Vietnam Secret Ops Army Medic to Receive Medal of Honor from Trump
President Donald Trump on Oct. 23 will award the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Gary Rose, an Army medic who was involved in secret operations in Laos during the Vietnam War. The Huntsville, Alabama, man during an assault on his unit in the jungles of Laos continued to treat wounded troops after being wounded himself, […]
Wat Pa Houak, Phousi Mountain, Luang Prabang
I have often seen this little temple at the base of the hill to the famous Phousi mountain. Phousi mountain is right in the middle of town and a popular place for tourists. There is a 150m walk to the top, a favourite spot for watching the sunset over a beautiful Luang Prabang. From the […]
School awards day 2017, Luang Prabang, Laos
On a hot Saturday morning students, teachers, volunteers, and officials flocked to school for the annual awards day where students receive their much-admired certificates for their achievements from the prior year. The school year starts in September each year in Laos. The day started off with some fun games which everyone always enjoys and this […]
Laos and Cambodia eliminate trachoma
September 21, 2017, Helio.com Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, has been eliminated as a public health problem in Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, according to a WHO press release. WHO launched the Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by the year 2020 in 1997, and in 1998 the World Health […]
Trip to Tad Sae waterfall
I got an unexpected invite to join friends and their neighbours for a trip to Tad Sae waterfall this Sunday. I had heard these waterfalls, one of two in Luang Prabang, had been dry but now as it’s the beginning of rainy season I thought there may be some water on this hot day. Unlike […]
Helping English students at a local school – Luang Prabang, Laos
I helped out a small class of eager high school students with their English lessons last week. During the high school break, these students are taking a holiday class to improve their English skills. They go a small school set up in someone’s home in the center of Luang Prabang where two small classes of […]
Kayaking the Ou and Mekong river to Luang Prabang
I decided this week to take a day off and go kayaking down the Mekong River from just north of Pak Ou caves. I’ve visited the caves a few times before but never via the Mekong or kayaking. So I joined a tour and set out by tuk-tuk about an hour north of Luang Prabang. […]
Giving blood – Lao Red Cross
Recently I took a morning off work to catch up on a few errands. One of these was to make time to give blood at the Lao Friends Hospital Visitor Centre n Luang Prabang. It was a simple process and everyone was very friendly. I had a finger pricked and tests were taken and a […]
Fun games to learn team skills
The programme that supports and helps inspire our students had their final gathering for the school year. So much fun was had as they played a game together where one person in each team was blindfolded. All three has to hold two pieces of string attached to a rubber band. All three had to use the rubber […]
A day in a Buddhist Temple in Luang Prabang, Laos
I love this temple, it always feels very peaceful. Tourists know Tak Bat as the age-old and picturesque daily Buddhist Alms Giving procession of the monks. This is a glimpse into daily life as a monk or novice and also a reminder to tourists how to behave at a temple and when observing Alms Giving. The […]