Life As We Live It

Gallery: France

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:17:00 GMT

Da Vinci code, anyone?

Gallery: Italy

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:57:00 GMT

Italia

Gallery: Yodel-eh-hi-hoooo

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:57:00 GMT

Switzerland

Gallery: Opa!

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:09:00 GMT

greece

Viva Italia...

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:50:00 GMT

Onwards to Lugano, Switzerland to visit our friend Bianca…a german girl we had met en route (way back in Peru) who insisted we come to see her in Lugano. We were all to happy to oblige, or at least try…acquainting with a new friend, a free place to stay in a VERY expensive part of Europe and a few more days we didn’t need to plan. Unfortunately, when it came time for us to get to Lugano, Bianca was VERY busy indeed. Changing jobs, buying cars in far off cities, etc. We had purchased an EasyJet ticket (discounted European airline) that took us to Milan, and we had planned to get a bus from there to Lugano. Upon arriving in Milan, we were unable to contact Bianca on her cell phone…and after spending about 5 euros on unsuccessful phone calls (frustrating system)…we made the decision that perhaps we’d give her one more night of freedom and spend the night in Milan. There was a huge church, the 4th largest in the world, that we were interested in seeing…and we just figured that it would be easier at that point. The long and the short of it is that it was a bad decision…in many ways…but that’s just how life works out sometimes when you’re traveling rather spontaneously and without schedule. Milan was rather dirty and not terribly attractive, and the hostel that we had booked from the airport was a HOLE! It was like a big hippy/druggie hang-out…and we just didn’t feel TOO safe there. We met a lone American girl who was very happy to see that there were a few other ‘normal’ people in her dorm room. I cruised the streets for some pizza and Chinese food, we dined, and dashed out of there the next morning. The subway system was good…we made our way to El Duomo…the huge church, and were thoroughly impressed with that. Unbelievable construction, carving, size, history, etc. We had been in touch with Bianca by that point…and besides gathering that we had stood her up the night before I understood through the very crackly phone conversation that we’d meet her at the train station. Circumstance didn’t bring us together again though…just unlucky timing…but we spent a few beautiful days in Lugano anyway. Even though we couldn’t afford a damn thing…besides a cool swatch for Teresa…we did find the city VERY beautiful, serene and worth visiting. Like much of Switzerland…it seemed perfect! One Swiss girl we met described her country as ‘too beautiful’…such that it became boring to her. Although we could see that as a possibility, the short time we had in Switzerland was filled with open mouthed gawks at the beauty and serenity. We also met a young French-Canadian girl in Lugano and had the frustrating conversation with her about her desire to separate from the rest of Canada. It seems like excess pride and misunderstanding of ‘english-Canada’ plays a big role in their selfish desire to split from this incredible country we all take for granted far too often! She mentioned that she’d vote for independence if there were another referendum in the future…but if it failed this second time, she’d concentrate her efforts on being a good Canadian. We wondered why she couldn’t adopt that attitude NOW instead of waiting. Mucho frustrationado!

Opa!!

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:46:00 GMT

We arrived in Greece on a sunny but cool day (shock #1), had no problem (shock #2) finding a bus to downtown Athens…that only cost about $1000 each (shock #3). We made out way down the streets unapproached and unhassled (shock #4)…even when we were looking at our maps, and found a quaint hostel for about $100000/night (shock #5) in the dorm room. Ahhh…the continent where dorms and frugality would necessarily become our daily struggle! We had 3 days to wander the streets of Athens before a 3-day cruise that my parents had VERY generously secured for us. They must have sensed that what we REALLY needed right about then was a few days of pampering, food and relaxation with nowhere to go…and nothing to plan. It was so perfect. Anyway…I quickly discovered an AMAZING gyros place where for 1.5 euros you could have a nearly perfect and complete meal (fresh pita filled with COPIOUS amounts of greasy roasted pork, some lettuce, tomato and tzaziki…GOD they were good!)…it was my first large amounts of meat in weeks and I loved every cruel minute of meat eating I did. Long live the pig! Julia was equally quick to discover Gelatto…and suffice to say that we were quite happy with our culinary discoveries (and the prices) and ate those things 3 meals a day for the next 3 days. We casually wandered the streets with little purpose, taking in the copious number of ancient ruin sites, museums and street life. We were pleasantly amused by the funky guards they had marching around some of the more important buildings including the tomb of the unknown soldier. We came across these guards quite by accident while doing one of our walking tours…when we were approached by two LARGE gentlemen carrying bayoneted guns. It might have been intimidating except for the fact that the poor lads had to wear plaid miniskirts, white wolly tights, funny tasseled hats and Scottish-like jackets all brought to a ridiculous finale with shinny tap shoes decorated with soccer-ball sized pom-poms. To top it off…they had the most energy inefficient high legged walk that, if they had been real Scotsmen, would have stopped traffic and overwhelmed even the toughest ladies. I’d love to have been at the meeting of drunken fools when they decided to make this one of their national symbols and most photographed sights. Ahhh…OOZO…OPA!! We toured the typical things like the acropolis, and were sufficiently impressed with them. Greece…at least Athens is a pretty city with some nice streets and atmosphere around…but as the theme will emerge in our last entries, Europe is definitely a place to travel when you’re rich! The cruise was a real adventure and a pleasant retreat from our ‘daily grind’ as tourists. We made our way to the pier by subway and a long hike brought us to the cruise ship. We didn’t really know what to expect as either of us had been on a cruise before so we were pleasantly surprised to find out that all of our food was included, the ship was huge!, our room was cute and clean, there was a little workout room including a sauna and also a hot tub that was slightly luke warm but nice. It was pretty cold out for the first couple of days on the cruise. We took advantage of the hot tub and sauna and even gave the workout room a test drive one night while everyone else was off visiting Rhodes. We were only docked there for a couple of hours and there was no way to walk to the town and the shuttle bus to get there was an extrordianary charge that we didn’t feel like forking out so we stayed on board and took advantage of the empty ship! The next day we docked at another tiny greek island for much of the morning. We got off the boat and toured the tiny town. We stocked up on cheap wine and ouzo for the boat (drinks were an extra charge) and after a fill of greek culture and architecture, headed back to the boat for an all you can eat lunch. Whatever weight we had lost in Nepal and SouthEast Asia, we put back on in these three days! The food was great. Dinner was especially fun when we were seated with another couple each night to encourage socializing and to fit everyone into the one dining room. Both nights we were seated with elderly couples who were excited to hear all about our travel adventures. They told all their friends about us and we were soon well known on board as the young travelers. Too cute. Tyler dressed up in his only pair of dirty hiking pants and only button up shirt each night and I in my only nice skirt and clean white top to take in the evening entertainment. We watched a VERY uncoordinated Chinese lady dance about on stage during a “learn to dance” show that was put on. We hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time. At least she was up there giving it her all. I think we even got a bit of it on video. We also watched a tacky but funny traditional greek dance. We were very impressed overall with the entertainment and food on board. SUCH a nice break to not have to worry about money or paying for food. The cruise ended and we spend a couple more days in Athens checking out the Acropolis and a few more ancient ruins we had missed. Overall, we loved Athens and would recommend it to everyone.

India!!

tjwhale — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:30:00 GMT

Arriving in India at 5pm wasn’t quite the culture shock we suspected. The hordes of people, the stench and smells on this continent of 1 billion people just weren’t there. We did however fly through a cloud of haze arriving at the Delhi airport. We learned later that most flights arrive at night to avoid the daytime heat and pollution. Our first real introduction to India, besides the occasional taxi tout, was the MASSIVE cow in the middle of the airport roadway, taking a dump next to somebodys luggage. The street savy Julia secured us a fair cab ride to the train station downtown. The ensuing cab ride showed us peaceful streets, beautiful, sweet smelling flowering bushes and trees and a surprising lack of people. All that changed with one left turn. We found the one billion people…and their smells and garbage and cows, combined with the 45 degree heat created the scene we expected of Delhi! Our taxi driver turned out to be a decent man and steered us away from the delhi train station assuring us that there were no longer any trains to Agra that day. He took us to a cute little hotel and told us to get some sleep and that we could catch the 6am express train to Agra where we were going to visit with the family of Vikas, our good friend from Saskatoon. The hotel manager assured us that we could get two seats on the morning train if we arrive at 5:30 to the train station. Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Tyler still being sick didn’t have anything to eat and I was completely turned off of food for that moment so we got a lemon fanta deliverd to our room and called it a night. We got a tuk tuk to the INSANE train station where all one billion people hang out, we discovered. We literally tripped over the sleeping bums as we tried to make our way to the tourist information booth. Despite all of the touts telling us it was across the street…Julia had done her research and knew that there was one place only to get tickets that you can be assured are for tourists…upstairs at the booth that was OF COURSE closed until 8am?!! How were we supposed to get tickets for a 6 am train if the ticket office didn’t open until 8am?? We were left in a state of slight irritiation when out of no where, a man appeared next to the tourist ticket booth dressed in nice clothes and assuring us that he could get us a fair deal on train tickets. Julia’s warning flags go up and she adamantly refuses to go with this man who she is sure is a tout trying to rip us off. Tyler is in a state of desperation and trusts this man like he would his best friend. He follows the man across the street (where the book told us NOT to go for tickets…) Julia stays back at the station with our bags not believing for a second that Tyler would actually go through with getting any tickets. It is now 7am but Julia SWEARS hearing on a loud speaker in a broken English voice that the train to Agra has been delayed by a couple of hours. There is a HUGE screen with a million train numbers and destinations on it that you are supposed to use to “help” you find your correct train. About 15 minutes later Tyler arrives and with a proud look on his face explains that ALL the train seats were fully booked…the guy called the train station TWO times to make sure…but he got us two of the LAST three tickets available for a BUS to Agra instead. The only remaining seats on any bus or train in all of India. Julia loses it. Please tell me you didn’t give these people any of our precious few remaining rupees. It conveniently cost him all of what we had left. Almost double the price of a seat on the much more efficient and reliable train. Julia sends him back to get our money. Poor Tyler is trying to remain calm at the fact that his new friend has led him astray and betrayed him. He gets half of the money back without having to resort to violence. We had JUST enough to get two seats on the train…if only we could speak Hindi and looked like an Indian. The aweful part was that we felt like we could trust no one. Julia goes through two lines to try to find out where she should go to get a ticket. One security guard moves all the people out of the way so that she could get right to the front of the line to ask her question. She is told a gate number. She goes there and waits through a long line of pushy men, battling to get to the teller. She’s told she needs to fill out a form. They are at the other end of the building. She waits in line for a second time trying to fill out the form as best she can. She beats her way to the front. You need the train number. She tells him that SURELY he knows the number to the express train going to Agra that morning. He tells her there are many trains, madam. She goes to the giant screen and picks the train number that she is sure is the one for Agra, Express. A man beside her assures her that the train is gone already and that she would have to go all the way to another train station and catch a train there and if she really hurries she could get there in an hour. She is still sure that she heard that the train was delayed. Back into line with her form and train number. Has to literally beat men off who are trying to push in front of her. She gets to the front and is awarded two seats on the “completely full” train to Agra with 20 minutes to spare. Despite the fact that things weren’t immediately going in our favour, someone was looking out for us. We found out later that the express train to Agra is very rarely, if ever, late or delayed! The train was surprisingly great quality with wonderful service and excellent food. Memorable observations from the train were the large number of coal carrying cars, manure houses and sheds used by the farmers and the one million people who happened to line the tracks. We arrive in Agra and “Arse”, Vikas’s father, picked us up as promised with a small sign that actually indicated his hame was “R.C.” He was a cool cucumber and a kind and gentle man. We hopped into his small car, thankful that we packed light, and he immidiatlely started on the horn. Vikas phoned from Saskatoon to ensure we arrived safely just as we were pulling in to collect his look-a-like nephew, Chortu, from his look-a-like brother, Prateek. We were shocked by the driving conditions but amazed at how well his family could drive though the crowded streets of Agra dodging street cows, beggars, piles of shit, puke and other vehicles. When asked how they managed to be so calm in driving conditions that would break even the most confident of westerners, Vikas’s sister-in-law, Smita, said (in their brilliant ‘Apu’ accent) ‘My vehicle is 4.3 feet wide, I simply insert my vehicle into the appropriately sized space and proceed’. SURE…of course….simple…HA! Over the next two days we were treated like family, shuffled back and forth between their two houses, between meals prepared with love by their kind house maid and Vikas’s look-a-like mother, Kusum. We visited the town by car and took a trip to the train station to deal with our return tickets. Even the simplest task was an eye-opening event for us there. The people, the smells, the heat, the little medical miracles running the streets in search of food…it was all quite overwhelming!! To my surprise, the street cows were seemingly the healthiest creatures in sight. Of course, the cow is a sacred animal in India and were treated as such…fed the left-overs from the day (fruit peelings etc.) and allowed to go and do as they pleased. Coming from a farm-boy background…it was strange to see starving people living along side this enormous and delicious food supply…but that’s just another one of the mysteries of India. One time, after a 30 minute traffic jam in the blazing sun…time we spent sweating, shooing away the touts that came to rip me off some more and generally just soaking up the short time we would have in their culture…we drove past the culprit which was a LARGE bull (a male cow…for Philips sake if he reads this). It was lazing in the middle of a major 4-lane (dirt road) intersection, no one bothering to move it along. We drove past, my arm out the window only inches away from its rump, and like any farm boy…I had a strong urge to ‘encourage’ the cow to move. Just as I was winding up for the smack, I realized that it would be somewhat akin for a hindu to smack Jesus…so I withdrew, proud that I was learning to think before acting!! We spent plenty of time cooling off in the breeze of the household fans cooling off with drinks and conversation about various things and learning about their ways. That night, we accompanied Smita, Ishita and Chortu to their sports club for a refreshing dip in their pool, watching the little boy, Chortu, almost drown at least twice, and listening to him chatter away to us in hindi and educate us as if he were a 55 year old professor. The club, for the upper cast only, was a true oasis from the swarms and noise of the streets offering tennis, swimming, aerobics, etc. The next day, we woke very early for our trip to the brilliant Taj Mahal. A truly unbelievable history…in short, built by one of the ancient rulers (I think around 1000AD) for his beloved wife as a tomb where he and she would be buried together, forever. Unfortunately, when this guys’ son wanted his turn at power, he imprisoned his father for his final, say 20 years, but was generous enough to allow him to have a window view of his creation where his wife was laid to rest years before he died. The place is at least 25 acres of amazingly constructed stone work, gates, fountains, etc., with the pinnacle being the entirely white marble tomb studded with MILLIONS of semi-precious stones. The story goes that it took 20,000 labourers 20 years to build the Taj…and when it was finished, the ruler had all of their hands chopped off so that they’d never be able to duplicate this work of art. Like much of human history…it seems a hefty price to pay in my books. We followed that tour with a visit to the ‘red castle’. An even older structure where the emporers (?) and their armies and multitudes of concubines would rule with their oppressive thumbs…and where the Taj’s father was imprisoned. A brilliant and interesting visit, the Kulshreshtha’s (Vikas’ impossible last name) even provided us with a very sexist tour guide for the castle part…a man that refused to direct his comments to Julia, even after I asked him to include her and the rest of the group. Perhaps another cultural difference that needed to be tolerated. With a few more meals under our belts that afternoon, my guts starting to come alive again, and Julia’s starting a silent decline…RC took us for another drive. Somewhat suddenly, he pulled his car to a stop (in the middle of the road…you just don’t mess with the upper casts!), looked at us dearly (by this time we were very good friends with the whole family and liked them A LOT) and said… ‘and now, I present to you…the TAJ’. With his cute smile and confident swagger…we walked to a marble shop that no tourist would know about, and he bought us a BEAUTIFUL (and rather large…from a backpackers perspective) marble carving of the Taj Mahal. It mattered not to us or to him that Vikas had given us a very similar model for our wedding gift and we were thrilled to carry this gift from the heart through the rest of Europe!! We grew to love Vikas’ family in a VERY short period of time…our few days in India would prove to be some of the most memorable we had on trip…both the extremes of the country and the hospitality we experienced were unforgettable. Our time in India had come to an end…with only a train ride, taxi ride and airport to navigate…what could go wrong?? Well…this time, I’m sorry to disappoint, nothing did. We arrived at the airport around 11pm for our 3am flight…we waited in the line of about a million people for 1 hour only to be turned away from entering the airport yet (too early) and sent to ‘relax’ in a crowded lounge where we witnessed a Russian tour-guide literally scolding her adult crew (STANGE), boarded our plane without issue and flew to the United Arab Emirates with Emirates airline. A gorgeous airline, a modern and swank airport…we could feel ‘western’ civilization upon us. It was both a relief, and a little sad…this was the end of the culture shock part of our voyage. We were ready for something more like home…we’d been traveling for nearly 6 months at this point, but we knew we’d miss the cheap prices and the VERY interesting and different lifestyle!

Gallery: Laos to India

tjwhale — Fri, 12 May 2006 17:50:00 GMT

Adventures in SE Asia

Namaste from NEPAL!!!

tjwhale — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 20:45:00 GMT

Hello again…

I think Julia left off when we were just arriving back in Bangkok…I’d look it up, but it’d take about an hour of Nepalese dial-up time and likely crash the country’s system. SO…I’ll start from there.

Back in the sultry heat of Bangkok. We found our way back to our locale ‘behind’ Kheo San Rd…a crummy place, but with a bathroom and a wee television. We had a few things that we still wanted to buy from this land of cheap and plenty…so we set out shopping early in the morning (our train arrived at 6am…so early it was!) after some quick e-mail, a delicious mango and pineapple breakfast…I probably had some inappropriately early curry or something too. We also had to decide whether or not to come to Nepal, confirm many flights, purchase other flights for Europe, etc.etc. We also wanted to get in touch with our friends Beo again (for perhaps another feast), Sanny, and loh and behold…Rory and Shona (from Vietnam) also happened to be in Bangkok that day too. SO…off to bargain and wander. Our first stop…we…sorry, I tried to bargain for waterproof camping bags and only managed to piss off the store owners by offering too low a price. Next store…the cross-eyed lady questioned my man-hood…after I simply asked the difference between two materials of pant (she said all pants were the same material which they CLEARLY weren’t…even as a stupid tourist, I can tell the difference between silk and cotton)…she wondered if I was ‘100% man’…and said ‘If you only look…DON’T TOUCH’. Wow! Next place…a woman refused to sell us something because we looked too long…on and on it went. We were quite shocked really at the change in mood of the shop owners. ALL of them seemed pissed off. I wonder if the election results had something to do with it…or the approaching water festival (Son Kran)…their version of new year which is supposed to be quite fun… where they knew all the happy tourists would be soaking them with water guns. Ahh well. We did manage to buy what we needed…I even had to tuck-tail and return to the water-proof bag store and offer a better price…but no big deal.

Unfortunately, Beo was unable to meet us in Bangkok, we were unable to get enough done soon enough to get downtown again to meet Sanny (shitty…and sorry Sanny…we really wanted to see you again…but another time!), but did manage to have a quick beer stop with Rory and Shona. A quick exchange of stories…they were off to India, us to the travel agent. Nepal…the big question. If you don’t know…the Nepalese people, stirred on by the hopeful politicians, were hosting major demonstrations against the autocratic rule of their king. The stike continued there with businesses shut and vehicles NOT running. It was just a country in a little bit of turmoil…but we were SO excited to get there and go for a trek (who knows why…we sort of determined we weren’t hikers…but it had some strange appeal and Julia and everyone else raves about it!). SO…armed only with the knowledge that there were tourist busses available, and that airplanes were still running…we figured we could manage…or at least try. As such, we left Bangkok on the morning of the 12^th…the very day that

ALL of Bangkok shuts down and readies itself for a major water fight(I think there might be some rice-flour involved too).

We did make it to the airport…but had to get there about 6 hours early because after 7am, taxi service ceased as well. Whatever…we wandered around and watched people from an upper airport balcony, we browsed book shops with time to read various books and magazines without paying for them, and we ate at Burger king…while getting nervous for our arrival in Nepal.

Nepal…I can only start by saying…what a GREAT decision!!! Having said that…we’re not out of the country yet…and so I may eat my words by tomorrow as the country is unpredictable from day to day. From the moment we stepped off the plane, we knew we were in for an interesting adventure. The people, the smells, the lack of life in the streets (from the strike and curfews), the interesting and different architecture…and so much more. We’ll have to re-write this entry sometime when I have time to think more creatively…but with the slow dial-up system and relatively high price for internet…I’m rushing a little. Sorry.

We were met by a barrage of tourist taxis…all trying to take you to their hotel and telling you that all the others didn’t exist, or burnt down or whatever. Julia and this dorky Australian man, who thought he was the end-all and be-all of Nepal tourist wisdom…having been here a few times before, led me into a taxi (a rust bucket) I was doubtful would hold all our weight. Anyway…we drove down the empty streets, past all the armed military and king-led police (keeping the streets quiet and riot free?) and into Thamel…the tourist district of Nepal. We chose to go to the Kathmandu Guest house as Julia was familiar with it…even though it cost about 10 times as much as some other places. It was nice, with a nice garden, decent rooms (by the standards here…which aren’t bad), and seemingly secure and filled with tourists. We immediately went out into the streets to do a little pre-hike shopping, and were quickly met by the hoards of merchants all trying to get you into their shops! As there had been many days of strike just prior (all shops closed), and a lower than usual tourist population due to the instability here these days…they were very interested in our business…and as expected, a little pushy about getting you to buy things. Having said that, they were also very polite and nice people! We did end up getting a few sweaters, hats, mits, some trail food, and Nepal trekking book. We were also majorly ripped off on some non-functional Chinese version of Tiger Balm (we paid 100 rupees for 1…we could have gotten 4 for that price!). All contributing to their economy I suppose. With that out of the way, and a few pastries in our bellies…we set out to read about the trek (Annapurna Base-Camp) we were about to do. There were so many neat treks to consider though, and by morning, we had decided that we’d likely prefer the Jomsom trek (part of the Annapurna circuit) to the base-camp…supposed to be more beautiful and filled with culture. With our minds set…we then went about getting the necessary air tickets to get to and from Pokhara, return flight from Jomsom, and our exiting flight to Delhi. We also managed to get our trekking permits (that weren’t ONCE checked on the trail), and a hotel room in Pohkara …all before we had to get a 9:30am taxi back to the airport for our departure to Pokhara. Just as all was paid up and perfectly timed to the DAY, we were informed by another trekker that busses weren’t operating in Pokhara to take us to the start of our trek (50km away)…despite tourist vehicles operating in Kathmandu! Shitty! This added about 2 days walking to our ‘precisely’ planned schedule. All a little stressy at this point!

Whatever, no time to change it now…we flew to Pokhara, made our way to the hotel, packed more than enough for our now supposedly 12 day hike (for which we only had 10 days), then sat down with the Hotelier to discuss our plans. Fortunately for us…he said that we’d EASILY be able to make the trek to Jomsom in time for our return flight…in fact, he said we’d have time to spare…then helped us work out the first 2-unknown days of our trek…as again, you normally get driven the first 50km to Birithanti before you start the official trek.

I must leave now…but can’t WAIT to tell you about the adventures we had along the way! Check back here soon.

Tyler

Back again after a LONG break from keeping up with our journal. Internet prices and time...not good to us the past few weeks.

Anyway...heading out from our hotel in Pokhara, we walked the mostly empty streets for a good 5 minutes before sitting down for a sandwich, drink, and internet break. Our last contact with civilization for 9 days (OUUUU...sounds so wimpy compared to the past when the net didn't exist!!). We walked through many km of town before we were met head on by a throng of angry protesters, and realized that MANY guns were pointed in our direction. Luckily the protesters weren't angry at us...and we were out of the way of the guns in no time and waited out the protest with a couple of old men in a corner of a store. With that over, and our hearts settled to normal pace, we walked on for MANY km before asking a local child to direct us to the path we needed to take to get to our first stop...a village named Sarangkot...900 meters higher than Pokhara. We were led off the main road (filled with stone pile road blocks to prevent traffic) and followed a group of locals down a tiny dirt path. At one point, one of the ladies bent over and scooped up a HUGE pile of fresh horse shit...presumably to burn or for fertilizer or something...but an interesting method of transportation...bare hands. Anyway, we walked HARD through sweltering heat for about 4-5 hours before reaching the peak where the cute little village of Sarangkot sat. The view to Pokhara was AMAZING, and the site of the surrounding Himilayas was humbling! We stayed...perhaps unfortunately...at the first hotel we came to. It happened to be a BIG hotel a few stories high...while all the other buildings were low, stone or mud construction, and definitely not rich. This was only about 2-3$/night though, and we were BUSHED, so needed to rest and drop our packs. We then decided that we'd support the other locals by eating our meals at some of the other restaurant/family home/hotel places.

We settled at a restaurant where very CUTE kids were playing with plastic bags and flattened balls, but having a blast! As the sun was setting and it was still warm, we sat outside with a lovely view over the city, many miles from where we started, and literally BASKED in the amazingly different, but surprisingly serene surroundings. After 30 minutes, our tea came. Milk tea...a FANTASTIC drink that Julia has craved for 6 years since last coming here. As the night and accompanying cold set in, the restauranteurs (a mother and her elder daughter of perhaps 11yrs) noticed that we were chilled, and so called us into their humble home. We sat on a wee wooden bench right in front of their 1 room house with the wooden bed where the two younger girls slept...perhaps all three of the girls. The younger two were sitting on the bed, 3 feet from us, staring at us with intense curiosity...us at them, but unable to communicate. It only took a few minutes for us to attempt our Nepalese language skills with them (all from the travel book we had) and find our their names were Rosalie and Sangita...to little wee girls, perhaps 3 and 2 years old. Soon they were laughing hysterically at us...which quickly moved into a game of tickle tag, and push the car, and and and...kids, basically the same all over the world. They warmed the house (and...how touching...our hearts) for the night with their frolicing, laughter and smiles...and when we were finally served our meals...we gladly shared what we could with them, and had a good (but lengthy) meal. Off to bed for the night...when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten the camera battery charger, and extra memory card!! SHEIZA (sp?)...I figured there'd be no electricity...but up until now, our camera had only lasted a max of 5 days. SO...we decided to play it safe and turn off the view screen for the duration of our hike, and hope the camera lasted (which...gladly...it did with much battery to spare!!).

Off the next day at about 7am, we chose a new place for breakfast...again, only to share the 'wealth' and because it'd be too hard to say goodbye to our new friends again. We ate lightly, but were entirely shocked, disgusted and strangely impressed when the young lady served us our tea, walked 5 steps behind us, and hocked up the HUGEST loogie ever hocked by a female! Right there...wow...I thought the Vietnamese were bad for that...the Nepalese take the cake (up to now!) hands down! Funny little differences in cultures...what is normal, and what totally isn't!

SO...on the road again. Quite literally, we were following a road. Unused now as no traffic was running...except for the MANY gangs of local kids hustelling the tourists for money for their 'clubs'. We were suckered into the first gang and gave them a few dollars...but were quickly wizened to the scheme and realized that speaking to them in french rather than english would get them off your back. They'd present you with a book with an english letter written in neat writing, suggesting that they had a legitimate club and needed funding (which could have been true...but for the hundreds of clubs spread out over only hundreds of kids...) followed by a list of the contributors, their nationality (to make it a competitive thing) and the amount they contributed (to which I'm sure 1 or more zeros had been added). Well...it's hard to say no...but one must or you'd be broke after 3km of walking. We also fell victim to one especially cute girl begging for (as commonly asked for) 'sweet', 'biscwits', or 'escool pen'. We had none, and are savy enough to know that it's bad to satisfy these requests and promote begging...but we did give her a canada flag tatoo on her arm, and I droped a few rupees for her to find with hugely satisfied eyes!! Poor things!

This second day was a LONG day of hiking. Mostly uphill, VERY hot, and very long. We passed many trekkers (as with the remainder of our trek) who were doing the reverse hike from us back to Pokhara after realizing (likely following 14+ days of hiking) that there were no rides available (YEICKS)...saw a few sights...but basically just walked our legs into the ground!

The end of an era

tjwhale — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:17:00 GMT

It’s been a while since I’ve written an entry…I will start by saying that everything has been great…as Tyler said, we were glad to be back in Thailand after seeing Cambodia, Vietnam and a bit of Laos. There is just something about this country that seems to be keeping us here…the food, the wonderful people and friends we’ve met here, the scenery, the beach…even Bangkok has it’s own charm.

Songkran is the Thai new year and occurs on the 13^th of April. This also coincides with all of the full moon parties happening on all the backpacker islands like phuket and the like which basically translates into absolute mayhem in the country! We are leaving tomorrow, the 12^th to Nepal, and have just realized that the last shuttle leaves to the airport at 7am…things just seem to shut down here completely for about three days around this holiday. Everyone fills the streets armed with water guns and flour and beer and just go nuts. We would have loved to have stayed to experience the full feel of the party, but are anxious to get moving on to Nepal and the rest of our trip.

After leaving Beo in Nakom Pathom we boarded our train to Surat Thani to catch the ferry to Ko Phagnan for four (more) days of relaxation. The sleeper train was another great experience. Just SO much better than having to try to sleep cramped up in a “VIP” bus that stops every few hours to wake everyone up…the train is heaven. We even had the air conditioned sleeper car this time (as the fan ones were full…) Tyler loved it but I, of course, was a bit cold. It was nice to be able to snuggle up in the blankets though and just not feel hot…there are times when air conditioning can be heavenly to even me J

We were stocked up on delicious food and fruit for the entire day, thanks to Beo and her family so were able to relax and enjoy the trip. Once at the train station the next morning we were bombarded with touts selling ferry/bus tickets to the island. Once again showing us just how easy it is to travel here. On the ferry we were again touted by a nice guy who was showing us picture of his bungalows and how good of a deal it was…we were easily swayed to stay at least a night there as it just saves the hassle of trying to find our own place. For me, the absolute WORST part of traveling is arriving at a new destination and being attacked by touts selling this and that and the other and being exhausted and just needing a room and a bed but having to look around here and there ensuring that we are getting the best deal. We have grown savvy to these ways and are more relaxed in our approach. Sometimes I’ll sit down at a café or park and read with our packs while Tyler walks around in search of the best deal…that or we’ll accept an invitation to one of the guys who is hounding us to stay at their hotel. This often involves a free trip to their hotel and USUALLY a room that is just as nice as any of the hotels listed in the infamous Lonely Planet. We often find that these “lesser known” hotels are even better because they aren’t polluted with millions of tourists flocking there simply because it is stated in the local guide book. They are often even cheaper as they are not as well known.

ANYWAY…we went with this guy to his bungalows which were about 5 minutes from the main town Thon Sala. The bungalows were very basic and quaint and set away from the hustle and bustle of the town which was nice. A bit small but what can you really ask for at $6 a night? We immediately got a scooter to go touring around the small island and to check out some of the yoga options we had scoped out on the internet. We signed up for a one day Yoga Workshop at the “Jungle Gym” for the next day in the main backpacker haven of Had Rin. At low tide over the island there were very little swim-happy beaches to choose from. It was sweltering hot…and I mean REALLY hot and there was no where to swim? The tide moves out and leaves only rocky shoreline that starts about 300 m away from the shore. Once we got to Had Rin on the scooter we saw why it is so popular. The beach there was spectacular. Powdery, white sand and lots of it. The water was much higher here too so was totally swimmable even at low tide. It was even a bit cooler than at Ton Sai so it was nice and refreshing. There were tattooed, pierced, scantily clad, naïve, dreadlocked, hippy backpackers everywhere you looked…but it was nice! There was just such a varied crowd there. Lots of young kids getting geared up for the full moon party that I spoke of earlier, older people who have lost themselves and came all the way to Thailand to be found again, people like us who were just there for a place to chill out and relax, families…it was incredible. The small town there was fairly dumpy in places, but most of it had its own charm. The road to get here was SO up and down and hilly that I think we burned a tank of gas just getting there! A couple of times our wee 125cc scooter couldn’t make it up the hills with both of us on board so Tyler had to stick out is feet and propel us up the hills Fred Flinstone style. The locals passing by us must have been laughing their heads off! Too funny!

We hung out at this beach for sunset and dinner before heading back to our wee bungalow for an early night.

Our Yoga course was spectacular. Simone was our instructor and it was just Tyler and I in the course. Nice to have her complete attention. The course covered all of the basics of yoga, the principles that it follows, some of the basic poses and positions, how to breathe, how to focus, how to meditate…so many great techniques. We had never done any yoga before so this was what we needed. Even Tyler was feeling more limber by the end of the day. I have some great pictures that I will have to put on soon! It was a surprisingly good workout and we were exhausted at the end of the day. Then I found my favourite soup stand! It was one of my best food finds yet. It had wonton like noodles in it with good meat, some dark green veggies, some turnip like thing, bbq pork that was perfectly cooked, the best broth ever and some MSG, I’m sure. It was to die for. I went back to this vendor three more times before leaving the island!

We decided that for the next two days, a pool was a priority. We found a relatively cheap place with beautiful bungalows, a huge, beautiful pool and a nice beach area too. We packed up all of our stuff onto the wee scooter and shuffled over to the new bungalows. We fit right in with the locals who seem to carry more than those bikes are designed to handle! The next two days were composed of MAX relaxation by the pool, lots of reading, trips to the 7-11 for chips and cold drinks and trips into town for…you guessed it…food! The main town had some really nice food vendor stalls at night that Tyler was able to get his curry from …and papaya salad. I mostly ate at my favourite soup stand!

We practiced our yoga every night by the pool…we were SO much more flexible after only four days! We also rewarded ourselves with an amazing thai massage in Had Rin! I hadn’t had a thai massage yet for some reason…I’d always get the oil ones…but I decided that I had to get at least one before leaving…it was SO great. I was in heaven the whole time. I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t found them earlier. Tyler always raved about them…I just was scared that they were going to try to crack my head the way they did once before in Vietnam. I loved it.

We made our way back to Bangkok and were slated to only have a sitting car on the train. The sleepers were full when we booked earlier. We arrived about three hours early and I asked at the desk if there were any sleepers open to change into…he said there were two but it was leaving in 2 minutes! I ran after Tyler who had gone to check our bags into a storage area. He got his money back, grabbed a few steamed buns, the man who checked our bags for us was so cute and helpful and he ran to the line up to get me to the head of the line to change our tickets and ran to tell the train guy to wait until we got on. It was so nice. We had the air conditioned car again as it was the only one available and sat with some really nice Kiwis who were just starting out their one year tour of the world! After another goodish sleep we arrived in Bangkok like seasoned veterans and made our way to Kaosan Road using the local bus. We have used that past few days to buy a few last minute souvenirs, re-confirm our Royal Nepal Airlines flight, RE-check the situation in Nepal, get our email and journal caught up…and get our LAST fill of delicious Thai food! We are really going to miss this place! We were also able to meet up with our British friends Rory and Shona who we had traveled with in Vietnam. They too are off to India for another motorbike trip to the north. Perhaps we’ll meet again in Delhi?!

We will arrive in Kathmandu tomorrow and see how things are and how easy it is for us to get around with the curfew still in effect and the political unrest still unsettled.

We are glad to be moving on to new adventures and new countries…but will be very sad to leave Thailand, a country we have grown to love.

Krabi...Ton Sai

tjwhale — Mon, 3 Apr 2006 21:28:00 GMT

Ahhh...where was I?

I think I described our bus trip to Krabi. From here, we boarded another thai taxi to a beach town called Ao Nang...the jumping point to Koh Phi Phi, and surrounding 'island paradises'. We were given a hint by a fellow Polish traveller that Ton Sai was a great place to explore for a few days...and so...off we headed to Ton Sai. Although it is located on a peninsula of the mainland, Ton Sai is only accessable by long-tail boat...for those who don't know what that is...it's a 30 foot wooden canoe (sort of like my idea of a viking war canoe) with a 12 foot bar ending with the propellor and powered by a HUGE mother of a noisy motor! The reason being is that these beaches are completely cut off from the mainland by HUGE limestone cliffs with no through roads. Ton Sai is but one beach of the 4-5 nearby (Ao Nang, Ton Sai, Raleigh East and West, and Phra Bang)...but is known to be a climbers haven...and quite laid-back (aka...hippy?).

After FAR too long travelling, we arrived to Ton Sai in the rain...and I was sent off to explore living options. Although there are no bungalos directly on the beach here...the DOZENS of bungalos to choose from were mostly fairly basic...bamboo walls (filled with holes), open air bathrooms, small rooms with fan and mosquito net, electricity from 6pm-6am. We settled on one of these that was a little closer to the beach, but quite small...although reasonably priced at 300baht or 9$. After a much needed nap, we walked around a bit and picked a beachside restaurant for some Pad Thai, Tom Ka Gai and Penang Curry (Tina's restaurant ended up being a favorite)...and watched a storm roll in. We scurried back to our bungalo shortly after dinner, wet from rain, and sat on our deck for a few hours reading and playing cribbage...then settled in for a LONG nap.

We woke several times during the night to torrential downpours…small splatters from drops finding their way through our palm leaf roof and onto our faces…not to mention all the insects taking refuge in our room…sneaking through the tiny (baseball sized) holes in the bamboo walls and into our ripped mosquito net. Well...it wasn’t THAT bad, but we were a little skeptical about staying at Tonsai if it rained like that once more. Luckily, our second day…one we dedicated to rest, recovery, relaxation and research (an unfortunate necessity and one of the most tiring processes of travel, researching all the activities and prices to be found)…was a cloudless day and boiling hot. We discovered the chilled-out feeling the island provided, the multitudes of climbers from Tonsai found hanging off of various hand and toe holds in the HUGE limestone cliffs…often being belayed by someone lying on the beach with a ‘cigarette’ in their mouth. We also made out way over the exposed coral boulders, exposed with the low tide, to the POSH beach called Raleigh West. Here, you can have a nights stay for around 26,000 baht…while 400 meters walk away…our nights cost 350 baht (though I’m sure they were much less extravagant haha). We sunned ourselves, played some Frisbee, bathed in the luke warm ocean, and read our books. We managed to peel ourselves off of the sand long enough organize a half day of rock climbing for the next day. The night was clear too, and after a nice thai meal, a brief walk on the beach and a seaside drink…we headed to our new cabin (oh yeah…we switched rooms…much bigger, more solid, and for the same price, only 200m further from the beach) for our nights slumber. We were fortunate for all the rest we were getting during the day though…as nights on crummy mattresses (and believe me…they have to be CRUMMY before we complain now), with insects that seemingly spontaneously being a coordinated ear-rattling buzz, with the power turning off at 6am thus taking from us our only refuge from the heat (our fan), and the occasional premature rooster call…sleep was well interrupted! One night, we heard and saw a giant mouse chewing through one of our bags to get into a left-over piece of banana bread, along with the usual cockroaches and lizards…our room was quite lively!

We found our way to the climbing group, met our TINY guide named Sam, fitted ourselves into shoes that could make old Chinese foot binding fetish seem comfortable and roomy (obvious ignorant exaggeration…and no offence intended) and headed out. We boated and hiked for about 40 minutes to get to a sunny (and VERY hot) wall with about a dozen other climbers learning the ropes there. Sam lead climbed, Julia followed by scampering up the cliff faces with seeming ease, and I lumbered, powered, and complained my way to the top…losing only about 1 litre of sweat per climb. We did have some challenging climbs…perhaps 25 meters or so…and lots of fun had by all three of us, Sam proving to be a VERY good and friendly guide indeed. Same same (but different)…that IRRITATING south east asian expression…kind of night (good food and drink and rest), Julia happy to find more mango and sticky rice available. We had the next day reserved to explore the town of Aonang and to organize a Scuba dive around the Koh Phi Phi islands. It seems we spent most of our time that day hanging out inside grocery stores and the frequent 7-11 stores simply for their AC!! A SCORCHA…but goals achieved. That night, we dined as usual…only I decided it was time to STUFF myself, and so took had a second supper…with would prove to me a mistake, my oniony curry memorably enlivening our diving experience with an early morning technicolour yawn!

Check this entry for more soon...

The dive morning…as I mentioned, started with a really GASSY Tyler (might seem normal to many…but I emphasize REALLY). With a quick long-tail ride at 7am…we were the first to arrive at the dive-boat, and lucky for me, I had time to wretch in private. Not an ideal way to start a day-long boat trip…but, it did make me feel much better. Our dive guide…a nice POME named Ben…was a great companion under water…though he was especially excited to see his first under water puke, it didn’t happen. He was actually diving off of Koh Phi Phi the day of the Tsunami a few years back…remembered that the water was a little ‘strange’…and the animal life was somewhat scarce…but they didn’t even realize that a Tsunami had devastated the coast until one of the divers’ mothers rang his cell phone to check that he was alive. She’d seen it on the BBC…and did as mother’s do. Amazing. Julia and I enjoyed these dives, getting quite comfortable under water now, though none of what we saw topped what we had already seen. It was just another nice, weightless, stress free dive. We had hoped to see the elusive Whale sharks that are known to be in the area…but no such luck. We did see many critters though…wee crabs filtering the sea with catcher mit like appendages, morae eels, lion fish…etc.etc. TONS of life.

It was a long day…7am to 5pm, so naturally, we had to rest afterwards. If I remember correctly, we had ONE more day of relaxation, frying in the sun on the gorgeous beaches…much the same as our other relaxation days…really relishing the slowed pace from our usual.

We said our goodbyes to island life…so we thought…and caught the bus to take us to the bus to take us to the truck to take us to the sleeper train back to Nakom Pathom where Beo, our dear family friend, had promised to meet us at 4am.

Without fail…Beo was there…cute as ever, riding a circus sized fold-up bicycle, and carrying a HUGE bag of food. Our stomach stretching culinary education was about to begin. Beo hustled us onto a Tuk-tuk to take us to the Siam Hotel which she had arranged for us (as a ‘honey moon’ gift…she insists this trip is our honeymoon), and somehow…this 61 year old lady managed to beat the motorized Tuk-tuk the 1km distance to the hotel on her wee bike! We were instructed to get some rest, eat our HUGE breakfast of fruit and sticky rice (delicious!!) and meet her just a block away at her family business…a shell gas station.

Let me tell you a bit about Beo…she’s got the MOST beautiful and contagious laugh that you’ll ever hear (and I have video proof). She’s tiny…but mighty, friendly, convincing, well known and liked within her community…and she gets away with ANYTHING she wants!! She’s traveled around the world SEVERAL times…makes friends in seconds, lives like a backpacker at ALL times…sleeping under the stars, organizing tours either overseas or within her borders with her friends…wonderful lady! Her sisters and older brother…beautiful friendly people too…are named Bao, Beo, Ban, Bo, Boy (thai nick names). Beo, the eldest girl, is definitely a unique gem amongst people…and adds a spark to Nakom Pathom’s life! The city…literally meaning ‘first city’…is named because of the HUGE Chedi, or Buddhist monument built there in 500AD. It is an agricultural hot-pot…and as such, even more than most Thai places…is OBSESSED with food.

Anyway…we did as we were told, rested etc., then made our way through the intense heat (likely near 40 C that day) to the Chedi…walked around, saw monks, etc.etc. Then walked a LONG way (stopping in as many air-conditioned 7-11s along the way) to the king’s summer house. Walked around the peaceful and clean/serene grounds, played with some kids on a self propelled marry-go-round (I was the propeller). We staggered back to the station, and called Beo for lunch. Well…for 3 days, the food didn’t stop flowing. On the first meal, I bragged to Beo that I figured I could eat 100 BBQ’d pork skewers. They were my favorite thing I found in my last visit to Thailand 15 years before (Moo Satay). Well…we had 75 of them, along with plenty of other food, before we begged her to stop. At this point, we were marched another 500 meters through the sweltering streets, because Beo insisted that the BEST shaved ice desert was what we needed. Well…it was delicious, but we were truly about to explode, and didn’t really recover from that feeling the whole time there hahaha.

I exaggerate…but it was a LOT of food we put away…the whole time, Beo LAUGHING and telling stories…just a fun person to be around. That night…as a snack before dinner, she drove us (against the law…bad eyesight, therefore should not drive) to a mall, armed with her coupons for the once a year MANGO icecream deserts!! Again, wonderful stuff…STUFF being the key word! Then, off to dinner. As became our 3-day routine, we dined at the street vendors…HUNDREDS of them set up around the Chedi and nearby streets…Beo knowing each of them personally…well enough to actually go behind their stands, and instruct them how to cook the food. She is SO funny with this…and understandably so…she only wants the best food for herself and her guests! Often, she’ll buy her organic veggies (from the King’s stores)…bring them to her stall, and watch them like a hawk as they cook it for her! She soaks all her veggies in salt water for 10 minutes, then a quick rinse before they’re fit to be eaten! SO funny! Well…needless to say, it was all superb, and unfortunately, our bellies weren’t big enough to have it ALL. We were served ice-cream by a friend of hers who would launch it 30 feet in the air and have you catch it in your bowl (if you’re lucky!)…we sampled many things from many vendors for free…and so it went. A quick visit to the Whale Hotel (a hotel presumably named after my parents who worked in this city in the lake 60s)…and off to bed, unable to sleep on our stomachs as we’d truly have exploded. A comfy sleep in an AC room (necessity in that heat)…and the next day was much the same. Wonderful time spent with Beo who found her way into our hearts in a BIG and permanent way!

During this time is when we found out that Nepal was having a general business strike and made the decision to put off our trip to Nepal…just until the strike passed. Simple enough to switch our plane ticket…but then we had to decide what else to do. Well…with Beo’s help, we settled on a trip back south to seek out a Yoga retreat. Julia has covered that adventure in the next entry. OH…I almost forgot that the controversial Thai election was the first day we were there too. The people trying to get rid of their corrupt prime-minister…MANY people in the bigger centres sick of tolerating his ideas…many protests being raised in Bangkok and around.

Beo and her family saw us off with about 10 pounds of fruits, a HUGE bag of pork jerky, and a wonderful memory of our time with them! We can’t WAIT to get back and see them all again…especially Beo. If anyone wants to hear more about her…I’ve got TONS of tales.

I must sign off for now. I think we’re more or less up to date again…thank you for being patient with our delayed travel journal entries!

Chang Mai cooking and trekking...

tjwhale — Sat, 1 Apr 2006 20:03:00 GMT

...Hello...back after a break in the south of Thailand...a beach called Ton Sai. BERLOODY LOVERLY and much fun. To be described later.

First...I'd usually just finish off the last post from CHang Mai with this current entry, but I'm making a new post as Julia suggested that maybe many readers won't re-read or re-check an old post for filled in details. If this is you...perhaps you could re-check several old messages that you thought MAY have been incomplete.

Anyway...one of my anticipated things to do with our time in Thailand was to take a cooking course. Yurij would be proud of me...advancing my epicurian know how...perhaps leading to the cooking show he pushes me towards...time will tell. Anyway, the two of us hoped into the back of a thai taxi (quarter ton truck with benches...suitable to carry, say, 8-20 people) and headed first to the food markets to explore all the ingredients we'd be using. Besides meeting our lovely and FUNNY chef, named Permpoon...Perm for short, we discovered and tasted all the fresh herbs and roots, veggies, fruit, etc. I also learned a few neat things about eggs. We've been surprised to see them basking in the sun for days before being sold...but as it turns out, an egg will keep for about 1 month unrefridgerated so long as it hasn't been washed. Once washed, they'll keep for at most 1 week...something to do with changing the temperature and starting the degradation process(??). Anyway...t'was interesting...but the best yet to come. Our group was a nice group of 8 people...2 of whom were from Alaska (different). We drove 20 minutes out of town to some nice burbs where Perm made his home. His class, if anyone wants to go and take this worthwhile course, was called 'The Master' cooking class...I have his info somewhere with me.

Perm was a true entertainer and a superb cook and teacher all in one. He'd be a fantastic 'guest' on say Emeril live or something too. His best, and pattented move, was after tasting or smelling his food...he'd show is the 'made for TV' dreamy smile that is REQUIRED to convince the audience that what you've cooked is heavenly. Quite the site. He also taught us some 'Adventure cooking' techniques...a photo of which Julia will put on the website when available...me behind a HUGE ball of flame while making a basic stir fry. Anyway, instead of describing all the details of cutting and boiling and frying etc...I'll tell you that we learned to cook some of thailands BEST dishes...including: Tom Yum, Som Tam, Green and Panang Curries, Pad Thai, Stir fried veggies, and Mango and Sticky rice. They were all FANTASTIC...and if you'd like a sample, our rates are quite reasonable. Remembering we are in need of employment when we return home...don't think I'm joking hahaha. I can't wait to cook for some of my food loving friends and family when we get home. We all went home stuffed, with the runs, and yet...smiles on our faces.

I think Julia and I explored a bit more of the night market that night...had a few more swims, and prepared for our trek the following day.

We signed up for a 2 day, 1-night hill tribe trek in northern thailand. Not opting for anything longer for both time and desire to trek (we'll have enough in Nepal)...it seemed a little touristy...but still quite interesting. This trip started like all the others...with us being crammed in the back of a pick-up...not knowing if we were going to the right place with the right group or not. Just pack your bags and go. As it turns out...our group consisted of 3 couples (us, an irish couple and an english couple) and the seventh wheel named Mel (very nice gal from the UK). We were all within 4 years in age...and it really was a NICE group of people to do this with! We did a little driving around to the markets...supposedly to get our food...and eventually, after a few hours, made it to the starting point of the trip...VERY close to the burmese border. Julia and I had signed up for a different trek indeed...but I suppose there weren't enough people, so we were slotted in with this group which had opted for the tougher and more rustic trek (perfect). Before long...we stopped for lunch (instant noodles wrapped in paper), eaten in a metal shack complete with dirt floor, chickens and dogs scampering around...and the obligatory Karaoke machine in the corner. Funny sight. Moving on up the dirt and pot-holed road to our starting point. It was hilly and beautiful countrside, filled with fields of cabbage (and the accompanying smell of fart) and smoke from all the burning of the forest floor (for fertilizer, fire control, etc.). After our first hundred metres of walking, we took a half hour break at a local swimming hole...the spectacular water falls they were excited to show us (which were little more than minor rapids). It was nice and refreshing though after the dusty truck ride and we were greeted by some kids who were excited to have the foreign 'climbing gym' arrive in their pool. WE then walked steeply for about 1.5 hours via a tiny trail with many overhanging leaves, branches, etc. Our guide...although nice...was a bit of a let down as he'd simply walk about 10 metres in front of the group and point out NOTHING along the way...and seemed to know NOTHING of the hill tribes we were visiting. At one point, we asked him to translate a sign post out in the middle of NO WHERE...and he said it indicated 'Please don't fight with the bamboo'. Yeah...thanks buddy. ANyway, we stopped in a wee hilltribe for a quick refreshment of bottled water...and learned nothing about them...then continued on for another 1.5 hours of uphill trekking before arriving at our overnight spot. There was really no greeting for us...we walked to our interesting accomadations which consisted of a stilted bamboo hut with a THIN and holed bamboo floor...mats to sleep on and mosquito nets. We were surprised it didn't collapse...but all in all, it was quite cool and had a nice view over the mountain valley. We walked around the village while the guide cooked a simple supper...looked in some houses and noticed that they had solar powered TV to entertain them...trucks and motor bikes to get their wares to the city markets...and little else. One little girl and I had a wee burping contest...which she won...we discovered a church, a manual flour press, and looked at the many pigs and dogs and chickens running around. Not much else to do. We enjoyed some beers within our group and conversed...then at night we watched the approaching brush fires set in amongst the dry bamboo forests, and waited to be entertained by the village kids who were going to dance for us.

That was a different treat...funny how long they spent playing on our porch in full costume before the girls came in (aged 4-11 perhaps) and danced...accompanied by the rowdy boys outside the hut shouting their heads off to the tunes the girls were to be singing. Instead...the girls giggled and danced. It was nice and funny...and the other group of hikers (who was NOT supposed to be there according to the tour company who said we'd be totally alone) and us enjoyed it. To bed for a semi-restless sleep...Julia waking at all the sounds...Mel's snoring, pigs humping, dogs barking at the 'hill tribers' returning from their drinking and karaoke, hunters shooting wild chickens, the approaching fire crackling with the occaisional flare-ups, and the pre-mature cock-a-doodle doos of the damn roosters. We had a lazy morning before heading down-hill for about 2-3 hours...a wee snake was the wildlife we saw along with the gorgeous scenery before we arrived at the elephant riding station. A quick lunch and drink...we then rode a huge elephant through the rives and mountain passes...even having the chance to ride it's prickly head and 'steer' it with grunts...and feed them some sugar cane (not free). Good experience...then off down the river for some not-so-white water rafting...but a good refreshing paddle with a CRAZY guide and plenty of water fights between boats...then a short and tipsy bamboo raft for another 40 minutes or so...our guide totally abandoning us to take the treacherous journey on our own...then the ride home. Good times...a little more 'touristy' than promised...and wasn't terribly creative...but it was quite raw and real.

That night...our entire group (it seems we might have enjoyed each others company after all haha) met for a beautiful buffet (filled with grilled meat and gravy!), some drinks, and an eventual night at the disco. Jilian and Bill discovered, and introduced us to SAm Sung thai rum...we watched an impressive fire spinner...and made our way to a dance club for several hours. More good fun! Just before that, Julia made a man SNAP at the market by bargaining him to the lowest price EVER for some simple lamp shades. She's ruthless...but much better at it than I am (I'll make a savings of say 5% where Julia regularly gets more than 50%) haha.

Our last day in Chang Mai consisted of a trip to the post-office...a drink with Mel...and a meal with Sunny's friends Marjorie, Graham and MIcheal (Canadians from Saskatoon working in Thailand...perhaps permanently). ANyway...VERY nice people...good to talk to, and eat more delicious food with. They saw us off to the train station that night at 10pm after some fantastic conversation, Canadian company, and food!

Julia and I were then sent to our top bunks on the train for a relatively comfortable...albeit hot train ride in the 'economy' car, destined for Bangkok. Once there (15 hours later)...we booked bus passage to Krabi leaving at 7pm. So...spent some time showering, eating and walking around the train station waiting for our next 13 hour bus journey. After being kicked off of our VIP bus a few hours from our destination...then having to get a crowded bus to Krabi...and still had 2 more legs of the journey (taxi and boat) to get to Ton Sai...needless to say...we arrived Crabby in Krabi...but still found the strength to get ourselves to our final destination. To be described in another session.

I hope you're all VERY well...look forward to hearing from all our friends and family!

TYler and Julia

Laos and Chang Mai...

tjwhale — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:14:00 GMT

Hello again,

We left Nam in typical style...going from one location to another before finally catching the 'LUXURY' bus that we had paid so dearly for. Anyway...a scooter ride (2 people a 2 huge bags on each...childs play by their standards) to the place where the van picked us up to take us to the bus to take us to the path to walk to the bus. After an hour wait in the middle of NO where...our only assurance we were in the right place was that there were other tourists waiting there too...a few pees in the parking lot, and loading the 6 whites and the 40 vietnamese onto our 'LUXURY' bus...a hunk of crap with a luxury horn...we left town. On the outskirts of town, we stoped to collect about 2 tons of bagged rice that they conveniently put all through the alley...the only solice for my huge lanky legs was being able to stick them into the alley...but, what was I going to do? So...24 hours of BAD bus riding, boiling hot, Julia and I jabbing each other with our elbows while jostling for sleeping room. A classic! We arrived at the border about 2-3 hours EARLY, and had the unknown option of renting a filthy mat to sleep on before the border guards leisurely came to work to let us out of their country. After paying off the border guards...just a few bucks...none-the-less, crooked money, we made our way into Laos. Immediately, you could feel the difference...the tension starting to unwind as the temperature rose.

We made it to Vien Tiane, the Laos capital, with only about 15 pee/food stops along the way. We treated ourselves to a 13$ room, which means HIGH quality, complete with TV, AC, hot water, nice beds, etc. and headed out to find things to do. That night, as we arrived late in the afternoon, we basically walked the streets marvelling at the peace and quiet. The Laosians don't badger, don't beep, rarely beg, and smile a LOT! It was so refreshing and strangely quiet! We looked into the bus rides to Luang Prabang...where we REALLY wanted to go to originally (strangely, there are no busses from Nam direct to LP)...but I think we wisely decided that another 12 hour bus ride, plus the hassle of getting to CHang Mai from there...which could take as much as 2 days...just to see the place for 1-2 days itself, wasn't worth it. We therefore stayed for the next 1.5 days in Vien Tiane (sp?), and literally 'unwound' ourselves from the tension we built-up in Vietnam! The first night...we found a wonderful little restaurant that served some fantastic Laap...cold meat salad PACKED with flavour, and visited the night food stalls. We ordered a chilli free papaya salad which still turned out to be inedible (too f-ing hot!), walked the rivers edge looking at the tourists...but retiring early to a cold shower, AC, and some tele before bed. The next day, we managed to find our way through the always interesting day markets, scoffing down fruit, noodles, kenom chan (thai rice flour desert), and plenty of water. We took the local bus to a Budda Park...complete with perhaps 50-100 large statues, including a 40 meter reclined budda, and a huge statue of the artists version of the bowls of hell and purgatory. Strange...but neat. That afternoon we rented some bikes and made our way to a VERY crowded pool (weekend), had a mediocre soak and tried to do a few lengths, with our scuba masks on to protect from the harsh chlorine, for excersize, and biked back to escape the HEAT in our cool room. Another meal at the night stalls, nothing special...but at the same time, delicious! Beer Lao is my second favorite in these parts...after the Thai Chang beer (got the T-shirt!). Our last half dayin Laos, we went to climb their version of the Arc de Triomph...a tall arc in the middle of a HUGE and comparatively unused main highway through Vien Tiane. Not much else that day before boarding our bus at 2pm, destined to arrive in Chang Mai, Thailand at 8am. We had to wait for our 'VIP' bus for a few hours after arriving in Thailand...just seems the way things work...but were pleasantly surprised to actually have a VIP, comfy bus! We watched and played with a pet spider monkey (very cute...but sad to see it mostly caged), had some food, impressed the locals with our coordination on our bolivian hacky sac (which we hadn't used once until then), and finally loaded onto our bus. Julia and I were also lucky to be able to exchange a seat with a VERY nice thai man so that we could sit and sleep together while elbowing each other all night long again. Good times...great sleeps...NOT! Needless to say, there was a wee hickup when our busses' AC unit broke...and we all streamed out of the bus along with our pools of sweat to wait for a replacement bus to arrive. FOrtunately, it was equally comfy, and we arrived in Chang Mai without a further hitch!

We settled on a nice hotel with a NICE pool...but shabby rooms. One of the luxuries we were pampered with in Nam was the quality of hotel rooms. Not the case in Thailand. If you want to go cheap, you get cheap! This one wasn't so bad...but the pool MORE than made up for it! We swam at least 3-4 times a day over the next 2 days...and needed it in 35+ degree heat. We set out to organize our next few days in Chang Mai...but started with a visit to the day market here. The SE Asian cultures seemed to be food obsessed...and understandably so once you've tasted some of the INCREDIBLE cuisine they create. There are equally gross options, like deep fried meal worms, all sorts of creatures BBQ'd on a stick (snake head whole fish, eggs, toads, fat, organs, etc.etc.), thousand year old egg (semi-rotten duck or chicken fetus still in the egg), etc., but we found so delicious options with pork chops, cashews, salads, coconut goodies, etc. I think the food is a better quality in the north here...and so we dined with some delight. Julia re-discovered here Mango and sticky rice too...and has had it daily since arriving.

Must continue later...cooking class and hill-tribe trek...good stuff!

Third tour of NAM...Hoi An...

tjwhale — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 20:10:00 GMT

Hoi An is supposed to be one of the cultural and historical hot spots for Vietnam, holding onto the 'old' country feel. Considering the good reputation it has in the travel guides, being on the coast and the hundreds of excellent clothing tailors...it is surprisingly small. Many old buildings still stand, and it has a slight European flare to it's food and fashion...all in all, we enjoyed our time in Hoi An, despite the inescapable harrassment by merchants and kids. After a few days apart, we again met up with our friends Rory and Shona while walking down the street, out of chance, and enjoyed our first meal of many together. Julia was in heaven after discovering a proper european bakery with cheap 'pain au chocolat' for 30 cents a piece...and I eventually caught on to the delicious pork sweet steamed buns and the BBQ pork skewers sold on the street. With the intention of outfitting us both with some snazy and personally tailor-fit business clothing (for when I finally get a job), we headed out into the sea of salespeople looking for the best of the best. You didn't have to look very hard though, but the constant badgering turned us off clothing almost completely...and so I settled on the decision to get some tailor-made leather dress shoes instead. At 20$/pair...you can hardly go wrong and the 2 pairs I bought ended up being beautiful. It was VERY tempting to get some suits...but again, the hassle dealing with the people, carrying them, mailing them home, etc.etc. all added up to us avoiding the hassle. Julia did eventually get a few tops made...very nice and reasonably priced. There was just such a HUGE amount of STUFF...EVERYWHERE...CHEAP STUFF too...hard not to be tempted into buying some of everything we didn't need, but we did well and only purchased a VERY few items. However, we might not have been thinking clearly when we bought the 'lamp-shade' style vietnamese straw hats. We love them, and think they'll be great for using or decoration...and at 1$ each, we figured it might be worth the risk of destroying them before we get home. Julia took to wearing hers at times...and looks very vietnamese indeed.

SO...much of our time was spent during the days walking around looking at all the things we were sick to death of seeing, wanting, being persuaded to buy, etc., and lost all taste for shopping. We saw plenty of old architecture, and just enjoyed wading through the markets, along the river, etc. We took an hour river boat ride from an old man who looked near death. We figured our ride might put him over the edge...but the man, skinny enough to look like his clothes were hanging on a hangar, able to shade his small body entirely with his straw hat, toothless but one or two brown ones remaining, handled the boat with ease and took us a decent distance in his shallow wooden boat with a very wierd but seemingly efficient paddling stroke. At night...the four of us would come together todescribe our various adventures over decent meals and copious amounts of what they call 'fresh beer...or Bia Hoi in Vietnamese'. At 15cents per glass...it was hard to stop at only 1$ worth...but we were often full after 2$ of beer. The food we enjoyed was also amazing!! Spring rolls, crab and corn soup, five flavoured fish wrapped in banana leaf, pork in a clay pot, stir fried veggies in garlic, rices, fruits, egg and bean sprouts wrapped in rice paper with green banana and herbs with peanut sauce, meat skewers, etc.etc.etc. No shortage of good food.

Julia and I watched some of our newly purchased pirated movies for 1$ each the first night...my introduction to Raina and Teressa's recommended 'Brokeback Mountain' was a bit of a shocker to say the least...but a good break from the noise. A classic example of Vietnamese hassleing came when Shona and Rory biked to a nearby beach and were asked to pay 5000 dong to park their bikes. Being the deal hungry travellers they are, Shona noticed a sign board, hidden by overgrown bushes, that parking a bike should only cost 500 dong...and were yelled at when they actually gave the guard the proper amount. We later heard a guest in our hotel ask if it was normal that he should have to pay 40,000 dong to park his bike there when renting the bike for the entire day only cost him 10,000 dong (60 cents). Frustrating...but they will take FULL advantage of any naivety they can here.

We left after 2.5 days here with our bags of shoes, shirts, purses, straw hats and silk embroidery...tired, but happy to have been. Oh...by the way, the silk embroidery I speak of is a small sample piece I want to show people at home!! THey are AMAZING pieces of art, and if I had enough $ to get more and bigger ones...I definitely would!! I have the contact information for this reputable business...and would recommend that if anyone wants a VERY unique and quality piece of art...they should consider this. For a bigger piece...about 2 feet by 3 feet...it'll take these people 3 months to make them, stitch by stich of real silk made from the worms grown in their shop...until they have made something that from a distance of 5-10 feet looks as good as any oil painting and only charge about 250-300 US dollars. VERY nice and you can have them make a personal picture you send to them!! Anyway...off to Hue. We didn't plan to stay in Hue...except that the bus was full to leave to Hanoi that same night...so we ended up spending a night in Hue. The drive from Hoi An to Hue is supposed to be the best bus ride in Nam...and it was actually VERY pretty with rolling mountains both on land and in the water, vast rice fields with the huge horned water buffalo and the straw hatted labourers working the fields, cliffs, sea-side views, etc.etc. Once in Hue...we did the usual routine of finding a room, walking around, doing a little e-mail and finding a good place to eat. Much to our disappointment...we forgot a few items on the bus, one of them very precious being Julia's FAVORITE piece of travel clothing...and very nearly forgot our 70$ worth of art we've carried since Cambodia. Shitty...stupid...but one of the things we have to deal with on the road.

We ate at a restaurant that night that had some live Vietnamese music playing. Not bad...twangy and different...but neat to see at least once. During the next day, we took a boat tour that would take us to several pogodas, tombs, and markets. We went into this tour with our eyes open however...not going to be the stupid tourist suckered out of as many $ as possible. We knew we were sick of pogodas and tombs, and we knew that they'd not be as impressive as the ones we have already seen...but, for 2.50$ for both of us for 8 hours of tours and lunch included...it seemed worthwhile to prove ourselves right once again and have a day doing something different than walking around another bustling town! The boat was a large-ish space...big dragon heads decorating the front end. I think it doubled as a families living quarters while not used by tourists...but it chugged along the river, slowly, giving us a view of the dozens of other river boats at work. Fishing as usual, but MANY of the boats we passed were carrying big loads of sand and gravel...sometimes enough to bring the sides of the boat within a few inches of being swampped. We still didn't know why...but noticed that they were taking this sand and gravel from the bottom of the river bed and trasnporting it to specific piles along the river bank. Strange. Again though...these boats double as houses, playgrounds for kids, floating markets, etc. We saw one kid perched on the side of the boat with a long turd waiting to drop into the river that was splashing us in the face (kidding...we weren't getting splashed...but plenty of locals were swimming in it...typical though). For every stop...it was possible to spend about 5 times the worth of the trip getting to and from and entrance into the sites. The sites were somewhat impressive tombs...vast and old...built for past emporers and that sort of person. Julia and I wisely only visited 1 of them, and spent our time wandering the shore in the peace and quiet, and the blistering heat!! It was SO hot and humid...we mostly sat in the TEEENY Tiny furniture with a cold drink to keep us alive.

Finally off to Hanoi for the last stop on our vietnam route. The bus ride was the typical bumpy, swervy, beepy ride with frequent food stops at their family restaurants. As the bus lights were off, I struggled to read by the red light of an emergency exit sign...Memoires of a Geisha...wonderful book we both found enchanting and romantic and so different. It's neat to read those things when immersed in a similarly foreign culture...makes them all the more fantastic! We arrived at 7am and made our way to the very hotel where Rory and Shona were...and once again reunited for the last time for a 2-day, 1-night boat trip in Halong bay. Hanoi was pleasantly cool...a huge change from the day before, we quickly realized we'd need our shoes and long clothes again. It was so refreshing, and reminded us of home (a little). This is, unfortunately, the same day and place Julia realized she'd lost her hooded trekking shirt, and it nearly sent her to the nearest travel agent to buy a ticket home. Poor girl...we're feeling the effect of travel now...having not really stopped moving for 4 months now, like the littlest hobo...we find different beds so often now that despite having amazing adventures and new and neat things to do all the time...it wears on your soul, and makes us want to be home with familiarity in our friends, family, country, cuisine, etc. Anyway...after no good sleep, being cold outside, and the frustration of loss...Julia had a day in bed, reading, watching TV and being warm. I walked around with Rory and Shona (who were similarly feeling the effects of travel at that time)...went through markets, looked at the town, ate some cheap roasted and delicious pork, and had a few fresh beers. We intended to see the famous water-puppets that night and depart on our Halong bay boat trip the next morning...but the puppets were sold out, so Julia and I delayed our bus tickets to Laos by 1 day (shitty...as Laos is supposed to be AWESOME!), but figured it worth seeing the puppets just once, and didn't mind the cool and feel of Hanoi. Rory and I, with much laughter, read the menu at our chosen watering hole which contained things like...boiled pig ovary, solid small intestine, fried or boiled dog, and miscellaneous chaffing. WOW...DELICIOUS...served with a side of fingernails and perhaps some sort of sticky discharge...it'd be near perfection! haha.

Halong Bay...Rory and Shona had hunted for the best bargain of a trip...and at 27$, they discovered that we had in fact found the best deal! The problem was...all the hundreds of different travel agents who sold this trip to people...rangin in price from 27-35-50-95$!!! all told their customers lies. They said it'd be small groups, filled with luxury the whole time. It's just too good to be true in Vietnam I think. We were crammed onto a small bus for the 3 hour ride there (no lying down like promised), our 14 person boat was actually more like 30 (although we slept with only 16 on the boat), and the bus ride home almost ended up in a fist-fight as the bus company was trying to stuff so many people on board, with no room for legs let alone baggage...that people had had enough!! HAving said that...the trip was pretty cool. With about 100 identical boats int he harbour...all wooden 60 foot beauties outfitted with a viewing/sun-tanning lounge roof, a large dining hall, and 8 luxury bedrooms. The trip wasn't going to be private or unique...but it was a neat thing to do. We were served excellent and plentiful food throughout (a bit too much deep fried shrimp shit for our liking though...inside joke), we visited a HUGE and impressive grotto (containing a rock known as 'the power of man'...looking like a huge boner they've highlighted with a red spotlight), the people on board our boat were VERY nice...and we met a nice Polish couple named Jerry and Dorota...well, not a couple...but friend travellers...and some older people too that we didn't spend much time with, but enjoyed their company (including an older couple from france we dined with and I spoke with at length over our cheap wine and brandy), all the while, boating through a very mystical setting of huge rock outcroppings jutting out of the south china sea...3000 islands in this one bay alone...they went on for miles! We dropped off half of the passengers on a small island, including the pair of Poles...and went to our docking point. We passed by substantial floating villages, hundreds of houses all there to fish farm...and all of them with surprisingly big, noisy and well fed dogs. Our first thought was that they were food, but it turns out that piracy is very real here, and the dogs are purely for protection. It was funny watching them scamper along the thin wooden paths floating on barrels, barking at our boat. We docked in a solitary and beautiful spot...and Rory and I decided to have a chilly, but refreshing swim (seeing there were no Kayaks as had also been promised!). I also discovered this night...after working up the courage to ask...why the HELL the male vietnamese grow their mole hairs. As it turns out...it's kind of a super-stitious thing I guess...but they say that they get sick when they cut them. So...better to look sick that get sick I guess...they grow them for life, and sometimes, they can reach 1 meter in length. There's even an annual 'mole-hair' competition where they measure the longest and nicest ones! WOW! We dined well that night, and went to work on the bottle of Sake (for Julia and I after reading all those Japanese books...we need to test it out), a bottle of local, but very drinkable Brandy, some beers, and wine. It was our goal to get a little tipsy and talkative...as Rory and Shona have been asking that of Julia constantly...she finally sucame! haha. We did get chatty anyway, and had a good time with the four of us, growing closer with the neat experience and the liquid honesty...all was well. The haunting scenery of the night topped it off with the smooth water, the dark mountains and their perfect reflections hiding the coast-line alltogether...and adding the the eerie look of the place. Being forced to bed by 10:30...we had good sleeps with cozy covers in yet another boat cabin.

The morning brought us much of the same scenery on the way home...much time was spent reading, listening to music, chatting with the other boat guests, dining together one last time on land, and launching off on our hassle filled journey home. As previously described...this was when the shouting started as the people had enough of being tricked into accepting their poor hosting ability...and wanting no more lies. It wasn't good...but, might result in their understanding the tourist psyche and demand a little better in the future. Back in Hanoi...we saw the water puppet show which turned out to be pleasantly amusing and different. Sort of childish, and humourous...the music and puppetry (done by people standing for the full hour in the big tub of water)...it is a good thing to see! We visited for our last night (the 4 of us) as they were off on their 6-day motorbike tour (sounds so cool), then woke to have a perfect buffet of salad and pasta (just what the doctor ordered...as rice, noodles, 'miscellaneous chaffing', etc. is getting tiring...and now here I am...after several hours on the internet, finally caught up with our tales.

To finish with Vietnam...I want to remind you to read 'Catfish and Mandala' by Andrew Pham...but will quote a passage from his book that I find quite true of this country. "I plop down on the bed, pitying the Vietnamese who believe with all their hearts that Vietnam, indeed, is the most gorgeous place on earth. They have no idea that they have gnawed away their nature. There is not much left and they don't even know it. They tell me...all the foreigners go to see this. All the foreigners go to see that. You should go too. Go and behold big trees on big mountain. Go see this monument and this temple. They say it with such conviction that I don't have the heart to tell them, you are lemonade-stand children gouging five bucks for a paper cup of Kool-Aid. Their only fault is the fact that they don't know anything better exists beyond their borders. So they always ask me why foreigners are disgruntled after paying five bucks to look at a forty-foot waterfall or a pile of bricks. No my friends, I wish I could tell them, they are here to gawk at you. "

Having said that...Vietnam has been an interesting place to travel. I'd recommend you try it...but coming here with your eyes open is a good piece of advice. It is VERY easy to travel here...so cheap, so plentiful, so different. The hotels are amazing and good value...but come for the people moreso than for the tours. Dont worry about Pogodas...have a different kind of adventure in Nam...stay on the tourist track...but be sure to get off once in a while. There is so much to experience...and a little imagination with a HUGE dose of tolerance will help your time here be wonderful!

So long.

Gallery: Cambodia and Vietnam

tjwhale — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 19:57:00 GMT

Second tour of NAM...

tjwhale — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:17:00 GMT

To finishe with Saigon...HO Chi Minh City...named after their revered communist leader...looks like a combo of Colonel Sanders and Mr. Miagi, is quite the famour guy here. Funnily, KFC is the only 'western' food chain allowed in Vietnam.

Saigon...it was hot and humid, filled with pollution of all kinds (dust, noise, garbage, fumes, population, etc.)...a constant metallic blue haze covering the city (as with Bangkok)...we needed a rest on our first day there from all of that...and so headed (again, the only whites on a local bus) to the Saigon water park. Luckily, it was a weekday, so the ENTIRE park was occupied by at most 50-100 poeple. I bet they'd normally admit about 20,000 on a good day. We had the waterslides, wave pool, lazy river, etc. all to ourselves! We slid some cool rides...me catching air on a few of the faster ones, Julia straining her neck and almost losing her bikini bottoms at the end of a few too. We did a double tube ride on a slide that was completely dark too. Julia's child-like screaming made a few of the 'life guards' laugh. Anyway...a well needed and refreshing day. We met a very forward, but friendly Vietnamese girl on the way home named Hong. Actually, she met me at the park first while sliding alone...making me carry her sliding mat for her as I am a man and she a woman. We were invited to her restaurant that night...but didn't go as we dined elsewhere with Rory and Shona...then went out for some local 'fresh beer'. For only 50 cents a jug...we sat on lilliputian chairs (the kindergardener ones) and drank for some time...feeling no effects of the very light beer but the need to pee in their VERY shady toilets where girls had to pee on the floor, and I had to duck to get inside. Sure is different than home...but that's what makes it all so interesting I guess! At night too...it seems that dozens of well dressed men would ride around with a small briefcase on the back of their bikes, ringing bells, but saying nothing. We found out that they are available to give you some kind of suction cup treatment...alternative medicine that leaves you with huge red hickies all over the place...not sure what it's for.

The following day, Julia and I headed out to see the famous Cu Chi tunnels. These are the tiny tunnels, dug one basket of dirt at a time, that the VietCong used during the war as a way to infiltrate villages, Saigon, etc... enemy territory right under the Americans' feet! In this location alone...a strategically important one because of it's proximity to Saigon (headquarters)...had over 250km of tunnels...some stretching into Cambodia, and ALL over the region. Along the way, we stopped to see our first rubber tree plantation, french owned and said to be 'slave drivers' towards the local workers. The tour guide for the day...about 4 feet tall and maybe 80 pounds...was a real Viet Cong lover...a real communist, and a seeming dislike for westerners...although he was nice enough to those on the tour which paid his wages. Anyway, the tunnels were a touristy place...but very interesting! We started off in an underground classroom with a real-life military general spewing propaganda at us...bragging about all the americans the VC so cleverly killed...all the medals awarded to those who killed the most, and the resilience of the VC in this battle. It was our first real taste of the left-over hatred for the western nations, particularly americans, and the communist/fashist/whatever the Vietnamese now are. I say whatever because truly...they are a capitalist country...everyone out to make a buck. Our society is probably MORE communist than theirs...taxing everyone to make sure that we at least ALL have a higher general level of living (roads, health, school, etc.)...but...what the BLEEP do I know?

I digress...after our lesson in american-bashing, we headed out to see the tunnels, the fox-holes, the bunkers, etc. All very interesting...but better when we got to crawl through a few hundred meters of them. Pitch black except for the occaisional chirstmas light-lighting our way, dank, hot, humid, choking stale earthy air...being underground 20 feet or so, it was hard to breathe. It was a real insight into how these guys would have travelled, on their hands and knees in tunnels MUCH smaller than the ones we were crawling through which had been widened for fat tourists (or just larger builds!). They were quite pleased with their tunnels, but even more pleased with all the boobie traps they made. Brutal ways to kill or maim people and dogs...involving metal or bamboo spikes for the most part, but many sorts of traps, made in large part by the women and children of the VC forces. Suffice to say, we realized even more after this, how STUPID and brutal the war must have been. Until I know more about world politics, I don't understand WHY americans metal in other countries' affairs so much.

We visited a firing range after that...more for effect than anything, with AK47 firing in the background (by tourists) for 1$/bullet. We didn't feel the need to spend about 500$/minute (exageration), and so watched the ladies make rice-paper, and looked again at their bottles of snake wine (rice wine with cobra snake corpses, scorpions, etc. fermenting in them) and other trinkets. We went to eat the VC ration of tapiocca root and tea, then headed home followed by another night out with our friends and some drinks on our balcony of a gorgeous room (beer tried is '333', tiger, Larue, Saigon, Huda, and some others...mostly tasting the same). What has surprised me a good deal here is to discover that Saskatoon is probably the place that, in my opinion, serves the BEST example of many vietnamese dishes that I have sampled here!! Way to go Norm and the Nutana Cafe noodle bowls and spring rolls...nothing better here!!

Our last day in Saigon was spent walking around and seeing a few more sights. We went to the used military supplies market, TONS of old US war stuff available, saw the mediocre Notre Dame Cathedral, walked around the streets, Julia was treated to a foot massage, I ate a frozen bean treat we thought was lime (YUCK), a little haggling in the market again...then off to get our bus to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang...named after a restaurant in Saskatoon that serves Eddie Quan's favorite soup...it is the holiday beach retreat place in Vietnam. We had planned to spend only 2 days here...but after our first few hours on the beach, we figured we could use one more day of R&R. The ocean was nice, and we found some beach chairs to rent at 60 cents a piece. In the afternoon of our first day, we visited a mud-spa a few kilometers away. We arrived to HOARDS of local mud-bathers (being a sunday) filling pools of RANK smelling mud. We were a little disgusted by the whole thing initially...communal mineral water shower, followed by a bath in what looked like diarhea and smelled like a urinal. To our relief, however, they cleaned the tubs between each bath, and filled it up with fresh, smelly mud. Being white...we were given a tub to ourselves, no one wanting to bath in our filth (haha). One thing that almost made me puke was when I discovered a LONG curly black hair caught in my chest hair. As their head hair is almost ALWAYS straight, and no pube could have been that long, my conclusion was that it was one of the mole hairs that the men like to grow. That's right...out of every facial mole, the men let the disgusting little hairs grow to max lengths!! I still need to find out WHY they do this...but it's not uncommon to find 4 inches of 10 curly hairs growing out of a huge mole. WIERD! Anyway...the mud treatment was followed by another hot shower, then a 45 minute soak in very hot mineral water, followed by a beer at poolside as we sat in our newly exfoliated and mineralized skin! Kind of fun! We needed a day of rest, SURELY, after that...so spent another day reading on the beach, with a nice dinner (however small) and the other bad massage I've previously described. Our last day in Nha Trang we took a boat tour around some of the islands here. Having already snorkelled in some of the finest reefs, this time didn't stand out. The boat crew, however, were nice and funny...and after a large lunch (for about 40 people) they pulled out some instruments and the 'TM Brothers' boys band' (complete with an old man wearing leather boobs) played some fun tunes and livened the mood on the boat getting everyone up dancing on the tables and singing along. This was followed by a 'floating' bar...the host floating on a ring, serving bad mulberry wine to the rest of us floating on more rings in the ocean. Good times. We met a nice Australian named Andrew and lay on the beach with him for a while watching people parasail and jetski. A quick stop at a fishing village (more touristy trap things) and we returned home in time for a quick meal and shower before our bus came to take us to Hoi An.

NAM...YO!

tjwhale — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 22:20:00 GMT

Hey all...As we've been on the move a lot lately...we've been neglecting our writing to some extent, which will affect detail. So Sorry.

Yo...'cheers' in Vietnamese.

Getting to Vietnam was another adventure in anticipation! We decided to journey by boat via the Meekong Delta...the most lush and productive land in Cambodia and Vietnam. I figured that if I had to live in these countries...it would be here that I made my home!! Anyway...as usual, we were collected at our guesthouse on time in Cambodia...then transferred to another transfer point, only to be transferred to the actual bus that would take us to the boat that would take us into NAM! We were lucky to meet a nice couple from Carlysle (England) named Rory and Shona. Adventurer's too...and nice to chat with about our 'Same same...but different' experiences (classic saying in southeast asia...bloody irritating after awhile to tell you the truth!...in fact, they should make a T-shirt that says 'Same same...REALLY' or something). Anyway...we made it down the pot-holed road...only the 4 of us in a 15 person van (twilight zone-ish...usually the opposite like 15 people in a 4 person van). We were soon ushered off to sit on their child-sized stools (for some reason they ALL have plastic furniture that we'd use for kindergarden kids) wondering if we were REALLY where we should be, if we purchased some labour camp ticket rather than the boat-ride, wondering why the heck only 4 of us were there! We DID opt for the slow boat, and not the 'touristy' fast boat...but at a savings of about 200% (6$ rather than 18)...it was the right thing to do! All was well...we were eventually led down a dirty path behind the tilted-stilted house, and only a 50 seat river boat. With only about 12 people aboard...the spaciousness and quiet (besides the harley sounding motor) was another treat...and the boat-ride REALLY picked up for me when I realized we were allowed to scramble along the outside of the boat, and scale up onto the roof!! Luckily, I had the insight the night before to buy a 1998 bottle of Bordeaux...nothing special...but a '98 for 6$ on a boat-ride through the Meekong, listening to a combo of good tunes including Louis Armstrong (What a wonderful world) and the Stones (I think), sipping (gulping) wine, and sunning my white body on the roof of a boat in the middle of another planet was a COOL experience! The farms, the kids playing in the river, the landscape were all out of the old vietnam movies (one of their accuracies anyway)...JJulia joined me for a tan and a foot rub...and we took it all in. Strangely, it seemed to be cow-washing day...as ALL cows seemed to be getting a MUCH appreciated bath in the river! ANyway...neat stuff!

Arriving at the vietnamese border was another experience. Not sure if we'd be rejected entry, as we were arriving a day LATER than our visa indicated, we had our luggage carried without our approval, only to have the porter DEMAND a dollar for his minute of un-requested work. We did get through however, and sat and enjoyed our first Vietnamese soup on the shore while our replacement boat was readied. The rest of the voyage was much the same until arriving at our destination of Chau Doc...a town (with the population of a large Canadian city) whose economy seemed driven by the river...many floating houses and fish farms...more boats than dogs (remember...they used to eat MANY dogs here though...but there were a TON of boats)...all competing for the loudest engine prize! This town was a neat introduction!! Despite the dirt roads, like in Cambodia, the kids were the first noticeable difference...approaching us to say 'HELLO'...rather that 'YOU GIVE ME DOLLA'. It was more crowded, streets filled with shops, restaurants, booths of ALL kinds, side by side...all with BLARING music!! It seems the Vietnamese don't like to socialize (my assumption), so they drown out any possibility with loud music! We toured around with our new friends after we got a NICE hotel room...and taught some eager 20-25 year olds a little english while we ate at a river side restaurant. Another noticeable difference...the Vietnamese portions of food are QUITE small!! Affordable...but small! It's funny too...despite a meat costing 1-3$...you don't order 2 of them out of principle it seems...it's like no matter where we go...we have to do things for the 'AFFORDABLE' price of the region! I suppose that's good for our budget!

From Chau Doc...we caught our own bus to Saigon. It was a 'local' bus...not typically for tourists...but more authentic. If you get a chance...read the book 'Catfish and Mandela'...it describes Vietnam PERFECTLY!!! ANyway...after I tried to fit my 6'2" body into a seat made for 5 footers...and feeling temporarily satisfied...we headed out. It seems all the buses are privately run, and have a crew of 3-4...1 INSANE driver with one hand permanently on the horn, the other out the window making relations with the other bus drivers (mostly nice), the money collector, and the bagger/client recruiter. This last guy would stand in the open door (in our case a 12 passenger van), and holler out at the passing people, telling them how much, and where we were going. If there was a taker...he'd shout the message to the driver who'd JERK to the side of the road, and while still rolling, the recruiter would pull the new passenger on-board. No matter how full we were...there was always room for more! Naturally, there are stops along the way...under the guise of bathroom breaks, the bus crew settle themselves in for an hour long meal (at a relatives' cafe), enticing all the others to have a meal along with them. We tasted some local fare along the way...I had the sort of typical soups (pho) with HUGE chunks of fat (meat) in them (rather than all the other parts of every animal under the sun), and Julia sampled the wee chunks of fishy flavoured rice (the size of a raisin)...which when wrapped in banana leaf, were about the size of a tennis ball. This...in the description of all of our bus-rides really...to some degree. AS with ALL driving in Veitnam...I've never heard such abuse of the horn, while they all simultaneously ignore every one of them (in a sense) against their own self-preservation instinct. If you're in someone's way...they'll drive there anyway and expect you to move. The lack of regulations and order is tough for us Canadians...adn whenever someone beeps behind me, I take it VERY personally and find it hard to ignore...particularly because they hold the horn blast for so long, and they are loud enough to deafen you! But for the locals...it's like no noise is made at all...they might react by moving over a few inches, but making sure they don't swerve...otherwise...death!

Arriving in Saigon, we successfully found another nice hotel right near the tourist drag this time. This is where the irritations of Vietnam really set in too. Not immagining it possible for the roads and traffic to get any more chaotic than it was in Bangkok or Phenom Phen...it DID!!! HUNDREDS of motorbikes pass you each minute, no matter how small the path, along with cycle-taxis, cars, donkeys pulling wagons, rick-shaws and of course...busses. It's shocking to see someone carry on a moped or even a bicycle what we'd use a half-ton truck to carry!!! Their loads are enormous...and often, a family of 4 riding on 1 moped...if any helmets are to be worn, it's the parents who wear them (this is rare too though), while letting their infant child(ren) chew the handle bars (or even breast feed) while wiping through the traffic at break-neck speeds! Although we heard of accidents...we surprisingly didn't witness any...but apparently the highest cause of accidental death in Saigon is head injury due to motor accident! Another thing which is now common place here, something we were primed for after Cambodia but not nearly to this degree, is the hustleing street kid merchants. Not only kids though...they all sell the SAME DAMN THING!!!! Books (photocopies) by the ton, bracelets, tiger balm, post-cards, sunglasses, zippo lighters, cigarettes etc. THey all looked stunned when you don't buy from them, for many...you have to either be rude to them or ignore them (after you've said NO once as they won't go away until acknowledged) altogether. If you don't want their merchandise...many of them will the whisper to you 'want some marajuanna, hash, cocaine, opium, acid, exstacy?? Unbelievable!! They aften use the same 'intro' lines too...'Whaz yurrr naaaam? Wherrrr yuuu frooooom?'. GOD...originality was NOT taught in their school system, and you can hardly blame communism...as they aren't that either (really!).

HAving said all that...the vietnamese are survivors!!! They are incredible artists and craftsmen, many of them are honest, hard-working, and TOUGH people. Little old ladies carrying huge bundles, hunching down on hard pavement for HOURS to cook, sell, sleep, etc. I admire them in many ways...but almost which I was deaf to tour here. While in Saigon, we ate many vietnamese dishes (ironically though...I still prefer the Vietnamese food we've had in Saskatoon!), we walked through huge markets, getting pulled and proded into people’s little stalls…all of them miraculously knowing what we needed and wanted. Some of the merchants would get quite insulted if you didn’t buy something from them after you’ve tried it on or asked questions about something or tried to bargain for more reasonable prices. It also seems that they think ALL westerners (whites) have TONS of money, they figure we should give them a BIG chunk of it…a very ‘memememememememe’ kind of place. It’s too bad really as I suspect many of them are wonderful people, but have caught the capitalist cold...which is actually a sweaty fever here.

Cambodia continued...and massage

tjwhale — Tue, 7 Mar 2006 00:59:00 GMT

Hello again.

I want to start this message with a few comments and stories on the topic of massage. They're wierd...in a lot of respects...particularly in different countries. I've just had 3 different experiences with massage...one funny, one gross, one irritating, but I've told myself to let them do their thing (so long as they don't push the limits too much) and I'll experience it for what it is.

The first was a massage in Cambodia, after a tough day riding our electric bikes (haha), I thought it'd be good to have a rub-down. Julia wasn't in the mood...so I went alone. Later, I read that MOST places in Cambodia are the 'nasty' kind of massage...not altogether legit. This one seemed normal, many mats on a floor where multiple people of both sex were getting rubbed. However...I think I had the opportunity for 'long-time' love that night as my young masseuse did a typical (I think!) maneuver in thai massage which finds the masseuse on top of their customer, but proceeded to call me handsome, find out my age, and if I had a wife or not. Of course, I wasn't receptive to any potential beyond the massage, but thanked her for the flaterry and told her I'd set her up (as she told me she was single) with my friend from our hotel (as Julia wrote about).

The second was a massage I had in Saigon, Vietnam. It was at a blind institute, and the business of massage is important to their well-being. I figured I was sacrificing my hour and body for THEM!! Even at 2$/hour, however, it was a rip-off!! First, I had some skinny twirp of a boy bang my back like it was his personal drum set...did very little massaging except to focus hard rubs on my freshly sun-burnt back (using no lubrication too). Then, he hopped up to sit on my bum...beat my bum like a drum for a while...then leaned over until his little you know what was resting DANGEROUSLY close to my crack!! I clenched, and he must have known (with his enhanced remaining senses) that I wasn't enjoying his advances hahaha. Anyway...he soon hoped off, saying that he had to go and massage another man (I wonder if he was a young boy whore??) while some equally useless female masseuse came to finish the job. Well...she rubbed one calf, then answered her cell phone and talked for 10 minutes, then rubbed my opposite gluteus maximus (already beaten to death by the young perv), picked her nails for 10 minutes (I could watch her do it as she's blind and didn't see me watching her)...then finished abruptly. VERY STRANGE.

Third...tonight...after Julia and I BOTH had useless massages (for already too much $), and nearly had our necks broken by amateur nit-wits...me being complimented (again) on my handsome looks (right in front of Julia), and Julia being complemented on her lovely rack...they finished by demanding more tip that we were willing to leave. We left 60 cents more each (I know...it's not much...but leaving a 2$ tip for people who earn 50$/month is a LOT and irritating) in a bit of a huff and the feeling of being used!! The Vietnamese, I've found, are often selfish...and after hundreds of thousands of them have harrassed us 'rich' whities with the "memememememememememeeeeeeeeeeeeee' attitude...it gets tiring! ANyway...massage is strange. I think we'll limit ourselves to NONE until we get back to thailand, the only place they've been worthwhile!

So...I believe Julia finished off with most of Anchor Wat. Anyway...enjoying the electric bikes so much, we decided to rent them for a second day to help us tour Anchor with energy to spare. It truly is an impressive place to be...the more you're there, the more you realize it, and I REALLY think it's worth 2-3 days visit...not just one. Don't forget, there's more to visit that just the ruins. The grounds (which cover THOUSANDS of acres) are filled with wonder...the noises of the surrounding jungle, the MANY minor ruins that often get overlooked by most toursits, the thousands of residents who still live and work the sacred lands, the thousands of buddhist monks, which, if you didn't know, we learned they are really glorified beggars. Of course they do a lot of praying...but essentially Buddhist monks do nothing to sustain themselves...they wander from house to house, morning and night, to beg for food and money. It's bad luck or 'karma' if you don't give to them too, and yet...being men of little...you often see them with sunglasses, nice shoes, smoking cigarettes, etc. Funny. At one point, we entered a ruin and were immediately let around by a CUTE little boy (name sounded like Cheese) who spoke quite respectable english. We knew we'd have to pay him something...but the little shit demanded a dollar at the end of his largely innacurate tour (after reading up on the book...he answered my few questions with LIES) that lasted a measly 5 minutes. I told him no, paid him 1500riel instead of 1000 (4000 riel in a US dollar)...and decided to give him a little lesson on life and economics. Most people would simply pay him the dollar...but that truly causes a big problem when a little kid comes home from 'work' with more money than his parents. Not inspiring for his parents to then send him away to school (except to learn more foreigner languages I suppose...and he could speak at least 4!) then...and it ends up having negative effects on their morale and much more than that as well. Anyway, I explained that 1 dollar, for his 5 minutes of work would get him a wage of about 12$/hour...which even by our standards is a DECENT wage!! No WAY was I going to pay him that, especially when his people make about 20-30$/month. He weeped a little, but nothing like what he weeped when I charged him 500 riel for the lesson hahahahaha. Kidding. Anyway...despite the grueling heat (40 degrees) and the pesky merchants, we loved our time at Anchor. We got a few commenmorative oil paintings before we left.

Our ride to Phenom Phen (the capital of Cambodia) was uneventful...our 'LUXURY' bus mind you wasn't so luxury...but we've come to expect that. We made our way to a nice guesthouse call the 'OKAY guesthouse'...right nextdoor to some F-ING amazing guesthouses (huge hotels we now only dream about)...and splurged to get A/C for the 2 nights. The first evening, we didn't do much but walk around a bit, eat some tasty food at our hotel, do a little e-mailing, and bask in our freezing cold room!! We hired the tuk-tuk guy (sunny) to take us to a few of the Khumer Rouge tourist sites the next day, TONS of FUN!!! Not...it was an expectedly depressing day. Cambodia has been free for less than 30 years now...after much of it's population was MASSACRED by the youngsters under Pol Pot's Khumer Rouge regime from 1975-79. We visited a school converted to a prison/torture camp that left us weak! More than 17000 people were tortured to death at that camp, by kids as young as 10 years old. The primary targets of torture and murder were ANY people who had the semblance of an education (meaning...if you wore glasses...logically they would be to read, which meant, you MUST be educated and therefore evil), anyone who worked for the previous government or knew someone who did...etc. They were ruthless, forcing false confessions from people, killing babies and women equally brutally, young or old. Every year...a new batch of 'soldiers' was trained and sent to kill the other soldiers, being told that they were becomming the enemy. Essentially, Pol Pot didn't want anyone to have enough time to catch on that his regime wasn't so sound...and wouldn't improve their lives. UNBELIEVABLE!!! We then went to the killing fields...essentially a field with a bunch of holes in it which were all old mass graves, and whose excavated skulls were all piled high in a monument they put up to make it more touristy! It is so fresh there...you can still see tatters of their old clothes, and even some various pieces of human bone lying around. Many graves are yet to be dug...but more than 3 million people died there. One display was a tree which they used to smash the babies on and therefore not waste a bullet! This lovely day, coupled with the existing poverty staring us in the face left us feeling weak and helpless. It sure makes you evaluate your life though...thank your lucky stars...and it refreshed my desire to make even a SMALL difference in someone's life. The thing is though...if you plan to make a difference, TRY to do it with more than just money. That's just a small fraction of their problem.

We finshed off that day visiting the King's palace...in need of some glitter to take away our dullness. It was just another Palace...not really worth the visit really, seeing lifesized gold statues and emerald buddhas when much of the country is uneducated, unemployed and stinking poor (literally)...it's too much!!

We walked the river for a while, and retired to our rooms...overwhelmed with the inequities of life that we felt relatively helpless to do anything about...at least now. I suppose this trip is about learning what the world has to offer, how it suffers, how we fit into the whole scheme of things...and we'll hopefully contribute more later in life. Although...from another perspective, all the money we're spending on this trip is a big infusion into their societies...even if we don't give to every beggar we come across.

We left Cambodia without emotion...satisfied with the experience, willing to go back, but sort of numb from it all.

Cambodia and Angkor Wat

tjwhale — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 18:04:00 GMT

WOW.

Our trip to Cambodia started out with our longest, bumpiest, hottest, most cramped bus ride of our lives. We left at about 7:30am from Bangkok in a beautiful airconditioned bus and drove for about 5 hours on beautiful, smooth, flat roads to the border of Cambodia where our lives changed. The bus people were exceptional at helping us get our visas and pass through customs with very little effort. All they kept saying in thier cute little thai accents was "beeeee carfuuuuuuu" (in an english accent it would be " Be Careful." They let out a little giggle after they said it over and over. It was adorable. I guess they had a few problems the week before with some pickpocketers by the border crossing. We managed to get to the other side with no problems and boarded a tiny, did I mention tiny? bus that would take us the rest of the 200 km to Siam Reap, the tiny tourist village where people flock to in hoards as a base for visiting the monstrous and incredible Angkor Wat ruins. We look at the map again and figure it couldn't possibly take more than four hours. Again, we were wrong. We drive down the bumpiest "main" highway road known to human kind for the next 8, yes EIGHT hours! We did stop in there for a dinner break, but still! Imagine the worst dirt road you've ever driven on in Canada, then add hurricane force wind and rain and picture what the road would be like then...that is what we drove on. Poor Tyler had is huge, long limbed body crammed into a seat made for the tiniest of Cambodians. Of course, the seat in front of him was broken and was stuck in the 'reclined' position...not so bad for the guy sitting there but VERY painful for poor Tylers knees. It was kinda funny at one point when I look accross four seats in our puny row...Me at the window being as small as I can possibly be to make room for Tyler who was looking like a sardine crammed into a tiny can with 20 other sardines, I had to smile. THen the poor french guy sitting beside Tyler who was trying to be "manly" and not let his legs touch Tylers too much so as to give the wrong impression, but still having a hard time avoiding too much contact as we sailed over potholes big enough to bathe a large dog in. It was pretty cute. Then the guy on the far window who looked like he had been sent to the corner to think about what he did wrong. His arms all bundled up in his lap, his head hung low trying to imagine he were in a happy place with all the room in the world. It was a sight to behold. A classic travel scenario that would be hard to escape from even if you tried.

All in all, what do you REALLY expect for $6 ??? We remembered what we paid and were thankful for the brief blow of coolish wind that passed over us whenever the fan/air con decided to kick in every know and again.

We later learn that the Cambodian government, four years ago, signed a contract with a Thai airline in hopes of boosting the tourism and economy in a country who was struggling to survive. This contract prevents the government here to repair, fix or build a new road connecting Thailand with Angkor in order to encourage tourists to fly and make the airlines money. This contract is up in two years after which I'm sure, the ride we experience will become something of the past and the dirt road replaced with a beautiful new highway.

On the way here we saw huge blue flickering lights all over the farmers fields. They looked like huge bug lights which we learned were actually grasshopper and cricket catchers which they exported to Thailand for 'snack'food?!

We were so tired at the end of the day that we agreed to stay at the hostel where we were conveniently brought to at 10:30pm that night that was conveniently owned by the drivers buddy. It was only $5 US a night and it was actually, a really nice room. It even has a TV!!! It is a bit out of town but we've managed to get rides into town every morning with little hassle as one of the 8-10 guys who are sitting around, sleeping on couches, "working" slowly gets up and puts on clothes like we are really putting them out and they hop on thier motorcycle with a little carriage attached to the back to take us into town. Too funny. It is honestly SO bloody hot here during the day that I can't blame them for being so lethargic, but come on...they WORK there?!

Today is the third day of our three day pass we got to see the temples of Angkor. They truly are more impressive than many we've ever seen before. I mean, they are comparable to Machu Picchu, the pyramids, and many of the egyptian temples I saw...but the fascinating part is how much space they occupy! THere are 14 km separating some buildings from one another. The other thing is that the rock they used isn't all that big compared to the rocks used in Peru and in Egypt. But the detail and carvings and reliefs and structure are fascinating to look at. The first day we hired "Paep", a guy from our hostel who speaks immaculate english and is just the cutest cambodian I have ever seen with a shy smile and gentle personality. A true gentleman. He is 27, no girlfriend because he is too shy and not a good flirter, so he says. He met Angelina Jolie and thinks she is a gift from god, as most people here think as she was at the temples to film 'tomb raider' and of course, still remains involved in Cambodian culture. He says that Brad is a lucky man. Too cute. He waited around for us as we toured through the temples. We had to buy cold water every hour as it is SO hot here you could dehydrate at the drop of a hat. Not that there is a shortage of women and children running around offering "cold water, lady" whenever you walk near them. Kids EVERYWHERE selling everything and anything. TYler is the hugest sucker for them and we now have a flute, 5 wooden bracelets, a pack of 10 postcards, way more beer and water than I"m sure was needed to keep us happily hydrated, some relief replicas printed on cheap paper...and I"m sure the list goes on. It's usually SO cheap and it truly is hard to say no. For a "snack" that afternoon while we went to get a piece of roasted corn on the cob from one of the million people selling the exact same thing (entrepreneurs and free-thinkers they are not) we also tried some of the deep fried cockroaches that Paep got from a vendor. We hesitantly pulled of the back shell, a few legs and of course, the head and popped them in. Very crunchy and oddly flavoured of garlic. It must have been the oil? A neat experience. Paep was very proud. Seems like the Cambodians are much above the grasshoppers and crickets which they get rid of in place of the much more extraordinary cockroach cuisine!!

Later that night Tyler went in for a $5 one hour massage that he has taken quite a liking to in SE Asia. I'm talking about the "legitimate" massages, don't worry, Deborah! He got talking (imagine that) and left with the idea of setting this girl up with our friend Paep from the hostel! He's playing matchmaker and loving it! We've been going out at night for dinner. Everything here is charged in US dollars at there are so many tourists so things are a bit costly compared to Thailand. I'm sure prices will go down when we get to Phenom Phen tomorrow and out of the tourist trap that we're in. There are kids wandering around everywhere asking for money and food and for you to buy another flute. So cute and like I said, very hard to say no to. At the same time, we pass by houses and villages with kids laughing and giggling and playing together as if life were great. A nice change to see this.

LIke yesterday, we will again rent bikes and tour around some of the temples for a final time. Spend some time there at sunset for those glorious sunset pictures that we love so much :) It is SO hot and it's quite a distance to bike around all day long for two days straight in the beating down sun. It must be 8km to the ruins and then 15 km around the area before the long ride home. Such a hard, long day...did I mention the bikes were electric and we barely have to do any peddaling?? :) Brilliant idea.

We will write more soon to update on the rest of this amazing country.

Sawat dee Crup...Bangkok

tjwhale — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:11:00 GMT

Hello in thai, although I'm unsure of the spelling. Ahhhh...arriving back in a cheap country was a pleasant surprise. Although...from all the generosity we had through NZ and Aus...we've managed to come close to our budget there too!! However...now, curry, pad thai, som tam, taxi rides, hour long massages, clothing, music, and so many goods at our fingertips for so small a price. The hardest thing is not to buy too much, and for me...not to feel sorry for some of the merchants and ALL of the beggars. It's funny that we now bargain with people to reduce the price of something even my 30 cents...where as just days before, we were paying at LEAST 10 times as much for the same thing, knowing that was normal.

Our first thai experience this time around (we've both been to thailand before...6 years for Julia, 15 for me) was the CRAZY bus ride from the airport to Kheo San Road. Traffic is insane here...they say NOT that Pedestrians have the right of way, but that they have the right to DIE!! Motorcycles seem to swarm the roads, and dominate the small spaces, then tuk-tuks (a thai, 3-wheeled,open-aired taxi), then cars, then busses and trucks...but of course, if you're driving the bigger item, all others must look out for you. Size does matter...in all aspects of the road. I can't believe how few people DON"T get hit here...let along the stray dogs that will sleep on off ramps to highways, expertly dart through traffic...and live to tell the tale.

We spent Friday to Tuesday at a basic hotel (10$/night) just behind the temple off of Kheo San Road. This is the main tourist hot spot...lots of youngsters, lots of white boys (old and young) with YOUNG thai girls...who of course, will love them 'LONG' time. However...despite being all touristed up, it's a neat place to spend a few days. The shopping is fair...no inflated prices compared to other places in thailand, the food is AMAZING, the beer cheap, and the thai massage places plenty! So far...I've tried Chang beer, Leo (or some leopard beer), Singha, Beer Lao, Anckor, Bayon, Tiger, Black Panther, and perhaps a few more. They've all been quite good...lagers, simple and refreshing...nice taste with little difference between most of them. We have walked and sweated our way through the markets, planning for thousands of kilograms worth of stuff we should ship home for our future home...and bought nothing but a CD, and a few items of clothing. All we needed really. We've eaten copious amounts of fresh fruit, pineapple especially...kenom chan (my mother's favorite), pad thai noodles, curries, som tam (green papaya salad...delicious!) and our favorite desert...Mango and sticky rice! The nights were spent much like the days...but on 2 occaisions, we finished with a thai massage. At 1hr for 5$...it's hard to resist!!

My first thai massage experience was a funny one. I was getting poked, proded and manuipulated...quite expertly...by a heavy set woman named Jo. I was at her mercy...and decided to try to let the experience be what it was supposed to be. The first hurdle was allowing her to massage my feet. Sometimes, I can take it...but if it gets too ticklish...I feel like lashing out. It took all my focus not to wiggle or burst out laughing in the room full of relaxed massage-ees. Next, Jo practically yanked all of my toes right off of my foot...supposedly what all thai massages involve...but to me, quite a painful detail. The funniest part was when we pressed the nerve right near my groin. First...she searches for it. If you happen to 'be in the way'...she moves you (and I hope you know what I'm talking about) out of the way. Unfortunately, through my thick shorts, Jo hadn't moved me fully, and so pressed down HARD with some skin caught in between that didn't need pressing. WOW...I almost pissed my pants, with laughter and pain. All was pretty smooth until I had to flip on my belly too. A major piece of advice...if yoú get a thai massage...don't do it on a full belly. We had just stuffed ourselves before going here (at a restaurant overlooking the river)...and when JO got all her weight on top of my kidney/belly/intestinal area...I wasn't sure if I was going to puke, piss myself, or fart all over her. She was literally walking on my body...just because I'm larger than most people they massage...they seem to think that my inner organs must be made of different material too. Whatever...I jest...but all in all, it was a VERY pleasant experience. I specifically asked for Jo the next night too, and armed with my new information, I had the best massage of my life, and recommend them to everyone!! They twist and crack you until there's no way your body pain can do anything but submit! Julia started off with a foot massage, then went to a swedish...and I'm still trying to convince her to try the Thai massage...although, they can be a bit rough.

What else...we spent a morning at a HUGE market called Chatuchak...15000 vendors, about 200,000 people there...all small stall vendors. Very neat, but all the SAME SAME stuff. IT's all amazing stuff...but so MUCH of it! You can only look at so many T-shirts, woven place mats, etc. before you need a break. It was very neat to walk around there though...and besides seeing the small child laying a HUGE log in the middle of a walkway...it was a typical day at the thai market.

Another day, we went to some museums at a local hospital...the museums of human anatomy and forensic science (recommended by Dan and Peta). Very interesting, and very real. Containers filled with preserved body parts, bodies, sections of bodies (some skinned to see the interior anatomy), and many MANY fetuses...including several siamese twins and deformities!! That'll do wonders for a persons' desire to have kids!! The museum of forensic science had many pictures and bone fragments from victims of murder or accident, some preserved bodies of executed criminals, etc. It was a tough morning really...but, it curbed our appetite for a while...which we likely needed. From there, we headed off to Siam Square...the HUGE shopping mall district. It's strange to see so many good things being sold for a few dollars or pennies, and then seeing the same things being sold for hundreds of dollars...and not wondering what's up with people who might have so much money to waste. PArticularly since there is a decent amount of poverty around. However...many thai people will not shop at these malls...it's another way of keeping tourists with the big bucks in thailand rather than flying to singapour for the same thing. During our walk...we stumbled upon a narrowly opened gate near a nice pond...but we were quickly ushered out of there by a few armed guards as the King was apparently paying a visit to that place later in the day. The main purpose of our trip to that part of town however was to meet an old friend of mine from VIDO...a vet and scientist named Sanny. When we finally found the right Starbucks place to meet her at (the one near the green bank at Siam square...different than the one near the green bank at siam centre or place or...whatever haha)...we went and dined on some VERY nice thai food, had sparkling conversation, and re-united after a long time since we've seen each other. It is SO NICE to be able to meet friends in far off places...and to introduce Julia to Sanny was a treat too! We then walked through other parts of the HUGE mall we missed (Paragon Mall)...including a display of lamborghini's, ferraris, etc., the food court (where we bought some intricatedly designed jelly balls of bean paste made to look like tiny fruits), and up to the huge movie theatre's where the thai film festival was being hosted. Sanny left us, as the poor girl has to work 6.5 days of the week (youch...), and we went in for a 'free' game of bowling. After renting shoes and buying socks...we did have a good game, Julia bringing out all the guns and starting off with 3 stikes in a row...and took the local bus home.

The next day (we were here for so long as we needed to get our Vietnam Visas...and having arrived on a friday, and it takes 2 working days...we were there until tuesday) we relaxed, took a long boat ride along the rather polluted river...counted about 100 shoes pass us along the way...to another district of Bangkok called Pat Pong. This is apparently where all the strip shows are, but unfortunately, we had to leave to collect our visas before any strange forms of 'ping-pong' began.

We left Bangkok on our way to Cambodia the next morning...Julia is taking over from there. The only real frustrations we have here are first...ALL the people swarming you to buy things you don't want and don't need. They think you're made of money...and there is never an end to the heckling you get. Second...being near the poor...wanting to help, but you can't help them all. We've given SOME of the more pathetic people some money...more often a bit of food. I don't respect begging much...I think they should take some pride in getting work...but, you never know the circumstances. I just wish it would be taken care of! Hard to see.

Talk to you all soon,

Tyler