Alone at the Mekong

The AHA Moment

I was doing a visa run into Laos, another stamp in my passport, another notch on my belt of fleeting escapes. But at the Mekong River, I had one of those AHA moments. I sat at a table, the sticky heat clinging to my skin like a second shirt, watching the expats and their young Thai partners. Their conversations, a jumble of languages and forced laughter, felt hollow against the backdrop of this ancient river. It was here, in this place steeped in history, where empires had risen and fallen, where wars had raged and left their indelible mark, that I saw the worst of my own culture, a tawdry display of privilege and misplaced power.

My gaze shifted to the Mekong. The mother of all rivers. Its muddy waters, swirling with the silt of centuries, carried more than just sediment; they carried the weight of forgotten kingdoms, the whispers of lives lived and lost. I watched as the light began to fade, the sky bleeding into shades of orange and purple. It was as if the river itself was absorbing the day.

Dusk settled, and the air grew heavy with the scent of damp earth and unknown spices. Across the river, in Laos, lights flickered on, like fireflies winking in the deepening gloom. Small boats, their silhouettes dark against the fading light, glided past, carrying their unseen cargo to unseen destinations. I could hear the gentle murmur of voices drifting across the water, a tapestry of languages woven together by the river's flow. There was something unspeakably lovely about the quiet activity, the warmth of the distant lights in the darkness and soft sounds of life passing by in a lyrical language.

I was utterly alone, yet somehow connected to the flow of life around me. And in that moment, with the river whispering its timeless secrets and the weight of the past settling gently on my shoulders, I felt a surge of clarity. Nothing is impossible, I could do whatever I set my mind to, all I needed was courage and probably foolishness. The courage to face the unknown, and the foolishness to travel alone, thousands of kilometers from home, with nothing but a backpack – how wonderfully liberating it was to be able to put all my belongings in a cab and move from one furnished place to another – and a yearning for something more.

Images created with the assistance of Playgroundai.com. 2023.