We met briefly with the school director of the village to pass along pens, pencils, and notebooks for the children.

Adorable Lao kids in the village neighboring that of Zone.

Jeff in the rice paddies of Laos. I managed to only fall in like once. The problem was that my shoe kept on getting stuck in the mud. Blech!

Fording the river outside of Zone's village. It almost gave Marie-Liesse a heart attack, but we all made it across safely!

Jeff at the top of a very high waterfall outside of Luang Prabang, Laos in a scenic and very peaceful spot.

Jeff jumping off a waterfall outside of Luang Prabang, Laos. Good times!

Taking Thai cooking lessons in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Jeff the serious happy camper when he encounters his much beloved Mr. San Francisco at a Swensen's in downtown Chiang Mai, Thailand. I didn't even have to get good grades for this one! :o)

Interesting and rather different Indian-influenced wat (temple) found in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Well, I had to include at least one picture of the tourist trap/haven in Bangkok known as KhaoSan Road. Have to admit that it hasn't impressed me much...

Sorry this is sideways, but who could resist a waiing (bowing slightly as is courtesy in Thailand) Ronald McDonald?!

Back soi (alleys) in Bangkok. I was a bit surprised to find stilt houses in the middle of town right off a canal, but I suppose it makes sense.

And now we'll start over with a new series of photos starting from present time and working back. This is a pic of the grand finale of a dance performance I saw at Vimanek Mansion this afternoon in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest golden teak wood mansion there is, and was the home of Rama V (former King of Thailand, we're on Rama IX if you're interested) for a mere five years of his life in the realy 1900s. It was an interesting show, but I was a little annoyed at the finale which had all the dancers carrying the Thai flag and the flag of another country. The good ole' stars and stripes was not to be found, though Malasia's flag almost counts I guess.

Cool (and very different from any other kind that I've seen before) guard at a temple in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam.

A junk in the somewhat cloudy (and cold!) Halong Bay in northeastern Vietnam.

Crossing the Mekong in Vang Vieng, Laos (in between the capital of Vientiane and the former capital of Luang Prabang).

Parade o' monks in downtown Luang Prabang. It was a cool sight. I was disappointed by this pic.

Aa picutre of the other side of the river from town (and our guest house) in Luang Prabang, Laos. Luang Prabang is situated at the confluence of the MeKong and some other river in northern Laos. This is "that other river." :o) Notice the farmland whose owners get up normally at 4 in the morning just on the other side!!!!!

Strolling through the rice paddies in Zone's (our Lao "guide" from our guest house) home village about an hour outside of Luang Prabang, Laos.

Kids lounging at a wat (temple) in Luang Prabang.

Cool gold leaf stencilling on a temple in Luang Prabang.

Looking to Thailand from Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Paddling up the river to the Perfume Pagoda in Vietnam

Chesa and I fight the current to pass into a hidden inlet in Halong Bay. When we passed by the same place the next day, the tide was higher and the hole had disappeared!

Vietnamese water puppets. Soooo cool!

Vietnam paper vendor in Hanoi.

Before I left I thought I'd send out at least one last pic. This is of me and the Chinese fiance of one of the other English teachers here, Xingcan (pronounced hsing-tsahn). Whenever we all go out dancing he likes to challenge us to improv limbo competitions because he always wins. He's crazy flexible! This was New Year's Night, which might explain why I was wearing my friends pink Hello Kitty scarf...