Home Brings Mixed Emotions.

We arrived back in California last Sunday and have many stories to share about our final weeks in Vietnam and Indonesia.  Forgive us for not posting photos for the last month; we didn't want to risk getting more viruses from internet cafe computers (you never know where those things have been.)  Since our computers work SO much better here than they did in Asia, we will edit down our photographs before posting them to Picasa and save you the torture of looking at every single picture we snapped.  Come back to the blog in a few days and hopefully we'll have a link ready for your viewing pleasure.

There is so much that we would both like to reflect on, but I don't think we'll be able to do it in one blog post.  For now, I will just say that this trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  Our travels have fundamentally changed who I am (in a good way) and have given me a broader, more dimensioned perspective on the world and the people in it.  Maybe that sounds cliche, but it's true.  If you have done a trip like this, or even traveled for just a week or two at a time, you know what I mean.

While we were gone, Tyson's sister Teagan left to spend 10 weeks in Cuba for her last semester at college.  A few weeks into her trip, she sent us an email opining that travel should be a requirement for everyone.  I completely agree.  Traveling forces you out of your comfort zone.  It tests your strength and your courage and your bowels.  It opens you up to unexpected interactions, unfamiliar situations, and whim.  It teaches you about yourself and what you are capable of.  It heightens your senses (sometimes this is not a good thing.)  It shows you how breathtaking and heartbreaking this earth is and how we are all beautifully, subtlety connected.

Even though our trip has ended, we intend to try to keep the blog going.  Hopefully, we'll have some interesting things to write about even though we are back in America.  In fact, just yesterday, when Tyson and I were heading up the stairs at the post office, we saw a large homeless woman who was bending over wearing a short summer dress.  Not very noteworthy, right?  Except that it is blog-worthy when said woman fails to wear underpants.  Seriously.  Bare ass and then some on the steps of the Santa Barbara post office.  Now that is a good travel story.  (Thankfully, there are no photos.)

Four Months on a Map

It really is amazing how easy things can be stateside.  At the store, we're able to pick out whatever we want with ease.  If anything, we're faced with too much choice.  We walk down the sidewalks without looking down to make sure we don't step in a hole.  People generally stop at stop signs.  We can pay with a credit card (this should not be so easy) and there is toilet paper and soap in every bathroom (so far).  And once its set up, the internet is easy to use.  This helped us update the basic route we took over the last four months and share it in Google Maps.

The blue upside down raindrops are all of the places we stayed, red lines are flights we took, and blue lines are all sorts of other travel options (ranging from buses, boats, sangthaews, and somebody's uncle's tuk tuk).  The travel was half the experience, maybe more.  We had some great rides, and some scary ones, but it all seemed to work out for the best.

Here's basically the first two and a half months in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia:


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map


And a month in Vietnam, then Indonesia (Bali and Gili Islands):


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map


And our final gorgeous days in Bali, and then Bangkok, where we reluctantly caught our flight home:


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map

A Quick Update from Paradise

This morning we woke up with the realization that in a week's time, we'll be boarding a flight out of Bangkok (well hopefully, given the political unrest) and back to our "real" world.  After a month in Vietnam, we would have left without much sadness...as much as we loved it, and we truly did, the country wore us out (we'll write more on our experiences later).  However, having gone from the two-million motorbike congested, rainy, narrow streets of the Old Quarter of Hanoi (where walking and navigating is nothing short of a challenge, we got lost at least twice) to the horsecarts and bicycles that serve the dirt paths surrounding Gili Air (off the coast of Lombok, Indonesia), we are digging in our heels.

We've spent the past few days diving, snorkeling and lounging in tropical paradise, then retreating to our gorgeous air-conditioned bungalow equipped with an outdoor bathroom, pool, and great company (we decided to treat ourselves).  What a fantastic way to end a phenomenal trip.  We are literally in heaven.  It will be hard to leave, which is exactly the feeling we were hoping for.

Adopted

Would this ever happen at home?  Would you go to a tailor to have some clothes made and wind up having the store owner and her family take you in as one of their own?  Would they hug and kiss you and squeeze your cheeks?  Would they invite you to join them for a birthday celebration for their kids?  Would they tell you that you were now part of their family and would you legitimately feel like you were?

Well, this has happened to us in Hoi An, Vietnam. 

On a recommendation from some travelers we met in Cambodia, we found ourselves at a tailor shop called Diem Diem.  Immediately, we were given beer and food and made to feel completely welcome.  Within 15 minutes of being in the shop (and ordering lots of tailor-made clothes), we had been invited to the birthday party of Diem's twin daughters, who were turning 2 the next day.  We gladly accepted this invitation and at 4:30 pm the next day, Tyson and I arrived for the birthday celebration at the shop.  However, we soon learned that the party was not going to be at the shop as we were escorted, along with 13 other members of the family, into a large minivan.  We had no idea where we were going but we felt no fear or discomfort.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a local restaurant where we proceeded to have the most delicious Vietnamese meal that we have eaten since arriving in this country.  The family sat Tys and I right in the center of the table, across from the patriarch of the family (who we affectionately call "Papa").  Papa made sure that our beer glasses remained full throughout the meal and our eating was frequently interrupted by the clinking of glasses and the shouting of "YO!," which means "Cheers" in Vietnamese.  We ate family style and the food just kept on coming. 

 

The first course involved making our own spring rolls from rice paper, lettuce, mint, cucumber and fish and dipping them into a chili, garlic and rice vinegar sauce. 

 

The second course was small, whole squid, which were a little squishy for us (but the little girls sitting next to me just couldn't get enough.) 

 

For the third course we ate clams in a soup broth: quite delicious but Papa opened the clams that hadn't opened during the boiling process and insisted that Tyson and I eat them.  I'm pretty sure that you are NOT supposed to do this because it means the clams were already dead before being cooked (and rotten clams can obviously make you very sick) but we could not offend him by turning down his offers.  I managed to put down one forcefully opened clam but Tyson had to eat two!  Thankfully, neither of us got sick.

 

The final course was a Vietnamese hot pot that included fish, shrimp, squid, vegetables and noodles. By the time we got to this point, we were both so stuffed but kept eating what they put in front of us to show our appreciation.  Yes, our seafood consciences were killing us throughout the meal.

This experience was very special and unique for us.  We had the opportunity to feel, if only for a few hours, what it was like to be a part of a big, happy, lovely, Vietnamese family.  It didn't matter that we couldn't understand most of what was being discussed at the dinner table, we still felt completely comfortable, welcome and included.  And we feel very lucky that we were able to have an experience like this.  We don't know why they chose us but we are thankful that they did.  We doubt we will have another experience like this with strangers any time soon. 

The motto of this family was, "Money is number 20, family and friends are number 1."  And they are right.  This experience helped us understand how special it is for generations of family members to be so geographically close to one another and made is realize how important it is, to us, to be physically closer to our families at home.  Mom and Dad Feinberg, time to move to California!  Seriously.

PS - While in Hoi An, our adopted family fed us at least 8 meals, several cups of coffee, and more beers than we care to admit.  By the time we leave here tomorrow, neither of us our going to fit into all the new clothes we had made. 

2 suits, 1 business shirt, 1 pair of shorts, 2 jackets, 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of women's work pants, 1 jean skirt, and 4 pairs of shoes: $Many Vietnamese Dong.

Spending 5 days being a part of a Vietnamese family: Priceless.


 

Easy Riding

Before the trip, we made a couple of pacts with our doctors:  1) we wouldn't pet stray dogs or 2) get on motorbikes.  The stray dogs were to be avoided for fear of potentially being bitten by a rabid dog (vaccinations for rabies, and neutering for that matter, lack in all the countries we've visited).  Given the traffic patterns here, motorbikes raise obvious concern, especially if you don't really know how aggressive the driver is.  Our own pact was to not eat any fruit or vegetables that may have been washed with dirty water.  After 3 months, we are dog petting, motorbike riding, salad eating fools...and loving it.

 

It comes to a basic realization: it's not possible or fair to make blanket judgments.  If the food appears clean and sounds good, we eat it.  If the dog is obviously friendly and not rabid, we pet it.  And if the Easy Riders have comfortable bikes, friendly/safe dispositions, we ride with them.  Had we stuck to our initial pact, we would have missed out on a wonderful day doing just that in Dalat, Vietnam. 

 

They are called Easy Riders for a reason.  There bikes are like Harleys (although made by Honda), and the men driving them were two of the most gentle souls we've met on our trip, Jean and Windy.  They took us around the gorgeous Dalat countryside (which feels an awful lot like California) and showed us a behind the scenes look at the rhythms of life in rural Vietnam.  We learned how silk is made (somthing neither one of us knew we had an interest in, it really is fascinating), about Vietnamese Buddism, the American and Cambodian wars (this linked photo is the remainder of a South Vietnamese General's house after the 1968 Tet Offensive), and how Dalat agriculture works.  We climbed up a hill for a sweeping view, down a hill to the Elephant Waterfall, and learned how locals grow flowers, coffee, and use native grasses to make brooms.  There really is something special about taking the countryside in on the back of a motorbike. 

 

We highly recommend the Easy Riders in Dalat, even if you "don't" ride motorbikes.

Vietnam Videos, etc.

As we've said before, we've had an awesome time in Vietnam thus far.  We're in Nha Trang, waiting to get on an overnight bus to Hoi An (and for the rain to stop).  We took the opportunity to load some photos and videos.  Yesterday, we went diving in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and the visibility was fantastic (15 to 20 meters).  We decided to take the divemaster up on his offer to take photos...it turned in to a bit of a photo shoot, and we were exhausted from having to constantly smile.  The photos don't capture everything, but they give a pretty good idea of some of the stuff down there.  Nha Trang has some MPA's (not nearly enough) so the diving quality is head over heels better than Phu Quoc.

We've also loaded a couple of videos from our time in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).  The traffic is both chaotic and predictable...the best way to cross the street is to walk slowly and let the traffic go around you.  It's crazy but it still works.  Here's a video to that effect. 

One of our most enjoyable half days was spent touring the city on a pair of cyclos, which are old fashioned, emissions free, three wheel bicycles where you get to sit on the front.  This video shows us working our way through a traffic circle.  Jenn's driver was 62 years old, and cyclos every day.  He get's up early, rides 12km fast into the city, and then 'rides back slowly'.  He even offered for us to take home an orphaned boy he picked up a few months ago.  Don't worry, it's still just the two of us.

Finally, here's a whole host of photos that we've taken since the end of our time in Cambodia, and the start of Vietnam. Evidently, using internet cafes to load photos is akin to sleeping with hookers.  We had hundreds of viruses on our poor memory cards, which blocked us from loading anything.  They've been fixed...just remember to be careful where you stick your USB. 

P.S.  Some places in Vietnam block Blogger (probably much like China), so if this is in a funny format, it's because we submitted it as an email.  We're off to Hoi An!

Alice in WonderNam

Given America's history in Vietnam, it is perhaps the most interesting country we've been in.  Nothing is black and white.  It's grey and it's colorful.  We came with a particular interest in the Vietnamese peoples' perception of their country, their government, and the future.  We wondered if people were happy with how everything turned out.  So far, after talking to a number of people over the past week, the only sure thing is that after 100+ years of war, the people are happy to be living in peace. 

That message rings true in the messages portrayed at Reunification Palace in Saigon where the North Vietnamese "liberated" the South.  It also rings true with the two South Vietnamese soldiers (who fought with the U.S.to prevent communist takeover) that we had the pleasure of spending time with (one was a 62 year-old cyclo driver, the other a 60 year-old tour guide).  They may not have total freedom (those who fought with the U.S. are barred from getting highly educated jobs and spent years in painful "re-education camps"), but peace and the chance for prosperity (communism is basically dead here) give the country a feeling of hope, a sense of pride, and energy to put towards building a successful economy.   Are they happy with how everything turned out?  There is no simple answer, and we don't expect to find one. 



We can however, report some early observations:


-The people are incredibly friendly.  Our first big bus ride, we were the only Westerners on the bus (that was a first for us).  Everything was communicated in Vietnamese, including our 30 minute lunch/bathroom stop where we could have easily been lost in the fray.  No problem, a handful if Vietnamese travelers who spoke some english took us under their wings, showed us which restrooms to use, shared food with us, and got us set up to find a place to sleep in Saigon. We never really even needed to ask for help.


-While the people are incredibly friendly, vendors will vigourously befriend you as they attempt to lighten your wallet with inflated prices.  We have to haggle for almost everything.  We've won a few, we've lost many more, but we're getting the hang of it.  Once you know the game, its fun to play.  Otherwise you feel like an idiot.  Take our $10 'Oakey' and 'Diesle' knockoff sunglasses for instance.


-In Saigon, the motorbike is king.  At major intersections, there is literally a sea of motorbikes zig-zagging and weaving to get where they want to go.  Minor streets and intersections are much the same. As if crossing the street wasn't enough, on the sidewalk it is not uncommon to hear a friendly honk behind you asking for you to step to the side for a motorbike to pass.  We popped in to a shoe store one afternoon and had to step aside to let a motorbike pass.  He wasn't pushing it, he was riding it.  With the motor on. 


-The motorbike opens up a world of social opportunities.  In Saigon, couples and singles gather in beautiful tree shaded open spaces to eat, drink, play a sort of badmitton hackey sack, dance and just hang out.  Many teens and twenty-somethings simply sit on their motorbikes like couches.  It is a beautiful, communal sight..

-Many things are the same as home.  The ice-cream man sounds the same here, except that he or she is usually on a bike of some sort.  Unfortunately we can't load our pictures (endless computer troubles), but we have a great one of two police men sitting in the front window of a donut shop.  No further comment necessary.


And in Saigon, you can watch movies.  We were so excited.  Not only were there movies, they were showing Alice in Wonderland.  It was so fun to be in a theatre in Vietnam.  So far, it really does feel like WonderNam.

If Wishes Were Fishes

Yesterday, Tyson and I went diving off the northwest coast of Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam.  We knew that the diving was not going to be as spectacular as it was in Ko Tao or the Similian Islands in Thailand but we were excited nonetheless; it's hard to not be excited about diving in 85 degree water.  What we saw when we sunk beneath the surface of the waves was dramatic and depressing.  Although there were some corals in varying states of health, there were hardly any fish.  And the fish that we did see were very small.  The hundreds of fishing boats that we had seen lining the harbor and coastline (and lighting up the horizon like a baseball game at night) have clearly taken their toll on the marine ecosystems here on Phu Quoc. 

We had our suspicions that overfishing here was a problem. The twenty-odd food stalls at the night market all proudly displayed an array of fresh fish, squid, shrimp, scallops, clams, cockles, and crabs.  EVERY NIGHT.  And every night, the market was full of tourists (mostly Vietnamese but some Westerners) who just couldn't wait to get their chopsticks around these delights from the sea.  This level of harvest, this rate of extraction - it just can't be sustainable.  And the impacts of this fishing were blatantly obvious as we drifted through the ocean, breathing our compressed air, and wondering where all the fish were.

Concern about the state of our fisheries, locally and globally, does not seem to be at the forefront of the general public.  We all hear that eating fish is good for us (we need those Omega-3 fatty acids) but we don't really think about where that fish is coming from or how the way it has been fished might have a broader impact on the ocean as a whole.  Educating yourself about where your seafood is coming from and whether it is fished sustainably is huge step in helping make sure that Tyson and I (and everyone else) always have lots of fish to see when we go diving.

If you want more information about how to buy sustainable seafood, please check out Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website. 

PS - I must note that the diving at Ko Tao and Similan Islands was so stunning because the waters are fully protected marine reserves where no fishing is allowed.  Support the creation of marine protected areas; they work!

Cambodian Favorites...Top Ten

After 17 days in Cambodia, we are officially in Vietnam, Phu Quoc Island to be exact.  It is phenomenally nice here.  Before writing about Vietnam, we want to reflect on our time in Cambodia, which was beautiful, disgusting, heartwarming, and disheartening all in the same breath.  Above all though, the place is full of hope and potential.  We really enjoyed it.  In no particular order, here are some top moments from our time.

10.  Perhaps the first thing we noticed were the pajamas.  The ladies wear them everywhere.  Maybe with high heels on a motor bike going to the market, maybe in sandals while serving lunch in a cafe.  They favor the long kind some people get over Christmaka....and it is hot.  We're sweating our tails off, they're parading around merrily in long, flannel-looking PJs with pictures of bears or kitties on them.

9.  Siem Riep and Ankor Wat is saturated with trinket peddlers (we've talked about them before).  We found the most common words out of our mouths were "no" and "no thank you" (and later 'a te a kuhn').  People employed some creative tactics to gain our business.  Take the young lady who offered me bracelets that would help me with my "boom-boom" or even better, "they help your girlfriend boom-boom if she shy".  The girl was 7.  No bracelets for me, thanks.

8.  Angkor Wat Sunset Moon Rise.  We were fortunate enough to see the sunrise and set (twice) at Angkor Wat.  It really is a majestic setting.  Even cooler, after watching the sunset from the steps of the Angkor Wat Temple, we saw the full moon rise behind it.  One of the best moments of our trip.  The pictures can't capture the beauty, but this gives an idea:

From Cambodia...Ankor Wat to Pnom Pehn

7.  The moon rise delayed our 7km bike ride back into Siem Riep town.  So, instead of cycling home in twilight before the rush back to town, it was basically dark, and everyone else was coming home too...on motor bikes, tuk-tuks, buses and cars.  We thought riding down Market Street in San Francisco during the commute hours was hectic.  Market Street is Bush League compared to this.  Exhilarating and terrifying come to mind.  It was great fun, and great to make it back to the hotel in one piece.

6.  We've got Friends in New Places.  Our friends (Daniel and Henry) (and colleague/boss) happened to be in Siem Riep for one day while we were there.  It was so fun and surreal to meet halfway around the world for dinner and drinks!

From Cambodia...Ankor Wat to Pnom Pehn

On a similar note, we were able to spent a good amount of time with an old friend, Andrew Muss, who we hadn't seen in 5 years (since he moved to Cambodia).  He gave us an outsiders/insiders look into the country that we would not have been able to get on our own.  This "helmet" allows him to comply with the law (in letter, not spirit)....

From Cambodia...Ankor Wat to Pnom Pehn

5.  One of our stops was in Kampot, an old French Colonial Town famous for it's amazing pepper.  It has a great, sleepy waterfront.  We noticed some big speakers and two guys dancing on our first pass.  When we came back a crowd of 20 or so Cambodian women had assembled for some evening aerobics.  With minimal prodding from me, Jenn joined them.  They weren't sure what to think, but as the class wore on, Jenn became one of them.  We were the only fair skinned people around.  It was great, and unfortunately, the one time we didn't have our camera with us.

4.  On a somber note, trash is everywhere. There is minimal infrastructure developed for refuse.  As a result people either throw it where ever they are, or burn it.  It's a big, depressing problem.  If we were King and Queen, it's the first thing we'd address....

3.  Phnom Phen relaxation.  This city is going to be a hot spot very soon.  They're developing the waterfront, tastefully, and assuming the government proves its stability, business should increasingly be attracted to the area.  That said, it is hot and a little dirty.  As a respite, we managed to find a leafy hotel pool that we could swim in if we bought cocktails.  They had some made with passion fruit that are worth writing home about.  How did Jenn feel about it?  We think this picture captures the mood:

From Cambodia...Ankor Wat to Pnom Pehn

2.  Cambodia's Resiliency.  Cambodia and the Khmer people have been to hell and back, within many of our lifetimes.  Poverty is still everywhere (aside from tourism and farming, economic opportunity is minimal), you aren't supposed to go off trail for fear of stepping on a landmine, and the guy living next to you may have contributed to the genocide that wiped out your family.  That being said, the people are eternally optimistic and gracious.  Jenn said it best...."Cambodia is wonder, beauty, savagery and resilience".  We really enjoyed it.

1.  Our true and undisputed number one happened on a little island off of the southeast coast, called Rabbit Island.  There are about five bungalow restaurant operations, no electricity, coconut palms, 80 degree F waters as calm as a lake, hammocks and plenty of shade (in other words, tropical paradise).  On the way back from a late dinner, Jenn wandered into to ocean and noticed incredible bioluminescence (which was easier to spot given the lack of generated light and moonlight).  For you non-science types, bioluminescence is what you see when fireflies light up at night; it's a bright-green light created by a chemical reaction in the body and in our case, it was created by plankton in the water.  We stripped down, jumped in and had every movement highlighted by this amazing plankton.  Swimming made us look and feel like superheroes as sparks and fireworks shot from our fingers and toes.  If we had a chance to make a short movie about our lives, this scene would be in there, no question.

Alright, that is enough for one sitting.  We loved Cambodia, have enjoyed a day in Vietnam, and are looking forward to more!  We hope all is well on the homefront!

From Cambodia...Ankor Wat to Pnom Pehn

Sweet and Sour Cambodia

Welcome to Cambodia.  We've been here almost a week.  It is the most devastating and uplifting place we have been.  The people are wonderful, their situation has been horrible (wars, killing fields, unstable political systems, minimal economic opportunity, you name it).  Land mine amputees, their spirits seemingly unbreakable, roam the streets selling books, playing music, anything to get tourist dollars.  Most are smiling.  Children relentlessly offer trinkets (bracelets, postcards, etc.) all through Siem Riep and Angkor Wat for unreasonably low prices, just so their families can get by.  They all have the same script, as if there is a souvenir hawking training school, and they can be incredibly annoying.  But at the same time, it is possible to cut through the saleman to find the kid who just wants to play soccer.  He wants a Coca-Cola, but appreciates a pineapple juice.

We've been hardened by the tricks.  On our first night a young boy carrying a baby with a bottle came to us asking for milk.  We couldn't say no, they looked destitute.  After buying the expensive formula, we didn't feel quite right.  In fact, our gut was right, they return the milk as soon as the tourist leaves to get money.  We've had two natural reactions: a bad one, for being duped; and a compassionate one, those kids should not be in the position to need to run these schemes.  They say not to support begging kids, as it feeds the cycle of poverty, and we are now believers.  Instead, there are some great organizations who are working to educate these kids, and give them opportunities beyond begging (which we have heard can be quite profitable).

One we've found is the Cambodian Orphan Fund, where you can sponsor orphans to go to school and give them an opportunity to safefly get off the street into a warm and caring environment.  The other is the Cambodian Land Mine Museum, whose founder has removed thousands of land mines from the country, with between 3 and 6 million more to go.  His organization facilitates land mine removal, has set up countless schools for amputees and disadvantaged youth. Without organizations like these, we can expect to continue to see children and amputees roaming the streets peddling trinkets.  Amazingly, we can also expect to see warm Cambodian smiles, as the resiliency of these people is truly unbreakable.

P.S.  Ankgor Wat is stunning and overwhelming.

I Pity The Wat Phou

After leaving Vang Vieng (goodbye sweet water trapeze), we spent a night in the capital city of Vientiane (so so so hot). We checked out the Laos version of the Arc de Triumphe, which had a sign on it that literally said, "from a closer distance, it (the Arc) appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete." Ooh, that's harsh. We didn't think it was that bad but the top floor of the structure looked like a ghetto for sure. After visiting a wat and seeking air-conditioned refuge in a wine store that was playing Thai pop music videos, we felt we'd had enough of Vientiane. We booked ourselves a sleeper bus for the 10 hour journey from Vientiane to Pakse.

We were shown photos of the bus were were going to be on: seats that recline all the way back to make beds, with little pillows and blankets. We had heard some "rumors" that the bus you think you are booking isn't necessarily what you are going to get when you arrive at the bus station but at this point in our travels, we are prepared for the unexpected. At least I thought we were. We imagined what the worse situations would be: seats that did not recline, loud/drunk neighbors, no leg room. At best, we'd have a nice comfy sleeper berth to stretched out in, with a curtain we could draw around us for privacy. However, I never anticipated the situation that became our reality. After waiting too long for the tuk-tuk to pick us up at our guesthouse (we started to think it wasn't coming), then packing 15 people into the tuk-tuk, then dropping the driver's daughter off at the medical clinic, we made it to the bus station. We got our tickets and moved excitedly to our "VIP" bus. (Sidenote: in Thailand and Laos, they use the term VIP very liberally.)

As we made our way to our seats, we looked to the back of the bus and slowly, tragically realized that we were to be spending the next 10 hours sharing a bed in the back of the bus with 2 perfect strangers. Aaah ha! Laos travel company, you stumped us! We thought we had imagined every possible scenario, but alas, you got us again! Yes, our seats (actually our beds) were part of a 4-person bed at the back of the bus.  As I began to unravel, Tyson talked me down. There was nothing we could do but crawl up there, laugh and get ready for a slumber party with our new friends. People in the sleeping berths around us were turning around and taking photos of us like we were animals in a zoo.

From Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, and Pakse

I have to say that after the initial shock of the 4-person bed, it wasn't bad at all. We actually wound up having more leg room than the smaller sleeping berths and we both slept like babies. Oh yeah, one other surprise: the bus didn't have a bathroom. That's ok, we just won't drink anything for 10 hours. No problem!

One last thing about the sleeper bus. We stopped at a bus station at 1:00 am (so we could use a bathroom) and there, our bus broke down for two hours. No big deal. The bus driver and his other bus driving friends fixed the bus and we were on our way. All this and we would say that the sleeper bus was one of our most pleasant travel experiences. Seriously.

After spending day and night in Pakse (which was hot and not very pretty), we headed to the Bolaven Plateau and the village of Tadlo for some waterfalls and nature.  We love Tadlo!  We found a perfect little bungalow next to Tadhang waterfall and spent the next few days wandering through the surrounding villages and swimming in the waterfalls.  It was so nice for us to be out of the concrete, traffic and heat of Vientiane and Pakse.  Tadlo had some travelers, but it felt much less touristy than most of the places we have been and we welcomed the quiet and relaxed pace.

From Pakse, Tadlo, 4,000 Islands; Laos

Instead of heading back to Pakse the way we had come, we decided to try to continue east around the Bolaven Plateau to see a few more waterfalls and the coffee plantations that grow the amazing Lao coffee we've been drinking for the past month.  Our Lonely Planet did not have any information about taking the public bus in this direction but we had spoken with several people who owned guesthouses in Tadlo and they told us exactly what we would need to do.  We felt so adventurous!  Look at us, going off the beaten path!

We got a ride to the bus stop at 8:00 am where the bus would supposedly pick us up at 8:30 am, take us to the next bus stop, where we would then transfer to another bus that would take us to the village of Paksong.  There were locals waiting with us at the bus stop and they were going in the same direction we were, so we assumed everything was on track.  And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  For 3 hours.  And the bus never came.  And we are in southern Laos and it's a million degrees out and we are defeated because our plan to get away from the guidance of the holy Lonely Planet was foiled.  So we pulled the plug.  We walked across the street, took a public bus back to Pakse, and then headed down to the town of Champasak.  Tyson is still upset that we missed those two waterfalls....

Champasak is a one road town that used to be the capital of a Laos kingdom.  There is not a ton to do there but relax, eat, rent bikes and ride to Wat Phou.  Wat Phou is Angkor Wat of Laos.  It was actually built before Angkor Wat between the 9th and 12th centuries and includes a large promenade lined with lingas (phalluses), two large pools of water, a north and south palace, and the main temple.  Aside from being very old and very beautiful, this wat is interesting because it was originally created as a Hindu temple so there is a lot of imagery of Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu along with the more recent depictions of Buddhism.

From Pakse, Tadlo, 4,000 Islands; Laos

I'd like to say that the highlight of our day in Champasak was visiting Wat Phou, but it wasn't.  The highlight of the day, and one of our favorite experiences of the trip so far, was the detour we took off the main road as we rode our bikes to Wat Phou.  On the right side of the main road, we noticed a pipeline pumping water from the Mekong into a large concrete structure.  Tyson, being the curious guy that he is, went up to get a closer look and discovered a dirt road that ran perpendicular to the road we were on.   We started riding along the dirt road and realized that the water being pumped from the river was being directed into an aqueduct that was irrigating a series of rice fields.  Expanses of bright green rice crops stretched alongside the dirt road as we continued riding.  The sky was clear and small lush mountains climbed gently and gracefully in the distance.  We rode through several villages where the locals were just going about their daily lives but always had time to shout "sabaidee" or hello to the crazy Westerners on their bikes.  Just when I started worrying that the dirt road was a dead-end and that we were going to have to backtrack to the main road to find Wat Phou, we found ourselves 2 minutes away from the wat!  We had taken a chance on a curiosity and had been rewarded greatly. 

From Pakse, Tadlo, 4,000 Islands; Laos

We have been in Si Phan Don, or the 4,000 Islands, for the past 6 days.  We have loved it here and will try to write more about that later.  Tomorrow, we leave for Cambodia and we can't believe that the trip is already half over.

More photos here.

Our Laos Top Ten List

From Pakse, Tadlo, 4,000 Islands; Laos

If we could change anything about Laos, it would be us.  We'd be able to speak the language.  Daily, we've had questions we haven't been able to get clear answers to (thankfully, 'toilet' is pretty universal).  Speaking Laos would give us the ability to share more of our lives beyond the ever interesting and inviting, "sabaidee (hello)" and "kap jai (thank you)".  That being said, not speaking the language, and being a carrier of English, has led to some great moments.  In this spirit, we put together a top 10 list of sorts, our top 10 awkward or funny or noteworthy moments in Laos.  Some are funny, some aren't, but we have really enjoyed this country.

10.  Laos people lucky enough to learn English have a hunger to practice with native speakers.  You can count on three questions:  How old are you?  Are you married?  And, where are you from?  Braver conversants dip into deeper waters.  Like the time Jenn went to the bathroom while we were waiting at the public bus station and two Laos men swooped in and sat on either side of me, curious about what I was reading, and wanting to read with me.  This lead to a two hour Laos-English and English-Laos practice session with Shing, a 20-something Lao man with marginal English and a great smile.  One could say a handsome smile.  At least that is where the conversation went, him telling me that I was handsome (after complementing Jenn's beauty) and that he was not, and me telling him that he was indeed a handsome man.  In Laos, this type of conversation felt almost normal.

9.  A Can of Spite (No Malice Please).  In Luang Prabang, we stopped to have an afternoon refreshment with some friends we made in Thailand (we've bumped into them 3 or 4 times now, which has been a kick).  Jenn ordered a Sprite, but the waiter didn't understand.  She pointed to the menu and said "Sprite" again.  When the waiter saw the menu, he knew what she was after, the ever-elusive can of "Spite" written on the menu (from which he had learned the term).  He corrected her, and she enjoyed her drink.  

8.  Our guesthouse in Vang Vieng had some of the best food we've had.  The cook was amazing.  One of the dishes was "vegetables and chicken ass".  We're not quite sure what was lost in translation.  I ordered it.  Actually, I had Jenn order it for me.  But she just asked for chicken.  We'll never know if we got the ass.

7.  Labored conversation leads to a variety of questions.  One Lao man, at the travel shop in Champasak, a small one-road town, asked us why our skin was white.  We didn't have a good answer.  'Why' is a good question: judging from our skin's sun-kissed redness, it can be considered a sub-optimal design.

6.  Everywhere we've gone, people have giggled at us.  Maybe its our Western-ness, or our goofy smiles.  We will likely never know.  But we will always remember the friendly "Sabaidees" that accompany just about every giggle (and every interaction).

5. While on Don Khon, on of the 4,000 Islands in Southern Laos, we went to see the endangered, freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River (Jenn was glowing, it was awesome...we saw a possibly the entire population that is left).  Before going out, we passed an hour or so waiting a local family restaurant/house so that we could be on the river at the best time.  In this hour, we realized that one of our bikes had a flat tire, which equaled a long walk home, at least partly in the dark.  We left our bikes at the restaurant at the urging of the matriarch (no locks necessary on the entire island) and came back to find two of the brothers finishing repairs on the tire.  They just did it to help out, not expecting any money...just one human helping out another.  Their faces lit up when we gave them a tip, as bright as ours lit up when we realized what they hand done.  Best of all, from what we've gathered, this type of experience is not unique to us.

4.  Keeping the high five alive. One of our best (and most painful days) was spent biking to the major waterfall outside of Luang Prabang.  Most people end up taking a tuk-tuk, but we decided to ride the 35 or so kilometers on painfully adjusted mountain bikes.  It gave us both fantastic views of the area and incredibly sore crotches.  On the way, school children (out for lunch) insisted on giving us ride-by high fives.  It was like we were in a road race with fans lined up and/or cycling to cheer us on.  This was quintessential Laos.

3.  Its okay, we have stools.  We have learned to never expect anything.  Not once have we had a predictable travel experience.  One of our favorite guest house hosts (with a tremendous laugh and jovial spirit) had booked a bus for us to travel from Champasak to Don Khong (in the 4,000 Islands).  He was there when we boarded our VIP bus to find that no seats were available.  His answer...."it's okay, no problem, we have chair".  Jenn and I weren't exactly smitten with the response, as this put us on foot tall wooden stools in the aisles (next to the driver).  Turns out, our guy was right, it was just fine...it actually even gave us a better view.

2.  While in Vang Vieng, Jenn and I managed to sink our kayak in the river.  After 40 minutes of skillful navigation, with Jenn and the front and the captain in the back, our boat started to feel wobbly.  Jenn thought I was screwing off, which I was at the beginning, but I relayed that something felt off.  "Use your core!" was her response (evidently I had forgotten how to balance in the past five minutes).  She turned around to find me sitting in water, we got the giggles, capsized and found out that the ever important plug at the rear of the boat was missing.  Our Laos guides loved it.  We had taken on a half boat full of water.  I'm still working on my core.

1.  We've seen some interesting travel safety in both Laos and Thailand...whole families on motorcycles, dresser drawers with the driver using one hand to hold them down.  But this one takes the cake:  motorcycle, one woman driving, the other sitting side-saddle holding on to nothing but her 3-year old son and the IV drip inserted into his arm.  Not a twinge of worry on any of their faces.

So there you have it, a more or less top ten list from our month in Laos.  There are so many more.  Tomorrow, we are off to Cambodia.  Thank you Laos for a fantastic visit.

We owe some details on what we were up to at the end of January in northern Thailand and our slow boat trip down the Mekong. So here we go:

In an earlier post, I might have mentioned that on our second day in Bangkok, we were taken around town in a tuk-tuk to some wats, a tailor, and a travel agency office. At the travel agency, we were told that it was a "special holiday" and that all tours booked in Thailand that day would be discounted 30%. We were very suspicious but allowed ourselves to get sucked in and wound up booking a 3 day-2 night trek in the hills of Chiang Mai that included rafting on a bamboo platform, elephant riding, hiking to waterfalls, and a stay with a Karen hill tribe (they're not all women). Additionally, we booked accommodations for 3 nights while in the city (in a hotel that looked really nice from the brochure) and a cooking class when we returned from our trek. We had read that these trips could be really touristy and had reservations about booking a hotel when we weren't able to see it in person, but we felt like we were getting a good deal and agreed that if we had a terrible time, we'd never do anything like that again.

We flew from Phuket to Chiang Mai and were picked up in the airport by a man holding a sign that said, "Jenn Feinberg." That felt pretty good. No scrambling to find a cab. No battling with tuk-tuk drivers about fares and which guesthouse to go to. Just us in the air conditioned cab of a sawngthaew, headed to our pre-booked hotel. Because Tyson had gotten sick in Phuket and was still recovering, we rescheduled our plans to do the cooking class first and the trekking afterwards. Our hotel, the Winner Inn, definitely did not live up to it's name. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't worth what we had paid for it and it had the most uncomfortable bed of the trip (that is, until the bed we slept in in Vientiane).

We loved our cooking class. We went to a local Thai market and selected all the ingredients we needed for the day. Then we went back to our cooking teacher's house where we cooked on separate stoves in an outdoor pavillion with 3 other travelers. It was a day of laughing and eating eating eating. And you should see Tyson in an apron: ooh la la. We learned how to make our own chili paste, spring rolls, pad thai, tom yum soup, stir-fry, and we were sent home with a huge cookbook of Thai cuisine. Absolutely delicious.

Cooking Class!

The next day, we headed out for our trek. It was probably the least favorite thing we have done so far, so I don't really feel inspired to write that much about it. It wasn't awful, it was just exactly what we were hoping it wouldn't be. It was touristy. We were in a big group. The elephants were treated poorly and some were displaying neurotic behavior, like you see in polar bears or tigers in the zoo. (I cried when we saw the elephants; Tyson and I were miserable during the whole ride and swore we'd never ride another elephant again). The Karen village where we stayed had satellite dishes and tv antennae. The place we stayed in the village was a large, open-air bungalow with bamboo for beds and bedding and mosquito nets were provided. Tyson said his sleeping bag smelled like 1,000 dirty hippies had sweat and rubbed their armpits on it. Two young guys from Scotland that were in our group got wasted and were yelling/singing/knocking things over until 4am. It was frustrating, infuriating, and laughably ridiculous at the same time.

Taken as we got into "bed" on our trek

The next day was better. The group got smaller and the hike we did was beautiful. We spent most of the trek talking with one of our guides, Bulle Bulle, and learning about his life and his family. We swam in a waterfall and slept in another open-air platform bungalow. The Scots passed out early and we were able to listen to the sound of the water running along the rocks. And just when we thought everything was going to be ok, sickness struck. I started throwing up at about 4:30am (in a squat toilet in a shed in the middle of the woods) and had the most miserable day of my life as we hiked out of the hills and slowly made our way back to the hotel (after the rest of the group ate lunch and went on the bamboo raft). When we finally got back to Chiang Mai, I was so thankful for our air conditioned hotel!

We learned alot from this experience. We learned that you really should research your treks/tours before booking them. We learned that it's really hard to have an authentic cultural experience when everyone else in the travel scene is trying to have that same experience. We learned that even thought the trip as a whole was slightly disappointing, there were pieces that were special and genuine. We loved talking with our guides. The time spent with them made the trek worthwhile. And, Scottish boys excluded, met some really great fellow travelers.

We are learning to appreciate those moments because often, they are often the only glimpse of authencity we can get.

This Is How Awesome Happens....

If you've been to Yosemite, picture the valley and the surrounding granite walls. If you've sat looking up at the Grand Tetons, picture those. Now add a gorgeous flowing river, and heat enough to beckon you repeatedly into it. Get yourself in an old tire tube and float downriver, with the sunshine and water creating a perfect temperature. Sounds like a perfect day. It is. And in Vang Vieng, it gets better.

We were slightly skeptical going in. People said the tubing there is crazy, over the top....but worth seeing. It was all of those things. We went twice. It's like the crazy island in Pirates of the Caribbean, where anything goes. Swinging trapezes. Zip Lines. Platforms to jump off. Huge slingshot slides. Mud Volleyball. Music. Dancing. Before you do any of this, you're required to buy a drink. The drink of choice? Buckets. Sand pale style buckets with ice and anything else you want inside. With this liquid courage, people get after it. We luckily didn't see anyone get hurt, but we there were close calls (none involving us).

Our tubing lasted two minutes...until a rope fell across my lap, and a smiling Lao man pulled us over to a riverside bar. We were greeted with shots of whisky lao lao (which tastes terrible), shared a mojito bucket (which tastes great), got coupons written on our bodies to grant us free drinks at the nights festivities, were headbanded, wristbanded and welcomed whole-heartedly into the tube culture. The human flinging contraptions we gazed at with trepidation just five minutes before suddenly became our friends.

We absolutely fell in love with one of the huge trapezes. It's like being a kid, on the biggest swing you can imagine, only bigger. This time, you hold onto a water ski handle and get to let go at the apex of the swing with only healthy amounts of fear, falling less than gracefully to the water. We tried our hand at mud volleyball, slung ourselves off slides, and floated halfway down the river (it is slow going...only the most stubborn, or least alert, seem to make it). Jenn's brilliance garnered us a motorized boat ride home, some delicious Indian food with a great couple we shared the day with, and in what was probably best for everyone, and early night in bed.

Vang Vieng has legends. Take the guy from Canada who came last year for a planned 3 days and never left. He's allegedly tubed everyday since and can no longer hold a normal conversation. Most of the bar managers appeared to be in the same boat (except they are too easy to talk to).

From what we could tell, days of the week make absolutely no difference but the time of day does. The riverside music comes on at 9am, and the tubing bars get crazy close to 2. As tubers work their way down the river, upstream bars fade and downstream bars come alive in a logical sequence. The tube bar music is done by sundown.

Before, during and after the river chaos, backpackers veg out to endless re-runs of "Friends" and "Family Guy" in bars that specialize in one show or the others. People cheerfully bring their tubes in before 6pm (when it is still warm outside), and drunkenly after 7pm (when its not). On the "other side" of the river, Bob Marley plays every day at 5pm. Free buckets are given out before 9, and the music rocks until 3am. The place is completely insane.

A younger friend we made on the trip, from New York, put it best when he said: "this place is beautiful, but nobody notices". We noticed, and boy was it awesome. And, no surprise, that friend is still there.

Here are some new photos. Enjoy (we sure have)!

Unique Housing...great places to hang your hat

As we've traveled thus far, we've stayed in some great places, (and some not so great). So far, here are the winners.

#1 Favorite place to sleep: Gibbon Experience, Treehouse Number Seven (Laos). Jenn described it in our previous post; here is a video that will give an idea of our "commute" home. Words do not give it justice how awesome this was.

Now, coming in at Number 2, Khao Sok National Park Floating Bungalows (Thailand) (thanks for the tip Sean). It was hot and the bathrooms were pretty disgusting, but waking up and jumping into a delicious fresh water lake?...Priceless. We got to see gibbons, hornbills, cobras, swim through a cave, go to a crazy lookout point, and ate phenomenal home cooking, floating bungalow style.

We will catch up with you later! In the meantime, we are loving Luang Prabang and hope everyone is doing well!

The Best Kind of Scary

Oh how we love Laos already. We are back in Huay Xai (border town in Laos) after spending 3 days and 2 nights doing the Gibbon Experience. Aside from the diving we did in southern Thailand, this was the most incredible experience we have had yet. If anyone out there is planning a trip to Laos, this is a MUST DO.

The Gibbon Experience provides an opportunity to swing through the jungle canopy (like a gibbon) using a series of zip lines. As if that isn't cool enough, you also sleep and eat in treehouses, getting in and out of your home via zip line. After a 2-hour drive and an hour hike into the jungle, we were given harnesses and taken by our Lao guides to our first zip line. Hundreds of feet about the jungle floor, we clipped our harnesses into a cable and soared through the sky, screaming and laughing with fear and exhilaration (you should hear Tyson yell like a school girl at an N'Sync concert.) The feeling is indescribable but we think our guide Juning put it best when he said the experience is "the best kind of scary."

Somehow, we were lucky enough to wind up in the newest and nicest treehouse: Treehouse #7. We shared the treehouse with 3 other travelers who let Tyson and I have the very top floor for our bedroom. We had a toilet and a shower on the bottom floor where we could wash the sweat of the day away (with only an open-air wooden lattice floor separating our toes from a 100-foot drop below) while staring out into an endless expanse of untouched rainforest.

The best part of the Gibbon Experience is the justification behind it. The experience takes place in the Bokeo Nature Reserve, which is a 100,000 hectare area of rainforest in north-central Laos. Although the area is designated as a nature reserve, it is a reserve in name only; the government does not provide any funding to maintain the protection of the park and prohibit poaching. The money from the Gibbon Experience goes towards the conservation of this wilderness area, paying wages for forest guards who patrol the park boundaries with AK-47s (which we saw first-hand), and providing jobs for local villages and greater financial incentive in protecting the forest rather than destroying it.

In addition to the incredible time that we had zipping through the trees, one of the highlights of this experience was spending time with our two guides, Jai and Juning. Both are Hmong, an ethnic minority hill-tribe with villages in Laos, Thailand, China and Burma. They practiced their English, we practiced our Lao, and we all laughed alot over card tricks and songs. We learned that they each came from large families who lived in villages over 3 hours away; that they work every day, with no vacations; that they make $3/day working for the Gibbon Experience and that the money goes towards living expenses and paying for school for their siblings. It is a different life than anything we know and we were very grateful to be a part of it for a few days.

Over the past few days, we have learned that it is very easy for us to be happy as long as we have a few simple things, mainly, safety and good health. It's no different than our friends Jai and Juming. We are all connected in such simple and beautiful ways and I am thankful that we were able to feel that in a treehouse, 40 meters above the ground, in a forest in the middle of Laos.

This trip is the best kind of scary.

More photos.

Chiang Mai Will Make You Puke It Too

Today, we crossed the Thailand border into Laos. After a great first three weeks, it feels like the country basically puked us out. Jenn ended up catching the same stomach bug I had, but instead of being in a relatively comfortable hotel with our own bathroom, she was sleeping on hard wood in the backcountry on the last night of our trek. She had an hour and half hike, waiting, and then a couple hour ride back to our hotel to endure. All the while, she couldn't hold down any fluids, while hiking through the hot sun (luckily, it was mostly downhill). She was a complete studmuffin through it all, and is on the road to recovery. Experiences like this bring us even closer.

Its funny how illness can effect your persception of a place...while sick, I decided I didn't like Thailand very much. Now that I'm feeling better, that's not true at all....I just didn't like feeling sick in Thailand. We're hoping Laos will be a little nicer to us.

Tommorrow, depending on Jenn's health, we strike out on the Gibbon Experience, which we've heard nothing but good things about. We basically will be living in tree houses for a couple of days and zip lining from place to place....awesome!

On a side note, perhaps too personal, but educational: squat toilets aren't so bad. You just have to squat like a catcher. Pardon the pun, but if you have-ass it, you miss. This comes from experience. So, next time you find yourself in Asia without a western style toilet, think "catcher". Otherwise, you may get thrown a curveball you really don't want to have to try to hit.

So, here's to Laos and our newly awarded 30 day Visas!

Phuket Will Make You Puke It.

Here's a map of the places we have been as of right now. After a scary bus ride and a bout with food poisoning (Tyson is feeling much better, thank you), we are now in Northern Thailand, in city called Chiang Mai. We flew here from Phuket (such a treat!) and were picked up from the airport and shuttled safely and smoothly to the hotel we booked as part of a package tour when we were in Bangkok. Tomorrow, cooking class!


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map

We have posted a few more videos to our Youtube page; sorry they are not current. It takes a long time to upload each one so we have a backlog of insanely interesting material. Believe me, you guys are really missing out right now.

Traveling has an interesting way of taking you up and bringing you down. The swings of emotion and experience are to be expected, but somehow, they always feel new. We are feeling great now, but Tyson definitely got taken down by some bug that made his body eliminate everything inside. To add insult to injury, every time he had to rush to the bathroom, he slammed his head on the 5 foot tall doorway. When you are sick, everything feels fragile and vulnerable. You long for the familiar, the simple. You do not long for a fan-only room with two twin beds and unreasonably low door frames next to a very vibrant and very loud local market selling fruit, veggies, and animal carcass. For the record, we switched rooms and got ourselves some AC and I, somehow, managed to find Gatorade and some fresh french bread for Tys to eat.

We ate pizza for dinner last night. It was the best pizza we have ever eaten (ok, that I have ever eaten - it tasted JUST like my mom's), prepared by an expat from Italy. No more Thai-Chinese for Tyson.

There is great comfort in having a partner in this journey.

You Shake It Hard Enough, You Lose Your Tailfeathers

Here we are, 3 weeks into our trip in Thailand, and have realized a number of things. First of all, don't expect anything to go as you would plan, it may be better, it may be worse, but always entertaining. Second, days turn into memories way more quickly then we'd like. Third, if you shake it hard enough, you just might loose your tailfeathers.

Expectations. When we traveled from Khao Lak to the Ton Sai Beach (right next to Hat Rei Lei), we paid a modest price, went from bus to bus to taxi to longtail boat seemlessly and effortlessly, found a place to stay, and were celebrating with dinner and beers before we knew it. We fully expected delays, difficulties, or whatever else might come our way. Today, on our trip from Ton Sai to Phuket, we expected the same, and drew a wild card...a 20 year old public bus driver who was literally racing his buddy in another public bus. Neither one of us remembers being so scared. He dodged and weaved "his" greyhound sized bus through traffic, into oncoming traffic lanes, basically touching the bumper of the other bus going highway speeds, and weaved across lanes of traffic to block the other bus from passing us, accelerating around the bends. I'm not sure words can qualify our feelings toward this kid. Having already paid the full fare to get to Phuket, we abandoned the bus at the first opportunity, and were taken in by a truly Thai community for an hour while we waited for the next bus to come. The wait was great, filled with laughs, smiles and charades. Completely unexpected. And terrifying. Don't worry, the next bus was just fine. We were happy to pay the full fare once again. Next leg, we're flying.

As for time passing by, we had an amazing time diving in the Similans, it feels like you can see forever. We camped next to the beach; it really felt like we were diving and lounging in a post card. So good that we hardly took any pictures (we're kicking ourselves now). We spent the past few days in a climber's paradise (Rei Lei beach area), where the cliffs literally fall into the sea. It was quite nice being in an area where we didn't participate in the main activity (for the first time, we were able to stick to our true budget). Instead, we hiked around, swam, climbed up to an amazing lookout point, kayaked and ate amazing food from longtail boat stands. And now we are staring down our last week in Thailand, just like that. We've done a ton of stuff, seen even more and realize that the end of April will be here before we know. Until then, we'll be drinking it in.....

As for losing your tailfeathers...that's what happens when you're a manly looking transvestite using a peacock ensemble to accentuate your hip shaking dance to "I Will Survive". You just need to shake it hard enough. That brings it all back to today: we may have lost a few tailfeathers along the way, but we survived. And we are very happy about that.

Here are some new photos.

More Photos

Hi everyone,

Everything takes more time and more effort here. We were having trouble uploading photos and videos but figured out the photos (for now.) Here they are. Sorry there are so many; we don't have time (or the patience) to edit them now.

Tyson will hopefully figure out the video thing soon. The Thai computer gods appear to be very lazy and/or overworked.

Quick recap of where we have been and where we are: we left Khao Sok National Park, after spending a night at Chaew Lan Lake in the floating bungalows and one more night in the Nung House (we loved it there!) Yesterday, took a public bus to Khao Lok that was scheduled to leave at 12:30pm but didn't show up until 1:40pm. No seats when the bus arrived so we sat in the stairwell of the back door. Luxury travel.

Khao Lak is the jumping off point for the beautiful Similan Islands. But it is a strange place. Apparently, it was "discovered" by Scandanavians and so tourists from Scandanavia are everywhere. You can get schneitzel and bratwurst and designer eyeglasses that will help you see more grown men in speedos than you would ever hope to. It is also the place that was significantly impacted by the December 2004 tsnunami. We spoke with a Thai man who owns one of the resorts here and he showed us photos of the devastation. We also spent some time today in the Tsunami International Museum; a very somber and reflective experience for this tragic event. On a positive note, many places have been rebuilt and tourism seems to be booming here right now, especially tourists from Scandanavia.

We do feel like we have been on the tourist track and haven't had a ton of exposure to "real" Thai culture but are hoping to get more immersed as we head away from the beach areas and towards Chiang Mai. Tyson will post later about our experience at the "Angel Caberet," a slice of gender-bending entertainment....

Tomorrow, we leave for a 2 day/1night dive trip to the Similan Islands. We'll do 4 dives and spend a night camping on one of the park islands. The trip is quite pricey and we are finally feeling like we need to reel it in and start behaving less like flashpackers (a term we learned along the way) and more like backpackers. On the island we will be "chillaxin,"another term we picked up and will not use again after this post.

Sending lots of love home to all of you.

Have Packs. Will Travel.

Yesterday was an insane travel day. We were traveling from Ko Pha Ngan to Khao Sok National Park and had booked our travel at our lodging on Ko Pha Ngan. The manager of the Haad Gruad Resort handled the arrangements and setting things up literally took us two seconds. We thought, "wow, that was so awesome and so easy!" The plan was to take a taxi to the ferry that would take us to Surat Thani and then a bus to Khao Sok. But unfortunately, that is not what happened. Taxi to ferry was no problem. Ferry, no problem. (The joint ticket operations of bus/taxi/ferry are pretty organized; they stick different colored stickers on your and your bags so they know who is going where and our last bus/ferry journey was pretty effortless.)

However, when we got off the ferry, we thought we were going to be in Surat Thani. But we weren't. We were in a town to the east called Don Sak. So we got herded onto a janky pink bus that had tiny seats with no leg room to travel to Surat Thani.

After we rode that for an hour on the cramped bus (Tys and I weren't sitting together because there weren't 2 seats together available,) we got dropped off at a "bus stop" in Surat Thani which was like a dirt lot with some seating and shelter overhead. I had to pay 5 baht to use the bathroom! We were told we were going to have 20 minutes before our bus left so Tyson went to buy us a few beers. In the time it took him to get through the line, we were being told to get into this transport truck (more on that in a minute) that would take us to the "other" bus stop. We were PACKED into that truck, which is called a sawthaeng. It is essentially a pick-up truck with bench seats on either side and this particular truck actually had the tailgate removed and two additional seats welded on to the back, just to maximize the number of people that you could shove in! Anyway, we and all the other travelers were drinking our beers and thought the whole experience was pretty funny. We were in that truck for about 10 minutes and then dropped off at another bus station with more tables, chairs, food and beer.

At this point, we had made some friends, including a few guys from England and a girl from Sweden. We drank beer and just waited to be told what to do next. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 5pm. At 7 pm, we were finally told to get back into the transfer truck/sawthaeng. And we were in that truck for 2 hours in the dark with 8 other travelers. We are guessing that we were supposed to be in a minivan and that it broke down and they had to take us in that really uncomfortable sideways-benched pick up truck.

It was humorous at the beginning. And then it wasn't anymore. After we got gas for the truck and picked up the driver's girlfriend, we were on our way. The driver was probably 20 years old and was cuddling with his girlfriend, rolling a cigarette, eating a hot dog on a stick, and talking on his phone all while he was hurdling us down a dark, 2 lane, winding road. FOR TWO HOURS. Sitting sideways in the back of a covered pickup truck.

I will admit, it was a little scary. (Mom and Dad, don't freak out, we are safe!)

We did not make arrangements for accommodations in Khao Sok. But we happened to get SO lucky on the ferry. We had met a couple from SF and they recommended a place for us to stay and that is where we ultimately wound up. (We made arrangements from one of the bus stops after a guy that worked there tried to sell us accommodations at his place of lodging and they were all sold out. He also told us it was really busy here and that we'd never find a place to sleep. So not true.) Thanks to our new friends Ellie and Jeff for helping us have a safe landing at the Nung House!

But we only arrived at the Nung House after the transport truck dropped us off at some other lodging (the one that has a "deal" with the transport), then got into a minivan, then waited for our german travel companions to look at lodging, then waited for our driver to get a shirt.

It was insane. Took us about 10 hours to get here. But the place we are staying is lovely and the park is gorgeous and it is quiet and peaceful here and we are almost able to forget about our experience yesterday. We had did some hiking and swimming in Sok River today along with more new friends from England (Nadia and John-Henry) and are heading to Cheaw Lan Lake for trek, boat ride, night on a floating raft bungalow, and general natural beauty fabulousness.

I don't know how we could have avoided the situation we wound up in. There was no way we could have gotten to Khao Sok on the public bus from the ferry in Don Sak. And when we made our plans, it was our understanding that we'd be taken from the ferry to the bus and then delivered safely and happily here. Alas, things here are NEVER what you expect and it's better to have no expectations at all.

We are safe. We are happy. But we are hoping that we do not have another travel experience like the one we had yesterday. We're betting we do. Anyone else care to bet on that?

Here's where we've been so far:


View Jenn and Tyson SE Asia Trip in a larger map

More Photos

Hi all. We are having trouble getting photos to embed in our blog posts. Sorry about that. Here's a link to the most recent batch of photos. Don't worry Rosemary, there's only 46 this time!

The Land of Smiles.

Thailand. I can't remember ever feeling so relaxed amongst organized chaos. Things just seem to work themselves out. We've been here a little over a week, and all the knots in my back are gone. Maybe its all the smiling, the sunshine, the time in the water. Maybe its the crazy contortion our Thai Masseuse put us through (one moment she's massaging my back, the next she has me in a backwards pretzel, her feet next to my crotch, somehow using her tiny body to crack every vertebrate I own). The openness of Thailand may be best summed up by the Thai woman who runs the breakfast shop next to our dive shop. At 8am, she greets everyone with the same enthusiastic smile as she does at 10pm at night. Happiness seeps out of her pores, and it is incredibly contagious.

When we arrived on Kao Phangnyan (the island we are currently on), we thought we would have to figure out what beach to go to to find accommodation. Not so. As soon as we got off the boat, swarms of offers engulfed us. One man came over, showed some rooms in the $30/night range (much to much for our taste). I told him "no thanks, we're looking for something cheaper". Immediately, he raises his hand and yells out "Cheap!!!". Within seconds, three women are surrounding me calmly offering rooms for $9 to $15 per night. Next we thing know, we're on a cheap taxi heading to a beautiful resort where we end up with air conditioning and a hot water shower (Jenn and I were beside ourselves with excitement). Thailand is amazing. Everything really does work itself out, although we're still not getting on the back of a motorcycle.

You Tube Channel, Up and Running

Alright Team. We haven't been great about writing, but we have been taking some short videos of our experiences.
We'll post a video from time to time, but most of them will just be loaded onto our YouTube channel (it's crazy that anyone can have our own channel). So, if you'd like to check those out, go to:

http://www.youtube.com/user/jennandtyson

In the meantime, here is a video of our dive boat (we are now officially Advanced Divers....it was awesome! We saw phytoplankton at night; it was like a fireworks show underwater). We loved our instructor, got really comfortable underwater, became "narked" at 30 meters depth; it was an all over great experience to share.

Is it hopeless?

Because we are both in the environmental field, we are particularly aware of and curious about the conditions of the places we are visiting. I am, of course, most interested in what's happening in the ocean and Tyson is curious about the sources of energy and fresh water. Seeing all the cars, buses, tuk tuks, and motorbikes in Bangkok made us feel like it is going to be impossible to wean the world off of fossil fuels and to get global warming under control. How can we get developing nations to transition to clean energy when it is cheaper and more convenient to have business as usual? In Ko Tao, the long-tail boats with two-stroke engines belch nasty black carbon pollution into the air causes worse problems then engines from cars.

As far as the ocean goes over here, the island of Ko Tao is actually a marine park where no fishing is allowed within a certain distance from shore. They have recognized that tourism (and a healthy reef ecosystem) is more financially beneficial than pulling all the fish out of the water. There are currently 52 dive schools on Ko Tao and all of them are churning divers out daily. At first, I was disturbed by this, concerned about all these novice divers landing on the fragile reef. However, I am now hopeful that these divers will learn and appreciate the beauty that lies underwater and that an ocean conservation ethic will follow them home from Ko Tao.

All is not perfect in the oceans here. On our first advanced certification dive, at a beautiful offshore site called Chumphon Pinnacle, we saw a lost fishing net that had continued "ghost fishing" for who knows how long. We've heard about the effects of lost fishing gear and have seen the impacts on tv, but I can't tell you how devastating it was for us to see this abandoned net firsthand, with at least 20 dead fish that been trapped and died. It was a horrible sight. The only positive of that experience was that our dive instructor tried to extract the net and actually freed several fish that were still alive, including a rabbitfish and a bannerfish.

To add to my concern, there is fresh fish on the menu everywhere, every night. While I'm sure it's delicious, I worry about the sustainability of these fishing activities and am disheartened by the lack of care and attention we see our fellow travelers giving the environment around them. We saw a guy on the ferry platform spill his plastic cup and just watch as it was about to blow into the ocean. Tyson rescued it and the guy who had dropped it acted as if it wasn't his to begin with. WTF?

Sorry for the depressing post but I suppose this is the truth of our time. We hope that the environmental situation is not hopeless, but over here, it certainly feels like it at times.

Now go get on your bicycles and eat some veggie burgers!

Ko Tao. Still.

This is our 5th day on Ko Tao. Our open water scuba course is finished this afternoon and the original plan was to move on to Ko Pha Ngan, another island just to the south of here. However, we are loving our dive school and our instructor and have decided to stick around for another 2 days to get our advanced scuba certification. This means we'll be able to dive down to 100 feet rather than 60 and we'll get another 5 dives in while we are here. It's cheaper to do this certification here than in the U.S. and Tyson will feel more comfortable doing dives in other places having several more course dives under his belt. Plus, there's a chance for us to do a dive where we will see sharks! And maybe a whale shark! If I see a whale shark, I will probably explode with exitement. Seriously.

We did our first two open water dives yesterday, one at a reef called Japanese Gardens and another at Twin Rocks. The visibilty was great and we saw so many beautiful corals and fish. Tyson is a natural under the water and it's really great to share this underwater experience with him. Before leaving the States, I purchased a "Relief Band," which is this bracelet that sends a small electromagnet pulse to your wrist every four seconds and is supposed to keep you from getting seasick. I am thrilled to report that it works! I did not get seasick at all yesterday during our boat time or after. That band will change my life!

Anyway, I think my first post on Bangkok might have given an impression that we didn't like it there and that isn't true. The second day we were in Bangkok, we took the Skytrain (elevated train) to the Chaya Prao River. We successful dodged the ripoff "tourist" ferry for 150 baht and found the local express boat for 12 baht each. We were so proud of ourselves for finding the cheaper boat! The river is really busy, with ferry boats, long tail boats, and shipping barges. It was pretty easy to figure out how to pay and where to get on and off. We got off at the Khao San Road area (the backpacker haven)and set out to find where our bus would leave the next day for Ko Tao. After lunch and finding the bus stop, we wound up hiring a tuk tuk that brought us to several wats (temples) and of course a tailor shop. The tuk tuk drivers get a commission if they bring you to the tailor shop and the tailors hope that you buy a suit from them. We passed for now (hoping to get suits made in Vietnam at Hoi An)and the next stop was at a tourist office that is run by the Thai government. We purchased a trek and accommodations in Chiang Mai while we were in the tourist office and are still questioning whether that was a good decision. We probably could have found cheaper options once we arrived but sometimes it's nice to have everything sorted out ahead of time. We made a pact that if we find out we got ripped off, we won't ever do that again!

We made our way home on a long-tail taxi boat through one of the canals that runs east-west through Bangkok. Thankfully, a kind Thai man on his commute home from work helped us figure out what stop we should get off to make it back to our hostel. Tyson and I were the only non-Thais on the boat. And the people who collected the fares were hanging on the outside of the boat from ropes, wearing hardhats (and jelly sandals)!

In summary, this day in Bangkok was filled with travel and sights but most importantly, we met at least 5 Thai people on the street who were incredibly friendly, kind and helpful. At first, we were very suspicious of their willingness to help, but we soon learned that that's just the way it is here. It sucks you in, excites you, calms you, and above all else, leaves you with the feeling that everything is going to be alright (or much better than alright).

So much more to write but it's time to dive!