rump boy the Lao sure know how to build a road!
as for the jeep well the driver was adamant that
i ride in the back for fear of bandits who as usual
failed to materialise (as did Captain Haddock –
having discovered the medicinal value of sang sam
whiskey okay I’ll see you in Phonsavan! i tried
shouting above a din of fighting cocks & MTV Asia
blistering fucking barnacles! he retorted hotly,
you truly expect me to risk my life for a couple of
cracked fucking jars? I’d sooner meet you in hell!)
well captain this sore arse is here to tell you that
Phonsavan wasn’t worth the trouble – but as for
the plain of jars itself I soon managed to shake off
my guide & was beginning to enjoy the serenity
of my solitude amongst these thousand year old
jars of mystery when I heard a muffled explosion
to the south (in the direction from which I’d come
being of course wary of landmines i took my time
getting back to the jeep but it was too late the poor
guide, i suppose alarmed at my giving him the slip
& in this plain of bombs had searched only to find
his left foot on top of a rusted metal disc & one
second later his entire body blown to the four
winds (what more could i do but commandeer
the old jeep & settle into the padded driver’s seat
for the long ride back to bangkok to await both
my drunken captain & his pointless expletives?
