Houay Xai, March 2nd 2009
An incredibly sleepy town. I was born in an incredibly sleepy town and grew up in some even sleepier towns (anyone ever heard of Bridge, OR) but this town puts them all to shame in the category of sleepiness. I have been here for a little less than a day at this point and some of the really noticeable things I have noticed are that anything that happens here happens in exactly the same way on any other day (I am convinced of this even though I have been here less than a day), and I am pretty sure the town has hired about 10 young couples to drive up and down the main street to give the illusion that there is something going on somewhere; and that people are trying to get there. After very close inspection, however, you realize that the people on the motorbikes must be driving the same 5km stretch over and over again, all day long. What I have just said is not actually true, but it feels that way.
The trip actually began yesterday in Bangkok. Marcus and I made our way to the airport at 7 in the morning. Marcus, in a far worse state than me, wasn't sure he was going to be able make it and was dreading the flight up north to Chiang Rai. The reason why Marcus was in a far worse state than me? The night before we had gone out for some end of term drinks with our co-workers and Marcus, in his infinite wisdom, decided to get on the whiskey. Not such a bad decision, some of you might think, but what you don't know is that Marcus hasn't really had anything to drink in about two full months (according to my calculations, anyway). We all had a good evening, but the drink hit Marcus a little harder than he was expecting.
We got to the airport, checked in to our flights and then proceeded to kill the next three hours. We wandered around. Marcus, starting to enter the stage of his hangover where everything was becoming funny because nothing made any sense, picked out a strange little cafe for us to have a breakfast sandwich and for me to get my coffee. It may sound like I am berating Marcus for drinking but, I assure you, I am not. I am merely berating him for drinking whiskey all night when he hasn't drank in two months.
We went through the security check (I think they are making the machines more sensitive because my piercings keep setting the damn detectors off), immigration, and then made it to the departure gate. Marcus immediately laid down on an empty row of benches and went to sleep. I found a place to buy some water and snacks and then proceeded to watch the Discovery Channel in Thai. It is very strange to see a bunch of American inmates speaking in Thai. I have always wondered what people do in prison and now I know--they learn strange languages so that they can be on TV shows in foreign countries.
Eventually we boarded the plane. The flight to Chiang Rai took just about an hour and we were in a taxi and on our way to the Chiang Rai bus station before noon. We got to the bus station and asked when the bus for the Laos border was leaving. We were shown to the bus we needed to take. I asked, in Thai, when the bus left. We were told that the departure time was 2:45. I checked my watch. We had an hour and fifteen minutes. Somewhere in this process I realized that I had forgotten to pack any socks. Marcus laughed at me for being an idiot, still blurry eyed, but obviously in better spirits. I looked up and down the street and saw, to my luck, an Addidas shop. Now, I have never been a big fan of Addidas but I was pretty sure they could fulfill my need for a couple pairs of socks. I wasn't wrong.
That wasted about ten full minutes. With an hour and five minutes left, we decided to get some lunch. We opted for pizza and thank god for that because if we hadn't, we wouldn't have met this guy:
An incredibly sleepy town. I was born in an incredibly sleepy town and grew up in some even sleepier towns (anyone ever heard of Bridge, OR) but this town puts them all to shame in the category of sleepiness. I have been here for a little less than a day at this point and some of the really noticeable things I have noticed are that anything that happens here happens in exactly the same way on any other day (I am convinced of this even though I have been here less than a day), and I am pretty sure the town has hired about 10 young couples to drive up and down the main street to give the illusion that there is something going on somewhere; and that people are trying to get there. After very close inspection, however, you realize that the people on the motorbikes must be driving the same 5km stretch over and over again, all day long. What I have just said is not actually true, but it feels that way.
The trip actually began yesterday in Bangkok. Marcus and I made our way to the airport at 7 in the morning. Marcus, in a far worse state than me, wasn't sure he was going to be able make it and was dreading the flight up north to Chiang Rai. The reason why Marcus was in a far worse state than me? The night before we had gone out for some end of term drinks with our co-workers and Marcus, in his infinite wisdom, decided to get on the whiskey. Not such a bad decision, some of you might think, but what you don't know is that Marcus hasn't really had anything to drink in about two full months (according to my calculations, anyway). We all had a good evening, but the drink hit Marcus a little harder than he was expecting.
We got to the airport, checked in to our flights and then proceeded to kill the next three hours. We wandered around. Marcus, starting to enter the stage of his hangover where everything was becoming funny because nothing made any sense, picked out a strange little cafe for us to have a breakfast sandwich and for me to get my coffee. It may sound like I am berating Marcus for drinking but, I assure you, I am not. I am merely berating him for drinking whiskey all night when he hasn't drank in two months.
We went through the security check (I think they are making the machines more sensitive because my piercings keep setting the damn detectors off), immigration, and then made it to the departure gate. Marcus immediately laid down on an empty row of benches and went to sleep. I found a place to buy some water and snacks and then proceeded to watch the Discovery Channel in Thai. It is very strange to see a bunch of American inmates speaking in Thai. I have always wondered what people do in prison and now I know--they learn strange languages so that they can be on TV shows in foreign countries.
Eventually we boarded the plane. The flight to Chiang Rai took just about an hour and we were in a taxi and on our way to the Chiang Rai bus station before noon. We got to the bus station and asked when the bus for the Laos border was leaving. We were shown to the bus we needed to take. I asked, in Thai, when the bus left. We were told that the departure time was 2:45. I checked my watch. We had an hour and fifteen minutes. Somewhere in this process I realized that I had forgotten to pack any socks. Marcus laughed at me for being an idiot, still blurry eyed, but obviously in better spirits. I looked up and down the street and saw, to my luck, an Addidas shop. Now, I have never been a big fan of Addidas but I was pretty sure they could fulfill my need for a couple pairs of socks. I wasn't wrong.
That wasted about ten full minutes. With an hour and five minutes left, we decided to get some lunch. We opted for pizza and thank god for that because if we hadn't, we wouldn't have met this guy:
This will take a little bit of explanation, I am sure.
And it will come in the next installment. I promise.
2 comments:
Holding my breath for the next segment! LOL Gee, Laos? what made you decide Laos?
Love, Aunt Diane
Sounds like a great start! And "the guy" looks pretty strange there, evillord :-)
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