On her own two bare feet

Well finally back in the big smoke Bangkok after a month of lushing-out in laos, meeting inspiring people and doing blissfully little.

iNDiAN PREPARATiONS
i stayed in Vientiene for a week while i waited for my indian visa to be processed – a story in itself. i arrived at the indian embassy feeling ultra prepared armed with my passport, two passport photos and both lao and thai currency. But of course one needs three passport photos, the fee can only be paid in us dollars – $56 (of which $16 is a “facsimile fee”), and there needs to be a photocopy of your passport to accompany the application form. Naturally, the indian embassy is on the perimeter of town where there is neither a currency exchange nor a photocopy facility. So after 4 hotly negotiated tuk-tuk rides to and from the embassy, and follow-up phone calls to wrong extensions or receptionists that don’t speak english, my visa was processed without a hitch and is now in my hot little hand. i have a ticket to fly to Kolkata in two days time!!!!
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After dragging my tired self to the bus terminal for an 8am express to Vientiane, i arrived to conflicting and opposing accounts of where i could buy a ticket, and finally words that i understood “Bus is full”.

This left me a whole day to kill in Luang Prabang before the night bus. i returned to my guesthouse to leave my pack at the counter but was invited to return it to the dorm. inside the dorm only one traveller remained, so we went for coffee, as it seemed too synchronous a meeting to do otherwise. We discussed writing, buddhism, and death (as you do on a first meeting) before exchanging emails.
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i began this solo trip in November 2004. i have a 2 year UK working visa to finance travels through europe and am unexpectedly spending quite some time in Asia on my way there…

i am a twenty-seven year old woman born in Australia and, up until recently, living and working in Sydney as a midwife. i am politically left-minded, vegetarian, inspired by buddhism, interested in all genres of arts and music, captivated by natural landscapes, passionate about writing and zines.

The last few days in Nong Kiaw have been dominated by the sunset deck of my guest house, overlooking the Nam Ou river, encircled by soaring cliff faces,
bathed by the full moon light. Eating, reading, talking to a rotating selection of travellers just passing through this wee town that i decided to relax into for 5 days. it was here i met Llew who put me onto this whole travel blog business – so thanks for that.

i’m also getting out of my hammock once in a while and walking through the moutains, exploring caves, swimming in mini-waterfalls, and experiencing traditional village life. i have discovered, much to my surprise, that i love trekking – clambouring up hillsides, feeling strong in my body, connected to the earth.
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i’ve moved on from the capital, Vientiane, with its simple bicycle gliding streets, french architecture and cafe culture, and the breath-taking Mekong sunsets. From orange to lilac to red, the sunset casts a portal across the rippling face of this expansive river. i look down for a moment to make a note, and when i gaze up the colours have morphed and yet another captivating hue transforms the sky. Such beauty is impossible to believe if it is not breathed in moment by exaltant moment.

i am now in laid-back, river-strewned, sunset-mountain-horizoned Vang Vieng. i am travelling with a guy i met on the train from bangkok, and we are managing a healthy mix of morning nature adventure (climbs, caves, lagoons) and evening chilling in gazebos on the river (literally): the water buffaloes submerge themselves to cool-off, the local kids play on the riverbank, the sky turn lilac-pink, and the butterflies drift by. . . .

i am leaving bangkok tonight on the overnight train into Laos. it has been re-energising to spend time with family and old friends who were passing through this crazy city. i had hit a bit of a 2-month trough – thailand is a bit like quick-sand that way, so comfortable and squisshy that its hard to leave. but i am back on track and can’t wait to get moving again.

“mai pen rai” is a new mantra a friend and i discovered in days of negotiating
bangkok. in the scheme of life, most things don’t really matter. i am learning the art of patience and letting go. often the most annoying things lead to the best bits we would otherwise miss (e.g. being unable to call thai air due to phones that steal baht, meant having to go there in person to the thai air office, and discovering a whole new area of bangkok which we both loved and would
have otherwise missed.)

hope you’re all happy, well and at ease in the world – cause when it all comes down to it, really mai pen rai. . .

well back in thailand and i am finally getting a handle on a few things here – language and bartering. my thai must be improving because now instead of the usual laugh or shake of the head response, i am getting answers in thai, which mostly i have to lamely respond to with “in english please”.

on new year’s day i wandered through lumphini park in the centre of bangkok and had chinese breakfast treats and beers with a group of thai businessmen who were having a picnic – and took it upon themselves to improve my thai. so i now know how to say “i don’t eat meat”
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i feel incredibley guilty for not letting you all know that despite tsunamis
in areas all around me – Borneo in Malaysia has not been affected.

i am in Kota Kinabalu for a few more days, i’ve been here a week, before
heading to Bangkok for NYE – and to meet up with people on their way back to Australia.

On my first day here i met a guy from melbourne who has been travelling for
four years including 9 months in india/nepal – so i got heaps of tips and we
hung out on one of the islands and went snorkelling (which this time was total magic: multi-coloured coral and about 30 different kinds of fish that gather
around you – its like being in outerspace – i couldn’t stop gasping in delight
at every turn when a new school would catch me off guard).
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Well the island of Penang, off the west coast of Malaysia, is truly nothing
to write home about (so i didn’t). i stayed in the cheapest bungalow on the beach i could find ($10 – since it is mostly beach-style resorts here) and planned my escape.
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Just a quick note to let you know i survived. . .

10 days of silence, waking to a bell at 4am, eating 1 or 2 meals a day,
showering with a bucket of cold water wearing a sarong and in an open courtyard in the dark. no music, no writing, no reading, no thinking! – just meditation.
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