Loving it

Today is one of those lazy days. Okay, let's be real, every day has been a lazy day. It just feels more like a typical Saturday. Maybe it's because I actually know what day it is. Tonight, I am leaving for southern Laos on the night bus so I have time to kill. It's nice to slowly wander around town before the bus loads of new arrivals show up. I have this internet cafe to myself - nobody sneezing on me, talking obnoxiously on their cell phone or slowing down my connectivity.

I meandered down to the sandy shores of the Mekong earlier today. The goal was to walk the 200 meters or so to the river's edge. Some exercise if you will. It sounded like a good idea until I took a step and thousands if not millions of little critters started fleeing my path. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be baby frogs. Tiny frogs. Seriously millions of them. I took another slow step. And another. And then realized I couldn't walk that slow nor could I bear the thought of killing even one of these guys. So I slowly stepped back to dry sand and crossed that idea of my mental to-do list.

Every street corner has their own tuk tuk driver. These guys are the taxi drivers of the East. Their "cabs" are motorbike in style from the front and covered wagon in style from the rear. They tend to be grossly decorated, very loud and emit black clouds of smoke. The tuk tuks, not the drivers. The drivers almost always ask you Hey, where you go? to which I usually respond 'nowhere', which is then followed by Marijuana? and a quick, crisp inhalation as their thumb and forefinger hit their lips. This is funny shit. Makes me laugh almost every time.

Same as everywhere you go. In Portugal, the guy would say Hey, sunglasses my friend? as he opened his coat to show his display of Ray Ban knockoffs. 'No thanks.' Then, the tone would get more serious as drew close and whispered Hashish? Marijuana? That has always given me a kick. These guys are relentless and I thank them for their presence, yes even if they are selling drugs.

And to kill even more time, I wander into minimarts to see what's for sale here. What kinds of processed junk they have, how much more imported chocolate costs here and all the different beverages they have to quench my thirst. Then it's time to sit down at a different restaurant and try a dish for a dollar and onto the next stall to try the dried banana. Not all in a row of course. That would be overwhelming. But I could do it. Don't dare me.

There are tons of scooters. Tons of bicycles. Tons of tuk tuks. I have just noticed a new form of transportation. The hand-powered bicycle. At first, I thought why would you use your arms? That was before I noticed these guys only had one leg or a deformity that prevented them from using their legs. Then I realized the ingenuity behind this mode of transportation. And of course, acknowledging how lucky I am to have both of my legs, to be able to do what I'm doing and to be able to share all of this with you. Loving it. The good and the bad. Living.