The Smallest World
This was just too unique to wait for a later post.
We went to the Wat I mentioned in my previous post. According to what Kelly read, it is supposed to be a very popular place and always active. Sure enough, when we got there the bells were tolling and the drums booming. A monk was chanting over the loud speakers, and people were inside the temple eating and praying for good luck. Since we often feel out of place in settings like these we kept to the sidelines observing from afar and not taking any photos (to avoid being rude). Walking around the temple we passed many novices and monks doing what we were doing, watching all the people. We also ran into a very large stork walking around in the parking lot (later we watched this same stork try to bite a foreigner who was trying to play with it).
By the stork I saw a man dressed like a novice (this means one shoulder uncovered, much like a yellow toga). His chest and back were covered with very interesting (obviously religious) tattoos. His head and eyebrows were shaven like all novices and monks, but he was working on a beard too. He looked a bit older than most novices, but this was not really unusual since we have seen plenty of others throughout the whole of the trip.
I really wanted to take a picture of him, but between my own hang-ups (not wanting to impose on people and not wanting offend them by taking their picture) and his somewhat intimidating appearance I decided not to.
After walking around a little more we sat down and started deciding where to go next. Not far from us was a group of 5 or so novices and monks including the tattooed man. As monks often do, they all stared at us for a little while, and then carried on with their conversation.
While we were working on our next place to visit, I finally decided that this guy was too much of a character to pass up on taking his photo. He was one of the most unique looking guys we had seen on the trip, and I really wanted to remember where we were by having a shot of him. Unfortunately, as I was taking my camera out he started to walk away.
Kelly told me I better hurry, but it seemed that he was moving too far off to catch up with, and I didn’t want to try to chase him down. Since I had the camera out, I took a few pictures of the Wat. Then we headed out the way we had seen him going. Right by the exit we passed him, smoking a cigarette and just watching the people go by. Again I didn’t want to bother him, so we started to leave.
I really wanted that photo though. Right at the exit I stopped, finally decided it was too good to pass up and went over to ask him for his picture….
After hearing me talk, he asked me where I was from. I told him the states. He brightened and asked which state. I said Massachusetts.
-“Wow really? What town?”
-“Boston”.
-“Hey, I’m from Fitchburg.”
He was born in Vientiane but moved out in 1980 because of the war. He had been living in Mass. for the past 30 years working as a mechanic on Rt. 128. This is his first time back in Laos, to pay his respects for his mother who recently died. He is only here for about a month and is going to see Laos and Thailand after his week at the Wat.
He invited us to sit and stay a while, so we did. We just talked about our travels. One of his friends from the Wat joined us, a young novice learning English. We gave them our guidebook (we don’t need it any more) which ended up in the hands of the novice as an English reader.
Of all the people to meet, in all the places, we meet a Laotian mechanic from Fitchburg. After all that hesitation, wanting a photo of this unique person but not wanting to take it…finally asking him for a photo and finding out he lives a short car ride from the place I have been living for the past 4 years. Too strange. A very small world indeed.
-Tim
We went to the Wat I mentioned in my previous post. According to what Kelly read, it is supposed to be a very popular place and always active. Sure enough, when we got there the bells were tolling and the drums booming. A monk was chanting over the loud speakers, and people were inside the temple eating and praying for good luck. Since we often feel out of place in settings like these we kept to the sidelines observing from afar and not taking any photos (to avoid being rude). Walking around the temple we passed many novices and monks doing what we were doing, watching all the people. We also ran into a very large stork walking around in the parking lot (later we watched this same stork try to bite a foreigner who was trying to play with it).
By the stork I saw a man dressed like a novice (this means one shoulder uncovered, much like a yellow toga). His chest and back were covered with very interesting (obviously religious) tattoos. His head and eyebrows were shaven like all novices and monks, but he was working on a beard too. He looked a bit older than most novices, but this was not really unusual since we have seen plenty of others throughout the whole of the trip.
I really wanted to take a picture of him, but between my own hang-ups (not wanting to impose on people and not wanting offend them by taking their picture) and his somewhat intimidating appearance I decided not to.
After walking around a little more we sat down and started deciding where to go next. Not far from us was a group of 5 or so novices and monks including the tattooed man. As monks often do, they all stared at us for a little while, and then carried on with their conversation.
While we were working on our next place to visit, I finally decided that this guy was too much of a character to pass up on taking his photo. He was one of the most unique looking guys we had seen on the trip, and I really wanted to remember where we were by having a shot of him. Unfortunately, as I was taking my camera out he started to walk away.
Kelly told me I better hurry, but it seemed that he was moving too far off to catch up with, and I didn’t want to try to chase him down. Since I had the camera out, I took a few pictures of the Wat. Then we headed out the way we had seen him going. Right by the exit we passed him, smoking a cigarette and just watching the people go by. Again I didn’t want to bother him, so we started to leave.
I really wanted that photo though. Right at the exit I stopped, finally decided it was too good to pass up and went over to ask him for his picture….
After hearing me talk, he asked me where I was from. I told him the states. He brightened and asked which state. I said Massachusetts.
-“Wow really? What town?”
-“Boston”.
-“Hey, I’m from Fitchburg.”
He was born in Vientiane but moved out in 1980 because of the war. He had been living in Mass. for the past 30 years working as a mechanic on Rt. 128. This is his first time back in Laos, to pay his respects for his mother who recently died. He is only here for about a month and is going to see Laos and Thailand after his week at the Wat.
He invited us to sit and stay a while, so we did. We just talked about our travels. One of his friends from the Wat joined us, a young novice learning English. We gave them our guidebook (we don’t need it any more) which ended up in the hands of the novice as an English reader.
Of all the people to meet, in all the places, we meet a Laotian mechanic from Fitchburg. After all that hesitation, wanting a photo of this unique person but not wanting to take it…finally asking him for a photo and finding out he lives a short car ride from the place I have been living for the past 4 years. Too strange. A very small world indeed.
-Tim
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on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 2:36 AM.
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3:23 AMHa ha ha --- never would have guessed that would happen --- a tattooed monk from Fitchburg!!!! --- Dad - H
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