I'm not in Kansas anymore! I've arrived at the center of the universe. I'm in Pakse, population 120,000!

Between boat, mini bus and waiting, the trip from Don Det took 3 1/2 hours, so not bad at all, but I was still exhausted. Tony asked me to deliver a small package to an Indian in Pakse, and I managed to do that immediately. There's a pho joint near my hotel, but it was closed for a private party, so I ducked into Amor Fati. Here, I had a plate of spaghetti, bowl of mushroom soup and a strawberry shake for $7.15. Everything was fine but the mushroom soup, which was not creamy in the least. It was like slurping brown water. The croutons that came with it were lame, too.