Siem Reap

Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th September 2017

Friday

Luckily I started to feel a tad better by the afternoon, and as I skipped lunch I was starving! We went to the hotel restaurant and grabbed pad Thai and then got ready to go to Phare, the Cambodian circus. It was incredible! And it feels so much better knowing I'm going to support a great cause! They fund an arts school which give heaps of Cambodians a chance to learn theatrical and circus arts and also opens up career opportunities at the end. After this we checked out the night markets, we all had to buy white I love Cambodia tops as we are all going to sign them tomorrow night - mostly everyone's last night!

Saturday

Unfortunately it was Emma's turn to feel unwell today! I think we might be starting to have overstayed our welcome in Asia! Nevertheless we had a busy day ahead of us! We had a 4am start as we went to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat - something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember! We also saw a couple other temples as well - Bayon and Ta Prohm (tomb raider temple) and they were all awesome! We then went back, I ordered room service and then had an hours nap before we went quad biking! Emma ended up covered in mud because Jason kept doing his best to 'fishtail' in the puddles! We then headed out for our last meal and night out with the group, emma, Kelsey, Amy and I headed back fairly early none of us were feeling all that great! 

Sunday

So today was the sad day we had to say goodbye to this Contiki fam and move on to Vietnam! It was only Emma, Lou and Amy and I who are on the big indo so we went with Chamani to the airport leaving the others behind! It's been so much fun with everyone, I'll miss them a lot but I'm very excited for Vietnam and meeting the new fam!

Phnom Penh

Thursday 21st - Friday 22nd September 2017

Thursday

Cambodia is finally here! The country I have been most excited to visit due to its history - both recent and not. As soon as we were out of the airport we went straight to the killing fields. It's crazy how many innocent people were slaughtered there and how 30 years later the rainy seasons bring up more bones and teeth from the mass graves. We didn't stay too long here unfortunately as monsoon season had finally lived up to its name and the heavens opened before us! Luckily we had time to look around the memorial, where they have hundreds of skulls all sorted by age, gender and how they think they were killed. It's powerful stuff. We then managed to borrow some umbrellas from the people who worked there and made our way to the coach and then onto the genocide museum. Here our guide gave us a brief talk - block a is for the more powerful prisoners, block b for the guards, block c for most of the prisoners and block d where they tortured the victims. Out of the thousands of people that were here, only a few managed to survive and we were lucky enough to meet Chum Mey and he described some of the ways in which he was tortured. I bought his book and I'm excited to read that when I'm home! We had free time to walk round all the blocks, it's such an incredible experience to be able to see what a horrific time the Cambodians had first hand through pictures and from being in the place where it happened. After this we checked in to our hotel and headed out to a 'family style' dinner at a restaurant called the titanic. It was pretty good! A few of us went back to the hotel and chilled out in the jacuzzis with prosecco. It was a perfect evening!

Friday

I woke up feeling very ill this morning, like I'd been feeling a bit worse for wear recently but after breakfast this morning I had the worst stomach cramps and just stayed in bed until we checked out at 12 and caught our flight to Siem Reap. 

Vientiane

Wednesday 20th - Thursday 21st September 2017

Wednesday 

We had about a 4 hour drive to Vientiane and   Emma and I were very happy to see that Chamani put on Pitch perfect on the bus! We also watched a documentary about the secret war on Laos - where the Americans bombed Laos despite signing a treaty saying they wouldn't. To this day there are still between 10-30 million unexplored bombs all over Laos and the villagers risk their lives everyday to get food for themselves. It's so sad but a real eye opener. We had a little tour round Vientiane, stopping at Wat That Luang, the victory monument and finally at COPE centre, a charity that supports victims of the bombies previously mentioned. Our group raised over $600 usd which is amazing!! When we got back to the hotel I felt a bit rough so went for a half an hour nap - which led me to waking up feeling worse annoyingly! Emma and I walked down to the night markets and grabbed some pad Thai from a street vendor and did a bit of shopping before heading in for an early night. I'm so annoyed that I've felt rubbish for at least 75% of the trip so far, although I don't have enough money to drink all the time like everyone else anyway so I guess is a blessing in disguise! 

Thursday 

Leaving Laos today! Had a nice leisurely morning as our flight wasn't until 12ish and then headed to the airport. Had another surprise in flight meal which is always good! I've really enjoyed Laos and I really think it's important for more people to come and visit the country to see first hand how the wars have affected totally innocent people. The more people that see it hopefully the less likely it will be that it will happen again!

Vang Vieng

Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th September 2017

Monday

It took about 6 hours in total to get to Vang Vieng, and we stopped off at a cute restaurant with gorgeous views for lunch on the way. We checked into our hotel and went for a wander around, mainly to go and grab suncream as the sun is much stronger here than in Thailand! We all met at 7 to take part in a baci ceremony before heading out for dinner. 

Tuesday

Most of us went kayaking this morning and it was so much fun! As it is monsoon season, the river was high and flowing fast, but we were only going downstream so wasn't too bad at all. All along the river you can see the old bars, tubing systems and zip lines - most of them abandoned but still there as a reminder of the days when Vang Vieng was the place to go to to party. Half way down the river we stopped off at a cave and had a wee taster of tubing before going caving.  It wasn't anywhere near as scary as I thought it would be and there was only really one part that we looked at and were like you seriously want us to go through that! But all good in the end! We kayaked back down to a landing place near to our hotel then went and grabbed a spot of lunch. After lunch emma and I went to the sister hotel to chill out by the pool and catch up on some tanning time as I have not got anymore tanned since Indonesia! While we were there, I did my good deed for the day by helping a wee Korean girl when she starting panicking in the pool out of her depth - her family were on the other side of the pool so I picked her up and helped her to the side. Later on her Mum came over to say thank you, tried to get her to say thank you but she was too shy! So cute. Emma, Amy, Kelsey and I fully planned to go out this evening after dinner, but some of the others came and joined our table and we ended just chilling at the hotel! On the bright side at least I didn't spend any money! 

Wednesday 

Time to leave Vang Vieng today, and is also our last full day in Laos! I know I say it a lot but I honestly can't believe how quickly time is going! 

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang

Saturday 16th - Monday 18th September 2017

Saturday

We arrived in Laos at around 4:30ish, sorted out currency then made our way to the hotel. As the hotels are pretty small in Luang Prabang and they can't accommodate such big groups, a few of us were moved over to their sister hotel just around the corner. We all had an included meal together, trying traditional Laos food. It was much simpler than Thai food, as Laos is a much poorer country, but on the whole still delicious! I miss my Pad Thais though! We then had a browse around the night market, and then Emma, Kelsey, Amy and I made our way to the pool in the sister hotel. I totally stacked it up the stairs which became the topic of conversation for the evening! Oh and I nearly forgot! At one point today, I was sitting on my bed and emma said 'I like your scarf, when did you get that?' And I was like wtf? I haven't bought a scarf?? Anyway long story short it was the bed runner so we died laughing at that too! 

Sunday

We had another bike tour today, but it wasn't as long as the one in Atutthaya thank goodness! It was raining so made it more bearable in the heat. We went to a big temple and had our fortunes read. We had to look at the buddhas, pick one and internally introduce ourselves before shaking a pot full of chopsticks and then pulling one at random from behind our backs. Each chopstick had a number on it to which corresponded to a number on a sheet of paper. Doua (our new local guide) translated them for us, and mine was along the lines of you life could be positive but also negative if your not careful, you haven't got a family (husband) yet and your stressing about something you haven't told anyone amongst a few other hinge I've forgotten. Not the most positive fortune! We then went and stopped at a local whiskey shop where we tried a shot made from sticky rice and fermented with dead snakes, insect and birds amongst other things. Actually wasn't that bad! We then made our way back to the hotel and had a few hours free time so we went to a place called Utopia for lunch, it was so pretty! We then went to Kuang Si waterfall and bear sanctuary. The floor was ridiculously sloppy and after my fall up the stairs yesterday I had no confidence in myself whatsoever - especially as it was raining! However I made it through (with a little help from Doua!). The big waterfall was spectacular, its monsoon season so the water levels were at their highest. It was really cool seeing the bear sanctuary too, they rescue bears that get taken into China for their bile, a few of them were injured and one had to have his arm amputated. When we got back, Nicole, Kelsey, Amy and I - and later Jason - went to big brother Mouse, which is a charity that was set up to help local young people practice their English with people who speak English as a first language. It was so cool! Kinda reminded me of China. We grabbed food at a buffet for the equivalent of £1.50! Mental! Street food is my favourite. 

Monday

The alarm went off at 4:45am as we were off to the arms giving for the monks. This happens every morning and it's basically where the local people give food and other necessities to the monks, as they have no possessions of their own and thus rely on the locals for everything. We were lucky enough to actually give food to them - normally only local people are allowed to participate! It was really cool, and definitely a unique experience I am very grateful to have been able to be a part of. 

Return to Chiangmai

Friday 15th - Saturday 16th September 2017

Friday

We awoke to another knock on the door this morning to which I went into full panic mode! Luckily it was 5:50am and was for everyone to get up and get ready as we were leaving before 7 to go to the elephant sanctuary! It took about 3 hours to get there and it was honestly the best! We fed the elephants first before having a wander around and taking a few pictures with them, went for the most amazing buffet vegetarian lunch, watched a short film about the elephants and why they need to be rescued and lastly bathing the elephants in the river. It was absolutely incredible! When we got back, Emma and I went to get our laundry done and then had a wander around the night markets, I made a start on getting a few souvenirs. As the Northern Thai Highlights people were leaving us in the morning, we all met for drinks just before 10. We did the classic how many people can you fit in a tuk tuk and hat left Codie and Kerry hanging on to the outside. They were messing around (shock) and one minute Kerry was there, the next minute he was sucked into the streets of Chiangmai! Luckily he was fine but it was the funniest thing! Emma and I didn't stay out too long as we are permanently exhausted at the moment, but I still managed to get a free drink from some rando who knocked my beer (that had like a sip left) out my hand! Win win! 

Saturday

Today it was time to say goodbye to Thailand, so we had to catch two short flights - one from Chiangmai to Bangkok and then another from Bangkok to Luang Prabang. Thailand it's been amazing! I will definitely be returning! 

Pai

Thursday 14th - Friday 15th September 2017

Thursday

Much to our embarrassment, Emma and I woke to the sounds of housekeeping knocking on our door an hour after I had set my alarm, my phone hadn't been charging properly so it kept dying and we didn't hear the alarm! We got ready in 2 minutes and raced downstairs to get the bus - although I pulled a classic me and left my iPad in the room. Luckily we're going back to that hotel tomorrow so it could've been a lot worse! We then had a 3 hour coach ride to Pai along the windiest, bumpiest roads and it's safe to say nobody was feeling fresh! But we all made it (just about) and went for lunch (well most of us bought food and then pushed it around the plate) before checking into our next hotel. I went for a quick swim to wake myself up a bit before heading to Muay Thai boxing with most of the others. Emma wasn't doing it so she went to bed! Boxing was so much fun, even if I was completely terrible at it! Chamani then took us to a beautiful lookout point so see the sunset, before heading to Pai's night market. The plan was to get the free shuttle home but Laura and I got hair wraps that took longer than expected so we went to go and see who was getting tattooed. Courtney had just finished so we went to get the shuttle back with her, but the guide didn't speak English overly well so we ended up having to wait an extra 2 hours for Codie to finish getting his done so it was nearly 1am by the time we got back... so much for an early night!