The Sarah - Southeast Asian Adventures

With graduation behind us, and the current "tough economic times", Sarah and I have decided to take cover in Southeast Asia. Beginning with a short visit to Singapore to stay with Shove's Dad, we will start our adventure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From Peninsular Malaysia we will travel to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. After a short three month stint, we will then return to Singapore to recharge before heading off to Indonesia and the Philippines.

We will try to keep you updated as frequently as possible and hope to hear from you all as well.

Keep in touch!

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Joined on: May 26th 2009
Last Login: January 3rd 2010

Blog Entries: 20
Photos: 218

TB Code: [blogger=122341]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by The Sarah, order by Date newest first.

By The Sarah
September 11th 2009

Phnom Phen September 3rd-4th Asia

peace signs

We had already decided how to spend our last afternoon in Phnom Phen, visiting the children at the Lighthouse Orphanage. We cleaned up and ate at the guesthouse, we purchased a huge 50kg bag of rice to take as a donation for the children. We arrived at the orphanage to find young children running around in the yard. One of the employees gave us a small tour and described the living conditions of the children. The kids ranged from 3-18 years old, either having their own bed or sharing a large one. The children are often taught by volunteers that can [View Full Entry]

teaching the children how to make snowflakes

By The Sarah
September 11th 2009

Sihanoukville August 27th - September 3rd Asia

human size Jenga

The group of us checked into a beautiful hotel for only $15 a night, Sarah and I had: a queen bed, single bed, a/c, cable TV, hot-water shower and a hotel pool. It was really a bit of a splurge, but at $7.50 each a night found it quite easy to forget the days of our $2 shack in Lao or our $5 room with bedbugs. We were all starving and sat down at the first place we saw, which had a fabulous BBQ. After stuffing our faces we freshened up and headed out for a hazzy night of drinks, pole-dancing, [View Full Entry]

By The Sarah
September 11th 2009

Siem Reap - August 21st -25th Asia

inside the faces bayon temple

Soo it has been a little while again...and so here is another lot of updates! Enjoy. Sarah and I met up with my parents in Siem Riep for a few days of temple scouring and tomb raiding. By far one of the highlights of our trip. My parents arrived on Friday evening, to find Sarah and I vegging out in hotel robes and watching HBO, luxuries we had not experienced for quite some time. The next morning we headed out with a tour guide to several of the temples, including the temple the movie 'Tomb Raider' was filmed at and the [View Full Entry]

massive trees surrounding the temple are sustaining the temples as well as destroying them

By The Sarah
September 11th 2009

Phnom Penh August 25th - 27th Asia

Tuol Sleng Museum- S21

Sarah and I got up leisurely and met a British couple while eating breakfast. They too were heading to the Killing Fields and so we decided to make the trip together. We loaded into a tuk-tuk employed by our guesthouse and headed out of the city. Unfortunately along the way it began to rain and by the time we actually made it to the Killing Fields we were amidst a torrential down pour. We took shelter under the ticket booth. I waded my way to the small shop adjacent to the ticket booth to buy rain ponchos, worn by pretty much [View Full Entry]

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Slow Boat - Luang Prabang Aug 7 - 10 Asia » Laos » North

crowded slow boat

Sarah and I were up early after arriving at 2am from Chiang Mai ready to embark on the infamous “slow boat” journey down the Mekong. After hearing many tales from fellow travelers and friends we were intrigued by our upcoming journey. After we stepped off the boat, we found ourselves relaying similar travel advice about the slow boat, “you have to do it, but I wouldn’t do it again…” A combined total of 16 hours on a bench closing resembling a church pew, in the company of 180 devout followers of the bible (aka Lonely Planet) is not exactly a pilgrimage [View Full Entry]

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Vang Vieng Aug 11 - 14 Asia » Laos » North

"Trent" from Canada

Vang Vieng is a perfect midway point, south of Luang Prabang and north of the capital, Vientiane. It was once a place traveler’s came to experience small town Lao. However, now tubing and Vang Vieng have become synonymous and has put it on the ‘beaten track’. Our first day in Vang Vieng was a glorious day, a perfect time to have yet another epic experience: tubing!! Tubing in Vang Vieng entails renting a big tractor trailer tube and cruising down the river stopping at the various bars. It also includes various zip lines, rope swings and slides if you are in [View Full Entry]

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Vientiane Aug 14 - 15 Asia » Laos » North

The National Museum

We arrived in Vientiene around dinner time and checked into yet another guesthouse. We were able to get a room with two bunk beds for the four of us. This guesthouse definitely ranked at the bottom of our list. The woman running it, barely attempted to answer our questions and when she did she blatantly misinformed us about bus routes and travel times. Luckily, as usual it was just a short walk to a tour agent, who was very helpful. Sarah and I booked our onward journey to Pakse in Southern Lao, and our British friends booked their flight to Hanoi. [View Full Entry]

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Champasak Aug 15 - 16 Asia » Laos » South » Champasak

the local bus we rode for 3 hrs.

After having some breakfast at the hostel in Pakse, we again got the same contraption to the ‘local bus station’. The guesthouse owner informed us that ‘bus’s’ left on the hour and would only take about an hour to get to Champasak. We arrived at the bus station around 8:45am, giving ourselves a bit of time to find the bus; we then realized that the ‘local bus station’ was more like a large cluster of buses in the midst of a market. Our driver pointed to the ground and said in broken English that this was where we should wait for [View Full Entry]

Sarah trying to sort out the gears on the moped

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Si Phan Don - Siem Riep Aug 16 - 19 Asia » Laos » South » Don Det

sunset

We arrived in Don Det around noon with a group of backpackers. Sarah and I chose one of the first guesthouses we saw, only 20 000 kip ($2 CND) a night. It closely resembled a garden shed, but was conveniently situated along the Mekong with two hammocks on the porch. After putting our bags down we continued on with the group to a bakery, owned and operated by a Western Australian man. Sarah and I were starving and indulged in a homemade chocolate-banana donut covered in sugar, we then shared a pumpkin soup and foccacia with mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. We [View Full Entry]

freshly made banana and chocolate doughnuts

By The Sarah
August 25th 2009

Chiang Mai July 30 - Aug 6 Asia » Thailand » Northern Thailand

One of the local wats in Chiang Mai

Upon arriving in Chiang Mai we were swarmed by the usual flock of people wanting us to stay at their guesthouses. We were so lucky to be approached by a really kind and gentle woman, who ran a guesthouse with her family. For only a 100 baht per person it was by far one of the best places we have stayed, not only for the quality of the establishment but the sincerity and kindness of all of the staff. We spent our first afternoon in Chiang Mai wandering the streets in the Old City, which was enclosed in a square moat. [View Full Entry]

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The Sarah - Southeast Asian Adventures

Blogs & Travel Journals