I almost hate to mention it,

Because I know my Florida fan base will be sorely disappointed, but one of the things I have failed to do is to go on an orchid trek.

In my defense, I only found out about them yesterday, and when I tried to book, it turned out the guide is not available for the duration of my stay. Sad.

But to make up for it, I stumbled across a gorgeous plant market this afternoon, full of more orchid varieties than you could shake a stick at. Thanks, universe.

And in other good news, the "hedonistic lads' mag" stopping off point en route to Luang Prabang, which I was planning on skipping, despite its allure (precisely because of the reputation it's garnered over the past few years) turns out to have been shut down by the authorities.

Which means, as a bus operator put it this afternoon, "All the bad people are gone."

Sounds just right to me.