Adventures of a Lotus Lover

Well, well...as usual its been ages since my last post. And as usual I feel guilty about not staying on top of it. But travelling the world is busy work - and tiring! especially these days. I really should be pitied, hehe. The truth is that after about 14 months 'on the road' we are kindof running out of steam. Our energy and while I hate to admit it, sometimes our enthusiasm is waning. At the time of writing we have about 1 month until we return to England and about 6 weeks until I return to Canada. And we are really looking forward to going 'HOME'. This travel business really is hard work - believe it or not!!! More then anything it just gets a bit tiring being on the move so often. However, thats not to say that we havent got a jam packed month ahead and we are pretty determined and excited to make the most of it! (Even if it requires me dragging Vic around by the pants and poking him with a stick to make sure he smiles!)

We have been to so many places and done so many things since I last wrote that I know I wont have the time to describe our travels in the detail Id like to, but I figured I better write something before the task becomes so large that it feels impossible and I procrastinate it forever. So here goes:

When I last wrote we were leaving our beloved SE Asia for Sri Lanka - which was back in August. We spent 12 days in Sri Lanka and for having so little time we covered a fair amount of ground and really fell in love with the country. We cast fears about safety aside(more other peoples then our own) and with awareness and excitement in hand we set of on our Indian sub-continent Adventure! In beautiful Sri Lanka, we were rewarded with some of the friendliest, and most hospitable people ever and also some of the most beautiful scenery - a truly winning combination! Sri Lanka is experiencing its problems at the moment but we felt safe and touchingly welcomed there. We soaked up the sun on post card perfect beaches(some we had all to our selves), defied death on the craziest bus ride ever, reveled in what surely is one of the worlds most scenic train journeys(Ella to Kandy), relaxed to the max in the lush green hill country and I even witnessed one of Asias most spectacular religious festivals - Esala Perahara. 12 days went by so fast and it was definetly because we were having fun. Unfortunately something bad did happen to us in Sri Lanka - Vic caught Chicken Pox!!! I guess you could say he was lucky because adult chicken pox can be a dangerous thing, and he managed to get away with only a rather 'normal' bought of it. He (we!) only suffered for about a week - but what a miserable week it was! And it was in the midst of that week when we had to board our next flight.

Next stop: Delhi, India We were bracing ourselves (Vic was definately dreading) for the mayhem that we have heard so much about in Delhi. With Vic being ill we booked a hotel that was a step up from our usual cheapie accomidation and had them send someone to pick us up at the airport - as luck would have it we found a great little hotel and now dont want to stay anywhere else on our upcomming returns to Delhi(for fellow travellers: its the Godwin Deluxe). We holed up here for a few days, living off room service, until Vic was all better and no longer at risk of greeting the locals with a contagious infection. We planned to venture out around Rajasthan by train and bus, but got chatting with the tour agent at our hotel and were told(sold) about hiring a 'car and driver'. It was cheaper then we expected and considering how little time we had to visit such a huge country it seemed a good way to go. We jokingly made them promise to provide their 'very best' driver and now after spending a full 2 weeks with our driver Raj, we are sure that they did. Our plans at the time of booking were to see Rajasthan with our driver for 2 weeks and then fly to Nepal (I wanted to do a meditation retreat there at a set time) and after that return to India to travel independantly for another month or more. But as has become the norm for us, we have changed our plans and will be spending another 3 weeks with our now beloved driver.
Our two weeks in Rajasthan were amazing! India has so many mind blowingly incredible sites to see its almost overwhelming. The architecture, arts, colour, culture, landscape, people and food have amazed me at every turn. I find myself perplexed and pondering far more then usual (and thats alot!!!) which means that India is challenging, but that is what Ive been asking for from this journey. India is indeed challenging, but so far it has not been 'hard' from a travellers point of view. In fact, Vic and I are rather surprised (and amused) at Indias reputation amongst travellers. We quickly filled 2 weeks with many days driving between desert cities on often bumpy but very scenic roads dodging and honking at little cars, big trucks(all garishly painted and decorated) and camels with carts transporting all manner of things. The trafic here is out of this world! There were many visits to indescribably stunning old forts and interesting museums, a stint in the desert riding camels(I LOVE camels - mine was named Disco ), and a stay with our driver, Raj's lovely family in the rustic little village he grew up in - what a treat! By the start of September it was the end of India part 1 for us. Raj dropped us at the Delhi airport for our flight to Nepal and he waved us off as our friend, happily knowing we would see eachother again soon.

Next stop: Kathmandu, Nepal. On our way to Nepal I started feeling like Id been struck with a cold. Pretty lousy, but I was confident I would be over the worst of it in a day or two. We checked into a cheap but very nice nad comfortable hotel in Kathmandu and as excited as I was to be in Nepal I wasnt in any shape to head out that day. The next day was worse. I was coughing, stuffed up and struck by a fever. By day 3 that fever was 40 degrees and I was pretty much imobolized. I had frequent headaches and plenty of aches and pains. It stayed that way for about a week. I was beyond miserable and poor Vic was beyond concerned. We knew a doctors visit was probably in order but I just didnt have the strength for the journey, so I waited it out while Vic played nurse and kept a close watch over me. When my fever dropped a couple of degrees I started feeling slightly better and so I summoned the strength for the rickshaw journey to the clinic. It didnt take long before my blood was drawn and the test results showed I had Dengue Fever, which is spread by those nasty little bastards - mosquitoes! There is no treatment for Dengue so had I known earlier it would have made no difference - except perhaps to comfort me that I probably wasnt likely to die! I was told to come back in a couple of days to check that my blood levels were improving(which I did, and they did) and warned that I may not feel 100% for a while. There is often a lingering fatigue that comes with Dengue and I did indeed experience it.
By the time the meditation retreat at Kopan Monastary (that I really had my heart set on) was starting I was over the worst of things, but still felt really tired. Sadly, I decided not to go since meditation takes consentration and consentration takes energy - I guess Ill have to seek my enlightenment elsewhere! In any case, once I was feeling better we managed to get out of our room and check out Kathmandu and the area. What a crazy but wonderful place! Nepal caters very well to tourists, and the people are just lovely, the food available is incredible(local and worldly!! mmmm Enchiladas and Momos!) and there are tons of really amazing religious and historical sites to explore. After checking out alot of them we felt we had finally gotten a taste of the area and were ready to move on. I wish badly that I could get back the 2 weeks wasted by Dengue so we could see more of the country side and do some of the treking that is so infamous but it wasnt to be. So we b-lined on an 8 hour bus trip that was wonderfully scenic to a place called Pokhara - Nepals 2 biggest city and a pretty big tourist hang. This place is a bit of a backpackers paradise - stunningly beautiful, friendly, laid back, cheap, great food, shopping and lots of cold Everest beer...and its the jumping off point for the most popular trek in Nepal - the Anapurnas. The Anapurnas are a gorgeous set of mountains that you can see towering amidst the clouds, off in the distance, right from inside the city. Its hard to explain the atmosphere here but it is very special. These mountains are so beautiful and the culture is so enchanting that it really casts a spell. We both felt we could happily spend ages here relaxing to the max and befriending the friendly locals and fellow travellers alike! There is however, plenty more things to get up to around here and we did try a few. A boat ride on the beautiful lake that the city is built around, a hike up a big hill to visit the lovely World Peace Pagoda, a visit to an interesting spot on a thundering river where it disapears underground AND PARAGLIDING!! Paragliding is a very popular activity here and everyday you can see the gliders out there playing around over the nearby mountains. It looked so fun and amazing (and SCARY!!!) that we decided we had to give it a try. We coughed up the cash (about $150) for a one hour adventure and headed for the hills! This truly was one of the most incredible experiences ever. I stood on that hill top waiting for my guide to set up the gear and feeling butterflies in my tummy like I was waiting in line for the worlds biggest rollercoaster. But once we were up it was the biggest rush and then it wasnt scary at all - just beautiful, fun and oh so peacefull. The scenery from the air was breathtaking(pictures to be posted soon!) and when it was over we both wanted (and still want) to go again, and again and again!
But the next day was time to leave Nepal (sniff, sniff) - our Visas were expiring and there was still tons to see and do in India. So we got on a bus for 9 hours headed for the border. And after another full days travel on a train we finally arived at our destination in India, the ancient (said to be the oldest living city in the world) and very Holy, Varanassi. That is where we are at the moment, spending a few days, relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere. It really is an incredible place. Many Hindus come here to die and are cremated here as it is believed that being cremated here releases you from the cycle of rebirth so you go straight to Nirvana. There are 365 ghats (sets of steps that lead the water) built along the Ganges and 2 are dedicated to cremations. It is true that the 'Mother' Ganges River is horibly polluted, but also that it is a majical and very beautiful river. And the city is bursting with life and colour! If we had more time this is definately a place I would like to know better.

Our future plans:
Tomorrow we take a train back to Delhi where we plan to spend a couple of days doing some shopping(Vic is soooo excited about this part) and seeing some of the sites of the city. Then its off to the State of Punjab for a few days, back to Rajashtan to see some more and of course no trip to this country would be complete with the obligatory trip to the Taj Mahal.
On November 1st we fly to Dubai where we will hang out and blow our budget all to hell for 3 days. Then on November 4th we return to where we started - Lovely England.
On November 19th Vic & my journeys part ways for a while as I am headed home to Canada. He will remain in England with family and friends until mid January when the lucky devil will be returning to one of the best places on earth - Kampot, Cambodia.
We are both dreaming of "Home Sweet Home" these days and cant wait to see everyone we love again!!!

Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice

So once again its been Ages between updates. My appologies for this being really damn LONG!

Luang Prabang, Laos looked after us so well that we ended up dragging out our lazy stay there as long as possible. We had intended to visit the Plain of Jars in Phonsavon and also spend a few days in Vang Vieng tubing down the river and acting like drunken teenagers or at least being entertained by those who do (its a notorious party town), but we ended up having to chose between the two places - the party town won.
We only had time for a quick visit to Vang Vieng but we really didnt mind -we have heard of people who have spent months there but its really not our scene and to be honest more then a few days there is now my idea of a nightmare. It the least Laos-like place in all of Laos and Im sure the tourists outnumber the locals.
The town itself consists of little more then cheap guesthouses, tour companies, bars and restaurants(and yes the rumours are true, they play Friends reruns all day long - and this attracts rather then repels customers!) If thats your thing, I guess this place is Paradise. We made the effort to enjoy it for 2 days but then gladly moved on.
There is in fact lots to enjoy: In Vang Vieng you can tube down a gorgeous river stopping at rope swings and music blaring 'bars' along the way and have a damn good time doing it - we indulged in this 5 years ago and it was one of the highlights of our trip and so we felt obliged to give it a go this time around too - I wouldnt say it made the highlights list this time but we threw ourselves into the experience nonetheless and had a drunken fun time We even met a few nice people who were over the age of 20 to keep us company!
Its nice to see tourist dollars being spread around this very poor country and we have been very encouraged by the innovative and ethical ways we have seen this being done here in Laos (more then anywhere else on our trip) - we have seen our tour dollars handed over to village chiefs who have hosted us in very remote and extremely poor areas and paid to local rangers who are working hard to keep fledgling parks free from poachers and the likes. But in the context of all that, I did shake my head at Vang Vieng. This town has alot going for it - its set in the midst of breathtaking scenery and there are endless things to get up to if you are the adventurous type - but it is now a town where Laos values are not well respected and I really didnt think it felt like Laos at all(drunk girls hang out in the streets in their bikinis!). I have come to be uncomfortably aware of just how sharp and doubled edged the sword of tourism is.

Alright, down off my soap box now...We wrapped up our stay in Laos by b-lining for the capital, spashing out on an expensive hotel($20!!)for the nite and then boarding a 3 hour flight to Malaysia. Finaly, a country we havent been to before!!! I realized months ago when we first returned to Thailand how nice it is to return to a country you have visited before - you can get aquainted with deeper and perhaps more subtle aspects of the culture by not always being absorbed with the 'shocking' stuff - its not shocking aymore. We have gotten so comfortable in South East Asia that the occasional exposure we have with Western Culture (such as music videos and fashion magazines) are more of a culture shock then just about anything we find around here anymore (not that they werent often shocking to me before!) We've gladly took our time revisiting Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and hope to revisit them again(and again if we are lucky!) but Malaysia was a new place for us to discover and I guess that ups the excitment level

Malaysia:
When we arrived in the capital of Kuala Lumpur(KL) I was commenting on the 'good vibes' of the place before we had even departed the airport! And after having spent a cumulative total of about a week there I am confident in saying: KL rocks! What a lively, lovely city. Malaysia and especially KL, is very multi-cultural which adds all kinds of interesting dimensions to the place. It is a predominatly Muslim country but there is a very large Chinese and also Indian population as well as a sprinkling of people from other places. Walking the streets of KL you see many women dressed in full burkas showing nothing but their(often strikingly gorgeous!)eyes right along side young girls dressed to the nines in the latest trendy, sexy fashions. Men socialize in street side cafes and smoke shisha while loud Bollywood music plays in the shop next door. The whole place is strikingly modern, fairly clean and well organized(at least compared to the other asian cities we know). The people are friendly and kind (although the men were especially friendly with me, hmmm). And it seems the place never sleeps. We couldnt really afford to live it up (alcohol is crazy expensive here, which as a backpacker means more then $2 a can!) but there is a kicking niteclub scene and the later it gets the more hustle and bustle there seems to be about. I dont mind big cities but rarely get excited about them, but I thought KL is great - fun and friendly
Here we were thrilled to meet up with a friend we made in Cambodia, Beck, who joined us for most of our one month tour of Malaysia. We took in alot of the tourist sites in KL including enjoying the views of the city from one of the tallest buildings in the world(the Menara tower) and the tallest twin towers in the world(the Petronas Towers). We walked through China town and Little India and visited the Lake Gardens which included a huge bird park that was pretty damn cool.
From KL we got on a plane and flew to the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo. Unfortunately our time was streched very thin for Malaysia in general and it felt especially so for Borneo but we still managed to squeeze some great experiences into a short time. We spent that time in a part of the island called Sabah, and our favorite part of Sabah was staying at place called Uncle Tans. This place has made quite a name for itself amongst travellers to Borneo and came highly reccomended by many - so we signed ourselves up to find out what all the fuss was about and now we are spreading our love of the place too! Uncle Tans is a Jungle Camp set up pretty deep in the dense jungle. You arrive by taking a van and then a boat about an hour down a river - there are no roads. We arrived in the rainy season which means the water was high enough that the boat dropped you off quite literally at the door of the 'cabins' we slept in - a floor, roof, mattress, sheet, mosquito net and some mesh on the walls to keep the monkeys out! - what more do you need?
The place is extremely well run, the guides are young, fun and friendly, oh and extremely professional nd knowledgable too! Oh and the food is AWESOME! In the course of a few days we took several boat trips at nite and in the day. You can spot monkeys galore, all kinds of birds and if you are lucky - orangutans and crocs(we werent so lucky). We also did some guided jungle treking which is an adventure of its own kind. As it was the rainy season, we were treking in one hell of a muddy jungle. On our nite trek we were in mud up to our crotch!! We saw tarantulas and a scorpion and some other small critters. Picture it - pitch black jungle, full of creepy crawlies, sloshing through the mud with a flashlite! I guess it was one of those experiences that you find the humour in to survive - you curse and laugh your way through it - but when its done your so glad you did it
Anyways, that place was a real highlite. And we made an American friend there named Evan who joined the pack for the rest of our time in Borneo We also spent some time hanging around Mt. Kinabalo which the highest peak in South East Asia. We were intent on climbing it, but didnt in the end. Just my luck, I ended up suffering with a cold which made it an effort just to get out of bed...and to be honest, we all found the tourist atmosphere here a bit annoying and werent too bothered about moving on. Unfortunately Borneo has the habit of charging a milion and one fees (ie.camera fee?) for many of their best sights and making it difficult if not impossible to see those sights without the use of hired guides and things, which isnt quite what we are used to in Asia(we thought it felt a bit like a tourist 'countryclub'). Anyways, I managed to drag myself around some of the trails at the base of the mountain with Beck & Vic (which was free!) and still made for a lovely day. Then we all headed back to the town of KK where we mostly put our feet up at a friendly little hostel before sadly saying goodbye to Evan and getting back on the plane to Kuala Lumpur.
Once back on 'the Peninsula' Vic & I headed off on our own to the Cameron Highlands(Beck went to meet a friend, Calida, in Singapore). The Highlands are well...high-lands, lush green mountains(well rolling hills to this BC girl). They are very pretty and also a major tea growing area. Anyone who knows me knows Im a bit of a tea fanatic so I was really looking forward to this place. We got up there in a clapped out bus that kept breaking down(and rolling backwards! gulp!) on the steep roads, but arrived safe and sound in the end. We stayed at a pretty cool guesthouse run by a friendly Indian family called Fathers and took a 'lazy tour' around the area visiting a handfull of places like a strawberry farm (mmmmm, you dont see many fresh strawberries in Asia!), a butterfly garden, honey farm, rose garden and of course a tea plantation and factory!! Ive never seen tea trees before and I think even coffee drinkers would agree that tea estates look gorgeous - like a bright green carpet blanketing the hills. It was interesting to watch how the tea is processed and I of course made a few purchases at the on site tea shop
We wished we had a couple more days in this area as there are some very nice walking trails that we missed and also it just felt nice to be up in the fresh, cool air(and snuggled under a blanket at nite!)...but I guess there are just too good things to see in this world...and so we pushed on!
Next stop: Taman Negara. This is said to be one of the oldest Primary Rainforests in the world and it contains the worlds longest canopy walkway. As we had recently been deep in the Borneo jungle we werent sure how this place would measure up, but we werent disapointed. Its a lovely place to spend a few days or more if you up for some serious treking. On our way here we met up with Beck again and welcomed one more to our group - Calida, from Australia We only had two days, so we did our best to make the most of it. Many people sign up for 2 or 3 day tours before they get here and we were tempted because of our limited time...but we held out and were immediately glad we did. Its ridiculously easy (and much cheaper) to see the main sites on your own.
The first day we hiked a few hours to the 'Ear cave' which is the home of hundreds of bats. The enterance was pretty narrow and we timidly made our way in, not quite sure what to expect. Well, it was an interesting experience. It turned out that only 2 of the 4 of us had working flashlites, at least 2 of us were pretty darn scared of bats, and at least one of us was a wee bit claustrophobic (What a team!) As a result, we all got a bit freaked once deap inside the very dark, very narrow cave with bats flying around our heads and decided to turn back(even though you are meant to exit a different way) Fine, no problem...it only took about 10 minutes to get in. Except that when we were almost to the exit (entrance) a tour group started making their way in. There was just enough room for them to squeeze past us, so we pressed ourselves up against the wall and waited for them to pass. And waited, and waited....and waited. Turns out many tour groups had arrived by boat, all at the same time, and so we had to wait for a few hundred Asian tourists to pass us before we could finally escape(apparently it was out of the question to wait 2 minutes for 4 people to exit, we were simply told its 'only one way'). It was annoying, but mostly just really funny. And for our display of bravery in the cave we were rewarded with rain outside the cave. The walk back was very wet, muddy and leach infested! Welcome to the Jungle.
The next day was drier and mericfully less leachy. We made our way through an leisurly and informative (signposted)forest trail to the infamous Canopy Walkway around noon and waited in a very unorganized que for about 40 minutes. Turns out we were lucky - the day before people waited up to 4 hours!! If I waited 4 hours for anything Id likely be disapointed no matter what it was, but waiting 40 minutes was just fine - the walkway is Great! Its a series of horizontal latters strung up in ropes high up in the trees and the views and the thrills are amazing! Another highlight to greatfully add to the list
Our time in Malaysia was running out and so we headed for one of Malaysias legendary beach areas - the stunning Perhenthian Islands. We stayed on the less expensive, small island and it was a perfect place to relax, catch a tan(haha, we all got burned) and marvel at natures beauty. Calida signed herself up for a Padi dive course which she passed and really enjoyed and Beck, Vic & I hit the beach. Ive seen alot of beaches in South East Asia and this is one of my favorites. It is all soft sand and the clearest blue water, not a single rock underfoot - perfect for swimming or just standing in and chatting for hours as we were inclined to do(hmm, I wonder why we got sunburns?). Beck wasnt keen on snorkelling(crazy girl!), and Ill admit we were so into the lazy beachbum vibe that even this seemed like an effort for us, but we dragged ourselves out in a little boat with a friendly guide for a snorkelling tour on our last day. WOW!! Not only did we see lots of beautiful corals and tons of colourful fish, we also saw(and swam next to!!!) a couple of giant turtles (at least a meter in length) and spotted several black tip reef sharks. The exquisite colour and clarity of the water was the stuff of dreams. A perfect was to wrap up our time in Malaysia.
The next morning we left the Lovely Perhenthians and said an emotional goodbye to our dear friend Beck and our new friend Calida. The still had some time to see more of Malaysia but Vic & I needed to get our butts to Bangkok.

Thailand:
It was a very long journey(nearly 24 hours) back to Bangkok that involved boat, tuk tuk, train (full of armed soldiers -we later learned there had been shootings on the train the day before! gulp!) and an overnite bus. We arrived exhausted and checked ourselves into a slightly nicer room then we would normally stay in(ie.one with tv). We were in Bangkok for a week to take care of a few necessities(ie. get India Visas), prepare for the next leg of our journey and for Vic to take advantage of Bangkoks excellent and cheap dental care.
Vic had to get two wisdom teeth taken out and the tv was well worth the few extra bucks a day to help keep his mind off the recovery - he was a puffy cheeked mess for a few days, living off little more then banana shakes. I spent that time delivering those banana shakes, doing internet reasearch and what else - shopping.
After a week in Bangkok Vic was back to facing the world again, and with our Visas and plane tickets in hand, it was time for us to leave our beloved South East Asia. We spent far longer in this part of the world then we had orignally intended(nearly 10 months) and it has come to feel like a special home to us. We have been welcomed and hosted with warmpth and graciousness and we both know it is a place we will return to. And so with a deep love and gratitude in our hearts we said "so long South East Asia, hello Indian Subcontinent"

Next stop: Sri Lanka Blog entry: Comming Soon! (hehehe, really!)

Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice

Its so good to be back in Laos! As we crossed the border from Thailand a nearly 2 weeks ago in a little long tail boat my heart swelled up with happiness and I felt overcome with joy. This country is My Paradise - not because things are perfect here - far from it - but I guess because I find the beauty in the small and simple things here so easy to see. That is what life is often all about in Laos! The peaceful life style and the slow, gentle flow of things here is like medicine for my often chaotic mind and psyche. Now I wont profess to truly understand the culture or even know the 'Real' Laos - Im just a visitor here and thus will probably never really 'know' Laos , but I do know this is a place where I feel safe and welcome and very, very happy. The people are kind and unassuming, and Mother Nature is a real show off!
After crossing the border from Thailand into Huay Xai we spent the nite and then headed off on what was to be one of the best experiences ever - The Gibbon Experience! Vic & I set out with a group of 6 others in the back of a 4whdr into the Bokeo Forest Reserve. This is a huge lush mountainous jungle where we drove over some pretty rough road and then treked right into the thick of it. Once in the midst of the forest we stopped, strapped on harnesses and swung ourselves into the trees on zip lines taking in some of the most breathtaking views Ive ever seen. Some of the zip lines swung you into tree houses that were to be our homes for 2 nites. Vic & I got the 'honeymoon' suite - a private two person tree house that was unbelievably awesome!. Showering in a tree 100 ft in the air with nothing but a few railings between you and the beautiful forest is an experience that is hard to beat! And waking up in the misty morning to the sound of Gibbons singing to each other not far in the distance is something I wont soon forget. This was by far one of the best experiences Ive ever had We were even lucky enough to spot some adorable gibbons playing in the trees which is something that is far from guaranteed as they are pretty shy. On day 3 we treked out of the forest and made it out just in time for the rains to start - we piled into the 4whdr covered in mud and smelling far worse then we did on the way there and set out on the muddy roads for a ride I also wont soon forget - If the roads are too muddy they are simply not drivable and we barely made it. We were hoping and praying the whole way, fingers crossed that we would make it up each hill and going down wasnt much better - the tires slid rather then rolled and we were thrown about in the back big time! But we pulled through and eventually hit paved road with a round of applause for the driver We made it back to Huay Xai absoulutely exhausted, found a room, washed the mud off ourselves and our stinky boots and collapsed until morning.
Since then we have been taking it pretty easy. We had hoped to do more treking but as we are in the midst of the rainy season the weather has been a little off putting to say the least. In fact I have seen more thunder and lightning in the last few months then Ive seen in my entire life. (Kampot wins for the most dramatic but Laos is currently winning for the most wet!)
There is nothing like working up a sweat, breathing in the fresh air and soaking up the sights, smells and sounds of a South East Asian forest...but sitting on the deck of your bungalow, and watching the rain come down and the river flow by with a good book is nothing to complain about. And we have been doing alot of just that
We were initially planning to head to the north eastern side of Laos to visit a province called Hua Phan - said to be both stunning and little visited by tourists (a combination we have come to find most enjoyable and wonderfully easy to find in Laos) but alas it was not meant to be. When we heard that busses often get trapped on the mountain roads for days waiting for landslides to be cleared at this time of year we decided to give it a miss - there has been so much rain lately and there are just too many lovely places to see - time is precious indeed!
So we have slowed our pace and spent a few days in a small town called Luang Nam Tha, and a few days each in the lovely little riverside villages of Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi Neua (the latter being only accesable by river boat). We have spent a lot of time on buses travelling from place to place on windey and steep mountain roads (so windey and steep that for the first time in my life Ive felt motions sick!) But I dont mind a bit as I dont think I could ever tire of the wonderful roadside scenery here (and Ive found that dried ginger really does help with a queasy tummy!)
We have now found our way to the wonderful Unesco World Heritage cite that is the 'city' of Luang Prabang - I use the term 'city' here losely as in a place like Laos even the capital of Vientienne feels like a pretty quiet small town. Luang Prabang is hard to describe to those who havent been there - it is teeming with tourists but is says a lot about the wonders of this small country that the culture does not feel 'damaged' in the way the way it usually does in such tourist meccas. The locals are so very kind and culture and heritage oozes from every corner. We have nearly a week to spend here which may sound like a lot but I wish it could be much longer - the atmosphere of this place is something I think I could drink up and savor forever!
As an example, here is how today is shaping up:
Wake up in our beautiful guesthouse($10 for a room that could easily cost $35 or $45 in Bangkok) and enjoy a hot shower and catch the BBC world news while getting dressed. Walk down the lane (smiling and greeting the adorable and very friendly local kids who are out playing) to the most amazing bakery that I am officially addicted to - breakfast is fresh baked bagels, homeade jam tropical fruit and glorious coffee for about $2.50 Then chill out on the internet for a while (writing this blog!). Next we head to the national museum and then off to visit a Temple or two (I think there are about 60 here!) Perhaps we will climb Mount Phou Si at sunset and take in the view over town and the Mekong river. Then a classy dinner that is sure to cost less then $15 for us both. Maybe Ill finish off with dragging Vic around the absolutely glorious 'Nite Market' shopping for shockingly cheap local handicrafts.
Wouldnt you want to stay forever too?

Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxoxo

Ive been a bad little blogger - its now been over 2 months since my last entry! Oops, I guess its true what they say..."Time flies when you are having fun!"
So much has happened in that time that it feels like an overwhelming task to try to report on it all. But Im ready(finally!) to give it a shot. Now lets see...where did I last leave off?...oh Yes, Wonderful Kampot!

In the end we stayed in Kampot for nearly 4 months...certainly not something we thought we would do when we set off on this journey! We were however, intentionally open to what ever came our way and damn, do we feel blessed to have discovered the little gem of a town that is Kampot as well as the Best Guesthouse on the Planet - Bodhi Villa! At Bodhi Villa we found friends who felt like family and the ultimate place to relax, reflect, ponder and celebrate life in all its crazy glory! Who would want to leave?
Staying in one place for longer then the standard backpacker 'see the highlights then move on' time period opens up a whole new world of experiences - and we are so much richer for them. By sticking around we were able to bond with wonderful locals and foreigners alike who welcomed us with such kindness. We were invited to peoples homes and to share in special celebrations and we made friends whom we will care about forever- isnt that every travellers dream?! Kampot will always have a special place in my heart. But I guess its true what they say - all good things must come to an end - and the time did come when we knew we should move on - new adventures were calling once again! We had set out to see the World afterall!
It was a sad day when the minibus came to pick us up from Bodhi and we were lovingly waved off in a messy heap of tears and hugs. I can only wonder what the poor locals who were already in the van must have thought when we climbed in sobbing! But on we went and after several hours we crossed the border into Thailand which seemed both comfortingly familiar and shockingly modern, wealthy and weird.
Cambodia is an incredibly complex country and I must say that the longer I was there the less I felt I understood the place - but it left its mark on me and has changed the way I view the world. The journey isnt always easy when you are struggling to make sense of a world that often feels increasingly complicated, but every now and again you are blessed with insights and clarity and I guess that is really why Im out here embracing the unfamiliar.

So....after a marathon journey (about 15 hours) we arrived in Bangkok and settled into the same dingy but cheap Guesthouse we often stay at. For a few days we immersed ourselves in the so called 'Modern World' - hustle and bustle that was completely absent from Kampot (shopping malls, movie theaters, skytrains etc.) We even went to the denist (see moms, we are taking very good care of ourselves!) Then it was time to head to the airport - but not to leave! ...to meet family!! Vics Dad & his lovely wife Lynn were 'brave' enough to join us for 2 weeks in a country that was quite different from their usual holiday destinations. We had gushed enough about the region that they were willing to check it out for themselves. So how did it go?
We had a great 2 weeks and Im confident enough to say that a good time was had by all. Time flew by and by tourist standards Ill say the adventure level was pretty high! We wisked around Bangkok, then flew south to visit Railay Bay, Koh Lanta and then made an impromptu hop over to Koh Phi Phi. We took taxis, tuk tuks, planes, ferries, minibusses, and got soaking wet on long tail boats in very stormy weather! Vic & Lynn embraced it all with humour and good spirit and before we knew it we were on a plane back to Bangkok and then they were on their way back to England! It was a real treat to spend time with them and we were sad to see them go, but we said goodbye with a smile as we know we will see them again soon(we fly back to England in November).

Anyways, once it was just the two of us again we were back on our stingy backpackers budget(we had been blowing our budget to bits on things like 4* Resorts, hehe!) so it was back to our usual 'dirt' cheap guesthouse and nothing but vendor food We then booked ourselves a 2nd class, 14 hour train to the lovely Northern city of Chiang Mai and this is where we are at the moment. We have spent the last few days enjoying what I think is the most livable city in Asia (Im only guessing as Ive only seen a few Asian cities but I love this place!). The shopping here is fantastic (poor Vic!) - the arts scene is vibrant and funky, the food is fab and eclectic, the people are realy friendly, you can get most places on foot, there is loads of culture to absorb..I could go on and on!
Yesterday we rented a motorbike and rode an hour and a half outside the city through gorgeous contryside to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre. This place feels like a true sanctuary where the elephants are loved, respected and well cared for. They 'earn their keep' but its in a fun way - they show off their talents in a tasteful 'tourist' show and even paint pictures that are for sale (shockingly good!). If anyone is reading this who is heading this way and loves elephants, I recomend a visit here. And if you really love elephants then do what we really wished we could but didnt have time for (book ahead)- a 3 day homestay Mahout training program!
Today we have had a lovely breakfast(mmm, oatmeal with banana and chocolate!) and are now updating this blog and uploading new photos(hooray for a fast internet connection)!! Soon we will head off for a herbal massage and then to buy some art work to send home (Ive become a bit obsessed with bed coverings and blankets - whats up with that?) Then perhaps we will have swim in the pool - yes, we have actually found a guesthouse that is $10 a nite with a pool(have I mentioned I love Chiang Mai!!) or maybe we will climb a hill and visit a temple with a view! Tomorrow we head to a town called Pai and in a few days we head back to Laos (my favorite place to travel) where we are treking in the forest and living in tree houses for 3 days - here we get to act like monkeys and swing through the trees on zip lines! We cant Wait!!!
Life sure is hard right now, I dont know how we do it! Believe me, I count my blessings daily

Well I guess that brings me up to the present, so my blog is now all caught up. But before I wrap it up Ill quickly mention our current itinerary (since everyone keeps asking whats next).
On June 1st we are heading to Northern Laos then flying to KL, Malaysia on June 26th(also going to M. Borneo). We will return to Thailand at the end of July and then we bid farewell to our beloved SE Asia. Next stop: Sri Lanka (10 days) and by mid August we will be in India (we fly into and out of Delhi)!!! After 2 1/2 months in India we fly back to England via a 3 day stop in Dubia. Then its time for something completely different - Costa Rica for Christmas! We plan to travel overland through Central America ending in Mexico sometime around May 2009. That means we still have a year to go! As I said, I count my blessings daily

Once again, my appolgies for the dry spell in blogging. Ill do my best not to let it happen again
Oh, by the way: Our photos can be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kosmiklotus (Please be patient while we get them organized - its bloody time consuming!)

Lots of Love and Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxox

Well, well...its been a while since my last entry. Its been a strange and wonderfull few weeks, full of fun and Indecision. When it came time to say our goodbyes in Kampot, guess what...we just couldnt do it. In little Kampot town we have found a place that feels like home, and friends that feel like family and if thats not enough, that special feeling of being where you are meant to be at the moment.
So we have been jugling dates in our heads (and on infinate pieces of note paper) as we are meant to meet friends and family in certain places at certain times and therfore dont quite have ultimate flexibility. However, if we have learned anything in Asia its that "anything is possible" and "where there is a will there is a way" (as long as you have heaps of patience). So, we have decided to change the dates of our onward flights and stay in Kampot for at least another month...and we couldnt be happier about it! We have had to make certain large sacrifices(we are no longer going to South America on this particular journey) but the more we think about it the more it seems right (ie. now we wont be in India in the middle of monsoon season, and we were feeling a bit rushed for time in South America anyhow).
Ironically, having made the decision to stay, we quickly realized we would have to leave. Our Cambodian visas were about to expire and we couldnt renew them from inside the country anymore. Knowing we were comming back, we packed our bags with a smile on our face and headed for the Thai border. It was a very long day of travel but we made it all the way to Bangkok in one day(1 extremely full minibus's, 2 shoddy ferries, one moto and one big bus later). Arriving in Bangkok was a huge dose of culture shock after being in small town Cambodia for so long, but it was fun to be amongst the unique hustle and bustle of Bangkok!
On a side note, I have to say that the more I see of South East Asia the more that Bangkok becomes my favorite part of Thailand. Its a very unique city where there seems to be a place for everyone(rich, poor, gay straight or ladyboy, trendy or traditional etc) And the place exudes and enjoys a downright goofy sense of humour that I find irrisistably charming. But when it comes to all the things I love most about travel, like adventure, interacting with local people, and soaking up culture, I have to say Im becoming less of lover of Thailand and falling head over heals for the least touristy parts of South East Asia.
Anyways, part of our desire and decision to stay in Kampot was to help out with the new Learning Centre. As I said in my previous entry, I had tried to get involved with this before, but did little more then to spend a day cleaning out a building and then waiting for something else to do. Well finally, things are happening...a wonderful girl named Hanna arrived from Australia - shes full of passion and enthusiasm and has commited to the project for the next year or longer. Immediately I felt compelled to befriend her and help her in any way I could. And oh boy is there ever lots to do!! As the centre is just getting up and running, creativity(and money) is probably our biggest asset at the moment. We need funding, we need supplies, we need projects and activities -we need alot! So I have kept myself busy in Kampot doing arts and crafts projects like making recycled paper gift cards and stitching wallets (as a fundraiser, to be sold at a music festival in Australia) as well as doing loads of brainstorming over pots of tea with Hanna and friends. There are so many people getting involved its frenzied, its frantic and its unbelievably heartwarming. I feel like I couldnt have found a more appropriate project for me to put my heart into.
So that brings me back to Bangkok, much to Vics dismay, we spent 4 days in the big city and much of that time was spent shopping. We were looking for things to buy for the centre (with our own money as the centre has a very tiny purse) that you cant get in Cambodia or that may be cheaper in Thailand. We saw new parts of Bangkok, which was cool, but unfortunately we didnt find alot of what we were looking for that was affordable(we didnt totally strike out though). No worries, as Hanna & I are planning a trip soon to Phnom Phen to shop for both things and ideas (as there are many NGO projects here to learn from) and Im sure we will find all kinds of goodies.
At the moment we are in Siem Reap, doing the tourist thing. Yesterday we left Bangkok and made the long journey to the dodgy Poipet border(wow, that town appears to be full of dodgy characters and owned by scetchy taxi mafia!). We were here 5 years ago to see Angkor Wat, and as its a well deserved Great Wonder of the World, we didnt want to leave Cambodia without another visit. We came here well aware that tourism has taken off here and that the temples are no longer the quiet place we savoured on our last trip, but I have to say that as we drove through town on the way to our guesthouse my mouth was gapeing in shock at just how much things have changed!! This is no longer a quiet little Cambodian town, its a full blown tourist mecca complete with tons of huge 5 star hotels(where people spend more on one nites accomidation then the average Cambodian makes in a year!!). Theres a golf course and traffic lights and people everywhere!! I cant believe its even possible for so much construction to take place in only a few years! And this morning we were awoken by the sounds of construction all over the place, so I guess this place will only continue to grow bigger and bigger. I for one cant say Im a fan of this style of progress, however, Siem Reap still has its charms and we are here for a few days to experience them.
Next we travel to back to Phnom Phen via a small town called Battambang and then back 'home' to Kampot!!! I cant wait to get back
If anyone is interested in knowing more aobut the Chumkriel Learning Centre (or volunteering/donating!!!!) please email me and/or check out www.chumkriellanguageschool.com(the language school is affiliated with the Learning Centre) or http://clskampot.blogspot.com/
As always, Ill be in touch!!!
Lots of Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice

We are still in Kampot (week 5) and still loving it! I tell ya, if we didnt have such a strong desire to see 'the rest of the world' we could easily be persuaded to set down deeper roots here and stay for a year or two.
Unfortunately, as we have now discovered, it would probably take that amount of time for us to make a meaningful and significant contribution to the community. What Im saying is that in the last month we havent been as 'do good' as we had hoped to be. It wasnt for lack of desire or good intentions, its just that things happen at their own pace around here and unless you are a real 'go getter' personality it can be tough to make the stars align and get things going.
We could have followed the path of other travellers and visited an orphanage or taught english classes, but we hoped to be able to get involved in something that would be less fleeting (this is a somewhat controversial subject in the realm of tourist type volunteer work).
So when we found out that a friend who lives next door to us here is involved in a pilot project for a Community Learning Centre, this sounded like the perfect thing to get involved in. We were enthusistic and ready to pitch in however we could. We rallied a team together from our guesthouse, headed out and broke a serious sweat cleaning up an old run down building - and we felt great for a job well done! Then it was time for the painters to do their thing(so we figured we would enjoy a break for 4 or 5 days) then we could get back in and clean some more and start decorating etc. Only that was about 2 weeks ago.
It turns out that an Aussie girl who was here a few months ago, was returning to Kampot 'any day'. So the project was put on hold until her arrival. The story goes that she came to Kampot, fell in love with the place and returned to Australia to get some things together so she could move here for a year or two (hmmm, sounds like someone I could understand). Shes arrived in Kampot today, and shes as lovely as everyone who knows her has said she is. Her intention is to stick around and get this Centre up and running - and we wish her all the luck and positive energy in the world. I know she will do a fantastic job!
Sadly it is time for us to move on. If we stay any longer we will miss out on seeing too many other things. We will leave Kampot having given less then we hoped to, but having gained so much. We have felt so welcomed and learned so much about life - life in Cambodia and life in general. We care deeply and feel connected to many people here and will always care about life in Kampot. We can only hope to return some day in the not too distant future.
So tomorrow we are heading off to a place called Sihinoukville. Its a beach town, with a party sceen as well as a bit of a seedy reputation. Should be an 'interesting' change of pace. We are heading there to meet up with a few of our Bodhi Villa friends, have some self indulgent fun and then return to Kampot to say the dreaded goodbyes and head back to Phnom Phen. We will then spend another week or so seing what we can of Cambodia before heading back to the wonderfull land of Laos!!
On another subject: we have spent a significant amount of time uploading photos to our Flickr site. The internet connection is pretty poor here so its slow frustrating work but there are quite a few new pics up documenting our time in Kampot. We still have hundreds of pictures from South Laos that we havent had time for, but eventually we will get them all up (probably when we get to Thailand in April). But for now check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/kosmiklotus to see what we have been up to recently.

Lots of love & Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxox

So its been 17 days since our arrival here and we are still in Kampot and not going anywhere any time soon. We intended to leave yesterday but when it came down to making the arrangments I found myself very emotional and distressed. Let me try to explain why:
Yesterday we participated in a special community event - a local football(soccer) tournament that had been primarily organized by a Peace Corps member (as part of a project where 27 Americans are staying in various Cambodian communities for 2 years) as well as a whole bunch of expat and local 'helpers'. The great folks at Bodhi Villa(the coolest Guesthouse in Asia) are very involved in the community and made sure that anyone who wanted to go to the tournament had a free lift there (as the Guesthouse is a little ways out of town). The event was the first of its kind here - and it was great! The kids had an awesome time and we all had fun watching and interacting with them - Vic even joined a team for a 'barang' vs. locals game and it didnt take long before the lazy old western team where sweating...and then quiting. The heat was an ass kicking force to be reconed with and the locals fared shockingly well! A bunch of us pitched in and bought tons of water and beers to be shared amongst the teams and the teachers - it all disapeared in minutes!
It doesnt take long to realize that Kampot is a special place - there are tons (relatively speaking - we have met about 15) of unique, smart, caring and fun westerners who have decided to call Kampot home (some for months, some for years) and its really inspiring to see how they have immersed themselves in the community and are helping to bring positive energy and change in meaningfull ways. There are endless opportunities to lend a set of hands and feel involved in something special!
We feel there is a place for us here too and have decided not to let the opportunity pass us by - so we have commited to stay for a month. This afternoon I plan to have a chat with Jos (one half of the super duo that owns Bodhi Villa) and find out where I can be of the most use here. Vic is also willing to pitch in where he can. We dont have any specific skills to offer such as teaching experience or medical training etc. so it seems the most usefull thing to do is offer our willing hands and hearts to the community and see what experiences come our way - we could become the odd job squad or we may get more deeply involved in something specific - the plan is to spend the next few days working all that out. We also need to sort out a few practical things - like getting money(no foreign access ATMs in Kampot), transportation(ie. renting a motorbike), extending our visa and finding a Khmer teacher(to learn more of the local lingo).
We are ready to get busy! Which is a real switch from the last few weeks of the party/recovery cycle. This is an exciting opportunity to get our feet wet in a volunteer sense and to learn more about the fascinating country of Cambodia. Staying means we sacrifice seing other parts of South East Asia but ultimately I think backpacking is about freedom, flexibility, risk taking and learning and here in Kampot I feel we are embracing it all!!
Ill be sure to be in touch as things develop!!
Lots of Love and Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxoxoxo

A quick update from wonderful Cambodia:
We crossed the Laos border over 2 weeks ago, just in time for me to get violently ill and spend New Years Eve in Phnom Phen sick in bed - Happy New Years!!! (At least I could see the fireworks display from my window!) We spent almost a week in the capital city, but I havent got much to report, being sick and all. We did get out on our last day there and go to a wonderful museum and to the National Palace - very nice indeed. We intend to return to the capital city to see more before we leave Cambodia - but "when" we will leave Cambodia is very much in question at the moment.
We had estimated 3-4 weeks in this lovely country and then intended to move on to Vietnam. Then we got to a town called Kampot and found a Guesthouse called Bodhi Villa. We have now been there for 8 days and seem incapable of planning our departure. You see this place is just too lovely. Being situated right on a gorgeous river, with cheep rooms, some of the nicest staff you will ever meet, a floating dock(to have drinks on, read books on, swim from etc), some of the best food (and cocktails) weve found anywhere, and the friendliest, funnest vibe we can imagine. We will leave - eventually - but right now we are enjoying a bit of a holiday from our holiday and loving every fun and relaxing minute of it!
Ill keep you posted!

Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxox

Well after nearly a month, we've finally dragged ourselves across the Laos/Cambodia border, away from the place that I have come to view as my travellers 'heaven'. So what can I say about Laos...?
I know a place where my heart and spirit soars - where the birds sing and butterflies fill the sweet air. Where there is little in the way of matierial goods, but no shortage of smiles that spread so easily across the faces of nearly all. Where there is no hustle or bustle to be found - anywhere. Where Mother nature is a wild and creative artist, and your heart beat slows to the pace of things. Oh yes, and the beer is cheep and delicious and cold. I could wax poetic forever about Laos - really, I love it that much - but Ill spare you, as even my most inspired poetry is pretty crap
So let me tell you about what we got up to in the last few weeks:
After our adventures in Savanakhet(where I last posted from), we headed further south to a town called Pakse. This is the largest town in the South, used as a hub for many a comming and going, and we used it as a place to rent motorbikes for a week long adventure around what is commonly refered to as the ''remote south" or to travel what is called 'The Southern Swing' in the Lonely Planet guide book. For anyone planning a trip to Laos - Vic & I thoroughly reccomend this trip!!!
We spent most days riding a few hours through gorgeous scenery and tons of villages where you tend to get one of three reactions from people: Immediate smiles and waves, looks of stunned curiosity(as in what are these white folks doing way out here?) or a combination of the stunned curious look that then breaks into a big smile. Mostly we got all smiles and often the kids would get so excited they would squeal and jump up and down when we waved back at them. You never get bored of it! Travellers are still very much a novelty in these parts and our experiences were all the richer for it.
Tat Lo was our first stop, and it was gorgeous. There was a backpacker scene here, but it was incredibly low key and friendly. We could have easily spent a week or more here if not called forward by the adventure ahead. We stayed in a $2 bugalow where chickens, pigs and cows wandered freely around(watch your step on the way to the shared toilet at nite!) We didnt care that the shared shower was cold and a bit grotty because it was way more fun to bath with the local kiddies in the nearby river! We saw several waterfalls(including hanging out on the ledge of the top of one that must have been over 100 ft tall - feeling on top of the world - and being the only 'tourists' there to take in the fantastic view) And we rode elephants(our hearts raced and we laughed our asses off when our elephant got spooked by a truck that started up in a little village - it started running full tilt to get away from it and we got to hold on for dear life! After calm was restored, our mahout was kind enough to get off for a while and Vic got to be the driver, riding on its neck as we decended a rocky hill - great fun!)
Moving on, we left the backpackers behind and entered a part of the country where we were often the only falang(white travellers) around. We rode all day, making a few stops along the way and stopped in 'frontier'country - Attapaeu, which is near the Vietnam border. Here we were thankful to find a nice new guesthouse run by a super sweet family. We splurged and spent $10 for a gorgeous, immaculately clean room with tv & air con - it was worth the price alone for having the bestest, softest beds in Laos.
We found a wonderful guide, Yai, to show us around the area the next day(the only English speaking guide in the region). He used one of our bikes and we doubled on the other, and we rode out from Remote Laos to Very Remote Laos - an area that was once part of the Ho Chi Min Trail. We visited a village where we saw the women working hard(as is common across the country, the men - not so much) at various traditional tasks(weaving, pounding rice, making noodles etc) We saw the community come together to put up the frame for a new house and also working with basic tools to build a new dirt road beyond the village (this was part of an NGO project whereby people who helped build the road would get food for their families). When we spoke with some women in their home(using our guide to translate) they pointed to a piece of aluminum(the base of a bomb from the 'secret war'') being used to casually hang things from, and asked with a smile if that was from us. It took us a minute to clue in, but we were able to say No - we werent American. I guess in todays times we sadly couldnt answer the same way in some countries in this world.
From here we carried on to another nearby village where we visited a little school. The kids were all outside playing, but quickly stopped to huddle together and stare very shyly at the strange visitors. Here they spoke a local dialect so even our guide couldnt talk much with them. Hmmm, what to do. I decided to take my camera out but as Im always trying to be sensitive about how and where I take pictures I was carefull about how to proceeed. When I pointed it towards a big group of boys, they were all shy smiles and little giggles but slunk back from me abviously not having a clue what I was doing. I snapped and then turned the viewfinder around and took a few steps forward. They were confused, but now intrigued. A few more steps holding out the camera and then a few 'brave'boys moved forward to me. Wow! Big giggles! Now they all wanted to see and I could get close to them - and so the games began! I must have spent a half an hour snapping photos and showing them the result. First the boys - then the girls wanted in on it. Then the boys and girls together! Then I had an idea - our guide told them to all shout "Saibadee"(hello) and I took a video. I must have played this back 50 times so they could all have a look, absoloutely amazed and delighted. I could have done this all day, but alas it was time to move on. What a golden moment and now a well recorded memory! (Ive promised to mail photos to our guide to bring back to the kids on a future visit)
We finished our day with our guide sharing, great conversation, (Yais'english was better then average and he was very sweet and intelligent so it was delicious to pick his brain about all kinds of things) and drinking ice cold Beer Lao overlooking the river as the sun set. Another falang sat down at a near by table, motorcycle helmet in hand - so we asked if he cared to join us. It turned out we were on a similar path and shared a similar smiling travellers outlook, and so ended up spending much of our remaining time in Laos with out new friend Andy - the expat(living in Thailand for several years) from Scotland. His motorbike was a powerful beast compared to ours, so Vic & I continued to ride out on our own the next day on our little 110cc Hondas the next morning for the most adventurous and possibly funnest ride of our trip - up the Bolavan Plateau. The road was steep, bumpy and mostly unpaved - but an easier ride then Id anticipated. The scenery was lush and gorgeous - this was coffee country and we rode past and through many plantations. At one point we rode right past a big grey snake coiled up on the dirt path. Vic didnt notice it(good thing as hes scared of snakes and might have crashed!) and flew inches past it, and I only realized what it was as I rode right past it - my flip flop clad foot passing it within inches! I let out a girlish shriek thinking chances were good it would bite as Im sure we scared the crap out of it, but alas karma seems to be smiling on us. Whew! It took quite a while for me heart beat to normalize! It didnt take long for Andy to pass us(he sat down for breakfast when we left) but it was good timing as there was meant to be an unmarked but beautiful waterfall in the area and it took all of us riding back and forth a few times to locate it - it was worth the hunt. We rode all day and the paved part of the road was ironically far worse - far more pothole then road! But great fun to dodge around and of course - waving at all the smilling waving kiddies and adults alike, trying not to fall off the bikes in the process. We stopped for the nite at the Tat Fan Resort as we had heard good things about it. I sounded like it might be worth breaking the budget for at $28/nite and were happy to discover that it was! Tat Fan is a very tall and beautiful waterfall and from the resort you can look our across it and fall asleep to the sound of it. It was refreshingly cool at nite here(the first time we wore the fleeces wed been lugging aound) and the food was fantastic!!! We slept well, and had a little wander around in the morning but skipped touring the area in order to press on.
The route we were on was a circular route from Pakse and we were now getting close to our origin, but we decided to ride south to a charming place called Champasak in order to see the wonderful Wat Phu - an ancient Khmer ruin set upon a shady hill. Its meant to be designed as a recreation of heaven on earth, and the shade at the top certaintly felt like heaven after climbing up the steep steps in the baking sun to get there! It was a lovely place to marvel at, with a breathtaking view. This being one of the biggest and well known tourist attractions in the country it says alot that there were probably less then a dozen other tourists at the top when we were there.
From here we rode back to Pakse, to return our motor bikes with mixed emotions. It was sure nice to use our legs again, but the independence of having your own two wheels cant be beat in a place like Laos! In Pakse, we recharged our batteries, having 2 massages in 24 hours by the best masseurs we have found in SE Asia!(I tipped my man nearly twice the price of an hour massage -$5 and he was so happy he may have married me - very tempting! hehe) We washed all of our incredibly filthy clothes, and gorged ourselves on the deliciousness of the Delta Cafe(mmmm Lao coffee - yep thats right, the coffee hating tea junkie has fallen head over heals for the thick black tar that is Lao coffee!)
Sufficently cleansed and pampered we headed out to the bus station. This was Dec 23rd and we aimed to be on Don Det (a little island near the Cambodian border where back packers flock and things are even more chilled out - even though that seems impossible). Feeling in the holiday spirit, we tipped the moto driver who took us there more then double the fare - a whole $3 (we were happy to as he charged us an honest price and his bike was so old and decrepid we almost didnt believe it would get us there) We said "Merry Christmas" and his happy and greatful reaction was easily woth more then the tip! Its so humbling and amazing that such a small amount of money can make a big impact on peoples lives here.
The 'bus'journey to Don Det was a truly local experience - more of a truck then a bus, we crammed 20 adults, 2 children and a whole lot of cargo into a very small space and headed out on the 3-4 hour journey to the 'ferry''. On the way we got chatting to a friendly local who spoke good english, who was headed to Don Det to visit family, and he translated for us with an old man with a good sense of humour who we picked up along the way. He carried a traditional bamboo instrument and after establishing that we werent married seemed keen to invite us to his village where he had a daughter and a son who wanted to married foreigners, and he wanted to see me dance! We dropped him off in another village, and he shook our hands, laughed and waved and told us how glad he was that we were visiting Laos - precious!
From the 'bus' we took a short long tail boat ride to the island and found ourselves a bungalow just in time for one of the legendary Don Det sunsets. Being Chrismas and all we decided to stay at one of the most expensive places on the island and spent $5 a nite instead of the typical two. We strung up a second hammock on our deck, and barely moved from them, beer and books in hand - heaven. We did muster a little energy on Christmas Eve as there was a small party happening on a small piece of sand at the tip of the island. There was a DJ spinning and Vic, Andy and I shook our booties in the sand that was illuminated by one of the prettiest full moons Ive ever seen. Christmas day was a uniquely lazy one spent nursing hangovers in hammocks and endulging guilt free in whatever western fare we could find on the menus We said farewell (hope to see you in Bangkok?) to Andy and spent the next few days swinging in hammocks just the two of us.
By the 28th, we figured it was time to move on - as difficult as that was and we booked a seat on a minibus to take us across the Cambodian border and then onwards to Phnom Phen(the Capital of Cambodia). We packed our things and said farewell to Laos - thank heavens we are comming back to expore the north in February or I think my heart may truly have broken.

Ill post more about Cambodia in a day or two as my fingers and brain are now exhausted and its time for dinner!
Oh, by the way, Vic has been assigned the task of updating the photo site, which hes been given a very hard time of by the internet connection today - but look forward to lots of Laos photos and classic Vic commentary - coming soon!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Love & Lotusflowers
Janice
xoxoxoxoxox

Another quick update:

We are still hanging around in Savannakhet - an odd little town, but not without its charms.
We began our day today with a visit to the pharmacy(nothing like a Canadian pharmacy!) where we tried to explain to the 'pharmacist' (wearing a Black Sabath T-shirt) with a few words from our Lao phrase book what we wanted. The Lao words for 'skin' 'infection' and 'antisecptic' in combination with hand gestures had them handing us bottles and tubes of all kinds of the wrong stuff including various medications for genital herpes!!! oh dear! We had a good chuckle and eventually got some antiseptic skin ointment and were on our way to breakfast. After that we had a 70 minute massage that cost less then $3 and still has us floating Tonite we intend to watch the sunset over the Mekong River from the deck of our guesthouse - while enjoying a few Beer Laos of course! Then head to a decadent French/Lao restaraunt where the meal is sure to cost less then $10(including drinks). After that we will retire to our $9 room (expensive because it has aircon, tv & fridge). The life of us backpackers sure is rough!! Sorry to worry you all about the tough conditions we are suffering.

We have booked a guide for tomorrow to visit a few sights in the area, including visiting a salt mine, a trek through a forest to learn about the medicinal and edible uses of things that grow there and a visit to an ethnic village that sees few visitors. We hope to rent a motorbike the next day and see more of the local sites such as visiting sacred monkeys in a sacred forest who like bananas, and a pond full of turtles who also like snacks! Yay!

Vics "owie" is much better now (just a small sore that got a bit infected -as they do in this heat) so it shouldnt slow us down too much So we will soon be heading on to Pakse(which is even larger of a town then where we are now so I should be able to post another quick update before we move on). This is where we intend to rent motorbikes and get "off the beaten path" for a week or so - I cant wait!!
I hope everyone is well and happy and looking forward to the Holidays!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxox

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Just a quick entry from "Lovely Laos" We are in a little town called Savannakhet. May be here a day or two - or more. Vic has a little owie that needs resting(just a little skin infection) so it doesnt get worse. The last few days have been amazing! We did a 3 day eco-tour that included 45kms of mountain biking through rice fields and villages full of waving smiling children, a bit of treking, and about 10'ks of kayaking -7.5kms of which was through one of the worlds longest caves! it was wild. We also homestayed in a little remote village which was a fascinating experience(which included drinking Lao Lao-rice whiskey that tastes like moonshine-at 7:30am with the village chief!) It was just Vic & I and our lovely guide, whom we now think of as a friend and look forward to visiting again on our return to Vientienne in February So needless to say, we are having a great time. There is decent internet in Savannakhet, so I will try to get back on again tomorrow and update a bit more.
Lots of Love & Lotusflowers,
Janice
xoxoxoxox