Well, being the stuborn person I am, I decided that even though I forgot my passport, I was still going to go to Laos on this trip. So what did I do? I did the unthinkable: I went home to Bangkok to get it.
To accomplish this feat, I took the 11-hour overnight train from Ubon back to Bangkok, arriving at Hualompong at 5 AM. Then, that same afternoon, I flew for one hour on Air Asia back to Ubon. From there, I took a taxi to the bus station and boarded a bus to Pibun Mangsahan, a small town half-way to the border.
Unfortunately, Pibun was as far as I could go, because it was too late to make the connection for a songtaew to the border. So, after checking into the one and only hotel in town I did the usual wandering around and checking out life in the small-town.
At one point I struck up a conversation with a young street vendor selling luk chin (pork balls on a stick). For the next two hours or so, I sat there and chatted with him. And the most amazing thing was that since my Thai was better than his English, we talked mostly in Thai. I was so proud of myself. Not that we talked about the Policies of the Current Thaksin Administration or the Role of Buddhism in the Life of the Rural Thai, but it was still a conversation.
So, tomorrow, with my new found confidence in my communication skills, and my passport firmly in hand, I will be crossing the border into Laos.
next time you go to Laos via Ubon, Pibun and Chongmek, suggest to stop at "Choidao fresh coffee shop" at Chongmek, a few hundred meters from the Lao border...the owner, a nice little lady called Rat prepares the best coffee between Tokio and London and will offer internet soon as well as daily fresh muffins and the like...try it, you will be overwhelmed...