Farm #4 - I live in a van!!

It is actually a caravan, and it is called the Love Caravan.  I am not really sure why it has that name - maybe because it has such a romantic setting.  The van overlooks an estuary and it is facing east so the sunrises I have witnessed have been amazing.

The Love Caravan

My view from the caravan

One of the amazing sun rises from the caravan

Let me back up.  I am back in New Zealand!!  I went and picked up my car to discover that the front two tires were going flat.  I ended up having to replace them both then I drove to my new home for the next three weeks.  I am currently living at a sustainable farming community, called Wilderland, on the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island.  It is a farm that produces fruits, vegetables, nuts, tea, craft jewelry, and honey.  Right now there are about 15 of us living here.  We work on the farm Monday through Friday from about 8:30 to 1 and do farm clean up on Saturday morning.  We eat breakfast and lunch communally and then are left to our own devices to cook dinner.  So far my tasks have included planting, weeding, harvesting, composting, cooking, and working in the shop where the farm sells some of it's products.  I have been curious for some time about community living situations, how they work and if I would like to live on one.  So now I live on one and trying to decide if I like it or not.  Turns out it is a lot like normal life - there are some things I like but some things that I don't.  I like that I get to garden everyday and learn more about it, I like that I get to eat fresh, healthy food everyday and don't have to always cook it,  and I like meeting cool, like minded people.  Some things I don't like, is feeling like not everyone puts in their fair share or wants to be living in the community for the correct reasons.  So far I have been in the community for two weeks and have another farm lined up at the start of next week.  I think at some point in the summer, when more gardening is happening, I will have to come back because I do like living in a community but also want to keep traveling around New Zealand.

Some orchards blooming

The store where we sell goods from the farm

The citrus orchard where I spent a day shoveling compost to the base of each tree

In other news, my friend Dominic was doing some traveling around New Zealand so last weekend I hitched my way to Auckland to visit him.  We did some drinking and some catching up, then he was headed down to the south island and I headed back to the farm.  It was so fun seeing someone from home and to hear about all the news from Olympia.  But this weekend Dom came to visit me on the farm and I got to show him around, the farm and to some beaches in the area which was fun. 

On a walk to one of the beaches on the peninsula

Dom on the beach

We also had some adventures.  First we went surfing, it was my first time surfing and it was awesome!  It was a really nice place to learn because the waves broke pretty close to shore and the water wasn't too cold.  We only had a couple of hours (I don't think I would've lasted much longer) but I managed to stand up about three times and am really excited to get some more practice in.  We only had a couple of hours to surf because that afternoon we planned to hike into a hut and stay the night.  It was Dom, me and a woman named Ffion from Whales who also lives at the farm.  It was my first tramping experience in New Zealand and it was a little bit rainy but really fun.  We left pretty late in the afternoon and had to hike about 5k, mostly up hill, so ended up doing a bit in the dark.  The trail was made of large rocky steps, made for a giant, so my knees didn't love it.  It was nice to hike to a hut because we had cooking facilities and didn't have to carry a tent.  We were the only ones there at a hut that sleeps 80.  We woke up early and walked up another 1/2 hour to a peak to a gorgeous view of the surrounding rock and distant ocean.  We hurried out because Dom had a flight to Fiji to catch later in the day.  It started to rain so I was soaked by the time we had gotten down.  It felt really good to be tired and challenged.  I am back at the farm and just moved into a different house that has it's own kitchen facilities.  I apologize for the time between this post and the last but wanted to make sure I had some good stories and photos to share.  I love and miss everyone back at home :)

Just for scale - you can see the 'hut' - this is from the top of the peak

Close up of the hut we hiked to - it sleeps 80.

View on the way up to the top - not great visibility but nice lighting

Dom on the top

Dom and I on the top

Ffion enjoying a victory smoke

Dom on the way down

Steep path

Cool dead tree

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!!