Samsenthai Hotel Vientiane

... Etoile fillantes - le teleroman quebesois - mais avec des sous-titres en francais de france. Tordant ! Je decide de me donner une jounee de break de l<asie. En soiree, une biere, un chip et une barre snikers et du Devon Sproul dans mon ipod (si vous ne la connaissez pas, elle vaut le coup d<oreille !!! Devon sproul dans my space. Son mari aussi est trippant. Paul Curreri. Vous le trouverez sur le meme site. Ils chantent parfois ensemble).

Selon les mots d<un ...

... Hopefully all will work out. Plan is to head south for 3 weeks to experience the real Lao. Hire a bike to do the various loops, chill in a hammock at the 1000 islands and then break for the border and Cambodia.

Apart from the work and dodging *****s, I've been reading and recovering. I'm wanting shoulder to feel like its not been on a med-evil rack and for cuts to heal (something this damp climate does not allow easily). Laos is a ...

... laughing at one - he had been beaten to a pulp with a handbag. It would be just my luck!

I enjoyed a continental breakfast, croissant and espresso. These are things I miss here but Vientaine has provided a glimpse of France at a welcome time. After just one night we're headed north for Vang Vieng in the mountains. As we pass through the Rues and Boulevards of the city I realise I rather like this strange piece of France in ...

... called into a circle. The virgins were made to step into the middle of the circle and give some minor details about themselves, they said that they would really get to know us better later, I thought that meant over a beer or two. Wrong. More on that later. 10 minutes of basic instruction giving and we were off.

I can't describe the race in detail for two reasons, one, I can't really remember the order of any of it. And two, it would take forever. But I will say that it was an ...

... schedule and being flexible enough to change your plans on a whim. So the next day we caught a bus six hours south to a town called Pakse. Once there, we decided to rent motorbikes and take a tour around the Bolaven Plateau. We stored our large backpacks at a guest house and just took our day packs with enough to survive for a couple of days. It was great fun. We went to Champasak (an old Khmer temple ruin), saw some spectacular waterfalls, and stayed in ...

... various produce and people. I had a young Lao lady with her baby next to me, she checked if it was ok to lean her head on my shoulder, I said ok of course. After arriving in Vientiane, we spent an hour or so finding a guesthouse, the three boys, Gary, Jesse and Lewis shared a room and Hannah, Nicole and I also shared a room. But we went to a different ...

... on two sides there are seated Buddhas. At the front there are 2 large Buddhas dispelling fear and what looks like grave stones propped up against the walls. At the back there were more Buddhas and a small lion and a tortoise. Inside there was a large collection of Buddhas, said to be the best in Laos. While we were there some people splashed us with their holy water and 2 ladies put talcum powder on us. We then went to Wat Si Saket which ...

... then the French and then the US.

My day took a turn when I got back to the hostel and got chatting to a really cool Vietnamese girl called Jasmine and an English chap called Jon. We had a good chat and then Jasmine showed us where to get some really good local food. Two more of John's friends called Paul and Tory joined us for dinner also. We then went bowling! Yes bowling. Most places in Laos close pretty early however the ...

... and jump to it. Funny to think that forest floors will soon be sweatshop floors and that rice farmers will be Nike-stitching McWorkers.

Aid arrives in the form of giant projects. Tarmac roads are being constructed throughout the length of the country, huge dams are being proposed. The Mekong is no longer a river to
provide fish or a wellspring of inspiration and folklore but an under-utilized energy resource. Its placid and languid waters will soon be put to work ...