it's been a typical few days. i've been drenched to the bone, covered in flour, charcoal and lipstick, and i got macked by a tranny wearing a sadaam hussein mask.

it's Pee Mai Lao.

that's new years laos style. no stupid dick clark. no dropping balls. no awkward midnight kiss. instead, it's a country-wide water fight. and it's insane.

we've been kicking back in luang phrabang with anne and alex. we eat the sticky rice. we stroll the watts. we jump in the waterfall. we sleep the late. it's A-okay.

we're both pretty tired of dragging our buttocks around the world at this point. we have definitely proceeded into travel stage two. do i see the attractions? no. do i brave tortuous journeys to glimpse the foreign dawn? no.

'cause at this point i'm kinda feeling like: the world? seen it.

not that i have but i think maybe i've seen enough to not feel pressured to see more.

i'm excited to be some place like new zealand where i can unpack my bag for a while, get a phone number and settle back into normal-style life. writing. coffee drinking. friend making.

maybe even, uh, earning some money?

it's strange to be back in laos after seven years. i felt like an older traveller last time i was here and i'm not sure what that makes me now. the country has taken a major step towards modernization since '99. the roads are paved. the currency comes in denominations worth more than a dollar. the internet has arrived and so have the package tourists on direct flights. is it good? is it bad? i guess so.

things change. i've changed.

i'm all wet.

'cause it's Pee Mai Lao! and i really can't exaggerate how awrsome this holiday is. i highly encourage you to have a country-wide water fight. go splash grandma. go splash the cab driver. go chase a bunch of kids around the block with buckets of water. build a stupa on the mekong beach and dance the wiggle with the locals. drink some beer, throw more water, let them smear you with powders that may or may not come off. then throw more water and squeeze out your underpants.

i would, however, let a tranny wearing a sadaam hussein mask freak you at your own risk.