[monumentum]

 Laos - Vang Vieng (13-May-2012) 

Having burst a budget, having been unwell, this is what one has to resort to. But they weren't so bad. After all, they weren't entirely tasteless.

 Laotian aspirin comes in huge bottles, but they do sell some to you if you made a request in terms of 'pieces' (instead of 'dozens') you'd like. I just read a blog post regarding the country in which I live, & it so pains me to say that I cannot agree more, despite how critical the article might've sounded with regards to living conditions in this very country. & now I truly need some aspirin for my whirring state of mind & for coming to terms with what alternatives I might have in leading a 'proper' life. The post can be found here: 

http://youdonthavetoagree.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/letter-to-singapore/

 Thoreau hasn't been instilling the wrong things in me. As idealistic as it might sound (& that the bulk of dear people around me mightn't have disagreed more or duped me insane), but I do believe: 

"Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them."

Much as I'd thrown in all these quotes from Walden, I do not think that I'd imbibed these ideas passively. There are too many incidences when life had thrown me into the mode of contemplation. There are way more to be appreciated than the gleams of luxuries & comforts of mediocre everyday lives. My pea brain used to tell me that my education is a form of conformation to the toil that I so resent, yet, I figured recently that the opportunity to build upon the intellect is much too priceless as compared to the toil of 'labor' itself. The access to the books & learning materials, the guidance of mentors & lecturers, the conducive setting that I might plonk myself comfortably within, these are what I ought to cherish more than anything.

 Just as there are all these sumptuous meals laid out so tantalizingly as long as we made that order & willingly paid that price, it is also noteworthy that the people who serve these most likely do not eat anything half as fancy. Equally, this education which I'd pursued on my own accord, & have thus incurred a hefty debt on my parents' bank accounts, is one that many would not foresee in their own lives.   

 Vang Vieng's sunset as seen from Dokkhon II. That wasn't a fantastic guesthouse in terms of service & rooms. I can absolutely tolerate discomfort & lack of amenities, but I cannot tolerate bad manners or any form of meanness from one person to another. Being too idealistic somehow puzzles me, & I cannot comprehend malice within humanity. I understand 'biologically-induced' violence & the likes of it, but anything beyond the predetermined, really distresses me.

The trekking twigs which so saved our lives a million times or so around Vang Vieng, which we couldn't bear to leave behind, & yet cannot take along with us to our next destination. They were laid to rest on the beds at Dokkhon II, & probably would've frightened the caretaker, but we would never know. Never did it occur to us that the whole setup looked so sinister, like black magic of sort, until we left that wretched place to catch the night bus to Luang Prabang. I do hope that future occupants of that room wouldn't see two twigs hopping around their beds at night!