eatingchaos

plain of jars

luang prabang temple motif

back from laos

funny the things we miss. the small small stuff. like absorbent towels. being able to recognize the different money denominations at a glance. paved roads. nescafe.

bus rides in laos are not bus rides. throw in a mountainous route with a two way road narrow enough to fit only one vehicle plus a driver on crack. what do you get? a roller coaster ride. a ten hour roller coaster ride.

but it was all fun. the sleeping at the bus station. the jarring ride. listening to passengers puking and wondering why they weren't having as much fun as you are. snickering at "backpackers" who pulled out pillows from the packs. deciding whether to turn the page of my book or to grip the seat harder.

now that i'm back i find myself looking at the map again. there are a few more places i need to go before i look beyond southeast asia. i need to see borobudur and prambanan. i have to go back to vietnam again - for saigon, for sapa, for hoi an. cambodia - phnom penh and maybe sihanoukville. ayutthaya, sukhothai, chiang mai, chiang rai. and most of all - burma.

sigh, burma.

monk robes at luang prabang

another laos update

took a slow boat down the mekong river today. sounds awfully romantic doesnt it? well, the river is pretty murky. and slow wasn't too slow either, the boat was powered by a motor. it still had an evocative quality, the slow cruise.

we got tomorrow roughly planned - wake up at dawn to witness the morning monk alm procession. then leave on the first bus for vang vien, where we should be till friday.

that's all for now. got lots of awesome pics, am excited about making a new travelogue!

sabai dee from luang prabang

sleeping in bus stations waiting for the night bus, crawling like indiana jones in buddha park, getting baked in the plain of jars, cycling freely among the tranquil streets of luang prabang, stalking bright orange robed monks, sipping beer lao by the mekong river.

i am loving laos so far. be back with pictures soon.

i want change

for anyone who has played zelda before

more mario theme madness

mario theme - flute & beatbox (super killer combo)

mario theme - by a car and some bottles

my favourite ceramahs

makkal sakthi

what happened last night is equivalent to a tight whip cracking on bn's ass, and it's stinging. it's history in the making. the rakyat are clearly dissatisfied with the way they have been ruling and the rakyat are slamming their fists down hard. the delicious keywords i found in today's papers - political tsunami, winds of change. shivers down my spine. the next four years, suffice to say, will be an interesting one for malaysia.

to those voting today, vote wisely

a moment

there are days i am convinced my friends would lay down their life for me. the fact that i am worth such fierce loyalty, is powerful.