Since our last post Meg and I have done quite a bit. We will post full details of uor past couple days with pictures and all when we arrive in Luang Prabang in three days. There we will have access to high speed internet and decent computers. Currently Meg and I are sharing dailup connection split between two old computers. My phone is actually faster than these computers; no joke.

We ended up only doing a one night trip out of Chiang Rai, to a small village called Mae Salong. It resulted in some interesting experiences that I will let Meg give the full details of. She has been pondering the right words for days since she found our experience to be quite funny. After Mae Salong we returned to Chiang Rai and caught a bus to the border town Chiang Kong. From Chiang Kong we rented a bike and rode on a beautiful journey to a nearby mountain peak called Pha Che Phee. From this point you can see 360 degrees, viewing the Mekong, Thailand and Laos all together.

This morning we crossed the border into Laos; we are now in the town Huay Xai. This entailed getting on a small boat and crossing the Mekong river. The change is startling. On the Thailand side are nicely paved roads and modern conveniences. On the Lao side are dusty roads and less than modern guesthouses. The first place we checked out to stay the night resulted in us being wide eyed; its hard to explain. The second place we check was much more to our standards and likeing; strangely it has a brand new 35inch tv in the room with bbc international. Laos seems to be out fo the old west; except there are bicycles and motorbikes instead of horses.

Tomorrow we board a slow boat headed for Luang Prabang. It over nights in a small village call Pak Beng. At the stop over, there is only eletricity between 6pm and 10pm, so i think internet will not be even a thought. Luang Prabang is supposedly almost like a cross between an ancient kingdom and Paris. We look forward to splurging when we get there on a room in a colonial villa with a nice veranda over looking the river. I can smell the lattes already.