Same Same but Different.

The past week and a bit has been a little hectic. I spent a few days at a homestay that ended up serving me food that made me really ill, I met a British couple that I really liked and then ended up traveling with into Laos a few days early, and met some funky people along the way as well. 

So, I have no been in Laos for about a week now, and already I have decided that I like it quite a bit more than Thailand. The scenery is not completely different, but probably the most beautiful thus far, the people are much more laid back, the country as a whole is a lot less touristy, and no one here is in a rush. Though the people are much poorer, and there are way less cities and more little villages with homes built out of bamboo and wood, I get a really good vibe from the people. They are a little less smiley, but they aren't constantly trying to rip me off, and sell me things they know aren't worth it, and they are very helpful in a sincere way. I'm loving it.

My new travel companions are great. They remind me a lot of friends back home, and it just makes it so easy to enjoy my time. Time since I have been with them has gone by so much faster than time did when I was on my own. I always knew that I was more of a "have people around for fun" kind of person, but this trip has really made me realize just how much that is true. It's not that I need it, necessarily, but I definitely enjoy myself more and have a better time when I have people to enjoy myself with. I mean, when you do excursions such as my rafting trip, you meet people. But it's not the same. You don't have time to really get to know them, you just scratch the surface of how that person really is. With these two (Rosie and Nick), I've had the time to get to know their true personalities, what they enjoy and don't enjoy, how they interact with other people, etc. I love making new friends :)

We have met some really interesting characters along the way. One, an Iraqi flutist who also joined us from the homestay in Soppong, Thailand, that was actually a really creepy man we tried to get rid of as soon as possible. This man has turned into a running joke in which we refer to a "water closet", "Narnia", and "Mr.Tumnus". Long story short, inside jokes well good.

Another two are lovely Jason and Marc of South Africa. They joined us in the north of Laos, in sleepy Muang Sing, where we went off on a two day trekking trip to a hill tribe village "Akha" where we were able to interact with the people, and kill ourselves with six hour days of climbing up and down mountains. Good times? I think so. They are heaps of fun, though Marc can be a bit of a downer, and they know how to have a good time even if we are in the middle of nowhere freezing our tushes off. They are still with us here in Luang Prabang, and are hopefully going to be coming with us to Vang Vieng where I will spend my birthday floating down a river in a tube. Swaannkkyy.

Luang Prabang is absolutely beautiful. Well, at night anyway. The streets light up with white christmas-type lights, the night market starts up, people come out in their best clothings to make their way to cheap but delicious restaurants, and all the buildings are old colonial french style. Just stunning. We have spent many days here, just enjoying the Mekong on one side and the Nam Tha river on the other, cheap baguettes and Lao style soups, and the beautiful sunset over the Phou Si mountain every night. 

I love Laos. :) Truth.

PS - 12 weeks in.

Life in..paradise?

Dear world,

I just spent the past few days enjoying a lovely water-rafting trip down the Pai river that involved alot of paddling, being dunked in the water by tour guides, sleeping and eating in dense jungle, and bathing in mud and hot springs to keep up my quickly dying youth ( just kidding). It was alot of fun to experience, and really pushed out the obviousness of how spoiled alot of the world is. I mean, I am sure thAt every once in a while it would be cool to sleep in a bamboo hut with nothing but a blanket seperating ulu and the insects of the wild, no pillow, and the sounds of huge bugs soothing you to sleep. But every day of my life would be a bit excessive I think.

Before that, I spent quite a bit of time in a little town just off the border of laos called Nong Khai. I could literally sit at a coffee shop an look across the river and see little Laos children playing in the water. It was nice and quiet and not too touristy, so nice to get away from the really pushy tuk-tuks and people selling things. The market Actually felt like a mall because I wasn't being hassled every five seconds by the people selling things. And things weren't way over priced, so I didn't feel the need to haggle the day away trying to get myself a new pair of shoes. It was there that I met my young thai tour guide (Od) who spoke very little English and so ended up being the one who taught me most of the Thai I now know how to say. We spent most of the days I was there feeding the biggest catfish I have ever seen in my life, biking around the city seeing temples and dining on boat restaurants watching the sunset and being taught how to say things like fried rice with chicken and mountain and big fish! Not the best conversation starters, but a starter none the less.

The north of Thailand is so much more peaceful than the bustling south. It's quieter, the people are much more relaxed, and it's quite a bit cooler as well. I am now residing in a town called Pai that is probably the most touristy place I have gone in the north. The people here dress like they live at the folk festival, even the Thais, and the westerners just eat it up. I am legitimately in a city filled with hippies!! D
I wouldn't say it's the coolest place I have been, but the best place I have been for a simple night life.

I have been struggling with loneliness the past week. Though I do meet random companions for the bit of time I am in an area, I have yet to meet anyone going the same way as myself, or wanting to do so. And so I truck on alone. It's getting a bit difficult, but I guess it's a part of traveling alone. I just have to learn the phrase "it's alright to be alone". I almost feel like I have this idea that I have to be with someone else to enjoy myself. I just have to keep a positive attitude and go with the flow, stop looking for someone to be with and just enjoy my time. Of course, everything is easier said than done.

I am off to a little hilltribe homestay in a village called Lisu. I feel like most of the tours that go to these villages are intruding on the lives of the people who live there, but this program really seems like it's meant to help the village. The money that you pay to be there goes directly to the family and the people of the village that you stay with, and the people who organize it say that the money allows the villager to continue to live the lives they wish. Apparantly the government here pushes things like electricity and regular (non-bamboo) built homes on village, when really they would rather stay the way they are and life how they are used to living. So I am hoping to see how it really works, how they live, etc. while I am there.

Here's to hoping for a good experience.

Oh, ps. People in Thai legitimately say "oh my Buddha". Swank.

Goi Ban - AKA Banana Shake.

Donavan is off, and I am off on my own once more. We spent a good bit of time enjoying Bankok, which pretty much just entailed a christmas dinner at a gay bar, shopping for a full day around town, having some beers at a few pubs, taking a tuk-tuk to false piers, and seeing Harry Potter 7. Who knew Bankok could be so boring? ;P

Truthfully, Bankok was probably the only place that I have been that had a scummy side to it. Yes, people have ripped me off, and yes people been rude, and yes people jack up prices everywhere. But never have I been lied to, and persuaded into doing something I never intended to do by a "random" person on the street. But, lesson learned. Bankok also includes those lovely men handing out sex pamphlets that have a range from men to women to children on the front of them. Never had that before either... In a way it was shocking, and in a way I was surprised that it didn't happen sooner, being offered these things.

I miss Donny, he was a blast to travel with. Being on my own is a good thing at the same time, though. It gives me time to re-evaluate my time here, take in everything that has been happening in my life in the past few months, and really assess myself thoroughly.

I am now residing on an island just southeast of Bankok called Koh Samed, where I have managed to meet a local thai and his "step-dad" from Texas. Apparantly, Joe came here 17 years ago with his family, and they became friends with Den and his family, and adopted Den as their own. I have been learning alot about thai culture and language from Den, who has shown me the Thai alphabet and vowels/tones. He is attempting to teach me how to say basic things, how the alphabet works and so on. It's an extremely complicated language, to say the least.

Despite what the tout on the street showed Donny and I, Thai people are some of the nicest people that I have met. All of them go out of their way to help me find what I need, or help me find a place to stay, they flower people with compliments (even eachother, not just foreigners), and they love it when a foreigner attempts to speak their language. I have found that they are not so sweet and nurturing on the resorty places like this island, or Koh Samui, but it's understandable at the same time.

I admit, despite still having another two weeks in Thailand, I am excited to be moving on to Laos. It's hard to think that half way through January, I am officially half way through this trip.

Swank. :)

WOWZA!

Okay, so I have been neglecting this for quite some time. I know I am a bad person. But ever since Don got here, I've been too busy/distracted to actually get my ass on a computer and do anything. At the moment, he is upstairs being very sick and sleeping :(, so I am taking this opportunity to get online and do what I promised certain people I would do. ;P

Days are kind of meshing together. I can't believe that in 1 weeks time it will be two months since I have been gone from home. It feels alot longer than that. I have until May still to go, but I feel like since the end of October, I have accomplished quite a bit. I have already been to six different countries (one only for three days, but still..), met some extremely amazing people, encountered some difficult life lessons, and learned shitloads about myself all along the way.

I am so excited to see my new baby brother, and to see how my younger one interacts with the new one when I get home. I bet he is the most adorable thing in the world. I miss Ashton alot, I find myself thinking about buying things for him alot, and then am so kindly reminded by Donny that whatever I buy, I carry on my back for the next 4 months. And so, because of that I haven't really bought much stuff. But I am now in Thailand, and will be purchasing tons of stuff, just so I can send it home with Don ;D. Ah resourceful I know.

Since I last posted, we finished up in Malaysia which I decided wasn't really my place, gone to the islands of Thailand (Koh Tao, Koh Samui) and had a blast just kind of kicking it back, doing some simple tours and hanging out with a couple of good friends we met along the way, and then went up to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see the temples of Ankgor Wat.

Though I really enjoyed my time in the expensiveness that was the Thai islands, and getting away from constantly moving around and worrying about where I am going next, by the end of it I just wanted to get out of there. I was sad about leaving our new friends behind (Don and I agreed that we were in need of new company), I was glad to be getting on to a new place and back into exploring new things. Theres only so much beach resortiness I can take. ;P

Cambodia was beautiful. The people there are amazingly nice (almost like people in the Philippines but more conserved), bowed to show their respect for you, always offered to help, and didn't try to rip me off too much, which was a nice change. And the temples, which were really more like ruins of temples, were insane. It's hard to imagine an ancient time where people would pour their hearts and souls into these intracate works of art. Churches have nothing on these things.

In Phnom Penh (their capital), Don and I also managed to have time to go to their genocide museum. Sometimes, I don't understand the human race, and the things that people can do to one another for the sake of "their country". Interrogating, torturing, and murdering millions of your own people doesn't seem like it would do much for your own country, now does it? But, everything is always more complicated than it seems to one who wasn't actually put through the horror and turmoil that those people went through. Even those who were the ones committing the genocide.

ANYWAYS! Less disturbing/depressing topic. Don and I are now situated in northern Thailand in a city called Chiang Mai, where we will spend the next four days trekking, rock climbing, temple hopping, and possibly elephant bathing (fingers crossed).

I am counting down the days that Donavan leaves, because I am actually really nervous for his departure. I know that I meet people easily, and there is a possibilty of meeting up with some friends along the way that I already know from Thailand, but I will once again be alone. And thats exciting and terrifying all at once.

But everything depends on how you choose to interpret the situation, and the outcome of that situation.

Heres hoping for a positive experience.

It's been 43 days..

I guess it hasn't really been that long in retrospect to how long I'm going to be gone, but I really feel like I've been gone for years. And I am really missing home right now. 

I knew going into this that no ones life would stop for me, and I realize that yes people miss me and that no one has all the time in the world to remind me constantly, but I guess the fact that I miss people all the time and want to make sure they know makes me a bit sad that it isn't reciprocated. That being said, I appreciate any messages or emails I DO recieve. Sometimes, I don't get them when I want them or from the people I wish they were from, but at least I get anything.

It's really hard to watch every ones life at home continue on while I'm not there, and feel like it isn't really much of an impact that I'm not. I don't know, it's a hard feeling to explain I guess. I just don't really feel all that missed sometimes. And even a bit replaced at other times for some people. 

On a happier note, I am sister to a brand new baby boy. I don't know his name yet, I have yet to hear from the actual parents of said child, I heard from my Grandpa, BUT I know it's there! 

Congratulations Dad and Donna, if you read this! I can't wait to see him :)

Goin' home in a bag..

I have to admit, I was definitely spoiled in Singapore. Going from horrible accommodation to really good, back to really not that great once again is a hard thing to do. 

Don finally arrived on the second of December, and so far we've had a blast. Or at least, I have. Don spent the first few days extremely jet lagged, and so I guess it was a little hard to REALLY enjoy himself, but I am having fun with someone I can share jokes with easily and etc. 

We are now located in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, and I feel almost like I am back in the big cities of the Philippines, except it's a bit cleaner. Oh and I don't have to worry about whether or not kids are going to surround me in the street and pick-pocket me with those skilled little hands. Which, I must admit is really a nice thing to not have to think about. The people, so far, in Malaysia are not nearly as forward as those in the Philippines, and they are not nearly as obvious about staring at me. Which is nice as well. Though the transit system, we discovered today is somewhat shit. It's almost like being back in Edmonton :) bnr.

We get outta this dingy place tomorrow though, up into Cameron Highlands where there are waterfalls to see, jungles to trek, and hot weather to escape. I am really excited, after over a week of being in them, to finally get out of the large cities and into some wilderness. 

I must admit, I really do miss my traveling companions from the Philippines. I met some really great people there, and in Singapore as well. I think about them alot, and often find myself wondering "would this person like this" or "what are they doing right now". And I love it. Not missing the people, but really know that I've made some wicked friends along the way that I hope to keep in contact with even when I get home. 

Ven, to answer your question cause I am lazy and don't want to write to you on facebook, while making you famous in an entry at the same time, I will be in Laos mid jan/beginning of feb. :)

And now to get back to whinging Uncle Don. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

SIIIINNGGGG-apore.

Alriiight. So Cebu turned out to be not so bad. I actually really enjoyed myself. Especially meeting my new friends, Amy and Edward, some Filipino's working at the guesthouse that Steve and I ended up staying in. 

I enjoyed my time going to the club, and seeing the infamous Cebu Inmates Dance. It was quite a riot actually, and it's really nice to see that there is actually an effort in certain cities to change crime. I mean, kind of. The kids on the streets managed to rob Steve of 700 pesos, almost getting him into a fight with the man who is obviously in control of them, but you know. Small things at a time I guess..

What else can I say? I've finally left the Philippines. I spent the day at a beach while it was raining here in Singapore. I managed to make a group of friends here in my hostel already, and I only arrived about 24 hours ago. Well... aquaintances at the moment. But one is a canadian girl from Montreal, so thats nice. The others are - surprise surprise - FILIPINO'S!! All here to find jobs in Singapore to make some more money. Of course, thats not as easy as you would think. Alot of places refuse to hire foreigners. But they are still very persistant, which is one of the things that I found out about these people; Just how far they can push themselves on something without giving in.

I am SO EXCITED TO SEE DON!!!!!!! It will be so nice to see family. :) Time is going by faster these days, which is surprising for me. Its already been a month, can you believe it?! I can't. 

Only 7 months left kids.