So things have been pretty chill here. I spent yesterday exploring some of Chinatown and after about 1 hour of roaming (as much "roaming" one can do with 2 ft of walking space, tons of people, and 3 lanes of traffic...) I needed a rest and grabbed some thai iced tea for a bit. I forgot that the Thais put cream into the iced tea so it was much more of a treat than I anticipated...yum!
The days have been nice and restful, I've taken to hanging out by the pool in my hotel each day and swimming laps for a bit. I saw another movie last night, "Red Cliff Part I". The problem with it was that it was really really good and now I need to make sure that I can see Part II in the states! It's a Chinese action/drama about the last clan battles before the end of the Han dynasty in China. For anyone interested in the history the movie does a really good job of showing what really went on but they also throw in some fantastic sword and spear choreography. It was great! The only problem with the late movie was the I waited an hour for the bus, got bitten like crazy my mosquitos and finally relented to a taxi. I didn't get home until after 1am! By then I was 1) hungry again since I'd eaten dinner at 6:30 and 2) really awake. Good thing I had a kashi bar waiting for me and some terrible movie on the Hallmark channel (lame I know). But I don't like going out on my own too late here. It's fun early in the night but it's no fun walking around on your own when there are lots of drunken back-packers floating around. So I opted for the bad movie and the kashi bar...
Today was a good one, I went to bed really late last night so I slept in until 10. I then did the usual long breakfast of many cups of coffee and the Bangkok Post. I also watched our President give his speech here in Bangkok live! I of course didn't get to go see it, however I saw it live on BBC with a great commentary afterward. I must say, President Bush is not my favorite but he did a really great job with the speech and I am proud of the things he said about Asian relations with the US and his commentary on China. Well done!
It was a day of spa stuff otherwise. I did a bit of shopping for gifts and such things and then went in for a great afternoon of waxing and mani-pedi fun. The woman who was helping me did everything from my nails to my waxing, wow! She was really great especially since with each pull of hair I squeked and flinched...she was extremely patient and kept trying to make sure I was okay. she'd bring me magazines to distract me, it was great! After the better part of 3 hours I headed out for some lunch, lots of fruit and my favorite Phad See-Ew with Chicken. Then it was the usual pool time with a bit of reading and some swimming. I'm off now to see the premier (yes yes it opens tonight) of a movie called, "Where the Miracle Happens" it's a Thai film starring one of the crown princesses. it could stink but the reviews were all good, they had to be we all know how the Thais feel about their royals! Anyways this theatre is only 80 baht (which is about $2.50) for a movie. Great evening activity if you ask me. Oh and next door to the theatre is a frozen yogurt place that piles on fresh fruits, yummy!!!
Alright, off to the film. I'll post again tomorrow and Jason arrives tomorrow night (hurray!)!!!!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The wheels on the bus
go round and round! My day is nothing exciting compared to what Debra had to say about hers...woah. I did however discover publi transort here. Not the sky train, not the subway, nmot the boat taxis...the public bus! it costs the equivalent of about 20 cents, sort of it depends if there's a person collecting money on the bus or not and the busses go literally everywhere! They also special bus lanes so that the traffic doesn't interfere too much.
I began the day with a nice long breakfast while reading a new of the newspapers here. I then proceeded to sit by the pool and swim around for the better part of 4 hours. There was a huge Sweedish family in the pool with kids ranging from about 5 months to 12 years. They were a blast. Kids have so much fun at the pool. Eventually though I did need to move around and go pick up my laundry. So headed out for some food with fruit being the appetizer I walked of course. I hit up the watermelon again and dug into an entire pineapple...yum. After some wandering and trying to find a place where I wanted to eat I settled down for some rice with stir-fried veggies mmmm, and this place put a lot of chilis in as well so I downed about 3 bottles of water along with the food.
Oh speaking of spicy, I did find some good curry last night. Really good. I went to a restaurant on the street and parked myself in one of the small child sized chairs at the child sized tables. This very large woman then sits at the table with me, we begin chatting she's an art teacher in London! I have ordered my curry "not very spicy" and I even used the Thai phrasing to make sure! She ordered an entire fish and a plate of noodles, woah. I decide to have a beer with my meal in case I need it to cut the spice a bit. The "not so spicy" curry took me through not 1, not 2, but 3 bottles of beer!!!! I wasn't sweating like a do with Jason's chili but man oh man I felt like my mouth was on fire. I almost ran to the river on many occasions...good thing for the beer because the river is nasty!
Today's food has been a bit more tame:-) I am currently in the main down-town area called Siam Square. I am seeing a move in a few minutes called "Female Agents," it's a French film. there are a lot of goof movies there than look good, and they only cost $3 so I may see some more before Jason arrives.
Off to grab some junk food to snack on before the film starts!
I began the day with a nice long breakfast while reading a new of the newspapers here. I then proceeded to sit by the pool and swim around for the better part of 4 hours. There was a huge Sweedish family in the pool with kids ranging from about 5 months to 12 years. They were a blast. Kids have so much fun at the pool. Eventually though I did need to move around and go pick up my laundry. So headed out for some food with fruit being the appetizer I walked of course. I hit up the watermelon again and dug into an entire pineapple...yum. After some wandering and trying to find a place where I wanted to eat I settled down for some rice with stir-fried veggies mmmm, and this place put a lot of chilis in as well so I downed about 3 bottles of water along with the food.
Oh speaking of spicy, I did find some good curry last night. Really good. I went to a restaurant on the street and parked myself in one of the small child sized chairs at the child sized tables. This very large woman then sits at the table with me, we begin chatting she's an art teacher in London! I have ordered my curry "not very spicy" and I even used the Thai phrasing to make sure! She ordered an entire fish and a plate of noodles, woah. I decide to have a beer with my meal in case I need it to cut the spice a bit. The "not so spicy" curry took me through not 1, not 2, but 3 bottles of beer!!!! I wasn't sweating like a do with Jason's chili but man oh man I felt like my mouth was on fire. I almost ran to the river on many occasions...good thing for the beer because the river is nasty!
Today's food has been a bit more tame:-) I am currently in the main down-town area called Siam Square. I am seeing a move in a few minutes called "Female Agents," it's a French film. there are a lot of goof movies there than look good, and they only cost $3 so I may see some more before Jason arrives.
Off to grab some junk food to snack on before the film starts!
Japan Hates Me...
Sooo....funny story. I'm writing this blog from the Tokyo airport killing a bit of time before my flight to JFK. Since I had a 12 hour layover I decided to journey into Tokyo (about an hour and a half away) for the day. I walked around, did a bit of sightseeing, ate AMAZING sushi, wondered why Japanese people are so weird, and then decided to head back to the airport a bit early because I was worried about getting back for my flight (my flight is at 6pm, needed to be at the airport by 4pm, its like an hour to an hour and a half away). So at 1:15 (Im crazy remember...) I get in line to buy a ticket on the Narita Express (the high speed train that connects Tokyo and the airport). What do I discover...the train isn't working because of the weather. I flipped out, obviously. This nice young Japanese guy (with amazing English) helps me figure out another way to get to the airport - taking the subway to an above ground train (a slow train but its fine because I had enough time,..). So I get off the subway at the stop to transfer to the train (heart pounding because I'm convinced this isn't going to work and I am going to be stranded in Tokyo). I go to the ticket counter to buy the ticket and I didn't have enough yen on me...and the wouldn't accept credit cards. So I run around the station looking for an ATM and the only ATM they have doesn't accept foreign cards. So I leave the station in frantic search for an ATM. I find one...and again it wont accept foreign cards. I was literally on the verge of exploding into tears (the train for the airport was leaving in 8 minutes at this point and I still didn't have the money to buy a ticket) when this nice Japanese guy tries to communicate and help me. He also cant get the ATM to work. But, since he is perhaps the nicest person ever and my guardian angel, he hands me the 2000 yen for the train ticket and I hand him $20 (yup, that's right, he took my dollars for his yen...and the trade was not such a great one for him either...). Running up the escalator (in a country where people don't run let alone cut lines) I bought the ticket at lightening speed and literally jumped on the train about 2 seconds before it pulled out of the station. After catching my breathe I sat down and chatted with a super nice Japanese woman who also was running late for her flight because of the Narita Express not working. So, moral of the story....Japan hates me but the people are very nice. And there is some really nice Japanese guy walking around with $20 in his wallet. I hope its at least a little bit useful for him...
For the record...I arrived at the Airport 1 1/2 hours before my flight after all of that insanity, with just enough time to write this blog post.
For the record...I arrived at the Airport 1 1/2 hours before my flight after all of that insanity, with just enough time to write this blog post.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Bangkok days 1 and 2
People say Bangkok is dirty, but compared to Cambodia I could eat off of the street here.
What an incredible city. There is everything you could ever want here. Bustling traffic, huge markets selling everything from shampoo, underwear, beer, snacks, massages, and cocktails to live animals, fake IDs (even diplomas I should totally get a masters this week...heehee), there are also quiet streets with family restaurants by the river and serene parks where you can sit for hours.
When Debra left yesterday I was very sad. I decided to pretend that she was around anyways, got some funny looks from the passersby though...
I promptly did some walking around, sat for a while at a cafe, bought a giant 2 gallon sized bottle of water to keep in my hotel room, and then shopped like a rockstar. I found a dress for our friend Rachel that has been like the quest for the holy grail, yay! I bought a bra for about $2.50 and it's the best fitting one I've ever bought. I'm going back to get more before coming back home. And I succombed and bought jeans.
The jeans were worth the story behind buying them though. I'm all sweaty, of course, and shopping in the street market stalls. I find jeans and the size number is too big and the lady helping me explained (using hand motions and a few phrasebook words) that the sizes are different there, I should just try them on. Got it. Okay so I'm in the middle of a large crowd...how do I try these on? Right under my skirt with the help of the saleswoman. I'm really sweaty so we are both attempting to keep my skirt from getting inapproriately high up while also trying to pull the jeans up my sweaty legs. There was lots of laughing, pulling, jumping, and she even zipped me up. How could I not buy these? They also fit like a dream and of course since it's Asia they were the right length!! Love it. Oh they also cost me $18, even better.
The rest of the day was spent reading, napping, and then going out for dinner and beer while people watching. I sat for dinner with an odd group. A guy and a girl from the really far northern areas of Canada, the girl however currently lives in Shanghai, and two guys from Italy. A fun group, lots of political chats, and discussions. A fun evening. I got into bed around 10pm and watched some British murder mystery series until it was time to sleep.
This morning I woke up bright and early and instead of hopping out of bed (since it was 7am) I spent some time watching Autralian soap operas and BBC World. I must say the soaps are great and I might make them part of my AM routine....The morning was spent taking my laundry in (thank goodness a bra and dress were bought yesterday I was able to take everything else to the wash..which cost me a whopping $1.50 for all 3 kilos of clothes I took in).
I then went for a long stroll around the northern part of the city. I walked along a few rivers, saw the slums, went to the national library, walked through what looked at first like a sit in protest, people with tents and banners etc. but it was an "I love the king and I love Thailand" thing...wonder why a sit in is necessary. They all LOVE the king. I also went to the zoo here. A cooking show was being filmed there so I got to enjoy watching a woman in full leopard print clothing do a demo, so fun. I also saw an elephant performance. Man oh man the things those animals do. They dance! and have rhythm, wow is all I can say. I did some more walking and
just a few minutes ago I bought half of a watermelon (which the woman cut up for me) and a custard apple (actually tastes like apple custard inside, it's rivaling my love for persimmons at the moment) all for a total of 20 baht. That price translated to roughly 60 cents. Perfect.
The rest of the day will involve, some swimming (my hotel has a great pool), maybe a nap, some postcard writing and people watching, and a foot massage. I think dinner will be at the food stalls down by the river. I've had sooo much pad thai and pad see-ew that tonight might be a fun curry night:-) I'll prepare my taste-buds and have a beer on hand to tone down the spice!
Until tomorrow...
What an incredible city. There is everything you could ever want here. Bustling traffic, huge markets selling everything from shampoo, underwear, beer, snacks, massages, and cocktails to live animals, fake IDs (even diplomas I should totally get a masters this week...heehee), there are also quiet streets with family restaurants by the river and serene parks where you can sit for hours.
When Debra left yesterday I was very sad. I decided to pretend that she was around anyways, got some funny looks from the passersby though...
I promptly did some walking around, sat for a while at a cafe, bought a giant 2 gallon sized bottle of water to keep in my hotel room, and then shopped like a rockstar. I found a dress for our friend Rachel that has been like the quest for the holy grail, yay! I bought a bra for about $2.50 and it's the best fitting one I've ever bought. I'm going back to get more before coming back home. And I succombed and bought jeans.
The jeans were worth the story behind buying them though. I'm all sweaty, of course, and shopping in the street market stalls. I find jeans and the size number is too big and the lady helping me explained (using hand motions and a few phrasebook words) that the sizes are different there, I should just try them on. Got it. Okay so I'm in the middle of a large crowd...how do I try these on? Right under my skirt with the help of the saleswoman. I'm really sweaty so we are both attempting to keep my skirt from getting inapproriately high up while also trying to pull the jeans up my sweaty legs. There was lots of laughing, pulling, jumping, and she even zipped me up. How could I not buy these? They also fit like a dream and of course since it's Asia they were the right length!! Love it. Oh they also cost me $18, even better.
The rest of the day was spent reading, napping, and then going out for dinner and beer while people watching. I sat for dinner with an odd group. A guy and a girl from the really far northern areas of Canada, the girl however currently lives in Shanghai, and two guys from Italy. A fun group, lots of political chats, and discussions. A fun evening. I got into bed around 10pm and watched some British murder mystery series until it was time to sleep.
This morning I woke up bright and early and instead of hopping out of bed (since it was 7am) I spent some time watching Autralian soap operas and BBC World. I must say the soaps are great and I might make them part of my AM routine....The morning was spent taking my laundry in (thank goodness a bra and dress were bought yesterday I was able to take everything else to the wash..which cost me a whopping $1.50 for all 3 kilos of clothes I took in).
I then went for a long stroll around the northern part of the city. I walked along a few rivers, saw the slums, went to the national library, walked through what looked at first like a sit in protest, people with tents and banners etc. but it was an "I love the king and I love Thailand" thing...wonder why a sit in is necessary. They all LOVE the king. I also went to the zoo here. A cooking show was being filmed there so I got to enjoy watching a woman in full leopard print clothing do a demo, so fun. I also saw an elephant performance. Man oh man the things those animals do. They dance! and have rhythm, wow is all I can say. I did some more walking and
just a few minutes ago I bought half of a watermelon (which the woman cut up for me) and a custard apple (actually tastes like apple custard inside, it's rivaling my love for persimmons at the moment) all for a total of 20 baht. That price translated to roughly 60 cents. Perfect.
The rest of the day will involve, some swimming (my hotel has a great pool), maybe a nap, some postcard writing and people watching, and a foot massage. I think dinner will be at the food stalls down by the river. I've had sooo much pad thai and pad see-ew that tonight might be a fun curry night:-) I'll prepare my taste-buds and have a beer on hand to tone down the spice!
Until tomorrow...
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Homeward Bound: Top 10 List
Although Colby still has 2 1/2 weeks of traveling in Thailand still left, I have begun my travels homeward -and I'm rather sad about it :(
But although I do desperately want to stay and play and travel forever, there are definitely some plus sides of things I am looking forward to. Here's my "Top 10" List of things I am excited about when I get home:
1. Hot Showers
2. Not eating rice for breakfast
3. Not eating rice for lunch
4. Not eating rice for snacks
5. Not eating rice for dinner
6. MEAT!!!! (I would kill someone for a hamburger right about now...)
7. Lines (I HATE that Asians don't believe in lines...ugh!)
8. Having clean clothes
9. Having clothes to wear that aren't the same 3 things I have been wearing for the past 4 weeks
10. Western style bathrooms that have toilet paper
But although I do desperately want to stay and play and travel forever, there are definitely some plus sides of things I am looking forward to. Here's my "Top 10" List of things I am excited about when I get home:
1. Hot Showers
2. Not eating rice for breakfast
3. Not eating rice for lunch
4. Not eating rice for snacks
5. Not eating rice for dinner
6. MEAT!!!! (I would kill someone for a hamburger right about now...)
7. Lines (I HATE that Asians don't believe in lines...ugh!)
8. Having clean clothes
9. Having clothes to wear that aren't the same 3 things I have been wearing for the past 4 weeks
10. Western style bathrooms that have toilet paper
Angkor Wat
Temples temples everywhere! And no, I am not talking about the type that we go to on the High Holidays...
Our voyages in Cambodia brought us to Angkor Wat, a place that probably means nothing in the minds of 98% of Americans (maybe more...), but should. To get a better history that the 2 seconds shpiel I'm going to write here, you should wiki it. Angkor Wat was long the capitol of the strong (and huge!) Angkorian Empire. With hundreds of temples abounding all built between the 10th and 14th centuries, it is a haven of architectural beauty, craftsmanship that words cant even describe, and history that is palpable. Pictures and descriptions don't do this wondrous place justice; a place that has yet to truly become victim to the horrors of being a tourist trap for Westerns. A place where you can literally climbs all over the crumbling ruins as if it were a playground and you were 5 years old (except these are the most ancient ruins in SE Asia and you are 24...)
Cambodians are INCREDIBLY proud of Angkor. It is everywhere - on their signs, on the beer, on their shirts, on their flag, on their passport, etc. Angkor, to them, is a reminder that in the past things were good. In the past, Cambodia and the Angkorian / Khmere Kingdom were successful and respected in the world. Angkor was the height of their success and respect, a time that Cambodians would desperately like to return to. But, alas, Angkor fell centuries ago and the wealth of Angkor is something that Cambodians cant even comprehend for the time being. So, for now, Angkor remains a desire and an aspiration for all Cambodians - a hope that one day they will rise to prominence again. In the mean time, the beauty of Angkor is a pretty good consolation.
Our voyages in Cambodia brought us to Angkor Wat, a place that probably means nothing in the minds of 98% of Americans (maybe more...), but should. To get a better history that the 2 seconds shpiel I'm going to write here, you should wiki it. Angkor Wat was long the capitol of the strong (and huge!) Angkorian Empire. With hundreds of temples abounding all built between the 10th and 14th centuries, it is a haven of architectural beauty, craftsmanship that words cant even describe, and history that is palpable. Pictures and descriptions don't do this wondrous place justice; a place that has yet to truly become victim to the horrors of being a tourist trap for Westerns. A place where you can literally climbs all over the crumbling ruins as if it were a playground and you were 5 years old (except these are the most ancient ruins in SE Asia and you are 24...)
Cambodians are INCREDIBLY proud of Angkor. It is everywhere - on their signs, on the beer, on their shirts, on their flag, on their passport, etc. Angkor, to them, is a reminder that in the past things were good. In the past, Cambodia and the Angkorian / Khmere Kingdom were successful and respected in the world. Angkor was the height of their success and respect, a time that Cambodians would desperately like to return to. But, alas, Angkor fell centuries ago and the wealth of Angkor is something that Cambodians cant even comprehend for the time being. So, for now, Angkor remains a desire and an aspiration for all Cambodians - a hope that one day they will rise to prominence again. In the mean time, the beauty of Angkor is a pretty good consolation.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Ruminations on Cambodia
We have only been in Cambodia for about 3 days now, but already I feel like I have much to say about this place. A cursory look around will reveal that this is indeed one of the poorest countries in the world: houses are made out of straw and wood, people on every street corner and begging, and basic amenities do not exist. There are no - count them, zero - social welfar programs in the entire country. Either you have a lot, or you have nothing. There is no middle class, nothing inbetween the extremes. But despite the destitue nature of the country, there is an optomistic hope in the air. This is a country that 30 years ago was a "no go" zone - ruled by a genocidal dictator who killed millions of his own people, Cambodia is in a state of renewal and redefinition. In a country where things are changing (mostly for the better) rapidly on a daily basis, its a country that is standing at a cross-roads and is deeply confused as to what its destiny holds. On the street you will see oxen strolling down and behind them what looks like a new hotel going up. You can only look at Cambodians with awe - a truely resilent people, they have emerged victorious from a bloody and grusome past and are trying to build a new future. With nothing to keep them going, they still smile and work towards reclaiming a country they can be proud of.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Aren't chickens and karaoke part of everyone's bus ride?
This morning Colby and I woke up bright and early to catch our bus from Phenom Penh to Siem Reap (we were only in Phenom Penh overnight, which I was originally a bit bummed about but after spending 5 hours there I was totally fine with it...eeeek!).
By this point in our trip we are totally used to long bus rides. You know, the kind where you constantly say to yourself "Are we there yet?" and you are always curious when the next bathroom break is going to be. This bus ride was nothing of the sort, it was wayyyyy too entertaining...
So the bus pulls out of Phenom Penh and we hit the road. I, as per usual, glue my eyes out the window to take in my surroundings. And what surroundings they were! Everyone in this country owns at least 1 ox and they roam the streets like they own the place. There are no public buses, so local people get around by cramming into vans. When I say cram I definitely mean cram - 30 people in a van meant for 11 plus the 20 extra people who sit on the roof as the van speeds on down the barely paved road. I found this whole scene to be completely fascinating and was totally confused as to why Colby wasnt paying attenting to our outside surroundings as well. Well, there was a good reason for that....
The TV in our bus was playing Khmer (Khmer=Cambodian) karaokie music videos. Picture the most hilariously bizarre music videos ever then multiply that by 12 million AND put it in a different language. It was HILARIOUS. Everyone on the bus had their eyes glued to the screen watching every word and every action. Colby and I watched as well, but while the Cambodians were watching it with sincere enjoyement and excitement, we were watching it and trying not to laugh out load inappropriately.
Equally hilarious is what we discovered when our bus stopped for a break about 2 hours into the trip. Colby and I get off the bus to take in our surroundings, and are ATTACKED by small children wanting to touch us and sell us stuff. We befriended 2 of them and what did they lead us to to show us....a booth that was selling spiders and turantulas and other gross insects to eat. Yup, thats right, to eat. Although they tried to convince us that they were tasty and we should give it a go we politely declined and got back on the bus...
As we were walking to our seats on the bus, we heard what we thought were chickens. Both looking at eachother totally confused and bewildered, we took a few steps back to take a look around. Lo and behold, we found a chicken coup with like 2 or 3 chickens underneath one of the seats. Yup, thats right, chickens were on our bus. The real question however is, do they have to pay for a ticket as well or do chickens ride for free?????
By this point in our trip we are totally used to long bus rides. You know, the kind where you constantly say to yourself "Are we there yet?" and you are always curious when the next bathroom break is going to be. This bus ride was nothing of the sort, it was wayyyyy too entertaining...
So the bus pulls out of Phenom Penh and we hit the road. I, as per usual, glue my eyes out the window to take in my surroundings. And what surroundings they were! Everyone in this country owns at least 1 ox and they roam the streets like they own the place. There are no public buses, so local people get around by cramming into vans. When I say cram I definitely mean cram - 30 people in a van meant for 11 plus the 20 extra people who sit on the roof as the van speeds on down the barely paved road. I found this whole scene to be completely fascinating and was totally confused as to why Colby wasnt paying attenting to our outside surroundings as well. Well, there was a good reason for that....
The TV in our bus was playing Khmer (Khmer=Cambodian) karaokie music videos. Picture the most hilariously bizarre music videos ever then multiply that by 12 million AND put it in a different language. It was HILARIOUS. Everyone on the bus had their eyes glued to the screen watching every word and every action. Colby and I watched as well, but while the Cambodians were watching it with sincere enjoyement and excitement, we were watching it and trying not to laugh out load inappropriately.
Equally hilarious is what we discovered when our bus stopped for a break about 2 hours into the trip. Colby and I get off the bus to take in our surroundings, and are ATTACKED by small children wanting to touch us and sell us stuff. We befriended 2 of them and what did they lead us to to show us....a booth that was selling spiders and turantulas and other gross insects to eat. Yup, thats right, to eat. Although they tried to convince us that they were tasty and we should give it a go we politely declined and got back on the bus...
As we were walking to our seats on the bus, we heard what we thought were chickens. Both looking at eachother totally confused and bewildered, we took a few steps back to take a look around. Lo and behold, we found a chicken coup with like 2 or 3 chickens underneath one of the seats. Yup, thats right, chickens were on our bus. The real question however is, do they have to pay for a ticket as well or do chickens ride for free?????
10 boats, 7 tour guides, 4 suitcases--3 days
The Mekong Delta is a world in of itself. It is the area at the south of Vietnam at the mouth of the Mekong River that has been disputed for years by Vietnam and Cambodia. Vietnam currently has claim (and probably will for a while) but the Cambodians still call it "lower Cambodia"at times. There are not only floating markets but floating houses, schools, gas stations, and everything you could imagine..all on really gross and dirty water.
We booked a 3 day 2 night tour here. Navigating the waterways on one's own seemed a bit too much for the relaxation we were looking for. 3 days of pre-planned river fun was just the ticket! We asked ahead of time about the number of luggage transfers we'd be making since we had so many bags (thanks to Hoi An and the amazing tailors there....). We were told that we've have one boat for the whole trip. Perfect!
We began in Saigon at our hotel where we picked up by bus to get to the Saigon River. We hop on board for a 3 hour ride. It then starts to pour outside, yuck! We were sitting outside with water splashing in every few seconds. 1) the Saigon river is DIRTY!!!! and 2) it was cool out so being wet was not so welcome. We then get to an island for lunch. All pre-planned, nothing gourmet but we were hungry. Our bags then find us at our next boat. We go through a series of tasting candies, see small factories that make the candies and do fun things with rice. it was all great fun. Except that in that first day we totalled 2 boat moves, not fun.
We get to our homestay destination on the small island in the Vihn Long region of the Mekong for the homestay. Debra elaborated greatly on this:-)
Day 2: More boats, more candy. We are awake at 6:30 am and on a boat by 7:30. We proceed to do the same things as the day before...boo, and change boats a whopping 5 times!!! The highlight of the day was the early evening when we had an hour to spare in the little Mekong town of Sadec. It was exactly what we'd hoped the 3 days had been. Crazy markets, people who think we being westerners are the tourist attraction, trying to communicate with hard motions and thumbs up. It was a blast. We bought great fruit and lots of snacks from the local market for our 12 hour overnight boat ride. The night boat was lots of fun. All of the beds were bunk style in one room, it was like camp! Both Debra and I miss camp like you wouldn't believe so this was just great. We had met some wonderful people on the trip as well and after 2 long days together we were all excited to sit around and relax.
Day 3: The boat woke us at 6am (Debra at 5:15 she'll reinforce) for the floating market at Chau Doc, the last major town before the Cambodian border. It was interesting to see but we were sad not to participate in the fun of buying from the locals. We then went for a short time to teh Cham village, a small ethnic minority that is exploited almost as much as our native poeple in the U.S. very sad. However this is the place we'd want to spend money. We only had a few minutes before the transfer for the boat to Cambodia but we did find amazing silk scarves:-) Okay, we're now up to boat count of 9 for the 3 days. That's also 9 luggage tranfers, ugh.
The border: We get to the border after a 4 hour boat ride in small hard wooden seats. We welcome the crappy restaurant as we wait for our papers and visas to go through. We board (trumpets please) boat number 10! But only after walking, yes walking, across the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. This boat takes us two hours and then right before a storm hits we get into mini-vans and we are on the way to Phenom Pehn.
We've made it. 10 boats, 7 tour guides, 4 suitcases (moved frequently, one needed tape which be bought in Sadec, fun story on that one. How do you say "tape"in Vietnamese?) and our third day of adventures in the Mekong comes to a close as we arrive in Phenom Pehn.
We booked a 3 day 2 night tour here. Navigating the waterways on one's own seemed a bit too much for the relaxation we were looking for. 3 days of pre-planned river fun was just the ticket! We asked ahead of time about the number of luggage transfers we'd be making since we had so many bags (thanks to Hoi An and the amazing tailors there....). We were told that we've have one boat for the whole trip. Perfect!
We began in Saigon at our hotel where we picked up by bus to get to the Saigon River. We hop on board for a 3 hour ride. It then starts to pour outside, yuck! We were sitting outside with water splashing in every few seconds. 1) the Saigon river is DIRTY!!!! and 2) it was cool out so being wet was not so welcome. We then get to an island for lunch. All pre-planned, nothing gourmet but we were hungry. Our bags then find us at our next boat. We go through a series of tasting candies, see small factories that make the candies and do fun things with rice. it was all great fun. Except that in that first day we totalled 2 boat moves, not fun.
We get to our homestay destination on the small island in the Vihn Long region of the Mekong for the homestay. Debra elaborated greatly on this:-)
Day 2: More boats, more candy. We are awake at 6:30 am and on a boat by 7:30. We proceed to do the same things as the day before...boo, and change boats a whopping 5 times!!! The highlight of the day was the early evening when we had an hour to spare in the little Mekong town of Sadec. It was exactly what we'd hoped the 3 days had been. Crazy markets, people who think we being westerners are the tourist attraction, trying to communicate with hard motions and thumbs up. It was a blast. We bought great fruit and lots of snacks from the local market for our 12 hour overnight boat ride. The night boat was lots of fun. All of the beds were bunk style in one room, it was like camp! Both Debra and I miss camp like you wouldn't believe so this was just great. We had met some wonderful people on the trip as well and after 2 long days together we were all excited to sit around and relax.
Day 3: The boat woke us at 6am (Debra at 5:15 she'll reinforce) for the floating market at Chau Doc, the last major town before the Cambodian border. It was interesting to see but we were sad not to participate in the fun of buying from the locals. We then went for a short time to teh Cham village, a small ethnic minority that is exploited almost as much as our native poeple in the U.S. very sad. However this is the place we'd want to spend money. We only had a few minutes before the transfer for the boat to Cambodia but we did find amazing silk scarves:-) Okay, we're now up to boat count of 9 for the 3 days. That's also 9 luggage tranfers, ugh.
The border: We get to the border after a 4 hour boat ride in small hard wooden seats. We welcome the crappy restaurant as we wait for our papers and visas to go through. We board (trumpets please) boat number 10! But only after walking, yes walking, across the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. This boat takes us two hours and then right before a storm hits we get into mini-vans and we are on the way to Phenom Pehn.
We've made it. 10 boats, 7 tour guides, 4 suitcases (moved frequently, one needed tape which be bought in Sadec, fun story on that one. How do you say "tape"in Vietnamese?) and our third day of adventures in the Mekong comes to a close as we arrive in Phenom Pehn.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Mekong Delta: The Homestay
Well, as the title of this post aptly puts it, we have arrived in Cambodia after our voyage down the Mekong Delta! And what a voyage it was....
We will write more later (we're hungry!) but heres a quick taste of the Mekong....
Our first night on the Mekong was spent at at homestay. It was amazing. By far the highlight of our Mekong voyage at least in my book! After boarding our 3rd boat for the day (we were on a total of 10 boats in the past 3 days....this is a bit of a sore point...) we sailed off to this semi-deserted island. Arriving at said island, we were greeted by a ladder which didnt so much seem like it would support the weight of a feature, let along a bunch of backpackers and their crap. Anyways, after clammoring up said ladder (many more of these have been found since and I have to say, teh fact that they dotn collapse is quite impressive!) we were introduced to our host family for the evening.
Our host family (who all 7 of them combined spoke about 10 words of English...) were the nicest people ever. Together we cooked dinner and played an awesome game of charades whereby we (Colby and I) tried (successfully) to communicated to them that we were vegetarians. We proceeded to eat some of the best food we have had in Vietnam. DELICIOUS, which is super exciting because teh food in VIetnam was incredible disappointing (bland - no taste - booo).
Although the entire family was super nice, their son, Bo, was fantastic. 13 years old and well on his way to being ridiculously intelligent, he stayed up all night listening to us talk and trying to improve his English. He was so inquisitive and had us write down many words in English so he would know how to say and spell him. Obviously I loved him alot....me and my desire to steal an Asian baby...although Colby tells me I can't because they have owners :(
We will write more later (we're hungry!) but heres a quick taste of the Mekong....
Our first night on the Mekong was spent at at homestay. It was amazing. By far the highlight of our Mekong voyage at least in my book! After boarding our 3rd boat for the day (we were on a total of 10 boats in the past 3 days....this is a bit of a sore point...) we sailed off to this semi-deserted island. Arriving at said island, we were greeted by a ladder which didnt so much seem like it would support the weight of a feature, let along a bunch of backpackers and their crap. Anyways, after clammoring up said ladder (many more of these have been found since and I have to say, teh fact that they dotn collapse is quite impressive!) we were introduced to our host family for the evening.
Our host family (who all 7 of them combined spoke about 10 words of English...) were the nicest people ever. Together we cooked dinner and played an awesome game of charades whereby we (Colby and I) tried (successfully) to communicated to them that we were vegetarians. We proceeded to eat some of the best food we have had in Vietnam. DELICIOUS, which is super exciting because teh food in VIetnam was incredible disappointing (bland - no taste - booo).
Although the entire family was super nice, their son, Bo, was fantastic. 13 years old and well on his way to being ridiculously intelligent, he stayed up all night listening to us talk and trying to improve his English. He was so inquisitive and had us write down many words in English so he would know how to say and spell him. Obviously I loved him alot....me and my desire to steal an Asian baby...although Colby tells me I can't because they have owners :(
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Things Commies Do/Don't Like
We have complied a list of the likes and dislikes of the communist party here. It has provided us with great enjoyment and we have created this list with help of other fellow travelers who agree with our categories.
Likes:
* Bargaining for everything even currency exchange rates. Seriously, we bargained our rate of exchange today it was so weird.
*Prostitutes: Colby played pol against one at a bar (but lost by once ball, damn!)
*American Dollars: Evidently they hate us and the war which they call the "American War" but for some reason they prefer us top pay for things in dollars, weird
*Rice: they love it and we are sick of it
*Capitalism: clearly in Vietnam you are free to make money and do whatever you want financially but you have no say in the government, things that make you go "what?"
*Squatting: we have no clue how their knees joints can take this at all...
*Motorbikes: our record is a family of four on one bike, no helmets on kids. There was also a guy with four computers in boxes on his bike but they weren't strapped down, we were impressed.
*Pollution: goes with the 10 million motorbikes currently in the country and counting
*Pringles, Oreos, and Ritz: no explanation here
*Yelling: Vietnamese is a very harsh language. Even when people are friends they sound like the are yelling at each other, all of the time. So when this translates to English we feel like poeple are actually screaming at us...not so fun. Bad for business.
O.K. onto the dislikes. This is a fun one since there are some things that they just don't have here.
Dislikes:
*Built in bra tank-tops, they don't sell them anywhere!
*Lines: lots of pushing no que, we finally started to push back. It's funny when trying to get on a plane and people shove past you...argh
*Traffic laws: like other Asian and Middle Eastern countries traffic laws are simply a "suggestion" rather than a law to be strictly followed.
*Shower curtains: bathrooms are one big room with a shower head on the wall, fun times
*Making change: sometimes you give too much money to pay for something so that you can get a larger bill back as change. This concept has not reached this area of the world and people frequently will hand you back the extra you gave...this gives us lots of small uselss bills since 16,000 Vietnam Dong is $1...oy
*Safety regulations: crossing the street here is a party, just take our word for it you walk, don't look don't stop and don't worry you only THINK they'll hit you....eap!
*Helmets on children: this one boggles my mind. The grown ups where helmets but not the kids? I guess if the kids get past age 5 without falling off the motorbike they are cleared for their own....
*Shotglasses: we found one today they only one and only design (with a commie star of course) in the whole country!
I hope you enjoy this list as much we enjoy the viewing opportunities here:-)
Likes:
* Bargaining for everything even currency exchange rates. Seriously, we bargained our rate of exchange today it was so weird.
*Prostitutes: Colby played pol against one at a bar (but lost by once ball, damn!)
*American Dollars: Evidently they hate us and the war which they call the "American War" but for some reason they prefer us top pay for things in dollars, weird
*Rice: they love it and we are sick of it
*Capitalism: clearly in Vietnam you are free to make money and do whatever you want financially but you have no say in the government, things that make you go "what?"
*Squatting: we have no clue how their knees joints can take this at all...
*Motorbikes: our record is a family of four on one bike, no helmets on kids. There was also a guy with four computers in boxes on his bike but they weren't strapped down, we were impressed.
*Pollution: goes with the 10 million motorbikes currently in the country and counting
*Pringles, Oreos, and Ritz: no explanation here
*Yelling: Vietnamese is a very harsh language. Even when people are friends they sound like the are yelling at each other, all of the time. So when this translates to English we feel like poeple are actually screaming at us...not so fun. Bad for business.
O.K. onto the dislikes. This is a fun one since there are some things that they just don't have here.
Dislikes:
*Built in bra tank-tops, they don't sell them anywhere!
*Lines: lots of pushing no que, we finally started to push back. It's funny when trying to get on a plane and people shove past you...argh
*Traffic laws: like other Asian and Middle Eastern countries traffic laws are simply a "suggestion" rather than a law to be strictly followed.
*Shower curtains: bathrooms are one big room with a shower head on the wall, fun times
*Making change: sometimes you give too much money to pay for something so that you can get a larger bill back as change. This concept has not reached this area of the world and people frequently will hand you back the extra you gave...this gives us lots of small uselss bills since 16,000 Vietnam Dong is $1...oy
*Safety regulations: crossing the street here is a party, just take our word for it you walk, don't look don't stop and don't worry you only THINK they'll hit you....eap!
*Helmets on children: this one boggles my mind. The grown ups where helmets but not the kids? I guess if the kids get past age 5 without falling off the motorbike they are cleared for their own....
*Shotglasses: we found one today they only one and only design (with a commie star of course) in the whole country!
I hope you enjoy this list as much we enjoy the viewing opportunities here:-)
Friday, July 25, 2008
Black Market Sunscreen
Trying to be good responsible adults, Colby and I purchased extra sunscreen while we were at the beach in Nha Trang so that we could be properly protected from the sun. Good right?
Well, we thought it was all good, but then we both got REALLY burnt. I mean, I know I have pale skin, but even I if I reapply SPF 50 every 2 hours shouldn't get burnt. And Colby tans - not burns. No no, we figured out that we had been sold fake sunscreen. Whether it was expired or was just never actually sunscreen we don't know. What we do know is that we are pissed. And we are red. We are actually thinking of writing to Lonely Planet and telling them to include a section in the book about fake products. Not cool not cool at all.
When we were in search of Aloe Vera today upon returning to Saigon we were worried we wouldnt be able to communicate with the shop person what we were looking for. But the universal language of showing someone your burnt shoulders I guess always works afterall!
Well, we thought it was all good, but then we both got REALLY burnt. I mean, I know I have pale skin, but even I if I reapply SPF 50 every 2 hours shouldn't get burnt. And Colby tans - not burns. No no, we figured out that we had been sold fake sunscreen. Whether it was expired or was just never actually sunscreen we don't know. What we do know is that we are pissed. And we are red. We are actually thinking of writing to Lonely Planet and telling them to include a section in the book about fake products. Not cool not cool at all.
When we were in search of Aloe Vera today upon returning to Saigon we were worried we wouldnt be able to communicate with the shop person what we were looking for. But the universal language of showing someone your burnt shoulders I guess always works afterall!
Our trip from Nha Trang back to Saigon
Our trip from Nha Trang back to Saigon was supposed to be an easy voyage. We had even sprung the extra $20 to fly instead of taking a 6 hour bus. Easy was not in the cards...
1. We were told that the bus stop to go to the airport was at 86 Tran Phu. What no one told us was that there were 4 blocks all of which had the same addres....86 Tran Phu. 4 blocks with the exact same address!!!!!!!!
2. Our flight was delayed...a lot.
3. As we are beginning our decent to land in Saigon the Captain comes over the intercom and tells us that we are going to be circling for about 30 minutes because tehre is a storm in Saigon. Thinking this is just another one of their rains (it is the rainy season afterall) we didnt think much of it. No no, this was not just any type of rain, this was a MONSOON. CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY rains.
4. We get a taxi at the airport to take us to our hostel. But the roads were so flooded that the taxi could barely go. When we did finally get to our hostel we got out of the taxi to get our bags only to find ourselves standing in a foot of water. The streets of Saigon were completely flooded!
Needless to say, we did get to our planned Friday evening activities (which included Chabad :( ). Instead, we attempted to dry off our shoes....
1. We were told that the bus stop to go to the airport was at 86 Tran Phu. What no one told us was that there were 4 blocks all of which had the same addres....86 Tran Phu. 4 blocks with the exact same address!!!!!!!!
2. Our flight was delayed...a lot.
3. As we are beginning our decent to land in Saigon the Captain comes over the intercom and tells us that we are going to be circling for about 30 minutes because tehre is a storm in Saigon. Thinking this is just another one of their rains (it is the rainy season afterall) we didnt think much of it. No no, this was not just any type of rain, this was a MONSOON. CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY rains.
4. We get a taxi at the airport to take us to our hostel. But the roads were so flooded that the taxi could barely go. When we did finally get to our hostel we got out of the taxi to get our bags only to find ourselves standing in a foot of water. The streets of Saigon were completely flooded!
Needless to say, we did get to our planned Friday evening activities (which included Chabad :( ). Instead, we attempted to dry off our shoes....
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Mama Linh's Boat Trip
This trip includes everything you can imagine and more. It was highly recommended by our Lonely Planet book as well as other travelers, we decided to hop on board the touristy, kitchy, all inclusive boat trip around the nearby islands here in Nha Trang. We got to the boat and it was full of Asian tourists who stared at us strangely. We both looked at each other and thought, "oh crap do we really want to do this???" Then a few more tourists that looked like backpackers got on to the ship, hurray! We chatted up a two people from Montreal, they were great and mentioned to us that they were relieved to see other westerners. Another few folks got on the ship and we set sail. The trip started off pretty quiet and relaxed...but then the party got started after lunch as soon as the boat staff created a "live show" for us. This live show was hilarious. They sang a few songs accompanied by an old guy with huge glasses on guitar and a drum set made of old plastic pails, awesome. The "band" then pulled up tourists from various countries and hand then sing a song from where they were from. Waltzing Matilda from Australia was by far the liveliest of the offerings. Although the Frere Jacques in Chinese was also a fun listen. We being from the US were lumped together with Canada and England and we were pulled up on stage to sing Yellow Submarine. We knew only the words to the chorus...
After this they threw a guy in the water and created a "floating bar" serving the most disgusting red wine imaginable. Think Maneschevitz mixed with Brandy...ugh. Most of us poured ours into the water and then got stung by jelly-fish, fun times.
In all the day was great. We met good people to hang out with tonight and got some fantastic videos of us dancing in towels and bathing suit while doing the Twist in 12 different languages.
After this they threw a guy in the water and created a "floating bar" serving the most disgusting red wine imaginable. Think Maneschevitz mixed with Brandy...ugh. Most of us poured ours into the water and then got stung by jelly-fish, fun times.
In all the day was great. We met good people to hang out with tonight and got some fantastic videos of us dancing in towels and bathing suit while doing the Twist in 12 different languages.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Night Bus
We arrived in Nha Trang (a quiet beach town in Central Vietnam) after a lovely 12 hour bus ride on the night bus from Hoi An. That's right, taking after Harry Potter it's called the Night Bus. Although there are some obvious differences between the 2 nights buses (for instance, ours did not include any magic) there were some noticeable similarities. Chief among these, were the bizarre characters on the bus.
So we are all loading the night bus in Hoi An and getting into our sleeper beds before we depart (similarity #1 - beds on buses). Our bus driver (similarity #2) was completely insane and off of his rocker. After the bus is filled to the brim with every bed taken, about 7 more people get on. Colby and I looked at each other - totally confused as to where these people were going to go - only to watch them lay down on the floor of the bus. Yup, thats right, 7 Vietnamese people laid on the floor of our bus for the 12 hour trip to Nha Trang. Obviously we found this highly amusing, and really uncomfortable for them.
Ok, so here's the scene: a full bus, 7 people laying on the floor, and then they turn on the TV...American Idol Vietnamese Style. Oh my god. It was ridiculous. For the next bit we watched Vietnamese girls wearing, more or less, nothing, dancing and singing around to "Killing Me Softly". I kind of felt like the act of watching the show was killing me softly....
So we are all loading the night bus in Hoi An and getting into our sleeper beds before we depart (similarity #1 - beds on buses). Our bus driver (similarity #2) was completely insane and off of his rocker. After the bus is filled to the brim with every bed taken, about 7 more people get on. Colby and I looked at each other - totally confused as to where these people were going to go - only to watch them lay down on the floor of the bus. Yup, thats right, 7 Vietnamese people laid on the floor of our bus for the 12 hour trip to Nha Trang. Obviously we found this highly amusing, and really uncomfortable for them.
Ok, so here's the scene: a full bus, 7 people laying on the floor, and then they turn on the TV...American Idol Vietnamese Style. Oh my god. It was ridiculous. For the next bit we watched Vietnamese girls wearing, more or less, nothing, dancing and singing around to "Killing Me Softly". I kind of felt like the act of watching the show was killing me softly....
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
What do we do best?
Shop, that was not a hard question. Our guide book said that when folks come to Hoi An with the intention of not shopping they are sorely misguided. The sheer number of great tailors in the this own could rival that of the population of Cambodia, seriously. Almost every shop is filled to the brim with samples and fabric and eager workers waiting to flatter you into purchasing mountains of custom made clothing. We of course fell into the trap and find ourselves leaving town with a few more things than when we entered. The cobblers here evidently make any show you want as well, from a photo, but we did managed to keep ourselves out of those shops. Thank goodness!
Surprisingly the language barrier here has not been as bad as Saigon so there aren't too many adventures with "Engrish" here to speak of. We met a great group of folks yesterday afternoon and did dinner with them at night. It was fun to meet up with a bunch of new people! Today we went and saw the ruins at My Son. Very cool and evidently like Angkor Wat "light". I was not too impressed but it was cool all the same. Maybe if it weren't 100 degrees out I'd feel differently.
Tonight we set off on a 12 hour night bus ride to Nha Trang for the beach and some boating. More to come...
Surprisingly the language barrier here has not been as bad as Saigon so there aren't too many adventures with "Engrish" here to speak of. We met a great group of folks yesterday afternoon and did dinner with them at night. It was fun to meet up with a bunch of new people! Today we went and saw the ruins at My Son. Very cool and evidently like Angkor Wat "light". I was not too impressed but it was cool all the same. Maybe if it weren't 100 degrees out I'd feel differently.
Tonight we set off on a 12 hour night bus ride to Nha Trang for the beach and some boating. More to come...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Vietnamese People are Tiny
So, the sterotype is true. Vietnamese people are small. Very very small. They sit in small chairs at small tables (you know, the ones that are the same size as the play furniture you had when you were 5). They can easily fit 4 people on a motorbike, with room to spare, and they crouch on the sidewalk for hours at a time.
Going to the Cu Chi Tunnels today we saw another example of how Vietnamese people are small...they can crawl through small tunnels like pros! During the Vietnamese War (or as they call it, the American War - the Communist revision of history is quite interesting....) the Cu Chi people built this extensive tunnel system that was used in fighting against the Americans and the South Vietnamese Army. The Vietnamese government expanded (actually, they doubled the size) of one of the surviving tunnels to make it big enough for Westerns to fit through. Considering Colby and I were both slightly (thats an understatement...) claustrophobic feeling in the "expanded" tunnel I don't even think I want to imagine what the original ones were like! Eeep! But, I guess it was ok for the Vietnamese....they are rather small after all.....
Going to the Cu Chi Tunnels today we saw another example of how Vietnamese people are small...they can crawl through small tunnels like pros! During the Vietnamese War (or as they call it, the American War - the Communist revision of history is quite interesting....) the Cu Chi people built this extensive tunnel system that was used in fighting against the Americans and the South Vietnamese Army. The Vietnamese government expanded (actually, they doubled the size) of one of the surviving tunnels to make it big enough for Westerns to fit through. Considering Colby and I were both slightly (thats an understatement...) claustrophobic feeling in the "expanded" tunnel I don't even think I want to imagine what the original ones were like! Eeep! But, I guess it was ok for the Vietnamese....they are rather small after all.....
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Adventures in Enrgrish
Saigon is a busy city roaring with motorbikes (as Debra eloquently described) and it's full of people who are waiting the please the ample supply of tourists who float through. There is one problem...other languages are not the forte of population here.
Enter Debra and Colby on Friday evening July 18th. We get to a hotel and have just had an exciting encounter with a cabbie. He yelled, we had not clue why, he couldn't make change (which is by the way illegal in NYC), he yelled some more, we finally got him the smaller bills he needed and he drove 0ff. Hmmmph. As we enter the hotel we are warmly greeted by a small young man who is serving as the receptionist. The only problem, he speaks only Vietnamese...and has no inkling of the English language at all. I watched as Debra tried to explain what we wanted. I then stepped in to see if I could help. No luck. As the commotion grew the other two young men in the hotel lobby (meaning the 12 by 7 space right off of the street) and we all tried to decifer what the others were saying. This, inlcuding showing us the room and us trying to convince them that we wanted it took the better part of the an hour. They only realized the we were pleased with the room when Debra gave them two thumbs up. Knowing Asians however I may have expected a peace sign...I guess that's only in photos.
I must also write that at the time of blog writing, Debra was in the process again with our receptionist friend and once the conversing ended she managed a high five from him. Victory! They had communicated using only the language of primates.
As we went along our way today exploring we had many encounters with the language of "Engrish" there is a website (www.engrish.com) feel free to brouse it and understand what we truly mean here. It's pretty incredible that a country so thrilled with tourism can't get a better translator (unless it's the commies, they won't hire one!)
Watch for more adventures in the coming days. Thumbs up, high fives, and peace signs are all part of our preferred means of communication. It is ensured that our universal sign language will catch on. Until then? High Five!
Enter Debra and Colby on Friday evening July 18th. We get to a hotel and have just had an exciting encounter with a cabbie. He yelled, we had not clue why, he couldn't make change (which is by the way illegal in NYC), he yelled some more, we finally got him the smaller bills he needed and he drove 0ff. Hmmmph. As we enter the hotel we are warmly greeted by a small young man who is serving as the receptionist. The only problem, he speaks only Vietnamese...and has no inkling of the English language at all. I watched as Debra tried to explain what we wanted. I then stepped in to see if I could help. No luck. As the commotion grew the other two young men in the hotel lobby (meaning the 12 by 7 space right off of the street) and we all tried to decifer what the others were saying. This, inlcuding showing us the room and us trying to convince them that we wanted it took the better part of the an hour. They only realized the we were pleased with the room when Debra gave them two thumbs up. Knowing Asians however I may have expected a peace sign...I guess that's only in photos.
I must also write that at the time of blog writing, Debra was in the process again with our receptionist friend and once the conversing ended she managed a high five from him. Victory! They had communicated using only the language of primates.
As we went along our way today exploring we had many encounters with the language of "Engrish" there is a website (www.engrish.com) feel free to brouse it and understand what we truly mean here. It's pretty incredible that a country so thrilled with tourism can't get a better translator (unless it's the commies, they won't hire one!)
Watch for more adventures in the coming days. Thumbs up, high fives, and peace signs are all part of our preferred means of communication. It is ensured that our universal sign language will catch on. Until then? High Five!
The Search for Long...
For those of you who have been following / are interested in how our search for Long is going I feel like I owe you this update...
As we were passing the area where Rafi said Long would be hanging out, we passed a kid who fit Long's profile. In Debra character, I stopped him and asked him if he was Long. Although he said he was (I mean, if I were him I would have done the same thing...a random American girl searching for a random Vietnamese street boy...its hilarious and ridiculous) he wasn't :(
Colby made fun of me for this...which is fair. I did stop a random boy on the street...
As we were passing the area where Rafi said Long would be hanging out, we passed a kid who fit Long's profile. In Debra character, I stopped him and asked him if he was Long. Although he said he was (I mean, if I were him I would have done the same thing...a random American girl searching for a random Vietnamese street boy...its hilarious and ridiculous) he wasn't :(
Colby made fun of me for this...which is fair. I did stop a random boy on the street...
Don't Hit Me Don't Hit Me Don't Hit Me!!!!!
Gooooooooooooooood Morning Vietnam!
Colby and I arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (only the government calls it HCMC, everyone else calls it Saigon) late last night and we are having a great time. As we were driving into the city from the airport the first thing we both noticed (and the first thing anyone who isn't completely braindead would notice) is the INSANE number of motorcycles everywhere. Seriously, it is ridiculous. This city has over 4 million motorcycles - and I swear to God they are all always on the road.
Prior to leaving, my friend Rafi gave me a speech: "when you're in Saigon and you want to cross the street just walk - you are going to think the motorcycles will hit you, they won't". At the time I did not fully comprehend what he meant. Now I do...
There are no traffic signals here (Colby thinks the Commies outlawed them:) ). Where they do exist however, they are mere suggestions (this is probably also the genesis for the idea that motorcycles can drive on the sidewalk as if it were the road). Sooooo, if you want to cross the street you just have to walk. And pray. Or, you can do what I do: Every time we need to cross the street, I just start walking, with motorcycles zooming all around me, and just say over and over, outloud, "don't hit me don't hit me don't hit me". And then when I'm safely on the other side I don't forget to say "thank you".
Colby and I arrived in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (only the government calls it HCMC, everyone else calls it Saigon) late last night and we are having a great time. As we were driving into the city from the airport the first thing we both noticed (and the first thing anyone who isn't completely braindead would notice) is the INSANE number of motorcycles everywhere. Seriously, it is ridiculous. This city has over 4 million motorcycles - and I swear to God they are all always on the road.
Prior to leaving, my friend Rafi gave me a speech: "when you're in Saigon and you want to cross the street just walk - you are going to think the motorcycles will hit you, they won't". At the time I did not fully comprehend what he meant. Now I do...
There are no traffic signals here (Colby thinks the Commies outlawed them:) ). Where they do exist however, they are mere suggestions (this is probably also the genesis for the idea that motorcycles can drive on the sidewalk as if it were the road). Sooooo, if you want to cross the street you just have to walk. And pray. Or, you can do what I do: Every time we need to cross the street, I just start walking, with motorcycles zooming all around me, and just say over and over, outloud, "don't hit me don't hit me don't hit me". And then when I'm safely on the other side I don't forget to say "thank you".
Thursday, July 17, 2008
And then the bus broke down....twice
So on Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early to begin our voyage out of the tundra that was the beautiful Cameroon Highlands (seriously, it was super cold there) to go to Pulau Pangkor, an island off the west coast of Malaysia. The island is beautiful, albeit slightly deserted (slightly is an understatement) and we are having a great time relaxing and resting up before Vietnam. However, as gorgeous as the island is and as much fun as we are having here, I think the voyage to the island is a much better story...
So here was our plan: wake up early, catch a bus from the Cameroon Highlands to Ipoh, catch a 2nd bus from Ipoh to Lumut, catch a ferry from Lumut to the islands.
Here is what happened:
1. Wake up early - We did this part successfully
2. Bus from Cameroon Highlands to Ipoh - Arriving at the bus stop 15 minutes prior to the departure of the bus we decide to go to the postoffice to get stamps to mail home post cards. The line at said post office is crazy long. At 10:58 (bus was leaving at 11) I turn to Colby and am like, we need to go - the bus is leaving in 2 minutes and our bags are already on the bus. Believing that nothing in this country ever happens on time (which is sooooo true) I go back to hold the bus while Colby (now next in line) gets the stamps. I get back to the bus as its about to pull away (a fellow backpacker we had met was holding it for us). I spent the next 5 minutes trying to convince the bus driver (who spoke NO english) to wait so as not to leave my friend behind. Said bus driver runs out of patience. I convince him to wait 2 more minutes, during which time I run back to the post office, grab Colby (who is licking stamps onto our post cards) and together we run back to the bus. Of course, the 1 bus driver in the entire country who likes to be on time is ours....oops!
3. Bus fom Ipoh to Lumut - Upon arriving in Ipoh we decide we need to find the first bus out to Lumut (not want, need - the place was gross). We found a bus scheduled to leave in 15 minutes. Awesome. 40 minutes later (see, I told you nothing here leaves on time!) we board the bus. After sitting on the bus for 2 minutes we unboard the bus. Turns out, the bus was broken and would't start. Ok. A new bus pulls up that we all load onto. Awesome. Said new bus (with us aboard) pulls out of gross Ipoh. Five minutes later, the air conditioning on the bus breaks and the bus itself seems like it is on its last legs. Said bus dies. We all pile out of bus #2 and wait on the side of the road (this is Malaysia, its hot) for 30 minutes until a new bus can arrive. Mind you, we had no idea what was going on during these 30 minutes nor were we sure if a new bus was coming. Since no one spoke any English (and we no Malay) there was definitely a lack of communication going on here. For those of your who have heard the stories about when Colby and I were stranded on the island in Greece because the ferry wouldn't run and we subsequently almost missed our flights home, you can imagine the flashbacks we were having! Anyways, eventually a new bus arrives and we board - luckily, this time the bus does not die :) I guess what they say is true...three times a charm!
4. Ferry from Lumut to Pulau Pangkor - Success!!
So here was our plan: wake up early, catch a bus from the Cameroon Highlands to Ipoh, catch a 2nd bus from Ipoh to Lumut, catch a ferry from Lumut to the islands.
Here is what happened:
1. Wake up early - We did this part successfully
2. Bus from Cameroon Highlands to Ipoh - Arriving at the bus stop 15 minutes prior to the departure of the bus we decide to go to the postoffice to get stamps to mail home post cards. The line at said post office is crazy long. At 10:58 (bus was leaving at 11) I turn to Colby and am like, we need to go - the bus is leaving in 2 minutes and our bags are already on the bus. Believing that nothing in this country ever happens on time (which is sooooo true) I go back to hold the bus while Colby (now next in line) gets the stamps. I get back to the bus as its about to pull away (a fellow backpacker we had met was holding it for us). I spent the next 5 minutes trying to convince the bus driver (who spoke NO english) to wait so as not to leave my friend behind. Said bus driver runs out of patience. I convince him to wait 2 more minutes, during which time I run back to the post office, grab Colby (who is licking stamps onto our post cards) and together we run back to the bus. Of course, the 1 bus driver in the entire country who likes to be on time is ours....oops!
3. Bus fom Ipoh to Lumut - Upon arriving in Ipoh we decide we need to find the first bus out to Lumut (not want, need - the place was gross). We found a bus scheduled to leave in 15 minutes. Awesome. 40 minutes later (see, I told you nothing here leaves on time!) we board the bus. After sitting on the bus for 2 minutes we unboard the bus. Turns out, the bus was broken and would't start. Ok. A new bus pulls up that we all load onto. Awesome. Said new bus (with us aboard) pulls out of gross Ipoh. Five minutes later, the air conditioning on the bus breaks and the bus itself seems like it is on its last legs. Said bus dies. We all pile out of bus #2 and wait on the side of the road (this is Malaysia, its hot) for 30 minutes until a new bus can arrive. Mind you, we had no idea what was going on during these 30 minutes nor were we sure if a new bus was coming. Since no one spoke any English (and we no Malay) there was definitely a lack of communication going on here. For those of your who have heard the stories about when Colby and I were stranded on the island in Greece because the ferry wouldn't run and we subsequently almost missed our flights home, you can imagine the flashbacks we were having! Anyways, eventually a new bus arrives and we board - luckily, this time the bus does not die :) I guess what they say is true...three times a charm!
4. Ferry from Lumut to Pulau Pangkor - Success!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Cameroon Highlands Discovery Tour!
Our guest house here in Tanah Rata (a "small", one street town) books outings in the area for you. We chose the all day discovery tour. On this tour we began by hoping into Land Rovers that looked like they were about a thousand years old (speedometer broken btw), no seat belts, and we cruised at pretty high speeds around the s-curves on the mountain, eak! Our driver and guide Bob (there was also a guide named Kumar which is funny in itself), was great! He knew everything about the plants in the jungle and we learned a lot. After some stomach churning driving we stopped to see the view of the tea plantations.
Wow is it breathtaking. You have to see most views in the morning because it rains everyday in the afternoon and the cloud descend down so that you can almost touch them! Anyways, we had some fun playing in the tea fields and taking photos. We then went trekking in the jungle. It wasn't a long trek but it was by not means easy...there was mud and wet and climbing and sliding the entire time! Debra did a nice move like Tarzan and I wish I had my camera!!! We emerged from the jungle covered in mud only to hop back in the vehicles to get to the tea plantation. We had a cuppa and some tarts, yum. At this point we harassed our tour guide Bob to take us t a strawberry farm. Evidently these farms are big here. They don't export at all but the make the most exquisite jams, the ice cream, and tarts, and everything is sooo tasty! OUr favorite were the tarts (Debra is a bit obsessed) and the milk shakes. Also, all of the tourist shops have strawberry themed merchandise that is straight out of a Strawberry Shortcake cartoon nightmare. Seriously, so fun! We also met two new friends Larkland and Joanne from England. They were doing to the all day tour as well. Some folks only signed up the for the morning but we went for the full day!
Next stop was the Orang Asli Village. These folks still live in bamboo huts and live a basic tribal existence. We got to try their blow gun weapon (Colby rocks and hit just a cm below the target) and we also went into the houses. It was soo cool. The kids in the village were fascinated by us. Mainly because were with our two friends were Larkland, a super tall muscley black guy with a think English accent, and Joanne, a petite platinum blonde also with a think accent...and Debra and I. Needless to say the kids were interested in us:-)
After all of this we topped off the day at dinner with a steamboat. A steamboat is a local fun dining activity. It's basically like fondue but with soup! You have a big steaming pot of soup on a burner at the table and you have tons of raw meat, veggies, tofu, noodles, etc. and you cook it at the table and enjoy the soup. It was great fun!
We are off on a bus to the island Pulau Pangkor today. Hopefully this bus's suspension will actually exist compared to the one on the way up here that took s-curves at high speed and bounced like a baby chair!!!
More to come on the adventures of Debra and Colby....
.
Wow is it breathtaking. You have to see most views in the morning because it rains everyday in the afternoon and the cloud descend down so that you can almost touch them! Anyways, we had some fun playing in the tea fields and taking photos. We then went trekking in the jungle. It wasn't a long trek but it was by not means easy...there was mud and wet and climbing and sliding the entire time! Debra did a nice move like Tarzan and I wish I had my camera!!! We emerged from the jungle covered in mud only to hop back in the vehicles to get to the tea plantation. We had a cuppa and some tarts, yum. At this point we harassed our tour guide Bob to take us t a strawberry farm. Evidently these farms are big here. They don't export at all but the make the most exquisite jams, the ice cream, and tarts, and everything is sooo tasty! OUr favorite were the tarts (Debra is a bit obsessed) and the milk shakes. Also, all of the tourist shops have strawberry themed merchandise that is straight out of a Strawberry Shortcake cartoon nightmare. Seriously, so fun! We also met two new friends Larkland and Joanne from England. They were doing to the all day tour as well. Some folks only signed up the for the morning but we went for the full day!
Next stop was the Orang Asli Village. These folks still live in bamboo huts and live a basic tribal existence. We got to try their blow gun weapon (Colby rocks and hit just a cm below the target) and we also went into the houses. It was soo cool. The kids in the village were fascinated by us. Mainly because were with our two friends were Larkland, a super tall muscley black guy with a think English accent, and Joanne, a petite platinum blonde also with a think accent...and Debra and I. Needless to say the kids were interested in us:-)
After all of this we topped off the day at dinner with a steamboat. A steamboat is a local fun dining activity. It's basically like fondue but with soup! You have a big steaming pot of soup on a burner at the table and you have tons of raw meat, veggies, tofu, noodles, etc. and you cook it at the table and enjoy the soup. It was great fun!
We are off on a bus to the island Pulau Pangkor today. Hopefully this bus's suspension will actually exist compared to the one on the way up here that took s-curves at high speed and bounced like a baby chair!!!
More to come on the adventures of Debra and Colby....
.
Small Malaysian Men Are Cute
Two days ago we arrived in the Cameroon Highlands. The bus ride here was an adventure in and of itself. Of the 4 hours bus ride, the final 1 1/2 hours were spent on the curviest road in the history of the world. I am talking 360 degree S curves up a mountain where the bus driver is going full speed ahead AND passing cars while on the curve. Mind you, this is a 2 lane road. As bags were falling from the overhead rack to the floor and the seat of my chair was falling out of its tracking, I was trying to keep my stomach down. Colby however was too busy reading her book....
Anyways, after we arrived at our hostel we got a tour from the guy who works here who promptly told us that "It rains here...every day." Not heeding his advice on the adverse weather conditions, Colby and I decided to head out on a short little hike so that we could get a feel of the countryside and go to a strawberry farm as well. About 4 seconds after we exited the hiking trail, a downpour commenced. No no, not a downpour, a monsoon. Quickly donning the rain jackets and umbrellas we had brought with us, we sought shelter under a tree. The tree's shelter however quickly evaporated as the rain just got so hard that it was providing ZERO protection. Soooo, we decided to say fuck it and just start walking. As we were walking down the road, soaked from head to toes in every orifice of our being, we found a strawberry farm which said it was open. So, we decided to take refuge. However, the ostensibly open strawberry farm was completely deserted. As Colby and I began to poke around the shop, a small Malaysian man who spoke no English at all came over to inquire what two white girls were doing there. I mean, we did look rather bizarre after all. When he realized he was unable to communicate with us, he went and got another small Malaysian man who was next door to talk to us.
Together, the two small Malaysian men gave us tea and tried, desperately, to communicate with us. I am sure the sentence going through their heads were "Stupid Americans! Don't they know its monsooning!" Anyways, then the 2nd small Malaysian man, feeling really bad for us, drove us back to our hostel. Which, for the record, was far from around the corner. Yup, thats right, we got stranded in a monsoon and a small Malaysian man had to drive us home....
Anyways, after we arrived at our hostel we got a tour from the guy who works here who promptly told us that "It rains here...every day." Not heeding his advice on the adverse weather conditions, Colby and I decided to head out on a short little hike so that we could get a feel of the countryside and go to a strawberry farm as well. About 4 seconds after we exited the hiking trail, a downpour commenced. No no, not a downpour, a monsoon. Quickly donning the rain jackets and umbrellas we had brought with us, we sought shelter under a tree. The tree's shelter however quickly evaporated as the rain just got so hard that it was providing ZERO protection. Soooo, we decided to say fuck it and just start walking. As we were walking down the road, soaked from head to toes in every orifice of our being, we found a strawberry farm which said it was open. So, we decided to take refuge. However, the ostensibly open strawberry farm was completely deserted. As Colby and I began to poke around the shop, a small Malaysian man who spoke no English at all came over to inquire what two white girls were doing there. I mean, we did look rather bizarre after all. When he realized he was unable to communicate with us, he went and got another small Malaysian man who was next door to talk to us.
Together, the two small Malaysian men gave us tea and tried, desperately, to communicate with us. I am sure the sentence going through their heads were "Stupid Americans! Don't they know its monsooning!" Anyways, then the 2nd small Malaysian man, feeling really bad for us, drove us back to our hostel. Which, for the record, was far from around the corner. Yup, thats right, we got stranded in a monsoon and a small Malaysian man had to drive us home....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
If the shoe fits
And it does fit. Especially when they are actually made for your feet.
Today we created a travel tradition. In Greece last summer Stavros Melissinos (the sandal maker/published poet) sat at our feet and created beautiful sandals straight out of a chapter in the Iliad. Today, we found a woman whose family makes the wood needed for the soles of the sandals, while she in turn hand paints each one! Once you choose your sole than you pick the fabric for the top and she sits at your feet measuring and hammering and creating beautiful sandals just for you! Now that we've had shoes literally made for us in these two places, we now must do this on each trip:-) Oh, Debra bought lovely white sandals with nice oriental embroidery. Colby bought pink ones, obviously.
A quick note: there was also a shoe sale in general in another part of the city...you better believe we capitalized on that one too.
Today we created a travel tradition. In Greece last summer Stavros Melissinos (the sandal maker/published poet) sat at our feet and created beautiful sandals straight out of a chapter in the Iliad. Today, we found a woman whose family makes the wood needed for the soles of the sandals, while she in turn hand paints each one! Once you choose your sole than you pick the fabric for the top and she sits at your feet measuring and hammering and creating beautiful sandals just for you! Now that we've had shoes literally made for us in these two places, we now must do this on each trip:-) Oh, Debra bought lovely white sandals with nice oriental embroidery. Colby bought pink ones, obviously.
A quick note: there was also a shoe sale in general in another part of the city...you better believe we capitalized on that one too.
Monkeys and Caves!
So this morning Colby and I took a day trip to the Batu Caves - a system of caves located a few miles outside of KL that is considered sacred ground for Hindus. As we boarded the bus this morning bound for the Caves, the first thought that entered my mind was: "How are we going to know when to get off of this bus?".
Well, it turns out that it is rather self evident, considering there is a 15 story high gold Hindu shrine that if you don't see you are seriously a blind moron. After climbing up 272 steps (yea...I counted...) we reached the main cave which had these gorgeous Hindu shrines and temples all over it. They really were truly beautiful. And as we are walking deeper into this cave, we come across TONS of monkeys. Monkeys monkeys everywhere! I won't lie, I was a bit scared of the monkeys. I mean, from far away they look cute and all but they really were everywhere, and they were hungry! Jumping up and down looking for food...eeeep!!!
In an attempt to get away from the ravishingly hungry monkeys (nahh..we were just done exploring that cave), we went next door to another cave (aptly called the Dark Cave) where we donned construction worker hats and explored! There is a reason this cave is called the Dark Cave...if you turned off your flashlight there was NO loght whatsoever coming into this cave. Like none. Zero. It was basically this huge cave, that was barely explored, which had a semi-paved pathway through it. Let's put it this way...this will go on the list of things my mom would not have liked that I was doing on this trip :) Anyways, with our guide we walked through the cave and learned all about how it was formed and all of that good stuff. Highlight of the tour: when our tourguide started talking to the 2 Russian people that were on our tour about Uzbekistan. Not such a good topic of conversation I would say... oops!
Well, it turns out that it is rather self evident, considering there is a 15 story high gold Hindu shrine that if you don't see you are seriously a blind moron. After climbing up 272 steps (yea...I counted...) we reached the main cave which had these gorgeous Hindu shrines and temples all over it. They really were truly beautiful. And as we are walking deeper into this cave, we come across TONS of monkeys. Monkeys monkeys everywhere! I won't lie, I was a bit scared of the monkeys. I mean, from far away they look cute and all but they really were everywhere, and they were hungry! Jumping up and down looking for food...eeeep!!!
In an attempt to get away from the ravishingly hungry monkeys (nahh..we were just done exploring that cave), we went next door to another cave (aptly called the Dark Cave) where we donned construction worker hats and explored! There is a reason this cave is called the Dark Cave...if you turned off your flashlight there was NO loght whatsoever coming into this cave. Like none. Zero. It was basically this huge cave, that was barely explored, which had a semi-paved pathway through it. Let's put it this way...this will go on the list of things my mom would not have liked that I was doing on this trip :) Anyways, with our guide we walked through the cave and learned all about how it was formed and all of that good stuff. Highlight of the tour: when our tourguide started talking to the 2 Russian people that were on our tour about Uzbekistan. Not such a good topic of conversation I would say... oops!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Fish Spa
So, 2 days ago my friend Regine (I have two friends, Kim and Regine, who live in Malaysia that I met while studying abroad in Australia) told us that we were going to have a fun surprise activity that involved fish - the only clues we were given were that the fish were going to be happy and we weren't going to be eating them. We had NO IDEA what was in store for us...
On Saturday afternoon we met Kim and Regine at the mall (duh, this is Asia after all) and went upstairs to the Fish Spa. Yup, that's right, a spa of fish. For 30 minutes, small (and not so small) fish nibbled at our feet. Turns out, doctor fish (yea, thats what they are called), enjoy eating human skin and eat off the dead skin on your feet. Never in my life have I experienced something so bizarre.
The whole time I could only think of Jackie's infamous words when we went on Spring Break Senior Year of college when, after entering the water to go snorkeling, she said: "Is now a good time to remember I am afraid of fish?!?"
On Saturday afternoon we met Kim and Regine at the mall (duh, this is Asia after all) and went upstairs to the Fish Spa. Yup, that's right, a spa of fish. For 30 minutes, small (and not so small) fish nibbled at our feet. Turns out, doctor fish (yea, thats what they are called), enjoy eating human skin and eat off the dead skin on your feet. Never in my life have I experienced something so bizarre.
The whole time I could only think of Jackie's infamous words when we went on Spring Break Senior Year of college when, after entering the water to go snorkeling, she said: "Is now a good time to remember I am afraid of fish?!?"
Friday, July 11, 2008
How the other half (well 1%) lives
As we rode the bus into Kuala Lumpur this afternoon Debra and I noticed the amazing amounts of shopping available. We quickly realized that shopping is not just a Singaporean past-time but an all around SE Asian past-time. They eat, shop, eat some more, go to the mall, have a snack, buy something new, eat another meal and the story goes on. We were both excited about this especially since we had Debra's friend to show us around the town. Little did we know that we'd be traveling such style....
Debra's friend Kim shows up at our hostel and takes us outside, we expect to get on the metro, maybe a bus...but nope she shows us to a brand new Mercedes Benz sedan with a driver, yes a private car and driver. Totally awesome. We saw all of the fancy sights while driving around in climate control. Sitting in crappy city traffic ain't so bad when you're in a Benz.
It also feels pretty cool to have people open doors for you, to step out of a nice car and have a hand reach for yours to help you get out, and when you are ready to leave a phone call beckons the driver and comfy air-con back:-) We went bargain shopping after this in the heat and the hostel just wasn't the same after...*sigh
Debra's friend Kim shows up at our hostel and takes us outside, we expect to get on the metro, maybe a bus...but nope she shows us to a brand new Mercedes Benz sedan with a driver, yes a private car and driver. Totally awesome. We saw all of the fancy sights while driving around in climate control. Sitting in crappy city traffic ain't so bad when you're in a Benz.
It also feels pretty cool to have people open doors for you, to step out of a nice car and have a hand reach for yours to help you get out, and when you are ready to leave a phone call beckons the driver and comfy air-con back:-) We went bargain shopping after this in the heat and the hostel just wasn't the same after...*sigh
2010
So, the Malaysian Government has a goal: to be a fully developed country by 2010. After reading this yesterday when we were in Melaka Colby and I both started laughing hysterically. Really? A country where you can't drink the water, has toilets that really aren't so much toilets, and an average income in the gutter is going to be a fully developed country in 2 years? Dude...whatever they are smoking is something we would like to share because it just must be that good...
So, thats how the majority of the population here lives - no judgement, its fine, and heck we came here to vacation, but still it totally is not 2 years away from development.
So, thats how the majority of the population here lives - no judgement, its fine, and heck we came here to vacation, but still it totally is not 2 years away from development.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Three Cups of Tea
Since we are far from being on Asian Time (last night I was alseep at 9:30pm and woke up this morning at 6:45am), I guess it shouldn't be such a surprise that by 10am we were on meal #2 of the day today. Yup, thats right, Colby and I are eating our way (literally) through Southeast Asia. Anyways, we are sitting down for dim sum (which is rather hard to do when you eat neither pork nor shellfish), and they bring us tea with 3 cups. Thinking that the waitress merely miscounted (duh, there are only 2 of us) we left the 3rd cup where it was and didn't think much of it. A few minutes later the waitress came back over and gave us a little lesson in tea drinking etiquette. You are always given at least 1 additional cup when tea is served to you. This way, you can pour the tea way in advance so that when you are done with your cup, there is already another cup waiting for you that has cooled down. I mean, it is after all 12 billion degrees here so cooled tea is very important! Maybe its just me, but I thought this was really cool (maybe thats also because I just finished reading a book called Three Cups of Tea...)
Just a word to the wise for any future travelers who go places with Colby, you are going to want to have more than 1 extra cup when drinking tea with her. She gulps those down like its her job :)
Just a word to the wise for any future travelers who go places with Colby, you are going to want to have more than 1 extra cup when drinking tea with her. She gulps those down like its her job :)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Monkeys bite...
We just got to Malaysia! It's amazingly lush and green here. So beautiful, very warm, very humid, lots of women in full body coverings. We have stumbled upon a little port town called Malaka. This place is evidently the seat of all of Malaysian take-overs. The Dutch, the Brits, Portuguese, the Chinese etc. Everyone has taken over rule in Malaysia from about 1250 on! This place has tons of history and has recently been turned into a weird kitchy tourist trap. A Holiday Inn was recently built. There is fun history to see and evidently some pretty fabulous fusion food. There is still a thriving Portuguese population here and they have some fantastic food that is Portuguese with some Asian touches. Lots of yumminess.
It's also really cheap here. We had two large main dished, dessert, and beers last night for a total of $7. I'm looking forward to more deals in this country:-)
This morning Debra informed me that although the primates run wild here...I am not allowed to play with them. This makes me sad, evidently monkeys bite:-( I was so excited to cuddle with a little chimp, alas I cannot. My trip is ruined.
Just kidding! We are off to play more in Malaka!
It's also really cheap here. We had two large main dished, dessert, and beers last night for a total of $7. I'm looking forward to more deals in this country:-)
This morning Debra informed me that although the primates run wild here...I am not allowed to play with them. This makes me sad, evidently monkeys bite:-( I was so excited to cuddle with a little chimp, alas I cannot. My trip is ruined.
Just kidding! We are off to play more in Malaka!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Pierre Catches Commercialism Bug
Maybe not made by Gucci or Manolo, but definitely an important part of any good monkey's wardrobe...Commercialism: The Religion
Some people worship Gods, some people worship sports figures, and some, at least in Singapore, worship shopping. This place is a Mecca of shopping. You can't walk 2 steps without being bombarded with sale signs and windows full of merchandise. We are both expert shoppers, so if we weren't going to all of these other fantastic countries you better believe we would be shopping like crazy here. So much so that we would spend all of our money and wouldn't be able to come back....
The worship of retail leads to another phenomenon...everyone here is so well dressed! It makes us and our dirty clothes feel a bit uncomfortable. Next time we go backpacking and it includes a stop in Singapore we will be sure to bring our Manolos and Gucci Sunglasses with us.
The worship of retail leads to another phenomenon...everyone here is so well dressed! It makes us and our dirty clothes feel a bit uncomfortable. Next time we go backpacking and it includes a stop in Singapore we will be sure to bring our Manolos and Gucci Sunglasses with us.
The Hug
Japan is certainly an interesting place. Upon arrival I spent time hanging out in Toyko Disney (yes I stayed at the resort) it was fabulous. What is even more fabulous is the social graces I was lacking as I left the country.... The morning after the visit I needed to get back to the airport to catch a flight to Singapore. A nice girl from the hotel helped me out and showed me where to wait for the shuttle. She even waited with me for 20 minutes! We got to chatting, told some fun stories, shared a few laughs, and finally the bus came. The bus door opens, she gestures to the door with a fully outstretched arm signalling me to the door...too bad I assumed she was signalling a hug. I hugged her, yes yes hugged a small Japanese woman. My brain was not thinking at all, the folks here gesture like this all the time!!! So I then hopped on the bus after a very awkward moment and now I have confirmed the stupidity of Americans to this nice Japanese person, awesome.
I guess I needed some cuddles.
I guess I needed some cuddles.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Shhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
So Colby actually got to spend a day in Japan (I get my 12 hours running around Tokyo on the way back), but right now I am in the middle of my 4 hour layover here before my flight to Singapore.
Generally speaking, I would say there isn't so much to discuss about airports. But this is not the case for the Tokyo/Narita Airport. Why is that? Because this place is SILENT. Like there is absolutely no noise at all. No one is talking on their cellphones, hell, no one is talking period. And when there is talking its the faintest whisper ever - barely audible. Obviously none of these people grew up in households with overbearing loud Jewish mothers. But seriously, its freaking me out. I kind of want to get a drum and start banging it and running all over the place. But then again I guess that wouldn't be so culturally relative of me...oops.
Ok, I should go, I think I am making too much noise with the sound of my typing....
Generally speaking, I would say there isn't so much to discuss about airports. But this is not the case for the Tokyo/Narita Airport. Why is that? Because this place is SILENT. Like there is absolutely no noise at all. No one is talking on their cellphones, hell, no one is talking period. And when there is talking its the faintest whisper ever - barely audible. Obviously none of these people grew up in households with overbearing loud Jewish mothers. But seriously, its freaking me out. I kind of want to get a drum and start banging it and running all over the place. But then again I guess that wouldn't be so culturally relative of me...oops.
Ok, I should go, I think I am making too much noise with the sound of my typing....
Saturday, July 5, 2008
The Night Before
Welcome to our blog where we will tell you all about our Asian Adventure! We will write more after we complete our 12 billion hours of traveling...
~Debra and Colby
P.S. If you are curious about Pierre, that's totally fair. In preparation for our departure our friend/wife/roommate Rachel Present decided that we needed to buy her multiple presents during our trip. Chief among the desired gifts was a pet monkey from Cambodia whom she lovingly named Pierre. Rachel imagined Colby and I waking up each morning, crying that she wasn't with us, and then having Pierre there to comfort us and remind us of how much we love her. Just for the record...Pierre doesn't actually exist...but then again we haven't been to Cambodia yet so I guess we will see! :) Stay tuned for more about Pierre, monks, rice patties, and random small Asian children...
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