We love Laos: "I love you, no problem!"

The past two weeks of our life went by in a blink of an eye. Looking back, I wonder how we could have ever considered skipping Laos and how different our perspective on life and traveling is now that we have had such a wonderful experience. Laos is the highlight of Southeast Asia. Despite being widely known as the most bombed country in history, the Laos people are the most content, welcoming group of individuals I have ever met in my life. When we started traveling we were told that the most important thing to do is to immerse ourselves in the culture. Fellow travelers harp that more time in less places is the way to go and it is essential to talk to strangers. Although we thought we were doing an alright job of this, it was not until we left Laos that I realized we had a truly unique experience and that for the the first time on our trip we really got to know the locals personally.

Vang Vieng is notorious for luring in travelers who seem to get "stuck" there after falling in love. Westerners spend the whole day tubing down a gorgeous river surrounded by limestone mountains. To make matters more interesting, the river is lined with bars made from bamboo (which look like they could crumble at any moment), fully equipped with rope swings and volleyball courts. What more could you need? A helmet might have been smart. Then, after tubing the day away, you return to the town center only to watch endless episodes of "Friends," played in virtually every restaurant. I have a new found love for the TV show and actually relate my life to "Friends" episodes on a daily basis. It is sick and wonderful all in one.

We were lucky enough to be in Vang Vieng for the New Year. It is known as the "water festival" because for 3 days straight there is basically one huge water fight in order to celebrate the New Year (based on the Indian calendar). Locals and westerners alike stand on street corners, ride in the back of trucks, and run around town with super soakers, all with one goal in mind: to drench any dry piece of clothing in the area. These people take mercy on no one. Whether you have a camera in hand, just arrived in town with your luggage, or are 100 years old...you are getting wet. Everyone is in high spirits (per usual in Laos) and it makes for a really good time. What makes the New Year especially great is that the area was jam packed with even more Laos people than usual. We went down to the river to drink, dance, laugh, sing, and swim with the locals. They pass around glasses of beer and someone is always walking around with shots of Lao Lao (local whiskey = poison) that you are not allowed to refuse. One morning when Jess and I arrived at work (yes, we got a job...more on that coming up) we were accosted by a group of about 10 Laos people who were having an early morning celebration. We don't know what they were saying but they loved us...this they were able to convey with the only English they could muster up: "Thank you, for you!" and "I love you, no problem!". Now we know the proper response when someone says "I love you"...it's "NO PROBLEM!". Once again, they would not let us refuse beer and lao lao....at 9am. We drank, danced, and laughed endlessly for hours, only to see them hop in their cars and leave, taking everything (including our sanity) with them, never to return again. This debauchery went on for three days straight, after which I was exhausted and a little tired of being constantly drenched with water! Nevertheless, it was a ridiculous amount of fun and hopefully I will be back again for the festival.

And yes, it is true...we got a job. Well, technically it was a "job," but I am not sure you can consider it working. We were hired by a somewhat eccentric (but wonderful) Aussie named James to work at "Joker Bar" on the island in town. The bar is owned by a local man named Phai Vanh, who refused to be called "Boss," but instead preferred to be called "friend friend!" We loved everything about him and the bar, including his gorgeous wife, Jan, and children, Joker (hence the name of the bar) and Cutter. Here is a picture of Joker and Cutter:

This was a typical day at "work": wake up, go to the bar, Jan cooked us food, talk for awhile with our co-workers/friends, take a rickshaw to the river, talk to people tubing, give them "free hugs" (we were the only bar in town with free hugs!) in attempt to get them to come the bar later that night, return to the town, shower, Jan cooked us. In return for all of this hard work, we received accommodation, food, and drinks. Basically, all of our costs were taken care of and we were doing exactly what we would have been anyway...and we had a reason to hug anyone we wanted! Jess abused this right, running around town with "FREE HUGS!" written across her body in permanent marker. It was definitely a sight to be seen.

Anyhow, we were supposed to be in town for 2 days and ended up staying over 2 weeks. When we announced that we intended to leave, the family had a "going away" ceremony for us. This was probably one of the most unique, special things that I have ever been part of and one of the reasons why I ever wanted to travel in the first place. We arrived at their house at 8am for the ceremony to be greeted by most of Phai Vonh's immediate family. They cooked us a traditional Laos meal (I could still see the head on the chicken), literally fed us one by one, and then had each of us put out our hands out. In one hand they put a glass of Lao Lao and in the other they tied a string around our wrist while saying a prayer or wish for our travels. We are supposed to keep the strings on until they fall off. After we stomached the lao lao, we were handed beer after beer and watched traditional Laos dancing. James and I were entertained by a drunken Jess attempting to master this dance. All in all, I could try and describe this experience in words but it would be impossible. These people welcomed us into their home after knowing us for only a week or two and were actually sad to be seeing us go! The whole thing brought Jess, James, and I to tears and we all vow to return next year to "work" for this wonderful family again.

After 2 weeks and changing our tickets 3 days in a row, we finally left. I had to practically drag Jess (kicking and screaming) so that we could make our overnight bus to Bangkok and then our flight to Hong Kong. After a somewhat disastrous first night in Hong Kong, we had a nice 3 day stay. We walked the streets of the city (reminding us of NYC), watched the largest light show in the world, climbed the Victoria Peak (in a tram car) to see the foggy view, and shopped in various markets. At the moment we are in Shanghai, excited to eat some Chinese food and brave the streets of China with absolutely no knowledge of the language. Should be an interesting couple of weeks!