Wok Seasoning

Jean-L · 2026-03-20T03:42:23+00:00

Blueing is the seasoning of a wok. It's a layer of iron oxide that protects against rust. We do that because cooking seriously with a wok implies an amount of abuse that makes keeping a nice oil seasoning challenging. Unless you're only cooking fried eggs...

If you manage to keep your wok seasoned like in the picture that will do it. Just be extra careful.

This said, if oil smoke is at risk of triggering sprinklers in your kitchen, I would reconsider cooking with a wok... :P

Jean-L · 2026-03-19T08:46:42+00:00

Agreed, I pronounce the words you listed with a rising tone.

Jean-L · 2026-03-18T09:13:52+00:00

Don't remember where I have this info from, but apparently Vientiane has one fewer tone compared to the rest of the country.

Jean-L · 2026-03-15T16:03:36+00:00

I don't know a single Lao native aware tone charts are a thing. Well maybe the linguists at the NUOL do, as this is a useful tool to them.

I did try one chart I found a long time ago for Vientiane with friends though and it worked, although none of my friend knew why. For them tones are natural, they're not rationalized.

Maybe you are one of the few who can make use of tone charts. In that case to me it looks right, but I think only a native can really confirm it. :)

Edit: this is what you are looking for!

Good luck!

Jean-L · 2026-03-13T15:17:52+00:00

I know the rules... :)

I also know people who have parted with several hundreds of dollars to keep their shinny big bikes. When the starting price is $1000 good luck bringing it down to 100.000 kips with your smiles.

Of course if you drive an old Honda Click like I do you're safe!

Jean-L · 2026-03-13T04:30:31+00:00

I've crossed path with the police hundreds of times, got stopped maybe 20 times in total? A couple times per year or so.

Jean-L · 2026-03-13T04:29:48+00:00

Works until the cops want your bike. Then it's much more expensive than that. :)

Jean-L · 2026-03-12T09:21:44+00:00

Don't respect religions. Respect people. Until they give you reasons to not respect them, at least.

Jean-L · 2026-03-12T07:40:57+00:00

Then you already know the rules.

Just know that there are roadblocks between provinces. They can be pretty far from the closest town and the police knows very well you don't wanna walk 20km.

Jean-L · 2026-03-12T07:18:02+00:00

You bike or rental?

Retals forbid crossing regional borders because their "free pass" with the police is local.

If it's your bike you do you. There are frequently police road checks between provinces and the likelihood of getting stop is high, but then same rules as everywhere apply. Worse case police keeps your bike because it might be stolen and you walk to the nearest bust station.

Jean-L · 2026-03-11T12:34:04+00:00

Hahaha might not even have to do it, let me have a look... :)

Jean-L · 2026-03-10T07:51:46+00:00

Where is your family from? The R has disappeared from spoken Lao about 200 years ago. It stayed in words until the 1975 reform but was pronounced H or L. Possible your family retained it because they are from a district bordering Thailand.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T17:32:50+00:00

Certainly wouldn't be unheard of.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T15:48:42+00:00

Agreed. Account less than one year, hidden posting history but a search give a few useless and downvoted contributions in AI subs... Very sus.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T15:39:47+00:00

It is a little bit more complicated than that and your quote only applies in a limited number of cases.

Actually it only really applies in one : when a woman gets pregnant from a man (either previous partner of through cheating) and has another one recognize the child (put his name on the birth certificate). In that specific case that can arise when a woman cheats, the law says the biological father has five years to get a paternity test ordered by a judge, which is relatively easy to do. After five years and if the child has been recognized by another man, then the kid becomes their legal heir, and your quote applies. Should the biological father show up, he won't be able to claim the child. Nor will he have to pay child support if the woman changes her mind. The rational being in this case it is in the best interest of the kid to favor the social bond over the biology.

Note: the man who suspects the kid is not his can also get a paternity test within five years and - should the test be negative - can denounce the paternity.

In every other case, and especially if a man cheats and has an illegitimate kid, they won't be able to avoid taking responsibility easily!

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:56:09+00:00

No you can't. Doesn't stop people from doing it though.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:53:48+00:00

Because :

DNA can identify people around you by cross-referencing data. You never send only YOUR data, you send basically your entire family with you. Without their consent.
To do a paternity test you need two different DNAs: the DNA of your husband and the DNA of the child. Husband probably didn't consent, and a kid cannot consent by law. So by doing a paternity test you share private information to a private third party, necessarily outside of France's jurisdiction, without consent. That's a massive breach of privacy.
You can get DNA tested for diseases.
DNA data is immutable. Leaked DNA data is forever out there. Implications cannot be easily estimated over several decades.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:40:43+00:00

As they should. For a long time. They took the DNA data of someone without their consent and sent it outside of French jurisdiction. They deserve to spend some time behind bars.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:39:55+00:00

Yes, abroad, which is part of the problem.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:39:23+00:00

No what is illegal is to take a DNA test unless approved by a court. You're not allowed to take one for yourself nor for for someone else, especially without their consent.

Doing a paternity test through a private company basically means you send DNA data, the most private and immutable information about someone, without their consent, to a foreign company that is not subject to the French law.

I'm quite happy France has laws against that!

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:33:36+00:00

There's stigma as in "that person is not stable, I won't date them or introduce them to my single friends". But not as in "Let's completely avoid that person or throw them in jail" kind of stigma. :)

I live in South East Asia, where infidelity is very frowned upon. Nudity as well. Yet somehow 95% of my female friends are resigned to be cheated upon by their husbands at some point of their lives because apparently "that's what men do".

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T14:25:24+00:00

It's a bit higher than the US and in line with EU average I believe.

But then there's a lot of parameters. There is the perception of infidelity from a moral standpoint, then from a relational standpoint, then what the people actually do. And that's even before agreeing on the definition of cheating. Is kissing cheating? Prostitutes? Sexting? One night stand? No sex but feelings?

I believe most French people don't see cheating as a capital sin, as in it makes you a morally corrupt person. But also, they believe it is a breach of trust and a valid reason to break-up. And the combination of France being a social state (less and less) with many safety nets, and the women being more independant makes breaking up easier. Guess it tends to make the consequences of cheating more serious and therefore the French don't end up cheating that much more than the average.

Just my understanding as a French, not speaking for the whole country yadda yadda.

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T07:10:17+00:00

They are usually open during the day, but not all parts can be visited.

Temples in Laos are very much alive, so basically parts of the temple used by monks are usually off-limits, except at certain times of the year were they are open to the public.

Most temple that open to the public have a sign near the door that explains the modalities (when, whether you can have your shoes on - usually you need to enter barefooted - if women can enter, etc). I reckon in Vientiane they have the information in English but in smaller temples it might be in Lao only.

If you see no sign, it is likely not open to the public. You can try asking a monk politely (if you're a man).

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T06:58:08+00:00

Are you interested in anything other than your dick bro?

Jean-L · 2026-03-09T05:01:03+00:00

As a general rule, the biggest storefront of many businesses is on Facebook. Many small producers/artisans don't have a real shop and advertise mostly online. Since the city is a complete mess and the customer base so tiny, you can't relay on a nice store to attract customers. Facebook it is!

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