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The Gracious Old
by Ehnang
Five years ago, Vientiane, to the eye of a visitor, was an interesting blend of old colonial architecture and a few straight lines of steel and concrete, interposed by traditional old Lao wooden structures looking cool, quiet, roomy and airy. Space was no problem. Dark, dank, and crowded living quarters, normally associated with slum dwellings in pockets of most teeming cities, seemed to be a rare thing here. There was room for gracious living, room to breathe, room to grow and expand one's thoughts, mind and dreams, plus pleasing sights of old-world charm still placidly existing even on busy main streets. Unspoiled indeed was Vientiane as claimed by brochures handed out by the few existing tour agencies then.
As days and then months went by, there suddenly appeared gaps in the landscape, right in the heart of the city. One old building lending such interesting character to the city was torn down. Wiped completely off the map. Then two, and three in quick succession. Almost overnight some old houses were completely gone. No doubt the old but still sturdy houses looked shabby and dilapidated. The owners or tenants just could not manage the cost of regular maintenance. A fresh coat of paint, a few replacements in woodwork, some re-roofing was all that was needed to give the old houses the dignity of coexisting with the already changing scene around them. Just a bit of care and concern and the buildings could have gone on providing shelter for tenants while adding charm and grace to Vientiane. But it was not to be.
In the name of progress and development, some quick-witted businessmen, with no thought or feeling for the grace and beauty of the old world charm but only seeing things in terms of cold hard cash, had bought them outright and demolished them, leaving ugly scars where used to stand gracious beauty. For some reason unknown to ordinary citizens, quick as they were in destroying something beautiful, they were slow in replacing it with the promised something new.
So the scars in Vientiane remain, with huge ugly billboards proclaiming the fact that multi-storied modern steel and concrete structures bristling with up-to-date facilities would soon stand there in place of the old homes once filled with the warmth and cheer of family lives. Are these touches of old-world grace and charm soon to be lost forever to Vientiane?
Then came heartening news like a breath of fresh air. The Government had decreed that old structures and sites considered to be of historic valued be placed under protection in a move to preserve the heritage of the past. Many citizens who place great value on the heritage of their forefathers heaved a deep sigh of sheer relief.
At the same time, as a result of a much-needed development scheme, Vientiane citizens woke up on the morning of 20 March 1994 to the buzz of the new digital phone system. The telecommunication authorities have changed over to a new multi-million dollar digital telephone system giving better efficiency and capable of International Direct Dialing (IDD). Hooray for the success of this communication development in Laos. Kudos to all personnel involved in bringing this communication upgrading to Laos. Nevertheless, I could not help thinking of the loss of the human touch.
Gone will be the human voice answering one's queries, be it smiling and alert or drowsy and grouchy, when trying to book an oversees call. No more blaming a third person, no more ranting and raving at an unfortunate operator for the many frustrations encountered in putting through an overseas call. Now it's entirely up to you, whether you succeed or fail when dialing direct to an overseas number. You will have only yourself to blame or applaud. That's the result of one facet of progress in communications. This is cold modern electronics replacing the old telephone system with the human touch.
It was indeed a privilege to have been on the scene to record these changes in Vientiane. Human beings normally learn to adapt to changes. The good and even the not so good. Just as some will welcome any new change in the name of development, without question there are bound to be a few who still dwell on the good side of the old. At the risk of being sniffed at by those always ready to embrace the new and the modern at whatever price, one small and perhaps old part of my mind still sighs and maintains that, in some ways, old will always be gracious.