I woke up at about 7:30 AM. I had slept well. I woke up to the sound of another guy getting ready to leave the room. I packed everything quickly and left the room. I went downstairs, where there was a young girl at the reception desk instead of the lady I had spoken with the day before. She handled my check-out kindly, and I left the hostel.
I had tried to book one more night at the same hostel, but I could not find it online. When I asked the other lady the day before, she told me that the hostel would be fully booked. I doubted that, considering there had only been one other guy in my room. Regardless, I booked a different hostel for the night.
I headed to a nearby coffee shop to update my blog. The coffee shop looked very local but was spacious. I ordered a double espresso because it was relatively cheap. As I mentioned before, I only had 2,000,000 LAK ($93) in cash for my seven-day stay in Laos, so I needed to use my cash strategically.
The coffee was great, and the atmosphere was relaxing, but one thing that bothered me was the number of flies in the coffee shop. I’m not talking about just a few—there were easily more than ten flying around or crawling on the floor. As you know, the buzzing sound flies make is very obnoxious. While I was updating my blog, they kept distracting me. I think 20% of my focus was on the flies and only 80% was on writing. Since I did not want to move to another coffee shop and pay for another coffee, I stayed and finished my blog post.
I left the coffee shop at about 11:30 AM and headed to a lunch spot that I wanted to try. The restaurant was called Mrs. Khamla Fish Noodle Soups, and it was near the hostel, Kai Lions International Capsule Hostel Pakse, where I would be staying that night.
I saw an elderly man who looked like a tourist outside, but everyone inside appeared to be local. As I sat down, the first thing I noticed was the flies. Since they had bothered me so much in the morning, I was reluctant to eat there. However, I figured it would be the same no matter where I went, so I decided to stay.
A waitress who looked to be in her forties handed me a menu. The prices were not too high, but they were not especially cheap either. I ordered a large pork rice dish that looked very appealing. The large size cost 60,000 LAK ($2.70), while the regular size was 45,000 LAK ($2.00).
The dish arrived in about ten minutes. It looked amazing and was bigger than I had expected. The taste was great, but what I liked most was the portion size. I had not been fully satisfied with the portions of many meals since arriving in Vietnam. This dish, however, left me feeling quite full.
After leaving the restaurant, I headed to the hostel to complete my check-in. A young guy who had been relaxing in the back room came out to assist me. He looked to be in his twenties and did not speak much English. Unfortunately, I learned that check-in was not until 3 PM, so I decided to relax on a sofa in the back room until then. I even took a short nap.
After checking in, I headed to a local gym that I had found online. It was only about a ten-minute walk away. The gym was located on the third floor of a building that had a marketplace on the first floor. I had seen the marketplace before but had not realized that the building had three stories.
I used an escalator that was not operating, so it was essentially just a staircase. The second floor was an empty open space, while the third floor housed the gym and an old boxing ring that did not seem to be in use anymore.
When I entered the gym, there were two young women at the reception desk. Since I already knew the price from online, I paid 30,000 LAK ($1.30) for a day pass. One of them accepted the payment and let me enter the gym.
There was plenty of equipment, but the floor mats were unstable, and the weight plates were disorganized. There were both male and female lifters, and the average age seemed to be around their thirties. I trained my full body for a little over an hour. Working out always makes me feel tired immediately afterward, but it also leaves me feeling great later on.
In the evening, I went to a night market along the Mekong River. Compared to the night market I had visited in Phnom Penh, it was much smaller and had less energy. However, I enjoyed the riverside walking street. Across the river, I could see a brightly lit Buddha statue on a hill. Although the river looked somewhat dirty, I enjoyed the view as I walked.
My main reason for going there was not the night market itself, but a restaurant nearby that a female receptionist at my previous hostel had recommended. The restaurant was called Lankham Noodle.
Before entering, I noticed a large number of people outside, including what looked like a big group of tourists. I decided to sit at one of the tables “inside.” Technically, however, the restaurant was open-air, so there was no real distinction between inside and outside.
A young girl who looked like a teenager took my order. I chose the beef noodles because they looked great in the menu photo. I also wanted to get some protein. The large bowl cost 60,000 LAK ($2.70).
The taste was decent, but what I liked most was the generous amount of meat and the fresh vegetables served on the side with a special dipping sauce. While eating, I noticed many young girls who appeared to be teenagers working at the restaurant. They were receiving instructions from an older waitress who looked very strict. All of them worked hard.
As I left the restaurant, I noticed customers eating a Japanese yakiniku-style menu where customers cook raw meat on a hot grill at their table. If I had come here with other people, I definitely would have ordered that.
I walked about fifteen minutes back to the hostel. When I arrived, the staff member started talking to me through a translation app, explaining that my payment had not gone through. I checked my phone and transaction history, and the payment had indeed been processed. I showed him the proof and explained that I had never experienced any issues before. After about thirty minutes, he was finally convinced. It was a bit frustrating.
I also requested the hostel’s laundry service, which cost 40,000 LAK ($1.80) for washing and drying. It seemed like a good deal.
The dorm room where I stayed that night was packed with guys who looked European. The room was filled with the smell of men. My bed was a top bunk, and it was the largest hostel bed I had ever slept in.
At around 8 PM, a heavy rainstorm began, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The storm continued until about 10 PM. Once it finally stopped, I went straight to bed.
