Yesterday we went on a rather Laoesque trek to a Hmong village (Laoesque in that we sloshed around the muddy jungle for 6 hours as it poored down rain).
The Hmong only live above 1,000 meters and still cultivate signicant amounts of opium. Their Tibetan, Mongolian descent is certainly visible in their faces as most look considerably different than your typical city dwelling Lao.
During the trek our guide Sivon, clarified the whole Same Same but Different thing for us. I thought that I should clear things for the sake of one of my previous rants. Communism really has nothing to with it; perhaps now it does by mistake, but its original association and any with Communism would certainly have Lenin,Stalin, and Ho Chi Minh rolling around in their sarcophagus's.........The actually meaning refers to Thai "lady boy's". Transvestite's are a dime a dozen in Bangkok, Phuket, and all over Thailand for that matter.. So for all of you people travelling around S.E. Asia right now, sporting a Same Same t-shirt, having a laugh........The jokes on you! Same Same but Different refers to a want to be lady packing legitimate heat. And now you, so please take that shirt off!!!
