1-27-07

Back in Thailand but now I'm traveling in the Southern islands. I arrived in Vientienne, Laso after a very long (and unenjoyable bus ride) from Laos and after some thought, decided to bite the bullet and take a plane from Vientienne to Bangkok and then Ko Samui. Marije met me at the airport with her friend Jacco and I was soon taking a blissful shower in a very Western guesthouse. As I got out of the shower we realized that Marije had left her mobile phone in a taxi. We called about 3 or 4 times but nothing. She used Jacco's phone to call home and cancel her SIM card so that no one would be able to make calls with it. Luckily, the next time we tried to call her phone someone picked up and it was the owner at a store right down the street, apparently it had fallen out of the cab! We rushed over and got the phone, trying to give the store owner a reward but she wouldn't take it. We bought some beers to celebrate instead.

Right, I'm feeling a bit schizophrenic so I'm just going to post photos and then storian smol long hem.

I love big dogs and big dogs love me. We found this Rotweiller on the beach on Ko Tao and he was just the friendliest thing ever. There are so many dogs on Ko Tao but they're all healthy and for the most part friendly, I haven't had to "Kuse!" one yet! There's one I'm always looking for, a beautiful white and brown Huskie who just looks miserable all the time. Sometimes he sprawls out like a bear rug and won't move for what seems like the whole day.




We crossed the island of Ko Tao yesterday, taking time to take a break on the foundation of a house that overlooks the ocean. After we walked down we found a small resort and I got the owner to open up a sprouting coconut, it was the first time I got to eat navara in months, it was so soft and sweet, just like on Tongoa. Later this guy in the photo ate a hibiscus flower. I don't know what his problem is, eating foliage like he owns it.




Marije, caught off guard taking a photo of the coast.

Hemi olsem meri blong mi. Mi mi harem glad taem mi stap wetem hem from mi neva faenem wan woman olsem. Ating spos hemi stap long aelan ol man bae i ded long hem. Hem tu i gat wan blog: http://www.marijejelly.waarbenjij.nu/

Traem luk samting ia from ples ia tu i gat sam foto blong mi wetem hem. Spos hemi bin stap long Vanuatu taem mi bin stap ating mi no wantem drink kava nating.


We tried to watch the sunset on the beach but there were too many clouds to try to see the green flash. Our guesthouse is very close to the beach which is great except that there are three bars VERY close and they all want to play the "Who has the loudest music?" game. The Red Hot Chili Peppers start to sound very annoying around 2:45 AM, especially when you know all the clientèle at the bars are old while men talking with young Thai women, yech!





The aforementioned sunset off the coast of Ko Tao.













Here I am back in Luang Prabang, at a guesthouse except they have an eagle!

Look!

Sure it just sits there all day and poops everywhere but it's a fucking eagle! I wanted to get closer but I'm a bit leary about wild pirds of prey. Later on the same guesthouse got a monkey (maybe to play with the eagle, who knows) but I wasn't there.




This is Doug, my travel buddy and fellow RPCV on some random land mass in Laos. We took a boat ride up to Muang Noi but had to get out and walk because we were too heavy. Of course Doug is happy because he's Doug. Everyone else was not so happy.

1-19-07

I've spent the last few days in a small village in Northern Laos called Muang Noi. It took a 4 hour bus ride and over an hour slow boat ride but it was worth it, even when we had to get out of the boat and walk because the river was too low. Muang Noi is amazing, there are guest houses everywhere and there are "restaurants" but the village still feels like a village, not some tourist trap with some old temples thrown in. In fact there was only one temple and it didn't look like a temple at all, I would have completely missed it if I hadn't been woken up in the mornings by their bell and the sound of monks chanting, that clued me in.The villagers go about daily life, drying out swamp grass to eat, reforging old knives and doing what villagers generally do.

Just outside the Muang Noi are roads that lead to other villages, rice paddies and water buffalo that don't really care about anything other than eating dried out rice stalks. However, one road led us to a cave ($.50 admission) which was about the coolest thing ever. The first day we hiked in a ways until we realized we needed our torches (flashlights) to go any further. I just happened to have mine and so the five of us waded through shoulder-high water as far back as we could go. But we didn't get to the end and knew that there was still a lot to go. So the next day we all came back (each of us carrying at least one torch) and we spent a few hours exploring every bit of that damned cave, from the stalactites and stalagmites to the bats and all the way back till we found the source of the river and some graffiti that said "HELP! 10-7-2006" The whole time we were a little worried about cave-ins and getting lost since none of us had ever been that far inside a cave. We were always asking ourselves "Farther? Do we go farther?" luckily we did keep going and though my camera lens clouded up from the condensation I was still able to get a few pictures. It was the first time I'd ever gone back that far in a cave, let alone without a guide or anyone else who knew what they hell they were doing. And why did I do this? Risk being trapped if there was an earthquake? Cause I walk up volcanoes barefoot! That's why! Am I right? Only for the men!

The days before the cave exploration a few of us decided to visit another village in the hopes that it would be even more rural than Muang Noi. Well, we found two other villages and they were both more rural. The first one overlooked a dried up rice paddy and a couple signs that pointed to guest houses and restaurants. We met a few French people at the village while drinking tea, they'd been there for 10 days and so knew a lot about the area but hadn't really explored any of it. They told us about the white arrows in the cave that showed the way back out if you got lost. After we had our Laos Tea we walked to another village where we had some food, I was trying to find betel nut but the closest thing I could find was raw dried meat from these little dear that they hunt. So I had that instead, delicious! On the way back we ran into a couple of locals who were carrying matchlock rifles. I didn't know working matchlocks still existed, let alone were being used. They locals were very shy about letting us see them though, so I wasn't able to get a picture. Maybe wikipedia can help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchlock



The second to last night in Muang Noi I was talking to the girl who runs the guest house I was staying at. I was asking how much it would be to buy a duck because Muang Noi has so many ducks and you can never buy them in the restaurants because there is no dependable refrigeration. So Huan started telling me how Laos people do this wonderful thing with Duck's blood, making a soup out of it or something. Of course the only way to get blood out of a duck is to kill it so we eventually found a duck that wasn't too expensive. Anyway, the spare you gory details we get all the blood out of the duck and then her family barbecues it and makes soup of of some of the meat and organs. Luckily I was able to snag some of the liver and roast it for Doug and myself, island style. It's the closest to foie groe I've gotten yet. It turns out the duck meat was very tough, Huan kept laughing at how hard it was, she said the duck must have been 10 years old, but then again she's crazy. The soup was a little better but I was so dis-heartened with the tough duck meat that I just drank the blood, it's good with bear Lao. Just kidding, this picture was Doug's idea. We just added some of the blood to our soup the same way I'd had it in Chiang Mai. This set off Huan again, laughing and pointing at us. It turns out Laos people don't actually add the blood to the soup, they make something else out of it entirely. Of course they never told us any of this but it didn't matter because my soup tasted much better.

1-12-07

The connection here in Laos isn't so good so no photos for now but soon.

After spending a bit too long in Chiang Mai and realizing that I only had another week on my Thai Visa, Doug and I decided to catch the 2-day boat ride up the Mekong to Laos. I'd heard all kinds of stories about the slow boat: it's uncomfortable, it's too long, there's no food, so I was eager to see what it was all about. The truth is that it's just a very slow, over packed boat ride up the Mekong river, a place that until 10 years ago still had pirates on it. The boats are long, sit about 4 people in a row but have small cushions to sit on and plenty of Beer Lao to buy, or weed if that's your thing (that last part probably isn't mentioned in the tour guides). The first day was uneventful, bought our tickets and Visas in Chiang Mai, got to the Thai Laos border, sleep in a guest house with mattresses harder than the wood floors. Second day, take a small boat across the Mekong, wait around, finally get on the boat drive down admiring the views, meet some interesting people, pull up to a village where people tried to sell us more Beer Lao and Pringles, end up at some tourist town, crash. The third day was the longest, we left the shore around 10am and got into Luang Prabang around 5:30pm a bit tired and seeking shelter. But the scenery that third day was amazing. We caught a glimpse of the Buddha caves that are carved into the side of a mountain, some high water markers (the Mekong is really really low right now), all kinds of kastam houses on the shores and a beautiful sunset.

Luang Prabang is small, easily navigable in a few days and full of tourists. The lodging prices seem to range from $4 to $40 and yet we were able to buy a bottle of Lao Whiskey for $2. We're staying in a Guest House run by a Laotian guy who lived most of his life in Wisconsin, during our sign in he was giving up the update on the latest in the Ohio State game. I shouldn't be surprised at this point about the people I meet while traveling but it still catches me off guard every now and then.

The cost of living here is ridiculously low except when you take into account all the bloody tourists. Luckily the local population is laid back and there aren't the kind of obnoxious tourists I've found in Vanuatu or Thailand, making special meal orders and then getting upset when they get it wrong. The restaurants are all relatively expensive but water is cheap and there really isn't a need to take a tuk tuk or songthew anywhere. Today Doug and I walked around town, went up a hill to the Wat on top and had a great view of Laos, even watched a plane land on the runway, it felt a little like the island watching a plane land for entertainment. Later I went back to the guest house and had a nap, I still can't seem to shake this cold I've been harboring for what seems like weeks now. It comes and goes, always turning up at the most inopportune times. Oh well.

1-6-07

How quickly plans can change

After three days in Ayutthaya seeing more Wats, Buddhas and Chedis than I knew what to do with I'm back in Chiang Mai. The original plan was to get down to Ko Phangan for the half moon party but then I met some people going back up to Chiang Mai and I noticed I only had about a week left on my tourist Visa. So the new plan is to go up north into Laos with Doug, get an extension on my tourist Visa, head down to Ko Phangan for the party then back up to Laos where I'll hang out until Christina arrives. Then I'll start making my way east towards Cambodia and Vietnam where it's cheaper and more rural.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and realized that it's about time to get out of the real touristy areas. I know Chiang Mai isn't nearly as touristy as Bangkok or some other places but there is still a pretty large ex-pat and tourist population. Not that I don't like ex-pats and tourists, they're cool but I think it's about time I got back to a rural place: no lights, running water or white people. Of course this time around I can't speak the language and have only a very basic understanding of the culture, although I have learned that the kids are very shy in class and try to hide from answering questions.

One of the the things I realized about myself in the Peace Corps is that I take things for granted very easily when they become availible. I know it's an easy concept to grasp and I never really understood it until I become overwhelmed with emotion when I got a care package on Tongoa that contained Reeses Pieces. I appreciate things so much more when I don't have them all the time. I've tried to limit myself to things like Western food, drink and posessions for this very reason. If I don't have them now I'll appreciate them so much more when I allow myself to have them. Of course this will be problematic when I eventually move back to the States because everything I want will be right there, in front of me, in the same isle as 15 different kinds of bread and 20 kinds of peanut butter (smooth, crunchy, extra crunchy, low sodium, no sodium, no sodium and no sugar, mixed with jelly etc.

It will be so easy to slide back into a routine, eating the same foods as before and acting the same way. I know if I want to maintain the island mentality in America it will take a lot of effort on my part, but I'm ready for that. The question is how easy will it be for me to adapt back to my own culture while keeping the lessons I learned in Vanuatu. I don't think there will be much chance to make my own rawhide or chew kava around a fire.

1-2-07
Ayutthaya

New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai

New Year's eve started a little rough for me. I managed to roll my ankle early in the day and was fighting off some kind of cough that had plagued me for the last week or so. Staying out till 4am in smoke filled clubs is definitely not good for the old respiratory tract but it's still a good time. Anyway, after a day of visiting the post office (closed), the books shops (also closed) and the tourism office for a train schedule (open, yes!), I managed to run into a friend who informed me that he and some other folks would be ringing in the new year at the rooftop bar since the drinks are cheap and it would be a great place to watch the new year celebrations. Now I love the Rooftop Bar so I told him I would definitely be there. But first I had to hang out with some friends at the internet cafe where I get (almost) free internet since I fixed some of there computers. Partying at the cafe is always fun, most times we sit outside and drink whisky, soda water and coke and I try to learn Thai. However this time we went all out and roasted lemon-grass-stuffed-fish, kebabs and prawns outside as we drank the ridiculously strong Chang Beer (6.4% by volume), Red Label and Mekong Whisky.

Around 10pm I decide it's time to move over to the Rooftop so I pick myself up and start meandering over there. Well, there must have too much hitch in my giddyup because halfway over there I managed to roll my ankle again! Now I'm feeling a bit like my friend Michere but manage to get up to the Rooftop where it is packed! I mean, there is hardly standing room let alone room to sit. Luckily I find my friends and sit down with them but then get distracted by all the floating lanterns that are going up into the air every few seconds. Normally a few will go up every night but now it's like they're trying to light up the sky with these things. There's a band of them across the sky like the Milky Way. We all "oooh" and "aaaah" for about 45 minutes when all of a sudden we hear a loud POP and look over to see a lantern has caught fire and is now burning on the lower roof. We also notice the power has gone out and there is no music, curious. Turns out the power for our side of the street was knocked out by this renegade lantern. At the same time some of us were a little worried because we'd heard about the bombs in Bangkok. We look out over the roof to see if there is any police or military activity but all the armed guards are just hanging out, no rescue vehicles are racing about and some guy in a uniform is frantically making the international "OK" symbol up at us from the street. We wait for a little while longer, wave "OK" back to the guy and then go about our business. Some people are still concerned but whatever, it's New Year's and some of us had been drinking (I had not been drinking). I notice my friends had left but everyone was my friend that night.

After the power went out or before (I'm not too sure), I'd been talking with some other people and they were wondering if the roof could hold up all the people on top. Now the roof is just bamboo slats with cheap mats covering them. I kind of dismiss the idea, but then realize it could actually happen. I make some kind of remark like "Well, even if the roof does collapse, it makes for a great story doesn't it? I mean, who else can say they were at a New Year's party where the roof collapsed beneath them?" This kind of "Hey at least it's a good story" has pretty much been my attitude about things going wrong ever since my first year in Vanuatu where things often do go very wrong and yet in the end come out ok. So there I am drinking my water, calculating the best rooftop exit to make in case there's a fire, when someone says something and points behind me where a crowd has now gathered.

"What's with the crowd?" I ask.
"I think the roof just caved in," she replies.
"What? No!" I wheel around and sure enough, a large section of the roof in the corner has indeed collapsed and people are gathering around as if looking at it will somehow make it fixed, "Gee, maybe if we all stare at it it'll fix itself!" Of course with the decrease in real estate this means that there's even less space on top so a few people decide to slide down and hang out in the collapsed section. Now we have bombs in the country, cut power and a collapsed roof, I am not troubled by this at all. No really, I was laughing at the whole thing. So far it was the best new year I'd had in a very long time.

Time goes on and eventually the power gets restored, people are starting to leave the bar in search of clubs. I leave with some people and head to Bubbles, a club that doesn't have good music but a good crowd. I get bored so I leave and go to Spicy, a club that has great music but a somewhat questionable crowd. But it's cool, the place is packed and I end up dancing there till 6am when they finally close. I leave with some friends and get some rice soup as the sun is starting to rise, exchange emails and then check out of my guest house and head over to the train station where I've already missed the 4am train to Ayutthaya but don't really care because it's New Year's and I've left Chiang Mai the way I wanted to: with a bang and no sleep for the last day or so.

After a 5 hour wait I jump on the train to Ayutthaya and sleep for most of the 10 hour journey, waking up for juice and to play with the little kid sitting on her Dad's lap next to me. So here I am in Ayutthaya which is more hot and definitely more laid back than Chiang Mai. I'll be here for a few days recuperating and visiting temples before heading further South. I plan on taking it easy before going to Ko Phangan where there are supposed to be some really fun places to go.