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Groan! I know....but couldn't resist. We spent 6 nights in Angkor wat/Siem Reap (one extra sick day :(). 3 days spent at the temples. They are quite incredible. What they were able to construct in the 8th-maybe 11th century is amazing. The sheer scale of it all and the fact that it is all still here (mostly). Although it should be noted that in the mid-early 1900s there was a huge restoration project let by the French to put many of the temples back together. Some, such as Ta Phrom, were left almost as they were found - with the jungle taking over! Ta Phrom is also the temple from Tomb Raider and Temple of doom. ... read more

So we last left off in Laos heading south to 4,000 Islands for some R&R that we didn't know we needed. From Vientiane we took the overnight bus to Pakse. Neither of us had ever taken an overnight bus before and were surprised (pleasantly) that there were bunk beds. Two people per bed - so not really sure what a solo traveller (especially female) does... A little cramped, and the novelty wore off somewhere between the bus station and the first pothole but all in all it wasn't so bad. Pakse is a quiet town with not a whole lot going on. Having arrived in town at the crack of dawn, we had the whole day to be productive. We hired a tuk tuk in the morning to take us 20 minutes out of town to ... read more

What to say about Chiang Mai....you can do anything and everything here! Including getting your daily/weekly/yearly dose of adrenaline. Our first full day in town (June 16th) we took a taxi up a mountain West of town to see a big, famous wat (temple). Not so spectacular. The drive up was really beautiful and so was the view of Chiang Mai. However, there was repairs/construction at the temple so its beauty was marred by scaffolding and tarps. Later that evening, Andrew totally caved (don't be swayed by tales of draft beer - a rarity - and big screen tvs with world cup soccer) and we went to "Chiang Mai Saloon" for dinner...I kid you not. With out a doubt the worst meal to date (and hopefully of the trip). After dinner, it was time to move ... read more

Hi all, So, today we woke up early again, had a decent breakfast at a nice spot just down the street from our guest house and then headed off to the train station to catch a ride to Ayuthaya (a former capital of Thailand). We thought there was a train leaving Bangkok every hour, but maybe since it was Saturday there wasn't as many and so we had to wait about an hour and a half. Fortunately for us, during this waiting period we were befriended by an interesting, older Thai fellow. He was interested to hear that we came from Toronto, but more interested in telling us a little bit about the history of Thailand and more significantly, why Bangkok is such a crazy place. "20 million people live in Bangkok. Crazy place. Another 10 ... read more

For two tired travellers we sure did a lot today!! After a long long journey from Toronto, we FINALLY made it to Bangkok yesterday evening. We missed our connection in Hong Kong due to delays and so had time to kill in the airport and arrived in Bangkok much later than we were expecting. Our Hotel, Lamphu Guest House, is great. There is a AC! And a Balcony which is nice. We are very near Khao San Road (main backpacker street, lots of noise and parties and shenanigans) but on a much quieter street. This morning we got up practically at the crack of dawn. So we seized the day! Over breakfast we decided that we would not take any tuk-tuks (cross between a motorcycle/ricksaw taxi) in the city because traffic is a bit nuts. That ... read more