Home

So everyone, this looks like its the end. Katie and I are safely back in Erie at the moment, soon to be traveling to Vermont, then ultimately Boston to begin our job search etc.

We've really enjoyed our time abroad, and appreciate all those who were keeping up with us, reading our blogs, and saying hello occasionally. I hope you have all enjoyed the pictures and some of the stories. I'd be happy to expand on anything as soon as I have the privilege of talking to you all in person.

Thanks again; it's been great fun.

-Luke

cambodia, vietnam and thailand

Quick update. Angkor Wat is amazing. Remember those Sukhothai pictures - this is better. Cambodia, at least this part, is much more relaxed than Vietnam, much less pushy, and generally much happier. This is a nice way to end our trip. A not nice way is protesters in Bangkok. Just like last time, though, it is very localized. The military has stepped in quickly, and I think, should stop this from getting out of hand, like last time. For those of you at home, where we are staying and where this stuff is happening is a long ways from each other. The city itself is still functioning normally, except that one part. The airport is 2okm outside of town. No worries, things should be fine for our return on the 18th.

Can't wait to see you all. Be home soon. Very much looking forward to it.

-Luke

quick note

We have made it from Hanoi to Hai Phong, the town bordering Ha Long bay, where all the awesome pictures come from. We have avoided being ripped off at pretty much every corner here in Vietnam and are hoping for a bit of a more relaxing trip from here on out. Tomorrow we try to catch a boat from here to an island, Cat Ba, then take a sailing trip for a few days through the bays.

Unless you've been here, you've never experienced anything like Hanoi traffic. Trust me. Seriously, Thailand traffic is like playground antics when compared to this.

Will inform more later, must go to bed now.

-Luke

And, we're off

We have officially been in Chiang Mai for 6 months now, which concludes this part of our journey. Last night I had my last class, we went for our last dinner at a restaurant we call "Japan", and today we check out of our room.

The trip has been interesting in a lot of way: what we have seen, where we have gone, who we have met, and what we have learned. It's impossible to comprehend the magnitude of anything like this while still sitting in the same place, but over time, I think a clearer picture will be painted. I do know that I had great time, and wouldn't have done it differently if I had the choice.

We are now headed to Bangkok today, to fy to Hanoi tomorrow and vistin Vietnam for 2 weeks. We then head to Cambodia, then back home. Then into the lion's den of job hunting.

Thanks to everyone who read the blog while we've been gone. Its nice to know there are people back at home who are interested - we will see you all very soon.

Expect probably one more blog while in Vietnam.

Thanks again,
















luke

Ninja

As many of you know, we have a ninja. Not our personal ninja to do our bidding, like an awesome monkey, rather a security guard ninja who hangs out in front of our building every night to make sure people don't come in and steal our stuff. Now, you may ask, how do you know he's a ninja. Have you ever witnessed ninja moves or anything awesome? The answer is simply no. But we know he is. He exudes ninja.

We decided it would be in our best interest to befriend ninja, as we call him. Since he is there every day, if anyone messes with us ninja is a good ally to have on our side, plus he speaks Thai and Burmese and Hill Tribe language, but no English, so he's good for our Thai practice. Every day when leaving and coming home between 6pm and 6am, ninja is there, so we talk to him.

Now, I use the terminology of "talk" lightly. We speak a little Thai, and have incredible control and use of the 25 words we know. This is, however, as far as our vocabulary reaches, so our conversations require a lot of hand-gestures and acting. We do, however manage to communicate. Ninja, Katie and I have talked of home, cars, girlfriends, children, travel, jobs, and a myriad of other topics with our profuse gesturing and bad pronunciation.

We recently learned that ninja is going home for 4 months to be with his daughter and help with the rice farming. Tonight is, in fact, his last night as our ninja. We made a plan a while ago regarding a potential gift for our ninja, as he has been so friendly to us, and he likely rarely gets any appreciation for his job. We chose to buy him a trophy in appreciation. Luck would have it, that a trophy store is literally across the road from our building. With some help from my Thai student, I had them engrave the trophy in Thai, saying, "Thank you, security guard, for you to have being been thank you our Thai teacher." (more or less a direct translation). Here is a photo of the trophy. (we had a photo on the computer, which turned out AWESOME on the top)




















And, here is the photo of Katie and I giving it to him. Despite his rather placid expression, he did seem to enjoy it, and has been quire robust when we inevitably pass by him in the evening.

Our Last Month

So, here it is - our last month. March has brought with it stiflingly hot weather - mid nineties most days, and a permanent haze across the city and into the mountains due to the burning of the rice fields. Occasionally, like today, there is a clear morning, and once again we can see the temple on the hill from our room.

We have begun the last leg of our teaching. Strangely enough, this may be our busiest month of teaching yet, keeping us nice and busy for the final stretch. The last month of any time in a certain place that has a distinct end-date is always an uncomfortable purgatory between what was and what is to come. This happens with jobs, schools, and cities - we happen to be doing all three at once. With any luck our schedule will keep the antsy-ness to a minimum.

We are also on the hunt for jobs. We have focused our search on Boston, as it seems to be the best "city" (sorry Burlington) on the East Coast for our needs. Katie is looking for internships at museums and jobs related to art or event planning, and I am looking for anyone who will hire me. I'm hoping to be able to use my German or international experience, but beggars can't really be choosers in this economy. If anyone has any great connections or ideas for me, I'm open to all suggestions.

In the first 2 weeks of April, Katie, Natalie and I will be traveling to Vietnam, where we will hopefully meet up with 2 other friends of ours to do some exploring. We are planning to take a couple days on a sailboat to some white sand beaches amongst giant limestone outcroppings in the sea.



This is the type of place we have yet to experience in Thailand, not because it doesn't exist here, rather because we haven't had the time or the money to travel to those places. Vietnam should be an amazing trip. On the way back to Bangkok we are also stopping at Angkor Temple in Cambodia, a world heritage site of miles and miles of ruined ancient temples. It should be a very memorable experience.

interesting thailand news

This is the funniest article i've read in Thailand :)


Enraged Aussie pounds Bangkok police

BANGKOK: Life in Thailand can sometimes get a bit frustrating for expats when things don't quite work out as they would in their home countries. This, coupled with the booze-heavy lifestyle enjoyed by a fair percentage of Westerners living in the Kingdom, occasionally leads to “Angry Farang Syndrome”.

A prime example occurred one afternoon last month outside Thong Lor Police Station. Station Superintendent Col Suthin Sapphuang was sitting in his office around 3 pm, when he heard a commotion from outside the station. When he got downstairs, he found the noise emanated from a large middle-aged Westerner who was busy beating the inside of a police van with such fury, that none of the watching officers dared to go near.

Col Suthin ordered his deputy and three inspectors to go and try and calm the 50-year-old man, identified by name in the original report, but referred to here only as “the Aussie”.

After the officers’ efforts to calm the Aussie down failed, they decided that a dose of pepper spray might do the trick. After the Aussie was liberally doused with the noxious spray, police decided he was calm enough for them to dare open the door.

However, as soon as police had the Aussie out of the truck, he exploded again, freeing himself from the clutches of the officers and going on a rampage, chasing and punching as many policemen as he could.

The enraged Australian managed to injure a number of officers before he was finally overpowered, in the process of which he, disturbingly, lost his trousers. The photo of the incident in the Thai press shows the Aussie with his trousers round his ankles, his dignity somewhat spared by a small superimposed red dot.

The Aussie was bundled to the ground by the officers, and the group then rolled into the gutter. In acknowledgement to the Aussie’s determination, it took six officers to keep him subdued long enough to get the cuffs on.

The Aussie was initially arrested following a complaint by a taxi driver that the Australian had stolen his cab. The taxi driver, Phanomphon Pranison, 40, told police that earlier that day he had picked up the Aussie opposite Sukhumvit Soi 16. The Aussie didn’t say where he wanted to go, but when they got to opposite Soi 22, the Aussie asked to stop so he could go to 7-Eleven. A few moments later, the Aussie got back in the cab clutching two bottles of beer. In hot pursuit was a member of staff from the shop shouting that the Aussie had not paid for the beer. When Mr Phanomphon got out of the car, the Aussie climbed into the driver’s seat and took off in the taxi, Mr Phanomphon said.

Mr Phanomphon reported the crime and police soon caught up with the Aussie, putting him in the cells at Thong Lor Police station. The Aussie, however, did not take his confinement lightly. He caused such a commotion that police began to fear for the safety of other prisoners, or worryingly, that other prisoners would take it upon themselves stop to the Aussie’s antics. They decided to take him to the cells at nearby Phra Khanom Court, which is when he began attacking the police truck.

The Aussie was initially to be charged with theft and immigration offences. The report did not say if any charges would be added for his post-arrest behavior.

Muay Thai Boxing

Last night, Cameron, Ally's brother, and I went to see a Muay Thai boxing match. This is not something I would typically go to, but I decided it is a cultural event, albeit different from museums and temples, but culture nonetheless.

At 9 pm we went into a makeshift building, surrounded by makeshift bars, and sat at makeshift picnic tables. It looked as if someone had turned a rough boxing gym into a stadium of sorts. We sat down and waited for the first fight to begin. Little did we know, the first fight was to be a couple of children - 8-10 years old. They did a ceremonial dance/warm-up, touched all corners of the ring, paid their respects to Buddha, then bitterly fought. Seeing children fight was strange. At first, I thought it was a terrible institution and I didn't want to keep watching, but upon further thought, I decided, in a way, it is like any other sport that children do. It happens to be more violent, but more than hockey or football? Violence isn't an issue in this country, so it doesn't seem to cause further harm.

There were a total of eight fights. One man had his face kicked as he was falling down and had to be helped off the ring because he was so dazed. Another got kneed in the chest so much that he couldn't stand up for several minutes. One of the more interesting fights of the night was between an Austrian woman and a Canadian woman. These two had learned to Muay Thai, kickbox, however they seemed to bring their western styles with them, because they kept punching each other in the face over and over again. They hadn't been trained in blocking, must be. The taller Canadian ended up winning over the thicker and shorter Austrian, however they both looked like they could kill me.

The night ended with a really tall, skinny English guy fighting a Thai guy. They were certainly the fastest, and certainly the most skilled. In a way it was really interesting to watch, as you can see their reaction time and their adjustments towards one another far before they even touch. Thai boxing, in that way, is very much like dancing. One moves, and like two positive ends of a magnet, the other pushes away. Their legs are constantly moving in a fast-step dancing style and they bob their shoulders like they are running in place. When all was said and done, the Thai fighter won, but the fight was fair and balanced (no fox pun intended).

Overall, it is something I don't need to do every weekend, but seeing it once, and live is something that was definitely worth doing. Cam and I are probably the least likely people to be seen sitting in a boxing arena, but hey, when in Rome.

Pictures to come when Cam sends them to me.

I've been slacking off lately - yes. I haven't been writing many blogs, largely due to the fact that I haven't been doing a lot of new things. Not that this is a bad thing, just have been doing daily stuff that's not too exciting for all of you at home.

We did get a new motorbike, however, so here's a picture of that...







Its called the pink panther. Luckily in Thailand there aren't really gender specific colors, so the pink is what it is.




Otherwise, Bill and Charlotte will be arriving here in a few days, which is very exciting. We're going to hang out in Bangkok for a few days, head down to the beach for a few days, then come back home to good ole Chiang Mai.



Here are some interesting pictures we've taken with no particular theme or order.


















I wish I knew what a stuuing rooser was.

















this is our ninja. he rocks.
















remember, safety first, kids.

more Engrish

(from a small ruler with bunnies and a small plastic maze w/ball inside)


Matters Needing Attention:

-This product is easy to burning,aloof the high temperature please,because maybe beget any danger and the product's definition distort.

-The product only befit measure and study, unable to do other definition's measure.

(my personal favorite)
-Needed the paterfamilias accompany,if the children haven't 3 years.



this no explanation becoming,needing.





Latin Club

A dancing club where adds you a hotness
in the fashionable and elegant atmosphere
with professional dancers who will make you
fascinate in a hot step

See you on this December
at Panna Place, second floor



(I just cant wait to adds me a hotness so I can fascinate in a hot step!!)

happy new year!

Happy New Year everyone. Thailand's new year is much like that of everywhere else. A lot of people gather in the center of town, fireworks are set off, people cheer, etc. It was an interesting place to be, although for a period of time, we were each one element of the heaving crowd, unable to control our movements ourselves, much like being caught in the undertow. We started the night with mulled wine and dinner at the house we've been house-sitting at, then went to the Tha Pae gate area. We got separated from most of the people we were with, but ended up staying with Danny, a friend from Texas who had never let off a Chiang Mai lantern (from the last festival). We did that with him, had some food from a vendor, and went home for 2 am.

Sadly, in Bangkok, a fire broke out in a nightclub killing 59 people. It appears as if fireworks set it off. Thais have really bad habits with fireworks, namely complete carelessness and lack of foresight. People must be in the hospital all the time with missing fingers, eyes, and other parts. The sad thing is, it probably wouldn't be the person who set it off.

So- we are safe and sound up here in Chiang Mai and had a good New Year's celebration. I hope everyone has a safe holiday.

bad day

I had a bad day. A really bad day.

It all started out like a normal day, nothing too exciting. Katie and I have been staying with a friend who is housesitting, so we've been enjoying the comforts of more than one room. That friend, Lucy, needed to work on the same side of town as I did, so I drove her to work. We were running a bit late, and I was rushing, so I screwed up my routine getting of my motorbike and forgot the key in the ignition. Now, I've done this before- not cool. This time, however, it was different. I walked out to my bike when I was ready to leave, and it was gone. My helmet was sitting on the ground, alone. FREAK OUT Called work, whose bike it is, they called the police and did all of that stuff and didn't sound too freaked. So after the shock of getting a motorcycle stolen, I had class in the afternoon. Naturally, I had to ride my bike back "home" because I didn't have a motorbike. On the way home, of course, upon accelerating from a traffic light, the crank on my bike broke, and I could not pedal. I got off and walked it the rest of the way. Of course.

So, something bad was supposed to happen to me on either a motorbike or a bicycle, and this was just karma's or whatever's confusing way of keeping me safe. Right?

Finished Thai level one

Katie and I both finished our Thai course today. The course ended with a grueling, for some, test. We preempted the test by completely forgetting about class on Friday, not even realizing we had missed it until well into the afternoon. With fear in our soles (our feet were shaking) we set off for the monster exam. Of a two-hour class period, it took us each about 35 minutes to finish the test. It was immediately corrected and we both walked away with nothing less than A pluses. I guess it wasn't so hard after all.

We are now eligible to take level 2, however I don't think we will. The class is too slow and we think we could get more out of alternative means.

But we do speak some Thai now. Phurkraw phuut paasa Thai daai khrap!

firs commercial success

Today I decided to make a few cold calls. I brought our business cards and our "business handout" with me, dressed like I was trying to sell something and walked into the tourist area. My plan of attack was to talk to tour guide companies, because there is so much competition, and because they have so much direct contact with English speaking people. I walked to the first, handed them my stuff, and said a few words. After an awkward moment, the man told me he needed to show it to his boss, and that was the end of it. The second place I went to, I was told by a couple of teenagers, one who was incessantly dabbing her face with a napkin, that they weren't interested, after they had a private (read: in Thai) laugh at me. I know this because they were speaking Thai and laughing at me. The third place was a minor success. I was able to convince a woman that when she created her website in the near future, it would need to be fluent English, which she agreed to. The last place, however, was the best. A young man just happened to be designing a brochure, upon which he had placed several pictures, but no text. He happened to need to paraphrase a couple of paragraphs he found on the internet and needed to find good English wording for it. I told him I could help him on the spot, for 100B ($3). I figured it was a safe number, and anything is positive at this point. When we were finished, I had typed the stuff up, worked on his wording and design, and of course, paraphrased the paragraphs. When I left, he paid me double.

If things keep going this way, this might actually work. We have officially opened for business.

Christmas and business

So, we decided it was time to decorate our room for Christmas. Because Thailand is Buddhist, there isn't exactly a plethora of various decorations, and since we also do not have a plethora of funding, we decided to take matters into our own hands. This is some of what we came up with.




I know, its not Martha Stewart, but at least we're not in jail, right?

We also have started a little proofreading business, aimed at trying to fix every single sign or brochure written in English in Thailand. Obviously, they are using a Thai 4th grader to do their proofreading, so we saw a gap in the market. Whether they care or not is yet to be seen, but we did get some professional looking business cards printed up so we'd be taken seriously. We also hired a model to pose with them. Oh wait, that's just Katie :)

bangkok and chris

So: news

Chris took off last night ending a two and a half month trip. At the moment I think he is roughly in Japan and will be home in the cold within a day. Happy travels and say hi to everyone at home for us, Chris.

Thailand-
The occupation of the airport has ended. The 'supreme court' of Thailand ruled the last election a fraud, thereby nullifying the current political parties. Thy hen set a temporary prime minister until new elections can be held, wherein (this is my opinion) the same people will be voted in again, because they do, in fact, have a majority. After that, who knows. Maybe the yellow shirts will take over the buildings again as it seems to have worked this time.

Overall, only a handful of people were injured or killed in an entire takeover of the government, which only included people directly involved. Not so bad in my book.

The airport should be opened by Friday, they say.

daily life: transportation, Thai style

There are many differences between the way we get around and the way Thais do. We've adapted to some of that, since we have a motorbike, of course. Other things we have yet to try. Here are some of the possibilities.

a water truck- nothing too special or different here


A turbocharged pugeot 205


taxis - 3 lazy tuk tuks who stay near out house and yell at passers-by a lot, but never seem to drive anywhere.


this is a toyota Mrs. - I wonder where Mr. Toyota is? I also see a lot of Toyoto Coronas- I thought drinking and driving was illegal!


This is the back of another kind of taxi. These things come color coded, depending on where you're going. The red ones are local taxis that fit about 8 people inside and however many want to hang off the back. These guys like to beep at you, too.


80's six series. Need I say more?


In Thailand, it's always safety first. Jake would appreciate this on the jobsite. On the streets, there are of course, an abundance of helmets, as shown by this gentleman.


occasionally there is the real bike.




this is a typical parking lot. Obviously people are into their SUV's here.




this is a limousine. As you can see, this is really the lap of luxury when it comes to motorbikes- only for those big spenders.



a Thai family sedan- again exercising their strict safety rules




an evo III. This place is crawling with evos. If only my check bag could be bigger.




might get pulled over at home for this one. trash? delivery? who knows.



look carefully and you'll see the small child wearing a hat, sitting on the front of that bike. Remember, hat, not helmet. Safety safety safety



and speaking of safety. Don't be near this guy when he decides to crash, because he's got more or less a bomb strapped to the back of his bike.




alfa giulietta that lives close to my house. mmmmmmm alfa




this is another sedan for 3 adults.



As you can see, Thais are really into safety, and really into various types of cars. These cars just happen to have 2 wheels and carry everything.

Thailand's current events

This is an update to all of you at home who are unsure of the political situation in Thailand, but have heard mixed rumors about what is happening.

A brief history-
Thailands Prime Minister used to be a man named Thaksin (say- Toxin) Chinawatra (say - Shin-a-wot). In2006 in a military coup, he was ousted from the government. He was charged with corruption as he lived in exile in the UK. He has now been sentenced to 2 years in prison when he comes home. He has a lot of supporters, mostly low-income villagers, to whom he has given a lot of money. In turn for this money, he has created loyalty amongst his supporters (red shirts) and unrest amongst those who oppose him because of his corruption and dictatorial tendencies.

Recently, a group of anti-government protesters (yellow shirts) has gathered in Bangkok and staged various rallies, protests and most importantly, an occupation of the government buildings because Thaksin's brother-in-law was chosen as PM. They say this new man, Somchai Wongsawat, is simply a puppet for Thaksin while he is away.

These protests have escalated to a new level as of this last weekend, where they have taken the Bangkok international airport, stopping functions at Thailand's only major airport. People who were somewhat supportive of the anti-government movement are starting to get annoyed. The military has refused, so far, to step in and unseat the government, and the police are trying their best not to use violent means to subdue the protesters. The protesters themselves, however, have become somewhat violent, although on the violence scale, these are all relatively low-key. A few people have been killed in the incidents, but only amongst red/yellow clashes (anti vs pro government).


This is where we come in. We are in the far north of Thailand, whereas Bangkok is in the South. These protests are all happening in Bangkok, including disruptions and any violence that might happen excepting one isolated incident here in Chiang Mai. People here tend to support the government, as we have seen on one particular corner with lots of people wearing red shirts. Beyond that, it is hard to find strong opinions here. Seeing as how the people who are strongly in support of one side or the other only have problems with the other side, a foreigner, with a little common sense, can easily avoid any trouble and never be considered a target.




Just be aware of what color you are wearing.

Engrish and daily life v1.0

To give everyone an idea of what regular, daily stuff is here in Thailand, I am going to start taking pictures of normal, everyday stuff, which might be a little different than at home. I'm going to try to do some themes, for example transportation, shopping, eating, etc.

Today will be my first installment. This has to do with the daily assault on the English language. One of the more ubiquitous offenders would be the clothing industry. Anything with English on it seems to sell, so they don't spend a lot of time editing for grammar, spelling, syntax, or meaning...


I wonder how many bits her heart is in?



www......what???



I scream for I-cream.




Cheeze walking closet street fashion: I don't know what any of those are. really. any of them.




Self-evident by definition. Trust me, we know!



Hey, wanna go MAKE OUT....in my ........umm, well, my chevrolet camaro???? I think the porsche would work better ;)

winter

To all of you who think this is a tropical paradise, warm all year round, where nobody every gets cold or dies of hypothermia, this is for you. If you think you are special because you think Vermont is getting cold...think again.

It gets cold here. Really cold. I know this because the people here all dress in winter jackets and hats. Children are bundled up in face masks to get the frigid air from infiltrating their precious little faces.

I even have proof.... This is the weather for today, tonight and tomorrow.




As you can see, this is no tropical paradise where everybody runs around with short sleeves soaking up the sun. It gets down to 60 degrees at night! We almost have to close the window. Scarves abound in the streets. It may have been a mirage, but I thought I almost saw someone's breath.

Chiang Rai and Laos

Careful, this is going to be a long one!

We began our journey with a brief trip to Chiang Rai. My business there was to be a part of a 2 day information campaign, where we informed and answered questions about the EducationUSA program. The first day included an afternoon "open house" where we gave away a lot of info and talked to 20 of so people about the program and various aspects. For the majority of the afternoon we were accompanied by the American Foreign Service officer, who I had happened to have lunch with a few days earlier regarding his job, and the Consular General for Chiang Mai. We were invited to the official opening of a very swanky hotel in Chiang Rai, where the American Consulate hosted all the American citizens in the area for consular services and free wine and food. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves on the massive campus of the hotel, which included a monster fire-pit right next to the river. The next day I joined my colleagues at a middle/high school where we gave a lecture/informational workshop to about 60 kids. My part was to give a 1 hour presentation on the TOEFL test they will have to take. Although it was a little uncomfortable, all in all it went fine.

clock tower in Chiang Rai at night.
bus to Chiang Khong

After eating a quick lunch at a pro Thaksin (ask me some other time) noodle joint, Katie, Chris and I headed off to the bus station. Our destination would be Chiang Khong, a border town next to Laos on the Mekong river. We found a rudimentary hostel for under $10 for three of us. The process to cross the border and get a boat to Luang Prabang, our destination, is a three step one. First, you have to go through Thai customs, which is infinitely easier if you grease the border agent's palm a little. Once you've done that and have crossed the river on a small ferry (read: tiny narrow boat) and you have met your respective British friend Gareth, and have lost your umbrella, you need to go through customs and immigration in Laos, where you get oodles of stamps in your passport. You then get a ride (read: walk with your new British friend) to the boat dock (see picture) where you pay the man, show your passport 38 more times, spend too much money on basic necessities, like food and water for the 7 hour boat ride, get on the boat, fight for a good seat (which nobody did much to their chagrin) and wait. You wait more. Then some more. The boat, aptly named a slow-boat, then shoves off with cargo, foreigners, domestic-ers, etc.

slow boats

For seven hours, you float down the Mekong surrounded by vast jungles stretching unimaginable distances, occasionally drifting past a village of 6 buildings, locals doing various life-activities, whatever they may be at the moment.



Eventually, after making Canadian friends, you finally reach a midpoint town in your journey: Pak Beng. Pak Beng is a one-night town. Upon stretching your cramped knees on the shore, you are barraged by a million people trying to get you to stay at this or that guesthouse. It is all rather random, and the only way I have successfully staved off these people is by speaking to them in exclusively German. When they cannot communicate, it is easier for them to find a new target. I knew that degree would come in handy!
Once you have successfully found a place to stay with your British and Canadian friends, you look for dinner, but not after first grabbing a few Finnish friends to come along with-- hey, the more the merrier, right?
The next morning you wake up at 7 so as to get a good seat on the boat, again (behind the driver on the flat section--more room to stretch the legs) and brace yourself for another 8 hours. This time you play cards, and do pretty much nothing. Your day is briefly paused by a surprising spectacle, namely the driver of the boat pulling over to a sandbar, jumping out, running down the beach and taking his clothes off. On first impressions, you may think he had an "emergency", and needed to clean himself, however you are wrong. You realize this when he dives under the boat headfirst with a meat cleaver. Most of the boat is watching this crazed lunatic in his underpants attacking the bottom of the boat from the sandbar. He emerges from the water victorious, his prize in hand, his enemy defeated: a piece of bamboo that had wrapped itself around the propeller.


rest stop for naked boat attack

At another brief stop on the river you pick up more domestic-ers and their cargo: baskets full of chickens, ducks, and turkeys. These are haphazardly tossed on the roof of the boat (see picture) to be haphazardly tossed back to land later.

chickens in baskets

You then arrive in Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is a tourist town, so there are a myriad of guesthouses of varying quality and price, not always commiserate to each other. You walk down the street, a veritable possy of 2 Fins, 1 Brit, 3 Americans, and 2 Canadians all in search of different types of rooms, yet looking in the same places. After a general realization that this wont work, you tell everyone where you'll be tomorrow at noon, and you go along your way. Eventually, after walking through most of the city, you find a friendly couple from Mississippi, who give you a tip on where to stay. You find the place, shower, then head out for the best dinner in South East Asia.

The idea is rather simple: give the customer food, let him/her cook it his/herself. The way this happens, is-- now stay with me here-- a table with 9 tiles on the top (3x3) has the middle tile removed, revealing a hole in the middle. In that hole is placed a clay bucket filled with coals. Upon this bucket is placed a metal grill of sorts. The middle area is domed with small holes cut into it, the outside area turns back upwards, like the brim of an old fashioned hat, creating a trough at the bottom of the dome. In this trough is placed broth, noodles and vegetables, while the top is adorned with various meats including water buffalo. You are now in charge of refilling the broth when it gets low, cooking more vegetables, eggs, and the meat. Do-it-yourself Hibachi!


The next day, after you get slightly lost due to incomprehensible maps and a change of venue, as the last guesthouse you stayed in couldn't do 3 nights, you meet your aforementioned motley crew and find a place for lunch. You spend the day slowly losing various bits of the group to other activities, find yourself on the top of a mountain (hill) in the center of town with a temple at the top offering magnificent views and crazy rocks and caves.

mountain (hill)

You meander through the quaint streets until you run out of streets, which happens quite quickly. The next day you wait all morning in the rain before choosing not to go on a boat tour of the caves north of the town. Instead you walk to a distant part of town to a local weaving center, which does everything from growing the plants, to making the dyes, to growing the silk worms, to spinning the silk, to dying the silk, to weaving the silk. This place is also the home of the best coffee is Laos, and quite possibly SE Asia. You decide to buy something substantially more expensive than usual due to the unique and self-sustainable nature of the business, which is, consequently, extremely well run. You then spend the rest of the day in cafes and restaurants, generally being lazy and enjoying the fact that you are supporting locals.
After you leave town you realize that this is a communist country, and the attitude of the people, at least in comparison to Thailand, is quite different. People do not have the drive or the push about them to really haggle with you, to really ask for your business--although it can be a nice break from the more intense Thailand-- it is somewhat sad. It seems people have conceded.
A short flight will bring you back to a country you are now calling home, which a month ago seemed as foreign as chicken foot soup.




Airline magazine quote (no, seriously- quote) "Whatever, Vientiane was burnt down and abandoned for more than 100 years. Old saying; Vientiane was abandoned and remained as a small hill of the wild dog's excrements. It is said the present of Vientiane is only the half of its former time."

What that means I have no idea, but I'm curious about this dog's excrement thing ????

this week's itinerary

Today (Wed) - head to Chiang Rai, set up booth downtown to talk to students

Thurs - give presentation to entire school regarding TOEFL test. Then head by bus to Chiang Khong

Fri - Take Boat from Chiang Khong partly down the Mekong river

Sat - Take boat rest of the way to Luang Prabang in Laos

Sun/Mon - tour the city

Tues - Fly back to Chiang Mai

Wed - Election party


Updates when we return.

:)

fantastic saturday

Today we decided to get out of bed early and head up north of town on our pair of motorbikes. At 7:00 sharp, my obnoxious alarm rattled me out of bed. Much like a snow day, I looked out the window in hopes of rain. What I saw pleased me: drizzles. I texted (yes, I know, but its cheaper) Chris and told him I was going back to sleep. At 8:00 I woke up again to a beautiful day; thus began our adventure.

We jumped on our peds (moped) and headed up north with vague directions on getting to one of several objectives: waterfall, snake farm, orchid farm, butterfly farm. All of these things appeared to be in more or less the same location.

We managed to get off track due to ambiguities in our map, but, as often tangents do, we found something better than what we were looking for. We discovered the biggest waterfall we've seen in Thailand. The coolest part, I thought, was some sort of hidden rock shelf in the middle of the waterfall that was shooting water straight up in the air like a fountain. Now, most waterfalls have something like this, but rarely do you see a 6 foot plume of water going upwards out of the middle of a waterfall.

(this is a picture of me pointing that out to Katie, although you can't see it well in the picture)

We drove the scenic, twisty route back to the main road with Katie on the back, white knuckled, and me on the front, grinning like an idiot :)

The next stop in our journey lead us to the orchid farm. This is a showcase for, and nursery of-- you guessed it-- orchids. There were many different types all displaying different colors, patterns, shapes, and sizes. Some of the flowers were quite incredible, some were nothing to write home (on a blog) about. We did eat lunch there and I ninja'd a mosquito out of the sky and threw it into a death spider's web, which made me a temporary hero and offered a few minutes of amusement. I hate those little *&%$#s.



Our next venture took us for a hike in through the jungle and to 5 of 10 waterfalls in a row. Some waterfalls, although they name them such, are not really waterfalls, rather cascades. This was the case with the first 3 waterfalls. Numbers 4 and 5 (yes, they were labeled) were more impressive, although not impressive as our earlier waterfall. The walk through the jungle on a boardwalk was fantastic, and we did run into the largest death spider I have ever seen. This thing was as big as my hand, and it was mere inches from the path. Chris got some good pictures, so you should check those out (email me if you want t0 be added to the picture email list).



The drive home was uneventful, which, when riding a motorbike in a fatalistic country, is a good thing.

Tomorrow its back to work.