laos cities="laos cities" what is the difference geographically between these cities and countries in Asia?
mongolia, cambodia, laos, and thailand a different group: brunei, malaysia, indonesia, singapore thanks!! and why plz
The only thing I can think of that sets those groups of four countries apart is religion. The bottom four have significant Muslim populations (around 15% and above). But it is strange to lump Singapore in with those other 3 because it is only 14.9% Muslim while the other 3 are over 60% Muslim. Among the top group Thailand has the most Muslims with 5.8%.
Was there a text assignment that could help you with this question? If so, time to read it!
"Laos" Jimandmargarida's photos around Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Taoism is a way of life, practiced in China for thousands of years.
Lao Tzu, one of the greatest Chinese philosophers as well as the founder of Taoism, said, "The Tao's principle is simply spontaneity." Spontaneity is the key to healthy longevity.
What is spontaneity? How does it affect your physical health?
In the universe, there is an all-controlling force that monitors everything. You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. You eat and you eliminate. You grow, mature, and deteriorate. In nature, spontaneity is evident in the change of seasons. Spontaneity is the natural built-in mechanism in each living organism. Spontaneity creates balance and harmony.
Nowadays, people focus so much on physical fitness. The gym giants will do anything to keep you huffing, puffing, and paying; the pharmaceutical companies will come up with any supplements touted to keep you lean, muscular, and full of energy. There is so much pumping irony: strenuous and vigorous workouts may be harmful to your physical health.
According to the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY, jogging is causing runners to drop dead from heart attacks. Many individuals have experienced heart attacks even after running on a treadmill.
The medical journal LANCET reports that aerobics is causing deadly artery clogs and heart disease in many individuals who never before had such problems.
You do not need to jog until you are blue in the face, or pump iron like Arnold Schwarzenegger in order to be physically healthy. You can be fit the Taoist way
Lao Tzu explained, "The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world." You need not over-exert yourself in order to be physically fit.
Chinese exercises, such as Tai Chi and Qi Gong, are never vigorous. Once your breathing becomes abnormal or irregular over a long period, you lose the spontaneity of the exercise, and hence its health benefits.
Tai Chi is a self-relaxing exercise with slow and even movements coordinated with breathing and directed by a peaceful mind. Therefore, it is beneficial to both mental and physical health. With its thousands of years of practice, Tai Chi can rid all parts of your body of spiritual and physical ailments, clear your mind and strengthen your brain, and promote good digestion and healthy kidneys. Most importantly, Tai Ci exercises can help lower your blood pressure, soften your blood vessels, and regular the flow of "qi" (the internal vital energy) in your entire body.
What is "qi"?
"Qi" is internal vital energy. It is important because it moves your body. It is the source of growth in your body. "Qi" is always in motion in the form of ascending, descending, entering and leaving your body's organs and systems. It nourishes not only your body by transforming food energy into blood, but also your blood by keeping it flowing. In addition, it helps maintain your body's temperature. "Qi" plays a vital role in Chinese health and healing.
With regard to "qi", Lao Tzu said, "Qi is elusive and evasive, and yet it manifests itself."
Tai Chi exercises focus on correct posture, slow and spontaneous movements, and natural healthy breathing.
Your central nervous system is the most important system in your body: it receives vital information from outside and inside your body; it directs your movements. Your central nervous is healthy only if you keep your spinal column erect because vitality and blood circulation are transmitted efficiently from your lower body to your brain only when your spine is kept erect. Tai Chi exercises are based upon a natural posture (children have naturally erect spinal columns; only adults, especially older people, have bent spinal columns) with an erect spine.
Next to your central nervous system, your digestive system is important to your overall health as it stores and supplies all nourishments for your body. Some of the characteristic movements of Tai Chi reinforce the expansion and contraction of your body in an opening and closing motion, thereby instrumental in vibrating and stimulating your stomach and intestines for a better and healthier digestive system.
Your respiratory system is also critical to your long-term health. In Tai Chi, breathing is valued more than physical power: breathing ' not muscular strength ' propels the movements of your body. Western physical exercises, on the other hand, emphasize muscular strength instead of the spontaneity of breathing and natural body movements. In Tai Chi, your mind directs the "qi", letting it sink down into your abdomen, where natural breathing takes place. According to Taoism, you breathe through your abdomen (like babies and young children), not through your lungs. This explains why people in the West limit their breathing to the lungs; as a result, their lungs tend to enlarge as they grow older, crowding their hearts, leading to heart disease.
Your circulatory system is connected to your respiratory system. Tai Chi enhances your deep breathing, which guides your "qi" to move your blood (which cannot move itself) to different parts of your body for transporting oxygen and nutrients. By regulating the circulation, Tai Chi exercises through natural movements and deep breathing provide a healthy heart.
Hormones in your thyroid gland are responsible for physical growth of your body. In Tai Chi, you keep your neck erect without pressure, centered without inclining to the left or to the right; you integrate the slow and smooth movements of your head and neck. These movements not only enhance the activity of your thyroid gland but also act upon your kidneys to remove wastes.
In summary, you need the spontaneity of Taoism in physical movements as well as in natural breathing to optimize physical health benefits from exercise. Western exercises, focusing on pumping power and strength, may seem too "unnatural" for that.
Visa on arrival to Vietnam cost for normal case ( US$25/pax ) - 5 working days
Kind of visa : Tourist Visa
Maximum length of stay: 30 days for foreign tourists and 90 days for Vietnamese.
Visa on arrival urgent case cost (US$45/pax )- 2 working days , some case we can arrange in 1 working day
Kind of visa : Tourist Visa
Maximum length of stay: 30 days for foreign tourists and 90 days for Vietnamese.
Visa procedure
Most visitors to Vietnam need a visa to enter the country. Visas are exempted for the citizens of the countries, which have signed a bilateral or unilateral visa exemption agreement with Vietnam, tourist visa may be valid for 15 to 30 days. We would like to offer 8 steps to get Visa on arrival to Vietnam
Step 1 : Fill on this Visa form
Step 2 : Copy this form send to us by email or fax + 84 4 35682126
Full name:
Date of birth: (day/month/year)
Occupation:
Sex:
Male Female
Nationality:
Passport Number:
Date of expriry:(day/month/year)
Proposed entry date : (day/month/year)
Proposed exit date: (day/month/year)
Flight details on arrival:
Your contacts:
Fax/Tel:
E-mail:
Step 3: Payment by credit card - fill in the payment form - this is save & secure
Step 4: Send the the payment form by Fax + 84 4 35682126or email :
Step 5 : After receiving the payment, we send your Visa request to Vietnam Immigration Police
( need 2 working days for urgent case - 5 working days for normal case )
Step 6 : You will receive the Visa approval from Police Department by email
Step 7: Print this visa approval for airline check in - need to bring 2 passport photos (size 4x6 cm)
Step 8 : Show the Visa approval at the airport in Vietnam - pay 25USD for stamp Visa fees at the airport to the custume officier.
Please contact us if you need any more tours or hotels services in Vietnam
Citizens from four European countries given visa exemption
Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, and Finnish citizens will be exempted from requiring visas as of May 1 when they enter, exit or stay in Viet Nam for less than 15 days. Decision No. 808/2005/QD-BNG issued by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on April 13 stipulates that these countries'' citizens must have valid passports for at least three months since they enter Viet Nam, return tickets or tickets for a third country. This does not apply to those who have been banned from entering or have not been allowed to enter Viet Nam under Vietnamese laws. After entering Viet Nam, if they want to stay more than 15 days, and have a valid reason as laid out by Vietnamese agencies, organizations and individuals for the Ministry of Public Security and the Foreign Ministry, they will be required to have a visa.
(Source: Vietnam News Agency)
Visa exemption:
- Not more than 30 days: for citizens of Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos.
- Not more than 15 days: for citizens of Japan and South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland. (Vietnamese diplomatic and official passport holders are exempted from visa requirements to enter Japan).
- French citizens holding valid diplomatic passports are exempt from visa requirements when visiting Vietnam and are allowed to stay for up 3 months at one time or on several visits within six months since their first immigration dates. Vietnamese citizens holding valid diplomatic passports also enjoy similar privileges.
- Citizens of Chile and Vietnam holding valid diplomatic or official passports from one of the two countries are exempt from needing entry, exit and transit visas in the other''s territory and are allowed to stay for up 60 days on each visit.
HANOI PEACE TOUR Address : 45 A Tran Phu street - Hanoi / Vietnam Tel :+ 84.4. 35682115 - 35682126 Fax : +84.4.35682126
HANOIPEACETOUR.COM .The Leading Tour Operator In Vietnam and South East Asia,We are specialzing in organize package tours and budget tours, Hotels at any traveller's demands, Enjoy interesting travel with huge fun and great discounts.
ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) Promotes Vietnam & Cambodia Motorcycling Tours in Summer 2010
In Vietnam, travelers will ride through the historical trail named Ho Chi Minh Trail. The legendary trail was the supply line used by North Vietnam to link North and South Vietnam during the American War. Soldiers, ammunition, weapons and supplies were carried by hand, bicycle and truck for hundreds of kilometers through the otherwise impenetrable jungle that covered Vietnam's mountainous border with Laos. A testimony to the ingenuity, fortitude and commitment of the northern Vietnamese, the trail slipped from use at the end of the war and was taken back by the jungle. Recent road work follow original sections of the trail have changed this.
The first one, "Taste of Ho Chi Minh Trail" is organized for first time rider and easy adventure, offers a stunning motorcycling route with great exploration of nature and culture of northern Vietnam. Travelers will spend 3-day motorcycling with homestays in villages.
Joining in this tour, the special offer is a free of charge add on boat trip on Ma river in the afternoon of the first day. If rider group up to 6 persons, a free traditional Thai musical show will also be offers.
The second tour called "Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Half Challenge". This 11-day trip with 7-day motorcycling takes in the charming ancient trading town of Hoian, Khe Sanh battle site and DMZ. Travelers also take time to stay overnight in a traditional Thai hill tribe and visit to some tribal villages on the way.
Taking this tour, after a long trip, in the tenth day, riders will get a free body massage in Hoian. Moreover, for any pre or post trip in Vietnam, travelers will receive a 10% discount for the trip.
Besides, in both tours, if riders upgrade their motorbikes to dirtbike 175CC or 250CC, they will get the 40% discount for bike rental fee. Especially, to make the trip more comfortable, a free silk sleeping bag will be provided for each traveler.
In Cambodia, riders spend 14 days with 11 days motorcycling through the country. This is the best way to get to the remote and hidden corners of Cambodia. The adventure starts in the capital city and we will travel on 250cc dirtbike northward through scenic villages, mysterious temples. Highlight of the tour is the amazing Angkor Wat Temples. From Angkor Wat we head east to the hidden land of Mondulkiri, the land of exotic ethnic minorities and great nature scenery.
Booking this tour, tourists will get free Visa-on-arrival to Cambodia and a body massage in Phnom Penh. Moreover, a welcome diner in Phnom Penh will be offered for the group from 6 persons. Traveler will be provide 5% discount on any pre or post trip to Vietnam or Laos.
This Hot Summer Promotion validity is from 1 May, 2010 to 30September, 2010.
Details for the three motorcycling tours: - Taste of Ho Chi Minh Trail: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=34 - Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Half Challenge: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=22 - Motorbiking Adventure Cambodia: http://www.activetravelcambodia.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=66
For more information and details of this promotion, please visit: Summer Promotion with ATA: http://www.activetravel.asia/special_offer/2010_summer_promotions.html
Or contact: ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84-4-35738569 | Fax: +84-4-35738570 Email: info@activetravel.asia | Website: http://www.activetravel.asia
About the Author
ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA (ATA) offers a wide selection of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar adventure tours, including hiking and trekking, biking, motorcycling, overland touring and family travel packages.
"Khmer Ruins in Laos" Mistahall's photos around Champasak, Lao Peoples Dem Rep (khmer ruins laos)
indochina tour="indochina tour" anyone done the indochina loop?
me and my friend are thinking of doing the indochina thing next november 2010. im wondering if anyone has done it before, did you go it alone or with a tour guide company?. i personal like to do things independently but the average price with tour companies are around 1,200 and i think thats really cheap considering what your getting and where your going. what are your views on this and any advice you could give would be grateful.
Chicago section
Indochina tours, Indochina tour - IndochinaTravelTours.Net
luang prabang travel="luang prabang travel" Anyone knows the current haze condition in Luang Prabang?
My travel partner and i intend to spend Laos New Year in Luang Prabang. Please advise if you know about the haze condition in the northern part of Laos. Thanks.
bad
Discover Why Luang Prabang Travel is A Nature Lover's Heaven
laos itinerary_2="laos itinerary" Itinerary Ideas for Southeast Asia?
Hello, I am leaving for Southeast Asia with a friend in three weeks. We are planning on traveling through Thailand, Vietname, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines. We are in Asia from April 25th-Aug 28th. We were planning on winging it but in order to get a Visa for Vietnam we need to know when we plan to enter. I would LOVE to hear some sample Itineraries from you guys. We were thinking Bangkok, Southern Thailand (beaches), Cambodia, VIetname, Laos, Bangkok, Philippines, Bangkok. We want to know where to go and the best (cheapest) ways to get around. Thank you so much for your help! xo.
If I were you, I'd ditch Vietnam, and instead replace them with Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia - these countries present a lot more variety and excitement, not to mention less touristy.
::Arrive in Asia at Bangkok (TH) > Chiang Mai (TH) > Isan region (TH) > Vientiane (LAO)
::Bangkok (TH) > Pattaya (TH) > Siem Reap (CAM)
::Bangkok (TH) > Southern Thailand (TH) > Hat Yai (TH) > Penang (MAL) > Kuala Lumpur (MAL) > Singapore
::Singapore > Batam (IND) > Medan (IND) > Lake Toba (IND) > Jakarta (IND) > Bali (IND) > Komodo (IND) > Jakarta (IND)
Considered one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, you may think that Laos has nothing to offer being a tourist destination. That didn't hinder tourists to discover this archaeological wonder that has the makings of being an asia travel spot. Haven't you heard, there's this historical landmark that consists of thousands of jars scattered in the highlands of Laos called Plain of Jars. Situated at Xieng Khouang plain, this Laos pride consists of thousands of stone jars big and small distributed in the place.
It is believed that this stone jars ages from 1,500–2,000 years and older. According to a local folktale, the emerging of jars began when the king of the giants Khun Jeuam fought and won a battle against the evil ruler Chao Angka. The king, whose fond of throwing parties brew and store huge amounts of lao lao rice wine in this huge stone jars. When the archaeologists studied the jars, they have found burned bones, beads and iron tools leading them to the conclusion that these jars were used as giant urns to bury the dead. Another mystery yet unsolved is how the jars are made. Locals believed that these jars were made from clay, sand, sugar, and animal products mixing together to form a cement-like mixture.
Since the time of Pathet Lao-American war began, most of the jars were destroyed by bomb explosions leaving bomb craters and trench systems in the area. This makes the area dangerous until today due to unexploded bombs that was a result of massive bombardment of the recent wars. In fact only three sites of the plain is safe for visitors and locals alike. Aside from the huge stone jars, you can also found original artifacts like Buddhist statues, colonial items and scraps from the exploded bombs in the US war. Like no other, Plain of Jars is the mute witness of Laos' historical occurrence in the past and in the years to come.
laos tours travel="laos tours travel" best 4-6 week travel tour/group to see Laos,Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand leaving from CA for women?
One option is gateonetravel.com which offer tours in Asia. We took their offer of 11 days to Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Bangkok which was really cheap including the domestic flight.
Another option is go there on your own and inquire from local travel agents. Book a hotel from the internet. In the hotel lobby, compare the prices of tours from the different travel agents. Or look out for tours offered in the airport. Try to ask for discounts since you are traveling in a group.
I would not recommend touring by yourself as I am not as adventurous as the others, especially if I don't understand the local language.
lao food recipe="lao food recipe" I need an authentic Thai beef salad recipe?
So my husband is Laotian and Thai. His mom makes some really good Thai food. I especially like it cause she makes it really spicy ;]! Anyways, even though she makes really good food, she never makes Thai Beef Salad. She makes a version of it but it's made with seafood and it's ok but I'm not crazy about it. Anyways, if anyone could give me a recipe and please be specific about brands and amounts because I am not asian and if you tell me to get some fish sauce I will not know which kind. Lol! Oh an could you also tell me how to cook the sticky rice! I mean the Yam Neua, no the Laab ;]
I can you the recipe, but it's not an exact measurement. When we cook, we don't use measurement, it's by taste and experience.
Beef has to be the most tender cut piece. (grilled or roast it first to your liking). 1 lemon grass stalk only the white stem, o.k. if you use green part roasted ground rice (not sure how much, depending how you like it) a couple clove of garlic red onions (half) 1 or 2 stem of scalions a handful of cilanto lemon juice fishsauce and salt red pepper flakes or fresh jalepeno
Slice grilled beef very thin, and mix in the lemon juice salt or fishsauce, lemon grass, red onion, garlic, and roasted rice.
right before you serve, add pepper, scallions, and cilanto for presentation and aroma for the dish. good luck.
this made my mouth water, I might make it tomorrow since I have ground roasted rice on hand.
A few people are known to this fact that Thailand is also known as the city of angels, and the city of smiles. This is because out of the very first things which your flights to Thailand will be giving you is the hospitality, courtesy, and the friendly nature of the natives. The way you will be cordially welcomed and treated will make you feel at your own home. This trait is the continuous part of their gentle tradition and this perceived gentleness of them is an add-on to why people seek cheap flights to Thailand.
Located in the South East Asia, the east border of Thailand touches Cambodia and Laos, the south touches Malaysia and the Thailand Gulf, and similarly Andaman Sea and the Myanmar falls west to Thailand. The country shares its close neighbor hood with Vietnam. For any one who is one his or her budget travel, Thailand requires no marketing to opt as a decision but at the same time it is not lesser than to spend a luxurious vacations at, so any one besides the budget travelers, can seek some thing for there here. Flights to Thailand A few notable attractions which the country depicts are its beaches which certainly need no introduction. And probably you are aware of them as seen in hundreds of movies; they are a complete idea of nature which is present in different ideas and styles. And abreast, you get to see the culture whose history goes back to hundreds of years back but still now is being carried out safely and delicately.
If you are intending to book your cheap flights to Thailand; be ware that these are heavily booked as per their increasing demand. So start looking out for one right now; and start comparing between the air lines and the travel agents who offer travel deals and Thailand flights. As per their strong competition with each other, they are continuously varying the prices so if you book now, (three four months prior to your departure date) then surely you would save a lot on your Thailand travel but be cautious! As you won't be able to come back to your native country, instead you will come back to Thailand.
About the Author
The Thailand is a destination for the air flyer to click in the air with cultural introduction to different races and produce upcoming advance culture cheap flights to Thailand so whenever the thirst of culture disturbs you please visit to update your cultural values.
Adventure Indochina is a specialist travel agency servicing international and domestic clients in the Indochina region. We can service your travel needs within Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Our dynamic and enthusiastic staff are well trained and very experienced and are multilingual.
We can meet your needs in English, French and Chinese languages and we are always willing to help our clients in all circumstances and urgent cases. We are committed to providing services of the highest standard to our customers to ensure that your experience is satisfying and you enjoy many unforgettable moments when travelling with us. Our office at center of Pho Co (old quarter) in Ha Noi,we have a plan opening a branch in Hochiminh city , Adventure Indochina has a network of travel agents, both domestically and internationally, which ensure quality services and competitive prices in the Indochina region. We have established a long-term relationship with service suppliers which ensure not only competitive prices but also quality service. Adventure Indochina is continually striving to satisfy a wide range of customer requirements. By achieving this, we are able to contribute to the diversification and development of the tourism industry in Viet Nam and Indochina.
Our mission is to present the history, culture and beauty of Vietnam and Indochina to international friends as well as to introduce world culture to Vietnamese people. We will continue to enhance our status in the travel market, both domestically and internationally.
Our Tourism tours and other sevices :
Inbound tours ( group tour and private tour):
Sightseeing of historical sites and landscapes
Adventure trip through National Park and hilltribe villagas
Pilgrimage tours for veterans
Relaxation tours at luxury resort sattered along the breadth and length of Vietnam.....
Outbound tours ( group tour and private tour): Laos ,Cambodia,China,Thailand
Other services: • Reservation of plane, train,bus ticket • Car rental service • Visa arrangement
Best Hotels Reservation Services with great discount rates
Our purpose is bringing you great satisfactions about : reasonable price,quality service,professional and hospitable staffs.
cheap flights laos_3="cheap flights laos" please help how long should i spend in each of these places?
Im flying around south east asia in may and il be stopping off at these places but i don't know how long to spend in each i want to book all flights soon so they will be cheaper.Im alone and tend to be there for the nightlife and fun and meeting new people so if you know anything about these places.....
jakarta, bali, kuala lumpur, penang, bangkok but ive been there so its ok, maybe pattaya(ive heard its rough) siem reap, phnom penh, saigon, nha trang, hue and hanoi..
(the main places haha)
il be bringing around 5-6000 euro spending and accomadation (good hotels not on a budget)and hoping around 3 months or as long as my money lasts
Any help would be great..thank you
p.s am i missing somewhere good (not in thailand or laos)
The rule of thumb is three days per location. No mastter how known a location is, every location has its hidden gems. Go to each place for the same amount of time and you will have no regrets. go to BookMe. You can compare prices on all the major travel sites from one location. It's the only way you can guarantee the cheapest prices online.
Cheap Airfares - Last Minute Flights - Discount Tickets COMPARE
hotel reservations deals="hotel reservations deals"
Deal Hotels, Cheap Hotels in Deal, Hotels Accommodation in Deal Kent
Untitled Document
Welcome to Deal Hotels in Kent
Deal Hotels are situated near the beautiful places, Shopping Malls, Cinema Theaters in the Deal Kent uk, We are having very large and expensive Hotels in Deal Kent, Our hotels are very large and comfortable and also having the good Hotels Accommodation in Deal, Take the vacation of your life with cheap Hotels in Deal, offers you the hotel ratings vary from one to five stars, whilst weekends are a good choice for bargain breaks. when it comes to hotels inDeal Kent, treat you to a whole new experience - unmatched and unforgettable. All Conferences Can be Catered with for with a Range of Facilities and Equipment.
For a weekend and you can order an exquisite bouquet of fresh flowers beautifully arranged by a local florist, Book your wedding functions in Deal hotels, Resorts and Restaurants in Deal, We are having Guest houses in Deal for more enjoyable by the exceptional standards of luxury, The easiest and fastest way for you to book a room is online reservations in Deal, Our hotels provide good cattering facilities with Family hotels in Deal with the menu is varied, and the specialties different from one day to the other, Here, you can taste almost anything from homemade applesauce parfaits, grilled pineapple with fresh ham to baked blueberry French toast or fresh vegetable and tomato quiche.
All these are served with the best coffee you have ever tasted or if you prefer, a cup of tea or a glass of fresh juice, Holiday breaks in Deal, Our hotels provide with large and huge Family Rooms in Deal that you can stay very safe and secure, We can also provide Special Offers in Deal Hotels offers you a variety of lodging options, One of them would be a large Cottages in Deal Hotels, for four people, perfect for families or groups of friends, Enjoy your stay for the vacations and Christmas Celebrations in Deal Kent.
hotel laos_2="hotel laos" How do you book your hotel for your trip ?
Hi
If you travel to many countries in your trip, say visit Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, will you book hotels in all of those destinations before departure or you just book in advance first hotels for Vietnam and then when you are in Vietnam, you will book for Laos and Cambodia ?
Thanks for help
Jaimie
I would book everything before I leave home. Depends on what you do on your trip and how long your stay. If you don't have time frame, then you can book as you go like you mention. Sometimes you can save by doing so and you are not pushed for time. But if you want everything in order then maybe it is better to organize everything and all you do when you go for your holiday is relax.
Lao Food and Show at Lane Xang Hotel November 2010-04
laos hotel_5="laos hotel" How much would it be to backpack through these countries?
My friend and I are hoping to backpack in 2013 through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and end in Burma. We're hoping to do this for two months. We would mostly camp where possible and stay in cheap, small hotels. Roughly how much would this cost (without airfare or equipment cost)?
I know this is pretty vague and can vary, but an estimate would really help before we can start planning anything. Thanks!
Cambodia has cheap rooms a night for backpackers in Sianoukville the city has a beach i believe and alot of tourist, i know you need to apply for a visa ahead of time to go to vietnam. I have been to thailand twice but not for backpacking so i cant help you there.
China is renowned for its rich heritage, culture and history, as well as for being a country spiritually enriched with their own authentic religion – Taoism (also known as Daoism).
Taoism was originally the school of philosophy founded by Lao Zi – a great philosopher in China, who lived in the 6th century B.C. This religion consists of many teachings with distinct beliefs emphasizing on refinement in thought, speech and action.
The main Taoist temple Baiyun Guan (Baiyun Taoist Temple) is located in Shanghai – the largest city of China, sprawled in the central eastern coast. This temple today stands as a significant historical site, with a history dating back to the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912).
A palace by the name Lei Zu was constructed in 1882 during the Qing Dynasty and was later transformed in to this temple Baiyun Guan in 1888. And in 2006 the temple was relocated to a site on Dajing Ge (Dajing Road). The temple was built as a memorial to Lu Dongbin – one of the legendary 8 Taoist Immortals.
Baiyun Temple of Shanghai is one of the two temples that have preserved invaluable ancient Taoist scriptures originating from the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), and at present you can find these scriptures at the Shanghai Library. The other temple that holds the ancient Taoist scriptures is Baiyun Guan of Beijing, which is also known as the White Cloud Temple.
At the entrance of Baiyun Temple in Shanghai, you will notice a hefty archway inscribed with 4 Chinese letters denoting ‘Sheng Yun De Lu’ which literally means ‘the road to obtaining promotion to the clouds’.
As you pass this gateway and travel forward, you will discover two statues, one belonging to the legendary Lu Dongbin and the other portraying the topmost ruler in Taoist hierarchy – the Jade Emperor.
When you explore a bit further you will discover the 2-storey temple Baiyun, nestled in a charming courtyard surrounded by ruddy walls and resting under the shade of ornate roofs. When the fragrance of incense sticks captures your attention, you will also spot numerous gilded statuettes of Taoist deities, worshipped by the devotees.
You will also spot many Taoist monks, dressed in deep blue robes with their hair tied into a bun at the top, performing religious observances at the temple. And if you arrive at the precise time, you can even witness a vivacious procession of the Baiyun Temple, featuring traditional dancing and music as well as chanting as much as the colorfully dressed monks.
To visit this religiously and historically notable attraction, you can reserve a Shanghai luxury hotel such as The Langham Yangtze Boutique Shanghai. There are many Shanghai hotels dotting the neighborhood, providing very cozy abodes and delectable cuisines completed with an array of excellent services.
About the Author
Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry.
Vientiane Morning Monk's Alms Giving - in front Salana Hotel
Vietnam Tours: My Tho 1 Day Trip With Local Tour Guide Duration: 1 day
Overview:
With local tour guide service, we save your trip cost, bring you more local experience through interaction with the local-born tour guide, and assist them for the better wealth fare. This is what we call "Responsible Travel & Sharing"
Our driver will pick you at your hotel for the drive through the country to the town of Mytho. On arrival, the local tour guide will welcome and escort you for the discovery of the area. The guide will arrange us on our private boat, which shall start off by driving us to Turtle Island, a beautiful island with many orchards. Here we can enjoy a variety of tropical fruits while listening to traditional South Vietnamese folk songs performed by local artists. Then, we are going to a Bee Farm, where we can play with the pythons, try some honey tea, and taste local confectionery. Finally, we will have a short rowing boat ride to our main boat, which in turn will take us to Phoenix island where will have our lunch. After lunch, we go back to the harbor. Drive back to Ho Chi Minh. Tour ends
SAIGON HEAD OFFICE: 113C Bui Vien Str., Dist. 1. - Phone: +84-8 38 38 6678 HANOI TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER: 7 Dinh Tien Hoang Str. , Hoan Kiem Dist. - Phone: +84-4 39263370 HUE TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER: 45 - 47 Le Loi Str., Hue City. - Phone: +84-54 3942 233 SAIGON TOURIST INFORMATION CENTER: 92-94-96 Nguyen Hue str,, Ho Chi Minh city - Phone: +84-838250615 TRULY HALONG CENTER: 21 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Hoan Kiem Hanoi - Phone: +84 4 39263449 CAMBODIA OFFICE: 117, St 6 Salakanseng, Svay Dangkum, Siem Reap, Cambodia - Phone: + 855 (0) 63 963320 LAOS OFFICE: 03/Ban Viengxay-Kithsarath RD, Luang Prabang Province-Lao PDR - Phone: +856-71 260 567
About the Author
Asiana Travel Mate, founded in 2006, provides customized inbound travel into Vietnam, extending to Cambodia and Laos. We believe in delivering services as promised, benefiting local communities and preserving the cultural and natural heritage of Vietnam
Mr Hung - www.asianatravelmate.com
Yahoo: dinhhung_84
Skype: tdhung1184
Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep and surroundings traveler photos - TripAdvisor TripWow
Selling Is the Most Important Job For Every Entrepreneur
Let’s consider the example of an entrepreneurial inventor attempting to market his newest creation: a portable hydrostatic body fat test appliance. Design is complete, testing is finished and results exceeded initial assumptions, several working prototypes have been built, UL Approval is in hand, patents filed and a business plan has been customized. The wellness aspects of the unit make it timely and potentially very lucrative if handled properly.
Most entrepreneurs would consider the status of the above-described project to be advanced and well positioned. Only one problem, a very big problem: the inventor is a brilliant engineer and conceptualist, but is phobic about standing up and presenting himself, his product and his profit opportunity. As a result, he will struggle to find investment capital, a license deal or a strategic alliance. To successfully commercialize this new wellness appliance, and any other new product opportunity, the inventor must be able to sell all aspects of the features, benefits and income generation to be derived from the novel device.
The example cited here is true. It is one of the saddest spectacles we see in the consulting world when poor basic sales skills stand between a great opportunity and success. The creator has identified a need. He has addressed the need. In the run up to presenting the product he has taken every correct step in the development process. Now, finally at the cusp of success, the inability to sell the idea is a major roadblock.
This is silly. The most important task confronting any new business or product opportunity is the ability to sell the project. The only affirmation to a products value occurs when the item is sold, and for how much. The inability to sell confirms in the eyes of buyers and investors that there is a lack of need, commitment, confidence, and passion for the product.
Selling is simply asking a person for a preferred outcome and obtaining their agreement to buy. The seller conveys a product (or service, technology, patent, trade secret, etc.) and receives consideration (money, goods, property, etc.) from the buyer. Each side in a sales transaction should receive a fair perceived value.
For many people the fear of finding themselves in a sales presentation or meeting format is truly enervating. They love their project and know it cold. However, they cannot overcome a dread of failure, rejection. They take failure personally. I have seen capable people break out in sweat, nervousness, become confused and flighty before a sales presentation that could dramatically change and improve their life. This real effect of the dread of selling themselves, and their opportunity, can be overcome and must be if entrepreneurial success is to be achieved.
Short the option of hiring professional sales talent, or sales consultants, an entrepreneur will always need to be the sales face of his product and business. He has so much to gain and so little to lose. Gaining a customer from a confident, successful sales presentation is crucial to a new enterprise. Losing a sale because of a stumbling performance can be crushing (and a lost sale is gone for good).
Here are a few points that an inexperienced entrepreneur, with limited sales skills can utilize to improve in this essential area.
Prepare, Prepare, Then Prepare Some More!
Before any sales presentation you must do everything possible to learn about the prospect, their industry, needs, competition, current pricing models, promotions and industry trends. The more knowledge you have, the more confident you will be that you have answers for probable questions and objections. This preparation can go a long way to assuaging fear of the selling process. Confidence results in a conveyance of strength, and strength is always admirable in selling.
Seek Out a Mentor!
Somewhere in your life’s experience, you have made contact with a person with experience in business at some level. Family, friend, a neighbor, a cousins brother-in-law, they are out there and closer than you think. Ask for help. I mentor at a university and consider it one of the most fulfilling parts of my busy schedule. I get back a lot more than I give, and I give a lot. Mentoring is rewarding. Contact small business incubators, SCORE and local university business schools for information on available mentor programs.
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Have you ever played a sport? The first time you swing at a golf ball I will bet that you did not hit a 300-yard linear rocket. You practiced. The more you practice the better you become at hitting a golf ball. Don’t read theoretical books on developing the golf swing, or watch training tapes. You learn, really learn, by doing something repetitively and critiquing performance results.
It is no different in achieving sales success. The more you put yourself and your product in the sales arena the more comfortable you will become. With comfort, comes confidence. Confidence is contagious and with more faith in your abilities sales will begin to happen and then cascade.
Give Value First-and Then Close!
Actually asking for the purchase-order, or an investment (the closing), is the greatest persistent hurdle many struggling sales people can not overcome. They either can’t ask for a preferred, needed outcome, or cannot properly time the attempt. Timing in sales is crucial. The buyer has many options for consideration. Why is your offering of better value, performance, durability and novelty? Confirming the value of your product for the buyer is the foundation of the sale.
Too many sales people attempt to close too quickly because they mistakenly believe that they have fully detailed the benefits of their product. Only the buyer can confirm that the product benefits have been fully explained. The best way to confirm that no stone has been left unturned is to ask questions, and then listen carefully to the answers.
With the value proposition of the product on offer fully described, and an understanding of how the item will be of value to the buyer, you are now in position to ask closing questions.
Learn to Use Assumptive Closing Questions and Statements!
Never ask a question you do not know the answer too! There should be only one answer, not open to variables. For instance, never ask a decision-maker (you are selling a weight loss product), “Why should any kid be fat today”? What is wrong here? Possibly the buyer has an overweight child. Possibly the child has a medical condition. You do not know with absolute certainty that you have not touched a raw nerve. Theoretically kids probably should not be fat but they are, and for many reasons.
Instead, ask assumptive closing questions sprinkled throughout the meeting.
“You can certainly recognize the labor saving feature we have engineered into in the new Type 54 Platform Loader, can’t you Tom”?
“You can see that the option to utilize the multi-purpose blending/grinder blade on the new rotor is a real labor saver and advance on the old Expedient model”.
“The new unit will save 4.2% in energy and maintenance expense over our past models, and anything else currently on the market. Won’t that look nice on your departments bottom line”?
You want to plant seeds that the choice has already been made based on the value proposition you have detailed for the decider. If you receive doubts, objections or negative comments, you have not constructed the value confirmation properly.
Tell to Sell!
For many inexperienced sales people, the following will be difficult, but it is the best sales training point I ever received: “people do not like to make decisions, so you make decisions for them”. Telling is selling, while asking is buying. The opportunity to control the presentation, ask qualifying questions, set up a successful close and then receive the positive commitment you seek (and need, and deserve) is greatly enhanced if you can subtly direct the buyer to sign the order. “Mike, we need to get this contract done today, so we can have inventory in time for the catalog mailing”!
Limit Risk for the Buyer!
Buying requires action. Let’s face it, it is far easier to be inactive, stick with what you have and know, than to bring in a new product. The new item requires a lot of logistic work: creating a new vendor file, issuing a new purchase order, assigning a new warehouse area, a new in-store shelf alignment, discontinuing the product you will replace, etc. In addition, there is a history with the old item, and there is no certainty your new product will perform better, or even as well. This represents risk.
It is crucial that you leave the prospective buyer feeling that there is minimal risk involved in purchasing from you, and there is a significant potential upside. Your features, benefits and novel improvements need to be detailed in an open, transparent and comprehensive presentation that leaves no doubt that you offer a real advance over competition. No flim-flam, just the facts ma’am.
Friendship Makes Sales!
When I make a cold call I have two goals: make a friend, and make a sale. We all have experienced meeting a stranger in a social situation, bumping into them later, chatting and commencing the process of building a relationship that results in creating a friend. When you make a call, whether the first or tenth meeting, your goal should be a sincere offer of yourself as a friend to the buyer. A buyer, as a friend that evolves from a commercial stranger, knowing that you are playing in a local tennis tournament next weekend, is always more likely to purchase from you than if they know nothing about you other than what they see in a meeting. Friends ask questions that reflect their real interest in another’s needs, desires and motivations. Friends are good listeners. Make each contact an opportunity to prove that you are interested in the buyer’s wellbeing, as well as their business.
Testimonials Are the Most Important Tool for New Entrepreneurs!
A testimonial is a quote for attribution that supports the feature and benefit claims related to a business or product. The acquisition of a file of testimonials is invaluable in cementing that current users of a product are strong voices for the utility of the item. I never take a prototype or product to a presentation until I have a handful of quotes from focus groups, customers that have seen the product demonstrated or product buyers. This is more valuable than any advertising.
I have every buyer physically touch and handle the testimonial file and encourage them to contact the people that have offered the positive comments. In 35 years of selling, I have only had one buyer actually reach out and make the contact (the call resulted in a glowing review). The mere fact that they have in their hands an inventory of happy product users is a powerful closing tool.
My Price is Fair and Firm!
Price is the Achilles Heel for 95% of all sales people, and 100% of the unsuccessful sales people. Do not sell price. Somebody will always sell cheaper.
20 years ago the Japanese were the low cost producers of our imports. The Korean’s then replaced the Japanese as the low cost producer in the Orient. Today the Malaysians, Indonesians and Central America all provide lower prices than Korea. The next wave of nano-priced labor will be from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Somebody will always be ready, willing and able to produce for less.
Sell the quality and benefits of your product. “My price is firm and fair, this product lasts twice as long as my competitors, and this makes the price differential negligible”. Be proud to detail the reasons your product is priced as it is.
Negative Selling is Not Negative!
Every product has a negative in one area or another. These negatives are the sales points that competitors hang their hat on when seeking advantage. Negative selling is not an attack on the competition. Negative selling is when you are up-front about a perceived deficiency in your product and turn that feature into a positive.
Mercedes Benz automobiles are expensive (relative to Lexus, a direct competitor), costly to maintain, and fuel. Mercedes knows this. They have perfected a negative selling technique to turn these perceived flaws into strengths. Mercedes position is that safety and superior performance requires advanced engineering, strength in materials and thus, added weight (resulting in heavy fuel consumption) but this is overcome by a real safety advantage. “Would you want to put your family at risk in anything less than the best engineered car on the road”?
In one of my early ventures I had a direct competitor. His product was 100% natural. My product was synthetic. There is a real belief in many people that natural is always better. It is not. There are reasons that we live longer, better, healthier, more active lives than prior generations and yet consume copious amounts of products artificially enhanced with chemicals, preservatives and supplements. Nevertheless, his tout that his all-natural product was superior to mine had resonance with retailers and consumers.
Here is how I developed a negative sales strategy to overcome the synthetic vs. all-natural argument. “ Brand X is an excellent product. It is 100% natural. I looked at making a totally natural product for my Company. I decided, after a great deal of research and clinical testing, to make my product using a blend of herbs, vitamins and preservatives. The preservatives are absolutely essential in stabilizing the product, extending the shelf life of the product and safe usage by your customers. I would never compromise safety in order to obtain an edge.”
In this case, the negative selling proposition that I proposed also had the wonderful advantage of being true. My competitor was eventually withdrawn from the market because consumers experienced bacterial infection around the eyes. The FDA ordered the product removal. The preservatives I used (thus making my product synthetic) protected against microorganisms that caused infections.
I love to sell. All successful entrepreneurs either are, or must become, strong advocates for their opportunity. This advocacy is most fully confirmed by sales success. Nothing happens in any enterprise until somebody sells something. Every other facet of business depends on the crucial trigger mechanism of a buyer deciding to purchase a good or service from a seller.
Selling is fundamental to all commercial life. It is an elemental form of competition. The drive to try, to achieve, to overcome odds is inherent in all entrepreneurs. Sales success is the utmost confirmation of this desire to test oneself in the marketplace.
About the Author
Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.
After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.
Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
HUMANITARIAN NEWS - Investing in education and jobs the key to promoting development in Laos -- UN
Thai Food | Benjarong Thai Food Restaurant - Chennai | A Slice of Thailand on your Plate
Thai cuisine refers to typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to the country of Thailand in Southeast Asia. Thai Cuisine is well-known for being hot and spicy and for its balance of five fundamental flavors in each dish or the overall meal - hot, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter.
Although popularly considered as a single cuisine, Thai food would be more accurately described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, North eastern, Central, and Southern, each cuisine sharing similar foods or derived from those of neighboring countries. Southern curries, for example, tend to contain coconut milk and fresh turmeric, while northeastern dishes often include lime juice. The cuisine of Northeastern Thailand is heavily influenced by Laos. Many popular dishes eaten in Thailand were originally Chinese dishes which were introduced to Thailand mainly by Teochew people who make up the majority of the Thai Chinese. Such dishes include jok, kway teow rad na, khao kha moo and khao mun gai.
Thai food is known for its enthusiastic use of fresh herbs and spices as well as fish sauce. Thai food is popular in many Western countries. Instead of a multiple main course with side dishes found in Western cuisine, a Thai full meal typically consists of either a single dish or rice khao with many complementary dishes served concurrently and shared by all.
Nowadays, Thai food is eaten with a fork and spoon but traditionally, it was eaten with the right hand. Only noodle dishes are eaten with chopsticks and a spoon.
If you are looking for authentic Thai food, full of flavour and zing, we recommend you head straight for Benjarong. Thai food goes down well with the Indian palate. The spices used in Thai food or the number of vegetables they use, could be the binding factor. Benjarong has been renowned for authentic albeit spicy Thai food in Chennai.
A recent food festival at Benjarong fine tuned their culinary skills, dishing out mouth watering delicacies. The menu is a good mix of the old favourites and the new dishes. The succulent, well marinated Satay for starters could well transport you to the floating market in Bangkok. The red and green curries come with their own distinctive taste and flavours. These are best teamed with steamed white rice.
Thai food uses a variety of seasonal fresh vegetables and is a visual treat in terms of colour. Try the steamed veggies, sliced finely and smothered in a brown sauce. Health on a platter, indeed! The whole mackerel is marinated in a variety of delectable sauces and flash fried to perfection. It retains both, the texture and the flavour.
The flavour of the season is the jungle chilly, which grows wild in Thai forests and is invariably eaten raw. But the Benjarong variety comes to you like a mound of fried onion rings, liberally sprinkled with garlic, ginger, peanuts and lime. Almost a meal in itself!
Thai food is traditionally eaten out of small bowls, in smaller quantities. There is a great stress on sauces and dips which add the zing to the food. The Benjarong food festival is a delicious journey indeed….
About the Author
Radhika Mohan is a uber woman with acritical style of approach towards places she visits and dines in. To read more of her articles visit www.FindNearYou.com. To find out where Benjarong is located and to know more Click Here.
Eleven years after he passed away, the rebel Osho's popularity continues to grow. But what is his enduring contribution and what will be the fate of his legacy, with the Pune Commune trying to transcend him and some prominent followers breaking away? And what a joyride that was! In his 59 odd years Osho Rajneesh packed in a lot of living and teaching. Born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain into a cloth merchant's family in Jabalpur, India, in 1931, he claimed to have attained enlightenment at the age of 21.
By 1964, Rajneesh was holding discourses and meditation camps all over the country. In 1966 he chucked his job as professor of philosophy at the University of Jabalpur. In 1970 he initiated his first disciples into sannyas (monkhood) and moved to a flat in Mumbai, India.
The flow of disciples had become a flood by 1974. He had his first brush with notoriety when a series of lectures titled From Sex to Superconsciousness scandalized the Indian public and earned him the sobriquet 'Sex Guru'. Soon, he established the Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Koregaon Park, an upmarket suburb of Pune, India. The ashram became a thriving center of New Age activity as his western disciples, many of them accomplished psychotherapists and artists, included many western therapies to the eastern meditation techniques created by Osho.
One of Osho's unique contributions, most agree, has been the creation of a whole menu of 'active meditations' oriented to the modern man who is far too restless to subside into meditation at the drop of a breath. These meditations are cathartic, involving vigorous action such as jumping up and down, dancing or shaking before relaxing into silence and stillness. With over a hundred therapies on tap, Westerners came in droves to what was touted as the largest personal growth center in the world. Time magazine estimated that between 1974 and 1978, 50,000 people had visited the Pune ashram.
Notoriety continued to surround Rajneesh, thanks largely to his propagation of tantra as a way to the sublime. Tantra workshops required participants to strip and sniff at the armpits and genitals of a member of the opposite sex. Conscious sexual intercourse with the intention of moving beyond the hold of sex was also recommended and doubtless embraced enthusiastically. Pune residents were outraged by the uninhibited behavior of the sannyasins and petitioned for his removal.
In 1981, Rajneesh and his 'neo sannyasins' (monks or initiates) as they were referred to, left for the USA. There they set up acommune called Rajneeshpuram in a 64,000-acre ranch in Oregon.
Soon, there was chaos as Rajneesh, by then called Bhagwan, went into silence, giving charge of the commune to his secretary, Ma Anand Sheela. Sheela, by all accounts, ran the commune like an autocrat. She wrote a book, Rajneeshism, in which she attempted to distil his teaching into a creed and even to establish a three-tier ecclesiastical hierarchy consisting of acharyas, arihantas and siddhas. In 1985, Sheela and her colleagues fled the USA, following which they were accused of attempted poisoning and embezzling $55 million.
A month later Rajneesh was arrested by the US government on several charges including the arrangement of sham marriages among the sannyasins to subvert American immigration laws. He was asked to leave the country. Looking for a place to set up base, he approached and was rejected by 21 countries. Eventually, he returned to Pune. In 1989, he changed his name to 'Osho', which stands for 'oceanic'. On January 19, 1990, Osho passed away, allegedly due to the radiation poisoning administered to him while in the US prison.
Osho's seen it all. Love, hate, trust, suspicion, fame, infamy, adoration, allegation. Rather than the tranquil middle road embraced by most sages, his life has been a rollercoaster ride of monumental proportions. As he remarked jauntily: "It has never happened in history that the whole world should be against one man." (Rajneesh: The Newspaper, 1986, 1:1, 9)
Why? Why was he so controversial a figure? Why were opinions about him so sharply polarized? Was he a saint or was he a sinner?
Osho does not fall into any easy category. Unlike a Ramana Maharshi or a Pandurang Shastri Athawale, he is not consistently good. Like Lord Krishna, whom he analyzes brilliantly, he defies labels. There can be no mistaking the profundity of his message, which is really classic Advaita, which holds that the creator and creation are one. "Dissolve yourself as a separate entity. Become part of the cosmic whole," he urges his followers. Or again: "Once you are established in your being, you are established in the whole because your being is part of the whole."
There can also be no denying the depth of his understanding, or his eloquence. His books (collections of his talks) are testimony to his brilliant and fecund mind as he discourses with riveting insight on the whole range of masters from Jesus to Lao Tzu to the Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna, Shankaracharya.
Yet there is an irrepressible streak in him, a mischievous imp, which often egged him to make statements that could lead to misunderstanding. From Sex to Superconsciousness is really a marvelous plea for the need to confront sex and all the feelings that it arouses rather than resorting to the centuries-old habit of repression—a valuable message in this post-Freudian age where we have seen the damage caused to the psyche by the suppression of natural instincts.
Osho says in From Sex to Superconsciousness: "Sex is man's most vibrant energy, but it should not be an end unto itself. Sex should lead man to his soul. The goal is from lust to light." However, in conveying this message he denounces religion and other spiritual masters for not doing so: "Sages and seers have degraded sex for thousands of years," he says at one point. Perhaps his penchant for putting people in the wrong was partially responsible for the negative reactions he drew.
Wouldn't it have been wiser to distinguish between the need to confront one's attitude to sex and the decision to give way to it as he recommended. Tantra is a dangerous route, strictly for the strongest-minded, and it's a moot point if it could ever lend itself to mass use. There is little doubt that much of the sexual action was misused, generating attendant emotional and mental disturbance.
He was also given to grandiloquence. In the article The Narcissistic Guru, published in Osho Rajneesh and his Disciples (Motilal Banarsidass), Ronald O' Clarke quotes him as saying: "Jesus can be found again easily... But to find a man like me—who has traveled thousands of ways, in thousands of lives, and has gathered the fragrance of millions of flowers like a honeybee—is difficult."
Undoubtedly Osho was brash, given to dismissing all religions and masters, and maybe foolhardy in his zeal to take on the world. Yet, we cannot forget the number of people he has influenced for the better and the awareness he has created of the spirit in man.
Says Arun Wakhlu, Managing Director of Pragati Learning Systems in Pune: "Osho was bull's-eye, unadulterated wisdom. He was the purest and whole form of spirituality. Others had some parts missing. But Osho showed you the sky of freedom, pure being, without judgement." He adds: "I had begun to see glimpses of the big picture before I met him, but he put it together for me."
Ma Amrit Sadhana, editor of Osho Times and one of the five-member management team that oversees the running of Osho Commune today, says: "Through Osho I gained a silent heart, contentment and ordinariness. It is so beautiful to be ordinary, just being yourself like the trees and the birds."
Says Swami Chaitanya Bharti, who was part of the first group to take sannyas from Osho, and who has been running his own meditation camps: "You cannot compare him. He was both a Vivekananda and a Ramakrishna, capable not only of being enlightened but of making others enlightened as well. Also, he broke the taboo on sex. That required great courage. And he made spirituality non-serious. He supported joyousness, to live in the wholeness of life, not to reject anything but to do everything in consciousness. His love was so intense that he magnetized people the way Krishna did."
Says Sahil Surti, a Pune-based artist and long-time Osho lover: "Osho was the greatest master of all time. He was the complete master. The others have one path to enlightenment but he had innumerable paths." Arun Wakhlu agrees: "He was an explosion of pathways—tantra, bhakti (devotion), jnana (knowledge), zen, whatever."
He was also a supreme integrator, bringing together the East and the West, spirituality and materialism, science and spirituality, the old and the new, in an over-arching vision of giving rise to the new man, a new humanity.
In Osho's own words: "I have been using one expression and that is 'Zorba the Buddha'. The body has to be enjoyed as much as your soul. Matter has its own beauty, its own power just as consciousness has its own world, its own silence, its own peace, its own ecstasy. And between the two is the area of the mind—something of matter and something of the spirit. The poet is just in the middle, between the materialist and the spiritualist; his poetry touches both extremes. I would like all three points—the two extremes and the middle—to become one unity.
"At the root, mind is consciousness. If you stop making dual divisions choosing this against that, liking this, disliking that, if you drop out of these divisions, the mind again becomes a mirror, a pure consciousness." This concept of universal acceptance is attractive to the New Ager, who no longer has to make the worrisome choice between the jacuzzi and the meditation mat.
So how will posterity judge such a man. Perhaps there is not one Osho but many. Each sees the Osho of his reflection. Some see a sage, others not. And who can say that those who see the sage are not better off? There is much that is good and great in Osho. Why not make the best of him and ignore what isn't? As he said: "Just look for the beautiful; forget the ugly."
In any case, Osho appears to be enjoying resurgence. Says Ma Amrit Sadhana: "His popularity has expanded worldwide since his death. More of his books are sold and there are more publishers like Penguin and Full Circle that publish his works."
She attributes his increasing popularity to his contemporary approach. "Others tried to carry past ideas and belief systems to this century. Osho says there is a divide between the past and present because of the dawn of the technological age. He was all for the new man. He didn't favour renunciation that is so much a part of the traditional approach. He believed that poverty was not spiritual. If you were rich within yourself you were rich in everything."
The publicity department of the Commune says that in 1996, 2.5 million Osho books and tapes were sold worldwide. They also claim that the number of visitors to the Commune has increased by 50 per cent in the last two years, but give no figures to back their claim.
In Osho Rajneesh and His Disciples, Roger Housden hazards a guess on the reason for this new receptivity. "Now that he is dead, people are free to use his teachings as they wish without the stigma attached to them in the 1980s and without the need to belong to a group. You just buy the courses you want at the Commune, watch a video of Osho at your leisure, and get on with your life."
The Commune too appears to be shedding the Osho baggage by reinventing itself as a spiritual spa, a center for a wide range of therapies and transformational tools rather than an exclusive Osho ashram.
Observes Dr Rajan Bhonsle, an erstwhile bureau chief, Mumbai for Osho Times: "They have put aside the bhakti marg (path of devotion) which used to be so prominent. Many of his portraits have been removed and his chair that used to be kept on the dais during the White Robe Brotherhood meetings is absent. Osho is no longer described as a person but as an energy, a consciousness."
This move appears to have antagonized many Indian followers, says Bhonsle, though the Commune claims that there has been an increase in its members by 112 per cent over the last three years. This apparently is also the reason behind the much-publicized departure of senior Osho Commune members, Swami Chaitanya Keerti and Ma Yog Neelam recently, alleging the concentration of power in a small cabal in New York.
Controversy obviously has not died with Osho, but here at the Commune, it's spirituality as usual, or rather, as unusual. No ashram I have ever seen quite prepares me for this futuristic fantasy. My first glimpse of it sets the tone. Huge black gates show up on either side of the road, with maroon-robed doorkeepers seated in front of them. Maroon-robed men and women, mainly foreigners, are streaming in and out of the gates.
Verdant greenery bursts out from above the walls and I am overwhelmed by a sense of the surreal. Black is everywhere, from the pyramid-like buildings, to the furniture and even the tableware. The effect, particularly in conjunction with the use of technology, is thoroughly modern—a perfect milieu for Osho's new man. The aesthetics of the place are stunning—the black more than offset by the greenery everywhere and the maroon robes of the sannyasins.
Incidentally, maroon robes are mandatory and I find myself soon doffing my street clothes and slipping into one. The effect is of release, like slipping into nightwear after a hard day's work. But wearing nightwear (or its equivalent) in the presence of perfect strangers seems as if a societal restraint has been shed. I understand now why an AIDS test is deemed necessary. Today, the Commune no longer holds workshops calling for undressing and free love is not encouraged, but this is still a place where sex is not exactly kept in the closet. Some young sannyasins float around in sexy robes. And unlike other ashrams, there is no gender segregation, not even in the shower rooms. A shower curtain shields one, but even so I was unprepared for a raucous male voice belting out a song from the next closet as I gingerly washed myself.
Apart from the international crowd, what is striking is the air of vibrant activity. The Buddha Hall, a huge tent-like structure is the center of all the meditations, of which several are scheduled every day. The day begins at six in the morning with dynamic meditation, Osho's most popular gift to the world. Consisting of five stages, the participant goes from rapid and chaotic breathing to yelling, screaming and shouting in the second, jumping up and down and shouting 'hoo' in the third, freezing in any position in the fourth, and finally to a slow dance of celebration. I didn't participate in this one, but over the next two days, I attended the no-dimensions meditation, kundalini meditation and pranic-chakra meditation. All three called for activity of some sort, whirling in the first, shaking and dancing in the second and chanting in the third. The culmination in each case is about 15 minutes of silence.
Whirling and dancing in public challenged my inhibitions and it took some time for the self-consciousness to wear off. But at the fag end of the dance, a small wisp of movement uncurled from within and demanded expression. I had become the dance. Indians, mostly inhibited, can benefit tremendously from active meditations.
Apart from the meditations, the Osho Multivarsity offers a number of therapies and courses through its nine platforms—the Osho School of Centering, Osho School of Creative Arts, Osho International Academy of Healing Arts, Osho School of Zen Martial Arts, Osho Meditation Academy, Osho School of Mysticism, Osho Academy of Zen Sports and Fitness, Osho Institute of Tibetan Pulsing Healing and the Osho Center for Transformation.
Osho has designed three therapies, the most popular of which is the Mystic Rose, a three-week course, in which the participant laughs for three hours a day the first week, cries for the same period the next week and sinks into silence the third week.
The Commune also has a 'work as meditation' program where participants can sign up for three to six months and are compensated with free accommodation. But they have to pay for food. Talking of which, the Commune has three international quality open-air cafes serving delicious food. Walking into one the first day, my eyes widened at the sight of the croissants and pastries laid out. One buys the food through vouchers. Money is not exchanged (to prevent disease, one is told) and one has to exchange cash for vouchers, further creating the impression of being in a foreign land.
I look around me. Although it is the fag end of summer, off-season in India for most westerners, the white marble walkways are studded with maroon robes. People saunter along, teacup in hand, or sit on the walkways watching the world go by. One Japanese girl is looking meditatively into a small lotus pond named after Jiddu Krishnamurti. Another young girl is dancing exuberantly while watering the walkway near Buddha Hall. A man is inquiring tenderly after the sprained ankle of one of the sannyasins. There are good vibes in the air. People seem happy and at peace here, a place where they can recharge their batteries and explore a spiritual possibility or two. Spiritual spa or otherwise, it's serving a useful purpose and who's to quarrel with that.
Swami Chaitanya Bharti Sahil Surti, a Pune-based artist and long-time Osho lover: Arun Wakhlu 'Zorba the Buddha'. Ma Amrit Sadhana: The publicity department of the Commune Osho Rajneesh and His Disciples, Roger Housden Dr Rajan Bhonsle, an erstwhile bureau chief, Mumbai for Osho Times Swami Chaitanya Keerti and Ma Yog Neelam Satish Nanda
SPECIAL THANKS TO OSHO LOVERS SOCIETY
OSHO IN THE MARKETPLACE
Satish Nanda aka Swami Satish Satyarthi is one Osho lover who lives his master's teachings. His personal life, his spiritual pursuits and his business are all one seamless whole. ''Spirituality does not fall off when you are at work or business,'' he says.
Nanda is as keen to take off for an Osho meditation camp as he is to organize one for his employees at Heritage in Delhi's (India) upmarket South Extension market. Each item in his store, each display, even communication with his regular clients is stamped with his distinctive style—classy, meditative, understated, loving—which makes visitors to the emporium feel welcome and valued.
Osho's greatest contribution, believes Nanda, has been to make us realize that life is full of beauty, grace, splendor, height. Once you get acquainted with the truth, you can experience death lovingly. But we don't live like this, which made Osho comment: ''I sell mirrors in the city of the blind.''
In the next 50-100 years, Nanda is confident, the world will be full of Oshoites and Osho's teachings will be followed in toto. This is because with technological advancement, living will progressively become mundane and monotonous, mere fiddling around with plastic buttons. This will prove to be suicidal for human race, and so, make way for a new era.
Nanda doesn't agree that the recent controversial developments at the Osho Commune in Pune will have much negative impact: ''There are many like me who have loved Osho, and feel connected to him. Wherever they are, Osho is.'' He adds poetically: ''No matter how or where you slice a piece of misri (crystal sugar), what you get is still misri.''
''The western mind,'' he continues, ''cannot comprehend the guru phenomenon. In India, for thousands of years, yogis have worked on themselves for salvation through the guru-shishya (master-disciple) tradition.'' He is, of course, alluding to the rumored existence of a foreign cabal trying to control Osho's legacy. He adds: ''who wants control? Those who are not powerful.''
Osho's work, Nanda points out, continues outside the Pune Commune too. There are communes in Dharamsala, Kathmandu, Piparia...Osho Dham has recently come up on 15 acres of land near Najafgarh in Delhi, India. Camps are held, sanyas initiation given as before. Nanda has just returned from a three-day camp at Pithoragarh in Uttaranchal, India that was led by Swami Narendra Bodhisattva and attended by 80-90 people,of whom 28 took sannyas diksha, initiation.
