Well people, I have just made it back into town after a most amazing and fabulous week down in the south of Thailand … Krabi, Railey Bay and Koh Lanta. I think the last 8 months has been the longest time that my feet have not touched sand and salt … I really can’t express how joyous I felt all week to be there!!! It is in my blood … how on earth did I go around and pick a land locked country to live in. Anyways … maybe I didn’t pick it, maybe it picked me.
I won’t prattle on with too many stories, the photos below share it for you. But it was a most amazing week of swimming, icy cocktails, coral, swimming, beach sunsets, girliness, swimming, talking on overload in English … reincreasing my vocab, swimming, beach bungalows, boat trips, icecream and loads and loads of such amazing fresh seafood.
I was brought back to reality as soon as I hit Laos with the bus ride which of course broke down a thousand times … BUT there is fabulous good news to share. I saw a few people I knew on the bus and they now tell me that maybe I won’t be able to get a husband in Laos for the time being because now that my skin is “pew dum” dark from the sun, I don’t look particularly beautiful. Life is good …
I think this is maybe somewhere famous from a movie or something but those details escape me … My body and brain were too taken with the magical feel of the sand and salt!
Originally uploaded by katiedecarteret.
Just realized I have been living in Laos for nearly 8 months which is rather crazy really. Some of my friends tell me that I am nearly Laos now because I like chilli more than sweet food, my skin is going brown like theirs, I “pass” at doing fon (Laos dance) and my English is getting “poor”! Might need to start reading the dictionary before bed. Maybe because of this, a day rarely goes past when I have to explain why I haven’t married a Laos man yet. Very quickly losing its amusement factor!
Standout memories of the last few weeks
(1) Visiting a friend for dinner and being faced with boiled maggots, fried baby frogs and duck wing and blood soup. The only other option was pumpkin which, needless to say, I ate a lot of. The problem with this is that word seems to have traveled now that I really like pumpkin so every house I ever go to for lunch or dinner feeds me pumpkin cooked in about 5 different ways. Starting to really not like pumpkin … !
(2) Digging a vege garden! Can’t quite believe I did this but let’s just say I was having a bit of small town cabin fever moment and combatted it by digging a vege garden amongst a whole lot of broken bottles, chunks of cement and a small amount of dirt.
(3) Hitching a ride with some people from the WCF (Wildlife Conservation Foundation) from Luang Prabang to Luang Nam Tha. Was mid conversation with the main research guy when he suddenly slammed the car to a halt, dived out the door and into the bushes … Why you ask? All for a snake that slithered away gratefully, only mm’s from his hands. A very Steve Irwin moment.
(4) Scoring the winning goal for the Lao Revolutionary Party commemorative football match! All about being in the right place at the right moment rather than skill! I was then told that they were not surprised that I was a good football player because I had such big legs! Aaah yes … no room for self image issues around here I tell you.
(5) Meeting an American girl (Tori) who has visited about 9 or 10 of the world’s most underdeveloped countries over the past year creating a doco on “Foreign Aid … what work’s what doesn’t … etc etc” If you’re interested their site is www.beyondgoodintentions.org
(6) Having someone from the Runner’s World magazine contact me to do an article on the LNT Marathon in the leading issue of Runner’s World – Asia!
(7) And … many hours of languorous river time
Standout moments to come?
(1) Off to Krabi (Southern Thailand) with two mates from down South over Laos New Year (mid April) … am completely pumped for some beach time!
(2) 6 weeks of workshops out in the villages after my beach time … many more maggot, lao lao, frog, no toilet stories to come no doubt!
