On Sunday (April 1), I left my new apartment in Bangbua Thong to make the 700km (approx) journey to Savannakhet, in Laos. The reason for going was simple: I needed to change my visa type before I could begin my new job. I kissed my wife and son goodbye, then headed off to catch the bus to the Mochit bus terminal, where I would then take a bus to Mukdahan on the border with Laos. As I had never actually taken a bus from that stop before (we had just moved into our new apartment on the very same day), I asked the guy standing next to me if the 134 passed. He said it did but told me that the minivan was a quicker way to travel. I decided I would take the minivan afterall. I waited for the minivan but I didn’t see any coming that were headed for Mochit. After a while the guy asked me if I wanted to split a taxi; the fare, that is. At first I said thanks, but no thanks. The minivan is cheaper, and plus, I didn’t want to get in a taxi with someone I’d just met on the side on the road. After a while, though, I realized we could be waiting for a ages if we wanted the minivan, so I decided to take a “risk” and go with the guy afterall.

We jumped in the nearest taxi and set off. The driver and my new friend got off talking as though they were old friends, and I was beginning to wonder if I’d been set up. I had visions of them taking me on a wild goose chase around the city until I owed them about 600 baht, then throwing me out and saying “oh, sorry, we can’t find it.” As it was, I just went with the flow. The driver was asking me all kinds of questions about who I was, and where I was going, and did I like Thai girls (of course I did, doesn’t everybody?). He seemed friendly enough, and I decided they weren’t going to mug me afterall.

We arrived at Mochit bus terminal, paid our “split” fare, and got out. Me and my new buddy walked into the bus terminal together, shook hands, and said good luck. I’ll probably never see him again. Such is life. I realized I was going to have a three-and-a-half-hour wait on my hands, so I went to get some food outside the bus terminal.

Thailand has loads of great little restaurants (if you can call them that) on the side of the road. They usually have plastic chairs and tables, with some kind of plastic canopy in case it rains, which it often does. The guy cooking the food is stationed at a little foodstand on wheels and takes orders from a million customers, just remembering everything in his head. I ordered beef noodles, something  I rarely eat. The Thais eat a lot more pork pound for pound than any other meat. The Chinese Thais don’t eat beef, and this affects the culture in general. No beef means no red meat, means not much iron.

After eating noodles I wanted a place to pass the time before I got on my bus. I had seen a Dunkin’ Donuts inside the bus terminal and so I decided to set myself up there with a book, coffee, and a few donuts. The place was jam-packed with people trying to do exactly the same thing as me: pass the time until their bus arrived. I read this book I’d found in the office at my old school before leaving. As I was leaving, I guess that technically meant I’d stolen it, but I didn’t care. The book was by Nick Hornby (first book I’ve read by him), and was vaguely about a teenage skateboarder who got his teenage girlfriend pregnant. If it had been more about skateboarding, and less about teenage pregnancy, I might have enjoyed it. Not a bad book to pass some time on a long journey, but definitely not the type of thing I usually read.

To be continued….