from Vietnam to Laos...

Since our last entry, we are getting ready for the night train to Sapa, in northern Vietnam. We satyed there for 3 days and 2 nights and did some amazing trecking and exploring in the mountains. The first day there, Jeff and I walked through the village and got our bearings, we were pretty tired from the train and the many hours of travel. The 2nd day we rented a motorbike and went exploring. We triedto go for a little self-guided hike but lost our path and decided that neither one of us wantedto spend the night in the jungle, so we head back and opted for a guided treck the next day....Our guide, Me (her name), was about 5 feet tall. She was quite fluent in english and was an absolute gem! She was 25 years old, had been married since she was 15 and already had 2 kids, a 7 year old girl and 5 year old boy. SHe told us that if you are not married by the time you are 18 or 20, "you are no good, bad woman!" I gather she is a great woman as she wasstill a child when she was married! She told us that her mom had to send her off to be married as they did not have very much money. She protested and did not speak to her husband for 1 year! Now they have been together for 10 and she says " he's ok! I like him now!" Well, beside her amazing life story she was a great guide. It was justthe 3 of us and we covered over 17 kilometers in a few hours, normally tourists walk at a much slower pace, but we were above the norm I guess because even Me (the guide) made us take breaks. "we stop here, yah" she would say, we said that we could continue, but she was quite adement about stopping, I didn't argue! We walked through lush green forests, terraces of rice fields and many ethnic villages. We were sad to leave Me and promised to one day return, she said if she wasn't around to guide us, her daughter would be there!
We left Vietnam the next day for Vientiane, Laos. What a change of scene compared to Vietnam. No body hassels you to take a tuk tuk or sell you things, you almost have to seek people out if you need something! We only spent one day in Vientiane but we could have spent mucch more time there, we walked aroundthe whole city and saw the most spectacular Wat, covered in gold. (The name of the wat I don't remember right now but I will find it in my guidebook!)
We made our way by bus to Vang Vieng, an almost 7 hour bus ride. On the bus we met a Dutch traveler, Folkert. He was pretty cool and we all hung out during our stay in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is known to be tourist party town, we were not really in the party mood and we were really enjoying the limestone mountains and breathtaking scenery. But we did manage to get a few drinks in and observe the debauchery of toher young travelers...I made a note to myself that if ever we have a daughter, there are a few places she will never be allowed to visit on her own or at least she is relatively mature, well, Vang Vieng is one of them, Vegas on halloween isthe other!
This area is also known for some amazing natural caves which many are now temples for praying. We went to one and were approached by a monk and his novices. This monk was teaching english atthe school for novices and wanted to practice with us and his students. HE gave us a personal tour ofthe cave and explained how to pray to Buddha. He explained that it is more like asking for "good Luck". He explained to us how to meditate and its importances to feel balanced. It was a truly great experience to spend the afternoon with him and his novices.
Followingthe route towardsthe border, we are now in Luang Phrabang. We have been here for 2 days and we leave tomorrow by slow boat to the border of Thailand. We are looking forward to going backto Thailand and relaxing on the beach and doing yoga, which Jeff and agreed to try out! Luang Phrabang is also a beautiful and peaceful place where we would love to spend more time. It is situated on the banks of the mighty Mekong and Nam Som rivers. the people here are really nice and hard working. We have spent the last 2 days visting almost every temple in town and out of town. Tomorrow we plan on getting up at 5:30 to give alms to the monks and novices. This is giving food or money to the monks, as they do not work and as a monk cannot earn any money. The money and food they are given is what they have to live and survive. it is the people ofthe town, who donate whatever they feel they can afford. Alms is done every morning and is quite a respected practice.
After our"good deed of the day", we will be leaving by slow boat up the Mekong River to Thailand...we will update more from there. For now we have been traveling for just over a month and have visited over 20 towns in 3 countries!! Time to chill at the beach and stay put for a few weeks....cheers....