I signed up to go kayaking down the Nam Khan river today. Paddling down (mostly) calm waters, stopping at remote villages and chilling at the Tad Sae waterfall for lunch. Sounds terrific, right?

It was. Mostly. But I guess I didn't realize just how long five hours is when you are talking about paddling a kayak. Let me tell you for those who may not know. It's a bloody long time. The two hours to the waterfall were a breeze. I'm sitting there thinking, yes sir, I could do this all day. The three hours post waterfall, on the other hand, not so much. Don't get me wrong. It was brilliant having the opportunity to be kayaking down a river in the beautiful sunshine of Laos....but five hours is a very long time...especially when paddling a kayak. But we made it, navigating small rapids, shouting obscenities when the water got a bit rough...our guide laughing hysterically at us the whole time.

The only real hitch in the day came at lunchtime. We had just had a lovely swim in the waterfall and were settling down at a table for lunch. All of a sudden our guide looks at us and says "move, move, MOVE!". You've never seen a tired group of Aussies, Americans, and Brits move so fast. As I look back toward the table, I see him hacking away at a gigantic centipede with a humongous pointed stick. I'm telling you, this thing was the size of a small cat (the centipede, not the stick). When we asked if it would bite (which, in hindsight, we clearly should have known, given the urgency of his command), he replied (too calmly for my liking) "oh yes, very poisonous."  Great.

So other than poisonous centipedes and my arms about falling off, it was another successful day. Our guide was terrific. He's a local who had to convince his father to sell one of their water buffalo so that he could go to college. It cost $200 per year for him to go and he was the only one in his village who made it past primary school. He now speaks five languages and is a hero when he goes home to the village. It's becoming so interesting to me the people I meet along the way. Today alone, I discussed politics and the tv show The West Wing with a group of Aussies, and meditation retreats and Oprah with a Brit. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?