A changed man

After romping with Tigers and Elephants, riding a bamboo raft and visiting hill tribes, Megan, Cheri and I headed into Laos.

Before crossing the border, we met a fun couple that shared our path. A French woman and American man, the pair met while in Australia over a year ago and have traveled together on and off since.

An overnight bus took us to Luang Prabang, a nice slow, relaxing place in Laos. Megan only had a few hours before she had to head to the airport (an overnight bus and a new Visa just to catch a flight due to a change in plans) so Cheri and I teamed up with the other couple.

On our first full day together, the four of us hired a tuk tuk and traveled to some nearby waterfalls. You may think the same thing that I did... more waterfalls? Somehow they just don't get old. This set-up was one in which we got to see the Laos countryside before visiting a bear refuge and finally visiting a series of waterfalls. Hours of hiking, sweating and feeling disappointed finally found us at a sign that read "Do not swimming." So we went ahead and checked it out.

This place may have been the inspiration for the infinity pool. Waterfalls ranging from four feet to well over forty feet fed into a surprisingly calm pool perfect for swimming. The edge of this pool led to a drop of nearly ten stories but the water was shallow enough to allow one to walk up and look over the edge the the waterfall below.

A few days later, in Vang Vieng, Cheri and I joined the couple for a day of rock climbing. Having climbed man made climbing walls only a few times in my life, I was by far the least experienced of our group. I learned a great deal but relied too much on upper body strength and was totally drained for the last two climbs. Feeling the wonderful fatigue of a day well spent, we cooled off by taking a huge zip line into the nearby river.

The following day, we all did was most travelers in Vang Vieng choose to do. We went "tubing." We had heard that the water level was too low to actually need a tube so we took advantage of free shots and plenty of hugs swings and zip lines into the river. A few years ago, I think that I may have been more interested in the free shots than the activities but the adrenaline was enough of a buzz for me. St. Patricks Day was the following day and sticking to our budget, Cheri and I went bar hopping in a way that allowed a free drink at each bar. Maybe I'm old or maybe I'm more comfortable with myself but I was ready to call it in early rather than wait for the sun to chase me to bed.

I still need to update my time in Vietnam. This will teach me to procrastinate while traveling. More to come.

Love to all. I'm in Singapore again before heading to Indonesia solo tomorrow. Enjoy March Madness!!!