Halong Bay, Northern Vietnam

Halong Bay, in Northern Vietnam may not be one of the world wonders, but it soon may become one, and rightfully so! The breathtaking lime stone cliffs blew my mind and has my vote to become one of the world wonders.

We took a tour through the central back packers hostel which included an overnight stay on the boat in the eerie misty lime stone cliffs. During the day our boat rolled up to a big rock which appear to have a hole in it. Our guide told us we were going to go see a cave, which immediately made my role my eyes. Cave has a pretty loose meaning in SE asia, see Pak ou "caves":

BUT IT WAS NOTTTTT PAK OU "CAVES"!! This was a scene out of Aladdin on E!! Mind blowing. Our guide insisted on playing a game (which im pretty sure he memorized a script of because he could not answer a single questions outside of his schpeil.. loved him haha.. cutie) which was kind of like the cloud game where you say what they look like, except with rocks. He pointed to this rock and then got mad at us for saying it looks like a erect penis.. and then tried to tell us it was a finger...

This is a penis.. not a finger. Get it right!

This cave just set the bar so high for any caves to come in my life. Loved it!! And thsoe Vietnamese definitely know whats up when it comes to amusing tourists with cool coloured lights:

Everything is cooler with a black light on it

God.. is that you?

And just when you thought the cave was over.. the most epic view of Halong Bay!

After this epic cave experience we went kayaking! A drive up beer store came to us on the water. Before handing her money we probably should have asked her if she had any form of ice/fridge on her boat or if she indeed was just selling boiling hot beer that has been roasting in the sun all day. Rookie mistake.

Kayaking in Halong Bay

Our boat's top deck

Writing a postcard to the BF

The dining room

Hanoi, Northern Vietnam

We flew into Hanoi, Vietnam's capital after a long day of flight delays and M150 crashes and went out to look for food. The area our hotel was in was not a tourist district.. and it showed. There were no sidewalks, no english, and nothing that really resembled a restaurant. We finally stumbled upon what we thought was a restaurant and began looking through a menu that consisted of only Vietnamese and some images that had to have been from Google images. Ordering by pointing at pictures did not bother me at all after 5 months of traveling but when she shook her head at my orders I was confused. All 3 employees were now surrounding our table of 4 as we all LOL-ed over our inability to communicate. I was debating between the "BEEP" steak and rice and meat (no specification of what animal)

 We pulled a stranger off the street who said he spoke english and he went back and he translated for us. I was pointing at words and he was translating but I think the waitress was just telling him to translate things that they had available. I may not speak Vietnamese but every other word either meant pizza or pasta, and they did not look the same, a truly Vietnamese culinary experience! What’s a girl got to do for some Pho? I thought that would be everywhere?? Thankfully after this, we found bakery called Joma and ate every breakfast lunch and dinner there. 

Hanoi was crazy with motor bikes and a local told us that 30 people are hit per day by bikes, which I didn’t believe at all at first, and then I tried crossing an intersection. A local encouraged me to not bother waiting for the crossing light to come on but rather to slowly walk into oncoming traffic, which somehow actually worked.  Bikes began to go around me!!  

 Going for a jog was another story… Mere and I decided to venture out and do some laps of the famous lake in the middle of the bustling city. It was hot as hell but we made it! And split a watermelon from a little Vietnamese lady pushing a cart of them around. She was about to hit a gold mine having us in town. Splitting whole watermelons somehow became routine for us.

Our second night we decided to opt for a famous hostel to hunt out the other tourists. We made a booking online for Hanoi backpackers and then headed over. In the mean time they double booked our room.  I was not thrilled but whatever. Just for shits I got on the free internet and start talking loudly about going onto travelfish and giving them a bad review, just to see what would happen. That, combined with Mere’s persistent haggling somehow not only got us our own private dorm room for half price, but they also kicked out the current tenants to give us 4 the room :P 

our humble abode

After sightseeing Hanoi for a day or so and stocking up on pirated DVDs we headed out to Halong bay, about 3 hrs by bus, to go on an overnight cruise.

approx. $30 CDN worth of DVDs

Luang Prabang - Laos

After Vang Vieng, some serious R&R was in order. At first LP was everything I could've asked for after the destruction that took place the days leading up to it. There is a curfew of 11pm in town, which means that the entire town shuts down, lights out, total silence. No bars open -- God's response to creating VV. This was fantastic the first night but the second night we got itchy. Total cabin fever set in as the 4 of us tried to fall asleep in our 4 little Laos sized beds line up one by one. We started making animal noises and continuously giggling like children who have had too much sugar. The inn owner commented in the morning "strange noises come from your room late at night". Sorry dude, the world still spins after 11pm!!!

The next day we went to the Pak Ou caves. It started off a beautiful day but just as we were boarding the little roofless canoe to cross the Mekong River to reach the cave, a thunderstorm errupted out of nowhere. I can think of place I'd rather be than in the middle of the Mekong during a monsoon style thunderstorm, but oh well.. we were pumped for the cave. Pak Ou caves = hole in a rock that turned into a buddah grave yard. We had a blast playing with the flash lights in the otherwise pitch black cemetary cave haha. Weird attraction.

Next up was the famous bright blue water falls. The lovely violent thunderstorm the day before hand turned this masterpiece into a beautiful brown colour, the colour of chocolate pudding, or manure. We suck. But on a positive note, there was a tonne of Chinese diplomats there having a photoshoot, so that was cute.

We packed up our bags and headed off to the Luang Prabang airport and were greeted with a huge black smoke cloud coming from behind the terminal and on the runway. After checking in we learned that our flight was delayed... possible connection?! Eeek. Got bored at the airport.. decided to drink an m150 (had to spend my last Laos kip... no one will take that in currency exchanges) just for fun. Fun for an hour then seriiiious energy crash on the plane so it all worked out and then we arrived in Northern Vietnam...

Laos - Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is crazy!! Its this place in laos where 60+ (reliable source: local opium dealer) tourists have died in the last year from over doses on opium, "happy shakes", and drinking combined with tubing down a rapid river that is too shallow for all of the tempting trapezes and rope swings that stick out of every bar. It was a tonne of fun but I can see how its very dangerous! When "dining" and watching either Friends or Family Guy during your meal you are more than likely slipped a "happy menu":

Typical Laos menu

Aside from the casualty count, I didnt fully use and abuse this menu option due to a lot of other scary stories. Not just saying that because my mom reads my blog (Shout out: Hey mum!), but just mixed with language barrier and the sketchiness drugs bring, I said no to drugs, but power to all the people who did... some funny stories!! Buckets of alcohol for minimal prices were enough for me :)

Something Ive learned about SE asia along the way is the lack of attention to safety. Along with dangling power lines, questionable forms of transportation, came this special bridge in the middle of the infamous river in Vang Vieng. The fact that this massive tourist draw can still exist with the rapids, tubing, and alcohol drug mix amazes me. That shit would not fly in Canada.. but maybe we need to loosen up a bit (not this much though).



Around noon every day people start heading down to the river with or without tubes. Alot of people just swim to the bars or walk since they line the river and drunk idiots steal tubes. When you to the river you are greeted by a guy with free shots. Loved him! Then each bar has something funky going on aside from excessive amounts of cheap alcohol. One bar was giving out free spray tattoos so naturally we had to get tramp stamps, tradition. Another was giving people bandanas with funny sayings on them that they would randomly choose from a bag without looking. Mine said "up the bum, no babies" (a phrase that is on alot of t-shirts? not sure why they think tourists would want to wear that) so I obviously passed on displaying that on my head all day, but it was a nice gesture.

Free shot guy

Hammock after party bar

That time JJ got a "job" in VV.. taking a quick work break to dance I see

Powder to help keep flying biting ants off of you



After a few rough days and nights in VV we headed off to Luang Prabang where there is a curfew of 11pm, one extreme to another!! I've never seen a place like VV in my LIFE!! I highly recommend going there, even if half of the people who visit die.. just be smart.. which is easier said than done...

TEMPTING

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

On route to Laos we made a pit stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital since flights to Laos don't leave from Singapore. KL is a 5 hour bus ride from Singapore and we concluded that it basically is a cheaper version of Sing. It is famous for its shopping, specifically on Petaling Street, which is coincidently where our hotel was. It is a masssssssive market at night with agressive sales people giving you, and only you a "speical deal". We also ventured to the famous Times Sqaure Mall which did not dissappoint either. There were multiple stories of stores and even a decent amusement park. We managed to weasle our way in with a local child's rate discount by telling the security guard it was too much (6 dollars CDN for unlimited rides on all 15 rides) haha. After, we visited the famous Petronas Towers. They are illumiated at night which made all 88 floors look really cool. It cost 2.5 billion dollars to make the twin towers and they currently house 10,000+ jobs! They currently are the largest twin towers, and they were the tallest buildings in the world, but have been beat since then.

Futuristic Carousel

The Famous Petronas Towers

Tonnes of escalators

After all this we packed up, exchange our Malaysian Ringet into Laos Kip and were on our way!

Thailand - Chiang Mai & Bangkok

After my last exam I flew out to Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. It was very different from the other parts of the Southern Thailand islands that I had previously visited. It was much more cultural than the tourist infested party beaches, that were amazing in their own way.

In Chiang Mai we tried our hands at the Thai cuisine and found out what really goes into all of our favourite dishes.... I wasn't overly excited to eat Pad Thai after putting heaps and heaps of fishy smelling sauces in it, but its just so darn good!! We also made curry, as well as curry paste, by hand. I hated curry before my trip, but after trying it and then actually seeing what went in it made it alot less scary and Ive actually grown to really like it. My favourite was the coconut soup. I had been searching for this amazing coconut soup that I tried in Canada but no one in the restaurants understood it by its English name. 4 months into the trip I finally found my beloved soup and I had the recipe so I can make it back home. The one thing I could've lived without making were the spring rolls. You put all of these great, fresh ingredients together in a thin sheet and then deep fry the absolute crap out of them. I kept wanting to take mine out thinking it was done but the cooking instructor was watching over my shoulder saying they weren't ready. I thought for sure they were going to taste awful and she didn't know what she was talking about, but they were awfully delicious.

Cooking class in Chiang Mai; making a spring roll

 We visited a Karen Long neck camp which consisted of about 20 families living much closer to civilization than they normally do, probably for easy access for tourists. I understand that they probably don't want people come to their homes to see them, but the camp seemed very set up and fake just for the tourists to stare at and take pictures of. All of the girls were wearing the neck coils, even young children as young as 3 years old. It doesnt actually lengthen their necks, but rather pushes their collar bones down. There is a myth that if they were to take it off, their necks would fall over, but it is just a myth.

Karen Long Neck Tribe

 We signed up for a hill tribe trek, which I believe should have been called a "mountain tribe trek", since it was 3.5 hrs up a 90 degree hill. It was definitely worth it in the end, once we got up there but wow was I even unprepared when I over packed by backpack that I would have to wear all the way the hill. The guide suggested we bring pants and long sleeves as well as rain gear, which naturally we all laughed at since Thailand was 30+ degrees at the time. I was the only one to pack long sleeves and pants "just in case", which I regretted 3.5 hours uphill. I was so happy I did because once we go up to and cooled off from the marathon work out, we FROZE. The temperature had to have been 15 degrees colder up there and it didn't help that it was raining. We were shown our room which was one big bedroom for 10 people which was nothing more than a bamboo hut full of matresses and mosquito nets, that could have ignited in flames instantly had any of the candles fallen over.

Elephant ride on the way up (before we hit the 90 degree "hill")

 Dinner was curry with vegetables and rice. They were the only products they had access to on their hill range and they had grown everything themselves. I cannot imagine lugging food or any sort of supplies up that 3.5 hr hill but I did find out later that they have some motor bikes that can go down a skinny little path if they ever have to get down quickly, but a lot of people still had never left the hill in their entire lives.

Hill tribe trek dinner

Waterfall break

Hill tribe boy playing with his pets

White water rafting on the way down

 After a slightly less hard journey down the hill we got a nice long rest on a 10hr night bus to Bangkok. We arrive at about 6am and the streets were still full of drunk people either still drinking of having late night drunk munches. The Hangover 2 accurately represents Bangkok's wildness! I was oh so fortunate enough to get to go to my second ping pong show that one night. It was alot different than Phuket entertaining ping pong show, and represented the horror stories that I heard from other exchange students quite well. The girls were not into it and seemed scared while they were on stage, like someone was watching them and if they did something wrong they were in big trouble. It was alot more sad and I felt bad having spent 500 baht to be there and support it but I only had one night in Bangkok....

Roof top pool in Bangkok

The infamous Khao San road, Bangkok

Thailand - Phuket

After Phi Phi, Mere and I decided to stay in Thailand for a few more days before heading back to study for exams. We decided to try out Phuket, a fairly popular tourist destination. We booked our hotels through Agoda.com, which allows you to get luxurious 4+ starred hotels for budget prices, in our case two 4 star hotels for around 20 USD per night, which also included a huge breakfast buffet.

It was nearly impossible to walk down the main stretch without being attacked by locals trying to sell you Ping Pong shows. For those who don't know what a ping pong show is... I assure you it has nothing at all to do with ping pong. We made friends with a group of guys and decided to conquer the task together. Luckily we found a show which was not sketchy, as our friends who had been described it to be. There was a bar packed with normal people, husbands and wives, giggling groups of girls and cheering guys with beers. The girls performed tricks such as shooting a dart out of a tube in her ------ and popping balloons, to pulling a seemingly endless trail of string from her ------. It was interesting to say the least. I had heard horror stories like the girls at other ping pong shows were drugged and were forced into it, but our girls did a great job and were smiling and dancing throughout the whole show and blowing kisses into the audience. If they are happy up there doing what they're doing then all the power to them!

Brave souls going into the show

Phuket had the most cheap merchandise I have seen so far on my Asia adventures. There was vendor selling jean shorts on the side of the road for 100 baht each = 3-4 USD!! Insane!!

Phuket was fairly commercialized in comparison to other parts of Thailand I have visited. The Southern Islands were very touristy, but Phuket was touristy in a very commercial way. There were McDonalds (several), Subway, BK, Starbucks etc. I really liked how Ronald McDonald is standing in the Asian version, rather than sitting on the bench with his arm around you.

Asia Ronald