Sunset at Mekong River

The sun is saying good bye ... time to go for today. I am stanting here by myself, watching the sun slowly sinking behind the mountains. The two little boats are still lingering in Mekong River ... My tears are running down my cheeks, I can't hold them ... I beg you ... Please do come back, my dear Sun, when the dawn has come. I'll always wait for you right here ... at this spot ... until tomorrow when the first ray of the sun appears again at the far horizon ... Photos taken by Pauline January 2009

A woman selling Pa Katao at Khon Phapheng

"Pa Katao" is a type of small fish which can only be found in the very south part of Laos. Pa Katao are usually dried unsalted on the flat rocks right after local fishermen caught them using a net. Sometimes, dried Pa Katao are stuffed in bamboo trunks so they can preserved for a long time. Pa Katao, despite its strong smell, can be transformed into a delicious "jeo Pa Katao" or chilly paste. Jeo Pa Katao is an exclusively authentic Southern Lao cuisine and no one can make jeo Pa Katao the way Lao Tai people do. However, jeo Pa Katao is not famous just among Lao Tai people. You ask anybody who has tasted it, they'll tell you: "despite the pungeant smell it is seriously deliiiicious". Photo by Pauline

Wat Phu Champassak

Wat Phu Champassak is the landmark of Lao Park Tai. It is believed that Wat Phu was built well before Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Photo by Phayvanh, January 2009.