An interesting journey and a heavenly morning

Yay! I found an internet connection! it's in someone's house, the kid keeps disturbing me (and the poor mother got to keep carrying her away) and the grandmother is sewing with the old sewing machine we used to have at home =) 300kip/min.

This morning: wat phou. I was hoping to catch the sunrise, but when i woke up at 6am, it was raining hard, and it didn't look like it was going to stop. But my luck held, and by 7.30 it stopped, though the sky was still dark. Rented a bike after breakfast, went to change money, cycled the 10km to the wat, passing kids catching something in the fields, a big group of men and boys fishing where a stream met the mekong, lots of cows, dogs, ducks, chickens, goats, even a turkey.. Nice cos it wasn't hot. Not very nice for taking photos at the wat (in ruins, but exquisite, and very nice views and atmostphere), though there were a few moments of sunshine when i walked into the main shrine at the top with my joss sticks and offering, and the gold of the Buddha's robes were shining. It was perfect... then an angmoh approache and the sun went away... then when i went to the holy spring behind it started drizzling but stopped the moment i left the cave/ledge. Hmm.

Staying at a place with a nice location by the river. splurged on a double room with attached bath cos a) i'd been on the road for more than 24h! b)in the super duper cramped songthraew from Phibun to Champasak, my bottle of meji coffee milk (bought in BKK) opened and i didn't realise it till I felt it soak thru my bag and my pants... so the bath with showerhead, tap, basin, western toilet w working flush for 30,000kip (US$3) sounded like a good deal... plus the hammocks at the veranda by the river just looked so good...

the journey here... long story...... the phibun-champasak part comes down to something like: took a long time, cramped, drunks on board who took a shine to me and who were smoking non-stop, cute kids, river crossing, owner of guesthouse's brother on board, hence got off at the most populated guesthouse (though that's not saying a lot) w lots of angmohs. Cos there were 2 brits on the same vehicle as i (and who had been on that same vehicle at the bus staion for 3h already waiting for it to fill up and move). railway overnight from BKK to Ubon was good, but JS, I wld reccommend that you take the lower deck. I had the upper cos safer for me i guess, but its too bright, too near the aircon vents, and too low and no view.... At the border I meet and eventually shared taxi with 2 finnish and an american. US citizens really get it hard ard here i guess... they were staying in Pakse or Bolavan for the night, so I got my own tuk tuk to the other bus station to go to Phibun....

so many more things to say and note, but the keyboard is seriously irritating....

what i love about this place though: the laid-back attitude. I thought some of the smaller thai villages were relaxed, but the laos take it to a whole new level...

tomorrow: down south to Si Phan Don: the 4 thousand mekong islands... will try to catch the morning slow boat, which takes anywhere from 5-9h to get there from here..