Those Blurry Days in Southern Laos

I will always remember my overnight bus ride from Vientiane to Pakxe as the night that I slept with a monk. Yes, I shared my couchette with one servant of Buddha, not much of an adventure I must add. When I arrived to Pakxe I was exhausted. I first associated this to the 13-hour bus journey. Later I would understand that this wasn't the source of my tiredness. I slept a few hours, then I visited the local market with my new travel partners: Kathie (25, Chinese), Matilde, Ed and Patrick (23, 22, 25, all British).

The next day we followed our host's advice and took a bus to a nearby Tad Lane waterfall. Rewarding sight, however I kept feeling tired. That night I slept 13 hours in a row. Next day's fever confirmed my suspicions: I was sick. I don't know how it happened, perhaps the air-con in the bus, maybe some mosquito bite, who knows. For the next four days I had fever, over 39ºC sometimes! In spite of the well-known presence of malaria in the area I decided not to panic. I fed on soup and juices and soon I felt better. Nonetheless this didn't spare me one of the most difficult nights of my life. It comprised lots of sweating, uncountable visits to a pitch dark toilet and an endless succession of surreal dreams (did you ever wonder what the self-cross-convolution of a sleeping bag may look like? that night I found out). By the time I got better my visa was about to expire so I had to leave the country. A bitter goodbye for a sweet country.

PS: Some say I made it to the legendary 4000 islands in the Mekong river. To be honest I cannot tell, I just remember rain, lots of rain, and sweat, lots of sweat too.

Interesting things I've learnt in Laos:

• Laos has been bomb more than any other country in Asia (that includes Vietnam)
• Lao Beer is one of the best brews in the world.
  
• Although both in Spain and Laos, students are taught that the World features 6 continents - Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Europe and Oceania (aka Australia) - in some other countries they consider North and South America separate continents.
  
• How to lead climb and abseil.
• How irresponsible some tourist can be.
  

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Tras mi periplo por las embajadas y demas organismos en Vientiane, prosegui mi camino al sur en un autobus-litera que me llevo hasta Pakxe. Al llegar a Pakxe me note especialmente cansado, cosa logica por otra parte despues de 13 horas de viaje. Tras unas horas de descanso mis compañeros de viaje: Kathie (25, China), Matilde, Ed y Patrick (23, 22, 25, Britanicos) y yo visitamos el mercado local. Nada interesante. Al dia siguiente seguimos el consejo del dueño de nuestra pension y nos fuimos a un pueblo cercano a visitar una cascada. La visita merecio la pena, pero yo seguia cansado. La fiebre del dia siguiente confirmo mis sospechas, estaba enfermo. Tres o cuatro dias de fiebre, nada serio. Unos cuantos paracetamoles, descanso, sopas, zumos y sobretodo un cuerpo de 25 años de edad me sacaron adelante sin problemas, eso si, pase una noche bastante entrenida entre sueños y paranoyas varias. Para cuando me recupere mi visado me decia que debia abandonar Laos. Una despedida agria para una visita dulce!