Laos

Ok, an update as to what I'm doing now...

Met Brett coming out of the meditation course. Originally we were planning on heading to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We started off in that direction... We met a Dutch woman on a bike. She was riding to BeiJing. She gave us her card.

Should I get a card? Do I need one? I didn't know.

Anyway.

We had stopped for a drink.

Inevitably, the question was asked.

"So, why do you want to go to Angkor?"

"I dunno. You?"

"I dunno."

"I want to go to China."

"Me too... I don't even like temples."

"So, let's go to China."

"Now?"

"mmmm Ok."

We took the next road heading north. Now, sooner than expected, we find ourselves in Nong Khai - a Thai town set on the banks of the Mekong River. From the garden of the guesthouse, one can watch the Lao working and playing on the opposite bank.

I know I said we were going to China, but we still have a ways north to go, and this is the best way to go. Thailand is rather flat and boring in these parts. Laos has mountains.

Due to a spectacular thunderstorm that lasted most of last night, and the intermittent rain today, Laos will have to wait until tomorrow. When it clears up we will head over to the Thai-Lao friendship bridge and pick up 2 week visas. From there it's about 20 km into the Lao capital of Vientiane. After a few days there we will spend a week biking up through the mountains to the north central city of Laung Prabang. From there we plan to head east along the Mekong into the far north of Thailand.

Rumors have been confirmed, and we find that it is possible - hopefully - to take a barge into China. Chinese barges carrying cheap electronics ply the Mekong to trade with Thailand, returning with fruit and sometimes passengers holding valid Chinese Visas. Two or three days after leaving Thailand and traveling along the river between Myanmar and Laos, we will be dropped off in JingHong (or GuanLei if the water is too low) in southmost YunNan province (XiShuangBanNa district).

Two days on a barge with a bunch of Chinese traders and blue colar workers is just my idea of fun.