Alive and well in Laos

Hi Guys,

Sorry for not dropping anyone a line for a while, I've been travelling by boat along the Mekong from Northern Thailand to Luang Prabang...where I now have internet access. Unfortunately it appears that access to Hotmail and a lot of the other popular web-based email servers are restricted by the gov't.

Laos is exactly what I had hoped for...the trip along the Mekong was just rediculously nice, we travlled by slow boat with a family from Luang Prabang , the view were amazing for the entire two days...the entire shoreline of the river was just one beatiful beach after another with limestone cliffs and thick, thick, thick, jungle. I took lots of photos, but there is no way they will be able to replicate the way the tapestry just continued to unfold as we chugged slowly along, beating the heat of the afternoon with ice cold Beer Lao.

We stopped a few times on the way and herds of tiny Laotian villagers would run onto the boat to sell us beer, dried fruit, or handicrafts. The kids prices were actually cheaper than what the guys that own the boat charged us...it was kinda funny to see them happily lose or business the the local guys, but that seems to be the way of Lao...they take the Aussie idea of being laid back to all new heights.

The Laotians are fabulous, they are probably the friendliest people I have ever met and possibly the laziest:)

The operate on "Lao time" which meens that you can go to a restaurant and wait for ever to get your food, and then find that they haven't given you what you ordered, because the chef thought you might like something different!

Being a communist country, there is no variety of goods available, every shop has the same two brands of chips, the same 5 brands of cigarettes, and the same two brands of water. The Laotian Kip is not the world's strongest currency...you get about 10000 of them for a dollar. I went out for dinner last night and had an "all you can eat deal" from a stall at the night market...total cost was 50 cents.

I haven't seen alot of Luang Prabang yet...but it might be my new favorite city (population 60 000). The whole city has been heritage listed by the United Nations as being the best preserved example of colonial architecture in South East Asia. All the building seem to have been built by the French...the decaying French buildings with hammer and sickle flags flying from the windows are really evocative...it really feels like a special place. They are not allowed to rent motorcycles to foreigners here so everyone rides around on bicycles...it gives the whole place a chilled out feeling that is very much Lao.

I could go on and on about the lovely people of Laos, they are like no other people I have met...even their language is lazy...they say "hello" as "Sawbadee"...they say "How are you" as "Sawbadee Bo"...then they reply "good" as "Sawbadee"...it is kind of funny whenever you greet a local to say the least.

I haven't heard back about my Myanmar visa yet...but I met a fellow traveller on the train to Chang Mai who is heading South to the Thai islands...so I plan on heading South for a while

I am off to explore the town and soak up a little of the local culture...hope that this dispatch finds everyone healthy and happy at home.