Neighbors but worlds away - Laos

When leaving Cambodia, there are some things that I will miss and others less so. The highlights, food is cheap and plentiful. The fruit is out of this world, and what we have in the supermarket bland in comparison. The amok, oh my lovely amok, out of this world. The people, everywhere smiles and willingness to practice their English. The weather, I can deal with mosquitoes if it means I can wear shorts and a T-shirt. Then the gripes, trash. The ground is the can, and as such trash is everywhere. Such a shame. The harassment by tuk tuk drivers. No I don't need a f-ing tuk tuk, nor do I want to get high, nor do I want boom boom. Leave me alone! The CS aka Cambodian Shakedown. Prices for falang are often many times higher than for the locals. Finally I learned to first watch what the locals pay, and then insist on the same rate. Or, I just walk away. Funny what "no" can do to change their attitudes.

Laos, a different beast altogether. Communist Laos. A land of striking natural beauty where the people are more timid. At last, no tuk tuk drivers yelling after me. But what if I need one? Damnit, where are you? Oh well. And then the music, oh wow do they like to crank it up. Try a 5 hr ride on a "local bus" willing to stop for anyone who flags them down, and blasting music at near ear-splitting levels. I think Dante missed a circle of hell - the Laotian bus. All that can be forgiven, of course, for the little slice of paradise that I came upon called Don Det. Part of the 4000 islands, named so because the Mekong becomes very wide in this area creating thousands of little masses of land with vegetation and even a party or two. Don Det, how can I leave? Even all the animals were as relaxed and as lazy as their human counterparts. I had fun renting my own kayak and setting out for the day - paddling across the Mekong, taking a nap every so often, munching on banana or chicken samosas, finishing up The Girl Who Played With Fire, meeting some water buffalo, and then just parking for the sunset. This is a vacation.