Confession - I am a horrible blogger (+ Tomb Raider Temple)

I publish posts irregularly. At the end of a long tiring day the last thing I want to do is track down a computer to blog. I'm sorry!

It's been almost one month since I blogged. Since then I have visited Cambodia, Thailand (again), Singapore, Hong Kong and now - Malaysia.

Harald and I arrived in Kuala Lumpur early this morning. What an adventure! We booked a 'luxury coach bus' for the 7 hour journey. The seats were spacious, yes, but the vehicle was also infested with cockroaches. Needless to say, the trip wasn't exactly pleasant. Since I barely got a wink of sleep last night, I ended sleeping for most of the day (it's now 3pm). Oh well, I supposed it's all just part of the 'Asian Experience'.

Right now we are staying at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur. I should have access to a computer over the next 3 days, so I will try to update this blog at least twice. That's a reasonable goal, no?

I have so many pictures to share with you. Here are a selection from two temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The locals call 'Ta Prohm', the first temple, the 'Tomb Raider' temple because it served as the set for the first Tomb Raider movie featuring Angelina Jolie. The building is largely in ruins, but that just adds to its appeal (I felt a bit like Indiana Jones at times walking amongst the rubble and the intertwining tree roots).

Although some of the girls on the trips claimed to be 'Templed Out', how could you get tired of exploring structures so old and tied to such a rich history! For your reading pleasure, here is a link to the history of Ta Prohm, otherwise known as the 'Tomb Raider' temple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta_Prohm

Good Morning Vietnam!

First off, I have to apologize for not keeping this blog consistently updated. The excuse is the same as usual - no time, lack of access to a computer with a strong internet connection and (worst of all), sticky keyboards.

It's hard to believe, but I'm already over two weeks into my GAP 'Indochina Encompassed' tour. The time has flown by, but that doesn't mean that every site hasn't been memorable in its own special way. I have a million pictures to share with you. Hopefully I'll get an opportunity to upload a selection of them today.

Overview:
Even though Laos and Vietnam share a border, they are incredibly different. Laos is the lush, relaxed and even sleepy one of the pair, while Vietnam is zipping (on incredibly strong coffee), hurried, and way more industrialized.

Each place has its own special charm; however, Laos has touched me in a way that Thailand or Vietnam has yet to do. The landscape is like something right out of a movie; lots of lush, green vegetation, rolling hills as far as the eye can see, and lazy rivers brimming with fish. The whole country seems to move at a leisurely pace - even in the capital city speeding cars are few and far between.

I must admit that the transition from the carefree nature of Laos to the hyper-caffinated Hanoi was a little jaring. Hanoi is like Delhi in the sense that crossing the street is a very scary endeavor. Once again, there was lots of praying while attempting to make my way around. Of course, once I finally got comfortable walking into streets congested with motorbikes I learned that one of my travel mates had actually gotten hit by a bike. She's okay now though. Just a little peeved.

Today we travel to Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon). Apparently HCMC is like Hanoi, but on steroids. The traffic is worse, bag snatching is prevalent, and the pace is even more frenzied. Someone noted a few days ago that you could probably fit the population of Canada into this southern city. That may be an exaggeration, but I'm not looking forward to swimming through 'a sea of humanity'.

Since 'a picture is worth a 1000 words', once I upload my recent batch of pictures I will write a few photo blogs about specific experiences in each place. In a nutshell, on this leg of the trip I have: traveled by slow boat, airplane, overnight train (infested with cockroaches), motorbike, kayak, and inner tube.

Even though I try to eat as 'veggie' as possible at home, here I've sampled: frog legs, water buffalo, fresh prawns (which I swear were looking at me), crabs, dragon fruit, banana rice wine, and lao lao.

Finally, I've experienced a rainbow of emotions - from sheer joy to intense sadness. I've learned a lot about myself so far and I hope to continue 'soul searching' as I continue my Asia adventure. I try to tell myself, "Savor every moment! There is beauty in everything".

Sending lots of love your way,
H