Tomorrow at Dawn
" Tomorrow morn, what time the fields grow white,
I shall set off; I know you look for me,
Across the forest's gloom, the mountain height:
I can no longer dwell away from thee. "
(Victor Hugo, *Contemplations*)
Yes Laos, I've been waiting for you for too long. You feel like home to me... A land where absence doesn't exist, a land where people don't forget that trees have roots..
Your borders are caressed by 5 countries, you are surrounded by rich cultures. Yet, you remain unknown. But from now on you'll be a part of me. Thanks to you my five senses have been awaken. You filled my air with the perfume of your mountains. I walked with my eyes upon your watercolor- red and golden pagodas, forest green peaks, pastel blue streams. I savored your currys of thousand spices and your sunny fruit juices. The laughs of your children are still echoing like a sweet symphony; your enchanting "sabaidee" ("hello") welcomed me like a caress in my ears. Lastly, you touched my heart.
Laos resembles a human paradise. I draw from this country the essence of men- long forgotten. Hospitality,generosity, curiosity, solidarity... i appreciated your sincerity. Tolerance, patience, benevolence, acceptance... you were like a renaissance. Every traveler is looking for a little something that will make a difference. Laos is offering you genuine bliss, an internal peace. Men there refuse artificial belongings; this nudity seduces me. Yet, Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world.
From minority villages to touristy capitals, the Lao people is smiling at me. Diversity of faces, Unicity of hearts... Naked children having a shower in the streets, their feet playing in the mud; old women kneeling on a floor they've been cleaning for decades with their own hands; husbands waking up at dawn and cutting bamboos to build a roof for their families.... They're all accepting their destiny with serenity; they're all smiling to life.
I crossed this paradise of men, and it was above all a mystical encounter. I added a brand new color to the painting of my life- orange. I was embraced by the spirituality of the golden temples of Luang Prabang. At dawn I followed the monks during alms. Open to the world, they study foreign languages or even surf on the internet. They shared their customs with me. We had the chance to visit this ancient royal capital during the festival that celebrates the end of the rainy season. The whole town was wearing a necklace of lights. Each temple was making its own boat, decorated them with candles before putting them into the Mekong. Festive Buddhism illuminated our hearts.
Oh! Eternal Laos, you are blanketed with purity. I feel as if I just stepped into a Garden of Eden, a Lost Paradise. You offer to the traveler Pure Nature. This nature is worth the long bus rides. What a reconciliation! I had forgotten the fragrance of mountains, the flutter of butterflies' wings, the transparence of streams. Your secrets are infinite- sharp peaks, lush valleys amidst steep mountains, terrace rice paddies in the shade of mango trees, bamboo forests married to wild banana trees, a Lao plain watered by the Mekong, waterfalls cascading emerald green slopes... Man seems so small, crushed under this greenery roof. But I drink to satiety this milk that Mother Nature gives me.
We look so much alike... How come we waited for so long before we met? I miss Reunion but when you hold me in your arms, home seems so far and yet so close....
I've been waiting for you; I finally found you.
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Photos Lao
Carnets de voyage Lao
Vidéos Lao
Carte Lao
Guide de voyage Lao
Santé Lao
fligth tikets Lao
