Yesterday: Luang Prabang, Laos; Tomorrow: Trot, Thailand

[m00n]

I know this is the first real entry in pretty much forever, but believe me, it's worth it.

I don't really want to sit in front of this computer at 200 Lao Kip per minute long enough to write about the entire trip up to this point, but I can say a thing or two about my time in Laos thus far

Comments

[___temporal]

sounds absolutely amazing. and how was thailand?

[m00n]

Oh man, what a trip...

I have so much to say about it that I don't even know where to start. I'm going to make another post about it, I promise. My friend and I are also planning on putting a travelogue online at http://www.no-tuktuk.com but it isn't up yet. Keep checking!

Suffice to say Thailand is a pretty different place, and in a lot of ways I miss it intensely. I really wanted to get to know it like the back of my hand and I felt like I was torn away just as I was starting to get comfortable.

[___temporal]

well i look forward to reading more & seeing pictures! i understand the difficulty of not knowing where to start. i don't have any adequate written accounts of any of my travels for that very reason. Don't wait too long!

coincidentally enough, quite a number of folks i know have been to Thailand this year -- some of them at the same time you were.

did you experience any kind of shock coming back?

[m00n]

My shock coming back was almost as large as my shock going there. The very first thing that struck me about the United States when I got off the plane is the stress level, particularly manifested by the level of paranoia. It started out with the big sign at immigration telling visitors that they were required to register their fingerprints with the Department of Homeland Security and moved on to the warnings about leaving bags unattended and new TSA rules, etc, etc. Airports are, of course, the worst case scenario, but it was a strong indication of an attitude that just does not exist outside the United States. But it doesn't stop when you leave the airport. You see it in the road signs. You see it in the warning labels. You even see it in the way that people look at strangers.

It's something I didn't even realize was not there when I arrived in Thailand, but now that I have it back I realize that I did not miss it at all.

[___temporal]

I remember feeling that way when i returned from Costa Rica. I remember being in line to get some food during a layover in JFK & my Deaf friends were trying to communicate with a man -- asking him whether or not he was in line or some really small thing like that; he got so frustrated with them.. it was such a contrast to the attitude in Costa Rica which .. while hard to explain was definitely not one of skepticism and hostility towards strangers.

Got that website about your trip up and running yet?