TravelStream™ news feed for member kristint on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kristint en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:48:03 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1214134020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1214134020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1214134020/tpod.html Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:48:03 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Vang Vieng is a little town along the wide river surrounded by huge cliffs. It is stunningly beautiful. It is completely overrun with backpackers. If you can tolerate the tourist to local ratio and the diluted Lao culture, it is one of the funnest and most scenic places I've ever been to.

There were two highlights of this town for me. One was the aspect that lured all the backpackers: "Tubing in the Vang Vieng" (this is the logo on the muscle-shirt that the hoards of young backpackers sported, even though the saying makes as much sense as saying "Tubing the Paris". You were tubing the river, not the town, guys.) Anyway, it is a blast.

You load up your tube and take a taxi up the road a few kilometers. You join the masses in floating lazily downstream until suddenly a pole or a rope is tossed in front of you. You grasp it and a small woman and two kids struggle, smiling, to pull you to shore. Once on land, they toss your tube into a pile and usher you over to the bar serving Beer Lao and shots of LaoLao (rice whiskey). Before you can get a drink, you see a body silhouetted against the sky and cliffs, soaring high above your head. As the intoxicated crowd surrounding you shouts at the body to "Let go!", the figure falls from the sky into the rushing river. He pops up far downstream where a Lao kid expertly tosses a rope to him and reels him in to do it again. My turn!!!

I climb up the rungs nailed to the big tree, wait on the swaying platform for my turn, and finally, the trapeeze bar attached to the 100 ft rope is in my hands. My heart is pounding and I launch. I grit my teeth as I swing over the dock full of wet tubers who dangle their feet over the river, drink, and watch me. At the highest point of the ark, I let go and free-fall 40 feet into the river. Once on land, it's time to repeat. Eventually, Aaron was doing back-flips and I was hanging by my knees. Once you grab a tube and head back into the river, you only go for a minute before another rope is luring you in. Another bar. Another swing. By the time you get back to town to return your tube, the LaoLao has taken over and the adventure continues as you explore more restaurants and bars.

After a day of this party life, I was ready to see something different. Ashley had volunteered at an organic farm just up the road, and this sounded like a better pace for me. One morning, I fed the goats, learned to milk a goat, and then made some goat cheese. Such a cool, different experience. In the afternoons, I would teach or assistant teach some English classes. In touristy towns, young people are certain that the two keys to success are 1. English and 2. Computer skills.

They are amazing students. These kids sweat and labor in the rice fields all day, shower at the public water pump, dress up in nice clothes, and study English for 1 or 2 hours. At the end of class, they all thank me sincerely and shake my hand. I don't know any American kid that could do all that, every day, with such an amazingly positive attitude. After a day or two of this, I convinced Aaron to come teach some English with me. He was a great teacher and the kids loved him.

If you go here, I would highly recommend volunteering at the Organic Farm for at least a few days. They can always use more teachers. Sometimes classes are canceled because there are no volunteers, even though there are 1,000 English-speaking tourists loitering in bars down the road claiming that they want to experience a different culture. It's easy and rewarding for everyone.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1216103880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1216103880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1216103880/tpod.html Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:50:05 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Flashy Present and Shady Past

This capital city is quite a bit more lively than Laos's capital city. Gold gilded temples are splashed across the panoramic view of the city. Every Friday, the park with the fountain hosts hundreds of Khmer people enjoying picnics and games. At dusk, the fountain does a musical light show that stops traffic. We stayed at Okay Guesthouse and I loved the neighborhood. I found the alternative lake-area guesthouses to be a bit seedier.

As we walk through the Royal Palace, it's difficult to believe that only 29 years ago (1975 - 1979), this entire city was a ghost town. The Khmer Rouge (KR) forced everyone out of the city. If you were not killed because your education or beliefs threatened the KR, then you were forced to walk across the entire country to farm and starve. This was the Agrarian Utopia the KR dreamed of. Meanwhile, Americans are introduced to Apple Computers and Fleetwood Mac releases "Rumours." These are modern times. While much of the world is moving toward technology and higher standards of life, the Cambodians are suffering a surreal genocide. After Vietnam dislodged the KR, the Khmer people moved back to the city and tried to rebuild their lives and faith in the goodness of humanity. Now, when you witness the friendliness and resourcefulness of the Khmers, it's hard to remember the horrors they have survived.

We visited a prison (Tuol Sleng / S-21) to see for ourselves a relic of how brutal humans can be. This old high school was transformed into a prison camp where all of the 12,000 prisoners were killed. Today, in 2009, trials are only beginning to prosecute some of the people responsible for this "cultural cleansing" genocide. When you visit this educational museum, you feel transported from the modern bustling city to a time when Phnom Penh was a completely different place in history.

My Birthday
On the day of my birthday, we tried to be responsible tourists and give some rice to an orphanage. Unfortunately, we were swindled by our tuk-tuk driver who sold us the rice for an unfair price. Lovely as I found the Khmer people, tuk-tuk drivers are generally untrustworthy thieves no matter what country you're in! Advice: don't trust any tuktuk driver when money is involved. However, it was nice to meet the kids at the orphanage and practice some English with them. It was worthwhile.

Then we went to a refreshing water-park. We had a good time playing on the slides with the only 6 kids who were there. It felt a bit abandoned, but still a good way to spend a hot birthday afternoon. When I realized that the lap pool was cloudy and tasted like vinegar, we bid the park a fond, slightly disgusted, farewell.

The evening ended with some wonderful pizza, witnessing a motorbike accident and some misinformed person attempting faulty CPR, and some dancing at a surprisingly nice club called Heart of Darkness.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215929100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215929100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215929100/tpod.html Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:38:24 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Kratie (Kracheh), Cambodia

She rests her motorbike in front of a market stall. She brushes her silk black hair with her fingers. She continues this action as she stands talking with another woman sitting at the stall that sells womens' sun-hats that look like Easter bonnets. The two chatting friends both wear brightly colored pajama sets and sandals. They are interrupted by a bow-legged dog which they shoo into the chaotic mass of traffic.

I sit on my breezy 2nd story balcony above a colorful mosaic of corrugated tin roofs. Below this corrugated quilt, 3 square blocks are occupied by sweaty market stalls selling food, electronics, plastic gadgets, clothing, tabloids, and the currently trendy pajama suits and Easter bonnets.

Mission: View the Endangered Mekong River "Irrawaddy Dolphin"
Crew: Aaron, Stephanie and I
Transportation: rickety, squeaky bikes
Observations: We ride hearing only the occasional holler of, "Hello! What's your naaaaaammmmme...." from a child darting out from behind their hut and furiously waving their hand. Sometimes, they darted out and yelled their greeting before our squeaky bikes neared their house. How did they know we were coming?! Some highly developed sixth sense I believe.
Mission Accomplished?: Yes. Our 15 year old long-boat driver skillfully drove us up the chocolate-milk colored river to a strategic location. Every few minutes we would see a shiny black body arch out of the water. We used our imaginations to picture the blunt nosed dolphins playing in the opaque water below.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215753180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215753180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1215753180/tpod.html Sun, 29 Mar 2009 02:03:26 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Banlung, Cambodia, Cambodia

The Crater Lake was fun to jump off the deck, refreshing, and beautiful in its perfect circular shape and emerald waters. We enjoyed opening our eyes under the water to see the rays of sunshine, tinted green, warming the upper layers. The motorbike ride there was a bit slippery on the wet mud roads.

The town of Banlung had one dirt road running through it. For how busy it is, this is ridiculous. Dust floats above the town and potholes gape in hope of swallowing any unfortunate vehicle.

We randomly bumped into Stephanie! Her tour guide friend, Bunny, treated us to some delicious rice wine.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1210589400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1210589400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1210589400/tpod.html Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:49:46 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Kanchanaburi, Thailand

*** Don't go to the Tiger Temple without reading this: Tiger Abuse and Trading at the Tiger Temple I didn't know this at the time I went, and I wouldn't go again or recommend that anyone go as long as this article is true.

Waterfalls are almost always beautiful, but after Hawaii, I've seen so many falls that it takes a lot to impress me. When I saw Erawan Waterfalls, I was impressed. The tigers were just a bonus.

We stayed in the riverside town of Kanchanaburi. It was a little touristy, but one of the friendliest towns in Thailand so far. Our bungalow stood high on stilts on the swampy banks of the river Kwai.

Erawan Waterfalls is 8-tiers of stunning beauty. The water is so clear that the fish look like they are swimming through the sky. At the same time, the water is so perfectly emerald that it looks milky and opaque. The water overflows down a series of white limestone pools, over slippery rocks that we can slide down, and beneath monkeys swinging from vines. We started our day by joining some friendly Thai picnickers for a drink. We enjoyed the fact that almost all the tourists here were Thais at their happiest. The language and cultural barrier was lifted as we slid down, jumped off, and climbed up rocks. Above all the temples in Thailand, this was the most beautiful place I saw in the country.

The next day, Aaron had to do some work and I needed something to do. Some tourist agencies advertised a trip to the Tiger Temple, a temple that is home to monks... and tigers. [READ ARTICLE ABOVE, RECENT INVESTIGATION CLAIMS TIGERS MAY BE ILLEGALLY TRADED AND ABUSED, DON'T SUPPORT THIS LIKE I ACCIDENTALLY DID.] Once I read that the tigers were rescued rather than captured, I went to check it out. The temple had acres of land for many types of rescued animals, although the 20-something tigers had a special area for them to play and meet the tourists who paid for their food and home. The tigers were lounging in the sun near their waterfall. A worker led me by the hand to one tiger after another while another worker followed us snapping pictures with my camera. In case you were wondering, tigers smell like dust and sunshine, and their fur feels much more course it would appear.

Click here to see my photos of tigers!

Click here to see my photos of Thailand's ancient capital, Sukothai!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213788360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213788360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213788360/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:29:10 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Luang Prabang is tourist heaven. French colonial architecture, an intersection of two scenic rivers, and rolling hills as far as the eye can see.

We formed a posse of five and enjoyed each other's company for our stay in Luang Prabang and beyond. Aaron and I, Stephanie from Germany, and Daniel and Sabine from Italy. Each morning and night, we would coordinate our schedules on our guesthouse balcony overlooking the river.

While the town had many beautiful temples and a big night market, my favorite part of Luang Prabang was outside of the city. The five of us took a tuk-tuk taxi to a waterfall called Kuang Si. I was convinced at this point that no waterfall could be as beautiful as Erawan Falls in Thailand, but I was wrong. While Erawan falls wins my vote for being the most fun, Kuang Si wins for scenery. Looking up at the falls, you have to remind yourself that you are not in a fairy tale. This is made more difficult to believe by the tiger and bear sanctuary at the beginning of the hike!

We were a bit sad when it was time to leave this scenic town, but where we went next made us forget that there was anywhere else in the world...

Click here to see my photos!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213442340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213442340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213442340/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:12:05 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Muang Khua, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

While aimlessly meandering through town on Muang Kiow, we met some people with a plan to go upstream. We decided to join them, not knowing that we were meeting a friend who we would travel with for the next couple weeks.

Muang Noi Neua (hard to spell, even harder to say) appeared to be a quiet fishing village at one time, but now it's a destination for travelers to lounge on hammocks and watch the river reliably rush by. Although the one dirt road of the town has never seen a car, it regularly sees water buffalo and wild chickens.

Our mission: hike to the cave. Our group of five slogged through mud and manure, past glowing green fields and steep pointed mountains to a cave. At the entrance, crystal clear spring water that flowed from the cave. With a small headlamp, we paddled into the dark cave, not knowing where we would emerge. Sadly, the tunnel ended at a sandy bank so we turned around.

After more hammock swinging and a boat ride to a weaving village, we were on a packed minivan heading for Luang Prabang.


Click here to see my photos!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1207819800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1207819800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1207819800/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:04:30 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Bangkok, Thailand

Khao San

We arrived in Bangkok and headed straight to Khao San Road, infamous "backpacker slum" of South East Asia. This neighborhood is a mess of guesthouses, bars, and shops for massages, tattoos, dreadlocks, poorly made hip clothing, jewelry, and bootleg books, CDs, and DVDs. This place was easy to love and hate at the same time. I loved the delicious street food (banana crepes with chocolate, sticky rice with mango and sweet condensed milk, pad tai, and yogurt with granola and fresh fruit). I loved the $5 per hour Thai massages. I loved our rooftop pool that made us forget about the hectic and balmy city below. But I hated a few things also like getting hustled by pushy tuk-tuk drivers and vendors of tribal trinkets. I hated it when I'd forget that I was in Thailand because I was seeing so many non-Thai tourists. But we were settled into our fancy hotel so that Aaron could have a nice place to some work and I could explore some sights. However, Bangkok threw a surprise at us that changed everything...

Songkran

We were "lucky" to accidentally arrive in Bangkok one day before their annual New Year Festival, Songkran. And within a city of chaos, our little hotel just happened to be in the most chaotic neighborhood.

A traditional gesture for Songkran has been for monks to sprinkle a little water on people to symbolically cleanse them for the New Year (and maybe to cool them off a little since it's during the peak of the hot season). Somewhere between then and now, the tradition got out of control. Now, the holiday is celebrated by 4 days of completely soaking everyone within range and smearing their face with white mud. Nobody is spared. If you are dressed nicely, you're soaked. If you're carrying groceries, you're soaked. If you are driving a scooter with 3 people on the back, you are all very soaked. If you're on a public bus with the windows down, you are all soaked. For four solid days!

One day Aaron and I hit the town armed with water bottles that we could use to squirt unsuspecting offenders. After squirting some tourists and some of the pushy and rude vendors that deserved our wrath, we stumbled upon some loud dance music and a group of happy splashers. We squirted them with our water bottles. They drowned us with a firehose. These people meant business and we decided to join them. We still aren't sure if it was tap water or water pumped from the dirty canal, but unlimited ammunition and a dance party to boot made us forget such trivial practicalities. The kids gave us pails of water and bowls of clay to throw at the passerbys. The adults gave us whisky and beer. I think out of Bangkok's 6 million people, we found the wildest group on that day!

The following day, I left early to explore some temples. (Compared to Japan's usual minimalist zen temples, Thailand's temples are a mix between Disney Land and a disco party.) As expected (and appreciated due to the heat), I got soaked and clayed walking back. Dripping my way back home, I saw a performance taking place in a park. I sat down and watched some beautiful traditional Thai dances, first performed by kids, and later adults. Their costumes were as colorful, sparkling, and ornate as the Thai temples I had just visited. During a dance with a beautiful princess fleeing from a character in a goblin mask, the goblin jumped into the crowed and teased some of the audience members. Of course the soaked, happy, pale-skinned foreigner in the crowd (me) sticks out like a bulls-eye. The goblin pulled my arm, sat in my lap, and kneeled down pleading with me. The Thais in the audience thought this was hilarious and photographers and video cameras captured it all. I just sat and giggled not knowing what else to do. I still wonder if the video or photos were on the news that night!

During the next few days, we watched a lot of movies in our hotel room. When the 4 days of Songkran were finally over, dryness never felt so good. It's soon time to leave the party in city for another wild party, this one on the beach under a full moon.

Click here to see my photos!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1208618340/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1208618340/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1208618340/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:03:07 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Ko Phangan, Thailand

We left Bangkok headed South to the Island of Ko Phangnan with hopes of meeting our friend, Nickers and attending a monthly Full Moon beach party. We stayed in a bungalow room with a fan, a bed, a shower hose above our toilet, and a porch with a million dollar view. Aaron did some more work here, and when not working, we could be found snorkeling in the bathtub-warm, crystal-clear, colorful coral-filled bay, strolling the crescent shaped, white sand beach, or swinging in a hammock.

After a few days of relaxing on the beach, we boarded a boat to take us scuba diving at the famous Ship Rock site. Although we dreamed of seeing dolphins, grouper, sting rays, and most of all, a giant whale shark, we saw absolutely nothing. The visibility that day was the worst I have ever experienced. The water was so saturated with sediment and plankton that we could only see about two feet in front of us. I scraped my knee on some coral and got lost from our dive group two times (things I have never done under decent conditions). Finally, Aaron and I held hands and enjoyed blindly swimming in the blue murkiness.

On the night of the Full Moon Party, we still hadn't talked to Nick, so we headed out with no plans to return to our bungalow until daylight. The party of 3-5,000 people had some good house and trance music on huge, crisp sound systems, and other types of music blasting out from beach bars with crackling speakers. We had fun dancing on the sand, but as the night went on, we were disgusted at the amount of trash littering the beach. Countless plastic straws were tossed on the shore waiting to be washed out to the ocean. Along with bottles and cigarette butts, this spectacle made us miss our outdoor parties at home that are so environmentally conscious. After I danced the sun up over the ocean while Aaron took a short nap on the sand, we returned to our A/C room to sleep the day away.

We finally met up with Nickers and had a lovely time sharing stories, photos, and our travel movies. There is nothing nicer than sitting on a breezy porch looking over the ocean with a beer, a banana milkshake, and nothing to do except chat with a good friend.

Click here to see my photos!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213024920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213024920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kristint/2007-asia/1213024920/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:01:41 -0400 2007 - Asia and beyond

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Phuket, Thailand

We stayed at our friends', Kelly and Rick's house. The house was beautiful and spending time with our friends was wonderful. However, the areas in Phuket where we spent time were either lacking in charm and ample with traffic and prosititution bars, or they were beaches filled with resorts and tourist traps. Overall, we enjoyed hiding out in our friends' beautiful house. We did enjoy a couple quieter beaches. Aaron tried to surf at one of the beaches (one of the only surf spots in Thailand I think), but the waves were big, shallow, and irregular, so he left without catching too many waves. After hearing this report, I didn't even try.

We also enjoyed a free outdoor concert by Thailand's most popular (and maybe only) reggae band, "Job 2 Do". There was lots of dancing and some very catchy tunes.
Click here to see their catchiest song on Youtube.


Click here to see my photos!
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