Luang Prabang

Alas, all good things must come to an end. We've left the islands for Luang Prabang, a town in northern Laos that has way more tourist infrastructure than the islands (read: electricity around the clock and hot water). We flew because with Josh only being here two weeks, we didn't want to spend tons of time sitting on busses. So we got up this morning, chartered a minibus to take us to Pakse airport a few hours away, and along the way we crossed the Mekong on a ferry to have a look at an old Khmer temple complex called Wat Phu, which I think is Khmer for "Lots of Stairs to a Spectacular View." It was straight up a hill through frangipani trees (smelled heavenly; I'm on a search for frangipani perfume before I leave here), and when we reached the top there wasn't so much in the way of ruins left, but what a view over the Mekong valley. Pretty spectacular. Then it was off to the airport. These guys certainly travel in style...private bus, planes...a far cry from my packed night trains in India, that's for sure.
Luang Prabang promises to be pretty awesome. There's a fantastic little market that is, as Josh says, "catnip for westerners." I'll be doing some serious shopping there, that's for sure. Our guesthouse is right across from Big Brother Mouse, which is a literacy center where volunteers can read stories to kids who are learning English, so I plan on spending some time there while we're here. I've also stumbled upon a book full of environmentally and culturally responsible tours and stores, so I'll be looking into what I can do with that, too. I think I'm definitely going to stay a couple extra weeks, maybe even until New Years. As much as I've been having a great time with Chris and Josh, I totally abdicated my role as planner to them on this leg of my trip so I'm finding there's stuff we skipped that I would have liked to do and stuff I would have done differently if I'd been on my own. Luckily I have those two weeks of cushion time built into my schedule so I can go back and do it all! The benefit of their company and good taste in food and accommodations for the first go 'round, and the benefit of complete independence on the second! Perfect!