Backpacking Begins

I am writing from Luang Prabang, Laos, a French-flavored UNESCO World Heritage Site in the middle of the country. "How on Earth did I get here?," you must be asking yourself. Allow me to explain: I had originally planned to start my travelling in a temple-packed town outside of Bangkok and work my way north, hitting Laos at the end of my journey. Turned out a vendor at the market (friend of my Thai family and seller of stinky marinated shellfish) was headed north with her husband and sister-in-law in their green pickup truck for a long weekend with their fam. She wanted to take me with her, knowing I was on my way out of Chachoengsao and into Thailand's tourist scene. Through a series of translated conversations, I said I would go (she doesn't speak much English). Around 10:30 at night last Sunday, we pulled into the driveway after nine hours of not-too-scenic-because-most-of-the-ride-was-in-the-dark driving and only one stop at the mechanic. Our conversations were one big guessing game of who said waht. Most of the time, in response to such questions as, "Kat-e-leen (recall the switching of "r" and "l"), you America eat?," I would give a big smile ans say, "yes, yes, oh ok, yes." This became a great answer to even the most strange questions.
"Kat-e-leen, you go for twenty-five number?"
"Yes, yes, oh ok, yes."
I stayed with them in an unexciting northern town called Loei for two days. On day three, they were headed to the Laos border to do some duty-free shopping and dropped me off in town. This is a big tourist town because it is such an easy gateway to Laos. I checked in to a very hippie, yet clean guest house right on the Mekong River. It is the dry season, so it looks more like the wide Mekong sand banks right now. I booked it to the border the next morning. After a couple hours of bus rides and paperwork, I was buying baguettes from a street vendor in the capitol of Laos, Vientiane. You wouldn't have to know a thing about Southeast Asian history to recognize French rule in this charming city. Market vendors, outdoor eateries, patisseries, and just about every restaurant menu is stocked with baguettes. It seemed like they were more plentiful than sticky rice, which Lao people eat more commonly than steamed rice. A typical Vientiane breakfast is a baguette loaded with vegetables, various dressings, and a mysterious whitish-grey pate. I didn't ask what it was made of.
I spent about a day and a half just wandering through this laid back capitol. It's hard to believe it is the biggest city in the country, because it is so small! Physically, the downtown is fully walkable in about an hour (if you want to cover every street and stop for snacks). There are bike rentals and cheap guest houses everywhere, like it was set up for budget travellers. There is none of the hustle and bustle you would expect from an economic hub. This is a good indicator that Laos (the "s" is silent and it rhymes with "cow") has a lot of catching up to do if it ever wants to size up to it's sizzling neighbors- China and Thailand.
I caught a local bus north to Vang Vien on Friday. It was a scary, windy ride through beautiful, lumpy mountains, over glistening rivers. I was disappointed to find Vang Vien is mainly for tourists fond of watching Friends reruns all afternoon on a loud TV in a generic restaurant. Tubing down the Song River is the big activity and money-maker for the town, so you can imagine the crowd. Life there is appealingly relaxed. I stayed three nights at an organic farm two miles from the town. It provided all the quiet that I needed, with the welcome addition of being right on the river for a cooling swim in the heat of the afternoon. I think the days got up to 90 degrees- hot enough to make everything and everyone slooooow down. The working farm doubles as a guest house with a great restaurant. Some of the other guests were spending long days in the sun scrubbing picnic tables, sanding wood, and doing other such fun things in the heat aka volunteering. I took the days to chill out, ride a bike, eat starfruit, and soak up the scenery. I only got one leech while swimming, a minor price to pay for the refreshment the water provided.
I woke up early today and caught an "express" bus headed north to Luang Prabang. This ride made the one to Vang Vien look like a straight route! It was six nauseating hours of back and forth winding. Some of the other riders who "never get sick" popped Dramamine for the long haul. I wasn't medicated, so I had to stomach each turn as it came. Mind you, I was not hungry upon our arrival as I wobbled out of the bus, searching for the nearest trash can.
I have only been here long enough to enjoy the charmingly narrow streets and organized grid pattern of the city (India, take note). Well, that and the night market where I enjoyed an amazing dinner from a street vendor of, well, I'm not totally sure, but there was sticky rice and vegetables involved. The communication wasn't exactly on cue. That seems to be a theme here.