Looking for Very Old Books on Laos for Free?

My penchant for finding free Lao literature online sometimes surprises even me :p.  And I always enjoy sharing what I find!

Here's another one:  There's a website called the Internet Archive where users (and many institutions) upload digital formats of books to make them widely available.  Because most of these are so old, their copyrights have expired.  For example many of the ones I've mentioned below are from the 1800s. 

Lao Word of the Day: To Care (About Someone)

Lao Artist Profile: Kongpat Luangrath

Today we're featuring some paintings from talented Lao painter, Mr. Kongpat Luangrath, 63. His work is a mix of beautiful whimsy, abstract, and modernism. He also sometimes mixes in a deep message or two. Have a look...

 

Lao Action Movie - At the Horizon

This film was released just 6 months ago by Lao New Wave Cinema Productions.  Very well made action flick!  It's garnering a lot of wonderful reviews from all over.  Check out the trailer below:

  At the Horizon-International Trailer from Lao New Wave Cinema Productions on Vimeo.

Lao Airlines Plane Crash in Pakse - Update

Crash black box located, Thai search team to stop work
Published: 21 Oct 2013 at 17.02, Bangkok Post

The flight recorder of the Lao Airlines plane that crashed into the Mekong River near Pakse airport in Champassak province on Oct 16 has been located, Sommat Phonsena, Lao Minister for Public Works and Transport, said on Monday.

Mr Sommat said divers were trying to retrieve the black box from the river, after it was located by the search team.
He thanked Thai police and military personnel for their help in the search and recovery operation.

Pol Maj Gen Wallop Raksanoh, chief of the Thai military search team, said the Thai soldiers would stop work on Monday. Lao authorities said they are capable of concluding the search for bodies and the aircraft's fuselage. The Thai team would leave Pakse on Tuesday and return home, he added.

Pol Gen Charumporn Suramanee, an adviser to the Royal Thai Police Office and chief of Thailand's Disaster Victims Identification (DIV) team, said 42 bodies and 17 body parts had been recovered.

Lao Airlines Plane Crash in Pakse, Laos

Laos air crash: 27 bodies found in Mekong River
By South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel, ABC (Australia)

Photo: Divers are searching the Mekong River for bodies after Wednesday's plane crash. 

(AFP: PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL)

Twenty-seven bodies have now been recovered from the Mekong River in the aftermath of Wednesday's plane crash that killed 49 people, including 6 Australians.

Echappées Belles - Laos, l'autre fils du Mékong

A French travel show called Echappées Belles (Beautiful Escapes) on France5 network visits Laos in the episode entitled Laos, l'autre fils du Mékong (original air date:  January 26 2013).  If you don't understand French, you'll still get a kick at what is shown in the 1.5hr programme.  My only suggestion is that I wished the host would have made more effort to speak Lao with the locals.  Other than that, it certainly is fun watching her go all over the country.

Video Credit:  Echappées belles

Lao Word of the Day: The Meaning of Something

Anthony Bourdain's Travel Show - No Reservations - Laos

In this episode from 2008 (season 4, episode 11), which aired on the Discovery Channel in North America, Anthony Bourdain visits Laos.  While he does visit some of the more common places, I love seeing that he goes off the beaten path; his honesty about wartime history; and the baci ceremony they do for him at the end, you can tell he appreciates and understands it meaning.

Creepy Lao Horror Movie - Chanthaly

This was shown at Lao-ITECC back around May 2013. It looks good and the quality is really up there.  Here's a look at the official trailer.

Lao Word of the Day: Happiness, Happy

Learn Lao on Your Android Device

There's a really good app for learning Lao language on Android.  It's a free download.  Program is simply called Lao Language.  According to the credits it was created by Santi Anousaya.

Lao Word of the Day: To Agree