We had to catch an early morning tuk tuk, a boat back to Ko Samui, and a flight back to Bangkok. Our flight to Vientiane left Bangkok around 5pm, so we had a few hours to piss around the airport. I found some Tiger Balm for my mosquito bites, which were starting to itch like mad. My ankles were covered in bites; probably from wearing my sandals.
Once we landed, it took about an hour to get our visas & get through customs. After I exchanged $200US and became a millionaire (in Lao Kip), my friends were waiting for us in the arrivals lobby. I remembered Olay - he had given me a ride to Athith & Phouvieng's house in 2004. I didn't remember Phouvieng's daughter Jouktouk. Two of their friends had also come to the airport. Phouei - one of the girls gave us a ride to our guesthouse in her car. I'm not sure what her parents did, but for a 22 year old to have a car was extremely rare. After we dropped our bags off at the guesthouse and Olay made sure that everything was in order, we went to Phouei's house for oranges & donuts. We were sitting outside and her mother brought down a few oranges & a box of donuts. I wasn't hungry, but I was obliged to eat something so I had an orange.
Once we landed, it took about an hour to get our visas & get through customs. After I exchanged $200US and became a millionaire (in Lao Kip), my friends were waiting for us in the arrivals lobby. I remembered Olay - he had given me a ride to Athith & Phouvieng's house in 2004. I didn't remember Phouvieng's daughter Jouktouk. Two of their friends had also come to the airport. Phouei - one of the girls gave us a ride to our guesthouse in her car. I'm not sure what her parents did, but for a 22 year old to have a car was extremely rare. After we dropped our bags off at the guesthouse and Olay made sure that everything was in order, we went to Phouei's house for oranges & donuts. We were sitting outside and her mother brought down a few oranges & a box of donuts. I wasn't hungry, but I was obliged to eat something so I had an orange.
Afterwards, I thanked the mother for the food and we went to a party. Some of Olay's friends were having their 5th wedding anniversary, so there was a group of people who were congregated in a driveway at a couple of tables. There was also a band playing under a tin roof that looked like a car park. As I sat down & took in the surroundings, I was wondering what all of the neighbors thought of the really loud music. Food was pushed in front of James & I and we were expected to eat. After finding something without meat, I ate & drank Beer Lao with Olay's friends. Everyone seemed happy to have us, which put me at ease. I would have hated to be a burden on their party, but we seemed to be under the most attention once we arrived. After every song, someone else would go join the band to sing a song. We were pulled out of our seats to go dance. After we were done, James commented that a few of the guys seemed very feminine, but I dismissed it saying that maybe they just had a bit of extra estrogen. James would find out later in the evening that he was right.
We stayed for about an hour at the party, and then headed to the Don Chan Hotel, which looked like the most expensive place in town. I remember Athith telling me that the hotel was built in 2004 for the purpose of hosting the Asean Summit meetings that occurred in early December of 2004. I paid for 9 people to get into the disco, which amounted to 200,000 kip (or about $24US). In addition to the entrance fee, this bought us 8 large bottles of Beer Lao once we got into the club. The place was fairly deserted when we first arrived at 11pm, but it quickly filled by 1am. The music, which was a mix of western electronica & hip hop, throbbed throughout the room.
After we had some drinks, the behavior of Olay's friends became apparent. The guys were grinding on one another, which I thought was comedic until they wanted to dance with me. I quickly avoided the situation by going over to dance with a table of Lao women, leaving James stranded with Olay's friends. I stayed over there for the remainder of the evening, having short conversations in broken English with the women. I tried to get James out of the action, but he wasn't having any of it.
After some time, I went to restroom. It's only the restroom, but this deserves its own paragraph. After I finished pissing, there was a restroom attendant who turned on the water, gave me some soap and a towel. While I was washing my hands, he proceeded to give me a shoulder massage. I told him to stop, but it wasn't working. After I finished, I walked out - not leaving the guy a tip. I think he was a bit pissed, but I absolutely hate bathroom attendants all over the world. I don't need any help washing my hands, and I just find them annoying. Trying to be helpful to scrap together tips, I usually do my best to avoid them. Upon talking to James when I got back, I learned that he had received a massage while he was pissing. I busted out laughing at his luck, and inwardly being thankful that didn't happen to me. Once you're in front of the urinal, you really can't stop or turn around to tell the guy to bugger off.
We stayed until almost 3am. Olay's friends started dropping around 1am, and I begged him & Jouktouk to leave several times. James & I could walk back to the guesthouse - it really wasn't a big deal. However, being the wonderful hosts that my Lao friends are, they felt responsible for getting us safely back to the guesthouse and stayed with us until we were ready to leave.
We stayed for about an hour at the party, and then headed to the Don Chan Hotel, which looked like the most expensive place in town. I remember Athith telling me that the hotel was built in 2004 for the purpose of hosting the Asean Summit meetings that occurred in early December of 2004. I paid for 9 people to get into the disco, which amounted to 200,000 kip (or about $24US). In addition to the entrance fee, this bought us 8 large bottles of Beer Lao once we got into the club. The place was fairly deserted when we first arrived at 11pm, but it quickly filled by 1am. The music, which was a mix of western electronica & hip hop, throbbed throughout the room.
After we had some drinks, the behavior of Olay's friends became apparent. The guys were grinding on one another, which I thought was comedic until they wanted to dance with me. I quickly avoided the situation by going over to dance with a table of Lao women, leaving James stranded with Olay's friends. I stayed over there for the remainder of the evening, having short conversations in broken English with the women. I tried to get James out of the action, but he wasn't having any of it.
After some time, I went to restroom. It's only the restroom, but this deserves its own paragraph. After I finished pissing, there was a restroom attendant who turned on the water, gave me some soap and a towel. While I was washing my hands, he proceeded to give me a shoulder massage. I told him to stop, but it wasn't working. After I finished, I walked out - not leaving the guy a tip. I think he was a bit pissed, but I absolutely hate bathroom attendants all over the world. I don't need any help washing my hands, and I just find them annoying. Trying to be helpful to scrap together tips, I usually do my best to avoid them. Upon talking to James when I got back, I learned that he had received a massage while he was pissing. I busted out laughing at his luck, and inwardly being thankful that didn't happen to me. Once you're in front of the urinal, you really can't stop or turn around to tell the guy to bugger off.
We stayed until almost 3am. Olay's friends started dropping around 1am, and I begged him & Jouktouk to leave several times. James & I could walk back to the guesthouse - it really wasn't a big deal. However, being the wonderful hosts that my Lao friends are, they felt responsible for getting us safely back to the guesthouse and stayed with us until we were ready to leave.
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