Lao

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Going from Cambodia to Lao turned out to be a very long and frustrating trip. First and foremost I would advise taking a different route (Lao to Cambodia or Thailand to Cambodia, etc.) because the Cambodia/Laos border is not often used and there is only one overland option (Veun Kham/ Dom Kralor).  We were supposed to get picked up at our hotel at 5:15 in the morning but the bus was almost an hour late. Then we changed buses and had the luxury to be on a nice cool bus for a few hours. Then came the mini bus…17 people…we were all in hell. It was really hot and terribly uncomfortable for about 2 hours. Then the majority of the people got off and the rest of us continued on. The driver turned on really loud music and pretended not to understand us when we asked him to turn it off and then started driving like a mad man. It was delightful. Around 5:30 we got dumped at a bus stop. Were we changing buses again? No, the Cambodia/Lao border closed at 5pm and we needed to stay the night (in Sung Treng). Seriously? R and I were told the trip would take 12 hours and the girls who were with us (C from Sweden and M and N from Holland) also heard it would take 12-15 hours and we all heard we would be in Lao by the end of the day. In other words, we got scammed so we would spend money on a guesthouse. We were all hot, tired, and pissed off. It would have been fine if they had been honest with us but this was a very unpleasant surprise. We reluctantly went and found a guesthouse, ate some dinner, and passed out.

The next day (Thursday) we got to sleep in until 7! Then we met up with the 3 girls and went to the bus stop to get on the bus that would hopefully take us to Lao. The bus was supposed to come at 8:30 so naturally we waited an hour (but had the entertainment of a guy playing DJ with terrible American club music). Finally we got on the bus and about an hour and a half later we were at the border. Prices vary slightly for a Lao visa depending on what country you are from (if you have more than 1 passport look up which is cheaper beforehand because R could not use his other passport because he had used his USA one for Cambodia and had to use the same one). For Americans it is $35 for the visa but then everyone has to pay $2 for the departure stamp from Cambodia and $1 for the stamp for Lao (apparently ink is expensive or they just want to screw you a bit). $38 later we got dropped off near the ferries that would take use to Don Det (Si Phan Don or 4,000 Islands). We had to pay for the ferry (it’s really cheap but again the place we bought our bus ticket said the ferry was included and again they were wrong), which was annoying, but then we were off. We got to the island and quickly found a room, ate, and got in the water! We met some people staying there and made a plan to go tubing with some of them the next day! That night after dinner there was a knock on the door, a guy from Canada we had met in the water earlier. His girl friend (who we had met as well) was sick, they had smoked some weed and she was now completely freaking out. She eventually fell asleep and was fine. We also met a couple people who smoked and were totally ok, however, be aware that there is a chance of getting pretty sick.

We had a really long and really good day on Friday. First we went on a long bike ride with C to the Somphamit Waterfall. The ride was absolutely beautiful! We saw lots of animals (we got in the water and petted the buffalo) and got more of the sense of local life in Lao. When we got to the waterfall we were really hot and tired but the sight was still amazing. I have never been to Niagara Falls but this was pretty cool to me! We took a lot of pictures and then a Thai tour group came over and they wanted to take pictures with us, which was really funny! We got in the water (in a little pool nearby) before biking back, which was very refreshing and cooled us down. We got back around 12:30 and then had a quick lunch before we went tubing! We went with C and S (a guy we met yesterday) and 4 other people he was with. It was cheaper with more people (20,000 kip each, a little under $3) and we got beer and a cooler and were ready to go! It was a blast! I highly recommend it! We floated down the river for about an hour and then had to “pull over” because it started to thunder and lightning. We ended up in a little house with a bunch of local people. The kids were really excited and the people were really nice about letting us stay. It was one of those magical travel moments that could never be planned (that obviously makes it even better). The sky cleared and the rain stopped and we went back to the river to finish our tubing adventure. It was a little after 5:30 when we got back to shore and we were all exhausted. Sleep followed very quickly after dinner.

Saturday was a relaxing day in which I read and chilled out all afternoon and then watched the sunset. We got bus tickets to Pakse for the next day and watched a movie at night. Our bus wasn’t until 11 so I could actually pack in the morning, which was nice. We took the ferry off of Don Det and then got on the bus. It was about a two and a half hour drive with the air con dripping on me a whole lot. After the bus we got set up at the Lankham Hotel and immediately showered (I had literally sweat through my shirt and shorts…delicious I know). Then we spent the late afternoon and early evening at a great café (Kafe Katuad) drinking coffee shakes and enjoying the wifi. After that we got crappy take out and called it a night.

On Monday we got breakfast at an awesome place called Bolaven and after went exploring. First we went to the river front near the bridge and visited the Wat Luang Temple which “is deemed as the most beautiful temple in Pakse. It is also where Wat Phabad, the Buddhist Monk School is located which includes studies in English, business management, and cultural studies. Rumour has it that Lord Buddha left his footprint here, at Wat Phabad, the biggest and oldest temple of Pakse.” After we went to the local fresh market/mall but it was a bit too Western and unorganized so we ended up just wandering through. Then we wanted to find the Dao Heuang Market but we didn’t realize how long of a walk it was. The actual distance was not the problem, but the heat was. When it does not rain the heat truly horrible. It can get dangerous extremely quickly (walk in the shade and drink a ton of water). But we did make it and what a sight it was! The market is massive with a food section and a kind of everything else section. We saw a lot of fish and meat (which was interesting for me because there was not much of that in Nepal and India) as well as every domestic product you can imagine. What was really interesting though was the lack of harassment. I am so used to be jumped on the minute I walk past a shop but because no one speaks English, not only did I not get bothered, but when I actually wanted to look at something they were reluctant to help me at all. Before we got to the market we had wanted to take a break and get a fruit shake at one of the dozens or little restaurants we kept passing. But we could not get help. No one could understand what we wanted. In Nepal this was normal (people not knowing English) but at least I knew enough of the language to communicate what I wanted. I wasn’t frustrated, I was interested. I thought back to last year when I was working before I left for this journey (but knowing I was going) and trying to be more sympathetic to people coming in and not knowing a lot of English. I remember thinking “this will be you soon so try to be patient like you will want others to be with you.” Nepalis are so friendly and really made an attempt to try to understand me, but here I did not feel that. In my opinion, most of the Lao people I have been around have not been unfriendly, but they have not been overly friendly either (with exceptions of course). We eventually tore ourselves away from the market (it was the smell of meat and fish that really did it) and went back to shower and be cool for a minute.

Tomorrow we will go back to Thailand. We will take a bus and cross the border into Thailand by land and then have an overnight bus into Bangkok. I will have a couple days there and then be off to Bali! This is the last leg of my journey (I will go to Israel after Bali but in my eyes that is more of a vacation for me as opposed to traveling) and I am really excited and freaked out about it. I am trying not to think about it too much or stress out but it is hard to comprehend that fact that sometime next month (I haven’t bought my ticket from Israel to the States yet) I will be back in the States, back home. So for now I will just try to have these thoughts in the background of my mind and have the foreground be filled with thoughts of fruit shakes, beaches, and airplanes.

Signed,

In Transit and Transition 

Cambodia and Lao Tips

Double check prices on the menus (sometimes they try to charge you more for something so always check the menu when you get the bill)

Cambodia and Lao have mostly meat dishes (I don’t eat meat or sea food and it is not impossible but I am now sick of eggs, noodles, and rice)

The currency in Cambodia is the riel (1.00 USD = 3,986.96 KHR) and the currency in Lao is the kip (1.00 USD = 7672.49 LAK)

Always bargain with the tuk tuk drivers and everyone else (just like all of Asia)

Research when crossing a border by land (when the border closes, all the fees, whether or not you need a passport picture, etc.)

Mini bus seating (do not sit in the back…they either don’t have ac or it isn’t very good, try to sit as close to the font as possible and if there is a single seat grab it!)

Order of countries (personally I would recommend going from Northern Lao and then going down to Cambodia as opposed to the other way around)

CityMaps2Go App (if you have an iphone , download the map of where you are going ahead of time, very helpful)

Pub Street/Night Market (located in Siem Reap, Cambodia this is the area where the nightlife, shopping, and tourism goes on. This is the only thing to really do at night, if you do not stay in the area you will have to take a tuk tuk every time you want to go which is a pain)

Hydrate (seriously, it is extremely hot and humid and you become tired so quickly. Drink a ton of water or you will be very sorry very quickly)

Have fun (these are beautiful countries and it is amazing to be there)

Cambodia

“The farther you go, however, the harder it is to return. The world has many edges, and it's easy to fall off.”  (Anderson Cooper)

Getting back to Bangkok was not pleasant. First I took about a 3-hour ferry to Don Sak Peir from Koh Pangan. It was really hot and a storm was on the horizon, which made for lots of rocking. Then there was a bus into Surat Thani which is where I met R (different from the one in Koh Pangan) and I was very happy I did. We got dropped at one place and picked up by a mini bus and then had to wait for about 2 hours at another place, and finally a minibus to our final bus. But wait, the fun wasn’t over yet! We had heard stories about the people on the buses gassing the buses so that the passengers will fall asleep and the porters can take things. Not something you would notice right away; a little money, a camera, something that would take you a minute to realize what had happened. I was really happy I was now with someone because I was freaked out! I was careful with my stuff, all important things (wallet, passport, camera, phone) were in a purse that I had on me and my backpack only had my laptop (which they wouldn’t take because I would notice that pretty quick. The ride in itself was awful. The air conditioning didn’t work and the windows didn’t open…I didn’t realize what that meant until later. I felt terrible for the next two days. What I thought was just dehydration was really the after affects of the gas. Please be careful when taking over night buses in Thailand. You can secure your stuff, just be smart and check everything before you get off, but make sure you have a place to stay and prepare to feel a bit sick.

Our bus got in at 4:30 in the morning and I thought I was going to throw up. I didn’t realize at the time why I felt so awful but I just wanted to lay down in the street. Instead, R and I checked into Wild Orchid (across the from the place I stayed last time) and passed out.  I thought I felt better when I woke up but when we went to go find out bus information for Cambodia I felt so sick I had to go back and lay down. When I finally got up I felt good enough to go and see A (who was on her way to Phi Phi Island) and D (she was leaving that night to go back to India) which was really great and made me so happy to see them both! D had to leave for the airport so A, R, and I went and sat at outside at a restaurant but all were pretty sleepy so we turned in early. Unfortunately the gas hangover continued. I felt awful on Thursday and spent most of the day in bed alternating between sleeping and reading. R and I got pizza to go and watched a movie (he wasn’t feeling great either). We did end up booking bus tickets to Cambodia for the next day which was good because we thought we had to feel better by the next day.

On Friday R and I got up early and caught the bus at 8 to Cambodia! The bus ended up being a van which was either too small or had too many people. It was about a 6- hour ride to the town of Piopet where we stopped and filled out the paper work to cross into Cambodia. If you cross the border by bus you need two 4x6 (cm) passport pictures and $35 (you can also pay in Thai baht but it is cheaper in dollars). We also found out that you CAN use an online E-Visa in Piopet to cross the border for a few dollars cheaper (there is a scam which says you cannot use it so people have to pay more money). After you hand in your visa application you wait about ten minutes and get your passport back with your visa. Then we (along with 4 other people) were taken by a guide to cross the border, he made sure all our paper work was filled out properly so we would not be delayed. Then we went through Thai immigration and handed in our departure tickets and then finally through arrivals for Cambodia to get our passports stamped and cross into Cambodia officially. It was incredibly hot and the line was long, bring a big bottle of water and lots of patience.  Finally we all got through and then had to wait a while for our bus to take us to our actual bus which would then take us to Siem Reap.

We had booked a hotel in Piopet while we were filling out our visa applications because it was cheap (600 baht) and we knew we would be beat by the time we got there. We were told that we would be picked up when the bus dropped us off in Siem Reap and taken to the hotel. While waiting for the bus a ton of guys tried to convince us to take a cab. They said it would take 2 hours in the cab while the bus took 4 hours and it would only be 100 baht. It was extremely hot and we were beat and we almost did it…then we found out that they only took 4 people at a time and would end up being cramped and said forget it. We later found out that this cab ride would have been a terrible idea because of the distance, from the bus station where we were waiting to Siem Reap was about 200 km, which would mean that the cab would have been speeding out of control the entire way to get us there in two hours. Plus, the bus was air-conditioned, we made a nice pit stop, and it was under 4 hours.

Another thing to be aware of, our guide recommended us to change a lot more money than necessary. First of all you can exchange only dollars or Thai baht (we took out money before we crossed the border) and there are not many atms in Cambodia so if you do not have enough money take out before you cross the border. The currency in Cambodia is the riel (1.00 USD = 3,984.83 KHR) but the dollar is actually accepted everywhere. So you can get a meal for $2 but on the whole it is cheaper to use riel. Our guide was saying that we should change about 12,000 baht each (1.6 million riel) because each major attraction costs about $20 or about 80,000 riel. We did not change that much money. I only changed about 6,000 baht because I did not want to spend that much. Do not tell them how much you changed, there is an amazing communication network between guides and tuk tuk drivers and the minute they know how much you spend they will harass you.

Finally we arrived in Siem Reap at about 8pm and were taken to our hotel (Phoum Khmer Boutique Hotel), which is extremely nice, and as mentioned before only 600 baht (300 each)! However, before we could settle in we had to sit through a “presentation.” The guy that picked us up from the bus and took us to the hotel wanted us to choose and commit to sights and activities we could do in Siem Reap (essentially getting us to pay for things so he could make money for his company). We listened to everything he had to say and then made a plan to meet with him the following morning to talk and then make out decisions. This gave us the opportunity to discuss what we wanted to do and more importantly top research. He had given us prices for what it would cost to go to the floating village and Angkor Wat plus the tuk tuk to each. Both the market and Angkor Wat was $20 but it turns out he overcharged us a lot for the tuk tuk, he told us it was 150,000 riel per day when it really should only be 100,000 for BOTH days. Plus we were not sure what things we wanted to do and when and we were extremely tired from a long day of travel (which is the trick) so my advice would be, listen, write things down and then get back to them.

The next morning (Saturday) we met with D (the driver) and decided on the following: floating village for later in the day and Angkor Wat the following day with all tickets included plus the tuk tuk fairs. We also made a very big deal about not being harassed at the floating village. Usually when taken out the guides will take you past the orphanage and pressure you into buying things for the kids. This is not a good idea. We were even told by the guides on the bus (who were fantastic) that if you want to give to the children, donate to an orphanage on-line or at an office. You will be encouraged to give money and the kids are trained to stop what they are doing and sort or preform. We made it clear that this was not what we wanted and D told us to just be upfront about it in the beginning of the tour and we would not be bothered.

Finally we finished up and went to go find dinner. This turned out to be really hilarious! We didn’t want to go far because we were so tired so we picked a place near us. We had to go somewhere else because they didn’t have an English menu so we would have no idea what we were getting. The next place we tried had English but not a lot of vegetarian options (for me). R ordered a dish with one kind of meat but got another and there was really bad singing for background music. It was almost impossible to communicate with the servers but the whole thing just seemed funny. We ate what we could and were just happy to be there in one piece!

We left for the floating village around 3pm because we stopped at the night market first just to look around. Then we had an amazing drive to the river. It was about a half an hour ride through Cambodia. No roads, no buildings that would be considered a house by Western standards, and lots of naked kids. It was beautiful. The sky looked like sun and rain all at once and it felt real. I felt like I was really seeing Cambodia, that unlike other countries when you have to actually try to get out of tourist areas, it was all right in front of me. The floating village itself wasn’t that impressive, it was the experience that was great. We got on a boat and sat on the front while a kid around 9 years old drove and a guide sat with us and told us about the lake and river. It was all so real. The motor of the boat was old and loud and we got stuck a few times (the water is really low because it is right before the rainy season) and they had to push us out using a big stick. We watched the sun set on the water and could not stop looking at the sky! The air was cooling and I felt so relaxed and at ease. We had another great tuk tuk ride back to our hotel, which included more sky and breeze. After we went out to dinner on Pub Street (tourist area), which is right next to the Night Market. There are lots of different restaurants, places to shop, and a surprising amount of tourists. We had a good time people watching and enjoyed ourselves but didn’t stay out long because we had a big day ahead of us!

Sunday started nice and early (5 AM)! Angkor Wat is “the largest Hindu at first, then Buddhist temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The Small circuit is 15 km and the Big Circuit 34 km.” We watched the sun rise at Angkor Wat (the main and largest temple) and then we got taken to the Angkor Thom, which included the Bayon Temple (the magic mountain), which is 3 stories and 43 m in height, Terrace of the Elephants which is two and a half meters tall and 300 meters with carved elephants that spans Angkor Thom, as well as Baphuon, Phimeanakas, and the Royal Palace area. Bottom line, there is a ton to see! You can get a day pass for $20, three-day pass for $40, or a week pass for $60. In my personal opinion there is absolutely no need to spend more than a day there. Furthermore, I found no need to spend the recommend 11 hours there (5 am pick up for sunrise and then staying until 4pm)! First of all, this is right at the end of the really hot season so I was sweating a little before 8 in the morning. Although the temples are in the woods and surrounded by trees and shade it is still really hot. Plus, I had no need to spend over an hour at each site, however that is only my personal opinion. If you are extremely into architecture and love tours then maybe you will disagree but for me, that is way too much time. We spent 5 hours there altogether and that was plenty. By the end we were melting and everything started to look the same. We ended with having a snack and then seeing Angkor Wat and that was quite enough! We got back to the hotel and passed out for the afternoon! Then we went and had dinner at a really awesome place called The Blue Pumpkin which, I highly recommend and encourage everyone to look up! It was a very long and very productive day!  

Monday was productive in a completely different way. We spent all afternoon and early evening at The Blue Pumpkin working (blogging, reading, writing, and researching) which was really great. I didn’t sweat the entire day (which is something like a miracle here) and was very relaxed. I also extended my flight to Bali so I can go to Laos without feeling rushed. On Tuesday we went into town (Pub Street/Night Market area) and got our tickets to Laos (we were going by bus) which was anywhere from $22 to $26 (depending on if you wanted to pay for the ferry in advance or not). Then we spent some time looking around the market and just wandering. We came back for dinner and then did the real night market (the whole area is called the night market but there is a small specific section that is really only open at night) which was nice as it is not as hot at night.

Tomorrow we take a bus to Laos! I am so excited that I am actually getting to go to all the places I had dreamed about! Not being able to spend much time in any one place is unfortunate but I am trying to see what I can and just appreciate everything. It is so crazy that a little over 7 months has gone by since I left home, but I can officially say that I am still happy to be traveling and doing what I love!

Signed,

Determined Jet Setter 

On My Own

“Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!” (The Wizard of Oz)

As my Mother has happened to be a therapist my whole life I became very good at identifying my feelings, analyzing myself, and self-reflection from a very early age. Therefore, I can comfortably say that one of my biggest faults is being way too hard on myself and to not give myself enough credit. I don’t do it to fish for compliments, rather in an attempt to be modest which ends up sounding as though I am sometimes belittling myself. I am now going to take a moment and be out of character. I think I am amazing! I spent 4 months volunteering and doing work that I believed in and loved, living with people who did not speak English as a first language (although their English was all very good!), and completely emerging myself in another culture. I worked hard and am sincerely proud of the work I did. Despite feelings of confusion and homesickness I continued to press on and follow my heart to do what I have always dreamed: to travel the world. When I wanted to go to Thailand (top priority on my list) and my friends wanted to stay in India I went on my own. That plane ride was just as scary as the one I took from Israel to Nepal (in a very different way) and just like then I succeeded. I have made new friends and seen the places I wanted to see because I was brave enough to leave the comforts of my friends behind.

This was all extremely difficult. Travel in itself is hard but although I have ended up not spending a lot of time on my own, every time I go off I am mentally prepared for not finding anyone and just being on my own. For me, I am always really terrified that I won’t meet anyone and something will go wrong and that spirals into the “what if” scenarios that are silly and unavoidable. But after a month of being on my own I can really and truly say that I am proud of myself and. I think doing this has given me more confidence and faith in myself not only as a traveler but as a person. During TBT and while in India with my friends I began to loose my usual ability to be outgoing and extroverted, however, this forced me to bring that skill back in full swing and I could not be more happy about it! I have met some truly amazing people who I will hopefully be keeping touch with for a long time.

For anyone contemplating traveling but the fear of doing it alone is holding you back, I get it. But I would also highly recommend giving yourself a push and going for it! Going to Thailand is a great way to start because there are so many tourists which makes it especially easy to meet people and make fast friends. Bangkok in particular is easy to get around and safe to walk around alone at night (for girls). A great place to start being brave!

In about a week I will be on my own again and off to Bali. I know I will be nervous but I also know I can do it…and anything else I put my mind to.

Signed,

Modestly Proud  

Southern Islands

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”  (Pat Conroy)

Sunday morning I got up and ready and went to the airport. My flight was delayed 45 minutes but we only got in a half an hour late to Koh Samui. It was late afternoon and I would not be able to get a ferry to Koh Tao until the next day. So I got a room near Buddha Pier (where the ferries leave) and showered, had dinner, and slept in a very big and comfortable bed. The next day I got on the ferry to Koh Tao at 1:30. We stopped at Koh Pangan first (about 30 minutes away) and then from there Koh Tao is about an hour and a half but I slept most of the way. It was pretty easy to find R and P, they were staying at a place called Blue Wind on Sarie beach. I got a room situated and then took a swim before dinner. We ate right on the beach and sat and watched people put floating lanterns in the sky and guys dancing with fire. Sarie beach has a lot going on but the Blue Wind shuts down early, which was great because I was tired and would have some quiet.

On Monday P and I did some shopping I town and then R and I spent way too long in the water…I was dehydrated and exhausted. I stayed in bed with a lot of water and Gatorade for the rest of the afternoon and early evening as a result. But I found out some great news, a girl who I knew in my last year in college (an exchange student from France) is here in Koh Tao! We made plans to see each other, which was very exciting! Tuesday was out last day in Koh Tao and we spent it on a private beach. We took bikes to get there (which was fun because R and P drive motor cross back in Switzerland) and the ride was really beautiful (and a bit scary)! We spent the day there and it was nice and quiet and had lots of beautiful fish to see! It was a really good way to spend our last day and I really enjoyed myself! That night we met up with my friend from school and one of her friends. They had done a semester in China and were now traveling around Thailand for a bit before heading back to France. It was really nice to see her and we spent the evening talking and just having a good time.

We took the ferry from Koh Tao to Koh Pangan and arrived around noon. We got rooms at the Great Bay Resort and then napped the whole afternoon in preparation. That night we went to Haad Rin beach for the full moon party! It was crazy fun! Hundreds of people on the beach drinking, dancing, swimming, playing with fire, and all sorts of general fun and nonsense! We stayed all night and arrived just in time to watch the sun rise on the beach before completely passing out. The next day was pretty lazy as we were all a bit sore and sleepy from the full moon party. We ate and read and just chilled out until dinner. We went to the street market and got absolutely delicious pad Thai! The moon was full and beautiful and R and I ended up on top of a mountain looking at the crazy awesome view.

Saturday was really fun! We took a beautiful bike ride Haad Salad Beach and spent the afternoon there. Then we got a snack at the food market and had an earlier than usual dinner because we went to a Maui Thai fight! It wasn’t very good (the pairings were completely unfair which did not make for good fights) but it was still something I have never seen before and I had fun. It was really interesting how spiritual a lot of the guys are and the differences between Maui Thai and boxing. On Sunday we went to an amazing place for brunch called Nira’s (I highly recommend it!) and then went to Haad Rin beach again (where the full moon party was). It was a nice beach and the water was nice and cool but it stung! It felt like tiny invisible jellyfish were stinging me over and over again! We sat and relaxed on the beach for a while but we didn’t stay as long as we would have because we didn’t feel like getting back in the water. The rest of the day was good though, we got massages and then got dinner and watched a movie (Despicable Me)!

Monday was our last day in Koh Pangan and we went to Nira’s again for breakfast! Then we were riding around on the bike and came across a Secret Beach (actual name) and decided to head there. It was nice and quiet with a small restaurant with delicious fruit shakes! We spent the afternoon there relaxing and enjoying the last day. When we came back to get showered we found out that the owner of the hotel was having their 50^th birthday and there would be a big buffet. We stopped by but most of the food was already gone and too much of it was meat (I’m a pescatarian) so we went for one more round at the street market and got spring rolls and fruit shakes!

Tomorrow I go alone back to Bangkok and try to figure out my plan. I will probably go to Laos and then hopefully meet some people who would like to come with me to Cambodia and from there I will go back to Bangkok because I leave from there to Bali on May 12^th! I am really excited but sad to say goodbye to R and P and a little nervous about being on my own again. I know it will be ok but this is something I will never just not worry about. As for now, I am really happy with the time I have spent in the Southern islands and looking forward to what is to come!

Signed,

Forward March