www.outtheresomewhere.ca » Photos

Salmon run, quadding, camping and 2nd wedding anniversary

Laura Beauchamp — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:25:52 +0000

Lots of stuff does happen in three weeks. Here are a few photos to highlight our life so far since returning to Canada.

Ah! Good to be back in beautiful Alberta.

We were sad to say goodbye to Kate, who drove all the way from Calgary to Vancouver to welcome us home. She then proceeded to drive us from Vancouver to Sorrento, where Chris’s parents live. What a trooper and amazing friend! Love you Kate.

I love Burt’s Bees. Who’s with me? This Burt’s Bees lip balm for ~$5.79 Canadian travelled around the globe with me during our epic 8-month trip. In fact I even had it for a few months before we left!

We were fortunate enough to see the start of the Salmon run while in Sorrento B.C. visiting Chris’s family and retrieving our belongings. Every four years the Sockeye Salmon return to the river where they were born. They find a mate and after laying and fertilizing thousands and thousands of eggs they die. This was the largest group of Salmon we spotted. If you go to the same river now (September 27, 2010) you would probably see an astronomical increase in the number of Salmon.

A Salmon struggles to swim in the shallow water. Other dead Sockeye already bloat in the water.

It is amazing how much power they have.

Donna and Graham, Chris’s mom and dad, took us to see the Salmon run!

While walking through the woods near Sorrento B.C. and enjoying the Salmon run, I also noticed this lovely spider web.

Chris and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past Monday, September 20, 2010. We enjoyed a fabulous meal at Padrino’s Italian Ristorante located within the Best Western in Grande Prairie. Moments before arriving to the restaurant Chris and I signed the 1-year lease to rent a beautiful 4-bedroom/2-full bathroom duplex. It’ll be great to have our own home again. (And we’ll have more than a couch for you to sleep on Tait!)

Chris jumped feet first into his new life here by going quadding with the boys, our very first weekend in town. Chris got so much mud and dust in his eyes that he was literally crying mud for a few day following. Not to mention that his eyes looked like both had been stung by a jelly fish.

Dean, my brother-in-law, sporting his quad and completing the primary colour theme with his jumper.

This past weekend, September 25 & 26, Chris and I went camping in Canada for the first time since August 2009! We sincerely enjoyed a lovely weekend at Saskatoon Island Provincial Park campground. We went with our friends Marcia and Phil who just moved to Grande Prairie from Edmonton. Phil is also my co-worker at the Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Initiative. He is THE palaeontologist and I am the Education Coordinator. Together we shall rule the world! Muah, ha, ha. (lol) No, together, along with the rest of the team, we endeavor to create a world reknown dinosaur museum in Wembley Alberta, 19 kilometers west of Grande Prairie. Marcia is a junior high teacher.

Phil loves tea. About 2–3 times a day while camping he would perform this Australian tea ritual. He very much prefers loose leaf tea and takes the time and effort to carefully prepare his brew even while camping. In his hand you can see Phil is holding a stainless steal pot, that is much loved judging by how black it is from the many fires that have heated it. Once the water and tea leaves were boiling, Phil removed the pot from the fire and swung it around in a circular motion. The spinning motion caused the tea leaves to settle to the bottom of the pot.

Phil completing his tea ritual by pouring the good tasting brew into a patiently waiting camping mug.

Cu Chi Tunnels from the Vietnam War

Laura Beauchamp — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:47:33 +0000

Chris touching an AK47 for the first time. In the distance you can make out the faint outline of trees and a dirt wall with sandbags on top. I was happy to see the shooting range had taken these precautions. They had four pictures of different animals you could try to aim for.

Chris and I have reached our new home, Grande Prairie. Today the sun was shining on the fluffy cumulus clouds and the air smelt of the end of summer as I looked upon the solid yellow trees. It was our first full day in Grande Prairie.

Chris and I visited the local TELUS store to find out the plans and information regarding purchasing an iPhone. My mind felt jumbled and confused. The over manicured, over made-up woman provided us with the worst customer service possible, but that was really no surprise since it was TELUS.

Chris and I then roamed many aisles in a nearby store looking for toothpaste, hairspray, razors and shaving cream. The prices made us both overwhelmed, depressed and stressed out. We had to stick together just help support one another through the aisles.

Canada is expensive compared to S.E. Asia. I knew that. I just didn’t know the technological dependence, outrageous prices and running out of money would make me feel this stressed out. I have faith that in one month I’ll be getting back into the rhythm of Canadian life. I also have no doubt northern life will continue to entertain and educate me for the next couple of years.

Laura inside part of the Cu Chi tunnel system.

We have both experienced both culture shock and extreme jet lag. The very first thing I noticed during our layover in L.A. and then back in Canada was, “Men are huge here.” Of course this is compared to the men of S.E. Asia. Until almost one week after getting back we were sleeping for only four hours a night or not falling asleep until 6:00 or 8:00 am! I have never flown across the Pacific Ocean before. It’s definitely a LOT harder to deal with jet lag coming from S.E. Asia than it is from Europe.

Cu Chi Tunnels

I know I will have many more stories about Grande Prairie but for now here’s a completely unrelated story about a place in Vietnam.

When we visited Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam we took a day tour to a place called, Cu Chi Tunnel Historic Vestige Site. It is a maze of underground tunnels located 70 kilometers from the city. The tunnels were carved by the north Vietnamese during the Vietnam War (1955–1975).

An American tank left over from the Vietnam War. Today tourists climb all over its rusty body.

From the surface the tunnels were completely camouflaged. The entrances were kept only large enough for the Vietnamese to fit in or out and were, of course, also camouflaged. Needless to say, American soldiers found their way in the tunnels but the vast majority of them probably never found their way out.

An entrance to the Cu Chi tunnel system. I would not be able to fit my hips through this. Just look at the size of it compared to my foot! As you can imagine, this was a great advantage for Vietnamese soldiers. If American soldiers did manage to get into the tunnels the Vietnamese has constructed smaller bottle-neck areas where they would get stuck.

Another entrance to the tunnel system. During the war all entrances were camouflaged with foliage.

The north Vietnamese also constructed many different types of booby-traps in the surrounding landscape as well as inside the tunnels.

This is just one style of booby-trap the Vietnamese soldiers used. To the left of Chris you can see some grass going up vertically. This grass is attached to a board which has one axis that allows the board to rotate like a revolving door. If someone steps on the grass covered door, the door swings down and the person falls onto multiple bamboo spikes. The spikes are 2 to 4 feet long.

When we walked along the modern-day paths of the Cu Chi Tunnels museum we were surrounded by lush forest. It was peaceful, beautiful and quite hard to imagine the landscape and its people engulfed in war until I heard a loud “BANG!” I stopped immediately and squatted down a little.

“Gunfire?” I thought. Sure enough it was. I’ve got to admit, the real, live gunfire from the on-site shooting range really added to the authenticity of the historical war area.

At the end of touring the tunnels we had the opportunity to pick a gun and shoot it. Without hesitation Chris said, “An AK47.”

“How many bullets should we get?” I asked.

“Um, 3 or 4 each might be okay.”

We asked one of the four men in military-like uniforms, behind the desk, for 8 bullets.

“They come in tens for the AK47,” he replied. And before we could fully answer, “Okay”, after handing over our $15 USD, we were rushed off with one of the men in uniform. Only seconds later I found myself in a concrete hallway with two guns mounted at each shooting station. I looked out across a dirt field with high dirt walls on either side and a huge dirt wall at the end with sand bags on top. Four pictures of animals were evenly spaced in front of the dirt wall.

The man who showed us which gun to shoot and who instructed me how to shoot the gun by saying, “Aim at the cow”, before he took 4 steps away from me.

Suddenly someone was firing down the hall. I thought Chris was about to shoot but I didn’t have my camera settings ready. I couldn’t hear him or the man well and before I knew it another person was shooting an automatic machine gun down the opposite direction of the shooting hall. Needless to say, I was flustered. I barely managed to get my camera settings so I could film Chris and everytime a shot was fired the camera and I jumped a little.

Pathetic. I’d make a horrible soldier....well a horrible, untrained soldier.

This is me worried I won’t be able to get my hips through the tiny entrance to the tunnel system.

Eeeekkkk. I’m I going to fit?

Now that I’ve got my hips through, I’m piling extra leaves on top of the lid to my entrance to ensure I’m camouflaged when I’m fully underground.

This entrance was enlarged so tourists could fit inside. It’s true. Vietnamese men and women are a lot smaller than me, so imagine an American soldier with gear trying to fit down the entrance.

I must keep my arms and elbows straight in order to get into the very small entrance of the tunnel. The leaf covered lid provides camouflage.

I’ve almost got my camouflaged lid back on, and then there’s nothing to do but wait and hope the enemy didn’t see me going inside.

This special shoe was worn by the women who carried the dirt from the tunnels to the river. Their toes were slipped into the narrower part but the sole of the shoe made it look like they were walking the opposite direction. So smart.

Chris just about to exit the Cu Chi tunnel system. This part of the system has been enlarged for tourists to crawl through (optional of course).

The War Remnants Museum in Vietnam

Laura Beauchamp — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:00:50 +0000

The War Remnants Museum exterior.

While in Ho Chi Minh City we visited the War Remnants Museum which focuses on the Vietnam War and the result of chemical warfare, specifically the use of a chemical called Agent Orange. I strongly recommend this museum. It only costs about $2 to enter. They have an impressive collection of tanks, planes, helicopters and artillery outside of the museum. Inside you will view unforgettable and disturbing photographs.

If you are American you might feel somewhat attacked while visiting this museum. It is important to remember who eyes and perspective the museum is told from and that in every war no one ever likes their enemy, (otherwise there probably wouldn’t be wars).

Airplane outside of the museum.

Tank and helicopter outside of the museum.

The museum is mostly photographs and write-ups. There are absolutely no interactive exhibits or videos. Nonetheless the subject matter captivates visitors. I have been to hundreds of museums and worked in a military museum for over two years and unless there was a special function it was NEVER as busy as this museum. Every museum wishes for a daily attendance like The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Nothing is complete without a little propaganda. The entire museum was very Anti-American.

More people on the second floor of the museum.

I found that by painting images of people next to the guns it didn’t let visitors look at them as “cool” objects. They are killing machines and that’s all there is to it.

More people! Amazing attendance.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Laura Beauchamp — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 02:53:26 +0000

We’re in Bangkok right now souvenir shopping and site seeing by day and hanging out with our friend Ben, who we met during The Gibbon Experience, by night.

Chris looking handsome in front of some water lilies and a shrine.

This sign was part of a travel agents sign in Ho Chi Minh City. After using Lonely Planet for seven months I’ve learnt there are a lot of things it doesn’t tell you and a lot of things that are wrong. Needless to say I chuckled at this one.

Yet again, it’s the final countdown. After roughly 650 meals in restaurants over the past seven months we only have about 9 more restaurant meals to go. The last three weeks have flown by. I have trouble remembering if I saw something in Vietnam or Cambodia unless I think really, really hard. To help me remember I have kept a rough journal throughout our entire journey where I noted what we bought, prices, what we saw and any other notes or feelings. I also, of course, have my photographs to remind me of our journey.

The locals don’t refer to the city as Ho Chi Minh City, instead they use the pre-war name, Saigon.

While walking through a city park we found hundreds of pots with water lilies. They were as tall as my chest.

I wish I could grow these in my backyard pond in Grande Prairie. Not that I have a pond or even a backyard for that matter.

Bushes carved like a dragon!

While in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) we decided to visit the zoo. It cost a little more than $1 dollar each. I have been to the Calgary Zoo countless times. It is the zoo of my childhood. It is the zoo I measure all other zoos to, so when we strolled through the jungle-like zoo in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, I was captivated by the variety and size of plants and animals. I was also proud of the education and conservation efforts of the Calgary Zoo. The Ho Chi Minh Zoo has none that were obvious or apparent. On many levels it is a sad experience to visit the Ho Chi Minh Zoo.

With only a colourful picket fence separating visitors from goats a lot of carrot eating goes on here.

“Give me that carrrrrrot”

I was actually that close to this baby hippo. The only thing between us was a waist high fence. If I leaned over it and stretched out my arm as far as possible I could probably touch him. As you can see he’s waiting for a tourist to throw another carrot in this mouth.

I unfortunately have no idea what kind of bird this is. He looks part dinosaur with a turkey neck and a body like an ostrich, but with shorter legs. Pretty hey?

Okay, I wasn’t this close to this friendly crocodile. I used my 50mm Canon. Look at the detail and hard folds of his skin. Amazing!

See the plastic bottle next to the bear? While we stood staring at this sad looking creature one of the other spectators tried to hit the bear in the face with the empty bottle. I glared at them. How could they do that? I wanted to slap them. Our hearts were quite heavy as we saw this type of behavior from visitors. I wish I spoke Vietnamese so I could hold education workshops, because obviously there are none.

A giant chain keeps this beautiful animal from walking around. He stretches his trunk out to visitors who throw him pieces of bamboo. This was the saddest thing we saw in the zoo.

What’s a Wat?

Laura Beauchamp — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:00:21 +0000

While visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand Chris and I strolled around the city visiting a few of the wats. You might be asking yourself, “What’s a wat?”

One of the buildings of the Wat Chedi Luang complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

According to Wikipedia:

“A wat (derived from the Sanskrit word वात Vattaka) is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, or Laos.

Strictly speaking a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with monks’ quarters, the temple proper, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha, and a structure for lessons. A Buddhist site without a minimum of three resident monks cannot correctly be described as a wat, although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. (As a transitive or intransitive verb, wat means to measure, to take measurements; compare templum, from which temple derives, having the same root as template.)

In Cambodia, a wat is used to refer to all kinds of places of worship.

In everyday language in Thailand, a wat is any place of worship except a mosque.”

Wat Chedi Luang, the 600 year old temple that is surrounded by a large complex of small temples and buildings in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I found the elephants on the 600 year old Wat Chedi Luang, very interesting. Thai love and worship elephants and it isn’t hard to understand why. They are magnificent creatures.

Some detail on the Wat Chedi Luang.

This reclining Buddha is found in its own small temple next to the majestic Wat Chedi Luang.

A small temple this is also part of the Wat Chedi Luang complex.

Chris in front a huge tree growing in the Wat Chedi Luang complex. Apparently the scarves have been blessed by monks and tied around the tree.

The prayer hall at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I just caught a school group passing. All students wear uniforms in Thailand. I saw one school uniform that went so far that they even standardized the backpacks.

Wat Phra Singh is just a short walk from Wat Chedi Luang.

A Buddha statue on the wall outside of Wat Phra Singh.

A dragon guards the entrance of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The inside of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Not knowing if I was allowed to take the Buddha’s photo, I quickly snapped one anyways. Eeeeekkk. Beautiful hey?

The famous Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai which is around three hours north of Chiang Mai. We took a small van from Chiang Mai to the Laos border and were fortunate enough to stop at this wat for lunch. We could only imagine it in all its glory without the scaffolding.

One of the guardians of Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Greedy hands claw at you as you walk over “hell” on your way to the bridge that takes you into the Wat Rong Khun temple.

Skull construction cones line the road next to the Wat Rong Khun. The wat is surrounded by symbols of human vices.

Gruesome heads hang from the trees surrounding Wat Rong Khun.

Laura’s photos from The Gibbon Experience in Laos

Laura Beauchamp — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:00:13 +0000

I know you all enjoyed Chris’s wonderfully entertaining post about The Gibbon Experience in Laos, but I also thought my collection of photos might help flesh it out. I am kicking myself now because I took many photos with our point shoot and the quality/focus/exposure of them cannot compare to my 550D Canon.

Chris grabbed my camera and shoot this awesome lizard who was hanging out on a tree by the building where we returned out harnesses to the guides. (550D Canon photo)

Palms are not the most welcoming and fuzzy plants growing in the Laos forest. Fortunately I only tried to grab onto a palm once to save my balance while my feet slipped around in the mud. (point shoot photo)

I was amazed at the pattern of this bark. Apparently it is a Vaticadyeri tree. (Point shoot photo)

Chris coming in for a landing. (Point shoot photo)

Some berries I saw growing here and there as we walked the rugged trails. (Point shoot photo)

The bigger of these mushrooms was probably only 2 centimeters in diameter. Both clung onto a decaying trunk sticking four feet into the air. (Point shoot photo)

Ahead you can make out Ben, our hiking buddy, turning the corner. Now look at the size of the bamboo! Unbelievable. I had no idea it grew to such sizes. (Point shoot photo)

We stumbled upon this 5-inch praying mantis sitting in the middle of our trail. As we tried to take his photo and a video he every so slowly leaned away from us, as if in discuss. I wish he was all in focus, but the point shoot just couldn’t do it. We did however get an excellent little video of him. Once we’re back home Chris and I plan on blogging the things we never told you about and making videos for your enjoyment.

The gang from Tree House #3, Chris, Laura, Ben and Ron. This was at the end of our adventure.

The hills and mountains folding over one another. This was just one beautiful view we experienced from our tree house. (550D Canon photo)

Chris couldn’t resist snapping a photo of me with they way the sun lit up my face. I was enjoying a cup of tea in our tree house. (550D Canon photo)

Chris zip lining. (550D Canon photo)

Chris preparing to take the plunge. Look at the view! (550D Canon photo)

It’s a long way down. (550D Canon photo)

Chris having a “time out” for a little meditation in tree house #5.

Chris enjoying a cup of coffee and our view of the Laos rain forest. (550D Canon photo)

Tree House #3, our home during our Gibbon Experience.

There are hundreds of butterflies in Laos and Thailand. The only time I have ever seen so many different varieties of butterflies is in the Calgary Zoo. Therefore, if you’re a butterfly lover, you must visit the islands and forests of Thailand and the forests of Laos. (550D Canon photo)

Another beautiful butterfly. (550D Canon photo)

Along the roads of Laos

Laura Beauchamp — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 15:00:43 +0000

We are currently in Vietnam. Before coming here we were in Laos for about 11 days. This was much longer than we planed on staying in Laos but since I got ill for 6 days we hung around Luang Prabang and then Vientiane, the capital.

We enjoyed a dip in the waterfall just 45 minutes outside of Luang Prabang.

Sadly, besides the waterfall, in Luang Prabang and Vientiane we only saw what went by while we drove in our tuk tuk from the bus station to our hotel and the shops on the hotel street. I was bed ridden. My symptoms included chills, slight fever, aching body, horrible constant headache, jaw pain, ear pain, eye pain, soar throat, occasional nausea and eventually diarrhea.

Chris swimming against the waterfall current.

Luang Prabang waterfall.

A tourist is brave enough to swing from a provided rope. Unfortunately he was not brave enough to let go and only milliseconds after this photo was taken he smashed into the tree. Rebounding off, he finally gathered the nerve to let go with the encouragement of onlooking tourists yelling at him to let go. Ouch! Painful.

Now eight days after first getting sick I am 98% cured. I finally feel like I have the energy to put up a blog post and to see more than one street of the city we are visiting.

During our long, long, long bus rides in Laos I tried to take a few photos out the window of the bus. Some worked. Most didn’t, but either way I wanted to share some with you. I find that even though they may be blurry they still tell a very interesting story.

Fields of Laos.

The nightly market of Luang Prabang. I could have bought so many things in this market like amazing bracelets, quilts, skirts, hippy pants, wooden masks and wall hangings. Everything was beautiful and attractive. Fortunately for my wallet, I got sick and didn’t spend a cent.

An elderly Laos women waits by the side of the road.

We passed this family in our bus. I tried to capture a glimpse of their life.

Some young men and a toddler hang out by their vehicle parked on the Laos highway. The highway passed through many small towns. Their bamboo houses mere feet from the pavement and the roar of the bus.

Look at the size of this hanger! There were two of them in our hotel restroom in Luang Prabang, Laos. (crappy point-and-shoot photo by Chris)

Bears in a rehabilitation centre near Luang Prabang, Laos.

This statue is part of a temple in Vientiane, Laos.

Vientiane and the Mekong River from our hotel window.

Loas transportation and rice fields.

Scuba diving at Ko Phi Phi Ley island in Thailand

Laura Beauchamp — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:00:07 +0000

Ko Phi Phi Ley island, Thailand.

I was filled with anticipation for our two dives at Ko Phi Phi Ley because they were our first dives that were not part of our scuba training and also our first dives not in the waters around the Thai island of Ko Tao.

The atmosphere was completely different from Ban’s Diving School. It was relaxed and calm. None of the boat crew or our two dive masters did anything very fast. They were truly living life at island pace.

As I spat in my mask one last time before preparing to go down for our second dive, our dive master asked me, “So, what do you want to see?”

“Um......I’d love to see a giant moray.”

“And have you seen a string ray?” she asked.

“No, never. It’d be fantastic to see a Lion Fish also.” I replied, thinking to myself that I must be asking for the world wanting to see all three of those creatures in one dive.

“Ok. I’ll see what I can do,” she smiled and gave me the “Okay” signal before the “Let’s go down” signal.

Chris preparing his scuba gear for his 10th dive, although Princess is the last word I’d use to describe Chris. Hee, hee.

Once we got down we had about 15 meters visibility. It was the best visibility Chris and I had ever had because unfortunately while we were learning in Ko Tao they were experiencing a bad month for visibility. I counted my breath, 3 seconds in and 5 out. I tried to relax all the muscles in my body. I tried to relax about all the things that can make you nervous under the water and have you constantly checking your gauges.

I looked at the fish swimming all around me, the school above who could only be seen as varying degrees and shades of grey silhouette’s.

“I am a fish. I belong here,” I thought to myself. I laughed a little at myself and smiled at how wonderful this dive was.

In the water you can spot one of the dive masters with a beginner diver. They were part of the group we went scuba diving with here at Ko Phi Phi Ley, the island where Leo filmed, “The Beach”.

We slowly swam above a sandy patch and hiding in a lonely piece of coral was a box fish! If you’ve never seen one before or never heard of one they are definitely worth checking out. Their tiny fins are simply unable to control the direction of their body against even the slightest current. I suppose being shaped like a box doesn’t help their aerodynamic ability either.

Continuing above the sand I saw our dive master stop. I didn’t see a single thing but low and behold with her pointing stick she directed our attention to a stingray. Upon seeing it I took a deep breath to ensure my somewhat inconsistent buoyancy didn’t send me downward on top of it. After all they contain a poison in their tail that they will whip over their bodies to stab potential threats. Many of you may recall the “Crocodile Hunter” dieing when a Bull stingray stabbed him through the chest.

We swam on and spotted another ray. I looked at my air. 60 bar. I didn’t have much time and that meant Chris had even less. Our dive master was motioning to us again.

“Wow,” I thought. She sure is amazing at finding the animals.

I swam closer and sticking it’s head out about 1.5 feet was a Giant Moray. Awesome!

And finally the fish I’ve liked since learning about it in Grade 6, the Lion Fish. I imagined it being around 5 inches in diameter but the ones we saw were only about 3 inches. What beauty.

I surfaced happy and content, eager to do diving again. Hopefully we’ll find a good deal in Vietnam. We’re heading there on August 15 via a 17 hour bus ride. I hope to dive at Nha Trang, but with such a tight schedule it might not be possible.

After our dive while we relaxed on the boat with hot cups of tea, another boat load of divers arrived. Before their boat came to a complete stop they started barreling off the back.

Into Laos

Chris Beauchamp — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:04:17 +0000

We had to walk about a kilometer to get to the pier after our unscrupulous bus driver refused to drop us there as agreed. He wanted more money.

We’re just chilling for a couple hours in the Laos border town of Huay Xai, before catching an overnight bus to Luang Prabang. We arrived here a few days ago in order to do something called the Gibbon Experience in the nearby Bokeo Nature Preserve. It was amazing (and will be up on the blog tomorrow), but a little grueling as well. We spent three days mired in mud and drenched completely through with sweat. We had planned to leave for Luang Prabang last night after getting back from the jungle, but were feeling pretty dirty and beat up so we managed to change our bus tickets to today.

Our plans after Luang Prabang are still up in the air. We want to visit Vietnam and Cambodia before heading back to Bangkok for our flight home on September 4, but the border crossing from Luang Prabang into Vietnam towards Hanoi involves a 30+ hour bus ride as well as some likely bribes and motorcycle taxis, so we may have to rearrange our plans. Believe it or not we have less than a month left before returning to Canada! So we’re under the time crunch now, finally, as well as the money crunch. Are you going to miss us when we’re not blogging any more? Well, don’t fret, we’ll have plenty to share from life in the Great White North.

Cheers,
Chris

The border at Chiang Khong/Huay Xai is actually across the Mekong River.

We enjoyed a game of Jenga at a pub in Chiang Mai.

Laura lost...

Our bus to the Laos/Thai border stopped in Chiang Rai for about 30 minutes, where we got to visit this crazy temple, financed wholly by a single rich guy. These hands greet you as you cross a bridge at the entrance. Like Dante’s hell.

The temple in Chiang Rai.

Laura ordered a Laos specialty, “pon.” It’s a gingery vegetable and pork soup, served with heaping sticky rice. ($3)

Green curry in Laos. Soooooooo good. ($3)

One of the lovely water-, fish– and flower-filled pots that are so common in this part of the world.

Next installment: The Gibbon Experience. We had to sign a waiver!

Wats of Chiang Mai: A few photos

Chris Beauchamp — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 01:27:22 +0000

Laura in Chiang Mai.

We visited several temples in Chiang Mai. It is customary to remove your shoes before entering a Buddhist temple (hence the shoes). There are also often women selling the freedom of caged birds. ie. You pay and she releases them. Seems a bit extortionate to me, but Thai Buddhism is all about merit, and a gesture like freeing the birds would gain a person a small amount of merit.

Large gold Buddha statue, Wat Chiang Man, Chang Mai. Wat is the word for temple.

Food offerings for the Buddha. Very practical. I’m not sure what becomes of them after this. Hopefully they go to some sort of food bank...

Wat Chiang Man, Chang Mai. Notice the sleeping dog.

A statue outside the wat.

Two golden dragons mark the entrance tot he largest wat in Chiang Mai: Wat Phan Tao.

Painted window shutter inside Wat Phan Tao.

The huge ruined dome of Wat Chedi Luang. It’s about 600 years old, although it suffered an earthquake shortly after being constructed in which the dome collapsed.

Wat Chedi Luang.

A big fat Buddha behind Chedi Luang. Somebody nearby was selling drinks.

Laura meditating.

Next stop: Other Places! We’re heading to Laos today to do something called the Gibbon Experience. It’s kind of like a giant Ewok village with zip lines in a national wildlife refuge in the jungle. Yeah, it does sound like the coolest thing ever.