Bombino World Tour: March 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

TUBING IN LAOS

Lots of Pictures in this one so feel free to scroll down......

After a few days of rain in Laos nearly all of the travelers were excited to see the sun shining last Saturday in Vang Vieng, Laos. Vang Vieng is famous for its river that travelers come to tube down and enjoy its lovely scenery. After a week of rain, the town was filled with excited travelers who had been extending their stay waiting for the sun to shine in order to float down the river via tube. We had arrived just in time, but we had no idea what we were in for. We woke up happy to see the sun and glad that we had the chance to tube down the river. When we got there we were all shocked to see the incredible amount of people and bars lined down the river with slides, rope swings, and trampolines for people stop by and enjoy during their float down the river. It was like the Spring Break stop for all backpackers and I must admit we had an absolutely awesome time. The river was filled with people in tubes happy to be enjoying good company and the absolutely incredible views of the mountains surrounding us as we made our way down the river. We were so beat after our awesome day of tubing that on our last day in Vang Vieng we sat poolside relaxing and recounting our funny stories from the day before.

Tuk Tuk full of tubers

Ready for tubing!

The first view of the river

So many backpackers!

First stop

Leo on the rope swing

So many places to stop along the way

Plank

I made a friend!

The ladies

New addition to our travel family- so cute

The dudes

Slide

tubing down the river

The slide Liz and I went down with tubes- so crazy and so fun!

Liz and Ed after surviving the slide

Great day of tubing

Kids playing in the water

Beautiful Laos

Pool day with awesome views

Lunch on the River

Last night in Vang Vieng

Our home in Vang Vieng

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Laos- Crossing the boarder, Slow Boats, Mountains and More

After enjoying about a week in Northern Thailand the group decided to cross the boarder and head to Laos. We made the trip via a two day slow boat with a one night stop in a small port town. The slow boat had some beautiful views and it was very cool to see the way that many people travel throughout this country. Laos is not as developed as other parts of South East Asia so it has been incredible to see a different way of life at a much slower pace.

When arriving to Laos we spent our first few days in Luang Prabang & then made our way to Vang Vieng. It had been raining since we arrived but we finally had our first day of sunshine! Luang Prabang has big French influence so we enjoyed delicious french bread sandwiches and discovered the incredibly yummy Oreo and banana shakes. Laos is so beautiful with mountains and hills everywhere; a picture can't even describe how lovely it truly is here. Traveling from town to town takes about twice the time here as it would else where due to the rocky dirt roads. We took a 7 hour ride in a van from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng yesterday and it felt like we were off roading the entire time! The people in Laos are kind and work very hard from what I have seen. So far we have seen some beautiful waterfalls, mountains, and caves while here.We have a few more days in Laos before Liz and I part ways from the group and make our way to Vietnam.

Lots of pictures below so enjoy!

The travel group on the slow boat from Thailand to Laos

Slow Boat Views

Slow Boat- 2 days!

White Temple

Laos

Lots of Rain- Liz's Family Sized Poncho came to great use!

Waterfall in Luang Prabang

Taxi's in Laos- we call them "Truck Trucks"

What they use for cars

Cows walking down the road

Bridge with a great view

Stop in Laos

Vang Vieng

Blue Lagoon- the water was so pretty

Blue Lagoon

Great Views Everywhere

Cave Entrance

So dark!

Inside the cave

Deeper into the cave- scary!

Street and town- Laos

Kids fishing

BBQ- cook your own dinner

Mike's last night with the group

Monday, March 14, 2011

Thailand- Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Pai, and more Chiang Mai!

Bangkok

(feel free to just skip to the pictures below- this is a long one for those of you who like the details!)

I flew into Bangkok from Bali and only spent one night in the city full of life and backpackers. I walked the famous backpacker street- Khao San Road- on the evening of my arrival and had a mellow night after the long day of travel. I will be back in Bangkok before I travel to India so I will have more insight on the city after my next visit. The next I day I took the overnight train to Chiang Mai to meet my friend Liz. I shared a bunk with Genevieve from Australia who was traveling to Chiang Mai for holiday. It was a good thing the top bunk had a rail because it was the bumpiest train ride I have experienced. I was thrown into the rail of the bed a number of times though the night, saving me from bruises and injury and falling off of the top bunk.

The next day I arrived in Chiang Mai excited to see Liz and a new city. I loved Chaing Mai. Chaing Mai became like home to us and we have had a wonderful time there. The city is filled with kind people, cheap markets, and delicious food. On my first day there I met Maxim, a friend Liz had been traveling with for some time. Through him we met a group of travelers who had all met each other along their way traveling. Over this past week we have formed a little travel group and family. There is Ed, Kirsty, and Leo from Whales and England, Darrell and Maxim from Canada, and Mike from California. I met most of them on my first night in Chiang Mai at the huge Sunday Market.

The next day we all left for a two day trip to a smaller town called Pai. Four us made the trip up there via motor bike. It was absolutely beautiful. Pai is the the mountains so it was quite the experience and we were able to see a lot of the Northern Thailand beauty. The ride took about 5 and a half hours- it was one of my favorite parts of my trip yet. In Pai we found these amazing bungalows for 60 baht a night- about $2 a night!- Incredible. Two of our bungalows shared an outdoor washroom which was absolutely lovely. Using the toilet under the stars is quite the experience!

Pai was quite the cute little town. We spent two days there relaxing, enjoying our hammocks, sitting poolside and eating awesome food. Pai may have the best yellow curry you can ever try! We enjoyed our evenings walking around the town and drinking Changs at a number of outdoor reggae bars. After two days we made the trek home. For the motorbike crew it was quite the rough ride. By then we were all tired and our bums hurt from so long on the motor bikes but we made it back to Chiang Mai and felt like we were returning home.

The group went to see tigers the next day. They were absolutely beautiful but we were all in some unease about the situation the tigers were in because they were so mellow. We had to assume they were on some sort of tranquilizers. While I am happy to have seen these beautiful animals so closely, I am not sure I would suggest it just because it was strange and a bit sad to see such a powerful and strong animal so tame.

On our last day in Chiang Mai Liz, and I went on a trek. We went to a butterfly farm where we did not see any butterflies, took a bamboo raft down a river, had an elephant ride, and did a zip line course. The elephants were incredible. I liked this trek because the elephants were able to roam free and run around together which was incredible to see.

Thai food is so good. I have discovered a love for curry. Some of my favorite Thai dishes include Massaman Curry and Yellow Curry. The Pad Thai Noodles have been amazing as well. Thailand is beautiful and I love it up North. There is so much to do and it is filled with culture, beautiful land, and kind people.