The Little Things

We have begun these little games each day that keep Jeff and I on our toes and on the look out, also to know that we have some familiarity throughout our travels keeps a warm spots in our hearts. Some of the games we play are:

Where's Doraemon- We find him everywhere and one of Jeff's favorite things to do is take pictures and have a constant eye out for him. If you are not aware who this little cat/robot guy is see the attached pictures. Oh, forget it, we're just going to post this without pics today. It is no doubt in my mind that when I hear an exasperation of " Haaa" come out of his mouth from across the room, I know exactly who he has located. Either on the side of a milk carton, on a watch from a vendor stand, a key chain (which Jeff has started collecting) in the form of a stuffed animal, on the side of a taxi cab....this guy is everywhere!

"In the Tubing" Tubing Tanks- The next thing is these "In the Tubing" Tanks worn usually by 20-24 year old Australian boys or girls. Fresh with sunburned skin, bleached out hair and either a hangover or a beer in their hands.We joke that everyday we have to have our daily dose of Tubing tanks, its a stereotype, but hey, stereotypes are there because usually they are somewhat true, right?

Turns out, Jeff realized that these shirts read "In the Tubing" and really it a typo by the Laotian guy who meant to print "Inner Tubing". To support the Inner Tubing Drinking at riverside bars in Vang Vieng, Laos. Classic.

Looking for books to accumulate- obviously. We are speeding through books at a great rate and have a small obsession for finding new ones to read as we pass through the old. We both are carrying about 4 books with us now to read and most likely will be accumulating more as we change cities and find new hostels to raid. I am now, per Jeff hi-jacking from a hotel, reading book one and two of Harry Potter.

Tribal Tattoos- we are constantly on the look out for the best/worst (one in the same) tribal tattoo, very similar to the "In the tubing" tanks, these tribal tattoos are EVERYWHERE and they don't just merit the 20-24 year old crowd, no these hold room for the 30-50 year old crowd as well! On Koh San Road in Bangkok recently there was a guy who took the cake, as he strutted down the busy backpackers street with both arm and pectorals still red and bloody from fresh needling. (do you sense my sarcasm) All day, literally, shirt off up and down the street showing off his new pride and glory for all to see and hopefully gawk at.

Where's the local food market- priority #1. To find the cheapest, best tasting food it's all about the local food markets. Also to fill my obsession with markets and foods. So far they never let us down. The best exotic fruits, drinks in bags (open can, fill bag with ice, pour contents of can into bag, add straw, close with rubber band and enjoy) weird brightly colored dried fruits and candies, soups, noodle or rice dishes...the list goes on!

7-11- wherever there is a country that supports 7-11, you can bet we have most likely been to each and every one in the surrounding area we stay in. Not that we necessarily buy anything when we go in, but much like the food markets its fun to just see what is available 24 hours a day. So far these 7-11's are awesome and have everything we could possibly want! Seaweed snacks, iced coffee cans, nuts/seeds, coffee candies (another one of my big obsessions), different aloe drinks, oreo's..or some variation of (jeff's new love in life), and of course, of course...at least 10 different images posted or Doraemon via children's toy, candy or drink!

Vietnam

After our time in Hoi An, Vietnam we night-bused it up to Hanoi. Trying to remember the difference between Hoi An and Hanoi was a very trying experience that took about 5 days into the Hoi An stay to master. Eventually, Val said, "Hoi An is smaller. Think of Ann, the annoying little girl trying to sell us postcards. " Henceforth, no problem.


Originally, we were to stay two nights during our Northern transit in Nihn Bihn and have a good day biking through the ubiquitous and becoming slightly overrated rice fields, to a meandering river through what was said to be Ha Long Bay on land. Evidently, the area wasn't flooded during the dragon sweep that undertook the UNESCO Ha Long region, which we'd be visiting a few days hence.


The night bus was a standard affair of locals and as I arose at 5:30 we were just leaving the city limits of Nihn Bihn. Still groggy, I got up, wiped the lagania from my eyes and tapped the driver on the shoulder. I pointed to myself and said, "Nihn Bihn."


He slapped his head, pointed to me and said, "Hanoi." Again, I said, "Nihn Bihn" and he rebutted, "Hanoi." End of conversation. We loose.


So, we were predisposed to not wanting to be in Hanoi and dubbed it Hanoing, without even setting foot in the town. We arrived in a downpour amid a flock of hotel touts who Literally woke us up from out slumber on the bus.


Tap Tap Tap, Shake....Groggy Groggy Groggy, "Hello," yells a mid 20's Vietnamese man in a rush, "you are in Hanoi, you need Hotel." More of a statement then a question.

Mind you, we were still on the bus. I was curled up in a ball of my t-shirt, hat and backpack, it was 7:30AM and the bus was still idling. This guy was already on the bus shaking me awake to make sure that I saw his hotel flier first.

It was brash and brazen and total uncalled for. It was so (H)anno(i)ying and rude that instead of telling him off, I kind of appreciated it and respected him and all of his audacity. So, yeah, we got in his Taxi and went to his hotel and got the room - 5th floor view with huge balcony and two matching sofas outside on the veranda. Cable TV with the NBA Finals Game One Live on the Boob Tube and a hot shower with free coffee and breakfast were awaiting us.

Turns out this guy really was giving us the straight scoop. Everything was as advertised except for the foot long cockroach in the bathroom and gecko who stumbled out of the sink faucet. But, those are now to be expected and are kind of welcome additions and friends to the rooms we encounter. Even the nice ones.

With the room being all that is was, of course, we ironically and typically never really hung out in it and on that remarkable balcony, instead opting for walking around and looking around the city.

Really, anyone that has been traveling, say, anywhere in the world knows that basically what you do in a new place. You go there. You walk around and you look around. You eat some weird food and after eating the local fare for 5 or 6 meals you go through the "the is the best food I've ever had" phase, then on to the "really, this food is great," portion of the city. Next its the "ok, seriously, more curry," phase. At that point you buy french fries.

You drink bottled water, say no to taxi drivers and tour guys and go around looking at tourist destinations, food markets, the town square, POIs, backpacker land, the city park and those little spots that your friends tell you about. You talk about going to the museums, but realize that you get more culture from the food stall guy selling the Samosas and the pinapple vendor and the kids playing with kites in the park and the coffee shop kid thats going to Uni.

So, that is what we intended to do in Hanoi, per usual and per awesome. But, as I said, we were amid a 24 hour downpour and were relagated to coffeeshops. Which, wasn't bad because we found some decent coffee, AC and music as a handful of spots within a block of each other. After a few hours we became increasingly stir-crazy and booked a ticket on a boat to Ha Long Bay. We were off the next morning. One of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. And if you didn't know about that yet, you'd sure find out upon reaching the dock the next day.

Ha Long Bay was simply awesome. We had heard rumours and rumblings from numourous people that is was overrated and missable. That you could bypass the overnight and take a day trip. That staying on the junk was unneccessary. Regardless, we went with our intuition and hooked up a 2 day 1 night stay on a nice size junk boat w/ queen size bed and private balcony. The price was good and we were just hoping for a good crew of travellers to accompany us on the trip for the 2 days.

We opted for the non-booze cruise trip and picked a tour company that looked organized and clean. And that offered us free Internet. In turn, we were rewarded with a smattering of personalitys and peoples from across the globe. The trip was all class and what beautiful scenery. Totally, literally unmissable and lamentable if you go to Vietnam and don't go to Ha Long Bay.

Within the Ha Long Bay tour we had a couple of treks, a great 2 hour kayaking stint throughout the bay, 3 amazing seafood buffetts, swimming at our leisure off the deck and wonderful panorama views with breathtaking sunsets. All in all a great stay. We even took an extra day staying on Cat Ba Island and treking through a National Park to a wicked high vantage point amid the jungle. We stayed the night at a guest house overlooking the harbor slightly reminiscent of a Cinque Terra city that I can't quite put my finger on. All in all, great time was had.

Back to the mainland and back to Hanoing. But, wait a second, the sun is out, birds are chirping, people are abuzz and we run into two of our English friends fron Saigon and Hoi An. Things are looking up. We lingered with the two of them, plus a couple from out Ha Long trip and enjoyed outselved thoroughly at a very local, turned backpacker bar that was offering 3 year old plastic stools for chairs and beer for $0.17 a pint. Draft beer, 5 for $1.00. Unreal. And it was good. Hanoi had saved itself and we were fortuitous enough to reconnect with some good friends. A little positive attitude, good weather and good people can really go along was. Regardless, we were off the next day, opting against Nihn Bihn and a hightribe trek in Sa Pa. We were off to Bangkok and the Thai Island for some guaranteed fun and sun.

Fooood

Wow, as we have mentioned to some of you we have been eating some of the best food so far on this trip in Hoi An, Vietnam...well maybe even some of the best food in our lives!

We would like to thank some of our friends we have met along the way and local travelers for making this all possible...with out you we may have found ourselves with less than excellent food in our bellies and bigger holes in our wallets.

Upon arriving in Hoi An we ran into one of our friends and fellow travelers we have run into throughout the trip named Mira. She was getting ready to leave Hoi An when we ran into her but she had to show us this local food stall where she had been eating most of her meals before she left. We eagerly agreed because sometimes when you first arrive in a new place you can make rash decisions about food and eat the wrong things which can really off set the tone for that new place.

We were told to try the local grilled fish infused with lemon grass and wrapped in a bananna leaf (Ca nuong la chuoi)...hands down the best thing we have EVER put in our mouths. This thing was like Christmas, New Years, and all 28 birthdays concentrated, and gift wrapped up in one single bananna leaf! Wow thank you Lee for setting the tone for Hoi An to be the culinary highlight of our trip..lives by one dish! (followed very closely by the fried wontons topped, or rather piled high, with sauteed vegetables and grilled shrimp)

We then proceeded to wash this down with freshly squeezed/smashed sugar cane juice. This tastes like a mixture of watermelon, lime and the most refreshing thing you have ever sipped on blended in one magical drink called sugar cane juice! Not only is it highly delicious, but highly nutritios. We did a search and found that sugar cane, when not over processed and bleached has some amazing health qualities! Such as improving digestion, purifying the blood, regulating bloodsugar and curing jaundice among other things!

We also were able to locate the best beer in Vietnam which is called Viet A aka Fresh Beer aka Bia Tuoi. It is only sold in local stalls of the food market and can not be purchased in a bottle by anyone but Vietnamese people to re sell to the tourists for still crazy cheap. It beats out even the "distinguished" labels they have here which is really just glorified Bud Light (glorified only because it has a cool label of a tiger on the bottles)

Jeff had the pleasure of having a suit made at a place that was recommended to us by an older couple we met at our favorite local food stall, who also happened to be staying at our hotel, Keith and Carol. "Ken" is the tailors name and "his brother" is the one who makes the suits (as we have learned here inHoi an..Everyones brother seems to be a tailor..."brother" we have found is a possible code word for sweatshop) Ken wrote down on a scrap of paper the name of a restaurant with a sketchy map and 2 names of local dishes we must try while we are here.

Hesitant to break away from our favorite food stall, we gave in. After going on an adventure one night on our bikes we found the restaurant far far away from any sort of civilization (besides the major resort 2 miles away) Packed to the gills with locals we knew this place would not let us down. We handed the waitress our crumbled piece of paper, crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. As it turns out we were about to have Shark and Sting Rey for dinner! They brought us a massive pot of soup (basil, cilantro, tomatoes, pinapple broth) that we weredump the filleted pieces of raw shark in for a few moments to cook it! It was really, I mean really good! So far this could be the best way to cook fish in my book

Well that is it for now, I am running out of time on the internet and also getting hungry typing about all these foods!! Till next time or country, which ever comes first!!

Vietnamese Humans, or Some Variation Thereof

We left left Hoi An after 10days/9nights. Why were we in Hoi An for such a long time, you may be thinking to yourself? Periodically, we were wondering the same thing and often found ourselves discussing the merits of this tiny, UNESCO protected river/beach town.

Upon arrival, we had come from 3 days of on/off weather in Nha Trang. Beach life w/out the sun often seems like a baseball game w/out beer and a hotdog. Not bad, but missing a couple of essential componants. We were also slightly sick during Nha Trang, but came out of it during a trip to the Thermal Spa and Mud Baths. Not sure if we already discussed this experience, so suffice to say it was rewarding in that it made us feel infinately healthier and more vibrant, ready to tackle the next phase of our trip.

We have been staying at the An Phu Hotel. Everyday, after the 3rd night, all of the service persons at the hotel ask us (remark), "when are you leaving." It like a cross between a question and statement, something that the Vietnamese seem to be fond of and that we'll discuss later. I believe we've stayed at this hotel longer than any other recent guess, except for this one german guy who walks around all day in the lobby and grunts and huffs and mutters under his breath. "Das Das Das, Fumf!"

The hotel has been more the worthly for our $12, including bike, per night stay. We had been enjoying the free hot water at 800AM and 700PM daily allowing us to endulge in the NESCAFE instant coffee packets that we purchase in order to offset a few Dollars and save us from constantly drinking the sludge, or rather, tar, that the Vietnamese call coffee.

We also have a pool that we used for 5 minutes and then promptly got creaped out by all the hoteliers staring at Val's tattoo and the massage girls prodding for work and the creepy old German guy grunting in the deep end.

Knowing that there is a pool at your hotel is, frankly, more important than really using the pool. And what is the deal with the people that come to the beach town and spend all day in the chlorine laden water instead of the fresh water. What a bunch of weirdo's.

We've also had airconditioning with has been rewarding in that its also night to have, but not necessarily important to use. Kind of like cruise control. I liked having it on my last car, but never used it. Regardless, I'd always remark, "4WD, 22MPG, Great sightlines and CRUISE CONTROL."

The people in Hoi An have certainly been notable. Here are six of interest that we enjoyed seeing. We'll start with out Tailors.

Ken (Mao): Ken made me a cashmere suit w/ perfectly fitting shirts for a disgustingly reasonable price. He drove me on his motorbike to the fabric store where we jumped into the fray of locals and I made my selection. Turns out Ken tried to up and move to England and get a job, but came back after two weeks due to lack of finances and not having a clue what to do when he got there. He also invited us to his brothers wedding, which we couldn't attend because it is in September. But, we were able to make dinner w/ his family. A huge hot pot of pork, green onions, two types of muchrooms and various herbs. What a feast. After dinner he bought us a sugarcane beverage on the street. How about that service after making a modest purchase.

Lee: We got a reference for this street restaurant with an affable English speaking host/cook. This turned out to be out favorite place to eat on the whole trip. Unreal fish and wontons and salads for peanuts! Lee was beyong sleep deprived due to arriving at the market at 600AM and working til 1100, then out for a few hours of "the drinking." On top of that, he had a two year old that looked neither like himself or his baby mama. She was also preggers, due in 2 months. Lee: less Marlboro Reds and less of the drinking and more sleep. He worked at a Western Hotel for 4 years in Cambodia and really honed in on English, so it was good to learn through him about his cooking.

Dress Ladies: These two ladies, mom/daughter, sister/sister, friend/friend, we never could figure out the connectiong, but they ran a thorough and creative clothing shop. Pick your fabric, design your garment, whatever you want, and 24 hours later, perfection for the price of a 3-Pack Hanes Underwear. Val got a pair of pants made and these ladies kept giving Val huges and tapping her bum and holding out hands in this very open and happy manner of service with a smile. It was there way of making us feel comfortable in there store. We almost had them make us superhero capes with a button clasp around the neck, full standing collar and hand holds in the sides. Alas, when it came time to pull the trigger in the item, we looked at each other and realized it was time to leave town.

Beach Vendors:

Mango Lady: The oldest, maybe 90 years old, pusher of goods we've ever seen. Walking up and down the beach w/ 20lbs of fruit, Tiger Balm, Playing Cards, chopsticks, etc. She's walk up to us and say it a very creepy, yet sweet high pitched voice, "mangoooooo." "Baannnaaana."
At first it was endearing. Then weird. Then after she'd come up to us for th 8th or 9th time in 3 hour period, it just got annoying. She, along with all these beach vendors, would just say an item that they sell, then pick it up. We'd say 'no thank you', they'd pick up another one and try again. It got pretty rediculous because after one pass, we knew what they all sold. And this was just one of 9 ladies on this beach with would come up to us 2-3 times an hour. They were certainly bored as there were at most 25 tourists on the beach that was 2km long. Tough going for these ladies.

LuLu #1: Everytime she came buy it was the same sad song, "slow day. Sooo hot. You buy something, me LuLu number #1. If you buy something, you buy from me. Its Happy Hour."

But, with LuLu #1, it was always happy hour. And it was always a special price. Its just so strange that these vendors, on the beach and in the streets throughout Vietnam sell the exact same stuff, most of which we don't want. We don't want the Mango that's been roasting for 7 hours. We don't want another tub of Tiger Balm. We have sun tan loation. The beach is not the place to buy statues of buddahs or chess pieces. Its as it there is a pimp at one end of the beach and he only lets his women sell the same stuff. Same for all teh convenice stores in town. You want cookies? You better like Oreos. (Thankfully, not that we are in Thailand, its all changed. We have selection!)

We Killed a Cow

Well, not intionally. And, it wasn't really our doing. Nevertheless, we were on a "VIP" bus high-tailing it through Cambodia, freewheelin' through the small thatched-house towns and weaving and bobbing around motorbikes and children. Domestic animals and farm animals. Honking our way down the Cambodian Highway of Life trying our best to alert everything alive to gain way or risk being victim of a 4 ton bus ruining your day.

Whooooooooooose, zip, wrrrrrrrrruuuuuuung!

We slip and slide around the hairpin turns with the honk of a horn in what would be considered the wrong lane back home. No lanes over here. No shoulders either. Too bad if you're a motorbike driver and our bus is passing another on a blind turn at 100km an hour and your coming the other way. Your off the road and better hope its not a ditch or a gully, a pile of trash or the remains of a burning bamboo roof.

Nearly flying, we driving with such force, through said town, on the third rotation of the same album, of what is seemingly the only band in Cambodia. Or the only band ANYONE listens too. We nearly avoid a naked baby prodding some roadkill with a stick, an omen of sorts?!, the driver lays into a honk before, during and after we pass the child to let him know of our arrival and departure. When immediately, we come SMACK, THUD, what was that?

Something large we just slammed into and ran over with our tires as the bus tilted ever so slightly to the left a few degrees. The busdrivers debated stopping, but eventually did, all the while all the passengers were rubbernecking for a view of the damage.

Was is a human or an animal!?! That was the wonder. Luckily, I guess you could say, it was a cow. And a rather proper sized cow at that. As it happened to be a Saturday, we were reassured by the locals that it was, "no problem," and that the cattlefeed would be a welcome feast for the small village.

That was our welcome ride into Cambodia and I meant to write about it ages ago, but just plain forgot. What a bizarre story and upon mentioning it to our travel buddy Dave from NY, who we always run into, he acedotes, "well, at least you weren't on my train in India where a guy laid his head down on the tracks and the train sliced it off and we had to stop for 2 hours, all get out and help the conductor find the head."

Notes on Vietnam

Vietnam, so far..............

So far Vietnam has offered us a different experience so far than the previous countries. We have been trying lots of traveling via bus throughout the many different countries, long 5-12 hour stretches. So far Vietnam has come in first place in terms of bus travel. We were greeted in Cambodia with a new bus that had a flat screen TV in the front! As soon as the bus started the driver put on some tunes. We are pretty accustomed to this so far, Thailand and Laos it was the same 30 year old Reggae song over and over, Cambodia also had their local 30 year old favorite, but Vietnam...well Vietnam greeted us with Christmas music that was preformed by a reggae/disco group with ultimate fur get ups and sparkley peacock outfits, not only were these smashing hits executed to perfection, but they also played some of the songs with the Disney's cartoon, Recess. For no rhyme or reason, but that is pretty much what set the tone for us here in Vietnam, lots of random weird funny awkward things all around!!!

To add to the list of weird things, in DaLat we visited the "Crazy House" which felt like a Gaudi/Alice in Wonderland art hotel museum space. Upon entering one of the rooms in which you could rent for the night we were greeted by a drunk Easy Rider imposter (http://www.easy-riders.net/). Who escorted us onto one of the beds, closed all the windows, pushed us face up on the bed to look into the rooftop mirror above the bed, closed the door and the curtain to the room and sat right outside the curtain. When we tried to get up and leave he pushed us back onto the bed and sat back down...Weird...again we tried and fail, back on the bed....ok this is weird, we said NO THANKYOU and tried to leave, he then asked us for $1 for his attempt to let us have "private time" then when rejected asked for a cigarette. No thanks easy rider imposter, thats just too weird for us...

Moving right along our Vietnam escapade, we have rented bikes and motorbikes numerous times throughout the counrty. Its a great way to see the "real" culture and the landscapes. Jeff is always musing about how its important to see the "real (insert Country)". Half true/Half jest. It almost never fails that while we are riding along, Lalala, we get asked at least two handfulls of time (ya that's a bunch of time!) if we would like a taxi ,easy rider, motorbike, or bike taxi! Hmmm, now stop me if I am wrong, but if I have my own means of transportation I think that it is pretty clear that I don't need any additional means of transportation! But maybe that's just me...weird!

Another weird thing is that at every meal you are offered tea. This was so amazing because we love tea!! Almost everytime we go for a meal it never fails, this great tea that everyone in Vietnam seems to be drinking! We finally asked what kind of tea it is and it turns out to be Artichoke tea!! Weird!! But sooo good!! We then went as fast as we could to the local market and bought the biggest bag that we could and now look forward to bringing it home with us in mass quantities!! (not only is it good for your liver, digestion, and cholesterol but it tastes amazing!)

An unexpected weird thing happened yesterday as we were soaking in mud and mineral baths for 5 hours at the local hot springs, our bug bites and cuts that have been oozing pusd and blood non stop for the past 2 months, stopped. Wow!! Weird!! Unexpected and wonderful!! Not only did they cure us, but the baths left us with great glowing skin, relaxed muscles and an experience we plan to take home and indulge in regularly!

The Dragonfruit. I believe our favorite Fruit over here. Amount: $0.50 for one in Vietnam, $20 for one back home. Yummers. Sreaming hot pick w/ flair on the outside.

Ok, All for now. Hope you are all being safe. As they say in Vietnam, which sometimes comes across fatalistic or foreboding, but, is certainly genuine: Good Luck!

Dam Sen Park

We decided to head off to what we thought would be a quirky Vietnamese city park yesterday. We read about ice scultures and animal statues made of CD's and other various sites of interest in Lonely Planet. Turns out that this park was an Amusement Park and it was a great example of not trusting all things in Lonely Planet to be proper recommendations. However, they should have noted that this wasn't a park, but a 6year old kids amusement park. We were looking to relax, poi, read, etc. we ended up donning some parkas for the Harbin Ice Festival Style lit up Ice Sculpture Hall, watched some Late Show Style Stupid Animal Tricks, went on the World's Worst 3D vitual simulator ride and talked to some local kids who certainly wondered what we were doing there.

Killing Fields and S-21 Cambodia

A few days ago we arrived in Phnom Pehn, the capitol of Cambodia, and also the location of the Killing Fields and S-21. A little on Phnom Pehn first, this place is N-U-T-S nuts!! We arrived at 10pm after a 7 hour bus ride. Greeted by trash, tons of cars, vendor after vendor of stalls filled with crap... Quite the opposite of the little island that we had just arrived from. There are tuk-tuk drivers waiting at the bus stop to shuttle us to some guest house that they get money off of or to some guest house that they have pictures of but look nothing like when you get there!

We decide to go to a place called "No problem" guest house. We are greeted by two 16 year old boys who immidiatly tell us that if we want to score any drugs that theirs are the best, and can't we tell by the way they are acting?...hmmm....it's late, we are tired, and the room is ok..so we decide this place will be fine to crash in....12 am I am awoken by what I first think is the fan oscilating above our heads, but soon realise it is the rats in the floor squeeking and scampering around...at first in my imagination they are all over the floor, about the crawl into bed and rummaging through our stuff. Luckily, they are only in the floor and walls, not on!

10 am after 3 hours of sleep, we head off of the Killing Fields which house many many skulls of innocent Cambodian people who were captured and killed by the Khmer Rouge for either being beautiful, handicapped, educated, female...whatever excuse you could come up with besides being plain, obiedient, and willing to sacrafice anything about being an individual.

The skulls are piled high in a stupa, on the floor is clothing that washed up from the mass graves. This humbeling stupa is lined with shrines and people offering flowers and insence to give respects. The story is bone chilling and extremely sad. As we walk around the fields we are told by signs to watch your step, and to not step on the mass graves. Walking around the fields where people were forced to work, wait 3 little girls ready to steal your camera and beg for 1.00 for 20 mins. wow. This place really pulls at your heart strings.

After that we are taken to S-21, an old high school where people were kept in rooms and tortured. The torturing is showed in some pictures and paintings on the walls. The torture devices all rusted and sitting there open on the mattress in the rooms which you can walk into.

Some of the torture includes tying up the hands behind the back with a piece of wood, then hanging them from the bars behind their back (located in the high school that were probably used for physical eduacation). Once the person passes out because of so much pain they have thier head stuck inside a vat of waste and other foul things, in order to be woken up and tortured more.

It is really hard to believe that people can acually treat other people with such a lack of compassion and inhumanity, even if the person they are torturing is their own family. The overwhelming chaos of Phnom Pehn is really a place that takes a while to digest,and only a couple of days is needed to have your fill.

You want Book, Just One.........

No, I don't want to buy the shitty photocopied and Elmer's glue bound edition of the history of Angkor Wat, as told by your great uncle.

"Just one, good price for you....

Ok, kid, how much do you want

""Five Dollars, for you, good price. "

Ha, you've got to be kidding me. First off, I saw the original edition at the museum for $4.00 yesterday. Also, I have more books than I can possibly read at once, I believe my rucksack currently holds 5 novels and 2 travel books. More than enough. I keep holding onto these books to trade at guest houses but have a hard time justifying offloading a Tom Wolfe for a Clive Cussler or trading the Aussie guy my John Irving for his James Peterson. Seriously, is this what the world is reading? Evidently.

After five minutes of humoring this kid, for the sake of making breakfast interesting, I've got the price down to $1.00, learned that he doesn't go to school and that his parents have forced him for years to slang books on the street for immediate money and gratification, instead of attend FREE public school 4 blocks away. He even lied straight to my face about how he goes to school.
Yeah Right, we asked a Tuk Tuk driver and a waiter if they knew this kid and yeah, they seem him everyday.

What a shame. This county's youth is split into two, and I guess this counties parents as well. Some push their kids to be pushers, to scratch and pull for an dollar here and a dollar there, to bring the bacon home to the adults. The other portion study diligently and work hard for long term success. One can easily tell who has what upbringing by the time there in their early twenties.

So this kid, as cute as it is that he know the capital of California is Sacramento, still doesn't deserve our money. Its so tough, because he's a kind, good-natured kid, but you just cannot perpetuate this failed system. The more books he sells, the less he's in school and the more of a deadbeat he'll be when he grows up. Sad but true.

Fast forward 4 minutes later and another kid, 13 or so this time, shows up.

"You want postcard"?

"no

Why Not?

Why not, he asks!?!? I loved that. Why not, because I already have 10 postcards taht I bought yesterday, and I don't need more. Because my rucksack is full. Because, you are 13 and have been doing this for at least 7 year and we tourist need to stop supporting you. Because yesterday when I bought teh postcards off a girl at Angkor, one of the other 6 girls standing around trying to sell to us yelled at me and said, "I asked you first". They she continued to tell us to leave Cambodia, go back to our country, and generally go to hell.
Why not, because all the postcards you sell are picutes that are taken w/ a polaroid camera from the 1970s. Why not, because we just cannot buy thing and consume and purchase all day long.
Why not, and the answer we came up with, "because I don't want to. Goodbye""

After 2 minutes of lingering, he finally left. Too.

Cambodia is so 50/50. The people are affable ane kind, and pushy and deceitful. The food is amazing and Amok and it gives me heartache and diahrea 1 out of 5 times. The ruins are amazing and well preserved, but everyone seems to be living in their shadow, reminiscing and embracing the wonder that was 800 years ago. This county has had some horrible times as of late w/ the Khmer Rouge and some people get it and some people don't. They have the fortitude to perservere and make a life for themselves. But, so many choose to loiter around the day, napping, playing twiddly thumbs or lounging around with their 7 friends outside of a store. Its like I just want to shake the country by the ground up and motivate these people to do something and make difference.

All over Cambodia, there is a feeling of unease. Everyone is waiting, the cities are waiting. There is dust everywhere and it feels like an old Western Movie where everyone is on their porch looking down the street for Doc Holiday and the gunfight and shootout. So they wait and they wait, and they aren't motivated to pave the streets, work on their houses, cultivate their garden to grow some food to sell to make some money. Its such an experience to come from our country where everyone is so forward thinking and we are programmed from birth to succeed through hard work and sweat.

More Pictures, Less Copy

Val From USA, Wonho from Korea, Elodie from France and Emily from Scotland hanging out trying to figure out how to communicate together and translate everything into English
Val looking really tough in this picture shooting a gun for the first time, while the rest of the group is busy making bamboo cuts w/ machetes in order to have nec equipment in order to drink local Whiskey at night.In remote, REMOTE, Northern Thailand at the Don Chiang coffee plantation and hill tribe. This tribe was definately lightyears ahead of all the others combined in terms of their desire to persue a financial means to live a life less rough and tumble. Amazing coffee that we'd been drinking for 2 weeks so we thought, we better visit the motherland.Moustache. Not the new style for me. Pretty sleezy and skeezy. Obviously.

In Luang Probang Laos. Val in the left and Jeff on the Right. Hard to tell, I know, all five of making the same face. FHHHHHHHHHHHHREARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Fresh Fruit Shakes for breakfast for a whopping $.75 each. Yummers. Just don't dump in the 4 ouches of sugar, a couple of teasspoons will do.

Siem Reap massages

I am learning that there may be nothing else more akward than getting a massage in Cambodia. First off, the way you get lured into a massage place is by 3-5 Cambodian girls sitting in front of the building in the shade yelling "Hello Lady, you want Massa??!!!-or-Mister, you want massa?!!!??"...This happens at least 4-5 times while walking down a street block. The first couple of times you smile and politely say "No thank you." Then after about 15 times of hastleing you just don't look or acknowledge, especially if they start grabbing your arms or shoving a pamphlet in your face.
After an early day of biking to Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise, and hours of bike riding in the squelchering sun we decided it was time to give in, to the less than tempting temptations. We heard a recommendation for a place on the corner of our street and walked in. Thinking that the two older ladies who washed our feet before heading to the room were going to be giving us massages, we felt a little at ease.....
We were promptly escorted to a room with two mattresses by two 15 year olds, nice, then asked to change into towels...I hesitated a few moments to see if the girls would leave. They didn't. So I undressed and wrapped myself in a towel and plopped on the mattress. Meanwhile, the whole time there eyes glued on me,watching me undress like it was some kind of show. Then it was Jeff's turn. They were starting to get giggly and straight up stared the whole time. He managed to slip the towel around his waist and do a manuver to wriggle his bottoms off under the towel...nice!
Plop! We were both down on the beds ready. Now we were waiting for the massage ladies to come in...but they were already there! The two 15 year old girls told us to lay face up, both had jars of what smelled like vicks vapor rub. The girl who was doing my massage scooped out 3 fingers full of the rub and managed to rub the same spot on my left thigh for at least 20 minutes..interesting technique...Rub the leg till it hurts and turns raw and you can't feel it anymore, literally...that's new! I look over at Jeff and he has his eyes closed and has the most painfully uncomfortable look on his face. It was so weird and akward so far that I was couldn't wait for the "massage" to be over!
I must mention that meanwhile this whole time the two girls are speaking to each other laughing and giggling in Cambodian like no one else was in the room. They stop and ask Jeff if he speaks Cambodian, sigh in relief, and resume talking and rubbing the vicks on our thighs...Obviously talking about us.
I thought I would try to close my eyes and pretend that this was the best massage I had ever had but found it hard to relax or even keep my eyes closed for longer than 10 seconds...Why? because my massage girl was making rude gestures to her friend and stopping occasionally to pick her ear or rub her nose...
Finally the hour was up, I couldn't wait to unload all the things that were going on in my head and see what Jeff's experience was like.I thought I was going to burst with all the things I had to say! Little to my surprise, akward was his experience as well. Could possibly be the most uncomfortable time I have had on this trip thus far, the worst massage and $6.00 that I have ever spent in my life!

Pictures and Small Snippets of Travel

Here is a picture of one of Val's many puss bites. She was up to a total of 8 at one point and I had 3 at my worst. This is pretty standard look for 3 days into the puss affair. They go away after about 3 weeks and leave nearly no trace except for the scar tissue and the redness that we are hoping will leave as well.


To the right is a photograph of us taken as we ride through the Vang Vieng countryside in Norther Laos. We were on our way to visit some small local tribes, with an ultimate destination of two caves. One was so cavernous that you could walk back 600m and after the first 20 meters you couldn't go any on w/out a flashlight. It was pitch back and dead silent. The other cave was one in which we has to literally swim to in order to access. But, more on those later.

Here I am with our friend Motoki from Japan, the one on the far left, and my other friend Wall, from Thailand. Wall was impressed that Motoki and I were successfully able to beat all of the local kids from Laos at the Ice Cream Fair in games such as: milk the golf ball out of the fake cow udder, soccer, dress up in a lifesize ice cream suit and sumo wrestle, shoot hoops, find more golf balls in the bucket of colored balls than the other challengers, etc. You get the idea.
We won a 3 inch high stuffed animal keychain of Wall, that we promptly misplaced.


Here is out hideout in Don Det, 4000 Island, Laos. Two people, two hammocks. Check out the granola that we found. Epic lightnight storms every early evening let to beautiful cristal clear skys during the evening. Not a bad set up for $1.00 a night, and to think that these German girls we saw haggled down from $1.00 to $0.75 successfully. We didn't know whether to congratulate them for a job well done or throw our granola at them.




Here we are in Angkor Wat. We're tired. Very. We'd been getting up 3 days in a row much too early. Earlier than the Tuk Tuk drivers and so early that the clubs were still vomiting out people from the night before and as we we're leaving out guest house, people were on their way home from the bars.
We were up early to see the sunrise at Angkor, but, more importantly, we were able to grasp the beauty and sanctity of the place w/out the masses of tourist and hordes of kids pushing this that and the other. Also, we beat the heat, which would come funneling in around 1100AM, but by that time, we'd already have logged 7 hours of touring and nearly 20km of biking for the day.

Laos -Thus Far

We are in Vang Vieng, Laos, our 5th day in our second country. We hitched a two day ride on the slow boat from Chiang Khong Thailand and landed in Luang Prabang 32 hours later. What a spectacular and relaxing was to travel down the river that has been the heart and soul of commerce and livelihood of the people within this region for all of time. We were expecting a more ruckus journey, but the people on the boat were all reasonably well behaved and quiet. Somehow 120 people on a boat w/ seats for 44 really didnt even seem that crammed. During the second day we ammused ourselved by sittin on the edge of the rail and dangling our feet in the water.

Luang Prabang was a nice change of pace compared to Thailand. It was a French outpost years ago so the cobblestone streets, baggette vendors and cutsey streets were all notable holdovers. The city is extrememly clean and well organized with the nicest night market and most accommadations people we've met thus far. However, we found that the city (and moving forward what we've seen of Laos thus far) was geared toward tourist and bringing in the money of the foreigners. All of the Tuk Tuk drivers, or at least 90percent of them catered to tourists, promoting trips to the Kangsi Waterfall and the amazing buddist caves lining the Mekong.

Nevertheless, there were tourist destinations for good reason and if I were charged w/ promotions tourism, I'd make sure to milk these destinations for all they are worth. Basically, the most spectacular waterfall we've seen.

Our day journey to the waterfall added a fellow traveler to the bunch: George from the country of Georgia. When asked how he was doing, he replied, "tired." One could tell, as he's been travelling the world as a vagrant for 16 months. Whoa.

As we posted up in Luang Prabang, Val started to get some pretty nasty bug bits surfacing. The count thus far is 6, and 2-3 times daily we have to relieve them of copious amounts of puss fluid akine to wood glue. I have one and it hurts. I can only imagine 6. We've been trying different remedies on the different bites and thus far, the one that has responded best has been the one w/ garlic applied under a bandaid. Val's idea. Success!

More about our bodies. We are both in the waning stages of some sort of minor sickness. We vomited vehemently last night within 5 minutes of each other. Our friend Lior from Isreal remarked: How Romantic.

Coupling that less than accomodationg stomachs and we're really fit to be tied right now. Hence, why we are relaxing write emails instead of drinking our faces off riding innertubes down the rivver from bar to bar w/ the bro tourists from Australia and the meathead tribal tattoo fratters from Southern CA.

But, I digress. Some final thoughts on Luang Prabang. It was such a juxtaposition for us. One of the most beautiful and relaxing cities we've ever visited, but with such a major identity crisis. From what we gathered, there is no remaining Laotion culture w/in the city. The city has succumbed to the wrathe of the tourist dollar, euro, Kroner, etc. The notes on menus and the tuk tuk drivers talk about the Laotion culture of sharing and community and togetherness and respect for time to reflect and relax, but the are throngs of bars and cafes that have totally compromised this whole ideology. There is even a bowling alley promotions buckets of Booze to 500AM in the morning for the Falangs (westerners) In the end, as our friend King from Korea says, "whatever....fuck!" With a little perspective and within letting all of the commerce get to us, we were really able to have a good crack in the city, relax, go running, biking and drank some amazing coffee 4 times a day.

Last note, its as if Oreo's just landed in Laos. Every stall is promotions everytime of Fruit shake imaginable AND Oreo shakes. Everyone here is drinking Oreo shakes and walking around town w/ Oreos in their grubby hands. The funny thing is that have of the vendors continue to spell on their signs Oreo with an "I", as in ORIO, even though they can clearly spell check by looking ast the package in front of them.

Vacation Travel Begins

So we've left the volunteer group and are feeling pretty good about the last 2+ weeks thus far. We are thankful to have began our trip w/ the hill tribe and believe that this not only kicks us off to a gratifying and alturistic start, but gave us a great perspective on culture over here.

We were a group of 16 and have halved down to 8, as it turns out that others were planning to boat to Laos as well. We feel pretty good about still having some friends around, but at the same time are realizing that we are really to have our own experiences and make decisions for ourselves.

We had out first half day on our own since our first day and Bangkok and were appreciative of not having to answer to a schedule or other peoples musings and pontifications. Its amazing how you can really respect and admire and appreciate people, but at the same time the things that you care for in these people can grown thin after two week. We were really yearning for time to just spend together with each other, sit around and feel like we are on vacation. For the first time, today felt like a real vacation.

Sidebar: We are at a guest house (why do they call them guest houses, they are hostels, not houses) anyway, we are at this guesthouse and there is a movie collection. There are 50 movies and it's been 3weeks w/out a movie and I offer up the choice Burn After Reading. There were seven people that saw the movie, 2 loved it (Jeff and our work friend Lior) and the other 5 HATED the movie and generally thought it sucked. What it is w/ this movie?!?! Literally, there is no middle ground here. People either love it or think its trash. Wasn't this movie brillliant, I sure thought it was one of the funniest flicks I'd seen all year. I really feel like the smart people our there got it and the wingdings and nimrods just missed it. Oh well, I guess that humors not for everyone.

We'll write from Laos.

Final Akha Hill Tribe Volunteer Days

Lets see where do we start....

So we are officially done with the first part of volunteer work. We visited one last hill tribe two days ago where we were driven 2 hours into the hills, of course all piled up in the back of a truck for one last big excursion in the mountains. As it turns out it was a holiday in Thailand where no one is supposed to work. Our leader consulted with the trees to make sure that if we did any work that the spirits would not harm us...turns out they were ok with us working. So we knocked down the remains of a house, cleaned up piles of leaves and debris and set them on fire, and lit really big fires for when we slept in our bamboo hut with no walls, that bugs and animals would stay far away from us (akha tradition...which worked b.t.w) We had dinner and breakfast on the floor of the main elder of the tribes house and had impecable views of the sunset in the jungle on the side of the mountains! We were taught about many different herbs and plants they grow to use as medicine and export (one of them being a red root they use to dye eggs for a traditional red egg ceremony/new years celebration)

The last day consisted of gardening at an orphanage. Going to a hill tribe who gives elephant rides (we opted to wave at the elephant riders, rather then ride) and hike to a waterfall. Today and last night was the big farewell. We had a ceremony and had a big pot luck with everyone. There were people from Germany,Scottland, Canada, Israel, Korea, Japan, France, and of course US, we all made a course from where we were from which was really special. They had a good luck ceremony after which consisted of taking a chunk of chicken, a chunk of egg, a chunk of rice and eating it while taking a shot of Akha water (cheap whiskey) and some tea. They then tied a string around our wrist (right on boys left on girls) three times and a beaded necklace. The necklace represented good luck for our travels

After the ceremony we watched a teary slideshow on a laptop of all the photos they took of us with the background of romantic music dubbed over by thai singers (think phil collins).

Buddist New Year

This past week we have stayed with 2 different Akha hill tribes after spending a week at a children's Akha hostle. The first hill tribe was way up in the mountains. It was a 2 hour drive in the back of the truck switching between road and off road. (our backs and butts have permanent bruises) Arriving in the first tribe we were greeted with the many many children claubering us wanting us to chase them and play with them on their bicycles (no chains and no handle bars) we offered them toothbrushes, paste, coloring crayons, paper and all had a drawing session. Amazinly the kids had really really good drawing skills and made us pics of elephants, butterflys and other jungle animals. Jeff then played about 2 good hours of marbles with the kids who also had really mad skills and had all these really good moves!!
Dinner consisted of different plants gathered from the jungle (fiddle head ferns, wild golden raspberries), small birds which were caught with handmade bamboo traps and rice, of course.
We woke up and helped to take down a bamboo hut and rebuild the roof of one...we brought the old remains to different piles to be burned. (very polluting, but makes for great amazing sunsets)
Later that day we headed to another hill tribe in San Chai where we drove way into the hills and planted over 200 trees on a super sloped hill...digging the holes and planting the baby trees. We had lunch then went to help build a pool. Mixing concrete and laying down the layers to build the pool for the locals. A random monk on a horse stopped by to say hi to us after his treck from Chiang Mai to Chaing Rai.
After that long day we attended a reception of a 16 year old couple who had gotten married earlier that day! They served us dinner and traditional food and Akha water aka cheap whiskey as we all proceeded to drink and do kareoke to Eifel 65 (Im blue) and Lou Vega (Mambo #5) and of course....Country Road.....
After taking over the wedding we went back to our bungalo and had a dance party from one of the volunteers ipod turned on full blast.

Next day....
wake up
make cups out of bamboo with machettes, shooting Akha guns, while we wait for our Traditional Akha herbal Sauna to heat up (herbs from the jungle with ginger infused the air) mean while doing yoga on logs....

Yesterday commenced the beginning of the Buddist New Year. The festivities run from roughly April 12th - 18th, or whenever seems appropriate to begin or stop. It is seemingly random. Basically, the event has become one huge water fight. As I am sitting inside this internet cafe looking outside, I am seeing trucks loaded to the brim with Thai teens in the truck beds. They have garbage cans filled w/ water and buckets to throw said water on passerbys and other fellow trucks. Everyone gets wet. We are both totally soaked right now. There is no mercy. Val threw a bucket of water on an elderly lady yesterday. She smiled and waved Happy New Year, waving w/ the hand that was not holding her cane.

You can haul about 10 people in the back of a pickup and have enough space, as long as 3 people are standing up and 4 are sitting off of the sides of the truck. Safe, right? Now, add in the fact that the sober (thankfully) drivers are passing beers and Thai wiskey back to the passengers. That was our situation yesterday on our day off of Volunteering. We went on a field trip to the boader of Burma and passed through 5 police checkpoints. At each spot we waved at the police with a beer in hand, in the back of the truck, and they waved back. Evidently, this behavior is ok in Thailand. Further, the only thing that the police checked at the checkpoint, was to see if we had enough water in our water cooler. Seriously, they even filled it up for us a couple of times. These are the priorities of the Thai armed forces neverminding the empty bottles of booze floating around in our makeshift swimming pool that we constructed threw the usage of silly putting in the cracks of the truck tailgate.

ok, we are out of time!!!!!
much more to come!
So much mucho loves!!
V & J

The Chili Pepper are Still Hot

Yesterday Val And I ate dog, while two dogs were next to us. So, I asked the program leader, how do you decide which dogs to eat and which to domesticate. Then he told us a fable that seems to clear things up, but is much to long to reiterate. Suffice to say, they dont eat the dogs around the house, but buy it prepared off the streeet vendors. Dog tasted really good. Probably the best thing I've eaten all trip, and the irony petting an animal while eating its kinfolk...
Mind you, Val hardly eats meat, let alone pets.
We've been working w/ a group of 16 volunteers from around the globe. We are the oldest, which we figured would be the case going into this. A little apprehensive the first day w/ the general lack of organization by the program leaders turned out to be just general change of demeanor from working w/ American organizations and Thai groups. The people in the group are good and kind hearted and It ends up that we forgot how fun it can be to try and communicate in english to non-english speakers. However, even after 3 days we have begun to speak to each other as if one of us is Slovic and the other from Budapest. For example:

Jeff: Val, you know the time of dinner.
Val: I no know, we go talk to Taki, find out

Wondering how we'll digress/progress over the course of the next 2 weeks.

Other general, random musing of the day is that we are now completely immuse to ants. I believe I have 10-15 on my body right now, and whatever. We're boarderline okay with Spiders and cockroaches scurringly amoung our room and making a home in our bags. This is a far cry from one week ago when a handful of ants would've brought out a bottle or two of Raid.

We've have a very positive mix of working with the tribe as well as after work seeing how the Akha people live and some National Parks in which they visit. The Wats are abundant and the one that really caught our attention and held it more than the others was the "White Temple", in which we were really able to relate to on a more personal level because the art, design and ideology of the imagery and integrity of the building and wall frescos embodies a modern day commentary and persona. There was a dark undertone of half of the building and complex representing the general moderism and commercialism of Western Culture juxtaposed w/ the serenity and divinity of the buddist way of life.

We also went to a 200m high waterfall in a National Park where we stood at the bottom and received a Thai Nature Massage. Today we went to a Natural Hot Springs and submerged ourselves in 130 degree water while all the locals looked on with apprehension musing to themselves about our lack of braincells for wanting to get into water in which they were boiling eggs. Literally.

OK, we've got to run, well, get in the back of a pickup w/ 10 other people and drive willy-nilly around the country back to our abode for the evening.

Much more later and more updates on our actual volunteer experience, the tribe, the kids and our thoughts on Thai culture and their possitives and opportunities in about a week.

Much Love.
Jeff and Val

PS. Jeff lost his voice from eating too many chili peppers but refused to stop eating them because they are sooo good and make him feel alive.

waiting

So we are now out of Bangkok! And in Chiang Rai..eagerly waiting to meet up with our volunteer group before we a whisked away to the jungle to stay with the Hill Tribe. So far Chiang Rai is much more relaxed...we stayed in a bungalow much like a tree house with lots of vines and nature all around, very nice! People here are sooo much more relaxed and not trying to crawl down your throat if you make any kind of eyecontact. You actually get smiles and nods and really genuine warm welcomes. We visited the day and night markets which are jammed with little vendors selling vegetables, meats, dried stuff, hawaiian shirts (?) knick knacks, doo daads and whatchamacollits......so far the best cheapest food around! The weather is a bit cooler here and so are the locals! So far all is well!
What we have learned today: Grapes.

Bangkok

So, we made it here to Bangkok safe and sound and swiftly took a 14 hour snooze. So far things have been kooky and good. Every 2 minutes we get hassled and people have been trying to sell us horses all day. We don't need cashmere suits and we really really don't need any jewelry. And the fact that you never know if a Tuk Tuk will take you to where you really want to end up has been quite the adventure. Its like if you tell your Taxi Driver in SF that you want to go to 16th and Valencia and he takes you to Nike Town first and tries to guilt you into staying in the store for 15 minutes because if you do, he gets free gas. What?!!?!?
However, we having a good time making puns w/ the words Thai, Baht, Wat, etc.
Our travel takeaway today is that the best things we're finding are coming in unexpected places.
Much Love, Jeff and Val

We're Off!

Friends, 

Here is our Travel Blog. We thought about all these catchy names and quirky titles, but decided on Val and Jeff's Travel Blog for easy searching.

We look forward to sharing the experience with you all along the way.

All the Best

Val and Jeff and Jeff and Val