A Little Taste of Paradise

Neal and I.

Tiff and Ali
Lao children playing on the river at dusk. How lovely =)



Tiff in the hammock on our porch. Showing off the view, oh yeah...



View of the beach Ali, Neal, Tiffany and I rode our bikes too. Also where we found cliff jumping and took a little boat ride to see some fresh water dolphins. Ali and Neal are two English blokes we met along the way.

Feb 22-25
4000 Islands!!! Here I come. After a 12 hour overnight bus ride and an additional 4 hour ride on the back of a truck and a short boat ride we arrived in our new home for the next 3 days. Tiff and I found the cutest bungalows on the river with hammocks and and an amazing view on the sunset side of the island for $3/night. Ahhhh.... after ditching our backpacks and changing into our swimsuits, which we lived in for the next few days, we went swimming with 2 new English friends Neal and Ali and then spent the evening lying in hammocks, watching the sunset and talking and laughing, laughing, laughing. Two things Tiff and I do best when we're together. Then we met up with the boys for dinner and an evening to celebrate one of the guys birthdays.

Day 2 on the island Neal, Ali, Tiff and rented bicycles and went mountain biking on cheap bikes with skinny tires. It would have only been complete with banana seats. We biked to a pretty little beach about 40 min away. It actually took as about 90 min b/c we somehow took a wrong turn and biked across cow fields and through a little village. We ran into three local Lao boys (about 10 years old) and I think they were surprised to see foreigners in their little village. The boys each had sling shots in hand and one was carrying a clear bag filled with 3 or 4 dead rats. Ewww! Boys will be boys wherever you are =)

When we arrived at the beach we swam, went cliff jumping and kicked a football around with a local boy. On the way home we took a detour to the falls and as the sun was going down were on our ways home. Did I mention how crappy our bikes were? Well Ali and I were racing on this very rocky and bumpy dirt road when my chain came off. And no it's not like putting a chain back on at home. If it happens once it continues to happen. Anyways, Neal was also having troubles with his chain (his came off about 30X that night, mine 5ish). While Tiff and Ali went on ahead to try and catch the sunset, Neal and I stayed behind to deal with our chains. Before long it was beginning to get dark. I thought to myself, no worries, I have my headlamp (which, by the way, I've gotten so much flack for- but what do these city boys know anyways?). However, when I went to retrieve my lamp, I discovered I left it in Ali's basket and he was long gone. Neal and I maneuvered our way in the dark stopping every 50 meters or so to fix one of our chains. All we could do was laugh really. As far as I'm concerned minor mishaps like this only add to the adventure.

That night Tiff and I chilled at the boys bungalows and watched the stars, which have been the most stunning I've seen in Asia so far. It reminded me of watching the stars in the mountains. Brilliant!

The third day Tom, Dom, Neal, Ali, Tiff and I all rode back to the beach. This time we decided against the cow fields route and opted for the road instead. We went to see if we could see the fresh water dolphins (some of the last in the world apparently). Well, they were kind-of far away so I saw them moving and just assumed they were the fresh water dolphins. Exhilarating? Hardly! I had more fun cliff jumping! At the end of the day we began our journey back home, not without some apprehension due to the previous days mishaps. However this time success! We experienced much less chain problems and all made it back in time for sunset. Ah...

That night we all chilled together. It was time to say good-bye to the boys as Tiff and I were leaving for Cambodia the next day. It was kind-of sad b/c we had so much fun with them especially Tom and Dom b/c we traveled all throughout Lao with them.

Next stop: Cambodia!!!