mondulkiri, cambodia

my last major excursion in cambodia was to the eastern province of mondulkiri, a mountainous region where nights are cool, ants are many, and elephants are man's best friend.

my main goal was to travel by (elephant) foot into the forest,
which was pretty easy to do with twenty bucks.

i was only "saddled up" for half the day (i walked back alongside the elephants) because the "basket" in which we were seated was so small that my knees were tucked into my armpits for about the whole ride. not comfortable. but fun anyway.

we ended at a waterfall and swimming hole, where a group of kids were launching themselves into the water below. it would have been pretty interesting to have had access to such a playground as a kid.

after a much-needed bath, our elephant took a few minutes to scratch an itch...

this was how we moved (note the child "driver")

for five relaxing nights, i stayed in this simple little cabin -
an excellent way to wrap up my time in southeast asia

"rabbit island" (koh tonsey, cambodia)

a short boat ride form the southern coastal town of kep is "rabbit island",
where we stayed for a couple nights in bamboo bungalows.

all along the beach were small groves of trees with hammocks strung on every available limb

bokor hill (kampot, cambodia)

back on the motorcycle again, we set out to reach the top of bokor hill. it's a very eerie place, featuring some palatial old houses, hotels, a church and a casino, all long ago abandoned and in ruin. at the top of the hill (1000m), we were among the clouds, which added to the spookiness of the place. the main access road is under construction and usually off limits to anyone but organized tour groups. however, it was luckily open for a few days because of the chinese new year; we happily took advantage!

i suspect this was a concrete water tower in its day

here is the casino building, perhaps the largest structure on bokor hill.
every part of the building is still accessible.

behind the casino is a cliff that tumbles off into the whooping, chirping, cackling mountain forest, on this day almost completely obscured by the clouds

vientiane (laos)

i was only in vientiane for one day, during which i visited a couple used bookshops and loa pdr's very own arc de triomphe style monument. form the top, i could see most of the city, which looks like little more than a town. it must be the calmest capital city in the world...

vang vieng (laos)

on the road from luang prabang, there were some incredible rock formations and mountains...

...which i tried to capture out the window of our van

i learned to ride a small motorcycle and made myself busy cruising around the
villages west of vang vieng town

the mountains are riddled with caves and i squirmed through child-sized crevices and tunnels on my stomach until i realized they are certainly not made for giants. i spent the rest of my time in daylight.

with sunset approaching, i rode back to town, which has turned into an alarming, spring-break-esque party capital of southeast asia. i really don't know how a scene like vang vieng comes to be, but it is fairly shocking (seemingly oblivious to the local population)...and thankfully avoidable with some effort :)

luang prabang (laos)

a gilded pagoda alongside a bend in the mekong river

peaceful mountain sunset...

...diligently captured by a frenzied gaggle of other point-and-shooters

on a bike ride, i came upon this nice view of town from a mountain pass

here is the street where i stayed for the first 3 nights
(i had to move because of babies and ringtones)

riverside gardening, with stylish hat

monks out for a stroll

kuang si falls (laos)

numerous falls and turquoise pools in a jungle...

(throngs of tourists, not pictured)

ahhh...

the colors continue to boggle my mind...why so blue?