Hey there people!
I haven't really been feeling very 'bloggie' lately, so please forgive my lack of attention.
So, we're in Laos. Specifically Luang Prabang. It's such a charming little town, obviously the UNESCO dollars are being put to work. The streets are all paved, things are amazingly clean (by S.E. Asia standards) and most of the colonial buildings are in great shape.
But, since I've been slacking so much in the blog department, I really should catch you up on the Issan region in Thailand and the other places in Laos.
Read on!

After JP and I left Bangkok the last time, we went to Konh Kaen, in the middle of the Issan region of Thailand (which is the North East). I knew that this part of the country recieved the fewest number of visitors, and I thought it was really neat to see how a Thai city operates without any concern of entertaining 'farang' (white people).

It was really well organized, you could pay 5 bhat and take any of the pickup truck-busses that go down all the streets, so it was simple to get around. Next to the hotel we stayed in was a great night food market filled with stalls selling the ubiquitous noodle soup in all its incarnations, a variety of sausages and bbq pork ready to be served onto rice with a side of spicy sauce (ohhhh...Thailand spoiled me! Lao food (so far) isn't nearly as good....wahhh!) Anyway, we stayed there for a few days, long enough for me to fall in love with the cotton and silk handweaving traditions in the area, really nice stuff.

We moved on to Nong Khai which is right on the Thai side of the Mekong Lao border. It also was a fun town, lots of interesting things for sale, Lao, Chineese, Thai, Burmeese, being a border town, trade is a major activity. It was fun watching the sun set over the river, drinking my beer Lao, fingering my newest silk purchase and watching old Thai ladies taking their evening constitutional.

A few miles outside of town was this kooky sculpture garden bulit in the 1970's by this self-proclamed Hindu/Buddhist guru. I bet this guy 'really enjoyed' himself in the seventies, look for yourself.....

We also visited the forest wat nearby, it was so peaceful. There were kids riding around on their bicycles and people chanting.

Saying goodbye to Thailand (not for long) we crossed into Laos. It was pretty smooth, I don't think anywhere in S.E. Asia rivels the Thai-Cambodian border at Poipet.

We got into a truck taxi which JP had bargained 150 bhat for the both of us to the truck stop to Vang Vieng which was to be our first stop, since there was nothing compelling us to Vientienne. This young hippie guy gets in and three Thai ladies. We hear the Thai ladies discussing their fare with the driver in Thai, and since one of the first things you pick up is numbers, we distinctly head 50 bhat many times. The hippie guy gets pissed because he was told by the driver that he would have to pay 150. He's going to try to get the same fare as the Thais. I knew this was going to be good.

We arrive and immediately the hippie guy starts in on the driver "we saw the three ladies pay 150 bhat for all of them, we should pay the same for the three of us". Logical argument, it's fair, but we're in S.E. Asia, home of the 'farang price'. The driver obstinately shakes his head and says "no, no, no".
The hippie kid begins yelling and putting up a big stink, the best way to ensure no cooperation in this part of the world. JP and I are just looking at each other and rolling our eyes. We've got our price settled. so what if it's 25 bhat more than what the Thais paid, is it really worth standing around and arguing for 15 minutes?
In the end, the hippie guy was able to get the driver down to 130 bhat, and I swear he winked at me as he was driving away...

Vang Vieng is a hippie paradise. Mountains, caves, river tubing, plenty of drugs and other hippies to hook up with. For me, it was a little dull. I really enjoyed the scenery, but once we had a bit of that, we took off to Luang Prabang. It feels a bit more cultured and Lao here. Sure there are tourists but there is plenty of real life taking place too.

So the plan is to stick around here for a few days. I really want to visit some of the silk weaving villages so I can see it in action, maybe go to the famous waterfall that's around here, etc. Then we'll take a boat up the Mekong to the Thai border and be able to enjoy eating again.

Here's a few from around town, JP is more camera-happy than me lately, so check out his blog for more: http://blogs.bootsnall.com/jp
Later!
K