Twentysomething

We also found a driver to take us around the temple complexes over three days.  We like him – he still has his baby fat and he's chill enough so that we negotiated down the price with little consequence.

Pleasant surprises are the norm in Laos, and maybe it's due to lowered expectations.

Well, finding transportation is like embarking on a quest to find a lost relic.  You have to have faith that a way exists, but you can't shake the feeling that maybe it's all a myth, shrouded in local lore and legend.

Perhaps it's a confluence of things, a perfect storm of unfortunate conditions that perpetuate Laos' status as a panhandler nation.

The experiences have been varied, but they seem to further exaggerate my identity rather than to change or alter in any significant ways.  I still have a penchant for naiveté, for childish humor, and for drama.  I am traveling because it is an extension of who I am now, not who I will be.

One of my best moments so far have been five or six intermittent minutes on a sleeper bus from Kunming to Jinghong.