huay xai
I promised myself I would abandon water travel for ever once I arrived at Huay Xai. At the very least I would demand a minimum speed of walking pace. Predictably the slow-mo boat arrived too late for me to pass the border to Thailand on the same day as the crossing had closed. So I had another day in Laos. No bother.
I soon found a place to stay with a merry, drunken hotelier. He was seriously plastered which amused me greatly. I ventured out to find somewhere to have something to eat and naturally, to drink. Last night in Laos and all. I made my way down a crumbling main road and soon stopped as the bridge had collapsed. As I hesitated wondering whether to turn back, two kids showed me a route which was pretty much an obstacle course. They were unfazed. I found a nice place to eat by the river and sat down to eat.
The town sits on the Mekong with Thailand visible on the other side of the river. It is quite a contrast to compare the sides. There is poor old Laos with no street lights, everything falling apart and little sign of material wellbeing. A sorry sight really. Then cast your eye across the 200 metres of water and you will see confident, shinny, sparkling Thailand. All sodium street lights, fluttering national flags and motorcars racing along. It is striking. I wondered what the Laos people think when the gaze across the river and see all the things others have but they do not.
The remarkable thing about the Laos people is they probably don´t even care. They are a very relaxed, happy race of people. Regardless of their seemingly endless hardships, regardless of being the most bombed people on earth ( thanks Uncle Sam and his ´secret´war), regardless that things never seem to get much better, the Laos people still rise above it all. They smile with sincerity, they shrug off lifes disappointments, they help and care for each other. I hope that some time soon things to improve for the average Laos person as they truly deserve it. It can be quite an inspiring place and I really enjoyed being there.
I soon found a place to stay with a merry, drunken hotelier. He was seriously plastered which amused me greatly. I ventured out to find somewhere to have something to eat and naturally, to drink. Last night in Laos and all. I made my way down a crumbling main road and soon stopped as the bridge had collapsed. As I hesitated wondering whether to turn back, two kids showed me a route which was pretty much an obstacle course. They were unfazed. I found a nice place to eat by the river and sat down to eat.
The town sits on the Mekong with Thailand visible on the other side of the river. It is quite a contrast to compare the sides. There is poor old Laos with no street lights, everything falling apart and little sign of material wellbeing. A sorry sight really. Then cast your eye across the 200 metres of water and you will see confident, shinny, sparkling Thailand. All sodium street lights, fluttering national flags and motorcars racing along. It is striking. I wondered what the Laos people think when the gaze across the river and see all the things others have but they do not.
The remarkable thing about the Laos people is they probably don´t even care. They are a very relaxed, happy race of people. Regardless of their seemingly endless hardships, regardless of being the most bombed people on earth ( thanks Uncle Sam and his ´secret´war), regardless that things never seem to get much better, the Laos people still rise above it all. They smile with sincerity, they shrug off lifes disappointments, they help and care for each other. I hope that some time soon things to improve for the average Laos person as they truly deserve it. It can be quite an inspiring place and I really enjoyed being there.
posted by Ciarán at 5:39 p.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home