The first few days in Laos!

So I've dragged myself to the internet cafe in the hope that i could piece together some bad travel writing. The mosquitoes here are great. Beautiful little creatures really. I particularly love the sound they make as they enter your ear looking for a vascular delight. Maybe humans and nature can coexist though I should probably take those malaria pills to save myself from the ol' death thing.

Vietnam, to be honest, and I hope I cause no umbrage to my numerous Vietnamese friends, does not compare to this beautiful place. The people are friendly, they don't try to rip you off and the lifestyle is generally peaceful and relaxed. Crossing the border into Laos was a farce however, as for some reason the beguiling border patrol officers seem to find numerous ways into your pocket. I ended up having to pay for a fucking stamp on my passport when i had already payed the 30 dollar visa fee. I suppose ink is in short supply for those amiable gentlemen.

Upon arrival to Muang Khua i decided that Laos was the best place I have visited yet. Jagged peaks etched across the skyline, flanked with exotic greenery including trees precariously perched in the most impossibly high places. Verdant rivers lazily winding their way through whatever passage time has made for them. Do these descriptions sound pretentious? Sue me, you square.
After having a good night's rest in the quaint village, i noticed a little internet cafe. Ahhh, the good old internet fix. Little did i know that on that very same computer, at that very same time, a little game called Warcraft was installed.

Now Warcraft is one of those computer games you just should not start. Kind of like crack cocaine or Heroin, just say no. However i'm a compulsive chap for video games having spent approximately 97.854% of my teenage years squandered on them, I had a bit of a moment. The ultimatum: Double click the icon and spend 6 weeks in Muang Khua... or... go backpacking and live life.

Turns out i was feeling rather audacious and played a glorious hour of swords, magic, orcs, night elves and ever dwindling virtual resources. 1 hour only. I have finally become a man. That was my test of fate.

Till next time

mwaa

NYE

Been a long time since my last entry. I think it was way back in Sihanoukville where i spent most of my time avoiding hookers and taxi drivers peddling drugs. Seriously, going out of the hostel you were invariably hassled by these good folk. I remember one day going in and out of my hostel a number of times and every single exit/re-entry i passed this one taxi driver, He would say the same thing: "hey friend, tuk tuk....? no? marijuana? no? weed? opium? mdma? ice? cocain? heroin?". At one point i reminded him how many times he had asked the same thing to which he apologised profusely. An hour later when I passed him, "hey friend, marijuana, ecstacy? you like ....". If I swore I'm sure god will someday forgive me.

The reason i have made time now is because i am again ill with a common flu. Hanoi is bloody cold so on NYE/NYD i made the perhaps silly decision to wear only a T-shirt (...and jeans, but no shoes of course). Had a god damn amazing night though, one of the more memorable NYE's of the past couple of years.


I should mention that I have been travelling with the lascivious Geoffrey of France, a stripper and porn actor. Seems like a perfect travelling match really, we are just as silly as each other in the pursuit of women and fun times.

We set out to one of the backpacker bars. The place we stayed at had about 200 hundred males to 3 females. Now if everyone had a good vibe there it might be different but these guys were big muscle built stand-offish type gents.

Without going into too much detail, we bar hopped a little bit until we eventually ended back at our hostel where there were 400 people squished inside the bar area. fun times. At some stage we were lead to a new venue which entailed us running across freeways, scaling walls, the whole lot. It was quite a sight, a hundred backpackers swarming over walls, holding up traffic and causing a general ruckus. After a while we found ourselves in backstreet alleys when suddenly our leader pronounced he knew not where we were headed. Great bloke. We ended up counting down the new years on a street corner. It was actually a unique and amazing experience. I've spent a ton of new years at festivals off my head, at clubs or watching fireworks, never had i experienced something akin to this. Everyone was bloody ecstatic and not a single fuck was given by the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere. The human spirit prevails! Hugs, kisses, congratulations, well wishes between people who knew very little of each other but that we are all on this journey called life together and we may as well have a fucking blast!

All this thinking has got me thinking about beer and the subsequent lack of thinking that follows thereafter. Shit, how am i going to get back to study?

no photos in this entry because of constant blogger errors.

love ya

nene