The Rocket, a movie set in modern day Laos is directed by Kim Mordaunt. Mordaunt also made the 2007 documentary , which is about the unexploded cluster bombs still left in Laos.

The movie has only been shown at select film festivals around the world. And winning a few awards too. It recently won Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film’s young leading actor, Sitthiphon Disamoe, received Best Actor honors for his role as Ahlo.

The producer of The Rocket, Sylvia Wilczynski adds that “The film deals with topical themes such as a family who are displaced from their home by a hydro-electric dam development, and impoverished kids who collect those bombs.”

The Sydney Film School gives a good summary of the story:

“The Rocket is about a boy who is believed to bring bad luck to everyone around him, who leads his dysfunctional family and a couple of ragged misfits through Laos to find a new home. After a calamity-filled journey through a land scarred by the legacy of war, to prove he’s not cursed he builds a giant rocket to enter the most lucrative but dangerous competition of the year: the Rocket Festival.”

The film was shot in Laos and Thailand and features local village people as extras. Thai casting director Tanawat Punya auditioned children in schools, markets, temples, drama and youth groups and on the streets to play Ahlo. They casted 10 year-old Sitthiphon (“Ki”) Disamoe who lived rough on the streets until he was adopted. They then cast 8 year-old Loungnam Kaosainam, who plays his friend Kia. Loungnam was born and grew up in Vientiane and is involved in a local drama group. Ahlo’s mom is played by Australian Lao actress Alice Keohavong.

I look forward to watching this movie when it gets released in the U.S.

I rarely write editorial or opinion pieces. Once in a while some things are worth the mention. In this case it’s the 2012 London Olympic opening ceremony.

Ever since I was a kid I loved watching the Olympics, especially the “Parade of Nations”. I loved seeing the smiling faces of people from all around the world. My favorite was always Andorra, the tiny county with a cute name that sits between France and Spain.

But most of all I looked forward to seeing the athletes from Laos. Being that our family left the country when I was only a year old, I have no real memory of the country. So it was always exciting to see our country being represented.

My mom and I was happily anticipating the entrance, only to see less than 10 seconds of airtime. Or was it less than 5 seconds? Anyway, if you blinked, you would have missed Laos. I think there were maybe 5 people walking out with the flag. But it went by so fast I couldn’t even count. That didn’t seem fair as other nations with even fewer athletes got more airtime.

This is so disappointing for a game that is meant to bring the world together. The only good part was when Bob Costas said something like, “Here is Laos, but the people pronounce it Lao with the “s” being silent.” At least he had something useful to mention.

As for the opening ceremony itself. That too was the most tedious thing ever. Robert Bianco of USA TODAY sums it up much better than me.

Maybe the British have their own humor, but the whole thing felt like a bad play you got dragged into attending. Or more similar to drinking flat soda.

Especially with dancing NHS (National Health Services) nurses and doctors. And they are suppose to be real hospital workers too. Later on I couldn’t tell if the story was related to Harry Potter or Peter Pan. Definitely nothing like the Beijing ceremony. Nothing can be better than 2,008 synchronize .

Another thing, since Laos was barely mentioned in the Parade Nations I had to go online to get more info. I found this from the UK Telegraph:

“No athlete has ever gone further than the first round of any Olympic competition.”

I know Laos has never won any medals. And I accept that.

“The country’s history in six words: Obliterated during ‘Nam. Tourists still impressed.”

And to person who is most likely trying to funny and sarcastic… well you are not funny! Let me just tell you a bit more about our country.

Tourist like Laos because Laos is still a country with many natural and beautiful landscapes. People greet each other with smiles and forgiveness is not far. The people my parent knew and left behind were some of the most generous and kind people they ever met.

It’s true that Laos was heavily bomb, but we were not “obliterated”. The “secret” bombings were done high up in the mountains near the Vietnam border. Our capital city was unharmed. Maybe you need to remember what happened to England in World War II:

“Between 7 September 1940 and 16 May 1941 there were major raids (attacks in which more than 100 tonnes of high explosives were dropped) on 16 British cities: London was attacked 71 times London. Bombs were dropped by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half of them in London.”

Thankfully England persevered despite the bombings. And the war was over, the Germans lost. Still many people were killed.

Laos may be a small country but it is growing in it’s own way. And many Laotians are now scattered around the globe because of the Vietnam War. A war that our country did not want to be in. We wanted to remain neutral, but no thanks to the U.S.

Now the country still has “bombies” that are still left buried in the mountains. But I am not one to live in the past. And I hope to see the day when people from all over the world can live in peace. Because when we are up in space, looking down on Earth, we can see that we all belong to one planet.

Side note: Even if I don’t find the current Lao flag very appealing, at least the Lao athletes are proud to be Laotians and took the effort to participate in the Olympics. At least be nice enough to give them some airtime. I am so disappointed at this point, I don’t even care to hear about anything related to the Olympic.

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”  ~Mother Teresa

The season of giving may be over, but it’s still not too late to give. And the program I’m supporting this year is Room to Read. I love books and can’t imagine a world without them.

Room to Read is great that it encourages school children to read. This program seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

One of the books published by Room to Read for Lao school children.

LA Papaya Salad.

“Who Makes the Best Papaya Salad? The animals in the forest take pride in their own — often secret — recipes. But in order to make the most delicious papaya salad, a traditional dish in Laos, the animals need to learn to work together. A product of our writers and illustrators’ workshops, this is the first book written by Miss Manivanh Siphonesay working in collaboration with Mr. Nivong Sengsakoun, an award-winning local artist.”

More children books published in Lao language.

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It was interesting to see dragonfruit being grown at the Ruth Bancroft’s Garden.

If Ruth can grow it successfully in Walnut Creek, then maybe my little plant will turn out just as nice. Of course I’ll have to remember to protect it from the winter freeze.  

Here is a close up of one of the two fruit still on the plant.  I was hoping they would grow as successfully as the cactus pear.

Dragonfruit is also known as pitaya, a plant native to the tropics. It’s a succulent with three sided stems and sharp tiny spines.

Dragonfruit has become more popular lately because of it’s health benefits. It’s full of antioxidant, fiber and high in vitamin C. It’s can be eaten fresh or as dried fruit (preserved). It’s also made into wine. I’ve even seen it being mixed into energy drink and included in skincare products too.

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Laos is the inspiration behind Anthropologie’s new fashion bag titled “Million Elephants“.

This is how they entice us with the bag…

“Visit the temples in Luang Prabang and taste the delicacies in Vientiane with this Laos-inspired silk and canvas sack by your side.” Now that sounds like a relaxing vacation.

It’s a pretty bag with drawstring closure. Materials include silk, linen, and cotton.

I find the red tassels on the side give it more of a Chinese flair. Or maybe the splash of red was inspired by ? As the plumeria (frangipani) is the national flower of Laos.

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When I think of Luang Prabang (in Laos), I usually think of clean and quaint streets. Along with sacred Buddhist temples and other beautiful scenery.

But then I came across this article. The author was talking about how plastic bags are becoming a polluting sight seen along roadsides to landing between crops.

There are also sight of rubbish mounds (mostly of plastic bags) being burn across many villages.  Which only adds to more air pollution.  It really saddens me to hear this.

A unique way to take cabbages from the market. Plastic or Rattan? Photo from EatingAsia.

An excerpt from EatingAsia:

Each item, purchased from a different vendor, will be placed into its own clear plastic bag –, and each of those bags slipped into another, larger one. Customers leave the market with their fingers dripping yellow, pink, black, red plastic bags.

Most of those bags will never see a second use. If you live or have traveled here you’ve probably seen where they can end up: alongside roads, strewn over hillsides, on beaches, blanketing land resting between crops.”

What ever happened to traditional market baskets? The nicely weaved ones that can carry loads of vegetables. Even heavy duty and reusable nylon bags and cotton bags would be a better choice.

To my surprise, not all hope is lost.  As market vendors came up with this neat idea.  Instead of “Paper or Plastic? In Luang Prabang, it’s plastic or rattan strips?”

Other vegetables that can be strung and carry this way are bamboo shoots, lettuce, and even small bunches of herbs such as peppermint. I think it’s a great idea!  

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A belated wish for a happy Lao New Year. Hope everyone had a nice celebration. I thought I post this Vimeo video made by the Sim.  It always brings a smile to my face, seeing the many friendly faces of Laos, both young and old.  And the beautiful Mekong River too.

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I was lucky enough to catch The Betrayal on PBS recently.  I first heard about it from Nye Noona and wanted to join the conversation with my own review of the film here.

This story is remarkable and sheds light into one refugee family escaping from war to find a better life.  But the story also reflects many similarities that face other refugee (especially from Laos) and immigrants who find their way into the U.S.  The film also reflects on the  consequences of war as well as the resilience of a family and their tale of survival.

It was interesting to see this documentary filmed in over the course of 23 years.  As for the title, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon in Lao) - the father feels betray by the U.S. government.  In turn, the family feels betray by the father’s absence.  And the mother also feels betray not only by her husband but also by a false hope of life in a new land.

The lessons soon turned into long conversations about Lao culture and philosophy, the country’s recent tragic history and the story of Thavi’s own tortured trip from Laos to Brooklyn — from being a 12-year-old hero-worshipping son of a Royal Lao officer to a beleaguered son and brother trying to keep his fatherless family together on America’s gang-ridden streets. It’s a story rich in ancient Lao lore and sensibility, seen through the fractured glass of geo-political violence and scrambled again by the realities of America’s poor inner city. -P.O.V.

Read more of the film description here.

My most surprising moment while watching this film was the return of the missing soldier father only to be leaving them again, for the second time.  In his 13 years absence, he had another family and they now live in Florida.  His father didn’t bother to call or check up on his previous family again.  A family where 8 of the 10 children are now living in the U.S.  It was until years later that one of his son was killed by gang members did he decide to call Thavi.  And from Thavi’s interview from P.O.V., the film from his half brother’s funeral was the most difficult part to edit.

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