Scenes from the River 2: The Lunch Party

There was no seating plan 

The Scene:
A slowboat on the Mekong.  Twelve backpackers sit one behind the other on hard wooden stools, in two rows of six.  Their lunch consists of  fried rice and vegetables, served in a polystyrene tray.  They eat in silence because of the roar of the engine at the rear of the boat.  The journey so far has taken six hours; there are seven more to go.  Their destination is an Elephant Festival in the south of the country.  They've heard that all the guesthouses are full, but that they should be able to find a place for the night on the living room floor of local Lao families.

The Cast: 
Andy and Bella, from Hampshire, in matching bead necklaces.
Cassie and Dom: she's in a turquoise strappy top, he's reading his Lonely Planet travel guide;
Ed, faded Nike baseball cap and a few days' stubble.
Fiona, a shiatsu instructor, baggy tangerine pants.
Georges, French Algerian, now in Amsterdam, Star of Vietnam on his cap.
Helen and Iain, both unemployed right now, from Manchester.
Julia, a photographer from Germany, in supertrendy sunshades.

The Point:
The average age of the group is actually 56.  (I conducted a survey.)  The real names are Maureen, Mick, Phil, Lynne, Jim, Tracey, Djamel, Jon, Paula and Rosa.  They're the only facts I changed.  Half the group are retired.  Maybe Henry and I will still have the spirit to do this all over again in twenty years' time, after all.