a smattering of tidbits...

Hello!

Before going on I need to apologize for the bad grammar this blog will have.

I am writing on a foreign keyboard and Èthis is what happenès when I try to add the right symbolsÉÉÉ!!!

...Where did we leave off...I think we were in Vietnam, heading into Laos via a 24 hour bus ride. A memory that is very thankfully distant...lets just say, we ended up on a cargo bus and that is how we were treated. I was appalled at times - seething - Carmen was the calm one. (I can not believe how rational and understanding he can remain after 26 hours of no sleep whatsoever. I on the other hand, I need a little grace in such circumstances.) The time spent driving was about 13 hours; the other 13 or 14 hours were spent waiting - waiting for the border to open, waiting for cargo to clear through customs, or waiting for the drivers to finish off their rounds of shots.

Laos is kind of like Asias best kept secret. It is not as accustomed to tourism and draws only a small crowd of people - seemingly an older, classier European crowd. Because the towns cater to such a crowd, Carmen and I were delighted to indulge in a great selection of European bakeries; because Laos had a French occupation there are crepês and lattes to be had everywhere.

Laos is an amazing place for textiles; and I was always finding new crevaces in my backpack for such lovely articles.

We travelled to three main cities: Vientiene, Vang Vieng and Louang Prabang. Some highlights along the way:

In Vientiene we wandered along the Mekong river from bakery to bakery, visited some temples and museums, and tried to avoid a torrential downpour...

In Vang Vieng we took a 4 km walk down a highway because we refused to pay for a Taxi (or Tuk Tuk; the famous 3 wheeled transport cart famous all over Asia) We wandered off the road, found a burned down guest house in the forest and walked on a horsetrail to the river where we took off our sandles and attemped to wade up stream...until Carmen got something in his eye. Further upstream, we came upon a popular Lao hangout and we sat and had noodles and splashed around in the river, for a bit.

When we got back to our room that day, we decided: on April 16th, instead of flying to Australia and then going on to New Zealand, why dont we fly to this amazing country called CANADA...We felt that our time spent in Asia was amazing as a whole, that it had satisfied our need for backpacking and adventure; that it had quenched our thirst for culture and cusine; for art and for wilderness; for learning of world religions (including our own!); in more amazing ways then we could have ever depicted to anyone through photos or blog. We realized that we are ready to come home and embrace a new adventure - involving our careers and experiencing a new city (Vancouver).

Anyways, back to Laos for the moment. We made this decision in Vang Vieng and then headed off to Louang Prabang.

Louang Prabang is called the most beautiful city in Asia by some; We think it is a fair description. It is a city situated on a thin sliver of land between two rivers, filled with cobbled streets, red brick houses, and lots of flowers. The markets were chock-full of an amazing array of the beautiful work of local artisans. We did not do a lot of exploring since the sites were very expensive; and we were on the phone and internet a lot - busy with changing our travel plans. We did, however, manage to make it to a nearby waterfall which was surprisingly picturesque, as well as fit for swimming!

In order to try and change our flight, we knew we would have to be on the phone a lot. At 55 cents a minute, we knew it would be a big bill if we tried to do it from Laos. So I called my sister Heidi and said... we are ready to come home, can you help us...she kind of gasped a little and said... um, yes! From that moment on, one or both of my sisters became very busy on the phone for the next few days, haggling us a deal so we could change our itinerary. Before we could get any results, we ran out of time in Louang Prabang...

We hopped on a boat for a two day trip up the lovely Mekong river - to the border of northern Thailand. Cruising the river was thoroughly relaxing and totally a highlight of our time in Laos. We had no idea if, in 10 days we would be going to Australia, or Canada...but we knew we were soon leaving Asia...

One night during the boat trip we stayed in a little ramshackle town called Pakbeng where we heard cockroaches scurrying around our room. one managed to cuddle into a small pocket in my backpack. Who says boys are not scared of bugs...Carmen and I both screamed so loud we woke up the people in the hotel above us.

So that ended our time in Laos. We started our countdown to the end of our time in Asia- some things we will miss, some things, not so much!

Love, Carmen and Marcie