The Laughing Buddha

27th of November

It’s raining. It’s raining a lot. Not like the heavy monsoon a few months ago, and not the soft gentle rain a couple of minutes ago. It’s that heavy rain that makes you wish you’d stayed inside, or possibly brought an umbrella. It’s the rain that, when staying inside or bringing an umbrella, brings the coziest of feelings, possibly only contested by a campfire with close friends a warm summer night. I’d for some reason felt like the day needed to start and took off anyway. I should have stayed in bed.

The road had been bumpy at first but had now evened out a bit. It had started off with a creation of mainly small rocks and mud but had now gradually turned to asphalt which at home would be considered a massive improvement in comfort. The roads here are at some places so poorly constructed that it’s hard to say where one road end and where the next one begins, not to mention the giant holes in the middle of them.

I’d waken up early and then waited out the rain a bit before I took the motorbike out on the road. It was a soft rain by then but just a minute later had it started raining heavily again, just when I got on the main road. I was wet in a couple of seconds and cold for the first time in this country. No time to loose, I’d immediately decided on heading towards the restaurant with the amazing view I found yesterday, called the Laughing Buddha. It was a bit away but at least I’d started the day and wasn’t still in bed. I should have stayed in bed.

The water poured down my sunglasses as I tried to speed up down the deserted road. People seemed have the common sense I didn’t, to know when to stay home for example. I reminded myself that there still were a lot of holes and other natural speed bumps along the way and slowed down a little bit, mainly to ease my conscience, but I was still going pretty fast. It was a beautiful landscape that I passed, and any other day would I think about that and how my hair was playing in the wind. It was licked back today by the rain as water poured down my spine.

I eventually got to the Laughing Buddha, where I ordered a cop of chai and crept down under a blanket, wishing I was back at the hotel in my bed.