Rubber boots, rice vodka and waiting for a bus

Phew, still almost 3 weeks to go but we feel the end is now starting to get near. Over the past week we have done a bit calmer after all the busy traveling lately: In Sapa they sold rubber boots in every single store, and that turned out to be for a reason. We walked all day through the muddy rice fields in the fog. The homestay that was promised us turned out to be a hostel so we asked our guide Sum if we could stay at her house. She was overjoyed, but apologized a hundred times for her tiny house and that she had no shower, and took us home: a small wooden shed with one bedroom and a large bed in the living room, a fire in a pit in the floor, corn for the chickens and pigs drying from the ceiling, but a tiny TV for the kids. Her husband and five children first found us a little scary but eventually warmed up and we head a great time. They made us wonderful food, insisted that I try their traditional clothing (black hmong) and we sat all evening by the fire. Then it was time, with a stop in a boring village with many war memorials, to return to our beloved Laos. We went by boat to a village without roads where we got to know a great Belgian couple and crammed ourselves with huge amounts of delicious food at an all you can eat restaurant of a Lao woman and Swedish guy. We walked a few hours to another village, where we found a guesthouse for € 1.50 per night and got invited for rice vodka with locals, one of which proudly took a grenade from his pocket to show us. Oh and the amount of puppies and chickens in this village was much bigger than the amount of people: D A few days later by boat to the next village that would have a bus, or so we thought. Yesterday we spent the whole day waiting for a bus, which sounds worse than it was, because we drank a happy shake, found some Italians to hang out with and entertained ourselves quite well on the corner near the bridge where a bus would pass by. Eventually went somewhere to eat and sleep, today we try again! That's it for this now. 2 weeks Laos and Thailand for a week and then it's already done. Do you remember what I said about listening to the growing of rice? It is clear that Laos is our favorite country: sweet and relaxed people, no hassles and lengthy negotiations about money, awesome food, great atmosphere, beautiful jungle hikes where with a map and compass you don't need a guide, we are having a great time!

Please remember next thursday that it's Thanksgiving, that I would have loved to cook you all a huge turkey-dinner and how grateful we all can be for the past year.

#vietnam #sapa #laos #thanksgiving #travel #asia