My adventures since the Plain of Jars have been good. I missed the 8AM Sam Neua bus at 7:40 because it was full and left. It turned out not to be a big deal though and I hopped the next bus to Luang Prabang.

From LP, I was able to get the early morning bus to Nong Khiaw, and then a boat to Meung Ngoi, a village that had a "must see" recommendation from everyone I met along the way. On the boat, there was a fiesty old lady who at first didn't seem to like me very much. She pointed out I didn't have a boyfriend with me, which was no good according to her. She also took a liking to Maya, a Vancouverite, and proceeded to grope her boobs as a compliment. She also gave mine a quick grope, but then undid her shirt to show us hers.

Righto.

I somehow got her to let me take a photo of her, and well, she liked me after that. When I showed her her own photo she hooted and hollared with laughter. She was very patient and let me take a few photos and made funny faces when posing.

"Nam lai!!!" which means "very pretty!" she proclaimed.

Along the way, we witnessed practice boat races for the upcoming inter-village April 12 boat races. Meung Ngoi is the reigning champ (or so they told us) and the other villages were out practicing. Along with the participants, the women and children of the various villages came down to the water to bang on drums and cheer their boys on. It made the hour long boat ride much more enjoyable.

When we reached our village, I got myself a prime bungalow on the Nam Ou river for the whopping price of $1.50. It had a great view, a hammock, and a small porch. After settling in, I went and met up with Maya, Megan and Matt (New Zealand), and Hide and Shinobu (Japan). Maya, Megan, and Matt had all been to MN before and knew some of the local boys. They brought out the lao lao to start the night off. I've discovered I am not at all affected by the stuff and can drink it easily, ditto with Lao Tiger whiskey.

I learned some new card games (Big 2, Kings and Assholes, Shithead, and Sevens) and spent three days chilling out, doing nothing. I also got to witness some fierce storms that I thought were going to blow the roof off of my little hut. At night you can hear the storm coming up through the valley and it sounds like the approach of kettledrums, getting louder and LOUDER and LOUDER.

I reluctantly left after three days because I didn't know how long it would take to get to the Chinese border. I stopped one night in Udomxai (shithole) and today I'm in Luang Nam Tha, which seems alright. I have to find somewhere to spend my kip because you can't change them back, or into any other currency- no one wants them. I have about $50, and I can't think of what I'd spend it on in 3-4 days. There's nothing to buy and only so much I can eat, so I might offer some of the other people I've met some free beer.

Other than that, not much is going on. I've appreciated some good company and relaxed before hitting the storm of China.

I just uploaded a bunch of photos, but then power cut, so here goes again:

A boatman I saw on the river from my hut

They'll make boats out of anything. This one was US made.

This is the fiesty old lady who molested me.

When we stopped at one village, I saw this woman

This fisherman was mending his nets when I walked by

Here's Hide and his portrait of me

This photo is from the Plain of Jars

While waiting in Nong Khiaw, I found this trio

Try getting one of these through customs

A woman I saw while waiting for the boat

The view from my hut

The whole village came down to watch boat race practice