Leaving Laos

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Well, I'm starting to feel it now.  It's taken awhile but now that I only have two weeks left here the sense of 'leaving' has hit.  It probably has alot to do with starting to pack up my house, actually packing bags and giving stuff away that I don't want to carry on with me to Europe.  The bummer is that I'm feeling a bit sick, just a head cold that's grabbed me and won't let go, probably because I haven't had time to rest and my mind is on so many things at once at the moment.  But, I will manage a week of R&R as from next week as I plan to go down south to Champasak; it will be interesting to see if I love it as much as I did Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and Phonsovan up north.  My only regret upon leaving is that I didn't and don't have more time to see this country.  I've seen alot of things on a local level - things that tourists don't have privledge to most of the time, and I feel very grateful and thankful to have come to know Laos in such a way.  I have a feeling it's going to change in a big way over the next half decade.  The influx of travellers is definitely on the rise.  It will be interesting for me to come back at some point down the track to visit people and to see what has changed and what has stayed constant.  I hope it's not a sad journey back...but that's for wondering about when the time comes.

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