April 15th, 2024.
In inhumane to be in this heat. Empty streets. Closed stores. It’s the middle of Laos new year festivities and also, its hottest month. Please, abort mission, go back to my air-conditioned room. As I walk pass the plaza in front of Saint Teresa’s Church, I see an air-conditioned café with people in it. Yes, this is what I need.
I step inside Black Coffee. It’s modern. Equipment looks new, the coffee machine, the big air conditioner on the roof. This is the first modern coffee shop I come across in Savannakhet. Patrons are well dress, branded denim, shirts. Stylish people. Expensive cars parked outside, a vintage car, and new SUVs.
I get the sense that either there’s a lot of money in this part of Laos, or people here care a lot about appearances (both?). Walking the town, I see many SUVs and pickups. New ones too, Land Rovers, Fords, and Toyotas.
The owners, a couple, supervise behind the counter. To open a place like this, with all the equipment of a great modern coffee shop, they most be of means. They, too, are well-dressed, stylish. Picture a good-looking influencer couple.
Me on the other side, I’m wearing my sport shorts and a bright orange shirt. I haven’t shaved in a while. Since Laos new year festivities are ongoing (they last 4 days), I was prepared to get soak on the street today, which is the tradition. Instead, I ended in a trendy coffee shop being the least well-dressed.
I order an orange Americano. It’s so good. The owners are making drinks, serving orders, training the staff. I thought refinement came from experience, but the owners, apparently new to the job, already have a particular refinement.
I’m liking this place. One good coffee shop, one great establishment, can change your whole perspective of a town.
I step outside the café. Five minutes later, my shirt is already soaked, with sweat. My phone is burning. My camera is burning. I’m being cooked alive. I’ll just go to my hotel and come outside in the evening. On the way there, I pass by a Buddhist temple. Inside, people are spraying the Buddha statues with perfumed water. This is part of the new year’s tradition too. I look at the monks’ robes and I realize, I am wearing a similar orange color. I’m soaked in sweat. I have a buzz cut. Am I a new type of monk? A digital monk? I don’t think so, the monk I saw yesterday had an iPhone and iPad way newer than mine.
In the evening I head back out. It’s still cooking outside. The air is thick hot. Now, there’s more people trowing water on the streets. I have to put my camera inside a plastic bag. If yesterday not a single person threw water at me, today was not the same. I got sprayed with hoes, guns, and buckets. I try to find local food, but give in when I saw a restaurant selling Pad Thai.
Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving early to Thakhek, where I’ll be doing a multi-day motorcycle trip.
