sorry everyone heres a public link to the pictures...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49010&l=b2c08&id=509443580
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
same same, but different
So if anyone is curious, yes i am safe.I travelled down the coast from Mui Ne to Ho Chi Mihn City a.k.a. Saigon, and have been here for a couple days.Saigon is a flurry of people and mopeds( they have the most mopeds per capita in the world!).After being in a small fishing village for about a week its definately a shock.
To my surprise, when i got here my flight had been cancelled due to the riots between the government supporters and the People's Alliance for Democracy(PAD).Both Bangkok airports have been overtaken by the riots and all flights were cancelled.Over 400 flights go through the airport daily, so its kind of a big deal.
As of now, i'm thinking i will change my flight to fly into Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia and take the 8 hour train up to the southern islands of Thailand and stay there for a few weeks until i fly up to Amsterdam.Nightlife in Saigon is fun but very busy and crowded.It's also much more expensive here than the rest of Vietnam so far.. write again soon, e
To my surprise, when i got here my flight had been cancelled due to the riots between the government supporters and the People's Alliance for Democracy(PAD).Both Bangkok airports have been overtaken by the riots and all flights were cancelled.Over 400 flights go through the airport daily, so its kind of a big deal.
As of now, i'm thinking i will change my flight to fly into Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia and take the 8 hour train up to the southern islands of Thailand and stay there for a few weeks until i fly up to Amsterdam.Nightlife in Saigon is fun but very busy and crowded.It's also much more expensive here than the rest of Vietnam so far.. write again soon, e
Monday, November 24, 2008
bliss
Right now i am sipping Vietnamese tea( green tea and lotus flowers) beside my bungalow in Mui Ne, Vietnam..i spent the afteroon in my hammock between two palm trees.Life is good.I left Laos last week and went to Hue, which was in the middle of monsoon season.. not fun to say the least.So i headed down to Nah Trang,almost got ripped off by the bus driver, but made it there.Nha Trang is a beautful city right on the coast of Vietnam.The weather was relatively good but was flooded up to my knees by the time i left.
Mui Ne is a small fishing village 6 hours away, it seems to have it all:cheap bungalows, amazing beaches,waterfalls,sand dunes,fairy streams.. and thats just a start.They have an odd amount of resorts for how small the village is but i managed to find bungalows for 6$ a night opposed to the 30$ the resorts were asking for.The only downside is that part of the village smells like fish sauce(due to it being a fishing village).. so i just stay away from that side.
Next i head over to Ho Chi Mihn city a.k.a. Saigon and fly back to Bangkok to go to the Southern islands of Thailand...i've noticed vietnamese people seem to be alot less helpful and more rude to travellers, which is a little frustrating, a lot of the time they will just turn thier backs and walk away from you.Also here they have "sleeper buses" which are the coolest things ever!Theyre big buses with two levels of beds to sleep in for long trips...-e
Mui Ne is a small fishing village 6 hours away, it seems to have it all:cheap bungalows, amazing beaches,waterfalls,sand dunes,fairy streams.. and thats just a start.They have an odd amount of resorts for how small the village is but i managed to find bungalows for 6$ a night opposed to the 30$ the resorts were asking for.The only downside is that part of the village smells like fish sauce(due to it being a fishing village).. so i just stay away from that side.
Next i head over to Ho Chi Mihn city a.k.a. Saigon and fly back to Bangkok to go to the Southern islands of Thailand...i've noticed vietnamese people seem to be alot less helpful and more rude to travellers, which is a little frustrating, a lot of the time they will just turn thier backs and walk away from you.Also here they have "sleeper buses" which are the coolest things ever!Theyre big buses with two levels of beds to sleep in for long trips...-e
Friday, November 21, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
baguettes!
So finally I have gotten to Laos.Me and James decided to split up for a while and meet up in a couple weeks.I went from Chang Mai on a bus to some random town on the border of Thailand and Laos.The next day we got our Lao visa's (which was a nightmare and really expensive) and then got on the slow boat.
It took about 2 hours to convince the Lao workers that 120 poeople couldnt fit on one longboat.I met a group of english girls and irish guys and we were playing guitar and singing.. keeping ourselves entertained. Seven hours and four Laobeer later we pull up to a small village just in the middle of nowhere beside the Mekong River.We had an amazing dinner and called it a night.
The next day we got back on the boat for another 7 hours and finally arrived to Luang Probang.The town is quite expensive but has some really nice cafes and guesthouses.After looking for about 2 hours we managed to find a nice guesthouses for about 5 dollars a night.Next time i'll make sure to pre-book at high season.So far, all the bread i have eaten has pretty much been wonderbread so i was pleasantly surprised to find out that Laos has amazing freshly baked baguettes everywhere.
Tomorrow me and my english travel mates are off to the buddha caves and waterfalls on a kayking trip.After that I'm going over to the coast of vietnam for about 10 days and then back to Thailand for christmas.. talk to you soon ,e
It took about 2 hours to convince the Lao workers that 120 poeople couldnt fit on one longboat.I met a group of english girls and irish guys and we were playing guitar and singing.. keeping ourselves entertained. Seven hours and four Laobeer later we pull up to a small village just in the middle of nowhere beside the Mekong River.We had an amazing dinner and called it a night.
The next day we got back on the boat for another 7 hours and finally arrived to Luang Probang.The town is quite expensive but has some really nice cafes and guesthouses.After looking for about 2 hours we managed to find a nice guesthouses for about 5 dollars a night.Next time i'll make sure to pre-book at high season.So far, all the bread i have eaten has pretty much been wonderbread so i was pleasantly surprised to find out that Laos has amazing freshly baked baguettes everywhere.
Tomorrow me and my english travel mates are off to the buddha caves and waterfalls on a kayking trip.After that I'm going over to the coast of vietnam for about 10 days and then back to Thailand for christmas.. talk to you soon ,e
Thursday, November 13, 2008
.whirlwind.
So its been almost a month since i left my beautiful home and things have been going amazingly well.The first week in Bangkok was mayhem.. tuk-tuks, temples and tourists pretty much sums it up. Went to the tiger temple, which was cool to see but not worth the 500 baht.
After a few days we decided to head up North to Chang Mai. After a 14-hour ride through the jungle, on a train that has a hole in the floor for a bathroom and one fan per section, we were glad to arrive. Chang Mai translates to walled city; its seperated into the central old city (which was walled at one point) and the new city where all the modern shops are. We rented some really great road bikes to get around on, which defiantely saved us alot of money.One night i even got to pet and feed a baby elephant!The scenery there is beautiful and its alot less chaotic than Bangkok.
A few days ago we ventured up to Pai, a small hippy town alot like Nelson.It took 3 and a half hours of switchbacks to get there but it was worth it. Full of bungalows by the river,organic cafes and reggae lounges it was kootenay kids dream.I met an awesome group of people, especially one australian girl that I was inseperable from.We rented mopeds and went up to the local waterfalls for our last day in Pai.
Yesterday we came back to Chang Mai for the annual lantern festival called Yi Peng. The sky and river were filled with thousands of lanterns.There was a ridiculous amount of people and an amazing parade filled with floats that seemed to take years to prepare. Today we head up to Laos on a slowboat so i should be there in a couple days!
After a few days we decided to head up North to Chang Mai. After a 14-hour ride through the jungle, on a train that has a hole in the floor for a bathroom and one fan per section, we were glad to arrive. Chang Mai translates to walled city; its seperated into the central old city (which was walled at one point) and the new city where all the modern shops are. We rented some really great road bikes to get around on, which defiantely saved us alot of money.One night i even got to pet and feed a baby elephant!The scenery there is beautiful and its alot less chaotic than Bangkok.
A few days ago we ventured up to Pai, a small hippy town alot like Nelson.It took 3 and a half hours of switchbacks to get there but it was worth it. Full of bungalows by the river,organic cafes and reggae lounges it was kootenay kids dream.I met an awesome group of people, especially one australian girl that I was inseperable from.We rented mopeds and went up to the local waterfalls for our last day in Pai.
Yesterday we came back to Chang Mai for the annual lantern festival called Yi Peng. The sky and river were filled with thousands of lanterns.There was a ridiculous amount of people and an amazing parade filled with floats that seemed to take years to prepare. Today we head up to Laos on a slowboat so i should be there in a couple days!
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