luang prabang

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24/sep

climbed mount 'phousi' (said like a certain female anatomical part) today. i honestly was not interested in the name even though i had heard it from another traveler before my arrival. that is until i saw the 'phousi massage' parlor. it added a bit of humor, as did the 'phousi' market.

25/sep

watched sunday night football on monday morning, live. the central time zone is 12 hours behind making this a possibility. i didn't waste the entire day with tv football. i visited tad sae waterfall for an afternoon swim. then met some people for dinner and drink.

26/sep

to start this day i went for my typical breadfast sandwich. there i had the unusual experience of having a chicken begging for food, much in the same way a dog does. it stood at my feet looking at me, sideways as birds do, awaiting some scraps. (can u say BIRD FLU?)

i also watched football again. the saints played in the superdome. first game. good win!!

did some swimming in a local watering hole as well in preparation for a birthday bash.

myself and about 7 travelers got together for a birthday dinner. glenn and rachel, Welsh, were super and brought me a thoughtful bottle of scorpion whisky. boy was it strong. as it was my birthday i had to drink with every shift of drinkers-glasses were short handed. after a great dinner, glenn, rachel and i headed to the vietnam bar, where we continued drinking a bit. actually, they kicked us out of the bar. we were in a tuk-tuk (a 3 wheeled motorcycle taxi) when rachel realized she had left her camera behind. we quickly turned the driver around. fortunately, some stragglers were still haggling over their tuk tuk price and the bar doors were open. even more fortunate was the fact that rachel retrieved her camera. my fun however was just beginning.

when i checked into the room the owner told me that the doors close at midnight but there was a bell i could ring. well i did at 02??. no response. i climbed the fence and onto the balcony. outer doors locked, damnit. i climbed back down and continued ringing bell without success. climbed over balcony again for a second attempt at breaking and entering. no more successful than the first attempt. back down again. started gently rapping on door and continued getting louder and louder. finally, just as i was about to scale balcony for the third time in order to sleep there, the door was answered by a very disheveled and altogether unhappy looking owner's wife. it only took an hour to gain access to my room.

the next morning i got some crusties but they warmed up to me later in the day. the next night i returned at a more reasonable midnight.

also did some proper sightseeing. i visited the wat(temple) xieng thong. a very old and beautiful temple.

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