cream of sum yung gai

i made it out of laos and into the land of smiles. although, at present it is also a land of tear-gas induced grimaces and bloody baton battered fat-lips, i.e. there are protests, riots and strikes going off in thailand at the moment, in opposition to the former in-exile PM whom the opposition considers to be influencing the current administration. Or something. For us, that means the trains are not running so we'll be taking an overnight bus instead. Political dissent can be so inconvenient.
my last few days in Laos passed pleasantly. Just walked around to various wats (buddhist temples) in the town of Luang Prabang, including one at the top of a long winding stair up the side of an impressive hill, wherefor to see the entire settlement and to appreciate that it enclosed on all sides (with just the river carving a low route through) by some very impressive limestone/karst mountains wearing dark green jungle garments and ostentatious billowy cloud hats. The boat racing festival was just kicking into gear as I left, as it falls on the last weekend of each month. I saw people practicing though, its like crew with more people-per-boat, short stumpy paddles and dugout canoes rather than carbon fiber whathaveyou. its ok though, because during the festival the governor is in town and the curfew of 1130 is strictly enforced, meaning walking down the street at 12 can get you thrown in jail.
I split the journey from LBP to Vientiane in two, allowing me to go out on the vaunted 'backpacker mecca' (copyright Lonely Planet 2008) town inbetwixt.
I think I was the old man of the town. but i met up with some brits/israeli's/germans and one girl from Millbrae all of whom I'd met bowling in LBP. Also, i wandered around the 4 square block extent of the 'foreigner oasis' and beyond, encountering a mini-night-carnival with bumper cars, jumpy things, a merry go round, and throw-darts-at-balloons-to-win-beer games. i was the only falang and nobody seemed to enthusiastic about my presence, so i skulked back off to whitey ghetto.
this was a very low-denomenator bar scene established to compliment river tubing. basically it was many clumps of 19-24 year old brits (with some israeli's, germans, dutch thrown in for exotic flavor) rehashing tubing highlights, and getting stoopid dunk viz-a-viz a beer bong and free rice whiskey shots. i had some ok conversations, observations and also ignited a dinner conversation about comparitive religion that was really interesting i.e. everyone talking about their idea of what it is to lead a good life and what god might be, and personal admissions of struggling with various religions various precepts and the quest for knowledge and divine support- and then going out and getting obliterated. only a few of those involved passed this consistancy test.
nobody seemed to notice we were in Laos, which country is rightfully inhabited by Lao people.
i got a tiger-balm massage two days in a row.
i can't remember if i blogged this but i had two consective great days in LBP that really changed my opinion of the place from grotesque-yuppy-synthetic-look-at-the-charming-local-culture to append that it also has some nice waterfalls and jungle around it. swam in waterfalls and jumped off waterfalls and slid down terraced waterfalls on my ass, rode (another) elephant but this time got to sit right on top of the elephant bare back, fed a baby elephant, watched a poisonous snake paralyze a frog in someone's kitchen, rode a mountain bike with iffy breaks up and down lots of hills through villages, sat out a heavy squall on the banks of the muddy mekong under the awning of a french cafe, fine-tuned my inadvertant British accent, kayaked for 4 hours while my guide sang in Lao and Thai down a sluggish, flat river in the jungle, etc.
played some guitar at the bar last night complete with mic and amp and a crowd. there was a lot less of a crowd by the time i finished.
on to bankok tonight or tomorrow and then...................
TURKEY!

Dan

MutMee, Mummys and Old Age

Hi! Dan and I are not breaking up, and loner time does not equal a synonym for breaking up, we just were within 4 feet of eachother for well over 2 months soooo...we decided to severe our umbilical cord connecting us and try out being an I. Tonight I get to see Dan again!!! I will show him all I've learned of Nong Khai - mostly that has included a place w/ bratwurst and 2 guys who know Mac, the bartender/owner/workers of mutmee guesthouse, some 60 year old expats w/ their thai gfs and this sculpture garden, i think he will be impressed. I have had a really great time here, and even brought out the pencil and paper to do some sketchings. This lady sitting at MutMee- is me in 40 years, an that's the mummy. Miss you ALL! Love Linz

Linz Loner time in Nong Khai

Across the border from Vientiane I have finally figured out where Mac was for that year in Thailand teaching Calculus and swing lessons in 2000 - my senior year of highsschool. I snuck into his old cafe and spied the German cafe owners who he was fond of, I even walked eccentrically to locate the "big white school" in town. This town for me hasn't brought me avid students of swing but instead has become my respite to cure my sniffling nose in an oasis of recently flooded Mekong promenades. Today I ate my first bite of cheese in a week - this is a life record and a good sign that I am on the mends. I'm staying at a jolly guesthouse where I've adopted a Malaysian Australian who is a first time traveler and follows me on my bike through the rice paddies like I am his white haired guru. We saw the sculpture garden today - and a mummy. The man who decided to build enormous buddhist, dogs riding motorcycles and hindu sculptures out of cement in the late 70s in the middle of jungle on the border w/ Laos, also decided to mumify himself and place his body in a bubble with the base covered in blinking christmas lights. Nothing could top this experience, so I decided to spend most of the afternoon feeding giant catfish who hurled their bodies out of the water for my pellets.
If you're wondering Dan and I are taking this time to recenter our selves so that we can come back together and be stronger than ever = linz loner time.

Love Linz

not much drama in the LPB

hello.
i am here in beautiful Luang Prabang, former royal capital of Lao, alleged site of one of the buddha's footprints, confluence of two c0fee colored rivers.
its hell of yupped-up with two big tblsp of Booj.
and yet,
i went to a waterfall today, accompanied by two blokes, and it was staggeringly tall and i climbed up about it and stood beneath some of its lower-volume sections, and swam around in the wicked cross currents at the bottom, and did cannonballs off of smaller falls further down. it was really fun, and probably the most exercise as I have had in, oh, 2008.
now i am off to utilize the remaining 5.5 hours of the life of this town for the day of August 26, 2008- there is a strictly adhered to 11:30 curfew. got to keep things family friendly- there are tons of yuppy pods navigating the ethnic goods night market.
be careful out there, and enjoy my favorite music video of all time (good even if you don't have sound) :
ween-voodoo lady

sincerely your
dan