International Conference and Laos (Reminiscences 2025)
During the 1990s especially, I tried to combine my interest in marketing with my avocational interest in Scouting. That resulted in my seeking Scout contacts and buying Scout souvenirs. My troop usually had foreign neckerchief slides, for example, and frequently foreign Scout patrol patches. We had two iterations of Red Back Spiders (Australia’s contribution; second deadliest) and the Ferkana Patrol (Turtle in Maltese), and frequently used the more colorful Canadian patrol patches. I was most enamored of the Macanese epaulets for leaders, and for years used them in place of the (boring) red epaulets that were official BSA. The uniforms and neckerchiefs I bought contributed to several camporee exhibits. Mrs. Hoyt and I parleyed a visit to a world camporee into a visit to Angkor Wat.
One of the highlights was definitely attendance at the Asia Pacific Conference in 1998. It was meant to highlight Hong Kong Scouting after the handover. In the run up to 1997, Hong Kong Scouting had purchased a lot in central Hong Kong and built a multipurpose building: Scout office, hotel, and offices, probably to maintain funding because of the uncertainty of finances after 1997.
I had enough contacts to get myself invited as a member of the US Delegation, with the rank of “International Commissioner” from the W.D. Boyce Council. It was obvious I was outside the circle of professionals and niche volunteers, but it got me to Hong Kong for a wonderful conference that helped me understand why Baden Powell resigned from the British army after World War I and thought Scouts could be a force for peace. Here’s what I remember—more than a quarter of a century later.
First, there were giggles about US Scouting. Part of it was for its top-heavy use of professionals. Volunteers, even at the highest level, ran many Scout national organizations. I met some of them. Another giggle came from what the other organizations referred to as the 3 gs—God, Girls, and Gays. Most other organizations, even then, were coed. While there might be separate religious-based national organizations, we had an interfaith service that was genuinely religious and genuinely inclusive. What a change from the traditional BSA (at best) non-denominational service!
Second, it was an adult gathering, and adults were treated like adults. We were broken out into subgroups for some of our meals. I remember sitting with the Head of Singapore Scouting (volunteer), his Australian counterpart (also a volunteer) for a potluck. Not mac and cheese or hot dogs, but dim sum and other Asia dishes. And there were adult beverages served. It was the best fraternity party I can remember since college.
Hong Kong Scouting was at its finest. While most uniforms were Scout-like (based on the Great War uniforms of BP), I doubt BP would have objected to the formal tailor-made uniforms that distinguished our hosts. I was glad to have been invited to participate, and to look at HK a year after the handover.
It was also an excuse to bring David, and depart Hong Kong for an introduction to another part of the former French Indo-china: Laos.
Once a prosperous and large kingdom (the Land of a Million Elephants), 
Laos today is one of the poorest countries we visited. Its distinctive houses on stilts allowed the family to live above possible floods, but, equally important, made for animal or car storage underneath.
The “big” cities are pretty small–We stayed in Luang Prabang for a few days, and used it as a base for a memorable trip up the Mekong to a cave full of Buddhist statues. In fact, much of what we saw related to Buddhism–or to the half century it was part of French Indochina.
Luang Prabang was the capital under the French, and thus has what used to be the king’s palace. The communist Pathet Lao took over the country in the 1975, and the palace is now a museum. It’s a nice mix of French colonial and Lao, and I remember sitting in the palace while David 
explained patiently his dissertation on turn of the 20th century art. The trip on the Mekong took us to that cave, but we also stopped for a look at farms in the countryside, confirming our suspicion that the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is among the less developed countries of the world.
Vientiane, the current capital, was also on the itinerary. Among its claim to fame was that it houses the largest Buddhist temple in the country.