Thailand

Last week I faced my fear of open water, sharks, boat propellers, you name it, and went diving. I stayed awake the night before and googled sharks and then had a panic attack the second my body hit the water but after a pep talk and a cup of tea, I was DIVING. I was pretty cocky after that so I popped over to the next island for a boat trip and some snorkeling and strawberry daiquiri buckets which made the next 2 hour ferry a living nightmare. You know when your 15 and drunk and you know you're gonna vomit but your mum's in the next room and you start getting hot and sweating profusely and so you hold your breath in the hope that it'll pass but it doesn't. Well. I went back to this island a second time a few days later and got food poisoning and had to endure the same ferry and still missed my flight. When I finally made it to my room in Chiang Mai hours later, I was met with a lot of sympathy and being the massive baby that I am, it was all I needed. Thanks to the receptionist who brought pills and water to my room while I lay starfished on the cold wood floors. 

Then there's Bangkok which is a different kind of hellhole. 

And then there's Chiang Mai. My soulmate. I'm so happy that I've spent my remaining 10 days here and if I didn't have commitments at home I would stay here. Really gonna miss this place. 

Photos are all from my iphone because beaches and expensive cameras don't mix in the world of Louise. 

Siem Reap/ Battambang, Cambodia

Don't be fooled by their cute little teeny bodies and their cute little fingers. They wouldn't let us into a temple. Like they physically wouldn't allow us up the steps and into the temple. The pair pictured were having grooming time.  

The meat that you see below is rat. The people here are very poor so it's normal to eat rats and tarantulas and anything they can get really. yup.

Who's Lara Croft?

Temples of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm, just outside Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

I think Angkor is the largest religious temple in the world but don't quote me on that and the other two sites are where Tomb Raider were filmed so yea...that's pretty cool. It was fucking hot though. I mean 5am give me a break! We kind of missed the sunset and it was really really busy (see photos) but I managed to sneak off from the crowds and find some nice tranquil moments. 

Don't stay in the jungle if you don't like spiders.

We embarked on a 1 night/ 2 day Mekong Delta tour, including a homestay, a couple of days ago. No reception or internet for 2 days and snakes and spiders a plenty. We spent the first day boating around the mangroves, cycling and generally sweating buckets 'cause they don't have air-con in the jungle! 4 of us were separated from the rest of the group to go to our local host's home for the night which was interesting. We were told we would have dinner with the family and get to know some local traditions but in reality, we were left alone. In the jungle. We slept in wooden huts, our nets had holes and our mattress wouldn't allow us to tuck the net under. I showered with 3 lizard cutie-pies but that's an adventure, right? Safe to say I didn't sleep. 

Up at 5am. Our host took us on a walk through the fields to show us where he works, then back to the huts for breakfast. Due to the language barrier, I hadn't been prepared for climbing branches across rivers or slugging through long grass. Like, does no one else know that snakes live in fields? Do they not care?! It was an incredible sunrise though. 

Sunrise and Sand Dunes

It's been a slow process and one which I've worked really hard on but it's finally happened. I have a tanned face. A TANNED FACE! This is unprecedented in the history of me tanning. Don't get me wrong, I still kiiinda look like I just haven't washed in a few months but the tan is real my friends. 

Don't say a word, mum. It's not dirt. 

Asides from that excellent news, I'm currently in Mui Ne, which is a little coastal town 4 hours north of Saigon. I took the recommendation from someone in my dorm to do the sunrise jeep tour to the sand dunes and boyyyyy was that a good call. See photos for confirmation. First stop was the white (and much more impressive) sand dunes to watch the sun rise and what a trek that was. Second stop was the red sand dunes and last stop a fishing village. All for £3. Yup...look at me smiling at 4am! A day for firsts!

the struggle is real

There's really not much to tell from the last week. I spent a week at the beach, or at least I tried, but fried myself on day 4 and couldn't go outside after that. Hot-footing it from restaurant to cafe to shop. It was all kinds of relaxing but not at night trying to sleep without any back part of my body touching anything. I drank one too many pitchers on my first night in Danang and had to add 3 days on to the trip because, apparently, I'm not a sprightly 21 year old anymore. PFFT. The struggle is real.
Up at 6.30am this morning to beat the heat and get to Ponagar Cham Towers which overlook Nha Trang. The Ponagar towers will look similar to the temples in the last post but this is on a much smaller scale and has already been restored. Entry worked out at 60pence. yuh.
And then I got a pedicure for 70pence.
Ladies and gents rejoice!

p.s I missed my bus this morning to Mui Ne because, you guessed it, I can't handle hangovers. The hostel receptionist came running into the dorm at an ungodly hour calling my name because there was a bus full of people waiting outside. I was able to muster a few sorrys before going back to sleep.