Poor Vang Vieng has a fairly bad reputation thanks to more than a few Scheiß tourists. Maybe that’s not fair, but that’s my opinion regarding people that travel to another country in order to drink “happy shakes” in bars that play endless reruns of Friends; and get drunk while floating down an invariably swollen fast moving or shallow and rocky river.

With that in mind I was reluctant to even go to Vang Vieng, but the boys were not going to miss the chance to tube down a dirty river for a few hours. We agreed to not stop at any of the bars along the river therefore getting to float along it by ourselves while all the other tourists started drinking before they’d even gotten wet.

At one point during our stay it didn’t look like the river tubing was going to happen. We got hit with a spell of rainy weather and were warned the river would be freezing the day after a big rain. Thankfully we extended our stay by a day and the beautiful morning weather convinced me to forget the freezing water warnings and get in on the action. It turns out the river wasn’t cold at all. The rain that pelted us for half of our float was though.

It wasn’t a problem though, we enjoyed the float and stopped only twice to have a quick nip of something to warm us a little. And we scoffed at the tourists we saw boating back to town instead of tubing. At least they were smart enough not too float down the river for a couple of hours while smashed off their faces.

Vang Vieng is actually quite pretty if you can get past the fact it’s a tourist wasteland. We met some really nice Laotians and learnt a bit about Lao property laws and world economics from the man who was looking after our hostel. And I ended up eating my words against river tubing, it was one of the highlights of the trip.

The rains continued on our drive from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng//Engrish//Half gin half tonic//We used the riverside pool at a fancy hotel for $2. Worth it.//The limestone cliffs, orange bridge, stairs, and clear blue swimming hole that surround Tham Jang Cave//America’s gift to Vang Vieng, an abandoned airstrip from the Vietnam War

Aren’t the limestone peaks a beautiful backdrop to this backpacker ghetto!
See all the Vang Vieng photos on Flickr

Inevitable question post travel: What was your favourite part?
Another inevitable question: Where was your favourite place?

Does saying that I want to pack all my friends up and move them to Luang Prabang answer that question? I loved Luang Prabang so so much, with all its French architecture and baguettes, the cheap comfy cafes and bars, the lack of supermarkets and 7/11s. Actually, the lack of supermarkets is one thing that would get to me if I were to live in Luang Prabang. I LOVE SUPERMARKETS. I think it’s something to do with the fact they’re full of food. I could probably overcome that with the help of warm mornings to explore the fresh food market though.

Luang Prabang is where I first touched an elephant! They’re huge (but still smaller than African Elephants, those must be HUGE) and tough. I recommend wearing long pants if you’re going to ride them without a seat because their skin and hair is rough as fuck and will scratch up your thighs. We rode around in a chair through the forest, over creeks, and up and down steep paths. And then we rode on the elephant’s back to the river and took it for a swim. The mahouts were egging the elephants on to throw us in the water, and you can see right there how elegantly I handled that. I thought I might drown…till I realised I could touch the bottom.

While we were in Luang Prabang we took an hour long tuk tuk ride with a couple of other tourists to the Kuang Si waterfall. Stunning turquoise water, a bunch of swimming holes, and you can even climb to the top of the fall if you’re that way inclined (we were, it was steep). And at the entrance there’s a bear sanctuary! Look at the cute bear climbing into his little pool! AWWW.

Our first experience with mangosteen / A bamboo bridge which is built new every year and taken down during the rainy season / The streets after a huge lightning storm which took out the power / Giraffes of Beer Lao / French architecture / Cosy forest hideouts

Archways made out of trees / Temple kitties / Riverside dining / Mosaiced temples / Village Women Union

See all the Luang Prabang photos on Flickr

Baanrimtaling Guesthouse, Chiang Khong // Simple living on the river // Huge spider

From Chiang Mai we bused to Chiang Khong and boated to the Laos side of the river and the town of Huay Xai. Considering we were crossing into another country it was surprisingly easy. Wait in line on the Thai side for a passport stamp. Pay a small fee for the 5 minute boat trip across the river. Wait in line and pay for a visa and stamp on the Laos side. Done.

Snakes in alcohol // Sunset over the Mekong // Communist flag // Beer Lao

Huay Xai is a typical border town. Specialising in tourist fare: cushions for your boat trip, tickets for your boat trip, sandwiches for your boat trip. We could have tried to jump straight from Thailand onto the 2 day boat but we were in no rush. It gave us a chance to meet Mr Singkham the lively 71 year old French/Laos/English speaking proprietor of Aramid Guesthouse who had some pretty strong opinions of stupid French tourists and the Laos government. It was ok though as he seemed to like us.

After stories of horrible nine hour trips stuck on wooden seats next to the motor, we were well prepared for slow boating. Arriving very early, armed with cushions, we were pleasantly surprised by a near empty boat full of comfortable ex car seats. We chose 3 at the front of the boat (far away from the engine) and settled in for our long wait.
Our first experience of Laos time sees leaving time rolling around, with a full boat, waiting for another tour bus. There is no way they’ll fit with us so another, bigger, boat is drafted. Tour bus fills second boat and it leaves an hour after schedule. We finally leave 15 minutes later. First in first served does not apply.

Day 2 is supposed to leave dead on 9 (we’re early again to get good seats) so when they’ve only pulled up one boat, and there are still stupid fucking tourists coming down the hill at 9.10, I can’t quit believe the audacity of some people. Once again, showing up late gets you a less crowded boat that leaves first. Lame.

The two days are really nice though. The Mekong river is a lot rockier than I expected. Quite rugged and beautiful. There are so so many trees.

At the start of day two I saw my first elephant being ridden across the way!

There are plenty of fisherman and swimming children to observe. Houseboats and huts. A prison. A cave. A mudslide. And if a previously boat phobic person can praise it there is nothing to be afraid of.

Just promise me you won’t take the speed boat!

See all the Huay Xai – Luang Prabang photos on Flickr

Looking back on it Chiang Mai was one of the best places we visited during the trip. Definitely my favourite place in Thailand. It’s such a shame we didn’t get to explore the city properly, or get any photos of it (because of Songkran). And that we didn’t have enough time to go back again. I’d really love to go back one day when the city isn’t full of bucket wielding maniacs.

However, the boys loved our time in Chiang Mai because of the bucket wielding maniacs. Or because they were the bucket wielding maniacs. The day after we arrived the water fighting started and it hadn’t stopped when we left about 4 days later. I only participated on the first day (lame I know, I just wasn’t having any fun being saturated by iced water when it wasn’t even sunny!), and even then I went back to the guesthouse after a few hours.

Thankfully the boys didn’t let me stop them from having a good time, which meant finding a “gang” of both tourists and locals to join and terrorise the streets with. They loaded themselves up with aforementioned iced water and stopped anyone and everyone, even going so far as to wave down songthaew in order to douse the passengers. Meanies.

A bit tired of only being able to leave the guesthouse hours after the sun had gone down we booked ourselves in for a cooking course on our last day. Pui, the overly talkative teacher, was so great. About 10 of us showed up at her house in the morning for a full day of cooking (and talking, and playing with her dog Lady Gogo). Even though it was a small kitchen with one cooking station we all got a chance to participate and ask as many questions as we needed. After eating the huge feed we had cooked ourselves we were invited to rest in her garden or her lounge and have a little nap before we cooked even more food!

See all the Chiang Mai photos on Flickr

The slow and arduous task of labelling, sorting, and uploading to all the places has begun. I was at least smart enough to not take my nice camera away for 3 months so I didn’t spend too long behind the lens trying to get everything right. I pointed. I shot. I didn’t bother to edit because these photos aren’t getting any better.

Our first stop in Bangkok was full of temples. And temple fatigue. Wat Pho, which houses a giant reclining buddha, was ridiculously ornate. Millions of pieces of pottery cover the stupas (the spires) to make flowers and other patterns. You really haven’t experienced opulence until you’ve seen the temples dedicated to Buddhism in Asia. All gold, all the time.

My favourite building was the white fort we found. Dirtied up with years of Bangkok dirt and fumes it was just the right amount of worn down grandeur. Plus it looks like a castle.

It was a shame to find that any photos we’d seen of Bangkok’s temples backed by beautiful skies must have been photoshopped. That city is way too full of pollution to see the sun. No wonder it’s so seedy, it hasn’t seen light in decades.

See all the Bangkok photos on Flickr

If you have to choose one big city to visit in Vietnam make it Saigon. Unless you’re into the whole overcrowded, bad food, not enough room to walk on the street but too much shit on the sidewalk thing that Hanoi is offering.

The acquisition of an iPhone has afforded me the opportunity to take a step back from my addiction to the Internet while simultaneously fuelling it by making sure I always have access. I can go days without turning my laptop on but am still checking twitter, facebook, and email every moment of the day. At least I’m no longer getting sucked in to hours long rabbit chases through the cyber sphere. Well, not as often.

Thanks to Jason’s gift of the hipstermatic app my iPhone pics look a little better than they really should. I have my new toy (Canon 550D) for everything else.

Do I make the same promise of just putting up whatever I damn well please on this here site to ensure you here from me more often? No. Well here’s some pictures then. More soon.

Taken with my iPhone. Yeah you heard me. My iPhone*

*Not actually my iPhone yet as I haven’t paid my friend for it. She lent it to me to try out for a couple of weeks and now she’s never getting it back. It’s been like giftmas ever since she handed it over.

I’m such a dweeb.

Last weeks trip to see family was a complete success. We ate tonnes of delicious food, enjoyed amazing weather, and got to see my Grandad while he’s still in relatively good health.

After going to see my tattoo sketch (which hadn’t been done) and on the way to drop a library book off I saw the reopened City Gallery covered in spots for Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition. We flew to Tauranga later in the day.

That night we were treated to dinner at the amazing Tay Street Cafe. After a quick walk on the beach across the road of course. The area’s called Bay of Plenty for a reason, the first metre or two of shallow water was covered in baby pipis (or tuatua, how do you tell the difference?).

I got my chef on while we were in Te Puke, helping to make these old school prawn cocktails for starters. I also helped make aioli, a couple of dinners and made a couple of cakes too.

How great would it be to not only have this view, but to have the view from your own little bar with both ping pong and pool tables!

You can get a much better lay of the land up on the platform in the tree.
It’s strange to see my hair like this, until a couple of weeks ago it was down to my waist and my fringe was so long I had to kept it swept to the side in order to see.

Found on my Mum’s dresser: a picture of me looking cute as in my snoopy outfit. I think I was about four. Twenty years later I have the same haircut again.

Eek Get this whitey out of the sun!

I tried on an awesome dress the day before I bought this skirt. It was on sale at Max and would have been perfect except my upper and lower halfs are different sizes, my boobs and shoulders couldn’t fill the dress properly. This skirt was a great alternative, almost the same material. I have a few skirts in this shape now, I really need to make a big petticoat for underneath.

My big, younger, league playing, brother is the master of getting the most out of a Chinese takeaway buffet. Just when I thought he’d filled the container so much he’d have trouble getting the lid on he sticks a couple of slabs of egg foo yung on top and closes the lid tightly! Side effects of this include a meal shaped like a brick, big enough to feed a family.

Everything is green in the BOP this time of year. It’s a nice drive back over the Kaimais.

Down the road from Te Puke at Maketu we enjoyed a lovely meal with stunning views. I ordered a huge pile of mussels which came with a huge bowl of chips and a salad. I couldn’t even get close to finishing everything.

Have you had any adventures lately?

Time for a life update.

Things are trucking along in the Cupcake Factory. We’ve had a couple of good weeks of sales which is promising. These are a few of the new designs, I’ll be showing you a few more on Friday for the competition! (or you could just go check out the shop)

My 101 in 1001 list is going sloooowly. Subscriber numbers are climbing steadily (yay, Hi!) and I should reach my goal of 200 soon.
I made ambrosia for the first time but didn’t take any photos. Woops.
Tattoo planning is under way, a book is being read, and I’ve tried a few new recipes.
The list of things I have not done however is longer.

The Boy has had some big projects on at work. He also made a model using cardboard and the laser cutter. That was a very long night for him followed by a full day of work. I forgive him for spending his spare time doing work though because he wears awesome paisley ties on occasion.

Chickie Little’s baby shower was on the 13th. It was lots of fun and very exciting to know that in 9 weeks (give or take) a brand new baby girl will be coming into the world.

All in a day in Wellington. The iceberg that was placed in the harbour last month was instead sitting in town at Queens Wharf.

And Gravity coffee bragging about how they’re not as discriminatory as all the other corporate fuckheads.

What would my life be without food? I got more free food from Wagamama. Learnt how to turn tortillas and garlic into delicious garlic tortilla things. Learnt that the breadmaker is great for making frittatas. And received a delicious gift of candy from my friend who had just visited USA, Canada, and Sweden. The orangey looking ones are maple syrup, so good. The NY squares are chocolate. The black box is “moose poo”, it’s a mix of liquorice and salt and tastes like ass.