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Published: February 23rd 2006
I hate the bus
But when you get 2 seats to yourself (mostly because you are a big smelly westerner) it's heaven.Haha, I bet you thought I was dead. Nope. But the heat could just about kill a guy. I'm in Laos now and I like it more than what I saw of Vietnam. It's less crowded, not humid, and man is it beautiful landscape out here.
It turns out I was in Vietnam illegally so I'm lucky to be where I am right now. Somehow, my passport never got stamped at the airport when I first landed, but I got through customs and everything so I was none the wiser. Then a few days ago at the border crossing there was confusion but they kind of shooed me along to the entrance to Laos. Then I got a bit worried when they informed me that I had no proof of ever being in vietnam because I didn't have my entry or exit stamp. I guess I got the guy on a good day because after a few minutes he stamped me on through to Laos. Super freakin' lucky! I could have been detained at the border and the bus would have left me. Sice when do I have any luck but bad luck?
Well our last day in Vietnam was really
Swamp Fun
These kids kicked my ass at backflips. We took a leisurely swim on a trek near Savannakhet. cool. The girls and I were still in Hoi An and they met this local woman that invited them for supper the next day. I crashed that party and came along. I'm glad I did. That was the best meal I had so far! She made duck eggs and Cau Lau, which is a noodle dish with meat. But it was the coolest to see how her family lived. They lived right on the riverfront in a corrugated tin hut. It had dirt floors and 2 rooms with a kitchen. The woman, her husband, her sister, and 2 kids and a baby lived together in this tiny tin hut. They were excellent hosts and afterwards we left to go meet our two friends Mark and Maria from Seattle for supper...er...well, for drinks actually. I'll miss that couple, they were very interesting and lots of fun but they had already been to Laos so we won't be crossing paths again.
So far in Laos I have got to do many things which I fell priviledged to have seen and done. We had an excellent guide, Amphon (sorry if I spelled that wrong, buddy) in Savannakhet that took us on a little
Cave man
This was one of the coolest things I've seen. It was a huge cave and there were villagers fishing on the other side. jungle walk and we got to stop and swim with some village kids. That night he took us three and a couple we met from Australia, Sebastian and Elle, and one of Amphon's friends to a village for their big full moon festival. Talk about a gong show! It was so much fun and we were the only tourists there so we had celebrity status right off the bat. There were a couple bands playing and we drank and danced until 3 in the morning. Amphon's tuk-tuk (a 3-wheeled motorbike with a sitting carriage on it) had a problem with the headlight on the way there so we had to drive in the dark most of the way and all the way back (a 1 1/2 hour ride each way) and it was a bit nerve racking but worth it!
Then yesterday we paid a tuk-tuk driver in Thakek to drive us around to some of the famous surrounding caves in the area. We went swimming in a beautiful river. Sebastian, the driver and I were collecting mussels off the bottom to eat, which we never did because we had no way to boil them. I absolutely have to get
I think a horse has more horsepower.
This is a Laosian tractor. Slow, yet impressive, these stable machines are ridiculous. some pictures off the girls of these caves and such. Amazing! We went through one with some water in it and there were villagers fishing with nets in the river. The kids are so well behaved and truly adorable.
We arrived in Vientiane last night at midnight and now I'm off to explore the city and hopefully find a bargain on some new swimming trunks. Hopefully I'll be able to find internet access within the next few days!
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lynz
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scottie!!
your trip seems to being going awesome!! those pictures are gorgeous! i have to get over there and experience some of the greatness for myself...some day...some glorious day...but alas, i am stuck in the hat amongst the freezing rain...jealous?!? i'm sure you're looking forward to your days back in the burn...maybe i'll see you there sometime and we can party. can't wait to hear all the crazy stories! taa taa for now.