Well, this is my last blog entry in Asia. :( I am leaving home tomorrow but I can't really complain since I had such a great time these last 8 weeks. In some ways I am looking forward to going home to family and friends but in other ways I am still not ready to go. At least I know that most likely I WILL be back in the near future! Anyway, this is what I've been doing since my last blog entry....

Since I haven't really taken many pictures in Thailand this time (because I took almost 300 last time) here is a link to my ones from December. In my opinion they are much better then the ones I've taken this time.
http://jpcandelier.com/thailand/
I especially love the ones of Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Krabi!

Back in Chiang Mai, one of my favorite cities in Asia! My time in Laos was pretty short but since they only give out 15 day visas we really had no choice. The road route to Thailand from Laos is a very slow and difficult so we opted to take the "speed boat" option which proved to be quite an experience! ...

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heratage town in Laos. It is incredibly beautiful both in it's nartual terrain surounding it and in the many old temples and French colonial buildings! It has got to be one of the most beautiful places I've been to yet!

The Issan region is the north eastern part of Thailand which is famous for it's style of cooking and it's really friendly people. We only spent a couple of days there on our way to Laos but it is worth mentioning a few things....

I had some time to write more about Vang Vieng so please read on!....

Vang Vieng is a small town with one main road and surounded by beautiful limestone mountains, green rice patties, grass hut villages and crystal clear streems with homemade bamboo bridges across them! It has become a fairly touristy backpacker hang out (especially with Isrealis >:( )which was a dissapointment but it was definately worht going there.

Ok. So by now I'm sure most of you are wondering what's up with the "Chico" thing when none of you have ever heard me call myself that before. It is one of those stories that "you had to have been there" to get....

After a couple of days in Sihanoukville, Kate and I did a small trek to Kampot. This sleepy town and it's neigbor Kep turned out to be one of the highlights of my whole trip to Cambodia......

After about 6 days in Phnom Penh we decided to head down to Sihanoukville on the southern coast of Cambodia to enjoy some beach time. Sihanoukville was pretty nice but the highlight for me was the side trips we made to Kampot, Kep and the ghost town of Bokor (as seen in City of Ghosts)......

Yesterday was a pretty somber day for me. I visited the S-21 "processing" camp and the killings fields near Phnom Penh. The attrocities that these people faced under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge was astonishing! Over 2 million people died during the regime that only lasted from 1975-1979.