Wow! Haven't done this in awhile

OOOOOkay! So sorry I have not updated my blog. Soon as I left Chiang Mai there was a lot less down time to write. The internet is also very slow through most parts of Laos and Cambodia. So basically I am a jerk. Have not written about going through 2 countries. Sorry!!! I am in Vietnam at the moment. Arrived on Feb. 12.

Hmmm, what can I say, I have had quite a trip so far. I am having such a good time. This is def. one of the best decisions of my life.

In order not to bore you, I will try give you brief descriptions of what I have been doing in the last two countries.

Laos-On my from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong I met a group of Europeans who I have since been traveling with. A few from Ireland and a few from England. These people have def added to the experience of my trip. Not only had they constantly had me in stitches but they had really watched out for me; being a lone woman traveling and all.

From Chiang Khong, Thailand we crossed the border at Huay Xai, Laos. This was a bit of a pain going from one border, crossing the Mekong, to enter another boarder. From here we took a slow(emphasis on slow: 5 hours)boat to a small town called Pak Beng. On the boat I met another lone woman traveler and we ended up sharing a room in this small town. I was very grateful for this because lights were out by 9:30 and the room was kind of scary. We got up early got back on the slow boat for 7 hours where we landed in Luang Prabang. Just to give you an idea about the boat ride...it is a very long boat with about 80 very small benches. When I say very small I mean, my butt barely fit on it and my knees were resting on the bench in front of me. No room to go sideways for leg room, no room for ANYTHING. Really comfortable=). Anyways, we arrived in Luang Prabang which was beautiful. The town has a very french feel to it(if you know anything about the history, you know why). Evelyn and I shared a room again to cut down on costs. The next day some of the gang and I went to Tat Kuang Si waterfall. If anyone has seen my facebook pics there is one of this waterfall. The water was light turquoise. Breathtaking! We also saw some black bears there which was quite random. Later on this night we all went out to dinner and found ourselves at the bowling alley that all the foreigners go to. This is were I ended up getting punched in the face by a crazy girl and her crazy boyfriend. None of this was my fault. I was trying to defuse a situation and ended up getting punched twice. This was the first time this ever happened to me and for the sake of my family I will leave out the details. Sorry=) But if you want to know the whole story, my friend wrote a blog describing it and I can send that along if interested. All was okay though. My face was a little swollen the next day but the perpetrators got it much worse. The crazy guy hit 2 women, and you just don't get away with that especially since one of the men in our group happened to be a boxer. Interesting experience, and as far as I'm concerned doesn't need to happen again! Next day walked around the town then went to watch the sunset on Phu Si temple. The stairs were killer but totally worth it. Gorgeous! The following day we all took a bus to Vang Vieng. ohhhh, what a great time. Vang Vieng is known for TUBING! Foreigners starting at one bar and float down the Mekong going from bar to bar. There are zip lines, slides and swings. I have a video of this and I will try to upload it at some point. Great fun! Not a lot of culture in this but what a good time. Ended up going down the Mekong twice this way. One time with drinks and one time sober. All in all we ended up staying in this town for a lot longer then expected. With such a beautiful setting, days went by like nothing. Finally we kicked ourselves out and headed to the capital of Vientiene. We treated ourselves to a great hotel. This town followed by the next(Pakse)were basically small stops in order for us to reach Don Det aka 4,000 islands. With a name like that, I'm sure you can imagine how nice it was.

Okay I am only half way through this but have been on the computer for 2 hours. Need to eat but I promise I will continue my update soon. Sorry if it is lanky and boring but I am overwhelmed with how much I need to write. Love you all! Hope all is well!

---

---