Pakse was really unimpressionable. There wasn’t really much to do or see in a city but of course, I always appreciate absorbing all the unique cultural nuances. One really cool experience was walking through a market called Don Mueang. There were women carrying live chickens on sticks, vendors selling dried lizards, a freak show featuring an 8ft tall Laotian man. Lots of bizarre things to see. There were a lot of interesting street foods as well but of course, I was too afraid to have any. My stomach is still not handling food very well here. Tried taking some Imodium but it ended up making me feel extremely tired and extremely dizzy. Bleh.
In the city there were a lot of sad limping stray dogs, Westerners eating french fries, and as usual, locals staring. Not sure if it’s for the lot of us but I’m thinking it was me especially. I can see a lot of people pointing me out to their peers and many eyes scanning over midriff. Midriff which is exposed, of course. Whoops. The men were particular bad, some of whom kept trying to talk to and take pictures me. Met a Swedish guy who told me he had the same experience with strangers asking to take pictures of him or with him. I wonder what they do with all these pictures. Do they just collect pictures of foreigners? Send them to friends and family? Bizarre.
I’m in Chiang Mai now, a much more modern and touristy city so things are a bit more comfortable for me. I’m still facing some small troubles like heat rashes, itchy mosquito bites (which I’m trying to scratch at whist avoiding my scabs off), gaining mad weight, etc. But I’m very happy to be back around hipster joints and cocktail bars. Currently sitting in a “darkroom” coffee shop/gallery, eating a strawberry cheese tart, topped with a sprig rosemary. I’m surrounded by old tin wind-up toys from the 50s, old folding cameras, and jumbles of mismatched trinkets. How much more legit can it get? Thank god for hipsters.