Yesterday and today were great days. But first, last I updated, while I was using the internet, I had seriously itchy ankles from bug bites and ofcourse I had been scratching them. When I got back to our guesthouse, I took off my shoes and jeans and my entire foot was covered with blood. How did I not notice that? Weird. anyways.... Yesterday, we (Liz, Catriona and I) went on a 4 island longtail boat/snorkeling tour. It was amazing. The water was crystal clear and we visited some beautiful beaches. the snorkeling wasn't the greatest for some reason (there wasn't a huge variety of fish and the coral was mostly dead), but the rock formations and beaches made up for it. And the mango. and the icecream that we got when we begged the truck driver ... read more

The morning I flew to Bangkok, I got up to help give food out to the monks. This occurs everyday around 6am since the monks are not allowed to cook for themselves. They walk around and many people sit out on the streets to give them rice and other goodies. It was a really cool thing to participate in, but even cooler to see just how many people do this each and every morning. I then returned to the hostel as I was supposed to be getting a ride to the airport. Apparently the driver was still drunk from the New Year's festivities the night before, so I had to venture into town to find a tuk tuk. I found one easily and headed to the airport. Flying is such a civilized way to travel when ... read more

We took a bus to Vang Vieng and once again got very lucky in that the bus wasn't very full. This time there were not even any poultry or crustaceans. The bus was only about 3 hours which at this point seems like it is right around the corner. We arrived in Vang Vieng and I was so surprised to see that the streets were lined with restaurants and bars catering towards westerners. I had read about the "Friends" tv bars, but was not expecting it to the extent that it was. Every restaurant had ongoing episodes of "Friends". It was amazing. Not true Laos experience but something that I needed when I was feeling pretty down. Some places chose to show The Simpsons, but most stuck to Friends. Crazy. We found a guesthouse that was ... read more

I spent a night in Pakse which was a pretty boring little dusty town and then headed out to check out the sites along a plateau along town. We saw a few waterfalls, some villages (including one that makes coffins), a tea plantation and some other things. It wasn't all that spectacular of a day, although the waterfalls were pretty nice and I did enjoy swimming in them. The next morning I went to the 4,000 islands which was great! I took a few hour bus and then hopped on a boat. I arrived and found a little guest house that was run by 'mama' who turned out to be insane! It was located right on the river and had tons of hammocks to just veg out on! The islands were so nice because although there ... read more

This is all actually a lie...I am not actuall still on the island. since I was on Phu Quoc Island, I have been on 2 planes, countless buses, many tuk tuks, 1 lion statue, multiple bikes, a plethora of boats, a few motorbikes and have moved on to 2 more countries, but have not had the time to actually sit down and write about it. I will attempt to remember my few days in Phu Quoc and then maybe just maybe will fill you in on my last few days which I have spent in Cambodia. Or about the place I am now in in Laos.... Getting to Phu Quoc Island was an adventure in itself. I walked down to the ferry terminal even though my hotel thought I was crazy and should get a taxi. ... read more