Goodbye Pai, Hello Laos (PART 1).

After almost three full weeks with the world's slowest (or non-existant in most places) internet access in Lao, we have finally arrived safely back in Ko Samui where we will be, like, working and stuff. Now that we have proper internet again, we figured we'd let everyone in on our past week's shenanigans.

If we didn't make it clear enough in the last posts, Pai's like a temptress who slides into the deepest linens of your soul and quietly seduces you into inexplicable tranquility. Needless to say, it was hard to leave and I was feeling nostalgic even before the bungalow door closed for the last time. Of course we've vowed to return (although I'm not sure the marvel of modern construction pictured here will make it through another storm).

On the night leading up to our departure I took a few pics that reminded me of this quirky little place.

Pai dogs sleep in the road - all of them - and usually they elect to do their snoozing directly on the central yellow line. The mangy flea bag featured in this photo was uncommonly considerate as he chose this out-of-the-way location for his nap; he did not, however, hold back his discontented facial expressions (dogs have eye brows you know - so it's no secret when their pissed) as the occasional motor bike swerved around him harshing his doggy Pai buzz.

Our last night out in Pai constituted some cold beverages and live blues music at this open air little bar. We were the only patrons so it felt a little creepy. The singer joined us for a soda after his set. He was from Hawaii. He was, um, eccentric.

After dinner we met some lovely Israeli folks at the bungalow next door and they invited us to join them on their deck. We had some great laughs and despite the not-s0-delighted look on the gentleman to the right, we really hit it off! I can't think of a better last night in Pai!

Almost to taunt us, we awoke on our last morning to a double rainbow. Naturally, this prompted watching "Double Rainbow" guy on youtube twenty times (if you haven't seen it, don't).

Awwwwwwwwww Pai. We'll miss you darling.

So, as we mentioned in the last post - we had to get our Visas renewed in order to stay in Thailand - this meant traveling to Laos which meant three days and something like 32 hours of travel time. We took the world's most nausea inducing, windy, 6 hour mini-buss ride to the Thai border where we slept in a, uh, modest place where the springs poked out of the mattress on the floor. The picture on the left was taken seconds before the biggest most hairy spider I've ever seen outside of a zoo crawled up my arm. Of course this induced a particularly manly freak-out session in front of 12 complete strangers. The performance culminated in a lot of panic stricken writhing facial and body contortions punctuated by whimpers of horror. Good start. Good first impression. Ty was delighted. Against all odds, later in the day we still managed to befriend a couple from that breakfast, "Dancy."

This is the slow-boat where we spent seven hours floating down the scenic Mekong river into Laos. The benches are as comfortable as they look.

Despite the less-than-luxurious seating situation, the trip was beautiful.

After seven hours, we docked at a half-way point. It was a little village with a few guest houses and a restaurant or two.

After a few hours of sleep, it was back to the boat for a quick breakfast and another NINE hours on the slow boat into Luang Prabang, Laos.

The jagged limestone cliffs, passing villages, and exotic surroundings acted as an opiate for the agonizing aching in our tail bones.

Just a million short hours later, we finally arrive in the French inspired, expensive, and charmingly beautiful Luang Prabang, Laos.

Ty posing with Sue and Kyle - some fellow teachers who have toured the world teaching for several years. We're jealous.

Ty and I lighting incense in order to pay homage to Buddha inside a hill-top temple.

Okay, so this is Dan. In addition to meeting Sue and Kyle on the boat, we also had the pleasure of meeting Dan and Nancy who we have amalgamated to the celebrity name "Dancy." Dancy are hilarious and pretty damn suave as you can tell by this Superman pose. Despite Dan's initial first impression following my spider outburst, "what a freak," Ty and I spent the rest of our time in Laos exploring, tubing, watching Friends, bowling, eating, and laughing our butts off with Dan and Nancy. They've been traveling for four months, but thankfully, their travels are going to conclude in Koh Samui in a few weeks. We excitedly await our reunion.

One thing about Lao is the rules. There are rules everywhere including in all of the hotel rooms. Zoom in on this puppy for some particularly interesting restrictions.

Exploring Luang Prabang.

We don't have sidewalks in Thailand, and so these were a real treat. Seriously.

The other thing that we don't have in Thailand is wine. Well, we do but it costs a fortune and is sink-worthy swill. We took full advantage of the readily available quality wine...

and traditional Lao dance. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better...

we got our bill. What! 1,000,000 Kip!!!! I've never seen that much money. I felt like Puffy. Seriously, check out that stack.

Overall, however, even though we went broke and all, it was still a lovely evening. Check out those smiles -ear to ear baby.

We're not done posting, we still have to talk about Friends bars, iPod pimpage, tubing, farang fishing and some other little gems. Stay tuned - there's more coming.