Unexpected Moments
There are places in the world where beauty defies expectation. Sometimes they are found unexpectedly in the smallest of things or the most unpredictable moments.
When I awoke at 5:30 in the morning in my bed not far from the junction where northern Thailand, Laos and Burma meet I rolled over and looked out the window of my hotel room. I was physically quite close to a place romantically and once nephariously called the Golden Triangle.
It was place of lore, once known as the central hub of heroin trafficking across a remote section of South East Asia. Now it was a region filled with economic development. The jungle trails and combat fatigue clad mercenary armies have been replaced by casinos and Chinese tourists. The men who once commanded heroin movement from their jungle bases now run multimillion dollar gambling empires. The traffickers are still there, they are just woven into the fabric of economic development and their camouflaged clothing has been replaced by a veil of quasi legitimate business.
My eyes squinting I looked out the window and admired the view. The light seemed to have a magical quality and despite the early hour I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up. I can't miss this I thought as I grabbed my iphone and walked out on to the small balcony of my room. Before me lay a river flowing across the fabric of time.
The twelfth longest river in the world the Mekong weaves its way from the footsteps of the Himalayas through Tibet, China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Thais and Laos call the river Mae (mother) because it is the mother of life.
As I watched the shadows reflecting on the water from a son rising in the distance the image seemed timeless. Across the river from me lay a forbidden land. A Peoples Republic, getting to Laos was still difficult for Americans accustomed to traveling with little difficulty to the far corners of the world. While the Thais cross as a matter of course Americans must pay money and seek out visa's. It reminded me of being a student and standing in East Berlin looking west toward the wall. This river was my wall but its gentle flow seemed less than forbidding and actually welcoming. In a way it cut through the land dividing it yet it also seemed to join it. People on either side of the river depended on it for their survival and shared the same food and water as they had for thousands of years.
I am yet to define it but some how, some way this magical river, this magical land is giving me new life. It is surging through me and carrying me forward to a new and different place. One that is welcoming and near yet once it was seemingly as distant as Laos before me.
When I awoke at 5:30 in the morning in my bed not far from the junction where northern Thailand, Laos and Burma meet I rolled over and looked out the window of my hotel room. I was physically quite close to a place romantically and once nephariously called the Golden Triangle.
It was place of lore, once known as the central hub of heroin trafficking across a remote section of South East Asia. Now it was a region filled with economic development. The jungle trails and combat fatigue clad mercenary armies have been replaced by casinos and Chinese tourists. The men who once commanded heroin movement from their jungle bases now run multimillion dollar gambling empires. The traffickers are still there, they are just woven into the fabric of economic development and their camouflaged clothing has been replaced by a veil of quasi legitimate business. My eyes squinting I looked out the window and admired the view. The light seemed to have a magical quality and despite the early hour I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up. I can't miss this I thought as I grabbed my iphone and walked out on to the small balcony of my room. Before me lay a river flowing across the fabric of time.
The twelfth longest river in the world the Mekong weaves its way from the footsteps of the Himalayas through Tibet, China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Thais and Laos call the river Mae (mother) because it is the mother of life. As I watched the shadows reflecting on the water from a son rising in the distance the image seemed timeless. Across the river from me lay a forbidden land. A Peoples Republic, getting to Laos was still difficult for Americans accustomed to traveling with little difficulty to the far corners of the world. While the Thais cross as a matter of course Americans must pay money and seek out visa's. It reminded me of being a student and standing in East Berlin looking west toward the wall. This river was my wall but its gentle flow seemed less than forbidding and actually welcoming. In a way it cut through the land dividing it yet it also seemed to join it. People on either side of the river depended on it for their survival and shared the same food and water as they had for thousands of years.
I am yet to define it but some how, some way this magical river, this magical land is giving me new life. It is surging through me and carrying me forward to a new and different place. One that is welcoming and near yet once it was seemingly as distant as Laos before me.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment. I love to hear from anyone that reads what I write.