The kindness of strangers

I lost my passport in Chiang Khong, the night before I was due to cross the border to Laos. I decided to wait an agonising 24 hours before reporting it missing to the British Consulate, and went instead to the local police to notify them. The following night, ready to travel back to Chiang Mai, I went for one last meal. As the restaurant owner handed me the menu, he looked at my face and asked, "Did you lose a passport recently?" The police had found it, and instead of going to my guesthouse or emailing me as I had asked, they took it to this restaurant which I'd never set foot in before and showed the owner my picture. The following morning I collected it and was free to travel again.

The whole ordeal would have been a nightmare but for the kindness of Claire and O, pictured here, who motorbiked me to the police station, fed me beer and cheered me up when I was down.