We have been here in Vientiane for the past couple weeks, mostly staying at David’s family’s house outside of town or at fancy guesthouses near the city center (fancy meaning hot water and televisions and it’s AWESOME). Vientiane is incredibly beautiful . If you simply smile at just about anyone here they will invite you in to their home for a cold beer (literally). The city has grown just enough to have a smooth infrastructure compared to a lot of cities we have experienced (sigh…poor Phnom Penh), but it’s still quiet and charming and it feels safe, even at night. The weather is much better than the South as well – “hot time” doesn’t quite hold the sway here as it did down in Pakse and we are very thankful for it. It’s a shame most backpackers just past through here on their way to Vang Vieng or Vietnam, but I suppose that just leaves more for us. Nothing like kicking back at a street cafe near the Mekong with a cold Beerlao in your hand watching all the crazy motorbikes race by…. If we can make it happen, we’re coming back here as soon as possible and you should join us.

I got food poisoning. Again. Or, as David likes to call it, “The Affliction.” It happened less than 1 month after the last Affliction and it just seems entirely unfair. Last time the culprit, as you recall, was a delicious bowl of Thai chicken curry. An old favorite of mine which I have yet to consume since. This time? VIETNAMESE SANDWICH! The vendor seemed so sweet and like she made a killer sandwich, but little did I know… I woke up later that night feeling like there was a demon inside my intestines scraping his way out with a spoon. And let met tell you this: Laos bathrooms are totally tolerable until you are puking your guts out at 3 am. That’s all I have to say about that.

As we move North now we are making our way over to Vietnam, the end of our adventure. It was hard to say goodbye to David’s family today because we know we most likely won’t be seeing them after we enter Vietnam. Especially John and Jay, two of the goofiest and smartest kids I think I have ever met. How we will ever live without the midnight kung foo tournaments or the endless question and answer periods about the English language, I will never know. And as always, Kouk made some of the most delicious meals we have had since touching down 3 months ago in Bangkok. We will miss them (and the food) a lot, but remembering we came here to travel is getting us itchy to move on.

And where are the pictures of this increasingly-epic journey you may be wondering? Well…we have over 400 that need to be uploaded that we have taken since the new year but unfortunately our little memory card in our little camera got a VIRUS. Not to worry, though. David of course fixed everything right up while I was typing this and we will be uploading the pictures upon arrival in Vang Vieng. There’s some real gems in there, too, so come back and check them out.

Please leave us a comment or two and let us know how YOU are doing…we do indeed miss you…

Much Love,

Kevin and David

p.s…if you want a call from the future please email me your phone number – I had an iphone meltdown and my life is now hidden away in Apple’s basement….

Check out the albums

Vientiane

Ban Naxaithong

On the other hand, the people here seem reasonably happy and we suspect it’s because they aren’t panicking about ‘what needs to be done later’ like Western cultures tend to do.  In America we might sit down to lunch with friends and mostly discuss how much laundry we have to do later, what time we need to pick up the kids later, and how we need to get to the bank later before it closes.  Here, people sit down to lunch and simply talk about lunch or whatever they are thinking or feeling right then over their meals.  Maybe all those cheesy ‘living in the present’ self-help books actually have something to say.

And my God the generosity and hospitality of these people.  We have primarily been staying with David’s extended family – Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc, who all mostly live on the same compound on the outskirts of Paxse.  This seems to be common in the Laos way of life – very large family’s all living together in a small number of huts or modest homes which sit in or around their place of business.  Here we have had all of these people taking care of us in every way they can, as Laotions evidently always do for guests.  We wake up in the morning (generally around 6:30 am) and the women are already doing our laundry and making our breakfast.  When we come out of the room we are sharing with David’s younger cousins, John and JJ, the rest of the family swoops in and cleans up our blankets and bedding right away.  Sometimes they overhear us mention we want a beer, and next thing we know we have six ice cold ones sitting in front of us.  Did you say you want to go to the Bolevan Plateau?  Get in the car.  Did you say you were hungry?  Here are 7 dishes to choose from, we just whipped them up over the open fire and the fish are fresh from the pond out back.

Sometimes this can become a bit awkward.  In the States when you are invited to dinner it is expected, and enjoyable, to help (or at least offer to) prepare the food or clean up after.  Not here.  The men work during the day (except for when they are napping in the hammocks during ‘hot time’) and the women take care of the men.  Period.  As men, we are expected to sit on the bamboo mats and relax while the women wait on us hand and foot.  A few times we couldn’t help but get up and assist the women with carrying the absurd amount of dishes over to us, but then they got a little nervous and the men started pointing and laughing.  We don’t do that anymore. When in Laos…

At times this can border on absurd.  Some of the younger kids speak a bit of English as they are now taught it in school so here and there they understand what David and I are saying to each other.  Yesterday they heard me say to David that I need to go shopping soon for some clothes.  Next thing I know the children have run to the women, informed them of my needs, and together as a family they began loading up the car to prepare for a shopping trip.  When we arrived they helped me find a new pair of shorts and were shocked when I demanded to pay for it myself.  In the end, I found the money back in my pocket later that night.  What we are learning is it’s much more respectful to smile and say thank you rather than protest as it can seem offensive, especially with the language barrier. This is not the United States – these people don’t need us to be polite, they need us to enjoy the moment with a sense of gratitude.

We will be staying here at the family compound for another few days at least, sleeping on mats on the floor, eating the best food cross-legged with our hands, and bathing with a hose and a bucket. We are tired, and we are loving it.  We will be leaving for maybe Cambodia, maybe Vietnam, maybe northern Laos, likely within a week or so when we have had our Southern Laos fill.

Here’s some wild stuff we’ve learned since arriving here – either from just observing Lao Folk or from asking John random questions (he’s the only person here who speaks some English and he’s only 13, and he thinks we’re the two coolest dudes ever, and we think the same of him):

1 – No one here has ever heard of Britney Spears, but Jason Mraz is absolutely EVERYWHERE.

2 – No vehicle goes anywhere with fewer than 10 passengers inside.

3 – Acting like you’re in a rush brings stares and questions like, ‘are you sick?’

4 – Congealed pig’s blood and blood clot soup is a little intense on the stomach – eat it slowly and fill up on the rice and bread.  Everything else is nearly always perfect.

5 – When conversing with men, look them in the eye.  When conversing with women, only ‘steal’ glances or they will start giggling and be unable to speak.

6 – Camping in Southern Laos is not possible.  Why?  According to Uncle Ut, “Danger.  Tiger and Gun.”

7 – It pays to learn the guitar before coming here: All Laoations generally know how to play at least one instrument, and more often than not it’s the guitar – usually played at night with at least one other family member singing along.

8 – During a baasli ceremony in which you are the guest of honor, the white threads the monks are tying around your wrists are there to bound guardian spirits to your body and soul – duh.

9 – When stepping in front a spirit house, especially near a bridge or in the wilderness, always wai (bow your head and touch your hands, in praying fashion, to your forhead), even if you look like a goofy white guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing.  It’s respect.

10 – Happiness ends after about 3 hours on a 115 cc bike in heavy winds, so keep it around 2 ½ and you’ll do just fine.

11 – Laundry baskets are used for trash and trash cans are used for bathing.

12 – No one ever has a pen but everyone carries a marker.

13 – If you feel like passing a vehicle on a double yellow line prior to a treacherous curve, it’s fine: Just honk your horn to warn the people coming head on.

14 – When language is taken away as a way to communicate, it’s surprising the number of smiles one can wear.