Exploring the World...

Photos: Ilhara Gorge and Sights of Goreme

hannah82 — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:22:00 GMT

Cappadocia Turkey

Photos: Cappadocia Balloon Ride and ATV Adventures

hannah82 — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:01:00 GMT

Turkey Terrain

Photos: Olympos, Turkey

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:32:00 GMT

Kadir Treehouses, Old City and Chimera Flames

Photos: Ucagiz, Where We Will Spend our Summer

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 16:22:00 GMT

Crystal Clear Waters and Fishing Galore

Photos: Lycian Way Trek

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 02:07:00 GMT

Coast line (Turkey) from Bocagiz to Ucagiz

Photos: Turkey- Dalyan

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:37:00 GMT

With the Bahaus Group

Photos: Turkey

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:27:00 GMT

Istanbul Ideals

Photos: Amsterdam and Belgium

hannah82 — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 01:13:00 GMT

European Euphoria

Photos: Nepal

hannah82 — Sun, 6 Mar 2011 18:13:00 GMT

Kathmandu Valley People

Photos: Pai

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 23:28:00 GMT

Northern Thailand

Photos: Chiang Mai

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 23:26:00 GMT

Northern Thailand

Photos: Bangkok

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 23:14:00 GMT

The World's Craziest Thoroughfare

Photos: Koh Chang Paradise

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 23:10:00 GMT

Island South of Cambodian and Thai Border

Photos: Siem Reap

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 22:47:00 GMT

Angkor Wat and Other Temples

From Temples to Stupas

hannah82 — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 22:44:00 GMT

Cambodia- Rising at 4am requires a pretty good reason in my books. The headaches, confusion and lack of available caffeine are all cons that float through your mind as you dress and prepare for the day. Siem Reap Temples were luckily worth the struggle. Watching the sky change colour behind the silhouetted temples of Angkor Wat was impressive. It required a lot of elbow prodding to ensure you kept your spot and as is always the case at the major sightseeing spots, the lure of taking the perfect picture creates chaos amongst the crowds.

The temples were magnificient feats of engineering and man power. How on earth they did it boggles the mind- I read that the Cambodian people are a generation of exhausted individuals. After what they have been through over the past few centuries, I am not at all suprised.

The carvings, attention to detail and the continuous devotion to perfection is still obvious even in the somewhat crumbling remains of the temples. It takes days to take it all in. I am embarrased to say, we only took about 6 hours. It was not that we were bored or nonplussed by the sights, it was that there were endless tour buses of Japanese individuals all screaming to one another and standing in front of every picturesque view ready to show the peace sign and pose for an onslaught of photos. Eventually, it wears you down. Where is the serenity in that?

Leaving Cambodia we felt that we had seen a lot of the rougher sides to its society. Behind the smiling masks of cheeky children who attempt to make you buy, buy, buy... "Open your hearts, open your wallets", there are the cigarette burns on the arms and hands. In front of many beautiful women (sex unknown) is an older western man with his US dollars ready to burn. The people are kind but there is doubt and indignation on their faces, it is completely understandable and leaves you as a visitor feeling like you have trodden on a surface that is not fully repaired or ready for you yet. They need to heal before we bombard them with our western desires of cheap shots, bucket cocktails and glamourised trips of their nightmarish history- in short, they need to tell us where to go for a few more decades so they can figure out who they are and what they need to do for their own futures.

Cambodia offers perspective and humility.

Thailand- The border crossing to Thailand was interesting. You know that Thailand is the easiest of the South East Asian countries- it is clean and so simple to travel through. Getting there though provides one last challenge. After our last two hour line up at a border crossing (sweat dripping down our backs and our 22kg bags slowly pulling on every muscle we have) we were relieved to cross into Thailand. It was here that we were then sectioned like school kids and stuffed into mini-vans. On average I would say these vehicles could hold 11 people, in Thailand however, they can actually hold about 20. Comfort and safety is not high on their concerns, people become jigsaw pieces that can fit together in embarrasing ways as long as the door can eventually close. You get to make friends with strangers very quickly!

Bangkok is Bangkok. Khao San Road becomes a deterance and the search for a reasonably priced beer becomes an exciting challenge. What is great about Bangkok is that you can find cool little places down little alleyways, if you just watch the locals and do as they do. You also get to meet up with people that you saw two or three countries ago as Bangkok is the hub of thoroughfare- you go there to get somewhere else. By that measure, its not that bad of a place.

We made our way on yet another bus to Koh Chang. A beautiful island south of the Thai and Cambodian border. We had been promised big things by our rastafarian friends from Don Det. Upon arrival we jumped out of our Jumbo and walked straight up to Patrice. Small world. In his rastafarian and 'oh so cool' voice he told us that they had just arrived that day as well. We quickly found the next bamboo hut to call home for a short while and raced down to the beach. The water was crystal, the starfish unique, the shoreline sprinkled with coconut trees with a background of mountains and the sunset as always, was magnificient. We were in heaven. This lifestyle was good and we found that we enjoyed a small routine of early morning beach exercise, banana smoothies and beach lounging. We even went so far as to buy a bat and ball and really make something of the days- small accomplishments are still accomplishments! A number of strange and sad things occurred during our week there. A French man managed to lose his cool and explode in anger towards me when I asked him to stop playing his chiming bells to hardcore dance music in the late afternoons. He was a whole new category of nutcase and after an hour of him bitching to all of the other guests (who all looked a bit uncomfortable as I was also sitting right in front of them looking bewildered myself) we decided to find a new bamboo hut- one on the beach was good enough for me: ) Also, a small monkey that was being nursed after it had been injured in a fight had died and the owners of the accomodation were just lying with it on their bed, crying. That was weird and sad at the same time.

The parties, the increasing crowds and the lack of culture eventually got to us and we moved on. Back on the bus, back to Bangkok, onto a train and up to Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is such a livable city. Surrounded by a moat the inner section is about 2km squared. Within these two kilometres is everything we needed. We found a gym that western worlds would charge mortgages for, and signed up for 5 days intense exercise. It killed and tortured our pathetic muscles but allowed us to happily munch on bakery goods with less guilt than would otherwise ensue. The people of Chiang Mai are so friendly and we were stopped to talk to locals frequently. A friend from the past (whom I had met 2 years prior but who was still there and had never left) showed us to where the locals ate and partied. It was cheaper and much more entertaining. One girl tried to kill herself at a restaurant we were at- apparently she was suffering from a 'broken heart'- a common ailment of the Thai women- from the sounds of it, the men are eager to get as many notches on the old belt as possible. She was swiftly dragged out of the lake where she was trying to drown herself, the ambulance came and everyone continued to party like it was nothing- as it sounds like a weekly event I guess I can understand that but still... pretty full on! A beautiful women who was giving me a very painful Thai massage explained to me that the young women want the young Thai men. They love them wholeheartedly and then marry them. It doesn't take long before the babies arrive and shortly after that, the men leave for one of their younger girlfriends. Mum is left with children and bills with no support from the government. That is why she explained, rich western man with money become a beacon for the Thai women- they just need to survive and they want a man who thinks they are lucky to have them- not the other way around. Again understandable from their point of view but unsettling as a solution.

Pai was our next destination- way up in the mountains of northern Thailand. With a record of 761 bends to get there the anti nausea tablets were consumed and we held on tight- well, I didn't, I fell asleep for the whole trip and just had a sore neck, but Lawrence was suitably green and ghastly when he stepped off the bus. Another bamboo hut, our final mosquito net, views of greenery, butterflies and flowing creeks. We were happy to be there. Many hours were spent reading and listening to the weird and wonderful sounds of nature. Walking under the beating sun and looking at the market stalls whilst ignoring the lure of cold, cold beer become a daily ritual. Pai is great to relax but it attracts the tourists and we fear eventually, it may become the next Vang Vieng. (Friends, Family Guy, Happy Shakes and Boguns.) It was here that we booked our morning with the elephants. It was the sorest yet most enjoyable ride we had taken so far. Bare back elephant riding really leaves a lasting impression! The elephants went into the river and threw us around a bit. Unfortunately they also turded in this water and it was no surprise that we both managed to gulp a mouthful of the river when we were unexpectedly thrown off his back the first time. Delicious- of course, I was violently sick for quite some days afterwards.

Leaving the country of Pad Thai for $1 and the home of the amazin g sandwich (the worlds biggest and most tastiest sandwich) was hard, but Nepal was next and we were ready to move on to the cold mountains and valleys.

Nepal

Arriving in Kathmandu airport is like standing on your head for two hours and then trying to bust out some dance moves. You are disorientated, have no idea what is going on and very suddenly feel sick to the stomach that you are failing in every attempt that you make to appear organised. Numerous lines, money exchanges, passport photos, forms, etc... the headache takes hours to recover from which of course you do not have, for as soon as you step out of that airport (old brown building), you are bombarded with taxi drivers trying to take your bags and get you to their mates hostel. We survived though. Lawrence got through customs in half an hour and I got through in 2 1/2 hours so...you know... no hard feelings there: )

Thamel (within Kathmandu Valley) is a sight! Tangled power lines, kids sniffing glue, stray dogs and lepers cover the streets. Every second person is hocking up a loogey and spitting it in front of your feet. The smells, the rubbish, the chaos- it is shocking! Yet, I love this place. The people are genuine, they smile, they greet you with a deep bow of respect and they will do everything in their power to accomodate your needs. "You want a diet coke? No problem, we will send our young son off on a 2km search of one for you- relax, its no problem! "

The dusty streets are sometimes too much to cope with, a good double shot coffee helps greatly. You need to keep your eyes fixed ahead, politely yet firmly say "NO" to offers of Tiger Balm, wooden violins, tours, hashish and jewellery- all at "good good prices". When you finally find a place to breathe it is usually down a little dark alleyway- but beware- it won't take long before they throw out their bucket of water or garbage onto your head- it's a world of gambles!

We like it here- we have succumbed to the cheap knock off shopping and got some winter woolies for Europe. (Amsterdam is a nice 2 degrees and we arrive there in less than a week) and we have become addicted to the Tibetan dish- steamed momo's. They cost less than a dollar, are healthy and are delicious! Many people we know, with ourselves included have become temporary vegetarians as the meat here is slightly on the dodgy side. Still, the vegetarian range of food is pretty fantastic!

Festivals of cremations and whole towns being stoned off their brains, rejoicing and blessing one another with their red paint have occured. Police chases through the narrow streets have made us jump out of our skins. Kids sidling up to you, hiding their glue and trying to get their little mittens into your pockets are a constant... but the mountain views are spectacular, the people are good and it is just so unbelievably different to the norm- which is why we travel.

Next its off to Amsterdam for some outrageous European prices and open minded sight seeing- we feel ready. Our tummies are currently settled and our budgets tightened- bring it on!

Australia Day in Cambodia

hannah82 — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:35:00 GMT

When travelling it is often a groan that is released when you spot a group of fellow Australians in the same town. You listen to them and quickly decide that this place is not as 'remote' as you once thought and that it is probably time to move on... (even if you have just arrived at the bus station.)

We, in a short time, had become those snobs. In our defense we had observed some pretty tragic behavior from Australian travelers and we have constantly been witness to some embarrassing 'Vang Vieng' scenarios where people become less mentally capable and walk around bare chested, grunting like apes and screaming obscenities at one another in front of poor, confused locals. (Admittedly we have all been there but when it happens day after day and they proudly display the Australian colours with spray painted limbs, you start to feel that perhaps they were offering cheap flights from the Normanby to South East Asia late on a Sunday afternoon.)

So it was humbling to be the ones that come Australia day, were in desperate need of some fellow Australian companionship. In true wierdo style we jumped on a tuk tuk, squinted and poked our heads out like little old ladies and quickly stereotyped the masses of Phnom Penh, looking for some new mates. Shortly after, two unsuspecting male targets were quickly attacked and made to answer some tricky interrogative questions... "Are you Australian... Do you know where an Aussie Pub is... Should we all go and get sh#tfa@c8d?" Being true blue, they quickly joined the mission and we commenced our search for an Australian watering hole in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia- there are none!

The Walkabout pub is an extremely misleading name for the actual place that we planted ourselves. It consists of a number of fat, seedy old western men being revolting around young, poor Cambodian women. The problem was that most places are like is and this place was the only one that stocked Vegemite. So, we scoffed and chugged and got outta there as quickly as possible. Next stop- Triple J Hottest 100...

Having planned our stay with the JJJ 100 in mind we knew that we could get WIFI at the hotel we were staying at- yes, it was a whole $20/ night but this was Australia day, the dorms and basic ammenities would soon replace the luxury, but for this one day, we wanted a little style and comfort... and WIFI!

We managed to tune into the last 20 and all discussed (over more beer) the things that we missed from Australia. It quickly came to light that we were all becoming in tune with one another- like a group of super hero friends we strongly declared war on the first cow that we saw- we wanted STEAK!

So steak wasn't an option, Cambodian people prefer to have a beef slither which frankly, didn't cut it! 'Chicken Cordon Blue' as listed on the menu was the obvious runner up with a couple of Tacos for dessert- why not? It would be UN- Australian to not eat the classic dish of Tasmanian Tacos: ) With dodgy tummies (we all instantly regretted consuming the minced 'meat' of the tacos), we watched the Krumping dance moves of the local teenagers on the streets. It felt so Australian to stand there and constantly say "No thanks, we don't need a tuk tuk/ photocopied version of Lonely Planet or pair of fake Ray Bans." Soon we tired and navigated the dark and slightly intimidating streets of night time Phnom Penh.

After some grumbling about how we always forget to apply mosquito repellent when we have had a few too many beverages, and a discussion stemmed from watching the 'Australian' channel on TV- Gretel Colleen being an ambassador for Australia really perplexed us, we drifted off to sleep in hope that we would quickly be reunited with a steak from the Norman in our dreams.

It was a happy, Cambodian styled Australia Day!

Photos: Cambodia- Phnom Penh

hannah82 — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 21:24:00 GMT

Australia Day Celebrations

Photos: Don Det- Laos (4000 Islands)

hannah82 — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:15:00 GMT

Hammocks and Sunsets

Laos- Si Phon Don- 4000 Islands, Don Det

hannah82 — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 12:02:00 GMT

Laos- Si Phon Don (4000 Islands)- Don Det

Paradise on Earth is waiting for us all at this remote fishermans island in the southern part of beautiful Laos. Here, the clocks stop, peoples shoulder sag into instant relaxation and everyone has an easy smile on their lips.

The overnight bus to Don Det was simple- although when simplicity occurs I think you become even more nervous as a traveler as you quickly scan every possibility for a scam or potential complication, in any case, we arrived at Si Phon Don in the morning and boarded one of Laos' dodgiest small boats. Having chosen one of the smaller islands we were worried that being so far from anywhere would lead to boredom, however upon setting our dirtied feet on the warm smooth sands of the island we knew instantly that we were where we wanted to be- heaven!

Dumping our humps in the nearest bamboo hut we could find (it had to meet a couple of tough criteria though- hammocks, mosquito net and deck that was facing the sunset) we allowed our ears to be our guide and found the place that was to become our second home- the Happy Bar. The happy bar had a simple philosophy... come and be happy or don't. The two men 'Patrice and Izzy' who were running the bar had that West Indian vibe that made you wanna smile even as you approached... "Hey lady, you wanna come and join us for an afternoon, just come and relax... chill mon". The reggae subletly grew throughout the day and after hours of relaxing in the sun, reading your book and making random chit chat with the fellow travelers, you soon found yourself in a place that was pumping with good vibes and happy dance moves from the rastas!

Over the course of 7 days we worked on our tans, read a lot of books, discussed the ups and downs of the world with randoms who became friends, became inspired by fellow travelers who were living the dream and had set up their own organic cafe 'Veggie Patch' and played a lot of games. (I won most of them- obviously.) In addition, we consumed our first coconuts, saw the waterfalls, went on a bike ride and played a bit of pool with our friends Dag and Joel- the swedish boys (again, we won.)

After a period of a week it truly felt that we were part of the community. The Laos people are good natured and friendly in the cities, but here they were beyond that- their smiles were contagious and you felt safe and welcomed by them. The bare foot kids run around half naked and laughing in delight over the most trivial things. The women work hard, all through the day and night, never uttering a complaint but always having a quick laugh at any mishap that seems to befall their male partners (I liked their attitudes). Many of the males were fishermen, each day you would see a sprinkling of fishermen on their boats, casting our their large, circular nets and dragging them back in to see what they had caught. By sunset however, the boats would slowly amble in right up the river to the front of our deck. It was these moments, as the sun grew heavier and sank like a large red ball beyond the horizon that you felt like you were in paradise. You would hear the faint splash of the water as the nets were cast, you could see the sleek silhouettes of the fishermen on the ends of their wooden boats and the sky would turn into a myriad of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. It was breathtaking- every night!

Life was tough in the hammock, it was by no means an easy week and we felt that we had given it our all when we finally packed our humps and trudged on outta there. We said our heartfelt goodbyes to Patrice and Izzy (Who we hope to meet again in Koh Chang), Tom and Karla, Dodgy Dr Pat, (who was not a doctor but ran the only pharmacy on the island which interestingly enough sold cigerettes and alcohol), Mr Hat and Mr Vixay. As the embers of the previous nights full moon party slowly died out we bobbed on back in our boat to the mainland and both wished that we could have stayed there forever.

Vang Vieng, Parties and Sun Glasses

hannah82 — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:31:00 GMT

Did someone say "Partay!"? Many words could be used to describe the small town of Vang Vieng, roughly 6 hours north of the Laos capital city Vientiane, but 'party' seems the most appropriate.

After preparing ourselves very early in the morning, we were picked up via tuk tuk from our guest house in central Vientiane and driven to a few waiting buses that would eventually take us and many other eager back packers to Vang Vieng. Thankfully, this bus trip was not as grueling as our last 22 hour trip and was quite comfortable. Packing some food had obviously been a winner during our last ride, so we did again, making some of the other passengers quite jealous as they stopped to pay highly marked up (more expensive than Australian prices) food and drinks from various break points.

We eventually made it into Vang Vieng bus station. With a few confused looks on peoples faces, many jumped into jumbos to make their way into the town center, which turned out to be only a few minutes down the road. Luckily for us we had a brief conversation with an English traveler who had informed us of a few places to stay and a decent bar which would not be too far to walk from the station, so we took his advice and walked.

We were amazed at the amount of travelers in this small town, many hurrying around trying to find a guest house before they filled. What we were not prepared for was the overwhelming amount of foreigners who were there for strictly one thing: getting wasted and hooking up. Ignoring this aspect, we donned our thongs, singlets and shorts and began immersing ourselves into the towns culture. Vang Vieng had been molded into the ultimate tourist party town, with bars on every corner that could offer you anything you desired, western influenced restaurants that would play infinite re-runs of Friends and Family Guy episodes, and stores that stocked endless supplies of very cheap Ray-Ban sunnies and Beerlao singlets. The locals here were some of the friendliest people we had met yet.

The next day we decided it was time to experience the main attraction of Vang Vieng: tubing down the Nam Son river. We gathered some of the friends we had made in the last few days and made our way to the the river, noticing the many bars, swings and slides along the way. The first bar and starting point was a small 20 minute walk from where the tuk tuk had dropped us with our inflated tractor tire tubes. We all decided to enjoy a cold beer before jumping into our tubes and floating excitedly down to the next set of bars. As mentioned, there are a few activities to enjoy along the way. For the adventurous, the rope swings were the most popular, and we would all cringe as each dare devil would narrowly miss rocks. You can definitely see why so many injuries occur here each year. One of our most memorable and enjoyable moments of the ride was the mud volley ball, where, as you guessed it, you could play an interesting game of volley ball in some very thick, slippery sludge. Sufficiently coated in mud, inebriated and very relaxed/tired, we eventually made it to the end point and last bar. After some dinner, a banana pancake (delicious!) and some more socializing, we quickly found ourselves fast asleep from what was a very enjoyable day.

We spent the following days exploring the surrounding areas of the town and making the most of the relaxed atmosphere. We can see why this place is so popular. The bars really come to life after sunset and become the playground for many of the tourists. Even with a curfew in place before midnight, many party goers could be heard (very loudly) trying to get back into their guest house rooms just before the sun came up. Both of us soaked up as much of this town as we could before deciding to head back to Vientiane. A few of us decided to take a different route however. We came to the conclusion that kayaking down a river through some rapids back to the capital city would be fun, and fun it was! We made it back a little sun burnt but very satisfied with our efforts that day.

With the memories of our adventures in Vang Vieng still playing out in our heads, we began planning our next destination south.