Friday, April 23, 2004
Traveling light
Holy Saint Anthony, come around, something's lost that can't be found!
I've got the clothes on my back, two books, my camera and not a whole lot else. My backpack never made it from Air Asia to Lao Air in Bangkok last night. I'm still crossing my fingers (and hoping St. Anthony will show how all-powerful he is again) that it'll surface somewhere. I shouldn't have even checked it; it was small enough to carry on. But, I was stupid. Then, I could have gone to collect my bag myself, but that would have meant going through customs, paying a $12 US departure tax, and after asking no less then four information desk people, thought it would be okay. The Lao Air people were supposed to go pick it up from the Air Asia unclaimed luggage room and send it on my flight. I'm not even sure if my bag made it to Bangkok, actually. But I almost believe that I jinxed myself because I was worried about it getting there; my mere entertainment of that possibility went out to the universe and made it happen.
In my bag are my favorite clothes, a pair of tennis shoes, all my best underwear, my swimsuit, my Lonely Planet (meaning I have nothing directing me in my hotel choices or wanderings--perhaps a blessing in disguise), my tolietries, towel, and not much else. The bag, actually, is probably the most expensive thing.
Today I bought a toothbrush, shampoo, sunscreen, deodorant, underwear, and a tank top. That'll get me to my next destination tomorrow...The shopping in this town (Vientianne, Laos, the capital) hasn't been so good--things are expensive-ish and weirdly the prices are in Thai baht.
Friendlier than Midwesterners
I've heard both Bridget and Keith describe Australians this way, but I'm gonna say that I think it applies to the Lao people as well.
From the get-go (the customs officier), everyone has been super duper nice. My taxi driver even open and closed the car door for me. Coupled with the old model of the car, I felt like I was in the 1950s or something. He also took me to three hotels until I found one cheap enough ($6).
After putting my stuff down, I decided to go for a wander. It was about 11 pm and the streets were pretty quiet, but some cafes were still open. I went a block down and hung a left, walking by two guys at a table near the sidewalk, who smiled. At the end of that block, I decided to turn back, not wanting to stray too far and because it didn't look to alive that way. On my way back, the two guys gestured to join them; what else did I have to do? Nuttin'.
Go and Mao poured me a glass of beer and we began the limited conversation of people who don't speak the same language. Mao has studied English and actually it was okay; turns out it was his 26th birthday. Go is a 24 year old construction worker, married with a 1 year and four month old son. I hung out with them for an hour and a half or so. And in reflecting, don't think I really learned anythign profound about Lao culture from them, but did cement my pronunciation of hello and thank you and wrote down the numbers 1-10.
Today, in my wanderings, I went to the market to see about buying clothes. People working didn't even acknowledge my presence really. Now, you might think that this is not a nice thing; but, in reality, it's a heaven-sent. Compared to Cambodia's shrill "Hey mister, you buy this," silence is golden.
I haven't seen any beggars yet. The place seems pretty clean and I haven't really noticed any severe poverty (though I'm not claiming that it doesn't exist). There were two or three cots on the sidewalks last night, but nothing compared to Cambodia.
I've seen two groups of men (one group was in uniform--traffic cops I think) playing chess with bottle caps and cards seem to be popular too. The traffic doesn't ever seem that heavy. I'm surprised to see a lot of double cab pickup trucks, jeeps, and SUVs (including a Landcrusier and a Lexus). Aren't those expensive? What are they doing here?
I had noodles on the street for a 50 cent breakfast and a $2 pork salad rice lunch. I leave tomorrow at about this time...I've already wandered much of the city--twice. I think tonight calls for nestling in at one of the restaurants that plays DVDs or perhaps a massage.
Holy Saint Anthony, come around, something's lost that can't be found!
I've got the clothes on my back, two books, my camera and not a whole lot else. My backpack never made it from Air Asia to Lao Air in Bangkok last night. I'm still crossing my fingers (and hoping St. Anthony will show how all-powerful he is again) that it'll surface somewhere. I shouldn't have even checked it; it was small enough to carry on. But, I was stupid. Then, I could have gone to collect my bag myself, but that would have meant going through customs, paying a $12 US departure tax, and after asking no less then four information desk people, thought it would be okay. The Lao Air people were supposed to go pick it up from the Air Asia unclaimed luggage room and send it on my flight. I'm not even sure if my bag made it to Bangkok, actually. But I almost believe that I jinxed myself because I was worried about it getting there; my mere entertainment of that possibility went out to the universe and made it happen.
In my bag are my favorite clothes, a pair of tennis shoes, all my best underwear, my swimsuit, my Lonely Planet (meaning I have nothing directing me in my hotel choices or wanderings--perhaps a blessing in disguise), my tolietries, towel, and not much else. The bag, actually, is probably the most expensive thing.
Today I bought a toothbrush, shampoo, sunscreen, deodorant, underwear, and a tank top. That'll get me to my next destination tomorrow...The shopping in this town (Vientianne, Laos, the capital) hasn't been so good--things are expensive-ish and weirdly the prices are in Thai baht.
Friendlier than Midwesterners
I've heard both Bridget and Keith describe Australians this way, but I'm gonna say that I think it applies to the Lao people as well.
From the get-go (the customs officier), everyone has been super duper nice. My taxi driver even open and closed the car door for me. Coupled with the old model of the car, I felt like I was in the 1950s or something. He also took me to three hotels until I found one cheap enough ($6).
After putting my stuff down, I decided to go for a wander. It was about 11 pm and the streets were pretty quiet, but some cafes were still open. I went a block down and hung a left, walking by two guys at a table near the sidewalk, who smiled. At the end of that block, I decided to turn back, not wanting to stray too far and because it didn't look to alive that way. On my way back, the two guys gestured to join them; what else did I have to do? Nuttin'.
Go and Mao poured me a glass of beer and we began the limited conversation of people who don't speak the same language. Mao has studied English and actually it was okay; turns out it was his 26th birthday. Go is a 24 year old construction worker, married with a 1 year and four month old son. I hung out with them for an hour and a half or so. And in reflecting, don't think I really learned anythign profound about Lao culture from them, but did cement my pronunciation of hello and thank you and wrote down the numbers 1-10.
Today, in my wanderings, I went to the market to see about buying clothes. People working didn't even acknowledge my presence really. Now, you might think that this is not a nice thing; but, in reality, it's a heaven-sent. Compared to Cambodia's shrill "Hey mister, you buy this," silence is golden.
I haven't seen any beggars yet. The place seems pretty clean and I haven't really noticed any severe poverty (though I'm not claiming that it doesn't exist). There were two or three cots on the sidewalks last night, but nothing compared to Cambodia.
I've seen two groups of men (one group was in uniform--traffic cops I think) playing chess with bottle caps and cards seem to be popular too. The traffic doesn't ever seem that heavy. I'm surprised to see a lot of double cab pickup trucks, jeeps, and SUVs (including a Landcrusier and a Lexus). Aren't those expensive? What are they doing here?
I had noodles on the street for a 50 cent breakfast and a $2 pork salad rice lunch. I leave tomorrow at about this time...I've already wandered much of the city--twice. I think tonight calls for nestling in at one of the restaurants that plays DVDs or perhaps a massage.
