decided to take the train north. because of the sea games, everyone in asia is going that direction and the only available class was "hard bed". the nice man described it as a thin mattress with 6 people/ cubicle (rather than the 4" mattress and 4 people /cubicle which is first class). but as i was weighing the flying vs. train option, i remembered that only hours earlier i was re-writing the lonely planet in my head. "how to travel and experience culture". 1. get rid of this book. 2. if you still have this book, rule one is talk to people. seems obvious but its not always. 3. eliminate barriers by: taking public transportation everywhere (and talk to people on it), staying in cheap guesthouses not hotels, walk everyday, eat on the street, volunteer, travel alone....
so although the 16 hour hard bed might be uncomfortable, i am going for it. stay tuned for the result. could be good could be bad.
here's mom's last and second bLOG:
rule 4: realize that you are pretty funny (pretty funny looking, too)- and laugh a lot. People love it. Example: Bicycling in a crowd of school kids today, a couple hopped on the backs of our bikes - we were the center of very amused attention from everyone. It's nice to hear snickering behind your back here.
Sorry to be leaving Sarah, but I've loved being here, had a great few weeks. Bye to tropical breezes, hello to Christmas (hard to believe).
12/7/03
hello!
took a tour today. i momentarily forgot that i am anti-tour... but there isn't many ways to do what we did, so the tour was it. piled on a big bus. drove and honked for an hour until we got to the Cham ruins (ancient center of worship that was unfortunately vicitm of massive bombing durring the vietnam-american war). they were OK. nestled in a beautiful valley, but almost nothing left except brick rubble. after the ruins, we were led onto a boat, for a nice ride down the river to a pottery village and a woodworking village. this was definately the highlight (i like to see how people live). as you might imagine, the ergonomics are horrendous... the potters wheels are on a wooden disc on the floor with the potter crouching all day. i am getting the impression that many of the jobs here involve crouching all day! anyway, the village has a few huge kilns which are constantly firing, people who are constantly gathering wood, and clay from down river and other people who are constantly crouching and making pottery. still, they village is one of the poorest. the woodworking village was interesting, too, although we only got to see one workshop. the work was beautiful (more crouching and dangerous chiseling) and intricate. i asked about the wood which looked yellow and was told it was jack fruit, also used to build the 300 year old bridges and houses.
i ordered another pair of shoes. couldn't resist. mom ordered 3 full outfits, 3 shirts and a pair shoes. no more shopping for me!
going to bed now.
took a tour today. i momentarily forgot that i am anti-tour... but there isn't many ways to do what we did, so the tour was it. piled on a big bus. drove and honked for an hour until we got to the Cham ruins (ancient center of worship that was unfortunately vicitm of massive bombing durring the vietnam-american war). they were OK. nestled in a beautiful valley, but almost nothing left except brick rubble. after the ruins, we were led onto a boat, for a nice ride down the river to a pottery village and a woodworking village. this was definately the highlight (i like to see how people live). as you might imagine, the ergonomics are horrendous... the potters wheels are on a wooden disc on the floor with the potter crouching all day. i am getting the impression that many of the jobs here involve crouching all day! anyway, the village has a few huge kilns which are constantly firing, people who are constantly gathering wood, and clay from down river and other people who are constantly crouching and making pottery. still, they village is one of the poorest. the woodworking village was interesting, too, although we only got to see one workshop. the work was beautiful (more crouching and dangerous chiseling) and intricate. i asked about the wood which looked yellow and was told it was jack fruit, also used to build the 300 year old bridges and houses.
i ordered another pair of shoes. couldn't resist. mom ordered 3 full outfits, 3 shirts and a pair shoes. no more shopping for me!
going to bed now.
12/5/03
we made it to hoi an. food poisoning episode #2 over. recovery complete.
rumored cool city is actually... very cool. the beautiful colors of the buildings are accented with the natural black mold and green moss. we were enthralled and walked throught the small alleys taking pictures until it got dark.
the center of the city is a bustling contrast between the old and the modern. there are many art shops, woodworking shops (i like!) and shoe stores. everything is handmade to order. i am a sucker for shoes, so i have already ordered a pair. my feet were traced, measured in 3 places, i was told i was funny, was told to pick out my favorite colors of leather and come back tomorrow. $12 and very cute! they have doc marten-like boots made of asian silk but that's not what i got.
we are very busy for the next four days since the EVIL FLAN cut our time short. i am trying to convince my mom to go volunteer at an orphanage here, but i think she thinks i am joking. there are angkorian ruins nearby and a village of woodowrkers (who also build boats which is my favorite). we got a hotel room overlooking some beautiful rice paddies, complete with cows (the paddie, not the room).
there is a woman here on the phone yelling "I AM CALLING FROM VIETNAM!"... (just a little ambiance for you) and about 5 motorbikes/second beeping by. somewhere nearby i can hear the SEA games theme song....
rumored cool city is actually... very cool. the beautiful colors of the buildings are accented with the natural black mold and green moss. we were enthralled and walked throught the small alleys taking pictures until it got dark.
the center of the city is a bustling contrast between the old and the modern. there are many art shops, woodworking shops (i like!) and shoe stores. everything is handmade to order. i am a sucker for shoes, so i have already ordered a pair. my feet were traced, measured in 3 places, i was told i was funny, was told to pick out my favorite colors of leather and come back tomorrow. $12 and very cute! they have doc marten-like boots made of asian silk but that's not what i got.
we are very busy for the next four days since the EVIL FLAN cut our time short. i am trying to convince my mom to go volunteer at an orphanage here, but i think she thinks i am joking. there are angkorian ruins nearby and a village of woodowrkers (who also build boats which is my favorite). we got a hotel room overlooking some beautiful rice paddies, complete with cows (the paddie, not the room).
there is a woman here on the phone yelling "I AM CALLING FROM VIETNAM!"... (just a little ambiance for you) and about 5 motorbikes/second beeping by. somewhere nearby i can hear the SEA games theme song....
12/4/03
i've been asking around to see how people here feel about americans in light of the war... the guy next door who faught as a commander in the south vietnamese said "we try to forget the war". he had a friend (a US commander) that he was in contact with until a few years ago. after the south lost, the new govt took him out of university and made him go to a "re-education camp" for 7 years of "hard work". it seems that he has more restentment towards the viet cong than the americans.
the area we are in right now is close to the DMZ (demilitarized Zone) and so ahs seen a lot of action and bombing. on our little motorcycle tour the guy said that after the war, the viet comg came through and had a little rampage of ruthless killing. somewhere nearby they burried 10,000 people-alive.
the kid who drives us around, says that he is neutral about americans. if they pay him a lot, he likes them. then he says, "just kidding". (he thinks i am a 19 year old boy. he shrieks when he finds out i am a 28 year old girl.)
other people appear to feel the same. the woman at the cafe says that her father was killed in the war "by your government", but she is friendly and doesn't seem to hold a grudge.
considering how people feel about their own government, here, i think there are a lot of people who mentally seperate the american government from the american people. if only our country could do that!
the area we are in right now is close to the DMZ (demilitarized Zone) and so ahs seen a lot of action and bombing. on our little motorcycle tour the guy said that after the war, the viet comg came through and had a little rampage of ruthless killing. somewhere nearby they burried 10,000 people-alive.
the kid who drives us around, says that he is neutral about americans. if they pay him a lot, he likes them. then he says, "just kidding". (he thinks i am a 19 year old boy. he shrieks when he finds out i am a 28 year old girl.)
other people appear to feel the same. the woman at the cafe says that her father was killed in the war "by your government", but she is friendly and doesn't seem to hold a grudge.
considering how people feel about their own government, here, i think there are a lot of people who mentally seperate the american government from the american people. if only our country could do that!
ms grams and mrs erickson got food poisoning. we are not officially healed, but feeling better. the culprit might have been some very tasty flan from tropical garden restaurant in hue, vietnam. don't eat there.
the past few days have been mostly watching SEA games on tv. at the moment the vietnamese soccer team is playing indonesia and people are gathered en mass around tvs all over the city. every once in a while there are city-wide cheers and jeers which we like to hear.
mom just piped in that the women's vietnamese team is really much better than the men's team!
tomorrow we will be taking the tourist bus south to the cool city mentioned earlier. we have less time because of that flan, but it should be great. mom leaves in about 5 days, then i will stay for a week on my own before heading off in to the nether regions. which means i don't know what i am doing, but probably taking a train from bangkok to malasia then over to malasian-borneo then indonesia...
the past few days have been mostly watching SEA games on tv. at the moment the vietnamese soccer team is playing indonesia and people are gathered en mass around tvs all over the city. every once in a while there are city-wide cheers and jeers which we like to hear.
mom just piped in that the women's vietnamese team is really much better than the men's team!
tomorrow we will be taking the tourist bus south to the cool city mentioned earlier. we have less time because of that flan, but it should be great. mom leaves in about 5 days, then i will stay for a week on my own before heading off in to the nether regions. which means i don't know what i am doing, but probably taking a train from bangkok to malasia then over to malasian-borneo then indonesia...
12/1/03
hee hee check out this link for a very vietnamese quote from ho chi minh circa 1946 and a picture of him lifting wieghts.
http://english.seagames22.com.vn/modules/ttvndm/appeal.asp
i especially like the part where he says "Every unhealthy citizen weakens the country; every healthy citizen helps to make the country stronger.
Therefore, doing exercises and building ones’ strength is every patriot’s duty."
this is regarding the SEA (south east asia) GAMES which are happenning here now. they are sort of like the SEA version of the olympics. i especailly want to see championship ping pong! but the tickets might be sold out...
the motorbike ride was really cool. as soon as you get out to the countryside, its beautiful and much more interesting than the city. went to some sights, but the ride was really the best part of the day.
http://english.seagames22.com.vn/modules/ttvndm/appeal.asp
i especially like the part where he says "Every unhealthy citizen weakens the country; every healthy citizen helps to make the country stronger.
Therefore, doing exercises and building ones’ strength is every patriot’s duty."
this is regarding the SEA (south east asia) GAMES which are happenning here now. they are sort of like the SEA version of the olympics. i especailly want to see championship ping pong! but the tickets might be sold out...
the motorbike ride was really cool. as soon as you get out to the countryside, its beautiful and much more interesting than the city. went to some sights, but the ride was really the best part of the day.
the cruise in the bay was beautiful and posh! it was a christmas present from my mom, something i wouldn't have bought for myself, and very fancy! it was really nice to relax for a few days.
this morning, we flew south to an (forgive the lonely planet-esque wording) uninspiring town. its hard to do anything here yourself with out booking a tour.
that said, i think we have found the best tour to take, with a woman named thu and her 10 brothers. they call it "tours on thu wheels". we'll do a little motorbike ride around the countryside and to all the major sights here. after that, maybe we'll hit the road, go south to the place everyone says is their favorite city in vietnam. hopefully it will be more interesting.
that being said... we walked through the market here, which is a very good one. i'm not sure if i have mentioned that a walk through the asian markets is probably one of my favorite activities. you'll walk past cages of ducks, chickens, a man killing and plucking a chicken (in front of the other chickens-and still i think they have no idea), baskets after baskets of vegetables, fruits, onlions, garlic, ginger, stinky piles of rotten veggies, people cutting meat, people eating, people cooking meat, huge bowls of fish, snakes, toads, stands devoted solely to medicinal herbs (which here include flattened lizards and starfish), watches, clothes, paper, inscence, soap, diapers, chilies, seeds, nuts, shoes, and basically anything else you can imagine (or can't).
i ate some adventurous vegetarian plate which contained "spicy-beancurdeas" and a vietnamese chicken-bean taco (also vegetarian).
on a different subject:
got some good news from worker's comp the other day which i think means that i get some money each month as well as medical care if necessary. i had thought that it was medical OR money and so i thought i would pick "medical" and have a very hard time finding a job i could do when i came back. suddenly i have options! so i am an excited girl. it gives me 2 years flexibility, but i already had a little plan (which could change next week) ;) so it works out well.
this morning, we flew south to an (forgive the lonely planet-esque wording) uninspiring town. its hard to do anything here yourself with out booking a tour.
that said, i think we have found the best tour to take, with a woman named thu and her 10 brothers. they call it "tours on thu wheels". we'll do a little motorbike ride around the countryside and to all the major sights here. after that, maybe we'll hit the road, go south to the place everyone says is their favorite city in vietnam. hopefully it will be more interesting.
that being said... we walked through the market here, which is a very good one. i'm not sure if i have mentioned that a walk through the asian markets is probably one of my favorite activities. you'll walk past cages of ducks, chickens, a man killing and plucking a chicken (in front of the other chickens-and still i think they have no idea), baskets after baskets of vegetables, fruits, onlions, garlic, ginger, stinky piles of rotten veggies, people cutting meat, people eating, people cooking meat, huge bowls of fish, snakes, toads, stands devoted solely to medicinal herbs (which here include flattened lizards and starfish), watches, clothes, paper, inscence, soap, diapers, chilies, seeds, nuts, shoes, and basically anything else you can imagine (or can't).
i ate some adventurous vegetarian plate which contained "spicy-beancurdeas" and a vietnamese chicken-bean taco (also vegetarian).
on a different subject:
got some good news from worker's comp the other day which i think means that i get some money each month as well as medical care if necessary. i had thought that it was medical OR money and so i thought i would pick "medical" and have a very hard time finding a job i could do when i came back. suddenly i have options! so i am an excited girl. it gives me 2 years flexibility, but i already had a little plan (which could change next week) ;) so it works out well.
11/27/03
hello everyone!
i can't remember where i left off... anyway got to the mountains which were i-can-see-my-breath-in-my-hotel-bedroom cold. we were exausted after the night train because for some reason neither of us slept. arriving in a beautiful hotel, sleepy and stinky the mountain view hotel seemed like heaven. all we wanted to do was sleep and eat for 5 days. of course, the next day we felt like getting some exercise so we talked to the guy and signed up for a trek. he made it sound easy. i loved it but i think it almost ended up killing my mom. well...not really killing her, just making her loose the will to live. but by about the time i thought she was going to loose it for good, we finished, had lunch and a beer and before i knew it she was "over it".
mountain after mountain in sapa has been cleared of most trees and irrigated for rice. although its sad for the trees, the result is a beautiful stepped-mountain look as high and as far as you can see. the path meanders straight up, straight down, across the paddies (where you have to balance on a thin path between poopy rice water and a big step down), through streams, muddy clay, bamboo forests, villages, past buffalo, chickens, puppies, kids, old ladies and small kids carrying 50 pounds and going a lot faster than us, pigs, piglets, and more mud. it was challenging for me, but not too hard because i have been walking so much for the past 3 months. now i feel like the hulk and i want to do many more treks!
i could say a lot more about the whole thing, but i am a little tired of typing.
we'll be going on another two day tour of the bay so no blogs for a few days.
happy turkey!
i can't remember where i left off... anyway got to the mountains which were i-can-see-my-breath-in-my-hotel-bedroom cold. we were exausted after the night train because for some reason neither of us slept. arriving in a beautiful hotel, sleepy and stinky the mountain view hotel seemed like heaven. all we wanted to do was sleep and eat for 5 days. of course, the next day we felt like getting some exercise so we talked to the guy and signed up for a trek. he made it sound easy. i loved it but i think it almost ended up killing my mom. well...not really killing her, just making her loose the will to live. but by about the time i thought she was going to loose it for good, we finished, had lunch and a beer and before i knew it she was "over it".
mountain after mountain in sapa has been cleared of most trees and irrigated for rice. although its sad for the trees, the result is a beautiful stepped-mountain look as high and as far as you can see. the path meanders straight up, straight down, across the paddies (where you have to balance on a thin path between poopy rice water and a big step down), through streams, muddy clay, bamboo forests, villages, past buffalo, chickens, puppies, kids, old ladies and small kids carrying 50 pounds and going a lot faster than us, pigs, piglets, and more mud. it was challenging for me, but not too hard because i have been walking so much for the past 3 months. now i feel like the hulk and i want to do many more treks!
i could say a lot more about the whole thing, but i am a little tired of typing.
we'll be going on another two day tour of the bay so no blogs for a few days.
happy turkey!
11/23/03
today is a completely different day. on a mountain top in the north. beautiful room with a fabulous view (we think but its very foggy so who knows).
here's mom: This is the first place where the picture was less wonderous than the reality ( as compared to the very hard "soft sleeper" we enjoyed last night on the train.) Beautiful, homey hotel and trekking center, run by the first woman trekking guide in Sapa - I think she is Hmong. All the guides are women, which is very cool with Sarah and me. Huge Market, Hmong in traditional dress - do they just wear it for the tourists, or do they just wear it? The best twelve year-old sales girls, tying friendship ribons to our wrists, laying claim to us, wanting us to buy from them of course, giving us a tour of the market, tyring to fix Sarah up with their brothers, and still innocent - wlaking here two hours every day to sell, and it's fun, and they skip away holding hands. And it's "oh my god" wonderous, and I am so happy and scared for them and their mountain place, and I don't want them to lose themselves, and at the same time I know that there is some security in tourism for them, and a future that looks better. And I am grateful - it is not often you get to see and meet and be with untarnished what - warmth, authenticity, joyin skipping down the street and meeting and possibiility.
here's mom: This is the first place where the picture was less wonderous than the reality ( as compared to the very hard "soft sleeper" we enjoyed last night on the train.) Beautiful, homey hotel and trekking center, run by the first woman trekking guide in Sapa - I think she is Hmong. All the guides are women, which is very cool with Sarah and me. Huge Market, Hmong in traditional dress - do they just wear it for the tourists, or do they just wear it? The best twelve year-old sales girls, tying friendship ribons to our wrists, laying claim to us, wanting us to buy from them of course, giving us a tour of the market, tyring to fix Sarah up with their brothers, and still innocent - wlaking here two hours every day to sell, and it's fun, and they skip away holding hands. And it's "oh my god" wonderous, and I am so happy and scared for them and their mountain place, and I don't want them to lose themselves, and at the same time I know that there is some security in tourism for them, and a future that looks better. And I am grateful - it is not often you get to see and meet and be with untarnished what - warmth, authenticity, joyin skipping down the street and meeting and possibiility.
11/22/03
yesterday we tried to change hotels... big mistake. we left a deposit at the hotel we wanted the night before but when we checked out and went there in the morning, they were full. they said they would bring us to another sister hotel... here we go again. long story short, after some arguing, aome waiting, some frustration, motorcycle rides around, walking around with our stuff, we found an ok place that ended up being just around the corner from our old hotel. but the people here are nice and they didn't scam us or even try to, so i am happy. the hotel scamming thing is definately annoying but once you are in a place you can just sit back and start to enjoy the city.
an interesting thing about hanoi is that the streets are, conveniently, organized according to what they sell. so far we have found: shoe street, gravestone street, sunglasses street, kid toy street (ours), sweater-vest street, wrapping paper street, incense street, silk street, rubber stamp street (why?), motorcycle-repair street, and we have yet to find dog meat restaurant street (iw?) and many others.
hanoi is beautiful, but we are getting out of town and up to the mountains. after 3 days in bangkok and 4 days in hanoi, i am really ready to get out of the city! we'll be taking a night train and waking up in beautiful SAPA (northern vietnam, near china)
a funny note: (from the vietnam arrival/departure card you get at the airport) ..."import prohibition: all kinds of weapons; inflammable and explosive materials; pornographic and subversive materials; ...children's toys having negative effects on personality developement; social order and security;...."
oh, zelda, i heard that you are a loyal blog reader? that's great! i had a dream that i was helping you train canaries.
an interesting thing about hanoi is that the streets are, conveniently, organized according to what they sell. so far we have found: shoe street, gravestone street, sunglasses street, kid toy street (ours), sweater-vest street, wrapping paper street, incense street, silk street, rubber stamp street (why?), motorcycle-repair street, and we have yet to find dog meat restaurant street (iw?) and many others.
hanoi is beautiful, but we are getting out of town and up to the mountains. after 3 days in bangkok and 4 days in hanoi, i am really ready to get out of the city! we'll be taking a night train and waking up in beautiful SAPA (northern vietnam, near china)
a funny note: (from the vietnam arrival/departure card you get at the airport) ..."import prohibition: all kinds of weapons; inflammable and explosive materials; pornographic and subversive materials; ...children's toys having negative effects on personality developement; social order and security;...."
oh, zelda, i heard that you are a loyal blog reader? that's great! i had a dream that i was helping you train canaries.
11/20/03
11/19/03
hanoi. i got sucked into the vortex of this beautiful city. what happenned is very confusing. it all started when i decided to be cheap and opt to get my own ride from the airport to the hotel. i thought i was pretty smart when i hopped aboard the vietnam airlines minibus for $2 (instead of the $10 the hotel usually charges for a ride). they even dropped me off outside my hotel the "trang an". i didn't exactly see the name on the outside, but everyone said the name and so i thought i was there... actually i was either at the other trang an or i was being scammed. in retrospect this seems like a scam which i couldn't believe when i figured it out. anyway i get there and tell them i have a reservation and they tell me that they will have to move me to a different hotel because their water is being fixed. this seemed a little weird but i still thought i was in the right place. so i hopped on a motorbike and they brought me somewhere that says "classic street hotel" on the door. i checked lonely planet to see where i was, found "classic street hotel" and determined that it was a good spot. the rooms were OK but only OK and i want the best for mom, so i opted to look around the block and see what i could find. the woman at the front desk did everything short of grab me by the ankles to try and stop me from looking around. that made me want to look more, so i walked around, found that i could get a better room, but thought that i didn't want to confuse my mom when she arrived in the morning to the water problem and a new hotel and me gone. so i decided to stay. ok. now to go walk around the town. as i was leaving the woman made me pay in advance. that shoud have been a clue as well. so i paid for one night. she also took my departure card. now i am a little worried about that... but i will get the police if they make any problems. anyway, she gives me this business card with a map and the name "chau thanh hotel", not what it says on the door"classic street" i ask about that and she tells me that chau thanh owns the classic street hotel. ok. fine. it just gets weirder. i go up to the room to have another look at the map. i cross reference the back of the business card and find that i am not at the classic street hotel that is listed in the lonely planet. ok big surprise. i am not too far away, but definately somewhere off the radar (if you know what i mean). but its cool. the city is beautiful, i am just staying the night and i'll meet mom tomorrow and straighten this all out. so i go for that walk. get yummy sechwan tofu. walk. check out some more hotels. you can get a really nice room here for $10. then i pass guess what "classic street hotel", which also has another name. how could i be back!? i'm not. maybe its the one from the book? i keep walking. pass many many stalls of cheap kids toys. almost get hit by a motorcycle while playing hanoi frogger. but its cool. then i pass, can you guess "classic street hotel"... another one. what the hell is going on? i know i am not going in circles. but i can't verify anything here because wouldn't you know it this city changes its street names every 2 blocks. you just have to remember where you are and what direction you are facing. and its not a grid. but i am not lost and i have the business card with a map just in case i do get lost so its ok. i keep walking, check out some more hotels. nice. i tell the doorman that i can speak a little vietnamese. he laughs and shakes my hand when i say, "toi an chay!" = "i am vegetarian". i keep walking. then i see "trang an hotel" WHA??! this is not the place where the minibus dropped me off! this is the place i am supposed to be! this is the place i have a reservation! uh oh. i am replaying the whole thing and wondering how i fell for it! my new rule: anything remotely confusing=scam. so i tell the desk guy the whole thing and i don't think he understands me. he doesn't even say anything when i pause and ask "do you speak engish". oh well who cares. so i keep telling the story because it needs to be told and tell him that i have pre-paid somewhere else and that i have to cancel the reservation for tonite. he says no problem and if you get the pick-up from the airport nothing bad happens to you. mom has the pickup so she will be fine. i will try to go there tomorrow to meet her just to make sure this "new hotel" doesn't get to her first...
but really, this is a cool city.
but really, this is a cool city.
11/18/03
details...
1. grams is going to vietnam tomorrow! yeah! my mom will meet me the next day! i am very excited and its funny, but i feel a little like the mom (protective) because i have been here for a while. like i want to go pick her up at the airport so no one hassles her. she thinks its cute, but arranged her own ride.
my rant....
2. i've lost track of how many men come here to find thai girls. its gross for many many reasons. what's facinating is the justifications people have. regardless, my official stance is....
why do they come here? because they feel like they can't find a girl at home for whatever reason (usually bad social skills, big tummy, facination for young girls etc...). direct quote "why would i stay in amsterdam when i am just ugly and poor? here i feel like a king. i can afford two girls a week. i think every man has the right to have sex." quote "what's wrong with it if both people agree?" anyone who is coming here to buy a girl or just meet a girl can't possibly fool themselves into thinking it is exactly a consentual situation. girls are sold by their families into a brothel where they aquire a debt that they have to work off. even though this isn't always the situation, you can be pretty sure that most of the girls don't have a lot of other money making options in their life. quote "so its a way for them to make a living. i'm helping them eat." exactly. if they had other opportunities, and they still chose this life, fine. but that is not the situation here. if women had the opportunities of the white men that come here to meet them, things would be very different.
1. grams is going to vietnam tomorrow! yeah! my mom will meet me the next day! i am very excited and its funny, but i feel a little like the mom (protective) because i have been here for a while. like i want to go pick her up at the airport so no one hassles her. she thinks its cute, but arranged her own ride.
my rant....
2. i've lost track of how many men come here to find thai girls. its gross for many many reasons. what's facinating is the justifications people have. regardless, my official stance is....
why do they come here? because they feel like they can't find a girl at home for whatever reason (usually bad social skills, big tummy, facination for young girls etc...). direct quote "why would i stay in amsterdam when i am just ugly and poor? here i feel like a king. i can afford two girls a week. i think every man has the right to have sex." quote "what's wrong with it if both people agree?" anyone who is coming here to buy a girl or just meet a girl can't possibly fool themselves into thinking it is exactly a consentual situation. girls are sold by their families into a brothel where they aquire a debt that they have to work off. even though this isn't always the situation, you can be pretty sure that most of the girls don't have a lot of other money making options in their life. quote "so its a way for them to make a living. i'm helping them eat." exactly. if they had other opportunities, and they still chose this life, fine. but that is not the situation here. if women had the opportunities of the white men that come here to meet them, things would be very different.
11/17/03
in the mall in bangkok everything is cell phones and kareoke. did you know you can get kareoke on your cell phone?
speaking of kareoke, when we were at the kareoke bar last week, my friend went into the bathroom. while peeing, he was surprised (as any of us might be) when someone started massaging his shoulders. he was confused and wanted to say no but he was peeing... so when he finished peeing and turned around, this guy demanded "20 baht". i guess it was easiest just to pay and run back to the table which is what he did.
when you watch a movie in thailand, the opening trailers include beer commercials, cell phone commercials, coke commercials and a special video of "his majesty the king". this cheesy music comes on and there is a message to, "stand to honor his majesty the king". everyone stands and you watch this scene of fake-rain over a thai landscape. the landscape fades from trees to rivers to rice fields, superimposed by floating bubbles containg pictures of his majesty the king. the pictures show HMTK walking around with a camera, talking to the police, reading a book, writing something, walking with the camera again (the exact reverse image of the previous camera bubble), sort of smiling but more smirking, none of which are very flattering. this goes on for about 5 minutes then it ends, everyone sits and its movie time.
now this makes me remember something that i have been wondering about this whole time... there are pictures of HMTK everywhere (billboards, in everyones houses, on calandars, posters, at the mall, post office, etc.) and i have yet to see a flattering one. he always has this really bored expression or it seems like he was just plain busy doing something when someone took the photo. what's the deal? maybe just different asthetics? if you can explain, you should e-mail me.
speaking of kareoke, when we were at the kareoke bar last week, my friend went into the bathroom. while peeing, he was surprised (as any of us might be) when someone started massaging his shoulders. he was confused and wanted to say no but he was peeing... so when he finished peeing and turned around, this guy demanded "20 baht". i guess it was easiest just to pay and run back to the table which is what he did.
when you watch a movie in thailand, the opening trailers include beer commercials, cell phone commercials, coke commercials and a special video of "his majesty the king". this cheesy music comes on and there is a message to, "stand to honor his majesty the king". everyone stands and you watch this scene of fake-rain over a thai landscape. the landscape fades from trees to rivers to rice fields, superimposed by floating bubbles containg pictures of his majesty the king. the pictures show HMTK walking around with a camera, talking to the police, reading a book, writing something, walking with the camera again (the exact reverse image of the previous camera bubble), sort of smiling but more smirking, none of which are very flattering. this goes on for about 5 minutes then it ends, everyone sits and its movie time.
now this makes me remember something that i have been wondering about this whole time... there are pictures of HMTK everywhere (billboards, in everyones houses, on calandars, posters, at the mall, post office, etc.) and i have yet to see a flattering one. he always has this really bored expression or it seems like he was just plain busy doing something when someone took the photo. what's the deal? maybe just different asthetics? if you can explain, you should e-mail me.
11/15/03
ok, i am in bangkok. its only 3 days so its ok. going to run an errand for a friend. my mission: pick up his suit and send it to Kuala Lumpur. I think that since i have no better thing to do i will try making it a day by getting a free tuk-tuk in exchange for him taking me to tourist stores for comission. its a bangkok initiation.
11/14/03
11/13/03
elephants poop, eat, and make very cute noises. with a little encouragement, they do handstands, play harmonica and dance at the same time.
tomorrow they might even play basketball.
i am happy because i just discovered a vegetarian restaurant with food as good as "suriya thai" for 50 cents. i am going there now! fighting a tummy ache since surin night #1 though so i had to skip a little tour this afternoon.
also the guesthouse did indeed get very full for the elephants, so the place is hoppin and its pretty fun here. i made my public karoke debut last night with the song "ghostbusters". tonite celine dion.
tomorrow they might even play basketball.
i am happy because i just discovered a vegetarian restaurant with food as good as "suriya thai" for 50 cents. i am going there now! fighting a tummy ache since surin night #1 though so i had to skip a little tour this afternoon.
also the guesthouse did indeed get very full for the elephants, so the place is hoppin and its pretty fun here. i made my public karoke debut last night with the song "ghostbusters". tonite celine dion.
one thing i forgot to mention... i loved cambodia.
that said, another thing i forgot to mention is that when you first get there, all the drivers ask you what you want to do. if you say you don't know yet, they suggest, "why do you go shoot something?" there are a lot of firearms left over in cambodia and to make a little extra money, someone has set up a place where you can go shoot something. what that means is that you can rent a grenade launcher, rocket launcher, AK-47, etc. and shoot at cows, chickens, pieces of paper or some other "target". i told my driver "no thanks" and he said "oh! many women go! you can go!". i briefly invisioned myself launching a rocket at a caw and said, "i don't like guns." "oh ok!"
that said, another thing i forgot to mention is that when you first get there, all the drivers ask you what you want to do. if you say you don't know yet, they suggest, "why do you go shoot something?" there are a lot of firearms left over in cambodia and to make a little extra money, someone has set up a place where you can go shoot something. what that means is that you can rent a grenade launcher, rocket launcher, AK-47, etc. and shoot at cows, chickens, pieces of paper or some other "target". i told my driver "no thanks" and he said "oh! many women go! you can go!". i briefly invisioned myself launching a rocket at a caw and said, "i don't like guns." "oh ok!"
11/11/03
another travel day story:
bought a 7am, $3.50 bus ticket to the western boarder with thailand. planned to get off early and go north to a small town then on to the northern boarder (closer to my destination of Surin in thailand). get to the bus stop at 6:45am. wait until 7:30, get on bus. go to pick up more people at other guesthouses. get on the road at 8:15. the road is very potholey for 3 hours. but this is a confortable bus, nothing compared to the pick-up we used to arrive via this road. but, also less interesting. we drive drive drive. finally get to the town where i had planned to turn north. they tell me that there is no pick-up until 7am and i will have to stay overnight. i hate this town, so i make a split second decision that i will continue to the western boarder (1 1/2 hours further) which i know is the ugliest town in cambodia, but this seems like a good plan. i will just figure out how to get to surin on the thai side where things are easy. so, around 2pm i get to thailand. no problem. i ask the police about surin and even though they don't speak english, we determine that i should get a taxi to the market and catch a bus to "buriram" then from buriram to surin. this looks pretty direct and starightforard so i go! motorcycle takes me to the market where i realize i only have dollars not bhat. but this is thailand and there is a bank right there (so easy!). so i go exchange money, pay the driver (a woman!) and see that the bus is jsut pulling away. i rush over (no english on the side of this bus) but i just keep saying "buriram" to people and they push me toward this bus. i hop on. driving driving driving. monks, birds in bags, cages, boxes get on. still driving and i start to determine that we are going there but in a very circuitous way. via khorat, which is way off to the side. now its getting dark and i start to hope there are guesthouses in buriram, because it doesn't look like i will make it to surin. just as i am pulling out my book to see if there is anything on buriram, i notice we are stopped next to a bus that says "bangkok-surin"! i hop off, ask the driver "surin?". he nods and i hop on the other bus feeling like the most successful traveller ever. but i am very hungry. i sleep and by 10pm i wake up in surin! and the best part!!!.... there are elephants everywhere and they have little red blinky lights attached to their tails for night-walking. very cute.
now i am feeling good, i get a tuktuk to my guesthouse and check in. i ask about food and she tells me to go to the night market 150 meters that way. ok. i go and sit down, no other falong in sight. people smile and i smile because everyone knows i don't really know what's gong on. but i order "pad thai no meat", the guy frowns, walks away and i wait for the food.
suddenly there is a huge burst of flames (i mean 20 feet to the ceiling and 10 feet wide) from one of the woks about 30 feet in front of me. everyone goes "ooohhh!", looks at me and laughs then checks that their shirts haven't burned off. a few minutes later my food comes. it is something containing tomatoes, spinach, rice, nuts and chicken. so much for pad thai, but i am trying to be a trooper and everyone is watching to see how the falong can handle market food so i start eating ferociously. everyone smiles and then WOOOOSH! another huge fireball. "oooohs" all around and more smiles. i notice that the ceiling is black and really oily so i guess this is an intentional fireball.
after the market, i walk back and sleep well! for some reason i dream of cookie dough.
so anyway, i have made it to surin, which is very developed compared to cambodia, feeling a little like a cross between roseville, minnesota and asia with blinkie-light elephants.
i have e-mail again for a while!
bought a 7am, $3.50 bus ticket to the western boarder with thailand. planned to get off early and go north to a small town then on to the northern boarder (closer to my destination of Surin in thailand). get to the bus stop at 6:45am. wait until 7:30, get on bus. go to pick up more people at other guesthouses. get on the road at 8:15. the road is very potholey for 3 hours. but this is a confortable bus, nothing compared to the pick-up we used to arrive via this road. but, also less interesting. we drive drive drive. finally get to the town where i had planned to turn north. they tell me that there is no pick-up until 7am and i will have to stay overnight. i hate this town, so i make a split second decision that i will continue to the western boarder (1 1/2 hours further) which i know is the ugliest town in cambodia, but this seems like a good plan. i will just figure out how to get to surin on the thai side where things are easy. so, around 2pm i get to thailand. no problem. i ask the police about surin and even though they don't speak english, we determine that i should get a taxi to the market and catch a bus to "buriram" then from buriram to surin. this looks pretty direct and starightforard so i go! motorcycle takes me to the market where i realize i only have dollars not bhat. but this is thailand and there is a bank right there (so easy!). so i go exchange money, pay the driver (a woman!) and see that the bus is jsut pulling away. i rush over (no english on the side of this bus) but i just keep saying "buriram" to people and they push me toward this bus. i hop on. driving driving driving. monks, birds in bags, cages, boxes get on. still driving and i start to determine that we are going there but in a very circuitous way. via khorat, which is way off to the side. now its getting dark and i start to hope there are guesthouses in buriram, because it doesn't look like i will make it to surin. just as i am pulling out my book to see if there is anything on buriram, i notice we are stopped next to a bus that says "bangkok-surin"! i hop off, ask the driver "surin?". he nods and i hop on the other bus feeling like the most successful traveller ever. but i am very hungry. i sleep and by 10pm i wake up in surin! and the best part!!!.... there are elephants everywhere and they have little red blinky lights attached to their tails for night-walking. very cute.
now i am feeling good, i get a tuktuk to my guesthouse and check in. i ask about food and she tells me to go to the night market 150 meters that way. ok. i go and sit down, no other falong in sight. people smile and i smile because everyone knows i don't really know what's gong on. but i order "pad thai no meat", the guy frowns, walks away and i wait for the food.
suddenly there is a huge burst of flames (i mean 20 feet to the ceiling and 10 feet wide) from one of the woks about 30 feet in front of me. everyone goes "ooohhh!", looks at me and laughs then checks that their shirts haven't burned off. a few minutes later my food comes. it is something containing tomatoes, spinach, rice, nuts and chicken. so much for pad thai, but i am trying to be a trooper and everyone is watching to see how the falong can handle market food so i start eating ferociously. everyone smiles and then WOOOOSH! another huge fireball. "oooohs" all around and more smiles. i notice that the ceiling is black and really oily so i guess this is an intentional fireball.
after the market, i walk back and sleep well! for some reason i dream of cookie dough.
so anyway, i have made it to surin, which is very developed compared to cambodia, feeling a little like a cross between roseville, minnesota and asia with blinkie-light elephants.
i have e-mail again for a while!
11/9/03
i have a growing distrust of men here. its sad because i just like to talk to local people and be friendly and hang out. almost any invitation or conversation eventually leads to the "do you want a cambödian boyfriend?" or "do you like cambodian boys?". then if i say no, there's always that hint of being racist and they say sadly that no falong like cambodian boys (its the same comment in laos). but flaong men sure do like the asian women! sometimes i say i have a boyfriend already. sometimes i say i don't want any boyfriend, cambodian or otherwise, because i want to be free to do what i want! this is widely understood, as women who are married rarely go out after dark, or people talk badly about them. the men can usually do what they want. in the last small town i was in (krakor), i tried to order a beer with dinner and they all looked at me like they didn't understand... then after i changed my order to tea, they were relieved. women there do not drink there. or if you do, you are probably a prostitute.
yesterday i rode my bike into the temple. a very sweet cambodian woman rode along side the whole way teaching me cambodian and many other things... she was hard to understand but had a lot of interesting things to say. this is always the problem.
i talked to a monk in one of the biggest and most extraordinary temples, who asked me to be his godfather. i said, "what does this mean?". but just then he started talking japanese to a passing tourist. i think he was asking me to be his financial sponser, but i dropped the subject. then he asked if i want to go to his pagoda. of course i want to go to his pagoda, but i know he is getting around to asking for money, so i tell him that "i want, but i have no money to give because when i go home i will have no job". (he is smoking a cigarette) he says ok and that he wants to be my "actual" friend. hmm... ok!
yesterday i rode my bike into the temple. a very sweet cambodian woman rode along side the whole way teaching me cambodian and many other things... she was hard to understand but had a lot of interesting things to say. this is always the problem.
i talked to a monk in one of the biggest and most extraordinary temples, who asked me to be his godfather. i said, "what does this mean?". but just then he started talking japanese to a passing tourist. i think he was asking me to be his financial sponser, but i dropped the subject. then he asked if i want to go to his pagoda. of course i want to go to his pagoda, but i know he is getting around to asking for money, so i tell him that "i want, but i have no money to give because when i go home i will have no job". (he is smoking a cigarette) he says ok and that he wants to be my "actual" friend. hmm... ok!
11/8/03
you know the cambodian police are corrupt if:
1. they try to sell you their badge
2. you don't want it? they pull out 4 more badges from their pocket. maybe you want one of these?
3. you ask to buy their gun. they won't sell the gun, but you can shoot it for $20.
4. they try to sell you their hat, then their belt, then their pants then their shirt. the whole thing (not including the gun) = $100.
1. they try to sell you their badge
2. you don't want it? they pull out 4 more badges from their pocket. maybe you want one of these?
3. you ask to buy their gun. they won't sell the gun, but you can shoot it for $20.
4. they try to sell you their hat, then their belt, then their pants then their shirt. the whole thing (not including the gun) = $100.
11/7/03
the temples are cool and old and a bit of a scam. everyone pays $20 per day to visit any or all of the temples, with the money going to a french petroleum company! this company maintains the grounds, guards the temples and pays the prime minister a fortune for the privilege of over-charging the tourists.
most of the temples were comissioned by the kings between 800 AD and 1200 AD to honor themselves or their families, so this place is huge. angkor wat, itself, took 400 years to build, much to the dismay of the workers. they were largely poorly paid or slaves who were killed for making mistakes or by overwork. but the result is spectacular. in one day we could only make it to 5 out of >20 temples. more tomorrow!
a nun pointed at my tummy and said "good" then "baby". hmmmm.... she liked my teeth and my nose ring too. pointed at them and said "good!"
most of the temples were comissioned by the kings between 800 AD and 1200 AD to honor themselves or their families, so this place is huge. angkor wat, itself, took 400 years to build, much to the dismay of the workers. they were largely poorly paid or slaves who were killed for making mistakes or by overwork. but the result is spectacular. in one day we could only make it to 5 out of >20 temples. more tomorrow!
a nun pointed at my tummy and said "good" then "baby". hmmmm.... she liked my teeth and my nose ring too. pointed at them and said "good!"
11/6/03
hello!
spent the day yesterday visiting a floating village resting on stilts and huge bamboo rafts. there are floating gas stations, floating temples, floating pig farms, floating battery re-charger station, floating lumber mills, floating banana shops, floating houses containing dogs (where do the dogs go to the bathroom?), etc. this place has no electricity, but every house has satalite/cable TV and karoke. they use car batteries and generators. they get mtv.
ate dinner at a local place where i told them (in khmer!) that i am a vegetarian and got fried cucumbers and rice. kind of yum. then a guy came and sat with us and started talking. everyone is really excited to talk to practice their english. some people got drunk and started to fight. our friend ignored the man pulling the long pole out of the ground and swinging it at the crowd behind him... with a glance he waved his hand and said "no matter" and kept talking about his favorite football player who, if he came to cambodia, this guy would really like to play football with because he is soooo handsome! and his friend who lives in america and says that there are many pretty girls! and how he doesn't prefer cambodian girls because they are too short. fighting doesn't happen, just yelling. we ask what the problem is. he explains that they are in the same family. oh. ok. and they are drunk. then one comes over to yell something at our friend. he says something, waves his hand says "no matter". the guy goes to lay down on the babmoo thing nearby. we talk for a while about cambodian girls, this guys job (he's a mechanic and a student in phnom penh) and what he studies (japanese and english) and we much our cucumber. across the street they fire up the karoke and the other drunk guy goes to demonstrate his tonal talents. the music is good but the guy is bad. he is followed by an equally bad woman. it makes me laugh. there are about 10 people watching us eat. everywhere we go in this town we draw a crowd. the older woman keeps gesturing to her eyes and pointing at me. do i have funny eyes? hmmm.. our friend says she has a problem with her eyes and wants medicine. i say "i no have"... but i let her try on my glasses. then all the women try on my glasses. i think some of them really need glasses because they don't yell about how strong they are. as we leave the old woman is poking the sleeping guy on the bamboo. yelling in khmer. karoke blasts. stares. cool night. we go to look for the party which is a joke because everything closes at sundown. but we find it next door to our guest house. 10 huge speakers blasting cambodian music and a few people sitting around. my friend asks them to play his james brown cd. "no problem!!" james brown blasts the countryside.
next day:
after many hours on a kung-fu playing bus through rural cambodia, i have made it to siam reap (the town containing angkor wat). i'll probably stay here for the next few days and i have e-mail here!
spent the day yesterday visiting a floating village resting on stilts and huge bamboo rafts. there are floating gas stations, floating temples, floating pig farms, floating battery re-charger station, floating lumber mills, floating banana shops, floating houses containing dogs (where do the dogs go to the bathroom?), etc. this place has no electricity, but every house has satalite/cable TV and karoke. they use car batteries and generators. they get mtv.
ate dinner at a local place where i told them (in khmer!) that i am a vegetarian and got fried cucumbers and rice. kind of yum. then a guy came and sat with us and started talking. everyone is really excited to talk to practice their english. some people got drunk and started to fight. our friend ignored the man pulling the long pole out of the ground and swinging it at the crowd behind him... with a glance he waved his hand and said "no matter" and kept talking about his favorite football player who, if he came to cambodia, this guy would really like to play football with because he is soooo handsome! and his friend who lives in america and says that there are many pretty girls! and how he doesn't prefer cambodian girls because they are too short. fighting doesn't happen, just yelling. we ask what the problem is. he explains that they are in the same family. oh. ok. and they are drunk. then one comes over to yell something at our friend. he says something, waves his hand says "no matter". the guy goes to lay down on the babmoo thing nearby. we talk for a while about cambodian girls, this guys job (he's a mechanic and a student in phnom penh) and what he studies (japanese and english) and we much our cucumber. across the street they fire up the karoke and the other drunk guy goes to demonstrate his tonal talents. the music is good but the guy is bad. he is followed by an equally bad woman. it makes me laugh. there are about 10 people watching us eat. everywhere we go in this town we draw a crowd. the older woman keeps gesturing to her eyes and pointing at me. do i have funny eyes? hmmm.. our friend says she has a problem with her eyes and wants medicine. i say "i no have"... but i let her try on my glasses. then all the women try on my glasses. i think some of them really need glasses because they don't yell about how strong they are. as we leave the old woman is poking the sleeping guy on the bamboo. yelling in khmer. karoke blasts. stares. cool night. we go to look for the party which is a joke because everything closes at sundown. but we find it next door to our guest house. 10 huge speakers blasting cambodian music and a few people sitting around. my friend asks them to play his james brown cd. "no problem!!" james brown blasts the countryside.
next day:
after many hours on a kung-fu playing bus through rural cambodia, i have made it to siam reap (the town containing angkor wat). i'll probably stay here for the next few days and i have e-mail here!
11/4/03
back in phnom penh!
i switched beaches after my weird day and found a place that was more beautiful and more lively. the night i got there, there was a free sunset boat trip to benefit street kids. the idea was that the travelers are incouraged to drink beers for $1 and all the money goes to the kids. (most of whom i knew already because they were on the beach all day trying to sell me fruit. we did a little photo shoot and i promised to send them photos and pens and stickers). the kids (20) came on the boat as well as 30-40 backpackers which was a little more than the boat was supposed to hold. as we got out to sea things got a little tippy, with some slightly drunken travelers sliding across the top of the boat. there were a few near man-overboards and i heard later we had 3 feet to spare before the boat would have tipped. (not much!) then everyone went back to the place i was staying ("uncle bob's" on the beach) and there was a big party with more fundraising games and kids.
spent the next day doing nothing except sitting eating, sleeping, talking, eating, sitting, reading, eating. and a few swims.
one of the "spooky day" friends is still here and going my way so i am excited about the trip north. i have 3-4 days before i have to get there, so will probably try to get off the main road a little bit. there is a floating village on the way. and another that specializes in fried taranchulas. i think i will try one, but only the legs. i hear the middle part is full of brown spider goo. but someone told me the legs are good. (like chicken, of course.)
i am abandoning vegetarianism at the weirdest times. i never thought i would consider insects. or arachnids. some people eat large grubs. they buy a whole hive of them and when you are on the bus they pull out all these huge white worms and "gulp"! it seems that people eat anything that moves (rats, dogs, snakes, turtles, frogs, bugs, etc.) and i have heard that some of it (the taranchulas) may have started durring the war when there was no food. i probably don't know what i am missing.
maybe internet, maybe not for the next few days....
i switched beaches after my weird day and found a place that was more beautiful and more lively. the night i got there, there was a free sunset boat trip to benefit street kids. the idea was that the travelers are incouraged to drink beers for $1 and all the money goes to the kids. (most of whom i knew already because they were on the beach all day trying to sell me fruit. we did a little photo shoot and i promised to send them photos and pens and stickers). the kids (20) came on the boat as well as 30-40 backpackers which was a little more than the boat was supposed to hold. as we got out to sea things got a little tippy, with some slightly drunken travelers sliding across the top of the boat. there were a few near man-overboards and i heard later we had 3 feet to spare before the boat would have tipped. (not much!) then everyone went back to the place i was staying ("uncle bob's" on the beach) and there was a big party with more fundraising games and kids.
spent the next day doing nothing except sitting eating, sleeping, talking, eating, sitting, reading, eating. and a few swims.
one of the "spooky day" friends is still here and going my way so i am excited about the trip north. i have 3-4 days before i have to get there, so will probably try to get off the main road a little bit. there is a floating village on the way. and another that specializes in fried taranchulas. i think i will try one, but only the legs. i hear the middle part is full of brown spider goo. but someone told me the legs are good. (like chicken, of course.)
i am abandoning vegetarianism at the weirdest times. i never thought i would consider insects. or arachnids. some people eat large grubs. they buy a whole hive of them and when you are on the bus they pull out all these huge white worms and "gulp"! it seems that people eat anything that moves (rats, dogs, snakes, turtles, frogs, bugs, etc.) and i have heard that some of it (the taranchulas) may have started durring the war when there was no food. i probably don't know what i am missing.
maybe internet, maybe not for the next few days....
11/1/03
10/30/03
spent last night with some friends looking for a spooky time (should be easy in phnom penh you say!) but the heart of darkness bar, rumored to be something very spooky was not at all spooky. the bathroom, usually spooky in asia, wasn't spooky either.
we ate tapas at a restaurant that trains homeless kids to be chefs and waiters, etc. tapas in cambodia make the world feel like a small place.
the king turned 81 yesterday. the king likes to make movies starring...the king. so, i thought the fireworks in honor of .... the king, would be really spectacular. they might have been but we were slow and left when they started, cruising 3 poeple to a scooter through insane traffic (no stoplights) down to the mekong, and missed them. but found a good place to sit and watch the craziness.
today, i am off to cambodia's southern coast to chill on the beach and hopefully find a halloween party of some kind!!
we ate tapas at a restaurant that trains homeless kids to be chefs and waiters, etc. tapas in cambodia make the world feel like a small place.
the king turned 81 yesterday. the king likes to make movies starring...the king. so, i thought the fireworks in honor of .... the king, would be really spectacular. they might have been but we were slow and left when they started, cruising 3 poeple to a scooter through insane traffic (no stoplights) down to the mekong, and missed them. but found a good place to sit and watch the craziness.
today, i am off to cambodia's southern coast to chill on the beach and hopefully find a halloween party of some kind!!
10/29/03
hello! greetings from sunny phnom penh! this computer is so slow i can't even see the letters as i write. so i am going to blindly do it with ewrrors and all.
spent the last five days in the cambodian countryside, which is similar to the laotian countryside, only the jungle is dense and the roads are BAD. when i say roads, i mean deep, wet, clay. like 2-3 feet deep weel well tracks in some places.
the town of ban lung is accessible only from one road leading to/from the boarder town of strung treng. once at that town, you get to ban lung by taxi if you are lucky enough to find 6 other people to cram in or you can do what i did which is hop on a pick-up with 18 others and all their stuff for the 4 hour drive. this was definately a feat of amazing packing. 4 people in the front seat, 4 people in the back pick-up cab seat, and ten of us in the back, along with 5 large bags of rice, 3 large boxes, many boxes of beer 4 large bags and a couple kids on top for good measure. it was pretty funny to me at first and then i was soon glad i didn't have to rely on this kind of public transport!
the town of ban lung, itself, consists of one wide and very dusty road with a market, some homes some guest-houses, and not much more. but, the scenery (and the adventure) are worth the drive, and the views of the countryside are spectacular. rolling hills, rice, jungle, farms, cashew trees, rivers, streams, lakes, mountains and indiginous villages surround the town and are accessible only by motorbike. when the road gets really crazy, there is a new path that veers off into the jungle then meets back up with the road down when its "good" again. 35km=2hours by cambodian road. and this area is considered good!
on part of one drive we visited a small gem mining town. i pictured it would be something like the gold mines i had seen in the west or just a huge area of hillside cut away somewhere... but it was totally different. a cambodian gem mine (for red and blue rubies) consists of a 15m deep hole in the ground, barely wide enough to fit one man. the weird thing is that these are scatterred all over the village and the jungle, and they don't seem to be filled after use. so our motorbike path would zoom right along 15m deep holes and children play near these holes in the village. but children here play with knives, so i guess this isn't really a concern... anyway, the hole is dug, a man goes in, a bucket is lowered and the dirt is piled up outside the hole. then this dirt is sifted in a homemade water hole using a bamboo basket, similar to the way gold is washed/panned. out come rubies! they found at least 20 while i was standing there and tossed them into a coke can to bring to ban lung and sell for $1-$100/ stone. the biggest was about the size of the opening of the coke can, which seems to me a very large ruby. but they are probably only getting $100 for a really nice one of those. still i think this is a lot for cambodian standards, but even so, the village looked like every other and not any richer for the mines.
oh, ban lung also has and airport. when you want to fly, you go put your name on a list and wait until there is enough people to fill the plane. in the meantime the "runway" is the best street in town and full of cars and bikes. before the plane is going to land, a pickup will drive down the runway and signal for everyone to clear the area for a few minutes. the plane lands on the dirt runway in a cloud of dust and then all the people again flood the area with bikes and cars. crazy. i decided to fly south because overland would take 2-3days and involve that pick-up again then 8-10hours by boat and staying overnight in some boring places and about $30... the plane is $55 and takes 45minutes. even though it is in an aging chinese (or russian)plane, it was just fine!
phnom penh, rumored to be a "shifty" place is actually muich cleaner and nicer than bangkok, larger than vientienne, but also, if you start to get into the craziness much more interesting. especially cool is the market with all types of fish, fish-heads, clams, oysters, lobster, squid, dried things, unidentifiable meat substances (which we lovingly call UMS's), semi-explosive hot peppers, crazy spiky fruit, and many other bowls of unidentifiable living things (ULT's) poking out their respective tentacles to grab you as you walk by. then you pass the very large and tinted "dream hotel" wiuth "dream massage" (no question about that one) but we had to check it out anyway. nothing to see but a dark lobby and the lingering odor of pot. dinner at the corner place where we get "what they are having" because they don't speak english. i end up with noodles that look like 3" worms and some hot soymilk. i am told that the orange sauce is good, so i put someon and the red sauce, too. yum!
tomorrow i will hire a motorcycle to take me to the killing fields (the place where the khmer rouge took their own people to be tortured and killed) then the royal palace and museum... something like that. but the driver already has a plan for me he says. i think i only have time for two days here if i want to see elephants play soccer in thailand. and do all the other cambodia things. but this city is strangely and darkly enticing, so we'll see. have a couple buddies who are a funny group and very excited about the city so its rubbing off on me.
probably i will have internet for the next week at least! and its only 50 cents/hour!
spent the last five days in the cambodian countryside, which is similar to the laotian countryside, only the jungle is dense and the roads are BAD. when i say roads, i mean deep, wet, clay. like 2-3 feet deep weel well tracks in some places.
the town of ban lung is accessible only from one road leading to/from the boarder town of strung treng. once at that town, you get to ban lung by taxi if you are lucky enough to find 6 other people to cram in or you can do what i did which is hop on a pick-up with 18 others and all their stuff for the 4 hour drive. this was definately a feat of amazing packing. 4 people in the front seat, 4 people in the back pick-up cab seat, and ten of us in the back, along with 5 large bags of rice, 3 large boxes, many boxes of beer 4 large bags and a couple kids on top for good measure. it was pretty funny to me at first and then i was soon glad i didn't have to rely on this kind of public transport!
the town of ban lung, itself, consists of one wide and very dusty road with a market, some homes some guest-houses, and not much more. but, the scenery (and the adventure) are worth the drive, and the views of the countryside are spectacular. rolling hills, rice, jungle, farms, cashew trees, rivers, streams, lakes, mountains and indiginous villages surround the town and are accessible only by motorbike. when the road gets really crazy, there is a new path that veers off into the jungle then meets back up with the road down when its "good" again. 35km=2hours by cambodian road. and this area is considered good!
on part of one drive we visited a small gem mining town. i pictured it would be something like the gold mines i had seen in the west or just a huge area of hillside cut away somewhere... but it was totally different. a cambodian gem mine (for red and blue rubies) consists of a 15m deep hole in the ground, barely wide enough to fit one man. the weird thing is that these are scatterred all over the village and the jungle, and they don't seem to be filled after use. so our motorbike path would zoom right along 15m deep holes and children play near these holes in the village. but children here play with knives, so i guess this isn't really a concern... anyway, the hole is dug, a man goes in, a bucket is lowered and the dirt is piled up outside the hole. then this dirt is sifted in a homemade water hole using a bamboo basket, similar to the way gold is washed/panned. out come rubies! they found at least 20 while i was standing there and tossed them into a coke can to bring to ban lung and sell for $1-$100/ stone. the biggest was about the size of the opening of the coke can, which seems to me a very large ruby. but they are probably only getting $100 for a really nice one of those. still i think this is a lot for cambodian standards, but even so, the village looked like every other and not any richer for the mines.
oh, ban lung also has and airport. when you want to fly, you go put your name on a list and wait until there is enough people to fill the plane. in the meantime the "runway" is the best street in town and full of cars and bikes. before the plane is going to land, a pickup will drive down the runway and signal for everyone to clear the area for a few minutes. the plane lands on the dirt runway in a cloud of dust and then all the people again flood the area with bikes and cars. crazy. i decided to fly south because overland would take 2-3days and involve that pick-up again then 8-10hours by boat and staying overnight in some boring places and about $30... the plane is $55 and takes 45minutes. even though it is in an aging chinese (or russian)plane, it was just fine!
phnom penh, rumored to be a "shifty" place is actually muich cleaner and nicer than bangkok, larger than vientienne, but also, if you start to get into the craziness much more interesting. especially cool is the market with all types of fish, fish-heads, clams, oysters, lobster, squid, dried things, unidentifiable meat substances (which we lovingly call UMS's), semi-explosive hot peppers, crazy spiky fruit, and many other bowls of unidentifiable living things (ULT's) poking out their respective tentacles to grab you as you walk by. then you pass the very large and tinted "dream hotel" wiuth "dream massage" (no question about that one) but we had to check it out anyway. nothing to see but a dark lobby and the lingering odor of pot. dinner at the corner place where we get "what they are having" because they don't speak english. i end up with noodles that look like 3" worms and some hot soymilk. i am told that the orange sauce is good, so i put someon and the red sauce, too. yum!
tomorrow i will hire a motorcycle to take me to the killing fields (the place where the khmer rouge took their own people to be tortured and killed) then the royal palace and museum... something like that. but the driver already has a plan for me he says. i think i only have time for two days here if i want to see elephants play soccer in thailand. and do all the other cambodia things. but this city is strangely and darkly enticing, so we'll see. have a couple buddies who are a funny group and very excited about the city so its rubbing off on me.
probably i will have internet for the next week at least! and its only 50 cents/hour!
10/24/03
sorry for the lack of blog, my BLOGGY fans. there has been expensive e-mail or none since getting to southern laos/cambodia. that's right! i made it to cambodia.
spent the last few days in 4000 islands an area in southern laos where the mekong is 40km wide and filled with islands. met some people, hiked a little bit spent many hours on boats. arrived in cambodia today to the local boat mafia. you get your passport checked at the lao boarder, cross the river to the cambodian side and go through immigration on that side then jump back in the boat to go to the first major boarder town. but the boats are owned by "rich men" who pay the laotian government to allow them to collect "comission" from tourists using their boats (the only boats). so they charge $50 to cross the river and go 1/2 hour south. luckily there were 4 of us to split the charges. tomorrow i will try to go east to a remote area with a volcanic lake. there may not be anywhere to e-mail until i reach phnompenh (in a week) so don't worry if there are no blogs!!
haven't seen the irrawaddy dolphins yet but i'm still hoping to see them!
ok, this is pricey, so that's all for now!!!
spent the last few days in 4000 islands an area in southern laos where the mekong is 40km wide and filled with islands. met some people, hiked a little bit spent many hours on boats. arrived in cambodia today to the local boat mafia. you get your passport checked at the lao boarder, cross the river to the cambodian side and go through immigration on that side then jump back in the boat to go to the first major boarder town. but the boats are owned by "rich men" who pay the laotian government to allow them to collect "comission" from tourists using their boats (the only boats). so they charge $50 to cross the river and go 1/2 hour south. luckily there were 4 of us to split the charges. tomorrow i will try to go east to a remote area with a volcanic lake. there may not be anywhere to e-mail until i reach phnompenh (in a week) so don't worry if there are no blogs!!
haven't seen the irrawaddy dolphins yet but i'm still hoping to see them!
ok, this is pricey, so that's all for now!!!
10/15/03
FYI.
got a hold of carolyn! flying to vientiane this afternoon via the less-than reputable lao aviation. 40 minutes, $40. (vs the 10-12 hour bus ride for $4.)
will be there until the 20th, when i fly south to Pakse (1 1/2 hour, $67 vs. 2 horrible-road days on the bus). in cambodia by the 24th then no e-mail for a while (costs $24/hour until i reach phnom penh).
got a hold of carolyn! flying to vientiane this afternoon via the less-than reputable lao aviation. 40 minutes, $40. (vs the 10-12 hour bus ride for $4.)
will be there until the 20th, when i fly south to Pakse (1 1/2 hour, $67 vs. 2 horrible-road days on the bus). in cambodia by the 24th then no e-mail for a while (costs $24/hour until i reach phnom penh).
laos is beatuiful. standing on a bridge with a night breeze with mountains draped in mist sudden quiet by 10pm and the town wakes at the first rooster call, 4:30 am. at this point, competing roosters, morning chores, and boats make earplugs necessary. but getting up for a few minutes to watch the sunrise is preferrable.
haven't really been out of the tourist circuit yet, but this village was close. to get there, travel 6-9 hours by bus (depending on how many stops for how many people) followed by 1 hour by boat. took a long walk down paths used by singing school kids, 1 1/2 hours each way, rivers, rain, waterbuffalo, leeches and rice. found another village (even this one has 1 guest house!). small flower gardens are built in old bomb casings built in Dewey, CA, USA. posters show what not to do: no building fires near exposed bombs. kids should show parents bombs found in the forrest. parents should get the man in the blue uniform.
the family who owned our guesthouse lived in caves for 10 years (along with everyone else who is still alive) durring the war. they came out at night to fish in the dark (and gather food). for 10 years. now there are unexploded bombs everywhere. not as many land mines as cambodia, but kids are often killed by these bombs. a guy i talked to played with one as a kid then his friend played with it and it blew up.
people are poor. everyone wants to learn english, which seems to be the most popular ticket out. in 10 years 90% of the educated country will be educated soley in english=tourism. no one wants to study science, social work, math, medicine, art... what will happen when the only industry of the educated = tourism? a boy can get a higher education for $10/month but the family can't afford it. i don't think school loans exist. guesthouses are the moneymakers but even a family with 5 bungalos overlooking the river can't afford $10/month.
when they ask where my husband is, i tell people i am single. the looks in their eyes change. i imagine they are thinking of me marrying their son. they don't care about the others but they want me to stay longer. they tell me they like me and i am beautiful. i am aware that by marriage i could indirectly pull an entire family out of poverty. i have power by birth that i wish i didn't have. i want to be on equal footing so communication doesn't have another meaning. i imagine the marriage scenario. would we have to live together? how many years would we lie to the government before we were off the hook? would the family do if they suddenly came into more money? would they move to the city? would they be happier? would they share it with the village? would they make the best guesthouse on the block? would they create a tiny tourist empire? would they buy a buffalo? its time to get on the boat to leave. the mother tells me there is no boat for me, stay one more night. we laugh because the boat is here. they tell me to please come back next time i am in town!
haven't really been out of the tourist circuit yet, but this village was close. to get there, travel 6-9 hours by bus (depending on how many stops for how many people) followed by 1 hour by boat. took a long walk down paths used by singing school kids, 1 1/2 hours each way, rivers, rain, waterbuffalo, leeches and rice. found another village (even this one has 1 guest house!). small flower gardens are built in old bomb casings built in Dewey, CA, USA. posters show what not to do: no building fires near exposed bombs. kids should show parents bombs found in the forrest. parents should get the man in the blue uniform.
the family who owned our guesthouse lived in caves for 10 years (along with everyone else who is still alive) durring the war. they came out at night to fish in the dark (and gather food). for 10 years. now there are unexploded bombs everywhere. not as many land mines as cambodia, but kids are often killed by these bombs. a guy i talked to played with one as a kid then his friend played with it and it blew up.
people are poor. everyone wants to learn english, which seems to be the most popular ticket out. in 10 years 90% of the educated country will be educated soley in english=tourism. no one wants to study science, social work, math, medicine, art... what will happen when the only industry of the educated = tourism? a boy can get a higher education for $10/month but the family can't afford it. i don't think school loans exist. guesthouses are the moneymakers but even a family with 5 bungalos overlooking the river can't afford $10/month.
when they ask where my husband is, i tell people i am single. the looks in their eyes change. i imagine they are thinking of me marrying their son. they don't care about the others but they want me to stay longer. they tell me they like me and i am beautiful. i am aware that by marriage i could indirectly pull an entire family out of poverty. i have power by birth that i wish i didn't have. i want to be on equal footing so communication doesn't have another meaning. i imagine the marriage scenario. would we have to live together? how many years would we lie to the government before we were off the hook? would the family do if they suddenly came into more money? would they move to the city? would they be happier? would they share it with the village? would they make the best guesthouse on the block? would they create a tiny tourist empire? would they buy a buffalo? its time to get on the boat to leave. the mother tells me there is no boat for me, stay one more night. we laugh because the boat is here. they tell me to please come back next time i am in town!
10/12/03
change of plans. in case you are looking for me i am taking a boat north to nong kiaw for a night or 2. probably no e-mail for a few days because there's no electricity there. i will need to buy a flashlight very soon!
my day... taught a monk how to play guitar. climbed a small mountain. bought a boat ticket. ate. read.
my day... taught a monk how to play guitar. climbed a small mountain. bought a boat ticket. ate. read.
10/11/03
regarding fauna.
1. i tasted, more than tasted, actually, a giant garami. this is a fish i had in my fishtank as a kid, but a mini version. this giant garami was about a foot long, fried and very tasty, even for a vegetarian.
2. i like chickens
3. asia harbors LARGE insects
4. except the ants which are tiny but will arrive when the food does, just like california. then they bite you when you aren't looking.
5. there is a moth in the jungle that will give you skin ulcers on your legs
6. a fellow traveler saw the rare irawadi dolphins just last week
7. sometimes there are toads in the shower
8. sometimes there are chickens on the table
1. i tasted, more than tasted, actually, a giant garami. this is a fish i had in my fishtank as a kid, but a mini version. this giant garami was about a foot long, fried and very tasty, even for a vegetarian.
2. i like chickens
3. asia harbors LARGE insects
4. except the ants which are tiny but will arrive when the food does, just like california. then they bite you when you aren't looking.
5. there is a moth in the jungle that will give you skin ulcers on your legs
6. a fellow traveler saw the rare irawadi dolphins just last week
7. sometimes there are toads in the shower
8. sometimes there are chickens on the table
10/10/03
i am in a better mood, but kind of an uninspired blogger today.
for the next few days i live at an intersection of two rivers in lovely luong probang, a french-colonial town in northern laos. the architecture is mostly french and of that time period (except the much older wats), so that gives the town a very unusual feel. the town itself is a boom town for tourism since the road from the capital was completed (with in the last 2 years) and so, will probably change very quickly. at the monent, though, it is very charming and relaxed.
i think tonite is the first night of the river boat festival (although it might be tomorrow- i have to figure it out). everyone all over town is building quick little boats (i don't think they have to carry people, just candles) out of bamboo, palm and flowers. they will be lit and floated down the river. by the way, this is the festival that i thought i was missing but it happens all along the mekong river.
also by the way the mekong river is HUGE. i have heard it is the second largest river in the world, running through china, burma, laos, thailand, cambodia and ending at the mekong delta in vietnam.
if you like details (like i do) this is a really good website showing maps and some information on politics, uses, population, agreements, etc. regarding the mekong. http://www.thewaterpage.com/mekong_river.htm
if you click on the map, you can even see where i am... check out the little finger that the mekong makes in northern laos. that's me!
actually that makes me think i should find you a real map so you know where i am... http://www.map.freegk.com/laos/laos.php
this is a little slow to load but you can see where i am (luongprobong). you can also follow THE PLAN:
will get to vientienne (bus or air) to visit carolyn (my aunt).
later fly from vientienne to pakxe then follow the mekong down into cambodia, looking for the rare, irawadi dolphin, some islands, some fun.
make my way to angkor wat, probably via phnom penh, boat up the river to siam reep (the best way to get around in cambodia sounds like river/boat when ever possible or air)
make my way to surin, thailand for elephants playing soccer.
go to bangkok, fly to hanoi
ok, i said i was uninspired but i guess i had a lot to say!
point of interest about drugs in laos: there are lots of drugs in laos. they are officially illegal but everyone tries to sell you opium and weed. there are opium dens, bars where all drinks and food are "happy"=made with cannibus (although i haven't seen any yet, they are here). cambodia is rumored to have even more. most food there is made with cannibus for flavoring and there is no choice either way.
off to find some boats or monks or something.
for the next few days i live at an intersection of two rivers in lovely luong probang, a french-colonial town in northern laos. the architecture is mostly french and of that time period (except the much older wats), so that gives the town a very unusual feel. the town itself is a boom town for tourism since the road from the capital was completed (with in the last 2 years) and so, will probably change very quickly. at the monent, though, it is very charming and relaxed.
i think tonite is the first night of the river boat festival (although it might be tomorrow- i have to figure it out). everyone all over town is building quick little boats (i don't think they have to carry people, just candles) out of bamboo, palm and flowers. they will be lit and floated down the river. by the way, this is the festival that i thought i was missing but it happens all along the mekong river.
also by the way the mekong river is HUGE. i have heard it is the second largest river in the world, running through china, burma, laos, thailand, cambodia and ending at the mekong delta in vietnam.
if you like details (like i do) this is a really good website showing maps and some information on politics, uses, population, agreements, etc. regarding the mekong. http://www.thewaterpage.com/mekong_river.htm
if you click on the map, you can even see where i am... check out the little finger that the mekong makes in northern laos. that's me!
actually that makes me think i should find you a real map so you know where i am... http://www.map.freegk.com/laos/laos.php
this is a little slow to load but you can see where i am (luongprobong). you can also follow THE PLAN:
will get to vientienne (bus or air) to visit carolyn (my aunt).
later fly from vientienne to pakxe then follow the mekong down into cambodia, looking for the rare, irawadi dolphin, some islands, some fun.
make my way to angkor wat, probably via phnom penh, boat up the river to siam reep (the best way to get around in cambodia sounds like river/boat when ever possible or air)
make my way to surin, thailand for elephants playing soccer.
go to bangkok, fly to hanoi
ok, i said i was uninspired but i guess i had a lot to say!
point of interest about drugs in laos: there are lots of drugs in laos. they are officially illegal but everyone tries to sell you opium and weed. there are opium dens, bars where all drinks and food are "happy"=made with cannibus (although i haven't seen any yet, they are here). cambodia is rumored to have even more. most food there is made with cannibus for flavoring and there is no choice either way.
off to find some boats or monks or something.
10/6/03
ok! here i am in laos! (the boring update blog)
i met a buddy in nong khai, went to that amazing sculpture garden (definately a highlight of the trip) and headed off over the mekong river to vientienne, laos. everyone on both sides of the nong khai are getting ready and pumped up for a big festival culminating in mysterious fireballs floating in the river. this also co-incides withthe end of the rice harvest, the fireworks, long-boat races (like dragon boats) and a week of carnival-type atmosphere on the riverfront. unfortunately, the timing is a little off for me and i am going to miss the fireballs, which i am very curious about.
there are a few possible fireball causes that i have heard: the giant river serpant breathing fire... a natural phemonon of some sort... or some scientist's official ruling that someone in laos puts them in the river (but no one believes this one). i like that no one really knows for sure and its been happenning for many years.
vientienne is very nice for a city, meaning its managable size, some beautiful architecture, the air is good, good food, a river view. my friend, scott, and i rented a motorbike and went to check out this herbal sauna we heard about in a forrest wat. even though i didn't picture wanting to get any hotter, the sauna was fabulous. the smell of the herbs was amazing, they served medicinal tea and gave hour thai/lao massages, all for $2.50. it cured my itchy hands and made us both feel extremely relaxed. it was one of those days where you are constantly thinking, "where am i, again?".
next morning, we hopped a bus up north to vang vieng, a small eco-touristy town in the mountains litterred with caves, kayacks, inner-tubes, treks, bikes, scooters, goats, chickens, farms, a river and not too many tourists (luckily). i will go to start work on the farm this afternoon which includes farmwork (obviously) and teaching english to the local villagers. the farm itself is only 5km out of town, so i should be able to get back and forth to do some e-mails pretty frequently.
ok, that's all for now!!
i met a buddy in nong khai, went to that amazing sculpture garden (definately a highlight of the trip) and headed off over the mekong river to vientienne, laos. everyone on both sides of the nong khai are getting ready and pumped up for a big festival culminating in mysterious fireballs floating in the river. this also co-incides withthe end of the rice harvest, the fireworks, long-boat races (like dragon boats) and a week of carnival-type atmosphere on the riverfront. unfortunately, the timing is a little off for me and i am going to miss the fireballs, which i am very curious about.
there are a few possible fireball causes that i have heard: the giant river serpant breathing fire... a natural phemonon of some sort... or some scientist's official ruling that someone in laos puts them in the river (but no one believes this one). i like that no one really knows for sure and its been happenning for many years.
vientienne is very nice for a city, meaning its managable size, some beautiful architecture, the air is good, good food, a river view. my friend, scott, and i rented a motorbike and went to check out this herbal sauna we heard about in a forrest wat. even though i didn't picture wanting to get any hotter, the sauna was fabulous. the smell of the herbs was amazing, they served medicinal tea and gave hour thai/lao massages, all for $2.50. it cured my itchy hands and made us both feel extremely relaxed. it was one of those days where you are constantly thinking, "where am i, again?".
next morning, we hopped a bus up north to vang vieng, a small eco-touristy town in the mountains litterred with caves, kayacks, inner-tubes, treks, bikes, scooters, goats, chickens, farms, a river and not too many tourists (luckily). i will go to start work on the farm this afternoon which includes farmwork (obviously) and teaching english to the local villagers. the farm itself is only 5km out of town, so i should be able to get back and forth to do some e-mails pretty frequently.
ok, that's all for now!!
10/4/03
an example of an uneventful day travelling:
woke up this morning and drank ginger tea with alan (the guy who runs the guesthouse in ban chiang). i learned that the fireworks are because its "the season". traditionally at the end of the rice harvest, all the poeple who have been living in the paddies for 4 months come home and all of the monks who have stayed inside come out into the streets while fireworks are shot off to ward off the evil spirits. at the moment everyone is just warming up and shooting some off every night.
unimportant interlude ---> i ask if his dog ever gets sick from all the strays around and we begin talking about his dog. i learned that he (the dog) has a girlfriend next door that he really likes but he (the dog) is small and she always picks the bigger dogs when it comes to mating season and he has to just watch his lady-friend with other bigger dogs. now his dog just hangs out with humans and not with the other dogs, so there's a broken heart but no diseases.
back to the story---> i left at 7:40 in hope of catching the 7:55 mini-bus (a pick up with seats in the back) out of town back to udon thani then onto nong khai. so i said my goodbyes and walked down to the museum where the bus dropped me off two days before.
i forgot to mention that this whole time i am the only falong (white person) in town so my day to day activities, including my 6-mile walk to the nature reserve was watched with a lot of curiousity. usually i just smile and then the people watching me smile as if we both know that i am very weird but friendly.
today while i sat waiting for the bus, the local women paving the street stopped work to stare at the falong with the big blue bag on the side of the road on saturday (the day with no bus). smile. smile. ok, back to work. a woman selling clothes came to talk to me. actually she shook my hand and said hello then went back to her shop. in a few minutes another woman came up to me. smiles.
me: "sawatdee kaa".
her: "kaa".
and asked where i was from.
"america"
"america!! i love america"
"have you been there?"
"no money!"
her: "where is your husband?"
me: "i don't have a husband"
(she is very excited at this)
she says "oh lady!!!"
i tell her "i'm free!" (she's still very excited)
i tell her my age, she tells me hers. i tell her she looks much younger. we laugh. she tells me the bus maybe isn't coming because its saturday. but a tuk-tuk driver appears (the only one in the town i think) and she bargins a good rate for me to get to the highway where i can catch a real bus. i hop in and go with him to the highway where he points out the bus stop on the other side of the road. i think he is staying to make sure i catch it but it comes with in 30 seconds and he yells and i wave at the bus. i get on. put my bag in the pile of bags in the back and sit down.
the bus plays loud thai pop music and for the 100th time i wish i had a tape recorder. this would make a great soundtrack for the up and coming movie of my trip which i have been playing in my head. i decide what i would include and how i would edit in this music. i'm the only falong on the bus. people like to look at me. i smile. smiles back. i really dig the music even though its LOUD.
after and hour we arrive at the exact bus station i need to be at to catch my next bus. i pay to use the toilet, buy a ticket, figure i have 45 minutes and go across the street to eat pad thai breakfast. the music here is louder! i realize its a cafe/kareoke place. i realize that all around the bus station are cafe/karoeke places and they are all as loud as they go because they have to try to drown all the other places out. loud.
i catch the bus which costs about $0.75 to go to nong khai. got to nong khai 1 hour later. caught a tuk-tuk for $1.25 to go the 2 miles to my guesthouse. made it by 1pm no sweat!
tomorrow morning i plan to rent a motorbike to see a local sculpture garden. apparently, it was created by a guy who was walking through the jungle one day when he fell into a hole/cave and onto the lap of a hermit. the hermit taught him all about buddhism and the underworld and he stayed and lived with the hermit for many years. when he emerged, he started making sculptures out of cement which represent hindu and buddhist dieties. its a place where local people come to meditate, although not a wat. its run by volunteers who really liked the guy and the place. they also mummified his body and its there under glass for all to see (creepy?). i also hear there is another garden on the laos side that the local people cheerfully call "hell". maybe i will check out hell on monday.
if you are bored and you would like a multi-media persentation about the sculpture garden:
http://www.thaiworldview.com/lao/isan19.htm
tomorrow afternoon laos!
also they can't put photos on cd here, so unfortunately you will all have to wait for more pictures... these will be really good, too.
by the way i am in an internet cafe which is also a japanese book store and they are playing that eminem song with the dido sample. i've heard more eminem here than any other musician.
woke up this morning and drank ginger tea with alan (the guy who runs the guesthouse in ban chiang). i learned that the fireworks are because its "the season". traditionally at the end of the rice harvest, all the poeple who have been living in the paddies for 4 months come home and all of the monks who have stayed inside come out into the streets while fireworks are shot off to ward off the evil spirits. at the moment everyone is just warming up and shooting some off every night.
unimportant interlude ---> i ask if his dog ever gets sick from all the strays around and we begin talking about his dog. i learned that he (the dog) has a girlfriend next door that he really likes but he (the dog) is small and she always picks the bigger dogs when it comes to mating season and he has to just watch his lady-friend with other bigger dogs. now his dog just hangs out with humans and not with the other dogs, so there's a broken heart but no diseases.
back to the story---> i left at 7:40 in hope of catching the 7:55 mini-bus (a pick up with seats in the back) out of town back to udon thani then onto nong khai. so i said my goodbyes and walked down to the museum where the bus dropped me off two days before.
i forgot to mention that this whole time i am the only falong (white person) in town so my day to day activities, including my 6-mile walk to the nature reserve was watched with a lot of curiousity. usually i just smile and then the people watching me smile as if we both know that i am very weird but friendly.
today while i sat waiting for the bus, the local women paving the street stopped work to stare at the falong with the big blue bag on the side of the road on saturday (the day with no bus). smile. smile. ok, back to work. a woman selling clothes came to talk to me. actually she shook my hand and said hello then went back to her shop. in a few minutes another woman came up to me. smiles.
me: "sawatdee kaa".
her: "kaa".
and asked where i was from.
"america"
"america!! i love america"
"have you been there?"
"no money!"
her: "where is your husband?"
me: "i don't have a husband"
(she is very excited at this)
she says "oh lady!!!"
i tell her "i'm free!" (she's still very excited)
i tell her my age, she tells me hers. i tell her she looks much younger. we laugh. she tells me the bus maybe isn't coming because its saturday. but a tuk-tuk driver appears (the only one in the town i think) and she bargins a good rate for me to get to the highway where i can catch a real bus. i hop in and go with him to the highway where he points out the bus stop on the other side of the road. i think he is staying to make sure i catch it but it comes with in 30 seconds and he yells and i wave at the bus. i get on. put my bag in the pile of bags in the back and sit down.
the bus plays loud thai pop music and for the 100th time i wish i had a tape recorder. this would make a great soundtrack for the up and coming movie of my trip which i have been playing in my head. i decide what i would include and how i would edit in this music. i'm the only falong on the bus. people like to look at me. i smile. smiles back. i really dig the music even though its LOUD.
after and hour we arrive at the exact bus station i need to be at to catch my next bus. i pay to use the toilet, buy a ticket, figure i have 45 minutes and go across the street to eat pad thai breakfast. the music here is louder! i realize its a cafe/kareoke place. i realize that all around the bus station are cafe/karoeke places and they are all as loud as they go because they have to try to drown all the other places out. loud.
i catch the bus which costs about $0.75 to go to nong khai. got to nong khai 1 hour later. caught a tuk-tuk for $1.25 to go the 2 miles to my guesthouse. made it by 1pm no sweat!
tomorrow morning i plan to rent a motorbike to see a local sculpture garden. apparently, it was created by a guy who was walking through the jungle one day when he fell into a hole/cave and onto the lap of a hermit. the hermit taught him all about buddhism and the underworld and he stayed and lived with the hermit for many years. when he emerged, he started making sculptures out of cement which represent hindu and buddhist dieties. its a place where local people come to meditate, although not a wat. its run by volunteers who really liked the guy and the place. they also mummified his body and its there under glass for all to see (creepy?). i also hear there is another garden on the laos side that the local people cheerfully call "hell". maybe i will check out hell on monday.
if you are bored and you would like a multi-media persentation about the sculpture garden:
http://www.thaiworldview.com/lao/isan19.htm
tomorrow afternoon laos!
also they can't put photos on cd here, so unfortunately you will all have to wait for more pictures... these will be really good, too.
by the way i am in an internet cafe which is also a japanese book store and they are playing that eminem song with the dido sample. i've heard more eminem here than any other musician.
10/2/03
after a 7 hour train, i arrived in udon thani yesterday morning, again with bug bites from the sleeper car. i thought i had wised up when i applied insect repellant before getting on the trin, but after washing my hands on the train they were fresh meat for the little bugs. i am guessing it might be bed bugs and i am guessing that i am allergic. it seems to be the same thing that bit my foot the last time, only this time, instead of 2 bites there are about 20 on each hand. my little paws are poofy and so itchy they burn. even my super hydrocortisone doesn't effect it, nor does benedryl, aloe, or the local thai stuff (yellow goo in an unlabelled jar). so, i'll just wait.
first thing to worry about was looking for a hotel. tuk-tuks are always at the train stations waiting to take you where ever you want to go. whether or not they actually know what you are talking about, they say yes and start driving. then they stop and ask directions, find out your hotel doesn't exist anymore and we go down the list of other hotels i picked. one after the other i checked them out. they were all in some way really gross, and i began thinking, "this is asia, what do i expect?". but really i didn't want to stay in any of the hotels i saw and so, decided to head off to another small town 55km west and try my luck at the only guesthouse there.
now, i mostly like the lonely planet, but when they describe things as "friendly" and "clean" these things are reletive. relatively clean and relatively friendly. the guesthouse in this small town i was going to was described as "well manicured" and "partly wood", but i thought i would try it anyway. as it turns out, this is the most beautiful place i have stayed so far! the town itself (ban chiang) is very cute, has 6 restaurants, 1 doctor, 1 internet place, 1 barber, local handicrafts people (mostly making the pottery that this area is famous for), a museum, an archeological dig site, a few wats and a nature preserve (and for some reason they shoot off fireworks every night).
of course i checked out the archeological site and its really quite extensive. apparently a travelling harvard student litterally tripped over some pots sticking out of the ground and told the right people who came and discovered that there was a huge burial site bating back to 5,000 -10,000 BC full of pots, human bones, and many metal objects like bracelets, spearheads, etc. the town of ban chaing has been made famous by this site, which disproved the theory that the ancient people here had just purchased metal objects from others, because they knew nothing themselves. instead, there is proof that the local people themselves discovered complex systems of melting and casting and creating brass alloys out of 2-3 metals which all melt at different temperatures and made all of the objects themselves. also a unique local style of ceramics were discovered and now pots are made in this old style sold here.
i would actually like to stay in this town longer, but my visa is out in 2 days, so i will be making a run for the boarder (3 hours away) tomorrow morining.
first thing to worry about was looking for a hotel. tuk-tuks are always at the train stations waiting to take you where ever you want to go. whether or not they actually know what you are talking about, they say yes and start driving. then they stop and ask directions, find out your hotel doesn't exist anymore and we go down the list of other hotels i picked. one after the other i checked them out. they were all in some way really gross, and i began thinking, "this is asia, what do i expect?". but really i didn't want to stay in any of the hotels i saw and so, decided to head off to another small town 55km west and try my luck at the only guesthouse there.
now, i mostly like the lonely planet, but when they describe things as "friendly" and "clean" these things are reletive. relatively clean and relatively friendly. the guesthouse in this small town i was going to was described as "well manicured" and "partly wood", but i thought i would try it anyway. as it turns out, this is the most beautiful place i have stayed so far! the town itself (ban chiang) is very cute, has 6 restaurants, 1 doctor, 1 internet place, 1 barber, local handicrafts people (mostly making the pottery that this area is famous for), a museum, an archeological dig site, a few wats and a nature preserve (and for some reason they shoot off fireworks every night).
of course i checked out the archeological site and its really quite extensive. apparently a travelling harvard student litterally tripped over some pots sticking out of the ground and told the right people who came and discovered that there was a huge burial site bating back to 5,000 -10,000 BC full of pots, human bones, and many metal objects like bracelets, spearheads, etc. the town of ban chaing has been made famous by this site, which disproved the theory that the ancient people here had just purchased metal objects from others, because they knew nothing themselves. instead, there is proof that the local people themselves discovered complex systems of melting and casting and creating brass alloys out of 2-3 metals which all melt at different temperatures and made all of the objects themselves. also a unique local style of ceramics were discovered and now pots are made in this old style sold here.
i would actually like to stay in this town longer, but my visa is out in 2 days, so i will be making a run for the boarder (3 hours away) tomorrow morining.
9/29/03
thailand is apparently very open to gay people and especially ladyboys (men dressed like women). some people joke and laugh about it but i hardly get the impression that its something remotely dangerous to do or even uncommon. i have seen a local art exibit, a talk show, and an advertised forum about thailand being the most tolerant country in the world. we've had at least 4 restaurant servers who were ladyboys and no one really seems to take any notice. crazy!
9/28/03
in bangkok. the bus ride wasn't bad at all! it still crazy and stinky here!
i keep running into people here who have come to thailand for medical care. its something that wouldn't occur to me but i am assured that the dental and medical are very good in bangkok and much cheaper (example the guy i ran into today at the vietnam embassy said he had a 40 day inpatient hospital stay and a back surgery for $7000. currently he is here for dental that will end up costing him $500 instead of $2000 in the states). i do remember my dentist telling me not to get dental work done here, though. i saw a doctor in koh tao about my asthma and scuba diving. he didn't speak english and pointed to a sheet of paper that told me things about asthma and had recommendations. he had no idea what medicines i was referring to and i felt better in my own hands. but, i expect in bangkok it could be different. if anyone knows anything about this, let me know. i am very curious! regardless, i think its insane that our medical system is so expensive that people will come all the way to asia istead!!!
i keep running into people here who have come to thailand for medical care. its something that wouldn't occur to me but i am assured that the dental and medical are very good in bangkok and much cheaper (example the guy i ran into today at the vietnam embassy said he had a 40 day inpatient hospital stay and a back surgery for $7000. currently he is here for dental that will end up costing him $500 instead of $2000 in the states). i do remember my dentist telling me not to get dental work done here, though. i saw a doctor in koh tao about my asthma and scuba diving. he didn't speak english and pointed to a sheet of paper that told me things about asthma and had recommendations. he had no idea what medicines i was referring to and i felt better in my own hands. but, i expect in bangkok it could be different. if anyone knows anything about this, let me know. i am very curious! regardless, i think its insane that our medical system is so expensive that people will come all the way to asia istead!!!
9/27/03
after 5 days in tropical island paradise i am a certified scuba diver!! its something i thought would be natural for me as i always identified as a fish, but actually it took a lot of courage. the trick is realizing that you are re-training your brain to do something that it totally against your instincts (which is a pretty strong force). your brain tells you that you can't breath underwater (not true). it tells you to hold your breath (a no-no). and the brain rears its ugly head when you are underwater and you have to take off you mask and you get water in your nose and feel like you have to choke, and you notice a slight panic and the urge to surface (a no-no). not to mention, when your breathing is through tubes, valves and magically adjusted to the right pressure, it feels pretty weird. but the more i did it, like anything else, the more natural it felt. i'm officially a pro now. next, the great barrier reef!
so, i've been mulling over many possible plans for the time between elli leaving and meeting my mom in vietnam... (now and Nov 20th) and have decided to:
head up to laos to work on a slikworm/mullberry farm (oct 7-21st),
visit with my aunt (around 21st),
travel through laos and down into cambodia (through nov 13th), see angkor wat,
into Surin, thailand for the elephant round-up (nov 14th and 15th)
back up to bangkok (by the 19th) and then off to vietnam.
tomorrow is a big travel day. boat and bus will take us from koh tao to bangkok...10:30am->8:30pm. we are told that the 7 hour bus isn't too bad, but that we will never do it twice. hmmm.... wish me luck!
so, i've been mulling over many possible plans for the time between elli leaving and meeting my mom in vietnam... (now and Nov 20th) and have decided to:
head up to laos to work on a slikworm/mullberry farm (oct 7-21st),
visit with my aunt (around 21st),
travel through laos and down into cambodia (through nov 13th), see angkor wat,
into Surin, thailand for the elephant round-up (nov 14th and 15th)
back up to bangkok (by the 19th) and then off to vietnam.
tomorrow is a big travel day. boat and bus will take us from koh tao to bangkok...10:30am->8:30pm. we are told that the 7 hour bus isn't too bad, but that we will never do it twice. hmmm.... wish me luck!
9/23/03
my 28th year brought new friends, a tropical island, my first scuba lesson and a feeling in my stomach akin to razorblades. i'm not sure what was wrong. i might have gotten seasick, but it was the worst pain and vomitting (for 4-5 hours!) in sarah history. i cursed asia and longed for my own bed in my own home, but realizing that i didn't actually have either, i just sat and cried. the israelis next door gave me charcoal, i gave me immodium, and sleep gave me a very weirdly sore neck. today...i am still on a tropical island, diving will resume tomorrow, at the moment i am drinking pink electrolytes and wondering how something that intense can leave me feeling relatively normal 12 hours later.
kayaking last week in khao sok national park was amazing. imagine filling the entire yosemite valley with clear, aqua-colored water and filling the forest with dusky langurs, monitor lizards, wild gibbons (who song is the saddest, erieest, thing you've ever heard), 180 bird species, elephants, asian bears, tigers, frogs, toads and the biggest moth in the world (which for some reason i didn't take a picture of).
if you're bored, dusky langur site: http://www.howletts.net/sprimates/dlangur.html
the gibbon problem and also hear the cry:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/thierry.destenay/Appli%20Kalaweit/gibbon-a.htm
(let me know if the sound works, i can't test it from this computer)
a story our guide told about the park... a while back in thailand there were many student protests over the military government. there were huge protests and the military responded by flying over in hellicopters and shooting many many people. everytime the press tried to report about it, they found themselves suddenly audited and thrown in jail. this happenned for a while until the king (who, like england doesn't really have any power except that all the people love and respect him) made the offending generals crawl on there bellies and kiss his feet on national television. this was the ultimate dishonor. meanwhile, some students ran away and hid out in the jungle (this park) and were thought to be armed and dangerous. maybe they were, maybe they weren't, but the fear of them kept the logging companies out of the area and what remains is a 160 year old forest.
on a side note, there is a golden retreiver in this internet cafe that is making me think of keenan.
some pictures to come soon!
kayaking last week in khao sok national park was amazing. imagine filling the entire yosemite valley with clear, aqua-colored water and filling the forest with dusky langurs, monitor lizards, wild gibbons (who song is the saddest, erieest, thing you've ever heard), 180 bird species, elephants, asian bears, tigers, frogs, toads and the biggest moth in the world (which for some reason i didn't take a picture of).
if you're bored, dusky langur site: http://www.howletts.net/sprimates/dlangur.html
the gibbon problem and also hear the cry:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/thierry.destenay/Appli%20Kalaweit/gibbon-a.htm
(let me know if the sound works, i can't test it from this computer)
a story our guide told about the park... a while back in thailand there were many student protests over the military government. there were huge protests and the military responded by flying over in hellicopters and shooting many many people. everytime the press tried to report about it, they found themselves suddenly audited and thrown in jail. this happenned for a while until the king (who, like england doesn't really have any power except that all the people love and respect him) made the offending generals crawl on there bellies and kiss his feet on national television. this was the ultimate dishonor. meanwhile, some students ran away and hid out in the jungle (this park) and were thought to be armed and dangerous. maybe they were, maybe they weren't, but the fear of them kept the logging companies out of the area and what remains is a 160 year old forest.
on a side note, there is a golden retreiver in this internet cafe that is making me think of keenan.
some pictures to come soon!
9/16/03
the other day, i ended up going to this place by accident... read if you are interested in the government's efforts to eliminate opium growing in the hilltribe communities (i didn't write this but its interesting anyway) The project area was really fancy; beautiful paths, waterfalls, and row after row of greenhouse with a complicated irrigation system:
The Royal Project, Thailand
360 days in SE Asia & Oz - Home Page
Wander up Doi Inthanon, the largest mountain in Thailand, and you won't find snow or skiers, hiking trails or mountain chalets, but what you will see are two vast chedis, a number of hill-tribe villages and large, mysterious plastic tunnels. In the Thai climate, so near to the equator, you'll never have to wait more than a few minutes beyond 6PM to see the landscape change radically - as the sun goes down powerful artificial lighting is switched on inside the tunnels, placing long, glowing tubes of light across your field of vision. These tunnels can be found all across the Northern highlands of Thailand.
Origins of the Royal Project
In 1969, with the cultivation of the opium poppy outlawed, the King of Thailand recognised that many hill-tribes faced serious poverty. Traditionally opium had played a large part in many hill-tribes' customs, and had become a major source of income once trade in the drug had been established. Worse still, since many hill-tribes had little recognition of the government, or understanding of how Bangkok related to them, ending the production of opium wasn't going to be a simple matter of the government saying they didn't want it to be grown anymore, short of throwing vast numbers of bewildered tribespeople into jail.
The King, therefore, established the Royal Project in an attempt to replace opium production with the cultivation of legal cash crops. Food is in abundance in Thailand, with cheap food stalls lining every street, and little money is available for small scale production of staples such as rice and vegetables, so the Royal project concentrates on luxury items such as fruits and cold climate flowers.
Other aims of the project are to raise livestock, conserve soil and water, preserve the rich forest environment, enhance the natural resources of the Northern highlands and stop shifting cultivation, which involves using up the resources of an area of fertile farmland and then abandoning it and moving on.
Much of the initial backing for the project came from the US Department of Agriculture, in the form of contracts for production which replaced previous opium poppy crops. Numerous other countries, universities and volunteer organisations lent assistance in the form of equipment, seeds and education. There is an emphasis on organic farming, and use of chemicals is avoided wherever possible, and this meant additional training so that the project could provide plant technicians capable of early detection of pests and disease.
With an emphasis on giving hill-tribes the abilities necessary to fend for themselves, education and the provision of schools, books, medicine and the voluntary time of doctors, nurses and dentists is an essential part of the project. Tribespeople themselves get involved in these efforts, with members of the tribes themselves taking central roles in drug education, policing and even treatment.
Results
Today, 295 villages are part of the Royal Project. The large plastic tunnels to be seen on Doi Inthanon are tended by the small number of villages that line the mountain's slopes, and it is a testament to the success of the project that such large scale production is possible involving a relatively small number of people. Artificial lighting extends the consistent, year-round 12 hour day, whilst the tunnelling retains heat against the relatively harsh altitudinous nights and protects the crop from the brutal monsoon rains.
All the way along the road up that runs through Doi Inthanon you'll find small markets with stalls selling candied locally grown fruits and delicious, chewy fresh peanuts. The distribution, however, of the crop is by no means only local; under the Doi Kham (Golden Mountain) brand the high quality produce is sold across Thailand and abroad.
The Royal Project has won a number of awards, including the 1988 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding 'for its concerted national and international effort to curtain opium growing and bringing worthy livelihoods to Thailand's hill-tribes' and the Thai Export Merchandise prize at the 1988 Thai Expo.
The Royal Project, Thailand
360 days in SE Asia & Oz - Home Page
Wander up Doi Inthanon, the largest mountain in Thailand, and you won't find snow or skiers, hiking trails or mountain chalets, but what you will see are two vast chedis, a number of hill-tribe villages and large, mysterious plastic tunnels. In the Thai climate, so near to the equator, you'll never have to wait more than a few minutes beyond 6PM to see the landscape change radically - as the sun goes down powerful artificial lighting is switched on inside the tunnels, placing long, glowing tubes of light across your field of vision. These tunnels can be found all across the Northern highlands of Thailand.
Origins of the Royal Project
In 1969, with the cultivation of the opium poppy outlawed, the King of Thailand recognised that many hill-tribes faced serious poverty. Traditionally opium had played a large part in many hill-tribes' customs, and had become a major source of income once trade in the drug had been established. Worse still, since many hill-tribes had little recognition of the government, or understanding of how Bangkok related to them, ending the production of opium wasn't going to be a simple matter of the government saying they didn't want it to be grown anymore, short of throwing vast numbers of bewildered tribespeople into jail.
The King, therefore, established the Royal Project in an attempt to replace opium production with the cultivation of legal cash crops. Food is in abundance in Thailand, with cheap food stalls lining every street, and little money is available for small scale production of staples such as rice and vegetables, so the Royal project concentrates on luxury items such as fruits and cold climate flowers.
Other aims of the project are to raise livestock, conserve soil and water, preserve the rich forest environment, enhance the natural resources of the Northern highlands and stop shifting cultivation, which involves using up the resources of an area of fertile farmland and then abandoning it and moving on.
Much of the initial backing for the project came from the US Department of Agriculture, in the form of contracts for production which replaced previous opium poppy crops. Numerous other countries, universities and volunteer organisations lent assistance in the form of equipment, seeds and education. There is an emphasis on organic farming, and use of chemicals is avoided wherever possible, and this meant additional training so that the project could provide plant technicians capable of early detection of pests and disease.
With an emphasis on giving hill-tribes the abilities necessary to fend for themselves, education and the provision of schools, books, medicine and the voluntary time of doctors, nurses and dentists is an essential part of the project. Tribespeople themselves get involved in these efforts, with members of the tribes themselves taking central roles in drug education, policing and even treatment.
Results
Today, 295 villages are part of the Royal Project. The large plastic tunnels to be seen on Doi Inthanon are tended by the small number of villages that line the mountain's slopes, and it is a testament to the success of the project that such large scale production is possible involving a relatively small number of people. Artificial lighting extends the consistent, year-round 12 hour day, whilst the tunnelling retains heat against the relatively harsh altitudinous nights and protects the crop from the brutal monsoon rains.
All the way along the road up that runs through Doi Inthanon you'll find small markets with stalls selling candied locally grown fruits and delicious, chewy fresh peanuts. The distribution, however, of the crop is by no means only local; under the Doi Kham (Golden Mountain) brand the high quality produce is sold across Thailand and abroad.
The Royal Project has won a number of awards, including the 1988 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding 'for its concerted national and international effort to curtain opium growing and bringing worthy livelihoods to Thailand's hill-tribes' and the Thai Export Merchandise prize at the 1988 Thai Expo.
9/15/03
feeling a little bit purposeless today. but i think that's more about unemployment than traveling.
tomorrow elli comes back from treking and we will be off to see some caves about 70km from here.
today i was interviewed by a girl in a wat. she was doing a project and was supposed to interview tourists in english about festivals in their country. i chose halloween, but we alo hit on July 4th, Christmas, New Years (they have that here, too but they give gifts). (nearby a monk was blessingsome people, sort of singing, sort of chanting) her favorite Thai festival is the one in april where everyone is really really hot but happy, because they are all throwing water around at each other.
also read today that the founding king of chiang mai was killed by lightning in 1311. for some reason that seems interesting to me. i'm sure the palace was constantly guarded, every precaution taken and then POW from the heavens. and it hits the king of all people.
tomorrow elli comes back from treking and we will be off to see some caves about 70km from here.
today i was interviewed by a girl in a wat. she was doing a project and was supposed to interview tourists in english about festivals in their country. i chose halloween, but we alo hit on July 4th, Christmas, New Years (they have that here, too but they give gifts). (nearby a monk was blessingsome people, sort of singing, sort of chanting) her favorite Thai festival is the one in april where everyone is really really hot but happy, because they are all throwing water around at each other.
also read today that the founding king of chiang mai was killed by lightning in 1311. for some reason that seems interesting to me. i'm sure the palace was constantly guarded, every precaution taken and then POW from the heavens. and it hits the king of all people.
9/14/03
some days you just want to use the bathroom and there is a cock fight in your way.
and later in those some days, you drink some tea from a street vendor that you chose because it was the one with no english translation and you were trying to be trooper and you turn out to be a slightly-tripping trooper. in the middle of a sunday bizairre. which is actually quite fun so you get another.
again, don't get scared to visit, mom. its fun here.
and later in those some days, you drink some tea from a street vendor that you chose because it was the one with no english translation and you were trying to be trooper and you turn out to be a slightly-tripping trooper. in the middle of a sunday bizairre. which is actually quite fun so you get another.
again, don't get scared to visit, mom. its fun here.
9/12/03
after many busy days, i decided to take it easy and just walk around town today. i ended up at most of the local wats (temples), knelt next to a man who turned out to be the director of archeology at a museum in surathani (where we will be on wednesday). he answered some of my silly temple questions, like "why so many temples here?" apparently, this city was once the center of an independent province with its own kings who each wanted temples built for his mother and father. then there are temples for dead kings and temples at monastic schools. he showed me how to put holy water on my head from a well. inside the wat, i sat and studied the many golden buddas, the teak building construction and then noticed a donation box that said "good luck on your birthday". there were boxes for every day of the week, morning and evening. my birthday is coming up in a week or so and i became convinced that it would be bad luck not to donate. so i grabbed a few baht and paused to reflect on what day of the week i was born. i have no idea. uh oh. i know its 11am, but what day of the week? i chose wednesday. although in retrospect i think it might be thursday. should've gone for one baht in each day. maybe that's how they get ya! no one knows what day they were born on, do they? those clever, clever monks.
the archeologist showed up again and told me to follow him next door to a larger temple. he left when we got there and i was excited to see that i had found "monk chat"! i had read that at a certain temple, the young monks who are studying english are available to chat with tourists = "monk chat". i got really into it and chatted for about 2 hours.
a few things... there are 6 reasons that men become monks but i can't remember them all... 1. to honor his mother and father (the parents want him to) 2. to study at the school (many boys who don't have access to good schools can learn at the monastic school for a while then leave later) 3. for fun (?) 4. his reason, the ultimate goal, achieve nirvana or ultimate happiness.
monks don't work. after their training they can keep studying or teach ("spread the teachings of the budda to the thai people" or travel but only as a missionary). they eat only breakfast and lunch but only what is donated by people. he doesn't get hungry (i asked), he is used to it. "a monk eats to live, does not live to eat. food is to nourish the body and is not for enjoyment". he is not a vegetarian, which i found surprising. if meat is donated he can eat it as long as he didn't see or hear the killing and the killing wasn't done for just him.
he also studies math, science, comparative religion, english. monks are not allowed to study the arts (singing, music, dance) because they are a distraction from the true path. he asked what i did for work and having not heard of genetics, i found myself trying to explain DNA to a monk.
after monk chat i went to enter the wat and was approached by a woman with a tray of tiny birds in tiny bamboo cages. she said "30 baht ($0.75) set them free. 40 baht for entire family (holds up a cage with 5 or 6 cute tweety birds). good luck for you set them free." it took me a moment. i considered setting them all free. i really wanted to set them all free. but i figured that would cost me quite a bit of baht. i thought about setting two of them free. but then decided my money would be better put in the donation box for homeless children or, more mysterious, the donation box for "dogs". i decided she would just catch more birds even if i set them free so the money went into the "dogs" box. as i walked into the wat i was thinking, what does it say about me that i just picked "dogs" over homeless children?! ok. another few bahts in the "homeless children" box.
the archeologist showed up again and told me to follow him next door to a larger temple. he left when we got there and i was excited to see that i had found "monk chat"! i had read that at a certain temple, the young monks who are studying english are available to chat with tourists = "monk chat". i got really into it and chatted for about 2 hours.
a few things... there are 6 reasons that men become monks but i can't remember them all... 1. to honor his mother and father (the parents want him to) 2. to study at the school (many boys who don't have access to good schools can learn at the monastic school for a while then leave later) 3. for fun (?) 4. his reason, the ultimate goal, achieve nirvana or ultimate happiness.
monks don't work. after their training they can keep studying or teach ("spread the teachings of the budda to the thai people" or travel but only as a missionary). they eat only breakfast and lunch but only what is donated by people. he doesn't get hungry (i asked), he is used to it. "a monk eats to live, does not live to eat. food is to nourish the body and is not for enjoyment". he is not a vegetarian, which i found surprising. if meat is donated he can eat it as long as he didn't see or hear the killing and the killing wasn't done for just him.
he also studies math, science, comparative religion, english. monks are not allowed to study the arts (singing, music, dance) because they are a distraction from the true path. he asked what i did for work and having not heard of genetics, i found myself trying to explain DNA to a monk.
after monk chat i went to enter the wat and was approached by a woman with a tray of tiny birds in tiny bamboo cages. she said "30 baht ($0.75) set them free. 40 baht for entire family (holds up a cage with 5 or 6 cute tweety birds). good luck for you set them free." it took me a moment. i considered setting them all free. i really wanted to set them all free. but i figured that would cost me quite a bit of baht. i thought about setting two of them free. but then decided my money would be better put in the donation box for homeless children or, more mysterious, the donation box for "dogs". i decided she would just catch more birds even if i set them free so the money went into the "dogs" box. as i walked into the wat i was thinking, what does it say about me that i just picked "dogs" over homeless children?! ok. another few bahts in the "homeless children" box.
9/11/03
sawatdee ka!
hello from thailand!
i made it here about a week ago and it has been fabulous. already there is too much to tell. i got a tip on a place to staty in bangkok which turned out to be a haven in an otherwise busy, smoggy city. my advice to anyone traveling here is to get out of bangkok as soon as possible! that being said, like any other city there are beautiful parts (although i haven't seen them) and many temples, markets, and resources for travelers. my only reference to 3rd world developing countries (if thailand can even be considered that) i africa. and i was pleased to discover that compared to that, even bangkok felt much easier and, to me completely safe.
at the lodge we stayed at we got a tip that the cook's family (whom i think lives on the owner's land) has a farm with guest houses not too far away (5 hour drive west). the idea was: take a bus from bangkok to kanchanaburi, take a local bus from kanchanaburi to erawan market, ask for "mr.hey". so, we decided to go for a 3-day adventure to the farm before heading to northern thailand. we ended up staying with the family (of the cook, Nat) who cooked thai food for us, let us help and gave cooking lessons, gave us thai lessons saying, "you speak thai (insert the thai word for whatever it is we are talking about)". i remember how to say good food and i am full. immediately apon arrival she shuffled us down the street saying "walk 1km. see cave. 4:00.". ok. we walked down the street, found the sign for the cave, saw that the place closed at 4:00 but it was a few minutes before 4, so we went in. it looked like everyone had gone home for the day but elle had her flashlight so we climbed up the hillside to the cave to check it out. there was an orange string on the ground that obviously led the way, so we ventured in with her tiny headlamp, following the string. no problem! elle got a little scared and wanted to leave. after deciding that there was no boogy man, we held hands and went in a little futher. very dark. very cool. a sign inside says "do not destroy". a fence inside next to a bottomless pit says "danger". all very clear. we hung out in there for a while and got 1000 mosquito bites then went back down for dinner.
wan penh (nat's mother) said "tomorrow you come here 7:00 morning. eat. drink tea. coffee. then you go to waterfall. swim verrrrry slowwwly. come here 1:00." ok. very clear. all of thailand has been like this. seemingly a confusing situation is very clear and absurdly easy. hopefully i will get some pistures of the waterfall (7 waterfalls) soon. they were amazing. whitish-blue-aqua water, limestone and littered with caves all around. families fo swimming monkeys. the signs read "the monkeys eat your food and they bite". i tried to take a picture and the little monkey got feirce and chased the big monkey (me).
we decided that we would avoid bangkok as much as possible but since we had to go there in order to catch the train north, we decided to have a super travel day and drive 2.5 hours, see the river kwai, 2.5 hours to bangkok, hang out 5 hours, take the night train north (12 hours). that was last night. i loved the train. the earplugs helped. woke up to fog in the jungle outside the window. something bit my foot on the train. its likwe 10 mosquito bites in one. a ping pong welt that itches like mad. besides that i recommend trains. at least once, anyway.
at the moment i am in chang mai, the first beautiful, nice smelling major city i have seen so far. and its time for dinner!
hello from thailand!
i made it here about a week ago and it has been fabulous. already there is too much to tell. i got a tip on a place to staty in bangkok which turned out to be a haven in an otherwise busy, smoggy city. my advice to anyone traveling here is to get out of bangkok as soon as possible! that being said, like any other city there are beautiful parts (although i haven't seen them) and many temples, markets, and resources for travelers. my only reference to 3rd world developing countries (if thailand can even be considered that) i africa. and i was pleased to discover that compared to that, even bangkok felt much easier and, to me completely safe.
at the lodge we stayed at we got a tip that the cook's family (whom i think lives on the owner's land) has a farm with guest houses not too far away (5 hour drive west). the idea was: take a bus from bangkok to kanchanaburi, take a local bus from kanchanaburi to erawan market, ask for "mr.hey". so, we decided to go for a 3-day adventure to the farm before heading to northern thailand. we ended up staying with the family (of the cook, Nat) who cooked thai food for us, let us help and gave cooking lessons, gave us thai lessons saying, "you speak thai (insert the thai word for whatever it is we are talking about)". i remember how to say good food and i am full. immediately apon arrival she shuffled us down the street saying "walk 1km. see cave. 4:00.". ok. we walked down the street, found the sign for the cave, saw that the place closed at 4:00 but it was a few minutes before 4, so we went in. it looked like everyone had gone home for the day but elle had her flashlight so we climbed up the hillside to the cave to check it out. there was an orange string on the ground that obviously led the way, so we ventured in with her tiny headlamp, following the string. no problem! elle got a little scared and wanted to leave. after deciding that there was no boogy man, we held hands and went in a little futher. very dark. very cool. a sign inside says "do not destroy". a fence inside next to a bottomless pit says "danger". all very clear. we hung out in there for a while and got 1000 mosquito bites then went back down for dinner.
wan penh (nat's mother) said "tomorrow you come here 7:00 morning. eat. drink tea. coffee. then you go to waterfall. swim verrrrry slowwwly. come here 1:00." ok. very clear. all of thailand has been like this. seemingly a confusing situation is very clear and absurdly easy. hopefully i will get some pistures of the waterfall (7 waterfalls) soon. they were amazing. whitish-blue-aqua water, limestone and littered with caves all around. families fo swimming monkeys. the signs read "the monkeys eat your food and they bite". i tried to take a picture and the little monkey got feirce and chased the big monkey (me).
we decided that we would avoid bangkok as much as possible but since we had to go there in order to catch the train north, we decided to have a super travel day and drive 2.5 hours, see the river kwai, 2.5 hours to bangkok, hang out 5 hours, take the night train north (12 hours). that was last night. i loved the train. the earplugs helped. woke up to fog in the jungle outside the window. something bit my foot on the train. its likwe 10 mosquito bites in one. a ping pong welt that itches like mad. besides that i recommend trains. at least once, anyway.
at the moment i am in chang mai, the first beautiful, nice smelling major city i have seen so far. and its time for dinner!
9/5/03
i am in seoul. in a PC bong (PC room) in myeong-dong. i sat next to a korean opera singer and her boyfriend(?) on the plane from SF. she suggested myeong-dong. it took litterally 5 minutes to go through customs. no one asked me anything or looked at my bags and it was so easy i woundered if i was missing somehthing.
so i took the 605-1 bus from the airport and got off at myeong-dong station. it was pretty easy. i have a layover of about 15 hours so i figured i should definately get out of the airport. but i am afraid to wander too far in those 15 hours because 1. there is a really nice public restroom in starbucks across the street and i haven't seen any others and 2. the streets are narrow and windy and a little confusing here. it seems that i am in the area where there are lots of trendy shoe stores which is fun if i had any room to carry shoes. so i am walking around and looking at what kind of shoes everyine else is wearing in this part of town. there is a small army of black and white converse. will they ever go out of style? somehow i doubt it.
elle is waiting for me in bangkok. i am getting there 2 days after i expected because i missed a flight and had to stay the night in SF. except that she is waiting, it was great that i happenned to miss the flight. i was so happy to be in sf and i got to see rachel, heather and the old roomies. i spent the day in my old neighborhood and went to my favorite bar. i heart SF.
so i took the 605-1 bus from the airport and got off at myeong-dong station. it was pretty easy. i have a layover of about 15 hours so i figured i should definately get out of the airport. but i am afraid to wander too far in those 15 hours because 1. there is a really nice public restroom in starbucks across the street and i haven't seen any others and 2. the streets are narrow and windy and a little confusing here. it seems that i am in the area where there are lots of trendy shoe stores which is fun if i had any room to carry shoes. so i am walking around and looking at what kind of shoes everyine else is wearing in this part of town. there is a small army of black and white converse. will they ever go out of style? somehow i doubt it.
elle is waiting for me in bangkok. i am getting there 2 days after i expected because i missed a flight and had to stay the night in SF. except that she is waiting, it was great that i happenned to miss the flight. i was so happy to be in sf and i got to see rachel, heather and the old roomies. i spent the day in my old neighborhood and went to my favorite bar. i heart SF.
8/28/03
8/27/03
my dream from last night: i am in a pub waiting for a friend. i go into the bathroom where i discover a very angry canary (might have been a gold finch). the canary says a very aggressive "CHIRP!" then jumps onto my shoulder and grabs very tightly with its little feet. i walk out to the desk and ask if they know anything about this bird. the bird sees an animal-skin rug and jumps down to angrily peck. its tearing the hell out of the rug. no, they've never seen the bird before. it grabs onto my shoulder and i take it to nate's house where nate has eaten too much pumpkin. he's throwing up what looks like an entire pumpkin. then some guy walks in with two goat legs which run around by themselves. this guy is a magic guy but his magic goat legs have been acting up and he wants to catch them and get rid of them. they go hide in the apt. after a while i catch a glimpse of them running into the corner where they turn into a budda statue. we decide to toss the budda statue over the porch railing to get rid of it. when it hits the ground it turns back into goat legs and runs around angrily. i still have an angry canary on my shoulder. the legs kick a hole in the door to come back in. i say, "the legs are back and they're pissed!". the legs come up the stairs and into the room where they just stand in front of us. then i wake up.
if you know what this means you should e-mail me.
if you know what this means you should e-mail me.
8/26/03
I have voice mail durring my trip.... its free for me, so go ahead and leave a message if you want....
To leave me a message while I'm away:
-Dial this access number: 1-800-706-1333
-Press *
-then 2
-Enter my account number: 7211216353906
-then press #
And leave me a message.
also i will be checking my e-mail sarahgrams@yahoo.com
no more cell phone for me until i get back.
To leave me a message while I'm away:
-Dial this access number: 1-800-706-1333
-Press *
-then 2
-Enter my account number: 7211216353906
-then press #
And leave me a message.
also i will be checking my e-mail sarahgrams@yahoo.com
no more cell phone for me until i get back.
i stayed in chicago for 2 days. once rachel left i felt like i had to get out of there, so i drove to madison. there were a bunch of people i wanted to visit in chicago (so if you're reading this don't feel bad) but i started feeling like i couldn't stop. like i had to keep up the momentum until i reached minnesota.
in madison i had a mini reunion. again i felt like i had to leave after 2 days, so it was off to minnesota. i got here on aug 1st and immediately started building the fence. its been fence fence fence ever since. (see pictures below!)
i have had a lot of time to see old friends, go to the state fair, art fair, see my parents, etc. now i am really ready to leave. i leave in a week and its not soon enough. i have been thinking about this for over a year. planning since march and i really can't wait to go. i'm not even feeling too excited because i have had so much time to be excited, that now i'm just ready. sometimes i feel a little nervous. its hard to sleep. i have weird dreams. i started sleeping outside in the backyard at my dad's house in the porch. for some reason that helps. weird.
oh. speaking of reunions, i am missing my 10 year high school reunion. i really wanted to go. no lawn bowling for me. oh well.
i'm tired. no cohesion. its 1am.
you should look at the pictures because it took a long time to scan them. here it is again in case you don't read further because i rambled and you got bored.
http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=453550
in madison i had a mini reunion. again i felt like i had to leave after 2 days, so it was off to minnesota. i got here on aug 1st and immediately started building the fence. its been fence fence fence ever since. (see pictures below!)
i have had a lot of time to see old friends, go to the state fair, art fair, see my parents, etc. now i am really ready to leave. i leave in a week and its not soon enough. i have been thinking about this for over a year. planning since march and i really can't wait to go. i'm not even feeling too excited because i have had so much time to be excited, that now i'm just ready. sometimes i feel a little nervous. its hard to sleep. i have weird dreams. i started sleeping outside in the backyard at my dad's house in the porch. for some reason that helps. weird.
oh. speaking of reunions, i am missing my 10 year high school reunion. i really wanted to go. no lawn bowling for me. oh well.
i'm tired. no cohesion. its 1am.
you should look at the pictures because it took a long time to scan them. here it is again in case you don't read further because i rambled and you got bored.
http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=453550
i am in minnesota. heather told me she has been checking my blog everyday so i better get busy. we left off at my drive to austin. i dont' really feel like talking about it except to say that it was very relaxing and very hot. i thought i would get really bored with my own thoughts but i didn't. maybe i stopped thinking. that could be the secret.
austin was fabulous. (did i mention that i was driving to austin to pick up kim and move her to chicago? yep.) anyway, i recommend a visit to austin. the highlights of my 3 days were: swimming and kayaking the springs, staying overnight on a farm outside of town with kim's friends, biking around town for kim's going away bar-hopping extravaganza, good food, seeing "legally blonde 2" (for the second time).
we sent a bunch of kim's stuff and loaded up the truck with room to spare. dog and cat sat in the front with us. they hate each other, but the dog was in denial (refusing to look at the cat) and the cat was sedated so it worked. we drove 10 hours to the east side of Arkansas and pulled into a state park. here starts the drama. its dark. we start to set up camp. the mosquitos were vampirous (is that a word?). insane mosquitos meant lots of my super-duper insect repellant. lots of insect repellant meant our skin began to burn. enter man from bushes with lantern in a cloud of bugs. "well now i'm completely lost! i was out on my boat and it started to get dark and i pulled up to boat launch and now i have to find my tuck to get the boat out. which way to the cabins?". we point down the road to the left. he says "they can't be that way!" and turns around, (covered in mosquitos) walks back into the bushes and dissappears. huh. oh yeah, burning skin. so, we decide we have to get out of there as soon as possible. just get to a hotel. maybe a super 8. in a flash we pack up our tents and dishes, get the dog and cat in the truck and start driving to west memphis (my new nemesis). memphis the nemesis. then the cat starts to pee in kims lap (we discarded the carrier hours before when the sedated cat seemed fine in our lap). she says "the cat's peeing!". clearly the thing to do at this point is pull over. but, never having been in this situation before, i was confused and frozen. then "the cat's still peeing!". so i pull over. i undo kim's seatbelt because she has her hands cupped under the cat's but to catch the pee. i run around and open her door. the cat is less sedated aparently and begins doing these lunging, jumping flipping things because its on a harness and it would really like to run away and climb a tree right now. kim is totally soaked. we put the cat in the carrier, kim takes off her clothes, i pour water all over her (all in soemone's front yard) and she puts on clean clothes. then we have to get back in the pee-pee truck with pee-pee kitty and the dog and the mosquitos and the burning skin. 20 minutes later we are at a super 8. we must not have smelled that bad because she gave us a room. stealthy manouvers and the dog and cat are in the room. kim washes the cat and takes a shower while i go to the truck stop for a beer and odor remover. got trucker odor stuff. no beer because its sunday. harumph. confederate stickers. i go back and we both take turns working on the pee-pee truck. then bed. the cat meows for 1/2 hour every time i move. i try not to roll over. but, when you can't roll over, all you want to do is roll over. i roll over. mrow! mrow! mrow!......
ok. morning. 8-10 hours and we will be in chicago. drive drive drive. kitty is now in the litterbox which is on the lap of the passenger (see the picture in the link below!!). this works fine. we get close to chicago. kim looses her wallet. we have to backtrack. we can't find it. this really sucks for kim because she has no money with her and can't access her account or open a new one or drive. 1/2 hour later we are in chicago. we go to the place kim is moving to but it is locked. the landlord changed his mind and they can't move in for 2 more days. luckily a neighbor is home and he lets us put the stuff in the basement. nice neighbors. then i drive kim to the place she is staying. then $50 parking tick while we are unloading. what a bad 2 days. i decide that a good day traveling is when nothing goes wrong. i just hope that nothing else goes wrong. but its 11:30pm, what could happen? luckily nothing does. i finally get to go meet rachel who is feeling really sorry for me and has the jaquzzi waiting. heaven.
austin was fabulous. (did i mention that i was driving to austin to pick up kim and move her to chicago? yep.) anyway, i recommend a visit to austin. the highlights of my 3 days were: swimming and kayaking the springs, staying overnight on a farm outside of town with kim's friends, biking around town for kim's going away bar-hopping extravaganza, good food, seeing "legally blonde 2" (for the second time).
we sent a bunch of kim's stuff and loaded up the truck with room to spare. dog and cat sat in the front with us. they hate each other, but the dog was in denial (refusing to look at the cat) and the cat was sedated so it worked. we drove 10 hours to the east side of Arkansas and pulled into a state park. here starts the drama. its dark. we start to set up camp. the mosquitos were vampirous (is that a word?). insane mosquitos meant lots of my super-duper insect repellant. lots of insect repellant meant our skin began to burn. enter man from bushes with lantern in a cloud of bugs. "well now i'm completely lost! i was out on my boat and it started to get dark and i pulled up to boat launch and now i have to find my tuck to get the boat out. which way to the cabins?". we point down the road to the left. he says "they can't be that way!" and turns around, (covered in mosquitos) walks back into the bushes and dissappears. huh. oh yeah, burning skin. so, we decide we have to get out of there as soon as possible. just get to a hotel. maybe a super 8. in a flash we pack up our tents and dishes, get the dog and cat in the truck and start driving to west memphis (my new nemesis). memphis the nemesis. then the cat starts to pee in kims lap (we discarded the carrier hours before when the sedated cat seemed fine in our lap). she says "the cat's peeing!". clearly the thing to do at this point is pull over. but, never having been in this situation before, i was confused and frozen. then "the cat's still peeing!". so i pull over. i undo kim's seatbelt because she has her hands cupped under the cat's but to catch the pee. i run around and open her door. the cat is less sedated aparently and begins doing these lunging, jumping flipping things because its on a harness and it would really like to run away and climb a tree right now. kim is totally soaked. we put the cat in the carrier, kim takes off her clothes, i pour water all over her (all in soemone's front yard) and she puts on clean clothes. then we have to get back in the pee-pee truck with pee-pee kitty and the dog and the mosquitos and the burning skin. 20 minutes later we are at a super 8. we must not have smelled that bad because she gave us a room. stealthy manouvers and the dog and cat are in the room. kim washes the cat and takes a shower while i go to the truck stop for a beer and odor remover. got trucker odor stuff. no beer because its sunday. harumph. confederate stickers. i go back and we both take turns working on the pee-pee truck. then bed. the cat meows for 1/2 hour every time i move. i try not to roll over. but, when you can't roll over, all you want to do is roll over. i roll over. mrow! mrow! mrow!......
ok. morning. 8-10 hours and we will be in chicago. drive drive drive. kitty is now in the litterbox which is on the lap of the passenger (see the picture in the link below!!). this works fine. we get close to chicago. kim looses her wallet. we have to backtrack. we can't find it. this really sucks for kim because she has no money with her and can't access her account or open a new one or drive. 1/2 hour later we are in chicago. we go to the place kim is moving to but it is locked. the landlord changed his mind and they can't move in for 2 more days. luckily a neighbor is home and he lets us put the stuff in the basement. nice neighbors. then i drive kim to the place she is staying. then $50 parking tick while we are unloading. what a bad 2 days. i decide that a good day traveling is when nothing goes wrong. i just hope that nothing else goes wrong. but its 11:30pm, what could happen? luckily nothing does. i finally get to go meet rachel who is feeling really sorry for me and has the jaquzzi waiting. heaven.
hey everyone, check out the following link for some pictures!
http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=453550
The pictures aren't in any sequencial order but this is what they are:
1. drivin drivin drivin (Kim from Austin -> Chicago)
2. Kim's dog (chicken) and cat (action talley). i call them sniff-sniff and pee-pee. They rode in the front seat with us the entire way.
3. Desert sunrise outside of El Paso at my campsite
4. Part of the fence i am building for my mom (the backside of the gate). The gate is my favorite part. We got the metal peices from an arcitecture place that salvages stuff from old buildings. these were peices of an old chandelier.
5. More fence (the front of the gate). its fun to push this gate open and closed.
6. Fence. there are 20 panels in this fence. i'm still not done, but close. 3 panels to go and 3 days to work so i think i will make it.
7. Fence.
8. Fence. you can tell the fence is consuming my brain
9. Whew, back in time to my road trip. arizona desert near senora. its hard to capture the desert in a picture.
10. Bart simpson desert storm.
http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=453550
The pictures aren't in any sequencial order but this is what they are:
1. drivin drivin drivin (Kim from Austin -> Chicago)
2. Kim's dog (chicken) and cat (action talley). i call them sniff-sniff and pee-pee. They rode in the front seat with us the entire way.
3. Desert sunrise outside of El Paso at my campsite
4. Part of the fence i am building for my mom (the backside of the gate). The gate is my favorite part. We got the metal peices from an arcitecture place that salvages stuff from old buildings. these were peices of an old chandelier.
5. More fence (the front of the gate). its fun to push this gate open and closed.
6. Fence. there are 20 panels in this fence. i'm still not done, but close. 3 panels to go and 3 days to work so i think i will make it.
7. Fence.
8. Fence. you can tell the fence is consuming my brain
9. Whew, back in time to my road trip. arizona desert near senora. its hard to capture the desert in a picture.
10. Bart simpson desert storm.
8/16/03
chowchilla. is not a dog. its the first place i noticed the extreme heat as i left the bay area for austin. i had only driven about an hour but it was in the 100's and wasn't going to get much cooler until chicago. my attention was being drawn to a billboard advertising for me to "start a new life in chowchilla". i considered it for a moment. erily peaceful, with palm trees and an eternal sunset, the sign was beconing to me. i thought of a similar sign i had seen in one of the back to the future movies. the inviting sign is shown in a corn field just before the movie jumps 30 years later to a strip mall in the same place. i doubt chowchilla will ever become strip malls. in fact i'm not convinced that chowchilla really exists. someone had planted two palm trees directly behind the sign to compliment the two palms in the picture, but besides that there was apparently only one house in the entire area. who would start a new life in chowchilla? i picture someone just getting out of prison. i turned on the radio. christian rock. next station. christian call in ministry show. the caller is asking if she will see her dog in heaven. answer: its not entirely clear, but she is assured that once she's dead she won't care. that's a good answer, i think. next station. christian folk music. quick, next station. another call in ministry. caller's question: "do we all have guardian angels?" good question. i never knew the radio could be this handy. answer: "the biblical evidence points to 5-6 guardian angels/person. but (laughs) its important to point out that they don't look or act like the angels you see in the movies" i am puzzled that the minister knows what angels look like. i wonder what my 5-6 angels are doing right now? they must be very very bored, i think.
8/6/03
(Actually July 10-15th) Eugene/Portland: everything started with a drive up to eugene, oregon with an old college friend, eric. we decided to take my truck because it was easy to camp out of the back (which was part of the reason i got a truck in the first place) so i was happy to try it out. but as we got into the central valley without air conditioning, temperatures were probably close to 110 degrees. little did i know the next few weeks would bring a lot more heat than that ! do you like that foreshadowing? is it keeping you interested even though my first few sentences are boring? anyway, we found a little hippie cafe in weed, california to eat and ask about camping. we were surrounded by national forests in the foothills of mount shasta, one of the shakra points of the earth (as rachel told me). we both felt very aligned when we got a good tip from a cute girl, and left to navigate into the forest. we stepped out into the beautiful setting sunlight when someone drove by and yelled "faggot!". i was confused. there were two of us. but the guy yelled "faggot." one faggot. was he talking to me? was he talking to eric? maybe he thought we were both boys and we were together? neither of us are faggots, but i was quick to point out to eric that he did sip his soup like a "faggot". but that guy couldn't have seen eric sip his soup...or could he? ....
i forgot to mention that the whole point of the eugene trip was to visit ben. he's the guy from college with the big fro that we tried to dye purple but ran out of dye because he just has too much hair. ben is a big hippie now and he has the biggest beard i have ever seen (almost). he works at 3 co-ops and was going to be working at the Genesis juice stand at the oregon country fair when we were going to be coming. Genesis juice is very delicious. if you ever see it in a store, i highly recommend the red stuff with ginger. so we decided to go to the fair and find ben. we had no idea what we were in for (more foreshadowing). the fair was fabulous. picture a combination of burning man and the renisance festival set in the ewok villiage... that might come close. strict tie-dye and body glitter dress code. i know that could sound a little oppressive, but it was pretty magical. everyone shows up in costume, there were some of the best bands i've ever heard (especially the one with the girl who played the saw) impromptu drumming parties. venus flytraps on stilts.
we found ben then we lost him. then we found another college friend, maggie, who lives in portland, so we decided to head off there for the night. we arrived 2 hours later, totally exausted and totally ready to go out. so we did. around the corner for a "quick" PBR.
the next day found us all a little bit under the weather. after a wonderful long breakfast we decided to go to the park to lay still for a while. that's when i got my first bee sting. happily, i am not allergic to bees. in fact, i may be immune. perhaps i should dapple in bee-keeping?
my hands are getting tired of typing. two nights in portland. left thank you hikus on the typwriter. i love portland. drove down the coast. never found ben again, didn't have his number. maybe he will call and we can swing over to eugene for a night or two? drove. thought about surfing in oregon. no! must keep on keepin on! ate tacos. drove. swam in a beautiful swimming hole somewhere near the ever mysterious "lost coast" of california. thought about checking out the lost coast. no! must get eric home in time to catch his plane! drove. saw elk. checked out the elk. took a video of distant elk. drove. drove. drove. ah ha! in oakland. phone rings. its ben.
i forgot to mention that the whole point of the eugene trip was to visit ben. he's the guy from college with the big fro that we tried to dye purple but ran out of dye because he just has too much hair. ben is a big hippie now and he has the biggest beard i have ever seen (almost). he works at 3 co-ops and was going to be working at the Genesis juice stand at the oregon country fair when we were going to be coming. Genesis juice is very delicious. if you ever see it in a store, i highly recommend the red stuff with ginger. so we decided to go to the fair and find ben. we had no idea what we were in for (more foreshadowing). the fair was fabulous. picture a combination of burning man and the renisance festival set in the ewok villiage... that might come close. strict tie-dye and body glitter dress code. i know that could sound a little oppressive, but it was pretty magical. everyone shows up in costume, there were some of the best bands i've ever heard (especially the one with the girl who played the saw) impromptu drumming parties. venus flytraps on stilts.
we found ben then we lost him. then we found another college friend, maggie, who lives in portland, so we decided to head off there for the night. we arrived 2 hours later, totally exausted and totally ready to go out. so we did. around the corner for a "quick" PBR.
the next day found us all a little bit under the weather. after a wonderful long breakfast we decided to go to the park to lay still for a while. that's when i got my first bee sting. happily, i am not allergic to bees. in fact, i may be immune. perhaps i should dapple in bee-keeping?
my hands are getting tired of typing. two nights in portland. left thank you hikus on the typwriter. i love portland. drove down the coast. never found ben again, didn't have his number. maybe he will call and we can swing over to eugene for a night or two? drove. thought about surfing in oregon. no! must keep on keepin on! ate tacos. drove. swam in a beautiful swimming hole somewhere near the ever mysterious "lost coast" of california. thought about checking out the lost coast. no! must get eric home in time to catch his plane! drove. saw elk. checked out the elk. took a video of distant elk. drove. drove. drove. ah ha! in oakland. phone rings. its ben.