Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. – Francis Bacon

Waking up to my iPhone alarm buzzing at 7am, there is a slight breeze in the air and I’m preparing for yet another very long overnight travel day. Never knowing when the next meal may be I’ve given myself two-hours before the 9am boat departure and begin with a brekkie of coffee and a pancake with chocolate and bananas. Yes, I am the model of health. As I’m packing up Mama Piang comes over to let me know that Papa (her husband) and four other guys are waiting on me to depart 15-minutes earlier than expected, and has set the precedence for the journey back to Thailand. I make my way down the narrow steep path to the boat hoping that I don’t slip, as I am loaded down with both backpacks. The long tail boat ride to the mainland town of Ban Nakasang takes about 12-minutes and from here it is a short walk to the outdoor bus terminal where I learn that the bus for Pakse won’t be departing until 12pm. Looking at my watch, the only time I wear it is on travel days, I realize that I have almost three-hours to kill. It’s times such as these that I wish there were Wi-Fi, but no such luck. There wasn’t even an outlet to charge my iPod for the long journey.



