Friday, December 31, 2010

the writing is on the wall

we went to the patouxai (victory gate) monument in viengchan, the capitol city of Laos.


as i climbed my way to the top, i noticed all the writing on the walls - people making wishes or praying for things - i couldn't help myself but go around and read what everyone had asked for - and i spent so long doing it, i had to run down the stairs to catch up with everyone. well, i took pictures... and i hope the wishers don't mind...


this one is asking to study well and pass all his or her tests and advance...


almost the same thing: "may i study well and advance in all my classes."


this one is succinct: "may i be more beautiful"


this one wants to be more beautiful, but also adds that he/she wishes for lighter skin...


then there's the wishes about finding true love or not having anything get in the way of that true love...



and then my favorite: "may i find a girlfriend in the next three hours, amen!" and then following that is his phone number. if you are calling from the usa, you'll need to dial 0085602 and then his number.

4 comments:

somchai said...

lol so funny, a cultural cue I'd missed.

Cindy Bean said...

Did you write any wishes on the walls?

jrm said...

i didn't write anything... i didn't even think about it. probably because anything i would've written would've been vandalism rather than a wish for good luck.

NOTSONUTSO said...

Fascinating, especially the wish for 'lighter skin!' The wishes to do well in school are typical of students everywhere.