Laos

We have finally arrived in Laos!
I will apologize now to my many mothers. I tried very hard to sit inside the trucks but for a (pretty normal sized) American female, blessed by God with child-bearing hips (hoping to use them one day!), there was no way I was going to fit in the 3 inch space they had saved me inside. The first truck was much better though, it had benches! The second truck we sat on the roof. It had a"caravan" type sitting area with a roof and a big metal rack on top of the truck and roof. We sat amongst the bags and about 13 other Cambodians. There were many foriegners taking our pictures and Cambodians waving, smiling, and giving thumbs up because we were on top (which is rare for foreigners). I felt like I was travelling in a caravanfrom the Bible; only this was a truck not pulled by horses. We were sitting n bags and some were hanging off the edge. It was great! Not nearly as dirty as being lower in the back of an open pick-up.
We arrived safely, went through the borders, and ot a "boat" (a fishing type) and went to the 4000 islands. The islands have only generators. They come on from 6:20 pm til about 11 pm. After that there is a bonfire. Generally people go to bed. We used the mosquito net, it got cold as the night went on, and I had the best sleep since we left Siem Reap.
Today I will go to the waterfall, enjoy a swim, and the sunset.
Soon I will be leaving for the capital, Vientiane, and from there heading to Bangkok.