leaving, Hmong festivals, teenagers and monk blessing

It’s Tuesday night here. I leave in less than 48 hours. The last week has been unusual, to say the least.

With the closure of the Bangkok airports, much time was spent trying to get a handle on what was happening there and sorting out whether there were any options for leaving Laos. I managed to find flights out via Hanoi and then onto Seoul, where I can join my original itinerary, which was L.P. Bangkok, Seoul.

It sounds so easy now, just one little paragraph summarizing a change in travel plans, but it was so very fretful and stressful at the time...how long can the situation in Bangkok go on? are there options out of L.P.? when should I spend the money and rebook the flights?? With things settled, these questions no longer seem to dire or painful, but it was tough going for a few days.

I found that traveling alone is much different when things go awry...more lonely, and full of doubt and indecision. A very wise friend reminded me that I should pat myself on the back and be proud that I handled the setbacks, and that it proves I am strong. Her words were of great solace. I never though of it that way; she helped me put a positive spin on the whole thing.

My friend Roger, who was my guide last year, was going to come to Luang Prabang to visit, but he got stuck in Bangkok. Sorry not to see him-still waiting to hear that he is safely out of Bangkok. He advised me to look for an alternate route home, as had my brother. So, between Roger’s savvy on SE Asia and family pressure, I made the booking. I was fortunate to make the decision when I did. I was able, though with lousy connections, to meet up with my Seoul flight. As of Monday morning, there were no seats from L.P. to any city in Vietnam until December 10....probably later now.

Still trying to get money back from Bangkok Airways for the Luang Prabang/Bangkok flight, and from the Novotel at the airport in Bangkok.

About friends: it is always great to get e-mails, but when things started to get tense and hairy, it was especially comforting to hear from people...to know people were concerned and had taken the time to write was really, really useful. It made me feel less alone. I am, indeed, fortunate to have so many people who were watching over me.


Seems like weeks and weeks since the basi in Thong’s village, but it was only five days ago....how can that be???

This weekend was the Hmong New Year, so there was a big Hmong festival. I went with Thong on Friday afternoon. At that time they were just setting up, but it was fun to walk around. There was a guy with a fancy background, a camera and Hmong clothes. Sort of like at Upper Canada Village, where you can dress up as turn of the century pioneers. So, of course, Thong and I had to get dressed up and have our picture taken. It was really, really fun. And, the crowd thought it was hilarious to have a falang dressed in Hmong clothes. I was just grateful they had some that fit....the people here are really, really tiny...luckily, Hmong are peasant stock, and some tend to be a bit less lean than the Lao.


Saturday I was at BBM for the morning, doing English practice with some of my favourite students. And, I had to say good-bye to them. They all asked me when I was coming back, and some asked me why I had to go back to Canada. They told me they will always remember me, which is, no doubt, an exaggeration, but it was nice to feel I had helped them, in some small way. Saturday afternoon I played tourist and walked to the last temple on my list...not a great temple, but it was the last one on the L.P. temple list, so I felt I just had to go. (no, did not make a list of all the temples..I bought a book, and there was a list in the book, and no I did not cross them off as I visited, I put a check beside the temple name after my visit...)

Sunday I went to another Hmong festival with Linda. Again, I had to dress in Hmong clothes, but this time not just for a photo-I actually wore the clothes to the Hmong festival. I was worried that the Hmong might find it offensive that a falang was dressed in Hmong costume, but to the contrary, they found it really funny-I had several old Lao men ask to take their photo with me, and they would chuckle and say falang Hmong! falang Hmong! But, the best looks were from the other falang. There were a few there taking photos of the beautiful costumes, and it was great to see their faces when the realized I was not Laos, but falang....hee! hee! Again, I have a photographic record, but not sure how widely it will be distributed.

Today I took Linda and Pho Ngu out for lunch. We went to a falang restaurant. They said they really wanted to go, but they would have been more comfortable at a Lao restaurant. I did not realize just how foreign the food is to them. Had to say goodbye today to Linda-she is off on a two day book party trip tomorrow, so I will be leaving L.P. before she is back. She cried-alot. Poor thing. I still don’t know why she became so attached to me, but it was very sweet and very special. She is so very short..she only comes up to somewhere around my armpit.

I just realized that I have enjoyed, very much, being tall. I am taller than 99% of the women and about 80% of the men. Perhaps that is the real reason I love it here so much.

I have made friends with one of the monks at the temple near me. His name is Song. Isn’t that a wonderful name? I met him at the fireboat festival,when I went to the wat to look at their fireboat. We chatted, and I asked him if I could take his picture. I promised to get copies for him, which I finally did. It is very chilly in the mornings now, and the monks all go out and do the alms walk really early-like 6 a.m., and it is really, really nippy. They do not wear shoes-he told me how cold his feet were, and how sore they were after the walk. He also, of course, has no hair, and he did not have a hat. They are allowed to wear hats, so I bought him a monk toque-it is orange (of course) and has a pom-pom on top. He looks absolutely adorable. We went out for a fruit shake, I think it was Monday afternoon, and we started to talk about food, and he had NO idea what peanut butter was, so I also took him my almost new jar of peanut butter and several baguettes. He was quite delighted with the photos, the hat and the food. Song gave me another blessing, this one particular to a safe trip home, and tied on another bracelet. The monk bracelets are orange, as opposed to the basi ones, which are white. So, I am, as of now, quite a blessed person-twice blessed by a buddhist monk, plus a Hmong shaman..covers a few bases, I do think.

This afternoon I met Thong after work and we went to the big local market. I wanted to buy a present for his parents, to thank them for the basi. I did not see any warm bedding when we were at his house, and it is really cold at night. So, I bought them a duvet and sheet set. Thong said they will really like it, and I don’t think he would have let me buy it if was not something they really needed. I told him that his parents worked so hard, I wanted them to be able to be warm and sleep well at night.

Thong also told me that he does not have a jacket-he has a light sweatshirt, but that is all. So, we also went shopping for a jacket for him. For the first time since I have known him he was a typical teenager...I could have been shopping with my daughters when they were 16...he liked the biker-black-buckle jackets, and I liked the ones that had a lining and were warm...I said to him, Thong why get a jacket that is not going to be warm?? what are you thinking??? then, I looked at him, and I knew he was thinking :”I look hot in this jacket”.....it was really, really funny For the first time, he did not want to bend, did not want to comply 100%-he was vain enough to hold out for beauty over warmth or practicality. And, at that moment, I really, really liked him a lot, and missed my kids terribly. He really is just a kid, which is sometimes hard to remember, cause he has to be so grown-up so much of the time. The jacket shopping will be one of my favourite memories, without a doubt. We finally find a jacket he loved, and I did not hate, and it was not black but a dark green, and looked great on him. He has the same ability as my kids...the dream jacket was the most expensive one we looked at, by far. But, he looked great in it, so I bought it for him. He was so happy. I bought him a cowboy hat on Friday, so he will now have the complete “look.”

He dropped me off at my place, and he was going to take the motorbike back to his parents and drop off the duvet. Amazing to see him ride a motorbike with a double duvet balanced on the front.

Did not mean to ramble on so long....always seem to have so much to say...I know you will all find that hard to believe...

This has been an amazing experience. As a friend wrote to me (I have very wise friends), I probably won’t know the effect this whole adventure will have on me until much later. She also said my time here might have a future impact on others, and that is a magnificent thought. I hope my time here has been one-tenth as useful to others as it has been to me. For most of the time out here (the last week excepted), my life was free of hassles and worries..of course, I care about the welfare of the staff at BBM, Song and Thong, and I did try to help, as I could, but I was, by in large, an observer. This trip has given me the opportunity to step out of my everyday life. I did not venture out here with that intended purpose-at least not to my knowledge. However, it has been a unique and fabulous opportunity, and a wonderful adventure.

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