As the title says, I applied for a visa extension this morning. I figured it would have been a long drawn out process but it wasn't. I handed in my application to the uncharacterisically smiling immigration official. I was instructed to return at 2pm.

That was at 8:30am so I had a lot of time to kill. I decided to stop by the Morning Market for a nice fresh Lao ice coffee- they're sickly sweet and milky. MMMMmmmmmm....... The women serving me recognized me from yesterday and giggled at me. Giggling seems to be the universal communicator around here. I pulled out my copy of Cider House Rules and began passing a hot lazy day.

After a bit, I decided that it I was going to accomplish the walking tour I had read about, I better do it before the asshot time of the day (anything between noon and 4). I set off and passed by old run down hotels, promenades, wats, and delapidated french villas. The thing that stuck out was a former temple which is now used to display the countries most precious treasures. It once held the famous Emerald Buddha that sits in Bangkok, but the Thais "forcibly removed it" in the 18th century. Now it houses junky looking old buddha images that look like they came from the Chatichuk Weekend Market. It was a bit sad to think that this was the best they could do.

That said, maybe the Lao don't bother much with old relics. While having them would be nice, perhaps other things, such as an improved quality of life, are more important. I can't say I'm an expert on Laos, but from the few days I've been here, I've noticed it's cleaner than I expected, more orderly in terms of traffic, there are no packs of wild dogs searching through garbage lying on the street. People are constantly cleaning things- and yes this includes my favorite moving of dirt from one spot to another- literally combing the dirt. The people are polite, the tuktuk drivers not annoying or aggressive, and there seems to be more general friendliness than I expected. To test this theory, I smiled at people all day long, from little kids, to old grannies, to average joes. I never once didn't get a smile back- even the policeman smiled at me when I expected him to just puff his chest out in the manner of the Thai police (excepting the one who I almost vomited on- he laughed).

I spent some time photographing buddha heads, hands and feet (a fixation of mine), and then had a pizza for lunch- I know, not very Lao but yesterday I had two bowls of noddle soup and I wanted something western. When I went back for my passport, the officer gave me a big grin after I said "sabai dee" (hello). He asked my nationality, I said American to which he inquired "California?" I disappointed him when I told him New York. He gave me the standard man giggle and then passed me my documents.

Now again in possession of my passport, I could change some money. Changing money in Laos is a strange experience because the biggest bill I've come across is the equivalent to a $2 bill. Now imagine the bricks of money the man next to me received when he changed $200! Imagine trying to wedge that in a money belt! I was in no rush to get my money changed because the bank was icy cool due to some high power AC. I soaked up every second of it.

Tomorrow I head to Vang Vieng, an opium lovers haven. I'll do my best to avoid the dope and keep my head out of trouble. :)