Nong Kio and Meuang Ngoi are small tourist towns, mostly because of the dramatic scenery and laid-back river views. Some tourists are interested in what I’m doing, especially when they start to see the same bright blue book all over town. On the other hand, I’m not sure if one particular tourist gets it at all when he tells me, “Enjoy your travels around Laos.” I could get huffy about the acquired differences between tourist and traveler, but I’ll put myself now in the category of “trader”. After all, what motivated all the explorers in history to do crazy things? They were all after something. If I’m a pure merchant, I’ll worry about my investments, my stock and my rates of exchange. If I’m a trader, I’m going to enjoy the fun along the way. I have 300 books in two boxes that I can hardly lift. I’ve got my bicycle and a laptop to protect from dust, mud and jarring tuk tuk rides. The schools I’ve targeted for Friday are closed because of a national holiday. Then, I go upstream and discover that I’ve brought only Japanese books. People don’t buy. There’s no boat downstream and I have to pay $25 US. It’s all in a day’s work. I’ve only sold a handful of books, but why complain? We’re puttering down the river and floating through warm banks of air. It’s the kind of warm air that rises off asphalt on a late summer evening, so nostalgically delicious. Water buffalos are…. In the water, with just their heads and horns sticking out. They haven’t moved since the time I passed them going upstream. They’re clustered at a good spot where cooler water trickles in and they’re eyes read, “aaah”. It’s a good picture to use in a text to illustrate the word, “cool”. There are some shallow rapids. If the driver didn’t know his river, we’d be banging rocks. Instead, a headlong surge into a small wall of water sets off a fine spray. It’s the feeling when you get when you stick your head out of a fast moving car and open your mouth. Exhilarating. It takes your breath away. There’s too much to breathe in. Traders always have something to keep them going. Tourists usually have time limits and think about home.
