We crossed into Laos about 6 days ago. As soon as we crossed the Mekong into the country, I immediately fell in love with this country. Usually the government officials you encounter in any country's immigration department are intimidating people, but not in Laos. The police officers were smiling and asking about my trip. Coming from America, where it's scary even coming back into my own country, I was astonished at the friendliness of the Lao people. We traveled down the Mekong River for 2 days, stopping overnight at a hillside village. Although it might sound boring to be on a boat for 2 days straight, this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The countryside here is so incredible that I could just stare out at the scenery for ages. Laos just started letting tourists into their country around 1995, so the culture remains still somewhat uninfluenced by Western culture. Contrast to many parts of Thailand, you can still find the genuine Lao culture here. This probably will not last for too much longer, as more tourists here of how wonderful this country is, but for now, it truly is beautiful.
We got off the boat at Luang Prabang. Everyone in our group loved this city. There is a wonderful night market that stretches all the way down the center of the city, where you can buy hand-made jewelry, bags, t-shirts, and anything else you can think of. A few of us hiked up to a nearby waterfall, which turned out to be much more beautiful than I was expecting. The following morning a few of us woke up at 5:30am and went into the city to watch the monks receive their morning alms. It is beautiful to see all of the devoted Lao people wake up early and cook food to give to the procession of monks. The Lao people are so devoted to their religion and family. After watching the morning alms giving, some of us went to volunteer with a program called Big Brother Mouse. It is an Australian-run program that promotes literacy among Lao people. I worked one-on-one with a college student who is studying English. This was an entertaining and rewarding experience because the boy had so many questions for me about America and my life. Lao and Thai people are very interested in your personal life, so getting asked questions regarding your age, marital status and whether you have children is very common. The first question my student had was weather I was married, then it was weather I enjoy the Beer Lao. He was obviously a typical boy in his late teens. :)
We are in Vientiane right now, which is the capital city of Laos. A couple girls and I just got a massage and it cost a whole $3.50 for an hour. Although the "spa" doesn't have the typical serene environment with soothing music, I couldn't pass up an hour of physical bliss for only $3.50. We head to a homestay tomorrow for our last night in Laos. I am sad to be leaving this wonderful country, but I'm very excited for our upcoming adventures in Vietnam.
