Day 9 now... Tonight I take a night bus to Nong Khai, in the east near the Laos border... By the way, I am enjoying the heat (thank you Northern England comparison) and tolerating the mosquitos (thank you South La. upbringing). Great accomplishment thus far: mastering the squat toilets. Most scary moment: getting bitten by a leach (but guess what? you can bleed a lot but it doesn't hurt at all). Ciao.