The Magic of Laos

I just arrived in Luang Prabang, the old capitol of Laos. It has just rained and the air is fresh and sweet. I got here in a Lao Airlines turboprop from Vientiane (the present capital) and therein lies a bit of a story and an out-of-order from-the-road dispatch from my Southeast Asia travels.

I left Phnom Penh Friday (will get back to that wild place later), intending to get to the peace and quiet of Luang Prabang that day. Fate intervened and the flight to Vientiane was late arriving and the plane to Luang Prabang took off without 8 of us. Damn!

Vietnamese Airlines got us hotel rooms in Vientiane, the next plane was at 6 p.m. the next night. I was tired, still a little shaky from a few bad days of a food bug, so went to bed early. Got up at 7, went outside and immediately loved the place. It’s a city of 200,000 — manageable — with trees and old French villas and Buddhist temples along the banks of the Mekong. I got an iced latte and a pastry, got some directions (to the market, mainly), rented a kinda dorky bike with a basket and took off around town.

I’m here partially to buy silks, as I love the weaving that is going on over here, and I think it will sell in America. I ended up meeting two shopkeepers (stall-keepers) that had wonderful things, bought about 15 pieces, and made contacts in case I come back and want to buy in quantity. I’m interested mostly in scarves and shawls, but there are a myriad other wonderful items being produced in this part of the world. I surprise them by asking what tribe made the item, I usually ask, “Lao Loum?” and it gets me out of the category of casual tourist browser. The ladies really like the fact that I’m asking who made each item and what part of Laos is it from.

Then just as I was about to leave for the airport and the flight to Luang Prabang, I was pulled into a shop by stuff in the window, I just couldn’t go by, ended up meeting a designer and shopkeeper, and when I showed her my book on Lao textiles (given me by Lesley before the trip), she got very excited — we both did — I pulled out my Laos map — I ended up buying two of the women’s vests she designed (made out of Lao shawls), two shawls, all of very high quality weaving. We set some prices for me buying in lots of 5 to 10 of different items. I’m learning to see the difference in craftsmanship and finish.

Then after landing here, and chilling out for an hour in my room (in a very old building, with broad-plank, pegged-down oak floors and ceiling fan, I took a walk before dinner on the river (the Mekong, farther up) and got pulled into another shop. This was a couple from a small village and everything made in their village (at least tonight) looked exquisite. The guy spoke English and his wife (no English) was a weaver. I left my two Laos weaving books with them until tomorrow morning when the guy and I are going to meet and head up the river in (his) boat to the village…

A friend of mine used to call it the sequencer, like a sequencing of events, out of our control, that turn out to put us exactly where we want to be at the right time. My life seems so random at times, like I get bumped into doing stuff I would not have chosen to do, and it works out so beautifully. Hey, I’m just along for the ride…