Thailand: Part II

I am finally back in Thailand after a grueling 32 hour journey from Luang Prabang, Laos. I actually can't believe I did it, it didn't seem that long. Got the bus at 6am and left Luang Prabang on the "VIP" bus. It was fantastic (sarcastic tone)! A woman vomitted behind me for most of the 9 hour journey as well as a few more in the front that I tried not to pay attention to. The one behind me was hard to ignore because of the gagging, but with a CD played and loud music I almost accomplished it. I guess they are not used to the motions of driving yet and we were going up and around mountains the whole time. She probably would have felt better if she sat in front, isn't that what most people do?! There were about 4 foreigners that were all trying their hardest not to vomit from the sights, sounds and smells in the bus. Our horn also got stuck for about 10 minutes next to this really little village. It was quite amusing and probably the highlight of that trip. All the wide curious eyes peering out their huts wondering what that horrible loud sound is. It did turn off in the end, but I was already having visions of driving for 6 more hours with that sound blaring. Once I crossed the border into Thailand it was a shock. I was back in a society with cars and people and lots of tourists. I also forgot how much I like Thai buses. They are so comfortable and have TV's for a movie and blankets. Ahhhh! What a relief from what I've been traveling in. Slept the entire night and woke up in Bangkok. I only had to wait for 2 hours until my next bus left for Ko Samet, where I now reside.

Ko Samet is a tiny island about 4 hours away from Bangkok and is the getaway for busy Thai's in Bangkok. It's very cute here and I'm so happy to be back at the beach. I'm very sunburnt at the moment. I guess I'm not used to the beach anymore. I met up with Tanya and Paul who came here last week to do a diving course. They are leaving tomorrow and I have a few more days at the beach before I head back. Yay! So, I won't be doing much except laying on the beach and sleeping and of course the odd drink here and there. I'll miss this life...boooo hoooo!

Into the unknown...Northern Laos

I keep forgetting where I left off last, so I will start at the beginning of our very fun, relaxing and crazy adventure to Northern Laos. We wanted to go to nouns Khiew by boat from Luang Prabang. It's supposed to be the most beautiful journey in Laos. Nong Khiew is about 6 hours north of Luang Prabang by boat through the Mekong and the Nam Ou Rivers. We got tickets for the morning boat that went there and woke up early the next day all packed and ready. We stumble our way down the dirt path to the river to catch the boat. I hurt my leg muscle climbing the waterfall, so I thought my leg would give out at any given second...I know I have to exercise more, that's my goal for my next home. Anyways, us three and another couple pile on the small boat ready for the journey. We discover that the boat is not that comfy as it has wooden benches lengthwise and not much leg room. Oh Well! Then we are told by a Laosian man that came from the office we all bought the tickets from that the boat will not be going today. He had many excuses like the government says the boat can not go, there is not enough people, and the boat driver is dead. We stood our ground and did not get off the most uncomfortable boat in the world. We were determined to take the damn boat. We finally found two more people to come with us and paid the boat driver off to bring us. So, I guess the boat driver wasnot dead, he was just greedy.

Finally we were off. It was about 7 hours of pain. My hurt leg was in agony and my feet swelled up. Have no idea why, this stuff just sort of happens here. Our boat actually got stuck in the river on some rocks and we had to get out and push it for about 10 minutes. Well...Let's just say I tried and then couldn't walk fast enough upstream so I jumped back on the boat. We had some strong men to help us. We finally arrive at wonderful Nong Khiew after 7 hours of torture.

Nong Khiew is how I pictured Laos. It's a tiny, laid-back village with not so much to do and where everyone's favorite pastime is doing nothing at all. We found a little bungalow and chilled out on the balcony of the restaurant and played cards with some new friends we met. Everything shuts down early in Laos, so we were all in bed by 10pm. The next day we did a bit more and walked the village for 15 minutes until it got unbearably hot. We went down to the river for a swim and ended up getting attacked by all the little children down there. I was quite fun splashing and throwing them around. I taught them some English (I know I have to get away from that, but I can't help it!) and how to juggle. We covered eachother in mud and they balanced rocks on me. It was sad to leave them but I needed a rest from all that work. Ha! We had another night with our new friends, the English lads, playing cards and we all decided we were going to move places to Mong Ngoi.

So, our new group consisted of 3 Brits and 2 Yanks and we took the hour long, packed boat farther north to Mong Ngoi. It was an hour boat journey, but more painful than the other. They fit 25 Western people on this boat and there was no room for any movement whatsoever. Thank God it was only an hour. Mong Ngoi is an equally cute village and very picturesque as well. We found our new home and got very comfy on the hammocks overlooking the river. Three of us decided to get motivated and do some tubing down the river. Of course one was me. This time the tubing was very chilled with no bars, but lots of animals and animal sounds. The river was really going no where and we were barely moving, so the boat driver told us to get on the boat and he took us closer to our destination. He dropped us off and away we went down some rapids. I was the first one and unfortunately I almost died. I'm OK now, but have a big bruise on my bum. My tube went over a huge rock and got stuck while I continued my momentum and fell into the rapids bumping my bum on every rock and fearing for my life. I wanted to kill that man for sending us over those rapids, but I calmed down and now I am fine. Some new people joined us at our guesthouse and we spent the night eating and drinking the warm beer. There is no electricity until the generators come on for a few hours. We had lights rigged up for us and it did not look too safe, but it worked. We walked around the tiny village that is only accessible by boat and has no cars or motorbikes. It was great to not hear those sounds. While walked the town we noticed huge groups of Laosian people crowded around a few televisions to watch their favorite programs. Even in the middle of Laos you can't get away from TV! So, again at 11pm we called it a night.

One thing about the bathrooms in these places. In the place of the shower is a bucket and a big water basin that you use to clean yourself with. The toilets are of course squatters and non-flushable. I haven't felt really clean in days and can't wait for a real shower. I found a huge bug in one of the bathrooms...We think it was a bug millipede, but not too sure. I think I'll be able to use any bathroom, no matter how dirty by the time I get back to society.

We took the speed boat back to Nong Khiew in the morning and that was a blast. It went so fast and it was so loud. We bounced off of our seats during the rapids and cruised along when the river was calm. We got there in half the time and was much better than most boats. We said goodbye to our new friends and found the bus back to Luang Prabang.

The bus was a trailer in the back of a pick-up truck and full of people and bags. For three hours we raced and bumped our way down the road. We didn't have much leg room, it was too bumpy to read. The wind was so strong that you couldn't see, talk or hear. So basically it made up for a most enjoyable trip. I mastered the atrt of doing absolutely nothing for hours. It was actually better than some, but I could have done without the wind or the horrible and huge spider that almost landed on Vickie's head. A Laosian man saved her and knocked the spider out of the truck, but still the horror!

We are now in Luang Prabang again and I'm getting ready for my trip back to Thailand tomorrow. I have a full 24 hours of bus time until I reach Bangkok in the morning. Then, I will proceed to the nearest beach and lay there for 3 days until my flights begin and I make my way home. I can't believe my trip is at the end. I'm going to cry now. I have had the most amazing time. I know there is more to come, but I will always remember these places and want to return. Laos is the most amazing place. I think it may be my favorite. Little villages full of bamboo woven huts and thatch roofs line the roads or rivers and in between the huge limestone mountains. Most the time you will see the children out splashing around in the river or families out bathing themselves (Full clothes on, of course). Laos is changing very fast and I'm so glad I got to see it now. I wish I had more time to go other places, but I guess what I have seen will get me to come back.

Loving Laos

We had a nice last day in Vang Vien just relaxing and watching Friends. It's amazing walking down the street and all the bars and restaurants are playing Friends. They all have low table and pillows and cushions to make the place even more relaxing. Very strange, but it does suck you in. Tanya and I felt the need for some exercise so we rented bikes and rode around the town. We ended up finding a really big cave that we explored for a bit. It was nice and cold in there so we stayed for a bit longer. It's way too hot here. The reason I am writing this now is because it's mid-day and horribly hot at the moment. We found the only internet place with aircon and hopefully spending a long time in here. Anyways, our little bikes could not withstand the dirt and rock roads and I thought they were going to fall apart. After the cave we found a little fresh waterfall and swimming hole. The water was crystal clear and I decided to jump in. Tanya hurt her leg, of course and the doctor told her not to swim. I swam into the cave a bit until it got too dark and I got too scared. It was exactly what I needed after a long bike ride. We got back on our bikes and proceeded to ride around. We noticed the dark clouds hovering over us and found our way back to the bar that the others were lounging out and watching Friends. We got stuck there while the rain pounded down for a bit.

The next day we took a bus north to Luang Prabang. We were meant to get the VIP bus, but it was broken so we got shoved into a mini bus. We thought it would suck but the ride was very enjoyable. I love traveling in Laos. There are moments where I forget that there is a destination and I think that this is what we are doing for the day. It's so beautiful that I enjoy the rides and looking at the scenery or the village life. We got to our destination after 7 hours. It's actually not that far to Luang Prabang but the roads are very curvy and up and down mountains. It takes a bit longer because of that.

Luang Prabang is a cute little town. I'm surprised at the size of it and how established it is. It's very French and I think it was built up in the 1930's. It's right on the Mekong River which makes it very picturesque. We made plans to meet up with some people on our bus but we made a stupid mistake and layed down to relax. We didn't wake up until 12:30am and then went back to bed until the morning. We slept over 12 hours that night. Oooppps! The next day when we finally got out of bed we of course went for massages. The Laos massage is great. Then, feeling better we walked around and ended up going to this huge waterfall 30K away from town. Our bus got a flat tire on the way in the middle of no where. So, that slowed us down a bit. We finally made it and it was worth it. It had over 7 tears and the last one was so huge and beautiful. The water was so clear and blue and the swimming pools were so refreshing. I walked up to the top of the falls with these two guys from our bus. It was a long hike, but worth it. People were jumping off the cliffs and trees into the pool that lowed over the side really far down. I didn't jump, but I enjoyed watching the crazy people. I went down to find the girls and went swimming with them next to a small fall. On our way out we played with a baby brown bear cub. He was so cute. The other brown bears were all climbing trees in the caged area. These were all rescued bears that were going to be sold on the black market. There was also a tiger that was in another area. We didn't play with her, but she was beautiful. And, that was our day. Vickie and I went out to meet up with some people from the bus. The bars close at midnight, it's crazy. There is an illegal "coffeshop" that everyone went to. It was basically in this guys living room and he had a fridge of beer. Very strange...But good!

Today we are wandering around. It's too hot to do anything. Tomorrow we are heading to Nong Khiew on a boat. I'm really excited about that. It should be really cool to be in a smaller town and away from the backpacker circuit. Did I tell you I love Laos??? Cause I do!

WOW!!!! It's Laos!

So, I left off during my very first day in Laos. I love this country and everything about it. Our first day in Vientiene consisted of going to a forest spa and pampering ourselves. It was pouring out (it is monsoon season here) and we took a tuk-tuk to the wat (temple) where the spa was. Of course we got let out of the open air bike compartment when it was down pouring so hard and we had to run through mud and huge puddles for a good 5 minutes into the forest before we found the wooden shack where the spa was. We all got undressed and into a sarong and into the sauna we went. It was so damn hot but we were told it was good for you. We keep passing a horrible cold around so we need all the health we can get. After we felt like we were going to pass out we went outside and had some tea with the crazy young woman who runs the place. Then, we started on our massages. It was great and one of the best I have had. Laying there, listening to the forest and the rain and especially the excellent massage made the journey in the rain well worth it. We were all very relaxed after that.

The next day we took a bus to Vang Vien, where I currently reside. Our "bus" was a cramped, little mini bus that fit about 20 of us in there for 4 hours. We were so uncomfortable, but it was a short journey and the scenery was spectacular. Huge limestone mountains and bright green trees lined the street. We finally got to the little backpacker town of Vang Vien and stretched out our cramps in the legs and headed for a guesthouse. We found some bungalows that a friend had recommended and we set up camp...Literally. We have a little bamboo-type shack with a bed on the floor that 3 of us are sharing. Hey..$4.50 is a lot to spend on one room! This town is so cute. It's basically a backpacker stopover on their way to Luang Prabang, where we are heading to next. It's surrounded by beautiful mountains and our bungalows are right in the middle and next to a river. It's very relaxing. We just walked around that day and somehow met up with someone we knew in Korea. Small world!
One of the main things to do here is tubing. It's my kind of place. You can rent a tube and a tuk-tuk drops you off at a point in the river and you just float down to the end. It takes anywhere from 2-??? hours to get down. Our first day we were a little late in getting started. We needed to sleep in since we were getting up so early everyday. We didn't get into the river until 2pm and then stopped at every bar on the way. Let's just say we got about half way and had to be rescued because it was getting too dark. There are little bars on the banks and they pull you in with a bamboo stick. Most of the bars have a swing or a big jump that you can use to jump in the water. I was very risky and jumped in a few times. I personally like to lay in my tube or jump around in the water rather than jump and risk hitting a rock. The journey down the river is gorgeous. It's so green and there are so many butterflies. I'm telling you, it's very noticeable that there are large numbers of butterflies. They are everywhere!

The next day, we decided that we needed to make it down the river. So, once again we got our tubes and away we went. We didn't make the mistake of stopping at every bar...Only a few that had good jumps. This day was much more relaxing. Amy and Vickie opted for the kayaks instead of the tubes, so they just floated down the river next to us. If we had to go faster, we just held on and they paddled...Good deal! We did succeed in finishing the river after being mauled by Laosian children bathing in the river. It only took us about 6 hours this time, but we made it!

So basically, I spent the last 2 days floating down the river in a tube in Laos. This is the life! It's so great here and I wish I had more time to explore and see more. The people are amazing and are always helpful and happy. It's so much better to be in a place where people are nice and happy. Tomorrow we have biking on our agenda. We'll see how that goes. We are back to being Berthas and Ednas. We are going to bed so early again. We have now named Amy to be Fern, and Vickie to be Jackie Vera. We have a Swedish guy traveling with us and he is Harry Cecil Hellfalk. I could spell his last name how it really sounds, but you might get the drift. But, seriously, that is his last name!

To next time! Hopefully I'll be in Luang Prabang and don't get stuck in this gorgeous place. I need to see more!

Leaving Vietnam!!!! Hello Laos!

Where did I leave off?? I just left Hoi An with my huge bag of new clothes. Our journey from Hoi An to Hanoi was absolutely horrible. We were traveling for 24 hours. We stopped in Hue for the afternoon and then took the night bus to Hanoi which was 13 hours. We weren't allowed on one bus because we weren't Vietnamese, but we were let on another bus with all Vietnamese, us four girls and a dutch man. Of course all foreigners are pushed to the back, but the first part of the journey I was sharing 5 seats with another Vietnamese man. We both had 2 1/2 seats to lay down. Then, after just falling asleep with the help of some over the counter pills, we picked up about 20 more people. I moved seats to sit next to Vickie and people just piled in the bus. It was shoulder to shoulder. I felt bad for the people sitting very uncomfortably in the aisle, but it was no more comfortable for me. They were laying on us and using our foot room for their feet. I let the man next to me take some of my space, we were keeping eachothers' legs up. It was bad and no one was nice to us. Anyways, finally got to Hanoi after a long night and ushered to some guesthouses the first which was crap and had to walk down to another one. It's not that bad, but 6am and no sleep can make you very crabby!

Hanoi is a very busy city. I think the population is 3 million peoplee and about 2.5 million motorbikes. It's again crazy to cross the street. We stayed in the Old Quarter and it's very cool to walk the streets. Shopping is very easy there since each street has one thing. There is sunglass street. Art street, metal street, jewelery street, etc. We didn't do much in Hanoi except walk around and explore.

We went on a two day boat trip in Halong Bay. Halong Bay has "emerald green" waters and limestone islands everywhere. There is supposed to be about 4,000 of these islands. It's very beautiful. We cruised around the first day and saw some caves and went kayaking for a bit. We tried going swimming, but we were too afraid of the massive jellyfish that we can see in the water from the top deck. We all stayed on the boat that night. There were about 16 people all together. We were all really quite bored as there was no entertainment besides beer on the boat. So, early to bed and early to rise. The next day we just cruised around again and went back to Hanoi by 4pm. We had a good night out exploring the party scene in Hanoi. It was pretty good. We found the Titanic Club. It's on a boat in the middle of the Red River. It was fun!

I have now also seen two leaders that have been preserved for the people's amusement. First Lenin in Moscow and now Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi. Lenin was much creepier, but Ho Chi Minh was equally as disgusting. Again, the guards were really strict and didn't let you talk or stop walking. Ho Chi Minh asked to be creamated but the government went against his wishes and displayed him for everyone to see. That's not cool. Don't ever do that to me if by some chance I get famous. Very doubtful, but just in case I don't want to be preserved!

This morning we left Vietnam...yay! Sorry, but couldn't wait to get out of there. We arrived in the capital city of Vientiene by airplane. We were going to take the 24 hour bus ride, but we heard horror stories about people getting stranded somewhere in the middle of Laos in the early AM. Also, after our last adventure to Hanoi we needed a break so we spent the extra money for comfort. I already love Laos. The people are all smiling and nice. No one is out for your money or to sell you something. The capital city is so little also. One main street is paved and the rest are still small dirt streets....This is the capital! I can't wait to explore the rest of the country! We are going to a forest spa today for some pampering massages and facials. $2 for massage and $1 for facial. I like those numbers! I'm really excited to be here, but I can't believe it's my last new country for awhile. This trip has flown by, but I do have to say I'm looking forward to normalness and no more packing!!!!!!!!!

PS...Sorry for the spelling mistakes if you find any. No spell check on this computer. I'm too lazy to proofread!

Lost in Vietnam...

Well, we finally made it out of Hoi An with bigger and heavier bags and less money. Having a tailor make clothes for you is highly addictive. I would not recommend it for the credit card heavy people. I came away with 4 pairs of pants, a skirt, 3 shirts and 3 pairs of sandals. I wanted more, but the inner voice told me not to. Hoi An was a very cute town with a better personality than the other parts of Vietnam that we have seen. We had to leave this morning to get away from the clothes or we would be broke. We left by bus at 7:30am to arrive in Hue at 1:00pm. We are now wasting time until our next bus to Hanoi at 5:00pm. It will be a very long night as the ride is 13 hours. I'm used to the journeys now, so it's not that bad. The bus is crazy though and always feeling like it's tipping over. We wanted to take the train that is more comfortable, but of course it's a holiday so it's booked. I swear the holidays in SE Asia last for weeks!

We will arrive in Hanoi in the morning and hopefully stay for a few days before heading into Laos. I'll let you know how Hanoi is...I hear it's insane with traffic. I can't imagine anything worse than Saigon, but we will see! We're pros at crossing crazy traffic now.

Me love you long time....

We've been traveling through Vietnam pretty quickly now. It's a long country to get through in two weeks. And, to tell you the truth, the people are not that great. Of course you'll meet the occasional friendly person, but all in all, not too friendly. We've mostly been conned or all they want is to rip us off. We left Saigon after many days of fun. We met a Brazilian football team that made us laugh...and very nice to look at! We then took the long journey to Nha Trang. It's on the southern coast of Vietnam. It came highly reccommended, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's a cool beach, but not beautiful and everyone wants your money. We did have one of the best days so far though. We went on a boat cruise all day to various islands and had so much fun. It was of course geared towards young backpackers and had lots of drink on board. The staff played some music with a guitar and some buckets for a drum kit. We met tons of people on the boat and all had a good time and proceeded to go out all night with most people we met. The next day we wanted to get out of Nha Trang, so we took the night bus to Hoi An. It's 12 hours north on the bus and it was a very crazy ride. Up and down mountains and feeling like the bus was about to flip over most of the time. We made it to Hoi An and now I think I've changed my mind on Vietnam. This is a cute litte town and most people are really friendly. It's also a woman's paradise. Hoi An is known for cheap tailors. We have ordered so many things already. I just pick out the fabric and describe what I want and they make it! Everyone makes suites or clothes, bras, underwear...it's great. Even the men are getting into it. We'll be in a store and a man will come up to us for advise on colors of fabrics. At night while out, people discuss what they are having made...Very funny! We like this town, but we have to move on soon if we want to make it to Laos for two weeks also, which I am really looking forward to.

Gotta run to pick up some of my new clothes! I love this!