Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Nam
Nam, water, is increasingly precious here in Vientiane as well as around the globe. In spite of the devastating floods in Laos' northern provinces, its capital has had a very dry monsoon season. The reefs in the Mekong River have turned into islands. Unlike Southern California, there is no mention of rationing, but the heat and dust here are constant reminders of the necessity of water. Unfortunately, I forgot to put my water bottle in its spot on my backpack before I took off for the Center today. Sweating as usual when I arrived, I looked forward to a few sips. Oops. I went next door to patronize local interests and buy a bottle. The lovely shopkeeper came out from behind the counter with a plastic bag of ice and asked me which kind of bottled soft drink I wanted her to pour into it. There was a straw perched and ready in the bag so I could sip. I smiled, chose Pepsi, paid the 3000k, and used the chilled bag to cool my sweaty forehead.
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Water is so wonderful, as ice or drinking water... Glad you found some that provided relief!
ReplyDeleteSo Pepsi it is! My friend Janie, who does those conferences with me turned me on to Coke. It used to seem so strong to me. Now I love it as a stimulant so I can either get through the 2 to 3 hour conferences or the drive home to Kona from Kohala or Ka'u. Ice is nice. I'll have to put some in the ice chest next time along with the usual ice thingys. I often remember Mom refusing refills of her water glass at restaurants saying, "I'm saving it for my grandchildren."
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me drink water more and more as I get older, there may not be a lot of it left when I turn 80... soon.
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