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OK...so since I last updated my journal I have done so much. So I shall start from where I last left off from Vientiane.    Me and Phil took a bus from the capital of Laos (Vientiane) to Phonsovan, which took 8hrs and was the most random bus journey yet! We yook the local public bus, so me and Phil were the only two westerners on there. Half way through the journey, we stopped to pick up 2 Laos guys who were both carrying AK47s!!! Which we both found pretty strange to say the least! Anyway they got off about 15mins later, so we were pretty relieved, me especially as 1 of them happened to come and sit next to me, with the gun between his legs, so I felt pretty intimidated! At first I honestly thought they were gonna try and rob everyone on the bus or summing!! (over-active imagination!) But luckily everything was fine, and I later learnt it is not that uncommon for Laos!!!   So Phonsovan was OK. I say OK because it was so cold!! Which was pretty surprising, but its pretty high-land! So for the first few days it just rained! Me and Phil were walking about in our shorts and T-shirts, whilst everyone else had coats on! So I had to definitely invest in a nice warm fleece. We went to see the famous ?Plain of Jars?! which was OK. But if I am honest, once you have seen 1 giant stone jar, you?ve seen them all, and the tour that we went on took us to three sites: so we had the priviledge of seeing all three sites! We also went to a local village, where they produce Laos Laos whiskey (POTENT STUFF). It is really simple to make: they just make it from sticky rice and just basically add yeast to the water that they boil off the rice! But they all drink it neat in shots: and they are so insistent that foreigners try it: and at 11am in the morning it is definitely not a good thing! So after a few shots of that I was pretty merry! Then we went to see a Russian tank! (so exciting!!)   So that?s all there was to see in Phonsovan that appeals to tourists! It was bombed so much by the Yanks in the 60s in the ?secret? war (which the Americans kept quiet, whilst they were bombing Laos, and tragically they were dropping bombs every 8 mins on Phonsovan: killing mainly civilians!). Today, the sites where the Jars are located are covered in UXO, because there were that many bombs dropped which remain, even today unexploded. So we had to stick to the ?safe? areas, which were between white markers placed in the ground, and we were seriosly warned that if we were to wander off the path it was very unsafe: even today many people die/become injured by bombs exploding, or cattle setting them off!  So Phil left Phonsovan 1 day before me: we decided to part ways as he wanted to go to Vietnam before me, whilst I still wanted to stay in Laos and go back to Luang Prabang for the Buddist New Year! I was pretty anxious about travelling alone back to Luang Prabang (another 7hrs on a local public bus!) and also about getting into Vietnam on my own! The day that he left though: I got the opportunity to teach English to 2 classes of Laos childern: the first class was made up of kids aged 6-16 and the 2ns class they were 16-24ish! It was such god fun: they were very excited to have someone who is actually from England teach them the language: as the pronunciation is not so good when Laos people teach it: it is so hard for them to get the right soundings: as it is for us to speak their language. They were all very inquisitive and very eager to learn. The experience reinforced my desire to teach English in S.E. Asia, and I have now decided that I am definitely going back to Thailand and going to get a job there teaching English: I shall then continue with my travels when I have worked for a while and saved up some more money: that way: I don?t have to go home so soon, I can travel for longer, and see more places and get great satisfaction of having made a real difference in the world where it is really needed!  Anyway I left for Luang Prabang the day after that: I arrived safely and was met by Saitith (who I had met previously in Luang Prabang). He looked after me whilst I was there and ensured that I was OK. Also, hanging around with one of the locals is definitely the safest and easiest way to see somewhere: as I wasn?t ripped off and anything I had trouble asking for he would just ask for it in Laos (his English was very good as he studies it at college).  Laos (Buddist) new year was mad! The way they celebrate it is by having 1 big huge waterfight in the street: everyone gets drenched, drinks Laos Laos whiskey and just celebrates like mad for 4/5 days! I had so much fun: the first day we did nothing but have water fights. The second day we went into the town centre and went to the market fair (where they have loadsa fairground rides etc), then later Saitith took me to his friends house here they were all having a massive party: everyone just sat on the floor in a big circle with loadsa local food in the middle and good old sticky rice and the local tradition requires everyone to take it in turns to drink Laos Laos or Beer Laos from the one same glass.We all just sang traditional Loas songs with the acoustic guitar and everyone impleminting by banging bottles etc...It sounds so mad, but that?s because it truly was. Later, (well about 1pm) we got a boat to the island on the other side of the Nam Song river, where there were loads of parties going on: people dancing,playing in the river, eating, drinking and just having a good old time really, atthis stage, people had stopped throwing water at each other and had resorted to throwing flour! So by the end of that I was well and truly battered and I also looked like a ghost! At which point we had to catch a boat back to the main-land.  The next day Saitith took me to his home village to meet all his friends and family: we had to catch a 3hour truck ride to the main port, where his brother picked us up in a very little boat: which we had to take down the Mekong for another 2hours!   I couldn?t believe it when we finally arrived: I was the only foreigner/white person there, and apart from Saitith and 4 of his friend, I was the only one that spoke English. The village was so remote, but so beautiful. His house was the most basic that you can imagine: made out of bamboo and straw for the roof etc. But yet I had a brill time. I celebrated the Buddist new year in traditional Laos style: the first day we had to get up at 5am to go to give food to the Monks in the temple: I had to wear a traditional Laos skirt and a shaul, then we went back to his house, where all his family had been preparing a huge feast and a floral decoration: then everyone from the village comes to the house and we all had to pray and then everyone takes little pieces of string and ties them around ur wrsists to wish you luck, happiness and well-being for the future and the rest of ur life: I now have loadsa string around my wrists, as everyone from the village does this. I am supposed to leave them on for 2weeks and then I can take them off: I asked Saitith if I could take them off sooner, but his response was: ?No, cos ur travelling and need good luck always?...(bless). So as I don?t wanna tempt fate...I am gonna leave them on for now.   The rest of the day we spent going to each house in the village to do the same for everyone: each time, a new feast would come out: more Laos Laos and Beer Laos and tradition songs and dancing: we had such a blast: but the fact that we started about 9am in the morn, meant that by 1pm, I was well and truly hammered! (The Laos Laos is like 60% alc!!). Later we all went down to the Mekong and built a big stupa (a big sand castle), and then the monks came down to say a praise, after that we all ran into the Mekong river and had a huge waterfight. I was playing with the children: who were having so much fun. Then later we all went to the local field whilst the young lads played foot-ball and the girls sang and drank more Laos Laos, and later we went to the temple, where we had to walk around singing and clapping three times for the Monks to come out: and everyone gave them a small donation for the temple: whilst the Monk said a few words of good luck etc.  The nxt daywe did the same: from about 7am-10am: which was wen me and Saitith had to leave to get back to Luang Prabang: another 2hr boat ride and 3-4hrs in a truck... I was so exhausted when I got back, I also was not feeling the best: too much Laos Laos, late nights, early mornings and dodgy food. But I had an amazing time: so much that I didn?t want to leave: Evryone made me feel so so welcome, and it was like one big family: and they made me feel like one of them despite the fact that I was a foreigner was very touching!   I am now sat typing this entry in Vietnam!!!!  And that is another story!  I caught a flight here on the 18th april from Luamg Prabang: met back up with Phil, and arrived safe and sound and in 1 piece. I was so sad to leave Luang Prabang and to levae Saitith, as I had such a great time, but hopefully I will return to Laos in the near future. Until then Vietnam will have to do: and the memories of Loas and Buddist new year wll stay with me for ETERNITY......  (TBC)**** Vietnam
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