18th December – Thakek, Laos

Slept well, right through from 10 to 8, so felt quite refreshed.  But somehow I didn’t feel like getting up and facing another day.  A bit travel weary perhaps, a bit low in spirits.  After breakfast I discovered that my bike had been moved during the night and the lock was rammed up underneath the chassis.  Also the back tire was flat again (that’s puncture number 4 and the third for the back wheel).  Considering I only had a new inner tube put on yesterday this was rather worrying.  Fortunately the old chap I took it to round the corner was able to simply repair the puncture without having to replace the inner tube.  After this I walked around town (a beautiful warm sunny day) and eventually walked into the local Buddhist temple.  Here I met several young monks, almost all teenagers though one was only 10.  One of them was able to speak a bit of English so chatted away with me as we walked around the main temple.  They all seemed to be into football in a big way and kept asking me if I knew particular players, sadly none of which I did.  I showed them the pictures of the family which they were fascinated by.  

Had a banana milkshake on the riverside overlooking Thailand on the other bank.  The Mekong is a huge river at this point.  Still feeling rather low in spirits but can’t really explain this sudden dip.   At about 3.30 went for a Lao massage in a house by the river.  Looked like a legitimate place amidst all the restaurants. 

Good massage actually (at 50,000kip for an hour – about £4), more gentle than the rather punishing one I’d had in Saigon, though the ambience was less conducive to complete relaxation than I might have wished.  There was a television on and then a baby appeared, much to the amusement of the other masseurs.  Actually I felt in rather better mood when I emerged.  Maybe simple human touch has a therapeutic effect by counteracting loneliness at some primitive level. 

Went back to hotel for a shower (oil from the massage in what’s left of my hair), then watched the sun going down over the Mekong as I drank a BeerLao and watched a couple of women using one-woman Chinese fishing nets (without much success from what I could see).  Tomorrow I hope to get to Pakxan (193k) and the next day the capital Viang Chan (Vientiane – 147k).