Saibidii

Trip Start May 15, 2007
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Trip End Jul 15, 2007


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Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep  ,
Friday, July 13, 2007

In the evening before we leave I take a last turn through the night market - women softly saying, "Saibidii" - "Saibidii" - "Saibidii" - Down one of the streets children at a wat are chanting in Pali so familiar for these past 25 years. I make a small purchase, negotiating with the woman wanting to make her first sale of the evening. Reaching agreement on the price I find myself 2000 kip short. "Wait me 5 minutes," I say and off I go to the restaurant where David was eating with his friends at a table on the lane. I borrow some kip from him and pay the woman 3000 more than we had agreed on, making us both happy. She takes the money and starts hitting the bills softly against her other merchandise (for luck on this night) - slap, slap, slap, slap, slap ...  
Our last morning in Luang Prabang - I awake early at 4am and with not a small amount of fumbling and rustling (waking both my roomates) I manage to fix a cup of coffee and head out to sit on the veranda outside our door 03
03
 . Sorry, roomies, but it was worth it.  

Geckos chuk-chuking. The sky is lightening as the sun comes up off to the left - misty mountains straight ahead over rooftops of various colors/shapes of tiles (red, orange, brown) and metal roofs in different colors with palms feathering the sky and clouds fluched pinkrising high and roosters greeting the day. A big drum beating slow and then faster and now traing off at a wat off to the right. Now the same drum beat straight ahead (at the wat where teenage and pre-teen monks are usually lounging around the entrance, happy to exchange greetings) and now the same drum beat repeated off to the left and roosters cranked up crowing and the pink clouds fading to grey while wood smoke drifts lightly aqnd the geckos still chuk-chuking and sparrows (tiny citizens of the world) cheeping, In the house next door a radio is playing some okay Lao pop-rock - "Baby I love you," I'm guessing. Shutters opening below - doors opening, closing in the building to the right, water running, dishes clattering, a woman and a man talking softly in early morning voices and I can smell sticky rice cooking. A couple of flights of birds flapping, flying low over the guesthouse. Dog starts barking next door.  

Far off in the distance I can't tell if it's mountains or clouds or both.  

Saibidii  

Breakfast with Leslie, David, Ben, Magera, me - on the Mekong, of course - the Mekong rolling muddy, strong on by.  

Saibidii
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