Crossing Many Borders

Hello blog readers and welcome to our Lovely Luscious Illustrious Log of Location: Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

After our short time in Nong Khai we took a leap for Lao. After buying our visas at the border we crossed into this new and wonderful land and were immediately bombarded by hoards of eager tuk tuk drivers. We caught a cab to Vientiane and spent a few nights at the Mixay guesthouse. While in Vientiane we experienced many things, from a history museum to a battle of the bands (Lao style). One thing we immediately noticed about Lao was the currency. Here, they use the Kip. The exchange rate for 1 USD is about 7000 kip! We'll sometimes find ourselves handing over a wrong bill to pay for something. You can get lost in all those zeroes. 

After our stint in Vientiane we took a minibus to a town called Vang Vieng. This place has acquired quite a name for itself amongst backpackers and for good reason. It is located on the nam song river, which is nestled in between some beautiful mountains. We took a trip down the river in some inner tubes which was both relaxing and a great way to absorb some of the excellent scenery. Another day we rented some bicycles and took a very bumpy 7km ride to a couple of caves. One of the caves we saw was so big you could spend hours exploring inside. 

It rained for a couple of days and we realized that this had been our first real encounter with rain! We sought some shelter amongst some of the various tv bars playing and replaying episodes of Friends which was fun... For a little while... We also enjoyed our share of sandwiches and fruit shakes which were available on every single street corner!

We took a slightly sketchy night bus from vang vieng to Danang,(Vietnam!) where Macaila and Emily had a close encounter with a Vietnamese police officer over an innocent game of cards. After a long few days of travelling, it was nice to settle into our place in Hoi An. Feeling ambitious, we decided to wake up at 5 am the next morning to experience the sunrise over the 'My Son' Hindu temple ruins. We got our first taste of the ocean in Hoi An, and unfortunately our first taste of sunburn.. After Hoi An, we headed down to Saigon and were overwhelmed by the excessive and unnecessary amount of honking! We met some fellow travellers who brought us to their friend's VIP karaoke bar- studded pillows, doormen, and even somebody to dry our hands after the washroom! Vietnam also gave us a different perspective of the Vietnam War, entertained us with an authentic 'water puppet' show, and the locals taught us how to eat pho bowls and spring rolls the right way! 

Our next stop was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was nice to experience the 'up and coming' feel of flourishing tourism in this country. The people made a point of making sure we were comfortable and were eager to assist in our travels. We experienced the disturbing sight of The Killing Fields, where thousands of the 2.2 million civilians were brutally slaughtered and murdered during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. On a happier note, we headed to Siem Reap and enjoyed touring the night market and the beautiful Angkor Wat ruins! We've been trying many different foods and one lesson Luke learned the hard way was 'thou shall not touch a chilli pepper and proceed to rub both eyes.'

After a lengthy bus ride and border crossing, we made it back into Thailand and headed straight to the South! We have spent the last few days residing in a beach bungalow filling our days with sand, sun, swimming, snorkelling, sun screen, sun glasses, squid, swagger, shakes, shrimp, sea shells, squiters and smiles! 

Enjoy the snow at home folks! It's been über gut blöggin with yä! Talk to you again soon!