I have a minor problem:

"Travel Indochina says it has received official notification that access to Vientiane will be closed between November 22 and December 1, 2004. This is due to increased security measures for the Association of South East Asian Nations Summit (ASEAN) summit to be held there from November 29-30.

The closure covers Vientiane International Airport and the Thai/Laotian Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai and applies to foreign tourists and business travellers, both those already holding a visa and those wishing to obtain one on arrival. Only official ASEAN delegates will be exempted."

Im heading into Laos this week via Chiang Kong, a small village in the North East of Thailand on the Mekong river. I will then travel on a slow cargo boat for 2 days down to the beautiful mountain town of Louan Phrabang . Due the closure of the capital I will probably now have to wait in Louan Phrabang untill the summit ends as Vientiane is the only transport hub into Cambodia that im aware of.

Untill i leave Pai i will largely being saying goodbye to many people, packing my stuff which is currently spread around the town at various locations, and having a few camp fires under the stars and mountain shadows.

But there is one more thing to do before i go.

2 days ago i met a fascinating chap called Guruda, a retired doctor of psycology, originally from the USA, but has been living in north India for the last 20 years. Every day he is to be found sitting in a small street here in Pai waiting for someone to play chess with him. Sometimes he waits all day and no one comes, this he says, is part of the fun. I have had a couple of games with him over the last few days, both very close, but it was his victory on both occasions, and so right now, im off to see if i can settle the score.