Thai Beach Retreat

I have never considered myself much of a beach person per se. The thought of laying in the wrinkle-inducing sun, staring at the waves of the turquoise sea as they crash on to the sandy beach always sounded quite boring. However, I am finding that I don't really mind this at all and, in fact, I may downright love it. My bungalow community is full of interesting people, there is a library for beach goers (mostly a sea of "chick lit" like Gossip Girl and nouveau Harlequin Romance type stuff, but I managed to fish out some Vonnegut as well as a well-seasoned copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), and there is a great restaurant down the path that serves up some delicious seafood dishes, as well as any other type of fare you could possibly want. My IPod is full of good tunes, beach bag stocked with copious amounts of sunscreen and I am ready to dock myself for a while in Thailand, both in Ko Samet and later, in the south, in Ko Tao. I really should soak it up as, back in Seattle, I'll have to settle for my little sun lamp and will wish I'd never left this paradise.


Ko Samet Vs. Seattle
(It's going to be tough going back to a Seattle winter...)

Angkor Wat & The Temples of Cambodia

Ta Prohm
Bayon
Ankor Wat

Angkor Wat was a remarkable sight to behold. Everyone told me to be certain to see it at sunrise, so I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to get there and watched as the temple emerged from the darkness. I agree... it's definitely the way to see it! However, Angkor Wat was not my favorite of all the temples, rather, it was Bayon (which is part of Angkor Thom) followed by Ta Prohm (where apparently the film Tomb Raider was shot) as a very close second. At Bayon, you climb up the very steep stairs of the temple to find these beautiful carvings of faces in the enormous stones that make up the temple structure. Ta Prohm was the most interesting to explore as every turn revealed gorgeous buildings, some of which had become entwined with Banyon trees, which were elaborately adorned with carvings. The carvings were sometimes Hindu or, at other times, Buddhist depending on when the temple was built. The temples were absolutely awe-inspiring!

Earling Morning Offering- Chiang Mai

There are few things I would wake up before five in the morning to see. The early morning offering to the monks is one of them. The night before, a few of us travelers accompanied the owner of the guesthouse we were staying in to a huge shopping complex reminiscent of those in the States which felt exactly like a WalMart, sans the ubiquitous yellow smiley faces. Since it is customary in these offerings to provide the monks with dry foods, as they are light and easy to carry, I bought an enormous box of Ramen Noodles (their Thai equivalent actually) in the hope that dropping these packets of salty, shrimp flavored goodness would give me a small boost in the ol' karma department. This particular offering was special as it landed on the morning after the full moon, however it is common to see monks being given food by devout Buddhists as they largely subsist on the charity of the people.

I was glad to have taken part in the ceremony and this particular morning was, in fact, the highlight of my time in Chiang Mai. By choice, I really didn't do much else there. I could have gone trekking or riding on the elephants but I wasn't interested as I've done those things (save for riding the elephants as I'm saving that for India) in Vietnam and Laos. However I am sure, as they say in Thailand, that it's "same, same but different" there. After a month of travel including four countries, five flights, numerous trains and countless white-knuckle tuk-tuk and motorbike rides, I was ready to chill out and process all that I had seen and done. I was talking with some other travelers and we all agreed that, if a person doesn't have some downtime,all of the rich and varied experiences of travel will become but a blur. That, of course, is also true of life in general. I don't forget for one moment how fortunate I am to have this opportunity to escape from the ordinary, everyday (albeit generally happy) life I live, experience different cultures, open my mind up, shift some paradigms around and afford myself a little bit of head space in the hope that, like the lotus flower, I will emerge from this experience different from before.

Cook, Eat, Repeat

I have been so excited to get to Thailand, in part to see some amazing sights, but also to eat some of my favorite food. There is nothing tastier than the pad thai that the street vendors sell! I decided to take a cooking course while I am here to learn a new skill to bring home with me. I found the best cooking school here in Chaing Mai called Baan Thai where I spent several hours cooking, eating and visiting with other tourists. It was a wonderful day full of learning and gluttony! As for the calories, I'll burn those off exploring Angkor Wat as I leave for there in a day.
Green Curry
Coconut Seafood Soup
Spring Rolls

Ever So Lovely, Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, in Laos, is hands down one of my favorite stops in SE Asia. It is unbelievably chilled out (no excessive motor bike traffic here), the people are lovely, and everywhere you turn there are fantastic photo opportunities. I could have spent much longer here and hope that if I return someday it doesn't lose the peaceful atmosphere that I love so much. I spent a couple of days trekking and kayaking, the highlights of which were stumbling upon an elephant working in the forest and playing with all of the kids in the village we visited (see the picture of the boy we dubbed "Bat Man" as he was playing with a dead bat-which he kindly offered to let me hold, but I didn't- and sported his bat mask crafted from a plastic container). Of course I can't forget to mention the friends I've made along the way. I can't believe I ever worried about feeling alone and bored on this trip!

Vientiane

(1)Pha That Luang- The Quintessential Symbol of Laos
(2)Buddha at Buddha Park
(3)Curious Little Girls at Buddha Park

Leftovers of War

I visited the Lao National History Museum today with the expectations that it would be fairly interesting, but not that it would bring me to the brink of tears. The exhibition went through the prehistoric times, era of Dutch exploration and trading, French occupation before leading up to the time in which the "American Imperialists and their Puppets" had a presence (mid 60's - early 70's). The photos on the walls depicted people killed,affected by Napalm,children missing limbs, temples destroyed, beaten up prionsers of war, etc. Of course I knew a bit about this history and how all of the country's actions were rationalized as part of preventing the "domino effect" spreading of communism within this region. However, knowing the story and seeing the reality are two entirely different things. I walked out feeling a mixture of shame and sadness, yet grateful that there are musuems like this to preserve history. However, it's not all just in the past as there are people still living with the physical and emotional scars as well as bombs (dubbed UXO's or UXB's) in this region still undetected which pose a horrible threat to the people here. This article explains more on the subject. I don't completely agree with the comment of our ambassador made in the article. While I agree that it makes more sense to spend time dealing with cleaning up the problems versus pointing fingers, I do believe a sincere apology should be given to the innocent people who, to this day, are being impacted. That is essentially the message that I left in the guestbook as I left the museum this afternoon.

Pictures

The Fresh Mountain Air- Sapa

I took the night train from Hanoi to the Lao Cai Province in northern Vietnam and caught a bus up to Sapa. Sapa is a beautiful, cool, and misty city located in the Haong Lien Son Mountains close to the border with China. The hillsides are terraced with rice paddies and the local people (H'mong, Tay, Dao, etc.) are working both the fields and the tourists very hard. At first, I thought that it was wonderful the way they would come up to make small talk. However, by the 2,000th time I was asked "what your name...where you from...how old are you...you have boyfriend...you buy from me?" the charm wore off. Apart from the constant selling (which I don't really fault them for as I'd be doing the same thing if I were in their shoes), they do seem like really lovely people. The first day in Sapa I joined up with a small group and we hiked about 15 miles through the fields and, in the evening, settled in a small village at a local homestay. The host cooked up some amazing food and served some absolutely atrocious rice wine as well. That night, it poured down rain and, in the morning, it was determined that there was no way to easily get out of the village to the main road by foot as we would have essentially been trekking up steep mudslides. So, we set about the village recruiting enough motor bikes to get us out. The ride through the mountains on motorbike was fantastic! I definitely think that if I return to Vietnam I would like to see the country that way. Only next time, I'll be sure to find a helmet! (Sorry Mom, I know you're not happy about that part).

Halong Bay, Vietnam

No need to explain in words how fantastic this place is...

Hello Lady Motorbike?

Ah...Hanoi. This is a fantastic city with a ton of charm. I woke up early this morning and started my day at a very quaint french cafe overlooking Hoan Kiem Lake located in the Old Quarter of the city. As this was once a french colony (Indochine) there are many colonial style buildings in that part of the city. After my hour of bliss in the cafe, I set out to explore the city and proceeded to spend the larger part of the day either dodging motorbike traffic (basically to cross anywhere you need to walk out in traffic, hold your breath, and pray that the hordes of motorbikes will part like the red sea) or dodging requests to get a ride on said motorbike. After exploring the Old Quarter ad well as the Temple of Literature, I checked out the traditional water puppetry show, which I loved.

A full day in Hanoi has been interesting and action-packed, however I'm ready to venture out of here and made arrangements to do so. Tomorrow I leave for Halong Bay (which is something I'm most excited about) to sail and overnight upon a junk boat. I'll then come back to Hanoi for 3 hours and then proceed to leave for the mountains of northern Vietnam in Sapa where I'll have a few days hiking there. Once I get back to Hanoi from Sapa, I catch a flight out to Vientiane, Laos and I'm out of here. I like Vietnam so far and know I'll love it once I get out of this frenetic paced city.

Hanoi

Flying into Hanoi was gorgeous! From the airplane I had amazing views of the rice paddies, punctuated by the people working them in their conical shaped hats, meandering streams, and lush mountains to the north. I thought Hanoi must be this wonderfully idyllic place. I had a driver pick me up from the airport and within about five minutes on the freeway my first impression went flying out the window. I got into the car to discover my twenty-something, Vietnamese driver has a penchant for really loud techno music which made getting into the city almost a surreal experience as we whizzed by hordes of people on scooters (sometimes riding by twos or threes, and often schlepping along miscellaneous things such as cages full of chickens, pigs, or construction materials). I did arrive at my hostel safely. I managed to pick a very colorful place to stay, a veritable backpacker central complete with a packed rooftop bar that serves up some very cheap (and horrid tasting) beer which I'm drinking only because I'm dying of thirst (I'm sure there's bottled water around here somewhere, but beer is much easier to find).

In the two hours I've been in Vietnam so far, I'm thinking that I will like it. I was a bit indifferent about China. It's a nice place with interesting things to look at, but it didn't rock my world, so to speak, (except for the Great Wall) and hopefully Vietnam will be a bit more spectacular. Speaking about worlds getting rocked, I managed to miss the typhoon that hit the region by about a day. Should be nothing but blue skies for me!

Great Wall, Awesome Day

I went for a hike upon the Great Wall and it was phenomenal! I was part of a small group of some very cool people (6 total- 2 Israelis, 2 Germans, 1 Brit, 1 Me) and we took on the less touristy and more challenging part of the wall from Jinshanling to Simati. This was also the oldest part of the wall, built during the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). The stairs up to the towers were unbelievably steep and the terrain precarious (so much so that I managed to come back from it with a scraped up and pretty nasty looking knee). Awesome...Awesome day overall! I'm not sure anything else that I will be doing in China will be able to top this.

Beijing, First Impressions

My initial impression of Beijing was that it is a sprawling metropolis where the pollution is palpable. Seriously, my lungs are burning. However, the city also has some amazing charm and character within that I discovered in the city's hutong (tiny alleyways that run throughout). These areas, which are under threat of being demolished left and right, are where some people in the city live and work. Walking along you'll find them hanging out talking, playing games, eating and just living out their daily lives. Strolling through the hutong has been my favorite part thus far.

I've also checked out the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven Park (photo) which are both truly impressive sights. It's a small miracle (in light of Mao's impact on China and his desire to turn the Chinese into "a blank sheet of paper") that such wondrous historical sites still remain. Equally impressive was the Peking duck I had today. After a few days of eating nothing but a mango, Snickers bar, and water I was famished. I went to a restaurant yesterday in an attempt to eat an actual meal. I didn't realize that the chicken dish I ordered was to consist of all the other parts of the chicken (liver, heart and whatever else) and not the actual chicken meat that I'm accustomed to. In an attempt to keep an open mind, I tried a bite. However, one bite was enough and I despondently left the restaurant.

Tomorrow, I'm off to hike the great wall. It's a four hour trek along the least touristy spots (so I'm told). I went to the convenience store to pick up some fuel. I have no idea what it is that I bought. The only things I recognized in the store were Snickers and Oreos, which I didn't want. So I bought a package of nuts (?) that claim to be "very good test", "fashion mirror" whatever the hell that means.

Perfect Ending in Hong Kong

My time in Hong Kong ended with a bang! I met up with a couple of people I'm acquainted with there (Expats from the states and Australia) and they took me to a popular and very posh haunt called Sevva bar which had an amazing view of the harbor, cityscape, and laser show that the city puts on every night. We then made our way to Lan Kwai Fong and Soho ( yeah, they too have their version of the infamous city section) where the streets merged with the interiors of the bars and people were getting wild and having fun. The night ended at this funky, hidden bar (the type of place where a password and a secret knock is required) that resembled a french inspired bordello (like something out of a toulouse-lautrec painting) where luscious strawberry daiquiris in glasses coated in dark chocolate cocoa are served up. This is a side of Hong Kong I am sure I would have missed out on if it weren't for Michelle and Jeff. It was the perfect way to end the Hong Kong portion of the trip, in spite of the immense hangover (nothing the fresh air in Beijing can't help me though)!

Hong Kong

I just got to Hong Kong yesterday. I settled a bit in my very budget conscious accommodations (in order to pull of three months, I've gotta live on the cheap), located amidst the hustle and bustle of Nathan Road in Kawloon, just across from Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong reminds me a lot of New York City but with a different set of characters. I think this will prove to be a good starting point for me as it's clearly foreign to me in the general sense but has lots of touches of home, somewhat to my dismay (i.e. Starbucks and McDonalds are ubiquitous).

My body is a bit confused by the time change. Last night I turned in at 18:00 because I was completely wiped out. After dozing off, I woke up and looked at my watch and saw that it was 11:00. Well, for some reason I thought, "oh, time to get up. I slept in pretty late." Unbeknownst to me, my watch settings reverted back to North American setting vs. military. So I proceeded to shower and get ready for the day and, as I was walking out, I caught a glimpse of the moon and thought "what the hell am I doing" and proceeded back to bed. Other than that little mishap, things are great.

Today I checked out the Wong Tai Sin Temple, which is a lovely combination of a Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Off now to Lantau Island to check on the largest statue of Buddha but, before that, my tummy is growling and could use some dim sum.

Perspective

It's T minus 59 hours until I take off and, for the very first time, I am experiencing a tinge of anxiousness about leaving. This is no brief getaway. I will be gone for three whole months. I started questioning whether perhaps I'm being a bit brazen. Couldn't I have seen enough in, say, three weeks? Shouldn't I be back home working, contributing to my 401(K) and advancing my career instead of globetrotting? Yeah, probably. However, as a very wise person pointed out to me, I have the rest of my life to be responsible. Life is so very short. I feel like I'm constantly being reminded of this. Not to be too macabre, but I could get hit by a car tomorrow or find out I have some inoperable brain tumor and have three months to live. The point is, I do have the rest of my life to be responsible. I've heard it said that, in the end, what people regret most is not what they've done, but rather what they didn't do. In the grand scheme of things, three months is nothing and it would be irresponsible for me not to recognize that.

The Escape Route

I'm ready to take off and I have a fairly well-planned-out escape route. I chose to go at it this way, rather than leave with a loose itinerary which others might prefer, in part because I'm traveling alone and also because I do enjoy having some sense of direction. I leave on Monday, September 15th and return in the winter, just before the holidays. My path is basically this:


Hong Kong


Beijing, China


Hanoi, Vietnam


Vientiane, Laos


Luang Prabang, Laos


Chiang Mai, Thailand


Siem Reap/Angkor, Cambodia


Bangkok and beaches, Thailand


Bali (all over)


Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh, India


Why did I select these locations? Several reasons (and I swear I am not on the Eat Pray Love path that so many people have called me out on...although I would like to visit the medicine man in Bali and get my fortune told). First of all, there are some amazing sights to behold and beautiful cultures to experience. Second, these places are relatively cheap! Finally, I hear that as a solo female traveller, I will be reasonably safe provided I take normal precautions. Check out this article from USA Today. According to the Internet (which everyone should believe all that is written there) I am safer in, say, Vietnam than I am in my own country (USA). I'd believe it.