Backtrack…
So it has been nearly six weeks since I left. Six weeks and five countries, a blur of bus trips, overnight trains, temples, mountain treks and city explorations. I have lost track of which currency I should be using, started converting prices into US dollars instead of pounds, can’t remember which language I should be using to say “hello” and I keep waking up in the middle of the night, frozen trying to make out shapes in the darkness as I have no idea where I am.
And really today is the first day I’ve stopped and decided to do absolutely nothing, catch up with my blog which has been terribly neglected since I left the uk. My moleskine travel journal is stuffed full of tickets and momentos, empty and waiting for me to write or draw or something… but I have been too busy exploring until now.
I am currently in Luang Prabang, Laos, and this is a very good place for doing nothing in. On arrival I instantly felt relaxed (after the initial hiccup when my tuk tuk driver took me to the wrong guesthouse from the airport and I had to wander the streets trying to find somewhere to spend the night). I had many plans for exploring here as I have only a week before I head back to Hanoi, but 10 hour bus journeys to archaeological sites seem like a crazy choice when I can just sit here, drink coffee and watch monks walk by with their orange robes and umbrellas. A few days of peace and quiet seems like a very good plan to me right now before I’m thrown back onto the streets of Hanoi, dodging motorbikes and trying not to get too annoyed at everyone screaming at me “you buy banana!” or “yoohoo, motorbike!”
So maybe a little time to stop, sit back and catch up on all my travel stories, starting with India which seems like a lifetime ago….rewind…
