The not-on-any-schedule update

Before I left on this current trip I toyed with the idea of doing a weekly summary of what I’d been up to for friends, family and anyone else that was vaguely interested.  It didn’t happen.  No problem, I thought, a fortnightly synopsis is probably a better option anyway.  Indeed it would have been, had I written one.  Hmm.  Oh well, never mind – at least a monthly review will let people know that I’m alive and give them some idea of the things I’ve been doing lately, even if it’s not particularly up to date.  Yup.  I guess it could have.  Stuff it.  Without further ado, hello and welcome to my not-on-any-schedule update.  Take a seat, make yourself comfortable.  Sorry the popcorn’s burnt.

Week 1: Vietnam

After flying from Melbourne via KL to Saigon, I spent a couple of nights there reacquainting myself with the city, met a couple of fellow travel bloggers, got caught up in a poker scam and did a bit of exploring.  Had my first (and as it turns out, best so far) night bus experience up to Nha Trang, after which I promptly lost – and then found – my passport.  Celebrating the return of my travel documents by getting sunburnt on the beach, I met a couple of likely lads latterly from Luxemburg (how’s that for alliteration?) and along with another two guys from England, proceeded to spend the next week destroying my liver, dicing with death on the roads and playing street football, amongst other things.  Watched New Zealand not lose their first game of the World Cup, had a suit made in Hoi An – which is currently either making its way back to Australia on the back of the slow turtle or, more likely, gracing the wardrobe of somebody in the Vietnamese postal service – and explored the Imperial city of Hue.  Yup, not a bad week all round really.

Week 2: Vietnam

After a more enjoyable and somewhat less dangerous return scooter ride to Hoi An, I had the pleasure of trying to lodge a report with the utterly disinterested Vietnamese police when I discovered my laptop missing from the (locked) bag I’d left at my guesthouse.  Amazingly it reappeared the following morning in circumstances that aren’t entirely clear even now, but seriously – if you lose or have anything stolen in Vietnam, good luck getting even a glimmer of interest from the local constabulary.  Hopes of a quieter start to my second week were shattered when the Jagermeister shots came out on my last night in Hoi An with the lads, ensuring that the trip back to Saigon was much more painful than it had to be.  Thankfully I’d had the foresight to opt for the $60 plane trip that took about 90 minutes instead of the $25 bus ride that took at least 24 hours.  I know, I know, I’m nowhere near hardcore enough.  Spent just a night in Saigon before jumping on the local minibus down to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta, where I went on a remarkably enjoyable floating market tour despite having to get up before 5am to do so.  Spent the night in Chau Doc where I had just enough time to jump on a moto and head up to enjoy sunset from the top of Nui Sam, a mountain overlooking the delta and out towards Cambodia.

Week 3: Cambodia

After realising that the road didn’t go where I wanted it to, it was time for a slow boat to Phonm Penh.  Truth in advertising, at least – it was certainly slow.  The advertised seven hours became 12, not helped by losing one passenger to the over zealous Cambodian border officials.  And yes, that is probably the first time that those last five words have ever appeared together in print.  Time enough only for dinner, beer and sleep before taking a share taxi to Svay Rieng, where I was to be helping out with a bit of volunteer work for much of the week.  It was an amazing, eye-opening experience, and one that I’d highly recommend to anybody who is spending some time in this part of the world.  If you’re braver than me, you can even try eating a few of the finger-length fried crickets from the vendors at the ferry crossing on the way back to Phonm Penh.  Met some great people associated with various NGOs, checked out the famous Foreign Correspondent’s Club and had probably my cheapest – and strongest – happy hour mojitos ever.  Mixed in with the fun was some misery – the Killing Fields and Genocide Museum served as horrific reminders of the suffering inflicted on this wonderful country by madmen within the space of my own lifetime.

Week 4: Cambodia

If the last week was dominated by children, this week was undoubtedly dominated by things a little less animated.  Temples.  I spent five days in and around Siem Reap, three of them at the temples of Angkor.  Words can’t really describe how awesome this place is, although as usual I gave it a shot – perhaps just to prove my point.  Other than traipsing around those huge lumps of sandstone, I found time to watch a bit more of the World Cup, eat and drink several times with another fellow travel blogger and check out the landmine museum.  Oh, and spend an afternoon sitting beside the pool with a beer in my hand.  As you do.  Once I finally dragged myself away from Cambodia’s second largest city I found myself in Kratie for a couple of days spotting the elusive river dolphins, swimming in the Mekong and cycling round a sandbar island in the middle of the river.

Week 5: Laos

If I thought Cambodia was laid back compared to Vietnam, Laos took being chilled out to a whole new level.  Nowhere moreso than on Don Det in the 4000 islands (an area in the middle of the river near the Cambodian border), where the only things to do are relax in a hammock, read a good book and sip on one of Laos’ greatest exports – it’s beer.  With great company in the form of some Italian and Spanish couples and Phao, our awesome guesthouse owner, it was a fantastic way to spend a few days and nights.  As well as provide me with my first squat toilet experience of this trip.  Surprised it took this long, really.  The Italians and I carried on to Pakse for another few days, where the highlight was an two day scooter trip up to the Bolaven Plateau.  Slightly cooler weather, beautiful waterfalls, excellent coffee and only one wrong turn.  Who needs navigational aids, hey Alex?  Not us!

Week 6: Laos

The final week for this update was similar in at least one way to the first – it was drunken.  Very drunken.  From finding the only places that were open in Vientiane at three in the morning (no mean feat, I tell you), to bucket after bucket of cheap and dirty cocktails while tubing down the river in Vang Vieng, my liver has threatened a walkout on more than one occasion lately.  Still, it’s been an awful lot of fun, and that’s what it’s all about.  Other less intoxicated activities included getting my visa sorted for Thailand, a brief catchup with the guys from Vietnam, a bit of sightseeing and just generally enjoying the beautiful nature and friendliness of the people here in Laos.  I can see why everybody that comes here raves about the place – it’s what the visions of South East Asia looked like in my mind.  Beautiful scenery, orange-robed monks, great food and wonderful people.  It’s been amazing to say the least.

So there we go, the first of my irregular updates.  Based on my current schedule, the next one will be … sometime this year.  Perhaps.