Adventures of The A-Team

Chech Out My New Blog!

ashleyheilmann — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:40:00 GMT

So we've successfully made it to Sweden, including Barkley. Next up on the list: finding jobs, an apartment in the city, finally learning to speak Swedish (for me), just minor things. The good news is spring is finally setting in and frisbee is starting! Alex took a trip to Göteborg this weekend for a Skogs training camp, I will do the same in two weeks for a woman's team.

Stockholm is beautiful, the animals are mating, the trees are budding, the ice is melting, and even the bums are bi-lingual (oj I have a lot of work ahead of me)!

Thanks for following allong in our adventures, and if you've enjoyed the writing you may want to check out my new Yoga blog - ashleysyogajourney.wordpress.com The topic is quite different, but if you have an interest in yoga you just might like it. Thanks!

Ashley

The Final Hurrah

ashleyheilmann — Tue, 2 Mar 2010 19:11:00 GMT

After the train from Khao Yai we spend one night in Bangkok (we treat ourselves to air-conditioning) and jump on a minivan the next afternoon to Ban Phe, a two and a half hour ride South. Then hop on a ferry stuffed with people and goods to the island of Koh Samet. We don't get to the island until after dark and find a bungalow only after an hour of wandering down the beach. It’s Thursday and we can only stay there one night because they are already booked for the weekend. Many Thais flood the island every weekend, but at the moment it’s very peaceful and relaxed.

The next morning we manage to move closer to the heart of the beaches and to a place we can stay for the whole weekend. We spend one day soaking up the sun and scope out our options for activities. Our adventures on the menu are to rent a moto to explore the island (perhaps this wouldn’t normally be an adventure per se if it weren't for the disheveled roads and mass amounts of tourists on motos, ATVs, garbage trucks, water trucks and pickup taxis rolling up and down the island's windy hills at all hours of the day and night), we will also rent snorkeling gear to try again to have a better experience on the reefs. We cap the day off with a drink on the beach and start chatting with the bar tender, Audi. One topic leads to another and the next thing you know Ashley is getting a haircut from him right there on the beach in exchange for a yoga lesson the following afternoon. Afterward we make a feeble attempt to party a little but retire back to our bungalow before 12.

The next morning, after breakfast we moto over to the other side of the island only to determine that the rental rate for snorkeling gear is astronomical (150B/hr per person) and return to the 'cheap' side. Instead, we rent gear for the whole day for less than that. We moto back to the other side and after five minutes in the water finally, we conclude that if you are going to go snorkeling in Thailand its best to BUY YOUR OWN GEAR. We wind up taking turns for a while with the one set of semi-working goggles/tube.

Next we drive to the far end of the Island and play on the rocks for a bit, enjoy a cold coconut and soda and head back to our beach for Ashley's yoga lesson. We enjoy the ocean some more giving our gimpy gear one more try. After some frisbee on the beach we return to our bar again for happy hour. The island is much more alive now, teeming with Thais. There's music, fire shows and a beautiful, almost full moon. We eat dinner and lay on the beach watching the clouds roll over the moon listening to music from the bar over. Finally, we resign to head back to the bungalow. But just before the turn up the hill to our place we decide to peek into the bar that's absolutely packed with Thais. On the beach is a guy doing a poi show, the best we've ever seen. We watch and decide to have a drink here...and then comes the bucket. Finally, after two months we manage to participate in the night life.

Alex makes an interesting observation about the crowd at this party and it isn't until we make it to the dance floor that we learn that this is a gay bar. Of course the best party on the beach is at the gay bar. We are warmly accepted by the others on the dance floor despite our heterosexual farang status.

The next morning we say good bye to our little blue moto and walk back to the pier to catch the ferry and then minivan back to Bangkok. Our time on the island put us in a great place to call this trip complete. Abruptly, on Monday morning at 10:00am we decide its time to go home. We book a flight to Singapore the following evening in order to catch the Wed flight back to the US. (Since we're flying standby we can only fly on flights that have open seats and everything flying out of Bangkok is over sold). We spend our final days in Bangkok collecting small gifts to bring home and some foodie items we need to try our hand at Thai cooking and won't be able to find at home.

It’s been a wonderful trip, and we've had some great experiences, but mostly because we've done it together. Wish us luck on the long journey home....

Photos: Surin/Khao Yai/Kho Samet

ashleyheilmann — Mon, 1 Mar 2010 15:23:00 GMT

Generosity Continued...

ashleyheilmann — Mon, 1 Mar 2010 14:39:00 GMT

We wake at 4:30am, brush our teeth and make our way over to our friends who are stationed in front of the tent shop, already goofing around. We were able to piece together the night before that the group of 5 is working on their senior project together which is some sort of short documentary on "Life in the Jungle". One of the girls is sitting in a chair with an electric hair straightener plugged into the side of the building, straightening her hair in the reflection on the window. She is the narrator/actress. The three guys are the camera and photo crew. It’s not quite clear what our English speaking friend does, direct maybe? In any case, it’s not quite clear to Alex and me why we are just sitting around. Its past 5am now and it seems that we should be heading to wherever we are going to see the sun rise. After a half an hour a truck rumbles up the hill and it makes sense. They've hired a truck to take them to a site to view the sunrise. After about 30 minutes in the back of the pickup, amazingly cool breeze in our hair, we ascend into a layer of fog, light just barely starting to creep into the sky. We manage to make our way along a dark windy path in the jungle and emerge at a cliff's edge in a blanket of fog. Being on top of the Dong Rak mountain range, we were actually a bit cold. But it didn't take much time for the fog to begin peeling back, revealing the layers of Jungle in front of us, and finally a blazing red sun as it rose of the ridgeline in the distance. It was beautiful.

The students are so excited to have us along and include us in the documentation. We answer some interview questions, which I'm not quite sure what they'll do with, since they don't really understand what we're saying. Pui, our English ambassador, tells us 'we go now to waterfall'. Again, quite clueless of the plan, we pile into the pickup again and drive another 30 minutes through the jungle to the other side of the park. On the road to our destination we run into a family of wild elephants. Mom, Dad and two babies. We proceed with caution until Dad ushers the family into the jungle and then we speed past. We get to the trail head, and once again the students are goofing around and we're wondering what we're waiting for. Finally a guide shows up and again it makes sense. Our guide takes us into the jungle to a viewing point for a much larger waterfall than the ones we'd seen the day before. We're so grateful to our new friends for bringing us along on their journey. We would not have made it that deep into the park if not for them. By the end we also got a glimpse at several species of deer and two giant porcupines.

As if our friends' generosity wasn't enough already, they offer to give us a lift back to Pak Chong. We hitch a ride together to the park entrance and wait for Ti's dad to pick us up. While we wait we enjoy an ice cream from a cart that rolls by. Perfect. We offer to pitch in money for the truck, the guide and all the food and water that they've shared with us, but they refuse since their school department has funded their 3 day trip into the jungle. Still, we are so grateful to have been adopted by them, we hope somehow we can return the favor.

After a shower and some TV time in our hotel room we go back to the restaurant we discovered the night we got into Pak Chong. By far it’s the best food we've eaten our entire trip...and most definitely the spiciest! This was definitely we worthwhile excursion.

We decide to head back to Bangkok. It’s time to start winding our trip down. The next morning we board the train again for Bangkok.

Generosity

ashleyheilmann — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 23:37:00 GMT

When we last wrote Alex and I were on our way to the market in Surin to purchase some items to make Hor Mok at Pirom-Aree's. We asked Aree if she would be willing to help us make this dish and if we could use her kitchen to do it. After a little hesitation, she agreed. About 10 minutes later we were both struck with remorse. What if we've made a terrible mistake, what if this is a huge imposition and Aree only felt compelled to say yes. Finally, we agree to give Aree another opportunity to change her mind. Instead though, she assures us its ok and we leave the house again with a shopping list in hand.

Our trip to the market is a shit-show. Even though everyone is very patient with us and willing to figure out what we are trying to find and if the amount is right, once we are able to convey what we are trying to make, every single person laughs unabashedly at the thought of two farang attempting to make Hor Mok. After a few hours we've managed to collect the items we need, including a live fish the seller dresses for us on the spot. We also buy two orchids to offer to Aree and her kitchen for good luck hor mok making.

The three of us are all giggly as we bumble around Aree's kitchen, her guiding us through every step. She admitted earlier that she, herself, has only attempted to make this dish once or twice and not very successfully. And very soon into the process it is apparent that our coconut milk is too watery and does not thicken the way we imagined it would. Nonetheless we are having a great time. Finally, after Aree proclaims its time to put our little banana leaf concoctions into the steamer. The moment of truth is upon us. Although it doesn't quite look like the dish we had in Cambodia, to our surprise it tastes delightful! Aree is very happy at the success too.

Our stay in Surin has been a great experience. We are overwhelmed by the hospitality that we've received here and how much we've learned about the people & culture of Isaan. After such a fulfilling experience we're not quite sure where to go next. We feel like we've seen most of the things we set out to see and to be quite frank, we don't feel like visiting any more temples. Finally, we decide that Khao Yai National Park is our next destination.

We take a train from Surin to a small town 14km before the park entrance called Pak Chong. Unfortunately, our Lonely Planet is very brief in its description of the park and Pak Chong. But after a bit of stumbling around town and the help of some very nice English speaking locals we check into a guesthouse and plan to depart for the park in the morning.

We leave one bag at the guest house since we are pretty sure it’s possible to rent camping gear in the park and stay there for the night. After breakfast we walk to the public 'bus' that will take us to the entrance of the park. From there, it’s still another 11k to get to the visitor's center and a bit further to any trails or campsites. If you don’t have a car of your own, the common practice in the park is to hitch-hike wherever you need to go. The park is huge. It doesn't take long to get a lift in the back of a pickup to the visitor's center and some walking and another lift to the campsite where we rent a tent, an extra blanket and a stove. I'm not sure why we got the idea that a 'stove' would mean a fueled camping stove. In fact, its one of the ceramic charcoal stoves that we see street vendors using to grill meat skewers. After getting settled in we head off on a no-guide-necessary hike to two waterfalls. On the way we encounter a giant Iguana white Gibbon who announces his presence by attempting to pee on us from above, and Alex nearly steps on a meter and a half long snake. We reach the second waterfall, have lunch and take the road back to our campsite.

After a shower we attempt to use our stove to make our instant soup with noodles. After 10 minutes of failure Ashley is sent on a delegation to see how the neighboring Thais are managing to use their stoves and returns with an invitation to join them for dinner. In the mean time another delegation of Thais from the other campsite had come to the rescue and our stove was ablaze. We brought our offering of instant noodles and sat down with our newly made friends. They are a group of students from a multi-media school in Nakhon Ratchasima. Only one of them speaks English (a little). Regardless, we have a great time sharing their feast and communicating through food and body language. Our noodles are a meager addition to the delicious spread they have prepared, but they eat them anyway :)

At the end of the meal we are invited to wake up at 5:00am the next morning to see the sun rise with them. We don't really understand what we've signed up for, but we've had such a great time with them we figure it will probably be fun.

To be continued...

Photos: Surin

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:39:00 GMT

Pirom - Aree House

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:17:00 GMT

The trip from Siem Reap to Surin was as exciting as advertised. Our shared taxi comprised ourselves, our bags, a giant bag of sand or something, 5 other people including the driver and more items in the trunk of a 95 Toyota Camry. The first two and a half hours were cramped and uneventful as we swished by cows, bikers, villagers, school children and "Japanese Water Buffalo"* at 80mph. Just after our turn at Anlong Veng the paved road ended and the last hour and a half and a half we navigated through a barrage of divots, craters, "construction sites" sand ditches and equipment. We made it to the border crossing at O'smach. Crossing was no problem and it was only a 2 hour mini-van ride to Surin.

*(the Japanese Water Buffalo is a local version of a tractor with the front drive mounted on a long pole)

We decided to do as Lonely Planet suggested and made our way to the Pirom-Aree House guesthouse. This seems to be the best decision we've made all trip. It turns out that Pirom-Aree House is the home of Pirom and his wife Aree. Pirom has spent 33 years as a social worker for the Thai government. 14 years ago he built his house here in Surin and 4 years ago, after retiring, opened the doors to his home for tourists and began running his very special Pirom Tours. We arrived late in the afternoon and rang the doorbell at the gate. Aree welcomes us and tells us there are rooms available. Actually, they hadn't had any guests in three days (its the beginning of the low season and the end of winter). There home, tucked away among rice fields 1km outside of town is a small paradise. They have a large courtyard and peaceful shaded garden, several lily ponds many little nooks to sit and read or have a drink and three sweet beautiful cats. Pirom's is fluent in English and Aree's English is much better than most. We check out Pirom's VERY ORGANIZED information center detailing his tours and different aspects of the neighboring villages. We wished there were more guests at the house whom we might be able to convince taking one of the tours with. We can tell from Pirom's guest book and his literature that his tours are very very special, but they are also very pricey. For two people only, it’s out of the question. But if we had 4-6 people the price would be a bit more do-able.

Low and behold, 20 minutes later 3 Frenchmen our age show up, also backpacking through Thailand and heading to Cambodia. That evening Pirom and we agree to take one of his tours the following day including two temple visits, several village visits to see silk production, basket weaving and the well-known Elephant Village.

We depart at 8:30am and immediately the Pirom's wealth of knowledge about Thai culture and history comes pouring forth. We learn more in the 15 minute drive to the first village that we've learned more about the Thai and Khmer people than we have during our entire trip. We're a bit templed-out after Siem Reap, but still we learn a lot more seeing just these two temples and retrospectively, we're able to make more sense of what we saw in Siem Reap. Next, is the basket weaving village. Pirom, in his three days of work with the poor people of these small Thai villages he has a special way of connecting with these people and everywhere we stop our group of "farang" (westerners) is warmly welcomed. Pirom tells us the story of how one man, the village’s only ex-convict, teaches the entire village the trade of basket weaving, sparing the village from severe poverty during the dry season.

At 1:30 we break for lunch...a picnic on a dry rice paddy overlooking the countryside. Our French comrades, Matthew, Julian and Benjamin are lots of fun and very polite. Our lunch, prepared by Aree includes some very traditional foods eaten in this part of the country (Isaan). Its delicious.

Next, the silk weaving village. We are very fortunate to be able to see all of the different stages that it takes to create a piece of silk throughout our tour of the village. (see pictures for details) It is very impressive. Our second to last stop is Elephant Village, a traditional Mahout (elephant trainer/capturer) village. Every family has an elephant here, many have more than one. Pirom is prepared with bunches of bananas for us to give to any elephants we may see. First we stop in back of a family's house where a baby elephant is hanging out among a handful of chickens. As we approach the fence he starts to do a little dance, swinging his trunk around in a circle and lifting his back, left leg and swinging that back and forth...the banana dance! We take turns tossing bananas he picks up on and munches until he starts to dance again. We rumble down the road a little further until we meet a Mahout atop of a full grown elephant returning from the "Elephant Research Center" (a carrel where the elephants give shows twice a day). The Mahout agrees to take us to the village reservoir to give him bath so we can take pictures. When we get there, Pirom asks if anyone wants a ride. Ashley, a bit too excited and caught up in the moment accepts the invitation (an extra 300B for the two of us). Even though it was a neat experience, the possibility of falling three meters to the ground was a little too immediate to actually enjoy it (seeing as we were riding barebacked, around the elephant’s neck). We get to thank him with some bananas and a little pet on his head. We then pay the elephant 300 Baht, yes the elephant, who gives the money to his Mahout for safe keeping.

Last stop is a snack on the banks of a river junction for sunset. Then we pile back into "Buddy" our trusty tour van and head back to the guesthouse. It was a wonderful day.

Today, we stay one more day in Surin. Now, we are headed to the market. Aree has agreed to let us use her kitchen and under her supervision, attempt to make "Ho Mok", or "Amok" the Khmer version. Hopefully it turns out well!

Photos: Siem Reap & Angkor

ashleyheilmann — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:05:00 GMT

Inevitable Angkor

ashleyheilmann — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:15:00 GMT

During our last days in Phnom Penh it becomes clear to us that we really do need to go to Siem Reap to see the temples of Angkor. We had been hesitant to make the trip because of the high admission prices and tourist traffic. Again and again, other travelers we talk with lament over our neglect to go to Angkor. Finally, our desperation to leave the city and the availability of transport send us on our way to Siem Reap.

We check into a 'dorm room' at the Garden Village guesthouse which is a mattress on a covered deck with a mosquito net hung over it. We link up with a girl we rode into town with and arrange for a Tuk Tuk to pick us up at the guesthouse at 5am for a full day of temple touring. We buy two UFC's (canned coffee with milk) and PB&J supplies and head to bed. It turns out that our accommodation is not too bad and the price is right, $1 per person.

Our sight-filled day begins at Angkor Wat about 20 mins before sunrise. Its difficult to describe the experience entering the temple in the pitch black, flanked by hundreds or other flashlight bearing tourists. Serene, tranquil and creepy all at the same time. We choose our viewing spot and drink our UFCs as day slowly wakes. Half an hour into the morning and we've decided it was worth the admission price. We spend nearly 4 hours at Angkor Wat alone before visiting 5 other temple/religious monuments (only a small fraction of the sights to visit in Angkor). They are all uniquely awesome...and exhausting. We bought a useful book about the temples from a kid at Angkor and were happy to have some facts about the different sites. At 4pm we arrive back at the guesthouse and we are spent. It was well worth the visit.

Today we relaxed and chose our next destination. Now feeling like we've seen enough of Cambodia for now we will return to Thailand and head for a very small town called Surin. The path from Siem Reap to Surin is not well worn by tourists and there are no busses going there. We will take a shared taxi to the border crossing O'Smach and arrange transport to the town from there. It could be a very interesting journey.

Photos: PP/Sihanoukville

ashleyheilmann — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:03:00 GMT

Khmer Delight

ashleyheilmann — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:17:00 GMT

Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and back...

Our first stay in Phnom Penh we stayed on the "Lake Front", the backpacker haven set on the East bank of the Boeng Kak lake which is currently being filled in for development. This interesting community, for the time being, houses an interesting mix of travelers, potheads, drug dealers, call girls and local families. The prices are cheap and there is certainly lots of character, good and bad. We learned that the government has actually seized and sold the land the guest houses sit on and they are basically just waiting to be bulldozed over. This, apparently, is common in Cambodia. The government will take land from its people and sell it to foreign companies. The people do not yet have any control over their government and have no way of protecting themselves.

We see some sights including the Palace, our favorite is the fountain in Hun Sen Park. It is by far the most technologically advanced fountain we've ever seen! Very beautiful at night. We also have discovered the Meta House which screens a variety of independent films, shorts and documentaries every evening. Some are very very bizarre. After three days in the city we're ready to hit the beach. We head for Sihanoukville a coastal town about 5 hours south of PP.

Although our palates still covet Thailand above the Cambodian cuisine, the people here make it hard not to love them. Everytime we walk down a street we are sure to hear those high, squeaky "Hellooooooo! Hellooooo!"'s from the local children. Or one may just run up along side you and hold your hand for a while. Everyone smiles, very wide eyed genuine smiles. They are good hearted, easy going, and always ready to laugh at your awkward touristy-ness.

The beaches are as beautiful as they come, and relatively undeveloped. We eat delicious seafood and drink cheap beer. We take a day boat trip to 3 islands to do some snorkeling. The Snorkeling is not really what we were hoping for, but the islands are great. We really like the squeaky sand. After a few relaxing days on the beach and a few more sunburns (damn doxcycycline) we head back up to Phnom Penh. This time we stay near the river, a better place for a more authentic Khmer experience. We find delightful cheap places to eat and we get to experience the Khmer version of the Chinese New Year. We explore more of the city as we debate our next destination. We search out a place known for its Amok, the Khmer national dish. We choose Frizz...it was a great decision and we decide we want to learn how to make it.

Photos: Batambang/Phnom Penh

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 6 Feb 2010 15:32:00 GMT

Photos: Bangkok

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 6 Feb 2010 15:07:00 GMT

Bangkok and Beyond Part II

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 6 Feb 2010 14:17:00 GMT

A Tuk Tuk from the train takes us to the Thai/Cambodian border. The mass of moto drivers, beggars and hawkers yelling and tugging us is only a glimps of what we are about to walk into. After we stamp "out" of Thailand we are hoping to turn around and be stamped back "in" and get a fresh 15 days to explore more of Northern Thailand. Unfortunately, it seems, as though we will not be able to do this unless we purchase a Cambodian visa ($22.50 per person). Adding to the surreality of the situation are the two slummy casinos in between the borders where Thais come to gamble on the weekends. Attached on the Cambodian side is a 'town' called Poipet. Lonely Planet describes it as Follows, "Long the armpit of Cambodia, notorious for its squalor, sleaze and scams." Thats pretty accurate. With only an hour left before the border closes we have no choice but to purchase the single entry, 30 day Cambodian visas. $40 later we decide not to blow our chance to use the visas by returning to Thailand and decide to stay the night in Poipet. We survive the night, but we vow never to return. In the morning we walk to the "Taxi Pool" by the bus station to find a ride to Batambang, the second largest city in Cambodia (pop. 140,000). We bargain with a couple guys on the street and score a shared taxi for 250Baht (about $8). It turns out a shared taxi means a 4 door sedan stuffed with as many people (6 + driver) and cargo the driver can find to transport. Although its only a 2 hour drive, we stop about every 10 - 15 minutes to drop of this, or pick up that, or squish more people in, or exchange a passenger. Finally, we arrive, and of course we're dropped off at the taxi pool where the moto $ tuk tuk drivers are waiting to feed. Confused and on edge we stumble to a road stall and buy a coke and try to figure out where we are. We make our way to a guest house and check in. Not having planned to come to Cambodia (at least not yet) and enduring the scum of Poipet, we are a bit skeptical this will be a worthwhile stay.

But its not long after a shower and some food that the beauty of the Khmer starts to show itself. We spent three nights in Batambang. The first day we rented bicycles to go visit the Wat Ek Phnom, and 11th century hilltop temple. In Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand they drive on the left side of the road. In Cambodia, they drive on whichever side is more convenient. The majority of the time, for cars and trucks, this is the right side. Its takes us a little while to get used to the chaos, but in this sleepy little city the pace is slow and actually, it works. The next day we rent a moto to see two other hilltop temples, Wat Sampeau and Wat Banan and a stop at Cambodia's only winery on the way back. The temples are great, and if you visit between the hours of 10am and 1pm you will pick up a miniature guide, one of the local school boys, who is looking for some change and a chance to practice his English.

Our serene stay in Batambang culminates the evening before we leave for Phnom Penh. We went to the riverside community park to throw the frisbee and to watch the group exercise/dance classes they hold in the park every evening (complete with stereo system, techno or pop, and an enthusiastic male instructor). After a few minutes of throwing a young boy about 8 and his younger brother watch us intently from a park bench. We invite him to throw with us. He is a fast learner and seems to be delighted with the opportunity. Many people in the park stop to watch the weird westerners and their plastic toy. Before we realize, we've attracted almost all of the small children nearby and a handful of people of all ages throwing the frisbee around, taking part in this weird game. We play until it is too dark to see. Not a word of English is spoken except, 'good bye' as the childrens' mothers call them to go home when they have finished with dance/aerobics class.

Batambang has shown us the beauty of the Khmer people and countryside that we've heard so much about. We are rejuvenated and inspired as we catch a bus to Phnom Penh.

Bangkok and Beyond Part I "Keep your arms and legs inside the Tuk Tuk'"

ashleyheilmann — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 23:44:00 GMT

Fortunately, we got some really cheap bus tickets while we were on Ton Sai that would take us all the way to Bangkok. Unfortunately, these were the famed "Joint Tickets" that Alex had painfully experienced on his last trip to Thailand. Basically we are stuffed into the back of a pick up with many other westerners, our bags on top. 15 mins later we arrive at remote 'station' we are herded off the pick up and depending on where we are going we get different colored stickers to put on our shirts. After an hour of waiting "Bangkok! Bangkok!" is called...we are shuffled on at 6:00pm. After three hours we pull in to another remote transfer point. "Everyone get off! Get your stuff, get off" We are shuffled in to an area with two women selling fried rice and corn. We cannot leave the designated area, we tried. Another sticker. 20 mins later another bus shows up....shuffle shuffle. Hmmmmm the seats are a lot smaller now but we manage to get a few hours of sleep. 5am..."Bangkok, get off everybody get off!" We are very very sleepy, and as usually are being bombarded by tuk tuk and moto drivers wanting to whisk us away to their buddy's hotel. It takes us a few minutes to escape and get our bearings. We are supposed to meet Geoff today at his hostel. We get there at 6:00am.

We had a great couple of days with Geoff exploring Bangkok, avoiding scammers, riding the river taxi, getting lost, eating from the street stalls visiting the city's giant park with very giant lizards. We saw Avitar in 3D and another very special show. On the way to the tournament registration party on Friday night we also had the most exhilarating tuk tuk ride imaginable. We get there alive!

The tournament was great fun. Like any hat tournament the first few games are weird and awkward. Not great frisbee, but the food is delightful and the beer plenty. Ashley is ammused at being the tallest girl on her team. It is also inconceivably hot! We were pouring sweat just from throwing before warming up. After day one we are all exhausted, including Geoff, our official cheerleader. One day two Alex's team advances to quarter finals. Ashley's team is in the B pool. However, we apparently decided to gel a little late and continued to win throughout the day...five games later Ashley's team is the winner of the B pool! More beer and more good food. We treat ourselves to a night of airconditioning and TV : )

The next day depart Bangkok by train, but not before bumping into our Russian friends from Ton Sai on the street. We have to leave the country today to renew our visas and we decide a visa run to Cambodia is the best option. Burma sounds sketchy and Malaysia and Laos are too far away. The open air train tugs across the countryside for 5 hours and finally reaches Aranya Prathet, the last town before the Cambodian/Thai border. It is 6:30pm, an hour and a half before the border closes.

Geography is very useful

ashleyheilmann — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:30:00 GMT

Today is the end of our stay on Ton Sai. We've had a great time and we're sad to leave. We decided to not bring a rope and draws on our trip since we'll be doing a lot of traveling without climbing. We didn't realize that it would cost more than twice as much to rent gear for one day than it was costing us to live. Renting was not an option. But this was not a problem. We met "heaps" of great people who were happy to take us along with them. We climbed a lot with a group of Australians and Germans. Alex worked on some great projects with a really fun Russian couple and their friends (very good climbers). We will hopefully go visit them someday in Moskow. We also met a Swedish couple from Stockholm who climb and the gym we work at. They were great climbing buddies for Ash. They also have a dog, we look forward to hanging out with them in Stockholm. Even though we both made lots of progress since our first days there, we were just not getting into a good groove and wish we had more time.

We've had tons of fun adventures besides climbing during our stay. Thai massages were great, lots of trekking between Ton Sai and the neighboring beach Riley. Made friends with the local dog, Dum Dum (Black Black in Thai), and even got to hold a baby monkey. Yesterday we rented a kayak and snorkels with the intent to paddle to a "nearby" island to check out the reefs. An hour and a half of paddling each way left us scorched and in pain. But we at least got to see some fun aquatic life forms including some clownfish (Nemo fish) lots of sea cucumbers etc. We found friends to throw frisbee with and some very enthusiastic learners. Ash taught yoga on the beach to friends. And we ate plenty of great food.

Even though its sad to leave, we're excited for our next adventure. Today we'll board a bus for 14 hours to get to Bangkok where Geoff will meet us. Then a fun weekend of frisbee!!!!

Photos: Ton Sai

ashleyheilmann — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:38:00 GMT

A destination

ashleyheilmann — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:44:00 GMT

After days of nearly non-stop travel we've finally settled into a beach bungalow on Tonsai Bay, the climbers paradise. So far its living up to its reputation. I wont bother explaining how beautiful it is and how fun it is to see all the jungle animals. You'll just have to come here yourself.

Today was only our second day of climbing and our hands are ripped to shreds. But thats what happens if you don't climb for 3 months. We decided not to bring a rope and quick draws since it would be a real drag to haul them around for the rest of the trip. Fortunately, we've found an Australian couple with equipment who have adopted us in exchange for yoga instruction.

Except for the fact that we'll have to leave here in a week we have nothing to complain about at the moment. This place is littered with beautiful beaches, friendly tourists and locals, great climbing, delicious healthy food and beautiful surroundings.

We have a little complication in our travel plans. Since we entered into Thailand by bus, instead of air, we only have until Feb 1st to be in the country. We'll have to come up with a solution for that.

Pictures will come later.

Photos: Malaysia/Singapore

ashleyheilmann — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:17:00 GMT

Airports & Ipods

ashleyheilmann — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:47:00 GMT

Finally, after a few days delay (such is the nature of standby) we departed Syracuse on Wednesday, 13th we just barely made it to DC in time to catch our flight to Tokyo only to find that our plane's starter engine was broke. Our trip was delayed 3 hours, but once we were on our way we thoroughly enjoyed our 13 hour ride in Business Class. Sadly, we missed our connection to Singapore though. Since the Narita airport is a very expensive hour long train ride from Toyko we decide to suck it up and stay at the airport until our flight the next day. During this 22 hour waiting time we realized how wise it was to bring our internet accessible Ipod. Its been super useful getting information and to relist us on our flight. We also discovered a highly addictive app that help us pass the time. Its called Doodle Jump, we suggest you check it out.

Finally, we arrive in Singapore on Sat, 16th at 00:30 hrs. Since the public transport stops running during the night we spend another night on an airport floor. By 6:30am we are in the city watching as it slowly unfolds in the early morning light. We are stumbling and fumbling like tourists, but quickly find our feet and make our way to a very bizarre, Disney World-esk island south of the city called Santosa. When we arrive the beach is deserted. We cross a foot bridge and find a sign informing us that we have just reached the most southern point of Continental Asia. Interesting. By the time we leave, Singapore is alive and there are people everywhere.

To avoid paying double for a bus ride to Kuala Lumpur we take a local bus over the border to Jahor (a three leg ride with two custom stops). We and another American couple are swept onto a bus at the bus cartel to KL.

The city is fast paced, dirty, HOT, crowded and fun. Then again, anywhere outside of airports feels like paradise. Food and goods everywhere lots of tourists. We will most likely leave tomorrow, we are anxious to get to Krabi so we can spend a week climbing and relaxing on the beach before we head to Bankok for the tournament and to meet Geoff.