Vientiane--

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Nov. 23rd.-- 7Am.. I awake... sore and hungry...I venture out to find food and a nicer place to stay....I find a great French bakery... yoghurt and fruit and a croissant..yum!... Vientiane is a bigger city.. still right on the Mekong River.... Bigger car and trucks...French architecture, lots of temples...still lots of pollution... I find myself a cleaner nicer hotel Douang Deuane Hotel.. close to the river ..good location..... $15 per night... whew... So I move all my stuff and venture out to a day market...
Huge building filled with vendors all selling the SAME stuff... I really just dont get it... rows and rows of silk scarves. dresses, trinkets, cheap jewelery, phones galore, shoes, ect.... so odd....Everything is so cheap... but so is the quality.. I dont buy anything...
This guy on the street throws out a line.." you look familiar"... umm.. OK... We chat.. Hes from San Fran.. a photographer... traveling with his buddy.. We meet up with him and a Aussie gal they meet on their trip... They are cool.. traveling for 6mts. to a year!.... I have found that there are SO MANY peeps traveling that long... How cool!..... He mentions that there is this HUGE festival ( THAT LUANG Festival ) that has been going on here last 3 days.. day and night..The most important festival of the year.... I had vaugely heard about it.... A Celebration of the Full Moon and of the new harvest...the end of the wet season... A huge mass of people gather around the THAT LUANG temple in the morning of the full moon and give their alms, offerings, to the Monks... Thousand of Monks from all over Laos come here for this... So, he tells me that he is going to be there at 6AM to take pics.its something really special...We go our separate ways...Nice people..

I roam around... and find this 'nicer' massage place ... $11 for 1.5 hours... Sweet!... the BEST massage ever!.. this little Laos gal.. about a buck- o -5... sitting on me.. walknig on me.. pushing pulling me in all crazy dierections...digging into me like no other.. it was great!....

So as Im heading home... I see a group of younger peeps walking -- so I decide to be brave and maybe start some convo....I ask them about the festival tongiht and they said tht they had heard about it and wanted to go as well.... They invite me to dinner with them.... All about 22-25yrs.. a cute couple from UK, another guy from N.UK, and an Irish guy... All traveling alone but met in Chiang Mai and have been hanging since... How cool that they all get along.. it seemed as though they had been friends forever..... We get dinner and order 2 of these HUGE 3 liter pitchers with a fountain on it of beer... YIKES!.... Oh-- again- what its like to be young.... ha!.. I have about 4-5 glasses...
We head to the festival.... It reminds me of the Del Mar Fair.... HUGE festival with ferris wheel, games, balloons, vendors... we get there at the very end.. most peeps are leaving.... we head to the back... the guys start enjoying themselves with more beer and some game of pop the balloon with a dart.... We join a group of Lao guys for beers... One starts chatting with me... broken English... He tells me about the next morning and how special it is for them all..He asks me to meet him there in the morning and he will show me around.. very sweet.... A group of older Monks come in and start drinking and smoking....It is really intriguing to me what exactly they do and just how they live their lives... Very spiritual, very kind... always smiling....
We get home around 1am...

Nov. 24th--- Im up at 6AM.... I feel NAUSEAS!! .. I gather my stuff and set out to see the event.... It is ENOURMOUS!.. Thousands of Lao people gather in this massive area were the Temple is to give their offerings to these Monks...They have silver baskets filled with food, money, incense, candy, rice, ect.... all are sitting with their feet under them, palms together at their heart center....bowing to the Buddha...A Monk is on a loud speaker chanting or speaking something....It is truly unreal!.. A peaceful and humbling setting...
AS I enter - I see the SF guy.. I cant remember his name... So we walk in together... I swear for a while I thought we were the only white people there..ha!. I ended up only seeing a handful of us foreigners...

Sick to my stomach I make my way for breakfast.. hoping some bread would cure me....Not so much.. I rush to my room and puke!.
I have been bed ridden for 2 days now... Horrible tummy ache, fever, throwing up...😞.. not fun.... I pretty much crawl to the internet cafe to see where a pharmacy is..and a sweet gal from Austria mentions she is a pharmacist...She walks me to the min mart to get some electrolytes and water .. and ensures me that I will be OK.. she had just gotten over the same thing.. It must have been the shrimp I had eaten the night before..?....

So thats my trip so far... I am now feeling a little better.. I am off for BKK tomorrow... I am SO VERY excited--- my Mom is coming to meet me to go to the Islands!...Katie and her mom are coming as well..It was a last minue thing.. It is really a relief and a blessing for me after being sick... I miss home...
I know that this trip is supposed to be one just on "my own"... but I am realizing that I CAN and HAVE been on my own for a while.. and actually--I don't want to be alone all the time..It is in my nature to want to have friends, family, comfort..close by me.... I think that it is very important to share your experiences with others... It is the essence of the human spirit... All of these travelers have a partner or meet up with someone..We all share the same need-- to be with another soul...to share our life with others..
I have been so fortunate to be able to travel to these AMAZING countries, see the cultures, taste the food, smell new scents, learn (or at least try) new languages, and meet some very interesting people from all over the world.. ... And I wouldnt change it... Yet, I do wish that I could be here with someone else... My Mom, Dad, sis, a friend, or whomever... I have experienced so much in these past 2 weeks.. I am truly blessed...😊..



After thought-- Laos is a amazing country.. full of life and richness.. a true beauty.. Would I come back-- YES!... but I would want to sit still and hang longer in the two cities. and maybe do day trips to the other smaller towns.... Be able to savor the culture more... I missed Vang Vein due to being sick... What I heard was that it is a totally hippie like town.. Not much to do but float down the river and drink... the young lads from UK.. said they stayed for 10 days -- got stoned and drunk all day--not my thing.. .. Although one couple told me teh caves and trekking was very beautiful as well.... I am so glad I was able to experience this blessed country.

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