Day 23 (Monday, August 17, 2026)
Today was pretty special because it was Indonesia's 81st Independence Day.
So, just like in Indonesia, we had our own August 17th celebration.
From the morning, we got ready to go to the Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane for the Independence Day ceremony.
We were supposed to leave at around 6:30 a.m., but before that, Key and I wanted to withdraw some money because Key didn't have any cash.
We left at around 6 a.m.
At first, everything was normal. Nothing really happened.
But when we left the alley near our house, we were suddenly confronted by a pretty big dog.
So we tried to find another way.
While looking for another route, we found an empty boarding house and thought there might be a shortcut through it.
But as soon as we looked inside, there was a huge dog.
Suddenly, it started barking and chasing us.
We ran as fast as we could.
That was the first time I had ever been chased by a dog, and I don't think I had ever run that fast from anything before.
Normally, I just run casually, but this time it was pure adrenaline.
Eventually, we made it back home.
I felt really weak afterward, so when we started walking again, I stopped at a small food stall to buy some bread and water.
I was seriously exhausted.
Then I caught up with the others because I was already late for the bus.
We got on the bus and headed to the Indonesian Embassy.
When we arrived at the embassy, we were told to sit in a room where everyone was gathering.
We waited until around 9 a.m., and finally, the ceremony started.
This was my first time attending a proper August 17th ceremony at a government institution.
Since it was at the Indonesian Embassy, there were also many Indonesians living in Laos who came to attend the ceremony.
There were quite a lot of people there.
We were also asked to become part of the choir, or something like that.
Basically, we were told to sing Indonesian Independence Day songs and Padamu Negeri.
The ceremony finished at around 10 a.m.
After that, there was an announcement of the winners from the competitions held the previous day.
Since we didn't participate in the competitions, we just sat there and listened.
There was also a performance by some teenagers there.
I don't know whether they were Indonesian or not, but they performed Jaipong and another traditional dance that I think was from Yogyakarta.
After that, we were asked to go back to the waiting area for some kind of formal ceremony.
I honestly didn't really understand what it was, but basically, that's what happened.
Then we were given food.
Finally, after around three weeks, I got to eat Indonesian food again!
Since it was Indonesia's Independence Day, we were served yellow rice.
We were all really hungry because we hadn't eaten breakfast that morning.
There were also some traditional Indonesian snacks, such as sosis solo, mini martabak, stuffed tofu, and other traditional snacks.
We ate for quite a long time, probably around an hour and a half.
When we were about to leave, we were suddenly asked to share our experiences from Vietnam.
Only representatives had to speak, so Hanif and Yugi were the ones who shared their experiences.
After that, we went to Patuxai, a monument with a park around it.
We went there to meet and share experiences with PPI Laos.
They shared their experiences of living and studying in Laos, while we shared our experiences from our journey.
The session lasted around an hour.
After that, we continued to Pha That Luang Vientiane, which is a Buddhist religious site.
I bought some souvenirs there, such as a refrigerator magnet and a keychain.
Then we went to Azahar Mosque.
There, we met some Indonesians who were also traveling.
They were traveling through several different countries to learn about the lives of Muslim communities in each country.
They also shared some of their experiences with us.
We were served some syrup drinks and biscuits while we listened.
After that, we continued to Parkson Mall.
Our teachers said it was one of the biggest malls in Southeast Asia, but I don't know about that.
When we got there, it wasn't as impressive as we expected.
I split up with Ibra and Key, and the three of us explored the mall for about an hour.
We mostly just looked around.
We also tried to find a cafรฉ, but none of them really felt right.
We were there from around 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
In the end, I only bought Dairy Queen.
Then we continued to our final destination: Vientiane Night Market.
It was basically like a typical night market, with lots of food, clothes, and souvenirs.
We stayed there from around 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.
At first, I walked around and looked at what they had.
Then I got hungry, so we started looking for food.
We first found a smoothie stand and bought some.
I got pineapple, Ibra got avocado, and Key got mango.
Next to the smoothie stand, there was a place selling fried chicken with Korean sauce.
Since I was hungry, I bought some.
It actually tasted pretty good.
After that, we headed back toward the bus to gather with everyone.
But we still had around half an hour, so I decided to try one of the games there.
I played a balloon dart game.
I had to pop three balloons and pay 20,000 kip.
If I managed to pop all three balloons, I would get to take home one stuffed toy.
Alhamdulillah, I hit all three balloons and won the prize.
Pretty nice. I could use it as a pillow while sleeping.
Then it was Key's turn.
His first attempt failed because one balloon didn't pop.
He wanted to try again, so he played a second time.
And the result was exactly the same. One balloon didn't pop.
Hahahaha.
But by then, our time was up, so we went back to the bus.
We headed home and arrived at around 10 p.m.
As soon as I got there, I took a shower, cleaned myself up, and went straight to sleep.
Alhamdulillah, today went smoothly.