Now in Laos

So in two days, we went from Cambodia to Bangkok, and from Bangkok into Laos. Laos wasn't originally in our itinerary, but we met some new friends on the bus ride from Cambodia and they talked us into joining them.

Apparently there is only one thing worth coming to Laos for and that's tubing down a river. As nice and relaxing as that sounds, it turned out to be a wild ride! All along the riverbank are bars with, I guess you would call them fishermen, who throw out lines to tubers coming by and pull them in. Apart from the drinks, these bars also have giant swings and waterslides to fling you out into the river. Some of these swings were so high, both Kevin and I lost our lip piercings upon landing in the water. It's wicked fun though. Some other highlights include mud wrestling, mud tug-of-war, and mud volleyball. A quick swing into the river cleans you right off! Anyway, we had so much fun that by the time darkness fell, we had only made it halfway down the river and we had to navigate the last kilometer or so in the dark. We have about a week here in Laos and most of that time I'm sure is going to be spent on the river. Today, however, we all woke up rather sore from awkward landings into the water and decided to take the day off. I wish I could post some photos and videos from our day yesterday, but this computer doesn't want to read my memory card. It's a shame, because I've got some good ones! I'd write more too, but this keyboard is a piece of junk and most of the keys stick. The things I have to deal with...

Oh, by the way, a new itinerary we're considering is Nepal next (we already bought our tickets) followed by India. Then to Dubai, where we would have free accommodation with the parents of a girl we're traveling with, then to Oman where we would stay with Andre and Sarah, then to London for New Year's, where we have several friends we could stay with, and then finally home. Again, rough idea, and our plans change daily. Stay tuned!