Happy Daze in Laos
A few months ago, I was stumbling around a music festival near Budapest, and a young Serbian girl invited me into a warm tent for a cup of tea. She spoke good English, and I appreciated the conversation, even if she did turn out to be a Jesus freak. I’ll always remember her reaction when I told her I was traveling to twenty-four countries on five continents. Her mousy nose scrunched up, and she asked, sincerely, “why?” Of course, I have plenty of heavy ammunition for just such an assault; different cultures, experience, yada yadaäwhatever. But I’ve never quite found the real answer to that question, the reason behind visiting so many places in such a short space of time (although one year might not seem that short, two weeks in countries like Peru, Bolivia or Poland barely scratches the surface). Perhaps something inside tells me this is my one, only and last chance to see the world. No, that’s fatalistic nonsense. This week I found the answer, and it’s very simple. Laos.
Understand, please, that I had no intention of visiting Laos at all. It wasn’t on my itinerary; it wasn’t a place I had to see. I knew hardly anything about the country, and no clue what the capital was (do you?) I know that the US conducted a secret war in Laos in the 1960’s ≠ knowledge gained primarily from watching Air America with Mel Gibson and Lethal Weapon, again, with Mel Gibson. Mel told me that Laos is a center for opium and heroin production, full of ex-Vietnam vets heading up massive drug rings, and also contains thousands of tons of unexploded ordinance. A landlocked country bordering Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, China and Cambodia, Laos is run by a communist government and is the poorest country in Southeast Asia. See, maybe if I travel long and hard enough, I might find magic in the unlikeliest places. Like Albania. Like Laos. OK, if one more cute kid smiles at me, I’m going to have to start adopting.
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