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Southeast Asia
  • Sean Plamondon
июн. – июл. 2019

Southeast Asia

Wandering through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. Читать далее
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  • Начало поездки
    30 июня 2019 г.
    Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Countdown to chopsticks

    5 июня 2019 г., Канада ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Planning to backpack through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. 3.5 weeks to go!

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    1
    1Last good beer until august?1Judy and Albert

    Montreal Calling

    30 июня 2019 г., Канада ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    35 hours of transit between leaving Ottawa and arriving in vietnam starts now. Woowoo. I expect the excitement to dwindle precisely at hour 6. But i suspect thats why they have free alcohol on long haul flights. I wonder how many tiny bottles of wine i can consume across 11 timezones?

    My father was kind enough to drive me to the montreal airport today, and a trip to montreal wouldn't be complete without a beer at a pub dans la belle province. His best friend and bf's gf joined us. Let the beers fall where they may.

    Summer of Sean has begun...

    Next stop, Paris... salut!    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Air Canada lounge entrance
    One last hug

    Reunited in Paris

    1 июля 2019 г., Франция ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Got off the flight and first thing i saw was the air Canada lounge. Fate! So had some free food and found a comfy lounging chair to stretch out and nap a bit.

    Vicky and alexa were connecting to greece at same time, same airport as i was connecting to bangkok, so we met up for a bit and i got to see alexa one last time before my 12 hour flight into east asia.

    Not feeling great today. Bit of a fever and chills earlier and during flight to paris. But I've improved since then. Hopefully its mostly behind me now.

    Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦 🎆    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    I don't know what this is but everyone else was posing in front of it, sooo....
    Right in front of my checkin counter

    Bangkok Crosswalk

    2 июля 2019 г., Таиланд ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Hanging out in bangkok airport waiting for last flight to vietnam. 30 hours down, 5 to go. Shockingly i feel great.

    Thai airways was great. All the stewardesses are decked out in traditional clothing and bow down with hands in prayer formation to greet every single person. Mad at myself for not getting a shot of it. Whole airplane smelled like a thai restaurant... and food was really good. I will be sure to have my camera ready for my last flight today with vietnam airways.

    My old ratty orange backpack is done. I noticed mid flight the bottom had a big hole in it and my stuff was falling out the bottom. Good thing it happened there and not while walking around! If only i was in a country that manufactured textiles and goods for cheapie cheapie prices...    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Yummy feast
    These scooters on sidewalk scare the crap out me every timeThis sign sums up the weirdness of traffic here2

    Ho Chi Minh City - Day 1

    2 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Finally arrived in HCMC. What a zoo!

    I've been a lot of places but I've never seen traffic like this. Its really challenging to be a pedestrian... scooters are everywhere, even on sidewalks whizzing by you. Crosswalks are purely decorative! What a waste of paint haha. Crossing streets is like playing frogger or crossy road. You have to walk right into traffic and trust the vehicles to go around you.. not intuitive at all !

    After settling in, I went for a walk and stumbled across a tiny microbrew place. Tried a few mango and chilli beers then went off to find food. People here are incredibly friendly, plus i really stick out i guess in a sea of asians everywhere. People talk to me everywhere i go.

    One person i chatted with for a while took me to a traditional viet restaurant and ordered a ton of food for us. It was amazing. Altho i was a bit embarrassed at my inadequacies with chop sticks. I paid the bill and it was 10 dollars including our drinks. Ridiculous! Will post a pic of our feast.

    Finally the jetlag caught up and i had to crash hard. Slept a few hours and then went back to the same microbrew to close out the night .    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    This picture could be a jigsaw puzzle
    Vu and Than at my not so private tableI really want one of those hats!Showing off my ninja skillsSmiling only because i had no clue about my perilous journey aheadAndrew sharing pints and some cool adventures of his own

    Ho Chi Minh City - Day 2

    3 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    This is a very hard city to sleep in. Super noisy with everyone honking constantly. It never stops. I gave up trying and wandered over to a nearby starbucks at the foot of a traffic circle and let myself be hypnotized by the perpetual string of near collisions. You really have to see it to believe it.

    Which makes my next decision really weird. I hired a rickshaw chariot guy to cycle me to the big market, and he had us right in the middle of the street aka chaos. I thought we'd be riding by the curb. Nope!

    Surviving that, i wandered the biggest collection of knockoff you-name-its, bought some souvenirs and replaced my backpack. I was feeling pretty happy about my haggling victories until i got outside and had to contend with a torrential downpour. Normally I'd just call a Grab (uber) but i had no wifi, no cell plan here and no restaurants in sight to leech their information super highway.

    Impatiently i opted to run a few blocks (5?) until i found a vegetarian place (eww) and ran in soaking wet. They sat me at a table that seats 4 (odd choice i thought), and 10 minutes later they sat two more locals (Vu and Than) with me haha. This is new! Very fortunately they were incredibly nice and spoke great english. They even insisted on me sampling food from their plates. I love this country, everyone is ridiculously kind.

    Later, grabbed a Grab ®️ and went to another brew pub. Another backpacker sat near me and paid for a beer for me as we chatted away. Another joined us and turns out he's going to be in the north when i am so we traded info to maybe travel together later. A local girl joined us too and suggested a great restaurant for Pho.

    The other guys took off but i went with her and she taught me how to use chopsticks which i gotta say, i got pretty decent at. We chatted away and turns out her good friend is getting married in two days and i have now been invited to attend lol. This would throw off my loose itinerary, but would be also be quite the experience. Stay tuned tomorrow for what Sean chose ....    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Groom is on left. Guy in middle was pitching is business expansion to Canada via my house all night

    Dak Lak Wedding - Day 1

    4 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Today i taxied (grab ®️ ed) a ride to the airport and caught a flight ($50) to buon ma thuot... which I'm sure needs no intro haha. Followed by a driver taking us 30 mins into the mountains of dak lak. Really pretty area where mountains meet rice patties.

    We were dropped off at the end of a lane way to a country farm house and as we approached i realized very quickly i was not the average bear here and perhaps i would not be able to fit in.
    Everyone stopped what they were doing like the music abruptly stopped and stared directly at me. Yie, what had i decided on? It was this or a cool beach town that looked like cabarete. Everyone who knows me at all knows what a hard decision i had made.

    People approached me with bewilderment in their eyes and warm smiles on their faces. I was like a rainbow unicorn haha. Kids giggled near me and wherever i walked, all eyes were on me.

    Dinner time finally came and we were seated at a 10 person table, full of platters of food, a hotpot, and a case of beer at my feet under the table. I think there were maybe 150+ people? I was asked several times how much beer i could handle lol.. unaware of exactly where that was heading... BTW, this is at the bride's family house.

    My newly acquired chopstick skills failed me badly. They weren't ready for this kind of public scrutiny. The woman next to me very quickly recognized my struggles and charitably transferred some food from table food platters to my bowl. Yie what a relief. Every eye was watching me struggle to tap my chopstick ends together while catherine whispered words of encourage to me like a teacher to her student. Embarrassing!

    Then the parade of people showing up at the table, cheering me, started. Different males walked up, smiled at me, beaming with their bravado and tapped glasses with only me. They wanted me to drink beer with them but i didn't quite understand what was incomplete in their eyes each time. They wanted the whole glass drank in one go.

    At first the groom expressed a lot of concern for where it was heading with me but then he sat me at his table with his best friends and egged me on to chug beers too. And by the end of the night he adamantly expressed how much it would mean to him if i could stay for the entire 3 day celebration of this union until sunday. Very touching.

    Every male came by before leaving to shake my hand and every female waved with a warm smile.. i swear i am (much!) more popular than the wedding couple. Then i was given a place to sleep on the floor under a mosquito net in front of a buddhist shrine to finish my night. I was the only person in the shrine room.. no idea if that was by design. But was a nice way to end a really crazy night here.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Just about to leave bride's house for formal party
    This mantis flew by me while i was sitting in living room at bride's houseRice wine making equipment

    Dak Lak Wedding - Day 2

    5 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I have a better handle on how this wedding celebration works now. Its 4 consecutive parties. Two at bride's house, an informal one in the evening and a formal one in the morning, followed by an informal evening one at groom's house and another formal one the following morning. After that the bride moves into the groom's house to live with family.

    The morning party had everyone dressed up and the bride in her wedding dress. Today the guest list was 500 people! People were very interested in me still but much more sedated this time around. Probably because everyone was sober. Which was great as i wasn't exactly feeling tip top. The food being served was overwhelming. Not everything to my tastes but overall very good. Funny to see how creatively they could tear apart a chicken breast with only chopsticks. No one tried to get me chug any beers thank god haha.

    The evening affair was at the grooms house, also 500 people and this time there was only rice wine on the tables. Tasted like pure alcohol which probably explains why we all had tiny shot glasses. My celebrity status was back. Everyone wanted to come by and meet me and usually have a shot too. A few made me sit at their table and would pour me shots over and over so i really had to have a continual escape plan.

    But things got weirdest when i kept being asked to get up on stage to sing a song. Even the groom took me aside and requested it. I repeatedly declined politely. They also wanted me to do some bizarre solo dance on stage to their music.. which resembles nothing like what we have back home.

    At one point, three guys physically carried me onto the stage where i stood sheepishly for a moment laughing, raised my hand to acknowledge my fans and apologized and found my seat again haha. I wish i had all this on video.

    Following that, went back to the brides house where i was staying. The father of the bride showed me how he makes his own rice wine which had a lot more machinery than i expected. He also told me he wants me to come back and stay with them the next time i am back. And he wants to come visit me in canada as well. I am part of the family now.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Digging the red hat on bride today
    A gazillion ducklings in riverToday we cooked our own calimari at banquet tableMy peeps!Heading back to bride's houseAussie hen party by da nang hotel. Corresponding bachelor party showed up shortly after

    Da Nang - Day 1

    6 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    For some reason we all had to get up at 5am. My back was aching from second night on hard floor, so why not. There was some sort of buddhist ceremony in the shrineroom and then everyone headed to the groom's house again. More food and beer to no end.

    Poor Catherine. This morning she had to explain to a few people that she is not in my entourage as a hired translator and that she is good friends with the bride. Haha

    People were getting more comfortable with me and wherever i walked in the room of banquet tables, everyone would smile and wave or shake my hand. I'm going to miss this, i think haha. Lots would now walk up to me and put an arm around my neck or back or hug me. And as lunch progressed, the beer challenges increased. But it was all in the most genuine, warm, flattering way of course. Still, thats a lot of beer.

    As i suspected, the requests for me to sing kicked up again but this time i was ready! I declined a few times until i had just the right amount of beer in me and shocked them by agreeing to sing a song. I got up on stage and did my best version of Patience by Guns N Roses haha. Its really hard to carry a song properly without background music plus nervousness. Anyways, the groom profusely thanked me. And i exchanged numbers with tons of people who want to keep in touch. One guy lives in Hanoi, so i will be looking him up when i get there for sure.

    Then back to the bride's house where they all told me again i have to return some day. The young boys asked me in the morning if they could take me up a nearby mountain after the wedding to show me the views but i had to decline with my flight schedule. My ride eventually appeared and i was off to airport to fly to Da Nang, a beach town.

    Da Nang is really touristy. Lots of Russians everywhere and the pub next to my beach hotel was full of rowdy Aussies. It was hard to remember i was still in Vietnam. Too spoiled by that Dak Lak experience! For a little while i enjoyed being quiet and invisible in da nang but not long after that, i missed all my new friends and family from dak lak.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Wins award for most empty urban beach anywhere1My new sexy lookThese aquariums are for a single restaurant!Crazy cat pub

    Da Nang - Day 2

    7 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    For some reason all the atm's near my hotel will only dispense the max equivalent of $17 per transaction. Thats not a typo. Ridiculous. My transaction fees will be about the same as that. So i went in search of a real bank. Also cibc has once again frozen my credit card. With the time difference, i will have to wait until tonight to call them. Apparently i can call them via skype. So today is all about fixing some stuff before it becomes problematic.

    Anyways ended up relatively close to the famous dragon bridge so wandered a bit further to get some shots of it. Apparently fire comes out its mouth sat and sun nights. And what do you know, there's a brewery right across the street from it. The only one in da nang. What can i say, i have a tslent :) Ordered the worst food I've ever had anywhere. Intentionally dried out squid. Was like chewing on bark. Blech.

    Got back from there and headed to beach. Beautiful and no one on it for miles. Crazy hot sunday afternoon and town is full and no one is there. Weird! Water was also warmest I've ever felt. Must have been 95F, no joke. Wasn't even refreshing lol. But pretty wonderful to walk into. I was giggling to myself haha.

    Scribbled on bar in front of me: "don't wait for perfect moment, make the moment become perfect". Speaking of which, that place was the perfect bar with a perfect beer and perfect playlist. Perfect.

    Some fun facts... domestic beer at a bar is a bit more than a dollar. Craft beer, around 4 dollars. Oh i also noticed today that this country has no stop signs. Everything is implied yield from what i can tell.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    1

    Hoi An

    8 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    I decided to do a day trip to hoi an, since its to the south of da nang and i would be heading north the next day. I debated renting a scooter for the day but also figured i might have some beer. A Grab ride would have been 15 each way, which is pretty good, but with the help of my hotel i hired a driver and guide for the day for 50 dollars. I didnt expect my ride to be a scooter though! Lol

    Hoi an is a bit of a fairy tale city. Like right out of a disney movie. Cute narrow streets lined with old temples, shops and restaurants, and really pretty riverfront with old wooden boats moored, a huge market along the banks and chinese lanterns everywhere.

    After walking around taking in the sights, and having fun haggling with market vendors, i found a micro brewery right on the river bank so escaped the heat for a few hours in there.

    After that, i signed up for a vietnamese cooking class. No seriously, i did lol. Its one of the common things to do here apparently. It was myself, and two couples. One american and 3 aussies. We made our own bread, dumplings, spring rolls, some crazy rice paper rolls, pancake with meat on it, geez i foget the rest. It was a lot in two hours and we ate everything we made. After the first hour i was done. Super full, but also overheating in the kitchen of this restaurant. I stuck it out but i was really struggling. But really fun experience. Would definitely do again.

    And when the class was over, it was dark and all the chinese lanterns were lit everywhere. Amazing. My pictures dont pick up the colours properly... but it was gorgeous. I expected everyone on the streets to break out into song and dance at any moment. Took a 10 min boat ride on the river too and placed a paper lantern in the water that is supposed to grant a wish or prayer. Hokie, i know haha. Whole day today reminded me so much of the movie Tangled with all the lanterns and walking around the old city.

    Then back on the road with a 45 min scooter ride back to da nang and straight to bed. Best sleep I've had all trip.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    1

    Hue

    9 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 38 °C

    Today i took my first public transportation that wasn't an airplane. Weird eh? Slow 3 hour 80km train that followed the coast but way up high in the mountainous jungle. Really striking views the whole ride. There was a multi generation family on all sides of me that i interacted with a bit but they didn't speak any english. But you could tell they enjoyed the efforts and were very happy with my attemps to play with their daughter who would hang around me and run away as soon as i looked at her. Too cute. I didnt realize my stop was pulling up and they were all over it trying to explain i need to get my backpack down and get off. Very sweet.

    Got to town later than i wanted but it worked out amazing. My hotel was central so i walked across the perfume river to the citadel in 20 mins from there. Sweet. Inside the citadel is the imperial palaces and inside the imperial palaces is the purple forbidden city (!!) What an awesome name. Absolutely forboden to everyone (!!!) .. who is not willing to spare $6. Otherwise not so forbidden Haha.

    Apparantly it took heavy damage from the american war. They dont call it the Vietnam war of course. But there are still a ton of amazing structures standing and/or being repaired. I'm dedicating all 6 pics to it this time. Would love to post 20.

    Also this area was the demilitarized zone which was home to the worst battles of the war (hamburger hill) and there's tons of military relics lying around. Some cool bars here like one (called DMZ) with an upsidedown helicopter for a ceiling fan. And another with artillary all over it as decor. There's also a big tunnel network you can tour where the civilians burrowed during the war. Wish i had time to see it. I talked to some travellers who did the Saigon ones and said it was something else. But back on the road tomorrow...    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Tam Coc - Day 1

    10 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    The plan today was to get to ninh binh. But an Israeli guy i had beers with last night informed me i should be going to tam coc instead. Ninh Binh is the city, and tam coc is the nearby attraction.

    Its a 12 hour train ride from hue to ninh binh. Ugh. So i decided to fly past ninh binh to hanoi ($75), then bus two hours back to ninh binh instead. Brilliant :) Then caught a taxi to Tam Coc. Which brought my arrival time to 4pm.

    My hotel is gorgeous. I can't believe i only paid 20 for it. And the staff are ridiculously funny and nice.

    After working with them on some logistics for my next destination i set off to get some quick photos before the sun comes down and also before the dark rain clouds nearby became a reality.

    Hiked about 20 mins down a dirt road and the scenery is stunning. Huge rocks coming out of the ground straight up. And there's rice fields and small rivers all around them. Amazing. Tip of the iceberg for what i know is here. And then the rain came and wow did it ever come down. I ran back but i could have swam back and been equally as wet.

    The heavy rain didn't stop for several hours, so i grabbed a few beers and hung out in the lobby chatting with a parsian couple who sold everything and are wandering asia looking for a pretty place to settle and start up a business. Two of the staff joined us too.

    I was asking the staff about a good restaurant nearby and they invited me into their lunch room to eat with them the food they had thrown together. Some rice, chicken wings, egg and some leafy green stuff. Simple but good. And free :) Very sweet of them. Then stayed up chatting with them for hours to close out my night.

    Very anxious for tomorrow and praying i dont get a monsoon again.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Tam Coc - Day 2

    12 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    As per the hotel managers recommendation i took a taxi to trang an and got into a small boat with two spaniards from madrid (Nacho and Jose) for a 3 hour tour of the towering rock formations jetting straight out of the water. We meandered slowly around the monolithes, and through 9 caves that went right through the giant rocks. Also stopped at a few buddhist temples built right into the sides of the rock.

    Easily the most beautiful thing ive ever seen and experienced. When you look at the pics, picture them surrounding you and much higher as the camera seems to flatten them out. Surprisingly the rower for each boat was female. Who needs a gym membership when you get paid to row people all day! These girls were in amazing shape.

    I caught a taxi with nacho and jose back to Tam Coc where we caught another boat to take us up another river with similar formations for 1.5 hours and 3 more caves. Equally beautiful and amazing. Our rower here was male and he only used his feet! Hard to picture eh? At the far end of the river, was a small floating market where we bought some beer, fruit and nuts for the ride back as this boat ride backtracks instead of a big loop like the first one. So i made myself more comfortable lying down, feet over the edge, sipping my beer as i floated slowly through paradise.

    Jose spotted a can floating in the river so i scooped it out as we went by. Then i noticed something else in the river and pointed to it for our rower to steer that way with his talented feet :) It was a rice paddy hat, so i fished it out and wore it the rest of the day. I love it, even the pink chin strap haha.

    After that the guys wanted to find some big pagoda, but i was starving and they opted to come follow my nose to a nearby restaurant where we had a huge feast and many a beer as well (shocking, i know). Shame they were heading south while i headed north as they were good fun to spend time with. So we parted ways with each others contact info.

    Back to the hotel to chill in the pool and sift through my 500 pics taken on the boat rides today. Might have had a beer too.. perhaps :) Later around 9, the hotel manager "Ha" took me on a tour of Tam Coc's sleepy nightlife scene and most notably she showed me a bus bar where the roof of a working bus was turned into a lounge. Pretty cool. Fantastic finish to a picture perfect day.

    I can only post 6 pics but google Tam Coc and Trang An to see more.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Halong Bay

    13 июля 2019 г., Gulf of Tonkin ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Today i am off to halong bay. Transportation there was supposed to be easy. Anything but. Booked a grab taxi which i was told would take 2 hours so i left at 8:30 and needed to be at cruise port by 12 sharp. 1/4 of the way there my driver realizes his address given is in hanoi for some halong bay company. So me and him and grab company had a bit of a disagreement on the new price which now jumped from $50 to $100. 30 mins later we were back on the road but time was becoming an issue.

    Arrived at cruise port terminal at 12. Ran in and the person i talked to said I'm at the wrong terminal. Got her to call my ship and they said i had 15 mins to get there. I asked how long it would take to drive there and they said 15 mins lol. I ran out found a taxi stand and all the drivers were perplexed on the address i handed them. One seemed to have an idea so off we went. Arrived at 12:30 and luckily they held up the boat for me. Phew.

    As soon as i got on the boat i was adopted by a british family to join them for lunch which was nice. Also met a nice couple from san diego who just got married in thailand and another person from NYC.

    When i booked this cruise, i had no idea how luxurious it would be. My room is huge and gorgeously decorated. I even have jacuzzi tub. There are menus on the tables for each meal but you don't pick what you want - they just bring you everything on it. Impossible to eat every dish they bring and sooo good. There are only 24 passengers, but 30+ staff so the service was awesome. And they had all our names memorized.

    The rock formations are very similar to what i saw in Tam Coc, but being in the ocean made them all the more striking. Shortly after lunch we dropped anchor and kayaked around some of the giant rocks. The water was incredibly warm just like in da nang. Amazing. Followed by supper under the stars and an early night as everything shut down around 10. Its impossible to put into words how beautiful halong bay is, but lets just say it held up to my lofty expectations as the trip's highlight (so far).    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Hanoi - Day 1

    13 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ☁️ 35 °C

    In the morning, our ship docked at one of the karst islands for us to hike up it and into a cave near the top and spend a bit of time on sandy beach at bottom. From there we zigzagged thru dragon back rocks unti we reached the port again around 11am. I fully intend to return some day and do that again and a longer cruise too.. wow!

    Around noon, we were put on luxury vans for our commute to Hanoi. Leather lazy boy type seats and wifi for the 3 hour ride. In my van was a really sweet family of 4 from Holland who i chatted with the entire ride. I was actually sad to say bye to them as we arrived at my hotel first, but its been that kind of trip. Everyone i meet is awesome.

    Checked into hotel and set off to find Pasteur Street brewery 3 blocks away. After a quick pint, walking back with a grumbling tummy, i spotted a pho restaurant with a lineup out the door and down the street, so i got in line of course :) I was seated at a long community type table and was again lucky to have english speaking locals all around me.

    After a lot of chatter, one offered to show me around the old quarter and off we went. Cruised around the night market for a bit, then went to a water puppet theatre performance. Whats that? Heck if i know lol.. what a strange experience haha. There's a pool of water in a theatre and people playing instruments on both right and left sides plus doing voices of puppets that swim around in the water. Very cute. 9/10 for creativity? Some old friends from banff would be particularly interested in attending this thing while on their favourite flavour of illicit goodies i think.

    Then we jammed ourselves through ridiculous crowds on some narrow streets that were littered with tiny tables and tiny stools and a string of endless pubs and eateries as far as you could see. Hanoi has a lot more intimacy and character than ho chi minh city but you really pay for it when everyone wants to be in the happening spots.

    I will share one last humourous moment that i should probably keep to myself. We ducked indoors to a lounge to escape the heat (even at night, its ridiculous). They had these huge sliding glass doors to get in and out. After a pint, I asked where the toilets were and it was across the street. Like a bird, i waltzed straight into a pane of glass in full stride like i thought i could walk through walls and bounced back. Two staff ran to me making an even bigger spectacle of my stupidity lol. Nothing damaged but my pride heh. Will see how else i can embarrass myself tomorrow.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Hanoi - Day 2

    14 июля 2019 г., Вьетнам ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    This morning i found the international post office, lugged my large souvenirs there, paid waaaaay more than i wanted to send them home. And then found a market and bought two more of the same thing lol !! Boy i really hope the receivers of these particular items like them as much as i do cuz its been challenging dragging them all over this country.

    After that i did a bit of a pub crawl. Went to legend beer garden. Then pasteur brewery. Then new gentry beer house.

    Then i had hilarious fun at the famous train street of hanoi where the train cuts right through a pile of buildings. They have tons of tables and chairs set up against the tracks and as the train approaches, waiters come running out, yanking tables and chairs out from under you and everyone scrambles against a nearby wall. Its not as dangerous as it sounds because it comes in pretty slow but still alarming at first even though you know its coming.

    Went back to the night market, and found a spot higher up to watch them set up and later found an awesome side street spot to watch the world pass by while i sipped on beers relecting on the crazy fun this vietnam trip has been. If things work out tomorrow i will be in Laos by the end of the day so really enjoyed having a quiet day to leisurely walk around and take in some final views.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    My propeller plane to dien bien phu
    Plains meets mountains before LaosTiered rice paddy farming1

    Muang Khua (Laos)

    15 июля 2019 г., Лаос ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Well today certainly was interesting. Flew from Hanoi to the far northwest reaches of vietnam to Dien Bien Phu. Next bus wasn't until the morning but I wanted to be on a boat in Laos down the river Nam Ou tomorrow morning so splurged on a taxi to the Laos border for $25. Now the fun begins..

    My taxi can't cross the border because he didn't have required permits for it. But this is a really remote crossing point and there's no transportation on other side. Plus the lady who does the Laos visas left work for the day as she was apparently drunk. Or perhaps i got a poor translation.. dunno. Either way i have two problems to solve. There was a small place renting rooms on viet side so i know i wont be sleeping on the side of road at least.

    The vietnamese exit guards managed to contact someone in laos who would drive me all the way to muang khua for 100 dollars. Total rip off and would eat most of my american money. But i brought it for getting out of a bind and this qualified. Waited 90 mins for that guy to finally show up. Then he somehow knew where the drunk laos visa lady was and went to get her. In the meantime, my viet taxi guy stuck around the entire 90 mins for some reason. I told him he could go because i had accomodations right there if i needed them but he stuck around anyways. Bored? Entertained? I dunno. He was really nice though as he stopped a number of times during drive to show me some pretty spots for pictures. Ah vietnam, i will miss you.

    When visa lady showed up, boy was she in a foul mood. Berated me for showing up so late at the border (5:30pm lol). My visa cost me another 40 US and she charged me another 10 for making her work overtime. And she was ridiculously picky about which bills she would accept. They had to be in pristine shape. She rejected almost all the ones i handed her but fortunately there were a few to her liking and my visa got processed. She didnt seem to know how to talk to me without yelling. See you later, dragon lady.

    All the people at the border kept asking why was i crossing there lol. It was really perplexing to them why i didnt fly in somewhere and went to the trouble of this remote land crossing. The answer to me was obvious. It was absolutely gorgeous. High up in the mountains and deep in the jungle, the scenery was breathtaking. Back in vietnam, in dien bien phu, it was flat but you could see the wall of mountains towards laos in the distance... much like calgary towards the rockies.

    Fortunately i had just enough viet dong to pay my driver and salvaged my US dollars, and very thankfully. I made an error and showed up in Laos without any of their currency (Kip) and all the ATMs were out of order or locked up for the night. I arrived in muang khua in the dark after 8pm and found two guesthouses. One had A/C, no wifi and would not accept dollars. The other no A/C, wifi yes, and 10 dollars was good for them as payment. Easy choice.

    Found a place for food, and some beer that won't win any creative naming awards (beerlao), and i was thoroughly enjoying things falling into place and laughing about today's challenges. The restaurant lady was really nice and her cute daughter and i played as the restaurant lady shut things down. Early night for me.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Nong Khiaw - Day 1

    16 июля 2019 г., Лаос ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today taking a 5 hour boat down the Nam Ou river to Nong Khiaw. Got money out of the ATM first thing yay! Then wandered around the village interacting with locals. Everyone here is so smiley and happy when i say hi - its very infectious. There's chickens and roosters all over the streets haha.. i love it. Something big was going on at the temple so checked that out for a bit. Everyone was carrying some sort of gold or silver urn with them. And there was a constant parade of women carrying big platters of food in and out of the temple. Blessing the food? Apparently today is Buddha day, the biggest of the month. So, happy buddha day to everyone reading this!

    Boat ride was awesome. Motoring down the river past rural laos villages, winding through towering mountains. Regularly passing by fishermen and water buffalo taking a bath in the river. The journey was as great as the destination. Everything is so lush and jungly. But hot! I was really hoping for a bit of a break of the heat in the mountains... but i think its worse with the much higher humidity. I booked a nice cabin right on the river with a cute deck in front. See pic :)

    Chilled for a few hours by the river on my deck, then found a restaurant with amazing views of the river and surrounding mountains. Not much happening for nightlife so will likely be another early night. Which is good because i want to try one of the high mountain hiking trails tomorrow and best to do early.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Kung Fu Monks
    My new Lao familyFound this cave on the way up that i did NOT enter1View from peakHold my beer...3Me being a pirate and boarding a vessel uninvited

    Nong Khiaw - Day 2

    17 июля 2019 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Meant to get up at 6 to hike one of the nearby towering mountains. The valley is so narrow, its really hard to get a good picture because everything is so close and straight up. Anyways didnt get rolling until 7:30 and it was getting hot fast.

    On my way to the trail i passed by a buddhist temple gated area. I asked a monk if i could walk in and take some pics. He smiled and agreed but i could see all of them keeping a very close eye on me while they swept the grounds. So i snapped a bunch of quick pics before they went kung fu panda on me with their brooms.

    Walking down the same dirt road a bit further, side stepping all the roosters and chickens, 3 lao kids spotted me and sprinted towards me wanting high fives all around. I whipped out the phone and they immediately huddled up and struck a pose. Too cute.

    The trail was closed but told a nearby barkeep my problem and he ran down the road to get the gatekeeper to let me in. Then up and up through the dense jungle canopy. It was so dense, i didn't see daylight until i reached the top which was great for not being in the sun but very bad for mosquitos (malaria pills in action) and ridiculous humidity. Everything was wet even without any rain and 40C temps. Didnt see any wildlife except lizards and a massive centipede that wrapped its body around a sizeable tree branch. Yuck.

    I was being really careful to not touch any vegetation, learning from Orlis' wisdom in Colombia and watch out for holes, but they were everywhere... in trees and all the rocks and ground. And with the trail pitch being 60 to 70 degrees steep, i had to grab onto anything i could and with very tricky footwork.

    I was about 80% up, and pulled my hand back from a branch i used for support and a black bug about half the size of my palm had attached itself to it. I let out a girly scream and flicked it off but not before it bit me or stabbed me.. i dunno, i had one puncture spot. So i stood there for 5 mins waiting to see if it would swell up and also trying to decide if i should abort and rush back down the mountain or continue to the top. I got to the summit, took in the view for 30 mins and sadly didn't develop any superhero abilities to spray webs from my wrists, so i walked back down.

    Spent the afternoon lazily hanging by the river jumping in and out of the water. A river boat was drifting slowly in front of my hotel so i dove in and climbed aboard haha. Arrrrrr, i be a pirate!

    Early bus ride tomorrow to Luang Prabang so not anticipating adding anything else to this entry in this sleepy town but who knows where dinner will lead....

    EDIT: Wow was i wrong. As i walked home i strolled past a lao party and joined them. It was like the wedding all over again! Soooo fun.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Luang Prabang - Day 1

    18 июля 2019 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    I will start with how last night ended. After supper i had a beer at a sleepy pub and when it shut down at 10 i started heading home. On the way, there was about 20 Lao having a huge feast near the street, and they were being a bit rowdy. My instincts drew me to walking by close to them, I smiled and said hi in passing. Next thing i know, they're scrambing to get me a chair, fixing me a plate of food and pouring me a beer. It was the dak lak wedding all over again. Everyone was obsessed with me, challenging me to chug beer after beer... and lots of laughs. Omg it was such a hilarious good time. I offered several times to pay for the beer i was drinking but that went no where fast. Not sure what time i stumbled out of there but it ended with hugs all around. Bit sad to leave nong khiaw as i think seeing them the next day would have been awesome.

    This morning took a VERY bumpy 4 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. Felt really nauseous so checked into hotel and lay down for a few hours. I never want to take another bus ride in this country again. Blech.

    Walked around the old quarter popping in and out of a gazillion buddist temples and monestaries plus the royal palace. You can't throw a stone in this city without hitting 3 temples. They're everywhere. Crossed a ridiculously ricketty bamboo bridge that really had myself questioning that decision.. but it somehow held together. This city is immaculately clean and all the buildings have a similar look with white exterior and deep brown wood trim.

    Wanted to hit the night market tonight and check out some really interesting open air lounges but the skies really opened up tonight, so doing much of anything has been challenging. I was just thinking about how lucky i have been with rain lately, so this was overdue, especially this being rainy season. So found a quiet pub near my hotel and chatted with bartender for a couple hours and off to bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry...    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Luang Prabang - Day 2

    19 июля 2019 г., Лаос ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Laos is the land of a million elephants. And currently there are only 800 in Laos and apparently losing 40 per year. Tragic.

    Shelf that for a minute. Hired a driver to this crazy cascading waterfall that must have had 25 levels of cascading pools at least. Hiked to the top and bottom and jumped around in some of the pools. There was also a sun bear conservation on the premises to rehab bears. Could have stayed all day but i had other plans and this was a really fun way to kill a few hours.

    Had a tour with elephants and i did a fair amount of research to make sure it was as humanitarian as possible because there's a lot of bad ones (sanctuaries, not elephants). The one I chose is the only one i found that doesn't allow riding them and they don't use physical force on elephants, just positive reinforcement. Riding elephants hurts them apparently. Hard on their spine and neck. All these elephants were rescued from logging operations and they teach them how to be elephants again and eventually release back into wild.

    This place is 20 hectares on the side of a mountain, with no fences but the elephants dont leave because they get fed and love. Day started by me and others in my group preparing some elephant snacks which were rolling sticky rice balls into rock salt and putting salt into some split bananas. Also brought some sugar cane and banana tree branches. Then we boated across a river to where the elephants were and fed them.

    At first i was putting food right into its mouth, and after some mixed levels of success the elephant wanted me to place food on its trunk end so it could put in its mouth itself. Then we walked with the elephants up the jungle mountain side a bit so they could find some bamboo trees to eat and some trees to rub against. Pretty surreal experience.

    Hours later, back in luang prabang i ran into some dutch guys i met on the bus ride from nong khiaw who recommended an awesome restaurant across the river that was all cushions on the floor with low tables. Not only was this the most comfortable restaurant ever, but the food was unbelievable. As per the waiter's suggestion i got sausage for an app and whole fish for my main. Best I've ever had for either and i brought some of my feast to nearby tables to share the experience with. They all fully agreed on how delicious it was. Met my first Canadian from this trip at one of those tables.

    Finished the night at the same pub as night prior to cap my luang prabang experience with some friendly faces. Off to Cambodia tomorrow.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Siem Reap - Day 1

    20 июля 2019 г., Камбоджа ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today caught a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Wasn't so sure i was going to get here though. A few days ago when i hiked up the mountain in the humid jungle, my passport was in my back pocket and it got drenched from the humidity. My passport photo is now a bit washed out. The airline gave me a pretty hard time about it today but cambodian passport control didn't seem to care thankfully. Hopefully i dont need to visit an embassy. The airline also searched my backpack which i thought was weird. Some souvenirs in my bag caught their attention. I think they thought i was smuggling drugs.

    Checked into my hotel and walked around. Everyone here is super friendly. Sat down at a restaurant and it came to 4 dollars for my main dish and a beer. Every place here is advertising mugs of beer for 50 cents. And american currency is more prevalent than their own. Even the ATMs spit out US dollars. Waitresses bow with hands together during most interactions, which is a nice touch.

    Cruised through the night market, and then stumbled upon a place that specializes in bugs for cuisine. And not just crickets, but tarantulas and scorpions. Wasnt hungry but i plan to return tomorrow and see how brave i am. When in Rome...

    Crashed early to recharge my batteries. In bed by 9pm and have a big day at the temples coming up. Plus not feeling 100%. A good nights sleep should help a lot.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Siem Reap - Day 2

    21 июля 2019 г., Камбоджа ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After a very uninspiring blog entry yesterday, i felt i needed to up the crazy today.. so hang on tight (mom, I'm just kidding, I don't plan the crazy, I'm just lucky that way haha). But seriously, what a fun day!

    Spent my daylight hours visiting angkor temples. Thats such an understatement. There aren't enough exclamation points to hit the proper emotions of what i saw. Indescribable really. Gate entranceways on their own would be worth the visit, but they were merely foreplay. These were entire cities of ancient temples in amazing conditions. I can't imagine any location on the planet that truly compares, but then again thats why i flew here.

    Wandered in and out of ancient temples all day which were all individual cities and a km apart from each other. Having a personal driver was crucial. Speaking of which, i have a strict rule of taking a pic of everyone i interact with for 10+ mins in this trip. Sorry Kwan! To make things even better, there were monkeys at a number of ruins and temples. One came over to me and some Japanese ladies all friendly like and then scared the crap out of us when it started screaching and showing its teeth repeatedly. It wanted food and we had none. Or were we the food? Dunno. Didn't stick around to ask.

    On long walks between dropoffs and temples were little kids selling cambodian knick knacks. The boys were annoying and whiney, but the little girls got me every time with their adorable personalities. Somehow they all knew i was a huge softie and i always had a huge crowd of kids swarming me while other tourists walked around freely. Not fair. I won't tell you what transpired, but i will say Sean's cambodian emporium is now open for business. I have magnets, scarves, tshirts, purses, and fans. Everything must go! Cheapie, cheapie for you 😁 lol

    After my temple tour was done (and my acquisition of Cambodian junk), I fulfilled a promise I made a day earlier and walked over to the "bugs cafe" and ordered the small "discovery platter". It had ant springrolls, a tarantula donut, silkworm balls, a skewer with grasshoppers, a small tarantula and a scorpion, and a salad with crickets and larvae of some sort. This was verrrrry hard to do alone!! I was actually nervous with every bite and was talking to myself out loud haha. And then i saw 3 tourists walk in so i waved at them and convinced them to join me. 2 Canadians and one American. They ordered the same platter i had, and we had so many laughs trying to make our way thru the "food". Fyi, scorpions are not tasty at all !! Tarantula donut was probably my favourite but really, its a dumb thing to try to rank haha.

    We left together to find a normal restaurant, and we passed a street vendor selling bbq snakes.. so i got one of course. Blech. After an amazing meal (at the restaurant), we parted ways and i ended up at a nightclub when it dawned on me that its 11pm and i hadn't booked my flight yet for tomorrow. Had to push aside all the cambodian "ladies" to get some important paperwork done. Booked my flight to Krabi thailand, wherever that is, and now my dance card was open for business lol.

    A few hours later after declining several marriage proposals, i walked back to my hostel, trying to count the number of females i met tonight who were born females.. sadly, not a big number heh. Strange world over here haha. One guy tried to wager sex with me over a foozball game. He settled with a beer.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    My resort hotel

    Krabi - Day 1

    22 июля 2019 г., Таиланд ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Woke up lazily at 8am, when it dawned on me that i have a flight this morning! At 9:45. And my backpack contents were all over the hotel room. Scrambled everything together frantically and ran outside and hopped into a tuk tuk to the airport. When i arrived, the airline knew who i was before telling them haha.. last person. Mid flight i realized i didn't even brush my teeth or look in the mirror before leaving haha. And yes they laughed at my passport when i handed it to them.

    Arrived in krabi many hours later and drive from airport to my resort was amazing. Same karst mountains i saw in halong bay but inland. And yes, i said resort. This place is 30 dollars a night and gorgeous. I think it might be the most I've paid all trip, but still cheap and amazing value.

    Walked down to Ao Nang beach and took in the beautiful bay views and walked around the boardwalk scoping out establishments for later. Its really geared for big tourist numbers.. but its down season now.

    Back to hotel pool bar and met another solo traveller from Wales who has been travelling since November, sold everything, created a finance managing freelance company, and works remotely while travelling. And she has no plans to stop this lifestyle. Incredible concept. I dont think its for me but very interesting.

    Welch girl and i wandered down to the beach bars and met a fun couple from northern ireland and spent the rest of the night sharing travel stories, beers and lots of laughs. This town is a really fun place to be. I think i might stay a while..    Читать далее

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