I've been remiss, to say the least

My friend, David, recently wrote this to me in an email: "I am...glad that I am not the only one to start a blog, enthusiastically post about 4 times, then subsequently neglect it. I swear I'll get back to it." Indeed.

If any of you are still reading this, I must apologize for enjoying life on the road so much that I haven't found time to update the blog in 2 months. But I haven't forgotten about it; I continue to take meticulous notes in my journal (now halfway through my second.) And even if it takes me another year to finish recording all the things I want to share from this epic journey, I will not shirk the task. So thanks for sticking around, and keep reading...

Last time I left you, I was still in India. That was an embarrassingly long time ago. Since then, I spent another 2 weeks traveling through India - mostly in Dharamsala, the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile; 5 weeks in Thailand; and I've now been 3 weeks in Laos. The next 2 weeks will see me go through Laos, Cambodia (tomorrow), Thailand, Jordan, Israel, and, finally, back to Canada. So I'm going to put aside the past for now, and focus on the present: Laos (pronounced "Lao".)

What an incredible country! Laos has reaped the benefits, and misfortunes, of being the crossroads of Southeast Asia, bordering China and Burma to the north, Thailand to the west, Cambodia to the south, and Vietnam to the east. Despite having so many neighbours - or, perhaps, because of this - the government has gone to great pains to maintain a distinct culture and feel to the place; they've been aided and abetted by Communism (yes, Laos is a Communist country.) Just as many Canadians are quick to describe Canada as "not America," many Lao would make that same, important distinction with Thailand. It is relatively easy for me to make the same comparison after having seen and observed so much of both countries. Whereas in Thailand one gets the impression that "everything is for sale" (literally everything: history, culture, people, etc.), Laos exudes the feeling of being genuine and still highly preserved; though there is no doubt that this is being slowly reversed and encroached upon, the result of which may be a loss of what makes Laos so special and so unlike her boisterous, noisy, melodramatic cousin.

My first impression of Laos, traveling by the notorious "slow boat" (a 2-day trip from Chiang Khong, Thailand, that should be avoided, save for its beauty, at any expense), was admiration and awe for its intense beauty: from misty mountain tops and clouds seemingly floating above like smoke, to rice paddies and foot-hills shrouded in thick layers of the greenest, lushest green, this country is shockingly stunning. It's almost impossible not to experience this anywhere in the country, from the north to its most southern tip. And possibly the best way to experience this beauty is on bicycle or motorbike; it really is one of the most spectacular places I've ever been.

Having started to write again, it feels quite difficult to stop. There is so much that I want to share but, unfortunately, time is working against me right now. One book I would like to recommend for anyone particularly curious or interested in Laos, its people, history and culture, is Another Quiet American, by Brett Dakin, who worked in Vientiane, the capital, for 2 years upon graduating from Princeton in 1997. Dakin really gets most of the analysis spot-on without compromising his reflections and writing too much through the inevitable prism of our own biases. His memoir affirmed many of my own thoughts and experiences from travelling through the country and made Vientiane truly come alive. Seriously enjoyable reading.

So, again, to recap: thanks for being patient if you have stumbled back to my blog. I can promise - without any strict timeline, just as is done in Laos - more good things to come in the future.