The next morning, (28.05) we took the bus for Luang Nam Tha just to find out that the bus station there is far from the town center. We computed, being on tight budget, and we decided of going straight to Huay Xai. Tuktuk is 10,000 kip one-way and it is going to be 20,000 kip if we go back to the bus station... when the bus to Huay Xai is 55,000.00 only. We skipped Luang Nam Tha. Save money for beer, hell, that's still 2 bottles of Beer Lao if we can't bargain to lower the price.
We then found ourselves on a minivan with a Chinese guy only having a plastic bag full of Chinese medicines. He's friendly... he smiles everytime you look at his direction. Then there was motor breakdown which I first thought was a peeh-break.
Then the Chinese guy spotted something on Javie's ankle - a wound - which somehow triggered the "healer" in him and he started to open his plastic full of medicine and stuff. He started his "ritual" - he opened the denatured alcohol, took some acupuncture needles, some little bottles, cotton, and lighter... the needle was just to open the wound, to let the pus out... then the denatured alcohol was to disinfect and to heat the bottle which he was trying to use as suction for the pus to come out. And there is brownish powder he asked Javie to swallow which was the same powder he covered the wound with... hmmm... I am exposed to Chinese medicine but still I don't know what he is doing. It would be easier with a Chinese-Filipino to know more about it.
The Chinese guy gave Javie a small bottle of this brownish powder and he gave also the same to Clarissa. And he gave me a bracelet which was at first wrapped with a tissue paper and we were skeptical about what is inside - MJ, is that you?! Luckily, it was a bracelet. He just gave us all these for FREE!
This Chinese guy turned out to be a former soldier and was kicked out of service for some reasons we don't know. With the help of body language and one English word that he definitely know - shit - we got some parts of what he was trying to say. He said, or he might have said, that he walked for months along the border of China to Laos and Vietnam... then he will say "shit".
After the long and winding road - good road at least, thanks to the Chinese support in building the roads - we've arrived in Huay Xai! BUT the town center is some kilometers away... We've thought of walking hearing that the tuktuk is again, as always, 10,000 kip. We walked for some meters and the same tuktuk driver agreed for 5,000 kip each. Good bargaining skills!
Kob Chai Lai Lai (thank you very much in Lao)!
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