Laos through my eyes – Aiden Glendinning

This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos. 

Having originally come to Laos on a working holiday in February 1995, I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to make my life here. A young man not long out of university, I was asked to visit two ex-college mates working for Houakhong Trading, a fuel company set up by a British investor.

At that time you needed a written invitation approved by the authorities to enter the country and I was officially invited by Ginny Van Ostrand, who had already opened the Lao-American Language Centre, as it was then known.

The first Friendship Bridge had opened for practical purposes a few months previously and after catching a train from Bangkok to Nongkhai I was met at the quiet border crossing by my friends. In those days you could cross roads even in central Vientiane without looking – you would hear if a car was coming – and the road into town from the bridge was narrow, dusty and almost empty.

On the way into town we picked up a walker who had been unable to find a bus or taxi from the bridge. It was Brian Hillman, very much still part of the Vientiane ex-pat scene.

I taught English at Lao-American and at factories, offices and private houses for four years, meeting hundreds of students. I often run into old pupils and have found the teacher-student bond to be long lasting and mutually respectful in Laos.

I taught government officials at various levels and sometimes helped with their assignments and reports. In 1998 I was recommended to UNDP as an editor and hired first as a consultant and then as the Public Information Officer. Since then I have made a career in development and corporate communications in Laos, working for various international organisations, and for the last four years in the hydropower industry.

I have written for national, regional and British newspapers and magazines on Laos and taken an interest in its history, assisting for some time at the French School of Far Eastern Studies.

In 1999 I married a Lao lady, Nalinthone, who has worked at similar organisations to me and now runs a school. We have four daughters to look after, going to three different schools, so life is always busy. Laos is a wonderful place to raise a family and there is a strong community of long-term ex-pats who support each other.

I have always been involved in sports clubs here, helping to establish rugby, football and cricket teams, and these have helped me form long-lasting friendships with Lao people and ‘foreigners’ from many nations. As the country develops, opportunities grow in business, lifestyle and culture.

While I sometimes miss the sleepy Vientiane of old, I am glad to watch the country grow and to feel that in a tiny way I have contributed.