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Anniversary of 1966 Flood Looms
If you thought last year's floods in central and southern Laos were momentous, think again. As the accompanying photos show, 1966, especially in Vientiane, was the year of the Mother of all Floods. The million-dollar question is, of course, how soon will nature repeat herself? (Yes, last year Laos faced one of the worst floods in its history; in Vientiane alone, more than 100,000 hectares of rice fields were destroyed.)
In fact, Vientiane has already begun stepping up efforts to prevent flooding in the Laotian capital again. The Flood Prevention Committee is spearheading a campaign which includes digging shallow canals and water channels and improving several water gates in the city.
Returning to the subject of the accompanying photos, more than a cursory glance will show how little Vientiane has changed since the 1960s. With the exception of Nong Douang market--destroyed by fire in 1988--just about everything else is still standing, usually with little more than some superficial change. Vientiane in the 60s. British writer Christopher Robbins may have described it best in Air America (1979):
Possibly the best life, even if it offered the worst war, was to be had in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Despite the war it remained a sleepy rural town set on the banks of the Mekong with an atmosphere that was a strange mixture of both the Far East and France. Houses were cheap to rent, the food and restaurants were good, and people were friendly and honest. Those who lived there felt that life went by so slowly and quietly that they became becalmed by it. Time seemed to lose its meaning. Visiting journalists found that they would spend days without filing a story or bothering to contact the people they wanted to see. There was never a sense of urgency, nothing seemed important. The atmosphere was enveloping.
Robbins' view is not far off the mark and is picturesque. But there is another view many find just as telling and is summarized by three words: complete static calm. They appear in Grant Evans' Lao Peasants under Socialism & Post-socialism (1990 & 1995). Attentive would-be investors sometimes appear in Vientiane with Evans' paperback tucked under an arm. Complete static calm: it's why more than a handful of expatriates have fallen for the hidden charms of the Laotian capital.
Incidentally, black & white enlargements of the 1966 flood can be obtained from Classic Frame, a new shop at the corner of Chao Anou and Setthathirath roads. It has a mobile number: 020-512-393. Ask for Kongkane Vongphachanh.