Things Go Wrong

I was queued up at the Royal Thai Consulate in Savannakhet Laos. I had arrived early, but the line was already far longer than any I had seen before at the embassies in either Phnom Penh or Hanoi.

I had heard that Savannakhet was the best place to get a new Thai visa, but I was unsure. The lines were long already, and they were made worse when several "visa run" vans arrived across the Thai border.

These companies, which help cheap tourists and backpackers extend their visas, had driven across the border first thing in the morning. They were really rude! The clientele was made up mostly of eastern Europeans who were pushing, smoking, yelling, shouting, and who all decided to cut in line right in front of the staff. I guess the visa run companies have some sort of deal worked out, but after a huge number of people pushed me to the back of the queue, I finally got fed up and decided to leave.

I gave up and walked across the street to Target. I'm not sure if it's the same Target as in the US (although I very seriously doubt it), but I bought a bottle of water and a pair of sunglasses, then booked a tuk-tuk back to Lin's cafe.

I was stressed, annoyed, and tired.

One of the benefits, though, of having an American passport is that I can actually enter Thailand visa-free for 30 days. I guess that's what I'll do. I understand that it's pretty privileged of me to give up just because the line was long, but I was so sick of these tourists shoving me and blowing smoke in my face!

Back at Lin's, I ordered an iced Lao coffee and called my mom to chat about our upcoming Sri Lankan adventure.

It was now breakfast time, so I walked across the wide plaza to Xokxay restaurant, which had gotten really good reviews in Lonely Planet.

The restaurant had a simple menu, but I was able to speak enough Thai (the language is intelligible with Laotian) to order breakfast.

I ordered a plate of moo daeng, or red pork with rice. The sweet, barbecued pork was served with a bowl of savory broth, half of a boiled egg, and a mountain of white rice.

I decided to walk back to my guesthouse. Along the way, I enjoyed the scenery. 

Savannakhet isn't a very exciting town. It's a sleepy, quiet sort of place. There's very little to do here. It's boring, but in the best sort of way.

It's nice to be bored sometimes.

I walked back, enjoying the quiet pace of life and waving at the local shopkeepers and students who shouted "hello" to me as I walked past.

As I walked through the empty streets, I listened to a podcast and enjoyed the old colonial architecture and street art.