Oh my buddha

Given the amount of wats I've seen since my last post, I thought the title appropriate. Plus, I love that phrase :). Right, so to try and make this a manageable read... So much ground has been covered.

Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn met me in Bangkok where we spent a couple of days checking out the sights of the city. The wat with the huge gold lying buddha was the highlight for me (and for Jaclyn). And the boat taxis up and down the river. The second night, Mish, Erik and I had to go check out the Patpong night market area where all the sex shows are. It was definitely an experience. I think the highlight was the baby elephant that randomly walked down the street at 1 AM in central Bangkok. You know you aren't in Kansas anymore when... We took a night train to Chang Mai. The train was delayed 3 hours along the way and the reason given was "no power". Interesting. But we passed the time making friends, hanging out and playing cards. We spent the day wandering around Chang Mai. I was a bit disappointed as the city is just kind of a city. But as in all of Thailand, the food was excellent! The next morning we took a bus to Chang Rai. This is where we decided to do hill trekking from. I was happy that the bus was a Thai karaoke bus (where they show cheesy karaoke videos the whole time) so the crew could experience it. I don't think they were as amused as I was (come on, one opens with a girl getting hit by a tuk-tuk!). We set up a trek through our hotel and had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms which uses the proceeds to supply safe sex education and condoms to the villages in the area. The signage was interesting- especially the sign over the door which read "Our food is guaranteed not to make you pregnant". The next day we went to the hill tribes. We had negotiated for extra trekking time and trek we did. It was hot and there were many hills but the scenery was gorgeous and the villages were interesting. We ended the day with a short ride on an elephant and then a longboat ride back to Chang Rai. That night we went to the Chang Rai night market which was my favorite in Thailand. We spent most of the time in fromt of the stage with live music and dancing. There were loads of food vendors. Erik and I had a hot pot and Erik got the mixed insect plate for dessert. I was impressed with myself for trying a catepillar- totally not my thing. We also had to have a tower of beer, just because they were there.

On to the border crossing into Laos. We took the morning bus to Chang Khong and caught a longboat across the Mekong to the border. Figuring out the order of windows to go to at the border was an experience but after an hour we were safely and legally in Laos. We spent the night at a local guesthouse whose owner has quite the temper. Definitely not typical of the Laos people. We wandered around the town for a bit and had a quiet night and got ready for the two day boat ride to Luang Probang. We found a great restaurant on the river and Jaclyn was able to try lapp- Laotian salad made with minced meat and lemongrass. It was terrific. We arrived early to get good seats and waited in the boat for a few hours. They tried to overfill the boat dangerously but there was a protest from the customers (including chanting- only the tourists of course) and they added a second boat. The scenery on the river was amazing! We spent the night in the small village of Pak Beng on the way. Day 2 our boat was less crowded and we spent much of the ride talking to the other passengers. That was great because we kept running into them in Luang Probang and it was like already having a group of friends waiting for you in town. The scenery on day 2 was just as nice as Day 1. I think Mish has about 3,000 pictures if you are interested.

We arrived in Luang Probang around 6 PM- just as the sun was setting over the Mekong. After a bit of wandering around, we found a great guesthouse. Then we headed out to the night market for perusing and food. The next day we got up super early to give alms to the monks. Every morning around 6:30 AM (not 6 as we thought) the monks walk into town and people offer them food. We bought food from local vendors on the street and sat and waited. Unfortunately there were so many monkls that we ran out well before the procession was through. Later we let Erik handle negotiating for a boat to the Pak Ou caves with hundreds of buddha statues in them. On the way we stopped at "whiskey village" to try Lao Lao, the local rice whiskey. The caves were cool to see and the boat ride was great. Later, we walked up to the wat on the hill above town to watch the sunset. That night, Mish and I met up with a group of people from the boat trip down and hung out with them. The second day in Luang Probang we wandered around the city. Mish and I had seen a board outside a travel agency that mentioned a place called Utopia and we were determined to find it! Sure enough, later in the afternoon we saw a sign for Utopia and followed it to a cool lounge on the river with terrfic views and very comfy seating- so we hung out for a bit. The place is pretty aptly named. Later we did a little tasting of many Laotian dishes at a place Jaclyn had read about and also watched the monks as they did the 4 PM drum playing at the wats around town (and there are literally hundreds- you can't walk 15 feet without passing a wat!). That night we went for dinner on the riverfront. Our last day in LP, we once again let Erik do the negotiating and took a tuk-tuk down to the Kuang Si waterfalls about 30 km outside of town. The falls were great as was the swimming. On the walk back there was a bear rescue area. For our last dinner we went to the Laotian BBQ where there are hot coals on the table and over them is a pot of soup. You add spices and vegetables and cook the meat on a grill that is in the middle over the soup. So good! Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn did their last minute shopping at the night market and we had our last BeerLa0 as a group :(. It was so great to see them all and we had such a great time. It definitely felt too short. But I am so so so glad they came to meet me (thanks guys!!).

The next morning they headed for the airport and I caught a minivan to Nong Khiaw 4 hours north. From Nong Khiaw I hopped on a boat up the river to Mueng Neua ( I still can't pronounce it) which is only accessible by boat. The town is tiny and most places only have electricity from 6-10 PM. There really isn't much to do except hike and chill out so it was perfect for me! In the morning I hiked out to two caves and then farther on to two villages. After the second village I continued to a waterfall and wadered past it for a bit. On the way back I had lunch at Hoy Ban, the second village. I tried to order chicken but was told they only kill a chicken for two or more people. As I waited for the noodle soup (veggie) they asked me to copy the name of their restaurant/guesthouse, the village, and "great food" over and over so they can give the papers to travelers as advertising. I thought it was terrific! Oh and I love how the villages use hydroelectric power. On the trail I saw multiple barrels set up with wires attached to give power to the villages. And in Mueng Neua, all of the light bulbs are compact flourescents. Interesting how the rural Laotians get this more than we do... Off my soap box. I met up with some guys from the boat up and a couple I'd met in LP and we spent the evening eating and playing cards by the river. We left at 9:50 to be able to see on the walk back to our guesthouses but missed the timing. The village really does completely shut down at 10.

The next morning I headed back to Nong Khiaw. I stayed in a great bungalow on the river with terrific views and walked out to a huge cave where 500 villagers hid during the bombings of the Indochina war in 1964. Yesterday I took a sawngtheiw (pickup truck with two rows of benches) back to Luang Probang. The truck comfortably seats 12 in the back. At one point, we had 19. It was a novelty for me, but it is interesting that this is how the people live here. Kind of the sort of thing that makes me greatful for the things I take for granted at home (solid walls, laundry, shower, etc). Also, it reminds me of a joke we heard in Luang Probang (about Thais, but obviously works for Laos too).
Q: How many people fit in a Thai car? A: One more.
After the pickup ride, I got on a bus to Vang Vieng. It took 9 hours so it was a long travel day but I am glad I didn't have to spend another night in LP and travel all day today.

That's where I am. Who's next to come meet me??

Photos for Thailand and N Laos are posted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/ThailandNLaos#

A quick hello

Sabadee from Laos!

Still hanging out with Jaclyn, Mish, and Erik. We're having a blast! Went through Chang Mai, Chang Rai, and into Laos. After a two day boat trip down the Mekong, we are in Luang Probang. They are heading to Siam Reap on Thursday morning and I am going to go north to some small towns with good hiking and very limited electricity. I'll do a longer update once I get back.

Hope everyone is doing well!
St
PS- picture is of the huge lying buddha in Bangkok. I like this pic :).

Kickboxing, history, and edible insects

OK, first off, I did not eat the insects. They were huge and scary and even the Indian guy I was with who talked the big talk about eating them chickened out. But it was still interesting to see. More on that later.

I lived through my week of kickboxing camp. I did a camp where you live at the training site and the price includes training twice a day, meals, and accommodation. It was really tough and I was sore and bruised, but I'm glad I did it. Training began with running at 6:30 AM followed by morning training with pads, bags, and sparring until 8:30. Afternoon training kicked off with 15 minutes of jump rope (sounds easier than it is) and lasts until 5 PM. The place I stayed has two gyms. The live in one is in a suburb of Bangkok which was cool because Christian (the German guy who was also staying there) and I were the only Westerners I saw the whole week in that area. The other gym, which we went to a few times, is off Kho San Road in Bangkok proper and people can walk in and train as much or as little as they like. More people were at that gym. The food was amazing! We ate after each training and every meal we were served a big plate of rice and three plates of mains for the two of us. And we nearly finished it every day. Everything from green curry to Tom Kha to pork and veggie dishes to omelettes... I miss the food already.

After my camp ended I came to Kanchanaburi which is 2.5 hours away from Bangkok. Kan is most famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai which was built here in 1942 as part of the "Death Railway" built by the Japanese from Thailand to Burma during WWII. The name is from the estimated 100,000 people, many of whom were Allied POWs, who died while building it. I've now walked over the bridge and ridden a train over it and visited the musuem about the railway so if you want more information, I have you covered. I'd like to see the movie now.

Yesterday I took a bus to Erawan Falls for the day. Erawan is a 7 tiered waterfall about 2 hours away. I have some great pics and the swimming was great! Last night I ran into a guy I had met in Indonesia. He, a friend of his, and I walked down to a Hindu festival I had stumbled onto the night before. This is where the bugs for consumption were sold. Huge grasshoppers and roaches and worms.... ICK! But hey, I haven't tried it. Aside from that, there were lights everywhere and fireworks and games, rides, "regular" food, etc. It was a lot like a carnival but then there was the religious side with monks, chanting, incense burning, candles, statues, and live birds that you buy and set free for good luck. It was such a cool experience!!

Tomorrow I head back to Bangkok to meet Jaclyn and Mish. We plan to head up to Laos so I'll let you know how that goes.

Under, over, and through

Sawadee Ka from Thailand!

I've been here just over a week now and have been keeping very busy. First stop was Phuket (flew in for 30 day visa). The whole reason for me going there was to dive. So I did :). But before that I went to an Obama innaguration party at an expat bart in Phuket town (it happened at midnight in Thailand). It was fun. The bar did a special with Obama burgers and bourbon. Anyway diving. I went over to Karon beach for diving. The beaches were nice as was the $6 massage on the beach. The diving was terrific! I did my first wreck dive (got to swim through the boat to the prow) on the first dive. Then we went to shark point and saw 2 leopard sharks. I got to lay down next to them. The highlight of the third dive was a huge moray eel (we saw 2) but we also saw a bamboo shark on that one. All and all a great day underwater!

After Phuket I decided to head to the jungle so I am now in Khao Sok which is a huge jungle in South Thailand. After a short day hike the first day I was here, I did a 2 day trip into the jungle. The first day we hiked into a cave. The cave had loads of bats and spiders and frogs and crickets and water. So much water that we had to swim at some parts while our guide scaled the rocks with the cameras. So cool! We spent the night in a floating rafthouse on a lake. Like literally you could see the water through the floor of the rooms. And the food was terrific! They put down plates of like 3 different mains and you just served it on up. Curry, sweet and sour, noodles, ginger.. I love Thai food! Day 2 we went for a longboat ride in the morning and saw 4 kinds of monkeys. Most were too far away to get good photos of, but we saw black monkeys, longtail macaques, shortail monkeys, and my favorite (because they act like acrobats in the trees) gibbons. Later we did a hike over a hill and went for a swim before heading back.

Today I decided to go for a short hike to a waterfall. Was supposed to be 4km. I don't know what the person doing the measuring was smoking but after nearly 3 hours of hiking there was no sign of the falls. What I did see loads of, however, mostly on my feet, were leeches. I was hiking with a French couple when I first saw a few on my foot. I was wearing Keens (sandals) for the river crossings (and because it is the dry season when there are few leeches- but it had rained yesterday) and when I took them off I had about 9 leeches drinking away. The French couple (wearing long pants and hiking boots) freaked out about the leeches outside their clothes and went back. I continued on stopping every now and again to pull another few off my feet. Honestly, it was a rather gross way to spend an afternoon but I'll chalk it up to experience. A couple of random facts about leeches- they are harmless in that they don't make you sick or anything and don't hurt at all. In fact you really cannot feel them. They release an anticoagulant when they start drinking the blood so it takes a few minutes before you can start to clot. I could go on here but I bet I am totally grossing you all out, huh? Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them. My camera was in my backpack and upon seeing leeches on my feet I couldn't make myself wait to get out the camera and take a shot before frantically ripping them off. I should take a pic of the marks on my feet though. Note to self.

Tomorrow I start heading up to Bangkok. Going to do a muay thai kickboxing class for a week before Jaclyn and Mish come meet up with me for 2 weeks. Can't wait to see them!!

The picture is of the floating rafthouses where I stayed. Cool, huh?

Food coma

How funny, I was totally getting ready to compose a post about food and I saw Jen's comment asking for info about it. Jen, you totally read my mind! I'm currently in Penang, my last stop in Malaysia and a place totally known for its food and well, I am totally trying my best to taste it all. Right now I am killing time between dinners 1 and 2 (but, hey, I skipped lunch). Before I go off on food though, let me catch up to Penang briefly and then I'll go off.

My last day in the Cameron Highlands I did the half day tour where in 3 hours they take you to a strawberry farm (yum), tea plantation, honey farm, butterfly garden, rose garden, buddhist temple and market. It is a whirlwind but really interesting! Then I headed up to the island of Langkawi where I spent 5 days doing not a whole lot. But that was kind of the point. Langkawi is actually a group of 99 islands about 100 km off the coast of Malaysia and near the Thai border. The biggest island is just known as Langkawi as well and that is where I stayed. It has loads of great beaches and is great for relaxing. The island is also duty free so beer, cigarettes, and chocolate are cheap. Big contrast to the rest of Malaysia where these things are taxed heavily (did I mention Muslim?). Other than hanging out on the beach, eating, and drinking with the people I met on Langkawi, I did an island hopping excursion. First we went to a limestone created freshwater lagoon surrounded by ocean for a swim. Then we headed to a mangrove island with loads of eagles and finally we went to a beach island with clear water for swimming (it is a bit murky on Langkawi and jellyfish are rampant). Yesterday I came down to Penang and tomorrow I'll fly from here to Phuket in Thailand (thanks to that stupid new visa thing).

OK, on to food. I keep hearing that people lose weight when they travel. Those people either aren't traveling in Asia or don't share my love of Asian cuisine... In New Zealand the food was very Western so I tended to cook in the hostels (great kitchens in Kiwi hostels). But from Indonesia on, I've been loving the food! In Indonesia the staples are fried noodles or rice with meat (or veggies), curries, BBQ fish, satay, and gado gado whcih is steamed veggies in peanut sauce and sometimes includes some or all of the following- fried egg (huge in Indo), rice, tofu, and/or tempe. There are other dishes and each region has its own specialties, but those are the basics. Malaysian food tends to0 be similar to Indonesian food with some additional types of noodles. Once again, varies by region and I am simplifying. Also in Malaysia there are large Chinese and Indian populations so those cuisines are widely available in the bigger cities. This is what I have been living on! I love the Ma Po Tofu (only found it in KL) and in the Cameron Highlands we had this awesome steamboat where you get 2 kinds of broth and loads of raw meat and veggies and cook it in the broth. It is all you can eat and there were 6 of us so we had quite the feast. Here in Penang I had some great dim sum and a terrific wan ton noodle soup. For Indian I quite like roti canai for breakfast. It is a flatbread kind of like a pancake served with curry sauce for about 50 cents. There is loads of briyani and tandoori and many buffets where you get a plate of rice and pick from the random food on display. Tonight I tried the banana leaf where you get rice and about 5 different kinds of veggies with a bit of dhal soup served on...wait for it... a banana leaf. As much as I am looking forward to Thai food, I am totally going to miss all of this!

OK, I guess that is all. More from Thailand! Keep the comments coming please! I love them.

Pic is sunset on Langkawi and the rest of my Malaysia pics are up:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/Malaysia#

And into Malaysia

Hello again!

So I made it safely and uneventfully into Malaysia. I spent the first day and a half in Kuala Lumpur (which means "muddy confluence"- random tidbit). I quite liked KL. I mean its a city but I thought a nice one. None of the other travelers I've met since seemed to like it much, but then again, they weren't coming from Jakarta :). The first day I wadered around a bit and had terrific Ma Po tofu (loads of Indian and Chinese people in Malaysia so there are many restaurants from both). I had (and am still not over) this terrible cold so I crashed early. The next day I did the hop on hop off bus tour of KL which I found very interesting. I went to the National Museum and learned about Malaysian history (it was conquered by the Portugeuese, then the Dutch, and then the English before gaining independence in the 1950's). And then I made plans to head to Taman Negara the following day.
I went back and forth about going to Taman Negara because it is the rainy season and I'd read that leeches are rampant at this time of year. But in the end I couldn't resist a visit to the 130 million year old rainforest. It really is "the" National Park in Malaysia (in fact, Taman Negara means "National Park"). On the bus ride there (4 hour bus and then 3 hours on a wooden longboat to reach the park) I met Tess and Lauren from England and Felix from New Zealand and Dustin from the US. This became the TN crew. We arrived late so we just had dinner in a floating restaurant on the river and grabbed a few beers (expensive beers- Muslim country). The next day we headed into the park to do the Canopy tour which is a series of swinging bridges hanging up to 50 meters off the ground. Pretty neat. We followed that with a hike through the jungle and then Felix, Dustin and I got ready to spend the night in the jungle. They have these structures called hides that are near natural salt licks in the jungle. For 5 ringets (about $1.50) you can sleep in one. So we hiked 4 km to one of them for the night. We had the place to ourselves with the exception of a giant lizard (quite loud) and a spider the size of my head which resided in the bathroom. Dustin and I were spared leeches (although we saw loads! They sit on leaves and wait and latch onto your shoes as you walk past) but Felix had one in his shoe. We took photos of the bloodsucker before getting it off of him. He took it quite well (and they were his favorite socks...). Sleep was hard to come by since there are no mattresses- just wooden beds, but it was really neat to spend the night in the jungle. In the morning an animal (I think it was a tapir) fed just beneath the hide and we sat and listened to it. That night we went on a 4WD night safari and saw 6 slow loris, a leopard, a frog and a bunch of birds. Awesome!

Lauren, Tess and I took the shuttle to the Cameron Highlands the next day and Felix and Dustin headed back to KL. Cameron Highlands is higher in elevation so cooler which is nice. Today I did a jungle hike and tomorrow I think we are going to hit up a tea plantation, butterfly farm, strawberry farm, and some other local sights. Plus I need to sort out getting to Thailand. The Thai government decided to change the visa structure so you only get 15 days coming overland. So now I need to fly to get 30 days. I'm not happy about it. And they did it very quietly (thank you Lauren and Tess!). It isn't even noted on the US State Dept website. Ah well. I'll sort it out.

No pics just now but I'll try to add one later. Over n out!

A taste of Java

Salamat Siang and Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a terrific holiday!

After the Gilis I spent 2 long days traveling from Lombok back to Bali and then I took a plane to Surabaya followed by a bus to Solo and when no accomodation could be found there, a train to Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta or Jogja for short). Jogja, like Solo was completely packed with Javanese people on holiday (mostly from Jakarta) for New Years, but luckily I was able to find a room. Traveling in Java is very different from Bali and the Gilis. Far fewer peaople speak English and Westerners are definitely few and far between. It was cool because I have felt like I have gotten to see some of the "real life" Indonesian people, but it has also posed some challenges. Women traveling alone attract a LOT of attention. Most of it is harmless, but you literally can't walk 10 feet without hearing the cries of "hello miss (or missus or mister)" and "where are you going?" "where are you from?", and of course "do you need transport?". Today I was stopped by a group of Muslim women who had me pose in pictures with each of them. When I was hanging out with other travelers, the attention decreased about 90%. Like I said, interesting.

So Jogja. I didn't love Jogja. It was totally packed with people and many of the sits were closed while I was there due to the Muslim New Year (Dec 29 this year). The Water Palace was pretty cool. Oh and everyone there is trying to get you to buy batik and most people who come up and speak English and pretend to be your new best friend are trying to get you into a batik shop (the only official one, or my family's, etc). I met a erally nice Indonesian man named Ibnu who took me out to the beach on his scooter to see the tradtional New Year celebration. Unfortunately it was canceled due to rain, but we got to see some of the chanting and puppet performances on the way. The highlight of my time in Java came when I was in Jogja. I took a day trip to Borobordur. We left at 5 AM so we got to Borobordur at 6 AM before the crowds. Borobordur is a Hindu temple complex that was built between 750 and 850 AD and was abandoned shortly after completion. Volcanic eruptions covered the temples but they were discovered and restored and now rank with Angkor Wat as one of the most amazing temple ruins in SE Asia. The temple complex is surrounded by volcanoes and thick forest. It is truly amazing to see. We also went to the temples at Prambanan, but after Borobordur, they were anticlimactic.

On New Years eve day I took a train to Jakarta. I arrived in the early evening and met a Dutch couple, Valter and Kari at dinner. The three of us joined the thousands of Jakartans heading to the National Monument for New Years. We arrived at 11:30 (after weaving through more people, buses, and motorbikes than can comfortably fit on one roadway) and waited for the excitement at midnight. We were quite surprised when midnight came and went and nothing happened. No fireworks (save for some families lit), no cheering, no acknowledgement whatsoever. We yelled Happy New Year and all but that was it. About 12:30 most people startde to leave so we went back to our hotel area and went to a bar and watched Indonesian teens butcher American and Dutch pop songs (Indonesia was a Dutch colony until the 1950's). I've been here in Jakarta for 2 days since New Years and have walked much of the city and took a day trip to the botanical gardens in Bogor. Tomorrow I head to Malaysia.

I have posted all of my Indonesia pictures. It took forever (slow connection) so I have not had time to caption them. Sorry there are so many, but I am using Picasa as my backup for photos. At a later date the plan is to delete a bunch and/or put together a highlights album. Here's the link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/Indonesia#