Time's not for wasting so I will continue where I left off....
We left Luang Prabang excited for our next destination, the Bokeo Province in the north of Laos, where we were planning to do The Gibbons Experience. After 4 hours of the scheduled 12 hour bus ride through windy mountain roads in the middle of the night, I realized that the bus had stopped. All the better to sleep, I figured so I curled up in my seat and conked out. As the sun began to rise about 4 hours later, I realized that we were still in the exact same place we were when I fell asleep. Stepping out of the bus, we saw a long line of cars, trucks, and busses that were all parked due to a big accident involving a few overturned trucks that left the road completely impassible. After hearing that we would probably be stuck for most of the day, Kelly and I took matters into our own hands. We grabbed our bags from the bus and walked up the mountain, around the accident and past the rest of the traffic. Eventually, a truck picked us up there and drove us to the nearest bus station. The daily bus to Huay Xai had already left but we decided to take another one that would at least get us closer. We had no idea what we were in for. After climbing onto the roof to attach our bags, we cramed ourselves into the bus. I grabbed a seat in the back between a few locals leaving Kelly stuck sitting on a bag of rice. The ride was long but entertaining. The man next to me kept falling asleep on my shoulder but the best part was the stop at a road-side market. Our bus gained a 6 squirrels and a monkey all of which would be that night's dinner for some lucky family.
We finally got to Huay Xai and were off to the jungle the next day for The Gibbons Expereince. What an experience. We spent three days literally living in the trees, ziplining across the valleys and sleeping in a bonafied treehouse. I'll let the videos do the talking
Asia's best "hotel"
Cribs: Jungle edition
Welcome to my home
Gibbons calling from the trees!
After a few days in northern Thailand with my friend Shannon from Canada/Taiwan, we made our way over to Cambodia. This country truley captured my heart. Our first stop was Siem Riep, the home the magnificent Angkor Wat complex. This place is the most architecturally intriging place I have ever seen. Every wall is literally covered with stories both religious and historical. We spent three days biking from ruin to ruin but I could have stayed for three weeks. I felt like a child again, playing on the big playground castles... only these were 10,000 year old ruins.
Huge banyon tree overtaking Angkor Thom
The Cambodian people are particularly facinating. Despite a tragic history, they are kind and gentle, even when they are trying to wring every last dollar from your pocket. They make up stories and beg for money, but they always do it with a genuine smile on their faces. When you turn them down, they'll just wave and say "good luck to you." We befriended a group of local kids who were selling postcards. After a few minutes of jokes we found out that they were actually talented little singers. Justin Beeber's ""Baby" creates a whole new image in my head now.
Next we head to the capital of Phnom Penh which, like many of our destinations, sits on the Mekong River. In the 1970s, following the Vietnam War, a local communist party called the Khmer Rouge wreaked havoc on the country. Over the course of a few years they killed over 1.5 million people, including nearly all of the educated or wealthy citizens of the capital. The scars still run deep and can be easily seen at places like S-21 and the Killing Fields. S-21 is a former school that was transformed into a prison. It was the last place many people saw before being transported to the Killing Fields where they were executed. The places were tragic and haunting, but I felt it was important to spend time learning about the history of the country that I had come to love.
The national palace in Phnom Penh
skulls dug up from the mass graves at the Killing Fields
After only a week in Cambodia, we returned to Thailand where we spent the next week on Koh Phangan island. The island was beautiful, but the weather on the other hand was less than ideal. It rained almost every day which gave us a lot of time to catch up on our reading and ukulele playing. We ended our holiday like we began it, scootering with all our belongings through waterfalls and puddles. Luckily, we were going to have a chance to warm up soon.... our next destination was Sweden after all.
Needless to say, we arrived at Farmor and Farfar's house in Gothenberg dirty, drenched and exhausted. Fortunately the agenda for the next week did not get much beyond playing cards, eating cheese and hanging out with the old folks. Perfection. We got babied beyond belief... bbb! Farfar (my grandfather) drove us to Denmark to visit some more family and from there we did a day trip to Germany with my cousin Jackeline. Ten days after we arrived in Sweden, we were in transit again, for the last time of this epic trip. The USA was calling, and I have to admit I was excited to come home for Christmas.
Me and Jackeline in Denmark
Although most of Europe and the US were under nearly a foot of fresh snow, I got to Boston only an hour later than expected. Kelly and I said our goodbyes at the baggage claim before she hurried off to (unsuccessfully) attempt to catch another flight and I came into the warm embrace of my cousin, Jen, who probably lost a bet and had to pick me up during the storm. (Thanks JENNN!!) It was a very warm reunion at the Fahey residence, my home away from home. Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, eggs benedict, family caroling, and the Dbar were the perfect reintroduction to life in the USA.
Eggs Benedict, my favorite Christmas tradition
The Fahey/Hansen clan on Christmas morning
So here's the final count.....
2 wanderlust girls
2 months
11 countries
an unspecified number of pounds (I mostly blame Farmor)
even more dollars/ baht/ kip/ riel/ euro.....
1 ukulele
14+ continuous days of diarrhea (I mostly blame the rats in Kuala Lumpur)
loads of amazing friends
oodles of ramen noodles :)
1 goat head stew
.... it all adds up to a pretty amazing trip.
** Thanks Kelly Abbott for sharing the experience with me, making me laugh until I cried, and putting me in my place when I needed to be put there. We may need to get those colonoscopies together sooner than we anticipated. Love you!
