Life in the fast lane

Petra (The Treasury to be specific) by Night

Feels like ages since I've made a post.  I've seen and done quite a bit in the last 2 weeks, so let's get to it! I spent week 1 throughout most of Jordan.  Main highlights include a trip to the Dead Sea, Wadi Musa (location of Petra), and Wadi Rum (famous desert in southern Jordan).  The Dead Sea trip is an easy day tour from Amman.  Being at the lowest point on Earth (400 m below sea level) is quite the experience.  "Swimming"  in the Dead Sea is a very bizzare experience.  Holding your legs straight underwater is like trying to balance a top - due to the high salt content, a force is constantly pushing your legs upward toward the surface.  Over 30% salt - the water feels really oily and has a very different feeling than regular water on your skin.  Swimming isn't easy because you have to use extra force just to keep your legs under water.  Not to mention, if you get any water in your eyes, it hurts like no other.  Floating in a lounge like chair position is the best way to experience the Dead Sea. 
     After 4 days in Amman (Capital of Jordan) and touring the various areas around it (Dead Sea, Mt. Nebo - place where God allegedly showed Moses the promised land, and Jerash - Roman ruins 40 mins north of Amman), I made my way south to Wadi Musa, the town next to Petra.  For those of you who don't know about Petra - it is an ancient city originally built by the Nabataens.  Throughout History, it changed hands several times.  It isn't strictly a Nabataen site anymore. Either way, Petra was voted as a New Wonder of the World and rightfully so.  Tombs 40 m high built into the side of enormous rock cliffs, Petra is best seen in person.  Petra is pretty spread out and provides endless breath-taking views.  If you go, bring your hiking shoes and a heavy wallet.  Admission into Petra is now up to $75 or so, by far the single most expensive admission ticket I've purchased on this entire trip.  Despite the cost, it was still VERY worth it.  On day 1 in the park, I hiked around for about 12 hours.  On day 2, I spent another 4-6 hours inside Petra.  Exhuasted and sore, it was a very rewarding experience.

Landscape around Wadi Musa

   Interestingly enough, the first day I arrived in Wadi Musa (aka Petra), I only visited Petra by night - a separate ticket for about $16 that lets you see the main site, the Treasury, by candle light. I thought about going to Petra during the day, but decided to wait until I could utilize a FULL day (the bus didn't get me into town until 10 or so).  As fate would have it, my lens on my nice camera lens broke that day, and at night, I ended up becoming sick.  For the next 3 or 4 days I sat around my hostel, waiting to be let go from the imaginary leash that tied me to the toilet.  Getting sick while travelling seems to be included in the ticket no matter what you do, but when you're in Wadi Musa overlooking Petra outside your room window and knowing that your lens for you nice camera no longer works - well let's just say it's a humbling experience.  A very frustrating one, but it gives you a little backbone because you realize you really have no control over the situation and that you just have to roll with the punches.  Moral of the story, I healed up, still had my point and shoot camera, and still had an unforgettable time.
     After my time in Wadi Musa, I travelled further south into Wadi Rum, an amazing desert in southern Jordan.  About 1.5 hours from Wadi Musa, I hopped on a bus and ended up joining a tour group into the desert for a day and night with local Bedouin people.  Not only was the desert completely stunning, but our group of people was equally enjoyable.  Myself, 1 other American, and 8 Japanese tourists.  From stone tossing games, singing and dancing with the Bedouin people in the tent, and a sumo wrestling tournament, it was easily the most fun I'd had in a while.  You'll be happy to know that yours truely took home the Championship trophy for the male contestants in the sumo tournament.  I took a million pictures in Wadi Rum, but as always, the pictures don't do the place justice.  Reminded me a bit of Monument Valley and the Outback in Australia, but I still found it to be very unique. 

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

    After my stay in Wadi Rum, I made my way back to Amman where I then spent the better portion of 5 days in Israel.  Holy smokes!  I could talk about this place forever.  I made it to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Bethlehem in the West Bank.  Jerusalem is an utterly fascinating place with so much historical and religious importance that it boggles the mind.  When you go into the "Old City" of Jerusalem (a walled section of the city no larger than 1.2 sq km) I guarantee you will be blown away.  Split into quaters (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian), approximately 40,000 people inhabit the Old City.    From the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus is believed to have been hung on the cross and also placed in his tomb), the Western Wall (the ancient wall for the Temple of the Mount), to the Dome of the Rock (where Muhammad ascended ino Heaven), one begins to realize how important such a small area is.  Everywhere I walked within the old city, the only thing I could was "powder keg" - The Dome of the Rock sits on top of the alleged site of the Temple Mount, the Holy Sepulchre Church sits in the Christian Quarter, but a large portion of the "Via Dolorosa"  (the path that Jesus walked while carrying the cross) runs through the Muslim quarter.  Throw this all in the pot along with 1,000's of years of conflict and history  - just left me brain dead.  This may offend some people, but the whole thing seemed a little ironice and slightly amusing to me.  SUCH a small area of so much importance to so many people, it just seems absurd to fight over!  But this is the State of things, and within the irony of the situation, it is a sad reality.  Trust me, while the absurdity of the situation seems slightly amusing to some degree, a larger portion of me feels sad and disheartened to know that for all of the people who believe in these holy sites and hold them important that such measures are taken in fighting/hurting others for them.  I'm trying to avoid a political and/or religious debate on the matter but I felt I had to at least bring this part up. 
    In keeping with the same theme for a second longer, I did visit Bethlehem inside the West Bank.  Seeing the alleged birth and death places of Jesus in less than 24 hours is pretty crazy to think about.  Bethlehem is only 40 mins by bus from Jerusalem.  In fact, adding a geographical context to several important Biblical moments was one of the more incredible parts of my trip to Israel.  In one day you can walk in and around the Old City and see several important moments in Christianity (I'm sure the same can be said for Judaism and Islam, but I'm not as educated in these religions so I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about).  The tomb of King David, Room of the Last Supper, the place where Jesus "rested" before being arrested, the Via Dolorosa, etc.  The list goes on and on - and it's ALL right there.  Even if a lot of them are "alleged" sites, you can probably safely assume that it is at least somewhere in the very near vicinity. 

The wall that separates the West Bank and Israel

    I mentioned getting to Bethlehem from Jerusalem takes about 40 mins - not necessarily the case on the way back.  Safety checkpoint and the giagantic wall that separates Israel and the West Bank had a little something to do with this.  The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem was interesting, but the art/graffiti along the wall between Israel and the West Bank was far more interesting for me.  In the U.S. I feel like every other day you can read something about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  It seems as if the fighting has been going on since the dawn of time with no end in sight.  After a while, the news reports don't have that much affect on my thoughts or feelings - but man, going through the security check point and seeing the wall - well, it was literally a reality check.  Granted, no "conflict' occured while I was there, but you could easily still see the remnants of it. 
   Well, I feel as if I've written a small novel and still feel as if I've inadequately described what I've seen and done.  Such is often the case when trying to update you readers on what I've been up to.  This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what this trip has been like.  For the time being, I'm back in Amman, relaxing and saving a bit of money before I fly on to Turkey.  Over 8 months into my trip - less than 4 to go.  The closer to home I get, the more conflicted I become.  I'm excited to come home and see everyone and possibly have a semi-normal routine.  I'm also scared.  Looking for a job, finding a place to live, and most importantly, not necessarily having a 100% freedom to do what I want each and every day will probably take some getting used to.  It'll be a harsh reality, but if travelling has taught me anything, I know everything will work its own course, whether I like it or not.  : )   Go with the flow. 

January's Speedo Shot at the Dead Sea
The salt that got in my eyes
for this shot burned a LOT

Change of scenery

Today marks my last day in SE Asia.  After close to 2.5 months in SE Asia, I'm moving to a time zone closer to you.  Next stop, Amman, Jordan!  Yahooooo! 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Let's do a quick recap of my last 2 weeks or so as it ended up being quite hectic (mainly thanks to my root canal procedure putting me behind schedule).  Because of my rushed schedule, I spent about 2-3 days in each of the following places: Ho Chi Minh/Saigon, Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Siem Reap (Cambodia).  Average travel time on buses between each city - 8 hours.  Including all the sights, all the travelling, I managed to pack in quite a lot.  Some of you may have already seen the Cambodia pictures I posted on-line.  I believe some of them deserve a bit more explanation.  I was extremely captivated by the Cambodian people and their recent history.  I'm certain many of you have heard of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.  In 1975, Pol Pot and his regime established power in Cambodia.  Their mission: to rebuild Cambodia and take it back to "year zero."  In order to do this, they essentially went to war against everyone in the country and conducted a mass genocide nearly everyone.  Educated persons, foreigners, religious affiliated, etc. etc.  In less than 4 years of being in power (1975-1979) some 2-3 million died (murder, starvation, worked to death, etc).  A truly horrific time for the people of Cambodia.  The atrocities conducted by Pol Pot and those under him are almost unspeakable.  I visited 2 sites in Cambodia that brought me face to face with this hell on Earth.  In Phnom Penh (the Capital of Cambodia), a prison was set up called Tuol Sleng, or more commonly known as S-21.  Approximately 20,000 people were admitted to this prison.  Interrogated and tortured for confessions of their crimes nearly everyone who went to the prison never made it out.  Only 7 people survived.  Many of such prisoners were taken outside to what have been dubbed as the "killing fields."  Here, Khmer Rouge soldiers executed and murdered 1,000's of people and disposed of them into mass graves. I also visited this site.  I cannot express the profound impact both of these places had on me.  It's heartwrenching to know such events came to pass.  When walking around the killing fields, there are still pieces of clothing on the ground that has resurfaced from beneath the earth after floods.  There are also small pieces of bones and teeth still littering some of the area.  This realization hit me like a ton of bricks.  I couldn't take it anymore.  Both of these places weighed heavily on my heart.  My mind simply cannot fathom how a group of men and women could believe doing such things were a good idea.  I understand how people under the regime carried out orders in fear of their owns lives - but as for the people on top who made the commands - this I do not understand.  I learned a lot in Cambodia, but I still have much to learn.

Prison cell inside S-21, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

In spite of this devastating time, the Cambodia people never ceased to impress me with their happiness and quick smiles.  The average age for a Cambodian person is 23.  It's a bit strange to hardly see any older people.  Cambodia is an extremely fascinating place that I can't express in words.  Poverty, trash, "interesting" smells, new shopping malls filled with black market items, modern hotels being built, and a tenacious population of people with open hearts and smiles that make you feel welcome.  The have and have nots are very apparent, especially when you spot the occasional land cruiser going down the street in Phnom Penh.  I only spent 5 days in Cambodia.  Not nearly enough time.  There's so much more I want to share, but don't have the time at the moment.  I'll end my discussion of Cambodia with an interesting thing I was told by an expat living in Siem Reap.  For $100, you can shoot an RPG at a cow.  Things like this just give you the impression that you are in the wild west where the law is established by the amount of money you have.  No, I did not shoot an RPG at a cow.

Ta Keo Temple around the Angkor Wat area. 

I hope the New Year is treating everyone well so far.  Oh, and quick update about the root canal. I survived.  Things seem to be in working order.  Hopefully I won't have any other problems while I travel.  Just 4 more months - where has the time gone?

Mr. December

Can't believe I nearly forgot to post December's Speedo picture!  That was a close one.  This is another "old" one as I posted it on facebook quite some time ago.  I had to include it in the calendar at some point.  The photo is of me at the Loi Krathong festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

Vietnam and the Nightmare before Christmas

Seasons Greetings!
I have a lot on my mind today and a lot of experiences and insights to share.  The main reason I have a lot on my mind is because I've had more than enough time to do some thinking lately.  Why?  Well, the answer to that question brings you to my current predicament.  Root canal in Vietnam.

On the 22nd of this month I took a night bus from the city of Hanoi to Hue.  I woke up with a little bit of a toothache.  Didn't think too much of it.  Time travel two days into the future, my thoughts were very, very different.  By the time I arrived in Nha Trang (beach resort city in southern-central Vietnam) on the 24th, I immediately sought out a dentist to get myself checked out. With the help of some personel at Novotel, I tracked down a dentist that gave me a free X-ray.  Root Canal.  I did this all in the morning, and by the evening, I had gone back into the dentist to begin my root canal procedure.  Merry Christmas eve!



The procedure requires that I go into the dentist on 3 separate occasions over the course of a week.  I just finished step 2 and it was probably one of the more painful experiences of my life.  I'll be the first to admit that this whole ordeal has been quite rough on me.  I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my entire life for a procedure that probably isn't all that complicated nor one that is all that life threatening (ok, not life threatening in the least).  Still, given the circumstances of being in a foreign land, taking care of myself, taking a cab to the dentist back and foreth to my hotel, all the while during the Holiday season....well, not exactly what I was expecting.  It's moments like these that I wonder if travelling has toughened me up at all or if I'm just a wuss.  I suppose it's the small things that have stacked up against me in this situation that have really mentally defeated me (and now physically too).  When the business card of the dentist office has a picture of Britney Spears on it, "professional" and "quality assured"  aren't the first words that pop into your mind.  If that doesn't slightly put you on edge, walk upstairs in the office where the magic happens.  Before you is one large, open  room with 6 dental chairs side by side, not separated by anything.  Another thing I'm not used to.  Now, begin the procedure.  In my previous dental experiences, there's often at least two people working on you at one time (if it's something more than your basic cleaning).  One person to man the suction, water, and handing over of tools, the other to do the primary task at hand.  I should have more faith in my current dentist, because she's doing everything on her own, and no, she doesn't have any more hands or arms than the ordinary person.  The mind is a terrible thing.  Before she starts any of the work, I'm already defeated and am expecting the worst.  Step 1 wasn't horrible, but not great either.  Step 2, which I just finished today was nothing short of excruciating.  Call me a baby, call me what you will, I'm ready for this nightmare to be over.  2 more days.  So close, yet so far away.  I'll let you know when I look like Britney.



View (or partial view) of Halong Bay, Vietnam



Jump back two weeks or so to my arrival in Vietnam.  Before all the tooth troubles, I was having quite an amazing time.  I went to Halong Bay with a group of amazing travellers for 3 days.  Halong Bay is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places in the entire world.  It's a bay with drops of jagged, karst topography erupting out of the ocean.  Although it wasn't exactly clear blue skies while I was there, it didn't matter.  The scenery was still breathtaking.  I also made it to Sapa, which every since I read about it in my travel book became a personal must-see for me.  Sapa is a small town Northwest of Hanoi located in a mountainous area near the border of China.  Known for its rice terraces and Hmong people, Sapa did not dissapoint.  Being winter time, it isn't the ideal time to visit Sapa.  I nearly didn't go because by many reports from other travellers who had recently been there, the weather was cold, rainy, and fogged over, making my picturesque views nearly impossible to witness.  In spite of my recent bad luck, the sun shined for two entire days when I went to Sapa.  I couldn't have been more thankful.  Sapa reminded me a bit of Lao because it is rapidly expanding and changing as a major tourist destination.  The amount of building going on seemed unbelievable.  The Hmong villagers made the greatest impression on me as I walked around Sapa and the surrounding villages.  Everywhere you went in Sapa, Hmong women and other ehtnic groups became your shadow.  All trying to sell things by initiating conversation with a couple standard questions.  "Where are you from?  What's your name?  How old are you?  Where are you going?"   You can't exactly ignore them, but hearing the repeated questions over and over again, knowing what they are after gets quite exhausting.  To many, it would seem Sapa has been taken over by tourism and traditional ways of life have been completely abandoned.  These women come to town day in and day out trying to sell several different handicrafts.  It's a little distrubing and sad to see in a way, but in another I'm not entirely convinced that such change is for the worst.  I walked through a couple different villages and saw much of the same thing.  Every other house or building seemed designated for selling handicrafts and tourist items.  A small army of women and children followed you around everywhere you went, talking with you the entire time, probably hoping by the end of your visit that you would buy something from them.  I managed to be entirely cold hearted and not buy anything from any of them, but at the same time, I also managed to connect with a couple of them in a way that I didn't initially think was possible.  I asked them about their daily life, and selling things to tourists.  I asked how they all learned English.  I asked what they did before they sold things.  I asked them what life was like before all the visitors.  Was it better, was it worse?  Many I talked to couldn't answer the questions becuase they were too young to know.  For as long as they lived, they were used to making things and trying to sell them to visitors.  Other who did know didn't seem to mind.  While they said selling things could be quite difficult at times (as nearly EVERYONE is trying to sell something), they also said that their way of life had improved and become easier.  Thanks to tourism came more money.  With more money came more infrastructure and access to resources.  Water, electricity, etc.  Their way of life is changing so fast, but in spite of all this change I was encouraged by the fact that many of these villagers were still holding on to their language, style of clothing, and general culture that identifies them.  I'm no expert on any of this, so take all of this with a grain of salt.  Just my impressions after a quick 2 day, 1 night visit. 



The Army of Women trying to
sell you their handicrafts.
Difficult to resist, but not impossible



Sapa is not unlike many other places I've encountered on this road.  Once a rarely explored wonder now changing by the masses.  Of course, by visiting such a place I'm only further provoking such a change, but I've learned that such change is inevitable.  The world is becoming a smaller place each and every single day.  Yes, it is a little sad to see such hidden gems like Sapa transforming into a skyline of 5 star resorts.  But beneath the tourism and millions of women all selling very similar items there is still something more that does not change so easily.  Sometimes it's hard to find, sometimes you may not think it exists, but it is my firm belief that no matter where you go, the heart of a place lies in the heart of the people.  On the exterior, Sapa may seem like a dreadful place going the way of so many other overrun and over exploited destinations, but give it a chance, and give a further look, and I think you might be surprised. 



Rice Terraces in village near Sapa, Vietnam


Besides Sapa, I wanted to comment on another item that's really been turning my wheels lately.  I've encountered numerous people (mainly women) here in Vietnam who seem to be working on what most westerners would consider an ungodly work schedule.  My prime example at the moment is the young woman who works the night shift at my hotel.  Every single day of the week she works from 7 PM to AM.  She gets approximately 2 days off a month.  How much does she get paid a month?  $100.  The amount of work, dedication, and will of this woman (and several other people I've talked to) leaves me utterly speechless.  How does she do it?  How do any of them do it?  How does she even smile?!  What keeps her going? What makes her happy?!  The will of these people is beyond the strength of the strongest material known to mankind.  In the face of all it, it stirs up a number of different emotions inside of me.  Spoiled, pampered, babied - I feel humiliated in a way for ever complaining about anything in life.  Think about it - 7 days week, 12 hours a day, $100 per month.  I would be tempted to say that such a perspecitve has humbled me, but saying "humbled" in the past tense implies that I've been brought down to a certain level where the understanding might be mutual.  I am nowhere close to being thankful and humble enough for the things and joys I have in my life to compare myself to what she has to endure.  I'm humbled to a particular level, but I still feel inept and unable to truely understand what kind of life she leads and what she has to work for.  I know this is just one small thing in the world.  In reality there are thousands, if not millions, who have it even worse - no access to clean water, no food, living in war torn areas, etc. - the list could go on and on.  It's easy to forget these things, especially when it's nowhere near your daily movements - but because this has been staring me in the face for over the past 2 weeks, I thought I'd write about it to give you a friendly reminder:  Life sucks sometimes, but be thankful for what you have, you might be surprised how blessed you really are.  We enjoy an amazing standard of life in the western world.  Sure, it'd be easy to complain about a $1,500 root canal treatment, but take my word for it, even it is only $200 here in Vietnam, the`extra money at home is WELLLLLLLLLLLL worth the cost. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday - here's to a New Year, and a new smile like Britney's!


The transformation is nearly complete.  Bet
you can't guess which side I had the root canal.



Lao-Lao Land

For a second there, I thought I was doing a decent job of keeping this blog semi-updated. But seeing as I'm leaving Laos today, and that I haven't written a single thing about it yet indicates otherwise. Oh well, better late than never.

Pha That Luang Temple - Vientiane, Laos

I last left you readers in Bangkok where I departed ways from my sister Melissa on Nov. 25th. On the 26th, I arrived on the night train into Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Spent about 3 days there before heading to Vang Vieng (a city 4 hours north - more, less). Another 3 days there, and finally made it to the magical town of Luang Prabang, a winding, up and down, scenic, 6 hour drive north of Vang Vieng (give or take two hours depending on the number of bus breakdowns, number of accidents encountered, and bathroom breaks). I do indeed know this from experience. While this would seemingly be a very frustrating experience in most modern world countries, the rule of thumb in Laos is to not lose face by showing frustration, impatience, or any sort of anger. In this regard, the ever ubiquitous phrase "laid back Laos" reigns true in most circumstances. I don't know if it was because of my pre-conceived knowledge of the phrase, but immediately after arriving in Vientiane, even the motor cycles and mopeds seemed to move at a more relaxed pace. Not sure if that's a particularly relevant or real observation, or simply a factor of having lower speed limits. Take your pick.

Pha Yong Village, Laos

The last week, I've been blessed to meet up with an old family friend who has provided me with a wealth of experiences, knowledge, and personal memories that I will carry with me forever. As the in country director of a non-profit organization called "Pencils of Promise", Leslie and her group of workers have built and established approximately 15 schools in rural villages in their first year alone! I got to visit two such villages. One had a school that had been established and running for about a year. The other, celebrated the opening of the school in a very festive way. Two of my greatest experiences revolved around these village visits. The first village (Pha Yong) was located about 4 hours away from Luang Prabang. Riding in the back of a truck on a bench, a quarter of the experience was getting there, especially the last hour where we travelled on a bumpy,dirt road, occasionally driving through small creeks and traversing log like bridges. You got to love it when everyone has to get out of the vehicle in order for the truck to safely cross. : ) The 4 hour trip proved beyond rewarding. Tucked away in the hills and Mt's. of Laos, one could easily mistake the village for the mythical shangri-la. If the setting itself wasn't enough to win you over, wait til you meet the villagers and children.

Children of Pha Yong village

Upon I arrival, we were fed a feast of fresh fish, sticky rice, and some sort of shredded bamboo dish. After lunch, I spent the remaining daylight hours touring the village and playing with the children. At first, both the children and myself were a little shy. I haven't spent huge amounts of time with younger children, but as soon as you let yourself go they quickly follow suit. From playing games of chase, to dancing around, the children are an endless fountain of laughter and smiles. For how poor and simple the village lifestyle is, it knocks you flat on your ass to see how happy all the children are. And to see that they now have a more sturdy structure from which to study and learn inside is even more encouraging. To try and put some perspective on village life, they killed two chickens for us for dinner that night. This may come as no surprise to some, but maybe a huge surprise to others. Very rural, but oddly enough, maybe surprising in particular other regards as well. We're not talking stone age living here, but we're definitely not talking flat screen T.V.'s and wireless internet either.

If the trek out to Pha Yong seemed exciting, the trek back was even better. While on the dirt road, we picked up nearly every single person we came across and gave them a lift into "town." Haha, my personal favorite man we picked up brought on board a live porcupine in a wicker-basket that he had caught. Apparently porcupine meat is a delicacy here, so naturally the man was going into town to sell it at the market. Fresh as it gets. I just want to know how he managed to catch the critter.

The second village wasn't nearly as far away, but distance isn't indicative of the awesomeness of either place. This time around, I had the opportunity to witness the opening ceremony for a new school Pencils of Promise built. From another village feast, to blaring karaoke music, beerlao with ice (seems a little odd, but beer with ice does tend to grow on you after a while), and a couple shots of lao lao whisky (a backyard brew that can pack quite the bunch sometimes), not to mention dancing (described by Leslie as square dance, only Lao style), I had an incredible time. I particularly enjoyed the dancing because as a foreigner, I wasn't supposed to invite people to dance. Rather, I was expected to sit and wait until I was invited to dance. Thankfully, I was asked to dance on several occasions so my feelings weren't hurt. : ) Haha, the whole scene was very festive and everyone was having a great time. The most ironic thing though was that only the adults seemed to be celebrating even though the school was obviously for the kids. Back to the Karaoke real quick. When it comes to parties and Karaoke, Lao people mean business. They brought an entire truck load of equipment out to the village for the party - easily 6 speakers. And they weren't afraid to use it. I'm surprised I'm not deaf today.

The woman that made all my village visits possible, Leslie
Make sure to check out Pencils of Promise
on-line! And yes, that is a real monkey.

There's so much else I want to tell you about Laos, but I'm having a difficult time deciding what to inform you about and what to leave out. From the history concerning Hmong people and the Vietnam war, Unexploded ordinance, to the modern and huge influence of China - Laos is a country the is undergoing quite a bit of change in a very short amount of time (relatively). In Luang Prabang, China is paying for a new airport to be built, which will allow 747's to fly in. In Vientiane, there is a satellite city the Chinese government paid for and bought. The Mekong river is lower than it has ever been thanks to dams further upstream in China. And tourism and foreigners are becoming more and more common place everyday. I'm a perfect example of this. Although none of this is inherently bad, it's food for thought to see how much it will change Laos, its people, and its culture. If I were to return to Laos after 5 years, I'm confident the place would seem extremely different. The world grows smaller everyday. It is my hope that Laos can progress and advance in way that it isn't taken advantage of, but this may be difficult. I'm not exactly sure. Time will tell.

When you get the chance, try and find read up on Laos a little bit. It isnt' exactly the first place many of us think about when we look at other places around the world, but I'm fairly certain you'll be nothing short of fascinated.

Next stop: Hanoi, Vietnam. I'm taking a 10 hour bus back to Vientiane, and then another 24 hour bus to Hanoi. Yuck. The things I do to try and save money.

P.S. - if you are ever in Luang Prabang, make sure to eat at a place called "Smile Burger" - by far the best burgers in town. : )

Monkeys, Elephants, Festivals, oh my!

Loy Krathong Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hard to believe the 22nd of November is already upon us. In just 3 days, Melissa's fairy tale vacation comes to an end. : ( I use the term "fairy tale" lightly though as we both suffered from some sort of food poisoning about a week ago. It hit Melissa in the morning, half-way through her trip, and all I could think was "what luck" - especially since the only problem I've had my entire time travelling is an ear infection. However, what goes around comes around, and by the middle of the night that same day, the sickness came for me as well. Ironically enough, the next day marked my half-way mark (6 month anniversary) of travelling. Figures.


Last time we wrote, we were in the city of Ayuthaya. Today, we find ourselves in Chiang Mai, a city much further north. I find it a bit difficult to select some of the highlights between then and now, but I suppose I will choose a couple of my favorites and then Melissa will probably do the same.

Monkeys in Lopburi, Thailand

Lopburi: This city, best known for having monkeys inhabiting part of the city, provided 2 days of entertainment for us. Although we probably didn't need to spend this much time there, exploring places with a comfortable window of time makes everything seem less hurried and less stressful. The monkeys largely occupied only one of the temples in town and perhaps a block radius around it. Like a plague of locusts, they absolutely inundated the sidewalks, streets, telephone wires, and awnings overhanging the shops. Quite the sight to behold, when Melissa and I had to walk by, the word "gauntlet" repeated endlessly inside my head. They stared and walked beside us, looking as if they were ready to attack or jump on us at any moment. One evening, we went a fair distance away from our accommodation for dinner. The return journey would have required passage through the monkey's turf at night, not something I looked forward to at all. Luckily for us, we made some friends at dinner that night, and they ended up giving us a ride back to our place.

While no monkeys did anything to us while walking around the city, Melissa did manage to have one jump on her while inside the actual temple area (aka, their inner sanctuary). She tried posing next to one for a photo and the next thing you knew, one of them jumped on her purse. Naturally, she freaked out and the monkey immediately jumped back off. The only misfortune? My inability to capture the moment on my camera. : )

Elephant riding in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai: Before coming here, we toured the city of Sukhothai (another city with a million and one temples and ruins). It took us a bit longer to get here than we intended as our encounter with Dr. Sicko (just for you Byron) kept us grounded for a couple extra days. We had no intention of attempting to take a 5.5 hour bus ride in our current conditions at the time. We arrived here on the 19th. Since that time, we have gone riding on elephants, seen more temples, gotten our health back (for the most part), and biggest of all, experienced the amazing festival called "Loy Krathong." For the 11th full moon of the lunar calendar, they have a special "full moon" festival where they also celebrate the mother/goddess of the river and/or water. To celebrate, most places throughout Thailand make little boats out of Banana leaves and flowers and float them down a river with a candle and stick of burning incense. Chiang Mai does this, but they also do something unique to the rest of Thailand. They light paper-balloon like lanterns and send them off into the night sky to cast off evil spirits that the individual may have accumulated over the year. Aside from parades, fireworks, beauty contests, and just pure craziness, the balloons were by far my favorite part of the festival. Seeing the night sky dotted with hundreds of lit-lanterns is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

----------(Melissa now)---------

What to add? Jeff has done a good job of summing up our recent events. I guess I can tell you a little about Sukhothai and the Wats we saw there. We actually rented a bike for $1 for the day. The bikes were one speed fits all, and we toured the old city and ruins. We saw so many ruins, I can't even tell you the names of all of them right now. Our hostel had free bicycles for us to use. One night, Jeff and I set out for dinner, but they only had one bike left. Never fear, there was a bench-like seat on the bike, so Jeff got to do all the work, and I just held on. That was pretty fun, at least for me. :)

In Sukhothai, Thailand.  Somehow managed
to avoid getting hit.

Time for my version of the Loy Krathong festival. Although everything Jeff said is true, I just want to add in a few more things. From probably 7pm to past 11:30pm there was never a dull moment in the sky. Between the lanterns and fireworks, there was a constant and consistent party in the sky. It was beautiful! I think one reason this festival is so fun is it's not just about the tourists. It is a huge party for the people here, and thankfully, they are so happy to include the tourists. They want you to be a part in their celebration and it is a uniting feeling. The atmosphere that is created as I waited for my own, personal, balloon to fill up with enough hot air to rise was like a kid anticipating Christmas. With every balloon that is sent up, there are fireworks going off, and people cheering. It is a type of celebration in which I've never seen, and my words are a pitiful description of how magnificent it truly was.

One other thing I will comment about, and then I'll beg for pictures (but no video this time). One of the temples in Chiang Mai had a shaded garden connected to it. In the garden were little wooden street-like signs hung on the trees. The signs had quotes on them in Thai and English. Jeff and I wandered around this garden, escaping the heat for a bit and reading all these quotes. The only sound that I could hear were the monks chanting in the temple that we were at. It was such a calming experience and nice change from the bussle of the city.

I look forward to my return to the States for many reasons. To sleep in my own bed, to flush a toilet with a handle instead of dumping a bucket of water into the toilet, to brush my teeth with tap water, to not be sweating while I sleep, and I'm sure the list could go on. However, I will miss everything here, and I'm sad to leave. I will miss travelling and bonding with my brother, the tuk tuk drivers always wanting to give you a ride, the people welcoming you as family, the warmth of the sun at the end of November, the genuine excitement in the people about their festivals, the custom of taking off your shoes before going into stores and everywhere, the relaxation of having no plan...and THIS list could go on for even longer than the last. Most of all, I will miss the land of "smiling people," with hearts two sizes their hands.
 
---------------------------------------------------(Back to Jeff)-------------------------------------
 
I nearly forgot to post November's Speedo Picture!  A bit dated now, however it's still in front of a fairly iconic place in Singapore.  Ignore the man that got in the way.  I wasn't about to wait for him to get out of the way because I didn't know if I'd get in any trouble for wearing a Speedo in public in Singapore.  Better safe than sorry.

Happy November, and early Thanksgiving!

Guest Writer

Apparently I can expect a new wave of readers for a brief period of time.  Unbeknownst to me, my sister Melissa told people that while she was travelling with me that we'd be sharing this blog so that if someone wanted to read up about her, all they would have to do is look here.  Of course I have no problem with that, but a little heads up would have been nice - I mean, I might have to reevaluate what I'm going to write and how I'm going to say it now that I have a wider audience.  Who am I kidding?  I'm not going to sugar-coat anything for you.  That being said, let's discuss my personal favorite topic: bodily functions and the bathroom.  To put it somewhat politely, I've been going to that bathroom much less frequently than normal lately (we're talking 5 days straight at least).  I'm in no pain or anything, but one has to wonder, where the heck is it all going?!  If anyone can enlighten me on this topic I would greatly appreciate it. 

Muay Thai Match - swing and a miss

Alright new readers, now that we've been introduced, let's talk about what Melissa and I have been up to.  Our first couple days together we explored Bangkok where we did everything from going to a Muay Thai match (actually 8 of them for 3 hours, quite the extravaganza) to watching some 200 odd people do aerobics in the public park for 40 mins.  After Bangkok, we ventured down to the island of Koh Chang in the Eastern part of Thailand.  The bus ride itself came straight from the devil himself.  With a demonic baby on our left that never stopped screaming in its waking moments (what a horrible way to live right?) to the couple in front of us that couldn't go 5 mins without kissing each other - well, suffice it to say that 5.5 hours never felt so long.  I suppose things could have been worse, but for all my travelling experience lately, it hasn't been nearly that bad in a loooooong time.

Once on Koh Chang, Melissa and I managed to do nothing for about 3 days straight.  I suppose this a matter of opinion, but let's be honest folks, I woke up, slowly got out of our bungalow (literally, straw covered hut), walked down to the deck/lobby area where I soaked up the glorious shade and read a book.  By mid-afternoon, I'd grow hungry, walk 7 mins into "town", consume food and beverage(s), walk back, read more, lounge more, nap, fart, go the bathroom, read some more, walk up the hill to the bungalow, watch the sunset, walk back into town and now repeat the previous steps until bedtime (minus the sunset part).  Life's pretty difficult on the road sometimes, let me tell you.  Melissa is having a hard time adjusting to this schedule, but I suppose she'll tell you that (in her own words) in a bit.

Sunset from the front porch of our bungalow

We left Koh Chang by way of minibus to the city of Ayuthaya, the old capital of the Thai Kingdom.  Our minibus ride was phenomenal.  Either our driver tried out for the movie Crank or actually believed he was living out the storyline of "Speed."  Maniac-man wove between traffic and straddled the edge of the rode at intersections so that he could by-pass the line of traffic waiting for the light to turn green.  Haha, at one point, someone in the back seat even threw up.  Now, I can't be certain whether or not the driving was to blame or whether they were genuinely sick, but I think we can safely assume the driver didn't help the situation.  Ultimately, I suppose you just have to pick your poison.  Baby and couples from the 5th inner circle of hell conspiring against your sanity, or Mr. "life is a video-game" driver.  Haha, all part of the fun!

I've blabbed on long enough.  The title of this post is indeed "guest writer", so I suppose I ought to let her give her 2 cents.  Here she goes ------------

Hi all!!! Well, to start off, most of what Jeff said is true! We did however walk about 25min, one way, to a different beach in Koh Chang and that walk was HOT and hilly. It was beautiful though! Unlike Jeff, I also swam (instead of read) and played volleyball with a group of four Canadian guys. They have been friends since elementary school and are now travelling after college. Pretty amazing.

To continue on with our trip we have been seeing many Wat's in Ayuthaya. Wat's are temples, if you didn't know. We walked around the city today for probably 5 hours looking at different ones. All of them are amazing!!!!!! I won't say much about them, because they are things you just have to see, but I will tell you one story. Outside the Wat that holds the biggest Buddha in Thailand a young lady (about my age) was sitting there with a kid from the streets. She had given the kid an ear piece of her ipod, and they were listening to music together. The little guy (couldn't have been older than three) was just smiling and giggling, and holding onto her leg. It was really precious! He had clearly made a new friend and wasn't ready to let her go. Throughout our walk today the kids along the road would be so excited to see us, they'd stand up, yell something to get our attention, and just wave like crazy with the biggest grin on their faces. I once heard a quote that goes something like, "So many languages in the world, yet a smile speaks them all." It's been fun to see how true that is.

Melissa in front of Wat Chai Watthanaram

Okay, I'm sure this is getting pretty long, and I'm going to make Jeff add some pictures to help you see how amazing everything is. Thanks Jeff for letting me be a guest writer...(maybe if I'm nice I'll get one more post in before I return home). :)

This is the first and last video I will ever attempt to post.

It took about 3 hours to upload. I pray it works.

Melissa shot this video - before watching, pick your horse...

Red or Blue?