"Yes, we can"

This post's title is not an Obama campaign slogan. It is the response I received from the Laotian official when I said "But we spent $850 dollars on that boat! It's our boat! You can't just take it from us!"

So, after another hour of waiting, thus ends the Sinking Princess.

They took everything. The $850 boat. The 4 gas tanks, worth $60 each. Our food, our flag, our tools, and yes, they even took the Wok.

"But can't you just give us back the paddles? We carved them and they are worth almost nothing."

"No, they are Lao's paddles"

Depressed Swiss guy

Depressed French guy

Well, we wanted those paddles back, so the French guy and I walked back to the riverside storehouse where our stuff was kept and poked around a bit, trying not to seem to conspicuous.

The door was locked, but one of the windows could be slid open a bit. We strolled over to this window, slid it a few inches, leaned in, and grabbed our paddles. Ha!

A small success

I should have my Cambodian Visa tomorrow afternoon. I am ready to leave Lao.

Whenever I leave a country, I like to look back on what words I have picked up while I was there. In every country you learn the basics: thank you, hello, how much, and some numbers. It is the not-so-basic words that really remind you of how your experience was somehow unique.

In India, I learned the proper response to people who won't leave you alone. It's "mahder chod" and means something like mother fucker.

In Japan, I learned "Kamajii," the word for a particularly long-legged spider that happened to crawl across our camp as we sat in front of a fire by Mt. Takao.

In Lao, I learned "piston," "river," "firewood," and "paddle." That's cool.

Lao has been great. The river was an expensive, but incredible experience. But I cannot say that I am a fan of the Lao government.

It's a strange feeling to not have a goal anymore. Up until today, we had always been working towards taking the Sinking Princess to the 4000 Islands region that makes up the Lao/Cambodian border. This is where the river becomes impassible, and it's only due to the presence of the waterfalls in this region that Lao (mostly) avoided European colonialism in the 19th century.

Even if I have to get there over roads (I know, lame right?), I'm still interested in seeing this region. The fact that one geographical idiosyncracy could dictate the entire development of a country is pretty wild to me, and I'd like to see how things change on either side of these falls.
 
Next stop, Cambodia!