I read some books

So just a warning - I am a little bit buzzed as I write this.  I am in Bangkok and was hanging out in a bar watching the Olympics (USA, USA, USA!!) and had to keep buying beers to keep watching.  I think the Olympics are one of the only sporting events on television that I like to watch.  I think because the sports are so obscure.  Anyways books, books, books.  I finally finished all of the available Game of Thrones books so could move onto other things.  First, I read the book by Mindy Kaling (writer and actor for The Office), Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me.  I found the book delightful.  It is a really quick read, I would recommend using your local library, if possible, to get the book.  I liked the book because it made me laugh out loud several times and I am gravitated toward things where people are really honest about who they are, and I felt that about this book.  If you are looking for a quick read that will make you laugh I would recommend it.  I am not sure, but it might be more geared toward ladies but honestly I think some men might find it amusing as well.
The next book I read was a little more serious.  Well let's get real - a lot more serious.  I had a few friends recommend this one: Unbroken by Laura Hilldenbrand.  It is a book about a WWII veteran who started out his adult life as an Olympian runner (great timing BTW), then went on to be part of a crew aboard a bomber plane, during WWII.  His plane that ended up having to do a crash dive into the pacific ocean.  I will try not to spoil anything but the book goes onto detail his story of survival aboard a raft in the middle of the pacific ocean, only to be kept in treacherous POW camps in Japan until the war ended.  I was captivated.  I am pretty sure I read the book in about two days and ended up crying in restaurants and buses.  You know a book is good when it makes you cry in public.  It's ok I don't think anyone noticed.  I wish I could write more eloquently but I can't, I was a science major.  The book made me reflect on how after the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, there were some people in the US that celebrated the fact that Japan was struggling because of our history with them during WWII.  I thought about the Japanese people I have met so far on my travels and how much I liked them.  I have learned not to judge people by their government, which I think sometimes people make the mistake of doing.  I am sure if you read the book you will find several of your own lessons to ponder.  Happy reading!!  

Angkor Temples in Cambodia

After my dive class on the coast of Cambodia I took a 13 hour bus ride to the city of Siem Reap, it is the city close to the Angkor temples, which are basically the national symbol of the country.  It is an area where there are maybe 15 to 20 temples clustered together.  There were built by the Khmer people over 1000 years ago.  The temples are both Buddhist and Hindu and are a real source of pride for the people of Cambodia.  I met a few friends in Siem Reap and for two days we biked around and looked at temples.  It was really beautiful, not only the temples, the area was really nice there were lots of trees so it made for really nice biking.  I probably did over 60K in 2 days.  The temples were really impressive when you considered the size and limited technology when they were built.  I don't have a ton to say but will let my pictures do the talking. 

Sometimes I like to get day drunk while visiting temples

This was a temple with over 200 of these large smiling faces

Big scale pic of the smiling faces temple

This was one of the gates surrounding one of the temples

Can you spot the insect?

One of the temples, instead of restoring, let nature sort of take over - it was one of my favorites.

 

Hello from Cambodia

Where my last post left off is Caitlin had just left for the airport.  Since then I have done a lot of traveling!!  After Caitlin left, I continued to travel south through Laos, stopping in the cities of Vien Viang, Vientiane, and 4000 Islands.  Vien Viang is this crazy party town where twenty something westerners go to: drink, hook up, sleep, repeat.  It is the town in Laos where you can go tubing down the river but along the river there are several bars you can stop at along the way but they aren't normal bars, they sell all kind of drugs including pot, mushrooms, opium, and laughing gas balloons.  The statistics are that a tourist dies about once a week because they get too wasted and drown in the river.  I lasted there about one and a half days, tried to bike out to an organic farm in the area only to find it was pretty much deserted.  That was disappointing.  The city was beautiful as far as scenery but I just wasn't a fan of the type of people that hang out there.  So I moved on to the capital city of Laos, Vientiane.  I don't really love big cities but I like to visit.  There was a really cool Buddha Park with several Buddha statues that was built in the 1950s - you can see photos.  I also just walked around the city and took walks near the river.  I only stayed there a couple of nights as well.  Then I moved down to the 4000 Islands which is this area is Laos where the Mekong River creates several (4000?) islands, many are extremely small but also several that are inhabited.  This was one of my favorite places in Laos.  I think I like places where you have to get there by boat so that there are no cars and everything is accessible by walking, biking or boat.  The highlight of my time there was a kayaking trip where I got to see the extremely rare and highly endangered Irrawaddy dolphins.  We kayaked down the river and walked around a couple of water falls but also spent some time in the bay where the dolphins hang out.  From what i have heard not many people see them but they were jumping almost the whole time we were there which was pretty amazing.  I didn't get pictures because I just wanted to enjoy the moment and when you try to take photos of fish jumping out of water it is generally unsuccessful.  In the 4000 Islands I had my own bungalow along the river for about $2.50 a night.  There was a hammock so I did a lot of hammock time.  Each night there were these really beautiful electrical storms that would light up the sky but with no thunder - I have never really seen that before.  After the 4000 Islands I moved into Cambodia.  I spent one quick night in the capital city of Phnom Phen and quickly took a bus to the coast.  Upon arrival I signed up for a Open Water Divers Course which consisted of 4 days of diving, two days in the pool and two days of open water dives in the Gulf of Thailand.  I was a little nervous about it because I was afraid I would panic, which is the worst thing you can do while under water.  I ended up doing really well and now as I am blogging I just finished the course.  I am really excited because now if I want to I can dive in New Zealand or if I go to Australia the Great Barrier Reef.  Anyways the diving was pretty good - we didn't have great visibility since it is sort of the rainy season here but I saw a lot of really cool coral, horned starfish, angel fish, and on my last day two cuttlefish which were really amazing.  If you don't know what they are google image search it.  I have about nine days left in SE Asia and I will spend some in Siem Reap and the Angkor temples in Cambodia and then maybe about a day in Bangkok before I fly out.  I am excited to be back in New Zealand because I am starting a three week introduction course to Wilderland, a place that is an example of cooperative sustainable living.  I am really excited.  All right gotta go do some research on where I am staying in Siam Reap - cheers and good night!!

Some of the beautiful landscape in Vien Viang - it is a great place for rock climbing

Some of the sculptures at the Buddha park

Buddha park

Buddha park

View from my bungalow in the 4000 Islands

Largest waterfall in SE Asia (largest in largest volume of water passes these water falls, not tallest)

Sunset in the 4000 Islands

Same sunset but later

Taking a bike ride around the islands - it didn't last long, that day was way too hot!!

An example of some of the road blocks you encounter in Cambodia

 

Buses in Laos

Bus rides in Laos are fucking crazy.  I am not kidding.  There are no trains so the main way to get from town to town is on a bus.  First of all the roads are not that great - they are generally about one and a half lanes, with pot holes, and some gravel.  The roads are on steep mountain sides so they are curvy with one side being a giant cliff and the other a ditch.  I have taken four bus rides so far and we have had close calls of hitting a dog, baby pigs, chickens, ducks, cows and other vehicles.  If you have a nalgene without a sippy lid don't plan on having a drink of water.  Most drivers like to blast Lao radio so you can't hear your ipod over the foreign music.  On a bus ride I did with Caitlin, we took one of the local bus and in a van with 13 seats, we crammed in 17 people.  Caitlin got puked on by a baby.  On my bus ride yesterday there was a random Lao woman sleeping on my shoulder.  Which wasn't really annoying but I get super accommodating thoughts like 'I wish my shoulder was more comfortable' and I start to feel bad.  In Laos the horn is used to communicate when you are going around blind corners and are going to fast to stay in your own lane or to let people know you are passing them.  It has a completely different meaning than how it is used in the states.  There is usually no line in the middle of the street but if there is, it means nothing.  Anyways I had a pleasant five hour ride yesterday, nobody puked.  Currently in the party town of Vian Vieng and got my party on last night.  It was good fun and met some cool people.  I am trying not to get trapped here.  Today I am planning a bike ride out to an organic farm - they do mulberry tea and goat cheese!!

Biking in Laos

Since the trekking trip Caitlin and I have gone on a couple of biking trips, one in Luang Nam Tha and one in Luang Prabang. 
1st Bike Day:  This day was very chill, with nice bikes.  We went on tiny dirt roads where kids would run out to wave at us.  We mainly saw villages and rice fields.  In the afternoon on the bike ride we passed by a restaurant that sounded happening so we stopped.  Once we went in there were a ton of people there (on a Tuesday afternoon).  We walked in and everyone stared at us and a table of people asked us to sit down.  They only spoke a little bit of english but poured us each a glass of beer that never emptied and we tried to order some food.  We got a plate of veggies which was fine and a soup with some crazy looking chicken parts in it.  There was also kareoke so I did a song.  Caitlin didn't know any of the songs in English they had (there was only about 6). 
2nd Bike Day:  We also went on a bike ride to a park with a water fall.  The destination was really cool but the ride was a bit tiring.  We road total 40 miles but it felt like 60 on the bikes we had.  I think both of us are used to custom fit bikes (spoiled I know).  On my bike, the seat wouldn't stay taller so my legs were a bit bent and the front derailleur wouldn't shift up so the hills were pretty easy but on downhill and flat all I could do was coast.  Caitlin's handle bars were too low so her back was in a lot of pain when we were done.  We had a beautiful day despite the pain.  The waterfall park was really amazing - several waterfalls with clear blue pools to swim in.  There was a hike to the top and a bear santcuary where they rescue bears that are raised in small boxes for bile which is used in Chinese medicine.  A great day but I think I need another back massage.  Here are some pics:

Ride 1 - some rice fields

Ride 1 - a bridge

Ride 1 - big sky

Ride 1 - Caitlin

One of the roads we biked down - the cows are pretty chill

They do starts in big clumps then distribute them to the fields

This was one of the weird chicken parts that came in my soup

Pretty sky

Ride 2- bear santcuary

Pretty pools

Main waterfall

From the top

Pools at the top

On the hike down from the top

Swimming!!

Trekking in Laos

We traveled from Thailand into Laos, to the city of Luang Nam Tha.  We chose this as the destination because it is close to the National Park which is a large area of protected jungle.  The town was cute with several agencies to book treks from.  We chose one that we liked and booked a three day trek with the third day being a day of kayaking instead of hiking.  The trips that you can book get cheaper as more people book, even so we were hoping for a bit of a smaller group in order to see some wildlife.  We ended up with a group of 9 which I think is the biggest it can be - oh well at least it got cheaper.  Our companions actually ended up being really cool - even when the trekking was a bit torturous they had very high spirits.  I had prepared a blog post just giving you the play by play but I decided it got too long and just to give you the highlights.  Day 1: we did about 7 hours of trekking (with breaks).  Basically we went up a big hill and then down.  To be honest the views weren't amazing because the foliage was so thick but the jungle was really cool.  I ended up getting two leeches on my foot that day.  I was wearing chacos because they are the only shoes I brought to Asia with me, they were great for hiking, since we weren't carrying much weight but made me pretty vulnerable to leeches.  I sweated through my clothes probably within the first half hour of walking.  I don't think I have ever sweated through a pair of pants before.  Night 1: we stayed at Jungle Camp, where all nine of us, plus 3 guides, slept in one room with mosquito nets.  In the middle of the night it started to rain really hard and didn't let up all night and into the next morning.  There was a debacle with the water drop off and we only got about a 1/2 liter after the sweaty trek.  Finally more was delivered the next day.  Day 2 we did about 5 hours of trekking with less breaks than the first day.  Two of our party took the short route due to blisters.  The rest of us took the long way.  The jungle got even more lush and the guides told us about the local fruits, edible plants, and plants used for medicinal purposes.  I got three leeches on me that day, Caitlin even got one and she was wearing shoes, I managed to get one on my back - it was trying to latch on through my shirt.  We arrived another camp where three rivers joined together and we did some swimming which felt great after hiking for a couple of days.  Then we were picked up by a van and taken to a village where we were having dinner and spending the night.  After a walk we went into where we were staying and there were some kids and a mom hanging out.  As soon as we sat down the mom pulls down her sons pants to show us his hugely swollen testicle.  I have never been greeted this way.  We didn't really know what to do, the kid didn't seem to be in pain.  The other members of our party said it was a hernia.  We went on with our evening.  We also had dinner with the chief of the village and it was really fun to learn the history of his tribe, learn about their customs and meet his family.  Night 2:  We stayed with a family.  It rained all night on a metal roof and the whole family (including roosters) were up around 4:30.  Day 3:  In the morning we walked around - I took a lot of pictures of baby animals because I feel awkward taking pictures of the people.  We also saw a lot of people doing handicrafts - it is like breathing to them.  The women are usually always doing some sort of sewing or weaving and the men more carpentry work or fishing nets.  We loaded into inflatable kayaks and went down a river - we were supposed to go about 17 km but I am not sure if we went that far.  The river was nice - I really liked it.  It was calm about class two rapids.  Caitlin and I were the most skilled at kayaking in our group so we would try to go down the roughest part of the rapids.  We also stopped at a couple of villages that day which was really cool.  During the day most of the adults go work in the rice fields leaving the children and the older people.  We met a 66 year old woman who had never seen a foreigner before.  Our guide also told us about the political and romantic customs of his village.  I learned that in some villages there is a hut where men and women can go to 'hook up'.  If a woman gets pregnant, she can choose from the men she has slept with to marry.  But the men really want to be chosen - they don't care if it is really theirs because having children is so valuable for their culture.  They need them to work in the fields and support them when they get old.  I never asked how people chose to marry without impending baby though.  The kids were very cute and all the people are so tiny compared to the size of us.  When it was time to go our van picked us up and told us the road conditions were pretty bad because of all the rain.  We drove a bit and soon came upon a truck of locals that had driven into the ditch - we all got out and pushed it out.  Next we came to a big truck that had gotten stuck in the mud.  We had to wait about and hour for a bit bulldozer type machine came to pull it up the hill and fix the road for us.  Shortly after the road had gotten fixed our van got stuck and we had to push it out.  After a long ride back on a slippery road where one side was a very long drop off we got back into town around 9:30 when we were supposed to be back around 5.  Despite the leeches, the rain, and the mud I had a really good time.  We are still in Laos - Caitlin just left this morning for Laos - right now my plan is to go south in Laos, then loop through Cambodia back to Bangkok where my flight leaves on July 31st.  Cheers!!

Lunch on the first day - the little packets are sticky rice which accompanies every meal.

Me sweating my balls off.

Bamboo forest with one of our guides

Caitlin posing with spirit tree.

Spirit tree

Lovely view of the lush forest.

A view of one of the villages

I liked the roof - they use a lot of natural building materials

Adorable tiny puppy that I could not get enough of.  It would wiggle it's tail when you rubbed its back!

Machine that had to rescue us and fix the road.