on the road to Luang Prabang

Actually there is no road--we took a two-day boat ride up the Mekong River. It was very relaxing--we spent a lot of time jus sitting on the deck watching the scenery go by, and stopping at the occasional village.

We stopped for the night at a place along the river called Pak Beng--a lovely little hotel with individual bungalows. We stayed up late playing poker with the Saddam Hussein cards I bought in Myanmar.



The second day we were all tired, so didn't do much but sit and watch the water go by. Karl, our tour leader, emptied out his camera bags and showed us what he carries with him when he is on assignment. It's not much, but he does a lot with it.

We stopped at another hmong village in the afternoon. They make textiles and whiskey, and both were in abundance. The kids were great there--I handed my camera to one of them and let him take pictures of his friends. We have done that quite a bit--it really helps make a connection, and makes us feel less like this group of peole who sweep in, take pictures, and leave without every having gotten a sense of what the place was about.



We arrived in Luang Prabang last evening. It is hard to describe this place--French Colonial meets Laguna Beach is about as close as I can come. There are over 50 Buddhist temples here, and monks everywhere. I will be getting up early tomorrow to take pictures of them as they make their way through town to collect alms, something they do every morning.



I have so many pictures--thousands of them by now. I don't know what I will do with them all--maybe wallpaper the spare bedroom.