De viaje por Asia

From KL to London!

2007-12-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

Hello from London folks!!

I made it back! and I still can´t believe it! I think I am still hangover from all my experiences in Asia... and it was so intense! Leaving the Cameron Highlands, my home away from home, my friends, and going back to KL... I enjoyed it too because I was in very good company, my friend Martin was going the same way so we spent my last days together, and it was great... the bus journey was quite eventful, it took us the whole day, roadworks, bus breakdown,... everything that could go wrong! but it was interesting... and in KL there was another Reggae Bar! so it felt familiar, somehow... We did a lot of drinking, shopping (Christmas Presents!!!!!!!!!!), and even went to a few heavy metal concerts?? (Malaysian Bands!) that was quite interesting too!

The last night I only slept for 2 hours! before catching my flight!!! so I was literally hangover, in every sense, when I finally made it to London... The flight was quite confortable, no complains, just very sad... and lonely! and in London my sister was waiting for me, so that was good, to see a friendly face among all the dark, grey, coldness of London at this time of the year... what a contrast! it could not have been more striking! It felt so strange, the first day I did not dare go out of the house!! It is hard to remember all my adventures too, I have nobody that can feel identified, it is a lonely feeling...

But it will pass,... it is just the first moments that are the hardest... as dear Jane and deas Angel say, I am ready for my new adventures in Europe, going back home to Madrid, settling down, starting a new life from scratch... that will be exciting too!!! Maybe I am a bit lazy at the moment... but there is also Christmas, and my family waitin for me back home... so that is the next step, let´s not think too far ahead, one step at a time. So today I will buy my flight back to Madrid for next week sometime, and that will be it. Christmas time is here!!! unbelievable! tonight I want to go to see the Christmas Lights in Oxford Street, maybe have a look in Harrods,... just to cheer up a bit. My theory is that Christmas time is all about the lights in the dark winter... I need some light!!!

Anyway, I don´t know if I will keep my blog now that I am back. So maybe this is the end of it too... it was so great writing it! I really enyojed your company in my adventures, you gave me strength and motivation to go on! thank you all for being there. And let me know when your adventures lead you away from home! I would like to hear from you and share them with you! take care my friends!! see you soon, in Edinburgh? or wherever!!!

Langkawi Island

2007-11-29T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I have just spent a lovely week in paradise island! Langkawi is just on the border with Thailand and it is a great place to relax, beach and sun, meet people and party! what else can you need? I tell you I could have stayed there... the first day when I arrived it was quite cloudy and a group of us met up to explore the island on a shared taxi... but it was not succesful. As soon as we set off it started raining so heavily and thunder and lightning... so we ended up sitting in a restaurant the whole day, chatting. It was a nice crowd, a girl from Kazakistan, a dutch girl and a boy from England. We had a great time, even though we were soaked! eating drinking and smoking shisha! In the evening we went out and met lovely people in the Little Lylia Chill out Bar on the beach... lots of musicians entertaning us with their guitarss... lots of fun!

Since then we spent most of our time together, in the Lylia, swimming and laying on the beach... it was so good! I really needed some vitamin D! it was relaxing and busy at the same time... My guesthouse was not a very nice place but it was right on the beach, so I don't complain! There was a lot of nice people around, a lot of reggae music, especially in the Reggae Bar! life concerts every night! so after 6 days, I had not explored the island very much, but had a great time all the same... only went on the cable car to see an overview of the island from the highest peak... very, very nice!

What else can I say? I met really special people there, some free spirited musicians leading a bohemian lifestyle.. and my friend Martin, the guy from England, who I have met again in the Cameron Highlands, where I am now! (again). It was really sad too leave Langkawi, and all my friends behind, the easy lifestyle, the nightlife, the pirates and the sharks... and I think it was especially hard because I realised that the countdown has started!!!! I was ready to go back home before, but now... I could do with a few more weeks!!! its always the same I suppose. It is only postponing the goodbyes...

So I took the boat back to Penang Island, where I spent one last night in Banana guesthouse, to say goodbye to all my friends there... and then came to the Highlands for my last stop before KL and my flight back... It is raining here, and cold and miserable... but on the other hand it is a very warm place, with a great atmosphere, Jungle Bar, nightly bonfires, ... so the party is still going! at least for a few days... Oh boy!, its going to be hard to go back! still hoping I might miss the flight.... (just joking!)

I have started thinking about my plans when I goo back to London and I am a bit uncertain... I have the option to go up to dear Edinburgh for a few days to visit all my people... but on the other hand, I feel that I am needed back home quite badly... family situation... so I am afraid I may have to leave Edinburgh for January... I don't know yet!! I am getting stressed!!!! anyway, will try too write again soon, maybe from KL. Love you all!

Malaysia: home sweet home!!!

2007-11-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

Hi children! I hope everyboy is fine! I myself cannot complain, since I am back in dear Malaysia! It was quite an experience to be in The Deep Thailand for a couple of weeks but after that I decided I had enough! I mean, the teaching was fantastic! my teenagers were so lovely, they did not want me to leave! I could have stayed if it had been a better situation... but as things were, the best was for me to leave. I mean, the last days of my stay were amazing, I got so much attention! they organized a leaving party for me and all!!! (when everybody seemed to ignore me all the time?!), where I got given soo many presents that I had to send a couple of boxes home!!! full of pillows (they make many pretty pillows in tha area of Thailand) and stuff I could not carry...It was quite surprising for me that everybody was trying to change my mind to stay after all! I mean, it was really not the right moment for this family to take me in (because they had some other things in mind...) but I nearly had to promise them that I would go back next year to stay longer!!! imagine that! I don't know if it is in my schedule...

Anyway, it was quite emotional to leave, I had two adoptive fathers and one adoptive father and a couple of brothers and sisters when I left...!!!! And I keep in touch with the eldest son of my teacher by email... but I really had to go. The most treasured present I took with me from Khamkuenkeaow (I finnally learnt how to write it!!!) was a little Bhudda necklace that I cherish as my lucky charm, always around my neck!

So I went to Bangkok with the night bus on the 10th and stayed in a Youth Hostel for the weekend just to have time to go shopping in the weekend market!!! What a fantastic place it is, that market! it is gianormous! and it has everything you can find in Asia (I think)! Shame I was on a budget... but I enjoyed Bangkok a lot! It was busy, for sure, always on the metro and following the crowds, but what a bliss to be able to move around, to go places, to have a hot shower!!!!! I also treated myself to a "decent" meal, italian food, the closer I could find to spanish! delicious (or as the locals would say: aroy!!) salad, good hearty pasta and bread.... I needed it! And I was even so lucky as to meet a very nice English man, who I could talk to!! (after soo long in isolation!) and we had a very good time, if short, together.

But after a few days Bangkok already lost its charm. Too busy! or something... so I was very happy to take the 24 hours journey down to Butterworth on the train, on the . I also knew I had friends waiting for me there, I would be back home in dear Penang! The journey was quite pleasand too. Not much to eat on the train (because I had not many Baht left) but I knew that Penang is famous for its food, so I would not lack it there! and so I arrived, and here I am now!

They have been a great few days, spent in good company and with only the basic needs to worry about: eating, drinking, sleeping,... and it was my friend's birthday, so we had a party too, and a cake!! now it is time for me to think about moving on, and I don't quite know where I am going next. The idea was to go back to the Cameron Highlands, to work in Daniel's Lodge, but the news are that it is raining a lot there, and I really feel like beach and sun!!! so I think I can still afford to go for a few days to an Island... maybe somewhere I have never been yet? (and I think I have been nearly everywhere in mainland Malaysia!). Anybody has any suggestions? please let me know! or otherwise just write silly comments! I love them! they keep me going! Because if I tell you the truth... I feel like I am ready to go back home now... miss you!

The Deep Thailand!... and memories.

2007-11-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

Hello again folks!

here I am, at Chanupatham school, in Khamkuenkaew, and I tell you they have some rituals here. Every morning first thing, they have a meeting they call: "Assembly", where every student and teacher come together in the playground and listen to some talk... first the national Anthem is played and sung, the flag raised, some praying of some sort, and then miscellaneous talk by different people about different things (what do I know, don't understand a word of it!) that takes the whole first hour of class!! and let me tell you something, it is very early that this people wake up! At 6 o'clock everybody is awake and kicking every day! school starts at 7: 30am! I found it very hard to start the day so early, not used to it anymore. But what I found the hardest was shower time in the morning!! not only is the water cold, (that was to be expected) but you have to shower with a bowl, from a water tank, bowl by bowl...!!! soo cold!!! and then breakfast! that is a story too: no coffee, no toast, nothing like that! only rice, "sticky rice" in the morning, and some strange spicy dishes that I never know what they are... fried fish, or pork... it doesn't (in my humble opinion) make a healthy start of the day! But I am getting used to it... what's the choice?!

The best thing in this experience, lets try and be positive, has been the discovery of Eli, the teacher!! I really enjoy going to class, talking to the students, even improvising!! (well, this teacher of mine surely doesn't even know the meaning of planning!). I have been talking a lot about Spain, they are interested, even teaching them some words in Spanish, "Hola", some of them call out when we pass in the corridors... they are lovely teenagers, nothing to do with scottish, or spanish! When we come into the class, they stand up and say all at one: "good morning teacher!" and stuff like that! their English is very poor, I must say, and the teaching is even poorer, I have to add... so it was easy for me to make them interested, and I think they enjoy my lessons! (when the teacher decides to leave me without notice and without a plan...). Last week a girl gave me a sweetie with the message:" I love you" on it! they are really childish, somehow...

Anyway, apart from my dear students, only my memories keep me busy at times... I will tell you more about my trip with dear Angel (and, by the by, if he has something to add or to correct, please let me know, I know you are reading me too!!). We were at Tioman Island, just after our friend Mokhtar drove us through the jungle, and when we finally got to the other side and stood in firm ground, I felt like celebrating! (I don't know, that we were alive, or something!!). And there must have been a mind reader around because just then we heard someone calling: "do you want cold beer?" and we were there in a tick! it was a bar, very friendly guys, many magic tricks (there was a real magician among them!) and we spent the evening... and the night! there, drinking and playing cards and so on... it was fun! but the next morning, hangover as we were, was time to leave...

We went to a very special town called Malacca! the experienced travelers, and the ones that like reading adventure novels about pirates, will know about it! I really enjoyed that little town. We saw no pirates, though, disappointing (maybe they were busy celebrating the Muslim New Year, after the Ramadan, on the 12th of October, if I remember right...). Luckily, we stayed in Chinatown, that was as lively as it can be (no Muslims there!, only Chinese, lots of them!!!), with night markets, food stalls, karaoke contests on the street!!!,... we had a great time, great food, walks, and the mix of cultures and religions was very interesting too: Buddhist temples beside mosques, and Chinese religions, and an old Christian church too! a place with a lot of history, that 's for sure, you could smell it in the air!

After Malacca we went to KL, busy Kuala Lumpur! The capital of Malaysia is a messy place indeed! It tries to imitate tidy Singapore but the result is a very chaotic contrast of skyscrapers and wooden huts together... it is not very special, but I like it because it was my very first stop in Asia, and I was surprised at how well I remembered every corner I passed, everything that we did in that first time. It is a very international city, where you can see clearly the ethnic mixture of Malaysia: Chinese, Hindus and Malays all together but separate (as we would say in Spain:"juntos, pero no revueltos!"). And you can find almost everything there, food wise and otherwise... but we quickly got tired of it, the pollution, the monorail, the chaos,... and decided we wanted some more beach time! at the end of the day, it was a holiday! (at least for Angel!).

We went to Pangkor Island as the summit of our adventure together! That island is a holiday place for the locals more than the westerners! and that gives it a special charm, in my opinion. It was very quiet too, but very relaxing. The downside was, maybe the water was not as clean as I would have wished... they did not seem to mind about the rubbish around them either! and it was sometimes a little bit embarrassing to be the only westerner swimming in the sea, because they all wore clothes, so I felt naked with my little bikini!!! So we opted for the more remote beaches,... and to that purpose we rented a motorbike!!!! how exciting! It was our purpose (in a joke) to do as many things as we could, that we had never done before! For me the most exciting was driving a motorbike!!!! I did it!! (only for a moment, of course, too scary!) for him, swimming in the sea at night... that was scary too, at first, because of the plankton!! (or whatever it is called) that was like loads of little lights in the water shining through!!! I got a fright! but then it was fun! we drove around the whole island and had a great time of it! The nest day did something we had never done before again: we swam to an island! it was an adventure too, took us about half an hour, I think it was about 1 km long, and we managed all right! had lots of fun swimming together didn't we?

I don't want to go on, because we are coming to the end of our trip, and it is too sad... you should have seen me at the airport in Singapore when we said goodbye... I was such a mess!! we were lucky that I found a flight to Bangkok at nearly the same time as his flight to Spain, so we were together till the last minute, (... his flight was on "last call" when he finally boarded!!), even went through customs together and stuff... well, too sad, too soon, ... but good memories....

Malaysia... again! or Thailand?

2007-11-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!!!

I missed you too!!! I don't know what to say! why it's been so long since my last post... I have been a real mess, haven't I? my mind was all over the place...

The Jungle Bar was real fun (I maybe going back soon, if everything goes according to plan) and afterwards I visited Penang again. I like it there, good food, good atmosphere, the real Chinatown... although it was a little bit trying, my situation... I was courted by two men!!! the story of my life! could not relax, could not decide... and so I went to Singapore on the night bus (12 hours). I was happy to leave and was really looking forward to the next part of my travels, the visit of my dear Angel! my Spanish Angel came, at last, after so much expectation and we had a great time together! First a couple of days in Singapore, with lots of treats!!! (like a queen!) good hotel, great food (we even had Spanish tapas!!!), went to the Raffles Hotel, to the Long Bar and had a Singapore Sling and ate a lot of peanuts throwing the rubbish on the floor! (that is the custom, it seems...). We even dressed up for the occasion, just to blend in with the atmosphere! (got new pair of shoes!!!).

But what can I say? I was already missing Malaysia! Singapore is so tidy, so clean, so square,so regulated, so organized! (they have signs saying: "no spitting!", give us a break!! we are in Asia, here everybody spits noisily!!!). So I was happy when we crossed the border, (and I hate that border crossing, with all my heart! I think I have crossed it too many times in too short a time) into dear chaotic Malaysia, where dirt is not a problem and you can smoke nearly everywhere...

Went first to the Island of Tioman! A very nice island, I must say, but of course, compared to my little paradise Kecil Island... it was ok! Angel liked it a lot. What we enjoyed most was our walks in the jungle! the first day we started going for "a walk" and ended up climbing up and down the jungle (with our flip-flops, like the natives!!) throughout the whole day, among monkeys and monitor lizards and sweating our heads of, ... thank goodness we went from beach to beach so we could refresh ourselves every couple of hours!!! and all that to reach the last beach and take a taxi boat back! but it was great fun, after all!

The next day we planned it a bit better, put some shoes on and took some water and stuff... this time we went across the island! very exciting! the jungle was soo big and deep! and the trees sooo high!! some monkeys scared us with strange human-like noises when we where in the deepest part! creepy!!!! it was like an endless going up steps, so many steps had been carved in the jungle... it was steep but we finally got to the end of the slope and then it was downhill!! much better! but very long too! it took us most of the day again to get there and when we finally did we found a deserted beach! it was beautiful, sandy, long, large, with great waves.... but nobody there! we were hoping for a taxi boat to take us back (and I was thinking a beer wouldn't do us any harm either...), but due to the Muslim New Year, everything was shut!!!! and we were lucky to get a land rover through the jungle before it was too late!!! what an adventure that was too!! it was very slippery from the rain and the road was terrible... thank goodness this man, Mokhtar, knew what he was doing and got us safely to the other side! I was real scared at one point, when our car started sliding down the hill...

Ok folks, this is just an "Entree" of the rest... I know I should have started by telling you where I am now and so on, but you know what? it is too boring!!!! ok, I am in Thailand, in Yasothon Province, in a village/suburb called Khamkuenkeaow, if you must know. I came here to work as a voluntary in a rice farm with WWOOF (Willing Workers in Organic Farms) but it seems I have been misled! as soon as I arrived here last week I found out that there is no farm, only this very sly teacher and her off springs... so my task seems to be to help her with the English lessons she gives at the local High school that encompasses around 3.000 students and 190 teachers! all in a oner!!! I know! very scary!!! and on top of it, the woman is doing her thesis of... what do I know, so has no time for me. The first weekend, I was buried in the grandparents' village, Bahnsithan, famous for its triangular pillows, with only the company of a troupe of children who did not speak English at all! I like the place, and the grandparents were kind enough to put up with me and feed me and all... but I did not know where I was, soo lost!

That was last weekend and then the week started and I had to go to school!! I tell you guys, Sunday night I could not sleep out of mere panic!!! but I did it, I went there and introduced myself to the teenagers (about 25, 14 years old teenagers!!) and told them my little story about where I am from and stuff... and during the week I started getting more and more confident and at the end of the week I was teaching whole lessons by myself!!! I could not believe it! I have surprised myself!! and then the weekend came again, and the teacher disappeared again and buried me in the village again, where I have been till today, that I am back to Ka... and ready to go to school tomorrow! so that is what it is, my life here. And since I have time in the following days to update you, rest assure that you will receive further news from me tomorrow, ok? good night then! and bless you all for being there!!!

Bali and back to dear Malaysia

2007-09-27T03:16:00.001-07:00

So after two days of temples and children we needed some rest... and we went to Bali!!!! I think it was a crazy idea to go so far just for a few days because it was a new country and indeed we did not rest for one moment! We stayed in Lovina beach, in the north of the island, which is supposed to be quieter and more backpackers oriented. And it was, I suppose! We were among the locals, in a fishing village, you could hear the boats heading out early in the morning... and people were very welcoming and the couple who owned our resort were really nice... she was 9 months pregnant and had her baby while we were there!!! how lucky is that! we even went to the hospital to visit her! a healthy boy! (no name yet).

One morning we went to sea for sunrise to see dolphins!!! I was so excited that I could not even take a single picture! they were swimming around the boats, and when they came up to the surfac every single boat rushed to get a closer look so they disappeared to reappear somewhere else! it seemed that they were enjoying themselves playing with us!

We also met very nice boys who took us around in their motorbikes and I regained my confidence in the two-wheeled vehicles (you remember my accident). It was great fun, went to beautiful waterfalls, hotsprings, and even climbed up an active volcanoe at night to see the sunrise at the top! That was an exciting adventure too, we started the journey at 2 in the morning, 2 hours drive to the bottom and then we took our torches out and climbed up for 2 hours, like a procession of lights! Got to a little hut on the top just on time to watch the sunrise with a cup of tea... and there was hot steam coming out of some gaps in the rock! very exciting indeed!! They were great times in Bali, only too short, as always. And the last time Katie, Helen and I got to spend together. After that they left me in KL to go to New Zealand and I have been tracking my footsteps looking for old acquaintances since then. I am at home now, in Daniel's Lodge, "home away from home", in the Cameron Highlands (were the tea plantations, remember? right at the beginning of my travels!) and helping out my friend Eddie (Uncle Ho for friends) in the Jungle Bar! I am very happy and relaxed, lazing about all day and talking to backpackers until the silly hours...

The Temples of Angkor

2007-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello people! sorry for the delays, as always! too busy, you know! many things have happened since the last time I wrote. The most important is that my girls left me!!! I am alone now! but I am among friends so I am not scared! I am a brave girl! Let me start from the beginning...

The temples of Angkor seem so far away now... it was wonderful to see them though. You feel a little bit like Indiana Jones discovering ancient civilizations... they still are quite a mistery in some ways. I did not learn much about the history (lazy) but I intend to because they really amazed me. After many hundreds of years abandoned, then rediscovered and then abandoned again and nearly destroyed by the war, they are still standing, and very majestic. The first day we went on ou tuk tuk for sunrise. That makes it even more exciting: arriving there at night time, all still and dark, and little by little the light starts iluminating the stones... and there it was: Angkor Wat! so perfectly underlined by the sunlight. The red stones turned golden... beautiful! you have to be there to appreciate it fully! Eventhough there were many people sharing the moment it was still unique. And we were of the first ones to enter, so everything was silent, you could hear your own footsteps... a sacred place, in every corner an image of the Buddha... the dark and misterious corridors, the carvings in the walls intact.

I am not going to describe every single temple we visited, it would take me too long, there are too many! we only saw about 15 in two days, and many were similar but many were very special. The names escape my mind as well, although I have them all written down... you will excuse my vagueness. The ones that I found most exciting were the ones that had trees growing on them! they had become part of the strucure, sometimes even supporting it, sometimes changing its shape into bizarre forms... it was so cool to see the old stone turned green with moss, nature taking over... enormous trees that have been growing for long time! very powerful! I also had a religious experience, in one of the temples I made an offering to an inisible god, Visnu, that an old man was venerating (although there was no image, anymore, only the bats ruled the small tower!). Some incense sticks and some prayers in a strange language, he also read my fortune in a little scroll made of banana leave... unfortunately, his English was not that good, so all I understood was that it was good fortune! (ok, that is good enough for me!).

The downside of this complex, I have to mention it, is that it is full of children and people selling... as soon as you dismounted from your carriage (moto-tuk tuk), you could hear people shouting at you: "lady!, miss! cold drink! food!, T-shirt, books, ...you name it!" very persistant and very repetitive! and the children were the worst because they had such beautiful big eyes... and they asked you for your name, where are you from... and followed you till the entrance of the temple with the promise:"after you buy from me!" and they waited ther for you!!! "3 for one dollar " was their song, with monotonous voice... after it was:"ok, 4 for 1 dollar" and on and on forever! It was quite trying! they were very sweet but you just could not buy from all of them!!! one day I made the mistake to buy from one and I was suddenly surrounded by 10 angry faces all talking at the same time:" why you not buy from me?" even grabbing my arms... I did not know what to say, just smiled until they asked me:"why you don't say anything?" what could I say! I was overwhelmed!!

So after two days of temples and children we needed some rest... and we went to Bali!!!! But that is a different story, which I will tell you tomorrow... maybe.

Cambodia! finally!!!!

2007-09-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends! thanks for being so patient and for being there (or Ta!, as you would say in Edinburgh). We made it to Cambodia!!! can you believe it? I just can't believe we have done it! we have travelled for so long an yet, it seems like we started just last week!!! Its been amazing having you all there, following my doings! but don't you fret, my friends! I am still around South East Asia for the next... 3 months!!! I won't be flying back until December the 3rd!! I have decided that, although my dear Helen and Katie are leaving me on the 22nd of September, I am still hungry for more adventures!! so you will be hearing from me for a long while still!! I wonder what it will be like to travel alone, though... bit worried about that!

Anyway, to the point: I love Cambodia!!! Does it surprise you? everybody is sooo nice here! it reminds me a little bit to Laos, though it is more messy, I think. We arrived to Phnom Penh and it was strange that people on the street were not beeping all the time anymore! a big change with Vietnam! Drivers are less agressive and in general it is much more chilled out! As soon as we got there we met our favourite tuk tuk driver, Rotha, who I recommend dearly to everybody who comes here (he is a little bit expensive but really worth it!!). He took us everywhere in Phnom Penh: first the infamous Killing Fields! you don't want to go there but you have to! It is a horrible chapter of cambodian history... still very recent (with landmines threatening everywhere in the countryside), but they seem to be over it! eventhough nearly everybody you meet had some family members killed by the evil regime! skulls pilled up in a memorial tower, the prison, called S21,... you can find out about it in any history book... too sad to be retold.

After we went to more cheery sites, the palace, the temples, the sunset in the lake.. and to taste the local specialities: spider, cricket and snake!!! It was incredible what they sold in the market, even scorpions and maggots!! I was very brave! ate a whole cricket double the size of the ones you find in Europe!! and it was not nice, why deny it? it tasted like straw, dry and tasteless, with some sandy after taste... I would not recommend it! but everybody here was eating them so normally and enjoying them that I did not want to miss the experience!! ah well, another tale to tell my grandchildren... the snake I tried as well, not so scary when it is in a skew, roasted, it tasted like fish, although it had very little meat: only skin and bones!!! the spider was a different matter!!! It was huge and hairy and very black!!!! I could not bring myself to bite it! I tried one leg and it was too hard!! (and our friend did not eat it either, so that gave me a clue...)

After the meal, that ended up with barbecued beef, so it was a bit more filling!, we went dancing to the local disco!? it was karaoke with a life orchestra! and everybody was singing very well, compared to the standards I am used to back home!!! then it was dancing time and I was surprised that there were more boys than girls dancing! and of course we were the attraction: everybody kept looking at us and girls pointing at our nose! (it seems they like pointy noses, since theirs are so different?!). But after a while it was a little bit too much, too many boys around us... (not that I mind that...).

The next day our driver took us to an orphanage that broke my heart! it was a slum, it had rained and all was in a puddle, the little huts looked as if they would not hold our weight when we were shown around the girls'tiny dormitory! they were happy that we brought them some rice (50kg was not enough to feed the 160ish children for one day!) and it was really heart breaking the state some children were in... tiny babies being cared for by 6 year old girls... anyway, we went there and we helped as much as we could! Afterwards, we saw some more tuk tuks bringing more tourists in, so hopefully they will make it!

We also went fishing with our friend Rotha, in the Mekong river... we did not catch but a couple of tiny fish and I felt sorry for them... (I have a soft heart as you all know...). Then we went to watch the women weaving silk and we bought some nice scarves (its always buying and buying!!! I am nearly broke!!!) and we took refuge from the storm in a cafe that was full of hammoks and had a snooze watching the rain and eating corn... it was very pleasant! In the evening we had goat soup for dinner!! yummm! tastes pretty much like lamb...

We wanted to escape a little bit from the town and have some quiet time away from the spending and the intense Phnom Penh so we went to Sihanoukville for a few days, on the coast! and the beach was really lovely but it was impossible to have a quiet time!!! all these children came round with their stories of broken and poor families... wanting money to pay for school, wanting to make bracelets for us... we even got our legs depilated with a string!!! we just could not resist them! so we ended up spending more money than we should, of course! only one day we were able to escape them, we went to a natural park that had mongrels?? (some tree that has its roots in salt water? or something like that...) that was relaxing! empty, sandy gorgeous beach and jungle trek...

An afterwards we took a boat from Phonm Penh, along the Tonle Sap, up to Siem Reap, where we are now, totally nakered, after two days waking up at 5ish... and tomorrow is the big day! we are going to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise!!!! I am very excited although it implies another early start!! even earlier!! 4am!!! it is the middle of the night!! wish me luck! do you thik we will manage?? more in the next chapter! good night folks! take care! and keep in touch! I love your comments!!! lots of love and hugs and kisses!! (I have had a few beers tonight, we were reunited with our friend Katie! who we thought we had lost!!!) bye

From Mui Ne to Saigon!

2007-09-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
I have lots to catch up with! first Mui Ne. It was a road full of resorts that did not have any structure or charm. But the scenery was spectacular. Mui Ne is famous for its sand dunes!! there was red ones and white ones... quite beautiful! and a little stream called the "fairy stream", that you could walk up (it was really shallow and the bottom was beach sand!) and enjoy magnificent sand formations all around, the water had eroded the red mountains... there was muddy bits and arches... it is very difficult to explain, but quite unusual!never seen anything like that. And the dunes were humongous! the vietnamese used plastic boards to slide down, like snow slopes! there was a lot of people there too, because it has been the Independence Day! and it was bank holiday, of course.

But I was actually looking forward to going to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City, as it is called now). A little bit apprehensive too... when we arrived, in the evening, it was raining so hard that some streets were flooded! imagine the hundreds of motorbikes and bicycles trying to drive through! But we, on our big bus, made it through... Saigon is very different from Hanoi, somehow they seem opposites... people seem friendlier here, they take an interest in you, not only in your money (or so it would seem...). We were quite lazy the first day and decided to let two cyclos take us around the city, to the main sights. It was very enjoyable, they struggled with English but were so kind as to help us cross the road everytime , they literally took us by the hand, like little children (you know how it is a mission here, no pedestrian crossings whatsoever, and not even traffic lights most of the times, so the traffic never stops... you have to cross through it! There are also policemen that take you through the traffic, honestly!).

About the war museum I am not going to tell you much, I could not handle it, had to get out. And then I met this very nice vietnamese girl tourist guide, who became our good friend, Hanh. There is not much more to see in Saigon, it is more the atmosphere that I like. I loved sitting down in the street cafes with a tasty vietnamese ice coffee, watching the world go by... I could have stayed in Saigon. We went out with our friend to vietnamese places, I even had a massage on the spot, in a pub! and by a very nice young boy!! Another nice thing about Saigon was that we were reunited with our friend Katie (although we are appart again!).

We also went on a tour to the Mekong delta. That was also interesting, although very much chewed for us... took a big boat to transfer to a smaller boat so that we could drive through the narrower streams to go from island to island... tried some freshly made coconut candy! delicious! some homemade honey... held a 10 kg snake around my neck!!. etc. took an even smaller boat and paddled through even narrower passages to another island and listened to traditional music while tasting local fruit (dragon fruit, passion fruit, caqui, mango, papaya...) and that was it! it could have been longer if we had had the time! but we are running out of it, and it was time to go to Cambodia!!!! the last country in our list of must!! where we are now...

On the way to Saigon...

2007-09-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Hello children! it is nice to hear from people, sometimes one feels a bit lonely here, so far from home... especially when you are not feeling very healthy! but I am better now, really! The last few days have been full of treats. In Hoi An we had dresses made to fit!!! I had never been to a taylor before, very exciting designing the shape, choosing the material... although I have to say that the end product was not very exciting itself, but it was the fun that I was after. I needed cheering up! There was not much more to do in that small village, a lovely place, but too much temptation! we had to get away before we spent all our savings! you could get shoes and handbags and coats and even jewelry made to order!!!... but we managed to escape and went to the coastal village of Na Trang.

It is supposed to be a beach destination for vietnamese families as well as westerners and I have to say that I was not very impressed... but I still liked it! (I always do, don't I?). It was not pretty but it was lively. There we went for another treat: a mudbath!!! that was sooo goood!!we got a double tub Helen and me, and it was filled with warm grey mud!!it was fantastic to splash in the mud like piggies! I really enjoyed it and I think it was good for my skin too! my injuries are drying very fast! Na Trang was good too because I got my stiches taken out yesterday and then Helen, Ashley (a girl we met in Hue, from Canada) and I went to celebrate and got drunk!! and today we are paying the consequences... tomorrow more about Mui Ne, they are closing!

Catching up with Halong Bay!

2007-08-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends. Since I am having a bit of a quiet time now, due to a lack of will to live... (just kidding!!) no, better said: due to soreness and laziness, I can recall past memories and catch up with unfinished stories. We went to Halong Bay quite a long time ago, now (it seems...). It was a 3 days trip from Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam. There was a few of us, on a very beautiful wooden boat (I wanted sails but it was out of our budget!), with a restaurant were they fed us very tasty vietnamese specialities! (it was mainly fish! every day!! and rice, of course, how to forget it, and the spring rolls! they were tasty!), we started a trip around this amazing scenery! it is basically full of rocks, this Bay, and they are pointy and there are many of them, and I think (if I understood our tour guide right [her English sounded very much like vietnamese to me, and to all of us I must say...]), the story is that in vietnamese imagery these rocks look like the scales of a dragon? or something like that...

The truth is that they are very impressive, and it is a very beautiful site to sail around. Visited some cave... and arrived at Cat Ba Island, where we spent the first night. Very nice island too, fishing villages, lovely beaches hidden behind the jungle, only accessible by a walkway around the cliffs! In the morning I did some trekking to explore the insides of this island (the girls were too lazy and decided to have beach time instead). The highlight of our trek was the heat! I don't think I have sweated as much, it felt like melting! It was a hot day and a steep climb... quite cool because there was no proper ways, we had this boy from the village leading us, but sometimes it was hard to tell that there was a way, with so much vegetation, and rocks and ups and downs...
Afterwards was the best: we went to the beach and that was heaven!! a well deserved swim!

Then back to the boat (pretty busy, you know? always pushing us around, these people!), for our second night!!!! it was my first night on a boat! on a proper room as well, with a bed!!! tiny rooms but with all mod cons! The upper deck was our favourite place, though, you could see all the view and you got a breeze! In the evening we still had time for kayaking around some lagoons, you had to pass under a cave to access them, how cool is that! and there was a floating village! the people from the village were selling stuff from boats to the ships (they had all the favourite western delicacies, even Pringles!!!) and when I saw a bottle of red wine I could not resist the temptation!!! And that was what started all the trouble! all my fault!!! poor me!! I bought the bottle and the captain came running and shouting at me in vietnamese, really angry!! apparently, as I found out afterwards, you can only buy alcohol from the boat! company policy! but by then all the tourists (who had been drinking all afternoon alcohol that they bought before, on the deck!) were upset and started arguing back with the captain!! I did not know what to do with myself! all would have been sorted if I had payed 5$ but the other tourists (silly boys) would not have it! oh my Bhudda!!! If only I had known that I was going to cause so much havoc!

Nevermind, at the end it all resolved quite succesfully: we all got drunk together at night!! and the captain was quite happy to share the wine I bought and he even invited us to his own rice whisky. And he got quite a liking for me, kept kissing my hand all night!!! so, maybe the whole argument brought us all together, although the silly boys were still silly.... ah well! another story to tell...

Accident!

2007-08-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Hello people!

I know I promised you an account of Halong Bay Adventure about 2 days ago and I haven't been able to keep my promise, sorry! but I have a good excuse: I had a bicycle accident!!! In Hue, we were ciclying along happily when a motorbike came my way and I could not avoid it!! motorbikes here are quite crazy, as I think I have told you, and I just literally ate the road! it was quite painful, my face was burning and bleeding... I won't go into disgusting details but I got to experience a side of Vietnam that I could have passed without: hospitals!! not at first, the man who hit me was very kind an worried and he took me in his motorbike to... a pharmacy? where (even though I kept insisiting on going to the hospital) a whole family cleaned my wounds very kindly. It was mainly the right side of my body that is a bit scraped... my leg, my arm, shoulder and cheek!

After that, and after buying a lot of medicines and wipes, and iodine for me, the man droped me off at the same place of the accident, and there Helen and I walked to the hospital, only a convenient 5 minutes walk! There we were lucky to find a doctor who spoke English and who was very friendly too! the lovely Dr Phu, who x-rayed my head and arm and gave me the tetanus jagg, and basically brought me back to my feet!! I am very thankful to him!

And now, after 2 days, my injuries are pretty much cured, some scabs, and scratches, nothing mayor, and if I have any scarrs left afterwards, it will be cool to say that they are from Vietnam! I will be a veteran!! the only thing that bothers me quite a lot is my face, that keeps changing colour around my right eye... not pretty! I look like a traffic light! from red to yellow and to ...blue?!maybe green? oh, my bhudda! So I am a little bit down at the moment, I need cheering up because I am not looking forward to looking at myself in the mirror! not to talk about all the bruising that keeps me awake at night! well, I don't like to complain but tomorrow I have to try on a new dress (how exciting is that, they are making a dress for me, tailoring clothes are really cheap here in Hoi An, I could not resist it) and I am not exactly my sexiest me! anyway, I will keep you posted about the changes in colouring... kisses and hugs from battered me...

Sapa!

2007-08-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends!
I am still here! if not very regular! I have sooo many things to tell you, again, so many adventures!!! I was in Sapa trekking for three days, and it was very exciting, we took the train up, for 10 hours!!! it was a night sleeper and we travelled through the night to arrive there just in time to go trekking!!! very sudden but that is what happens when you are on a tight schedule! and now, we only have over amonth left so we have to be quick! nevermind, as soon as we got of the minibus there was a crowd of women and girls waiting for us, with a smiley face, asking us our name and lots more questions... and they came trekking with us!! they were much more agile and fit than us and sometimes helped us in the difficult passages... walking through rice paddies!!! all surrounded by them... how exciting is that?! it was all green, of course, and there was lots of water everywhere, rivers, streams, ... and the water buffalo where there too!! they are funny animals, no furr, and very very long horns!! Our guide was a girl from one of the little villages, she even took us to her parents house, where she lives (when she is not working!), a hut made of hay and mud, where things are cooked on a fire on the floor and all the smoke flies around the house, and there are pigs and chicken everywhere,... and we met her granma, 95 years old and as fit as one can be!! still sewing and selling her merchandise around.... that is something I found a little bit sad, although understandable, that after a whole morning chatting with the girls, having fun, thinking how nice they are... they take out their merchandise (pillowcases, scarves, jewelry, that their family makes) and their faces change, the only thing that matters is selling them to you!!! I was a bit disappointed but still made very good friends with one little girl, who I want to think liked me too... of course, I bought from her, how couldn't I?

The homestay was very nice too! In another little village, a big new hut, with mattresses on the floor with moskito nets! (I still miss that bed, I don't think I have slept as well since!) and it was cold at night!!! I could barely believe it! and the food this woman cooked for us was heaven! and we swam in the river... (of course, I swim whenever I have the opportunity)... The next morning I woke up a bit tired and hangover... playing cards with happy water (rice wine) till late at night and trying to talk to the villagers (no english, only sign language!!)... so when it was raining I kind of hoped we would cancel the trekking and stay a bit longer.... no chance!! we got wet with rain and sweat, climbing up and down the muddy paths... it was so slippery!!! I fell on my bum!!! thank goodness this old lady (yes! an old lady with slippers on, rescued me!!), saved me from slidding all the way down the mountain! (ok, I may be exagerating a little, but it was steep!) so at the end of the trek (she held my hand for most of it, telling me where to step!) ... guess what! I had to buy from her!! of course I did, she saved my life! I haven't bought so much crap in a long time, pillow cases, and jewelry that I don't even like! But nevermind, it was cheap and it was for a good cause!

And at the end I was happy because our girls came to say goodbye to us, and not only did they not sell us anything but they bathed us with presents!!! I got literally 5 bracelets (one from each girl!!), they were genuinely nice, really, believeme!! (0r at least I want to believe it!)

After that train back another 10 hour journey, this time not so lucky! harder berths, crammed, and with noisy people who snored but I slept anyway! And back to crazy Hanoi at 6 in the morning, life never seems to stop in that place! we got a motorbike ride to the hotel, how cool is that? too sleepy to argue the price, they overcharged us, one thing is sure, these people know when and how to make business!! it was exhausting....
but there is more! after recovering we went to the beautiful Halong Bay! more tomorrow (really, I promess!)

From Vientiane to Hanoi!

2007-08-16T05:01:00.000-07:00

Hello darlings!!! I am happy to hear from all of you people!!! tell me the news back... home?
I have lots to tell you too!! I think last time I left you in Vang Vieng, what a place that was! Everyone goes there to try Laos most famous delicatessen:"happy food", as they call it! and it is cooked with lots of love and really nice herbs... but the highlight of that little place was flowing down the river sitting on a huge wheel tube! can you imagine? if I had not been there I wouldn't have believed it myself! you had to be mad or... something... to do that but everybody was going for it, even though it was pissing down with rain!! at first we were quite shocked because the current was quite fast and we couldn't quite steer the tube. But then we saw many little huts beside the river where there was music playing and party going and they had to pull us in! (not an easy job against the current), after we had had a drink to steady us, we were ready for more!! and down we went..........."tubing in the rain"!!! and singing the song too!! It was more than 2 hours down the river, with several stops when the rain got really heavy! but it did not really bother us because it was quite warm! when I think about it now I have to laugh! it was so crazy! flowing down holding hands together and turning round and all...

After Vang Vieng we drove down to Vientiane, a surprisingly small, sleepy and laid back town/village. And it was just as well because the experience in Vang Vieng left us quite... spaced out! It was not easy to do anything, we just lazed around the whole day without an aim... quite pleasant. Laos is such a rural country that chicken rule the place! We still spent quite a long time (3 days) in Vientiane, looking for the places to visit? but, I think in these countries you are really lost without a motorbike, and we did not have any!

What a contrast with Vietnam! I mean, we caught a plane and in an hour we were in the middle of a crazy buzz of a city! the taxi from the airport was beeping his horn all the way into town!! just for the fun of it!! it comes automatically! you should hear the street where I am just now! at first you are shocked (after relaxing Laos), and stressed out, but after a while you learn not to take it personally!! everybofy beeps constantly, just to say "I am here too!" and it is such an incredible place, Hanoi, especially the old town, you can't walk on the busy sidewalks because there are motorbikes parked everywhere and people eating and cooking and selling stuff and you can't walk on the street because there are motorbikes and bicycles and cars and people selling stuff....it is amazing! so intense! not to talk about crossing the street! you really have to keep cool and find your way and just keep walking, not run or stop, always keep going steadily!!!.... it is so frightening that we have to hold hands the three of us to make more bulk so that they avoid us!! can you believe it? no pedestrian crossings or even traffic lights are respected, everybody finds their way beeping?

It is such an intricate neighbourhood as well that it is easy to get lost. We spent the whole day yesterday finding our way through markets selling everything possible, even fish and seafood alive! and I can't tell you more now because I am going trekking!! for 3 days up to the north in a village called Sapa! And I am quite happy to leave the buzz for a wee while! tell you more when I come back! bear with me!!! kissis

Laos in one week

2007-08-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a very short stay in Laos, and yet very pleasant. Not too much to do, just chilling out. I mean, in Luang Prabang (my favourite place in Laos) we went on a boat trip up the Mekong, for a couple of hours, visiting some little village where they sold Whisky distilled from rice!! and very nice scarves... and then we went to a sacred cave filled with Buddha statues, that people are not sure where they come from or why they are there, but they keep bringing more and more... the only sad part of this excursion was the children begging. They were everywhere, selling anything, even stones, or little birds in cages?! and the only word they know in English is "one dollar" and you really want to buy everything because they look at you with those eyes...

In the afternoon we went to see a beautiful waterfall! very high and with lovely blue waters... we climbed up with our tour guide, a very nice little lao boy called Keo, who became our friend and told us all these popular stories about dragons and rivers, and who knows what... it turned out he had been a monk himself for 6 years, and thats why he knew all the stories, and many more things, like English. We climbed up the waterfall and then went down for a swim because it was quite a climb and we got really hot and sweatie. It was a bit of putting that Katie got a leech on her foot but that did not stop me from swimming!

That was probably the day with the most action in our stay in Laos. Afterwards we went to Vang Vieng, and it was quite a journey. We were on a VIP bus (!!) and still it was soooo slow! and the roads are so twisty and narrow and there are so many mountains... and then we had a puncture! But we made it finally, to... the middle of nowhere? it was literally a one street village in a valley surrounded by huge, beautiful mountains. And I am sure you are dying to know the end of this story since in this village we practiced a new sport called "tubing"!! tomorrow more...

From Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang

2007-08-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! just a quick word about that wonderful place, its a place to stay, really. Although I am afraid my judgement is not very reliable because I like it everywhere I go!! I felt at home in Chiang Mai, even though our hostel was a bit of a mess. During the day it was managed by very grumpy people but at night the night porters were quite sweet! and we had a swimming pool! I don't think I managed to go to bed before 3 am any of the nights we stayed there, there was always chatting going on, or party or,... whatever. It was very easy going. And we met this girl from Paris, Sarah, very nice too!

The best thing in Chiang Mai, though, was the sunday market!(which was a night market too!! I think it is too hot during the day) I have promised myself I have to go back there before going back to Europe for all my Christmas presents!! It was the first "real" market, not only for tourists, there was tai people all around! and you did not feel harassed at every corner, like in the tourist markets... and the prices!! they were real prices that you did not need to bargain! too cheap!

Anyway, Chiang Mai, was the right place to start a journey to Laos from. Even though I would have liked to take the boat down the Mekong to go to Luang Prabang, but it was still nice to fly into Laos. Not so nice were the reports we heard about Laos Airlines, but nevermind, we made it! Laos is very different to Thailand, and still very similar. Thais have a very appropriate expression:"same same,... but different!" how cool is that!! even the language is very similar, but I got the impression that Lao people don't like Thais very much, they stole some treasures from them... (like the emerald Bhudha in the Grand Palace of Bangkok!).

Laos is very rural, Luang Prabang looks more like a village than a town. Motorbikes and monks everywhere (although not together, monks are not allowed to ride a scooter!), and the Mekong! a very impressive river. So powerful and red!!! it looks like very strong currents, and it also looks like the spine of the life in Laos. I would love to sail it! maybe next time! I have to leave you now guys, catch you later with more about Laos!

Second part: The Tiger Temple!!

2007-08-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here I am as promised, with the last part of my trip into the deep north... although I have to say that I am a bit disappointed that no comments have been posted... I was hoping for a bit more expectation... nevermind, here it goes. We went on a day trip (always rushing us around places!) to Kachanaburi, where we saw a floating market! it was quite spectacular, if you did not have a boat you could not buy anything, vendors and buyers both on their small but long boats crammed the tiny canals... selling nearly everything! they were even cooking food on the boats! I loved to watch an old lady rowing around looking for bargains...

And then we went to the temple, which was not a temple, really. Like a conservation park for unwanted animals that was run by monks and where the main attraction were the tigers because you could touch them!!! have never been so close to an animal so imposing, with their stripes and their whiskers, like gianormous cats! they were quite scary, and I even touched them!!! about 4 of them. I was led to them by the hand (literally) by one of the guides and told were to approach them... they were sleepy, but not asleep! what an adventure! and the best of all was that there was a baby tiger as well, playfully lying with his monk, which we could stroke as well... soo cute! and again soo strong, I mean his paws were like 5 times a cats, or so, he must have been as big as my dog, if not more! Finally, to finish the day we went to see the famous (or infamous) bridge over the river Quai, quite a sad story which I am not going to retell... but it was a nice day full of adventures.

Then Sukhotai, I haven't told you about it. That was an old capital as well (like Ayyuthaya) and full of temple ruins, very pretty. It was in a very peaceful environment, lots of lakes, trees, grass, and more temples. We rented some pink bikes to look around it and it was quite impressive. And then it started raining!! you don't believe it how it pours down, which such energy, so overwhelming. Luckily there was some shelters around for the occasion... and we took refuge, and so did the people that were cutting the grass! And I started communicating, even without language skills. I can't help it, for me that is what really counts about it all! And we had to pass the time while it rained! We ended up looking at my pictures album (as always, they love it! always so interested!) We made friends with a lady and a boy, who, after the rain decided to become our guide around the temples! What a lovely guy, Sum Kiat. He cycled around with us, taking us here and there, and he did not speak any english at all!!! he invited us to a coconut, to some lotus flower seeds (?) or something like that, and I even made an offering to the Big Buda!! (which is no easy thing to do, don't you think!) It was a very exciting day, I loved it in Sukhotai, and kind of promised my friend that I would visit in November...

Into the deep Thailand...

2007-08-04T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends!
Here I am in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand. We have been on the go for nearly a week now and we were exhausted so we decided to take a wee break in this wonderful town. It is quite nice here. Not so hot and not so touristy as Bangkok. On the way here we have visited many ancient cities, from the past glories of Thailand, but, to be honest, all that was left were temples, and more temples, and most of them were broken!! only a couple of stones left!

No, but it was very nice to get out of the city at last, it is too noisy and stressful and a lot of hassle. You have to haggle your way through! (mind you, I was getting very good at it!) . But out of Bangkok everything is easier and more friendly, if that is possible. We stopped first in Ayyuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, only a village now. But what I liked most of it was not the temples (that were gorgeous) but the elephants!!! yes, you read right! we went to visit the elephants after work (they work in the temples carrying tourists around) and saw them bathing in the river (a very versatile river, by the way, used for dishwashing, clothes, human and animal bathing!) with their mahouts on them (the drivers, I mean) and they are such powerful creatures, and they dived fully into the water while the poor drivers tried to balance on top of them! you had to see it! and then there were the babies! there was 3 of them running around the place playfully, attacking the tourists ant thais alike,... quite a spectacle. They seem to like my skirt particularly and started running after me, which was a little bit scary, since they were very strong and they could push quite hard! still, they were very cute and I survived!

you are going to have to excuse me, I promise I will finish my story tomorrow! but now I am running out of credit in the computer and have no more change with me. Sory! I will keep you awake tonite with the prospect of the next story: the tiger temple!!! nighty night!

Bangkok!

2007-07-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!
Many greetings from smelly Bangkok! I love it here!!
It was quite a long journey to come, though. After Phi Phi Island we stopped in Phuket for the one night (only to go to the cinema to watch the new Harry Potter movie!!!) and from there to Koh Pha-Ngan Island, on the other side of the country. There we stopped for a few days because of the famous (or infamous) Half-Moon party! I was not too keen but, there you go, I can say now that I have been! it was music called "trans"?? not very exciting to be sure. But the party was in the jungle!!! that was quite cool. But what I enjoyed the most was the fact that in the Bungalows we were staying they treated us like family. We had a barbecue- dinner party before the actual party, with our hosts (a mixed couple: Beat-swiss and Koi-thai), who were really welcoming, and the rest of guests, all young people. And we had a delicious 5 kg Barracuda fish (a cousin from tuna), yummmm!!! and after we went to the party all together, even our hostess Koi, came with us, she liked dancing too!!

After the hangover we had to leave, again! (never stops...) and so we started our journey for Bangkok: taxi, ferry, bus, train... (the train was delayed about 4 hours, so we had quite a good look at the station in Surat Thani! and it was the night train, which took 12 hours to reach Bangkok! thank goodness we were on a sleeper train and we could rest in tiny fitted overhead cupboards that were actually quite confy. except for the fact that we had to get out of bed at 7 am to make them into seats again? bizarre...

But I am loving it here in Bangkok! I could stay, for sure! Now we are living in a smelly hostel in Khao San Road, the travellers' hub in this city, were you can buy nearly everything (there is even a branch of Boots!! I promise, its true, with the same logo and all!!!!). People here are not as friendly as in the south and they always try to trick you but they are harmless, I think. And they are in good spirits (most of the time...). Well, one thing I have to say: I am very surprised at how clean this city is! very well taken care of and very much loved. I am always impressed by how many fotos of the king they have around the town, when he was young, when he was riding a horse, taking a picture.... everything, and very ceremonious! they love him!

I have to leave now, we are checking out!!! oh no!! moving again. many kisses, folks! and please!!! keep posting comments! its always nice to know that you have not forgotten me...yet!

Hello form Thailand!!

2007-07-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

I am having a lot of trouble with my blogger account her in Thailand, because I can't get it in Englis so I will have to learn Thai!!! Anyway, here it goes!

I think last time I left it in Penang, Georgetown, on the west coast of Malaysia... it seems a long time ago, and it was probably only over a week! Penang was a very special place too, (I'm afraid most of the places I have been to seem special to me...) and not because of the sights but, as always, because of the people we met. It is a dirty town, with an echo of decadence. We stayed in Chinatown, were every house had a shrine as a fireplace, lit with candles and incense... very picturesque... walking around it, going to the night market that started at 8pm till late... (probably because it was too hot during the day) and then we met this curious australian man in his 60s, who took us out to dinner and drinks and introduced us to Leg and his band of cockerels (really, you had to see him, with his deep, lonesome voice and his guitar, and these three chicken falling asleep around him, on top of the speakers, anywhere... very unique!

Neville (that's the name of our australian friend) introduced us as well to the little girls in the orphanage where he was teaching English and we went to visit them the next day. What beautiful girls! Each from somewhere different and yet sisters, they enjoyed our company, one of them even wanted to come with us...

But we had to leave! always on the move!! the last few days I have been feeling a bit stressed out, too many buses, ferrys, trips and waking up early and packing my bag!!! I am glad we are staying here in Ko Pha-Ngan for a little while... First it was Krabi Town, which I liked very much too, for a change. there we met a couple of friends from my dearest Kecil Island, and they are such a sweet couple (they are also austrian, so somehow my "compadres"). But after I got a bit "Isled Out" with so many island trips and names and beaches and places and ferrys and long boats and.... anyway: I liked Pi Pi Island too, and again not for the sights (although there are gorgeous beaches, but crowded even in low season!!) I liked the relaxed atmosphere, the maze-like paths, the bicycles (no cars!!), everybody greeting you: "sawadikaa!" and everybody so smiley! there was a reggae bar in the beach,which helped a lot with the relaxing...

The Perhentian Islands

2007-07-12T23:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! sorry for not keeping in touch for so long but I have been uncommunicated in a paradise island... I really tried, but no connection to bloggers, sadly, and to even get to civilization we had to walk for an hour through the jungle in a very hot weather!!! so i hope you will excuse the delays.

I have to tell you that the little island of Kecil, in the Perhentian archipielago, on the northeast coast of Malaysia is one of my favourite places in the whole wide world... It is a natural park, full with wildlife, coral reefs, gorgeous beaches, jungle, and really beautiful people (in the real sense). These malays really know how to make you feel at home! we were in a tiny resort with its own private beach called D'Lagoon... the name says everything! well, the beach was not especially sandy (full of coral!!) but that was because all around the little bay there was coral reefs!!!it was amazing just to get your snorkelling gear and swim out... there was Nemos, in their little tiny anemones, all colours and sizes, stingray fish, turtles... and even reef sharks!! (these are the friendly ones, apparently, although I am not sure I would have enjoyed meeting one on my own...). We even had the luck to see a huge turtle (about 70 years old) lay eggs on the beach (on turtle beach). We had to wait for hours at night (12pm) in the dark and in silence until she had dug a huge hole in the sand and layed her eggs and then whenshe was covering them with sand we went to see her. She was gianormous!!! probably very scared of all the flashing lights and people around her, but we had Rais with us, our little jungle boy, who took care that nothing happened to her...

It was quite idyllic, I have to say. That place is a little haven that I would like to go back to (maybe to dive?) the last night we spent it in the "long beach" which is more the "party beach" and sandy, long beach, with a bit more of civilization... only a bit! it was a bit smelly and expensive but it was worth it (the girls needed some social life!! I would have rather stayed at the Lagoon) and we went to a Reggae concert, which was quite funny, the band was local so there was a lot of young malay people dancing (mainly boys, to be honest) and drinking alcohol (which I dont think they handle quite well...) but it was fun meeting some locals. they are short to be sure!!! but very friendly....

And now we are back to civilization. Last night we took the nightbus to Georgetown, at the other end of the paeninsula (I dont quite know how to write it, but you understand), on Penang Island, where we arrived at 4am, and were quite lucky to find accomodation at that time!! in Chinatown. So we slept half day and tomorrow we are heading to Tailand!! (i really want to stay, but I am glad Helen is a practical girl and has convinced me to keep going... too many places to see!!)

I think that is all for now, folks write to you fromo Phuket, I think! many kisses to all the followers and thank you for your comments!! I want more!

Hello again from Taman Negara Natural Park!

2007-07-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

Dear all!! we are livin so many adventures that I barely find the time to write them down in this blog. But I am trying!! this, my first week away has been an intensive one, from the hustle bustle of Kuala Lumpur (by the way, in case anyone is wondering, the houses have many colours, white being one of them...), to the calm atmosphere of the little village of Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands, where we went on an epic quest through the jungle to find the biggest flower in the world, the Rafflesia, that matures for nine months to bloom for 5 days!. a very special flower indeed. It was a very nice adventure made posible by the villagers that own that bit of jungle, who look for the flower and then take the "tourists" to see it. We also visited their little village afterwards, to try the blow pipe they use (or used, better said) for hunting, and it did work, I nearly hit the target!(with a little help). We also visited the Boh Tea Plantations, wich are pretty amazing as well!! (I promise to try and learn how to put photos in this, maybe tomorrow,...)

I have to say, though, that the part I enjoyed most about Tanah Rata was chilling out in the "Jungle Bar" in the evenings, with a bonfire and our host Eddie, who is a real character (he jokes that he looks like Ho-Chi Mihn) and made me feel at home, with a lot of wisedom and advice about all.

But sadly, we left the conforts of Daniel's Lodge in Tanah Rata yesterday morning, to embark on a day long journey through Malaysia (not more than 500 km, maybe, but very difficult roads? Guys, look in the maps: 7am we left Tanah Rata in a minibus to Gua Musang (3 hours) and there we waited for the 10:30am "jungle train" (very picturesque!) that took us to Jerantut (supposedly at 13:13, but time schedules are only approximate in this country). There there was another minibus waiting to take us to the jetty in Kuala Tembeling (about 45 min) where a boat was to take us to the Natural Park of Taman Negara head Quarters in Kuala Tahan (where we are at the moment!). The boat took 3 hours so we arrived in the village absolutely shattered and are still recovering.

Today was only a stroll to the longest canopy walk in the world and then a swim in the river and that is us relaxing, maybe thinking about dinner...?

A hot day in Kuala Lumpur

2007-07-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

Hello children!
we've had a very hot day in Kuala lumpur today. It was great, though. I kept looking around in wonder and amazement. Everything is so different than back home. The streets: some paved, some unpaved, some with drains some with smells, some with traffic lights, some without pedestrian ways... even the birds sound different! not to say the little lizards that we saw. then the contrasts are more obvious when you go from the chinatown area to the over-developed trade centre in the Petronas Towers area. I was amazed at the monorail train! i have never seen one before! and we went on it! quite impressive, i must say. we are going for some beer tonite! quite exciting too! (i mean, i love fruit juice! and there is loads of cheap fruit juice everywhere!!) but in the evening there is nothing like a beer to cool down...

arriving to Kuala Lumpur

2007-06-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

Dear all! I still cant believe that I have made it so far away from home. The flight itself is a very bizarre experience. It seems that it was catching up with time?! we had a 6 hours day and a 6 hours night and now we are bak to day?! how do you understand that! no wonder my body is telling me that there is something wrong, or it may also be the excitement and the feeling of the unknown...
everything is so different here! no wonder! its the other side of the world!! the weather is hot and humid, everybody walks around calmly, as if there is no hurry at all! This place, Kuala Lumpur, I havent seen much of it, but it seems to be a place of contrasts: high rise flat buildings beside slums... the smells! (not exactly spices...). I have seen more palm trees on my way back from the airport than I have in my whole live! they looked amazing, so lush and enormous, powerfull...

well I am going to leave you now cause i think the jet lag its taking its toll... see you later

2007-06-24T07:20:00.001-07:00

Hello bloggers!!! I am going to Asia and I want everybody to know! I am all stressed out about jags and visas and insurance and passport and stuff, but I am better now. I think I can start enjoying the prospect of my adventure. I have about 20 guide books to go through in the next few weeks so I will get back to you then. The countdown has started and it will end the 28th of June when I catch a plane to Kuala Lumpur...

2007-06-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Asiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!