Reaching Laos

On the 24th, after a free hostel breakfast of coffee and a French baguette with homemade banana jam, I shared a taxi to the airport with three friends from the boat trip (all flying off in different directions). We got there early, but I soon realized that in a not-so-bright moment, I had left my passport at the hostel reception desk. :-\ I borrowed a cellphone from an older German gentleman, called the hostel, and asked them to send it to me in a taxi as quickly as possible. I waited on the curb for quite a while, and was becoming far more concerned about the possibility of never seeing my passport again than the possibility of missng my flight. Finally the driver showed up - 15 minutes after my gate was supposed to close for boarding. I paid him handsomely, checked in, dashed through security, and then discovered that my flight had been delayed due to bad weather (heavy rain) in Laos. I've never been so happy to have a flight delayed! I bumped into two Welsh guys who were also on the Ha Long Bay boat, so we passed the time together in an airport cafe for a few hours before our flight boarded. It turned out to be a good thing that we'd met up, because they didn't have U.S. dollars on them for Laos visas at Immigration, and the airport ATMs were out of order. So I lent them the cash and we all shared a taxi (along with a guy from San Fransisco we met on the curb outside) into town to find working ATMs and guesthouses.
Hmm, this is getting to be a long entry and I'm barely even out of the airport! Laos is more than I'd hoped for. Within 15 minutes of arriving and hitting the streets, I pulled out my itinerary, ducked into a cafe, and cancelled my plans to go to Vang Vieng, while sipping an icey fresh mint shake. I'm sure I'd have fun no matter where I ended up, but from what I've been hearing, Vang Vieng is just another backpackers' party scene, and Vientiene might be nice but I don't relish the thought of another busy city.
Luang Prabang is so chilled out. There's not a lot of plastic or neon cluttering the view; most of the signs are rustic carved wood. The people speak softly and smile often. No one harasses me to buy things or ride tuk-tuks, though they kindly offer from time to time. The Mekong and the Nam Khoun rivers caress the historic heart of town, young saffron-clad monks stroll down the sidewalks with their golden-yellow umbrellas and alms bags, and mountains with their tops shrouded in misty white loom over the whole scene. Occasionally, and without warning, the skies open up and soft rain falls and cools everything.
I've decided to book a bus to Vientiene on the day before my flight back. I want to stay here as long as possible, which will be about four and a half days.
Promise to write lots more about Laos soon. I'm dying to share my pictures with you, too!