Letting go of Laos

I'm feeling very sorry for myself as tonight I have to pull myself away from Laos. The Vietnamese festival of Tet is just starting which I believe has the same consequences as New Year does at home with all the public service buildings and restaurants etc closing down. I have timed it well - I make the boarder crossing tonight across from Savannakhet. There is a weird stop (even under normal circumstances) for 7 hours in the middle. Between 12 midnight and 7am we wait in the bus with our rucksacks on our laps (in my case 20kgs), for the boarder to open. Last night, for no good reason, I slept for about an hour so Im a bit worried as even the most capable travellers advise alertness on arrival in Vietnam. So many people here are saying they went to Vietnam and then left after 3 days because of the hassles... With true tired traveller irrationality, my eyes welled up when I was served soup instead of noodles this morning... Hopefully there will some lovely people on the bus and I wont 'be alone for long'. Its all part of the adventure and I know that I will get back what I put in - Hey Ho.Cat X. PS - On the upside I have met some lovely French people who have been helping me to remember my French. PPS - Dave, the trek was in the National Park near Luang Nam Tha (the guide/manager is still missing) and your interest in the blog has always guaranteed you a T-shirt ;~)