I love Laos

Prior to leaving on this adventure fellow travellers always raved about Laos. Now I understand why and completely agree. The country and the people are phenomenal. There is something unique about Laos that can't be captured with words. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed Vietnam and Cambodia, Laos is a country I would love to visit again  one day.

Our journey to Laos was a long one. We took a 12 hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Bangkok. Waited 4 hours and then took a 16 hour sleeper train from Bangkok to the capital of Laos. We were all in desperate need of a shower but ended up in the dirtiest hostel I have ever seen. It smelt like mold, there was water all over the floor and the shower looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months. We attempted to make our selves slightly cleaner but with little success we left to fill our bellies with local food. After refuelling we headed for the next leg of our trip. The bus ride to Louangphrabang was another long one and I got no sleep secondary to the constant twists and turns.  When we arrived in Louangphrabang I pulled up my socks (not figuratively) and prepared myself for our next adventure. We found a great hostel (outside picture included) with clean, beautiful double rooms for $7.50 each. 

(I figure its best to start including the accommodations I choose as many people are messaging me about details on whether or not the ones I choose are worth the time). 

Louangphrabang is a chill town with a strong French influence. The food is awesome and there is also great wine! Huge plus after drinking cheap beers for 4 weeks. In Louangphrabang we did a half day trip to the beautiful water falls, and of course, saw some more temples. We have seen so many temples that now they all look the same. 

The following day we did an elephant tour. We rode elephants in the jungle, learnt how to command them, swam with them and fed them. After the elephants we took a small motor boat and visited a few local villages. It was neat to see how the locals truly live. We even witnessed a village wedding. I didn't take any pictures as I felt it wasn't respectful as we were already walking through their backyards. The entire day was a grand experience and I highly recommend all of the above in  Louangphrabang. 

Furthermore, there is a night market in Louangphrabang where you can get a plate of local food for around $2.00.  You are allowed to fill the plate with as much as you like. Great way for travellers to stay on budget and taste the local delights. In the evenings we visited a few local pubs but the only real place to party in Louangphrabang is at the bowling alley. The entire town, like many places in Vietnam & Cambodia, as a curfew. Therefore, after all the local pubs close at 11pm everyone gets in tuk tuks and heads to the bow ling alley to drink cheap beers and pretend to be good at bowling.

After Louangphrabang we headed down to Vang Vieng for the tubing experience of the life time. We had to take another bus (sigh sigh) and due to my horrible experiences on sleeper buses I opted to try a Valium. Gravol does absolutely nothing on Laos roads as they are the absolute worst. At one point during our travels I took three gravols with no success so, Stevie found me a local pharmacy in Louangphrabang and I bought some valium. After taking two I was out like a light. We were dropped on the side of the road in the rain at 3am and I was a complete zombie. Thank goodness for my amazing travel buddies who got us home safe. If you get bad motion sickness like myself, Valium does help make the Laos bus rides at least somewhat bearable but make sure you have good travel friends or you'll miss your stop. Needless to say we arrived, got to our hostel and slept till the sun came up.  

I didn't take any pictures in Vang Vieng as my camera is already in rough shape and there was just too much water to risk it. We planned on staying for 2 days and ended up staying for 4 nights. It is one of the craziest party places I have ever been. One night I remember riding home on the top of a tuk tuk (sorry Dad). 

The first day we decided to rent tubes however only made it to the first two bars, lost our tubes, our deposits but woke up with some awesome memories. The next day we skipped out on the tubes and just experienced the various bars along the river. On the third day we finally got tubes and made it down the whole river. It is a beautiful ride down and just at the end it started to rain harder than I have ever seen rain. That night we made it to the bucket bar and smile bar. We met so many awesome people from all over the world in Vang Vieng. I look forward to crossing paths with many of them again soon.

After Vang Vieng I took a bus alone down to the capital to meet up with Cindy Qu for our last night together before going our separate ways. Stevie stayed in Vang Vieng and Nick had a flight back to Germany on the 6th. Cindy and I had a great last dinner at a local restaurant and discussing our favourite memories, moments, and friends we made on our journey together. 

Collecting flags for every country I visit!

Waterfalls in Louangphrabang

Cindy and I at the waterfalls in Louangphrabang

More falls, with a swinging rope to jump in!

Steve and I on the elephant

Nick and Cindy on the elephants!

Steve representing communism

The elephant Steve and I rode and fed

Heading into the water....

You ride the elephants out of the water on their bear backs and then they sit down to let you off :)

Team partyfloor at a local village on the bridge. Every rainy season the bridge gets washed away and re-built.

Attempting to turn Stevie into a coffee lover while he represents communisms as usual.

Louangphrabang village street

Cindy, Nick and I at another temple..

Stevie outside another temple

The art inside the temple.

Local crepes! Nutella and banana

Eating my first crepe

Local market in Louangphrabang

Our hostel in Louangphrabang

Stevie on our last sleeper bus (VIP) to tubing! 
 

Sorry there is no pictures of tubing in Vang Vieng but ill get some from Cindy and Stevie soon and post them :) This is the only one I have via facebook....

4 to 1

I'll never know why the desire to write comes to me when I am unable to sleep but it always the case. I lay there, tossing and turning, my mind writing stories, thoughts, feelings, and then my fingers feel the enormous urge to type.

My heart will not stop thinking about team party floor. I feel like tears are boiling up in the bottom of my heart, ready to burst through my eyes at any moment, leaving me a complete mess in my hostel bed. There is this overwhelming feeling of loss without Cindy, Steve and Nick by my side. We travelled together for 4 - 5 weeks spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, completely together. There was rarely a moment than any of us were alone. In many ways I spent more time with those three people than I have with some of my best friends from back home. We learnt the ins and outs of each of our personalities. What makes us cranky, how much sleep we need, where we can sleep, how much food we eat, sense of humour, strengths, weaknesses, dreams, desires, hopes, loves, pasts, pains and fears. In so many ways we took care of each other and shared the responsibilities of navigating the world. Together we broke all boundaries, all barriers and then created new ones. We made fun of each others countries, habits, speech patterns and accents but always with a hint of love.  This is one of the most beautiful things about travelling; the people you met and the relationships you create. The sad part, usually unspoken, is that all of these relationships have an expiry date. We all knew, without speaking, soon we would go our separate ways. With the simple hope that perhaps one day our paths will cross again. The memories team party floor created will stay with me forever. The people we met, the crazy things we did and the adventures we had. These memories are completely irreplaceable and no amount of money could ever purchase anything as valuable. And now with these words written, my fingers satisfied and my heart content, I must attempt to sleep. Tomorrow I meet a new friend whom was on my flight to Malaysia to explore the city and let the next adventure begin....

Cambodia

Our time in Cambodia was relatively short compared to Vietnam however, it was just as phenomenal.  We arrived in Phnom Penh (capital) late at night via bus from HCMC.  On the bus we met a British couple travelling in the same direction. Upon arrival in Phnom Penh we all jumped into our first tuk tuk and headed to our hostels. We stayed at a hostel called Me Mates (excellent hostel for those travelling – great staff and great food). After a long shower and some local food we met up with the British couple at our hostel. While chatting over beers in our room we had a slightly unexpected knock on the door. 

Background story; while working as a Registered Dietitian in Ottawa I often spoke of my plans of travel prior to leaving with fellow colleagues and nurses. One day a male nurse over head me speak of heading to South East Asia. He approached me and explained that he was from Cambodia and heading back home two weeks. We exchanged contact information and two months later I found myself greeting him at our hostel door. It is unbelievable and amazing how quickly connections and friendships can be formed. His name is Sam and he joined us that evening with the British couple, as well as, to the beach two days later.

The following day we explored Phnom Penh while waiting for our bus to the beach in the South. We checked out the Russian market and took a tuk tuk to see the Royal Palace. At the Russian Market you can purchase almost anything you can imagine. Cindy and I bought many much needed tanks, shirts and some jewelry for the soul. Note: Too hot for T-Shirts here, pants or anything with thick layers. Our group always jokes that its also too hot for boyfriends/girlfriends. A little inside group quote. Cindy and I bought "Same Same but Different" tanks which have now become a group uniform. Super cheesy but loads of fun!  After stocking up on clothes we headed down to the beach for a few days. 

On the bus to the beach we met two awesome Canadians – Scott and Allison! Yeah Canada! With the two extra Canadians we wander the beach strip until we found a cheap hostel right on the beach. Our room cost us $2.50 each for the night! It cost more to eat than it did to sleep! We all took a good part of the day to get some exercise on the beach. Cindy and I went for a run along the shore and followed up the run with a few push ups and stretches. Due to our lack of exercise over the last month all of our calves were sore for over two days post and we walked like gimps. That nigh, feeling like gods from our work out, we partied it up at the beach with Scott, Allison and some rockin Dutch lads and a lady we met at our hostel. That night I got my first battle wound when someone broke a glass and I sliced my big toe.

After our dose of the beach we headed back up to the capital to see the Killing Fields. This was a historical site that none of us wanted to see hung over. We spent the night chilling out in our room and catching up on some zzzzz’s to prepare ourselves for what we were about to see. The Killing Fields is unlike anything I have never experienced in my life. When you arrive they give you a head set and you walk yourself through the fields listening to a survivor’s dialogue/explanation. If you are not aware of what the Killing Fields in Cambodia are, as many don’t (myself included prior to travelling) educate yourself now. "If we do not learn our history we are doomed to repeat it". I will not post all the pictures on the Killing Fields as it will disturb many however there is one of a tree.....Please skip this section if you have a weak stomach...

At this 'killing tree' over 100 women and children were killed. The women were stripped, raped (even those pregnant), and put into the pit beside the tree. Soldiers grabbed babies by the legs and smashed their heads against the tree and threw them into the pit. There was a quote stated by those committing the killings “To dig up the grass one must remove even the roots”. Meaning if one member of a family was killed they were all killed to prevent people from wanting revenge.  No one was left alive. At night they would play music and run a diesel engine so those locked in the prisons couldn’t hear the killings that happened at night. 3 million Cambodians were killed by Cambodians (out of 8 million). If you ever come to Cambodia this is a difficult sight to see but it is an absolute must. Standing looking at the killing tree I had to listen to the recording twice because my mind could not believe the cruelty that humanity had done to itself at the foot of this tree. I cried and thanked the gods for being born into such a beautiful safe country. My prayer is that history will never repeat it self like this again.

On to the next stop....

We headed up North to Siem Reap to see the temples. Siem Reap is one of my favourite cities thus far. The energy here is awesome and the people are so friendly and helpful. We connected again with Scott and Allison, as well as, the Dutch and partied a little too hard last night. We stayed up till 4am, woke up at 5 am and headed out via tuk tuk to watch the run rise over the Angkor Wat temples. An absolute gorgeous moment of my life. We took a tuk tuk around for most of the day exploring all of the surrounding temples and sights. Which leads me to this moment right now...we just got back from renting our own mini theater and watching Red Tails (movie about WWII pilots). Tomorrow we wake at 6am and head for Bangkok. Unfortunately learnt yesterday that we can't get visas at the Cambodia-Laos border via bus therefore must head to Thailand and then the North of Laos....

My apologies on all the writing but there is much to say yet so much was left out. Everyday I find myself learning a little bit more, seeing a little bit more and living a little bit more. Everyday I find myself doing something that scares me, something that forces me out of my comfort zone or learning something that expands my mind. My mind, my beliefs and my character is changing day by day. The Leah who left Canada will not be the same one whom returns...

On the tuk tuk with Ruby from Britian in Phnom Penh

At a local pub in Phnom Penh with Sam & the British couple

The boys on the tuk tuk in Phnom Penh

The beach outside our door in Sihanoukville

The beach road in Sihanoukville

At dinner in Sihanoukville with Scott and Allie

Cindy Qu and I in Sihanoukville

Local hostel/pub in Sihanoukville. As Canadians we had to go for a beer.

The four Canadians at Blame Canada in Sihanoukville

Round one....

The Killing Fields in Phnom Penh or Genocidal Center

This one explains itself...

The pit were the children and women were thrown

Remains of some of those found in the Killing Fields. 17 stories high.

We rented bikes and explored the temples in the city of Siem Reap

The boys getting pedicures

Cindy Qu and I

Temple in the city of Siem Reap

Another temple...

Cindy Qu and I got massages for $6.00/hour. The pants were wore!

Yes - my nose is very red. Long story.

Pub in Siem Reap

At a pub in Siem Reap with some of the Dutch friends

The sunrise at Angkor Wat - Allison and Scott in the right hand corner

The sun rise

The inside of the Angkor Wat temple

Team party floor at the Angkor Wat temple

Cindy and I outside the Angkor Wat temple

At the top of one of the other temples

A menu at local restaurant. Had to show this one.

At the movies this evening