Reading along the list of ailments and cures...
Hugh and I were wandering around the more “locals” area of Luang Prabang when we came across a little cart with bags of dried bark, berries, and grasses neatly arranged on top. Small baskets had dried leaves and one contained rounded stones, a worn book on top read “Lao Traditional Medicine.” We stopped for a moment, and an old man grinned at us with a toothless smile.
He opened the book and pointed to an ailment, then gesticulated to his cart, “heart disease” said the book as he gestured to his heart. We shook our head “no” and smiled. He then pointed to the next ailment in the chart which was for headache, then grabbed his head and made moaning noises. This is where the story gets hilarious.
Next was an herbal tea that was good for spasms. So the man demonstrated what spasms where by shaking his hands violently and making a sound that I can only type as “ablabababaaba” with his tongue. Hugh and I burst out laughing. Encouraged, the man pointed at the next ailment: gonorrhea.
He then proceeded to make the international children’s symbol for sex, inserting a finger into his fist. He then pointed at Hugh who protested quite loudly that he didn’t need a cure for it. The man grinned and pointed to the next venereal disease, which brought upon more laughter.
The next moments were spent having a “conversation” by pointing at various words on a well-worn paper he kept with him. He asked where we were from, if we were married, etc. Just a hilarious old man eager to talk with people, I guess, and yet one of the many experiences that’s making me never want to leave Laos.
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From Prairie:
I must go there someday!
(Southeast Asia’s on the list, I swear…but next up is Costa Rica)
And now, a Southeast Asia travel story from a friend of mine:
A few years back, my buddy was in Cambodia (his wife’s from there) over New Year’s, the one in January. Being from Texas, he was eager to find a way to watch the college football bowl games, since this was the year Texas was challenging for the national title. He knew this was an uphill battle, but he started asking around where to find a bar that’d have a TV hookup, and finally, someone directed him to a place.
Goes to the bar, gets a drink, sits down to watch the game. As you do. Notices there’re a lot of ladies in the bar, and they seem really interested in talking to him. Notices these ladies seem underdressed but overly made up, and realizes what’s going on.
And that’s how my pal came to watch Texas win the BCS in a Cambodian whorehouse.
From Janelle:
I’m wanting to go to Costa Rica also! =)
Yeaaaah….whorehouses…this is why my trips to SE Asia are never as fun as they could be (cause my boyfriend is white.) In every country but here I have to overcome that burden of being seen as a hooker.