Luang...

Okay, so I tried to think of something really witty / catchy for the title... but, there was nothing. The creative juices aren't flowing apparently.
I'm in Luang Prabang. I can't tell you how much I love Laos. I love it. Seriously. It has been, by far, my favourite country thus far. The weather in Luang hasn't been entirely cooperative... however, because there is so much shit to do (or not do), it hasn't really mattered.
Yesterday was the first day that we actually did something. There are now five of us (two girls from Ireland, one from England, and then the 2 canucks). We met four other people at our hostel and set out. We went to one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen. Laos is this amazing, mountainous country. It's all very National Geographic. Of course (being Laos) I jumped out of a tree and probably risked my life... but, in the pics I look way to homo-tarzan, so they will not be posted.
Last night the 5 of us went out for Halloween. The bar was really cool and decked out for Halloween. The night seemed all very normal until the four transexuals walked in. I sat there, mouth agape, wondering how there could possibly be four Laosian trannies in the bar. The best part was that nobody even seemed to bat an eye. In Laos nobody seems to really care about anything, except maybe getting to bed at a reasonable time. The costume supplies were seriously slim picking. So, I threw on my "airforce" t-shirt (a la Chuckie) and my aviators and went as Maverick. We met a couple there from New York and when asked what they thought my costume was... well, here is how the conversation went:
me: What am I?
Them: (insert decisive tone) A gay man.
me: Dammit!
Them: Dude, the man purse is all wrong.
me: Dammit!
So yeah, the costume didn't have the desired effect.

Tonight we are taking the night train back to Vientiane, then catching a flight to Hanoi. I'm excited to go back to Vientiane because: a) I can call Chuckie and talk for the first time in almost a month b) there are fewer bugs there c) I get to go on an old, scary airplane d) I get to revisit my favourite masseuse (for the third time) e) I can safely leave Laos without having ingested Opium.
I will also post the rest of my pics there and (hopefully) fill out my Australian student Visa.

Leisurely Laos... I'll be there for you!

That's the last of our group floating into one of the bars along the river. How cool is this?

So, here I am perched in a tree ready to jump. I am also crapping my pants.

And, this is me amidst an incredibly painful fall.

The zipline was fun... and a whole lot safer than some of the other things available.

I looked at the date today: October 26th. Could that really be possible? Have I been in Laos for a week already? As it turns out, I totally have been here for a week. Coming to Laos is like entering this crazy time warp. Nobody seems to move very fast here and delays are the norm.... the busdriver is thirsty? That's okay! We'll just pull the bus over and make a pitstop for half an hour. We have a flat tire? Is there a spare? There sure isn't! But, that's okay! We'll just pull the bus over and rebuild the tire from 1956 in a really sketchy way in front of 10 horrified travellers!
So that's Laos. But, actually Laos is so much more. I am writing from Vang Vieng about 3.5 hours north of the capital, Vientiane. Vientiane was a riot... but, like I said, it was like entering a time warp. Everything closed down between 10:30-11:00pm and most of the lights went out around town. In Vientiane, I was getting about 10 hours of sleep a night.
I met up with a cool girl in Kota Bharu in Malaysia. We were both heading to BKK and then into Laos, so we have been together since. Alice and I just made our way to Vang Vieng (okay, like four days ago), which is one of the coolest places on earth. A couple days ago we went "caving". We went into all these, quite frightening actually, caves. It was like something out of Aliens, or something. Or, maybe like that movie "The Cave" with Eddie Cibrian and Piper Perabo. But, I don't know because I never saw that movie cause it looks really bad. I digress. Point is, the caves were creepy and there were lots of bugs and stuff. We also got to hang out in one of the villages on the outskirts of town. But, with the exception of garnering a little attention from a few of the smaller children, everyone just sort of ignored us and went about their day.
Yesterday, was the coolest day of my entire trip. We went tubing down a river for the entire day. There seems to be some contention as to whether it is actually the Mekong River, or some other less important river. But, for the purposes of my blog, I will assume it is the Mekong, because that's cooler. So anyway, we would float down this river and about every one hundred feet or so there is a bar where you can get your Beer Lao and also engage in some extreme jumping sports. They have zip-lines, big swings and trapeze-like things. We're jumping off make-shift tree houses, while drinking, so really it is one of the safest things you could ever do. Pics are on the way.
Other than that, Vang Vieng is pretty cool. Restaurants play "Friends" here around the clock. Being the cultural adventurer that I am, I have only watched about 2.5 seasons in three days. Wow, those friends are funny. seriously though, I wake up in the morning go for breakfast: Friends. Lunch: Friends. Dinner: Friends. Beer Lao: Friends. Post-tubing Beer Lao: Friends. Night-cap: Friends. You get the point.
I'm off for another day of tubing. For all those who care and are in the vicinity, I have decided to come home December 11th (being the cheapest day to fly). Still have no plan yet as to where I am going to be before leaving for Australia.. but, I will be in Montreal for at least a while.
Also! Two of my favourite people got engaged. The proposal is all romantic including big mountains and runny noses. Congratulations Sarah and Mike! For the full story, check our their blog, which is included in my links.
Mom - will put laos pictures up soon!

Bangkok a go-go

Okay, so I have been dealing with a serious case of lethargy. Bangkok has been great. But, after doing no partying and maximizing the sight seeing for the past month, I have really taken advantage of the night life in BKK. In fact, I haven't even made it to the temples yet. All on my list of things to do... Bangkok has proven to be an amazing city. It helps too that I have a guide (Chris) who speaks Thai and finished work last week. Oh, and he likes to drink and shop, too. I did manage to stumble upon all the "shows", but decided against paying money for anything that involved a ping-pong ball or razorblades. I know, I'm such a prude. I did take a thai box class, though. And it ravaged my body entirely.

Fortunately, for all things tourist, I will be back in BKK at the end of November. Tomorrow I am headed into Laos, then Vietnam, and then Cambodia. I am planning on being back in Canada from Dec 1-10... not sure yet.

Chris rocking it out at a karaoke bar.

And this is me having a moment while enjoying the sweet sounds.

Amy Lee and I had a brief rendez-vous at Khao San Road. We only realized we were in the same city the night Amy was flying out.

Chris and Watt at this bar where instead of sitting on a chair you shit on a comfy mat with pillows.

This is me rowing in Lumphini Park. Essentially, this is the most touristy thing I have done, that I have also managed to document with a picture. It was magical.

Perhentians...

I am at one of the most beautiful spots on earth, Pulau Perhentian, in the north eastern part of Malaysia. I plan on staying here for three more nights before I make my way into Thailand. Unfortunately crossing the border into Southeastern Thailand isn't so safe, so I am going to have to detour through Penang or back to KL (shudder). I will post pics soon. The island is run entirely on generators and there are no phones... the power is shut off for up to 8 hours a day. Luckily, the beaches aren't busy. I am beginning to really understand the joys of low-season. I met a lot of cool people -- all European. I can't help but wonder, where are my people?

The view from my cabin's balcony...

And this was to the left...
These lizards were everywhere! Oh, they are also on the opening credits for Survivor: Pulau Tiga... but that's just a side note.
I took this at 7am the morning I was leaving the beach while I was waiting for the boat.

We also went to a fishing villagem which featured really frightening stray sheep and really cute stray children.

At one of the many gorgeous restaurants. Every night there were bbqs with fresh seafood caught that day. Around the circle Sarah (Swe), Sandra (Swi), Jon (Swe) and me (Can).

When we went snorkeling there were thousands and thousands of fish. They weren't bothered by us either, so when we went in the water they would come all around us. The trip also featured huge sea turtles, tons-o-coral, sharks and rays.

chillin' with the primates, turts and survivors...

Although I'm not even entirely sure who is apart of the primate family, for the purposes of my blog I will assume it is all things monkey. And, I have had a lot of monkey time. Or, primate time, as the case may be. I digress. Point is, Borneo has been an amazing time, and one I would recommend to anyone. One of the very unfortunate things about Borneo is that a lot of things are really hard to get to. As such, Charles and I were at the mercy of tour companies for many of our activities. They were expensive and at times touristy, but they were organized and most importantly provided the transport through the jungle, to the islands etc. Charles and I arrived in Kota Kinabalu, but decided it was best to head out right away and caught a flight the next morning to Sandakan (get your maps out, people!). This is all in Sabah, the eastern territory of Malaysian Borneo. Our first activity was the Sepilock Orang Utan reserve (a la Amazing Race 4 with Chip and Reichen). The tans did not disappoint. We had about 8 or 9 show up for the feeding time. We also went to the park on our own instead of with a tour, which was nice because we there at a time when there weren't any tourgroups to deal with. We saw all shapes and sizes and they did lots of cool swinging tricks as well as cuddling whilst eating.

Charles and I posing in front of the tans.

The next day we went to the Gomantong Caves. They harvest birds' nests there to make the soup. Apparently the Chinese women eat the soup up because of its supposed anti-aging effects. Whatever the case, it was one of those truly icky experiences. There was what can only be described as a mountain of bat / bird poo in the middle. It actually just looked like the ground, but our guide assured us it was all poop. The best part was that poo mountain was inhabited with millions of cockroaches. But, only the babies live there. See, when the get big (I mean REALLY big) they move to the walls, which were only inches from the wooden walking paths (which, for the record, were also covered in ginormous roaches). After the caves, we headed into the jungle along the Sukau River. We stayed in a cabin resort and in the evening were taken for a river cruise to check out all the wildlife. We saw tons of monkeys doing fancy jumps, big scary snakes and some really cool birds. The elephants, orang utans and crocs were a no go, though, which was disappointing. One of the snakes, however, did make a girl in the boat cry, so I figure that must count for something. The next day we went on another river cruise followed by a jungle trek. The jungle was highlighted by some freakish leeches. We were wearing our leech socks, so all was well. But, on the boat trip back Charles discovered one sucking away on his back.

The crew after we were just dumped on with the hardest rain ever. Notice the lack of rain gear.
The Sukau River at sundown...

Jungle gays!

That thing hanging off the leaf is a leech. icky, huh?

This was our luxurious resort.

This was one of many fishing huts built up the river. All the people got really excited when we passed in the boat (more excited than these people apparently).

The next day Charles and I went to Turtle Island where they have a sanctuary and hatchery for sea turtles. We got to see a wild mother turtle laying its eggs and then also released a baby turtle each into the wild. It was a very electric experience. I actually found myself sitting there praying that my turtle would make it. Seriously, the baby turtles were even cuter than the monkeys. Oh, on the island (and at Sepilok), what I really learned is that humans are total assholes who ruin things for all the cute little animals with all our pollution and hunting.

That's the rear end of a turtle spewing out eggs. Once again, we couldn't use a flash...
Aren't they the cutest?

And this is me amidst a panic attack that I am going to accidentally kill a two day old turtle. Everything turned out okay.

Charles cuddling the little baby.

Unfortunately because we couldn't use a flash, this is the best pic of the turtle hatchlings running into the water.
This is where the eggs are reburied after they are collected from the nest. It takes about 2 months for them to hatch.

Following Turtle Island, Charles and I came back to Kota Kinabalu and booked our next big excursion. We decided that Pulau Tiga was an absolute must because, ahem, that's where the first *survivor* was filmed. Besides going to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (it was actually this sand bar in the middle of the South China Sea), I also hung out (and went skinny dipping!) on Pagong Pagong where the tribe (aptly named "Pagong") made their home. I also went to the mud volcano where I bathed in mud. Yes, there are pics.

Pulau Tiga also had mud volcanos, which apparently are wonderful for the skin. I need all the help I can get. This says it all.

Pulau Tiga was okay. However, I do believe an entire island with no "thrusting" would become a bit of a yawn after a while.

This is what's left from where they had Tribal Council. Sad, isn't it?

Another Pagong Pagong shot.

This is history... Pagong Pagong where the Survivors lived.

This little guy snorted and flitted around, but he wouldn't take the apple from my hand.

At Pulau Tiga the monkeys are refered to as "pests". Of course, I did the only reasonable thing in such a situation: I tried to feed them.

Me taking a picture of Charles taking a picture. Black and white is for additional artistic effect.

Charles looking tres ripped at Snake Island.

After I made fun of him enough for being "so tough" Charles finally gave in an held the scary, poisonous snake that our guide caught from under a boulder.

This is the beach at Sandspit, this crazy sandbar close to Pulau Tiga. Actually, in retrospect, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Last night Charles and I decided it was time to end our expensive vacation with a high-rolling hotel. We booked our last night at the Hyatt and got a beach front room with a balcony. They also had cocktail hour, which Charles and I decided will become a part of our everyday life.
I'm flying into KL tonight (ick!) but will leave tomorrow morning for the Northeast part of Malaysia, where I am heading to Pulau Perhentian... then into Thailand.