I'm getting kinda lost on this blog calendar. When I post - it has the time in US time, and it's not even the right date. and then I go get in places with no internet - and get behind.
So - whatever - I'm throwing everything I've got into this blog - Hope you enjoy.
This was written Tuesday afternoon, I think.
I'm still in Pakse. Waiting for the Holidays to end. Not much going on.
Went to a factory yesterday to visit a friend. It was a 10 kilometers out of town,
so I decided to take a (I'm not sure what to call it) motor scooter with a side car on it.
I like it better because you can see everything going on. In the TUT TUT you can only see out the back. On the scooter it's like sitting on the front bumper of a car!
The first price was 70,000 kip ($8.33). ... I went into my facial expression act of disbelief mixed with my "I've done this many times before" look, and offered 30,000 kip ($3.57). That's the price my friend told me. ... The driver looked a little disappointed and came back with an offer of 40,000 kip.
With that thought of keeping the driver on my side, and knowing I usually pay
"the foreigner price", I agreed and we took off. The ride itself, had it been at SIX FLAGS, would have been worth it.
Of course now that only got me there. The driver waited, and charged me the same going back! I had failed to negotiate a round trip price!!!!
The next day in Pakse, I saw a notice in my hotel lobby about a van to Chapasak, leaving at 8:00 for 50,000 kip. ($6.00). It was 7:15, and I decided to GO. Upstairs - get my bag, come down to restaurant and order - NO - no noodles, I ordered fried eggs and a baguette., I did take my own coffee that I had made in the room.
At eight a Van with full occupancy pulled up - most passengers were going much farther than me. We took off- and 30 minutes later we were in the middle of the road with a flat tire, or rather a totally destructed tire.
But it was no problem - 20 minutes later we were on the road again. And in less than an hour I was on a canoe crossing the Mekong River. There I was informed that the other 3 people with me in the canoe had bought a package tour and were going now to see the Temple - dated around 600 a.d.! A big deal here.
So I joined them, and went direct from the boat to a tut tut that took me and the other three to the ruins - the temple - the whatever.
We toured that for two hours - I'm glad Anna wasn't there, and I'm sure she's really glad that she wasn't there!! It was HOT... no shade hardly at all and a lot of looking at old stones.
Have some photos from the day.
I am now in this little town, I got a room with fan - no AC - for 30,000 kip. I hope it works!!
Here are some photos..
The pictures are 1.)a sandwich I had for lunch - red pork (sliced barbeque) with vegetables which were bean sprouts and carrots, I think) ,
2.) my scooter ride getting a liter of gas,
3.) Flat tire on way to Champasek
4.) a woman doing something at a stone statue
5.- ferry across Mekong to Champasek
6. Home port of ferry
7. Me at ruins site obeying the rules
8. River yatch
9. me at the ruins again
In the little town, there was an internet --it just wasn't working.
And I got my first example of the water throwing . We got hit going out to the Temple thing. AMBUSHED by a bunch of kids with buckets of water, balloons of water and super big water guns. Quite a surprise the first time - then we learned to look out for them.
be back in a little while.
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