New Friends in Laos

Sitting in the front seat of the bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in Laos. Passing small villages where schoolchildren run by and naked toddlers squeal in doorways. We honk at the cows standing lazily in the road conjuring up images of India in my mind. Boys and girls hold umbrellas as they ride by on bicycles. The bus is muggy despite the air conditioning. But at least I’ve got my own seat and the volume of the music is not just bearable - but actually pleasant.

We’re heading back to Vientiane after five lovely days in Luang Prabang where we spent time with a wonderful cast of characters. Our first night in town we had the good fortune of sitting next to two Austrians and two Germans who were then joined by two Frenchies. Soon enough we were all sharing Beer Lao and Lao Lao (shots of rice wine). When the restaurant closed we hopped in a tuk tuk and hit the local Lao nightclub. We were the only tourists there and we danced the night away with the locals. Who would’ve known we’d return there two more times that week?

Then there was kayaking on the chocolate brown Mekong where we met Dana from San Francisco, Marceau from Germany, and David from Northern Ireland - who would accompany us later that night to dinner, bowling, and more dancing. The next day we took a tuk tuk and a small boat to a series of waterfalls where we went swimming. Our last big night out we were joined by two Kiwis and two Brits and were reunited with the Austrians - Hans and Elmar - who micromanaged our grill your own meat bbq while the Kiwi side of the table drank beer tower after beer tower.

Yesterday, tired from all the revelry, I napped in the afternoon and went out for an evening walk by myself to a Buddhist Wat on a hill. Luang Prabang is full of Wats and young monks in saffron colored robes are a common site. I took my time at the Wat appreciating the view and pausing to take pictures of the golden Buddha statues. On my descent I was thinking about how I wanted to learn more about Buddhism. I tried to learn about Hinduism while in India and wanted to likewise ask questions about Buddhism.

As I was pondering a statue of a familiar female form holding a long pony-tail, a handsome young man with a beaming smile asked me where I was from. We started a conversation that would last for the next hour and a half at least, standing beneath a Buddha statue as the sun set. He is a former Buddhist monk who studied in that Wat for six years and then studied Buddhism in Thailand for another six years. He has been out for only a year and teaches English at a teachers collage. We talked about the pace of life in different cultures and he had many questions about education in America. I learned about his family - his six siblings and mother’s three marriages. His 16 year old sister’s desire to get out of rural Laos but her lack of education and limited options. His last conversation with his father - who was also a monk - before his father was tragically killed in a car accident. He shared his impressions of the tourists who always have a list of things they want to see and how fast they move and how different this is from his simple way of life.

I got to ask him about the statue I’d been so curious about and learned that she represents the Goddess of the Earth who helped protect Buddha from three evil sirens who tried to distract Buddha from meditating beneath the tree. I learned of the significance of the lotus flower, which lives in the dirty mud below the surface and then blossoms into something beautiful. I learned the routines of the monks - waking at 4:00 am to chant, sweeping, meditation, studying. I learned so much in just that one conversation that I simply can’t capture it all. As the sun went down, I had to say goodbye to my friend although I knew we could’ve talked for the rest of the night. I hope to hear from him again to ask my many unanswered questions about Buddhism and his life.

This morning we got up at 5:00 am to make an offering to the 300+ monks who live in the Wats in Luang Prabang. They walk in a procession through town and accept sticky rice, fruit, and other gifts, which they eat throughout the day. We bought bananas for the occasion and Julie kneeled and offered the bananas as I tried to capture the procession with my camera.

From Laos to Cambodia...More to come from Cambodia next…