Trouble in Paradise

More north of Luang Prabang, a bit more off the beaten path, a 4-hour ride by pick-up to get here. Staying at a place right on the river for a whopping $1/night (thanks again Brent, another good tip).

Yesterday was a long day in Luang Prabang. The night before I went out with Winston and the American couple, Peggy and Ron, to the restaurant across the street to celebrate my one year of travelling. We had a great time eating spring rolls and green curry and drinking quite a few beers as well. Winston surprised me with a special chocolate cake from the Scandinavian Bakery for dessert. We gave 2 pieces to the couple sitting next to us and ate the rest between us four, and there was not a single morcel left. We sat around for a bit after dinner, exchanged emails since Peggy and Ron were planning to leave the following day, and everyone was in bed by 11pm.

The next day (yesterday), Winston and I woke to hear terrible news from Peggy and Ron. They had been robbed while sleeping in the middle of the night – 2 cameras, Peggy’s passport, their plane tickets, and over $700 cash GONE. We were in shock. THEY were in shock. All we really knew is that they woke up around 3am to find the door wide open, and thinking they just didn’t close it properly, got up, closed the door, and went back to sleep.

They didn’t realize things were missing until the next morning when they started packing. There are 4 rooms in the building where we’re all staying – our room is on one end; their room is at the other. Our room wasn’t touched. And, the place where we ate dinner the night before was directly across the street from where we stayed; we could see our porches from our table at the restauant. So we’re sure no one had been in there earlier in the evening. What we do think is that the day before, while Peg and Ron were walking around town for the day, someone spotted them with their expensive cameras and followed them and waited. That’s the only explanation why they went for their room and not our’s or anyone else’s. What a shame.

Peggy and Ron spent most of the day at the police station and other government offices trying to file all the paperwork for a police report and new passport. We felt so bad, but there was nothing we could do. All I managed was to buy a bunch of brownies for them at the bakery.

We spent the afternoon at the guesthouse with Peg and Ron, waiting for the police to show up and inspect the room. Once the first wave of shock wore off we were able to laugh about it, a little anyway. We tried to forget about the troubles of the day by going out to dinner together, to a traditional Lao dancing show and buffet. Peggy and I stayed up late at the guesthouse talking and drinking more beer Laos. At the end of the day we agreed that the material possesions don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things anyway; what’s important is that no one got hurt. We’re all thankful for that.

First class transport in Lao – the back of a pick-up

The village of Nong Khiaw

View of the river from the bridge

Add comment October 17th, 2002