This is why I travel...

Angkor Wat at Sunrise

Temple Dancers

My philosophy on life....

Heavy day in Cambodia

Today was definitely a highlight of the trip, but also probably the heaviest and darkest day of the trip. Today we went to S21 and the killing fields, home to millions of Cambodian deaths in only 3 years.

S21 is a former high school converted into a prison and torture centre. Much of the building hasn't been touched...right down to the blood stains still visible on the floors and the piles of sculls left on the site as a warning to other prisoners. Out of the tens of thousands of people imprisoned there in the 3 years it was operational, only 7 survives remained when it was liberated by the Vietnamese in 1978.

40 minutes out of town is the other half of the story Home to over 20 thousand deaths, part of the overall 2-3 million deaths that took place in the span of 3 years, the killing fields are exactly what they say they are. After the guards had extracted all they could from the prisoners, they were loaded into trucks in the middle of the night and taken to mass graves in the countryside to be exterminated. They warned us it would be graphic, but much of the graves have only been partially excavated, leaving bones and teeth and bits of clothing to come out of the soil over time. It's a completely eerie sensation of having to watch where you step to keep from stepping on people's bones. The centre of the grounds features a huge tower maybe 3-4 stories high, with level upon level of human sculls that they've excavated. It was definitely a lot to take in.

We were eager to get away from all that death. After a fantastic lunch at the foreign correspondents club (where all the rich English journalists hang out) we went to the royal palace (lots of photos there) and finally took a tuktuk back to the hotel.

Now it's time for a quick shower, then a nap before a nice dinner at the best restaurant in town! You're finally caught up!

I've been a bad blogger....

Sorry everyone! I had planned on writing daily updates, but it's been a busy few days!

On the 24 in Ho chi min city, we said goodbye to 3 from our tour group, and picked up another 3 for the very last leg of the tour, Cambodia. I exchanged an Italian roommate for an American one, and off we went!

First up was a day long trip on the Mekong river delta, visiting a floating market, having a traditional lunch...it was nice! (though this now being the third or fourth trip on the river, its lost any novelty...still cool though!)

Yesterday we said goodbye to Vietnam and crossed the border into Cambodia after an hour spent waiting for travel visas. It was a long 6 hours on the bus, and everyone was happy when we finally arrived at the bus station in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. A quick tuktuk ride to the hotel and we were home.

We had just enough time for a quick orientation walk of the area before we were picked up by a group of 15 men on cyclos (think of a bike/rickshaw hybrid, with one big back wheel and 2 small front wheels under a basket that holds passengers) for an hour-long tour around downtown Phnom Penh. It's actually a pretty cool charity that runs the tours...they hire homeless and handicapped men (a group that is typically forgotten by most charity organizations here) and give them a good job. My driver was obviously the winner of 'pimp my cyclo'...he had reflective tape and old cd's stuck on it to make it blinged out...it was great! Then dinner at an orphanage-run resteraunt, and an hour-long film about the atrocities that happened in Cambodia in the 70's. I'll post more on that in another post. That's enough words for this one post!

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Listening to: the hum of the air conditioner on high, and the sound of the traffic in the street.
Current Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Craving: Clean laundry!
Philosophical question: which is worse...the sunburn, or the peeling and itching that comes after. I'm going crazy with the itching!
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Just another day in the Mekong Delta...

Sobriety is for Suckers

Henceforth, I will be throwing our all my wine glasses, and replacing them with children's sand buckets. That is all.
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Current location: I don't know. I'm not so sober or anything.
Dunno: yeah, exactly.
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Hoi An

Today we end our 3 days in Hoi An and fly to Saigon. Hoi An has been fantastic! Yesterday we got the first sun that we've seen in close to a week. We rented bikes and rode first to a nearby pottery village, then on to the beach. It was beautiful! (and I got really really sunburnt everywhere. New lesson...sunscreen has an expiry date. Also, sunburns under the arms hurt...especially when you're carrying a bloody heavy backpack!)

Now we wait for our bus to the airport. It's so hot I'm sweating just sitting in the lobby! I couldn't wear my jeans for the flight (to reduce weight restrictions on my bag) because my shins are lobster red. Wish me luck!
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Current Location: Hoi An, Vietnam.
Listening to: the bus pulling up
Craving: a bath full of ice cubes!
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Perfect day?

Plans for my day/my day so far...
- it's warm out (finally!)
- dress shopping (made-to-measure, custom fit...and cheap!)
- drinks by the river, followed by more beer while shopping some more.
- Laundry. Ok, it's maybe not a perfect day, but this is minor)
- Beer Hoi! (sitting in the road drinking beer for 15 cents a mug...awesome!)
- Vietnamese cooking class
- eating our freshly made Vietnamese food.
- Dress fitting
- more beer, or switching to $2 gin and tonics

A perfect day? Or THE perfect day?

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Current Location: Hoi An. Awesomeness!
Listening to: horns and cars and me coughing. And some weird noise that sounds like a video game, that's coming from the plumbing.
Next stop: drop the laundry off, then it's beer hoi o'clock!
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As a kid I never thought...

...that I'd spend a night dancing my ass off to music I wouldn't dance to in high school, in the only club in some random Vietnamese city.
Current Location: just back from the bar
Listening to: mambo #5 in my head. Did you know there's a dance to it?! Who knew! Who also knew I'm a terrible dancer...oh wait...everyone. G'night everyone!
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I'm a part of history

DMZ bar, Hue, Vietnam

Busy busy!

Sorry for no updates but it's been a busy few days!

On Thursday we said goodbye to 2 girls from our tour group of 7 and met 9 more that would be joining us. This more than doubled our group, so the dynamic has changed a little, but it's definitely still a blast, for the most part they're pretty fun people!

Friday we set out early on a 4 hour drive to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO world heritage site known for its stunning cliffs and junk sailing ships. We lived aboard for a night in probably the nicest rooms we've stayed in of the whole trip (hardwood floors, teak bathrooms with showers in every cabin) while we sailed around part of the bay. (I have a million photos of random rocky cliffs. Be warned)

Saturday we drove back to Hanoi, had a few hours off, then had to be back to catch a 13 hour night train from Hanoi to Hue. 4 of us wandered around Hanoi a bit in our free time there (without getting hit by cars!) and 2 of us even managed to grab a "bir hoi" ("how the locals drink"...for 5000 dong (about 25 cents) you get a pint of half-decent beer to enjoy while sitting on the street corner. Picture 2 westerners and about a dozen old Vietnamese men sitting on the street together. It was awesome, AND we still made it in time for the train!

The night train went ok, though it was far less comfortable than our last one. This time my cabin decided to turn in early, so I took my beer and cup of noodles and went to a cabin a few doors down (where we sat around drinking and talking for a few more hours. That's the best part of night trains! The worst part unfortunately is that the beds are built for your typical Vietnamese person....not for anyone over about 5'8". I managed to get some sleep, though there were a few others not quite so lucky.)

So that brings us to today, in Hue. After a lovely buffet breakfast overlooking the city, we went on a walk around the downtown core, in the pouring rain. (now if I was smart if have skipped this...my cold has progressed into a terrible cough...but I'm not that smart) Now we've got a bit of time before a few of us are hiring motorbikes (yes mom, with drivers) to take us around to a few of the more remote sites to see.

I can not wait till we head further south and it starts getting warmer. Hanoi was between 5-10 degrees, the boat was even colder. Hue is a few degrees warmer than that, but raining. We're hoping the sun finally comes out for our 3 says in Hoi An after this. Keep your fingers crossed!

Sounds Safe to Me!

"...let's rent motorbikes and drive through the countryside in the pouring rain."

Sounds like fun, let's do it! I'll let you know if I make it back alive!
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Current Location: Hue (pronounced "hway", Vietnam.
Listening to: horns honking on the street outside the hotel.
Hoping: not to drown! It's pouring outside! I can't wait till we get back to warmer weather.

No Facebook in Vietnam?

It's going to be a long 11 days in Vietnam at this rate. According to the tour leader (and now my own experience) there's little to no access to Facebook over here. (being a communist country, they have a "green curtain", or an Internet filter to keep certain outside information from coming in.)

Just in case anyone was wondering why I'm not responding!
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Current location: Hanoi, Vietnam.
Listening to: my own sniffling. I'be got a wicked head cold keeping me awake all night. Damn you air conditioning!
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I can see the future....

...I'm going to die after being hit by a motorbike in Hanoi. Holy jeeze!!

So my parents don't worry....

No, I did not blow up in Bangkok.

I've had a few people text me to make sure I wasn't caught in a recent "terrorist" bombing a few days ago in Bangkok. Those who remember, it's eerily similar to the last time I was backpacking, with the london bombings happening just as I left that city.

The story we're getting in the papers here is actually pretty funny.

So this ?Iranian? (I think) decides he wants to set off grenades in central Bangkok. Not being particularly adept at this, he manages to set one off in his house instead, injuring himself. He decides to try and flag down a passing taxi, but the taxi fails to stop for a man covered in blood. So he throws a grenade at the taxi!

The driver sustained minor injuries, but the blast alerted the police to the area. Once the police showed up, he threw a grenade at them too! Only, in true Darwin fashion...it bounces off something and lands back at his feet, blowing off both his legs.

So no need to worry, I'm still in one piece!

Vientiane

I'm trying to get caught up here, I'm a bit behind.

We arrived in Vientiane by bus from Vang Vieng yesterday. Vientiane is the capital of Laos, and home to a number of foreign companies and embassies. Right away, I like this city! It may be the capital, but it's very small. Most of Laos is over-run with motorbikes rather than cars, but you can feel the foreign money here. The bars and cars are all western. It honestly feels more like a small suburb of a big city rather than the downtown core. The buildings are beautiful, you can clearly see the French influence in the architecture.

The weather is hot and incredibly humid though, almost unbearably so. We didn't have much planned here, there's not much to see. A quick tuktuk ride to see the golden stupa and a temple and we were done. Today was a visit to the national museum, and now we're waiting for our ride to the airport.

This afternoon we fly from Vientiane to Hanoi, our first city in Vietnam. There we say goodby to 2 girls on our trip, and pick up 9 new travelers. Almost time for part 2 of the trip!
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Current location: still in Vientiane, Laos.
Lesson learned today: Leaving the air conditioning on high overnight leaves you with a rather wicked head cold. I cant stop sniffling and sneezing. Hoping this goes away fast!

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is the frat party that I never had in college.

After a 7 hour bus ride through winding bumpy roads, we arrived in Vang Vieng, a 2-road town in the remote Laos countryside. The one and seemingly only thing the town is famous for is tubing.

Just like at home, teenagers rent innertubes and float down the river as a way to cool off from the heat. Which sounded pretty damn good to us!

Unfortunately, it's a prime example of westerners taking over a town and destroying anything good about it. I'm not particularly a fan of teenage frat parties, but that's essentially what the town turns into every night. Drugs are rampant, binge drinking the norm. Garbage is everywhere...it was disgusting.

The party starts up stream, where you get your tube, then proceed to float between a dozen or so bars built on the water. I know it sounds like fun, but the whole point of going is to get hammered...there's very little time spent in the water. Apparently 22 people died in the last year, 2 in the last month. Teens get high and drunk and dive off the cliffs into shallow water. So we ate at a nearby restaurant and turned around and went home.

All in all Vang Vieng was near to see, but not somewhere I would stay for any amount of time.
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Current location: Vientiane, Laos. (I'm a few days behind in posting)
Listening to: Not much. Sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for our bus to the airport.
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Rihanna is stalking me

It's true, she is.

I don't know the name of the song, but it's spooky how it keeps following me. Even other people are commenting on it now.

Though it's made remarkably more tolerable if you're drinking
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Current location: Vientiane, Laos
Listening to: "we found love in a hopeless place". Whatever that song is. It's everywhere.
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Day 3 in Louang Prabang

Today was our "free day" in Louang Prabang, so there were no activities planned by the tour leader, we were responsible for finding things to do on our own. Just about everyone decided to take a half day excursion to an elephant refuge.

Once there, we went on a trail ride with the elephants for an hour, then got to go swimming with them! I decided to ride sitting on the elephants neck, though they also provided a bench to sit on if you wanted to instead. It took a while to get over the feeling that you were going to fall face first off the elephant, but once you got used to it, it was similar to horse riding. Use your thighs to hold yourself on, your arms keep you upright. By the end of the trip my arms and legs were both shaking. After the trail ride, they led the elephants down to the river, and we got to swim around them and sit and stand on them while they splashed around. (and threw us off) It was awesome fun, though I'm sore today!

After that another girl and myself went to the folk arts museum and did a class on the natural clothing dyes they have here. It was ok, but rather boring. Meeting up with the group we went to dinner then out for drinks, as is the norm now. Overall, a very entertaining day!
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Current location: Luang Prabang, Laps. Though today we drive 7 hours to Vang Vieng. Not looking forward to this!
Listening to: roosters crowing. It's 6:30am here. I thought I was supposed to be on vacation!
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Kuang-Sii waterfalls

This was taken after a hike to the very top of the falls, across the running water, then back down the other side. Then a few of us went for a much deserved swim! (and thank you Jacqui for lending me your water camera, we had great fun with it!)

Floating down the river

Now that I'm back in wifi, I can get people caught up!

For the last 2 days, we've been on a slow boat down the Mekong rive. Making our way from Chiang Khong, Thailand, across the river into Laos, then down the Mekong first to the sleepy little overnight village of Pakbeng, finally arriving in Luang Prabang late afternoon yesterday.

Luang Prabang is a larger Laotian village of a couple thousand people, but its largely over-run with backpackers. Everywhere you look there are white folks, more so than anywhere else we've been so far. Its sunny, hot and humid, at least 30 degrees I think.

Earlier today we visited the arts and ethnology museum, followed by the unexploded ordinance museum (Did you know Laos is the worlds most bombed country? It had more bombs dropped on it during the Vietnam war than were dropped in all of world war 2) Now we're just about to head out into the hills to see a famous waterfall (I won't even attempt the name) where we'll get to swim and cool off! Then dinner at a traditional Laotian home this evening, and probably a visit to the night market. It's a busy day!

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Currently in: Luang Prabang, Laos
Listening to: the little waterfall outside our hotel, and the other travelers talk about soccer

Welcome to Laos

Today we made the crossing from Thailand to Laos. It started out with a boat trip across the Mekong and an hour spent in line getting a Laos visa. We then boarded a beautiful long private boat for the first half of a 2-day trip down the Mekong. 8 hours of open water, sunshine, and warm breezes, sitting around, reading, and a quick visit to a rural village...it was fantastic! We're docked in Pak Beng for the night, which is humid but beautiful. We're in the mood for a break from rice and noodles, so we're doing eaat Indian. Tomorrow it's back on the boat!
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Currently in: Pak Beng, Laos
Listening to: the group discussing Starbucks and Tim hortons and British passports
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You have to be here to understand, but...

The smell of the incense. I love it.

I think one of my most favorite parts of the entire trip so far is when you catch a whiff of incense from a shrine or monument as you pass. Incense is everywhere here, and the surprising, sweet scent is a pleasure I can't properly describe in words. Those who've been there know what I mean. I wish I could bottle that feeling!

Chiang Mai

(I realized I've been spelling it wrong every time I talk about it. Sorry city!)

We arrived yesterday morning in Chiang Mai, which is a few hours outside of Bangkok. I'm liking it far more than Bangkok. It's still the city of a couple million people, but it seems to have a much more relaxed pace. It's still busy, we went to the night market last night which was absolutely packed, but you can walk down a normal street here without vendors chasing you around to buy things.

Yesterday evening we went to Doi suthep, a Buddhist monastery in the hills overlooking Chiang Mai. We managed to time it right, and actually got to see the monks in their orange robes chanting. It was pretty amazing!

Today is a fairly relaxed day. I think a little walk around town for a while, then we board a boat for the start of a 2 day float down the Mekong river. Not sure when I'll have Internet access again, but I'll write when I can!

P.s. with help from auntie Nancy, my text works now! Woo!
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Current location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Listening to: the birds outside the hotel. We're in a nice area, off the main street, so it's quiet and peaceful here.
Missing: my mattress! The beds here are rock hard, I haven't had a good nights sleep since I got here!
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Chiang Mai

A really quick one!

I'm still alive! Just a quick post (I have 2 min of time left). I met up with our tour group yesterday, there's 7 of us for the first 2 weeks.  We're leaving Bangkok tonight on a night train for Chang Mai (yes, I'm spelling that wrong I think) so we're all stocked up on snack foods and beer for the trip! Not sure when I'll have internet access again, but I'll write when I can!

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Currently in: Bangkok still, only a few minutes longer!
Best thing about today: The first taste of beer on a sweltering hot day after wandering around the grand palace for an hour. Sitting in the air conditioning, watching people walk by, sipping my beer....It was perfect!
Listening to: Piano music in the hotel lobby
Where to next: Off to Chang Mai tonight!
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Time for the show to really start!

Later today I meet up with the tour group for the first time. That's when the action really starts, and I move beyond Bangkok, first to Chang Mai, then continuing north.

The last 2 days have been good!

Thursday I managed to find my way to Wat Arun (a Wat is a temple, FYI) and met a rather nice German girl along the way. We decided to keep each other company, wandering around the temple for an hour taking photos. She's staying in the backpacker district of Kho San Road, so we decided to walk the couple dozen blocks to the area. Just a few blocks shy of our target we were hit with a massive rainstorm which left us (and a dozen or so other strangers) huddled under shop awnings to try and stay dry. After almost an hour we finally gave up and jumped in a cab for the last few blocks, and dashed into the nearest bar we could find. Watching the rain while drinking a beer was far more relaxing than standing next to a street vendor frying fish!

Yesterday was boring by comparison. I decided to be smart and look at the forecast, which called for similar heavy rainstorms all day. Deciding not to get caught out again, I stuck close to the hotel again, getting a few simple chores done. (along with a manicure and pedicure, lol) Ironically, because I was expecting it, the rain never came...that is, till now. It's absolutely pouring out now, and the sound of the rain on the tin roofs of the shacks behind the hotel sounds like gunfire. May as well get up!

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Current location: Bangkok (1 more night to go!)
Listening to: rain on the tin roof outside. It makes me smile.
Craving: not a whole lot at the minute!
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What's black and blue and sore all over?

Me!

Thanks to the massive rain storm (storm being an understatement!) that hit while trying to get to Kho San road today, my new jeans turned my legs blue. Even better, the new black sanded I've been wearing have steadily caused black tiger stripes all over my feet. (which combined with the blisters, give me some terrible looking feet. I'll spare you that photo...)

My love of walking wherever I need to go (also known as "being too cheap to pay for a train when it's not THAT far") has every muscle in my lower body mad at me. Which isn't really a bad thing really. I'm just wishing now I would have sprung for the cheap foot massages on KSR.

Wat Arun

Musings on driving in Bangkok...

You have to be freaking insane to do it!

That is all.

Day 1, out and about

This is technically a day late, but I was exhausted when I made it back to the hotel last night, I was asleep by 730 (and awake by 1130pm...that was a long night)

Anyways, yesterday being my first real day in Bangkok, I didn't want to plan too much. I decided just to walk the street and see what I could find.

It was a rather uneventful day, except for one moment. While walking through yet another mall (I'll admit...I was there for the free air conditioning) I was stopped by an east Indian guy around my age. He said I had a very kind face, he could sense I was a very kind and lucky person. He went on to explain that he was something of a psychic, that he could tell different things about me, and asked of we might get a coffee so he could tell me more. I figured what the hell, why not?

For the cost of a coffee, I learned:
- the last 5 years have not been lucky ones. 2012 is a very lucky year for me apparently!
- I have a ghost baby that follows me.
- there is someone who recently went from being a friend to showing their true colors, that they were very jealous. (It made me laugh, that part was spot on...though the part where he went on to say they cursed me by "taking pieces of my hair and my clothing, and going to a graveyard to lay a curse on me" seems maybe a little far fetched?)
- I will live a very long life (85-90 years...I'm going to eat something that'll kill me...and here I thought I would get hit by a car crossing the road here in Bangkok!)

I think that's all I can remember? He was insistent that he had more to share, but I had to meet him for dinner to hear more. He's sweet, but I'd rather not end up robbed or murdered, do I parted ways. All in all, worth the pennies it cost me for the coffee!

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Current location: still in Bangkok
Listening to: Thai music tv, in the restaurant of the hotel. Just as annoying as regular music videos, but not in English!
Today's adventure: the transit system! Let's see if I can find my way across the river to Wat Arun.

I need a textpert!

Sorry to anyone who's tried to get ahold of me in the last 2 days, for some reason I can't get my texts working.

As per Rogers, I turned off data roaming and am using wifi instead, but that shouldn't affect texting? It was working in LA, why not here? I purposefully paid for international text. It's driving me nuts! Anyone want to call Rogers for me? It'll cost me a ton to sit on hold. Grrr!

So for anyone trying to reach me, I promise I'm not ignoring you! Just email (shiloh_jo@hotmail.com) or Facebook me, at least until I figure this out.

And an update on my day will be coming soon enough, I'm exhausted! Highlights include a real shower, blisters, not getting hit by cars (yet) and a chance encounter with a psychic in the mall. Stay tuned!

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Current location: Bangkok, soaking up the air conditioning in my hotel room
Listening to: CNN. I found English tv!
In need of: a foot massage. That would be lovely right now!
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