Start of week 4

Hello all. I am now in Laos, arrived here yesterday. after a 10 hour drive we stayed over in a weird ghost town called Lacsao, everyone lived in wierd little huts and it was really really quiet and a bit creepy. not much to do either, and went to dinner on a restuarant named 'the only one', as it was literally the only restaurant in the town! i had 2 eggs for dinner, and then woke up and went down for breakfast in my guesthouse and was handed the menu... eggs, eggs or eggs? i went for the eggs, again, so now i'm all egged out.
After another 7 hours in the bus today we arrived in Vientiane which is the capital of Laos. the town is really nice, very calm and chilled out and everyone is very friendly. In some ways its actually more developed than Vietnam but its also very small and simple. I think we are going out tonight for a few drinkypoos and then i am getting up tomorrow at about 4.30am to watch the monks collecting alms, which will be heaps of fun with a hangover. not to be missed though.
So an update on the last few days. I think my last post was from Hoi An? after that we went to Hue which was only about 4 hours drive but worlds apart from Hoi An. Firstly, it was raining and freezing cold. well when i say freezing, it was probably about 15 degrees but im used to 35! it was also weirdly industrialised, it kind of reminded me of aylesbury which is not what i hoped for when i booked my tickets to the other side of the world! we went on a motorbike tour there which was fun, it took us further out into the country side through paddy fields, visited an ancient burial site and a Pagola/Pagoda cant remember which one. but it had The Happy Buddha Statue and lots of Monks everywhere. i think i am turning into a bit of a biker chick, i absolutely love riding on motorbikes! my driver had a lazy eye which was a little worrying but he was a nice enough chap! i got burnt on the exhaust pipe which was a bit annoying but it has left a really cool scar on my leg which makes me look hard so its fine. i'll just say it was from a motorbiking accident, no need to go into details. almost as impressive as my big brothers shark bite scar!
Then we got a sleeper train to Hanoi. it was delayed for quite a while so we had to sleep for a bit in the waiting room, we must have looked like such typical backpackers. when we arrived in hanoi we went straight to Halong Bay for the night, now it really was cold there. and again a little weird, it was a massive tourist resort but completely empty. The only thing we did there was a boat trip to the Halong Bay caves which was good. We had lunch on the boat which was AMAZING, i'm not usually a seafood person but i really enjoyed it. we had crab and prawns and squid (didnt eat that) and then this big old fish for main course, no idea what it was but it tasted good. The next morning we headed back to the centre of Hanoi where we went to a market and then went out in the evening to a shisha bar called dragonfly which was really cool, however there was a traumatic experience that night when we found a dying cat at the side of the road and an australian guy who said he was a doctor came over and decided the only thing to do was drop a large rock on the poor moggys head. he did it, the cat didnt die, he did it again, cat still not dead, third time lucky, the cats brains were splattered all over the pavement. (sorry to the weaker stomached readers.) anyway me and riana thoguht we should get rid of the remains of the cat to keep a bit of dignity so we put it in 2 carrier bags and wrapped it up in an old pair of tracksuit bottoms we found on the road and then put it in the bin. we then drenched our hands in antibacterial gel and went on our way!
The next day we were all hungover but thought we should get up and do something midly cultural so we went to Ho Chi Minhs musoleum. The taxi driver ripped us off and then when we got in they told us we had to pay because we weren't vietnamese! I thought this was quite racist but anyway we handed over our money and got in, walked around for a bit, saw an old house and a pond and then when we went to find the actual attraction (Ho Chi Minhs Body) we were told it was closed! major disappointment. That night we went out for dinner and a few of us ordered Hanoi beefsteak, mine came out fine but 2 of the girls meals were just pork steaks disguised in a brown sauce! it was so funny. they tried to send them back and the waitress said it was just different beef. it was definitley pork. but mine was good anyway.
I think thats everything up to date! ive probably missed out laods as usual, will post again soon but going to go and get ready for dinner now. Keep the emails and comments coming :) lots and lots of love xxx

Happy New year

Hello. I am now in Vietnam, have been here for about 4 days now. We started off in Chau Doc which was kind of just a stop off to split up the journey, not alot to do there really but my hotel room had a proper shower which was a bit of a treat. Then we got an 8hr bus journey into Ho Chi Minh City. It was a really busy place, especially as they were preparing for chinese new year. We went to another market and turns out Vietnamese market sellers are even more pushy than Cambodian ones, at one point i had about 5 women latching onto my and trying to grab me and pull me into their market stalls, even thoguh they were all selling the exact same things. and they try to rip you off ridiculously so if we dont really have a choice but to haggle. That evening we went to a bar with a live band and me and 2 of the other girls got up and sang ironic by Alanis Morisette and then the bar gave us free drinks!we also met a group of Australians who were travelling, they reccommended tubing in Laos which i think we are doing some time next week. The next day we went to the Cu Che tunnels whichis a network of underground tunnels where the Viet-cong (sp?) soldiers hid during the Vietnam war. We had a tour and then we went inside the tunnels. they were reeeeally claustrophobic, i would have been a rubbish soldier in the war because i had to get out after about 3 minutes because it was too cramped! Apparently the soldiers would hide in there for up to 6 hours. That night we got a sleeper train to Nha Trang, which wasnt actually too bad, infact compared to the second sleeper train we went on it was luxury! there were clean sheets and the beds were made for a start. so anyway, in Nha trang on the first day we just went to the beach, i didnt really go in the sea though as the waves were really big and the current was really strong. So we were just chilling on the beahcand then suddenly out of nowhere, a dead pig got washed up on the beach right in front of us! it was so weird and really disgusting, its tongue was flopping out of its mouth and its eyes were open. some people took pictures.. i did not. That night it was chinese new year so we had a free dinner in the hotel which was HILARIOUS, we had a buffet it looked like dog food and the only thing any of us could stomach was the chips. The main dish was Pigs penis! so i opted for a chip butty. But it was free so cant complain! then we headed down to the beach for some drinks and the fireworks display which was AMAZING never seen one so good in my life. it went on for about 20 minutes non stop. The town was absolute chaos, there were thousands of people and every single one of them seemed to have a motorbike. The next day me and one of the other English girls Jess went to the mudbaths. We spent about half an hour in the mudbath itself which was literally what is says on the tin, a wooden bath filled with liquid mud, and then we went in this mineral water jet spa thing which is meant to be good for your skin and then we had a soak in a warm pool. it was so relaxing, although at the same time quite depressing on Valentines day, especially as our bath was in the shape of a heart! we renamed ourselves the lonely hearts club that day. Anyway after the bath we had a full body massage, I had never had any kind of massage before so i was a bit nervous but it was so nice. She even cracked my back for me like the chiropractor did, although she used the method of walking on my back instead. but it was really rlaxing and i definitley want to get another one while i am here. It was so cheap, a day in a spa at home would probably cost about 80 quid but here it was the equivalent of 12 pounds. That night we got our second sleeper train which, as i earlier mentioned, was disgusting. i slept for about 15 minutes in total i think. i was on the top bunk and the train was so jerky i was constantly worried about falling out of my bed, and i was really cold as the air con was blowing on my head. and the sheets were smelly and had already been used so i am very glad i had my sleeping bag liner! (thanks amy)
We are now in Hoi An which is a really quaint little town with loads of tailors and little cafes. Yesterday i got a dress made for me so today i am going back for a fitting, will let you know how that goes! This is my favourite place we have been to so far in Vietnam. Last night we went out for some drinks and as we were walking to the next bar we saw a local guy sat outside his shop playing the guitar so we said Chuc Mung Nam Moi (happy new year) and he invited us in for food and drinks and he played the guitar for us. We had already picked up another group of Danish people and some English lads so it was a very surreal experience but really nice. (By the way,if you say happy new year to anyone in Vietnam they offer you drinks or food or for you to come into their home, the man wasnt just being creepy.)Then we rode home on the back of a motorbike which was so fun. Today i am picking up my dress and hopefully going to a cooking class and then maybe to the beach. Sorry this has been an extremely long blog but there was alot to catch up on! tomorrow we are heading to Hanoi i think... I cant actually remember but i will keep you updated. Anyway, better wrap this up but thankyou for all your messages, keep them coming its so comforting to hear from you all, it can get pretty lonely out here! Comment on the pictures aswell, let me know what you think. Miss you all loads xxxx

Photos

Just a quickie to say that i have managed to upload some photos onto facebook. it takes way too long to do it on here, sorry for those of you who dont have facebook but if you speak to someone who does you should be able to view them on their account. I still have managed to upload every single one but theres a selection there from the first 2 weeks xx

The Beach

Ok so i have managed to upload 1 photo. it took a while, and its really big so you can only see half the picture. this is me at the beach on one of the islands near Sihanoukville, its an uninhabitied island and probably the most beautiful beach i have ever seen. We stayed 2 nights in the beach huts in Sihanoukville and just chilled for 2 days which was lovely. did a bit of snorkelling, a lot of sunbathing and had a couple of alcoholic beverages at the beach party! met some other travellers at the party aswell, and some english people which was good. I got talking to the DJ and turned out he was from Birmigham and had fallen in love with Cambodia so much that he had moved out there permanently, he only earned $100 a month but he said it was worth it. And he taught me how to use his DJing programme and decks so im even getting in a bit of music experience! i am now in Saigon in Vietnam, going to the Cu Che caves tomorrow and then getting a sleeper train to the next destination. I cant really access facebook in Vietnam other than on friends phones so if you want to contact me email me me instead, my address is phoebetansley@hotmail.com. I will update again soon when i've settled into Vietnam. Lots of love xxxx

end of week 1

Cant belive its been a week already! i have already experienced so much aswell. I'm so glad i came on this tour as our tour leader knows all the local knowledge and so we always get the best experiences and dont get ripped off. He is hilarious, a tiny little peruvian gay man with a massive personality. he's called Rod but we all call him Rodders. So yesterday we were in Phnom Penh which is the capital of Cambodia. In the morning we went to the s21 genocidal prison museum and killing fields which was... well i cant really think if a word for it but i think we all found it really emotional. It is the place where the prisoners of the Khmer Rouge were taken under Pol Pots Regime and tortured and left to die. over one 3rd of the entire Cambodian population were killed and Phnom Penh was completely wiped out. Anyone who was suspected to be a spy or enemy or the regime was automatically taken to one of the prison and under the dictatorship they were forbidden to challenge what the interrogators were asking them, so they couldnt even defend themselves. basically if they thought someone was an enemy, they had no chance and were sent for certain death after months of torture. It was heartbreaking, we saw the cells were they were detained and one still had bloody handprints on the wall. then we went through rooms and rooms of mugshots of people who were all brutally killed. The wives and children of all who were captured were also taken to the killing field where they were also killed. We saw a tree that thousands of babies and children had their heads repeatedly smashed against until they died and were thrown into a mass grave. The Khmer Rouge didnt want to spend money on expensive weapons and guns so they used blunt and self made weapons, sometimes just things like shovels and garden hoes as weapons which made the murders even more slow and painful. it was definitley an experience. i didnt take any photos out of respect so thats why ''m covering it in so much detail. The highlight of the trip was when we actually got to meet one of the 3 remaining survivors (there were original 7 out of over a million, but 4 have now died) it was only by chance he was there but our tour guide knew him and asked if he would tell us our story and the tour guide translated it. He was incredible, so brave and strong considering he was telling us how he got his back broken by the Khmer Rouge and had each toenail ripped off individually, his fingers broken and was made to lick up his own blood off the floor. He said it meant alot to him that we had come all this way and spent our money to come and see the prison and learn the story so that the victims of the regime were not forgotten. He also wished us luck and fortune in our lives.
Anyway, onto a lighter topic! in the afternoon we went on a cyclotour of the city which was absolutely hilarious. we were sat on these chairs with bikes attached to the backs of them and cambodian men cycling us along the road. i have already explained that the traffic here is completely mental so i did fear for my life a few times, especially when a four byu four was heading towards me with no sign of stopping! they do not use their brakes in Cambodia, they just beep their horns for people/motorbikes/cyclists/tuktuks/random cows chilling on the road to get the hell out of the way! i must try not to pick up any bad habits as i dont think this kind of driving will be acceptable back home. For dinner onboth nights in phnom penh we went to non profit restaurants which raised money for local schools. at the first restaurant the kids put on a performance for us which was so good!
This morningwe got a bus to Sihanoukville which is our last stop in Cambodia... the beach! we are staying in beach huts whish are 5 minute walk from the sea, have been sunbathing all day and swimming in the sea which is lovely and warm. also briefly went to the floating water park in the sea however there were a load of annoying cambodian children trying to pull my bikini top down so i made a quick exit after telling them to go away but not so politely! there had soooo many people who approach you asking to buy things or give you a massage they are so annoying. all the local people also stare at us (mainly the men) because we have light skin and they think its amazing. its weird, all the women cover themselves up and in the shops there are loads of lightening skin products, thats the last thing i want!
anyway better be off, going to have a nap and a shower ready for the beach party tonight! cant wait. Thanks for all your comments on the blog i enjoy reading them. Speak to you soon, miss you all! x

Angkor Whaaaaat??

Hey there homies! I am now in Cambodia. Spent yesterday travelling which was pretty long, got up at 7 and had a 2 hr bus trip to the border and then hadto go through visa and immigration befoe having another 3 hr bus journey into Siem Riap, arrived at the hotel at about 4.30. The people in Cambodia are so nice! Especially the people in the hotel i really like them. Oh yes so anyway i am now with my group i realise i havent mentioned that yet, they are all nice, similar ages to me and there are people from England, Australia, Denmark, Holland, Finland and Ireland! so a nice mix. the only annoying thing is that im the only member of the group travelling alone, eceryone else is with a friend/partner so i am always the one who has no one to sit next to on the bus! but hey its more leg room i suppose, and i also am the only one who gets their own room. This morning we got up at 5am to watch the sunrise at the angkor temple which was really beautiful. there were alot of tourists there which kind of ruined the atmosphere but it was still very calm and serene and i managed to get some good snaps. I know this isnt very chronological but i must tell you about last night, we went into the centre of siem riap or a few drinks down bar street, (draught beer is 50cents and cocktails are $2!) and then we went for dinner in a really nice little restaurant. i decided ot mix things up a bit from the usual stir fry so order a beef dish with green peppers... and when it came out i thought i might die from happiness. It was STEAK AND CHIPS!!! soooooo good and such a nice change from rice, but it was a khmer steak so it was still local food! but definitey the highlight of my day. then we went to the night market where i did a cheeky bit of haggling for a pair of flip flops and got approached by about 20 different people working on different 'fish massage' stalls where you sit with your feet in a tank and the fish nibble off all your dead skin. i passed on that one. anyway just had breakfast (bacon and tomato and potatoes and mini bananas and strange pink spotty fruit) and going back to the temple in about half an hour so i better go. sorry about any spelling mistakes this keyboard doesnt have letters on it so im kind of guess typing. keep the emails coming! i love coming to the pc and having messages from you all it really makes my day. speak soon! x

Gooood morning Bangkok

I am in such a better mood today! just re-read yesterdays blog and it really does not convey how hard i found it yesterday, especially as i vomitted about 3 mins after finishing the blog, in the internet cafe. the same one i am in now, so i really hope they dont remember me! anyway i got back to my hotel and at 6 went down to meet my group and the receptionist broke the news i had another 24 hours to wait till i meet my group. she might aswell have told me the world was going to end. so i went back upstairs, rang Ashley and i have organised to meet him at one of his conferences today at midday, after that i couldnt face going out again so i went to bed and got a ridiculous amount of sleep. got up just before 7 this morning (yes thats right, your eyes are not deciveing you i really did get up at 7 by choice) partly because i couldnt sleep any more and partly because i thought i should go and get some breakfast as over the next 2 months at least i will have to get used to early mornings and a proper breakfast, something i try to avoid back home as my parents well know! so i had a nice healthy breakfast of yoghurt, fruit, pancakes and bread which filled me right up as i realised i didnt eat anything at all yesterday. then when i got back to my room i had a nice shower and washed some clothes in the bath as i was sick on my clothes yesterday. attractive i know. so they are now hanging up to dry. at 12 i am moving my bag to my new room and then getting a cab to meet ashley (for those who dont know, ashley is my dads friend who lives in bangkok).
Might be a couple of days before i can post again as we are heading to Cambodia on thursday and not sure how long that will take or if i will get internet access when i'm there. Hope all is well back home. lots of love x
(ok i was going to try and upload some pictures but it wont let me so you will have to wait till next time. keeping you all on your toes!)

I have arrived!

landed in Bangkok at around 7.30am this morning, the flights were exhausting but the films made it pass by quicker (all 4 of them). On the first leg of the flight the seat next to me was empty which in some ways was bad as i didnt get to make a friend but then on the other hand i had lots of lovely legroom so every cloud! Although the man sat in the middle seat tried to make it as obvious as possible that he thought it was unfair that i got 2 seats for the price of one... aka 2 blankets, 2 pillows, 2 tv screens.. but i wasnt complaining. Then on the second bit of the flight i was sat next to a lady with her little boy but they didnt really speak english so i resorted to more films and a bit of sleep. The taxi ride from the airport was HORRIFIC traffic here is crazy. and it made me feel really nauseous because it was so stop-start. so that took about 50mins and then arrived at the Hotel which is actually really nice! i had about 8 hours to kill so i decided to have a quick nap before i headed out for a bit of an explore, which is where i'm at at the moment on todays schedule. at 6pm i have a group meeting followed by a 'thai supper' which should be interesting seeing as i have completey lost my apetite thanks to the anti-malarials. Weather is humid and sticky, i am a sweaty betty but theres air con in my room which is good. just been to a convenience store to buy some washing detergent which cost about 45bhat but the smallest note i had was 500 which i assume is about the same as buying some thing for 4 quid with a 50 pound note. needless to say they werent too impressed. also have been approached by men trying to take me on tours of the city on their tuk tuks but ive been told this is a rip off so have avoided those. looking forward to meeting the rest of my group later. have taken a few photos, will upload when i have worked out properly how to do it. so anyway just to let you all know i have arived safe and am fine although i have alot of adapting to do. Miss you all love you all x