Lijang offers what we need the next morning. We walk to a grand hotel and feel grand as well, when several employees do their best not only to seat us and offer us a Western breakfast, but also to call a taxis that can take us to a tricycle store. We use their internet for several hours, and look for couchsurfing contacts in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodja, Thailand, Malaysia, and Bali, do our correspondence and leave the place with red eyes eager to DO something.
But what good can we do without ngo’s, without language, on a limited budget? I decide to make a dream come true. I always wanted to buy a tricycle (a 3-wheeled cycle-cart for adults), use it to cycle around the countryside and enjoy the view, and then – donating it to someone who needs it. It can considerably enhance the livelihood of an empoverished merchant, let’s not forget that. And we don’t need to be all professional and statistical all the time. There is no harm in giving a gift to the right people. Yeah, right. But how to find them? Here is how we did it.
It was a great experience and I feel the concept has potential. Why don’t you buy your gear and gadgets locally and turn it into a sustainable gift to render your goodbye to a country that has grown dear to you, huh?