Thursday, 12/3, 7:30 pm
So back to the chicken from a few nights ago. I had fresh chicken meat in Ghana and Guatemala, but I never actually saw them kill it. So this whole killing the chicken thing was a new experience for me. Basically, Lee slit its throat and drained the blood while the 2 little boys held its feet and wings. There really wasn't much blood in the chicken - it kind of surprised me. Then he dunked it in boiling water which removed/loosened the feathers and he pulled out the rest. Finally, he chopped it up and then boiled it, I think, though I wasn't in the house during that part. The rest of our meal was white rice (this is part of every meal) and some cabbage/greens that we fried up with garlic and I think some ginger, which was yummy. The chicken was good too - I've been eating a lot of meat here. I don't mind eating meat when I know where it's come from and am fairly confident it doesn't have hormones in it.
We sat around together - the family, Lee, and I - and ate together. It took some convincing to get the daughter to join us since she was scared of me. Also, I think that traditionally, the head of the family (the dad) eats with the guests and then the wife and children eat later...but Lee asked them if we could all eat together and they agreed. We all chatted a bit and the uncle, in particular, had many questions about America. The one that sticks with me is when he asked me if I had to live there in the village for the rest of my life, could I do it? I said that I thought I could if my family and friends could come with me. :) It was actually kind of a profound question, in a way, which really got me thinking. Lee told me about an American couple that did just that. They visited some small village, fell in love with it, and then never left. But don't worry mom, I'm still coming home tomorrow. :)
One interesting thing I left out earlier, which is relevant to my work, is something I observed with one of the neighbors. I noticed this little boy's (maybe 1 year old) foot was tied up, like in a bandage/bandana type of thing. I asked what happened to his foot (via Lee) and the mom said that her son had a headache and that the bandage around his foot would help that. So then I asked, how do you know he has a a headache? (The kid wasn't old enough to talk.) And the mom said that she had pricked his finger, drawn blood, and she could tell he had a headache by the color of the blood...or something along those lines. Some of the explanation was surely lost during the translation. And she briefly showed me where she had pricked him on his hand in a few different places. This is the type of thing that is very relevant to my work because parents often continue these types of traditional practices when they get to the states. In this situation, one can imagine a teacher or concerned neighbor calling child protective services when they find out the mom has been "stabbing" her son's hand enough to make him bleed. For anyone who's read "The Spirt Catches You and You Fall Down" this type of thing should ring a bell.
After dinner, everyone immediately went to sleep...I mean we're talking like 7 pm. I was like what am I going to do for the next 3-4 hours? I didn't bring my book but luckily I had my phone and played suduko and I had my ipod. :) So I relaxed in the bed they made me, which was actually quite comfortable. An uncle of the family produced this large cushion (picture what we would put on porch furniture) and they laid that on one of their bamboo beds - basically a bamboo "platform" about 1-2 feet high so one is not sleeping on the ground. Then they had a large comforter for me to use as a blanket, which was quite warm. I didn't even need to use my REI sleeping bag that I had brought along. It wasn't cold at all, unlike Sapa, Vietnam.
You may be wondering where they got this cushion and comforter. The Hmong in this region are no longer making everything by hand nor wearing their traditional clothing. They're so close to Luang Prabang and the Vietnamese are doing some major business in the area. So now the Hmong buy a lot of their clothes and other items they need. Poof! One day globalization comes along and suddenly many things have changed. I don't know how they feel about it, but I think it's sad since their clothes are beautiful and I would imagine they've been wearing them for thousands of years.
Before I went to sleep, I needed to go to the bathroom. This village actually had a bathroom similar to what's used by the locals in the rest of the region - a squat toilet. I made my way in the dark (the one thing I forgot to pack is that little handy flashlight I bought at REI!) to the outhouse and literally almost stepped right on top of the HUGE pig the village has. I mean this pig is massive - I think it's the biggest pig I've ever seen. And apparently his "bed" is right outside the outhouse. I laughed out loud when I realized how close I was to stepping on him...not really sure what he would've done if I did that. Phew!
In the morning, Lee and I made scrambled eggs with green onions and lots of garlic for the family. This was different for them...apparently they typically boil their eggs and I'm not talking about hard boiled. Like they crack it open into the boiling water and cook it that way...what do we call that? Can't remember. We ate the eggs with rice.
Then the two older kids went off to school. After saying goodbye to the parents, Lee and I went over to the school and observed how their day began. I got to watch them all line up and sing their national anthem as they raised the flag. It reminded me of a cross between how we do the pledge of allegiance and the beginning of each day of summer camp.
The rest of the day was spent trekking to the nearby waterfall where I went swimming even though it was a bit too cold to do so! It's a waterfall that many tourists go to so they had a rope swing which I jumped off.
There's not been too much excitement since then...I made my way back to Vientiane (10 hour bus trip) and spent my 30th bday relaxing. I met up with the Lao/American family, ate some good ol' Aunt Jemima pancakes for breakfast, and had a chat about the Hmong. I got my haircut and eyebrows done, had a nice meal and then got picked up to go to the train for Bangkok. I was going to get another massage on my actual bday, but ran out of time. But no worries, I got one today here in Thailand. So I think I've had 4 in total - one in each of the countries I've been to.
I'm off to do some final packing and then am going to sleep! Will be up at 4 am for my 6:30 flight. I've got some final thoughts/observations about my travels but will write those later.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Na Jong!
Monday, 11/30, 8:30 pm
I have a lot to catch you up on from the past few days. On Friday, in Vientiane, I finally met up with Vikham's sister-in-law who turned out to be the cutest 83 year old ever! She's right up there with Grammie in terms of cuteness. :) She came to the U.S. as a refugee back in the 70's, lived outside of DC for about 10 years, and then decided to move back to Laos once things calmed down. So she speaks pretty good English, though we had a bit of miscommunication on the phone. I think that may have been her hearing more than anything. (Again, like Grammie!) So it took a couple of attempts before we successfully met up, but once we did, we had a great time together. She took me out for both lunch and dinner and wouldn't let me pay for a thing. Lunch was at a casual place, but dinner was at a very fancy place that had great Lao food and traditional music/dancers, but mostly catered to the tourist crowd. We chatted about her life in the U.S. and in Laos, both before leaving and after returning. She's very independent - on the day I left Vientiane, she did too - for Thailand, and all by herself! Maybe I'll still be traveling alone when I'm 83...
On Saturday I took a very long bus ride to Luang Prabang - about 10 hours up a mountain and around all sorts of curves. I did well for most of it but by the end (despite stopping for food and potty breaks) I was kind of car sick and just blah! The "rest stops" were just open fields - Laos' bathroom options for tourists are the same as for locals, unlike Vietnam. It's fine though, I mastered that skill in Ghana. At least the bus was roomy - unlike Ghana. Unfortunately I have to do the same bus ride tomorrow, in reverse. I was going to buy a plane ticket - in fact, I started to, but Lao Airlines doesn't accept credit cards online and you have to send a fax and I was like screw it. Now I wish I would've searched for a fax machine!
Once in Luang Prabang, I *finally* met up with Amy (former co-worker) and her new husband Omar! We've been in the same city on more than one occasion, but never seemed to be able to make it work - mostly because she doesn't have a phone and I had no way to get a hold of her. But the three of us had a lovely dinner swapping travel stories and reminiscing about USCCB (ha). She's on her 3rd month of travel and has a few more weeks until she heads back to DC. Again, it was wonderful to see a familiar face.
Yesterday and today I was on a trek to a local waterfall and to a (white) Hmong village, which was *excellent* - probably the highlight of my trip. It was finally a very authentic experience, particularly the homestay. I sucked it up and paid a guide to take me on my own for the trip - $140, which is like millions of kip here. Before continuing, I should explain that there are 3 main ethnic groups in Laos - the Lao, Hmong, and Khmu. Each has their own language, though most of the Hmong and Khmu also speak Lao because that's the language used in school. But they each have their own culture, including the types of houses they live in, foods they eat, etc.
So my guide was half Hmong, half Khmu and was raised in a Lao village, so he's trilingual and tricultural - perfect for this sort of thing! I got to ask any and all questions and I specifically requested to stay with a Hmong family as opposed to a Khmu family, which is who people on this trek usually stay with. So I'm pretty sure the family I stayed with had never hosted a foreigner before.
Yesterday we started hiking around 10 am and hiked for a few hours. Most of it was going up and I was feeling kind of beat. After only an hour or two, we stopped in a village that was half Khmu and half Lao. Right away the lessons began because you have to greet each group differently ("Smile-ut" versus "Sabadee") yet I couldn't really figure out who's who. The Khmu's skin is a little bit darker and their houses are different...so I had to keep pausing and thinking hard before I'd spit out the right greeting. :) We had lunch in this village and I knew that they hadn't seen too many foreigners ("Falang") because the kids were staring at us eating through the holes in the walls. I have this hilarious picture of the kids' eyes through the holes.
Then we continued our hike for a few more hours until we arrived at the Hmong village (Ban Long Lao II, about 16 km outside Luang Prabang) where we'd sleep that night. When we arrived, I immediately began practicing the Hmong that Lee, my guide, taught me earlier - mainly "Na Jong" for hello and "Aw chow" for thanks. Sounds easy enough, but after learning the basics in Khmer, Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmu, my brain was fried! Lee made sure to do all the appropriate communicating, like greetings and so on because he had never been to this village before and we needed to sleep there. Within 15 minutes or so, it was decided where I would sleep - at the home of Noy, Paw-Chaw, and their 3 kids (this is my English spelling for how to pronounce their names). We went to their house and he explained to me that if there were leaves hanging on the door we couldn't enter because of something about bad spirits. He also had to ask permission to enter, which also had something to do with spirits. (The Hmong believe in spirits, which heavily influence a lot of what they do and believe.)
Lee began figuring out what we'd cook for dinner. Can you imagine some stranger coming into your home and taking over your kitchen?? Lee was very good at "translating" cultural experiences, so I asked him more than once if it was okay/weird that we just showed up and were now cooking in this woman's kitchen and he assured me it was totally fine. They decided that they'd kill a chicken for me and so some of them went to figure out which chicken they'd kill (there were dozens roaming around). Meanwhile I went outside and observed the kids. The Hmong children in this village (about 50 families and some had 10 kids) seemed so happy. They were the happiest children I've seen on this trip and perhaps in any developing country I've been to. Or at least they outwardly expressed their happiness much like children from the U.S. do - lots of smiling, giggling, and tons of playing games. The girls in all the villages I've seen play this game with a rope. Sometimes it reminds me of Chinese jump rope but other times they jump over the rope and it reminds me of the high jump or hurdles. The boys in this village were busy spinning tops - like the kind you wrap with a rope and then whip it so the top spins. Later on the kids found some inedible berries that they ran around and smeared on each other. Some of the older girls were sewing - the Hmong do a type of cross stitch which is beautiful. I just bought some at the market tonight.
This is getting long so I'll fill you in on the rest - the killing of the chicken and getting to know the family - tomorrow. I'm off to take a long (hot) shower for now!
I have a lot to catch you up on from the past few days. On Friday, in Vientiane, I finally met up with Vikham's sister-in-law who turned out to be the cutest 83 year old ever! She's right up there with Grammie in terms of cuteness. :) She came to the U.S. as a refugee back in the 70's, lived outside of DC for about 10 years, and then decided to move back to Laos once things calmed down. So she speaks pretty good English, though we had a bit of miscommunication on the phone. I think that may have been her hearing more than anything. (Again, like Grammie!) So it took a couple of attempts before we successfully met up, but once we did, we had a great time together. She took me out for both lunch and dinner and wouldn't let me pay for a thing. Lunch was at a casual place, but dinner was at a very fancy place that had great Lao food and traditional music/dancers, but mostly catered to the tourist crowd. We chatted about her life in the U.S. and in Laos, both before leaving and after returning. She's very independent - on the day I left Vientiane, she did too - for Thailand, and all by herself! Maybe I'll still be traveling alone when I'm 83...
On Saturday I took a very long bus ride to Luang Prabang - about 10 hours up a mountain and around all sorts of curves. I did well for most of it but by the end (despite stopping for food and potty breaks) I was kind of car sick and just blah! The "rest stops" were just open fields - Laos' bathroom options for tourists are the same as for locals, unlike Vietnam. It's fine though, I mastered that skill in Ghana. At least the bus was roomy - unlike Ghana. Unfortunately I have to do the same bus ride tomorrow, in reverse. I was going to buy a plane ticket - in fact, I started to, but Lao Airlines doesn't accept credit cards online and you have to send a fax and I was like screw it. Now I wish I would've searched for a fax machine!
Once in Luang Prabang, I *finally* met up with Amy (former co-worker) and her new husband Omar! We've been in the same city on more than one occasion, but never seemed to be able to make it work - mostly because she doesn't have a phone and I had no way to get a hold of her. But the three of us had a lovely dinner swapping travel stories and reminiscing about USCCB (ha). She's on her 3rd month of travel and has a few more weeks until she heads back to DC. Again, it was wonderful to see a familiar face.
Yesterday and today I was on a trek to a local waterfall and to a (white) Hmong village, which was *excellent* - probably the highlight of my trip. It was finally a very authentic experience, particularly the homestay. I sucked it up and paid a guide to take me on my own for the trip - $140, which is like millions of kip here. Before continuing, I should explain that there are 3 main ethnic groups in Laos - the Lao, Hmong, and Khmu. Each has their own language, though most of the Hmong and Khmu also speak Lao because that's the language used in school. But they each have their own culture, including the types of houses they live in, foods they eat, etc.
So my guide was half Hmong, half Khmu and was raised in a Lao village, so he's trilingual and tricultural - perfect for this sort of thing! I got to ask any and all questions and I specifically requested to stay with a Hmong family as opposed to a Khmu family, which is who people on this trek usually stay with. So I'm pretty sure the family I stayed with had never hosted a foreigner before.
Yesterday we started hiking around 10 am and hiked for a few hours. Most of it was going up and I was feeling kind of beat. After only an hour or two, we stopped in a village that was half Khmu and half Lao. Right away the lessons began because you have to greet each group differently ("Smile-ut" versus "Sabadee") yet I couldn't really figure out who's who. The Khmu's skin is a little bit darker and their houses are different...so I had to keep pausing and thinking hard before I'd spit out the right greeting. :) We had lunch in this village and I knew that they hadn't seen too many foreigners ("Falang") because the kids were staring at us eating through the holes in the walls. I have this hilarious picture of the kids' eyes through the holes.
Then we continued our hike for a few more hours until we arrived at the Hmong village (Ban Long Lao II, about 16 km outside Luang Prabang) where we'd sleep that night. When we arrived, I immediately began practicing the Hmong that Lee, my guide, taught me earlier - mainly "Na Jong" for hello and "Aw chow" for thanks. Sounds easy enough, but after learning the basics in Khmer, Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmu, my brain was fried! Lee made sure to do all the appropriate communicating, like greetings and so on because he had never been to this village before and we needed to sleep there. Within 15 minutes or so, it was decided where I would sleep - at the home of Noy, Paw-Chaw, and their 3 kids (this is my English spelling for how to pronounce their names). We went to their house and he explained to me that if there were leaves hanging on the door we couldn't enter because of something about bad spirits. He also had to ask permission to enter, which also had something to do with spirits. (The Hmong believe in spirits, which heavily influence a lot of what they do and believe.)
Lee began figuring out what we'd cook for dinner. Can you imagine some stranger coming into your home and taking over your kitchen?? Lee was very good at "translating" cultural experiences, so I asked him more than once if it was okay/weird that we just showed up and were now cooking in this woman's kitchen and he assured me it was totally fine. They decided that they'd kill a chicken for me and so some of them went to figure out which chicken they'd kill (there were dozens roaming around). Meanwhile I went outside and observed the kids. The Hmong children in this village (about 50 families and some had 10 kids) seemed so happy. They were the happiest children I've seen on this trip and perhaps in any developing country I've been to. Or at least they outwardly expressed their happiness much like children from the U.S. do - lots of smiling, giggling, and tons of playing games. The girls in all the villages I've seen play this game with a rope. Sometimes it reminds me of Chinese jump rope but other times they jump over the rope and it reminds me of the high jump or hurdles. The boys in this village were busy spinning tops - like the kind you wrap with a rope and then whip it so the top spins. Later on the kids found some inedible berries that they ran around and smeared on each other. Some of the older girls were sewing - the Hmong do a type of cross stitch which is beautiful. I just bought some at the market tonight.
This is getting long so I'll fill you in on the rest - the killing of the chicken and getting to know the family - tomorrow. I'm off to take a long (hot) shower for now!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving take 2
I got me some turkey and mashed potatoes!! So I was walking down the street this evening when I stopped to observe a woman working on a loom in front of her store. I walked into the store to look around and she started talking to me in good English. She explained that she worked at 10,000 villages in Pennsylvania for a year and then she introduced me to some of her other family members - a couple. The guy's from TN and the woman is Laotian - they met here in Laos and they spend part of their time in Laos and part in the states. And they have 4 cute kiddos. So we talked for like 5 minutes and then suddenly they brought me a plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, and salad - yum! So I guess I got a traditional thanksgiving dinner afterall. :) They've got a great store too - they employ Hmong women and sell everything fair trade, etc. They also gave me some advice on where to go around town, etc.
I also had a lovely exchange earlier with the women at a massage place - after I got the BEST massage I think I've ever had. The women there helped me call Vikham's sister-in-law to make sure I'm clear on where we're meeting up tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet her at 8:30 am at a hotel near her house. It's only 9 pm here but I'm pretty tired since I've been up since 5:30 am. I'm going to walk around a little bit more and then hit the hay. Thinking of you all as you're probably popping your turkeys in the oven.
I also had a lovely exchange earlier with the women at a massage place - after I got the BEST massage I think I've ever had. The women there helped me call Vikham's sister-in-law to make sure I'm clear on where we're meeting up tomorrow. I'm supposed to meet her at 8:30 am at a hotel near her house. It's only 9 pm here but I'm pretty tired since I've been up since 5:30 am. I'm going to walk around a little bit more and then hit the hay. Thinking of you all as you're probably popping your turkeys in the oven.
Thanksgiving dinner - Laotian style
Happy Thanksgiving from Laos! So I arrived in Vientiane this morning and I already love it way more than Vietnam. It's SO much more chill and it makes me happy that you can still hear a rooster crow in their capital city. There is also little to no chance of being run over by a motorbike here.
As soon as I arrived I knew I needed to eat something asap b/c I was starving. (I ran out of Vietnamese money last night and decided to just suck it up til I got to Laos so I didn't have to pay more ATM fees!) So I went to this lovely restaurant where I ordered a feast - my own little thanksgiving feast, Laotian style. I made the mistake of telling the woman I was very hungry and she seemed to think ordering 2 plates would be a good idea. So I ordered the sweet and sour tofu with rice AND the green papaya salad and ended up with a ton of food that was DE-LIC-IOUS. The papaya salad was supposedly only "medium" spicy but my nose was running (Vikham, you know how it is for me!). I should've taken a picture of it like I often do with my plate of turkey.
I spent a couple hours today trying to get organized for my week in Laos. I can't believe I only have a week left of my trip! I will be in Vientiane for 2 days - tomorrow night I'm eating dinner with Vikham's family (co-worker) and then taking the night bus to Luang Prabang (8-10 hours). I'll have a day to chill in LP and then Sunday/Monday I do a 2 day trip of trekking and visiting Hmong villages and it might just be me and the guide. YES! It'll be cheaper if I can find one other person to go with me and I'd be up for that, but hopefully it won't include more people than that. Then one more day to chill in LP and I'll take a bus (maybe at night, not sure yet) back to Vientiane and then that night (2nd, my bday!), I'll take the sleeper bus to Bangkok. I thought I'd be back in Bangkok by that point and could party for my bday, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe I can celebrate the night on Dec 1 in Luang Prabang. We'll see! I'm going to be so sick of planes, trains, and buses by the time I get back b/c this week is FULL of them.
I think I'm off to go swimming - there's actually a pool for laps here! Cheers and eat some turkey for me (even though I'm a "vegetarian"). Ha ha.
As soon as I arrived I knew I needed to eat something asap b/c I was starving. (I ran out of Vietnamese money last night and decided to just suck it up til I got to Laos so I didn't have to pay more ATM fees!) So I went to this lovely restaurant where I ordered a feast - my own little thanksgiving feast, Laotian style. I made the mistake of telling the woman I was very hungry and she seemed to think ordering 2 plates would be a good idea. So I ordered the sweet and sour tofu with rice AND the green papaya salad and ended up with a ton of food that was DE-LIC-IOUS. The papaya salad was supposedly only "medium" spicy but my nose was running (Vikham, you know how it is for me!). I should've taken a picture of it like I often do with my plate of turkey.
I spent a couple hours today trying to get organized for my week in Laos. I can't believe I only have a week left of my trip! I will be in Vientiane for 2 days - tomorrow night I'm eating dinner with Vikham's family (co-worker) and then taking the night bus to Luang Prabang (8-10 hours). I'll have a day to chill in LP and then Sunday/Monday I do a 2 day trip of trekking and visiting Hmong villages and it might just be me and the guide. YES! It'll be cheaper if I can find one other person to go with me and I'd be up for that, but hopefully it won't include more people than that. Then one more day to chill in LP and I'll take a bus (maybe at night, not sure yet) back to Vientiane and then that night (2nd, my bday!), I'll take the sleeper bus to Bangkok. I thought I'd be back in Bangkok by that point and could party for my bday, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe I can celebrate the night on Dec 1 in Luang Prabang. We'll see! I'm going to be so sick of planes, trains, and buses by the time I get back b/c this week is FULL of them.
I think I'm off to go swimming - there's actually a pool for laps here! Cheers and eat some turkey for me (even though I'm a "vegetarian"). Ha ha.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sapa trip
Wed, 11/25, 6 am
Hi all,
Well I just got off the night train and am back in Hanoi after a good trip to Sapa (booked with Hanoi backpackers hostel and done through Sapa Pathfinders), though I have a number of caveats...
I took the night train on Saturday night and slept beautifully. Sunday morning we headed to a town called Bac Ha to go to their local market. The town primarily has 2 types of Hmong: Flower and Red. (In the US, our Hmong refugees are mostly White and Green Hmong, who are mostly from Laos.) The Flower Hmong, in particular, have beautiful clothing and the market was a lot of fun. It kind of reminded me of the Mayan markets in and around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala since we were in the highlands visiting an indigenous group of people who share (on the surface) similar practices, such as carrying their babies on their backs, etc.
It was immediately obvious, however, how many tourists had passed through this market over the last decade or so. No one even blinked at me or the other tourists and there was little hope of having any kind of genuine interaction with the locals. I chose to walk around by myself to try to be a bit more conspicuous and not so invasive. I plopped down in a couple locations to just observe and see if anyone would attempt to talk to me. I did talk with a couple of women and held one's baby though it wasn't for long. Unfortunately, mostly the relationship between tourists and the Hmong is commercial. There was a lot of "pestering" to buy things with the most common question being "Hello, you buy something from me?" Occasionally a woman would even grab you by the arm and basically drag you into her store/stand. I did buy quite a few souvenirs/gifts though because their textiles (wall hangings, scarves, etc) were so beautiful.
Afterwards they took us on the most ridiculous "tour" of a local village. I was absolutely *horrified* at how many tourists were tromping through this local village like it was a f***ing circus. You also have to keep in mind that many of the tourists here are not just backpackers - they're like middle age/retired, pretty nicely dressed French and British couples with ginormous cameras and seemingly no regard for how invasive they're being. There was also this American girl traveling with our group that was having this ridiculous existential crisis b/c it was her first time in a developing country and seeing "poverty" (this village wasn't that poor) and people that live in houses with dirt floors, etc. She kept saying that she was changed forever and how could she ever go back to her life in the U.S. now, etc. Okay, fine, I can understand - and am glad - that visiting a developing country would change one's outlook on life. BUT it was the ridiculousness of the situation that was making her comments annoying as hell. The whole couple hours in the village were contrived and a circus as I said - not a genuine, meaningful situation and every comment she made was very cliche. I felt sick to my stomach and very disgusted that I was supporting this activity. There are ways to learn about people's cultures and traditions that are much more socially and environmentally conscious - and it's my understanding that many such opportunities are in Laos which I'm looking forward to.
The next day was much better, which was mostly about trekking. There were 5 of us in our group - the American girl mentioned above, another cool Indian American guy who's originally from Ohio and now lives in DC (!), and a Swiss couple who were really sweet. I don't remember how to spell our guide's name, but it was said something like "zoom" and he's Hmong. The mountains around Sapa are GORGEOUS. They're hard to describe and it's no wonder the area has become a tour mecca. I got a ton of great photos, but no photo can do the area justice. The area gets pretty cold at night (maybe 40's? I bought a hat, gloves, and scarf) but warms up a lot during the day (probably hit 70 at points?).
We hiked around the area with our packs for the night for our homestay. I left a lot of my stuff in Hanoi in storage, but I don't have a daypack so still had to carry my big backpack, though it wasn't too bad. In the late afternoon we arrived at our "homestay" which was an "empty nester" couple who has a loft which can accommodate 15 tourists. The reason why I put "homestay" in quotes is because it's basically no different than a guest house with an attempt to not make it "too western" so the tourists could at least get a taste of how the locals live. But seriously, do any other homes in the area have indoor plumbing with hot water? Come on. Though it wasn't as weird as the day before because it was one of those situations where it "is what it is." While my group and the other group of 10 that joined us sat around and drank and smoked (Europeans smoke SOOOO much!!!) I decided to help the host cook. I mean I paid $22 in Hoi An for a cooking class and here was an opportunity for a free one. So I helped her peel and chop all the veggies, rolled the spring rolls, and cook everything in the wok. During and after dinner, we also got to drink a lot of rice wine - they're traditional drink - which was fun.
The next morning I wandered around the town alone and again, realized how many ga-gillions of tourists must have tromped through their town since none of the kids even blinked at my presence. On the one hand it's sad of course, but on the other hand it's kind of nice to be able to sit back and observe their daily life without being "attacked" like I always was in Ghana. I mean in Ghana, kids used to literally chase me and this was definitely not the case in the small town we were in. There wasn't anything too exciting going on except for this big debate how to best carry a squealing pig on the back of a motorbike.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was the best day because the annoying American girl was hungover and not well enough to trek so she took a motorbike back. The 4 of us and our guide were able to do a bit more difficult hike and he also took us on a route he'd never done before, which included a nice spot in the river where we could wade. It was still a little too cold to fully jump in, but we waded, climbed around on the rocks, and I actually washed my hair (which was beyond dirty!). There were way fewer tourists around overall, a much more pleasant day. During our stop for lunch, I blew some bubbles for the kids and was able to have a few more genuine interactions with the woman. One of them let me hold her baby ("Fa") and then she put him on my back. So I got my now-semi-stereotypical picture of me with a baby on my back...I think I have one from each place I visited now.
So I'm back in Hanoi now, just for the day. I didn't sleep well on the train so I'm pretty tired and not sure what I'm going to do today. I think I'll visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and maybe a museum. Tomorrow morning I fly to Laos which I'm really excited about. Something tells me I'm going to wish that I would've spent most of my time there...it's supposed to be way less touristy and as I said, the cultural experiences one can arrange are supposed to be arranged by companies that are much more socially and environmentally conscious.
That's it for now! Such a long post...
Hi all,
Well I just got off the night train and am back in Hanoi after a good trip to Sapa (booked with Hanoi backpackers hostel and done through Sapa Pathfinders), though I have a number of caveats...
I took the night train on Saturday night and slept beautifully. Sunday morning we headed to a town called Bac Ha to go to their local market. The town primarily has 2 types of Hmong: Flower and Red. (In the US, our Hmong refugees are mostly White and Green Hmong, who are mostly from Laos.) The Flower Hmong, in particular, have beautiful clothing and the market was a lot of fun. It kind of reminded me of the Mayan markets in and around Quetzaltenango, Guatemala since we were in the highlands visiting an indigenous group of people who share (on the surface) similar practices, such as carrying their babies on their backs, etc.
It was immediately obvious, however, how many tourists had passed through this market over the last decade or so. No one even blinked at me or the other tourists and there was little hope of having any kind of genuine interaction with the locals. I chose to walk around by myself to try to be a bit more conspicuous and not so invasive. I plopped down in a couple locations to just observe and see if anyone would attempt to talk to me. I did talk with a couple of women and held one's baby though it wasn't for long. Unfortunately, mostly the relationship between tourists and the Hmong is commercial. There was a lot of "pestering" to buy things with the most common question being "Hello, you buy something from me?" Occasionally a woman would even grab you by the arm and basically drag you into her store/stand. I did buy quite a few souvenirs/gifts though because their textiles (wall hangings, scarves, etc) were so beautiful.
Afterwards they took us on the most ridiculous "tour" of a local village. I was absolutely *horrified* at how many tourists were tromping through this local village like it was a f***ing circus. You also have to keep in mind that many of the tourists here are not just backpackers - they're like middle age/retired, pretty nicely dressed French and British couples with ginormous cameras and seemingly no regard for how invasive they're being. There was also this American girl traveling with our group that was having this ridiculous existential crisis b/c it was her first time in a developing country and seeing "poverty" (this village wasn't that poor) and people that live in houses with dirt floors, etc. She kept saying that she was changed forever and how could she ever go back to her life in the U.S. now, etc. Okay, fine, I can understand - and am glad - that visiting a developing country would change one's outlook on life. BUT it was the ridiculousness of the situation that was making her comments annoying as hell. The whole couple hours in the village were contrived and a circus as I said - not a genuine, meaningful situation and every comment she made was very cliche. I felt sick to my stomach and very disgusted that I was supporting this activity. There are ways to learn about people's cultures and traditions that are much more socially and environmentally conscious - and it's my understanding that many such opportunities are in Laos which I'm looking forward to.
The next day was much better, which was mostly about trekking. There were 5 of us in our group - the American girl mentioned above, another cool Indian American guy who's originally from Ohio and now lives in DC (!), and a Swiss couple who were really sweet. I don't remember how to spell our guide's name, but it was said something like "zoom" and he's Hmong. The mountains around Sapa are GORGEOUS. They're hard to describe and it's no wonder the area has become a tour mecca. I got a ton of great photos, but no photo can do the area justice. The area gets pretty cold at night (maybe 40's? I bought a hat, gloves, and scarf) but warms up a lot during the day (probably hit 70 at points?).
We hiked around the area with our packs for the night for our homestay. I left a lot of my stuff in Hanoi in storage, but I don't have a daypack so still had to carry my big backpack, though it wasn't too bad. In the late afternoon we arrived at our "homestay" which was an "empty nester" couple who has a loft which can accommodate 15 tourists. The reason why I put "homestay" in quotes is because it's basically no different than a guest house with an attempt to not make it "too western" so the tourists could at least get a taste of how the locals live. But seriously, do any other homes in the area have indoor plumbing with hot water? Come on. Though it wasn't as weird as the day before because it was one of those situations where it "is what it is." While my group and the other group of 10 that joined us sat around and drank and smoked (Europeans smoke SOOOO much!!!) I decided to help the host cook. I mean I paid $22 in Hoi An for a cooking class and here was an opportunity for a free one. So I helped her peel and chop all the veggies, rolled the spring rolls, and cook everything in the wok. During and after dinner, we also got to drink a lot of rice wine - they're traditional drink - which was fun.
The next morning I wandered around the town alone and again, realized how many ga-gillions of tourists must have tromped through their town since none of the kids even blinked at my presence. On the one hand it's sad of course, but on the other hand it's kind of nice to be able to sit back and observe their daily life without being "attacked" like I always was in Ghana. I mean in Ghana, kids used to literally chase me and this was definitely not the case in the small town we were in. There wasn't anything too exciting going on except for this big debate how to best carry a squealing pig on the back of a motorbike.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was the best day because the annoying American girl was hungover and not well enough to trek so she took a motorbike back. The 4 of us and our guide were able to do a bit more difficult hike and he also took us on a route he'd never done before, which included a nice spot in the river where we could wade. It was still a little too cold to fully jump in, but we waded, climbed around on the rocks, and I actually washed my hair (which was beyond dirty!). There were way fewer tourists around overall, a much more pleasant day. During our stop for lunch, I blew some bubbles for the kids and was able to have a few more genuine interactions with the woman. One of them let me hold her baby ("Fa") and then she put him on my back. So I got my now-semi-stereotypical picture of me with a baby on my back...I think I have one from each place I visited now.
So I'm back in Hanoi now, just for the day. I didn't sleep well on the train so I'm pretty tired and not sure what I'm going to do today. I think I'll visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and maybe a museum. Tomorrow morning I fly to Laos which I'm really excited about. Something tells me I'm going to wish that I would've spent most of my time there...it's supposed to be way less touristy and as I said, the cultural experiences one can arrange are supposed to be arranged by companies that are much more socially and environmentally conscious.
That's it for now! Such a long post...
Friday, November 20, 2009
In Hanoi (briefly)
11:30 Saturday morning (11/21)
Hi all,
Well I flew to Hanoi this morning and got a cab with 3 other girls to the Hanoi backpackers hostel - 2 British and an American. The American girl is only one I've met so far and she's also traveling "alone" though she's now been traveling with the 2 British girls for a month. She lost her job and decided to use the opportunity to travel. Very cool.
I just booked a 4 night/3 day trip to Sapa, which is a town pretty far north from here - about a 10-12 hour train ride. I think there's about 8 people going tonight and so we'll take the night train together. The trip is going to be awesome - I've heard such good things about it from other travelers. It will be a combination of trekking and visiting with the local people - mostly Hmong I think. My timing is good b/c this version of the trip includes going to the Sunday market and only leaves on Saturdays. I decided to do this version of the trip and will skip Halong Bay, which is also highly recommended by other travelers...but I just don't have time and the weather is not that great here now. Pretty chilly (I'm wearing my fleece) and it's been raining a lot. Very different than Cambodia and southern Vietnam when I was sweating so much!
Yesterday (last day in Hoi An) I took a cooking class which was awesome. So much fun! The class was about 15-20 of us and we learned to make the specialities of Hoi An and I'm bringing all the recipes home where you all can be guinea pigs. Ha ha.
Okay, I've got the day to kill here in Hanoi (my train leaves tonight at 8 pm and has a bed). I'm going to try calling Nicole's old roommate here and see if she wants to get some lunch. Cheers!
Hi all,
Well I flew to Hanoi this morning and got a cab with 3 other girls to the Hanoi backpackers hostel - 2 British and an American. The American girl is only one I've met so far and she's also traveling "alone" though she's now been traveling with the 2 British girls for a month. She lost her job and decided to use the opportunity to travel. Very cool.
I just booked a 4 night/3 day trip to Sapa, which is a town pretty far north from here - about a 10-12 hour train ride. I think there's about 8 people going tonight and so we'll take the night train together. The trip is going to be awesome - I've heard such good things about it from other travelers. It will be a combination of trekking and visiting with the local people - mostly Hmong I think. My timing is good b/c this version of the trip includes going to the Sunday market and only leaves on Saturdays. I decided to do this version of the trip and will skip Halong Bay, which is also highly recommended by other travelers...but I just don't have time and the weather is not that great here now. Pretty chilly (I'm wearing my fleece) and it's been raining a lot. Very different than Cambodia and southern Vietnam when I was sweating so much!
Yesterday (last day in Hoi An) I took a cooking class which was awesome. So much fun! The class was about 15-20 of us and we learned to make the specialities of Hoi An and I'm bringing all the recipes home where you all can be guinea pigs. Ha ha.
Okay, I've got the day to kill here in Hanoi (my train leaves tonight at 8 pm and has a bed). I'm going to try calling Nicole's old roommate here and see if she wants to get some lunch. Cheers!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Confirmed itineray for rest of trip!
Hi all (especially mom!),
I just spent the past 2 hours or so booking flights, talking to fellow travelers sitting next to me, and finalizing the last 2 weeks of my trip. Flights within SE Asia are more expensive than everyone told me they were going to be - urgh - so I'm glad I'm booking them "ahead" of time! Oh well, I need to make the most of my time here, or else my main flight purchase wouldn't be worth it.
So here's what I'm up to:
- Sat morn (11/21) - flying to Hanoi. I don't really care too much about seeing Hanoi, as I anticipate it will be a lot like Saigon with plenty of motorbikes to run me over. So, I will likely take the night train the same day to Sapa, so that I arrive in Sapa early morning 11/22.
- 11/22 to 11/24 in Sapa - I will most likely do one of the semi long treks which include a homestay with a family. Most of the villages up in this area are Hmong.
- 11/25 - sleep/recover in Hanoi, maybe visit with Nicole's former roommate
- 11/26 (thanksgiving!) - fly to Vientiane, Laos
- 11/26-11/27 - hang out in Vientiane, hopefully meet Vikham's family :)
- 11/28 - 11/29 - Bus to Luang Prabang and hang out
- 11/30 - 12/1 - Hopefully a home stay with one of the indiginous families outside Luang Prabang
- 12/2 (I turn 30!) - Fly from LP to Bangkok, buy lots of souvenirs, and party like a rock star
- 12/3 - Meet with OPE staff and pack
-12/4 - fly out at 6:35 am
Yay! My poor credit card...I just booked 3 flights!
So today was nice...after a tour of My Son (ruins) I literally ate my way through Hoi An. Yum! Besides Vietnamese food, there's the French influence so I had a yummy banana pancake and some other fried goodies. Then I picked up my 2 skirts and bought 2 more dresses - I couldn't resist! So cheap! Then I got a pedicure and a massage and now I'm off to the local drinking hole. Life's pretty tough, eh? Peace!
I just spent the past 2 hours or so booking flights, talking to fellow travelers sitting next to me, and finalizing the last 2 weeks of my trip. Flights within SE Asia are more expensive than everyone told me they were going to be - urgh - so I'm glad I'm booking them "ahead" of time! Oh well, I need to make the most of my time here, or else my main flight purchase wouldn't be worth it.
So here's what I'm up to:
- Sat morn (11/21) - flying to Hanoi. I don't really care too much about seeing Hanoi, as I anticipate it will be a lot like Saigon with plenty of motorbikes to run me over. So, I will likely take the night train the same day to Sapa, so that I arrive in Sapa early morning 11/22.
- 11/22 to 11/24 in Sapa - I will most likely do one of the semi long treks which include a homestay with a family. Most of the villages up in this area are Hmong.
- 11/25 - sleep/recover in Hanoi, maybe visit with Nicole's former roommate
- 11/26 (thanksgiving!) - fly to Vientiane, Laos
- 11/26-11/27 - hang out in Vientiane, hopefully meet Vikham's family :)
- 11/28 - 11/29 - Bus to Luang Prabang and hang out
- 11/30 - 12/1 - Hopefully a home stay with one of the indiginous families outside Luang Prabang
- 12/2 (I turn 30!) - Fly from LP to Bangkok, buy lots of souvenirs, and party like a rock star
- 12/3 - Meet with OPE staff and pack
-12/4 - fly out at 6:35 am
Yay! My poor credit card...I just booked 3 flights!
So today was nice...after a tour of My Son (ruins) I literally ate my way through Hoi An. Yum! Besides Vietnamese food, there's the French influence so I had a yummy banana pancake and some other fried goodies. Then I picked up my 2 skirts and bought 2 more dresses - I couldn't resist! So cheap! Then I got a pedicure and a massage and now I'm off to the local drinking hole. Life's pretty tough, eh? Peace!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Hello from Hoi An!
Hi all,
For those who are familiar with Vietnam, yes, I decided to skip Na Trang. It just sounded too touristy and in a negative "how much can we drink and party" kind of way. I've met too many British and other European folks who are primarily here to drink and be obnoxious, so I decided to avoid the area (or else I might kill one of them).
So today I flew from Saigon to Da Nang where I was greeted by Harmony's lovely friend "Jimmy" - thanks Harmony!! He took me to the post office so I could mail H'Thuyen the toys and then we had lunch together. His English was great and we had good conversation about life in Vietnam.
Then I took a bus (minivan type of thing) to Hoi An, where I'm at now. It's about 45 minutes from Da Nang. It was a great ride - finally got to experience how the locals travel and had a fun experience. I was told the cost was 20,000 dong (a little over $1) but I was sure it was only supposed to be 10,000. After a week in Vietnam, I was feeling more confident about sticking up for myself when being taken advantage of. So I successfully asked some locals on the bus - in Vietnamese - how much it was supposed to cost and they said 10,000. So every time the driver's helper (who collects the money) hounded me for 20,000, I kept saying no, 10,000 and that's all I would give him. Eventually he gave up. :) It sounds silly to argue over less than a dollar, but the amount isn't the point. It's the fact that westerners are always told a different price. So I was packed like a sardine on the bus and had a grand time. When I got off, I rode on the back of a motorbike (with a helmet) to my hotel - I'm no longer scared of them, which is good since it's usually my only option for transportation!
Within 10 minutes of arriving at the hotel, I met this wonderful New Yorker, Sean. He's seriously only like the 2nd American I've met in 2 weeks and it was very refreshing to be able to jabber away in my normal English. The thing is, even for other travelers (minus Canadians) I have to speak slowly and clearly b/c we're either dealing with different accents or for the Germans, etc English as a second language. So what a relief! We chatted for a while and then went to one of the clothing shops, which Hoi An is known for, and had our measurements taken for clothes. He ordered a bunch of nice suits and I ordered two skirts. Then we had a lovely dinner together. Too bad he's leaving tomorrow - he would make a great traveling companion.
Tomorrow I'm going to some ruins at My Son and then will wander around some old French buildings that make up a world heritage site. Then on Friday I signed up to take a cooking class! That's it for now. :)
For those who are familiar with Vietnam, yes, I decided to skip Na Trang. It just sounded too touristy and in a negative "how much can we drink and party" kind of way. I've met too many British and other European folks who are primarily here to drink and be obnoxious, so I decided to avoid the area (or else I might kill one of them).
So today I flew from Saigon to Da Nang where I was greeted by Harmony's lovely friend "Jimmy" - thanks Harmony!! He took me to the post office so I could mail H'Thuyen the toys and then we had lunch together. His English was great and we had good conversation about life in Vietnam.
Then I took a bus (minivan type of thing) to Hoi An, where I'm at now. It's about 45 minutes from Da Nang. It was a great ride - finally got to experience how the locals travel and had a fun experience. I was told the cost was 20,000 dong (a little over $1) but I was sure it was only supposed to be 10,000. After a week in Vietnam, I was feeling more confident about sticking up for myself when being taken advantage of. So I successfully asked some locals on the bus - in Vietnamese - how much it was supposed to cost and they said 10,000. So every time the driver's helper (who collects the money) hounded me for 20,000, I kept saying no, 10,000 and that's all I would give him. Eventually he gave up. :) It sounds silly to argue over less than a dollar, but the amount isn't the point. It's the fact that westerners are always told a different price. So I was packed like a sardine on the bus and had a grand time. When I got off, I rode on the back of a motorbike (with a helmet) to my hotel - I'm no longer scared of them, which is good since it's usually my only option for transportation!
Within 10 minutes of arriving at the hotel, I met this wonderful New Yorker, Sean. He's seriously only like the 2nd American I've met in 2 weeks and it was very refreshing to be able to jabber away in my normal English. The thing is, even for other travelers (minus Canadians) I have to speak slowly and clearly b/c we're either dealing with different accents or for the Germans, etc English as a second language. So what a relief! We chatted for a while and then went to one of the clothing shops, which Hoi An is known for, and had our measurements taken for clothes. He ordered a bunch of nice suits and I ordered two skirts. Then we had a lovely dinner together. Too bad he's leaving tomorrow - he would make a great traveling companion.
Tomorrow I'm going to some ruins at My Son and then will wander around some old French buildings that make up a world heritage site. Then on Friday I signed up to take a cooking class! That's it for now. :)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
First round of photos!
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=44171258457450204/l=5956761009/g=51030638/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
I'm not going to put these up on the blog - I think I'll just do snapfish and maybe some on facebook. Enjoy!
I'm not going to put these up on the blog - I think I'll just do snapfish and maybe some on facebook. Enjoy!
Back in Saigon
Hi all,
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to visit H'Thuyen - according to authorities, because it's on the border with Cambodia. More info on that when I return. For now, I'm back in Saigon and tomorrow will fly to Hoi An. I have a cold so am just taking it easy today.
Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to visit H'Thuyen - according to authorities, because it's on the border with Cambodia. More info on that when I return. For now, I'm back in Saigon and tomorrow will fly to Hoi An. I have a cold so am just taking it easy today.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Mekong delta
Hi all!
I'm actually still in Saigon - my plans to visit Thuyen got pushed back a day so I leave tomorrow at 6:30 am. For anyone I haven't told about this - Thuyen is a former client's (from NC) oldest daughter who lives in a small village in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I decided to not rent a car and driver (with Kyle's help) but instead am taking the bus with Kyle's consultant who will act as my interpreter/helper for any difficult situations. His English is so-so but I feel very safe/relaxed knowing that he's coming. The car/driver was going to be $250 whereas the bus will probably be like $10 at the most. It'll take more time of course (8-10 hours?), but I don't think a ton more. Either way, it's basically a day's travel. Thuyen has 3 children and so besides children's vitamins, I'm taking a bunch of toys: a soccer ball, this play fishing pole set, a bunch of play cars, a stuffed animal, and a wooden car that's also a shape sorter. I'm also going to leave the family some cash - Kyle told me how to do it so it's not insulting to the family. I'm so excited! I can't imagine I'll have access to the internet (though you never know!) so you probably won't hear from me again until Thursday.
Now to catch you up on the past two days. Yesterday was *awesome*! I did a tour of the Mekong delta region. It took about 3 hours to get there, but it was about 5 times better than the tour of the tunnels the day before. After we got off the bus, we got on a boat and visited a floating market. Basically, it's a bunch of boats that line up to sell products (mostly produce) whole sale. The people are middle men and they live on their boats. They display which product they're selling by hanging one (pineapple, potato, etc) on a stick at the front of their boat. Then buyers drive up in their boats and purchase large quantities of products from them.
Next we visited a place where they make coconut candy and other kinds of candy too - yum! We got to try all kinds and I bought (and already ate) some banana and peanut candy. We also got to see how they make puffed rice - I never quite knew how they made rice krispies or rice cakes, etc but now I do. They made it in a big pot - J and K it was just like the large pot they used to make kettle corn at that farm we went to. I asked to try stirring it and the guy let me and he laughed when my whole body moved instead of just my arms. :) I had a flashback of trying to making fufu in Ghana. After that we went to a village for lunch and then got to ride bikes around the village to check it out. Finally we got to ride in a smaller canoe-like boat down the river which was cool. My pictures from yesterday are awesome...
On this trip there was a guy from Spain so I practiced my Spanish a bit and we hung out and talked on the bus to and from the Mekong delta. On the way home we got in a very lively debate about affirmative action, which apparently they call "positive discrimination" in Spain - basically he doesn't agree with it and I do.
Today I went to the Vietnamese traditional medicine museum. Dr. O or Bretta if you're reading this, you would've loved it. There was lots of info on the history of traditional medicine in Vietnam and what the different herbs are used for etc. It was too far of a walk from my hotel so I had to give in and ride on the back of a motorbike. Here they have helmets for the passengers though and I didn't feel too scared - I ended up taking 3 rides today and I'm used to it now. Jacqui - I had pho for lunch at that place in your book and it was yummy! It was also fun because a 13 year old girl and her dad sat down next to me and we had a lovely conversation b/c they wanted to practice their English. They were so sweet - the dad insisted on buying my lunch! Afterwards I briefly stopped by reunification/independence palace which is the former president of South Vietnam's palace. The North Vietnamese army tanks crashed through the gates here in 1975. At this point my throat started hurting and I was feeling really tired so I hopped on a motorbike and came back to my hotel to take a nap. Hopefully I'm not getting too sick since I'm leaving tomorrow! I'll write again when I can - likely on Thursday.
I'm actually still in Saigon - my plans to visit Thuyen got pushed back a day so I leave tomorrow at 6:30 am. For anyone I haven't told about this - Thuyen is a former client's (from NC) oldest daughter who lives in a small village in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I decided to not rent a car and driver (with Kyle's help) but instead am taking the bus with Kyle's consultant who will act as my interpreter/helper for any difficult situations. His English is so-so but I feel very safe/relaxed knowing that he's coming. The car/driver was going to be $250 whereas the bus will probably be like $10 at the most. It'll take more time of course (8-10 hours?), but I don't think a ton more. Either way, it's basically a day's travel. Thuyen has 3 children and so besides children's vitamins, I'm taking a bunch of toys: a soccer ball, this play fishing pole set, a bunch of play cars, a stuffed animal, and a wooden car that's also a shape sorter. I'm also going to leave the family some cash - Kyle told me how to do it so it's not insulting to the family. I'm so excited! I can't imagine I'll have access to the internet (though you never know!) so you probably won't hear from me again until Thursday.
Now to catch you up on the past two days. Yesterday was *awesome*! I did a tour of the Mekong delta region. It took about 3 hours to get there, but it was about 5 times better than the tour of the tunnels the day before. After we got off the bus, we got on a boat and visited a floating market. Basically, it's a bunch of boats that line up to sell products (mostly produce) whole sale. The people are middle men and they live on their boats. They display which product they're selling by hanging one (pineapple, potato, etc) on a stick at the front of their boat. Then buyers drive up in their boats and purchase large quantities of products from them.
Next we visited a place where they make coconut candy and other kinds of candy too - yum! We got to try all kinds and I bought (and already ate) some banana and peanut candy. We also got to see how they make puffed rice - I never quite knew how they made rice krispies or rice cakes, etc but now I do. They made it in a big pot - J and K it was just like the large pot they used to make kettle corn at that farm we went to. I asked to try stirring it and the guy let me and he laughed when my whole body moved instead of just my arms. :) I had a flashback of trying to making fufu in Ghana. After that we went to a village for lunch and then got to ride bikes around the village to check it out. Finally we got to ride in a smaller canoe-like boat down the river which was cool. My pictures from yesterday are awesome...
On this trip there was a guy from Spain so I practiced my Spanish a bit and we hung out and talked on the bus to and from the Mekong delta. On the way home we got in a very lively debate about affirmative action, which apparently they call "positive discrimination" in Spain - basically he doesn't agree with it and I do.
Today I went to the Vietnamese traditional medicine museum. Dr. O or Bretta if you're reading this, you would've loved it. There was lots of info on the history of traditional medicine in Vietnam and what the different herbs are used for etc. It was too far of a walk from my hotel so I had to give in and ride on the back of a motorbike. Here they have helmets for the passengers though and I didn't feel too scared - I ended up taking 3 rides today and I'm used to it now. Jacqui - I had pho for lunch at that place in your book and it was yummy! It was also fun because a 13 year old girl and her dad sat down next to me and we had a lovely conversation b/c they wanted to practice their English. They were so sweet - the dad insisted on buying my lunch! Afterwards I briefly stopped by reunification/independence palace which is the former president of South Vietnam's palace. The North Vietnamese army tanks crashed through the gates here in 1975. At this point my throat started hurting and I was feeling really tired so I hopped on a motorbike and came back to my hotel to take a nap. Hopefully I'm not getting too sick since I'm leaving tomorrow! I'll write again when I can - likely on Thursday.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Agent orange
So I'll write another post - I'm trying to download my pics and it's taking a while. (I have free internet at this hotel!)
Today was another "war day" where my day revolved around the Vietnam/American war. I took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, which are the tunnels that the Viet Cong dug and used during the war. They're only 70 km away but it took 2 hours to get there b/c of the traffic. Ugh. Plus, when we got there, there was some issue with the tickets and our group got separated and our guide was spazzing, so there was a bit of an annoyance factor. It was interesting to learn that there was something like 200 km (?) of these tunnels and 16,000 people lived in them. We looked at some of the entry ways from above ground as well as all the different kinds of booby traps used on the American troops. Then there's one tunnel they let us climb through. I'm pretty sure they enlarged it for the tourists (and added lights), but even still, it kind of freaked me out and I got out early. I think I only made it through 80 meters. They also talked about the "American war" from their perspectve of course. We watched a "documentary" at one point that was basically propaganda - at one point it talked about "American killer" heros. Oh and I can't forget this part - they had a shooting range there where tourists could shoot machine guns and so on. Really? Seriously? Throughout the whole tour you could hear the guns being shot in the background and I kept thinking, is this supposed to create a more authentic environment?? I found it disturbing.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped at a workshop where people with disabilities were making crafts - mostly beautiful items from eggshells and seashells. These people had all been affected by agent orange - the chemical we sprayed all over Vietnam during the war. Thousands of people have been negatively affected by this chemical, such as adults with cancer and children born without body parts. I bought a platter, which is lovely and I was happy to support them, though of course it'll need to find a home in my backpack. This part of the day's trip made the numerous hours on the bus worth it. Yesterday I mentioend comfortable bus trips - today's wasn't as comfortable. But mostly b/c I was sitting next to a very large Polish man who could've used a shower!
Then I went to the war museum which had some excellent photos, though sad of course. I really knew very little about the affects of agent orange until today - but I'm super clear now after viewing dozens of horrific photos of children born without body parts, or with Downs or cerebral palsy, etc. There were also exhibits on the history leading up to the war as well as examples of weapons, which I wasn't too into.
I'm not going to lie, I had pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. After a week straight of Asian food, I needed a little break. Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of the Mekong delta and the next day it's to the central highlands to visit H'Lem's daughter!
Today was another "war day" where my day revolved around the Vietnam/American war. I took a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, which are the tunnels that the Viet Cong dug and used during the war. They're only 70 km away but it took 2 hours to get there b/c of the traffic. Ugh. Plus, when we got there, there was some issue with the tickets and our group got separated and our guide was spazzing, so there was a bit of an annoyance factor. It was interesting to learn that there was something like 200 km (?) of these tunnels and 16,000 people lived in them. We looked at some of the entry ways from above ground as well as all the different kinds of booby traps used on the American troops. Then there's one tunnel they let us climb through. I'm pretty sure they enlarged it for the tourists (and added lights), but even still, it kind of freaked me out and I got out early. I think I only made it through 80 meters. They also talked about the "American war" from their perspectve of course. We watched a "documentary" at one point that was basically propaganda - at one point it talked about "American killer" heros. Oh and I can't forget this part - they had a shooting range there where tourists could shoot machine guns and so on. Really? Seriously? Throughout the whole tour you could hear the guns being shot in the background and I kept thinking, is this supposed to create a more authentic environment?? I found it disturbing.
On the way back to Saigon we stopped at a workshop where people with disabilities were making crafts - mostly beautiful items from eggshells and seashells. These people had all been affected by agent orange - the chemical we sprayed all over Vietnam during the war. Thousands of people have been negatively affected by this chemical, such as adults with cancer and children born without body parts. I bought a platter, which is lovely and I was happy to support them, though of course it'll need to find a home in my backpack. This part of the day's trip made the numerous hours on the bus worth it. Yesterday I mentioend comfortable bus trips - today's wasn't as comfortable. But mostly b/c I was sitting next to a very large Polish man who could've used a shower!
Then I went to the war museum which had some excellent photos, though sad of course. I really knew very little about the affects of agent orange until today - but I'm super clear now after viewing dozens of horrific photos of children born without body parts, or with Downs or cerebral palsy, etc. There were also exhibits on the history leading up to the war as well as examples of weapons, which I wasn't too into.
I'm not going to lie, I had pizza and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. After a week straight of Asian food, I needed a little break. Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of the Mekong delta and the next day it's to the central highlands to visit H'Lem's daughter!
Spar Spangled Banner
Occasionally I've questioned my decision to travel alone. Not for safety reasons, but b/c it seems as if everyone in this part of the world is traveling as a couple or in a group. There are TONS of tourists everywhere I've been, but as you can tell from my postings so far, I haven't found one particular person to travel with. I like to call this the "New York factor" - the same reason why it took me a year to make friends in NYC. It's like when there are a bizillion people around, it's actually harder to meet people.
But any lonliness I was feeling was put to an end tonight - thanks to a hilarious elderly Vietnamese man who sang the Spar Spangled Banner for me. No joke - I have it on video. I decided to go across the street to the park to chat with some of the Vietnamese people hanging out. It's very common here for people to hang out in the evening for many hours - either lounging on their parked motorbike or playing sports. In this case, a group of guys were playing what looked like hackeysack, but with a shuttlecock, and lots of people were sitting around watching and talking. So I popped a squat and soon enough someone started talking to me - in fairly decent English. (I've only got 2 Vietnamese words down so far!) So we talked for a while and then when I started to go, this elderly Vietnamese guy and a group of girls in their late teens and twenties stopped me. Suddenly, this guy - who had a guitar - started belting out the Spar Spangled Banner. Then he asked me to sing with him, so what the hell? Why not? I let it rip. Then another elderly man came up to me and started talking in near perfect English - turns out he was an interpreter during the war. They were all very kind and I said I'd try to meet them there again tomorrow. As I crossed the street, I peered into the main tourist bar on the corner and saw loads of foreigners drinking and not a Vietnamese person in sight. Blah! If I were traveling with others, I'd probably be in that bar with the bunch of them, but instead, I got to hear an elderly Vietnamese man sing and made some new Vietnamese friends. Afterall, I did pay a shitload of money to travel to Vietnam and that could've been any bar around the world.
But any lonliness I was feeling was put to an end tonight - thanks to a hilarious elderly Vietnamese man who sang the Spar Spangled Banner for me. No joke - I have it on video. I decided to go across the street to the park to chat with some of the Vietnamese people hanging out. It's very common here for people to hang out in the evening for many hours - either lounging on their parked motorbike or playing sports. In this case, a group of guys were playing what looked like hackeysack, but with a shuttlecock, and lots of people were sitting around watching and talking. So I popped a squat and soon enough someone started talking to me - in fairly decent English. (I've only got 2 Vietnamese words down so far!) So we talked for a while and then when I started to go, this elderly Vietnamese guy and a group of girls in their late teens and twenties stopped me. Suddenly, this guy - who had a guitar - started belting out the Spar Spangled Banner. Then he asked me to sing with him, so what the hell? Why not? I let it rip. Then another elderly man came up to me and started talking in near perfect English - turns out he was an interpreter during the war. They were all very kind and I said I'd try to meet them there again tomorrow. As I crossed the street, I peered into the main tourist bar on the corner and saw loads of foreigners drinking and not a Vietnamese person in sight. Blah! If I were traveling with others, I'd probably be in that bar with the bunch of them, but instead, I got to hear an elderly Vietnamese man sing and made some new Vietnamese friends. Afterall, I did pay a shitload of money to travel to Vietnam and that could've been any bar around the world.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Vietnamese Rumba
Yes, Vietnamese rumba. But before I get to that, let me finish telling you about Phnom Penh. Yesterday (Wed, 11/11) I wandered around the city, first by the river where there's a lot of action. Then I went to "Wat Phnom" which is a pagoda/respite on the highest point in PP. It was kind of interesting to see people praying and there were monkeys climbing around. Plus it's in this park/plaza type area which was good for people watching and stopping to gulp water every few minutes b/c it's so frickin hot. Then I made my way over to the main city market, which was similar to the others I've seen in Cambodia and other developing countries. I bought a traditional Cambodian silk scarf and some silk pillow cases. I couldn't resist - and they're not heavy to carry.
Next it was on to the National Museum (pottery and bronze artifacts) which was semi interesting, though I don't get too excited about that type of thing. Probably would've been better if I had hired a guide, but I'm always reluctant to do that b/c it costs money and half the time you can't understand their English. (I always overhear the guides talking to others.) Later on in the day I was planning on going to the president's royal palace, but they closed it early because his motorcade was coming into town. So I didn't see the palace, but I did end up seeing the president - twice. Millions of Cambodian school children - and a few tourists like me - lined the streets waving flags to welcome him. :) I then wandered around all the nearby plazas, checking out monuments and people watching. It was quite lively. During dinner I met this German woman who's also traveling alone and we went to see this film she had heard about, which was about the Khmer Rouge. It was interesting b/c the filmmaker had footage from when the KR evacuated PP and interviews with people soon after. So it was a busy day, but no crazy stories to report.
Today I took a bus to Vietnam. I woke up kind of late b/c my alarm didn't go off and was slightly panicked b/c I needed to locate an ATM to be able to pay my hotel bill. I was told that I would be picked up at 6:45 and I got back around 6:35. Well the owner was slightly panicked b/c the minivan (which would take me to the bus) was already there and he was waiting for me. It seems as though everything in Cambodia is either on time or early! Definitely opposite of my experiences in Latin America and West Africa! So I got the bus - a nice air conditioned "better than grayhound" kind of bus - and made it to Saigon in 6 hours. I have to say that I'm shocked that I haven't ended up on anything resembling a chicken bus, tro-tro, or any other type of transportation where I'm packed like a sardine in with 50 others. I'm kind of sad b/c those experiences are always so fun! There were lots of Cambodians on the bus too, but surely there must be a not first class option. Every day I think about how much more developed this part of the world is than I expected. I think I can safely say it's more developed than Guatemala or Ghana. At least their tourist industry is for SURE. They really get it and have a knack for catering to western tourists.
Tonight I had my first real Pho (noodle soup)! What I've had in the U.S. is good, but I feel like now I can say I've had the real thing. I took a picture of it. :) Afterwards, I headed over to see this "water puppet show" which is a traditional art form in Vietnam. I read about it on the back of a map that I picked up at a travel agency. It was really good and I got a lot of pictures/videos. Then I wandered. Saigon is much more developed than Phnom Penh and it's such a happening place - it's honestly a lot like NYC! The motorbikes are even more insane than Cambodia. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't gotten hit by one yet. It's so crazy I can't even explain it. At most intersections there aren't lights or walk signs for pedestrians, but you need to cross with *hundreds* of motorbikes speeding around you every which way. You just move forward slowly, one "lane" at a time and everyone (hopefully) moves around you. Occasionally I piggyback off the boldness of a Vietnamese person and just scoot across right along with them. I tried to get some video of it b/c it's truly insane. At least more people wear helmets here than in Cambodia. While I was wandering, I stumbled upon this large group of youth - maybe 200 kids or so - who were doing some sort of team building activities I think. They were in circles, with a leader inside each, who was yelling funny commands for the kids to do. It looked like summer camp in the U.S. and all the kids were giggling. There was also an outdoor aerobics class going on nearby. I think I'm going to try to join it tomorrow! Later on in my wandering, I came across this outside "gym" of sorts where people were playing tennis, badminton, various martial arts, basketball, lifting weights, running, and various dance classes! So this is where I saw the rumba class. It was pretty entertaining to watch! The Vietnamese seem to be seriously into exercising. Also, it's obviously a very metropolitan area - lots of cultural activities and action in just my short walk.
That's it for now - it's only 9 pm and I'm exhausted. I cannot wait to sleep in AC! BTW, I got a SIM card for my phone. If anyone needs to get a hold of me, my digits in Vietnam are 01265066280. Peace!
Next it was on to the National Museum (pottery and bronze artifacts) which was semi interesting, though I don't get too excited about that type of thing. Probably would've been better if I had hired a guide, but I'm always reluctant to do that b/c it costs money and half the time you can't understand their English. (I always overhear the guides talking to others.) Later on in the day I was planning on going to the president's royal palace, but they closed it early because his motorcade was coming into town. So I didn't see the palace, but I did end up seeing the president - twice. Millions of Cambodian school children - and a few tourists like me - lined the streets waving flags to welcome him. :) I then wandered around all the nearby plazas, checking out monuments and people watching. It was quite lively. During dinner I met this German woman who's also traveling alone and we went to see this film she had heard about, which was about the Khmer Rouge. It was interesting b/c the filmmaker had footage from when the KR evacuated PP and interviews with people soon after. So it was a busy day, but no crazy stories to report.
Today I took a bus to Vietnam. I woke up kind of late b/c my alarm didn't go off and was slightly panicked b/c I needed to locate an ATM to be able to pay my hotel bill. I was told that I would be picked up at 6:45 and I got back around 6:35. Well the owner was slightly panicked b/c the minivan (which would take me to the bus) was already there and he was waiting for me. It seems as though everything in Cambodia is either on time or early! Definitely opposite of my experiences in Latin America and West Africa! So I got the bus - a nice air conditioned "better than grayhound" kind of bus - and made it to Saigon in 6 hours. I have to say that I'm shocked that I haven't ended up on anything resembling a chicken bus, tro-tro, or any other type of transportation where I'm packed like a sardine in with 50 others. I'm kind of sad b/c those experiences are always so fun! There were lots of Cambodians on the bus too, but surely there must be a not first class option. Every day I think about how much more developed this part of the world is than I expected. I think I can safely say it's more developed than Guatemala or Ghana. At least their tourist industry is for SURE. They really get it and have a knack for catering to western tourists.
Tonight I had my first real Pho (noodle soup)! What I've had in the U.S. is good, but I feel like now I can say I've had the real thing. I took a picture of it. :) Afterwards, I headed over to see this "water puppet show" which is a traditional art form in Vietnam. I read about it on the back of a map that I picked up at a travel agency. It was really good and I got a lot of pictures/videos. Then I wandered. Saigon is much more developed than Phnom Penh and it's such a happening place - it's honestly a lot like NYC! The motorbikes are even more insane than Cambodia. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't gotten hit by one yet. It's so crazy I can't even explain it. At most intersections there aren't lights or walk signs for pedestrians, but you need to cross with *hundreds* of motorbikes speeding around you every which way. You just move forward slowly, one "lane" at a time and everyone (hopefully) moves around you. Occasionally I piggyback off the boldness of a Vietnamese person and just scoot across right along with them. I tried to get some video of it b/c it's truly insane. At least more people wear helmets here than in Cambodia. While I was wandering, I stumbled upon this large group of youth - maybe 200 kids or so - who were doing some sort of team building activities I think. They were in circles, with a leader inside each, who was yelling funny commands for the kids to do. It looked like summer camp in the U.S. and all the kids were giggling. There was also an outdoor aerobics class going on nearby. I think I'm going to try to join it tomorrow! Later on in my wandering, I came across this outside "gym" of sorts where people were playing tennis, badminton, various martial arts, basketball, lifting weights, running, and various dance classes! So this is where I saw the rumba class. It was pretty entertaining to watch! The Vietnamese seem to be seriously into exercising. Also, it's obviously a very metropolitan area - lots of cultural activities and action in just my short walk.
That's it for now - it's only 9 pm and I'm exhausted. I cannot wait to sleep in AC! BTW, I got a SIM card for my phone. If anyone needs to get a hold of me, my digits in Vietnam are 01265066280. Peace!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
In Saigon, Vietnam
Hi all,
I traveled to Saigon this morning. I came on a nice bus and the border crossing was easy. I'm feeling pretty tired but am going to explore the city a bit anyway. But my room has AC so I'm looking forward to a luxurious sleep tonight! The internet is free in my hotel so I'll probably write more later.
I traveled to Saigon this morning. I came on a nice bus and the border crossing was easy. I'm feeling pretty tired but am going to explore the city a bit anyway. But my room has AC so I'm looking forward to a luxurious sleep tonight! The internet is free in my hotel so I'll probably write more later.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A short one...
Just really quick - I'm in an internet cafe with a printer so I can print my co-worker's updated directions for how to get to my friend's daughter''s village in Vietnam.
Last night Trudi's Cambodian friends picked me up around 8:30 pm - past my bedtime. :) We drove down to the riverfront and walked around and they had me try some new kinds of fruit. Then they drove me around town a bit pointing out this and that. They were extremely nice and it was interesting conversation as expected. We didn't get too much into his work except that it's really exhausting and he told me a little bit about what they're trying to get done by December. I also talked to the daughter who did K-4 or 5 in Chicago and is now in the American school here and in 7th grade. And Trudi, if you're reading this, Ka's English was better than you prepared me for. She was laughing when I was talking and so on and understood much of what I was saying. She was really sweet.
And one other thing to throw out there that's quite a contradiction to yesterday. Cambodia has come a long way since the killing fields - my hostel has wi-fi, cable tv in each room with CNN (trying to keep up with the health care debate!), and the owner has an iphone. All for $7 a night and I had to get a double b/c no singles were left - singles are probably $4-5/night.
Okay, that's it for now. I'm off to explore Phnom Penh on foot! Museum, the king's palace, etc.
Last night Trudi's Cambodian friends picked me up around 8:30 pm - past my bedtime. :) We drove down to the riverfront and walked around and they had me try some new kinds of fruit. Then they drove me around town a bit pointing out this and that. They were extremely nice and it was interesting conversation as expected. We didn't get too much into his work except that it's really exhausting and he told me a little bit about what they're trying to get done by December. I also talked to the daughter who did K-4 or 5 in Chicago and is now in the American school here and in 7th grade. And Trudi, if you're reading this, Ka's English was better than you prepared me for. She was laughing when I was talking and so on and understood much of what I was saying. She was really sweet.
And one other thing to throw out there that's quite a contradiction to yesterday. Cambodia has come a long way since the killing fields - my hostel has wi-fi, cable tv in each room with CNN (trying to keep up with the health care debate!), and the owner has an iphone. All for $7 a night and I had to get a double b/c no singles were left - singles are probably $4-5/night.
Okay, that's it for now. I'm off to explore Phnom Penh on foot! Museum, the king's palace, etc.
killing fields
So last night I had dinner with the Austrian. I can't remember his name - it's kind of like undergrad where for a long time you get to know people really well but often don't even know or remember their names. That's how it is with backpackers. I spent 5 hours today with 2 Swedes and a Belgian guy and I don't remember their names either!
But I was talking about dinner. The Austrian and I stopped at a little roadside stand and decided to try their soup - actually that seemed to be the only English word they knew so soup it was! It kind of reminded me of the soup in Ghana - filled with big chunks of meat, but it's more like fat and gristle. Both of us just pretty much ate the broth and rice and then sadly, right after we left, two women beggars came and had a feast with our leftover meat. There's quite a bit of begging here. Luckily the Lonely Planet guide gives suggestions for restaurants one can patronize that benefit street children, victims of landmines, etc.
This morning I woke up at 5 am - again. I seriously cannot get off this 8 pm- 5 am sleep schedule. But in some ways it works well b/c the Cambodians get up pretty early and there's lots to see and explore at this hour. And it's not so hot yet! So this morning I wandered around Phnom Penh for a couple of hours, which was fun. I found somewhere to eat breakfast, though it was more of a western place. I'm all about Cambodian food for lunch and dinner but I just can't eat rice, etc for breakfast. I need me some eggs!
Then I spent all morning with the Swedes and Belgian guy from my hostel visiting the killing fields and Tuol Sleng. For any of you who don't know about the Khmer Rouge and the 2 million Cambodians slaughtered from 1975-1979, I would suggest watching the film "the killing fields"or reading the book "First they killed my father." It's absolutely unthinkable what occurred and today we saw where some of it happened. Basically, Tuol Sleng is a former high school that the Khmer Rouge used as a jail before transporting the Cambodians to "the killing fields"about 14 km away. It's hard to even write what we say today - some 20,000 people were slaughtered at this location and then thrown into mass graves, most of which have been excavated at this point. They've put together a museum and you can see hundreds of the skulls of the people who died. And there's literally people's bones and teeth still lying about. All that combined with hundreds of chilling photos and the heat made me quite nauseous.
Tonight I'm meeting up with my first refugee supervisor's Cambodian friend and his family. He and his family fled the Khmer Rouge and came to Chicago as refugees in the early 80's. Recently he and his family moved back to Cambodia so he could work for the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Should be interesting conversation!
Lastly, mom I accidentally gave you the wrong name for my hostel. It's called the "Sunday Guesthouse." Talk to you all again soon.
But I was talking about dinner. The Austrian and I stopped at a little roadside stand and decided to try their soup - actually that seemed to be the only English word they knew so soup it was! It kind of reminded me of the soup in Ghana - filled with big chunks of meat, but it's more like fat and gristle. Both of us just pretty much ate the broth and rice and then sadly, right after we left, two women beggars came and had a feast with our leftover meat. There's quite a bit of begging here. Luckily the Lonely Planet guide gives suggestions for restaurants one can patronize that benefit street children, victims of landmines, etc.
This morning I woke up at 5 am - again. I seriously cannot get off this 8 pm- 5 am sleep schedule. But in some ways it works well b/c the Cambodians get up pretty early and there's lots to see and explore at this hour. And it's not so hot yet! So this morning I wandered around Phnom Penh for a couple of hours, which was fun. I found somewhere to eat breakfast, though it was more of a western place. I'm all about Cambodian food for lunch and dinner but I just can't eat rice, etc for breakfast. I need me some eggs!
Then I spent all morning with the Swedes and Belgian guy from my hostel visiting the killing fields and Tuol Sleng. For any of you who don't know about the Khmer Rouge and the 2 million Cambodians slaughtered from 1975-1979, I would suggest watching the film "the killing fields"or reading the book "First they killed my father." It's absolutely unthinkable what occurred and today we saw where some of it happened. Basically, Tuol Sleng is a former high school that the Khmer Rouge used as a jail before transporting the Cambodians to "the killing fields"about 14 km away. It's hard to even write what we say today - some 20,000 people were slaughtered at this location and then thrown into mass graves, most of which have been excavated at this point. They've put together a museum and you can see hundreds of the skulls of the people who died. And there's literally people's bones and teeth still lying about. All that combined with hundreds of chilling photos and the heat made me quite nauseous.
Tonight I'm meeting up with my first refugee supervisor's Cambodian friend and his family. He and his family fled the Khmer Rouge and came to Chicago as refugees in the early 80's. Recently he and his family moved back to Cambodia so he could work for the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Should be interesting conversation!
Lastly, mom I accidentally gave you the wrong name for my hostel. It's called the "Sunday Guesthouse." Talk to you all again soon.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hello lady...
Hello lady...you want water, lady?
You buy 10 postcards one dollar lady?
You buy bracelets?
Cold drink?
Agh! So Angkor Wat was awesome, despite all the women and children hawking various things and pretty much attacking the tourists at every chance they got. As I may have mentioned, Angkor Wat is a series of ancient (1100 ish) temples that are a major tourist destination in this part of the world. Yesterday I visited Bayon, Baphuon, and some of the other large ones and they were breathtaking as expected. I hired a tuk tuk driver ("S'na") who took me around to them from about 9-3. I learned that the ancient Khmer empire, which was when these temples were built, was actually Hindu, not Buddhist.
Later on in the day I wandered around the market and ate at one of the little stands - yum. Some kind of noodles, veggies, and an egg on top. I don't think they were rice noodles though. Soon after I met an American guy who's backpacking solo and we almost coordinated our plans for today but then it didn't work out. He lost his job and so decided to backpack for a while. He's in his 3rd month and plans on doing this for up to 2 years. I'm slightly jealous.
Then last night, I got my first (there will definitely be more!) massage. A full hour - in air cond - for $7 and it's only going to get cheaper. It was wonderful! Afterwards I had a headache from being in the sun all day and I'm still jet lagged, so I went to bed at 8. The heat is pretty intense actually - much hotter than I expected. It must've been 90 something trekking around those ruins yesterday. It's so hot even I don't mind a cold shower and that's rare.
This morning I had S'na come and pick me up at 5 am and we headed to Angkor Wat - the largest ruins - for sunrise. Me and seriously at least 500 other tourists. There are a lot of Germans here for some reason. There's all these Cambodian tour guides who speak German. I've also heard Spanish, French (of course, it used to be a French colony), and Korean. There are lots of Asian tourists but I'm not totally sure if they're mostly Korean or Japanese. So anyway, the sunrise was awesome and I got some great photos. I don't think I'll post them now b/c this internet connection is sucky. Afterwards, I asked S'na if I could meet his wife and son, so he took me to his house. I think I enjoyed that just as much as seeing the temples. He rents a small room for his family of 3 for $30/month. I didn't stay for too long because I had to catch my bus to Phnom Penh.
I got the 9:30 bus and just arrived at Phnom Penh around 3:30 (Monday). It was really nice to sit in air cond and see the villages along the way. At one point a Cambodian woman and her baby sat next to me and we tried talking to each other a little bit, but it was difficult. The Lonely Planet guide only gives like 30 or so words in each language. The only Khmer words I've got down are for hello (Suas dei) and thank you (ah kohn). So that was a little bit frustrating b/c those are the moments I like the best. For Vietnam I'm definitely buying a dictionary - especially for visiting H'Lem's daughter. There were also some interesting travelers on the bus. First, a family of 4 (with two kids 8 and 12) from Denmark who are traveling for 11 weeks and a couple from Sweden who are traveling for 4 months. I had a few "Oh you poor Americans" conversations today. "Only 4 weeks! How can that be?"
I've got a couple other interesting things for now. First, it seems as though some healthcare agency heavily distributed face masks to combat H1N1 and the Cambodians have discovered they work well for when they're riding their motorcycles so they don't breathe in the dust. So it's hilarious - everywhere you go, people are wearing those masks! Another thought - like some of the other countries I've been to, the disparity between the rich and poor never ceases to amaze me. I know it's really bad in the U.S., but it's really bad in other places too, such as here. There are frequently "shacks"next to luxary hotels...though of course, they're creating those luxary shacks to try to cater to western tourists. Sigh. The whole thing makes me really uncomfortable. Even though the temples were cool, I really felt awkward the whole time in Siem Reap b/c the locals keep treating all the foreigners like royalty. I'd much prefer to get a feel for how the real people live.
Well, I just checked into my hotel in Phnom Penh (mom, it's Royal Guesthouse, 218026, speaking of feeling like "royalty"!). I met an Austrian backpacker who's also traveling solo, so maybe I'll see if he wants to get dinner. I'm going to hang out here for 2 days and then take the bus to Saigon. I was thinking of flying but it's $170 and the bus is only $10 and a 6 hour ride. Not bad at all!
Lastly, mom, I decided NOT to get a SIM card for Cambodia. The minimum they sell is $5 and the guy told me that would last me a whole month in Cambodia. So I'm going to wait until I get to Vietnam since I'm planning on being there much longer.
That's it for now. Keep those comments coming!
You buy 10 postcards one dollar lady?
You buy bracelets?
Cold drink?
Agh! So Angkor Wat was awesome, despite all the women and children hawking various things and pretty much attacking the tourists at every chance they got. As I may have mentioned, Angkor Wat is a series of ancient (1100 ish) temples that are a major tourist destination in this part of the world. Yesterday I visited Bayon, Baphuon, and some of the other large ones and they were breathtaking as expected. I hired a tuk tuk driver ("S'na") who took me around to them from about 9-3. I learned that the ancient Khmer empire, which was when these temples were built, was actually Hindu, not Buddhist.
Later on in the day I wandered around the market and ate at one of the little stands - yum. Some kind of noodles, veggies, and an egg on top. I don't think they were rice noodles though. Soon after I met an American guy who's backpacking solo and we almost coordinated our plans for today but then it didn't work out. He lost his job and so decided to backpack for a while. He's in his 3rd month and plans on doing this for up to 2 years. I'm slightly jealous.
Then last night, I got my first (there will definitely be more!) massage. A full hour - in air cond - for $7 and it's only going to get cheaper. It was wonderful! Afterwards I had a headache from being in the sun all day and I'm still jet lagged, so I went to bed at 8. The heat is pretty intense actually - much hotter than I expected. It must've been 90 something trekking around those ruins yesterday. It's so hot even I don't mind a cold shower and that's rare.
This morning I had S'na come and pick me up at 5 am and we headed to Angkor Wat - the largest ruins - for sunrise. Me and seriously at least 500 other tourists. There are a lot of Germans here for some reason. There's all these Cambodian tour guides who speak German. I've also heard Spanish, French (of course, it used to be a French colony), and Korean. There are lots of Asian tourists but I'm not totally sure if they're mostly Korean or Japanese. So anyway, the sunrise was awesome and I got some great photos. I don't think I'll post them now b/c this internet connection is sucky. Afterwards, I asked S'na if I could meet his wife and son, so he took me to his house. I think I enjoyed that just as much as seeing the temples. He rents a small room for his family of 3 for $30/month. I didn't stay for too long because I had to catch my bus to Phnom Penh.
I got the 9:30 bus and just arrived at Phnom Penh around 3:30 (Monday). It was really nice to sit in air cond and see the villages along the way. At one point a Cambodian woman and her baby sat next to me and we tried talking to each other a little bit, but it was difficult. The Lonely Planet guide only gives like 30 or so words in each language. The only Khmer words I've got down are for hello (Suas dei) and thank you (ah kohn). So that was a little bit frustrating b/c those are the moments I like the best. For Vietnam I'm definitely buying a dictionary - especially for visiting H'Lem's daughter. There were also some interesting travelers on the bus. First, a family of 4 (with two kids 8 and 12) from Denmark who are traveling for 11 weeks and a couple from Sweden who are traveling for 4 months. I had a few "Oh you poor Americans" conversations today. "Only 4 weeks! How can that be?"
I've got a couple other interesting things for now. First, it seems as though some healthcare agency heavily distributed face masks to combat H1N1 and the Cambodians have discovered they work well for when they're riding their motorcycles so they don't breathe in the dust. So it's hilarious - everywhere you go, people are wearing those masks! Another thought - like some of the other countries I've been to, the disparity between the rich and poor never ceases to amaze me. I know it's really bad in the U.S., but it's really bad in other places too, such as here. There are frequently "shacks"next to luxary hotels...though of course, they're creating those luxary shacks to try to cater to western tourists. Sigh. The whole thing makes me really uncomfortable. Even though the temples were cool, I really felt awkward the whole time in Siem Reap b/c the locals keep treating all the foreigners like royalty. I'd much prefer to get a feel for how the real people live.
Well, I just checked into my hotel in Phnom Penh (mom, it's Royal Guesthouse, 218026, speaking of feeling like "royalty"!). I met an Austrian backpacker who's also traveling solo, so maybe I'll see if he wants to get dinner. I'm going to hang out here for 2 days and then take the bus to Saigon. I was thinking of flying but it's $170 and the bus is only $10 and a 6 hour ride. Not bad at all!
Lastly, mom, I decided NOT to get a SIM card for Cambodia. The minimum they sell is $5 and the guy told me that would last me a whole month in Cambodia. So I'm going to wait until I get to Vietnam since I'm planning on being there much longer.
That's it for now. Keep those comments coming!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
In Siem Reap, Cambodia
So I hung out in Bangkok this morning and went to the main market. Bangkok reminds me a little bit of Accra, Ghana with the mix of tall buildings and poverty, the food stands on the side of the road, the way things are labeled, the traffic, etc. And boy is there a lot of traffic - Bangkok's traffic is like DC's! The market was pretty fun to wander around. I didn't buy anything though - except food - b/c I certainly don't want to carry it around for the next 4 weeks. I ate a LOT today starting with a big plate of pad thai at the market and a strawberry smoothie. I got to take my first "tuk tuk" which is like a taxi, but it's just a motorcycle with a little cab behind for 2-4 people. I took the tuk tuk to the Skytrain station, which I took to the market. So their Skytrain is way better than DC and NYC's metro/subway. It's cleaner, seems to be more efficient, all the train stop announcements are automatic so you can actually understand them, not to mention they're listed on TV screens inside each car.
After walking around the market, I made my way back to my hostel and checked out and headed back to the airport. The flight to Siem Reap is something I shóuld've booked in advance, but i didn't realize it. So unfortunately this leg of my trip was not so "shoe string" as my lonely planet guide says. I think the flight is normally about $85 when booked a week or so in advance, but it was $200 on the day of...oh well, it sucks, but what are you going to do? I booked my hostel in Bangkok ahead of time but wish I hadn't b/c i ended up paying for a private room when there was only one other girl in the whole dorm. So it's hard to say when to book ahead and when not to...
So Siem Reap. This is where Angkor Wat is...all the famous temples from the Khmer empire a thousand or so years ago. It's like the main attraction in all of SE Asia and OMG is it touristy. Kind of obnoxiously so, though I'm happy for the Cambodians if it's helping them continue to recover as a country. I took my first ride on the back of a motorcycle from the airport to town - kind of scary! I know that's how so many people get around in this part of the world, but still, motorcycles and motor bikes have always kind of scared me. I think I'll stick with the tuk tuks when they're available. Anyway, the Cambodian driver was talking to me the whole time in "English" but he was so hard to understand that I really didn't follow much. This proved to be a problem when he dropped me off at the hostel (which wasn't the one I picked - he of course is paid to steer people to particular ones and somehow i got convinced) and expected to be my tour guide for Angkor Wat tomorrow. He was very sure that I had agreed to this when we were on the bike and I had to tell him that I didn't understand his English. I took down his number and told him maybe I'd call him after the hotel manager attempted to clarify the situation. I think I pissed off both of them in the process...oops.
I went wandering around town, which is a lively place full of tourists, bars, restaurants serving pizza and Mexican food - I'm sure the rest of Cambodia is nothing like this place. Oddly enough, it's semi hard to meet people in really touristy places...this feels exactly like when I was in Ghana and chose to visit Cape Coast first. I talked to an American couple on the plane and an Australian couple for a while during dinner, but other than that, I haven't started traveling with anyone yet. It's also semi difficult to strike up a conversation with the Cambodians. They're so used to tourists that it's not that exciting.
I'm also now without a tour guide for the morning and need to figure that out. The Australian couple loved their guide and wanted to share his number with me, but they didn't have it on them. They said they found him on the street, so that's basically my plan for tomorrow.
As for right now, the jet lag is hitting me and I'm exhausted even though it's only 8:20. I'm headed to bed! At least I'll be up early and visiting the temples before it gets too hot. I've heard i will be walking quite a few miles. It''s pretty hot here - probably the 80's - and humid. Until the next posting...
After walking around the market, I made my way back to my hostel and checked out and headed back to the airport. The flight to Siem Reap is something I shóuld've booked in advance, but i didn't realize it. So unfortunately this leg of my trip was not so "shoe string" as my lonely planet guide says. I think the flight is normally about $85 when booked a week or so in advance, but it was $200 on the day of...oh well, it sucks, but what are you going to do? I booked my hostel in Bangkok ahead of time but wish I hadn't b/c i ended up paying for a private room when there was only one other girl in the whole dorm. So it's hard to say when to book ahead and when not to...
So Siem Reap. This is where Angkor Wat is...all the famous temples from the Khmer empire a thousand or so years ago. It's like the main attraction in all of SE Asia and OMG is it touristy. Kind of obnoxiously so, though I'm happy for the Cambodians if it's helping them continue to recover as a country. I took my first ride on the back of a motorcycle from the airport to town - kind of scary! I know that's how so many people get around in this part of the world, but still, motorcycles and motor bikes have always kind of scared me. I think I'll stick with the tuk tuks when they're available. Anyway, the Cambodian driver was talking to me the whole time in "English" but he was so hard to understand that I really didn't follow much. This proved to be a problem when he dropped me off at the hostel (which wasn't the one I picked - he of course is paid to steer people to particular ones and somehow i got convinced) and expected to be my tour guide for Angkor Wat tomorrow. He was very sure that I had agreed to this when we were on the bike and I had to tell him that I didn't understand his English. I took down his number and told him maybe I'd call him after the hotel manager attempted to clarify the situation. I think I pissed off both of them in the process...oops.
I went wandering around town, which is a lively place full of tourists, bars, restaurants serving pizza and Mexican food - I'm sure the rest of Cambodia is nothing like this place. Oddly enough, it's semi hard to meet people in really touristy places...this feels exactly like when I was in Ghana and chose to visit Cape Coast first. I talked to an American couple on the plane and an Australian couple for a while during dinner, but other than that, I haven't started traveling with anyone yet. It's also semi difficult to strike up a conversation with the Cambodians. They're so used to tourists that it's not that exciting.
I'm also now without a tour guide for the morning and need to figure that out. The Australian couple loved their guide and wanted to share his number with me, but they didn't have it on them. They said they found him on the street, so that's basically my plan for tomorrow.
As for right now, the jet lag is hitting me and I'm exhausted even though it's only 8:20. I'm headed to bed! At least I'll be up early and visiting the temples before it gets too hot. I've heard i will be walking quite a few miles. It''s pretty hot here - probably the 80's - and humid. Until the next posting...
Friday, November 6, 2009
Made it here!
Hi all!
I'm here! I got in to Bangkok last "night" (afternoon in EST) around midnight, arrived at my hostel around 1 am their time last night, and went to bed around 2 am. Wow, was it a long trip! We ended up having to stop in Chicago b/c one of our pilots got sick which added an hour or so to the trip so from the time I left my house until I got to the hostel was something like 28 hours. I didn't sleep much on the flights and they showed sucky movies. But I read, listened to my ipod, etc. It's 8 am here now. I'm surprised that I woke up, but my room's walls are floor to ceiling windows so I think the light woke me up. This hostel I picked is nice, but pretty deserted...at least it seems that way. Granted it was the middle of the night when I arrived. Only one other girl here that I've seen - she's from Seattle. My mission right now is to find food and to go to the main Bangkok market. Then I'll probably just fly to Siem Reap in Cambodia today. I'm not feeling the need to explore Bangkok, at least not now. More later when I've got something exciting to report!
I'm here! I got in to Bangkok last "night" (afternoon in EST) around midnight, arrived at my hostel around 1 am their time last night, and went to bed around 2 am. Wow, was it a long trip! We ended up having to stop in Chicago b/c one of our pilots got sick which added an hour or so to the trip so from the time I left my house until I got to the hostel was something like 28 hours. I didn't sleep much on the flights and they showed sucky movies. But I read, listened to my ipod, etc. It's 8 am here now. I'm surprised that I woke up, but my room's walls are floor to ceiling windows so I think the light woke me up. This hostel I picked is nice, but pretty deserted...at least it seems that way. Granted it was the middle of the night when I arrived. Only one other girl here that I've seen - she's from Seattle. My mission right now is to find food and to go to the main Bangkok market. Then I'll probably just fly to Siem Reap in Cambodia today. I'm not feeling the need to explore Bangkok, at least not now. More later when I've got something exciting to report!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Leaving on a jet plane!
I'm packed and ready to go! I'm very impressed with myself - my packing ability for these types of trips has improved greatly since I went to Central America 7 years ago. Besides my mini sleeping bag and mosquito net, everything I need is in 7 freezer size ziplock bags! And yes, I did pack deodorant. Hopefully that will make up for the very limited clothing. :)
Tonight's project was getting my music figured out. Stupid itunes makes it so that you can't use music you've downloaded there on any other MP3 player. Wish I would've know that before I bought the crappy one at target. So now I'm back to bringing my ipod. Here's hoping it doesn't get stolen...
I'm most excited about visiting my friend's daughter, Thuyen, in the highlands of Vietnam. Kyle helped me find appropriate maps and he wrote out the directions in English and Vietnamese. He's also going to have one of his consultants hire me a driver and one of them might even come with me. I chatted on facebook with some of the kids yesterday and tonight and they're all excited I'm going to see their sister. I have no idea what to expect and am prepared for quite an adventure!
I need to go print a few final things and then go to bed. I think I might actually swim tomorrow morning before going to the airport. Next time I post I'll be overseas. That is if I survive 21 hours of flying!
Tonight's project was getting my music figured out. Stupid itunes makes it so that you can't use music you've downloaded there on any other MP3 player. Wish I would've know that before I bought the crappy one at target. So now I'm back to bringing my ipod. Here's hoping it doesn't get stolen...
I'm most excited about visiting my friend's daughter, Thuyen, in the highlands of Vietnam. Kyle helped me find appropriate maps and he wrote out the directions in English and Vietnamese. He's also going to have one of his consultants hire me a driver and one of them might even come with me. I chatted on facebook with some of the kids yesterday and tonight and they're all excited I'm going to see their sister. I have no idea what to expect and am prepared for quite an adventure!
I need to go print a few final things and then go to bed. I think I might actually swim tomorrow morning before going to the airport. Next time I post I'll be overseas. That is if I survive 21 hours of flying!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
3 countries in 4 weeks?
Well, I'm almost ready to go. I'm basically all packed - everything's in ziplock bags that just need to be thrown into my backpack. The only debatable item at this point is the tiny sleeping bag/sack that I bought last week at REI.
The more difficult part is planning where I'm going to go...I wasn't really going to do that, but since 4 weeks is so short, I'm realizing that it's kind of necessary. There are certain boat trips I may want to do that only leave on particular days of the week and since I'm visiting people in a couple of locations, it helps to have dates to give them.
I think I need to change the name of my blog to 3 countries in 4 weeks because I've pretty much decided to cut out all of Thailand - even Bangkok and Chiang Mai. (Well, I'm flying in and out of Bangkok, but other than that.) I might change my mind, but I think I'd rather use that extra time for Laos and just save all of Thailand for a later trip. Otherwise, the only place I'd make it to in Laos is Luang Prabang. I still need to pick Kyle's brain some more, and Adzie's, and anyone else who's been the region...
That's really it for now! I may not write again until I'm there - we'll see.
The more difficult part is planning where I'm going to go...I wasn't really going to do that, but since 4 weeks is so short, I'm realizing that it's kind of necessary. There are certain boat trips I may want to do that only leave on particular days of the week and since I'm visiting people in a couple of locations, it helps to have dates to give them.
I think I need to change the name of my blog to 3 countries in 4 weeks because I've pretty much decided to cut out all of Thailand - even Bangkok and Chiang Mai. (Well, I'm flying in and out of Bangkok, but other than that.) I might change my mind, but I think I'd rather use that extra time for Laos and just save all of Thailand for a later trip. Otherwise, the only place I'd make it to in Laos is Luang Prabang. I still need to pick Kyle's brain some more, and Adzie's, and anyone else who's been the region...
That's really it for now! I may not write again until I'm there - we'll see.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Visas and photos...
I got my Cambodia visa this week! The embassy is close by and not in Dupont, which means I could easily find a parking space and it was easy. I'll submit my application for Laos tomorrow or early next week.
Tonight's task is to figure out if I should buy more memory cards and/or batteries for my camera. I have no idea how many pictures my memory card(s) hold...so I put a message out on facebook for advice. Hopefully my techie friends will advise.
I busted out my map of SE Asia at lunch the other day and VS and AN were showing me where their families are from and the routes they took when they fled. Of course, this was over 30 years and they were commenting how great it is that it's now safe for people like me to travel there as tourists. I'm meeting with KH tomorrow to chat about Vietnam. A day ago there was a pretty big typhoon that hit Danang, Hoi An, and Hue - 3 pretty big tourist places and ones that I was planning on going to. Don't know yet what that means for my trip.
Other details are starting to pop into my head on a daily basis now - like how to pay my bills while I'm gone and other things like that. That's it for now...
Tonight's task is to figure out if I should buy more memory cards and/or batteries for my camera. I have no idea how many pictures my memory card(s) hold...so I put a message out on facebook for advice. Hopefully my techie friends will advise.
I busted out my map of SE Asia at lunch the other day and VS and AN were showing me where their families are from and the routes they took when they fled. Of course, this was over 30 years and they were commenting how great it is that it's now safe for people like me to travel there as tourists. I'm meeting with KH tomorrow to chat about Vietnam. A day ago there was a pretty big typhoon that hit Danang, Hoi An, and Hue - 3 pretty big tourist places and ones that I was planning on going to. Don't know yet what that means for my trip.
Other details are starting to pop into my head on a daily basis now - like how to pay my bills while I'm gone and other things like that. That's it for now...
Friday, September 25, 2009
Preparing...
So I really can't dilly-dally much more. I've got to get a little more into this whole planning thing. I don't like to plan very much for back-packing trips and I've never liked packing for any trip, though luckily I'm not at that stage yet. :)
I've got my Vietnam visa, I turned in my application for Cambodia this week, and next week I'll do Laos. (I don't need one for Thailand.) Plane ticket - check. Good backpack - check. Vaccinations - in process. So the Japanese encephalitis one is costing me $600! Luckily, I already had most everything else from my other travels...
Right now what I'm mostly working on is making connections with necessary people before I go. A friend of a friend is going to be in Cambodia the same time I'm there...and another friend of a friend is Cambodian and lives there. I'm still working on my connections in the other 3 countries...I may be visiting two friends' families in Vietnam and Laos. And Thailand is like tourist central so I'm not worried about that. I'm also using work connections to see if I can get into the refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border.
That's not too bad for my trip still being a month away, huh?
I've got my Vietnam visa, I turned in my application for Cambodia this week, and next week I'll do Laos. (I don't need one for Thailand.) Plane ticket - check. Good backpack - check. Vaccinations - in process. So the Japanese encephalitis one is costing me $600! Luckily, I already had most everything else from my other travels...
Right now what I'm mostly working on is making connections with necessary people before I go. A friend of a friend is going to be in Cambodia the same time I'm there...and another friend of a friend is Cambodian and lives there. I'm still working on my connections in the other 3 countries...I may be visiting two friends' families in Vietnam and Laos. And Thailand is like tourist central so I'm not worried about that. I'm also using work connections to see if I can get into the refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border.
That's not too bad for my trip still being a month away, huh?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)