April 23rd, 2024.
He puts a glass on my table and starts concocting. He mixes lime with coffee. Fills the glass with ice and soda, then pours the coffee. “That looks delicious, do you sell those?”. No, it’s his special recipe, his morning creation. He shows me the ingredients, honey, coffee, limes, soda. Before he leaves, he grabs a little glass, pours some of his special drink for me. The drink’s a touch sour, maybe today’s limes were bitter, but I can see where he was trying to get, and I love it. Orange Americanos, coffee lemonades, egg and condensed-milk coffee. There’s a million possible coffee combinations and I want to try them all.
He is also not the only one using my table as a workstation. I’m at a family restaurant, and it seems I sat in their favorite table. I love it, keep it coming. A man stands on one of the chairs and starts repairing the fan above me.
This is my second day in Vientiane, I haven’t done much. Just what I needed to do. I did say my goodbyes to new friends. Travelers. The travelling continues, you get to share these precious moments, and then you got to go. They got to go. It’s heart-sinking, but you learn to cope. Say what you mean while you can, let them know the ways in which they are amazing. Everyone we meet, there’s a reason behind it. Something to learn, something to remember, something to admire or look up to.
In the afternoon I complete well passed due chores, celebrate with a bicycle ride around Vientiane. The air is thick hot. You shared beautiful moments with beautiful people. You eat satisfyingly good food. You said your goodbyes. Enjoy this thick, Vientiane hot air.
