12-Brief Stops

After 5 days in Prubang I took a Bus (incredible mountain views) down to Viang Viene(?) a small gravel road town that is known for its incredible countryside & outdoor adventures..tubing down the river & kayaking are big...(unfortunately I managed to badly bruise my food in Prabang & didn't do the activities)...I only stayed 2 nights & met some cool travelers...the town is known for about every other restaurant repeatingly showing replays of the TV show 'Friends'...surreal........just a short time in the capital of Vietienne too...a nice dinner at an outside dinner on the Mekong(further south than Prubang)...at the Bus station taking the Bus back to Thailand I had a great experience with the local folks as I had to spend all my 'kip'(currency)...I bought a cheap watch & a bunch of fruit which I shared with everyone..smiles all around...
Just across & down the river is the Thai border town of Nong Khai which a nice guesthouse on the Mekong called Mutt Mee where I stayed 2 nights...I then made my way back up north by (cheap!) govt. Buses staying one night in Lampang & back in Chiang Mai 2 nights...enjoyed the Sunday market & went to a pub & watched England lose to Portugal..also biked to the Airport 'Mall' to buy an inexpensive digital camera...was packed with locals(few farongs) who seem to want to be consumers like America & Japan consumeristic cultures...even had a 'parade' of children walking around with signs singing & saying 'shop' at this particular store!...