Funny old week......

We have had some rain, which was rather unexpected and it brought a brief end to the rather cool spell that we have been having of late. But 'winter' has re-asserted itself and it was really bitterly cold until 10am the last couple of mornings This morning I opened my door onto the balcony at 6.20 and promptly retired to bed..it was dark, misty and very cold. One novice monk was recently the beneficiary of a some 'hand warmers' from his overseas sponsor; he must be the object of much envy in the mornings right now. By 8am I re-emerged wearing long trousers and cricket  shirt, and a dressing gown with a Beer Lao fleece on top. Yes, a passable imitation of a  London bag lady.

 I have had a visit from some goats; 3 of  them. But sadly they decided to move on to better pastures. That was a shame as they briefly terrorised the local dogs. Mother goat merely had to glare at them and they ran for cover; they are a pretty pathetic lot, all talk...much of it at 4am.Last night  I did score a bull's eye with a decent sized stone on the bum of the most unpleasant dog, which gave me great pleasure though I  now fear a visit from the Lao Canine Protection League. Curious that as one who usually goes doe-eyed at the sight of a doggie now derives so much pleasure from hurling rocks at them.
The village dogs have just  been bit players in a cunning plan to stop me sleeping.

 This seems to be the height of the wedding season and just about every night we have had a party in the village till the small hours. On Sunday there were 3 competing to see who could reach the highest decibel (and tunelessness) count. I put my laptop onto  Beethoven loop  mode and played piano concertos at  maximum volume  into my headphones, which did little for my chances of sleeping but it was a good deal more tuneful that the other option. One night once the party had died down the temple took over and broadcast chants all night, instead of waiting till 4am to wake me as normal.
 Mosquitoes too have played their part. It is strange that they are so numerous now, and even stranger that whereas previously they mostly ignored me, now they sneak up at night and take great lumps out of me. I can only assume that my diet has changed and that I am now giving off more friendly scents through my pores. I mentioned this to a friend who assured me that I needed to drink more beer, as the yeast in the beer would produce Vitamin B to keep the mozzies at bay. It sounded too good to be true. And since the person urging this solution is married to the owner of the bar where I habituate I wondered about how disinterested this advice was. Checking on Wikipedia it seems that this is a well known fallacy, so I have taken to the Marmite jar instead. The installation of a mosquito net seems to be more efficacious than either beer or yeast spread, but failed to protect me from the noise of a all female drunken singsong which lasted until about 3am. I find it both interesting and odd that no Lao person ever thinks to complain about the discourtesy of their noisy neighbours. It is just as well I suppose that my own Lao is not up to going to visit the neighbours and asking why they think I want to listen to their dreadful noise.

I have also visited the local pawn shop ( thank you gentlemen, yes...PAWN..not PORN) to see if my camera was there; it was not, although I did recognise one item (not taken from me) on display. The owners did not seem the nicest people in town, but I suspect that pawn shopkeepers seldom win any prizes for their generosity of spirit. They referred me to another emporium which I have not  yet been able to find. Incidentally I am told that the police have been quite successful with a recent crackdown against amphetamines, aided on part by their ability to listen in to all mobile phone calls. (I wonder what they make of mine....."yes, yes,   4pm...FOUR,,,  yes FOUR... at the Dara Market....DARA..you know, in town... near the post office....oh ok forget it, I'll sort it myself"....).But like all 'victories' in the 'war on drugs' it seems to be a Pyrrhic one. They have cut the supply (good), thus putting up the price (sounds ok) and driving the addicted users further  into crime to finance their supply (not so good).

A Lao friend was telling me of the girl he has met and  wants to marry. Apparently she has all the qualities the Lao man needs in a wife. She is light skinned, works hard, gets up early to give alms, 'so she can get breakfast for me when she gets back', is fit and strong, 'so she can take care of me when I am ill and cook my dinner when she gets home from work' and works in a bank.. She has the further advantage of living in Vientiane where weddings are not so grand and expensive as in Luang Prabang. Sounds the perfect catch.

The wild flowers and butterflies here are not at their best now, with even the poinsettia, so stunning a few weeks back, looking a bit straggly. The flowers that are out are attended by colourful, but not beautiful yellow butterfly, which is I suspect akin to our own Cabbage White. My own orchids though  never stop flowering. I have no vegetables to speak of now, except for a few French beans and the promise of some tomatoes which seeded themselves.

Pii Mai, and all my usual shops will close for 3 days, all being Vietnamese owned . They always say if they are closed, then I should just bang on the door and they will open for me, but just how urgent is a box of cheap red wine?  (Well, pretty urgent  at times I guess)

If we don't talk before....Happy New Year  (again)

Alan