MONK'S BUSINESS

For a capital city, Vientiane is pretty laid back.

Well, the whole Laos is very laid back in general. The streets are quiet, there's not much people really and the entire country is like a chill out lounge, where in, the only thing to do is enjoy a cold beer Lao, listen to chill out music and let time pass right your very eyes. I really don't know what to expect cause I don't know much about the capital. All I know is that it's the center of commerce and the streets and the building are modeled like French Villas. Heck they even have their own version of Champ Elysee. It's Paris in Asia I suppose. My roommate Duncan is a great bloke. He's English and he's been travelling for more than four three months now. Three more to go he said, and I manage to convince him to check out the Philippines too. I kinda felt good that I'm doing my own little way to help promote the country. We decided to do some Wat Spotting and see more temples. Our first stop was Wat Si Saket and it's one of the most beautiful Wat that I've ever seen. Built in 1828 by the Siamese, it's the most well preserved Wat in the country. We then went to check out another small wat just infront Si Saket and we were greeted by a nover of young monks ages 17 to 25. These are really cool monks, they were just inside the temple busy writing something. I was asked by another young monk to approach him and at first I was kinda hesitant because I though I did something but he talked to me and asked me where I'm from. I told him from the Philippines and he then started asking a lot of questions. He told me that I look Lao but he knew that I wasn't because of the way I dress. Interestingly, he's ery good in English and knows some french. He's name is Noi and he's been in monkhood for more than 15 years, and he's just 25. We talked for hours about everything, about their daily chores, about my work in Manila. He told me that they wake up at 4am everyday to do chores, clean temple, go to school and meditate. It's always a long day for them but they enjoy it. It's not just a devotion for them but a reason for living. He showed me what he was writing and it was written in Laos. Apparently it's a novel love story. I kinda gave him the grin because I didn't know that monks could be such hopeless romantic.The story apparently is about these two introvert foreigners who met in Laos. They develop a pseudo platonic relationship as the day passes. In the end, the unrequited love that they have for each other have totally consumed them and when they are about to leave, they just can't leave because they know that the time and space between them will just kill them. The thesis being that people can completely get lost in a place, that everything around them can be totally unfamiliar, but the instinct within them, their capacity to feel, to fall in love, to get hurt will always be the same no matter what because it's an instinct. Noi will call his novel "Everytime the rabbit looks up the Moon". Apparently the rabbit and the moon are revered symbols in mythical Lao art. I told him that it reminded me of movies like "Lost in Translation" and "Before Sunset", but of course he hasn't seen it yet. I told him that it's an interesting concept and that he should develop the tension between the two characters and that he should use Laos as the catalyst for bringing out the essence of his two characters. I told him that It could even end up as a good film if the narrative of the story is really good. Before I left he handed me a note with his email and i did too. I promised to correspond with him and to check the progress of his novel.I enjoyed our conversation and I really think that this has been the best highlight so far of my trip because I got to talk and exchange ideas with a local. You just can't buy that package in any tourist agency.