Saturday, February 2, 2008

This and Thay

Scenes from Laos: Traditional Lao houses built on poles with the livestock underneath, the walls are woven bamboo with a thatched roof, a ladder and no door. A more urban version has a patio underneath; Watermellon patches (no I didn't try to steal any, they sell for a dime)with huge piles along the road for sale; The chicken bus stopping so a crew member could place an offering at a shrine; Sunset over the Mekong, a bright red ball through the humidity as a lone fisherman in a tiny boat casts his net; A young woman on the next computer copying Lao text to English at at least 100wpm; Same woman typing up a document on an ancient upright typewriter; Internet cafe also served as a copy/stenographic center; Women in long skirts, anklets and sandals; Women riding motorbikes with their coats on backwards against the 75 degree cold; Four amd five persons on a motor bike; Trucks lining up for the ferry to Thailand; City on the Thai side with ten times more lights than on the Lao....more on this later.
On the over night bus ride I was so smug about nabbing the seat behind the driver. This was not a chicken bus, i.e., the seats reclined and there was a/c. But some of the smugness evaporated when the TV just in front of me was turned on to play Thai music videos. Both Lao and Thai tend to speak loudly so when they would awaken me I would say in a loud voice, "Use your inside voices" assuming correctly no one spoke English. The funniest part was that everyone acted as if I hadn't said a thing.
Coming later....inside a Thai hospital.
Today's a rainy day in Bkk and I'm healing well....Thanks for all the messages!

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