I checked into the same Sabaidee Guesthouse where I had stayed previously in Vientiane. I spent my last day exploring the city by doing some window shopping, eating at night vendors and chilling in the cafe beside my guesthouse. There are a few more unique things in Vientiane apart from all the temples and sights to see. There was this long bearded shaggy Caucasian man that moved around barefooted on the street that I have seen previously when I was in Vientiane. I kept wondering what was his story. At night, there were malnourished looking prostitutes trying to sell their service to all the tourists and they were quite aggressive at times. It was the last night there and I drank my last coffee and turned in early.
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| Eating my last breakfast in a Laotian cafe |
I took a tuk tuk to the Vientiane International Airport for my flight to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon. The check in process at Laos was quite messy as well and we had to fill up departure forms. Eventually the flight was delayed for more than an hour and the departure lounge was crowded with impatient travelers. I spent the time browsing through the duty free shop. I boarded my Airasia flight eventually and had mixed sentiments leaving Laos as the plane took off into the sky. It had been an interesting and insightful trip and it was coming to an end. I arrived at KLIA at around 8pm. It had been a 3 hour flight and I lost an hour coming back to Malaysia. Laos was 1 hour slower. It was strange touching down in a bustling city with all the high rise buildings and lightnings after the time in Laos. I had another flight booked to Singapore was from KL International Airport. I took a bus from the bus station beside the airport and it was a very fast ride of less than half an hour there.
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| Vientiane International Airport |
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| Plane was delayed |
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| Duty Free shop in departure lounge |
I was going to have to spend my night in the airport as my flight was at 8am and I had more than 6 hours to spare. I treated myself to Burger King, my first fast food meal in weeks and bought a few books and magazines to while the night away. They were airing the World Cup in the airport and there were comfortable sofas that were empty after the matches. I slept on these sofas with other travelers till morning. Feeling very tired when I woke up, I checked in to Jetstar and proceeded to the departure gate for my flight back.
I arrived in Singapore, Terminal 1 at around 9am. The Custom Officer looked multiple times at my passport photo and back at me again. I must looked very different and maybe even like a terrorist with my bearded face. Eventually he let me pass, convinced that I must be harmless. It was a weird sense of displacement after 5 weeks away in developing countries and finally back in a very organized city. Everything looked new and you kind of feel a little detached and out of place. It had been a very insightful and interesting trip where I have met all kinds of people and gained different perspectives about life. I think life is too short and Singapore is just too small to stay here forever without going out there to explore. 5 weeks felt too short looking back. Taking a year or two off to travel seems like a very good idea.
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