Whew!

Well...I made it out of Laos. I recovered from food poisening the next day. That was a relief. So off we went! We headed down to Luang Prabang where we ate some delicious Lao food and saw an incredibel waterfall. I jumped off of the top of this huge rock into the bottom of the waterfall. It was so much fun, freezing, but fun! The next day we headed to Vang Vieng, the outdoor activity capital of Laos. Apparently everyone tubes down the river. We decided not to do that but to go on a 43 km mountain biking adventure to see the countryside of Laos and explore caves. We left at 9:00am and returned at 5:00pm. It was not the 6 hour bike ride they promised:) We wandered off the trail a bit and ended up in a dead end (but the most beautiful!). And then next 8 hours were spent riding over major rocks and through mud and rivers while waving at all the Lao children screaming "Sabaidee" at us! Too cute!

We ended up getting lost yet again and decided to turn back. I had a huge rock hit my bike which caused the back brake to stay on the tire the rest of the ride back. I also had cow poo flung up onto my lef while peddling which I couldn't shake off and I didn't want to take it off with my hand. So...it kind of stayed there. We found an intersection with some nice Lao women sitting around. We played sherades with them and got cold drinks and a ride back to town. We payed them 60,000 Kip (about $2) to take us and our bikes into town. The ride we were on was their tractor! We were definitely a site. We got stares from the other foreigners and smiles from the Lao. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

We went down to Vientianne (the capital) and saw the national monument, the "vertical runway" and the Buddha Park. We then took at 12 hour overnight bus to Bangkok, Thailand.

I am now here staying at a guesthouse in Bangkok. I went for check-ups at the doctor and the dentist at the international hospital here. So cheap! It cost me $75 for both doctors and that's without insurance! Tomorrow I leave for Pattaya!

I am loving the warm weather and the tropical fruit! I had coconut milk right out of coconut this afternoon for a snack. Delicious!