more of what we've been up to...in pictures not words!!!

check out the hot sneakers i had made in hoi an! $12!!! hahah awesomeeeeee.

yes indeed, i had an eye infection at one point and had to actually walk around looking like this.

charlotte and i at the mud baths in nha trang.

we can't live without our lemon shakes. delicious.

white sand dunes in mui ne. we got up at 4am to get there at sunrise. so this was at about...5 30!

sun shining on the girls at the dunes.

beach in nha trang. guy in the background made this photo!

court and i in hoi an with some fruit ladies!

this is what charlottes feet look like 24/7. the girl can't help it.

emma and charlotte trying out snail. does NOT taste like chicken.

my favorite photo! we call it our "band photo." we're with courtney's friend from college matt, and his girlfriend, meghan. we met up with them in hoi an.

another vital thing to our lives!

life.

for the eyes

this is the barber shop in vang vieng!!!

charlotte on a rickety, typical old bridge in vang vieng

this is the zipline at the river!!!

the girls on our rented old school bikes

one of the spots we visited during our day trip on mopeds in pai.

courtney and emma!

beautiful little girl in traditional wear at the night market in chiang mai

courtney and a cutie

caiti and cutie!

playing

sooooo cute. there's just tons of puppies and babies everywhere! this is during our trek.

elephant riding!

best morning of my life! charlotte and i bathing the elephant.

courtney bathing the elephant!

accommodation at the elephant camp

mee

our guide, we just called him C

sunset in baan tai

chiang mai, pai, vien tiene, vang vieng and hanoi

woooooooow. ok those are all the places we've been since last posting. so i'll just give some specifics here. chiang mai and pai are in thailand. chiang mai is a great city, so more quieter than bangkok and with wonderful night markets. we booked a 3 day trek here and went to north chiang mai. we trekked through the jungle...about 3-5 hrs of walking a day. we stopped at an elephant camp and rode the elephants and also got to bathe them! i also got 2 elephant kisses from a baby. one of my best times so far. we also went to a village and go to play with the kids and be with the locals. at the end we went white water rafting then bamboo rafting. perfect day to end. we met charlotte, emma and alex, three girls from the uk and we've been traveling with them ever since. it's great having new friends to be with. anywho, we went to pai after that. pai is a perfect little artsy, eclectic town. the ride there was crazy windy, as in i've never been on a more topsy turvy ride. we had to go over a mountain and needless to say everyone was car sick. but it was worth it. we kicked back and had good meals, rented mopeds and went to waterfalls, and little villages. we also went to a canyon and basically got lost all day and went exploring. so our next country was laos. the ride was long and arduous but we made it. we got to vien tiene, the capital, and crashed for the day. we only stayed for 2 days because there's just nothing to do there. we found a great cafe and spent most of our time there. the style of the town is based on little french squares, and boulangeries, so it's nice, for a second. we headed out of there to vang vieng, which was awesomeeeee. the main attraction there is tubing. not just any kind of tubing. you rent a tube, they drive you up and there are 4 bars on the river. so all you do is kick back in the water or at the bar and enjoy drink. they also zip lines and rope swings which are beyond fun. sooo many kids our age, loud music, body paint and everything else. vang vieng is a great, young tourist spot. we also had hbo in our room which was such a nice treat for us. we met great people, found nice, cheap food spots and just had a blast. from there, courtney and charlotte really wanted to go luang prabang so they went for a few days. alex darted off on her own, she was traveling solo to begin with. so we'll meet up with her at some point. and emma and i are in hanoi, vietnam. we got in last night after a 30 hour bus ride. it was a trip...that's for sure. the bus was overbooked...shocking, and emma was on the floor on a rice bag. crazy. anyway, court and charlotte will be here in 2 days. emma and i are going to go to a baby orphange tomorrow and see if they need any help. we walked around the city today and it's fantastic. we've also been interested in volunteering so we emailed someone who is hopefully keen to take us on for 2 more weeks. just waiting for another response. hopefully, it all works out. so anyway, that's that! we've been having a great time and it's going by all too quickly. i'll try to put up some pics after i post this. i wish i could watch more of the olympics! i hear america is doing well. i hope everyone is doing great and we can't wait to get home and catch up! not sure when the next post will be. probably in cambodia. we'll be here for about 3 weeks, so possibly here. stay well my peeps!

from the south pacific!!!!!

we made it. all is well!! here we have some pictures from the full moon party in koh phangan and some from bottle beach which is on the other side of the island. until the next post!

last one...

this will be the last post before we go to southeast asia. i'm not sure how often i'll be able to get online there, so i can't make any promises that there will be any posts within the next 2 1/2 months....but i'll do my best! these are some more photos from the last leg of our east coast trip! tomorrow is our last day in byron bay, then we take an overnight bus to sydney, get there at 6 45 am and then go to the airport to jump on our 9 hour flight to bangkok. we stay there for the night, then the next day we're taking a train, a bus and then a ferry over to koh phangan for the full moon festival aka party on the beach. so we'll be there for about 5 days, then off to explore the island before we head over the rainforest for the half moon festival. after that, we have a tentative itinerary, but nothing set in stone. best way to go! i'll try to keep you all afloat of our happenings. thanks for reading!!! peace and love baby!!!!

<3 caiti and courtney