I Haven't Been Everywhere But It's On My List

Relocating Pets

mwollak — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 12:35:00 GMT

Bringing my best friend. I have had Charlee for just over 2 years now. I grew up with dogs and have always wanted to get a dog but it is a huge commitment in terms of time, money, and lifestyle changes. However, when my therapist recommended getting one to alleviate some of my PTSD symptoms I jumped at the excuse to finally bite the bullet. Getting Charlee has been the single best decision I have made in my life thus far. She brings me joy and makes me laugh, she is a steadfast companion and is always down for an adventure, and there is no one in this wordl that is more excited to see me when I come home (and let's be honest, who woudln't want that kind of welcome every time they come home!?!). I sleep better with her close, I am more consistent with getting out of the house at least once a day, and I am much more active taking her on walks and hiking and so many other adventures!

When I first decided to look into moving abroad I thought I would leave Charlee with a trusted friend for a few reasons. 1) it is SO HOT in Vietnam that she might not adjust well. 2) it is CRAZY expensive to relocate an animal across the world, especially one as large as Charlee who weighs in at 60lbs and is just about 3 feet tall. 3) it was only for a year. But after struggling to find someone who could commit to taking her and a lot of time to think things through, I actually think not being able to find a place for her to stay may have been a blessing in disguise. I am so excited that I have decided to take Charlee with me but it has definitely been a process!

I am using the same company my school uses for shipping personal affects to ship Charlee. When they first gave me the quote of $3,000 I had a bit of sticker shock so I started doing some price shopping. While it would be nice to only have to work with one company for all things shipping related, that price seemed a bit steep. I was sorely mistaken. After looking around at a dozen or so other companies, this was the cheapest option by at least $1k!!!

Here are some of the things I had to buy or get done before shipping a 60lb dog!

Get her rabies shot updated! Vietnam does not accept the 3-year rabies vaccine so I had to update hers. It needs to be more than 30 days but within 12 months of travel.
Buy her travel crate - dogs cannot travel in collapsable crates. I got her a Sky Kennel on amzong. Because of Charlee's size she needed the largest crate (700 series) and it cost just under $300
Get her APHIS 7000 filled out by a USDA certified veterinarian within 10 days of travel

Work Permit Paperwork for Vietnam

mwollak — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 06:34:00 GMT

The bureaucratic hoops have by far been the most frustrating part of the process thus far. I had to collect, notarize, and authenticate too many documents to count and the process has been so confusing that I have oscillated between "I've got this!" and "I have no idea what I'm doing" dozens of times. As soon as I answer one question or figure out the next step for someting, more questions pop up! Because I couldn't really find a clear and consise checklist online (I used one of the various blogs for moving to China to help me!) I figured I would make one here and hopefully relieve some of the stress for someone else.

Documents: What documents do I need for a work permit in Vietnam (teaching)?

FBI background check
Medical Health Certificate
Bachelors/Masters Degree(s)
Teaching License
Passport

Obtaining the Documents:

FBI Background Check:

The first step is to get your fingerprints taken. In some states you can get them done electronically but in others you need to get the physical ones done on a fingerprint card. I went to my local police station and they had the finger print card available for me there. Just call ahead to make sure! The form is called FD-258 and can be downloaded from online if the location you are going to doesn't have them available. Get at least 2 copies just in case there is something wrong with one of them.
After you have your fingerprints, you can apply directly through the FBI using the I-783 form (also available online). I was concerned about timing because it can take anywhere between 6-10 week so I decided to go through an official FBI Channeler called National Background Check, Inc. While it is more expensive, the timeline was only about 1 week from the time I mailed in my application to the time I recieved the emailed results. It cost me $60.
Be sure to use the exact same name that is listed on your passport.

Medical Health Certificate:

It is my understanding that there isn't really an official form that the Vietnamese government requires so ask your HR department at your new school/job if they can send you the form they usually use.
Schedule an appointment with you primary care provider and complete all necessary tests listed on the form.
Give your PCP explicit instructions on how to fill out the form - I learned this the hardway and had to have them fill it out 3 different times until it was done correctly.
1. use black/blue pen so that it can be photcopied
2. have every single line filled out. If the results fall within normal limits they can just write "normal" on each line.
3. the doctor must sign and date as well as the head of medical center/hospital
4. be sure they include a medical center/hospital stamp or seal. I was told they didn't have one so I just asked that they used a stamp that said the name of the medical center with address/phone number/etc.
5. be sure to use the exact same name that is listed on your passport.

Degrees/Diplomas

You will need to get authenticated copies (more details on this next) of your diplomas. If you don't know where your diploma(s) is you will need to call your school to request a duplicate copy.
If you have an oversized diploma (mine was 14x17) you will need to get a copy of it on regular letter sized paper (8.5x11). I had this done at my local UPS store.

Teaching License

In Massachusetts you are not automatically given a physical teaching license so in order to get one you must request it. Check details on your local department of education's website. A physical licenses cost me $25 in MA.

Passport

My passport was due to expire a few months after my arrival in Vietnam. You need at least 3 months time from the start of your work permit but it may be easier to renew early. When I asked my HR department they suggested I renew before I started the work permit process so that we didn't have to do additional paperwork later when my passport expired.
I applied through the state department online and mailed in my passport and application (form DS-82) at the local USPS office. They say normal processing time is 4-6 weeks. Mine took 4 weeks to be returned to me.

Authenticating and Legalizing the Documents:

This has been the MOST confusing and frustrating part of this process! BUT I can finally see the light at the end of this very long tunnel.

The first step is to get all documents notarized. The notary will need to use an ink stamp that says the document is a true copy of the original document. It will included what type of document it is, the date the copy was made, who presented the doucment (your name) and their signature as an authorized notary. They will also create a raised seal on the document. All copies should be on standard 8.5x11 paper so the notary had me email a photo of my oversized diploma and email it to him so he could print off a copy with the correct measurements. Don't forget to bring all original documents with you!! You can find local notaries in many places like your local bank, many insurance agencies have a notary on site, or your work place might have one as well. I went to my local UPS store and it cost me $5 per document.
The second step is to get all documents issued in or by your state authenticated by the the State Department of the state they were issued in. For example, my diplomas, my teaching license and my health certificate were all issued by or in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so they need to be authentciated by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Check the website of your states Department of State for details on the specific requirements. I had to have my documents notarized and when I went downtown to get the official authentication (called an apostille) they directed me to the correct office. Be sure to tell thme what country the documents are needed for (Vietnam). It cost me $6 per document and the apostilled document includes a page that says it is an authenticated copy and includes a gold seal on it and it is then stapled to the notarized copy. DO NOT REMOVE THE STAPLE because it will invalidate the apostille.
The third step is the send all documents to the US State Department for authentication. You will need to include all documents, payment ($8 per document), the applicaiton (form DS4194), and a prepaid return envelope. Again, I went to my local UPS store and he knew what type of envelope to use and included the tracking numbers for me.
1. FBI background check (does not need state authentication because it is issued by the Federal government)
2. Medical Health Certificate (needs state authentication from the state it was issued in)
3. Bachelors/Masters Degree(s) (needs state authentication from the state it was issued in)
4. Teaching License (needs state authentication from the state it was issued in)
Once the documents are returned to you from the US Department of State you will need to have the documents legalized by the Vietnamese Consulate or Embassy. I used the Embassy's website to help: http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/consular/legalization. Make sure you mail the selfaddressed envelope and send a money order. Each document cost me $70 when I completed the porcess in Spring 2019. The turn around was pretty quick and my legalized documents were returned to me in about 10 business days.
The final step is to send the authenticated and legalized documents to the HR department. They requested I first scan them copies to make sure they were all there and completed correctly so check in with your workplace to see what their specific process is. After that, I mailed them off to Vietnam!

My HR department wanted my documents mailed to them 30 before my planned arrival. I started this whole process in March and finally mailed my documents in the middle of June (which was just in the nick of time!!) so be sure to plan ahead!

What Have I Been Up To For The Past 4 Years?

mwollak — Sat, 6 Jul 2019 05:24:00 GMT

I know it's been a long time - too long - since I've written anything but sometimes life comes at you fast and you just have to do everything in your power to keep your head above water.

Professional Life: I've stayed at the same school and am still teaching chemistry. I have spent all 6 years of my teaching career there. I've honed my teaching skills there, built great relationships with students there, and have made some of my closest friends there. It has been my home. It has also been challenging, emotionally draining, and at times physically exhuasting. To do this job well, you have to give it everything you have and if you're not careful, it can consume you. Last spring, I really started thinking about what was next for me. Did I want to stay in the classroom? Did I want to persue another advanced certificate or degree? Did I want to try to get my foot in the door of what my headmaster refers to as "the dark arts of administration?" Was there another option I hadn't even considered yet? After a lot of soul searching I decided that I needed a change of pace, with different expereiences and different challenges to push my out of my comfort zone and to help me grow personally and professonally.

Personal Life: the last few years I have been trying to focus on me (albeit reluctantly at first). It has been one of the hardest things to do and truly commit to because I've never really even tried. I have been practicing healthy eating, healthy sleeping, and healthy living. This all stems from my unwavering determination to overcome my diagnosis of PTSD. I have learned the difference between self-care and selfishness. I have learned how to set better boundaries for myself and for others. I have learned how to identify my triggers and act on them before I feel like things get out of my control. I have learned that the more I take care of myself, the more I can be there for the people around me. I adopted a puppy 2 years ago who has not just been my emotional support animal, but has been my companion through it all. There is nothing like the feeling of coming home to her and having her feel so excited she can barely stand it simply because she loves me so unconditionally. I have started a new personal training plan and joined Weight Watchers in January (I'm down about 45lbs so far!) because I know I feel better when I am healthy. Mostly, I have been able to mainatain a much healthier work-life balance by taking some of the roles I had off my plate.

Travel: Since our Asian Adventure in 2015, I have been fortunate to do so much more travelling! Although I didn't write any blog entries, it is definitely worth checking out my instagram page for all the awesome pictures @mwollak to see but I'll give a BRIEF run down here! In 2016 I went to Aruba 🇦🇼 for Spring Break with a group of girlfriends from work, in 2017 I got SCUBA certifed so that my dad and I could fly down under to go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia 🇦🇺 and then we visited New Zealand 🇳🇿 and got to see the incredible glow worm caves. Later that year I traveled to Spain 🇪🇸 and ate queso y jamon and drank tinto de verano every day while enjoying the stunning coast in Calpe. In 2018 I went to Belize 🇧🇿 and got to dive the Belize Barrier Reef. That summer, I went to Iceland 🇮🇸 and hiked up a glacier, snorkeled in Silfra between 2 tectonic plates, and kayaked in a glacier lagoon. For Christmas, I decided to fly to a tiny island off the Pacific coast of Panama 🇵🇦 called Saboga and enjoyed what was esssentially my own private beach for a few days to relax and recharge. In 2019 I returned to Aruba 🇦🇼 where I got to dive one of the oldest ship wrecks in the Carribean and swim with dozens of sea turtles!

What's Next? Having said all this, I am happy to announce that I have accepted a chemistry teaching position at an international school in Ho Chi Minh City! I am nervous and anxious about so many things but I am beyond excited for this next adventure! Oh and I set a goal for myself to vist 30 countries by the time I turn 30 so I'll need to go to 7 more in the next 14 months. Challenge accepted!!

Pacific Northwest 2019

mwollak — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 08:14:00 GMT

Before my cross-continental move I decided to take one last big trip to see Jeanette. She has been living in Seattle for 3 years already and I haven't visited her yet so it was time to remedy that!

Day 1: Our first day of exploring and we went all in!!! We headed out early this morning to visit Mount Tacoma (Rainier) National Park. We got really lucky with the weather and saw some rainbows and blue skies before the thunder and downpours started

Day 2 was filled with more adventures but less pictures! We started our morning by taking a walk in Seward Park and so much wildlife! We walked around Lake Washington and saw a bald eagle, a few herons, lots of turtles, ducks and ducklings, geese and birds. After the park we went to the Starbucks Reserve store at their headquarters and got some delicious gourmet coffees - the nitro mole mocha was AMAZING!! Next we went to Smith Tower and got one of the best views in the city and had some tasty lunch in the Chinese Room. While we were there I sat in the Wishing Chair, which was a gift from the last Empress of China. After that we went to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and saw some incredible indigenous art. Next we headed over to the Ballard Locks and fish ladder where we got to see the salmon making their way back to their breeding grounds to spawn. For dinner we went to Walrus and Carpenter - Jeanette has oysters and I had ceviche. We ended the day at Alki Beach and had some a beautiful views of the sound and the Olympic Mountains.

Day three was a relaxing one. We had a slow morning and I made Jeanette breakfast while she finished up her last bit of work to officially close out the school year. We went grocery shopping and visited Akil and baby Ishaan in the afternoon. After that we headed back to Seward Park and took the paddle board out for a spin. Mother Nature was really showing off today! We were lucky with beautiful weather again and saw so much wildlife!! A duckling literally swam up to us and nibbled on my pinky as he tried to climb aboard with us!! Many turtles were spotted, at least 5 bald eagles were seen, and two heron were standing sentry. We came home and made a delicious dinner and we are about to head out to end our day with some 90s slow jams yoga

Day 4 was reunion day!! BTR West came together and it was glorious! We got to spend time with Akil, Anisha and Ishaan at the neighborhood park before we went to Green Lake and enjoyed a stroll in the incredible weather. We filled up on a 5lb bucket of seafood at Crawfish King before getting ube cheesecake - it was AMAZING!!! After that we went to Marination Ma Kai and enjoyed some drinks against the beautiful Seattle skyline with a nice sunset. We ended the night at Full Tilt with delicious ice cream!! So great to spend the day laughing and reconnecting with great people

Day 5 started with dim sum and ALL the soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung!! Then we took a little walking tour around town and saw the Seattle Public Library and stopped by Slate Coffee Roasters for an afternoon caffein pick-me-up where I got a #bougieaf deconstructed latte. After that Jeanette and I headed north to the border because we have 3 days of Vancouver, BC exploring to do! Thanks for an incredible time, Seattle

Day 6 was our first day in Vancouver and it was also Canada Day 🇨🇦!!! We started our morning at All Day Cafe at Lonsdale Quay with a hearty and delicious breakfast. We sure needed it because we had a jam packed day planned! First stop: Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was named after a First Nations Chief and spans 460ft across the canyon and is 70ft above the river rushing by below. We did the Tree Top Adventure, Raptor Ridge and the Cliff Walk in the serene rainforest. After that we made our way to Stanley Park where we rented bikes and rode the 6 mile loop around the whole park taking in the beautiful 360 degree views of Vancouver City. Next we went to Chinatown and walked through the Sun Yat Sen Garden. We followed that up with dinner in Gastown and a walk through the Canada Day festivities and saw one of the few remaining functional steam clocks. All in all, a really wonderful first day in Vancouver!

It’s day 7 and I can’t believe I’ve been here for a week already! We had another fun-filled day exploring Vancouver and we started our morning off right with some amazing eggs Benedict at Table 153. Then we made our way to Bloedel Conservatory. We got to see all kinds of tropical plants and birds and were able to spot 42 different kinds in total!! After that we headed over to the UBC botanical garden and treewalk where we got to become one with the trees up off the forest floor and up in the canopy. Next we went to the Museum of Anthropology and I went on a tour to learn about the traditional potlatch ceremony of the Kwakwakaʼwakw and learn about some of the legends of the First Nations people. We ended the day at Granville Island where we got ALL the candy smoked salmon!

Day 8 was spectacular!!! We started our day off early and went whale watching where we were lucky to see a family of four orcas! After that exhilarating morning we made the trek back to the States and we ended the day with a beautiful sunset walk through the park.

Aruba 2019

mwollak — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 01:51:00 GMT

We decided to go back to Aruba! I almost always prefer to go somewhere new than to go back to somewhere I have been before. BUT my friends family has a time share so the price was right and I was so sick the first time I went that I didn't get to explore the island much. This time I made the most of it!

Day 1: I set my alarm for 2:45am to catch my early flight out of Boston to Aruba with a connecting flight in Ft. Lauderdale. After sitting on the runway for 30 min we were informed that they couldn’t find the flight log. So we sat another 30 min before finally taking off almost an hour and a half late. We were told that we would be ok with our connection because this was the plane that was continuing on to Aruba. Well, with the delays, the airline changed plans and changed planes. First change meant we got in at gate E10 and had to make our way next door to gate E9. Not a big deal. But the second change had us going all the way to gate F10. We landed at FLL about 5 min before the doors were scheduled to close so I booked it across terminals and ran a bit over a mile in 15 min. Out of breath and sweaty, I got to my the gate only to realize they were already boarding the next flight. We missed it and there are no more flights out of FLL to Aruba. They put me up in a hotel and gave me some food vouchers and I’ll continue my southbound journey tomorrow morning. Good news is that the hotel has an outdoor pool!! Bad news is that in my rush to pack last night (because I ALWAYS wait until the very last possible second) I grabbed 2 left sandals.

Day 2: Destination Aruba: Part II - started out with another delay this morning. At this point I’ve been delayed a total of 25 hours (and counting?). I got to the airport and went to the original departure gate F2 and when I got there the board said it had been changed to E10 but right when I sat down my phone buzzed notifying me the gate had been changed again to F3. I’ve been at the airport now for 25 min just walking back and forth between terminals.

Day 3: Got my first dives in today!!! We went to Arashi Reef and saw 16 sea turtles (including the local sea turtle celebrity, Hank), 2 sting rays and a 3ft moray eel on our first dive! Our second dive was at the wreck site of the SS Pedernales, which was a WWII tanker that was torpedoed and sunk by the Germans. Can’t wait to go again tomorrow!!

Day 4: Second day of diving today! We started the morning at the SS Antilla Shipwreck, which was a German ship that was to be confiscated by the Dutch army during WWII. Rather than being captured, the German crew chose to sink the ship instead. At over 300ft long, it is one of the largest shipwrecks in the Caribbean. We found an air pocket in the bowels of the ship and when I lifted my head out of the water I could hear the tinkling of the old metal - it was so cool!! For our second dive we went back to Arashi Reef to see a ton more turtles and I got to get up close and personal with them!!

Day 5: Today’s adventure was renting a UTV and cruising around the island! We visited Natural Bridge Hill, Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins, Ayo Indian Rock Formations, the natural pool Conchi, and Mangel Halto Beach. What an amazing day filled with lots of adrenaline, big laughs, and beautiful sites!

Day 6: Today was a beach day! We rented a car and trekked across the island to Baby Beach. It was windy but absolutely beautiful! Next we went back to Mangel Halto so Ashley could see how stunning it was! Topped the day off with some snorkeling, reading on the beach and a beautiful sunset

Saboga, Panama 2018

mwollak — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 01:14:00 GMT

Going back to Minnesota is nice because I get to see my family that I really don't see that often but it is also draining and I almost always come back feeling more tired before I have to go back to work. So this year I decided to take my first solo travel adventure to focus on me so I can recharge and tackle the rest of the school year with some good old fashioned sun and vitamin sea. After a 6.5 hr flight and a short stay at a hotel in Panama City I boarded the ferry to take me to Saboga, one of the Pearl Islands off the pacific coast of Panama. I had my own beach front patio and am 26 steps away from what is practically my own private beach. Could not be happier. I have come to love SCUBA diving and it is easily one of my favorite things to do when I’m travelling so I was excited when I woke up this morning knowing I was going to get to dive! Unfortunately, the air compressor broke so there was no way to fill the tanks but I still got an amazing snorkel trip and island cruise on a beautiful day. C'est la vie! And I certainly can’t complain when I got to see so much amazing sea life on the reefs and we even saw a small pod of dolphins on the way over! I got caught up in the moment and didn’t think to pull my phone out in time so I just caught one tail but there were 5 or 6 🐬 Another beautiful day on the island! The next day, my host gave me a tour of the island! We went to the lookout, saw the town, and visited Iglesia de Saboga, one of the oldest churches still in use in the Americas. I got to eat lunch at the restaurant (one of the only ones on the island!) while reading my book, calmed by the gentle crashing of waves, and enjoyed a quiet sunset by myself! I said goodbye to my little island paradise and headed back to Panama City for one last night before I left. I wanted to eat at the restaurant above the Canal museum that overlooks the locks but it was closed because it’s Sunday. So instead, Francisco brought me to his favorite seafood place and I had some amazing ceviche. He has been making me practice my Spanish, which has been fun! I’m going to miss mi amigo when I go back. It was a short trip but it was exaclty what I needed!!

Iceland 2018

mwollak — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 01:13:00 GMT

It has become a tradition to travel with the best travel buddy ever - my friend Jeanette - over the summer and we had an epic adventure planed! But life happens sometimes so we had to adjust. While our original plan included a Nordic Tour across Europe hitting 6 countries in 4 weeks, what we ended up with was an incredible trip to the land of fire and ice! Jeanette was coming from Seattle and me from Boston so we met up at the airport early in the morning (we both landed before 6am!!). We hopped in our car rental and went straight for the Blue Lagoon. I always hear mixed reivews about the major tourist attractions but I sort of feel like if I'm there I can't NOT go! So we went and we enjoyed it! I think our timing was good because we go there pretty much as soon as they opened and I can see how it might get really busy and crowded later in the day once all the tour groups come. If you're able to miss those though, it is really enjoyable! Our trip began and ended in Reykjavík with a tour around the island inbetween on The Iceland Ring Road. On our second day, we began the first leg of our road trip and we saw waterfalls originating from the lava fields, rushing rivers from glacier run off, and bubbling hot springs! On day 3 we went to the waterfall of the gods and the gateway to hell! We saw craters and caves and fissures, oh my! Day four was epic! We raced through a mountain range so we would make it in time for our glacier kayak! We donned some dry suits, kayaked between icebergs at a glacier lagoon, got to climb up on one of the icebergs, and saw a heard of reindeer on our way back! No sheep were harmed (by us) during today’s activities. On Day 5 I completed the longest hike I’ve ever done and it was up a glacier! Starting in the glacier lagoon, we learned about how glaciers are moving ice rivers that carve out the mountain around them. We slapped on some crampons so we were able to dig into the ice and we had ice axes for stability and badassery to make our way up. We saw compression arches, crevasses, an ice fall (like a waterfall but with ice), and moulins as we navigated up and down Svínafellsjökull. It truly was awe inspiring. Day 6 - so much happened! We found diamonds at Diamond Beach, walked to the edge of a waterfall at Skaftafell, had our second amazingly delicious lamburger in two days, journeyed to Fjadrargljufur canyon that looked like it was straight out of Lord of the Rings, next we went to Reynisfjara where nature created rocks in the shape of hexagonal columns on a black lava sand beach with puffins flying overhead, finally we went to Seljalandsfoss and walked behind a thundering 62m waterfall. It was a good day. Day 7 - Jeanette was real trooper! I convinced her to come to Silfra and she faced her fear of drowning as we snorkeled between two tectonic plates (the North American and the Eurasian plates) in 3 °C water, we then went to Efstidalur for some incredible rhubarb caramel ice cream and saw all the baby cows too. Our last stop of the day was Gullfoss which rivals Niagra Falls in size, power and volume. Day 8 - we had a low key day back in Reykjavík after a wonderful breakfast in an adorable inn. But the most exciting part of our day was the puffin tour complete with an Icelandic lullaby sung by our captain! Puffins are very short, coming in under 10 in, and they have to flap their wings extra hard to fly because of their rotund body shape. They prefer flying with the wind and crash landings. They mate for life and their babies are called pufflings! Couples click their beaks together like they’re kissing and this is called billing. Iceland is home to 60% of the world’s puffin population and today we saw a colony of 10,000 pairs of puffins. On our last day we hung out at the hotel, ate breakfast and did laundary before heading out to the airport. Another incredible adventure in the books!

Belize 2018

mwollak — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 01:11:00 GMT

It has become a tradition for me to go somewhere warm in February. I need a break from the snow and the cold and the gray skys to recharge so this year we are going to BELIZE!!! We stayed on Ambergris Caye so we had to take a little puddle jumper from the main airport in Belize City to get to the island. I loved it (but my friend wasn't as big of a fan). It had been a year since the last time I went diving and it felt so incredible to be back at it - this time in Belize at Mexican Rock. I’m so grateful my amazing dad introduced me to what is quickly becoming my favorite hobby. I had such a great time I decided to go back the next day! Dive 2 was at Hol Chan and I also got to snorkel at Shark Ray Alley. The dive was beyond words and I got to swim and pet sharks and rays during the snorkel!! I read by the pool, soaked up some sun and had a great time with my girl friends. Each night we rented a golf cart (there are very few vehicles on the island!) and we explored the little down and got some amazing food! We got fish Belize style, amazing grouper tacos, and ALL the sangria!! We certainly had an unBELIZEable trip refreshed and rejuvinated to finish out the school year strong!

Spain 2017

mwollak — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 01:09:00 GMT

My friend and I made a last minute decision that we wanted to travel before our summer vacaction came to an end. It just so happened that my mom had points that were going to expire for her timeshare so we packed up and headed to Spain!! Our resort was on the East Coast of Spain outside of a little town called Calpe in Alicante. They had an incredible view of the ocean from the pool and we spent A LOT of time relaxing by the pool! We took one day to head into the little town and explored a bit. We climbed up the local attraction Peñon de Ifach (Calpe Rock) and got some amazing views of the ocean and the town. We got lunch on the beach and had ice cream for a little reprieve from the intense sun and extreme heat. The next day we took the train up for a day trip to Valencia! We had jamon y queso at a little restaurant down an alley and went to the bullring, which is one of the oldest in the world. We walked around, explored the Mercat Central de Valencia (Spain's largest freshfood market) , La Lonja de la Setha (the old Silk Exchange), the Plaza de la Reina, the Cathedral and climbed up the Torres de Serranos (built in 1392!!). It was a great day. After that we headed back to our hotel only to get a series of frantic texts from friends and family asking if we were ok. there was a bombing in Barcelona but because we were out and about all day without wifi we hadn't heard anything. We took a few hours in the lobby with wifi assuring everyone we were fine but decided to spend our last day just enjoying the pools at the resort out of an abundance of caution.

New Zealand 2017

mwollak — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 08:31:00 GMT

After JUST barely having enough time in Australia to decompress and avoid the bends we jumped on a plane to Auckland, New Zealand. With my tight school schedule and my dad not having that much time off of work, we only had 3 days in NZ. We thought we wouldn't be able to fit in any hiking while we were in NZ. Lucky for us the city park turned out to be some beautiful urban hiking. See if you can spot the tiny human in this massive tree! Because we only had 3 short days in New Zealand we had to make the most of them. Got to spend a day in Auckland and took a great city bus tour. The next day we headed out to Waitomo glowworm caves where we floated through the caves and were in complete awe of the tiny glowing dots all around us. Next we stopped at the Agrodome Farm Tour (Rotorua) where we got to see the sheep, cow, llamas and so much more! Our last stop of the day was the Mauri Village of Te Puia. We got a traditional welcome, a tour of the village and a concert and haka performance. It was stunning! Both my dad and I went home with beautful cavings. I'm not usually one to buy souveniers when I travel but the carvings were beautiful and the experience was incredible so I wanted to be able to remember it! We had a fancy dinner at the Sugar Club with an incredible view of the city and had to pack up to head back stateside the next morning.

Australia 2017

mwollak — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 08:27:00 GMT

My dad has been SCUBA certified for years and has always dreamed of diving the Great Barrier Reef. My dad likes traveling but he isn't the type of person to really spend money on vacations and doesn't have that much time off of work. I knew if I didn't practically FORCE him to go with me, he would never go. So I gave him 2 years notice and told him to start saving and ask for the time off now because we were going down under whether he liked it or not! I started my SCUBA training in Boston and did fine in the classroom and pool sessions but struggled a little more to do the open water tests in the 55 degree F water of Boston Harbor so I decided I would finish my training while we were in Australia.

I flew in from Boston and my dad flew in from Minneapolis and we met at LAX before the 15 hour long flight to Syndey. With my flight from Boston, a long layover in LA and the epically (and painfully) long flight to Sydney I had about 27 hours of traveling in before we even landed! When we got to Sydney we were both tired and sore but we landed at about 9am and only really had a day and a half in Syndey so we had to make the best of it. My dad was a trooper when I told him the best way to beat jet lag is to go by the local time so we checked into the hotel and immediately set out to explore Sydney! Our hotel was in a cute area of town and we walked around a bit and grabbed a delicious burger before our Sydney Harbour Bridge climb later that afternoon. The climb was entriely worth it! We had amazing whether and could see for miles once we got to the top. We got the best view in the city from 470ft above the water on top of one of the largest steel arch bridges in the world. The next day we headed out to catch the ferry to Taronga Zoo where we saw koalas, tazmanian devils, wombats, and kangaroos - my dad could not have been happier!

Next we headed out to Cairns to jump on a liveaboard boat for a few days to see and explor the Great Barrier Reef. We were so busy diving that we actually don't have any pictures of us diving but my dad brought a gopro so I was able to make a cool compliation video of all our dives together! We did 11 dives in 3 days and 2 of them were night dives. I have been lucky enough to have some pretty amazing experiences in my travels but this is definitely near the top of that list

Aruba 2016

mwollak — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 07:46:00 GMT

I went to Aruba with a group of girlfriends for Spring break! We had a great time that consisted almost entirely of laying on the beach, drinking mudslides, and eating delicious food! Even though I was sick with an awful cold almost the entire time, the crystal blue water and the warm sea breeze made it much more bearable!

Photos: Travel 2015-2019

mwollak — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 07:47:00 GMT

I took too long of a break from writing stories so here are a few highlights from the last 4 years

This Is It

mwollak — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 12:07:00 GMT

This is it. After 4 relaxing days on the beautiful beaches of Phuket, we flew back to Bangkok to begin our journey home. After having to run to catch one of our flights, the rest of the almost 40-hour excursion was pretty smooth. Nick met us at the airport and I got to spend a great night catching up with Tatiana but we're finally making our way back to Boston today.

On the plane, I just couldn't stop thinking how amazed I was that we actually did it. We traveled across the world and saw so much of Asia and experience so many incredible things, met some wonderful people, and saw things that I still can't really wrap my head around. I have no doubt in my mind that there is no one else I would have rather had at my side. I am proud to have made this journey with Jeanette and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Leaving has been bittersweet. For the last 50-something days, everyday was a new adventure but I am ready and excited to go home and see thinga settle down a bit (even if it's only for a little while). I'm looking forward to this school year and feel so ready to take on all the challenges it will bring. I'm also beyond excited about box brownies, clean clothes, and CHEESE!

Thank you for following along with us on this adventure and I can't wait to see what's in store for us next!

Chang Chang Chang Chang Chang!

mwollak — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 16:44:00 GMT

Hello again!

I'm happy to report that after a whole day of rest, I was feeling much better and it was a good thing that I was because we were headed off to Chiang Mai the next day. Chiang Mai is a city in Northern Thailand and originally we didn't think we would have enough time to make it up there but we were able to squeeze 2 days in and I was beyond excited!

We got in in the afternoon, grabbed something to eat and found a pool nearby to hang out in. It was a nice way to cool down and relax - we've found that travel days, no matter how long or short are pretty taxing on us. And we needed all of our strength for the next day because our itinerary was packed!!

We got picked up by our amazing tour guide bright and early and Achara brought us to the market to buy what we needed for breakfast. From there we drove north toward Chiang Rai to Bobby's elephant camp. The first thing we did when we got there was change into our mahout uniforms. A mahout is the elephant trainer and they build very strong relationships with their elephant that often lasts from the elephant's infancy until the mahout dies. Next, we met Bobby and he taught us the mahout commands. Forward, backward, left, right, stop, good, lift your leg, etc. We practiced these with the elephants and they got bananas as treats. We also learnes the elephant song! here, I'm using the term "learned" loosely because really Bobby sang and we stumbled our way through the Thai pronunciation. I remember the first line though and it goes like this *clrars throat* "CHANG CHANG CHANG CHANG CHANG!!" (You have to yell it as loud as possible, anything else is unacceptable to Bobby.). And, here's our Thai lesson for the day: Chang means elephant!

After that, we mounted the elephants and went for a walk with them. It was incredible to feel like one with such an enormous and majestic animal. It is an experience I will never forget. We ended up in the river where the elephants laid down and we bathed and played with them. Our time with these beautiful creatures was far too short but every second of it was amazing!

When we were done, we cleaned up and changed then had a breakfast feast from the market. We had chicken, sticky rice with bananas, and all sorts of fruit - pineapple, banana, mangosteens, and dragon fruit. It was delicious! From there, we drove a short way down to road to embark on our zip lining adventure through the Thai jungle canopy. It was so much fun!! The adrenaline rush is indescribable! For over 2 hours we soared from one tree to the next, over rivers and across gorges. It was awesome! At this point, it was time for lunch so we made our way to Tiger Kingdom. We chose not to because it was incredibly expensive, but we could have paid to go into the cages with the Tigers to pet them and pose for pictures. Instead, we ate at the restaurant and we're still only a few feet away from their enclosures. There were almost 100 tigers of all sizes and ages in the park and they were stunning. After a delicious Thai lunch (pad Thai, of course) we headed to the orchid garden. Orchids are the national flower of Thailand and we have seen them everywhere during our trip but their beauty still amazes me every time. I have an orchid plant at home but it hasn't bloom in over a year so it was crazy to see toes and rows and rows of beautiful orchids in so many shapes and colors. Right next to the orchid farm was a small butterfly garden. There were so many butterflies t was almost hard to comprehend it!! Both Jeanette and I managed to coax a butterfly onto one of our fingers too! It was a long day but I feel so lucky to have seen and experienced all that we did!! It was truly amazing. We're flying to our final destination on the trip tomorrow and heading to the beaches of Phuket!

It Was Bound to Happen at Somepoint

mwollak — Sun, 9 Aug 2015 17:31:00 GMT

We're finally in Thailand! It is our last stop on our Asian Adventure. I can't believe I'll be back in the states in 10 days.

We got up early Friday morning and walked down to the bus station then got escorted to where the bus was going to pick us up. We opted for the sleeper bus hoping it would be a bit more comfortable than a regular bus. It may very well have been, if it wasn't 1,000 degrees inside! Ok, well it wasn't that hot, but it was certainly uncomfortable. It was about 2 hours or so to the boarder crossing and having been through this before, we were expecting the chaos and confusion this time. We all shuffled out of the bus where those of us continuing on to Bangkok were herded toward a general area and told to wait. From there, we followed one of the men who worked for the tour company who took us to another man that exchanged neon lanyards for our bus tickets. The tag on the lanyard said "VIP" so I figured that was a pretty good sign. After we got our party necklace, we were told to go wait in line at customs. It was only 9 or maybe 10 in the morning but it was already so hot and it was only exasperated by the 15kg backpack I had on. All of a sudden my mouth started watering and I had that metallic taste so I knew whatever was about to happen it wasn't going to be good. I found a trashcan not far away and about 10 seconds later I threw up. Great. I'm vomiting at the boarder crossing. It seemed to pass so I got back in line, made it through Cambodian customs, then Thai immigration. At this point, I was still feeling nauseous and we had no idea where we were supposed to go. One thing we've learned about finding our way is that when in doubt, just keep walking and sure enough, someone spotted our lime green tags and told us our minivan was 150m further. When we got there, they told us the van only had 2 seats left so we would have to wait for the next one. It wasn't so bad though. I sought refuge in the nearest toilet and Jeanette and Nathan got to enjoy some AC. Not too much later, the next van pulled up and we were told it was our turn. When we opened the door to the van, however, it most definitely did not look like there were 3 seats. Nathan and Jeanette squeezed it to what could MAYBE be considered a seat and a half and I was left confused. Then someone tapped me on the backed and motioned for me to step out of the van. At first I got really nervous about this, maybe I had to wait for the next one? But it turned out that I got to sit in the front, with lots of room, AC right on my face, and easy access to the window just in case.

Good news is that I made the 4 hr trip from the boarder to Bangkok without further incidence. Bad news is that Jeanette had a rough time in the back of the van and came out feeling terrible too. We took the subway to our hostel and I decided to stay in while Jeanette and Nathan went out for dinner. I took a shower and called it a night.

The next morning, I was feeling a bit better so we went for breakfast and had the most delicious eggs Benedict I have ever had! I was so hungry because I hadn't eaten anything the day before so I practically inhaled my food. Turns out, that's not such a great idea... I maybe ate too much or too fast or something else but whatever the reason, my breakfast came right back up, luckily this time I wasn't in the middle of the street at a boarder crossing. Even still, I didn't feel terrible so we decided to go to the grand palace. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The kingdom's name changed after the abolition of the absolute monarchy and the transition to the constitutional monarchy in 1932. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadei (Rama IX), currently lives at a different palace but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. The buildings and the grounds were stunning. We have been to a LOT of temples and palaces but they were nothing compared to this. Everything was either gold or covered in 1 sq in tiles of colored glass. It was unbelievable. The only thing that could have made it better was if I didn't have to wear a long sleeve shirt and a sarong (no tank tops or leggings allowed). It was unbearably hot. So, we decided to go to the weekend market to get some cold drinks and some food. We checked out the market then headed back home.

I felt pretty terrible again last night but was feeling better Thia morning. Unfortunately, that was short lived and I had to come back to the hotel after breakfast to take a day off while Nathan and jeanette went to explore the floating market.

I've been in Asai for about 6 weeks now so it was only a matter of time before I got a bit sick but hopefully having a light day today will make traveling to Chiang Mai tomorrow little easier. The good news about being in the hostel all day gave me time to finally catch up on my travel blog so you're welcome! :)

Photos: Thailand 2015

mwollak — Fri, 7 Aug 2015 01:17:00 GMT

We spent 10 days in Thailand to wrap up our Asian Adventure and got to see Bangkok, ride elephants in Chiang Mai and play on the beaches of Phuket.

This is Goodbye for Now, Cambodia

mwollak — Thu, 6 Aug 2015 12:27:00 GMT

Hello again!

We packed up after our last day at Angkor and went to bed early knowing we had to get to the boat launch to get to Battambang. We woke up early on Wednesday morning and our ride to the boat launch arrived at 6:50am. We threw our bags in the back of the pickup and were on our way. We stopped at another hotel and picked up 2 more travelers and it got a bit crowded with 4 in the back seat and 2 in front. We thought that was it, but the truck made one more stop. There was no way we were going to fit any more people in the small truck so we thought maybe we were just picking up their bags? Nope. The people were coming with us too. The driver took all of our bags out of the bed of the truck, the 4 new travelers crawled in, and then they were securely fastened with our luggage. The entire drive to the marina I was worried that our bags would fall out, the people would fall out or both! Luckily, we made it in tact and everything was fine. We walked down a steep set of stairs to our little boat and climbed on. We were at the dock for a while waiting for all the passengers to arrive from their different places and every seat was full. We set off on what would be a 7 hour journey down the river, through various floating fishing villages, to our final destination. At one point, we went up the roof of what was just more than a dinghy, and got a great view (and a nap) but it was blistering under the hot equatorial son, so I didn't stay up their long. Each time we drove through one of the fishing villages all the children were so excited to see us! They would run to the shore or out to their porch on their floating house to furiously wave at us passing by, and yell, "Hello! Hello!" It was a long, hot and pretty uncomfortable use, but we made it to Battambang for our final 2 nights in Cambodia.

We had 1 full day in Battambang and saw it as a stopover and wanted to take things a little easy. We had gone to the wonderful acrobatics show by Phare in Siem Reap and we found out that their school was in Battambang and they offer tours so we headed down there. Unfortunately, they didn't have any classes happening that we could watch but were able to walk through one of the galleries of the students' work and it was beautiful. From there we went to the infamous Battambang bamboo train. The tracks were left behind from the colonial days and have been repurposed for local use. There used to be a scheduled rail service but it was shit down by the Khmer Rouge. Now, they mainly use improvised rail vehicles called norries. It was $5 per person for a 1-hr round trip and the trained bumped for 7km south to O Sra Lav along misaligned and warped tracks and bridges. Each nori has a 3m long wooden frame covered with lightweight bamboo slats that rests on 2 dumbbell shaped axels, was powered by what looked like a lawnmower engine and had no breaks. Having a simple design and being incredibly light weight means that the nori can simply be removed from the track if 2 meet in the line. The one with the lighter load is unloaded, the frame lifted and set to the side of the tracks, the axels are removed and the other nori passes. The first nori is reassembled and everyone is on their way. Check out the pictures to see this process in action!

We went back to the hotel to rest a bit. The sun and the extreme heat really takes a lot out of you! That night we made our way via tuktuk out to the Killing Caves. The caves were used in the 70s by the Khmer Rouge as a disposal site for hundreds of their victims where they were often bludgeoned to death then thrown into the caves, which became mass graves. Every night at dusk, millions of bats migrate out of the caves to hunt for food and make spectacular shapes in the sky. It was a steady stream of bats flying out of the cave for about 40 minutes and it is said that they look like a dragon's back in the sky. I was mesmerized by the sheer number of bats bats, which seemed to be never ending and then we got lucky enough to have a stunning sunset to go with it!

This is our final night in Cambodia and although I am excited to see and experience all that Thailand has to offer, I am sad to be leaving this place I have so quickly fallen in love with. This is goodbye for now, Cambodia, but I will be back!

Angkor What?

mwollak — Mon, 3 Aug 2015 00:26:00 GMT

We are leaving Siem Reap today but I am so excited to tell you about our 4 days exploring the temples of Angkor. Angkor is a region in Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which spanned from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Over the centuries, there were 4 major kings that influenced the construction of massive stone megacity, which was once home to millions (at a time when London was only 50,000 people big).

Our first day we woke up really early and left our hotel at 4:50am to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat because we were told it is a sight not to be missed. Unfortunately, we came to Cambodia during the rainy season so it was too cloudy to see the majesty we read and heard about. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it much on that particular morning anyway because I was suffering from some severe nausea due to my malaria medication. It was a bummer we missed the sunrise but the good thing about getting up to the park that early is that we spent 7 hours there and only the last couple were uncomfortably hot. We hired a tuktuk driver for the day and he took us to all the temples on the big circuit. Our first stop was Preah Khan. One of the largest complexes at Angkor, it once housed over 1000 teachers and may have been a Buddhist university. It is considered a fusion temple as it honors components from both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Most temples are have either Hindu or Buddhist influences so it was amazing to see both in one place. It is said that the king who reigned during the construction of Preah Khan was Buddhist but religiously tolerant and respected Hindus. The Khmer empire was originally a Hindu empire but transitioned back and forth between Buddhism over the centuries and you can see evidence in the statues and carvings in the temples. Preah Neak Poan was next and it was a beautiful example of the elaborate water and irrigation systems found in Angkor. It had a large square pool surrounded by four square smaller pools with a circular island in the middle. Water once flowed into the four peripheral pools via four ornamental spouts in the form of a lion's head, an elephant's head, a horse's head and a human's head. We saw Ta Som and East Mebon before heading out to the monuments of Rolous, which ones served as the capital from 887-889 to see Bakong and Preah Ko. We spent over 7 hours exploring the different temples and each one was just as amazing as the last. Even still, we got back relatively early, because we started at 5am, and found a pool at a nearby hotel to cool off and relax in. It was definitely one of our better ideas. We all knocked out pretty early that night, knowing that we were going back to the park the next day.

The next day, we decided to take the bikes from our hotel and see the temples on the small circuit. It was really cool to see the city from that perspective but it was a very long day. Our hotel is 7km from the park and the small circuit is about 25km so in total we biked 40km that day. We started in the city of Angkor Thom. It is the gates that grab you first followed by a massive representation of the myth of the Churning of the Milk. It was said that the snake (naga) was tugged on my the gods and the demons in a sea of milk, churning for one hundred years in hopes of creating and immortality elixir. The gates tower over you and the face of the gods state down upon you. It must have been a foreboding sight for a peasant of the Khmer empire to approach the city of king-gods. The first temple in Angkor Thom we went to was Bayon. Bayon is a massive temple whose defining characteristic is the hundreds of serene stone faces carved into stone tower above. There are countless faces staring down at you from every point inside the temple and seemed to me to be the ancient Big Brother. Around every corner there were dozens of new faces watching your every move. It was spectacular! Next we went to Baphuon, which some have called the world's largest jigsaw puzzle. Before the civil war, the temple was painstakingly taken apart for restoration but the Khmer Rouge destroyed the meticulous records during the war. After years of research, the temple is finally being restored and reconstructed. From there we walked through the Terrace of the Leper King. It is believed to be the site of a royal crematorium and has a 7m high terrace that has been protected from the elements so the carvings are still in great shape and are absolutely stunning. Next was Ta Prohm, which is nicknamed "Tomb Raider Temple." Here, nature has taken over an empire long gone. The stone ruins are covered with vines and plants with the trees growing right out of the stone. It was quite beautiful to see and made me think about what our world will look like after humans have become extinct. It was so hot all day and I felt like I was just constantly dripping sweat all day long. It was so bad at one point we walked up to the entrance of one of the temples and the guard checking our tickets asked me why I was sweating so much. We all got a good laugh out of that. We got a little later start that morning and had a slower means of transportation so we only started heading back around 5pm. We had been lucky that it had only rained once during the day and it was short enough that we could wait it out under the cover of the temple (not a bad way to wait out a rain storm I might add!). However, rainy season in Cambodia usually brings pretty heavy rain in the early evening and we learned that lesson the hard way. We made it just out of the park before it started raining. At first, it actually felt really nice but then the skies really opened up and we rode in pouring rain for about 5km. We made it home safely but EVERYTHING was soaked. We were dripping so much water that if we stopped walking for a second a pool formed at our feet almost immediately. We cleaned up and had food delivered to the hotel (another one of our better ideas) and watched "Lara Craft: Tomb Raider" because many of the scenes were filmed at the temples we had been exploring for the last couple days. It was pretty cool to recognize some of the places.

We were all sore from the biking the day before so we slept in a bit, did some planning for the rest of our trip (we only have 2 weeks left!!!) and got a later start. We had one major temple left before seeing the king of all temples: Angkor Wat. We had saved the best for last and it was stunning. Angkor Wat means capital temple and is the largest religious monument in the world. It is the best preserved temple in the park and is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since it was constructed. We had hoped we would be able to catch sunset but the sun dipped below the clouds and we missed our chance again. For dinner, we read about a restaurant on what is nicknamed "Pub Street" that offers a free show with dinner so we decided to check it out. The food was good but the show was incredible! It was traditional Khmer dances each with its own special meaning. We saw the cup dance used at ceremonies, the coconut dance used to celebrate the natural resources of the land, the peacock dance that celebrates the native animals, the dance of 2 princes and the monkey king used to tell old stories and Khmer legends, and finally the fishing dance used to celebrate their lifestyle (and tell an adorable love story). The show was accompanied by live musicians who were just as amazing as the dancers and it lasted almost 2 hours.

On our final day in the park, we decided to take the tuktuk further north about 30km to Banteay Srei which is called the "Citadel of Women" because the carvings are so small and intricate it was believed they could only have been carved by the small hands of women. That may or may not be true but the carvings were absolutely incredible. They were much more intricate and preserved than any of the other temples we had been to (and we had been to a lot!) It was a relatively small temple compared to some of the others but it was breathtaking. After that, we went further north to Kbai Spean.
We hiked up the mountain about 2km through the jungle and found ourselves at a river. The bed of the river and in the banks, there were hundreds of carvings. It was mesmerizing to watch the water flow over the intricate carvings and again I couldn't help marveling at the amazing feat that was accomplished in this work thousands of years ago. From the river we could hear screams of joy and the splashing from the nearby waterfall. We made our way down where we found 2 waterfalls and 20 other travelers who were seeking refuge from the heat and found it in the cool water of the falls. The water was beyond refreshing and was the perfect way to cool down after that long and hot hike. The best part was that the falls had formed a natural waterslide with a small pool at the foot of it! To say I enjoyed myself would be a drastic understatement. We hiked back down the mountain, which was a bit more precarious in wet sandals, and had lunch before going to the land mine museum. Tourists began hearing stories about a young khmer man who cleared land mines with a stick and had a house full of defused ordinances. The man's name was Aki Ra and he began charging a dollar to see his collection, using the money to help further his activities. Thus began the Cambodia Land Mine Museum. After decades of war, Cambodia was covered with unexploded bomb and land mines. There were many people who tried to disarm these bombs on their own, some for the sake of making their home habitable again and some to collect scrap metal to sell to make end's meet. Many people died doing this because they were untrained. Therefore, in 2007 the Cambodian government banned all de-mining activities that were not specifically sanctioned and licensed by the government thus Aki Ra had to cease his operation and his museum was closed. He took a year off from his work but realized he needed to return to it to feel like he had a purpose so he worked with multiple foundations to start his own NGO. His new NGO is now licensed and sanctionsed by the Cambodian government to difuse unexploded ordinances. He has also reopened his museum in 2007 and it serves 3 purposes:

To tell Aki Ra’s story
To tell the world about the horrors of landmines and explain that war is only half the problem. The aftermath of war continues long after the shooting stops.
To care for the children who live at the museum, many of whom were victims of land mines or whose parents could not care for them.

After the museum we headed back to the hotel and packed up for our early departure tomorrow morning!

With love,

The Faces of War: Part II

mwollak — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 01:54:00 GMT

Hello again!

On Wednesday, we left pretty early and hopped on the bus to Cambodia! We got picked up at our hotel and escorted to the bust station where we threw our bags in the cargo hold and hopped on a cool, air conditioned bus. The ride was pretty easy and the scenery was beautiful. It took us about 2 hours to reach the boarder. When we got there, we had to grab our backpacks from the cargo hold and were pointed in the general direction of an office. We walked into a room filled with at least 100 people and stood in what vaguely resembled a line. The line wasn't moving but I was actually a bit relieved by that because the bus company employee had taken our passports and our immigration forms when we got off the bus so we didn't have any sort of paperwork. After what felt like forever, I started getting a bit nervous but I had no idea where we were supposed to go or what we were supposed to do so standing and waiting seemed ok until we could figure it out. There were 2 British girls that were on our bus and we just stuck with them hoping something good would happen. All of a sudden, our guide comes through calling names and handing out passports then walks right past the government officials at the desk and all 4 of us girls pushed and squeezed our way through the crowd, barreled by desks, and we were through! No one even looked at our paperwork until we got to the door at the other end of the building and looked is a strong word. We were then ushered back onto the bus, which drove about 100ft over the boarder and had to get back off again.

It felt like déjà vu because again, we were pointed in the general direction of the office with no identification or immigration paperwork. We were more comfortable with waiting this time and confident that eventually someone from the bus company would show up and we would be on our way. Sure enough, he came in, handed me my passport with a brand new visa for Cambodia, and we were on our way. From the boarder, we were still about 4 hours from Phnom Penh, but luckily I was able to sleep most of the way. When we got to the bus station, they had a tuktuk waiting for us and he took us to our hotel. It was perfect timing because we got to our hotel before the rain but just barely missed the downpour. We checked in, got to our room and took out the maps to start figuring out our plan in the city as the rain pounded on our roof and windows. While I was looking at my map, I felt a drop on my shoulder and when I looked up, I saw there was water coming in from our light fixture above my bed. I grabbed my rain coat and rain back down to the lobby and told the manager that our ceiling was leaking. We ran back upstairs 2 steps at a time and when I opened the door he gasped in what seemed to be complete surprise and a bit of embarrassment. He apologized profusely and said his staff would have to look at it but he was all booked for the night. I had already set up the trash can underneath the light where most of the water was coming out and a cup under a smaller leak and I thought it would be fine until the rain stopped. It is the rainy season after all and and short rain bursts are pretty common. He left and a few minutes later we heard a loud noise above us and I jokingly told Jeanette he was up on the roof right now trying to fix it but that turned out to be exactly what was happening because he came back to our room, soaking wet, to see if the roof was still leaking (it was). He was so kind and set us up in his friend's hotel a few blocks away and apologized a dozen times. He called a tuktuk and paid for our ride over. We got settled in again, I started writing and catching up on some blog entries and Jeanette took a nap. I let her sleep for a while but knew that Nathan was coming in and she wanted to meet him at the airport. Nathan's flight was delayed a few hours and he took a while to get through customs so by the time he and Jeanette got back to the hotel, it was time for bed.

For our first day in Phnom Penh, we decided to go to the famous Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum first. Tuol Sleng is the former site of the Chao Ponhea Yat High School, which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) during the Khmer Rouge's rise to power from 1975-1979. They were a communist party who aided the Viet Minh during the Vietnam war (which spilled over into Cambodia). They came into power after their victory in the Cambodian Civil War and were infamous for their brutality, ethnic cleansing, and widespread famine and death. While in power, the Khmer Rouge carried out a radical program that isolated the country from all foreign influences, closed schools, hospitals, and factories, abolished banking, finance, and currency, outlawed all religions, confiscated all private property and evacuated major cities by having their inhabitants march for days into the countryside, thousands dying along the way, to collective farms where forced labor was widespread. The purpose of the policy was to turn Cambodia into a classless society and turn Cambodians into "Old People" through agricultural labor. Scholars, artists, merchants and religious people, as well as the Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cham muslim ethnic minorities were fiercely targeted and in their 5 year reign, almost 2 million Cambodians were killed (about 25% of the population).

Tuol Sleng means "hill of the poisonous trees" and it was only one of at least 150 execution centers in the country and as many as 20,000 prisoners were held, tortured, and later killed there. It was built as a prison and interrogation center in 1975. In the early months of S-21's existence, most of the victims were from the previous Long Nol regime and included soldiers, government officials, as well as academics, doctors, teachers, students, monks, engineers, etc. Later, however, the party leadership's paranoia turned on its own ranks and purges throughout the country saw thousands of party activists and their families brought to Tuol Sleng and murdered.

Much like the Nazi's at the concentrations camps, the Khmer Rouge kept meticulous records of all of their detainees. The entire school has now been converted to a museum to honor those who lost their lives. I walked through the individual cells and torture chambers, with gruesome pictures on the walls, and old dried blood spatter on the floors. The old chalkboards still had math problems on them and it was just room after room after room of cells that once held thousands of innocent people. I couldn't make it through the entire museum as I was just overcome with so much sadness over the senseless, awful, and inhumane acts that had been carried out in that former place of learning. As I walked down the haunting halls, with tears welling up in my eyes, I knew I couldn't finish the museum so I went outside in what is now a beautiful courtyard, sat on a bench and silently cried by myself for 20 min. Jeanette and Nathan eventually met me outside and with heavy hearts we left Tuol Seng.

We saw a few more things around Phnom Penh like the Independence Monument, the Royal Palace, and the Cambodian-Vietnamese Friendship monument but it was hard for me to shake what I had experienced at the museum. We had a beautiful dinner with an old co-worker of Jeanette's then went home and packed up as we were leaving for Siem Reap in the morning.

The 6 hour bus ride was pretty uneventful as we had no boarder crossings. We got to Siem Reap around 3 and decided to go to the Angkor National museum, which gives some thorough background information that is really helpful to know before you visit the ancient ruins. After the museum, we went to what I thought was going to be the circus. I had no idea what was in store for me when we walked up to the big top tent of Phare Ponleu Selpak.

Phare Ponleu Selpak translates to "Brightness of Art" and is a Cambodian cultural organization that uses art as a means to help young people to deal with their war trauma. The specific show we saw that night was called "Sokah" and is based on the true story of one of the founders of Phare. Sokah is a child haunted by visitors of the atrocities and destruction by the Khmer Rouge and her memories form a surreal weave with myths and facts. Cringing in darkness, consumed by her fear, Sokha discovers her strength and resilience and gathers all her determination to fight despair. Thanks to her trust in human nature, her choice as an adult is to believe in social reconstruction by young youth using art as a healing and solidarity factor between generations.

The show was stunningly beautiful and I was taken on a journey of emotions ranging from painful tears of sadness to celebratory tears of happiness. The people in this country are strong and resilient but more than anything they are beautifully joyful. They are always smiling, laughing, playing and joking and it warms my heart to be with them in the home they are so proud of. They are a people that are simply happy and you can't help but be enveloped in their happiness and it is a wonderful thing to experience. I am sad that I cannot truly express how amazing this place is and I know I have said this for every place we have been but you must come visit because the second you step foot on Cambodia soil or catch a smile from a local you will forever be in love. For a country that has seen so much violence and destruction, it is inspiring to see how they have collectively chosen to move forward in love rather than hatred.

With all my happiness,

Photos: Cambodia 2015

mwollak — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 21:35:00 GMT

We had 10 days in Cambodia starting in Phnom Penh and made our way to Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, and Battambang.

The Faces of War: Part I

mwollak — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 21:03:00 GMT

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City!

On Monday, we flew from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. When we made our travel plans, we figured Monday would be a dead day due to the traveling but our flight was early enough that we were actually able to see quite a bit of Ho Chi Minh City. HCMC was once called Saigon and is the former capital of South Vietnam. Our first stop was the Central Post Office which was built during the French colonization of Vietnam. It has some beautiful architecture and amazing old painted map murals painted in 1892 - the first one is titled Lignes telegraphiques du Sud Vietnam et Cambodge 1892 which translates to "Telegraphic lines of Southern Vietnam and Cambodia 1892". The second map of greater Saigon is titled Saigon et ses environs 1892 translating to "Sai Gon and its environment 1892". There is also a slightly newer addition in the form of a portrait of Ho Chi Minh hanging prominently at the front of the building. Jeanette mailed a few post cards to her family and I sent something too (be on the look out Mom and Dad!).

Our next stop was the War Remnants Museum but on the way, we were walking right by the Reunification Palace and decided to stop in. The Reunification Palace, also known as Independence Palace, is the former home and working place of the president of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Think of it as kind of like a 60s version of the White House. It is the site of the end of the Vietnam war when the North Vietnamese army crashed through its gates on April 30 1975. It was an incredible building that combined old traditions with modern architecture and it felt like a step back in time. The hall is open for tours during the day and is still used for some major functions.

After that, we kept on our way to the War Remnants Museum that was a memorial to the men and women whose lives were impacted by the Vietnam War. Here, they call it the War of American Aggression. It has been interesting to be an American in a country where Americans were seen and and still described as the "enemy." The Vietnam War occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1955 to the fall of Saigon on April 30 1975. It was fought between North Vietnam (supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies) and South Vietnam (supported by the United States, Philippines and other anti-communist allies). The US saw its part in the war as a way to prevent a communist take over of South Vietnam. It was interesting to see the Vietnam war from the perspective of who was considered our enemy when I learned about the war. The atrocities of the US soldiers as well as the South Vietnamese soldiers were highlighted in addition to the effects of Agent Orange, phosphorus bombs, and napalm on the Vietnamese people. I feel like the Vietnam War has always been glossed over in my history classes and I am glad I have had the chance to learn about it in the country that it effected most. I have also learned that Vietnam has seen so much war - they went through 55 years of almost constant war. Starting with the First Indochina war from 1946-1954, the Vietnam war from 1955-1975, and the Cambodian--Vietnamese War from 1977-1989. One thing I know for certain is that her people have been through so much pain but they are strong and resilient and ready to continue making strides forward.

There is a sad but beautiful song we heard on our flight in Vietnam that speaks to this pain and optimism called "Hello Vietnam" and it goes like this: Tell me about this name that is difficult to say. It was given to me the day I was born. I want to know the stories of the empire of old. My eyes say more of me than you dare to say. All I know of you is all the sights of war. A movie by Coppola, the helicopter's roar. One day I'll touch your soul. One day I'll finally know your soul. One day I'll come to you to say hello Vietnam. Tell me about my color, my hair, and my little feet that have carried me every mile of the way. I want to see your house, your streets. Show me all I do not know. Wooden sampans, floating markets, light of gold. All I know of you is all the sights of war. A movie by Coppola, the helicopter's roar. One day I'll touch your soul. One day I'll finally know your soul. One day I'll come to you to say hello Vietnam. And Buddha's made of stone watch over me, my dreams they lead me through fields of rice. In prayer, in the light I see my kin. I touch my tree, my roots, my beginning. All I know of you is all the sights of war. A movie by Coppola, the helicopter's roar. One day I'll touch your soul. One day I'll finally know your soul. One day I'll come to you to say hello Vietnam. To say xin chao Vietnam.

The next day we were drained so we decided to pull back a bit and started off our day with a late breakfast and massages. After that, we walked through the park where we saw a group of Vietnamese kids playing badminton. We stopped to watch then asked if we could play with them too so we joined in and had a great time playing with them for about 15 min - they were so good! We went back to the hotel, showered and grabbed dinner before packing up and getting ready for our trip to Phnom Penh the next morning.

Vietnam was an amazing country and I am so glad we got the opportunity to experience and learn about this beautiful land. Au revoir for now, Vietnam.

I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

mwollak — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 19:00:00 GMT

Greetings!

We left Hanoi on Thursday but before we headed to the airport we went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. Getting there was easy enough and we hopped out of the cab and got in the security line. There are many places (temples, churches, etc) that require you (read: women) to "dress appropriately" which means you can't show your shoulders or your knees. Apparently mausoleums can also be added to this list. Like I mentioned before, Hanoi was HOT and that is putting it lightly, so putting on another layer was suffocating. Security entailed an x-ray scan, a metal detector and an intimating number of armed soldiers. We made it through just fine and were ushered 2 by 2 down a sidewalk where we weren't allowed to talk, take pictures or cross our arms. We finally made it to a giant granite building and were escorted in. It was freezing in there, which we later learned was due to the preservation requirements, but it felt good. We walked up a few flights of stairs, down some long hallways and finally showed into a large room. In the center of the room was a large glass coffin with Ho Chi Minh laying inside. I really wanted a picture but knew this wasn't the place to risk it. Luckily, we saw people outside the mausoleum taking pictures so I dared to take one too.

Ho Chi Minh was the leader of Vietnam from 1945 until his death in 1969 and is one of just a handful of famous world leaders that have been embalmed, encased and preserved in mausoleums. Among them are Lenin and Stalin of Russia, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il of North Korea, Mao Zedong of China, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. Interestingly, Russia was the first to perfect the science and helped Vietnam build their mausoleum for Ho Chi Minh when he died. A few years later, China wanted to construct a mausoleum for Mao as well when he died in 1976 but due to contentious political relations with Russia, they called on the Vietnamese for assistance.

After that, we headed back to the hotel and hailed a cab to the airport then waited there for a few hours just to find our our flight had been delayed. We finally got in to Da Nang, a city just north of our final destination, Hoi An, around 7pm. I wasn't feeling great so I took a shower and went to bed early while Jeanette went out to grab something to eat. Not to worry, it was just a headache and I woke up feeling much better. We decided to spend our first full day in Hoi An at the beach. There is a beach close to us but the guidebook said it can get busy so we decided to go An Bang beach, which is 4km from our hotel. It was well worth the $52,000 dong ($2.50USD) in the cab because when we got there, there were just a handful of other people, rows of beds under giant bamboo umbrellas and cute beach side restaurants.

It was a hot day but the sun was shining and the sky was blue so we were happy to be at the beach. We walked down, chose our beds under the perfect umbrella, and made friends with a local woman named Bi. We found out she was 25, married, was a twin and had 4 year old twin daughters! We chatted for a while, swapped pictures and learned some Vietnamese phrases from Bi before heading to the water to cool off. We quickly learned that walking up to the ocean's edge was not an option. You know that game you played as a kid when you were at the playground with all your friends? The one where someone is it and everyone has to escape their reach without touching the ground cause it was lava? That's exactly what the sand felt like. It was so hot, I am almost positive I burned the skin between my toes. Every time we wanted to go into or come out of the water we had to get ready for the 20m dash back to our beds. All we did all day long was run back and forth between the ocean and cool relief of our umbrella shade. We also indulged in our first coconut! They hack off the top of a coconut, stick a straw or two in it and serve it. Ours came right out of the refrigerator so it was incredibly refreshing.

After about 8 hours at the beach, we headed back to the hotel and showered up. We both got a bit sunburned (even after reapplying sunscreen 3 or 4 times). It felt good to get cleaned up but I was excited to see the city because I stayed in the night before. We left right around dusk so I got some really beautiful pictures of the ancient city. Hoi An used to be the major port city in central Vietnam and because of this, you can see many influences from various cultures (Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, etc.) in the architecture. We walked across the Japanese covered bridge and you have to see the pictures in the gallery because they are STUNNING. The bridge looks beautiful in the dusk light and I also got a great picture of the town from the bridge as well. We walked around a bit and I fell in love with all the beautiful Chinese style lanterns hanging everywhere and snapped a great shot of Jeanette just before dark. After that we headed to a restaurant one of the ladies at our hotel recommended and it was delicious. We went back to our hotel when we finished dinner and watched Mulan before calling it a night :)

Originally, our plan had been to motorbike from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh but after looking into it more, we decided we didn't have enough time. Instead, we decided to fly and rent the motorbikes for a day trip. We had good weather again on Saturday so we decided to go up to the city of Hue, which is about 4 hours from Hoi An. We are breakfast at the hotel then walked across the street to one of probably hundreds of motorbike rentals in the city. We checked it out, got our helmets, I took it for a test drive around the block and we were ready to go! The rental cost $80,000 Vietnamese dong (or $4 USD) for the entire day!!! Our first stop had to be at a gas station so we asked for directions, she told us to go straight then turn left and we were off! It wasn't exactly clear how far we should go straight, when we should turn left or how far we had to go after turning until we got to the gas station. We stopped a couple of times and asked but we were pointed in the same general direction. We finally thought we were on the right track then saw a woman on the side of the street with a home-made sign that said, "gasoline" on it. She had a ton of reused water bottles filled with a bright green liquid and it seemed a bit strange but we had no idea. We told her to fill it up, we paid her and went on our way headed to Hue! About a minute after we pulled away from her, we saw the actual gas station just a few hundred feet ahead but it didn't matter, we were off on our epic excursion.

We knew there was only one road to take us to Da Nang, the next city over from there so that was pretty easy but we couldn't exactly use a GPS and we didn't even have a map. Luckily, Jeanette had taken screen shots of our trip so we generally had an idea of where we were going. We made it to Da Nang just fine but came across a bit of trouble finding the road we had to turn on because the name of the small street didn't show up on the screen shot. We ended up missing the turn but knew we needed to stay on the coast so we took a different road and eventually got to where we needed to be pretty easily. After that, we saw signs for Hue and just followed those with no need for a map.

After that, we could relax a bit and got to enjoy the beautiful scenery around us. We were driving along the coast for a while and got to see the beaches, boats, and bays with the mountains in the background. As we got closer to the foot of the mountain, the scenery just got more and more breathtaking. I feel like I say this in almost every post, but words and even pictures just do not do it justice and around almost every turn I found myself saying how amazing this was. We finally saw the sign for the Hai Van Mountain pass, quickly stopped to fill up the tank, and took a slight left turn onto the mountain road! The turns were tight and drivers here seem to be completely fearless so I was going about 20km/hr and I had cars, trucks and motorbikes flying by me on the left and the right even around hair pin turns! We didn't mind taking it slow - our goal for the day was just to survive but we also got to enjoy the ride too. About half way up the mountain, we came across a bunch of goats just roaming around and that's where we decided to pull over for a short break and try to snap a few pictures. I've been pretty good about documenting our trip through pictures but like I said, we had other priorities today (like not being flattened by an 18-wheeler) so we don't have many. Guess you'll just have to come do it yourself to see!

When we got to the top of the mountain, there were a handful of small shops selling cold drinks and noodles. Almost the second I shut the bike off and Jeanette dismounted, we had a bunch of old ladies yelling at us to come sit and get a cold drink. We kept walking and didn't know what the laddies were saying when we walked away but understood that they weren't happy. We got to the end of the small restaurants and found a much calmer place. We were kindly welcomed in and the owner explained to us that we had food with Vietnamese prices (read cheap) but a million dollar view. And he was absolutely right. We got a table looking out over where we had just come from and it was stunning. The food was tasty but it was still pretty hot, even at the top of the mountain. One of the most refreshing drinks we have had thus far was that coconut on the beach, so we decided to get another one and it was perfect. While we were sitting and enjoying the view, a chicken walked out and came over to us. I joked with Jeanette that we had made a friend and as soon as the words were out of my mouth, he flew up onto the ledge behind me, no more than a foot away. There's a great picture that Jeanette captured in the photo gallery if you don't believe me!

We asked how far it was to Hue, and the owner told us it was about 2 hours away. At this point, it was about 1pm and we knew we had to start heading home around 3pm to make it back before dark (there is no way I was going to drive on this thing at night on these roads with these drivers!) so we decided even if we hadn't made it to Hue, we were going to turn back at 3pm. We came up one side of the mountain and it wasn't too bad - there were a few moments that I clenched my fists and had white knuckles but they were few and far between. We were completely and utterly unprepared for the harrowing experience we were about to have driving down the other side of the mountain. Going up, there were a bunch of motorbikes and a few cars but it wasn't too bad. On the way down, I was being passed by semis and tanker trucks around sharp turns and motorbikes where weaving in and out with reckless abandon. I think the worst part was that even if I was as far over to the right as I could possibly be, the trucks would still honk there horns signaling for me to get out of their way and each time they honked their horn, I would jump and I was sure one of those times, I was going to dump the bike and both Jeanette and me with it. I was only going about 15km/hr the entire way down the mountain and I still felt like I was flying. I couldn't see Jeanette's face, but I knew she was just as scared as I was.

As we reached the bottom of the mountain (without a scratch!), we got a bit nervous that maybe the gas tank meter wasn't working because we had been driving for a while since the last time we filled up and it didn't seem like the needle had moved at all. We pulling into the first gas station we saw and told him to fill it up. He took off the gas cap and I could see the tank was still pretty much full. We put in the equivalent of about $0.50 of gas and only then did I realize we had been ripped off this morning. We paid way more than we should have for cheap gas that we burned through quickly. When we filled up at the last gas station, we had actual gasoline that we were using at a reasonable rate, that's why we were still almost full. Oh well - live and learn.

On the other side of the mountain, we found ourselves in a pretty small town, but there were a ton of trucks driving through it with a further destination (possibly Hue) and the traffic was still pretty intense. The roads were in rough shape too. They were doing a lot of construction so in the near future, that road will probably be great to drive on, but for us it meant uneven roads and lots and LOTS of dirt in the air so we were breathing it in and it got in our eyes. We had to stop a few times just to rinse our eyes out. Wee saw lots of trucks - some full of big pigs and some full of baby piglets. We also saw (or really, we heard it first) a truck full of puppies packed in so tight there must have been hundreds of them. We aren't' sure if they were meant to be eaten or if they were strays that were rounded up to be killed. Eating dog is not very common anymore. The way our guide explained it was that the older generation was so poor and they had so little food, they had to eat dog. The younger generation though, doesn't eat it. There is a different mentality around animals and animal treatment in Asia. They aren't cruel, but it's just different. When we first flew in to Vietnam, we saw a young boy who was maybe 3 or 4 just bawling with his head thrown back, tears streaming down his face and wailing at a painfully high pitch. Only then did we see his dad had a baby duck in his hands and dropped it into the trash can then took his son by the hand and led him back toward the security line. Jeanette and I figure the little boy didn't know any better and tried to take the duck with him on the plane and the dad only found out on their way through security so they had to get rid of it. It was really sad but also slightly funny and a good representation of the matter-of-fact mentality toward animals in Asia.

At one of these pit stops, we grabbed a bottle of water and checked the time. It was 2:53pm so we decided even if we got to Hue we would just have to turn around, and we had no idea how far out we were anyway so we decided to start heading back. The ride back was just a little bit better - fewer trucks, and the road was more even. We headed back up the mountain and all of the trucks veered off taking the faster route that cuts through the mountain. We could finally start enjoying the ride again. We got stopped at some train tracks, but we got an incredible view of the seaport and were quickly on our way. We made it up without incident and stopped at the same restaurant we had lunch for a cold drink. From there the ride was easy but I started to get a bit nervous about the sun going down so I was going pretty fast once we got down off the mountain. My top speed was about 75km/hr but we made it back just before dusk! We were absolutely filthy so we showered up before dinner and went to bed.

We slept in late this morning and went out to see the Ancient city. We saw many old houses, meeting halls, and temples as well as modern shops and restaurants. Hoi An is an old city that not caters to Westerners so it's a little odd. It was unbearably hot so we called it an early day, grabbed a late lunch at the most famous banh mi place in Hoi An - it was featured on Anthony Bonurdane's show - and it definitely lived up to it's name! It was the most delicious sandwich I have had in recent memory! After that, we went back to the hotel and just cooled down in the AC for a while - I took a nap and Jeanette wrote some letters then we went to dinner and started packing up. Unfortunately, on our way to dinner we saw (or more accurately heard) our first motorbike accident. It's a good thing we didn't witness a crash before we rented our motorbikes because I don't know if we still would have after that. Thankfully, it seemed like everyone was alright with just a few scrapes and bruises.

We are now officially more than half way through our trip and have 3 1/2 weeks left. We leave for Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow morning for a short 2-day stay and then we're off to Cambodia!!

Hope all is well!

We're On a Boat: Ha Long Bay

mwollak — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 23:32:00 GMT

Ahoy there!

Yesterday we set sail for Ha Long Bay (after a 4 hr bus ride from Hanoi). We left the hotel around 8am and got to Ha Long City just after noon. We hopped on the dingy and puttered off to our cruise! We were given a few options and ended up choosing the slightly more expensive option and it was more than worth it! When we got to the docks it was clear that the tour companies were running a pretty tight ship (pun intended) because the tourist shuffle was unbelievably fast and easy. We got off the bus and our luggage was loaded into a giant cart that took it down to our dingy. Less than 30 seconds after we had disembarked, another group who had just finished their tour were piling on to the same bus. We were ushered toward our dingy, all given fluorescent orange life jackets and we were off!

It was a short and pleasant ride to the boat because it was our first glimpse of the beauty of Ha Long Bay (the harbor view was NOTHING compared to the views that were to come!). We got to Viola Cruise, were given some refreshments then went to our rooms to get settled. After that, we headed up to the sun deck and got to know some of our travel buddies. There were 14 of us in total - 2 couples were from España, 1 couple from Qatar, 1 couple from Scotland, 1 couple from the Philippines, 2 friends traveling from Australia together and Jeanette and me. Baz and Shane were childhood friends and we quickly became friends.

We had a great time enjoying the nice weather and getting to know everyone and after about an hour we were called down to board the dingy again - we had reached our first destination! The first stop was Sung Sot Cave, also known as Surprising Cave. It was absolutely massive! It had been done up a bit to make it more appealing to tourists with lights, stairs, etc. but it was still a beautiful wonder of nature. Similar to our experience at the Grand Canyon last summer, Jeanette and I cannot wrap our heads around how something so seemingly benign as water can create such beautiful natural art. It's just water!! After about an hour of exploring the cave with our hilarious tour guide, Victor, we boarded the boat again and headed for the beach!

It was nice to cool down a bit in the water, but we had really high expectations after the absolutely amazing time we had at Shek O Beach in Hong Kong that this was a bit of a disappointment. The water was just barely cooler than a luke-warm bathtub and it was the beach all the cruises (there are HUNDREDS that go through Ha Long Bay) take all the tourists so it wasn't exactly the cleanest. Despite this, it was hot and it felt good to be in the water. After a little more than an hour, people watching, and eavesdropping on travel stories of other tourists, we headed back to our cruise.

Ha Long Bay, which means Descending Dragon, was recently named an UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to local legend, when Vietnam had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight agains invaders. To assist the Vietnamese ind defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade and these jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall agains the invaders. Numerous rock mountains quickly appeared on the sea and enemy ships crashed into them and each other. After winning the battle, the dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of Earth, and then decided to live in this bay. The place where the mother dragon descended was named Ha Long (Descending Drag) and the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bach Long (Dragon Tail) after the white-color foam made by their tails. Ha Long Bay features thousands of limestone rocks - this type of rock is actually slightly soluble in water so they are particularly susceptible to cave formations. The bay is also home to almost 2,000 islets of various sizes and has been through 500 million years of geological evolution and transformation.

We returned to the boat and were thrown a Sunset Party, though it was a bit too cloudy to actually see the sunset but we had good drinks and good company so it didn't matter. Then we had a huge meal and shared a table with Baz and Shane. We were laughing, joking, and learning the wonders of each other's land the whole dinner then topped it off with some delicious drinks. When everyone was done with dinner, a few of us went down to go squid fishing! We were given a bamboo stick with a plastic lure then the guide walked away. We later found out that it wasn't squid season and it seemed like a pretty fat chance that we were going to catch anything. We were all excited when we saw a few squid though! After "fishing" for about 40 min, we decided our efforts were in vain and we went back up to the sun deck, which we were now calling the moon deck, and chatted all night!

The Scottish woman was a teacher studying to become a principle so we got to hear all sorts of crazy stories (she had to suspend 1 girl who brought in 8 handles of vodka trying to fit in and get invited to a party) but it was interesting to hear that high school wasn't much different half way around the world. The woman from Qatar is actually from Australia and works in global sporting events - she has worked the Sydney Olympics, the Asian Games, and the London Olympics. Baz, from Melbourne, works in outdoor education and was telling us some of the stories about kids who have had to be evacuated on his trips. We stayed up way past our bedtime swapping stories and having a great time!

The next morning we were up pretty early, had breakfast and made our way to a floating fishing village. We hopped off the dingy and all lined up to get in our kayaks. 2 by 2, our group departed into the bay in their kayaks until it was just us and the Scotts left. The Scotts got in their kayak but all the paddles that were left were broken and barely held together with duck tape - but, hey, at least they had kayak! A few men were walking around talking in what seemed like slightly frantic Vietnamese and our tour guide told us just to wait but it looked like Jeanette and I were out of luck and we would be enjoying the view from the dock. Only then did we see a fleet of Kayaks rounding the bend coming back after their excursion. Whew! The Scotts got their paddles, and Jeanette and I got our gear and we were on our way.

We had an hour to go explore the bay on our own and it was an incredible experience. To see the giant limestone rocks jutting out of the sea up that close was breathtaking! We saw how water had formed caves at the bottom of the rocks, thousands of crabs scuttling at the water line, and the bright green of the trees growing on the islets. We paddled over to an old building that looked like a tiny temple with Chinese characters painted on the front door, though we couldn't figure out exactly what it was. For much of the trip, Jeanette and I just paddled or floated in silence taking in the beauty around us. Words can't describe it and the pictures are great but they really don't do it justice. You truly have to see and experience it to believe it.

After the last kayak of our group glided into the dock, we hopped back on the dingy and went back to our boat. We had some free time to relax and enjoy ourselves after we both took a quick shower to rinse off. I never really realized how content I am just sitting on a boat watching nature happen around me but it was so peaceful I wished I could stay there forever. My daydreaming was interrupted by an announcement that it was time for our cooking class and we were going to make the traditional Vietnamese dish of spring rolls!

They set out all the fillings for us - pork, cucumbers, green papaya, shrimp, fried egg slices, and rice paper - and we got to choose what we wanted, fill up our rice paper, roll them up and dip the in the fish sauce! They were so tasty! After we all made (and ate!) 2 or 3 spring rolls, the chef came out to show us how to make a carrot net. The night before, the chef had made a delicious fish and garnished it with a net made from a carrot and all of us had decided it must have been a machine. Even after he started slicing the carrot, none of us really believed it would turn out looking like the net we had seen the night before. He took a whole carrot and stuck a kebab stick through the center then made a series of slices 2 slices on opposite sides but at the same distance then rotated and moved down the carrot 1/8 in or so and made 2 more slices on opposite sides. He kept rotating and slicing until he reached the bottom of the carrot then turned it on its side and shaved off a very thing layer of the carrot. In his hands it looked like tiny carrot slices, similar to what you would see in a store bought bag of iceberg lettuce. But then he took the slice and pulled it apart and it was in deed a net!! Check out my Vietnam 2015 album to see his amazing handiwork!

After the cooking demonstration and lunch, we pulled back into port went through the tourist shuffle in reverse and were back on the road to Hanoi. It was an incredible 2 days and I am so happy we did it. It was an experience we will both remember.

Hot in Hanoi

mwollak — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 21:11:00 GMT

Hello from Hanoi!

We flew in on Sunday afternoon and got to our hotel just before dinner time. We walked down the street to the Dong Xuan Night Market. It was even more extensive (but much less crowded) than the markets in Hong Kong. There were blocks and blocks and blocks were shut down to traffic (except motorcycles, they're EVERYWHERE) and hundreds of shops were selling anything you could think of - dresses, toys, food, jewelry, lingerie, shoes, sunglasses, etc. After stepping around parked motorcycles on the side walks and dodging the ones whizzing by us in the street, we found a place with dozens of child size plastic tables and stools to eat dinner. The streets are lined with this furniture, which is helpful in knowing which store fronts are restaurants because none of the signs are in English and Vietnamese seems more difficult to me than the Chinese characters I had gotten used to seeing. The place we found was amazing and was called Bit Tet Hai Ty - another restaurant mentioned in the guide book that we have simply stumbled upon. Around the corner from where we were eating dinner, there was a live band playing on the street and people just pulled up a stool to enjoy the music. We had spring rolls, fried noodles, and fried pork and it was all DELICIOUS!!! After dinner we decided to walk around and check out the neighborhood a bit. Of course, I always have by eyes peeled for ice cream and what we found was perfect! It was called iCream Lab and it was a science themed ice cream shop!! They used liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream and served us water in beakers! After dessert, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

On our first full day in Hanoi, we wanted to explore the city a bit. Our first stop was the Memorial House in the Old Quarter. It is an old house that has been restored and protected but is in the late 1800s style. It was beautiful to see the mix of French and Asian architecture. Vietnam was part of Imperial China from 111BC to 938 AD and became independent from China after winning the battle of Bạch Đằng River and it is clear from our tour guide, that there is still a contentious relationship between Vietnamese and Chinese people. Vietnam was colonized by the French and renamed Indochina in the mid 19th century until 1954. Vietnam was divided geographically and politically into North and South Vietnam until the Vietnam War, which ended in the North's victory and the reunification of Vietnam in 1974. Vietnam is still officially known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After the memorial house, we had lunch. We were so incredibly hot we just wanted to find a place to sit and drink a cold glass of anything. China and especially Hong Kong were hot but we could escape the heat because there were many shops, restaurants, and even the subway was air conditioned. It is REALLY hard to find AC in Hanoi. The best we could find was a small restaurant that had an elaborate fan set up to maximize the efficiency. After lunch we headed down to the lake. We walked for what seemed like forever stopped to buy some fans along the way and took a seat on the benches around the lake. It was almost hard to enjoy how beautiful it was because we were so uncomfortable and exhausted from the heat. After we were able to cool down a bit we headed out to find St. Joseph's Cathedral, an old catholic church in the gothic style in the Hanoi city center. We made it no more than 15 min before we had to stop and grab a cold bubble tea to cool us down. The cathedral and the diocese grounds were beautiful be we could tell we were losing steam. We decided we would go to one more place - the Vietnamese Women's Museum.

We heard amazing things about the museum but still didn't really know what to expect. It was awesome! It was the story of women in all aspects of Vietnamese culture and the impact they have. Everything from marriage, childbirth and rearing, women in war, fashion, agriculture, and so much more! They also did a really great job of representing women from a variety of different ethnic groups throughout the country and showing the similarities and differences in traditions. The museum was so cool but MUCH larger than we expected and were really dragging our feet by the time we got to the 4th floor.

At this point after almost 3 weeks of traveling and the zombie like state we were both in, I decided we had no other option that to find a spa and get massages. We asked at the reception desk at the museum and they gave us an address and pointed us in the right direction. When we started walking, we realized we were at number 44 and we had to go all the way to 250. That was just not going to happen. Luckily, we found a different spa on our way. We stepped into Lavender Spa and knew we had made the right decision. We paid an unbelievably low price for a 60 min massage and it was amazing. We both felt like a new person walking out and it was exactly what we needed.

We headed home and had a quick turn around for dinner. We liked the restaurant we ate at the night before but wanted to try something new so we stopped at a different restaurant near our hotel. Jeanette ordered the national dish, Pho (pronounced fuh) and I got fried noodles. This restaurant also had plastic children's furniture and halfway through dinner I saw Jeanette start to slowly sink to the ground and eventually fall off her stool. Of course my first reaction was to laugh but the waiters who worked there jumped up with concern immediately. One of them even offered their adult size plastic chair to Jeanette for the rest of the meal. I had a good laugh for about 10 min :)

After dinner, we headed back to hotel because we knew we had an early morning the next day - we were going to Ha Long Bay!