 |
| Palace |
Once upon a time, in a far away land of rivers and mountains, there reigned a King and Queen. They lived in a palace with their beloved son, the Crown Prince. They slept in sheets made of the fairest silk, and dined from fine dishes around a long teak table.
One day, there was a Communist revolution, and the six hundred year old Kingdom of Laos was abolished. Three summers later the King, Queen and Crown Prince were sent north to live in a cave, and labour in the fields, where they eventually starved to death.
I'm afraid I'm not sure about the details in the second paragraph. The Royal Palace Museum that Henry and I just visited didn't spell them out. There were royal portraits, and wooden boards explaining which room was which (the scarlet and crimson Throne Room spoke for itself) but my foolish hope that there might be a little board explaining why they're not living there now was left unfulfilled. A modicum of research since suggests the unhappy ending outlined above may not be too far from the truth.
A reminder to me, as I headed back into the dusty streets, that this is the People's Democratic Republic of Laos now, and it is the People that live happily ever after.
 |
| Cave |
No comments:
Post a Comment