TravelStream™ news feed for member ginoandtobi on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/ginoandtobi en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:20:18 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1110660180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1110660180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1110660180/tpod.html Thu, 27 Oct 2005 16:20:18 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

Time to experience one night of luxury, thanks to Pearse and Amis - our friends from Oregon. We bumped into them in Phuket town about a week after we arrived in Kata and they invited us to spend a night at the Ko Phi Phi Holiday Inn Resort and Spa. How could anyone say no to that? We were planning to volunteer and help with the clean-up and rebuilding efforts on Ko Phi Phi anyway so we met them there a day or two after their arrival. The ferry schedules were running, but not at full capacity, so Gino had to make arrangements at the travel agency for us to be taken to the other side of the island. Everyone on the boat got a sticker - some were different colours - and we were told by the travel agent to stay on the boat at the first docking. We tried to tell the staff of the boat this, but they saw our stickers and told us to get off.

We walked down the board walk and found ourselves right where the tsunami swept over the south beach, ripping buildings apart and flooding the north beach before it sucked everything back into the waters of the south beach. This was where we were going to be spending the last 2 weeks of our trip. The area was just devastated. There were a couple of local shop keepers with their make-shift vending tables set up to sell Thai pancakes, drinks and some small souvenirs, but that was about it. One man walked around holding up a sign with his son's name and picture on it, asking if anyone had seen or knew of him. There seemed to be a lot of tourists around - we later learned almost all were volunteers. Signs around encouraged visitors not to be disaster tourists and to spend their money generously. It was a very sobering experience.

Gino got the volunteer info. we needed and made some contacts with other carpenters/construction guys, and then we made arrangements to get to the northwest end of the island where Pearse and Amie were waiting for us.

It was beautiful, but we were feeling conflicted after coming from the other side of the island. Someone came to meet us as the long-tail boat pulled up on the shore. He insisted on carrying both our backpacks - we felt bad - stating that it was his job and his pleasure. Before we entered the office someone else ladled water over our feet to clean off the sand from the beach. Oh my. Then we were shown to our bungalow which had a lovely porch with a view of the ocean. There are lots of pictures to go with this entry so take a look.

We spent a total of about 24 hrs there at the resort and packed in as much as we could with Pearse and Amie; kayaking, snorkling, drinks at the sunset bar (at sunset), a lovely dinner with live music, free intro to scuba lesson, sun bathing, and more snorkling. It was fantastic. I never ever thought I would appreciate that level of accommodation - you know, too stuffy and fussy - but it was awesome!! The fact that most of it was free probably had a lot to do with it. We still spent over $150.00 in one 24 hr period but it was worth it and probably our biggest splurge of the trip.

Thank you Pearce and Amie. It was one of our most memorable experiences on the trip. We miss you!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109880720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109880720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109880720/tpod.html Tue, 25 Oct 2005 15:14:20 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Kata Beach, Thailand

Ah....the beach.... We spent all of our first day in Kata on the beach and we both had sunburns to prove it. Gino was only out in the sun for 10 minutes on each side. After that, we slapped on the sunscreen, but it was too late. The rest of the time we were under our umbrella or in the ocean only long enough to cool off. Kata Beach is the smallest of 3 major beaches that run the length of Phuket's west coast, and I think that's why we decided it was for us. The beach was so clean and very quiet. We watched the guys selling rides on their jet skiis, sit for days under their umbrella without a single customer. Same thing for the vendors selling souvenirs from beach chair to beach chair.

The ocean took some getting used to for me. I was a little nervous at first but by the end of our first week I had been snorkeling. I used to think that hanging out at the beach must be horribly boring, but that was before I had actually experienced it. I'd go back to Kata Beach anytime.

Gino managed to find high adventure one day when a walk around the beaches turned into a daylong effort to stay alive.... I had decided to stay inside, read and recover from my sunburn while Gino went out exploring. I started feeling left out of the fun when dinner time came and went and Gino still hadn't made it home. He finally came back after dark wearing a different shirt, with a fantastic tale to tell (of course).

He set off walking north along Kata Beach and decided to climb over the rocks at the end of the beach and around them to see if he could get to nearby Karon Beach by following the water. It took him a while and the rocks were difficult to maneuvre in his sandals and it was a lot farther than he thought, but he did it. Since he was there and Karon Beach wasn't that much longer than Kata Beach, he decided to walk north along the length of it to the rocks that separated it from Patong Beach. The rocks were treacherous this time and he was "concerned" as he clung to the rock face and looked around at his surroundings. He pushed on and finally made it to a beach, but it wasn't Patong. By now, the midday heat had started getting to him and needed to find water (he didn't bring any with him). This beach was small and looked like it might be part of a private resort that had been abandoned since the tsunami. As he approached the building he came across a couple of people who looked to be cleaning up the area around the hotel. It wasn't open, but the lady he spoke to had some water - to sell. Gino had the equivilant of nothing on him and the lady wasn't concerned with his hydration issues, so he kept moving. He found a path off the beach which led into some trees and decided to follow it looking for shade and maybe some fruit to eat. He found a cocnut tree but didn't have the energy to climb it, and he found a peculiar looking kind of fruit - sort of the shape of a bell pepper - but didn't know if it would kill him or not, so he kept going (we later learned that it was a cashew nut fruit and they're quite delicious). He followed the path till he came across 3 or 4 locals sitting around a table in front of a small house. They all had beers and invited him to join them. Gino grabbed a bottle and slammed it. He was an instant hit. One sort of spoke english and they spent a couple of hours getting to know one another. He shared his cigarettes and they shared their beer, and then there was an exchange of shirts (not sure why) and before he knew it, it was dark. He never made it to Patong but he did find the road back to Kata, so he started walking. A moto taxi slowed down to offer a ride, but kept going once he learned there was no money for the fare. As Gino's luck would have it, another moto slowed down and offered him a free ride. Needless to say, he was tired and hungry and fell asleep shortly after eating his favourite Kata meal - grilled meat, sitcky rice, hot peppers and garlic chunks. I'm a lucky, lucky girl....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109446740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109446740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109446740/tpod.html Fri, 12 Aug 2005 17:33:15 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Bangkok, Thailand

We didn't like the V.I.P. bus. It was hot and stuffy, the toilet didn't work, the movie skipped and eventually cut out half way through and the free dinner included in the price of the ticket consisted of rice with some peas and carrots tossed in. We wouldn't recommend it to anyone. If we had to do it again, we'd pay the extra money for the train.

The bus dropped us off on Khao San Rd. at 4:30 in the morning. Without much to do at this time of day in a strange city, we decided to sit at a cafe and wait for sunrise. The air was still quite warm and Khao San Rd's 1/4 mile stretch still had signs of the previous nights activities. There were several vendors still selling food in the street, ladies and lady boys were still hustling, and a few tourists were still staggering around. The street basically doesn't sleep, it just slows down for a couple of hours before the morning rush.

We found a nice guest house by 8, had some breakfast and slept for a few hours before exploring our neighbourhood. After reading about Bangkok in the L.P. we still found it difficult to decide where to go and what to see first, so we basically just wandered. Khao San Rd. is interesting enough, but it wasn't long before we found ourselves a mile or two away poking around local areas. We found what we termed "Buddha Alley", which is a block or two of shops selling statues of Buddha, little care packages for new monks, and lots of supplies for monks. Having businesses and shops all offering the same service in the same geographic area, seems to be the way things are done here in S.E. Asia. Even in China we noticed it. Gino and I spent a couple of hours in Bejing looking at ridiculously low-priced power tools in "Home Depot Alley". He was drooling and moaning like Homer Simpson.....anyway....Walking around left us a bit dry, so we made our way back to Khao San Rd. for a drink and some people watching. Over drinks Gino held my hands, looked deep into my eyes, told me how much he loved me and mentioned he wanted to get a tattoo to cover the "other one". What did I think? Well, I was ready to do a dance in the street! We went to find a good tattoo parlour before dinner and decided on the first one we went to. It's inside a small plaza across from McDonald's. Very clean, very professional and has won an MTV award for something or other. Anyway, we chatted with Jenny and she booked Gino for 8 that night. In the mean time, we went to find dinner.

The tattoo was done in 2 hours by a guy named, Funk, and it looks gorgeous. We were all really pleased with it. Gino made Jenny and her sister giggle by making an elephant trumpeting sound and raising his arm to his face - like it was a trunk. Oh my.

Our first full day in Bangkok was a Sunday and we were heading down a street looking for breakfast, with no agenda, when we were stopped by an enthusiastic and very friendly man. He turned out to be a high school teacher and was happy to hear we were from Canada. He apparently has a relative working in Toronto who really likes it there. He asked what our plans were for the day and when we told him we didn't have any, we asked him for some suggestions. Well. He immediately led us to a circle intersection, wrote out a complete itinerary, and then flagged down a tuk-tuk for us. He told us that we were very lucky because this day was a government holiday and all the tuk-tuks would cost only 10 baht all day. Sweet. So, this guy he flagged down was going to take us all over the place for like 25 cents. I was so impressed with this teacher's sincerity and kindness that I asked if we could have our picture taken with him. He politely declined, stating it was his birthday and against his religion. We got in the tuk-tuk thinking it was a bit odd of an excuse, and didn't remember reading anything like it in the guide book, but shrugged it off as one of those things you learn as you go.

Our first stop was a clothing tailor. Our teacher friend said it was one of the best in the city, but that if we weren't interested we should just go in for 5 or 10 min, pretend to look around and then leave. This way our tuk-tuk driver could get a voucher entitling him to government reimbursement for fuel at the end of the month. Apparently, the government holiday is geared toward promoting tourism in the city and the tuk-tuk drivers are instrumental in getting tourists around to the sites. So, we went in to look around and knew we wouldn't leave without at least something. Gino is a salesman's dream. If you were smooth enough, you really could sell him swamp land in Florida. We left with an order for two shirts and a navy pea coat.

Our next stop was at a temple where the national kick boxing champion was fighting that morning only. This was the one day in the year that this temple was open to the public. We couldn't believe our luck, but we felt a little odd because we weren't dressed properly to be visiting temples. The tuk-tuk driver said not to worry, it wasn't a big deal. So we get there and there was nothing going on. Someone working on the grounds told us that there was an accident earlier in the morning and one of the fighters ended up in the hospital. Oh, well. No kick boxing for us this day. He directed us to go ahead and look at the temple anyway, and then visit the other one beside it. They were both very beautiful, but we didn't stay long. We were getting hungry. Time for lunch after our next stop at the T.A.T.

Our next stop was at the T.A.T., also known as the Tourism Authority of Thailand. We had to go there to look into booking airline tickets to Phuket and accommodations. I had done some checking on the internet and had prices for AirAsia, but wanted to comparison shop at a travel agency. Our agent was very friendly and bubbly, talking about the government holiday and how she felt odd to be the only one in the office wearing her uniform, because she forgot she didn't have to wear it today. She was more than happy to give us some prices to Phuket and to California for our trip home. When it came to accommodation, however, she didn't seem to understand our budget needs. She thought $25.00 u.s. was a great price for a hotel(which it is), but we were thinking more like $10.00 or less. She said we'd never find a price like that and appeared a little annoyed with us. We ended the accommodation search quickly and asked for a total on the air line tickets. I had done a quick total in my head, but hers was double what I came up with. Oh, oh. We asked her to break down the cost by flight and it turned out that her tickets to Phuket were indeed double! Whoa. When I told her I had found tickets for half her price, she turned from our friendly T.A.T. agent into a raging monster. She started insulting us, and speaking to her coworkers about us in Thai. She refused to book the tickets to California for us and essentially chased us out of the office demanding to speak with our tuk-tuk driver. Yikes!

When we asked our tuk-tuk driver what that was all about, he just laughed and said she was upset over losing the commission from the tickets. We were concerned he wouldn't get reimbursed for his gas because of it, but he said not to worry. Next, we asked to stop for lunch, but our tuk-tuk driver suggested we squeeze in an unexpected temple visit before. He said it's very beautiful and that he'd be able to get a voucher for taking us there. We agreed. When we walked through the gates and up to the building, it was clearly closed. Someone sitting down nearby said that it was closed to the public right now because the monks were just about to worship. He asked us where we were from and all the usual questions we get from curious locals. His english was great and he had a nice disposition. He asked us about our travels thus far and how we like Thailand etc....Then he asked us what we were doing today and if we had been to the Expo Center yet. It wasn't on the itinerary and we had no idea what it was, so he told us all about it. It is a large jewelry outlet and apparently for one week a year the government allows tourists to buy up to a certain amount tax free. He said that lots of foreigners come over specifically to pick up the sapphire sets, because they are certified and some of the best in the world. Then they take them home and sell them to jewelers in their home countries. We couldn't believe it. Really?, we asked. Oh, yeah! he said. He said students will even come here to do that because they can make enough money by re-selling them, to cover their college tuition. Wow. That sounded really great, but I was hungry and started to walk away to indicate it was time for us to be going. Before I got too far, however, a French gentleman joined the conversation and suddenly we were talking again about where we were from and how long we were travelling etc...Turned out that he had just finished up his business in Bangkok and was ready to relax before heading home with several thousand dollars worth of sapphires. He said he would get more than double the price once he sold them at home. Hmmm.....Gino was grinning ear to ear and had dollar signs in his eyes and I was shaking my head. No, no, no, no, NO.

Back at the tuk-tuk, our driver asked if we would mind waiting a minute while he went to the bathroom. No problem. While we waited, a local gentleman came up to us looking a little concerned and asked us where our driver was and were we ok. That of course led to chit chat about where we were from, how long we were travelling etc... He looked at our itinerary and asked if we were going to the Expo Centre....When our driver came back I asked him about it and he said it was a very good place to go and a very good time to go since it was tax free this week. It seemed like quite a coincidence to me that there was so much talk of this jewelry. But then again, it was our first full day in Thailand and maybe this was just something we hadn't heard of before. Gino wanted to go check it out, but I wasn't so sure. We had lunch first and then went to the Expo centre.

I was digging my heels in more and more by the time we got to the Expo Centre. Gino looked around and I sat in the lounge waiting for him. Back in the tuk-tuk the driver was disappointed that we didn't buy anything, and I was annoyed with his disappointment. We wanted to get the weekend market, but our driver begged us to stop at one more temple for a gas voucher. We agreed, but once we got to the temple entrance, decided not to go in. As we were turning to leave we heard kittens mewing and followed their sound til we found them. They were on the stairs of an adjacent building, with their eyes still closed. One fell before Gino could get to it in time, and we put it back with the others. We felt awful about leaving them there, but there was nothing we could do. On our way off the grounds we passed a couple of travellers who asked us if we heard kittens. We pointed to where we had just left them and told them the story. These two well dressed gentlemen were from the States and we made small talk for about 15 min. Can you guess what the majority of the conversation consisted of? By the time they were done pitching the Expo Centre and feigning astonishment that we didn't buy anything, Gino was almost beside himself. And I have to admit that I was starting to doubt my instincts to stay away from the jewelry. On our way back to our ride, I asked Gino to think seriously about how unnatural the day had been played out. Once inside the tuk-tuk, however, the extremely elaborate and very well executed day-long plan to doop two Canadian tourists was fatally wounded - by our own driver. He asked us if we wanted to go back to the Expo Centre. DHOA! Bet he got fired. Gino nearly lost it. He turned red, started sweating and I could feel his pulse through the seat we shared. He had a few choice words for the driver and then told him to take us to the weekend market.

He was supposed to wait for us to do our shopping, but of course he didn't. In fact he didn't even drop us off at the weekend market. After walking around for about 20 min. we found ourselves on Khoa San Rd.!!! I couldn't stop laughing and all Gino wanted to do was hunt down that driver. What a day. We spent the night going over every detail of the day, trying to figure out who was involved. We think it all started with the friendly high school teacher...wow.

A note to travellers: if anyone speaks to you about jewelry, report it immediately to the tourist police. We noticed the Public Awareness poster with that advice at our guest house the next day.

We committed to going to Phuket after seeing advertisements recruiting volunteers for the tsunami clean up and relief effort. The locals there apparently really needed the tourist dollars to start coming back, and we felt good about the idea of relaxing on Phuket's beaches if we could contribute to the effort as both volunteers and tourists.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109776920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109776920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1109776920/tpod.html Tue, 02 Aug 2005 10:25:19 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Phuket town, Thailand

Our flight to Phuket on Air Asia was comfortable and pleasant. We arrived in Phuket airport around mid-day and began what was always the most stressful part of arriving in a new city - finding transportation. We weren't in favour with each other by the time we settled on a way into town and found a guest house for the night, and it didn't get much better as the day wore on.

We weren't near any beaches and it seemed like we had made a mistake to come into town from the airport. So we got a map of the island, rented a moto, explored some beaches and found that we liked Kata beach the best. We didn't find it any cheaper to be in Phuket town, so we moved the next day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108999320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108999320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108999320/tpod.html Sun, 24 Apr 2005 10:43:56 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

We didn't feel lucky when we found our closet sized room for $8.00, but apparently we were. It was very cozy, with just enough room for a double bed and a ceiling fan. The window opened out into a hallway and overlooked a staircase. We had to share a bathroom. It was their last room. I wasn't impressed with Gino when he went ahead and said "We'll take it." without even looking at me, let alone asking me what I thought. We both went off without a word and took care of our immediate needs. He wanted to have a shower and I wanted to at least see what other rooms were available. There were guest houses everywhere lining the riverfront street. I walked next door and found a sign that said they were full for the night. A couple more feet in that direction I learned that rooms were going for $12.00 and up. Same story at the next guest house. Hmmm. I wondered if everything in Luang Prabang was going to be expensive.

Gino felt better after his shower, and I felt better after my price comparison walk so we decided to look around town and find a place to eat. Within 15 min of our walk we bumped into Pearse and Amie and made plans to meet for drinks that night. Luang Prabang has a fantastic pedestrian night market full of beautiful souvenirs and art. The street is jam packed full of vendor stalls selling jewelery, handmade quilts, embroidery, t-shirts, lanterns, wall hangings and carvings, and tourists bartering over ridiculousy low prices. At one end of this pedestrian market is a wonderful food market selling traditional Lao dishes. It was our favorite place to eat during our stay in Luang Prabang. It's about the size of an ally - enough space for one car to drive down - and it has food vendors set up on both sides selling grilled meat, seafood, curries, noodles, soups, sticky rice, and a decent selection of vegetarian food. There are tables and chairs set up so you don't have to take your food away or eat it standing up. It was cheap and delicious and fun and we loved it because we kept running into people we had met throughout Lao. It was definitely the place to be.

Our time in Luang Prabang could have been spent more productively as there was plenty to see and do, but we just couldn't break the lazy spell Lao had on us. While we were there we managed to find more comfortable accommodation, browse a secondhand bookstore, stop by the Red Cross for massages and visit a waterfall. We loved not being on the tourist circuit, or trying to squeeze in as much as possible. With only a month left in our trip, we wanted to enjoy every minute, even if it meant not seeing as much.

We had some decisions to make about where we wanted to spend our last month away and thought the best place to do that would be a travel hub like Bangkok. For $18.00 each, we could travel in style on a V.I.P. bus from Vientiane to Bangkok, so we booked it. V.I.P. buses are double decker tourist buses with a/c, movies and a toilet on board. Sounded good to us.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108741560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108741560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108741560/tpod.html Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:57:45 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

The ride back to Vang Vieng went smoothly except we didn't make it out of the mountains before sundown, as we were hoping we would. Our helmets had tinted visors and of course we couldn't see through them in the dark. Consequently, Gino ate a lot of bugs until we got smart! We stopped and fixed our Khmer scarves around our heads so that we looked like bandits, jumped back on the bike and finished the ride. We pulled into the farm around 8:30 to find everyone around a big fire, cooking food. Perfect timing. We joined them and enjoyed a relaxing evening eating, drinking and chatting about our trip.

We spent the next morning sleeping. Got up long enough to eat some lunch and say hello to a few people before heading back to our room for a nap. Riding a bike for that long is quite a work out, but definitely worth it.

The following day we had intended to help out on the farm, but got caught up in a conversation with a fascinating couple from Switzerland instead. We had lunch together and then talked the afternoon away. Roger, a brick layer and his wife Jaqualine, a social worker, have been travelling most of their adult lives. They met in their 20's in South Africa as volunteers, went home and got married, had a son and then moved to South Africa to work. They stayed for 5 years, had two more children and then moved home so their kids could go to school in Europe. Even with 3 kids, they found the time to travel and enjoy adventures...cool people. Now their children are grown and enjoy travelling just as much. When they aren't travelling, Roger and Jaqualine run a guest house in Southern Switzerland, not too far from Italy. We've been invited to visit anytime we are in the area...awesome.

We had hoped to rent the bike again for our trip to Luang Prabang but the owner wasn't available to make the deal with, due to an illness in the family. That meant we had to take the bus. It was going to be a really long, confining bus ride - between 8 to 10 hours heading north through the winding mountains - but it was the only way.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108631460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108631460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108631460/tpod.html Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:55:49 -0400 China and S.E. Asia

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Phonsavan, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

This was one of the most fun things we had done so far. Racing through the mountains was exciting and sometimes frightening; hugging the curves or swerving around oncoming buses, the adrenaline was always rushing.

It is so much better to be on a bike than on a bus! We could stop and go whenever we wanted to take a rest, eat a bit, take a pee, or enjoy the views. We thought we could make it to see the Plain of Jars and back before dark, but it didn't happen. The ride was 5 hours and we had gotten a late start. By the time we got to Phonsavan, I was exhausted and stiff and hungry and needed a rest. It took us an hour to find our guest house but once we were there we saw it was worth the effort because our friends Amie and Pearse were there too! We relaxed and chatted the evening away.

We were up early to get to the jars, but the bike's battery was dead because Gino left the lights on. So, he spent about 20 minutes running up and down the road trying to roll start it. Finally, he talked a tuk-tuk driver into letting him be pulled behind the tuk-tuk until he got up enough speed to start the bike. We let it run while we had breakfast and then we were off to see the jars.

The Plain of Jars is a soon-to-be UNESCO heritage site. There are 3 sites, 2/3 of which have been cleared of UXO's (unexploded ordinance). The sites contain hundreds of giant stone jars which are theorized to be ancient burial urns. Nobody is entirely sure exactly what they were for, but it is certain that they're huge and impressive. They were quarried from a river bed miles away. We visited sites 1 and 3, the latter not completely cleared of UXO's. Talk about watch your step.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107938880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107938880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107938880/tpod.html Mon, 28 Mar 2005 06:53:39 -0500 China and S.E. Asia

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Vientiane, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and home of the famous Beer Lao factory. We really weren't sure what we wanted to do during our visit, so we took our time exploring the city. Perhaps we took too much time, because we certainly didn't see all that Vientiane has to offer.

Our first full day Gino was a responsible tourist and, with his friend Marcus, visited the Lao National History Museum. I didn't feel like learning much that day and passed on the museum. Instead, I took a nice walk around the city, sending off postcards (Gino has not sent his yet to this day) and burning our pictures to a cd. I snooped around, did a little window shopping, and ended up on a beautiful garden patio with a cold Beer Lao, reading the local paper and people watching. It was lovely.

I think that first day set the pace for the rest of our time in the capital. Over the next few days we managed to make time for a visit to Wat Sok Pa Luang for an herbal sauna and massages, bought some silk at Talat Sao - the morning market, enjoyed some Beer Lao in their factory lobby and hung out at the Buddha Park chatting with a local school teacher who wanted to practice his english.

There was no shortage of restaurants to try and we indulged, finding the food wonderful. We ate breakfasts at the Scandinavian Bakery - their sandwiches were really good (Gino enjoyed their 2 foot long meat and cheese sub). We had Indian twice - once at the Nazim and once at the Taj Mahal - and were satisfied with both meals, though I found the Taj Mahal cleaner than Nazim. We were impressed with the size and selection of Kop Chai Dew Food Garden's buffet lunch. They had a b.b.q., salad bar, desert station, seafood selections, fruit salads, noodle soup station and a sushi bar. All you can eat grilled meat and sushi? Gino was in heaven! Our last night in town we splurged and ate at an Italian restaurant. I enjoyed flavours I hadn't tasted in months (olive oil, basil, fresh ground pepper) and it made me a little homesick (just a little). Gino had a delicious steak, grilled just the way he likes it - long enough to take the chill out.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108285200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108285200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1108285200/tpod.html Mon, 28 Mar 2005 05:57:46 -0500 China and S.E. Asia

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Vang Vieng is a very small town with a stretch of restaurants catering to "Friends" fans. They all have short tables and pillows for lounging and they all play re-runs of "Friends" until 8ish when they then put on a movie for the night. Picture this strip of road, in the middle of nowhere (pretty much), packed full of open air restaurants with t.v.'s blasting different movies beside bars pumping out the tunes. O.k. for a night or two....

The Suanmone Phoudindaeng Organic Farm is 3km north of Vang Vieng, and we were both looking forward to visiting and helping out a bit. They produce mulberry tea, silk, dried fruit and fruit wine and have a full restaurant at the farm and a cafe in town. Proceeds from the sale of their products are turned back into programs for the village people living nearby. The week before we arrived, volunteers had just put the finishing touches on the new Adobe brick library.

The farm has dorm and private room accommodations for everyone, not just volunteers. In fact, there is no longer any sort of room and board discount for volunteers. Everyone pays full price, and anyone can help if so inclined. It took me a day to feel comfortable with the laidbackness of the farm. We had arrived at 7:30a.m. expecting to be met by Mr. T. (he runs the show), shown around and assigned some work to do. Instead we found ourselves alone - no one else who spoke english was up yet. "Mr. T.?" we asked a local man. "Mr. T. no here. He go to Vientiane", he replied. "We met him yesterday. He said be here at 7:30", we tried to explain. He just looked at us, shook his head slightly and went back to his work. This turn of events left plenty of time for Gino to sleep off his "happy shake" from the night before and for me to read a bit. But I wanted to work. I wanted to be taken on a tour and see what they were growing and learn how to farm organically so I could bring home neat ideas....

To make a long story short, the first day was a write off. We walked around a bit, checked out the river, watched tourists come and go, and chatted with the volunteers as they appeared for breakfast and lunch. The next morning I was up early and tossed bat shit around some pineapples with Liz from New York and 3 local guys. It was fun to listen to the them try and chat - sentences reduced to nothing but nouns and verbs. Gino slept in and I met him for breakfast at 10:30. Mr. T. wasn't back yet and no one had any idea what sort of construction stuff needed to be done, so Gino had another day off. We met a couple of young women from Montreal during lunch and they tagged along for the afternoon hike we had planned to take.

We had to cross the river (I'm not fond of water unless it's chlorinated and in a pool, or sold in a bottle for drinking), which wasn't deep (mid thigh) but was very fast at one point near the other side. I didn't like that very much and I made Gino hold my hand for balance, but I made it. We followed a path until we reached the base of the small mountain. The path all but disappeared into the wooded and rocky steepness of this thing I thought I wanted to climb. The rocks were sharp and did I mention it was steep? I lasted 5 min. I knew getting down was going to be way more difficult than getting up, and I wasn't up for the challenge. Gino continued on with Geneveive and Fanny, and soon I found myself back at the river with no one to hold my hand for balance...

I found a nice spot in the cradle of some tree roots and decided to wait. There was lots of interesting stuff going on in the river to watch - kayakers and tubers floated by waving and offering help, local kids splashed and swam in the shallow, slow moving areas, ladies came to wash vegetables, a man came for a bath, some young guys fished with masks and spears and some women made the journey through the rushing water with baskets and really sharp machetes and no one's hand to hold for balance. Wow. I was regretting something. But what was it? Agreeing to go on the hike? Not continuing up that horribly steep, sharp deathtrap of a mountain? Not taking the kayaker up on his offer to help me across the river? Not taking him up on his offer of beer? My afternoon was overflowing with bad decisions! I took another close look at that water. There were bits of pond scum floating by, and crazy water bugs skating around on top of the surface right where I wanted to go in, and I could swear that the speed of the current had picked up. But it was 4:30 and I was tired of waiting, and soon the mosquitoes would be out, so I swallowed hard and ventured in. I made it across without falling in, but my flip flops flopped off my feet where the water ran fast and I had to go the rest of the way on slippery, green-covered rocks with bare feet (gross). It wasn't until I recounted the afternoon's events to Liz from New York, that I saw the humour. I had no problem throwing bat shit around, getting it under my nails and ground into my socks, but the thought of falling into that river water had me paralyzed. Funny what we're afraid of, eh?

After a couple of days helping and hanging out, we decided to make a day trip to Phonsavan on a motorcycle. But not on just any 125cc moto. No, Gino wouldn't be caught on one of those in the mountains. We rented a Honda 225cc dirt bike. It had no back seat, so I found myself perched on the rack behind Gino for the journey.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107346140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107346140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ginoandtobi/ginoandtobi/1107346140/tpod.html Mon, 28 Mar 2005 02:51:05 -0500 China and S.E. Asia

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Si Phan Don, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

From where we last left off, we had a 10 minute walk to the two man outpost, with the bamboo gate, which represented the Cambodia/Laos border. Only $2.00 per person to enter Laos on top of our $50.00 visas which were previously paid for. Seven travellers crossing a border in the middle of nowhere, and only one giant tuk-tuk available. No problem. What?! $10.00 per person?! "How about $4, 7 people, you're very lucky", I wheeled and dealed. "O.k.", tuk-tuk boy says. Off we were to Ban Nakasang, last main land vestige before Si Phan Don, Lao PDR (Lao People Don't Rush).

We enjoyed a lovely 15 min cruise to Don Det, dropped our bags at the first guest house we saw (money was no object) and over paid at $4.00 a night/bathroom outside. We rented bicycles that evening and scoped out a new place to crash for the rest of our time in the islands. Don Khon is attached to Don Det by an old train bridge that the French colonists built. Don Khon was where we wanted to be.

Don Khon and Don Det are good places to relax. The place we found on Don Khon had simple bamboo bungalows and had a big porch looking over the Mekong River between the two islands. It was actually one big bungalow dived into two rooms. Each with its own bathroom. Our neighbours were a Swedish mother and son duo. In the few relaxing days we were there, we rode bicycles to a beautiful waterfall. I went swimming downstream from the main falls. When I came out and we were walking back, Tobi noticed a sign on a tree saying "Danger! Do not swim here. Undercurrents are strong. In memory of Xavier, our friend who died here." Guess I was lucky. We also took a boat/canoe trip to another waterfall with our Swedish friends and a french couple, stuck around for a nice lunch on a terrace overlooking the waterfall and chatted the afternoon away. The french woman was a social worker and her husband was in building restoration - quite a coincidence.

We celebrated Tobi's birthday on Don Khon too, enjoying a nice dinner on the banks of the Mekong, where she had her first non-vegetarian dish of our trip. Fish. There was a monkey at the restaurant who pick-pocketed my cigarettes. She must have been watching me from across the dining area because with one quick motion she shook the pack, thrusting one smoke out and into her mouth! Then looked at me as if to say, "Got'ta light?" I struggled to get it away from her so she wouldn't eat it.

As we had a 30 day visa for Laos, that cost $50 each, we planned to stay in the country the whole time. With nothing left to do in the islands, we left on a boat early one morning to the mainland to catch a "bus" to Pakse.
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