Bangkok and Beaches in Thailand

For our final week of our travels, we decided to relax (even more) by spending 5 days on a remote Thai island called Ko Lipe, in Southern Thailand.

Hopefully the photos convey just how much more relaxed we managed to get - just by lying on a beach, eating amazing barbecued fish/prawns on the beach, doing a little swimming/ & snorkeling and watching some amazing sunsets with a glass of Chang beer in our hands.

Temples and tranquility in Luang Prabang

Leaving the happy backpackers of Van Vieng behind we took a seemingly endless, but utterly beautiful bus trip to Luang Prabang, our last destination in Laos. We've only a few days left before we head to Thailand, and it definitely feels like we are on our way home. We've lost the momentum to do and see everything possible, but luckily this is a great place to be to see beautiful temples contrasted with bamboo huts, monks occupying internet cafes and five star luxury next door to backpacker guesthouses, all within 5 minutes of our guesthouse overlooking the Mekong.

Watery fun in Van Vieng

From the 4 thousand islands and the South we took an overnight bus to Vientiane, capital of Laos. We were surprised by the comfort of our bus (the outside of which was decorated with a Finding Nemo theme) and it's reclining seats, but not so pleased with the Karaoke TV and fierce aircon that kept us up all night. I don't think we'd felt cold since we left New Zealand, but we were shivering all night! I guess it is getting us in training for the return home.

From Vientiane, we took a kayaking trip on the Nam Lik river, which dropped us at our next destination, Van Vieng, - at the end of the day.

On arrival, Van Vieng seemed a neon lit backpacker haven and a complete contrast to the south of Laos, and even the capital city. We'd only spent one night in Vientiane but enjoyed the laid back feel of the least hectic capital city ever visited and the restaurants of Van Vieng playing 'Friend' reruns and offering 'happy' additives to food and drink were not what we were looking for out of Laos (though we'd been well warned by the guide books). It is the beautiful scenery and opportunities for tubing, trekking, and kayaking that draws people to Van Vieng, and we made the most of it. Away from the main backpacker strip, we found a guest-house with bamboo bungalows and great views over the river to the hills beyond.

We spend one day 'tubing', literally floating down the river in big inner tubes, stopping at bars and restaurants along the way - most of them offering swings and flying foxes to keep you entertained. They were blasting out Bob Marley or hits of the '80s and the whole experience was a bit surreal. We left the crowds behind after a while though and for the last hour it felt like we had the river to ourselves, apart from a few fisherman and kids splashing about in the sun. We found ourselves a perch at the end of the run, to watch the sun go down and see the other tubers coming back in varying states of sobriety. Getting out of the tube at one of the faster points in the river, in the dark and after a day of drinking Beer Lao in the sun, is very amusing to watch!

The following day we rented bikes and headed out to Phoukam cave, cycling through Hmong villages, past women weaving silk scarves and refreshed ourselves in the turquoise lagoon outside the cave. The cave itself was big and dark, and with a fair number of bats to maintain the spooky factor (no lights!).

4000 Islands (Siphandon, Laos)

We felt very proud of ourselves taking an overland route into Southern Laos from Cambodia by bus, minivan, ferry, minivan etc etc and onto one of the Four Thousand Islands in the Mekong (Don Det Island)...only to discover that dozens of other travellers had done exactly the same!

It was a little slice of heaven though. Electricity only a few hours every evening, hammocks to lounge in by the side of the river, and plenty of cold beer to wash down good fresh fish while watching the sun set over the river. We could have taken boat trips to see dolphins and waterfalls, or tubes to float down the river but we made a conscious decision to do not much at all. The most exertion was a trip round the island by bike, to the Li Phi falls on the neighboring island of Don Khone. After two days of lazing around, it was time to head on out to Champasak and the Angkor era temple of Wat Phou, not nearly as restored as the Angkor temples in Cambodia, but not so many tourists either.

So far, we're really enjoying Laos, have mastered at least thank you and hello, and found people to be incredibly friendly and very laid back...no rushing over your meal here! We head on north to Vientiane next, planning to spend a couple of weeks exploring the north eastern corner, but our return home is now very much on our minds.

Temples, temples, temples (Angkor Wat, Cambodia)

We spent two days exploring the ruins and temples of Angkor, and a day in nearby Siem Reap soaking up the atmosphere of the Water Festival.

In ruins the temples were beautiful and mysterious but in their heyday must have been quite awe inspiring. I suppose that was the idea. The sandstone and brink of the temples were a distinct contrast to the wood and palm huts in villages we passed. The women and children selling postcards, bangles, books and souvenirs disrupted any peace and serenity from exploring the temples, but were often full of humour and fun, and always persistent!

We got up one morning to watch the sunrise (seemed like a good idea until woken by the alarm clock at 4.30am) over Angkor Wat - finding a corner away from the hordes of tourists. It was beautiful, but probably contributed to an early departure from the sites that day - Rick was 'templed out' and our tuk tuk driver was increasingly grouchy (he'd been to a party the night before). Without being an expert I'm not sure how much more we would have been able to take in anyway. Our explorations were marked more by photo opportunities than any deep understanding....I'm sure any SOAS experts would shudder at our ignorance!