people stories

All kinds of people travel. And everyone has a story. They are often fascinating. My favorite so far on this trip is the one of the Frenchman I met in Vang Vien. He was lying in a hammock airing his feet. He had severe lacerations between the toes from his recent adventure training to be a mahout in southern Laos. He told me that when he had been young and was expected to do military service, that being a doctor, he chose instead to practice medicine in rural Iran, It was a rewarding experience, he said. On his return to France, he learned "la voltige cossaque", that fancy acrobatic work on horses where you jump up and down and do different tricks as the horse gallops in a circle. He went back to visit the village in Iran a few years later. He was demonstrating one of his acrobatic tricks to an Iranian friend when the horse kicked him in the abdomen. Being a doctor, he knew that this could be a death sentence. If his liver had been punctured and he was bleeding internally then that was it. He hoped for it to be his kidney. Then it wouldn't be life threatening. He thought all this as he lay on the backseat and they raced him to the closest hospital. At the hospital, the attending doctor was less than knowledgeable. The Frenchman called him a "chien" of some sort. I didn't catch the subtle nuance in his description. He had to catheterize himself as the attending seemed to be incompetent. When he saw fresh blood coming out the tube, he was relieved. They rushed him to a second hospital where, he was happy to report, the level of competence was better. They removed a kidney and his equestrian career was over. He says that he has never wanted to ride again.

I asked him, what kind of doctor are you? A dermatologist, he replied. For 25 years. You can get rich as a dermatologist or you can travel. He chose to travel. Then after 25 years he became bored with his profession. He got psychoanalyzed and liked it so much that he became a psychoanalyst which is what he does now in Paris. And continues to travel.

Another person was an Irish woman, about my age, heavyset, draped in shawls and necklaces. She owns a fish processing shop in a small village in the southwest. Her husband a fisherman. All her 4 children in the business with her. The fishing industry is dead in Ireland. Her business imports fish from Norway, processes it and do home delivery in the village. When the tsunami hit Thailand, she had a strong emotional reaction and wanted to help. She had a bring and buy sale in her home, raised quite a bit of money and travelled to Thailand. She went to one of the sites badly affected and joined a European NGO. She gave the money she had raised and spent a month helping to build a house for a local woman. She was so proud of her effort.

She came back a few years later with family and wanted to show them the home she had helped build. She walked up and down the street looking for it. It wasn't there. Finally she asked at the local store - where was the house? They flattened it, she was told. There was no permit. The woman who was living in it was sent back to her village. Mary had thought the woman was local. It was a deep blow in the chest, she said. She has just come from there on this trip as well. She has made some good friends there and visits when she can. This trip was a birthday present from her children.

And what about the Australian man whose parents were Holocaust survivors from Poland? He now lives in England and is self employed. When I probed further, he was happy to tell me that he is a performer. He juggles crystal balls around his body at parties. Weddings. Bar Mitzvahs. Lots of Bar Mitzvahs. He has brought a ball with him and sometimes in villages he takes it out and does a little show.

And the German stewardess for Lufthansa in her early to mid forties. Works 6 months a year then 3 months of rock climbing at Krabie in Thailand. She says there is a community of around 200 climbers who meet there every year. A very friendly group. She feels like it is her 2nd home. Then she spends 3 months in Damascus, learning Arabic , studying and visiting the archeological ruins there. She is a trained archeologist and her focus has been mesopotamian archeology. But there is no money or jobs to be had in her field. This works for her. She has developed a happy balance of work and play.

And the Danish woman who wouldn't give her age. Maybe late 30's or early 40's . Says she hasn't had a home since 2004. She goes back to Copenhagen to work and save money. She stays either with family or friends, buys the food and cooks sometimes. Her friends are happy to support her but question her reality. She stays a few days here, a few days there, Never long enough to be a burden. She has 20 boxes at her parents'. She says that if she rents, she will have no money to travel. And she wants to travel. Her passion is travel. And motorbikes. She is joining a tour with 30 Germans in early April, mainly men, and crossing the southern U.S. on Harley DAvidsons. This is a practice run for her. She says she needs to develop "balls" to go out on her own on a big bike.

How about the 2 French couples with their 4 children aged 4 - 6 who are travelling thru Laos on bicycles. I saw them only briefly. Another avid cyclist told me about them. He, a 69 year old American, is traveling with his wife. They have been cycling in Southeast Asia for about 35 years now. He was in awe of the French couples. He saw them leave in the morning. The women pull the trailers with the gear. The men pull the children , 2 in each buggy.

And the young blond Rasta I met today. French. Very smiling and friendly. He bought a fishing boat in Thailand at the Thai-Lao border. He outfitted it with a motor and is cruising down the Mekong to Cambodia. Alone. Had he any previous experience manning a boat? Not really. Are you planning to sell it at the other end? I hope so, he smiles.

There are as many stories as there are people. People are happy to tell their stories. I am happy to hear them.