Boy on bus

[The_Traveler]

I was waiting at a pretty isolated dirt bus plaza where local buses pulled to disgorge and load.
Since I had no idea how long I would have to wait, I was walking around, not exactly talking to people but just making contact.

This guy was sort of giving me the tough look from a recently emptied bus so I snapped this and then I climbed onto the top of the bus to show it to him. He was startled, then pleased then very friendly. He spoke a bit of English, enough to tell me this wasn't the bus I wanted, then got down off of the bus and stayed with me and made certain I got onto my bus to Kinpun.

Once I made contact, people were friendly, sweet, cordial and shy. A big, pink foreigner in their neighborhood was a rare sight indeed.

It's difficult to explain how alone and far away one feels, in a town very far from home, where no one really speaks your language and certainly no one knows your name.

This is approximately where I was, but it is really more isolated than it looks. I had traveled for two hours on a bus where no one spoke any English and the only hint of my destination was scribbled on my ticket. I got dropped off late and had to make my way back to this bus plaza and I had no confidence I was where I was supposed to be.

All that is part of the fun of independent travel in a friendly place.

 

[Gary A.]

Really good stuff. But what I have been wondering for a long time now, is why, on God's Earth, do you go to Myanmar?

 

[The_Traveler]

why, on God's Earth, do you go to Myanmar?

Up until lately Myanmar and Laos has been pretty untouristed and it is very easy to get into areas where there have been few Westerners. Travel by road is extremely difficult and so most tourists, there and in Laos, are on hired buses. So it is very easy to get pretty close to the locals and, if you are open and friendly, you have wonderful experiences with people.
If you like I can tell a few that I've not told before.

I like the Burmese and the Lao and their culture is so different that every day, every experience is exciting and enriching.
Since travel is so difficult, the other travelers one meets are interesting and fun. Many a long evening I've spent sitting at a long table with people from all over the world, exchanging stories and ideas. People I've never seen before and never will see again.

Can you imagine having lunch with a woman Lao physician whose only venture into a bigger environment is college in a small city and medical school in Hanoi? She practices frontier medicine in a medium size town in northern Laos. She is smart, bright, fun and will never see the rest of teh world.

Travel is the absolute cure for bigotry.

 

[Gary A.]

Please ...

 

[The_Traveler]

This is the doctor and her clinic

The closest 'real' hospital is in Chiang Mai, Thailand, one days drive. Most of her medicines come from India or Pakistan or some herbals actually packed in SEA. The lack of medical care anywhere but in Luang Prabang (~200 hard miles) or Vientianne (even further) makes living in Laos a bit chance-y. Most expats who work for non-gov oergs make routine trips to Thailand for medical and dental care.

 

[Dave442]

Great shots Lew, and like the stories that go with them.

 

[jcdeboever]

Very interesting