The Sound of Silence

More identity crisis (see comment on post below), but I didn't really like that name anyway. Though I'm not yet in Indonesia, I've decided to try and keep things simple, hopefully no one owns a trademark on this one!

In any case, we are loving Laos. Arriving in Luang Prabang yesterday after our very cold and wet three days in Sapa was such a relief. Driving in from the airport we both had the sudden realization that something was different; the lack of the constant cacaphony of horns beeping was suddenly incredibly present. Instead, the traffic followed a gentle flow in a relaxing fashion. Crossing the street is a piece of cake.

Although we're both a bit under the weather (no doubt from our prolonged stay in the cold), we've been healing ourselves with a combination of ginger tea (see below), delicious food, and a good nights sleep. We spent yesterday wandering around the adorable town which is nestled against the Mekong river and full of equal parts boutique hotels, boutiques, and adorable cafes (including roadside creperies!). After looking in vain for attractive (i.e. not tacky) scarves and other items in Vietnam, we have found a shoppers heaven. The hand woven silk here is simply stunning. Unfortunately, the price of these items is in correspondence with their improved quality.

Despite our dubious health, today was by far the most active day of our trip. We signed up yesterday at a nice looking little tour operator for a full day biking and kayaking trip to a waterfall. This trip, unlike some of the others we have undergone, was a perfect example of when it's nice to be on an organized tour. It was just the two of us with an Italian honeymooning couple and a guide. We were able to completely set the pace, and the combination of biking and kayaking allowed us to both get exercise and see places that we wouldn't have otherwise seen. The waterfall was beautiful, though unfortunately its a bit too chilly here to swim (though we ended up practically doing just that going through the rapids later anyway)

More on Ginger tea:
We're not quite sure how they make it (and I've been looking online for a good recipe), and it differs from place to place, but often we order a pot and it seems to just be a bunch of hunks of ginger root in a tea pot with boiling water poured over left to steep. Sugar is served on the side. Try it! (and let me know how it goes)