Lao'd and proud/Life under Marshall Law

It has been several days since my last posting but that has not been due to a lack of amusing events. After my adventure with the hill tribes, I was not yet satiated with Lao culture so I went to the biggest discotech (or night club) in Luang Prabang, a country western-like bar with little Asians doing a variant of the electric slide. The next day, I set sail down the Mekong on a two-day slow boat heading west towards the Thai border. Let me tell you first hand, the natural beauty of the Mekong river is absolutely stunning... for the first one or two hours; the 18-hour slow boat ride, however, is gruling. I was able not only to finish "Kim" but also "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" which to me was not a notably easy read. As luck would have it, I got stuck in Laos a few times and spent two nights in some less-than-resortlike transient towns between boat rides and border crossings.
This morning I made my was into Thailand without any calamity and life appears to be normal (at least in Chiang Rai in the North). Marshall Law does not appear to be too devastating, as I have already enjoyed a western cheeseburger and a two-hour massage within hours of my arrival. A Thai massage walks to the line between ultimate relaxation and an elbow-jabbing that is not unlike sitting between Cameron and Andrew on a long station wagon ride. I should not complain; it was the whole $4 I paid for it. I am staying in a decrepit old school building turned villa and I have rented a motorcycle to better view the town. Hopefully my next posting will be more "anthropologic" or "academic" and I will stay far, far away from the nightlife and "delicious beer".