Whether your character is one that sees off the old year with contemptuous relief, or welcomes in the fortunes of another year of opportunity with open arms, this year is wrought with predictions of doom. I guess the Maya have a lot to answer for. Ancient stelae depict great cataclysms, a complex and elaborate duel calendar system accurately foretells when our impending doom will descend; according to those who claim to understand such things. Personally I’ve found Mayan belief systems and astronomical knowledge fascinating, but I think archaeologists and their ilk fail in their theorizing. They’re modern people with a modern mindset, how the hell can they expect to understand the rationale of an ancient race. It could be claimed that a race with such amazing methods of prediction should have seen their own impending doom. Their method was not vague, it’s based on calculating planetary alignment, which they achieved for thousands of years into the future. (Photo: The Mekong at it’s best - Don Det, Laos)
If we do give them any credit, and trust the interpretations of the specialists, great cataclysm’s are said to befall our world on 22nd December 2012. But whatever you do, DO NOT PANIC! Aren’t we at the beginning of The Age of Aquarius, an age of freedom and enlightenment? According to Buddhist belief we’re about to enter a new Golden Age, a 2,500 year period of spiritual harmony. Nostradamus, way back in the classic days of science, made predictions for this day and age. However you look at it our present day has been the focus of predictions for thousands of years, maybe it would be sensible to take heed. Maybe it would be foolish to scoff at the words of ancient sages. One thing is for certain, if we give them any credence what so ever, the times they are a-changing. But that’s the premise of life anyway, it’s all transient. Don’t hold on too tight to, it’ll pass you by in the end. (Photo: Always up to mischief – Don Det, Laos)
What I do know is that death can come for any of us at the most unexpected time, if you don’t make decent use of each day you’re letting your life slip away. It’s your duty to utilize your days, make them as fulfilling as possible, for you and those who matter to you. If you’re not achieving this you could be in danger of letting your life pass with barely a ripple. I’m sure most of us have those things we’d love to do while we still can, isn’t now the time to do them? Surely that’s the only way to ensure you don’t reach a time when it’s no longer possible to achieve what matters most to you. But please don’t all give up work, sell up and set off round the world. It’s getting smaller every day as more and more nations reach a point of economic growth that empowers their populations to join the throng of travelers scouring the planet for adventure. (Photo: Fully manned Dragon Boat – Mekong River, Don Kohn, Laos)
So Happy New Year folks! I hope yours was welcomed in good style, mine was spent in a jungle clearing amidst a host of other Falang. The only local people in attendance were a few partners of westerners. And whilst I say it was a jungle clearing I actually mean a patch of land at the edge of the paddy fields, with a couple of thatched tepees and a huge fire pit. I don’t think there were any falang anywhere else on the island, it’s becoming thick with tourists here now, high season hits SE Asia. I’d like to say the island boat race was a different matter. It was a local event, two days party with a day of Dragon Boat racing thrown into the bargain. For some inexplicable reason the local’s party was allowed to continue way into the early hours, whilst the falang New Year’s Eve bash got shut down at 2am. There again, there is an 11pm curfew in Laos. (Photo: Beyond bailing out – Mekong Boat Race, Don Kohn, Laos)
The Laos party on Don Kohn was one of the parties of the year for locals, with no religious pretenses everyone could eat, drink and be merry without a guilt trip. Dismissing the quality of the compère, and the tacky Laos disco music, it was nice to see the relaxed and easy rhythmic manner in which the locals danced. It made the screeching tones of wailing music and the high pitched chatter of the compère almost bearable; that guy really liked the sound of his own voice. It was distinctly Laos, music, dancing, and all the peripheries. That was before the falang turned up in droves, then it turned into a mess. Drunken falang is a term I must include myself in, but not to that extent. A wall of whities blocked out the reserved demeanor of the locals, the subtle and precise dancing of the Laotians. People were twisting, pogoing, and anything in between. I’m not criticizing it, people were having fun, but it seemed a shame to overwhelm the cultural niceties with over-enthusiastic drunken buffoonery. Mind you, I did enjoy drinking beer with the police chief in the announcement booth while watching the racing. (Photo: Their world is Orange – Mekong River, Don Det, Laos)
For me weeks have gone by in a drunken and stoned haze. It’s been nice in many ways, but it isn’t what I want out of this trip. I can do that at home, it may be a more interesting environment here but the result is the same. Setting up a volleyball/badminton net has given many afternoons of healthy distractions. One of the resident whites bought some sports equipment and it’s going down a storm, not least with the young kids. Now the kids hang out playing badminton, football and volleyball. They’re inventive though, they’ll use anything to play with, and then there is always the river. All the kids swim, and are seen everyday swimming across the swift moving Mekong. I’m not talking about teenagers here, kids as young as seven years old swim across. Even younger ones launch themselves off bank, drift down and scramble out further downstream. I rarely see unhappy kids here, seems a great life from the outside. (Photo: The Drifters – Mekong River, Don Det, Laos)
Whether your character is one that sees off the old year with contemptuous relief, or welcomes in the fortunes of another year of opportunity with open arms, this year is wrought with predictions of doom. I guess the Maya have a lot to answer for. Ancient stelae depict great cataclysms, a complex and elaborate duel calendar system accurately foretells when our impending doom will descend; according to those who claim to understand such things. Personally I’ve found Mayan belief systems and astronomical knowledge fascinating, but I think archaeologists and their ilk fail in their theorizing. They’re modern people with a modern mindset, how the hell can they expect to understand the rationale of an ancient race. It could be claimed that a race with such amazing methods of prediction should have seen their own impending doom. Their method was not vague, it’s based on calculating planetary alignment, which they achieved for thousands of years into the future. (Photo: The Mekong at it’s best - Don Det, Laos)
If we do give them any credit, and trust the interpretations of the specialists, great cataclysm’s are said to befall our world on 22nd December 2012. But whatever you do, DO NOT PANIC! Aren’t we at the beginning of The Age of Aquarius, an age of freedom and enlightenment? According to Buddhist belief we’re about to enter a new Golden Age, a 2,500 year period of spiritual harmony. Nostradamus, way back in the classic days of science, made predictions for this day and age. However you look at it our present day has been the focus of predictions for thousands of years, maybe it would be sensible to take heed. Maybe it would be foolish to scoff at the words of ancient sages. One thing is for certain, if we give them any credence what so ever, the times they are a-changing. But that’s the premise of life anyway, it’s all transient. Don’t hold on too tight to, it’ll pass you by in the end. (Photo: Always up to mischief – Don Det, Laos)
What I do know is that death can come for any of us at the most unexpected time, if you don’t make decent use of each day you’re letting your life slip away. It’s your duty to utilize your days, make them as fulfilling as possible, for you and those who matter to you. If you’re not achieving this you could be in danger of letting your life pass with barely a ripple. I’m sure most of us have those things we’d love to do while we still can, isn’t now the time to do them? Surely that’s the only way to ensure you don’t reach a time when it’s no longer possible to achieve what matters most to you. But please don’t all give up work, sell up and set off round the world. It’s getting smaller every day as more and more nations reach a point of economic growth that empowers their populations to join the throng of travelers scouring the planet for adventure. (Photo: Fully manned Dragon Boat – Mekong River, Don Kohn, Laos)
So Happy New Year folks! I hope yours was welcomed in good style, mine was spent in a jungle clearing amidst a host of other Falang. The only local people in attendance were a few partners of westerners. And whilst I say it was a jungle clearing I actually mean a patch of land at the edge of the paddy fields, with a couple of thatched tepees and a huge fire pit. I don’t think there were any falang anywhere else on the island, it’s becoming thick with tourists here now, high season hits SE Asia. I’d like to say the island boat race was a different matter. It was a local event, two days party with a day of Dragon Boat racing thrown into the bargain. For some inexplicable reason the local’s party was allowed to continue way into the early hours, whilst the falang New Year’s Eve bash got shut down at 2am. There again, there is an 11pm curfew in Laos. (Photo: Beyond bailing out – Mekong Boat Race, Don Kohn, Laos)
The Laos party on Don Kohn was one of the parties of the year for locals, with no religious pretenses everyone could eat, drink and be merry without a guilt trip. Dismissing the quality of the compère, and the tacky Laos disco music, it was nice to see the relaxed and easy rhythmic manner in which the locals danced. It made the screeching tones of wailing music and the high pitched chatter of the compère almost bearable; that guy really liked the sound of his own voice. It was distinctly Laos, music, dancing, and all the peripheries. That was before the falang turned up in droves, then it turned into a mess. Drunken falang is a term I must include myself in, but not to that extent. A wall of whities blocked out the reserved demeanor of the locals, the subtle and precise dancing of the Laotians. People were twisting, pogoing, and anything in between. I’m not criticizing it, people were having fun, but it seemed a shame to overwhelm the cultural niceties with over-enthusiastic drunken buffoonery. Mind you, I did enjoy drinking beer with the police chief in the announcement booth while watching the racing. (Photo: Their world is Orange – Mekong River, Don Det, Laos)
For me weeks have gone by in a drunken and stoned haze. It’s been nice in many ways, but it isn’t what I want out of this trip. I can do that at home, it may be a more interesting environment here but the result is the same. Setting up a volleyball/badminton net has given many afternoons of healthy distractions. One of the resident whites bought some sports equipment and it’s going down a storm, not least with the young kids. Now the kids hang out playing badminton, football and volleyball. They’re inventive though, they’ll use anything to play with, and then there is always the river. All the kids swim, and are seen everyday swimming across the swift moving Mekong. I’m not talking about teenagers here, kids as young as seven years old swim across. Even younger ones launch themselves off bank, drift down and scramble out further downstream. I rarely see unhappy kids here, seems a great life from the outside. (Photo: The Drifters – Mekong River, Don Det, Laos)
Happy New Year. Keep writing......we are all still reading!
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