Swimming with Seals!

If you click on the photo, it will blow it up for a better view. There was no zoom on the camera!

In our quest to remain cold in New Zealand, we decided to try swimming with animals. We originally wanted to swim with dolphins, but the company was booked until the middle of January, so we decided to give swimming with seals a try. This could possibly be the highlight of our New Zealand experience thus far. We were suited up in a centimetre of wet suit from head to toe. We walked along the shore to where the seals were, and swam out to an island that they were swimming around. The wetsuit was better than a lifejacket. We were so buoyant, and surprisingly warm. We were (well I, Laura, was) a little apprehensive about being so close to wildlife, however it was amazing. When we got out to where they were they immidiately started to swim around us. They would come within inches of our body, including our face and at the last second, dart away. It is incredible how fast they are! I (Laura) am proud to say I took the picture above! We were in the water for just over an hour with the seals, however it seemed like 5 minutes. We both loved the experience and are now booked to swim with dolphins in the Bay of Islands, which is in the North Island of New Zealand.

Fox Glacier Hike

We decided to keep with the theme of freezing in New Zealand and went for a day hike on Fox Glacier. The night before we left it POURED rain so we were a little aprehensive to go, however we woke up to clear skies. We were fitted for crampons before we left and were then bussed to the Glacier. We had a 2 hour hike until we actually got onto the ice. This was the warm part of the day...

We walked on the ice for about 30 minutes and then had lunch. After lunch we were on the ice for another 2 hours. We thought we would be hiking most of the time, however the majority of the time was spent watching our guid cut stairs. We are not sure if she was doing that because she had to, or that she just really liked swinging an ice pick. Needless to say we spent a lot of time standing on the ice, and then it started raining. It sounds like it was not fun, but we laughed a lot and it was pretty neat to be walking on a glacier. We got to climb through several crevasses and go into a few caves. Although we froze it was still a great time.

River Surfing

Our next adventure was in the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown. Since we consider ourselves white water experts, we decided to give river surfing a go. We can white water canoe anytime....

River surfing is basically going down a river on a body board. We were bussed out to the start of the river and had a safety talk before we headed out and a skills lesson. We then were right into the waves. The water was about 10 degrees and once again, we are freezing in New Zealand. We did have 5mm wet suits which worked very well, and once we got moving we didn't even notice the cold. The ride down the river was awesome. The first part of the river was the biggest water. The guides were great and stayed very close to us. I was glad I had white water experience before, and so was adam. The rapids were pretty big, however there wasn't many rocks to dodge. The only frustrating part was that we had a group of 15, and only one river..........at times we were floating on top of each other. We had flippers though and were able to paddle away into an opening.

At the end they had a jet ski that we were pulled on, similar to tubing behind a boat. There also was a huge slide at the end that we went down on our body board, and then skidded across the water. It was a great day! For those interested, we went with Mad Dog River Boarding. You can check out the website.

Christmas in New Zealand!

Merry Christmas!!! Adam and I definately felt like we were somewhat near home at Christmas as it was freezing where we were in New Zealand. We spent Christmas eve at a campsite and made a very simple Christmas meal, and then we went to Milford Sound to do a cruise. The scenery was incredible. They say it is actually more picturesque in the rain, and it was definately raining. Apparently it rains 2/3 days. I think this may be the reason they say it is better in the rain, or they may not have business.....

We spent 2.5 hours on a small boat touring around the Fiord. There were waterfalls everywhere. We saw seals and also saw a very rare penguin which was neat. We made it out towards the Tasman Sea but the captain had to then turn around as it was way to choppy. Adam braved the cold and rain and went out on the front to look around. I took the picture from inside the boat...

It was a very nice way to spend Christmas!

Routburn Track

We finally decided to be active again since Nepal, and booked in to do the Routburn Track, which is a Great Walk in New Zealand. The hike was 3 nights/4 days. The first day we got a shuttle out to the start of the track, and then hiked for 4 hours to our first hut. The huts we slept in were great. They had gas stoves and bunks so we didn't have to bring a tent or stove. We slept in a room with about 30 other people, but it was fine. The second day was our longest day. We hiked for about 2.5 hours to a spot called Conical Hill. We then did a side trip to the top of Conical Mountain. The views were awesome. The picture is from the top of the mountain. We then had another 3 hour hike to our second nights hut. The third day was an easier day. We hiked for 3 hours to our last hut, and in the afternoon did another side trip to Key Summit. Again, the weather was great and the views were amazing. The last day was just an hours walk out to catch our bus back to Queenstown. We totally lucked out and had amazing weather and no rain for the 4 days on the track. The mountains were not as big as Nepal, but still very beautiful and impressive!

Queenstown, New Zealand

Well we safely made our way to New Zealand. We arrived late at night and spent our first full day making our way to the Adventure Capital of Queenstown. We spent 2 days exploring the city. Our weather was beautiful both days so we took advantage of it and went up the Gondala. We would have hiked up, however we were doing a 4 day hike the next day so we wanted to rest our legs........
At the top we had a chance to do a luge ride. It was pretty hilarious. We basically went sledding down a track. It was very touristy but still a lot of fun! The views from the top were great too. The rest of the time in Queenstown was spent getting ready to do our hike and relaxing around the town. It is still strange seeing Christmas decorations everywhere, especially with no snow!

Great Ocean Road

AP
After driving for hours Adam and I found our way to Geelong, which is the start of the Great Ocean Road. We spent 2 days traveling on the road and viewing the sights. The scenery was incredible. The first day we traveled as far as a place called Apolo Bay. We stopped here for the night. In the evening we watched kite surfers on the beach. This sport looks near to impossible.
The next day we drove to several lookouts, including the infamous 12 Apostles. The scenery is very similar to Cape Breton Island, or even Newfoundland. Our plan was to take our time exploring the sights, however we did not know that we were in Australia for fly season. The flies were worse than mosquitoes! The crawled all over us, in our face and mouth. Needless to say we only lasted a few minutes outside, and got through the second part of the road very quick. We stopped the second night in Warnonbool and then drove back to Geelong for our final day in Australia. The road was definitely a highlight of Australia, despite the flies!

Photo Album

Vietnam, Cambodia and Australia

Click on photo to see pictures of vietnam, cambodia and australia!

Surfers Paradise....

We have been driving down the coast for the last few days, making stops at Noosa, Surfers Paradise, Byron Bay, Lennox Heads, Ballina and Coff's Harbour. We have attempted body boarding and Adam has attempted surfing, while I lifeguarded from the beach. The waves were slightly larger than what we see in Canada however Adam did get up a few times. He looked like a pro to me! The campervan has been good to us, despite practically drinking gas like water. Thank goodness for mastercard.......

Fraser Island

After another long day of driving we made it to Hervey Bay to go to Fraser Island. Again, since we are short on time we just did a day tour. We took a ferry across to the island and then boarded a huge 4X4 bus. It was massive, and had about 50 other people. This was a bit of the downside. We also were one of the last on the bus so we had to sit at the back. This would be fine on normal roads, but since we are driving on dirt and sand it was slightly bumpy to say the least! We drove through the rainforest for the first bit and then out onto the beach. The island is completely made up of sand. It was neat flying along on the beach. We stopped at a ship wreck first which was ok, then went to a place called Eli Creek. You can walk up and then float down the creek. Unfortunately we only had about 20 minutes here. Then we headed to a resort for lunch. After lunch we did a nature walk that really could have been skipped, and then we went to the highlight, which is Lake McKenzie. It is an amazing lake that has pretty much nothign living in it and is totally clear. We got to stay here for a while laying on the beach and swimming. We also got to see a Dingo that was roaming the beach! It was a very brief tour of the island, but worthwhile!

Whitsunday Islands

After a day of driving down the coast, we stopped at Airlie Beach to do a day tour of the Whitsunday Islands. It was absolutely beatiful. We had a perfect day. We first boated out towards the islands for about an hour. We then stopped in at a cove to do some snorkling. It was amazing. The visibility was the best I have ever had. We saw loads of fish, including a giant fish that I think was the size of my honda. The coral was great too. We had over an hour here which was fantastic. After we cruised and had lunch and then went to a place called Whitehaven beach, Hill Inlet. We got dropped off on a beach and had to hike up to the top of a lookout. The picture is of us at the lookout. The view was awesome. The colours in the water were just like the pictures we had seen. We then got about 2 hours to lounge on the beach. It was great, however the only downside was that we had to wear lycra suits in the water to protect us from stingers (jelly fish). It was a bit of a pain getting into the skin tight outfits to go for a swim, and we did not look to stylish but we were protected from sun and stingers! After this stop we cruised back to the mainland. Great day!

Cairns/Daintree Rainforest

Adam and I flew up to Cairns after Sydney and picked up our Campervan!!! It is a little rough around the edges, but gets us from A to B. (and hopefully Melbourne!) We picked it up and immidiately drove north of Cairns to the Daintree Rainforest. It was strange driving on the other side of the road, btu we soon got the hang of it. The drive to the rainforest was very curvy, but beautiful! We stopped off at a the Mosman Gorge for a swim, and then found a campervan park just outside the ferry to Cape Tribulation. The next morning we took the ferry across to Cape Tribulation. The ferry is just a barge across a small river. On our way to Cape Trib we did a river cruise in search of Crocs, and we saw 2! Apparently that is good for this time of year. After we went to Cape tribulation Beach. It is beautiful but you can't swim becuase of the crocs. After we drove through a bit of the interior part of Queensland back to Cairns.

Our time in Cairns was amazing. We did a day dive trip out to the Southern part of the reef. We went with TUSA diving, which is the company I actually went with 6 years ago! We got to do 3 dives, which was amazing. Our second dive was incredible. We saw 2 turtles, 2 sting ray and one shark! The boat we went on was beautiful, and the meal we had for lunch was great. All in all, a great trip to the reef!!!

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Sydney

Adam and I spent 3 days touring around Sydney. We arrived at 7:00am in the morning, so needless to say, we were tired! We headed straight to Manly Beach where I used to live. The weather was great so we layed on the beach and then I dragged Adam to see where I used to live. The picture is from the ferry over to Manly Beach. That evening we wandered around the Harbour and we quickly discovered that that night was the final of Australian Idol, and it was being held just outside the Opera House. It was packed with teenagers! We tried to get a glipse of the performance but it was sold out......

The next day we headed to the famous Bondi Beach. It was beautiful. Adam again layed on the beach and I actually got back on the running horse and went for a run! We spent some time as well just watching the surfers.

Our last day it rained so we actually just went to a mall, and then to the movies! It was relaxing to veg for a bit. We saw The Heartbreak Kid. Not nearly as funny as Something About Mary but entertaining.

The A380 BIG Plane!!!

Adam and I had seen the in the news the hype about the new plane for Singapore airlines. Our whole trip has been mostly with Singapore, and we new the big plane was flying the Singapore Sydney flight. We didn't get our hopes up too much, but when we did some research we realized we got to fly on the plane! It is massive. Two full decks, with suites with the double beds. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the suites, but we did see business class and it was impressive! We didn't get window seats but did get seats on the upper deck. We were so high off the ground before we even took off! The take off was SO long but very smooth! I still don't understand how a plan that big gets off the ground! The landing was good too, and it really didn't take any longer to de-plane or get our bags, even with 450ish people on the plane!

Angkor Wat

Our main reason of going to Cambodia was going to see Angkor Wat. We decided to do a one day tour. We hired a "tuk tuk" driver to take us around. The area that the ruins cover is huge! In the morning we went to see some of the lesser known ruins. They were very impressive. Some had huge trees growing right around and out of them. We spent the whole day driving and walking around. We could not get over how many people were there though. It became slightly frustrating trying to take pictures but we got a few. In the after noon we went to see the famous Angkor Wat. It was impressive, however didn't wow us like we thought it would. It was smaller than we had both pictured. Our plan was to stay until sunset as that is when it gets the best colour, but the day we went it was cloudy and the sunset was not going to be impressive. We both are very glad we went to see the ruins and we both really liked Cambodia. It was much more westernized than we thought, however much more expensive than we thought.

Mekong Delta

Adam and I decided to see some of the interior of Vietnam and did a day trip to the Mekong Delta. It is on a river but thankfully it was a sunny day. The tour first took us to a coconut candy making place and then to a floating market. Both were not that impressive, but it was nice to see the countryside. We also got to ride bikes around the small villiages. The picture is from a bridge in one of the villages. After we went in a row boat and rowed down a narrow part of the river. Well, we didn't row, the lady in the back did all the rowing. We just sat back and took in the scenery!

Floods....Continued

Well we definately spoke too soon with the floods. The day after the last blog entry we woke up to knee deep water in the lobby. (will add a picture later....computer wo't let me) This was at 6:00am. By 10:00am the water had risen so it was now waist deep. It was neck deep in the streets. We could see behind us people on their roof tops being rescued. The water came up to their roofs. We were 1km from the river so the water levels at the river were much higher. The hotel owners told us that we should probably leave if we could. They sent us a "rescue boat" that was actually just a small dingy. We put our belongings in the dingy and had to walk/swim out of the hotel. Thankfully only 150m away the water was much less and we were able to get to a roadside and get a ride into the closest town. I have never seen anything like this. It rained so hard it was crazy. I felt so badly for the town and their businesses and homes. We managed to get to the next town and get to a hotel. We were stuck in this town for 2 days as the roads were closed but at least we were dry. The best part is that the next day we were able to take a taxi back into Hoi An and pick up the clothes we had made at a tailor! We didn't think we would get back to the town but it is amazing how quickly the water rose, and how quickly it went down. It was quite the experience seeing the floods first hand. Us Canadians should be glad we get snow!

Floods in Hoi An

Well Adam and I have had great luck with weather for the past 4 months, so I suppose it is time we experienced the other side of things. We got news last week that a typhoon was suppose to hit the central/south coast of Vietnam. It got downgraded to a tropical depression, so we decided to continue on with our journey south. We are currently in a town called Hoi An. Yesterday we were able to easily browse the stores along the streets, walk over bridges and occasionally had to step over puddles. Today we woke up to a downpour, and it really hasn't stopped. Hoi An is situated right on a river and by 10am the street parralel to the river was flooded. We went to the central market and actually watched the water levels rise. By noon the majority of streets within 50m of the river were flooded. It stopped us in our tracks, but not the vietnamese. They were prepared, all in ponchos and sandles, for the weather. It is amazing how their day went on. They just moved their stalls further up in the market, continued socializing and definately did not take detours around flooded streets. This clearly happens often as the bicycle rickshaws were conviniently replaced with boats wanting to take tourists on tours. We saw people just hop off motorbikes, walk them through knee deep water, and hop back on. At home, this would be a catastrophe but in Vietnam, it is life. I am actually glad we are experiencing it. (but still hope our bus can depart tomorrow.......)

Tam Coc

So Adam and I have been totally following the tourist trail in Vietnam so far and decided to do some more touristy things and head to Nimh Binh to go to a place called Tam Coc. This tour first took us to some temples, and to be honest, we are templed out. So, that was the downside of the tour. After the temples we got to ride bikes for an hour to our lunch spot, and the place where we got to get a boat to tour the Tam Coc region. The bike riding was hilarious. The bikes are very unlike bikes at home. Think very dorky with big seats and baskets.....

After lunch we got in a boat with one man rowing, and one woman that was his "helper". It was just the two of us in the boat. The scenery was amazing. They say this place is the "Halong Bay of the rice fields". We went through 3 caves and at the end of the last cave there are people in boats trying to sell you food and drinks. Of course you feel pressured to buy things, and apparently you are suppose to buy things for your rowers as well. It is a total scam, but we new this going in. On the ride back the purpose of the female rower becomes apparent as she whips out all her embroidery and wants you to buy it. We didn't buy any. We do feel badly though as there are so many people in the region wanting to take tourists out, that each person only works 2 days a month. No wonder they try to sell things! All in all, it was worth the cheeziness to see the scenery!

Halong Bay

Adam and I decided to do some trips in and around Hanoi, basically to escape the motorbikes and honking....

We headed to Halong Bay for 2 days, 1 night. We stayed one night on a "junk" boat. The first day we set out with our group from Hanoi. There was 13 of us. We boarded the boat, that was really nice, and sailed around the karsts, which are the landmasses jutting out of the water. That day we also got to go kayaking through a few caves. It was great. The next day we woke up early to climb up to the top of a lookout (thankfully this was not like a climb in Nepal........it only took 10 minutes). The views were amazing. Halong Bay was actually more beautiful than I thought it was going to be. After the lookout we went to another cave, that was rather touristy (I know, we are tourists......) and not that great compared to other caves we have been in. We spent the rest of the morning cruising around and reading on the deck of the boat. It was very relaxing and great!

Nepal/Annapurna Circuit/Everest flight

annapurna

Click on the above to view the photo album.

Mount Everest Flight

Ok, so we didn't climb the highest mountain in the world, but we did see it! After walking in the mountains for 3 weeks we decided to take the easy way to see Everest. We did an early morning flight from Kathmandu. The plane only sat 14 people, however everyone got a window seat. I would have to say the views on the hike were superior to the plane, but it still was amazing seeing the worlds highest mountain. We were flying at 26000 feet, and Everest is 29000 feet. On the hike we got up to about 16500 feet to put it in perspective. In the picure, Everest is the triangular mountain in the background. (the camera through the window isn't doing the view justice). Who knows, maybe we will come back some day and attempt it.................kidding.

Annapurna Circuit!

Not sure where to begin explaining the last month of our adventure. We arrived in Kathmandu a few weeks ago and it is absolutely crazy. Let's just say that Bangkok is tranquil compared to it! We set off on a 20 day hike through the himilayas. The first few days were cloudy, but the views of the mountains and foothills were unbelievable. About 4 days into the hike we got our first view of the himilayas. They make the rocky's look like tiny bumps. Along the way we stayed in small tea houses. They were anything from a basic bed, to a very cozy lodge. The most challenging part of the hike was acclimatizing to the altitude. We walked very slowly, and stayed 2 nights in one town to acclimatize. It was at 3500 meters, and the day we were there it snowed like crazy!!!

The big obstacle of the hike was the Thorong Pass. This is the highest mountain pass in the world, at 5416 metres. The hike was only about 20 km the day we did the pass, and we had to wake up at 3:30am to start the crossing. It took us 4.5 hours to climb up to the pass, and this was only about 5km in distance, and 1 km vertically. This walk up was breathtaking in every way. We would walk about 20 steps and then take a rest. To put this in perspective, at 3500 metres we got out of breath just changing positions in our sleeping bags....

When we reached the pass we were exhausted, but the views were perfect. It was the most perfect blue sky and we could see the Annapurna mountain range, as well as other mountain ranges. We only stayed at the top for about 15 minutes as I (Laura) had a hard time breathing since i had a decent chest cold and it was also about minus 10 degrees with the wind chill. We still had a 15km walk down, taking us down 1.6 km vertically.

After the pass we had another 7 days of walking, however they were easier as we were on our way down. The views still were amazing, but completely different than the other side of the mountain ranges. We travelled through the deepest valley in the world that was very desert like and extremely windy. We still had the himilayas towering above us.

We ended our hike in a small town and then bussed to a place called Pokhara. This was easily the best experience of our lives and definately the highlight of our adventure so far!

Adam's trip to the Beauty Salon

So Adam decided that it was time to lose the beard........

In Bangkok at 8:30pm it is slim pickings to find a barber, however there were numourous beauty salons open SO adam decided he had had enough of the beard and strolled into the nearest salon. Already in the salon were 2 women getting pedicures, a few getting facials and waxing, and now Adam, getting ready to have his beard shaved. He had quite the audience while the initial shaving took place. The woman that did it I must say was very delicate and gentle with him! The highlight for me was when it was shaved off with the electric razor he wanted to have it straight bladed as well. The woman asked him to get up and then go over to the tables and lay down. Now, picture adam laying on a table with women getting facials and waxings beside him........It was hilarious. It took the woman nearly 30 minutes to straight blade the rest off, and when she was finished the staff were chuckling as he looked so different! They much prefered him without.....he looked much younger. It also is a much different look for me (and him) to get used to as his hair is much longer now. All in all, it made for an entertaining evening for me, and he is feeling much smoother and cleaner. Did I mention that prior to this he got a massage??? No joke, a massage and a trip to the salon all in one day! He is a true beauty!

Floating Market

The floating market is located about 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok. It is more of a tourist attraction than a market for the locals, but it was still worth seeing. We took a bus there early in the morning and then got to go on a paddleboat through the market. This was neat however they made us wear straw hats on the paddleboat. I think this was more for the locals entertainment than for our sun protection....

The paddleboat weaved in and out of other boats taking us from stale to stale, trying to get us to buy things. The waterway is only about 6 metres wide and there are MANY boats trying to fight there way through. This was more entertaining than the market itself at times.

While we went through the market other boats with the locals were coming up to us with the strangest setups of grills to fry meat, fruit baskets and other contraptions so that we could buy food along the way. It was hilarious seeing what types of setups they had. There were huge mounds of noodles and rice and vegetables along with actual woks to make pad thai, all on one small narrow boat.

We spent about an hour on the paddleboat and an hour walking around the land portion and then headed back. It was well worth the bus ride!

Thai Cooking Course

Adam and I decided to work on our culinary skills and take a thai cooking course. It was awesome! We first got a tour of the market and learned about different thai ingredients and herbs. Then we got to cook 6 different items! These included Tom Yam soup (one of my favorites), Pad Thai, Glass Noodle Salad, Cashewnut chicken and a green and a red curry. Shockingly we were surprised at the outcome! The dishes were fantastic however we left extremely full! We also discovered we already use the main ingredients in thai food when we cook at home. Maybe I will really stop working and become a full time cook in Asia????

Thailand pics

Various Thailand pics

Click on the picture to view the photo album- hill tribe trek included!!!

Day 1_Hill Tribe Trek

Since the last 3 days have been so amazing, I have split it into 3 different entries. So much to tell!!!

Today we left the town of Pai with our guide, Mr. Noom, and his cousin Tat. We drove for about half an hour to where we started the hike. The hike today we were told was difficult, and it was! I don't know if we were just out of shape from laying on a beach, or if it was just really hard. Anyway, our guide entertained us along the way by showing us different plants and things in the jungle. He also broke into song a lot, mostly beatles and John Denver. It was entertaining.

We stopped at the top of a mountain for lunch. Mr. Noom's wife had made us fried rice in the morning and wrapped it in banana leaf. The picture is of adam eating it on the top of the mountain. Our guide also made us chopsticks out of bamboo. It was pretty neat.

We walked for about 3 more hours and arrived at the Karen village. This is the tribe that our guide is from. We got to meet his mother and father and we stayed in their home. The village was amazing. Everything was made from bamboo and there way of life is so different. They grow everything that they eat, and cook everything over a fire in the house. We had a chicken and potato curry for dinner and fried vegetables. Definately not going hungry! We got to sit and eat with his family too. Unfortunately we could not communicate with them but it still was interesting seeing how they lived.

Before dinner Mr. Noom showed adam how to make rope from a part of a tree, and I looked (and bought) at his mothers weaving. It was so beautiful how much time and effort they put into everything.

Since we had walked about 8 hours, we went to bed at about 7:50pm and I fell asleep immidiately!

Day 2 - Hill Tribe Trek

Today we got up around 7:00am to the sound of roosters and the smell of a fire burning in the other room. Mr. Noom made us some tea and a huge breakfast of omlette and 4 pieces of toast each! Could not eat it all but they definately are making sure we have enough! Today is a full moon which means no one works in the village. I watched Mr. Noom's mother light spirit candles and she did some prayers beside me.

We headed out around 9am and walked to a waterfall. The walk again was challenging but great. Along the way our guide was chopping down bamboo trees and gathering white worms that were in them. He said he was going to be eating them later.......which he did. Anyway, the waterfall was beautiful and here we had our lunch. That morning Mr. Noom had made pad Thai and wrapped it in banana leaf for us. It was outstanding. Also while we were sitting around he made us a spoon out of bamboo and made some cups. He and his cousin started a fire and made a "kettle" out of bamboo and made us some tea. He also noticed we looked tired so they went into the forrest and brought back a bunch of banana leafs and made us a bed to relax on. It was amazing.

After lunch we walked for about 4 hours to the next village. It was a challenging walk especially since our path was grown over. Mr. Noom had to cut the entire way! We arrived at our destination just before 6pm. This villiage was more of a partial village. There was only about 4 families left living there. The rest had moved to another village. There actually was only one man there. It also was more rugged as well and our "shower" was from a water hose. There was no toilet either. Mr. Noom made us rice and fried vegetables that was amazing. Shockingly someone had actually carried in coke and beer so we had that as well! Oh, and we watched them eat worms as well, and adam even tried them. I could not get over the fact that they were worms......We went to bed again just before 8pm. This night we all slept in the same room on the floor. Great day!

Day Three- Hill Tribe Trek

Today we were awoken at, oh, 2:30am by the roosters at this small village. They in turn also disturbed the pigs that were sleeping below us. Needless to say, we still got a lot of sleep since we were so tired from the day before.

Once we were up we were made tea and an amazing breakfast of omlette and toast. They again gave each of us 4 pieces. We set out around 8:30am and were going to 3 different villages today. The first part of the trek was difficult but then it was fairly easy on a well travelled trail. When we arrived at the Lahu village we immidiately noticed the diffence from the Karen. This village has used almost all the tree's surrounding it and it was very wide open. The houses were similar however slightly more modern as there was one satalitte. We left this village and went about 30 minutes to the next. We went to annother Karen village. Here we were greeted by school children that brought us a snack and water. We also go to see the women weaving. It was amazing to see how much work they do. The kids were also in school at the time and we could hear them being taught how to speak Thai. (all villages have their own language). We left this village and walked another 2 hours to the last village, the Lisu village. This was a very modern village actually and probably won't be involved with the treks much longer. There even was a restaurant that we ate at! After we boarded a local bus and headed back to Pai.

The entire experience has been so amaznig and surreal. We have learned so much and have seen so much. Our guide showed us how to make so many things along the way out of bamboo and leaves. We LOVED this adventure and it made us even more excited for Nepal!

Bangkok Weekend Market

Adam and I spent one day in Bangkok before we headed up to Bangkok. It was a Saturday so we ventured to the weekend market. On our way we did get hassled by one person trying to use the "classic" scam. He told us the market was closed and that he could take us to a temple that was only open that day. Thankfully, being the nerd I am, I read up on scams and we headed to the market anyway....which was open.

The market was crazy. SO overwhelming. We had no idea where to start or what to look for. There were so many people at the market and it was so crowded. Eventually we decided to stop deciding where to start, and just to start looking. It took us a while but we got into the swing of things and bought some new clothes for ourselves. Adam wanted to venture to the animal section, where you could buy so many animals. They had rats, mice, squirrels and even snakes. We spent a total of 6 hours here, and I don't think we saw it all!!!

Ko Phi Phi

Laura and I took a one day trip over to the Ko Phi Phi islands. These ares the islands where they filmed the movie the "Beach", with Leo!!! The seas were rough that day my friend! It was a 45 minutes boat ride out to the islands.The boat ride started out with a hugh cooler crushing Laura's foot as the boat rocked back and forth! She hobbled for a few days however she is fine. Got a nasty bruise though! Unfortunetely the waves were too high to go see Maya Bay which is the famous "beach", but we did get to go to some other bays that were brilliant. The scenery around Koa Phi Phi was incredible, it is like nothing i have ever seen. Hugh rocks jut out of the water, with sandy white beaches everywhere. We did some snorkeling and went to Monkey Bay, and yes, at monkey bay there were monkeys. Hands down this area is the most incredible scenery I (adam) have seen.

Ko Tao

Ko Tao is an island on the east coast of Thailand. We went there for
five days of sun and scuba diving!!! Well that was the plan, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate fully. We didn't have bad weather by any means, it only rained one day, but the conditions for scuba diving weren't the best. It was a little windy and overcast which reduced visibility and increased current. We first took a refresher course and then did 3 fun dives. Despite the bad visibility we did get to see some cool things. We scuba dived with SHARKS that were about the size of me (Adam), moray eels, and sting rays. The island of Ko Tao is really laid back, not that that touristy, and it is all about diving. We rented a scooter for the week and went from beach to beach when weren't scuba diving. It was awesome having our own mode of transportation. It is low season too so the road was not busy at all. We stayed in a remote spot on the island that was quite the hike to get to but our private bungalow with a view of the ocean was incredible.
Ok, Laura speaking now. I just wanted to mention that on Ko Tao we had our first encounter with a snake AND I did not freak out. I even whipped out the camera for a picture. (ok, so Adam got close and took the picture). I think it was just a water snake but really, I don't need to find out. I also wanted to mention that on the island of Ko Tao I believe Adam ingested about 2 pad thai's a day. The food has been incredible I must admit. Thankfully, as adam mentioned, our bungalow was a hike away so hopefully we worked it all off!

Photo album of Thailand

Malaysia and Thailand Misc.

Click on this photo to see more of our thailand adventures!

Ko Lanta

Well, we are now in Thailand! Our first stop was obviously an island. We decided to spend a few days relaxing on Ko Lanta. Travelling if you can believe it is rather tiring and we needed some time to stop planning our trip and to enjoy it. We learned quickly in thailand that this is low season which means everything is under construction however we can stay at places for super cheap! We stayed at a very fancy resort for about 40 dollars a night. It would be about 150 dollars in high season. It was under construction but it was not a big deal. The greatest part is that there was only 3 of us at the resort. Us and an australian girl. For most "party goers" this would be a downer but clearly you all know us and appreciate our need of early nights and peace and quiet. We spent

two days doing pretty much what adam is doing in the picture. It was fantastic. We also spent time chatting with the australian. We did get off our butts and rent a scooter for one day and toured around the island. This was SO much fun! Adam drove the entire time and did a fantastic job. I think if we owned a scooter he would not always want to be a passenger and sleep. Anyway, it was a blast and the scenery was amazing.

Penang - Georgetown

After the Perhentian Islands Adam and I ventured acrosse the country back to the east coast to go to Penang. It is an island just off the coast of Malaysia and Georgetown is the city on the island. It is the most historical city in Malaysia. I think it may be the oldest, but am not too sure. We stayed there two nights and toured around all the little areas of town. We honestly ate our way through the town trying every Roti Canai possible. This is an indian type of fried bread served with a lentil curry. Sounds gross.....tastes amazing. You can actually get many kinds of Roti. My personal favorite was Roti Milo. Milo is like hot chocolate. It was decadant and obviously you don't eat this kind with the curry. Adam and I devoured many rotis and not one cost more than 30 cents. Anyway, we did take a break in the roti tour to go see a temple. It was very impressive. We did some shopping as well at the stales leading to the temple. We each got t-shirts for about 3 dollars. Great city.

Perhentian Islands

Adam and I spent a few days last week at the Perhentian islands. They are said to be some of the most beautiful beaches in all of south east asia. The trip to the islands took almost a day but it was worth it. There are two islands, a big one that is more expensive, and a smaller less expensive island. We choose the smaller island however we soon realized we are of the age to be at the more expensive places. The island itself was beautiful however we were the oldest there. There is nothing on them besides beach huts and little restaurants. We spend one day on a snorkling trip that was great. We actually got in the water with over a dozen sharks!!!! Don't fret, they were only reef sharks and were very afraid of us and only about 1 metre big. We also saw lots of fish and turtles. We went to a small fishing village for lunch. The area was incredible.

Cameron Highlands

The last few days Adam and I have been staying in the Cameron Highlands in the center of Malaysia. We did a tour around the area yesterday and went to some local farms including an insect and butterfly farm. This was Adam's favourite as he got to hold a gheko and our tour guide actually made him hold a scorpion and put one on his chest. I was slightly freaked out and thankfully did not have to hold anything. There also was a bunch of caged snakes which I did look at from a distance.
Today we did a jungle hike (very uphill and muddy......no snakes though). Unfortunately the view from the top was covered in cloud. After we walked along a road through tea plantations. We went to one of the factories and had a quick tour. Very interesting. We definately have had our share of tea in the Highlands!

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Adam and I spent last weekend in Kuala Lumpur. We ended up staying in a 5 star hotel (sort of by accident) and it was awesome! We had a perfect view of the Petronas towers (the picture is the view from our window at night). We also had a huge room and got a complimentary huge buffet breakfast every morning. Definately not our style of hotel but it was amazing. All for less than $150. (two nights/3days). We spent the days walking around the city and also got to go up the the walkway at the towers that was the 41st floor. The markets in KL were great too. Definately a great city.

Pictures of Mount Kinabalu, borneo and KL

walk

Click on this photo to see more pictures of our climb of Kinabalu and Borneo.

Mount Kinabalu

Laura and I climbed Mount Kinabulu over the past two days. It was incredible!!! We started hiking early on day 1 to beat the crowd going up. We were the first to leave and the first to arrive at Laban Rata, our accomidations for the night. It took us 4 hours(quicker than the average person, we were told). We had lunch and dinner at Laban Rata and shared accomidations with an English couple, the four of us slept in a room about the size of a phone booth. We set our alarms for 2:00am in the moring to set off for our summit push. It took us about 2 and a half hours to reach the summit (4300ish meters). We were at the summit at 4:50 am and had to wait almost an hour in zero degree weather with blistering winds for the sunset. Laura put every article of clothing she owned on and still was freezing. It was worth it though. It was amazing, one of the best experiences of our lives.

Adam and I are now currently in Singapore visiting my friend Leigh and her husband Kyle. (both in picture...) Singapore is a beautiful city. Very clean and very safe. The people are also very friendly. Yesterday Adam and I toured around Little India which was very neat. There are so many palaces to eat it is SO overwhelming. We also saw many mosks, which were very interesting as well. That evening we took Leigh and her husband otu for dinner to a restaurant in a place called the East Coast Park. It has been a fantastic visit, and we are off to Borneo next to hike Mount Kinabalu!!!

Gyeoung-ju

Last weekend was Adam and my last weekend in Korea. We decided to go to Gyeoung-ju, which is the historical capital of Korea. They say it is to Korea, what Kyoto is to Japan. The city is really neat. There were big mounds (well small hills actually) that were tombs of royality that used to rule the area. We stayed at a really neat hostel, and on the friday night we went to a place called Boman Lake that was a small resort like village. There we watched an open air Korean Performance that was really neat. On the saturday we decided to rent bikes for the day, and bike to a temple and to a huge Buddha. This was slightly a mistake as it was sunny and about 40 degrees out. We pushed sweatyness to a different level. We arrived at the temple (that was 18km away) so sweaty that we had to wait an hour to dry off before going in. The temple was neat. We then took a bus from the temple up the mountain to a place called the Grotto. This is a place where there is the biggest Buddha in Korea carved into the side of a mountain. It was SO big and SO neat to see however you cannot take pictures of it. After we dreaded the 18km bike ride back, however it wasn't too bad. The picture above is of the area where the Grotto is.

We went to another Korean concert that evening and then it was back to Seoul for one night, where we caught our flight to Singapore. The trip back to Seoul was awesome as we took a Bullet train that went 300km an hour!!!

DMZ

We went to the DMZ (the Demilitarized Zone) on a tour from Seoul. It was kind of surreal, with North Korean Guards staring at South Korean Guards and South Korea Guards staring at North Korean Guards. The tour was a little rushed, however we did get to go through one of the infiltration tunnels which was really cool. (sweet, delicious and handsome...a little camp korea inside joke) The tunnel was over 100 meters underground with no ventilation so the air was really thick. The final stop on the tour was at a train station that was built to be a gateway from South to North Korea, but no trains come or leave this train station. It is completely empty and super clean which made it really neat.

The Doosan Bears vs The Busan Giants

If you have ever seen the movie Mr. Baseball with Tom Seleck, with all the cheering and songs after every pitch and every out then exactly how the baseball game was. It was more fun watching the crowd, the band and the dancers then the game itself!! The game was really exciting too! They play baseball the way it should be played, a lot of bunting, stealing and moving runners around. It was a great night in Seoul.

This is me training for Australia!!! This was so cool, it is a standing wave. They shoot water up this plastic shape wave, you slide in on this boogie board and try to stay in it. You are only allowed to go up to your knees, but it was still preety wicked.

FUN!

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THE CRAZIEST WATERPARK!


Talk about CRAZY!! We finally had some fun here are camp korea, however I am not sure how safe it actually was!!! We went to an indoor "pool" with the kids, that really was the craziest water park I have ever seen. There were HUNDREDS of people there packed into many pools like sardines. Thankfully, the teachers were allowed to just do whatever they wanted......We had a blast. There were 4 indoor waterslides that were awesome. (see pic below)
They also had a standing wave that you could body board on. Adam will add a picture of that later. He was one of the few (and the first) to master the wave. I however got thrown off the wave 3 times and gave up. It was pretty tricky and i was slightly annoyed that he got it so easily. We ended up staying at the park for 4 hours. The kids had a blast too. If you look carefully you will notice everyone is wearing a bathing cap. A rule here in Korea that just makes the waterpark even more entertaining!

I I know that Adam and I have let on that we are not enjoying ourselves teaching, however I must admit that this past weekend has totally changed my outlook on the country of Korea. I have decided that the people in this country are the nicest I have ever met. People go completely out of their way to help you. In that respect, it has been amazing. We also got to go into the mountains this weekend and the countryside is beautiful.

This weekend Adam and I had a great time! We went to a town called Danyang. It was a small town about 2.5 hours away from here. We arrived late Saturday night (well, late to us, 7pm). We found a hotel and wandered the streets looking for a place to eat. In hindsite we realized we stayed in the wrong area of town. We were on the outskirts of the tourist part to restaurants were harder to come by. Long story short, we ended up eating at the hotel. The food was great. I had crab soup and adam had a traditional dish called bibmibop. Anyway, sunday was great. We woke up to rain, so that wasn't great however we went to the information centre and decided to go to a cave and then to a buddist temple. The woman at the tourist place was so nice! Anyway, first we went to a cave. Holy cow, Koreans take cheezy tourism to a new level. The cave was unlike anything I have ever seen. There was a steel walkway throughout it, and we were packed in like sardines! They even had areas where you could pay to get your picture taken!!! It was hilarious. After that experience we took a bus to a buddist temple. This was the highlight. It was beautful and unlike anything I have ever seen. The picture above is at the top of the hike the monks and nuns do to get to budda's burrial site. There were people praying and chanting everywhere. We looked a little out of place, but it was totally worth it. The temple was set in the middle of the mountains and was so beautful. Walking around was quite the workout though! Either uphill or downhill!! I will add more pictures when I can. It really was an amazing experience.