Daily journal entries from Nicole (with much help from Doris) follow:
Saturday 6/6/2009: It was a 5 am wake up call in Meadow Vista to begin the journey. Last minute prep and loading of the car and the drive to Los Altos was the first leg of the journey. This is where we left our car (to avoid paying for pkg at the airport for the month). From here Andy, Mik’s brother, drove us up to San Francisco Airport. We arrived with plenty of time (unusual for us but a nice way to start). Getting through security was a breeze, did a little lookie lou ‘duty free’ shopping, and then off to the gate. Time was flying by and we boarded on time.
We all sat side by side in the plane. We each had a book, ipod, pillow, and blanket. Obviously we had very limited space so we stuck with just the basics. Our departure was on time and again, a nice way to start. From SFO we flew to Tokyo, Japan. Total in air flight time was 11 long hours. Along the way we crossed the International Date Line so we arrived on Sunday afternoon at 4pm Japan time but it was about 2am Sunday morning Meadow Vista time. From here we had a 2 hr layover and then on to our final destination Bangkok, Thailand. Luckily, our departure was on time again. Another 6 hours in the air with arrival in Bangkok at about 11:30 pm Sunday night.
(9 cases of Swine Flu in Thailand so far.
Hoping it doesn’t go to 13 due to us!)
Found our luggage, the taxi stand, and finally another 40 min into town. Arrival at our hotel was at 00:30 (or 12:30 am), 85 humid degrees. The end result: 17 hours of actual in air flight time, and 30 hours elapsed time since our wake up call in Meadow Vista.
Itty Bitty Pink Thai Taxi
Grumpy, grungy, hungry, thirsty, disoriented, and experiencing a level of exhaustion incomprehensible to many, we collapsed on clean sheets in a air conditioned hotel room. This will probably be one of the nicest and most civilized places we stay on the trip so we better enjoy it. We will be staying in Bangkok for another 2 days to get a feel for the city.
Monday 6/8/2009: Lets get one thing clear early on so that there are no unrealistic expectations; we are not going to win any beauty contests on this journey. We have one backpack each and that is all. No frills is our motto which means we will not be our usual photogenic selves. You’ll have to deal with it.
It is currently a beautiful sunny day. Easy to appreciate from the air conditioned hotel room. It is about 9 am and we are ready to depart on our first days journey in the historic district of Bangkok.
WOW, our first day was unbelievable on so many levels. The excessive heat and humidity, traffic, Wats (temples), monks, culture, and overall diversity of this city. Statements like east meets west or old meets new just can’t begin to capture the cities character. I am hoping some of the photos we took can begin to paint a picture so we can both remember and share this almost indescribable experience.
So we left our hotel (walking out of the air conditioning was like walking straight into a brick wall!) and started negotiating with a taxi cab driver to get us to the historic district which is where the Grand Palace is. It is actually quite a long journey because Bangkok is a large city of about 10 million people. There are various modes of transportation, auto (taxi), bus, trucks, subway, train, motorcycles, motorbikes, bicycles, and tuk-tuks (pronounced ‘took-took’). The most popular forms for locals are buses, auto, and motorbikes (not motorcycles) and some locals also us the tuk-tuks. Autos are self explanatory, the motorbikes are mopeds, motorized scooters, or in rare cases a nice Vespa. The motorbikes dominate the roadways. They are like little buzzing nats, darting in and out of traffic and jocking for position at intersections (more on this later). We opted for the economical tuk-tuk which is basically a three wheeled contraption with a seat for three (luckily Kaycie is really small), a very low roof, open sides, and a driver with motorbike handle bars for steering (and the ever-present horn for honking), foot controlled gas, break, and clutch, and a stick shift between his legs. The engine is a glorified lawn mower engine, and probably two-stroke judging by the amount of smoke and odor they produce. The journey to the Grand Palace was very interesting and fun. These tuk-tuks maneuver in and out of traffic like no other. Tuk-tuks are definitely faster than a standard taxi cab and a lot more interesting and fun. A picture is worth a thousand words in describing the tuk-tuk.
Riding in a tuk-tuk
So we end up stopping a few times on our way and seeing a local wat where we learned a little about Buddhism and their daily practices, Wat Saket (the Golden Mount) and went by the United Nations building. At the local Wat (Wat Mongkhut) we were fortunate enough to run into a gentleman who was a teacher at the adjacent school and had lived in the U.S. for 3 years so his English was pretty good.
Photo with teacher/guide
We learned that every Thai male must live as a monk for a minimum of 7 days anytime after they are 21 years old and before they marry. It used to be a 3 month requirement but after Thailand became more westernized/competitive (materialistic and more focused on their earning potential) they had to change the requirement. Males can commit themselves to the minimum 7 days, 3 months, 1 year, or a lifetime of service. They walk through the city every morning with baskets collecting their food for the day. Offering food or other everyday supplies (toothbrushes, soap, etc) to a monk is what the Thai people call ‘merit-making.’ They believe this will bring them closer to Buddha or gain good graces. The monks eat breakfast and lunch only and then practice Buddhism the rest of the day. We also learned that Thai women are highly revered and are the dominant partner in marriage (decision makers) because their role in raising children is highly valued.
By now it is approaching 1 p.m. local time and the heat and humidity are dominant factors in our overall discomfort as we approached the walls of the Grand Palace (only 90F but with humidity the “real feel” was about 108 degrees I believe). Prior to entry, you have to pass muster with the “fashion police” at the main gate. No bare legs or shoulders. Many women have to purchase a sarong (plenty of options from street vendors right outside the gate) before entering. We were prepared with our lovely, while NOT fashionable highly functional, zip-off hiking pants. It was almost painful to endure, often on the brink of passing out due to dehydration, scorching temperatures, lack of energy (not much to eat), and exhaustion; but in the end it was well worth it. I have no words to describe this place other than it is probably the most visibly beautiful and awe inspiring site we have ever experienced. The level of detail is indescribable. The temples are decorated with different colors of mirrored glass and tile, some made with gold leaf. The buildings are huge and the entire outside is a colorful glinting mosaic. Most of the temples had little bells lining the roofline and it was luckily breezy because the constant chime was almost dreamlike. The area/grounds have multiple architectural influences including Italian, French, British motifs. All maintained to perfection.
Photos of Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
The Wat Phra Kaew is the royal chapel or “Temple of Holy Jeweled Image” or frequently called “Temple of the Emerald Buddha,” is one of the most revered by the Thai people and it was no wonder why. The Buddha inside is carved purely out of jade and sits on top of a huge gold alter in the temples main hall. The Buddha is clothed in seasonal robes and the changing of the robe is an important ritual performed by the king. We knelt in this temple for about 30 minutes witnessing the Thai people worship. By the way, before entering any temple (or bot), all must remove their shoes, then enter and kneel. Your feet are considered dirty and cannot be pointed in the direction of Buddha. Just another interesting cultural tidbit for anyone interested in visiting a Buddhist temple!
So by now we are exhausted (mostly from the stifling heat, humidity, and lack of food) and ready for our trip back to our hotel. Oh, Oh, Oh, what an unexpected surprise. Again we began by negotiating with a tuk-tuk driver (anything is negotiable here). At this hour it was a bit more difficult and we soon figured out why. The heat was oppressive and the traffic was beyond anything we have experienced in Paris, Rome, London, or any other equally large city. I think some of it was the ‘style’ of driving. First of all, picture 5-6 lanes of traffic in each direction. Lane lines are painted on the pavement but are clearly meant only as a guide if and when it is convenient. When traffic is moving (even if only for 10-20 feet of progress), speeds are fast and the term maneuvering takes on a whole new meaning. Compound regular car traffic with busses and trucks and the challenge is still manageable. Then add the tuk-tuks and motorbikes; lots of tuk-tuks and hundreds of motorbikes. Now picture an intersection with 4-6 points of entry, 3-6 lanes of traffic in any given direction, add a little rush hour aggression and viola! You have one of the most interesting driving experiences to be had. I have new found respect for Asian drivers. The motorbikes all maneuver as close as possible to the front of any intersection weaving (I’m talking going completely sideways to squeeze through spots) between cars, trucks, busses, and tuk-tuks. The tuk-tuk drivers (wider that a standard motorbike) perform the same acrobatics, only they need more space. The tuk-tuks also have a tendency of doing whatever they please like going into lanes of oncoming traffic, making U-turns in the most precarious situations etc. Until complete grid lock occurs, each time you approach an intersection this same dance is performed. When the light finally changes, it is a moment to behold. The stifling heat, exhaust, and general mayhem at first was amusing, then became overwhelming. Although most drivers shut off their engines while they wait for a light to change, the pollution and heat soon became unbearable. The bus and truck diesel exhaust, two-stoke engines, and general gas fumes soon caused nausea and throat pain. Plan B was required. Or driver was trying to suggest Finally we opted to go in the opposite direction of our hotel and across the river to catch the Bangkok Transit System (BTS) or “skytrain.” The trains were very crowed with locals commuting but were air conditioned and moving. All in all, our time in Bangkok would not have felt complete without the rush hour experience. Having said that, we will be avoiding ground transportation during rush hour for the duration of our stay in Bangkok.
A quick Thai dinner and back to our hotel for showers and bed. Complete exhaustion sums it up.
Tuesday, 6/9/2009: Oh what a FABULOUS day. Luxurious is not the word that comes to mind to describe today, but definitely fabulous. We explored the Bangkok canals (klongs). In the 1600s, regular structures on dry land were built for royalty and ordinary Bangkok residents lived on water, in bamboo raft homes, or on boats. As travelers started coming to Bangkok, it became known as “Venice of the East.” It wasn’t until the 1800s that non-royal houses were built on dry land.
Thai Long-tail Boat
We wanted a look at traditional Thai life so we decided to hire a “long-tail” boat and explore the canals. We saw Thai people bathing and washing clothes in the canals and ramshackle huts on stilts made with 100-year-old framework, about to tumble into the river. A photo can only bring some of the feel of the experience, to truly experience this part of Thai life, you would need the photo to be a scratch and sniff.
Life on the canal
Snake wranglers in the canals of Bangkok
We also visited Wat Arun and Wat Po. Both were amazing. Wat Arun is 260 ft high with stairs that are indescribably narrow and step and much more difficult to get down than up. The Wat is spectacular and the view of the city from the top was worth the climb.
Wat Arun
Wat Po is also known as the “Temple of the Reclining Buddha.” The Buddha is 140 ft long and 50 ft high. Photos can not do this temple or the surrounding area justice. It was really beautiful.
Wat Po
Reclining Buddha at Wat Pro
Paying respects in a Wat Po temple
The day flew by and somehow it was commute hour again. We took another river boat down river to our “skyway” train stop to avoid the gridlock on the streets. We ended up on the commute ferry, and then on the commuter train. Both were packed and it was an additional true Thai experience.
By the time we got back near our hotel, we were starving. We walked to a local restaurant and had a great Thai meal. By the way, the expression “Thai hot” takes on new meaning here. It is more appropriately used to describe the stifling temperature heat versus the heat (spice) of the food. Another wickedly hot day ended with showers and pool time. Priceless.
Wednesday, 6/10/2009: This is our last full day in Bangkok. We will be through it several more times during out trip, but only because it is a major hub for air travel in this area.
I just love this city. I think it should be called the “City of Contrast.” How modern and westernized the new areas are in contrast with the old areas is amazing. Since it is our last day to explore this wonderful city, I would like to capture some of the contrast on “film”. I expect it will be a very long day. We have no specific plans for the day except to experience more of the city and the people. We also have to pack up and leave our current hotel today and move to a hotel next to the airport because tomorrow’s flight departs at 6:15 (a.m. in the morning!).
As expected, it was a very long day but consensus is, it was our favorite so far. After packing up and leaving our backpacks in storage for the day, we went out exploring. We had all agreed we were ready to try ‘street food’ today. It always smells so good, all the locals eat it, and it is unbelievably CHEAP. Rule number one… make sure any meat products look familiar (clearly identifiable as chicken or pork, etc.). We didn’t quite follow this rule and divided two very small pieces of sausage. It was very sweet, spicy & tasty and we seemed to have survived. There was also rice with this seasoned fried egg. It was all yummy but it was clear this is not standard behavior for westerners. The locals were very helpful as we stumbled through trying to explain what we wanted. We felt very welcome even though there was no English spoken just a lot of pointing and smiling. It must have been novel for everyone as we got lots of stares and smiles from the street vendors and even some tourists walking by.
From here we went and sat at a very important shrine (containing the deity Brahma, four sided “image”) located on the corner of a busy intersection. We stayed here for about an hour and watched the locals come worship and make offerings of incense and flowers. The smell was intense and the flowers were intricate arrangements sold at the street vendors directly outside the worship area. The flower vendors are there all day everyday making these arrangements. Some are very small with a lot of detail and color and others are larger like a wreath. There were also traditional Thai dancersand music. It is a sight to behold.
Next we decided to venture back down to the river area were the main Bangkok flower market is. This is where all the flowers come in everyday for the city. Flowers are commonplace here and a big part of local offerings to Buddha at all of the Wats (and there are Wats EVERYWHERE). We were told by our taxi driver that the market is much better in the early morning, when all the flowers are just arriving, but we decided to go anyway. Upon arrival, we were in awe at the number of vendors, quantity and quality (given the heat) of flowers. Several blocks were lined with street flower vendors, so many that it was difficult to walk among them. There were familiar varieties like orchids, roses, marigolds, lotus, stratus, daises, bird of paradise, carnations, sunflowers, and so many others whose names were not familiar but were exquisitely beautiful. Off the side allies and into warehouses, flowers, flowers, and more flowers! I can’t imagine what the morning would look like. We walked around and tried to comprehend the quantity and beauty and stumbled into the produce market. This is where the local markets and restaurants pick up supplies of fresh produce. We walked through huge warehouses full of vendors with every kind of produce imaginable (some very unfamiliar to us), but another sight to behold. Beautiful large baskets filled with goods. So many colors and so many smells – mostly good (far better than the canals and dried fish market we went through!). The biggest drawback was the humidity. All the moisture from the flowers and produce in a very cramped area was almost stifling. One of the best parts was that we were the only westerners we saw. All Thai folks here. It was fabulous, even with extensive gawking.
We continued our adventure by heading into Bangkok’s Chinatown and a new set of sites, sounds, and smells to process. The alley ways between the major streets were teaming with street vendors selling every electronic part imaginable, new and used. I think every dysfunctional Radio, VCR, DVD player, etc from throughout the world ends up here. There seemed to be thousands and thousands of them being refurbished and sold. There were also car parts, motorbike parts, and the main streets were lined with jewelry stores. Really an odd combination of stuff, but clearly what you would come to this part of town for. Again, no other westerners.
Now for the most amazing part of our day, trip actually. During our unmapped, ‘lets see where we end up’ walking tour, we stumbled upon yet another beautiful Wat. This one was not identified in any of our books or guides as ‘one to see’ but it caught our attention. Anyone is welcome to enter a Wat (with proper attire and no shoes of course) so we decided to take a peek in and see the grounds. Little did we know we had stumbled upon some ceremony and were currently witnessing the ‘head monk’ bless or pay homage to Buddha for something. We were quickly shuttled in and welcomed by all (again, no other westerners). We were offered food and drink, a table to sit at and the most fantastic company. The drinks were interesting, the food was fabulous, and the company was incredibly memorable. Keep in mind we have been out walking the streets for hours by now and we are very sweaty (rank by our own admission), dressed like western travelers/backpackers, and generally unkempt. The Thai folks were all nicely dressed and the monks in their ceremony robes. At first we were invited to sit at a large table where no one else was sitting (seemed smart on their part). An older couple came and sat down with us and they both spoke English fairly well. Throughout our conversation we learned many things; they had a home in western Bangkok and a farm 200km west of Bangkok near the river Kwai (of the movie “Bridge Over the River Kwai” fame), their names were Sunan and Varin. He was a retired neurosurgeon who was educated in Bangkok and trained in Alberta, Canada, and the most interesting and amazing tidbit, the ceremony we were invited to observe was for Sunan’s bothers’ promotion to ‘head monk!’ What are the odds!!?? [Disclaimer: we mean no disrespect when we say ‘head monk’ we just do not know the correct terms.] Varin took Kaycie into the monks’ living quarters to get a bag of the fruit they grow on their farm. It is called Mangosteen (pronounced Mengo-steen and not related to mangos at all).
We all shared a big bag of the juicy, sweet fruit with the white flesh. From here we walked around the monastery some more and met up with the original monk who had invited us in at the beginning of the ceremony. We chatted for quite awhile about the teachings of Buddha and our travels. He wished us a safe continued journey. The photos are worth looking at for this part of the journey, but the way we felt I can’t explain. Today’s experience will be difficult to top. Somehow it is 7:30 p.m.
From here we walked back to the river to catch a water taxi (all Thai commuters), then to the ‘skytrain’ (again, all Thai commuters), and then by foot back to our hotel of the previous few nights to pick up our backpacks and make our why to the airport hotel. The airport hotel was another interesting experience but I will save that for tomorrow.
Thursday, 06/11/2009: Okay, we are really tired and grumpy. We arrived at the hotel last night only to find out they book rooms in increments of hours (4, 6, or overnight). Our arrival put us at a 7 hour stay (9 p.m. to 4 a.m.) so we rested in the lobby and napped on pool lawn chairs for an hour to save about $30 (difference between a 6 hr stay and overnight, you can call us cheap or resourceful). My parents originally contemplated staying in Bangkok a little later and just ‘resting’ in the airport before catching our 6:15 a.m. flight… so we didn’t complain. A shower for each of us was critical at this point and a bed, if only for a few hours, sounded heavenly. A few hours just weren’t enough. We are currently in route to Bali, Indonesia and are all VERY tired.
Bali is a 6 hour flight south of Bangkok, just a little north of Australia. I think the plan for the afternoon in Bali is sleeping on a beach. We reserved a hotel for tonight, but after that we have to figure out where we are going. More later.
Thursday through Friday 06/12/2009: Bali - Arrival in Bali resulted in 26 HOURS of complete, almost shameful BLISS as we splurged and for the first night are staying in a nice Conrad beach hotel. The only non-blissful moments were the team laundry effort we accomplished upon arrival, and my eleven mosquito bites (Kaycie got nine). Even though we are all on anti-malaria meds, we feel lucky Bali is considered a malaria free zone. Our laundry endeavor was completed in our 5-star bathtub, with heavily scented laundry detergent, and human agitators. While the effort did not result in 5-star clean, it did result in functional clean. We have great appreciation for the turn-it-inside-out and get another day out of it philosophy while traveling. We have come to the conclusion that there are certain places in the world that this approach just doesn’t work. The climate here rules out this approach as an option. A scratch and sniff photo here could be lethal.
Back to the shameful BLISS. Beautiful room, huge pool, fabulous beach, and the food and service were the best we have ever experienced in all our travels. The Balinese are amazingly service oriented people and SO VERY HAPPY. We had heard this about Bali but could never have imagined the feeling of genuine pleasure they seem to take in every task and every gracious moment. They are incredibly friendly, pleasant and inviting. Initially we all felt uncomfortable with the level of attention (very attentive, but never overbearing). We soon came to realize how much pleasure they seem to take in working and conversing with others. I think we all agree the Balinese are some of, if not the most content people on this earth.
While our stay at this swanky western hotel was very pleasurable and provided for some much needed rest and relaxation, this type of hotel can be found on any beautiful beach anywhere in the world. So off we go inland, to a small village town in Bali called Ubud (pronounced OO-BOOD).
First, a little perspective may be in order: Bali is a small island located in the center of Indonesia’s vast archipelago, with a total area of about 2000 sq miles (very small). There are volcanic mountains, deep river gorges, and white sand beaches that line the coasts. There is lush vegetation and Bali’s famed terraced rice farms. Over 90% of the population is Hindu and religion plays into every facet of life. The importance of karma is significant here. We have come to conclude karma has a lot to do with how well we are treated. The Balinese genuinely take pride and pleasure in making others happy and to make another happy is believed to provide better karma for their next life.
Recall some recent history. In 2002 the terrorist bombing in the Kuta area in Bali killed 202 people. Tourism was just rebounding when terrorist struck again in 2005, killing only 20. Suicide bombers were used in both incidents in two highly touristed areas. Realizing that terrorism is a modern-day problem we have decided to come and visit and experience this grand place. Having said that, we will not be visiting the really touristy areas (they are not our cup of tea anyway).
So we hired a car and driver (very cheap and common here) to take us from Nusa Dua to Ubud. For a car and driver for about 8 hrs is less than $40 USD. They will take you whereever you want to go, wait as long as you choose to ponder a sight or shop in a store, or visit a temple, and then be ever so gracious and pleased that you are happy and with them. We learned so much about the area, culture, Balinese customs, and people from our driver. His name was Wayan (pronounced like Elmer Fudd saying Ryan) and his English was good enough for us to understand al least 75% of what he was trying to say!
The Balinese are famous for their carving and woodworking skills. They are master craftsmen and Wayan took us to a working shop where we saw some incredible pieces from small sculptures to beautiful room screens and unbelievable sets of furniture. They carve mostly in mahogany, crocodile, teak, ebony, hibiscus, and sandalwoods. Wayan assisted us in selecting a carved statue of Dewi Saraswati (Goddess of Art and Learning). Wayan’s assistance was imperative because each piece must have the right ‘spirit.’ The spirit is a feel the Hindu get regarding the type of wood, blessing of the wood, timing of the carving, and overall feel the carver gives each piece. We all wished we could have some comprehension of this zen feeling that seems so prolific throughout the population here. What a truly peaceful people.
Now we are in Ubud. We arrived after dark so we will have to explore tomorrow, but we did manage to have time for a wonderful meal at a “warung” (small café) before we went to bed. We had an abundance of fabulous food for less than $15 USD for all 4 of us! We are staying in an open air glorified hut in the middle of jungle. We do have our own ‘private bathroom’ which consists of a flushing toilet (yeah!), sink and a shower hose complete with a gravel floor. More tomorrow.
Saturday, 06/13/2009: Bali - We are officially one week into our journey. This morning began with a sunrise walk into the nearby terraced rice fields… Ahh beautiful. The rice growing process here is an art form. The pictures you may have seen of men wearing the triangle hats with bare feet mixing in fertilizer (poop) and planting rice in vast terraced paddies – still practiced here. Small huts with beautiful, well cared for cows dot the landscape. Large flocks of ducks are herded from paddy to paddy. There are so many ducks the quacking sounds like a swarm of bees. The ducks are herded by men waving long bamboo poles with bags on the ends. The purpose of the ducks one might ask… natures’ pest control (they eat the bugs) and natures’ fertilizer (they poop in the paddies). An ancient and simple approach, yet highly functional.
From here we walked back to the Ubud Sari Health Resort and our open air hut. We settled in for our breakfast consisting of fresh yogurt with honey, coffee/tea, and a pancake. All yummy but we Bajka’s can put some food away and this just seemed to stimulate our appetites. There are a bunch of tree huggin, yoga guru types staying here from Australia. Lots of Australian’s here in Bali actually.
Okay, so after breakfast we went to the Monkey Forest Temple. It is a complex of small temples in a jungle of trees forming the typical canopy only in this case, the trees are loaded with monkeys (macaques). No fence, no cages, just monkeys running a muck! Some/most are ill-tempered, but still very photogenic. They were swinging from branches and doing cannonballs into a pool of water. They even swam underwater. So far it doesn’t sound too exciting right? Well truth be told, it got downright scary at times. These monkeys are EVERY WHERE. Large males, aggressive females with newborns, invincible teenagers, and toddlers all clambering after any food items humans may have been stupid enough to bring with them. They can smell any thing edible and will jump on you and start looking through your pockets. Funny story, my mom was holding some ‘Sting-eze’ stuff for mosquito bites. It is a small yellow container and a monkey saw it and decided he wanted it. After a split second period of wrestling with the monkey (and a show of teeth - the monkey not my mom), she let it go. These monkeys get really pissed off and gang up on us humans. This got serious fast even with the help of some Australians passing by. It took us another 30 minutes chasing one monkey around to get the ‘Sting-eze’ back. Fortunately, even though he gnawed on it for a while he didn’t break through the plastic.
We stayed at the Monkey Forest longer than expected because it was really very entertaining. We particularly enjoyed watching the ‘newbies’ enter the forest because even though there are signs that say do not bring food in, there are local street hawkers that sell bunches of bananas at the entrance. The monkeys pretty much maul unsuspecting ‘newbies’ and they consistently squeal and shriek no mater what nationality. Really entertaining for us! After we were finished we did a little shopping on our walk back to our hotel, had a quick bit of yogurt and fruit, and went out to watch a Balinese dance production at the royal palace. It was all great. Back home again, showers and bed.
Sunday 6/14/2009: Bali - Another early morning to the rice fields. We had met another Wayan yesterday who also provided driving services. FYI, tradition here is for the 1st and 5th sons are traditionally named Wayan, resulting in 2 of our 4 drivers being named Wayan. This new Wayan took us for a hike through some rice fields and terraced rice fields, then back to our ‘hotel’ for our breakfast and packing up. We all got along very well during our hike and Wayan invited us to a cremation ceremony that afternoon. It was for the holy man named (wait for it…..) Wayan in his family so it was going to be a special cremation ceremony. Hindu believe in reincarnation and that the path to the next life begins at cremation. It is a celebration not a time for mourning. We were honored to be invited so we accepted and Wayan picked us up again including our luggage and we were off to the ceremony. We all had to wear sarongs (purchased an hour ago at the local Ubud open air market). It was hot and a group of men in sarongs and head dress carried the casket on an ornate funeral tower that is about 15 ft tall. It is decorated beautifully and carried on numerous large bamboo poles for several kilometers through town in a procession of hundreds of people dawned in their “Sunday best”. At the end of the route, there was an open field with a large papier-mâché (I think) dragon looking thing (the god Garuda I’m told). Once the body arrived on the tower, it was removed by walking the casket/box down a ramp, then the body was removed from the casket and placed in the papier-mâché dragon. Long story short… lots and lots of Balinese here to witness the cremation ceremony and us; we kind of stood out but everyone was very nice. There was also another person being cremated at nearly the same time and in the same area. They all use a portable tank of propane gas to get the fire VERY hot. The temperature was well over 1000 degrees F and we continued to watch this process for about 1 ½ hours. Sounds grotesque but you can actually see the body while it burns. The skull and torso were often visible. It was all very interesting and really quite amazing. It is a very open (anyone can come), non-sterile process that would/could never take place in the US. Once the body is burned to the point of becoming ash and boney bits, the remains are given to the family and brought to the sea. All Balinese cremations result in the ashes being deposited into the sea. Only the very poor can not afford to be cremated shortly after death and must be buried. There are mass cremations to minimize costs and ensure each person’s spirit is reincarnated. It is all quite peaceful and soothing really.
After the cremation ceremony, Wayan took us to the volcanic mountain town of Danau Batur. It is a small village on the edge of the crater on one of Bali’s two volcanos. We got a hotel in Batur for the night and offered to get Wayan a room also but he chose to drive back home (over an hour) and come back to pick us up in the morning. By this time we are all getting along famously and had decided to hire Wayan to drive us for another day. We had a nice dinner at the Lakeview restaurant with entertainment (watching a couple of large rats scurrying around the rafters above our heads (Ratatouille anyone?).
Monday, June 15, 2009: Bali - Early to rise and watch the sunrise over the beautiful crater lake at the top of Mount Batur - Spectacular. It was reminiscent of a lake set in the Swiss Alps. Shower, organize and breakfast. Also amusing as while we ate we got to watch a couple of monkeys monkey-ing around the deck overlooking the “alpine” lake. We then took a brief walk around town. We quickly realized the street hawkers here are exceptionally aggressive and decided to just take a few pictures and go back to our hotel and wait for Wayan before our trip east to the coast. He was early, so it all worked out fine.
Wayan suggested a stop at the Mother Temple (Pur Besakih) 3000 ft up the flanks of Bali’s tallest Volcano, Gunung Agung. The temple and setting were unreal. The reason it’s called the Mother Temple is that it is the oldest (8th century) and grandest temple, not just on Bali but in all of Indonesia. All family temples that are scattered throughout Indonesia owe their origins to this one temple. Every good Hindu is required to visit Pur Besakih at least once per year. It’s spread out over a vast area with 35 different family temples situated at multiple elevations, all with the mountain as a beautiful back drop. We happened to be there while there was a “post cremation” ceremony going on so we had to be respectful and stay out of their way.
A few observations: the dogs in Bali are ‘street dogs’ and are some of the mangiest looking animals we have ever seen. The rabies problem is still confined to the capital of Denpasar so we weren’t overly panicked, although there were a few specimens that caused concern. There are rats, bats, monkeys, chickens, roosters, cats, mangy, mangy, street dogs, an abundance of flies and mosquitoes, and Bali is still amazingly beautiful. Bali is not a technology mecca and WiFi is the exception more than the rule. Families here live with the very basics, have very little money, and are still some of the happiest people we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Many family homes have several generations living in them, some with VERY primitive amenities. Today we witnessed rice paddies being tilled by hand, rice being cultivated by hand, the plants being hit against wood slats and the rice then collected and dried on woven mats. We also witnessed laundry being dried on the side of the road (literally lying on the grass on the side of the road), children (whole families) being transported on motorbikes, some with helmets some without, and truckloads of laborers being transported in open trucks with the men standing pressed together in the bed with wooden slats holding them in. All difficult to comprehend from a westerners’ perspective, but it seems to work here. One thing we witnessed several times and it was disturbing each time, was small children on motorbikes in cities that were strapped to a parent (usually the driver) with a scarf or sarong, or worse, an infant in a cloth baby carrier or sarong strapped to the mother while she was driving the motorbike – often with another one or two children on the bike behind her. It is amazingly primitive in many parts of Bali, mostly the true Bali. Sadly, visitors can come to Bali, stay at the large resorts on the beaches and never see any of this or get a feel for the Balinese people or life. We think this approach to visiting Bali would be a tragic loss and would not trade our experience here for the best beach time ever. We only had that one first day of pampering here and now, I think we almost regret that. The best part of our Bali experience was the people we met, like out Wayan driver, and the beautiful parts of the island that few tourists experience.
We paid Wayan a total of 70,000 Indonesian Rupiah (~$70 USD) for 12 hours of his time. This was probably twice what we could have negotiated and $20 more than we had agreed to and we thought he was going to cry. He was so incredibly grateful that it is difficult to describe. We also promised him we would recommend him on travel forums and create a web site for him to help advertise his driving/tour services. He has just recently learned how to use some basic capabilities of the internet and now has an email address, which he checks once a week at an internet café in Ubud where he lives. He does not own a computer and his uncle and father helped him buy the car he drives for his taxi business. His English is fairly good, but he worked on getting better the entire time he was with us. He lives in a small home with his grandmother, father, mother, sister, wife, and his two children. His father tends a rice paddy and for his wages is allowed to keep ½ of the rice grown on the paddy. They use all of it for food for the family, there is none to spare for sale. His wife works at a small restaurant in Ubud and they are all very happy. He is a wonderful man and we enjoyed his company and driving services very much. He also loves Bob Marley and had several cassette tapes that some American guests gave to him several years ago. We had plenty of Bob Marley tunes playing while on our tour of Bali with Wayan. He gave us all hugs goodbye tonight and said he would remember us always in his heart (we believe him and we will remember him as well).
Absolute perfection except for…
I think we are all feeling a little stomach yuk, especially Kaycie. She had terrible stomach pain the other night which is why we all had yogurt for dinner. We have been drinking nothing but bottled water, brushing our teeth with bottled water, no salads, etc. but all seem to be feeling some weird stomach stuff anyway. Kaycie even very neatly (and elegantly) puked twice in poor Wayan’s car this evening. All well contained, just miserable. Yeah, we seem to have gotten some GI bug somewhere along the way… with great potential for the situation to get worse before it gets better in the next two weeks of travel! Luckily, we all came equipped with a healthy dose of antibiotics for just such an emergency.
We now will fly back to Bangkok tomorrow but from there we have no plans. Hopefully tonight we will figure something out… like flight arrangements and a place to stay in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Good Night and hopefully we will have some internet access once or twice in the next week!
Tuesday, 6/16/2009 – Bali to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand):
Up and out early to catch our taxi (taksi) to the airport. My dad was up until 3 a.m. downloading and sorting pictures and trying to arrange flights from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) for tomorrow. Unfortunately, as we have come to find out (live and learn), you cannot book a flight on-line within 24 hours of departure. OOPS! So for the rest of the trip, we will try and plan our flights more that 24 hours in advance (sounds easy… but the lack of internet capability here actually makes this challenging). As the Bajka luck would have it, we were able to book our flights at the Bali airport. So I am currently on a plane from Bali to Bangkok, then a layover in Bangkok for a few hours, then another 1.5 hour flight to Chiang Mai. We expect to arrive in Chiang Mai around 10 p.m. tonight. There are several Elephant Camps nearby Chiang Mai and we are hoping to go visit one and possibly see some of the “Hill Tribes” living in the region. Chiang Mai was the original capital of Thailand so it also has an abundance of amazing temples.
We are flying Air Asia on these ‘little hops’ which is basically Asia’s Southwest Airlines. So far it seems to be working out. Definitely no frills (you even have to pay for water), but we are getting to our destinations safely. There have been several episodes of turbulence on every leg so far, but we understand this is VERY common here with the humidity and frequent periods of torrential rain. So far, we have been very lucky on weather. Just a few downpours in Bangkok where we had to take cover for 10-15 minutes. Not bad. I doubt we will be able to maintain this lucky streak though.
As the day progressed, my dad got started feeling sicker and sicker. Probably has something to do with the lack of sleep. By the time we arrived in Bangkok he was on his second dose of motrin and we found out we had to pass through a thermal scanner before we could enter Thailand. Luckily the second dose of motrin was kickin’ in, because the scanner beeped as he went through but I guess the level didn’t present major concern. We are surprised and impressed by the diligence at the Asian airports so far with regard to the H1N1 flu. Many of the flight crew wear masks as do a large percentage of airport staff and civilians. We have to fill out a health questionnaire for each arrival destination and in this case, pass through the thermal scanner when entering Bangkok, as do all international flights. While waiting in Bangkok for our connecting flight, we popped into Boots (UK drug store/pharmacy). We had expended extra effort to acquire antibiotics before we departed on this trip and presto… anyone can buy Zithromax, Cipro, Agmentin, etc over the counter here! They also sell a generic equivalent for Ambien and some other highly desirable goodies.
Well it is now 9 p.m. and we have completed the next leg of our flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. Total number of hours flying so far this trip, 29. We are currently at our hotel and my dad is really ill so we are all off to bed early.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009: My dad is REALLY, REALLY sick. My mom is also, but from the sounds of it, it is not the same thing. Mom, Kaycie and I went to breakfast, arranged to have some laundry done by the hotel staff (yeah! Maybe it will smell better) and then came back to the room hoping my dad would be able to go out with us for the day. No such luck. He is out for the day and hopefully not more. By lunch time my parents had concluded he has travelers’ diarrhea (nasty GI bug) and started him on antibiotics. Dri-heaves and squirts along with a high fever – party time! He just needed to sleep so my mom took us Wat hopping.
Chiang Mai is one of the oldest cities in Thailand and used to be the capital. The Wats here are fabulous. There are hundreds in the city and over 200 in the old city (walled portion), some dating back to the 14th century. They are very different from the Wats in Bangkok, and some are made of almost all teak. Really beautiful, but we have come to expect nothing less from the Thai. Oh yeah, and it was WICKED hot today. Bangkok hot has nothing on this place. Unbelievable!!! My elbows were even sweating!
So my mom hired another tuk-tuk (50 thai baht an hour which is about $1.50) to take us around because it was so very hot. After Wat hopping, we did a little shopping then headed back to the hotel to check on my dad. He was still very sick and spending most of his time sleeping and staying very close to a bathroom. So Kaycie and I went swimming. While we were at the hotel pool we met Jennie (a British women who has transplanted to New Zealand with her husband Ernie). She told us about a wonderful Elephant park that was “green.” My mom was very interested so she went and spoke with Jennie and Ernie. Long story short, we made reservations for the next day since my dad can’t fly yet anyway. Then Kaycie, mom and I went out for a fabulous and CHEAP dinner. My mom is still sick but we are all excited about tomorrow. My dad is going to go also. We are bringing a pad for him to lie down on if he needs rest or just because it feels better.
A little info about travelers diarrhea, it can actually be quite serious. About 50% of western travelers get it and many end up in the hospital. It can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. We are hoping my dad started antibiotics early enough to make it just a few days. His fever seemed to break today so we are hopeful that is a good sign.
[Newly posted on 6/23/09]
Thursday, 18 Jun, 2009: Chiang Mai - We had to be up and out really early to catch our ride to the ‘Elephant Nature Park.’ It was a 1½ hour ride from Chiang Mai into the Mae Taeng Valley, up in the mountains of northern Thailand. The Elephant Nature Park is an eco-tourism experience.
The owner and founder is Sangduen ‘Lek’ Chailert. Her nickname is ‘Lek’ which stands for small. She is really not much bigger than Kaycie, but she has the biggest heart of anyone we have ever met. She was born and raised in a tribe of Laos hill people. The hilltribes are generally very poor, lack education, live in very remote and primitive conditions, and live a basic existence with minimal requirements. As a child, Lek’s grandfather owned an elephant named “Goldie.”
The Asian Elephant has been a revered creature in Asian culture and a symbol of Thailand for centuries. About a century ago there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. Today there are only 2,500 and the Asian Elephant is considered an endangered species. Elephants had been used in the logging industry in Thailand for decades. In 1989 laws were passed making it illegal to log, eliminating jobs for elephants. It was at this time that the hill tribes started taking the elephants into the big cities (e.g. Bangkok) and using them to perform for tourists to make money. The animals are expensive to feed and care for so the hill people only do the bare minimum, enough to keep them alive so long as they are making money. Many die from poor treatment, beatings, malnourishment, and/or lack of veterinary care. Lek has been championing rights for the Asian Elephant for decades. In 1995 Lek was able to purchase some land in the hills of northern Thailand and started rescuing elephants and relocating them to this place she calls Elephant Haven. A Texan has since sponsored the effort and purchased another piece of land where 33 elephants are currently located and the new area is called ‘Elephant Nature Park.’ Lek also operates an emergency medical unit called Jumbo Express.
WOW, what an experience. We spent the entire day at the park with about 24 other visitors and all the staff. Everyone was amazing. All 33 elephants are here including the newest, a two month old baby. There are also water buffalo, wild boar, and many, many rescued cats and dogs. [DOG STORY: There were probably 25 dogs here. Most of them strays that have been rescued. They are all mutts, but appear to be in good overall health and are spayed or neutered. They most definitely have the ‘pack’ mentality. Long story short, Kaycie was walking through an open area with a small plastic bag in her hand and was attacked. She got bit pretty badly in the back of her thigh. She got very scared and so did my mom. As it turns out, all the dogs are vaccinated (rabies is still a concern in northern Thailand). Big relief! The staff cleaned her up and we managed to go on with the day.]
The elephants at the park include one with a partially missing foot because it was blown off by a land mine, an elephant whose back was broken and healed incorrectly, elephants that have been chained, blinded, and drugged (addicted to amphetamines so that they would continue working day and night). Most came to this sanctuary in poor health with completely broken spirits. Today they are healthy and seem to be at peace and so content. Each elephant has a trained handler called a mahout (pronounced ma-hoot). We had the pleasure of feeding the elephants, bathing them, and just spending time with them. We all learned so much and met some really wonderful people.
Towards the end of the day, we all watched a National Geographic documentary about the creation of the elephant park. The last 10 minutes showed the ‘training’ (spirit breaking) practices the hill tribes still use today. The practices are legal because the elephants owned by hill tribes are considered livestock. The hill tribes do not know anything different and have been ‘training’ elephants with these methods for centuries. To the western eye (and many Asians) the ‘training’ methods are considered abusive. The staff at the park did not want Kaycie and I to see the abuse in the documentary so Lek took us to visit the new baby elephant. IT WAS FANTASTIC!!! We felt so very lucky. One of the best days of my life; not just this trip, but of my whole life. The only thing that would have made it better was if my dad and mom were in better health (dad had to lie down a lot and run to the bathroom often) and of course, I wish Kaycie hadn’t gotten bit by a dog.
We got back about 7 p.m. so it was too late to make travel arrangements so instead we went out to dinner. Jennie and Ernie were out to so we spoke with them awhile. We also walked through the night market. Another ‘best day ever’ experience on this trip.
Friday, June 19, 2009: Chiang Mai and maybe to Laos? - My parents are officially CRAZY, NUTS, LOCO, or just INSANE. Here’s the story. We had to fly Lao Airlines to get to our next destination because they are the only airline that flies from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos and we really wanted to visit Luang Prabang (LPB). LPB, the whole town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Go figure. Lao Airlines’ web site didn’t work two days ago (or last night), so my parents had to physically go to the ticket office this morning. On top of everything else, there is the added challenge of the language barrier. We also weren’t sure my dad was going to be well enough to fly until this morning (he is getting better!). My mom on the other hand is another story… As it turned out, there were only 2 seats left on the little puddle jumper of a plane they use between Chiang Mai and LPB. Again, long story short, we had very few options to get out of Chiang Mai and there were no flights again until Sunday. We decided to go to the airport in the afternoon and list ourselves as standby passengers in hope 4 seats would become available. We said our goodbyes to Jennie and Ernie because they were leaving to go back to New Zealand today also. By now grandmotherly Jennie is losing her mind with worry about our style of travel, while Ernie thinks it is all a fun adventure, as long as it is not his adventure. And so we we’re off to the airport.
We get into the two-bit spit of an airport. There is one counter for Lao Airlines and who is in the line one person ahead of us… It’s LEK from the Elephant Camp! She was there with her ‘partner’ Derek who was also flying last minute to LPB to take a look at some elephant camps in Laos. AGAIN, long story short, Derek offers to give up his ticket, Lek does some talking at the ticket counter, and viola… Bajka luck prevails and the 4 of us are on the plane to LPB!
The plane is a prop plane, completely loaded and bouncing all over the place. We are separated and in the only available seats on the plane. My dad is still having unpredictable GI emergencies but my mom has become the bigger concern. The sneezing, running nose, and congestion, has spread to her lungs so now she is coughing as well. Keep in mind the H1N1 situation is worsening in Asia as we travel. My dad set off the scanner upon entry into Thailand via Bangkok 3 days ago and just today the U.S. state department issued a travel warning for Thailand because Thailand has a recent increase in the number of cases of H1N1 and are detaining passengers at airports. The U.S. can not and will not assist U.S. citizens being detained (quarantined). Jennie and Ernie gave my mom a bunch of homeopathic meds including some cough suppressants. Many airport and airline employees wear masks. You have to fill out and sign a health questionnaire on every flight. Upon arrival in LPB, two women were detained for a period of time and checked out thoroughly by health professionals. My mom was sucking on cough suppressants and blowing her nose in restrooms or secluded areas. We had to obtain entry visas at the airport but we had planned ahead enough to have extra passport sized photos with us. We also had to pay for our flights with cash so now we are low on cash in one of the most remote areas of our trip as well. Did I mention my parents are NUTS? While we are waiting for our entry visas, my dad is calling around for a place to stay. We find one, get a taxi (not air conditioned and it is HOT), and start driving. The taxi driver drops us off at the end of a long street and points in the direction he wants us to start walking because there is a night market starting up and he can’t drive down the street. Basically, unloads our stuff, points, and waves us off, but of course has the #@lls to ask for a tip first. Thank goodness we packed light! We walk for a while and find our hotel. Did I mention it is really HOT? We unload our stuff and head out to dinner. Tomorrow is a 5:15a.m. start to go watch the monks walk through town.
Saturday, 20 Jun 2009: Luang Prabang, Laos – We are half way through our trip. We all got up this morning (yes, at 5:15) and went to the main street to give rice (“make merit”) to the monks. Really an amazing sight and a very peaceful and surreal experience. Women must kneel down (usually on a mat) as the monks walk by. Men can stand. We bought a basket of sticky rice and you grab some with your fingers and put it in each monks basket as they walk by. Women on the street sell the cooked sticky rice every morning. Some wrap rice in individual packets using banana leaves and others just in the straw baskets. Drums beat at the main temple (Wat) at the end of town and hundreds of ‘saffron’ clad monks precede single file with their baskets gathering their food for the day. They eat only breakfast and lunch, no dinner. What they gather is what they eat. It is really a beautiful sight.
After the monks proceeded to their respective Wats, we went back to our hotel for a short nap. We made it to breakfast at about 9:30. We had a table overlooking the Mekong River. Our hotel is across the street from the mighty Mekong and our windows look out over the river also. Even though it was a late start, we decided to eat slowly anyway because we really enjoyed watching the little boats and fishermen on the river. It also gave us some perspective of how big this river is.
After breakfast we had to get some money and try and make flight arrangements to our next destination. We try not to relay too heavily on the ‘Bajka luck’ for fear that it will run out at a very inopportune moment. So we decided to plan a few days ahead and buy airline tickets for the next leg of our trip. Turns out all the direct flights were full so we will have to settle for an overnight stay at the capital of Laos, Vientiane. We bought tickets for Monday, we will stay in Vientiane until Tuesday, and then on to our ‘real’ destination of Siem Reap, Cambodia. We also need to try and get visas to enter Vietnam. Apparently they are easier to get in Cambodia, so we will try and get one when we are there. As it turns out, U.S. citizens can not get a visa to enter Vietnam at your point of entry. You have to have one before you arrive (oops!). So we will try and take care of that at the Vietnamese consulate in Siem Reap. At least we have flights to our next destination.
So after figuring out our next destination, we took a glorified tuk-tuk (Laos style) to Wat Xieng Thong, built in 1560’s, one of the oldest Wats in the city. There are glass mosaics on all external sides of the buildings depicting popular folk tales and Buddhist history. From here we went out to Kuangsi Waterfall. It was about 18 miles out of town and we passed through some of the most beautiful mountain jungle terrain we have ever seen. The road is a main road that leads away from the Mekong and up into the hills. We passed through several villages, rice paddies, farms, etc., and saw ‘real’ Lao lifestyle. Men were using water buffalo to pull a plows and till the soil. Kids were bathing in little creeks, woman were cooking and weaving street side. While some of the human scenery was a bit unnerving, the mountains around LPB are very beautiful.
This country of Laos is truly a developing country. The homes can best be described with photographs. Most Laotians live in small villages with no schools and very few educated adults if any. The stray dog problem here seems minor when compared with Bali. The dogs roam street side and again, have amazing ‘car sense.’ It was and always will be difficult for us to comprehend young children playing along side the road as well. The first country we witnessed this in was several years ago in Romania (also underdeveloped). These children are 2 and 3 years old, unsupervised, and playing happily. As drivers pass they provide warning with what we have termed a ‘courtesy honk.’ Drivers do the same for dogs, children, or other motorists. Again, small children ride on motorbikes with their parents without helmets. The motorbike is clearly southeast Asia’s minivan. It all seems quite civilized here.
When we reached the falls our tuk-tuk driver pointed us in the right direction and we started hiking. As muddy as the Mekong is, this river was amazingly clear. There were several beautiful swimming holes along the way all surrounded by intense JUNGLE. The whole time we were hiking there was this really high pitch, very loud sound coming from the tree tops. We had no idea what it was but knew it was an insect of some sort. It sounded like a bunch of wining chainsaws or something. We almost needed ear plugs. We later found out the sound was from cicada insects. Anyway, we finally reached the falls. They were bigger than we expected and really beautiful. After spending some time at the falls we hiked back down, leaving earlier than we would have liked. We decided to leave because the road was really curvy and it was starting to get dark. We hiked out and our tuk-tuk driver, Phuthong, was waiting patiently. That night we ate crepes at a street ‘diner.’ LPB still has a lot of French influence. Laos only gained their freedom from France after WWII, in 1945, full sovereignty in 1953.
Sunday, 21 June 2009: Luang Prabang, Laos - Early to rise and out for a quick breakfast and then to our longtail-boat for our trip north on the mighty Mekong River up to Pak Ou Caves. The river trip itself was an experience. Here we are on this rickety boat on this huge river with swifter current than any of us expected. There was really nothing along the river except one little village, ‘Lao Whiskey village,’ where you can try some really potent local brew (rice wine) or buy local weaves (really detailed and beautiful). We didn’t try any local brew. The level of sanitation was questionable (see photos) and the overall environment in the village was definitely a step or two back in time. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get the caves.
Once at the caves there are several pontes of interest, all requiring hiking up numerous steps. It is really, really HOT again and we are all sweating and the caves provide little relief. Inside the caves are thousands of Buddhist statues. Interesting but HOT! The boat ride was the coolest place to be. The air (breeze) along the water was the much more comfortable. The boat ride home was only an hour (going with the current).
Back at our hotel, we rested for an hour then we went out to see more of the little sleepy village of PPB. First we went to ‘Big Brother Mouse,’ which is a book distribution organization started by a Lao man. It is currently funded by contributions from around the world (mostly westerners). The local university creates the books, including pictures (mostly hand drawn). The books are in Lao and English in an effort to give Laotians more of an opportunity to learn English. Most Lao villages are just starting to create some sort of educational concept. They have no formal teachers or program, no books, paper, pencils, or supplies of any kind. This is a new concept to the hill tribes of Lao. ‘Big Brother Mouse’ with volunteers takes these books and some supplies out to remote villages, spends the day there, donates what they can, and hopes the seed of learning is planted. Getting the materials to these villages’ can take days. There are no roads, just hiking through jungle, and paddling boats down rivers. It is really an amazing effort. ‘Big Brother Mouse’ also provides English teaching to locals in LPB (children and adults). Tourists can volunteer to come into the center (a small building open to the side of the road, very HOT) and have conversations with locals to help them practice their skills. Overall it seems like a really great program. We had brought some American children’s books to donate (donated for this effort by Sara Detwiler – Thanks SARA!!). The university will republish the books in Lao and English. REALLY AMAZING EFFORT!!
From here we walked through town to Mount Phousi. It is a mountain (hill really) in the center of town with temples scattered about its slopes. The view at the top is fabulous and was worth the hike. I don’t know what the temperature was, except HOT. It was about 360 steps to the top, and luckily the view was worth it. On the way down we met Lae, a 28 year old LPB university student. He was from a hill tribe in the very northern part of Laos and was studying on a scholarship in Luang Prabang. We chatted for a while and discovered he is studying to be a teacher so he can go back and help his village. There are 5 villages that share one school house. 229 kids (from kindergarten to 12th grade) share two teachers. They lack all basic supplies. They have no paper, pencils, pens, text books, etc… They receive no assistance from the Lao government so any funding for the school must come from the local villages. Lae inquired with Big Brother Mouse but they said Lae’s village was too far north from them to help quite yet (one hour drive followed by a 4 hour boat ride up the Mekong). We exchanged contact info (he has e-mail and phone when in LPB but neither works at his village). We agreed we should try to do some fund-raising and organize an effort to at least provide some basics school supplies every once in awhile. Kaycie and I may take this on as a school project by fall if not sooner. It would be great to help out some way if we could. Lae will send photos of the school and the students on his next trip home.
After the Mount Phousi hike, we grabbed a quick dinner and then did a little shopping at the night market. After that it was time to get back to the hotel, pack up and get ready for our flight the next day to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We know we will be staying in Vientiane for the night because our flight to Siem Riep is not until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. My parents are debating whether or not we should just sleep in the airport for a few hours after looking around town since we have to be at the airport at about 4 a.m. anyway. Before we left for the LPB airport, we walked back over to ‘Big Brother Mouse’ to watch some tourists helping Lao students learn English. We also bought Juli Longtin (Kaycie’s teacher last year) a T-shirt to sponsor the program and because Kaycie thought Ms Longtin could really appreciate the program. Then we said our goodbyes to the hotel staff and Phuthong, our tuk-tuk driver, and headed out. The people of LPB are very kind, hardworking, and pleasant people.
Tuesday, 22 June, 2009: Luang Prabang to Vientiane, Laos - My parents “splurged”. We arrived in Vientiane at about 3 p.m. and my parents took a look around the airport and quickly realized ‘resting’ here until our early morning flight would not be a reasonable option. First of all, there was no place to store our luggage so we could go wonder around town for the evening. Second, it was not enclosed – no air conditioning and no bug protection. Third, the only place to lie down was the dirty tiled floor, along side the really dirty restroom facilities. And this is the capital of Laos! So when I say splurged, I mean got a room for $36 USD, and in this case, you get what you pay for. The room was big, it had two beds, and what was supposed to resemble a bathroom. The best features were two A/C units that could really pump out some cold air. It was in Chinatown right above a noisy street market so “serene” it was not. But, as my parents kept reminding me, it’s better than the airport! Tomorrow we head to yet another new country: Cambodia.
[Newly posted on 6/27/09]
Tuesday, 23 June, 2009: Vientiane (Laos) to Pakse (L) to Siem Reap (Cambodia) –
Early morning, 4 a.m. arrival at the airport thinking it was an international flight… Cheap flights resulted in a minor layover in the small Laos city of Pakse on our way to Siem Reap. It adds yet another flight, but also another view of a city along side the mighty Mekong. We still arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia by 10 a.m. Upon arrival, we quickly made a call for accommodations and got our first choice of places to stay. We arrived at the hotel and I stayed there with Kaycie (she was still feeling really sick) while my parents went out hunting for assistance to get visas for Vietnam. They are paying a little extra for expedited service, but we have a plan and now have airline tickets to get into Vietnam (Ho Chi Mihn City or the old name, Saigon). We also wanted to go to Hanoi and Halong Bay, but we are running out of time. As it stands right now, we will be giving up beach time in Phuket, Thailand to go to Vietnam. We lost a little time because my dad (and mom) were sick and because there are no daily flights from several locations or flights were full. Having said that, we met a couple that had just graduated from college and were traveling with a similar itinerary, except they had everything scheduled and flights pre-arranged. As it turns out, they were having all sorts of problems with delayed/missed flights and said they would never do that again!
After my parents made arrangements for visas and airline stuff, they came back and got us and we went out for dinner. Again, Kaycie couldn’t eat, it was really, really hot, lots of street hawkers at every corner, and motorbikes are still the minivan of choice. In some respects, there are a lot of lifestyle and cultural similarities among these countries. No surprise, I guess.
A little info about Cambodia: The Mekong River flows from the north to the south of Cambodia nearly cutting the country in half. Bordering countries are Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The people are of the Mon-Khmer ethnic group. The Khmer civilization has been in slow decline since the height of its power with the Angkor civilization in the 11th century. Angkor was lost to the kingdom of Siam (Thailand), Vietnam, the French, Japanese, and then the French again. Cambodia finally regained independence again in 1953 only to be drawn into the Vietnam conflict and bombed by American forces in the late 1960s. If this wasn’t enough, in 1975 the infamous Khmer Rouge (led by Pol Pot) took over Cambodia and established a totalitarian regime in the name of communism. At the hands of Pol Pot, over 2 million Cambodians were killed (‘the killing fields’). The end result is Cambodia became and still is, one of the world’s poorest nations, with a literacy rate of about 35% (frighteningly, still better than Laos) and some 60% of the 14 million people are under the age of 20.
For most westerners, Cambodia suggests a history of oppression, civil war, genocide, drug running, and coups d’etat. The constant political turbulence, armed citizens, bandits, war fallout (UXOs, land mines, etc), has given the country a reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous places to travel. What they fail to mention is the man-made and natural wonders. Tomorrow is another UNESCO world heritage site, Angkor Wat.
Oh yeah, the name Siem Reap means ‘Siamese Defeated,’ hardly the most tactful name for a major city near Thailand (Siam Dynasty).
Wednesday, 24 June 2009: Angkor Cambodia - Early morning breakfast and out at 9:00 with our hired private tour guide, Nak (pronounced ‘knock’), and car/driver Chan (pronounced like John with a C). Both are very nice Cambodian men, Chan is in his early 20’s and Nak in his mid 30s. Both men plus an air conditioned car, $70 USD per day. While this seems expensive (for this part of the world), we have paid more to rent just a car for a day. I mention that Nak and Chan are Cambodian (Khmer) because there is a large Vietnamese population here in Siem Reap and also the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Pehn (pronounced ‘nom pen’). Cambodia has been at war with (invaded by) Vietnam twice in recent history (last 50 years) and even though the last agreement (in the mid 1990s) was for all Vietnamese to return to Vietnam, they are still prevalent and as we learned, not very welcome here. Conflicts abound and we haven’t dialed in the differences yet (i.e. how to tell them apart). Nak seems very open yet diplomatic. He answers my mom’s questions honestly, and she has a ton of questions and they are not just about the historic sights!
The biggest and best known temple complex is Angkor Wat but we started with the smaller Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. Angkor Thom means “the great city” in Khmer. The area covers over a mile on one side. It was really hot – as in we have never experienced heat like this. It was 35 degrees C today (95 degrees F), but the humidity is stifling. Real feel is HOT, indescribably HOT.
Anyway, at a little over 800 years old, Angkor Thom is a bit younger than Angkor Wat but not quite as well preserved/restored. It is however, very unique. The area is over 1 sq mile and dotted with many temples and features. The central temple, Bayon, is a Buddhist temple built in 1190. The temple also adheres to Hindu cosmetology and the lay out adheres to several principles of the Hindu calendar and is believed to represent the origins of the universe. The tower has 4 huge stone faces, each face facing outward keeping watch at each compass point. The faces are all smiling and are considered to be the Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia. More faces adorn smaller towers for a total of over 200 faces.
From here we went to Ta Prohm where the jungle foliage still has a firm grasp on this temple. The Cambodian’s have decided to keep this temple clean of grasses etc. but allow the trees to remain leaving it in a unique ruinous state. The tree roots wrap around the temple and some of the roots are as large as tree trunks. It is really spectacular. We’re told some of the jungle temple scenes of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider were filmed here. We can totally believe it. It’s certainly the feeling you get as you marvel at the numerous relics intertwined with the jungle trees.
It is only getting HOTTER as the day progresses. We decide to go back to our hotel to rest for an hour or so before going to Angkor Wat. Kaycie is still not feeling well (nausea and general gut pain) and my parents decided yesterday to start her on a three day course of antibiotics. She hasn’t really eaten anything in several days. We were hoping the rest in an air conditioned room would help her get through the afternoon.
So we went back out at about 3 p.m. and soon realized why some tourists use umbrellas to protect them from the sun. “Thai hot” has nothing on Cambodia and this is the ‘winter’/rainy season. Nak told us that Feb through April the temperature can reach 45C (113 degrees F) plus tremendous humidity. Visitors can end up hospitalized if they are out around 1 p.m. It is beyond uncomfortable and we have never cared less about how we looked! We are much more concerned about survival! So the grounds at Angkor Wat are massive and the temple itself is the symbol of Cambodia and known the world over. It was built in the 12th century and is the finest example of Khmer architecture. It is THE largest religious structure on the planet. The highest tower is 670 ft high. The famous bas-relief encircles the first level of the temple and depict the mythical “Churning of the Ocean of Milk,” a legend in which Hindu deities stir the ocean to extract the elixir of immortality. Angkor Wat is the most studied of all the sites and is visually spectacular. We didn’t have a lot of time because we decided to climb Phnom Bakeng (Mt. Bakeng or as we called it “Mt Baking”) to catch the sunset. So after a quick hike to the top (could have ridden an elephant but opted not to after the elephant park), we climb up to the top of a small temple on some really steep steps. The view all around from here is beautiful but there were too many people. EVERYONE here was sweating more than I have ever witnessed people sweating. Drenched shirts, hair, pants, etc. there was no discriminating; everyone was soaked with sweat-YUK! We decided not to hang out because it was so crowded, and this was low season. I can not image being here during high season… Nak told us today that in the high season, the causeway to the temple is just packed. So far the rainy season has been very good to us, because it hasn’t been raining!
Okay, so from here we hiked back down and on our way Nak told us some interesting facts about himself and his life. He had contracted malaria about 7 years ago and it had nearly killed him. He opted for traditional Cambodian medicine to deal with his malaria, mostly because he could not afford western treatment. This required making a ‘tea’ like substance out of a special tree root and drinking it for 5 years. He also continues to get a high fever once a day and yet, feels very lucky to be alive. As it turns out, this was his third life: his real birth, a land mine accident, and malaria. Nak considers himself to be of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths.
At the age of 16, Nak was conscripted into the Cambodian (communist Khmer Rouge) military. While on lead patrol with 3 others, he stepped on a land mine (Russian made and Vietnamese planted). The mine badly injured his legs (he graciously showed us his scars) but miraculously he was able to ‘walk’ away (carrying one of his mates to help). Those with him were not so lucky. Two of them were killed instantly and the third lost a leg. After this he worked for the French as a surveyor at the temples, categorizing stones etc. He is currently studying to become a lawyer. Nak is really an amazing man with an amazing story.
We ended up driving back down to the moat area and watch the sunset from there. It was beautiful to see Angkor Wat with a mystical orange hue set upon it as it reflected off the still waters of the moat. Add to that a couple of local Macaque monkeys that came out to forage for scraps and it was a pretty surreal scene. The temple is closed and cleared of tourist at about 6 p.m. because all the monkeys and snakes come out in the temple to eat once the sun goes down. Sounds like it could be fun but Nak says the snakes are poisonous and the monkeys are not very friendly. I think we will pass on trying to sneak in after hours.
Back at our hotel, we just had a quick bite to eat, shower and bed. Kaycie is still not eating and we are hoping the antibiotics will have more effect by tomorrow.
Thursday, 25 June 2009: Siem Reap (Angkor), Cambodia - Early to rise, breakfast and meet Nak and Chan for another day of Siem Reap, Cambodia. We decided to go back to Angkor Wat for another few hours because it is just so amazing and we felt a bit rushed yesterday. By 10:30 we were driving out of Siem Reap into the country side to see Banteay Srei. The country side is dotted with little farming villages, rice paddies and animal farms. While it is clearly rural and ‘village’ like, the structures (homes) along side the road are much more stable than those found in a Laos village. We have concluded that this may partly be due to the fact that this road is well traveled by tourist going to see Banteay Srei and UNESCO and others have tried to spruce it up a bit. In the front of about 25% of the homes (framed structures with thatch siding and roofs, open to the street), where signs with the Cambodian flag and a flag from the U.S., Australia, Korea, or the U.K. We asked Nak what the signs were for and he told us that the flag on the sign indicated what country had sponsored a well being installed for drinking water purposes. The wells were shared by multiple families. Surface water in this area is scarce but ground water is only 5 meters deep. Interesting…
Banteay Srei is a 10th century temple with spires unlike Angkor Wat. It is a collection of low walls surrounding low-rise peaked structures of deep-red sandstone. Banteay Srei translates to the “Citadel of Women,” and has well-preserved relief carvings telling ancient Hindu tales. It has kind of pink/red color and is spectacular. Nak took us to the back side of the temple and there was a 20 foot graded dirt area and then some red stakes in the jungle just a stone’s throw away. The red stakes represent area that has not been cleared of land mines and UXO’s. While Siem Reap proper has been cleared (specifically by and under UNESCO supervision for the safety of tourists to Angkor Wat), we were only 30 minutes out of Siem Reap!
From here, ironically, we made a quick stop at the Land Mines Museum on our way back to town. Unfortunately Kaycie was still feeling really sick so we could not stay as long as we had hoped. It was an interesting stop with plenty of dismantled land mines to look at (labeled and categorized by the manufacturing country) and various other disarmed ordnance and detailed data on the Cambodia’s UXO situation. The curator is Aki Ra (Japanese name, long story, Cambodian born Khmer man). The museum is a call to action for de-mining in the country. Worthwhile stop and brings perspective to the desperate situation this country is in with respect to land mines/UXOs. Aki Ra and his wife also run the orphanage associated with the museum for child victims of land mine accidents (and there are plenty). All run by donations.
Okay, again HOT, HOT, HOT. By now it is 1 p.m. and we have decided to go back to the hotel to cool off and rest for an hour. It is amazing how much of a difference air conditioning, if only for an hour, can make.
This afternoon we are going to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the floating village at Tonle Sap “Lake”. My mom really wants to see this and we are tired of walking around temples so this sounds good. Upon arrival, we all get a very uneasy feeling at the boat docks. Nak is clearly uncomfortable and the situation doesn’t feel warm and fuzzy. The language barrier at times like this make moments like these even more uncomfortable (frightening). It is amazing how much information you can gather from the tone of someone’s voice (more on this in a minute).
A little about this area: there are 3 villages on this lake. The lake is called Tonle Sap and is the repository for flood waters from the mighty Mekong River which flows through Phnom Pehn some 200 miles away. It is an interesting geographical natural wonder. The Mekong floods upstream and not out of its banks, but instead to a feeder river from Siem Reap and the Tonle Sap. Bizarre phenomena.
So the village moves with the water level in the lake. We went to visit the floating village closest to Siem Reap. As a UNESCO heritage site, the entire area was cleaned up about a year ago. Again, there seems to be some grand plan here where UNESCO comes in and ‘cleans up’ some of the really bad areas around the main tourist draw (Angkor Wat) so as not to offend the tourists. According to Nak, this area has been substantially cleaned up. He said previously the area was so full of litter and debris that it smelled really bad. After we saw it, we decided it should be defined as a UNESCO world ‘site of shame’ even after it had been cleaned up.
So when we arrived at the boat docks there was a Vietnamese ticket table and a Cambodian table (literally two tables, not an official booth). Neither staff was friendly but when we followed Nak to the Cambodian table the Vietnamese table got really pissed off. We were all very uncomfortable including Nak. As it turns out, there are about 2000 people living in this village and only about 500 are Cambodian, the rest are Vietnamese. Remember, we are still in Cambodia. Also remember the Vietnamese in Cambodia were suppose to go back home (to Vietnam) after the last conflict and yet… so we go down to the dock and the boat for the tour is the most rickety piece of floating debris we have ever set foot on. My parents kept looking at each other having some kind of unspoken conversation; they also kept making sure Nak was coming with us. This was getting really creepy. We had engine trouble about 100 yds out from the dock, but the boys operating the contraption got it running again. There were very few Westerners here so it was feeling even more uncomfortable. Back to why this area should be called a world ‘site of shame’; 200 yds out we started into a narrow passage of ‘homes.’ No kidding, this place made the canal in Bangkok look like the 4 Seasons or Ritz Carlton.
The pictures from our time here can not begin to describe the ‘squalor’ these people live in. The only place I can imagine being worse is the slums of Mumbai, India (of Slumdog Millionare fame). My mom was crying, not just watering eyes, full tears running down her face. These were the worst living conditions I could have imagined. These floating houses have no contained sewage so it goes right into the water and the small children were bathing along side the ‘houses.’ The Vietnamese control the area and do not allow the Cambodian’s to fish in the open lake. The Cambodian families are only allowed to fish directly under their boat (home). The Vietnamese boats are far superior to the Cambodian; they have corrugated metal roofs vs the grass roofs of the Cambodian homes. It is incredibly uncivilized. The markets are a small open long-tail boats selling produce. The Cambodian families live on the fish they catch (under their boat and dried on their roof), rice, and when there is money, vegetables from the long-tail boat. The Vietnamese fish the lake and sell the fish at local markets. They also have small souvenir shops along the waterway with crocodiles that they let the tourists look at and then sell the meat at local markets and the hide to Thailand for leather goods. They also make alcohol for the Cambodian’s. They give it to them, they get addicted and the cycle continues.
On our way out our prop caught an anchor line of a Vietnamese boat. Words were exchanged (mostly Vietnamese yelling at the boys driving our boat). We had to cut the engine, untangle, and get going again. All very uncomfortable, maybe even scary, but it made for a most memorable afternoon. I think we all came back feeling and thinking differently about ourselves and life.
Back at the hotel we said our goodbyes and thank you’s to Nak and Chan. Really a great two days and very, very informative. A quick dinner out at a fabulous Khmer Restaurant, packing, and some sleep.
[Newly posted on 6/30/09]
Friday, 26 June 27, 2009: Siem Reap (Cambodia) to Ho Chih Minh City (Vietnam) - Up early again in, quick breakfast and to Siem Reap’s old market area for some last minute shopping in the old market. Our passports, airline tickets and visas for Vietnam got delivered this morning so we are off to Vietnam this afternoon!
After a quick flight to Vietnam (on Vietnam Airlines which we would highly recommend) and we are in Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC (Saigon). So we find a hotel that is cheap but right in the center of downtown/Chinatown and really noisy but soon find the noise is really the least of our problems. The traffic and driving situation here is worse than we could have imagined. The number of motorbikes is unbelievable. The honking is relentless and has nothing to do with courtesy and much more to do with aggression. Not really feeling warm and fuzzy here. We went out to check out the massive Ben Thanh Market and it was very overwhelming. It first opened in 1914 and it is a very crowded place with really narrow, one way aisles, loaded with vendors barking at you. The heat is stifling and pickpockets abound. It was nice to get the lay of the land but it was about to close so we decided to go back tomorrow and get some rest instead. The thunder and lighting started followed by a torrential downpour for about 1 ½ hours. The monsoon season was late starting but I think it is here now! The rain was refreshing because it is still very hot; not Cambodia hot, just hot.
A little about HCMC (Saigon): The city definitely has a feel of self importance. It is located on the Saigon River, with the Mekong Delta about 1 hour south. It is Vietnam’s major port and largest city, with a population of almost seven million people. The city is noisy, crowded, and dirty; where the biggest threat to your safety is the traffic. We quickly found that you have to cross the wide & unbelievably busy streets at a slow, steady, pace. We also quickly learned to wait for a local who was crossing and stuck to their heels. This is truly a wild experience. About the second crossing Kaycie was so freaked out she started sobbing. The western tendency is to run and get out of the way of traffic, but this is impossible here as traffic is pretty much constant. The philosophy works. The slow, steady pace makes your location predictable so that oncoming traffic can make a choice on which side to pass you on (front side, the direction you are walking, or back side). We also quickly learned that looking at oncoming traffic places you at a significant disadvantage, as it makes us want to run. So we stopped looking, held on to each other in a clump, and encouraged each other to hold our pace every time we crossed. Bizarre…
There is also an unexpectedly high density of Chinese here. At least we didn’t expect it. The relationship seems similar to the Cambodian/Vietnamese tensions in Cambodia only now it is Vietnamese/Chinese in Vietnam. What goes around comes around…
Saturday, 27 June 2009: Ho Chih Minh City, Vietnam - Good mornin' Vietnam!! Early up and out because there are a few museums we want to see today and they open at 7:30. The first one was the War Remnants Museum. This museum has a fantastic collection of machinery, weapons, photos, and documentation of Vietnam’s wars with both the French and the Americans. The emphasis was very heavy on/against the Americans. It used to be called the War Crimes Museum. It was immediately clear whose side of the story was being told here, but we knew that before we came in. Just short of outright recrimination, this museum is a call for peace against the kind of carpet-bombing that so devastated the people, infrastructure, and countryside of Vietnam (not mentioned in the museum but should also be included here are similar effects on Laos and Cambodia). There were explanations in Vietnamese, and included translations into Chinese and English. There were troop numbers, bomb tonnage, stats on international involvement, and numbers of casualties on both sides. Exhibits included areas on biological warfare, weaponry, and worldwide demonstrations for peace. There is also a wall-size photo of the My Lai massacre and bottled deformed fetuses supposedly caused by Agent Orange. There are also models of the French colonial prisons, called Tiger Cages. The Agent Orange section was probably the most disturbing. Kaycie had to quickly pass on the fringes of this area because it was all very graphic. The photos were heart wrenching, the maps of where Agent Orange was sprayed frightening, and the posters with statements about how the United States owes the Vietnamese for their war time atrocities was very disturbing. Several posters accused the United States of genocide. Definitely a lot of propaganda here and it was not comforting in the least. Having said that, my parents tried very hard to ensure we understood that atrocities were performed on both sides and that in this case, the presentations were very one sided.
After a fantastic lunch break at a nice little Vietnamese restaurant we went to the Reunification Palace. This building is most notable for its symbolic role in the fall of Saigon in April of 1975, when its gates were breached by North Vietnamese tanks, U.S. helicopters airlifted the last of the U.S. military off the roof and the victor’s flag was hung on the balcony. The very tanks that crashed through the gates are enshrined in the entryway. The Palace is a series of kind of empty rooms with original furnishing that haven’t been gussied up much. The private quarters, dining rooms, entertainment lounges, and the president’s office look like everybody just got up and left. The most interesting and fun was the war command room and associated areas, with the huge maps and old communication equipment, as well as a lot of fun/interesting basement rooms. My dad kept touching stuff he wasn’t suppose to including the public address system the tour guides use. He elected to provide us with his own commentary along the way. As Americans, we already didn’t feel very welcome here and now we were misbehaving… so I guess he figured we might as well have a good laugh. At the end we watched a video about the history of Vietnam, again heavy on the French occupation but even heavier on the American Military Action and North Vietnam’s success. Kind of depressing but a good overview for Kaycie and I since we didn’t know much about the conflict and it is so current and a big part of our parents generation and history.
From here we walked around the Ben Thanh Market again just being lookie-lou tourists, getting barked at by the aggressive hawkers, and taking in the crowd and interesting food offerings (dried shrimp and fish of many shapes and sizes, breads, fruits, produce, and meats – none were appetizing). We picked up dinner at a street side bar-b-que of sorts, went back to our hotel and called it a day.
Sunday, 28 June, 2009: HCMC/Saigon - Up and out is the motto here… we decided to try Chinatown ‘Vietnamese style.’ WOW, another eye opening experience. During this adventure, we figured out and now understand why Asians drive the way they do in the U.S. First of all, let’s review the whole motorbike situation in Asia. It is the mode of choice for most in every country we have visited. And throughout our travel, the density of motorbikes seemed proportional to the population. HCMC is a whole new breed. The number of motorbikes on the roads is unimaginable and indescribable. They are like swarms of locusts buzzing around, carrying everything imaginable, weaving in and out of cars, other motorbikes, on sidewalks, and into oncoming traffic to pass or turn left. The strategy here is clearly to honk and then to honk again louder and of a longer duration if other traffic does not acknowledge your presence. Response from other motorists (auto and bike) is to honk back, etc. There is pretty much a constant honking noise on any given street, in the entire city. This is not a peaceful place but then we didn’t expect it to be.
Okay, so the Asian driving approach of pull out and go (without checking for oncoming traffic) is becoming understandable. There is no other approach because waiting for a break in traffic is unreasonable and impossible here, at any hour. Literally, they just pull out into traffic – we will call it the ‘Asian Merge.’ We have concluded that this same approach is applied to pedestrian traffic – start walking (crossing), don’t look, hold your pace, and go. Ingenious! NOT, but now we think we understand the basis of the behavior.
Okay, so on to Chinatown. Several words can some is up, DIRTY, chaotic, and crowded. It encompassed a much larger area than we expected and after doing a litter research, probably the largest Chinatown in the world. Huh, go figure. As it turns out, the Chinese started settling the area in the early 1900s and never quite assimilated with the rest of Saigon, which causes a lot of the resentment among the greater Vietnamese community. There were some Chinese pagodas, restaurants, jade and various other large ornaments, and medicine shops. The local market here is called Binh Tay Market and is even more crowed than Ben Thanh. There was a lot more ‘food stuff’ at this market; produce, medicines, spices, crickets, grubs and other insects, cooking utensils and heaps of ducks and chickens along with an amazing amount of seafood stuff that smelled REALLY BAD. We saw mothers letting (helping) their children relieve themselves on the sidewalks along with a disproportionate amount of other biodegradable products like produce and fish waste. This was all mixed in with the non biodegradable waste, plastic bottles, Styrofoam food containers, etc. In addition to these items/activities, the residents of China town also like to wash their dishes in buckets along the isle ways in the markets and dump the water and food debris and also tend to sit and eat their meals along side the same muck and nauseatingly bad smell. I imagine this level of tolerance comes from living in really crowded conditions – something westerners really don’t comprehend. We didn’t stay for the entire time we had allotted to this part of town, but no one complained when we flagged down a taxi and moved on.
Okay, maybe we are losing our sense of adventure or maybe we are just tired and hot and miss the comforts of home… but we bailed out and went back to the more civilized Ben Thanh market and the aggressive hawkers have never been more comforting or welcome. Ahhh, the value of familiarity and some sense of control. We completed our shopping and went back to the same Vietnamese restaurant and had a long leisurely all be it late lunch and then to the airport.
We concluded that while Vietnam was an experience we won’t soon forget, we did not get a complete picture of the country or a true feel for the culture. It was probably not fair that it was our last country before heading to the posh digs of the Marriott Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand; or that we only visited Saigon – we really wanted to go to Hanoi as well (very different from Saigon). Next trip.
Okay, so the airport experience. Basically it was an uneventful trip from HCMC (Saigon) to Bangkok, but Bangkok gets an A+ for new experiences that, as my parents say, build character (and make for good stories). We arrived in Bangkok at about 8:30 p.m. and tried to get on the Air Asia flight to Phuket that night because the Phuket flight was delayed and we were hoping to still be able to catch it. No such luck. We are in money saving mode so we walked around the airport for a while until everything started to close and then started searching for a place to sleep (our scheduled flight wasn’t until 7 a.m.). We did a quick Google search for others who may have posted information on their experiences and did come up with some good and humorous finds. We researched the areas discussed for sleeping in the Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok) – yes there is a blog site for just this subject. Most of the areas were already taken by other squatters’ in our same predicament (mostly backpackers). By midnight, we have to admit, the Muslim Prayer Room was looking mighty fine. Leave it to Mik (never too proud) to peddle Kaycie’s youth and dire need for a safe sleeping area… the end result: Thai Air let us Squat in their posh lounge area for the night! It was not a segregated area, just kind of in a corner with the lovely velvet ropes with “area closed” signs. Perfect!! The airport basically shuts down from 1 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. so we had a solid 3 hrs of Airport Bliss! My parents even came prepared for such a possibility with a cable lock to secure our luggage together. Kaycie slept on top of the luggage bags (three lumpy backpacks), my mom and I got the two coaches (with sarongs for blankets), and my dad broke out the air mattress we brought (yes, for just such an emergency). Who says my parents don’t plan ahead?! And let me tell you, they keep this airport COLD. It is almost like they are trying to discourage just this type of behavior. Huh, go figure.
[Newly posted on 7/2/09]
Monday, June 29, 2009:
Arrival at Phuket… ahhh, we know why this is a tourism magnet. This place is white sand beaches, jungle, and beautiful turquoise water. Remember this is the Thai island that was especially devastated by the tsunami in December of 2004 (over 8,000 killed in
Tuesday, 30 June, 2009: Phuket
We were going to go for a sunrise walk on the beach this morning but my mom decided to let everyone sleep. No one complained. So we relaxed, walked around the Marriott compound, checked out the health club etc... before we went to the beach and claimed a set of four lounge chairs with nifty umbrellas. Continued BLISS. So my dad decides we should do a little more than lounge all day so he signed Kaycie and me up for in-pool scuba lessons. Alrighty… we had about an hour of dry land stuff and then in the pool with tank, regulator, buoyancy control device, etc. It turned out to be really fun and both of us did well. I guess my parents are considering taking us on an ocean dive.
Overall it was a really relaxing day. More pool/beach time, shower and dinner at a small (i.e. economical) café. We are definitely in the resort/tourist part of
Wednesday, 1 July, 2009: Phuket
We got picked up at our hotel and were driven to the pier to board a big boat with a bunch of other tourists. Thank goodness this is low season because I can not imagine doing this with a full boat load of westerners. The big boat took everyone out to the area where the karst limestone formations are (100s of little islands). Once there, we were separated into groups of two, each with their own guide and kayak. My dad went with Kaycie and I went with my mom. Our guide was ‘Joker’ (his given Thai name is Jok, but Joker is easier for tourist and it suits him well). He was very funny and loved to do magic tricks. He was like the ‘class clown’ of the big boat and we felt very lucky to have him as our guide on the kayak. My dad and Kaycie had Shar (Pronounced like saying shark without the k sound). He was also funny and had great interaction (practical jokes) with the other staff members (not so much with the other tourists), so he was really funny too. Shar and Joker were hilarious together. The whole staff was fantastic, but we felt very lucky with our personal guides. They would hang back from the rest of the crowd so we didn’t end up bunching up with the other tourists.
We got into our kayaks 4 different times and went into different caves/passageways each time. The first one was the
From here we ventured out along the coast of one of the larger islands and enjoyed the scenery (stalactites and stalagmites in the hongs/caves), turquoise water, and fabulous jungle foliage growing out of steep cliffs that looked like solid rock. We met up with the big boat again about an hour later. Let me explain the big boat. It was basically a vessel whose purpose was three fold: 1) transportation of tourists, staff, and kayaks to the spectacular park (limestone islands), 2) a fabulous diving and jumping platform for swimming, 3) a bathroom facility, and most importantly, 4) a floating kitchen. The big boat was about 5 plus meters high (above water) with three separate levels. Since it was low season, there were only about 20 guests plus staff and it still seemed crowded at times. Overall the other guests were pleasant enough, just tourists. We have been spoiled with the lack of other tourists’ at previous destinations so it is taking some getting used to here in Phuket. Again, thank heavens it is low season.
So we did some swimming and jumping off the boat. No one asks what your swimming skill level is and there are no age restrictions on jumping off even the highest railings of the boat. Safety?? It is so interesting to us how other cultures expect each individual (or the parents of children) to be responsible for safety judgments for themselves and those with them. And it seems to work. I guess if a lawsuit is not an option, people think more. Maybe the
More kayaking, caves and general mayhem. It was really good to have a guide because some of the areas we entered we never would have found or gone into, they just didn’t appear to go anywhere or be big enough. Joker made us lie down flat in the kayak to get through, and we could only go in at low tide or there would not have been enough space. It was always dark in the cave and always opened up to some beautiful grotto. Great fun. Back to the big boat again, more swimming and dinner. The food was cooked on board and was absolutely FANTASTIC. We were all hungry by now and everything was very good. Each group (with your guide) made a Kratong (an offering to the God of water). Our final kayak trip was in the dark to the diamond cave (the walls sparkle when you shine your head lamp on them). Once inside the grotto, we lit our offering in a Loi Kratong ceremony, made a wish, and set it afloat. On the way out of the cave we splashed our hands in the water in the pitch black cave and the water appeared to spark. It is a strange phenomena caused by bio-phosphorescence in small plankton. Finally we were back on the big boat one last time for our journey back to the big
[Final post on 7/5/09]
Friday, 3 July, 2009: Phuket Thailand – Anyway… today we were up at 6 a.m. because we had to check out of our villa (sniff, sniff) before leaving for Koh Phi Phi. Our taxi driver picked us up at 8 and took us to the harbor on the east side of the island. Our boat departed at 9A. It was a really fast boat so it only took an hour to get to Koh Phi Phi. This is the location where the movie ‘The Beach’ was filmed. There were about 20 guests on the boat from all over the world plus a staff of 6. The staff was nice but the main guide was annoying. HE wanted to be called ‘Miss Linda’. There are a lot of these ‘Lady Boys’ in the Patong Beach area, which is fine cuz we can choose not to be around it… but we were stuck on this boat with Miss Linda for 7, count em 7 hours! We went to a total of 4 different locations, all very beautiful. We went snorkeling at 3 different spots. The water was amazing, that picturesque turquoise blue color that is so characteristic in this area in combination with the fine, white, soft sand. Just LOVELY. We saw lots of fish and coral but nothing we hadn’t seen before in Hawaii or Mexico. The biggest disappointment was the crowds. We were in disbelief when the staff told us that there were significantly fewer people than in high season – we would have gone crazy out here during high season. In this area, the Thai really need to find some happy medium to manage environmental considerations and the tourist industry. There is clearly not sufficient regulation and this beautiful place is being completely overrun by tourists, garbage, etc. You get the picture. Overall, really nice last day and we were really glad we saw it because we always would have wondered what we missed. We know the tourist situation will only get worse before it gets better so it is good we saw it now. Having said that, I think we all would agree that we would not go back unless we charted a boat to a private beach with a little bungalow. It almost seems like the area is going to waste it is so abused – and yet so BEAUTIFUL. Sad.
We returned to our hotel so we could shower and get some dinner. We didn’t have our villa anymore so we had to use the Health Club showers, but it was a “luxury” we could not do without as it would be our last shower before our long trek home and we were still coated with sea salt. After showers my mom and I had a pedicure and my dad and Kaycie had a Thai massage on the beach and then we all met for a late dinner. We treated ourselves before what lies ahead… the long journey home. We headed to the Phuket airport at 9 p.m.
The Bajka luck continues to hold out. Our flight was going to be late so they put us on an earlier flight. We arrived in Bangkok at about midnight, collected our luggage, and found some padded chairs in the baggage claim area before going into the main terminal, where we knew it would be difficult to find suitable ‘squatting’ areas. So there we squatted, not even one week after the last time we had slept here; we were back doing it again. We all crashed in the airport one last time, locked up our luggage to the rack of chairs we were sharing and voila, a solid 3 hours of horizontal time was had by all! At 4 a.m. we entered the main airport, checked in our luggage for the journey home, had a little breakfast and our plane departed on time for Tokyo. After a brief layover in Tokyo, we were on our final leg of the trip – San Francisco and then home!
And that’s the end of the Journey!
Some facts/totals regarding this adventure:
Number of days away from home – 28;
Total miles traveled - 25,000 (airplane + car + tuk-tuk + train + boat + walk);
Number of flights - 15;
Hours of flight time - 55;
Hours of layover time – “dozens”
Nights slept at Bangkok airport – 2
Countries visited – 5 (Thailand, Indonesia/Bali, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam);
Temples visited – lost count;
Percent contracting full blown travelers diarrhea – 50% (Mik and Kaycie);
New species of huge bugs – lost count;
Places to sleep without bugs – 2 (Conrad Bali and Marriot Phuket);
Photos taken – 3,500
