I've left the relaxed country of Lao and crossed the border back into Thailand where things run on time, aren't so out dated but things are still the same... 'same same but different' (a common phrase over here). Our group of 5 is now down to 3 as two of them make their way back to Colorado. And that gives the rest of us only 3 more weeks in SE Asia, so sad :(

Lao has left a lasting impression on me. The people were so friendly - example...

Last night we were staying in the little town (Haungsa) in the middle of no where and we were the only white people in this town (yes we acquired a lot of looks, especially when I went for a run) and only a few people spoke a few words of English. But at one point I walked into our guest house to buy a bottle of water and there were these Lao people sitting down drinking a beer and having dinner and they insisted that I have a beer with them and share their dinner (regardless that we had just ordered our dinner). But whatever, what they were eating was more traditional Lao and it's always fun to get to know the locals. We found out through their broken English and our nonexistent Lao that they were going to the same town we were the next day and they would be willing to give us a ride in their car. (A real car, not just the back of a truck that is crammed with more people that is can hold going on this winding dirt road that is no more than 30 miles long but takes about 2 hours to drive.) We were so excited (Woot Woot)!! So the next morning we caught a ride with them (Best car ride of my life, my legs and butt never went nunb, there was more leg space than I knew what to do with and there was an "oh shit" bar to hold on to as we went flying around the corners) so we could catch our boat to the Thai border. In the end they ended up saying us about $3.50 and we got there in about half the time. We bought our tickets to take us to the Thai border and we found out that we would be riding in a Speed Boat - Lao Style (an old wooden boat, that was low to the water with no windshield and there was negative leg space with about 5 hours to go wearing out super cool helmet that made us look like we were part of 'Top Gun') When we got on the speed boat we meet another Lao Family. The father had just gotten out of being a Monk for a few days because his father passed away and they were on their way back to Vientiane. After chatting for a bit he found out where we were from, he insisted that we come visit him next time we were in Lao. So he gave us all possible ways to contact him and his family in hopes of us stopping by next time we are on this side of the world.

Bridget, Molly, Avy
Riding in the speed boat "Lao Style"

The scenery was breath taking. The jagged mountains with the low sweeping clouds that engulfed the jungle and the terracing crops. In the valleys between the mountains were where majority of the rice field lay with tiny huts for the families. The villages were small with dirt road that ran though them and the children were always out and about running from one place to the next and jumping in and out of the river.

Here is just one of the many flowers that's in this part
of the world with the rice fields in the background.

This are some of the women from a hill tribe with their children that are on their back to their village after working in the fields.

Monks are a common site over especially very young ones

Akha Tribe

The next set of pictures are from the Akha Tribe that we visited after trek in Northern Lao. The all gathered around us as we ate lunch (we felt so bad about eating in front of them, but we couldn't refuse the food that was being served to us). Most of the men were our in the fields working leaving all the children and few of the women behind. One way for them to earn some money is to see the bracelets and necklaces that they make. So while we were eating they all laid them out for us too see and to buy once we were done eating. The kids were so cute though as they sat around the things that they had either made or their mothers had made. Most of the Moms carried their babies on their back while having there many other kids circle them.