Behind the Iron Curtain

First, a note: we did end up going into the Museo Del Prado before we left madrid, and Leeor was very impressed with the Goyas.

Our short trip to Spain was over and a new journey began to a place I've never been. We landed in Budapest late at night and took a minibus to our "four star" hotel by the castle. We got a nice glimpse of the Danube at night, lined with lighted castles, on our way to the hotel. While not four stars by our standards, the room was much cleaner than dusty old Maktub, which made up for its dinginess with its character. We were pleased, however, to have a shower not being shared by aforementioned dirty backpackers. This was especially good for Leeor, as this Europe trip has brought us to the realization that Leeor refuses to use communal showers. This has been an interesting revelation and quite problematic as European hostiles are nearly devoid of private bathrooms.

The next day, we indulged ourselves and enjoyed one of Budapest's many baths. We steamed and roasted and boiled in therapeutic waters and even got a massage! It was fabulous and delightfully inexpensive. Although this was much bigger, I still prefer the Russian Turkish baths in Miami. The rest of our Hungary experience went like this: We walked around town, around the castle (where I saw my first FALCON(!!!). The enormous bird was perched by a fountain with his owner, who was dressed in what I think is a jousting outfit or a regular dark ages outfit, and the giant bird who is capable of eating children was wearing a medieval leather cap which Leeor said blinded him so that he would not actually eat the children innocently frolicking around the fountain) and along the Danube, and ate some yummy goulash soup. My favorite thing about Budapest was definitely the art nouveau style present in a lot of the architecture and interior design. 

A massive building in Budapest. 

Really cool gate.

Nothing more interesting happened except we got a five star room that was more like a beautiful apartment for our second night for about 60 euro. We went out to the sitting outside in the street area and had some disappointing local beer. The next day, we took the quick as lightening Budapest metro to the train station and hopped on a six hour train to Zagreb, Croatia.

After we finally found nice seats in the old soviet train with cramped little compartments packed with Hungarians and luggage, we were told that we had to move to first class to go to Zagreb. The ride was uneventful except for a couple of fun moments. The first was only fun because it was the first border crossing of the trip. We were checked first by Croatian border control and then Slovenian. 

The station at the border.

Border Patrol

Second, I'm not sure how this happened, but we lost our tickets during that transition. We were fine until a few stop away when we were asked for our tickets. At that point we were sharing our compartment with a dark, skinny, and exuberantly talkative man with an eastern european mullet. I remember him as the guy from The Full Monty. He began explaining to us excitedly in Croatian or possible a different language and using elaborate hand gestures how his phone is dying and that he needs to find an outlet somewhere. Next to him was a light, pudgy, quiet - overall more German looking man. They may have been companions but I really couldn't tell. If they were, they made a very odd couple. We all laughed together/ looked concerned about the skinny man's dilemma. Anyway, while the Slavic ticket checking man left me to look for my ticket, I explained to the skinny man using gestures that it may have fallen on the part of the train that did not make it to Zagreb. When the ticket man came back he repeated my gesture of the trains separating so perhaps he explained for me. Ticket man left again and I decided that these men would be my advocates so I gave them some chocolate to firm up the alliance. They said danke and I said bitte and we smiled together. Ticket man came back, skinny excited man talked to him, I showed him my receipt from Hungary, pointed to the amount paid and said "Look! A lot of money!" and made a sorry face and we were allowed to remain on the train! Ticket man gave us a dirty look made a "the hell with you" gesture at us, but then he laughed with the skinny man, maybe about how stupid we are, so I assumed we wouldn't be arrested.

We got off the train and went to the station to find a map, which did not exist obviously. We joined about five other backpackers in the search for a city map. I finally managed to get something that could work and we shared it with two other travelers who were going to a hostel close to ours. We walked together and found out that Katie and Chase were American (not the Canadian kind) and just finished undergrad in engineering, aeronautical and computer, respectively (so they have jobs). They told us that their plan was to go to Plitvice Lakes, a really famously beautiful national park a couple hours bus ride away. We decided to join them the next morning. We walked around a bit to get a feel for the city, which is incredibly charming and surprisingly lively. Its actually a really great little place. Young people were out and about  smoking, drinking, and talking. We had a beer and a mediocre Italian meal (they have a lot of meh Italian food in Croatia) together and went to our hostels. The next morning at 7 am we bought some impossibly perfect strawberries and cherries at the beautiful open air fruit and vegetable market, and got some bread, amazing ham, and cheese at a little store. I also bought some carrots because I was already feeling deprived of fresh vegetables at this point (everyone made fun of me but we all ended up eating them). We found our bus and were on our way to Plitvice.

It was really one of the most beautiful parks we have ever seen. Dozens of waterfalls and pools of perfectly clear, bright green waters. The walkways are built so that you often walk right over the waterfalls, which was really nice. I think the walkways, just simple raw-ish slabs of wood nailed down, actually added to the beauty. We stopped and ate the best lunch right by a waterfall ("slap" in Croatian). Together with Chase and Katie, we hiked through the falls and around the pristine lakes surrounded with dark green, forested hills, occasionally sticking our feet in the impossibly clear, cold cold water until the late afternoon. 

Not an exciting photo. We took all of the photos with the real camera. But you can see the color and clarity of the water.

We returned to Zagreb sleepy but made our way to a Croatian restaurant and ate delicious goulash and a delicate lamb soup. 

We decided to continue to travel with Katie and chase and agreed to go together to Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia the next day.  

Next stop, Ljubljana!

Granada

To my many loyal followers, apologies for the long wait. Everything will make it on here eventually.

As you may or may not have heard,

we abandoned western Europe and decided to head east. After toying with the idea of saying forget Europe and spending a couple weeks in Thailand, we came to our senses and decided on eastern Europe. We chose to start in Budapest because the plane ticket was the cheapest on "Wizz Air" (great reason to choose a city) and we could go from there to Croatia and Slovenia and possibly Serbia etc. At this point it seems most realistic that we will be sticking around Slovenia and Croatia and then head to Greece before Israel. 

Before we left spain, however, we took a train to Granada. 

Leeor on his first of many Euro train rides.

I wanted to take Leeor there because I loved it when I went with Michelle back in 2005. We found a cute little hostel in the Moroccan area called Maktub. There was a nice group of young people working at the hostel for room - several Brits, an Irishman, a couple of Americans, and of course, an Israeli girl, who we made instant friends with. The group spent their time drinking wine in the common room, listening to music, and talking. Not a bad way to travel cheap... If you don't mind living in a room with six other dirty backpackers and sharing icky bathrooms.

After comparing travel plans with the dreadlocked hostel workers for a little while, we decided to hike up to Alhambra. We definitely chose a nice time to see Europe since every flower was in bloom. So many roses in the gardens! Anyway, the views of Granada from the Alhambra were beautiful.

The walk to Alhambra.

The view.

We returned to a rainy evening. We spent more time with the other travelers, chatting and listening to music, and went to get some dinner - 2 Euro Rioja and free tapas. You can basically spend no money on Granada if you are ok with mediocre tapas. We were totally ok with it. 

The next day Leeor found us a 5 hour hike that started in Beas de Granada (if I recall correctly) and ended right back in Granada. Apparently people create extremely detailed PDFs of hikes and put them online for travelers to use! We took a  regular bus up to Beas, a cute little hilltop town and followed the directions, which led us out to a lovely hike along the top of the hills at the base of the Sierra Nevada. To the left were peaks and to the right were valets. All around us were olive trees,  almond trees, red poppies, and purple and yellow wild flowers that I don't know the names of. The smell was sweet and though it was a bit chilly we warmed up as we hiked. The coolest thing about this hike was that it ended with us walking right by the Alhambra and straight into Granada. It was a long hike but beautiful and definitely worth it.

We went for some more cheap and delicious Rioja before the flamenco show. When Michelle and I were in Granada we went to a tiny little flamenco show in a small dark room that was like an underground wine cellar. 

Yes it is a tourist attraction, but I think a pretty legit one. When Michelle and I were there is 05 there were old men singing. This time there was a young man who was not as good, but it was still a great show. The flamenco dancer and the guitar player were pretty outstanding. After some more wine and free tapas, including a delicious gazpacho, we went to bed (sort of... we were forced to "go out" with the hostel dwellers to dance- which was really us walking from closed bar to closed bar, singing songs, and giving up and taking a taxi back to Maktub since we had gone so far). We returned to Madrid the next morning to await our flight to Budapest.

Next stop, Budapest, Zagreb, Ljuljana, and Bled! 

Madrid

Currently: there's a storm brewing 

Madrid is even more beautiful under a dark cloud. We are taking an extended siesta due to the storm. As we are not yet over the time difference, and since this town stays up all night, nothing's lost.

Leeor is currently letting me know that this trip in not challenging enough for him. I cannot say that I am the least bit surprised. Our nice little Intro to Europe trip - Spain, Italy, Greece - is quickly changing to "let's go to Romania and Croatia! Screw Italy, I'm bored." And I couldn't be more fine with that. I will keep you posted as to where we actually go next. The world is ours.

Don't get me wrong. Madrid is a lovely city. Picture perfect during the day and pleasantly rowdy at night. The Jamon Iberico is delightful. 

This man is slicing chunks off of this poor pig's leg for us to enjoy. 

So far, we have walked the charming streets, gone on a tapas crawl until two in the morning, which is super early for this town (for you older folks that means we went from bar to bar tasting tapas and drinking beer and sangria), found a free concert (classical) by the palace, walked through the idyllic gardens, and had a local chocolate drink with churros (tasty, but not chocolately enough in my expert opinion) at a touristy establishment where accordion players found their victims. The whole time we kept saying "wow this place is so beautiful!" which I knew meant "please let's leave." 

To be honest, I didn't want to do Europe that badly. Not because I have been here, but because to me it's not my kind of traveling unless it is challenging and a tinge dangerous. I like cheap, slightly sketchy lodging and cheap, slightly sketchy food. I don't want to speak a word of the language. I only agreed to come because Leeor has never been and everyone should go once at least. And I knew it would still be lovely, which it is. Just not exhilarating.  I still want him to see Italy, but I think Italy will have to wait until we are old and less able.

Just to prove that we are happy and enjoying ourselves nonetheless, here is a photo of Leeor smiling in front of the Museo Del Prado, which we walked to but did not enter because we are low brow.

Ok time to go for some more tapas tasting. Talk to you all soon!

Thailand

I am for Scuba

I can't belive our trip is almost over. Though there were ups and downs, it couldn't possibly have been better. Thinking back, I am amazed at how much we did and how many places we saw. It was perfect.

We have been in the islands for a little while now, and I have to admit that my feelings are mixed. With everybody raving about the islands, we really had our hopes up. In truth, the islands are extremely touristy and Thai culture is almost completely lost at times. There were moments when I could have been on an island anywhere on the world. I was a little disappointed. We arrived in Koh Samui to discover that it is basically a golfing destination packed with middle aged white people and overpriced restaurants. The beaches are nice, but littered with Thai people trying to sell you shark tooth necklaces and other such crap. The food is mediocre, like the town itself. We couldn't wait to get out of there. All the Israelis raved about Koh Phangan, so the next day we took a boat there. Surprise surprise the boat was loaded with Israelis. We met some nice Israelis on the boat and ended up staying with them for the two days we were on the crumby little Island. Again, the beaches are really beautiful, but I am convinced that Koh Phangan exists only to cater to Israelis. I started calling it Schnitzel Island because every single restaurant is a schnitzel place. The hotels all have signs in Hebrew. And I have to say that every single meal I had on Schnitzel Island was atrocious. It was very upsetting. Since all there is to do aside from lie on the beach (apparently a lot of people can just do that forever) is party. We went to a pool party with our Israeli friends. I admit we had a good time. We ended up eating ramen noodles on the floor of the 7-Eleven. Definitely the best meal I had in Koh Phangan. Wait a second. I never mentioned that there are at least two 7-Elevens on every block in Thailand. It's amazing. All tourists know that if you are hot and sweaty, the best air-con in Thailand is in the 7-Eleven. Anyway, we were bored as hell and quite worried that we had made a mistake coming to the islands. Leeor really wanted to do an open water scuba certification course in Koh Tao, so we somehow managed to stick it out long enough to get on boat to Koh Tao. Thank god we did. Koh Tao is not only absolutely beautiful, with coral reefs galore and crystal clear waters, but it's a lovely place to stay. The food is excellent. It was such a relief to finally be in a town that we didn't want to leave. Ever.

Leeor and I joined a four day scuba course and had the time of our lives. I thought I would be scared of being so deep under water, but it was incredible. Our Thai instructor, Santi, was amazing. His incessant sexual jokes weirded me out at first, but in the end his crass sense of humor somehow caught on and made the course so much more fun. Also, since I am so much smaller than most people, he tried really hard to get me equipment that fit me properly. He even found me a small tank because with the big one I was barely able to stand. We were really lucky to have him. We ended up hanging out with Santi and an awesome Canadian couple that was in our group the whole time we were there. On the last night of our course, we went to a little bar across the street where they had some guitars hidden in their cooler. Santi and I played and we all sang every song we could think of for hours. I found out that I know a lot of songs, and we played so long my fingers were bleeding. We had a blast. When it came to diving, we were not yet satisfied, so we and the Canadian couple stayed for one more day. We did three dives the last day-- a deep dive (30 meters! Imagine how much fun Santi had with that one...), a navigation dive (haha yeah right), and a night dive with flashlights, which was scary and surreal. I felt like I was exploring another planet with a strange atmosphere. I somehow got lost from the group during the night dive. It was frightening. Leeor found me a few long minutes later, though, and everything was fine. Thanks to the extra day, we can now call ourselves adventure divers.

We were planning to leave that night on a night boat and bus ride to Phuket (12 hours), the cheapest option. After saying a sad goodbye to Koh Tao, also known as sticky island because people can't seem to leave, we went to the pier. We got on our night ferry and what we saw made the night dive seem as scary as an episode of Care Bears. The boat was lined with filthy mats placed one next to the other in an open-air deck. Nine hours on that boat out at sea? At night? With all those greasy Thai men? I don't think so. I tried to convince myself to sick it out. Thankfully, I regained my senses and got the hell out of that boat. I promise I am not being a princess. It was really that horrible. We decided not to be so cheap and buy a bloody plane ticket. We took off the next day from Koh Samui and I was so grateful that I did not stay on that ferry that was more like a transport for prisoners of war.

Patong, Phuket is basically a brothel nestled by the Andaman Sea. It is teeming with prostitutes, lady boys, go-go clubs, and, of course, balding white men. It is something to see. The beach is not as placid or warm as the Pacific, so we took advantage, rented a boogy board, and rode the waves for a while. It was really fun. We decided to go to Koh Phi Phi for a day. Koh Phi Phi is famous for its beaches, which are featured in The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. It's a gorgeous island with colorful coral reefs brimming with fish. The town itself is not so great, but we did manage to find an amazing restaurant. We has a whole fried fish with red curry sauce. Unbelievably delicious. We also ate the best crab I have ever had in a chilli and basil sauce. We went back today for another perfect fish, and this time we also ordered mussels baked in a garlic and butter sauce. Oh. My. God. Not only were they wonderful to look at, with a bluish breen tinge on the outer edges of the black shells, but they were perfectly soft and mild flavored. It was Leeor's first time eating mussels and he was in heaven. I wish we could have a restaurant like that at home, but I guess it's all in the freshness of the seafood. This morning, we took a short snorkling trip around Phi Phi Ley. We saw sea turtles and a black fin reef shark. It was a perfect end to our trip.

We are now back in Patong, waiting to go to the airport and begin the long voyage home. We have four flights ahead of us. We will get through it and somehow get back to reality. It has been truly amazing. Thank you for following us around Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Writing this blog has made the experience even more special because I could share it with all of you. I can't wait to see you and show you all my pictures. Thanks so much for reading!

Kob kun krab!!!

Five Days and Millions of Dong Later...

Vietnam. What a crazy place. So different from Laos, population 6.6 million, almost all living in rural villages. Over 80 million people live in Vietnam and they all drive motor bikes all day long every day. I wonder where are they going all the time? We arrived in Hanoi and found a room in the Old Quarter, where most of the backpackers stay. They are mostly shirtless and drunk British...no more Israelis or signs in Hebrew. Motorbikes. I can't write down in words what it is like to walk the streets of Hanoi, surrounded by swarming motorbikers who come within a centimeter of each other, constantly beeping their horns. It is sensory overload to the max. Assuming that the sidewalk is not torn up and laying in a pile that blocks your passage, you have to walk in the street most of the time anyway because loads of motorbikes are parked upon them. How do you cross the street with thousands of motorbikes coming straight toward you and no pedestrian crossing you ask? That's easy. You simply walk slowly into oncoming traffic and allow them to navigate around you. No problem. Chaos aside, the city reminds me a lot of Tel Aviv. It must be the influence of Soviet (ugly) architecture. But really Hanoi is awesome. We were instantly glad to be there, in a city a thousand times more complex and bustling than Bangkok.

Our food experience in Hanoi was surprising. During the taxi ride into the city from the airport, we found out that 'Pho' is actually pronounced Phaaaa and is not nearly as good as anything you get in Thailand. The weird meat component is a bit too scary for me. We discovered that the restaurants in Hanoi-- yes the ones that cater to tourists and expats-- are fantastic. We had one of the best Italian dinners we ever had at a charming place in the Old Quarter called Mediterraneo. The owner is a true Italian. We had black linguine with shrimp, squid, and tomato sauce that was outstanding. We were growing tired of Asian food anyway, so Hanoi was a great opportunity to do some gourmet dining at a quarter of the price of home. And the city itself is so hectic that escaping the streets and having your meals in a real restaurant is a treat. Also worth mentioning is Fanny's Ice Cream, located by the lake also in the Old Quarter. We went there three times. The dark chocolate is almost black and is by far the best chocolate ice cream I have ever had. In case you are wondering if we did anything but eat, we did make it around almost the entire city, important temples, etc. We even went to the Fine Arts Museum, which houses some pretty nice paintings, mostly depicting scenes of war. Actually the city has loads of galleries that make you want to start an art collection. The city's attractions are not very impressive, though, aside from Ho Chi Min's mausoleum. The best thing to do there is walk along the streets and markets and witness the insanity.

We decided to go to Ha Long Bay for a couple days before heading back to Thailand. We did not want to take a tour, because all the tours sounded lame (stay on a mediocre boat for three days bleh), so we hopped on a public bus. We knew it would be more of an ordeal doing anything on our own in Vietnam (the people are not exactly out to please you), but we could not have imagined what lunacy was in store for us.
At first, we managed to avoid being scammed. We planned to take a hydro-foil from Hai Phung to Cat Ba Island. We were able to find the pier on our own and board the fast boat, despite the woman who followed us around saying "No boat Today!" We even paid the correct ticket price! We were proud. We got to Cat Ba and found a decent 10 dollar room with an impressive view of the boat and limestone island packed harbor. The town itself is junky and well...ugly, but the scenery is certainly unusual. We got settled and had a delicious crab for lunch that must have been taken out of the restaurant's tank and killed five minutes before we devoured it.

Leeor had the idea to rent a kayak and go around the bay for a couple hours before sunset. We rowed (Leeor rowed) past the floating fishing villages and the garbage (they just throw everything in the water), and out to the undulating sea. We saw a small, empty beach on one of the islands, parked there, and went swimming. We collected some beautiful shells. We got back into our kayak...actually it was a canoe, before it got too late. The rising tide, however, filled the back of our canoe with water, and we were forced to return to our deserted (this time not in a good way!) beach and quickly scoop the water out. We set out again, a little nervous about the darkening sky. As my oar hit the black water (this time I had to help) I noticed a bright green flash in the water. I thought I was hallucinating and I asked Leeor whether I was imagining the phenomenon, but he realized right away that what we were seeing was phosphorescent algae. We splashed the water around, enjoying the little light show. It was cool. Nevertheless, night was upon us, so we hurried in, passing by the shadowed limestone islands that dramatically jut up out of the water at wondrous angles. It was a spooky scene that felt like the Pirates of the Caribbean with all the dark boats and the creepy quiet. We fortunately found our way back and returned the 'kayak,' feeling happy to be alive.

The next day we took a boat ride around the bay. A depressing five hour trip during which the extraordinary scenery became mundane. The captain of our junk was supposed to bring us back way before the last hydrofoil back to Hai Phung; but alas, we were in Vietnam, where non-truths seem to be the norm when it comes to dealing with tourists. We missed the boat. This was a big deal, since we had to fly out of Hanoi in the morning. Everyone tried to 'help us' by telling us we were stuck on the island and to come "stay at my hotel!" I refused to accept that we would miss our flight. We were getting off that stupid island even if it killed me. Someone finally told us that if we hurried, we could make the last ferry off the island to another island closer to Hai Phung. This ferry, leaving from the other side of Cat Ba Island could be reached by motorbike. We mounted two motorbikes and hung on tight as we were taken on one of the most thrilling and beautiful rides we have ever experienced. By the end of it, we were almost happy we missed the boat. Almost. Our drivers demanded more money than they asked for initially (very common practice in Vietnam) and we were suckered them into giving them a bit more, despite my feelings towards such scams. I genuinely felt bad for them. After all, it was a long ride and we survived. I know, I was stupid. Well that would be the last time. We got on the ferry-- some kind of shady cargo boat-- and escaped Cat Ba. We didn't know what we would do once we got to Cat Hai, but at least we were somewhat on our way. The whole dodgy town's male population came out to greet us and ask if we want a motor bike ride to a hotel. We responded by demanding any kind of way to Hai Phung. Finally, a wheeler and dealer kind of guy called his friend who has a motorboat. One hundred US dollars he wanted. We came back with twenty five. We settled (or so we thought) on 800,000 dong, or $40. There really was no other way. Thankful that we were moving on, we got on the sorry excuse for a boat and began the long voyage to Hai Phung City. After a few hours, and to our dismay, he let us out at a truly creepy industrial plant's loading dock a few km from the actual city. He had called a taxi for us at least. Of course, when I handed him the 800,000 dong, which we agreed on IN WRITING, he wanted $80. This time, I was strong and I refused to give him any more money. We got into the taxi, even though the s.o.b. was not going away, and sat there until he finally gave up. At that point, you can imagine how frightened and distressed we were. It was so stressful. Now we had to hope and pray that this taxi driver would bring us to the right bus station. "Sabeet Hanoi!" we yelled. He seemed to know what the hell we were talking about, but god only knows. We praised the heavens when he dropped us at the bus and didn't demand double the price he asked. We were so relieved to be on a straight form of transportation. It took us seven hours, a huge amount of tenacity and determination, and probably a few miracles, but we got back to Hanoi in one piece. We were tired of the scamming and the overall non-Thai mentality of the Vietnamese. We were excited to get back to happy Thailand, which turned into a paradise in our minds. It was late. We went to bed and woke up early for our flight to Koh Samui. Goodbye Vietnam! The islands here we come.

Week Three: Lau Lau!

So our time in Lau is almost up and one thing's for sure: in Lau, time does not equal money. In Lau, time slips by undetected and dissolves as though it never was. If there is a clock somewhere, it definitely doesn't tick. Buses leave an hour later than scheduled, and the ride is two hours longer than they told you it would be. We have fought hard to make it out of here, as one day easily becomes three.

I left off at our 11 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. Did I say 11 hours? Try 14. Yes 14 hours on a bus. The first five hours, the bus shook to the beats of Lau music, hands down the worst music on the planet (according to our Lonely Planet, the classical Lau music has fallen victim to the "vapid tentacles of Thai pop"). My stomach did somersaults. Thankfully, I had earplugs and two seats to myself. I curled up into a ball and closed my eyes. After our dinner stop, the bus shot through the jungle darkness like a spaceship on the verge of breaking down, narrowly avoiding horrific collisions with asteroids, barely able to handle the demands of its fearless captain. The only way to describe the violence with which the bus frantically bounced, shook, and swayed is that it did so with cartoon-like exaggeration. Laying your jostled head against anything for comfort was futile, as a mild concussion was a probable outcome. I guess you can say that we slept, but I wouldn't be able to say that without mentioning that most of the sleep was more like hallucination. In that place between awake and asleep, I imagined the bus falling on its side or toppling off the side of the mountain. But somehow, we survived and arrived in Luang Prabang. All we could manage to utter was, "That was horrible."

On that fantastic voyage, we met two nice Moroccan Israeli guys, Idan and Eyal, and a sweet American girl from California named Sarah (not Jewish). We played some fun games on the bus to kill time (one person thinks about something, anything in the universe, and everyone asks questions to try to figure out what it is...lots of laughs) and ended up hanging out quite a bit until yesterday, when we finally had to say our goodbyes.

We were pretty out of it the first couple days in Luang Prabang, but we managed to enjoy eating the food and walking around the exceptionally charming city. The French influence is everywhere. The walkways are brick lined, the courtyards are terracotta tiled, and the windows are quaintly shuttered. Many rooms have hard wood floors and ceilings. The result is a visually pleasing and photo-friendly town. Of course, tourists are everywhere, and one quickly gets the sense that the place survives solely on tourism and the excessive popularity of Beer Lau, but it is a nice plays to vegetate for a few days. The coffee alone is reason enough to stay. Lao coffee is a thick, silky brew of rich black liquid. When it hits your tongue, it doesn't taste or feel watery. It is like a velvety blanket saturated with the essence of coffee. It is normally mixed with a bit of sweetened condensed milk, which lightens it ever so slightly. I would like to take a bushel home with me.

On Friday night, the five of us got together and did a little Shabbat dinner at the restaurant across from our room that overlooks the Mei Kong and the mountains beyond. It is really beautiful. Sarah was a little surprised by our rituals, but we had a great time chatting and eating. It started to rain (it rains every day) and we made it an early night. The next day we got together after the morning rain and took a Tuk Tuk ride over to the unbelievably amazing waterfalls. We hiked a bit, swam, and swung into the freezing water by rope along with dozens of other travelers and locals. I can't stress how special the Kuang Si water falls are. It is an idyllic, fairy tale setting. We spent about three hours enjoying ourselves before we rode back to town, hanging of the back of the tuk tuk, soaking in the scenery, singing songs, and greeting the people and children by the road with a loud "Sabaideeee!" It was a special day.

The next day, Leeor and I fell ridiculously ill with food poisoning. We stayed in bed the whole day doing what peeple with food poisoning do. We had fevers and body aches. We also had HBO, which we could not have done without. Movie after movie took our minds off of the complete awfulness of the day. Somehow we survived and left the next day for Vang Vieng, or what I like to call the SE Asian mouth of hell.

Vang Vieng. It's the type of place where a horror movie should be filmed. It is a Mexico-like drinking town full of Wester travelers looking to get a cheap buzz (fall on the floor drunk) off of the buckets of alcohol (literally small plastic buckets) they give away for free. There is an area of the river where you can tube from bar to bar. That's what people go there for. However, as a shirtless and tatooed European traveler put it, you don't have to drink all the time, you can also smoke weed and watch movies (?!?!?!). I wasn't really into it, so we went out one night dancing with our new friends (very fun, no buckets I promise!) and then spent a day still recovering from our previous sickness. I have to admit that despite the bizzareness of the town, the scenery is magnificent. So we enjoyed it. We came to Vientiane yesterday and today we are going to Vietnam (yay!). Thank god, after a few days of eating almost nothing and having the most boring cravings in the world, we have our appetites back. We can't wait to get out of Lau, but we are happy about our stay. You have to come here with the notion that it's ok to spend some time soing absolutely nothing. If you enjoy the coffee, which you must, and find sticky rice to be a revalation, which it certainly is, you should be fine. But stay away from Lau Lau, the locally made rice whiskey. It's vile. So I will end with a warm Kop Jai Lai Lai!