Twenty-seventh week

Day 185- 191

April 8th was a hot and exhausting day. We rented bikes to ride to a waterfall. Well, the waterfall was more like rapids. And now in the dry season, the rapids were just small steps where the water was breezy and descending.

The most exciting part was actually the bridge to the rapids. This hanging metal bridge has a few boards in the middle. Normally the boards are crosswise. This bridge had a few boards crosswise. To bridge the huge gaps between them, boards had been laid long ago on one side so that you had to balance. We met an indecisive Spanish couple in front of the bridge in question. I was the first to cross. The bridge was swaying quite a bit in the middle and from up close I could marvel at how the boards were attached. It didn't boost my confidence, it just made me think about turning back. If I had fallen, it wouldn't have been deep and I would have fallen into a river. So I carried on. Then everyone went across one by one. There's no need to push your luck! By the time everyone was across, my knees had calmed down and were firm again.

I went into the water at the rapids, hoping to cool down a few degrees. I was so warm! I was a little surprised that the water didn't bubble or boil when I got in! That was probably because the water was already warm. What a pity.

It was a bit colder than the ambient temperature and I stayed in the shade for a while.

Later we drove to the old port of Don Khone. The French colonial power had built a railway line across the islands of Don Det and Don Khone. The railway line has now been closed and paved. There used to be river dolphins. But these shy fellows have gone away.

We took a long break at the old harbor, drank shakes and looked over to Cambodia. The route is mostly flat, but - I don't know if I've already mentioned it - it's hot! Our circulation isn't coping so well. But at some point we had to go back.

We slowly drove back to our accommodation. On the way we saw an old locomotive that was rusting away.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around in the hammocks. April 9th started in a similar way, except that we had to sort out a few organizational matters beforehand. Tomorrow we want to go to Thailand. To do this we had to book a bus. In the afternoon we went to the sister island of Don Det. There are a few things there that make you happy. For example, happy shakes, happy pizza, happy cookies. What makes you happy is marijuana. There are even space shakes, i.e. shakes with hallucinogenic mushrooms.

We were boring, ate normal rice and drank normal beer and were happy!

Finally, April 10th arrived and it was our departure day. Laos was incredibly beautiful! This country is so wonderfully wild. Traveling is not as easy as in other well-developed travel countries, but it is totally doable! I have often heard and read that many travelers avoid Laos because it is not on the sea. But Laos was really well visited by travelers and many locals spoke very good English! Communication was great!

We are also looking forward to Thailand, but we just don't feel like the 20-hour drive there. First we had to take the boat to the mainland anyway. Then we took a mini-van to Pakse. There we spent a few more kip and had something to eat before we got on the bus to Thailand.

The night on the bus was crap. But who has ever taken a bus overnight and got on the bus the next day feeling refreshed and rested?

We arrived in Bangkok sometime after 5 a.m., grumpy. Unfortunately, I made a cardinal error and didn't mark the address of the hostel in Google Maps. Since we had no internet, we didn't know where to go! Another cardinal error: I didn't research beforehand which mobile phone provider was the cheapest and best. Pah, what a beginner!

But you can often rely on other travelers. We simply asked 2 other white people for a hotspot and found our way to the hostel.

Once we got there, we were allowed to shower, eat at the breakfast buffet and sleep on the sofas in the TV room until the beds were ready.

We didn't do much today. We only went into the city once. Songkran starts tomorrow. That's the Thai New Year (according to the Gregorian calendar, our 3rd New Year). Part of the ritual is washing. Well, the Thais take it very seriously and the city turns into a huge water fight. People run around with water pistols, buckets or other things that can be used to spray water. There is also a blessing with a kind of powder or talcum powder that turns into a beige mud when mixed with water. This is rubbed into your face.

We walked through a popular street near Nana Plaza. People had already started washing themselves and we got really wet.

We walked to Lumphini Park. Not only are there cats running around there, but the monitor lizards also come out of the sewers. We saw some of the reptiles in and out of the water.

Songkran starts on April 13th. We went to Siam Square with a group from the hostel. There is a street there that is closed off for water fights. On the left and right of the street there were advertising stands, water tubs to fill up and music was playing. I thought it was stupid to buy a plastic water pistol for a day and then throw it away again. So I decided to take an old plastic water bottle. Ivar made a hole in the top for me, from which a nice little stream came out. That's the child-friendly version. If I take the lid off, it's the adult version. So we ran around, got annoyed when a stream hit us in the eye (it's a good idea to wear glasses) but mostly we were happy, ran around laughing and because we laughed so much, we also got a lot of water in our mouths. Hopefully this won't have repercussions tomorrow....

After lunch together, we went to another place. There were even more people, even more water, even more yearning mud and even more music. Absolutely crazy!

In the evening we went back to the accommodation. There was a BBQ and karaoke. English songs were sung, as well as Chinese and Indian ones! It was a very fun evening!

The next day Ivar and I spent doing laundry, which was harder than we expected, buying bus tickets (we're leaving tomorrow) and walking around the city a bit. On the way back we passed another water fight. By chance there was a market next to it. Since we were hungry anyway, we got off the bus. We ate at the market and watched the water fight.

We walked back to the accommodation. We kept passing places where the neighborhood had gathered and were throwing water at passersby, the traffic and each other. All to loud music. At times we were pulled onto a tow truck and people were dancing on the area at the back.

Today we arrived at the accommodation wetter and muddier than yesterday. But happy again!