Short but sweet
We made it to Laos! We’ve been here for just about a week now, we started in a very small town in northern Laos, Luang Namtha. While a nice spot to stop and rest after a long travel day including a minivan, a bus, a boarder stop, a truck, and another bus, we didn’t find much to do. So we moved to Luang Prabang for a few days via a very bumpy van ride, a fast train, and a bus. I think we are finally hitting a little bit of travel fatigue. Luang Prabang was a cool place to explore. We didn't have the most energy to go explore the waterfalls or hikable temples but did go on a little sunset boat ride down the Mekong River which was stunning. But we had been looking forward to getting to Vang Vieng so we gave ourselves grace for the fatigue we’ve been feeling and moved on rather quickly! The travel day of getting scammed by a Tuk tuk driver who lied about pricing then over charged upon arrival, then to realize we had been sent the wrong tickets for the fast train, not being let onto train we had purchased tickets for days prior, fighting to talk to someone to discover that there were no more tickets for trains for the next few days and all we could do is wait for someone to cancel their ticket and hope we get on one that day… not our favorite travel day. We ended up getting tickets which was amazing, balanced with the unfavorable 5.5 hours we had to spend in the train station with no real food. But hey we made it!
So now we’re in Vang Vieng. A medium-sized town, smaller than Luang Prabang but bigger than Luang Namtha, with plenty of things to do. But I think what is being realized is how little routine you get in travel. There is always change, there is always an approaching travel day, there is always something to be researching or looking into. It can be a bit exhausting. So, now comes the consideration of how to prioritize what we value. This list is growing and ever changing but some things on this list for me are down time, comfort food every once in a while, time between travel days, some kind of consistent practice in self care (yoga classes, workshops, meditation, etc. - basically just time spent focusing on my internal systems and my internal systems only), and time in nature. Before this trip I would have thought that list would be all about new, new, new, new people, new food, new sites, new experiences in general. But, I am recognizing within myself that if it’s new all the time I get fatigued. How do I cope with that? Choice. Actively choosing what I want to be doing, how I want to perceive inconvenience and difficulty, when I need rest, when to push and when to pause. I hope to bring this into my eventual move back home as well.
We are so pressured to keep onto the next thing. You graduated high school? Where are you going to college? You complete an undergrad? Grad school? Work force? Stay in hometown or move? Found a good job? How are you going to progress from this position? You got a raise? Did you get a new title? Etc. etc. It’s always about what is next and not about where you are. There is no recognition of the present moment. Or if there is, it is “you should be grateful for where you are” when you don’t get that raise or new title or approved for that new apartment. Beginning with this adventure and continuing into my move home I want to bring presence and choice. Viewing active choice for myself as an accomplishment, even when that choice is to not go do that next thing because I need time to take care of myself. Or if it is a decision not everyone in my life is in favor of, but it is favorable for where I am at in my now.
For now we’re in Vang Vieng, yes we are considering what is next, but we are only choosing to move on when we feel ready to leave, versus leaving after we are “done doing all the things people do here” maybe it’s before then, maybe it’s after we’ve explored every lagoon and hikable path in the surrounding area. Regardless it is about how we’re feeling in our now, uninfluenced by the “next’s” or the “should be’s”.
Short but hopefully sweet. Thanks for checking in. Feel free to call anytime too, I miss your faces.
Love and miss you all.
Love,
Luna