Laos

We've been in Laos 3 days thus far and it's great. Tranquil, beautiful, hot and cheap. There are wonderful temples and parks to visit, excellent Lao and French food, gorgeous views over the Mekong river at sunset and charming, gentle people to meet. We undertook a 13 hour ride sans air conditioning today which was a test in patience but the chickens in the aisle and the offered lunch of grilled snake and rat made it an interesting cultural experience. We're in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage town, right now. The U.N said it is the 'best preserved city in South East Asia' and it is indeed. If you've visited the following places, it's a mixture of Chiang Mai, Ubud and Hoi An. We're staying for 3 days before we head to Vang Vieng, a town famous for floating down the river on tubes. I love it.

Snapshots of our travels

What we've been seeing




What we've been eating




Where we've been drinking




Where we've been sitting...

Tioman Island

We just spent 3 days on one of Time Magazine's top ten islands in the world. It was heavenly and it lived up to its rating. Stunning white beaches, very little development, chrystal blue water and good restaurants. Very peaceful, relaxing and lovely. No words can show you how stunning it was so check it out for yourself.

Singapore's a "fine" city

Singapore's famous for its fines that it imposes to keep this city in sharp order. I'd heard rumors of $500 fines for spitting, littering, eating in public and having standing water in your home. It was one of the reasons I was most interested to come here. I haven't seen anyone receive a fine or break a law and have had to monitor all my actions to make sure I'm not guilty of a crime but the signs are everywhere. I guess it's the price the residents have to pay to live in such an ordered, structured nation. Photos to come.

To the air-conditioned nation

After our brief de-tour in Indonesia, we hit the road and decided to get back on track with our original itinerary. We flew, took busses, ferries and trains and eventually landed up in the air conditioned nation of Singapore. My senses and mind were immediately blown away. This is a clean, ordered, fast paced and modern city with more malls then you can imagine and a great public transportation system. Are we in Southeast Asia? Many of the stereotypes hold true. The streets are clean, the subway stops are spotless, shops and restaurants scream "Consume, consume, consume" at every passing customer, money seems to leak from your wallets and there is a feeling of sterility. But it's a welcome change to the mess of Indonesia and the air conditioning has been most welcome in this steamy part of the world.

A school project in Yogya

As we made our way to the Sultan's palace in Yogya, Mike and I were attacked every which way by crowds of high school students trying to complete a project. At first the assignment appeared to be to pose in a photo with a foreigner and bring it to school but as we smiled and posed for our sixth straight photo in a row, students became more daring and began asking us questions. Eventually we saw that they had a list of questions to ask their "foreigner friend." I imagined the forty other students we had posed for forging our signatures and giving us names, professions and reasons for visiting Yogya. I also wonder what their English teacher will say when every student arrives with photo's of Mike and I with hundreds of different profiles of who we are.

Borobudur

Borobudur is the Southern Hemisphere's largest religious structure and one of the Seven Wonders of the world. It lies just outside Yogyakarta in Indonesia and is a must see for all tourists in the region. We joined the "sunrise" tour which turned out to be the "early morning mist" tour after the sun had already risen but we managed to beat the crowds and get there early. The monument is enormously impressive, the attention to detail in the stone reliefs is fantastic and the many stupas at the top level of enlightenment is breathtaking.