Laos

Laos ended up being an abbreviated segment of the trip but I wouldn't trade it for anything. After relaxing in Luang Prabang for a few days, I met up with two British backpackers and we went to a waterfall in the vicinity. Good call! It was very strange because rather than the water clearing out all the vegetation in its way, it seemed to just meander through the forest, taking care not to disturb the area. At the top, it reminded me of "the bayou," or, at least what I imagine "the bayou" to be. Great way to spend a day. The other pictures are of the plane I took from Laos to Thailand, and Victory monument in Central Bangkok.

2 Days on the Mekong

Happy 4th of July!!!

We just concluded a 2 day trip down the Mekong River that ended last night at Luang Prabang, Laos. For the transit, we decided on the "Slow Boat," which proved to be a well-deserved moniker. The load was far beyond any safe occupancy level but was undoubtedly efficient for boat driver and his family, that lived on the same boat. Aside from the undesirable conditions on the boat though, the trip was gorgeous. The Mekong provided some of the most picturesque scenery i've ever seen. The lush jungle on either shore crept all the way up to the riverbank. It was consistent the entire trip except when it would break just enough for a forgettable, wooden village to spring up, only to disappear just as quickly. One of the photos depicts one of these little villages and its inhabitants.

Last night, we finally arrived in Luang Prabang and were eager to get off the boat. This town is the most charming that i've encountered on this trip so far and Dustin seems to agree. It is very laid back and has everything we need without the overkill of other cities. The remnants of the period of french control are evident in the architecture and the shop signs which are always in the native language and french. So far, good food, good people, and cooler weather have made this stop a highlight.

The plans for the upcoming weeks have changed slightly, as Dustin needs to be somewhere that he can get back to South Korea quickly if need be. He's been working on a new job and flying from Bangkok is considerably easier than from elsewhere. As he has already visited Vietnam, he is going to head back to Thailand and take up temporary residence to sort things out for his employment this fall. His friend Tae-Hee, a South Korean med-student, will be in Thailand for a little bit so it'll be a good chance for them to catch up. Meanwhile, my friend Tyanne that just finished working in Laos is coming to meet me here in Luang Prabang and we will do Vietnam together. After Vietnam and Cambodia, i'll link back up with Dustin somewhere in Thailand.

Also, for those of you I haven't talked to yet, I decided to go back to Denver for the fall in lieu of the State Deptartment internship. I'm a little bummed about it but I think it was the best decision after careful consideration.

Food, Bugs, and Elephants

We're still in Chiang Mai which lies in Northern Thailand and it is a wonderful city. There is a degree on sanity here that was wanting in Bangkok but still enough to do. Every Sunday there is the "Sunday Market" that consists of what must be at least 500 vendors taking to the streets and selling their wares. The food (most of it) is amazing and cheap and some of the trinkets they sell are as well. It was difficult not to walk back with my backpack full and my wallet just as empty.

Today we went on a day-trek that included elephant riding, rubber and bamboo rafting, and an orchid/butterfly farm. It was an enjoyable day and the scenery was unbelievable. Surprisingly, Dustin and I both, for the first time, realized how much we like elephants... These particular ones seem to have it pretty good next to the ones housed in the city. The live on a huge conservation in the same compound as their trainers, who they clearly have a close relationship with. While during the day the elephants give rides, the rest seems to be freely roaming the compound which is ripe with bamboo and other choice meals.

We're at a slight crossroads because our tourist Visas to Thailand expire on the 2nd. We are having such a pleasant time here we can't decide if we should move on to Laos and Vietnam already or just extend here for a couple more weeks and finish up with the rest of the peninsula.

Anyhow, the photos are of me petting an elephant, a young dancer at the Sunday Market raising money for school, me feeding bananas to an elephant, nice scenery, me holding a big bug, a vendor cooking up quail eggs, and squid on a stick. Dustin hasn't uploaded his pictures yet but he has some good ones as well that I hope to add soon. Hope this finds everyone doing well and see you all soon.

Finally in Chiang Mai

We finally got into Chiang Mai after a nightmare overnight bus...never again! Anyhow, here's the pictures i had hoped to add to the last post. They are of the various Wats (temples) in Ayutthaya, the huge "Reclining Buddha" in Bangkok, Khao San Rd. at night, and me on the train ride from Kuala Lumpur to the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and Changing Plans

We made our way out of Malaysia by train which took 2.5 days and 2 overnight trains. It was quite a ride and I don't ever remember feeling so filthy. Upon our arrival in Bangkok, we headed straight to the famous (notorious?) Khao San Rd. to find lodgings. The place never stops and is mentally exhausting but worth a look. More cultures were crammed into a stretch of about 4 blocks that i've ever seen. While in Bangkok we checked out the "Reclining Buddha" which is a massive stature approximately 46m long and indoors so a photo of the entire thing was out of the question. After just a few days, we had enough and went to catch a train to Ayutthaya for a day, before proceeding to Chiang Mai in the North. At the train station however, we learned that the conductors went on strike and were forced to find a bus.

We arrived in Ayutthaya yesterday afternoon and the calm was welcome. The city is the former capital of Thailand and it's predecessor, Siam. Today we explored the "Ancient City," comprised of many temples and other ruins from the old era.

Also, due to some planning issues, we will not be making it to India and Nepal. We're both really dissapointed with this turn of events but will spend more time exploring Laos and Vietnam. What happened is that we had booked our plane tickets ahead of time for a discounted (affordable) rate. Once in Bangkok, we went straight to the Indian Embassy that informed us that it's Visa processing had been outsourced and no express service was available. That meant that we would not have Visas in time to fly out. We were able to refund our tickets but after searching for other tickets in our time frame, there was nothing cheap enough for our fairly strict budgets. Due to other obligations in Laos and Vietnam, we couldn't push the date back either. Although frustrating, it will allow for us to enjoy more time in SE Asia which isn't a bad thing.

The computer i'm on right now isn't letting me attach pictures to this post so i'll try and add the pictures tomorrow from Chiang Mai. Hope everyone is doing well and thanks for the emails from those of you who've sent them!

Shah Alam

Today was a great day. We didn't do much but we caught a bus outside the city to a place called Shah Alam and visited the Blue Mosque. It's minarets are the tallest of any mosque in the world and the facility itself can accomodate 24,000 people. Unfortunately, we missed the limited hours during which you can enter but it was worth the trip anyway. Easily the most impressive thing i've seen so far on the trip. I took a video with sound to try and capture the feeling created by the surroundings coupled with the chantings from the Quran. If I figure out how to work this site better i'll post it in the future.

The pictures are of a fresh fruit stand in Kuala Lumpur, Dustin after I was forced to smother him for his incessant giggling (just kidding Patti and Dana), and the Blue Mosque.

Also, thanks Aunt Anne for the great shirt...it's been crucial with the intense heat we've encountered. Two or three chapters left in "100 Years of Solitude" then onto the book you gave me as well.

PI to Malaysia

A lot has happened since the last post...To begin, we never went island hopping as planned after finding out that plane ticket prices from Cebu had shot up significantly. Instead, we stayed in White Beach through Sunday morning at which time we headed back to Manila and caught a plane to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the airport is a good hour outside the city and didn't arrive until about 330am.

We found a decent/cheap place and stayed for the night to catch up on our rest. We're learning some hard but necessary lessons about travelling in this manner but nothing too detrimental to the overall success of the trip (knock on wood).

Kuala Lumpur is something else. It's a Muslim country but the remnants of British colonialism are still evident and the Western influence is pronounced. It seems to be less impoverished than the Philippines but the general quality of life still has room for improvement. We haven't really done anything here yet except catch up on sleep and switch hotels so i'll refrain from relaying our "plans" until after the fact from now on. Meanwhile, the attached photos are from Minoro Island, Philippines. They vary from the sands of White Beach, the chaos of Sabang, and the indoor skating rink at the Mall of Asia in Manila...it's easy to tell which is which. Enjoy!