Hello Thailand

Luang Prabang, Laos is a very scenic and somewhat sophisticated town (compared to other towns there). We mostly relaxed and one day we did a day trek into the jungle and saw some small villages anda beautiful waterfall which we could swim in. The coolest part is every morning around 6:15am the monks leave their monastery and walk in file down the street to receive alms from people. The long line of saffron robes so early in the morning is very surreal. On November 26 we arrived in Thailand, the last country on our 10 week adventure. We are in Chiang Mai and may be here longer then expected depending on what happens with the Bangkok aiport (which has now been closed for 2 days due to the protesters). Today we did an awesome cooking course and learnt how to cook all sorts of Thai dishes including papaya salad, green curry, panang curry, and kao soi noodles. Gene is obsessed with the Kao Soi noodles. In two days we leave for a 2 day/1 night trek which will include an elephant ride, white water rafting, lots of trekking and sleeping over in a small village. We will keep you posted. Happy Thanksgiving to all in the US and a special congrats to Mindy (my sister-in-law) and Neil on their engagement!

Dinner in LP


Delicious Kao-Soi (curry from Chiang Mai)



Gene taking flight

The beautiful waterfall at the end



Trek through the jungle

Excellent grilled whole fish - food stalls, LP



Monks receiving alms



Local village woman seen on our trek





Pineapple trees on our 4 hour trek to the waterfalls, Luang Prabang

It's a beauty!



Golden Temple, Vientiane

Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang

Centre where I did yoga one morning outside.

Monks receiving alms early morning Luang Prabang, Laos.

Bike ride home.

Gene swinging into the lagoon.

7km bike ride through unpaved roads to the cave and lagoon. The chain on my bike came off 4 times. There were lots of cows. Gene was not discouraged.

Me in a lagoon outside a cave, Vang Vieng.

View from our guest house, Vang Vieng.



Sunset by our guest house, Vang Vieng, Laos.



That's one fat buddha! Vientiane, Laos.

Lao Lao

About a week ago, we flew on Lao airlines (not for the faint of heart) from Pakse to the capital of Laos- Vientian. Vientian is an interesting place. For a capital, there is not much to do. We rented bikes and were able to see everything in a day. The highlight would be this beautiful temple all painted in gold, which was amazing (pics to follow tomorrow). The other great thing about Vientian is the availability of good food. We went to a French restaurant and each had steak au poivre with french fries and 2 carafs of really good red wine all for about $35. We then took a bus (I tell you all travel within Laos is trying) to Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is a backpacker's mecca - although some aspects more pleasant than others. We avoided all "Friend's TV bars" which is exactly how it sounds. Backapackers sitting comatose watching "Friends" blaring from several TVs. Strange. What we did really enjoy was the tubing which has been dubbed "a Lao phenomenon". Basically you rent a tube and a dry bag "to keep your stuff dry", and are taken via tuk tuk 3 km up the road. You start tubing down the Nam Song and after about 1 mintue you reach the first bar. This scene is rediculous. Hundreds of people crowded on small decks drinking (buckets of whisky and such were available, but we stuck with our beerlao and the occasional shot of Lao Lao [Lao rice whisky] that people were giving out for free). There are multiple bars along the way which are only a few minutes apart. The point, as we learnt very quickly, was not the actual tubing, but the drinking. There were swings that dropped you in the water from 30 feet up, and then there was the most crazy slide I have ever been on! Let's put it this way - you would never be able to have a slide in N America like this. It was so much fun that even though I hurt myself the first time, I had to do it again. Gene also tried a zip line which was great too. We had heard so much about this place, and it far exceeded our expectations. Unfortunatley, I will not have pics to post of this because I brought an underwater camera. Good thing too....at the end we started to swim in our tube and when I exited I noticed the bag seemed a lot heavier. I emptied the contents and a ton of water came pouring out. The next day we visited some caves and some very scenic lagoons that you can swim in. Overall, we really enjoyed Vang Vieng. We arrived this evening in Luang Prabang.

Locals playing that game where you can use any part of your body to hit the ball over the net except your hands. There is a name. It escapes me.


Boat races on the mekong

Our bungalow


The "pharmacy" where Gene had to get me more pills.



Typical sunset. Gene took this great picture.

The local "bus" we rode to the 4000 islands. Uncomfortable ride for three hours with chickens in boxes.


Angkor Wat



Angkor Wat

And now...Laos

After Siem Reap we flew to Laos and headed for Si Phan Don, specifically Don Khon. We got a little bungalow on the Mekong river. It was very beautiful and relaxing although Dhara was not feeling well. We had a nice porch with a hammock...while Dhara was in bed i had the hammock all to myself. Yes! Just kidding...it was very boring while Dhara was sick for 4 days. Otherwise it was very peaceful to hear the river flowing, the chickens chirping, the buffaloes chewing, the roosters crowing, music blasting and Dhara moaning in pain.

We were there for a special event...the boat races. This consisted of about 8 teams. Each team was wearing different colors and they had been practicing for days. Once the races started we noticed that the teams were very uneven. One boat had 12 people, another had 30. How was that fair? Anyway...no one seemed to care. It was good fun.

The island had no cars...only mopeds and bicycles. Also, electricity was only on from about 5:30pm to 10:00pm. Also, there was only one place to go on the internet and that was on the island of Don Det, which was about a 20 minute bike ride away. One thing this island had a lot of was bugs. The first night we switched the light on over the porch and we went inside and found that our bed was covered with bugs. The next nights we didn't have this problem as we left the lights off and used candles. Good move.

Anyway...we're back to the cities and heading to Vientiane tomorrow.

Gene by the Apsaras (dancing "heavenly nymphs"). He even got a shirt with 'em.


Bayon Temple



One of many steep climbs up the temples. Gene is with our tuk tuk driver/ tour guide, Asean.

Temple carving



Bantaey Srei, Siem Reap



Pre Rup, Siem Reap

Angkor Wat and surrounding temples, Siem Reap

Royal Palace, Phnom Penh

Angkor What?

We were in Phnom Penh for 2 days to see the Genocide Museum and Killing Fields. It was terribly depressing but important to see. Apparently if you are 30 years or older here, you were directly affected. Somehow the Khmers all still seem to have a good attitude.
A few days ago we arrived in Siem Reap (where we are now). We took three days to see all that Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples had to offer - and that is alot! These temples are quite amazing (pictures to follow) and you could spend a week here and still need more time. The amount of detail in the carvings, as well as the architecture, is fantastic. The best part is that you are allowed to walk and climb all over them (most). If they were in Europe, you would be looking at them behind a red velvet rope. This morning we woke up at 4:30 am to go to Angkor Wat to see the sun rise. It was a nice one, with the temple reflected in it's north pool.
Although Siem Reap is a farely small town, it has a huge selection of restaurants and bars. The food has been excellent, but I cannot comment on the bar scene, as most don't get going until midnight-1 am, and we're not up that late..... Come on! It's tough when you're up early everyday, hiking and sweating in the sun. One thing we have learnt in Cambodia and look forward to more of in a couple of days is Beer Lao. Now that is a tasty beverage.
One tough thing here has been the touts. Sometimes you are hounded here, by 5-6 people at a time trying to sell you something/anything for $1. This happens sometimes 20x a day which can be tough. Usually I just give some people (mostly kids) the money and tell them to keep whatever they are selling. I don't know if this is actually helpful (I mean who knows where the money is really going?) but what can one do.
Tomorrow we are planning a relaxing day and maybe to get some massages at a reputable place : ) And then off to Laos!

Temple with literally hundreds of buddhas



Near our hostel, Phnom Penh



Little bananas on the grill with their peel on. Delicious.

Russian market, Phnom Penh

Fiery red ants.