bird legs getting bigger

No More Photos, for Now =(

landon_marie — Thu, 7 May 2009 12:03:00 GMT

So starting a few weeks ago, my camera decided to become incompatible with windows (yay mac) and I can only upload photos to windows with a card reader now ... which I do not have... since I'm home in ONE WEEK,and have a mac and card reader there, I'm not too inspired to get this problem solved right now. So unfortunately I cant post the remaining pictures from my Vietnam trip for a while. There were some really good ones from Mui Ne and Saigon that I am sad for people not to see!

As soon as I've settled down at home, I will add them just for fun, and so that this portion of my travels will be complete. If you want to see some cool streams and sand dunes and crazy traffic, check my photos out in about a week and a half.

In Koh Lanta now just relaxing. - It is Low Season here now and it is a huge contrast from the last time we were here. It's a ghost town! some parts of the streets are unrecognizable to me as all of the business is closed down. It's still warm though so I'm still trying to get beach time in. It's weird though because what was once this crystal clear, blue/green calm ocean, is now grey and murky and choppy... and kind of daunting! and the beaches are DESERTED. Dave and i spent the afternoon on a popular beach yesterday and saw about 4 tourists in total. It IS kinda nice to be all alone, but it's also just kind of creepy... it would be amazing to be this alone in high season. But being alone in grey murky water is scary!

Here for maybe 4 more days, then I need to decide if Im going to Phuket with Dave for a few days, or straigh to bangkok for a few days. Bangkok accomodation will be much cheaper - so thats sort of the deciding factor... and there is a lot of bangkok I still havn't seen.. so maybe i could make a freind and explore it a bit more before I leave. I'm sort of tempted to do Phuket and then just spend twop more days on the beach... but if the beaches are as deserted as here, I wouldn't want to... hmmm decisions decisions...

Good Bye Vietnam! Hello Bangkok! Bye Bangkok!

landon_marie — Sat, 2 May 2009 18:14:00 GMT

Wow, Vietnam fleeew by! Since Nha Trang, Dave and I saw Mui Ne, a quiet, beautiful little beach town. - With a wonderful natrual hotspring we got to walk up, and amazing white and red Sandunes to climb.

We also saw Saigon City. Wow! The traffic there IS like what you've heard! It's incredible because it is soo crazy but it *works* - most of the time! The roads are always flowing with mainly motorbikes, and unlike most cities, instead of waiting for a break in traffic when you want to cross - just just go. One has to make eyecontact with all the motos that are immediately heading towards, and keep a consistant pace walking across the road - no stopping, no running ahead. If you do this, its like magic - or water rather, the traffic just flows around you. Pretty crazy. And now that I'm back in Bangkok I have to remember that it is not the same here, and the cars most likely will not go around me as smooth as Saigon!

We spent 4 days in Saigon and I had a really great time - this was my last 'travel' part of my traveling experience - as the remainder of my travels will be spent just relaxing on one island on the beach until I come home - So Saigon was a great way to go out. We were sooo lucky enough to meet up with yet another couple of Friends from Vancouver, in Saigon. So wonderful how things like that just work out! And I really love the girl in the couple so it was good to have a girl pal around for a few days.

In those few days we did A LOT of walking, just exploring the city, we got to see the Vietnam War Remnents Museum, that actually re-installed a strong distaste towards americans for me... sad to say. And on another day we got to go explore the Cu Chi tunnels. - Where Vietnamese people had a whole life in the tunnels underground during war.

I will make another update with more detailed Vietnam stories once I am relaxing on Koh Lanta, but for now just wanted to give a quick update of what we've been doing. I am currently in Bangkok right now, catching a SEVENTEEN HOUR bus ride at 6pm, to Phuket - where we meet up with David's sister for 2 days, and then Head to Koh Lanta with here and Thale, where I spend my last week of this great adventure. I can believe that it's almost over, but it still feels so crazy. All my memories of this trip already feel like years ago! Still fresh in my memory, but we've been here, travelling so long, that the earlier experiences seem like so far away.

But happily, and luckily, I am excited to be home. I wasn't sure if I would be ready, when I booked my ticket home a couple months ago. But, I am! Of course there will be lots of moments where I will feel sad, looking back, wishing I was still there. But with the many things I've learned and discovered on this trip, one major thing is that it has confirmed how much I completely adore my family. And I can't wait to just be with them every day and enjoy a BC summer with them. I am also so excited to cook for myself again, and see my friends and eat my favorite food! Annnnd, also, I will be single again, something I havn't been for a very long time. And I am excited NOT to date, to just hang out, alone, by myself, and really get to know myself again =) I guess thats the usual for travelers!

So for the last week and a half here I am going to lay in the sun, eat good thai food, swim in the beautiful ocean and just ENJOY myself, no plans, no schedule - but I will probably, as I said, make a few more detailed blogs on Vietnam, and upload remaining Vietnam pictures in the next week. Love you everyone=)

Photos, and an Ocean Day...

landon_marie — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:54:00 GMT

Photo overload!!! Finally I'm more up to date with photos of our trip...Take your time looking through - that way you can space out comments - I like comments, makes me feel closer to home =)

Here are the rest of Hanoi - CLICK

The beautiful Halong Bay - CLICK

Hue - CLICK

and lovely HoiAn - CLICK

We are currently in Nha Trang, Vietnam and heading out tomorrow. Yesterday we spent the day lazing on the beach and at the Oceanic Museum, and today we did a boat trip!

We were picked up by a bus around 8:30am and deposited onto our colourful fishing boat around 9:30. From there we all boated to an island where we were let off to snorkel for an hour. I had a lot of fun but unfortunately dave couldnt find a mask to fit his big head, so he had to sit out! It was beautiful, but I think it's going to be hard to beat the snorkeling experience off of Koh Pi Pi a few months ago.

After snorkeling we were presented with a huuuge lunch! There were about 25 people and there was enough food to have plenty extra! plates full of fried fish, tofu, veggies, squid, rice, noodles, fruit. Mmmm.

Once we were done our meal we were told to relax for a bit, let our food settle and watch the 'Boy Band' perform. The boy band ended up being 4 of the vietnamese men on the ship, and they rocked! - One on Bass and Vocals, one on Guitar, and one on a really shotty, thrown together drum kit - and a tambourine! They played some great, nostalgic music and no one wanted them to stop!

When they finally did stop we were told it was 'HAPPY HOUR' - "Jump into the ocean and catch a life tube!". Then one of the guides hopped in with a huge tube he had turned into a floating bar. We all gathered around and he poured us free, unlimited fruit wine for about half an hour. It was so much fun, we all just floated about cheersing and enjoying the sun and drinks. Once we got back onto the boat we all realized how much wine we had drank and just sat quiet for a bit! We then boated to the next island where they were charging $2 just to get on the land. So half of us decided to just stay on the boat. - Good idea. We had a really great time just sunning ourselves and jumping off of the boat and swimming and playing in the water. - Also got in some more snorkeling.

Then there was one more island where we could choose if we wanted to go to an auarium, but since we had did something similar yesterday, we decided to sit out again and just enjoy being on the water. This was the end of the trip - we boated back to Nha Trang, I had some spring rolls, and now here I am! - Currently getting eaten alive by mosquitoes! ARHG, but I must upload these photos!...

Gallery: Hoi An, Vietnam

landon_marie — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:47:00 GMT

Gallery: Hue, Vietnam

landon_marie — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:37:00 GMT

mainly from our moto tour...

Gallery: Halong Bay, Vietnam

landon_marie — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:14:00 GMT

small update

landon_marie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:40:00 GMT

Hello! I feel so behind with pictures and stories! I am uploading some photos from Hanoi right now but may not have enough time to add them all as I'm catching a bus soon! So check back soon for the rest of them!

Hanoi has been my favorite city in Vietnam so far! Although the other ones are still great and have their Charm. Hanoi gives me the same electric feeling as New York did, even though they are completely different! Anyway I do have to leave now, so I got some hanoi photos up, but many more to come in the next few days including some of the rest of the cities we've seen.

Since Halong Bay we've been to Hue - where we did a really cool motorbike tour, and HoiAn, a city filled with colourful lanterns, century old houses, and hundreds of tailoring shops!

More stories and photos soon

Gallery: Hanoi, Vietnam

landon_marie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:35:00 GMT

One of my favorite cities!

Savannakhet pictures up!

landon_marie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:45:00 GMT

Was finally able to upload the photos from our trek and home stay in
Savannakhet. Click here =)

Gallery: Savannakhet

landon_marie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:24:00 GMT

Mainly from our homestay...

Halong Bay, Vietnam

landon_marie — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:20:00 GMT

Look up Halong Bay in google images right now, do it ... click here

This is where I have just spent my last 2 days. This again is one of those experiences words and photos fall short of describing. I will post photos to explain the sights and will use this entry to explain the other parts of the trip that helped wrap this wonderful experience up.

From Hanoi you can walk into *any* guesthouse or travel agency and book a trip to Halong Bay - and this makes it very difficult to decide what package to go with! Packages range from $25 - $250 for the average tourist - but I'm sure there are many people who pay much more. Many of the trips offered are 2-3 days trips where you stay overnight on a 'Junk' - a Chinese sailing vessel. - We've heard horror stories of some of the Junk when you go for the $25 price range so we decided to treat ourselves a bit more...

We ended up getting a great deal from a travel agent friend Jessica made when she was in Vietnam last year. He offered a $80 two days one night trip to us for $65 each.

Day one:
We took a small air con mini-bus for 3 hours to Halong Bay. As soon as we got to the Bay that old familiar 'home feeling' came to me as I saw and smelled the ocean. (It's been about 2 months since I've seen the sea!!!) But this Harbour was like nothing I've ever seen before! Look up 'Chinese Junk' - The harbour was filled with these beautiful majestic boats! We took a small boat to our Junk. On the way I observed all of the other Junk - All of them generally look the same - but this is where you can see what money will buy you - The old Junk made me shiver - not only did it look haunted but you could just *see* what kind of creepy creatures might also be aboard those old dirty boats. And the nice boats? They were niiiiice. And oh, lucky us, our small boat drove right up to one of the nicest boats on the sea, and it was ours! The whole boat was construced of beautiful dark glossy wood, with carvings of dragons and asian symbols. They lead us to the dining area and our mouths all dropped. The 5 of us were the youngest on the ship, everyone else was more 'mature' and were used to being able to afford this kind of thing. For Dave and I, this was by far the most posh thing we've done on this trip. The dining area was immaculate. Like any other classy luxurious eating area.

We were given the keys to our rooms and told to return in half an hour for lunch. Again, my mouth dropped at our room. All of the rooms were beautiful but dave and I were lucky and got a corner suite - so, two large windows looking directly out onto the sea - seeerrriously, I live for these kind of things. Also, our bathroom, on a freaking boat, was also the nicest bathroom we've had so far in Southeast Asia. Eheh. I was sooo happy! The rooms were small, but they were super clean, made of that nice dark wood, large beds, and beautiful bedding and decore and a world class view from the window!

We returned to the dinning area for lunch and were so impressed with the menu - When I get the chance I will post photos of some of the dishes. They cooked according to all of our requests: three people eat no mean, but fish and seafood are ok, one person eats no meat, no fish and no eggs, and one person will eat anything. They Cooked all veg dishes for Dave, pescetarian dishes for Sean, Jess and I, and meat dishes for Johan. That was incredible for us - lots of the time when we give that request we end up just getting really bland dishes and Dave's requests for no egg or fish are usually ignored.

To save time, I will just write parts of the (set) lunch menu me, Sean and Jessica enjoyed... A delicious, thick, sweat and sour soup, large fresh prawns, a cooked veggie and squid dish, and my favorite, a grilled marinated fresh tuna dish - along with the usual steamed rice and veggies.

After lunch we took the Mini boat to a cave called "The Amazing Cave", and as cheesy as it sounds, the cave WAS amazing. When I was inside I felt like it was arificial and I was in Disneyland. It was GIGANTIC, and all of the beautiful rock forms were highlighted with soft coloured lights, it was incredible and I will let my photos to the rest of the talking for it.

After the cave we kayacked for about an hour taking in the scenery, which again the photos will obviously give a better idea of. By the time we got back to the the Junk the sun was going down and we were served watermelon slices to enjoy the view with. We relaxed for a bit and then went for dinner. Dinner, again, made the whole trip worth the extra money! We were again served large delicious prawns, clams, crab cakes (my favorite!!!) and an assortment of veggies and rice. (By the way, Dave was also enjoying his meal, they made him really good tofu dishes and noodles and fake meat meals and Johan got beef and chicken dishes.)

After dinner the whole boat did karaoke, including me! It was a ball and Jess, Sean and I split 3 bottles of wine! The party ended when Sean broke a wine glass (haha that was too much for this posh ship)! After that we were sent to bed - And a good thing, as we were to meet at 7:30am for breakfee. The sleep on this boat was one of the best I've ever had. I slept like a rock in this beautiful big clean bed, with the smell and movement of the sea keeping me happy.

Day Two:
I woke up to a view of the blue see with large, rocky islands jutting out of it... sigh... We ate breakfast in the morning and after we actually just relaxed and enjoyed the scenery lazing about on the upper deck for a few hours. The boat cruised the ocean and around all the amazing land formations. The only break from relaxation we had was another delicious mainly seafood lunch. The we did even more relaxing. At about 12:00 we made our way back to the harbour and our fantastic voyage was over... =(.

I say this about most things I've done here, but I want to do this again with my family soooo bad. Mum, Dad, Miranda, Lets save all of our monies up again, and do a family vacation to Vietnam. It is incredible here. It is WORTH coming here. I've seen lots of families in this country and my heart just sings thinking about what a great family experience this would be. There's nothing I want more than to Cruise Halong Bay with my mother, and then go drink cheap, delicious local beer on the crazy streets of Hanoi with my Dad and sister.

I'm having the time of my life =) Wish you were here...

Will write another entry soon of fun observations and experiences I'm having here in Vietnam.

Hating the Local Laos Bus, Loving Vietnam!

landon_marie — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:58:00 GMT

I am blown away with how in love I am with Vietnam. First things first - My mum is out of town and I can't e-mail her - so, mum, I'm doing fine, I spent Easter enjoying my first full day in Vietnam - and actually forgot it was Easter to begin with - no sign of it here. I felt sad a few days ago thinking of spring and chics and chocolate, but we've been on such an adventure lately there isn't too much time to think of home. Thanks for your e-mail, it made me really happy =)

So a few days ago, Dave, Sean, Jessica, Johan, and I made our 2 day trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. We started from the south of Loas and we knew we were in for a hell of a trip. I will try not to make this long, basically, we got ripped off, with no other choice and the first part of our trip was a trip from HELL. We started with a 15 minute boat ride to the mainland - usually these boats are sheltered but ours had no roof - so sunburn and heat stroke city. Then we took a 2 hour crowded and hot mini bus ride to Pakse to catch a 15 hour bus ride to Hue Vietnam. We got to the bus station around 1:30 and then were told the next bus wasn't until 6:30, THANKS. This is also where we discovered that our bus was in fact a 15 hour LOCAL bus and not a VIP. I havn't written about local busses yet because they are too crappy to mention. A 2-4 hour local bus is sort of fun - You really get to take in and observe local life. Any more than 4 hours becomes painfully tedious. Many of the local people use the local bus as a main means for transporting goods. - SO about every 5-10 minutes the bus stops and unloads bags of rice and other things for a few minutes - this becomes so borring and so hot. We ended up calling the guy that booked our trip to complain but obviously there was nothing we coulkd do. He just yelled at us and told us he told us it was a local bus, but he never did - He told us it was 'very nice bus, no stops, fans'. So we killed our 4 hours in Pakse getting lunch and milling about and eventually made our way back to the bus stop. Our bus was *the shittiest* bus I've ever seen. It was so old and had about 3-4 layers of rice sacks stacked on the roof. We could tell this was common as the bus looked like it was cracking and bending in half after yewars of this kind of abuse. When we boarded the bus we were *delighted* to see that all of the footspace under the seats were crammed with clay-filled metal pots. We were outraged and just started stacking them in the isle so that we could take a seat. The bus stank of urine and poison and us 5 were the only ones that got decent seats, some backpackers were forced to sit in the back on top of rice sacks. One the bus started to drive it gurgled and clanked and I was sure it would break down (but it never did). Because the bus was so dangerously full the bus driver HONKED like there was no tomorrow. If something got in our way, we'd eaitehr smash it to pieces, or swerve out of the way where we'd likey all get mashed to death with rice sacks and clay pots. Needless to say this was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. Here are a few more highlights:

-we stopped at least 15 times in the first 2-3 hours of the trip, stopping about 10 minute each with NO fan in the stinking heat of the night

- there were two ladies transporting HUGE dead snakes. They held the snakes in plastic bags and made frequent stops to drop a snake off here and there. The snakes were ROTTING and it was an incredibly foul smell. Dave lit a cigarette on the bus and listen to this: Instead of yelling at him to put it out I *tired* to inhale the smoke, because THE SMELL OF SMOKE was more refreshing and appealing than the smell of rotting dead snakes.

- There were plenty of stops to drop of snakes and sacks, but NO rest stops, no eating, no peeing for almost 20 hours

- We got to the Vietnam border at 3:30 in the morning and had to sleep in the bus until the border opend at 6:30 am. Dave ended up walking around a couple hours and I finally got to lay out on the bench and get a few hours solid sleep.

-I got flea/bug bites all over my ankles from the bus

-when the border opened the boys took our passports to go get stamped, Jessica and I tried to get more sleep, our nasty bus driver came running at us screaming "YOU YOU YOU!" trying to tell us to go get stamped, we managed to tell him the boys took our passports.

-After the border we Continued to drive to Hue. We were supossed to arrive at 10:30am but didn't until 12:30pm because the damn bus stopped to unload ALL of the clay effing pots

-eventually we got to Hue and they decided to just dump the white people on the side of the road, yelling "YOU YOU YOU!" and poitning at the door. We had no idea whewre we were! so we all kept asking and yelling "Bus Station, take us to the bus station." The kept ignoring and yelling at us, so Jessica looked the Bus driver in the eye and screamed "YOU YOU YOU!" back at him. The look in his eyes were pure hatred, and we knew we couldn't try anymore. We all got off the bus - some of the locals PUSHING us off, and the bus spead away.

After this ordeal though we realized we were in Vietnam now, and the place was already amazing. Luckily we were in the center of Hue so we decided to go to a restaurant to cool of and figure out or plans. We had a delicious lunch and ended up being able to book a VIP SLEEPER BUS to Hanoi for 5:30pm that evening. The 5 of us pitched in and were able to rent out a beautiful hotel room for a few hours. We all showered and cleaned up and drank some beers. I was even able to sneak off after my shower for half an hour and get my eyebrows and nails done (Oh my gOd, that kind of attention felt so good after that bus ride.) We went for a small dinner at 5 and then caught out next 12 hour bus to Hanoi.

This bus was the EXACT opposite from the bus the night before, AND it was half the price(?!) This bus had 30 individual BEDS, that you could sit up or lay down in, and each bed had a full length window to look thru! So I layed and watched a movie for the first 2 hours, then we stopped at a proper rest stop and I got some yummy noodles then continued on our way. I ended up taking a sleeping pill and slept like a baby in mycomfy bus bed for the whole night.

We arrived in Hanoi at about 6 in the morning. We eventually got a beautiful hotel and spent the day doing a walking tour (we found the route in a book) around the old city of Hanoi. Stopping a few times for the cheapest and best asian food Ive had on this trip.

I cannot even begin to think that originally Dave and I were going to skip Vietnam. I am so, so glad we didn't, we've only been here 2 days and it is my favorite place!! Before I came on this trip I had an idea in my head of what Southeast Asia would be like. -Bangkok was the closest thing to this picture, but the rest of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos were completely different than what I expected (and such an amazing life-changing experience). Vietnam however, is what I dreamed Asia to be! It's so so colourful, meats and fruits and veggies everywhere, traffic, honking, amazing life energy, creepy narrow ally ways. Vietnam reminds me of China Towns, but with no exit! And it is soooo much fun. The major difference Vietnam holds over Cambodia and Laos is that although its chaotic, it *works*. Everything flows and they really seem to know how to effectively live their lives (from what I've seen.) And although there are many foreigners, it doesn't feel like one big tourist trap. The locals cater to the locals. They don't give a shit about us tourists (which feels sooo nice) And even though we are white and very different looking, I just get this comfortable sense of blending in. No ones is grabbing at me trying to sell stuff - though if I want anything, it is still at my fingertips. - Like amazing cheap bus rides. So I am very happy now and am currently trying to decide if I want to spend 3 weeks here like I had planned and then end my trip on the beaches of Thailand, or if I should just stay here the whole month then head home. Will have to decide soon.

P.S. I will upload remaining photos for Laos soon (some really good ones)

And also, I am aware that there is some shit going down in Thailand again. I will do my research and I just want to say to my family don't worry =) Vietnam is safe and if Thailand does seem too turbulant to go back to I will def. stay in Vietnam for the month and then just go back to Bangkok to fly home...

love everyone

Home Stay in Savannakhet

landon_marie — Fri, 3 Apr 2009 20:55:00 GMT

I just got back from a very mild trek and and overnight home stay outside of Savannakhet Town. It was such a wonderful experience! I will try to make a shorter length entry about it with hopes that my photos can complete half the story. I'll post the photos in a few days hopefully.

We Started at 8 in the morning a couple of days ago. Our first stop, by tuk tuk was to a salt mine! At first I thought this sounded not too exciting but it actually was so interesting and visually amazing to see! Again, my photos will speak better here. - It was beautiful! It was like being in a snow crystal wonderland! -Hahah but soooo hot making it really bizarre. There were different areas for for all of the different process and so it wasn't uncommon to see random buildings with Salt growing down the sides! - And like I said, it looked like snow and icicles - In the middle of this hot orange country-side it looked like the buildings had snow stuck on them.

After the Salt we -(Me, Jessica, Sean, David, Johan and our Guides) took the tuk tuk to a trail in the forest. We then walked about 3 hours in the hot forest. It was so delightful though because it wasn't a hard trek. - NO hills, all flat and easy, so we just got to walk and enjoy what was around us. We saw many strange bugs -including a spider the SIZE OF MY HAND, and a Scorpion!!! Also the guides showed us many leaves and berries that were edible - they were delicious! Around noon we stopped at a large patch of grass for a lunch pic-nic. The food was fantastic! - All cold. The main thing to eat was cabbage wraps! There were herbs (like dill!!!), sticky rice, tomatoes, peanuts, and noodles that we wrapped in cabbage leaves and then dipped in a tasty spicy sauce. We also had banana fritters and yummy rice cakes and salads.

After lunch we walked a couple more hours stopping in between to play some stick games and make jewelery out of leaves and reeds. Eventually we ended up in the village where we were spending the night. The village was beautiful, very clean and lots of wood fences and chickens and dogs and playing children and well kept gardens. We dropped our bags off at our home stay house and then our guide took us for a fun walk! We ended up going to a temple and getting incents to make prayers and also got prayed for and received bracelets. After the temple our guide bought us some desert on the street! A foot long bamboo poll filled with warm brown rice and black beans and sugar!!! We also got *fresh* sugar can juice - it was sweet but so natural tasting and maybe one of the best drinks I've ever had!

After that we were given a couple hours to just relax and do what we wanted. This part of the story I am mainly writing for Mum because she will appreciate the awfulness (for me)! :
We were all hanging out in our bedroom which was old and wooden and very airy. Our mattresses for the evening were stacked in a line - They were thin mattress that could be folded 5 times to make a tidy small rectangle. We had sat down on a mattress each to talk about what we wanted to do. Then Sean undid a fold of his mat so that he could sit on cushion and lean his back against the rest. Good Idea - I unfolded my top layer and, a hem, THREE Silverfish wend scurrying from the fold creases and down to the ground. Of course I screamed! And, not only the 3 silverfish, but also swarming with Ants. Our guide ran to see what was wrong and unfolded my mat all the way, and THEN a large Cockroach came out of another fold, this time at least 3 of us screamed! The guide took my mat outside and shook it off. I asked Sean and Dave if they could shake it again, but they suggested going out for a beer and letting it air out, and then shaking it again when we came back. And the silverfish portion of the story is over for now...

We went for a beer and it was a lot of fun, the people in this village were very friendly. It was so nice to have a beer with some good people and hear tales of travel in India and watch the Village life pass by...

We went back to our room about an hour later and I got Dave to shake my mattress right away. Immediately while shaking ANOTHER Silverfish fell out and I screamed and ran to the other side of the room. Dave shook some more and put the mat back down beside Sean. - *Then* I caught Sean flicking the mat with his finger. I yelled "WAS that another one?!" and he nodded. I then told everyone I was NOT sleeping on that mattress. But its just *so* funny that it eded up being me to discover all thos bugs on the mattress I claimed. - As it turned out later, boys & girls we not allowed to sleep next to each other, so I got to sleep on a clean mattress with Jessica, far away from the silverfish one *PHEW* We put a sheet on and blocked ourselves off with a mosquito net and were safe and happy.

ANYWAY. Before bed was a very happy time! We had a few beers with the local men and before dinner the family that was hosting us had a welcoming ceremony. In a room, we all gathered around a centerpiece filled with flowers, bananas and chocolate bars(!!) and we held onto the the centerpiece and the family said prayers. They then gave us all a dish each with a banana, chocolate bar, a hard-boiled egg and a bunch of colourful braided bracelets. We held the dish in our right hand and they sang and each person from the home came around the circle, took a bracelet from our dish, and then tied it to our wrist while saying a prayer. It was so, so sweet. The old ladies did it so well, soft and gentle, and the children did it as well - but with less of a soft touch. The children doing it made both jess and I almost cry, it was just so so sweet and magical. In fact, every time I glanced at the little girls all night i wanted to cry. They were so happy and so interested and so shy too. One little girl had a little bob haircut and big brown eyes, and I *could not* look at her - I got too homesick - little miranda.

After the Ceremony we had a Huuuuge family dinner - Piles of rice, loads of veggie dishes and sauces and fish sausage and eggs and fruit, it was TOO much, but so perfect! When we finished eating the family started playing music and singing! They asked us to sing, and since there were 4 canadians we sang the National Anthem for them! It was really fun/funny, and they all clapped after - probably didn't understand any of it! (Only our guide could speak English, so he always translated for all of us). After that they asked Johan to sing a song so he bravely sung his national anthem by himself and a man played the flute along. It was perfect... Soon after we went to bed! Sleep was good, but I got cold in the middle of the night and sheepishly didn't want to use my blanket with fear of hiding silverfish...

We were awoken at 5:30am where we dressed up and then went to give rice and wafers to passing monks. After that we ate a good breakfee- a grab what you want of rice, eggs, fish, cabbage and coffee. We soon walked for a few hours in HOT sun, passing some villages and trying new fruits and then arrived at another main village. From here we were taken on a tour of the locals working - weaving fabric and living their lives! We also passed thru a school yard full of playing, curious children. We then continued our hot walk for another couple of hours and eventually ended up at a lake where we had another good, cold lunch - this time with some delicious fried fish! After lunch we tuk tuked to another lake where we just sat on a sheltered dock for a while, drinking cold Pepsi and just hanging out, putting an end to our little learning adventure. We were driven home back to Savannakhet and now here I am - A little bit more tan. It was a wonderful Trek and i would highly suggest it to anyone passing by that wants a mild trek and wants to learn more about the locals and enjoy some good food and people. Unfortunately I don't know the name of the company at the moment, but if any travellers are reading this, just ask and I will find out.

Tomorrow we head further south. =)

More Laos Photos!

landon_marie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:33:00 GMT

I've added a few more photos from Luang Prabang - click here

Photos from Vang Vieng and tubing, - click here

And some new ones from Vientaine - click here

The Vientaine photos are from a place called Buddha Park - it's all
these bizarre, huge cement statues of Buddha and other religious
figures done by one artist. The main statue there is this huge round
interactive building that has hundreds of (creepy) sculptures inside.
The building has layers of floors eventually leading to the roof. In
the end we discovered a dark basement that we think represents Hell.
It was dark in the basement and so when we took photos we didn't know
what of until the camera flashed! All of the mystery photos ended up
being sculptures of people and creatures being tortured!!! so creepy.
I also got a bunch of sand flea bites in the basement =(

Vientaine is great, but it is really expensive. I mean the prices
aren't HORRIBLE, but the quality doesn't fit the price. So it's a bit
rubbish. Right now Dave and I are staying in a room with NO window -
well there is a window but it looks on into the main office. GREAT.
The room is clean and fine though - but it's just we've paid so much
less for way better places - with balconies and natural sunlight the
lot.There is lots to do here though, and there is some great food -
but again, its way, wayyy overpriced. We are taking a bus to Southern
Laos tomorrow. Will eventually be doing a two day Trek with Sean and
Jessica, then are heading down to 4000 islands. We've bought our
Vietnam Visa and are good to enter April 8th, so Vietnam soon, which I
am now really, really excited about =).

Gallery: Vientaine, Laos

landon_marie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:56:00 GMT

Gallery: Vang Vieng, Laos

landon_marie — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:55:00 GMT

Vang Vieng

landon_marie — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:29:00 GMT

We arrived in Vang Vieng a few days ago... Vang Vieng is a small town
in Laos that is mainly known for it's outdoor attractions - rivers and
great caves. Our free time there has been spent with 3 really great
friends so it made for a very comfortable experience. - We'd met up
with 2 friends from Vancouver , and had made good friends with a
Dutch boy. Our Vancouver friends are on the same route as us for about
2 weeks, but a few days ahead - so it has, and will be fun to meet up
with them when we can...

We finally did the famous Tubing in Vang Vieng - That Dave
and I had been looking forward to do since long before we ever left
for the trip. There were a few negative feelings experienced for me
thru-out that experience - me not having much of a tolerance for loud
drunk people, but I'd like to just tell the positive aspects of this,
so I'll try to be short on the neg. details - after all, we can still
try as hard as we can to enjoy OUR OWN experience.

So after the 5 of us had all done our morning mucking about we finally
met up around 1:00 to go TUBING. We were all really excited - it just
seems like something you *have* to do if you are in Laos. We went to
the shop where they systematically rent out tubes - you pay a fee, put
down a deposit and get a stamp on your hand. Then, as many people as
possible are jammed into a tuk tuk and an equal amount of tubes are
stacked on top of the tuk tuk ! - What a terribly amazing and funny
sight to see!!! Then the people and tubes are driven to the drop off
area up river.

Immediately at the drop off area there is BOOMING music coming from
about 4 different bars and stack and stacks of near-naked bodies and
equal stacks of tubes. - So our general idea was people have 'some'
drinks before they go. Hahah not so, it's like these peoples' goals
are to get shit-faced, and stay here ALL day jumping off trees and
playing on sketchy rope swings where there is an area of water to land
surrounded by ROCKS on each side. _ don't know, I can't convey it, it
was drunken chaos. Drunk people in swim shorts and bikinis that really
have no interest in tubing at all it seemed. We decided we wanted a
drink, but not at these first few busy crazy bars. SO we all hopped
into the water and tubed to nearby bars that were loud, but not so
CRAZY RAVE-Like. Every bar wants you to come in so the throw ropes at
you constantly to pull you in.

We chose a bar and got some Big Beer Laos. It was really, really nice
to have a cool beer and watch the river and tubers float by, with
amazing jungle mountains in the background. Every bar had rope swings,
and Dave was the first to take the swing! At the next bar we were
starting to feel good off of our beers, and they had a swing that
seemed a lot less sketchy than all the others - It was a zip line - so
you hang on and go a straight line, rather than a swing that can take
you any direction. And also it was the only jump where there was
clearly lots of room for for error - there was literally no way you
could not hit deep water. So, I did it!!! I've never done anything
like that before, the jump off point was about 40 ft' and then swooped
down a bit. Dave filmed me and my little limp body looks so
insignificant! And when I drop to the water my skinny limbs are
everywhere. From watching people before hand Jessica and I knew to
drop off before the end, as to not get flung really hard. Our friend
Johan however wanted to go to the end to 'do a trick' and it was a
very stupid idea. He ended up getting really injured from the impact.
He thought he may have broke if collar bone. So luckily we were still
close to the drop off point, and Sean got him in a tuk tuk to the
hospital. Turns out he had just severely pulled a muscle. So the poor
guy didn't get to continue.

Thank god (to me) the piles of bars with loud music and drinking are
only within 10 minutes of the start of tubing. - we ended up staying
at least 2 hours in that area - drinking and swinging, but after that
point is what I truly enjoyed. - Just floating on the river, in
quietness, looking at the mountains and the sun and NATURE. The only
complaint I have is that we are in dry season right now so it was VERY
slow. - To the point where most of the time we had to paddle along
otherwise not move at all. Also there were often times where the water
was so shallow we'd get stuck and have to walk! So, I would highly
suggest, if it's in your control, that if you ever plan to do this,
come when the water flows a little more! But not too much more, or
it's dangerous. - But it was too slow and shallow for us.

We ended up tubing only an hour and a half - when we could have gone 2
more hours down river. If we brought our tubes back by 6pm we got our
deposit back, and the river was just so slow that we prob wouldn't
have gotten back until 8 if we went the whole way. So, clever tuk tuk
drivers hang out at certain areas of the river and will take you back
if you don't wish to continue floating.

So, it truly was a fun experience, but my heart just can't help but be
dampened by all the 20-somethings that just don't give a shit about
experiencing real life and feel the need to be completely out of their
minds to enjoy something as simple and pleasurable as floating down a
beautiful river. To Each their own - I want to say, and I hate to
stray from my blog topic - but I have been meaning to make an entry on
how embarrassed I am of some of the people my age here. I won't write
it right now, but hopefully soon I can get permission to post a blog
entry of a friend of mine. She is an excellent writer and has written
a good piece with regards to some of the tourists here, and she's
probably being a lot nicer than she wants to be, or how I would be. -
And I think it is a worthy topic. Anyway, soon.

We are in Vientaine Now, Only have been for a day, and again it is
Lovely, Laos is LOVELY. I will hopefully post some photos by tomorrow
=)

More photos

landon_marie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:56:00 GMT

I've added a bunch of photos!

A few more from Pai - Pai Photos

Some from Mae Hong Son - Mai Hong Son Photos

And Luang Prabang! - Luang Prabang photos

My spirit is picking up again, photos are easy to upload, hopefully
some more blog stories in the next few days =) - Luang Prabang is
still BEAUTIFUL. - Leaving tomorrow though.

Dave and I have met up again. I won't go into details but we are going to try to make traveling together work. - Work in a way it hasn't worked before. Living more for the moment and reaching out to make friends. I still care about Dave very much and want to share all of this with him. anyway...

I still don't feel up to writing about the boat, it was amazing - but just too much to hash out right now...

Have been happily exploring Luang Prabang. The otehr day Dave and I and a group of freinds all took a 45 minute tuk-tuk ride up to some waterfalls. - It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful plces I've EVER been. So peacful and calm, birds chirping, butterflies EVERYWHERE. One even landed on my face for a minute! - Dave got a photo of that with his camera. There we about 5 or 6 different fall areas - all of which you cold swim in. The water was refreshing and cool. I will forever go back there in my head =)

Gallery: Luang Prabang, Laos

landon_marie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:51:00 GMT

Gallery: Mae Hong Son, Thailand

landon_marie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:50:00 GMT