going where the chilly winds don't blow

     Why Lao? Good question. Part of my reason is to live in a warmer climate, I am tired of having cold feet all year long. Part of my reason is to live a slower-paced lifestyle, where people have time to stop and talk. Part of my reason is to live a more basic life with a lower cost of living, America is too expensive for me. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to be an American, with all its opportunities, and I have nothing against America or the people living there. It is just time for a change, and I choose to live in Lao, where the chilly winds don't blow.
     I am comfortable in Southeast Asia, but I choose Lao for many reasons. The following views are mine, and only mine, gained from the ten months over the years, I have spent in Southeast Asia. Thailand is too westernized with its mcdonalds, starbucks, and 7-elevens. Vietnam is too money oriented, a bit too greedy. Cambodia has a large population struggling to live with a corrupt government, and Myanmar is too oppressed. Yet, in all these countries, I have met kind, generous, and loving people. Lao is still a quiet place, with its people getting up with the sun and going down with the sun. I know things are changing rapidly in Lao. I have seen huge changes in the seven years I have been visiting, but, I choose to live in Lao.

     Lao is landlocked, with China and Myanmar to the north, and Cambodia to the south. Thailand is Lao's western neighbor and Vietnam is to the east. Lao is about the size of Washington state, in America, and has a similar size population, around 6.5 million people. I choose to live in southern Lao, near the city of Pakse, in the small riverside town of Champasak.

     Lao people live a river-based life, with the Mekong River flowing north to south thru the entire country. There are countless rivers and streams flowing into the mighty Mekong, and the river life prevails. There are mountains in the north and flat, rice-growing areas in the south. The food is excellent, lots of sticky rice and fresh produce. The Bolaven Plateau in the south is where we can find superb coffee and tea in shade-grown plantations. And then there is Beer Lao, the best lager in Southeast Asia. Lao has everything I am looking for, and I am getting ready for an early February 2013 arrival.