TravelStream™ news feed for member jo-jo on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jo-jo en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Fri, 08 Jul 2005 06:30:56 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118720160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118720160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118720160/tpod.html Fri, 08 Jul 2005 06:30:56 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Nong Khiaw, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

OK. I'm back on a computer and willing to focus for at least an hour to get this blog up to date.

We decided to take a slow boat trip from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw - the views promised to be spectacular. We woke up early to go to the "dock" to ensure we had a place on the boat. This is when we got our first taste of what travel in the north was going to be like. Previously we had been treated to mini-vans running on some sort of schedule, but now were were dealing with departure times that are dictated by either 1) having a full boat of paying customers, or 2) having a partially full boat of customers who are willing to pay a little bit more each (i.e. privately charter the damn boat). So we ended up hanging around for a few hours until enough people filtered in. This system is fine and well and understandable, it's just annoying that they pretend to operate some kind of legit business, with a timetable and fixed rate, and it causes many people to get upset.

At last we made it on the boat and began our very slow voyage to Nong Khiaw. The views were more than fantastic ... they were stunning. For hours we were treated to non-stop nature at its best, with a token water buffalo and fisherman tossed in for good measure. It was fabulous. In some parts the water was smooth as glass, providing a perfect reflection. At other points were going up through small rapids. The skies were blue with perfect white clouds, the mountains all around covered with green, and the water clean. What more could we ask for? Twice we stopped off at some deserted bit of sandy beach for a toilet break and then pushed on. How wonderful it was to not be shuffled here and there along the way, taking in forced stops to buy drinks and snacks from vendors so the driver could get a kickback.

As seemed to happen a lot during the next few weeks, during the long trip to our destination my imagination worked out what our destination town would be like. And I was always way off base ... my imagination always sets me up for a fall it seems. When we arrived in Nong Khiaw we realized quickly that this was no town, and barely qualified as a village (Kyle has decided that these small bundles of dwelling are called hamlets). We checked into a very small school-by-day / guesthouse-by-night place and then found something to eat. At the only restaurant in town we met Dan (English) and Mark (American) and were enticed by their tales of trekking in the very northern part of Lao (between Mark's passionate rants against GW Bush). Since we had no other engagements, we decided it would be cool to travel that way together.

The next day we woke up early to catch the boat to Muang Noi Neua, a village located one hour upstream from us (only accessible by water). At this point we got a second experience with travel aggravation - the posted time table and fee was apparently just there to patronize foreigners. Local people seemingly had no problems with the system, it was just the foreigners who were being bamboozled. The problem is that compared with local people we are rich and they know it and want a piece for themselves. Although I can't blame them at all, I wish they would realize that our money is only worth something in their country - when I return to Canada I will be just as broke as they are. Anyways. No offense at all to British people, but I have witnessed time and again the rage that Principals and Pride issues will create and I find it embarrassing when I'm caught in the middle. Dan, our group's self-declared spokesperson, would not tolerate the boat office manager's refusal to stick with the posted information and went way too far in his criticism, accusing the boat office man of being a bad person etc. The negotiation was going nowhere. At long last, the boat office guy agreed to lower the price and we were within $1 (split between 10 people) when Dan called the whole thing off. Give me a break. The whole system is quite corrupt and they have all the power. I'm more than willing to pay the extra $0.10 to get to where I want to be and not haggle over a western standards issue.

We played coy and walked away from his office and went to eat breakfast - the idea was to get the guy nervous that we wouldn't use his services (yeah right, we weren't going anywhere without a boat!). After we let him sweat it out a bit Dan and I left the group and went to haggle some more. On the way I bumped into our captain from the previous day's trip and asked him if we could hire him privately. He said ok, I went to get the others. But within the time it took for everyone to get from the restaurant to the boat (two minutes) the deal was off - the boat office guy had intimidated our captain. About an hour later we agreed to a price (higher than we wanted of course) and were off. Phew!

Muang Noi Neua was very similar to Nong Khiaw. Again, I had pictured a bustling town full of travellers, but no one was there at all. Kyle and I had been hoping to hit up a bank for some money, but that idea was blown out of the water. There shall be no money in northern Lao. Oops. Time to scrape together all our Canadian, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese money for exchange and hope we can get by. We checked into another very dodgy guesthouse - shared bathroom again (I hate that), no electricity, and bamboo walls. It would be fine for a night. Besides, we were on our way to Phongsali, which promised to be a busy northern frontier town. Here we met up with Robin (Canadian) who was also interested in the trip. I was really glad to have another female around, and she's super friendly and talkative, so even better. We enjoyed the day in the scorching heat walking around town (no motorized vehicles whatsoever), visiting caves, and watching the locals play volleyball using their feet and a bamboo ball. The next morning we were on our way to lovely Phongsali!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1120479120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1120479120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1120479120/tpod.html Mon, 04 Jul 2005 09:14:49 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Kyaingtung, Myanmar

entry to come.
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Luang Phrabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Bright and early we boarded a mini bus bound for Luang Prabang. Cultural capital of Lao, the entire city has been declared a UNESCO World Herritage site (partially due to its plethora of Wats). As expected, the ride was beautiful and twisty. I had made the mistake of eating a bowl full of pineapple moments before boarding the bus, and within an hour I was needed to go to the toilet big time. But the bus never stopped ... just kept twisting and turning. I was in agony and finally we asked the driver to stop so I could run out to use the lou. The driver stopped at a point in the road where there wasn't a bush in site. NO WAY! At that point, I wasn't willing to go in front of so many strangers ... now, I am a seasoned side-of-the-road tinkler. Anyways. I held it and we eventually made our way to a proper facility and hours after that to Luang Prabang.

This city is as modern as any city gets in Lao - but still without an ATM (which would cause us some grief in the weeks to come). Similar to Vientiane, we spent a few days touring around this lovely city, mainly by bike. We didn't see all of the 30 Wats, but did catch the major ones, as well as the royal museum. Between sightseeing we ate by the river and wandered through the fruit market by day, and the night market in the evenings. During one evening stroll we were lucky enough to find a little movie theatre type place. Basically, we rented a room with a giant tv were we could watch burned DVDs. Since we love movies so much we spent two nights there getting swarmed by ants feasting on the crumbs of previous movie-goers, and watching In The Fog Of War (great) and Monster (decent).

One day we hired a sawngthaew to take us to the amazing Kuang Si Falls, just 20 kms outside of town. It was during this day that I began to fully appreciate what Lao means. In Cambodia and Vietnam there is always something in particular to do or see - a goal. But here, everything is beautiful everywhere, and after a while I found myself looking for something more. I think people really start appreciating the country when they realize that it's the little things that are really spectacular. It can be as action packed as we want, but doing very little is also quite fascinating. For example, as we were riding along on our way to the falls we passed by a small terraced field where about 50 water buffalo were grazing. How beautiful is that? Absolutely foreign to me and great! But I had previously been searching for a building or cultural hot spot to capture my attention. Here everything is beautiful and tourists are given the space to enjoy it without being pestered. Rarely are people stopping to wave to us, we don't get eager smiles and screams from the side of the road - generally people just go about there business. They don't care if we stare at them, because they're staring right back at us ... but the difference here is that they are not asking for money, they don't care what we could represent. It really is an amazing vibe. We spent a lovely day at the multi-tiered waterfalls. The water was turquoise and crystal clear and the weather was perfect. Between each waterfall level we had to walk through the forest. Sometimes when we reached a new level there would be kids swinging on ropes, doing acrobatics into the cool waters, sometimes there would be no one but us. At the grand finale the waterfall was at least 5 levels and stretched about 50 metres high. It was great.

Our last day in Luang Prabang we crossed the river to a tiny town across the way to see ... some more Wats. A kindly monk opened the doors to one so we could pay our respects in private. People are so kind here. We strolled through town, watching and being watched and eventually made our way back across the river for one last walk around town. This time we walked through a little residential area. It's fascinating to see people carrying about their business. We walked through this one alley and bumped into five little girls busy making some kind of sauce for sale in the market. They worked happily crushing peppers and mixing things up, everyone doing their part. I couldn't imagine kids doing that kind of work back home. We walked along and stopped to watch a group of kids sliding down a super short piece of smooth concrete beside some steps. They slid up and down, shrieking with laughter for at least five minutes while we watched. They didn't even stop to look in our direction they were having so much fun. It was great.

Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang are the three most heavily touristed parts of Lao. It was time for us to move a bit away from the big areas, into the great wide North. First leg - 8 hour boat trip to Nong Khiaw.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118115120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118115120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1118115120/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jun 2005 07:18:11 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

The drive to Vang Vieng was absolutely incredible. The scenery is fantastic fairytale kind of stuff - beautiful uninterrupted rolling mountains knocking into each other forming flowing seams, presenting every possible shade of green. Really pretty. Yet again we thought about how much things can change within a few kilometers - the little bit of Lao we've seen is completely different than Vietnam. Unfortunately, the beautiful mountains provide a huge challenge for transportation. It took us a full eight hours on a paved road to get the short straight-line distance from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. The road is essentially one giant hairpin turn. As we made our way up and around mountains we drove past small villages with tiny huts not two metres from the road with naked children waving and livestock running around.

We arrived in Vang Vieng and our jaws dropped. "So no one told you life was gonna be this way ... clap/clap/clap/clap". Along the one main road in this small town came the sounds of the Friends theme song blasting from every restaurant. It was like stepping into another reality. The entire town has been transformed into a traveller's relaxation zone. All the restaurants are showing Friends on giant tv screens all day long, while people chill on raised lie-down, cushion-clad seating (all seating facing the tv screen of course). It was pretty depressing - what the locals must think of westerners. Within 30 minutes we had checked into a hotel and were leaning against some cushions getting sucked into the Friends world (how pathetic are we). Luckily we had booked a two day trekking/kayaking tour starting the next day so we could escape that scene.

The tour was absolute hell. It was possibly one of the most dangerous and scary things I have ever done before, and when I think back I don't feel pride that I did something very challenging and survived, but grateful that nothing seriously bad happened. I hope that one day I will recover mentally from the trauma. The idea was to do a bit of trekking the first day - up and down two small mountains at 600 metres apiece - sleep in a little village, then kayak back into town on the second. The night before we left it poured nonstop so the path was insanely slippery, making the hike up and down treacherous to say the least. We basically were expected to walk straight up and slide straight down, walking through the jungle bush. There was barely a path, and our guide had never before taken this particular trip at this time of year, because no one is stupid enough to attempt it in the rainy season (except us). It was terrifying for me and Tom, and of course Kyle didn't have any problems at all. After the first pass (where we had zero view because the jungle growth was so thick), we had to slide our way down to the water below. All along we could see what would happen if we slipped too far - basically death, since there would be nothing to stop a free fall. I picked up a leech on the way and practically impaled myself on a branch as I fell. At one point Tom slipped and went rolling belly over back straight towards Kyle and I. We (Tom and I) were wiping out even when we were standing still! It was not only scary, but also totally embarrassing. By the time we reached the second pass I was freaking out and ready to ask for a helicopter rescue team. I sat down and slid most of the way, picking up splinters on my hands and mosquito bites on my face. At one point we had to go Tarzan style and use a vine to help us swing straight down a mud path.

But, we made it down and over to the village for dinner, and the rest of the trip was just great. While we waited for dinner, we played with a chained up monkey (chained up because he terrorized the village if he wasn't). We slept with a family in their (rat-infested) home and it was actually really comfortable and nice (minus the rat part). At this point all I need is a mosquito net to make me feel safe. Early in the morning all the animals in the village simultaneously piped. It was hilarious. We were vibrating with the sounds of their collective cries for breakfast. Pigs, cows, water buffalo, chickens, dogs, goats. It was a symphony that started as abruptly as an alarm clock. What a great way to start the day. After breakfast we jumped into our kayaks and started paddling down the river. We noticed immediately that the village we stayed in was an hour walk from the point we had started our hike the day before - meaning the hike across two mountains was just for fun, we could have walked around the base of one to get to our village. Nice.

The kayak trip was lovely, and took us around the base of some gorgeous mountains. We ended back in Vang Vieng feeling a bit sore and needing some Friends. After a day of rest, relaxation, and tubing, we set off for Luang Prabang.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1117273320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1117273320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1117273320/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jun 2005 06:25:08 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Hi Everyone!

Well, we're out of Lao now, so we can finally use the Internet! I'm going to have to do all my updates in one go here, so if you're interested in what we did during our visit to spectacular Lao, please read the updates for each major stepping stone along the way.

As our friend Mark said, "the thing about Lao, is there's not much". So true. There's not much in terms of infrastructure or development (or decent food), but there is so much of the other stuff that makes travelling so much fun - tranquility, beauty, nature, time to spend sitting around chatting and reading, and as much excitement as we care to handle. We had only planned on spending a couple of weeks here, but ended up staying a month before we realized it. Time flies when we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken down truck.

When we arrived in Vientiane we couldn't belive it was a capital city. Dirt roads and dust storms. I think the tallest building is 5 stories! The contrast between Hanoi and Vientiane was a bit of a shock, but the snails pace of life here was kind of a nice change.

We spent only two days in Vientiane touring around by bike and sawngthaew (converted truck with vertical benches on either side) with Tom, a Canadian guy we met at the airport. The highlight was probably Buddha Park, a bumpy 30 km ride outside of the city, where huge concrete statues of Buddha in various positions are presented on a field. A bit weird, but very nice and interesting. The largest statue, a reclining Buddha, measures 40 metres in length.

Since the city doesn't offer too much in terms of excitement, so we quickly set off to Vang Vieng to do some trekking.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1119499140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1119499140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1119499140/tpod.html Sun, 26 Jun 2005 01:48:22 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Houa Xay, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Not ready yet.
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Louang Namtha, Lao Peoples Dem Rep


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116927540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116927540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116927540/tpod.html Mon, 30 May 2005 06:24:54 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Halong Bay, Vietnam

Hi everyone!

Kyle and I have wrapped up our trip around Vietnam and absolutely loved it. We were really sad to leave, but we had to move on ... only two more months to go before it's time to come home.

We stopped for a few days in Hue before hitting up the capital, Hanoi. Hue is a pretty big city (formerly the capital of Vietnam) and really developed. We spent the first day touring around on a motorcycle and the next on the worst ever package tour (super boring day trip on a river in which all passengers and crew [except the 'captain'] spent the majority of the time sleeping in tiny plastic chairs, sweating profusely).

Since our time was limited by a one month visa we packed it in and decided to head to Hanoi via the night bus. Luckily our experience on the bus was quite good compared with others'. We had the entire back row and were able to stretch out and get a decent sleep. The only depressing moment happened early in the morning when we drove past an accident involving at least three fatalities (which Kyle saw).

Hanoi is an absolutely fantastic city. It has all the hustle and bustle of Saigon, but with a very distinct mix of old and new. The sidewalks are so packed with vendors selling absolutely everything that they can't be used for walking. Like all big cities we have seen in Vietnam, the commerce is really organized and convenient - there's a food section, paint section, sewing section ... I have no idea how anyone can actually make money when all along one street are shops selling exactly the same merchandise.

We spent a couple of days wandering around, taking in some temples, Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, and cyclo rides around town. One day we decided that we should blow the money we had saved on cheap massages. Bad, bad idea. We lay side by side (Kyle had agreed to strip down to his little underwear, while my modesty forced me to remain in my regular clothes) while these two Vietnamese ladies ground and dug their knuckles into our backs, and everywhere else. There was no relaxation and the pain was not therapeutic. The bruises on my back the next day made me question the qualifications of my masseuse. But, the Vietnamese massage needed to be tried at least once.

The highlight of northern Vietnam definitely was a three day trip we took to Halong Bay. We cruised around the Bay, where all around thousands of huge limestone rock formations jut out of the water. It has to be one of the most beautiful sights in the world (and everyone in our group shared that opinion). We stopped along the way for some caving, kayaking to little deserted beaches, swimming, and hiking (during which I could be found hanging for dear life from random trees as I slipped down the muddy side of a mountain in my no-soled squash shoes after a rain fall). It was great from start to finish. Just perfect. I'll put up the pictures as soon as I can.

When we returned to Hanoi we checked into a different hotel (the staff at our previous one were found to be entering rooms to root around when they thought people were out - once I was actually in the room when a guy came in and he thought the best way to cover his shady behaviour was to go to our bathroom and remove a roll of toilet paper, some other people were woken when someone entered their room to grab a painting off the wall!). We made one final day trip to Tam Coc to see the limestone rock formations in the rice paddies. A lady kindly rowed us, using a bamboo stick, around the narrow rice paddy canals for about three hours. It was terrific (but super hot).

Our time came to say goodbye to lovely Vietnam. As we walked through busy streets watching a crazy lightening storm above, we knew for sure that we didn't want to leave, but know that we will come back sometime in the future to see what has changed. We gave in and decided to spring for a plane to Vientiane. The 24 hour bus ride back down Vietnam and then across to Laos really seemed anti-climatic (and ridiculously long). We booked a flight with Laos Airline, which apparently has an appalling safety record - not the best thing to be thinking about as we were fishtailing down the runway. But, after numerous jumps and bumps we finally came to a bouncy landing on a runway that was in the process of being paved. And we're here! So far it's been great.

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer.

Bye!
Joanne and Kyle
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116407160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116407160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1116407160/tpod.html Wed, 18 May 2005 05:16:20 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Hoi An, Vietnam

And your pants are gonna burst, diarrhea! So sorry, I know that was rude, but that's the way I've been feeling for about a week. On the bus to Dalat (over a week ago) I came down with a pretty huge migraine (my eyeballs are still sore from it today), and when that was finished on came the diarrhea. It has been a disgusting, humiliating, and never ending cycle of horror for the past week.

Despite all that nastiness, we have had an amazing time during the past week. Dalat is a really beautiful city in the Vietnamese Highlands. The temperature was soooo nice, warranting warm showers and no need for a fan or ac. The town is set up for (cheesy) romance, with flowers in full bloom, picturesque lakes with swan shaped paddle boats,
bicycles built for two everywhere, and beautiful french villas in great shape. There we met some Easy Rider motorcycle drivers (Rene - my driver, Tom - Kyle's driver) and they convinced us to take a 5 day trip with them from Dalat to Hoi An, through the Highlands. We were pretty thrilled with the thought of getting off the tourist bus and seeing some of the country so we agreed to pay the premium ($250 each) to go with them.

Before our tour started we spent a day in Dalat doing a bit of sightseeing - waterfalls, King's old summer palace, train station, local market (where we saw cages stuffed with chicken and ducks with a pack of rats living below), and so on. We really wished we could have spent more time in this beautiful town.

The first day of our motorcycle tour started out early. Rene and Tom tied our packs onto the back of their bikes and we squeezed between the pack and the driver. It was so comfortable and I was delighted to feel the fresh air and the freedom of getting off highway number 1. So comfortable, that I actually fell asleep at one point (how embarrassing for me). For the first hour I couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face.

It was so cool. And the sights we were seeing were absolutely breathtaking. It definitely ranks up there as one of those unbelievable days that we'll never forget. The trees in the jungle were packed in so tight and were such a dark shade of green that they looked like a field of broccoli from our vantage point. Along the way our drivers kept pulling up to people's homes to let us have a look at their little cottage industries. None of it was planned - they would just see something that looked interesting and ask a family if we could take a peek. It was so much fun. We learned how silk is made (including rubbing silk worms on our faces - they're so soft), mushrooms, tofu, coffee, tea, rice wine, chopsticks, peanut oil, rubber, homes, rice, pepper, bricks, rice noodles, and on and on. All along we must have seemed like totally ignorant city people - like when I said "Rene, those are really strange looking cows" and he replied "That's because those are water buffalos" (apparently Kyle's been eating a lot of that without knowing).

The first night we stayed with a local ethnic minority family (literally slept in their long house with them). As the sun set on this little village, no word of a lie, elephants ridden by little kids walked past, their day's labour finished. It was incredible. That night we ate dinner (a Mr Noodles type affair), and watched kids chase around giant crickets to be later used as sauce for peanuts (a tasty desert apparently). Then, disaster struck. Terrible stomach pains like none I have ever before experienced in life.

The rest of the trip was a mixture of mind blowing beauty ... and the reverse, as my stomach twisted and turned whenever food went in. I started out like Goldilock's, refusing to use a toilet unless it was up to par (one they tried to get me to use was just a concrete room with a hose) and ended up with me running into a coffee plantation to take care of business. It was so embarrassing.

And then the nausea set in. I remember on the second day, after an extremely long ride where I spent a good amount of time obsessing about 7up, we pulled into a local market and Rene wanted to take us for a tour. It started out with "Hey Joanne, look at the size of this liver" and "Did you see that pig blood? It's good for health" and ended with
watching a woman skin a trout. It was vile. Aisles on aisles of various animal parts baking in the sun with flies swarming around. I didn't want to offend anyone, but I had to cover my mouth because I was feeling so wretched.

By day 3 my condition was known to all and I was having mental breakdowns because of it, and we had to ride about 300 kms that day, so people were trying to heal me before we started. In the morning I was quizzed by all the armchair physicians about the frequency, colour, consistency and everything else. My therapy started with medicated patches applied to my temples and stomach. I finally agreed to let Rene climb a guava tree to pluck 9 bitter leaves for me to eat. Then another driver pulled up and gave me some "Dragon Elixar" to injest. Apparently that replaces the need for guava leaves. As we rode on I pulled out the instructions for use ... they had given me the medicine for cholera. So, I pulled out my handy pocket diseases reference book to find out what that's all about. And I quote "Cholera is transmitted through food or water contaminated with dog, cat or human feces". Gross! I had a good 10 hours to reflect on that bit of knowledge and work out who's pooh I had inadvertently eaten. The cure never really worked, so I was also given some oils to rub here and there. I'm feeling better today.

We arrived in Hoi An yesterday and spent the day doing some much needed relaxing. Even though I was seriously ill, we had an amazing time driving 1000 kms through the Highlands, and I wouldn't have done it differently. We were able to meet so many friendly people, see some of the most amazing scenery, and learn a bit of war history from our drivers who were involved in the war. For one day of our journey we travelled along the newly paved Ho Chi Minh trail - an amazing bit of road that snakes around and through the mountains

looking like a ribbon. Every day was unforgettable. On our last pit stop there was a plate of random meat beside the drinks, baking in the sun. I was examining the cuts, trying to work out what part of the animal they were from, but couldn't figure out what one piece was ... it was a skinned pig's head. Lovely. Never seen that before.

So we are out of the mountains now, and back into the scorching heat. It is dreadful, and we're having to acclimatize again. But this town is really neat - clothes shopper's dream come true. There are literally hundreds of tailors here - you just go into any store, tell them what you want or show them from a magazine, they measure you up, and $4 later a pair of perfectly fitted pants. Kyle has ordered two suits already (one for $40, one "high quality" one for $60). My only regret is not having enough money to fit myself with a new wardrobe entirely.

In a few days we're checking out and heading to Hue for some boating fun (maybe stopping at China Beach on the way). Sorry for the excessive information vis-a-vis my bowels. I am traumatized and feel the story needed to be told. I'm still not sure if

I have cholera or not, but am thinking that maybe I don't, because as my guide advises me "Cholera is a disease characterized by severe diarrhea leading to rapid dehydration, which if untreated, may lead to death in 24 hours".

Ta ta,
Joanne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1113911400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1113911400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jo-jo/asia_and_india/1113911400/tpod.html Tue, 10 May 2005 07:50:56 -0400 Enjoying the liberty of being unemployed and curious.

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Siem Reap, Cambodia

ok. i've got to make this quick. there are ants all over this desk and some keep crawling up my arms!

after a 14 hour bus trip, we finally made it to siem reap to see ankor wat. holy cow was it ever worth the trip. we took an early morning bus from bangkok and made our way to the border. as usual we didn't have any money on us and we heard atms are in limited supply in cambodia, so during a pit stop we hopped on the back of some motorcycles and got taxied to a couple bank machines. i admit that i was extremely freaked to get on a motorcycle, but it was super easy and so much fun (not to mention the much appreciated breeze). although our bus had air con it heated as it baked in the sun all the way to the border. we passed through the border without any problems and changed buses to here.

i'm not sure if i have ever been on a bumpier bus. the road conditions here are unbelievable. at times it felt like a roller coaster ride. i fell asleep once and smashed my head on the window as the driver swerved to avoid a dump truck sized pot hole. it was a fantastically fun trip. but, being crammed in a bus with a dozen sweaty men gets a bit ... stinky after a while. kyle confirmed it when he leaned over and said "i think i can smell myself".

anyways. we got a super nice hotel. only $6 per night with a wicked fan, super clean, balcony. it's great. across the road from us is a residential area. dirt road, chickens running around everywhere (sorry to say that patti!), naked kids running around playing with everything. it's great. this morning we saw a family of about 20 riding on a motorcycle. the dad went over a bump and the last kid slipped off the back flat on his face and yelped a bit. the dad stopped and patiently waited for his half naked little kid to pick himself up and get back on the motorcycle.

we bought one week passes to ankor wat and went for a few hours today. it's only a 20 minute bike ride from our place (which can be so scary as we weave in and out amongst the scooters, bikes, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and various other unique looking motorized vehicles, since there are no real rules of driving except "find a hole").

back to ankor wat. it is absolutely ten thousand times better than you can imagine. so huge and so intricate. really blows your mind to think that such a thing was built so long ago. the facilities have been left as is, they haven't tampered with anything, like painted signs are mark ways on anything. really beautiful. we're going to have so much fun exploring around for the next week. one place i want to go to takes 7 hours by motorcycle, but it's supposed to be really amazing, so i hope we'll have enough money.

cambodian's so hospitable. as we're riding around people are screaming out "hi, how are you". and people smile and laugh all the time. today while we ate dinner a little girl played and danced around us the entire time. at one point she brought a little kitty for me to play with. unreal. the people here are perhaps the most friendly people i've ever met (as a whole). as we're talking people might stare, but they're doing it in a way that is not uncomfortable, they let you know that they're just curious, and will look you in the eye and smile and laugh if you catch them watching - they don't turn away embarrassed. it's really kind of a genuine reaction.

the only trouble we've had is with the kids at the temple who absolutely swarmed us today. we were separated and flocked. as we were walking in they approached us, but we made the mistake of saying we would talk to them when we left. they thought i said my name was juicy, so when they spotted us leaving they started screaming out JUICY! and started in on us. at one point a little kid even had a hold of my bike and wouldn't let me leave. it was so annoying. but, they are kids and that is their job. unfortunately. these kids are super smart though. they knew about 100 facts about canada, could calculate exchange rates at the blink of an eye and were super intense.

other than a massive bed bug allergic reaction i'm experiencing, and a wicked sunburn, everything is going well. my reaction to these bites is pretty gross. i can't wear sandals anymore because my feet are so swollen. each little bite swells up to almost 10 cm in diameter and gets pussey and rashy and really disgusting looking. yesterday night my feet were so swollen i couldn't even find my ankle bones and couldn't feel the bottoms. next time i shoudl really remember to bring some allergy medication for this, because it is a bit agonizing. i'm sleeping with bug spray, but nothing helps. last night i slept with socks on, and 24 hours later the elastic has left a permanent rash around my calves. my legs are just screwed up right now. i'm hoping to build up some tolerance ... fast. but, the good news is so far, no sickness.

so - we're meeting up with some people we met and i must be off. we'll be here for the next 6 days or so, so I'm hoping to be able to upload some pictures (maybe find a place that doesn't have ants running around everywhere). bye! joanne and kyle

oh - and we saw a huge pack (pack?) of monkeys hanging out in a tree today. babies and everything. it was pretty cool. oh - and there are little cute lizards running around everywhere. and chickens, dogs, cats, cows ...
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