tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37719412011-05-03T01:54:57.103-07:00Katy's Asia Adventures (plus Mexico!)A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east. <br>
<br> p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.comKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.comBlogger2521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1148274058236656942006-05-21T21:13:00.000-07:002006-05-22T16:53:12.290-07:00Wrap-upTime For a Wrap-up!I'll concede that it's actually two months past time for a wrap-up. Primarily this delay is due to my having no idea how to wrap up; secondarily this delay is due to an appalling level of procrastination despite constant (and yet justifiable) harassment from my father. But hey, here I am, better late than never.First of all, if you're checking in for the first time, you may Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141328318174197312006-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:002006-03-02T11:38:38.233-08:00Day 9 - Extra PhotosSince I haven't decided what to write to wrap up this little vacation, here are a few extra photo for your viewing pleasure today!Mom is fortunate to have so much packing assistance.Sunday Brunch at the Camino Real in Puebla.Mini tortilla factory in Cholula. It's hard to see, but there's a Help Wanted sign behind her -- another job opportunity for me!View from town of the Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141252791053881522006-03-01T14:39:00.000-08:002006-03-01T17:04:48.590-08:00Day 8 - Part 3 - Tlaxcala 2/18/06We took another shot at Tlaxcala city in the afternoon, hitting the overwhelming local Saturday market and doing some final shopping in the craft market just off the zocalo. The difference in atmosphere was interesting. The vast local market encompassed a huge high-ceilinged permanent structure and all of the surrounding streets for blocks around. According to Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141225466112592602006-03-01T07:03:00.000-08:002006-03-01T11:38:16.360-08:00Day 8 - Part 2 - Mexican Home Cooking School2/18/06Our final day in the kitchen! I've learned many things from Mom about what pans and appliances and such I have in my kitchen. Frankly, beyond the toaster, saucepan and electric frypan I've never delved too far into the cabinets. You never know what might be lurking in there. Dangerous, raw ingredients, maybe, or unidentifiable cooking apparati. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141225176295494552006-03-01T06:59:00.000-08:002006-03-01T06:59:36.306-08:00Day 8 - Part 1 - SUNRISE!!!!!Saturday morning I did something highly out of character. I woke up early and rather than roll over and dream of chiles, I got up to see the sun rise over La Malinche. Yes, the sunrise. The rise of the sun! The beginning of the day! A daily miracle previously unknown to me!I went outside hoping it would rise already and be done with it so I could get back under theKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141158774811514802006-02-28T11:27:00.000-08:002006-02-28T12:33:22.770-08:00Day 7 - Part 3 - Moonlight SerenadeOur evening featured live entertainment, a nice departure from our sedate style in which I had to harass people (especially D, a major sleeper) to stay up past ten. Gabriel, a fabulous singer, whistler, and all-around Mexican Cheeseball orignally from Veracruz, put on an excellent show serenading Mom on Dad's behalf with super-romantic Mexican ballads, Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141152881358284682006-02-28T10:54:00.000-08:002006-02-28T14:24:43.616-08:00Day 7 - Part 2 - La Malinche Hike2/17/06Cooking and eating completed, D, A and I decided we needed some major exercise, and headed to La Malinche, one of the three nearby volcanoes, with Yair the formerly quiet cab driver. The hike was not exactly what we expected. For one thing, the guidebook, under the "Ecotourism" section, detailed the spectacular ravines, unforgettable panoramic landscapes, Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141140765459433822006-02-28T07:32:00.000-08:002006-02-28T07:32:56.890-08:00Day 7 - Part 1 - Mexican Home Cooking School2/17/06Without further ado, here's a summary of cooking class:Sopa de Tortillas (tortilla soup). This is a bit of a Mexican official dish. For the most part it's a tomato soup with garlic, onions, and serrano chiles, and its final presentation is supposed to evoke the Mexician flag -- red in the soup, white sour cream and cotija cheese sprinkled on top,Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141079169102409432006-02-27T14:25:00.000-08:002006-02-28T19:38:42.503-08:00Day 6 - Part 3 - Pulque-making Hacienda & Tlaxco2/16/07The purpose of our second Hacienda of the day, located near Tlaxco in the far northern part of Tlaxcala state, was the production of pulque, the revolting fermented cactus juice, in the traditional way. The hacienda structure was a far cry from the traditional Mexican/Spanish elegance of La Laguna. This was more of a mini-brewery in a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141067934283039892006-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:002006-02-27T11:20:30.376-08:00Day 6 - Part 2 - Hacienda La Laguna2/16/06I'm getting a reputation as quite a talker in my family. Actually more of an interrogator, to be honest. There is a confluence of issues here -- I am intensely curious about people's lives, culture, government, hometown, pets, whatever, so I will take almost any opportunity to grill a willing victim, be it cab driver or passerby. At the same time, I have Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141052338794170842006-02-27T06:58:00.000-08:002006-02-27T06:58:58.800-08:00Day 6 - Part 1 - Mexican Home Cooking School2/16/06Another morning cooking class! I will note that at this point we had spent nine full hours cooking, probably as much time as I usually spend in any given year, as long as I'm not required to count the 1 1/2 minutes per morning of Cheerio prep. And as for all the chopping and peeling and whatnot, well, I don't know when such dramatic actions have Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1141002780710681152006-02-26T16:43:00.000-08:002006-02-26T20:02:13.693-08:00Photo Essay - D the FirestarterEarly on, D was designated our chief firemaker. This was due to her self-reported 11 years of training. It can get very cold at night in Tlaxcala -- it was February in the mountains at 7500 feet above sea level, after all -- so her services were very much in demand. Unfortunately it appears that her training was not as hands-on as we might have wished. It may, Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140991142269349442006-02-26T13:55:00.000-08:002006-02-26T13:59:02.303-08:00Day 5 - Part 2 - Cacaxtla & Xochitecatl Ruins2/15/06One of the reasons I was very enthused about traveling to this off-the-track corner of Mexico was that Dad assured me that in addition to learning to cook ,there were very interesting pre-Hispanic ruins in the area. Well, that was one reason -- actually any travel plan is like crack to me, I just can't get enough, but the ruins were a very nice Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140973641134810002006-02-26T09:06:00.000-08:002006-02-26T16:39:10.150-08:00Day 5 - Part 1 - Mexican Home Cooking School2/15/06 Seven things I learned in cooking class:1. I don't like to stand for 3 hours straight. Corollary: I'm pathetic.2. Smashing garlic with the giant scary knife is cool. Though I'd seen this done on America's Test Kitchen on PBS, the greatest cooking show ever, I had never done it myself. Do they keep fresh garlic in the banana section of the Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140886202098847562006-02-25T08:48:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:36:27.046-08:00Day 4 - Part 2 - Tlaxcala City2/14/06All our afternoons were free at the MHCS, so we elected on our first day to get to know Tlaxcala City, a delightful little colonial-style town with a very prosperous look and many restored buildings on the Zocalo. Jon gave us a quick history lesson and tour of the quare, including this (left) lovely 16th century stone building that now serves as a hotel. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140881140584600402006-02-25T07:25:00.000-08:002006-02-26T16:38:19.890-08:00Day 4 - Part 1 - Mexican Home Cooking School2/14/06First day of school! The schedule is set up so that we have breakfast at 9 am, a delightfully decadent time for breakfast. We all caught up on our sleep at the MHCS, not only because we were not overscheduled, but because it was winter in the mountains and the room was so cold in the morning that it was preferable to stay under the 16 blankets Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140821065664040282006-02-24T13:13:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:36:02.610-08:00Day 3 - Part 4 - Puebla to Mexican Home Cooking School, TlaxcalaPart 4, for crying out loud! Dang, this was a long day. My typing muscles are exhausted.At 5 pm we were picked up by Ruben, the friendly van driver who was to take us to the Mexican Home Cooking School (MHCS) just outside Tlaxcala, which I will henceforth refer to as Tlaxcala City to differentiate it from Tlaxcala state, of which Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140814962178863832006-02-24T11:38:00.000-08:002006-02-28T19:02:23.343-08:00Day 3 - Part 3 - Cholula PhotosThis won't be much of a post - just more photos, really. In another lucky accident, we found the local market while we were wandering aimlessly around Cholula. Markets are among my favorite places anywhere I end up -- I love the colorful displays, the revolting meat sections, the variety of people you see, the sight of people going about their daily lives. Our Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140804426812550402006-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:33:11.776-08:00Day 3 - Part 2 - Cholula2/13/06After yet another abortive attempt to get the cell phone situation taken care of (which at least didn't include walking 12 blocks and happening upon some mysterious prison or nuthouse or something like the evening before), we caught a taxi to the nearby small town of Cholula with a delightful toothless (two-toothed, actually) who charged us just $7 for the trip. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140795188324151652006-02-24T07:32:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:32:35.596-08:00 Day 3 - Part 1 - Puebla Breakfast Debacle2/13/06One of the mistakes tourists make is to have unreasonable expectations, i.e. the hotel rooms in Chicago have cable TV's and little shampoo bottles, so why doesn't this one? The trains in Massapequa leave on time, so why don't these? It's the ugly tourist syndrome, and it's hardly confined to Americans.The morning of Day 3 the four of us, who Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140706762621653262006-02-23T06:58:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:32:08.840-08:00Day 2 - PueblaDay 2 - Puebla 2/12/06I am honored to report that I was appointed "Captain" of our little Mexican adventure. I'm not sure if this was due to my travel experience, my semi-fluent Spanish, or some combination, but as I told Dad when he informed me of my new exalted position, he should have let the others know directly, as I am hardly the person to whom they would turn first. In fact, I am the sortKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140623262887133142006-02-22T07:47:00.000-08:002006-02-25T12:31:44.543-08:00Day 1 - Travel Day, Seattle to Puebla, MexicoDay 1 - Travel Day, Seattle to Puebla 2/11/06 Had a bit of a close call the morning of our departure. I’m not what one would call a “morning person” and generally try not to recognize that any hours before 7 a.m. even exist. However, when a flight leaves at 7:01, and when the flight is to a foreign destination for a most-expenses-paid family vacation, I’m willing to make a few Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140528779542588812006-02-21T05:26:00.000-08:002006-02-21T18:13:40.373-08:00Preface - Worlds Greatest DadPreface - World's Greatest DadTo preface this new section of blog entries, I would like to state for the record that I have the greatest father in the world. Sure, he's a bit of a loon sometimes, but all in all I have absolutely no complaints, and I'm not just saying that because he gave my mother, my sisters and I perhaps the most fabulously thoughtful Christmas gift of all time. Mind you, I'm Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1140492257803679542006-02-20T04:25:00.000-08:002006-02-21T06:43:49.946-08:00New trip, new posts! Not Asia this time -- starting tomorrow I'll chronicle our mother/daughter trip to Mexico. I could start today, but I'm too busy taking naps and doing laundry.And look, I've learned how to post pictures --First Day back from 5 days of cooking school and I've reverted to type. Actually, the instant soup was lunch, and I was too lazy to clean it up before my gourmet grilled Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1070001795900796462003-11-27T21:50:00.000-08:002003-11-27T22:48:40.060-08:00Well, I'm going home! I realize I've been seriously lacking in the posting department lately -- I admit I got a bit burned out on keeping up with the blog here. But I thought I should at least update you all that I'm heading back to the U.S.A., just in time for cold and flu season. Oh, and incidentally, Christmas.
I do have some mixed feelings about it, though I'm very excited and have been Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1067850629579043432003-11-03T00:45:00.000-08:002003-11-03T01:12:18.090-08:00One of the joys of buying knockoff Chinese DVD's is reading their covers. Strange as it may seem, their manufacturers just don't seem to have the same commitment to proofreading that the original distributors of these movies might have.
Bulletproof Monk, for example, a fairly recent Chow Yun Fat movie, has Chow on the front cover but the back, next to the screen shots of Bulletproof Monk, is Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1067583980231207662003-10-30T23:06:00.000-08:002003-10-30T23:13:10.420-08:00Life at Le Quy Don Jr. High -- Part 2
OK, to resume where I left off last week, when I get to LQD in the morning the kids are all in military formation wearing red white and blue uniforms and getting their extra homework checked. Once this is finished the evil part of the assembly begins, led by a bitter-faced man I privately refer to as Captain Bligh. He has "evil vice principal" written all Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1067521068988267342003-10-30T05:37:00.000-08:002003-10-30T05:49:19.513-08:00My God, am I a slacker, or what? Sure, I promise "tomorrow", then "Monday", and here it is Wednesday (for you) and I still haven't posted. Well I have to make a confession. While I have indeed been busy (too many classes!) my real problem this week is that I have a new fabulous laptop that I discovered will play DVD's.
To those of you living in a typical American multi-media household you Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1067169614292375582003-10-26T04:00:00.000-08:002003-10-26T04:00:18.373-08:00Did I say tune in tomorrow? I clearly meant to say Monday. I must have gotten those time zones mixed up or something. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1067054525574098782003-10-24T21:01:00.000-07:002003-10-24T21:02:07.873-07:00Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
In the USA many parents and educators (justifiably) worry and complain about large class sizes. Year after year bills are proposed to limit the number of children per teacher or staff member, and all decry inner-city schools with more than 35 students per class.
I'm here to testify that these people have a very good point, but they have absolutely no idea how bad it Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1064286764790051872003-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:002003-09-22T20:12:44.826-07:00OK, I have lost my mind and today accepted a job teaching 8 hours a week at a public middle school, with a minimum of 50 squirrelly students in each class. Reportedly, some of these classes have 70 students. I am clearly a glutton for punishment.
My first day is Thursday -- I'll let you know how things went, if in fact I survive.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063854744257699222003-09-17T20:09:00.000-07:002003-09-17T20:12:24.320-07:00You may think I've just been a slacker these last few days, but really I'm looking for a job. Oh, and having lunch and dinner and drinks and coffee (depending on the time of day) with friends I lost touch with during my 6 months of wandering. Anyway, busy busy busy. Plus what I wrote about Bagan, the great ruined temple city in Myanmar, which was my next stop after Inle Lake, was really weak Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063591396157920322003-09-14T19:02:00.000-07:002003-09-15T02:00:58.350-07:00Inle Lake, Myanmar continued
The Intha are Buddhist like most of the rest of Myanmar, so our next stop was at the Phaung Daw temple, the holiest religious site in the region. The temple houses five important statues, three Buddhas and two Buddha disciples, four of which are ferried around the lake on an ornate golden swanlike barge during the annual festival. Frankly, this place was weird. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063507031912315332003-09-13T19:27:00.000-07:002003-09-13T20:02:35.510-07:00Inle Lake, Myanmar
The bus from Kalaw to the Inle Lake area was uneventful, though it gave me a waking taste of the quality of the roads between Inle and Bagan. Once you get off the main "highway" from Yangon to Mandalay the quality dorps precipitously -- narrow and bumpy. Basically Myanmar roads (the ones that are paved at all) have been patched so many times that the original pavement is Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063441805210959162003-09-13T01:29:00.000-07:002003-09-13T19:25:29.210-07:00Kalaw, Myanmar continued
I'll cut this account of the trek short and just relate the two most interesting things that happened during the remainder.
First, I learned one of the dangers of being a solo woman traveller. Dinner in the village was a deux with Sein (my guide) by candlelight (no electricity) and I think the setting may have given him some unwarranted ideas. After dinner, lying Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063356850990536492003-09-12T01:53:00.000-07:002003-09-13T01:47:56.763-07:00Don Det, Laos to Hoi An, Vietnam
I swore to myself that I would never again write an essay about a horrible bus ride, but holy mother of mercy was my journey from Laos to Vietnam an unmitigated horror.
It didn't help that I'd already been travelling all day when I boarded Satan's Overnight Express to Hell. I had left my lovely Don Det bungalow at 6:30 that morning and after 11 1/2 hours of Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063267497973231802003-09-11T00:57:00.000-07:002003-09-11T01:35:52.180-07:00Kalaw, Myanmar
It poured down rain that night. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem. It is to be expected during the rainy season, after all. However, my position at that point was a bit more precarious than usual, sitting in a village house on a mountain 8 miles from the gloriously paved streets of Kalaw. In other words, 8 miles of slippery, muddy track before reaching a hot shower. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063190921340124952003-09-10T03:48:00.000-07:002003-09-11T01:43:00.383-07:00Myanmar
You may believe that I am an observant person since you're busy reading all my observations, but my family knows better. If I have my mind on other things (if polled the family would describe this situation as "frequently" or "almost always") or am engrossed in a good book (also a huge chunk of my time) I could sit through an earthquake and later wonder where all the bricks came from. Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063110646416020732003-09-09T05:30:00.000-07:002003-09-09T05:30:46.343-07:00I have much more to write about my trip to Myanmar, but I keep getting interrupted at this internet place by roving bands of Vietnamese boys pounding on very loud drums and dancing around in those Chinese New Year 2-man dragon costumes. This one is the 3rd one in an hour and there's another dragon waiting to come in. I can't take the drumming for one more minute, so I'll try to post tomorrow.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1063110442123980282003-09-09T05:27:00.000-07:002003-09-09T05:45:23.893-07:00Don Det, Laos
I have a brother-in-law who is insane enough to do competitive mountain biking, and my bike ride on Don Det and the adjacent island would have been right up his alley. I decided that since I had opted to spend another day on the island, I'd at least try to attempt something more strenuous than lifting a glass and rubbing on mosquito repellent.
I rented one of the typical Lao Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062989556567254442003-09-07T19:52:00.000-07:002003-09-09T05:19:39.670-07:00Don Det, Laos
I liked southern Laos far more than I expected. Over the months I've grown somewhat jaded on the whole massive Asian river thing. Two days on the Ayerayewaddy in Myanmar was stultifying, and I've done boat trips on the Mekong in three different countries. I've seen more than my share of tropical agricultural basins and slow-moving brown water.
The Mekong in southern Laos is a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062403666534486302003-09-01T01:07:00.000-07:002003-09-01T01:07:46.566-07:00Myanmar
Myanmar is the only place on earth (that I've visited -- I realize that's a huge proviso) in which Coke and Pepsi lack a stranglehold on the fizzy drink market. I imagine it's like Vietnam before 1995, when the mighty gods of international investment and marketing crushed the hundreds of little heathen local drink makers under their giant corporate sandals. Locals still talk about theKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062401652230764362003-09-01T00:34:00.000-07:002003-09-01T01:11:19.160-07:00Kalaw, Myanmar
I arrived in Kalaw at 3:15 a.m. Have you ever arrived in a small town at 3:15 in the morning? It's perhaps the worst possible hour, though it's a fine time of day to enjoy silence and look at stars. Frankly, I had lost hope that I would ever see stars in rainy season Myanmar.
Fortunately, Sein, a local unlicensed trekking guide, was just crayzy or ambitious enough to Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062301551396219652003-08-30T20:45:00.000-07:002003-08-30T21:10:52.056-07:00Kyiaktiyo, Myanmar
I had been travelling half the day before I hit a major snag. By bus and truck I had made it to Kinpon village at the base of the mountain with the Golden Rock temple, but it seems that during the rainy season there just aren't many trucks going the rest of the way. So I sat myself down on a concrete bench in what seemed to be the women and children section of the truck stopKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062299334805110452003-08-30T20:08:00.000-07:002003-08-30T20:46:47.390-07:00My favorite headline from Thursday's Bangkok Post:
ACCENT NOW ON NIPPLES AND GENITALS.
And my favorite quote from the article, from the Thai Interior deputy permanent secretary on massage parlors:
"It turns out that some of them provide commercial sex to customers." Good to see that Thai authorities are right on top of things in Bangkok.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062218426691561912003-08-29T21:40:00.000-07:002003-08-30T21:12:32.210-07:00Bago, Myanmar
My arrival in Bago, a town a couple hours northeast of Yangon, was greeted by a flock of hovering, chattering trishaw drivers. I went with Khin, the one with the best English, who said the magic words: 3-dollar hotel room. It was quite a blessing that I happened upon Khin (or vice versa, to be more precise). After checking into the hotel (about what you'd expect for $3) I Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062068034151508762003-08-28T03:53:00.001-07:002003-08-29T00:13:37.093-07:00Yangon, Myanmar
As is perhaps fitting in a country as religious as Myanmar, my first day was spent visiting buddhist temples.
Shwedagon Pagoda was a truly amazing place, clearly the sight to see in Yangon and indeed in the whole of Myanmar. Built on a hill in the middle of the city, it has four massive staircases (and two elevators for the feeble and the military) leading up to a platform Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1062067984345773302003-08-28T03:53:00.000-07:002003-08-28T03:53:04.353-07:00Yangon, Myanmar
Just south of the Sule Pagoda, a big gilded temple in the center of town littered with praying and lounging locals, there is a large British colonial-style building that I took to be City Hall. The street in front of it is blocked off, heavily guarded and punctuated with hundreds of cement-filled barrels and barbed wire blockades. Signs in Burmese and English identify it as a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1061956588979210482003-08-26T20:56:00.000-07:002003-08-28T03:40:31.366-07:00Yangon, Myanmar (aka Rangoon, Burma)
My first evening in Yangon I stupidly forgot my umbrella. Actually it was worse than that -- I remembered as I walked out of the hotel and felt the sprinkling, but as I was out of shape and staying in a windowless 4th floor walk-up, I immediately adopted a "hope for the best" attitude that went horribly, horribly wrong.
The good part of it was that I Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1061871582937062142003-08-25T21:19:00.000-07:002003-08-28T03:19:04.303-07:00I'm back, and better than ever! Ok, maybe not better, but just as good as last month, and I've learned that I can live without internet access.
I'd like to wholeheartedly recommend Myanmar as a vacation destination for the more adventurous among you. You may be shaking your heads in skepticism, but it's really a great place, about which I'll tell you more over the next couple weeks. You can'tKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1059203337419704582003-07-26T00:08:00.000-07:002003-07-26T00:08:57.420-07:00After two months in Thailand (where did the time go? I really only intended to spend a few weeks here) I'm heading to Rangoon, Burma (or Yangon, Myanmar as they now call it) tomorrow. Since I won't have any internet access there, I won't be back here until then end of August, so check in then! Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058775379376529972003-07-21T01:16:00.000-07:002003-07-21T02:23:18.363-07:00Tham Lot, Thailand
I will never be a birdwatcher.
Let me be clear that this implies no criticism of birdwatchers. I admire their zeal, patience and general eccentricity, character traits I admire no matter what the obsession. In my case, although I posess zeal and eccentricity in some abundance, it's patience that I utterly lack. This was made glaringly clear as I visited Tham Lot Cave, a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058678322722835632003-07-19T22:18:00.000-07:002003-07-19T22:18:42.676-07:00Mae Hong Son, Thailand
One thing I did not do while in Mae Hong Son was to visit the "Long-Neck Villages", villages of Karen Paduang refugees from burma who, as you may have seen in National Geographic or the like, wear gold rings (or actually one very long coil) around their necks. In actuality their necks do not lengthen, but since the rings depress their shoulders, collarbone and ribcage it Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058677145194078812003-07-19T21:59:00.000-07:002003-07-19T21:59:05.143-07:00Mae Hong Son, Thailand
Mae Hong Son, the capital of Thailand's northwesternmost (is that a word?) province of the same name, has more tourists than Mae Sariang, but it's still very quiet in the off-season. It's in a typically lovely mountain valley with a wat up on a hill to which you can climb. I did, sweating off two pounds in the process, and the views were spectacular.
In order to see a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058585705520018672003-07-18T20:35:00.000-07:002003-07-18T20:35:34.083-07:00Mae Sariang, Thailand
Apart from being robbed of virtually everything of value, I very much enjoyed Mae Sariang. I had two excellent companions for the first two days, the Canadian father/son duo, and was staying in a rather off-beat guesthouse with a real character of a proprietor. If I had to describe Aekkasan, I think maybe Chinese/Thai Hippie Used Car Salesman would come closest to Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058519250078692982003-07-18T02:07:00.000-07:002003-07-18T19:52:42.643-07:00Mae Sot to Mae Sariang, Thailand
With all this civilized aircon bus and night train travel in Thailand I had managed to forget the dubious joys of the sawngthaew, or covered pickup truck, as a mode of long distance transportation. The six hour mountainous journey from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang along the border with Burma brought those nightmares roaring back to life.
There were only a few of us Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058239813195491802003-07-14T20:30:00.000-07:002003-07-14T20:30:13.120-07:00Mae Sot, Thailand
In Mae Sot I decided that the best way to see the sights was by motorbike. I'd already determined on my first day that the town itself didn't have a whole lot to offer, and it has developed a rather violent reputation lately as a place where young racist Thai gangs beat and kill innocent Burmese walking along the street at night, not to mention the Burmese women who get sold Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1058089011262708112003-07-13T02:36:00.000-07:002003-07-14T19:56:13.600-07:00Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand
I was able to experience the remarkable ease of travelling in Thailand upon my departure from Kanchanaburi. My objective was to head north and avoid Bangkok, and I figured I'd just keep catching buses and get as far as I could toward Kamphaeng Phet before dark. And though I did have some mild trepidation about this plan, since I was heading through areas that aren't Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1057994923102741702003-07-12T00:28:00.000-07:002003-07-12T00:28:43.026-07:00Chiang Mai, Thailand
It's a bad, bad day here in Thailand. Yesterday in Mae Sariang, a (formerly) charming little town in northwestern Thailand, I discovered that I had been robbed. And not just a little bit -- I was well and truly taken.
So I have learned the following lessons:
1. Do not carry over $1200 in cash
2. Do not keep it all in the same place.
3. Money belts are meant to be wornKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1057634397372144602003-07-07T20:19:00.000-07:002003-07-12T00:13:15.576-07:00More Kanchanaburi, Thailand
One of the more interesting and disturbing things to do in Kanchanaburi is visit war museums. It's a small town, but there's no shortage of these -- I went to two of the four. Both featured the same basic informatin and identical photos, paintings, drawings and clippings, but the Kanchanaburi WWI Museum made and extra-special effort with life-sized diorama displays Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1057546348628852342003-07-06T19:52:00.000-07:002003-07-12T00:02:38.420-07:00Kanchanaburi, Thailand
The physical setting of Kanchanaburi is lovely and serene, with winding rivers, thriving rice, sugar cane, tapioca and banana farms, and several impressive national parks nearby featuring the usual combination of waterfalls, caves, and mountains. For the lucky visitor, there are also views of animals including macaques (saw them), porcupines, slow loris (whatever that is)Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1057411622277436712003-07-05T06:27:00.000-07:002003-07-05T06:28:05.593-07:00Bangkok, Thailand
In the end, I only spent one night in Bangkok this time. First of all, I was unable to get into the Atlanta (great weird place I'll write about later), then my second choice, the D & D (soulless hotel but with beautiful rooftop pool) was full up as well. So rather than brave Khao San Road to find a cheap place, I went to a clean little guesthouse (with aircon -- my concessionKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1056969111737220022003-06-30T03:31:00.000-07:002003-06-30T03:49:23.763-07:00Hat Yai, Thailand
Thailand has some inexplicable rules governing tourist visas. On the one hand they generously offer free 30-day visas upon entering the country, unlike the time-consuming and very expensive visa requirements in most of the rest of Asia. If you end up staying more than a month, however (as so many do) you have two choices -- either find a local immigration office and purchase Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1056711595621376932003-06-27T03:59:00.000-07:002003-06-27T03:59:55.396-07:00Well, I've finally caught up here, after 3 weeks of staying in beach towns with extortionately high internet rates ($4.50 an hour on Ko Lanta -- Holy Cow!). That wasn't the only reason, of course -- I've also been very lazy about the writing, and when you spend the whole day on the beach, there's not a whole lot to relate at the end.
In any case, in order to get to all the new ones, you may Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1056710875152567112003-06-27T03:47:00.000-07:002003-06-27T03:54:44.696-07:00Ko Lanta, continued
Most caves don't start to freak me out until I'm well into the dark dank dripping battiness of them. This one was a notable exception -- it was disturbing from the moment we swam across the threshhold, not due to the darkness but to the powerful echoing noises emanating from within. In addition to the usual crash of the waves, which threatened to scuttle us against the Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1056637145168092272003-06-26T07:19:00.000-07:002003-06-27T03:50:11.500-07:00Ko Lanta, Thailand
I'm hesitant to tell people about it, but I found quite a Thai island paradise on Ko Lanta Yai. It's a bit of a fluke that I found myself on Kantiang Beach in the far southern end of the island. I had no intention whatsoever of going to a beach so far away from civilization, as I am somewhat in fear of being the only guest on a beach now that we are in the low season. in theKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-1056637136660393722003-06-26T07:18:00.000-07:002003-06-27T02:19:30.323-07:00Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
The two Phi Phi islands, known to Thais as Ko Phi Phi Don and Ko Phi Phi Ley, are sad, disheartening places that serve as a showcase for how unchecked tourist development can destroy paradise. I've seen bad tourism management before in the third world, in fact it's the norm rather than the exception, but Ko Phi Phi would emerge victorious in any How to Wreck an Island in Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-959712112003-06-23T22:25:00.001-07:002003-06-26T23:17:14.213-07:00Phang Nga, Thailand
My thought processes surrounding the decision to go to Phang Nga were a bit flawed. I was in a bad mood, so I wanted someplace cheap from which I could take tours and keep myself busy while not darkly pouting in my room. After seeing Phang Nga, I think I must have wanted to punish myself for some unnamed transgression.
The tragedy of Phang Nga is that its setting is Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-959711882003-06-23T22:25:00.000-07:002003-06-26T22:33:43.906-07:00Krabi, Thailand
There's not really much to say about Krabi. It's a semi-beach town (no beach but all the beach amenities like boat trips, dive shops, restaurants, guesthouses and internet outlets). I rolled in around 7:30pm in a very depressed mood, having left Amanda and Geoff at the dock at Ko Samui. For the first time I actually felt homesick, tired of Thailand and beginning to vew the Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-958565042003-06-20T01:31:00.001-07:002003-06-26T22:15:54.360-07:00Ko Samui, Thailand
Ko Samui is the largest and most upscale o f the three islands of the Samui archipelago. Ko Pha Ngan, the next in line, is a mecca for budget travellers and is well known for its "Full Moon Party" bacchanal, in which grubby (I'm assuming here) backpackers get massively drunk and/or high and dance (and whatever else) on the beach all night long. Frankly sounds like a Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-958564962003-06-20T01:31:00.000-07:002003-06-26T07:20:15.796-07:00This would be where I should be writing about Bangkok, since we spent 3 days there, but I haven't actually written anything yet. Since I'll be back up there at the end of June, I'll write about it then.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-958222252003-06-19T02:48:00.001-07:002003-06-19T02:48:32.876-07:00Ayuthaya, Thailand
Ayuthaya is Thailand's other major ruin site, like Sukhothai a UNESCO World Heritage site, but in general is far more visited as it is within day-trip distance of Bangkok.
Our arrival in Ayuthaya was somewhat inauspicious in a completely different way than Sukhothai. Somehow we had been finagled in to buying a ticket on a private bus that claimed to be visiting Ayuthaya, butKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-958222222003-06-19T02:48:00.000-07:002003-06-26T06:02:20.626-07:00Sukhothai, Thailand
Our arrival in Sukhothai was a bit grim -- absolutely pouring down rain and we were instantly beset by guesthouse touts. Given the fairly remote location of the one Amanda had pre-chosen, I was on the verge of taking one of the touts up on his offer. However, we went with our original plan, and it was totally worth it, even more because of the rain.
The Number 4 GuesthouseKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-956501722003-06-13T20:14:00.000-07:002003-06-13T20:14:02.540-07:00It's my birthday today!
Yep, I'm 36, which seems quite old to me. Well, not old in the absolute sense, but it seems like I should be more settled and have more focus at the grand age of 36. I think we're all aware that I haven't much focus at this point, since I've been wandering aimlessly around Asia for several months and have never had any interest in careers that make any money. The Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-954224072003-06-07T19:59:00.000-07:002003-06-07T19:59:18.026-07:00Bangkok, Thailand
Well, in the last week we've been to Sukhothai and Ayuthaya, two cities with tons of ruins of past Thai civilizations, and we've been in Bangkok for a few days now. Unfortunately for you, I've had unprecedented access to good books, and haven't written a word in five days. Not only that, we are headed down to Ko Samui today for 5 days on the beach, which probably means even Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-953642942003-06-06T03:00:00.000-07:002003-06-06T03:15:26.000-07:00Chang Mai, Thailand
Here's the difference between what happens when I travel alone and what happens when I travel with Amanda: When by myself, I end up fending off relentless elderly Akha women selling me hideous crapola bracelets made of seeds and the remnants of Coke cans. When with Amanda, I end up at fine jewelry and precious gem outlets in which men and women in well-tailored subdued Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-953639302003-06-06T02:38:00.000-07:002003-06-06T02:38:22.256-07:00Chang Mai, Thailand
For Amanda and Geoff's second day in Chang Mai, we decided to eschew culture and dignity and embrace Thailand's cheesiest offering -- the Elephant Ride. But just an elephant ride wasn't nearly cheesy enough for us -- for about $16 we piled into a minivan and managed to complete four cheesy tourist activities in a single action-packed day.
First, the minivan. We were pickedKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-952316422003-06-03T04:08:00.000-07:002003-06-03T04:43:19.000-07:00Chang Mai, Thailand
Before Amanda and Geoff arrived I gave some thought to how to keep them entertained in Chang Mai, and I couldn't help but notice all the signs around the city advertising the weekly Muay Thai, or Thai boxing matches. In orther words, Friday Night Fights, Thai style. It seemed like it would be right up Geoff's alley, as an afficionado of Asian movies and a male besxides. AsKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-951400132003-05-31T20:34:00.000-07:002003-05-31T20:34:51.070-07:00Nope, I'm not actually writing anything of substance today, even though it's been a few days. Amanda and Geoff have arrived, bringing with them loads of glorious reading material. Consequently, what time I haven't spent touristing around with them has been spent reading back issues of such intellectual periodicals as Movieline and Vanity Fair.
But I swear I'll write something today, and maybe Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-950612332003-05-29T19:21:00.000-07:002003-05-29T19:21:49.133-07:00Luang Nam Tha, Laos, to Chang Mai, Thailand
It's not like I've accomplished a whole lot in the last few days, but it's been nice nonetheless. After determining that I could not catch a boat to the Thai border(way too expensive as we had to charter one -- no regular service) we managed to spend about 10 hours just sitting arund the bungalow-like restaurant at our guesthouse chatting with Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-949835762003-05-28T04:13:00.000-07:002003-05-28T04:35:27.000-07:00Hey, the New York Times wrote an article about spitting in China too! They must be reading my blog.
In other news, I've made it to Chang Mai, Thailand, and I finally wrote that bit about my trek in way northern Laos. Just scroll down to the May 25 entry if you're interested.
Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-949376652003-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:002003-05-27T06:00:09.966-07:00This is where I will be describing my trip from Luang Nam Tha to the Thai border and perhaps beyond. I've written it, but it's STILL too expensive to spend more than ten minutes here. Patience is a virtue, as my mom used to say.
Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-949376282003-05-27T05:58:00.000-07:002003-05-27T06:09:46.000-07:00Muang Sing, Laos
Conversation between me and a Japanese tourist in my guesthouse in Muang Sing:
Me: So, you're from Japan?
Japanese Tourist: Yes.
Me: Where are you from in Japan?
JT: Ah . . . . Luang Prabang.
Me: Hmm. So what city in Japan do you live in?
JT: Three months.
All I can say is that he must have an excellent Japanese/Lao phrasebok, because he sure isn't getting by on Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-948529962003-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:002003-05-28T04:11:18.000-07:00Muang Sing, Laos
Trekking!!
Pretty much the only thing to do around Muang Sing is "hill tribe trekking". The town is very small, features about four restaurants, three of which appear to be owned by the same family, seven guesthouses and a small market. Oh, and Akha women selling bracelets, can't forget those. They are absolutely inescapable, magically appearing at your side within moments Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-946659872003-05-20T20:10:00.000-07:002003-05-20T20:25:21.000-07:00Luang Prabang to Oudomxai to Luang Nam Tha, Laos
You can forget any negative comments I ever made about Lao buses -- I retract them all. Having to sit on the little stool in the middle of the aisle? Forgiven. Asian technopop videos playing at tinnitus-inducing volume for eight straight hours? Forgotten. Stopping for every chicken-toting person on the roadside regardless of how full the bus Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-945790992003-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:002003-05-19T07:01:41.000-07:00Luang Prabang, Laos
Luang Prabang is a fabulous place, an amazing combination of culture, scenery and traveler amenities (by which I mean food and shopping). It's a small town, less than 20,000 residents, situated in the mountainous confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers. Despite its small size, it features an amazing number of temples -- though centuries of war have ravaged the temples Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-945786892003-05-19T06:15:00.000-07:002003-05-19T06:15:04.600-07:00I am aware that this blog is usually All About Me, but today I would like to congratulate my sister on her graduation from law school. Congratulations, Amanda! By the way, I think I need some free legal advice . . .Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-944936382003-05-17T03:35:00.000-07:002003-05-17T04:15:28.000-07:00Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, Laos
My mother has pretty much the same haircut she had in her very cute 1960 high school graduation photo. She's never changed it to any noticeable degree in the interim -- once you've figured out what looks good and feels right, there's no real point to experimenting, I guess. Her hair is fairly short, dark brown and curly all over, and every few months she gets Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-944470882003-05-16T06:17:00.000-07:002003-05-17T04:23:35.000-07:00Vang Vieng, Laos
I am sunburned, scraped my legs up on the river bottom, stubbed my toe, have blisters on my hands, may have reinjured my ankle, and it would be a miracle if I escaped hosting some intestinal parasite. In my case, this all translates into a delightful day kayaking down the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng is a weird little town. It's not so much a Lao village as an Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-942565712003-05-13T03:23:00.000-07:002003-05-13T03:28:43.000-07:00As I mentioned earlier today, I was heading to the US Embassy in Vientiane this afternoon to get more passport pages. I did not have high hopes for this little venture, due to my previous experience with our illustrious foreign service.
When I had to replace a stolen passport in La Paz, Bolivia, the yahoos at the embassy attempted to maximize my frustration level. I would go through security, Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-942529102003-05-13T01:02:00.000-07:002003-05-13T02:59:51.000-07:00Vientiane, Laos
You're probably wondering why I haven't posted anything in several days. Well, it's because I'm bored, bored, bored, sitting in Vientiane waiting for my Myanmar visa. And although after the first night things got much better at the hotel, trying to think up ways to kill sixteen waking hours a day has been a decided challenge for me over the last week.
It's not that Vientiane Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-940971212003-05-10T01:00:00.000-07:002003-05-10T01:00:45.163-07:00Many thanks to Steve from Singapore, who gave me the links to add the comment feature and sitemeter, since I am a complete idiot when it comes to figuring out these technical internet things, no matter how easy. Now I just have to figure out how to get that "comments" thing indented -- it really offends my sense of balance and graphic design to have it over there to the left like that.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-940473742003-05-09T05:23:00.000-07:002003-05-09T05:59:55.000-07:00Vientiane, Laos
Upon arrival in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos, I had dinner with Stee, did some internet (including adding a sitemeter and comments feature -- so cool!). That was the good part of the evening. The trouble started when I went to bed.
If you can beleive it, I decided to save serious money on my lodging here in Vientiane and stay in a dormitory-style hotel. This not Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-939918632003-05-08T07:33:00.000-07:002003-05-08T21:09:13.000-07:00Bus from Savannakhet to Vientiane, Laos
The first hour of my 9 hour busride today was fabulously entertaining. Several guys from the Lao Ministry of Information boarded the bus in matching t-shirts and jeans to kick off a new program -- AIDS awareness on the move. Today was the first day of it, according to another M of I guy I talked to, and they were clearly very excited about the idea. TheKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-939903712003-05-08T07:05:00.000-07:002003-05-08T07:39:50.000-07:00Actual conversation between me and a Lao guy at my guesthouse in Savannakhet:
Guesthouse guy: You are on holiday?
Me: Well, you could say that. A very, very long one, though.
Guesthouse guy: So you work for the government, then?
Copyright 2003 Katy WarrenKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-939902242003-05-08T07:02:00.000-07:002003-05-08T21:20:17.000-07:00Savannakhet, Laos
From the perspective of three days, I can reliably inform you that Laos is basically a jungle. My first day here, we snaked through some lush green viney mountains, but as we headed south the terrain flattened out and it looks like one big forest.
The whole country is just incredibly peaceful and laid back, particularly in contrast to the frenetic noise and commerce of Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-937358342003-05-03T22:19:00.000-07:002003-05-03T22:19:01.206-07:00I'm heading to Laos on a night bus today. I have this suspicion, given that some of the places I'll be visiting only have electricity for a few hours a day, that internet access may be a bit more problematic than it has been in Vietnam, Cambodia or China. So if you don't hear from me for days, you'll know why -- I'm roasting to death in some Laotian backwater.Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-937356382003-05-03T22:13:00.000-07:002003-05-03T22:31:49.000-07:00Hanoi, Vietnam
One thing that's evident about Hanoi the second time around, post-SARS, is that the street vendors are noticeably more aggressive and some are openly mean and nasty when you don't buy anything. Spending any time in the old quarter or around the lake gets very wearing -- the vendors are relentless, desperate, and will harrass you until you give in. A fellow traveler reported thatKatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-937350122003-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:002003-05-03T22:06:01.000-07:00Friendship Pass to Hanoi, Vietnam
Although I had congratulated myself earlier in the day for having spotted the nefarious intentions of the "She/He is a crook" brigade, you're just never savvy enough to completely avoid getting taken for a ride.
After successfully negotiating both the Chinese and Vietnamese border formalities (more challenging than it sounds, as there are no signs, forms are Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3771941.post-937053572003-05-03T07:37:00.000-07:002003-05-03T07:37:12.000-07:00Road from Pinxiang, China to Friendship Pass border station
The 20 km trip from Pinxiang, the Chinese border town, to the actual border checkpoint at the ironically named "Friendship Pass" (Vietnam and China tend to dislike eachother to the point of border skirmishes), was quite entertaining.
Our bus (or my bus -- by that time I was the only one on it, possibly because Vietnam has closed the Katyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12839848735213389524noreply@blogger.com0