Many of us here may have already watched Alexandra Bounxouei on Thai TV drama called: "Pheng Huk Rim Fang Khong" and the ongoing drama "Layrai Rouk Sao Pa" on Channel 7 Thailand. From the roles of Alexandra on these two drama, many Lao TV viewers show their like and dislike toward the role of Alexandra in the TV and criticized her that she made many mistakes in mixing Lao with thai words. The ecom newspaper interviewed some Lao students in Vientiane in the sense that they want Alexandra to improve herself in the next drama...more info>>

"I watched Alexandra in both Thai TV drama. Her performance is comparable to many professonal thai actresses. In other words, she made many mistakes, especially she mixed many Thai to Lao words, thus made her lack of identity. I would not criticised Alexandra much caused she might act following the scripts and to what the director of the drama told her" said Miss Oun, who is now studying at ITCT.

Miss Soumaly, 2nd year student from Rattana colleage, said : " I know that Alexandra is very good at singing and if you ask me about her role in thai TV drama, I would say that she performed pretty good in both drama, but I really don't like the way she speak Lao mix with Thai words. That may drive many laotian TV viewers not very pleased. I don't think we can criticised much about her, she got money from the Thai side and she has to follow what they told her to do.

"I think it is a great honor for Alexandra to be able to perform in Thai TV drama and this will make thai people understand Lao much better. I believe that nowaday the most criticised about Alexandra is about her language usages. It would be nice if she could improve this points" said Mr. Kittisak, 2nd year student from ITCT.

Miss Vankham, the staff from NTP company shared with us her opinion that "I don't like at all the way she speaks lao mixed with many Thai words. You can see clearly on Raylai Louk Sao Pa drama. Many thai people watch TV drama from this channel and they may disappointed to see Alexandra speak Lao incorrectly. I do not mean to make her down, but I just really want to see her improving her langauges.

In conclusions, many Lao TV viewers strongly criticised about her langauge usage and want her to improve more on this point.

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Source: ecom

The 2009 SEA Games in Vientiane was officially announced to thousands of athletes and officials from Asean nations on Saturday night during the closing ceremony of the 24th SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand .

The closing ceremony took place in front of 20,000 spectators in the main stadium in Nakhon Ratchasima.

All Lao athletes and officials who attended the closing ceremony of this year's SEA Games were delighted to be present, as the occasion marked not only the medals they had won but also the day when Laos took possession of the SEA Games flag ahead of the 25 th SEA Games in Vientiane in 2009....more info

The Lao delegation receiving the SEA Games flag was led by Standing Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Executive Board of the 2009 SEA Games, Mr Somsavat Lengsavad; the Minister to the Prime Minister's Office, President of the Lao National Sports Committee and Lao National Olympic Committee, Dr Phouthong Seng-akhom; the Vice President of the Lao National Sports Committee and National Olympic Committee, Mr Somphou Phongsa; and the Vice President and Secretary General of the Lao National Olympic Committee, Mr Souvannarath Sayavong.

After this year's SEA Games host Thailand presented the SEA Games flag to Laos , a performance by more than 400 Lao artists in five programmes followed.

The first item was a traditional dance and the song Sieng Khaen Lao , featuring the cultural traditions of Lao ethnic groups and the khaen – the country's traditional musical instrument.

The second item was the Sunrise Dance, a traditional dance modified from the Ramayana. This was first performed in Luang Prabang province and depicts the tradition of kindness, friendliness and hospitality of Lao women.

The third item portrayed the Hmong New Year, and by a dance to celebrate the harvest season.

The troupe then performed a song to welcome the 25 th SEA Games in 2009, which will take place in Vientiane .

The song told of the honour and pride the Lao people feel at hosting the SEA Games, and expressed a welcome to all Asean athletes, officials and distinguished guests.

The fifth item on the programme was a song expressing how the games will serve to strengthen relationships, friendship, solidarity and unity.

It is hoped the SEA Games will help to push Asean sports closer to world levels in the near future. In the meantime, Laos is delighted to be hosting the event and warmly welcomes all Asean members to the games in 2009.

Saturday night was an occasion not only for Lao athletes and people around the country to celebrate the passing of the SEA Games flag to Laos but also the fact that Laos had its first ever major victory at the SEA Games this year, winning 5 gold, 7 silver and 32 bronze medals.

By Sisay Vilaysack
Vientianetimes,

More photos: http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=98894&p=3&topicID=14622235

A Japanese business group has expressed interest in buying a train for Laos , to help the landlocked country overcome transport barriers to world markets in the future, according to a senior railway official.

The Deputy Director of the Lao Railway Authority, Mr Sonesack N. Ngansana, said yesterday that Tezuka Rolling Stock of Japan had announced it would buy a two-carriage train, for goods and passengers, from Thailand , as a gift for the Lao government once it opens the first railway early next year.

“The Japanese group informed us recently that they would like to give us the train we need,” he told Vientiane Times, adding that the group recognised the importance of a railway link for a landlocked country like Laos .

The group holds major investment shares in a railway business in Tokyo , Japan , according to Mr Sonesack.

He said the Japanese entrepreneurs would also provide financial support to ensure Lao officials received the proper training in how to operate and maintain the train, to ensure it would run smoothly once the railway link to Thailand is completed.

A Lao business owner, Mr Hom Songpadith, speaking on behalf of the Japanese entrepreneurs, confirmed they were negotiating with Thai authorities to buy the train, and said Thai trains had compatible wheel types.

He explained that at, first, the Japanese wanted to present Laos with a Japanese-built train, but it had the wrong wheel design, and this would have meant extra costs in having it modified for the Lao track.

He also said he could not confirm how much the train would cost, because the price was subject to negotiation.

Mr Sonesack said the Japanese entrepreneurs had initiated the train purchasing project earlier this year, during the inauguration ceremony of the Lao railway link to Thailand .

He said he hoped the negotiations could be expedited so that there would be a train in place as soon as possible after the railway is completed.

“We won't be part of the purchasing process, because it's a negotiation that doesn't involve us, but we will do whatever we can to facilitate the agreement,” he said.

Mr Sonesack said that once Laos has a railway, it will be much easier to transport goods across the Thai border, and that the Lao and Thai governments had agreed to allow their trains to cross the border.

The construction of the 3.5 km-long railway from the centre of the Vientiane-Nong Khai Friendship Bridge to Dongphosy Train Station began in January this year and will take 18 months to complete, according to the project schedule.

The French government has provided 1.8 billion kip (150,000 euros) to carry out surveys for the construction of a further 9 kilometres of track to Sokham village, which is the planned location of the Vientiane Train Station.

By vientiane times