Here we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia (home to Angkor Wat) after 3 full days of seeing temples that are more then 1000 years old. Its pretty mind-blowing and I still really can't believe these things. I will expound on them more in a few.

Just to backtrack a bit, the last part of our journey through Laos was just heaven. I loved it so much down in the islands that when leaving Don Det, I cried when the boat sailed away! I knew what we had ahead of us entering a new country. Cambodia has been through hell and back and it shows everywhere. The countryside is absolutely beautiful and the cities are charming, but its the people that break your heart.

The trip from Laos to finally arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia consisted of 2 boat rides and at least 4-5 minivan changes and stops which in total took 15 hours. We were warned that getting your visa at the border, they try to get more money out of you, (this country is filled with corruption everywhere), but we stuck to our guns and paid exactly what we were told - $20 (plus $1 to pay for the paper?). So when they asked us for more, we said we had no more money. They let us go. It really wasn't a lie (except for that $1000 Baht we had stashed away), we seriously used up almost every cent while we were in Laos. Laos only has ATM's in Vietianne, the capital city. We started our journey in Laos in Huay Xai with the Gibbon X and had brought lots of money with us to hopefully get us through til Vietianne. Again, we had to take out enough money in Vietianne to get us through the 4,000 islands. We ran out of Kip and had to start exchanging our Baht and travelers checks which luckily they were able to do for us down there. Otherwise, Don Det wouldn't have been the paradise we found! Waking up in our bungalow on the Mekong every morning was truly heaven. I read 2 books while there, as well as played countless games of spades with our friends Brad and Auri.

I think one of the most special aspects to traveling through Laos for me were all the people we met and traveled with for extended periods of time. We had our Gibbon crew for a bit, then just Brad, then a new crew we met on the way to the islands and then Brad again. It really changed the way Chris and I had been traveling before. Thailand was pretty much just us - we met tons of people who we continued to run into throughout our journey, but none we actually spent time with for days and days. We knew the next part of our trip we'd be going solo again, so we really savored what we had when we were down there in paradise. Just a bunch of friends playing cards, riding bikes, laying in hammocks, watching sunsets, enjoying meals together. It really doesn't get better then that. But this trip was not just about lying in a hammock. We were here to soak up the culture and really experience this part of the world. So while it was a difficult move, we knew we had to do it.

So now, here we are in Siem Reap, a town full of landmine victims, homelessness and street kids all begging for something from you. The kids I just can't resist. I'm not sure the best way to deal with them, but they all speak English and just love to show you what they know. They ask where you are from, then promptly tell you the capital. They all know every capital of every state in the US and country in the world. They can count in like 10 languages and really all have the same schtick. And this goes for 4 yr olds all the way up to about 12 yr olds. They hound you at all the temples to buy their postcards, flutes, toys and they walk around the town of Siam Reap all dirty and holding babies littler then them. Its heartbreaking and so difficult to chat them up and not give them money. But they all know this and that's what makes it a little easier to say no. Which we do about 1,000 times a day. They just don't take no for an answer and just continue to hound you and they are relentless. I did buy postcards the first night, thinking wow, this kid is brilliant! Little did I know that they all have been brainwashed somewhere to charm the pants off of the tourists. Its insane. The adults are not much better. They all scream at you to buy their water, scarves, tshirts, food at their stall, you name it. The tuk tuk drivers are by far the worst. We are waiting for the moment that a tuk tuk driver says "need a tuk tuk?" while we are in one!!! We've seriously been surrounded by like 5 people all trying to win us over. It gets tiresome and challenging and is extremely emotional. I can't say we hadn't been warned, but being in the middle of it is just plain difficult. Oh, and another thing that's crazy is the town of Siam Reap is full of 5 star extravagant resorts and hotels. Unbelievable!! This is definitely the most touristy of all places we've been. But that's understandable, I mean, look what's here. And photos do not do it justice. We just loved being able to take our time and explore the mazes that are these temples. I think Preah Khan was both of our favorites because it once housed over 1000 teachers and may have been a Buddhist university. It was the coolest one we went to. We brought our tuk tuk driver Mee into that one with us - he hadn't even seen any of the temples before!!! We also took him into Angkor Wat with us. He got lost in there for like an hour - it was so awesome to see how happy he was to have been able to see that.

So today Chris woke up not feeling too well, so I went off with Mee on my own. We took a moto instead since it was only me (and Mee!). It was a fun day, but not the same being without Chris. I bought Mee a t-shirt today - he was so happy! Most people hire a tuk tuk driver to take them around to all the temples for the time that they are here. We bought a 3-day pass so Mee (who picked us up at the bus station and brought us to our guesthouse) has been taking us around. He doesn't have parents (we assume lost them to the Khmer Rouge) and really has absolutely nothing so we have been trying to take good care of him (buying him lunch, water, icecream, etc). But it still very difficult knowing what we have and what he does not. I feel like we just can't do enough. His story is a sad one which only makes it all so much harder.

So tomorrow we are leaving for Phnom Pehn again. We only were there for a day before we took off for Siem Reap. We have loads to see there - The Killing Fields, Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, National Museum. Hopefully we can get it all done in a day. We also are thinking of going to spend some time at an orphanage. The problem is that our Vietnam visa expires on Nov 3 so we'd like to get there before then and get an extension. We got our visa way back when thought we'd already have been in Vietnam by now!!! So there we plan to continue our path of following the Mekong and going to Phou Quoc island and then the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we'll have time to go up north a bit before we have to head back to Bangkok. But I can't think about that yet. And so the journey continues...Stay tuned!

A soft breeze blew me gently awake, and I peered out the window above my head. Through the soft gauze of the mosquito net I saw lush greenery and a few small bungalows. Looking out through the door beyond my toes, the chocolate milk Mekong flowed by, fast. The sun was only a bit above the horizon and I was alone in bed. Lu had already absconded to the porch of our bungalow where she hung fifteen inches above the wood planks, completely chilled out in her own personal hammock, book in hand. I smiled and rolled over and another breeze blew through, sending me back to a sleepy doze.

Now repeat that four times and you'll have a clear picture of what it's like to wake up on the island of Don Det, Laos, in the 4000 Islands. The days and nights didn't get any faster than that, except for the long bike ride we took one day, and the raging of the rapids on the island of Don Khon just to the south. We ate slow, played cards slow, strolled the dirt path main road slow and finally, finally finally nearly managed to achieve what we had been searching for since day one. We have been trying to stop time, and on Don Det we almost succeeded. In the end, though, it was good we couldn't quite manage it 'cause that would have meant no glorious sunsets and no sublime sunrises. But all afternoon and late into the nights a moment lasted a hour, an hour lasted a day, and a day lasted a week. It was glorious and we were sad to leave. Now we are back in the land of regular time, having just arrived last night in Phenom Pehn, Cambodia. It has been a long journey since the fun of Vang Vieng.

From Vang Vieng we went to Vientianne, the capital of Laos which turned out to be the sleepiest, slowest most chill capital city I have ever been to. It was more like a big town than a true city. There we relished in the vestiges of French rule: good wine, good food, and cheese, glorious cheese. We got a nice room there, fourth floor with a private balcony, and for dinner one night we got a bottle of Bordeaux some crackers and a hunk of New Zealand cheddar and just sat up there with some tunes, as the slow bustle of the street below filtered up to us. Another night we splurged and spent $30 on dinner. I had steak. Lu had raviolis with tomato sauce, and of course we finished it out with a nice chocolate mousse and some cognac. Our first day there was spent checking out the markets and monuments, and on the second we rented a motorbike to ride out to Buddha Park. That place was kinda nutty. Huge statues clustered around each other, representing a vast array of Buddist and Hindu deities and important figures. Shiva, Cali, Buddha, Ganesh and so many more were poised in rock, facing every which way. And of course we had to motorbike it out there, 'cause it's just more fun that way. But there's not a lot to do in Vientianne and we knew it was time to head south. We had been asking other travelers about 4000 Islands, and just from the look on their faces when we asked about it, we knew we had to go.

It was a long bus ride south. I dreaded the coming karaoke video they were sure to play, and my fears were well founded. Not only was the music terrible, but it was also at full blast. Luckily that dvd broke, but before long a Chinese karate flick with Thai subtitles flashed on the screen, and soon the sounds of hellacious kung-fu came screaming through the speakers. A short time after that flick ended did the true excitement begin, though. First it was smoke from the back right tire area. Then it was a huge bang that cause the woman above the sound to scream loud, and for me to shout "Holyshit!" They stopped we disembarked through clouds of smoke and then they set to repairing the blown tire. This time it only took about 45 min, instead of the 2 hours of our last bus breakdown. Morning brought more karaoke videos (5:30am), but I quickly got up from my seat and requested that they please, please, please wait a little while before turning that on. Everyone in the entire bus was asleep, still, and thankfully they complied. From bus to sanglaw we were herded and after another 2 hours we arrived at the shores of the Mekong. A motorboat ferried us across and we had arrived in Se Phon Don (4000 Islands).

Our first 2 nights were on Don Khong, which is north, and the largest of the islands. After finding a guesthouse and getting a meal, Lu and I hit the road with a motorbike and cruised the entire island. We saw incredible rice paddies and people harvesting. We checked out the other town across the island with a lively port and many small shops. We found a remote bar with a bocce court and we rode our motorbike along a thin dirt path, passing many small houses with many small children running out of the yard to wave at us and say "Sawadee!!" For the kids, clothes were clearly optional. We'd made friends with a few other travellers and that night after dinner we started in on some Lao Lao (rice whiskey) and fired up a game of Texas Hold'em. It was truly awesome to play poker at the edge of the Mekong for 60000 kip. ($6!)

The next morning the rest of the group decided to get motorbikes, too, and while they were figuring all that out we sat on some benches and waited. Suddenly there were people coming up the hill from the shore and there striding towards us was none other than our new good friend Brad who we had first met at the Gibbon Experience, and had traveled with up until Vang Vieng. He stayed when we left, but we knew we might meet up again in 4000 Islands if the timing worked out. He had stayed a few extra days up there, and then gunned it for the Islands. It was fantastic to meet up with him again and quickly he was settled in and on a motorbike ready to ride. We did the same trip as the day before, but in a different order and this time got to play a big game of bocce between the seven of us riding around. We were like some pansy version of the Hell's Angels, crusing the asphalt of Don Khong on old 100cc scooters. It was great! Don Khong was good, but it was a little boring, so we knew we had to go deeper and find someplace even smaller and more relaxed. We booked a boat for the next morning and at 8:30am, seven of us got on board and headed south for Don Det.

Immediately upon selecting our guest house and falling gracefully into our hammocks, we knew we had finally made it. The 4 spectacular sunsets and gorgeous lazy days that followed only proved us right again, and again, and again, and again.

Yesterday morning we left Don Det, (almost crying). Brad was heading north and we had Cambodia to see. It was sad to say goodbye to him and to the others we'd become friends with (Aurie from Finland, Floyd from Oz), but it was definitely time to keep moving. If we stayed any longer there was serious worries about 'going native'. Also, that we were down to our final dollars meant we *had* to get somewhere that could dole us some cash.

The long trip to Phenom Pehn was not fun at all. As glorious as was Don Det, as miserable was the 12 hours in various minivans and boats we traveled in. The roads here are insane, and the drivers move along quickly. It was a great relief to finally find a guest house at 11:30 pm last night and pass out completely. Now comes the heavy part of our travels. Thailand and Laos were mainly excitement and relaxation. Cambodia and Vietnam are going to be quite a bit more contempative, horrific and serious as we learn more about the past 30 years of strife these countries have experienced, quite a bit of it at the hands of leaders of the USA, as well as other homegrown monsters like Pol Pot. Today, though is more mundane. Emails, money, toilettries, laundry, markets, meals and strolls. We'll save the horrors for the future, after Angkor, when we have to come back through Phenom Penh on our way to Vietnam.

This morning we woke up baking in a dingy guesthouse room. It had nothing on the wonderful views and lovely breeze of Mr. B's Bungalows on Don Det, Laos. For a few days Paradise was ours, but now it lives only in our memories. However, whenever someone asks us about 4000 Islands our first reply will be purely visual as our eyes roll back, a lazy grin spreads across our face and a blissful "Se Phon Don" breezes out of our mouths. We know what paradise is like, now, and we hope a few others will get to visit it, too.

It's been a while since we've posted. We've had a crazy last week in Laos, and hopefully I can convey it through my writing. Right now we're in a little town called Vang Vieng in Central Laos. We took a bus here that left at 8:30am in the morning and arrived at about 5pm. This bus was supposed to be 6 hours, instead it took almost 9. Laos is known for its unpaved roads, bus breakdowns and just all around trouble getting from here to there. We've experienced this many times over in our short amount of time here. Luckily we've looked at all of it as part of the experience.

So last we left it we were leaving Pai for Chaing Khong to head over to Xauy Xai, Laos to begin our Gibbon experience. We had an uncomfortable, very foggy minivan drive in the middle of the night from Pai to Chaing Khong. We got across the border with minimal trouble and headed up into the town to find a place to stay. After a month in Thailand, now we had to begin our focus on being in a new country, new language, new food, etc. A festival was just starting in this town - they were having their annual boat races on the Mekong! The town was preparing for this party - and we were pretty excited to be a part of it. Our first night in Laos was full of drinking, eating, dancing and basically entertaining the people of this town. Something about us had everyone captivated! The kids here basically just look at us and start giggling and everyone else just stares. Maybe its Chris's height, not sure but its really funny. They are not that used to Westerners I guess, though this is a major border crossing point with Thailand, but I guess no one really sticks around here.

That afternoon/evening we run into an Israeli girl named Hagar who we met on the ride in from Pai. She was going with us on the Gibbon Experience. We met a British couple named Kate and Peter as well as a British guy named James who'd be joining us as well. It wasn't until the next morning where we got to meet the other 5 people who'd be sharing in this crazy experience we were about to embark on (we were 11 altogether). There was Brad, an American from NY, Jill and Keira from England, Tim also from England and Liel, a French-Canadian. We all instantly hit it off and jumped into this truck they call a Samlor (2 benches) and took off. There was 8 of us in back, and within the 3 hour journey to the first village, we were all laughing so hard we knew we had a great few days ahead of us.

The road to Bokeo, Laos is actually in the process of becoming a highway that will go from China to Thailand. They have been working on this road for years and apparently have a lot more to do. This section of it needs lots of work, at this point its still a dirt road but during rainy season becomes a muddy and very bumpy dirt road. You can imagine what this was like with all of us squished in the back - just bumping along. So when we finally get to the village, we come to find out (not so much info was given to us ahead of time) that usually in rainy season, the truck can't go over the river so we'd have to start walking at this point (a 7 hour one!) but the driver wants to try it today. Just our luck, the truck makes it across (we had to get out towards the end) and then we start up this really, really muddy road, so muddy, we had to get out and push or pull the truck a few different times. It was hilarious and just crazy and "part of the experience." ha. It gets better. So about an hour or so later we have to give up on the truck and just walk. It is so muddy, wearing our new teva-like shoes we bought in Pai were not going to help. So basically everyone had to take off their shoes and walk through the mud. We walked for about 3 hours this way. Up and down hills, in the rain, in the mud, we chatted and just did it.

So then we get to the next village finally and we are given some sandwiches to eat. We meet one of our guides Som, a really sweet 16 year old kid, and head out on another hour and a half journey, this time up and down through the jungle. We did have our shoes on, but we were so slippery (it was raining) that it was not an easy trek. At this point we wished they told us to bring hiking shoes. So finally we get to the Gibbon Experience camp where we meet the rest of the guides, the 2 monkeys and a gibbon who they are taking care of as well as a baby bear. Yes, a baby bear.

We learn to put on our zipline harness, they go over it a few times until we feel safe, and then we're off on our first zip into the first treehouse, treehouse 1. There are 4 treehouses, but we are only using TH 1 and 3 because TH 2 is leaking and TH 4 is too far to get to in rainy season. This treehouse was pretty awesome - has running water, 3 levels and an incredible view. It was also about 30 meters (100 feet) up. It is starting to get dark, so 4 of our group leave to go stay in TH 3 and the rest of us go for a few practice zips around. It is both exhilarating and scary and it somehow got scarier for me each time I had to zip!! But once flying across the cable and looking out over the vast forest into the mist in the mountains ahead of me, it was just pure adrenaline rush and I loved it. We finally make our way back to our TH. Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention is the leeches. Yeah, there are leeches and they just stick to you and start sucking and to get them off you need to burn them. Then you start bleeding and it takes a while to stop. Not the most fun part of this.

So we relax, eat a yummy mostly vegetarian Laos dinner, light some candles, take in the sounds and smells of the jungle we are directly a part of and just enjoy the evening. Hagar teaches us a card game called shithead and we play until we're tired. We slept on a big futon with a comfy blanket, under a mosquito net and fell asleep to all the crazy sounds. It poured all early morning, but that didn't stop us from a before breakfast zip. We went out on like 3-4 zips and came back just in time for breakfast. The guides were there with us, walking us through the jungle, helping us attach our safety and telling us when to go. We got instantly filthy from the first instant we zipped the day before, that we knew we'd be filthy for the next few days. We spent the rest of the day zipping around the trees on our own. The guides came with us sometimes, but sometimes we found ourselves having to make our own calls "OKAAAAAY" to the person across on the other side. In one spot there were 2 lines on top of each other so when one person went one way, another was either above or below them. That was really cool. I even saw a rainbow while I flew through the air. That was the highlight for sure. We felt like pros by the end of the day. It was amazing. The whole journey to get there was worth this feeling of flying above and amongst the jungle.

That night we played another card game that Keira taught us. Some of the young Laos guides joined us and it was just so sweet seeing how much fun they were having. Lara (the person who was in charge of all this) has been teaching them English so it was really fun teaching them new words and having them teach us as well. It rained again during the night, which we knew meant that we had a 7 hour journey ahead of us. We woke and did a bunch of before breakfast zips, knowing that this was our last opportunity. And then it was time to set out on our journey.

The walk out was both challenging and beautiful, aggravating and serene. In all it took us about 6 hours to complete this walk. Part of it was in the jungle and very slippery and steep. Part of it was on the muddy road, part of it the road was just fine and it was delightful. We were exhausted by the time we got back to the second village. A lot of our group made it back like 1 1/2 hours before us because they were wearing good hiking shoes. It made a big difference. So after some food and beer, we had to get going on another journey back to the original town we started in.

Pete & Kate and Chris & I were going to take a bus up to Luang Nam Tha originally and then work our way back down from there to Luang Prabang. The road was too muddy and it was impossible to get up there so we had to change our plans and go back to Xuay Xai. 6 of us had the good fortune to get in the back of a pickup truck (which we later found out was NOT 4 wheel drive). Again, we get stuck in the mud and had to push. Luckily the driver has chains and puts them on. We were convinced we'd be sleeping in the back of the pickup that night. But alas, the chains work and we manage to make it back to Xuay Xai with barely a scrape. Check out some pix!

The whole group met up for a very reflective dinner. We talked of what we liked and what we disliked. The program is still in the beginning stages and definitely needs some work. They need to give us more info and get a truck that can drive you all the way to the 2nd village. There are more safety issues they need to work on, but it was an experience I will never, ever forget. Also, we made such good friends along the way. This brings us to where we are now.

The next morning, 6 of us (Kate, Pete, Liel, Brad & Us) decide to take the fast boat to Luang Prabang. The thing is, there is a section in our handy Laos guide that mentions how dangerous this boat is and that you should only take it in an emergency. The only other option to Luang Prabang is a slow boat that takes 2 days and we heard it was torture. We just couldn't sit on a boat for 2 days after that adventure we had just been on. We went back and forth a few times, but in the end, we decided to take the risk and go on the 6 hour fast boat. Best decision ever. Our driver was awesome, we stopped a bunch of times and made it to LP in no time. It wasn't the most comfortable ride and was a bit noisy, but it was fast and fun and the Mekong was amazing to ride on and the scenery was beautiful.

LP turned out to be a fantastic little town, very French and beautiful surrounded by 2 rivers and quaint little buildings and fabulous restaurants. Just the place to chill out and relax. We went to a beautiful waterfall and swam all day. The night market was just amazing as well. We spent a few days there, hanging with our friends (it was so nice to have a crew to hang out with!) until it was time to move on. Brad convinced us to leave with him to Vang Vieng on the 6 hour bus ride. And so we did. So we've taken in all the sights and fun of this town - tubing down a river, climbing in and out of caves, motorscootering around and now its time to move on. Our next destination is Vientiane - hopefully we get there in the 3 hours we're told it takes, but I won't hold my breath....

oh, and check out Chris's blog post about the Gibbon X on Thrunk!

Our time in Thailand is ending in a matter of hours and it has been an amazing time. We are in Pai now, where the power just went off and sucked away big chunk of text, but there are a few things to sum up before we board a bus for Chang Khong and then head to Laos across the Mekong River. We have to be out of Thailand by Oct. 7, and we are using every dang day.

Chiang Mai was incredible. You should have seen the look in Lu's eyes when we crossed out of the darkness and into the lights of the Walking Market. For blocks in either direction were stalls and tables stacked with and endless array of handcrafts, paintings, clothes, bags, jewelery and just about anything else you could think of. I groaned within, but I knew that was the plan for the night and I was ready to dive in and have some fun spending money. There was a shirt I was looking for, some new pants and a few other odds and ends I hoped to find for a much better price than at the Night Bazaar a few nights earlier.

Right away I noticed that the make-up of the crowd was 90% Thai. That was a good sign. At the Night Bazaar it was nearly 100% farang (foreingers) and the prices reflected that. A shirt at the night bazaar was 200 bhat, while at the Walking Market, it was half that. And that went for just about everything else, too. Still, I wasn't loving the whole shopping experience just yet, so I popped into a corner market and picked myself up a nice large Chang. I've found that beer greases my shopping wheels rather nicely, and what started off as a chore quickly became a bit more fun. And it was great to see Lu loving it all so much.

"I want to buy everything!" she told me, her eyes dilated with bliss.

"Well, you can't do that," I replied, "but definitely don't hold back. We won't get many chances to buy any of these things, and we'll love having them when we get back to the US. And the prices here are great."

So off she went, in search of everything she loved, and I trailed behind, the beer slowly vanishing from the bottle into my mouth. As we walked and shopped, I thought about how far along had come, and all the ways and means we'd used to get to that point. The Lonely Planet Thailand book was the bible that illuminated our path. The Nancy Chandler map of Chiang Mai revealed the streets and shops and sois and restaurants we needed to navigate. Pages of printouts from emails from friends put Thailand and beyond in terms we could understand. We got help from Roland who had led us around Bangkok, showing us the many ways to get around that city. We had help from Jeanne who opened her home to us, and explained the intricacies of the coup as it developed. I thought about Rob and Kellee and how their advice to check out the Elephant Nature Park led to some of the most powerful days on our trip so far. I thought of Noom, our new friend in Chiang Mai, who's fluent English and great sense of humor made that city even better and more interesting. She runs the Moonlight Guest House and she quickly became more than just someone that helped us out, she became a true friend. We were sad to say goodbye when it was time to leave on a four hour local bus to the moutain town of Pai. Before we left, though, we had a huge bag of goodies to deal with. There was no way we were bringing everything with us for the next month, so a stop at the Post Office was needed. There's box on a slow boat to SF right now, and another traveling slightly quicker en route to West Hartford, CT (Mom and Dad, DO NOT open that box! There are goodies in there for us to hand out when we come home for Thanksgiving!!) After the Post Office it was a few more errands, and then a tuk-tuk race to the bus station for the 4pm, 4 hour ride on the local bus to Pai. (Tuk-tuk drivers in Chiang Mai are less shady than their Bangkok counterparts.)

On the windy bus-ride north Lu and I talked about all the various tips and advice we had gathered along the way, and how funny it was, the things people tell you. Some of the advice was dead-on, others was complete bullshit and some was utterly contradictory. "Never ride a tuk-tuk in Bangkok."(true!) "Watch your ass in Vietnam, everyone will try and rip you off." battled against "Vietnam is the best country I've ever been too!" (we'll see which way it goes. We're guessing it's a bit of both.) "The slow-boat ride to Luang Prabhang is a nightmare. Fly instead."(repeated over and over, so we're bussing it, probably, or maybe going north first, we'll see. All plans are subject to change.) "Oh no, this hook doesn't hurt the elephant, thick skin, thick skin." (total crap) "Ride a motorbike around Chiang Mai." (definitely true and so much fun.) "Shop at the Walking Market, not the Night Bazaar, so much cheaper." (dead-on!) "Eat food from the street vendors, it's cheap and delicious." (oh yeah, we have had many, many street vendor meals and 90% of them were excellent.) One piece of advice that I think every traveler should follow I received from our friend Brad just before heading out of SF. "Get a compass," he told me, and I did. It has saved our asses over and over again and we use it multiple times a day to figure out where the hell we are, and where we need to go.

One thing, though, that we've learned throughout all of this, is that it is so important for us to just go our own way, too. Although we are in the stream of a vast train of travelers and backpackers we can't just do exactly the same thing as everyone else in exactly the same way. We have to find new places to eat, new guesthouses to stay in, new routes between cities in order to make this trip our own, and it has been so much fun figuring it out.

Once in Pai, life slowed down even more than the chill-vibe of Chiang Mai. We rented a motorbike and kept it for three days, cruising out into the countryside to check out the waterfalls, Pai Canyon, the temple on the hill, tiny villages that surrounded this little town, and the hot springs spa a few kilometers down the road. I learned that you can ride a motorbike in the rain, but as I suspected, it's not much fun. We ate some great meals here, stayed in some cheap, nice bungalows and really took advantage of everything Pai had to offer. There were some challenges, of course. Only 100 feet from the spa our motorbike's back tire blew out. However, since we had spent 80 bhat on insurance we only had to wait an hour for someone from the shop to drive out and change the tire. That our waiting was done in a hot mineral bath (50 bhat a person) made it anything but a chore. We had to battle big puddles and deep mud as we blasted up and down the hills in search of an elusive waterfall. The eighty foot plummet of water was worth the effort, though. However, another waterfall we tried to find turned out to be a four hour journey and we were lucky enough to be warned away from the attempt only a half hour into the trek.

The toughest moment of the trip, though, hit us nearly exactly at the halfway point. Just yesterday morning we were battling with a tough choice that would mean the difference between a chill day in Pai, or a mad scramble to make it to our next stop. We had signed up for the Gibbon Experience and we needed to be across the Mekong River by 8am this morning to catch the bus to start. It wasn't until confirmation phone calls and emails had been made that we learned that there was no bus going there from Pai until the following day. We sat at breakfast considering. Either we simply bailed on the Experience, or we had to right then catch a bus back to Chiang Mai and hope that we would be there in time to catch another bus that would take us to the right place in Laos to start the jungle canopy zipline experience. If we did that it would mean hours on multiple busses, no hot springs, no relaxation, no fun. And really, more than anything, this trip is about fun. So we said screw it. We'd try and catch the Gibbon Experience at the end of our time in Laos, or maybe not at all. But both of us agreed that keeping things simple and stress-free was of paramount importance.

Imagine our disbelief and surprise when we checked email later that day to make sure they had gotten our voicemail telling them of our change of plans. "I'm so sorry Lani, but I made a mistake," the email went. "We overbooked the trip for the 6th, and we wanted to see if you could instead begin the Gibbon Experience on Oct. 8th. Lu and I looked at each other eyes wide with shock and then we began jabbering about how lucky that was and how much it would have sucked if we had mad-scrambled our way back to Chiang Mai and then Chang Khong only to arrive in Laos and get completely shut-down.

Simple, stress-free, easy, that's what we keep aiming for, and although we don't always succeed, it seems to work more often than not. Our bus leaves in an hour. Six after that we'll be in our last city in Thailand for a while. We'll cross the Mekong as our visa expires in the boat's wake, and then we'll spend a quiet village-day in Houayxai, Laos getting ready to zipline through the jungle canopy searching for monkeys and looking forward to our nights in treehouses as the beasts primeval hoot and chirp and skitter around us. Yeah, Lu's afraid of heights, but that didn't stop her from leaping from an airplane, nor from climbing the cliffs of Railay. I am certain to hear her whooping with joy as we spin through the trees on another insane adventure.

Chang means elephant in Thai. (It's also Chris's favorite brand of beer here.) In 1900 there were 100,000 Asian elephants in Thailand, now there are 2,500. The Asian elephant is in danger of becoming extinct - such a shame because the Chang is the national symbol of Thailand and is a very sacred animal to the Thais. We have had the good fortune to witness both extremes of how elephants are treated in this country. When you arrive in Chiang Mai (the amazing city we are in right now), most guest houses and travel agencies plug their treks which encompass so many different ideas. Most treks take you to one or more of the hundreds of hilltribes in northern Thailand, hikes to waterfalls, bamboo rafting, and the most popular is the elephant rides - actually getting to see the elephants "at work." Sounds exciting right?

We arrived in Chiang Mai and immediately contacted a friend of Jeanne's (who we stayed with in Bangkok). He put us in touch with a Thai woman named Noom who had also spent a year in America and spoke almost perfect English. She immediately took us in and showed us the ropes. She owns a guesthouse named Moonlight House which we at first did not stay at (We had already booked ourselves into the Alley Nine). We loved our little corner of the inner moat which had at least 2 little organic/veggie restaurants that we ate in A LOT and lots of cute pubs and bars and guest houses all around. We rented motorbikes (the most popular method of transportation in this city) from Noom and spent a day exploring. It was awesome and scary at the same time. The Thais ride these things like you've never seen- whole families (with no helmets!) get on all at once, young girls pile on together and no one seems the least bit hesitant to ride them. Except us farang of course. But we got to see the city in a really awesome way. So Noom also signed us up to do a trek through her guest house. This trek was one of the ones that offered the elephant rides. Of course Chris and I thought the whole trek sounded pretty fun- of course this was not knowing what we were to learn at the Elephant Nature Park in the following few days.

Our tour guide "Q" took us first to an elephant camp. This camp had tons of elephants at work, strapped with seats on top and each with their own mahout. The mahout is the guy who takes care of the elephant its whole life. These mahouts each have a bamboo pole with a very sharp hook at the end. They use this to get the elephants to walk and move and do what they want. We reluctantly got on and felt very uncomfortable as we prodded along, the mahout knocking our elephant in the head with his hook, and us having to buy bags and bags of bananas to feed the elephant. I kept telling myself that it must be ok, this is what they do. Maybe the hooks don't hurt, the elephant has thick skin right? Well, we get to the end of our elephant walk, Chris and I both say that we really weren't too thrilled with that, but whatever, we did it. The rest of our trek was pretty cool though, great hike to a waterfall, got to see some hilltribes and bought some crafts from them, and the bamboo rafting was awesome. It was all pretty touristy, but really the only way to do it.

So our friends Kellee and Rob in SF had mentioned to us a while back about this place they went called the Elephant Nature Park and they loved it and said we had to go and stay over if we could. They basically only have the website, and not one guest house or travel guide had any info on it. Most places advertise the Elephant Conservation Center where you get to see the elephants play music and do art and tricks and take rides and all of that. We heard a lot about that place, but nothing of the place we went to.

We trusted Kellee and Rob and thought that it sounded pretty cool. So we get picked up in the morning and head straight to a market where 4 of us had to pile mounds and mounds and bags and bags full of bananas into a truck. It was hard work, but it was only enough food for the 30 elephants to eat for 1 day!!! Then on to the park - it is located about an hour north west of Chiang Mai. Amy, a British girl who has been traveling for like 7 months was coming to the park for her 2nd time. The first time she stayed for 2 weeks as a volunteer. She was so excited to go back. We talked of past and future travel plans and bonded with her instantly.

We arrive at the park and a fully tattooed American woman named Jody starts to tell us all about the park and the Thai woman name "Lek" (her nickname which means small) who started it. While Jody is telling us all the background info, we get to immediately feed the elephants. It was awesome! If you look on their website, you can see pix of people doing that. At the park we also got to go in the river and help bathe the elephants. It was hilarious, these elephants were soooo happy to have us scrub them! Immediately once they get out of the water, they throw sand and dirt all over themselves to protect themselves from the sun and mosquitos. It was hilarious! All our hard work for nil. The food there was pretty much the best food I've had anywhere. There were lots of volunteers there (mostly British and Australian girls) so there were at least 15 different dishes to eat, and most of them vegetarian! It was so fun hanging out with all the people there, sharing stories and just being with like-minded people. These were the highlights- the rest was not so pretty.

Lek started this park in an effort to save the elephants in Thailand from being tortured, overworked and treated poorly by their mahouts and owners. She started buying elephants one by one to help rehabilitate them - elephants who had gotten in accidents, who were abused and neglected their whole lives. Each elephant at the park had a sadder story then the next. These creatures were amazing, they are so smart and just knew what was going on with them and you can see it in their eyes. At the park they also have tons of dogs who are being rehabilitated as well. Thailand has a major problem with stray dogs (there are millions of them in this country) - this is another story that I won't get into now. But its so strange for me to see a wonderful Buddhist culture like the Thais treat their animals the way they do. The people are such friendly, gentle and caring people. We love them. But this is something I don't love or understand.

We got to see a documentary done about Lek and her work (it was a bit outdated since it was shot in 2002 and in the last few years so much has changed with her park) . The most horrific part of it was having to watch the young elephants go through what is called a Pujan. This is the week of torture they go through to train them. They basically break their spirit and torture them into submission by poking and prodding them with knives and hooks, sleep deprivation amongst many other forms of torture. They always want the elephant to fear humans. And this is all the while being in a small cage and chained up by all four legs. It was so heartbreaking to watch. Almost every elephant at the park had gone through this. Pretty much every elephant in Asia has gone through this. This is what they've been doing for thousands of years. Its the only way the mahouts know and to try to change this practice is almost insane. There are 3 elephants there that were too young when Lek got them, so thankfully, they will never have to go through a Pujan. Lek is trying to get the government to change their views on how to train the elephants by training these 3 young elephants with positive reinforcement instead. And its really working. We got to see one of the mahouts train Lilly (I think that's her name) and it was awesome. Hopefully Lek can change the nature of the way this country views the training and treatment of elephants. Its been a really slow and challenging road, but with more and more people becoming aware of this program, real change can happen. She's actually had tons of press lately so that is good news. Its just so difficult because the tourism industry in this country is really based on these treks and elephant rides and elephants painting and playing music and doing tricks. Not what would really be good and healthy for this sacred animal. Its all about money and politics of course.

At the park you can stay for the day, a night or more or even volunteer for a week or 2. We stayed overnight and had such a fantastic and emotional time. It just felt so right to get to hang with the elephants as they lived their lives peacefully, eating, playing, bathing, hiking, etc. It was beautiful. We even got to take a hike with them up into the jungle - it was fascinating to see 12 elephants climb up and totally disappear in the trees! Then we got to mud surf down (they've had so much rain lately that everything was pure mud). So hilarious! The elephants of course made it down no problem. Seeing the babies try to maneuver up the mud was priceless!

So check out the site and if you plan on going to Thailand or know someone who is, go visit the Elephant Nature Park. Its hard to care about something that doesn't affect you - but it was so real to us being there and these are living breathing creatures who need our help!! Also, on Animal Planet on Oct 2 and 3 at various times there is a special that is done on the park that you should check out. It's called "Caught in the Moment - Thailand" and if you can watch it and tape it for us that would be awesome.

So now we're back in the city and enjoying everything Chiang Mai has to offer. It reminds me so much of SF - so many veggie restaurants, yoga and massage schools, its the perfect place for me! I even took a yoga class all in Thai. So cool! My favorite thing I think is that this city has really the best markets I've ever seen. We're about to leave and go walk the huge Sunday night market and buy tons of gifts for all of our friends and family. Tomorrow we're going to take a cooking course all day at an organic farm out of the city. I can't wait!! Then onto our next adventure and finally a new country - Laos.