Chillaxing on the hippy island Don Det, Si Phan Don, Laos

8-12 April 2013

After our exhausting 16hr journey to Laos, we arrived on the tranquil island of Don Det (one of the 4000 islands in the middle of the Mekong). Our new German friend, Bea, wanted to head out and have a few drinks as it was her birthday the next day. After finding accommodation we started off with a couple of beer Lao's at 'Melina's bar, restaurant and guesthouse'. Every single place to eat along the island was also a bar and a guesthouse. It was dark so we couldn't see the Mekong but we knew the bars were set up over it. They were all made out of bamboo with cushions and small tables to relax around. Sam and I had to stay at 'Happy bar' down the dirt rd a littler further as there weren't enough air conditioned bungalows for us all.

4000 Islands

After eating our first amazing meals in Laos (seriously, the food was so good!), we realized we were being kicked out because of the 11.30pm curfew that exists all over the communist country. Literally everything closes down, every bar, every restaurant, every shop. It was ok this night though as we were all exhausted and needed sleep desperately. Everyone decided to follow us to Happy Bar to see what that place was about and on the way we met this strange kiwi. He ended up joining our group of the next few days and had us all in fits of laughter most of the time. You wouldn't know when he was being sarcastic and full of shit because he never showed any emotion in his expressions - he was so damn good at it that he fooled all of us at least on one occasion. Me many times haha.

Our crew

The next day when I woke up and went outside, I was blown away by the beauty and tranquility of the island. I walked down a little further to see if I could find some different accom as our room at Happy Bar was terrible. The sheets looked like sweat and semen all dried up. It was foul. I found all the restaurants and bars set up over the water with a very relaxed atmosphere. They were all the same type of wood built over the water with cushions and mats to sit around the tables. We met up with the group for breakfast where the Aussie girls said we could have their bungalow as they were planning to leave that day. They weren't even supposed to be on this island with us but after arriving so late into Laos there was no option. They had accommodation booked on the largest island which was still another 1.5hr boat ride away. After Sam and I relocated to our new bungalow we met up with the group again and all hired bicycles. The girls then told us they couldn't go to the other island today as they have already missed the only boat which left at 11am. So they moved to the non air con bungalow next to us. We then all rode to the end of Don Det which is a very small island - it didn't take long. We had to cross a bridge to get to the second most popular island, Don khon. It was here that we found our waterfall and 'beach' to relax and swim. I met this girl called Sam and her friends who told us to come to the 'Reggae Bar' that night and follow everyone down to the 'beach' when curfew hits as they set up a bonfire to sit around, chat and finish their drinks. Girl Sam told me it only usually goes for about an hr before people die off to bed. She then invited us to join her and others tomorrow on a sandy beach for drinks before tubing back to the island in the sunset. Sounded like a solid day to me!

Crossing the bridge to Don Khon

Cycling on Don Khon to the Waterfalls

On the ride back to Don Det, birthday girl Bea had an unfortunate accident. Her bike was faulty and the tire stopped dead which resulted in her going over the handlebars and crashing to the ground. It looked nasty and she was in a bit of shock but luckily no broken bones, just very sore. Her travel buddy Matt (from Emgland) then walked with her and their bikes slowly back to the guesthouse while the rest of us (2 Aussie girls Maria & Katie, Kiwi Matt and Sam and I) decided to ride back the sunrise side of the island instead (we were staying on the sunset side). We ended up stopping at a bar for beer on the way which made us the last ones to arrive in the end.

Namkhong (Mekong in Laos) - best beer in this country!

That night Bea was desperate for us all to find this German restaurant with a real German chef on the sunrise side of the island. It took us about an hr to get there as it was so far away - not what any of us was expecting! Still, it was totally worth it as the food was divine. I can't even remember the name of the dish I got but it was so amazing that I'm going to try find it back in Aus. It was really nice having dinner there with everyone as we drank many beer Laos, ate amazing German food and then had to shot the horrible 'Lao Lao' (local whiskey) as the German owner gave them to us for free for Bea's birthday. He also organized the most amazing desert of my life. It looked like chocolate eclairs but way better then that! They melted in your mouth and even Sam loved them with the chocolate - he hates chocolate!

The amazing German dish I had - strips of beef in a creamy mushroom sauce

Bea, birthday girl! And her amazing melt in your mouth desert

We didn't manage to make it to Reggae Bar in time to meet our new friends from earlier that day but we just head for the so called 'beach' and found everyone there anyway. It's where all the boats come and leave from and there is a sandy beach type area but the water is the Mekong river so I don't think it can be really classed as a beach. There was quite a crowd gathered round the fire all drinking and talking and singing - everyone was feeling pretty merry. Slowly one by one everyone went to bed and soon it was just a small few of us talking with just the coals burning next to us. What a lovely way to end each day.

The next day the Aussie girls had to leave as they needed to get to the main island for their last night before catching a flight in the morning up North. It was sad seeing part of our crew leave, as Kiwi Matt was one of them. At least we still had Bea and English Matt! And what a day we had. It was pretty lazy up until about 3pm when the tubing, island cruise thing finally got under way. Still it was a perfect way to spend an afternoon/evening. The event was being run by this stoner Jamaican looking guy who actually sounded American. He pretty much spent the whole time rolling joints and passing them around. Sam and I never did see these joints pass through us though, there was just too many people.

The sandy beach down the Mekong

We began on a sandy beach somewhere down the Mekong where we had free whiskey mixers, chilled out with some music and they even tried to get us involved in games. The four of us didn't want to and we just relaxed in the water laughing at all the others trying to make human pyramids and failing. Sadly we didn't have enough time and soon they were telling us to get back in the boats as it was now time for tubing! This was a great way to finish off. They drove us to a certain point and then we all got tubes to float the rest of the way to the island as the sun set. What a fantastic idea.

For dinner we ran straight for this tiny rib stand run by an American guy that we had been eying off for days. Sam and Matt in particular would not shut up about it so we had decided tonight was the night for these ribs! Sadly, even though we got there at 7.30pm (he opens at 6) there wasn't enough ribs for us all, so Bea and Matt missed out... We tried to argue with them as Sam and I had an extra night while they were leaving but they did not want us to give up our ribs. They did get all the leftover gravy sauce crap in the bottom of the pot which actually was pretty god damn good soaked in bread. Omg thinking about those ribs now is making my mouth water.

Sam, Bea and Matt all died after that and wanted an early night while I was all happy drunk and keen to hit the reggae bar. We had picked up this random German guy while tubing so he followed me to the bar and we kicked on. What a bloody great idea! We shared a joint together and with some others around the table but he soon  ditched me and moved to the other side of the bar. Once I was alone however I started making loads of friends and talking to soo many different people. I had such a great time socializing and even ended up in a bet by some European. I had been in Laos a mere 3days and had been drinking Namkhong beer which is new but tastes sooo much better then beer Laos. So I was arguing this with the European and he was telling me that I wouldn't even know the difference if I had both beers in front of me in plastic cups. I said I would so off he went down the street to find Namkhong as they didn't sell it at this bar. Soon I was presented with two plastic cups full of beer. By this stage I had switched to spirits because I was quite drunk and now stoned that I had gone off the taste of beer entirely. This did not help my case as I took one sip from each cup and sat there confused. So I took one more sip of each - ah ha! The second one tasted way better, it must be Namkhong, and I was right! my prize was a free beer. If I got it wrong I was going to have to buy that guy a beer instead. It was funny because everyone around the table were all watching and waiting to see what I said. It was such a good feeling to prove that guy wrong. Beer Laos is not the worst beer in the world but it's so watery it has no flavour so you need to drink it ice cold to enjoy it which is a rare commodity here in Laos. However Namkhong actually has real taste. It's a really good beer.

Sunset from Melina's (our accommodation bar/restaurant)

When the reggae bar closed down I tracked down the German guy again and we shared another joint down by the beach. It seemed like way more people had come down to the bonfire tonight. They must have just arrived today. There were boatloads of people arriving and leaving every day. For such a tiny relaxed island it had a lot of comings and goings.

I got back to my bungalow very drunk, stoned and just a teensy bit off balance that I crashed into every piece of furniture in the room. Luckily Sam wasn't actually asleep. He was laughing at me instead.

One of the bars along the sunset side

The next day as we were seeing Bea and Matt off we were greeted by the famous water buffalo! I forgot to mention but after I met female Sam and her friends down by the waterfall that day she was telling us about this buffalo that was so friendly you could get right up close to him, cuddle, stroke, kiss - even straddle him! Although he did get a hard on for her and she ran off screaming. Imagine a massive water buffalo trying to mount you. He hangs out down at the 'beach' where everyone comes and gos and the bonfire at night is. So as we were seeing our friends off we were lucky enough to find him in our presence. It was soo cool! We ran back to our room to change into swimmers and decided to go swimming with him which is definitely a highlight of the whole trip so far! We got some awesome pictures.

Our new friend on Don Det

The rest of the day was very chilled as Sam and I were now on our own and he was super sick. That was the reason he went home to bed early the night before. He had a super high temp that freaked me out. I felt his skin and it was burning hot. I went down to Happy Bar for a Happy pizza which was so big I couldn't even finish it. I was trying to read my magazine on our balcony when all of a sudden I couldn't focus anymore and it got harder and harder to read. I got extremely high from that bloody pizza. So high that I had to lay down and just watch shows on my laptop and struggled to even follow them. Every now and again I would lean over to feel Sam and check he was breathing as his temperature was so high he probably should've gone to hospital.

Our Bungalow for a measly $7.50

One time I turned over and he was lying flat on his back, his mouth was open and his eyes were open and he wasn't moving at all. For a moment there I actually believed he was dead. Panic struck so hard I jumped over and touched his chest, then he turned to face me and instantly I was relived. It was probably the paranoia of how stoned I was but I really thought he was dead. I never want that feeling ever again.

Melina's, where we stayed, ate and drank

Sam finished my pizza and got pretty high with me then we decided to have our last dinner at Melina's except I ran off and got us some ribs as well - yum!. We booked a boat and bus to Pakse for the next day. Time to move on from Don Det as much as we didn't want to...

Leaving Don Det by boat

Our journey to Laos

8  April 2013

I've begun to accept the fact that you can't trust travel agents in South East Asia. "Yes VIP bus' they say "Yes SLEEPER bus' they say. You pay that little bit more then the basic fare because you want to be semi comfortable on the horribly long journey to your next destination. The worst is when you travel internationally by bus as the travel agent knows you are leaving the country and most likely will not come back. So they will feed you anything you want to hear. So from now we just book the cheapest fare and deal with, at least we save that large chunk of money when we'd be riding in the same bus anyway.

We booked our first international trip by bus through a travel agent in Siem Reap bound for the island of Don Det, Si Phan Don (or otherwise known as the 4000 islands). We paid the only fare that was being offered of $27 which was to include two buses and a boat. We would change buses when we pass through the border to a Laos company then boat it to the small island. I had read about this journey from some online travel blogs and heard it was a nightmare. So I was sure to ask our travel agent all the right questions. Is it a big bus (the mini vans are terrifying and super squishy)? "yes" He replies. How much is the Laos visa at the border? "$36" He replies. Do we need a passport photo? "No" He replies. Will we make it to the border before it closes "Yes, the whole journey will take a total 10hrs" He replies.

I should have known better. We left at 6am, so 10hrs means we should be in Don Det by 4pm. We did in fact get on a big bus to start with, but by 11am the big bus kicked us all off in the middle of nowhere and we were told to wait for another bus as he was continuing to Vietnam. We waited. And waited. And waited. Finally a minivan rocked up.That's right. A fucking mini van. So the 15 of us all squished in with all our baggage with zero leg space what soever and proceeded to shit ourselves as our non English speaking driver took off at lightening speeds over potholes and broken road. Sam and I were sitting in the first row in the middle with no seat belts so of course we would be dead instantly if something were to go wrong and we crashed. By this stage we figure we should only be in the van for an hr or two until we reach the border. Boy were we wrong again. We drove all afternoon, with zero toilet or food breaks and gripping on for dear life. About 2.30pm we hit a massive storm with lightening striking the road in front and rain so thick you could barely see half a meter in front. The driver did not slow down. After driving in Darwin's wet season storms many times I know how dangerous it can be which only terrified me even more. All it takes is one animal, person or vehicle pulling out in front or a large pothole and we'd be up shit creek. Also I shouldn't forget to mention that our driver was talking on his phone for most of the trip, steering the wheel with his elbows as he handled food and drink in the other hand. Somehow we survived. Except it was getting very late and there was no sign of the border. We tried to communicate with our driver to find out what was going on or even to get him to stop for a toilet but he did not understand us at all.

Our insane driver steering with one elbow in the rain

About 5pm ( the border closes at 4.30) he mutters something in Khmer to me and passes his phone over to which I'm then speaking to a guy who speaks a little English. "Where do you want to go?" he asks. "Umm Laos" I reply. "You cannot cross the border today." Then he hangs up. What the fuck. What happens now? I relay this info to the group and everyone starts wandering what is going to happen. We doubt our travel companies will sort out accommodation for the night or even continue our trip tomorrow for us. Our driver stops in a random town. it's still raining and very dark from being overcast. We are all standing outside the van wandering what's going on. We have no idea where we are and it does not look like a tourist friendly place.

Then out of nowhere this guy who speaks English appears and starts informing us of the situation. I assume he was the one on the phone. If we want to cross the border tonight we have to pay more as a bribe to the officials as they have already closed the office by law. We will be crossing illegally he tells us. We all have to pay $45. That's fine everyone says - desperate to get there. Sam and I freak out as we look at how much US$ we have, we are $2.50 short. Luckily they except Khmer riel as we still had a little of that. But now we are entirely broke and there apparently is no ATM on the island. Still we have our Laos stamps!

Crossing the border into Laos

We cross the border about 7pm then change to a Laos bus as the darkness of the night sets in. It's only suppose to be 20mins to the jetty where we board our boat but in 5mins the bus's gearbox makes a horrible screeching sound and we come to a stop in the middle of the road. Just great. By this point Sam and I have made friends with two Australian girls and a couple from Germany and England. It's Bea's (Germany girl) birthday the next day and she wants to celebrate with us when we eventually get there.

Another mini van comes to the rescue about 20mins later. After failing at helping re start our bus it ends up towing us the rest of the way to the jetty. Luckily there is an ATM just before the boat ramp so Sam and I were able to cash up. The boat ride was interesting in the black of the night as we could see the stars above us and feel how close to the water we were sitting. They were typical Asian long tail boats that make you feel like you're sinking even though you're not.

We docked Don Det about 8.30pm and immediately found ourselves some accommodation before eating as none of us had eaten all day. As chaotic as our journey was, we made it! And we also made some awesome new friends. I would not have chosen the easier and less stressful way if I could. Part of traveling is the journey to each destination, the crazy situations you get into and the awesome people you meet along the way :)

The temples of Siem Reap, North West Cambodia

4 - 7 April

Leaving our paradise in Sihanoukville was damn hard, but it had to be done so I could see the incredible temples in Siem Reap. Sam had seen them all 6yrs ago and was willing to do it all over again for me. I have the most amazing boyfriend don't I?

We got a sleeper bus that left Serendipity beach at 8pm and drove wildly into the night. I had heard about the dangers of Cambodia night driving, but after our snail experience from Phnom Penh to Siahnoukville I thought nothing of it. Boy did I have no idea. Our driver was going so fast that I didn't get a wink of sleep. We had these seat type beds that came up at the head but the rest of your body was lying down so really I should have slept fine. I could not. The roads in Cambodia are so bad that you can really feel when you're going fast as you fly over potholes and broken parts of the road. I felt the driver skid out and lose control so many times that I couldn't keep count. While Sam slept beside me I prayed that we would arrive safely to live another day. My prayers were answered :)

The tuk tuk driver that took us from the bus station to our guesthouse managed to convince us to hire him for our 3days around the temples. Sam remembered doing them in 3days last time so we were basing it off that. Our first day was the longest, we were up at 4am to be ready by 5am for sunrise at Angkor Watt. I was hoping to get a great shot but sadly we had no idea where to go for that great shot and their were so many people that by the time we realized in front of the pond was the best spot because of the reflections, there wasn't a single centimeter of space. This pissed me off as I grumbled to Sam about coming here again tomorrow even earlier now that we knew. We never did though - I couldn't be bothered.

The entrance to Angkor Watt

The day was long and damn hot as we went from temple to temple. Each one blew me away even more then the last. Even though we started bright and early to beat the heat, we still died. I don't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in my life. It felt just like hottest and most humid day in Darwin, except we were out in it walking in full sun, climbing many stairs and clambering all over the ruined temples. The sweat was dripping off every inch of us and our clothes were soaking wet. We had to constantly stop and sit in the shade to try and cool down - but as my fellow Darwinite's would know, you cannot escape the humidity in the shade! We drank litres and litres of water to keep up with the fluids we were losing. I reckon we drank 10 litres each but it still did not stop the heat affecting us as Sam got sick a few days later with a high temperature and I got massive headaches from dehydration. I don't think I could have kept myself anymore hydrated! I guess that's what you get for exploring the Cambodian temples in their hottest time of year - the build up - as the wet season starts in May.

Still I loved every minute we were out there in it. These temples are like nothing I've ever seen before. I thought the temples of Bagan were impressive but they have nothing on Angkor. Bagan was cool because of the sheer amount of them spread out over the dusty plain and the views up high of their tips poking out was incredible, but at Siem Reap you really feel the history and how ancient these temples are as you walk through the ruins of rubble leftover from the bombs and the statue heads cut off during the war. Not too mention the famous temple from Tomb Raider with trees growing through the walls, floor and ceiling. We all know how many years it takes for a tree to grow it's full size and these trees are well passed that. My photos do not do the place justice as hard as I tried, you really need to see this place in person and soon before too much construction goes in to repairing the temples and destroying their ancient feel. Construction was already underway while there and Sam was really shocked at how much they had changed since he was there. Stairs and walkways built in, instead of clambering all over it on your hands and knees, scaling the walls and risking your life. I guess they had to make them safer as the tourism there exploded. I can't imagine elderly people clambering up the walls!

We only really needed that first day as the second day was over by midday. Apparently we had seen them all even though there are ones Sam recalls that our tuk tuk driver never passed. We think we got ripped off by him as he said we would go all day both days and had to pay $15 to hire him each day. Somehow paying $15 from sunrise to sunset does not match up with 8am-midday being also $15. Sam wasn't feeling so good anyway so we took that opportunity to go back early and have an afternoon nap. We both had been worn out since we left Sihanouville as we hadn't caught up on sleep yet.

Our last day we decided to try out a new putt putt golf place with miniature replicas of all the temples. The place was being run by a husband and wife who had two little small ones running around. The husband picked us up from our guesthouse and was very interested in how his advertising has worked as it's been a hard year trying to set the business up. The place was dead so we had the run of it to ourselves and we soon understood why. There wasn't an ounce of shade and in that kind of heat and humidity you practically die. Most people come after the sun is down when it's much cooler. Sam and I played two games, I won both but not by much. I got a whole in one in the second game which resulted in a free beer from the owners.

The next day we were off bright and early for our hectic 16hr trip to Si Phon Don, Laos!

Lazy times in Sihanoukville, Cambodia

16 March - 3 April 2013

Sam constantly spoke of this secret paradise in the South of Cambodia where he was free to drink extremely cheap alcohol, smoke copious amounts of weed, fish, swim and anything his heart desired all on a sandy beach with plenty of friendly locals who often joined in. Such a place does still exist as we found out, even though after 6yrs since his visit it is more touristy, built up, less locals floating around and of course the fact you now have to smoke weed in a more subtle way or risk yourself having to bribe the police with a very large sum of money. It's certainly not the same Sihanoukville as Sam remembers it, but still a paradise nonetheless.

'Happy' shakes on Serendipity beach

We jumped on a bus bound for the beach straight after our luxury flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. The bus drove into the night and was extremely slow, so slow in fact that we did not arrive until 10.30pm which we then grabbed a tuk tuk to 'Victory Hill' to meet Anders - a very good Danish friend who lived with me for 3-4months last year. Sam had never heard of this hill and didn't know there were other suburbs of Sihanoukville. He had only ever been to Serendipity beach which is the paradise I was talking about above. Victory Hill was about 15kms from there but as we were there to help celebrate Anders birthday we ended up spending 11days on the hill with him before making our way down to Serendipity.

We proceeded to spend that 11 days smoking ridiculous amounts of weed with Anders to all hrs in the night, sleeping til late afternoon everyday, eating meals at stupid times of the day and night and binging on junk food when the munchies struck. It was a great time indeed :) Anders birthday itself was very laid back and we didn't actually get going til sunset. The guesthouse we were all staying at is a special place that Anders and his girlfriend return to quite often so they know the family who run it very well. The owners wife, a lovely Khmer lady (the owner himself is french but has lived there for 8yrs) was so kind she actually cooked up a special feast just for Anders. Holey moley it was to die for. An assortment of tender barbecued meats, incredible salads with the most amazing sauces. It was mouth watering. Nothing beats a true home made meal and especially from a Khmer! (I haven't mentioned yet that the local cuisine in Cambodia is simply divine).

Shots of the owners lethal homemade alcohol for Anders birthday

Michelle (The french owner, yes a girls name for a man :P), whipped up 11 litres of his home made sangria which was the strongest I have ever had. Sam didn't like it but I did and enjoyed glass after glass which of course ended up in a drunk Heather. The joints were also being passed around freely and soon enough I had to take a walk to stop spinning out. Anders seemed to be loving his evening which of course is the most important thing for the birthday boy. It was his 30th after all.

When Anders and his girlfriend Ipan left Cambodia, Sam and I headed on down to a bungalow by Serendipity beach. Our days didn't vary too much from sleeping in til late, smoking loads of weed and eating at all weird times of the day. The only difference now was we were on the beach and able to do all of that at Khin's shack - Sam's favourite place from 6yrs ago. Khin, the lovely owner and her family ran the place well and were extremely friendly they'd often hang out with us chatting about the past 6yrs and how the govt made them pay $500 to help put the ugly concrete sidewalk in which now lines the beach and bars. Everything use to be in sand, but now the bars all have concrete. It's sad but it's all a part of change I guess. Khin still had her full 'Happy' Menu and it was Sam's mission to have everything off it by the time we left. Hedid a  jolly good job but didn't have the pizza or tea. Can you imagine a weed tea? yuck!

We made friends with 3 ginger cats that hung around Khin's. Every time we sat down we'd find at least one if not all hanging around at our feet waiting for us to order food as they knew we were more then happy to share our leftovers. Anders taught us that cats love the fish head so whenever we finished a whole fish we'd cut off the head and feed it to them! Soon they were hanging around us even when we had no food to give. We believe it was true love.

One of the cats having a nap on Sam's foot

There were local ladies who roamed the beach trying to give out massages, manicures, pedicures, waxing - basically whatever you wanted and they would give it to you. Sam and I got $3 back and shoulder massages one day while sitting at Khin's shack and smoking a joint. I also ended up getting a mani and pedi. While the lady was doing that she noticed my hairy legs and started saying I needed hair removal which she could offer. I didn't quite understand how they would wax on the beach so she got our these two pieces of string, crossed them, then started plucking each hair our individually. It was painful and would take forever! No thank you I said to her but she would not give up! They are so damn persistant. From that day onwards women constantly pointed out my hairy legs, saying I needed them to remove it, haha. I kept forgetting to shave before hitting the beach. there were these two girls one day who were trying to sell us bracelets. They were very clever in how they worked and Sam ended up having one made for him while I bought an already made one from the second girl. That girl ended up having an attitude - she saw my legs and would not shut up about how hairy they were and kept rubbing her hands up and down. I kept saying no it's fine, I will shave them one day and it doesn't matter that I have hairy legs. She then said "Maybe it's ok for you, but when others look at your legs they will be like 'ewwwww gross'. This girl made me crack up! She was so funny. Sam and I had a great time arguing with her. I loved her attitude and her honesty. I soon found out they were only 16.

Sam getting a custom made bracelet from one of the girls

One day  we were walking down the beach looking to have some time off the weed and enjoy a few drinks instead when a blonde surfer dude stopped us in our tracks and talked us into a party boat cruise that was leaving in exactly 10mins. Just what we were looking for. We raced back to our room to change into swimmers, leave our valuables and only bring enough money for the afternoon's alcohol. What a great idea that ended up being! Within minutes we met this lovely Germany girl, Stef who became a really great party friend. The rest of the people on the boat seemed to be stupid-idly young and horny who couldn't handle their alcohol. Within the first 30mins over half the girls on the boat were jumping off the roof topless to score a free lukewarm can beer which only costs $1 anyway. Sam ended up jumping off to try and catch his free beer in the air but did not succeed and instead lost his wallet with his $60 for the afternoon because he forgot to remove it from his board shorts. I ended up using this to score us two free beers by the Khmer dude who was serving the drinks. I put on the sob story how I know had to buy all my boyfriends drinks for the rest of the afternoon and it would be nice if we at least didn't have to pay for the first ones. Sure enough it worked!

Waiting to board the party boat with our free welcome whiskey bucket

We stopped at this island and all swam to the sandy beach to form two lines, one boys and one girls. We were then given a short of the awful Mekong Whiskey and the first line to finish their shot won. The person at the front of the chain started and the next person couldn't start theirs til the person in front had finished and so on. Of course the boys won and you know what that meant for the girls? Our bikinis being untied! I did not realize there was a punishment involved until I felt my top loosen after one of the boys undid my tie. Luckily I caught it in time and Sam came to the rescue retying it.

Stef & I waiting in line with our whiskey shots

The boys vs girls

There was loud music and dancing and girls who ended up leaving their tops off and dancing in just their bikini bottoms. I'm sure the Khmer boys were loving it. Sam, Stef and I just watched on from the sidelines laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. It was fun though. In the last leg back to shore as the sun was going down I ended up talking with with this British guy who wanted to wear my hat. I stupidly let him wear it only to lose him the moment we docked and when I did run into him again later he no longer had it - a tuk tuk driver took it apparently. I was fuming mad from this moment on, anyone who knows me knows you do not touch the hat! And if I somehow let you wear it you NEVER lose it. I was quite drunk so I guess my anger was accentuated which is why Sam decided to order me a double shot of vodka (we were at the Dolphin bar now which is the place that runs the booze cruises). I ended up leaving Sam to his new friends at the bar and played some beer bong with a local Khmer on my side. We kicked arse of course - he was bloody brilliant! The westerners on the other side had no chance. The khmer never actually drank any of the beer either, whenever the other team got one in the cup was handed to me and of course I was willing to skull it.

Then there is another blackout. I don't know what happened but I came to in the bushes behind the bar. I was lying in the leaves with the top of my jumpsuit undone and off as if I was trying to pee. That's the annoying thing about jumpsuits, you have to take the whole thing off to go to the toilet. I must've been trying to pee and then fell over and passed out. When I came to I was lying down and could hear rats crawling all around me but I couldn't get up. Then these two guys found me and helped me and put my jumpsuit top back on. They then supported me as we walked back to my guesthouse trying to find Sam. When we did they went off at him telling him he needed to take better care of his girlfriend. I was laughing sheepishly at the whole thing, I  knew it was my fault. Sam said I just disappeared and he had actually gone back to the room to see if I was there. He has no idea how long I was missing for though as he was drunk to and we had been socializing with different people so it took awhile for him to even notice I wasn't there anymore. God damn I'm a lucky girl yet again! I woke up with scratches all over me the next day which must've been the bushes, oh and I had no shoes. No idea what happened to my thongs but when the boys found me they said I was barefoot.. Haha so I lost my hat and thongs in the same night! Oh and Sam lost his second wallet which he reckon had $150 to $200 in it. As he had lost his cheap wallet which he only keeps some cash in on the boat, he had gone to the room and got his main wallet that he keeps the rest of his money in and just taken that out, not even thinking to only take a little out. He said there was a Khmer dude who had been weirdly eying him off all night so he reckons he pick pocketed him as Sam never loses his wallet. It's always in his pocket.

Chilling at our favourite Khin's shack with a Mai Tai

Eventually it was time for Sam and I to move on as we spent 2 and half weeks doing nothing in Sihanoukville.  Even though eating amazing seafood, watching endless sunsets, drinking cheap cocktails, beer and smoking copious amounts of weed day in and day out really is heaven on Earth - at some point you need to see the rest of the world. 

Sam & Ipan playing cards on Serendipity beach, (Khin's), at sunset

Khin's awesome Scallops - this whole plate only $3!

We looked at dates and decided that we'd cut a week off Cambodia so we could still have a full month in Laos and a full month in Vietnam while making it home in Darwin for the June long weekend to go camping. (Now we have decided to miss the long weekend due to the fact no one is camping so that extra week will go towards Vietnam - I've heard we'll need it!). It was time to head North to Siem Reap to visit the famous temples before continuing North to country No. 5 - Laos! :)

A little more on Burma

I realize I didn't really mention much about the history or current political status of Burma so here goes a little of what I learned.

In the 1800′s, the country was invaded by the British and eventually stripped of all it’s natural resources and exports, until one brave General in the Burmese Army stood up for his country and helped regain independence from the British (only to be assassinated for his efforts soon after); so while the local people assumed life would improve under Burmese military rule, it actually worsened horribly and they were forced to “put up and shut up” with how their own government robbed, jailed and killed them – until the brave General’s daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, stood in her father’s shoes and has spent her entire life fighting for her country (of which she has spent almost 20 years under house-arrest for daring to oppose the government). The Burmese military government have run their country into the ground, and refuse to allow the outside world to know the truth about how they are running the country. The people are lied to, and killed for even speaking badly about the government, let alone daring to do something about it.

But despite all these hardships, the local people are still smiling – and singing, always singing. And not that quiet, under your breath when nobody is nearby singing, I’m talking full heart-and-soul effort into each word of their chosen love song, all the time, and it's so beautiful to witness.

Everyday I was blown away by their genuine kindness. No matter how hard life is and has been, they still believe in honesty and generosity to those around them. I only wish more of the world was just like them.

This man walked with me around the pagoda telling me the best spots for photos then he gave me a leaf from the Buddha tree which will bring me good health

Our last week in the amazing Myanmar

3 - 11 March 2013

We weren't really expecting much in Mawlamyine, we'd just read there was a cool island to visit and see different local villages and workshops but otherwise we didn't know what to expect. We stayed at Breeze Guesthouse which was basically the young backpacker hub and a great place to meet people. The day we arrived we had an early dinner at the Beer Garden which had an amazing barbecue. You would pick your marinated skewers out of the fridge and they'd barbecue them out the back and serve them with a dish of special sauce that was the true magic of this place. Sam and I tried to figure out what was in it, garlic, chilis, coriander, sugar (the Burmese put sugar in everything) but what made it brown? We wish we could figure it out as it was so god damn delicious! We devoured many different skewers then got up for more and devoured them so fast that we didn't even let the first lot digest and soon we were hobbling back to the guesthouse with very full uncomfortable bellies.

The magic dipping sauce

We went to bed at the ridiculous hour of 7pm in our super hot and uncomfortable $14 room. Our mattresses were those thin lumpy things you get off sun lounges, they weren't even made for beds! And we had one pedestal fan that was on rotate, but we were on single beds across the room so we couldn't stick the fan on one spot and cool us both. It was a nightmare trying to sleep. We had a window that opened up to the stairs and the main reception where all the locals watched a sporting game til 11.30pm yelling and cheering in Burmese at the top of their lungs. We decided we would move to an air con room the next day and 'spoil' ourselves by paying $25.

The next morning we got up reasonably early and set off for Nwa-la-bo Pagoda - a local pilgrimage site in the jungle-cloaked hills to the north of Mawlamyine. It consists of of three sausage-shaped gold boulders piled precariously atop one another and surmounted by a stupa. Basically like the golden rock but less known by tourists. On our way out we ran into two young Australians, a couple visiting from QLD. They were booking themselves into a day tour with a guide from our guesthouse for the next day. Instantly we clicked and I found myself yapping away for about 15mins straight until they revealed they needed bed after being on a night bus.

Sam and I jumped on yet another pick up truck and for 1,000ks ($1.15) each we rode it for 40mins before being dropped at the bottom of the mountain where we had to then ride this massive truck uphill. While we waited for the truck we got stuck into a Sugar cane juice which we had discovered a few days before. The locals were always drinking it in the streets and Sam finally dared to try it. They use this wheel machine to squeeze the juice out of the sugar cane and serve it on ice for 30c - it's amazing! (and addictive). 

Local lady making us sugar can juice

The drive up the hill was bumpy as hell and reminded me of the drive back from that secret beach party on Koh Phangan. It was extremely windy with sharp corners and quite a steep climb with the driver legging it and the passengers flying all over the place in the back. The trip there was definitely the best part as once we reached the top we were saddened to see the boulders were covered in an ugly brown cloth - that's right it was also being painted. Goddammit! At least there was a nice view.

That evening we decided to book the day tour for the next day, which our new QLD friends had booked. It was to a nearby island and was being run by Mr Antony, who worked at the guesthouse but was also a Lonely Planet famous local guide. He has his own box of text in the book talking about Mawlamyine.

Later, after we had watched a few movies on my laptop I went to put it on the dressing table in the corner of the room. It was dark as the lights were already out and so I must've just put it on the edge without realizing which caused it to crash in the worst way to the floor. I tried to catch it as it was falling and made it worse by slamming it into the legs of the table on it's way down. I knew it was a bad fall but when I had a quick look over the outside and inside I assumed all was ok. Boy was I wrong. But I didn't know it yet.

We woke up bright and early ready for our day tour, thinking it was just going to be us and the Aussie couple as when we signed up around 7.30pm they were the only people signed up as well. We soon realized we had a full tour group and were joined by more Aussies, two young girls from NSW and Melbourne, a German girl, an English guy and then two old men, one from Canada and I forget now where the other was from. We got along with everyone straight off the bat. It was nice to make new friends finally as Sam and I really struggle with that.

The actual tour was quite odd and I don't really know if I would ever recommend it. Mr Antony was super nice to us but he wasn't that way with our whole tour group I found out and he also acted a little strange. We saw a nice lake, made lotus flower necklaces, saw local workshops for rubber, school writing boards and were even fed a massive feast. About 10am we were taken to this monk celebration with a crowd of locals and fed really interesting but delicious treats. First we each got a glass of pink milky tea with nuts that tasted like melted ice cream. It was very sweet and tasty but so rich that it filled me up. We then got pickled tea leaf with spicy nuts and Sam LOVED that. He ate two small bowls of that. We were then each given a gift of Ovaltine - that's right, a jar of Ovaltine... wtf? Mr Antony then made everyone uncomfortable by giving us envelopes to put donations in and when the two Aussie girls refused he instantly disliked them and made some rude comments to them when the rest of us weren't listening. I know because Gem, one of the girls told us. While this was all going on, the locals were surrounding us, watching our every move. So you had to donate even if you didn't want to.There was also a guy with a massive camera shoving it in our face and Mr Antony telling us to smile and sit up straight when it was on us. Again, making us super uncomfortable.

The sweet ice cream tasting tea

Mr Antony giving Jane (one of the Aussie girls) her gift of Ovaltine

The pickled tea leaf and spicy nuts that Sam fell in love with

After filling us up on sweet treats, pushing us to donate and shoving a massive camera in our faces, we went outside to a huge table of food. Way way too much food. We all had full bellies from the morning tea and now we had to eat lunch? At 10.30am mind you. We all looked at each other in disbelief and panic because none of us wanted it. There were bowls and bowls of Oily Burmese curries with flies all over them - enough food to feed about 20, way too much for the 8 of us. No one was hungry except the couple from QLD and they dug in, but the rest of us took tiny bits onto our plates not wanting any of it. On top of all this we were surrounded by locals watching us eat. Uncomfortable much? Mr Antony was unfortunately sitting with Sam and I and everytime we finished the tiny bit of food on our plate he'd go and scoop more on. There was this disgusting oily fish which he went to put on my plate. I repeatedly said "No No No No No' over and over as he was scooping it and then put it on my rice but thankfully he took it off as he got the message with my constant No's! I later ate some meat on the rice that fish had been on and almost threw up. It was foul.

Being watched and videoed while we ate

Enough food to feed an army

By lunchtime it seemed Mr Antony had run out of places to take us and was just making it up as he went along. It was boring and super hot and we all just wanted to go home. Luckily we were all getting along so well which made the day worth our $15 each. That night when we got back we all went to a pub for beers. Except for the two old guys and our couple from QLD as Kelly, the girl, had been vomiting since we left the island. It turned out to be food poisoning as she spent the next 48hrs in hell. Quite funny as her and her boyfriend Andrew were the only ones who got stuck into the food.


Beers turned into dinner and we all ended up going home a little drunk and happy after a great day and evening of socialising. Just what the Dr ordered :) The girls (who we all guessed were lesbians) and Rich (the English guy) along with Sam and I, made plans to meet at 9am the next morning and spend the day. We ended up getting bicycles and spent the morning riding around the town. We even visited the local markets.

We went to lunch at this upper class restaurant on the water which Rich recommended and proceeded to spend the entire afternoon there. It was really nice chatting, eating, drinking, chatting, eating, drinking... I think we ordered almost everything off that menu. Sam and I had found new friends :) We took them to the Beer Garden for their amazing barbecue for dinner where Sam and Rich proceeded to get very very drunk. The girls got a night bus back to Yangon and said their goodbyes when Andrew (from QLD) ran into us as he was sneaking out for dinner while Kelly was still stuck at the hotel feeling sorry for herself. I got stuck into the beers to join the boys and soon we were all drunk, except Andrew who went home to his sick girl. Rich, Sam and I then proceeded to ride our bicycles home at 11.30pm drunk. Sam and Rich were particularly wasted and I was sure they'd stack as they raced like maniacs all the way home. It was hilarious!

Sam and Rich getting stuck into their beers!

Drunk riding home

The next day Sam was sick and spent the whole day in bed while I caught up photo editing on my laptop. That night we went to dinner at the up market place on the water with Andrew, Kelly and Rich. I had booked Sam and I a boat to our next destination 'Hpa-an' for the next morning which Kelly and Andrew had also booked. So it was our goodbye to Rich for now.


Our boat was $2 cheaper then Andrew and Kelly's and we soon discovered why. It was an old skinny and low boat that had hard wood slates for sitting on, not shade and about 40mins into the trip it started to flood. Our bags and feet got soaked and I started to think we were actually going to sink as they turned around and said we had to go back and change boats. Would we even make it back? Luckily another boat came to the rescue, which just so happened to be Andrew and Kelly's boat! This is how we found out they were in complete luxury for their extra $2 a ticket. Their boat was bigger and was raised higher, they had proper seats and full shade. I guess sometimes it's worth paying that little bit extra - especially as we were sinking and they weren't! We loaded two of our passengers off to their boat and continued on with no more trouble. I guess we were just overloaded. The boat trip took 2.5hrs in total as we sailed through the beautiful countryside of south Myanmar. As we got closer to Hpa-an it started looking a little Thai as beautiful islands and mountains surrounded us.

When we arrived at Hpa-an we discovered all the young backpackers on our boat were heading to the same guesthouse as us so we stupidly followed them the 40min walk there in the middle of the day in 40+ degree heat. I was dying with all my luggage and when we finally did get there I looked into the mirror to see my massive beetroot face and clothes soaking in sweat. I felt and looked like I had just run a marathon.

We met up with Andrew and Kelly for dinner at Lonely Planets top choice, which said it had the best Myanmar cuisine in the whole country. It was not wrong. The food was AMAZING! It was the typical curries except less oil, more meat and better quality food with amazing spices and sides to add to your dish. We ended up eating there for all our meals in Hpa-an!

We spent only 2 nights in this small, sleepy town as we were running out of days and still wanted to see the Golden rock before flying out of Myanmar. We spent our full day on a tour with Kelly and Andrew which cost us each only $5! It turned out to be an incredible day as the scenery was just divine. We drove through beautiful countryside surrounded by mountains and luscious greenery as we visited cave after cave, each more impressive then the next. The most famous and biggest cave of all had a beautiful lake on the other side with locals waiting to paddle us back through a different part of the cave. It was so cool. We also visited a rock in the middle of a lake with a famous mountain behind and millions of buddha statues lining across a field. The whole day was just amazing, the scenery the best we had seen so far in Myanmar.

Andrew on the boat behind us after going through the biggest cave

The wall outside one of the caves

Beautiful countryside

That night the four of us ate dinner at the same restaurant yet again, enjoying our last night as travel companions as we were off to the Golden Rock the next morning and they were heading North, just beginning their month in Myanmar. It was sad to say goodbye as I felt like I got along with them more then anyone and really enjoyed their down to earth company. That's the tough thing about travel though, as you meet amazing people and then you have to say goodbye. It never lasts forever.

So off we were on yet another pick up truck (this would be our final one) to Kinpun, a small town near the famous Golden Rock. We had been told they finally finished painting and it was ready to see. I knew it was going to be overrated, but still, I wanted to go. I'm glad we did because Kinpun was actually a pleasant town to stay 2 nights in. We spent our time mostly relaxing, eating and even drinking a new beer - Mandalay. We only had a couple each and were quite drunk. I'm not sure if it's the beer or the fact we were in the mountains.

The rock itself really was overrated, but the trip up the mountain was an adventure! We went to this large warehouse type area at 6am which had metal stairs and landings set up ready to load people into the massive trucks. There were about 10 different stairs as there is more then just one truck at a time. We innocently jumped in line behind one of the staircases which was filled with locals. Hardly a single tourist in sight. It wasn't long before the trucks came along and what we saw next was insanity. Locals went crazy. People were climbing up all sides of the truck even though it was super high. The stair case ended up not being the only way to get on it seemed and even though we were only a few people behind in the line we ended up struggling to get a seat. It was pure mania. The people were like ants all scrambling on bumping each other out of the way, pushing and shoving, desperate to get a seat. Every single truck was this way. We somehow managed to squish in the side but Sam was being pinned against the railing in pain.

Hard to tell from this picture but people are going crazy trying to get a seat

Packed in like Sardines we were as we raced up the mountain, stopping a million times along the way for monks to sing prayers and collect donations from the locals. It was also freezing cold which we weren't expecting, I had a thin flannel but Sam was in a thin t-shirt the poor boy. He cried in pain the whole way wanted it to be over. Every fast corner we took people were thrown from one side to the next and unfortunately as Sam was wedged into the railing he only got further ingrained in it with everyone's weight.

We finally reached the top, had some breakfast from a local on the side of the road and proceeded to be unimpressed with all the fuss of the Golden Rock. We were very high up in the mountains so the view was beautiful at least. As our last adventure in Myanmar it was certainly not our favourite but we did enjoy the town of Kinpun and the crazy truck up the mountain - then of course back down. This time we fought like all the others to get a seat as we knew how it worked and got seats in the middle thinking it would be better then being jammed into the railing. Wrooong! There was nothing to hold in the middle so as you're jammed into locals you go flying all over the place with them as the truck flew down and around the corners. Then a lady behind me decided to stick something extremely sharp into my back that felt like a knife and I was in pure agony desperate for the ride to end.

Breakfast on the mountain

Ready for the trip back down the mountain

The next day we were on a bus to Yangon and flying out the day after that. 27 days in total in this incredibly unique country. I strongly urge everyone to go :)