Vientiane Day 2
Its a fairly quiet day, where the rain had been going close to non-stop for the whole day, since last night. Had a slow morning where we had breakfast till 11am at this really nice cafe that had the freshest garlic bread I ever ate. It was so just so fluffy! I tell you, if its the only thing that the French had done well, its probably with the cafe culture and all that breads, pastries and cakes. I had a nice bowl of tomato soup to start off as well.
Went back and took some time to plot out the next leg of the expedition thru Laos. The distance count right now is around 510km. But my guess is its really closer to 600km. Just imagine how much zig-zagging I would be on while trying to cycle thru the mountainousness regions of Laos. There is snow here one hoh. I had checked off on Google Earth and yes, it did freak me out a little.
Post-planning, I took time to go down to the Singapore Embassy to meet Kuan Yew. No, no... Not the Mr Lee that we know. Its one of the staff members there lah. Hahaha... He was nice and told me a good spot to get some decent Singapore food as well. Which is great cos I haven't actually realised this till today... That I've been away from home for 2 weeks already.
The home-sickness (or what I'd personally define as missing home to the kids who cry and whine all about it at work) hasn't quite set in. I don't really miss my parents at this point, just the friends and the company that I have around me constantly. Sometimes I think this whole “I-miss-home-and-family” thing doesn't quite apply since we stopped having the family dinners. Of course, it would be good to taste my aunts' home-made chinese dumplings and that ramen. I've not have had a lot of noodles since I left home. And I can't wait till I get to China – the land of la-mian noodles and dumplings.
Went to the 4th hospital of this trip in 2 weeks. Its just to get my rabies vaccination, 3rd dosage. The Australians run this ambassadorial service for their citizens and most of their white Commonwealth counterparts. I was a little disgruntled initially that they did not serve other Commonwealth countries, since I did take close to an hour to locate them. But the usual issue, about how they are funded after all by these countries and not mine (that I pay taxes for), emerged victory. I guess there's no 2 way around it and gave up my protest. Bought the vaccine from them nonetheless, because the other hospitals around these parts do not actually carry the exact vaccine I need.
Healthcare (here we go again) in Laos is a very simplified affair. There are people who do not actually get those saline bag stands. They get their family members to stand there with the saline bags. People take turns over things like this. Their family members probably surround them every moment because right outside the hospital, there is actually a whole market on its own just to make things easier for those who need food and stuff.
I must say tho, the nurse who injected me has got good technique. Even better than that doctor at te Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.
An Aussie lady at the Aussie Clinic advised me the same things that Lonely Planet did. If you need proper healthcare, the nearest place is actually in Udon Thani, Thailand. The nearest SOS evacuation centre is all the way in Hanoi. It did scare me for a moment since I am crossing both my fingers and toes that I won't actually crash again. You know how you'd never know when such things happen what you need to do.
By the time I finished all these little tasks, I was chuffed out from the amount of walking I did. I took time off to the nearest massage parlour. Its pretty cheap, only USD3 for a full hour of massage with oil. I dunno if its cooking oil or proper massage oil. But hey, its cheap! Can't beat that now, can I?
Went back and took some time to plot out the next leg of the expedition thru Laos. The distance count right now is around 510km. But my guess is its really closer to 600km. Just imagine how much zig-zagging I would be on while trying to cycle thru the mountainousness regions of Laos. There is snow here one hoh. I had checked off on Google Earth and yes, it did freak me out a little.
Post-planning, I took time to go down to the Singapore Embassy to meet Kuan Yew. No, no... Not the Mr Lee that we know. Its one of the staff members there lah. Hahaha... He was nice and told me a good spot to get some decent Singapore food as well. Which is great cos I haven't actually realised this till today... That I've been away from home for 2 weeks already.
The home-sickness (or what I'd personally define as missing home to the kids who cry and whine all about it at work) hasn't quite set in. I don't really miss my parents at this point, just the friends and the company that I have around me constantly. Sometimes I think this whole “I-miss-home-and-family” thing doesn't quite apply since we stopped having the family dinners. Of course, it would be good to taste my aunts' home-made chinese dumplings and that ramen. I've not have had a lot of noodles since I left home. And I can't wait till I get to China – the land of la-mian noodles and dumplings.
Went to the 4th hospital of this trip in 2 weeks. Its just to get my rabies vaccination, 3rd dosage. The Australians run this ambassadorial service for their citizens and most of their white Commonwealth counterparts. I was a little disgruntled initially that they did not serve other Commonwealth countries, since I did take close to an hour to locate them. But the usual issue, about how they are funded after all by these countries and not mine (that I pay taxes for), emerged victory. I guess there's no 2 way around it and gave up my protest. Bought the vaccine from them nonetheless, because the other hospitals around these parts do not actually carry the exact vaccine I need.
Healthcare (here we go again) in Laos is a very simplified affair. There are people who do not actually get those saline bag stands. They get their family members to stand there with the saline bags. People take turns over things like this. Their family members probably surround them every moment because right outside the hospital, there is actually a whole market on its own just to make things easier for those who need food and stuff.
I must say tho, the nurse who injected me has got good technique. Even better than that doctor at te Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.
An Aussie lady at the Aussie Clinic advised me the same things that Lonely Planet did. If you need proper healthcare, the nearest place is actually in Udon Thani, Thailand. The nearest SOS evacuation centre is all the way in Hanoi. It did scare me for a moment since I am crossing both my fingers and toes that I won't actually crash again. You know how you'd never know when such things happen what you need to do.
By the time I finished all these little tasks, I was chuffed out from the amount of walking I did. I took time off to the nearest massage parlour. Its pretty cheap, only USD3 for a full hour of massage with oil. I dunno if its cooking oil or proper massage oil. But hey, its cheap! Can't beat that now, can I?
posted by me.lis.sa at 9:28 PM
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