Round the World: June 2006

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Hello!
Here we are in the home of Angkor Wat...Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our main purpose for coming here was to explore the ancient temple ruins of Angkor, which we did for 3 days. It was hot...but wonderful. We began on the first day at 5am bound for Angkor Wat itself, to see the sunrise. Needless to say, it was all amazing and you can see for yourself with the pics to follow. The city of Siem Reap took us on an emotional rollercoaster ride. The Cambodian people were the friendliest and most sincere locals that we've come across so far in S. E. Asia. Very funny, knowledgeable and interesting. In the streets, there are also many tiny child beggars, and landmine victims. The "ups and downs" continued for our whole stay.
The bus ride back to Bangkok was....well....see for yourself!

Baikinman at the Bayon.

Ta Phrom at Angkor.

The "alterior route" to cross the river.......

Vang Vien, Laos

Vang Vien is the most chilled out town in the world. We stayed here for a week just relaxing and enjoying the mountain views from our balcony....beautiful purple hills. We also enjoyed tubing on the Nam Song River...this was quite an experience; bars along the river, big swing/water jumps and cool scenery. Also found a swimming hole at the bottom of the Chang Cave. Sooo refreshing, sooo cold, good for Vanessa's third degree sunburns! Poor wee chicken legs. Wish we could have stayed in Vang Vien longer. Hope you enjoy the pics.

"In the Tubing" in Vang Vien

Vanechan and Derek with Beer Lao ...in the tubing.

"In the Tubing" crew.

Derek taking the big jump.

Mick, James, Jen, Martin, Mika, Derek, Vanessa and Lynda.

Mekong River & Luang Prabang, Laos

Sabadii from Lao. After just surviving the craziest bus ride of our lives from Pai to the Lao border, we boarded a "slow boat" which carried us for 2 days along the Mekong to Luang Prabang (with a 1 night stop in Pak Beng......don't ever go there!). The boat ride was incredible, with the 2nd day being the most spectacular. Massive cliffs, mountains and forest bordering the river made for a very relaxing trip. We then spent about 4 nights in Luang Prabang, which was cool, and saw THE MOST beautiful waterfall we've ever seen! Hope the pics do it justice. Derek spent a morning exploring caves filled with a bunch of old buddha images, while Vanessa stayed in nursing a tummy ache! Then off to Vang Vieng.....see the next post for that (our favourite place!!). enjoy the pics.

Wat in Luang Prabang

Kuang Si Waterfall

Swimming at the waterfall.

Lao children at the Whiskey Village.

Pak Ou Caves on the Mekong.

Mick(Pink Gay), Vanessa, Derek and Lynda.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Sawaadii!!
We stayed the longest time of our trip so far in this bustling little city. The staff at our guesthouse (Bamboo Den) were really cool...thanks again Kenya and Niki. We did lots here; jungle trekking, bamboo rafting, thai cooking course, and psycho bicycling in the rain. The wats were incredible and the monks were very open and pleasant to speak with. Good times in the North of Thailand.

Doi Suthep Wat on the hill

Vanechan and our trekking crew

Vanessa, Sam, and Derek ready to go!

Derek crushing some hot chillies

I've got a lovely bunch of bananas!

Old timers having a wee jam at the night market.

Thao and Derek at Luang Chedi Wat

The Bamboo Den crew; Dave, Panboon, Niki, Hiro, Eddie, Monica, Kenya and Vanechan.

Sukhothai, Thailand

Hello everyone!
Sorry about the delay with the blog updates....there's been a small setback (ie.lost camera), so we're relying on friends and their cameras, and dodgy disposables at the moment...boooo.
Here are some pics from Sukhothai, the first ever capital city of Thailand. The old city is incredible. A leafy park containing beautiful ruins from ancient wats and other buildings. The misty rain helped to create the perfect atmosphere for the setting.