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It's been sooooooo long and once again there is so much to tell...
Since my last email I have been to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and now have just over a week until I return home!
Laos:
Laos was a lovely place, but unfortunately I entered the country on the most uncomfortable way possible.. the torturous two-day slow boat from Northern Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos. I felt like I was being smuggled from one country to the next as they over crowded our boat and I was forced to sit near the stinky engine ;) http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755806 http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia/1755807 The scenery was great, but the smoke in the air from the farmers 'slash and burning' crops took away some of the beauty... and hurt my lungs :( I got to see the gorgeous kids along the way getting bathed in the Mekong by their mumma's. So cute, little butts everywhere! ;) On a bus to Vang Vieng, I sat next to the SMELLIEST man out of Italy. Once again it was over crowded, so the driver put plastic chairs in aisle to accommodate for the extra people. Smelly Italian man pulled up next to me and decided to sit with his arms behind his head the whole way to display his awful aroma. What?s even worse though, we were reunited the next week on another bus trip! And yes he still stunk. I felt like throwing soap at him. You would too if you smelt him ;) Thank heavens for tiger balm! :)
Cambodia:Cambodia was definitely one of my favourite places on this trip... I fell in love with the children, and the people in general. For those of you who know what Cambodia has gone through you can imagine the type of pain and suffering the people have endured over the years. It was so heart breaking learning about what happened to Cambodians during the Khmer Rouge regime. Walking through the Killing Fields and the S21 prison where these poor people suffered really touched me. Afterwards, our tuk tuk driver asked us "Do you want to go and shoot an AK47 now?!" and we?re like "Um, yeah? no thanks." There was no way I was going anywhere near a gun after that. It?s such a huge contrast to how the country and its people are now though. Out of all the Asian countries I have been to, they are by far the happiest and friendliest people. The kids were once again a highlight for me. They were multi-lingual and specialised in naming the capital and population for each different tourist ;) They were very cute and such persistent sales kids :) http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755933 Exploring the temples of Angkor was wonderful.. sunrise and sunset at Angkor Wat was amazing! http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755931 http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755922 http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755937 The second day I started experiencing temple over load.. too many temples in too little time. http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755939 Each time you left a temple you were surrounded by group of ten or more kids selling bracelets, postcards etc. I saw people getting annoyed and frustrated at them, but I couldn?t, after all these kids don?t know any better and they are just there to make money. I wanted to steal a few; they?d make a killing in Sydney :)
Cutest Cambodian kid spotted: This particular kid was selling post cards at one of the many temples, she was patrolling her ?territory? when I saw her. She was too young to communicate, so instead she just whimpered and held up her postcards? so adorable! http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/laos-cambodia-vietnam/1755930 Most people crammed on to 1 motorbike: 6 people!! (3 adults, 3 children) :)
Vietnam: Vietnam has been the most rushed part of this trip, coming to the end of it we have been speeding through each city. We were lucky to meet some nice Vietnamese kids one day so they decided to give us a tour on their motorbikes around Saigon :) http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/vietnam/1776308 We met some more Vietnamese kids one night in a park in Saigon. Being with Kris, Lisa and Jess at the time, they approached us and asked if they could join us to practise their English. We sat there talking with them for a couple of hours and learnt that they meet once a week at this park for their ?English Club? :) Such motivated kids. http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/vietnam/1776307
Prettiest town: Hoi An, thankfully it?s a world heritage site so it can never be touched, just restored. http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/vietnam/1776295 http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/vietnam/1776309
Favourite food: Pho Bo ? Beef noodles? so good!Funniest moment: One of the tours we went on, we had a really unorganized tour guide. The whole group was fed up by the end of the day and he knew it too. When he was about to drop us off at the hotel he said "I hate to say goodbyes" Then busted out with Ronan Keating?s song ? "Yu say it be?t.. when yu say nut?ing at al" haha! That definitely made the tour worth it, and probably stopped anyone from complaining about him ;) Smart man. http://www.statravelblogs.com/karina/albums/vietnam/1776304 Some more photo's on the website.. enjoy www.statravelblogs.com/karina Anyway, heading to Hong Kong tomorrow and will be back in Sydney on the 2nd May. Look forward to seeing you all :) Feel free to call the broke backpacker after my return - 0415 320 569
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