Charting new territories
Jo Mollet, Destination Expert.
Although I've trodden these paths before, I feel as if I've been parachuted into a strange land as I inch my way around the map of Indochina. Setting up a new department, is more than the cherry-picking of great hotels. The food and outlandish markets, the architecture and art, culture and personal encounters - all these shape my search for the extraordinary.
Tucked away in the streets of Luang Prabang, in northern Laos, I come accross a small shop, its walls lined with exquisite silk weavings and antique textile. It turns out to be a social and cultural project, run by local resident Jo Smith. As we head out of town to her workshop, she tells me of her passion for Laotian textiles and their place in the complex society of tribes here. The workshop is an idyllic spot on the banks of the lazy Mekong. Inside, women work at an equally leisurely pace, weaving and preparing the silk threads and natural dyes, the steady chatter of their gossip punctuating the clack of the looms.
Jo and I sit down to work out how best to incorporate a visit here into a meaningful experience of Laos. Soon we have the bones of an informal talk on the history and culture behind the fabrics, as well as the unforgettable business of coaxing silk from the worms. It's this - the search for new and interesting characters, local experts, places and activities that can truly colour an experience of the Far East - that is the best part of my job.
