| Home...... |
[Jun. 18th, 2006|07:25 pm] |
Yep, that is right. My travels have finally come to an end and I have returned to Sunny UK (yes, it is actually warm and sunny here right now).. I landed back in London on the 16th only to be greeted by 3 beautiful faces that were waiting for me at 7am in arrivals - Gems, Amy and Kirsty! It was such a surprise as I only expected to see Gemma :) This made my return home even easier as it was tempting to extend my travels for longer..... p.s. Gemma got the job she flew home for!!!!!
The last two weeks of my travels were days I will never forget. We had the best time in Pakse and 4000 islands, although the heat was unbearable! Keith's friend of a friend from Canada (Emma) is currently living in the small town that Pakse is with her Laos boyfriend (Xin) - and coincidently it was his Birthday the day we arrived. So were invited to join in on his surprise celebrations. Birthdays are rarely celebrated in Laos as they typically do not even know how old they are and therefore when their bday is! Emma had to ask Xin's mother how old he was and even she was uncertain of his exact birth date. So the 5th June it became! It was awesome to help them celebrate by drinking Beer Laos the traditional way - one person takes it at a time to be the pourer to fill the glass for each other person who then has to down the whole thing - this continues well...until everyone decides to stop drinking I guess! The birthday cake then gets smeared all over each others faces (pictures to follow), so cakes are typically made with lots and lots of icing.... We then spent the next day chilling out at their house - a traditional Laos style house I guess, sat on stilts next to the river, all wooden, spacious open floor plan - beautiful....
We then head to Si Phan Don (4000 islands) which is only a 2 hour tuk tuk ride and then short boat journey out to the islands.
Our large tuk-tuk 'bus'
This place is magical - it is like going back 60 years in time or so. There is no electricity, albeit a few generators on the islands, so we would only have our torches at night, accomodation consists of 'Mr. Guesthouses' in which each owner/family owns several bungalows on stilts overhanging the river and usuaslly also run their own little restaurant. Women bathe in the water, their children running around, lots of animals; ducks, pigs, water buffalo, chickens, dogs and cats. The way of life here is so relaxed, it is so hot - time is passed just lazying in hammocks.
We stayed at Mr.Vengs (a friend of Emma's and Xins). The boys fished from the balcony of our bungalows and managed to catch a couple of interesting fish, which Mr Veng and his family then cooked for us to eat! The second night we were there we purchased a pig, chicken and 5 ducks and hosted a big hog-roast for about 15 of us travellers. This was awesome and something that rarely happen on the islands... so we are led to believe. This was in fact Mr. Veng's first personal killings (usually he has a friend to do it) - I of course did not wish to bear witness to any this (despite this being a part of natural life and then happily eating the poor things later) and left the boys to it, while I rode a bike to visit some rapids and find some beach.
3 nights were spent here and then we decided it was just too hot and time was running out for me (you could easily spend much longer here) - so we got an overnight train back to Bangkok where I did some last minute shopping before heading to Ko Samet (a beautiful beach only 3 hours from Bangkok) to catch some last rays before flying home.
I am home now and to be honest, it is really very nice. I am appreciating the simplest of things and am looking forward to spending the summer in England. There is lots more of the world I am hoping to see, but it will have to wait for the forseeable future........
This weekend I have been able to see all of my best friends whilst up in Manchester celebrating Fran's hen-due (which was nice to come home to!). Fran is getting married in 3 weeks - the first of our little group of 10 - I am so excited for her!!!!!
I think that I'm going to try and keep on using this livejournal blog malarky - that is, as and when anything interesting in my life happens.... I have plans to head out to Seattle for a couple of months to live and work - so watch this space!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Some Pictures :) |
[Jun. 4th, 2006|02:39 pm] |
Team Beer Laos.....
Waterfall in Luang Prabang
Beautiful Laos
Check out all the FLIES on the meat sold on the street side!!!!
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| Beer Laos...... |
[Jun. 2nd, 2006|03:03 pm] |
.....Probably the best beer I have tasted and you know that I am not much of a beer drinker!
We had 2 nights in Vientienne although not much to see and do here really, as we waited for Keith to join us from Hanoi as he was a day behind.... We decided to kill some time at the bowling alley - CLASSIC.... I can't remember the last time I went bowling. We had so much fun - I came 3rd!!! Oh I have just been informed that I actually came 2nd - check me out.....
Then Keith and I decide it would be fun to go and have our hair done!!!! I had highlights and Keith went totally blonde!!!
We then got the bus up to Vang Vieng - what a strange, but very cool town!! For those of you who have been there you know what I mean!!! This town has been built just for travellers, literally. If you are feeling homesick this is the place to be. Friends, Simpsons, Sunday Roasts, Pie, chips&gravy, you name it, it is here. What brings us shoestringers here is the tubing down the River with a Beer Lao in hand!! It is so much fun. You float down the river in rubber rings and stop off along the way to go down a zip line or swing rope! I however wasn't very good at this and managed to practically belly flop from 30 metres!!! Oh, I was and am still very sore. I think I am on a par with you Gems for the largest bruise on my inner thigh.... :(
We had 4 VERY FUN nights here and met some really cool people!! We then got another very long bus journey, but surrounded with stunning scenery!! and are now in Luang Prabang where we have been for the past 2nights. Yesterday we went to visit a 40 ft waterfall - beautiful. Tonight we are getting the night bus back to Vientienne where we then catch another night bus down to Pakse and 4000 islands.
Love you all x x x x x x |
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| Vietnam/Laos |
[May. 26th, 2006|12:53 pm] |
Thought it was time to update the journal and let everyone know that I am now a true 'solo' traveller, although never on my own as now travelling with 6 other really lovely peops. Gems found out a few weeks ago that she was given an interview for what would be her 'dream job', I am so proud of her! and made the difficult decision to cut her travels short by a few weeks and fly home for it. I have decided to stay out and finish my travels as planned. I am still with Matt and Tom (friends from home) and a really nice girl called Kim and guy called Dom- both from the UK. I have said my fond farewells to Scott, Paul and Jasmine as we have all now gone our separate paths :(
We spent nearly a week in Hanoi and visiting Halong Bay. The first day in Hanoi we attempted the Bia Hoi challenge, starting at 12:30 pm. Basically drinking local cheap and really weak beer on the side of the streets with the locals. It's a tradition apparently! I decided I couldn't stomach any more beer (I'm not a big beer drinker) and needed some food, so Matt and I wandered the streets to find a baguette, anything really, but so few spoke English nor could we find anything in English on the menu when we eventually wondered past 2 old Vietnamese men and were eyeing up their street food - it looked so good. We tried to order some when they invited us to sit down and join them. We drank bia hoi with them and ate crab and rice cakes and lots of other random local food - the best I have ever tasted - bearing in mind they spoke no English so all our communication was done with classic sign language. They were so kind and then wouldn't let us pay for any of it!!!
The next day we headed off to Halong Bay on a 2 night, 3 day boat trip. This was beautiful. You can see from some of the pictures I have attached below. We ate gorgeous food, stayed on the boat the first night - the boat was so luxurious was so impressed! It was just our group and and 2 other couples - we had the best time, swimming, diving off from the boat, kayaking etc. The second night they put us up in a hotel on a little island and ended up with the what was like the 'pent-house' room. It was huge with massive balcony and impressive views over Halong Bay. The best room I have stayed in since travelling!
Then just last night we have arrived in Vientienne, Laos after a killer 24 hour long bus journey from Hanoi! The first bus we were on for about 6 hours was luzury compared to the second bus they then transferred us on to for the remaining 18 hours!! OMG - I have never experienced anything like it. Needless to say I am glad we did it and didn't chicken out and fly which many peops do! The bus was so old, slow and cramped. My seat was sat upright as the number of rice bags piled up behind my seat meant that it couldn't be moved. The seat in front of me then was reclined back leaving me with no leg space whatsoever. Occasionally I was able to strech me legs in the aisle when one of the local men sat in the aisle next tome didn't have their feet or arms on my arm rest or in my floor space! CLASSIC! This was for 18 hours! Can't believe I actually managed to sleep some of this. The bus drove at about 2km an hour and at one point took 45 mins to just get up a hill!!
Anyways, it was experience and now we are in Laos. Making our way to Vang Vieng tomorrow for some tubing action - cannot wait and then heading north to Luang Prabang and then south to long awaited 4000 islands!! I have been waiting to visit 4000 islands since Laurie told me about here at the start of my travels.....
So much fun and can't stop laughing.............
I miss you girls at home and can't wait to see you.
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Halong Bay at Sunset
The group
Kim and I at a viewpoint looking over Halong Bay - it was a steep and sweaty climb to the top!
The group in the 'Surprise Caves' around Halong Bay
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| Vietnam Update |
[May. 18th, 2006|09:47 pm] |
Vietnam is beautiful. Wow, what a country! (Do read on, it's not identical to the email....)
Our travels in Vietnam began in Saigon trying to not be run over by the 3.5 million scooters that are in the city and also taking advantage of the 6pence per pint beer sold on the street side - classy ladies!!
We are still travelling as a 6 (Canadian Scott and Keith, Welsh Paul and Swedish Jasmine) and having so much fun. It was Scott's Bday on the 6th so we saw the day in with one too many tequila shots and therefore only having 2 hours sleep before getting up for the Cu Chi Tunnels (underground tunnel system that was used by the Vietnamese during the War). The tunnels were so small, hot, dark and claustrophobic, but astounding to think that peops lived in these for so many years. Only Gems and Jasmine were able to crawl through the whole tourist tunnel system (the rest of us bailed as it was so claustrophobic!). Gems made the classic mistake of leaving Scott's camera in the tunnel system. Luckily we realised as we had just set off on the bus that Scott did not have it and were able to turn the minibus around - Gems had to crawl back through the tunnel (hoping this was the place where the camera was left!) and panic over, found it. It was here that Gems also made here hangover headache worse by shooting and AK47 machine gun at the shooting range. It was a huge adrenalin rush (and great hangover cure). She also managed to get a lovely burn on her leg from the exhaust of a scooter.
In the evening we celebrated Scott's bday with drinking disgusting Vietnamese vodka and eating bday cake on our hotel balcony. The following moring as our heads were sore, we treated ourselves to a visit at Saigon Water Park. This was surprisingly good although poor Gems struggled climbing the stairs all the time with her drunken thigh injury.
We then made it to Mui Ne - small town on the beach, absolutely beautiful and spent 3 nights here. We hired our scooters for one day (which we later found out is completly illegal for foreigners and there is a 2million dong ($150) fine if cauight!- oops!) and visited some lush sand dunes and went sand sledding with some local children.
Well Nha Trang was awesome. We had the best time! We stayed here for 4 nights as it's a really nice place to hang out - nice beach, good diving and lots of night life to help Gem's celebrate her Birthday in true Vietnamese style. We visited a mud spa where we had the most amazing massage for 2 whole English pounds! The lady walked up and down our whole back and was even massaging with her knees!! We have also met up with Matt Langley and Tom Mckey (friends from school) and lots of other cool backpackers (most of us who are now still a big group - about 20 - travelling up the coast of Vietnam!) and having such fun and crazy times.
Have just spent the past 3 days in Hoian - most famous for the tailors. Needless to say I have had fun and went a little crazy as I was so impressed with the first suit and dress they made for me, I had about 12 things made! It's so amazing how quickly they can make something and so professional. Wow.... you could very easily spend soooo money here. So I thought it would be smart to have some suits made - in anticaption for lots of interviews when I eventually come home!
So there is a massive group of us here, going crazy at the tailors and just hanging out. The other night about 20 of us all hired push-bikes (a littel drunk!) and cycled like 5k to this little local Vietnamese restaurant, it was so CLASSIC and had a bit of bar crawl, so so so funny. Could have almost been in Cambridge with the number of bikes!
Well leaving in the morn and on my way to Hanoi to check out the embalmed Hoi Chi Minh and Halong Bay. Then crossing the border into Laos probs early/mid next week. What day is it??
Love and miss everyone loads. My coming home date (at the mo - only joking!) is the 13th June. For the first time today I thought about how home time is getting close - it was a scary thought! Needless to say, I am seizing every moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| Some Pictures :) |
[May. 18th, 2006|09:18 pm] |
Gem's and I crossing the border into Vietnam from Cambodia
The 6 of us
Sandunes in Mui Ne at Sunset
Me sand-sledding
Me and Gemsy :)
With Matt and Tom - pre Gem's Birthday!
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| Cambodia/Vietnam |
[May. 10th, 2006|07:39 pm] |
Hi Crazy Kids!!!
We both have been having a blast since we last emailed......sorry it has been ages since updating my journal. I have become slack with the whole internet malarky!
Starting with a slightly scary experience......We were in Siam Reap (Cambodia) visiting Angkor Wat and were travelling as a 6 with canadian scott and 3 isreali's we met on the bumpy ride over from Thailand to Cambodia. We hired out 2 tuk-tuks for the day to show us around all the temples in the jungle. After leaving the first temple we went back out to meet our drivers, only to find them nowhere, so after waiting for 1/2 hour we found a couple more tuktuk drivers to take us around. At the end of the day, we were back in the city eating.....only to be approached by the first tuktuk drivers and about a dozen of their friends! They were not happy!! :( Gems and I freaked out thinking they were gonna beat us up, or follow us with knives or something! But, after a sketchy hour of trying to calm them down we eventually ecsaped and we never saw them again thank goodness...
We then headed to the capital, Phnom Penh where we had a moving couple of days visiting the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields, where about 30 years ago, 3 million innocent cambodians were imprisoned, tortured and slaughtered by PolPot. It was an incomprehendable day, if that makes sense. We were left speechless and sickened. It was here that I also randomly bumped into someone i use to work with at George! Whilst in Phnom Penh we also met three cool canadians who we then travelled down to the beaches in southern cambodia with.
At the beaches we partied..partied...partied!!! We had the best time, staying in free accomodation with the kindest family right on the beach. We made friends with loads of street children (who are the cutest ever!), caught some rays, drank loads, and was convinced to teach english in South Korea by the Canadian couple for a year!...... Here we also met Swedish Jasmine and Welsh Paul who we danced the nights away with at the beach bars. One evening Gemma attempted to jump onto a dancing platform on the beach, only to fall flat on her face gaining the HUGEST bruise on her left thigh. She is still recovering and hobbling around - bless!
We then had the wierdest border crossing, having to take two bumpy taxi rides through small cambodian villages, across wooden bridges and fields before hitting a tiny border to vietnam! We walked across it to be met by scooters that rode us (with our huge backpacks) for an hour to a small town in vietnam where no-one spoke english and all we could find to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner was half-cooked beef noodle soup - yum!!
We are still a 6 travelling - managed to convince Scott, Jasmine and Paul to travel Vietnam with us! Had a couple of days hanging out in Saigon where we visited the Chu Chi Tunnels (I was too claustrophic to crawl through them - they are so tiny!)- It was here that Gems left behind Scott's camera,doh. Luckily we realised with enough time for Gems to crawl back through and find it!!! That would have been his 3rd camera he has lost since he began his travels...... We also visited the War Museum and local markets before celebrating Scott's Bday with cake and a few bevvie's on our balcony...
We are now in Mui Ne - stunning beach in Vietnam. I never realised how beautiful Vietnam is. Yesterday we hired out scooters for the day and visited white and yellow sand dunes and went sand sledding!
Catching the night bus tonight to Nha Trang where we are meeting Matt Langley and Tom Mckey!! There's a full moon party there on the 12th (Gem's Bday) so will an awesome group to help her celebrate :)
Lots of love Gems and Stephie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In Front of Angkor Wat
Inside Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat with the Isreali's
AngkorWat at Sunset
Beautiful Cambodian Girl - the people and country are amazing!!
Cambodian Beach at Sunset
Us with Scott!
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| Oh Beautiful Pai.... |
[Apr. 25th, 2006|12:06 am] |
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The hippy town of Pai, possibly our favourite place on this trip so far! I have fallen in love with South East Asia.... I could have quite easily have spent this past 6 months just travelling SE Asia (and I haven't even yet made it Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos!). Northern Thailand is beautiful and really, we didn't get to see enough of it. Pai, is so cool that we found it very difficult to leave and do anything else.....
Gems and I however did make it on the most amazing elephant ride - we went swimming with it! Very cool....Have got a classic picture of Gems falling off the poor big animal and will upload it soon.
I did have a minor accident whilst in Pai and fell off my scooter right into the curb,,,doh! Check out the picture for my injuries and scars. Still feeling sore and a day or two was spent feeling sorry for myself!
Team Canada remains with us, although in an adopted form as we have met another Canadian called Scott who is travelling Cambodia with us. We have spent an awesome few days with him and a French-Canadian called Valerie - we miss you Val!
We are travelling into Cambodia tomorrow, where we plan to spend about about a week or so, visitng the beautiful temples of Angkor Wat and the moving killing fields in Phnom Penn, before we head to the Cambodian beaches for a few days in the sun :)
We will keep you all updated. Love, love, loving it......
Keep on smiling x x x x
My Injuries :(
Beautiful village just outside Pai
Me standing on an elephant, the poor thing! having just fallen off it in the water......
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| Bangkok and Chiang Mai! |
[Apr. 18th, 2006|07:19 pm] |
Since Ko Phi Phi we have ventured on to Bangkok and are now in Chiang Mai - however with our group having got smaller by the day! Whilst in Bangkok our 'original 4' split into 2's :(. This being due to Gems and I wanting to extend our trip by a few extra weeks and Amy and Kirsty still planning to arrive home on the date orignally planned. Gems and I have still yet to change our tickets, so we don't have a home coming date at the moment. We are planning early - mid June (don't worry Fran we will be back for your hen wkend!!). Harry and Elton are now back in the UK and Team Canada has continued with his travels without us (can you believe it?! ha ha).
So, Gems and I are together now (still in Thailand) and Amy and Kirsty have just arrived in Vietnam!! Exciting for each other, but also sad :(. Hope you girlies are doing okay and you have, since your last email, been able to decide on what to eat (and are in fact eating)!
We had a crazy few days in Bangkok. We managed to catch the New Year, the Songkhran Festival. Basically all the thais fill the streets with water pistols and buckets of water to soak each other and cover one antoher in chalk paste. We joined in with the festivities and bought water guns etc and needless to say, we got absolutely covered (pictures to follow). And for some 'great' reason the festival goes on for 4 days (1 day is enough), which means that you literally can't do anything else apart from get wet. We are going to have to do our sightseeing on our way back through.
We arrived in Chaing Mai yesterday - just in time to catch the weekly Sunday night market, which is amazing! Toyah, you are right, the shopping is so good here.... Trying to be good though...
Today Gems and I did a Thai cookery course (which I recommended to any one of you visiting Thailand, esp Chiang Mai). It, again was amazing. We cooked and ate lush food all day long. We cooked pad thai, fried chicken with cashew nut and learned how to make thai chicken green curry and spring rolls. Yes girls, me and Gems cooking lush food, canny you believe. A & K you would be so proud of us (A&K did most of the cooking in NZ and OZ - me and Gems being less fortunate with our culinary skills). But move on over, we can now russle up some authentic thai food :)
"Oh yes, we can cook!"
We are headed to Pai tomoz where we hope to book on to a 2 day trek where we visit some hill tribes and ride an elephant!
Look forward to hearing from you peops soon, Steph and Gems x x x x |
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| Thai Update |
[Apr. 7th, 2006|09:03 pm] |
Thought it was once again time to show you all some more pictures! We have spent the past couple of days on Ko Phi Phi island, where the tsunami hit. Quite incredible to see the damage that was done and how the island has also managed to 'rebuild' itself somewhat, with lots of tourists still holidaying here.
Yesterday he hired a long boat to take us to visit "the Beach" - where the film was shot. It was really amazing, so beautiful!!
The beautiful Perhentians -
"The Beach"
Us with Team Canada - Mark.
Hope everyone is well.
Stephanie x x x |
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