A Very Laos Christmas

Days 391-395, December 23-27, 2011

I grabbed the bus from Vang Vieng rather than the minibus as it was a tad bit cheaper and left a few hours later in the morning, allowing me the opportunity to sleep in a bit more. In the end, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea as the bus tends to always arrive a bit later than scheduled because it’s harder to navigate the tight corners on the cliff sides around the mountains than in a mini bus. I still made it in one piece though, and that’s all that matters.

My destination: Luang Prabang, where Lucy, Janine, and I were meeting back up with Isabella to spend Christmas together. Once again, we got into separate guesthouses as we arrived at different times and had no means of contacting each other besides Facebook. So after finding a place in the heart of the old downtown and messaging them, I grabbed a wonderful Oreo Shake from the night market and settled down to sleep as I wanted to be up early for the Alms.

Heaven

1 Out Of 4000 Isn’t Bad

Days 379-381, December 11-13, 2011

Located a mere 5-10 minute drive from the border with Cambodia, the 4000 Islands of Laos are, for the most part, peoples first or last stop on their trip in the tiny, landlocked country. At this section of the Mekong, the river widens enough to create dozens upon dozens of islands. Maybe not the 4000 that the name implies, but there are plenty to see. However, there are only three that are usually on anyone's itineraries or radar. Most of the other “islands” are too small or too temporary to hold any sort of infrastructure.

My bungalow

Disinterested in Dalat

I left Nha Trang in a pretty down mood having had money stolen from right beside me on the beach. I had already booked a quick little trip into Dalat already so I was just happy to be getting away to maybe clear my head and get less angry at the people around the beach. I had purposely left Dalat off my Open Tour Ticket as I was getting many mixed reports on the bad weather it was having(i.e.//non-stop rain). When I got to Nha Trang, I checked again and it looked like there would be a slight break in the weather long enough for me to check it out.

Why You Should Ignore Online Reviews

Days 299-301, September 22-24, 2011

After nearly a week in Bangkok, it was time to get the hell out. While I was still planning on finding a place to settle down for a month, just to get out of that travel vibe for a bit, a part of me was beginning to wonder if I really needed it. And moreso, whether I have the time and money to do so. But I can’t worry about that yet!

I had booked a three day, two night tour through the hostel in Bangkok for a trip up to the north-west to visit a number of sights including the River Kwai and the Tiger Temple. My mistake came from reading some reviews of the tour company the hostel was using on Trip Advisor. Trip from Hell was how one person described it.

Day 111, Iguaçu Falls

The following takes place on Friday, March 18, 2011

Alright, I made it! I am in Brazil! The last country on the South American leg of the trip. Not quite sure its hit me quite yet, but oh well. With the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls out of the way, it was time to check out the Brazilian side known by its Portuguese name of Iguaçu Falls.

Days 106-107, Iguazu Falls

The following takes place on Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14, 2011

After another overnight bus trip(that included a french movie with spanish subtitles that seemed to be about a pterodactyl which escapes from the Paris museum, is psychically linked to some weird old man, they die, and then mummies come to life in the museum to help this one womans comatose sister. After that, the woman gets on a ship that turn out to be the Titanic. The End. Confused? So was I) I arrived in Puerto Iguazu in Northern Argentina.

It didn’t take long for me to grab a taxi and get taken out of town to where my hostel was. This was no hostel though. This was like a resort! Huge lobby with a bar, games room, sitting area, and restaurant. Outdoor pool(and a huge one at that), poolside bar with drink specials all the time, and bungalows for rooms.