right outside this lazy summers home

DOK CHAMPA TREE (FRANGIPANI) OUTSIDE EACH SIDE OF THE GATE ON THE ROAD 

     Renting a house in Lao, comes with a few requirements. After settling affairs with Simone, my landlordress, I met the village chief, who had to approve of my living in his village. He happily agreed to this arrangement, and filled out his required paperwork. The next step, still to be done, is to register at the nearest police station, so they can look at my passport and visa, and fill out their required paperwork. I was supposed to do this the day after meeting with the village chief, but, well, when in Lao . . . Simone has a grandson living across the street from me. He will take me to the police, at some unknown time in the future. I check with him every morning, but I have still not been to the police station. Things can take time to get done here. When I traveled in Mexico, I learned the saying ‘manana,’ literally meaning ‘tomorrow.’ What this phrase means, is that if it doesn’t get done today, there is always tomorrow. Here in Lao, ‘manana’ is much too quick. If it doesn’t get done today, there is always next week, or next month, etc. I am assured this is not a problem with the police, after all, they know where to find me if needed.

     Yup, this is a small community, everyone knows of the American living in Luang Kao. The first week, I met the villagers, a few at a time. The shopkeepers I met by buying various products from each of them. The rest of the community visited me at my home. This sounds pleasant enough, eh? Did the villagers come to my door with food or beverage? Dream on! My house is surrounded by a metal fence, with a metal gate on the road. The locals came to visit me by randomly looking in my window and watching whatever I was doing. Ok, then, so much for security, the fence and gate are an illusion. The locals already knew who I was renting from, and that all furnishings were provided. They were looking to see what I brought with me, and what I was doing. They lose interest when they find me cooking, reading, listening to music, writing, or napping. After all, they do these things, and the foreigner is not so strange after all. Nobody will come into my home uninvited, but I still have people looking in, which isn’t that strange. My observations of the neighborhood, show that everybody does this at all houses. To greet the neighbors, or see who is home, people will walk into yards and peer in windows. When in Luang Kao . . .

     Ah, yes, the fence and gate. Most houses have them, and this is to keep the animals out of the yards. Herds of cattle saunter through the village, and if gates are left open, the cattle quickly enter and devour any gardens. The chickens and roosters stroll through the village as well, and quickly destroy any gardens they can enter. Every house has a vegetable garden, and my home has one already growing! Simone’s family, across the street, uses her yard for their vegetable garden. This is fine by me, as I now have fresh lemongrass, cilantro, mint, chives, onions, and garlic! I am expanding the garden beds and have happily taken over watering duties! So, yes, I have a gate and fence around the yard, but there is no lock, so the folks can get fresh vegetables and herbs, and so others can peer in my windows! I have a large mango tree in the back yard, and the fruit are developing quite nicely. The problem is that I like sweet mangoes and the locals like unripened green mangoes. They eat them with a chili/sugar/shrimp paste mix to get the balance of sour/spicy/sweet/and salty. This sounds good, but I love fully ripened mangoes. Maybe I can get them to leave a few unpicked . . .

BOUGANVILLA BRIGHTENING MY FRONT YARD

  

right outside the lazy gate of winters summer home

MY NEW RENTAL HOME IN LUANG KAO, CHAMPASAK PROVINCE, LAO

      I departed Bangkok, early one morning, and headed to southern Lao. I spent the day traveling by taxi, express train, another taxi, international bus, and finally, saam-laaw (motorcycle with sidecar), to my favorite guesthouse in Pakse, Lao. A long fourteen hour day, but I made it in time to get the last available bed in the dorm room of the Nang Noi guesthouse. Here, I met a man from Mexico, and a man from Brazil, and we went off to my favorite Pakse restaurant, Dao Linh, where we had dinner with two French women. The next day, I got my own room, and settled into Pakse to celebrate my 50^th birthday. I met a woman from Slovenia, and after days wandering around Pakse, we walked out to my friends house, who was throwing me a birthday party. We ate and drank with many foreigners working for various NGO’s in the area, a few living in Pakse, the rest moving on after their contracts expire. We returned to Pakse around midnight, and the fireworks started lighting the sky. My birthday was the same day as the Chinese new year and Vietnamese new year, and the next few days, I just made into a longer birthday celebration.

     Early one morning, I took a boat from Pakse downriver to Champasak, my choice of town’s to settle. I got a room at my favorite Champasak guesthouse, Vong Paseud, and began my house search. That first day, I looked at my future rental, but it was the first place I looked at and I wanted to compare others houses and prices. My guesthouse owner took me to look at various rentals, and after five days looking at eight houses, I chose the first place to rent. The house is located a bit south of Champasak in the village of Ban Vat Luang Kao. This small town is the subject of archaeological restoration, as it is the ancient city of nearby Wat Phou, a Khmer religious complex which predates Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Luang Kao, about 1500 years ago, was the capital of the Mon-Khmer Chenla kingdom. Little remains of this original city, but I am thrilled to be able to live here!

     My rental house is owned by Simone, a spry 85 year old Lao woman who spent many years living in France. The house had been empty for years, and needed a good cleaning. I was willing to clean and furnish the place, but while we were working out the financial details, Simone had the place cleaned top to bottom, and furnished. I now had a home with beds, bedding, tables, chairs, fridge/freezer, propane stove, water pump for the well, shower, and toilet. Everything was ready for an easy move-in! The downstairs is one big room, with tiled floor, and plenty of windows with wooden shutters. There is an attached kitchen and bathroom out back, that looks out into a big back and side yard. Upstairs are two rooms, with enough windows to allow a good breeze throughout the day and night. I like the tile-floored front porch, where I can watch the world ease by. It is still winter, yet is 30-40 degrees Celcius (90-100 F) during the day, and I can sit on my porch and look through the lazy gate of my winter’s summer home!!!
 

all good things in all good time

WAT PHO, BANGKOK

    
     The planning and preparation has finished! I have used my one-way plane ticket from Seattle to Southeast Asia, and my adventure abroad begins. Roald Amundsen once said ‘chance favors the prepared.’ I patiently waited to use my one-way plane ticket, to complete my to-do list. By waiting, I was able to depart, knowing there is nothing left undone. All my belongings have been given away, my financial arrangements have been taken care of, and last years taxes have been filed. Everything falls into place, when I let go, and let things flow naturally. Good things happen when I relax, kick back, and let nature take its course. I find it’s true, what I was told years ago, ‘all good things in all good time!’

     What I wasn’t told, or learned about in any book or website about being an expat, is the emotions experienced from saying ‘goodbye,’ or ‘see you later,’ to family and friends. When traveling before, I treated these departures lightly. But, I have learned, it is best to be realistic, life and death go hand in hand. Sickness and dying are part of the process of life, and it is not known, when a person’s life will end. I think it is best to be present and truthful, when saying ‘goodbye,’ because it really may be the last time you see that person. All my planning did not prepare me for the strong emotions from leaving my family and friends. I made sure they knew I loved them and that each of their lives have helped me to be here, now!

TEMPLE OF THE DAWN, CHAO PHRAYA RIVER, BANGKOK

     Meeting people while traveling is quite easy. While waiting for my flight in Seattle, I met a lovely couple returning from their travels. While waiting for my flight in Taipei, I met a man just beginning his travels. Once in Bangkok, meeting people is simple. Travelers from all over the world come through Bangkok, as it is the Southeast Asian hub for travel. Inexpensive flights, cheap accommodations, and delicious food, bring travelers through Bangkok, before they depart for other destinations. Here, it is easy to arrange flights, trains, and buses out of the city. Transportation in Bangkok, however, is a mess. The streets are packed, and it is best to use the river transport, the skytrain, and the subway, to get around town.

RIVER TRANSPORT, CHAO PHRAYA RIVER, BANGKOK

I spent some time in Bangkok, eating at my favorite thai restaurant, buying new shirts, and picking up a few new movies. I stay in a part of town that is full of tourists and travelers. It is easy to spot the first-time traveler, as I was once one of them. It is easy to spot the tourist as well. The seasoned travelers are the ones I now choose to share food and drinks. We spend hours sharing our travel stories and travel dreams. I did not meet any others moving to this part of the world, but I talked with many of them who understood my move to southern Lao. My planning and preparations are finished, and I am now in Southeast Asia with no return plane ticket! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!!!

DUSK ON THE CHAO PHRAYA RIVER, BANGKOK

nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

ARTISAN IN LUANG PRABANG, LAO

    
     I know of no other country with its population as laid-back as Lao. On the surface, nothing seems to bother the Lao people. A common Lao saying is ‘bo pen nyang’ (no problem or never mind). Much of this is due to the belief system of Theravada Buddhism, a small branch of Buddhism practiced in Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Theravada Buddhism partly emphasizes the cooling of human passions, thus making strong emotions taboo in Lao society. Karma is believed to determine one’s life, so the Lao people don’t get too worked up about the past or the future. Avoiding any psychological stress is a cultural norm. From the Lao perspective, unless an activity contains an element of muan (fun), it will probably lead to stress.


     Lao has a school of performing arts that includes traditional dancing and music. The practice of classical Lao music and drama has been in decline for years. However, Lao folk and pop music is still being created. The principle instrument is a khaen, a wind instrument made of a double row of bamboo-like reeds fitted into a hardwood soundbox and made airtight with beeswax. There are between four and eight rows, and can vary in length from 80cm to 2m. When the khaen plays, the people dance circles around each other. This popular folk dance is called lamvong. Lao pop music has become popular, and even Lao hip hop.

WAT XIENG THONG , LUANG PRABANG, LAO

     Lao is best known for the architecture of its many temples, and for its weavings. The best architects in Lao have concentrated on Buddhist temples, making the Lao stupas unique from neighboring countries. The traditional weavings use dyes made from tamarind, turmeric, tree bark, and even insects. Weavers in southern Lao, using foot looms rather than frame looms, are known for making the countries best silk weavings.
     There is no national game in Lao, but popular sports include kataw, tee kee, and petanque. Kataw is played with a rattan ball and it is kicked back and forth over a net. Tee kee is a rough type of hockey played with a rattan ball. Petanque is a form of lawn bowling, or bocce. Lao games focus more on entertainment than competition, and tend to be more home and neighborhood based.

i went down to the mountain, i was drinking some wine

CHILIS AND LIMES IN THE PAKSE, LAO MARKET

     Lao cuisine is similar to Thai cuisine in many ways, both using simple, fresh ingredients. The mix of spicy, salty, sweet, and sour are apparent in both countries. Fresh chilis bring the spicy heat to a dish, and the fermented fish sauce brings the saltiness. The liberal use of lemongrass, mint, cilantro, and basil, balance with the lime juice and kaffir lime leaves. Other common seasonings include galangal, tamarind, ginger, peanuts, and coconut milk.
     You are unlikely to find salt and pepper on a Lao table. But, there will be various dipping sauces, chilis, and garlic on the table. To salt food, ‘pa dek’ is used. This is a Lao preparation that includes chunks of fermented freshwater fish. It is similar to the thin sauce of fermented anchovies found in Thailand, and the fermented fish sauce found in Vietnam.

THE BEST BEER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

     Rice is the foundation of all Lao meals, like the rest of Southeast Asia. The Lao difference, is the eating of sticky rice, a highly glutinous rice. Sticky rice is served in woven baskets and is eaten with the fingers. A small amount is dug from the basket and kneaded between fingers and the thumb. The small flattened wad can be dipped into various sauces or pressed into a dish and thus eaten.
     One of the most common Lao dishes is ‘laap.’ This is a salad of minced meat tossed with lime juice, garlic, green onions, mint leaves, and chilis. This dish is usually served with lettuce and mint leaves. Using your fingers, you wrap a little laap in the lettuce and herbs, and eat it with hand-rolled balls of sticky rice.
     Lao meals are usually ordered family style, which is to say that two or more people order together, sharing different dishes. Meals are shared and this is a social time. Toward the end of a meal, ‘lao-lao’ (rice whisky) is sometimes served. One glass is used, and one person pours a shot at a time, passing the glass around the group. Beer lao is often served this way as well, the object of being social rather than getting drunk. Meals can last for hours, food and drink shared by all.

going where the climate suits my clothes

4000 ISLANDS IN THE MEKONG RIVER, SOUTHERN LAO

    
     As the temperature plummets here in the northwest corner of America, I begin dreaming about the warmer climate in Lao. The Lao climate is tropical monsoonal. The monsoon rains fall from June to October, and this is the time of major crop cultivation. The Annamite mountain range separates Vietnam from Lao, and blocks the direct effect of typhoons that annually hit Vietnam and the Philippine islands. Usually, the monsoon rains fall in the afternoon, then the skies clear until the next day, when the cycle repeats. There are often extended days of sunshine before the rain cycle continues.
     Rivers are the traditional highways and byways of Lao and at the end of the rainy season, rivers are at their highest and are most navigable. November starts the cool and dry season, and this lasts until February. Temperatures during this season are about 30C (90F) during the day and 20C (70F) during the night. Then comes the hot and dry season, March to May. During this time of year, the temperature can be 40C (110F) during the day and 30C (90F) during the night. Being 15 degrees north of the equator, southern Lao will be a welcome change from my native Seattle, at 48 degrees north of the equator.

MEKONG RIVER, LUANG PRABANG, LAO

out of the door and into the street all alone



BERGEN, NORWAY

     This blog is about life as a solo traveler. I consider myself a traveler, not a tourist. When I travel, I want to experience the local people’s way of life. I can do this by staying in hostels, guesthouses, or in homestays. I do not stay in hotels or resorts. Rather than taking package tours or tourist buses, I use local transportation. A much slower way to travel, but this method of transportation gives me the opportunity to interact with the local people. Instead of eating in fancy restaurants, I choose to eat at the food stalls on the street. I find that the authentic local food can be enjoyed where the local people eat. As a traveler, I enjoy living outside my comfort zone. I like to push myself to experience new situations and new people. By exploring the world as a traveler, I can do this quite well.

CAMPECHE, MEXICO

     I travel slowly, visiting fewer places, but for longer stays. When I arrive somewhere new, I first look for a place to sleep. Instead of booking a room at a place I’ve never been, I find a place to stay upon arrival. I enjoy this flexibility, and often find some superb accommodations. I am learning to rely on my instinct and intuition, and when I find a place I like, I stay for a while. If I find a place that feels uncomfortable, I move on. This concerns sleeping places as well as cities, town, or villages. If it feels good, I stay for a while. The longer I stay in one place, the more local people I meet, and the easier it is to experience the local peoples lifestyle. Each day begins with no plans, I like the day to unfold as it will. With little effort, opportunities arise and situations present themselves, and my days are full of pleasant happenings.

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

     
     Of course, the life of a traveler is not always pleasant. Shit happens, but that is a part of life anywhere. Sometimes it gets lonely, but that can be resolved by finding other travelers or interacting with local people. After all, it is the people that make the place. It is the people I meet along the way that later remind me of a place. Other travelers let me look at their guidebooks so I don’t have to carry a heavy travel book. Other travelers trade me their reading books so I only have to carry one at a time. Other travelers share their experiences so I can learn about new places to visit and places to sleep and eat. It is the people I meet that are forever in my heart and mind. The people, make my travels pleasant.

HANOI, VIETNAM

     It is as a traveler, that I have found a country I want to live in. As a traveler, I have found that I like the southern part of this country. And, as a traveler, I have selected a small town to settle myself. Soon, my real adventure begins. Because I have traveled for years as a solo traveler, I am comfortable moving permanently abroad. Sure, it will be difficult at times, but since I am at ease being a traveler, I know I can deal with anything that comes up. Let the wild rumpus begin . . .