Varanasi

May 17 - 21

Varanasi is one of India’s holiest cities and it’s not for the faint of heart. The Ganges River runs through it.  The Ganges is a very sacred river for Hindus. It’s considered very important to bathe here and it’s a very auspicious place to be cremated. It’s here that they do public cremations.  There are many pilgramages to Varanasi and as a result a very mixed bag of life here - very poor to very wealthy.  Of course, you see the poverty for the most part.  It seems like a very transient and purposeful place.  And as a non-Hindu Westerner, the purpose of coming here is really to see all of the activity that takes place on the Ganges because it’s nothing like you’ll EVER experience anywhere else. So that's what we did.

A little about the activity in the Ganges. This river is considered very sacred, but it is very very dirty.  Now this isn`t meant to take away from the religious importance or be disrespectful, just an explanation of what happens IN the Ganges.  People bathe, shit, wash their clothes, brush their teeth, drink from, put the ashes of their loved ones in it and dead bodies weighted down with rocks (depending on who you are and how you died). I read that in one litre of water, 500 (not sure what the measurement is) but 500x of fecal matter is safe. In some parts of the Ganges the fecal matter is 1.5 millionx per litre. We saw a guy brush his teeth right beside a drain pipe into the river.  Some Hindus will tell you that it’s not the river that’s dirty but the people and what they do it that is dirty. Okay, but I'm still not touching the water.

I traveled here with Sara, one of the girls who was on the tour with me. It was good to have a friend here. To get a taste of what it’s all about, we did both a Sunset and Sunrise boat cruise down the Ganges. They were very interesting and very different from each other.

(Our rower and ``small boss``)

The sunset cruise was our introduction to the Ganges. As the sun set, men (few, if any, women) bathe at the end of their day. Every evening at the main Ghat (a Ghat is any stais which lead to water), there is a Public Puja where the Ghat becomes full of people and surrounded by boats to watch the ceremony. There is incense burning, horns blowing, a metal drums clanking, people chanting and a ritual performed by some men on raised platforms for all to see. It was very crowded, it was loud and this extravaganza happens EVERY day. It was really nice to watch from the water and with all of the lights and fires.

From the water we saw the main burning Ghat where it looked like eight or so fires burned. The burning Ghats are where the public cremations happen. These cremations happen 24/7. And there are no reservations so often there are people (dead people) waiting in line. We couldn’t see much from the water but we planned to walk up there another day.

The morning cruise was all together different. You really get to see India waking up at this time (5:30am).  People – lots of kids, women and men bathed, people washed their clothes and they performed their morning prayer rituals. There are a few stone platforms that are specifically for cleaning clothes and I guess you can hire men, yes men, to do your laundry here against theses stones. From the boat it looked like some hotels get their white towels washed here. I hoped it was not our hotel’s towels... People were also getting their fishing nets ready for their days work (note to self – don’t order fish here).

After our initial introduction to Varanasi we decided to walk up to the main burning Ghat to really see what it was all about. Walking up to it I felt very unaffected by the fires as they where already going and I didn’t see anything or anyone... It seemed very much like a watching a slice of Hindu life.  But then we saw a ceremony take place from beginning to the end, well almost the end, and that had a slightly different affect on me. We learned that the deceased was the wife of one of the men standing around.  He was dressed all in white with a shaved head.

The husband performed the ritual for the cremation.  The person who performs the ritual and evenutally lights the fire is typically the husband, father or brother of the deceased.  This person (always a man) is dressed in white with a shaved head.  The cermeony started with the husband sprinkling sandlewood over the body and then other men joining in. They then poured butter over the body which helps the body burn. Only weathly people can afford to use butter. Then they covered the body with more wood. Finally, the husband walked over to the fire of Shiva (which is a fire that is always lit and has never gone out in however many years) and brought back some lit kindle and performed the final parts of the ceremony. He walked around the body a few times with the lit kindle and then lit the wood on fire. I'm sure I have missed some details and explanation but this is basically what happens. It was absolutely fascinating to witness.

There are no women here, just men. I asked this man who worked there why there weren’t any women and he said they were too emotional to be there. In my head, I was like “whatever, we're not too emotional” ...and then I proved him right a little later on while watching the husband trying to keep it together after having lit the fire.  I also had just learned of my good friend`s sister passing away.  So it was all a bit much for me.  Supposedly the men here aren't supposed to express sad emotions in order to help the spirit leave the body in a peaceful environment.  So much for my contribution to that.  The man who was talking to us looked at me said ``this is not good maam``.  Thanks for pointing this out.

Now this isn’t a clean and organized place. It’s dirty, there are cows, dogs and goats roaming around everywhere and in between the fires. The men took the husband aside and found a "clean" rock to sit on or squatted on their heels to watch the fire, occassionally chatting to each other. We watched for a little while longer and then it was time for me to go. I don’t think I could watch until the end when the husband would then have to take a big stick and help break apart the pelvic bone which doesn’t burn that well. 

I couldn’t help but think – could I do this - start the cremation of a loved one? I don’t think so. But this is a part of their life.  A part of their faith.  And as harsh as this all may sound, there was a sense of acceptance and peace here.  A moment I won't ever forget.

Our last night we met up with Michele and Ronny for dinner at Burger King! Not the Burger King we all know.  Now that I think about it there are often names of stores and restaurants that copy well known brand names like “Top Shop”... and well, of course I can’t think of any right now... go figure.

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Rest in peace Carla.  I said a little prayer for you here.  Much love to the Davison family.

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More soon...
xoxo

India: A sensory overload!

What can I say? India is a sensory overload. It’s hot, smelly, dirty, dusty, loud, colourful, tasty - totally overwhelming! It’s difficult to put it into words really. It’s shocking, polluted, energetic, crowded – it’s  exhausting.  And I absolutely love it.

In the past three weeks I’ve traveled through Rajasthan, meandered through Delhi and tried to absorb all that is Varanasi. I’ve come a long way from day one where I was frightened to even walk out of the comforts of my hotel. Haha! It’s intimidating at first, let me tell you. When I looked outside the hotel and there are people everywhere, mostly men (with moustaches), the streets are turned upside down with rubble, open sewers, street kids begging for money and food, cows, stray dogs, cars honking and it’s searing hot outside – who wouldn’t want to stay inside a clean air conditioned hotel room! I did get the courage to walk around the area, Karol Bagh, and see what it had to offer. It’s a little market area full of people, cars, you name it.

I turned 35 on my first day in Delhi - it’s definitely one I won’t forget! I had curry for breakfast – hello India!

So I’m now into my fourth week here and I sit on the balcony of my hotel room overlooking the Kangra Valley in McLeod Ganj which is at the base of the Himalayas, updating my blog. To my left I can see the Dalai Lama’s residence and the main Buddhist temple. It’s nice to feel the fresh cool mountain air, see snowed tipped mountains and not be sweating buckets (that’s the best part actually). This feels a little surreal.  And the snow covered mountains remind me of Vancouver... sigh...

I was on an organized tour for my first two weeks which took me through Rajasthan. The tour was through Intrepid (my second trip with them and I highly recommend them). Our group met on my second day in Delhi. There were nine of us all together from all over: Sara and Louise from England, Pauline and Adam from Australia, Michele and Ronny from Switzerland, Annie from Texas and our group leader Vinet or “V” from Udaipur, India.

The trip didn’t start with a bang (thank God). Our first day’s activities in Delhi were canceled because of the terror threat in Delhi. The US, Canadian, English and Australian governments all issued warnings to travelers and ex-pats to stay away from all of the tourist places (all of the places we were to visit) so we had a free day. Bummer, but better to try to be safe than sorry. So we went to City Walk – a high end shopping mall for some shopping. I bought some cute white Nikes.

From Delhi we took a train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The Delhi train station is one of the busiest in the country. People were everywhere. Garbage was everywhere. People on garbage – walking, sleeping - everywhere. Like you see in the movies but there it is in front of you. Unreal.

The Taj Mahal was everything they say it is. It is absolutely stunning and the experience of actually being there was incredible. We went during sunset and the colours were magnificent. I got the token “Diana” shot sitting on the bench. Awesome. The milky white marble is breathtaking and it was like it was built as a stage to show off all of the colourful sarees that now walk the grounds. There were mostly Indian tourists here, a lot of them having never seen foreigners. So it was like everyone was curious about everybody. We wanted pictures of the Indian tourists and them of us. At one point, we must have stood for 20 minutes in one spot getting pictures taken with Indian tourists who wanted a picture with the foreigners. Papa -paparazzi! It was way too much fun. People would come up to you just to say hi and ask where we were from – kids and adults.

Rajasthan is known as the land of the kings or Rajas. It definitely has that feel of royalty with all of the palaces throughout the state. It’s a bit magical. It’s easy to imagine the palaces in their hay day with billowing colourful fabrics hanging from the ceilings, scalloped archways, marble, mirrors and brightly painted walls and ceilings, huge swings for relaxing and courtyards for visiting. It’s actually quite gaudy but beautiful and so romantic - in a very over the top kind of way. I’m waiting for my Aladdin and his magic carpet...

Next we took a train to Jaipur where we stayed in Diggi Palace, a property that is still owned and lived in by the royal family (any form of Royalty was officially abolished during Indepence but the royal lineage still exits). The staff would bow their heads every time they passed one of the royals - strange to see in person. Our rooms were really sweet but very hot with no A/C! Here we visited the Amber Fort and the City Palace where they support a lot of the arts and culture. We watched our first Bollywood film called “Housefull”. It was hilarious. It was fairly easy to follow because their acting was very see ‘n say and they spoke a combination of Hindi and English. And if you thought Hollywood was just about good looks, Bollywood is 100x more so... Who cares how well you can act when you look this good?  Seriously.

Our last night in Jaipur a few of us went out for dinner at a place called “Red”. It was a more upscale restaurant / bar. We were supposed to leave by 9pm because there was a private party coming in.  We ended up crashing it and got the party started on the dance floor. Good times. Good times. The manager finally asked us to leave around 11pm. Haha!

The next stop on our tour was Ranthambhore National Park where we went on a Tiger safari and actually saw one. It was pretty amazing to see one in the wild just maxin’ and relaxin’. It was a far cry from the Tiger Temple in Thailand (I still can’t believe I went there). At one point the Tiger walked down to some water, dipped her foot in to test the temperature and then once satisfied submerged herself waist down as if she was leaning on the edge of a pool.  Somebody get her a G&T, stat! We also saw tons of wild peacocks, monkeys, deer, kingfisher and tiger birds. It was pretty cool.

This day was also Sara’s 28th birthday so we had dinner in the garden of the hotel and surprised her with a birthday cake which V ceremoniously smushed in her face. It’s the thing to do in India.

We then took a minibus to Bundi - this sweet little town. The people were so incredibly nice. I really enjoyed my time here. Not much to do in here but we visited the palace and then walked around the markets. Louise, Pauline and I got some bracelets fitted for our Western sized wrists. They break, melt and stretch the bracelets. The bracelets I got were totally gaudy but the experience fun. We then wanted to find a place for dinner so we walked up to this tuk-tuk driver to ask for a recommendation. The conversation was difficult and took longer than it should have. By the time we were finished talking with him we realized we were completely surrounded my men, literally on our shoulders, just watching and listening to what our conversation. This was super weird and it happens everywhere! We ended up at this guest house run by three women for dinner. The fact that it’s a women-run business is unheard of here. They have had a few articles written about them, which they are very proud of and should be, really. We ate dinner in their living room and watched the daughter’s wedding video. The mom showed us pictures of previous guests and talked about how everyone who comes to their guesthouse is like family. They do make you feel that way, particularly when the daughter hands you her 2-year old son and then disappears into the next room!

Next up was Bijaipur.  We stayed in Castle Bijaipur and it had a swimming pool! Yay! I could get used to this.  We had some time to “chillax” as V would say. This was a very small town where we visited some local villages - one village known to be criminals. Awesome. While walking around Bijaipur we got invited into an elementary school by some students and their teachers. They took us on a quick tour of their classrooms – no desks, no chairs and the walls were filled with picture posters in English and Hindi. All of the kids wanted their pictures taken, it was hilarious. As soon as you lifted your camera into position they would bud in front of each other to get in the shot.

After Bijaipur was Udaipur – this place was amazing and incredibly romantic. Totally magical with numerous palaces in a surprisingly lush green city.  It was quite the contrast to the dull and dusty background. Octopussy was filmed here. We watched some of the movie one night.  Sweet.  We were in the old part of Udaipur which was made up of narrow and winding streets. Sara and I had some clothes made here. I had some cotton pants and tunics made – I feel like I’m walking around in my pajamas – love it.  Also took an Indian cooking class - yum!  I met some really nice locals whom I ended up having chai with and some good and interesting conversation with. One was a jeweler whom I ended up buying some bangles from.

We took a very early train to Pushkar, one of India’s holiest cities. Sara, Adam and I participated in a Puja ceremony done at the main Ghat here. It’s for respect, good heath and fortune for family, friends and us. We had to repeat a mantra in Hindi. I didn’t get all of the words right - I hope that didn’t wreck the puja! In my mind I said them correctly... I think, anyway.  (Picture is after the ceremony.)

We went on a camel safari and passed a gypsy settlement, which was neat to see. It was sparse and looked temporary as you would imagine it be. My camel was named Johnson – insert joke here [   ]. (Picture of me and Johnson.)

Then back to Delhi were we did some of the sightseeing we were supposed to do on our first day. A Sikh temple, a Mosque, the spice market, then home (or back to the hotel).

Overall the trip was fantastic and it was a great group of people.

More soon...
xoxo

Final thoughts on Laos.

When in Laos do as the Laotians do. Be lazy. And that’s exactly what I did for my last week in Laos. I spent it in the 4,000 Islands, where there’s not much else to do so it was perfect. I met Vanessa and Stephen from Miami on the way down and we hung out over the next few days. We lounged around, rented bikes, went swimming, ate and lounged around some more. I slept a lot. It was so hot - it took everything out of me.

One morning we took a boat ride to see the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. While seeing the dolphins was very cool, the actual “tour” was more memorable. Totally disorganized, we left an hour late. They had a motorbike driver for each of us to get us to the water. Mine broke down two minutes after we left.  The driver just walked away and left me there.  I assumed he was going to get help... and he did. Once I finally got to the water they took us to the worst longtail boat of the bunch. No seats... and the driver was bailing out water as we walked down towards the boat. Then he proceeded to lay a mat over the water so we wouldn’t get wet? Unlikely. They were surprised that we didn’t want sit for 2 hours cross-legged getting our asses soaked in a boat that looked like it was going to fall apart. The kicker was that there were more than a few “better” boats with seats right beside it. [This is my theory – they are so used to young backpackers not knowing any better that they just accept shitty service and think it’s just part of the experience. I think this will change as backpackers become older and have higher expectations. Maybe not. Maybe it’s the return of the Princess Backpacker. Haha!]

We all stayed in little bungalows by the river. It was fantastic. Each night we’d chill on the porch having Beerlaos and chatting. We gained a new friend, the owner’s dog, who we named Snoobs because he looked like a cross between Snoopy and Scooby Doo. The dog slept outside of my door one night. He was cool. We also had a water buffalo visit us one night. Awesome. I love water buffalo. They are so massive but so shy. When you walk by one it’s like they’re thinking “I’m not here. Don’t look at me. I’m not here.”

So some final thoughts on Laos:

• I think it would be a beautiful country when it’s green and not shrouded in haze and not so hot and humid.  Visit during our winter months when it's cooler and lush.  I can imagine it would be stunning.
• It's an outdoor persons paradise.  Lots of opportunities for trekking and water sports.
• The people are friendly even if they are lazy.
• They love their Beerloas! One afternoon during Lao new year and the power was out in our hotel I sat with the staff outside having a few Beerlaos. The staff got hammered. Too funny.
• Be prepared for no customer service of any sort anywhere at anytime.
• You don’t come here for a culinary experience... the food is very dull and unexciting.
• You think people have bad cell phone ettiquette in Canada? It’s nothing compared to the Loation cell phone ettiquette. You will be literally in the middle of a converstaion or a transaction and they will just pick up their phone and start talking. 
• I actually did have a good time here. I met some great people throughout my travels here and had some fantastic and memorable experiences here. And that’s really what it’s all about.

More soon...
xoxo

Water fight!

I took a six hour bus ride to Ponsavanah to see the Plain of Jars. It was a big V.I.P. bus that wasn’t very V.I.P. The driver would only turn on the AC when we were traveling on flat roads or downhill, otherwise the bus would overheat – so we got to overheat instead - awesome. It was on this bus I met John from Ireland (the jolliest Irishman I’ve ever met) and Ester from Switzerland.


The city of Ponsavanh looked like the Wild West of Laos. The city is literally made of up one big long street with not much on it or activity going on. It just needed some tumbleweeds rolling down the street and it would have been perfect. Needless to say, this is the kind of place you get in and out of!

The next day I joined a tour to visit the Plain of Jars. The Plain of Jars are these huge (some taller than me) stone jars, some carved from granite and others of sandstone, scattered through the countryside. I think there are 90 sites all together but only a few open to the public because of UXO (unexploded ordinence). They think they were used as tombs, but there's only some evidence which supports this. Local legend has it that they used to ferment rice wine in them (Laos people are big drinkers, so I could believe that!). But if you ask what they were used for they really don’t know. If you ask how they got there, they don’t know. If you ask who made them, they don’t know. Not the most enlightening tour I’ve ever been on. We visited three different sites, but to be honest once you’ve seen one jar, you’ve seen them all...[a Top Tip if you ever go to see them.]

There could be more sites but because the UXO the discovery has been a slow process. Even around the sites that can be visited there are stones that mark which side of the path is safe and which is not.

On our return we stopped at a local whiskey “factory” whose owner looked like he had had a liiiittle too much over the years. The local moonshine was in a barrel in a hut. Not overly impressive. The old man ladled some of the whiskey into a pop bottle with his very shaky hands in order to serve it to us.  It was painful to watch.  Then he passed around a single shot glass for the 11 of us to try it. It was disgusting, both the taste and the way in was served. God only knows how many people have actually drank out of this one shot glass. The Laos have a saying that if you only have one you can’t walk because you only have one leg, so you have to have another in order to use both legs. No thanks, I’ll hobble home.

We also stopped in at on a local’s house and where invited in to look around. It was big and empty. A little area for cooking with a fire pit in the open on the floor with no proper smoke ventilation. No furniture but they did have an unexploded grenade (without the pin) as decoration... it could technically go off. There were two very very small rooms that were where they slept. The woman was very sweet offering us bananas.

The stable where they kept the animals was supported by old bomb casings. This is supposedly common throughout rural Laos but where really the only ones I saw put to use and not just for decoration.

The next day I took a 4 hour minibus to Van Vieng. This has developed into the party town of Laos in the past four years. The typical thing to do here is to tube down the river and stop at all of the bars along the way – it could be up to a six hour excursion. I landed here with Avril and Yann, whom I met on the Plain of Jars tour.  A super fun couple from Ireland and France, respectively. We learned pretty quickly that Vang Vieng was not our scene. There are lots of drugs – you can pretty much get a “happy” meal anywhere. In the evening people were off their heads. I don’t know how the locals can stand it.

The first day I chilled at watched a Friends marathon (every other restaurant runs back-to-back episodes of either Friends or Family Guy) – surprisingly I didn’t need to be “happy” to do this but it made me very happy.  I caught up on some episodes I'd never seen.

The next day I rented a bike and rode to Tham Phu Kam or the Blue Lagoon for a swim. The Blue Lagoon was just that, blue blue blue and so refreshing. There was this big tree you could jump out of and into the water. So much fun. Yann and Avril met me there on their bikes and I joined them to complete a 33km West Vang Vieng loop. The bike ride was amazing. The roads were not amazing – super rocky but it made for a challenging ride which was fun. We rode through beautiful karsts and small villages. Always greeted by smiles and waves. I didn’t get a lot of pictures because we were on a bit of a time crunch needing to be back before sundown.


This route is suggested in the Lonely Planet. This is where the Lonely Planet can have a negative affect... the locals having become hip to the route and have put a few tolls in place in order to cross a river. This one bridge (if you could call it that) was so tiny and the guy woke up from his nap when he heard us and pulled a small rope across. We came across another bridge – a bigger one. Not sure if they charge locals (I doubt it) but we thought we’d show them and walk through the river. I took two steps into the river and lost both of my flip flops. Haha!  So much for showing them.  I had to laugh.  I caught one but one went sailing down the river. To make matters even funnier one of the kids from the bridge caught my show a few meters away... and of course wanted money for it. Yann retrieved my shoe at no cost.

The next morning Avril, Yann and I went kayaking down the Nam Song river. It was really nice but because the river is so low there were lots of rocks and very little current or rapids. But the scenery was stunning. Our guide rode with me and he was hung over (no surprise there) and turns out laid down and rested a few times while I did all of the work. Nice. LAZY.

The laziness still bothers me when I think about it now and I'm kind of getting irritated as I write this!  haha!  They really could care less if you are a paying customer or client.  A good example of this was the morning we went kayaking. I was checking out that day but wasn’t going to be back until about an hour or two after check-out. I asked if I could keep the room for just a couple of extra hours so I could shower before having to get on a bus... Nope. “There are people coming” they said. (Remember this off-season so it’s not busy and the hotel was far from full.) So I asked that the room is booked. The response “There are people coming. You can pay for an extra day.” "Just a couple of hours?" I ask. “Everyone in Vang Vieng check-out at this time.”  "I’d like to have a shower... " “You can have a shower in our bathroom” FYI this is an outdoor shower. Okay fine, I clearly wasn’t getting anywhere. I get back from kayaking and asked for a towel. “No, you can’t have a towel.” Mmmmk. “We only have enough towels for the rooms.” Ya riiiiiiight. Whatever. I shower in their personal outdoor attached bathroom. My bus is late to pick me up. The hotel sells bus tickets. Do you think you can phone the company to ask where they are? “Nope, we don’t have the number.” Sooooo lazy. Sooooo unhelpful. They were just going to lay there and watch TV.

The V.I.P. bus left late. Typical. The AC was “broken”. OMG. It was an oven. And of course they totally don't care.  We arrived in Vientianne hot and bothered (really bothered).  But it quickly got better.  Avril negotiated hard for us at a cute little boutique hotel.  Nice.  And we set out to prepare ourselves for Laos new year buying water guns!

For Laos new year they spend three days soaking people in the streets. There were five us all together: Avril, Yann, John (the guy we met in Phonsovanh) and Larkin or as we liked to call him "Texas".  We spent 12 hours armed with water guns roaming the city streets soaking people and getting soaked. Super fun! 

We jumped into the back of a local’s pick up truck and cruised down the main drag. I think we got more wet than the people on the streets. When we reached the end of the main drag we thought the locals were heading out of the city to get a refill of water for the big oil drum that was now empty. But we kept going and going... We ended up at the bus stop about 8km outside of the city. (At one point we were thinking we might not come back with our kidneys!) We pulled up to a huge bus and they motion us to get out. mmmmmk. They proceeded to lift this massive and dirty engine out from under the bus and put it in the pick up. We decided we should probably find our own way back at this point. But as we started walking away they called us to get back into the back of the pick up. Okay. We drove two minutes away and pulled into a garage or something only to learn (we think) that it’s the wrong engine. Okay NOW we definitely needed to find our own way back.  But they called us back into the truck again. Back to the bus station... Okay at this point we decided we REALLY needed to leave and the locals agreed so we said good-bye and went to find a tuk-tuck. This task shouldn’t be hard at the bus station. We approached this guy who seemed to be the tuk-tuk manager and we asked for a tuk-tuk. He said there are no tuk-tuks. Meanwhile he was standing in front of three of them. “What about those?” we asked. He said “Laos new year. Drivers drink BeerLaos.” We found alternate transportation. 

That night there was a big celebration and a main-stage set up in the center of the city. There was music, dancers, and some audience participation. The most hilarious thing was that there was this huge space cordoned off for a public foam party.  A constant stream of suds.  Awesome. We danced in the suds – so much fun!

We met some locals and they shared their Beerlaos with us. They would constantly yell “finish” encouraging us to chug back our drinks. They were a blast!



More soon...
xoxo

Lazy Laos

April 2010

So I'm way behind and very eager to get onto India so I'm going to try to sum up Laos in one or two posts (well, I'll try - I can be a bit verbose at times.) 

If I had to describe Laos in one word it would be LAZY.  Now, there are good things and bad things about being a lazy country:  you don't feel the need to rush anywhere or do anything, which is the good thing.  And the bad thing, no one is going to rush to go anywhere or do anything for you.  The good and the bad.  Take it or leave it.

There was no sense of customer service anywhere at anytime.  I had a bit of a hard time with this (I know it's part of the experience) - maybe it's my age or certain expectations or remember my book/movie idea? The Princess Backpacker?  That could be it too.  While I really would never refer to myself as a princess, nor call myself a true backpacker (and I'm totally ok with this now) I think the title has a nice ring to it.  One thing I've learned for about myself is that I don't need to stay in crappy hostels or hotels in order to get the real feel of a place.  I need a good, clean and bug-free night's sleep : )

Okay, back to Laos...

I flew from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Luang Prabang, Laos. Luang Prabang is in the northern part of Laos and the temperature was a bit cooler (Thank God!) but it was very hazy due to burning of the rice fields and the common practice of slash and burn. So the views and scenery were far from spectacular being that they were engulfed is a haze. Some days were better than others.

It’s really charming and you can really see the French colonial influence here, which I love! Old lightly coloured buildings with wooden shutters we try so hard to replicate by antiquing. The first day I did the Lonely Planet’s walking tour around the city and its many temples.

I met a monk named Lan who invited me into see the temple where he pratices and lives. He spent about 20 minutes with me telling me about how he became a monk and that he used to be a cooking instructor at Tum Tum Chen cooking school and there’s even a picture of him in the “Stay another day” Luang Prabang brochure. I ended up taking a cooking class here where I learned how to make a very tasty crispy rice salad! Very yummy.

I met two sweet girls from Israel, Noa and Shani. I ended up hanging out with them for a couple of days exploring the waterfall and the local handicraft villages. We climbed to the top of the waterfall and swam in some of the pools of fresh blue water. We met a bunch of middle-aged women from Israel who shared some treats from Israel with us. (Noa and Shani taught me that the red Teva-like sandals were the dead give-away they were from Israel... keep an eye out for them when traveling, you’ll see.) The handicraft villagaes – a.k.a. tourist traps were interesting but were essentially small stores.

Noa and Shani told me about a three day weaving course they did at a place called Ok Top Pop (East meets West) a traditional weaving company that is owned by a local and foreigner, hence the name. It sounded cool and I felt the need to learn something so I thought I’d give it a go... my three day course turned into seven days of solid weaving! While a little back-breaking, the riverfront setting was relaxing a beautiful. And the weaving itselft felt a bit theraputic with the rhythm I got into.  I ate lunch every day with the staff and weavers and had a 20 minute nap afterwards. I’m really digging siesta and think Western countries really need to adopt this. It’s brilliant. I’m not sure how I’m going to cope when I’m back home and back to work without my afternoon nap. (Pictures:  me on the loom and two of the four scarves I made.)

My last morning I got up early to watch the Giving of the Alms ceremony, where monks walk around the city early in the morning collecting food from locals (and foreigners) for their day. Monks don’t earn any money so they rely on this tradition for their food. It’s fascinating to see the locals line the streets at 5:30am and watch the procession of monks down the streets in their saffron coloured robes. Sadly, it’s also becoming a tourist attraction and disrespectful tourists get in their faces snapping flash photography, complaining that the monks are moving too fast to get a good shot. For real.

I was a little sad to leave Luang Prabang as I was getting into a nice routine: getting up early and grabbing breakfast at Joma Cafe, weaving, watching a movie and then going to bed. But it was time to move on.

Some other highlights:

 Finding Utopia... last day there I rented a bike and rode around the city. This is when I found Utopia. A restaurant/bar that overlooked the river. Open air with different platforms for lounging around.

 Saw a Laos fashion show complete with Laos hip hop dancers to celebrate Earth day at Hive Bar (owned by a French Canadian). They had fire puppets and signs lit up by flames – they were doused with gasoline and lit on fire – way to celebrate Earth day! Supposedly there was supposed to be a live band but some of the members didn’t show up. “Typical Laos” the owner said.

More soon...
xoxo

Final thoughts on Cambodia.

• I loved it here, the people, the scenery, the food...
• I found their history incredibly interesting and tragic.
• Cambodian culture is very similar to Thai – temples, architecture, food...
• So much poverty, it was an eye opening experience.
• They carry everything and their kitchen sinks on the back of their motorbikes (crazy to cruel):
• Huge plants and household items.
• Live pigs on their backs.
• Live chickens, hanging upside down.
• Tonle Sap – the largest body of water here has a vast floating village – much more impressive than Vietnam’s.
• The children are beautiful and I really wanted to take some home with me!

• Happy 95th birthday to my Grandpa on March 22!

• On my last day in Siem Reap I ran into Matthais and Matina, the couple I kept running into in Vietnam. We met up for dinner, along with Olivier from Switzerland who worked as a photographer for the UN. Very cool.
• I’d like to go back one day to see more of the country. I definitely didn’t allow enough time here.
• And I got my voice back... on to Laos!

More soon...

xoxo

How to impress a girl when in Cambodia.

March 16

So I had to stick around Siem Reap for an extra 5 days because the doctor wanted to see me again to make sure that my voice improved.  No problem for me because I really loved it there. 

The bartender at my hotel, Sam (pronounced Same), couldn't help but notice that I was now alone and not with my friends anymore.  When I explained that I was actually traveling on my own he totally didn't understand.  So this got us to talking and he asked a lot of questions, curious about my life in Canada.  He could not comprehend that I was 34, single, lived on my own, didn't support my parents financially, and now traveling on my own.  He totally didn't understand why North American "children" want to leave their parents homes and be on their own.  Haha!  In Cambodia, they live with their parents until they are married or have to move for work purposes.  Parents have so much control over their children.

I guess because I was on my own Sam befriended me.  He totally took care of me and my voice.  Every morning, without asking, brought me my usual hot Lipton tea, one bottle of water, one glass and upon his suggestion fresh lemon juice and hot water because he swore this would help my voice.  After a while I couldn't tell if he was flirting with me or if he was gay...

Anyway Sam kept asking what I was going to do over the next few days and I really had no idea (the benefit of traveling solo).  So he made a suggestion, which I really didn't understand (strange because Cambodians speaking English is usually quite easy to understand).  So I smiled and nodded and said "maybe", even though I had no idea what he was suggesting.  The next day he asked me again what I was doing (he was EXTREMELY persistent) and then asked me what I thought about his suggestion... I was like.... Uhhhhh, what was it again?  How embarrassing.  I felt like such an idiot and it serves me right for pretending I understood him in the first place.  He explained again and this time I got it.   He wanted to take me to his village to meet his family. His mom would make lunch and he would show me where he wanted to start his duck farm.  He also said he'd take me to a silk factory and show me one of the very ruined temples of Angkor Wat, destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.  Sounds good to me.  So on his only day off we did exactly what he suggested.

He arranged for a tuk-tuk to pick me up from the hotel and we went off outside the city to his village in the Western Baray.  We arrived at his family home just before lunch.  I met his mom, dad, and neices and nephews.  At first, they didn't know what to do with this white woman coming to their home with this huge camera in her hand.  The parents kind of ignored me for the first bit.

Sam showed me around their property, which was quite nice for a typical Cambodian family, the sheltered platforms where they lounge around during the day, the outdoor "kitchen", and of course where he wants to start his duck farm.

He asked me if I thought it was a good idea for him to start a duck farm.  Haha.  I was like... uh, well I don't really know anything about duck farming, so I don't really know.  But, if you think it's a good idea and is something you really want to do then go for it!  Otherwise, you'll never know.  I asked him if it would bring him a good income... not really, he said.  I asked him if it was expensive to feed and take care of them and he said, no not really they find food for themselves.  This gives you a little insight to how the livestock are treated here in Cambodia... not well.  Anyway, it was sweet that he wanted my opinion, whatever it was worth. 

Before lunch, he took me to the ruined Angkor Wat temple.  He was so excited to show me this ruined temple and it was literally a rock, not even recognizable as something that ever was a temple... but it did have a name, Prasat Phnom Rung, so it WAS the real deal.  It was really cute.  I couldn't help but giggle a little because it was not much to look at and a bit of effort to get there.

On the way back to his parents home, we stopped by a local coconut farm and he climbed a coconut tree and picked us some fresh coconuts.  Now if you want to impress a girl, or guy, or whatever, this is one way to do it.  Haha!  Seriously impressive.  He climbed that tree so fast.

Lunch was simple and we were joined by his brother, sister and more neices.  They started warming up to me at this point and we started to have some fun.  We sat outside at a round table drew on a etch-e-sketch type thing and chatted about life in each others countries.  They had chickens and baby chics running all over the place (as they do everywhere in Cambodia) and they kept running across my feet while we ate.  I didn't like this very much and they kept laughing everytime one of the birds ran across my feet because I could quickly lift my feet off the ground.  Haha! I didn't think it was that funny. 

They were so lovely and so curious about me and Canada. The kids were especially curious about my freckles and inspected my arms.  It was very cute.  They wondered how much my camera cost, which I hestiated to tell them because it cost more than what they make in one year.  How's that for making you feel excessive?

After lunch, I watched his dad, a teacher, make a fishing net by hand and his mom weave a floor mat.  And by the end of the afternoon, everyone wanted their picture taken with me, especially his mom.  She said she wished I spoke Cambodian because she didn't know any English.  We sat on one of the shaded platforms and just chatted and taking pictures... the kids loved this!

More soon...

xoxoxo

Giving back.

March 15

Early the next morning, Hean picked us up got us on our way. Our first stop was a local market to buy food, supplies and toys for the kids at the orphanage. We wanted our money to go as far as possible so we aske Hean to take us to a REAL local market. So he took us to one... not a tourist in sight.  This was very cool. Hean was super helpful.  He helped negotiate the prices and double checked our bill to ensure it was correct.  What an awesome guy! (Picutre of the local market below.)

With our pooled money, we were able to donate 220 lbs of rice, fish sauce, some kind of chocolate drink, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, washing detergent, pens, pencils, etc. and some toys for the kids.  We had so much stuff that we had to call one of the guys from the orphanage to help us bring it back.  When we arrived to the orphanage the kids (and caretakers) were so happy and thankful.  Our tuk-tuk driver kept saying "Thank you for helping Cambodia."  This, combined with the kids excitement made the for an incredible day.  We played with the kids for a while and then had to get on our way so that Beth and Justin could catch their plane.  It was an extraordinary day.  And felt so good to give back even just the little we did.  I will be back there one day.  A special thanks to our tuk-tuk driver, Hean, for making the day possible!  (If you are ever in Cambodia I have his contact details!)

On route back to our hotel Hean took us on a quick detour so we could see his home and meet his expecting wife and his mother-in-law.  They were so adorable.

All in all a fantasic and unforgettable two days.  More pictures soon...

More soon...
Maureen
xoxo

An orphanage, a temple and a good idea...

March 14 - March 22

Cambodia is such a dichotomy (as is most of this part of the world - I've probably already mentioned that before).  You have people driving around in Lexus SUVs (they are every other vehicle on the road - very strange) and people living in shanty shacks, that come monsoon season will likely be in ruins.

Tourists obviously have money and their dollars are sought after.  The majority of the locals do not have money and try anyway they can to make a "riel", or get your dollar.  There are a lot of people, and in particular kids on the streets asking for money.  A lot of people (adults and kids) with lost limbs from UXO  (unexploded bombs) asking for money or tyring to sell you a photocopied book.  It's a bit of an eye-opening experience and sometimes it's honest and sometimes a scam.  As a tourist it's so hard to know what the right thing to do is... do you give them money or food?  Is that money or food really going to them or to a ring-leader who likely drives the Lexus SUV?  By giving them money, does it perpetuate the problem of begging?  And if it does continue the cycle, is it worth it if you actually help one person who honestly needs it and is thankful for it, not expecting it?  I don't know what the right answer and I don't know if there is a right answer. But it's definitely hard to resist a child on the street, in the blazing hot sun, asking you for the remainder of your drinking water... because when you look back they are gulping it down.

If you can see passed all of this, Siem Reap and the people of of Cambodia are truly lovely.  The city center is made up of lots of restaurants and shops, both trendy and tranditional.  The city center is 100% catered towards tourists, which feels so strange - common in Asia, but I still can't get over it.  It's so weird to go out for dinner on the main strip, Pub Street, and the restaurants are chock-a-block full of foreigners.  Not a local in sight, with the exception of the workers, tuk-tuk drivers and people asking for money.  You can get all kinds of international cuisine, including Mexican (hmmmm, not sure about that one).  We had this amazing Cambodian BBQ and soup where you bbq all the meat in the center and all the juicy goodness drips down from the meat into a brothy soup that collects around the bbq.... so good and so fun to do with a group of people.

Sadly, it was coming up to Beth and Justin's last few days in Siem Reap so we wanted to make the most of it.  We didn't really want to do another day in the smouldering heat looking at more temples, so we decided to hire a tuk-tuk to see life outside the city center.  We really wanted to visit an orphanage but couldn't really find any information one.  So we just winged it.

Outside the restaurant we had lunch in (the restaurant looked like one of those old French colonial style buildings you's see in a film set in Asia with fans going, men wearing white linen and summer fidoras talking local politics), we hired a tuk-tuk driver to pick us up the next day.

The next morning, Meng Hean, our tuk-tuk driver was right on time and so began one of the best couple of days of my trip so far...

We had mentioned to him that we wanted to visit an orphanage but didn't know where to go. So without saying anything he pulled up outside the Cambodian Orphan Save Organization (COSO) http://www.coso-orphanage.org/ an orphanage just outside of town.  The kids were in a class room being taught by a monk. (Picutre is of the kids shoes outside the classroom) 

The youngest children were running around the dusty courtyard.  When the kids were let out of class, they were soooo excited to see us, as we were them.  They were exceptionally polite asking our names and where we were from.  Their English was very good.  The caretakers and later the President of the orphanage showed us around the small orphanage... it's not much:  a room for the kids to eat,  one big room where all of the girls slept and one big room where all the boys slept.  Beds side by side.  There's a stage where the children learn Khmer traditional dance - it was pretty cool with a backstage (which also doubled as someone's room).  They have a detached bathroom and bathe outside by pouring buckets of water over themselves.  They really don't have anything.  Not even many clothes.  It was a little sad to see, but the kids seemed so happy.  One little girl named Resmai (orange shirt in the pic below) stole my heart.  She is 10 years old and so sweet with a contagious smile.  I literally could have taken her home with me. 

The kids put on a show for us, showing us the music and traditional dances they have learned.  They were fantastic!  And at the end of their show, they got us up to give it a whirl.  At first, a part of me felt like this is all a part of the "act" when a foreinger comes to visit.   It was like the kids are on cue and then you get the sales pitch. It was all a little too rehearsed. But the cynic in me left pretty quickly when I really looked around and realized they really have nothing and I mean nothing - I don't blame them for being organized and trying to solicit donations.  As a non-government funded orphanage, they rely mostly on donations from tourists.  They are trying to raise money to buy the land the orphanage is on otherwise they lose it and will need to move somewhere else and essentially start over.  They also just need food and supplies to live everyday.  It was quite heart-breaking when you see these beautiful kids.  We gave them a small donation before we left.  The kids gave us a big good-bye and asked when we'd be back!

Our driver then took us to an old temple that turned out to be the practice temple for Angkor Wat.  The practice temple took 10 years and they didn't finish it!  Can you imagine - 10 years?!?!  That's a lot of planning, pretty smart if you ask me.

That night we couldn't stop talking about the kids at the orphanage.  How we just wanted to scoop them up and take them home or do something for them.  Beth suggested that we pool our money together to buy them some supplies for them.  Good idea!  So we called our Hean, the tuk-tuk driver, and arranged for him to pick us up the next morning...

More soon...
xoxo

Say Wat?

March 10 - March 13

I forgot to mention that I had the best massage ever in Phnom Penh.  It was at "Seeing Hands Massage", which is a company that hires blind people and profits go to support the sight-impaired living in Phnom Pehn.  It looked totally dodge from the outside, and well, even from the inside... old, run-down, even a little dark.  But we had heard great things so we thought we'd give it a whirl... anything to make Phnom Penh a more pleasant experience!  Anyway, my massage therapist was named Nigah (no word of a lie, I even asked her to spell it in case I was hearing her incorrectly).  She kept calling me "sister", which made it even better and her English was phenomenal.  She was awesome ((she was trained by a Canadian) and she totally killed me, which is hard to do because I'm so tense!  She kept saying "Sister, I'm going to hurt you.  You are too stressed. Okay sister?"  And I kept responding "Nigah, please, you won't hurt me." I'm totally kidding.

The next day we went to Siem Reap.  It was incredible from start to finish.  First when we arrived at the bus station, there were not one but two dudes holding signs with my name on it.  WTF? How did they get my name? It was totally spelled wrong, but spelled well enough for me to decipher that it was mine.  Turns out that our hotel, where we bought our bus tickets, sold my name to a tuk-tuk driver so he could get our business when we got of the bus.  FYI - there is a huge boxed paragraph highlighting this exact situation in the Lonely Planet, which I obviously missed.  Anyway, we went with the first guy who approached us, for no reason in particular.  The guy who we didn't chose, was very upset claiming he was the "real" one.  Who knows?  We figure one of them was real and one them must of photocopied my name.  Anyway, maybe we did chose the wrong guy because I think travel karma bit us in the travel-ass, because in the the guy we chose ended up being a bit of a schizester (sp?). 

After our tuk-tuk driver dropped us off at a hotel he recommended (and would get a commission from), he wouldn't leave until we settled on a price for him to take us to Angkor Wat for one or two days.  These guys are relentess, I tell you.  But we got a good deal, one that he wasn't happy about $25 for two days.  He wasn't happy because what we realized was that he was actually paying someone else to do the actual driving so his profit was less than if he was doing the driving.

The first day Beth and I took a cooking class.  Or rather, learned how to follow the recipe they gave us.  Still so much fun and so much food!  While we looked like total dorks in orange aprons and chef hats, we learned how to make Amok which is a Cambodian curry.  Yum!  Cambodian food (and culture) is very similar to Thai.

Angkor Wat was amazing.  Even if you're not a ruins or temple person, you would be amazed by the grandeur and age of this place.  It was absolutely overwhelmning.  We arrived about 7am and spent 6 hours discovering the ruins of Angkor Wat, Ankor Thom and Ta Prohm - where Tomb Raider was filmed with all of the trees literally growing through the tomb, I mean wat.  I got a kick out of all of the danger signs around the temples because the entire place is falling apart... not just the parts in the danger zones.  You wouldn't want to be there during an earthquake, that's for sure.

I still wasn't able to talk and was starting to get a little worried (Google does not help in these situations).  After 4 weeks of not being able to talk and 2 rounds of antibiotics I needed to do something drastic or else I would have to start considering going home : (  After going to the over-run and run-down hospital in Saigon, I couldn't imagine that the Cambodian hosptial would be any better.  So I started to consider doing a detour to Bangkok before continuing on into Laos. Looking through the guide book I found out that the International hospital in Cambodia was affiliated with the Bangkok hospital, so it was worth checking out before heading all that way and thank God I did - the hospital and doctors were amazing, not cheap, but amazing.  I ended up having to stay behind in Siem Reap for an extra week to check in with the doctor but it was worth it.  After some very hefty antibiotics and three trips to the doctor I was on the mend and got my voice back!  Woot woot! And I can yell that now!

More soon...

xoxo