Friday, August 29, 2008
Thailand still??
Some of you may have heard about the protests taking place in Thailand currently. These protests are peaceful, but unfortunately for us, they have completely managed to shut down the country - including the airports!! So, we are still in Thailand!! Hope to be home soon :o)
Khao Sok and Phuket
Our arrival in Thailand took us first to Khao Sok national park. This enormous park is approximately 2.5 hours north of Phuket and to reach our bungalows you had to take an hour boat ride through the beautiful scenery that makes up the park. It is nearly untouched by humans, has the tallest limestone mountain formations in all of Thailand, hundreds of wild species and perfect, glassy water, that Shane and I were desperate to try and water ski on! The one thing the park lacked was accommodations. Our floating bungalows were just that – bamboo huts, floating on the water. There was an outhouse that you had to walk across a bamboo floating plant to reach and you didn’t dare try after 10pm because the generator was shut off and there was no electricity!
The sightseeing and activities did make up for the primitive housing. We did 4 kayaking trips where we saw beautiful limestone formations, several monkeys jumping in the trees and, our last morning there; we saw an Asian black bear clawing at a tree for termites. Our guide said he had last seen one 4 years ago! We also saw several wild elephant tracks but were never close enough to see one.
We also took a 3 hour hike up a mountain in the park. We were slightly unprepared since we were unaware there would be hiking involved so Sarah wore her only pair of lace up shoes and Shane had dress socks and boat shoes! To make matters worse, it is the wet season so leeches are out in great numbers and to avoid them you have to move fast. We basically sprinted half way up the mountain, taking occasional breaks to check for leeches and pick them off our socks before they embedded into our legs. About halfway up the mountain turned into limestone and we had to scale our way up. We were now more concerned about falling and breaking our heads open than the leeches! However, we made it and the view from the top was exquisite. We were also able to see several great hornbills, huge black and yellow birds that are quite majestic.
After 2 nights in our bungalows we took the 1 hour trip by boat to shore then drove 2.5 hours to Phuket. Phuket is a beautiful island with white sand beaches surrounded by mountains. It unfortunately has been a little tourist infested and you are accosted as you walk down the street by tuk tuk drivers and store keepers who will do anything to get you to enter their shop (again, of all fake items). Think Cancun in Asia. However, we were thrilled to be there. Our hotel had air-conditioning and electricity (a huge step up from Khao Sok) and we were off to scuba dive the day after we arrived.
Our scuba trip was a “liveaboard” trip, famous in Thailand, where they take you out for the day, provide lunch and great diving. It was everything we expected with very professional guides and great diving. We went to banana bay at Racha Noi and did 2, 1 hour dives at around 60 feet. The coral in Thailand is huge and very distinct from the Caribbean where we have done most of our diving. There were tons of small fish in the coral and swimming around us. No big manta rays or sharks were seen, which was a bummer to Shane and the other diver with us but a relief to Sarah. :o)
Today is the last full day of our vacation! We have spent it laying out on the beach, getting our last Thai massages and overall relaxing. We leave tomorrow for Hong Kong and then Sunday for the USA. It has been a great trip but we are exhausted and ready to get home and back to some semblance of normalcy. We hope you have enjoyed reading our blog and maybe it will help plan a SE Asia trip for you! We will send out pictures once we can get everything downloaded. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and we can’t wait to see you all again soon! Love, Sarah and Shane.
Phnom Penh
We arrived in Phnom Penh around dinner time and after checking in decided to head out on the town. We ate at the FCC (foreign correspondents club), the site where many foreign correspondents ate and lived during the Vietnam War and after. Phnom Penh, more than anywhere we had been, bears the scars of a country of recent civil war, and only recent investment from the West. There were homeless people on the streets, several men offered us drugs and/or girls under there breaths as we walked by and the streets were only lit occasionally – all which lead to Sarah being slightly terrified! However, Eddie and Shane were determined to press on and see the city so after dinner we stopped at a bar for some drinks. We ended up having a wonderful time and meeting several foreign travelers as well as Cambodians. The Cambodian people are extremely warm, have a wonderful sense of humor, and actually speak better English than anywhere we have visited in SE Asia! It struck us, however, that they have a complex relationship with tourists and the West. While they depend on us for their livelihood, they are largely exploited by us—generally; tourists come to see evidence of their recent genocide and/or sex (at least to Phnom Penh). But all of this actually made spending a few hours with both native guys and girls at a bar among other Western travelers an experience neither of us will forget.
The next morning we started our day of touring Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We began at the Royal palace, the Kings residence. It was built by the French in 1866 then rebuilt in 1917 in traditional Khmer style to symbolize their independence from France. Behind the palace is the silver pagoda which used to house the Emerald Buddha. Several of the smaller statues had been stolen by the Khmer Rouge to be sold but many of the larger ones still remained and it is a holy place for the Cambodian people and the King.
After the palace we began learning more about the Pol Pot regime, the Khmer Rouge and the genocide that lasted from 1975-1978 (although the Khmer Rouge continued guerrilla warfare against the government until the early 1990s). We began at S21 (security prison 21) that was housed at the Tuol Sleung primary school. The school complex was divided into 4 areas and the prisoners were divided into VIP (receiving the most torture) and mass detention cells. Only 7 people survived this prison and the atrocities that Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge committed were the worst acts of torture and hatred that any of us had encountered. Pol Pot had studied the philosophy of Marx and was aiming for an entirely equal society therefore anyone with any education whatsoever (education was determined by those who could write to 10 and those who could not!!) was tortured and killed. It was truly horrible and disastrous for the country with absolutely no redeeming aspects. As mentioned above, and as expected, this continues to shape the way Cambodians interact with each other and outsiders. Most Cambodians have lost many relatives as nearly 35% of the population was executed or died of starvation. In many ways, Cambodians seemed to have the most acute sense of human nature and the importance of maintaining a sense of humor through it all. I think we both learned a lot from our time there.
To continue the depressing tour of this side of Cambodia’s past, we visited the killing fields. This is where prisoners were taken, once the prisons were too full, to be killed in gruesome ways. You could still see scraps of clothing in the ground and pieces of teeth and bone sticking up. There were several mass graves that were marked and a large memorial had been erected, full of the skulls that were found here after the Khmer Rouge fled the city. It was sobering to say the least.
We continued on to the Russian market. Every city in Asia seems to have one of these markets where you can buy anything you could ever possibly want, and everything there is a fake. It is amazing! After the market, and lunch, we went to the center of the city where a large, man-made hill exists with Wat Phnom on top of it. It is the reason for the name of the city and features a large pagoda (Buddhist temple) built in 1372.
After our touring we returned to the hotel to relax at the pool, grabbed dinner at a local noodles restaurant and returned to the hotel in time for Eddie to head to the airport. Shane and I left the next morning for southern Thailand.
Siem Reap, Cambodia
We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia around 10am on 8/21/08. We met our guide and headed for our hotel a few kilometers away. Cambodia is a beautiful country and they are trying hard to get out of the poverty and oppression that has resulted from years of civil war and genocide. This was somewhat apparent in Siem Reap (more in Phnom Penh) - only the main roads were paved and you see significantly more pedal bikes and walkers than motorbikes. Siem Reap is famous for the discovery of the temples of Angkor, all built from approx 900-1300AD by Kings of the Angkor period. We began, shortly after our arrival, at the oldest part of the complex including Banteay Srei (967AD), Prasat Kravan (921AD), East Mebon (952AD), Pre Rup (961AD) and Takeo (early 11th century). These temples are smaller than the famous Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom areas but are well preserved and were very beautiful.
Our 2nd day of touring began at the Chong Kneas floating fishing village. This is a village, entirely built on the water. They have floating homes, floating stores, floating schools - you name it, it floats. The inhabitants are Vietnamese who came down in the late 1970's and built this village. Several children swam around one of the floating stores and would hold up snakes and even a baby crocodile (mouth tied shut) for us to take pictures for $1!! It was crazy. There are no crocodiles in the lake now because they have been farmed out to the zoo and others sold to make purses and other items from their skin. Our first night in Cambodia we went to a restaurant with a crocodile pit. It was about 10 feet below where the tables were and you could see crocodiles – it was terrifying!
The next part of our tour took us to Angkor Wat. This is the largest of the temples, the most intact and the most restored out of all the temples. It was huge, approx 3K around. The walls had murals of Hindu mythology including the Ramayan story and the churning of the Sea of Milk. It is a beautiful temple and amazing to see how much work was put into it – it took approximately 30 years to complete.
Our final day took us to Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. This was all of our favorite day because these temples were unique. Ta Prohm has been left almost untouched although they are beginning work to restore it. Large trees have grown up around and on the temple; crushing it in some places and supporting it in others. This is where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raiders – Cambodians are huge fans of her and the movie! Angkor Thom was the last great temple built by the Angkor kings. He was considered the kindest King of them all and created several hospitals and community centers throughout the kingdom as well. We entered through Victory gate – a colossal stone sculpture 1.5K from the temple. After exploring the temple itself we left through the Southern gate where there were several playful monkeys hopping around. We bought some bananas and feed them for awhile.
After lunch we headed over to the new National Museum of Cambodia. It was very well done and walked us through the history of each Angkor King. It also housed several of the artifacts from the temples that had been found and moved to prevent their theft. After the museum we headed to the airport for our flight to Phnom Penh.
Our 2nd day of touring began at the Chong Kneas floating fishing village. This is a village, entirely built on the water. They have floating homes, floating stores, floating schools - you name it, it floats. The inhabitants are Vietnamese who came down in the late 1970's and built this village. Several children swam around one of the floating stores and would hold up snakes and even a baby crocodile (mouth tied shut) for us to take pictures for $1!! It was crazy. There are no crocodiles in the lake now because they have been farmed out to the zoo and others sold to make purses and other items from their skin. Our first night in Cambodia we went to a restaurant with a crocodile pit. It was about 10 feet below where the tables were and you could see crocodiles – it was terrifying!
The next part of our tour took us to Angkor Wat. This is the largest of the temples, the most intact and the most restored out of all the temples. It was huge, approx 3K around. The walls had murals of Hindu mythology including the Ramayan story and the churning of the Sea of Milk. It is a beautiful temple and amazing to see how much work was put into it – it took approximately 30 years to complete.
Our final day took us to Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. This was all of our favorite day because these temples were unique. Ta Prohm has been left almost untouched although they are beginning work to restore it. Large trees have grown up around and on the temple; crushing it in some places and supporting it in others. This is where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raiders – Cambodians are huge fans of her and the movie! Angkor Thom was the last great temple built by the Angkor kings. He was considered the kindest King of them all and created several hospitals and community centers throughout the kingdom as well. We entered through Victory gate – a colossal stone sculpture 1.5K from the temple. After exploring the temple itself we left through the Southern gate where there were several playful monkeys hopping around. We bought some bananas and feed them for awhile.
After lunch we headed over to the new National Museum of Cambodia. It was very well done and walked us through the history of each Angkor King. It also housed several of the artifacts from the temples that had been found and moved to prevent their theft. After the museum we headed to the airport for our flight to Phnom Penh.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Saigon
We arrived late in Saigon, around dinner time and headed out for some south Vietnamese food. Saigon is very different from Hanoi; wider streets, more lights, larger stores - all in all it felt much more like a western city than anywhere we had been in awhile. The traffic is ridiculous! Motorbikes fly all over the road and treat traffic signals as suggestions. To cross the street you just go, and assume they won't hit you! It was terrifying!!
The next morning we headed out for our tour of Saigon (according to the locals, Saigon and Ho Chi Minh city are OK to use). We started at the History museum where we traced Vietnamese history from ancient civilization to the 20th century. There was definite mention of defeating the "US invaders" and unifying the country in the last room which picqued our interest for the remainder of the day. Next, we visited the Reunification Palace, named after N and S Vietnam reunified. Before that is was the royal palace and the main base of operation in Saigon during the Vietnam war (called the American war in Vietnam). It was amazing to see the underground bunkers, rooms with huge maps pinpointing the locations of all the Viet Cong strong holds and rows of old fashion telephones that were the "hotlines" for top officials to call Washington D.C. Everything was slightly more fascinating since it involved our history, as well as Vietnams.
Next, we headed to lunch at a delicious local restaurant, Quan An Ngon, where our guide ordered us excellent Saigon fare. After lunch we relaxed with a massage at L'Apothequaire spa. It was Eddie's first massage and the entire spa was pink!!
After lunch we went to the War Remnants museum. This museum is focused on the Vietnam war, from the North Vietnamese side. It was interesting to learn a little more history about the war although sad to see the atrocities that were a part of it. After the museum we saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, fashioned after the one in Paris when Vietnam was part of France. We also visited the Old Post office, which still functions and is beautifully designed in French architecture. Finally, we ended at the Ben Thanh market were we practiced our bargining skills!
That night we met with Eddie's friend and former JET teacher, Holly, and the 4 of us headed out for dinner at a local bbq restaurant recommended by our guide. Later we tried out "Lush" the nightclub recommended by our guide. It was quite trendy and we enjoyed the Saigon nightlife until the early morning hours when we rushed home to grab a few hours of sleep before our 8am flight to Siem Reap Cambodia the next morning!
The next morning we headed out for our tour of Saigon (according to the locals, Saigon and Ho Chi Minh city are OK to use). We started at the History museum where we traced Vietnamese history from ancient civilization to the 20th century. There was definite mention of defeating the "US invaders" and unifying the country in the last room which picqued our interest for the remainder of the day. Next, we visited the Reunification Palace, named after N and S Vietnam reunified. Before that is was the royal palace and the main base of operation in Saigon during the Vietnam war (called the American war in Vietnam). It was amazing to see the underground bunkers, rooms with huge maps pinpointing the locations of all the Viet Cong strong holds and rows of old fashion telephones that were the "hotlines" for top officials to call Washington D.C. Everything was slightly more fascinating since it involved our history, as well as Vietnams.
Next, we headed to lunch at a delicious local restaurant, Quan An Ngon, where our guide ordered us excellent Saigon fare. After lunch we relaxed with a massage at L'Apothequaire spa. It was Eddie's first massage and the entire spa was pink!!
After lunch we went to the War Remnants museum. This museum is focused on the Vietnam war, from the North Vietnamese side. It was interesting to learn a little more history about the war although sad to see the atrocities that were a part of it. After the museum we saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, fashioned after the one in Paris when Vietnam was part of France. We also visited the Old Post office, which still functions and is beautifully designed in French architecture. Finally, we ended at the Ben Thanh market were we practiced our bargining skills!
That night we met with Eddie's friend and former JET teacher, Holly, and the 4 of us headed out for dinner at a local bbq restaurant recommended by our guide. Later we tried out "Lush" the nightclub recommended by our guide. It was quite trendy and we enjoyed the Saigon nightlife until the early morning hours when we rushed home to grab a few hours of sleep before our 8am flight to Siem Reap Cambodia the next morning!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
North Vietnam
After a lazy few days in Laos, we were ready to kick it into high gear again for our exploration of Vietnam. We arrived Sunday night and met up with Eddie, our friend from Michigan who now lives in Japan. The 3 of us headed out for some traditional Vietnamese fare and then to a water puppet show. The water puppets are a traditional Vietnamese art form, started by farmers several hundred years ago. The performers are behind a curtain, in the water, and the acts are performed by puppets spinning around the water. The acts tell traditional stories of Vietnamese villages and life as rice farmers, living near and on the water. Even today, 65% of Vietnamese are still farmers by trade and the water continues to be an important part of every day life. The music was all traditional Vietnamese instruments. We didn’t know what any of them were but they looked like early versions of a banjo, flute, drums and a very interesting harp played with a pick and a hand crank to change the octaves. It was very entertaining, even though it was completely in Vietnamese!
After the show we met up with Eddie’s friend, Holly, also from Michigan but now working in Korea, and the 4 of us stayed up enjoying cheap Vietnamese “bia.”
The next morning we got up early for breakfast and a 3 hour drive to Halong Bay. We awoke to a huge storm with lighting and thunder so loud we thought the hotel would crumble! The storm didn’t break until we were about 30 minutes from Halong Bay and we were blessed with beautiful clear weather for the remainder of the day! Once on the boat we headed out to Halong Bay. This is an enormous area with hundreds of small rock, islands. There are approximately 11,000 people who live on the water in “water villages.” They even have a floating primary school! The area is beautiful and is being considered for one of the 7 natural wonders of the world; it is already a world heritage city. We kayaked around the junk and over to a small beach where we climbed 500 steps to reach a look out to watch the sunset over Halong Bay. Half way up we ran into Jade and Melanie, the friends who flew to Hong Kong with us!! We couldn’t believe it and spent several minutes catching up with them and exchanging restaurant suggestions. After we took pictures and said our goodbyes again, we continued the hike and saw the sun set behind the mountains. It was gorgeous. We kayaked back to the boat with a short detour through a small opening in a mountain and into a “lake” or ocean water completely surrounded by mountains. It was beautiful and we would have liked to stay longer but Shane, unfortunately, ended up with his 2nd migraine of the trip and we had to hurry back to take his medicine. Thankfully we caught it in time and he was able to rejoin the group after about 45 minutes for dinner. The lunches and dinners on the boat were delicious seafood extravaganza, not so good for Eddie who doesn’t eat seafood. He enjoyed fried tofu and pork while we ate prawns, fish, crab and calamari!
That night the boys tried their luck at some fishing off the side of the boat with bamboo poles. Unfortunately, there was no bait and the closest thing they came to catching was a small crab that Eddie managed to convince to climb up his pole and then jump off whenever he pulled it halfway out of the water.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast on the junk and then went out in a bamboo boat, rowed by our guide. We toured through the mountain tunnel again and into the lake so we were able to get some good pictures. We returned to the boat just in time to shower and pack up when the rain started again. The timing was perfect and we headed back to shore for our flight to Saigon.
After the show we met up with Eddie’s friend, Holly, also from Michigan but now working in Korea, and the 4 of us stayed up enjoying cheap Vietnamese “bia.”
The next morning we got up early for breakfast and a 3 hour drive to Halong Bay. We awoke to a huge storm with lighting and thunder so loud we thought the hotel would crumble! The storm didn’t break until we were about 30 minutes from Halong Bay and we were blessed with beautiful clear weather for the remainder of the day! Once on the boat we headed out to Halong Bay. This is an enormous area with hundreds of small rock, islands. There are approximately 11,000 people who live on the water in “water villages.” They even have a floating primary school! The area is beautiful and is being considered for one of the 7 natural wonders of the world; it is already a world heritage city. We kayaked around the junk and over to a small beach where we climbed 500 steps to reach a look out to watch the sunset over Halong Bay. Half way up we ran into Jade and Melanie, the friends who flew to Hong Kong with us!! We couldn’t believe it and spent several minutes catching up with them and exchanging restaurant suggestions. After we took pictures and said our goodbyes again, we continued the hike and saw the sun set behind the mountains. It was gorgeous. We kayaked back to the boat with a short detour through a small opening in a mountain and into a “lake” or ocean water completely surrounded by mountains. It was beautiful and we would have liked to stay longer but Shane, unfortunately, ended up with his 2nd migraine of the trip and we had to hurry back to take his medicine. Thankfully we caught it in time and he was able to rejoin the group after about 45 minutes for dinner. The lunches and dinners on the boat were delicious seafood extravaganza, not so good for Eddie who doesn’t eat seafood. He enjoyed fried tofu and pork while we ate prawns, fish, crab and calamari!
That night the boys tried their luck at some fishing off the side of the boat with bamboo poles. Unfortunately, there was no bait and the closest thing they came to catching was a small crab that Eddie managed to convince to climb up his pole and then jump off whenever he pulled it halfway out of the water.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast on the junk and then went out in a bamboo boat, rowed by our guide. We toured through the mountain tunnel again and into the lake so we were able to get some good pictures. We returned to the boat just in time to shower and pack up when the rain started again. The timing was perfect and we headed back to shore for our flight to Saigon.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Laos continued
Our 3rd day in Luang Prabang we were scheduled to go to the Luang Prabang orphanage. We picked up some school supplies for the kids, then headed to the orphanage. We were able to present the supplies to the director and hear about the orphanage, its funding and the kids. Unfortunately for us, it was a holiday and most of the kids were visiting there relatives in villages. Only 35 children at the orphanage school have no family whatsoever. We were able to meet them and see there workshops where they were busy painting and making small sculptures from rocks to sell at the night market. After visiting we returned to Luang Prabang and spent the rest of the day walking around and relaxing.
The next day we got up early for breakfast then headed down the road to the Tum Tum Cheung cooking school. We were in a class with 14 other people and it was fun to hear all of the other's travel adventures. The class took us to the morning market where we shopped for the fresh ingredients to go into our meal. We prepared, as a class; spring rolls, fried rice salad with tofu, sour fish soup, stuffed bamboo sprouts/stuffed lemongrass, sticky rice and spicy beef salad. In Lao cooking, the preparation takes most of the time (approx 4-5 hours for a party of 16!) so we only chopped the basics - lemongrass, ginger, galangal (type of ginger), garlic, and shallots. The chef showed us all of the different types of herbs, spices and vegetables that are typically in Lao cooking, and educated us on what to supplement once we were at home. The class was a lot of fun and the food was delicious!
After the class we relaxed in our hotel until 5:45pm when we met our guide to head off to the Baici ceremony. This is a traditional Lao ceremony where the community blesses people coming or going on a long journey. The traditional Lao belief is that people have 22 spirits that leave them when they leave home, so in the ceremony they tie 22 strings on your wrists to call the spirits home. Each villager tied 1 string on each of our wrists. They then sang to us, and presented us with several sweets as well as having us take 2 shots of Lao Lao, the local whiskey, by crossing arms with each other and drinking. No one said the Lao don't know how to throw a party! After, some of the local children entertained us with traditional dances. The girls danced in groups of 5 or 6 doing several dances and 2 boys did traditional Rama dances with masks. It was excellent (I felt like Clara in the Nutcracker!).
Following the ceremony we returned to our favorite Lao bbq restaurant where they immediately recognized us and, once again, cooked most of our food for us :o) Shane proceeded to sweat profusely and we thoroughly enjoyed every bite!
We are now packing our bags and saying goodbye to Laos. We head for Hanoi this afternoon and will meet up with Eddie Mears to explore Vietnam and Cambodia.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Op Pop Tock weaving and Laos food
Our second day in Laos was one of our favorites so far on this vacation! After getting up early and feeding the monks (as mentioned in the last blog), we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then headed off to the Tad Sae waterfall. We were supposed to go to the Khuang Sii waterfall which is much larger but the road to it was flooded. As a result of all the rain, the Tad Sae waterfall was beautiful. It was more like several stories of white water rapids with several bamboo bridges for climbing over it and above it. We dipped our feet in but were unwilling to swim (unlike the Australian group who jumped right in!) because it was a little chilly ;o) To get to and from the falls we had to take water taxis and we saw the endless beauty of Laos scenery along the way.
After the waterfalls we headed back into town to a silver shop where the owner carves his own wood and uses all silver mined in Laos. The shop was beautiful and the owner very knowledgeable. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant and walked around a Chinese market for awhile.
Next we headed to the Op Pop Tock weaving center. Here we learned about how silk is made from the silk worm to boiling the cocoon to pulling the silk through a small hole in wood and winding it for silk. This is still done in parts of Laos but now most of their silk is imported from China. Once the silk is prepared it is died. The local Laos people use several local plants and woods for dying the silk; indigo leaves, tamarind, sappon tree bark, teak leaves and many other indigenous species. They also use aluminum to clean the silk and some other useful products like rusty nails, ashes and limestone paste. Our guide then showed us the different types of weaving and the looms, free standing and back looms, that native weavers use. We observed several women weaving in the shop. The designs they were doing were so intricate and it can take several weeks to finish just one scarf, if the design is difficult enough! The Op Pop Tock group (which means East meets West) was started by 2 women who wanted to give local Laos women a safe environment to practice their skill and a world market in which to sell it. After observing the women we met the head weaver and dyer, Mr Kim. He and our guide assisted us in each dying 3 skeins of silk. Shane did purple, blue and yellow while Sarah did blue, red and pink. We were cutting leaves, boiling, pounding with mortars and pestle, then dipping the silk in the dye, ringing it out and letting it dry in the sun. It was hard work and we were glad to only have to do 3 colors each! As our silk was drying our guide presented us with a plate of traditional Laotian foods as well as lemongrass tea, tamarind tea and hibiscus/lemongrass tea. All of it was delicious. The Laos food was very spicy. We had chili sauce, tomato dip resembling salsa, eggplant dip and another obscure green vegetable dip that we used rice cakes and dried riverweed (yes, seaweed from the Mekong river) to eat with. Also, dried buffalo meat, traditional Laos sausage and pickled bamboo. It was all very foreign but delicious!
That evening, continuing in our trend of eating at 1 completely local restaurant where no one speaks a word of English and the waitress stares at you until you order (this seems to be universal) we ate at a Lao bbq restaurant for our 3rd dinner in Luang Prabang. For approx $5 we received a pot of boiling chicken broth, placed over an open wood stove situated on our table with sides of raw chicken and fish, a basket of every vegetable imaginable, 2 eggs, garlic, chili peppers and ginger. Included in the meal was a pack of very sweet but clearly stray canines meandering about our feet for scraps falling through our chopsticks. We clearly looked like fools placing each item in the pot individually and were saved by a kind Laos waiter who came over and placed all of our food in the pot, mixing it, serving us and placing a dollop of peanut sauce on top. We topped if off with some slightly warm Lao beer and by the end of the dinner, Shane was literally soaked from head to toe with sweat from a combination of the ridiculous Asian humidity, the stifling open flame before his face, the 98 degree lao beer, and the massive amount of chile peppers he decided to add to his meal. But he loved every second of it! It was quite an experience, to say the least!
After the waterfalls we headed back into town to a silver shop where the owner carves his own wood and uses all silver mined in Laos. The shop was beautiful and the owner very knowledgeable. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant and walked around a Chinese market for awhile.
Next we headed to the Op Pop Tock weaving center. Here we learned about how silk is made from the silk worm to boiling the cocoon to pulling the silk through a small hole in wood and winding it for silk. This is still done in parts of Laos but now most of their silk is imported from China. Once the silk is prepared it is died. The local Laos people use several local plants and woods for dying the silk; indigo leaves, tamarind, sappon tree bark, teak leaves and many other indigenous species. They also use aluminum to clean the silk and some other useful products like rusty nails, ashes and limestone paste. Our guide then showed us the different types of weaving and the looms, free standing and back looms, that native weavers use. We observed several women weaving in the shop. The designs they were doing were so intricate and it can take several weeks to finish just one scarf, if the design is difficult enough! The Op Pop Tock group (which means East meets West) was started by 2 women who wanted to give local Laos women a safe environment to practice their skill and a world market in which to sell it. After observing the women we met the head weaver and dyer, Mr Kim. He and our guide assisted us in each dying 3 skeins of silk. Shane did purple, blue and yellow while Sarah did blue, red and pink. We were cutting leaves, boiling, pounding with mortars and pestle, then dipping the silk in the dye, ringing it out and letting it dry in the sun. It was hard work and we were glad to only have to do 3 colors each! As our silk was drying our guide presented us with a plate of traditional Laotian foods as well as lemongrass tea, tamarind tea and hibiscus/lemongrass tea. All of it was delicious. The Laos food was very spicy. We had chili sauce, tomato dip resembling salsa, eggplant dip and another obscure green vegetable dip that we used rice cakes and dried riverweed (yes, seaweed from the Mekong river) to eat with. Also, dried buffalo meat, traditional Laos sausage and pickled bamboo. It was all very foreign but delicious!
That evening, continuing in our trend of eating at 1 completely local restaurant where no one speaks a word of English and the waitress stares at you until you order (this seems to be universal) we ate at a Lao bbq restaurant for our 3rd dinner in Luang Prabang. For approx $5 we received a pot of boiling chicken broth, placed over an open wood stove situated on our table with sides of raw chicken and fish, a basket of every vegetable imaginable, 2 eggs, garlic, chili peppers and ginger. Included in the meal was a pack of very sweet but clearly stray canines meandering about our feet for scraps falling through our chopsticks. We clearly looked like fools placing each item in the pot individually and were saved by a kind Laos waiter who came over and placed all of our food in the pot, mixing it, serving us and placing a dollop of peanut sauce on top. We topped if off with some slightly warm Lao beer and by the end of the dinner, Shane was literally soaked from head to toe with sweat from a combination of the ridiculous Asian humidity, the stifling open flame before his face, the 98 degree lao beer, and the massive amount of chile peppers he decided to add to his meal. But he loved every second of it! It was quite an experience, to say the least!
Laos and the story of Buddha
When the communist government took over Laos in 1975 they originally banned the practice of Buddhism. They quickly realized, however, that this was a futile attempt as most Laotian people continued to practice without hesitation. The government now maintains a neutral position in regards to the religion. In Laos, almost all men, at some point, practice as novice monks. Usually they will go to a Buddhist school for 3 months to 1 year for regular school classes, as well as specific classes in Buddhism and sandscrit. Our guide is no exception and attended a Buddhist school, as a novice, for 1 year when he was young. He has led us through many of the temples in Laos and given detailed descriptions of the wall mosaics that describe many of the stories believed by Buddhist people. According to him, Buddhism is more of a spirituality than an actual religion and most Laos Buddhist still practice some type of Hinduism or animism (belief in animal spirits). The stories are very similar to greek myths (in fact, according to our guide, the 1st Buddha image was created by Alexander the Great - a Greek!) in that they involve princesses and princes, monkey gods, bird gods, serpent gods and demons, all battling in a good versus evil universe. So, during our time exploring the Laos buddhist temples, the Pak Ou Buddhist caves and giving alms to the monks as they walked through the village at 6am this morning, we have learned the story of Buddha's last life (he had 7), as I will now relate.
A boy was born to a Hindu king and queen. The boy's mother died 7 days after his birth and the king was very upset. He called for 16 fortune tellers to come and declare the future of his son. Several informed the father that the son would become a great king and warrior. The king was very happy. When the boy was 7 years old, a hermit came into town and asked to see the boy. He read the boys fortune and informed the father that the boy would become a great spiritual leader, a buddha. The king was very disappointed and hid the boy from the world, never allowing him out of the kingdom. At the right age, the boy married, had a child, and took on responsibilities of a prince. However, he desired to see the outside world. So, one night he and a servent stole a horse and they rode out of the kingdom, into the outside world. The boy saw all kinds of human suffering - death, hunger, disease, poverty; and he decided he did not want to be human if this is what it meant. So, he left his family and his kingdom, cut off his hair, and moved into the woods to give up all earthly things and to learn everything he could. He was taught by a hermit. Once he learned everything he could from the hermit he traveled the world, continuing to learn, until he reached enlightenment. Once enlightened, he began to teach all over Asia and many people followed his teachings. When Buddha was in his 80's, he went to visit a blacksmith. The blacksmith went to cook Buddha's lunch and turned into a horse (I kind of missed why this happened, but for some reason he turned into a horse and then served the lunch). The lunch consisted of pork, and some poisionious mushrooms that the blacksmith didn't know where poisionious but Buddha, b/c he was enlightened, knew. And he knew it was his time to go to paradise. So, he told the people of the village not to eat the meal, it was just for him. He also said, "when I die, remember me in your hearts, not in life." Therefore, no image was made of buddha until Alexander the Great conquered India and was taught buddhism by a local princess. Being Greek, and fond of worshiping images, he fashioned the 1st buddha image. The buddha image has been worshiped ever since.
A boy was born to a Hindu king and queen. The boy's mother died 7 days after his birth and the king was very upset. He called for 16 fortune tellers to come and declare the future of his son. Several informed the father that the son would become a great king and warrior. The king was very happy. When the boy was 7 years old, a hermit came into town and asked to see the boy. He read the boys fortune and informed the father that the boy would become a great spiritual leader, a buddha. The king was very disappointed and hid the boy from the world, never allowing him out of the kingdom. At the right age, the boy married, had a child, and took on responsibilities of a prince. However, he desired to see the outside world. So, one night he and a servent stole a horse and they rode out of the kingdom, into the outside world. The boy saw all kinds of human suffering - death, hunger, disease, poverty; and he decided he did not want to be human if this is what it meant. So, he left his family and his kingdom, cut off his hair, and moved into the woods to give up all earthly things and to learn everything he could. He was taught by a hermit. Once he learned everything he could from the hermit he traveled the world, continuing to learn, until he reached enlightenment. Once enlightened, he began to teach all over Asia and many people followed his teachings. When Buddha was in his 80's, he went to visit a blacksmith. The blacksmith went to cook Buddha's lunch and turned into a horse (I kind of missed why this happened, but for some reason he turned into a horse and then served the lunch). The lunch consisted of pork, and some poisionious mushrooms that the blacksmith didn't know where poisionious but Buddha, b/c he was enlightened, knew. And he knew it was his time to go to paradise. So, he told the people of the village not to eat the meal, it was just for him. He also said, "when I die, remember me in your hearts, not in life." Therefore, no image was made of buddha until Alexander the Great conquered India and was taught buddhism by a local princess. Being Greek, and fond of worshiping images, he fashioned the 1st buddha image. The buddha image has been worshiped ever since.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Laos
Laos has to be the most beautiful place on the earth. Picture magnificent mountains covered with lush rain forest and a strong river flowing down the middle. Then picture this for miles, only occasionally broken by small villages with thatched roof homes, farmers working the rice paddies that line the sides of some hills and long boats, quietly breaking through the water with villagers on their way to work. This was our view for the past 2 days as we moved down the Mekong on a “slow boat” which resembles a long house boat and was reserved entirely for Shane and I! We left Thailand by water taxi and headed over to Huang Xai, the border town of Laos. The customs office was partially underwater from the heavy rains but that didn’t seem to stop the backpackers from flowing into town.
Laos was the last of the southeast Asia countries to open it’s doors to the West and tourism. As a result, as well as its communist government, the country is nearly untouched by the outside world. Our first stop in Laos was Pak Beng, the largest town on the western side of Laos. We stayed in the very first hotel built in the town! It was beautifully done with traditional Laos’s architecture and accommodations, an excellent Laos’s dinner was served and the staff was professional and spoke excellent English. However, several things were there to remind us of the poverty that still prevails: no air-conditioning in the room, the town’s 1 road was unpaved and very muddy from all the rain and we had to take a handmade raft to cross the road because it was flooded! There was no pretense of tourism here – it’s sink or swim, literally!
Our second stop was supposed to be Kamu lodge, a type of home stay where we would stay in a private lodge in a village. However, the lodges were underwater from the rain so we trekked onward toward Luang Prabang! Along the way we made 3 stops. The first was at a Hmong village. The villagers were incredibly kind and stopped their work to take pictures with us, show us there handiwork and take us through their homes. The homes were made of bamboo and thatched roofs, with areas boarded off indoors for the bedrooms, a small kitchen with a fire on the floor and a small area for eating and sitting. They were larger than we had expected and very clean. There was no running water or electricity and each villager worked very hard in the fields and around the village. The man we spoke with had left the village to work for the forest and recreation division but was sent back by the government to help the Hmong organize their farming and create a Hmong bank. We were followed throughout the village by a small group of children who giggled at everything we did.
Secondly we stopped at the Pak Ou Buddha caves, natural caves that were carved out near the mouth (Pak) of the Ou river. The native Laotian’s believed the caves to be sacred and filled them with Buddha images; there are around 400 small statues in the cave. The cave was forgotten and lost for many years, but rediscovered in the early 20th century and is now a spot for the faithful Buddhist traveler to stop and offer sacrifice, as well as a look back in time for the tourist. After the cave we stopped at “whisky village,” a “lowlilaos” village that specializes in making rice wine and whisky. Lowlilaos are the Laos people who make there living near the water. There homes are built on the ground, which differentiates them from the Khmer people who build higher up the hillside with elevated homes. The wine and whisky were better than expected and we purchased a few bottles for home.
We arrived in Luang Prabang in time to check into our hotel and peruse the Hmong night market (extensive market taking over several streets with everything from food to groceries to electronics) and have dinner at the international restaurant recommended by our guide, L’ elephant. It was delicious and we went to bed full and ready to explore the crown jewel of Asia; Luang Prabang.
Laos was the last of the southeast Asia countries to open it’s doors to the West and tourism. As a result, as well as its communist government, the country is nearly untouched by the outside world. Our first stop in Laos was Pak Beng, the largest town on the western side of Laos. We stayed in the very first hotel built in the town! It was beautifully done with traditional Laos’s architecture and accommodations, an excellent Laos’s dinner was served and the staff was professional and spoke excellent English. However, several things were there to remind us of the poverty that still prevails: no air-conditioning in the room, the town’s 1 road was unpaved and very muddy from all the rain and we had to take a handmade raft to cross the road because it was flooded! There was no pretense of tourism here – it’s sink or swim, literally!
Our second stop was supposed to be Kamu lodge, a type of home stay where we would stay in a private lodge in a village. However, the lodges were underwater from the rain so we trekked onward toward Luang Prabang! Along the way we made 3 stops. The first was at a Hmong village. The villagers were incredibly kind and stopped their work to take pictures with us, show us there handiwork and take us through their homes. The homes were made of bamboo and thatched roofs, with areas boarded off indoors for the bedrooms, a small kitchen with a fire on the floor and a small area for eating and sitting. They were larger than we had expected and very clean. There was no running water or electricity and each villager worked very hard in the fields and around the village. The man we spoke with had left the village to work for the forest and recreation division but was sent back by the government to help the Hmong organize their farming and create a Hmong bank. We were followed throughout the village by a small group of children who giggled at everything we did.
Secondly we stopped at the Pak Ou Buddha caves, natural caves that were carved out near the mouth (Pak) of the Ou river. The native Laotian’s believed the caves to be sacred and filled them with Buddha images; there are around 400 small statues in the cave. The cave was forgotten and lost for many years, but rediscovered in the early 20th century and is now a spot for the faithful Buddhist traveler to stop and offer sacrifice, as well as a look back in time for the tourist. After the cave we stopped at “whisky village,” a “lowlilaos” village that specializes in making rice wine and whisky. Lowlilaos are the Laos people who make there living near the water. There homes are built on the ground, which differentiates them from the Khmer people who build higher up the hillside with elevated homes. The wine and whisky were better than expected and we purchased a few bottles for home.
We arrived in Luang Prabang in time to check into our hotel and peruse the Hmong night market (extensive market taking over several streets with everything from food to groceries to electronics) and have dinner at the international restaurant recommended by our guide, L’ elephant. It was delicious and we went to bed full and ready to explore the crown jewel of Asia; Luang Prabang.
Chaing Rai, Thailand
Chaing Rai
Continuing north we ended in Chaing Rai, the northernmost province of Thailand. We visited the Hill tribe museum where we learned the history, lifestyles and current issues surrounding the hilltribe people. Below the museum is a restaurant called “Cabbages and Condoms” started by a Thai business man to help decrease the effects of HIV/AIDS on his people. After we drove up to Mae Chan, another trading post for the Akha and Yao people and visited the village of the Lisu (from Myanmar) and Lahu (from Tibet) tribes. We continued to Mae Sai, the northernmost point of Thailand. There is a small bridge connecting Thailand to Burma and the streets are lined with vendors. Thai are allowed to go into Burma until 6pm and many go for discount shopping.
We ate lunch at a hotel overlooking the Golden triangle. It is an amazing view to stand at the point of 1 country and clearly see the triangle of the Mekong and Ruak rivers dividing Laos, Thailand and Burma. The history of opium is everywhere in this part of the country and we learned about the process of opium growing and production at the Opium Museum. The area is called the Golden triangle because opium was so precious it was traded for gold, not money. Opium originally grew in China and was run by the British which caused several disagreements with the country, resulting in the Opium Wars. During this time, many of the hill tribes from China migrated to Laos, Burma and Thailand and brought their opium growing skills along with them. Opium was the main cash crop for many of the tribes until it was outlawed in the mid 1900’s first in Thailand, then Burma and finally Laos. Thailand has basically eradicated its growth but it can still be found in parts of Burma and Laos.
We returned to our hotel in Chaing Rai for dinner and to check out the night market which seems to be the Thai version of a shopping mall. There is one in every city and they sell everything from electronics to clothes to food. The following morning we got up early to drive to the Thailand border town of Chaing Dao and cross over into Laos.
Continuing north we ended in Chaing Rai, the northernmost province of Thailand. We visited the Hill tribe museum where we learned the history, lifestyles and current issues surrounding the hilltribe people. Below the museum is a restaurant called “Cabbages and Condoms” started by a Thai business man to help decrease the effects of HIV/AIDS on his people. After we drove up to Mae Chan, another trading post for the Akha and Yao people and visited the village of the Lisu (from Myanmar) and Lahu (from Tibet) tribes. We continued to Mae Sai, the northernmost point of Thailand. There is a small bridge connecting Thailand to Burma and the streets are lined with vendors. Thai are allowed to go into Burma until 6pm and many go for discount shopping.
We ate lunch at a hotel overlooking the Golden triangle. It is an amazing view to stand at the point of 1 country and clearly see the triangle of the Mekong and Ruak rivers dividing Laos, Thailand and Burma. The history of opium is everywhere in this part of the country and we learned about the process of opium growing and production at the Opium Museum. The area is called the Golden triangle because opium was so precious it was traded for gold, not money. Opium originally grew in China and was run by the British which caused several disagreements with the country, resulting in the Opium Wars. During this time, many of the hill tribes from China migrated to Laos, Burma and Thailand and brought their opium growing skills along with them. Opium was the main cash crop for many of the tribes until it was outlawed in the mid 1900’s first in Thailand, then Burma and finally Laos. Thailand has basically eradicated its growth but it can still be found in parts of Burma and Laos.
We returned to our hotel in Chaing Rai for dinner and to check out the night market which seems to be the Thai version of a shopping mall. There is one in every city and they sell everything from electronics to clothes to food. The following morning we got up early to drive to the Thailand border town of Chaing Dao and cross over into Laos.
Hill tribes
The following day we headed out to see the hill tribes who live in the hills around Chaing Mai. There are 6 main groups, the Karen, Lahu, Akha, Hmong, Lisu and Tai (Yao). There are a few other smaller groups as well. On the way to the villages we stopped at the Tham Chiang Dao complex – a natural cave formation of 5 interconnected caves. We walked through Tham Phra Nawn and Tham Seua Dao. The other 3 caves are unavailable in the rainy season because they fill with too much water.
After the caves we went to the Lisu (also called Kayong) and Karen villages. The Lisu are distinguished by the large earrings they wear which stretch out their ears. They place them in the little girls ears at age 3 and slowly increase the size until they are approx 1 inch in diameter! The Karen are the largest tribe in Thailand and are also largely in Burma. A smaller sect of the Karen, the long necked Karen, wear brass rings around their necks, also starting around age 3. The rings initially began when their village was attacked by tigers and several members died from bites to the neck. The local leader decided all women should wear rings around their necks. The girls begin with 3 rings and then add 3 every few years until they are married. The rings cause the neck to become very weak so the women will not take the rings off until they die, because it would be dangerous.
The next tribe we visted was the Ahka. They are considered the poorest tribe in Thailand, migrated from Tibet and had originally made most of their money from the sale of opium. The Ahka are distinguished by their elaborate head gear decorated with fur and silver coins. Several of the older women smoked pipes and their mouths were stained from the chewing of betel berries, which have a mildly stimulating and addictive quality. The Ahka used to farm land, then burn the land and move onto a new place. Each year the leader would drop an egg on the ground, if it broke, they moved; if it stayed hard, they stayed. This was how they could tell the land was too hard to farm. Since burning land is now illegal in Thailand, the government has set up land for them to live on and farm so their homes are now permanent. However, most still live in bamboo huts with thatched roofs. A giant swing in the middle of the village is used 3 days a year for the Ahka new year. At this time the boys and girls dress in their finest since this is the time marriages are arranged and the girls and boys can finally meet. Prior to this, the homes are separated with men sleeping outdoors and women indoors. No man is allowed to enter the women’s room.
After these visits we drove up the mountain, towards Chaing Rai to Mae Chan where we visited the Yao people. Mae Chan was founded by Kuomitang soliders who fled communist China after 1949 and settled in the hills. The Yao people now grow primarily rice and tea and are the most integrated of all the hill tribes. We tasted some delicious freshly grown tea and visited the tea plantation.
After the caves we went to the Lisu (also called Kayong) and Karen villages. The Lisu are distinguished by the large earrings they wear which stretch out their ears. They place them in the little girls ears at age 3 and slowly increase the size until they are approx 1 inch in diameter! The Karen are the largest tribe in Thailand and are also largely in Burma. A smaller sect of the Karen, the long necked Karen, wear brass rings around their necks, also starting around age 3. The rings initially began when their village was attacked by tigers and several members died from bites to the neck. The local leader decided all women should wear rings around their necks. The girls begin with 3 rings and then add 3 every few years until they are married. The rings cause the neck to become very weak so the women will not take the rings off until they die, because it would be dangerous.
The next tribe we visted was the Ahka. They are considered the poorest tribe in Thailand, migrated from Tibet and had originally made most of their money from the sale of opium. The Ahka are distinguished by their elaborate head gear decorated with fur and silver coins. Several of the older women smoked pipes and their mouths were stained from the chewing of betel berries, which have a mildly stimulating and addictive quality. The Ahka used to farm land, then burn the land and move onto a new place. Each year the leader would drop an egg on the ground, if it broke, they moved; if it stayed hard, they stayed. This was how they could tell the land was too hard to farm. Since burning land is now illegal in Thailand, the government has set up land for them to live on and farm so their homes are now permanent. However, most still live in bamboo huts with thatched roofs. A giant swing in the middle of the village is used 3 days a year for the Ahka new year. At this time the boys and girls dress in their finest since this is the time marriages are arranged and the girls and boys can finally meet. Prior to this, the homes are separated with men sleeping outdoors and women indoors. No man is allowed to enter the women’s room.
After these visits we drove up the mountain, towards Chaing Rai to Mae Chan where we visited the Yao people. Mae Chan was founded by Kuomitang soliders who fled communist China after 1949 and settled in the hills. The Yao people now grow primarily rice and tea and are the most integrated of all the hill tribes. We tasted some delicious freshly grown tea and visited the tea plantation.
Chaing Mai
We arrived in Chaing Mai early in the morning and headed straight for the Mae Taman elephant camp. Once there we were able to feed and play with the elephants before the show began. The show started with the elephant bath time. Elephants are so cute and they were tromping through the water, filling their noses with water and blowing at each other and the people. After their baths, their riders took them up to the main stage for the “Elephants at work” show which featured them doing several tricks including kicking a soccer ball and making a basket with a basketball. Lastly, the elephants actually painted pictures with their tusks. It was amazing! This camp uses the show and sells the paintings to raise money to feed the elephants who eat several tons of food per day. After the show we were able to go for a ride on the elephants which gave us a great and unique view of the Chaing Mai country side. After the ride we rode back to camp on an ox cart. It gave a whole new meaning to the importance of being evenly yoked :o)
After returning to the camp for lunch we took a short ride down the Mae Taeng river in a flat boat raft. We had a close up view of the beautiful flora and fauna that is in full bloom in the rainy season.
After the ride we returned to our car and drove up the Doi Suthep Moutain. Halfway up is a beautiful spot for pictures. At the top we visited the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep which is a temple named after the hermit Sudeva who lived on this mountain before it was accessible by road. To reach the temple you must climb 306 steps with a staircase in the shape of a giant serpent. We cheated and drove to the top and walked down the steps!
Finally, we visited once last temple, the Wat Suan Dok where the ashes of Chaing Rai’s royal family are buried. Before this we stopped at Wawee coffee, a coffee shop set up by the mother of the King to bring fair trade Hill tribe coffee to a larger population. We ended that night at Tamarind village – an amazing hotel that mixed luxury with the traditional décor of the area.
That night for dinner we ate at a local restaurant recommended by our guide. It was very Thai and we were definitely the only tourist there, a fact exemplified by our waitress who stood at our table, pen in hand, the entire time we looked at the menu and then called her 3 co-workers to assist with understanding our English requests. The guitarist, who initially was performing Thai music, suddenly switched to a replica of American songs that we have heard every Thai musician since playing; John Denver – Country Roads, the Eagles – Tequila Sunrise and a few other folk songs that are only heard on Delila! It was amazing!!
After returning to the camp for lunch we took a short ride down the Mae Taeng river in a flat boat raft. We had a close up view of the beautiful flora and fauna that is in full bloom in the rainy season.
After the ride we returned to our car and drove up the Doi Suthep Moutain. Halfway up is a beautiful spot for pictures. At the top we visited the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep which is a temple named after the hermit Sudeva who lived on this mountain before it was accessible by road. To reach the temple you must climb 306 steps with a staircase in the shape of a giant serpent. We cheated and drove to the top and walked down the steps!
Finally, we visited once last temple, the Wat Suan Dok where the ashes of Chaing Rai’s royal family are buried. Before this we stopped at Wawee coffee, a coffee shop set up by the mother of the King to bring fair trade Hill tribe coffee to a larger population. We ended that night at Tamarind village – an amazing hotel that mixed luxury with the traditional décor of the area.
That night for dinner we ate at a local restaurant recommended by our guide. It was very Thai and we were definitely the only tourist there, a fact exemplified by our waitress who stood at our table, pen in hand, the entire time we looked at the menu and then called her 3 co-workers to assist with understanding our English requests. The guitarist, who initially was performing Thai music, suddenly switched to a replica of American songs that we have heard every Thai musician since playing; John Denver – Country Roads, the Eagles – Tequila Sunrise and a few other folk songs that are only heard on Delila! It was amazing!!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bangkok!
So, Sarah is planning on living in Thailand. Unfortunately, Shane has to return to NY to work, so they can afford Thailand so Sarah, sadly, will have to return with him. However, not without finding an Asian market where she can attempt to recreate the delicious flavors they have grown accustomed to! The Thai markets are open almost 24 hours a day and have the most delicious foods, especially fruits that we have never even heard of: longon – a grape type flavor in a small kiwi colored shell; Durian – smells so bad you are not allowed to bring it into air-conditioned buildings but tastes sweet and delicious; lamputan – red and fuzzy shell with a sweet fruit inside; dragonfruit – white fruit with black dots; and many more whose names we cannot remember. All are grown locally and are cheap and delicious!!
We arrived late to Bangkok thanks to the typhoon so we headed straight to our Thai massage. Thai massage is a combination of deep tissue massage, stretching, pulling at the joints and chiropractics. It was incredible! After the massage we checked into our hotel and headed downtown to dinner at a local restaurant. The restaurant kept its fish in large tanks and then killed some and placed them on ice that evening. We were able to chose our fish by pointing at the exact one we wanted, then the waiter took it to the back where the chef would either flash fry, bbq or broil the fish and serve it with rice and cooked vegetables. It was delicious! After dinner we walked around the night market and got a small sample of Bangkok’s night life.
The next day was a full day of touring. We visited Wat Trimtir where the newly discovered 5 ½ ton golden Buddha was discovered; Wat Po, the temple of the reclining Buddha and Wat Benjamaborpit, the white marble temple made with a combination of Italian marble and Thai architecture. We also went to the Grand Palace, the former residence of the King and Queen of Thailand and saw the emerald Buddha temple, where the small Buddha made completely of jade is displayed. We took a tour by river barge through the canals of Bangkok which are extensive and still very much a function of everyday life. People commute by canal, there were several floating stores and restaurants and even a post man barge! On the tour we stopped at the Royal Barges museum where the barges of the King are housed. These were once used in battle and for royal processions, they are still functional and used for special occasions. We also stopped at the Temple of the Dawn where the King, after Burma had seized Bangkok, fled away in a barge and ended at this point when the sun began to rise. He created a temple and named it temple of the dawn. We climbed to the top (up very steep steps!) to see fantastic views of the city.
At the end of the day we visited Jim Thompson’s house and museum. Jim Thompson was born in Delaware but fell in love with Thailand after WWII. He built a traditional Thai house and started the Jim Thompson silk enterprise that introduced the world to Thai silk. He disappeared in Malaysia when he was 61 years old never to be seen again, but his industry remains and continues to provide silk throughout the world.
After our very full day, we headed off quickly to the Bangkok train station to hop on our overnight train to Chaing Mai.
We arrived late to Bangkok thanks to the typhoon so we headed straight to our Thai massage. Thai massage is a combination of deep tissue massage, stretching, pulling at the joints and chiropractics. It was incredible! After the massage we checked into our hotel and headed downtown to dinner at a local restaurant. The restaurant kept its fish in large tanks and then killed some and placed them on ice that evening. We were able to chose our fish by pointing at the exact one we wanted, then the waiter took it to the back where the chef would either flash fry, bbq or broil the fish and serve it with rice and cooked vegetables. It was delicious! After dinner we walked around the night market and got a small sample of Bangkok’s night life.
The next day was a full day of touring. We visited Wat Trimtir where the newly discovered 5 ½ ton golden Buddha was discovered; Wat Po, the temple of the reclining Buddha and Wat Benjamaborpit, the white marble temple made with a combination of Italian marble and Thai architecture. We also went to the Grand Palace, the former residence of the King and Queen of Thailand and saw the emerald Buddha temple, where the small Buddha made completely of jade is displayed. We took a tour by river barge through the canals of Bangkok which are extensive and still very much a function of everyday life. People commute by canal, there were several floating stores and restaurants and even a post man barge! On the tour we stopped at the Royal Barges museum where the barges of the King are housed. These were once used in battle and for royal processions, they are still functional and used for special occasions. We also stopped at the Temple of the Dawn where the King, after Burma had seized Bangkok, fled away in a barge and ended at this point when the sun began to rise. He created a temple and named it temple of the dawn. We climbed to the top (up very steep steps!) to see fantastic views of the city.
At the end of the day we visited Jim Thompson’s house and museum. Jim Thompson was born in Delaware but fell in love with Thailand after WWII. He built a traditional Thai house and started the Jim Thompson silk enterprise that introduced the world to Thai silk. He disappeared in Malaysia when he was 61 years old never to be seen again, but his industry remains and continues to provide silk throughout the world.
After our very full day, we headed off quickly to the Bangkok train station to hop on our overnight train to Chaing Mai.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Welcome to Hong Kong
Hello from Hong Kong. Let's see, where to begin??? So, after a wonderful sixteen hour flight, we arrived and were shuttled to our hotel which is much fancier than we anticipated. We immediately zipped off to the tailor where Jade and Shane had suits made to begin work. It is really amazing to see how seriously our Hong Kong tailor takes his profession. Sarah and Melanie watched while drinking free beer. We have something to learn in the states, free beer always puts us in the mood to spend money. Then, a quick dinner at a local restaurant and some much needed rest to recoup before our day of sight seeing.
The next morning, we met our guide who whisked us off to Victoria's Peak to see the beautiful city below. We ascended the 1,810 feet in a tram, built in 1888 at approximately a 45 degree angle - it felt a little like a roller coaster! From the top we could see all of what has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. On the way up, we saw the homes of the elite and wealthy who have lived atop the peak since the British first made it the home of the established. Prior to the building of the tram, these privileged individuals were carried to their homes in sedan chairs supported by the locals.
After taking in the view, we drove off to the Stanley Market, a more upscale market where the locals like to shop on the weekends. We saw beautiful carved wood pieces, chopsticks and several clothing stores - where Sarah managed to make a purchase. After shopping we went to the Aberdeen fishing village. We toured the floating village by Sampan, the traditional wooden boat used by Hong Kong fishermen. This used to be the primary residense of it's citizens and entire families devoted their lives to fishing and living together on the water. Now that school is compulsory to all children and electric generators are more available for the boats, most of the families have land residences and many of the children are electing to change careers, instead of continuing the family business.
After our tour, our guide dropped us off at the hotel where we grabbed our rain coats and headed for the Shamrock hotel for Dim Sum with Jade and Melanie (allegedly the best in the world!) It was very delicious and we were all quite sated with several mystery dishes. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the Kowloon district (mainland Hong Kong) and quenching our adult thirsts at a nearby pub.
Today - assuming we survive the typhoon warning- we are off to Bangkok. For now, just click on the picture and you should be able to see our Hong Kong collection!
Friday, August 1, 2008
NYC living!
We are official New Yorkers - well almost. The past few days have been crazy. On July 29th-30th Shane took the bar in Albany, NY. His flight from LaGuardia to Albany on the 28th was canceled so he had to get a rental car to drive up but he made it, took the test, and is now very glad to be done. On Thursday, (7/31) we met with our broker to look for places to live in NYC. We looked at 7 apartments before we found our dream spot- 360 Central Park West. Across the street from the park, on the upper West side of Manhattan, allows dogs, view of the park, large kitchen (in NYC terms) and... 3 closets! Plus, it is only 3 blocks from Sarah's work!! We wanted to sign the lease immediately. Unfortunately, so did another couple. So, along with Sarah's mom and our broker, we ran to a restaurant where we spent the next few hours calling references (it is truly harder to get an apartment than a job in NYC!) and getting the paperwork and deposit ready. At 4pm today we got a call saying we got the apartment. We were so excited. The only catch is they wanted to sign the lease next week and we leave for Asia on Sunday. So, after a few more stress filled phone calls they decided to email us an agreement and allow us to sign the lease when we return from Asia. So much for getting things done in a New York Minute!
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