Born into Laos

We've heard that ~70% of Laos' population live in rural villages on subsistence farming, and ~70 of the land is unmanaged wilderness, ~15% of which is protected forest. For a day and a half on the Mekong, we saw no development--just fields, a few huts, and a whole lot of jungle. The two villages we saw were "same same, but different," as people tend to say on the subcontinent. Think huts on stilts, corn drying and women weaving in the ground floor "pavilion," and chickens running around in the mud.

But the kids were the giveaway on quality of life in one village vs the other. The Lao government provides free education from ages 8 and up, usually around local villages. Older students travel to larger cities for secondary education. Right now, all the school kids are on holiday and chilling out at home. During the day, the men are farming and the women are tending to the home, so kids are generally left to their devices. Their favorite device appears to be the sling shot.

While all the kids were kids and playful when engaged, the kids in one village seemed much happier than those in the other. From what we could tell, living conditions were comparable in both villages. You gotta wonder what the difference was. And damn, it was heartbreaking to see.