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Unscripted Lives

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Red Plastic Chair

Matthew Irving September 12, 2016

In Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, a structure that looks coincidentally like the Arc D'Triumph in Paris looms over a bustling square. As you approach the massive structure, you realize that it is in fact a replica of the one in Paris, except with a little Asian flare.

Back during the cold war, The U.S. Government gave Laos massive amounts of concrete to make another runway at their airport . Instead of making a runway, they decided to make the replica (ballin!).

Wandering up the stairs, past all the merchants selling souvenirs, I passed a young boy, sitting in a red plastic chair. He seemed bored, as if his youthful adolescence was being squandered. His father, close by selling trinkets, loudly beckoned to me to purchase some wares. I smiled kindly and declined, interested more in the suffering taking place nearby.

I chuckled as I shot the photo, amused by the irony of being bored while sitting in a giant replica of the Arc D'Triumph in Vientiane, Laos.

Tags adolescence, airport, arc d-triumph, architecture, bored, cold war, concrete, irony, laos, massive, marchants, paris, photography, red plastic chair, replica, runway, south-east asia, souvenirs, squandered, structure, travel, trinkets, U.S., unscripted lives, vientiane, young boy

Aimlessly Wandering

Matthew Irving July 18, 2016

Da Nang, Vietnam- Back in 2006, I was aimlessly wandering around South-East Asia, doing some soul searching, trying to figure out what i wanted to do with my life. One morning, while i was somewhere near Da Nang, Vietnam, i got up early, hopped on my bicycle, and headed out for a ride. Feeling the cool morning breeze on my face was a reprieve from the swamp air that haunted me during the day. Winding along the coast on a one lane empty road, my thoughts circled back in on themselves. After about 30 minutes, I arrived at a harbor, just as the sun was coming up. I stopped to take in the sights and instantly the smell of fish and gasoline burned my nose. I climbed off my bike and walked down to the shore. There was a faint bustle, with people first starting to wake. The sounds of the harbor were coming to life; the waves lapped against the shore, motors turned on, a general sense of business. Just then, two people pushed off from the coast and were headed out to their boat for the day. I sat there, watching as they toiled to get out from the shore. Suddenly, my life seemed very easy. As they disappeared among the large boats, I was happy that our paths crossed, even if they didn't know it.

Tags 2006, bay, bicycle, bike, boat, boats, breeze, bustle, coast, cool, cycle, da nang, empty road, fishing, harbor, hard, job, life, morning, ride, road, sea, smell, soul searching, south-east asia, toil, unscripted lives, vietnam, waves, work