Sitting atop Mount Phu Si in the centre of town. Still sick, and face hurts like hell. V. peaceful up here thought, and the voices of children playing in the Khan river below carry up to me easily. Feels like I'm halfway between drunk and hungover, like I'm moving underwater. Thinking is perfunctory, speaking is mono-syllabic. I try to assess my situation objectively, decide I need to get to Bangkok as soon as possible, and rest up there. Maybe see an English-speaking doctor, ensure I don't have malaria. Normally my infections shift in 3-4 days. This has been day 5.
Found a new place for slightly more in Phonsavan. Can't work the shower. Nap for a while, then head out to a net café for a bit. I stay until it closes at 10pm, at which time I realise all the restaurants also close at 10pm. Dinner of Pringles. Better than Oreos I guess. Am absolutely freezing in bed, even put my hat on. Don't think Phonsavan has the tourist thing down pat yet.
Collect my rucksack from the Jars café in the morning, breakfast of chicken noodle soup before getting in the mini-van. The two Polish girls are there, same as the trip from VV to Phonsavan. I'm lucky enough to have a row to myself, and spend the journey stretched out in different positions, even have reclining seats! With my luxurious posture and my ridiculous sunglasses, I definitely felt like a privileged Westerner, driving past wooden huts with corrugated iron roofs and rusty satellite dishes.
Stop for lunch at a café with a view. The mountains in this part of Laos are of the same shape and colour as those at home, if a little grander in size. Maybe it's more the illness, but it makes me a bit homesick, particularly for a cycle around the hills.
When the mini-van arrives at LP, Team Scotland are at the station! Sound! Share a tuk-tuk to the nicer part of town, where I've splashed out on a double room in a nice guest-house. Take a much-needed shower, then meet themselves for dinner. Head to 'Utopia', a very laidback shish bar on the Khan river. I call it an early night, and the girls do likewise.
Didn't wake until lunch time today. The power is out all over town. Go for a wander and end up climbing Mount Phu Si/Chomsy Hill. So weak. Have to stop at the top for ten minutes, which is a nice break then back to bed. Then Internet and a late dinner. Then bed.
***
Found a new place for slightly more in Phonsavan. Can't work the shower. Nap for a while, then head out to a net café for a bit. I stay until it closes at 10pm, at which time I realise all the restaurants also close at 10pm. Dinner of Pringles. Better than Oreos I guess. Am absolutely freezing in bed, even put my hat on. Don't think Phonsavan has the tourist thing down pat yet.
Collect my rucksack from the Jars café in the morning, breakfast of chicken noodle soup before getting in the mini-van. The two Polish girls are there, same as the trip from VV to Phonsavan. I'm lucky enough to have a row to myself, and spend the journey stretched out in different positions, even have reclining seats! With my luxurious posture and my ridiculous sunglasses, I definitely felt like a privileged Westerner, driving past wooden huts with corrugated iron roofs and rusty satellite dishes.
Stop for lunch at a café with a view. The mountains in this part of Laos are of the same shape and colour as those at home, if a little grander in size. Maybe it's more the illness, but it makes me a bit homesick, particularly for a cycle around the hills.
When the mini-van arrives at LP, Team Scotland are at the station! Sound! Share a tuk-tuk to the nicer part of town, where I've splashed out on a double room in a nice guest-house. Take a much-needed shower, then meet themselves for dinner. Head to 'Utopia', a very laidback shish bar on the Khan river. I call it an early night, and the girls do likewise.
Didn't wake until lunch time today. The power is out all over town. Go for a wander and end up climbing Mount Phu Si/Chomsy Hill. So weak. Have to stop at the top for ten minutes, which is a nice break then back to bed. Then Internet and a late dinner. Then bed.
v
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