ສະປາ່ຍດີຫລວງພະບາງ!!!

I finally am here. Woo. Here’s how the adventure went down since Tokyo:

I sat in the Narita airport for a really long time. Tried calling some people, wrote a blog, and best of all: I ate at a Japanese McDonalds. Bucket list item checked off. (Too bad it was a real hotel the night before and not one of those compartment ones. That would have been another bucket list item.) Also, I had my first experience with a squatty-potty (which may or may not have also been a bucket list item).

Thankfully, there was plenty of room for the standbyers on the flight to Bangkok, just a lot less leg room. I successfully navigated my way through customs (again without using English) and narrowly avoided accidentally hiring a limo to take me where I was going. The taxi was pretty fun. He had a TV playing on his dashboard, and I’m convinced that it was there mostly for his viewing pleasure, while speeding me down the freeway to find Art’s house. Finally I got there and borrowed someone’s phone to call Art, and he came down to get me. We went and got a little bit of food (and he bought me some toilet paper) and then I slept a lot. Because I needed it.

Morning time: Breakfast at the little market across the street: chicken and rice. It lasted me for basically the rest of the day, which makes sense since we didn’t really wake up until about 10:00 am. We spent most of the day just resting in Art’s apartment, which was really good for me and for him. I got on the train up to Nong Khai at around 6:00 pm, but unfortunately only got about 4 hours of sleep on the train. People from all over Europe were coming up to Laos too, but for very different purposes; a lot of people come float down the Mekong river in inner tubes, and at each bar along the way they get pulled in by a rope for a drink before continuing down the river.

Finally get off the train in Nong Khai at about 9:30 am, and ride in a tuk-tuk up to the border.

It took me a while to get through the Lao side of the bridge, because I was just a little short in cash to get into the country (Baht and Dollars) so thankfully the taxi driver loaned me enough to get across and then took me to an ATM that worked when we got closer to where we were going.

Elder Luangrath and one of the members came in another tuk-tuk to pick me up at the place we decided to meet, and took me straight to Church. I just barely missed sacrament meeting, but I got to go to Sunday school and Priesthood meetings.

In Laos, because so many of the members live so far away from the chapel, they have lunch together after church every week. It was super good. Once lunch was over, I got taken right in to teach one of the English classes they have after church. Really fun, but I had no idea what to teach, so I ran out of stuff to do pretty fast.

I was invited to have dinner with the two missionary couples serving in Vientiane and one other couple that was visiting as employment specialists from the Bangkok mission. During dinner, this third couple was talking with the Luangraths about hopefully coming up to visit Luang Prabang before returning back to Bangkok, towards the end of the discussion, they turned to me and said: “Do you want to come?” So that’s where I am. I don’t know how useful I am as an interpreter because almost everyone here speaks really good English, but It was really good timing. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it up here before I had to go home. 

I’ve never been to Hawaii, but except for the surfing I can’t really imagine any place more beautiful. After the shortest flight I think I’ve ever been on (from Vientiane to here) and a short taxi ride, we had lunch at a little tent-restaurant right above the river.

Right after that I walked down the street and got a room for 15 bucks. Queen bed, TV, Bathroom, AC, and walking distance from the night market.

The Lao national museum was so awesome. I haven’t seen that much gold leaf anywhere else in the world. (Not that I’ve been many other places that would have gold-leaf)

Now the mission for tomorrow: See how much I can talk down the people selling cool stuff in the night market. The general approach they have goes something like this: (In English) “How much for this?” “50,000 kip” (about 8 USD) “Okay” (I set it down) “But I can discount!”

…we’ll see how much ‘discount’ means to Lao people a later.