311206 last hours of 2006

Not going to reach Huay Xai before the Lao-Thai border crossing closes:




Sun sinks behind distant mountains.
Takes along with it plans of fellow passengers to cross border to somewhere more happening for New Year countdown.

Not sure if anyone's on last day of his/her Lao visa?
~15 more days of visa-free entry left for the cat, no worries :)

Last bit of journey in pitch black darkness - save for occasional light on west bank of Mekong (Thai side).
Worried boat captain appears to rely on memory & not much else apart from luck to navigate 'blind' + steer boat clear of big fat rocks.

At last, equally worried boat crew spots Huay Xai slowboat landing.
Tricky for boat to dock - rely on Maglite to hop across a few boats to reach shore.

All walk together down main road in search of accommodation.
Mrs Thaveensinh Hotel tells Mr German no cheaper single rooms left.
Assigns him more expensive room with TV, then tells cat in Thai that she has cheaper single room (no TV) for it?!
Note to self - in future ask falangs to stay outside while cat goes in first to get rooms for all at cat prices.

Thaveesinh Hotel:



All meet at restaurant by the Mekong.
American cyclists + Mr German + Mr & Mrs Falang-Thai + few other falangs + one cat.
37,000kip (~SGD6) for fish + rice + juice = cat's most expensive meal in Laos.
Mr Australian only too happy to help the cat finish what it can't.
Others who ordered western food express similar interest in tasting catfood :P

Good dinner conversation amid WORST-ever live wailing music the cat has ever endured heard.
Falangs suggest paying the band to shut up :P
American cyclists shocked to find out that cat's colleagues work on stem cells.
American cyclists comment on Bush administration's restriction on stem cell research, & hopes for those with CNS injury.

Khom loy hot air lanterns rise into the sky above Chiang Khong.
Expecting fireworks too, but none.
Mobile phone of American cyclist who works in Bangkok keeps beeping.
Text messages flood in - where are you now??
More text messages - bomb explosions in Bangkok - where are you now??
Sudden relief at being stranded in Huay Xai, for those who'd wanted to cross the border earlier.

Next morning in Thailand the cat would learn that New Year Eve countdown celebrations were cancelled/toned down as a result.
& one of the bombs hit Saphan Khwai intersection.
& one of the Thai victims had the same first name (momentary freak out) as the cat's kor who lives in Saphan Khwai.

Walk back to locked-up Thaveensinh Hotel - way past curfew time.
Falangs bang on grille gates till Mrs Thaveensinh Hotel wakes up.
Son of Mrs Thaveesinh Hotels appears clad in only a towel to let everyone in.

end of day 15 (311206):
noodle soup/pho/feu/khaaw soi eaten to date = 10 bowls

311206 closing the (bigger) loop

Today's route in blue, past 13 days' route in grey:



Instead of backpacks...sacks that can easily fit the cat:




Mr German's Nelles map showing the exact location of Monk TYF & Co.'s village:




To keep himself occupied, Mr German busied himself 'reading' the contours & noting confluences with streams to track the rough location of our boat throughout the journey + taking close-up photos of the cat working on another 'friendship band'. Like what happened in Pak Mong, other passengers also came over to watch a cat play with string - the scenery was that boring compared to yesterday's :P

The locals asked to see all the rest of the incomplete pieces (& also the Lahu shoulder bag made by Nasa of Ban Jalae). Apparently the process of making the bands somewhat resembles a super simplified version of the ຈົກ 'johk' (discontinuous supplementary weft) technique of Tai-Lao weaving, because of all the long strands of threads of different colours hanging from the incomplete piece. Just before some of them (grandma + 2 mothers + 2 daughters) disembarked at Pak Tha, they pulled out traditional jackets from a sack & put them on - turns out that they are Hmong & were on their way to visit relatives over the New Year holiday.





Prolonged stop at Pak Tha for the passenger list to be scrutinised + kids to board the boat to sell Beer Lao & potato chips. One of the American cyclists described the scene as 'NYSE' (New York Stock Exchange) as the kids - who had only Lao kip to start with - buzzed up & down the boat deftly collecting payment in US dollars or Thai baht from those who didn't have Lao kip & returning each customer the correct change in the respective currency (in which payment was made) from what they'd received from other passengers. The whole operation - sans calculators - was over in a few minutes, & the adult customers took far longer to compute the calculations involved before marvelling at the speed & accuracy of the underaged forex traders.

Upriver from Pak Tha, the west bank of the Mekong runs into Thai territory & the ธงไตรรงค์ thohng dtrai rohng (3-coloured Thai national flag) starts appearing. Obvious signs of a dirt road running parallel to the river on the Lao side:



Because the cat has not seen this much flat land for the past 13 days: