Delhi- The first few days

From Bangkok we arrived in Delhi on the morning of March 10th. We had arranged for someone from our hotel to pick us up at the airport and fortunately they pulled through. After we arrived at our hotel, we had a lunch of tandoori chicken and naan. Then the girls decided to take a little siesta but I was eager to see what India was all about. I was guided to a local bazaar by one of the "boys" from the hotel staff (the caste system was evident from my first 20 minutes at the hotel- "dont worry, we'll have a boy do that" or "a boy will take you"). I wandered around the bazaar for a while, making sure I didn't get too lost on my first afternoon in India. I made my way back to the hotel a couple of hours later, wondering where all the awful smells sights and sounds were that I had come to expect. Needless to say, I was a little underwhelmed by Delhi after all the hoopla.

That evening, around 7 pm, we asked our hotel staff if they could recommend a good Indian restaurant. They told us they knew of one but that restaurants didn't open until 8:00 pm because people dont typically eat dinnner until 9 or later. So we hung out with the hotel staff for a while until a boy guided us to the restaurant, Alpha Spice, which would become a popular dinner place for us while in Delhi. The food at Alpha Spice was excellent- we tried all sorts of Indian dishes (the spicier the better) with naan and raita ( an unsweetened yogurt that cuts the spicyness). There was also traditional Hindi music that began around 9 pm. We ended up being moved to a neighboring hotel the next day (our hotel was overbooked) and after asking them for a dinner recommendation that evening, we were guided to the same restaurant. This kept happening so we eventually had to say " No not Alpha Spice!".

On our first full day in Delhi, we ventured to the market that i had already been to, and picked up some traditional Indian garb. We also had lunch at a street restaurant called Punjap Sweets, and it was our first experience of vegetarian Thali which is basically a tray of three or four different Indian vegetarian curries (normally with paneer, lentils, chickpeas and the like), naan, rice, raita and a sweet. We loved our first experience eating thalis, and have had many since. We also made several purchases at the market, buying tunics and the stretchy leggings that the women wear under them. I also bought a matching outfit which consists of a pink short sleeved, long top with matching white pants with pink embroidery. We decided to wear our new Indian outfits back to, you guessed it, Alpha Spice for dinner that evening.

The next day we took a city tour of Delhi, having hired a taxi to take us around for the day. We visited Parliament, India Gate (which looks like the Arc de Triomphe), the Ghandi Memorial and Museum, the Indra Ghandi (first female prime minister of India) museum, among others. We also visited Lotus Temple, which is of the Bahai faith, and is an extraordinary architecturual masterpiece, as well as Jamal Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Now, after having made our clothing purchases at the market, we thought we were looking very appropriate for all the temples and mosques in our long tunics and leggings. However, apparently because we were foreigners, we were made to wear what literally looked like clown suits inside Jamal Masjid. As if we didn't stick out enough, these (what I can only compare to as smocks that we used to wear in art class in elementary school) were bright orange and pink, tying in the back with huge white circles all over them. There was no need to worry about losing each other, you could easily pick out the brightly colored smock from any part of the mosque that can hold up to 20,000 people.

The next day we decided to go back to Old Delhi, where Jamal Masjid is, and see the famous Red Fort. Meanwhile, I had been emailing with people through workaway.info and WWOOF about places we could stay and work in India. One person I had been in touch with was named DJ (for short) and he was a student at Delhi University, his parents owning a large home in Darhmsala with farm land, apparently. Well DJ decided to meet us at the Red Fort ( we had been communicating via cell phone) since he lived nearby. He walked around the red fort with us, telling us some relevant information, but mostly I think he was excited to be walking around with three foreign girls. Only when we asked him whether or not his parents could take us on their farm did he inform us that they were doing renovations and unable to take us at that time...

Kho Tao

From Kho Phangan, we took a ferry to Kho Tao which we had heard was a really neat island. The next four or five days that we spent on this island were very relaxing for the most part. We stayed at the Carribao Dive Resort which was right on the water, and our hotel had a really cool bar right on the beach that we would have a beer at in the early evening. You really didnt have to go far to find everything you were looking for in this particular part of Kho Tao. There were restaurants and a few bars along the water so basically the only decision you had to make was whether to go left or right. It was very laid back with all the bars having Thai futons and really low tables.

One of the days Mimi and I went on a snorkeling trip, which was one of the best things I have done on this trip so far. Mimi, having been to the Galapagos and many other snorkeling sights, said this was maybe the best snorkeling she had ever encountered. We went to six different dive sights that day, and it seemed like they just got better and better. The fish were unbelievably beautiful, and there were so many of them. I had been a little wary at first because I don't normally like to see what is under the water, but once I saw what was down there I couldn't stop looking. The coral was incredible, and some of the fish were of the most magnificent hues- like the parrot fish (above) which we saw many of.

Another day Mimi and I (Willy was still recovering from a burn on her leg) rented a motor bike and explored some of the more remote beaches on the island. These beaches are among the most beautiful I have ever seen.

After Kho Tao we made our way back to Bangkok for a couple of nights before heading to India. Those last couple of days in Thailand consisted of visiting the mall again to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D, and also finding a few more things to send home before we visited the post office with many kilos of goods. And, shamefully, we visited a local McDonalds.

Mimi and I also spent the day at the the Royal Palace which was absolutely incredible. It was the most beautiful architecture I have ever seen in my life, it almost seemed fake.

I know the end of this blog is short/boring but I am staying at a farm with no internet access and I have to go back to there now so byee!

Kho Phangan/Full Moon Party

So from Ubon Ratchathani I headed south to Bangkok and spent a night there before flying down to Kho Samui and then taking the ferry to Kho Phangan to meet up with Mimi and Willy. I decided to check out one of the huge malls that Bangkok is known for- and found myself staying at the Siam Paragon from the early afternoon until late into the evening. It was just amazing to walk around- you dont even need to shop to appreciate it. I had lunch at a sushi/sukiyaki restaurant that was all you can eat, and I basically just perused stores and tried on things that I couldn't afford.
I did buy a ticket and go see Up in the Air. It was really nice to sit in a movie theatre and do something that felt comfortable...however I was quite surprised that before the movie started a screen appeared that said "Please stand up and pay hommage to the king." At this point everyone stood up and removed their hats, just as if they were playing the national anthem. A two minute video ensued in which the king was shown doing all sorts of nice things, like giving food to the poor....very heartwarming really. I had learned what a big deal the king and the royal family were in Thailand, but this was pretty funny.
I ended up arriving on the island of Kho Phangan (home of the infamous Full Moon Party) on the exact day of the full moon. Careful planning on my part. Basically the only reason people come to this island is for the full moon party, and I was not dissapointed at the amount of western 20 somethings roaming around that day. I met up with the girls at our hotel, and pretty soon after we were getting ready for the full moon party. I was told that it wasn't worth bring anything important- all you needed was money, maybe some flip flops and whatever clothing you thought would make it home by the end of the night.
Getting to the full moon party was an adventure in itself. It was about a half hour car ride to the part of the island where the party was held. But this was not on any typical road- it contained the steepest hills I think I've ever driven over in my life. And this was in the back of a truck with 15-20 young adults shoved n it. We were approaching a big hill at one point and the driver got out and told a few of us to hop in the back of the next truck because we wouldn't make it up otherwise. This was enough to make me squeeze the random person next to me really hard, and map out a quick escape plan in my head..which was basically just to bail if necessary.
There's not too much to say that would be of interest in terms of the full moon party itself. Upon arriving at the beach, it was astonishing to see how many people were actually there. There were upwards of 10,000 people from all over the world (mostly my age of course) that had come here for the full moon party. There were all sorts of activities to participate in- fire jump rope, fire limbo, jump over the fire, slides...basically all things that seem like a great idea after you've had a few buckets. Now the buckets are basically your only option for drinking besides beer, but you can choose whatever alcohol with whatever mixer in a plastic bucket with about 15 straws. Many people also choose to paint themselves in glow-in-the-dark body paint which has a neat effect because all the bars have blacklights. Its really unlike anything I've ever seen, words really cant do it justice, but I'm glad I was only there for the one night.

Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

sooo after all the fun and games in cambodia, laos and vietnam it was definitely time for some culture. I had been in contact with a woman who worked at a school in northern Thailand, and decided that I would venture there on my own. I booked my flight from Siem Riep to Bangkok to Ubon Ratchathani in the very northeasternmost corner of Thailand, arriving on the 15th of February. This is a city that not many tourists frequent, minus the few middle aged men from the UK or US that have married young attractive Thai girls.





The family, which consisted of Rose ( the mother), Jojo (husband), Jubjaeng (daughter, 13) and Toto (son, 10) picked me up from the airport. There were no other tourists in sight which was a little unnerving but mostly refreshing. It was about a twently minute drive in their Isuzu pickup truck (pick up trucks are the most popular vehicle in this part of Thailand) to their home outside of the city. They had a very nice home, and I was given my own bedroom and bathroom. Both of the parents are teachers although they work in different schools, and I was to accompany the mother (Rose) to school every day and help her with her lesson plans.





The first night I arrived Rose asked me if I liked phad thai and I thoughtlessly proclaimed that I loved it, or loved the version that I had had in America. Its not terribly different in Thailand-just better. I think one of the key elements that American phad thai leaves out is the fresh lime that you sqeeze on top before eating. There's also something about the noodles but I'm not quite sure what it is. I definitely sampled my fair share of phad thai in the 3 1/2 that I was there. Needless to say, my first night in Thailand was relaxing and comfortable and the family immediately made me feel right at home.



It is hard to sum up the two weeks I spent at the Sawangweerawong School. The staff could not have been more welcoming and friendly, and I felt that I was actually able to leave a little mark even though it was such a short amount of time that I was there. It was astounding to see how little English the students knew, and they were the equivalent of middle school and high school ages. They were trained to say a few lines at the beginning and end of class that essentially went like this:

Students: Hello Teacher

Teacher: Hello Students. How are you today?

Students: I am fine.


There were obviously a few students who broke the mold and were able to converse with me, albeit roughly. But the majority of the students could barely understand me when I asked them their names, age, etc. It was difficult for me to understand at first- how these seemingly bright and well-dressed kids (all students in thailand wear uniforms) could lack even some rudimentary english phrases. As the days went by, however, I learned just how this situation came to be. Behind the crisp blue and white uniforms and well kept hair styles were children who ordinarilly would be spending their days working on the farm. They came from the country, and consequently from low-income households. THeir parents may or may not have attended school, but certainly would be no help with their English speaking either way.

The woman who I was staying with, Rose, was the only English teacher at the school as well as several young assistants who were studying to be teachers. Rose's English was very good considering she has never been to America or any other English speaking country, along with the fact that she doesnt normally get a chance to converse with anyone in English. But she was not fluent, and had a thick accent that made her difficult to understand at times. She was always asking me other ways to say things, and what random things were called. I began to realize how beneficial it was to have someone on hand to explain or put words to something that should couldn't find the words for. I also helped Rose come up with new lesson plans and edit the old ones in the evenings- we would be sprawled out on her tile floor because it was the only way to keep cool.

One of the perks of working at the school was that I was able to accompany the faculty to lunch every day. This daily lunch group consisted of me, Rose, the head of the English department, and a few other female teachers who were friends. Two of the girls (Champu and Wen) were studying to become teachers, and were around my age. Wen decided on the first or second day that Ashley was too difficult to pronounce (this was true in all of southeast asia) so she called me "Anchun" which is apparently a type of flower. I felt comfortable with this nickname and slowly other staff members began adopting it.
But back to the daily lunches...
Every day we went to a new restaurant in the area that the school was in and I sampled many local flavors. One particularly memorable day was the farewell party for all of the student teachers. It started out as a typical lunch day, with the headmaster ordering up plates upon plates of food (everything is shared minus your rice (sticky or steamed-I prefer sticky). It turns out that he had ordered a couple of different types of fish, an interesting stew with squid, and a Thai delicacy-ants eggs. Now the ants eggs weren't as bad as you would imagine although after trying a few and making what I'm sure were some disgusted facial expressions I was finished. I was pretty much at the mercy of the department head in terms of what I ate for lunch during those two weeks, but that was probably the worst of it.

There's so much I could say about this school and the family that I stayed with that I don't think will fit in this blog post. Firstly, I have never felt so comfortable and at home with people after only spending a few hours with them. They were the sweetest and kindess family I have ever met-taking me on full-day adventures on the two weekends I spent with them when I'm sure all they wanted was a little rest. The parents, as I said before, were both teachers, and would be up before me every morning (I woke up around 6:30) and would be working hours after I went to bed at night. And on the weekends we would get up at about 5:00 because they wanted to take me to see the sunrise at various monuments and natural sights in the area. This was fine for me, Jubjaeng and Toto because we just closed our eyes once we were in the car but I really don't know how Rose and her husband pulled off such little sleep. We also visited both of their sets of parents, who are from rural villages far outside the city. They normally visit each set of grandparents once a month, but I'm sure they visited both while I was there on purpose. I was able to sit and eat with their extended family members and laugh and gesture when no words could be communicated us.

On my last night with the Naruk family, they set up a picnic in their front yard for my farewell party. They pulled out all the stops- bringing out the family kareoke system, lights and all. After dinner (and a beer or two) the kareoke got started. Toto, their son, was not shy at all about his singing voice and belted out a few warm up tunes. And even despite my claims that I had possibly one of the worst voice they had ever heard, I was summoned to sing. I wasn't sure what english songs they had so I was surprised when I stumbled upon a song that my mom used to sing to me before I went to bed at night. It goes:
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother, what will I be?
Will I be handsome, will I be rich?
Here's what she said to me,
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be will be
The futures not ours to see
Que sera sera

There are other verses but the strange thing was that I had been thinking about that song earlier in the day. Thankfully Jubjaeng and Toto sang with me, and it seemed like a very fitting way to end my two weeks there.
During those two weeks I was able to see two hardworking teachers make a wonderful life for their family and fully appreciate everything they have been given. I was also able to help out at a school that is in desperate need of English learning tools and people that speak english but that despite this are making the best of their situation and are carrying on with a light hearted attitude and lots of laughs.

These are the experiences I will cherish.

Siem Riep and the Angkor Temples

After four or five days in Phnom Phen, my friend Laura decided enough was enough and took a bus to Siem Riep. Mimi was still getting over a bout of some sort of flu, and Willy and Lance (willy's boyfriend) stayed an extra day as well. We arrived late in the afternoon, and had our tuk tuk driver drive us around to many different hotels before we settled on one. Before we found the hotel we wanted, our driver had taken us to many places that were definitely giving him commission because 1. they were out of our price range, and 2. they didnt meet any of the requirements we had requested. After we were settled in our hotel, we found out that you could take a hot air balloon ride that overlooks Angkor Wat. We thought this sounded like an excellent way to spend our afternoon and hopped in a tuk tuk to take us there. Once we arrived, we realized that it was not your typical hot air balloon ride. In fact, it wasn't a ride at all. It was a stationary balloon that was connected to a thick cord and was operated by a machine that let cord out so the balloon would rise, and reeled it back in to bring the balloon down. I guess it was worth the view (we were there at sunset) but my pictures didn't really come out well and it cost $15.

The very next morning we got up at about 5 am to go see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We had originally commisioned a tuk-tuk driver to take us for the day to some of the farther and less famous temples, but he didn't show up. Instead we just hired a driver to take us to the sun rise and then we returned to our beds for a much needed two hour nap. It was neat to see Ankgor Wat at that time as it was not completely swarmed with people. There is also something inherently peaceful about being up at that time of day and seeing the sun rise, which I actually missed because I was wandering around the back of the temple grounds.
At about 9:30 we resumed our temple exploring. Our friends who had not come with us to Siem Riep wanted us to wait and experience the more well-known temples with them, so we went a little bit off the beaten path. In fact, the temples are so expansive that one temple took us an hour and a half to get to from Angkor Wat. I cant say that any of the temples we visited that first day were too memorable...save for one that we had only a few minutes to explore before it closed. The temple police proved very strict about closing times.
We also took a brief stop a the Cambodian land mine museum where you could learn about the different types of land mines that are made to look like children's toys so that the children will pick them up. There are thousands upon thousands of unexploded land mines in Cambodian, thanks to the Americans humane tactics during the vietnam war. The museum itself was a bit decrepid, but if you took your time around the museum to read the information it was worthwhile.
That evening, our other friends arrived and we all met up for a drink. It ended up being one of the more fun nights I've had on this trip, as we joined a local game of what I could best describe as hackey sack. However, instead of your traditional hackey sack game in the states, you use your hands and feet to kick/swat this thing that looks like a birdie from badmitton with built-in springs for extra loft. It is quite the contraption and so much fun that we ended up playing this game with the locals for a couple of hours. Some of these locals were seasoned veterans at the hackey sack game with some of our rallies definitely getting up into the thirties. We caused quite a stir on the street- at one point there was upwards of twenty of us. With Phnom Phen and Siem Riep being major tourist cities, it was a nice little escape even though we were in the midst of all of the local tourist bars and restaurants.

The next day myself Mimi Katie and Laura had our BIG TEMPLE DAY. We had seen this really fun tuk-tuk driving around town with a stereo system and lots of fun flashing lights and decided we could only tour the temples of angkor one way- we needed to have the Rock n' Roll tuk tuk. Fortunately we found him in town the prior evening and it didnt take much convincing for him to take us around for the day. So basically our temple tour consisted of the four of us blairing bad american pop songs (party in the usa was obvi. our favorite) while riding around through these ancient and magnificent temples.
Despite our rock n' roll tuk-tuk, we did really appreciate the temples we saw that day. We started with the infamous Angkor Wat which is amazing maybe only because of its scale. I cant tell you too much about the backgroud of these temples, other than the impressions that I have of them; whatever history I learned about these temples has evaded me. Other temples we visited that day included Angkor Thom, the Bayon, the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed (we looked for Ang) and a few others. It is really hard to imagine how these temples were built so many hundreds of years ago, and is not the type of thing that pictures can do justice to. You really have to go there and experience it for yourself. The temples I liked best were the ones that did not have any construction going on (Angkor Wat had a lot) and that were left to deteriorate naturally. I felt that I had a better idea of how old they were and could appreciate their untouched beauty. The temple were tomb raider was filmed (the real name escapes me) was exceptionally beautiful because huge trees had grown in and around the temple and the roots of the trees had intertwined themselves into the stonework. This is definitely something worth seeing, and also a great photo op. It was funny because in these temples there would be wooden platforms that basically were placed at all of the popular spots to have photos taken.

We obviously attracted many onlookers during our day on the rock n' roll tuk-tuk, including many of the children (beggars, as we might call them) who sell things at each of the temples. We have encountered many beggars on our travels throughout southeast asia, but none so mean as the ones at the Angkor Temples. They are normally little girls, ranging in age from Id say 3 to 15 with the mode probably being around 10. Even through their layers of dirt and filth, these little girls are beautiful and friendly and quickly entice you into conversation. Sometimes you just have to say no and shake your hand at them and they normally go away. However, at Angkor they were much more persistent. The little girls would follow us from our tuk-tuk all the way up to the temple entrance telling us how beautiful we were and asking us questions about our lives. Then, before we would enter they would say "Remember me" or "Miss, you buy from me I wait for you." So surely enough when I would exit a temple the little girl that had been so attentive to me would be waiting with her basket full of knick knacks hoping that I would buy something. This happens all day/every day so you just have to say no and keep walking as they continue to say "but i wait for you" trying to make you feel guilty. One little girl let out a very annoyed/angered "Oh my goooooood" when I walked away from her refusing to buy something. I overheard another little girl tell her friend " I don't like that girl" when I shook my hand and ignored them. I tried not to take it personally, but coming from a ten year old there is an added bite...
It may have seemed a little mean or harsh at first, but if I had not practiced these tactics I would not only be broke but still would be bombarded by a swarm of young Cambodian girls in Siem Riep.

Phnom Phen, Cambodia

So, as per where I left off before, we decided to take a bus from Laos to Cambodia (budget option). It was a very interesting experience. First,we took a relatively short bus ride to the border, and were told to get all of our belongings off the bus. We then had to go to a station where we were told to pay $1 each to have a thermometer that looked like a taser held up to our foreheads to make sure we didnt have fever (no swine flu allowed). After that, we were motioned to another station where we were to fill out immigration information, and pay some more bogus fees. Some people decided to try to argue with the Cambodian border police about the extra 2 or 3 dollars they were pocketing, so we ending up spending about an extra hour and a half at the border crossing. I took it upon myself to join some of the bus drivers/local people in a game of volleyball. I happened to be wearing a Beer lao tank top, and for some reason I was able to serve well that day, so they kept saying "Give it to the beer lao girl." It was a fun way to spend the time in the blistering heat on the border between Cambodia and Laos.



When we finally made it to Phnom Phen, we went to the hotel where our friends Katie and Laura had been staying. It was not in the best area of Phnom Phen, but I guess you get what you pay for. Phnom Phen is not the most exciting city to visit in the first place. However, it is worth a stop (two nights max. even though we stayed four) to try to gain an understanding of the atrocities the Khmer Rouge committed in the mid-late 1970's. Its amazing how much we learn about the Holocaust, and how none of us knew barely anything about the genocide in Cambodia only thirty years ago. Walking around Phnom Phen, you would have no idea that thirty years prior the whole city had been evacuated by the Khmer Rouge and that they had murdered 1/4 of the Cambodian population (over 2 million people) in the span of about 4 years.



We visited the killing fields where much of the genocide took place, as well as S-21, a school-turned-prison, where many brutalities took place. In they same way that the Nazis killed anyone opposed to their ideas or not of their beliefs, the Khmer Rouge killed doctors, teachers, and anyone who could potentially interfere with returning Cambodia to a strict agrarian lifestyle- a "socialist" society free of any hierarchies where everyone would be equal....hmmm....They also killed children and babies, in fear that they would revolting against the Khmer Rouge when they were older. It was so sad to think that all of the people over thirty that we encountered in Cambodia had in some way been directly affected by the Khmer Rouge- whether it was losing their parents, siblings or other loved ones in such an inhuman manner. Anyway, this was a big eye opener for my friends and I and just shows how little I know about the world.

Other things we did in Phnom Phen included visiting the royal palace...which ended up being a royal rip off. The palace itself was definitely beautiful, but we found out through a not-so-quiet and extremely aggravated tourist (we presumed american) that the entry fee had been tripled from the previous year. And, completely our fault but also annoying, we had to purchase huge bright yellow tshirts to wear around because you arent allowed to expose your knees or shoulders in the palace. It was worth a trip definitely, if only for the rampant monkey roaming around the palace grounds looking for food...

Phnom Phen also had quite an impressive mall that was probably five stories tall and had a roller skating rink on top. My friend Laura and I chose to spectate only, as the locals were very impressive roller-skaters- it seemed like serious business. Wandering through the mall we happened upon a large food store that carried many of our american favorites- including chips and salsa which was a must-have for us. I'm sure we were quite the scene heading back to our hotel in a tuk-tuk and inhaling chips and salsa. At a traffic light we had a little boy come up to us asking for money. Instead we decided to give him the chips and salsa manly so we would stop eating it ourselves.... so thoughtful of us.

The next day I explored the central market which is quite an undertaking but worth the trip. There is a large dome at the center of the market which seems to house nothing-with numerous branches coming off of it almost as if you were to look at the sun from an aerial view. It was very easy to get lost but the deals were amazing. I bought two tank tops for less than three dollars and something else that i cant remember. I also tried to buy some local food from a stand in the middle of the market...Im not sure whether they didnt understand me or didnt want to serve me but I got a look like maybe I should move on.

The only other noteworthy thing we did in Siem Riep was go to this club that named Heart of Darkness after Joseph Conrad's famous novel. In our Lonely Planet guide book it explained Heart of Darkness as a place where "young wealthy cambodian mafioso go with their body guards." Maybe they were indistinguishable from the other people, or whether or not that is true at all, I dont think I saw the cambodian mafia. The only thing out of the ordinary were the many men-men couples on the dancefloor....very common in Cambodia apparently. We also insisted on having the dj play party in the usa again, so a techno version and us jumping around enthusiastically on the stage ensued.

*****Sidenote: forgot to mention this in my lao post... but the night before we left for cambodian me and mimi had opted for budget accomodation, which was basically a hut right on the river with much access for bugs. Hence, we found three cockroaches in our room ( I killed one-arent you proud of me dad??) as did mimi...and then we got our stuff out as quickly as possible and found a better accomodation. There was no way I was sleeping with any cockroaches..and these ones looked like they were on steroids. sorry, just had to mention that because i thought i handled the situation well based on my bad bug-killing history.

Southern Laos

Our last stop in Laos was the 4000 islands in the south. probably not as beautiful as we had hoped it to be, but we had a good time. we spent one night in pakse which is a weird scene...there isn't much going on there at all, so we basically just wandered around a little and set up a three day kayak trip. Green discovery, the company we had used before in Luang Prabang, had a good reputation and we had a good outing the last time so we figured it would be a no-brainer.

Well, the next morning at 8:15 we were a little worried because they were supposed to pick us up at 8:00. We ended up hiring a tuk-tuk to the Green Discovery office to find that the person who was supposed to be our guide apparently hadn't shown up...and they had to call in reinforcements. Our gui (Lai) was nice and all, but definitely didn't lead kayak trips too often. The first day in the water he turned his boat around in a rapid and me and mimi crashed into him, capsizing. fortunately we were wearing the proper safety equipment and it was pretty much the only rapid we had undertaken that day so everything was fine. we stayed on two different islands in the area known as the 4000 islands. It is called this because in the dry season (now) the water level is low and exposes what might appear to be decent sized boulders with some shrubbery growing on top. This type of "island" probably makes up moost of the 4000 islands, with some of the larger ones being habitable. On the first night of our trip we stayed in a little bungalow by the beach, dined at a local restaurant..overall it was enjoyable. The next day we kayaked (with a few more rapids this time but no capsizing) until we found ourselves at another island. This time our accomodation was not so pleasant. The second night of our trip was supposed to be a "homestay" which literally consisted of some little mats on the front porch of a family's home that we never met...weird. We had bug nets but somehow plenty of small bugs managed to creep in. I tried reading to fall asleep but my head lamp only attracted more bugs.. After a while Mimi and I decided that an easier way to fall asleep would be to go downstairs and have a few beers at hte local restaurant across the street-this proved necessary. There were also many geccos sleeping with us. This doesn't bother me much but Willy is not a fan so that was a little upsetting as well. \Our last day of kayaking was nice, and they had a little leaving ceremony for us on the island where a former monk said a lot of things in lao that i coudlnt understand and tied yarn bracelets around our wrists. I think he was supposed to be wishing us well in our life and travels which was kind of cute because he was old. After that we headed to the port where we caught a bus to Cambodia..

Boarding crossing and Cambodia blogging to come soon.

oops.

Sooo basically I didnt me to publish that last post so I will start from where I left off- Buddha Park. Really neat, beautiful old stone buddha statues some of which you could climb into. A lot of them were donated by various families and all ended up in this one area although im not really sure how they got them there. pretty neat though.

After Vientienne we went to Luang Prabang. Bus is the mode of transportation so we figured it would be fine. I guess I wasn't really aware of how much of Laos is mountainous....so needless to say many of the hours of the 10 hour bus ride were spent winding up and down mountains with steep drop offs and no guard rails. The cars tend to drive a little crazy too so all in all it was a frightening event. Not to mention that the people sitting behind Willy were all throwing up. For some reason Lao people loove to throw up on buses and make sure to bring plenty of plastic bags for the occasion. I mean, why go to the john when you can just puke into a bag and not even leave your seat?

Well we survived the bus ride and had a tuk-tuk driver take us to our hostel. We knew that we were going to like Luang Prabang based on other travelers advice. It did not dissapoint. Its basically a main drag with limitless bars restaurants and shops. All geared towards tourists of course. We stayed about a five minute drive from town at a hostel that was suggested by our tuk tuke driver. THe place was great, but when we were going to meet Willy's boyfriend Lance at his hotel, we had forgotten to take the business card of the hostel with us. soooooo we ended up wandering around some streets once we found lance and luckily my intuion got us back to the hotel after not too long.

There are many neat things to do in Luang Prabang. We visited the Buddha cave (or Pak Ou Cave) which is a "speedboat" ride across the river and up lots of steps. It was really neat to see because there are thousands upon thousands of buddhas place into the nooks and cranies of this cave by buddhists who come to pay homage there. In the afternoon we went to see a waterfall which was very beautiful. The water was a color I didn't think could exist nature- it looked like someone had poured tourquoise dye into the ponds. We hiked to the top of the waterfall, and I went for a swim in a natural pond there.

It was Willy's birthday on the 22nd so her mom put us up for two nights at a really nice hotel which was a treat. They even folded our towels in the shape of elephants. I had heard of a really good restaurant through a friend so me and mimi took willy there for her bday dinner. You had ato walk across the river on a bamboo bridge and climb up a hill to this restaurant. Dyen Sabai was its name, which means fresh air, and the restaurant was completely outdoors with a few bamboo huts on the side of the hills where you could eat. THe food was excellent- Lao fondue and sticky rice with good things to dip it in (lloooove sticky rice).

The following day we did a bike trip through Green Discovery that was supposed to be level 1...
I know I am out of shape but goood i didnt think my legs were going to be able to get me back in the afternoon. I think we did 30 or 40 km which shouldnt have been too much for us save the fact that 70% was off roading and steep hills. We had a really fun day though... it was perfect weather and our guides were great. We swam/walked across a river to get to this little place to eat lunch. And the lunch was amazing...we all had our own portion of sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf and all sorts of good things to dip it in..yum.

However, probably the best thing we did in Luang Prabang was to get up at 6:00 am to feed the monks. Luang Prabang is known for its monks and there were definitely enough to spare. A lot of men are monks for a period of there life, whether it be 1 month, a few months, a year etc. And they cant buy food for themselves so they depend on the people in the area coming out every morning to give them food. We sat right at the start of the procession with our baskets of sticky rice and bananas. The procession is single file and it is quite a site due to the monks attire- different varitions of orange robes. You dole out a tiny amount of rice and a banana to each monk that walks by. Or rather, you put it in their basket (you cant touch them- and woman cant stand taller than them). They dont say thank you, or really look at you at all..except for one monk smiled at mimi when she gave him a lolipop.

After Luang Prabang we went to Vang Vieng. This time we decided to take a van rather than a big bus to hopefully avoid the locals throwing up. That didnt happened and it turns out that the van was actually scarier than the bus. Either that or our specific van driver had an especially heavy foot, or maybe I could just say he was an offensive driver. I sat with my hands over my ears as tightly pressed as they could be without causing myself harm so that I didnt have to hear the people hacking up who knows what behind me. its not your typical gagging sounds- its more like theres something in their throats that wont come up so they just make awful noises until they achieve their intended results.

Once we got to Vang Vieng, we stayed at a place that had been recommended us by another traveler. We heard that Vang Vieng was crazy and that the popular thing to do there is tubing. We knew it involved tubing down a river and drinking but that was about all. For anyone who knows about the float, it was that times 1000. We happened to be there on Aussie Day too so it was doubly crazy. You rent a tube (which actually ends up being completely unecessary, you spend most time at hte bars) that looks like an old rubber tire. There are tons of bars on either side of the river so you can take your pick. Most offer fun ways to get injured including zip lines, slides etc. Mud bar was my favorite-consisting of a huge mud pit wher you play tug of war. People stayed in Vang Vieng for a week and would tube every day- not sure how they did it. one was enough for me. I also had some sort of virus which kept me in the bathroom for hte next few days. When I was feeling better, we rock climbed for aday which was really fun- didnt think I would be so comfortaable at those heights but its so much more safethan I anticipated.

THat night we had seen a sign about Teaching Monks English so we decided to give it a go. We arrived to find our friend Katie already attempting to teach the monks. The monks are really just your average 15/16 year olds who are more interested in their cell phones that they were constantly texting on. I think we taught them a few worthwhile things- but it was definitely a funny experience. By accident I sort of tripped on one of them and my friend Mimi touched one of their heads by accident which is a big no no. You also arent supposed to show them your feet and Katie sat at the white board with her feet basically pointing at them the whole time. I wonder waht they were saying about us in their language...

Yikes!

Yikes...lots to blog about.

Sooooo first of all- I went to Laos for two weeks. It is a neat country that is very different from vietnam. There are not people constantly coming up to you trying to sell you things. In fact, it is the opposite. Instead of having tuk-tuk drivers constantly asking you if you need a ride, you actually have to seek out the tuk-tuke drivers in laos. they are typically laying in their tuk-tuks (either in a hammock or on top of their motor bike) and you have to literally wake them up to ask them for a ride. then they normally proceed to point their finger at their friend/colleague across the street if they dont want to take you to your destination.

Vientienne, capital of Laos, was the first city we visited. Pretty small, not too much to do but many beautiful wats (temples). YOu can just be strolling down the street and pass the most exsquisite temples and you pass monks everywhere walking on the streets. Not too much to say about this city, however, there were some cute french restaurants (laos, along with cambodia, were french colonies until the early 1950s). We did take a day trip to Buddha Park, which is like an hour outside of the city. It is literally just a walled in park that is full of hundreds of buddhas

Sabaidee from Luang Prabang

Its been a while since I last blogged...so I am going to do my best in the next thirty minutes to recount the last few weeks of my travels. I apologize if this is boring or blunt. Sooo after Nha Trang (Vietnam) we traveled to Hoi An which is the city famous for its tailors and hand made clothes. Obviously myself along with Mimi and Willy found this very intriguing and couldn't wait to get to the tailor shop that had been recommended to us from another traveler. We had essentially anything we want made- all we had to do was print out a picture online and they would say "I make that for you." Very dangerous really. Hoi An itself is a very beautiful little city having escaped most of the destruction of the vietnam war (they call it the american war, and rightly so) and almost looks like a village in southern france. The restaurants were amazing-and we found vietnamese fare to be quite delicious.

After Hoi An we flew up to Hanoi which is in the very north of vietnam. For people that have never traveled to Vietnam, Hanoi would probably be overwhelming-mainly because of all the motor bikes. However, after having survived Sai gon , Hanoi felt rather relaxed. It was overall a more asthetically pleasing city than Sai gon, with a really neat place where four streets meet and you could sit on the street in tiny plastic baby-sized chairs and drink beer for 3.000 dong, or the equivalent of 6 cents. It tasted a little funky but was cheap enough that it didnt matter. We took an overnight boat trip to Ha Long Bay which is off the northeast coast of vietnam. It is a spectalular place- you are surrounded by these jagged mountains that come straight out of the tourquoise water and they seem to go on forever (i would look up images of ha long bay if i were you). We toured through huge caves and our guide tried to tell us that certain stalagmytes and stalagtytes looked like jellyfish, frogs, ho chi minh and a whole assortment of things. We couldnt make out these different creatures ourselves, but it was neat nonetheless.

After Ha Long Bay, Mimi and I took a three day trip up to the Chinese border to a town called Sappa. we had to take an overnight train and fortunately mimi and i had our own room. We arrived in sappa at 4:30 in the morning and were awoken by a vietnamese man motioning us to get off the train- we had arrived in sappa. I was so disoriented from sleeping that I tried to tell him "No no, we are sleeping" until he came back the third time and we realized we were not only the last ones on the train, but the only ones on the train platform when we disembarked. Funny to look back on..but a little unnerving at the time.
People visit Sappa because there are indiginous hill tribes outside of the town and you can explore their villages on a tour or by yourselves. Mimi and I chose to have a go at it ourselves, and we descented down the mountain on a motor bike (that mimi was driving-i tried...too scared) with literally a dirt road and no guard rails. Mimi wasn't scared at all but I dont necessarily love heights and kept tell her to make sure she went very slowly around the corners. We made it down to the village, quite safely I might add- Mimi has a confidence on the motor bike that is remarkable considering shes only driven a vespa a handful of times back home. anyway we spent the afternoon hiking down to and exploring Cat Cat village and talking to a lot of the local people . They are a really beautiful people- their native tongue is a tribal language but they speak excellent english (for tourism purposes) and they love to ask you where you are from, how many brothers and sisters you have, and especially if you have any animals. I think that question is their favorite because when tourists like me respond "No, I am allergic but I had a hampster once," they say "Oh, well I have 5 mini pigs, 3 water buffalo, 6 cats and 3 dogs." I dont know whether they are intentionally trying to make poeple like Mimi jealous-she would do anything for a mini pig-but it works. The next day we toured through another indigenous village with our tour group this time. Sappa was truly incredibly beautiful with rice patties tiered down the sides of mountains and beautiful indigenous people.

I have to go catch a bus to Vang Vieng but I will blog about Laos soon!

Greetings from Nha Trang

I forget where I left off in my last blog, but I dont believe I mentioned Mui Ne at all so I am going to now. We spent four nights at a resort in the touristy but beautiful town of mui ne. It basically consists of resorts geared towards western and aussie travelers with some traditional restaurants mixed in. We stayed at the Canary Beach Resort and it was definitely a nice relaxing getaway for us. The pool and the beach were beautiful- and the best part was that it cost less than 100 dollars for four nights and eating/drinking at the hotel for basically every meal. Very good deal, however definitely too many couples.

We took another bus to get to Nha Trang which is where we are currently. We extended our stay by two nights which is becoming a habit of ours. Nha Trang is touristy as well, but much more developed with loads of restaurants and bars, again geared towards western travelers. THere are many neat places, including the Sailing Club which we have frequented often. It looks like something you might find in Naples Florida- right on the beach, with a very tommy bahama feel to it. They had a big new years celebration there with traditional vietnamese dancing, band, etc. good times. For the most part we have just been enjoying the beach and pools at the different beach clubs,. however the other day we took a boat trip that we had heard of through someone we met, and it was definitely an experience. We were told to make sure we booked the "funky monkey" boat trip, and im glad we did. The bus picks you up at 8:30 in the morning and takes you to the dock. About fourty people board this boat that at home would probably have a maximum capacity of 25. You stop at four different islands, they feed you lunch, you go snorkeling, jump off the boat, and have happy hour at the floating bar. They make everyone get in the water and then they throw you what look like enlarged bike tires as a floatation device. The "bartender" sits in the middle of the floating bar (basically a piece of metal with buoys around it) and feeds you an orangy mixed drink ( I asked what it was and they claim it to be sprite, orange soda and vietnamese rice wine, but it really smelled like dirty feet to me). Needless to say it is a very fun and funny experience, so much so that we went on the boat trip again today. They also set up a tiny little stage and play music for about an hour. I was called up to do a duet with the funky monkey himself to "eternal flame"by the bangles (sp?). He makes sure to bring up someone from every country and we had an assortment of aussies (so many aussies here), germans, swedes, canadiens, people from china, hong kong and many other places. Its a neat way to meet people and we actually met some really great girls from australia that we have been hanging out with some.

Tomorrow we will hopefully be heading north if the trains/buses havent been booked. If so, I guess we spend another night in Nha Trang!