Go To Laos!

Wow, Laos... That is all we can say. We are loving this country and its very happy, friendly, peaceful people. This country moves slow, it's calm and beautiful and full of fun outdoor stuff!

We spent a few days in the city capital and even that place is calm. You feel like you are in a small village but it is the capital, large and full of people (well relatively large and full, this country only has about 6 million people in it and most live in rural, poor places). Man, it is so hot! We splurged (a whopping $10) and got a room with airconditioning and a tv since it is too hot to move. We did manage to make it out to Xieng Khuan, a park full of Buddha stone carvings and sculptures, which was really cool (in a hot sort of way) and we watched a local soccer game afterward with a popcicle in hand (a new addiction of mine, sooo cold and delicious).

After we left the city, we started making our way south on the public bus (oh, fun) with a 2 day stop over in a small town called Na Hin. We were dropped off the bus at the road junction and could only get to Na Hin by waiting for an hour and then cramming in a sawngthaew (large tuk tuk with two rows of seats) with the local village. Yes, I think the whole village was in the truck and Jared counted 25 of us at one time on the ride. With nothing much except for a gigantic cave with an underground river through it (yes this country is full of caves) we didn't stay in the town for too long, except to go to the local New Years party which our hotel host invited us to. New years isn't officially until the 13th, but I think the Laos people start celebrating 2 weeks in advance. It was really interesting, to say the least, and I was offered a many weird and frightening foods, most of which I got down just ok. We rented a motorbike and wound our way through the stunning scenerey and remote, almost archaic villages to the caves entrance. Once at the cave we had to take a motorized fishing boat through which took about 1 hour to make it to the other side of the mountain, about a 7 km one-way journey. Very cool.

We left that mountain town and hopped on another random local bus to make it to Savannaket for one night (nothing to tell except for the wonderful soup dinner on the sidewalk by the mekong with the Laos) and then another really hot bus day to Pakse which is a crossroads town in the south where we have been based for the last few days. There are definately some crazy street foods going on here like dried crickets on sticks, marinated spiders and baby duck eggs. Gross! We rented another motorbike and went onto the Bolaven Plateau for a night which was a little cooler and full of beautiful waterfalls. I had a little misshap with the rocks and ended up with a slight sprained ankle (which seems to be my injury of choice) but don't worry, it's getting better as the days go on. Today we saw an old, old temple called Wat Phu, which was built back between the 7-12th centuries. The ruins were amazing, I think just a little taste for what lays ahead in Agkor, Cambodia.

We spent the last 3 days in Laos on an island in the Mekong river called Don Khon. It was probably the most laid back place I have ever been. There was no phones or internet and we only got power for a few hours in the evening which made the nights very hot! It was a great mix of few tourists, a few good resteraunts and wonderful daily Laos. The main activity for the days were reading in the hammocks or riding cruiser bikes around the island. Not much else. We met so many great locals and it was right in the middle of Laos New Year so there were many water soakings, dancing moments and good cheer. New year is also called the 'water festival' which I think is a better name. No one is safe, and the streets turn to mud after all of the water fights. So fun, this country is the best!