Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Full Circle - Back in Bangkok, Thailand 3.25.10
Right now I am back where it all began on Khao San Road, in Bangkok, Thailand. Again there is so much to update on here!
I'm currently still traveling with Grant, and we plan on going to the southern islands of Thailand and spending our last remaining weeks there. Even with so much to look forward to, lately my thoughts have been filled with the comforts of home, family and friends. To be fair though, some of this is due in part to the fact that I got food poisoning again, and I'm in the recovery phase now. Fortunately Grant shared in my discomfort, and we battled it out together over an 8 hour train ride, 6 hour layover, and 2 hour flight, to get from northern Vietnam back to Thailand. We've been taking it easy for a day now, getting settled in a plush Guesthouse with TV, and eating Subway sandwiches, which are even better over here (you don't have to search for one that doesn't skimp on the ingredients!).
We're about ready to catch the bus then ferry tonite to reach the island of Koh Tao, where we can let the sun help us with the rest of the healing process.
I'm so excited about how fast and nice the computers are at this internet cafe, ahhh another comfort of home!
I'll get some more pictures up soon...until then
Vietnam - Sapa
The time had come for another concentrated dose of culture, complemented by some solid exercise, so Grant and I signed up for an overnight trek out of Sapa, a mountain town in the northernmost region of Vietnam. We had heard some stories of the beauty of the terrain and hilltribes, but even with high expectations going in (something I've generally learned to avoid), I was still astonished by what lay before my eyes on the journey.
As if hiking for 12km in a day wasn't enough on a cold start, we did this just after a 9 hour overnight trainride with a shockingly loud breathing local and a transfer shuttle up the sickeningly windy mountainside. We were rewarded for our initial journey to Sapa with an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at a European style hotel. Banana crepes, eggs, hash browns, and fresh fruit where spread on silver platters before us. Of course I stuffed my face like a true American (all in preperation for the journey!). Grant, representing England, would not be outdone and had a competing helping including bacon and sausages.
Now that we were 'ready-to-roll' on the trail, we started the descent towards the lower town of Lao Cai. Grant and I were lead by a charming and witty 25 year old guide named Tui who offered insight, stories and jokes along the way.
We watched farm animals, lush green rice paddies and low-slung bamboo houses materialize amidst the shroud of mist in the early morning hours, while the Dragonhead shaped mountain top gazed down on us.
In Vietnam people prefer legends to explain their wondrous land. Tigers gain their stripes from trying to outwit man amongst flames; buffalo lose their top row of teeth by accidentally crunching rocks while eating and laughing at the tigers misfortune. Protective limestone karsts and high peaks are formed by dragons whipping their tails against the earth. The mist provided the perfect atmosphere as we listened to Tui tell us these stories, and our imagination afforded us anything otherwise lost from the usual vista points.
Grant, me and the kids:
Zhao people and their handmade wares:
Helping out around the house by grinding corn for the farm animals:
Advanced irrigation systems for the mountainside rice paddies:
Nature at another angle:
Mist Beast (water buffalo):
Me and Tui:
Tui frying-up our hand-wrapped spring-rolls:
I showed everyone how to make an AMERICAN sized spring-roll:
The homestay owner at the end of the table kept the ricewhisky flowing during the meal of epic proportions:
Unfortunately even the strong spirits couldn't stop illness from getting to me the next morning. I was out of commission with food poisoning for the rest of the day and had to be motorbiked out. :
As if hiking for 12km in a day wasn't enough on a cold start, we did this just after a 9 hour overnight trainride with a shockingly loud breathing local and a transfer shuttle up the sickeningly windy mountainside. We were rewarded for our initial journey to Sapa with an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at a European style hotel. Banana crepes, eggs, hash browns, and fresh fruit where spread on silver platters before us. Of course I stuffed my face like a true American (all in preperation for the journey!). Grant, representing England, would not be outdone and had a competing helping including bacon and sausages.
Now that we were 'ready-to-roll' on the trail, we started the descent towards the lower town of Lao Cai. Grant and I were lead by a charming and witty 25 year old guide named Tui who offered insight, stories and jokes along the way.
We watched farm animals, lush green rice paddies and low-slung bamboo houses materialize amidst the shroud of mist in the early morning hours, while the Dragonhead shaped mountain top gazed down on us.
In Vietnam people prefer legends to explain their wondrous land. Tigers gain their stripes from trying to outwit man amongst flames; buffalo lose their top row of teeth by accidentally crunching rocks while eating and laughing at the tigers misfortune. Protective limestone karsts and high peaks are formed by dragons whipping their tails against the earth. The mist provided the perfect atmosphere as we listened to Tui tell us these stories, and our imagination afforded us anything otherwise lost from the usual vista points.
Grant, me and the kids:
Zhao people and their handmade wares:
Helping out around the house by grinding corn for the farm animals:
Advanced irrigation systems for the mountainside rice paddies:
Nature at another angle:
Mist Beast (water buffalo):
Me and Tui:
Tui frying-up our hand-wrapped spring-rolls:
I showed everyone how to make an AMERICAN sized spring-roll:
The homestay owner at the end of the table kept the ricewhisky flowing during the meal of epic proportions:
Unfortunately even the strong spirits couldn't stop illness from getting to me the next morning. I was out of commission with food poisoning for the rest of the day and had to be motorbiked out. :
Vietnam - Hoi An and Hue
Hoi An is Vietnam how it used to be, and as many may choose to remember it best. Original structures and culture are both well preserved. The town is supported mainly on handicrafts, specifically tailored clothing, woodcarving and ceramics.
This is the spot to be pampered with minions of tailors to 'suit' your needs, so it was in good taste that we chose to do so. Grant and I are both in the same situation where we will be looking for work when returning back home, and with these fine new threads, it shouldn't be hard to do so:
Workers spend hours chiseling away to create intricate woodcarvings. Most have worked at this trade so long that they can create clones of the same work from memory:
Ancient Cham ruins a few hours from town. We had the most intense guide that could make any sentence absolutely gripping with his movie-trailer style narrative:
The location was believed to be an outpost for Vietcong, so unfortunately the ruins were in fairly poor shape due to bombing raids done by the US in war time.:
This is the spot to be pampered with minions of tailors to 'suit' your needs, so it was in good taste that we chose to do so. Grant and I are both in the same situation where we will be looking for work when returning back home, and with these fine new threads, it shouldn't be hard to do so:
Workers spend hours chiseling away to create intricate woodcarvings. Most have worked at this trade so long that they can create clones of the same work from memory:
Ancient Cham ruins a few hours from town. We had the most intense guide that could make any sentence absolutely gripping with his movie-trailer style narrative:
The location was believed to be an outpost for Vietcong, so unfortunately the ruins were in fairly poor shape due to bombing raids done by the US in war time.:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
