slow hand

After writing my blog entry, I went back to the little riverside cafe to watch the sun set. I sat and watched a cloud shaped like a laughing whale slowly sculpted by the wind to resemble a Chinese dragon. A ginger cat jumped up on the table and watched with me. The next morning I woke bright and early and caught a boat to the mainland. The sunrise was as spectacular as the sunset.
I couldn't make it to Pakse, so I stopped at a guesthouse by the road in Phaifay. And no, I'm not really sure how to pronounce it either. The guest house seemed very charming at first. It was set off from the road, but you could still see it between the trees. It was also very very quiet. (I think the whole country is an island of silence in the general chaos of the rest of S.E.Asia)
It seemed clean enough until I went into take a shower. Upon the ledge were three things that I think were mouse poo. At least I hoped they were mouse poo, and not the poo of the mouse's larger cousin. I took my shower and rinsed off the poos, because really I had no choice. There was no way I could make it to Pakse, and I wasn't sure there would be another guest house before it got dark. I put the rabies and bubonic plauge out of my mind. As I steped on to the porch it began to rain. I was like three drops then someone in the sky turned on a faucet. Sheets of rain. I got the chair from my room and decided to sit and watch the rain, and as I did I saw a small black bug dying. It looked just like a mouse poo. I decided then and there that on the ledge of my shower were dead bugs. The rain stoped after only 5 minutes. I went to the little resturant at the cross roads and then went back to my room where I sat and watched the world go by. There were ants passing messages upside down on the eves of my portch, and two butterflies dancing in circles on the breeze. There were some ugly birds doing a strut, and children taking turns pushing each other on a wagon. The cows wandered home, and some goats chased a dog. Oh yeah and two cars, a bus, a monk on a motorcycles, and a stretched out tractor thingy went by on the road. It is not exactly exciting, but kinda nice none the less. I slept well despite thoughts of plague before turning in.
The next morn I went into Pakse, and found a decent enough hotel ( I could have gotten the fancy dancy one for 20.00 us, but ....it always disappoints me when I treat myself with the hotels)
I found a book exchange and drank some watermelon juice. ( there wasn't any sugar cane juice on the road, and it breaks my heart.) But maybe there is some as I go more northerly. I'm going to have to decide if I want to stay one more day. I like Pakse, but I haven't really been on my bike much. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Till I post again, be good, be happy and have fun.