. Ome Jan praatte het liefst met zijn jonge neefjes en nichtjes en vooral met neef Walter.
Uit logeren
Uit logeren is heel wat anders dan op bezoek. Wanneer je gaat logeren dan leer je mensen pas echt kennen. Bij Ome Jan en Tante Ria was het goed vertoeven. Alleen dat roken. De hele kamer stond dan binnen een paar uur helemaal blauw. Zo blauw dat ik er tranen van in mijn ogen kreeg. Verder waren er de katten. Een heleboel katten. Tante Ria hield van katten en Ome Jan hield van zijn kerkkoor en van Ivan Rebroff. Van klassieke muziek, en het Maarschalkerweerd orgel en vooral ook heel veel van elektronica en het bouwen van muziekinstallaties van een allure die ik veel later eens geadverteerd zag als home theater. Maar toen was er al kleurentelevisie voor Jan en alleman. In 1967 had je zwart-wit.
Met de trein naar Leiden
Vader bracht me naar het treinstation. Het station in Breda had toen nog iets bijzonders—iets kenmerkends, iets positiefs. Staand voor een glazen wand met een cirkel van gaatjes bestelde je een kartonnen kaartje. Kijk, zei vader “waarom denk je dat die mevrouw achter glas zit?”. Zonder te wachten op antwoord…”dat is vanwege de hygiëne”. Ik voelde me gelijk vies. “Een enkeltje Leiden Centraal voor mijn zoon”. De mevrouw achter glas keek mij minachtend aan. “Kan hij dat zelf niet zeggen?”, wilde ze weten. Het kaartje kwam er.
Nu lopen we naar het perron zei Vader. De trein kwam al snel. Ik stapte in en liep naar links de 2e klasse in. Daar zat aan de rechterzijde een gekleurde familie mensen die het vreselijk gezellig hadden. Links zat een stugge jongeman met een kort kapsel en een grijze lange jas. De gekleurde mensen wenkten me met een gulle lacht dat ik welkom was. De jongeman— rechtenstudent bleek later—keek stuurs voor zich uit. Ik wilde bij de gezelligheid gaan zitten.
Vader tikte met zijn trouwring op de ruit. Hier komen zitten, tegenover de student. Dat deed ik dan maar want Vader was de baas. Bij elk station vroeg ik de student of we al in Leiden waren. Dat irriteerde kennelijk want na drie stations gaf hij me korzelig te verstaan dat ik zelf maar op de borden moest letten. Zo ging het over een grote rivier richting een grote stad. Langs het spoor zag ik krotwoningen. Er woonden mensen, bleek. Dat had ik nog nooit gezien. Armoede kende ik alleen nog maar uit verhalen. Ik keek vaak naar rechts, naar die gezellige mensen. Niet luisteren naar Vader, die altijd alles wist, had vervelende gevolgen wist ik, en dus dorst ik niet te verhuizen.
Op station Leiden Centraal stond Opa op mij te wachten. “Heb je een goede reis gehad?”, vroeg hij. Ik knikte maar eens. Opa was best gezellig.
De maanlanding
De Amerikanen zouden landen op de maan. Nee echt! … op de maan! Amerikanen waren in die dagen — eind jaren zestig — de helden van Nederland en de rest van de volwassen wereld. Voor het zogenaamde opgeschoten langharig werkloos tuig, zoals volwassenen ze noemden, waren het de grootste schoften in de wereld. Maar ja … zij hadden de oorlog niet meegemaakt. De Amerikanen waren onze bevrijders en ze waren zonder meer beter dan de Russen. Dat gingen we nu weer meemaken.
Ome Jan had zijn camera zorgvuldig op een statief voor de zwart-wit TV opgesteld. Met beleid uitgelijnd en klaar voor de eerste foto met de draadontspanner, ging het nu gebeuren. Het wachten was alleen nog op Chriet Titulaer die het allemaal zou uitleggen.
Chriet lag goed bij Ome Jan. Het was een van zijn helden. Ik ging erbij zitten. De spanning bij Ome Jan liep ten hemel en tante Ria stak nog eens een sigaretje op. Eerst moesten we nog even luisteren naar hoe de wereld in elkaar zat volgens G.B.J. Hilterman. Ik mocht die man niet. Alleen die naam al. Daar zat een andere naam in. De naam van het ultieme kwaad. Ik zei niks. Ik dacht alleen maar.
Chriet vond ik dan wel weer een goeie. Dat mooie accent van hem en … hij wist overduidelijk waar hij het over had. Ik kreeg een bekertje limonade. Toen begon het aftellen. Ome Jan telde luidkeels mee. Voor de eerste keer leerde ik zo wat Engels. Thuis was het alleen maar nonnen-Frans. Moeders had op internaat gezeten en kon daarom in het Frans bidden. Ze kon ook de weg vragen in het Frans. Zo bleek een aantal jaren later nadat ze Vader eindelijk na vele nachtelijke bedgesprekken zover had gekregen om met de caravan en vijf kinderen België en Frankrijk te gaan verkennen.
Terug naar de Apollo missie en de landing op de maan.
Ome Jan drukte de ene na de andere foto af. Ze hadden allemaal horizontale lijntjes. Die foto’s zagen er ongeveer zo uit.
Te laat geboren
Later…veel later begonnen mensen te beweren dat die hele maanlanding in een studio op aarde in scène was gezet. Want kijk maar de vlag lijkt in de wind te wapperen. Maar de maan heeft helemaal geen lucht en dus ook geen wind.
Vanaf medio jaren 70 begon er in Nederland een andere mentaliteit te waaien die in de jaren tachtig in algehele negativiteit ontaardde. Het waren de jaren waarin ik het liefst in alle eenzaamheid op mijn slaapkamer luisterde naar Vlaamse radiozenders. Ik was te laat geboren, was al snel mijn conclusie.
Terug naar geen thuis
Van de terugreis vanuit Leiden kan ik me niet veel meer herinneren. Vader kwam me ophalen met de auto.
This morning we found the following among yet another dozen spam comments >>>.
Author: Alexandra Hoss (IP address: 45.66.209.250, 45.66.209.250) [Fake name] Email: hacked@taal.cafe [This email address does not exist] URL: Comment: We have hacked your website https://taal.cafe and extracted your databases.
[No they haven’t. This is merely intimidation.]
How did this happen?
Our team has found a vulnerability within your site that we were able to exploit. After finding the vulnerability we were able to get your database credentials and extract your entire database and move the information to an offshore server.
[An offshore server! Hahahaha! This is a clear indication that we are dealing with some nitwit adolescents.]
What does this mean?
We will systematically go through a series of steps of totally damaging your reputation. First your database will be leaked or sold to the highest bidder which they will use with whatever their intentions are. Next if there are e-mails found they will be e-mailed that their information has been sold or leaked and your site https://taal.cafe was at fault thusly damaging your reputation and having angry customers/associates with whatever angry customers/associates do. Lastly any links that you have indexed in the search engines will be de-indexed based off of blackhat techniques that we used in the past to de-index Our targets.
[Given the odd language used this most likely originates from the Netherlands]
How do i stop this?
We are willing to refrain from destroying your site’s reputation for a small fee. The current fee is $5000 in bitcoins (0.043 BTC).
Send the bitcoin to the following Bitcoin address (Make sure to copy and paste):
bc1qel7v90m26e98a2mlgka5t2087wxk733ssv6u7h
[Thank you. You can thusly be tracked down.]
Once you have paid we will automatically get informed that it was your payment. Please note that you have to make payment within 5 days after receiving this e-mail or the database leak, e-mails dispatched, and de-index of your site WiLL start!
[This utter BS did not reach us by email but through a comment.]
How do i get Bitcoins?
You can easily buy bitcoins via several websites or even offline from a Bitcoin-ATM.
What if i don’t pay?
We will start the attack at the indicated date and uphold it until you do, there’s no counter measure to this, you will Only end up wasting more money trying to find a solution. We will completely destroy your reputation amongst google and your customers.
This is not a hoax, do not reply to this email, don’t try to reason or negotiate, we will not read any replies. Once you have paid we will stop what we were doing and you will never hear from us again!
[This boils down to sheer bluf poker]
Please note that Bitcoin is anonymous and no one will find out that you have complied.
[That’s from the past. Nowadays, you will be tracked down!]
<<<< Taal Café is a hobby project with the sole purpose to provide a platform for aspiring authors where they can showcase their ability using various styles and perspectives. There are no external email addresses in the database serving the pages. We are also not that much invested in SEO and Google listings as these are not at all important for us.
Het lijkt wel kwamkwammertijd op de sociale media. Zou het aan de hoge temperaturen liggen? Ik herinner me hele hete zomers… Qua temperatuur dan. Niks geen code oranje in 1975.
Op een zolderkamer zaten Hans en ik wat in elkaar te solderen. Een cascade om aan hele hoge voltages te komen. Je bouwt die op met diodes en elco’s. Het zweet gutste van onze lijven. Daar waren we beiden op berekend. Niet zo flauw over hitte of kou.
En toen opeens, na aansluiten…boem. De elco’s waren er—bleek—niet op berekend. De hele zolderkamer vol met rook. Elco’s kennen een maximaal voltage. Dat wisten we dan ook weer. 🙃
“In an alternate world, these poems exist, like the Hobgoblins before them…”
Within this phantasmal and unearthly collection of poems, you will find the story of what happens after the Hobgoblins of Little Minds have done their dirty work. A world in which the Little Green Men have abducted and destroyed all, leaving behind only this strange remnant to be studied by any who have found it.
Sewn together are the various tales of those who witnessed and participated in the occurrence, and the strange tales of the fantastic creatures that came to earth to bring about its end. At once religious and anti-dogmatic, the Finite Books of Infinite Ascension are the tales of what remains.
“And all that is left of our culture and time is this strange account of what we now find…”
We are writing to advise you that thepigturd is amending its payment model for our trashlators to bring the company into line with other linguistic sausage producers extruding what is required to service our government and corporate clientele. These rape rate adjustments are necessary in response to how these organisations operate, which has exerted downward pressure on our obscene margins. Coupled with an increased cost of sales and cocaine, and a significantly extended sales plunder cycle, margins have eroded to the point where the rates we currently pay are in conflict with our CEO’s need for a more competitive compensation package and an upgrade to his private jet.
I would like to explain our efforts as a global provider of state-of-the-art HITL trashlation, locosation and interpreting solutions in over 250,000 languages to forge bonds for you as one of those little cogs in a wheel of 400,000 cunning linguists in more than 700 countries who slave for us every month at the wordface.
At present, thepigturd employs a revolving cast of sales characters worldwide who, as a group take many trips each month, scouring the astral plane with their full intelligence to create artificial opportunities to train our post-editing algorithms so we can justify the next round of best rates. These martyrs to the Cause spend many a night far from home and family, working the conference circuit and suffering liver and septum damage with only a lap dance and another round for comfort at those lonely business functions. We employ further specialists selected for their experience in hair styling and pizza delivery to recruit, interview and impose unpaid tests on you suckers to maintain our celebrated standards of sausage service. Moreover, we maintain a staff of 600 special agents in our 12 global offices to monitor our global wordforce and ensure no communication between end customers and yourselves. Today’s market competition also compels us to keep over three score staff for technology innovation to improve internal efficiency and screw down costs to provide all our executives with state-of-the-art company transport modalities and other perks they deserve, and that you need to represent your servitude to our world.
However, having said all of this, never before has our industry experienced such huge downward bowel pressure from both the private and public sector to reduce prices. It’s even worse than last year when we were compelled to send you that year’s rate adjustment notice. And the year before that. And the prior year. This is simply a reaction to the state of the world economy and the fact that our CEO cannot show his face in public without shame as long as his compensation is so far below that of his peer in charge of Tesla. At thepigturd we endeavour to keep our rates at the highest level possible whilst keeping your compensation in line, but as long as we continue to pay you, your rates will further impact the company’s profitability and the job satisfaction of those who live off your efforts. Therefore, with effect from Thursday 22nd August, thepigturd will reverse our payment model in the hopes that profits can remain at record levels, and our representatives can travel in style as they seek new post-editing challenges for you to achieve the professional exposure you crave. Your payments per word assigned will be calculated without match discounts (so many of you complained about these, and we listened!) and will be gratefully received by us on net 10 days terms. Failure to pay on time may result in us being compelled to take your firstborn and/or favorite pet as collateral until settlement.
These rate changes are not retrospective but will apply to any new work received from Thursday 22nd August 2024, though reductions in current projects as voluntary contributions to executive relief fund at thepigturd will be given due consideration in the priority assignment of future projects.
One of those days it was that I had decided to walk down town. Walking keeps you in shape. Everybody knows that. And so does using a bicycle instead of a motorbike. I do both. I walk and I cycle.
Moving slowly also has it advantages. One sees everything and discovers a lot. My favourite way of getting to know and becoming familiar with a new town. New for me that is. As I was walking along on and off the pavement, as cars are parked wherever the driver thinks it’s okay, I spotted a new restaurant. Noodle Soup Restaurant LC 30,000 Kip any bowl of soup. Hey! That’s not bad at all! I peeked inside. Everything looked clean and well organised.
Trying it out
Let’s give it a try I thought as I felt a bit hungry. There is Chinese noodle soup with beef, pork, chicken, a fried egg, or even a Vietnamese style noodle soup. I decided on the fried egg one. It comes with a little bit of pork on the bone as well.
Friendly service
Your soup is served fast and in a friendly manner. And if ever they have run out of some of the ingredients they will quickly walk to the nearby market to buy some. You will never have to wait long for a delicious noodle soup coming your way. The owner on the left and her assistant cannot speak English. They can speak some Chinese, do understand Thai, and are of course fluent in Laotian.
Location
Noodle Soup Restaurant LC
The name shown is the name of a restaurant that was there before. Noodle Soup Restaurant LC is a new restaurant at the same location.
Blossoming trees and bushes complemented with flowering perennials. In Laos you will see flowers all year round. Beautiful flowers decorating streets, hill slopes, and gardens perfume the ambient air with natural scents and fragrances. Jasmine, magnolia, mock orange and sweet orange blooms, to name a few, turn your evening strolls into a heavenly delight. Big flowers, small flowers, and blossoms in a myriad of colours. A feeling of Sakura throughout the year.
Nature
An astounding nature that reflects an amazing biodiversity with many species yet to be discovered. A rich diversity of cultures, peoples, and the folklores of their various communities. That’s also Laos.
Geography
Laos shares borders with Thailand in the West, China and Burma in the North, Vietnam in the East, and Cambodia in the South. From the north to the south there are 18 provinces stretching along 1,362 km.
Tourism
Laos offers many interesting tourist destinations. The capital Vientiane on the Mekong features a victory monument called Patusai — Victory Gate literally — which vaguely resembles the l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Chedis and Temples
The capital is also renowned for its monumental chedis (Buddhist stupas) That Luang (the Golden Chedi) and That Dam (the Black Chedi). Temples remind of Thai temples be it though that they radiate a slightly higher level of finesse. “Same, same but different”, one would say.
Monumental buildings
Much worth a photo shoot is the Embassy of Brunei dar es Salaam with its enticing architectural buildings painted in a soft pastel colour palette of pink and sky blue shades. No, you cannot enter its premises without a proper invitation. Taking pictures from the street side is however easy enough.
Patu Xai
Lao National Cultural Hall
Embassy of Brunei dar es Salam
The Living Library
That Dam small stupa
Water
Laos is landlocked. So, no seashores. No scarcity of natural waters though. From the magnificent Mekong to large lakes, and mysterious streams disappearing into enchanting caves, Laos has it all.
The North
The North features places like Vang Vien with it’s mysterious caves of which some are still waiting to be fully explored. Tam Pou Kham cave for instance and the world famous water cave Tham Chang. Then there is Nam Song river — one of the many tributaries to the MeKong river. An excellent place to relax whenever you feel overwhelmed with the magnificent scenery of the North. Nam Song river is a popular tourist destination and the road leading to it offers many view points. Ideal for selfie addicts who want to indulge in becoming part of the magnificent scenery. You will also discover spots that will add lustre to professional photo shoots.
Plane of Jars
Then there is the Plane of Jars. An enigmatic place with ancient jars in various sizes covering large plots of land. Only a small part is accessible while the rest of the plane is littered with unexploded ordnance and landmines that still need to be cleared.
Vat Phou and the Bolaven Plateau
Travelling to Champasak province In the South, places you definitely should not miss out on are the ancient Vat Phou temple and the Bolaven Plateau.
How about a Waterfall trek in Pakse including the Zip Line Experience at Tad Fane Waterfall? Then make sure not to miss out on the largest waterfall in South East Asia as well; the Khorepahphong waterfall. You will love to show your friends on social media that you have been there.
Pakse district has the best coffee to be found in Laos. Tourists often buy a number of packs to take home as a souvenir.
Khammouane Province
Let’s continue and visit Phu Pha Marn. A leading tourist attraction in Khammouane Province.
Savannakhet
Some more top attractions to visit in Savannakhet province are: That Ing Hang, the Savannakhet Dinosaur Museum, and Vat Xayaphoum temple.
A nation united in diversity. That’s Laos.
[This essay is a work in progress. It’s going to be longer while more pictures will be added.]
Content partially provided by Ms Ai (Oulayvanh Vayyakone) as part of an assignment by teacher Walter to write an essay on Laos … Land of flowers … Land of diversity [April 2024]
5 responses to “Laos …”
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Oanh, the chef, is from Vietnam. Vietnamese, Laotian (Isaan), European, Chinese, and Thai dishes. She does it all, and fast.
What happened
Yes, that’s the same Oanh who previously ran a restaurant downstairs at the Rainbow hotel. Oanh prefers to be addressed as either An or Mama. So now you know how to quickly get her attention.
Lots of fun and a friendly ambience aside, the Rainbow Hotel proved not to be the right place to run a profitable restaurant. The rent was rather high and budgets of many a guest a bit on the low side. Oanh, the chef, decided to move place.
Welcome
Oanh started to look for something more suitable to her needs and ambition to run a more upgraded restaurant. Then one day, still downtown at walking distance from the Rainbow Hotel she found an existing restaurant waiting for a new managing chef. Inside the Mali Nam Phu that is.
The Mali Nam Phu is a 2 star hotel with a long standing reputation of excellence.
To the test
We couldn’t resist checking it out ^_^
Good to be with friends
Marvellous … copious … highly nutritious. We just loved the extended variety of dishes to choose from.
A rich choice of food
The menu though, needs a bit of editing. Categories are not clearly listed. If you are for instance looking for continental food, you eventually will find it listed tucked in between some very different kinds of cuisine. Then again … it’s there.
There is Lao food, Thai food, Chinese food, lots of Vietnamese dishes, and … Western food, such as the good old French Fries
Oanh the musician
Sometimes, late at night, when guests have become friends, the ambience is set for Oanh, the chef. to play the guitar. Lest we not forget … she is a musician and composer.
Transcription of English syllables using Lao or Thai script
When I arrived in Vientiane last year in April, I went almost straight to the bookstalls behind Talat Sao and bought
Learning Lao for everybody.
An excellent book originally written in German by Klaus Werner. ISBN 3-89416-340-2 Publisher: Peter Rump Verlags GmbH Hauptstraße 198 D-33647 Bielefeld Germany
I taught myself how to transcribe English sounds using Lao script. It became one of my main tools when I was teaching Speaking and Listening at the Candlelight Academy. I had used that tool before when teaching at a technical college in HatYai Nai, Thailand.
Transcribing sounds using a native script is often met with controversy. It shouldn’t be really as it is only a tool, just like using IPA.
Using this tool is a two steps process. First you show your students how to split up a word in syllables using red dots. Then you write the sounds in their native script above them.
Even better … pronounce a given word from the list of new vocabulary very slowly to enable your students to distinguish between the various syllables that make up that particular word. Then you invite a student to split up that word according to the syllables they hear.
You, the teacher concludes by writing the sounds in their native script above the syllables. When complications arise it happens that you will need your students to help you writing the sounds. They will love to help you.
It’s not completely full proof. Some English sounds do not make part of their native language. Hence it becomes an impossible job to transcribe such sounds. The same is equally true for some of the sounds of the students’ native language.
The consonant V for instance causes trouble for local students because Lao and Thai speakers do not use that sound. So it is for us when we are faced with pronouncing an NG (ງ [Laotian] or ง [Thai]) as the starting consonant. It needs to be practised extensively.
The word goes around that one should only speak English when teaching English. Alternating English with a bit of the respective national language is frowned upon and sometimes even strictly forbidden. Foreign teachers are hence required to use the language immersion method at all levels and for all age groups.
Primary 2 (Songkhla Thailand) Full attention for Teacher Walter
Please allow me to state my personal opinion on this doctrine imposed on us, the foreign native and near native speakers of English who teach in South East Asia as a gig or as a real vocation. It is plain wrong! Total immersion only works wonders for children upon the age of about 10 years old — with some exceptions of course because there are always exceptions to any non-mathematical rule ^_^
It does however NOT work for teenagers, adolescents, and adults. Their native language development has already brought them completely outside the sphere of toddlers and young elementary school kids. You can teach them action words by immersion. Sure, you can. They expect and need however a lot more as they have lost the ability to acquire a language by simply being exposed to it. So, online dictionaries, thesauruses, and teachers who can speak a bit of the local language and understand quite a bit more, are an absolute must.
A teacher who does understand. T. Mattana assisting T. Allister.
I hear you disagree and object: “But we have teachers who assist the foreign teacher!”. Yes, some schools do assign local teachers to help the foreign teacher. Sometimes that works out really well. When the local teacher understands the foreign teacher at a more than basic level and actively participates you will have a team with added value.
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