Laundry, haircuts and a border crossing

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On the 25th of Feb we arrived in Nong Khai. The bus ride to Udon Thani was pleasant but after we switched to the local bus to bring us to town we were marked. Women selling everything from fried eggs to hammocks were on us. As we drove into the city we could see the tuk-tuk drivers peering into the bus looking for fresh meat. We attempted to get off the bus before hitting the bus station but the driver wouldn't let us off, probably to help his buddies out. As we climbed down the steps men were trying to "help" us with our bags and asking all the standard questions. They were so eager to "help" us get whereever we could possibly be going. Finally we got away and began walking towards the mighty river. We ended up at the Mut Mee which is recommended in all books we've seen. It has a pleasent garden and dining area but the rooms we had weren't the best. The first night our room was above the main walkway so we heard every person walking by. We were rather tired so it didn't bother us too much until the morning. However, the man sawing and hammering right below our window was quite irritating. Our second room had a contstant swarm of mosquitos that a whole bottle of spray couldn't keep away. Thats how it goes when you have and outdoor bathroom on the river. We went to a burger joint for dinner and chowed down. I had a huge salad and it was awsome. We find ourselves writing about all the good burgers and pizza and not mentioning the Thai food that much. This is because almost all the Thai food tastes delicious but we need variety. We walked the strip along the river and stopped for a night cap a a small pub. One of the owners, a small elderly Thai woman sat with us for about half an hour and told us about her American boyfriend who supports her and her family. The whole Farang with Thai woman thing is really starting to make sense. It seems that many Thai women start out with a Thai husband but they either pass away, leave them or are so lazy that the woman leaves them. Then a lonely, middle aged Westerner comes along and they both are happy. It appears to to work out quite well. We spent some time the following days reading our books and talking about catching up on our blogging-which we didn't get around to. One day we rented bikes and rode out to the Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Park. This park is certainly trippy. The man who created the cement park spent 20 years building it. The park has a blend of Hindu and Buddist gods along with figures of a western family and devilish beings. Its quite impressive. Many school children were wandering around the park and following us around saying "hello", where you from" and laughing at eachother's English skills.
Laundry services were expensive so I hand washed half of our things in some buckets at the guest house. I felt like a little housewife washing away while Alex stood nearby and drank a beer. He wanted to help-I think but it was easier to do it myself. In the evening we walked along the river and enjoyed another do it yourself buffet which we first discovered in Nan. For 89B per person were were able to have unlimited amounts of meat and veggies which we then good on a grill with a soup pan underneath it. It was delicious. However we did learn an important lesson. If you want icecream or fruit for dessert you must check how much is left before you eat. I was very excited for some coconut icecream with random sweets for dessert. As the evening went on I saw several large girls get multiple scoops of icecream. I should've checked the supply but the tub was huge. By the time we went for it there was nothing left to scrape. Several other tables were dissapointed as well. But we found another restaurant and our sweet tooth was satisfied.
We both got hair cuts which was actually a fun experience. I was pretty nervous but the woman cutting my hair had a friend that spoke English and communicated that I just wanted a trim. My cut was less than Alex's which was shocking. We biked out to the Friendship Bridge that connects Thailand with Laos and spent some time lounging on the "beach". In the dry season the river reveals a nice section of beach with the locals cover with many small restaurants with black tarps as roofs. Paths are made with sand bags which function as a good walkway but overall the area is far from aesthetically pleasing. The locals thought it was hilarious that we were sitting out in the sun with our red arms and faces while they sat in the beach restaurants and stayed in the shade. They are very focused on white skin. In fact, its difficult to find regular sunblock or face cream that isn't specifically for whitening.

Finally we were ready to head out to Laos with a few days to spare on our visa. We shared a tuk-tuk with a German couple and ventured out to cross the bridge. We had read about, and asked many people about obtaining a Lao visa and it turned out to be very easy. We were a bit concerned when we got pulled into the Over Stay Payment office. Apparently the woman at the Bangkok airport had stamped us for only one month! Luckily the officer working at the border understood what had happened. For a moment we were worried they'd make us pay the 500B per day late fee. But we made it no problem and now we are in beautiful Vientiene, Laos.

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Comments

[Roger Heine]

The Sculpture Park was very interesting
I hope you got a picture of the park. Wierd but interesting!