Lao Lao

Three weeks after I've left Turkmenistan and my head is still spinning.

I met my friend Veronica in Hanoi to bounce around SE Asia for a bit and we had a blast. Took motorbikes across Vietnam into Laos because the country, the scenery, the EVERYTHING was soooo beautiful.

But when we got across the border we realized we were in the middle of nowhere...no people, no cars, nothing.

Then all of a sudden a random pickup truck came bouncing along and we flagged him down. The nice man let us hitch a ride in the back of his truck and took us all the way to the next city.

Bumping along through the mountains, we made it there in one piece, and the next day took off to Phonsavan, a city that brought reality home for us because of the UXO presence still alive in the country. Apparently some 5 million bombs still lie scattered throughout the country and the level of danger is adamant.

The cleanup process has cleared only about 3 percent and millions more still need to be taken care of...a situation I was not at all aware of before coming here.

After we spent our time in Phonsavan, we hopped on a bus to Vang Vieng and spent the next three days in a daze of kayaks, caves, and floating along the river inside of a giant tube.

Next stop: Sydney :)