07.59 The people of Paris stormed the Bastille 219 years ago. Since we´re not that many, we will settle for a bus trip. We´ve still got some things to do before we enter the bus. We are in room 587 at Khon Kaen Hotel which is (believe it or not) in Khon Kaen.

09.13 We are ready to see the city in daylight. We just had a buffet breakfast and packed most of our things. We were asked about our room number at breakfast. I had my thoughts and hearing elsewhere and thought they had asked about the room. I replied with a smile; "excellent!”

Khon Kaen Hotel, modern and comfortable!

09.55 We’ve received first class service and first class information at the tourist office. Now we know when and from where the buses to our next destination leave from. We can choose to go at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00. A guy just came by here, where we are sitting on the side of a fountain, and asked if we knew about any internet café. There was a hint of Swedish in his English.

10.27 Once again surrounded by the safe walls of the room. It is once again cool and nice. It is time to prepare for our next trip. We are planning to leave at 13.00. It will take us to Ubon Ratchathani.

11.13 After watching CNN about the Lopez siblings who all can get Olympic gold in taekwondo we´re now looking at a French documentary about the Olof Palme assassination. Palme was the Prime minister of Sweden until he was shot dead in 1986. We are watching TV5 Monde Asia. There are interviews with several Swedes. Swedish is spoken and it is translated by the reporter.

Khon Kaen

12.04 Around us is yet another bus terminal. We’ve bought tickets to Ubon Ratchathani in the eastern parts of Thailand. We´ve got about an hour to do something else before we leave. It is hot today, plenty of people on the move. A bus from an upcoming destination just rolled in. It is going to Vientiane in Laos. We got seats 21 and 22. Does this mean that we´ve got an upper class bus?

The bus terminal for air-conditioned buses in Khon Kaen.

12.57 A good bus just rolled in. It is our bus. The seats are comfortable and it is cool inside.

15.11 It is just three kilometres left to Roi Et. We will not get out there. Partly due to the pouring rain, partly due to that it isn't our destination. It is the destination of the lady in front of me though. She just took out her umbrella. Now the bus stopped and some other passengers follow her outside.

16.17 Some of the passengers have a white string tied around their wrists. This is done before a trip. It is supposed to make the trip blessed and to get protection from gentle spirits. This is a tradition in Isan, which is the name of the eastern part of Thailand.

16.41 It is 94 kilometres left to our next home town according to a distance sign. Wait a minute, is it really called distance sign?

18.36 We’ve checked in at Sri Isan Hotel (http://www.sriisanhotel.com) in Ubon Ratchathani. We are staying in room 446 with TV, fridge, double bed, leather couch, glass table and water boiler. The daily cost is 900 baht (US$28). All I want now is to have a shower. We arrived here after accepting an offer of a ride into the city center from a lady. It was a younger man (the son?) who took us here by car.

19.05 I’ve taken a huge step towards becoming like a normal human being again. The next step is on and so is the water boiler. Coffee is on its way. It is an orchid on one of the pillows in the bed.

Our room at Sri Isan Hotel in Ubon Ratchathani.

20.59 We’ve looked for a place to eat but mostly found closed places. The only open place offering real food was Sa-bai-dee. First we got a menu in Thai. The English version that we got later consisted of five A4 sized sheets. The food offered is more of the breakfast kind. We’ve found something that seems to be filling though. They also offer "fired chicken/pork". But that will be another time and most likely another person going for it.

22.01 We were able to see the kitchen from where we sat. They discussed and telephoned before the food finally got to us. We got rice, fried egg and pork in a spicy curry mix with cucumbers and lettuce. We had ordered a lemon juice each. Christer got orange juice and I didn’t get any juice at all. The food cost 35 baht a piece and the juice 20 baht. Total cost, 90 baht or under US$3. After that we shopped at our classic chain. While Christer waited for me to come out of 7 Eleven an elephant with a red light tied to its tail passed. Later on we both managed to see it. Now it is time to cool off both on skin and in mouth.

Tuesday 15th of July

08.15 We’ve slept great. The curry flavour from yesterday remains in my mouth. I wonder if we will find another place to dine at.

09.03 It is time for breakfast. We are seated by a window. The breakfast ticket is (according to what’s written on it) valid until 15-7-51. I guess it is according to the Thai way to count the years. Outside of the window there is a man (not the one from Krabi) with a piece of cardboard with the word TAXI written on it. He waves it eagerly and keeps showing it to us.

Sri Isan Hotel

11.31 It was plenty of food and really hot. Rice/noodles with pork and vegetables in bouillon. After that we’ve walked around in the city and now we´re sitting down at an internet café for some checking and arranging.

13.00 I don’t know how it could happen but I am hungry again. This time we will find out what the Italian restaurant Risotto has to offer. It is hot and humid outside. It is a little rain in the air. We just got our juice. I can smell the scent of fresh orange.

Promtap Road, Ubon Ratchathani.

Christer is taking a walk through Ubon Ratchathani this hot day.

14.04 A little lunch was just what we needed. I also craved something to drink and to get inside our cool room. This has just been taken care of. Now we will cool down before we carry on with something else.

15.15 If one read through the hotel’s brochure one get to read some interesting stuff. The first rule is "Guests will not destroy or deface property of the hotel, other guests or public utilities.” Who would like to get into a room to destroy or deface another guest? They also have a price list for souvenirminded guests, pillow 100 baht, shower curtain 200 baht and kratip (what is that?), 100 baht.

15.57 We’ve decided to get outside to reach the other side.

City Pillar Shrine, Ubon Ratchathani.

The big candle in Thung Si Muang Park, erected in 2000.

16.31 We are in a park and it is still warm outside. A gentleman in red just offered us some white bread and something that looked like bird seeds for 5 baht. Was that for us or for the fish swimming in the water in front of the bench where we are sitting?

16.41 We’ve just seen a huge candle. It stretches its way up from the central parts of the Thung Si Muang Park. They are building a platform along the main road. The city is preparing for a festival. It is called Hae Tian, Candle Parade. It is a part of the festival àwk phansãa, the Buddhist lent.

17.03 It is time for coffee and something else at Chiokee Restaurant.

Christer on his way to the other side.

Traffic on the bridge crossing Maenam Mun (Moon River).

19.15 We chose hamburgers to go with the coffee. We also decided just to look and not to walk over to the other side of the river. Finally we made an internet check. The owner wanted to know our nationality and if we had come for the festival. We bought a little to drink before we got back to our room. It has been really hot today, close to +35 according to the Thai meteorological authorities.

Tropical company.

20.45 We are back at the breakfast table. Now we will have dinner. We are the only ones eating here. Ubon Ratchathani is a nice city but not many restaurants to choose from, at least not in the evening.

21.13 My dinner that was both delicious and artistic was ended with some local coffee. I got a cup with a filter in some silver like metal on top. The coffee was like the food just wonderful. Now we will call for our old friend William or as we call him, "Bill".

A beautiful dinner being served at Sri Isan Hotel.

21.53 While we were waiting for Bill a new elephant appeared at the night market outside of the hotel. I guess it was eating left overs. We went outside for some shopping and met the elephant from yesterday again. We heard some dogs howling as Christer were withdrawing money. One of them might have been beaten by a passing man. I almost stepped on a frog on the way to the store.

22.47 Without further due a heavy rain storm began. It is raining in through the open skylights and down into the dining area. We on the other hand have a solid ceiling above us here in the room.

Wednesday 16th of July

08.11 Soon this day will get going. We will start with breakfast to fill up with energy. I don’t know if I will choose American or Asian breakfast.

09.07 Our classic table by the window is going. They are decorating and preparing for the upcoming festival. Christer has chosen Asian breakfast and it will be American for me. They are building a small altar and are laying our carpets next to us.

10.28 To our surprise there were a couple of monks sitting by the altar and on the carpets as we checked out, in front of the monks were bottles of Coca Cola and praying people. One of them was that taxi man, the one with the cardboard. We checked out and caught a honking tuk-tuk to the bus terminal. There we quickly got directed to the bus to the town Mukdahan by the river Mekong. Our backpacks have been put in at the back and we squeezed ourselves in at the front of the bus. I sit with my back facing the front windscreen just close to the driver.

11.42 I’ve switched from sitting backwards to facing the front. I share seat with a lady and her son. The floor of the bus consists of thick, grey planks and the trip cost 85 baht per person.

Interesting bus trip on a crowded bus between Ubon Ratchathani and Mukdahan.

12.21 Our bus has reached its maximum capacity as it comes to passengers. Several pupils have bordered. The bus host is fully occupied in passing them to sell tickets. Will the floor stand this amount of people?

13.04 The floor remains intact. An elderly gentleman on the seat next to me has bought around ten 20 centimetres long, two centimetres wide bamboo sticks. They seem to be filled with rice. He cracks them open and eats with a lot of pleasure and enthusiasm.

13.32 We reached the bus station in Mukdahan. We asked about a ride and the tuk tuk-man didn’t seem to understand. His colleagues explained and Christer boarded the vehicle. Another man took Christer´s backpack and placed it on his tuk-tuk. Christer joined up with his backpack. The tuk-tuk left before I had been able to board but Christer managed to stop the man. Now we are both onboard and we are on our way to the centre.

14.15 Our tuk tuk-driver knew just as much English as Genghis Khan and Attila. We had difficulties in communicating with him. We assume that it was his turn to drive. The check-in went smoothly and now we are in a new room. The number this time is 405. If you look to the left from our balcony you can see Mekong river and Laos. The name of the hotel is Submukda Grand Hotel. They´ve got coffee on a shelf by the reception. It is up for grabs.

Peter has just ordered a lunch from a notebook.

Mukdahan

16.09 We’ve walked around in the city and had offers from different drivers. They want to know why if we say no to them. They keep on asking if we say nothing at all. Should we say yes, well then it will be a ride. Now it is time for some food in a restaurant that we think is called Mam Sabai. Before we got in here we met a man who asked if I knew Thai. No, I said, do you? How could I know that he is working here? I have to be more nice and polite. The menu we got is handwritten in a small notebook. Our juices were just carried in from outside. Had the young lady been away to buy them? A bike is standing inside the restaurant and on the wall there is a dartboard. As in many places here the restaurant seems to be a combination with a family’s living room.

16.35 I am sitting overlooking the river of Mekong. We are once again by one of the large rivers of the world. There have been some of them through the years. Mekong is wide with a light brown colour. A small boy with beeping shoes is doing his best to catch a pigeon. His sister is trying to film her brothers tottering early steps.

Ferries taking Thai citizens across the Mekong River to Laos.

Peter at the riverfront in Mukdahan.

View towards the river Mekong and Friendship Bridge II north of Mukdahan.

17.00 We are sitting on some stone stairs to watch the river. A man with a half metre long wooden stick has asked about our origin. Since then he has banged the stick to the railing below, done some gymnastic stuff and walked on the spot. Some others are trying to catch fish and Christer and I are sweating and we are thirsty. Ferries are taking people across the river to Laos not far from here. Only citizens from Laos and Thailand can use these ferries now since a bridge has been built across the Mekong further north from here.

18.20 It is great to relax and just stretch out on the bed. Soon we will enter our seventeenth and last Thai evening. We’ve bought breakfast, four yoghurts and four pieces of bread. They also gave me seven spoons.

19.29 We’ve returned down to Mekong. The stalls here are unfortunelly closed, but we can see an amazing lightshow in front of us. The flashes and lightning are chasing across the sky and some of them strike down in the masts in Laos on the other side.

20.15 We’ve just found a restaurant for illiterate close to our hotel. All dishes are on photos on a giant brochure. All we had to do was to wonder, point and order. I don’t know the name of the restaurant.

Christer has lots to choose from during this dinner.

21.13 I had beef, cashew nuts, carrot, pineapple and something else served on a cast iron plate. Heavenly taste and it just cost me 155 baht (under US$5). All I need now is some coffee and it is plenty of that in the reception.

22.05 I just took the lift with a cup of coffee in my hand. It is time to wash today's clothes and hang them out to dry on the balcony. We’ve also placed our sandals on the balcony. Now we shouldn’t forget our clothes tomorrow. Years of travel have taught us new ways and habits to deal with problems and remembering things.

23.38 It is time for the last night in Thailand. A Thailand where we have seen different cities, cities with some common things, 7-Eleven shops, small work shops, plastic chair restaurants, shops selling everything and more, tuk-tuks, temples and a lot more. It is more or less the same but in so many combinations. A quick glance and they all look the same. But if you penetrate it you will see the singularity, the difference and the personal touch.

Thursday 17th of July

08.44 I’ve brought my dry clothes and sandals from the balcony. As soon as Christer has finished his shower I will take the empty cup for a lift ride. It and I need a refill.

10.04 I sure got full on juice, yoghurt, bread and coffee. Now the time has come to take the leap from Thailand, over Mekong and into Laos.

10.38 What is the reason why one sometimes just doesn’t want to check out? Is it uncertainty, laziness, doubt or what? We managed to get over it and have travelled with a tuk-tuk to the bus terminal. Here we’ve bought a ticket for the bus to Laos. Now we are sitting on some orangecoloured wall-attached chairs waiting for our and most likely others bus.

11.17 The last bus ride in Thailand has begun. We are on our way to Friendship Bridge II. We will enter Laos using it.

11.35 We and all the others on the bus are stamped out of Thailand. Two Vietnamese ahead of me in the queue turned and left as it was their turn. There were two queues, one for "passport" and one for "border passport". What’s the difference? Now one of the Vietnamese boarded. Soon we will roll across the bridge and into a new country.

12.04 We’ve filled in the visa applications for Laos. Did we write it the way we were supposed to, is it enough? All we can do is wait and see. Will a bus be waiting for us? Is it our bus with our luggage? The visa men sure take it slowly. They seem to be more interested in watching the TV in their room.

LAOS

12.12 I just got my passport with a visa. We’ve also got the luggage from the bus driver. Are we supposed to carry it across on our own? Will our bus be waiting for us?

12.42 There was no bus waiting for us. We had to take a tuk-tuk to Hoong Thip Hotel. Here we will stay for 840 baht per night. Yes, we paid here with Thai money. The air conditioning sounds like a small propeller aeroplane and a building next to us has a flag with the hammer and the sickle. The room number this time is 212A. The city in question is Savannakhet. We can see Thailand from our window.

We´re having interesting neighbours, the regional forestry department.

Someone was expecting us.

14.39 We are at Banque Pour le Commerce Exteriur Lao. Here we will exchange money. The next number and counter are cried out over the loudspeakers.

14.52 After exchanging half a million kip each we have entered the Moonlight Ranch Restaurant. Here we will have spaghetti and spicy burger. The small restaurant is run by a Danish man and his Lao wife.

Christer heading towards a rooster and the Mekong river.

The main square in Savannakhet.

The french Saint Theresa Cathedral in Savannakhet.

Peter discovering Savannakhet town.

16.11 We’ve seen the city. Well city and city...,although there are 120,000 people living here it has a laid-back feeling. Dogs and a rooster stroll around in the centre; a small child was washed/showered along a street. There is asphalt and dirt road mixed together and about the same kind of vehicles as in yesterday’s city.

17.56 A new storm has rolled in. People have rushed home and the rain throws itself against the window. We can no longer see Thailand and the flags on the neighbouring building are just hanging. It is not a good idea to open the window. It rains from above, from the side and maybe even from below.

When it´s raining, it´s raining a lot in this part of the world.

18.31 The rain has calmed down but our hunger hasn’t. We are going to get outside to get us something to eat.

19.16 We had just sat down at the restaurant Sabaidee as more showers rolled in. It seems to rain in through the roof and down on the tables next to us. We are sipping on the Lao beer, Beer Lao.

20.03 I really must become a better person when it comes to how I treat fellow humans. The waitress was about to serve me more beer from Christer´s bottle. A civilized man would have gently told her that she had taken the wrong bottle. All I did was to brutally snatch the glass from her hand. Two troubadours have started to play guitar and sing. Delicious food, gentle spirit but I really have to think about how I act and what I say.

20.48 The first Lao meal consisted of spicy beef with vegetables and pork with rice and vegetables. We drank a 64 centilitres beer each and it cost us 50,000 kip or US$ 5 per person. We went to buy some candy after we paid for the dinner. The lady assisting Christer needed help from a girl about ten years old. She handed it all very smoothly and waved forward another lady to assist me.

21.36 We sure do a lot of things in the summer that we don’t do in our regular life. We have just seen a TV documentary about a Lao pig farmer and now we are watching a panel program with young people discussing with a map of Laos in the background.

A quiet street in Savannakhet.