A treat

They always said that San Francisco is a treat. Or was it some type of instant rice (Rice-A-Roni) that was a San Francisco treat? We have just arrived in the land of sour dough bread from Sydney. We are here for a few days and hope to take in some of the sites. Check out our pictures from Sydney, Cairns and the Outback.

Ciao for now.

The Great Barrier Reef

Aaron and I went on a two-day/one-night diving liveaboard trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing.

We went down seven times in two days and checked out three different sites. One of these dives was at night with a flashlight to visit the sleepy fishies. The night dive is almost easier than the day dives because the boat has a huge light beam in the water that guides divers back after the dive.

The Reef is an hour and a half out of Cairns. It felt like we were out in the middle of the ocean. We didn't have the best above water conditions; it was cloudy, rainy and windy both days but once underwater all was calm and peaceful. It was so peaceful I wanted to stay down there.

What we saw: sharks, rays, lots and lots of colourful fish. We touched a 150-year-old giant clam and saw it try to close up on our hands. A huge grouper came straight at us with its huge blue lippy mouth wide open (not threateningly but still impressive). I let out a little scream through my regulator.

Neither Aaron nor I lost our stomach contents on the trip despite the huge swells rocking the boat.

We're in the centre for the next few days. Harry is lending us his ute (aka Australia's favourite utility vehicle) and we're off camping.

Same Same But Different

We heard the phrase so often in Southeast Asia that we started using it ourselves. And cringing.

Australia and Canada: same same but different. Tomato sauce: ketchup. Quickies: Tums. Big W: Wal-Mart. The place is crawling with 7-11s and coffee shops. It's difficult to find regular coffee here but espresso drinks abound.

What I missed while in Asia: drinking tap water and eating whole wheat bread. I'm now fully sated. Mmmm... chlorine water. Best water there is!

What I first noticed when I arrived in Australia: all the extra space! The country and the streets seemed empty after China and Southeast Asia. I've become used to it now.

Some things are expensive in Australia. A 500 ml bottle of coke is $2.50 and up. Accommodations is a lot more than what we paid in Asia.

Aaron, Adam (Aaron's bro), Yindee (Aaron's bro's partner) and I drove from Sydney to Brisbane over the last several days. We saw a lot of coast, wineries, some really cool sand dunes, kangaroos (!) and koalas (!!). Adam and Yindee have now headed back to Sydney and Aaron and I are flying to Cairns tomorrow.

Australian Visa

Aaron and I almost didn't make it to Australia. At the check-in counter in Phuket, Thailand, the woman checking us in asked to see our visas for Australia. One of us said: "Oh we're Canadians, we don't need a visa." She was adamant though that we couldn't board without a visa. And we were adamant that we didn't a visa, why would we? Aaron had gone in 2003 and hadn't needed a visa...

There was much back and forth and we checked the Lonely Planet while at the counter and finally saw it written in black-and-white: everyone, with the exception of Kiwis, must obtain a visa before arriving. Oops.

Thankfully, there was an Internet cafe at the airport and we were able to apply and receive approval on-line within minutes.

Our lesson: always check even when you think you know.

MC chillin' in a pool

MC is staring in her new clip shot in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand. It is truly amazing. We have also added a link to a map of our trip in China, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to the links section on the right.


Checkout the new photos from Southern Thailand as well.

Keep it real - or something like that.

spoon - fork

We eat with a spoon as the fork and a fork as the knife. It's now weird to stick a fork in my mouth.

Papaya Salad

Papaya salad is my new favourite dish. Tangy, spicy, delicious. I could have it every day. We had one so spicy in Laos that Aaron and I kept our mouths open a long while after to cool things down.

More diving

Aaron and I are certified open water divers now. We went diving again today. It's so much fun swimming around with fish and other sea creatures. We saw a few moray eels today including one that was completely out of its hole. They're strange things. We'll post some boat pics soon (no underwater shots, sorry).

Creepy Crawlies Part 2

I wrote a while back about the ear-sized cockroaches in one hotel room and you would think we would take greater care choosing our rooms after that. We spent a night in a hotel in Ao Nang that had blood-sucking bed bugs. Luckily(!), they manifested themselves while we were watching a movie and we were able to request a different room before tucking in for the night. Aaron had bites all down his back and me down my arm. The bugs were the size of ants but rounder.


We're staying at a nicer resort on Phi Phi and the only nuisance we've had so far was a screaming gecko in the middle of the night. Who knew gecko could be so noisy? The bed is bug-free.

Visiting the fishies

Aaron and I enrolled in an Open Water Scuba Diving PADI Certification Course. We had our first open water dive today. Imagine a really large aquarium with a plastic scuba diver making bubbles in it and that was today. Except the scuba diver had a lot more freedom and the coral wasn't plastic.

We saw a turtle, baracudas, a venomous sea snake, a hiding lobster, a sea horse and thousands of colourful fish. The coral wall was so beautiful as well. Diving is a hundred times better than snorkelling.

Aaron got a little seasick and barfed overboard on the boat between dives. Other than that, it was a great day.

We dive again tomorrow.

Angkor Wat photos

We've just added photos for Cambodia. If you missed them, we have Northern Thailand and Laos photos up as well.

I hope to convince MC to relax in Ao Nang for a couple days before going to Ko Phi Phi.

Hmmm, I don't usually post on this blog. I am working behind the scenes though. Honest.

Temples and cockroaches

We made only a quick stop in Cambodia and spent four days in Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat. Aaron and I spent two days biking around Angkor's temple ruins and another day at the back of a tuk-tuk checking out temples further away. We took many, many photos that we'll post soon. We're sorting through them.

Cucarachas

We've hopped to Southern Thailand for a little beach time. We splurged on accommodations after spending a sleepless night in a cheaper place that had unwanted squatters. The first cockroach we saw was on the bed (eek!) and about the size of a human ear. After finding another one under the bed skirt, we asked for a new room. All was well, until Aaron made a midnight bathroom trip and stepped on a crunchy one. For the next few nights we upgraded to a nice resort with a pool and buffet breakfast. The off-season prices are not too taxing on the budget.

We're now back to staying in cheaper places but we're a little more careful about checking under the bed before checking in.

Windy Road

We took a bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng and then another from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. The first leg was the windiest road either of us had been on. It snaked around mountains and made its way through some really hilly territory. The second leg wasn't as windy yet two people on the bus were sick (as in vomited, upchucked, threw up). They were locals too which didn't bode well for the few foreigners on the bus. There were plastic bags hanging in the bus for that specific purpose.

On the bus, Aaron chatted up a monk who was travelling with his brother, also a monk. We wondered: is that brother in the biological sense or spiritual sense?

On another note, I just realized that my skirt, which I wear practically every day, was last washed at Zoe's place. In Mongolia. The skirt's been through four countries since. Through sweat, spilled food, dust, muddy roads, cats jumping on my lap...

We're now in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Laos: land of many hellos

We've learned to say two Lao words: "sabaidee" (hello) and "kawp djii" (thank you). If you know these two words, the Lao people are happy.

In Mongolia, it was considered strange to say "sain bain uu" (hello) more than once to the same person in a day. Here it's perfectly acceptable. You can greet someone as often as you wish. There's no need to keep track of whether you've seen the person already that day, you can greet away.

Chickens everywhere!

In Laos, where ever we are there's always a chicken or two plucking about. Some are quite small, others are very plump and there's even the odd chicken that we call "pre-plucked": chickens that have lost a few too many feathers. Most chickens are free to roam around but there are a few that are confined to cages. Prized chickens? Feisty chickens? Roosters?

Old habits die hard

I may have spent most of the last year in developing countries but there are certain habits that I haven't shaken off yet. Like standing in front of a glass sliding door waiting for the automatic system to kick in and open it for me. Aaron and a woman passing by had a good laugh not too long ago when I stood in front of a door a little too long before figuring out that I had to open it manually.

Cats

Thai and Lao people like cats a whole lot more than Mongolians. There are cats everywhere here. And they're vocal cats. They make themselves known. I had one cat that jumped on my lap in a restaurant recently. Many of the female cats and dogs here are either pregnant, nursing or in heat. Bob Barker's "spay or neuter your pet" message didn't reach Laos yet.

Luang Prabang

Yesterday's cooking class wasn't quite as good as the last one. It was more of a watch-your-meal-be-cooked kind of class. Oh well. The food was still delicious and we did learn about some of the ingredients used in Lao cooking. Some ingredients come from the jungle. Like spicy wood. Add it to a stew and it gives a spicy flavour to the dish. I don't think we'll find that wood in the jungles of Ottawa.

After cooking class we hopped on a tuk-tuk with some friends and headed to a nearby waterfall. If you haven't been to Southeast Asia, tuk-tuks are the taxis of this region. In Laos, they're small pickup trucks with seats in the back. Our tuk-tuk had to stop once on the 30 km ride to the waterfall for some roadside repairs. But we did make it to the waterfall and back. We swam in the turquoise pools below the waterfall. So beautiful. Unfortunately, our batteries died on our camera and we weren't able to photograph it.

Sign seen at the waterfall:

What's out.
Slipperyway.

It's raining today so we will probably hit the museum in town.

Luang Prabang's architecture is French Colonial. Quite pretty. We'll post some pics of the town soon.

We'll be in Laos for a few more days before flying to Cambodia.

Sloooow boat

We crossed into Laos three days ago and hopped onto what they call a slow boat for a two-day ride down the Mekong river. Thankfully, it was slightly faster than a canoe. It's a pretty well travelled route for backpackers and our boat was full of young 20-something and only a few locals.

The Mekong is the colour of butterscotch pudding. I wasn't tempted to taste it.

It was a fun boat ride for the most part although the wooden bench seats could have been a tad more comfortable. The surrounding hills were quite pretty. Lush green. From the border crossing to Luang Prabang there are only a few villages along the river. Sometimes our boat would stop so that one of the workers could pick up a large lizard from a village. I guess they sell well in town?

True chefs

The Thai cooking class was great fun. We left the farm with full bellies and dinner in a bag. We liked it so much we're doing a Lao cooking class tomorrow. Can't wait.