http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Mutti/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Mutti en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:12:05 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:12:05 +0000 Well Irsquom home. The 48 hour commute was gruesome.It dawned on me on the flight over the Pacific that I really did go to Laos for ten weeks. I will miss the morning drums from the temple I will miss the monks in their orange robes I will miss the warmth and I think often of my new friends.Donrsquot know what impact this sojourn will have and Irsquom not sure if there will be any profo http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/blog-353018.html Itrsquos Tuesday night here. I leave in less than 48 hours. The last week has been unusual to say the least.With the closure of the Bangkok airports much time was spent trying to get a handle on what was happening there and sorting out whether there were any options for leaving Laos. I managed to find flights out via Hanoi and then onto Seoul where I can join my original itinerary which was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-350650.html Thong picked me up after he finished work today Thursday and we took a tuktuk to the main market where we caught a larger tuktuk the Lao equivalent the commuter bus to his village. He is Hmongthe Hmong are the ethnic group that the Americans recruited to fight with them in the ldquosecret warrdquo in Laos. As a result of this they have been somewhat persecuted ever since. Many Hmong f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-349080.html My little friend Thong had his bike stolen. New bikes cost about 100the equivalent of just over two months salary. He was just devastated. He admitted he had not locked his bike but theft is a relatively new thing here and folks are just getting used to the idea that they canrsquot leave anything of value lying aroundsad but true. The assistant manager at the place Irsquom staying had hi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-348812.html I know time is starting to run outI made a list yesterdayI am ready to come home for sure. I miss my kids and my friends and I need to make some money. But it is so beautiful here and so warm. But it is the people I will miss the most.some of the falang I have met but mostly the Lao people I have come to knowboth the BBM staff and those students who drop in regularly. I have started to r http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-346554.html wonderful change in the weather. after a week of hot rainy humid weather with dull gray skies Saturday dawned with a blue blue sky and much cooler temperatures. During the day were are still talking hot but hot that is bearable actually more than bearable it is actually pleasant. Early mornings and evening are coolI have not had my fan on for three days now and actually had a blanket on http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-343683.html Many have asked me what the reaction in Laos was to the Obama win. Of course no one asked me what the Lao reaction was to the Harper win...I've just had a long chat with the most educated informed and wellread of the BBM staff. He is the older chap who hopes to go University in Australia or the US. He is also the one I called Jack Sparrow cause I could not pronounce his name. His name is Ph http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-342440.html Itrsquos November 5. I leave Bangkok and arrive home a month today the international date line is a wonderous thing. Knowing that my time here more than half over is an odd feelingIrsquove started thinking of all the things I still want to do and my mind turns sometimes to what awaits me at home. I know it will be just wonderful to see my babies and my friends again. However the economic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-341943.html Today is October 28and I left September 28 very early in the morning with both my daughters rising note I did not say waking to take their old mom to the airport and my newly licensed daughter driving them both back from the airport.I feel this is a real milestoneanother month and it will almost be time to start packing.Yesterday was a very eventful day so I decided to tell you about it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-339286.html I left Ottawa September 28 so I have been away almost a month. Sometimes it feels like I left yesterday and other times it feels like I have been here longer than 3 weeks. Suppose that is always the way with new places and experiences.Internet has finally arrived at my apartment. So happy I no longer have to trek up to the cafe with my computer and power cord. The guy who installed the wifi i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-338415.html Tuesday this week was the end of Buddhist Lent. Not sure what that meansseems to me to be an oxymoronbut the name is in quite common usage here. Anyway the secular part of the festival is easier to understanditrsquos called the Fire Festival. Each village Luang Prabang has many many villagescentered around a local templeand some other organizaitons build a boatfloat. The frame is bamb http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-335610.html I have written various emails to various folkssome of you have the details on my living space and some of you have gotten a food report. So if the following is old news just skip.My Living SituationFrom Canada my plan was to book into a lowcost hotel in Luang Prabang for a few nights and then scout out a long term solution to accommodation. There are so many guest houses here I figured I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-334962.html so last night Sunday night when I went up to the cafe to post to the travel blog and check my email I had my first and hopefully only introduction to theft in Laos.I have to go up to a cafe to use their WiFi which is pronounced Wee Feethe managerpart owner of the place where Irsquom staying is French and he calls it Wee Fee. His name is Francis and he is quite sweetplease donrsqu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-333940.html just checked the BBC weather online for Loas.it is 33I KNEW it was hot here.... http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-333539.html Two weeks ago I left OttawaIrsquom amazed it was only two weeks agoso much has happened. Still very very hot. Some days the overcast ones are not as bad as others. And until about 900 a.m. you can walk around without sweating too much. But after 9 it heats up until the late afternoon. Not sure how hot it isI have never seen a thermometer here. No one ever talks about the weatheritrs http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-333528.html o.k. I just figured outI hope how this travel blog thing works and have posted two old blogs and sent out an email telling all email contacts the blog exisits...hope someone subscribesI'll fill in some of the gaps that have not been in emails1. where I'm livingI haven't spoken much about my new place. to be honest the reason is this it is a lovely spacious and quite wonderful place http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-332488.html I have been working with some of the universityteacher training college students on their English. None of their teachers are native English speakers and they can read the words and even write a fair bit but their pronunciation is just horribletruly awful. And come to think of it their written skills are only good by comparisonI would say they are at a grade 56 level. In many cases they http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/blog-332482.html Im not sure if you can start your travel blog before you are actually travelling but as of yesterday Thursday I am so completely immersed in my trip that it is almost as if it has begun. Finishing up last minute work things deciding what to bring adding addresses to my hotmail account making lists and lists and more lists starting to say good bye to my kids. This is the only really dif http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Ottawa/blog-327817.html