Moments

Journeys are full of small events and incidents, which pass by almost unnoticed and may soon be forgotten. Still I think, they are the essence of travelling... visiting monuments and museums is what everyone does, be it on an organized tour or as an independent traveller. But the countless short moments of surprises, encounters and occurrances are giving sense to a journey. Some I would not like to forget...


When I was standing on the veranda of my guesthouse in Savannakhet, a man on a bicycle pulled up on the other side of the street. I first could not see what was on the back part of his bike, but I soon understood... Within seconds he was surrounded by younger children and, how to say, children who were not so young any more. After paying I don't know how much, they got three shots with some sort of plastic gun, from a distance of less than a meter. If the gun's arrows would pass through a ring that was mounted behind his seat, they would get a price. The game was accompanied by the laughter, yelling and cheers of everyone around. After a few minutes all had done their shots. The man got on his bicycle, waved his hand and left...


In Quang Ngai I went to the main road to catch a minibus to Hoi An. When I arrived, there was already one waiting. The minibus was almost full, which meant that they definitely would press in half a dozen more. But they were not grabbing me and pulling me inside, as I expected... Looking at me, a man and a woman were discussing the affair. A tiny man of about 50 years stood next to me. "They don't want to take you, because you are to big...", he explained me in a very good English. First I thought he made a joke, but he - and the others - were serious. They left without me. I didn't have to wait long for the next one, where I got on board without discussions. Since then, in bad moments and a bad mood I call myself "fatty"...


A cloudy day in Hue... I was walking around the old citadel, the Emperor's residence. I did not enter, because admission was quite expensive, and I wanted to enjoy it with sunshine (which never happened...). On my way back, on one of the big bridges, an open lorry came in the opposite direction, two loudspeakers announcing something which must have been heard through half the city. On the cargo space there was something big and grey, the replica of an elephant, as I soon recognized. But strangely the head moved from one side to another... it was a true, living elephant... I don't know what they made publicity for, but I wonder how the poor animal felt on the back of this truck. In my imagination he must have gone mad, having to listen to the blaring loudspeakers close to his head for maybe several hours...


On the Bolaven plateau, close to Tad Lo, I was walking through the forest. Going uphill on a wide path, I suddenly heard some birds singing. It was the most beautiful (bird's) melody I have ever heard. There were eight or nine of them, brown, with a white head. I don't know whether they were fighting over food or a female, or just chasing themselves through the forest. As I approached, they were flying away a few meters, but stayed next to the path. This way it went on for several minutes, until they disappeared finally in the forest, their singing becoming lower and lower.
In Vietnam I met Lisa, a Swiss woman, who had travelled with a digital recorder. She was recording all kinds of voices and noises, and this was what I wished I would have had with me then...
Unfortunately Lisa couldn't present me what she had recorded, because the device got lost, probably stolen, a short while ago...


Saigon was terrible... noisy and rainy, an unpleasant combination. There was not much I liked to do. For some days I just was wandering around the two blocks, where my guesthouse was located. A small store was selling some sweets, drinks, and serving coffee, outside on the sidewalk... a tiny man with a hunchback apparently was the owner, and soon we sort of got to know each other, without speaking each other's language. I sat down on these very small plastic chairs, sipped my coffee and watched the streetlife, which was, in spite of the many guesthouses and tourist restaurants, pure Vietnamese...
I always was the only foreigner there and don't know what the others were expecting in all these touristy restaurants and bars. I found a small corner of Vietnam just a few meters away from my guesthouse, in the middle of this tourist area... and again I was glad that I was travelling alone...


Close to Pakse in southern Laos there's a huge fair trade store, selling Laotian products. It's a beautiful wooden building, very bright with a lot of glass, a veranda and some more areas to sit outside, take a rest, and have a drink. Inside they sell tee, coffee, marmalade, clothes, handicrafts, honey, and I have forgotten what else. The problem is that this store is 8 kms out of town... apparently hardly anyone makes his way out there. When I arrived, the 3 persons at the store were simply sleeping and then kind of surprised that a visitor showed up. I drank two bottles of Laotian palm beer, it was late noon, I was sweating, and the cold beer really tasted terrific. When I wanted to pay, they first had to look around to find enough change, although I gave them a small bill...
I don't know who put this building out there in this no man's land. It's such a pity, such a waste of energy and good intentions... We are in the low season right now, but I think that even in the best months not many people make it out there...