One of the joys of traveling for 10 months is the ability to be spontaneous and alter ones plans at the last minute... and so we did. Laos is a quiet little jewel in the middle of southeast Asia. Although only there for a week the gentle nature of the people was quite refreshing, the landscape surprisingly mountainous and the food, influenced by the French, was "magnific".
Each morning in Luang Prabang, while it is still dark, you are awakened to the rhythmic beat of drums and peaceful chanting that comes from one of the many Wats that adorn the city. As the sun slowly rises, old and young line the streets with baskets of steaming sticky rice and pink & white flowers, awaiting the procession of orange robes. No words are exchanged as this daily ritual unfolds, barefoot monks collecting their alms before returning to the temple for study and prayer. What a lovely way to begin the day!
After a 7 hour, harrowing bus ride twisting and turning through villages dotted along the mountains edge we arrived in Vang Vieng. This town appears to be Laos' little Cancun, with out a beach, but plenty of partying just the same. Every backpacker under thirty comes here to tube and partake in drinking massive amounts of alcohol served up by the many bars situated on the rivers edge. Not meeting the above criteria we decided to spend our day kayaking and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Things seemed to be going along quite nicely until the second set of rapids, at least we like to think they were rapids, and a strong side current and Carin was under the kayak trying to lift it off her head and Mike wasn't far behind both floating down stream. As Carin always says, every time she's in a boat with Mike we end up in the water, no exception here.
One last bus trip to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. A few more Wats to see and we were off to Bangkok, 12 hours on the sleeper train to meet up with our girls. Can't wait!
Two days later we will have a small party of nine travelers including An, Ed, Nicole and Sue & Dani. Looking forward to spending time with them in this wonderful part of the world.
One heartfelt shoutout wishing all our family and friends a joyful holiday and peace in 2010.
Commenting on your blog after a small 32 hours of traveling has really thrown my body for a loop. So of course I am the only one up at 7:45 in the morning, ironically this is my first time up this early all year and you 2 are happily passed out.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing the story about the kayak live I think a key element is missing that won't surprise most people. When asked if Dad was trying to save mom his response was "of course not, my hat was floating down river and I needed that hat." Anyway am loving hearing about everything in person and of course the pictures are amazing as usual. Now Get Up, so the adventure can begin. LOVES
Unfortunately because Hannah's body was out of wack, and I am sharing a room with here, I'm up as well. Quiet is not Hannah's middle name. The stories are fantastic and if you can believe my parents even look better and happier in person than the do in their beautiful pictures. As always, love the blog, especially from the busy streets of Thailand!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but this set of pictures just sent me away. For some reason, I love them, each and every one. I kept saying, "oh that is the best, it tells the story, no that is the best...." Now I will say, you are telling one heck of a beautiful story. Now your darlings are with you, shalom and love.
ReplyDeleteI love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic colorful pics and beautiful faces of the children. Had a big snow storm in the East. Oh...I guess you are in the "real" East (far east), so to clarify..USA east coast. Snow came down heavily for a full 24 hours and put a thick 20 inch blanket on the ground of puffy white beautiful snow. A different type of beautiful than the sunsets and warm weather stories from Laos, thailand. Certainly glad you are both good swimmers. Hope that Hannah and Jess recover from the major journey and you are all enjoying this unique trip/experince! Love, Sue S
ReplyDeleteBeautiful... the pictures, your script and your attitudes. You are starting to tempt me into taking an adventure like this with Bob. Shhh.. don't tell him. It is exciting to live through your adventures. Hope you have a special time with your family and friends that are coming to visit. Give my love to Hannah and Jess.
ReplyDeleteYour Adoring Fan,
Cindy Matthews
so glad the girls were able to join your travels. hope you had a great time!!
ReplyDelete