Please Don't Rush

Sawat-dee from Thailand! Today we left Laos and made it to our fourth, and kind-of final, country. Time does fly: two weeks from today I'll be flying home from our brief stopover in Malaysia!

So, reflections on Laos. It was a good time! I think my experience there can be summed up well in what our kayaking river guide said that "PDR" of "Laos PDR" really stands for: Please Don't Rush. Life in Laos was laid-back. People were friendly, and time seemed to move at a slower pace. (Or sometimes it stood still, as it seemed to when we got to glimpse village life in the hill country and saw lots of dirty and partially naked little children running around with pigs and chickens ...) While enjoying this relaxed pace, we got to spend a lot of time in the stunning natural surrounds: we spent a day playing in picturesque lagoons and waterfalls, another kayaking down a river with a very fun and friendly guide, and still another trekking through the hills in the northern part of the country (post the worst car ride I have ever taken - imagine taking your mother's minivan off-roading for seven hours. Katrina and I were lodged in the back of this minivan and were thrown around so much that we kept hitting our heads against the ceiling and one another's skulls. Needless to say, we felt a little woozy after that one.). Another thing that was fun for us was that our final extended stop in a town called Luang Namtha was really close to China, so we spent some time watching our favorite Chinese music videos (ha!) and the women's short program via CCTV. It's funny how I've stopped noticing that I still can't really understand much of the language, because it just sounds so familiar and almost comforting.

I was worried about crossing the border into Thailand today; after one rather "thrilling" experience from Nepal to India, I believe I'm scarred for life and was expecting the worst. However, everything went off without a hitch ... and Katrina even found her passport again, after taking the ferry back to the Laos side of the crossing. :)

I'll look forward to updating you on this magical little place in the next couple days! While you wait for this next post with eager anticipation, fill the time by doing something that makes you happy and telling someone you love them.

Love to YOU, my friends!