Just a quick update, will write more when I get to Chiang Mai and the internet's cheaper. If I owe you an email, I'll write soon I promise!

I just spent a wonderful yet-strange few days in the north of Laos in the towns of Luang Nam Tha, Muang Sing, and Xiang Kok where there are limited hours of electricity in the towns and none in the surrounding hilltribe villages. I took a 2-day trek to see Akha and Hmong villages, two of the largest in the area. The treks in Laos are controlled by the government and in cooperation with Unesco, so I felt good about where my $24 was going.

I went on the trek with 6 others I'd met along the way to Muang Sing where the trek began, including Susana [Sweden], Reinder [Holland], Eglantine & Eduarde [France] and John & Natalie [Australia and S. Africa]. We visited about 4 villages each day and spent the night in an Akha village on the night of the full moon. Seeing the villages was a wonderful experience, particularly since I have heard from other travelers that the tribes in Thailand are much more exploited and jaded to tourists. The same will probably happen here in Laos, but for now, the villages are completely unspoiled and the people are still absolutely intrigued to see white people in their homes.

While in the trekking office, we heard a commotion across the street. We looked up to see a man brutally beating his girlfriend, repeatedly punching her in the face and pulling her hair while she cried, screamed, begged him to stop. My heart just swelled with sympathy for the woman and my body raged with anger toward the man... I just wanted to simultaneously run over and beat the shit out of him and cradle her in my arms. I couldn't believe how much emotion I felt at that moment, and what really surprised me was how long I felt that way. For days afterward, I repeated the scenario in my head, felt sad, depressed, and pissed off as hell.

More details later. Internet costs a fortune here. I will be crossing the border back into Thailand tomorrow and exploring a bit of the north for some more trekking, and then into Chiang Mai.