This gives you a bit of an idea of the kind of fun we had tubing in Laos:
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Photos from Laos!
Quick update:
We're back in Bangkok in time for Kevin's birthday...unfortunately it's raining hard at the moment. Just got the photos up from Laos. Check out the link on the sidebar. I tried to upload some video, we got some good ones, but again, I was foiled by this computer. Check 'em out, we had a good time in Laos, made some good friends, and we'll be heading to Nepal next!
We're back in Bangkok in time for Kevin's birthday...unfortunately it's raining hard at the moment. Just got the photos up from Laos. Check out the link on the sidebar. I tried to upload some video, we got some good ones, but again, I was foiled by this computer. Check 'em out, we had a good time in Laos, made some good friends, and we'll be heading to Nepal next!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Now in Laos
So in two days, we went from Cambodia to Bangkok, and from Bangkok into Laos. Laos wasn't originally in our itinerary, but we met some new friends on the bus ride from Cambodia and they talked us into joining them.
Apparently there is only one thing worth coming to Laos for and that's tubing down a river. As nice and relaxing as that sounds, it turned out to be a wild ride! All along the riverbank are bars with, I guess you would call them fishermen, who throw out lines to tubers coming by and pull them in. Apart from the drinks, these bars also have giant swings and waterslides to fling you out into the river. Some of these swings were so high, both Kevin and I lost our lip piercings upon landing in the water. It's wicked fun though. Some other highlights include mud wrestling, mud tug-of-war, and mud volleyball. A quick swing into the river cleans you right off! Anyway, we had so much fun that by the time darkness fell, we had only made it halfway down the river and we had to navigate the last kilometer or so in the dark. We have about a week here in Laos and most of that time I'm sure is going to be spent on the river. Today, however, we all woke up rather sore from awkward landings into the water and decided to take the day off. I wish I could post some photos and videos from our day yesterday, but this computer doesn't want to read my memory card. It's a shame, because I've got some good ones! I'd write more too, but this keyboard is a piece of junk and most of the keys stick. The things I have to deal with...
Oh, by the way, a new itinerary we're considering is Nepal next (we already bought our tickets) followed by India. Then to Dubai, where we would have free accommodation with the parents of a girl we're traveling with, then to Oman where we would stay with Andre and Sarah, then to London for New Year's, where we have several friends we could stay with, and then finally home. Again, rough idea, and our plans change daily. Stay tuned!
Apparently there is only one thing worth coming to Laos for and that's tubing down a river. As nice and relaxing as that sounds, it turned out to be a wild ride! All along the riverbank are bars with, I guess you would call them fishermen, who throw out lines to tubers coming by and pull them in. Apart from the drinks, these bars also have giant swings and waterslides to fling you out into the river. Some of these swings were so high, both Kevin and I lost our lip piercings upon landing in the water. It's wicked fun though. Some other highlights include mud wrestling, mud tug-of-war, and mud volleyball. A quick swing into the river cleans you right off! Anyway, we had so much fun that by the time darkness fell, we had only made it halfway down the river and we had to navigate the last kilometer or so in the dark. We have about a week here in Laos and most of that time I'm sure is going to be spent on the river. Today, however, we all woke up rather sore from awkward landings into the water and decided to take the day off. I wish I could post some photos and videos from our day yesterday, but this computer doesn't want to read my memory card. It's a shame, because I've got some good ones! I'd write more too, but this keyboard is a piece of junk and most of the keys stick. The things I have to deal with...
Oh, by the way, a new itinerary we're considering is Nepal next (we already bought our tickets) followed by India. Then to Dubai, where we would have free accommodation with the parents of a girl we're traveling with, then to Oman where we would stay with Andre and Sarah, then to London for New Year's, where we have several friends we could stay with, and then finally home. Again, rough idea, and our plans change daily. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
New Pictures From Cambodia!
Todd and I reached one of our biggest milestones for the trip today, we rented bikes for $1 and headed out towards the Angkor Temple complex. This area was huge, we rode around all day and saw maybe half of the temples just in this one complex! And I must say, it unquestionably lived up to expectation. Some of the pictures simply can't capture the awe inspiring ruins. But we were able to just walk around at leisure and kind of scramble around the walls like Indiana Jones (the better, old ones) and that really made the experience, because it was just that, not sight seeing, but experiencing it, being able to lose ourselves in another time, a time of Great ancient Khmer civilizations, seeing the holes in the massive building blocks where laborers carried them into place, presumably with bamboo poles, seeing the ancient squatty-potty (and realizing that things haven't changed much), being able to run our hands over the meticulous carvings in the stone and imagining a chisel in our tired hands. This is what we came for. Enjoy the pictures... I'd write more, but I've been battling this (ancient?) computer for about 3 hours trying to manage all these pictures and to honest, I'm plum tuckered out!
Cycling around the Angkor Temples-Day One-Photo Album
Also some other pics
Photo Album from the train ride into Cambodia
Cycling around the Angkor Temples-Day One-Photo Album
Also some other pics
Photo Album from the train ride into Cambodia
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Welcome to Cambodia
And what a welcome it was! When they say that the Cambodian border town of Poipet rhymes with Toilet, there's a reason for that. Let's start at the beginning...
Our day started early. As in 4:00am. That's in the morning. Our train to the Thailand/Cambodian border left at 5:55 so we had to catch a tuk-tuk (a motorized three-wheeled taxi) from our guesthouse in the Bangkok backpacker-ghetto of Khao San Road to the Hualamphong Train Station. Once there, we bought our tickets for 48 baht a piece ($1.41 American) and settled in for what was supposed to be an easy six-hour journey. Notice I said "Supposed to be." Not 20 minutes from Bangkok our train slowed to a halt and then started moving backwards towards a small station we had just past. An announcement came over the loudspeaker, but since we don't speak Thai, we couldn't tell what was going on. Since none of the other passengers seemed too worried, we relaxed. Three hours later...we finally started moving again. And just when we had got off the train to stretch and hack some sack, too. Apparently our engine had broke down and they had to order us up another one from Bangkok. The ride from that point on was quite enjoyable though. I like travelling by train because it gets you off the highway and lets you see much of the countryside. We took some great photos along the way.
Once we arrived in the Thai border town of Aranya Prathet we managed to snag a tuk-tuk ride the final 6km to the actual border for only 20 baht! (Our Lonely Planet guidebook said it would be about 80 baht) Our guidebook also said to watch out for the numerous scams along either side of the border. Scam #1: Don't let your driver take you to an "immigration outpost" that claims to speed up the process of getting your visa. These are blatant scams that rip off unsuspecting tourists. We sensed the scam right away and held our ground, insisting on being taken to the official Cambodian "big office." Our driver attempted to take us to another scam place practically right next door before finally relenting and bringing us to the official embassy. We finally got our visas for $25usd and proceeded to the border. We met up with a German couple who had sat across from us on the train and together ran the gauntlet of beggers, taxi drivers, and touts, but we finally got our passports stamped and crossed into Cambodia. Kevin and I talked the Germans into splitting the taxi fair from Poipet to Siem Reap, since the cost would be around $40. And this is where the story really gets good. Immediately after setting foot into Cambodia, we were besieged by several touts trying desperatley to get us into their car. Luckily, we had read our guidebook and had been forewarned about this so-called "taxi mafia." Apparently they offer you a great price ($30 for the four of us) but halfway to Siem Reap, they pull over and demand more money to take you the rest of the way. So we stuck to our guns and decided to walk the mile and a half to the bus station where we could hire a legitimate taxi. The entire way, these taxi touts followed us, doing everthing they possibly could to get us into their car. They showed certificates, licsences, official-looking badges, everything you could easily get made on the streets of Bangkok. We weren't fooled. (By the way, Dad, if you really want us to have college degrees, we can get them cheap. Just tell us what university--Frankfurt, Harvard, Melbourne, you name it!) Anyway, after a very stressful walk, we finally made it to the bus station, our loyal followers waiting outside the gates. We hired a taxi for $40, squeezed into a car, and drove off. Needless to say, our "friends" waiting outside were none to happy to see us leave in another's car.
Once we were on the road though, we were able to relax. We introduced ourselves to the Germans since there hadn't been a chance for that yet, and we all agreed we would've cracked had it not been for the support of the other duo. Aside from our driver obsessivly honking at everything that moved on the side of the road, the journey to Siem Reap, home of the incredible temple complex of Angkor Wat, was without incident. We arrived at the Happy Guesthouse, suggested to us by the Germans, got a super-nice room complete with two beds, private bathroom, a fan, and *gasp* a TV, for an entire $6 and settled in for the night.
One thing that needs to be said is Cambodia should not at all be judged by the first experience in Poipet, for everyone in Siem Reap is extremely nice and friendly. I anticipate our time here to be quite enjoyable, so stay tuned.
Our day started early. As in 4:00am. That's in the morning. Our train to the Thailand/Cambodian border left at 5:55 so we had to catch a tuk-tuk (a motorized three-wheeled taxi) from our guesthouse in the Bangkok backpacker-ghetto of Khao San Road to the Hualamphong Train Station. Once there, we bought our tickets for 48 baht a piece ($1.41 American) and settled in for what was supposed to be an easy six-hour journey. Notice I said "Supposed to be." Not 20 minutes from Bangkok our train slowed to a halt and then started moving backwards towards a small station we had just past. An announcement came over the loudspeaker, but since we don't speak Thai, we couldn't tell what was going on. Since none of the other passengers seemed too worried, we relaxed. Three hours later...we finally started moving again. And just when we had got off the train to stretch and hack some sack, too. Apparently our engine had broke down and they had to order us up another one from Bangkok. The ride from that point on was quite enjoyable though. I like travelling by train because it gets you off the highway and lets you see much of the countryside. We took some great photos along the way.
Once we arrived in the Thai border town of Aranya Prathet we managed to snag a tuk-tuk ride the final 6km to the actual border for only 20 baht! (Our Lonely Planet guidebook said it would be about 80 baht) Our guidebook also said to watch out for the numerous scams along either side of the border. Scam #1: Don't let your driver take you to an "immigration outpost" that claims to speed up the process of getting your visa. These are blatant scams that rip off unsuspecting tourists. We sensed the scam right away and held our ground, insisting on being taken to the official Cambodian "big office." Our driver attempted to take us to another scam place practically right next door before finally relenting and bringing us to the official embassy. We finally got our visas for $25usd and proceeded to the border. We met up with a German couple who had sat across from us on the train and together ran the gauntlet of beggers, taxi drivers, and touts, but we finally got our passports stamped and crossed into Cambodia. Kevin and I talked the Germans into splitting the taxi fair from Poipet to Siem Reap, since the cost would be around $40. And this is where the story really gets good. Immediately after setting foot into Cambodia, we were besieged by several touts trying desperatley to get us into their car. Luckily, we had read our guidebook and had been forewarned about this so-called "taxi mafia." Apparently they offer you a great price ($30 for the four of us) but halfway to Siem Reap, they pull over and demand more money to take you the rest of the way. So we stuck to our guns and decided to walk the mile and a half to the bus station where we could hire a legitimate taxi. The entire way, these taxi touts followed us, doing everthing they possibly could to get us into their car. They showed certificates, licsences, official-looking badges, everything you could easily get made on the streets of Bangkok. We weren't fooled. (By the way, Dad, if you really want us to have college degrees, we can get them cheap. Just tell us what university--Frankfurt, Harvard, Melbourne, you name it!) Anyway, after a very stressful walk, we finally made it to the bus station, our loyal followers waiting outside the gates. We hired a taxi for $40, squeezed into a car, and drove off. Needless to say, our "friends" waiting outside were none to happy to see us leave in another's car.
Once we were on the road though, we were able to relax. We introduced ourselves to the Germans since there hadn't been a chance for that yet, and we all agreed we would've cracked had it not been for the support of the other duo. Aside from our driver obsessivly honking at everything that moved on the side of the road, the journey to Siem Reap, home of the incredible temple complex of Angkor Wat, was without incident. We arrived at the Happy Guesthouse, suggested to us by the Germans, got a super-nice room complete with two beds, private bathroom, a fan, and *gasp* a TV, for an entire $6 and settled in for the night.
One thing that needs to be said is Cambodia should not at all be judged by the first experience in Poipet, for everyone in Siem Reap is extremely nice and friendly. I anticipate our time here to be quite enjoyable, so stay tuned.
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