here i am. a week later still in vang vieng, a place i didnt even want to go to in the first place. i have decided to leave tomorrow, but i dont know where i will be headed. my travel plans change all the time. i went hiking into some caves today, went tubing down the river a few times, drank a lot of beer, rented motorbikes for $3 a day a few times and i think it is time to go now. vang vieng was originally just a bus stop for access to many nearby villages. now, it has become a bottleneck drop off spot for backpackers traveling north or south through laos. they have now built up a backpackers village at the bus stop full of guesthouses, internet cafes and bars. instead of bore you with more of my philosophical crap, i will actually write a message informing you of what this place is like. dirt roads that are in absolute desperate condition, rickety busses and tuk tuk's that feel like they are about to shake apart any second from driving over all the potholes everyday, bamboo shacks set up on the side of the road where people live, complete poverty everywhere, beer lao that gives you the worst hangover of any beer known to my being, crappy rice wiskey that tastes like bamboo roots, french inspired pastries being sold on every corner, smiling faces everywhere, children running around in the streets till 2 am because there is no school tomorrow or any day for that matter and yes, everything is cheap. the weather is beautiful and sunny everyday, but winter is here as well so the nights get very chilly. i have met lots of great people traveling out here. definatly a different crowd than in europe. people who travel out here, do it because they love to travel. not just drunken soccer hooligans that run around europe on the piss everynight and trying to get laid. no, people here love to visit new places and make new friends out on the road. this journey is savage, but so am i. bring it on...all of it. kelly