Russ&Suzie

Trip Log
2012-02-16 23:35:27 (UTC)

Trip up the Mekong of Laos from Luang Praband

After walking through the market filled with fresh produce and the business-like Lao women and many children, we traveled on a long narrow boat two hours upstream to the cave of a thousand Buddhas, Tam Ting (most were small but numbers impressive. Their portability no doubt a factor in why one cannot any image of Buddhas out of Laos).

Limestone hills that at times resembled the ones we saw on the River Li in China, but more gradually rising for the most part. Lovely experience with water buffalo, temporary gardens on the side.

WE also saw the high water marks of 2008 when a typhoon drowned all to that height of the flood. It inundated the lower cave and the restaurant across the river where we later ate (well, I enjoyed water and conversation with Jim Maloney my age and from Illinois now a retired educator, and with John Crawford, business owner and his wife, Diane, a Bonsai grower and from her husband's point of view for which he provided nice evidence, a master gardener.

Then we traveled slightly more upstream to a village where saw a school where the school master, a man, had been there since 1994. Sixteen children with attentive interested children. They sang for us with rhythmically clapping hands (so of course Susie and I thought of Jo Simons and her Music Together). And the group, many of whom are teachers or retired teachers did the hoky poky enlisting the enthusiastic participation of the kids, mostly boys.

Shopping followed with lovely silk available along the way, not expensive. We'd learned that earnings are on average less than two dollars per day so we invested for not just our pleasure.

Many racks of drying river weed (a wonderful food of the region). They dried with onion and tomato pieces.

Dogs ubiquitous as were colorful roosters giving their signature crows, and black and white ducks, including very little ones in a cage still covered in soft yellow.

I didn't eat so indulged in a Lao warm oil massage that certainly passively stretched every muscle over every bone. Quite unlike any parallel experience before. The masseuse a diminutive woman but very strong. Fixed her hair like the women of Japanese prints.




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