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Sawadee Kaaa (yeah, we're fluent in Thai now...),
Here be our final blog from Asia!!! It's been a crazy 6 months and we've loved (almost) every minute. We've somehow managed to travel 4 counties in the past 6 weeks - exhausting, yes, but time is no match for Em-squared.
We'll pick up where we left off; the mental city of Ho Chi Minh (or 'Ho me Chin' as we prefer to call it...). After recovering from our eventful first day, we decided to be 'cultured' and parted with our ever-dwindling money in order to visit 'Cowdai' temple - the base of a recently founded religion in which followers worship an array of Gods, including Jesus, Mary, Buddah, a few Chinese guys and one massive 'Big Brother' style eye. This probably would have been more amusing had it not been for the 7 hour bus journey getting there. Our next stop was Dalat - in the highlands of Vietnam. Here we enjoyed a cable car ride to some waterfalls, a two seater rollercoaster with manual speed control (this is always dangerous when Billington is driving) and made 30 new Japanese friends who collectively wanted a photo with us for their holiday album.
A bit too eager to return to beach life, we ruined our time in Nha Trang by getting ridiculously burnt on our first day there - fail. A highlight of our time there was being approached by a 6 foot Siberian man in a thick, full length coat and fur hat in 37 degree heat, asking us to take multiple photos of him posing in the sand. Hoi An was our little bit of heaven: We stayed in a posh hotel complete wth infinity pool and omlette station - all for 4 quid a night, bargain! This is where our personal Vietnamese tailors designed and made us custom made dresses in a matter of hous (we tried to push thoughts of child labour to the back of our minds).
The night bus to Hanoi was a less than pleasant experience as we found ourselves in a 12 hour three way spoon with an old, blind, Vietnamese man, who wore far too much cologne. Hanoi was bloody freezing! After a terrifying 5am motorbike ride (apparently traffic lights at junctions mean nothing out here) and a tense few minutes in which Billington feared Gilbert had been kidnapped by her driver, we arrived at our very cold and very damp hostel. Some highlights of our time in Hanoi were Halong bay, which was beautiful despite it being cold and misty, a smoking fish (yes, a real one) and chilling on a park bench for a good 15 minutes before realising we were the main focus of a newly married couple's wedding shoot. And thus our time in Vietnam ended.
After a gruelling 24 hour bus journey to Laos, we discovered the two countries couldn't be more different. The sun literally came out as we crossed the border. We found ourselves slowing down to the pace of the sleepy country. We thought we'd gone deaf as not a car beep was heard when we crossed the capital city's "busiest" street. Even the tuk tuk drivers only managed feeble mumbles of "tuk tuk" from the hammocks hanging in the back of their vehichles. Very different from the tranquility we had become accustomed to, we arrived in the party town of Vang Vieng. Here the thing to do is get completely off your face and then float down the river, in a rubber ring. Yes, this is as dangerous as it sounds - especially when a herd of buffalo are taking an afternoon dip down stream. Vang Vieng is actually quite pleasant during the day as the dick'eds sleep off their hangovers, but as night falls, drunken screams can be heard from afar as the crowds of neon vest-wearers emerge from their pits. Very 'I am legend".
In an attempt to take our minds off the horrifically bumpy roads to Luang Prabang we decided to play "Who am I?". This game doesn't last very long when you correctly quess characters such as Captain Von Trapp and Dory in less than three guesses. This was all good fun until the couple behind us, who joined in, had a massive domestic. Awkward. Luang Prabang was our favourite place in Asia, it was suay (oh we mean beautiful, accidental slip into Thai there...) It had the best market ever, we bought far too much stuff! We also enjoyed a day trip to a waterfall where we swam in ice cold lagoons. And before we knew it, our time In Laos was up. In keeping with the slowness of Laos life, we took a 2 day boat to Thailand on the mighty Mekong river. There were some interesting characters on the boat, including a man who whacked out his balls (of the juggling variety, of course!) and an old sleeze named Enrique, unfortunately holding no resemblance to Mr Iglesias! We spent a few days in Chiang Mai, north Thailand, and opted for an adrenaline filled day ziplining and absailing through the jungle. We failed to see any creatures, as our screams more than likely sent them into hiding.
And now as we type this we are in Bangkok for the final time, before flying to Melbourne tomorrow, crikey! Peace out, stay reem.
- comments
Dad Love your latest entry, as always. I'm sure Asia has loved having the two of you! Looking forward to the next Antipodian entry!
Esther/Mum Always such a good read Em-squared!! Amazing how the balance of the experiences still comes out as amusing! Here's hoping for a great time for you in Australia. xxxx
Anna Hargreaves Highlights of the blog post: 3 way spoon with a blind man and the idea that the drunken t*** in Laos are like those crazy zombie creatures in 'I am Legend'. It sounds like you're having the most incredible time. Gilbert I hear you are returning the day before Lucy's wedding! Sad to say you are missing an epic hen weekend that I am planning (details of which cannot be disclosed in this comment as Lucy may look). Enjoy Australia! Throw shrimps on the barbie and all that. Xxx
Kirsten Asia's loss, Australia's gain! I'm, as ever, amazed at the adventures you seem to have - how do you find these people? Or more importantly perhaps, how do they find you?? Great post as always - looking forward to the next and hearing abut the crazies you meet in the land of Oz! X x x x x x x
Dave Ingram Really enjoyed reading about you exploits in Asia. Is there a film in this "Em2 Thai Tour"? Possible sequal "Em2 Aussie Walkabout" ? Enjoy the rest of your trip