Sabadee Be Mai or Happy New Year! I can't believe I've gotten to experience three different New Year celebrations this year, all in a different country. I spent western New Year in Manila, the Lunar New year in Korea, and now the Laos New Year in Laos, which follows the Indian calendar.
The past few days have left me soaking wet. According to New Year traditions, people use water to wash their homes and selves for the new year, in hopes for a long, healthy life. People everyone have water guns and buckets out on the curb, waiting to soak people that walk or drive by. I spent all day yesterday throwing buckets of water on everyone that came by our guesthouse, it was so fun! Luckily, it's so hot that the water feels great and you dry off quickly. I climbed in a jeep with 18 other people randomly yesterday and went down to the river to join the local celebration. It was really amazing to see so many local people out celebrating. There were people everywhere, most of them soaking wet, eating food, dancing, swimming, and splashing people.
So I've been in Laos for a few weeks now. It's been hard to get blogs in because the power isn't consistent, which is frustrating when always having to rewrite a blog! I would just like to say that I think Laos is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen! The landscape is amazing, with beautiful rivers and great mountains. The people are genuinely sweet and laidback. I didn't know this before coming to Laos, but it is the most heavily bombed country on Earth! I don't have a factbook in front of me, but basically during the 60's the US military launched a hardcore attack on the country, dropping tons of bombs everywhere! Even today there are a ton of bombs that haven't gone off yet that are laying around in random spots. I will get my facts straight for sure and then finish telling the story, because I don't wanna screw it up. Anyway, the attacks and a civil war have left Laos in rough shape and it is still a very poor country. Driving through the country the poverty is evident and it makes Laos seem so untouched by society, which it really is.
Ok, I just found out the computer cafe is closing...so I will leave you with this unfinished blog, just to give you all something to read! I will write more when I can.
Be well!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
hitchhiking after midnight...(don't tell my mom!)
on a lonely mountain road in Thailand is not a good idea only because nobody picks you up. Or maybe I should say, nobody drives at that hour. I think Morgan and i saw 5 vehicles pass us in the hour it took to walk home from town, and all of them were motorbikes, except for two. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that we didn't get picked up!
It has been a while since I have written. After leaving Chiang Mai, we took a bus to Pai, a small community nestled in a valley amongst mountains, in northern Thailand. The bus ride itself was a long and hot ride, but the scenery was beautiful! The curvy roads, the dropoffs, the farms and the mountains were all breathtaking! The scenery made up for the rough ride. We were headed to Pai to work on an organic farm called Tacomepai. A friend of Morgan recommended it to us so we decided to check it out. The farm turned out to be one of the highlights of my time in Thailand. The farm and the family that run it are amazing! Anyone traveling to Thailand that wants a unique experience should check it out. Sandot, the owner, is a great soul. His vision is to educate everyone about the benefits of organic farming. He does this by letting people come to stay at the farm, choosing to help out and learn what they want. He is also a huge advocate in his community, trying to teach the local people in his village how to conserve more resources and reduce waste as they live. His passion for farming, the environment, and people in general made our stay a great experience.
Everyone gets to stay in a unique bungalow. There are many to chose from. Most are made of bamboo, with the exception of two straw huts and a mud house. The bathrooms are open air- you can see the stars as you "go"- which I highly recommend! Every morning we got up at 6:30 and went to collect hay from soy beans to use for composting. After that was breakfast, then any chores we could help Sandot out with. We weeded and watered gardens, collected firewood, made soy milk, picked vegetables out of the gardens to cook with, cooked all our own meals over an open fire, and we also got to learn how to "make rice." In case you didn't realize, rice does not grow looking like the rice we see in the stores. It has to be husked, basically. I know there are machines that do it now, but we got to husk rice the old fashioned way and boy was it hard! You use your leg to pump a huge wooden log up and down on a bowl full of rice. The log eventually breaks the outer shell of the rice off and you end up with the rice we see in stores. After you are done pumping, which is a major leg workout, you separate the rice from the shells by throwing it up in the air and catching the rice in the basket while the shells fly away in the wind. It took a group of 5 of us 4 hours to do a big sack.
Besides doing farmwork, Sandot took us to the hotsprings, to a local hilltribe village and on a trek. The trek we took involved an accidental climbing of a mountain- and I'm not joking. Because we arrived late in the day to our trekking area we decided to take a more direct route, you know, like straight up the mountain! It was honestly one of the scariest things I have done. I've never really climbed anything before so I guess my lack of experience might have contributed to my fear, but at one point we were so high up at such a steep incline that you couldn't have gone down the way you came if you wanted to! Needless to say, we all made it! After eating rice steamed in bamboo and a soup made from things we picked on our hike, we slept under a beautiful blanket of stars!
After a week on the farm, we left for Laos...which is where I am now. I've been working on this blog for about a week now, but the internet connections here are sketchy so it's been taking a while. At least now I'm caught up with the Thailand part of my trip! Next blog will be about Laos. I'm also working on posting all my pics through a Snapfish account. As soon as I get enough of a connection to upload an album, I'll post the link for anyone to check out.
Be well!
It has been a while since I have written. After leaving Chiang Mai, we took a bus to Pai, a small community nestled in a valley amongst mountains, in northern Thailand. The bus ride itself was a long and hot ride, but the scenery was beautiful! The curvy roads, the dropoffs, the farms and the mountains were all breathtaking! The scenery made up for the rough ride. We were headed to Pai to work on an organic farm called Tacomepai. A friend of Morgan recommended it to us so we decided to check it out. The farm turned out to be one of the highlights of my time in Thailand. The farm and the family that run it are amazing! Anyone traveling to Thailand that wants a unique experience should check it out. Sandot, the owner, is a great soul. His vision is to educate everyone about the benefits of organic farming. He does this by letting people come to stay at the farm, choosing to help out and learn what they want. He is also a huge advocate in his community, trying to teach the local people in his village how to conserve more resources and reduce waste as they live. His passion for farming, the environment, and people in general made our stay a great experience.
Everyone gets to stay in a unique bungalow. There are many to chose from. Most are made of bamboo, with the exception of two straw huts and a mud house. The bathrooms are open air- you can see the stars as you "go"- which I highly recommend! Every morning we got up at 6:30 and went to collect hay from soy beans to use for composting. After that was breakfast, then any chores we could help Sandot out with. We weeded and watered gardens, collected firewood, made soy milk, picked vegetables out of the gardens to cook with, cooked all our own meals over an open fire, and we also got to learn how to "make rice." In case you didn't realize, rice does not grow looking like the rice we see in the stores. It has to be husked, basically. I know there are machines that do it now, but we got to husk rice the old fashioned way and boy was it hard! You use your leg to pump a huge wooden log up and down on a bowl full of rice. The log eventually breaks the outer shell of the rice off and you end up with the rice we see in stores. After you are done pumping, which is a major leg workout, you separate the rice from the shells by throwing it up in the air and catching the rice in the basket while the shells fly away in the wind. It took a group of 5 of us 4 hours to do a big sack.
Besides doing farmwork, Sandot took us to the hotsprings, to a local hilltribe village and on a trek. The trek we took involved an accidental climbing of a mountain- and I'm not joking. Because we arrived late in the day to our trekking area we decided to take a more direct route, you know, like straight up the mountain! It was honestly one of the scariest things I have done. I've never really climbed anything before so I guess my lack of experience might have contributed to my fear, but at one point we were so high up at such a steep incline that you couldn't have gone down the way you came if you wanted to! Needless to say, we all made it! After eating rice steamed in bamboo and a soup made from things we picked on our hike, we slept under a beautiful blanket of stars!
After a week on the farm, we left for Laos...which is where I am now. I've been working on this blog for about a week now, but the internet connections here are sketchy so it's been taking a while. At least now I'm caught up with the Thailand part of my trip! Next blog will be about Laos. I'm also working on posting all my pics through a Snapfish account. As soon as I get enough of a connection to upload an album, I'll post the link for anyone to check out.
Be well!
Monday, March 24, 2008
rasta girl
Somebody called me rasta girl today! I am going to take that as a compliment...it is the first time a stranger has really acknowledged my dreads. They've been in for 6 weeks now and there is NO going back. They are obviously still forming and tightening, but I realized the other day I couldn't take them out if I wanted to. It is kinda scary to think about, but it makes me extremely happy that I have actually gone ahead and done something I've been wanting to do for such a long time! Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Other than that, still in Chiang Mai. I really love this city. If I had more time, I would spend much more time here. Last night we all went to a huge night market and shopped and ate some great food. Tomorrow we head to Pai, a small hippie-ish community further north. There is an organic farm there we are all going to work on.
Also, here are a few pictures! Finally, right? I will only post a few because it takes so long, but I will post them all via Facebook/Myspace for those of you who desire to look. Enjoy!
Other than that, still in Chiang Mai. I really love this city. If I had more time, I would spend much more time here. Last night we all went to a huge night market and shopped and ate some great food. Tomorrow we head to Pai, a small hippie-ish community further north. There is an organic farm there we are all going to work on.
Also, here are a few pictures! Finally, right? I will only post a few because it takes so long, but I will post them all via Facebook/Myspace for those of you who desire to look. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
anyone want to join a circus with me??
Yesterday was one of those days that had me asking myself, "Is this for real?" more than once. After spending 6 hours wandering aimlessly around Chiang Mai waiting to check into our guesthouse, we found out it was full! Luckily we stumbled across a really unique guesthouse and art gallery on a side street during our wanderings. We decided to go back there and see if they had rooms available, which they did. After settling in and sleeping for about 3 hours I woke up and decided to hang out downstairs in the yard. The people I met were great!
First, I met a man who tells me he has been in Thailand studying yoga for a month. This works out perfectly because one of the things I wanted to explore on this trip was yoga...perfect! He has a studio recommended for me to check out! I also found out that he is really good at Poi, the art of fire dancing, which is something Adam and Morgan want to learn. He gave Adam and Morgan a lesson right there on the spot. He also is helping me learn how to whistle, which is another goal for my trip! Then I meet a man who is studying massage and so is his girlfriend. He tells me she can bring a masseuse over to my room anytime! Great!
By this time Alexis, Adam, and Morgan have all joined me on the porch. We then meet two musicians that were practicing in the yard. Turns out they are part of a traveling circus! They have been traveling all around Europe and Asia for about 5 years by bicycle. Their bikes are crazy! One has a big elephant head on the handlebars and the seat is up really really high. The other bikes are just as interesting. As they ride they stop randomly and put on a little bit of a circus/variety show in small villages, cities, markets...wherever. They have met quite a few people who are very generous and have experienced a very different type of traveling. After we meet these two, another one of their friends shows up. Suddenly the whole yard turns into a circus. They have a banjo, violin, trumpet and a trombone out. Then they bring out the clubs and practice juggling. Another girl is doing handstands, Adam, Morgan, and Hemmo are practicing their poi. Alexis is trying to juggle the clubs. I'm just taking it all in, thinking, "Is this for real?" It was a surreal moment. Later that night we all headed to a local park with the instruments, clubs, a frisbee, the poi, and Morgan and I brought our recorders. We spent our night in the park just playing.
After yesterday, I've been a bit inspired and I've decided that a traveling circus/variety show is the way to go! If anyone else reading this agrees, let me know! In about a year or so we can get bikes together and random acts to perform and hit the road! I really think this would be a great experience. So, all my weird friends (and I know I have plenty) unite and get ready to take our show on the road!
First, I met a man who tells me he has been in Thailand studying yoga for a month. This works out perfectly because one of the things I wanted to explore on this trip was yoga...perfect! He has a studio recommended for me to check out! I also found out that he is really good at Poi, the art of fire dancing, which is something Adam and Morgan want to learn. He gave Adam and Morgan a lesson right there on the spot. He also is helping me learn how to whistle, which is another goal for my trip! Then I meet a man who is studying massage and so is his girlfriend. He tells me she can bring a masseuse over to my room anytime! Great!
By this time Alexis, Adam, and Morgan have all joined me on the porch. We then meet two musicians that were practicing in the yard. Turns out they are part of a traveling circus! They have been traveling all around Europe and Asia for about 5 years by bicycle. Their bikes are crazy! One has a big elephant head on the handlebars and the seat is up really really high. The other bikes are just as interesting. As they ride they stop randomly and put on a little bit of a circus/variety show in small villages, cities, markets...wherever. They have met quite a few people who are very generous and have experienced a very different type of traveling. After we meet these two, another one of their friends shows up. Suddenly the whole yard turns into a circus. They have a banjo, violin, trumpet and a trombone out. Then they bring out the clubs and practice juggling. Another girl is doing handstands, Adam, Morgan, and Hemmo are practicing their poi. Alexis is trying to juggle the clubs. I'm just taking it all in, thinking, "Is this for real?" It was a surreal moment. Later that night we all headed to a local park with the instruments, clubs, a frisbee, the poi, and Morgan and I brought our recorders. We spent our night in the park just playing.
After yesterday, I've been a bit inspired and I've decided that a traveling circus/variety show is the way to go! If anyone else reading this agrees, let me know! In about a year or so we can get bikes together and random acts to perform and hit the road! I really think this would be a great experience. So, all my weird friends (and I know I have plenty) unite and get ready to take our show on the road!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
waiting...
I've been doing a lot of waiting the past few days...for ferries, trains, buses, and places to open. Luckily I'm not too impatient. The past couple of days have been spent traveling from southern Thailand to the north. Because we wanted to travel cheap our options were not so great. On Thursday we left Koh Tao on a ferry. After a 2 hour ferry ride we took a night bus, from 7 pm until 5 am to Bangkok. 5 am-2:30 pm on Friday was spent waiting to take the train up to Chiang Mai. We rode the train from 2:30pm until 6am on Saturday. It was an interesting experience. The landscape was beautiful. Lots of beautiful rice paddies, little villages, and random temples and huge Buddha statues scattered everywhere. At one point we passed an old temple that had at least 35 little monkeys running around outside. Since the train was overnight all of our seats turned into little beds, which was nice.
It's not so much the traveling part that has been annoying, but just the feeling of being so displaced. We have been killing time with nowhere in particular to go. It's not so fun exploring and lugging a huge backpack around, while trying not to stick out as a tourist!
Now we have made it to Chiang Mai. As I'm writing this I'm currently waiting to check into a hostel, go figure. Not sure what's on the agenda, but I'm thinking a nice Thai massage is in order for today. Planning on taking a Thai cooking class in the next few days.
Ok, I have one minute left...sorry for the abrupt ending. I will write more later!
It's not so much the traveling part that has been annoying, but just the feeling of being so displaced. We have been killing time with nowhere in particular to go. It's not so fun exploring and lugging a huge backpack around, while trying not to stick out as a tourist!
Now we have made it to Chiang Mai. As I'm writing this I'm currently waiting to check into a hostel, go figure. Not sure what's on the agenda, but I'm thinking a nice Thai massage is in order for today. Planning on taking a Thai cooking class in the next few days.
Ok, I have one minute left...sorry for the abrupt ending. I will write more later!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
8 days
Today is my eighth day in Koh Tao. Adam, Morgan, and Alexis have been doing lots of diving so I have had lots of free time. Luckily we ended up meeting some quality people that I've been hanging out with while everyone is diving. We met them at a place called the Car Bar, a great little VW bus turned bar, which has a great chill atmosphere and good music. The guys we met are dive instructors here and have been living here for a few months. One of their friends is on a holiday so we are able to stay in his bungalow for quite cheap now that we have to leave the dive resort. The bungalow is nothing special, but it will do for a place to sleep.
I think we will spend a few more days exploring the island now that diving is done and then head off to Koh Phang Yan, another small island south of Koh Tao, to hit up the Full Moon Party. I've heard some crazy stories about it so I'm interested in checking it out.
I'm finding it difficult to upload pictures since the internet is so slow here, but soon, very soon! (I hope)
I think we will spend a few more days exploring the island now that diving is done and then head off to Koh Phang Yan, another small island south of Koh Tao, to hit up the Full Moon Party. I've heard some crazy stories about it so I'm interested in checking it out.
I'm finding it difficult to upload pictures since the internet is so slow here, but soon, very soon! (I hope)
Friday, March 14, 2008
koh tao
is a beautiul island! I've been here for about 5 days and am enjoying relaxing on the beach! Adam and Morgan have been busy getting their scuba certifications. Alexis is joining the boys to get her advanced diving certificate, so I will have the next few days to relax by myself. The whole island is relatively chill, not too many tourists, which I have been enjoying. Sorry I can't write too much more, just wanted to give a quick update. I'm alive and well, I hope you all are too. I will write more when I can find a cheaper internet cafe!
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