Thursday, September 13, 2007
Luang Prabang, Laos
Monday, August 27, 2007
connected
Saturday, July 21, 2007
new eyes
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
finishing up
The last few weeks of this trip have been very different from the first few months. Leaving SE Asia to go to Bangladesh and India was a big change; we found the regions to be very different from each other. Bangladesh was absolutely amazing. It definitely was one of the most satisfying parts of the trip for us, in large part because of how friendly and helpful everyone was. We met so many nice people.
At the end of our time there, our luck took a turn for the worse. We had booked tickets for a 30-hour boat trip which we were really looking forward to, then missed the boat because our cab got a flat tire and then we were delayed at the passport office, getting a form that we ended up not needing anyway. We thought we'd just re-book for the next day, but they cancelled the boat due to weather. So we caught a bus to Calcutta, and in the meantime I started to get sick. We spent four days in Calcutta, all of which I spent flat on my back in bed. We made our way across India by way of two overnight trains and one day-time train, all of which had major problems and delays. I started to feel better, but then got a sinus infection. When I went to get it checked out, the doctor insisted I stay at the hospital and get an IV for my dehydration. Two days there brought us to the end of our time in India. That night we headed to the airport, only to find that our flight was cancelled. What a crazy couple weeks! I have always dreamed of going to India but spent most of it in a hotel/hospital room. The little bits I saw were fascinating...and very different from what I expected.
Now we're looking forward to going back to the states and wondering what it will feel like! Catching up and keeping up on this blog didn't go as well as expected, but I hope to post a few more things once we're back in America.
Friday, May 25, 2007
bangladesh bound
pathetic
cambodia catch-up
One of the biggest highlights for us was visiting Angkor Wat and the other ancient temples in the area of Siem Reap. We spent three days there riding in a tuk tuk from sight to sight and doing a lot of climbing around and picture-taking. Most of the temples were built from the 10th-12th centuries and while many are amazingly well-preserved and restored, others have been overtaken by the jungle. Both scenarios make for picturesque scenes.
Angkor Wat . . . the big one.
One of many huge faces carved in the walls of Bayon.
An out of the way, overgrown temple called Beng Melea.
Ta Prohm, famous for its jungle roots (and now, for scenes in the movie Tomb Raider).
We also really enjoyed our time in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Some of the Khmer architecture in the city was really beautiful.
The National Museum, a beautiful building filled with beautiful, ancient sculpture.
The vibrant throne hall at the royal palace.
On our way north to Laos, we visited the dusty town of Ban Lung in the Northeast of Cambodia. We rented a motorbike and drove to several waterfalls in the area, as well as a crater lake. We also spend a lot of time at our family-run guesthouse, where we were the only guests, chatting with the mom and eating her delicious meals.
Town of Ban Lung.
A little boy standing under one of the waterfalls.
Jesse beside another waterfall.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
vietnam count
16 hotels
34 motorbikes
18 buses
5 cars
12 boats
3 broken down vehicles
100 (at least) spring rolls
i love boats and factories
This picture is from a rice noodle factory where the noodles are made entirely by hand. I think it would be fun to try it out for a week or so...I am sure it must get tedious eventually.
Riding up the Mekong River to Cambodia, we got to see lots of people living, working, and playing along the river's edge.
ho chi minh city (saigon)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
hanoi to ho chi minh city in two and a half weeks
First up was Hue, the former capital of Vietnam with lots of history. We visited royal tombs, the citadel, and other important monuments from the age of the Nguyen emperors. Some of these also had connections with the war, as Hue is not far from the former demilitarized zone that separated the north and south. Jesse took a DMZ tour with a former South Vietnamese officer, and saw a lot of the important war sites.
Monday, March 19, 2007
mishaps, involving leeches
But by far the most interesting of all our mishaps was the one that occurred while we were staying in a national park in central Vietnam, hiking to some waterfalls. Towards the end of the day, I was sitting down admiring a really beautiful waterfall. When I stood up, I noticed a large amount of blood covering the front of my pants! I didn't feel any pain so couldn't figure out what it might be. I finally found a tiny spot on my leg that all the blood was coming from. And then I remembered that I had read that there were a lot of leeches in the park, and figured that must be it. We tried to stop the blood with layers and layers of gauze, but hours later, it was still bleeding as hard as ever!
At dinner, I asked one of the park tour guides about it and he said, no problem, he'd get me something to stop the bleeding. Jesse and I waited for him to come back with a tube of ointment, but instead, he showed up with a tree stump that was covered in orange hairy moss and started pulling some off. When I got back to the room, I covered the spots with the moss and within minutes the bleeding slowed down and then stopped. WIERD!