The Souvenirs of Sarah

Boy was I excited for my warm hello and welcome by Erika when I arrived to Vientiane late Sunday night. I couldn’t get an earlier flight, so Erika had to spend the day alone exploring the city. It was so great to see her and I think the feeling was mutual. We were so excited to finally start the adventure we had been talking about for months. Erika worked with me at Quaker and knew about my little secret to quit and take this trip long before I gave notice. We secretly planned for her to come meet me and would have secret meetings and exchanges via instant messaging at work, planning out the trip. When I left in February it seemed like I wouldn’t see her for ages. Time has flown by so fast and here we were. Erika had our room all set up and on my bed she had displayed all of the essentials I asked her to bring from home (there are just some things from home I can’t live without), yummy Easter candy (I had forgotten it was even Easter), and a few gossip magazines. So sweet of her! A little slice of home. :)

Getting in late the first night only allowed us to grab a quick bite to eat. I was exhausted from traveling all day and she was starving. We got a great nights rest and woke up bright and early the next morning because we only had half a day in Vientiane before heading to Luang Prabang in northern Laos. Erika showed me a few shops she had stopped in the day before and wanted my opinion on a few things she had found. Of course, it’s impossible for me to go shopping without buying something. Plus, I can justify that my goal is to find a nice piece of art in each country, because someday when I have a home of my own again, I want the décor to reflect my travels. In Australia I picked up a real Aboriginal painting, in New Zealand a statue of a Koru (common NZ symbol meaning new life or beginning), in Thailand I found a painting made with real lotus leaves, and in Cambodia a statue of an Apsara dancer. What would I find in Laos? The first stop was to see these beautiful paintings of Buddha faces, monks, temples. I loved them and convinced her to buy the ones she was eyeing, but of course, I couldn’t resist buying a few for myself. At $2 a piece, I couldn’t afford not to buy them. The next shop she took me to had all sorts of antiques. Immediately upon walking into the store, I fell in love with a leaning Buddha statue. It was so unique and something I had yet to see anywhere else in my travels. It was only $50, so that wasn’t a big deal, but I immediately started contemplating how the heck I would carry it around with me. My suitcase already at its maximum weight, with 2 packages already on their way home with souvenirs and belongings I didn’t want to carry anymore. Would I find something else like it in Luang Prabang or even Vietnam? I was torn. Erika and I decided to take a look around town and come back before we left for the airport and to give me some time to think about it. We went to the market and visited a couple of Wats. Afterwards we headed back to our souvenir shop. To buy or not to buy? I didn’t know what to do. Could I manage to move a few things around in my luggage, give Erika a few things to carry, and ship it once I got to Luang Prabang? We had about 10 minutes before the cab driver was coming to take us to the airport. The store owner convinced me I wouldn’t find anything like it in Luang Prabang. Was he pulling my leg? I didn’t know. Erika herself ended up caving and purchasing a piece she had her eye on, but she only had 2 weeks to lug it around with her, which was worth it. At the last minute, I couldn’t pass it up. I typically don’t go shopping for a piece of art; it has to completely catch my eye and strike me. When I see it, I just know. This was it, the Buddha I had been searching for. It was so me. We had about 5 minutes, the store owner quickly wrapped up our new treasures and we were off. The most comical part was sitting at the airport with our suitcases in front of us, moving things around, re-arranging, tossing things out to make our purchases fit. People were just looking at us and laughing. We finally got situated and were both happy as can be.  It would just be a matter of finding what I was going to do with this thing once I got to Luang Prabang…

Vientiane was nice, but a day and half there was plenty. I think the most exciting part was our souvenir searching and both being lovers of souvenir shopping, realizing that we were going to be great travel buddies.