My mind is disturbed from a drunken slumber by the light in the room making its way through my closed eyelids. I don’t dare to attempt to open them quite yet so I don’t; I lye there instead and try to move my limbs. I wince when nerve endings alert me to a pain in my right knee. With zero recollection of how I even got into this bed last night, I remind myself that I’m getting way too old to consume that much alcohol in one evening. My mind searches its depths to pull up scenes from the evening’s events and flashes of gutter-balls, teary arguments, and Lao beer (too much Lao beer) come to the forefront. Peeling myself from the sheets I stumble to the toilet, my eyes still closed. I don’t open them until I’m forced to locate the toilet paper. A pounding headache immediately follows the invasion of light in my corneas. I chug my water bottle after washing my hands and take a look around the room. My clothes are neatly folded and my purse laying on top of them on the table. I raise an eyebrow at my uncanny ability to organize things whilst intoxicated before going to bed. I swallow 600mg of ibuprofen and lay back down.
Check out is in two hours and I’ll have three hours more to entertain myself in this state until I need to fetch a tuk-tuk to get to the airport for my flight to Bangkok. I’ve got a 17-hour layover awaiting me when I arrive. My connecting flight to Mandalay isn’t until tomorrow morning. When I arrive at the international airport in Luang Prabang I’ve realized that I can’t recall when I scheduled a transfer of funds onto my traveling Visa credit card and that I may have another day or two until it’s released for use. I check my balance at an atm and my suspicions are confirmed. I think to the last few nights and ponder how much money I drank away. I’ve got a little over 100,000 KIP ($11 USD) on me and had wanted to exchange that for Baht in order to pay for my hostel where those aforementioned seventeen hours will be better spent. I load my pack onto the scale to be tagged and the woman behind the desk tells me I’ve got to pay my baggage fee. I’ve got $42 USD to my name until that transfer goes through so I inquire on the price through clenched teeth. $40 USD she demands. Great, I think sarcastically.
So much for being able to exchange currencies, I point out to myself as I round the corner of the ATM. For the first time having to deal with the transaction fee at the atm irritates me. I typically ignore them considering my bank refunds these fees in full at the close of each month. I try to brainstorm how I can navigate this issue, but I don’t panic. If I can get a WiFi connection then I contact the bank and get confirmation of the transfer release date. I stare at the screen of my mobile as the network blinks, ‘no connection’. If I can’t figure this out and quick I’ll arrive in Bangkok with no access to any money other than what’s in my wallet, a sum not worthy of exchange. How will I pay the taxi to get to the hostel let alone the hostel itself? This truly is a frustrating and slightly alarming situation. I can feel my blood pressure rising, but I try to remain calm.
I manage to drift off to sleep on the plane despite being extremely anxious about this self-inflicted situation. I run various solutions through my head all requiring I access the internet. I repeat the words ‘everything will be ok’ as I inhale then exhale the tension one breath at a time. Once off of the plane I access the free airport WiFi and call the card company to confirm the date my funds will be available for use. The kind woman confirms the money will be available first thing tomorrow morning (Eastern Standard Time). I audibly exhale and the woman continues by explaining she can, however, release a portion of the transfer now making the funds immediately available to me. Another audible exhale, but this one is full of relief.
