Hello! I am currently living and working on a farm about 40 minutes outside Jaipur, India. It is soooooo hot here! I live in a small room with concrete walls, a straw roof and a dirt floor. There is one very tiny light bulb that only turns on at night, but aside from that there is no electricity. Every day we start work around 6:30 in the morning, rest during the heat of the day, and resume around 3 or 4pm. The last few days we have been harvesting something like chickpeas - but they are small, and shriveled up and really hurt your hands when you cut down the plant. I think we might be moving on to barley tomorrow.... truly working as an Indian field laborer. Right now there are 7 other travelers living and working on the farm, and it is nice to have some outside company. The food is horrendous - we have vegetable slop and bread for EVERY meal. Last night was a special treat however, we had dinner at the home of one of the families living on the farm - we each chipped in 100 rupees (about two dollars) and had lamb. It was pretty good... lots of bones and fat (and obviously no silverware) but it was just lovely to have meat again. Today is our day off so a few of us came into Jaipur for a proper meal and to use the internet. The farm isn't bad really, but the food and accomodation are gross, and the work is hard and takes place in dry, 100 degree weather. When not farming we sit around and read for the most part, as there is really nothing else do - it is so hot though that even that can not be enjoyed. There is a pool.... but a lot of the time they drain it and use the water for the plants. We walked 45 minutes to the market the other day... and nothing is worth that walk.
I have to go, but just wanted to quickly write about the farm, and say that no one would believe it if they actually saw where I am living right now, ha, its pretty bad. I'll write about everything in about a week, when I have internet access again.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thailand
I'm going to try to keep this a bit shorter than the last post....
Willy and I flew into Bangkok and took a few days to recover from Siem Reap. Our journey from the airport to the hotel was a rough introduction to the city - as our cab driver couldn't find our hotel. After about an hour in the cab he tried to make us get out and walk down a dark alley, assuring us that was where the hotel was (it wasn't) but we refused. Rather focusing on finding the hotel he proceeded to yell at us (more like scream at us) which was a bit frightening. We found it eventually, but it was a stressful situation. He also completely ripped us off but at that point it didn't matter, it was so late and we just wanted to go to bed. We spent the next few days in Bangkok just resting up really, we knew we'd be back through so there was no rush to see the touristy things. We went to a movie and right before it started everyone stood up in silence "to pay respect to the king". Willy was in the bathroom and I was completely caught off guard. I stood up with everyone else, paying my respect, for about three minutes while they played a cheesy montage of the king doing various notable things. It was so weird.
From there we went north to Chiang Mai. We took an overnight train in a sleeper car which was actually pretty comfortable. Chiang Mai is packed with temples and was a very nice place to visit. One night we met some Australian girls and decided to catch a muay thai match (Thai boxing). I wasn't expecting to, but I loved it! It really wasn't that violent (which was oddly a little disappointing) and when we started betting with the people around us I enjoyed it even more. We spent one day doing "The Flight of The Gibbons" where we ziplined through the treetops of the jungle for a few hours. It was a lot of fun, but I was sort of expecting to also SEE some gibbons (which I did not).
From Chiang Mai we caught an overnight bus back to Bangkok just for the day to apply for our Indian Visas. We sat outside the building for about two hours waiting for it to open, filled out our forms, rushed to the airport and were lucky to catch an earlier flight than we had originally booked down south to the islands. Had we taken our scheduled flight, we would have missed the last ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Phanang (where we heading and had a hotel booked). Someone told us there was a midnight fishing boat we could probably get to take us, or hang around the pier and see if anyone was headed that way..... so we were quite happy to make the earlier flight.
Koh Phanang is the original site of the infamous "full moon party" - which occurs every month (clearly, on the night of the full moon). On this night around 20,000 travelers gather on Had Rin beach for the craziest party I have ever attended. There were so many people that it was a bit stressful, we ended up all getting separated because the crowd was just so intense. I enjoyed the nights leading up to the full moon much more - all of the same crazy stuff was there, but only a few thousand people. We made some friends at the hotel and on the beach and had a few really fun nights. We avoided all of the really dangerous activities such as the fire jump-rope (I watched sooo many people get burned) but on our last night decided we could try a tame one. We started with the fire limbo which was fine, just hot and sweaty. Then we decided we might as well try jumping over the limbo pole, which was of course flaming. Willy was the first (and ended up being the only) one of us to try this, and as she was leaping they raised the pole and added more kerosene. Sooo she tripped on it and burnt the front of one of her knees and the back of the other. We went to a clinic immediately and they took care of her, but she was in a lot of pain and couldn't get her legs wet for the next week. Unfortunately this was our last week in the islands and she couldn't swim.... or move very well. In all Koh Phanang was a fun experience, but exhausting, and I could have dealt with a few less days there.
From Koh Phanang we went to Koh Tao which was very mellow and relaxed. It was lovely. Most of the bartenders on the island seemed to be travelers who were planning on visiting the island for a week and ended up staying for years. It was the kind of place that just drew you in with its beauty, and had such a good vibe that you instantly wanted to stay. One day Ashley and I went on an all day snorkeling trip and saw so much incredibly beautiful ocean life. The following day we rented a motorbike and explored the island a bit. We stopped at an absolutely perfect beach and did a bit more snorkeling (I couldn't get enough). From the beautiful islands of southern Thailand we headed back to chaotic Bangkok to finish sorting out our visas for India and get ourselves ready to go there.
With our visas taken care of, we were free to explore Bangkok. This included a trip to a HUGE mall so we could stock up on stuff (mostly toiletries) for India. We went to the Royal Palace which was lovely and one morning I went to the floating market by myself. This market is about an hour outside the city (if you take the local bus, which I did, it takes more like 2 hours) and is truly magical. I got there around 7am and boarded a tiny wooden boat and wove through numerous channels packed with other tiny boats. They sell absolutely everything there, and while there are definitely other tourists, many of the people shopping are locals buying fresh produce, spices and other necessities. The following day we caught a flight from Bangkok to Delhi, thus starting a whole new chapter of our trip.
Closing thoughts on Southeast Asia:
I had a truly wonderful time in Southeast Asia and it was a great experience traveling around there. I met a lot of interesting people and had soooooo much of fun. I loved that there were dogs and cats everywhere - I think I pet more animals during those three months than ever before. Also, it was not at all unusual to look into the kitchen of the restaurant where you were dining and see a cat on the counter and have a dog lying under your table. The downside of that part of the world for me was the extreme number of tourists/travelers - so many that it almost overshadowed the cultures we were there to see. Regardless, Southeast Asia is absolutely incredible and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore it.
Willy and I flew into Bangkok and took a few days to recover from Siem Reap. Our journey from the airport to the hotel was a rough introduction to the city - as our cab driver couldn't find our hotel. After about an hour in the cab he tried to make us get out and walk down a dark alley, assuring us that was where the hotel was (it wasn't) but we refused. Rather focusing on finding the hotel he proceeded to yell at us (more like scream at us) which was a bit frightening. We found it eventually, but it was a stressful situation. He also completely ripped us off but at that point it didn't matter, it was so late and we just wanted to go to bed. We spent the next few days in Bangkok just resting up really, we knew we'd be back through so there was no rush to see the touristy things. We went to a movie and right before it started everyone stood up in silence "to pay respect to the king". Willy was in the bathroom and I was completely caught off guard. I stood up with everyone else, paying my respect, for about three minutes while they played a cheesy montage of the king doing various notable things. It was so weird.
From there we went north to Chiang Mai. We took an overnight train in a sleeper car which was actually pretty comfortable. Chiang Mai is packed with temples and was a very nice place to visit. One night we met some Australian girls and decided to catch a muay thai match (Thai boxing). I wasn't expecting to, but I loved it! It really wasn't that violent (which was oddly a little disappointing) and when we started betting with the people around us I enjoyed it even more. We spent one day doing "The Flight of The Gibbons" where we ziplined through the treetops of the jungle for a few hours. It was a lot of fun, but I was sort of expecting to also SEE some gibbons (which I did not).
From Chiang Mai we caught an overnight bus back to Bangkok just for the day to apply for our Indian Visas. We sat outside the building for about two hours waiting for it to open, filled out our forms, rushed to the airport and were lucky to catch an earlier flight than we had originally booked down south to the islands. Had we taken our scheduled flight, we would have missed the last ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Phanang (where we heading and had a hotel booked). Someone told us there was a midnight fishing boat we could probably get to take us, or hang around the pier and see if anyone was headed that way..... so we were quite happy to make the earlier flight.
Koh Phanang is the original site of the infamous "full moon party" - which occurs every month (clearly, on the night of the full moon). On this night around 20,000 travelers gather on Had Rin beach for the craziest party I have ever attended. There were so many people that it was a bit stressful, we ended up all getting separated because the crowd was just so intense. I enjoyed the nights leading up to the full moon much more - all of the same crazy stuff was there, but only a few thousand people. We made some friends at the hotel and on the beach and had a few really fun nights. We avoided all of the really dangerous activities such as the fire jump-rope (I watched sooo many people get burned) but on our last night decided we could try a tame one. We started with the fire limbo which was fine, just hot and sweaty. Then we decided we might as well try jumping over the limbo pole, which was of course flaming. Willy was the first (and ended up being the only) one of us to try this, and as she was leaping they raised the pole and added more kerosene. Sooo she tripped on it and burnt the front of one of her knees and the back of the other. We went to a clinic immediately and they took care of her, but she was in a lot of pain and couldn't get her legs wet for the next week. Unfortunately this was our last week in the islands and she couldn't swim.... or move very well. In all Koh Phanang was a fun experience, but exhausting, and I could have dealt with a few less days there.
From Koh Phanang we went to Koh Tao which was very mellow and relaxed. It was lovely. Most of the bartenders on the island seemed to be travelers who were planning on visiting the island for a week and ended up staying for years. It was the kind of place that just drew you in with its beauty, and had such a good vibe that you instantly wanted to stay. One day Ashley and I went on an all day snorkeling trip and saw so much incredibly beautiful ocean life. The following day we rented a motorbike and explored the island a bit. We stopped at an absolutely perfect beach and did a bit more snorkeling (I couldn't get enough). From the beautiful islands of southern Thailand we headed back to chaotic Bangkok to finish sorting out our visas for India and get ourselves ready to go there.
With our visas taken care of, we were free to explore Bangkok. This included a trip to a HUGE mall so we could stock up on stuff (mostly toiletries) for India. We went to the Royal Palace which was lovely and one morning I went to the floating market by myself. This market is about an hour outside the city (if you take the local bus, which I did, it takes more like 2 hours) and is truly magical. I got there around 7am and boarded a tiny wooden boat and wove through numerous channels packed with other tiny boats. They sell absolutely everything there, and while there are definitely other tourists, many of the people shopping are locals buying fresh produce, spices and other necessities. The following day we caught a flight from Bangkok to Delhi, thus starting a whole new chapter of our trip.
Closing thoughts on Southeast Asia:
I had a truly wonderful time in Southeast Asia and it was a great experience traveling around there. I met a lot of interesting people and had soooooo much of fun. I loved that there were dogs and cats everywhere - I think I pet more animals during those three months than ever before. Also, it was not at all unusual to look into the kitchen of the restaurant where you were dining and see a cat on the counter and have a dog lying under your table. The downside of that part of the world for me was the extreme number of tourists/travelers - so many that it almost overshadowed the cultures we were there to see. Regardless, Southeast Asia is absolutely incredible and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to explore it.
Monday, March 8, 2010
A very long post
Ahhhh, I'm three countries behind, so blogging seems like such a daunting task (as I'm sure reading this will be). Here is what I have been up to the last few months:
LAOS
We flew from Hannoi to Vientiane, the Capital city of Laos. Here we spent a few nights just getting acclimated to the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere that is Laos. Coming from Vietnam (even though that remains one of my favorite countries) it truly felt like a breath of fresh air. Vientiane, although the capital, feels quite small and quiet - not a ton going on - but it's nice. Laos was governed by the French for a considerable amount of time, and that influence is definitely still apparent. While there we took a local bus to the Buddha Park. The park itself was lovely, tons of Buddhist imagery/large sculptures (mainly concrete and stone) a few of which included stairs and places to climb up. The ride there was a bit rough, as we were all standing and had no idea when we were supposed to get off - we new it was about 45 minutes out of the city, but coundn't really communicate that we didn't know which was our stop. We made it though, and were so happy to have done so. While in Vientiane we also took a cooking class. It was great, we went to the market (watched a live fish get de-scaled, hacked up and prepared into nice little pieces of meat - I don't eat fish but could appreciate that this woman had talent) and then learned how to prepare 5 tradional dishes. I guess the class was a bit larger than normal (there were about 10 of us) and that wasn't the best, but it was still interesting. We made some bizarre things - but it was really great learning about them at the beginning of our time in the country, as I could then identify the dishes later on. Green papaya salad is huge there - a green papaya is whacked repeatedly with a knife, and then the top bits are shaved off and fish sauce, chillies, lime and some other things are added.... They also love the ground beef/mint/corriander salad. Maybe the weirdest thing we made was minced pork, hardboiled egg yolk, citurs salad dressing - which oddly enough it was prety good. From Vientiane we took a bus to Luang Prabang - and just made it! We loaded our bags onto our first VIP bus (nothing remotely VIP about these busses, they are just large at have aircon) and decided we needed to grab some food. Willy and I then stopped into the bathroom and when we came out we were met by a running, panicked Ashley saying that the bus was leaving (with our backpacks/everything we have on board). We chased it down and made it *with breakfast I might add. A bit frightening, but then really just funny.
Luang Prabang was absolutely incredible. It sits between the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers and is simply enchanting. We spent the majority of our time in the old quarter, which revolves around the rivers and one main street, lined with restaurants, Wats and tour companies. When we got there we found (after searching for him forever) Willy's boyfriend Lance, who then traveled with us for about three weeks. It was also Willy's birthday while we were there, and her mother generously put all of us up at a nice hotel for a few nights (nothing like a nice room and a really comfortable bed). For the birthday dinner Ashley and I found an amazing little restaurant accesed via a tiny bamboo bidge across one of the rivers. We had our own little hut on the river and ordered "Lao fondue" which involved cooking raw meet on a metal plate, surrounded by a broth filled with numerous veggies (and whatever else you want to throw in). It was sooo deliscious. The town of Luang Prabang is rather small, and in a day one can visit numerous wats and beautiful sites. In addiation to seeing lots of temples, we visited the Royal Palace Museum (which was actually built fairly recently) and Ashley and I climed the numerous stairs to Phu Si. This temple sits essentially at the highest point of the old quarter and offers incredible views of the region. We also visited the Pak Ou cave (maybe an hour by bus, then a quick long boat ride across the river) which was really beautiful. It is filled with images of the Buddha - statues and carvings, large and small absoluetly everywhere - in every nook and behind or above anywhere one would normally think to look, there is a Buddah. That same day we went to Tat Kuang Si - a beautiful waterfall a bit outside of town that collects into numerous pools that were the most stunning light turquoise color I have ever seen. Also while in Luang Prabang we decided to do a day long cycling trip. I knew we would be riding for 6-8 hours but assumed it would be a nice little tour through villages... not the case. I have never done such intense mountain biking in my entire life - it was brutal. Once it was over I appreciated it and was so glad to have had the experience... but there were some pretty tough times on that trip. The best part of going to Luang Prabang was "feeding the monks". Every morning (maybe around 6am) the monks walk through the town in a long, single file line and collect what will be their meal for the day from the locals. The townspeope bring offerings of all sorts, but primarily sticky rice and fruit. We joined the locals on the side of the road, bought baskets of sticky rice and small bananas and were instructed how to properly go about giving the monks food (give each about a large tablespoon sized clump of sticky rice with your hands.... I also gave one a lollipop). It was truly incredible seeing hundreds of monks, wearing their bright orange robes, walk past the bright white and gold Wats and down the street in the crisp early morning air - definitely something I will not forget.
From Luang Prabang we went to Vang Viene via small van. I don't know what it is about the local Lao people, but they love to throw up in cars/busses/vans. We took a van because there were so many people throwing up into plastic bags on our last bus ride... nothing changed being in a van, locals still got sick into little bags they brought just for the occasion. The van ride was also a completely terrifying experience. We flew around sharpe turns over mountain passes and whenever there was a sign about slowing down our driver sped up. It was a long eight hours to say the least. The one good thing about the drive was that the mountains in Laos are unlike any I have ever seen before - the country is breathtaking and looks more like a fairy tale than real life.
The only reason people go to Vang Vieng is to go tubing - we'd been hearing about it since we arrived in southeast asia so we decided to check it out. "Tubing" is really just renting a tube, and going to lots of bars along the water. You tube from bar to bar (but you can also just walk along the bank to go to most), but spend the majority of the time at the first few bars. There are rope swings, ziplines, mud pits - all sorts of activiteies that probably shouldn't be offered to the highly intoxicated (which is basically the point) - I saw a lot of bruises, slings and even a home-made neck brace! It is absolutely crazy - people just go nuts. We went on Austrailia day which made our experience even more intense (those Aussies certainly have a lot of country pride). After being there less than an hour we were all covered in pernmant marker (everyone randomly writes on eachother), had headbands and lots of string bracelets good for free drinks at certain bars in town that night. Vang Viene is packed with "Friends bars" - restaurants with comfy seating and big televisions playing American t.v. episodes - mostly Friends and Family Guy. There are at the very least 20 of these (and the town is very small) and after a day on the water it is actually pretty nice to be able to eat a meal and watch Friends... (i might have gone a few times). While we were in Vang Viene we ran into Katie Thorton, another Skidmore alum and spent the next two weeks traveling with her and her friend Laura Maloney. They are absolutly incredible girls and we had so much fun with them! Ashley, Katie and I spent one day rock climbing in Vang Vieng which was great. The three of us also taught (or attempted to teach) monks english one night which was rather comical. Many of the males in Laos "take robes" (are monks) for a few months to a few years - and the majority do this while they are in their early teens. The three of us girls, a white board and around ten little boys made for a funny few hours. Oh, also the monks are not allowed to have physical contact with women - so of course I accidently tripped over one and grabbed another to steady myself... They didn't mind but I felt sooo bad!
From Vang Viene we went south to Paske for a night (where there is basically nothing to do) and set off the next day on a three day kayak trip through Si Phan Don (the 4,000 islands). The Kayaking was great (thought we would be doing more though), we also went on a bike ride, a trek (long walk), saw some waterfalls, listed to Buddha's story in a temple and did a lot of reading. The first night we stayed in bungalos that we situated in what must have been a chicken coup - I have never seen so many chickens in my life (or heard so many roosters crown together in the morning). The following night we did a "homestay" - we never met the family and slept in bug nets on their front porch, while they slept on the other side of a very thin wall. It was bizarre. The best part of the kayak trip (and one of the highlights of Laos for me) was the little ceremony we had about leaving the island. An extremely old (and hilarious) man who was previously a monk blessed us/said words of good luck while brushing our wrists and forearms with string bracelts he then tied around our wrists. This happened a few times, and by the end I had about six rope bracelets that apparently mean good luck for traveling. We then each took a shot of Lao whisky (never good, especially not in the morning, but we did it anyway) and a shot of beer and the ceremony was over. It was lovely, we then hung around and talked with the man for a bit before leaving the river and heading back to the mainland.
From Laos we took a day long bus to get to Phenom Phen, Cambodia. This included (obviously) a border crossing and I don't know what I expected, but certainly not this. The busses are only allowed to drive in their resident country, so we were dropped off at the edge of Laos and told to walk about a hundred meters (with all of our belongings) over to Cambodia. There we went got our visas (essentially at a shack on the side of the road) and they stamped our passports. Every step cost a dollar, and some people tried to refusing to pay - meaning only that the bus had to wait for them to give in. The whole thing took about two hours, it was very different.
CAMBODIA
We started our trip through Cambodia in Phenom Phen, and our first full day there was a big one. We went to the killing fields of Choeung Ek, where the Khmer Rouge executed approximately 17,000 men, women and children between 1975 and 1978. Among other things, we saw the mass graves, the tree used to shatted the skulls of babies (which were held by the ankles and swung into the tree), the clothing of those killed sticking out of the ground in the paths we walked and numerous different collections of bones and clothes. The history of the site is horriffic, and it was a very intense experience walking aroung. Right next to the killing fields is a primary school, and while touring the site we could hear children laughing and playing - I think the juxtaposition is a pretty good representation of Cambodia as a whole. From there we went to the Toul Sleng Museum (Security Prison 21). S21 was once a school and was converted into a prison and torture center in 1975. Most of the people detained here were eventually sent to the killing fields, and those who died during torture were burried in mass graves on site. The buildings were very eerie, and it was another extreme experience. Some rooms contained only a metal bed and a black and white photo of the room's former occupant being tortured or dead in the bed after. Other rooms were converted into numerous tiny cells. There were also various photograph displays that were quite moving. On a lighter note, in Phenom Phen we also had some fun times with Katie and Laura. We went to a bar called Heart of Darkness, embraced our American roots and made the dj play Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" and danced away. Apparently this bar is the cool place to go for the mafia young elite, their bodyguards and prostitutes (and a few other travelers). It was great, we went back the next night. The rest of our time in Phenom Phen I spent sick in my room with a 103 degree fever. I don't know how I did it, but so as not to miss anything important, I managed to get myself to the Royal Palace during one of those days. After walking around for about 20 minutes alone I decided I had seen it, and it remains a bit of a blur to me now (as I was pretty ill).
From Phenom Phen we went to Siem Reap to expience incredible Angkor Wat. These temples were built between the 9th and 13th centuries and served as the capital of the ancient Khmer empire. We bought three-day passes as there are hundreds of temples that are still standing, most in various stages of beautiful decay. Our first day we hired the "rock 'n' roll tuktuk" to take us around the major temples and the ones surrounding them. Our tuktuk was as tricked out as a tuktuk can get - with lots of lights, an ipod hook up and speakers (there was a fair amount of Miley played that day). It was great, and the weather was perfect so our day just incredible. Exploring the temples of Angkor is truly a captivating experience. I don't quite know how to explain it. They are so beautiful, detailed and full of character - and the dilapidation only enhances the charm. Wandering through tiny areas, away from everyone else and feeling a bit lost was my favorite part. One morning we watched the sunrise over the main temple and it was absolutely amazing.
I had a glorious time in Siem Reap while not at the temples as well. Two more of our friends from Skidmore - Haley Klatzkin and Allie Preefer - happened to be there at the same time which was wonderful. I had so much fun with them and really wish our trips overlapped for more than a few days. We spent a fair amount of time during the night at two central bars (Temple Bar and Angkor What?) and made lots of friends (and danced a lot). One night we spent at least an hour playing a hacky-sac type game in the street with some Cambodian teenagers - and then other foreigners joined in and we had a huge circle of about 20 people playing. It was awesome. We also decided to have a rather adventurous meal in Siem Reap.... consisting of frog legs, kangaroo, crocodile, snake and oestrich. As a whole Cambodia was wonderful, full of contradictions, and beautiful. I really enjoyed my time there (when I wasn't sick that is).
I still have to write about Thailand, but this post is wayyyyy too long and my computer is about to die (which I am taking as a sign). I am going to post about Thailand within the next few days so I can start writing about what I am actually doing now. Currently I am in India and I have fallen in love with the country. I am in Delhi now and am heading to Vrindivan tomorrow to work at an eco-village, yayy! Will write about that in a few months, haha kidding (hopefully). I apologize that this is so absurdly long. Love to all!
LAOS
We flew from Hannoi to Vientiane, the Capital city of Laos. Here we spent a few nights just getting acclimated to the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere that is Laos. Coming from Vietnam (even though that remains one of my favorite countries) it truly felt like a breath of fresh air. Vientiane, although the capital, feels quite small and quiet - not a ton going on - but it's nice. Laos was governed by the French for a considerable amount of time, and that influence is definitely still apparent. While there we took a local bus to the Buddha Park. The park itself was lovely, tons of Buddhist imagery/large sculptures (mainly concrete and stone) a few of which included stairs and places to climb up. The ride there was a bit rough, as we were all standing and had no idea when we were supposed to get off - we new it was about 45 minutes out of the city, but coundn't really communicate that we didn't know which was our stop. We made it though, and were so happy to have done so. While in Vientiane we also took a cooking class. It was great, we went to the market (watched a live fish get de-scaled, hacked up and prepared into nice little pieces of meat - I don't eat fish but could appreciate that this woman had talent) and then learned how to prepare 5 tradional dishes. I guess the class was a bit larger than normal (there were about 10 of us) and that wasn't the best, but it was still interesting. We made some bizarre things - but it was really great learning about them at the beginning of our time in the country, as I could then identify the dishes later on. Green papaya salad is huge there - a green papaya is whacked repeatedly with a knife, and then the top bits are shaved off and fish sauce, chillies, lime and some other things are added.... They also love the ground beef/mint/corriander salad. Maybe the weirdest thing we made was minced pork, hardboiled egg yolk, citurs salad dressing - which oddly enough it was prety good. From Vientiane we took a bus to Luang Prabang - and just made it! We loaded our bags onto our first VIP bus (nothing remotely VIP about these busses, they are just large at have aircon) and decided we needed to grab some food. Willy and I then stopped into the bathroom and when we came out we were met by a running, panicked Ashley saying that the bus was leaving (with our backpacks/everything we have on board). We chased it down and made it *with breakfast I might add. A bit frightening, but then really just funny.
Luang Prabang was absolutely incredible. It sits between the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers and is simply enchanting. We spent the majority of our time in the old quarter, which revolves around the rivers and one main street, lined with restaurants, Wats and tour companies. When we got there we found (after searching for him forever) Willy's boyfriend Lance, who then traveled with us for about three weeks. It was also Willy's birthday while we were there, and her mother generously put all of us up at a nice hotel for a few nights (nothing like a nice room and a really comfortable bed). For the birthday dinner Ashley and I found an amazing little restaurant accesed via a tiny bamboo bidge across one of the rivers. We had our own little hut on the river and ordered "Lao fondue" which involved cooking raw meet on a metal plate, surrounded by a broth filled with numerous veggies (and whatever else you want to throw in). It was sooo deliscious. The town of Luang Prabang is rather small, and in a day one can visit numerous wats and beautiful sites. In addiation to seeing lots of temples, we visited the Royal Palace Museum (which was actually built fairly recently) and Ashley and I climed the numerous stairs to Phu Si. This temple sits essentially at the highest point of the old quarter and offers incredible views of the region. We also visited the Pak Ou cave (maybe an hour by bus, then a quick long boat ride across the river) which was really beautiful. It is filled with images of the Buddha - statues and carvings, large and small absoluetly everywhere - in every nook and behind or above anywhere one would normally think to look, there is a Buddah. That same day we went to Tat Kuang Si - a beautiful waterfall a bit outside of town that collects into numerous pools that were the most stunning light turquoise color I have ever seen. Also while in Luang Prabang we decided to do a day long cycling trip. I knew we would be riding for 6-8 hours but assumed it would be a nice little tour through villages... not the case. I have never done such intense mountain biking in my entire life - it was brutal. Once it was over I appreciated it and was so glad to have had the experience... but there were some pretty tough times on that trip. The best part of going to Luang Prabang was "feeding the monks". Every morning (maybe around 6am) the monks walk through the town in a long, single file line and collect what will be their meal for the day from the locals. The townspeope bring offerings of all sorts, but primarily sticky rice and fruit. We joined the locals on the side of the road, bought baskets of sticky rice and small bananas and were instructed how to properly go about giving the monks food (give each about a large tablespoon sized clump of sticky rice with your hands.... I also gave one a lollipop). It was truly incredible seeing hundreds of monks, wearing their bright orange robes, walk past the bright white and gold Wats and down the street in the crisp early morning air - definitely something I will not forget.
From Luang Prabang we went to Vang Viene via small van. I don't know what it is about the local Lao people, but they love to throw up in cars/busses/vans. We took a van because there were so many people throwing up into plastic bags on our last bus ride... nothing changed being in a van, locals still got sick into little bags they brought just for the occasion. The van ride was also a completely terrifying experience. We flew around sharpe turns over mountain passes and whenever there was a sign about slowing down our driver sped up. It was a long eight hours to say the least. The one good thing about the drive was that the mountains in Laos are unlike any I have ever seen before - the country is breathtaking and looks more like a fairy tale than real life.
The only reason people go to Vang Vieng is to go tubing - we'd been hearing about it since we arrived in southeast asia so we decided to check it out. "Tubing" is really just renting a tube, and going to lots of bars along the water. You tube from bar to bar (but you can also just walk along the bank to go to most), but spend the majority of the time at the first few bars. There are rope swings, ziplines, mud pits - all sorts of activiteies that probably shouldn't be offered to the highly intoxicated (which is basically the point) - I saw a lot of bruises, slings and even a home-made neck brace! It is absolutely crazy - people just go nuts. We went on Austrailia day which made our experience even more intense (those Aussies certainly have a lot of country pride). After being there less than an hour we were all covered in pernmant marker (everyone randomly writes on eachother), had headbands and lots of string bracelets good for free drinks at certain bars in town that night. Vang Viene is packed with "Friends bars" - restaurants with comfy seating and big televisions playing American t.v. episodes - mostly Friends and Family Guy. There are at the very least 20 of these (and the town is very small) and after a day on the water it is actually pretty nice to be able to eat a meal and watch Friends... (i might have gone a few times). While we were in Vang Viene we ran into Katie Thorton, another Skidmore alum and spent the next two weeks traveling with her and her friend Laura Maloney. They are absolutly incredible girls and we had so much fun with them! Ashley, Katie and I spent one day rock climbing in Vang Vieng which was great. The three of us also taught (or attempted to teach) monks english one night which was rather comical. Many of the males in Laos "take robes" (are monks) for a few months to a few years - and the majority do this while they are in their early teens. The three of us girls, a white board and around ten little boys made for a funny few hours. Oh, also the monks are not allowed to have physical contact with women - so of course I accidently tripped over one and grabbed another to steady myself... They didn't mind but I felt sooo bad!
From Vang Viene we went south to Paske for a night (where there is basically nothing to do) and set off the next day on a three day kayak trip through Si Phan Don (the 4,000 islands). The Kayaking was great (thought we would be doing more though), we also went on a bike ride, a trek (long walk), saw some waterfalls, listed to Buddha's story in a temple and did a lot of reading. The first night we stayed in bungalos that we situated in what must have been a chicken coup - I have never seen so many chickens in my life (or heard so many roosters crown together in the morning). The following night we did a "homestay" - we never met the family and slept in bug nets on their front porch, while they slept on the other side of a very thin wall. It was bizarre. The best part of the kayak trip (and one of the highlights of Laos for me) was the little ceremony we had about leaving the island. An extremely old (and hilarious) man who was previously a monk blessed us/said words of good luck while brushing our wrists and forearms with string bracelts he then tied around our wrists. This happened a few times, and by the end I had about six rope bracelets that apparently mean good luck for traveling. We then each took a shot of Lao whisky (never good, especially not in the morning, but we did it anyway) and a shot of beer and the ceremony was over. It was lovely, we then hung around and talked with the man for a bit before leaving the river and heading back to the mainland.
From Laos we took a day long bus to get to Phenom Phen, Cambodia. This included (obviously) a border crossing and I don't know what I expected, but certainly not this. The busses are only allowed to drive in their resident country, so we were dropped off at the edge of Laos and told to walk about a hundred meters (with all of our belongings) over to Cambodia. There we went got our visas (essentially at a shack on the side of the road) and they stamped our passports. Every step cost a dollar, and some people tried to refusing to pay - meaning only that the bus had to wait for them to give in. The whole thing took about two hours, it was very different.
CAMBODIA
We started our trip through Cambodia in Phenom Phen, and our first full day there was a big one. We went to the killing fields of Choeung Ek, where the Khmer Rouge executed approximately 17,000 men, women and children between 1975 and 1978. Among other things, we saw the mass graves, the tree used to shatted the skulls of babies (which were held by the ankles and swung into the tree), the clothing of those killed sticking out of the ground in the paths we walked and numerous different collections of bones and clothes. The history of the site is horriffic, and it was a very intense experience walking aroung. Right next to the killing fields is a primary school, and while touring the site we could hear children laughing and playing - I think the juxtaposition is a pretty good representation of Cambodia as a whole. From there we went to the Toul Sleng Museum (Security Prison 21). S21 was once a school and was converted into a prison and torture center in 1975. Most of the people detained here were eventually sent to the killing fields, and those who died during torture were burried in mass graves on site. The buildings were very eerie, and it was another extreme experience. Some rooms contained only a metal bed and a black and white photo of the room's former occupant being tortured or dead in the bed after. Other rooms were converted into numerous tiny cells. There were also various photograph displays that were quite moving. On a lighter note, in Phenom Phen we also had some fun times with Katie and Laura. We went to a bar called Heart of Darkness, embraced our American roots and made the dj play Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" and danced away. Apparently this bar is the cool place to go for the mafia young elite, their bodyguards and prostitutes (and a few other travelers). It was great, we went back the next night. The rest of our time in Phenom Phen I spent sick in my room with a 103 degree fever. I don't know how I did it, but so as not to miss anything important, I managed to get myself to the Royal Palace during one of those days. After walking around for about 20 minutes alone I decided I had seen it, and it remains a bit of a blur to me now (as I was pretty ill).
From Phenom Phen we went to Siem Reap to expience incredible Angkor Wat. These temples were built between the 9th and 13th centuries and served as the capital of the ancient Khmer empire. We bought three-day passes as there are hundreds of temples that are still standing, most in various stages of beautiful decay. Our first day we hired the "rock 'n' roll tuktuk" to take us around the major temples and the ones surrounding them. Our tuktuk was as tricked out as a tuktuk can get - with lots of lights, an ipod hook up and speakers (there was a fair amount of Miley played that day). It was great, and the weather was perfect so our day just incredible. Exploring the temples of Angkor is truly a captivating experience. I don't quite know how to explain it. They are so beautiful, detailed and full of character - and the dilapidation only enhances the charm. Wandering through tiny areas, away from everyone else and feeling a bit lost was my favorite part. One morning we watched the sunrise over the main temple and it was absolutely amazing.
I had a glorious time in Siem Reap while not at the temples as well. Two more of our friends from Skidmore - Haley Klatzkin and Allie Preefer - happened to be there at the same time which was wonderful. I had so much fun with them and really wish our trips overlapped for more than a few days. We spent a fair amount of time during the night at two central bars (Temple Bar and Angkor What?) and made lots of friends (and danced a lot). One night we spent at least an hour playing a hacky-sac type game in the street with some Cambodian teenagers - and then other foreigners joined in and we had a huge circle of about 20 people playing. It was awesome. We also decided to have a rather adventurous meal in Siem Reap.... consisting of frog legs, kangaroo, crocodile, snake and oestrich. As a whole Cambodia was wonderful, full of contradictions, and beautiful. I really enjoyed my time there (when I wasn't sick that is).
I still have to write about Thailand, but this post is wayyyyy too long and my computer is about to die (which I am taking as a sign). I am going to post about Thailand within the next few days so I can start writing about what I am actually doing now. Currently I am in India and I have fallen in love with the country. I am in Delhi now and am heading to Vrindivan tomorrow to work at an eco-village, yayy! Will write about that in a few months, haha kidding (hopefully). I apologize that this is so absurdly long. Love to all!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A much overdue post
Wow. The last few weeks have been absolutely amazing and I'm not quite sure where to start....I suppose from where I left off. I don't have a lot of time right now, and I am a bit sleepy (had a 6am flight this morning) so I'm sorry if this is a bit abrupt and scattered/boring. Ok, here goes. The rest of our time in Hoi An was great. It is a very nice little town, not a ton of things to do, but we managed to stay occupied for about a week there. We got some clothes made, had really good meals and met some good people. Our Australian friends from Nha Trang (Lachlan, Jamie and Ian) met up with us after a few days and we ended up traveling up the coast with them for two weeks. It was nice to always have a fun little group - and these boys were wonderful and quite entertaining. We rented bikes a lot, went to the beach a few times, and had lots of clothing fittings. Oh, one day Willy, Ashley and I rented bicycles and rode around through really secluded rice patties - winding through the fields was lovely and we passed many a water buffalo. On our last day there the six of us decided it was time to do something a bit more cultural and rented a van to go to the old ruins of "My Son", about two hours outside the city. These were a bit dilapidated and overgrown but in a beautiful way. One could probably spend a day there wandering through tons of sites and different ruins.... but we had enough after about an hour (and I made the mistake of wearing a silk dress on the absolute hottest day... quite sweaty and gross). From there we drove to Danang, and caught a flight up north to Hanoi.
Hanoi was a bit colder and very busy, but after having already experienced Saigon I felt pretty comfortable with all of the chaos. In Hanoi we had awesome street food - lots of pho ba (watery noodles with beef and bean sprouts, you add your own chilies, lime, mint and basil leaves - it's a Vietnamese staple). Also could have eaten dog, no idea. Lachlan turned 31 while we were there, so we went to a movie theater and saw Avatar - which we all loved. All three boys teared up multiple times while we did not, hmmmm. We also went to a nice dinner and then out dancing. While most bars close at midnight in Hanoi, we happened to stumble across (the cab driver just dropped us off at) a bar/club that stayed open well into the night. We were the only foreigners there which was kind of fun, and we had a great time. We thought it was a bit bizarre at first that every time one of us took out a camera we were immediately approached and told to put it away/"no photos". This made more sense when we figured out that it was a big mafia establishment, haha. It was a good night. While in Hanoi we did a two day trip to Ha Long Bay, which was absolutely incredible and like nothing else. It is on the northeastern coast of Vietnam about three or four hours outside Hanoi, and consists of hundreds of rock formations/little mountain islands that poke out from the deep turquoise water. While we were there it was just the right amount of foggy - making it even more mystical. Because of its stunning beauty, Ha Long is littered with "junk boats", or tourist boats. Even so, the boats are a bit quirky and their presence isn't the absolute worst thing. While on our two day/one night cruise we visited many floating fishing villages, took a little wooden boat around and checked out some caves from the water, and also walked through one huge cave. Our guide stopped us constantly to point out what he thought the stalagmites looked like with his laser pointer: "and here you see the dragon", "and here you see the dog".... I did not see these things. Our friend Jamie took the laser from the guide to point out what he saw to the group. That was much more amusing. When we got back to Hanoi Lachlan went back to Aussieland, Willy stayed with Jamie and Ian, and Ashley and I went to Sapa For three nights and two days.
Sapa is in Northern Vietnam very close to the Chinese border and set high in the mountains. We took an overnight train there and back and spent one night in a hotel with the most wonderful view. The main draw of going to Sapa is to see the H'mong villages and the truly incredible mountains. The first day instead of going with our tour group Ashley and I rented a motorbike and went to the Cat Cat village by ourselves. This meant we drove down an incredibly steep, potholed, rocky dirt road and not to brag - but I am getting pretty good (and confident) on motorbikes. I love them. The village was wonderful, though lots of women and children bothering you to buy textiles and bracelets. They also love to ask you the same few questions: name, age, nationality, pets, siblings - and in turn we would ask them the same things. I always felt jealous when we talked about pets, I would say I have one dog and an eight year old girl would tell me she has ten chickens, a water buffalo, two dogs, some cats and a mini pig. I desperately want a mini pig. The next day we did a little trek into another village which was also quite lovely. I can't really explain these mountains and the setting of these little villages, even pictures don't do it justice. Being there was kind of a full sensory experience, even though that sounds ridiculous. From there we went back to Hanoi and caught a flight that night to Vientiane, the Capital of Laos. Leaving Vietnam was a bit sad - I was definitely excited for Laos, but I really enjoyed my time in Vietnam and felt nostalgic about leaving. Also was quite sad to separate from our little group of Aussies - truly loved spending time with them.
Laos is sooo relaxed, especially compared to Vietnam. It is very quiet here, much less hassling and hardly any "hey lady, you buy from me?"... so that is quite glorious. Just the occasional "tuk tuk?" I really love it here, but would like it infinitely more if there were not so many tourists. I guess I am a country behind, because we are leaving Laos for Cambodia in about 4 days (and I don't think I'll have Internet access in those few days). I'm going to have to write about Laos from Cambodia. We are currently in the south (in Pakse) and are leaving tomorrow morning for a three day kayaking/trekking trip down to the 4,000 islands, and then taking a bus into Cambodia. Sorry I haven't blogged in so long, I know I am leaving out sooo many things. I am going to try to stay a bit more caught up from now on. Love to all!
Hanoi was a bit colder and very busy, but after having already experienced Saigon I felt pretty comfortable with all of the chaos. In Hanoi we had awesome street food - lots of pho ba (watery noodles with beef and bean sprouts, you add your own chilies, lime, mint and basil leaves - it's a Vietnamese staple). Also could have eaten dog, no idea. Lachlan turned 31 while we were there, so we went to a movie theater and saw Avatar - which we all loved. All three boys teared up multiple times while we did not, hmmmm. We also went to a nice dinner and then out dancing. While most bars close at midnight in Hanoi, we happened to stumble across (the cab driver just dropped us off at) a bar/club that stayed open well into the night. We were the only foreigners there which was kind of fun, and we had a great time. We thought it was a bit bizarre at first that every time one of us took out a camera we were immediately approached and told to put it away/"no photos". This made more sense when we figured out that it was a big mafia establishment, haha. It was a good night. While in Hanoi we did a two day trip to Ha Long Bay, which was absolutely incredible and like nothing else. It is on the northeastern coast of Vietnam about three or four hours outside Hanoi, and consists of hundreds of rock formations/little mountain islands that poke out from the deep turquoise water. While we were there it was just the right amount of foggy - making it even more mystical. Because of its stunning beauty, Ha Long is littered with "junk boats", or tourist boats. Even so, the boats are a bit quirky and their presence isn't the absolute worst thing. While on our two day/one night cruise we visited many floating fishing villages, took a little wooden boat around and checked out some caves from the water, and also walked through one huge cave. Our guide stopped us constantly to point out what he thought the stalagmites looked like with his laser pointer: "and here you see the dragon", "and here you see the dog".... I did not see these things. Our friend Jamie took the laser from the guide to point out what he saw to the group. That was much more amusing. When we got back to Hanoi Lachlan went back to Aussieland, Willy stayed with Jamie and Ian, and Ashley and I went to Sapa For three nights and two days.
Sapa is in Northern Vietnam very close to the Chinese border and set high in the mountains. We took an overnight train there and back and spent one night in a hotel with the most wonderful view. The main draw of going to Sapa is to see the H'mong villages and the truly incredible mountains. The first day instead of going with our tour group Ashley and I rented a motorbike and went to the Cat Cat village by ourselves. This meant we drove down an incredibly steep, potholed, rocky dirt road and not to brag - but I am getting pretty good (and confident) on motorbikes. I love them. The village was wonderful, though lots of women and children bothering you to buy textiles and bracelets. They also love to ask you the same few questions: name, age, nationality, pets, siblings - and in turn we would ask them the same things. I always felt jealous when we talked about pets, I would say I have one dog and an eight year old girl would tell me she has ten chickens, a water buffalo, two dogs, some cats and a mini pig. I desperately want a mini pig. The next day we did a little trek into another village which was also quite lovely. I can't really explain these mountains and the setting of these little villages, even pictures don't do it justice. Being there was kind of a full sensory experience, even though that sounds ridiculous. From there we went back to Hanoi and caught a flight that night to Vientiane, the Capital of Laos. Leaving Vietnam was a bit sad - I was definitely excited for Laos, but I really enjoyed my time in Vietnam and felt nostalgic about leaving. Also was quite sad to separate from our little group of Aussies - truly loved spending time with them.
Laos is sooo relaxed, especially compared to Vietnam. It is very quiet here, much less hassling and hardly any "hey lady, you buy from me?"... so that is quite glorious. Just the occasional "tuk tuk?" I really love it here, but would like it infinitely more if there were not so many tourists. I guess I am a country behind, because we are leaving Laos for Cambodia in about 4 days (and I don't think I'll have Internet access in those few days). I'm going to have to write about Laos from Cambodia. We are currently in the south (in Pakse) and are leaving tomorrow morning for a three day kayaking/trekking trip down to the 4,000 islands, and then taking a bus into Cambodia. Sorry I haven't blogged in so long, I know I am leaving out sooo many things. I am going to try to stay a bit more caught up from now on. Love to all!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
I drove a motorbike in Vietnam!!! That might sound like nothing (and at first I thought it would be) but it was absolutely the most terrifying thing I have ever done - and sooo incredible. There are barely any trafic lights or any recognizable rules (other than honk if you are not going to stop) and it was such chaos. I was so confident about driving one until I actually saw it, and then completely freaked out. I think my hands were shaking the entire time and my heart racing. We spent a lot of time with some Austraian guys in Nha Trang and rented the bikes with them. Willy and Ashley sat on the back (and still had terrifying experiences) but I was determined to drive one. Glad that is out of my system.... but might do it again. The idea was to rent the bikes and go to some waterfalls 20k outside the city, however we lost eachother almost instantly and just drove around for an hour or two. I wish I could explain it better - my stomach was still in knots for an hour after, even though I was talking about how awesome it was. That is definitely an experience I will never forget.
We spent a week in Nha Trang, which was a few days more than we originally planned. It is a pretty touristy town, but we had a great time. We did an all day boat tour called "The Funky Monkey" (highly recomended to us by some other travelers) and met some fun friends. The trip takes you to four islands and includes snorkling, swimming, jumping off the boat, happy hour from a floating "bar" (gross orange drink from a bucket), some beach time, lunch and a music performance. It was actually so fun that we did it twice - great both times. Did some parasailing, went to lots of good restaurants - everything is still amazingly cheap. OH, our new favorite food is these sandwhichs we get on the street with laughing cow cheese, veggies, soy and chilli sauce on a baguette, they are sooo good. I was missing my favorite food from Japan (hot cabbage and hot dog soup) so its nice to have another good staple.
From Nha Trang we took a 12 hour overnight bus north to Hoi An - we had our own little bunkbeds which was neat, but still rather uncomfortable. Hoi An is the tailoring capital of the country, and everyone who comes here gets tonnnnss of clothes made and shipped home. So I have a few dresses in the works - you have to go in for multiple fittings to get them right. Today we rented bicycles and went to the beach, which is about 5k from our hotel. On the way back we stopped for lunch at a restaurant over the river, which was beautifel and looked like it might collasp at any minute. I am in constant awe of this country and its various beauties.
We spent a week in Nha Trang, which was a few days more than we originally planned. It is a pretty touristy town, but we had a great time. We did an all day boat tour called "The Funky Monkey" (highly recomended to us by some other travelers) and met some fun friends. The trip takes you to four islands and includes snorkling, swimming, jumping off the boat, happy hour from a floating "bar" (gross orange drink from a bucket), some beach time, lunch and a music performance. It was actually so fun that we did it twice - great both times. Did some parasailing, went to lots of good restaurants - everything is still amazingly cheap. OH, our new favorite food is these sandwhichs we get on the street with laughing cow cheese, veggies, soy and chilli sauce on a baguette, they are sooo good. I was missing my favorite food from Japan (hot cabbage and hot dog soup) so its nice to have another good staple.
From Nha Trang we took a 12 hour overnight bus north to Hoi An - we had our own little bunkbeds which was neat, but still rather uncomfortable. Hoi An is the tailoring capital of the country, and everyone who comes here gets tonnnnss of clothes made and shipped home. So I have a few dresses in the works - you have to go in for multiple fittings to get them right. Today we rented bicycles and went to the beach, which is about 5k from our hotel. On the way back we stopped for lunch at a restaurant over the river, which was beautifel and looked like it might collasp at any minute. I am in constant awe of this country and its various beauties.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Happy Holidays from Vietnam!!!
I hope everyone is having wonderful holidays!!! We deceided to treat ourselves and spend Christmas at a nicer place than normal in Phan Thiet, Vietnam (its a resort and we are each paying about $30 a night, yikes). It is a welcomed break from the 10 bed mixed dorm hostels we have been staying in. Today is Christmas day and we spent it on the beach - rough life I know. No, actually it is really sad not being home with the family and missing out on things. I miss them very much. Last night I did have a pleasant Christmas Eve dinner of pork spring rolls and fried tofu though...
Before coming here we flew from Seoul to Ho Chi Mihn city, and spent four nights there. That was very interesting. There are no crosswalk lights (and something like 10 million people in the city and 5 million motorbikes) and the traffic is constant. To cross any street (4-6 lanes even) you just have to confidently set out and slowly weave through the motorbikes, cars and buses, letting them pass in front of and behind you. It is quite bizarre to stand in the middle of the street and see an advancing hoard of traffic coming directly at you and feel like you are in the right place, and that nothing is strange about it. I think it was one of my favorite parts of being there - definitely some very scary moments - but fun because it was so incredibly different (the girls did not warn up to it so much). We did a lot of walking around and exploring while we were there. We were staying in what has become known as a backpacker area, so it was really fun meeting other travelers there and exchanging stories and advice. We realized as soon as we got to Vietnam that we had primarily packed for cold weather backpacking/work. So we found a few really cheap dresses that will be very handy while here. We also went to the War Remnants Museum (previously called the American War Crimes Museum and recently changed). It was interesting to see the photos and read about the war (also lots of propaganda, but I thought it was important to go there regardless). I could definitely see at least some of the lasting effects of the war in the numerous people I saw affected by "agent orange"/some of the chemical warfare we employed during the war. Many of these severly deformed people were beggars, but there we others that were not. Being in Vietnam was really the first time we felt as if we were somewhere completely different. Japan and South Korea are both such modern countries and many things felt very similar to home. Also, I never questioned my safety in those places. It's annoying having to be so cautious about everything, but also good to be somewhere so new. OH, also while we were in HCMC we went to a waterpark! It was sooo much fun! I think waterparks are pretty gross in general, and had no idea what to expect from one in Vietnam, but it was great! We spent a few hours there, went on most of the slides at least twice - they went really fast and some were pretty scary. The best part was that there was essentially no one else there. We never had to wait in line and it was lovely. We took about a 20 minute cab ride to get there, and I decided riding in a car there is much scarier than darting into the street. Also, it's not uncommon to see a family of five all riding on one motorbike.
The rest of the time we were in Seoul was great. We went to the Demilitarized Zone (the DMZ) and saw the dividing line between North and South Korea, and the 400 meters between the two. So saw North Korea in the distance, and got as close as I could without getting shot (they used to have day tours to the north, but one woman got shot three times, so they stopped - currently trying to get it going again though...). We also went down into one of the tunnels the north vietnamese dug under the DMZ into the south - 70 meters underground! It was an interesting experience to see those things, not terribly thrilling, but I thought we should do it since we were there. It was a bit stange to suddenly be on an organized tour for a few hours - we were on a bus with a guide. We spent our last night a little bit south of the city and crashed on Dobbs's floor (which was so nice of him to have us and our huge bags). He brought us to a Christmas party one of his friends was having and it was really nice to meet all the people he has met while there.
Right now the people in the room next to us are cooking a ton of crabs they bought on the beach today in an electric cooker on the balcony. The girls are eating them, I am not. I thought is was going to be hard for me to avoid having to eat seafood while here, but there always seems to be another option. However, I have tried sooo many weird fish/ocean things while I have been on this trip. Just glad I don't have to eat seafood constantly. That was a lot to write really fast, sorry for any typos. Going to shower and have Christmas day dinner... prob something weird. I hope everone's holidays are going extremely well!! love to all!!
Before coming here we flew from Seoul to Ho Chi Mihn city, and spent four nights there. That was very interesting. There are no crosswalk lights (and something like 10 million people in the city and 5 million motorbikes) and the traffic is constant. To cross any street (4-6 lanes even) you just have to confidently set out and slowly weave through the motorbikes, cars and buses, letting them pass in front of and behind you. It is quite bizarre to stand in the middle of the street and see an advancing hoard of traffic coming directly at you and feel like you are in the right place, and that nothing is strange about it. I think it was one of my favorite parts of being there - definitely some very scary moments - but fun because it was so incredibly different (the girls did not warn up to it so much). We did a lot of walking around and exploring while we were there. We were staying in what has become known as a backpacker area, so it was really fun meeting other travelers there and exchanging stories and advice. We realized as soon as we got to Vietnam that we had primarily packed for cold weather backpacking/work. So we found a few really cheap dresses that will be very handy while here. We also went to the War Remnants Museum (previously called the American War Crimes Museum and recently changed). It was interesting to see the photos and read about the war (also lots of propaganda, but I thought it was important to go there regardless). I could definitely see at least some of the lasting effects of the war in the numerous people I saw affected by "agent orange"/some of the chemical warfare we employed during the war. Many of these severly deformed people were beggars, but there we others that were not. Being in Vietnam was really the first time we felt as if we were somewhere completely different. Japan and South Korea are both such modern countries and many things felt very similar to home. Also, I never questioned my safety in those places. It's annoying having to be so cautious about everything, but also good to be somewhere so new. OH, also while we were in HCMC we went to a waterpark! It was sooo much fun! I think waterparks are pretty gross in general, and had no idea what to expect from one in Vietnam, but it was great! We spent a few hours there, went on most of the slides at least twice - they went really fast and some were pretty scary. The best part was that there was essentially no one else there. We never had to wait in line and it was lovely. We took about a 20 minute cab ride to get there, and I decided riding in a car there is much scarier than darting into the street. Also, it's not uncommon to see a family of five all riding on one motorbike.
The rest of the time we were in Seoul was great. We went to the Demilitarized Zone (the DMZ) and saw the dividing line between North and South Korea, and the 400 meters between the two. So saw North Korea in the distance, and got as close as I could without getting shot (they used to have day tours to the north, but one woman got shot three times, so they stopped - currently trying to get it going again though...). We also went down into one of the tunnels the north vietnamese dug under the DMZ into the south - 70 meters underground! It was an interesting experience to see those things, not terribly thrilling, but I thought we should do it since we were there. It was a bit stange to suddenly be on an organized tour for a few hours - we were on a bus with a guide. We spent our last night a little bit south of the city and crashed on Dobbs's floor (which was so nice of him to have us and our huge bags). He brought us to a Christmas party one of his friends was having and it was really nice to meet all the people he has met while there.
Right now the people in the room next to us are cooking a ton of crabs they bought on the beach today in an electric cooker on the balcony. The girls are eating them, I am not. I thought is was going to be hard for me to avoid having to eat seafood while here, but there always seems to be another option. However, I have tried sooo many weird fish/ocean things while I have been on this trip. Just glad I don't have to eat seafood constantly. That was a lot to write really fast, sorry for any typos. Going to shower and have Christmas day dinner... prob something weird. I hope everone's holidays are going extremely well!! love to all!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Seoul
We are in South Korea! The rest of our time in Japan was great - loved the farm and had a fun last night in Tokyo. We met some guys from Spain at our hostel and went with them to their friends bar, and then we caught the last subway to Shibuya to go to some party. Turns out there was a $40 cover charge, so we opted out of that and all went back to the hostel to hang out there. One of the guys was really into flaminco dancing and gave me a lesson on the subway - I did not do very well. Japan was sooooo expensive so we were ready to leave in that sense, but its also a little sad to leave somewhere I felt so comfortable. It is very exciting to be somewhere new though! I like being in a new place and having to figure out the public transportation.
Our first night in Seoul we went to dinner with a friend from home, Dobbs, who is here teaching English. We went to a fried chicken and beer place, which is a big thing here I guess. It was nice to see him and hear about Korean life from someone who has been here for a while - I think we are seeing him later in the week as well. When we got back to our hostel we were pretty tired from being on the go all day - but a lot of people were hanging out in our hostel so we decided to be friendly and joined in. We are staying at Backpacker Friends and it is amazing - the people are great (the living is fine... we are staying in a ten person mixed dorm and it is too hot in there at night... but its ok, there is only one other guy in that room with us right now). Dr. Kim is the owner and he is so awesome! Last night hje made us Korean BBQ and it was pretty good. There are also a lot of his friends (I think) here a lot, they might live here, they sleep on the floor of the living room. Its great, they are so nice. Last night we also played a lot of games - including shoulders and "never have I ever" - with koreans, a brazilian and an austrailian - it was awesome, and so funny. Today we went to the war museum and it was really interesting. There was one display/video thing that was sooo funny (and def not supposed to be). The translation and acting was so bad that it made it quite wonderful. Tonight we are hanging out with everyone at the hostel - its nice, we all just sit around a big table on the floor and talk, listen to music and play games. Prob going to bed soon though, sooo tired.
Our first night in Seoul we went to dinner with a friend from home, Dobbs, who is here teaching English. We went to a fried chicken and beer place, which is a big thing here I guess. It was nice to see him and hear about Korean life from someone who has been here for a while - I think we are seeing him later in the week as well. When we got back to our hostel we were pretty tired from being on the go all day - but a lot of people were hanging out in our hostel so we decided to be friendly and joined in. We are staying at Backpacker Friends and it is amazing - the people are great (the living is fine... we are staying in a ten person mixed dorm and it is too hot in there at night... but its ok, there is only one other guy in that room with us right now). Dr. Kim is the owner and he is so awesome! Last night hje made us Korean BBQ and it was pretty good. There are also a lot of his friends (I think) here a lot, they might live here, they sleep on the floor of the living room. Its great, they are so nice. Last night we also played a lot of games - including shoulders and "never have I ever" - with koreans, a brazilian and an austrailian - it was awesome, and so funny. Today we went to the war museum and it was really interesting. There was one display/video thing that was sooo funny (and def not supposed to be). The translation and acting was so bad that it made it quite wonderful. Tonight we are hanging out with everyone at the hostel - its nice, we all just sit around a big table on the floor and talk, listen to music and play games. Prob going to bed soon though, sooo tired.
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