Save Will

There’s a condition that afflicts many innocent, hard-working people around the world every day. Its victims suffer from light sensitivity, disorientation, lethargy, sleep deprivation, and depression. There is no cure, but some drugs temporarily alleviate its symptoms. Many people manage to live somewhat normal lives through proper treatment. I’m referring, of course, to waking up before 9 a.m., which I had to do all this week and expect to continue doing until my body gives out. Please donate to my relief fund.

Posts tagged travel

Feb 11

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Woke up earlier than I expected, at about 8:30 a.m. Read my Laos guidebook about the northern area to plan where to go next. Decided to go to the Plain of Jars next, and then to the wild debauchery of Vang Vieng. Walked around town with my guidebook and saw all the temples that I had missed the day before. Met a couple novice monks, Joy and Sing, and talked with them for about an hour. Sing was 19 and wanted to quit the temple life and enroll in a university. He wanted tips for flirting with girls and wanted to know about my dating life. It was very amusing. In the late afternoon I felt tired, so I returned to my hostel and rested for a bit, then went to the night market for dinner. Ran into Michelle and her friend and I ate with them and a guy from Australia who also sat with us. Bought some more banana bread on my way back to my hostel. Caught up on my blog and got my stuff ready to go in the morning.

Friday, February 10, 2012

My birthday! Let myself sleep in. Tried to call my parents, but the wifi wasn’t working. Walked into downtown and rented a bicycle for 10,000 kip. Rode around town looking at some temples. Stopped at a cafe for a Coke to cool off and use their wifi to call my parents and Tess. Continued riding around town and saw a a couple more temples. Returned the bicycle and ran into Matteo. Walked with him a little and then parted ways to go to Utopia to treat myself to a delicious dinner of steak, fries, salad, fried spring rolls, a mai tai, a mojito, and a large Beer Laos. Bernard and Jenny joined me again and we sat and drank and chatted all evening. We walked back to the hostel together, and then Bernard and I walked to the night market to buy some fruit-flavored bread for dessert. He and Jenny were leaving town the next day, but I had decided to stay an extra day. They were getting up early to see the monks collect food donations before leaving, and I thought about doing that too. We all went to bed. I had trouble falling asleep, so I decided to skip the monk stuff in the morning at sleep in instead. It’s my birthday, after all.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Rode a minibus with Aimee, Glenn, Nic, Sara, Dan, Sylvia, Michelle, and Ingo to the gorgeous Kuang Si waterfalls. Took lots of pictures, swam, swung on a rope and jumped off a small cliff into the icy blue water. Hiked up to all the different pools and falls. Got lost coming down the other side of the falls and ended up taking the long way back to the bottom of the falls. Returned to the hostel. Hiked Phou Si hill for a view of Luang Prabang at sunset with a girl from my dorm named Monica (from Australia). Walked with Monica to another popular bar and lounge I’d heard about called Utopia. Ate dinner and drank beers and chatted with Monica, her friends, and Bernard (from Austria) and Jenny (from Finland), who were also from our dorm. Walked home when curfew closed the bar and chatted with Bernard and Jenny a little more around a campfire at the hostel.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Ate another American breakfast and got a sandwich to go for lunch on the slow boat. Boarded at 8:30 a.m. and sat and waited for the stragglers to arrive. Departed around 9:30 a.m. Sat with Aimee (from Austin, Texas) and we chatted for a while. I also read and listened to a couple podcasts and some music. The scenery was again very beautiful. This time my seat was much more cramped, but still the time passed quickly enough. We arrived in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos (rhymes with cow, not mouse), and Aimee and I took a tuk tuk to our hostel, Spicylaos. Walked with Aimee, Shelley, Glenn, and Matteo to the night market and ate a cheap dinner on the street for 10,000 kip (remember, I’m a multi-millionaire here). We crossed over the ridge of Phou Si hill near the market as a shortcut to a popular bar and lounge we had heard about called Laos Laos Garden. We ordered buckets there and hung out for an hour or so. The group decided to go dancing or bowling, I can’t recall which, and I headed for the toilet quickly before we left. I was gone for only a minute, but in that time everyone had piled into a tuk tuk and was gone. I found myself unexpectedly alone and decided to make my way back to the hostel and call it a night.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

No hot water for my shower, and there was a breeze from a fan when I turned on the shower light, so I skipped the shower except for a light rinse. Ate an American breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. Shared a tuk tuk to the river boat pier at 9:30 a.m. Boarded around 10 a.m. and sat waiting to depart for an hour or two as others trickled on board. Listened to podcasts the whole time and watched the beautiful landscape roll by. Arrived in Pakbeng at around sunset. Hauled my gear up the hill and looked at a couple places before deciding on a somewhat pricey place at 300 baht for the night. The mattress was nice and soft for my poor back. Ate dinner with Aimee, an American from Austin, Texas, that I had met before boarding the boat, and her friends Shelley, Glenn, and Matteo, and their friends Alex and Mary. Returned to my hotel to shower and shave. Computer time until bed time. I had heard they shut off the electricity to the city at 10 p.m., but this wasn’t the case.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Awoke still sick with a bad back. Ate a cheap lunch at a local restaurant. Rode the bus to Chiang Khong at the Thailand–Laos border. Shared a tuk tuk with a guy to the Mekong river shore and exited Thailand. Bought passage across the river and landed on the Laos shore. Paid the fee and entered the town of Huay Xai in Laos. Walked up the hill and looked at a few places and chose to stay at a nice hotel with wifi and air con. Found an ATM and withdrew a million kip (around US$100). Bought a Coke to cool off. Bought a slow boat ticket for 950 baht for the following morning. Hung out in my hotel room. Ate dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. My back was still thrown out. Computer time in my room.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Woke up still feeling sick, and also felt like I had thrown my back out (the “mattresses” were really stiff). Showered, ate lunch, stayed in all day watching BSG, bought a bus ticket to Chiang Khong at the Thailand–Laos border, went out again for dinner, then returned to the hostel.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Still sick and miserable. Slept in, showered, ate lunch, returned to my hostel and stayed inside all day, lying on my back watching Battlestar Galactica with my head angled up to reduce the running of my nose. Ate an expensive dinner at a pizza place nearby to try to cheer myself up.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Awoke feeling sick again. Returned the scooter I had rented the day before. Checked out and rode a taxi truck to the Arcade bus terminal. Rode the bus to Chiang Rai for a few hours and listened to podcasts. Arrived and wandered around for ten minutes looking for my hostel. Checked in, ate lunch, then returned to my hostel and stayed inside on my bed the rest of the day feeling too sick to do anything. Ate dinner at the nearby night market feeling miserable. Sick twice in two weeks! What luck.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Rented a scooter and rode it to Doi Suthep. On my way back, I came across a scooter accident that had just happened. The driver was a man from Nebraska named Paul. He was in really bad shape. All the skin on his right knee cap had been scraped off and he was bleeding heavily from his right arm. He took an antibacterial wipe and a clotting pad from my first aid kit and some toilet paper I had to soak up the blood from his arm. A very helpful Thai woman called an ambulance for him. I was reminded just how dangerous it was riding around on those things. Returned to the old quarter and then rode to Tiger Kingdom for some one-on-one time with some small and large tigers. Hired a photographer to take pictures of me with them. Returned to the old quarter again and then rode to the Arcade bus terminal to buy a bus ticket to Chiang Rai for the next day. Parked the scooter at the hostel, ate dinner, computer time, then bed.

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