Road to Don Khon

I took a boat from the mainland to Don Det, one of the islands at Si Phan Don, but I walked to another island, Don Khon (connected by a bridge).

Rice fields on Don Det

Tilling the fields

Munching away

These kids were awesome. They used their fingers to eat everything, rolling a ball of sticky rice with their fingers and popping it into their mouth after a morsel of meat. They were also eating some hardboiled eggs that looked like they had chicken embryos inside, or else they had been filled with some other meat. They expertly freed lotus seeds from the pods, shelled them, and popped them in their mouths. I found it hypnotic.

Noontime lunch break

The sawngthaew to Si Phan Don stopped at noon for about five minutes so that vendors could run up with their wares. As soon as we stopped, there were hands reaching into the bed of the pickup truck with bags of sticky rice, lotus flower seed pods, bbq chicken on a stick, and banana-wrapped goodies.

Bus station buffalo grazing

Water buffalos grazed everywhere in Laos. This was right behind the bus station.

Mud everywhere

This is the Southern bus station in Pakse, or technically, not in Pakse. This sort of flooding is pretty typical all over Laos. Reminds me of Baghdad.

Daytime in Pakse

Evening in Pakse

I spent the night in Pakse. There is some old colonial architecture to see, but otherwise not much to do in this town.

Crossing into Laos

Here was the passport control in Laos. I had to pay 100 BHT in overtime to the Laotian officials.
This is the only land border crossing between Thailand and Laos (you don't need to take a boat).

Squeezed into another sawngthaew

At the border, I hopped on to another sawngthaew headed to Pakse.

Waiting at the bus station in Philbun

In Philbun, I hopped on to a big sawngthaew (basically like a deuce-and-a-half) to Chong Mek, the Thai border town.

The only foreigner aboard

My bus ride from Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand to Philbun, 45 km away from the Thai-Laos border.

The Grand Palace

Three different stupas at the Grand Palace. I don't know what they mean because I didn't go in. It was hot, and I was tired. But I think the King and Queen of Thailand live there and for $10 you can visit it, but you have to wear shoes, and your shoulders and knees must be covered.

The giant reclining Buddha

This statue is enormous -- 45 meters long and 5 meters high. It is at Wat Pho in Bangkok. The temple was constructed around it.
So this is the position the Buddha was in before he attained enlightment, which is to say, before he reached nirvana, which is to say, before he DIED OF STARVATION. Yet he is always smiling. What a contrast to Christianity with Jesus looking pained. Is this reflective of the always-smiling Asian or a reflection of optimism. Or maybe neither.

Khao San Road at dusk

After, another visit to this backpacker ghetto, I was glad I was staying in the Sukhumvit area.

Nana Plaza

Soi 4 off of Sukhumvit Road (and where my hotel was) is lined with gogo bars and this place. Nana Plaza consists of three levels of "strip clubs". Aside from the group of us, there were no other foreign women around.

"Tell 'em a hookah-smoking caterpillar..."

Soi 3 off Sukhumvit Road has a bunch of Egyptian, Indian, Pakistani, and North African restaurants. We checked out Neferiti, an Egyptian place. After stuffing ourselves on naan bread, Syrian salad (suspiciously similar to tabouli), hummus, lamb, and curry, we tried smoking a hooka: flavored coals placed on top of the hooka cooled through the water pipe. You're not supposed to inhale, and it doesn't give you a high. It's just a nice-smelling apple-flavored smoke (in which I quickly lost interest).

Traffic on the river

Taking a boat on the river was a good away to avoid traffic as well. Rides were even cheaper, ranging from less than 25 cents to almost 50 cents. The river was full of barges (some loaded with teak), ferries, and dinner cruise boats.

The Skytrain

Bangkok's public transportation has, along with a subway, tuk-tuks, taxis, boats, and buses, the skytrain, an elevated train which can speed you from place to place without the hassle of being stuck in traffic. Rides cost from 25 cents to a dollar, but for $2.50 you can have an all day pass and watch the city glide by in air-conditioned bliss.
I ended up taking all four methods of transportation, most notably using a taxi (80 cents) to get to and from the hotel to the skytrain station (about 1 km away).