Cat rhymes with mat.
Dog rhymes with frog.
Big rhymes with dig.
Cake rhymes with bake.
And Laos rhymes with wow.
Yes, I know that the Good Morning America team likes to pronounce is with the "s" at the end, but I have news for them, they are wrong.
I went to Laos about 3 months ago, but I am finally getting around to posting about the fabulous weekend. We had a four day weekend, and I would have been a fool to stay in Khon Kaen. My work permit has finally been completed, I have a re-entry permit, and now the world, well, southeastern Asia, is my playground. So Laos it was. Living only about and hour and a half from the border, it was an easy decision. We were going to spend my 23rd birthday in Vang Vieng, a small backpacker town known for its tubing trips down the Nam Song River. Even though it would be the middle of the rainy season, we didn't mind the possibility of being caught in the rain. If anything, it would be refreshing in the heat of summer.
Bethany, my friend in the Peace Corps, and I set out for Laos. While we assumed it would be fun, we had no idea. But we also had no idea the consequences there would be.
Our weekend was perfect. We stayed in a small, quiet hostel nestled in the beautiful hills of Laos. The scenery was breathtaking. We spent our nights sleeping on the top floor of a treehouse listening to the river rush by below us. The backpacker feel was a welcome difference as we spent our mornings lounging in open air restaurants, propped up on pillows, watching hours of Friends. Yes, every single restaurant played the entire Friends series on repeat. It was heaven on earth. We sat, eating baguettes, drinking Beer Laos, loving life.
The day we decided to go tubing we picked up pink eye drops, as recommended by other travelers. We were told that a day in the river often led to pink eye, so we started drops immediately.
Our day was wonderful, even if the river was VERY fast, and we floated down in about a fifth of the time it would normally take. By the end of the day we were exhausted, slightly sunburnt, and pink eye free... or so we thought.
We spent another day in Vang Vieng lounging before Bethany and I headed to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, for one night. By the time we arrived in Vientiane, the pink eye was quite obvious. Bethany's eyes were slightly swollen, and painful to even look at. I kept using my personal bottle of drops, set on avoiding the pain she was dealing with.
When we arrived back in Khon Kaen, Bethany was a hot mess. Her eyes were terrible, and she simply felt sick. While in my bedroom she pulled up her pant leg to show me a burn she had on her inner calf. She had acquired the injury a few weeks prior while riding on the back of a motorbike. As soon as I saw it, I gasped. It was bright red, oozing, and her skin was burning hot. Thanks to a quick phone call to Dr. Dooley Stateside, we were off to the hospital.
After many jokes of amputation, few mentions of gangrene and other unmentionables, Bethany was admitted to the hospital. She was immediately hooked up to an IV, and given the corner room with the view. I decided to spend the night with Bethany, on the couch, counting my blessings for not having pink eye.
I spoke too soon. I awoke the next morning with the worst case of pink eye I have ever experienced. Both eyes were redder than the clothing of the Red Shirts. I was in pain, and I was not pleased. I finally had to go back to work, and that was definitely not happening.
Bethany ended up spending four days in the hospital. I had two days off from work, and became completely bored out of my mind. The recovery process was long and slow for both of us, but we are now healthy, with beautiful, white eyes. And we both agree that it was totally worth it! But if you ever go to Laos, wear goggles.
