Lolo's Travels

Gallery: Thailand ~ Koh Lanta

lolo — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:52:00 GMT

Gallery: France ~ Cannes...etc (#11b)

lolo — Tue, 6 Jun 2006 19:51:00 GMT

Gallery: France ~ Paris (#11a)

lolo — Fri, 26 May 2006 21:22:00 GMT

the sparkly eiffel tower ~ and other unexpected things!!

lolo — Fri, 26 May 2006 21:20:00 GMT

hey everyone!!

and again...SO much has happened since i wrote last...i'm getting really bad at keeping in touch as this trip wears on.

but i think that my lack of communication also has a lot to do with the fact that i'm sorting a lot out in my mind and heart right now....

i'm sure i mentioned having met laurent on koh lanta in thailand, and spending that week in phuket with him....

well i ended up booking a flight to france last week, and so....i'm in paris now!!

i arrived on the 18th at about 2pm, and its been a whirlwind since then. laurent hasn't been home in 2 years, so we've been spending a LOT of time with his family and friends. s'been fun explaining

let me tell you, 10 years of french immersion doesn't really help as much as it should. my head sometimes feels like its gonna explode from concentrating so much on what people are saying and what i need to say in response. the first couple of days, i was so shy that i would only speak through laurent. i think what i find the most difficult is pulling together the words to make sentences in time to join the conversation ~ and not getting flustered when laurent is watching me....!!!!! i don't really have much trouble understanding what someone is saying to me; its just that its WAY easier to respond in english, of course! but everyone has been wonderful about speaking slowly with me AND not laughing out loud at my 'attempts' at speaking french. its really been great.

mmmmm! and the food!! i feel like i'm in heaven ~ after 8 months of rice and veggies, noodles and soup ~ i'm eating cheese and baguette and chocolate and croissants and wine and avocado and.....EVERYTHING is so good! breakfast is a big bowl of hot chocolate milk for dipping croissants, chocolate cookies, crepes with nutella, toast with butter and jam....HOW can anyone eat like this on a daily basis???? lunch is always meats and sausage and cold cuts, cheese, pickles, baguette, of course red wine or white wine with cassis.....dinner has been incredible. his mom makes the most amazing food ~ we had raclette (sp, i know...) the first night, fondue, moroccan couscous, crepes, pasta....and always with amazing desserts, too. tiramisu, strawberry cake, profiteroles...(cream filled round pastries smothered in chocolate pudding-ish stuff....OMG).

i'm loving paris, too...even though its a little colder than i'd expected (apparently unseasonably so..) and i have NOTHING to wear. backpackers clothes dont' exactly suit paris, y'know?? but we've spent a lot of time wandering the city. the metro system is incredible ~ a zillion lines heading in every direction...very efficient. there are literally cobblestone streets and cafes every 2m and vespas and crazy roundabouts....carousels all over the place for kids....

laurent has been wonderful at balancing all that he has to do, and all the people he wants to see, with showing me the city. we've been to the bastille, sacre-coeur, the eiffel tower, notre dame, the arc de triomphe, the champs d'elysee, les jardins luxembourg....and i've been promised yet to see versailles, the louvre, and i can't even remember what else ~ the catacombes maybe???? so much, so beautiful. i feel like i'm in a dream.

the other night, after drinks with his sister at a way cool bar called the barrio latino, we went by the eiffel tower at night ~ all sparkling lights, the paving stones were wet with rain, and i was GIDDY. so incredible. i felt like i was 7 years old, for real. i really had to pinch myself.

i've been taking pictures of course...but haven't yet gotten them up on the site. Soon, soon! This afternoon we are headed out to get me some new clothes after some indian food for lunch...yummy.....i need new clothes as we are headed to the south of france on the 28th for a few days. nice, cannes, marseilles, cassis...how exciting. laurent was saying its too bad we didnt' have more time or we could go to venice. how incredible that italy is right next door...unbelievable. i'm so so excited that i get to have my big 3-0 (which, by the way, is coming up on june 02, hint hint ~ haha!!) on the french riviera. what a lucky girl i am. and who would ever have thought, when i left canada 8 months ago, that i'd end up in europe. you just never know, do you.

my plans are to leave paris on the 15th june, flying back to singapore via dubai, and then the next day fly to sydney. i have a room arranged in bondi beach through a girl i met in shanghai, so i don't need to worry about accomodations...and hopefully i'll find work quickly, too. i'm definately gonna have to hit the ground running after this little detour...not so cheap to fly to paris on a whim!! but i'm looking forward to seeing my friends in oz and earning some cash again. and who knows...i might end up back on koh lanta sooner than later....i'm feeling really good about this with laurent and really, what better reason??? well whatever i decide, i'm set ~ in both australia and thailand, i have place to live and a job lined up. so its just a matter of picking. but i'm sure you can guess where my heart is right now.

i miss all of you and i really hope to hear from you soon...

lots of love from PARIS!!

xoxo lolo

Gallery: Thailand ~ Phuket (#4d)

lolo — Sun, 21 May 2006 20:09:00 GMT

Long Lost Lolo

lolo — Tue, 16 May 2006 23:20:00 GMT

I know, I know. Its been a ridiculously long time since I've written ~ and I'm very very sorry about that (to those of you who have written wondering what in hell is going on!!)

I think the last time I left off I was still in Hong Kong - enjoying Easter with Alex's family......curing the homesickness that had come on hard and fast. Welllll.....a lot has happened since then.

I had originally planned on spending a couple of days in Macau, with a friend I'd met in Cambodia who lives there.....but running into Skotty and Alex in H.K. kinda flattened those plans. I ended up taking the ferry to Macau in the morning, a taxi to the airport, and a flight to Bangkok that afternoon. Sheesh. What I DID see out of the taxi window in Macau did make me regret my decision, a bit, though. It looked really cool....and kinda incredible to see so many signs in Portuguese despite being in the heart of Asia! Very neat - I will have to make a point of going back one day.

Upon landing in Bangkok......I headed straight for Khao San Road. This is the area of town I'd skipped when I was last here - and now that I've seen it, I'm glad I did. Its really a little slice of hippy dippy insanity. My room was fine - spotless, with a fan and private bath, and INDIAN FOOD in the restaurant downstairs - for 200baht.....but outdoors was mayhem. The street and surrounding area is a melee of internet cafes, restaurants, guesthouses, street food (mmm...pad thai for 20baht!!), tshirts, necklaces, sarongs, elephant carvings, tattoo parlours.....it goes on and on. Add in a Burger King, Mcdonalds, and Starbucks for good measure...and you get the idea. Its pretty much anything you could ever imagine a traveller needing...and then some. I think its ok for a day or two..any more could drive you mad.

So, my first night. I think I made it about 20 feet down the street before literally bumping into a guy I'd met in China, in Chengdu. Madness. So I had a friend without even trying! And then the very next day, got an email from Isabelle - a wonderful girl I travelled with in Cambodia....so we met up and got massages and pedicures. Thats one thing I'll definately miss...a great hour long massage for way less than $10CDN. Wow. I have to say, I came very close to joining Isabelle on her flight to Bali...but in the end, decided that I wanted to see more of Thailand. She was planning on learning to surf......but I figured I was more interested in learning to dive. (a choice I am now SO glad I made....!)

I booked a flight from Bangkok to Krabi and planned to take off the next day. I was kinda feeling out of place and dying to get out of the city, but at the same time nervous that Koh Lanta would be full of people and it would be hard to make friends. Funny thing I've noticed. Every single time I begin to get depressed or feel scared or anything negative at all.....something comes along out of the blue to fix it. I think its turning out to be the one great lesson I'm gonna have gotten from this trip. Bangkok was no exception. My last night in town, I randomly ran into this great guy from Melbourne named Cameron...who was so great. We hung out all night, had great conversations about music and life and all manner of things - i just love when you really get along with someone. And it definately pumped me up for Lanta.

Arriving on Lanta.....the place I had booked myself into for the first night had one swimming pool, a ROCKY beach, zero charm or personality, and about 7 gazillion too many loveydovey couples for my taste... Needless to say I moved on very quickly. Hannah recommended the Funky Fish and it was exactly what I needed. Bungalow for 100baht/night, massages on the beach, yummy curry and coconut shakes on the beach, and super kind staff. Not to mention, a beautiful gorgeous beach that was mostly deserted since I had the good fortune of showing up JUST as low season was starting. In fact, by the time I left 2 weeks later, I was the only guest at Funky Fish left. It was GREAT.

My first morning there, I met Judith....a really sweet girl from Holland who had already made friends with some scuba instructors from one of the local shops....ready-made friends. That night was a party because the shop was closing....it was really great to meet everyone and I really think thats when I started to fall in love with that island. The people there are really really great.

And from there. Marc managed to convince me to learn to dive...so i did. Stupid girl that I am, I didnt' bring my camera with me ONCE on the boat...so no dive pix. Next course. But I loved it. Honestly, this man has the patience of a saint. You do a full day of theory and then a day in the pool...and then 2 days of diving.....so great. But the day in the pool ~ honestly, I'm surprised he didnt' try to drown me himself. Everything he tried to teach me, I needed it shown to me like 20 times. And I couldn't stop giggling for the life of me. But he did it......made a (sort of???) diver out of me. Thank you thank you thank you Marc. My time on that island wouldn't have been half as great had he not been there with me. So much fun!

And of course, as things always work out...immediately after Marc left to head back to the UK, I met up with Laurent and spent a great week in Phuket with him. He's actually the owner of the shop that Marc worked for.....so I'd met him earlier, but we just kind of hit it off when we were off on our own. Really great. So we'll see where this goes. But for now I'm pretty happy with myself...... !!!!!!!!!

We spent the better part of a week just running errands (he left for Paris the other day), playing in waves, lying on the beach, just relaxing. OH! And we stayed at the most gorgeous place ever..... www.villageresortandspa.com the pool access villas...oh MY god. So great. I've got a new taste for g&ts now...and french accents.....!

I kind of feel like I've been on vacation from my vacation...if that makes sense...and so haven't posted any pix or written so much lately. Sorry. I'll catch up soon, I promise.

OH and Mel and Addie...I'm so excited for you two!! You better let me know the very instant you book that surgery...can't wait to see his little face for the first time!!!!!!!! And Mel ...thanks for talking me down from the edge of panic this morning. Ah, emotions. Craziness!!!!!!!!

Ok, I love and miss you all...

would love to hear from more of you!

Better report next time, I promise!
xoxoxo lolo

Gallery: da bruthas

lolo — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 04:54:00 GMT

east coast, west coast

Gallery: China ~ Yangtze Cruise (Chongqing to Yichang) (#8f)

lolo — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 19:12:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Nanjing (#8h)

lolo — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:54:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Shanghai (#8g)

lolo — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:42:00 GMT

Gallery: Hong Kong & Macau (#9)

lolo — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:45:00 GMT

China Doll

lolo — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 18:11:00 GMT

Well, I'm out. Finally, I've left China; and not a moment too soon. I really don't think I could have handled much more. Is it a co-incidence that of the two countries I've spent more than a month in, Vietnam and China, I've left both of them in tears? Hmmmmmm....

I'd spent a lovely 4 days in and around Yangshuo, which is as close to a backpackers hangout as I've seen in China. The town is about 65km south of Guilin, the gorgeous limestone peaks of which are immortalized on the Y20 note. However, Yangshuo is about 1/8 the size, making it a far more welcoming place. The main street, West Street, is lined with hostels, cafes, book swaps, and souvenir shops ~ camera stores, massage parlours, and internet cafes. Menus list pancakes, spaghetti, burgers, fries, and ice cream sundaes...this is NOT China, though it is. EVERYTHING caters to the homesick traveller, which was perfect for me.

I spent a couple of days alone, sipping lattes and staring at the mountains looming over the small town ~ and then had the good fortune to meet up with Mats and Carl, my favourite Swedes in all of Tibet! It was really nice to see them again for sure, though we spent the next 2 days in package tour hell. For whatever reason, I chose to spend my last day in China on a full-day bus tour to the Longsheng "Dragon's Backbone' rice terraces. To be sure, they are beautiful. But its a long 3.5 hour bus ride each way, which got me back into yangshuo about 7:30pm.

And then the mayhem started. In fairness, I should say that I was overtired and hungry...but still.....A bus ticket booked in Guilin instructed me to wait in front of the Happy Hotel, which I did. The girl at the front desk ran out, concerned that it wasn't a proper bus stop, and loaded me and all my bags onto a passing motorcycle to be taken down the road to the bus station. But he chose instead to dump me at an intersection, where I started to freak out. My visa expired the next day; I HAD to make it to Hong Kong or face a Y500 fine from the Chinese government. And it was already 8:36...my bus was meant to pick me up at 8:30!!!!! I could feel the tears welling up as I asked him to stay and help me make sure the bus stopped for me ~ a request he didnt' seem to understand.

And then ~ Mats and Carl appeared out of no-where. I managed to get out, "I'm about to LOSE it...!!" before bursting into tears, at which point they stepped in and helped me out. I really think the tears helped ~ the poor Chinese kid seemed desperate to calm me down, and I drew quite a crowd.

Eventually, after a number of phone calls, we determined that the bus would in fact pick me up in front of the Happy Hotel, but at 9:30pm. I got on in the worst mood ever, and wasn't much cheered to discover that 'sleeper bus' means 3 double decker rows of minute 'beds' that are far too narrow and short to consider sleeping on. The entire night was basically a precarious, smoky, hell. Bumpy roads made falling off the bed onto the person sleeping on the FLOOR!! a constant threat. It also took about 4 hours longer than it was meant to, thanks to constant and likely illegal pickups and dropoffs of huge boxes of god-knows-what.

Anyways, it dropped me at the wrong bus station, nowhere near the border of Hong Kong, and I managed to make friends with a Canadian-Chinese family who had returned to pay respects to their ancestors, and were equally unsettled by the country, after being in Canada for so long. They helped me take the taxi to the proper bus station, change some yuan for hong kong dollars, and put me on the appropriate bus to make it across the border.

Now, on arriving in Hong Kong ~ they had lost my reservation at the hostel......oh, what else could go wrong. I really think they've put me in the broom closet.....I literally CANNOT fit on the bed, if I stretch the top of my head hits one wall, my feet the other...and thats with my knees bent!!!!!!

I buckled under this intense pressure and escaped to a pathetic dinner at Starbucks...I've never been so glad to see that green and white circle in my life!!!!

And there, my luck changed. I met a nice british guy named Darren, and after chatting a bit we headed down to the local Irish pub for a few drinks. MMMmmmm, gin and tonic. At about midnight I headed 'home' to pass out, after making plans to meet in the morning to do some sightseeing.....things were looking up for sure.

We managed to fit in the Star ferry across the harbour, and went so far as to take the bus to the base of the Peak Tram, and then changed our plans. We chose instead to hop on the subway and go to Disneyland for the day, which was incredible. A little overcast (but what better excuse to buy a Mickey Mouse umbrella???) but so much fun. We went on Space Mountain, some sort of Buzz Lightyear alien shooting extravaganza, and took in a couple of Disney shows. Nothing like a huge, oversized mouse speaking Cantonese, let me tell you! Well....actually.....GOOFY speaking Cantonese is an even wilder trip, I think.

Anyways, I got my picture with Mickey again ~ 2 Disneylands down, only 3 (i think..??) to go. I'm pretty sure theres just Japan, Paris, and Orlando still to see...can anyone correct me on this??

Second piece of good luck ~ Skotty, my friend I visited in Beijing, is in Hong Kong right now! I'm just trying to get ahold of his girlfriend Alex so we can get together for the second time in Asia....this is literally a feat of timing, as he arrived the day after I did!!!

Oh yes, and I did make it to Shanghai last week. It was incredible ~ I was the biggest tourist in the world and took in the Bund, the tourist tunnel under the river, and the Oriental Pearl Tower. The entire city seems surreal to me; like a futuristic Jetsons backdrop against which a bustling modern population of foreign expats and Chinese locals live. The pedestrian shopping streets are an insane jungle of flashing neon lights, 3 story high coca-cola bottles, and tiny noodle vendors competing for business against mcdonalds, pizza hut, and expensive restaurants.

I preferred the noodle joints though ~ I made friends with one young guy at my favourite shop. All they sell is noodles, so when you walk in you just say, 'one!' and he immediately sets out to hand pull a portion of noodles for your soup. Its really amazing to watch. They cook for a couple seconds, then you get a huge bowl of yummy broth, with even yummier noodles, and you add cilantro and chilis to taste. SO good.

So thats it. My dying days in China were accompanied by tears, but things are looking up now after all. I'm in Hong Kong right now, hoping to track down Skotty and Alex, and then will be headed to Macau on Sunday to meet up with a girl I met in Cambodia, who is willing to be my tour guide for the day there! I guess I can't complain too much ~ one thing I'm learning for sure is, something ALWAYS comes along. I feel really fortunate to have such great timing ~ meeting Darren, Skotty being in town, and Louise agreeing to show me around Macau.

Hope you all are well.....

xoxoxo Laura

ps. yes, i know the title makes no sense. but....i had to use that phrase at least once.

Cruising the Yangtze in (relative) Style

lolo — Tue, 4 Apr 2006 22:52:00 GMT

So, my cruise is over and done with. I have to admit ~ although I don't regret it at all, I will not remember it as one of my favourite Chinese experiences. That said, I did enjoy myself. On my last night in Lhasa, I ended up meeting a dutch girl named Renee who was also flying back to Chengdu and wanted to do the cruise, so we booked together. The best thing about this is being assured some company on a tour boat that is otherwise packed with avid Chinese tourists. I'm beginning to think they might be the worst kind!!
In retrospect, booking 2nd class might have turned out far worse than it actually did. I guess someones watching out for me up there. At the time, the Y500 difference in price made me choose the lesser class. Renee and I ended up with a very nice, young couple who spoke incredible english ~ Johnson and Audrey ~ they took great care of us throughout the 3-day excursion. Everything from making sure we were well fed in the restaurant, to helping carry my bag aboard, to translating what our tour guide was saying....they went the extra mile for sure, and the trip would have been far different without their company.
The whole thing started off on the wrong foot ~ Renee and I took a cab to the grocery store in Chongqing, where the boat leaves from, in order to stock up on snacks and stuff ~ and then could NOT find a taxi that would pick up 2 foreigners. So here we are in an absolute ARMPIT of a town (apologies if you have a particular affinity for Chongqing...but it was awful.......), with bags of heavy groceries on our arms, a small crowd of lackadaisical Chinese gathering to snicker at our predicament as we flounder on the side of the road. Waving for cabs that drive past, then proceed to pick up a chinese fair not 2 metres down the road, is a very demeaning experience.
Maybe if I'd been in a better mood to start with it might have been ok....but I was hot, frustrated, and close to tears. All we could think of was how we had no idea of where we were, and the boat leaves in 1.5hours, and we can't find a cab. Finally, in desperation, I walked up to a man with the hotel card in hand, tears in my eyes, and VERY pathetically begged in AWFUL chinglish for him to help us. Lots of pointing and charades.... Sounded something like..."Me....Here (point to card)....please help??? (sob sob)" Notrhing like putting on a show for the gathering crowds!
Thank god, he got up and led the way for us, for which we rewarded him with Y10 (what would have been the cab fare). It was a convaluded route, too ~ lots of twists and turns, staircases, etc....we'd never have found it alone. Duh. It was my first true 'i hate china' experience. I was convinced I would fly straight to Bangkok as soon as I got off the boat. ( I didnt'.)
Blah, blah. Things got better. The cabin was tiny but cozy with our little crew, and since I hadn't paid for any extra excursions, I got some space to myself whenever Renee, Johnson, and Audrey left the boat to check out temples, waterfalls, and the like.
The one excursion I did sign up for was the tour of the Lesser 3 Gorges and Mini 3 Gorges. They were spectacular. We took a WAY smaller boat to the lesser gorges, and then wee sampans through the mini gorges. The water was turquoise, the sky was pretty clear, and the cliffs were amazing. Everyone was in great spririts as well, lots of singing and laughing. Even in Chinese, the energy was contagious.
There were lots of huge white signs showing where the water level will rise to once the dam is completed ~ flooding an area the size of Singapore and backing the river up 550km. At 185m high and 2km wide, it'll be the biggest dam in the world, with an energy production equivalent to 18 nuclear power plants. I guess the price you pay for this is pretty high ~ the homes of about 2 million people will be wiped out by the flooding, and if the dam were ever to burst, the lives of close to 6 million would be at stake ~ dead within the hour.
I thought the most impressive part of it, though, was going through the 5 locks of the dam. My claustrophobic tendencies really kicked in, despite the massive size of the thing. Just the looming walls and the fact of being closed in, I guess. But it definately finished off the cruise right ~ we had passed through the dam by 1am, and were off the boat at 6:30am.
For me, that was just the beginning though.....I immediately hopped on a bus to Wuhan (6hours) and from there, a train to Shanghai (20hours). My visa is running out April 12th, so I have to cover some ground now!
Anyways, that was the cruise. Sorry it wasn't more exciting. But....was more a lesson in Chinese culture (watching them spit on the table while eating...mmmmm) than anything else.
Hope all is well with all of you...
xo Laura

Temples and Monastaries ~ Lhasa

lolo — Tue, 4 Apr 2006 22:26:00 GMT

Well, I managed to wake up early this morning ~ and am I ever glad I did. My last day in Lhasa was absolutely incredible.

First off, we headed out to the Johkang (holiest temple in Tibet!) and walked the Barkhor Kora surrounding it. We were literally swept up with the multitudes of pilgrims, all dressed in traditional yak skins, with hair plaited, spinning prayer wheels as they walked. The truly devout walk the circuit 3X, and the borderline obsessive perform the three kora circuits in a strange pattern of prostration ~ literally lying on the ground, then standing up ~ only moving ahead the length of one step each time. Incredible to witness.

The Barkhor begins just to the left of the Jokhang ~ all koras are performed clockwise. Once we reached the front again, we were amazed to see dozens of devout Tibetan Buddhists polishing the stone floors with their prostrations....walking past them to enter felt sacreligious in some way.

Once inside the Jokhang, we joined the massive queue.....you basically walk clockwise around a central chapel area, entering dozens of smaller chapels along your way. Most of them were literally the size of closets, and crammed full of beautiful statues of the boddisatvas, buddhas, kings, and lamas.

I have to admit it was slightly overwhelming ~ the powerful smell of hundreds of yak butter candles burning, the scent of juniper incense, and hundreds of voices murmuring prayers as they shuffled along. Seeing some of the faces around me, and realizing that for many of these Tibetans, seeing the Jokhang is the culmination of months of pilgrimmage from the far corners of Tibet, was definately sobering. And people were wonderful! Although I certainly stuck out like a sore thumb, towering over most of the people and, well,being a whole different colour and all, all I ever got were smiles, warm looks, and sincere attempts at warming my hands...which were freezing.

The Jokhang was built to house the pure gold Buddha statue, which was brought to Tibet by Chinese Princess Wencheng as part of her dowry from China, and faces Nepal in order to honour the Nepalese bride (his 2nd wife) of the King. The site was chosen by the Princess Wencheng, chinese bride of the King. Its widely thought that she chose the site of a lake to be difficult ~ however, the lake was duly drained and the temple built atop the land. According to some, there is a well within the temple grounds which still pulls water from that ancient lake.

Legend, however, has it that the Chinese princess chose that specific spot because her knowledge of Buddhism enabled her to divine the exact resting spot of an enormous supine demoness, who would have to be restrained before Tibet could embrace Buddhism fully. So, temples were built all across the land ~ as far away as Bhutan and modern day Sichuan province ~ in order to 'hold down' this demoness. The Jokhang anchors the head of the demoness, and the outlying temples hold down arms, legs, etc. Crazy stuff.

Anyways, pilgrims carry with them bags or jars of hard yak butter, in order to 'feed' the numerous candles in each chapel. Some carry thermoses of melted butter to pour into the candles instead. In the main chapel, which houses the Buddha image, you are required to hand over your 'butter receptacle' to a waiting monk, who will add some in for you. As this happens, you proceed around the gigantic statue, stopping at each of his feet (he sits cross-legged) and touching your forehead to his toes. A monk "bouncer" taps you on your back when its time to move on, usually just a few seconds. I felt a little ridiculous doing this, but it felt like it'd be more disrespectful to NOT.

I felt really fortunate to be able to witness something like this ~ people chanting and praying, fingering prayer beads, spooning butter into the lamps....people of all ages. From the elderly walking with aid of 2 canes, to the babies strapped to the backs of young women....people everywhere.

I didn't think it could get any better...and then it did.

In the afternoon, we took a local bus (Y2) out to see the Drepung and Nechung monastaries. It was a long steep walk up the hill to Drepung, and we were charged Y25 each to enter and perform the Kora around the monastary ~ but it was literally incredible. We passed through a valley of prayer flags fluttering colourfully over our heads , flocks of sheep just barely parting to allow us passage, crimson-robed monks who always had a smile and hello for us, and little old stooped men and women making the pilgrimage around the circuit along with us. One young monk even walked part way with us, and posed for some great photographs from the hills overlooking the monastary buildings. He was very sweet ~ showing us where we were meant to touch our foreheads to painted rocks, how to pray, etc. Near the end of the Kora, we could hear some chanting and clapping ~ which we had read about, but didn't expect to witness...the monks were debating within an enclosed courtyard down below. They use two sharp claps to emphasize their points....very, very loud!

We quickly scrambled down the rocky path and huddled down around the walls of the courtyard to take a few pictures....some of the monks posed for us, as well! I finished off my day feeling exhausted and very satisfied. Tibet is someplace I would definately love to return to one day, but for now, I feel like I had a good taster of its capital.
Next up will be the cruise on the Yangtze River, taking in the 3 Gorges before they are gone for good.
xoxoxo
Laura

The Tibetan Side of Town

lolo — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 17:35:00 GMT

Hey guys.

(hey ray, i added you in....so we can stay in touch!!)

So, on a whim, I booked a flight from Chengdu to Lhasa ~ and here I am, in Tibet. Staying in the Tibetan home in Songpan really made me curious as to what it would be like here ~ and knowing that the Chinese have completed a railway connecting the rooftop of the world to the rest of China, I get the feeling that Tibet will be changing even more than it already has in the very near future.

The flight was short and sweet ~ only 2 hours, and they served a meal! I had been concerned about the change in altitude, and was fully expecting to be nursing a headache for the first few days....but apparently, the 5 days in and around Songpan helped acclimatize me. I've been feeling great since we got here!

On the drive into town from the airport, I felt mildly disappointed ~ it felt like anytown, China. But all of that melted away as the bus drove past the Potala Palace. It really is a beautiful building ~ dazzling white, and there are Buddhist pilgrims walking the kora (holy circuit) around it, spinning personal prayer wheels and murmering mantras. These people are hard to look away from.....wrapped in long coats and skirts, with striped aprons ~ weathered faces tanned nut brown from the strong sun, and the kindest eyes you have ever seen.

We jumped off the bus and checked in at the Yak (yes, YAK!!) Hotel ~ dorm beds are Y20/night ~ then headed out to grab some great Indian food and relax. Even though I managed to avoid getting a headache, the high altitude still meant I felt exhausted after a short walk. The restaurant we chose overlooked the Barkhor Square ~ a Tiananmen-style square out front of the holiest structure in all of Tibet ~ the Jokhang. The awesome viewpoint allowed us to sit and eat and stare at all the action for a few hours ~ monks, pilgrims, filthy Tibetan beggars with even filthier babies strapped to their backs....children running and playing. All the while, some crazy Tibetan pop music played out over the crowds..a song that has gotten into my subconscious unfortunately, as they play it over and over and OVER.

In our dorm room, we also have two Chinese tourists, and 2 guys from Sweden ~ Mats and Carl. Along with Chontelle, we have fallen into a nice 'routine' of breakfast on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Barkhor, then some sightseeing.

The first day, Chontelle and I walked the Barkhor Kora ~ a circuit around the Jokhang thats lined with vendors selling prayer wheels and flags, singing bowls, beautiful painted mandalas, and tons of turquoise and coral and silver jewelry. Well, actually pretty much everything ~ you can also find yak coats, all kinds of clothing, and tons of tibetan trinkets. You kinda get swept up in the crowd of pilgrims walking around ~ I had been there only 5 minutes when an old lady grabbed my hands and began rubbing them to warm them up ~ all the while muttering in Tibetan, and smiling the biggest, toothless grin you have ever seen. The people here are the warmest so far on this entire trip ~ they just seem to radiate goodness. My face hurt from smiling so much at the end of that afternoon.

I've also made it out to the Sera Monastery, which is about 7km north of Lhasa. The chapels and universities within the monastery walls are incredible...dimly lit, with intensely colourful murals and the thick smell of yak butter candles burning in huge golden urns. The pilgrims and devout tibetans top up these candles with small pots of yak butter; spooning a bit into each urn as they pass. Just standing in front of the statues at the front, listening to the murmering of the people as they pass by on the clockwise circuit of the chapel, is incredible. Especially since this is a low season for tourism in lhasa ~ so there are so few foreigners around. Most times, you feel like the only outsider in these chapels, and the people make you feel incredibly welcome. One old woman grabbed hold of my arm and started talking to me, smiling all the while ~ and the old man with her smiled at me and then stuck his tongue out ~ I was giddy. Apparently, this is an old tibetan form of greeting which signifies that you mean well....the devils tongue is always green no matter what form he takes!!! It definately drove home the point that I was in another country. After walking around the grounds a bit, we did the Kora surrounding the monastery, accompanied by quite a few tibetan people. The climb was steep and fairly exhausting, but so amazing as we walked by strings of colourful prayer flags, rock paintings, and other religious altars made of precariously balanced stones. Some of the piles were topped off with yak skulls for whatever reason ~ I must remember to find out why.

We were kind of wary of inadvertantly stumbling upon a sky burial site ~ the tibetans are understandably offended by tourists who invade these sacred sites. The tibetans perform sky burials as the ground is often far too frozen for a regular burial, and the scarcity of wood or other fuels for fires makes cremation a logistical nightmare. So, as an alternative, the body is chopped up, and the brains/organs mixed with tsampa and yak butter, and then the whole messy package is left out on a high altar for the vultures to eat. Smart way of solving the problem, I think.

Anyways, luckily we wandered past nothing of the sort ~ instead, we waded through a sea of goats, as the herd was bottle-necked into the same passageway as us. They are GASSY creatures, for sure! But wandering along a dirt path, amidst goats, heading alongside a whitewashed monastery wall, is surreal. The skies are deep blue, and the mountains surrounding lhasa look like something painted onto a backdrop. I have a huge giddy grin in all my self-portraits, which makes me laugh when I look back at them.

Finally, yesterday was the Potala. Its quite a hike up to the entrance, but worthwhile ~ the place is full of statues and paintings and yak butter candles and praying tibetans and monks and cats and tombs that literally stop you in your tracks. I've never seen so much gold and precious stones amassed in one place before in my life. The tombs of the Dalai Lamas are definately awe-inspiring. Afterwards, we walked the Potala Kora and I spun what felt like a million prayer wheels in honour of my cousin Matthew ~ in hospital in St. Johns, NFLD. It was a sobering afternoon, and afterwards taking a few photos of the Potala was the only thing stopping me from relaxing with a pot of masala tea and my journal.

Anyways, today has definately been a rest day ~ my head is feeling a bit fuzzy (i'm sure its the altitude) ~ so i'm taking it easy. Tomorrow, my last day in Lhasa, will be spend at the Jokhang and then hopefully out at another monastery...we'll see how that goes.

Hope everyone is doing well, hope to hear from you soon.

xoxo Laura

Gallery: Tibet ~ Lhasa (#9a)

lolo — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 03:04:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Chengdu (#8d)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:29:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Songpan (#8e)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:29:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Xi'an (#8c)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:27:00 GMT

Gallery: China ~ Datong & Pingyao (#8b)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:26:00 GMT

Gallery: Vietnam ~ Halong Bay & Cat Ba Island (#7g)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:22:00 GMT

Gallery: Vietnam ~ Hoi An (#7d)

lolo — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 15:15:00 GMT

Horse Trekking in Songpan

lolo — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 00:58:00 GMT

Hey hey!

Well, I'm definately sore, and pretty darn cold. Northern Sichuan can give Canada a run for its money in the snow department, let me tell you. I just spent the last 4 days on horseback, riding up into the hills and mountains surrounding Songpan ~ a little town north of Chengdu. Most of the time the saddle was padded with all the gear and horsefeed etc that we needed to carry with us, but that didn't seem to make a big difference to my butt! Honestly, I think the only thing that saved me was the tibetan massage I treated myself to once we got back to Songpan!!!

The trek lasted 3 days ~ it was pretty scary for a girl who hasn't ridden on a horse unless the circumstances involved a grade school birthday party, a high school rec & leisure class, or a touristy jaunt on the beach in the Dominican. We were literally riding along ice encrusted, snowy, muddy, slippery, NARROW pathways, right alongside treacherous looking cliffs.....why, oh why, do i keep signing up for things involving heights???? It took me a while to trust that the horse doesn't want to fall to its death any more than I do ~ a thought that comforted me until I realized that no-one, horses included, ever INTENDS to slip and fall. The incline of some of the pathways was ridiculously steep and seemingly perilous ~ feeling my horse lose its footing and fall to its knees is something is wish never to experience again. That said, once I got used to it (as you do, after hours and hours....), the scenery was breathtaking. We were on a path entailing a slow and steady incline, so as to reach 'ice mountain' in a day and a half.

So, on our way, we passed more yaks than I could count (but it was exciting each time!!!), flocks of sheep and goats, pheasants, tiny tibetan villages nestled into the mountains ~ complete with wildly colourful flags and (duh) tibetan people! It still amazes me to see people all decked out in such traditional clothing ~ huge yak coats belted with bright red sashes for men; red head scarves and intricately braided and looped hair, turquoise and silver jewelry, and long yak-skin skirts for the women. Even the little children were wearing mini versions of these outfits ~ we saw so many of them headed off to school with their flushed, windburned cheeks and intense eyes. People and animals aside, the mountains were also full of pussywillows, burrs, milkpods, birch groves, pine trees....gorgeous streams running through deep valleys with clouds laying low between the mountains...

We stayed both nights in a tibetan home, about 4 hours from Ice mountain. The house was painted bright red, with murals of traditional tibetan life on all the walls inside ~ the heart of the home was, of course, the kitchen ~ where we were served soft steamed white bread, weak green tea, and spicy sichuan vegetables for every meal. I've drank enough tea to fill a thousand bathtubs, I'm sure of it!! The trekking group that was ahead of us had paid the family to slaughter a goat in order to supplement the vegetarian fare on offer, so we walked in past a freshly shorn lambskin, and watched two elderly tibetan men with weathered faces and watery eyes RIP into the skull of that poor little lamb ~ picking all the little bits of meat off, and ripping the jawbones apart. FYI, these 2 jawbone pieces were later used as 'guns' by 2 little boys. A different world, I tell you. Of course, meals were followed immediately with shot glass after shot glass of bai geo ~ nasty, nasty rice wine. But I guess it warms you up! It was a real family atmosphere in there after dinner, too ~ little kids climbing all over us, the men playing cards and drinking, the women knitting and everyone so comfy around the open embers they laid on a metal tray on the table. As the sole source of heat, I might add. Bed, for my friend Katy and I, was the cold floor in the hallway. Although the living quarters are above the stable area for the horses, the floor was still like lying on ice. We had them fill plastic water bottles from the kettle as crude hot water bottles...otherwise, I feel certain I'd have died. Those of you who know, know that I CANNOT stand the cold.

And yet, there I was the next morning, staring out at the freshly fallen snow, about to head even further into the bitter cold in order to see this ice mountain. I was bundled up in long underwear (songpan special ~ lavender lovelies, only $3!!), 2 pairs of socks, jeans, a sports bra, tank top, longsleeve tshirt, turtleneck, TWO hoodies, a red scarf/cape, yak coat, toque, and scarf ~ in retrospect, I'm surprised I could even MOVE, let alone ride a horse. We warmed up with yak butter tea ~ pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and about as disgusting as it sounds.....and set off. Never mind all that ~ the view from up there was incredible. Worthwhile, all of it. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, a tiny wee hailstorm, and a little caravan of 4 horses and riders making their way to the top. Didn't matter that I couldnt' feel my toes, or that we had to walk back down ~ too slippery to ride! I loved it.

Finally, on the ride home, we passed by a beautiful tibetan temple, complete with golden prayer wheels, flags, and devout villagers walking the circuit, spinning the wheels as they went. It felt surreal ~ and not for the first time, I realized how lucky I am to be able to SEE all of this. So, now I sit in a smoky internet cafe, waiting for the 6am bus back to Chengdu tomorrow, about to head off to my bed, and the glorious warmth of an electric blanket!!!!!! I miss all of you and hope you are all doing great...

BRAUNWYN, let me tell you my heart stopped when you told me about that accident. I'm SO glad you're ok....!!!! lots of love to you!

xoxoxo laura

Sichuan really DOES mean spicy!!

lolo — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 01:33:00 GMT

Wow. I have never tasted food this hot in my life....and I love spicy food! I literally touched it to my tongue, and there were fireworks in my mouth. Incredible. But I'm getting ahead of myself here....

Obviously, I've made my way to Sichuan province ~ Chengdu, to be precise. I arrived early this morning on the night train from Xi'an, and made my way to a hostel that came highly recommended. Well, one thing they forgot here was heating. The place is bloody freezing! The shared showers thankfully have hot water, but who in their right mind would want wet hair in these quarters??? I think this place would be great in the summer, but its not for me ~ not in the winter, anyways.

I headed out on the town to get my visa renewed (tough to find the place with a serious language barrier!), tested out the bus system (claustrophobic but cheap at Y1), mailed some postcards (keep your eyes peeled!!), and eventually wandered into a cafe for a snack. There I met a guy who had just been turned back from the very horse trek adventure I've been hoping to take ~ the SNOW and ICE made it dangerous as the horses were slipping all over the place. Um, something tells me this is not the best season for touring China.

Oooh, and good news.....I found a Starbucks. My stomach is beginning to rebel against all the greasy food, so I found myself longing for a latte and a muffin. In this respect, Starbucks is a definate score. Of course, there I met 3 Swedes who were really great.....after they told me of the old Chinese saying, "come to china for the food, come to sichuan for the flavour" how could I refuse their dinner invitation? And heres where the sichuan food comes into it......

The one guy used to study in China back in the 80's, and thank goodness he can speak Mandarin. After one tentative tongue touching to a piece of celery, I needed water ~ stat. This makes the sichuan beans at hells kitchen seem sweet.....and I'm not in any way exaggerating. Dad, I even think you would have met your match here. Much coughing (me) and laughing ( them) ensued....definately gave the locals a good show, anyways. At least I've proven my entertainment value!!!

So....hope all of you are well, just thought I would touch base and share with you. Tomorrow is panda bear adventure day....I'm so excited!!!! I look forward to hearing from all of you soon if you have a moment...

xoxoxo Laura

ps. A very big happy birthday to both Ant Ger and Papa Don...wish I could be there to celebrate with you!!!!!!! xoxo laura

Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors

lolo — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 17:14:00 GMT

Hi everyone!

I figured I could get a little email in before catching my night train to Chengdu; I have a few hours to kill! The hostel here is great ~ email, comfy couches and dvds, great food, and music playing all the time. Last night I stayed up pretty late, hanging out with some people I met in Datong ~ Christian from Sweden, and Chris and Josey from the UK. The speakers dad got me have really come in handy, we had a good time looking up songs we hadn't heard in a long time on the iPod and listening to them while enjoying a few drinks. Unfortunately for me, beer is the cheapest drink by quite a bit here, so I kinda stuck to jasmine tea (my new addiction). I need to find out, by the way, from Marky ~ is Apocalyptica a Swedish band?

Anyways, I did a tour of the Terracotta Warriors the other day, which was pretty amazing. Hard to believe that these lifesize figures are literally 2000 years old. Each one has individual features ~ the solders that made them modeled them after themselves ~ and were entombed as eternal guardians of Chinas first Emperor, Yin Zheng. He is actually better known as Qin Shi Huang, or 'first emperor of Qin province'. There are 6000 warrior and horse figures currently excavated, or undergoing excavation or restoration ~ but its thought that there may be up to a million yet to be dug up closer to the actual tomb. The reasoning behind this is, 6000 troops would be considered an awfully small army for that time period!!

You literally walk into a huge "stadium" with a walkway all around a massive excavation site ~ like a pit of dirt ~ and there are hundreds of soldiers all lined up as if for battle , just as they were buried. The were even buried with real weapons ~ but many of them were stolen right after the emporers death by rebel tomb raiders, who then used the weapons to kill the emperors son. Quite an insult; to use the weapons intended to guard the emperor for all eternity, to kill his son instead.

When the first warriors were initially excavated, they were colourfully painted, but the paint rapidly reacted with the oxygen, and crumbled to dust ~ leaving the warriors their original terracotta colour. This is the main reason that much of the army remains underground ~ the Chinese are waiting for technology that will allow them to preserve the original paint on the figures!

One of the most interesting facts is that the entire army/tomb was only found by accident, in 1974, by some peasants who were digging a well. And when you look at the spot where the well was, within the pit, its literally at the very edge. A couple of feet or metres in another direction, and the army might have gone undiscovered for another who knows how many years!!

Anyways, despite it taking a full day of buses, and a few annoying stops at souvenir shops along the way, it was a worthwhile day.

Yesterday the 4 of us (Christian, Chris, Josey, and I) wandered around Xi'an, stopping for coffee at a pseudo-starbucks shop, and eventually hit upon the old Muslim Quarter of the city. Xi'an was the Eastern terminus for the Silk Road, and so camels laden with exotic stuff from the middle east arrived here regularly back in the day....it must have been an amazing city then, with its now crumbling city walls intact, and Buddhist monks mingling with Chinese imperial officials and Islamic emissaries.

So, there is a section of town with mosques, and loads of skewers of meat cooked over fire pits in the streets....vendors and meat shops and tea shops and so many interesting faces. We had a really great dinner here; with yummy garlic chili eggplant, and a potato dish best described as julienned, slightly undercooked potato with SPICE. So good. The others, of course, had beef and pork dishes etc. The only complaint is the oil ~ other than that, the food here is a thousand times better than 'chinese' food back at home...

This city is one of the more interesting I've seen in China thus far, so old! The city was already a fully established world city 2 centuries before Rome was founded, 2 centuries before Homer wrote 'The Iliad' and the 'Odyssey', and a full 5 centuries before Buddha attained enlightenment. Incredible history. (and I'm expecting it to get better, the further along I go in China!)

Anyways, next up ~ Chengdu. From here, I need to renew my visa for China ( I only have a week left, otherwise!!), book my cruise on the Yangtze River to see the 3 Gorges, and see the giant Pandas in a breeding park. I'm also hoping to do a horse trek a little further east, but this all depends on cash of course. China is a little more expensive than the developing nations in SouthEast Asia, which is obvious i guess, but something i'd somehow overlooked when I made my decision to stay here 2 months. Its eating a hole in the budget, for sure!!!

Hope all of you are doing well, and anticipating spring eagerly...I'm sure you are after winter ~ I sympathize with you after Beijing, let me tell you!

Lots of love, miss you all....

xoxoxo Laura