Today, Dad, Declan and I went zip lining. It was awesome. There were 15 tree top platforms, connected by 11 zip lines and 2 skybridges. (If you do the math, and this doesn't quite work out, it's because there was a trail between two of the platforms.) There were also 3 vertical descents, including 1 of about 60 feet. The whole adventure was called Flight of the Gibbons because you're supposed to be able to see and hear Gibbons (or, if you read their website, because you're supposed to be moving through the trees like a gibbon). We heard them but didn't see them.
The ziplines were set up by researchers originally, studying the forest canopy and the gibbons. Now, they are owned by a company which does tourist stuff.
Mom was, of course, terrified, since she's afraid of heights. And she managed to be terrified without even being there. We took some videos so she would know what she missed. We've tried to embed one here, but we can't get it to upload. We'll try again tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Massage at the Women's Prison
While Richard and the boys went off on the "Flight of the Gibbbons" adventure today, I spent a tough morning wandering the markets, and then wrapped up with a massage at the Chiang Mai women's prison. Yup. The prison. I couldn't resist.
The prison teaches inmates traditional Thai massage techniques as a way of giving them a job skill for when they are finally freed. They also get to keep some of the money they earn doing the massages, giving them a bit of a nest egg. They don't get to work in the shop until they are within 6 months of their release date.
The whole experience was pretty funny. It's rather weird to be greeted by a uniformed prison guard at the reception to a spa. Then you go into the massage room, where up to 8 people can get pummeled simultaneously. My masseuse plunked my feet into a basin of water and had a go at them with a scrub brush and soap: much needed after my day of wandering the streets. I then changed into the loose fitting top and pants (Thai massage is done clothed), and stretched out on the mat. I was given a cup of hot tea that tasted suspiciously of hay.
Meanwhile, three Australian guys were nearing the end of their massages. It was pretty clear that they had started the adventure full of fantasies about being the only men in the prison, and even more clear that the women understood this mentality, and were determined to give the guys the full Thai massage treatment. Which, as you know from Richard's post, is a lot like someone else doing vigorous yoga on your body. Their massages were punctuated by groans, exclamations and mutterings. "Oh Christ" "You hurt?" "No" gasp "it's ok, oh argh what's she doing now?" Great gales of laughter erupted from the women when one of the guys actually flipped himself off the mat trying to get away from one stretch.
In another slightly surreal moment, my masseuse must have been worried about her body odor (only fair, I was worried about mine!), because before she started my massage she took herself to the far end of the room and sprayed herself down with room freshener. Fortunately she spared me this treatment.
She wasn't the most skilled masseuse I've ever had, but she understood when I asked her for soft massage, and she left me feeling pleasantly invigorated, not abused.
She didn't tell me what her crime had been, but said she had been in for 2 years and 9 months, and was being released in April. The next masseuse over is being released in March, and had been inside for 11 years. Depressingly, neither one had a plan for a job when they were released. My masseuse said that if she got enough money, she could open a massage shop. When I asked her how she was going to get that money, she had no idea. Her english was easily the best of all the women there, so I hope she can parlay that into something remunerative.
After it was over, I changed back into my clothes, paid the prison guard, and walked out into the sunshine looking for a plate of noodles.
The prison teaches inmates traditional Thai massage techniques as a way of giving them a job skill for when they are finally freed. They also get to keep some of the money they earn doing the massages, giving them a bit of a nest egg. They don't get to work in the shop until they are within 6 months of their release date.
The whole experience was pretty funny. It's rather weird to be greeted by a uniformed prison guard at the reception to a spa. Then you go into the massage room, where up to 8 people can get pummeled simultaneously. My masseuse plunked my feet into a basin of water and had a go at them with a scrub brush and soap: much needed after my day of wandering the streets. I then changed into the loose fitting top and pants (Thai massage is done clothed), and stretched out on the mat. I was given a cup of hot tea that tasted suspiciously of hay.
Meanwhile, three Australian guys were nearing the end of their massages. It was pretty clear that they had started the adventure full of fantasies about being the only men in the prison, and even more clear that the women understood this mentality, and were determined to give the guys the full Thai massage treatment. Which, as you know from Richard's post, is a lot like someone else doing vigorous yoga on your body. Their massages were punctuated by groans, exclamations and mutterings. "Oh Christ" "You hurt?" "No" gasp "it's ok, oh argh what's she doing now?" Great gales of laughter erupted from the women when one of the guys actually flipped himself off the mat trying to get away from one stretch.
In another slightly surreal moment, my masseuse must have been worried about her body odor (only fair, I was worried about mine!), because before she started my massage she took herself to the far end of the room and sprayed herself down with room freshener. Fortunately she spared me this treatment.
She wasn't the most skilled masseuse I've ever had, but she understood when I asked her for soft massage, and she left me feeling pleasantly invigorated, not abused.
She didn't tell me what her crime had been, but said she had been in for 2 years and 9 months, and was being released in April. The next masseuse over is being released in March, and had been inside for 11 years. Depressingly, neither one had a plan for a job when they were released. My masseuse said that if she got enough money, she could open a massage shop. When I asked her how she was going to get that money, she had no idea. Her english was easily the best of all the women there, so I hope she can parlay that into something remunerative.
After it was over, I changed back into my clothes, paid the prison guard, and walked out into the sunshine looking for a plate of noodles.
Visa Snafu...Going to Kuala Lumpur
Life got more interesting in the last few days. When we reentered Thailand from Laos, we were only given a 15 day visa, which expires March 5. This is something of a problem, since our flight out of Thailand is not until March 29.
Lest you think we didn't do our research, we had. Based on all we read, we should have gotten a 30 day visa, and we should have been able to extend it for another 30 days with a quick stop in the immigration office. But the rules changed while we were in Laos.
Now you can only get a 30 day visa if you enter by air, you only get 15 days if you enter by land, and you can only get a 7 day extension from an extension office.
Our options, then, were to somehow leave the country and return, either by land (gaining another 15 days) or by air (30 days). You can overstay your visa for about 7 days, paying fines, but after that the govt gets pretty unhappy, and while you probably won't be detained, you probably also won't ever be allowed to return to Thailand.
So, after quite a lot of searching and weighing of alternatives (did we want to return to Laos, pay a quick visit to Burma, have a screaming temper tantrum and hope it helps?), we booked a budget flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and we'll have three days there before returning to Phuket Thailand, where we are renting a house from one of my sister's friends (thank you Lori and Alex) for a week.
We're trying to be zen about the whole thing, and mostly we're succeeding. It helps needing to set a good example for the kids.
Lest you think we didn't do our research, we had. Based on all we read, we should have gotten a 30 day visa, and we should have been able to extend it for another 30 days with a quick stop in the immigration office. But the rules changed while we were in Laos.
Now you can only get a 30 day visa if you enter by air, you only get 15 days if you enter by land, and you can only get a 7 day extension from an extension office.
Our options, then, were to somehow leave the country and return, either by land (gaining another 15 days) or by air (30 days). You can overstay your visa for about 7 days, paying fines, but after that the govt gets pretty unhappy, and while you probably won't be detained, you probably also won't ever be allowed to return to Thailand.
So, after quite a lot of searching and weighing of alternatives (did we want to return to Laos, pay a quick visit to Burma, have a screaming temper tantrum and hope it helps?), we booked a budget flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and we'll have three days there before returning to Phuket Thailand, where we are renting a house from one of my sister's friends (thank you Lori and Alex) for a week.
We're trying to be zen about the whole thing, and mostly we're succeeding. It helps needing to set a good example for the kids.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Our Accomodation
It occurs to me that some folks might be curious about the types of places we're staying in. With the exception of our night in the jungle in Luang Namtha, Laos, we've been mostly staying in "flashpacker" guesthouses/hotels. One (or two or three) steps up from basic backpacker digs, but not the Ritz either.
Here in Chiang Mai we're at the Awana Guesthouse. We are sharing one family room, which tucks a bunk bed and a king size bed into a smallish room with a tv, mini fridge (under the TV) and a small desk. We have air con, and a small balcony that supposedly has a mountain view, though the pollution/haze this time of year is so thick that the mountain is mostly invisible behind the wires and billboards.
Our bathroom has a hot water shower, though no hot water in the sink and a western-style toilet. As is typical of most of the places we're staying, the shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom, and one must take the toilet paper out of the room before showering or else it gets soaked. Typically one must be careful about what goes into the toilet, but here it's ok to put the paper in. In many places the plumbing can only handle human waste and nothing else. Many guesthouses have signs over the toilets reminding guests of this...my personal favorite was the one that admonished "no bones" in the toilet.
We are particularly fond of the Awana because neither the beds nor the pillows are like rocks. We have been surprised by how hard most mattresses here are, and even more surprised by the heft and solidity of the pillows. I had imagined I'd have trouble sleeping on sagging mattresses with paper thin pillows. Little did I realize that the issue would be bruises on my hips and neck aches from having my head at a 90 degree angle to my body because the pillow was so thick.
The best things about the Awana are the mini swimming pool downstairs, and the pool table upstairs. The swimming pool is too small to swim, but big enough to cool off in, and the pool table is a great way to spend some time when it's too hot to sight see. Not that we're any good, but it's fun. I should also note that the staff here are incredibly friendly and helpful, making the whole place feel welcoming and like home.
The Awana is centrally located too, just inside the Eastern gate of the old city. Perfect location for easy exploration and access to the tourist sites. Nice neighborhood, but we do have mind the motorbikes on the lane.
Here in Chiang Mai we're at the Awana Guesthouse. We are sharing one family room, which tucks a bunk bed and a king size bed into a smallish room with a tv, mini fridge (under the TV) and a small desk. We have air con, and a small balcony that supposedly has a mountain view, though the pollution/haze this time of year is so thick that the mountain is mostly invisible behind the wires and billboards.
Our bathroom has a hot water shower, though no hot water in the sink and a western-style toilet. As is typical of most of the places we're staying, the shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom, and one must take the toilet paper out of the room before showering or else it gets soaked. Typically one must be careful about what goes into the toilet, but here it's ok to put the paper in. In many places the plumbing can only handle human waste and nothing else. Many guesthouses have signs over the toilets reminding guests of this...my personal favorite was the one that admonished "no bones" in the toilet.
We are particularly fond of the Awana because neither the beds nor the pillows are like rocks. We have been surprised by how hard most mattresses here are, and even more surprised by the heft and solidity of the pillows. I had imagined I'd have trouble sleeping on sagging mattresses with paper thin pillows. Little did I realize that the issue would be bruises on my hips and neck aches from having my head at a 90 degree angle to my body because the pillow was so thick.
The best things about the Awana are the mini swimming pool downstairs, and the pool table upstairs. The swimming pool is too small to swim, but big enough to cool off in, and the pool table is a great way to spend some time when it's too hot to sight see. Not that we're any good, but it's fun. I should also note that the staff here are incredibly friendly and helpful, making the whole place feel welcoming and like home.
The Awana is centrally located too, just inside the Eastern gate of the old city. Perfect location for easy exploration and access to the tourist sites. Nice neighborhood, but we do have mind the motorbikes on the lane.
Thai massage... the case for masochism
We were in Chiang Rai so briefly that I didn't blog about my massage. K and I have had a few massages already here, all pleasant enough, but this one made every other massage I have ever had feel like being patted on the head by a mouse.
Thai massage has been described as like yoga except that someone else does it to you. For TWO solid hours, a deceptively tiny Thai woman crunched, banged, twisted yanked, pressed and generally wrung out my body like a wet rag. Half the time I could not decide whether it was wonderful, painful, or both. Afterwards I felt as if I had been attacked in an alley by a rugby team - and drifted back into consciousness just enough to reflect that this was, in a perverse way, enjoyable. Yesterday I realised that I still have faint bruises on the sides of my... skull.
Thai massage has been described as like yoga except that someone else does it to you. For TWO solid hours, a deceptively tiny Thai woman crunched, banged, twisted yanked, pressed and generally wrung out my body like a wet rag. Half the time I could not decide whether it was wonderful, painful, or both. Afterwards I felt as if I had been attacked in an alley by a rugby team - and drifted back into consciousness just enough to reflect that this was, in a perverse way, enjoyable. Yesterday I realised that I still have faint bruises on the sides of my... skull.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Eating (thus far) in Chiang Mai
Having arrived at mid day yesterday, we lunched at a neighborhood noodle stand. Nothing spectacular, but perfectly acceptable, and only 4 dollars for noodles and drinks for all.
Dinner was very good. We dined at Heuan Phen, known for its Northern Thai food. No coconut milk, lots of pork, and a particularly tasty papaya salad. The jackfruit salad was just weird--we were expecting something fruit like, sharp and bright tasting, but instead it was a luke warm pate-like pile of glop. The flavor wasn't bad, but texture wise it was reminescent of jarred baby food.
Breakfast was at a local stand around the corner. The mango pancakes were quite tasty.
I'll let Declan tell you about lunch later.
Dinner was very good. We dined at Heuan Phen, known for its Northern Thai food. No coconut milk, lots of pork, and a particularly tasty papaya salad. The jackfruit salad was just weird--we were expecting something fruit like, sharp and bright tasting, but instead it was a luke warm pate-like pile of glop. The flavor wasn't bad, but texture wise it was reminescent of jarred baby food.
Breakfast was at a local stand around the corner. The mango pancakes were quite tasty.
I'll let Declan tell you about lunch later.
Chiang Mai National Museum
To my count, the National Museum here in Chiang Mai has around 9 exhibits starting with a geographical overview of the area, and moving to the weapons, tools, pottery and burial of prehistoric peoples. It then gives a history of the city and with it, the Lanna Kingdom, of which Chiang Mai was the capitol. The next exhibit was about the fall of the Lanna, and the occupation of their territory, first by the Burmese, and then the Siamese. (On display in this section were two rifles, both 6 inches wide in the stock and5 to 6 feet long.)
After this exhibit, you go up the stairs, past portraits of the hereditary kings of Chiang Mai. Next is an exhibit on forestry, then religion, finishing with a sculpture supposedly containing elements of these animals: elephant, fish, lion, deer, and naga. We think we located all of the animals, but our lion was a little theoretical. It had the basic shape of a naga (snake), maybe the head of a lion, the hooves of a deer, the tusks and trunk of an elephant, and the tail of a fish. (Sorry about the lack of photos, but cameras were not allowed in the museum.)
On this trip we've seen lots of Buddha heads. Everywhere we've been seems to take pride in the number of Buddha images they have. Temples and museums brag about having 1,000, 2,000 or even 9,000 Buddha images. In this museum they had a bunch of Buddha heads, including on small grouping of 7 heads. 6 of the 7 heads were ye olde original Buddha heads, the 7th however looked like what you'd get if you took a three inch elongated egg of steel about a centimeter in diameter, and slightly squashed so it was more like a centimeter and a half wide, and bent it into a boomerang shape and then carved the face of a man on it. Imagine the face at the front, with the forehead and hair sloping off backwards. I was struck by it because it seemed completely different from every other Buddha image that we've seen. I wonder what was special about this particular Buddha?
After this exhibit, you go up the stairs, past portraits of the hereditary kings of Chiang Mai. Next is an exhibit on forestry, then religion, finishing with a sculpture supposedly containing elements of these animals: elephant, fish, lion, deer, and naga. We think we located all of the animals, but our lion was a little theoretical. It had the basic shape of a naga (snake), maybe the head of a lion, the hooves of a deer, the tusks and trunk of an elephant, and the tail of a fish. (Sorry about the lack of photos, but cameras were not allowed in the museum.)
On this trip we've seen lots of Buddha heads. Everywhere we've been seems to take pride in the number of Buddha images they have. Temples and museums brag about having 1,000, 2,000 or even 9,000 Buddha images. In this museum they had a bunch of Buddha heads, including on small grouping of 7 heads. 6 of the 7 heads were ye olde original Buddha heads, the 7th however looked like what you'd get if you took a three inch elongated egg of steel about a centimeter in diameter, and slightly squashed so it was more like a centimeter and a half wide, and bent it into a boomerang shape and then carved the face of a man on it. Imagine the face at the front, with the forehead and hair sloping off backwards. I was struck by it because it seemed completely different from every other Buddha image that we've seen. I wonder what was special about this particular Buddha?
Falafle for Lunch
Today we had lunch at the best falafel in Chiang Mai for lunch. It was so good except for the hummus because it all sank to the bottom so it was to hummusy at the bottom and there wasn't enough veg. However the pita was home made and the falafel it's self was green, not from mold but from cilantro.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Chiang Mai
We made it to Chiang Mai yesterday...a "first class" seat on a bus that also had "VIP" seats. Our first class seats were the very last rows, next to the toilet and directly under a speaker blasting the soundtrack of a bad american movie dubbed into Thai. Repeated requests to get the sound turned down resulted only in the hostess avoiding us, so we spent the first part of the trip (until the movie ended) with toilet paper in our ears. The road was in pretty good shape (excellent compared to those in Laos) but snaked up and down and round and round through several mountain ranges. We were glad to get off.
In good backpacker fashion, we crammed all four of us into a small tuk tuk for the ride to the guesthouse. Had we been in India, I'm sure we could have fit another 4-5 people in, but as it was, the Thai's were pretty amused.
The guest house we were hoping for was full, so we spent last night in another one down the street. This morning we dragged our bags back here (what did the locals make of the family parade of 4 wheelie bags at 7am?) and spent the morning playing tourist. In addition to a wander around a Buddhist wat that was constructed in the 15th century to host the 8th Annual Buddhist World Council, we visited the national museum. There we learned that the purpose of that world council was to compare sacred texts, and correct any errors that might have crept in.
I was very appreciative of the amount of English on the cards in the museum. Even if the translations are less than perfect, the objects become so much more meaningful when given some context.
Tomorrow will be spent doing some necessary housekeeping...figuring out how we are going to get from here to Phuket, getting our visas for Vietnam, getting extensions for our Thai visas (we noticed too late that we were only given 15 day visas, not 30, when we arrived from Laos), booking a cooking class, etc. Then it's back to being tourists again.
In good backpacker fashion, we crammed all four of us into a small tuk tuk for the ride to the guesthouse. Had we been in India, I'm sure we could have fit another 4-5 people in, but as it was, the Thai's were pretty amused.
The guest house we were hoping for was full, so we spent last night in another one down the street. This morning we dragged our bags back here (what did the locals make of the family parade of 4 wheelie bags at 7am?) and spent the morning playing tourist. In addition to a wander around a Buddhist wat that was constructed in the 15th century to host the 8th Annual Buddhist World Council, we visited the national museum. There we learned that the purpose of that world council was to compare sacred texts, and correct any errors that might have crept in.
I was very appreciative of the amount of English on the cards in the museum. Even if the translations are less than perfect, the objects become so much more meaningful when given some context.
Tomorrow will be spent doing some necessary housekeeping...figuring out how we are going to get from here to Phuket, getting our visas for Vietnam, getting extensions for our Thai visas (we noticed too late that we were only given 15 day visas, not 30, when we arrived from Laos), booking a cooking class, etc. Then it's back to being tourists again.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Back in Thailand
We left Laos yesterday...a 4 hour public bus from Luang Namtha to the border crossing, a quick 2 minute "ferry" crossing to Thailand, and then down to Chiang Rai. Having spent 4 hours on a bus already, I voted at this point to take the offer of a "taxi" to Chiang Rai. We probably over paid, but $40 got us an airconditioned four wheel drive directly to the hotel of our choice, with a stop for lunch and the bank. I think it was totally worth it.
We've spent the day today getting laundry done, as trekking in Laos results in spectacularly smelly clothing, and reconnecting with Thai food. We visited the Hill Tribe Museum here, which has excellent information about the hill tribes in this area. It was fascinating and depressing to read that the Long Neck Karen are not here by choice, but have been brought from Burma (or from refuge camps) and put on display in artificial villages created for tourists like us. Needless to say, we're glad that the hill tribe trekking we did was in Laos through the carefully controlled program there.
We ate lunch at Cabbages and Condoms. This chain of restaurants was started by the Thai minister of health many years ago and so named because he hoped that condoms would become as readily available as cabbages. The food was nothing special, but the life size santa claus created out of red and white condoms was worth seeing (picture will be posted soon).
We're on our way to Chiang Mai tomorrow, where we'll have some more time to update the blog and recover from the miles we've done recently.
We've spent the day today getting laundry done, as trekking in Laos results in spectacularly smelly clothing, and reconnecting with Thai food. We visited the Hill Tribe Museum here, which has excellent information about the hill tribes in this area. It was fascinating and depressing to read that the Long Neck Karen are not here by choice, but have been brought from Burma (or from refuge camps) and put on display in artificial villages created for tourists like us. Needless to say, we're glad that the hill tribe trekking we did was in Laos through the carefully controlled program there.
We ate lunch at Cabbages and Condoms. This chain of restaurants was started by the Thai minister of health many years ago and so named because he hoped that condoms would become as readily available as cabbages. The food was nothing special, but the life size santa claus created out of red and white condoms was worth seeing (picture will be posted soon).
We're on our way to Chiang Mai tomorrow, where we'll have some more time to update the blog and recover from the miles we've done recently.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Elephants and jungles
Boat Landing Guest House, Lang Nam Tha, Northern Lao
This will be a too-brief attempt to communicate, telegraphically, experiences too diverse and wonderful for the writing time available. (The problem being that I’m exhausted and want to be asleep in about 5 minutes.)
On Saturday we left Lang Prabang (temporarily) for a 1 ½ day “elephant trek” at the village of Xieng Lang, about 15 miles up the Nam Khan valley. Here we stayed the night in a simple but gorgeous lodge overlooking the Nam Khan and a stunning vista of forested mountains. On Saturday afternoon we were introduced to the ‘mahouts’ who look after the elephants at the preserve, learned how to feed bananas to an elephant w/o getting accidentally bitten, and had a beginner ride on 2-person howdahs – wooden ‘saddles.’ Then we crossed the river and did a proper ‘mahout ride’ (sitting on the elephant’s neck – harder than it looks to balance) to the part of the forest where the elephants spend the night. We learned that Pa-ii is “go” and How is “stop.” After the ride we walked back and had a nice dinner overlooking the river, shared with the Dutch couple and Canadian woman who are doing the trek with us.
On Sunday before breakfast we walked out again, met the elephants who were being brought in from the forest by the mahouts, and got to do the best part – riding them to (and into) the river for their daily bath. A chilly ride in the pre-dawn but we got to the river just after the sun rose. A surreal and really beautiful experience: the elephants love their bath and scrub; I never knew elephants can purr. We have one picture of Declan apparently swimming: he is actually sitting on the neck of his completely submerged elephant.
Sunday afternoon back to LP for one last afternoon, which included a long look round the truly spectacular Vat Xieng Thong. Equally beautiful ancient stencil-painting and modern glass-on-stone murals.
Monday: goodbye LP, and thank goodness K insisted on the small extra expense for chartering a minivan instead of taking the public bus from LP to Lang Nam Tha. It may be mind-bogglingly beautiful scenery through the mountains of northern Lao, but the road is brutal – 100 m stretches of OK paving punctuated by 20-50 m stretches of badly-packed rock. Allegedly 9 hours by bus, 7 by minivan, actually 9+ by minivan. But our driver, Humbai, was wonderfully stolid and unfazed by it all. A dusty lunch in Udomxai, which seems more Chinese than Lao, then right up to the border before turning in again for the last few km to Lang Nam Tha, where we have come because it sits on the very edge of the huge LNT National Protected Area.
OK, I REALLY need to go to bed, so I’m just going to say that on Tuesday we left for a 2-day trek into the LNT protected forest, and got back a few hours ago. An extraordinary experience – we have hiked 20-30 km in really, really remote forest / jungle, and we spent last night sleeping on rattan mats in a rattan longhouse in a village of the Lenten people, one of the many non-Lao indigenous people who live in this area. To get there, we drove an hour from LNT to a trailhead, then spent 5-6 hours hiking a narrow trail over a mountain ridge and into a valley that is miles from the nearest dirt road. It was live being in Eden, or a set from the movie The Land that Time Forgot.
Our guides, Pon and Ay, served lunch directly on 3 big banana leaves on the forest floor; it included a weed-and-chili mixture called jaow as a condiment, sticky rice and pre-roasted chunks of cold piranha, heads included, and sticky rice. Then we descended iinto the village, where the Lenten women gathered around for some gawping, laughing and knick-knack selling. Uncomfortable at first, but it’s amazing how many cultural barriers can be broken down by cooing admiringly at a baby. The Lenten look almost Mongolian to my eye, and the married women look very strange – they wear nothing but dark blue, all wear their hair in the same odd double-part, and shave their eyebrows.
A 5-hour hike out today included fording a lovely river and being ferried across another in long canoes by naked 7-year-old boys. More to follow…
This will be a too-brief attempt to communicate, telegraphically, experiences too diverse and wonderful for the writing time available. (The problem being that I’m exhausted and want to be asleep in about 5 minutes.)
On Saturday we left Lang Prabang (temporarily) for a 1 ½ day “elephant trek” at the village of Xieng Lang, about 15 miles up the Nam Khan valley. Here we stayed the night in a simple but gorgeous lodge overlooking the Nam Khan and a stunning vista of forested mountains. On Saturday afternoon we were introduced to the ‘mahouts’ who look after the elephants at the preserve, learned how to feed bananas to an elephant w/o getting accidentally bitten, and had a beginner ride on 2-person howdahs – wooden ‘saddles.’ Then we crossed the river and did a proper ‘mahout ride’ (sitting on the elephant’s neck – harder than it looks to balance) to the part of the forest where the elephants spend the night. We learned that Pa-ii is “go” and How is “stop.” After the ride we walked back and had a nice dinner overlooking the river, shared with the Dutch couple and Canadian woman who are doing the trek with us.
On Sunday before breakfast we walked out again, met the elephants who were being brought in from the forest by the mahouts, and got to do the best part – riding them to (and into) the river for their daily bath. A chilly ride in the pre-dawn but we got to the river just after the sun rose. A surreal and really beautiful experience: the elephants love their bath and scrub; I never knew elephants can purr. We have one picture of Declan apparently swimming: he is actually sitting on the neck of his completely submerged elephant.
Sunday afternoon back to LP for one last afternoon, which included a long look round the truly spectacular Vat Xieng Thong. Equally beautiful ancient stencil-painting and modern glass-on-stone murals.
Monday: goodbye LP, and thank goodness K insisted on the small extra expense for chartering a minivan instead of taking the public bus from LP to Lang Nam Tha. It may be mind-bogglingly beautiful scenery through the mountains of northern Lao, but the road is brutal – 100 m stretches of OK paving punctuated by 20-50 m stretches of badly-packed rock. Allegedly 9 hours by bus, 7 by minivan, actually 9+ by minivan. But our driver, Humbai, was wonderfully stolid and unfazed by it all. A dusty lunch in Udomxai, which seems more Chinese than Lao, then right up to the border before turning in again for the last few km to Lang Nam Tha, where we have come because it sits on the very edge of the huge LNT National Protected Area.
OK, I REALLY need to go to bed, so I’m just going to say that on Tuesday we left for a 2-day trek into the LNT protected forest, and got back a few hours ago. An extraordinary experience – we have hiked 20-30 km in really, really remote forest / jungle, and we spent last night sleeping on rattan mats in a rattan longhouse in a village of the Lenten people, one of the many non-Lao indigenous people who live in this area. To get there, we drove an hour from LNT to a trailhead, then spent 5-6 hours hiking a narrow trail over a mountain ridge and into a valley that is miles from the nearest dirt road. It was live being in Eden, or a set from the movie The Land that Time Forgot.
Our guides, Pon and Ay, served lunch directly on 3 big banana leaves on the forest floor; it included a weed-and-chili mixture called jaow as a condiment, sticky rice and pre-roasted chunks of cold piranha, heads included, and sticky rice. Then we descended iinto the village, where the Lenten women gathered around for some gawping, laughing and knick-knack selling. Uncomfortable at first, but it’s amazing how many cultural barriers can be broken down by cooing admiringly at a baby. The Lenten look almost Mongolian to my eye, and the married women look very strange – they wear nothing but dark blue, all wear their hair in the same odd double-part, and shave their eyebrows.
A 5-hour hike out today included fording a lovely river and being ferried across another in long canoes by naked 7-year-old boys. More to follow…
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Elephants
After saying goodbye to Grandad yesterday morning (he's off to Siem Reap to make art), we headed out to Elephant Lodge for a day and a half of playing with elephants. We rode them on seats, we rode them sitting on their necks, and we bathed with them in the river. Magical. We'll put up a more detailed blog post sometime soon. We're headed to Luang Namtha tomorrow, hoping to experience some of the countryside of Laos. And then down into Thailand.
We've put up a few backdated posts today...there are a few more to follow but don't have time now to get them up. Photos sometime soon, but internet access defeats us yet again!
Hope everyone is well.
We've put up a few backdated posts today...there are a few more to follow but don't have time now to get them up. Photos sometime soon, but internet access defeats us yet again!
Hope everyone is well.
Potato Chip Flavors in LP
Mexican bbq
sweet basil
original
cheese and onion
sour cream and onion
hot chili squid
crab curry
spicy seafood
extra bbq
garlic softshell crab
pla sam rod
double cheese pork burger
sweet basil
original
cheese and onion
sour cream and onion
hot chili squid
crab curry
spicy seafood
extra bbq
garlic softshell crab
pla sam rod
double cheese pork burger
River Trip
From my notebook:
This evening Grandad took us on a sunset river cruise. It was amazing because we got to see the sunset twice, because as we came down the river the sun set over the higher hills then when we were further down the river we got to see it over the lower hills as well. On our way up the river we got to see all of the local kids playing along the shore including one little boy who was doing cartwheel like flips on a steep sand ledge and another who was doing standing backflips into the river. Most of the boat was covered, but there was one spot where we could stand up. After we were done taking pictures of the sunset, Declan took pictures of peoples bums. On our way back from the trip, having drifted past the town, we got to see a riverside Lao dancing performance. It wasn't really a "performance" but just a family practicing on a dock. It was fun to look back towards the big hill in town and see all the tourists taking pictures of the sunset, forgetting to turn off their flash.
This evening Grandad took us on a sunset river cruise. It was amazing because we got to see the sunset twice, because as we came down the river the sun set over the higher hills then when we were further down the river we got to see it over the lower hills as well. On our way up the river we got to see all of the local kids playing along the shore including one little boy who was doing cartwheel like flips on a steep sand ledge and another who was doing standing backflips into the river. Most of the boat was covered, but there was one spot where we could stand up. After we were done taking pictures of the sunset, Declan took pictures of peoples bums. On our way back from the trip, having drifted past the town, we got to see a riverside Lao dancing performance. It wasn't really a "performance" but just a family practicing on a dock. It was fun to look back towards the big hill in town and see all the tourists taking pictures of the sunset, forgetting to turn off their flash.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Eating with Grandad
Having Grandad here is great because I've gotten to eat a lot of pizza which I wouldn't usually get to eat. Also, he took us to a great restaurant called the Blue Lagoon Cafe. I had really good pasta with red sauce, and a mocktail called citrus which is lemon and orange all mixed up. For dessert I had two scoops of really good coffee ice cream. Unfortunately for Aidan he was feeling kind of sick so he didn't get as much out of the food as he normally would have. And you could tell he wasn't feeling good because he refused a second bite of icecream.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Happy Birthday Darwin!
February 12th 1809... Charles Robert turns 200 today. I thought of him as I took sunset photos about 7.00 PM on the Mekong at Luang Prabang - midday at Downe House (and Westminster Abbey).
[See folder at left. As usual, it has proved impossible on this connection to get pictures to load into the blog itself.]
He would have loved this place - and done a better job than any of us at identifying and classifying the numerous bizarre lifeforms, vegetable and animal, in the morning market. (When you can't tell whether something is an insect, a grub or a type of seed, you know you are out of your depth.)
We did a great one-day trip up the Mekong on Tuesday, and a wonderful visit to (and swim in) some waterfalls in the hills near here. Lots of new pictures just posted in the online folder. Heading off for 2 days of elephant trekking tomorrow, then probably 2 days back here and then Thailand.
Kerry and I, desperate to seem to ourselves adventurous travelers, are finally admitting that we really just don't like Lao food, and are pining for the Kmer food of Cambodia or Thai food. Lao seems to vary between very bland and repetitive, on the one hand, and (not spicy, but) just too weird on the other. River weed with dried buffalo skin and homebrewed fish sauce, anyone? Or just more sticky rice? We have had some good meals, but never been so tempted to fall back on "farang" food - i.e. very loose Lao interpretations of sandwiches or pizza - which also tends to be a mistake.
Swimming in the falls was a blast, and we had a fascinating hike in the jungle nearby.
[See folder at left. As usual, it has proved impossible on this connection to get pictures to load into the blog itself.]
He would have loved this place - and done a better job than any of us at identifying and classifying the numerous bizarre lifeforms, vegetable and animal, in the morning market. (When you can't tell whether something is an insect, a grub or a type of seed, you know you are out of your depth.)
We did a great one-day trip up the Mekong on Tuesday, and a wonderful visit to (and swim in) some waterfalls in the hills near here. Lots of new pictures just posted in the online folder. Heading off for 2 days of elephant trekking tomorrow, then probably 2 days back here and then Thailand.
Kerry and I, desperate to seem to ourselves adventurous travelers, are finally admitting that we really just don't like Lao food, and are pining for the Kmer food of Cambodia or Thai food. Lao seems to vary between very bland and repetitive, on the one hand, and (not spicy, but) just too weird on the other. River weed with dried buffalo skin and homebrewed fish sauce, anyone? Or just more sticky rice? We have had some good meals, but never been so tempted to fall back on "farang" food - i.e. very loose Lao interpretations of sandwiches or pizza - which also tends to be a mistake.
Swimming in the falls was a blast, and we had a fascinating hike in the jungle nearby.
Decisions Decisions
It's been a few days since we last posted on the blog. We've got some stuff written, just haven't had access to put it up. Probably it won't go up for a few more days.
We're off this weekend to do a day and a half "learn to be a mahout" course where we get to learn to ride, bathe and command elephants. Should be lots of fun.
Then, after that, we have to decide what to do next. We are torn between high tailing it to Thailand, and adding some beach time into our next few weeks, and heading into very rural Laos and seeing what we can see. The problem with rural Laos is it will be hard travel (10 hour local bus on bad roads anyone?) with not necessarily much to do, see or eat at the end. The problem with hot footing it to Thailand is we potentially miss some really interesting places. Ah, decisions decisions.
We'll let you know what we decide.
We're off this weekend to do a day and a half "learn to be a mahout" course where we get to learn to ride, bathe and command elephants. Should be lots of fun.
Then, after that, we have to decide what to do next. We are torn between high tailing it to Thailand, and adding some beach time into our next few weeks, and heading into very rural Laos and seeing what we can see. The problem with rural Laos is it will be hard travel (10 hour local bus on bad roads anyone?) with not necessarily much to do, see or eat at the end. The problem with hot footing it to Thailand is we potentially miss some really interesting places. Ah, decisions decisions.
We'll let you know what we decide.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Doing nothing
We are happily doing nothing in Luang Prubang. We've spent time down by the river tossing mudballs into the water, drinking fresh fruit shakes (mango is my favorite), and enjoying the quiet. It's nice to finally stop being tourists for a little while.
That said, we're volunteering in an English school a few afternoons this week, we're planning a cooking class, a trip to the waterfalls, a trip to the Pak Ou caves, and a visit to a local orphanage. Guess we won't be doing completely nothing after all!
That said, we're volunteering in an English school a few afternoons this week, we're planning a cooking class, a trip to the waterfalls, a trip to the Pak Ou caves, and a visit to a local orphanage. Guess we won't be doing completely nothing after all!
Teaching English
Today we went back to the the classroom where we were teaching English. Grandad came with us (he got here yesterday, pretty cool to see him here) and he took photos for the JWOC website while we taught the kids english. Teaching a language is harder than you'd think because you've got to think up new things to do almost everyday if you've got the same kids. I had conversations with some of the more advanced students, but the kids my age were still unable to talk in english. We did a lot of head shoulders knees and toes. When we first started teaching it was easier because there were a few more kids (that was on Friday), but today there weren't many kids so it was kind of hard for everybody in the family to get involved. I think it was a national holiday.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
How weird is this?
At the beginning of our trip, Grandad took us to the rockettes in NY. I still have a piece of the ribbon used in the show (I've got it tucked in my journal.) And now, Grandad is arriving here tonight. Never expected to see my grandparents in Asia. It's also weird that the power is out in the whole town today. Someone said that there was a problem on the line, so they turned it off to fix it.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Declan today
Today we helped build a drum in a Wat by banging on the new skin so it stretched. It was somewhat strange how they hung a paper mache lao airlines plane in the drum tower in place of the drum. Also, the guy who was in charge of building the drum poured some alcohol on it and I have no idea what that was for but it was definitely alcohol.
Today for lunch I ate chicken, mayo, lettuce and cucumber sandwich with a lemon shake. I've been eating mostly baguettes and fried rice. Sometimes my parents force me to eat something else, but I prefer the rice. Who ever invented sticky rice was a genius, because it tastes good and you don't have to any utensils to eat it.
While we ate lunch we watched some kids floating down the river on inner tubes, then coming up on the bank and throwing mudballs at each other. It looked like fun.
Today for lunch I ate chicken, mayo, lettuce and cucumber sandwich with a lemon shake. I've been eating mostly baguettes and fried rice. Sometimes my parents force me to eat something else, but I prefer the rice. Who ever invented sticky rice was a genius, because it tastes good and you don't have to any utensils to eat it.
While we ate lunch we watched some kids floating down the river on inner tubes, then coming up on the bank and throwing mudballs at each other. It looked like fun.
Update
Were now in Luang Prabang. We have counted at least thirty Wats on our map of the city. we spent some time at one of them this morning helping them to stretch the new skin for their drum. It was fun. we just stood around the drum beating on it. then we went to the beach. The sand was really soft. (For those of you who are getting confused about there being a beach in a landlocked city, we were on the Mekong.) I spent a while building a loom out of sticks and weaving with it. Declan invented a game where you jump down a steep sand slope and try to go as far as possible.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Trash
I've been meaning to write about trash ever since we were in India. EVERYWHERE in Asia is covered with it, and the scale of the environmeental disaster represented by the plastic, which is most of it, is hard to grasp. I don't think Asians use any more than people in Europe and the US, probably less, but because there is little infrastructure for collecting, much less recycling, it all goes straight into the streets and rivers. In Siem Reap, environmental consciousness - or tourist conscioussness - has risen to the level where there's a net strung across the river a quarter mile above town. The result is that the river in town looks merely dirty - and there is a great barrage of floating trash just out of sight around the corner.)
It's easy to be shocked by the lack of concern about this, but the scale of the problem is so vast. On Ko Tao, I actually got lost for about half an hour on a steep jungle hike far from any of the resorts or villages - and I could still have picked up a supermarket bag or plastic water bottle every 20 paces.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Homeschooling
I'm putting these blog posts up as Richard reviews Declan's math homework. My favorite answer thus far: "The product goes down by 5! Duh."
(In case Ms. Zoog is reading this, in spite of the editorializing, Declan is getting the right answers.)
(In case Ms. Zoog is reading this, in spite of the editorializing, Declan is getting the right answers.)
Buddha Park
We took a tuk tuk today to the Buddha park that's located about 25 km from Vientiane. Set right on the banks of the Mekong, the park features a series of surreal statutes that combine buddhist and hindu iconography into a bizzare whole. We'll post pictures in a day or two, but for now, try to picture a three story tall apple shape, made out of concrete, with a gaping mouth at the bottom. Scoot into the mouth (about the height of half a door) and you find yourself peering through little windows at a mass of concrete statues designed to represent hell (What did the guy with the hoe in his head do to deserve that?). Circle round until you find the steep, asymetrical set of stairs, and go up. Now you're on earth, with crumbling statutes representing everyday life. Crawl up the even steeper steps, taking care not to hit your head on the overhanging ledge, and you're in heaven, surrounded by statues wearing pointy wings and sloppy grins. Lastly, crawl through the small hole onto the roof, and take in the rest of the garden, which features about 40 miscellaneous statutes of buddhas and other beings.
What we've been eating
Breakfast is included with our hotel rooms...a fried egg, two pieces of wonderbread, two small hot dogs, and all the nescafe you want to drink. After such delicious repasts, we've been finding ourselves taking pastry breaks in the mid-morning. The Scandinavian bakery does some nice eclairs, croissants and other pastries.
We've had some not so great lao food, but also some very good lao food. It's a bit spicier than Cambodian, which is nice (for all but Declan). Several times we've eaten "special pork" sandwiches, which are a lot like bahn mi, but with a combination of lao pate and pork lunch meat.
We also had a nice French meal one night. Richard ate the eggplant lasagne (I know, not all that french really), Aidan had a steak with red wine sauce, and I had a steak with a basil and chevre sauce. And a huge green salad, with an olive oil dressing.
We've been living dangerously here, but Lao food features lots of beautiful fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, with miscellaneous other fresh veggies. Too hard to avoid, and they taste so good after eating nothing but cooked veggies for a month. We'll probably pay for it, but everything thus far has seemed really clean and no one's had any problems.
We've had some not so great lao food, but also some very good lao food. It's a bit spicier than Cambodian, which is nice (for all but Declan). Several times we've eaten "special pork" sandwiches, which are a lot like bahn mi, but with a combination of lao pate and pork lunch meat.
We also had a nice French meal one night. Richard ate the eggplant lasagne (I know, not all that french really), Aidan had a steak with red wine sauce, and I had a steak with a basil and chevre sauce. And a huge green salad, with an olive oil dressing.
We've been living dangerously here, but Lao food features lots of beautiful fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, with miscellaneous other fresh veggies. Too hard to avoid, and they taste so good after eating nothing but cooked veggies for a month. We'll probably pay for it, but everything thus far has seemed really clean and no one's had any problems.
Silk Dyeing
Yesterday we dyed our own silk scarves. It was a pity though, because mine had a cool green part but that came out when we rinsed them, so now it’s blue.
Tonle Sap Lake
[From my notebook]
Tonle Sap Lake is massive! I can’t remember exactly how big they said it is in the dry season, but they did say that even in the dry season you can barely see either bank from the middle and the floodplain stretches for miles, so in the wet season it is even bigger, almost big enough to be called a freshwater sea. The lake also has so many fish, and people who may never see land much less set foot on it. The lake is connected to the Mekong River and so it flows two directions each year, because in the rainy season the Mekong backs up and starts flowing backwards.
Tonle Sap Lake is massive! I can’t remember exactly how big they said it is in the dry season, but they did say that even in the dry season you can barely see either bank from the middle and the floodplain stretches for miles, so in the wet season it is even bigger, almost big enough to be called a freshwater sea. The lake also has so many fish, and people who may never see land much less set foot on it. The lake is connected to the Mekong River and so it flows two directions each year, because in the rainy season the Mekong backs up and starts flowing backwards.
India
[From my notebook]
On our second day in India we visited a mosque and then took a bicycle rickshaw to the Red Fort, which is a massive fort about one to 1.5 miles deep and 3 miles wide. We only walked down the middle to see the apartments and the public audience place. If you are wondering why we went to see the apartments, it’s because the Red Fort was built by one of the rulers of India as a palace and was only turned into a military fort when the British showed up.
We went to a place where there’s a really big tower that I forget the name of, and there were a bunch of Indian schoolgirls staring at Aidan. There was also an unfinished tower which barely reached its first level, but was meant to be twice as tall as the finished one.
On our second day in India we visited a mosque and then took a bicycle rickshaw to the Red Fort, which is a massive fort about one to 1.5 miles deep and 3 miles wide. We only walked down the middle to see the apartments and the public audience place. If you are wondering why we went to see the apartments, it’s because the Red Fort was built by one of the rulers of India as a palace and was only turned into a military fort when the British showed up.
We went to a place where there’s a really big tower that I forget the name of, and there were a bunch of Indian schoolgirls staring at Aidan. There was also an unfinished tower which barely reached its first level, but was meant to be twice as tall as the finished one.
Tonle Sap Lake
[From my notebook]
Tonle Sap Lake – 150 km long and 50 km wide. Source of food for millions of people. Asia’s second largest lake. Home of the famous floating villages (that actually stand on stilts). And frankly boring – the lake proper anyhow. It’s a sight you can get quite easily in Seattle: water stretching on for ever. That said, the villages are amazing. Each hut is 2-3 x taller than I am, and that’s just the stilts. In the back of the huts, on the river, there are rows upon rows of fish and croc pens. When we were at Tonle Sap, we got to see a wedding. The dominant colors were pink, purple and peach. The bride and bridesmaids, and groom and best men, were in purple, with a huge number of pink and peach dresses scattered through the audience. We got to get a picture with the bride and groom. The music was far too loud.
Tonle Sap Lake – 150 km long and 50 km wide. Source of food for millions of people. Asia’s second largest lake. Home of the famous floating villages (that actually stand on stilts). And frankly boring – the lake proper anyhow. It’s a sight you can get quite easily in Seattle: water stretching on for ever. That said, the villages are amazing. Each hut is 2-3 x taller than I am, and that’s just the stilts. In the back of the huts, on the river, there are rows upon rows of fish and croc pens. When we were at Tonle Sap, we got to see a wedding. The dominant colors were pink, purple and peach. The bride and bridesmaids, and groom and best men, were in purple, with a huge number of pink and peach dresses scattered through the audience. We got to get a picture with the bride and groom. The music was far too loud.
Kip
After several days in Lao (Did we mention it’s Lao? Apparently only rubes say “Laos”), I am still not used to the currency. At just about every purchase my response is initial outrage (“What?? NOTHING can possibly cost 174,000 kip!”) followed by remembering sheepishly that a 174,000 kip is about $20. A liter bottle of the national food, Beerlao, is 8,000 kip in a cheap place and 12,000 kip somewhere touristy – that’s the difference between 95 cents and $1.30.
ATMs will only give you a maximum of 700,000 kip ($80+) and are constantly out of service because they run out so quickly. Kerry changed $200 in traveler’s checks today and almost needed a suitcase.
Also, the different bill denominations are virtually indistinguishable.
Also, the Lao script for 2 looks exactly like a 6, so the 2,000 kip bills, of which at any time you might be carrying several kilos, have “2000” printed in one corner and “6000” in the other.
The solution, apparently, is to order more Beerlao, smile a lot, and remember to say “Kup chai lai lai.”
ATMs will only give you a maximum of 700,000 kip ($80+) and are constantly out of service because they run out so quickly. Kerry changed $200 in traveler’s checks today and almost needed a suitcase.
Also, the different bill denominations are virtually indistinguishable.
Also, the Lao script for 2 looks exactly like a 6, so the 2,000 kip bills, of which at any time you might be carrying several kilos, have “2000” printed in one corner and “6000” in the other.
The solution, apparently, is to order more Beerlao, smile a lot, and remember to say “Kup chai lai lai.”
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Language
To say that this is a difficult region linguistically, for Anglos who struggle with French and German, is an understatement - in fact, because of the tones, some guidebooks actually recommend that you don't bother to try. Canntonese is considered hard for Westerners with its four tones - Vietnamese has nine. The danger is that one incorrect tone turns "Three mangoes please" into "Your grandmother was a warthog."
As we move from Thai to Kmer to Lao, though, we have been determined to manage at least Hello and Thank you. (In Lao: "Sai-Wa-Dee" and "Kop Chai" - or "Kop Chai Lai Lai" is "Thank you very much.") And the response is always amazing - people seem uniformly delighted that you have bothered to make even that small effort, and are often enthusiastic about taking the time to correct, praise, and offer a bit more.
This was true, by the way, even in notorious Paris, where we received nothing but courtesy and good-humored help.
As we move from Thai to Kmer to Lao, though, we have been determined to manage at least Hello and Thank you. (In Lao: "Sai-Wa-Dee" and "Kop Chai" - or "Kop Chai Lai Lai" is "Thank you very much.") And the response is always amazing - people seem uniformly delighted that you have bothered to make even that small effort, and are often enthusiastic about taking the time to correct, praise, and offer a bit more.
This was true, by the way, even in notorious Paris, where we received nothing but courtesy and good-humored help.
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