Laos
I had no idea what to expect in Laos. One book had described Laos as Thailand had been 75 years ago. All I can say, is I hope it takes at least 75 years before Laos becomes like Thailand is today. Laos is a beautiful country. Still running at a much slower pace than it's neighbors. In Luang Prabang I got up at 5:00am to wander down into the streets to see the Buddhist monks weaving through the streets in long lines taking alms of rice from the local populace. The jungle is still dense and healthy along the Mekong. From Luang Prabang we took a long boat up to the old Buddhist caves at Pak Ou. Along the way, we stopped at several small villages. One was a simple fishing village. Another produced a local rice 'wine' that can knock you on your ass - it ain't sake. I recommend a stop in Laos to unwind. Just be careful if you go out to the Plain of Jars (which we did not). I ran into a woman who had been there the week before. Her tour guide walked off the marked path to take a nature break and stepped on a land mine. As with much of S.E. Asia, the history of the last 30 years lives on in unpleasant ways.
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