TravelStream™ news feed for member amandaseims on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/amandaseims en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:50:49 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1206076560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1206076560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1206076560/tpod.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:50:49 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Vientiane, Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

On Wednesday we managed to get a bus from Ban Na Hin all the way to Vientiene where we had to take a tuk tuk to the city centre.  Most places were full as there was a festival on but we found somewhere decent and headed off to the shops as Ollie wanted to look for trekking shoes.  We went to the post office and picked up the easter chocolates my mum had sent which were all melted (as she's warned me!) and scoffed them in front of our TV.Thursday we moved to Saysooly guesthouse which was a nice room.  We had a great breakfast (Blue Sky restaurant) and went to the market before heading for a drink at sunset at one of the riverside bars in the city - it was cloudy and the Mekong river was pretty dry though!  We went to a great bar for some happy hour drinks and cocktails and played a few drinking games before heading off to check out the evening riverside festival.  We decided we'd buy our own drinks from a corner shop, Lao Lao being the cheapest and we ran into Richard from the cave.  Miraculously he'd found his camera in there!  We had some drinks with Richard at the festival then decided we'd try and find a club. Richard made the mistake of asking a tuk tuk driver who took us miles out of town to a 5* hotel (Don Chan Palace, http://www.donchanpalacelaopdr.com/main.php).  It was quite pricey entry but we were told it included a drink of beer.  Ollie asked if he could go in and see if it was any good before we all decided to pay up and they agreed. Funny enough he never came back so only Richard and myself paid to get in.  It was R n B music which I like dancing to and Richard was happy chatting up the local Laos ladies.  Things close very early though in Laos (like midnight!) and Ollie decided he didn't want to leave there and then.......we were both a bit merry and we snuck past the bouncers into the hotel area and Ollie tried to unlock several soors with his diving card!  We were suddenly in the fitness and pool area and came across a room with mats on the floor where we took a look out of the window at the view of the city then sat down on the mats for a rest...........suddenly it was 6am and we were surrounded by security guards who were putting Ollie in handcuffs!  I was somewhat worried although they weren't handcuffing me!  We were taken to the lobby and waited alone for ages, feeling rather silly (still a little merry).  We agreed that they wouldn't be happy that we'd stayed all night but we'd not done any harm so it should be fine.  I wanted to take a picture of Ollie in the handcuffs but thought it was best not to if we wanted to look remorseful!  After ages, the manager comes over with a metal block in his hand and asks us to explain it.  Apparently it was a door cardlock which Ollie had broken as he opened the door (he'd not used force though so was confused as to how this occurred).  He told us we'd have to pay $300 to replace it or he would call the police.  We bartered him down to $200 (still not sure why a lock in SE Asia would cost that much!) and said we couldn't pay it all now so Ollie would leave his passport and return another day with the cash.We walked all the way back into Vientiene and slept most of the day. We went back to the hotel and asked to speak to the manager but he'd apparently gone to Thailand to buy a new lock (?).  We ended up in a dingy sports bar for tea and played pool.Today we had a lunch deal in the happy hour bar from the night before (where it all started to go wrong!) and it cost us the best part of maybe £5 which was a fortune in Laos but it was a huge 3 course meal with fresh salad and ice-cream and worth every penny!  Ollie decided he'd have to pay up for the lock if we ever wanted to leave with his passport and the manager said he would let Ollie know if it cost less than $200 and give him some money back........ 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205817240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205817240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205817240/tpod.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:45:08 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Konglor, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday I managed to eat breakfast and we met some other backpackers who we told not to bother hiking to the waterfall.  We hired a motorbike and drove ourselves over to Konglor village and organised a homestay through the village leader with a old lady, her daughter and granddaughter.  We organised our cave trip with him for the following day.The family didn't speak any English so communicating always had everyone in hysterics as we'd all be using actions!  We assumed we were being sent to go and have a wash in the river with the locals so we set off and did just that and had a fun water fight with some local kids.For tea we had mountains of sticky rice, noodles, veg and possibly beef but I really struggled after being sick for two days but didn't want to look rude.  There was mountains of food even for our appetites!  Dinner was followed by a Baci ceremony where we were given string bracelets which were supoosed to tie sprits to them for 3 days (???).  Today we got up and went in the motorised boat towards Tham Kong Lo cave.  At the entrance we came across the backpackers we'd met at the restaurant. One of them (Richard) had lost his camera in the cave and was heading back through to search for it.We decided that we didn't want to take the boat back through the cave and would hike over the top of the mountain instead.  The gude tried to talk us out of it but eventually persuaded someone to take us for some money.  We got the distinct impression that no-one really knew where the start of the trail was or where it actually went!After hours of scrambling over razor sharp wet rocks and coming across a random guy with a machine gun in his hand, we made it back to the river exhausted and hot.  We swam with some water buffalos and ran into some locals who were quite funny.  They kept making me go back in the river as my clothes were still covered in dirt.  They then tried to make us down the local Lao Lao, me being the one who was always told to have extra.  Ollie insisted he had to drive the motorbike but they wouldn't take no for an answer!  We couldn't get too far on the bike anyway as the tyre went flat.  Our only option was for Ollie to make it to a garage on his own while I walked/ran (now quite tipsy) to meet him later.  The gods were on our side as literally less than 500m down the road was a bike garage!  They changed the inner tube and charged us a decent price and we were quickly off.  Went back to Ban Na Hin to return the bike and got ice-cream.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205643900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205643900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205643900/tpod.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:12:42 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Ban Na Hin, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday we waited until light, found somewhere for breakfast (the usual local meat,veg and boiled noodles) and then got on a Songtheaw to Ban Na Hin which was a twisty road and obviously ninfamous for causing travel sickness from the sight of the plastic bags hanging up and the fact that the guy near me kept puking up!We checked into an LP hostel just before the main town but then checked straight out again once we found there was no 'swimming pool, fridge, TV, free internet or free laundry' as noted in the book!  We found a restaurant nearby and ate lunch there and were given free chips and then given heaps of sticky rice to take away.  We headed into town and found Sousaphan just near the market and got a cheap room.  We popped in to the tourist office to ask about how we can get to the infamous local Konglor cave and stay with local people but we were quoted a steep price for a guided trip.  We took off and hiked up to the local waterfall Tam Namsanam which was dry and had no water (it was the dry season!).Ollie went and bought some cooked fish from the market at the end of the day and some tomatoes and mixed it with the leftover sticky ricefor dinner.  BIG mistake for me to eat it as I was up all night and have never been so ill in my life!Today I was sick all day and Ollie had to go and find some kind of electrolyte drink from the local chemist for me.  We were trying to make a decision as to whether Ollie went to the cave alone while I was ill or whether we headed to a big town to find a doctor. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205462880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205462880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205462880/tpod.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:23:11 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Paksong, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday we had a quick dip back in the pools then drove to what we'd heard was Laos' highest waterfall, Nam Tok Katamtok.  Indeed it was huge but we could only see it from the road the other side of the valley and there seemed to be no way to reach it.  We decided to drive further to see if we could find a path or small dirt track to rech it but instead came across a bridge that we could clamber underneath to access the river and noticed some small waterfalls and pools down to the right of the bridge, maybe 100m away.  We hid the bike and dumped our stuff so we could try and walk to the small falls.  The water was a little chilly but it was nice and refreshing in the sticky heat of midday.  We were quite pleased with ourselves that we'd stumbled across territory that wasn't in our guidebook!We drove on towards Paksong and passed lots of small villages and saw a real insight into local life.  We had to get petrol and the first place we visited tried to rip us off (whispering 'falang price' to his friend) but we managed to quickly find an honest person and refuel.  We were late arriving in Paksong, whizzed around the market to get some snacks (where we saw Brent from our previous night) and then found that there weren't many places to stay the night in town.  We drove to a guesthouse near a waterfall we planned to visit the following day (and saw Brent again!) but it wasn't very good so drove around and found the Borlaven guesthouse which gave us a good deal on our room, but the downside was it was cold showers and the nighttime temperature on the Bolaven plateau becomes pretty nippy!We drove back into town to find a place to eat and after driving back we were frozen and offerred the guesthouse an extra 10,000kip to let us use a hot shower in one of the other rooms!  I played an energetic game of football with their cute toddler who kept screaming with laughter every time I put the ball his way.  I told his dad he was very noisy and he didn't understand what I meant so he looked it up in the Dictionary and laughed at me!Today we got up and Ollie went around the back of the guesthouse to fetch the bike and suddenly started shouting me...my heart sank as I thought that maybe the bike was broken but when I went to see what the fuss was about I was faced with two gibbons swinging around a tree in the back yard!  We watched them for a while as they were so fascinating!We left and drove to Tad Fane resort and waterfall.  There were some huge twin falls but we couldn't access them as they were across the valley.  We tried to find a trail down but no luck.  We asked in the restaurant if there was access and they told us about a trail that led to a small waterfall on the edge of a cliff.  We swam and went back to the restaurant for a fantastic lunch which also meant that we were able to get our admission to the waterfall refunded which was a bonus!  We got back to pakse to find all of the hotels were full so we hopped on a sleeper bus to Vien Kham - the driver kept saying he wouldn't stop for us in the middle of the night to let us off there even though we had bought the corretc ticket but a helpful sales girl talked him into it.  We were dropped off at 3am in the cold dark night in a small place where notjing was open and there was nowhere to stay so we got out scrabble and played on a table.  At one point we were visited by a local guy who wanted some water and he tried to chat with us but we didn't get very far with the language barrier! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204811520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204811520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204811520/tpod.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:29:07 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Ban Lung, Cambodia

During my night alone in Kratchie I awoke at 4:30am to see 4 missed calls on my mobile around 11ish - I started to worry that Ollie was in trouble, after all, he did go somewhere he had no clue about, travelling on top of a truck on dodgy roads in a country like Cambodia, not to mention the fact that he was undoubtedly the wealthiest person the town had seen for a while..........was he OK or was there no cash in the machine in Kampong Cham and I'd have to hang around another day?  I had a restless sleep and eventually got up and went for a run through some of the local villages, leaving a note on my door in case Ollie arrived back.  He still wasn't there when I got back from  my run so I headed out to the same bar as the night before to grab some breakfast (fantastic omlette) and back at the hotel Ollie still wasn't there.  Eventually he walked in the room and everything was fine - he wasn't the one who'd tried to call which was odd since I never get phone calls and of all the nights to have 4 missed calls from an unknown number!   We headed back to the bar and I bought a copy of 'The Life of Pi' to read and we bought a ticket for our bus to Bang Lung and waited in the bus depot (which was simply an office containing the owner's family watching TV and his children doing their homework which looked to be learning English).  It was over an hour late and was another Hour Lin bus (the company we'd used to get to Sen Monorom) which kept stopping every 10 minutes due to the engine coughing out lots of fumes and chucking dust onto us through the clogged up air vents. We arrived very late in Bang Lung, but in one piece, and of course were instantly hounded by hotel workers trying to sell us a room.  We fobbed them off as usual, checked a few places out which didn't seem too good (one place refused to let us even see the room!) but eventually found a great deal in the Ratanak hotel (a big room with bathroom and hot water, comfy beds and cable TV for $5 total - that to us was a luxuary room).  We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant which was OK but tiny portions, even for me and of course we were constantly hassled by the owners who wanted to know what we planned to do during our stay as they could help arrange any trip for us blah blah blah....... Wednesday morning I headed out to explore the town (which was so dusty all the buildings were oranage) and found the local market where I bought lots of interesting snacks to take back to the room for breakfast.  We then walked out to Crater lake which was about 5km away but was nothing special - the way it was described in the LP made it sound spectacularly stunning 'situated amid pristine jungle' 'one of the most peaceful, beautiful places that Cambodia has to offer' 'visibility up to 5m'........you get the picture.  Well, it was nice to swim and it was fun to watch the local kids jumping in and playing with inner tubes while their families had picnics but it was overall a local bathing area as in where people got in with their soap and shampoo and had their bath and the water didn't seem to be all that clear to me.  I had a bit of a swim (in my sarong this time!), jumped off the platform and lazed about in the sun and decided to head off back to town.  I do remember there being a path that ran around the outside of the lake so maybe if we'd explored that it would have been more interesting.  That evening we went to a small restaurant for a BBQ meal and then found somewhere to play pool.  The owner's 2 small children suddenly found us very interesting and although they were very cute, I wasn't impressed when they kept taking balls back out of the pockets; especially when I was winning since that was a rarity playing against my tutor Ollie.  Back at the hotel we started to watch the film 'The Game' with Michael Douglas on TV but soon fell asleep (all that walking in the scorching sun). This morning it was Ollie's turn to head to the market and pick up breakfast snacks so I layed in my bed and watched 'The Game' again which was being repeated on TV.  We found some bikes to hire and cycled out to Katieng waterfall which was supposed to be free according to the book but wasn't and was supposed to have jungle vines hanging over to practice your Tarzan swings  but they were'nt that great, the water was dirty and some locals kept taking pictures of me (even in a sarong this time) so it wasn't great.  We came across 2 other backpackers who said that the big falls weren't worth a visit (well I guess it is dry season after all) so we decided to go and check out some smaller falls  which were quite pretty but again dirty and not very deep.  On the way back towards town we passed lots of villages where friendly locals would shout and wave to us but I was more focused on finding the key to my bike lock - I'd left it in the lock and it had obviously dropped out somewhere on the road but I didn't want to pay a fine for losing it.  After cycling up a hill I turned around and noticed that Ollie wasn't there.  Assuming he'd stopped to have a drink I waited....and waited......  After a while some young monks started chatting to me on their way to the monastry and they ask me why I'm alone and I explain that my friend is somewhere behind me.  Eventually I bike back down the hill and find him pretending to be David Beckham playing footy with the local kids and had attracted a small crowd of locals! Back in town I realised that Ollie's bike lock key fitted mine so I realised it would be no loss to them if I didn't mention I'd lost the key so we dropped off our bikes and went to grab dinner at the pool table restaurant we'd been to the night before.  We had a great meal of Lok lak and fish and later got some chips and a great iced Ovaltine drink at another restaurant.  We went to book our bus ticket for the morning to get to Stung Treng, the last town before the border crossing into Laos.  The ticket agent wanted us to buy a ticket all the way through into Laos but we'd read bad stories about a guy in Stung Treng who supposedly helps you across the border but you end up having to pay again for each section of the journey so we decided to stick woth our plan and play it safe.  The ticket agent lets us use the internet for free  and we headed back to the room and watched the movie  'Four Brothers' on TV. Tomorrow we are out of here and headed for Laos - I must admit that despite the local attractions being a bit dull, the locals in the market and some of the restaurants were quite friendly and we've had some great food in this town.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205376360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205376360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205376360/tpod.html Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:43:37 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Sekong, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday we drove to tat Suong waterfall which ahd a large drop down and you could only seem to access the top of it, however on closer inspection I noticed a wooden ledge halfway down which led into what looked like a cave so I set off on a trail to see if I could get under the waterfall and onto the ledge.The trail was very slippery and very steep with lots of broken wooden ladders and I soon found myself being followed by a couple of local kids who then rushed ahead of me - we did manage to get onto a ledge below the falls but not the one with the cave.  When we got across and followed the trail back up, the kids tried to get money out of me but I stood my ground since I'd headed off on my own and didn't ask for a guide.  We drove onto Sekong town which wasn't much and ate at the trusty LP recommended restaurant which had very unfriendly staff and really poor food but we didn't have much choice in a place like that anyway!We carried on and found a waterfall off to the left which wasn;t on the map we'd been given by the guesthouse where we'd rented the bike so we took a look and found some bungalows for 30000kip perched overlooking the falls - amazing!  (I think they were called Thavavin Huts).  We spent ages tonight sitting under the small falls getting our own personal power massges from the water which was great!  There was an onsite restaurant which had pretty decent food and we met a guy called Brent who was a bit odd and I think had been in some kind of motorbike accident as he was covered in grazes. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205240280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205240280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205240280/tpod.html Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:21:46 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Tadlo, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

We got a reasonable deal on a motorbike from Sabadee guesthouse and drove to a waterfall called Phasoume Falls where we found Utayan Bajiang Chamasak (Phasoume Resort).  It was all made of wood and very pretty but alas we could not stay (or swim in the falls) so had lunch, took pictures and moved in to Tat Lo falls where we found a cheap priced bamboo bungalow for 5000kip (with cows and chickens as our neighbours).  We swam at Tad Hung in the rapids sliding down them over and over again until our bottoms were very sore.  At one point we were joined by a local washing his elephant as there's a hotel nearby which offers elephant trekking.We had a great meal in a little restaurant where we were given free bananas for dessert (there seemed to be noone else around in the village!) and played cards all night whilst drinking the local Lao Lao tipple with sprite. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205153820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205153820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1205153820/tpod.html Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:55:12 -0400 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Pakse, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday I started the day with a run around the island and over onto another called Don Kong to see a nice waterfall - as it was only 8:30 am I was suprised to see busloads of Asian tourists already there before me!  I lwas a hot and sweaty mess and a little disappointed to see a no-entry sign as I would have happily dived in to the cool water!Later that morning we got the boat back to the mainland and a bus to the big town of Pakse where we found a nice hotel (ThongLung?)and treated ourselves to air-con, an en-suite, a TV and a comfy bed for 60,000kip.  Today we found a nice Indian restaurant which was the same owners as the place we'd been to on Don Dhet.  We had roti and coffee for breakfats and met an English guy called Alex who'd been hanging around in town a few days as he'd ben really sick.  It turned out that he was staying in the same hotel as us so we chatted over our plans to hire a motorbike and head off to the Bolaven Plateau to see if he wanted to join us.  We hunted high and low for an ATM that worked and got out a cool 1.4 million kip.  We had lunch at a cheap place then went to check out the Champsak Palace hotel as we'd read it had a jacuzzi and thought we'd splash out for one night but alas it was broken!  We checked out the big market which was miles from the main part of town only to find it was closing so we'd had a wasted trip.  Went back to the Indian restaurant with Alex and had a great tandori chicken which reminded me of Penang in Malaysia.  Tomorrow we're thinking of getting a motorbike and making our own trip around the Bolaven plateau so hopefully it will all come together.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1201157460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1201157460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1201157460/tpod.html Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:38:51 -0500 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Ko Mook, Thailand

Yesterday we went back to see our local restaurant owner and again he gave us a free water refill.  We asked to have a picture of him and suddenly he ran inside and brought out a massive tripod with camera attached so he could have a photo with us also.   Had breakfast in the Thai pancake shop which had at least 50 different varieties and we thought we'd died and gone to heaven.  We paid the obligatory 50 baht for the longtail boat and got on the tiogerli9ne ferry headed for our next stop, Ko Mook.  I had the bright idea of getting my mattress out and we were soon lazing the hours away ion our swimmers sunbathing on the roof of the boat - bliss!  Got chatting to a couple on there and turns out he was an ex Leeds Met student but now owns some kind of massage business -shame they weren't coming to Ko Mook as a massage would have been great! On Ko Mook we managed to find a place to stay called Mookies which was owned by an Aussie called Brian.  Our accommodation was kind of a permanent tent complete with table, fan and light and a proper mattress so it wasn't that bad, plus Brain gave us a free drink in his bar (an alcoholic one too!).  Again our first port of call was a dip in the water - this time emerald green so not great for snorkeling but picturesque none the less.   That evening we had dinner in a little restaurant perched on the cliffs but the location superseded the food unfortunately.   Back at Mookies bar we met a young couple Abbey (from Thetford, Norfolk of all places) and Joseph (a Kiwi).  We also met a nice Swedish coupe who told us we should go and kayak into emerald cave (the sole reason why we'd come here actually) as it was so beautiful that they'd got engaged in there - how romantic.  In the bar that night was also Dawn, Brian and Brad from the UK.   Brian had been a truck driver in the UK (even knew metalbox in Wisbech!) and had since retired, made a boat and 5 years ago set off to sail around Asia - lucky guy!   Today I got my lazy bum out of bed early and went off for a run around the island, I had no clue where I was going but it's a small place so I figured I couldn't go too wrong.  I followed a path which seemed to lead all the way around the edge of the island but unfortunately it turned into a tough scramble over rocks but I managed to get back so it worked out OK in the end.  Brian told us he owned the kayak hire place on the beach and we should go and reserve some for the afternoon, especially since some others we'd met were keen to come along so we did just that.  However, when we went back to pick up our kayaks they seemed to have no clue about this and just laughed and there were only 2 single kayaks which would cost more than us renting a double.  Ollie got a bit angry understandably but we had no choice and off we went.  The coastline was amazing and soon we came across the cave but since it looked busy with tour boats we ventured further around the coast and went to a beach for some snorkeling where I saw some nice fish and tons of fat red and beige sea stars.  We returned to the cave entrance and ventured inside into the darkness.  Suddenly it opened up into a huge hole in the roof of the cliff with a beach inside and was beautiful.  There was hardly anyone else there, just a couple of kayakers but soon we were joined by some more backpackers from our place.  On the way back the tide had dropped considerably so it gave us the chance to explore all the small tunnels and overhangs along the coastline which was brilliant.   Dinner tonight was in the Sawadee restaurant, where we'd eaten breakfast and we had a great meal yet again and played with the cute puppies they owned.  Tomorrow we're aiming to head to Phuket which is supposed to be a tourist ghetto but my friend Kate (who I met in Singapore) has invited us to stay for a few days.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204984440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204984440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/amandaseims/adventure_2006/1204984440/tpod.html Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:38:09 -0500 My career break: Around the World 2006-2008.

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Don dhet, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Yesterday we got our pre-booked minibus to Stung Treng which was pretty crowded and I wasn't too impressed to be slapped out of the way by a local wanting to squeeze in on our already cramped back seat - manners!  At Stung Treng we found it difficult to find any information regarding buses to Laos - the local bus company offcie seemed closed and the local hotels didn't seem to be particularly great value so we were determined to find a way out of town.  Thankfully Ollie speaks perfect French and after some enquiries we manage to arrange a bus as far as the border town of Vohn Kahm but unfortunately the tickets were being sold by Mr T of the Riverside Guest House who we'd read some dodgy things about.  Fingers crossed .......When it was time to go we were sent down to the river with a bunch of other backpackers, shoved onto a small boat then crammed into a people carrier to the border where we had to pay $1 for the privilage of getting our exit stamp and another $1 for our entry stamp into Laos.   There was no transport around and it didn't seem to have much through traffic the driver kept insisting that our only option was to buy yet another ticket to get to Don Dhet which seemed overpriced...so much so that 2 guys decided to start walking towards the next town but we decided against it after speaking to a Korean backpacker on a mountainbike coming from Laos who insisted that it was indeed too far to walk.  We drove to a group of taxi vans and were transferred to yet another vehicle and Mr T  told the Laos driver about the 2 backpackers who'd decided to walk and instructed him that he should not pick them up unless they agree to pay the full fare (such a kind caring guy!).  We ended up driving back past them and they still insisted on walking (which was perfectly fine as transport wasn't that far away after all to be fair).  We were then driven down to the small boats and went across to the island of Don Dhet.....at last!Since we'd taken pretty much most of the day getting out of Cambodia most places were full and we ended in with a crappy small room.  We explored the bars and restaurants and ran into Jesse (a Canadian from our border crossing trip).  We played pool, had a few Lao Lao cocktails (well, maybe more than a few), some expensive food (as everywhere seemed relatively expensive anyway and we were on a island to be fair) and managed to find some roti which was lucky as everything seemed to be closing down at 10.  On our way back to the room we bumped into the 2 guys that walked from the border and lucky for them they managed to hitch a lift and saved themselves some cash!Today we moved to a basic bungalow on the river (with our own verrandah and 2 hammocks!) which was run by a Westerner called Andy.  Myself and Ollie decided to laze away the morning on the hammocks and had a good giggle over some milkshakes whilst reading my travel diary I'd been keeping of all our mishaps in Cambodia.  We then decided to be energetic and headed off to take a look at a bakery we'd read about - oh my word, I wasn't disappointed for there were huge iced chealsea buns for 60p (a lot of money to spend on such a luxuary item in this country but they were certainly better than Greggs!) and other goodies.  We then found a restaurant where we tried our first 'authentic' Laos dish of spicy fish wrapped in banana leaves which almost blew my head off it was so spicy!  I went back to the bakery and wasted another 60p (10,000kip!) on a carrot muffin then we went to drink more Laos Laos at the sunset bar where we ran into a Canadian couple, also from our border crossing.
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