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Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
a travel blog by
lizziecarver
I'm going round the world but I don't know where yet.
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I'm in Vietnam!
Ho Chi Minh City
,
Vietnam
The bus journey from
Kampot
(
Cambodia
) to Ho Chi Mihn City (HCMC) in
Vietnam
was without a doubt the worst of my life. I got on the minibus at 9.30 and was lulled into a false sense of security by a relatively wasy border crossing. Once across the border we stopped, were taken off the bus and onto motor bikes, with out packs. After a short, but almost deadly journey we arrived at another bus. It definitely wasn't the shiny aircon bus I'd been promised. It was more like a tin can on wheels. They crammed more and more locals onto the bus. Everyone that got on seemed to bring bags of miscalaneous seafood onboard. I had a bad of live crabs by feet and at one point a box containing squid burst so there was squid everywhere. No one like a humid fishy journey. I had no local currency and then also realised that I had given in my bus ticket to the driver from the first bus so I didn't actually have a ticket anymore. It was another 10 hours and a further bus jouney before we got to HCMC aughhhh.
I was meeting Collman and Matt who are here working as spies but pretending to teach
English
. Its sooo nice to see people from home. Hopefully we are going to the beach together tomorrow!
Today I went to the
Cu Chi
Tunnels which are the tunnels used by in the
Vietnam
War. The highlight was a very scary trip down the tunnels. We hadn't really prepared for how small and hot they actually were. If anyone had farted it would have been fatal.
Ricky in the tunnel
I could have been in Nam
Felix leading the way like a gentleman
Cu Chi Tunnel entrance
written by
lizziecarver
on February 22, 2011
from
Ho Chi Minh City
,
Vietnam
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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I need a job.
Mui Ne
,
Vietnam
With less than 3 months until my return I need to start thinking about the J-word. If anyone knows of any jobs going please email me on
carver.elizabeth@gmail.com.
Obviously only jobs insurance or becoming Americas Next Top Model.
written by
lizziecarver
on February 23, 2011
from
Mui Ne
,
Vietnam
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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1 comment...
Mui Ne
Mui Ne
,
Vietnam
After leaving HCM we headed up the coast to Mui Ne. According to the Bible (Lonely Planet) Mui Ne is an up and coming beach paradise. There must have been a typo in there somewhere because it turned out to be a massive resort, filled with Russians dedicated to Kite Surfing. This would have been fun if Kite Surfing wasn't do expensive to learn. Being a wind surfing Mecca meant the beach was windy as hell and too dangerous to go on for fear of being struck by a kite.
kite surfers paradise
The other activity on offer was visiting some sand dunes (just as windy but with lots of sand around)...
cole and me loving the sand
sunset at the sand dunes
...and drinking which we resorted to due to the lack of other activities in the area
written by
lizziecarver
on February 25, 2011
from
Mui Ne
,
Vietnam
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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2 comments...
Nha Trangy Trang
Nha Trang
,
Vietnam
After the slight disappointment of Mui Ne we arrived in the eagerly anticipated [[Vietnam/Nha-
Trang
]]. [[Vietnam/Nha-
Trang
]] is a large Vietnamese city on the coast. Days are spent recovering from the night before and the booze is CHEAP. Buckets are on offer for $1, everything is BOGOF and bad Mojitos are free.
Ankor Wat
recipe for disaster
Me and Stan on the buy 1 get 2 frees
Because I'm a right nan I could only hack 2 days before having to go somewhere to get over it. I found a place on the internet which sounded quite cool. It turned out to be a hippy commune/homestay on an empty beach about and hour away from [[Vietnam/Nha-
Trang
]]. I spent a couple of days reading books, eating incredible food and going to bed before midnight.
Hippy beach
dog friend
written by
lizziecarver
on February 26, 2011
from
Nha Trang
,
Vietnam
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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Shopping Paradise
Hoi An
,
Vietnam
After a long journey on the nightbus I arrived in Hoi An.
Night bus chaos
Hoi An is a little quaint town on the coast famous for tailoring.
cute dog
Hoi An old town
Hoi An old town
Hoi An by night
I could have spent longer here but I had to leave because I couldn't stop spending money. I got 2 pairs of shoes made and 3 new work dresses tailored all to the Carver dimensions (i.e.
Chicken
legs and a beer gut).
I went to the bakery and had tea and cake at least 3 times a day. When I wasn't shopping or eating cake I was cycling around with my new Dutch friend Margreet. We went out one day and found a completely empty beach all to ourselves. I heart Hoi An.
Me and Margreet on our secret beach
written by
lizziecarver
on March 3, 2011
from
Hoi An
,
Vietnam
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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TUUUUUBING
Vang Vieng
,
Laos
WHAOOOOOO.
I've been very slack in recent weeks at updating the blog.
After Hoi An I traveled further north through Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay. I'm sure all of these places would have been incredible (especially Halong Bay) but unfortunately it was bloody freezing so I rushed through.
From Hanoi I got the night bus (30 hours!) across the border into Laos. As soon as I got here I was so happy. Its lovely to be back in the sun, away from big cities and traffic. Our first stop was the capital, Vientiane. Vientiane must be the smallest, calmest capital in the world. It about as hectic as your average village in the UK and a welcome break after Hanoi.
Following this first stop was Vang Vieng, the birthplace of tubing. I was really excited because I came here a couple of years ago with Claw on holiday. Vang Vieng is focused on an activity called tubing. Essentially this involved hiring a big rubber ring, floating down the river, drinking whiskey buckets and doing massssive rope swings. i.e. a massively cultural experience.
I spent 5 days partying, hanging out with Jess from Africa and generally having the time of my life. On the 6th day I woke up and knew I had to make a decision. Either I leave and get on with some proper travelling or stay and get a job....
I had already been approached by a couple of bars to see if i wanted to stay so I decided to stay. So now I'm "working" here for a couple of weeks. I use the term "working" very loosely in this context because Its the easiest job I've ever had. I get to work at 11.30 on the river. Hand out free shots, do some body painting, a couple of rope swings (trying to perfect a flip) and play beer pong for 3 hours. Then in the evening I go to a bar in town and spend a couple of hours behind the bar until the music gets good and then I'm free to partayyyyyy.
Some pictures of tubing.... more to follow x
Trekking for Gorillas
written by
lizziecarver
on March 21, 2011
from
Vang Vieng
,
Laos
from the travel blog:
Backpacking... it's not as fun as Insurance
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2 comments...
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