Laos - Vientiane

The past 2 days have been absolutely awesome. It really is a self-exploratory trip as I had intended. I’ve never thought of myself being able to travel alone. Much less enjoy it. But it really has been great! The people that I’ve met within a day has been quite an eye-opener. And you don’t get that when you travel in a group or with a friend. People rather stay away and beckon at the sight of a mighty army of friends. It’s more approachable, or some would say, an easy target to devour when you’re alone.

First, I met Sally. Too bad for her I aint Harry. Haha. She’s from Perth, and we started talking because she needed my lonely planet. We shared a cab down to the city central. And that was that.

And then came Mik (pronounced Mayer), an Israeli lecturer who teaches in the states in Ohio. An old man, old enough to be my father. So much for my ang moh hunky-dory. God does work in unpredictable ways doesn’t He. Haha. I was knackered to the core, gingerly sipping my pork noodle soup along the streets when he approached. He started talking to me, joined me for lunch and ended up finding a guest house along the Mekong River. Which is a superb choice of location by the way. Way better than the Singaporean owned Dragon Lodge that the team was supposed to stay in. He was god-sent. My neck ached badly from the night before, and the uber straight seats on the plane. My crumpler was weighing me down terribly with the weight of my fat ass laptop. And, I still had to hunt for a place to rest. Like I said before, doing that without company honestly is quite a killjoy. I need jiawen! To distract me and massage me as and when to make it all better.. haha.

Mik checked me in, and left me to rest. I napped a bit and headed out to explore the place. Vientiane’s tiny! There’s nothing much to do around here but eat drink and be merry. Not that there are heaps of bars, its nice, quaint. And everything cool happens along the Mekong River. And to add on to that, the weather is absolutely awesome. I could walk around in my big brown fluffy sweater, and tracks, carrying a heap of baggage and I don’t even break into a sweat. The nights are even colder. The humidity chills you down to the bone. But it’s nice. I like it. I just need a hot chocolate and a good ol big warm fuzzy hug.

I hunted around the place for a travel adapter. Then I met Obina. A Nigerian who goes by the name, Justice. As usual, as most Nigerian guys are, he’s dodgy, chauvinistic, and comes onto you immediately. “oh baby don’t go… you’re breaking my heart so..” etc. typical. Nothing new, nothing I haven’t heard before. The past few months working with Africans have trained me up well. Bring it buster. Hehe..

He was pestering, relentlessly pestering to have a drink. I figured, why not, really. The sun was setting down at the Mekong River. And I shouldn’t judge. I shouldn’t strike anyone off. So I did! I had a beer with him by the BBQ restaurants. Half the time I was distracted by the sunset, the other half, I was enjoying the companionship of my first beerlao. He chatted away, and seemed like an honest chap. About why he was in Lao and how they just had to get out of the country. Interesting. Like what Mik says, you’d never know what you’ll learn from the next person you meet!
So Obina wanted to keep in contact, hell no would I give him my sg no. so he got me a Lao SIM card instead. Hur hur. Gloria’s being the typical sucker, feeding off random guys who only think with their bigger southern brains. Haha. Like suree, you wanna get me a SIM card, go ahead! I’m not guaranteeing my phone will be plugged in 24/7. but why not…..

I had a date at 7 with Mik. But I was starving, so instead of going for a massage, we headed off to dinner. And he being the wanderlust that he is, he who loves the Chinese culture, the Asian roots, the 5000 year history, had a million and one things to share! He’s been to China several times, and he has stories to tell, stories that only come from experience. We hunted around for local food and settled for this restaurant called, Guang Dong restaurant. I mean, with the thai looking Lao words, it honestly didn’t occur to me that guang dong, as in Cantonese guang dong. Like shit man, I thought I was gonna get some good ol Laotian food. Boo! But he enjoyed it thoroughly. Nice. I love talking to Mik. How he gets so excited over the slightest things! We sat out till 11pm along the river and I had my beerlao once again. He did a brutal analysis of Tsing Tao beer in comparison to Beerlao. Hilarious. He reminds me of Pop. The wisdom and knowledge he has overwhelms me. I love talking to brilliant people. And he’s a Jew. How much more could I ask for.

He had an opinion, an explanation for everything that has been happening around the world. He explained the economic crisis and made it as plain as day to me. His heart ached when we talked about the poverty stricken countries and the cruelty of bloody terrorists. The conversations were good. And it really makes me think. He says he has never met a Chinese as opened as I am. My thoughts and logic of things goes beyond him. Haha. I told him that’s because the only Chinese he has ever been around with are the idiots in the States who are Chinese by blood by American in every other possible sense, and the conservative village people in China! Haha! Mik oh Mik…

Totally unexpected how the day turned out. I wonder what today beholds. I hope the herbal sauna thing that he is bringing me to is good. I’m sure it will be. Jerry so kindly arranged for his friend to take me around when I get to Luang Prabang tomorrow. I cannot thank God enough for these people he has placed in my life. To make sure I’m ok and alright. Carpe diem! Its time to seize the day folks!