Reasons I Love Kit.

I would like to take a minute (just sit right there...) to tell you a little bit about out FANTASTIC tour leader in Laos. His name was Kit and he was an absolute legend.

Its quite difficult to explain why we loved Kit so much, Im not entirely sure it was his profesionalism, or his reassuring local knowledge (a couple of the girls got a horrible taxi driver one night who locked them in the car..Kit's responce was a general shrug and 'it happens'), and neither was it was the fact that he was always so willing to help and tried his very very hardest to make everything perfect for us. (Because of Kit we didnt have to endure any local buses, he got us minivans most everywhere.) I think the reason we all fell under his spell are his unique ways...'Kitisms' if you like. I have listed a few below lest we ever forget.

* His fave restaurant reviews - no dining establishment ever was good enough. He would heartily recommend us a restaurant and then say 'its not good...but its ok'. I also heard a story about his preferred chat-up line which was 'you're not the most beautiful girl in the room, but to me you are pretty'. Doesnt every girl just dream about hearing that beauty?!

* His speeches. When Kit asked for your 'short attention' you knew you were in for a mamoth speech and it would be wise to grab a seat before all the other panic strcken memebers of the group nabbed them all. Bless Kti - he just wanted to make sure we had all the information we required, and then some. The first night we all met each other we had a 'quick meeting' with kit sitting outside the hotel. He then proceeded to talk for 2 hours and rattled through the entire trip itinery while we all got savaged by mosquitos.

*The fact that when he spoke, unless your ear was possitioned 2 cm away from his mouth, you couldnt hear a thing.

*His random-information-sharing. Like the 20 minurte tale about his stomach troubles. Or the discussion about what a Coke is called in Laos (a 'coke'), or, and I was unlucky enough to miss this one, the nice chat about African Anus rings. Lovely

*'Simple' meals. Every breakfast, lunch or dinner time he would point us in the direction of where we could get a 'simple breakfast/lunch/dinner'.

*Telling us to go to bed. Or perhaps just telling me to go to bed. I was standing in the street one night, at about 10 o clock, innocently minding my own business waiting for Jen so we could go and get a beer when Kit came over pointed in the direction of the hotel, and said 'ok Ella, the hotel is there so you go to bed'.

Im sure there are many many other things I am forgetting but I just wanted to share with you the wonder of Kit. If it sounds like i am taking the p*ss out of him I'm really not - he was just fantastic and I wouldnt have wanted anyone else to be our tour leader. I miss him already!

p.s. on our last night in Laos he gathered us all round to tell us a little 'secret' - he had never been to most of the places we had just spent two weeks visiting. A perfect ending to our Kit experience!