Man... the suburbs

So realizing now that I'm in the suburbs, not a fan so much. The cost of the local ghetto bus system has gone up cause people don't want to pay taxes, thanks clark county citizens. And it is unseasonably cold at th emoment, and I'm freezing! Today, inside the house I was wearing fleece pants, sweatshirt, down vest, wool hat, and scarf, under 2 blankets, and I was still cold. Blah!

And I forgot how no one walks anywhere in the suburbs. I walked down the road to the bus park and ride, and felt like a freak, no one else was on the sidewalks and cars were annoyed that they had to wait for me to pass.

Was gonna take some pictures of rockin' vancouver, but way too cold to stand outside any longer than necessary. But will put some up soon! exciting

Thanksgiving

Yes Daddo keeps turning the heat down so we have to resort to wearing our winter outer wear indoors. I am still full from all the carbs i've consumer the past few days. Mmmm carbs.

and so our journey comes to an end...

random musings on the many traveling-

Best beach and overall favorite- perhentians, perhentians, perhentians!

Worst beach and worst overall- pattaya- yuck

best english- obviously singapore- followed by malaysia

best temples- angkor wat

best town- luang prabang, Laos

worst bus ride- vietnam to laos- 25.5 hours

best guide- Man, Taman negara, malaysia

i'm sure this list could go on, but getting tired and should try to get to bed cause I have to get up at 5;30 again tomorrow!

so all you portanders- give me an email or a call sometime this weekend. Seattle people, i might get up there soon to visit Tegan- i'll let you know


well thats all folks- dekita!-- though i do like posting- so maybe i'll put up some pictures of the family reunion

heeeeeeehhhhhhhh

So i walk into my bangkok guesthouse and who's here but yayoi, a former student! how crazy is that?

Today I went on a little shopping run, visited loft one last time (the best store ever!) and watched a dance movie- it was awesome! called step up, has anyone seen it/ A cross between Save the last Dance and You Got Served. Brilliant!

soon i will be home in the couve- good times

cambodia travel buddies

Cheri, Natalie, Gez at the silver pagoda- its silver on the inside!

More cool doors

the palae grounds, Phnom Penh cambodia

Last Day in Siem Reap

Today I spent a few hours by myself at Angkor Wat while the others went to the genocide museum. It was great, I looked at all the Bas Reliefs that I missed the first day, as it was our last stop and we were pretty tired. They were beautiful, amazing- I felt quite overwhelmed and got a bit teary I was so excited and happy to finally be there and see it for myself, it was incredible. There was a scene from the Ramayana which of course excited me, I got to see my favorite monkey Hanoman, probably the last sighting in awhile.

I also got a massage today by a blind guy at this place called Seeing Hands and it was absolutely fabulous and I felt fantastic afterwards, I nearly fell asleep at one point I was so relaxed.

Another thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that we befriended a kid called Ben, who sells books to tourists to earn money to go to school. Cambodian school is free but its only 5 years. If they want to go after that its $10 a month for English school. He's a smart kid, we fed him and he told us he goes to school 7-11, comes home for lunch, then sells books till 11 at night. And he's 14 and does it everyday, on weekends just selling books all day. Unbelievable! As one of the guys said, we hope he's conning us and has a nice big house to go home to. Also saw a photo exhibit where a teacher had given street kids cameras to take pictures of the tourists at the temples, they had little biographies under them that were heartbreaking. So many kids here have nothing, its hard to imagine in this posh backpacker area.

Tomorrow bussing to phnom penh, no time to see anything, just hang out, catch an early flight to Bangkok, where I plan on stocking up on cheap toiletries and clothes, then back to the good old US of A- still can't picture myself back there yet..

Monk hanging out at Angkor Wat

Climbing the stairs at all these temples can be a bit scary, very steep, I don't know how they did it. The carvings are beautiful and so intricate in many places, its amazing they are in such good shape considering how long the temples were abondoned to the jungle.

Siem Reap is nothing like I expected Cambodia to be like- the backpacker area has a street with ridiculously posh looking bars and restaurants, its like where am I? Insane! But apparently its nothing like this anywhere else in cambodia. Ran into some people that were on the boat tour in Halong Bay with me, funny how that happens on the backpacker trail. Been hanging out with 3 UK folks and tuk-tukking around the past 2 days, tomorrow we may not do any temples as we're templed out, though I may go back to some from the 1st day and have an easy hour walking around. (Sze and Simon- I think you'd die climbing up a few of these!)

It's hard to believe I'm going to be home in less than a week.. weird!

I remember seeing these ladies in a textbook

Gate to Angkor Tom

The famous Khmer smile. The Bayon is covered with these heads smiling down at everyone

Elephant Terrace

I am so much cooler than Angelina Joli

I'm so excited to finally be here!

In front of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat yipee!!!

oh yay the upload function is working now- this is the main temple, so huge!

Angkor Wat

I'm so excited to see this temple complex finally! Have spent the past 2 days temple viewing and its absolutely amazing! And again I'm in a very art-history excitement moment- now I've seen all the SE Asian temples I learned about in uni, woohoo! Wanted to post several more pictures but the server is too busy- so will try again soon.

the trees grow right over the temple walls

helps give you some idea of just how old these stuctures are

Check out the grass growing out of the tops

The carvings here are 1000 years old

Night Market

Tonight's my last night in Luang Prabang, I'm going to miss this place, its fantastic! The night market is so nice, look at all that beautiful silk. I won't miss Lao Lao (Lao whiskey)- travellers be warned, that stuff is potent!

Tomorrow its back on the long bus ride back to Vientiane to fly out to Siem Reap early the next morning. I have 8 days of holiday left- gonna fly by. But Thanksgiving awaits mmmmmm. And the book-induced coma of Powells!

Royal Palace

The tower seemed to glow at twilight

Volunteering at Big Brother Mouse

Today I did a little volunteering with another American woman at this place called Big Brother Mouse, a fairly new kids literacy organization in Luang Prabang. It was started by a foreigner, they write publish childrens books, as there aren't that many in Lao and most people can't afford them anyway. It's a pretty neat idea, they sponsor story times and give away books, and encourage travellers to buy some and give them away if they're travelling further on in Laos. They also employ some of the local teens, and they appreciated having a chance to practice English with us. We helped paint a few signs- though in the sense that little kids help their parents cook, they took over after we moved too slow. If anyone is traveling through the area and you have time, check them out, Luang Prabang is so small that it shouldn't be a problem to find it. Their website is under construction, but its www.bigbrothermouse.com if anyone wants to check it out.

Kayaking on the Nam Kham River, Laos

Went on a day kayaking trip today and it was great! My arms are a bit sore though, not used to all that muscle use. I went tandem with our guide cause I felt I needed a babysitter, not confident enough to do it by myself. We still managed to tip over after running the smallest rapid ever, the guides' paddle kinda got caught in a whirlpool effect, and over we went. But the water was warm and calm, so it was ok. We stopped for a few hours for lunch at the most beautiful falls I've ever seen- clear turqouisey blue water, cascading over limestone with tall trees growing in the falls, it was amazing! Had a nice swim, used the falls as a back massager, and had a leisurely lunch before getting back in the boats. It was nice to do something active since I can't go hiking, stupid foot.

Lovely Waterfall on the Nam Kham River

Look at that beautiful water!

Local Fisherman

Little kids wear a face mask and stick their heads in the water, catching tiny fish with their bare hands, pretty impressive! Looks so funny to see all of them with their heads in the water.

Trick or Treat!

Call me a heathen, but the collecting alms procession looks suspiciously like Halloween- young boys dressed in orange, collecting goodies in buckets.

Got up at dawn to watch this daily ceremony, believers (or tourists, apparently) give handfuls of sticky rice or some other treats to each young novice. Now there are people walking around trying to sell the tourists rice for this purpose, but I read a sign at a temple asking to not give alms unless you mean it, so they're trying to maintain the integrity of the ceremony at least.

Young Monks collecting alms

Pak Ou caves

Went with 2 other travelers to Pak Ou yesterday, a nice boat ride up the Mekong from Luang Prabang. The caves themselves weren't terribly exciting- steep stairs, incense, and lots of dusty Buddha figurines. The upper cave was a bit more interesting with drawings on the walls. After we got back we had a late lunch and then watched the sunset. Had planned to get a massage, but there just aren't enough hours in the day for the busy backpacker, so I made sure I squeezed it in this afternoon- and it was fabulous!

The view from the boat was nicer than the caves

Sunset over the Mekong

Luang Prabang, Laos

Got here yesterday evening after another bus ride, and it is a lovely town. The road you have to take to get here is known to have bandits occasionally, so on the bus there are guys with rifles under their jackets- I didn't know what they were at first cause they're covered up and I've never really seen a rifle, so was surprised when the guy on the bus slipped it over his shoulder as he got off, a bit scary. But there were no problems, thank god. When we got here the night market was going on, its pretty touristy but there are a lot of nice handicrafts for sale, so its not the typical t-shirt and keychain crap that I hate.

Today went to the Royal Museum, wasn't that exciting but there was a display of gifts from other countries, including a plaque from Richard Nixon with some tiny moon rocks from the Appollo 11 so we thought that was funny. There was also a nice photo exhibit of monks in meditation from one of the many local temples.

Like in Vientiane, you can't shake a stick without hitting a temple, so just went to a few to avoid getting templed out too quickly. The one I posted pictures from was the best- beautiful glass mosaics on the walls picturing scenes of local life, and the golden building with all the Ramayana scenes. (I feel so art-history educated that I can recognize them! Yay school!) Luang Prabang seems like a nice place to relax, and there are several trekking or boating day trips you can take, I'm going to look into going on a rafting trip hopefully. Might rent a bicycle tomorrow and do some more wandering.

Important temple whose name I can't remember...

One of the most important temples in Luang Prabang. I find it interesting that a buddhist temple is covered with Ramayana imagery, but I was excited because I love the Ramayana so much.

Scene from the Ramayana

Thats Rama, Laksmana, Hanoman (my favorite!), and Sinta. The ramayana is an old Hindu story, one of my favorites, lots of drama and great characters.

Lovely river that joins with the Mekong

Novice Monks

Vientiane, Laos

Had a lovely day today, an Aussie girl and I rented bicycles and rode around aimlessly for the morning and afternoon, and it was great. We saw several temples and spoke with a monk, the temples here look very similar to Thai ones, but here they have a lot of paintings along the walls, more so than the few Thai temples I saw. We rode along a dirt rode that followed the river, the locals are very friendly and a few seemed surprised to see foreigners in that area, we only met a few others. I am in love with the dried chili they have here its so good, I put a lot in my soup today, and I bought a small package that I'm hoping I'll be able to get back in the states, mmm mmm! This seems like a good place for wandering around and having tea at little cafes, quite the lifestyle. Tomorrow I'm going a bit farther north to Luang Prabang, every ones always raves about how great it is so I'm looking forward to it. I want to try to go rafting there, theres some nearby trips you can go on, and some nice waterfalls. Not sure how long I'll stay, I have to be back here by the 14th to catch my crack of dawn flight to Cambodia the next morning. It would be nice to spend more time in Laos, but you can't do everything, maybe on another trip.

Don't know if I've mentioned that the harsh reality of life back home is really going to hit me in the face- I haven't cooked, cleaned, done laundry, or anything remotely like work in 2 months. And here the weather is lovely, I can do what I feel like and have a nice relaxed time. Back home it will be crap weather, and I have to find a job and possbly drive, yuck. So am gonna take full advantage of the time I have left- I feel so lucky to be traveling. sigh.
(P.S. to Meg hooper/alvarez- did you change your name? anyway, hit the reply button to those emails once in awhile yo!)

Mekong River

Lao Buddhist Temple

We rode by so many temples today when we were biking through the back streets

Local artwork for sale

Lovely drawings on display near our guesthouse, that's Rebecca, an Aussie I'm rooming with.

I like taking pictures of doors

Cool Buddha window, Inpeng Temple

Possibly the best sign I've seen yet

I can think of someone who should go here... can anyone guess? :-)

25.5 Hours is a long, long time for a bus ride

Hey all, I'm in Vientiane, Laos and it is lovely though have only been here since the afternoon. I left Hoi An, Vietnam at 2pm yesterday and arrived at 3:30 today- yikes! Knew it would be a long trip but was mislead by the booking agent- everyone told me I would take the bus to Dong Ha, stay the night in a hotel, and get up early to cross the border. So I bought the ticket from the place that was an extra $6 cause they included the hotel room in the price. Then I found out that only the people going to southern Laos stayed in a hotel- I went up to Vinh, in the north, waited about 2 hours for another bus heading to the border, where they parked the bus and we slept until they opened the border at 7am. The bus wasn't full so it could have been a lot worse, but I couldn't really sleep because some of the worlds loudest snorers I've ever heard were also on the bus- not cool! Anyway, once we crossed the border (they nearly forgot me- a Bangladeshi family had to make them stop cause I wasn't through immigration yet- what a nightmare that would have been to be left at the border!) the scenery in Laos was stunning. It took a long time to get to the city because we had to cross a steep mountain range on little roads and the bus was straining to get up the hills. I wish we would have stopped so I could have taken some photos, but sadly we didnt' so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was beautiful. Steep, craggy, limestone peaks, rainforesty plants, and the locals all built their wood houses on stilts, quite the idyllic environment. Laos is still a fairly quiet place, and Vientiane seems very relaxed and laid back. Looking forward to exploring it tomorrow.

And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?

I've been in Hoi An the past several days, my last real stop in Vietnam. Tomorrow I take a bus headed to Laos, we stop for the night near the border and should get to Vientiane in the afternoon. Then it's a week in Laos, hop a flight to Cambodia, and I'll spend the last of my sightseeing time at Angkor Wat, have been looking forward to going there for a long time.

Hoi An is all about shopping shopping shopping. There are more than a hundred tailor shops where you can get anything made that you want- I've got shoes, a suit, a dress, and a shirt, so am feeling good in the shopping department. The town is cute, lots of nice cafes and restaurants to hang out in, but the sightseeing was a bit dissapointing. You buy a ticket to see several sights in the "old town," but what that really turns out to mean is that you pay to go visit glorified souvenir shops in the form of museums and old houses. But the temples and convention halls were nice, and you get to watch a music performance- a very touristy one, but the playing was still nice. They have a Japanese covered bridge here too- that also doesn't look Japanese to me- but the one in Hue was nicer, and had a better setting.

Today I went to My Son ruins, they were very nice, and in a mountain setting that was gorgeous. Smaller than I expected, but lovely anyway- lots of red brick ruins and a few statues still around that have lost their heads, I think its so sad that people stole the heads off.

Anyway, looking forward to Laos. I don't have much time there, but I wanted to go because everyone who's been loves it. I had thought about continuing a bit down south in Vietnam, but the visibility is pretty bad now and time is running short, so maybe next time.

Temple, central Hoi An

Lantern Shop

Plant ID quiz for Tegan

Tegs, do you know what this is? I have no idea, I just thought it was pretty :-)

Touristy Picture!

I asked a Japanese tourist to take this one for me, and I impressed him with my "jozu" nihon-go! (Excuse me, picture please? Thank you. Yes, its ok)

My Son

not quite up to Indonesian standards, but nice nonetheless

My Son Ruins

World Heritage Site My Son, old hindu temple ruins about an hour drive from Hoi An