Back into Thailand and beyond

So we were collapsed in Si Pan Don in southern Laos near the Cambodian border in a bamboo hut on the Mekong.

Having decided to leave after just 1 day we prepared for the boat ride at 7am the next day. I slept ok ... and it rained a lot through the night. We had hired a couple of bikes the day before and when I woke up one was gone!!! but thankfully the guesthouse owner had just taken it to do some shopping. People down here seem to have even less than the people in the north. They are sweet but a little more difficult sometimes. The Mekong is very beautiful as usual. It does have a certain magic. Having taken the bikes back we got on the boat with a Scottish girl who was also leaving. As we boarded the boat it began to drissle lightly. I thought nothing of it as it had rained through the night and so I thought it was done raining. I had gotten used to the northern weather which had been so dry through February but by now it was March. As we set off the heavens opened. Of course Anett had suggested I wore a rain coat but of course I knew better. I got completely and utterly soaked like I've never been soaked before. I cradled my extremely non waterproof camera bag and wrapped myself around it in a attempt to keep it dry. Of course Frau Brummer (Anett) had a rucksack with a rain cap, she had a rain coat too with a hood. All my bagage was from Bangkok and was cheap imitation but I have to say it worked pretty well!!! Well sometimes....it didn't do my back much good.

Although we were being soaked, the Mekong was actually offering us one more extra special treat before we left. The heavy rain made the river even more beautiful. It looked fantastic! The rain was so heavy it made a mist which hung over the river and in this spray small wooden boats floated on the now completely flat surface with fisherman wearing only shorts sitting on the boats looking after their lines or making a break for the shore. In the background the palm trees were silhouetted by the sun. As we arrive at shore I climbed out into the water and pulled the boat to sure. The boat driver was bailing frantically by now. The rain of course stopped as soon as we got there. Now we had the long walk up to the bus again... still makes no sense. The bus driver had no tickets so the driver scribles Pakse on a piece of paper, tears it off and gives it to me. 'There you ticket!'....erm ok....I hope so! Anett is very amused when I give her the ticket. I think she still has it.

The bus was meant to leave at 9 but we have the usual wait until they have found a customer for every space which means sitting in a grubby food shop out of the intermittant rain until the bus looks like it might go. Whilst sipping my cafe lao (if that doesn't wake you up you're dead!) we are joined by a French man about my age, who has just come through Turkey, Iran, India, Vietnam and Cambodia. We have a chat about Iran for a while. He seems to have loved Iran and tells me it is easier to travel there than Cambodia! Cool.... think it's time to go back maybe?! Hmmm. Anyway the bus starts to look like it might go, so we get on. After a while another bus from Pakse pulls up and we spot Craig sitting on it. I call him over and tell him we're off. He's a bit surprised 'So it's that interesting here huh?!'...'fraid so.... byyyeeee!'. And we're off.

The bus conductor on this trip is interesting. He's built like a Thai boxer and is imaculately turned out in jeans and a white t-shirt. Very James Dean. He's very talkative to the locals and seems to love his job. It looks as if he's a retired contender who has packed up the gloves and is happy to work away on the buses. He is so switched on and makes sure everything runs right. I like it when these people are around as you have a sense of security about the trip. 3 hours later as we approach Pakse we stop and a tuk tuk driver gets on. He's poaching passengers. I recognise him..... it's the same dodgey driver with no papers that we had the other day. I warned a couple of interested tourists off and we're on our way again. Arriving at the southern bus station it's more of the same and we jump into the least chaotic tuk tuk to take us to the another bus station. Our plan is to get to Thai border at Chong Mek and cross by land. There is a pick up bus waiting to go when we arrive but we decide to slow things down a bit and refuse the shared pick up so that we can get fed and watered. Allegedly the next one leaves in an hour and after a rest we stroll through the very smelly market to find some Thai or Lao pop music. The language barrier had gotten huge down south and it was a struggle to get what we wanted so we headed back to the bus to negotiate. Problem is a bus left a short while ago and now are probably gonna have to wait till the bus is full before it goes. The taxis are pricey but we're getting impatient and would like to go now. A taxi driver took advantage and offered a good price and I asked to get our bags down but I've caused a problem now... the driver won't take the bags down and wants to do a deal. I try my best to wriggle out but I can't and realise quickly that this could get ugly and I remember giving Anett a very helpless look..... Help! We ended up chartering the whole pickup for a few dollars and to be honest who cares it. It was worth it. It's a long drive and we're tired and it's a welcome relief not to have our knees up around our ears for a change. Or have chickens pecking you or rat pee drip on you or..... (Lonely Planet's 'South East Asia on a shoe string suggests avoiding places where you may come into contact with live poulty in order to prevent contracting avian bird flu... In South East Asia!? Yeah OK!!! Are you taking the piss!?!?).

The earlier break in the weather and the massive rain fall has caused a real drop in temperature. For the first time in a long while it's very chilly even though it's midday. I'm still damp too and feeling the cold. The open pickup makes this even more noticeable. Arriving at the border we pass a massive queue of very old trucks waiting to transport goods across the border and are plonked at the barrier where there are stalls setup selling liquer and cigarettes. It's very like one of the dodgey Asian or Middle Eastern borders or frontier towns you see in Bond movies. In no mans land between the 2 gates there are dozens of stalls selling everything from Lao Lao to DVD players and at knock down prices. I bought a bottle of Lao Lao, sticky rice basket and some bangin' Lao tunes. Well actually a CD of cheesey Thai pop music of the type we have gotten used to hearing on the busses.

It's a fair walk and at immigration we fill out a few forms and get stamped out. This is it. Bye bye Laos but it's by no means the end of the adventure. At immigration we pass a group of what I would call the 'beautiful people'. Travellers who really can't get over themselves cos they are so cool. 'Here look everyone I've got a guitar!' Anyway we've seen these guys on and off through Laos but only in the easier places. Never off the beaten track and always in bar with a cigarette (and never actually playing the bloddy guitar!). They're not very cool today though. They thought that the visa was for 60 days because it said 30 days on it or cos they forgot what month it was. They are slapped with a huge $250 fine..... wooohoooo! 'What are we gonna do man?'... 'Bye now, have a nice trip'. Amused me anyway. They had always been too cool to talk to us before. Oh I'm being mean aren't I.

The Thai side of the border is being heavily moderised which is a sign of the kind of goods traffic flowing into an increasingly free Laos. Seeing this I realise I came just in time. For now though you have to walk around the modern terminal, which is under construction, and through a muddy market with live fish, almost live meat and all the other usual Asian Market goodies. You can get a live eel or a set of neon lights for your scooter just like duty free back home?! It's another long walk to the bus stop. We had planned to try and get as far as Ubon Ratchethani and then get the night train to Bangkok maybe stopping at Ayuthaya on the way. There's not direct bus to Ubon. We have to get a 2 hour pickup to Pik Bun and then a local bus, 1 hour, to Ubon. It's cheap though which is good cos we're low on Thai cash and I have to do a crafty dollar exchange. There isn't much cover here either and we're cold so Anett cracks open a bottle of Lao Lao, she really is East German, and takes a big swig! I'm quite shocked but it's a bloody good idea and gives instant warmth. Before long though we're on our way in a very chilly Sawngthaew (pickup if you remember... or literally translated 2 bench). It's obvious we are back in Thailand as the people are so lovely and we are chatted to by a few interested locals. It's still unusual for travellers to cross this border. They are amused by us. A little surprised by the swigging from the lao lao bottle in the brown paper bag too.

There's a quick transfer to a small bus at Pik Bun and there's a monk on board too! That must be good luck. We evetually pull into the train station and it's getting dark now. The bus driver goes without being paid though...oh well? Enquiring about the night train we find it's full but we can come back when it departs at 7 and go on standbye if someone cancels. The man is very helpful and gives us numbers for flights and buses and after a call we find there is a flight to Bangkok in 1 1/2 hours. I couldn't seem to get through to the book on the phone so we thought we'd have a gamble and go to the airport forfitting the bus and train. I had rung my uncle in Bangkok and my cousin who I had never met was over from LA but leaving that night. Also my aunt from Iran who I hadn't seen for about 20 odd years was over from Tehran so it was a good idea to go say Hi. It was gonna be close though. A Hilux pickup was touting for business outside and I had a haggle. A big friendly Thai policeman who had given us directions kindly helped us get the price down and with a wink waved us towards the pickup. 30 minutes later we were at the airport but the last Thai airways flight was full. We were offered the chance to go on standby and with nothing better to do we took it. We were last on the list though. We got some money grabbed some food and waited. I wasn't too hopeful but what the hell. the flight left at 20.15 and we had to come back at 20.00 to find out if we had a seat. At 20.00 the man went slowly through the list and finally got to us. He said 'Go buy a ticket quick!' so we bought a ticket, XRay'd the bags, checked in went through xray, ran to the plain, buckled up and took off in 10 minutes flat. On the plane Anett and myself had a good giggle even though we were sat in different rows. It was very amusing to us that we had been in a bamboo hut on the beach that morning and after an amazing journey were now on a 737 smelling like shit with a load of Thai business men on our way to Bangkok.

Arriving in Bangkok the contrast of the days journey was amazing. We queued for a taxi and luckily got a really good one. He flew across town to my uncles going on the tolled express way and we arrived in time to have a few drinks with my cousin Kian and see my aunt Keyvan. We were nackered but it didn't seem to matter. It was an fantastic journey as we started with no real idea where we would get to. After 30 minutes in a wooden boat with a single cyclinder engine, 3 hours on a local bus, a tuk tuk, a 2 hour Sawngthaew, a 30 minute walk across the border, a 2 hour Sawngthaew, a 1 hour local bus, a 30 minute pickup, a 1 hour flight, and a 45 minute taxi ride we had gone from a bamboo hut on the Mekong in Laos to my uncles chique abode in Bangkok. It's a journey I will never forget and was great fun. Mind you half a bottle of Lao Lao had dissappeared. We laughed about it a lot and slept very well that night.

At that point we didn't know there was a lot more craziness to come.

Again I'm behind with emails and am now in Sydney getting ready to go to Alice Springs in the morning but I'll catch up ASAP.

Lotsa love,

Kaveh.