Korean actor Jang Dong-gun and local children of Laos [WFP/photographed by Toru Tokota]

Photographs of Korean actor Jang Dong-gun visiting Laos in March were unveiled today.

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on its official website revealed pictures of Jang, the goodwill ambassador for the WFP, of when he was in Laos three months ago to shoot a promotional antipoverty documentary.



The documentary features Jang visiting local schools in the country to provide free meals for its students -- their province was hit by a Typhoon last September causing a flood to ruin the country's crops.

The photos showed the actor meeting and talking with the local children, transporting food to the area and fulfilling other duties.

Jang, considered one of Korea's most popular actors, has starred in numerous television dramas such as "All About Eve" and movies including "Friend", "Taegukgi: Brotherhood Of War" and "Typhoon".





He is currently working on filming for war film "My Way" alongside Korean actress Son Ye-jin.

Just last month, he made headlines for marrying Korean actress Ko So-young, his co-star in 1999 film "Love Wind, Love Song".

(KPL) The Nice Jump Company invested over US$500,000 in the construction of a new radio station (FM 98.8 MHz) for Vientiane Capital.

This will be the second Vientiane radio station, located at Phontong Chommany village, Chanthabouly district, Vientiane Capital.

The construction of new Vientiane radio station project is nearly complete.This station will then transfer to Vientiane Capital after ending 25 years of concession.

The agreement was signed by Head of Information and Culture Division of the Ministry of Information and Culture, Ms. Vanpheng Keonakhone and the on behalf of Nice Jump Company, Mr. Santi Sengdala.

ຫລາຍຄົນຄົງຈະສົງໄສກັນແລ້ວແມ່ນບໍ່? ວ່າຕົວເລກ 98,8 ນີ້ມີຄວາມກ່ຽວຂ້ອງກັບ ຫນຸ່ມ ສັກ ຄືແນວໃດ? ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ມາຮູ້ຈັກກັບ ຕົວເລກນີ້ກັນດີກວ່າ ນັ້ນແມ່ນຄື້ນວິທະຍຸນ້ອງໃຫມ່ຄືຄື້ນ FM 98,8 MHz ທີ່ຈະມາພ້ອມກັບນາໆສາລະ ແລະຄວາມບັນເທີງທີ່ຫລາກ ຫລາຍຢ່າງມາບອກເປັນປະຈຳທຸກໆວັນ ເຊິ່ງນຳທີມໂດຍຫນຸ່ມ "ສັກ" ວົງ "ເຊລ" ສາວງາມ "ນຸຖາ" ແລະ ໂຄສົກສຽງໃສອີກຫລາຍ ຄົນ.

ເປັນອີກຫນຶ່ງຄົນຄຸນນະພາບແທ້ໆ ສຳລັບ ນັກຮ້ອງນຳວົງ "ເຊລ" ນັ້ນກໍ່ຄືຫນຸ່ມ "ສັກ" ນັ້ນເອງ ເພາະນອກຈາກຈະເປັນນັກຮ້ອງ ທີ່ມີແຟນເພງທຸກເພດທຸກໄວ ທີ່ຄອຍຕິດຕາມຜົນງານຢ່າງຫນຽວແຫນ້ນແລ້ວ ສັກ ຍັງເປັນນັກປະພັນສີມືດີຂອງຄ້າຍອິນດີເຣັກຂອດສ໌ ນຳນອກຈາກຈະແຕ່ງເພງໃຫ້ຕົນເອງແລ້ວ ສັກ ຍັງເປັນຜູ້ທີ່ຢູ່ເບື້ອງຫລັງຄວາມສຳເລັດ ແຕ່ງເພງໃຫ້ເຫລົ່ານັກຮ້ອງນ້ອງໃຫມ່ຫລາຍໆ ວົງໃນຄ້າຍນຳອີກເຊັ່ນ ວົງ "ໄອດໍ", ສາວ "ຫມອນ", ສາວ "ຕິກ" ແລະ ອື່ນໆ ສາມາດເວົ້າໄດ້ວ່າ ຫນຸ່ມຄົນນີ້ເປັນຜູ້ຄວບຄຸມ ແລະ ດູແລທຸກໆເລື່ອງຂອງສິລະປິນຫລາຍໆຄົນວ່າໄດ້.

ຫລ້າສຸດ ສັກ ກໍ່ໄດ້ເປີດບໍລິສັດສັກໄອເລດີໂອ ເຊິ່ງເປັນບໍລິສັດທີ່ກ່ຽວກັບວິທະຍຸກະຈາຍສຽງທີ່ຈະອອກອາກາດໃນຄື້ນ FM 98,8 MHz ເຊິ່ງເປັນວິທະຍຸນະຄອນຫລວງແຫ່ງທີ2 ທີ່ຈະເປີດຕົວຢ່າງເປັນທາງການໃນໄວໆນີ້. ນອກຈາກສັກຈະເປັນເຈົ້າຂອງບໍລິສັດເອງ ແລ້ວ ແຕ່ລາວຍັງຮັບຫນ້າທີ່ເປັນໂຄສົກເອງນຳອີກ ແຕ່ງານນີ້ບໍ່ໄດ້ມີພຽງ ສັກ ຄົນດຽວແຕ່ຍັງມີໂຄສົກອີກຫລາຍຄົນທີ່ຈະມາຫມູນວຽນ ມາມອບຄວາມສຸກໃຫ້ກັບມິດລາຍການ ຖ້າບອກຊື່ໄປຮັບຮອງວ່າ ທຸກຄົນຕ້ອງຮູ້ຈັກແນ່ນອນ ເລີ່ມກັນທີ່ ສາວເກ່ງຄົນນີ້ "ນຸຖາ" ພິທີ ກອນລາຍການ "ມິວສິກບູມ" ທາງຊ່ອງລາວສຕາຣ໌ແຊນແນວ, ຫນຸ່ມ"ອ້າຍ"ຫນຶ່ງໃນສະມາຊິກເກົ່າວົງ "ໄອດໍ", ໂຄສົກຫນ້າຕາດີຫນຸ່ມ "ຕີເລັກ", ຫນຸ່ມອາລົມດີຫນຸ່ມ "ແກ້ວ" ແລະ ອີກຫລາຍໆຄົນ.

ໃຜທີ່ມັກຟັງວິທະຍຸເປັນປະຈຳຢູ່ແລ້ວສາມາດຫມູນຄື້ນມາຟັງໄດ້ທີ່ 98,8 ເພາະວ່າຄື້ນນີ້ອັດແຫນ້ນໄປດ້ວຍຄວາມບັນເທີງແບບຄົບ ລົດຊາດຮັບຮອງວ່າທ່ານຈະບໍ່ຮູ້ສຶກເບື່ອ.

ecom

Just came across a model from Target magazine, the business magazine in Vientiane.
All the magazine in Laos has now a fashion section.

vientiane capital will have a new shopping mall added to the lists when the Thatluang market developers decided to cooperate with 2 big companies inside the country to turn the old thatluang market into a modern shopping mall. The construction of this mall will be kicked off the end of this month.

The cost of this construction worth 17,585 million dollars from three shareholders: Heuang Paseuth construction group (60%), International transport group (20%), and the Alice computer (20%).

Thatluang shopping mall will be covered 18,047 square meters, and the construction will be devided into 2 phrases. The first phrase will turn the old Thatluang market into a 4-storey building, consisting of more than 300 shops and large car parks. The first floor will be desinated for agricultural products, the second and third floor for industrial products, and the 4th floor for gold shops and restaurants. This project will try to finish the 1st floor first, in order to welcome the celebration of Vientiane 450th Anniversary. The first phrase is expected to fully completed by 2012.

The second phrase will cosntruct the 2-storey building, covering the area of 10,435 square meters and consisted of more than 400 shops. The first floor will be for agricultural products, and the second floor for industrial products. The second phrase will be start in 2012.

There will be a need to relocate the old shops to a new designated area near Thatluang-Hoakao street.

By 2014, the Thatluang area will become a modern place for shopping, and the traffic congestion around that area will be solved.

Source: Ecom
Translated by Samakomlao

The hottest model of the year from Laos is now on Samakomlao website. Let's find out who are they, what are they, and why are they here for this career.



Click at the image to enlarge the photo and read.

The Singapore Eastern and Oriental Express train will arrive at Thanaleng station, Hardsaifong district, Vientiane, on 25 February.
For this trip, this luxurious train will have 110 passengers on board. They come from Asia and Europe. It will also have on board 50 service staffs from 14 countries.
This train will organize this tour to Laos just only 1 or 2 times a year, depending on the request from the travellers.
This train is scheduled to arrive at this Lao train station at 09:15 hours and will depart for Nongkhai at 18:30 hours and arrive at the Thai train station 15 minutes later.
The price of the train ticket from Singapore to Vientiane is US$4,800 and for the Bangkok-Vientiane ticket, the price is US$2,800.

(KPL) The 100 rice farmers of Meuang Noi village, Saysettha district, Vientiane capital, who farmed on 200 ha of land, were affected by the government's plan to buy up their rice fields for a township development.

Most of them had sold off their rice fields, but at different prices, from four, three and two USD per square metre.

For nearby village, Nonwai, seven households were offered a much higher price for their rice land, USD 9 per square metre. Chief of Nonkhor Neua village, Mr Chane Peu Soundala, who spoke to journalists, said that 50 households who farmed on 100 ha of rice land in Nonkhor village, were also told by the government to sell their land.

He added that 20 households of nearby Khamsavath village, who were rice farmers were also affected by the government?s buyout plan.

The rice farmers who lived in the villages of this locality were fully aware of the government?s buyout plan and because of uncertainty; they had drastically reduced the area under dry rice cultivation, from 100 to 40 hectares.The backdrop to the buyout was linked to the government?s 49-year lease of the Bueng That Luang or That Luang Swamp to foreign developers, albeit orally, for the construction of a township.

It was due to the fact that the Vientiane Municipality found itself in a difficult bargaining position because the companies that built the new stadiums and other buildings for the previous SEA Games were now expecting their compensation. According to a press release of the FAO station in Laos on February 2, a Lao team was invited to wetland workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to present an alternative to the development of this wetland site into a sprawling, chic and glitzy urban jungle.

The FAO plan advocates an integrated, transparent and coordinated development of this wetland through the development of a master plan and thereby ensuring the preservation of Bueng That Luang and its services.

This interview with the headman or ?nai ban? was carried out when the Lao station of FAO or Food and Agricultural Organisation, a United Nations body, took local journalists and photographers on a field trip to That Luang Swamp on 16 February.

The discovery of Iron Age human bone fragments in Laos has shed new light on the region’s prehistoric burial customs, state media reports said Friday. A team of Lao and foreign archeologists foundthe fragments last week in a burial ground believed to be about 2,000 years old when South-East Asia was in the Iron Age, the Vientiane Times reported.

The discovery was made during a dig known as the Middle Mekong Archaeological Project, which is a joint effort between Laos’ Department of Heritage and the University of Pennsylvania Museum in the United States.

“Last week, we unexpectedly found two skulls and a fragment of a third, a baby, along with some body bones,” said Joyce White, associate curator at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. “It is quite a significant discovery of Lao archaeology.”

This is another young and talented Lao girl. Her name is Siewping, half Lao-chinese. She is the MC of the Sabaidee Muanglao TV program and also a model for many famous Lao magazines. These are some previews of her beauty infront of the camera. Please enjoy.

Construction of the fourth bridge linking Laos and Thailand across the Mekong River was scheduled to start in early March, state media reports said Wednesday.

The 480-metre-long bridge is to link the Huayxai district in Laos' Bokeo province to Chinag Khong in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province.



Watch simulation model of the bridge across Thailand to Laos.

'Now we are clearing land and compensating people who will lose their land, houses and farms,' Thavone Vorlaboud, deputy head of the bridge construction project, told the Vientiane Times.

'It is expected the bridge will be finished within 30 months after building starts,' he said.

The Lao and Thai governments are each due to contribute 50 per cent of the cost of the bridge's construction.

Laos received a grant of 20 million dollars from the Chinese government in 2008 to finance its half of the project.

The bridge is part of the Greater Mekong subregion north-south economic corridor project, linking Chiang Rai province to Kunming, capital of south-west China's Yunnan province via Highway Number 3 in Laos.

Lao authorities have embarked on 21 development projects to mark this 450th Anniversary of the founding of Vientiane as the capital of Laos. These include construction of the new stadium at Km 18th along Route 13 South, which was used as the main venue of the 25th SEA Games that took place last December, construction of an embankment along the Mekong riverbank from Kaolieu to That Khao, a project to expand some major thoroughfare around Vientiane as well as a project to improve and expand the That Luang esplanade and ground.

However, the participants expressed concern over the slow progress in some projects, including the development of the 450th year city, a resort development project on Nongtha swamp and the restoration of Hor Phrakeo Temple (the shrine of the Emerald Buddha image) and Xiengkhouane Park of Buddha images.

Other projects included the construction of golf course, the embankment project along the Mekong River, restoration of Sisaket Museum, improvements to four markets in Vientiane and reconstruction of the old city pillar.

Other projects include a new road linking Savang to Dongdok village through Phongtong village; and another linking Phongtong to Phonphanao village.

The paving of That Luang Square is now complete and the construction of Xaysettha Park is making good progress in the lead-up to the anniversary event.

It is estimated that Laos will need almost 100 billion kip to fund the remaining projects.

The celebrations will be the first time a commemoration of Vientiane as the nation's capital has been observed.

The event will acknowledge the capital's development and the devotion and hard work of past generations who have sacrificed their blood to defend and advance the city.

Vientiane was named the capital of the Lane Xang Kingdom in 1560 by King Xaysetthathirath when he moved the capital from Luang Prabang.

Fashion flash from Laos this week is a top super model from Mahason magazine. She is Ms Souksavanh Bounmak (Lady), a singer from Valentine music, and a VJ from Laostar TV. To know more about her, please grab the magazine which is now available in the stores across Laos.