Lunch in Pakse

Pakse is a trading post-like city, founded by the French in 1906. M says the number of tourists is far below normal- probably due to the economy, and to the recent BKK airport closer, which thankfully has been resolved. The airport should be fully functioning soon.

We dropped off a nice, older Swiss couple at Pakse Hotel (a nice chance to practice my french), where we'll be staying in about 2 wks when N comes. It's owned by a Frenchman and his Lao-French wife, who happens to be the granddaughter of the local, former King of Champassak, now the name of the province. She's also A's friend.

Anyhow, we had lunch at a floating restaurant on the Mekong. Big and flashy, but with hardly a soul in it, and overstaffed. Reminded me of China in 1986 or so.

Our waiter was the one who wasn't sitting down, bored out of his mind. M noticed that. He was attentive, and hovered nearby, asked us questions. M asked him if he spoke english, and he did, it's quite serviceable, even with idioms ("That sounds great! I would love that!"). He learned from the tourists he's met.

He's from the north, in Luang Prabang. He's dark, tall too. Nok, one of the servers at KF, is from the north too. But she's short and fair. She looks Japanese to me sometimes. M&A explained that Nok is from a hill tribe- the "black" Lao or Tai. Not to do with their complexion, but their traditional weaving.

Anyhow, a Thai trader offered our waiter work in Thailand. He got on the truck, and ended up over in Thailand, where he started working at a resort there. The cops caught up with him, and took him right back to the border, near here, in the south. He's been figuring out a way to get back up north since arriving here, two months ago.

And so M gave him his card and asked him to come by on his day off. We told him there was no city nearby, that he'd work only with falangi, that he had free room and board. And that he'd have to walk in the forest as a guide from time to time.

He seemed okay with everything. But then again, no one says "no" here. I'll have to ask Seum, one of the staff here who speaks the best english, about that.

The next day, his day off, our waiter called and said he couldn't make it that day, but maybe next week. Promising, thought M.