A five-star hotel and the first entertainment complex in Laos, which also includes a casino, was inaugurated recently in Savannakhet province.

The Savan Vegas Hotel and Casino, which is located on the entrepot and intersection of the West-East economic corridor, would make an important contribution to the socio-economic development in Laos central region, local officials said.

Construction of the $US50 million Savan Vegas-hotel project started in August 2007.

MORE PHOTOS >>

When the weather gets hot, the cicadas chirp, shrubs come into bloom and the air is filled with the scent of frangipani, it is a sure sign that Pi Mai Lao (Lao New Year) is just around the corner.

The New Year water festival is a special festival for the people of Laos and neighbouring countries, where it is celebrated nationwide. This year the festival in Laos takes place from April 14-16.

Champassak Tourism De partment Deputy Director, Sivon Vangkonvilay, said they would hold similar activities to the ones they had last year and that are organised by other provinces - a Nang Sangkhan (Miss Lao New Year 2009) beauty contest and other activities that visitors will enjoy...more >>

This year, however, we are designating a special area for the celebrations by closing the road along the Mekong riverbank. People will be able to have fun down by the river and on the sandbanks, and it will also be easier for the police to manage the crowd and reduce road accidents, Sivon said.

Other plans in Champassak include a larger Miss Lao New Year parade, with decorated floats and more performers and people to be involved. The parade starts in the city centre and will follow a 1km route to Luang temple.

Food and drink stalls will also be set up for visitors in popular tourist destinations such as Khone Phapheng, Vat Phou, Tad Fan, and Pha Suam.

Savannakhet province is preparing for the festival by decorating the city with flowering shrubs and clearing a road to a new tourist site, Nong Lom, which is just outside the city centre. There will be food, local produce and water stalls available. Last year the province attracted 120,000 visitors and this year is hoping to attract as many tourists as possible.

An added attraction in Savannakhet province over the New Year is Tanghang Stupa, where visitors and devotees will gather to pour water on each other and trickle scented water over the ancient Buddha image. The highlight of Lao New Year celebrations in Khammuan province will take on a different face this year as authorities have allocated a specific area for activities in a bid to reduce road accidents. The 1km square area in central Thakhek district is close to the riverside and the provincial stadium.

For those who don't want to travel out of Vientiane , there is plenty to do here. This year's celebrations will be similar to those in Luang Prabang, with a Nang Sangkhan (Miss Lao New Year) parade. The organisers are currently in the process of selecting the most beautiful young women to sit atop the floats.

Another option for those wanting to celebrate Lao New Year is to take a trip to Viengvieng, where you can be sure of a good time. The limestone mountains, river kayaking, mountain climbing and trekking will get you out of the city. Vangvieng district, in Vientiane province, is a 3-4 hour drive north of the capital.

But if you want a taste of the original spirit of Lao New Year, you should go to Luang Prabang province where you can see the traditional customs on display, as they have been practised for many years.

Director of the Luang Prabang Tourism Department, Mr Khamphuay Phommavong, said this year's activities would be the same as usual, except for a trade fair organised by the Department of Export Promotion of Thailand's Ministry of Commerce.

The trade fair will take place at the That Luang Stupa (the old stadium) on April 10, and will be followed by performances such as magic tricks and songs and dances performed by artists from the Information and Culture Department.

There will also be acts from local recording companies, including The Cells, Overdance, A'pact, Touly, Hip Hop Banna, Black 5, Big T and some Thai artists.

The Nang Sangkhan beauty contest will take place over two days, April 12-13, on the same stage as the concert.

"The Hotel and Guesthouse Association is expecting a large increase in visitors to the province and 90 percent of hotels and guesthouses have already been booked. To accommodate everyone we are working with local residents to provide home-stays ranging in price from 100,000 -150,000 kip. Anyone who's interested can contact us directly," Mr Khamphuay said.

"This year we are working with traffic police and residents in the area of Phousy Stupa to ease traffic congestion and facilitate transportation to and from events by providing car parks. Last year we had a problem with traffic jams due to the large number of visitors all wanting to be in the same place at the same time."

On April 14 everyone can gather to make sand stupas on the riverbank in Chomphet district.

On April 15 there will be a textile exhibition in Phanom village along with traditional dancing by local ethnic groups. There'll also be a baci ceremony followed by the Nang Sangkhan parade in the afternoon, which goes from Thatnoi temple to Xiengthong temple.

On April 16 there will be an almsgiving ceremony at Phousy, followed by a spirit worship ceremony in the evening.

Vientianetimes

According to the Lao development newspaper, the Lao archeologists discovered a 2000-year old drum on Januaray, 30th 2008 in Savannakhet province, central Laos. This drum is the 4th drum that has been unearthed in Savannakhet province and the 7th drum that has been found in Laos. This drum is believed to be used in the sacred events of people in the old times such as to ask for rain and to motivate soldiers in the fighting field. This drum is 79 cm in height and 1 meter in width. It took 2 days to fish digging up this drum from the earth.

More photos HERE >>

Weza , a new band from Savannakhet province, have released two hot singles, and played their first shows for Vientiane fans at Lao-ITECC last weekend.


The concert was organised by the Vientiane Youth Centre for Health and Development and the Vientiane Women's Union .

They performed three songs to greet the Vientiane crowd - the singles Khor Khuam (Message), Thon Bor Vai (Can't Endure), and Sou Phueua Fan (Fight for a Dream)

“This is our first time on stage here and we are so happy to play at this concert; we never thought we'd appear here when we launched the band,” said 21-year-old vocalist Mr Xayxana Silylasak (Ai) of his three-piece, which also includes Mr Vongphasouk Khenthanavong (22) or Lulu, and guitarist, Mr Xaixana Sengsopha (20) or Thang...more

“We first met each other in 2003, when we attended a song contest while we were in secondary school in Savannakhet province,” said Lulu.

“We were interested in each other's music and we formed a band called Impression, which had seven members, but it was unfortunate that not everyone got along and the band soon dissolved, and then we were all busy with our final exams,” said Thang.

In 2004, after graduation, he called the members back in hopes of getting together again, but only three of the former band mates were available, and so Weza was born.

“Weza comes from two words - ‘We', or ‘us', and ‘Za', which is short for ‘Savannakhet'. Our band name tells people who we are and where we come from,” said Ai.

“Our dreams came true after the first disappointment, when we failed to pass the final round of the Close-Up Music Award in 2006. Luckily, there was a producer in the audience from Samlan Entertainment, who approached us and suggested we sign up with them,” Ai said.

“We were stunned, and there was one question in our minds: why, if we failed the contest, would they want us to join their company? But we weren't about to say no.”

A few weeks later, the company began talking about making an album for them, and the band signed the contract here in Vientiane , where the US recording company has its local studio and sub-branch.

The band spent over a year on the album, before they launched the first single that made them well known to radio listeners.

The lyrics of Khor Khuam were written by Ai's mother, a gift to him; the song is about the love of a teenage boy for a girl, but he doesn't dare tell her how he feels, and he only knows her mobile phone number so he sends a text greeting to her every day.

“My mother is not a songwriter, she just loves music and I was really surprised when she gave me the lyrics, and just said “sing it”. We adapted it a little bit, and we never expected the song would become a hit,” said Ai.

“The second single, now getting airplay, is titled Thon Bor Vai, written by DJ Hieng, which tells what happens when girlfriends break our hearts.”

The full album, entitled Kap Ma (Come Back), has nine tracks and has already been launched in the US ; the company is preparing its local release for March.

By PHOONSAB THEVONGSA
Vientianetimes

Taiwanese star to visit Laos

Popular Taiwanese actor Mr Wang Lee Hom will visit Savannakhet province this week as part of activities to raise funds for development projects in Laos.

A press release from World Vision Laos stated that the organisation had invited Mr Lee Hom and his entourage to visit the province from November 24 to 28 to inspect World Vision-sponsored development projects and meet local children and community people.

Mr Lee Hom, who is also a singer and song-writer, appears in the recently released motion picture Lust, Caution, a film by director Ang Lee, personally sponsors 10 Lao children in Savannakhet through World Vision...more info

The celebrity will trek through poor rural communities for five days to visit the children he sponsors and their families, and learn how he can respond to the needs of the communities they live in.

After the trip, he will return to Taiwan as World Vision's Sponsorship Ambassador, to raise awareness and encourage donors to provide funds for Laos and other parts of the world.

According to the press release, the hope is that through Lee Hom's personal experience and example, the people of Taiwan will be moved to action and become more active in their support for those living in poverty, especially for the children of Laos .

To date, Mr Lee Hom has recorded over 10 albums and has seven movie appearances to his credit. He has also won numerous music awards and his talent is highly recognised across the region in Taiwan , Hong Kong, mainland China , Singapore , Japan , and Southeast Asia .

World Vision Laos is an international NGO working in 31 districts across six provinces to create lasting change for children, families, and communities living in poverty. Through child sponsorship funding, World Vision works across many sectors including Mother and Child Health, Food Security, and Education.

By Vientiane Times



A Different Kind of Giving Thanks,

In the Wang household, Thanksgiving has been the one time each year when my family gets together for dinner cooked by the greatest chef on earth (in my eyes) Wang Mama.

No matter how busy I am, or where in the world I am, I always stop work and fly to New York for a taste of that mouth-watering turkey stuffing.

Just thinking about it now: fresh, juicy, chock full of the flavor that is synonymous with Thanksgiving...it's almost enough to make me book that flight back home. But this year, for the first time in my life, I'm choosing to cancel my reservation. This year, I'm trading turkey for crickets.

Or I should say, rice, bamboo, crickets and crabs, to be more exact, which will probably be what I eat on my trip to Laos as World Vision Taiwan's ambassador this Thanksgiving.

The origin of Thanksgiving is to "give thanks", for being blessed with a fruitful harvest, and having enough to eat.

The way I see it (and I know my family agrees), what better way to give thanks,
than to help children living in poverty, who perhaps didn't have such a fruitful harvest. I'm excited for this trip, to meet my 10 sponsored children for the first time face to face, and to share with them the universal language of music.
I can't wait to see them smile, and to hear them sing. And of course, I am looking forward to the work that lies ahead of me in presenting,
as ambassador, a clearer picture of what World Vision Taiwan has
accomplished and has yet to accomplish in the impoverished areas of Laos.

My new album, "Change Me" delivers a message of power to the people,
that we all have the ability to do the right thing, and to make a change for good.

To change the world. Whether it be in environmental conservation, charity work, or in my professional career, I am inspired by this message,
and hope that you are inspired this holiday season as well.
After all, inspiration is the first seed for a fruitful harvest!

Happy Thanksgiving!

王力宏
Wang Leehom
2007.11.21

A quiet spectacle occurs at dawn every day in Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos. Hundreds of saffron-robed monks file out from the city's monasteries seeking alms. In small groups throughout the streets of the historic old town, locals line up and kneel, heads bowed in silence. As the monks pass by, they place offerings such as rice and money in the monks' silver bowls and receive blessings for the coming day...more

It's a peaceful image at odds with the country's violent past. Years of war and poverty have left the landscape visibly fractured. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped the equivalent of one planeload of bombs on the country every eight minutes in a futile effort to defeat the Vietcong. Because of this, Laos earned the dubious distinction of being the most heavily bombed nation in the history of warfare.

There's little evidence of that this quiet morning. After following the procession through the rising heat and dilapidated grace of the old town, I walk over to Laos's most revered temple, Wat Xieng Thong. After years of neglect, it's undergoing renovations. Young monks paint trim and polish pieces of what looks like broken glass on the outer wall of the main temple. I soon realize the coloured fragments are part of a large mosaic depicting a flame tree that is believed to have stood at this site before the temple was built in the 16th century.

I meet Samone, a 20-year-old monk relaxing in the shade of a tree. I make out a few tattoos underneath his robe as he explains that his years at the monastery are almost up. Out of economic necessity, many Lao send their sons to a monastery, where they can receive basic shelter, food, and education. Samone explains he's now ready to move to Vientiane, the capital, and enroll in university. He plans to study English and perhaps work as a tour guide, get married, and buy a new scooter. He's lucky–he has a sister in the U.S. who can provide some assistance. University is out of the question for most in a country for which the CIA's World Factbook estimates the annual per capita income at only about US$2,000.

On the edge of town, a short distance from the temple, is the outdoor Hmong market. The Hmong are one of many hill tribes scattered across Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos, in an area known, because of its opium production, as the Golden Triangle. They are comparative newcomers to Laos, having arrived from southern China at the beginning of the 19th century, and they have long been met with suspicion. After the Vietnam War, the Hmong were severely persecuted by the Communist government for supporting the wrong side. Today, forced relocation and urbanization have scattered them as far as the United States.

They have an international reputation for their artistry, and many survive by selling crafts and textiles. After a few minutes of browsing, I find myself haggling with a girl about 10 years old. She looks sweet enough in a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt, but she's as tough as nails and knows her English numbers as well as any accountant. After negotiating like a seasoned pro, she gets her price: US$40 for a large aquamarine blanket embroidered with her tribe's trademark geometric patterns.

The next day, my wife and I hire a van to visit the Kuangsi waterfalls, about 30 kilometres outside the city. Our driver, Som Bat, turns out to be a monastery dropout. After a few years as a monk, he fell in love and left to get married and have a child.

The countryside around Luang Prabang varies dramatically depending on the time of year. During the dry season, from October to April, dust coats everything in a fine brown powder, but in the rainy season, from July to October, every shade of green leaps out from the fields and hills. Outside of the major cities, much of the country is unpopulated, and villages lack electricity. Nonurban roads remain largely undeveloped, and trains are nonexistent. Rice paddies and the odd temple are the only signs of habitation.

After a refreshing swim in the waterfalls, Som Bat suggests we visit a Hmong village. As we turn off the dusty main road into a dirt compound, we find a group of women grinding corn with a large swinging pestle and others gathered in the shade of their huts sewing bright designs on fabrics that they will sell in town. I'm welcomed by an older woman with a beatific smile that consists of one single tooth. She takes my hand and pulls me into a hut. Through the cloudy sunlight I make out a group of men sitting on the dirt floor. One reaches up and pulls on my hand for me to sit down. As I do, another offers me a water pipe. It's opium. Suddenly everything swims into focus: the men are stoned. I smile and turn back outside into the clear sunlight.

The Hmong's relationship with opium is well-known. Some rely on it for economic sustenance, selling it to drug smugglers who eventually transfer it to Bangkok and Hong Kong for overseas export. The Hmong's connection to the U.S. is a well-documented tale of manipulation and betrayal. During the war, the CIA exploited Hmong resentment toward the government and actively recruited an anti-Communist faction. In return, the Hmong were promised aid and an independent state. At the end of the war when the Communist Pathet Lao became the new government, promises were forgotten, and the Hmong have been treated with suspicion and derision ever since.

The next day we take a boat ride up the Mekong River to the Pak Ou caves. After a few hours, we arrive at the final resting place for thousands of Buddha statues. Rather than destroy the images, the Lao prefer to bury them or place them in sacred caves. As we climb the staircase, row after row of Buddhas–in differing sizes and styles–comes into view, their wide eyes staring out at us in a surreal welcome.

On our final night in Luang Prabang, we walk up Phousi Hill for a view of the sunset. The hill is the geographical and spiritual centre of the city; it also happens to be capped with a rusted anti-aircraft gun dating from the Vietnam era. A couple of young monks sit casually on the barrel as the sun dips below the horizon. The contrast is striking: in just a few hours they will likely be offering blessings, as life goes on peacefully, despite the country's shattered past.


ACCESS: When planning to visit Laos, it's best to avoid the rainy season, when roads are often washed-out. The best time to go is between November and February, when it's not rainy or too hot. It's easy to find clean, affordable accommodation in Luang Prabang. Try the Canadian-run Le Calao ( www.calaoinn.laopdr.com/) , a tastefully renovated 1904 building in the heart of the historical old town. Rooms start at US$60; ask for one with a balcony overlooking the Mekong River.

Direct flights to Luang Prabang leave regularly from Bangkok on several carriers, including Lao Airlines ( www.laoairlines.com/). There are also direct flights from Chiang Mai, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Source: www.straight.com

By: Diana Plater

The Australian, Irish and Welsh backpackers I met at the Hive bar in Luang Prabang, Laos, invited me 10 pin bowling.

It's not the sort of thing you'd expect to do in a UNESCO-protected town high up in the mountains of northern Laos.

But not surprisingly this town has few western night clubs or late night bars.
And the only place to drink late at night in town is at the bowling alley...more

But, by the time we'd had a few drinks of beer Lao, a deliciously spicy dinner at one of the many restaurants in town, then nightcaps of Lao Lao (or locally-made whiskey) with local Diet Coke (I'm not sure what was worse) we never got there.

I was lucky to find a tuk tuk driver to take me back to my hotel.

It was a fairly active night for what could be one of the most languid places I've ever been to.

It's almost as if time stands still in this French colonial town known more for its spirituality than bowling.

Even the Buddhist monks seem to move slower than normal.

And walking around town in 38 degree heat, I'm reminded that only mad dogs, Englishmen and then maybe tourists go out in the midday sun. It's so hot you can almost feel the air swallowing you. Everybody else seems to be lying inside or in the shade using as little energy as possible.

It's low season and local school holidays. They say Christmas time is better for visiting and can even get chilly at night.

I visit the 16th century Wat Xieng Thong, known as a masterpiece of Buddhist architecture with a tiered roof, glittering golden facades and richly coloured mural painting. It's a working temple and monks have hung their orange robes out to dry after doing their laundry.

I stop for an iced lemon tea and lunch at one of the riverside cafes overlooking the murky brown waters of the Mekong. The son of the restaurant owner is painting pictures of monks with pen and ink on saa paper made from the mulberry tree and its bark.

He tells me he's an art student. The town seems to be full of them, if you go by the number of art shops and galleries.

In the late afternoon, men play boule along the river front, on even the smallest patch of dirt.

In his book The Mekong: Turbulent Past, Uncertain Future (Allen and Unwin, 2006), former Australian diplomat Milton Osborne says the Mekong has ``always been a river for work, for travel and for fishing, and, not infrequently, for war''.

Luang Prabang was once known as Asia's sleeping beauty. The former capital of the ancient Lam Xang kingdom, with around 32 pagodas along with religious and historical monuments, was made a World Heritage town by UNESCO in 1995.

It has especially strong ties with Buddhism, being a traditional destination for novices and students of the faith.

Flying over the mountains on the way in, you can't imagine anybody living in such rugged land. This is the country where what became known as The Secret War was played out - US bombings including attacks on what came to be known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a North Vietnamese supply route through East Laos and the Cambodian-Vietnam border.

The Communist Pathet Lao took over in 1975; they've only opened the place to tourism in the past 10 years. Now, around 140,000 people or seven times the city's estimated population visit the place over a one-year period.

UNESCO's role is partly to try to support the town's growth within the framework of strict controls so the historic buildings are preserved.

Development must take into account ancient Laotian social, architectural and religious mores.

Buddhism is a force that underpins every aspect of life here.
Around 6am every day, hundreds of monks and novices attend the alms-giving ceremony, where locals give them sticky rice, fruit and sweets.

Tourists are asked not to be obtrusive.

The Pathet Lao forced the last king of Laos, Savang Vathana, to abdicate, snuffing out a 600-year-old monarchy. Twenty years later, Christopher Kremmer, an Australian foreign correspondent, tried unsuccessfully to crack the mystery behind the fate of the royals - as outlined in his book, Stalking the Elephant Kings: In Search of Laos.

The former Royal Palace is now a National Museum, which is worth visiting for its rooms that give a glimpse of what life was once like for the royals. There's an eclectic mix of exhibits, including gifts from other countries, among them a boomerang from Australia.

It's where the Pha Bang Buddha is kept, which gives the town its name.

It's said to be have been cast in Sri Lanka in the first century AD and twice stolen by the Thais. But, it has been back in Laos since the mid 19th century.

A beautiful exhibition known as The Quiet in the Land of Buddhism-inspired images, including photographs, was on display in an outer building.
Luang Prabang is now on the backpacker route. My new friends had made their way across country after doing an elephant trek near Chiang Mai in northern Thailand then crossed the border and came by boat up the river, taking two days to get there. Others come down the river from Vietnam.

And it's also a town with a growing number of more well-heeled visitors.

Many fly in to what is considered one of the most difficult airports to land in in South-East Asia.

The hotel where I'm staying, La Residence Phuo Voa, has a spa which overlooks the mountains with its own small swimming pool - lazing in it after a massage is like having a huge bath to yourself.

At night, staff place candles in the main swimming pool overlooked by the floodlit shrine on top of Mount Phou Si. The food at its Phou Vao restaurant is traditional Laotian cuisine alongside European dishes with local influences.

The walk up Mount Phou Si from the town gives spectacular views and is popular at sunrise and sunset.

Apart from exploring the town and its wonderfully photogenic architecture and temples, shops and galleries there's also the night markets full of traditional clothes, woven cloth, scarfs, jewellery and souvenirs.

The only two relatively close excursions out of town are the Pak Ou caves and the Kuang si waterfall. Many agencies run half-day tours. But then there's also bowling.

IF YOU GO:
La Residence Phou Vao is from $141 per room per night for a garden view room.
To book/query call Orient-Express Hotels (02) 8248-5200 or email: charlie.turnbullorient-express.com
Also visit www.residencephouvao.com.
Bangkok Airways flies daily and sometimes twice daily between Bangkok and Luang Prabang. Details: visit www.bangkokair.com
Qantas flies to Bangkok. Visit www.qantas.com.

Source: www.brisbanetimes.com.au

A survey team’s discovery of a small breeding population of Siamese Crocodiles marks the first time that hatchlings of this species have been observed in Lao PDR.

The breeding colony, discovered in Savannakhet Province, southern Lao PDR, is a great contribution to Lao celebrations for the International Day of Biological Diversity (22 May 2005).

The Lao Crocodile Survey us a joint project of the Department of Forestry, Living Aquatic Resources Research Centre (LARReC), National Agriculture and Forestry Resource Institute (NAFRI), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme (MWBP)...more info and photos


Survey results have already revealed some exciting findings. Seven crocodile hatchlings were observed in a small swamp in Savannakhet Province, March 2005. Two hatchlings were caught and measured for scientific research, and then released. An old crocodile nest was also found. From March to May 2005, 20 wetlands in central and southern Lao PDR were surveyed. The team confirmed that crocodiles occur in four sites, and local communities reported that crocodiles still occur in another six sites.


The harmless Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is among the world’s most threatened crocodilians, and is ranked as “Critically Endangered” by IUCN - The World Conservation Union. It is now very rare or extinct in Southeast Asia. The current crocodile surveys are the first detailed surveys to be undertaken for the species in Lao PDR.“The Siamese Crocodile is one of four flagship species of the Mekong Wetlands Biodiversity Programme, and the Lao survey is making a great contribution to species conservation through the development of science-based approaches,” said Peter-John Meynell, UNDP Team Leader of the MWBP.

Siamese Crocodiles still occur in central and southern Lao PDR, but most populations are now small and fragmented. Some local populations may be extinct, with remaining crocodile populations under threat. “The discovery of a crocodile breeding population in Savannakhet Province is internationally important for conserving this species, especially as no other breeding sites have been confirmed yet. Urgent efforts and funding are needed to protect this site and propagate this species in the future,” said Mark Bezuijen, WCS biologist for the crocodile programme.

The surveys are also raising awareness of the species among local agencies, and forestry staff who accompany surveys are trained in crocodile survey techniques. “Crocodile conservation is a high priority of the Department of Forestry, and the government is now planning conservation activities with local communities in Savannakhet to protect the breeding site. Surveys will continue to help conserve this endangered species,” said Mr. Chanthone Phothitay, LARReC, Government of Lao PDR.

The current Lao surveys will end in June 2005. After June, new funding will be essential to develop a national conservation plan for the species. Conservation actions in the breeding site in other areas such as Savannakhet and Attapeu (where the MWBP Lao demonstration site is located) are needed. Surveys are also currently being undertaken in Viet Nam and conservation initiatives implemented in Cambodia, as part of MWBP’s flagship species conservation action planning for the Mekong region.

Source: mekongwetlands.org

A rock rat discovered in Laos in 1998 has turned out to be a "fossil species" - the sole survivor of a family thought to have disappeared 11 million years ago.

The little rodent has the face of a mouse and the furry tail of a squirrel. Watch a video of the Laotian rock rat in action. It was discovered by biologists in markets in Laos 1998, where it was skewered, roasted and sold (see Strange new rodent discovered as Asian snack).

In 2005, researchers at the Natural History Museum in London, UK, suggested that the rodent marked the discovery of a whole new mammalian family and was a relative of guinea pigs, African mole rats and porcupines.

But six months later, other researchers disputed this, suggesting that the Laotian rock rat was not part of a new family but a very old one: the Diatomyidae, which was thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago. However, that work was based solely on fossil data and so was controversial, according to Dorothee Huchon at Tel Aviv University in Israel.


Photo: The Gundi, of which there are just five known species - all in Africa - are the Laotian rock rat's closest living relative (Image: David Redfield/Uthai Treesucon/Florida State University)...more info and photos

Huchon set about resolving the issue by studying the family tree of the Laotian rock rat, Laonastes aenigmamus, using seven genes. The team compared the genes in the rock rat to those in all major taxonomic groups of living rodents in order to build up a picture of where it fit in the evolutionary tree. "The data we got is really, really strong," she says. "We can rule out that Laonastes is most closely related to guinea pigs."

Huchon says her study strongly supports the theory that Laonastes is the only known survivor of the Diatomyidae family. The team was also able to estimate that the Diatomyidae diverged from their closest living relatives, gundis (see picture, right), 44 million years ago.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0701289104)

environment.newscientist.com

The event became a highlight of Pi Mai Lao, held on April 13 and 14 at the Military Airport . Around 60 parachutists from three continents, 20 of them Lao, joined in the event, and plunged 4,000 metres from the sky.

The festival was organised by the Lao National Tourism Administration and the Savannakhet Travel Company to promote tourism in Laos , but unfortunately the site was not open to the public... more info and photos

The administration had initially planned to hold the festival near Don Chan Palace Hotel, but had to change locations due to concerns about strong winds pushing parachutists onto Thai territory.

One parachutist from Australia said she had been jumping regularly for one year, and had had a lot of fun jumping with parachutists from other countries. “I think that I'm learning and it's really fun,” she said.

At the airport, some parachutists landed far off the mark, and organising staff had to pick them up in a van.







Source: vientianetimes
photos: Internet