It's about time that I updated my blog! Unfortunately I haven't had the time to write anything since before Vietnam.
Today is Aug. the 25th and tomorrow I will officially be stateside again. It blows my mind how fast this year has gone, but a new chapter of my life is opening up.. and I hope this read is as exciting as the last.
I will be writing blogs for Vietnam and China and posting them as soon as possible. And then you will hear all about my return to the United States after my wonderful year abroad.
I hope everyone continues to read, but more than anything, I hope I can continue to provide exciting stories and adventures about my life!
To A New Chapter!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is a small town in the middle of nowhere, known solely for its famous bar lined tubing river, crazy nightlife and blue lagoons, catering to the average backpacker. It's a backpacker's drunken haven to explain it in layman's terms. Our sole purpose for going there was tubing and we met a really awesome couple (Jenna and Rob) who showed us the ropes, literally! There were rope swings everywhere lining the river, huge water slides and once again, too many buckets. I pulled a back flip off the highest rope swing and got quite a few cheers (probably for being one of the only girls doing anything, and even more, a back flip!). Tubing was good fun and we barely finished in time to get our entire deposit back. The fierce tube swimming and run to get there wasn't easy though. This involved Sarah's lack of motivation to aide our mission and my attempts to drag her along faster.
Sarah and I were stayed in Vang Vieng 4 nights but we only went tubing once. We rented a motor bike and went exploring. We found caves and more rope swinging in the blue lagoons and played until the sun went down. I still couldn't get enough of the scenery and wished we had more time in Laos to explore. The only downfall of traveling in some parts of Southeast Asia are the bus systems. To explain in more detail, there was the 13 hour overnight bus ride to get to Vang Vieng, where our luggage was piled up in the aisle, people were sitting on plastic benches (aka tubs) in between the luggage and the A/C unit, when it worked.. Overall, it was definitely an experience I will never forget. We spent one night in Vientiane catching up on sleep before flying out to Vietnam!
Sarah and I were stayed in Vang Vieng 4 nights but we only went tubing once. We rented a motor bike and went exploring. We found caves and more rope swinging in the blue lagoons and played until the sun went down. I still couldn't get enough of the scenery and wished we had more time in Laos to explore. The only downfall of traveling in some parts of Southeast Asia are the bus systems. To explain in more detail, there was the 13 hour overnight bus ride to get to Vang Vieng, where our luggage was piled up in the aisle, people were sitting on plastic benches (aka tubs) in between the luggage and the A/C unit, when it worked.. Overall, it was definitely an experience I will never forget. We spent one night in Vientiane catching up on sleep before flying out to Vietnam!
On to Laos
Sarah-Jane and I added Laos into our trip when we heard amazing stories of how great the tubing adventures were supposed to be in Vientiane. Suffering from lack of sleep due to the previous nights charade out with our new friends and stressing over the 24 hours of bus ride from Chiang Mai, we settled comfortably into the seats that would become our bed for the next few hours. Although we were nowhere near a body of water, the mountain ranges glowed with green and I couldn’t help but sense a tropically Mediterranean feeling of the area. Palm trees towered, bright red flowers gave accent to every shade of green you could imagine, and the skies were covered in blue with white clouds. Yellow and pink occasionally dashed by the moving bus and beautiful homes lined the road. I sat trying to find imagines in the clouds that lingered around, not a care in the world. Life was good.
On our way to the border, we stopped at the White Temple. Words cannot begin to describe what this temple entailed. It's outside beauty displayed the traditional Thai Temple theme with its detail and design, but the inside was nothing I imagined a traditional Buddhist temple would resemble. Other than the grand painting of a Buddha on the far wall as I walked in, a smaller Buddha statue placed in front and a monk sitting peacefully, dressed in his orange robe, in the same stance and just as motionless as the statue he mocked (I didn't even notice he was there until I had already been there for 5 minutes)- the artwork on the opposing wall was intricately abstract with everything from a snake-like dragon that burned through the Twin Towers, to a fetus inside a womb- attached to a scorpion-like Transformer. The world revolved inside the mouth of an evil Zeus-like creature and blood dripped from an unknown object. The colors were exquisite. The peachy colored background of the walls flourished as it made way for the vibrant lavender and violate swirls that could take anyone’s mind on a whirl-wind. Monks were placed in a large hand following the beautiful twirling clouds of purple and fish swam at the bottom, chasing each other with razor sharp teeth.
I watched as the painters continued their artwork around the room. A little Thai boy was sitting by, what I would assume his mentor, sketching detailed work in his book. I could have stayed there for days, observing. I thought of what it would be like to be that monk sitting legs and arms crossed, trying to distract all things from his mind. I believed only the most profound of them all could be in a Temple as this and not have their mind wander through the abstract dancing around him.
Maybe I'll try meditation one day.
Laos has to be one of the most beautiful places I've seen on earth. The breath-taking beauty of the mountains, the relaxing air, and the casual atmosphere are just a few things to point out. The clouds rolled over the mountains, leaving scattered shaded areas that accented every color of green, the sun burned my skin through the window as we twisted around the curves at a speed that made me need to hold on so I didn't end up on Sera's lap, and I couldn't help getting over how extraordinary this place really is. It's nothing like I've ever seen before, and living in the Alps with the snow-topped mountains just couldn't compare to the everlasting greenery that overtook every piece of soil. I thought about what it would be like to snowboard through the palm trees down a steep run, jumping creeks as they approached, maybe even trying to swing on a low branch or vine while I was at it. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t snow here though... so I lost all hope.
We’ll see how tubing through this beautiful scene turns out!
On our way to the border, we stopped at the White Temple. Words cannot begin to describe what this temple entailed. It's outside beauty displayed the traditional Thai Temple theme with its detail and design, but the inside was nothing I imagined a traditional Buddhist temple would resemble. Other than the grand painting of a Buddha on the far wall as I walked in, a smaller Buddha statue placed in front and a monk sitting peacefully, dressed in his orange robe, in the same stance and just as motionless as the statue he mocked (I didn't even notice he was there until I had already been there for 5 minutes)- the artwork on the opposing wall was intricately abstract with everything from a snake-like dragon that burned through the Twin Towers, to a fetus inside a womb- attached to a scorpion-like Transformer. The world revolved inside the mouth of an evil Zeus-like creature and blood dripped from an unknown object. The colors were exquisite. The peachy colored background of the walls flourished as it made way for the vibrant lavender and violate swirls that could take anyone’s mind on a whirl-wind. Monks were placed in a large hand following the beautiful twirling clouds of purple and fish swam at the bottom, chasing each other with razor sharp teeth.
I watched as the painters continued their artwork around the room. A little Thai boy was sitting by, what I would assume his mentor, sketching detailed work in his book. I could have stayed there for days, observing. I thought of what it would be like to be that monk sitting legs and arms crossed, trying to distract all things from his mind. I believed only the most profound of them all could be in a Temple as this and not have their mind wander through the abstract dancing around him.
Maybe I'll try meditation one day.
Laos has to be one of the most beautiful places I've seen on earth. The breath-taking beauty of the mountains, the relaxing air, and the casual atmosphere are just a few things to point out. The clouds rolled over the mountains, leaving scattered shaded areas that accented every color of green, the sun burned my skin through the window as we twisted around the curves at a speed that made me need to hold on so I didn't end up on Sera's lap, and I couldn't help getting over how extraordinary this place really is. It's nothing like I've ever seen before, and living in the Alps with the snow-topped mountains just couldn't compare to the everlasting greenery that overtook every piece of soil. I thought about what it would be like to snowboard through the palm trees down a steep run, jumping creeks as they approached, maybe even trying to swing on a low branch or vine while I was at it. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t snow here though... so I lost all hope.
We’ll see how tubing through this beautiful scene turns out!
In the Jungle the Mighty Jungle
In the jungle the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…. Well I didn’t actually see any lions, tigers, or bears, enormous snakes named (insert name of snake from The Jungle Book) and come to think of it, the closest thing to “wildlife” I actually saw was a lizard. I searched long and hard for the tree rat they said was in the trees but my eyes didn’t manage to find anything. It’s a good thing I’m not longing for a new home in the jungle. The elephants were as close to jungle animal life as I managed during the 3 day trek, and I’m not sure I could consider them jungle animals since they were tamed. Apart from glorious views, the thrilling feeling of being in a Jurassic Park setting and getting to experience the real rainforest way of life, the trek wasn’t just a walk through the woods. It’s rainy season, the paths were wet, slick with mud, and the inclines were steep.
The first day was fairly easy starting off. We were driven 3 hours outside of Chiang Mai to where we would begin our trek. It was nice having all meals provided and having a place to sleep each night without worrying about lugging our huge bags stuffed with food, tents and sleeping bags. It’s strange the relationships you build with people over short periods of time, because during the lunch provided before we set off for our first day, there were 4 groups. Sarah and myself, Dave and Henry (whom we had met on the bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai), -Linda, Rich and John,- and -Nick, Matt and Spence- (the English boys). We all were separate, embarking on this 3 day jungle hike together, and I automatically knew those I would enjoy being around. It was the last day when we got back from the trek that the entire group, apart from the English boys went out for dinner and drinks to enjoy the last night we had in Chiang Mai and I knew I would keep in touch with this group.
Day one was short, we hiked about and 1 and ½ hours before reaching the first village we were to spend the night. By this point it was already close to dusk, we settled in our bungalow with makeshift “beds” (raised planks of bamboo floor with mattress pads possibly made of some wool type substance placed on top of them). All of the guys went with Tom Cruise (our Thai guide who was obsessed with the word “chicken”) to play soccer, while Linda, Sarah and I chilled out in the bungalow until dinner time rolled around. It’s a good thing I ate a lot of rice for lunch because the ginger chicken curry was disappointing, even though all the ingredients were fresh from the garden (and cage). After dinner we celebrated the evening with the local village people performing their traditional music and dance. I was the first picked to stand up and learn the dance with them as they performed. They passed around a guitar for some musical fun, but my skills weren't up for a crowd.
The night ended with a old Thai man and opium. We had joked the whole night through that one of the rooms in the little bungalow was the “opium room” but when he stepped out to lay down right beside where I was sitting, I realized that it really was the opium room and he was offering it to all of us. I politely declined the offer, but watched as the old Thai man enjoyed his pastime to my right. We learned the history of transit, trekking 3 days to Burma to buy their goods and hoping to make it back without problems. It was probably one of the most insightful days of the trek.
Day two was long and hard. They don’t call it the Rainforest for nothing. We trekked for a good 7 hours up and down the mountains while the cool rain poured down. It felt nice compared to the hot humid temperature that engrossed us. During lunch we made our way over a river and through the woods to a waterfall that exceeded my expectations. I was still shy to think that the waterfalls in Thailand could be anything more than the “streams” we experienced in Koh Phangan until I buried my head under the pounding water to relieve the heat and rid the sweat. The rest of the day was filled with more hiking, too much sliding and falling in the mud and a lot of laughing.
Our final day was Elephant and Bamboo rafting day! I felt so small compared to these giant, delicate creatures who carried me effortlessly on their backs. There was even a baby elephant that seemed so tiny compared to the others, only to find out it was already 4 years old. The bamboo rafting was considerably more entertaining because I was stuck on a raft with Dave and Henry. Dave who somehow claimed the roll of captain not only was the worst captain of all bamboo rafts, EVER, but he drug us under 4 trees and crashed us into a bridge (the only obstacle of the entire river!). I fell jumping onto another raft, Dave managed to cling onto the bridge, and Henry who was at the very back, started sinking slowly to death.
Tom Cruise savaged the ship but turned out to be more of a hindrance on the rest of the way down the river. Turns out the Thai meaning for help means sitting on your ass at the back of the boat while the rest of us paddle down the river on a still sinking raft. Thanks Tom Cruise.
It was nice to shower after 3 days of hiking in the rain, riding elephants and falling into muddy water, but I was sad to leave our new friends. The following day, we set off for Laos.
The first day was fairly easy starting off. We were driven 3 hours outside of Chiang Mai to where we would begin our trek. It was nice having all meals provided and having a place to sleep each night without worrying about lugging our huge bags stuffed with food, tents and sleeping bags. It’s strange the relationships you build with people over short periods of time, because during the lunch provided before we set off for our first day, there were 4 groups. Sarah and myself, Dave and Henry (whom we had met on the bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai), -Linda, Rich and John,- and -Nick, Matt and Spence- (the English boys). We all were separate, embarking on this 3 day jungle hike together, and I automatically knew those I would enjoy being around. It was the last day when we got back from the trek that the entire group, apart from the English boys went out for dinner and drinks to enjoy the last night we had in Chiang Mai and I knew I would keep in touch with this group.
Day one was short, we hiked about and 1 and ½ hours before reaching the first village we were to spend the night. By this point it was already close to dusk, we settled in our bungalow with makeshift “beds” (raised planks of bamboo floor with mattress pads possibly made of some wool type substance placed on top of them). All of the guys went with Tom Cruise (our Thai guide who was obsessed with the word “chicken”) to play soccer, while Linda, Sarah and I chilled out in the bungalow until dinner time rolled around. It’s a good thing I ate a lot of rice for lunch because the ginger chicken curry was disappointing, even though all the ingredients were fresh from the garden (and cage). After dinner we celebrated the evening with the local village people performing their traditional music and dance. I was the first picked to stand up and learn the dance with them as they performed. They passed around a guitar for some musical fun, but my skills weren't up for a crowd.
The night ended with a old Thai man and opium. We had joked the whole night through that one of the rooms in the little bungalow was the “opium room” but when he stepped out to lay down right beside where I was sitting, I realized that it really was the opium room and he was offering it to all of us. I politely declined the offer, but watched as the old Thai man enjoyed his pastime to my right. We learned the history of transit, trekking 3 days to Burma to buy their goods and hoping to make it back without problems. It was probably one of the most insightful days of the trek.
Day two was long and hard. They don’t call it the Rainforest for nothing. We trekked for a good 7 hours up and down the mountains while the cool rain poured down. It felt nice compared to the hot humid temperature that engrossed us. During lunch we made our way over a river and through the woods to a waterfall that exceeded my expectations. I was still shy to think that the waterfalls in Thailand could be anything more than the “streams” we experienced in Koh Phangan until I buried my head under the pounding water to relieve the heat and rid the sweat. The rest of the day was filled with more hiking, too much sliding and falling in the mud and a lot of laughing.
Our final day was Elephant and Bamboo rafting day! I felt so small compared to these giant, delicate creatures who carried me effortlessly on their backs. There was even a baby elephant that seemed so tiny compared to the others, only to find out it was already 4 years old. The bamboo rafting was considerably more entertaining because I was stuck on a raft with Dave and Henry. Dave who somehow claimed the roll of captain not only was the worst captain of all bamboo rafts, EVER, but he drug us under 4 trees and crashed us into a bridge (the only obstacle of the entire river!). I fell jumping onto another raft, Dave managed to cling onto the bridge, and Henry who was at the very back, started sinking slowly to death.
Tom Cruise savaged the ship but turned out to be more of a hindrance on the rest of the way down the river. Turns out the Thai meaning for help means sitting on your ass at the back of the boat while the rest of us paddle down the river on a still sinking raft. Thanks Tom Cruise.
It was nice to shower after 3 days of hiking in the rain, riding elephants and falling into muddy water, but I was sad to leave our new friends. The following day, we set off for Laos.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Thailand- Koh Phangan
6am came way too early. I still hadn't recovered from the jet lag and when the time rolled around to get the bus that would take us to Koh Phangan, I almost said screw it. But I couldn't miss the thought of staying on an island in Thailand, the Full Moon Party or anything else exciting that might come my way. With all of the traveling we're doing, reading has become my favorite "past-time." It's strange to think that I have barely read in the last year, and within the last 2 weeks, I've read 4 books. It makes the travel time go quite fast and sleeping of course. So when we finally made it to Koh Phangan, I felt like it had only taken 2 hours compared to the 9 that it actually did. It was a surprise when we found out the place we had booked the previous day was well off the beaten path. It was about an hour drive from the main town area and most "taxi's" wouldn't go there. We discovered why when we kept bumping our heads on the cover that was attached to the bed of the truck. The roads were uneven, unpaved and run-off water had made trenches in the loose red clay. We were in the middle of nowhere and wondered if we were really being taken into the jungle to be dropped off to fend for ourselves more than being taken to our bungalow. By the time we made it, it was dusk, and the beauty of the moon lit sky shown onto the calm water of the cove. Light music played in the background and peace overwhelmed me. The room was more than expected, spacious and welcoming. Coral stones covered the bathroom floor, the back deck meeting the edge of the river a few feet away and fluffy, clean towels laid on the huge bed that I eagerly jumped on as soon as my bag hit the floor.
A hammock hung in between two trees not far from our door facing the cove. I took my book and laid there as the sky grew darker. I could have stayed there for ages hanging in between two trees, swaying with the light breeze, looking up at the star filled sky, not a care in the world. We were there for 4 days, but it was not long enough. After the adventurous days using the 4-wheelers we rented to take us from place to place, exploring the (not-so-much waterfalls as small streams), racing through monsoon rain, going mudding, hitting up the town, and being your average traveler, the relaxing nights were just the right touch. Fortunately I was still having trouble with the time difference by the time the Full Moon Party rolled around, so staying up late wasn't much of an issue. To sum it up- the party was intense, 1000's of people, tons of buckets flying around, music everywhere, waterslides (which of course I did!), fire shows, and did I mention the people!? I had a blast, but we didn't pull the all-nighter like half the crowd, most of the people from our bungalow headed back on the 3am boat. We spent the rest of our days relaxing and enjoying the Thai food and culture, exploring the island and getting ready for our next adventure to Chaing Mai (which was a last minute decision change from Phuket, and what an amazing decision it was!).
The Beginnings of South East Asia- Thailand!
As the adventures continue in my not-so-ordinary life, traveling the world and grasping every bit of something extraordinary I can.. the flight to Bangkok, Thailand didn't seem that long. Normally I would be anxious for a trip so fulfilling, I mean, after all, I was heading to a continent so completely different than the western world. However, the fatigue from traveling the last two and a half months non-stop was catching up to me. I sat in the Cairo airport, waiting patiently for the time to roll around that I could relax and sleep on the plane. When the plane landed hours later, the middle seat where I was sat seemed more like a small closet that had way too many clothes in it for me to comfortably enjoy. I still felt un-rested and the extra 6 hour time change didn't help any. My days and nights were once again mixed up. I stayed awake the rest of the day, trying to readjust myself to Thai time. When we landed in Bangkok, we decided to do some exploring and met a really nice guy whose Thai name means "Happy," (so that's what I called him the rest of the time we hung out). He took us to a movie and showed us around the 7 story shopping mall not terribly far from our hostel. We got tickets to the VIP showing of The Sorcerer's Apprentice where the seats were more like sofa's and blankets were provided, all for the low cost of $8. It was even in English! The first movie I'd seen in ages in English, theatre style. We hadn't planned to stay long in Bangkok having heard it was dirty and the rest of Thailand was worth more exploration, so we decided to see has much as we could in the 24 hours we were in the city and then head to the south. The best part about this trip is that we didn't have any set plans and everything was on a whim. We knew we wanted to head down to some of the islands and we set off to find a bus company that would get us there. Bangkok is full of tourism agencies that all offer their own deals. We just needed a bus ride and found an agency that was taking off the next morning for the long haul down south to Koh Pangan. So we bought our tickets and retired the evening early to caught up on some sleep. That was Bangkok and it was enough for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)