tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81425895307631245872024-03-20T04:25:05.649-07:00Ten by Three:Short stories and photographs from a journey through India and South East Asia //
India | Thailand | Laos | Vietnam | Cambodia | Malaysia Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-92011732881332999012017-06-16T22:53:00.002-07:002017-06-17T02:11:10.845-07:00The gert mean social media machine 17.0617<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">The bits we haven't talked about...</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Travelling almost non-stop for nearly 8 months has been many things; exciting, eye opening, jaw dropping, incredible. It's also been many things I wasn't expecting; boring, frustrating, repetitive, tiresome, exhausting. I want to put these parts into words for myself and perhaps others, because if there's one thing I've learnt over the past 8 months it's that social media is a great big warping monster that we're all guilty of feeding. I'll hold my hands up and say I've been no exception. As a people pleaser I suppose I've felt some kind of obligation to be having 'the time of my life', and to prove that's the case by posting a regular stream of photographs of Dod and me enjoying ourselves. Just to set the record straight, these are not fake news. We were in fact enjoying ourselves in said photographs. However, I feel a new obligation to record the bits we haven't talked about. Just to reiterate, what follows is not to take away from all of the incredible experiences we've shared and recorded. I wish I could go back and be brave enough to integrate this so it doesn't seem so sudden, but here it is; a seemingly dull but I feel nonetheless important account of the bits we haven't talked about (rounded off with a big positive 'BUT' you can skip to if you really do want stick to 'the best bits')...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">We initially chose to travel for an unlimited amount of time (funds permitting), which on one hand has given us a wonderful amount of freedom throughout the trip. But this time has also been a huge chip on my shoulder. Being a serial over-thinker and living without any real structure has been extremely difficult. Throwing myself into this blog has been my saviour, but that hasn't anywhere near filled enough time to restrain the monstrous void of thought. My anxiety levels have been through the roof for the best part of this trip, but nobody would know because it's just not instagramable. I'm not by any means saying this will happen to anyone who decides to travel for a long period of time, only to be wary that it's not all waterfalls, elephants and zip line experiences. Before we came away we were under the impression that it would be non-stop excitement all the time. The reality is very different. Firstly on a trip this long it's not affordable, and secondly despite being half way across the world you are still the same human being, and daily life still has its limits. To be on the go 24/7 is just as impossible as it is back home, yet I've felt immense guilt every time we've had a 'nothing' day or even just afternoon. We've also suffered slightly with 'same, same but different' syndrome. After the 100th Temple, museum or market it's very hard to stay motivated when visiting the sites. For me it provoked the question 'why am I still here?'. I came away predominantly to experience new things and challenge myself, however have more often than not felt as though I'm on a leisurely site seeing holiday. This in itself has made it very difficult to maintain a positive outlook on giving up jobs that we loved and being half the world away from my friends, family and everything going on back home - which if it wasn't for social media we would be none the wiser about. I've (over) thought thoroughly about how we could have done things differently, travelled for less time or worked more maybe. But I've come to the conclusion that although these components may have had a minor impact, the underlying issue is that our trip doesn't, and was never going to add up to the ridiculous expectations I had built up in my head. The expectations we built, and the subsequent pressure we placed on ourselves on the basis of social media coverage that obviously only shows the best bits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's the big huge BUT...</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Writing all this down has been a weight off my shoulders, but still has me feeling somewhat guilty, or spoilt. Though it helps to know from speaking to others that we're not the only ones to feel this way. Despite it all, we have absolutely no regrets in making the decision to save and come away. As I touched upon at the beginning, there have been some incredible highs that I hope are nonetheless valid through me writing this piece. We have also been enlightened and rounded ourselves in ways that aren't possible in the western world, so given the chance again I would 100% take it. And if it wasn't for the low bits inbetween, well I would never be sat here writing this - which feels equally important to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Although we haven't had to overcome as many physical barriers as anticipated, our thirst for challenge has led us to look inwards and question the barriers we set ourselves every day. In doing so we've learnt the true value of asking these questions, and the liberation of rejecting what we don't believe in or what doesn't believe in us. I think the best way to describe the benefit is this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">When you're attempting an important task, it's always best to take a step back and come back to it with fresh eyes. I suppose I feel like life is the mother of all tasks, and so it takes the mother of all step backs to come at with fresh eyes. You might find that you were doing just fine, or you might find that there are some things you could change, but the outcome isn't really what matters here. What matters is that those fresh eyes have allowed us to place trust in our own judgement of that all important</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> question; am I doing the right thing? We can ask for help and listen to advice from others, but that search for verification, so over-complicated by our social media orientated generation, can only ever truly end in one place; within. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-67591245892943828112017-06-14T06:57:00.000-07:002017-06-14T06:57:10.866-07:00Langkawi 01.06.17 - 14.06.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a horrendous ferry crossing we arrived on Langkawi with plans to stay for 5 sand, salt and sun orientated days; but, after laying eyes on our riverside wooden stilt house I knew we would be island bound for the ramainder of our trip. Two weeks later and I'm sat here, legs bathed in golden sunlight and feet dangling over the river thinking tomorrow has come far too quickly. We've had two weeks of pure bliss, aside from meeting up with our lovely friends Jack and Frida a few times we've pretty much lazed our way through our final days of this unkempt and gleeful reality. We applied for a few jobs each (eek!), spent time writing, reading and noshing on juicy fresh fruit and scrambled egg (we have been limited to microwave cooking!). The most excitement we've had for 2 weeks came in the form of a lovely lizard that decided to pay us a visit a few days ago, who we chased out the door with a fishing net. Tomorrow we fly to Kuala Lumpur, then just a few days later we board our flight to Heathrow, marking the end of this first chapter of adventures. Whilst we've been here, I've spent some time writing a final, very </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">honest blog piece that will be with you shortly. For now, ten photographs from our time on Langkawi... </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-29925942352491164162017-06-14T05:28:00.000-07:002017-06-14T06:59:14.747-07:00George Town 29.05.17 - 01.06.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">A Turbulent J</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">ourney </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">We travelled from Singapore to George Town via night bus, thankfully the last of its kind for us. After a successful border crossing we re-boarded the bus and settled down for the long night ahead. The driver, who had been coughing his guts since we left Singapore city centre, seemed to have the same idea himself. I was half asleep when the woman at the front of the bus started shouting 'SIR SIR', 'ARE YOU OK SIR?'. The driver was falling asleep at the wheel! We began to drift across a luckily empty lane just as he came to and pulled the bus over. 'DO YOU WANT TO SLEEP?' Shouted the very panicked woman at the front of the bus. The driver, who was obviously extremely embarrassed took the route of denying the whole thing had happened, pretending that he'd pulled over to check the bus door was properly shut. We were part of a group of only 8 passengers, who at this point all began to speak up and agree that the driver should stop and sleep for an hour or so. Sitting back down behind the wheel, he shook is head determined still that nothing had happened to suggest he wasn't fit to drive. The next 4 hours were hellish. Thank goodness the roads were quiet because he was all over the place, drifting between the three lanes and endlessly coughing and spluttering. Eventually we made it to Kuala Lumpar where we thankfully had to change bus and driver. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the man as he held the door for people to climb off the bus, only to be greeted with comments like 'learn to drive next time' and 'DO NOT DRIVE WHEN YOU ARE SICK' from a host of angry and frightened passengers. Another night bus, another near death experience! We arrived at our Hostel around 9am exhausted and in desperate need of a shower, only to be told that there was absolutely no way we could check in until 2pm. Deep breaths and forced smiles we set up camp in the common room, then come 2pm finally laid our heads to rest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">George Town </span></h3>
<span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext";">The next 3 days in George Town most definitely made up for our trouble getting there. It's a gorgeous little town decorated with a colourful array of street art focused on local culture. The town itself isn't bursting with things to do, we mostly enjoyed feeding time in the little India and snacking on local cuisine from the street vendors. We hired a motorbike for one day to explore the rest of Penang, which lead us to Cat Beach and a beautiful sunny ride through the National Park. Cat Beach is actually a rescue centre for strays, based on a beach. We arrived into chaotic scenes as a girl asked us desperately whether we had come to volunteer or adopt 1 or 5 cats. Cages of sick cats were piled on top of one another in a room that we reluctantly had to remove our shoes to step inside of. We made as big a donation as we we could afford and sat outside playing with a few of the not so sick cats by the ocean for a while, but even they had dreadfully snotty noses so we didn't stick around for too long. Hats off to the lady that was running the show, there were well over 100 stray cats in her care, some of which we would have been more than glad to take home with us! Dod and me fell in love with a tiny kitten called Midori, check him out in the photographs below...</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-33149851138342423002017-06-05T19:37:00.002-07:002017-06-05T19:56:30.054-07:00Singapore 27.05.17 - 28.05.17 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whilst in Melaka we made a spontaneous decision to hop over the bridge to Singapore for a whirlwind 24 hour visit. It may only be a 4 hour bus ride from Melaka, but it's a world away from Malaysia (from what we've seen so far) and certainly the likes of Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao and India! We felt like aliens stepping onto a clean and shiny metro. After 7 months of mostly tuk tuks, smelly coaches and dirt tracks everything felt so big and robotic, and we felt so unclean. A kind of culture shock that we definitely weren't expecting! After a shower and change into our cleanest clothing we were ready for our 24 hours of city fun. Initially we were worried this wouldn't be enough, now used to factoring in over time for the inevitable to go wrong. But with all the mod cons available we soon remembered just how easy everything can be. Singapore was the perfect place to get a taste of the flash packer lifestyle on a back packer's budget as there is an unusual amount to do for free or priced variably. We spent most of our time just wondering the high rise filled streets in awe of their futuristic feel, and of course window shopping in the many luxurious shopping malls. We also enjoyed exploring the Botanical Gardens, a cultural dance performance down on the waterfront and wondering various art galleries all free of charge. However, there was one attraction we couldn't miss out on - The Cloud Dome. It's part of The Gardens By Bhe Bay complex, which is amazingly all priced separately so we could chose to pay for only one entrance ticket as well as wonder around the outside of the others for free. The Cloud Dome is a man made ecosystem featuring a huge mountain and waterfall; it was absolutely breathtaking and one of the best things we've done. Singapore was an incredible experience that has definitely got us thinking about what direction our next trip might take... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Singapore in Ten (twelve because I couldn't choose) Photographs</span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-64945118567079707292017-06-04T21:48:00.003-07:002017-06-05T20:46:39.585-07:00Melaka 23.05.17 - 27.05.17 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><span style="font-size: large;">Our first stop in Malaysia was Melaka, a place best described as a 'chocolate box town' that could bring out the inner photographer in just about anyone. Colourful street art, Portuguese colonial buildings, yummy street food and a cosy coffee shop on every corner it was a truly wonderful introduction to this beautiful country. What I particularly loved about Melaka was the celebration and coming together of cultural variations, race and religion both. For example, on the street we stayed on there was a Hindu Temple, Buddhist Temple, Mosque and just opposite across the river a church all within 200m of each other. This cultural blend originates from a long history of colonialism by the British, Dutch, Portuguese and for a short time the Japanese before Malaya gained independence in 1957. Although colonialism is perhaps not something to be celebrated, what was clear to see was how much more vibrant and accepting of diversity this town is for being home to such a wide array of people. The result seemingly a huge focus on creativity and a community that works together and supports each other. A great example of this was the weekend night market. Although not much took our fancy (we nick-named Melaka Queen of tat) it was amazing to see how much of the local community gets involved. Shops, restaurants and cafes set up pop-up stalls all along 'Jonker Walk' from 6pm-11pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The atmosphere was buzzing with an equal mix of tourists and locals enjoying the goings on. We spent four days exploring Melaka by a mixture of foot and bicycle, buy regretfully didn't quite make it onto one of those lovely 'tri-shaws'...</span><span style="font-size: 17px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Ten Photographs from Melaka </span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-81467897234308178892017-06-04T21:25:00.001-07:002017-06-05T20:36:08.357-07:00Battambang 18.05.17 - 22.05.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia after Phnom Penh, but only recently has it become known to tourists. Why? Because of a creeky, quirky and for some reason down right loveable 'bamboo train'. The single track line was originally used to transport people and produce between the tiny village of O Sra Lau and O Dambong (a stones throw away from Battambang). However, with the arrival of a new roads this track and many others like it became redundant for years. </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">M</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">uch to the locals amusement</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> tourists now come from far and wide to ride the old thing. On paper we certainly questioned its appeal</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">,</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> but when in Battambang! We boarded a bamboo flatbed, also known as a 'Norry' and sat cross legged ready for what we thought would be a leisurely ride through the countryside. Our driver lit up a fag and started up the engine almost simultaneously before we began roaring into greenery. My those things can move! We spent the first part of the journey clutching one another and laughing our heads off at how unexpectedly speedy it was. About half way through the ride a</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">nother </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Norry appeared in the distance and we began to slow</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">. As we jolted to a stop the driver grumpily muttered "can you help"</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">,</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> unknowingly</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> we obliged. It turns out we had to disembark the train and move it off the tracks! We found the whole experience absolutely hilarious. The fact that our driver was dead serious for the e</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">ntire journey</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> and refused to condone our sense of humour made it all the more funny. If you ever find yourself in Battambang, be sure to treat yourself to the notorious bamboo train experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Sssssurprise</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">One of our days in Battambang was spent exploring the ancient hill tops of Khum Phnom Sampov. There are a series of caves and temples dotted around best explored by motorbike. It was also a rare path less discovered by tourists in comparison with most of our temple experiences; minimal hassle and no elephant trousers in sight. The area was also well inhabited by wildlife, some of which Dod wasn't so comfortable with. We were winding up one of the steeper hills when all of a sudden he slammed sharply on the brakes</span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext';">,</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"> "Oh my god oh my god oh my god" was all he could manage to explain. Without knowing what the hell was going on I gripped him around the waist and dug my nails in hard "PUT YOUR F****** FEET DOWN" I said through gritted teeth whilst scraping my toes along the ground to keep us from hurtling backwards down the hill. Thankfully he managed find the inner strength just in time. I looked over his shoulder to see what all the fuss was about and layed eyes on a bright green snake! We had been less than a meter away from running the thing over, which seemed just as startled itself. Dod suddenly s</span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext';">n</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">apped out of his immobility and frantically started trying to turn the bike around. "Not so fast" I said, "pics first!" Poor Dod had to wait a few seconds while I snapped away, but hey</span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext';">,</span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext';"> now he can prove just how scary it was!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Movement of the People </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">During our day of exploring the temples and caves we regularly found ourselves driving through, or temporarily becoming a part of huge political motorbike rallies. It was very exciting, and felt empowering to see an almost equal variation of gender and age groups engaging with the goings on. From what we could gather there were two parties campaigning, the blues and the whites aka The Cambodian People's Party and the Cambodia National Rescue Party. After researching the upcoming election we discovered the not so empowering political status of the leading party. Have a read here - </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jun/03/dispossessed-land-cambodian-women-enter-politics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jun/03/dispossessed-land-cambodian-women-enter-politics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";"><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-04/cambodia-election-pm-hun-sen-threatens-civil-war-kem-sokha-gains/8587496">www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-04/cambodia-election-pm-hun-sen-threatens-civil-war-kem-sokha-gains/8587496</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">It felt strange but eye opening to experience first hand how easy it is to misconceive what is ultimately still a repressed state living under a dictatorship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Ten Photographs from Battambang</span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-15871975325563399202017-06-04T01:24:00.001-07:002017-06-05T20:45:29.133-07:00Siem Reap 08.05.17 - 18.05.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For our time in Siem Reap we decided to sign up for a second work away. The entrance fee for the famous Angkor Wat has recently doubled in price to $37 each, so it was time to think about saving on a few expenditures. After messaging nearly 10 organisations we finally had a reply from UP2U bar who had advertised for travelers to help out for 3-4 hours a day with promotion and the running of events in their newly set up business. In return we received </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">free accommodation, one meal a day, free drinks and a bicycle each</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. When you read between the lines (which of course we didn't) this means flyer-ing on the absolute hell hole of pub street which embodies just about everything Dod and I hate about mainstream nightlife. Initially we had our reservations, if you know us at all well I'm sure you would have a hard time imagining us wearing commercially printed vests and handing out free shot vouchers to 18 year olds that really don't need a free shot. However, our 10 days of working for the bar actually turned out to be a lot of fun. As time went on we learned that UP2U Bar was probably one of the (very few) places we would have chosen to drink in the city. The French owners Kevin and Alex were incredibly down to earth and looked after us very well, even inviting us to a BBQ with their friends on our final day. We were also working with a lovely guy called</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Tom who reminded me a silly amount of my little brother</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (miss you Matts!). Even if only for 10 days, it </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">felt so good to be a part of a group of like-minded people again - something we are eternally </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">grateful</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> to workaway for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As for Siem Reap, we enjoyed exploring the city by bicycle during our free time. Despite being very touristy in the main areas we managed to discover some hidden away cultural gems, such as a lively temple in the Royal Gardens and a fair trade handmade crafts market just outside of the city. I also took the plunge and got a hair cut which was an experience in itself. It cost just $3 and took all of 10 minutes; dreaded small talk not included. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course the main event was the magnificent Angkor Wat which was a day we mostly spent making big O shapes with our mouths. After vigorous </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">research we decided it was most favourable to organise the days transport with a tuk tuk driver. At this time of year it's far to hot to cycle, and a motorbike would also mean minimal time in the shade. We actually met Mr Kun on the way home from a night out with the UP2U gang, luckily drunk us put a note on our phones to remember! After a fair few gins we actually managed to barter a deal at $20 and organise for him to pick us up at 4:45am in 3 days time. On the day faithful Mr Kun was there waiting for us (although neither of us could remember what he looked like so at least we think it was him!). He got us to the main Angkor Wat temple for sunrise, which we watched in awe along with 100 or so others. He then transported us between temples for the next 5/6 hours, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">giving us little snippets of information along the way. Thank you Mr Kun, you were lovely!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will again (unfaithfully) leave it up to my amateur photography skills to describe the incredulous Angkor Wat...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Siem Reap in ten photographs</span></h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-65763171933443041412017-05-21T09:00:00.004-07:002017-05-21T09:12:26.253-07:00Otres Beach 01.05.18 - 08.05.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Otres Beach Bums</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We spent a wonderful week living the beach-bum life in Otres, a small coastal village that reminded us in some ways of Goa (minus the trance music, thank goodness). There is a lovely community of both locals and expats that are all working together very creatively to develop the area. The growing village is around 8km from the much more developed, in our opinion less inviting Sihanoukville town center. The best part of our stay was the Saturday Night Market. It was set up by two friends from Australia who spontaneously bought a plot of land with no initial plans of what to do with it. With their artistic design skills they built a festival inspired venue that every Saturday night becomes a glorious hub of creativity. Expect a selection of world food street vendors, handmade craft stalls, second hand clothing stalls, a well stocked cocktail focused bar and a magnificent stage space for a selection of live artists and DJs to perform throughout the night. A minute taste of Glasto had us feeling slightly homesick, but happy nonetheless. We also enjoyed playing guinee pigs for a lovely French man who has built a jungle zip wire experience by hand. He waited until we were up in he trees to tell us we were some of his first customers, I can't work out whether that was a good or bad thing! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's 10 photos from our time spent relaxing Otres style...</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-16928734309103993062017-05-21T08:49:00.002-07:002017-05-21T08:49:26.606-07:00Le Petit Train 28.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Le Petit Train, Phom Penh - Kampot </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taking the train in Cambodia is a tourist attraction in itself. Similarly to Laos the rural parts of the country have been too dangerous to develop at the same rate of the larger cities due to un-exploded ordnance, and so there is still only one major train line operating today. I've read that there are plans in the pipeline to expand on this, however as it stands the nation is limited to a four stop service that runs (drum roll please) three times each way a week and carries (further drum roll) 100 passengers each way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not only the timetable that's retro, but the machinery too. At 3pm on a rainy Friday afternoon we boarded a shiny white and blue train that looked as though it had tumbled right out of a kinder egg; small, kitsch and an absolute treat. After chugging along through picturesque Cambodian countryside for a few hours a man appeared from the driver's cabin and gave an announcement over megaphone. He told us that at the next stop we would have 10 minutes to</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">stretch our legs along the tracks and</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> buy a selection of snacks from local vendors. As we pulled into the tiny station</span><span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> around 10 locals and their families excitedly began fussing over their stalls and waving frantically at the second and last set of passengers they would be serving that day. They were selling a delicious mix of BBQ meats, sweet potatoes, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruits and vegetable chips. We enjoyed vegetable chips, fresh pineapple and some hard boiled eggs with a salt and pepper mixture that came wrapped up in somebodies algebra homework! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived at our stop in Kampot after 6 charming hours of travel. I never thought I would write '6 hours of travel' and 'charming' in the same sentence, but there you have it! Perhaps some imagery will justify my words... </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-70238667318755673152017-05-04T01:18:00.003-07:002017-05-04T02:02:32.191-07:00Phnom Penh 24.04.17 - 28.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext";">Phnom Penh</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext";">,</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext";"> </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext";">an introduction to Cambodia</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">We arrived in </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 22.66666603088379px;">Phnom Penh</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> by bus from Saigon just over a week ago and already feel very well acquainted with this fascinating country. The fast developing capital is currently a modest size, and from our experience its residents are equally humble in nature. We definitely didn't run out of things to do during our stay, the city's main tourist attractions are all reasonably priced and easy to get to by foot or tuktuk whichever side of the city you chose to stay on. There are also plethora of vibrant markets, a variety of decent bars dotted around plus a good mix of local restaurants and backpacker style eateries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">From what we have experienced so far Cambodia is still very much recovering from times of suffering, times that really weren't so long ago. Similarly to Vietnam, this was very prevalent in the city and its people. However, I couldn't feel the sense of pride that shone through in Vietnam. Instead a sense of gratitude and absolute serenity towards the current times embodied almost everyone we met. This shared spirit was something we came to understand after visiting The Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: '.SFUIText'; font-size: 17pt;">A brief history:</b><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><i>On 17th April 1975 the Republican government was defeated when the Khmer Rouge proclaimed the establishment of Democratic Kampuchea, this lead to the party leader Pol Pot claiming complete power over Cambodia. He had an extreme communist vision for the country based on agriculture, demanding that rice production was to be tripled immediately in the aim of Cambodia becoming a completely self-sustained nation. Under his leadership it was the year 0 and anyone who</i></span><i style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 17pt;"> came forward as having skills from 'the past life' was taken unknowingly to be executed. </i><i style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 17pt;">This included doctors, teachers and anyone who could speak a second language. Males, females, adults and children were separated and required to work up to 19 hours a day farming rice and other crops. </i><i style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 17pt;">Executions took place across the country at sites now named 'killing fields', there were also torture houses set up such as what is now </i><i style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 17pt;">The Genocide Museum. During Pol Pot's 3 year reign an estimated 1.5 million people were executed.</i><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">This harrowing history is told with commendable courage and honesty at both The Genocide Museum and The Killing Fields. There is little anger or even blame conveyed towards the era, only a deeply ridden grief. I can't fully explain how it feels to walk across the blood stained floors of The Genocide Museum, or to face the tower of human skulls that looms over The Killing Fields. What I can put into words is how as I walked and listened I felt so choked with tears but so completely unworthy to let them fall. How could I, so untouched and privileged in these capsules of pain and </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">suffering stand and cry? I hope this somehow explains the depth of emotion these two sites provoke. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Ten photographs taken in Phnom Penh:</span></h4>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 22.66666603088379px;">From Phnom Penh we moved south to the small riverside town of Kampot, and then to Otres Village right on the beautiful coastline. We'll be here for a few more days before heading up to Siem Reap!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-19605522274541818422017-04-29T01:05:00.000-07:002017-04-29T01:11:21.299-07:00Vietnam 08.04.17 - 24.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Goodbye Vietnam</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">The longest leg of our journey is complete, 3 months in Vietnam has come to a close. It's hard to sum up this vast and wonderfully diverse country, the sheer amount of land we've covered</span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 22.66666603088379px;">,</span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 22.66666603088379px;">people we've met </span><span style="font-family: '.sfuitext'; font-size: 17pt;">and climates we've experienced. The dramatic shifts in landscape are purely magnificent and the variation in culture is just fascinating. Vietnam is united by pride and hardened but still recovering from decades of war and suffering, and that was very present in everyone and everything we encountered. It's a incredible country that I would highly recommend spending any amount of time in. Xin Ciao for now, see you again sometime...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;"><i><b>10 best images from 3 months in Vietnam:</b></i></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-91969681647377630922017-04-29T00:35:00.002-07:002017-04-29T18:46:03.520-07:00Saigon 18.04.17 - 24.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City), the former capital of South Vietnam is now known as the business capital of Vietnam. You can see why as you wander through it's mix of high rise modern buildings and busy coffee pitstops fuelling the daily grind. On paper it doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all. However, we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city's many Shoreditch style eateries, markets and quirky second-hand shops. We stayed a short drive away from the city centre which ended up being a great choice of location. It felt very 'student-y', reminding us of some of Bristol's lovely inner city areas like Gloucester Road and Old Market (if we ignored the 1,000 mopeds and animals being butchered on the side of the street). As our last stop in Vietnam we had plenty to compare Saigon to. It was by far the most developed city, educationally as well; we met many locals with near perfect English. The big question is of course Hanoi or Saigon? I've thought a lot about this, Vietnam is the first place I could see us living in and so this question might need a definite answer one day! For me Hanoi came out tops for the few long weekends we stayed, however I feel Saigon is </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">somewhere I could really see us settling (not forever, don't </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">panic Mum!). It's a lot like London in that when spending a few days there can feel very big, busy and frustratingly hard to navigate. However I can imagine these aspects are all positives if you are a resident; there's a possibility you could be discovering new back streets full of unique restaurants, bars or shops every weekend for months, and that is an exciting thought. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 17pt;">Here's our 6 days in the city in ten photographs... </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-63235144476781345292017-04-27T22:25:00.000-07:002017-04-27T22:56:06.027-07:00Poem <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Air beats in abstract rhythms against my cheeks </i></i><br />
<i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Streams of green swirl by either side like psychedelic blinkers </i><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Horns bleep and my heart leaps </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>But all that hits us is the hot smell of rubber as the lorry moves slowly past</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The blue peeps through and the tips tops are gleaming </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>But we are climbing</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Coat gripped snugly under my chin I look down and see toy towns </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A borrowers world amidst a giants land, soon the descent </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Waves of glistening green tessellate</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Three dimensional fingerprints identify the nation </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Cascading in liquefying motion </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We too move downwards</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>At last flat land rolls out in front of us </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>From a dot on the mountains crest to two sore thumbs, aliens from the west</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A team of rosy cheeked school children hop skip jump and wave </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Two cocks fight in a cage and a woman carries far more than she should for her age </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Culture</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Raw honest extraordinary culture washes over us in welcoming waves </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Heart rates slow, shoulders drop and ears pop</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>As finally we slow to a stop.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>- Lucy Atkins</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-44463960212875373692017-04-19T02:50:00.000-07:002017-04-19T03:42:37.969-07:00Daily Diary 30.03.17 - 18.04.17 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Daily notes from the second leg of our Vietnamese motorbike tour, Hanoi - Sagon (most recent first!) ...</b> </span></h3>
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">18.04.17 Dalat - Saigon (290km, 6 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - WE DID IT! One last (very big) push and our motorbike tour of this incredible country has come to an end. Longest ride, worst rain storm and the worst traffic on the way into the city, but now we are resting our bums and reminiscing about the adventures of the past 6 weeks spent on the road. Final stats blog post coming soon. WOO! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">16.04.17 Nha Trang - Dalat (142km, 3.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - We are a day behind schedule as Dod was very poorly in Nha Trang, but today we made it back on the road for our last mountainous ride. Nearly all up hill and many scary lorries but we arrived unscathed, although very tired. Only one ride to go, but first time to explore the beautiful Dalat!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">13.04.17 Nhon Hai - Nha Trang (239km, 5.5 hours, +100,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Longest ride yet today, but felt nice and easy as roads clear and fast. Arrived in Nha Trang with plans to stay 2 nights. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">11.04.17 Sa Huynh - Nhon Hai Beach Hostel (128km, 3 hours, +40,000 VND petrol) Gorgous ride along the coast. Really felt the drastic differences between landscapes in this incredible country. From flat roads running alongside the sandy beaches to winding mountain side roads looking over steep drops to the ocean we had it all. Originally we stopped at what was marked as a campsite on our map but after speaking to five people working at the resort and frantically pointing at the tent and grass all we got was 'no'. So we moved onto a small fishing town about 30km along called Nhon Hai. Luckily there is one hostel right on the beach offering cheap dorm rooms (the beach is too busy with fisherman to camp!). We've woken up this morning and decided to stay an extra night as it's so peaceful and beautiful! I've already read an entire book, written one blog post and started the next since we arrived at 1 o'clock yesterday. No pressure feels good after a few long days on the road.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">10.04.17 Tam Thanh - Sa Huynh (122km, 2.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Spent the morning walking around a local fishing village full of street art, so beautiful! Then back on the road around 10am. Scorcher today, was a struggle on highway 1 for the first hour or so as lots of big lorries steaming through don't help with the heat. Better after some lunch and a few ice teas! Stopped in a guesthouse for the night near the beach as in need of a shower! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">09.04.17 Hoi An - Tam Thanh (60km, 1.5 hours) // Notes - Lovely ride along the coast today. Arrived in a small fishing village and found a kind man who will let us set up our tent for free outside his hostel - so we have some shade this time! It's intensely hot now, such a contrast from the last 2 months. Having to apply factor 50 whilst on the bike, Dod's watch tan line is hilarious!! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">07.04.17 Danang - Hoi An (29km, 45 minutes, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Just a little way along the coast today to the hand made city, time for some tailoring! Staying here for a few nights as Dod has ordered a suit and me a dress for weddings come up this summer. Also right on the beach so time to top of the tan!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">06.04.17 Hue - Danang (98km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol (for an emergency litre s the top of the mountain!)) // Notes - Wow. The Hai Van Pass was breathtaking. 19 kilometres of road that winds around a fortress of mountains, and provides scenery I can't begin to describe! Photos don't cut it either. Definate change in the climate here, the coat is finally off and being used as a pillow for my sore bum. Also we found somewhere to camp! Guerilla camping sesh no.1 complete. After paying a lady in a roadside restaurant 30,000 Dong to look after our bike we trekked down to a small stretch of beach and set up camp for the evening. Waking up this morning was glorious, reminded me of our desert adventure in India plus the roaring ocean waves. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">04.04.17 Cua Trung - Hue (105km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Ahh coastal roads at last! Well, half coastal half highway 1 but the sun was shining and that's all that matters after 4 days of rain. Staying in Hue for 2 nights as it's a fairly large city (the former capital!) so lots to see. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">03.04.17 Phong Nha - Cua Tung (122km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Started the day in the Paradise Cave which was incredible!! Then back on the bike in the bloody rain! We gave in and purchased 2 of those ridiculous ponchos that go right down to the floor in an attempt to keep our legs dry (& in the hope that the rain would typically stop and we wouldn't need them). We needed them. Only a short drive today though, stopped in a small seaside town tonight to go and see some wartime tunnels tomorrow morning. Had the best fish of my life for dinner! Still no camping in this weather, pretty stormy and don't think the £25 tent would hold up. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">02.04.17 Pho Chau - Phong Nha (203km, 5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Oooh bums are hurting today! And we are very soggy, again. When will be meet the sunshine?! </span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica neue\22 " , "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">Stayed dry for the first bit but we were hit by rain for a few hours midway through. Also did my first bit of driving since the fall in Thailand! Going to try and do a small amount each day when the roads are flat & quiet to build my confidence.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">01.04.17 Nong Cong - Pho Chau (193km, 5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Started the day with a walk around Ben En national park which was stunning. We saw some wild hogs and I nearly walked into a poisonous spider's web!! Then embarked on a very long one, though this time on a much nicer roads. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">31.03.17 Ninh Binh - Nong Cong (89km, 2 hours) // Notes - Rain bloody rain! Horrible drive on highway 1 so busy roads and the rain made it 10 x harder. We made it though, very soggy & dirty but found a cheap hotel to clean ourselves up in. No chance we are camping tonight! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">30.03.17 Hanoi - Ninh Binh (95km, 2 hours, +40,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Had to brave the Hanoi traffic for the third and final time, well done Dod for keeping it cool! On the highway all the way today so fairly speedy ride. Temperature already feeling slightly warmer but still so gloomy. In a guest house tonight as fairly big city so no camp-able grass, hopefully will be pitching tomorrow night!</span></li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-2668860839061042122017-04-13T22:08:00.002-07:002017-04-13T23:02:06.708-07:00Central Vietnam: Highlights 03.04.17 - 13.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Paradise Cave</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We visited the Paradise Cave from Phong Nha, a developing town fast becoming popular amongst travellers. The town itself is pretty average, baring in mind we visited when it was very grey and rainy so spent most of our time was inside the warmth of backpacker cafes. The </span><span style="font-family: "\22 helvetica neue\22 " , "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">cave on the other hand was absolutely spectacular. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not a cave enthusiast, and I don't know any technical terms other than stalagmite and stalactite so I'm not going to try and describe it to you; I'll let imagery to the talking instead:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Mural Village</span> </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tam Thanh is a village right on the coast of central Vietnam. For us the town was only a short pitstop, somewhere we could pitch our tent and leave early the next morning. We were pleasantly surprised to pass through 'The Mural Village' on our way to the campsite and decided to pay a visit the following morning before leaving for the next leg of our journey. Placed roughly half way through the village the welcoming mural reads: "Tam Thanh Mural Village | Vietnam - Korea Joint Project: Art for a Better Community". Surrounding this are artworks of all sizes and styles painted loud and proud onto the sides of houses, hair dressers and village shops. The place is alive with colour, and true to their word the village feels united by it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The works (some of which you can see below) are reflective of local people and culture, you can read more about this and the link to Korea here: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://hoiannow.com/tam-thanh-mural-village-art-better-community/">hoiannow.com/tam-thanh-mural-village-art-better-community</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Nhon Hai Beach</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nhon Hai is a small fishing town based predominantly around its extraordinary stretch of beach. For me it felt like a creatives' paradise, a place where there's nothing to do except be inspired by your surroundings. We arrived in Nhon Hai at 1pm on Tuesday with plans to leave early the following morning, but as we sat reading, writing and munching fresh fruit to the sound of the ocean we decided to book in for another night and let the feeling of no pressure translate into productivity. During our 1 1/2 day stay I read an entire book, wrote nearly 3 blog posts and collated and edited 2 sets of images!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">A bit about Nhon Hai:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me the the identity of the village is in the dozens of blue kitsch-y fishing boats that sit rocking on the ocean's surface, and the simple woven basket boats dotted along the shore used by fishermen to row out to their boats at sea. Other than the hostel (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/nhonhaihostel/">Nhon Hai Beach Hostel</a>) there really is nothing else that caters for tourists in </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nhon Hai</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and so residents are still getting used to the site of westerners. Walking along the beach at various points in the day brings some beautifully raw cultural sights; at 8am we saw around 30 locals hawling a giant raft made from wood and plastic tanks into the ocean, at midday a group of ladies sitting under a tarpaulin tent ripping up old nets and using the good bits to sew new ones and at 4pm dozens of kids playing football together using bamboo sticks for goal posts.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-37654302342079712842017-04-12T03:35:00.001-07:002017-04-12T03:46:32.309-07:00Hanoi, a love letter <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A (well overdue) love letter to Hanoi </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After spending so long in the rural areas of Laos and our first week in Vietnam in the suburban parts of the country we were well over due that city buzz feeling. When we first arrived in Hanoi the hustle and bustle was like heaven to me; the last time I had that feeling was when I first moved to Manchester 4 years ago. From back alley shabby chic coffee shops, to affordable boutique style clothes shops, and - <i>the best part </i>- live music venues we felt able to identify ourselves within the city in no time at all. It actually made me pretty homesick as we were spending our time in a similar way to how we would back in Bristol or Manchester, minus our wonderful friends. Exploring arty back alleys lined with quirky shops, sitting off in the sunshine down by the water and seeking out a decent bar with live music as the sun sets. Hanoi was also our first real introduction to Vietnamese foods like pho and bun cha, and the incredibly low prices they come at! Every corner of Hanoi's streets is jam packed with happenings you feel urged to get involved in, and if you get the chance to look up from these bustling streets you'll see the overlooking rustic Parisian style apartments that give the place a sense of stylish chic. We first found it funny, and then extremely helpful that shops selling the same product are all placed along the same street, so for example you have sunglasses street, ceramics street, stainless steel street and shoe street. Although amusing this helped us to learn the city like the back of our hand. There's definitely something romantic about being able to comfortably navigate a city that's not your own. </span><span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We also enjoyed the cultural side of the city wondering through beautifully curated exhibitions at The Woman's Museum, The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and The Ho Chi Minh Museum as well as the very beautiful and ancient Temple of Literature. We were more than happy to be returning to Hanoi 5 times all in all, it was our to-and-fro base whilst we stayed and Everest and then visited the north. We both agreed that Hanoi was like an affordable Paris & London for us. A capital city bursting with activity and creative drive, but without the expensive price tag attached. I can't wait until the day we return, perhaps for longer next time...</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-54695145220963665592017-04-11T21:30:00.000-07:002017-04-11T21:32:39.867-07:00Photos 04.03.17 - 28.04.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Ten photographs from our traditonal experiences (North Vietnam)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">See blog post to match <i>'Three traditional experiences'</i> --></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-25962744517233305352017-04-11T07:48:00.003-07:002017-04-26T07:53:03.330-07:00Three Traditional Experiences 04.03.17 - 28.03.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Wedding 04.03.17</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It seems we timed our stay at Everest perfectly as the wedding fell the day after our last lesson, talk about leaving on a high note! Having spent the night in Hanoi we met the gang back at the centre before being bundled into taxis in groups of four. Dod went ahead of me to get kitted out in his groovy groomsman gear... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"A taxi dropped us at what we assumed was the Bride's family home and one by one we were whisked into a tiny room to change (squeeze) into our traditional outfits for the day. As we were trying to figure out how to make the headpiece stay in place we were again put into a taxi, no idea of our destination. Turns out this was to be our first meeting with the Groom! We were all individually introduced to him, live on video, after being given a minute or so to prepare a wedding message for said video. He also gave us small red envelopes containing 'lucky money' which we were instructed to trade with the bridesmaids. </i></span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Many photos and videos later we were taken back to join the party, much to the interest and humour of the local village community!" </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rest of us were awaiting the Groom's party arrival with the Bride and her family back at their home, which was also a wedding attire hire shop - convenient! The bride was dressed in white silk trousers and a gorgeous deep red velvet tunic that slit at the waist and ran down to the floor. We were snacking on sunflower seeds and jelly sweets when I looked out through the purple and white draping to see Dod carrying a giant hamper full of fags and alcohol! Each one of the five boys from Everest was carrying one of these hampers full of various sweet treats, exotic fruits and Vietnam's favourite, fags and booze. Immediately we ran outside to photograph the parade. After this, the Bride, Groom and close family went inside the house for what I'm assuming was some kind of ceremony. From what I can gather Vietnamese weddings differ in that the 'engagement ceremony' is as important as the actual wedding but happens on a different day. The reception is what we were attending and so the ceremony was only a minor part of the day. Meanwhile we snacked on more sunflower seeds, jelly sweets and green tea just outside the house. Ceremony over and a few more photographs and sunflower seeds later we were ushered up the street to the main event where 200 guests would be dining, drinking and of course belting out bad love ballads on the karaoke stage. On the way in we were stopped for photographs with various wedding party members in front of a backdrop featuring a giant heart made out of tissue paper roses, I then felt a bit like a celebrity as we proceeded down the red carpet. Next was food. We were seated on one of the many tables laden with cling film covered cold meats, fish, rice and soup and told to start feasting at our leisure. It was probably about 3 minutes before we were coaxed into our first shot of rice wine, and from there on out it was a hazy blur. All days groups of guests from all around the room were paying a visit to our table armed with rice wine and shot glasses; they certainly don't take no for an answer when it comes to wine! When the time was right (when the rice wine took over) we took to the stage and pretty much took ownership of the karaoke mics for the night. A day full to the brim with laughter and smiles, how lucky we are to have had this truly mad, traditional Vietnamese experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tran Hung Dao Pagoda 22.03.17</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We stopped at the Chinese border in Lao Cai for lunch, a few snaps across the bridge and for a quick visit to the Tran Hung Dao Pagoda, temple of the mother Goddess. When we arrived at the temple there was an unusual buzz about the place, we soon realised a ceremony was taking place inside the main temple and many Vietnamese had come to watch and enjoy the goings on. I've tried various google searches but can't seem to find anything on what the ceremony is called or what it is for but here's a snapshot of what we saw:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Inside the temple people of all ages sat cross legged watching a woman dance in the centre of the room, just in front of the temple's shrine. She was dressed in emerald green traditional clothing and head piece, dancing to live percussion music. Suddenly the music slowed and she knelt down infront of the shrine. Her head piece was removed and a cloth place over her head by two men, as people clapped in rhythm she changed into a heavily embellished white dress and even larger head piece to match. She then resumed dancing, this time with handfuls of fanned out money that she proceeded to throw up into in the air. After a few minutes of this, she knelt again and changed into a silky tunic with a silver dragon stitched onto the back. Whilst she changed women walked through the audience handing out small notes, something which we know from the wedding to mean good luck. For the third time the woman danced in her new attire, one of the men who had been helping her change seemed especially excited as he stood on the stage encouraging the audience to clap; we thought this could perhaps be her father. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was all we witnessed as more and more people were turning up to become a part of the ceremony and we were stood right in the doorway! </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If anyone knows anything about what we saw please comment below, I would love to know more about the ceremony and what the beautiful clothing symbolises. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nam My Van Homestay 28.03.17 </span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From our experiences the word homestay in Vietnam generally means a mattress on the floor of a rural family home, they are a great way to save money on accomodation and (if the family aren't too busy) a chance to engage in good old cultural exchange. On the last night of our northern bike loop we were incredibly lucky to come across a homestay that went above and beyond all others. Nam and Tranh own a block of student acccomodation in Thai Nguyen (80km from Hanoi) and have recently decided to open one room up to travelers seeking a homestay experience. Nam explained that many of the students currently living in his block can speak English but hardly get the chance to practise, they hoped that a steady flow of international visitors might provide more opportunities for the residents to converse in English. Upon arrival we were first greeted by Nam and his son, who immediately served up a hot pot of locally picked tea before showing us to our room situated next to his family home. The room itself was lovely, a comfortable double bed, mosquito net and a desk with a functioning computer. We were invited to dinner at 6.30pm, for which Nam's wife Tranh (doctor by day, wonderful host by night) served us a delicious mixture of vegetarian authentic vietnamese foods, including fake prawns which were interesting! All was washed down with tiny mug-fulls of rice wine; we learnt that the younger of the two people should always clink on the lower side of the other person's glass when cheers-ing. Nam shared many of these little snippets of culture with us whilst we ate, as well as an ancient story that goes like this -</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> "A woman once fell pregnant without knowing who the father was, she was immediately disowned by the town for her sins. She brought the little boy up all on her own, giving him everything she could to make him a great man. When he was old enough he got an important and well respected job within the town. Happy that she had done what she could to give him a better life the woman went to live in the woods away from the town where people despised her so much."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> On the 3rd day of the lunar calendar every year banh troi (boiled rice cakes) are made and eaten to commemorate the woman. The cakes, plain on the oustide and filled with sugar on the inside, are said to represent the woman and her sweet soul that nobody but her son could see. I've done some research and have found many other old wives tales regarding the cakes, perhaps it varies from province to province. As it was two days before the date (3rd March, lunar calendar) these cakes were for sale everywhere, as well as the ingredients needed to make them at home. Nam, Tranh and their son walked us to a nearby shop, purchased the rice powder paste (rice flour and water), lumps of sticky brown sugar and sesame seeds for us to try our hand at making the cakes. Back at their home, us, the family and a few of the student residents sat cross legged around a pot of boiling water making and eating these sticky sweet treats. Nam works nights at a local hotel, so at 10PM we said our thanks and goodnight. In the morning Tranh had already gone to work and their son to school but Nam had returned from work and was making us breakfast. After a hearty bowl of pho (rice noodle soup) it was time to say goodbye to Nam, just as he was finally going to bed! We were well and truly overwhelmed by our experience at Nam My Van homestay, from delicious food to absorbing cultural knowledge Nam and Tranh gave us far more of their time and energy than we were expecting. Thank you and all the best for the future!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/thainguyenhomestay2017/?ref=ts&fref=ts"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">www.facebook.com/thainguyenhomestay</span></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-74723600996202224432017-03-30T08:36:00.001-07:002017-03-30T09:13:38.096-07:00Daily Diary 12.03.17 - 29.03.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Daily notes from our northern motorbike loop (most recent first!) ...</span></h2>
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">29.03.17 Thai Nguyen - Hanoi (65km, 1.5 hours) // Hoorah for only a short ride!! Lots of traffic but we made it in one piece. Stopped off at Everest on the way to pick up a parcel that was delivered for me (thanks Dad & Sally!!) then took the bike straight to the garage for a service before we continue on our way tomorrow. Ahh, feels good to be back in this wonderful city. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">28.03.17 Tinh Tuc - Thai Nguyen (188km, 6 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Another long one but roads are improving as we move closer to Hanoi. Felt strange to be on a highway after the last 2 1/2 weeks of mountain paths! Tomorrow we'll be back in Hanoi, having compl</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eted the northern loop. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">27.03.17 Meo Van - Tinh Tuc (143km, 5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Numb bums today, long ride in the bitter cold (yes you read that right). Also had a guardian angel watching over us as our back tyre was punctured about 100m from a randomly placed bike repair shop! A lovely man helped us replace the inner tube for 20,000 </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">VND, the price of a coffee in Vietnam. We have decided to cut our northern loop short as our final destination was a lake resort which would be no fun in this terrible weather. One more rural stop before Hanoi where we'll stay a night for the bike to be serviced, swap our winter clothes for summer ones and finally start to move south of the capital. Sun sun sun here we come!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">26.03.17 Dong Van - Meo Vac (24km, 1 hour) // Notes - Short one today, but nonetheless beautiful, if not more so! Also marks the start of our decent to the south, only 2500(ish)km to go! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">24.03.17 Quan Ba - Dong Van (94km, 3 hours +50,000 VND petrol ) // Notes - Stopped to visit the Hmong King's palace, built by the French colonial rulers at the beginning of the 20th century to keep the King happy! It was one of my favourite tourist attractions so far, so spooky!! Will post some photographs soon. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">23.03.17 Ha Giang - Quan Ba (58km, 1.5 hours) // Notes - Favourite ride so far today, fairly easy aside from a few dodgy cliffside road works. Scenery was unbelievable - including the imaginatively named 'Fairy Bossoms'! Also the sun was shining for the first time in a while which cast a glorious warm blanket over everything we saw. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">22.03.17 Pho Rang - Ha Giang (126km, 4.5 hours, +45,000 VND petrol) // Notes - The first part of the journey saw the worst roads yet, if you can even call them roads!! I'm guessing yesterday's rain didn't help. After lunch was much better, a relief to see some tarmac. We arrived in Ha Giang tired and mud splattered but safe and sound. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">21.03.17 Sa Pa - Pho Rang (108km, 3 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Lots of downhill, and lots of rain! We had to use the ponchos for the first time which made us look like a pair of Mr Blobbys on a bike. Luckily the roads were easy to navigate as the rain was heavy at points. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">19.03.17 Lai Chau - Sa Pa (68km, 1.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - High climb up to Sa Pa which brought some breath taking views! Heads were in the clouds. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">18.03.17 Muong Lay - Lai Chau (102km, 2.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Nice easy one today after a day of rest yesterday, roads were great with only one or two climbs. Saw some pretty brutal animal related sights in one of the villages we rode through, can tell we're close to China! Also saw lots of women and young girls in traditional clothing which is beautiful, will try and get some snaps. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">16.03.17 Son La - Muong Lay (172km, 5.5 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Tough day today, we stopped for lunch at midday and in hindsight should have stayed there for the night as the next possible place to stay was twice that distance again! Roads were bad, steep climbs, narrow gravel roads at points, but we made it to a hotel just as the sun was setting. Aside from the long bumpy ride the scenery was absolutely incredible. Will try and get some photos edited and on the blog soon! We'll be taking it much steadier from now on. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">15.03.17 Yen Chau - Son La (64km, 2 hours, +50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Mostly ground level, must be sugar cane season as many bikes loaded with the stuff / farmers chopping it down. Stopped in a small town for Dod to buy a camo jacket for £3.50 - he looks even cooler on the bike now. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">14.03.17 Mai Chau - Yen Chau (113km, 3.5 hours) // Notes - Broke the selfie stick :( & met a Vietnamese couple during a pitstop who fed us sticky black rice cake and took about 50 photographs of us eating it. We also managed to have an entire conversation without speaking each other's languages, quite incredible! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">13.03.17 Hoa Binh - Mai Chau (65km, 2 hours, + 50,000 VND petrol) // Notes - Dramatic temperature changes in the mountains. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">12.03.17 Hanoi - Hoa Binh (76km, 2.5 Hours, + 55,000 VND petrol) // </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Notes - Hanoi Traffic was scary! </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today we began the route to Saigon, I'll be keeping a diary of our progress (similar to this) on the current location page. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>1,466km done, roughly 2000 to go!</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-17919683518150454842017-03-18T08:17:00.000-07:002017-03-18T09:38:06.270-07:00Northern Road Trip // Week One 12.03.17 - 19.03.17 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are one week into our Vietnamese road trip adventure! So far, so good. Despite the forecast promising storms every day since we left the weather has been on our side, the sun has been shining and not a drop of rain thus far. The roads have varied quite dramatically, from multi-lane highways to steep and narrow gravel pathways it feels like we've seen the best and the worst already. The times when I have felt most uneasy have been, paradoxically when I have been most in awe. Our highest climb so far is 1,648 metres above sea level. Winding down the mountains through herds of water buffalos and the odd lorry is nerve-rackingly incredible, with every curling corner comes a new spectacular perspective on the dramatic surrounding scenery. What's more, our route has taken us though numerous small mountain villages where many of the women and girls still wear the beautiful traditional tribal clothing we learnt about in Hanoi. I love catching snippets and frames of daily life and goings on of these peoples' worlds, so far from our own. Some sights have not been so kind on the eye, animals are often killed, gutted and displayed for sale street side; dogs and cats included. We've just about got to grips with ordering food, the rural 'restaurants' are more like canteens. They have a certain amount of dishes available you can order from, usually meat, tofu, veg, egg, clear soup and rice or noodles - google translate has had to come to the rescue at times! There isn't an awful lot to do during the evening in the places we've stopped so far, but early nights are welcomed as the concentration whilst driving seems to be wiping us both out (pothole, pothole, buffalo, bus, pothole...). To sum up the first week in short </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">it's been jaw dropping, </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">eye opening and intense! Here are ten images from the journey so far...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been keeping a daily log of our progress on the 'current location' page, as well as adding to my photographic collection of 'things on bikes' (an excellent co-driver hobby). Check it out by clicking the tabs above at the top of the page ^^^ </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-16104083712100422782017-03-11T19:55:00.002-08:002017-03-18T09:36:40.510-07:00Time for a Challenge 12.03.17 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A rainy walk on the beach on Cat Ba</span>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a very rainy, mostly boring few days on Cat Ba island we felt inspired to push ourselves a little for the next leg of our trip. Originally we had planned to bus up to Ha Giang and rent a bike for a week to travel the surrounding towns and villages. However for the following three reasons we have decided that's just not good enough... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Time for a challenge </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had the chance to really relax at Everest, with a lot of spare time on our hands life was too easy for a short while. As much as I love to watch bad TV in bed we didn't fly half way around the world to do the things we can do at home! </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were inspired to challenge ourselves by a fellow volunteer from Everest, Selim. One night we got to talking about how the South East Asian part of our trip had been much easier than we imagined it would be, and how after so long the charm can where off and things get a little boring; unless you seek the challenge yourself. He is currently cycling almost 2000km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh in search of the challenge! We're not in a position to be able to push ourselves that hard just yet, but the next best thing is to motorbike it. We're starting with a northern loop, with potential to extend the route right down to Ho Chi Minh, which would mean covering somewhere between 3000-4000km in 6 weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having the freedom to explore at our own pace has become really important to us. We've tried various trips and tours but I get so frustrated at being told where to take photos, how long to walk for and where to eat. With the bike we can stop whenever, wherever we want to. We were also planning to skip places like Sa Pa, which is apparently a complete tourist trap. However, now we at least have the option to drive through and check it out for ourselves, if it's not our cuppa we'll leave within a day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. Bikes are the best!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting on a bike was one of the things I was most frightened to do before we came away, but after witnessing the sheer beauty that comes with riding through the rural, mountainous parts of South East Asia neither of us can get enough of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We bought ourselves an extra (knock off Nigel) waterproof hold-all at the markets last night and learnt the true meaning of packing light. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can check out our very rough route by clicking the 'current location' tab above. I'll try and update the page with an exact list of places we stop along the way, and imagery of as much scenery I can do justice. Below is a map of example routes suggested by the hire shop, we're hoping to do a bit of all three! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bike hire // Flamingo Travel </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.flamingotravel.com/" style="color: blue;">www.flamingotravel.com/</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prices from $10 a day inc. left luggage service.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-57961125200173164812017-03-02T01:42:00.000-08:002017-03-02T02:10:28.143-08:00Photos 08.02.17 - 03.02.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Living in suburban Asia was never part of our plan. Rural maybe, but suburban doesn't quite have the same appeal. I remember feeling so disheartened listening to our taxi driver ask local after local where the centre was, as we struggled through what felt like a weary estate in the pitch black. Tomorrow we leave </span></span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mê</span><b style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Linh for the last time, and Lucy three weeks ago is shocked to be saying she's feeling a little emotional. We have been welcomed and cared for with open arms by every last person in this funny old place. Some bestowing</span></span><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;"> an overwhelming sort of kindness that we will carry with us for a lifetime. Goodbye </span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mê</span><b style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </b><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;">Linh, we will remember you fondly for these things among many others...<br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your local festival...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">...and how much you all love it!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your gorgeously happy children. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MmdLctmzKLE/WLe045kPAYI/AAAAAAAAEcA/D3vl4C5AkPwevG5SGzaabPxlQCuc0275wCPcB/s1600/27614736_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MmdLctmzKLE/WLe045kPAYI/AAAAAAAAEcA/D3vl4C5AkPwevG5SGzaabPxlQCuc0275wCPcB/s640/27614736_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Even when they threaten to hit us with a giant stick!</span> </span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vK-WoPFyshE/WLe1jqBuYcI/AAAAAAAAEjI/3GL5hSAfdtwhcW0-4wxa1bz9V_FjyqhpQCPcB/s1600/27618496_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vK-WoPFyshE/WLe1jqBuYcI/AAAAAAAAEjI/3GL5hSAfdtwhcW0-4wxa1bz9V_FjyqhpQCPcB/s640/27618496_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The food! And your 'stick it all in the middle and try a bit of everything' approach. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WTedYnHNKLI/WLe043bZGMI/AAAAAAAAEcs/996vJmbf47sgoqU5ayZE2l6Oxv_Stw_yACPcB/s1600/27630448_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WTedYnHNKLI/WLe043bZGMI/AAAAAAAAEcs/996vJmbf47sgoqU5ayZE2l6Oxv_Stw_yACPcB/s320/27630448_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Walking along the motorway to get to the local supermarket. (Sorry Parents, there's no other way!)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivbORbGpQKQ/WLe04z91AWI/AAAAAAAAEcs/DBGkSJKRV4IHrP6kUp-Tt5XkH-Lh8WcIgCPcB/s1600/27625776_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ivbORbGpQKQ/WLe04z91AWI/AAAAAAAAEcs/DBGkSJKRV4IHrP6kUp-Tt5XkH-Lh8WcIgCPcB/s640/27625776_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your neighborhood trust, 'here's next doors baby, hold her for a minute'. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Four hour karaoke marathons, for </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">£3 each.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your amazing pride, and utter willingness to involve us in your culture. </span></td></tr>
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<b style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></b>
<span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Although tomorrow we wave goodbye to M</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;">ê</span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Linh, we still have one last blow out with the Everest gang this weekend. <i style="font-weight: bold;">We have been invited to a wedding! </i>Eight months ago a member of staff and a volunteer fell in love, and they'll be tying the knot this Saturday. All current volunteers are invited to attend, with four of the boys asked to be groomsmen - Dod included. Excitement doesn't cover it!</span><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thank you and goodbye for now </span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">M</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;">ê</span><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Linh </span></span></i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17.42px;">♥ </span><b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">!</span></span></i></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-40102033631603023322017-02-20T22:36:00.000-08:002017-02-22T21:14:57.754-08:00Everest EC 08.02.17 - 21.02.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Work Away: Everest English Centre</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found Everest through<span style="background-color: white;"> <a href="http://www.workaway.info/"><b><span style="color: blue;">workaway</span></b></a></span>, an amazing website that connects travelers seeking work with organisations </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">around the world</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in need of volunteers. At Everest we are paid in accommodation and food to teach English in various suburban nurseries and schools. The classes we've had so far have varied from 30 cheeky 3 year olds experiencing their very first taste of language education, to just 2 lads in their 20s taking a final exam to complete their course. We are almost 2 weeks into our time here and are settling into our temporary home and job very well, so here are the 3 main components that have made up our experience of volunteering at Everest so far... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Teaching</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having only worked with children a handful of times I was fairly nervous to begin teaching. I'm not the most confident speaker, and the thought of asserting authority over a large group panics me to death. But there's nothing quite like facing your fears to overcome them! After my first few classes the fear had evaporated and been replaced by new found appreciation for full-time teachers. Keeping a group of 20-30 children engaged for an entire lesson is much harder than I anticipated, let alone doing it for 6 hours a day 5 days a week. I'm getting quite good at the 'Simon says be quiet' thing now, which is bringing back vivid memories of my primary school experience! Back to Everest. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are given our timetable for the week on a Sunday, and so far we've had roughly 1 or 2 lessons a day. Our time table will tell us the class name and which number lesson they are on (the courses seem to be roughly 40-50 lessons long). Rough plans have been put together for most lessons but we are free to design our own around the content if desired. This is actually fairly tough to do as the resources are so limited and the classrooms are very basic. Most students seem to have a pen and pencil but nothing more. The lessons therefore rely heavily on flashcards, singing and games. For every class we are with a Vietnamese teaching assistant whose main role is to aid students with translation as and when needed. They are also there to keep them in check; Vietnamese children are not afraid to mess around during lesson time! As much as there are similarities to schooling environments back home, there are obvious differences too. The strangest thing that's happened so far is a 3 year old girl walking across the classroom mid lesson to hand me a clove of garlic. My TA explained that parents give their children garlic to keep in their pockets during school-time because it is believed to keep the spirits away, and this girl apparently felt I was vulnerable and more in need of a spirit shield than her! It was my very first lesson, so perhaps she could sense my nerves. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Simon says..."</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Everest hub is based in </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.2px;">Mê Linh, a suburban town on the outskirts of Hanoi. All current volunteers live together in shared rooms on the top floor of the three story centre, the middle floor has a kitchen and basic work space, and the ground floor is set up as half admin office half social area. One of the best parts of volunteering here is that we all sit and eat lunch and dinner together. At 12pm and 7pm a family member of one of the TAs rocks up on his motorbike and drops off a sack full of home cooked traditional Vietnamese food. There's always rice and a selection of meat, tofu and vegetable dishes. We sit and feast together, talking and learning about each other and our varying cultures. It's always a lovely atmosphere and a such a treat to converse with like-minded and interesting people from all around the world every day. Currently we are English, American, German, French, Tunisian and of course Vietnamese! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My favourite part of working for Everest so far has been the experience of living in a suburban area of Vietnam. I have to admit when we first arrived we were slightly worried about the location of the centre. It's about a 45 minute bus ride from Hanoi town centre, and at a glance there are minimal ways to keep yourself entertained within walking / cycling distance. However, as time has gone on we have come to realise that here we are very much immersed in raw suburban Vietnamese culture. Nothing about </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.2px;">Mê Linh is designed to accommodate tourists which means we are able to learn how the Vietnamese truly live day to day. We were lucky enough to experience a local community festival last week, which had a likeness to Mangotsfield Festival but without health and safety. We played 'smash the light bulb', 'catch the live fish' and 'pop the balloon with a dart', all of which had a teddy as their top prize; fair games with a violent twist! When we stopped and sat down to sample some of the food we were bombarded by a group of very excited locals. None of them could speak any English and of course our Vietnamese screeches to a halt after hello, but somehow we managed to sit and communicate for a good half an hour. We had been warned by the other volunteers that the locals like to neck their drinks, what's more they like you to do the same. They would fill up Dod's cup, all take it in turns to cheers him and then insist that he downed it in one in very time. Then came the shots of rice wine, which is absolutely the worst tasting beverage we have ever sampled. Much to the groups disappointment we managed to escape the downing sesh after half an hour or so. If I had been able to drink the beer we would have loved to stay longer, however it gets a little awkward after turning down the 3rd cup. On our cycle home from the festival we stopped to look in a leather shop, as we were leaving the woman ran after us holding out her phone for Dod to take a call. Confused, he answered the phone to someone telling us to wait for them. After a few minutes a young boy came racing down the road on a bike, when he arrived outside the shop he panted excitedly "Hello, please you can come inside for tea". The two women ushered us and the boy inside, sat us down and poured us a cup of the local green tea. The boy who was 13 explained that he had learned English when he was at primary school with Everest's help, but rarely got the chance to practice it. So when his mum and Grandma (the two ladies running the shop) had heard us speaking English they had called him back from playing out with his friends so he could speak with us. They were so excited to watch him put his skills into practice, they would squeal every time he spoke! </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.2px;">The gang at Everest were expecting us back for dinner so we thanked him and his family for the hospitality, and just before we said our goodbyes his mother invited us for dinner the following week. Of course we accepted the invitation, and are looking forward to meeting the family again in a few days time! These amazing and memorable encounters would have never happened had we been staying somewhere more central. Aside from walking around and meeting the lovely locals we have visited the local amenities which include a gym, a pool bar and karaoke rooms and the big C - a ginormous supermarket that is strangely interesting to walk around. Paying a visit to any of these places invites a hundred double-takes and "hellooooo"'s which make you feel like a local celebrity! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all we are absolutely loving it here at Everest, and already looking at doing more voluntary work through <a href="https://www.workaway.info/"><b><span style="color: blue;">workaway</span></b></a> later on in our trip. It seems to be the best way to meet like-minded people, experience raw local culture and gain wonderful new skills. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzkogeoLlw8g8zYVFfFAxUcHuAe-YHkM9RH1D0MKy6fE4QB1hXdgX_KFEGuvIQsXIpYBrsR3S6i-O5BJniNJA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 72px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Cảm ơn</i> people of Everest and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 18.2px;">Mê Linh!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-75644261918736256392017-02-17T01:25:00.001-08:002017-02-17T01:25:16.792-08:00Photos 26.01.17 - 04.01.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nong Khiaw view point</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Morning ceremony in which locals give food to the Monks (similar to the 'Alms Giving Ceremony' in Luang Prabang)</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00013508224624124681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8142589530763124587.post-41268863328620045372017-02-15T06:41:00.001-08:002017-03-18T09:34:55.191-07:00Village Life 26.01.17 - 04.02.17<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Nong Khiaw, Moung Ngoi and Village Life </span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">Green mountains, wooden huts and toilets without flushes,
Nong Khiaw</span><span style="color: white; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">introduced us to a whole new style of Laos life. The
village is fairly large in comparison to others we have visited, it's split
over two sides of the Ou River and inhabits some of the most picturesque
scenery I have ever come across. We walked across the main bridge at least
twice a day and I had to stop and take photographs every bloody time! Our
second village stop was Moung Ngoi, a much smaller but nonetheless plentiful
village running along just one 300m dirt track. The village
is only accessible via boat, which we took from Nong Khiaw for 25,000 KIP each.
It takes roughly an hour and runs daily at 11am from the western side of
the river. As you would probably imagine there is only a limited amount of
activities available in either village to entertain yourself with, (scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of what we would recommend) h</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">owever, the beauty of visiting rural areas for us
city residents is in learning first hand how the cogs of village life align. We
spent hours just walking around and observing the everyday life of locals,
which we found fascinating and completely inspiring. So, here are three things
we learned and loved about Laos village life... <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">A house is more than just a home</span></b></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">As I have mentioned previously, there are vast
amounts of rural space in Laos that is inhabitable or extremely dangerous to
visit due to the scattering of UXO bombs (un-exploded bombs). However, Nong
Khiaw and Moung Ngoi are both r</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">ural villages that
are </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">safe and able to open their doors to tourists.
That's not to say that the locals are by any means well-off, just that being
able to welcome a steady flow of visitors has been key in enabling the
villages to develop and expand as a whole. There are n</span><span lang="VI" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">ow </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">dozens of
small flourishing restaurants, shops and cafes lining the streets (or street!) of both villages, however
the difference from </span><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">those</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> in the city</span></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"> is that</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"> each and every business doubles up as a family
home. We came to appreciate that our food might take little longer to arrive
because the chef is also a mother of 3 and cooking for a restaurant full of
people whilst putting her children to bed, or perhaps there is nobody to serve
you at the local shop for half an hour because the family running it are having
their lunch out the back. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">Even the families that haven't converted the inside of their houses will </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">host all day BBQs out on the street, they set up stools and make-shift tables for passers by to enjoy skewers of meat or crispy grilled fish; pop-up restaurants galore. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">There's something warming about the way these people are
living their lives, they provide an environment for strangers to enjoy
themselves in every day and every night without the promise of heading home to
their own space at the end of the shift. They are always at work, and somehow
always happy to see you. The kids especially, be ready to play fight
mid-meal! With that said, there is an extremely personal element to everything you experience in these villages. Not everything is right on time or 100% perfect, but it comes with a smile worth so much more.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The sustainable, community fueled cycle</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As to be expected village life is much more
sustainable than that of a town or city, and we were in no shock to find Nong
Khiaw and Moung Ngoi almost entirely self-sustaining (bar the few imported goods like
Coca-Cola & lays crisps). </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was hugely inspiring to watch a community work so efficiently together to maintain and support a rural location that is developing at a fair pace. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">From the 10 days we spent in Northern Laos we gathered that the two communities ran on a pretty much daily cycle that is inclusive of all local
people whatever their trade. We learned that fridges are a rarity, (and if
owned are used for beer!) so food is bought fresh every day. This creates
enough demand for the local market to run every morning. Here you'll find fresh home grown vegetables and herbs, butchered meats, live stock and local fishermen selling
their mornings catch. Plus, every household owns a hen (or 10) so eggs are aplenty. You'll probably also recognise the customers as the people who have, or will cook you up a storm at some point during your stay. Whats-more,</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"> I could hazard a guess that the locals working the market later become the families barbecuing outside their homes, cooking up whatever they have left over from that mornings market.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Finally, rice is the absolute staple ingredient to any Laos dish. Since '99 the nation has been totally self-sufficient in production of the grain, and so it seemed as we passed the hundreds of
gorgeous shimmering aquatic fields on our journey to Nong Khiaw. So wherever you are in Laos, be it
noodles, spring rolls, beer or wine, it's all
made from the countries locally grown pride and joy; gluten free
heaven! So, minimal waste, high employment and (mopeds aside) a low carbon footprint. As for housing and appliances, most are
hand built and made using locally sourced materials such as wood and bamboo. There is also a
big weaving culture, particularly in Moung Ngoi. You can watch the cotton being
spun and the scarfs, rugs and bedding being woven outside the</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> shop on the side of the street. They also often use
natural indigo dye to colour the items. Aside from all this the heart beat of these villages is the collective spirit that embodies daily life. It's so easy to work with an 'every man for himself' attitude when resources are limited, but that is nowhere near the case here in Northern Laos. All for community, and community for all is the key to these flourishing villages. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh2kTxMWlqI/WKRgpUdbgEI/AAAAAAAACNE/CUOeVr0ecJQwmf2CAWJPzfmtgo-FYJ5_wCPcB/s1600/27347856_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh2kTxMWlqI/WKRgpUdbgEI/AAAAAAAACNE/CUOeVr0ecJQwmf2CAWJPzfmtgo-FYJ5_wCPcB/s640/27347856_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Rice drying in Nong Khiaw </span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">Villagers Before Visitors</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Through reading this so far you might be feeling that perhaps these people are giving up a little too much to accommodate the increasing number of tourists arriving on their doorstep. I have to admit, we certainly felt that way for parts of our stay. However, there were a few moments in which we were promptly reminded tourists were by no means a priority - and rightly so. One of these reminders came in the form of an all night karaoke marathon that took place on a Thursday during our stay in Muong Ngoi. Yes you read that correctly, an </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">all night karaoke marathon. </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It was an entire night of tossing and turning to full volume, badly executed, Asian rock ballads. As I have mentioned previously Moung Ngoi runs entirely along just one 300m dirt track, so no matter where you were, you were within earshot. We walked past the village community space at about 10pm just as they were setting up for the night, we hung around for a little while but ưhen no one explicitly invited us over we called it a night so as not to intrude. It was just as we got into bed at about 11pm that the singing started. They finally put the mic down at 7am. I would normally be absolutely fuming to have been kept up for that length of time, but to put it into perspective we were staying in a village that until 2013 only had electricity for 3 hours a day, a village that has an immensely Buddhist population and a village where most restaurants close before 10pm. In that sense, it was totally the opposite of anything we expected to happen during our time there; it was so ridiculous it became hilarious. We were pretty wired from being up all night, so we couldn't sleep even when the noise finally stopped. At about 7:30am we headed out for some breakfast. Oh my, Muong Ngoi was hungover. We sat down in our favourite cafe just as the chef slammed into the kitchen, shirtless and desperately sipping a Redbull. It was as if they had hit the stop button and all scrambled to work at once, the street was full of disorientated locals running in all directions. The tourists were in the opposite state, roaming like zombies having abandoned sleep and seeking food. Later that day we discovered they were holding a 2 day festival to celebrate something new being installed into the village temple, exactly what was installed we aren't sure! But importantly the festival was very much for local people, and far from tailored to suit tourists. Although it definitely didn't leave us feeling refreshed, it was refreshing to know that not everything evolves around tourism in these villages. At least not for now anyway!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WmoLushd_g8/WKRgpS_YmDI/AAAAAAAACNE/62sgSPT6_tMvVoxRtS7rS97xAOX7RkMYwCPcB/s1600/27612624_Unknown.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WmoLushd_g8/WKRgpS_YmDI/AAAAAAAACNE/62sgSPT6_tMvVoxRtS7rS97xAOX7RkMYwCPcB/s640/27612624_Unknown.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Early morning in Moung Ngoi </span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">What to do?</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nong Khiaw</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;">- <b><i>Stay in a bamboo hut -</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">For only 60,000 - 100,000 KIP a night you can have the novelty of sleeping in a beautiful bamboo hut. They are mostly situated on the eastern side of the river, and pretty much all have spectacular views. We spent most afternoons reading / writing on our balcony; glorious down time! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- Rent a moped for the day -</i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">Mopeds are slightly more expensive to hire here at 120,000 KIP, but definitely worth the price. There is only one hire shop on the eastern side of the river, (and only 4/5 bikes so get there early) we took a right out of the shop and follow the road for 1.5 hours passing through 5 or 6 beautifully authentic villages. Be ready to wave your arm off to some mega cute kids! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- Visit the Patok Cave - </i></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;">20 - 30 minute walk east from the bridge you will find Patok cave, which is where village people hid during the bombings of the secret war. You pay a small fee for a ticket on arrival. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- View Point -</i></b> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;">A must during your stay here! I would recommend trekking after sunrise but before lunch as it's a tough climb during the heat, however the view isn't as breathtaking very early on due to cloud. It takes about 1.5 hours to get to the top.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- Sabai Sabai Spa, Herbal Steam Bath and Massage -</i></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">We treated ourselves to both but you can do either. W</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;">e were slightly confused by the name but the steam bath turned out to be a steam room, it opens once the sun has gone down at around 5:30pm and is lovely after a days trekking! </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;">The spa is on the eastern side of the river opposite the two Indian restaurants.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">(There are also a number of treks, waterfall visits and kayaking experiences you can book onto from the village - but we didn't get around to any of these!) </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moung Ngoi</span></span></h3>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Stay in a bamboo hut -</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Same as above! Although prepare more reading material, we spent 80% of our time in the hammocks.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- Walk to nearby village: Ba Na -</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">Take plenty of water, wear comfortable shoes and plan for half a day as the walk takes a good 1.5-2 hours with stops along the way. You can get lunch in the village, we ate at a guesthouse at the far end past the school. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"><b><i>- Rent a kayak -</i></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">You can either book onto a trip or rent a boat alone to row to the weaving village. Unfortunately the day we had planned to do this turned out to be during the festival, and we were unable to take the boat out because nobody was allowed to arrive in / return to Moung Ngoi after 2pm due to the village peoples' plans for that evening. (We later found out it was because they were shooting across the river with air rifles!)</span></span></span></div>
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