Again, Vientiane is lovely. Infinitely livable. Right now I'm sitting at a sidewalk cafe with teak tables, crisp canvas awnings & sipping a great glass of red wine. There's high-end cars driving by & this feels as if I could just as easily be sitting on Melrose rather than in the center of one of the world's poorest countries.

However I want to leave. The lure of what's next is too strong. And there's some really good stuff coming next. I'm headed to Paxse where I'll do a mini-trek into a village where there's 3 waterfalls. Then I'll head 2hrs south where there's a temple listed in the World Heritage Site. A few other beauties are supposed to be there too. Then for the piece de résistance... I'll go nearly to the Cambodian boarder where there are 2,000-4,000 different islands - depending on the height of the Mekong. There I'll stay at one of the $1 riverside bungalows & try to see the rare pink (PINK!!) dolphins.

But getting there is a different story. I've spent a fortune on transportation already in Laos. I hate the thought of paying for tourist transport again, but I'm not a masochists. The regular bus, the one the locals take, is 16-18hrs. For $17, twice the price, I can cut that to 9-10hrs. And if I get lucky... it might just be a tad more comfortable. Ok, it's settled... I'll take the pricey "VIP Bus".

Now I have to laugh... this has been my biggest concern/stress in days. Life really is good!