November 26, 2006
After a late start, we had breakfast and off for our first stop at Phrathat Bang Phuan. This old pagoda is 34 meters high and houses the holy relics of Lord Buddha. We were approximately 20 minutes out and the van stopped. Overheated again and we are stopped at the moment. We will see how far this will take us.
We never made it to the temple, but we did make it to our next overnight spot – Nong Khai and checked into our hotel. We are excited about being here because it is on one side of the Mekong River and Vietianne, Lao is on the other side. They are connected by the “Friendship Bridge,” built in 1994. The advent of the bridge has turned the sleepy town on Nong Khai into a more bustling place. We’re excited because our friend, Vilai, who was our guide in Vientianne December, came across the bridge too visit us. We were pleased to learn more about his wedding plans. When we met him last December, he had 3 “darlings” (we would call them sweethearts or girlfriends), one of which is the daughter of the Chief of Police. I always kidded him that he wasn’t careful or acquired any more “darlings,” his ass would end up behind bars. This is the darling to which he is now engaged. Vilai is 24 and she is 21 and in her last year of university studies in cultures. The 2 families met at the end of October to come to agreement on the marriage and the dowry, etc. They will be married at the end of December, but there is not yet a specific date, but apparently, the guest list for the wedding party must be somewhat extensive as much of the police force will be invited.
Like Cambodia and Thailand, rather than gifts, the people who attend the wedding party put money in an envelope for the new bride and groom. Like in the other 2 countries with which we are familiar, beer flows endlessly and there is loud music and much dancing. Similar to Cambodia and Thailand, it is also common for the couple to live with the bride’s family after the wedding.
When we talked to Vilai at 2:30, it was our understanding that he could be at the Thai side of the bridge in 30 minutes. After another van overheating and 5 of us hopping in a small tuk-tuk to go to the bridge to meet Vilai, it was 4:30 before he entered the Thai side – a far cry from 30 minutes. But we just chalk it up as ILT (it’s a Lao thing), which is much like ITT (it’s a Thai thing) and ICT (it’s a Cambodian thing)! Now we had 6 people in the small tuk-tuk, which was much like the little train that could, even with Beer sort of hanging off the front right side.
We rode to the Indochina market, which is quite large and very neat, organized and clean (unlike the markets in Siem Reap). But…while these are supposed to be products from all over southeast Asia, to our eyes, there was nothing new or different. However, it really didn’t matter, as we were far more interested in our conversation with Vilai. No serious shopping today!
Eventually we ended up in the courtyard of our hotel for drinks, later to be joined by Beer and A, when they returned from the mechanic’s garage. The list of liqueurs did not include Bailey’s Irish Cream, but did include Benedictine, which is what I ordered. But the waiter returned to say the Benedictine was “finished,” so I ordered Cointreau. A few minutes later the waiter returned with a tray of liqueurs from which I could select my drink, as the Cointreau was also “finished.” I decided to have a vanilla milkshake, with vanilla ice cream instead. The vanilla ice cream was more like vanilla ice milk. During drinks, Beer told us that A would spend tomorrow having the van repaired and that he had hired another van for the trip to Ubon Ratchathani. No more breakdowns would be a good and welcomed thing.
We took Vilai to dinner at a restaurant along the river that he was familiar with. It was just the sort of place we wanted – not crowded or hurried and with a picturesque setting along the river. We told Vilai that we would not be able to attend his wedding, but we gave him a cash gift to help with the expenses. He was very touched and happy. We took him back to the bridge to catch the last bus back to Lao and as we said our goodbyes, there were tears in his eyes, which then touched us. It is amazing the impact that people can have on each other (and the joy that can be received and given), even when knowing each other for a very brief time. It is highly unlikely that we will ever see Vilai in the U.S., but who knows when or if we will ever return to Vietianne!
To be continued.
After a late start, we had breakfast and off for our first stop at Phrathat Bang Phuan. This old pagoda is 34 meters high and houses the holy relics of Lord Buddha. We were approximately 20 minutes out and the van stopped. Overheated again and we are stopped at the moment. We will see how far this will take us.
We never made it to the temple, but we did make it to our next overnight spot – Nong Khai and checked into our hotel. We are excited about being here because it is on one side of the Mekong River and Vietianne, Lao is on the other side. They are connected by the “Friendship Bridge,” built in 1994. The advent of the bridge has turned the sleepy town on Nong Khai into a more bustling place. We’re excited because our friend, Vilai, who was our guide in Vientianne December, came across the bridge too visit us. We were pleased to learn more about his wedding plans. When we met him last December, he had 3 “darlings” (we would call them sweethearts or girlfriends), one of which is the daughter of the Chief of Police. I always kidded him that he wasn’t careful or acquired any more “darlings,” his ass would end up behind bars. This is the darling to which he is now engaged. Vilai is 24 and she is 21 and in her last year of university studies in cultures. The 2 families met at the end of October to come to agreement on the marriage and the dowry, etc. They will be married at the end of December, but there is not yet a specific date, but apparently, the guest list for the wedding party must be somewhat extensive as much of the police force will be invited.
Like Cambodia and Thailand, rather than gifts, the people who attend the wedding party put money in an envelope for the new bride and groom. Like in the other 2 countries with which we are familiar, beer flows endlessly and there is loud music and much dancing. Similar to Cambodia and Thailand, it is also common for the couple to live with the bride’s family after the wedding.
When we talked to Vilai at 2:30, it was our understanding that he could be at the Thai side of the bridge in 30 minutes. After another van overheating and 5 of us hopping in a small tuk-tuk to go to the bridge to meet Vilai, it was 4:30 before he entered the Thai side – a far cry from 30 minutes. But we just chalk it up as ILT (it’s a Lao thing), which is much like ITT (it’s a Thai thing) and ICT (it’s a Cambodian thing)! Now we had 6 people in the small tuk-tuk, which was much like the little train that could, even with Beer sort of hanging off the front right side.
We rode to the Indochina market, which is quite large and very neat, organized and clean (unlike the markets in Siem Reap). But…while these are supposed to be products from all over southeast Asia, to our eyes, there was nothing new or different. However, it really didn’t matter, as we were far more interested in our conversation with Vilai. No serious shopping today!
Eventually we ended up in the courtyard of our hotel for drinks, later to be joined by Beer and A, when they returned from the mechanic’s garage. The list of liqueurs did not include Bailey’s Irish Cream, but did include Benedictine, which is what I ordered. But the waiter returned to say the Benedictine was “finished,” so I ordered Cointreau. A few minutes later the waiter returned with a tray of liqueurs from which I could select my drink, as the Cointreau was also “finished.” I decided to have a vanilla milkshake, with vanilla ice cream instead. The vanilla ice cream was more like vanilla ice milk. During drinks, Beer told us that A would spend tomorrow having the van repaired and that he had hired another van for the trip to Ubon Ratchathani. No more breakdowns would be a good and welcomed thing.
We took Vilai to dinner at a restaurant along the river that he was familiar with. It was just the sort of place we wanted – not crowded or hurried and with a picturesque setting along the river. We told Vilai that we would not be able to attend his wedding, but we gave him a cash gift to help with the expenses. He was very touched and happy. We took him back to the bridge to catch the last bus back to Lao and as we said our goodbyes, there were tears in his eyes, which then touched us. It is amazing the impact that people can have on each other (and the joy that can be received and given), even when knowing each other for a very brief time. It is highly unlikely that we will ever see Vilai in the U.S., but who knows when or if we will ever return to Vietianne!
To be continued.
posted by LarryKiesel | 11:03 PM
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