We left a package in the Bangkok airport of things we didn't want to carry through Indochina. In the bag I put a book I have been devouring ever since opening it and reading the first page. The book is called The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong and is about Kim Phuc, a young villager in South Vietnam who was hit by a burning ball of napalm during the "American War" (as the Vietnamese call it) and photographed shortly afterwards as she was running away. The photograph was instrumental in increasing the protest against American involvement in the war. I left the book in Bangkok because I was nervous that the Vietnamese officials would take it away from me, or worse- that I would get in trouble for carrying it. Though the bomb was dropped by the South Vietnamese army in a freak accident, the book details the struggles that many South Vietnamese endured at the hands of the Viet Cong. Moreover, Kim Phuc has defected and now lives in Toronto (the author of the book is from Ottawa) and defectors from Communist countries are not usually celebrated in their native land (no kidding). To see the famous photograph that won a Pulitzer Prize and read a good, short article about Kim Phuc by the photographer Nick Ut click here. (I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in learning much more, not only about Kim Phuc but about life in Vietnam before, during, and after the war.)
When we landed at the airport I was expecting something a little more...um... soviet. Instead we were greeted by a huge, modern airport and an array of smiling (gasp!) immigration officials. Our bags were not searched and I groaned to myself because I could have kept the book with me. The taxi driver sang and honked his way into the city along a road we shared with cows and their whipping masters, bicycles, motorcycles, and some huge trucks whose drivers were completely ignoring the fact that there were others on the road. The (mostly) paved road was surrounded on both sides with wide expanses of green fields and people with broad conical hats tilled the soil and plucked vegetables from the ground to put in large wicker baskets.
I'm surprised to find we have CNN, MTV, and BBC in our hotel. Excuse my ignorance but aren't Communist countries cold, totalitarian, and closed to outside influence? I really began to forget we were in a Communist country until we went to a couple of museums today. First we went to "The Women's Museum" which is Vietnamese "herstory" told in a series of exhibitions and photographs. The museum was surprisingly well put together and the displays were explained well and wonderful to look at (by comparison the Laos National Museum in Vientiane was a pitiful and dusty array of artifacts in cases without explanations). The second museum we went to used to be the Hoa Lo prison and was built by the French to house Vietnamese rebels during their occupation and was later used in the American War to keep American POWs and consequently dubbed "The Hanoi Hilton". Propagandistic phrases such as "the American aggressors and their lackeys" and referring to the Communist revolution as "the struggle" were commonplace in both museums. In the Women's Museum, a lot of time was given to the heroic roles women played in "the struggle"- everything from cooking meals for soldiers to bearing arms themselves. The Hoa Lo Prison museum was quite moving as you were able to walk in and out of the cells where the walls were lined with wooden slabs as beds and fixed with shackles for each male prisoner (but in contrast, the women's cells were just concrete rooms with nowhere to sleep). The text on the walls in the prison museum detailed where the national heroes were housed and referred to them in passionately brave terms but the Americans were described as "the enemy" (which they were but the language seemed too harsh and biased). The propaganda here is quite striking but I can't say that it feels much different than watching Bush give pep talks about bombing Saddam on CNN.
Tonight we went to a performance at the Water Puppet Theatre. It was quite bizarre but interesting. The puppets are manipulated by poles held by people who stand in thigh-deep water behind a screen. The music that accompanied the performance was wonderful though we had no idea what was going on in the story that was played out with puppets as people, fish, dragons, and a tortoise.
Hanoi is hectic, colourful, and unique. Crossing the streets is cause enough for an ulcer. In the first 24 hours of being here, we've already witnessed three accidents. We leave tomorrow for Hue and that's probably a good thing because chances are we'll be struck by a scooter if we linger in this town any longer.
tothesea,
k&m
p.s. Does anyone remember the band Hanoi Rocks from the 80s? Nah, didn't think so.
p.p.s. Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 31, 2002
Monday, October 28, 2002
watching women weave
Laos is a country I knew practically nothing about a few days ago. I knew it was a small, land-locked country with five neighbours: China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. Of course, all you need is a basic atlas for that. We learned from Trish that the “s” in the country’s name is not pronounced. And our friend Zsolt told us it was his favourite stop in South-East Asia (despite the bedbugs) and his descriptions of it made it the most highly anticipated stop on our trip for Magi. Aside from that, I was pretty much clueless.
In a matter of a few days, I have come to learn a lot about Laos. Much of it I learned from reading the Laos history book that the hotel provided us and the guidebooks that Magi’s parents brought. Much of the Laos history provokes deep sympathy because these people have endured so much suffering at the hands of both their neighbours and foreign countries. Their recent history is the most disturbing but maybe because it is so tangible.
Here’s a very brief briefing of the history as I understand it: The French colonization in the late 1880’s did little to economically help a country who was already one of the poorest in the world. At the time, only a small percent of the country engaged in work where money changed hands and it is even said that many people in the villages did not even know of the existance of Laos, the country.
The country reluctantly gained Independence in 1945 and struggled to rebuild itself. They didn’t have much time to grow before the war in Vietnam began. During those years, the U.S. was waging a secret war in Laos and dropped, on average, one bomb every eight minutes for eight years (much of these explosives are still live and they litter the countryside making it very dangerous for residents). As a consquence of the war, Laos has the distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world. At the time, the U.S. claimed it was to protect Laos from the Communist threat of Northern Vietnam. It is widely known now that they were really fighting the already-present leftist government that was becoming increasingly popular in Laos. The U.S. even went so far as to arm and pay hilltribe people who were historic rivals of the ruling people to fight against them as it was easier to keep the war in Laos secret if Americans were not losing their lives. Since the war, Laos has been in turmoil. The book in the hotel was quite old and bragged that the government had managed to keep the kip balanced at an exchange rate of 720 against the U.S. dollar in 1992 and 1993. The value of the kip has since fallen to 10,780 kip to one dollar. One can only imagine how the economy has suffered as a result.
Today, the socialist country called Laos People’s Democratic Republic (or Lao P.D.R.) is home to nearly six million people, 60% of whom are Buddhist. The average person makes US$385 a year and most people speak Lao and/or French.
To walk along the charming and dusty streets of Luang Prabang today, one could completely ignore history and see only the broad smiles and cheerful manner of the people here who seem to have come from a long line of ancestors who have endured no hardships. Women sit on the sidewalks, roasting small, fat bananas in the sun and children in school uniforms laugh and shout as they play another game of badminton. Foreigners crowd the cafes who devour the French legacy of crepes and french bread while in nearby villages, women sit at their looms creating intricately designed textiles for use as wall-hangings and clothing (by government decree, Lao women must wear local textiles which keeps the industry alive).
Yesterday we visited a number of villages near Luang Prabang. We watched in awe as women worked at their looms and saw how other villagers make homemade paper from saa (mulberry) pulp, flowers, and leaves. We visited a town whose inhabitants are famous for making rice whiskey (but we ended up watching the women at the looms again). We also took a small wooden boat across the Mekong river to a series of caves that are filled with hundreds of glittering Buddha statues in all poses. There we made some wishes for auspiciousness by making a small donation and then taking a piece of paper with your desire on it. Though tourism is starting to rear its (sometimes) ugly head in Laos, it is nowhere near as touched as Thailand. When you go outside the towns you watch as villagers with round straw hats work in the fields and you feel like you are witnessing an authentic Laos. Can you tell I am in love with this place?
We took a rather nail-biting ride on a Lao Aviation plane this morning and arrived in Vientiane (the capital) at lunch time. The U.S. warns travellers against using this airline because of their safety record but despite our better judgment we took the plunge and lived to tell about it. The plane was definitely shop-worn and when the a/c was turned on in the plane, it appeared through the vents and cracks of the plane in the form of thick, white mist. I wondered if it wasn’t actually clouds coming in! Thank goodness it was only a half-hour ride and I shouldn’t grumble because it saved us from having to take an even more ancient bus for ten hours.
tothesea,
k&m
In a matter of a few days, I have come to learn a lot about Laos. Much of it I learned from reading the Laos history book that the hotel provided us and the guidebooks that Magi’s parents brought. Much of the Laos history provokes deep sympathy because these people have endured so much suffering at the hands of both their neighbours and foreign countries. Their recent history is the most disturbing but maybe because it is so tangible.
Here’s a very brief briefing of the history as I understand it: The French colonization in the late 1880’s did little to economically help a country who was already one of the poorest in the world. At the time, only a small percent of the country engaged in work where money changed hands and it is even said that many people in the villages did not even know of the existance of Laos, the country.
The country reluctantly gained Independence in 1945 and struggled to rebuild itself. They didn’t have much time to grow before the war in Vietnam began. During those years, the U.S. was waging a secret war in Laos and dropped, on average, one bomb every eight minutes for eight years (much of these explosives are still live and they litter the countryside making it very dangerous for residents). As a consquence of the war, Laos has the distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world. At the time, the U.S. claimed it was to protect Laos from the Communist threat of Northern Vietnam. It is widely known now that they were really fighting the already-present leftist government that was becoming increasingly popular in Laos. The U.S. even went so far as to arm and pay hilltribe people who were historic rivals of the ruling people to fight against them as it was easier to keep the war in Laos secret if Americans were not losing their lives. Since the war, Laos has been in turmoil. The book in the hotel was quite old and bragged that the government had managed to keep the kip balanced at an exchange rate of 720 against the U.S. dollar in 1992 and 1993. The value of the kip has since fallen to 10,780 kip to one dollar. One can only imagine how the economy has suffered as a result.
Today, the socialist country called Laos People’s Democratic Republic (or Lao P.D.R.) is home to nearly six million people, 60% of whom are Buddhist. The average person makes US$385 a year and most people speak Lao and/or French.
To walk along the charming and dusty streets of Luang Prabang today, one could completely ignore history and see only the broad smiles and cheerful manner of the people here who seem to have come from a long line of ancestors who have endured no hardships. Women sit on the sidewalks, roasting small, fat bananas in the sun and children in school uniforms laugh and shout as they play another game of badminton. Foreigners crowd the cafes who devour the French legacy of crepes and french bread while in nearby villages, women sit at their looms creating intricately designed textiles for use as wall-hangings and clothing (by government decree, Lao women must wear local textiles which keeps the industry alive).
Yesterday we visited a number of villages near Luang Prabang. We watched in awe as women worked at their looms and saw how other villagers make homemade paper from saa (mulberry) pulp, flowers, and leaves. We visited a town whose inhabitants are famous for making rice whiskey (but we ended up watching the women at the looms again). We also took a small wooden boat across the Mekong river to a series of caves that are filled with hundreds of glittering Buddha statues in all poses. There we made some wishes for auspiciousness by making a small donation and then taking a piece of paper with your desire on it. Though tourism is starting to rear its (sometimes) ugly head in Laos, it is nowhere near as touched as Thailand. When you go outside the towns you watch as villagers with round straw hats work in the fields and you feel like you are witnessing an authentic Laos. Can you tell I am in love with this place?
We took a rather nail-biting ride on a Lao Aviation plane this morning and arrived in Vientiane (the capital) at lunch time. The U.S. warns travellers against using this airline because of their safety record but despite our better judgment we took the plunge and lived to tell about it. The plane was definitely shop-worn and when the a/c was turned on in the plane, it appeared through the vents and cracks of the plane in the form of thick, white mist. I wondered if it wasn’t actually clouds coming in! Thank goodness it was only a half-hour ride and I shouldn’t grumble because it saved us from having to take an even more ancient bus for ten hours.
tothesea,
k&m
Friday, October 25, 2002
your rubber dollars
This is my last post from Thailand. We are flying out tomorrow to begin our very short trek through Indochina- Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I'll do my best to keep you posted throughout Indochina but it's going to be a whirlwind of a trip and I may not have much free time.
We've already been talking about our next trip to Thailand. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the best countries in the world to travel to. It has everything from the most luxuriously decorated temples to the most remote white sandy beaches... terrific cuisine and wonderful, friendly people. Best of all, for a young traveller, it is so inexpensive that almost everything you could want to see or do is within your financial means.
I have been asked by a few people about costs in Asia and just how far a dollar can stretch. So let me explain it this way: in Thailand for $500 Canadian (or about $375 US) you can buy yourself ALL of the following:
- 10 Thai massages
- 10 Meals at May Kaidees
- 25 cups of brewed coffee (Nescafe is more popular and inexpensive.. but it's nasty)
- 10 bags of chopped, fresh fruit (pineapple, guava, mango, papaya.. your choice)
- 100 bottles of mineral water
- 6 bootlegged CDs
- 1 henna tattoo
- 4 movie theatre tickets
- 1 scooter rental for one day
- 1 day of scuba diving (2 dives)
- 1 bungy jump
- and.. as you can go to as many temples as you wish (most are free or by donation only)
So what are you waiting for?
tothesea,
k&m
We've already been talking about our next trip to Thailand. As far as I'm concerned it's one of the best countries in the world to travel to. It has everything from the most luxuriously decorated temples to the most remote white sandy beaches... terrific cuisine and wonderful, friendly people. Best of all, for a young traveller, it is so inexpensive that almost everything you could want to see or do is within your financial means.
I have been asked by a few people about costs in Asia and just how far a dollar can stretch. So let me explain it this way: in Thailand for $500 Canadian (or about $375 US) you can buy yourself ALL of the following:
- 10 Thai massages
- 10 Meals at May Kaidees
- 25 cups of brewed coffee (Nescafe is more popular and inexpensive.. but it's nasty)
- 10 bags of chopped, fresh fruit (pineapple, guava, mango, papaya.. your choice)
- 100 bottles of mineral water
- 6 bootlegged CDs
- 1 henna tattoo
- 4 movie theatre tickets
- 1 scooter rental for one day
- 1 day of scuba diving (2 dives)
- 1 bungy jump
- and.. as you can go to as many temples as you wish (most are free or by donation only)
So what are you waiting for?
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
thanks for the memories
We are now two.
Aaron sat down to chat with a neat-o Finnish lass as our songthaew pulled away from Chan-Cha-Lay guesthouse in Krabi. I cried all the way to the bus depot! It was sad to leave him behind. My emotional state wasn't helped by my brain which was doing this mean thing to me where it would display vignettes of our time together with Aaron in slow motion as sappy music played... something you would see done on a soap opera or sit-com. It was the beginning of a pretty blue day in Krishnaland.
Overnight bus rides may be my least favourite part of travelling. Of course, some are better than others and others are made worse by having a seat that is broken and does not recline. Others are also made worse by a seven-year-old child in the seat ahead of you who needs her seat reclined to it's fullest, chopping you in half somewhere around the mid-torso. Fourteen hours later at 6 in the morning, Bangkok greets you with a whack as you step off the bus into a crowd of tuk-tuk drivers competing for your fare even after you've told them you're walking.
I swore last night it was going to be my last overnight bus ride, EVER. I can't say I'll be able to live up to that promise to myself and even now I'm beginning to forget the misery I was wallowing in last night. We treated ourselves today to a cleaning of laundry, facials, various waxing jobs, and a bowl of May's cooking that made us feel a little happy to be back in familiar territory... at least for a little while.
One thing I thought about on the bus last night as I watched those around me doze in relative comfort is the three things from home I miss most. Many things popped in my head but I narrowed it down to the three things I miss the absolute most. So, aside from the dogs and people I love and autumn in Canada, I miss the following terribly:
- Soy Delicious brand ice cream
- The prospect to paint on canvas
- The Simpsons
I was thinking of my ideal first evening back home. I would eat the Soy Delicious while watching The Simpsons for a few hours. Then I would switch on the stereo (another thing I miss) and begin the most inspired painting of my life. I would end the day with some Tofutti Cuties, a hot bubble bath, and then hours and hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Something to dream about tonight...
tothesea,
k&m
P.S. Aaron! We miss you....
Aaron sat down to chat with a neat-o Finnish lass as our songthaew pulled away from Chan-Cha-Lay guesthouse in Krabi. I cried all the way to the bus depot! It was sad to leave him behind. My emotional state wasn't helped by my brain which was doing this mean thing to me where it would display vignettes of our time together with Aaron in slow motion as sappy music played... something you would see done on a soap opera or sit-com. It was the beginning of a pretty blue day in Krishnaland.
Overnight bus rides may be my least favourite part of travelling. Of course, some are better than others and others are made worse by having a seat that is broken and does not recline. Others are also made worse by a seven-year-old child in the seat ahead of you who needs her seat reclined to it's fullest, chopping you in half somewhere around the mid-torso. Fourteen hours later at 6 in the morning, Bangkok greets you with a whack as you step off the bus into a crowd of tuk-tuk drivers competing for your fare even after you've told them you're walking.
I swore last night it was going to be my last overnight bus ride, EVER. I can't say I'll be able to live up to that promise to myself and even now I'm beginning to forget the misery I was wallowing in last night. We treated ourselves today to a cleaning of laundry, facials, various waxing jobs, and a bowl of May's cooking that made us feel a little happy to be back in familiar territory... at least for a little while.
One thing I thought about on the bus last night as I watched those around me doze in relative comfort is the three things from home I miss most. Many things popped in my head but I narrowed it down to the three things I miss the absolute most. So, aside from the dogs and people I love and autumn in Canada, I miss the following terribly:
- Soy Delicious brand ice cream
- The prospect to paint on canvas
- The Simpsons
I was thinking of my ideal first evening back home. I would eat the Soy Delicious while watching The Simpsons for a few hours. Then I would switch on the stereo (another thing I miss) and begin the most inspired painting of my life. I would end the day with some Tofutti Cuties, a hot bubble bath, and then hours and hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Something to dream about tonight...
tothesea,
k&m
P.S. Aaron! We miss you....
Monday, October 21, 2002
sawasdee Krabi... again
Yesterday we left for beautiful Ton Sai beach and I can hardly believe that only a day later we are all back in the sleepy fishing village of Krabi. We had originally planned to stay In Ton Sai for three nights but ended up leaving Krabi a day late due to some extremely long and powerful monsoon shower that didn't let up long enough for us to leave. Yesterday we managed to pack up and leave Krabi in the morning, allowing plenty of time to catch the songthaew to Ao Nang beach and hire a longtail boat to Ton Sai. Upon arrival we dragged our feet (heavy from the weight of our backpacks) while Aaron limped his way up a narrow dirt road to a cluster of bungalows from which we would choose our nights accomodation. Two places had been recommended to us and we happened upon Green Valley Resorts first. (Dream Valley had been recommended to us but we assumed Aaron's friend had mistook the name and had actually meant Green Valley.) We checked into a room and rested briefly, sweating profusely. Almost immediately Magi emerged from the bathroom in full swim gear (her outfit of choice more often than not) and insisted we get our butts in gear and follow her to the beach. It didn't take much convincing.
Later we stumbled upon Dream Valley Bungalows and had to laugh. In Thailand it is very common for guesthouses near a popular guesthouse to make their name very similar to the one that is popular. This way they will lure in people who think they are going to the right place. In Green Valley's case this motive worked on us perfectly. In the end though we were very happy with where we stayed- the people were super friendly and accomodating and the food was good and not too expensive.
Aaron attempted a little climb yesterday, just to test out his gimpy foot. The prognosis was not good. The whole reason we had worked our way to Ton Sai was because it is an incredibly beautiful and challenging place to rock climb. I can't put into words what those rocks look like and I have never climbed but I must say that the rocks made me a little envious of those who do (minus the extreme physical exertion). They are very smooth limestone, pitted with random holes that would make climbing ideal. It really looks like indoor climbing walls have been designed after the rock faces at Ton Sai and the way they jut out of the crystal blue water is just breath-taking. One note: in a restaurant in Ton Sai we got to see our first episode of Survivor this season. If any of you are watching Survivor you have probably seen what I'm talking about when I describe Ton Sai. It looks almost exactly like what you see on that show because it was taped on a nearby island.
By the end of the day around a bed of dice playing Yahtzee we had all decided to leave the next day. The beach at Ton Sai isn't great and there is nothing to do in the village except attempt to stop the sneaky hoards of mini-me mosquitoes that feast on your blood. Plus, there is no point in staying in a town where even a bottle of water is almost 3 times the amount you would spend anywhere else. It's very pricey and only worth it if you're staying to climb. Aaron can't climb so he's heading to Malaysia as we load a bus to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon.
On our way back to Krabi we saw something that we've heard about but hadn't seen until today- Americans disguised as Canadians. We met a couple of guys in a songthaew with Canadian flags on their bags. As I got on I noticed the patches and asked them where they were from. Sheepishly, as though we had caught one of them with their hand in the cookie jar, one of the guys said "Connecticut" and then promptly began to explain that they wear the flags "just as a precaution" and so that their mom wouldn't worry about them. I think it's a rather strange custom some Americans have taken to but we've heard they feel like they are treated better and worry less about negative attention. Whatever works!
Oh, the belly aches. Travelling can reek havoc on a gut. My belly has been playing very mean tricks on me for the last week. It will tell me I'm feeling fine, and growl to me that it's hungry, hungry, hungry! So I'll eat and then feel like someone is digging their fingers into my stomach and pressing hard down in it, over and over again. So I've been taking it easy and eating only steamed rice. Blah! I'm so sick of steamed rice. I have to be better by the time we get to Bangkok so I'll be ready for three hearty meals a day at our favourite restaurant, May Kaidees!
tothesea,
k&m
Later we stumbled upon Dream Valley Bungalows and had to laugh. In Thailand it is very common for guesthouses near a popular guesthouse to make their name very similar to the one that is popular. This way they will lure in people who think they are going to the right place. In Green Valley's case this motive worked on us perfectly. In the end though we were very happy with where we stayed- the people were super friendly and accomodating and the food was good and not too expensive.
Aaron attempted a little climb yesterday, just to test out his gimpy foot. The prognosis was not good. The whole reason we had worked our way to Ton Sai was because it is an incredibly beautiful and challenging place to rock climb. I can't put into words what those rocks look like and I have never climbed but I must say that the rocks made me a little envious of those who do (minus the extreme physical exertion). They are very smooth limestone, pitted with random holes that would make climbing ideal. It really looks like indoor climbing walls have been designed after the rock faces at Ton Sai and the way they jut out of the crystal blue water is just breath-taking. One note: in a restaurant in Ton Sai we got to see our first episode of Survivor this season. If any of you are watching Survivor you have probably seen what I'm talking about when I describe Ton Sai. It looks almost exactly like what you see on that show because it was taped on a nearby island.
By the end of the day around a bed of dice playing Yahtzee we had all decided to leave the next day. The beach at Ton Sai isn't great and there is nothing to do in the village except attempt to stop the sneaky hoards of mini-me mosquitoes that feast on your blood. Plus, there is no point in staying in a town where even a bottle of water is almost 3 times the amount you would spend anywhere else. It's very pricey and only worth it if you're staying to climb. Aaron can't climb so he's heading to Malaysia as we load a bus to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon.
On our way back to Krabi we saw something that we've heard about but hadn't seen until today- Americans disguised as Canadians. We met a couple of guys in a songthaew with Canadian flags on their bags. As I got on I noticed the patches and asked them where they were from. Sheepishly, as though we had caught one of them with their hand in the cookie jar, one of the guys said "Connecticut" and then promptly began to explain that they wear the flags "just as a precaution" and so that their mom wouldn't worry about them. I think it's a rather strange custom some Americans have taken to but we've heard they feel like they are treated better and worry less about negative attention. Whatever works!
Oh, the belly aches. Travelling can reek havoc on a gut. My belly has been playing very mean tricks on me for the last week. It will tell me I'm feeling fine, and growl to me that it's hungry, hungry, hungry! So I'll eat and then feel like someone is digging their fingers into my stomach and pressing hard down in it, over and over again. So I've been taking it easy and eating only steamed rice. Blah! I'm so sick of steamed rice. I have to be better by the time we get to Bangkok so I'll be ready for three hearty meals a day at our favourite restaurant, May Kaidees!
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Pooh-poohing Phi Phi
We spent last night on the tiny island of Phi Phi Don ("Pee Pee Don"). It's twin island in the near distance, Phi Phi Leh, is home to Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed (it is a "protected" island so there are no guesthouses there, but as you boat by you see hoards of diving and snorkelling boats cluttering up the water making it look less-than-protected). Consequently, the twin islands have now become a tourist mecca (oh! to touch the sand Leonardo Dicaprio touched!) and I am therefore left with very strong mixed reactions to the place. On one hand, it is a majestic paradise. Huge limestone cliffs jut out of the crystal blue water and are dotted with bright green trees. Coconut trees line the beaches whose soft, white sand sticks to your wet feet like flour. We breathlessly exclaimed to one another as our ferry to Phi Phi was going by Phi Phi Leh that it is one of the most beautiful landscapes we have ever seen. On the other hand, Phi Phi is a sad reminder of the destruction of tourism. It must have been an incredibly special place to the people who inhabited the place before tourists conquered it. Now, the small island is littered with upscale resorts and large clusters of bungalows, stores hawking useless junky souvenirs, restaurants serving bad and expensive food, and of course, a 7-11 greets you as you exit the dock upon arrival. Piles of garbage rot in background and unhealthily tanned European men find it appropriate to walk through town in their speedos (too much information fellas!) and the ladies aren't wearing much more. The saddest part, for me, was seeing the Gibbon monkeys that were on display for tourists. One was only twenty-one days old the proud owner told everyone who walked by. She was feeding the baby with a bottle (probably filled so inappropriately with cow's milk) and the little creature without it's full body of hair yet clinged to her shirt the way I'm sure it clinged to her mother's chest and back before they killed her and stole her baby.
Phi Phi really made me question tourism and made me see some forms of tourism as some kind of new colonialism. Tourists and the guidebooks find an unspoilt place, move in and start building until it is super overdeveloped... and then what? I wonder what Phi Phi will look like in five, ten, twenty years... will it just be an island full of run-down bungalows and hotels that no one travels to anymore? How will the environment there be changed? How will this affect the future generations of people and animals that live there?
Needless to say, we were really happy to leave Phi Phi today though we have all come out of it changed a little. Thankfully, it was only a stopover point for us on our way here, to the province of Krabi ("Crabby", just like it looks) where we are going to live out the next week of our trip. This is where we will part with Aaron and where he will spend the next month or so, so we're going to make sure he is in a good place before we leave. We've checked in to a cute guesthouse in Krabi Town but will probably move out to one of the beaches before the week's end since that is where the rocks are to be climbed.
I wanted to write and tell you about the Thai massage I had as a birthday gift the other day, but it seems kind of weird to go into that after writing such a depressing post about Phi Phi. So I'll leave that for another time (maybe the next time I get a massage because I am planning on at least one more before we leave Thailand).
tothesea,
k&m
Phi Phi really made me question tourism and made me see some forms of tourism as some kind of new colonialism. Tourists and the guidebooks find an unspoilt place, move in and start building until it is super overdeveloped... and then what? I wonder what Phi Phi will look like in five, ten, twenty years... will it just be an island full of run-down bungalows and hotels that no one travels to anymore? How will the environment there be changed? How will this affect the future generations of people and animals that live there?
Needless to say, we were really happy to leave Phi Phi today though we have all come out of it changed a little. Thankfully, it was only a stopover point for us on our way here, to the province of Krabi ("Crabby", just like it looks) where we are going to live out the next week of our trip. This is where we will part with Aaron and where he will spend the next month or so, so we're going to make sure he is in a good place before we leave. We've checked in to a cute guesthouse in Krabi Town but will probably move out to one of the beaches before the week's end since that is where the rocks are to be climbed.
I wanted to write and tell you about the Thai massage I had as a birthday gift the other day, but it seems kind of weird to go into that after writing such a depressing post about Phi Phi. So I'll leave that for another time (maybe the next time I get a massage because I am planning on at least one more before we leave Thailand).
tothesea,
k&m
Monday, October 14, 2002
Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians in the hoose
That's pretty much all I wanted to blog about today. I meant to send those greetings yesterday but forgot. It's hard to remember the onset of winter when it's blazing hot here everyday... or perhaps it's my age now that I am in my late twenties.
Today we went to see a Thai movie called Mekhong Full Moon Party. It was a heartwarming tale starring a monk and his templemates. We were disappointed that it wasn't about a beach party full of obliterated foreigners (joking) but I guess it would have been called Ko Phang Nga Full Moon Party if that was the story (little bit of inside humour for you there). One thing about moviegoing here that I meant to mention is that before the movie starts, a photo montage of the king is played on screen and everyone is expected to pay homage to him by standing up. In the background is music that the king himself composed. It's a uniquely Thai experience, kind of neat. The king really only has a symbolic role in the country (which has a democratically elected government) but like Queen E II, he is an important figurehead and people do respect him deeply and look to him for guidance in periods of trouble. Large (really large) photos of him and the queen line the main roads in Bangkok but the photos are mostly of the queen who seems to be even more favoured than the king (?).
We leave Phuket tomorrow morning and today is the last day of the vegetarian festival. We have all had an amazing time here and have witnessed some incredible things. Maybe we'll all be back next year... we'll come for the food but stay for the projectiles.
tothesea,
k&m
Today we went to see a Thai movie called Mekhong Full Moon Party. It was a heartwarming tale starring a monk and his templemates. We were disappointed that it wasn't about a beach party full of obliterated foreigners (joking) but I guess it would have been called Ko Phang Nga Full Moon Party if that was the story (little bit of inside humour for you there). One thing about moviegoing here that I meant to mention is that before the movie starts, a photo montage of the king is played on screen and everyone is expected to pay homage to him by standing up. In the background is music that the king himself composed. It's a uniquely Thai experience, kind of neat. The king really only has a symbolic role in the country (which has a democratically elected government) but like Queen E II, he is an important figurehead and people do respect him deeply and look to him for guidance in periods of trouble. Large (really large) photos of him and the queen line the main roads in Bangkok but the photos are mostly of the queen who seems to be even more favoured than the king (?).
We leave Phuket tomorrow morning and today is the last day of the vegetarian festival. We have all had an amazing time here and have witnessed some incredible things. Maybe we'll all be back next year... we'll come for the food but stay for the projectiles.
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, October 13, 2002
they say it's my birthday
My birthday started out really wet. We stood outside watching the morning procession walk by as the rain poured and poured. Nothing new was poked through the cheeks today except for large clumps of black yarn creatively put into each cheek and pulled out through the mouth resembling a typical Confucian beard. We took a songthaew to the beach and had a good dollop of Indian food (my birthday wish) and a big mug o' Starbucks (the first we have seen in Asia).
Today was okay fun but didn't beat Aaron's birthday... which I declared that day I would consider my birthday too since we all did bungy and had a perfect day at the beach.
I'm excited about being 27.
Just a short note for today. You probably have some catching up to do.
tothesea,
k&m
Today was okay fun but didn't beat Aaron's birthday... which I declared that day I would consider my birthday too since we all did bungy and had a perfect day at the beach.
I'm excited about being 27.
Just a short note for today. You probably have some catching up to do.
tothesea,
k&m
Saturday, October 12, 2002
happy things and more grisly details
I put my earplugs in before bed last night and could hear the sound of firecrackers reverberating in my ears. This morning the same noise woke me up but it was coming from the street outside. I jumped up and in usual fashion, turned the light on and yelled something to those still semi-conscious.
We rubbed our eyes and rushed downstairs to see the street procession of the temple nearest us, the Jui Tui Temple, which we refer to as "our temple". It was much like the others but lasted much longer. Everyday we add to the list of things we see pierced through someone's cheeks and no longer are the pierced only men. By now we have seen many women and even teenagers with objects through their cheeks. Today, shoved through large holes in cheeks we saw: candles, a life-size plastic toy machine gun, handcuffs, a ceiling fan, umbrellas, a cluster of prayer beads, vegetables with their stems, a florescent light tube, hacksaws, bunches of plastic/real flowers, chains, and a lantern. Noteworthy are the microphone stand and badminton rackets we saw through cheeks yesterday. Needless to say, the whole event is really unnerving because those pierced look very uncomfortable and burdened. Their helpers cluster around them with tissue to sop up drool and blood and to give them small drinks of water. Afterall, they walk through the streets for hours in this state. Sometimes I think us spectators must all go into a shallow state of shock when we see these things, or our minds force us to look at them as if it's not real (especially the children who are watching). I'm pretty certain I will never, ever see something like this again.
For all of us, the early morning processions are the most interesting but we're still intrigued by our festival calendar that lists other tantalizing events. Last night we set out to witness the fire-walking. It began at our temple where a huge gathering was setting out to run through the streets led by the usual brand of priests in colourful garb and their white-clad entourages. We ran with the procession for a while until I freaked out. You see, people line the streets and toss firecrackers at the procession (or more precisely, the people in it) to ward off evil spirits. You literally have to jump over them and run fast enough to outrun someone who is about to toss it at you, all the while holding your ears to spare your drums. Call me a prude, but I wasn't too into that and we were all really annoyed by the constant loud cracking sounds. I ducked into an alley, followed close behind by Magi and Aaron. We then figured out how to get through this without getting our hair singed and ear drums blown out. It was simple, we left the procession and walked directly to the mini-field where the firewalking was to be held. There was a large area gated off for specators. Inside was a large-ish patch of hot ash that about a dozen men in white were tending to. We waited and waited as the crowd began to swell. A large brown cockroach walked it's own little procession over Aaron's feet. We waited and waited some more. The event was now two hours late. Magi and I gave up waiting and then as we were walking away (of course) it all began. We stood in the back and watched. Aaron stayed up in front. It was very anti-climatic after all that waiting. We met Aaron back at the guesthouse and he told even children were able to walk over it and that he would have if we were there to take his picture!
Tonight we went to another event, the bladed-ladder climbing. What it was, as you may have guessed, is a ladder whose rungs are made of "razor-sharp" blades. There were about thirty rungs on either side of the ladder and those who attempted the feat had to step on them all. We watched, expecting to see something gruesome, but in the end we didn't even spy a cut. I think maybe a lot of this self-mortification is more symbolic than anything; so far only the street processions have really wrenched our stomachs. Still, just the carnivalesque atmosphere around all these events is pretty interesting in itself.
We've been in Phuket for quite a while now. Slowly a pattern is developing in what we do on a day-to-day basis. Our days consist of either: the morning procession, festival food, movie theater chill, shopping for "The Dog" items, time on the internet, and late night talks or: the morning procession, festival food, Magi and Aaron playing in the surf at the beach while I cross-stitch on the sidelines and go for a dip now and then, time on the internet, and late night talks. Tough life, I know. There is nothing but self-pity going on here.
Note on "The Dog" stuff: You probably all know that Magi and I are a little keen on canines. Well, there's this brand over here called "The Dog" and what it is is a variety of items; from an immense variety of bags to notebooks to cellphone holders to keychains to t-shirts to cigarette cases to pens to hair ties to stickers to wallets to charms to stuffed animals to coin purses to erasers to (okay, okay, you get the point).... all with a picture of different breed on them (sadly the breeds are limited to about ten or fifteen). But it's not just any picture, it's a picture angled as if you are looking down on the dog, so the head is really big (and cute) and the body is really small. Everyday we see different The Dog items and not buying them is a little like being tortured. So we have indulged every now and then but we always look through all the store's selection first. Aaron is so bored of looking at The Dog stuff that he cringes whenever we are about to pass by a shop or booth selling the stuff but he doesn't know we feel the same way whenever he walks by a DVD/VCD rack! So nuts to him!
Magi has added a new phrase to her vocabulary, prounouced "Dichan poon pasa tai maidai" which means "I do not speak Thai." Locals always get a gleam in their eye when they see her with us, as if they are thinking "Phew, at least I'll be able to communicate with her, she's Thai people!" Magi is spoken to in Thai on an hourly basis. Until now, she's only been able to say "Uh, English?" or stand there with a blank look on her face while the people continue to chat her up. The odd time, she'll try the old "smile and nod" technique which just encourages them to talk more! With her new phrase she should be able to save herself from much confusion and embarrassment.
Goodnight, or goodmorning, to you all. Much love from all of us.
tothesea,
k&m
We rubbed our eyes and rushed downstairs to see the street procession of the temple nearest us, the Jui Tui Temple, which we refer to as "our temple". It was much like the others but lasted much longer. Everyday we add to the list of things we see pierced through someone's cheeks and no longer are the pierced only men. By now we have seen many women and even teenagers with objects through their cheeks. Today, shoved through large holes in cheeks we saw: candles, a life-size plastic toy machine gun, handcuffs, a ceiling fan, umbrellas, a cluster of prayer beads, vegetables with their stems, a florescent light tube, hacksaws, bunches of plastic/real flowers, chains, and a lantern. Noteworthy are the microphone stand and badminton rackets we saw through cheeks yesterday. Needless to say, the whole event is really unnerving because those pierced look very uncomfortable and burdened. Their helpers cluster around them with tissue to sop up drool and blood and to give them small drinks of water. Afterall, they walk through the streets for hours in this state. Sometimes I think us spectators must all go into a shallow state of shock when we see these things, or our minds force us to look at them as if it's not real (especially the children who are watching). I'm pretty certain I will never, ever see something like this again.
For all of us, the early morning processions are the most interesting but we're still intrigued by our festival calendar that lists other tantalizing events. Last night we set out to witness the fire-walking. It began at our temple where a huge gathering was setting out to run through the streets led by the usual brand of priests in colourful garb and their white-clad entourages. We ran with the procession for a while until I freaked out. You see, people line the streets and toss firecrackers at the procession (or more precisely, the people in it) to ward off evil spirits. You literally have to jump over them and run fast enough to outrun someone who is about to toss it at you, all the while holding your ears to spare your drums. Call me a prude, but I wasn't too into that and we were all really annoyed by the constant loud cracking sounds. I ducked into an alley, followed close behind by Magi and Aaron. We then figured out how to get through this without getting our hair singed and ear drums blown out. It was simple, we left the procession and walked directly to the mini-field where the firewalking was to be held. There was a large area gated off for specators. Inside was a large-ish patch of hot ash that about a dozen men in white were tending to. We waited and waited as the crowd began to swell. A large brown cockroach walked it's own little procession over Aaron's feet. We waited and waited some more. The event was now two hours late. Magi and I gave up waiting and then as we were walking away (of course) it all began. We stood in the back and watched. Aaron stayed up in front. It was very anti-climatic after all that waiting. We met Aaron back at the guesthouse and he told even children were able to walk over it and that he would have if we were there to take his picture!
Tonight we went to another event, the bladed-ladder climbing. What it was, as you may have guessed, is a ladder whose rungs are made of "razor-sharp" blades. There were about thirty rungs on either side of the ladder and those who attempted the feat had to step on them all. We watched, expecting to see something gruesome, but in the end we didn't even spy a cut. I think maybe a lot of this self-mortification is more symbolic than anything; so far only the street processions have really wrenched our stomachs. Still, just the carnivalesque atmosphere around all these events is pretty interesting in itself.
We've been in Phuket for quite a while now. Slowly a pattern is developing in what we do on a day-to-day basis. Our days consist of either: the morning procession, festival food, movie theater chill, shopping for "The Dog" items, time on the internet, and late night talks or: the morning procession, festival food, Magi and Aaron playing in the surf at the beach while I cross-stitch on the sidelines and go for a dip now and then, time on the internet, and late night talks. Tough life, I know. There is nothing but self-pity going on here.
Note on "The Dog" stuff: You probably all know that Magi and I are a little keen on canines. Well, there's this brand over here called "The Dog" and what it is is a variety of items; from an immense variety of bags to notebooks to cellphone holders to keychains to t-shirts to cigarette cases to pens to hair ties to stickers to wallets to charms to stuffed animals to coin purses to erasers to (okay, okay, you get the point).... all with a picture of different breed on them (sadly the breeds are limited to about ten or fifteen). But it's not just any picture, it's a picture angled as if you are looking down on the dog, so the head is really big (and cute) and the body is really small. Everyday we see different The Dog items and not buying them is a little like being tortured. So we have indulged every now and then but we always look through all the store's selection first. Aaron is so bored of looking at The Dog stuff that he cringes whenever we are about to pass by a shop or booth selling the stuff but he doesn't know we feel the same way whenever he walks by a DVD/VCD rack! So nuts to him!
Magi has added a new phrase to her vocabulary, prounouced "Dichan poon pasa tai maidai" which means "I do not speak Thai." Locals always get a gleam in their eye when they see her with us, as if they are thinking "Phew, at least I'll be able to communicate with her, she's Thai people!" Magi is spoken to in Thai on an hourly basis. Until now, she's only been able to say "Uh, English?" or stand there with a blank look on her face while the people continue to chat her up. The odd time, she'll try the old "smile and nod" technique which just encourages them to talk more! With her new phrase she should be able to save herself from much confusion and embarrassment.
Goodnight, or goodmorning, to you all. Much love from all of us.
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 09, 2002
definitely not a day for the squeamish.
(Disclaimer: the following post may make you produce visuals you will not enjoy.)
I never thought that I would ever see a man walking down the street with an altered steering wheel pierced through his cheek. This was how our day began.
We woke up to the drumming sounds of a street procession outside. It was near the end so we didn't bother to peel our bodies up out of bed to see it. Each temple in Phuket has their own procession and we have the schedule so we knew this would not be our only chance. Instead we got ready and headed to a cafe for some good strong coffee. After our coffee and Aaron's birthday brownie were finished, a street procession (probably the same one) was working its way by the cafe. We went outside, sat on a stoop, and watched the people flow by. Mostly it consisted of large groups of people, wearing white, carrying colourful flags. However, every so often there was a man, who was in the midst of performing some act of self-mortification. We saw unimaginable things pierced through cheeks; from metal rods skewering foods, to the car steering wheel, to large swords. We also saw many men in the procession with large, narrow scars on their cheeks from years gone by. Aaron saw a man kneeling on the ground swinging a mace (a ball with nails sticking out of it) back and forth hitting his own back with it and another man with a knife drawing it back and forth upon his bloodied tongue. It was all very... gruesome. Yet, everyone was so calm and even those who were pierced were holding their projectiles and moving peacefully down the street with their entourage who was there to care for them.
Aaron and Magi's reaction was mostly awe. I'm much more squeamish and my stomach ached from seeing all that blood. I understand the purpose; they believe they are placing harm upon themselves to spare the town pain... but for an outsider it's hard to comprehend.
If you're interested in seeing some photos, I'm including a link to this website of a photographer's view of the festival. Some of the pictures are very graphic and close-up, be warned.
On to the rest of our day...
We hopped on a songthaew to Patong Beach but half way there we stopped at the Jungle Bungy Jump. Today is Aaron's 25th birthday and he wanted to celebrate by jumping off a platform 50 metres in the air. Sounded like fun. He was shaking nervous, but managed to pull it off gracefully. We sat and watched a few other people jump and played with the idea of jumping ourselves. At first Magi was dead set against going but I was feeling a little brave. Finally, we decided to jump.. tandem.
Everything was fine; the strapping of the ankles was okay, and even the little cage that pulls you up to 50 metres was fine. But when Magi and I had to hop over to the 2 foot wide platform from where we would then leap above a small body of water, I lost my nerve. To say the least. I wanted to cry like a wee baby! I almost did but the jump operator was looking me in the eye saying "Tell me you're ready, tell me you're ready!"
Magi turned into a brave soldier and without fear talked me back down to relative calmness. Then the dreaded words: "On the count of three... two... one... BUNGY!" I hugged on to Magi so tight and closed my eyes and screamed. Then, we must have leapt off the platform. I don't recall those few seconds. The first free fall is so scary and seems to last a long time. Then you bounce and freefall again, then you bounce and free fall again.... it really was great fun but I wouldn't do it again. I'm terrified of heights so I thought maybe this would be conquering my fear. Nope. I have been feeling the fear of standing on that platform all day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder.
We went to Patong Beach afterwards and played in the crashing surf. Aaron and Magi are so happy when they're in the water, they play games and we all toss each other about. It's a lot of fun for everyone. I was the partypooper today though because I stepped on something sharp and got two nice gashes in my big toe. I seem to be having not the best luck lately; yesterday I hit the top of my foot against a bamboo stick and had to pull out the much-bigger-than-a-splinter piece while blood started pooling. Good thing Aaron had his trusty first-aid kit. We also lost our camera to a waterfall yesterday. I can still see it plunging into the water in slow motion. We're not sure if it's salvagable but we can't turn it on or get it open and there's water in the display. We're not very optimistic.
As per Aaron's birthday request, we went to The Pizza Company for dinner. Large pizzas here are the equivalent of smalls at home so none of us are entirely full. We'll head out to the veg fest market again before bed. Magi has developed a rather unhealthy obsession with this one particular lady's unfried, made-before-your-eyes springrolls.
I want to mention one more thing. Yesterday we trekked out to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. It's concerned with reintroducing Gibbon apes to their natural habitat after they have been stolen from their mother (after killing her), sold as pets, and often used in bars to entertain patrons. It was really inspiring to see such a great project at work.
Happy Birthday Aaron! (though I can see you over there lip-syncing to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer- man this place has some good tunage!)
tothesea,
k&m
I never thought that I would ever see a man walking down the street with an altered steering wheel pierced through his cheek. This was how our day began.
We woke up to the drumming sounds of a street procession outside. It was near the end so we didn't bother to peel our bodies up out of bed to see it. Each temple in Phuket has their own procession and we have the schedule so we knew this would not be our only chance. Instead we got ready and headed to a cafe for some good strong coffee. After our coffee and Aaron's birthday brownie were finished, a street procession (probably the same one) was working its way by the cafe. We went outside, sat on a stoop, and watched the people flow by. Mostly it consisted of large groups of people, wearing white, carrying colourful flags. However, every so often there was a man, who was in the midst of performing some act of self-mortification. We saw unimaginable things pierced through cheeks; from metal rods skewering foods, to the car steering wheel, to large swords. We also saw many men in the procession with large, narrow scars on their cheeks from years gone by. Aaron saw a man kneeling on the ground swinging a mace (a ball with nails sticking out of it) back and forth hitting his own back with it and another man with a knife drawing it back and forth upon his bloodied tongue. It was all very... gruesome. Yet, everyone was so calm and even those who were pierced were holding their projectiles and moving peacefully down the street with their entourage who was there to care for them.
Aaron and Magi's reaction was mostly awe. I'm much more squeamish and my stomach ached from seeing all that blood. I understand the purpose; they believe they are placing harm upon themselves to spare the town pain... but for an outsider it's hard to comprehend.
If you're interested in seeing some photos, I'm including a link to this website of a photographer's view of the festival. Some of the pictures are very graphic and close-up, be warned.
On to the rest of our day...
We hopped on a songthaew to Patong Beach but half way there we stopped at the Jungle Bungy Jump. Today is Aaron's 25th birthday and he wanted to celebrate by jumping off a platform 50 metres in the air. Sounded like fun. He was shaking nervous, but managed to pull it off gracefully. We sat and watched a few other people jump and played with the idea of jumping ourselves. At first Magi was dead set against going but I was feeling a little brave. Finally, we decided to jump.. tandem.
Everything was fine; the strapping of the ankles was okay, and even the little cage that pulls you up to 50 metres was fine. But when Magi and I had to hop over to the 2 foot wide platform from where we would then leap above a small body of water, I lost my nerve. To say the least. I wanted to cry like a wee baby! I almost did but the jump operator was looking me in the eye saying "Tell me you're ready, tell me you're ready!"
Magi turned into a brave soldier and without fear talked me back down to relative calmness. Then the dreaded words: "On the count of three... two... one... BUNGY!" I hugged on to Magi so tight and closed my eyes and screamed. Then, we must have leapt off the platform. I don't recall those few seconds. The first free fall is so scary and seems to last a long time. Then you bounce and freefall again, then you bounce and free fall again.... it really was great fun but I wouldn't do it again. I'm terrified of heights so I thought maybe this would be conquering my fear. Nope. I have been feeling the fear of standing on that platform all day. Just thinking of it makes me shudder.
We went to Patong Beach afterwards and played in the crashing surf. Aaron and Magi are so happy when they're in the water, they play games and we all toss each other about. It's a lot of fun for everyone. I was the partypooper today though because I stepped on something sharp and got two nice gashes in my big toe. I seem to be having not the best luck lately; yesterday I hit the top of my foot against a bamboo stick and had to pull out the much-bigger-than-a-splinter piece while blood started pooling. Good thing Aaron had his trusty first-aid kit. We also lost our camera to a waterfall yesterday. I can still see it plunging into the water in slow motion. We're not sure if it's salvagable but we can't turn it on or get it open and there's water in the display. We're not very optimistic.
As per Aaron's birthday request, we went to The Pizza Company for dinner. Large pizzas here are the equivalent of smalls at home so none of us are entirely full. We'll head out to the veg fest market again before bed. Magi has developed a rather unhealthy obsession with this one particular lady's unfried, made-before-your-eyes springrolls.
I want to mention one more thing. Yesterday we trekked out to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project. It's concerned with reintroducing Gibbon apes to their natural habitat after they have been stolen from their mother (after killing her), sold as pets, and often used in bars to entertain patrons. It was really inspiring to see such a great project at work.
Happy Birthday Aaron! (though I can see you over there lip-syncing to Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer- man this place has some good tunage!)
tothesea,
k&m
Sunday, October 06, 2002
no..make that 2 orders of vegetarian chicken feet please
What a great couple of days we have had. We're really enjoying our time at the festival. It is pretty amazing to enter a world where everything in sight can be devoured and where we are seeing so many new things! Being able to eat anything is obviously a luxury that you give up when you go veg so we have really forgotten what it's like to have such culinary freedom! But now, the streets are lined with all kinds of food vendors cooking up and dishing out a multitude of rice and noodle dishes with TVP or tofu, desserts, fresh fruits, and all kinds of delicious finger foods. And it's all totally veg so eating is absolutely brainless other than having to choose what stalls to eat from and whether to have dessert first, last, or instead of a main course!
Last night we went to the opening ceremony of the festival. It was simple, fairly short in length, and involved erecting a pole (which was a tree) covered in flags and gold leaf to invite the gods to the ceremony. We walked into the temple which was clouded with incense smoke, where everyone was in white (except for a few shameless tourists), and there were people going into trance-like states all around with the help of special priestesses who were waving flames all around them. Those already in trances were shouting in loud, quick bursts, making rapid hand gestures, dancing fanatically, and their eyes were shifting and uncontrolled. We kneeled down on the floor when the others did, stood when the others did, and cleared a path for those trancing when instructed to. Our eyes watered terribly from the heavy clouds of incense and eventually, we had to leave and watch the event from outside the temple (where we had a better view anyway). There were so many deafening firecrackers going off and we read that the louder they are, the better because they keep the evil spirits away. We all concurred after the fact that the whole event was pretty eerie and fantastic. We sat down at a food stall for a bite to eat and watched the hoards of people flood out of the temple. Then we talked about what event we would go to next!
Today we went to a Thai movie called "999-9999". We've seen trucks driving through town carrying a travelling billboard with the movie's ad painted on it and the trailer's sound blasting out of a loudspeaker. In Thai, the movie title sounds like "gow, gow, gow... gow, gow, gow, gow" and was played with a deep, scary voice and trembling music. So when Aaron went up to order the tickets he ordered them with that same voice and said "gow" all seven times. Oh what we find amusing! Anyway, it is a teen flick about a telephone number you can call to have any wish you want granted. There are all kinds of rules associated with the number and in the end you get your wish but also lose your life (always in a very brutal way). It was trashy entertainment and the plot was terribly flawed -we all enjoyed it immensely (in no small part due to the subzero temperature of the theatre)!
We really miss The Simpsons. We talk about different episodes and funny lines on a daily basis. One advance birthday request I have is that next time you write us or post in the guestbook, tell us which episode you last saw or just remind us of your favourite episode (if you watch it at all). Just so we can giggle about it. We're also spending some time wondering about Survivor this year since it was filmed right around where we are now. One of Aaron's friends sends us tempting emails hinting at the quality of this season's episodes. One other request is that if you watch it, don't be a spoiler!
Aaron's belly is rumbling (again). Who knew but the boy can EAT. Time to go.
Love,
k&m
Last night we went to the opening ceremony of the festival. It was simple, fairly short in length, and involved erecting a pole (which was a tree) covered in flags and gold leaf to invite the gods to the ceremony. We walked into the temple which was clouded with incense smoke, where everyone was in white (except for a few shameless tourists), and there were people going into trance-like states all around with the help of special priestesses who were waving flames all around them. Those already in trances were shouting in loud, quick bursts, making rapid hand gestures, dancing fanatically, and their eyes were shifting and uncontrolled. We kneeled down on the floor when the others did, stood when the others did, and cleared a path for those trancing when instructed to. Our eyes watered terribly from the heavy clouds of incense and eventually, we had to leave and watch the event from outside the temple (where we had a better view anyway). There were so many deafening firecrackers going off and we read that the louder they are, the better because they keep the evil spirits away. We all concurred after the fact that the whole event was pretty eerie and fantastic. We sat down at a food stall for a bite to eat and watched the hoards of people flood out of the temple. Then we talked about what event we would go to next!
Today we went to a Thai movie called "999-9999". We've seen trucks driving through town carrying a travelling billboard with the movie's ad painted on it and the trailer's sound blasting out of a loudspeaker. In Thai, the movie title sounds like "gow, gow, gow... gow, gow, gow, gow" and was played with a deep, scary voice and trembling music. So when Aaron went up to order the tickets he ordered them with that same voice and said "gow" all seven times. Oh what we find amusing! Anyway, it is a teen flick about a telephone number you can call to have any wish you want granted. There are all kinds of rules associated with the number and in the end you get your wish but also lose your life (always in a very brutal way). It was trashy entertainment and the plot was terribly flawed -we all enjoyed it immensely (in no small part due to the subzero temperature of the theatre)!
We really miss The Simpsons. We talk about different episodes and funny lines on a daily basis. One advance birthday request I have is that next time you write us or post in the guestbook, tell us which episode you last saw or just remind us of your favourite episode (if you watch it at all). Just so we can giggle about it. We're also spending some time wondering about Survivor this year since it was filmed right around where we are now. One of Aaron's friends sends us tempting emails hinting at the quality of this season's episodes. One other request is that if you watch it, don't be a spoiler!
Aaron's belly is rumbling (again). Who knew but the boy can EAT. Time to go.
Love,
k&m
Friday, October 04, 2002
the fire-walking, white-clothes wearing, tofu-eating party begins tomorrow
My goodness I'm posting a lot lately.... I just realized I'm somewhat of a chatterbox as of late. Well, as most of you head into the beginnings of winter, this is all just something to keep you thinking of warm, tropical places.
That brings me, and you, to Phuket ("poo-get"). We arrived here today after taking two of the standard government buses for a total of about five and a half hours . They differ from tourist buses in that they stop every, oh, 37 seconds to pick up the local crowd of military officers, school students, day trippers, next-town shoppers, and the odd weirdo who can't stop violently shaking his head. It's much more interesting than sitting amongst a large group of boisterous Israelis and stone-faced Germans (no offense, we are just using stereotypes to make a point). And it's a heck of a lot cheaper to boot.
The big annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins tomorrow but we've already had a sampling of what we're in for. Basically, I have a feeling it's going to be a big stuff-your-face-very-cheaply-and-love-it kind of week. I posted a list of the ten rules you're supposed to adhere to during the festival which all sounds a little weird if you think it's just a food-centred celebration. It gets even weirder when you find out that some of the more devoted participants in the festival pierce bamboo spears through their cheeks and walk through the street, walk on fire, bathe in hot oil, and climb ladders whose rungs are made of swords.
So what kind of crazy festival is this you ask? Well, this is what I have gathered from reading the broken English in the festival guide:
In 1825, a theatre troupe was travelling in the Phuket area. They all came down with a grave illness and to appease a couple of gods, they ate only vegetarian food for nine days and performed various acts of self-mortification for penance. After those nine days, the whole troupe was well again. They chalked it up to the diet they had maintained for that week and the acts they had performed and thus, the Vegetarian Festival began. The Festival is only celebrated by the Chinese community here (and us) and is held during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar every year. We're heading out tonight to get some white clothes for Aaron and Magi (I came well-prepared to participate.. I bought some white fisherman's pants last night).
tothesea,
k&m
That brings me, and you, to Phuket ("poo-get"). We arrived here today after taking two of the standard government buses for a total of about five and a half hours . They differ from tourist buses in that they stop every, oh, 37 seconds to pick up the local crowd of military officers, school students, day trippers, next-town shoppers, and the odd weirdo who can't stop violently shaking his head. It's much more interesting than sitting amongst a large group of boisterous Israelis and stone-faced Germans (no offense, we are just using stereotypes to make a point). And it's a heck of a lot cheaper to boot.
The big annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival begins tomorrow but we've already had a sampling of what we're in for. Basically, I have a feeling it's going to be a big stuff-your-face-very-cheaply-and-love-it kind of week. I posted a list of the ten rules you're supposed to adhere to during the festival which all sounds a little weird if you think it's just a food-centred celebration. It gets even weirder when you find out that some of the more devoted participants in the festival pierce bamboo spears through their cheeks and walk through the street, walk on fire, bathe in hot oil, and climb ladders whose rungs are made of swords.
So what kind of crazy festival is this you ask? Well, this is what I have gathered from reading the broken English in the festival guide:
In 1825, a theatre troupe was travelling in the Phuket area. They all came down with a grave illness and to appease a couple of gods, they ate only vegetarian food for nine days and performed various acts of self-mortification for penance. After those nine days, the whole troupe was well again. They chalked it up to the diet they had maintained for that week and the acts they had performed and thus, the Vegetarian Festival began. The Festival is only celebrated by the Chinese community here (and us) and is held during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar every year. We're heading out tonight to get some white clothes for Aaron and Magi (I came well-prepared to participate.. I bought some white fisherman's pants last night).
tothesea,
k&m
Thursday, October 03, 2002
losing our religion
We went against our better judgment today and did two things we're not proud of.
The first shameful thing we did was travel to Myanmar to renew our Thai tourist visas. We didn't want to go to Myanmar because of the political situation there. Supporting a military regime is not our idea of responsible tourism. But this is how it happened:
We were heading out of Ko Tao yesterday and the girl at the counter of the dive shop asked us where we were going next. We had planned to work our way down to Malaysia very quickly to cross the border by the time Aaron's visa expired on Saturday. It was going to be a long, arduous trip and quite expensive. She told us that we could much more easily get over to Myanmar in a matter of hours and get our visas processed there. You see, Canadians and Americans can travel without a visa to Thailand for 30 days. After that period you only have to dip into any neighbouring country briefly and then reenter Thailand in order to be allowed another 30 days. There is no limit to the amount of times you can do this and no minimum time you have to spend in another country before you reenter.
The procedure to get our new stamp went like this:
First we had to get in a songthaew to one of the town's piers. A songthaew (pronounced song-taow) is basically a pickup truck used as a taxi. In the bed of the pickup are two long benches facing one another with a shelter built above them. You hail one, discuss price and destination with the driver and then head along the route picking up anyone else (and their fruit and chickens) who wants to board it along the way. Once we were at the pier we had to fill out a form and get an exit stamp in our passport. Then we bought boat tickets for the 15 minute ferry that takes you across the border onto an island in Myanmar. However, it's not just a regular island since it houses only a five-star resort and casino. When you leave the ferry you are at the Myanmar immigration station where you leave your passport and proceed up to the resort by minibus. We had about an hour and a half to spend there and let me tell you, we didn't experience a single ounce of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) culture. We bought a package of Dutch chocolate at the duty-free and played a couple of shoot-em-up video games. That was the extent of our visit to Myanmar. We caught the minibus back down to the dock, collected our newly stamped passports, and rode back to Thailand on the boat. Then we had to go back to Thai immigration and get an entry stamp which grants us another 30 days. All in all we didn't really give anything to the government of Myanmar except the joy of our presence. We didn't have to pay to spend the time there and the island isn't really Burma anyway. It's just a deal the resort has with the government of Thailand to help out travellers like us who are going there for the new stamp in our passport.
Our second moment of shame today was getting a ride back into town with a seedy Kiwi (no pun intended). Who are we, lowly budget travellers, to turn down a free ride? Okay, the guy was more of a chunky creep and not so seedy. He was absolutely non-threatening but he had a Thai "girlfriend" with him who was barely half his age and still in braces. This brings up my biggest problem with some tourists here. So often you see these nasty western guys with women that they have hired to be their escort and tour guide (because I'm sure they are SO interested in the culture!) It's just pathetic. I won't even get into the issue of the sex trade industry because that would make this post rather depressing and heavy. Anyway, there we were barely attempting small talk with this guy while his lady friend sat quietly in the front seat enjoying the music that was blasting out of the stereo, the Backstreet Boys no less. It was really awkward and I was glad when we got out of there. He had offered us a free ride to our next destination since he was going that way anyway, but we declined. So at least we have a little bit of dignity left in us.
Thankfully, we're back in Ranong. It's a great little town with two vegetarian restaurant stalls (quite a surprise for this area). Our hotel is spotless and we even get fresh towels and soap everyday (this means a lot to budget travellers in Asia). But alas, it's back on the road tomorrow. A traveller's life is never dull (or at least we would have you think that).
tothesea,
k&m
The first shameful thing we did was travel to Myanmar to renew our Thai tourist visas. We didn't want to go to Myanmar because of the political situation there. Supporting a military regime is not our idea of responsible tourism. But this is how it happened:
We were heading out of Ko Tao yesterday and the girl at the counter of the dive shop asked us where we were going next. We had planned to work our way down to Malaysia very quickly to cross the border by the time Aaron's visa expired on Saturday. It was going to be a long, arduous trip and quite expensive. She told us that we could much more easily get over to Myanmar in a matter of hours and get our visas processed there. You see, Canadians and Americans can travel without a visa to Thailand for 30 days. After that period you only have to dip into any neighbouring country briefly and then reenter Thailand in order to be allowed another 30 days. There is no limit to the amount of times you can do this and no minimum time you have to spend in another country before you reenter.
The procedure to get our new stamp went like this:
First we had to get in a songthaew to one of the town's piers. A songthaew (pronounced song-taow) is basically a pickup truck used as a taxi. In the bed of the pickup are two long benches facing one another with a shelter built above them. You hail one, discuss price and destination with the driver and then head along the route picking up anyone else (and their fruit and chickens) who wants to board it along the way. Once we were at the pier we had to fill out a form and get an exit stamp in our passport. Then we bought boat tickets for the 15 minute ferry that takes you across the border onto an island in Myanmar. However, it's not just a regular island since it houses only a five-star resort and casino. When you leave the ferry you are at the Myanmar immigration station where you leave your passport and proceed up to the resort by minibus. We had about an hour and a half to spend there and let me tell you, we didn't experience a single ounce of Burmese (or Myanmarese?) culture. We bought a package of Dutch chocolate at the duty-free and played a couple of shoot-em-up video games. That was the extent of our visit to Myanmar. We caught the minibus back down to the dock, collected our newly stamped passports, and rode back to Thailand on the boat. Then we had to go back to Thai immigration and get an entry stamp which grants us another 30 days. All in all we didn't really give anything to the government of Myanmar except the joy of our presence. We didn't have to pay to spend the time there and the island isn't really Burma anyway. It's just a deal the resort has with the government of Thailand to help out travellers like us who are going there for the new stamp in our passport.
Our second moment of shame today was getting a ride back into town with a seedy Kiwi (no pun intended). Who are we, lowly budget travellers, to turn down a free ride? Okay, the guy was more of a chunky creep and not so seedy. He was absolutely non-threatening but he had a Thai "girlfriend" with him who was barely half his age and still in braces. This brings up my biggest problem with some tourists here. So often you see these nasty western guys with women that they have hired to be their escort and tour guide (because I'm sure they are SO interested in the culture!) It's just pathetic. I won't even get into the issue of the sex trade industry because that would make this post rather depressing and heavy. Anyway, there we were barely attempting small talk with this guy while his lady friend sat quietly in the front seat enjoying the music that was blasting out of the stereo, the Backstreet Boys no less. It was really awkward and I was glad when we got out of there. He had offered us a free ride to our next destination since he was going that way anyway, but we declined. So at least we have a little bit of dignity left in us.
Thankfully, we're back in Ranong. It's a great little town with two vegetarian restaurant stalls (quite a surprise for this area). Our hotel is spotless and we even get fresh towels and soap everyday (this means a lot to budget travellers in Asia). But alas, it's back on the road tomorrow. A traveller's life is never dull (or at least we would have you think that).
tothesea,
k&m
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
paradise left
We're now officially certified to dive anywhere in the world! It's pretty exciting to have that kind of license and we hope to make a few fun dives in other countries we're going to be stopping in along the way.
Our last two days of the course consisted of four deep dives to our maximum allowable depth of 18 metres. It wasn't all fun and games because we had a lot of skills left to demonstrate. Near the end of our second dive (at about 12 metres) we had to demonstrate that we could take out our regulators (the things that go in your mouth to provide the air) and breathe off of our "buddy"'s reg. We had demonstrated the same skill at about 3 metres so it shouldn't have been a problem. But I forgot the very important step of clearing out the water from the reg before sucking in. So, when I took air from Magi's reg I got a mouthful of water, couldn't figure out why, and then I panicked. I held my breathe (the most important rule of diving is to never hold your breath!) and tried to go up to the surface as I exhaled my last gasp of air. Jimmy held on to me and yelled something indecipherable then handed me the cleared reg. I sucked on that air like it was the best thing I had ever tasted and took about 10 deep breaths before I was feeling calm again. For a moment there I really felt like I was at the end, it was really scary. That sort of set the tone for the other dives we did, I was much more anxious while descending but that was all that went wrong. Magi had one of those lessons too, the kind you only have to do wrong once before learning never to do it that way again. You've probably got an idea of what a diver looks like when she steps off a boat. They take a long stride forward with one hand at their face holding their mask and reg on. Well, one part of that you can't see is that the vest you're wearing is full of air to keep you buoyant once you hit the water. Hence the name, it's called a BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. On our first entry, Magi forgot to put air in her BCD vest and plunged deeply with her really heavy scuba gear into the depths of the gulf of Thailand. When she got back to the surface of the water, she pledged her retirement from scuba forever. When she realized what she had done wrong, she felt much better and all the following entries were smooth and comfortable.
It's hard to put into words what it's like to be swimming along underwater watching the fishes and the coral and their environment simply exist. On one hand it's very peaceful and soothing to swim along in the relative quiet (when you breathe you sound a little like Darth Vader). On the other hand you have to remember to never stop inhaling and exhaling deeply and you have to continuously equalize your ears and try to remain neutrally buoyant so you can swim and so you don't disturb the underwater environment.
I think it must become much more of the former once you dive many dives. I'm so excited to have seen the fish we saw when we were out there. Just to name a few we saw blue spotted stingrays, clown fish, more barracudas, many schools of small tropical fishes, all kinds of coral and we were even attacked by a trigger fish. A triggerfish is a beautiful but big and territorial fish that isn't kind to strangers. We were warned about going into their space and knew that when Jimmy signaled a gun with his hand, he meant we were coming upon a trigger's home. Charlotte, a Brit from our group, didn't take kindly to this attack and went straight to the surface. Magi was quite scared I found out later but the rest of us were just kind of floating there, enjoying the art of the attack with our flippers out in front ready to protect ourselves. Eventually we worked our way out of trouble.
Everyday we were on Ko Tao the sun shined and both the wind and the water were warm. It was the closest thing to paradise that I have ever experienced. It was a very sad moment this morning to board the ferry and leave.
Tonight we're in the sleepy town of Ranong on the west coast. We arrived here today after taking a ferry from Ko Tao and then a minivan from Chumphon. We're only here for a few days before heading deeper south to Phuket.
Tomorrow is Emerson's FIRST birthday! Happy Birthday Cutie!
inthesea,
k&m
Our last two days of the course consisted of four deep dives to our maximum allowable depth of 18 metres. It wasn't all fun and games because we had a lot of skills left to demonstrate. Near the end of our second dive (at about 12 metres) we had to demonstrate that we could take out our regulators (the things that go in your mouth to provide the air) and breathe off of our "buddy"'s reg. We had demonstrated the same skill at about 3 metres so it shouldn't have been a problem. But I forgot the very important step of clearing out the water from the reg before sucking in. So, when I took air from Magi's reg I got a mouthful of water, couldn't figure out why, and then I panicked. I held my breathe (the most important rule of diving is to never hold your breath!) and tried to go up to the surface as I exhaled my last gasp of air. Jimmy held on to me and yelled something indecipherable then handed me the cleared reg. I sucked on that air like it was the best thing I had ever tasted and took about 10 deep breaths before I was feeling calm again. For a moment there I really felt like I was at the end, it was really scary. That sort of set the tone for the other dives we did, I was much more anxious while descending but that was all that went wrong. Magi had one of those lessons too, the kind you only have to do wrong once before learning never to do it that way again. You've probably got an idea of what a diver looks like when she steps off a boat. They take a long stride forward with one hand at their face holding their mask and reg on. Well, one part of that you can't see is that the vest you're wearing is full of air to keep you buoyant once you hit the water. Hence the name, it's called a BCD or Buoyancy Control Device. On our first entry, Magi forgot to put air in her BCD vest and plunged deeply with her really heavy scuba gear into the depths of the gulf of Thailand. When she got back to the surface of the water, she pledged her retirement from scuba forever. When she realized what she had done wrong, she felt much better and all the following entries were smooth and comfortable.
It's hard to put into words what it's like to be swimming along underwater watching the fishes and the coral and their environment simply exist. On one hand it's very peaceful and soothing to swim along in the relative quiet (when you breathe you sound a little like Darth Vader). On the other hand you have to remember to never stop inhaling and exhaling deeply and you have to continuously equalize your ears and try to remain neutrally buoyant so you can swim and so you don't disturb the underwater environment.
I think it must become much more of the former once you dive many dives. I'm so excited to have seen the fish we saw when we were out there. Just to name a few we saw blue spotted stingrays, clown fish, more barracudas, many schools of small tropical fishes, all kinds of coral and we were even attacked by a trigger fish. A triggerfish is a beautiful but big and territorial fish that isn't kind to strangers. We were warned about going into their space and knew that when Jimmy signaled a gun with his hand, he meant we were coming upon a trigger's home. Charlotte, a Brit from our group, didn't take kindly to this attack and went straight to the surface. Magi was quite scared I found out later but the rest of us were just kind of floating there, enjoying the art of the attack with our flippers out in front ready to protect ourselves. Eventually we worked our way out of trouble.
Everyday we were on Ko Tao the sun shined and both the wind and the water were warm. It was the closest thing to paradise that I have ever experienced. It was a very sad moment this morning to board the ferry and leave.
Tonight we're in the sleepy town of Ranong on the west coast. We arrived here today after taking a ferry from Ko Tao and then a minivan from Chumphon. We're only here for a few days before heading deeper south to Phuket.
Tomorrow is Emerson's FIRST birthday! Happy Birthday Cutie!
inthesea,
k&m