Cambodia, Laos

Southeast Asia Report 13: Beer Lao at Mekong River in Vientian

by Ippei Tsuruga Views: 125

November 15, 2007 Vientiane (Laos)

Sunset over the Mekong River
Sunset over the Mekong River

“Who knows the future?”

This is the last evening for me in Laos. Tomorrow, I am going to Cambodia. The Mekong River, the most awesome river I have ever seen, was saying good-bye to me, when I had diner by the river. I was looking at sunset over the river. It was the first time I had ever seen the blue sky in Vientiane today. That is why the sunset extremely amazed and impressed me. I have been here for 5 days, but it was always cloud until yesterday.

I am really not sure when I will come back to this country again. If I came here, what for would it be? Now, I am thinking about my future. How possible is it for me to come here for my business? How can I achieve that goal? Wait! Is it my real goal? Is it the same as my image about my ideal job? Everything is grey, but not black. I am thinking about what I want to do in the future. It is not black, I hope.

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Author: Ippei TsurugaIppei Tsuruga is Social Protection Programme Manager for Indonesia at International Labour Organization. He has been managing programmes and providing technical contributions to social security reforms at the country level in Indonesia, Viet Nam and Myanmar, and also contributing to research and knowledge management at the ASEAN regional and global levels. He has been involved in various policy discussions and research activities on unemployment benefit, old-age, invalidity and survivors’ benefits, maternity benefit, sickness benefit, and the extension of social protection to workers in the informal economy. He has worked at the ILO Country Office for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the Social Protection Department; and JICA Washington D.C. Office, Research Department, Country Office for Kenya, and Africa Department for Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia.

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