Along the Mekong...

As I sat on the side of the boat, my feet hanging off the edge and my hands gripping the handrail, I shared a quiet moment with two newly acquired friends of the mighty Mekong River and the lush green rolling hills surrounding it. If I reached down far enough, my bare foot could just barely skim the surface of the brown, muddy river, and that combined with the cool breeze was enough to make the most talkative girl speechless.

A couple days ago, I boarded an open-backed truck in the city of Chiang Mai (Thailand), and now, almost 3 days later, I am in the small city of Luang Prabang, Laos. A lot has happened in those 72 hours.

After a rather uncomfortable overnight bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, I found myself in an over-booked, Lonely Planet-recommended guesthouse. So I walked about five minutes in the opposite direction and stayed in "Same Same Guesthouse," in a dorm room for about $3 a night. I ended up meeting some colorful, interesting characters who I spent all of my time with, and had a blast. We rented motorbikes, got stuck in a horrible rain storm, and eventually made our way out to a beautiful waterfall area and wandered around in the jungle-like woods for hours. We ate good Thai food, and gave in to our Western-food cravings two nights in a row (burgers and fries!)

But after a couple of days in the laid back city, I knew it was time to cross another border and explore another country. So me and Bree (my new Irish friend), bought a package ticket to Laos. For just under $45, the package included a 6 hour bus ride to the border of Thailand and Laos, accommodation in a hotel overnight, breakfast, and a 2-day boat ride to the city of Luang Prabang.

Soon we found ourselves in an open backed truck with 2 other travelers, and after a half hour ride, we arrived in a gas station and waited for the bus (actually a minivan) to pick us up and drive us the rest of the way to the border. The minivan was full, and as usual, pretty uncomfortable. We didn't get into the border town till about 3am, and were quickly taken to our 4-bed rooms to get some sleep. The morning started early, at 7am, with a quick breakfast at the hotel.

The next couple of hours were filled with the usual border-crossing hassles. But, after a lot of waiting, a bit of money being exchanged, and a new visa to go along with all the others in my passport, we were finally allowed to enter the "slow boat" that was to be our transport for the next two, long days. The boat sits low to the water, is open on both sides, and is full of uncomfortable, wobbly wooden benches. There are a few nice, airplane-like seats in the back, but by the time we got on the boat they were already full. So we spent the next six hours with sore butts and a lot of good laughs.

At around 6pm, the boat docked at a small town, and about seventy foreigners shuffled off the boat into the waiting hands of the hotel and shop-owners, who were practically begging for our business. After getting settled into a small, family owned hotel (a double room that I shared with Bree), our newly formed group of 9 went off in search of food and ended up getting a delicious meal at an Indian restaurant. The company was great, the food was satisfying, and the day felt complete.

We soon found ourselves back on the boat, and after arriving super early, were happily settled into the nice seats in the back in preparation for another seven hour day of traveling. The day went fairly quickly; I was able to finish an amazing book, talk to some cool people, and actually sit on the railing on the outside of the boat (something that would be forbidden in most Western countries for safety reasons).

I could tell immediately that Luang Prabang is going to be a city that I am going to thoroughly enjoy. After getting off the boat and facing the usual overwhelming amount of people trying to sell us their hotels, 7 of us headed off in search of a room for the night.

We found a great little hotel, and all 7 of us (4 British guys, 1 British girl,1 Irish girl, and me), are all sharing one big, awesome room. We have our own bathroom, and it is one of the nicer places I have stayed at on my trip (it costs about $2.50 a night, per person). The evening was spent wandering around the amazing night market, eating good (and very cheap) street food, and hanging out in a relaxing bar right on the Mekong River.

I am not sure yet how long I will stay here, but I am excited to explore more of the city during the day, and see just what this town has to offer. Then I'll head down south and visit two other cities, and will eventually re-cross the border (probably by bus) back into Thailand.

It's hard to believe, but in just under two weeks, I'll be back in Bangkok, boarding the plane that will eventually take me back to MD. After ten months of travel, ten months of the best moments of my life, it will all come to an end. Luckily, I have the best family in the world waiting for me, and good friends that I haven't seen in ages.

I've had trouble lately describing the amazing amount of feelings that are running throughout my body, and at any moment I want to either burst into tears or laugh uncontrollably. It's odd to me how I can feel so sad at something ending, and so terribly excited at the thought of what's to come.

But, that's life, I suppose.

Either way, the last couple of days have been amazing, and I know the next two weeks will be just as good. I hope everyone back home is doing well, and I miss you all. But...I'll see you soon! Much love.