The (Mis)Adventures of Matt Lyon

Some of the best rock climbing I've done, which honestly isn't saying much since I haven't climbed since I was a teenager, was done in Vang Vieng. But other more seasoned climbers agreed, so there. We enjoyed our day and each others' company so much that we continued the socializing over dinner. There were 6 of us: Meghan and I, James-a native of Singapore, a transplant to Sydney, Andrea-a bleeding heart from Melbourne, Karen-a musician from France, and Andy-a 12 year-old 30 year-old from the Bay Area. We went to the Organic Farm Restaurant. Meghan and I had gone to the Mulberry Farm early in the week looking to help out for a few days, but they wanted us to either build mud huts (which we had done just recently and had reached the zenith of the learning curve) or tend the for-charity mojito bar. Neither sounded too seductive, so we opted to drink their mulberry shakes instead. Yum! Anyway, we found the shakes and lunch so appetizing that we decided to indulge in their in-'town' restaurant. It was a joyous occassion with laughing, comradery, American foreign policy (a necessary inter-citizen discussion), music, travel, and above all, ways to save the world. Conclusion: Inconclusive. But we left with two new friends who would follow us to our next stop in Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is an Old Capital. Old like 698 AD old. Most recently it has been the seat of the Lao and Khmer kingdoms as well as the cute little figurehead state that the Colonial French deemed it, but it doesn't really feel Royal. It feels like a sleepy French Alpine ski town in the summer. It is hugged by two rivers--one being the Mekong, has nearby mountains with impressive natural wonders, and superb Buddhist Temples. The town itself can be explored in less than two days. It has two main streets, one following the river lined with cafes, and the other a few blocks parallel with restaurants, shops, travel agencies, temples, and museums. The street transforms at night into the best night market in all of Southeast Asia. Great quality, great price, and very little hassle. The food market is superb as well. Fresh fish grilled and served whole, fresh veggies, crab cakes, pastries, just about anything. (Un)Fortunately, I have become a vegetarian on this trip. It was an ethical dilemma I've been struggling with for years, going meatless for weeks at a time until a restaurant could offer me only 'salad'. But my time at the Buddhist farm strengthened my resolve and I decided to give it a real go. Its been 4 months and its great. Don't think about it most days. But the night food stalls always force me to rewatch animals being slaughtered on youtube to keep me on track. Damn the food over here is good. Even vegetarians have it good, though, and we found a veg stall with an all-you-can-eat buffet of 20 dishes for 60 cents. Can't complain! And the world travelers you meet at veg eateries are superior in every way to those at KFC.

Back to L.P. One day, we took a boat across the river and walked through a couple villages and temples. Another cave temple was on tap as well as one that whose restoration was sponsored by Americans. Yay! At one abandoned temple on a hill, we met some local kids. I'm not sure if they met us. They were sitting on the temple steps huffing rubber cement. One walked over and offered us the bag full of glue, and we both laid back and rode the snake for about 3 hours, chasing the white spots in our vision and relishing in the numbness of our now painless existence. Just kidding. I kinda laughed "No thank you", and realized a few moments later that kids are the same everywhere, but where most westerners say they get high out of boredom or to escape reality, kids over here and many places in the world really do have nothing else to do. No school, no supervision, no job prospects, no joie de vivre other than numbly exploring their consciousness. As we left them up there on the temple hill, getting high, I felt a profound sadness wipe over me that has waxed and waned on this trip, but has never left. It is the sadness of knowing that there is, and probably always will be, unspeakable poverty and suffering in this world, and that the rich world is complicit to its presence. It is a guilt that we all share, whether having seen it or not, one that will linger in our psyche as a species throughout our existence.

Back on the other side of the river, we climbed Phu Si Hill. It overlooks the city and gives a nice view of the area. We bought a caged bird and halfway up, we released it. These women somehow catch birds and put them in thatch cages to sell to tourists and pilgrims. The idea is that your freeing the bird is a noble act and you gain good luck in return. Here's a thought: Don't cage birds to begin with! We normally don't bother with hawkers, but give in occasionally. And the bird had nothing to do with this ridiculous karmic trick, so we bought a caged bird and freed it. It was pretty.

At the top, we ran into Karen and agreed to meet her and Andrea for a beer at sunset on the high banks of the Mekong. Just fantastic. 75 cent 24 oz beers with the sun setting on slow boats unloading oranges on the docks. One for the memory bank. See if it accrues interest.

The next day Meghan and I rode bikes the 20 kilometers to a waterfall. Meghan was none-too-pleased with the uphills, but I was in biking heaven. We arrived, ate our picnic lunch, and bypassed the small crowd to hike up stream. These waterfalls are only 10 feet high, but they cascade into pools and rush down again. About 6 levels in all. I climbed all the way up and jumped all the way down. We were totally alone and it was yet another pure child-like exuberant experience. I love Laos.