Ev Star

hello!

Mad and I are currently in Vientiane, Laos. I have been enjoying Laos quite a bit so far! It is extremely laid back, which i love, and the people are friendly. I guess I should backtrack a little bit. After being in Bangkok for a few days, Mad and I took a train up to Korat. There we were able to meet up with one of the teachers I worked with last time I was in Thailand which was fun. He took us to a night market (they sold usual things like food and clothing, but also some more strange things like small caged squirrels (upon inquiry we discovered that Thai squirrels are not wild rodents that ruin your garden, but rather charming house pets…complete with claws and sharp teeth) and then out for dinner which was nice. We were hoping to be able to get in touch with my old host family but that never worked out which was too bad.

On the 22nd of May we took a bus to Mukdahan in Thailand and spent a night there. On the 23rd, Mad’s Birthday, we had the morning in Thailand and then at midday we took a bus over to Laos (i managed to find her a croissant and small pot of nutella for breakfast and even a candle (it was hello kitty dressed up as a mouse, i think, but whatever it’s the thought that counts!)). One birthday in two countries…not bad!

We stayed in the border city of Savannakhet in Laos which I really liked. It felt like an old war town unchanged from the 50s or 60s. It was neat. One of the days there we rented bicycles (complete with big seats, giant baskets in the front and bells…fun!) and rode along the Mekong river (i had been talking about doing that since we started planning our trip, and it was great as i expected!) It was cool because we were riding in Laos but looking out at Thailand across the river. Fun!

After a couple of days in Savannakhet we took a bus ride (long…very long) up to Vientiane where we still are now. My two favourite things so far have been going to a museum called COPE. It is about UXOs in Laos.  I learned things I never knew like that there are about 80 million unexploded bombs in Laos today each filled with hundreds of what are called bombies and only 60 million residents. The 80 million bombs are not even counting the cluster bombs that still remain in the country…it is pretty crazy.  It’s really sad too because most of the injuries and deaths that occur now are from scrap metal collectors.  The people are so poor that it is worth it to try to collect bomb shells for money (1000 kip (10cents) per kilo).  Anyway, the people working at the centre were extremely friendly (i got invited to lunch with them!), there were loads of interesting films to see (i watched 2) and a nice if sad display.

Another favourite thing for me was taking a cooking class. We made Laap with fish (that is a national dish here and is quite tasty), fresh spring rolls (the kind in clear rice paper) and a chicken curry. It was neat because in the morning we went out to a market to gather the ingredients (we used some neat things I’d never seen before like banana flowers!) and then we cooked everything over a bucket of coals style element like people from Laos do in their homes.

I think tomorrow Mad and I will be off to Vang Vieng where we will have the opportunity to volunteer on an organic farm! I’m really excited about that! We can do stuff on the farm (i hear it’s things like feeding piglets and helping milk goats! cool!) and also volunteer at a school.  Maddy is trying to finish making a film so we’ve ended up staying a couple days extra here in Vientienne.  Although i’m keen to get to Vang Vieng, it’s been nice to stay in one place for a few days instead of rushing off after just 1 or 2 nights. I’m also feeling a bit sick today so I don’t regret that we are not spending several hours on a bus.

Oh, there is some other news!   While most people end up seeing fewer places than they had wanted to while traveling, Mad and I have added 2 countries to our itinerary.  We have really been enjoying the places we’ve been in south east asia but the weather has not been particularly nice.  We knew it was going to be monsoon season; however, we had a different impression of what that would entail.  According to our guide book it should be hot and sunny in the mornings and then a couple hours of rain in the afternoon which should come as a great relief after the day’s sunshine.  So far, it has been quite gray and rainy and LOTS of thunder and lightning.  It is fine, but gets to be a bit annoying when you want to go out sightseeing and it is pouring AND when your clothes don’t dry…ever…and STINK like mildew (on par with the stench of a durian).  So, all that said, we have decided to cut out a few days here and there and then spend our last few days south of the equator in indonesia!!  It will be prime season there, so we are pretty excited.

Also, we will now be going to France for a few days as we received a generous offer from Cecil in Frankfurt to drive with him to their place in France.  I’m very excited about this especially as I have never spent time in France (a bus i was on once drove through a small corner of the country to avoid a bad traffic jam…but that hardly counts)

Right, well I think that is about all the news for now.  Time for a fruit shake (passion fruit? mango? pineapple anyone??)!!

xoxoEv

Oooops, I haven’t updated since the beginning of our trek in Nepal!

Well, you will all be happy to know that Mad and I made it!   There is one particularly difficult part of the trek, the Thorong La Pass which is at 5416m.  I don’t know how they figure out the height so specifically, but that is what it claims to be.  In any case, it seems that many people (including 2 out of 3 of the group that went before us) do not make it over the pass, so we were pretty happy!

The trek was very beautiful.  Lots of nice scenery and wildlife.  It was also pretty tiring though!

We finished our trek in Pokhara, and then flew to Kathmandu.  The next 2 days we slept a lot, took hot baths (we had a bathtub!!! first and so far only time on this trip) and generally relaxed.   After that we flew to Delhi and stayed with Lucie and her roommates again for 2 nights.  After that we flew to Singapore and spent one night there and then we flew to Phuket….crazy week for flying!

Neither Mad nor I were particularly taken with Phuket.  I think it would be ok to go there if you were taking a one week vacation to lie on the beach and suntan (the beach is well equipped with lines of chaises longues), but it lacks any sort of charm.  The next day we headed by bus down to southern thailand.  We spent a night in a place called Longu (i think) and then the next day we took a boat out to an island called Koh Tarutao.  The island is a part of a national park, so we knew that there would not be loads of people there or constant motor boats going by.  In an attempt to economize, I suggested we borrow a tent and camp on the beach.  It was rather uncomfortable without mattresses, but we thought we would be able to manage.  The first night was fine, but then the next day it started to get really windy….enough to cause our tent to fold in on itself!  We decided at that point to give up the camping and to rent a bungalow.  It was a good idea as just as we moved into our bungalow the rain started.  I know, coming from Vancouver and all we should be used to the rain and well equipped to deal with it, but these monsoon rains are intense!  We stayed for a week on the island (it would have been six days but the morning we wanted to leave the boat didn’t come due to unfavourable conditions at sea so we spent another night on the island).  I should probably mention that there is not much of anything on the island.  There is a restaurant, a small shop and a sort of welcome centre.  There are a few bungalows and also tents for hire that can be pitched anywhere on the island.  Other than that there is nothing much.  Oh, for those who used to watch the show, it is the island where Survivor Thailand was filmed.

After our week on the island, we took a boat back to the mainland and then shared a mini van with some people we had met on the island to the city of Hat Yai.  In Hat Yai we were able to book a night train ticket to Bangkok for that evening (we thought the train might be fully booked already, but i guess we were lucky!)  Thai trains seem more comfortable that Indian ones, but perhaps (we thought this was impossible) slower. 

We have now been in Bangkok for 4 days.  For the past 3 mornings Mad and I have been attending muay thai boxing classes.  I was scared to go as I haven’t done any martial arts before, but it is actually pretty fun!  Today we are off to see the Emerald Buddha temple and also the royal palace.

xoxo Ev