Today I got groped by a monk and a monkey. Not at the same time, but within an hour of each other and without the slightest bit of remorse from either. The monkey was chained to a tree outside a temple I visited with Tyler this morning here in Luang Prabang. It appeared to be a baby but proved to be an adolescent when it jumped on me, sprung a mini-monkey erection and began to hump away furiously at my arm. Tyler took video of the monkey later tangled in my hair.

The monk was also an adolescent, 16 to be exact, and almost as forward as the monkey. After initial niceties with Tyler and me, the orange-robed monk began to follow me around the temple, cornering me at every opportunity, brushing and squeezing past in whatever way allowed for the most contact. Tyler found it amusing and disappeared, seemingly to give the guy more room to work. I gave the monk a chastizing look and ran to find Tyler.

Luang Prabang has been quite a change from Vang Vieng. It's much more bustling with both locals and tourists, full of restaurants including some upscale French places (maybe $15 for a multi-course French dinner), and has some excellent shopping. My favorite is the night market. On one street you have dozens of vendors selling handwoven silk scarves and wallhangings in an array of stunningly vibrant colors, all lit by bare white bulbs that tend to flick on and off periodically. On a perpendicular street, a narrow alley is lined on both sides with prepared food for sale. At the end, there is a series of long tables where mostly tourists cram together on low plastic chairs to eat whatever food their particular table happens to be preparing. The food's pretty bland but it's fun and a great way to meet people.

Tyler and I have been spending some of our time sightseeing and hanging out with a Dutch couple we first met around a fire after our tubing trip in Vang Vieng, Hans and Saskia. They are both in their 40s, both rebelliously sexy, and met only four weeks ago at a bar in Amsterdam. By coincidence, they were both planning long trips to different places and made a quick decision to travel here together and see what they've got together. I admire them.

Tyler and I are starting to move at slightly different paces and in different directions so we'll be parting ways in a day or so. He'll head to Chiang Mai for a little solo adventuring before his trip ends, and I'll go back to being solo myself and head farther north to the next province of Luang Namtha. 'Til then.