Trip Report: Laos Day 2, Pissed

I slept in after sitting up reading my book last night. It wasn't until 11:00 in the morning that I was awake. I managed to reach Willie's phone (Thai phones work within about 300 feet of the river here on the Laos side), and he informed me that they were still at the border. (For you visa runners, I'll recalculate the chances of getting to the Thai embassy from the border before 11:00 as close to zero.)

I ran out to the Scandinavian Bakery... the most popular place for breakfast in Laos... and got a ham, egg and cheese roll, and then went back to the hotel, where Rick and Da, Willie and Kak and Pui... and Pot... were arriving.

That was an instant argument. Pot was specifically not to come on this trip: He was supposed to be in school... but there he was. To make matters worse, I was going to be okay... annoyed but okay... with Pot coming on the trip since we'd be going canoeing up north, and he would learn a little bit, and see some interesting places and people, but instead Pui insisted that Pot was skipping school so that he could go to Rick and Da's house (about 20 miles outside of Vientiane) and play with their daughter Sarah the entire time.

So after yelling at Pui, she stomped off with the Thai girls, and I stomped off with Rick and Willie, as well as the four students from Rick's school for whom this trip was principally being made. We went and ate Indian food which was pretty good, if spoiled a bit by my mood.


Ladies lunching by the Mekong.

Pot, Sarah, and little Louie.

Pot napping after lunch.After lunch, I took the motorcycle I had rented back out to the Thai consulate, and picked up my passport (a 1-minute process), and then rode back, dropped off the motorcycle, and went and found out where Pui, Kak, and Da were... which was at a little restaurant on the side of the Mekong eating food and drinking beer with five of Da's local friends.

Pui immediately made up with me, and apologized for bringing Pot, and said that if I wanted Pot on the boat trip, that was fine with her. (Unfortunately, later on in the afternoon, Rick confirmed with the booking agent for the boat trip that little children were not allowed to go... so the argument was settled by those circumstances.)

We sat around relaxing next to the river while Rick, Willie, and the students went for massages, and then we walked back to the hotel where Pui and I took a nap. (Pot stayed on and played with Sarah some more, being delivered back to us after a few hours by Da.)


In the evening, the entire group of us (10 people) went out to La Terrace, the best restaurant in the world. I had French onion soup, their famous Camembert salad, and a plate of cheese spaghetti (which wasn't the best dish I have ever had there). Pui also had spaghetti, and a bit of wine. I had their Lao punch, which is whiskey, lemon juice, and honey... delicious. Total price for Pui and I, with about half of it being drinks, was $31.

After that, Willie, Rick and I went to the Samlor Pub, which is Vientiane's main hangout for expatriates, while the girls went back to the hotel. Had a pitcher of Beer Lao for $1.20, and then headed back to the hotel.