CaryInThailand

Today is our last day in Thailand.. We're catching a plane tonight and should be home sometime a million hours from now. Thus concludes our travel blog experience.... read more

We just got back from an awesome cooking class. I don't really have the energy to explain in detail all we did, but I Just wanted to let you all know that I'm very full of knowledge, and delicious food.... read more

March 2nd. Yesterday was a good one. We spent most of the day just strolling around the old city in chiang mai, with no destination in mind. We stopped and shared a gigantic ice cream sundae, it was pretty delicious. When the evening came, we made our way down to the local muay thai stadium and watched the fights for the evening. Watching muay thai is an experience for all the senses. When you walk in you can immediately smell the unmistakeable odour of tiger balm. There is traditional music playing at a very high volume and drinks are inexpensive and readily availible. There is also cheap food being prepared practically ringside. The matches began with young kids, maybe 10-12 years old, kicking the crap out of each other. The weight classes and ages eventially get ... read more

Feb 28th Ahhh Chiang mai, quite an exciting city. Theres alot to do here. A couple nights ago we went down to the night market, it is a gigantic, sprawling affair with pretty much anything imaginable availible for purchase (at a good price if you can barter). I picked up a new watch to replace my cambodian rolex, which failed to keep accurate time. This time I opted for a Brietling, which is the official watch of bently, this one is bigger, flashier and more expensive than the rolex, because I apparently have developed an affinity for fancy knockoff watches. Last night we went down to the "reggae district, which is pretty much a small collection of regae bars down the street from the food market. There we bought some tickets for the "smile music festival". ... read more

Feb 24th Today after a delcious breakfast at our guesthouse, we hopped on a bus to the White temple, about 13 km outside the city. Taking the local busses is pretty great, not only do they cost a fraction of the tourist busses (our trip cost 20 baht each way, or about 65 cents) they're actually more comfortable. I much prefer open windows blowing air in my face to Aircon that sometimes works and sometimes doesnt. The wat really is something to behold, an all white ornate building inlaid with thousands of pieces of glass, which really make it shimmer in the sunlight. All around are carvings of demons and goblins and other awesome stuff. Unlike pretty much every other temple, construction here began in 1998 and is expected to continue until 2070 or so. The ... read more

Feb 23rd We're back!!! ... in thailand that is. This morning I awoke after sleeping all night (thank god) and felt much better. We went for breakfast the same place that we ate dinner the night before, there only seem to be about 4 places in huayxai to eat. I ordered bacon and eggs and was presented with 2 eggs, 3 strips of bacon, a salad, and 5 SLICES OF TOAST. Same same, but kinda wierd. after breakfast we headed off to catch the ferry. The ferry turned out to be little more than a long wooden canoe with a motor on it, but it was cheap (10000 kip) and safe enough for the 3 minute trip across the mekong and into thailand. After a quick pass through passport control, we hopped on a tuktuk which ... read more

fEB 22ND So we've decided to spend another night in huay xai because i'm pretty sick. I don't really want to be more than 2 minutes from a bathroom at any point. If my condition doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'll go see a doctor. We've spent the last day bumming around our hotel room watching asian HBO. Its been Fatal Attraction followed by the house bunny. Between the bad movies and the diarhea I'm ready to throw myself off the balcony.. I guess I shouldnt be so suprised, I've broken pretty much every rule about eating unrefridgerated street food and undercooked meat, it was only a matter of time before it caught up with me. Pooping aside, I'm really excited for northern thailand. Sounds like a really great place. For now, i'm going to go eat ... read more

Februrary 20th Today, after several relaxing days in Luang Prabang, we're departing for the border. Our bus leaves at 7 pm and we arrive in Huay xai at 7 am tomorrow. Promises to be a long uncomfortable ride. I'm a little bummed. I've been downloading and listening to the Howard stern show on the long journeys, but due to the lack of speedy interwebs here in laos, I haven't been able to get any new ones. I might have to (gasp) read a book. I've really enjoyed laos, the pace is slow and the people are friendly, pretty much the exact opposite of cambodia. The food here is delicious too, though a little expensive here in luang prabang compared to vientiane or vang vieng. This morning breakfast cost 175 000 kip, or about 20 dollars, which ... read more

Here we sit in Luang prabang, at a nice little french cafe. Today is the first day on our vacation that the temperature hasn't reached 30. Its actually pretty chilly here, making me regret ditching my sweater in pphnom penh. This town is really quite nice, its pretty touristy, but has a real sleepy vibe that all the other traps didn't. There are always delicious baguettes and coffee and the people are friendly. Yesterday we visited kwang si falls, a beautifull set of waterfalls that go down the side of a mountain. If they hadn't been so very busy it would have been perfect, but alas, can't have it all to ourselves. I'm trying to upload pictures from it, but we havn't found a fast internet connection in all of laos. Tomorrow we catch a 12 ... read more

Feb 16th Yesterday we made what turned out to be the 8 hour journey from vang vieng to luang prabang. The road distance is only 220 km or so,we were expecting about 3 hours or so, but its a winding road going up and down through the mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but by the end my back was killing me and i just wanted it to be over. Here we are in Luang Prabang. I really like it here, its a nice sleepy town that is set up for visitors, but not a stinking tourist trap. The scenery is beautiful and the people are friendly. There is a big night market about 10 minutes from our guesthouse, which is right on the edge of the river (not the mekong, the other one, whos name ... read more