Hey no worries. Laid back Laos is just what I needed after crazy busy Hanoi. I will be MIA for a few days because I am heading up the Mekong early tommorow morning in a small but very long skinny boat (think Banana Boat ride but not inflatible) I met a couple from California and we are going to head up about 8 or 9 hours on the boat upstream....I think we will rent it at the pier tomorrow.....wooden bench seats - two across fills the space.....not built for comfort or speed...hey what kind of design is this? Oh yeah - skinny means it can go where there is little water as this is the dry season.
Anyway up into the jungle to Nang Khieo or Nang Khiew. I don't know anything about this area - met them and they were going and I had no plans and was feeling too lazy to plan anythhing so.....tagging along. I think we might stay 3 or four nights depending on what we find up there - not exactly a tourist mecca so don't worry for a least a week.

Have fab pics of the monks procession from dawn this morning. The Luang Prabang monks are very ritualistic and I got involved.
Dragged my ass out of bed to see them at dawn only to find that most of the town was already out there - having cooked up some lovely sticky rice and wrapped it up beautifully in banana leaves and they also brought bananas and other offereings. Every morning those of us improving our lot in life go kneel out on the sidewalk and wait for our chance to give alms to the monks. Lucky for me there is a fast food sticky rice woman who is waiting, along with others to sell you some if you were too busy watching movies the night before and slipped up on your devotion. She saw it all over me as I came out of my laneway with nothing in my hands but my room key.....30000 kip later she had me a mat and a tray of bananas and a bamboo bucket of hot sticky rice. I couldn't believe how many others were out on their mats. I offered to share my mat with a stern woman who would be to sticky rice wraps what Jackie is to cake decorating. Perfectly tied little beautiful bundles.

I was a little hungry so I started dipping into my bucket....hey - I paid for it....and apparently that is not cool and she wasn't sure she wanted to share my mat with me.....she never was sure in the beginning - I sensed that.

I stopped eating the alms and the monks appeared - all in a line perfectly oranged out with their gleaming bowls. I dipped into mine, made a little scoop and gave a scoop and a banana to the ones that stopped by my guilty spot. Maybe the ones theat past saw a little starch on the sides of my mouth....could have been drool.

Anyway - I hope the pics will let you live a little of that expereince. And document that I was awake before dawn once. Will upload them later.

More in a few days.

From the jungle in waiting.
Deb

Happy Birthday Jackie if I don't get back in time. Hope you don't have to make your own cake!!!!