I am sitting in my guest house room at The Samxay Hotel in Vientiane, Laos, reflecting on my good fortune.
Laos is a tiny tropical country in South-east Asia, land-locked between Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China with Vientiane n said to be the most relaxing capital city in the world.
I am experiencing a level of peace that few are lucky enough to know - an experience far removed from the hustle and bustle of life in any other capital city that I have visited.
The weather is perfect T-shirt temperature, dawn has just broken, and the monk at the local temple has just gently rung the unheeded wake-up gong.
Even the fish in the pond have not yet rippled the surface in search of food.
The birds are singing, and no traffic can yet be heard.
The cocks are crowing, and in the distance a dog occasionally barks.
The loudest sound I can hear is the fan in the computer.
Occasionally there is a scuffle in the room as the five kittens from two mothers, have a battle with a toy.
And now the fridge kicks in and takes over as the loudest sound.
Peace! Peace! Peace! And you ask "Why do you live in Laos?" Because it is so peaceful and relaxing.
The Laos capital, Vientiane is full of spirituality and has so many unique temples that it makes the mere thirty-six temples in the old walled city of Chiang Mai, Thailand look very bland.
Take this as an example.
According to the Vientiane Hotels web site: "The Wat Inpeng is not only a temple but a historical landmark that represents the Laotian arts and culture.
The temple is adorned with a variety of Buddha images, rock sculptures, and rock columns that depict the Khmer and Mon cultures.
It has been said that the king of the gods transformed himself into an old wise man to assist with construction.
Legend also states that the god transformed himself specifically into an old white monk to help construct the Buddha image.
From such stories did the Wat Inpeng get its name, which means "to transform".
Now where can you get nearer to the truth than that! Most Laos people follow Buddhist philosophy, so they uphold the five precepts: - Abstinence from taking life - Abstinence from taking what is not given.
- Abstinence from sexual misconduct.
- Abstinence from false speech.
- Abstinence from fermented drink that causes headlessness.
But the Lao people uphold only four, as the national sport is drinking Beer Lao with the evening meal, but never so excessive that rowdiness results.
I think Vientiane is a perfect place to fulfil my dream of living in an intentional self-sufficient community, by suggesting the implementation of urban permaculture, and I think the monks at each temple could become the people who pass on the knowledge.
Because Laos is so relaxing, and nobody is rushing around at breakneck speed, people have time to speak to each other, and so they retain the original small village-market-based communities, of which Vientiane Capital is said to comprise over one hundred acknowledged small neighbourhoods.
What a perfect location for the introduction of community gardens.
Look out for the next article on urban permaculture in Laos!