Back in 'Nam...

We spent the last 2 nights in Luang Prabang, Laos. The bus ride from Vang Vieng was very scenic and quite enjoyable, even though it took about 7 hours to travel 230km. The jagged mountain ranges in the North of Laos are just so beautiful. We were lucky enough to meet up again with our dearest travel buddies in Luang Prabang, which made the place even more fun. There is an amazing bar on the riverfront called Utopia, and, unlike other 'Utopia' bars we've been to on this trip (there seems to be one in every town..) it wasn't seedy at all! Darts, foolsball (spelling?), beach volleyball, giant Jenga.. all under a giant thatched gazebo with landscaped tropical garden. You can probably tell that I'm in love with the place! Megan and I were talking to the manager the day before Aus Day and convinced him to have a big Australia day party and put up flyers around the town, which he did! Smart man.

On Australia Day, Steve & I + our dearest Melbournite travel buddies, Megan & Lewis, plus Stu from Manchester, our token English buddy who we trained to say "I'm from Sydney" in an Australian accent for the day, all met up for breakfast and then headed out to Kouang Si Waterfalls. THE MOST amazing waterfalls I've been to! They were so gorgeous! There was the main huge waterfall, and then many tiers of small waterfalls spilling into turquoise swimming pools. The place looked like a landscaped very-flash tropical resort's swimming pool. PLUS to top it off.. there was a rescue centre for Asiatic Black Bears there, so we got to have a look at them too. Afterwards, we all met up for for drinks and nibblies in the courtyard of our hotel, and then went to Utopia. The manager let Megan and I 'DJ' for the night + we got a couple of free drinks, because the whole Aus Day party had been our idea! Unfortunately there is a Laos-wide 12AM curfew so Utopia shut, but we found a bowling alley on the outskirts of town that stayed open until 3AM... so that's where we finished off the night! An amazing Australia Day, even if we are in Laos!

We all woke very tired this morning, met for breakfast, and said our goodbyes to Megan & Lewis. We were all a little heartbroken. We do get to keep our token Englishman, Stu, for a bit longer though, as he flew with us to Hanoi in Vietnam this afternoon, where we are currently. We decided to pay the extra and get a flight to Hanoi rather than taking the 3-day bus trip, as we are quickly running out of time! Our plane was tiny and even had propellors, but the view was absolutely gorgeous, and despite it only being a 1-hour flight, they fed us! :D

We'd heard a lot of stories from people about Hanoi being a bit unfriendly and full of scams, and within an hour of arriving we'd already found that to be true. The airport is waaaaaay out of town, so you have to get the bus or share a taxi. As there were 3 of us, we decided just to share a taxi. We agreed with the 'taxi pimp' (the guy who organises the taxi fare, and then takes us to the taxi) that we would pay a total of 250,000d between the 3 of us, but when we got into town, the taxi driver demanded another 20,000d. As he didn't speak a word of English, we couldn't establish what the hell the extra fee was supposed to be for, but despite our protesting, we were made to pay it anyway. On top of that, he didn't take us to the hotel we had asked to be taken to (which had been recommended by Meg&Lew), but another hotel in a parallel street. The hotel guy then tried to tell us that his hotel was in fact the hotel we had wanted to go to, despite being on the wrong street, and having a completely different name. When we pointed this out, he tried to tell us that it was owned by the same people, which is a load of crap, so we made the taxi driver take us where we had originally intended. Sheesh.

The recommended hotel was full, but we found another really nice one with amazing customer service. Our hotel guy spent ages with us helping us go through the different companies that offer boat tours around Halong Bay and then booked it for us (he used to be a tour guide apparently), + he gave us a free drink each, free breakfast in the morning, and is making sure that they have a room available for us when we get back from Halong Bay. Oh and we get to keep our increasingly heavy luggage here, and just pack a backpack with a couple of changes of clothes. He also recommended a Vietnamese restaurant for us, which was AMAZING. Mmmmmm! Cost us about $13 between the 3 of us. Such good value.

Anyway, very tired now so I'm going to bed; just thought I should do a bit of an update before we leave tomorrow. We'll be in Halong Bay on a 'junk' boat for the next 2 days doing kayaking, caving, hiking etc etc. It's going to be amazing! :D

Amiee x

Still in Vang Vieng...

This place just doesn't let you leave! We originally planned for 2 nights here.. but after tonight, we'll have been here for 6! I blame the 2 days of crappy rainy weather though. I can see why some Westerners just stay here permanently and work in the bars for free food & accommodation. As much as I really want to leave and keep on going.. I also kinda want to stay..... hopefully the spell will be broken once we hop on the bus to Luang Prabang tomorrow.

Our time is running out waaaaaaay too quickly. The first half of our trip we took so slowly because we felt like we had soo long overseas... and now it's like AAARGH where has our time gone?! We need more time!! We're definitely going to have to come back! Why can't we just be millionaires now and just travel as often and for as long as we want?? I do miss friends & family back home.. but we've just made so many awesome friends over here as well!

We had a really fun time last night when we arrived back at our guesthouse from tubing, went to pick up at our key at reception, only for them to tell us that they don't have it. They then proceeded to tell us that WE had actually taken the key.. which was all lies, because we distinctly remember putting it on their counter, and there is no way we would have taken it tubing with us! So they continued to blame us for losing it, and to top things off... there was no spare key!!! Steve and I then proceeded to freak out because we thought someone must have taken the key from the counter and taken all our money/passports/cameras/ipod etc from our room. The only English speaking Lao woman at the office informed us that she remembers us leaving WITH the key (BULLSHIT!) and that we had to wait for a locksmith to come (God knows how long that was going to take!). Steve and I weren't very happy at this point.. and very worried that all our stuff would be gone, so Steve decided to climb in through the bars in the windows (I have absolutely no idea how he managed to fit!). PHEW.. all our stuff was safe.. but we still couldn't leave to go have dinner because we couldn't lock our room. I went and found the main guesthouse woman to try and explain that we had managed to get the door open, but we still needed a key, but failed to do so because she spoke pretty much no English whatsoever. I tried to get her to go and get the English speaking woman so I could talk to her, but she didn't understand that either. We got her to come so she could see that we had got into the room... but that then made her think that we had the key afterall! So we then tried to explain that no we did NOT have the key, and that Steve had gotten in through the window. To achieve this, Steve had to demonstrate going through the window again, which made the woman yell a lot and threaten to call the police and have Steve arrested, for 'breaking in' to our own room. Another Lao girl came out who spoke a little English and said something about the possibility of a drunken family member of the guesthouse owners taking our key by accident before going out to party, and yet the other 2 main guesthouse women were still angrily blaming us for losing the key and denying any possibility that they had lost it. Confusing stuff. So then we had to wait for a 'locksmith' to come and fit a new lock (no doubt at our expense!). I went and met our friends for dinner while Steve waited and helped the locksmith. Finally we had a new lock and a key (+ 2 spares for the guesthouse!). Just as the locksmith finished.. the non-english speaking guesthouse woman (the one that had been yelling a lot) came out sheepishly with a key she had found and asked if it was ours. Which it was. Apparently the key had been in the drawer of the reception counter the entire time. She said sorry, but I am still not happy with them! And this morning, the guesthouse women have been glaring at me! God knows what for, considering it was entirely their fault! Gah. Fun times had by all, but at least it worked out for us in the end!

Steve has gone rock climbing for the entire day today, which should be amazing. I opted not to go to save money (plus a whole day would be a bit too long for me)... Steve's the main rock climbing enthusiast. After I finish posting this I'll probably be really original and go and watch some Friends! Haha.

Having a great time & loving life.
Amiee xx

Vang Vieng

I could never get sick of the scenery here! Huge tree-covered limestone mountains jutting out everywhere, incredibly blue lagoons and creeks.. it's very gorgeous. It reminds me of the Glasshouse Mountains but 50x more intense. Haven't got any good photos to show yet, though, because it's been a bit rainy!

The day before yesterday we hired mountain bikes and rode 6km out to a cave (I forget its name) and lagoon. The cave was absolutely huge and very interesting to explore! We've had to postpone tubing and rock climbing due to the rain.. I really hope it clears up soon! It feels like wasted time when you can't do anything!

The town of Vang Vieng is very crazy and very tourist-oriented. There are heaps of 'surf shops' selling Billabong and Roxy boardshorts etc, you can buy TimTams and Mars Bars etc from most shops, Pantene Pro-V and Lynx deodorant are even available! Almost every restaurant is constantly playing episodes of Friends or Family Guy. Going shirtless is not very acceptable in Lao culture, but most Western guys strut around the streets in just their boardshorts anyway. I've also seen several girls wearing nothing but bikinis around the streets, probably on their way home from tubing... I just think it's very disrespectful! There are always drunk Westerners around due to the numerous riverside bars offering free whiskey shots and cheap 'buckets' of alcohol. Not to mention the availability of weed, opium, and 'mushrooms' in most bars. There is supposed to be a 12am curfew in Laos, but some of the bars down on the river manage to stay open past that most nights; there is always the loud ruckus of Westerners heading home after they shut. Last night it was about 130 when they all got back to town; I could tell from all the shouting and door slamming. I'm not having a big whinge, I'm just trying to give an illustration of what it's like here! I really feel for the local Lao people, they must be so sick of all the tourists and having to constantly listen to Friends and Family Guy episodes!

Our motorbike wounds are healing well, and we're both healthy and happy :)
Amiee x

Laos album

Don Det & Vientiene

So we finally made it to Laos!

We spent a couple of nights on the island of Don Det in Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) on the Mekong River. Very picturesque and laid back. We stayed in a little bungalow with just a bed and a mosquito net, with our own little verandah and hammock over the water. Not much to do but walk around and explore the island.. we also took a little boat tour around the islands at sunset, which was lovely.

We then took an overnight bus to the capital of Vientiene. Can't say it was the best night's sleep I've had.. in fact it was probably in the top 5 worst. It was a sleeper bus with beds, which is all good in theory, except the beds were narrower and shorter than a single mattress, and one ticket buys you half that bed. So 2 people are crammed onto the one tiny bed! Luckily I'm travelling with Steve because I can't imagine having to share with a stranger! Well actually, I can.. because we were 'lucky' enough to get the back row, which consisted of supposedly enough room for 5 people and so it was an Amiee sandwhich between Steve and Random Strangers. I learnt that I can't actually sleep with strange people invading my personal space!

We arrived in Vientiene at about 6am and walked around trying to find a spare room in a guesthouse for a couple of hours; everywhere was full or out of our price range! We eventually found a place though and I got my much needed catch up on sleep. Vientiene is nice.. a lot more orderly and clean than all the other major cities we've visited.. and no constant honking!! I find it interesting that just across the Mekong is Thailand! You can just glance over and there it is! Maybe I find that so fascinate having only lived in Australia where we're an island and have no neighbouring countries?

This evening we've arrived in Vang Vieng. If Contiki was a town, this would be it. Heaps of young people, heaps of bars, very much catering to Western taste (I found a packet of M&M's!!!!). Some people would turn up their noses and say that it's too 'touristy' and that this isn't the 'real' Laos... we know.. but so far we like it anyway. There's tubing, caving and rockclimbing etc for us to do over the next few days so no doubt we'll have a lot of fun here.

I'll post some photos soon, I promise.
Amiee x

Stuck in Cambodia.

Over the past few days leading up to our departure from Cambodia we have run into more problems than we have encountered over the entirety of our trip. First there was the bus ride from hell, then the motorbike accident (which caused us to stay an extra day). The day after the accident we were almost attacked by a centipede and a snake (Steve says the centipede was cool). Today we were supposed to catch a bus from Ban Lung (where we've been staying) to Don Det in Laos. The bus arrived in Stung Treng just fine, but upon arrival at 1130AM we were told that we had to wait until 2PM for the bus. We kinda just wanted to get going, but we were ok about the wait. Then a few minutes later, we were told that there had been some sort of hold up with the bus, and that it wouldn't be here until 4PM. We were a bit annoyed but, having already bought and paid for the ticket, realised we didn't have a choice and sat and waited. At 4PM we were told that the bus was late, but it was on its way... a bit over an hour later we were told that it had broken down, and that we have to stay the night here, in Stung Treng, a hole!
Will we ever get to leave???????? Team morale is at a low... PLEASE CAMBODIA LET US LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

Heading to Laos!

Just a quick reminder that my overseas phone won't work in Laos, so don't bother texting it, just use Steve's mobile number.
Wounds are healing but quite sore, especially Steve.
Amiee x

International Calling

I've bought a prepaid sim card from the local travel agent that will work overseas (fingers crossed).
The sim is run through BackChat Mobile.
Below are the rates for each country, per minute, so you can understand if we don't talk for very long...

Singapore

Cost to Call Landline:	$0.99
Cost to Call Mobile:	$1.37
Cost to Receive:	$0.79
Cost to Send SMS:	$0.75

Malaysia

Cost to Call Landline:	$1.49
Cost to Call Mobile:	$1.87
Cost to Receive:	$0.75
Cost to Send SMS:	$0.99

Vietnam

Cost to Call Landline:	$1.49
Cost to Call Mobile:	$1.87
Cost to Receive:	Free
Cost to Send SMS:	$0.99

Cambodia

Cost to Call Landline:	$1.49
Cost to Call Mobile:	$1.87
Cost to Receive:	$0.87
Cost to Send SMS:	$0.99

Laos
Unavailable (using Steve's mobile here)

Thailand

Cost to Call Landline:	$1.99
Cost to Call Mobile:	$2.37
Cost to Receive:	$1.52
Cost to Send SMS:	$0.99

Slightly more detailed itinerary...

Dec 14: fly BNE -> Singapore, O/night train to KL, Malaysia
Dec 15 - 18: KL, Malaysia
Dec 18: O/night train to Singapore
Dec 19: Singapore
Dec 20: fly Singapore -> Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Dec 21&22: Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh area
Dec 23 - Jan 12: Cambodia
Jan 13 - Jan 26: Laos
Jan 27 - Feb 7: Vietnam
Feb 7: fly Ho Chi Minh -> Bangkok
Feb 7 - 15: Thailand
Feb 15/16: fly Phuket -> Singapore -> BNE

FYI

This is a **very** rough guide to where we're heading in SE Asia, my scribbling is not at all accurate, but you get the idea.

Starting in Ho Chi Minh City, heading clockwise around Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam before flying to Bangkok and down to Phuket for some R&R before we fly home again.

Prior to Ho Chi Minh City we'll have flown into Singapore, o/night trained up to Kuala Lumpur for a few days, back down to Singapore, and then have flown from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City.

We're not having a set itinerary, but rather a rough idea of the places we'd like to see along the way so that we're not 'locked in' to staying places we might not necessarily enjoy, and so that we can spend longer in places that we do really enjoy! The only things set in stone are our flights from Brisbane -> Singapore, train from Singapore -> KL & back, flight from Singapore -> Ho Chi Minh City, the flight from Ho Chi Minh City -> Bangkok, and then from Phuket -> Singapore -> Home.

17 days to go!