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Saturday, August 8, 2009

New Visa

For Sunday Scribblings - New
And reposted for ABC Wednesday

WAITING ROOM ONLY

*Thai-Lao Friendship spanning Mae Nam Khong*
Unveils course to Vientiane Capital

Sprawling, low-rise, Lao community
Waiting Room for Consular Consent
Embassy ‘extension’ exercise
Passport stamp; permission to return

Vacuum-filling Tourist lip-service
Tuk-tuk Temple Trip – Wat Sisaket

Later – Lured by ‘Love Shack’ liquid lunch
Boei Lao pitchers poured in Lao ‘Beirut’
Samlor ride for refills in…‘Samlor
Mao in Lao – Thanks so much ‘Khop Chai Deur’

Hurdles cleared…Hangover; Consul Queue
Visa granted – Mission a success
Next stop – Nongkhai; prior to pushing south
Isan ‘Welcome Home’…well worth the wait


-V-

Vignette, Vis-à-Vis Vapid Vacation:

Vital Visa Verification
Veto’s Voluntary Visit

Vagabond ‘VIP’ Van
-Voyagers Vehicle-

Vientiane; Village Vast

Veni; Vidi…;
Vacated

Voilà…

V!


*The Friendship Bridge, across the Mekong River, links Thailand and Laos
Vientiane is the capital of Laos
Tuk-tuk is a motorised rickshaw
Wat Sisaket is a temple in Vientiane
Love Shack is the nick-name for a jerry-built bar/restaurant in Vientiane
Boei Lao is Beer Lao
Lao ‘Beirut’ is a shanty street on the bank of the Mekong
Samlor means ‘3 wheels’ – official word for ‘Tuk-tuk’
‘Samlor’ is the name of a bar in Vientiane
Mao means ‘drunk’
Khop Chai Deur is a bar in Vientiane – its name means ‘Thank you very much’
Nongkhai is the border town on the Thai side of the Mekong
Isan is the name given to North-eastern Thailand

21 comments:

  1. you gotta like this one. Loved the poem even before the word meanings arrived. nice job

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  2. That was great - and I'm glad you put the meanings in :-)

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  3. Thanks to:
    Old Grizz; Wetted whistle stop trip...
    Anthony North; Glad it proved a successful trip.
    Andy; and good to be back.
    Americanising Desi; fun feom formality...
    Gautami Tripathy; Awesome trip!

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  4. great post. I almost felt I was there with you.

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  5. interesting and informative - loved it!

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  6. I would call this a globalization post.
    :)

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  7. Thanks to:
    Lilly; It was all over so quickly.
    Dee Martin; We live and learn.
    Megha; I like to come home with stories...this time it was just too brief.

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  8. sabaidee mai krap?

    absolutely enthralled by this writing. the V's are genius and the first poem brought back lots of thai memories

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  9. Holy macaronio on the 'V' poem. That's a gold medal poem. And Waiting Room Only makes perfect sense without the notes, but the notes make a second reading so much more lively.

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  10. Thanks to;
    Totomai; Sabai dee khrap.
    I thought you might relate.
    Jeeves; One of many.
    Julia Smith; Yes, less can be more.
    Whitesnake; Well, it's like this...

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  11. Very nice! The form is just as enjoyable as reading it!

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  12. Thanks Bobbie; glad you enjoyed it.

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  13. You're bringing me along, right into this scene. Nicely done!

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  14. Thanks Roger; Comment appreciated.

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