Surprise!

Today has been full of surprises.

After packing up my camp site I stopped in Vang Vieng for a coffee, hoping from the cool decor it might be decent.  It was really quite good!  In fact, for I think the first time since Australia I was able to order a “flat white”, which was a great surprise meaning the milk was much less stretched (“frothed”) than a “latte”.  Did a little excitement dance.  On the inside, of course.

I still hadn’t got over that “flat white” surprise when I got chatting with another customer, who asked where I was going next.  He’d seen the flag stickers on my bike and it was clear I was on a long trek.  His “me too!” response to my “China” answer had us both jumping to the same next question.  “Are we in the same group?”  And… surprise!… yes we are both travelling together into China on May 24.  Surprise!

I’m now in Laos’ capital Vientiane, 8 hours or so ride south from Luang Prabang where a few days ago I enjoyed a couple of meals on the Mekong banks.  I’ve been a bit annoyed at having to come so far south for the China visa appointment this Monday, only to then retrace my steps back north for the China tour.

I was flicking through some documents just now to double-check everything for the visa.  One of those is the appointment letter itself.  Reading casually through I did a double-take.  Read it again.  And again.

Surprise!  The appointment.  Is. In. Luang Prabang.  I just rode two days south for nothing.  I was in the very place and needed to go nowhere.  Even more embarrassing, I actually dropped in to the Consulate to see if they could take my appointment over and save my travel to the capital.  They’d said “no – the appointment has to be taken where it was made.”  So to the capital I came.  And now I have to retrace those steps in a hurry before Monday morning.  How on earth could I be so careless??  Sigh.

Anyway, I’m grateful that I’ve discovered it with time to get back north.  I deliberately took my time on the way down with short days and slow riding, and will travel at a prompt pace in a one-day trip back north tomorrow after church.

What a crazy kerfuffle.  I’ll put it down to some sight seeing; and can almost claim it was worthwhile on that basis as the sights were very much worth seeing.

I am so SO SOOOO glad to discover it tonight rather than tomorrow night.  I suspect the China immigration system would be very unforgiving, and there isn’t time now to redo the appointment.

No more surprises any time soon, please.  I’ve had my fill for now.

Big day tomorrow, as it turns out.  Not the quiet day I was expecting.  Time for a bit of shut-eye now.