easiest week ever

I only had to teach one day this week! We had Monday off for the King's birthday. On Tuesday, third through sixth grade spent the morning at the movie theater, watching a documentary about the royal family. Wednesday was normal, but we had today off for Constitution Day.

A few of the girls and I spent our day off riding bikes and checking out some 500-year-old ruins in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam.

Our magic school ID badges didn't get us into the ruins for free, unfortunately, meaning we had to pay 50 baht at each one. My fellow bikers weren't interested in doing this too many times, since we'd already been to see Angkor in Cambodia back in July.

We ended up only really exploring two different ruins. I would've liked to see more, but democracy wins, I guess. Maybe I'll go back some Saturday.

monkeys and flowers in lopburi

I can only tolerate so much Bangkok at a time. It had been over a month since I'd left town, so on Sunday I set my sights on Lopburi: home to thousands of monkeys and endless sunflower fields.

Every year, this primate-infested town holds a feast for the monkeys at some temple ruins. My colleagues and I got there by noon, just in time to watch them have a milk break. Did you know monkeys can drink through straws? I didn't.

They're thieving little devils. We were warned not to wear jewelry, or carry anything that looks like food. One monkey snatched a container of hand sanitizer dangling from a rubber band on Simone's backpack. She tried to get it back, afraid he'd be poisoned, but he scampered up the side of a building and out of reach.

Next on the agenda was taking pictures in a sunflower field.

I had anticipated communication problems, and before we left in the morning I did an internet search for "sunflower" in Thai. No luck. I settled for drawing a little picture of a sunflower and hoped it would be sufficient.

Nonverbal communication worked remarkably well. I held out my scrap of paper to people and pointed to the sunflower. A ticket lady ushered us onto her bus, which was filled with colorful pictures of Hindu (?) gods.

She got off with us at a bus stop, motioned for us to wait, and asked a nearby satay vendor to let us know which bus to take to the sunflower fields.

We waited on a bench and chatted amongst ourselves until the bus came. It was packed, and we had to sit on a raised area directly above the engine. Not the most comfortable ride ever, but it was OK.

After 20 minutes or so of riding, we started seeing small sunflower fields. We got off on the side of the road.

It was one of the loveliest sights I've seen here. There were rows and rows of tall, beautiful yellow flowers stretching as far as I could see.

We hitched a ride in the back of a jackfruit truck down to a field bordered by some rocky hills.

It was definitely worth the three hours spent getting there from Bangkok and the threat of rabies.

from Laos to Chiang Mai

I left you all hanging at Laos, but I wanted to mention the last week of my vacation.

Mariela and I spent 16 hours over two days traveling up the Mekong River by slow boat to get back to Thailand from Laos. The first day, we had the "luxury boat," which earned its title because of the padded car seats nailed to 2x4s that made up the passenger rows.

It was fine for eight hours. The breeze came in off the water and we were comfortable enough to read and journal and even nap. We spent the night at a super-dodgy guesthouse in Pak Beng. At no other point on this trip was I afraid to fall asleep at night, but we did, in fact, live to see another day.

The next morning we had a scrumptious breakfast -- an egg, ham, and cheese bagel and muesli with yogurt and fresh fruit -- before heading down to meet the boat.

It was exactly the same as yesterday's vessel except for one unfortunate detail. We were on the edge of our seats, literally, because the wide, comfy car chairs had been replaced by rickety, narrow, wooden benches with loose floral cushions so flat there might as well have been no cushion at all. Observe our chagrin.




It was a long eight hours. We spent that night at a non-sketchy guesthouse in Houay Xai. This one was on a three-tiered pricing system. See the photo for details. We must have chosen "cheaper price," because ours didn't come with toilet paper. It was OK, though. We nicked some from the room across the hall.

The next day, we crossed the river into Thailand and spent the day riding various buses on our way to Chiang Mai.

We stopped in Chiang Rai to see the White Temple, or Wat Rong Khun. We also perused a small gallery of the artist's other work. Most of it was very Buddhist, but there were a few unique paintings that caught our eye. One pictured George Bush clinging to a rocket blasting into space and waving. Odd. Another interesting piece had a title that was something like, "The Dominance of the Male Organ Over the World." I almost bought a postcard of that painting, but I couldn't decide who I'd mail it to. You don't want to send the wrong message...

budget tours ain't all that bad

Mariela and I booked a budget tour of Halong Bay from the travel agency in our hotel in Hanoi. I'd read all kinds of warnings online saying these tours were hit or miss, but we decided to try our luck.

Overall, it was a good deal. The boat was nice, the cabin was cozy, the beds were comfy, and the food was decent.

The negatives? The water cut off at night, and I had to hunt down a boat guy to get it turned back on for a shower. Our tour guide was also awful - not friendly or helpful in the slightest - and he told us we couldn't get off the boat to swim because the police would give him a fine.

We knew this was a lie, because other people we talked with said they got to swim. The travel agent at the hotel said it was included in our itinerary (and Mariela is trying to negotiate with him at this moment to knock a few bucks off our hotel room). We tried to tell this to the guide, but he'd have none of it.

We met some cool British people our age, though, and played cards with them last night. We taught them Continental, and they taught us Shit Head.

I'll post some photos of the bay when I'm back in Thailand, but Google it to get an idea. The water is a beautiful jade green color and the bay is dotted with hundreds of tall, rocky islands that jut up out of the water.

We got to kayak around a little bit this morning, which was really fun. It was quiet and peaceful.

All the scenery wasn't beautiful, however, as Mariela pointed out a butt while we were kayaking. Yes, a butt. We were approaching a fishing boat when Mariela spotted a women who had just squatted over the side of her boat to use the toilet in the water! What a way to start the morning.

After kayaking we had the worst breakfast ever. The bread tasted like cardboard and the jelly was artificial beyond description.

We enjoyed soaking up the scenery and some sun as we headed back toward Halong City, and lunch in the tour company's restaurant was pretty good.

For $30, I can't complain.

Hanoi: Day Two

We saw the outside of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum today. It wasn't open to the public; I think Uncle Ho is in Russia for preservation right now. But the uber-trippy Ho Chi Minh Museum nearby was up and running.

The third floor was a bewildering assortment of modern art exhibits meant to represent Ho Chi Minh's life and achievements and the progress of Vietnam. Words can't describe it. I'll try to post pictures when I'm back in Bangkok.

We saw the One Pillar Pagoda -- unimpressive, but we had to take pictures since it's the only pagoda we've seen so far.

We had lunch and saw the water puppet show in the afternoon. It was weird, but fun. This particular form of puppetry originated in northern Hanoi, and it's a big tourist attraction.

In the afternoon, we shopped and shopped. I love looking at the handicrafts here, but it makes me sad that I can't buy everything I see.

We had a wonderfully delicious meal of chicken pho (a rice noodle soup) and fried rice by the street.

When we returned to the hotel, Mariela and I started talking to the guy at the front desk about the bus to Halong City, where we wanted to catch a boat to go around the bay and visit Cat Ba Island. He ended up talking us into a 2-day, $30 tour. I've read very mixed reviews about these budget Halong Bay tours, so it might be a total debacle. We'll know tomorrow!

Hanoi: Day One

We had a great first day in Hanoi. I love this country. Granted, it's probably only because I'm here as a tourist for a limited time. Whatever. The food has been delicious, the shopping good, and the people friendly.

HCMC was a more chill place than Hanoi, I think, but the traffic was definitely more hectic there than here.

We spent our day wandering around the Old Quarter. We got an excellent (free!) city guide at the airport today, which included maps, a list of which streets sell which products (as in, shoe street, bag street, handicrafts, jewelry, lacquerware, fake Adidas... the list goes on and on), and a guide to street food, including pictures! I wish we had one for Bangkok.

We had an overpriced, mediocre lunch, followed by a stroll around the city. We walked around Hoan Kiem lake, took photos, poked around a Catholic cathedral, and went to an ice cream place listed in our magic book.

The place was packed with locals (and their motorbikes), and the most popular flavor of ice cream bar seemed to be "green." We decided to go with it.

It had a wonderful, creamy texture and the flavor was a combination of something like coconut, sunscreen scent, shea butter, and corn. Sounds awful, but it was strangely delicious. We're going back tomorrow for seconds.

Street restaurants here feature low, low tables and tiny, kid-sized stools to sit on. It's not the most comfortable way to eat, but we had some delicious fried rice and baked shrimp for about $1.60 each. Did I mention that I love the food in southeast Asia?

cu chi tunnels

We took a half-day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels today.

We got to crawl through a section of the tunnels. They've been widened since the war, so that tourists can fit, but they were still cramped and claustrophobic. Parts of them had no light at all, so you had to feel your way in the dark, crouched over and scraping your back and shoulders against the tunnel walls.

We also saw some of the booby traps used by the National Liberation Front against the American army. Creepy, creepy stuff.

I had a nice chat with two older Australian men on the way to the tunnels. We got on the issue of guns and gun control, because they have different weapons you can pay to shoot after you see the tunnels.

One guy asked if I planned to shoot. I said I wasn't that interested, since I shoot guns at home. I ended up telling him about my 5-year-old cousin Krista's pink 22 rifle, and Krista's dad's AK-47. The look on his face was priceless.

Not that I'm a gun fanatic at all, but it was just funny to see the cultural difference. I take it for granted that we'll go out to the farm and shoot guns after Thanksgiving or Christmas lunch. I'm from rural East Texas - what can I say?

We spent the second half of our day wandering around HCMC's Chinatown. Not impressive. Also, a pagoda-fail and market-fail. We did manage to take a bus back to our street, which was much cheaper than a taxi. So... 10% success rate, maybe?

Ho Chi Minh City

I'd read before coming here that the city is crazy, hectic, and has awful traffic. After walking around for a day, I have to say I disagree completely.

My view is colored, of course, because I've lived in Bangkok for the last four months. HCMC certainly has more motorbikes than BKK (probably at least 3 times as many), and it's true that traffic lights are infrequent occurences (and pedestrian crossing lights even less so), but Alyssa, Mariela, and I agree: HCMC is a chill place.

French colonial influence has given it a European feel. The streets are luxuriously wide, the sidewalks are smooth and clean, there aren't street vendors everywhere you turn, and there are lots and lots of parks.

It's not nearly as polluted as BKK, which means breathing is pleasant and the temperature by the street isn't suffocating.

The food here is SO good, so fresh, and so cheap. Dinner tonight (vegetable curry, cashew chicken, rice, and mango smoothies) cost us about $2.50 each.

Another nice thing - nearly all restaurants in Vietnam give you little moist towlettes to clean your hands with before you eat.

More to come!

golden buddha: wat traimit

School was out on Wednesday for the Queen's birthday, so Mariela and I decided to make an excursion to the famed Golden Buddha. It's three meters tall and made from solid gold.

There weren't any convenient buses, so we took a taxi. The driver wanted to use the expressway because of a traffic jam. The toll for the expressway was 45B, and we still hit a little traffic there because people were trying to get to the Grand Palace. 110B later, we were there.

We walked up to a magnificent, but closed, gold and white temple. Adjacent to it was a somewhat less impressive temple with chipping, faded paint. We took off our shoes and went inside.

There was a large golden Buddha statue at the front of the room. It looked to be about three meters high. We sat down and looked around. The walls were unadorned, unlike other wats we'd visited. The red carpet covering the floor was worn and shabby. It seemed an unlikely home for one of the three most important Buddha statues in Bangkok.

Mariela asked me how many carats I thought the Buddha might be. Then we got into a conversation about the difference in carats. We watched a monk perform a ceremony with some worshipers. He tied a string around each person's wrist and flung holy water on them. Drops flicked on us, too.

We got up to leave, went outside, and started perusing our map to figure out where the nearest Metro stop was when a tuk-tuk driver sidled up to us. We started talking about the Golden Buddha and he pointed at the pretty, new, white and gold wat and said, "Oh, no, it's up there. But it's closed until next month."

So that answered Mariela's question: The statue we saw was made from 0 carat gold...

We were somewhat annoyed that we'd paid all that money for the taxi ride and hadn't even seen the Golden Buddha. The tuk-tuk driver offered to give us a ride for 20 baht to our next destination.

Then he told us we had to made a stop at his sponsor's store. This is a common tourist trap, but usually the tourists don't find out they're making a stop until they're already on the road. The driver stops off at a store and tries to get you to buy something, because he'll receive a commission from the store owner.

We started to tell him, "No, thanks," but he told us we could just go in the store for ten minutes, look around, and leave. We didn't have to buy anything. And he'd lower our fare to ten baht. We said OK. It was daytime, after all. What could happen?

He told us the store shirts. We expected a souvenir shop, but he pulled over in front of a tailor, got out, and gestured for us to go inside.

I had to wonder - does that technique really work? Do people just decide to go have some tailored clothes made on a whim? I tend to think not.

Anyway, we looked, left, and got to our destination with no problems.

I'm calling this one a 0% because we didn't see the Buddha we came for, and we paid a lot to get there. Maybe next month.

100% success

After two and a half months in Bangkok, Mariela and I finally visited the magnificent Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Why the delay in visiting this Thai landmark?

We just got our work ID badges on Thursday. One of the perks of having this particular badge is that we get into the Grand Palace complex for free (rather than 350B). We also get to pay the "Thai price" for all national parks.

We were pumped about getting to go through the "Free for Thai" line at the gate.

The grounds were beautiful. The architecture looked a lot like what we saw at the palace in Cambodia, only bigger.

We arrived at 10:25 - just in time for a free tour. Our guide was nice and he had a sense of humor.

He told us about the different buildings. One houses the ashes of royal family members. One is covered in pastel-colored pieces of Chinese ceramic pottery. Two golden stupas are held up by monkeys and demons. Everything is covered in either gold leaf or tiny, shiny bits of color.

The actual palace looks rather European, until you get to the roof, which is made of red, orange, blue, and green ceramic tiles with curly gold flourishes rising up from the corners. And then there are the funny trees out front that look like something from a Dr. Seuss book.




The grounds also house the longest painting in the world. It's a massive mural of the story of Ramakian, the Thai version of the Indian epic, The Ramayana. Too bad it's been four years since I read that book. I don't remember anything about it. We're planning to go to a traditional Thai performance of Ramakian at some point this year. I'll need to brush up on Rama's adventures.

an excursion of average proportions

Mariela, Alyssa and I have decided to rate our excursions based on their success levels.

Today's trip received an 85%. Not bad. Way within passing range.

Mariela and I took a ride on the mighty Chao Phraya River today. I researched day trips within an easy distance of Bangkok. Getting to Ko Kret - an island to the northeast of Bangkok where the Mon people make their signature pottery - sounded simple enough.

We live across town from the river. Taking the bus is the most affordable option, so we walked to a bus stop and waited for number 16 for at least half an hour. We finally caught our bus on a street a little further down. We rode for about 20 minutes and got off on Sam Sen Road.

It was clear we weren't in a tourist area. We were the only western faces around. We wandered through some food vendors and noticed the prices on Sam Sen were lower than on our street, probably because a lot of farangs live where we do.


Some helpful folks pointed us toward the pier. We walked through more vendors selling big bags of bread crusts for 15B. Curious. When we got down to the pier, we could see why. There were swarms of huge fish in the water below. People would toss handfuls of crusts into the water and watch the fish go crazy.

We waited a long time for our boat. The ride probably lasted another 30 to 40 minutes, but it was pleasantly cool out on the water. If we lived nearer to the river, the express boats would definitely be my preferred method of transportation. At the last stop, we disembarked and waited for a bus to take us nearer to the island.

We were dropped off near an old, decrepit temple that looked nothing like a place to catch a boat. We stopped the first passerby and held out a piece of paper with "Ko Kret" written in Thai. She pointed us in the right direction. The ferry stop was through another temple's grounds. Pretty soon, we were on Ko Kret.

I don't know if my estimates add up, but all in all it took us four hours to get there.

We looked at a tiny wat (temple) a few yards away from where the boat dropped us off, and then meandered through the market. It was nice, and had some of the same handicrafts we'd seen at the Made in Thailand expo. There were lots of delicious-looking food options, but when we saw sticky rice with mango, we couldn't resist. Yum.

Later, we went back to the same food stand and bought a bag of yellow, coconut-topped cakes baked in little cups made from banana leaves. They were tasty, too.

We spent nearly three hours there before the sun and walking around wore us out. I had read that we could get a bus back to Bangkok, but that we might have to ride the BTS Skytrain after that.

We took the little ferry boat, walked through the temple and the old, defunct temple, and back out onto the road where we could catch a bus. Luckily, we saw "Victory Monument" listed as a stop on the side of bus 166. We live within walking distance from Victory Monument, so we wouldn't have to spend any extra money on the BTS. Joy! We hopped on and settled in for what we thought would be an hour-long ride. In 25 minutes, we were at our stop. Another 15 minutes of walking, and we were home.

We laughed when we thought about the four hours we spent getting there. Hence, we felt it necessary to dock 15% off our trip's score.

Tonight we ate mediocre Mexican food at Charley Brown's. It was like being home. We went to The Australian afterward to hear a band that covers popular songs. One of the singers was the most spastic dancer I've ever seen. And he was able to sound exactly like Chris Martin from Coldplay. I'm talking dead on. Ten points for him.

i <3 siem reap

Our hotel in Siem Reap - The Golden Mango Inn - has been great. They are friendly, accommodating, and oh-so-helpful with arranging transportation for sightseeing.

Alyssa, Mariela, and I got an early start this morning with our tuk tuk driver, Sopon. The hotel owner had written out a list of temples for us to see in the best order to avoid crowds.

The weather was cool and perfect. It's never that cool in the morning in Bangkok. I loved it.

The first temple, I think, was my favorite. Ta Prohm, or the Jungle Temple, is nearly 1000 years old. It's beautiful and green and peaceful. Massive trees have taken over parts of it. Their roots snake down over the stones like anacondas on steroids.


We stopped for lunch across from Angkor Wat, one of the most well-known (and crowded) temple complexes. There, we were harassed by children selling souvenirs. They stood around our table the entire time we were eating, trying to cajole us into buying something.

I looked through one boy's postcards, but didn't see anything I liked. He seemed bitter about this, calling us "stingy tourists," and telling us never to come back to his country again. He kept pouting, "Why you look but you no buy?" He was probably eight years old. There were a couple of girls selling bracelets, too. They made me sad. Kids shouldn't have to go out and harass tourists every day to earn a living. Kids should be in school laughing with their friends.

After lunch, we went to my second favorite temple: Bayon, the temple of faces.

Tourists like to take photos posing where it looks like they're standing nose to nose with a big stone face. It's like Cambodia's version of the holding-up-the-Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa photo.

We saw a few more temples in the afternoon, but had to call it a day around 2:15. The Cambodian sun was almost unbearable; I've never sweat so much in my life.

We headed back to the Golden Mango, napped, and relaxed until dinner time. When we started getting hungry, we walked down to the front desk to ask about food options. They offered us free transport to a restaurant near the Old Market.

We spent 40 minutes shopping, ate some delicious Khmer curry and chicken amok, and headed back to the hotel. One of my first goals after getting back to the U.S. is learning to make Khmer curry and chicken amok.

Overall, a lovely day. Siem Reap gets two thumbs up.