Luang Prabang - one of a kind place of the Spirit.

12-22-2010 - Luang Prabang - the Sacred City

Before arrived to Luang Prabang, a few travelers I met suggested to spend just a couple days here. And I have found myself wanting to stay a bit longer - this city is timeless. It is cradled by the two rivers - the mighty Mekong and the quiet Nam Khan. It is studded with ancient wat - some of them perched on top of steep hills like some overgrown bird's nests....and the streets are aglow with the orange robes of monks and novices [of which, according to a friendly novice by the name of Khan, there are at least 1200 in this small city - and that's just the novices]. A delicious cornocopia of world cuisine cafes amidst the lush of bamboo and right by the river enlivens the taste buds....as the eyes are feasting on the array of local crafts of every imaginable kind. Something about this place feels sacred to me.

Here, during the many of my Mekong-overlooking breakfasts, I've reflected just how distinct the vibe of this town and the gentle locals is from "the world never sleeps" vibe of intense China. The rhythm of life is more of the Jack-Johnson bluesy variety than the frenzied cha-cha of China. I like it here. It is mystical and quiet - the qualities that resonate at the moment.

In the mornings, I find myself landing at a Lao street cafe that fills with the every-day crowd of the same town fixture Lao folk. A couple of retired pilots, a pharmacist, a librarian and a friendly German guy who, in three months of being here, has become "one of them"..... they joke around and poke gentle fun of each other. They drink the hot chocolate, which here carries a melodic name of "Ovaltine," mixed half-and-half with the potent brew of the Lao coffee [your spoon will stand up in it]. They come for the smiling robust woman that knows exactly what to concoct for each of them. They come to be with each other and to people-watch as the new wave of "falang" [tourist/westerner] wanders by forgetting to close their mouths at the beauty of the ancient city. The Lao know the true meaning of community.

The kind and sometimes quite shameless humour of the Lao makes me laugh. Just at that local cafe, my German breakfast neighbor has mentioned that the guys on the other side of the table were inquiring how the Viagra exeriment has gone [apparently, one of them has partaken of the mighty pill for the first time]. I cracked up and immediately was informed that the man next to me runs a pharmacy. So, of course, I couldn't help asking if the generic stuff is as potent as the brand-name. He laughed and reached down into his coat pocket, pulling out....yes....you guessed it - a Viagra pill. I busted up. Without missing a beat, the German guy has claimed ownership of the precious substance [all in daylight over breakfast, I remarked to myself], while the pharmacist gave him the dosage and other instructions. I couldn't help but imagine such a scene happening in the U.S.

There are a couple of "amazing that they still stand" bamboo bridges here across the Nam Khan river - and they are fun to cross at night, as the path through them is adorned with the yellow rope-light that one just can't resist following. From one bank to another. And up the other bank to the cozy pillow-filled restaurant of little gazebos amidst the bamboo forest overlooking the river. I landed there by serendipity, just as I came down from a Vat [temple] on a steep hill across the river - the one that houses the "Buddha foot imprint" [about 1.5 meters in length ;o)].

Khan

I was still smiling at the conversation with a novice monk by the name of Khan about experiencing true love. He spent 6 years in the novice role, and wanted to get out into the world and travel before [if] he chose to commit to being a monk. I've reflected that if I lived in this country and were a man, I would probably become a novice too, although, probably, not a monk, since I would love to experience true love and co-creative partnership in my life. He pondered this and said that he would be curious about having that in his life and that he has never experienced romantic love at all.

My new Persian friends: Neemah and Maryam

As I landed in my bamboo-encased gazebo across the bamboo bridge, I noticed a beautiful Persian couple holding each other at the neighbouring table. Somehow, we found ourselves in a conversation, as I have shared Khan's thoughts on love and serving as a novice....and I wondered what has made the beautiful, tender idylly that I was observing possible for them. Out loud. And they began to share their story and what was creating and nourishing their partnership.

Serendipitously, Neemah and Maryam were also from San Francisco/Stanford, and I felt the world shrink yet again. From the first minute, we were on the same page...and I felt that I found two kindred spirits. Their presence and heart moved me, as I saw them be moved by mine. We wandered the dimly-lit streets for a while then, creating possibilities, dreaming, laughing....Every once in a while, I feel like I'm meeting the people of my "karass" - that spirit family that comes with us and gets scattered all over the globe. And if we are fortunate and open to it, we find them again as we journey.

We spent three days sharing our worlds and realizing that we can be those missing pieces of the puzzle in each other's dreams. Neemah has invented an elegant and "simple but no simpler" solution to raising the Global Consciousness that lit me up. And Maryam, a fashion artist of many talents, was looking to co-create in here sumptuously-feminine collections with an artist who has a story, as I wanted to bring my art into the world. In the words of the Kung-fu Panda, "there are no coincidences" ;o) Who knows what shall emerge from this, but even the fact that I am meeting the future pieces of my picture is encouraging. Perchance, I am on the right track.

After my friends took off for Thailand, I climbed the tallest hill in Luang Prabang at sunset with a pair of tiny birds that the locals cage in small bamboo cages and set them free.....