Laid back In Laos - My Laos name is Meow

About six days ago I went on a planned tour from Mr Boons Sabaidy2 guesthouse in Pakse to the Bolaven Plateau where they claim the best coffee growing on the planet. We were taken to the tea and coffee plantations, to Waterfalls where we had the coldest swim in Laos and then we stayed overnight at Mr Tims. Here we listened to old time jazz in the much dustier but very peaceful and beautiful South Laos countryside. I also enjoyed my cheapest accommodation yet when I shared a hut for 3 with Sandrine (a young French woman who speaks with an Irish accent), Tom and Garth (so 4). It worked out at $1.25 each. I had a crazy gecko moment when a poor critter hopped onto my back and then took a stroll onto my neck...I probably don't need to describe what happened next but suffice it to say I was praying to the King of Geckos for forgiveness as I went to sleep. The next day the others went on further into the Plateau and I hung out, thinking that was as laid back as I could get. How wrong I was! There is a place, and its a strange place indeed, called The 4000 Islands. I travelled there with Iris and Janna who were also on the Bolaven tour. The weather was hot so we swam in the Mekong to cool down and wash ourselves, off Don (Island) Det. Facilities were sparse with limited electricity and pumped water (to keep the story short). The food there and the people who made it were lovely. On the first night we had a barbecue with Janice Joplin playing from the most precarious looking CD player I have ever seen. The second night we went to the Reggae bar (with Swiss Mike who speaks with an Irish accent and Mattheus who is German and speaks like a German) where Valium is served on the breakfast menu. Naturally I made do with fried garlic, chips and egg. There wasnt really a lot of movement for the 2 days that I was there. It was liberating to be so calm and so conscious that I dont need much and what I need is around me. I became an unwitting carer for a kitten (called crusty) who has been on suicide watch since birth – on separate occasions she has burned off her whiskers, burned her paws, and had to have a chicken bone and a fishing hook removed from her throat and she isnt eating and drinking or having normal maternal attention. She was showing a bit more strength yesterday and so I reluctantly put her in the care of Maria, the 3 year old child of the restaurant who I was impressed to see put her in a hammock. Poor crusty wasnt around this morning so I can only hope that she hasnt been successful in her attempts to end it all. I knew I needed to come back to Pakse to pick up my Vietnam visa (and because I was becoming too involved with the cat) and had a lovely surprise when I looked at my passport to realise that I could stay an extra 3 days...(this surprise was matched only when the flight last week with Loas Air from Luang Prabang to Pakse took off 20 minutes early). My plan at the moment is to journey up to Savannakhet where I can make the boarder crossing at Lao Bao, focus as much as I can on seeing North Vietnam and then spending a few weeks in Myanmar before I head to Thailand and then home. I feel I need to add that any mention of 'rushing' in Laos started off as a joke so anyone receiving emails from me should be advised that despite that fact that I say I am rushing, it really isn't the case but I am trying to stay out of internet cafes where my typing speed would have me chained to the computer for hours on end - which is exactly what I know you don't want me to be doing. I am meeting the loveliest people over here but there is no substitute for you guys back home and I think of you often and especially when I see beautiful things. I cant wait to force the photos on you - I just know you cant wait, at the moment I am averaging 150 per day. ;~) PS There seems to be a bug affecting apostrophies in my blog - apologies. XXX