the lao lao experience

i decided i'm only gonna drink local alcohol from now until this trip's over. i've been drinking beerlao all week, which has been delicious and wonderful (and the only dark beer i've had since oct 2009), but i'd had yet to try lao lao. it's this bootleg rice whiskey made only in laos and everybody talks about how crazy it is.

so of course i had to try it. btw, no, i don't let traveling alone stop me from drinking. i think ordering one drink as a solo person lets off this "i'm such a strong and confident individual" vibe. slash maybe i'm just telling myself that because i like drinking and i don't want people to call me an alcoholic.

i sat down for a late lunch today and flipped to the drinks menu. there were four drinks called "lao cocktails," none of them with flavors but instead given colors. when the waitress came over, i asked her if the drinks had lao lao in them.

"yeah, you don't like lao lao?"
"no, no, i do! i want it."
"oh, ok!"

i ordered the green one. two minutes later she brought me this kelly green drink with a lime squeezed in it. i took a sip and HOLY CRAP THAT'S STRONG. the first couple sips went down hard but i got used to it. my rice noodle soup came and i enjoyed my meal slowly. i could feel the lao lao right away, and it hit way harder than alcohol usually does. when i stood up, i REALLY felt it.

oh my god, i thought. i'm really, bizarrely intoxicated. i paid the woman and walked down the street, reveling in this new sort of feeling. i was hyper-aware of my body and i felt a little like i was floating or something. IT WAS INSANE, YOU GUYS. i've been drunk once or twice before so i know what it normally feels like but this was somehow different. man. i went back and took a shower then got some coffee to shake the feeling. now i'm all sober, no headache or anything. man.

i probably shouldn't write stuff like this on the internet. ohhhh well, my dreams of becoming president were dashed when fbook came out with photo sharing.

tomorrow i'm flying to hanoi (!!!), and i'll be there until the 7th. fbook is blocked there (communism!); no word on if blogger/twitter/gmail are, too. i may or may not be out of internet reach. please try to do your best without me.