Supreme Siem Reap: Cambodia

Accommodation: DMS Angkor Villa (Not Recommended!) $6 per night single ensuite

Bus: Same as from Phnom Penh, 6 hours

Places to Visit: Angkor Wat, Angkor National Museum, Massage

By this point it was time to head to my next destination (thankfully)- Siem Reap, a cultural rendevous for sure. After being frozen from the 6 hours bus journey, with A/C on full blast, I hopped off heading to my hotel. Now when I arrived, they told me I was non-existent, though my email confirming my booking said otherwise. This gave them enough time to send me to their 'other' guesthouse, this other being owned by the father. Surprise surprise.

To be once again greeted by an annoying Cambodian became customary, the receptionist within one breath asked me out for a drink and marriage. I never came out of my room ever again, well almost. At about 8am, I headed to Cambodia's 'pride and joy,' the Angkor Temples, one of the Seven wonders of the ancient world. Cool.

I took a motorbike (clearly I wasn't driving) to the temples, this being 1000 sq km, so I wasn't going to walk it. First stop was Angkor Wat, one of the main structures. And they weren't joking when they said it was big. I did a rather rushed 1 hour walkaround, having doubled on myself walking around it and having one day to see as much as I could. There were epic battle scenes from Hindu mythology, the Mahabharat, the Ramayana, the churning of the milk- it was all there engraved in elaborate detail. It was times like this I thanked my nightly religious story from my mother, it all made sense. A fair few lost tourists ogled the engravings having no idea what it was, that was when I stepped in being an amateur tour guide. I should have totally asked for money.

Next was a quiet temple up a large hill, Phnom Bakheng. People had told me it was busy during sunset, but it was completely empty when I got there! Fabulous, can't beat the view. There were hot air balloons parallel to the hill, and the sun raged on the temple of Shiva. The next must have been my favourite. Angkor Thom was a structure of humungous stone Buddhist and Hindu faces, carved within it. Now you have to imagine, these were constructed in the 12th century by some of the Hindu kings who had conquered South East Asia, epic does not cut it. The last one I could manage was the 'famous' one. Ta Prohm had been used for many film shootings including Tomb Raider, haha. It was quite eerie, especially as the tree roots enveloped the structure so it made it slightly shadier than the other temples.

By this point I died, and ended up back at my hotel to eat. The heat was pretty intense, and like a damsel in distress, I swooned. The nighttime was slightly more unexpected. My  friend managed to find me despite having moved hotels, so I was pretty surprised to hear a knock on my hotel door. Dinner was next on the agenda. I was all up for an outdoor barbeque, that was until she put some crocodile meat on it and I cringed. Then drinks was on the menu, at a bar that had fire limbo and fire poy by a man who kept burning himself :)

 

I was thrilled to have a relaxed last day off. So I leisurely woke up to end up in the National Museum of Siem Reap. It was basically a museum dedicated to the Angkor temples, so I was appreciative of the fact I had some insight into it. A few hours there, and then I headed to an art gallery. By this point, I had gotten a little bored of three hours gazing at objexts. So a masage was definitely in order. Once again, the night ended with drinks and the night market. The bar serving $1 cocktails meant we were in there like a shot (excuse the pun). The fact that the barmen were getting drunk on shift meant it was time to take full advantage. It ended with free drinks and the bar man giving us permission to dress him like a woman aka he had make up galore on.

 

Now heres the clincher...I dropped of my friend, as the three of us clung onto a motorbike. Next thing I remember was the driver swerving to avoid an oncoming collision, with another motorbike- then being clipped, or rather hit full on by the bike. The idiot driver didn't even realise, dropped me off at the hotel and drove off. So I went to the concierge, asking for some medical help. He drowsily replied 'we can't help you,'  and fell back asleep. It was time for spiteful revenge. In front of him was my expense page, this being all the services used at the hotel that was noted down, ready to be paid whilst I checked out. It was pretty easy to take as he snored away, and I burnt the blasted thing. Three days of free food, wahey! And it worked like a charm. On the downside, my arm and knee throbbed like a pulsating heart. And they bulged as I took the bus back to Phnom Penh. Thankfully, they heal slowly...

 

So after one night in Phnom Penh...my travels came to an end. And then back to -15 C in Beijing, a living freezer. One word to sum it all up- AWESOME, wouldn't change a thing. Met good people, ate good food and got a tan. Now time to go home!!!

Another World, Phnom Penh: Cambodia

Cambodia (Country Guide) 

Accommodation: Top Banana Guesthouse, $6 a night single room, www.topbanana.biz/

Bus: Capitol Tours, $7 from HCMC, Phnom Penh-->Siem Reap-->Phnom Penh, 7 hours

Places to See: Royal Palace, Tuol Sleng Museum S21, Killing Fields, National Museum, Wat Phnom

So Cambodia, was a mixture to say the least; consisting of the lazy walkarounds of Laos and Vietnam's crazy history...interesting was an understatement. So here goes.

I waved goodbye to Saigon's motorcycles and humdrum life to venture to my next destination- Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The bus journey was the one of the shortest ones I encountered so far- a mere 7 hours, piece of cake I thought. That was until the woman next to me started eating (which was about 5 minutes into the journey). An hour later I must have been covered in crumbs and orange peel, not to mention her legs as she sprawled across both seats thinking I was also a part of the upholstery. On the upside, she gave me food- it was payment for being her foot stool.

 

Now if you remember the China/ Laos border crossing affair, running around thinking I was stuck between the borders and the bus had left me...so dreading the Vietnam/ Cambodia border was a definite. But on the contrary, it was the exact opposite. The coach conductor took full charge of the paperwork, all we had to do is pay money and smile at a camera-and bob's your uncle, we were in Cambodia!

 

Being greeted, rather hounded by Tuk tuk drivers asking either of the following options: stay at their 'friend's' guesthouse, be taken on a tour or hand in marriage, simultaneously meant my blood pressure started rising. A simple no should have sufficed, but when I was sat down in a Tuk tuk, surrounded by 10 drivers asking me for 10 minutes of my time, I grabbed my bag and nudged my way out of their dominion. Finally I made it to the next party central hostel- but this was no SpicyLaos or Drift Backpackers...it was more like a hippy opium den. Hmmm, this could go either way I thought.

 

In Top Banana guesthouse there seemed to be the following two types of characters. One was the lost student/ graduate refusing to find a job, two was the older mid and quarter life crisis men, who had basically lived in the guesthouse for 2/3 years at a time. Being a solo girl, I didn't quite fit into either (thankfully) but I had many nightly conversations with both over some Angkor or Anchor beer;Thai and Cambodian beer that seemed to taste exactly the same.

Thankfully there was one relatively normal Korean American guy who also didn't fit into the status quo and so we journeyed around Phnom Penh by foot and Tuk tuk for 3 days. As soon as I landed we started walking around the city, this taking 6 hours without even realising it. Within the 6 hours, there was coconut drinking, trigger happy photo taking, bar hopping and occasionally running into a 'lady of the night.' See this would not be the end of it which I never realised at the time.

 

The next day was going to be a depressing one. I thought it would be best to get all of the historical rather horrific sights out the way- so here goes...(feel free not read this if you have a weak disposition) First stop was Choeng Ek Killing Fields. That is exactly what it was. So to welcome us into the large grassland with a giant memorial, a 5 storey high building; filled with skulls. About twenty thousand was the figure. Now I am not sure if you are aware that during 1976-1979, the Khmer Rouge (so-called Communist) government controlled Cambodia. The dictator Pol Pot, within this time went on a killing spree, consisting of murdering anyone who seemed to be elitist. Now he wasn't too specific on what elite was, aka even people with glasses was murdered as well as their wives and children.

In three years, three million people were killed in mass graves such as Choeng Ek. Yep, told you it would be depressing. All establishments that seemed of a upper class nature were either destroyed or converted into prisons- that would be my next stop.

 

The fields were surprisingly calm despite all of the history that stained the earth. There were huge craters, some with descriptions on how the people met their ends. The few that struck me was one grave that had '160 bodies with no heads,' in a space that was big enough to fit a bathroom in. Even more so was the tree, where babies heads were smashed against, eek. There were even still traces of clothing and bones around the fields.

 

So after that 'delightful' visit, we headed to the next site; Tuol Sleng (S21). It was originally a school that had been reconstructed as a prison of torture. The prisoners were usually sent to the Killing Fields after they were sufficiently beaten in confinement. There was something even more eerie about the prison. It was quiet, deafeningly silent. Each classroom consisted of just one bed in the middle, a metallic contraption with various other torture devices on top of it, and then a large photograph of one of the 14 victims found dead within the place, in the actual state they were in.

Building B had thousands of pictures lining up across the rooms. Each victim held a number plate, with a solemn countenance, as if they were already dead. Some just barely hit 12 years old, and even babes with their mothers had a shot taken of them. The last room was pictures of their fate. Building C and D were small 'solitary' prisons, no windows, just a brick box to live their last days in.

 

Okay, so after that, being sufficiently depressed was a guarantee. Drowning our sorrows seemed to be the apt thing to do, but a quiet night in was also appropriate. The next day brought more cheery moments for sure.

 

The National Museum was a glorious architectural structure with all sorts of ancient artefacts preserved within it, to present Cambodia's vast cultural history. This being Hindu and Buddhist statues that had been unearthed from some of their magnificent temples. It was a lazy day in all, but it did not prepare me for the night ahead.

 

The first bar was a swanky highrise place, that of course consisted of kareoke. The second was a claustophobic nightclub, enough to fit about 10 people in, yet had hundreds. This is where I happened to be approached by a female prostiture. Yep, thanks I thought in a complete sarcastic way. Then came the madness. Being trapped in a Tuk tuk with one of the quarter life crisis men, his name being Rudie but he prefered to be called the Dalai Lama (exactly) was a rather insane experience.

 

In a small dark alleyway, we stopped in time for him to get into another random car, drive off for 20 minutes and then return with drugs. I was ready to jump out. This guy was crazier than I thought, to give you an example: he took your hand from time to time, then would have a seizure telling you he can see your future.


Yep. I had landed in an asylum. The next place epitomised him, it was basically a brothel. There were hundreds of old foreign men with a young Cambodian nymph on the end of their arm. I hid against the bar being the only foreign girl there, creepy...

So This Is It Saigon: Vietnam

Accommodation: Kim Ngan Guesthouse, $12 a night private ensuite

Bus: Same Travel Pass, 27 hours

Places to Visit:

• Cu Chi Tunnels
• My Tho & Ben Tre Delta
• Reunification Palace
• War Remnants Museum
  

Then came the crazy 28 hour bus ride down to Ho Chi minh (Saigon). It was a definite, that I was not going to sleep for a while after New Years. Ahh how I miss sleep. We stopped off at every major city along the way, so enough time to pee at a restaurant in every place. Nha Trang was the only city where I managed to catch a beautiful beach on an early morning rise. It was pretty quiet still, and the water swayed around the sand and the green mountains. It made the journey worthwhile, well almost.

Reaching in the night meant I had to wait for the morning to venture out. Although I did manage to walk about and get lost within 10 minutes leaving my hotel, duh. The hotel was awesome, so I had to move on my last night to another room, but it didn't stop the sweet grandmother owner to give me free drinks all day! So I headed to My Tho and Ben Tre the next day, two islands on the Mekong delta. It was day to be dragged around like a sheep, which was fantastic as we went to a coconut factory, ate some yummy candy, had some pure honey tea at the Bee farm, and I even held a python eek!! And then took a leisurely canal ride through the tropics, absolutely fabulous, can't complain.

The next day I shot an AK47, a military rifle...as you do in Vietnam. Damn loud contraptions...then to end the day I went to the War Remnants Museum- a reminder why not to shoot an AK47. It was a stomach hurling experience, taking photos of only the appropriate displays; just to give you an idea why not to stock this in your camera- there were real-life deformed human foetuses in jars on display, to show the affects of chemical bombs. Yep, yikes.

HBO Hue: Vietnam

Vietnam (Country Guide)

Accommodation: Hongthien Hotel, $10 a night private ensuite, hongthienhotel.com


Bus: Travel Pass, $25 throughout Vietnam, 5 stops, 13 hours


Places to Visit:

• Forbidden City
• Tomb of Tu Duc
• Thien Mu Pagoda
• Thuan An Beach
• DMZ 

It was luxury, arriving at a hotel, with my own bed, mini fridge, bathroom and HBO cable TV. I was doomed to never go out. The night times consisted of movie marathons, however utterly rubbish the film was. The day times were a little more productive...making my way to the Demilitarised Zones. Going through the underground tunnels and Ho chi Minh trail- consisted of rather interesting underground tunnels, where the tiny Vietnamese lived for 6 years in miniature spaces. It only barely managed to fit my height, so explains how antlike it was (yes yes I know I am vertically challenged.) Then to see the remains of American bombs and fighter jets, was happy to get some insight but the guide was totally unintelligible, her English was pretty bad and forgot to pronounce many of her consonants ie. the tunnels became 'Tunna.''

What else from Hue? The cyclo driver who said he would give a free ride one night, at the end opened out his hand and asked for 50 dong (about $1.70) its not much but he actually tried to dip his hand into my purse! A polite slap on the wrist set him right. Then I was befriended by a waitress who said that she wanted to go to the beach with me as it was her day off, and she wanted a fun girly day out. She then fed me at her house in the village out of Hue, it was a tin hut with one room for 6 people and her dog was evil, but it was a day of appreciation for the local life and the food was fab. The next day I did something out of the ordinary. I behaved and my mother would be proud...I took a Vietnamese cooking lesson! It was pretty awesome, going out to the markets, buying local ingredients and then testing out our culinary skills. The menu was fried and fresh spring rolls, beef noodle soup and Banh Xeo , a traditional Vietnamese pancake with shrimps, pork and veg all wrapped up. Yummy.


That's where I met my adopted mothers. I met these two lovely women in the cooking class, they were from New Zealand and were sisters in law. Being my mum's age they took care of me like their little cub or puppy (if you prefer.) They invited me to their hotel's dinner event, quite swanky, where they were staying and we watched live entertainment. It was traditional dancing and singing, and amazing instruments, topped off with kareoke of course. It was spectacular! The food was all you can eat, and literally there were bbq, Japanese, Chinese, continental food, rows and rows of desserts...I stocked up on my food intake for sure for the next few days. So New Years was tame that's for sure and the complete opposite of Christmas.

Humdrum Hanoi: Vietnam

Accommodation: Drift Backpackers Hostel, $5.50 per night dorm room
thedriftbackpackershostel.com

Flight: (I chickened out on the infamous bus ride)  A steep $140 one way, 1 hour- www.tcd-travel.com

Places to Visit: 

• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & Museum
• Women's Museum
• Temple of Literature
• Hoan Kiem Lake

Lets get started on the mayhem of Vietnam...

Went to the airport and found several girls also making their voyage to Hanoi. The check-in system being rather confusing, we rallied together to get our boarding passes. Even sharing a taxi to one of the girl's hostel, I then took a moto/ xe om to my guesthouse. Now the streets of Hanoi are, to put it nicely, a rif raf of millions of motorcycles and plenty of cars trying to outrun eachother all at the same time. So riding on the back of motorcycle, I was frightened for dear life. I think I must have made a dent in the driver's shoulders trying to hold on.


Then came my accommodation. I went down an alleyway in the most chaotic part of town, to find Thu Giang Guesthouse. I was greeted by a young woman, only to be told 'My aunt's guesthouse is around the corner, you will be staying there.' Okay, in S E Asia, this is normality, but never a good sign. Down another alleyway, in front of a road made to kill all life forms possible, I entered a a large, dilapidated concrete building. At the top was my private room with my so-called shower. This being the worst fitted plumbing in history, I was pretty sure that the 90 year old 'aunt' may have tried a makeshift job on it. As I turned the knob to obtain my lovely shower, the entire thing came off into my hand. Hmmm....interesting I thought.


There and then I decided, no matter how many beds I may have to climb, and how decent I would have to behave, I was going to stay at a backpackers hostel, so I drove back to the origin, and booked myself into there for the entirety of my stay in Hanoi. Now, this hostel happened to be a slightly more cleaner version of SpicyLaos yet the partying was the same. However getting too old in my days, meant I was a good girl...promise. But at 3000 dong a pop/ 10p for a beer, its pretty hard to resist: see cheap and alcohol are 2 words that should be miles apart from each other.

Christmas eve was not the usual style, first going to the Womens Museum (haha surprise surprise) which was out of this world- Women being an integral part of the Vietnam war, it was a homage to all the women who fought and died during the struggle. And then dinner with my new plane friend and her mates, already based in Hanoi. The night ended with the yummiest mulled wine, passing out (almost) on her bed and fitting three people on the back of a motorbike home. Christmas on the other hand was a whole other kettle of fish.

Walking around the treacherous alleys of Hanoi, was not that easy. But we managed, and ended the night with the craziest hostel party in the world. There were buckets of alcohol, including Sambuca, fluorescent paint on every living creature there and even mild stripping-courtesy of the Pikey brits. Decent went out the window.

So of course the obvious thing to do the next morning was to pay our respects to the big man himself, Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum...creepy. God he would be spinning in his grave, if he was in one. He lay lifeless (clearly) but was fragile, pale and thin. They designed it to make you shiver next his tomb aka. A/C blasting from all directions, pin drop silence, and having to walk in a line to get a glimpse of him for 2 seconds. Scary stuff, but he was cute like your granddad nonetheless. The next day was a 13 hour bus ride to Hue, Central Vietnam.

A Gentle Sway: Vientiane, Laos

Accommodation: Youth Inn 2, $10 a night private room

Bus: South Terminal, $10 for A/C bus, 12 hours

Places to Visit:

• Phat That Luang
• Wat Si Saket
• Buddha Park

Well, Vientiane, Laos was a rather different affair from the mad drinking and partying of Luang Prabang. For one, I had my own room, wow such a luxury to be indecent in the privacy of your own space. Two, it consisted of wandering about, able to appreciate the sites in my own spiritual company. So when I decided to take a tuk tuk 25km out the city, to go to what had been described as a 'nutty' park, I had to pay homage to my fellow weirdos. It really was quite a sight. Giant Hindu and Buddhist stone sculptures dotted around the park. Now when I mean 'giant,' I mean the Great Wall of China 'giant.' Picturise being able to enter the mouth of a colossal Buddha, and stand on top of its head. Exactly, nutty.

It was such a strange mixture of Buddhas, and millions of Hindu Gods, including Brahma (The Creator with 3 heads) Kali (the war goddess, with a black face, holding a head of a man and various weapons in her 6 hands- yeesh is she unhappy) and the monkey god Hanuman, all in the same vicinity. It was a party. The night was a slightly random affair; over dinner, a young Dutch man introduces himself- he looks like a stoner surfer just with dark hair and a bandanna. Since nightlife is scarce in Vientiane, we roamed around talking and walking through the night. There seems to be a lot of Engineers flitting about S E Asia, it seems, I am not really surprised.

Ultimate Party Town: Luang Prabang, Laos

Laos (Country Guide)

Accommodation: SpicyLaos, $6 for dorm
Spicyhostels.com/Spicylaos-Backpackers.html


Bus: Long Distance Bus Station to Luang Prabang, 340 yuan, 28 hours

Places to Visit:

• Phu Si Hill
• Wat Xieng Thong
• Tat Kuangsi Waterfalls
• Pak Ou Caves (optional)

Well, what can I say- it was 25- 30 C, absolutely baking! There were palm trees swaying, and half naked foreign people and outdoor food stalls with the greatest cuisine on earth-yep it was definitely summer here for us. Whilst the poor locals were wearing cardies, jumpers and jackets- as this is officially cold weather for them. Some people have it all...


Well, it all started with a 27 hour bus journey to Laos from S. China. Madness you say!!! No it actually was quite a hoot, China being a little bit more modern then Laos, we got to have a sleeper coach. For people who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about- it is exactly that. Rows and rows of bunk beds- about 30 in total to fit the whole coach, so calling it a laid back affair gets it spot on. The night time was beautiful- this will sound cliche for sure, so feel free to yawn through it- there was a million stars in the dark navy sky, I had never seen them so bright before and so clear, all twinkling and lighting up the dark mountains! Whilst the day time, was exactly as you see Vietnam or any other South East Asian Country in a postcard- lush green mountains, palm trees, small villages, smiling children. It was amazing, especially as the sun was setting. Crossing the border was another thing altogether. I was woken up at 7.30- after the coach stopped for a few hours in the dark, to wait until the border crossings opened. See this was the first time in the last 15 hours where I managed to get any shuteye, so I moaned and tried to turn around to block out the Chinese shoutings to get up, but meh I had to cross the border didn't I?


It took about an hour and a half in total, which consisted of me running frantically between the China and the Laos border, thinking that the bus had left without me. The Chinese guards told me, I couldn't come back in unless I wanted them to stamp my visa- and after all the hassle of getting another entry- I savoured my visa- so definitely a no -no. Eventually being slightly half- asleep and a bit delusional, I realised I had to walk to the Laos border, get my visa- and then they would pick me up from there. Phew! Some crazy woman however bought gallons of cooking oil on the bus, and drenched my rucksack in the awful stuff...great.


I met a group of hilarious Chinese men on the bus, all family- one was the son, the other a father, an uncle and I think maybe another uncle. They were pretty mad, and kept feeding me oranges, (guess what) poisonous white spirit toilet cleaner again Bai jiu and general dinner throughout the 2 days. I think it kept it pretty lively- even the father offered a marriage proposal to my mother. I politely refused as you do to a strange drunken Chinese man. But all of sudden, the driver tells me I am at my stop. Being the only one going to Luang Prabang I rushed out with my oil-soaked bag, and realised I was left pretty far away from the centre as the bus drove away. So it being 10pm, pretty late for Laotian standards, I hurried to any small open lit store for some help.

This wasn't China I realised. I spend 27 hours nattering away, and across the border I couldn't speak a word. I pointed frantically at a map going- Khawy yaak pai ( I want to go), the nice lady understood and grabbed a friend around the corner even as she was closing up the store. She told me to hop on to the back of her motorbike, with my ton of a rucksack, which I felt I was slowly falling off- even at one we had to stop as our balance was about to throw us off! But with aid of the lovely lady, I made it to the infamous SpicyLao aka party central.

As soon as I landed, I was handed a whisky Lao in other words, BAI JIU!! Thinking I had escaped the many repressed memories of Mongolia, I was in for a long night. It was me, the owner's brother, the Tuk Tuk driver (a random S E Asian vehicle, a motorbike that carries a load of people) and a friend of theirs, all local Laotians. So after a few sing -songs around the campfire and Beer Laos- just to make sure we were sufficiently plastered, we headed to DISCO, eek!!! If anyone was epileptic (or even not) they would surely have a seizure, as the lights flashed at a hundred a second. The music was cheesy as hell- aging RnB as well as cheesy Lao pop, not to mention the slow dancing- a ballad would come on; the men and woman would split the room in half, find a partner and start dancing. Yep, its all true.


So next morning, after a large amount of people had saw me partying around a campfire- I was easily recognisable- not to mention severely hungover. But I guess thats the time to climb a giant waterfall, look at cute baby bears and go for a swim. Perhaps not- especially not being acclimatised to the heat, I was wearing leg warmer, a woolly hat, and hiking boots- yep not the smartest idea. It all got soaked of course, especially as I had to walk through the water. Well, I was in the water for about 5 mins, realised it was absolutely freezing and jumped out again. So when everyone decided we should go climb another hill to watch the sunset, I whimpered. But it was beautiful, despite the millions of bobbing heads, anxious to get a picture on time. The night market just below, was beginning, which was a very happy moment for me. It became my best friend.

Millions of stalls with yummiest, freshest food- (vegetarians may turn away now) Fish straight from the river barbequed with lemon grass and honey, honey chicken and pork on the barbeque, I avoided the water buffalo like the plague though, fresh spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce, lettuce and peanut sauce...for under a dollar! So good. But it was the crazy nightlife that surprised me- though it all ended at 11.30, it was well worth the short time. Utopia bar- was eutopia to a T. It was like being on a Caribbean island, palm trees, actual coconuts hanging off, with a sheer drop on the side as you could watch the night time Nam Khan river under the stars. There were lying down mats, with low tables, and even an actual beach volleyball court! The random bombshells on the other hand were a bit odd. But it was too cool for school.





Then there were the slightly lazier days, walking around town visiting beautiful Wats (temples), the Royal Palace museum, photography exhibitions that were out of this world, the Royal Laotian Ballet, even just getting a massage whilst eating chocolate pancake with chocolate ice cream. Over the top self indulgence eh? But the best bit was meeting the crazy people in SpicyLaos, it was one big happy family. And there was always a send off if any of the brothers or sisters left!





And then there was a manic 11 hour journey from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, including only winding roads, poor people being squashed in the middle aisle with plastic stools, making constant rice bag drop offs, not to mention the blaring kareoke all that time and then roaming around at 11.30 in the night trying to find a place to stay. Thankfully I bumped into a couple on the bus doing the same, so now I am a Youth Inn next to the River. It does the trick I think- first time not in the dorm, so a bit surreal not hearing noise. I ended up in the International Clinic this morning, probably too much Whisky Laos is starting to catch up with me! But still managed to visit the big temples and museums around. Its so pretty!