http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Genevieve-n-Stefanie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Genevieve n Stefanie en-us Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:01:46 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:01:46 +0000 Day 119 127Tokyo JapanMooshi MooshiWe arrived into Tokyo on the morning of May 7th and we greeted my Gs friend Shino at the airport. It was a great reunion for G and Shino since it had been some time they had seen each other. We made our way to Shino's amazing apartment in the .......area of Tokyo. Shino had to get to work and the two of us were exhausted and stayed in to catch up on some rest. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/Harajuku/blog-401855.html Osaka Japan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Osaka/Osaka/blog-401872.html KobeHimeji Japan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Hyogo/Kobe/blog-401868.html Kyoto Japan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Kyoto/Kyoto/blog-401863.html Day 113 118Kathmandu NepalSo we never really planned on coming to Nepal and hadn't done any research on the place. Which of course left Steph a little unsettled with the idea of not having any info on the place while G thought it was no big deal and was even kind of exciting with just wingin' it.We crossed into Nepal and gained two hours and fifteen minutes back in our lives and got our single http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-400671.html Day 110 113Tibet Part IIThe morning of April 28th we said our goodbyes to Lhasa and made our way to the city of Gyantse 255 kilometers south of Lhasa via the Gangbala Pass which reaches 5000 meters above sea level. Along the way we passed the sacred Yamdrok Lake Turquoise Lake which was just stunning and completely deserving of the nickname. The color of the fresh water lake was a prist http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Everest/blog-400461.html Day 104 109Lhasa TibetSo we really lucked out with sharing our train cabin with two really nice Chinese guys. They were on a tour 14 day trekking tour of Tibet with a handful of other people. The first night we chatted with them and even learned how to play a Chinese card game that we have now forgotten because it was very confusing with the language barrier. We taught them an easy card game http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-398532.html Day 102 104 Shanghai ChinaWe slept in on our first day in Shanghai exhausted from the previous day. When we did eventually wonder out of our hotel we realized we were staying behind the JW Marriot which is perhaps one of the most beautiful skyscrapers. And one thing we have learned is that where there is a Western Hotel chain there is Starbucks. And sure enough we were right. So there we w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-398529.html Day 98 101 Guilin and Yangshuo ChinaIt was not a pleasant night sleep with all the snoring in our dorm room but we managed to drag ourselves out of bed by 1100AM the next day in time to checkout and get some breakfast. We were told while in Vietnam by a Hong Konger to skip Guilin and go straight to Yangshuo. So we decided to follow his advice which was very good advice as Guilin is just anoth http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Yangshuo/blog-396197.html Day 91 97 Kunimng Kaili ChinaWe for some reason we tend to go from one extreme to another . We left Laos one of the least densely populated countries in southeast Asia for China the most populated country in the world. It was a definite shock to our senses. We left Vientiane Laos at a ridiculous hour for Kunming China. In Kunming we only went a few blocks in the taxi before we both look http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Kunming/blog-395607.html Day 81 91 Vang ViengSo it was always in our plan to got to Vang Vieng for just 2 or 3 days and move on. But things didn't work out as planned. The scenery alone in VV is a reason enough to stay for 11 days. But it was really the people that we met that had us pushing back our flight to China every few days. We have to give a shout out to all the awesome peeps we metCamille our friendly Plain http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vang-Vieng/blog-390556.html Day 798081 PhonsavanThe three of once again dragged ourselves out of bed at a ridiculous hour to catch the bus south to Phonsavan Plain of Jars. The bus was quite empty so we each got to spread out and have our own row which was a first for us. It ended up being a complete blessing since it was by far the worst bus journey we've had in the last three months. Even worse then Myanmar. It was http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/East/Phonsavan/blog-389279.html Day 747576777879 Luang PrabangBefore we even start to tell you about our time in Laos we should mention our one night in Bangkok before heading to Laos. But we'll give you the below words and then just let your imagination go from there....Hung out with crew from Myanmar Ben Bex Mark beer buckets of alcohol Andrea from Cambodia Tuk Tuk Patpong Road Ping Pong Show DartsBalloon http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-386359.html Myanmar Part II Day 66 74 Day 6 of Road Trip We arranged a boat trip for the day around Inle Lake. The river along Naungshwe eventually opened up into the huge expansive shallow Inle lake. Zaw Zaw had bought some treats along that we got to throw up to the seagulls that flew right up to us hovering about 3 feet above us waiting for us to throw the treats. Another interesting thing about the l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Inle-Lake/blog-384951.html Day 61 65 Myanmar BurmaWe have so much to report back from being in Myanmar for the past 13 days. Unfortunately we had basically zero access to the internet while in Myanmar. The one time we actually found a cafe that had working internet we could only afford to 15 minutes and the government blocked access to most sites like AOL Yahoo and Hotmail. But now that we are in Laos and have recove http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/blog-383980.html Day 5960 BangkokWe don't have much to report on our 2 days in Bangkok other then we spent them getting the VIP treatment in Bangkok. We did do a little shopping on Kao San Road but nothing to write home about. But we do owe a great big THANKS to our moms for putting us up in the 5 star Sofitel Hotel in Bangkok off Silom Road. We truly took advantage of the place tried out the steam room th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-383909.html Day 5455565758 Phnom Penh Koh Kong BangkokOur first night in Phnom Penh was short since we arrived in the late afternoon. But we did get a tuk tuk up to the lake and ate at the Lazy Gecko where they serve the most amazing chicken strips and fries and have the cutest pug. S tried to add some more stuff onto her ipod but was sadly disappointed that the Boom Boom room in Phnom Penh couldn't http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/West/Kaoh-Kong/blog-380096.html Day 525354 BattambangWe've just been having the best time torturing Rob with all kinds of pranks. Unfortunately since we are hoping other friends will be joining us we can't reveal any of them now. But the two us have spent the last 3 days laughing it up at poor Rob's expense but don't worry he absolutely loves it. He also has provided us with such comic relief such as telling us he doesn' http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Battambang/blog-379058.html Day 4849505152 Siem ReapYeah it wasn't the most memorable day of our trip making the 10 hour ride to Siem Reap from Kratie. However we managed it with just a little bit of complaining most of the whining came from S. In Siem Reap we chose to stay at Garden Village as it was recommended to us by Andrea in Sihanoukville. They had dorm style rooms for 1 a night but it was literally a h http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-378156.html Day 45464748 Ban Lung KratieTo quote Lonely Planet in regards to Ban Lung is the best way we can describe the place.......It may look like autumn all year around but its just that the leaves like everything else are cloaked in a blanket of dust.But not even the book or people we had talked to prepared us for the amount of dust. The nickname for Ban Lung is the Red City which is qui http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/East/Banlung/blog-376354.html