Hey ppl!

Well l thought it was time to do the generic email and let you know how ive been spending my days whilst your all hard at work (or at work anyway).

So it started with a few days in Bangkok (left the day of the bombings - just as well really, they were near where I was staying) before heading down to Phuket for some sun and sand. But too many tourists taking over the beaches with jet skis and paragliding for my liking and a few days was enough. So I had the bright idea of going to Cambodia- so i left my friend in Phuket and headed back for Bangkok to get organised- only to find out that I could find the right Malaria tablets I needed, so I waited for my friend to head back to Bangkok and did few temple tours in the mean time. Once she arrived we hit the shops and managed to fill a couple of days in one shopping centre....

Then I heard some good things about a place called Laos, so thought why not? And before I knew it I was booked and waiting for my 15 hour bus ride..with a very entertaining Japanese man who didnt let go of his whisky bottle for the whole trip and proceeded to smoke on the non smoking bus. He wondered up and down the bus staring at ppl and at one stage he almost set the curtin on fire before finally passing out. So after 15 hours we arrived at the boader of Laos (Vientiene) were we handed over our $30 USD and queued for our visa, then to our amusement the entertaining Japanese man asked if he could borrow money off everyone.... :-)

So we made it through the boader and headed for the city - quite small, but very nice, one and half days was enough- so i decided to move on and left my german friend and jumped on the bus for Vang Vieng -a small town where you hire a tyre inner tube and jump in the river and float from bar to bar which line the river. As you float past they offer you a stick and then pull you into the side. All the bars have rope swings or flying foxes and the biggest one even has a volleyball court ....after watching a few ppl swing from the highest one on the river i decided to give it a shot....well after climbing up the wooden ladder and looking down i almost changed my mind but there was no way back down, so i grabbed the handle and held on as much as i could and off i went. I manged 2 swings before deciding it was "now or never" to let go and hit the water with bit of a thud (the bruising on the back of my legs started to show a short time later) But all all i got off pretty easy and over the next few days heard lots of stories and saw lots of ppl with large bruises on their backs and legs. ( I will send pics when i find a computer that works properly). After a few days of hanging round down/ swimning in waterholes, attemping some caving and watching Friends over and over again at one of the many TV bars i decided it was time for the next town. So again boarded the bus for another 7 hour journey but meet more ppl along the way and after arriving in the next town (Luang Prabang) had become friends with another kiwi who was meeting friends (who as it turns out i'd also meet floating down the river one day). So for the next few days we did the sights (beautiful waterfalls/ markets and bike riding round town) along with a few drinks at night, it was time to go our seperate ways and thats where i meet my next friend - the scottsman also known as Mark (who as it turns out i'd also meet twice before) so we began our 2 day boat trip up the river in order to leave the country (i'd heard the stories of the boat trip and wasnt looking forward to it) wooden planks as seats (which were made for asians not westerners with a cushion that felt like it was made out of rocks) and the first 9 hour journey began...after a long 9 hours we arrived in a small town called Pak Bang where the electricity was switched off at 10.30pm and on again at 6.30am (as you can imagine not alot to do there) so early to bed in preperation for another 9 hours the next day. The day stared with confusion as no one seemed to know which boat was ours. After finding one we settled in (the seats being even smaller than th day before with a very low roof) and watched most of the westerners hit their heads on the beams while tring to get to a "seat". All was going well and i even managed to find a semi comfortable position, then after about 5 hours all went quiet (the engine stopped!!) and we began floating back down the river! One Laos man stripped down and proceeded to jump in the river (he was our driver) and struggled to swim to the river bank while everyone watched- of course due to the current by the time he made it to the bank (without the rope to the boat he stared with) we had already drifted a fair way away. So he did what anyone would do i guess and proceeded to run along side the boat. During this time the second Laos man had stripped down and with petrol can in tow he also jumped into the river! After he managed to get to the riverside we were well on our way back to our staring point :-) Just then along came another boat (with cushioned seats none the less) and after transferring all our backpacks we had our river rescue and we all climbed aboard where we rode in luxury for the next 5 hours before finally making it to the boarder crossing for Thailand (only to realise we were stuck in Laos for one final night as the immigration on the Laos side had closed for the night). So the next morning we made the 5 minute journey across the river and we were back to the land of fast cars and ATMS (none to be found in Laos) and after lots of good byes I headed for Changmai.

Changmai is nice place (lots of elephant treks and temples to be seen). Ive been here for 2 nights and leave tonight on my nxt 15 hour bus trip head for a small island of Koh Chang (for some snorkelling and sunbathing)

So, thats the end of my tails so far- im supposed to leave on the 10th of Feb (after alreadys extending my ticket) b ut may extend again as am quite keen to give Cambodia and Vietnam a try. But i will let you all know what i end up doing and will send the pics when i can.

Hope your all well and feel free to drop me a line and let me know the goings on.

Catch ya soon

Clarey xxoo