Sabai-dii! Greetings from Luang Prabang, Laos, mi familia and friends (and random passer-by's)! I trust you are all in good spirits on this wonderful day. What day is this again? A weekday? I keep losing track of time, which is kind of cool, but sometimes inconvenient. Ah, well.

No money, no honey, baby! I sho' do loves me some honey and am more than willing to shell out the $2.00 for a lovely bottle of it.

We left Chiang Mai on the 18th and stayed in Chiang Khong, a city on the Thai-Laos border, for the evening before crossing over to Huay Xai, Laos the following morning. From Huay Xai, we exchanged some of our Thai baht to Lao kip. The denominations are really funny. Lao bills start at 500 kip and work up to 20,000 kip. Luckily, the exchange rate between the USD and kip is $1 = 10,000 kip, making it quite simple to know exactly how much you are spending on goods and services. Anyway, we hopped onto the crowded slow-boat and headed down the Mekong River on a two-day journey to Luang Prabang. Boy, they sure aren't the most comfortable things to travel on, and Chad and I climbed our way onto the roof as often as we could before being scolded and made to come down. Curse these long limbs (sometimes)!

A distant view of our vessels.

I told you it was crowded.

I met a few interesting cats on this journey, and one in particular stands out. Her name is Joanna, from Whidbey Island, Washington, where I was born. Now, it's pretty rare to meet someone in Washington from Whidbey Island, let alone Laos! Funniest girl I've ever met in my life, though. She has the uncanny ability to tell the cheesiest, most drawn-out jokes in a wide range of near-perfect accents.

300 steps lead you to the top of Phou Si Mountain, where...

...you can enjoy a 360 degree view of the city and the sunset over the Mekong River (stupid telephone pole!).

Okay, so we arrived in Luang Prabang at sunset. The city itself looks nothing like any I have seen in Thailand, as the strong French influence immediately presents itself in most of the architecture. Chad, Joanna, a Canadian named Patrick, and myself wandered aimlessly around the city seeking refuge in a guesthouse. Unfortunately, every place we came across was either full or requesting more than we wanted to pay. Our wretched group, on the verge of tears and barely clinging to life, was about to call it quits when He arrived. Yes, Him. You know who I'm talkin' 'bout! The wonderful, hospitable, and ubiquitous Mr. Leng, of course! What an ancient and amazing creature. This old-timer came to our rescue and brought us to a comfortable, albeit extremely basic, guesthouse tucked away on a dark street. "Da Crib" only costs $2.50 per night and therefore fits perfectly within my budget. Mr. Leng was good enough to give us our first taste of coffee, Laotion-style. It's a lot like Turkish coffee in that it is extremely dark and extremely bold and I love it! I want to point out that Mr. Leng was, to me, one of the most wonderful people to listen to. He had a very thick accent, but his English was so extemely polite and I thought it was so cute that he would so effortlessly roll all of his R's. "Yes, Sirrrr. Yes, Madame. We have rrrrroom and rrrrrestaurant rrrrright down the street. I am verrry glad to meet you on your trrravels. It isss my dear pleasure to welcome you Luang Prabang." On the other hand, his French was perfect.

Da Crib.

The talented Mr. Leng also sells ice cream to the youth of Luang Prabang.

Chad with some of the kids we bought ganja from. All right, cool it, I'm just kidding!

In general, the people here are among the most beautiful I have ever encountered (of course, I haven't been to the Philippines yet, Mom).

Though one of Laos' largest cities, Luang Prabang is very quiet and slow-paced. You don't hear a lot of music playing at all hours, as in Thailand, and things shut down early. Bars are all closed by midnight. There is a great night market on one of the main streets, where vendors sell everything from fabrics, t-shirts, and cloth bags to boar tusks, tiger teeth, and snake- and scorpion-infused lao-lao (traditional rice whiskey, very potent!). There is also a crowded food market where food, both enticing and not so, can be purchased on the cheap. One common food item here is the baguette sandwich, obviously a French import that thrives to this day. You can get a good one for anywhere from $0.80 to $1.20. The honey here is also spectacular. It is different than back home as it is much thinner and has a sort of pineapple-lemon hint to it. Mmmm, I could drink bottle after bottle of it! Another of Laos' bottled shining stars is Beer Lao, a very delicious brew worth checking out back home. Definitely the finest beer I have tasted in SE Asia. Finally, the most refreshing drink I have come across is the fruit shake, where, for 3,000 kip ($0.30) you choose from several fruits on display, which are then chopped and blended with condensed milk, coconut cream, honey, and ice. My personal favorite is green mangoes, this kiwi-looking thing, an bananas. Damn, my mouth is watering just typing about it!

Scorpion-infused lao-lao. It's supposed to make you strong. I prefer push-ups.

Yummy...

Yummy...

Yikes!!!

Though barely 10 years old, she displays fruit shake-making skills unseen in North America.

This guy is such a Beer Lao fan that he became a walking advertisement.

These little guys are diplayed throughout the city. Not sure what purpose they serve beyond disrupting my sleep.

The Kuang Si waterfall, situated about 30 km (maybe) outside of Luang Prabang, is nothing short of stunning. Yeah, no doubt. It is quite tall and muli-tiered, with clean turquoise water spilling over the jagged limestone formations. On each tier are some very suitable swimming holes. My favorite one is at the very top, where, after quite the strenuous hike, you are rewarded with a deep punch bowl-esque pool perfect for diving or, in my case, cannon-balling. Yee-haw! I love it so much that I went yesterday and the day before.

Breathtaking, no?


A nice little pool to relax in.

Howdy.

Sure, they're cute. But once they see an opening...

...they're on you like flies on dung!

Last night, I went to one of the best parties I have ever been to in my young life. It took place at, get this, a wat! (A wat is what you call a Buddhist temple 'round these parts.) It was incredible. There were a shit-ton of locals there along with a strong showing by the foreigners. Drinking Beer Lao and dancing consumed much of the evening, and I had a great time teaching the youth of Luang Prabang, some of my, errr..."special" dance moves. Even the monks observed the festivities from their rooms. As things started to wind down, a great bonfire was lit. From there, after a bunch of hooting and hollering and dancing around the fire, everyone donned long sticks and wrapped large balls of sticky rice around one end. The rice balls were then basted in salty sauces and roasted till perfection. Not a bad way to cap off a night of drinking, eh?

Sheetal, a Brit, and another recurring character on this journey.

"You can't blame the youth of todayyyeeee..."

Thus began the Rice Dance.

It's almost like roasting marshamallows.

I like my shizzle medium-rare.

I know this has been a long read and I appreciate your time. Please enjoy your day and try to do something positive. Word.

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Gandhi