1 Northlander February 2011 - North Country Region

Stupa (burial chamber) within the Wat Phra Kaew complex(Temple of the Emerald [jadite] Buddah). Royal Palace groundsin Bangkok, Thailand.Hmong girl (15) with her child. Mountain village on roadbetween Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, Laos.to get you around. While you still see the occasional pedicab/rickshaw it is strictly limited to tourist use and restricted as towhere they can operate (the governments having determinedthey were not only a hindrance to motorized traffic, but alsoa demeaning occupation not in harmony with the prevailingcommunist/socialist regimes – previous or present).It seems everyone in Bangkok is driving a car. Traffic ishorrendous. You can walk faster than you can make progressby vehicle during rush hour which seems to exist most of one’swaking hours. Outside the city it is not too bad and 125ccmotorcycles become the dominant mode of transport. In theother countries these 125cc motorcycles dominate everywhereas most countries have no in country motor vehicle productioncapacity and imports are taxed at 100% making even thecheapest vehicle beyond most people’s reach. Despite thecongestion, there seems to be very little in the way of trafficaccidents, traffic comes across as some sort of controlled chaos.Everyone seems to be doing their own thing without regard totraditional traffic rules (vehicles are frequently in the opposinglane) but somehow manage to avoid one another. The mostdangerous thing seems to be a pedestrian as what sidewalksthat exist are frequently taken over by street vendors and/orused by the motorcyclists for an extra lane to maneuver throughclogged streets. I do remember seeing one Porsche, a Cayenne,but for the life of me I cannot remember where – althoughprobably Bangkok.February 2011The entire area is one of sharp contrasts between haves and havenots: modern conveniences we take for granted and near stoneage/subsistence existence. Some basic facts about the area mayhelp to put all of this into perspective. I certainly found themenlightening and helpful in comprehending what I saw. First ofall this area is below the Tropic of Cancer and only 10° abovethe equator, think Havanna, Cuba to about Guatamala.ThailandSize: About twice the size of Wyoming with a population ofmore than 66 millionGovernment: Constitutional monarchy, never colonized (usedto be Siam and included what is now part of Burma, Laos andCambodia)People: Ethnic groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 14 %, other 11%;Religion: Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian .7%, other.1%Economy: GDP per capita - $8100; population below poverty line9.6%; labor force by occupation: agriculture 42.4%, industry19.6%, services 37.9%LaosSize: Slightly larger than Utah with a population of nearly 7millionGovernment: Communist, independence from France in 1949People: Ethnic groups: Lao 55%, Khmou 11%, Hmong 8%,other (over 100 minor ethnic groups) 26%; Religion: Buddhist67%, Christian 1.5%, other and unspecified 31.5%Economy: GDP per capita $2100; population below povertyline 26%; labor force by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry& services 20%VietnamSize: slightly larger than New Mexico with a population of morethan 89.5 millionGovernment: Communist, independence from France in 1945,reunified North and South in 1975People: Ethnic groups: Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%,Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong21 Northlander