Luang Prabang

The majority of my time spent in Luang Prabang has been relaxing and taking a breather from heading from place to place and only staying a few nights at each stop. I didn't think travelling around could be tiring. It's the whole process I guess; deciding where to go next, figuring out the best and most price effective way to get there, booking transport, making the journey however long, arriving, finding a cheap hostel, settling, finding something to eat, meeting and talking to people, figuring out what to explore for the few days spent there and starting the process all over again.

I can't knock it though. The freedom to be able to decide how long I would like to stay somewhere or where I would like to go next or what I want to see is great and well worth every minute being tired because there are so many more minutes spent being amazed.

Before I left Rostock, Christian and I joked that I would become a hippy traveller, the whole 'there is so much more to life than money and material things' thing, probably get some dreads and get all spiritual. luckily I haven't gone that far yet, but travelling does make you reevaluate yourself and what you have and also a great way to put things into perspect, and for me this has been very positive. Meeting new people, listening to their stories, getting to know new cultures and ways of life is very rewarding. 

My only slight 'hippy traveller' development has been practicing yoga. I try to practice in most places I stop and it has been a great experience so far. Not only does it stretch out my muscles after long bus journeys, but it has also given me a unique glimpse into local communities and the benefits of yoga being used all over the world. For example, in Da Lat, Vietnam, I went along to a local class full of energetic vietnamese women. It was a way for them to start their day, feel energised and even have a quick catch up with their friends. One women was an English teacher and started to ask me questions, one of them was 'how old do you think I am?' I didn't want to offend her but I still answered honestly. 'Late 40s?' I said and she and her friends laughed as she replied '66!' She looked great, was more flexible than me and seemed very happy. The only word she used to prove the point of her question was 'yoga'. 

I've also enjoyed having the time to read. I've been through three books which I have switched for new ones at hostels. 'Life of Pi' was a very good book and I have finished a book this week called 'men from the boys' by Tony Parsons which I can also recommend. I have managed to find a German novel set in Laos which I am looking forward to reading as I travel down through the south of Laos. 

 While I was ill I did feel very homesick, missing everyone and everything. I felt like I needed to just stay somewhere for a while and didn't want to travel anymore.  So I was thinking about sticking around in Luang Prabang for a little while to volunteer at an English school. However, once I felt better and myself again, I met some really nice people and I found my wanderlust again. I guess it also helped that when I went to the school for an hour to see what it was like, the children where far from underprivileged and it was simply an after-school lesson paid for by their parents, not exactly what the advertisement made it out to be.

The next leg of my journey will be travelling down to the south of Laos to the beautiful four thousand islands and then carrying on down into Cambodia before heading to Bangkok to meet Edward on the 20th December.