Today I leave Laos. I’m sad, as I always am when it comes time to leave a place I’ve grown accustomed to. I’ll miss our staff, the openness and friendliness of everyone I’ve met, the deliciously slow pace of life here.

I felt like I hadn’t quite had enough of the city, so I awoke at daybreak and walked around Vientiane before heading to the airport at 8:30 am. The monks and I were just about the only ones in the streets as the city slowly awoke. I stopped into several temples, wandered the grounds, listened to morning chants, and eventually found myself in the middle of the morning market where it seemed all Laotians were buying fresh fruits and vegetables. I haven’t seen that many people in one place the whole time I’ve been here. It was a nice way to say good-bye to a new favorite city.