tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:32:12 +0000http://sea.liztay.net/liz.tay@gmail.com (liz)Blogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-687512956368725217Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:38:00 +00002009-02-25T10:30:34.745+11:00CambodiaThe six-hour-long bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was tough, but considering the US$6 per person ticket price, not unbearable.We arrived at Siem Reap's bus station just past 4pm and were swarmed by overeager tuk-tuk drivers the instant the doors to our bus swung open. The claustrophobic mess of travellers, tuk-tuk drivers and random touts made it near impossible for us to collect our http://sea.liztay.net/2009/01/chapters-end.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-6228320602000970701Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:40:00 +00002009-01-10T20:07:46.836+11:00CambodiaEach day I spend in Phnom Penh is another blow to what’s left of my soul. Ravaged by war, genocide, and more recently, an infestation of morally perverse sex and drug tourists, Cambodia’s capital city is a painful example of resilience during the darkest of days.Max, Jim and I arrived in Phnom Penh on January 4, just three days before the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) celebrated the 30th http://sea.liztay.net/2009/01/and-all-our-yesterdays-pave-way.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-3300388906928312049Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:30:00 +00002009-01-10T20:10:46.875+11:00ThailandWith only Jim and myself to work with, the 24-hour journey from Chiang Mai to Bangkok to Trat to Koh Chang was a breeze. I found our third-class, overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok particularly impressive as the THB 611 (AUD$27) fare included dinner, breakfast, clean blankets, and relatively comfortable seats.Reaching the city of Bangkok came as somewhat of a shock to me, and I struggled http://sea.liztay.net/2009/01/mosquito-bait.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-3437280447453544759Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:48:00 +00002009-01-10T20:20:24.680+11:00PlansThailandLaosWe left Luang Prabang via slow boat to the Laos-Thailand border on December 19. Our journey along the Mekong River spanned two days, with an overnight stop at the tiny, generator-powered town of Pak Beng.Arriving finally at the Lao border town of Huay Xai past sunset, we spent our last night in Laos at a very good, and surprisingly well-priced, restaurant -- after I’d had my requisite hot shower,http://sea.liztay.net/2008/12/lost-boys.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-246453074122750798Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:25:00 +00002008-12-31T13:52:14.099+11:00LaosWhen we arrived in the tiny town centre of Vang Vieng, I was somewhat bewildered by the numerous, deserted restaurants and guesthouses that lined the streets. It seemed the town was all geared up for a party, but guests had yet to arrive.It wasn’t until the next afternoon that we discovered where the hundreds of Vang Vieng backpackers spent their time: in ‘tubes’ on the Nam Song river.Tubing is http://sea.liztay.net/2008/12/finding-neverland.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-4685915468881688632Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:31:00 +00002008-12-19T02:41:07.366+11:00LaosWe left our very basic Daen Sawan guesthouse early on December 8 to catch the local bus to Savannakhet, only to learn that a 9am departure in Lao time translates to about 10am by anyone else’s clock.Unfazed, we put the spare time to good use, purchasing two kilograms of sweet, juicy mandarins for the 250-kilometre bus ride ahead, and watching the bus driver play with his pet puppy over a http://sea.liztay.net/2008/12/to-vientiane-and-beyond.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-2223473575782777467Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:28:00 +00002008-12-14T04:49:14.324+11:00PlansVietnamLaosSome of my most memorable moments while on the road have been accidental. A week-long cargo boat ride from Brazil to Colombia because any other means of transport would have been too expensive. A frenzied exit from a near-rioting crowd at the Champs D'Elysses on New Years Eve. Driving through a pedestrian-only street market in the wee hours of the morning in La Paz, because the locals we were http://sea.liztay.net/2008/12/buy-ticket-take-ride.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-6434614515422178439Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:20:00 +00002008-12-12T23:44:30.485+11:00VietnamOur final three days in Hanoi were spent on a tried and tested routine of Happy Hour, Bia Hois, and dodgy, backpacker-filled nightclubs, through which we met several Australian backpackers, one Scott from Scotland, and an Italian marble tradesman with a failsafe business plan.By the time Joel arrived in Hanoi on December 1, my body had suffered its limit of smog, dust and late nights out and had http://sea.liztay.net/2008/12/southbound.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-5742855272471360411Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:34:00 +00002008-12-03T05:04:52.492+11:00VietnamWe hadn't seen Max and Viren for about two weeks, and quickly embarked on extended drinking sessions to make up for lost time. At least, that’s we told ourselves.As it turns out, nights out in Hanoi are a dangerously affordable affair. Our first discovery was happy hour at the hostel, where two-for-one pricing essentially priced each Bierre La Rue at VND10,000 (~AUD$1).The price of beer fell http://sea.liztay.net/2008/11/sup-sup-sapa.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-2201835296758039471Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:39:00 +00002008-11-29T11:29:00.469+11:00VietnamJim and I arrived in Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport on Wednesday November 19, after more than 24 hours in transit from Sydney via Singapore. Grumpy and sleep deprived, I had little patience for the queue-cutting antics of a 10-person Korean-speaking tour group and sent them packing to the back of the queue with some very insistent gesturing.Getting from the airport to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel was a http://sea.liztay.net/2008/11/arrival-in-nam.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2494933165946327733.post-7985351593651753029Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:18:00 +00002008-10-15T23:33:27.680+11:00PlansIt's been two and a half years since my friends left.I remember the day the three set out on what was slated to be a year-long trip that would take them from east to west, beginning in Singapore and ending with the quintessential Australian pilgrimage to the U.K.The trip was some twelve months in the making and Mik, Jim and Eli were raring to go. We celebrated their departure at the Sydney http://sea.liztay.net/2008/09/chasing-phantoms.htmlliz.tay@gmail.com (liz)0