The 777 was parked at the gate of the Brisbane airport. It’s an impressive airplane, one that can’t fail to excite a traveler who has a long journey ahead. It was a ten-hour flight to Bangkok where I would sleep on the airport floor with a book as a pillow and several magazines making for a bed. The next morning there was a flight to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

The taxi drivers harried everyone but I held back as I wasn’t quite in my comfort zone yet. After a period of time and then a period haggling with a taxi, it was off to downtown Vientiane. I was astounded at the number of bicycles, which warms my heart, and also the number of scooters. This is a common feature of Asian cities and it was my first time in Asia. The city had a rundown feeling as if the buildings were once grand but were now slowly decaying but still having a certain charm.

Found a cheap guesthouse and then went to sit by the river and read a magazine that had functioned as a bed last night. I noticed that on some islands in the river that within walking distance of downtown, people were working the land with oxen. I would later become aware of how important agriculture was in Lao society and it’s never far away in a figurative and literal sense. That evening I walked around the city center. You did have to be careful walking and keep and eye out as the sidewalks were in poor shape and even had missing pieces where you could fall a meter and a half down, so best to pay attention. It was enjoyable walking around Vientiane and it certainly was exotic to me.

The next day I met an Australian traveler named Ella. In some ways, I wouldn’t call her a traveler as she couldn’t return home. She had done something, I didn’t inquire too much, that attracted the authorities attention and they wanted to talk to her if she returned. She even went beyond being a “budget traveler” as she would sleep outside for lack of money and other such things that might not be advised for a woman. Outwardly, nothing seemed to bother her. She said she had been raped when sleeping outside a village but it was “Ok as I survived it.” She took a route widely known as being dangerous and the jeep was held up by guys with M16’s, which were pointed straight at her. The guys dropped their attention for a moment and the two drivers grabbed their M16s and four people were standing there pointing automatic weapons at each other and everyone slowly backed away. But again, she was ok with it as she survived. When asked what she would do when her passport expired she said that she would go to Bangkok and buy a fake one.

We spent a couple of days together in the capital and that was interesting and she eased my transition into understanding how to function in this new environment. We spent the days walking around the city until she had to take a bus to points south. It was an enjoyable time but once can’t help but wonder what will become of her in five years.

The next few days passed in a slow, laconic way and ran across a stray kitten that slowly warmed to me on the way to the Pha That Luang, a golden temple on the outskirts of the city. It looked so frightened and unsure. I wished I could have helped it and all I could do was scratch him on the ears and give him comfort for the short time we were together. I also met Reza, an Iranian Zoroastrian who did not want to go home due to religious persecution. He had been caught with a fake passport in Korea and they deported him back to Iran. They made him buy a planet ticket and he got one that stopped in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he jumped ship. He was on his way to Bangkok to get another fake passport so he could eventually make his way to Canada. Reza said he did not want to go back to Iran in general but given the fact that his fake passport was an Israeli one, his future was not bright in the land of Persia. We spent a pleasant day together and I’m sure, somehow,  he is now in Canada.