Survivor Mekong: Laos Continues to Amaze

Sabaidee from Laos, it's been over a week now and we're really getting into the Laos spirit. What's that spirit? It's hard to say, but it involves a dose of fun, a smattering of curiosity and a heap of serenity: the Laos people have to be some of the mellowest people on earth. Go to the night market in Luang Prabang and there's no hard sell, just a smile and "sabaidee!" There's so little crime in this county that locals say the only time you ever see a police officer is when he's directing traffic. The police in Luang Prabang sit in their office and watch television: the Maytag police.

We spent two wonderful days in Vientiane, first at Hotel Beau Rivage, then the second night we moved to the Vansana Mekong, a hotel that opened the day before we arrived. It's about five stories high and has about 200 rooms, but we claimed the distinction of being the FIRST and ONLY guests there. Every time we walked into the lobby, five front desk staff jumped to attention, pressed their hands together and welcomed us. That night we had the pool to ourselves and lucky us, the hotel was offering free beer for all guests. Yes, you heard me right, free beer, which meant free for Julia and I, served in a large contraption called a pump, which looked remarkably similar to the fuel dispensers at the country gas stations.

Early in the day, we booked ourselves into the Green Papaya Spa in Vientiane and had an hour and a half traditional Laos massage and another hour in an aroma-therapy steam bath for the insane price of $20 dollars a piece. Yeah, we're barely surviving over here as you can tell: send money! The massage was excellent, performed by two deceptively sweet torturesses who bent our bodies into figure eights. The spa itself was a little corner of Zen in the middle of a city, you litterally disappeared into ancient asia with smell of green tea wafting from the steam bath.

Of courses we are now in the Luang Prabang, city of temples, little restaurants and quaint bars. What a beautiful little town this is and Lotus Villa, where we're staying is absolutely stunning. It's so hard to do it justice in so few words, but walking around here is like stepping back in time, to a simple Asia or market stalls and quaint restaurants along the Mekong, watching the unique Laos long-boats moor on the banks.

We have visited Khmu and Hmong villages that haven't changed for centuries and learned of their religion and culture. We swam in a spring fed waterfall and tomorrow morning the procession of monks will walk right past our hotel for their morning alms. We have signed up for a cooking class which includes visiting local markets, purchasing supplies then cooking six traditional Laos dishes, then in two days it's off to Angkor. Wow, the tension is starting to build, though I cannot imagine Cambodia beating Laos, but who knows, every day brings more amazing experiences.