spicy laos

i've left china! hooray and boo hoo in equal measure. laos is very different to the parts of china that i saw and worked in. chinese staple pork and noddle soup has been revolutionised with the addition of a sprig of mint, and onlookers are a little less incredulous and a little more sombre.

apart from the kids, who run behind our bikes shouting 'sabaidii' which means hello (of course) and smiling and waving. almost scarred myself for life by falling off waving back (with helmet, of course mum). now put all the energy into a slightly unhinged smile and nob combo. we sometimes reply by saying 'sabaidii' as well, but we may be shouting a family-related insult because as soon as the kids reach 7 years old they seem to stop waving and smiling, instead glaring and trying to overcharge us for barbecued fish.

i'm currently in a place called luang prabang, famed for it's monks and temples, and monks who live in temples. it's a world away and a hundred times better than vang vieng which was utter hell on earth. more correctly, utter hell on tractor tube floating on river. it's been ruined by travellers (not like me, oh no no) and now is full of 'Friends' and 'Family Guy' bars where people sit and hallucinate and watch shit television. a fitting antidote to the water slides and vodka buckets of the Nam Song river which makes up the day-time itinerary. it's a town finely tuned to opiates, rope swings and jennifer anniston and it's as horrible as it sounds. still, free buckets from 8.30-10 at bucket bar! woo hoo!

all in all, am looking forward to purging said sins from my mind with some incense and monk-based fun.