Waking up at 4:30 this morning, a few friends and I arrived at Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world, at 5:30, a few minutes before sunrise. Unfortunately, the skies were partly overcast, and we didn't get to see the spectacular sunrise we were hoping to see. But being at this ancient, magnificent temple at dusk had a very special feel to it, and we were all happy we made it out early. The enormous Angkor Temple complex spans many square kilometers, and archaeologists and history buffs could spend days on end exploring all of the sites. But we were content with seeing the major temples, and were able despite our lack of a proper nights sleep to see them all by 2 PM.
The various temples have been converted from Buddhist to Hindu and back over the last 9 or so centuries, but one constant remaining is all of the phallic symbolism found throughout all of the temples. And yes, I'm 25 years old, but with the accent and choice of dirty words our tour guide (who went by the name Robin Hood) used, we still felt bashful and giggled. After exploring Angkor Wat, we continued to Bayon, which was probably my favorite of all of the temples. The 54 towers of the temples each contain 4 stone faces, with each direction's (N,S,E,W) smiling face symbolizing sympathy, compassion, kindness, and equality. We then briefly saw Baphuon, which unfortunately has been under construction for the last many decades, interrupted by the coming to power of the Khmer Rouge, and so much of it was off-limits. After seeing, and climbing up very steep steps (symbolizing the difficult ascent to heaven) to a few more temples, we finished our tour at Angkor Thom. Despite it's sheer beauty, with the roots of the enormous tree roots growing over and through the temple walls, I believe many tourists (mostly Asians for some reason) visit it simply because it is the filming location of 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.' But it is no surprise that they chose such a mystical temple to film the movie, and after being in Cambodia for only a few days, I wholeheartedly understand how she fell in love with the country, and her desire to adopt a child (or 10) from here. Mom, Dad, please don't be upset if I come home +1. Just kidding.
I've now seen most of the major attractions in Cambodia, but have no desire to leave just yet. I have no doubts I'll find something productive to fill my time, even if that just means reading through a few $3 photocopied books sold by children on the streets. What can I say? At that price, I can't afford not to read them!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Cambodia in Real-time
3 days ago, on our first full day in Phnom Penh, we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the important sights around the city. First we started at Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, which was a school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, where thousands of prisoners were executed and killed. Not being familiar with exactly what had occurred during this time period, I tried to understand what really had happened, ignoring the bias of the museum and self-serving testimonies of former guards of the prison that claimed to just be following orders.
From there, we continued to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where the majority of S-21 prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, these graves were discovered. A Buddhist stupa now stands near the entrance, commemorating those killed at the sites, and housing over 5,000 skulls found in the graves.
With a genocide that occurred less than 30 years ago, and affected the civilians all over the country, I'm looking forward to understanding the perspectives and feelings of those who lived during this time, and their children who grew up in the shadow of it.
Now I'm in Seam Reap, getting over my cold before visiting Angkor Wat. I may join my friend Hannah volunteering at an orphanage before I have to head back to Bangkok to catch my flight to India. But of course, nothing is being planned. Just taking it day-by-day...
From there, we continued to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where the majority of S-21 prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, these graves were discovered. A Buddhist stupa now stands near the entrance, commemorating those killed at the sites, and housing over 5,000 skulls found in the graves.
With a genocide that occurred less than 30 years ago, and affected the civilians all over the country, I'm looking forward to understanding the perspectives and feelings of those who lived during this time, and their children who grew up in the shadow of it.
Now I'm in Seam Reap, getting over my cold before visiting Angkor Wat. I may join my friend Hannah volunteering at an orphanage before I have to head back to Bangkok to catch my flight to India. But of course, nothing is being planned. Just taking it day-by-day...
I Left My Heart in Vietnam
Hanoi
Contrary to what I had been told by the majority of my friends who had been before me, Vietnam is a beautiful country, very tourist-friendly, with warm and kind people that are happy to welcome all tourists (even Americans) into their country. I arrived in Hanoi, and spent over an hour wandering the streets in search of the Backpackers Hostel, as the hotels in Hanoi were too pricey for single rooms. Plus, I had heard there was a cool scene, with mostly younger people at the hostel, so I knew I'd meet like-minded travelers there. Although I had difficulty getting directions from the locals I asked, I understood that this was because they couldn't understand me. I thought the last people to help me would be proprietors of other hotels, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The two hotels I stepped into both handed me better maps, and explained to me how to reach the hostel. So far, I was digging Vietnam, and the unrelenting motorbike traffic and honking that would usually irritate me in any other country/city, I was able to appreciate it as just one more of the unique qualities of Hanoi. That night I went out with some people I met at the hostel to the Bia Hoi area, where glasses of draught beer cost roughly 12 cents. I planned to spend the next day in Hanoi, but I met three Israeli girls that night who were leaving on the Ha Long Bay tour the next morning, and when I woke up I decided it was a good opportunity for me to go with some people I know rather than risking it and ending up with a group I didn't jive with.
The tour we chose was a 3-day, 2 night tour. Here's the recap:
After a 3 hour drive, we embarked on our boat from Ha Long City. Upon reaching the bay, I was struck with awe; this was by and far the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my entire life. We cruised around for a few hours, admiring the thousands of limestone karsts and isles surrounding us, before reaching the island that houses the enormous Phong Nha cave, which we explored for an hour or so. Then we kayaked for an hour, swam and jumped off the boat for another hour, and then had a nice sunset dinner on the boat. That night we slept on the boat, and in the morning we set off for Cat Ba Island, the largest of all the Islands in Ha Long Bay. We hiked up through Cat Ba National Park, in the jungle, to a viewpoint that was ultimately a little disappointing. But the hike was nice, so I didn't complain. We then had some beach time, which I almost passed up because I was very tired. I'm eternally grateful that I didn't, though, because the highlight of this tour was when a large group of 40 or so Hanoi residents arrived in tour buses to our beach, and a big beach soccer game was set up. When I asked to join, they all laughed in shock, chose to call me 'Beckham', and were happy to have me play with them. Fouls weren't called, rules weren't followed, and the score wasn't kept. But we all had a blast. That night we slept in a hotel on the island, and in the morning we made our way back to Hanoi, returning in the early afternoon.
Hanoi, pt. 2:
My plan was to stay in Hanoi only 1 more night, and then begin heading south. After bar hopping till late in the night, by chance I happened to meet a nice British fellow named David, who has been living in Vietnam for 4 years. I got his phone number, and decided that if I stuck around and we hung out, perhaps I'd get to see a side of Hanoi (and Vietnam) that most travelers don't. So I booked my bus for one day later, and David and I met up that evening for some drinks. As all the bars close in Hanoi at 12, there are only a handful that through bribes and such are allowed to stay open. So we headed to the Tet Bar, where within an hour we were surrounded by other travelers, of all nationalities and ages, sharing stories with no topics off limits. We left the bar when it was mostly cleared out, and only then realized that it was 5am. David obviously didn't make it to work the next morning, and for the next 3 nights we repeated this same pattern. Each night we went out to meet different Vietnamese and expat friends of David's, and then ended the night at the Tet Bar, where we became friends with the owner and the regulars there. But after 5 nights in Hanoi, I realized that my 30-day visa was counting down with each passing day, and there was still lots more I wanted to see and do in Central and South Vietnam, so after saying goodbye to my Hanoi friends, I took my first night bus in Vietnam to Hue.
I spent my first day in Hue with a motorbike guide, visiting the various historic/ancient monuments in and around the city. The next day, I took the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) tour, which is the area in Central Vietnam where most of the bloodiest battles in the American/Vietnam War took place. There was not much to see on the battlefields, but the highlight of the tour was seeing and walking through the elaborate Vinh Moc tunnels, where the locals took shelter during the heavily-bombed period of the war. While I did enjoy Hue, there was not much else to see there, and so the next morning I left for Hoi An.
Many travelers had previously told me that they loved the charm of Hoi An more than any other Vietnamese city. When I arrived, and walked through the old town, I understood what they meant. Unfortunately, on my second day, I began hearing people talking about a typhoon approaching, which was validated when trucks with loudspeakers drove around telling the locals, in Vietnamese, to prepare for the typhoon. I bought some food to have in my room, but since the typhoon wasn't scheduled to hit until the morning, I went out that night to the bar. The biggest natural disaster I ever lived through was a blizzard, and the thought of experiencing a typhoon personally was a little exciting. I didn't even know exactly what a typhoon consisted of, but in only a few hours I was going to find out...
The next morning, I woke up to the rioutous sounds of pieces of tin roofs crashing on the roof outside my window. The power had gone out, and there was too much noise to stay asleep, so I put on my bathing suit, put my camera in its waterproof case, and headed outside. I walked around for quite some time, taking pictures, and then decided to cross the river, where the flooding was knee-deep. There were not many other locals around, but the ones that were all laughed at the crazy sight of me in my bathing suit trudging through the flooded street. I ended up walking to the resort where some Canadian girls I met the night before were staying, and they as well were shocked to see me stroll up in my bathing suit. I spent a few hours hanging out with them, taking advantage of the restaurant they had at the resort, and in the late afternoon I walked back to my hotel. In the evening we hung out in our lobby, playing cards, until the water started to slowly pour into the hotel. We assisted the owner in moving almost all of the furniture up to the 2nd floor, and by the time we went to bed, there were a few inches of water accumulated in the lobby. When I woke up in the morning, I looked out my window to see blue, cloudless skies. I got excited, thinking the worst was over, and got dressed and headed downstairs, only to discover when coming down the stairs that the first floor was flooded under 4 feet of water. So, I went back upstairs, changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my camera, and headed outside.
As locals and tourists were floating around in boats, trying to get to dry land, I was walking through the chest-high water, capturing every moment on my camera. I walked on the bridge over the river, which was now only a few feet over the raging waters below, a fraction of what it was the day before. I helped some of the locals who had to move their carts from the flooded market to dry land, where a makeshift market was set up within less than an hour. While I was surprised at first by how quickly they did this, it sank in that it was not done for profit purposes as much as it was done out of necessity. People still needed to buy food, and people still needed to sell food while it was still fresh. I walked across town, on the dry part away from the river, towards my travel agency, only to realize that they were also flooded, so I wouldn't be able to catch a bus out of there that day, or probably the next day either. Eventually, I returned to my hotel, packed my bags, and got a boat to bring me to dry land where I found a hotel far enough away from the river so I didn't need to worry about it getting flooded as well. Two days later, with my custom-made suits and shirts ready and shipped home, I was able to get on a bus to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang
I arrived in Nha Trang off the sleeper bus at 6 am, and at 7 am I was boarding a boat to go scuba diving. Visibility was not as good as I hoped it would be, but the diving was ok. When I finished diving and headed to the beach, I ran into a few friends I met in Hanoi, and we rented a small catamaran and went sailing for an hour. I spent the next two days reading and laying out on the beach, and going out to the various bars which make for a great nightlife in Nha Trang. I was still hoping to meet my friend David in Saigon the following weekend, which didn't leave me enough time to fully see Da Lat and Mui Ne, but I didn't want to miss them either. It was at this point that I decided that Vietnam was going to be at the top of my list of countries I wanted to revisit, with a longer visa and a bigger budget. But for now, I had to make do with what I had...
Da Lat
After I arrived in Da Lat, I had to wait in my room for a few hours for the rain to settle down, and then I headed out to see the city. Other than the cool climate, the first thing I noticed was that nobody bothered me. No motorbike drivers, no tuk-tuks, no people in the market. It was a nice change of pace from pretty much every country and city I've been to so far on the trip. My first destination was the Hang Nga Crazy House, a guesthouse/attraction which in my guidebook is described as Gaudi-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland. I won't try to describe it, so check out the link to see what it's about. I then spent the rest of the evening walking around the center of the city, and in the morning grabbed a bus to Mui Ne.
Mui Ne
The smallest of all the cities I had visited in Vietnam, Mui Ne consists of one long road that runs along the beach, with various hotels, resorts, restaurants, and bars on either side of the road. I spent the day on a motorbike tour, starting with a stroll down the Suoi Tien, the Fairy Stream, which is a shallow stream of running water with red and white soil building up the hills alongside it. It was a nice, peaceful walk up and down the stream, and it was one of the few times in Vietnam I wish I had somebody else with me to share the experience. From there, we continued to see the Fishing Village, which consisted of thousands of fishing boats out in the bay, along with countless tiny round rowboats that helped transport the fish to land. After a quick stop at the Red Canyon, we continued to the White Sand Dunes. In my mind, I expected to see dunes that stretched out as far as the eye could see, but this was not the reality. And after thousands of tourists had trudged over the dunes that day, the natural wind-swept ridges were completely covered over by footprints, also making the sight less impressive. The Red Sand Dunes, on the other hand were a nicer sight, and seeing the sunset from there was the perfect finishing touch on the tour. That night I hung out with some people at the guesthouse while we played guitar and sang, then went out for a few drinks and to shoot some pool. The next morning, I was off for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City
My first night in Saigon, I met up with some Vietnamese friends that I met in Nha Trang, and they took me to the Apocalypse Now bar, packed to the brim with locals and a few tourists. I spent the next two nights at the Chabad House, celebrating Sukkot and Simchat Torah, both holidays I can't recall celebrating in the last 10+ years. But I met many great people there, the alcohol flowed freely, and I had a great time. I also continued reuniting with more people in Saigon, so everyday I had another excuse to stay longer. I spent one day touring the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong guerillas built an extensive network of tunnels to fight against the Americans and South Vietnamese forces, as well as the simple yet highly effect booby traps they used. Even crawling through a piece of the tunnel for 30 seconds was too much to handle, and made it all that much more astounding that the Viet Cong would spend up to 5 hours crawling 5km to reach the enemy bases to surprise attack them. After the tour, back in Saigon I headed to the War Remnants Museum, which more than just showing a biased story of the war, did show the unbiased effects of Agent Orange on the victims of Vietnam, both in the last generation and in the current one. None of the museum's patrons spoke as they looked at photos and read stories of these victims, and I'm sure each one of them could recall seeing such a victim out on the streets at one point begging for money. I walked out of the museum, still in shock for some time, not able to grasp the atrocities that the US had committed in the war. And while I know that there's always some sort of bias in any news you hear or read, those Agent Orange victims are victims of deplorable war crimes, and nobody can deny that.
With only 3 days left on my visa, it was time to leave Hanoi and make my way towards Cambodia, and I signed up for a 2 day tour of the Mekong Delta, finishing in Phnom Penh. The tour included visiting floating markets and villages, coconut and rice crispy factories, and then a boat ride to cross the border into Cambodia. And so began the next chapter of my journey...
As locals and tourists were floating around in boats, trying to get to dry land, I was walking through the chest-high water, capturing every moment on my camera. I walked on the bridge over the river, which was now only a few feet over the raging waters below, a fraction of what it was the day before. I helped some of the locals who had to move their carts from the flooded market to dry land, where a makeshift market was set up within less than an hour. While I was surprised at first by how quickly they did this, it sank in that it was not done for profit purposes as much as it was done out of necessity. People still needed to buy food, and people still needed to sell food while it was still fresh. I walked across town, on the dry part away from the river, towards my travel agency, only to realize that they were also flooded, so I wouldn't be able to catch a bus out of there that day, or probably the next day either. Eventually, I returned to my hotel, packed my bags, and got a boat to bring me to dry land where I found a hotel far enough away from the river so I didn't need to worry about it getting flooded as well. Two days later, with my custom-made suits and shirts ready and shipped home, I was able to get on a bus to Nha Trang.
Nha Trang
I arrived in Nha Trang off the sleeper bus at 6 am, and at 7 am I was boarding a boat to go scuba diving. Visibility was not as good as I hoped it would be, but the diving was ok. When I finished diving and headed to the beach, I ran into a few friends I met in Hanoi, and we rented a small catamaran and went sailing for an hour. I spent the next two days reading and laying out on the beach, and going out to the various bars which make for a great nightlife in Nha Trang. I was still hoping to meet my friend David in Saigon the following weekend, which didn't leave me enough time to fully see Da Lat and Mui Ne, but I didn't want to miss them either. It was at this point that I decided that Vietnam was going to be at the top of my list of countries I wanted to revisit, with a longer visa and a bigger budget. But for now, I had to make do with what I had...
Da Lat
After I arrived in Da Lat, I had to wait in my room for a few hours for the rain to settle down, and then I headed out to see the city. Other than the cool climate, the first thing I noticed was that nobody bothered me. No motorbike drivers, no tuk-tuks, no people in the market. It was a nice change of pace from pretty much every country and city I've been to so far on the trip. My first destination was the Hang Nga Crazy House, a guesthouse/attraction which in my guidebook is described as Gaudi-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland. I won't try to describe it, so check out the link to see what it's about. I then spent the rest of the evening walking around the center of the city, and in the morning grabbed a bus to Mui Ne.
Mui Ne
The smallest of all the cities I had visited in Vietnam, Mui Ne consists of one long road that runs along the beach, with various hotels, resorts, restaurants, and bars on either side of the road. I spent the day on a motorbike tour, starting with a stroll down the Suoi Tien, the Fairy Stream, which is a shallow stream of running water with red and white soil building up the hills alongside it. It was a nice, peaceful walk up and down the stream, and it was one of the few times in Vietnam I wish I had somebody else with me to share the experience. From there, we continued to see the Fishing Village, which consisted of thousands of fishing boats out in the bay, along with countless tiny round rowboats that helped transport the fish to land. After a quick stop at the Red Canyon, we continued to the White Sand Dunes. In my mind, I expected to see dunes that stretched out as far as the eye could see, but this was not the reality. And after thousands of tourists had trudged over the dunes that day, the natural wind-swept ridges were completely covered over by footprints, also making the sight less impressive. The Red Sand Dunes, on the other hand were a nicer sight, and seeing the sunset from there was the perfect finishing touch on the tour. That night I hung out with some people at the guesthouse while we played guitar and sang, then went out for a few drinks and to shoot some pool. The next morning, I was off for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City
My first night in Saigon, I met up with some Vietnamese friends that I met in Nha Trang, and they took me to the Apocalypse Now bar, packed to the brim with locals and a few tourists. I spent the next two nights at the Chabad House, celebrating Sukkot and Simchat Torah, both holidays I can't recall celebrating in the last 10+ years. But I met many great people there, the alcohol flowed freely, and I had a great time. I also continued reuniting with more people in Saigon, so everyday I had another excuse to stay longer. I spent one day touring the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong guerillas built an extensive network of tunnels to fight against the Americans and South Vietnamese forces, as well as the simple yet highly effect booby traps they used. Even crawling through a piece of the tunnel for 30 seconds was too much to handle, and made it all that much more astounding that the Viet Cong would spend up to 5 hours crawling 5km to reach the enemy bases to surprise attack them. After the tour, back in Saigon I headed to the War Remnants Museum, which more than just showing a biased story of the war, did show the unbiased effects of Agent Orange on the victims of Vietnam, both in the last generation and in the current one. None of the museum's patrons spoke as they looked at photos and read stories of these victims, and I'm sure each one of them could recall seeing such a victim out on the streets at one point begging for money. I walked out of the museum, still in shock for some time, not able to grasp the atrocities that the US had committed in the war. And while I know that there's always some sort of bias in any news you hear or read, those Agent Orange victims are victims of deplorable war crimes, and nobody can deny that.
With only 3 days left on my visa, it was time to leave Hanoi and make my way towards Cambodia, and I signed up for a 2 day tour of the Mekong Delta, finishing in Phnom Penh. The tour included visiting floating markets and villages, coconut and rice crispy factories, and then a boat ride to cross the border into Cambodia. And so began the next chapter of my journey...
Friday, October 16, 2009
Laos for Beginners
Our first destination in Laos was Vang Vieng, home of the infamous tubing down the Nam Song river. We had heard many stories, both good and bad, about the tubing, and thought we were well-prepared to take on the adventure. So in order to not finish tubing after dark, we decided to start early. At 10am we arrived at Bar 1, only to realize that the fun of tubing is being with the crowds, that usually don't show up until noon or 1pm. So we spent the first 3 hours drinking at Bar 1, and ziplining and jumping off huge rope swings into the river. For some reason, I had decided that I was totally capable of doing a backflip off the swing, even though I've never successfully landed a backflip before. And I was wrong, but fortunately learned my lesson by only getting the wind knocked out of me.
When we did enter our tubes, we only stayed in them for about 30 seconds, as the Laosians at Bar 3 threw us ropes and pulled us into their bar, where we spent another hour or so drinking and ziplining. This continued for the next few hours, as we spent minimal time tubing, and most of our time in the various bars. One of the bars was known as the mudpit bar, and when Ashley started throwing mud at me, I took the opportunity to exact some revenge on her, for my broken nose. We both ended up covered in mud, but unlike Ashley, I didn't end up with any in my mouth. At the last bar, in addition to the ziplines and rope swings, there was also a huge slide, which according to urban legends, one or two girls died on it a few months ago. Thus, it is known as the Death Slide, and gets lots of customers. It's hard to imagine how these girls died, but I guess with the quantities of alcohol consumed on the river, it's not too surprising. This is also the last bar, and from there we had about 1.5 hours of actual tubing down the river to reach the end of the course. So I guess saying that we went tubing that day isn't a complete lie.
The next day, we chilled out at the blue lagoon. And the following day, I decided I wanted to spend the day at the tubing bars, though I decided I wasn't going to tube. After reaching the last bar, I was prepared to take a tuk-tuk back into town, but a guy I met that day decided he didn't feel like tubing, and gave me his tube, which I rode down the rest of the river with a group I also met that day. Most of this tubing was done after darkness fell, which wasn't the best idea, but since we were a fairly large group, it was ok.
After 2 days, I was all tubed out (kinda weak considering I met some people who had been "tubing" for 30, 80, and even 260 consecutive days), and we decided to head north to Luang Prabang. We spent one of our days at the Kuang Si waterfall, which to date on this trip is the biggest and most awe-inspiring of all the waterfalls I've seen. A few days later, we took a bus north to Nong Khiaw, but immediately boarded a boat to Mong Noi. From there, we did a day trek through the jungle, stopping to admire some caves. We continued north, across endless rice fields, until we reached the tiny village of Ba Na. This was the first taste of true rural life in Laos that we saw, and it was nice change of the pace from the touristy cities we were in before. The children were eager to have us take their pictures, and then see themselves on our cameras.
Unfortunately, that morning Benami started feeling sick, and by night he was in really bad shape. When we got back to Luang Prabang the next day, at the hospital they concluded that he had Dengue Fever, or something similar. A few days of rest and medicine and he was as good as new.
While there was more of Laos I wanted to see, due to time and budget constraints, visiting the South of the country didn't make much sense, and I decided I was going to head east directly into Northern Vietnam. And because of some horror stories I read and heard about, I decided that crossing the border by land by myself would be a nightmare of an ordeal, and chose to fly both to save me the headache, and to also not start Vietnam off on the wrong foot, getting scammed and extorted at the border.
And with Ashley's flight from Saigon scheduled for two weeks later, I knew that I was going to split off from her and Benami and Vietnam since they'd be rushing through the country. And also, I was looking forward to the opportunity to travel on my own. Up until then, I hadn't spent more than a handful of nights on my own in the entire 5 or so months of traveling, and decided it was about time to do so. Only time would tell if I'd enjoy it as much, though I had a feeling it would change my trip completely, and only for the better.
When we did enter our tubes, we only stayed in them for about 30 seconds, as the Laosians at Bar 3 threw us ropes and pulled us into their bar, where we spent another hour or so drinking and ziplining. This continued for the next few hours, as we spent minimal time tubing, and most of our time in the various bars. One of the bars was known as the mudpit bar, and when Ashley started throwing mud at me, I took the opportunity to exact some revenge on her, for my broken nose. We both ended up covered in mud, but unlike Ashley, I didn't end up with any in my mouth. At the last bar, in addition to the ziplines and rope swings, there was also a huge slide, which according to urban legends, one or two girls died on it a few months ago. Thus, it is known as the Death Slide, and gets lots of customers. It's hard to imagine how these girls died, but I guess with the quantities of alcohol consumed on the river, it's not too surprising. This is also the last bar, and from there we had about 1.5 hours of actual tubing down the river to reach the end of the course. So I guess saying that we went tubing that day isn't a complete lie.
The next day, we chilled out at the blue lagoon. And the following day, I decided I wanted to spend the day at the tubing bars, though I decided I wasn't going to tube. After reaching the last bar, I was prepared to take a tuk-tuk back into town, but a guy I met that day decided he didn't feel like tubing, and gave me his tube, which I rode down the rest of the river with a group I also met that day. Most of this tubing was done after darkness fell, which wasn't the best idea, but since we were a fairly large group, it was ok.
After 2 days, I was all tubed out (kinda weak considering I met some people who had been "tubing" for 30, 80, and even 260 consecutive days), and we decided to head north to Luang Prabang. We spent one of our days at the Kuang Si waterfall, which to date on this trip is the biggest and most awe-inspiring of all the waterfalls I've seen. A few days later, we took a bus north to Nong Khiaw, but immediately boarded a boat to Mong Noi. From there, we did a day trek through the jungle, stopping to admire some caves. We continued north, across endless rice fields, until we reached the tiny village of Ba Na. This was the first taste of true rural life in Laos that we saw, and it was nice change of the pace from the touristy cities we were in before. The children were eager to have us take their pictures, and then see themselves on our cameras.
Unfortunately, that morning Benami started feeling sick, and by night he was in really bad shape. When we got back to Luang Prabang the next day, at the hospital they concluded that he had Dengue Fever, or something similar. A few days of rest and medicine and he was as good as new.
While there was more of Laos I wanted to see, due to time and budget constraints, visiting the South of the country didn't make much sense, and I decided I was going to head east directly into Northern Vietnam. And because of some horror stories I read and heard about, I decided that crossing the border by land by myself would be a nightmare of an ordeal, and chose to fly both to save me the headache, and to also not start Vietnam off on the wrong foot, getting scammed and extorted at the border.
And with Ashley's flight from Saigon scheduled for two weeks later, I knew that I was going to split off from her and Benami and Vietnam since they'd be rushing through the country. And also, I was looking forward to the opportunity to travel on my own. Up until then, I hadn't spent more than a handful of nights on my own in the entire 5 or so months of traveling, and decided it was about time to do so. Only time would tell if I'd enjoy it as much, though I had a feeling it would change my trip completely, and only for the better.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thailand: The 2nd Half
A few days after breaking my nose, we headed to Koh Tao, where we spent the majority of the time on the beach, laying around during the day and watching the fire spinners at the beach bar at night. Ashley, Jamie, and I returned to Koh Phangan for one night, going to the Half Moon Party in the jungle, and the next day we parted, as they continued to Bangkok and Cambodia, and I returned to Koh Tao to await my brother and cousins arrivals.
After being away from home for so long, there's a lot to say for seeing a familiar face, and particularly a familial face. It was great to be with my family, my blood again, and we spent 4 days in Koh Tao scuba diving every morning and relaxing on the beach the rest of the day. And of course, the nights were spent at the beach bar watching the fire spinners. We then headed to Koh Phangan, which was all beach, all parties, all the time. We returned to Bangkok, where we had one last night to spend together, as Itamar was flying home the next day, and we continued North to Chiang Mai after reuniting with Benami and Ashley.
Our first day in Chiang Mai we did the Flight of the Gibbons canopy tour, which after the 3rd or 4th zipline began getting a bit repetitive. Our second day, we took a tour that started with ATV riding in the jungle, followed by rafting down 5+ level rapids, which was quite a thrill. From there, we took a bus to Pai, and immediately rented motorcycles as that is the best way to see all of the surrounding villages. If I had to describe Pai in one word, that word would be 'green'. Lush fields and trees as far as the eye can see, and as far as our motorcycles took us on the smooth, winding roads. After two days of exploring all of the villages, waterfalls, and hot springs in the area, we left on a 2-day motorcycle journey. On our first day we rode straight through the morning into the early afternoon, stopping in the Karen Long Neck Village, and then continuing for as far as we could before the nightfall and rain made us stop at the nearest guesthouse. With owners that spoke no English, we resorted to using a children's English-Thai picture dictionary to order our dinner. But not reaching our planned destination left us with over 300km to cover the following day. Without taking any extraneous stops, we made it in time for Tamir to catch his flight to Bangkok, and for us to catch our bus into Laos, which I had been eager for for quite some time as all of my friends only had amazing things to say about it.
After being away from home for so long, there's a lot to say for seeing a familiar face, and particularly a familial face. It was great to be with my family, my blood again, and we spent 4 days in Koh Tao scuba diving every morning and relaxing on the beach the rest of the day. And of course, the nights were spent at the beach bar watching the fire spinners. We then headed to Koh Phangan, which was all beach, all parties, all the time. We returned to Bangkok, where we had one last night to spend together, as Itamar was flying home the next day, and we continued North to Chiang Mai after reuniting with Benami and Ashley.
Our first day in Chiang Mai we did the Flight of the Gibbons canopy tour, which after the 3rd or 4th zipline began getting a bit repetitive. Our second day, we took a tour that started with ATV riding in the jungle, followed by rafting down 5+ level rapids, which was quite a thrill. From there, we took a bus to Pai, and immediately rented motorcycles as that is the best way to see all of the surrounding villages. If I had to describe Pai in one word, that word would be 'green'. Lush fields and trees as far as the eye can see, and as far as our motorcycles took us on the smooth, winding roads. After two days of exploring all of the villages, waterfalls, and hot springs in the area, we left on a 2-day motorcycle journey. On our first day we rode straight through the morning into the early afternoon, stopping in the Karen Long Neck Village, and then continuing for as far as we could before the nightfall and rain made us stop at the nearest guesthouse. With owners that spoke no English, we resorted to using a children's English-Thai picture dictionary to order our dinner. But not reaching our planned destination left us with over 300km to cover the following day. Without taking any extraneous stops, we made it in time for Tamir to catch his flight to Bangkok, and for us to catch our bus into Laos, which I had been eager for for quite some time as all of my friends only had amazing things to say about it.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Full Moons and Facial Deformities
Our arrival in Koh Phangan was 4 nights before the infamous Full Moon Party, and the impending mayhem could be felt as day-after-day more roustabouts flooded onto the island, particularly Haad Rin (Sunrise) Beach where the party is always held. While Benami and I were eager to get some quality beach time, we also wanted to explore the island, and on our 2nd day we rented motorbikes and rode for hours on the smoothly paved roads, alternating between fresh fruit shakes and cold beers at the various beaches we visited. We had a minor incident reaching the remote Bottle Beach, and after being extorted for the repair costs, we gave up on renting motorbikes on the islands again.
Full Moon, Full Power
The night of the full moon arrived, as did my NY friends Ashley and Jamie (after 4 flights spanning 24 hours of travel time). We started the night with drinks at our bungalow, with about 10 people in attendance. Ashley and Jamie instantly made friends with my posse, and we had great laughs, all while mentally preparing ourselves for the night ahead. We came up with a plan that would hopefully keep us from all losing each other, and for the first 30 minutes or so, it actually worked. But shortly after, people started wandering off, and the crew disbanded. With thousands of people drinking and dancing all along the beach, there was very little chance we'd see each other again before morning. One of my friends, who will remain nameless, was not able to control his alcohol intake, and i spent the majority of the night babysitting him as he took a nap on the beach, with the party in full effect going on around him. While basically carrying him to get some food, we came upon another random partier who couldn't control himself. He was passed out on the sand, in the middle of the party, getting trampled on by people walking past and dancing around/on him. He didn't budge once. We watched 2 girls, on separate occasions, approach him to check his pulse just to make sure he was alive. Yaniv and I decided to drag him to one of the designated sleep areas, which was fenced off, so no more people would step on him, and to prevent pickpockets as well. We determined the best way to grab and carry him, and as we lifted up his arms, he instantly sat up. For all of 5 seconds he sat there, then stood up by himself, shook off some of the sand, and began dancing like all the other lunatics at the party. I would say that could be the single defining moment of what the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan is like, and when I went home around 7am, I was happy to have this experience behind me. Little did I know though, that there was much, much more excitement waiting just around the corner.
The day after a party like the Full Moon Party is usually reserved for recuperation. But since Ashley and Jamie were only able to make it to 4am that night (still a very impressive feat after all their traveling), we were determined to make the next night just as fun. And that's what it was. With the overwhelming majority of party-goers off the island, the beach party was much more relaxed. We were able to wander off and reunite many times. And the raised platforms were untouched, so of course we were the first ones to claim one as our own, and spent the entire night dancing above the crowds. Ashley, Roey, and I all had our attempts at the jump rope of fire. On my last attempt, I fell into the sand face first, and so I decided it was time to go for a swim.
I was joined shortly afterwards by Jamie, Ashley, and Roey. We spent the first 10 minutes tackling each other and wrestling around in the ocean. I then decided I was tired of fighting, and called for a truce. We decided to do a 4-way handshake truce, and just as our hands released, it was the moment of no return. Ashley, the little weasel that she is, was eager to break the truce, and instantly lunged at me to tackle me into the water. Roey, at the same time, grabbed mine and Ashley's hands, and pulled us towards each other. Ashley's forehead collided directly with my nose, and we both went flying backwards into the water. (Ironically, this is all while the song "I've Gotta Feeling (that tonight's gonna be a good night)" was playing at the bar). It was a very forceful hit, and I knew that if I was hurting that bad, Ashley must've been in pain too, so I instantly ran to check on her. She was laughing uncontrollably, in no pain at all, while I quickly saw that blood was pouring out of my nose. Roey played doctor, telling me it was only a small scratch on the inside of the nose. Being that I have never broken a bone, and assumed that it would hurt more than the slight pain I was feeling, I believed him. But when we ran into some friends a little while later, and I saw the look of shock on their face (and the crookedness of my nose in a cellphone camera picture), I decided to go to the clinic. The doctor assured me my nose was broken, and wanted me to wait two days for the swelling to go down, and then go to Koh Samui to see a specialist. As I was about to give in to that diagnosis, a drunken Australian lad, with his left foot swollen to twice it's normal size, stumbled in and put in his two cents. "Aww mate, I've broken my nose 3 times, and each time coach just puts it back into place like this," as he showed me his fingers pushing the top and bottom of his nose from opposite directions back towards center. I looked at the doctor, who didn't have much to say, and hesitantly proceeded to push my nose back into place. It was at this point that Ashley began to cry, though the pain was far from what I'd call excruciating. I felt two clicks in my nose bone, and then examined myself in one of the nurses little pocket makeup mirrors. I suspected there was still a bit of a bend, so I took matters into my own hands, and pushed the bone one click further towards center. Because of the swelling, I couldn't be sure that it was properly set, but it was the best I could do.
4 months I traveled around Asia, going on 2-week treks climbing to 5,500 meters, enduring motorcycle journeys on extremely dangerous roads, and ended up with not even minor scratches on myself. But one night after my friend Ashley arrives from the US, I ended up with a broken nose. Ironically, that night, the 7th of August, 2009, was one of the most fun nights I had on my entire trip, and the broken nose incident just made it that much more memorable (and also a little more painful). And with Ashley scheduled to continue traveling with me for the next 6 weeks or so, she and I both knew that I wasn't going to let her live it down anytime soon.
Full Moon, Full Power
The night of the full moon arrived, as did my NY friends Ashley and Jamie (after 4 flights spanning 24 hours of travel time). We started the night with drinks at our bungalow, with about 10 people in attendance. Ashley and Jamie instantly made friends with my posse, and we had great laughs, all while mentally preparing ourselves for the night ahead. We came up with a plan that would hopefully keep us from all losing each other, and for the first 30 minutes or so, it actually worked. But shortly after, people started wandering off, and the crew disbanded. With thousands of people drinking and dancing all along the beach, there was very little chance we'd see each other again before morning. One of my friends, who will remain nameless, was not able to control his alcohol intake, and i spent the majority of the night babysitting him as he took a nap on the beach, with the party in full effect going on around him. While basically carrying him to get some food, we came upon another random partier who couldn't control himself. He was passed out on the sand, in the middle of the party, getting trampled on by people walking past and dancing around/on him. He didn't budge once. We watched 2 girls, on separate occasions, approach him to check his pulse just to make sure he was alive. Yaniv and I decided to drag him to one of the designated sleep areas, which was fenced off, so no more people would step on him, and to prevent pickpockets as well. We determined the best way to grab and carry him, and as we lifted up his arms, he instantly sat up. For all of 5 seconds he sat there, then stood up by himself, shook off some of the sand, and began dancing like all the other lunatics at the party. I would say that could be the single defining moment of what the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan is like, and when I went home around 7am, I was happy to have this experience behind me. Little did I know though, that there was much, much more excitement waiting just around the corner.
The day after a party like the Full Moon Party is usually reserved for recuperation. But since Ashley and Jamie were only able to make it to 4am that night (still a very impressive feat after all their traveling), we were determined to make the next night just as fun. And that's what it was. With the overwhelming majority of party-goers off the island, the beach party was much more relaxed. We were able to wander off and reunite many times. And the raised platforms were untouched, so of course we were the first ones to claim one as our own, and spent the entire night dancing above the crowds. Ashley, Roey, and I all had our attempts at the jump rope of fire. On my last attempt, I fell into the sand face first, and so I decided it was time to go for a swim.
I was joined shortly afterwards by Jamie, Ashley, and Roey. We spent the first 10 minutes tackling each other and wrestling around in the ocean. I then decided I was tired of fighting, and called for a truce. We decided to do a 4-way handshake truce, and just as our hands released, it was the moment of no return. Ashley, the little weasel that she is, was eager to break the truce, and instantly lunged at me to tackle me into the water. Roey, at the same time, grabbed mine and Ashley's hands, and pulled us towards each other. Ashley's forehead collided directly with my nose, and we both went flying backwards into the water. (Ironically, this is all while the song "I've Gotta Feeling (that tonight's gonna be a good night)" was playing at the bar). It was a very forceful hit, and I knew that if I was hurting that bad, Ashley must've been in pain too, so I instantly ran to check on her. She was laughing uncontrollably, in no pain at all, while I quickly saw that blood was pouring out of my nose. Roey played doctor, telling me it was only a small scratch on the inside of the nose. Being that I have never broken a bone, and assumed that it would hurt more than the slight pain I was feeling, I believed him. But when we ran into some friends a little while later, and I saw the look of shock on their face (and the crookedness of my nose in a cellphone camera picture), I decided to go to the clinic. The doctor assured me my nose was broken, and wanted me to wait two days for the swelling to go down, and then go to Koh Samui to see a specialist. As I was about to give in to that diagnosis, a drunken Australian lad, with his left foot swollen to twice it's normal size, stumbled in and put in his two cents. "Aww mate, I've broken my nose 3 times, and each time coach just puts it back into place like this," as he showed me his fingers pushing the top and bottom of his nose from opposite directions back towards center. I looked at the doctor, who didn't have much to say, and hesitantly proceeded to push my nose back into place. It was at this point that Ashley began to cry, though the pain was far from what I'd call excruciating. I felt two clicks in my nose bone, and then examined myself in one of the nurses little pocket makeup mirrors. I suspected there was still a bit of a bend, so I took matters into my own hands, and pushed the bone one click further towards center. Because of the swelling, I couldn't be sure that it was properly set, but it was the best I could do.
4 months I traveled around Asia, going on 2-week treks climbing to 5,500 meters, enduring motorcycle journeys on extremely dangerous roads, and ended up with not even minor scratches on myself. But one night after my friend Ashley arrives from the US, I ended up with a broken nose. Ironically, that night, the 7th of August, 2009, was one of the most fun nights I had on my entire trip, and the broken nose incident just made it that much more memorable (and also a little more painful). And with Ashley scheduled to continue traveling with me for the next 6 weeks or so, she and I both knew that I wasn't going to let her live it down anytime soon.
The Shock of Bangkok
Arriving in Bangkok at 6am, Benami and I were in awe from the moment we stepped out of the airport and took a cab into the city until we went to sleep that night. We were out of the 3rd world country that is India, and the skyscrapers, shopping malls, proper roads and highways, and 7/11s were familiar and comforting to be around. My first meal in Thailand was a Whopper at Burger King, the first time I had eaten beef since I left Israel in April. I know some people may hate on fast food, but I was in heaven.
We spent our first day being mallrats, starting in the MBK mall, which has everything you could possibly need, at prices you can't afford to pass up. Every floor of the mall is divided based on what they sell. 1 floor for clothes, 1 for bags, 1 for souvenirs, etc. And every shop, side-by-side, is selling the same items as their neighboring shops. The entire 4th floor is packed with hundred of small vendors, back-to-back, all selling the same exact stuff, item-for-item. Ipods & cellphones (and their knockoff counterparts), and all kinds of other electronic gizmos and gadgets. And with the combination of wear and tear on the clothes I had, and the undisclosed weight I had lost in India, I needed to buy some new threads (counterfeit Diesel jeans anybody?). The Siam mall, while physically located just across the street, is miles away from the MBK. It is the swankiest mall I've ever been to, with every designer store and gourmet restaurant you could think of, all at prices roughly around my 4-month India budget. Needless to say, I didn't buy much there.
In the evening, we went out on the infamous Khao San Road. The closest place I could compare it to would be Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Bar after bar with tables and chairs spilling out onto the sidewalks, beer tents, countless food vendors and stores, and hundreds of people walking up and down the street. I was back in my element, after 4 months in India where I could probably count on my fingers and toes how many beers I drank during that entire period. But Bangkok was just a taste, and I grew excited for what was to come on the islands.
Our last day in Bangkok, we took a tour that began in the floating market (interesting, but they essentially sell the same crap you see everywhere in Thailand), then visited the River Kwai bridge (historically interesting, visually unappealing), and finishing at the Tiger Temple where we got to pet half-sleeping tigers who are cared after by monks, for a nominal fee. The next morning we flew to Koh Samui, and from there took a ferry to Koh Phangan.
We spent our first day being mallrats, starting in the MBK mall, which has everything you could possibly need, at prices you can't afford to pass up. Every floor of the mall is divided based on what they sell. 1 floor for clothes, 1 for bags, 1 for souvenirs, etc. And every shop, side-by-side, is selling the same items as their neighboring shops. The entire 4th floor is packed with hundred of small vendors, back-to-back, all selling the same exact stuff, item-for-item. Ipods & cellphones (and their knockoff counterparts), and all kinds of other electronic gizmos and gadgets. And with the combination of wear and tear on the clothes I had, and the undisclosed weight I had lost in India, I needed to buy some new threads (counterfeit Diesel jeans anybody?). The Siam mall, while physically located just across the street, is miles away from the MBK. It is the swankiest mall I've ever been to, with every designer store and gourmet restaurant you could think of, all at prices roughly around my 4-month India budget. Needless to say, I didn't buy much there.
In the evening, we went out on the infamous Khao San Road. The closest place I could compare it to would be Bourbon St. in New Orleans. Bar after bar with tables and chairs spilling out onto the sidewalks, beer tents, countless food vendors and stores, and hundreds of people walking up and down the street. I was back in my element, after 4 months in India where I could probably count on my fingers and toes how many beers I drank during that entire period. But Bangkok was just a taste, and I grew excited for what was to come on the islands.
Our last day in Bangkok, we took a tour that began in the floating market (interesting, but they essentially sell the same crap you see everywhere in Thailand), then visited the River Kwai bridge (historically interesting, visually unappealing), and finishing at the Tiger Temple where we got to pet half-sleeping tigers who are cared after by monks, for a nominal fee. The next morning we flew to Koh Samui, and from there took a ferry to Koh Phangan.
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