A glimpse of Laos in just under 2 weeks

Laos is pretty laid back in comparison with the hustle and bustle of chaotic Thailand. The Thai will try any way possible to make a quick buck in order to sell you anything imaginable. The Laotian will have to be pushed, prodded and persuaded to get off his lazy chair to sell you what you want to buy.

Travel Trail of where I have been in Laos starting from the Northeastern Thai border:

Took a train from Surin to Ubon Ratchathani (4 hours) then caught a bus to Pakse (7 hours); spent one night in Pakse, Laos border. Took a minibus and long tail boat to the 4 Thousand islands visiting 2 islands for a total of 5 days; Don Khon and Don Khong. To get there from Pakse it was a 3 hour minibus ride and 40 minute longtail boat. Took off from Don Khong first by boat (40 minutes) then caught a 10 hour bus to Vietianne for 2 days. From Vietianne took a mini bus to Vang Vien costing 3 hours; spent 4 days in Vang Vien. From Vang Vien headed north six hours to Luang Prabang via 6 hours mini bus spending 3 days. Took a flight from Luang Prabang back to Bangkok costing only 1 hour and 40 minutes and a whole lot more than the public transport I have been taking the travel I have described above.

Highlights and memories of the last two weeks:

Feeling the wind on my face whilst passing by the neon green paddy rice fields outside the train window on the way from the Thai to Laos border. Fried crickets being sold on the train by a passing vendor; a friend actually tried some and I almost barfed just watching the crunch, crunch, crunch.....

Sweaty boat rides on the Mekong River , enjoying a frosty ice cream, while taking in the beautiful rustic scenery of mountains and locals along the banks as we coast by.

Swinging in my hammock at the Mekong riverside for endless hours totally absorbed in my book. It's totally great when you have nothing to do.

Laos cooking lessons which included a trip to the local market to buy the ingredients to make one fantastic meal.

Drinking perfect cappuccinos in the Euro French Capital of City of Vietianne. Renting a motorbike to go sight seeing. I definitely feared losing my life amongst the hectic traffic consisting of kamikaze tuk tuks, crazed motorists and animals wandering in the streets.

Brown waterfalls and my effort to see them by renting a bike in which I battled mud pit puddles and razor sharp stones the entire 4 hours (including the walk back due to a flat tire).

Riding down the Mekong River in a giant tube, sipping cold LaoBeer, bar hopping, mud fights in volleyball courts (mud pits with volleyball net hanging over them), plunging rope swings and zip lines sending riders into the Mekong with a drunken splash. I lost my sandals and have the battle scar bruises.

The bumpiest minibus ride from Vang Vien to Luang Prabang that sent my shoulders bobbing, my head rocking; I could even feel my kidneys jiggling. I was ecstatic when we reached the final designation (iron kidney by this time and green faced from nausea).

Running out of Lao kip after finding out the ATM (only one) on the island Don Khon was out of order. I found myself freaking out in a sketchy place they called a money exchange that would not cash my euro traveler checks but would charge me obscene amounts of money to bring me to a bank off the island that would. After freaking out that I could not pay my guesthouse a few moments later I remembered that I had some Thai baht in my wallet. The exchange made me almost a millionaire in Lao! Woo hoo! Livin' the high life!

Went on a 5 hour trekking in the rain forest north of Luang Prabang; of course it rained and covered me in mud and leaches. However, we saw beautiful waterfalls and majestic scenery that made getting bitten by a leach completely worth it! We also visited 2 hill tribes and were able to take in how it was like to live there and talk with the people through our guide whom translated....one of my favorite days in Laos.

Witnessing one of the most memorable sunrises in my life accompanied by the morning alms offering and monk ceremony in Luang Prabang...check out the picture with this posting!

I learned that taking chances; even in the riskiest situations whilst listening to your heart is the way I want to live. The past few weeks I have taken many chances, made many mistakes, laughed and yes, I even cried. I suppose there is only one way to learn which is through our actions driven by our hearts; if we chose listen to them as irrational as they often seem to be. Everything else we need to know we learn on our journey. As one of my closest friends Lienneke would say: "Make a mistake? Just smile and wave" well this is something I found myself doing often!