New Mandala

Can any New Mandala readers point me to some good up-to-date sources of rainfall data within the upper-Mekong region? Given the flooding that has hit Mekong countries over the past week or so, I would be interested in seeing how far outside the normal range recent rainfall has been.
And I wonder if any readers have comments [...]

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The Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter has an eye-opening (and more than slightly upbeat) report on a Hmong physician, Dr. Xa Xavier Xiong.  He is the first Hmong doctor in his particular Wisconsin county.  A lecture by the good doctor on “The Key to Education” is available here.

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• Kia ora koutou
• Sawatdi
• Apa kabar
• Ni hao
• Vanakkam
• Magandáng gabi po
• Xin chào
• Assalamu Alaikum
It is my pleasure to be able to speak to you here tonight on behalf of the Prime Minister, Right Honourable Helen Clark, who, although she would have liked to, was unable to attend tonight…
- Extracted from the speaking [...]

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Tourism in mainland south-east Asia has entered a new era. Thailand, once something of an underground destination, has become hugely popular, attracting more than 12 million tourists every year. Its top resorts, such as Phuket and Koh Samui, are swamped by foreigners, particularly in the winter high season. But political and social trends are reshaping the [...]

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During the American War, countless Vietnamese fought and died for their nation, and many of the martyrs’ remains have been lost in Laos for the past 40 years. Now, a new generation of soldiers is bringing them back home.
- Extracted from Tran Bien, Tran Hoai and Ho Linh, “Soldiers bring martyr remains back home”, Vietnam [...]

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If you want to get yourself into the nationalist mood while on your way to a PAD rally, here is some current reading from the PAD reading list. Technical constraints prevent me from scanning it all, but the Preface and the “list of Thai territories lost to France” should be enough to get you hot [...]

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My dream was always to go to Laos before it got Starbucked to death by my people, before a great deluge of tourism washed over its enchantment. I was told to get there fast, before the crowds came. But you can’t reach Laos directly from the UK…
- The opening gambit of Ruby Wax’s “Serene Dream: [...]

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The National Library of Australia has recently acquired microfilm of the Lao Nhay newspaper (1941 to 1945). Lao Nhay was the first Lao language newspaper (in the first year it was hand written!). It was published fortnightly during WWII with Vichy French support. The historian Soren Ivarsson noted (in 2000) of its significance, “… 1) the historical narrative advanced to [...]

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an informative little article about a Lao-American police officer working near Atlanta.  It explores his desire to introduce Muay Thai to his police department, and outlines his five “Rules of Combat”.  It also introduces some of the ways that he helps the large local Vietnamese and Lao populations deal with life [...]

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Following Andrew’s recent post on the reported revival of buffalos in northern Thailand, this piece on pigs in Laos caught my attention.  The relevant report comes from “your portal on pig production”, pigprogress.net.  It discusses an International Centre for Tropical Agriculture project that seeks to introduce more forage legumes to supplement the diets of pigs in rural [...]

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