Finally! Although I did have a great time in Thailand. Met many cool people and stayed in some great places. I especially loved pai. I thought I was in love with Chiang mai until I went to Pai. My kindle is annoying and I'm too lazy to worry about capitalization so... you just have to deal with it. Pai was one of those places you plan for three days and end up staying eight.... which is what happened. I stayed until my visa ran out. I loved my bungalow and esp Natalie who managed it. She had such a big bright heart that made the stay so pleasurable. If anyone is going to Pai....stay at Pai nam now. :) bonfire every night. And a group bbq occasionally...
Going into Laos was great too. Took the slow boat to luang prabang and made many friends. We really had quite a social group. Everyone got along and enjoyed our time. Yes it was chilly but ya didn't even realize it so much. Stayed at a guesthouse with other people from the boat and always ended up at a bar called utopia at night (also where I was for Christmas eve). L.P. was a pretty place. Relaxing... a temple, a giant waterfall, cute coffee shops, and even managed to go to a fashion show which also had breakdancing. Laos in general is interesting because things shut at 1130pm. Everywhere. In L.P.there was an after hours bowling alley which I bumped into a friend from chiang mai there and also my friend from pai. Not to mention I met a guy from Lynn. The bowling alley stayed open til 2 I think. There was also a Laos bar which stayed open later. I met some cool people there... Anna and Giorgio....who I ended up traveling with all through Laos. Christmas day we traveled to vang vieng. I originally didn't want to travel on Christmas but I would have been the only person in luang prabang. Vang vieng left much to be desired. I did one of the caves and blue lagoon and the hot air balloon ride. The hot air balloon was nice but it was cloudy. So not the best. I ended up not feeling well so I stayed in vang vieng a bit longer than expected. Headed to don det which is part of 4000 islands. It was a super pimped out sleeper bus with a Winnie the pooh on the side and flashing lights and "king of bus" written on the front. My first time on a sleeper bus in Laos. They were twin beds as seats. Awesome at first as I thought I had one to myself but then I had to share with a girl from Australia. Kinda weird to be sleeping in a twin bed on a bus with a girl I didn't know... But whatever. We managed. Kinda funny to think about. Don det was awesome. So relaxing and cheap cheap.... $3.50 for my own bungalow on the Mekong with two hammocks. Yes, the bathroom was separate but it was fine. I'm getting use to that... And not so warm showers.... And manual flushing as in pour a pail of water down the toilet. I so appreciate a hot shower when I have one. Don det was a lot of chillaxing and hanging at a bar called pai in Laos. All the places are really chill but we made our home there. New year's eve they had a roasted pig. They killed the pig in the morning. I was there for the cleaning out of the insides and putting it on the fire. I guess it's an experience. That day we pretty much played cards and ate. I also did a sunset boat ride to another island... beer included. Came back for pig... then headed to the reggae bar which was ridiculously packed. Then everyone headed to the beach for the bonfire. The whole island was there. Bumped into so many people from the slow boat to luang prabang. It was nice. I guess I'm on the southeast Asia version of the gringo trail. :) I did bike to another island a day or two after but beside that I did a lot of hanging with friends, playing cards, and drinking and eating. I stayed until money ran out.... No one wants kip.
After a horrendous couple of busrides I've made it to siem reap. Left at 8am and got here at 3am. Supposedly we were suppose to be here at 10pm. And I am staying at the same place as a couple of my friends Iet in Laos. Without even planning it. I am going to be heading to Angkor wat tomorrow for sunrise with one of the guys from the slow boat. It is suppose to be really great then so.... being up at 430 should be worth it.
I know I have so much to update but I just can't recall everything. I have kept up with my written journal though. Which I started rereading the other day. I'm glad I started it cause I have forgotten so many things! I've taken a lot less photos on this trip than south America. But I guess all memories are in my mind.
Gotta go for now. Meeting up with friends I took the horrible busses with. They were super cute. When we got in this morning they took a separate tuk tuk then the one I was on with Matt... So they didn't know if I was okay. I came across a coffee shop and one of them sitting there. She was so happy to see me. She was nervous that something happened. Then when her sister got there she said the same thing. So we are meeting up for dinner... And I want a nap beforehand. My life is so tough....
