monosviejos

Donna and I took a nine hour boat ride from Siem Reap to Battambang, Cambodia. According to the Lonely Planet guide, this trip can last anywhere from three hours to eight hours depending on the water level. We assumed that since we were travelling during rainy season we would be fine ie: the ride would take 3 hours.... As it turns out, 9 hours later, the reason it took so long is because they no longer use the "fast boat"....oh well. The boat ride did end up being nice though...especially the last 1/4 of it....lots of beautiful scenery. So we arrived at Battambang to at least 20 different touts trying to get us to stay in their hotel. After checking out a couple of hotels, we ended up choosing the Royal Hotel because it had ... read more

Happy fourth of July fellow Americans! (and any people from the UK)! : ) The adventure continues... Donna and I took the overnight train from Lao Cai to Hanoi where we spent the day searching for the right mode of transportation down to Hoi An (in the middle of Vietnam). We visited the train station ticket office and unfortunately learned that the train to Hoi An was booked for the day. So what did we end up doing???? We decided to do what you do in any country where you want to travel for cheap....we got on the bus! Donna and I opted to buy what is known in Vietnam as an "open bus ticket". This ticket is offered through many different companies and it basically allows you to travel to all of Vietnam's major ... read more

We left for Ha Long Bay in the morning by Minibus, where the drive was about 3 hours. The entire trip was a package offered by the Backpackers Hostel from a company called South Pacific (we believe). We stopped once for a break at a souviener shop where a MILLION tourists were (as the minivans all stopped here for a "break"... ie stand here long enough and they just may buy something :-) ) We arrived to our docked boat and were amazed at the quality!! We had opted for a middle range package as there is the lower range ($30 - $40), middle range ($55-75) and higher range (out of our budget :-)) Amoung the numerous boats in the bay and we landed the brand new one that normally is in the higher range! ... read more

So Donna and I woke up at 5am to catch a 6am bus to Vang Vieng (south of Luang Prabang). The drive was a beautiful, yet curvaceous drive through northern Laos. All along the drive we passed by several small Hmong villages (one of the local SE asian minorities). They appeared to be living much like Donna and I have lived at times during this trip... in little bungalows on stilts. Anyway, after about 5 hours, Donna and I finally arrived in Vang Vieng. The town is another bizarre, somewhat sleepy town with some spectacular scenery. Vang Vieng is known for a bunch of things....tubing down the Nam Song river.... random bars and restaurants playing endless re-runs of Friends....caving....kayaking....and finally, a good party scene. Well, all that stuff basically proved true. First we checked into ... read more

Wow....we finally found Asian Nirvana. Pai is a wonderland. Located about 2.5 hours northwest of Chiang Mai (near the border of Burma/Myanmar), Pai is a beautiful little town which has the most amazing mix of Thai and American counter-culture. Pai (as it is today) was put on the map in the 1960's when various ex-pats from the U.S. and Europe decided that it would be a good idea to settle in a little village where the temperature is more moderate, the landscape is incredible, and the living is cheap. Pai is now filled with this wild blend of native Thai hippies (old and young) as well as foreign (farang) hippies. It is a unique blend of cultures which shows itself in the great music and bar scene, awesome restaurants, and spa resorts dotting the countryside. ... read more