I'm not sure exactly what Vietnam has against our blog but since we left Saigon we have been under the impression that our website was down and dead for good. Turns out you all could see the posts and thought we were just being lazy while all we could get was error page after error page....yeesh, technology.
So we no longer carry our USB cords with us since we thought this site was a lost cause thus no pictures right now which is a shame because we have so many to update (especially since last post we meant to post about a million more). Promise to update HUGELY on April 2nd so get excited!
Briefly - loved Siagon; stayed in Nha Trang (beach town, much like Southbeach) for many nights: partied till the sun came up, tanned until the sun went down; travelled 11hours to Hoi An: picked out clothes, got fitted, refitted, picked out shoes, got fitted, refitted, ate ate ate, tried to meet up with Cam (complete failure, so sad); finally, travelled 14hours on sleeper train to Hanoi which is where we are now.
Tomorrow we leave for Halong Bay for two days and one night. We will be sleeping on a big boat tomorrow night. It was on Amazing Race last season so I am way overly excited. But apparently its crap weather lately so we will see......
Okay promise, when we are back from Halong, we will post a glorious post! Till then....
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Temples, Genocides, War.....and a Waterpark!
Well, we are sadly on the last leg of our journey (or race as we like to say). We have survived Cambodia which was not nearly as difficult as we thought. I will be posting pictures from siem reap and angkor wat. But we have also been through Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville (the Cambodian Beaches). We are now in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam (along with the one and only miss angelina jolie...they weren't at the water park though, which we thought was a sure thing to do witha new adopted child, oh well).
This is Angkor Wat...obviously the main attraction at angkor. This was on our first day there, though we made it back for sunset the second day. Armed with our own chauffeur forthe day (which we subsequently lost, but there was no shortge of them willing to drive us), we started at the largest religious building in the world. The pictures will not do this place justice. Nat and I just felt glad that we had the chance to see it.
This picture was a must have. Its really just that the orange and red of the monks robes standout really well on the grey temple background.
Bayon Temple (my personal favourite) had around 216 faces made out of stone, EVERYWHERE. 
Angkor Thom was another amazing one. With most of the temples, the jungle had been cleared away to make them easier for the busloads of tourists to walk through, for this one, the trees had been left in place and they literally had roots over the temples. I have no idea how to explain how that works...but it does. This was also a setting where Ms. Jolie taped some of tomb raider...she has been somewhat constant throughout this trip.
After Two days of temples (highlighted above) we took some time off on Bar St. This was one night when we met a couple who were living in Singapore, but originally from canada one of them gave Curly her camera. he took maybe 50 pictures and was very amused with it. As was his sister thsekids actually work the strip of bars. we bought them some food the night before but there's really not much you can do. other than play with them a bit.
After a day off from sightseeing, we traveled to Phnom Penh (Capital of Cambodia). Here we took in some of the History that as it turns out doesnt make all that much sense (as could be imagined duirng genocides). There were the killing fields, which is where people were killed and buried in mass graves (now commemorated by a monument) and the Tong Sleung Genocide museum which was a school before the khmer rouge (i think), turned it into a prison and torture building. So, needless to say, not the best day, but necessary all the same.
From phnom penh we went to Sihanoukville, Cambodia (the beaches in the south) to rest for a few days, and figured St. patty's might be good to spend on the beach. turns out it was successfully the worst St Pattys day ever. I won't get into details, it was just nothing to what we're used to.
From Sihanoukville, we crossed the border into Vietnam. Now in Saigon we have been to a waterpark, which was quitefun and pretty self-explanatory, except you don't have to carry your tubes to the top of the slide. there is a conveyor belt to take them for you....genious. They also had a black hole type slide (wonderland reminiscent) that made scary noises as you went down.
After a night of celebration (of Nat's acceptance to NYU) we visited the war museum and got a dose of ...well war. Tonight we will be leaving for Nha Trang (more beaches!!!) and then Hoi An (tailor made clothes !!!) and then...
Love you,miss you. Love the comments!!! (but keep em comin!)
p.s. Meant to have more pics, they won't load....
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Southern Laos: An Education on Bad Transportation and Really Old Fossils
Yes we have been bad again! But this time, it wasn't our fault! Anyway lets just get right down to it -
We arrived in Vientiane, Laos (capital city) where we said goodbye to Arie and Alex and where Steph, Jacco, Kathy and I had one last night together. So, in celebration, we went bowling. I wish I could upload the pictures now as they are pretty humourous but Cambodia (where we are now) really will not allow for that at all. The next day Jacco left us and Kathy, Steph and I decided to work our way down the South of Laos. Bad idea. Although we have a huge, massive amount of love for Laos, Southern Laos did not leave us all that happy. First of all, there was the transportation. Looooong hours on non air conditioned buses where not only is every seat taken but there are also stools in the middle of the aisles where another person sits. Oh yes and there are also people standing at the front of the bus. This inevitabley leads to flat tires, tons of body heat, and general misery. Also, we discovered that Southern Laos is the hottest place in the entire world. So inside the bus is probably around 40degrees C and if that bus stops for a single second (like say for a flat) allowing for no more wind thru the windows, you kind of are halfway between wanting to die and feeling like you might die pretty soon. But DONT WORRY! After one particularily peculiar 20hour journey (overnight so much less hot) that included on our bus a rooster, a man in the middle of the aisle smoking 4 cigerettes an hour and a leaky ceiling, we arrived in Si Phan Don - the 4000 Islands - at the very most Southern tip of Laos.
While journerying down through the South we stopped in Th Khaek (quite boring) and Savannakhet. There we went to the Dinosaur Museum which turned out to be just one room with bones in it. But it was our lucky day because the owner came in to talk to us and he was very cool, we learnt lots about dinosaurs and even got to hold 110million year old bones! Including a T-Rex tooth! You should have seen us, we were like elementry school children, so giddy about it all! Its a good thing we enjoyed it because besides trekking, its really the only thing to do in Savannakhet! Speaking of, Kathy and I (steph had a sore throat so stayed home) went on a one day trek where we met quite possibly the coolest locals and got to eat things in the forest like leaves that tasted like lemons or this really sticky fruit that monkeys really like. Kathy and I also spent a night at a local disco where we were the only white people for miles which lead to everybody staring at us the entire time we were there. BUt they played really good music and we hadn't had a night out in so long so we got over the staring and had a fabulous time!
After finally reaching the 4000 Islands, the three of us rented bikes and rode to a waterfall that is the most volume of water waterfall in all of Asia. It was a beautiful bike ride and very fun altho a little painful as the roads were very rocky and unpaved! The next day we left Kathy and crossed the boarder into Cambodia and that is where we are now! First we made a stop in Kratie where we got to see rare fresh water Dolphins. They were very weird looking but it was a very relaxing activity - floating in the Mekong while the sun set, observing dolphins jumping around you - after so many days of traveling. Especially because crossing the boarder was no piece of cake either (non air conditioned extended mini van where we sat in the sun in the back of the van for a few hours, soooo hot).
Now we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia. So far we love Cambodia the most out of all the places we have been which is wonderful because we were always sort of expecting Cambodia to be a challenege for us (based on others accounts) but its been nothing but pleasant and enjoyable. We spent two entire days visiting Angkor. We thought we'd just be seeing Angkor Wat but turns out Angkor is like an ancient city of temples and it streteches at least 30km! You have to hire a tuk tuk driver for the day who takes you all around and only hired cars and motorbikes are allowed to drive in the area. But we really need pictures to coincide with our Angkor stories so maybe in Phnom Penn we will have better internet access and thus a proper post about Angkor Wat and the temples of Angkor. They are just too beautiful, intricate, ancient and crazy too describe without pictures!
Off to Phonm Penn tomorrow, it will be hard to leave Siem Reap, we really do love it here.
Also, what is with the lack of comments? Andy, I think Marnie enjoys your comments more than the actual blog so get on it. And sam i know u are our most faithful reader, show us some love. Miss you guys...but wow, we are going to be home soon.....
We arrived in Vientiane, Laos (capital city) where we said goodbye to Arie and Alex and where Steph, Jacco, Kathy and I had one last night together. So, in celebration, we went bowling. I wish I could upload the pictures now as they are pretty humourous but Cambodia (where we are now) really will not allow for that at all. The next day Jacco left us and Kathy, Steph and I decided to work our way down the South of Laos. Bad idea. Although we have a huge, massive amount of love for Laos, Southern Laos did not leave us all that happy. First of all, there was the transportation. Looooong hours on non air conditioned buses where not only is every seat taken but there are also stools in the middle of the aisles where another person sits. Oh yes and there are also people standing at the front of the bus. This inevitabley leads to flat tires, tons of body heat, and general misery. Also, we discovered that Southern Laos is the hottest place in the entire world. So inside the bus is probably around 40degrees C and if that bus stops for a single second (like say for a flat) allowing for no more wind thru the windows, you kind of are halfway between wanting to die and feeling like you might die pretty soon. But DONT WORRY! After one particularily peculiar 20hour journey (overnight so much less hot) that included on our bus a rooster, a man in the middle of the aisle smoking 4 cigerettes an hour and a leaky ceiling, we arrived in Si Phan Don - the 4000 Islands - at the very most Southern tip of Laos.
While journerying down through the South we stopped in Th Khaek (quite boring) and Savannakhet. There we went to the Dinosaur Museum which turned out to be just one room with bones in it. But it was our lucky day because the owner came in to talk to us and he was very cool, we learnt lots about dinosaurs and even got to hold 110million year old bones! Including a T-Rex tooth! You should have seen us, we were like elementry school children, so giddy about it all! Its a good thing we enjoyed it because besides trekking, its really the only thing to do in Savannakhet! Speaking of, Kathy and I (steph had a sore throat so stayed home) went on a one day trek where we met quite possibly the coolest locals and got to eat things in the forest like leaves that tasted like lemons or this really sticky fruit that monkeys really like. Kathy and I also spent a night at a local disco where we were the only white people for miles which lead to everybody staring at us the entire time we were there. BUt they played really good music and we hadn't had a night out in so long so we got over the staring and had a fabulous time!
After finally reaching the 4000 Islands, the three of us rented bikes and rode to a waterfall that is the most volume of water waterfall in all of Asia. It was a beautiful bike ride and very fun altho a little painful as the roads were very rocky and unpaved! The next day we left Kathy and crossed the boarder into Cambodia and that is where we are now! First we made a stop in Kratie where we got to see rare fresh water Dolphins. They were very weird looking but it was a very relaxing activity - floating in the Mekong while the sun set, observing dolphins jumping around you - after so many days of traveling. Especially because crossing the boarder was no piece of cake either (non air conditioned extended mini van where we sat in the sun in the back of the van for a few hours, soooo hot).
Now we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia. So far we love Cambodia the most out of all the places we have been which is wonderful because we were always sort of expecting Cambodia to be a challenege for us (based on others accounts) but its been nothing but pleasant and enjoyable. We spent two entire days visiting Angkor. We thought we'd just be seeing Angkor Wat but turns out Angkor is like an ancient city of temples and it streteches at least 30km! You have to hire a tuk tuk driver for the day who takes you all around and only hired cars and motorbikes are allowed to drive in the area. But we really need pictures to coincide with our Angkor stories so maybe in Phnom Penn we will have better internet access and thus a proper post about Angkor Wat and the temples of Angkor. They are just too beautiful, intricate, ancient and crazy too describe without pictures!
Off to Phonm Penn tomorrow, it will be hard to leave Siem Reap, we really do love it here.
Also, what is with the lack of comments? Andy, I think Marnie enjoys your comments more than the actual blog so get on it. And sam i know u are our most faithful reader, show us some love. Miss you guys...but wow, we are going to be home soon.....
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