Inappropriate, Vientiane Facebookers

Facebook is the main source of information for expats in Vientiane, mostly because the local English paper 'Vientiane Times' (a) has a crappy website, and (b) kind of caters to government-approved news. 

So there's the 'Buy and Sell in Vientiane' FB group, the local alternative to craigslist.

The stuff that people are willing to post on this group is always interesting... 

Huk ey ley/ "Really Love" Movie Premiere

One of our work associate's husbands is involved in the Lao movie industry, and just produced, directed and starred in a movie called "Huk Ey Ley" (Lao for "Really Love"). Our work associate was one of the stars, too! So of course we went to the movie premiere. I was particularly excited for it because of the hilarious ticket image:  

We didn't know much about the movie, going into it, but there were 4 premiere showings on the weekend of April 26th. Also, this was this trailer : 

(Just to give you an idea...)

So we went to the premiere and we were NOT disappointed. 

There was even a red carpet ! :) 

Laos has no modern (aka Western) movie theaters. (This is really really crappy; having to clear Thai Customs every time we want to see a movie is ridiculous.) Which means that the Lao Premiere of Huk Ey Ley was held in the Japan Lao Budo Center. 

After the movie ended, the six stars of Huk Ey Ley took pictures with their fans...

Very fun. I might have over-dressed but frankly I love getting my hair done for 50,000kip ($8), and going to a movie premiere- even a Lao one- has been on my bucket list for a couple years. 

The little things : coconuts

Living in Laos is - more often than not- pretty awesome, and I'm usually the most appreciative of my geographical position in SE Asia when I get to travel. Weekend trips to Bangkok or Angkor Wat are freaking sweet, and I love being able to see new things and experience so much so close to our 'home'.

That being said, I often don't take the time to notice the awesome, amazing little things that I can do in Laos. 

Example: Nick and I bought lunch across the street from work yesterday. We both had chicken Phad Thai (and Phad Thai is still one of my most favorite foods), and he had a coke. Altogether it was $3.50.

And another cafe across the street just started selling fresh young coconuts. 

It was a dollar. AND I didn't even try to haggle.

Isn't coconut water like $5 at Whole Foods ?

Door, you are a piece of crap

Back in Vientiane since Monday morning. 

It's always nice to come home, but holy Jesus is it got right now- mid to high 90's, every day. 

We turn the air conditioner on as soon as we get home, though the apartment is a couple degrees cooler than outside anyway. Even when we walk up to the door to unlock it, we can feel the cool air coming from inside. This is probably because the door has a million little gaps in it- 

Picture of door from the inside of the apartment 

Bodysurfing in Gold Coast

While we flew into Sydney, we flew out of Gold Coast (Air Asia randomness), so on Sunday we drove to Main Beach, Phillip Park to spend our last day on the beach in the sun. 

Gold Coast skyscrapers

Pier at the Phillip Beach. The waves here were ridiculously awesome, and there were a bunch of surfers and body boarders. 

Also, there was a dog dyed blue.

The conversation between me and the dog's owner:

Me: "Oh my gosh, your dog is so cute!"
Lady: "Thanks!"
Me: "I love the blue color, so great for Easter! Did you do that this morning?"
Lady: "No... she's usually dyed in different colors."
Me: "Oh. That's cool. OK bye dog!"

The waves at the Phillip Park were the biggest I've ever swam in, and I even got freaked out for a bit. At one point a massive wave was coming in, and I immediately dove into the bottom of it so it could pass over me, and Nick tried to swim over it, which worked until the crest of the wave smacked him in the back, flipped him over and slammed him into the sand.

After showering off the sand and salt water, I went to the bathroom to change into my clothes for the 9pm flight, and Nick decided he wanted to change in the car. He didn't realize that everyone else was heading to their cars at the same time, and ended up having to wait in the car for a quiet moment for a longgggggggg time.

And then we were off! Still hate Air Asia. So so much. The check-in process. The filthy airplane bathrooms. The fact that we had to clear Customs, grab our bags, and re-check in at Kuala Lumpur.

(I do love their prices- and their "Quiet Zone" sections on the flight. $12 to have no kids sitting around you on an overnight flight? Awesome. I know, since I was surrounded by 5 kids on my overnight flight from Vientiane to S Korea, one of who screamed most of the way. I will TOTALLY pay $12 to be surrounded by non-kids and get a good night's sleep.)

Easter in Australia: It's the Easter Koala!

When I was a kid, my family celebrated Easter with an Easter egg hunt, brunch and a nice Easter Service at our United Methodist Church. In college, I would spend Easter with friends at the Catholic service at Gonzaga. 

Last year, Nick and I celebrated Easter at our apartment in Madison, WI, with chocolate and hard-boiled eggs which I tried decorating with fancy Pinterest techniques but ended up exploding in the oven.

This year, I was in Australia with Nick for our vacation, and being on the vacation-y road meant we had to work to find something Easter-y to do on Sunday.  What better way to celebrate than with cuddling a koala?! 

(Note that Easter isn't really a religious event for either of us; for me, in particular, it's about family traditions and chocolate)

Queensland is the only territory in Australia where you are allowed to hold a koala. (In other territories you can pet one, but not hold it.) My Australia book advertised the "Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary" as a great place to "cuddle a koala". (It was also conveniently located 16 minutes from Brisbane, where we spent our Saturday night)

Map of the sanctuary

(Admission was $33/ adult)

The term "cuddle" is used pretty liberally... really, I went to the cafe inside the sanctuary, paid $16 for my "koala photo", walked to the koala photo area, where the animal handler had me hold my hands flat so she could place the koala on them. Then the photographer took the photo and I was allowed to hold (not cuddle) the koala for a couple minutes.

When I tried to rock the koala (which was admittedly kind of weird of me, but it's kind of hard not to treat the koala like a cat or baby and cuddle it proper) the animal handler was having none of it. "No moving!" she barked. The koala seemed pretty chill with it, but I stopped moving and remained as tree-like as possible for the remainder of my time.

Then the animal handler put my koala back in his tree.

I knew nothing about koalas before I got to the Sanctuary, but now I know that they have the most enviable schedule of any animal everywhere. Feeding and sleeping, all. day. long. 

After my koala moments, we went to the kangaroo feeding area, which had a couple of metal gates to prevent the various emus and kangaroos from escaping. Because I am completely oblivious to where I am walking, I stepped right in a pile of crap. While wearing flip-flops.

We pet the emus, briefly, but I saw Dude Where's My Car? and I know that tall birds are truly demonic in nature.

And then the kangaroos! We bought some kangaroo feed to give them. Nick wanted to feed the baby kangaroos but I thought the enormous kangaroos were way cooler. 

This kangaroo looks like he's waiting for a kiss. He was adorable.

Aggressive kangaroo on the right. Also, I'm fairly certain that the kangaroo on the left was either pregnant or had a baby joey in her pouch.

Another Aussie animal in his own building, the platypus!

Fun fact from my "Girt" book: when an Aussie colonist explorer sent a taxidermied platypus to England for study, the scientists in London declared the animal impossible, claiming that it had to be a trick, a duck and beaver sewn together by Chinese taxidermists.

The zoo was awesome, and provided a uniquely Australian experience. I felt kind of bad for the kids in the Aussie families who had arrived at 9am sharp, who had obviously had their Easter mornings rushed to get to the zoo early, but it was a cool zoo which made for an interesting couple of hours on our last day in Australia! 

"We're going to Gold Coast" "Like on vaca?! Let's all go!" ROAD TRIP

If you don't get the reference in the title, take 7 seconds and watch it here 

There are several ways to get from Airlie Beach to Gold Coast, but since Nick and I both enjoy road trips (and I enjoy it even more when he is driving) we decided to rent a car from Avis. 

This was our mini Nissan for the 14 hour, 1,200 km trip:

Roadtripping through Queensland, we didn't have a ton of time to get from Airlie Beach to the Gold Coast airport- we left Airlie on Thursday night, and had our flights back to Vientiane from Gold Coast on Sunday night. Friday was spent mostly in the car, trying to get from Mackay to Maryborough, so we stocked up on some roadtrip snacks (granola bars, water, bananas and the like).

Which made me so confused: what are sultanas? Are they raisins? Little apricots?

Upon Googling "sultanas" 5 minutes ago, I discovered that they are plumper, sweeter version of raisins, called "Golden Raisins" in the States: http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/driedfruit.htm 

Road-trips also call for McDonalds breakfasts. Two days in a row. 

Road-tripping meant weird hours and stopping in random cities and staying at a couple motels, including this one in Mackay:

Also, Australians drive on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the right side. Nick has had to drive on the left side every time we do a trip to Udon Thani, but having the steering wheel on the right side (plus the blinker/ windshield wiper were switched) really threw him off.

Our one "stop" on Friday was at Rockhampton, which is Australia's beef capital. Unfortunately, it was Good Friday, and this is a holiday in Australia. Everything- including the Dreamtime Aboriginal Cultural Center I was so excited about- was closed. So disappointing. 

Rockhampton emptiness

On Saturday we went to Noosa, which was recommended by others on our sailing trip as a quiet but fun resort town. For Easter weekend, however, Noosa was anything but quiet. It was crazy busy. I have no photos from Noosa, which is unfortunate because we did a really nice 8 km hike and then spent a couple hours at the beach.

I did, however, take a screen shot of this really weirdly-shaped lake on the way to Noosa. Doesn't it look like the Roadrunner from the Wile E. Coyote cartoons?!

Couldn't ask for a better roadtripping buddy :)

Whitsundays sailing to Whitehaven and to Scuba

From my wonderful friend Shawna's recommendation, Nick and I booked a trip to the Whitsunday Islands, which is in the southern area of the Great Barrier Reef. 

(Side note: my #1 bucket list item is to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. This is probably because, as a child, I had a "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?" computer game, which was both educational and awesome. In it, one of the "places" that Carmen is in is the Great Barrier Reef, and the game mentioned that the Reef may be almost gone by 2020. Ever since then I've been dying to visit the Reef before it's all gone.)

Shawna forwarded me the Mr. Travel website, through which I found the Hammer sailing trip- 2 days, 1 night aboard an old racing sailboat, with trips to Whitehaven Beach (famous for it's super soft and super while 99% silica sand) and an optional introductory scuba lesson. 

Airlie Beach, the take-off beach city for many Whitsundays sailing trips. This is technically just a bar we found for lunch one day. It was awful. 

Our boat housed 21 people and 3 crew members, all sharing two tiny bathrooms (with no shower, just a spray hose you could pull from the faucet).  Nick was easily one of the oldest people in the group (at 27), though I was more in the middle (at 25). Everyone - literally EVERYONE- on the boat was traveling Australia for at least a month, and they were flabbergasted when we told them we were only in Australia for a week. Most of our boat mates were European, with a couple having repatriated to Australia and one Canadian. 

"We're American!" we kept telling them. "We only get a couple weeks vacation!"

They looked on with pity. 

Our first day we went to Whitehaven Beach, which is only accessible by boat or by air, and had a quick hike to the view point for some photos and some history of the area. (To summarize: Colonists were major assholes. The Aborigines didn't even stand a chance.) (For more history, I super super recommend this book, which I bought in preparation for our Aussie trip: Girt: An Unauthorized History of Australia, by David Hunt. It was historical, informative, easy to read and hilarious.)
The beach sand was so soft it felt like walking through flour, and because of the silica nature of the sand, it reflected most of the heat, so it was cool to walk on.

The stinger suits were required to go into the water because jellyfish season wasn't quite over yet.

After some more sailing through picturesque islands and turquoise blue waters, we had a great chicken dinner and hung out talking with our European crewmates.

This top bunk? The 6.5 x 3.5 foot mattress? That was a "double" that Nick and I had to share. And since I was on the far side, that meant that my face was about 4 inches from the white ledge above for the entire night. Made it uncomfortable to fall asleep, though the gentle rocking of the boat resulted in a great nights sleep (for me anyway).

From the top of the boat- quickest way from our bunk to the top deck.

The next morning, after breakfast, we went for a quick snorkel at one beach and then met the scuba boat at another. It was the first time scuba diving for both Nick and I, and we were kind of nervous. But it turned out to be AWESOME.

Me, after the scuba experience: "Oh my God this is awesome! Did you see the fish?! They didn't even care that we were there! And we were so far down! And you sound like Darth Vader, the whole time!"

Nick, after the scuba experience: "Yeah, that was cool... I kind of freaked out. I thought about Wes (coworker/ friend) and how he ran out of air and didn't tell anyone and just kind of shot up to the surface, and I got nervous..."

Then we headed back to Airlie Beach, pirate flag in full swing. 

Nick brought his Kindle. I had left mine in Airlie, with most of our stuff, so I had no choice but to socialize. 

Awesome group of people. I'm super jealous of all their travels- most of them are taking a couple months off work or school to go travel and see parts of the world. I wish more Americans would do that :/

Sydney: Start of our Super Expensive Australian Adventure

To begin: Air Asia sucks. SUCKKKKKKKKKS. But more on that later.

We got into Sydney early Sunday morning and took the expensive train ($17 AUD one-way) (AUD and USD are practically the same thing, the AUD is slightly smaller) to Wynyard Station near Darling Harbour, downtown Sydney. Our Sydney hotel was the Hotel Ibis King Wharf, which was tiny and spartan but cheap and well-situated for exploring the Rocks/ Harbour area by foot. (Note that it's "Harbour" and not "Harbor" because it's Australia and they're fancy like that).

We also did the typical Starbucks run. Chocolate brownies in Australia look WAY better than those in the States (those, in turn, look WAY better than the chocolate brownies of Thailand). 

We went to the Rocks for their Sunday market. It was hilarious. 

(Above: kangaroo testicles)

We had tea at the Tea Cozy because I wanted a taste of British fanciness while we were there. Essentially, I paid $13 for two (delicious) scones and tea. Nick got the "Ploughman's Lunch" which resembled a meat and cheese platter. 

Then we explored the Harbour area and got our first look at the famous Sydney Opera House.

(At one point during the trip prep I was trying to find an event or show to attend at the Opera House, but tickets there are crazy expensive and neither of us packed anything fancy.)

From the Sydney Opera House we strolled the Royal Botanical Gardens, which housed the "Government House", a pretty building which we knew nothing about. We weren't allowed inside, and when we asked the security guard if this was the original house, he knew nothing about it. 

Still the Botanical Gardens were incredible. There were some beautiful plants and a lot of people- tourists and locals- walking or running around the trails.

(Recognizing how dorky Nick looks in this photo, I must add that I asked him to stand there as a comparison for how huge the flowers behind him are!)

Then our first evening we took the ferry ($14 AUD round-trip) to Manly Beach, per Nick's friend's recommendation. The ferry trip provided some breath-taking views of the harbour at sunset. 

Also: these two Asian tourists stayed and videotaped/ photographed from the back of the book the entire trip. I just wanted to get a couple shots of the harbour but literally had to force my way pass them to get a good view. (This is not unlike the rest of Asia... I do not understand why Asian tourists enjoy taking photo after photo of the same thing.)

From Manly Beach we walked the promenade. There were a couple surfers left when we got there, but it was already 6pm and getting dark.

On the promenade :) 

ALSO WE FOUND A YOGURTLAND. This was one of my favorite places in Louisiana, and Nick and I used to go for froyo a LOT. (Frankly it wasn't nearly as good in Australia- the flavors were off, the toppings weren't cut down to proper topping size, and it was quite a bit more $ than back home.)

Still, it was awesome.

The next day Nick and I grabbed an overpriced breakfast at "Nick's Seafood", which was conveniently located next to a Lindt's Chocolate Cafe.
It had Lindor truffles of all sorts- ones I had never seen before! Raspberry and Peanut Butter and Cappuccino, oh my!

Then we hopped on a bus to Bondi Beach, which I kind of think of as Sydney's Laguna beach. In the summer apparently there can be up to 35,000 people on that beach. And really, it's a pretty small beach.

The weather was kind of crap all afternoon, and at one point we hid in a cafe and ate mussels while we waited for the rain to stop. After our late lunch, we took a short walk along the coast, and were rewarded with an incredibly beautiful rainbow.

We had our second dinner in Sydney with Nick's friend from his ski-resort semester off, and he showed us more of Darling Harbour and a great bar; the next morning we got up early to make our flight to the Whitsundays. 

Although we only got to spend about 48 hours in Sydney, I'm really glad we got to see it. It would feel wrong to visit Australia and not come to it's biggest and brightest city.