Last day in Laos...

Today is my last day in Laos, and I have to say...I really like it here. Staying in this laid-back town has been the perfect ending to my trip. Not such a touristy place which is a very good thing...

Yesterday was a really busy day, but absolutely amazing. We woke up before 6 am to give food to the monks who make a circuit around the block every day to collect their daily sustenance. It was a solemn and beautiful experience. Then we hired a tuk tuk to drive us out of town to see a beautiful waterfall. Hiked up to the top and swam in the little pools of water at the bottom. Because we got there so early there were no other tourists. On the way back we passed by at least ten other tuk tuks heading there. In the afternoon, the girls treated ourselves to a 3-hour spa package, including a 1-hour aromatherapy massage, 1-hour facial, and 1-hour pedicure. It was fantastic...and exactly what I needed after hiking up and down the waterfall in bare feet. Meanwhile, the boys got themselves goofy drunk on Beerlao. In the evening there was a fire festival in Luang Prabeng. For days everyone in the town has been building bamboo boats decorated with candles, flowers, tissue paper and fairy lights. Last night they lit them up and floated them down the Mekong. Also they were selling little floating bamboo baskets decorated with banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense. We lit these too and released them down the Mekong. Apparently this is supposed to bring us luck.

Today is my last day in Laos. I am still in Luang Prabeng with my friend Ashley, a lovely Englishman from Bristol. All of our other friends have moved on to Vang Vieng and left early this morning. No big plans for today...Just chilling out and enjoying this beautiful town, and my last day in Laos. Tomorrow I fly to Bangkok to spend the last of my baht. Then the next morning I leave on my 23 hr and 28 min journey back to Vancouver.

I'm sad that my trip is ending, but I am also looking forward to moving to Seattle to start my new job. If I had to return to the same ol thing, I probably would be even sadder to leave. I have met some amazing people on this trip and I have had some unforgettable experiences.