Fantasy Island

So Back to my story of arriving to Phuket....I flew to Phuket from Chiang Mai, found my way to the tourist bus that goes to Patong Beach where I was meeting up with Herb the next day.   The bus wasn't really a bus but more like a big passenger van, and the company doesn't leave the airport until all the seats are sold...so they really pack'm in..it's hot and cramped, about the last place I wanted to be after traveling...  Anyways I hop in and I'm sitting next to a young guy which I later find out is Israeli and an older man from Antwerp.  So my friendly self starts chatting it up with my neighbors and within the first five minutes the Israeli guy is trying to get me to share a hotel room with him "as we can have separate beds of course"...yeah right.  Then the old man tries to get me to stay at his hotel...that was my welcome to Phuket!  So I turned them down as nicely as I could and on the first stop at Patong Beach jumped out of the van, grabbed my bags and made a run for it, in search for a hotel since I didn't have one.  

Patong Neach is quite the place.  The actual beach is beautiful as the sand is white, the water aqua, gorgeous mountains in the background...geographically it couldn't be more perfect.  However it's really become Bangkok on the beach...lot's of girlie bars, loud dance clubs, and cheap souvenir shops selling everything from custom suits to fake watches and English Premiere League soccer jerseys.  Also it feels like spring break for middle aged white men. Prostitution is readily available and the word has definitely spread to every middle aged guy from Russia to America!  These dirty old men are everywhere you look, whether it's alone or in groups all frolicking around with young Thai girls as they pop the viagra like candy...men!!  Hopefully the women are at least making a lot of money.

Herb and I stayed on Patong beach for two nights, however out of the craziness of the strip so it turned out to be really nice.  From Phuket we jumped on the ferry to go to Ko Phi Phi, which is an island just south of Phuket.  Along with Phuket, Phi Phi is absolutely beautiful-the beaches, water, mountains-also the there are no cars on the island so transportation is by foot or long tail boat.  We stayed in the the tourist village for the first two nights and then traveled to the very remote northern tip of the island.  We stayed in a charming bungalow on the beach complete with a hammock!  we had a great time hanging out on the beach, exploring uninhabited islands, reading, drinking, eating and watching the most amazing sunsets!  It was the perfect ending to an amazing trip!

 

Solo

I thought I would be better about updating the blog, now that I am traveling on my own and less busy, but I guess I don't really have an excuse..I've been lazy.

I left Hanoi last week and flew to Luang Prabang Laos, which is where my laziness really began. LP is a small town in northern Laos, and is a UNESCO world heritage site. This place is so amazing...the town sits on a peninsula where two rivers meet, surrounded by mountains...there are shimmering wats on practically every street corner, monks hanging out in their saffron robes...however the town also feels European thanks to French Indochina. Like Hoi An the architecture is French colonial, but more refined and the food is a great mix of Asian and European flavors. I ended up getting a room in a tiny little guest house on the banks of the Mekong river, and stayed for five days. The owner is a friendly Laos man with a huge smile and basic English...I don't think he really knew what to think of me...American girl in Laos by herself for five nights...

Anyways, in LP I explored all the Wats on a rickety pink bike which didn't really have brakes, visited two waterfalls, hung out with some elephants, hiked, read my book, watched the sunset on the Mekong every night and had great food. All in all it was a very relaxing five days...lot's of much needed down time from my busy life in CH and travels through Cambodia and Vietnam.


From LP I flew to Chiang Mai Thailand on Laos Airlines. Not sure if anyone is familiar with this airline, but it's run by the Laos government and is really the only airline that flies within Laos. Before I bought my ticket to Chiang Mai, I read in Lonely Planet (the travel bible) that this airline doesn't have the best safety record... had some issues in the past couples years etc...However I bought my ticket as it was better than the bus (70% of the roads in Laos are not paved). When I say the airport is tiny, I really mean tiny. There is one gate for international flights and you wait in this old room sitting in vintage (well at least in America) Herman Miller chairs. So then the plane pulls up to the gate, (which is really just a glass sliding door) and it's a prop plane (not sure if that's the right lingo...not jet engines but propellers) This plane was probably fabricated in the 60's...Inside the cabin, the seats where so tiny, I barely fit...it was like sitting on a hard bench. We took off and I wasn't sure if the plane was really going to make it off the ground....but it did and I managed to make it to Chiang Mai in one piece. Quite an aviation experience! Next time I'm in Laos I should probably take the bus.

Chiang Mai was fantastic as I had a luxury hotel room thanks to a connection with the hotel manager (thanks Viva Uible!) It was great, I explored Chiang Mai in the mornings and every afternoon came back to the hotel to hang out by the pool! What a vacation.

Yesterday I flew from Chiang Mai to Phuket and currently staying in Patong Beach, which is a story I will save for my next blog entry...all I have to say is lots of middle age western men with too much viagra.

Sunshine=Happiness

So, again it's been awhile since I have updated the blog...I have been so busy in the past week but now I am in Laos where everything is sooo slooowwww...so lots of time to update!

Last time I wrote I was in Hoi An, which to recap it rained the most of the time...however still an amazing small town. After Hoi An we took a bus to Hue, which is the wettest city in Vietnam . It rains about 200 days a year, and when we were there it rained, and rained, and rained; in fact it didn't stop raining. Hue is supposed to be another amazing place in Vietnam as this was the former capital of Vietnam and imperial life. We saw the citadel and forbidden palace where the Tet offensive was fought. The next day we wanted to take a boat ride to the Kings Tombs outside of town but the river was so high the boats couldn't clear the bridges, so it was back on the bus. We sloshed along the kings tombs for a while in the pouring rain, but I have to say I didn't see much except for the side walk...looking at the sidewalk was the only thing I could do to keep somewhat dry. By the end of the sloshing my poncho was no longer water proof and I was completely soaked...

That afternoon we boarded the overnight train to Hanoi; and 20 minutes outside of Hue it had stopped raining...of course. The overnight train was an experience...I've been on several overnight trains in Europe and they're never luxury but this one was pretty dirty. Oh well I guess it builds character...while I was reading my book in the cabin I was visited by a mouse and cockroaches...I won't even mention the smell of the bathroom. But I went to bed that night, hoping the next day would be sunny and warm, just in time for my birthday and Thanksgiving.

My birthday wishes came true as we pulled into Hanoi in the early morning and the sky was clear and the sun rising! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday and thanksgiving! The group had a fantastic breakfast at Koto, a restaurant that trains underprivileged kids in the restaurant industry. We followed that up by a visit to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum...which how ironic to be there on Thanksgiving. I have to say it was an interesting experience to go through and see Uncle Ho. The rules are very strict...single file line, no talking, no sunglasses, no photos, I even got yelled at for putting my hands in my pockets! Anyway I finally made it through and I think Madame Trussaud has made a fine wax version for display (that my own opinion of course)! The people in Vietnam love Uncle Ho and I couldn't believe the number of school kids, war veterans, and average Vietnamese people making the pilgrimage to see him...they really do love him. I guess I didn't really understand and seeing this makes me wonder why did we even go to war? But that's a whole other discussion.

The rest of my birthday was great as well! Paula (a friend from my travel group) and I explored the old quarter of Hanoi which was an experience. Lonely Planet is right when they say it's what you think of as "old Asia" or something like that...It this weird mix of European architecture and Asian culture. The streets are narrow and crowded with everyone peddling something from food, clothing, metal furniture, Christmas decorations, souvenirs...it's very chaotic and hard to describe....I was really overwhelmed!

The next day we got on the bus again and drove four hours to Halong Bay. There's not much to say about this place except it is absolutely beautiful and peaceful. I wish we had more time there than an overnight boat ride. We kayaked on the bay and through caves, watched the sunset, swam, ate great food...really fantastic!

The next day the group came back to Hanoi..and with that the final leg of my organized trip was over...I am now traveling by myself. I am so happy with my decision to book the tour through Cambodia and Vietnam...I met the most amazing people on the trip..all young, interesting from faraway places..Ireland, Australia, England, France...I can't wait to go visit them!

My last two days spent in Hanoi where interesting. I took a great half day cooking class with an cute Australian couple from Brisbane. We shopped at the market and then made a Vietnamese feast for lunch! That night I met up with a family friend who grew up in Hanoi, went to DePauw, worked for Microsoft but just moved back to Hanoi about two years ago. We had a great time talking about the culture and touring the city. Taun took me for an adventurous dinner as I was bragging about all the weird and interesting things have eaten in the past couple weeks from bbq rat, grilled snake, fried sparrow...
We had dinner at a great restaurant on West Lake... it was a culinary adventure as we started out with eel soup, followed by shrimp cakes, whole steamed crab, boiled snails...it really was great until about three in the morning when I woke up so sick!

Frogger

So I arrived in Vietnam a few days ago...I know I have been falling behind on the blog, but have been incredibly busy, no downtime to write. We left Phnom Penh via boat on the Mekong River to get to Vietnam. It was such a beautiful boat ride and took about five hours. We stayed in a small fishing village off the river for a night and then continued on by bus to Saigon.

Saigon is a huge city in the south of Vietnam as there are about 8 million people almost all of which drive motor bikes. The motorbikes are crazy....going every which way, it's like frogger trying to cross the street. Also the noise from the bikes is so loud and they like to use the horn..they beep at everything, it a constant buzz. But the city has a great energy to it and the people are very nice and friendly (even to Americans). The only bad thing it the heat, it's considered the cool season and it's still so hot and humid..also it rains just about everyday.

Saigon has an incredible market with laquerware, buffalo horn utensils, clothing, good fake watches and handbags and of course an amazing food market. I bought way too much that my extra bag is overflowing with stuff. It's just so hard to resist, b/c it's super cheap and fun to bargain.

We left Saigon yesterday and took a flight to Hoi An which is on the coast. They have had major flooding in the past couple weeks but has receded somewhat in the past couple days. The town is so cute, all french colonial buildings from the seventeenth century. The city is known for workshops that make custom clothing, particularly suits.

Last night my travel companions and I had a fun night at the Karaoke bar...singing Asian pop songs mixed in with Britney, Madonna, Michael Jackson...I of course made an ass of myself, I just couldn't put down the microphone (god help everyone that had to listen, especially my "like a Virgin" performance).

We leave tomorrow for Hue, which is another small town about four hours north!

Still in Cambodia

But will be leaving tomorrow and I have to say I can't wait. This is such a hard country to be in...it's such a contradiction as there are some amazingly beautiful things to see like the Angkor Wat temples and the countryside but also some of the most horrific things as well. I am currently in Phonm Penh, a city of 1 million people. Roughly half the population is under the age of 18 and 30,00 kids are homeless on the street. I have never seen so many young kids barefoot, filthy and begging. Yesterday a baby was sitting in the middle of an ally screaming and not one person came to the baby's aid. The child sex trade is rampant and completely in your face...at the moment I think all men are just utter pigs....I know not all men are, but when you are here and see young children walking down the street with middle aged Westerners going into a hotel it's hard not to have that reaction.
This morning we went to the genocide museum and then on to the killing fields where over 3 million people were tortured and murdered b/t 1975-1979. Half the population of Cambodia was killed and only about three people from the Khmer Rouge have been arrested today. It's truly unbelievable what people do to each other...quite horrific.
The one positive thing about this country are the people's attitude and nature, as they are always smiling and have a great sense of humor...not quite sure how they do it. I guess it's the only way to keep living.

Holiday in Cambodia

So the rest of my time in Bangkok was great, I met up with the group I will be traveling with for the next couple weeks. The group consist of mostly young people from Australia, Ireland and England. My roommate is a ex pro surfer with lots of tattoos and every sentence includes the word "Dude", "Shocking", or "Unreal."....it's quite funny! Also there are three Irish guys, all of which have super strong accents that no one can understand.

Anyways, we traveled by van to Cambodia on Friday. We crossed the border of Cambodia at Poi pet and took a dirt road to Siem Reap (a five hour trip). To say that Cambodia is poor is an understatement. The majority of Cambodians live on 1 dollar a day...I had no idea what that really meant until I crossed the border on Friday. The road is a major road that connects one of the biggest border crossings in Cambodia with the second largest city. So you would think it would have proper pavement, but it doesn't, just huge potholes and lots of mud. There were times when I thought for sure the van would break down or pop a tire. There are rice paddies on both sides of the dirt road, in which people are harvesting rice. Kids are running everywhere, along with chickens, dogs, cats, water Buffalo... the houses are really shacks made out of palm leaves and bamboo with lots of garbage everywhere. The dirt road was so busy the entire time we were on it...tons of motor bikes, beat up cars, bikes...all on the road in some kind of organized chaos.
Kids are everywhere, with no supervision, either trying to sell something or just begging. You have to understand that these kids are the cutest kids I've ever seen! It's no wonder Angelina Jolie adopted Maddox! Anyways, the hard thing is when they beg all the money goes back to their parents or overseer and is not spent on the children at all. They are not educated and most end up in the child sex industry or prostitution once they get a bit older...it's so horrible. So the long story short is if you give them money it makes the problem worse, but it's so hard to see them in poverty and just turn away.

Yesterday we went to the Ankor Wat complex, of which the Ankor Wat temple is one of the seven wonders of the world. We watched the sunrise over the temple this morning which was so breathtaking...It was one of those few perfect moments in life. I took so many pictures and when I find a better computer will share them.
Well gotta go, as internet is a bit expensive and the connection is so slow. Will write more once I get to Pnom Penh.

Airplane Airport Arrival

So my flight to Seoul was long, very long...a total of about 13 1/2 hours. I flew Korean Air, and first of all the flight attendants have the cutest little uniforms I've ever seen in the skies... blue/green silk fitted blouses with french cut skirts..which is so hip right now, Bill Cunningham did an "on the street's" all about this a few weeks ago!
Anyways, I sat next to two Vietnamese boys in their twenties....both from Fort Wayne Ind. The boy sitting next to me spoke English, but his friend, who, by the way was wearing a crushed satin ivory suit, didn't...so I chatted it up with the boy next to me, turns out he does nails...long story short, I have a free mani/pedi waiting for me the next time I'm in Fort Wayne!
One thing about the flight that no one mentioned, the flight path goes through Canada and northern Alaska. According to the map on the plane we flew on the southern edge of the Arctic circle. It was light and clear through this part of the flight so I could see the ice/snow formations-it was so spectacular!
Landing in Seoul was also interesting, from the air the city appears as a huge, dense, sprawling metropolis surrounded by mountains...so different than any city I've flown over in the states, the density was just so unreal!
We landed in the Seoul airport and, wow! What an amazing airport, the Korean air terminal was the nicest terminal I've ever been in! The duty free stores are like walking down 5th ave in NYC...Gucci, vuitton, versace, YSL...not just the typical wine and chocolate like other airports.

By the time I landed in Bangkok, I had been traveling almost 30hours (with all the layovers)..I was extremely tired. I picked up my bag and took one look at the huge line at the cab stand and one look at the ad of the BMW advertising "Limos"....I walked directly to the limo stand. I know...I'm supposedly roughing it, backpacking, hostels etc...but at that moment I just didn't care.
My driver in the pimped out BMW was extremely talkative and the second question from him (the first, "where are you going?") was "did you select Obama? Thai people, we love him."