Lao isn’t great on customer service. You walk into a shop or restaurant and often feel like you’re intruding and rather an inconvenience, dragging them away from their smartphone or TV.
One of two tops I bought for my trip is made from a Cool Max type of material and is perfect for travelling – comfy, quick-drying and very light (laundry is charged by weight) – but I haven’t found anywhere that sells them in SE Asia. Until today. But the sales assistant wasn’t exactly helpful – you’d ask for another size and she’d wander away, buried in her mobile phone.
Similarly, walking into the internet cafe, the owner and family were having dinner on a rug at the back of the shop. He just told me the internet was down and waved me away. It’s the same in many places, disturbing people from a particularly interesting YouTube video or something. It’s another reminder that in this part of the world, the physical boundary between home and business is blurred. Indeed, the walls of the restaurant I had dinner at today were full of family photos.
Found my first Laotian supermarket where the staff were very unsubtle about following me around. Did they really think that I’d steal something that, to me, is so cheap?
An interesting array of snacks, including dried fish, salted duck egg and what appeared to be some kind of meat-based product of various colours.
The supermarket was another giveaway that I’m in a functional, local town rather than a tourist spot. Other indicators include: food stalls that sell meat with a high percentage of bones, skin and gristle and not much actual meat, and; the main high street being absolutely dead by 8pm – all the locals are at home because their day starts at 5am.
The mini-spade I got with my my yoghurt was one of the highlights of my day:
Finally managed to get some laundry done and got my aforementioned t-shirt back, which someone described as “backpacker white”:
Then off through the gaggle of local sellers who’d taken a fancy to Rudy:
… to the night market
Then an early night in preparation for tomorrow – a few days’ relaxation was great, but I’m itching to get active again 🙂