Part 4: Cambodia

The "Kingdom of Cambodia", or better yet, Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea (how the hell do I pronounce that?) is the last country in the SE Asia tour for us.

You might have noticed a big question mark, because frankly, I'm not 100% on the details just yet. Henry has this country all planned out for all of us, so we'll leave it to him! All I know is that there are lots of temples and ruins to be seen, not to mention the interesting cuisine to experiment, although I'm sure to get cold feet.

1) From Ho Chi Minh City, we'll likely head to Phnom Penh - the capital of Cambodia. And then we'll [insert activity here] and see [insert landmarks here]. Yup! I'm pretty excited about it!

2) [insert more stuff to do here]

3) Back to Thailand! Hopefully I have time to visit a friend of mine - Willy Ockey from work in Buriram on our way back to Bangkok.

Keep posted... 22 days, and counting!

Part 3: Vietnam

Note: At this point of the trip, its very hard to determine whether or not we'll actually hit all the destinations that we've planned for. Being monsoon season, there is a likely chance our plans could get accelerated/delayed for these unforeseen circumstances. The following information is not, by any means, set in stone.

From Vientiane, Laos, we will (for the first time) be flying inland to our next destination - Hanoi, Vietnam. You'd figure after an unruly 17 hour flight to Thailand, we'd want to avoid the plane. WRONG. Transportation in these regions aren't on paved asphalt highways that we are used to seeing here in North America. Its not uncommon for roads to be washed out, heavily rutted, or even non-existent! As you might expect, a 300km drive could potentially take up to 15 hours!!! For this very reason, we've chosen to take to the skies.

1) Hanoi, Vietnam:
A city with a rich culture history - Hanoi has many interesting stops in the city, not to mention that it's the capital of Vietnam. We'll be absorbing the city life again, which will probably be a nice change from the turtle-like pace in Laos.

2) After a short stay in Hanoi, we'll mosey on over to Ha Long Bay. The bay consists of close to two thousand limestone monolithic islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation. There are boat tours of the region, and I hope to hop onto one of those. One of my friends, Diana Tran, recently went on one of these two day tours, and said it was one of the coolest things to experience!


3) Making our way down south, there are a few points of interest along the way. A place called Hoi An - where you can get some tailored stuff made for us at a fraction of the cost relative to anywhere else in the world.

4) Hitting the southern-most part of Vietnam, we're hoping to stop by a pleasant place called Phan Thiet. Apparently the relaxed nature of this area is a good place to unwind - so we'll do just that.

5) The last city to visit in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as Saigon. No, I don't think its known for its Vietnamese noodles (for all you Saigon Y2K noodle house lovers in Calgary), but I'll let you know how the noodles taste anyways. :P

6) Goodbye, Vietnam... hello Cambodia!
Maybe we'll catch a glimpse of Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) adopting another child.........

Part 2: Laos

Before I keep on explaining my route, I would like to recommend those who are looking to do something in this region to a couple of resources that I have been using. First and foremost, many travelers alike have probably already heard of a wonderful little resource called Lonely Planet. I bought the travel guide, "Southeast Asia on a Shoestring", and its filled with invaluable information for every destination imaginable.

The second resource that Andrea, Henry, and I have been using is TravelFish.org - an online web community for those who have experienced the same type of thing.

Lastly, Henry pointed out this resource for all the types of things he hopes to eat: Weird Meat. Dedicated to all the seemingly grotesque Asian Delicacies that would normally induce some serious vomit-action to westerners.

Keep in mind that there are various other independent bloggers, and other traveling sites which we've been using. The ones I listed above just make life easier!

This leg of our trip begins after a border crossing into the Bokeo province of Laos. Refer to the map...

1) We'll be coming from Chiang Rai, crossing the famous Mekong river, and into a town called Huay Xai. Town? I'm not sure what it is, actually. This province is known for its sweeping landscape, rich with wildlife and its rain forest. The reason for heading into Laos from this side is because we wanted to experience the Gibbons. You can experience living several hundred feet up in this giant tree house in hopes to catch a glimpse of the nearly-extinct Gibbon monkey. I love monkeys. :) You stay in these "houses" for a few nights, and sleep in the jungle with like-minded travelers, and have a good time. Oh, did I mention the only way to get from tree to tree is via crazy-ass ziplines that are suspended a few hundred feet in the air? HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!


Apparently there are giant spiders that are the size of my hands - sure to scare the living crap out of me. Maybe I won't be so happy sleeping up in a tree house after all... hmm.

2) After the monkeying around, we'll be making our way over to another town called Luang Prabang. Henry suggested that we should take a slow boat along the Mekong river, which will take approximately two days. There is a lot of fun to be had! Except for the leeches........ and giant mosquitoes......
http://youtube.com/watch?v=17mMojaj8qk&mode=related&search=

3) From Luang Prabang, we'll make our way down to Vientiane - the capital city of Laos. Although the map doesn't show a huge distance, relatively speaking with say... Calgary and Edmonton - the mode of transportation is SLOW. So slow, in fact, that what would regularly take 3 hours, will take about 12. Hot sweaty bus? Check. Crammed? Check. Smelly? Check. I think this spells for a good ride... Yeeeaaahhhh. In Vientiane, I'm not entirely sure what to expect here. Apparently, its not so developed, and its not the most exciting place to be. But, it serves as the hub to the next destination/country in our trip...
*drumroll*

4) Hanoi, Vietnam! More on this leg in the next post...

The further I get into describing this trip, the less concrete things are going to be. Especially about Vietnam, and the continuation into Cambodia. My friends and colleagues have let me know that everything could change. Perhaps we'll find a giant Triceratops and take it for a ride into Burma...

Who knows? :)

Part 1: Thailand

We'll be starting off the trip in Bangkok, Thailand - the hub of SE Asia. You'll find that most flights into and out of this region will be from Bangkok, and serves as a good starting point for anyone interested in going.

The diagram on the left (click to enlarge) is the travel itinerary for the first two or three weeks:

1) Fly into Bangkok from Tokyo, Japan for two days to get all VISA permits figured out to Laos - the next country on the list.

2) From Bangkok, we'll be heading to an island called Ko Pha-Ngan for the hugely popular and monthly full moon party. I hope to toast my skin whilst sipping on fresh coconut juice on a picturesque white-sand, blue water shoreline. :) We're supposed to be meeting up with one of our friends who is currently in Malaysia on an international exchange... hopefully she can make it up for the party!

3) After a relaxing week in Ko Pha-Ngan, we'll make our way over to Krabi, where there will be a lot more beach, and fun activities like snorkeling and rock climbing. Krabi is known for its beautiful mountainous coastline, and its clear blue waters, which you can read about at this link (jealous yet?). Unfortunately, my arrival falls in one of its two seasons: monsoon. Its not as bad as it sounds - although rainier than the other season (hot), the sporadic downpours aren't a constant shower. I hope to rent a scooter or motorcycle and putt around this region while I'm there...

4) After contracting skin cancer from sitting in the sun so much, we'll be heading back to Bangkok to meet up with another one of our friends from Taiwan. We'll stay another weekend to experience eating at the night markets, and hopefully bomb around in the infamous tuk-tuk's.

5) Next stop: Chiang Mai - a very culturally significant city in Northern Thailand. There are various Buddhist temples and other sight-seeing opportunities scattered within and outside of this city. One of the stops is the Chiang Mai Zoo, where you can see PANDA'S! I'm no fan of captive animals, but this exhibit is supposed to be quite astonishing.

6) The first leg of our trip in Thailand will be ending in Chiang Rai, where we'll be getting our VISA's to Laos, and crossing the Mekong River - the border separating Laos and Vietnam.

I've left a lot of details out of the trip, mainly because this trip is supposed to be quite open-ended. We'll be going with the flow on this one! :) More updates soon...

An Asian Escape

I've recently discovered a way to publish blog posts while abroad on my trip by linking my blogger account to my existing website. Since my travel plans aren't exactly set in stone, this is a good way for people to keep track of where I end up (ie. mom and dad). Hopefully other like-minded novice travelers can learn a thing or two from here as well!

I'm scheduled to leave on June 20th for a two-day stopover in Vancouver, where I'll be meeting up with one of my travel companions. From there, we'll be flying through Japan Airlines to Bangkok, Thailand, with a short stopover in Tokyo. Since I'm only going for about 2 months, I won't be able to experience ALL of Southeast Asia, but should give me ample time to see most of the following four countries (hopefully in this order):
- Thailand
- Laos
- Vietnam
- Cambodia

The first stop in Thailand will actually be on an island in south Thailand called Ko Pha-Ngan, where the monthly full moon party draws thousands of people to a wild party on its beach. From there we'll head down to Krabi - slightly southwest of Ko Pha-Ngan to catch some more beach and do some rock-climbing.

That's about all that has been planned so far, but a more solid plan is currently in the works. Regardless, it will be an experience of a lifetime! Friends of mine who are currently in the region can definitely attest to that. Keep posted! I'll have a more definite route planned by the next post...