Monsoon Season Has Hit!!

What a crazy two days I've had. I don't think I've even stopped to breathe until just now, and that is only because it is raining too hard to do much else. The morning of the monks was incredible, it was a cloudy, misty morning (common here in Laos) and the whole group of us (16 in all) walked over to a temple to watch the monks receiving rice from the local residents of Luang Prabang. It was quiet, and peaceful, and the monks in their brightly colored orange robes were quite a sight!
Afterwards 3 of my new friends and I decided to be adventurous! We hired a long boat (a narrow, wooden boat with an engine attached to the back) to take us across the river to a different town. Here we went to see a few Wats (Temples) and a limestone cave with Buddha images inside. We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves in to. After climbing 300+ stairs to see an old rundown temple, I stopped to wipe the dripping sweat from my brow, and noticed the incredible view. It is so beautiful here, lush and green, and I swear it reminds me of parts of Indiana! On the way back down the stairs I saw a HUGE scorpion, and did my little screaming dance, and a small Laos girl came over with a broom and cleared it out of our way. Up the path we went, and found the entrance to the cave. It was closed, with a huge wooden door and a padlock. We were all so disappointed. But then, suddenly, an orange figure appeared, and it was a Monk (young, probably 13 or 14) and he opened the cave for us. He also became our silent tour guide. It was a limestone cave that went deep into the dark. No handrails, safety nets, helmets or lights. Thank goodness I had my headlamp!! What an experience, we saw bats, and climbed all around in this cave all by ourselves!

Yesterday the big event was our 3 hour trek through the Laos jungle. Again, as I am finding to be more and more common here, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. A small man led 6 of us through the jungle to meet up with the rest of our group at a huge waterfall. It was one of the most insane hikes/walks I've ever been on, solely due to the sheer quantity of mud, and slippery surfaces. I slipped 3 times, but am lucky as nothing is hurt except my ego. The path was so windy and narrow, and at one point I strangled myself on a vine!

Today we are in Vang Viene, then to Vientienne (capital city) then off to Vietnam! In 4 days we lose 6 people from our group, and get 6 new ones. There is a lot to be said for traveling in a big group. Some really wonderful, positive things (I'm learning a lot about Canada, Ireland, and Switzerland) but also there is little to no "alone time"! My Ipod with headphones has become my only break! I am so enjoying this experience, and am already thinking about... India? Central America? Russia? Where to next!! :)