Great big blog birthday wishes to my partner in wanderings. The day will be spent scooting an snorkeling around Koh Tao. If our new power adapter comes in from Bangkok what a birthday it shall be.
Also happy birthday to my wonderful supportive Mother Goose who turns 60 today.
March 4th, 2010
You may have noticed a brief lull in our posting. You could blame it on the fact that we are on Koh Tao, a tropical Thai paradise island with ample snorkel and relaxation opportunity. You could blame it on Mike and Sarah: we are having way too much fun and playing way too many hands of bridge (or not enough, no such thing as too much bridge). Or you could blame it on the fact that our computer power adapter has hit the fan. Ironically, it ceased charging our computer just days after purchasing a new battery. We have to pay exorbitant amounts of Baht to receive a new one here in Thailand. The new battery and power adapter monetarily equate to a new iPad. Oh how I wish we had one of those over my clunky old Powerbook. Our new power cord is supposed to arrive today. We are hoping they got it right and we’ll be back online with photos and fun in no time.
The hardest thing about following the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (besides the fact that hardly anyone here ever thinks about snow) is the 15 hour time difference. We did manage to find a bar called Choppers here on Koh Tao that was playing Olympic coverage on a Hong Kong feed of ESPN, and we successfully watched Canada beat Slovakia in men’s hockey the other day.
We were determined to watch the gold medal game as well, except that the time difference meant that Canada would face the USA at 3:15 a.m. local time. Unfortunately, our gecko-inhabited beach hut is sans-satellite TV, so we asked Choppers bar if they might consider keeping some unusual hours for the sake of us obsessive hockey fans. It seems that enough people must have asked the same thing, because sure enough, by mid-afternoon the day before, the big game was written on the chalkboard outside: “Olympic Hockey, Gold Medal Game, Live at 3:00 a.m.”
After successfully reuniting with Mike and Sarah in Bangkok, we headed east by bus. Our destination: Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia. It was a long day of bus travel, with a slow border crossing in the middle of it, but we arrived in Siem Reap in one piece and early enough to plan our expedition to the temples for the following day. The idea was to leave at 5:00am by tuk-tuk in order to be at the temples for sunrise. We were in for a day of heat, sweat, and ancient ruins. This was a destination that we’d been looking forward to for some time, and we’d finally arrived. We went to sleep with excited minds.
Our wonderful kindred couple friends Mike and Sarah have come all the way to Bangkok to visit us! We are beyond excited to see them. After allowing them some time to recover from their 25 hour journey, we’ll be heading over to Cambodia to visit Ankor Wat. After that we’ll be parking it on a beach on Koh Tao for a couple weeks. Beaches, bridge and Mike and Sarah: our most favourite things in the world. Life is good.
One of my favourite aspects of travel is that it helps me to appreciate where I’m from. Mobile phone rates aside, I am so proud of my home and native land.
Mark and I were feeling especially proud after having watched the Olympic opening ceremonies. Our dear friend Rachel generously gave us a night at her fly guesthouse in Vientiane and our room had a t.v. for us to watch it on. We both got goosebumps and all teary-eyed for home while watching.
We’ll be following the action as much as possible and wishing we were at home to be a part of it.
Our last destination in Laos was the capital, Vientiane, where we were meeting our friend Rachel for a short visit. We took the bus from Vang Vieng (which left on Laos time, meaning about an hour late) and arrived in the city at dusk. Vientiane is a small capital, with a population of just over 200,000 people. Still, it felt pretty big after some of the smaller places we’d been recently.
We hopped in a tuk-tuk from the bus station and went in search of Rachel’s guesthouse. When we found it, she was waiting for us with refreshingly cold Beer Lao at the ready. It was so great to see a friendly face from back home! We only had one day to hang out before Rachel had to carry on to Bangladesh, so we made the most of it.
THE thing to do in Laos, on the backpacker circuit, is tubing in Vang Vieng. It’s not just backpackers making their way here, it has become a Euro/Aussie spring break destination as well. It’s a freakish sort of adult fantasy land with bikinis, booze, adrenaline and breathtaking scenery. As odd as it felt to find this party vibe in the middle of rural Laos, we couldn’t miss out and allowed ourselves to have a fantastic time of it.
The idea is to gently float down the Nam Song river, stopping in at riverside bars along the way to become completely inebriated on buckets of alcohol and beer whilst enjoying and/or injuring yourself on the multitude of slides, swings and ziplines into the water.
One of the things that makes Vang Vieng a destination for so many travelers (besides tubing — more on that later) is the landscape that surrounds it. In nearly every direction, huge limestone karsts, or cliffs, soar upwards in sheer masses. And as it that weren’t enough on its own, the karsts are full of caves and clear, cool springs. We had to get up close, so we rented a motorbike in Vang Vieng and headed west on a bumpy gravel road that stretched towards the karsts through the rural countryside.
“We tend to seek happiness, when happiness is actually a choice.”
~ As read on a menu in Luang Prabang
