Chong Mek,
Thailand
Sunday, April 27, 2008
After a year on the road, pulling into a border town that I have no map for, have no idea if or where they have accommodation, no idea where to eat, and where I don't see a single other tourist...this feels totally normal now. With no hesitation I step off the bus immediately climb onto the back of a motor scooter who whisks me across the village to a run down, nondescript guest house where I set my bag down in a large tile room with a bucket-flush, squat toilet, a cold shower, a hard bed with a large towel for a blanket, a plastic table, 2 plastic chairs and a fan. At this point in my trip, to me this is a nice place (much nicer than Bangkok's
Peachy Guest House). I step across the street, buy some sundries, walk down the block to a road side cafe, have a wonderful meal and beer with some locals, write a bit in my journal, and doze off to sleep in the middle of nowhere. The night's accommodation, 2 meals, a new composition book and the motor scooter ride have cost me only $9.50.
The border crossing the next morning proves to be one of the most tranquil, easiest borders I have crossed in the last year. $35 plus 20 baht gets me a 30 day visa processed in less than 15 minutes. I exchange 3000 baht at Western Union, walk through the markets on the Laos side, find a pickup truck full of locals all waving, smiling, eating lychees, and beckoning me to join them which I do. 2 hours later I'm in Pakse smiling and ready to take an afternoon off after 2 and a half days of buses since I left the island of Koh Tao in Thailand.
Comments
Peach Guest House
How do you really feel about that place?
dad