Well our friends left yesterday and Julie is already missing all of the sports talk...truly, it was a great time and it was a perfect dose of friends and a taste of home. By the way, I should mention, that by the last day, Julie asked me, "Hey Ry, let's go play Smashball on the beach." This came as somewhat of a shock to me, since I didn't know Julie liked Smashball or had ever played, but she assured me it was "just like tennis and would be easy." So off we ran down the beach, with two paddles and a small rubber ball. Let's just say it wasn't long before we realized that we weren't going to be Smashball champions or go down in the Guiness Book of World Records, and despite our best efforts to get a "rally" going, Julie took the SMASH in Smashball quite literally.
Ko Phan Ngan was a beautiful, less developed island that offered the basics, a beautiful beach, a few eateries, a lot of bars, and sparse accommodations. The beach was filled with young people looking for a party. Julie and I thought we could hang with the partiers (and our buddies), although despite our noble efforts we were wiped out after the first night and spent the next day napping on the beach! [Insert Julie's comment: please note that napping on the beach includes full sunscreen toe to wrist clothes and my wide brim hat, no sunburn for this girlie!] That day, I seemed to have lost our hotel key, which I am certain was due to the fatigue, not any personal traits. (Don't worry, Julie found it by the end of the day!) [Insert Julie's comment: I was trying to figure out how to explain to the guesthouse owner, in Thai, that my husband lost the key. . . I should have asked our Thai language teacher that phrase in advance knowing my love's history with keys.]
Julie and I are now back in Ko Samui. I asked her if she wanted to stay in the beautiful 2 star hotel we stayed at with the guys :), but she chose option B, the nice, quiet honeymoon-like resort on the other side of the island. Our room has a DVD player, so yesterday Julie went and inquired as to the resort's video library. She came back and told me there were no movies that we would want to see...so, today when I was walking by another guest perusing the video library and saw some great action/adventure movies, I was curious what Julie meant when she said there were no movies WE would like. [Insert Julie's comment: I guess after several days of 'guys' I was ready for some romantic comedies and they didn't have any, oh well.]
We spoke to our families today, which was wonderful. It is always great to hear every one's voices and to find out what is happening back home.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Beach
Ahhh, we finally arrived in Ko Samui after 2 planes (Phomn Pehn to Bangkok, Bangkok to Surat Thani), 1 bus, 1 ferry, and 2 cars. . . we arrived at the hotel and met up with the boys. . . Jack Grimes, Matt Guidice, Dan Romanski, Keith Marshall, and Brian Murphy had made the 16 hour trip to visit us and Thailand. We have been having a great time catching up with all of them, gathering news from home while relaxing on the beach. Coming from a family of all girls where many of our vacations included deep talks, beach walks, laying on beach or by the pool and relaxing. . . this is a little different speed for me. It seems as though there is always some type of game to play. . . a card game, a volleyball game, a frisbee game or just simply tossing a ball around. Let's just say it's a little more activity but being the only girl it is very entertaining to just watch. The first day we rented motor scooters (don't worry I was insistent on helmets all around and at least a test drive before we set out on the open road!) and then went and played football golf. A game where you kick a soccer ball into a hole in the grass, something I didn't think would take more than a few hours (thinking then I would be back at the pool or beach) well, we finished up in just under 3 hours (in about 90 degree heat and 90% humidity) and then decided to hit every hotel pool (of course, creating a pool game at each one) along the road back to our hotel. There have been many, many funny moments along the way and I am consistently amazed at the appetites of this young gentlemen. . . I mean they can eat anything at anytime!!!
After three days in Samui we decided to check out one of the other islands in the area. . . so this morning we took the speedboat to Ko Phangan, a smaller island just north of Ko Samui. It is a little more of a party scene here for Europeans and the like and the host to the infamous "full moon parties" which we will miss by just a week! It is absolutely beautiful and the water is so warm and blue. we are having a great time with the boys, our first visitors! We are just relaxing now and I think the pace might have slowed. . . just a bit!
Thought you all might enjoy a photo from the beach!
After three days in Samui we decided to check out one of the other islands in the area. . . so this morning we took the speedboat to Ko Phangan, a smaller island just north of Ko Samui. It is a little more of a party scene here for Europeans and the like and the host to the infamous "full moon parties" which we will miss by just a week! It is absolutely beautiful and the water is so warm and blue. we are having a great time with the boys, our first visitors! We are just relaxing now and I think the pace might have slowed. . . just a bit!
Thought you all might enjoy a photo from the beach!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Crossing the Street
Ryan trying ever so gingerly to cross the street. . . remember the soundtrack of Hanoi is BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. . . you can see why!
Ankor Wat
I know we haven't been great on posting photos. . . it takes forever to load. . . here are just a few! enjoy!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Angkor Wat
Julie and I woke at 4:45 a.m. in order to meet our tuk-tuk driver at the front gate of our hotel. This was the morning that we would sacrifice a couple of extra hours of sleep, a morning read of the newspaper and some coffee in order to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We met our driver in darkness, we got in the tuk-tuk and off we sped towards Angkor Wat. The ride to the Wat, although only 4 kilometers, served to wake us up as it was cold and the exhaust from the tuk-tuk blew in our face (not quite the smell of morning coffee). Anyway, we come to a point in the road where our driver pulls over and tells us to get out...it seemed a little suspicious at first, as we were in complete darkness, under the stars, and although we could hear voices, we couldn't see anything. After being reassured by our driver that he wouldn't leave without us, we walked towards the voices. We followed the voices along the path through the first temple and towards Angkor Wat. Julie and I were awake by this point and were anxious to see the sunrise over the Wat. We saw a crowd gather near the pond that sits in front of Angkor Wat and we meandered over that way, taking our time as it was only 5:30 a.m. Dawn soon broke and the stars began to fade, and with that the towers of Angkor Wat silhouetted against the rising sun; it was amazingly beautiful. It was like you would picture it out of a movie or on a postcard and we took it all in, ignoring the clamoring sounds of people and tour guides moving about us. It was awesome. We were so happy that we had made it for the sunrise and after staying for another 30 minutes (having seen the sun rise) we walked away, satisfied with ourselves and our trip to Siam Reap'(although it wasn't over!)
We came back to the hotel and had breakfast and then had a guide pick us up and take us on a tour of Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples. We actually walked to the Wat and up the large stairs...actually they weren't really stairs but sandstone blocks that were worn from centuries of decay. We began our ascent and at times were gripped with vertigo, climbing the full 37 steps up to the top of the towers. Once we reached the top we were exhausted, yet proud of our accomplishment, giving ourselves the proverbial 'pat on the back'. As we were standing there, giving each other kudos for the climb, thinking we were the only ones who could make it up to the top, we were bombarded by a tour group that had already made it to the top...it was like summitting Mt. Everest and looking at a busload of people who had reached the summit long before you! As we stood looking at the crowd there was a woman who was probably 90 years old and bent over at the waist, moving very slowly...Julie and I looked at eachother, dumbfounded, wondering how this woman made it to the top. Sure enough, moments later, we saw her husband (presumably), who was even older than she was and who was moving a lot slower than she was and an even more unsteady gait than his wife, at which point, we didn't feel quite as accomplished as we had moments before we saw the couple. After walking around for about 45 minutes we decided to descend. We were told by our guide that the government had placed a handrail to climb down the sandstone blocks, so people wouldn't fall. This seemed logical. Although once we got to the area of descent and looked at the handrail, we thought it was a joke - it was an extremely thin metal rail that could barely hold my weight, which was made even more dangerous by the fact that everyone was sweating profusely, so that you could not actually maintain a good grip on the metal rail, but slipped all the way down. Once we did reach the bottom, I thought I'd ask the question on everyone's mind, "so, has anyone ever fallen down these steps?" to which our guide told me, "Yes, in fact, within the last six months, a gentleman slipped and fell to the bottom and died." He said it so non-chalantly, which made the statement that much more chilling, as if this happened more often than we'd hoped. Glad we heard that after we came down...although would have been nice to know before we went up!
Anyway, whether it was due to sunstroke or dehydration, Julie and i asked some questions of our guide that we are sure will go down as one of those 'not so bright questions' tourists ask him. First, one of us (not going to mention which one of us, although rest assured, we both were guilty)pointed to a pillar in the structure and asked our guide, "What do they call this?" He looked at us and said they call this a "Pillar", enunciating with such emphasis that we don't think he thought English was our first language. Next up, we were looking at a sculpture on the wall of the temple depicting heaven and hell and all of the bad things that happen to you in hell and one of us (again, not mentioning names) asked the guide, "So, did they do that in hell?" To which our guide graciously responded he was not sure. Yes, it must have been sunstroke or dehydration. We both got a good laugh after listening to our questions and realizing they probably made the guide think we were a few cards short of a full deck.
On the tour with us were a married couple from France, now living in Hong Kong. They were very nice and we chatted them up during the tour. We ended up meeting them for drinks after the tour at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. We had a great time and told them we may see them in Hong Kong when we head there in April.
We are taking the bus back to Phnom Penh tomorrow. The following day we are headed to Bangkok, then on to Ko Samui to meet friends from home. It has been a few exhausting days of travel - the last 4 nights we have stayed in 4 different hotels - but well worth seeing Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples.
We came back to the hotel and had breakfast and then had a guide pick us up and take us on a tour of Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples. We actually walked to the Wat and up the large stairs...actually they weren't really stairs but sandstone blocks that were worn from centuries of decay. We began our ascent and at times were gripped with vertigo, climbing the full 37 steps up to the top of the towers. Once we reached the top we were exhausted, yet proud of our accomplishment, giving ourselves the proverbial 'pat on the back'. As we were standing there, giving each other kudos for the climb, thinking we were the only ones who could make it up to the top, we were bombarded by a tour group that had already made it to the top...it was like summitting Mt. Everest and looking at a busload of people who had reached the summit long before you! As we stood looking at the crowd there was a woman who was probably 90 years old and bent over at the waist, moving very slowly...Julie and I looked at eachother, dumbfounded, wondering how this woman made it to the top. Sure enough, moments later, we saw her husband (presumably), who was even older than she was and who was moving a lot slower than she was and an even more unsteady gait than his wife, at which point, we didn't feel quite as accomplished as we had moments before we saw the couple. After walking around for about 45 minutes we decided to descend. We were told by our guide that the government had placed a handrail to climb down the sandstone blocks, so people wouldn't fall. This seemed logical. Although once we got to the area of descent and looked at the handrail, we thought it was a joke - it was an extremely thin metal rail that could barely hold my weight, which was made even more dangerous by the fact that everyone was sweating profusely, so that you could not actually maintain a good grip on the metal rail, but slipped all the way down. Once we did reach the bottom, I thought I'd ask the question on everyone's mind, "so, has anyone ever fallen down these steps?" to which our guide told me, "Yes, in fact, within the last six months, a gentleman slipped and fell to the bottom and died." He said it so non-chalantly, which made the statement that much more chilling, as if this happened more often than we'd hoped. Glad we heard that after we came down...although would have been nice to know before we went up!
Anyway, whether it was due to sunstroke or dehydration, Julie and i asked some questions of our guide that we are sure will go down as one of those 'not so bright questions' tourists ask him. First, one of us (not going to mention which one of us, although rest assured, we both were guilty)pointed to a pillar in the structure and asked our guide, "What do they call this?" He looked at us and said they call this a "Pillar", enunciating with such emphasis that we don't think he thought English was our first language. Next up, we were looking at a sculpture on the wall of the temple depicting heaven and hell and all of the bad things that happen to you in hell and one of us (again, not mentioning names) asked the guide, "So, did they do that in hell?" To which our guide graciously responded he was not sure. Yes, it must have been sunstroke or dehydration. We both got a good laugh after listening to our questions and realizing they probably made the guide think we were a few cards short of a full deck.
On the tour with us were a married couple from France, now living in Hong Kong. They were very nice and we chatted them up during the tour. We ended up meeting them for drinks after the tour at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. We had a great time and told them we may see them in Hong Kong when we head there in April.
We are taking the bus back to Phnom Penh tomorrow. The following day we are headed to Bangkok, then on to Ko Samui to meet friends from home. It has been a few exhausting days of travel - the last 4 nights we have stayed in 4 different hotels - but well worth seeing Angkor Wat and other surrounding temples.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Good Morning Vietnam!
The last few days have been amazing as we have spent it with a good friend from Phillips Spallas, Kieu-Nhi Le. She is currently working in Long Xuyen, Vietnam, for a NGO that supports and provides scholarships for young women at risk of being sold into the sex trade. All Julie and I kept saying to each other is that the work Nhi is doing is absolutely AMAZING. We saw so many pictures and listened to so many stories about these young women. These children would be leading a very different life if it weren't for Nhi and the program she is running [the program actually only has funding for 300, but they currently have 468 girls enrolled in school, so they are always looking for additional funding]. Nhi told us some interesting stories as well, such as the housing program in Vietnam...most peasants live in wood shacks propped on stilts so that when the Mekong Delta floods, their wood shack is above water [these wood shacks look like they might blow over in a light wind]. The peasants have health insurance provided by the government because they are so poor, however, if they get a new house (one of the government's new initiatives], they lose their health insurance! Therefore, the next time they get sick, which is inevitable in any family, they have to sell all their household items and oftentimes sell their new house to pay the medical bills!! After that they are back to square one, although now they have to rent a shack or build a new one! Therefore, most would rather keep the free health care, then get the new house.
We spent the evening before last in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). What a place! It was so lively as they are getting ready for 'Tet' [New Year's Celebration]...the Vietnamese New Year celebration lasts anywhere from 1-3 weeks (depending on which city/town/village) - what a party! So we were able to partake in some of the festivities! We went to dinner in Saigon with Nhi and some friends who were visiting from Dallas (2 doctor friends that were visiting Nhi and looking at some new medical projects). These 2 doctors were really funny and we got along splendidly. They are doing amazing work themselves, traveling around the world helping impoverished people around the globe. One was a plastic surgeon and the other an anesthologist, they perform up to 20 surgeries a day (when they are traveling). The surgeries range from a cleft palate, cleft lip, burn reconstruction, or tumor removal just to name a few. They had amazing photos and stories of the lives they have effected. After dinner we went to a Latin club/bar, with a live mariachi band!! The next day we traveled to Long Xuyen to see where Nhi lives/works (about 5 hours away from Saigon). We had a great meal in her City (about 300,000 residents)and walked around the 'flower mart' at night which was out for the New Years Celebrations. I've never seen so many yellow flowers, yellow for long life! Today we joined a gift ceremony (sponsored by the doctors from Dallas) where we handed out a 10 lb. bag of rice (which will last a week), a bag of groceries and $5 to over 100 poor people in the province. The smiles were amazing as they came to receive these gifts.
Tonight we are in Chou Doc, Vietnam. We will depart tomorrow morning by boat and travel up a tributary of the Mekong River all the way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia (it should take around 4-5 hours). We figured we have traveled by bike, car, bus and plane, why not travel by boat too!
Julie and I just finished our Valentine's Day dinner...at a very swanky hotel...but it is Valentine's Day, so we thought we would celebrate in style! Happy Valentine's Day. . .we send our love.
We spent the evening before last in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). What a place! It was so lively as they are getting ready for 'Tet' [New Year's Celebration]...the Vietnamese New Year celebration lasts anywhere from 1-3 weeks (depending on which city/town/village) - what a party! So we were able to partake in some of the festivities! We went to dinner in Saigon with Nhi and some friends who were visiting from Dallas (2 doctor friends that were visiting Nhi and looking at some new medical projects). These 2 doctors were really funny and we got along splendidly. They are doing amazing work themselves, traveling around the world helping impoverished people around the globe. One was a plastic surgeon and the other an anesthologist, they perform up to 20 surgeries a day (when they are traveling). The surgeries range from a cleft palate, cleft lip, burn reconstruction, or tumor removal just to name a few. They had amazing photos and stories of the lives they have effected. After dinner we went to a Latin club/bar, with a live mariachi band!! The next day we traveled to Long Xuyen to see where Nhi lives/works (about 5 hours away from Saigon). We had a great meal in her City (about 300,000 residents)and walked around the 'flower mart' at night which was out for the New Years Celebrations. I've never seen so many yellow flowers, yellow for long life! Today we joined a gift ceremony (sponsored by the doctors from Dallas) where we handed out a 10 lb. bag of rice (which will last a week), a bag of groceries and $5 to over 100 poor people in the province. The smiles were amazing as they came to receive these gifts.
Tonight we are in Chou Doc, Vietnam. We will depart tomorrow morning by boat and travel up a tributary of the Mekong River all the way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia (it should take around 4-5 hours). We figured we have traveled by bike, car, bus and plane, why not travel by boat too!
Julie and I just finished our Valentine's Day dinner...at a very swanky hotel...but it is Valentine's Day, so we thought we would celebrate in style! Happy Valentine's Day. . .we send our love.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Hoi An, A Clothing Mecca
Julie and I have been enjoying the last few days in Hoi An. After our 18.5 hour trip from Hanoi...Yes, you heard that right, 18.5 hours...we thought it was going to be a shorter trip, but alas, there must have been a "language barrier" issue. Regardless, our train trip was fun as Julie and I hunkered down in our 4 sleeper cabin with two guys from Japan. They spoke limited English and the extent of our knowledge of Japanese consisted of Siyanara ("goodbye"), so it was a short conversation. They were great cabin mates up to the point when they woke up at the crack of dawn, because they were getting off the train earlier than we were, and didn't go back to sleep, leaving little hope for Julie and I to catch additional zzzzz's, while they moved around and chatted away. Anyway, they debarked at the city of Hue and we thought we were only an hour from Danang, our destination (our ulitmate destination was Hoi An, but the train doesn't stop there). Well, an hour passed, then two, then three and I continued to nervously look at the train attendant who didn't speak a lick of English in the hopes that she might give us a "This is it!" glance...she never did that. Well, after 3.5 hours we pulled into the station at Danang. We then take a taxi about 45 minutes to the sleepy seaside town of Hoi An. This town is a UN-designated World Heritage Site as many of the structures were unaffected by the wars with the French and Americans and they are still in fairly good shape. Julie and I decided to "splurge" and went for the hotel room that was 45 bucks - yes, this means you get a 4-star hotel with 5-star service...complete with a tennis court and swimming pool. [Insert Julie's comment: although many of you may think that the 4 star hotel was my suggestion, I assure you it was a joint decision, as are all on this trip! I think we both liked the idea of a never-ending hot shower!] It is pretty nice and we spent the day at the swimming pool. Later that evening we ventured out into the streets to discover one of the things that distinguish Hoi An for most travelers...tailor made clothes. Yes, we shopped....and shopped...and shopped...resulting in a number of new clothes for both of our wardrobes (how we are going to pack the clothing into our backpacks with the already limited space, we are not sure). [Insert Julie's comment: Ryan was a great bargainer and it was fun to pick out our own fabrics and liners. . . truly custom made.] It was a lot of fun and we had a good time talking with some of the shopkeepers.
Yesterday, we went to the beach for some relaxation...because things have been really stressful...right! We rented bicycles and rode about 2 miles of town until we ran smack dab into the beach. It was a beautiful, idyllic setting, with palm trees overhead and very few people on the beach. Except, of course, for the individuals selling goods...then I realized why there weren't many people on the beach...because it wasn't all that relaxing when a new person comes up to you every 2 minutes and asks you if you want to buy the exact same goods his friend asked you about 2 minutes ago!! It was crazy. I was sitting there wondering if these people really get people to buy there stuff or services when I look over and, sure enough, Julie was getting a foot massage from one of them!! [Insert Julie's comment: I'll be honest, it was one of those mistakes that I will learn from. . . I could only say "No" so many times, it was exhausting! Needless to say, a foot massage on a sandy beach isn't really relaxing (think sand rubbing on your skin a la massage!)]. We left soon thereafter, as the others started gathering once they saw us pay for the foot massage.
We have been walking around this beautiful city, taking in all the sights and sounds. We went on a, Old City Heritage Tour today, which was more interesting not for the contents of the buildings, but the buildings themselves. They are so well-preserved and offer a glimpse of Vietnamese life, centuries ago. After the tour, we went back to the pool and relaxed (another stressful day!).
Yesterday, we went to the beach for some relaxation...because things have been really stressful...right! We rented bicycles and rode about 2 miles of town until we ran smack dab into the beach. It was a beautiful, idyllic setting, with palm trees overhead and very few people on the beach. Except, of course, for the individuals selling goods...then I realized why there weren't many people on the beach...because it wasn't all that relaxing when a new person comes up to you every 2 minutes and asks you if you want to buy the exact same goods his friend asked you about 2 minutes ago!! It was crazy. I was sitting there wondering if these people really get people to buy there stuff or services when I look over and, sure enough, Julie was getting a foot massage from one of them!! [Insert Julie's comment: I'll be honest, it was one of those mistakes that I will learn from. . . I could only say "No" so many times, it was exhausting! Needless to say, a foot massage on a sandy beach isn't really relaxing (think sand rubbing on your skin a la massage!)]. We left soon thereafter, as the others started gathering once they saw us pay for the foot massage.
We have been walking around this beautiful city, taking in all the sights and sounds. We went on a, Old City Heritage Tour today, which was more interesting not for the contents of the buildings, but the buildings themselves. They are so well-preserved and offer a glimpse of Vietnamese life, centuries ago. After the tour, we went back to the pool and relaxed (another stressful day!).
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Beep Beep
The sound of motorcycle horns is the soundtrack to Hanoi. We arrived yesterday via Bangkok and have been overwhelmed ever since we hit the ground! It didn't help that our first taxi ride, did just that, took us for a ride. We pointed to the hotel that we wanted him to take us to in our guide book before we got into the taxi, we agreed on a price and thought "ok, we did everything the guide book tells us to do". Then between dodging cars, motorcycles and buses he honked his horn constantly and was on his cell phone the entire ride. We arrived at a hotel and someone opens the door for us (I was thinking in our American standards, oh a bell hop!) this guy shows us the card of the hotel that we asked the taxi driver to take us to and says the hotel is full but that he will take us to another "good hotel." Ryan caught right on, (thank god!) that the taxi driver had called his friend to meet us at a random hotel with the card from the hotel that we wanted to go to and was going to swindle us somehow. We promptly got our backpacks, paid the taxi and walked briskly away from that hotel and the guy who I thought was a bell hop! Wow, we are really in a different country! We walked around until we found the hotel we had in mind (thanks Frommers!) and settled in, of course, spending more than we wanted but at this point we didn't care. We then walked around Hanoi, what a city. Envision a see of people on motorcycles and bikes filling the streets, no space to walk on the 'sidewalks' as that's where they park the bikes and where the store owners put their goods. You are constantly walking carefully and with eyes everywhere, no time for gazing at each other! We read in Frommers that we should "walk, don't run" across the street (your first instinct is to run as fast as you can across the street and out of the tires coming towards you) so I think we might have the hang of this now! (insert Ryan's comment: honestly, it truly is playing HUMAN frogger.)
Today we took a cyclo (a bike with a buggy in front for the two of us to ride together in) to the Literature Museum, Fine Art Museum and the Army Museum. The Army Museum was interesting as it had a lot of weapons, downed aircraft and bombers from the US Army that made us realize how recent the war with this country was and made us wonder if 30 years later we could imagine ourselves touring through Iraq as we are touring through Vietnam. All of these sites were very interesting and different, but the most fun was the cyclo ride as we had some protection from the motorbikes and got to see more of the city without fear of being run over! (insert Ryan's comment: again, our cyclo driver tried to get more money out of us, telling us we agreed on a different price, therefore making for a spirited encounter for Ryan and ... o wait, Julie walked into a cafe...there goes my alibi!)
We decided to take a break from the walking and dodging of motorbikes and sit at a cafe balcony. . . 2 hours later we were fully entertained but just watching this bustling city go by. We head to Hoi An tonight on a train (13 hours) and then will enjoy a new city tomorrow.
Love to you all, keep the comments coming we love seeing them!
Today we took a cyclo (a bike with a buggy in front for the two of us to ride together in) to the Literature Museum, Fine Art Museum and the Army Museum. The Army Museum was interesting as it had a lot of weapons, downed aircraft and bombers from the US Army that made us realize how recent the war with this country was and made us wonder if 30 years later we could imagine ourselves touring through Iraq as we are touring through Vietnam. All of these sites were very interesting and different, but the most fun was the cyclo ride as we had some protection from the motorbikes and got to see more of the city without fear of being run over! (insert Ryan's comment: again, our cyclo driver tried to get more money out of us, telling us we agreed on a different price, therefore making for a spirited encounter for Ryan and ... o wait, Julie walked into a cafe...there goes my alibi!)
We decided to take a break from the walking and dodging of motorbikes and sit at a cafe balcony. . . 2 hours later we were fully entertained but just watching this bustling city go by. We head to Hoi An tonight on a train (13 hours) and then will enjoy a new city tomorrow.
Love to you all, keep the comments coming we love seeing them!
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Gentle Giants!
So we just got to the internet cafe, after leaving everyone at our guesthouse, watching the superbowl! Pretty funny that it is broadcast around the globe - we don't see many Thais watching the game - their big game was last night, it was Thailand v. Singapore in a soccer match. The previous game (last week) ended in a major controversy when a referee's call threatened to throw the countries into political turmoil.
Chiang Mai is bustling and coming from Nong Khai it took us a day to get accostomed to the traffic, people and all the Westerners! It sounds odd, but Julie and I were used to not seeing many Westerners, and if we did, we usually knew them by name or at least by face. Anyway, we had a slight debaucle when we arrived at our guesthouse ($9/night) around 9pm the first night and we get to our room and there were two single beds!! We checked out another hotel - but it was a dive (sort of like a hosptial, with white walls, no windows - but very dirty), so we went back to the guesthouse and pushed the single beds together (not necessarily the most comfortable night we have had!)...our guesthouse is run by two fellas from San Diego - actually they last lived in Hawaii (Auntie Kathy and Uncle Bob, they may have been your neighbors because they lived in Waimea for a year! We are experiencing the utmost hospitality from them.) They sold their place in Hawaii and moved to Thailand! Anyway, this guesthouse used to be a garage - but they spent a lot of time refurbishing the place and it is great. (at least I (Ryan) think so...the jury's still out as far as Julie is concerned - :)). After our first breakfast we had a trek and a full day of sightseeing planned.
We went on a 1 day TREK (insert Julie's comment: opted for this rather than the camping and 2 day, 1 night since Ry has a little cold, and well, I lucked out of the camping!!!) We were picked up by a mini van, a driver (Mr. Arm) and our tour guide (Tommy). The name of the tour was Mr. Whiksy Tour (insert Julie's comment: yes, that's the way they spell Whisky, we didn't want to offend them by correcting their spelling!) We then headed out to the mountains and began the trek. . .first stop, elephant trekking. We ride up to the elephant "camp" - a place on the side of the road that looks little more than a pit stop. We are then told to get on the elephants with our guide...there was an odd man out, so we offered for him (a man from Beijing) to get on our elephant - very cosy! Julie, myself, Dong and the guide got on the elephant. The elephant was enormous(a gentle giant, indeed)! It lumbered along at a very slow pace and every now and then the guide would hit it with a tool that looked like a pick axe (I continued to reassure Julie that this probably didn't hurt the elephant, but I wasn't so sure)...regardless, we continued along for about an hour, when we came back to square one and the elephant ride came to an end (we also exhausted our food supply of bananas and sugar cane, which we would feed to the elephant about every 45 seconds when it would put his trunk in our faces - without the food I don't think the elephant would have budged.)
Then it was off to trek through the national forest. We came to a Karin tribal village and were told to go "explore the village." It felt a little wierd "exploring" the village because you felt like you were intruding on their lives as you walked past people doing laundry and going the bathroom...we learned that the government provides the village with raw materials to make clothing and other souvenoirs to sell to tourists, in an effort to get the tribes to cease their opium growth and trade. We felt the village was a bit contrived and our thoughts were confirmed when our guide told us that all the villages see so many tourists per day, that there really isn't an 'authentic village'...and if a tour tells you there is - they are lying!
We continued hiking to a waterfall and onto another village (Hmong) - which was interesting. We were told that the Hmong are nmadic peoples and that every few years they pack up their bleongings and homes and move to anothe area (the government provides them with enough space to do so).
Finally we arrive at the Bamboo Rafting. We were told to expect to get wet and it not being a particularly warm day, we were a bit weary at first. Literally, these are bamboo poles tied together by what looked like a piece of string, and we were told to stand up and balance ourselves, barefoot, on the raft. This sounded a bit dangerous, but when told that one of our group members could not swim and he WAS going to do it, we kept our mouths shut! So, 4 of us and a guide began down the river...little did we know that we were a spectacle of sorts because on the banks of the river Thais sat and picknicked watching the foreignors ("farang") attempt to keep their balance and stay dry. It was good fun and no one from our raft fell in.
Last night we went to the Sunday Night Market which featured local arts, crafts and food. This Market was unbelievable and made other markets, both here and back home, look small. It encompassed about 10-12 square blocks and probably had about 100K people (Thais and foreignors, alike). It was great and Julie and I savoured the sights and smells, even indulging in some local flavors for the ridiculously cheap prices of about 30 cents.
We are having a great time and will be heading to Vietnam tomorrow! We are having a relaxing day today as I am recovering from a cold and Julie is all shopped out (yeah, right!).
Chiang Mai is bustling and coming from Nong Khai it took us a day to get accostomed to the traffic, people and all the Westerners! It sounds odd, but Julie and I were used to not seeing many Westerners, and if we did, we usually knew them by name or at least by face. Anyway, we had a slight debaucle when we arrived at our guesthouse ($9/night) around 9pm the first night and we get to our room and there were two single beds!! We checked out another hotel - but it was a dive (sort of like a hosptial, with white walls, no windows - but very dirty), so we went back to the guesthouse and pushed the single beds together (not necessarily the most comfortable night we have had!)...our guesthouse is run by two fellas from San Diego - actually they last lived in Hawaii (Auntie Kathy and Uncle Bob, they may have been your neighbors because they lived in Waimea for a year! We are experiencing the utmost hospitality from them.) They sold their place in Hawaii and moved to Thailand! Anyway, this guesthouse used to be a garage - but they spent a lot of time refurbishing the place and it is great. (at least I (Ryan) think so...the jury's still out as far as Julie is concerned - :)). After our first breakfast we had a trek and a full day of sightseeing planned.
We went on a 1 day TREK (insert Julie's comment: opted for this rather than the camping and 2 day, 1 night since Ry has a little cold, and well, I lucked out of the camping!!!) We were picked up by a mini van, a driver (Mr. Arm) and our tour guide (Tommy). The name of the tour was Mr. Whiksy Tour (insert Julie's comment: yes, that's the way they spell Whisky, we didn't want to offend them by correcting their spelling!) We then headed out to the mountains and began the trek. . .first stop, elephant trekking. We ride up to the elephant "camp" - a place on the side of the road that looks little more than a pit stop. We are then told to get on the elephants with our guide...there was an odd man out, so we offered for him (a man from Beijing) to get on our elephant - very cosy! Julie, myself, Dong and the guide got on the elephant. The elephant was enormous(a gentle giant, indeed)! It lumbered along at a very slow pace and every now and then the guide would hit it with a tool that looked like a pick axe (I continued to reassure Julie that this probably didn't hurt the elephant, but I wasn't so sure)...regardless, we continued along for about an hour, when we came back to square one and the elephant ride came to an end (we also exhausted our food supply of bananas and sugar cane, which we would feed to the elephant about every 45 seconds when it would put his trunk in our faces - without the food I don't think the elephant would have budged.)
Then it was off to trek through the national forest. We came to a Karin tribal village and were told to go "explore the village." It felt a little wierd "exploring" the village because you felt like you were intruding on their lives as you walked past people doing laundry and going the bathroom...we learned that the government provides the village with raw materials to make clothing and other souvenoirs to sell to tourists, in an effort to get the tribes to cease their opium growth and trade. We felt the village was a bit contrived and our thoughts were confirmed when our guide told us that all the villages see so many tourists per day, that there really isn't an 'authentic village'...and if a tour tells you there is - they are lying!
We continued hiking to a waterfall and onto another village (Hmong) - which was interesting. We were told that the Hmong are nmadic peoples and that every few years they pack up their bleongings and homes and move to anothe area (the government provides them with enough space to do so).
Finally we arrive at the Bamboo Rafting. We were told to expect to get wet and it not being a particularly warm day, we were a bit weary at first. Literally, these are bamboo poles tied together by what looked like a piece of string, and we were told to stand up and balance ourselves, barefoot, on the raft. This sounded a bit dangerous, but when told that one of our group members could not swim and he WAS going to do it, we kept our mouths shut! So, 4 of us and a guide began down the river...little did we know that we were a spectacle of sorts because on the banks of the river Thais sat and picknicked watching the foreignors ("farang") attempt to keep their balance and stay dry. It was good fun and no one from our raft fell in.
Last night we went to the Sunday Night Market which featured local arts, crafts and food. This Market was unbelievable and made other markets, both here and back home, look small. It encompassed about 10-12 square blocks and probably had about 100K people (Thais and foreignors, alike). It was great and Julie and I savoured the sights and smells, even indulging in some local flavors for the ridiculously cheap prices of about 30 cents.
We are having a great time and will be heading to Vietnam tomorrow! We are having a relaxing day today as I am recovering from a cold and Julie is all shopped out (yeah, right!).
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Our Last Day of School
Last night, we had our final meal in Nong Khai. We went to dinner with our Belgian buddies and opted for some Mexican food...it is run by a 30-something guy who was in the military and cursed like a sailor, but the food was sure good! The founder of Travel to Teach, Kirsten was at the restaurant as well so we got to talk with her about her story, how she started Travel to Teach and her vision. She is a 60-something year old woman from Sweden who came here on a holiday to volunteer and then decided she could creat a better volunteer organization than the one she experieced. Five years and many locations later (they just opened in Costa Rica yesterday) she is very happy with where the program is going. We shared our appreciation and experiences with her, she was thrilled to hear how much we enjoyed our time.
Then we went to our local watering hole, Surreal, and I had one last banana milkshake - they are so healthy for you, what with all the bananas and milk, I usually have two of them a night...they might be as healthy as a chocolate brownie frappucino, but I haven't reached a conclusion yet. [Insert Julie's comment: I think the milkshakes here are made with coconut milk so I'm not sure how "healthy" they are but they sure are good! Ryan says their good calcium!]
Today, Julie and I woke up and rode our bikes to school for one last time. On the bike ride over to school we talked about how we would miss the kids and teachers (I spoke of how I would miss our director, Julie was unusually quiet at that point)...but also, how we were both ready to move on from Nong Khai and explore more of Southeast Asia.
We pulled up to the school (me on my hot pink bike and Julie on her cool blue one) and the entire student body was lined up to go over daily prayers and announcements. The Director explained that we were leaving. Then the director sat us down on and the students, one by one, all came up to us and presented us with flowers, drawings and even a stuffed animal. It was very touching and Julie and I appreciated it very much. The Director then gave us each a present and we took a ceremonious photo with him. We then gave the Director our gift (bottle of Scotch) and then opened our backpacks and began tossing out the sports equipment (soccer balls, volleyballs, badminton sets, jump ropes, bouncy balls) to the kids that we purchased the previous day at the store. The kids went nuts and pandemonium ensued - the director looked a bit out of sorts and we realized it was too late to "put the toothpaste back in the tube." After a while, with the help of the faculty, the Director regained control and we took a few more photos and said our "goodbyes." The Director turned to Julie and said, "I want to say so much to you, but I do not know the words." I thought it could have been the tipping point in Julie's relationship with the Director, but then the Director immediately turned to me and said "Ryan you could wear anything" as he touched my pants "because you are so handsome." Awkward moment, indeed. [Insert Julie's comment: I wasn't quite sure what to do at this point other than take Ryan's hand in mine and squeeze it!!!] Julie's moment with the Director once again picked up steam as we were leaving and the Director said, "Julie you are lovely and very pretty." [Insert Julie's comment: no mention of me being a GENIUS, intersting!!] Julie said, "thank you" and all seemed right with the world.
We rode out of school with our gifts and flowers and we are back at our dorm. We will be leaving in a few hours for Chiang Mai. We are very excited for the journey that lies ahead, and we look back on the road we have traveled with a sense of accomplishment and happiness. We have met some wonderful people, made some good friends, had some interesting experiences and become a part of this community.
Then we went to our local watering hole, Surreal, and I had one last banana milkshake - they are so healthy for you, what with all the bananas and milk, I usually have two of them a night...they might be as healthy as a chocolate brownie frappucino, but I haven't reached a conclusion yet. [Insert Julie's comment: I think the milkshakes here are made with coconut milk so I'm not sure how "healthy" they are but they sure are good! Ryan says their good calcium!]
Today, Julie and I woke up and rode our bikes to school for one last time. On the bike ride over to school we talked about how we would miss the kids and teachers (I spoke of how I would miss our director, Julie was unusually quiet at that point)...but also, how we were both ready to move on from Nong Khai and explore more of Southeast Asia.
We pulled up to the school (me on my hot pink bike and Julie on her cool blue one) and the entire student body was lined up to go over daily prayers and announcements. The Director explained that we were leaving. Then the director sat us down on and the students, one by one, all came up to us and presented us with flowers, drawings and even a stuffed animal. It was very touching and Julie and I appreciated it very much. The Director then gave us each a present and we took a ceremonious photo with him. We then gave the Director our gift (bottle of Scotch) and then opened our backpacks and began tossing out the sports equipment (soccer balls, volleyballs, badminton sets, jump ropes, bouncy balls) to the kids that we purchased the previous day at the store. The kids went nuts and pandemonium ensued - the director looked a bit out of sorts and we realized it was too late to "put the toothpaste back in the tube." After a while, with the help of the faculty, the Director regained control and we took a few more photos and said our "goodbyes." The Director turned to Julie and said, "I want to say so much to you, but I do not know the words." I thought it could have been the tipping point in Julie's relationship with the Director, but then the Director immediately turned to me and said "Ryan you could wear anything" as he touched my pants "because you are so handsome." Awkward moment, indeed. [Insert Julie's comment: I wasn't quite sure what to do at this point other than take Ryan's hand in mine and squeeze it!!!] Julie's moment with the Director once again picked up steam as we were leaving and the Director said, "Julie you are lovely and very pretty." [Insert Julie's comment: no mention of me being a GENIUS, intersting!!] Julie said, "thank you" and all seemed right with the world.
We rode out of school with our gifts and flowers and we are back at our dorm. We will be leaving in a few hours for Chiang Mai. We are very excited for the journey that lies ahead, and we look back on the road we have traveled with a sense of accomplishment and happiness. We have met some wonderful people, made some good friends, had some interesting experiences and become a part of this community.
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