Amy's Back!

4 long years eh, Amy? Finally back for good!

Some pics from Amy and Jf's birthday celebration at Waraku...

Present-giving ceremony. Lol...

9 more days till I fly!

Route Map

Last year, when I told my mum I was going to Laos and Cambodia, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.

I remember saying something like I didn't know why Vietnam was considered as a developing country until I got there. Well I've come to realise that travelling in Cambodia and Laos really does make Vietnam look like a walk in the park. Looking back, I think it is a perfect destination for amateur backpackers like us. Now, having conquered Vietnam, Kh and I are ready to take on the extra challenge. We're ready to battle red tape, seemingly endless scams, frequent transport delays and -yikes- potholes.

Speaking of potholes, the road conditions have significantly improved since a couple of years back, when all the roads were still unsealed and having 2 flat tires in a single journey is common. All thanks to external funding from China and Thailand that we might enjoy the luxury of a flat road. However, smaller roads (aka non-highway) still remain unsealed and travelling can be quite a bummer.

After weeks of research, I've finally came up with a route map for the whole 25 days of our trip.

Ideally-keyword Ideally-, this is the way we want to travel.

We'll be flying to Bangkok, then take a train up to Nong Khai, bus to Vientiane, bus all the way until Ho Chi Minh and we'll fly back from there.

Flying direct to/from Laos/Cambodia is possible seeing that Singapore is one of the 4 countries that fly to these places. However, budget flights do not fly to these places, and non-budget flights are not cost-effective for us. Kh and I decided to do what most backpackers have done--go overland from Thailand/Vietnam.

That said, everything is still very unpredictable in there. I'm having at least 2 backup plans to make our entire trip more time-flexible and adaptable to changes.

Well, 25 days is very very little time. We'll just try to get the most out of this trip.

Flying in 12 days time! =)