A Down-Under December

We are finally in Australia. To get here we had to endure one of the longer days of travel we have had yet. We finished up in Kuala Lumpur being quite sick and taking a 4 a.m. bus to the Airport for our flight. When we got to the airport my first stop was the men's room for a nice session of throwing up. I knew it would be a good travel day. Our flight out to Singapore was nice and short but we had a 9 hour lay over in Singapore and we had to wait in the departure area with no real comforts. The flight was a bit delayed but we made it off. We didn't check the itinerary very well because we had the long lay over and then we got into Perth at 1 a.m. and nothing was open. After going through customs we slept at the airport until daylight and headed into town. A lot of the hostels were booked and not super ideal for a tired and sick couple of travelers. We also got some sticker shock on the prices as we are not in Asia anymore. We found a place but it, like all of the hostels were full of binge drinking 20 somethings. The smell was a mix of sticky beer, Ramen noodles and socks. I was having some flashbacks to Upham hall at the U of I dorms. Not bad but maybe it would have been better another time. After checking in we walked around Perth and found some nice parks and sights. After 30 plus hours of no sleep, we finally turned in.

Like we seem to do when arriving in a new place we walked for hours and tried to find some direction and figure out what we are doing there. We spent 3 days in Perth and the Surrounding area. It is really nice, it is summer time here and the Christmas spirit is alive. Perth has the posh feel of any big metro area with nice cafes and nice shops and business men and women having their after work drinks. But it also has a laid back outdoors feel because of the parks, river and being right near the beaches. It is a large center for the oil and mining business and is the only real major city on the west coast and so far away from everything(~4000 km to Sydney). Basically, it has a really unique feel to it that I can't really pinpoint. Somewhere between Seattle, Southern Cal and Anchorage. Australia in general has been good and here are some of the basics: you can drink the water, flush a toilet, they speak English (kind of), you aren't looked at like a walking dollar sign (no hassles), and prices are marked (no haggling). The people are a good mix of "normal" families like you would see in the states, disgruntled youth and rednecks. Most all are extroverted and cheery and goofy in their own way, which makes any conversation fun.

So, after looking at our options we saw that it was very expensive to take a group tour or even take public transport and stay in the pricey hostels. We went to a neighboring town and walked by a car dealership and asked if they had any super cheap wheels. They didn't at the time but took our number and said they would call. We were walking down the street not more than a quarter mile away and one of the cheery used car salesmen pulled up in a shiny white car and said he was just taking it in and it may be available. We came back the next day and checked it over, it was basic but it provided us some freedom. The guys said they would buy it back when we were done and they were glad for a quick turnaround so we made the deal. I knew it would be good as we slammed the hood after our inspection and the front emblem came off. So we are the proud new owners of a 1994 Holden Barina- Swing. It is white with turquoise and pink splashes on the side. I think we will call it the Swingo-Dingo after the fierce and agile dog of the outback. It is one of the more masculine cars I have ever seen. The Geo-metro of Australia. Economical and easy to drive, actually just economical. It's got a bit of hitch in the giddy-up but I've seemed to have gotten it under control. It is a manual and they drive on the other side of the road so the first few hours/days were a bit scary for us and Australia. I am slowly figuring out the coordination of shifting with my left hand and staying on the left side of the road while merging into a two lane roundabout.

We got the car threw in our backpacks, swung by the salvation army and local Big W (Australian Walmart) and got cooking and camping supplies. Armed with a 50 cent Best of the 80's cassette tape we headed down the southern coast. So for about a week we have been checking out the little towns along the coast and camping. The first few days I didn't feel well and am slowly getting better with some self medication of anti-biotics. The coast is nice and the weather is good. We have seen a couple good lighthouses and went up in one at the very southwest tip of Australia where the Indian ocean and Southern ocean come together. It was pretty cool and quite high. We also went to a national park full of huge Karri trees and climbed to the top of a sketchy fire lookout around 225 feet off the ground. To get up there you had to spiral up the trunk of the tree on Rebar spikes that wound around the tree all the way to the top. We were surprised with all of the rules and safety things here but, you weren't required to wear a harness or have any supervision. Regardless it was a cheap thrill and gave a great view. We've also seen a good bit of wildlife, dolphins, emus, pelicans and mostly Kangaroos. The roos are just like deer back in the northwest. A bit of a pest, dangerous to drivers and in most fields near dawn or dusk as you are driving. At one of the visitor centers we got to pet some babies who's mothers had been hit by cars. They were super soft and friendly.

We haven't made it too far down the coast but we like the area, close to the forest and beach and kind of a tourist holiday area. We have a couple leads on some jobs to fund the adventures and may stay in this area a while. This will probably be the last blog until after the holidays -

so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone

On the road again

After 2 months in Nepal we are on the move again...but not without a little change of plans. We endured our first travel problems due to the chaos in Bangkok. On Wednesday the 26th we had already checked in for our flight and through immigration when we were told our flight was canceled due to political disturbance in Thailand. We waited for around 5 hours to see if the flight would go...no dice. We went to the airline office and got a new ticket for the Friday flight. We hung around Kathmandu and ran into our Canadian friend Myanna again. Friday was the same story with an ominous start. We tried to get a taxi but they were hard to get because of a strike--we found one to take us and as we were winding through the dusty and sleepy streets we had to avoid an elephant in the road. Our flight was canceled again and back to the airline office. We were very lucky and got 2 of the last 5 seats to Kuala Lumpur that same evening. The only catch was that we had to pay for business class, and to our dismay they didn't even give us our money's worth by announcing "Now boarding all business class passengers". As we left from the airport office to the immigration office to make sure we would be OK for overstaying our visas, we passed a dead dog on the sidewalk and a man relieving himself in the bushes and with the Bangkok airport still closed we made the right move.

We didn't even know anything about Kuala Lumpur but it is a really nice city, modern, clean, and a great contrast to Nepal. For example we have been up in the Petronas Towers skyscraper, ate at Pizza hut, cruised a large mall (with a huge christmas tree), watched the new Bond movie and hung out in a clean park. After seeing little in the ways of modern transportation or amenaties for 2 months we were thrown into the huge city of around 7 million people. Our Bangkok flight switched around and are now flying out on the 2nd to Perth, Australia.

Our last few weeks in Pokhara turned out really well. We got into a nice routine at the school and began to figure things out. On a couple of slow days I even got to go paragliding with Brad two more times...sans the vulture. I played basketball every morning and most afternoons. And ref'd another NBA game. I realized that my mark on Nepal won't be the nursery rhymes I taught the children or how to pronounce certain words but teaching them the basketball game bump and rebound which they seem to love. They play a lot of pig and horse but call it Monkey. Melica and I also made our "family" an American meal as they called it, but it was just pasta and spaghetti sauce, garlic bread, no-bake chocolate/peanut butter cookies and fruit salad. It was good to give the mom a night off and to see their expressions as most of them hadn't had anything other than Dhal Baht and Nepali food. They seemed to enjoy it even if they did use a little chili sauce to spice it up.
We took two field trips with the school one to some bat caves and the other to a mountain museum. Both good times.
I got my first hair cut of the trip and it was a good experience. Halfway through the power went out like it does for 3 hours most nights, so he had to finish by lamplight. The haircut concluded with the man giving a rough head massage, bopping me on the head with his fists and popping my neck. All for 50 cents.
Our last day at the school was good with some really nice festivities. We took a couple classes then visited the annex building to say good bye to the kids and teachers. They gave us a Tika (red dot on the forehead) and silk scarves as good luck and thanks. We went back to the main campus where there was an assembly with music and dancing by the students. We were given a gift of a trophy and the teachers and students said good things about us and that they would miss us.

We also had a dinner party with the Pun family, some friends and neighbors. Good food and a good way to end our time there. The Pun's saw us off to the bus with more silk scarves and flower garlands. They were great people and we hope we can see them again someday.
Time to move on and we are glad we stayed as long as we did but are glad to be out of Kathmandu and have the whole Bangkok hassle done with. Off to Aussie land.

Festival Time

After a little hiatus from blogging we are back. We didn't have much to say after our long trek but finally have some news to report. It was festival time for another week or so. This one spared the goats and buffaloes but not the general public. The name was Tihar and Diwali and included children yelling a song at every home and place of business for money, fireworks and dancing in the streets, they also celebrated different animals and gave a tika (red dot on the forehead) to dogs and cows. It became a running joke because whenever we asked a Nepali person a question(what is the price? when is it open? etc) it always started..."well it's festival time..." We later found out that Nepal has over 100 festival days a year...what a great country. We took a week or so off in Pokhara hanging around Lakeside-- eating and relaxing, we extended our visas for a month and sent out some emails and asked around for volunteer leads. While at one Internet cafe I began talking to the owner of the hotel and cafe, he said his uncle is the principal of a school on the edge of town and they might need volunteers. We visited the school and the Principal's house and it looked like a good fit. We would live and eat with the Principal's family and help out and teach at the boarding school. The school is Manakamana Boarding School and it is sits in a quiet location with good views of the mountains. All but one subject (Nepali) is taught in English and the ages vary from 3 to 18 years old. After saying goodbye to the comforts of lakeside we have settled in with the Pun's. Our first few days were a bit awkward but we were met with the language barrier and very nice people. The first day of school was unexpectedly good, we were met at the school with marigold lays and a silk scarf and the whole school lined up giving us each a marigold and saying good morning sir/mam. All of the teachers are nice and I think they enjoy a few hours off now and then. Mostly we teach some English conversation, or reading out of their science/social studies books etc., all of the teachers speak English in class but I'm sure it helps to have a native English speaker talk to the kids. Some days are only games and nursery rhymes with the little kids. How many times can we sing twinkle twinkle little star without going for a run with scissors?

Our extra curricular activities have included renting scooters and braving the Nepal roads and heading to a nearby lake. Myanna the Canadian from the trek was doing some freelance volunteering as well and joined us for a few extreme days and we said goodbye to her again a few days ago. The biggest thrill of the week was last Friday when we went paragliding or more particularly parahawking. My friend Brad Sander who I worked with in 2004 while fighting fire in Alaska works for Frontiers Pargliding and just made it to town. He holds two paragliding records- I think...one for height (7700 meters) and distance kms. Anyway a great guy to know. He and paraglider/falconer Scott Mason took us up with Kevin an Egyptian Vulture for a very cool afternoon. It is the only place in the world where you can do this and it was a great experience. (http://www.parahawking.com/) I'll try to describe it...attached to a parachute- two people run off of a hill and sail over the tree tops. You sit back in a comfortable chair and take in the view. You take a chunk of buffalo meat out of your fanny pack and hold it out in your leather glove. At the blow of a whistle a vulture lands on your hand for a snack. At that point you think "How crazy is this, I am floating hundreds of feet above the ground and a vulture just landed on my hand"....The vulture rotated between Melica and me and cruised the skies for about 45 minutes with great view and good memories. An amazing day.

I've also been playing basketball every morning and some evenings with the older kids at the school and the nephew of the principal who we live with. Fun times and they are actually good ballers. On Saturday Manakamana had a "friendly" match with a neighboring school. We came to watch and I was asked to Referee. Not a bad job and only a few travels and fouls. I never pictured myself reffing an NBA (Nepali Basketball Association) game but it worked out.
Overall things are good and we glad to be settled and getting the full Nepali experience. Once you leave the touristed area of Lakeside you see real Nepal, burning garbage, dirty kids, poverty, old men sitting around playing cards. Our general routine is that we have early morning tea, a full meal of Dal baht at around 9:30 a.m., school at 10 to around 4, snack at around 1, read or walk around until dark, eat dinner with the family at around 7 or 8. Dinner usually is Dal Baht (white rice, curried veggies, and lentil soup) but sometime we have flat bread and other goods. Sometimes we eat on the floor in the kitchen, on metal plates, we haven't taken to using our hands like the Nepalis do. But when in Nepal...After dinner, if there is electricity we watch some Indian soap operas or play cards with the Principal's 13 year old daughter and the cousin.

We luckily got a working holiday visa for Australia without needing a medical check up and just got our tickets. We leave Nepal on November 26th to Bangkok then to Perth Australia on December 1st. So it looks like a Christmas down under for us.

Annapurna Circuit Training

So, two Americans, two Israelis, a German and a Canadian walk around the Annapurna Circuit- sounds like a joke- funny but no joke. We are back from an amazing 17 days of hiking through the most stunning scenery and villages filled with the nicest people. I'll try to sum up the almost 3 weeks and give you an idea of what it was like.

Our first day started by taking an early morning bus for six hours to Besi sahar and then cramming into a jeep with 14 people. The festival was still going on and our ride included views of Nepalis getting together to build swings, and many water buffaloes and goats being sacrificed or the aftermath.

Our jeep ride was bumpy but worth it as it cut off 4 hours walking on a dusty road. We were the last two on the jeep and had a view out the back. A Nepali jumped on for a free ride and was carrying a plastic bag and after a few minutes I noticed that it was dripping blood on my arm. I kindly asked him to move the bag so he put it on my foot.

We then proceeded to hike for 4 hours along a river and through lush terraced rice paddies. It was a pretty exhausting day. Due to the tough day our Israeli friends decided to hire a porter named Kamal from the local village. He turned out to be a valuable asset to the whole group. Not only as a guide but also to help us find accommodation. We never would have guessed that it would have been so busy and hard to find a bed. The first night we found the last few beds in a packed dorm room and didn't sleep very well. We regretted not bringing sleeping bags, but we were told that the fleece sleeping sacks that we have been using for the whole trip would be enough and that every tea house had blankets available. Approximately 20% of the time we got blankets but in places that were full of Nepali porters and guides they got first dibs.

We spent our 3rd Anniversary hiking from Bahundanda to Chamje. We celebrated a long day hiking along the river with some cards and Oreos with friends.

The next few days we went from a bit rainy lush area following the river and waterfalls every where to apple orchards, marijuana fields, pine forests and our first great view of the mountains. On day 4 we added a Canadian from B.C., Myanna and she endured our company for 13 days.

As we got deeper on the trek we sent Kamal ahead early with his light pack and quick walking to find us rooms ahead of the large groups. The large groups were mostly French and German tourists. When meeting them on the trail you sometimes asked yourself "How did they get here?" Most were grey haired- decked out in all the latest Euro trekking gear, trekking poles, safari gear and a large shiny camera around their necks. Their porters carried their enormous bags. They were amazing and the loads they packed up the steep hills using a band across their foreheads was unbelievable. The porters have a tough life and it appeared that they had a good time at the end of the day by drinking. It may not be typical but Kamal tended to enjoy a few drinks. Eyal once said "I love my porter when he is not drunk" It wasn't a problem and we had fun with it. He was funny while drunk and turned into a loving guy saying "This place I love, my friends I love"(a man hug followed)

Most of the days included an early start, breakfast or an early lunch, stopping for the day in the early afternoon- ordering dinner- reading, playing cards (if electricity was available) -Mostly hiking 3 to 8 hours- eat- sleep- repeat. It was great hanging out with the group, chatting it up, learning some Hebrew, German, and a bit aboot Canada.

The views were stunning and around every bend you would see a waterfall, bridge, snow capped peak or picturesque village. All of the villages had their own little charm and were full of snot nosed kids running around. The quick journal that I was making during the trek, the first line almost always was "best day yet- amazing views".

It is tough to pinpoint the best day of the trip as they all had highlights. Day 6 from Lower Pisang to Bhraka was great. We decided to take the high road- 4 hours more than the alternative but gave better views and were glad we did. After an early start and steep climb we were rewarded with warm cinnamon rolls, blue skies, and the sight of an avalanche on the frosty peaks across the valley. We enjoyed the views all day- few people- no porters and ended in a open valley, with a grey glacial river running through it and furry yaks grazing everywhere. There was a full moon that made the mountains look silver and the menu also provided some new choices like pasta, lasagna and apple pie. Can it get any better? I submit that it cannot!

The next day we took our acclimatization day around the same area and hiked above Manang- Blue skies again and views of a turquoise glacial lake. Manang was at 11,614 and we hiked above 12,000 feet to get used to the elevation and lessen the risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

As we got closer to the pass finding a bed was harder than ever - one night we found ourselves in a dirty storage room with no light and a small window. That same night we warmed up in the dining room heated by a smokey yak dung fire. The night before crossing the pass we (all 6 of us) slept on 5 beds in what we affectionately named the stable- as it looked like they kicked out the horses and threw in a few beds. The dirt floor, musty smell and rodents just added to ambiance and needless to say- with a cold night at 14,599' none of us slept well. At around 4:30 a.m. we headed out with the aid of head lamps and a fairly full moon. We started the steep climb to the pass and our long day. We stopped for some tea and snacks at high camp, I hiked to a view point to see the panorama. It was probably the most amazing I will ever see. We pushed on to the pass and it was a tough pull. We took the group photo and pushed on to the other side- a very steep descent of around 5,500 feet in 3-4 hours. A few of us had headaches and I had some nausea due to the altitude. The Bob Marley hotel was a nice refuge after a long day. We celebrated crossing the world's highest pass with a Yak burger and bean and cheese enchilada. Dorit and Eyal rode into town on horses and showed up exhausted but in good spirits. The group was still together.

The food got better over the pass. We first thought every night would be Dal Baht(plain rice, lentil soup and curried veggies) but it turned out to be the most expensive thing on most menus- we usually ate fried rice with veggies or fried potatoes with veggies, some Tibetan bread and noodles also made their way to our plate. Over the pass we moved into veggie burgers, pizza, pasta and more western fare. German bakeries could be found in most towns and one place even had a Yak Donald's (I can't make this stuff up) I even heard someone call it the apple pie trail because at almost every guesthouse you could get some version of apple pie. One of the best treats was in Manang where we snacked on the best shortbread jam cookies. On day 12 we arrived in Jonsom, where Eyal and Dorit had a flight back to Pokhara on the 20th- This meant Kamal the porter's job was finished- he was a great guy and fun to spend time with (sans drinking). He teared up as he left and gave us each a colorful string around our necks as a going away present- He gave us some last advice in his broken English "Friends stay together, this you find out" and he was off. The next day we moved on as Eyal and Dorit stayed for their flight back to Pokhara and eventually to Thailand and home. It was hard to believe we had been traveling with them in some fashion for around 20 days - we had some fun times and realized that they knew more American movies, music and pop culture than we did and enjoyed joking with them as they did with us.

After Jonsom most of the trek was down hill- literally and figuratively. Most of the hiking was on a dusty road with an occasional jeep, motorcycle, or mule train lumbering down it. The views were still good but not like we had seen. We followed the Kali Gandaki river and made some good distances down hill one day going 23km.

At Tatapani we climbed back towards the clouds (3500 feet gained and 16 km) a long day back through terraced rice paddies and what seemed like a never ending stair stepper workout to chitre and the Dhalagiri Lodge which had a nice view of the Mt. Dhalagiri- we came to call this Mt. Dougandlarry.

Our last full day on the circuit was a nice relaxing day after a one our session of Himalayan high knees that took us to Ghorepani. Here we dropped our stuff at the guest house, grabbed some yak cheese, bread and other snacks for lunch at the top of poon hill. A roughly one hour hike took us to a fire type lookout and 360 degree views of the Annapurna range and surrounds- A great way to wrap up an amazing 2 plus weeks.

On our last day we were ready to get back to some comforts and R and R. We got an early start and took a 6 hour hike down 3280 stone steps (we didn't check their numbers) and we met some people having a tough day going up. Then a 2 hour bus ride on a squeaky local bus with a goat in the isle we were done.

Looking back the hike was a blur and a lot of the places blend together, view points roughly the same and never ending trails- What we will take away from the trek is that the Nepali people are great and full of smiles and a simpler and still happy way of life exists outside of places where electricity, vehicles, commercialism and things rule. Additionally, spending 17 days with people you just met- learning about them and gaining friendships was more important that the picture you took of a mountain vista.

Some figures for the trip, not that they mattered but looking back it is good to give it some scope: Crossing the highest pass in the world at 17,768', hiked through the deepest river valley in the world, total kilometers hiked was around 210 (130 miles), nothing but tea and water for 17 days, no Internet/fantasy football for 17 days.

We are now just taking it easy for a few days. Putting some pounds back on, laundry, extending the visa and trying to secure volunteer work for the next month.

Nepal

Namaste from Nepal...picking up where we left off--The night bus from Ranong, Thailand was nice, short and uneventful and luckily we were dropped off in walking distance to our guesthouse. We then found out from our travel agent that the flight had been delayed giving us most of the day to kill in Bangkok. We had some of our favorite Thai foods and made it to the airport in the early afternoon. We checked in for our flight and found out there was more of a delay. Our seat assignments put us on right side of the plane giving us good views of the highest mountains on earth, however, as our flight got pushed back further into the evening we knew that wouldn't happen. We did however, score free food vouchers that we happily exchanged for two blizzards and a chili cheese dog from DQ- so I guess it was a decent trade off. We finally took off around 8:00 p.m. on a well used Boeing 757 and the landing in Kathmandu reminded me a bit of flying into the Lewiston, ID airport.


We got our visas on arrival and probably the worst part of the delay was flying into a new place in the dark and having no idea where to go. Throughout the whole trip we haden't booked a hotel in advance, that is until here because it came with a free hotel pick-up. With the delay our ride wasn't waiting so we shared a circa 1960's beater taxi with an Israeli couple Eyal and Dorit---The taxi barely made it the hotel dying once on a dark side street and luckily re-started after a few tries. Kathmandu was pretty dark, with few street lights and dirt alleys. The hotel was fully booked so we walked a bit and found another place to crash. The next morning everything looked better. We spent the next two days looking around Kathmandu, seeing stupas and the Monkey temple on the hill overlooking the city with Everest and the Himalayas in the background. It is very different from where we have been...there are still crazy drivers, exhaust, motorcycles and the salesmen but you see more foot traffic, people carrying crazy things on their backs through crowded intersections (couches), cows and water buffaloes roaming the streets like dogs, tiger balm salesmen, and it is a bit like you have gone back in time- lots of bikes, rickshaws, older cars, old buildings, dirt roads inside the city, and no power for parts of the day.


On Thursday we took the morning bus to Pokhara. The bus ride was good, we took the "tourist" bus for an assigned seat and the other option was a local bus filled to the brim with Nepalis and people riding on the roof. The valley views were good and we followed a river for most of the trip. At the bus stop we were met with the normal hotel/taxi touts and we lucked out and landed a good place close to the center with nice mountain view from the roof and a great little family running the place.


Pokhara itself is a great town. It sits in a valley at the edge of a clean lake and on clear days you can see the white capped Himalayas in the background. It also has everything the traveler needs. The local food is good and by the sounds of it we will need to get used to it. The main staple is Dal Baht, served on a big platter with a large portion of rice, curried veggies on the side, and lentil soup, and sometimes chicken or mutton. The Nepalis eat this twice a day everyday. Our hotel man Raj invited us to dinner two nights. We are also planning to trek for 14-20 days and that will be our diet, supplemented with some snickers bars.


In Pokhara we have been trying to get some volunteer stuff organized with quite a bit of luck and we now actually have quite a few choices. Right now is one of the biggest festivals of the year for the Nepali people and most of the people are visiting family and many things are closed for over 10 days. With that we have decided to take that time and do the Annapurna Circuit trek that should take from 14-20 days through some amazing country and villages. We will do the trek with the Israeli couple we met in Kathmandu and a German girl we met at the hotel. We have decided to forgo hiring a porter and a guide and just staying at tea houses along the way. Less hassle, cost, and the trek is very popular and we should be able to follow the hordes of people. We leave on Tuesday morning and had to get some warmer gear. It will be a nice change from being hot for two months to having to put on a jacket. The highest elevation we will reach is around 17,000 feet so it may get chili. Pokhara is great because if you don't have any gear or the airline loses your bag (like happened to our Israeli friends) you can walk down the street and in a matter of minutes look REI just threw up on you and at a fifth of the cost. While in Pokhara we took a boat across the lake and hiked to the world peace pagoda, and after reaching world peace we hiked down the other side of the mountain to a waterfall. Today it was clear after a rain storm last night and we went to a overlook that gave us a great view of the mountains. So far we really like it here. The people are friendly and the scenery is great. Due to our trek we will be off the grid for a few weeks...

The Beach

It probably hasn't been said often enough but Bangkok is such a refreshing city. Let me explain. We had some good luck in our last few days that led us to a chance encounter with some fellow travelers at the free hotel breakfast. Over cold coffee and an omelet we met fellow travelers from England -Frank and Sara who were 8 months into a world trip of their own going the opposite way. They were actually on the same flight to Bangkok the next day and we decided to split a cab to the airport which saved a bus ride and navigating the city. Our last memory of Vietnam was more than enough to welcome Bangkok. After paying for the cab service at the hotel we took an exciting ride to the airport. After pulling up to the terminal the cabbie was demanding more money, holding up some cash and saying "hotel mafia- you pay". He wasn't opening the trunk and Frank who was sitting in the passenger seat turned off the ignition and tried to take the keys and pop the trunk. The trunk finally opened and while I discussed the finer points of our paid receipt with the cab driver the rest of the crew safely removed our bags. With the taxi doors ajar we left the taxi driver to try and stiff someone else. It was a quick flight to Bangkok and as it was cheaper we decided to split another cab with our new travel companions. After two cab rides and a few hours in traffic we finally settled in the familiar area of Khoa San Rd. We spent that evening and the next mildly checking out the Bangkok night life and mostly people watching and discussing travel with Frank and Sara. We ran into two drunken Swiss (both nights), saw a bottle being thrown at someone on Khoa San Rd, and walked the famous Red Light district. During the day we were able to book a flight to Kathmandu for Monday the 29th giving us enough time to relax on a Thai beach. We had some tough choices with the ever popular Ko Samui and Ko Tao but with some fellow travel advice we headed to the seldom heard or visited Ko Payam (wasn't even in the guidebook) It didn't disappoint...with a short and decent overnight bus ride and a morning ferry we were on a small island with no cars and few tourists. No touts, no traffic, no worries. The only way to get around was to walk or scooter on concrete paths that criss-crossed the island. It was low season so prices are good, few people and most of the island looked deserted. Our bungalow was rustic and home to its share of cockroaches and insects but for 6$ a night and a 5 second walk to the beach there was no problem. Rain storms, good sunsets and good food filled the next few days. At one point while listening to a good tune and eating a banana pancake- I thought that it may not be possible to love a human baby as much as a good banana pancake and a Thai iced tea. We are now waiting for the night bus back to Bangkok and our flight tomorrow afternoon. We are excited for a new country- somewhere a lot different than here and like nowhere we have been before. We hope to find some volunteer opportunities there and do some trekking...

A Danang Crazy Country

My apologies in advance for a super long blog, but it takes a few words to describe a whole country and an interesting country at that. I will pick up where we left off in Vientiane, Laos. We needed to kill a day for the night bus and spent the day at Laos' only water park. The place was a little different and for the 4 or so hours we were nearly the only ones there, like we rented it for ourselves. There was a group of English speaking children taking swimming lessons for about an hour and another couple came just as we were leaving. There was about 15 or 20 staff and life guards so Melica and I felt quite safe. They had slides you could slide down with the aid of a mat and you plunged into murky green water. Later we saw a sign that said "we use ground water for all of our pools". There was also a slide that you race down chutes and they cleverly installed foam speed bumps to slow you down. Overall it was good place to relax in a somewhat dirty and typical Southeast Asian city.

We then boarded a mini-bus from our hotel to the bus station. Bus stations are notorious for illegal activity and this place looked sketchy. We got off the bus and were immediately surrounded by 6 or more touts or hassles asking where we were going. Three buses behind them said Danang - our destination. Thinking back the buses must bet paid for whoever gets on their bus irregardless of who you buy the ticket through. These guys were pushy and grabbing your arm and trying to take your bags all while you were trying to decide which bus to board and wondering if it is the correct one. We chose door #2, and i think we were relatively lucky. We were able to find a place near the rear of the bus with extra leg room and nest to a British couple and an Australian. From our bus we could see that our other two choices were filled to the max with people in the isles and 3 in a double seat. The bus ride itself was decent, quite bumpy and long, with over 22 hours of travel. The Vietnam passport control was a little weird in that we had to walk to three different stations and x-ray all of the contents of the bus. If I wouldn't have been paying attention my backpack would have been left on the conveyor belt as we drove off. We finally made it to Danang at around two in the afternoon and another traveler was getting off at the same place and i luckily asked him if he knew where he was going, as we had no idea where we were or where we wanted to go. To add to that we had no Dong (Dong is the name of the Vietnamese currency, and with such a good name we have decided it needs no snazzy nickname).

This guy was actually working near Danang and spotted us some Dong for the bus (If you were wondering how much Dong you can get for a buck, wonder no more...16,500!!). The guy also showed us a good hotel near the center, a very luck break.

Our first impression of Vietnam was "Danang where's the exit" throughout our stay in Vietnam we began to really enjoy it and yet at times really be frustrated with it...more on this later.

Danang wasn't super tourist friendly and probably not the best first stop but we just randomly picked it for its central location. We spent 1 1/2 days in Danang taking a long walk on China Beach and visiting the Marble Mountains. Danang was actually the first landing site for the Americans in the Vietnam war and American GI supposedly spent some of the free time on the beach. The beach was really quiet and stretched for miles along the South China Sea. Here we saw these fishermen getting in these small bowls that were made out of baskets and coated with rubber. They amazingly worked them through the surf and out to the open ocean for a day of fishing. One did capsize and had to start over but they all finally made it. Throughout our day in Danang the conversation included things like "Danang its hot today", "this is a Danang nice beach" and even at the ATM, I believe Melica said "Danang that's a lot of Dong".

On Friday we headed to Hoi An, about 30 km south of Danang. We took the local bus and didn't get ripped off this time as it help to keep the exact change. We got of the bus and with no other public transportation than scooters we headed off on foot. About a half an hour later we ended up walking by a nice hotel. On Friday night we walked around the old town and market with many craftsmen and women in the typical conical hats. The town had a nice feel with a water front and little shops. On Saturday we took a half day trip to the unimpressive ruins at My Son. Some had been bombed and others were just ruins. The place was like a park and the tour included lunch and little boat ride so it was a rather nice day. Mr. Hung was our guide and gave us good information on the ruins, some of his family history (his father fought for the viet Cong and his uncle was killed in the war), and he told us about the Autumn festival that was happening that night to celebrate the full moon. There is a strong Chinese influence in Vietnam and it was very evident in this festival as people decorated the town with bright colored lanterns, lit floating candles and sent them down the canals, and kid drummers and costumed lions were performing throughout the city. It was good timing that we were able to see the festival and it turned out to be a good night. The next afternoon, after some biking around Hoi An and checking out their beaches we took took a 3 hour bus ride north to the city of Hue. We were supposed to be picked up at the bus station by our hotel but they never showed, we endured 30 minutes of touts trying to get us to their hotel. We finally ended up walking and the Hotel said they were sorry and had sent someone...sure. We had started getting a little lazy as the trip progressed, just going with the flow and the main stream tour buses, hotels and the tours themselves. I think the reason may be that Vietnam was a little more chaotic than expected.

The next morning we took the DMZ tour or former Demilitarized Zone of the Vietnam War. Not really knowing what to expect and my war history is not great I was hoping for more. The tour was a bit one sided to the Vietnamese side and so were the monuments and the Khe Sahn museum. I guess in a way it is understandable that the propaganda would be patriotic for the Vietnamese, however I just wish it was a little more factual. At one stop there were two guys trying to sell rusty dog tags and medals (not sure if they were real), I was not enjoying that. We also made a stop at the Vihn Moc tunnels, supposedly used by the civilians as transport, bomb shelters and living. We spent about 15-20 minutes underground and if you were claustrophobic this was not a place for you. They were quite small and one big American emerged from the tunnels with two big brown stains on his shoulders from where they were rubbing. The tunnels went down about 60 feet on three levels. I guess the longest someone stayed in the tunnels was 5 days. Overall it was good to see these places and hope to read more about them later. There were only a few Americans on the tour and it was just a sad and solemn day knowing that so many had lost their lives in the area where we were standing...and for little or no respect.

Hue itself had a few monuments to see around the city so we spent the next full day walking around the former palace and citadel and took the night bus to Hanoi. The night bus the same as we had become used to. Not that we are sleeping more but dealing with them better. With earplugs and an airline pillow in hand we endured the next 12 hours. (almost all Southeast Asia buses have TVs that blare terrible music, TV shows or movies and even with earplugs it is loud).

We were supposed to be dropped off at the center but like we have come to expect the operators can do what they want and you have to deal with it. Vietnam more than any other country, the people can be quite annoying (hanoiing) to the point of being pushy. My advice as I get more used to it is get a sense of humor. As I was getting off the bus in Hanoi 6 or 7 guys were grabbing at us and shoving their business cards in our faces. One guy even pinched me and I pinched him right back- In retrospect I should have given him one of the old fashioned big brother tittie twisters but I had to get my bag. On every street corner either a scooter driver or cyclo driver (bicycle taxi) shouts "Hey! Hey you! Moto!" and waves his hand at you like we are best friends that haven't seen each other in a while. I've begun to get an excited look on my face and wave gleefully back, I've also started saying "No thanks, I've seen how you drive" or "I'd rather run through traffic with scissors" Some others are more difficult to respond to and you always think of the good things to say later.

Q- "You buy me nuts?"

A-"Why would I buy you nuts?"

Q "Me pick up you?"

A- "You just try it"

Q- "What you looking for?"

A- This one had me thinking...The meaning of life? Adventure? Potato Casserole?

Q- "What do you want?"

A- I heard one British guy next to me say "I want the noise to stop!" He too must have had an overdose of Hanoi.

The best thing you can do is look blankly by them and ignore them and this can even be fun because they yell louder and sometimes follow you.

It was at this point in our trip when I knew we would have to make a decision. We had been contemplating going overland through China to Nepal, Fly to Nepal, or bag the whole thing and head to Australia. We had purchased a Chinese guidebook in Bangkok and have been toting it around checking where we wanted to go, asked fellow travelers and done some Internet research to see if it was possible. We knew the visa and permits to get into china and Tibet would be a hassle but well worth it if it can be done. After checking into our hotel in Hanoi we hopped in a cab and went straight to the Chinese Embassy. It was 8 a.m. and a large group was already gathered at the gate- we read the posted information and spoke with a helpful lady in line. She said it was her third day at the embassy and hoped that she had everything. She explained that they don't allow sandals, tank tops and are only open from 8:30 to 11:30 and even if you are there at 8 am you are not guaranteed to see anyone or submit your application. The gate opened at exactly 8:30 and a shoving match ensued for the small entrance and people were vieing for position. Melica and I just stood back and watched in morbid curiosity as tempers flared and the pushing your did to get you into position placed you into a line where you stood next to the guy you were pushing against for hours.

We got our visa applications and found out that we would need entry and exit tickets and a hotel bookings in China and it would also take 4 business days. One guy told us that we could get around the rules by booking the plane tickets and hotels and cancelling them later. We took our stuff and headed to a coffee shop to think things over. It may have been at this point where we hit a temporary traveler's wall. A night bus, the Chinese embassy, Hanoi streets and a stomach ache couldn't have helped. In the end we decided we were Asia'd out and it wasn't worth risking days to get the visa and touring China only to be turned away from traveling through Tibet. I know we could have done it but it just seemed like an extreme hassle that we weren't wanting to tackle.

I guess I can also explain my feeling at this point in time by relating it to something I learned in Economics. The law of the 5th Banana (Law of Diminishing marginal utility) The first few bananas are great, 3rd OK, 4th edible, and the 5th is almost too much. I will call this the law of the 5th Country. All of the asian temples and pagodas had turned into a web of bricks and gold paint and we were left asking what next? Over a Burger and Pasta that evening we decided to bag the great hopes of a land journey through China and fly back to Bangkok (the hub of asia) and move on to Nepal or Australia at a slower pace.

I know our earlier blog may have made Bangkok look crazy, however, Bangkok in our minds is a little puppy compared to the chaos of Hanoi.

Speaking of puppies, it is sad but true that the Vietnamese cuisine does include canines. At first we were skeptical of some of the restaurants without an English menu but we have learned the name for dog meat. We have also become more aware of the lack of stray dogs here. We read in our books and I'm sure you were wondering...dark colored dogs taste better than light colored dogs and men eat more dog that women and dog is usually only eaten after the 15th of the month. For us it really hasn't been an issue except bringing new reality to the phrases we use often like "let's stop and get a scoobie snack" or "If you can't finish that we could get a doggie bag".

Overall the food has been good, soups, noodles, rice and quite a bit of fish. Nothing to blog home about though.

After booking our flight we also booked a 3 day 2 night trip to Ha long Bay for the next day. We thought it would be good to get out of the city and re-energize and re-group before our next leg. The trip was described somewhat like the blue cruise in turkey with a night on the boat (which in Vietnam is adequately called a Junk), some trekking and kayaking. We had heard from other travelers that the trips were hit and miss and you could get on some bad ones. We prepared ourselves by getting a good cheap deal well under our budget and keeping our expectations very low. We could have organized the trip ourselves but it was nice to have everything planned out and we got to meet some other travelers. A small bus picked us up at the hotel, jammed to the isle with tourists. I was afforded the privilege or curse of sitting in the front passenger seat for the 3 hour drive. You could charge a lot

for that kind of thrill ride and scenery. I have discussed before that the Asians and Turks are crazy drivers but this was nuts. Our driver like all Vietnam drivers are in a hurry and seem to have no fear. At one point we were the inside vehicle, 3 wide on a two lane road on a blind corner. Most of the other vehicles are scooters so the horn is used to move them to the side. The horn is the most essential part of any Vietnamese vehicle and some have even modified theirs to honk ten times with one push. One time a lady pulled out in front of USA and we had to slam on the brakes, once we passed her the driver proceeded to veer her direction and almost wreck her in the ditch as pay back. I saw more crazy stuff in 3 hours than almost the whole trip combined and thoroughly regret not having a video camera as words do not do it justice. I will list a few: Scooter vs. Dump truck accident, industrial section of Hanoi, power plants, industrial waste, rows of "garment" factories, people breaking rocks with sledge hammers and loading dump trucks with baskets, crazy things being carried on scooters- 4'x6' mirror, bathtub, windows, re-bar, ducks, 10 baby pigs in a basket cage, 2 large pigs upside down and hog tied, a family of 5 commuting. On the return trip I saw two more accidents one very serious and just happened...not good. It is not rare to see people even texting and scooting, I may have also seen a woman on the back of a scooter breast feeding although I cannot confirm it.

Our trip started with us switching boats a couple of times and cruising through the limestone karsts and amazing scenery. We landed at the island of Cat Ba and transfered to the hotel for dinner. It was a nice place overlooking the bay. The next morning we got an early start with a jungle trekking/sweating trip. Most of the hikers complained the whole way and were ill prepared wearing flip flops and carrying large bags. Melica I found the hike to be nothing compared to our previous hikes in Thailand and Mt. Olympus. In some weird way with our expectations so low throught the 3 day trip we found joy in other peoples discomfort as they were so negative and complained about everything from the hike to the not sticking to the itinerary. The hike was good and ended at a good overlook of the bay and national park. That afternoon we boarded the boat and checked out some caves and we were supposed to stop for swimming but didn't end up stopping until after dark. A few of us jumped in, the water was warm if not a little unnerving as we had seen quite a few jelly fish earlier in the day. The evening turned out to be what made the trip, after dinner we hung out on the deck and watched the sunset, listened to music and swapped stories with other backpackers.

The next morning was another early one, we went kayaking around the bay in a heavy rain. We headed back to port for lunch and another exciting ride back to Hanoi.

Yesterday, our last full day in Hanoi turned out to be very good. After risking our lives at every intersection and once again being amazed at the kamikaze drivers we walked to the prison where American fighter pilots including John McCain were held during the war. It was nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton. They had a decent museum and some good photos. We also made it to Lennin park which was great for people watching. The park had a lime green pond (smelly and dirty yet people were swimming in it..yum) with swan paddle boats cruising by, old men doing strange excercises throughout the park (back arches over a park bench- toe walking backwards), We also saw about 5 weddings or wedding photo shoots as well as many badmitton games.

Today we fly out to Bangkok and have some time to reflect on the country of Vietnam. After a few periods of not liking it at all-- I think we are leaving with a feeling that the place is just very unique and like all places have gems and not so desirable areas but overall a very colorful and beautiful country. I remember seeing a sign in our first few days in vietnam and now it makes more sense than ever. I first thought it was like many asian signs that lose some meaning in translations such as "clean food good testes" but this one through translation couldn't have been more right on. It said..."Have an interesting stay in Vietnam!" And that we did...

Don't Panic it's Organic

After Luang Prabang we decided to head to Vang Vieng. We were skeptical of the tour agencies and tried to do the next leg ourselves - as the locals do. We were up quite early on Tuesday morning and on a full bus by 6:30. We were the only falang or foreigners on board. I can't say if we are going to have any worse bus rides than that one, but I hope so. It was terrible. The Laos people either have extremely weak stomachs or all drank a lot the night before. No less than 10 people were throwing up into plastic bags all around us. The road was windy, muddy and pretty narrow. The guy behind us was chain-smoking the whole way (no smoking signs all over) and the windows didn't open. We held it together and about 7 hours later we couldn't have been happier to be in Vang Vieng. Looking back we should have taken the tourist bus that left later and cost $2 more but we didn't know at the time.

We grabbed some much needed lunch and took a tuk-tuk to an organic farm we read about in the guidebook- it was about 3km outside of the town. We heard that it organized volunteering and teaching and it was nice that it was outside of the city. Vang Vieng was much like we had heard...many bars, tourist shops and restaurants with TVs on. Most of the restaurants had "Friends" episodes playing all the time and the ones that weren't were showing "Family guy". People were just sacked out watching TV in a place with great scenery outside. There was a big party scene here so the farm was a nice quiet escape. On Tuesday night we went with some other volunteers to a couple English classes, introduced ourselves and helped out a bit. The next morning we showed up for farm volunteering but could not find anyone to point us in the right direction. We weren't worried about it so we rented some bikes. We heard there were some good caves and lagoons outside of town and we spent the day biking a huge loop. We met a British guy on a dirt bike who had a map and told us he was doing the loop...we didn't realize how far it was but there was no turning back. We rode bikes much like the "Charming Turbos" from Thailand this time they were called "24 City". We rode them through creeks, carried them through knee deep water, shin deep mud, across narrow bridges, and at one point we reached a swift moving creek/river that we had to pay a guy to take us across on a bamboo raft. The Laos people make a buck wherever they can and charge you to go across bridges, into caves, and swimming holes. I don't think they owned them - simply whoever showed up first gets to take the money. Regardless, the scenery was great- limestone pillars, rice fields, small villages and farms, a huge cave with a Buddha inside. We finally made it back to English class, tired and muddy. Basically our week was filled with bike riding and sight seeing during the day and English class for an hour each night. All of the longer English classes were already being taught by other long-term volunteers. I made some friends from the evening class and they told us about places to explore during the day and by the end of the week they had invited me to go fishing and inter tubing on the weekend. Saturday morning we volunteering fixing stuff around the youth center. It rained a lot the night before so the river was running really high and muddy so we weren't able to go fishing but tubing was still on the agenda. So at around 11, i went tubing with the kids and Melica went to town and emailed. I was a bit skeptical (read scared) The river was high and muddy with a lot of trees hanging over into the river, but I just went with it. We walked quite a ways through rice fields and under barb-wired fences and finally got to some water. We tubed for a way and got dumped in a few rapids and stopped for a snack. These kids (14-16) were very resourceful...on the way they went in the bushes and came out with sugar cane to snack on and at our snack stop they climbed a tree and got some Asian eggplant things, leaves, and had a small plastic bag of spicy fish that they ate together - too spicy for me but I was having a great time. We got back on the tubes and headed down the river to a bar. One of the main attractions in Vang Vieng is tubing and they have bars all along the river with rope swings and zip lines to entice you to stop and drink. As you float by they throw a rope to you reel you in. We stopped at one and did a really cool rope swing. We then broke for lunch and met up later with Melica. They took us to a sketchy narrow bridge that the locals used to cross the river to the farm fields. These guys had become our tour guides (and hopefully their English improved) and Melica and I took them out to dinner and ice cream. They were poor country kids and didn't know what to order, they wanted me to choose for them - in the end 3 beef steaks and a pizza was ordered. They showed us to a local Lao ice cream place with only one flavor -coconut and it came in bricks and it was good. We rode back to the farm in the dark with the aid of our headlamp while being chased by a barking dog who the Laos kid said "it was Chinese and crazy".

English classes were only Tuesday through Friday and for one hour a night, even though were were really liking it and thinking that were were making a difference there really wasn't enough to keep us there longer. So we said our goodbyes. Throughout the week we also helped out a bit on the farm. We were probably more in the way than a huge help but it was fun to see how the organic farm worked and what they did. We milked some goats, made some cheese, trimmed some mulberry bushes, and fed the animals. It was a good week and really enjoyed the laid back and rewarding time.

On Sunday we tried to get an early start and got to the bus station by about 8:30. (As a side note our Tuk-tuk driver was wearing a Terrell Owens jersey on the opening Sunday of the NFL season, probably by accident, but what a great coincidence) From our last travel experience we were quite weary of what we would step into. The cheapest and the only mode of transportation that was leaving in the next three hours to Vientiane was a pick-up with two bench seats in the back. It wasn't actually that bad, fresh air and decent views and only 4 hours this time.

Vientiane, the capital of Laos has around 200,000 people. Someone described it as the slowest moving capital city in the world. It is pretty low key here with many coffee shops, the Mekong river flowing by, some old french buildings, and relatively little traffic. There really isn't that much to do here so today we got our Vietnam Visas, went to the US Embassy to get more passport pages and went to a few monuments on bike. Tomorrow we are taking an overnight bus to Da Nang, Vietnam. We also stumbled upon the biggest/only water park in Laos and will probably spend some time there tomorrow.