Your videos show us how different we are but, mostly how much alike we all are. I'm from a more rural area and would feel more at home in this atmosphere. Love the recaps in black and whites. Excellent video again. Thanks.
That Canned Heat tune with the drone/vehicle footage is awesome,Todd and ATM I'm only 1/2 through the vid. Really really makes me wish I could already be on my way there.
They were 2 delightful young Yao ladies .. so friendly snd happy to discuss their identities with strangers.. breat vision Todd. Also the lady sitting was getting involved in the discussion which is common practice of my memories of Laos and Thailand northern regions. This is what makes your videos stand out n apart from the rest mate. Takes an Aussie to bring out the best.. lol. Bushyboy Oz.
WOW I just came across your video of Laos and it brought back memories of when I was in the far norther part of Thailand along the Laos border and met my first wife there she spoke both Lao and Thai and they called themselves LaoThai. This was in 1972-73 time period and it was a real adventure back in that time for sure. I am 71 and now live in the Philippines for over 33 years. I would love to visit that area one day and Northern Thailand. Thank You for a nice video to help pass my time.
Hello Hello Yot Ou district nicer area ,there is a very interesting rural electrification project with the installation of a micro hydro power station. Are there still many isolated villages without electricoty in the Phongsaly region? Thanks for your Video!
Todd, you never know what you will find passing by a bus stop. Two Yao Girls . Two New subscribers . Hope you are doing well ? Sending you the best👍👍. From Jim and Harriet. Richmond, Va.
Most Indonesians are multi-lingual too. The rural folks have their local (tribal) language, and some of them speak more than one. There's Bahasa, the national language they learn in school and use for government documents and signage. Most Indonesians speak some English and Dutch too.
Howdy Todd,,what a superb video! One great and interesting village after another. Gorgeous girls everywhere! There was one girl holding a baby,,,omg she was a looka. Hey,,you were told Todd,,about the sticky rice with pork,,"its fuckin good" lol made me laugh. Neenee always gives the look of innocence,,then she pops off one of your bad fuckin Aussie words.lmao thanks for this perfect vid brother. Ttyl,,,Marlon
That was the point of asking them Tony. Not all Yao are Iu Mien, only about 70%. There are other sub groups of people who fall under the name of Yao. Lanten for example. These girls have always called themselves Yao and never Mien. 🙏
Was in Lao in the 90's on a visa run while living in Thailand. Loved Lao more than Thailand! People seemed more genuine. I speak Thai VERY well, if I remember its very close to Thai? Is your truck a Chevy Colorado Z71? Buy in Lao?
Hey man, I just found your channel, great work! My wife is Thai and we will be spending the summer in Thailand. I am interested in hunting and would love to possibly do some hunting with some Lao locals. Based on your experience living in Lao, do you think this might be possible?
I really liked your this vid. I have a couple questions that I have not been able to fine a answer to can I buy a truck in lao ? and if I stay the 90 days how long do I have to leave the country before I can return from the visa run ?
Haha, the same thing happened to me last time in Laos. A young girl asked me to send a photo of her to her phone... but the only mode she had was WhatsApp, so I couldn't... Next time I will have it installed in advance 😂
China and Thai give their own names to the different hill tribes and they're often derogatory and not liked by the tribal people. Several Akha sub groups called Igor by Thais. Lu mien called Yao. Dara'ang called palaung. Lahu sub groups called Muser. Shan called Tai yai. Several Hmong and other hill tribes in Vietnam called Montagnard by colonial French... etc.
Yao is 瑶，it's pronounced as "yao" in mandarin but in Cantonese it's "Yiu", the same pronunciation as "iu" Mien. Unlike Hmongs, Iu Miens are traditionally Daoists, they carry Chinese characters along with them even after they migrated out of China.Their family letters and records/books were in Chinese characters. So they don't see "Yao" as derogatory, you'll find them using this character 瑶（Yao）in the US' Iu Mien communities and in the recent Iu Mien World Conference that was held in Thailand. In China, Akha is just Aka(阿卡）, they're a subgroup of Hani people just Hakka is a subgroup of Han Chinese, Lahu is Lahu（拉祜）. All above Akha, Hmong, Iu Mien, Lahu, their majorities are still in China. PS. there're different Tai subgroups, Tai Lue，Tai Dam，Tai Yai is just one of them, I believe "Shan" is the name that Myanmar call them.
"Mien" means people, it shares with its Chinese cognate "民（min）”, "iu" is “Yao（瑶）”, it's not hard to see from the pronunciation. Iu Mien=瑶（iu）民(mien)=Yao people As Iu Mien historically using Chinese characters, their ancient scripts and family books just refered to themselves as 瑶民 or 瑶人. Until today, you can still see Iu Mien communities in SEA and the US using 瑶（iu/yao）in their ceremonies and events. There're different Yao/Mien subgroups, Iu Mien being the largest, the others are mostly Mun/Min/Men--same word as Mien but just different dialect pronunciations， with various regional prefixes such as Kim Mun. Of course there're some other small subgroups. That's anothe story. By the way , "Hmong/Mong" also shares the same origin, the word itself means people.
From my memory I had to back track turn left to Sam nua (spelling?) and cross to Vietnam, only locals can cross into China from there, that was 20 years ago so? I got by with Thai, as much as I could, by my self. Great to have a local with you,
@@NowinLao Just to add to this....I've been traveling SE Asia for five months now. I'm from the US. I guarantee that if you're from an English-speaking country, Laos is safer that where you're at.
does anyone know what hes trying to say when he says "bpen yang dai" if he speaks slower it will sound better. but i apreciate his knowledge and respect for the country
the two Yao girls at the bus stop that they know themselves as Yao. They're not sure if they are also called IUMIEN too. The answer is yes, Yao and iumien are the same tribe.
I don't think they are Iu Mien because they speak Mien language. I'm Iu Mien and I don't recognize what they are saying. There are several different ethnic Yao groups in that region near China border.
Love your music and adventures. On the road again. My new song Starting Over Chris Stapleton. "Well the world rolls at like a welcome mat,. Check it out and add to your road tunes. Be safe Happy Lao New Year Todd.
I know this varies wildly between countries, so in Laos, does a national and party flag signify a government building, or is it just done out of patriotism and genuine affiliation of citizens?
Have you encountered anything paranormal there? Would love to hear stories if you have. Parents where born there and as most of us know, Laos is a very active paranormal country.
I experience lots of paranormal at my childhood around age 5-12 before my family moved to the U.S. I live in the village near Hin Heup, but this was 25 years ago, the village still haven’t have electricity yet so maybe things change a lot now. More brighter and less spirits wondering around 👻
These two girls are most likely not Yao; if they are Yao, they would rather be called in their corrected ethnicity: Mien. For example, the Lao used to call the Meo for Hmong; we did not accept it.
As I understand it, there are many sub groups that fall under the umbrella of Yao, but only 2 of those live in Laos.. The Mien and the Lanten. Yet in all my time in Laos heard none of them address themselves as such, it's always been Yao. Interesting indeed ✌
@@NowinLao Todd, I was born in Houa Phanh province and relocated to the States in 1980 at 16. I enjoyed watching your videos and have learned so much more about Laos and its people. Though I don't know you and your wife (Nini) personally, but I have grown into you both. Please continue to produce videos and I along with thousand others will continue to watch.
@@First_Emperor It's always a pleasure receiving feedback such as this from those who once lived here. Laos is such a beautiful and very unique country and I'm definitely not tiring of capturing it and learning as much as I can about my new home. Your support is much appreciated, thank you 🙏
It's not that they don't have the minimal resources to keep their streets, public parks, "scenic places & recreation areas," towns, and cities rubbish free: it's that the LEVEL OF AWARENESS among the average citizen... isn't that high on such fronts. There's little to no dot-connecting between, say, infectious diseases and cleanliness/hygiene beyond the immediate vicinity of a clinic of hospital. And it's NOT at all that these people are "lazy," either; they are very hard working. Most will work from dawn to dusk, literally; but again, there is a lacking in basic understanding. You saw it, when Neenee and you went to the largest Hmong New Year event in Phonesavang: trash (99% plastics from Thailand, Vietnam, China, and other foreign places.... since locally I don't believe Lao has the technical skills or heavy industry infrastructure to turn the rubber they harvest from trees, grown locally... into synthetics like plastics, styrofoam, etc. so endless tons of cheap, one-use-&-throw-away plastics must be from countries surrounding Laos).... The same lack of NON-HYGIENE existed in Hmong New Years events here in the West, until very recently, too: today, when you go to the second largest Hmong New Year (in the world) gathering in Fresno, California... or the 3rd largest in St. Paul, Minnesota.... you'd see zero trash on the ground anywhere.... because they CITIES (health departments) DEMANDED that they pay the cities to pay city workers to pick up the trash for Hmong... Otherwise, the Hmong weren't going to do it and they WERE NOT bothered by such trash. For example, they NEVER announced, on the speaker --- not even once, as a public announcement ---- in all of the decades I've been in the US... going to Hmong New Year... asking/pleading/reminding parents and everyone else, to "please, throw your trash in the trash bags and trash cans... so when we have visitors, & we have visitors all the time... they'd see how clean and orderly we are..." Never! (Until the cities in the US and at other First World nations forced them to, by charging them...) I had NEVER heard of such announcements once... even for just 5 seconds.... by speakers and the elders who were in charge of organizing and running such events, which turned out, of late, to be quite lucrative in money making, when successfully done... Again, among Third World people and mentality, it's a FAILURE to connect dots on basic hygiene and infectious diseases... beyond pure aesthetics ("it looks good")... which, in & of itself... also is a good thing to have...
i find it interesting that in the west, if you stop people and want a conversation, about culture, about anything your often ignored, im in a rush, or a no thanks, or even an odd piss off, its seems very awkward, but in asia, they r happy to stop, theres plenty of smiles, they take the time, have a talk, no matter how different the culture, mostly its a pleasure for people to stop and have a nice chat. they enjoy it. it tells me asia is doing something very right with their culture, and we of the west are doing something very, very wrong.
