There has been many mixed reviews passed along Laos about Ventiane, most people would even say to skip it, im very glad I didnt. The capital had an amazing waterfront that you can walk, cycle or play soccer with the locals in the sand where the Mekong used to be during rainy season. At night the river side has all kinds of markets and people doing zumba classes, bars on wheels and the list can go on. Yes it is a city like any other big city..over crowded, lots of traffic, but definitely worth a stop. My main attraction here was the COPE center, some of you may have heard about it. Its a non profit organization that assist locals with dissabilities (usually amputations due to left over bombs from the war detanating, moter vehicle accidents and pedal deformaties at birth), I spent the whole morning there speaking with staff and patients as well as taking in alot of very sad sad information about the bombings in Laos. As 'collateral damage' from the second world war, the US dropped bombs on this country every 8 minutes for 9 years, making it the most bombed country in history, due the math :(. The statistics were very hard to digest, especially considering there are still over 100 deaths and even more injuries per year since over 30% of the ordence did not explode on impact and remain scattered throughout the country. The remaining bombs are usually found by children in villages who are trying to collect amd sell scrap metal to help their families afford a meal.. when the bombs are touched or heated (some are burried underground with time and explode when fires are lit on top where families gather for cooking and warmth at night)..the aftermath..well I dont have to explain. It is a tragic ongoing story in this country and although there are some efforts in finding bombs and detenating them safely (as mentions in BanNa) casualties happen far to often and more education is needded in villages to help prevent such events. its very hard to teach small children not to touch cluster bombs that usually look like tin cans... The center is small and humble but work closely with the people to help cope with injuries and loss and advocate on their behalf for a bettersafer futur. The prosthetics can be modern or made out of bamboo, anything to help them go on. (remember that most of these people are farmers and fisherman..so losing a limb effects the family income and independance in a way most of us can never imagine). This place left me with all kinds of goosbumps, the good and the bad kind. There are some fundraising opertunities for those who want to check out their website, you can also buy limbs for patients or give them as presents during the holidays, and always a need for help.. OTs!!?!! The rest of Ventiane was relaxed, a trip to the Buddha park (great place to spend the day looking at stautes and Buddha like I have never seen before), having drinks by the Mekong and getting over this weird allergic reaction I got that made my upper lip swell 5 times in normal size.. still dont know what that was about.

Next, I continued south to Paske hoping to do a moterbike loop only to be shut down by the rental company saying that their moterbike could not hold the wait of two for the terrain we wanted to explore, idea failed. Instead we caught a bus to Tat Lo, a small town, that was still on the loop trail and landed in my waterfall paradise (google this place!!). There were two big waterfall within 5 minute walking distance from the town, one I could even see from the hammock of my bungalow. It was a great place to relax, swin in the falls and stuff myself with good local food. Unlike most places in SEA, the portions here were huge! Counting the days, I kept moving South to Champasack. Champasack was a bit of a ghost town and that worked for me. The only attraction here was a Wat which I didnt even make it out to see in my 2 night stay. I just walked the streets, slept and enjoyed the Mekong view.

My last stop in Laos, one which I was excited about was the four thousand islands. The lazy capital of Laos, not that I hadnt been lazy in the recent past, but I could always go for more. I treated myslef to a nice bungalow with a sunset view on the river side. I spent 3/4 of my time in my hammock only leaving it to get food. I stayed two nights in Dong Det (where the IPOD was taken... :() after it happened as I was too pissed off to stay, so I moved to Dong Khon, which I spent just as much time in my hammock, greiving for a few days of all the data lost. The only thing that I can honestly say I enjoyed about the islands was visiting two waterfalls, one the biggest in volume in SEA, Khone Phapheng, also known as the Pearl of the Mekong, and the Li Phi waterfall which was almost just as impressive. I wish I was in a better mood to enjoy it a little more but they did uplift my spirits in the end. My time in Laos was up one day early becuase I could not resist the temptation of heading back to Cambodia...its never too soon for Cambodia. Goodbye Laos, what a confusing place this was.