Arrival in Nong Khai

I'm sitting in the garden overlooking the Mekong River, which means I am also looking at Laos across the river. Funny thought.

I took a nice fan (versus A/C) bus up here- about 3 hours- they were so sweet. I went to the bus station to ask about a ride to Nong Khai and they told me where sit and when the bus arrived, a little chubby Thai guy came over and got me. Then I got on and they just watch over me when I travel alone... they know where I am going and tell me, "This isn't your stop." Etc. Usually someone who speaks English will come and sit by me. This time it was a girl, probably in her 20s on her way home to see her mom, dad and son. She works in a different province and goes home for three months out of the year. She asked, "Do you mind if I sit here, Madame?" (We get called Madame a lot over here.) After a while on the bus, I was cold and put on my green corduroy coat (proof I have acclimated to Asia heat again) and stared out the window with Radiohead on my IPod. I thought, "I still haven't seen Radiohead in concert." This obsession started in 2001 in a little apartment in Portland with the four optometry guys. (The Radiohead concert is now one of my life goals.)