26th Mar, feels real great to see a Singapore constructed water tap in Laos!

showering at the top of the mountain at close to 2000m is freaking cold! brrrr

top of the pass with a beautiful view all around =D

cycled all the way until 8+pm at night and it got really dark before i finally managed to find a place to sleep. mainly because the route was mountainous and there were little camping places available... oh wells at least i still got to sleep 8hrs tonight! hehe

alot of locals up in the mountain lay out these tree barks along their homes. not sure whether its used for building homes, handicrafts, some medicinal item or perhaps its some kinda veggie food? hmmm...

when i was cycling thru the rural mountains from Vientianne to Luang Prabang, i saw alot of World Vision communal taps that were built by Australia, Japan and Korea. didnt really think much of it until i saw one that had the words "Singapore" plastered on it and i immediately stopped to have a look.

cant explain it in words but when i saw this Singapore-sponsored communal tap that the locals are using and really benefiting from, i felt really proud to be from Singapore. all the locals were looking at me when i was there wondering what the hell i was doing and when i said "Singapore' and pointed to myself, and then to the words on the tap, i think some of the locals understood and started smiling.

i guess its good to know that your country is doing something for the poor people of other countries and you can see that they really benefit from the aid because when you are 1000+m up on the mountains, getting clean water is not something as easy as just turning on the tap in singapore. locals often have to work for many kilometers carrying buckets of water on their backs jus to have enough water for survival. but when we turn on the tap in singapore, its so easy that sometimes we dun even bother to close it because well, we are rich and we can afford to waste water rite? shame on you if you think that way!

the taps were in rather remote areas and i cant imagine how remote the areas mus have been years ago when the Singapore team first came. it was prob even remoter than it was now, so good job to the singapore volunteers/staff for choosing such great locations where help is really needed!

the Singapore-sponsored World Vision tap!