Yet again congratulations go out. A couple of our friends who also took a year off and are working in Honduras have just gotten engaged. I know they have many happy days ahead of them. They are such a beautiful, fun couple of people individually and I'm so glad they've found the person that makes them most happy.
At this point I think I feel slightly overwhelmed by how much we can, should, or want to do out here. It's not at all that there was less to do in South America but we were limited by where we were working and where we were staying. Now we're mobile and border-jumpin and the sky is the limit, which is incredible but also I guess a little bit intimidating. But we both say, having to come back someday wouldn't be so bad. Maybe some of you could end up coming with us. Future food for thought.
****NOTE******
Damn computer stopped recognizing my camera so we are lacking pictures this time (and I have so many from the elephant park!). But since this is the only computer in the area, it already died when I was nearly done yesterday, and I should be spending time on the beach with my sweetie, this is what we've got for now. Check back next week (midweek or later) and I should have some really great pictures up for you to see. Sorry they're missing for the moment.
Here's the sum up:
- Bangkok temples and meeting up with Stephane - cheap and delicious street food
- Chiang Mai and the land of night markets
- Elephant Nature Park for a week - an experience I don't know how to describe but as you'll see, will try to anyway
- Crossing into Laos by boat on the Mekong River
- Luang Prabang, the UNESCO World Heritage Site gone terribly touristy
- Phonsavan and Christmas- the mysterious stone jars, Bombies and The Secret War, and more terrible Laos taste in our mouths
- Vientiane, just another capital
- Our first overnight sleeper bus
- South of Laos - temple at Champasak and Si Phan Don (four thousand islands), my in-door, ill experience
Just a quick note that this is my first entry fully written on the Kindle. As such, the lovely machine that it is was meant for reading and not typing so the keypad has a hard time keeping up with my fingers. There are a lot of missing letters and weird spaces. No apologies this time. It's just the way it is.
As a brief introduction to Thailand (and I think much of this has or will hold true elsewhere in the area), here are some of the interesting things we've seen and heard. The Thai people adore their king and it is absolutely forbidden to say anything bad about him or make any jokes about him. You take your shoes off to enter nearly anywhere, especially temples. The feet are considered the dirtiest part of the body and it is highly offensive to show someone your feet. Similarly, the head is the highest, cleanest part of the body and you may not touch other people's heads.
The orchid is the Thai national flower and they grew easily everywhere. So Chris was in heaven.
The country is much more sexually liberated than anywhere else we've ever been. People are openly homosexual and cross-dress publicly without social repercussion. It's incredible. That said there is also a large amount of prostitution, especially child prostitution, though most of what I've seen is old white men with really young Thai women. And you can't help turning your head when you see it.
The pubic transport system was great and easy to figure out. My favorite part of it was the ticket clipping. The ticket people could balance in the middle of a moving bus and rapidly clip the sides of your ticket with a long metal tube to indicate ... something. It was like a form of art.
You may see drinks left under statues and religious images and think people are lazy but they're actually leaving offerings. They also have spirit houses- literally small, ornate houses on stilts they leave offerings to.
I saw more large rats in Bangkok than I ever had before - probably cockroaches too.
The people were incredibly respectful and it was often sad to see tourists disrespecting norms, especially around temples. I understand it's hot but wearing something that's practically a bathing suit outside is even offensive at home. In temples, you are expected to have covered shoulders and knees. Preferably toes too. They even had loaner clothes for the Royal Palace it was so important.
It is very easy to eat vegetarian in Thailand but it's so hot I drank much more juice and soda than I ever would normally (but like in South America, soda doesn't have high fructose crap).
In bathrooms in Thailand (and in the other countries we've now been in), locals use a hose to clean themselves after they use the facilities. We call it the butt hose. It looks just like a garden sprayer but it's white. I'll be honest, I haven't used it yet since I'm afraid of getting all wet. People always get the seat all wet. I've contemplated this before but still don't know whether it's worse to waste water or paper.
There's the starter course for you.
 |
| The down low view of Wat Arun |
No big problems with the flight, though I think I talked about that a little already. I did end up having this funny feeling for the next couple days that I suppose must have been jet lag. I also knew my internal clock was off since for the next week or two I kept waking up in the middle of the night to pee. I'm normally someone who's stubborn enough to stay in bed a whole other hour with a full bladder. So that sucked.
We arrived in Bangkok around five. I left my water bottle on the plane and Chris had a nosebleed. It was a good start. After having slept through the final planes landing, I was still exhausted and kept falling asleep in the cab. We took a big highway that didn't exist the last time Chris was here. The trip wasn't cheap and included a toll and then the cabbie dropped us a couple of blocks from Khaosan road and insisted on keeping part of my change as a tip. I was too tired to fight.
We started walking but couldn't figure out which road to go on (since we were dropped a bit away and he only vaguely pointed). When we finally figured it out, we spent a while looking for Chris' last hostel but couldn't find it (I'll tell you why in a minute). The heat didn't seem too bad but with a jacket on under m backpacks, I felt like I was going to pass out. So we settled for a slightly cheaper but dingier place with two beds (it had a familiar odor which I later realized was just the dank mustiness of cat piss).
Chris was starving and the streets smelled of delicious spices South America never offered us. We had pad thai on the street and wet to bed with the pivoting fan on high. We felt exhausted and strange but not necessarily jet-lagged. Unfortunately we both woke up for a while around two anyways.
We woke at a decent hour and went to get a quick breakfast. Staying another night in the same hostel seemed the easiest thing to do so we paid for that.
When we started walking, we quickly figured out that we were on the wrong road. The taxi driver got lazy and dropped us a couple blocks early. We figured this all out while a man on the street tried to sell us something in front of the Swensen's with an advertised Christmas sundae.
The road next door is touristy but not nearly as much as Khaosan. Chris eventually recognized the entrance to his last hostel but we were told it closed six months ago. We shared a small pad thai on the road.
We walked a ways to the riverfront to find a cheaper hostel to stay in with Stephane when he arrived the next day (we found a very nice, clean one with a private bathroom). Traffic seems a bit more perilous here. The roads are bigger, which means more cars - and scooters, and people aren't afraid to drive fast on them. So Chris' favorite advice came into play again when we tried to cross the street - when in doubt, follow a local. They don't seem to typically get hit.
We wandered a little along the riverside and found the pickup for water taxis. We took our first water ride down to the temple Wat Pho (all Buddhist temples are Wats or Vats depending on the country, I will call them Wats because it's what I saw first). Monks are everywhere but my favorite part of the ride was the sign on the boat designating a reserved standing area for monks.
The docks next to Wat Pho smelled like dried fish. It was everywhere and not terribly pleasant. But once we escaped the immediate area, we came across stores and, even better, ice cream. We each got a frozen fruit bar (miraculous in the heat) and stood outside the temple entrance to finish them.
Standing there, a Thai man came up to us to start conversing and give advice on our travels and the order in which we should be doing things. We both turned to look at our backs a bit more than was perhaps necessary but in the end he seemed just a nice, if not overly talkative, guy. We thanked him for his advice but decided to go into the temple then anyway despite the warning it would likely be crowded.
Wat Pho is known for its golden reclining Buddha, the biggest representation of Buddha in the world I believe at something like 15m tall and 36m long. This area was crowded and we decided to avoid it until the last.
The temple grounds were expansive and we wandered for quite a while looking at different sculptures and architecture. I have the joy and misfortune of traveling with someone who's already seen quite a number of the sighs before and Chris told me that when he was there last, right after the tsunami, it was nearly empty and all the temple areas were open to meditate or sit and worship. It was a bit more busy this time though still not overly crowded. The largest disappointment was how many parts of the temple were closed off to the public. But we did eventually find one with a large golden Buddha in the teaching position that was mostly unoccupied and we sat and listened to the chanting from a worship service in a nearby courtyard. Despite a few people passing in and out, it was an amazing place to close your eyes and think of anything or nothing at all.
Our next day began about the same as the first, an early morning and a slow breakfast. We got some miscellaneous errands done and then it was time to change rooms - and not a moment too soon. My final bathroom excursion involved a terribly close encounter with a ginormo cockroach (I let out a gasp but no scream mind you).
Chris got an email from Stephane letting us know that he'd actually be getting in the next morning and not that night. So we hadn't needed to change rooms but despite the two person rate being more expensive it was well worth it for cleanliness, a double bed, and a private bathroom. It had a really nice upstairs view of the river too (which it should being the riverview hostel).
After a quite refreshing cool shower, we found lunch at a local frequented hole in the wall with a slightly difficult ordering process with great little finger food we enjoyed down by the pier.
 |
| Us at Wat Arun with the river behind |
We took a bus down to Wat Pho to catch the ferry across to Wat Arun. The day was hazy and it was less magnificent looking than at sunset but the close up view was splendid. The amazing sight of Wat Arun is made of broken ceramics from old Chinese trading ships. There were similar figures to Wat Pho but they were so much more interesting made with broken dishes.
We wandered up each of the four levels of the structure (the topmost wasn't open when Chris was here last and there is no inner shrine). The stairs to the top were so steep you would get a little spinny looking up (knees had to be turned sideways to fit) and you absolutely had to hold both rails going down - even Chris did. There was a great view across the river of the other temples and the palace but Chris' favorite view was likely the roped in climber at the very top doing renovation work of some kind - Chris' dream job.
We wandered a while, saw the temples and meditation center in the back, and a few little girls hula-hooping outside the temple. The sun was beginning to set again as we got on the rocking ferry to cross the river again.
We wandered along the street by the royal palace (no longer in use) and into the nearby market for a little pad thai, with dried, legs attached shrimp in it I didn't find too savory, and too much sugar water (with the heat and humidity I think I'm going to actually crave soda, specifically sprite, here). Then, we hopped back on the bus and headed back to the hostel for a relaxed evening.
When Stephane finally arrived that first Saturday, Chris and I were just getting up.I think it's probably only fair to tell you a little bit about Stephane (pronounced Stef-ahn) before I add him to our cast of characters. Stephane is a researcher and marine biologist from Brittany, France, though he's often gone on month long research cruises (and is a master diver). He did a post doc at Penn State where he and Chris met through rock climbing. They, with a few other climbing buddies, went to the south of Thailand to climb right after the tsunami in early 2006. Stephane and I met face to face for about 36 hours prior to this trip in Ecuador when he and Chris came to Quito to meet me after having traveled in Peru together for a couple of weeks. He's an incredibly peaceful, laid back person to be around and it should tell you tons that so far he's the only person to immediately jump at the offer to come travel with us. He's also being gracious enough to host us in France after we're done in Africa. And being that all three of us love food, I think we're going to get very fat. There, now you're up to speed.
 |
| Elephants in the field at Elephant Nature Park |
The boys enjoyed catching up and they are both biology nerds so there was, and continues to be, a lot of talk about the names of plants and animals. There has also been a lot of reminiscing about when they were in Thailand last. I try not to be put off by the comparisons and at first I think I felt they were putting too much into old memories and not as much into making new ones, but I think it acts as a kind of closure. There's almost a finality to being able to relive events in the same area years later and I'm sure it strengthens the bond they have. Then there's the rock climbing talk, for that I just zone off.
When he arrived, Stephane insisted on staying up despite having been awake for 24 hours - though you really couldn't tell, he's a very energetic person and sleeps less than I ever could (except maybe during a surgery rotation). So we went out to grab a bite and made our way up the river to the Royal Palace and the temple of the emerald Buddha.
These two sites were on the same grounds and were likely/hopefully the most expensive areas we'll pay to get into (regionally expensive at just under 12 bucks). The area around the temple we visited first. It was extravagant to say the least with everything shiny and decked out in gold. And the Buddha itself was actually really small compared to all the large golden Buddha statues at Wat Pho and Wat Arun.
 |
| Elephant statue at the Royal Palace |
Sadly enough, the two things that made the biggest impression on me in the templ were the free ice cold drinking water (it was the hottest day yet) and the sight of the very rare Buddhist nun (if that's the correct word for the female version of a monk) worshipping but not allowed to enter the roped off, carpeted area where monks worship.
I love seeing the monks all dressed in orange robes everywhere but there are some customs (and disparities as above) that I find interesting. Women are not allowed to touch a monk. Men are. Women arenot allowed to talk privately with a monk. These two rules made me feel nervous walking by them on the street (you'll hear why I'm more comfortable now a little later). Monks have a reserved area on buses and boats. Most young men are supposed to enter the monkhood for at least three months to bring honor to the family. You are not supposed to take pictures of monks but we've seen plenty of monks with cameras, having their picture taken, and even answering their cellphones in the temple. Some of it seems just a little strange, but don't get me wrong, I have great respect for what they represent.
The Royal Palace is no longer the king's residence but is still used for special occasions and ceremonies. Much of the grounds were closed to us but what we could see was enormous and beautiful. We also got to see the ceremony for the changing of the guards in front of the palace (they were just like the serious ones in London).
We took an express boat (accidentally) down the river and got on the SkyTrain to catch a view of the city (really just city and skyscrapers- but nice AC) on the way to the big Saturday Chatuchak market. The market was huge and full of treats and trinkets, weird things and clothes and holy cow were there a lot of people. The boys loved the Thai tea (made with condensed milk) and I loved the passion fruit juice.
Our hostel near the river had been kind enough to watch our bags and we went back to get them before having a hell of a time figuring out where and which side of the street to catch the bus to the train station. We gave ourselves a nice buffer though. We had to change buses because it was late Saturday and it was a different route than we'd seen before. It was a bit confusing. But everyone knew where the farang (strangers) with the big bags were going, including the nutty old guy who kept talking to us in Thai and laughing.
We ate Dunkin Donuts for dinner at the train station while we waited. It was actually one of the more expensive meals we ate in Bangkok.
 |
| Me in my upper sleeper bunk on the train |
We paid for the second class sleeper car on the train. It had two aisles of bunk beds with metal baskets to hold your bags and latrine type toilets with sinks that ran out of water quickly. The floor and walls were covered in small cockroaches.
Chris and I had top bunks across from each other in the front and Stephane was on the bottom further back. There were rotating fans on the ceiling we had to be careful of when climbing up and comin down. We all went to bed rather quickly and woke from noises or the lights that were never turned off rather frequently. It was still infinitely better than a bus.
The next morning the beds folded up and gave us chairs. I tried to start typing the last blog and got a migraine. Our hostel, which we'd been smart enough to arrange in advance, picked us up at the train station. After settling in, we walked a ways to the center of Chiang Mai and found lunch in a Wat courtyard. I walked back and took a nap while the boys went and explored. They later got lost trying to find their way back.
 |
| Boys enjoying the train ride |
That night we went and explored the night market and Sunday market in Chiang Mai and gorged ourselves on street food (and in another Wat courtyard which actually had recycling - that was exciting). Later I would keep the poor night man up past midnight using the hostel computer that shocked me every time I touched my camera to finish the last entry. After a short sleep, I woke up to shower before the Elephant Nature Park came to pick us up.
Monday was an incredible day. Finishing the blog the night before after midnight (thank god for the poor night shift guy who never asked me to stop), I didn't get a hell of a lot of sleep.
I woke and showered and quickly packed. We had breakfast at our hostel while we waited to be picked up (the cornmeal banana pancakes with honey were amazing and I actually had a coffee so I wouldn't drag ass our whole first day in the park). Apparently they tell everyone that pick up is at eight, so we were picked up around eight thirty. We were then taken back to the main office, where we realized there were far more volunteers than expected, to pick up our t-shirts and water bottles - and of course finish paying.
The ride in the van to the park was about an hour. A large TV screen came down from the ceiling and we watched a TV special on the park and elephant conservation.
Elephants were previously worked in logging, but that was made illegal in the late 80s, mainly due to forest depletion I believe. So elephants are now used in tourism and begging in the city. They showed a baby elephant (they live past eighty so they're small even at several years old it appeared) being used to attract attention in the city. The owners bring them in to sell fruit to feed them since people of course want to see them. The poor thing was rocking the whole time which is apparently a sign of stress. They are sensitive to vibration felt through their feet. So the city is a sensory nightmare. It was heart-wrenching to watch the poor little guy so upset.
Then of course they talked about the Elephant Nature Park where they take in abused, mistreated, and injured elephants (from bad owners, bad industry and continued logging in Burma). There used to be more than a hundred thousand elephants in Thailand and now they say there are closer to five thousand. The program here is trying to help those that remain. As an example, they showed one of the elephants, Jokia, who is blind. She had a baby while logging and it rolled down the hill she was on and died. She got so depressed she refused to work and just lay down. The owner threw rocks at her eyes to make her work again. This finally ticked her off enough that she fought back and so they stabbed her eyes instead. Now she has been rescued and adopted by the herd at the park and follows the oldest female, Mae Perm, everywhere she goes. They say she is happy.
It was a smart use of time and a compelling introduction. We saw elephants off the road with seats for tourists on their backs as we drove in. None of the animals at the park are allowed to work.
When we arrived, we were awed. Chris used the word surreal and I find it quite appropriate. When faced with a setting such as this, I wonder whether my vocabulary has truly begun to suffer or if there simply are no words fit to describe, because I felt so simple-minded continually saying amazing, beautiful and gorgeous. But I can think of no better words.
I've saved the Elephant Park to actually be the last thing I write about (and necessarily that means I will short-change it no matter what I do). I told Chris that I don't really know quite what to say or where to start and that I feel its an experience I don't really have the words for. He said I should sum up with, "We played with elephants, did a lot of chores, ate amazing food, and met a lot of great people." Agreed. But I still fee this itch to inform so maybe I'll try a little without going too much into the day to day.
 |
| Making elephant "balls," what Chris calls the best (smiling) picture of me he's ever seen (Taken by Lek) |
So here is the day to day summary: we woke up around seven from the bungalow all three of us slept in under separate mosquito nets, walked to the main building and grabbed breakfast from the buffet line (the least impressive meal of the day to be honest) before doing the morning' chores. We were divided into four big groups for chores/activities (the fourth being an international -almost entirely Australian- student volunteer group). Chores ranged from scooping elephant (often called eles) poop to digging trenches for water pipes (because the last ones were too shallow and Jungle Boy kept digging them up for his own private drinking fountain) to cutting up food for ele snacks to going out to harvest/cut down corn (this was an awesome, hard working day in which I learned my weapon of choice for the zombie apocalypse is a machete, ruined my shoes by slipping off the <1 foot path into mud while carrying cornstalk sacks, and had an ice cube fight while sitting atop stacks of corn in the back of the truck on the way back).
We also visited a local school for half a morning and were kind of dropped off in groups in classrooms without any real instructions. Luckily, the three of us were with a couple from New York, Stu and Stephanie. And Stu is a musician for a living who happened to have brought his ukulele. Perfect! We mostly let him take over and the rest of us simply watched in awe (or danced and sang with a little when we could).
Though the call and response song didn't go over as well as it could have.
STU - What is your name?
CLASS - What is your name?
STU - My name is Stu.
CLASS - My name is Stu.
STU - No, my name is Stu.
CLASS - No, my name is Stu.
STU (shrugs) - Hello Stu!
CLASS - Hello Stu!
 |
| Showing a little boy a picture of his classroom |
The first elephant snack time was 11am, just after the day trippers arrived but were still mostly too timid to help. So we would stand on a platform and hold out big chunks of winter squash or melon or whole bunches of bananas to the very eager trunks waiting to receive them. Lunch was a buffet absolutely filled with food (and people sine there were probably forty of us plus at least twenty or so day people). The food was alway absolutely ridiculous. All amazing Thai cooking and lots of vegetables. We wanted for nothing.
 |
| Trying to feed and take a picture, never works out well (Taken by Lek) |
First thing in the afternoon was elephant bathing where we walked down by the river to splash the elephants with buckets. Then there were usually more chores (or a guided walk through the park if you did strenuous corn work that morning - I got my foot lodged in mud again that afternoon, with sandals that time though).
 |
| Stephane feeding on our "Elephant walk" (Taken by Lek) |
After which, we helped distribute the buckets of food to the different platforms for feeding again (but this time fighting the day trippers). Then, sometimes they had mud baths (with lemongrass oil mixed in) for the ladies in the baby family in their separate pens. I did this once but it was while an older lady was sick, severely distended and obstipated (they tried enemas and stuck arms in, she was a little better by the time we left). This meant many of the mahouts (elephant handlers/trainers) were distracted with her. So there was one woman in with me and the little girl who came with me. The big girl we were trying to bathe was moving all around, so I was using one arm to defend and move the little girl next to me and the other was holdng and moving the mud bucket while the baby tried to take it away from me. These are, well obviously, big animals and I felt the need to show them a lot of respect. We got out quickly.
 |
| Bath time |
The next couple of times we tried, something always got in the way - including a fight only 15-20 feet away from me that left one animal injured and the rest charging to help or protect and slapping their trunks on the ground (a hollow banging sound that lets you know they're upset). They do a good job of letting you know that they're still wild animals.
 |
| Post-bath dusting, it's good sunscreen |
Afternoon was also often time to view documentaries, three or four in total, and meet the major players involved. One was about a dutch woman, whom we met, who was one of the first volunteers and afterwards raised money to rescue more elephants. She now does this for a living, if that's the right way to put it, through her project Bring The Elephant Home. The first few days I feel I spent my time split between ecstatic happiness and being really depressed from everything we were seeing in the documentaries. It was important and enlightening but it was almost too much.
 |
| Buddies after their bath |
The evening could be for a talk (like on Thai culture and Thai children's songs) or for relaxing. The first night they had a welcoming ceremony in which local women had created an ornate wreath and the local monk came in to perform a blessing ceremony in which four of the girls knelt next to him and he chanted and finally tied string around their wrists as a blessing/charm. The local women did this for the rest of us at the same time. It was a beautiful thing to be included in and we all still have our (now less than white) charms on.
There was a young woman (also Lek, like the founder) taking pictures and video of us the whole time. They used these to make a DVD for us and we were also able to upload a lot of them on thumb drives at the end. I tried but it didn't work. Luckily, a new friend MJ also lives in Denver so hopefully we can get them from her.
 |
| Boys on the feeding platform |
Lek, the founder of the park, was gone our first couple of days. When she returned, she talked to us after we watched a DVD (some of us still in tears) and told us about her trip to India. She'd been called to come help after a group of elephants had been hit by a train. The bull was struck and two mothers with their two calves each were also killed trying to help pull them off. The rest of the herd was attacking the town in retaliation. She had gone to try to help put better safeguards in place so this would not happen again. Hearing about this after the video we'd just watched, felt like being struck in the face.
But she also came with good news, she'd received a million acres of land in Cambodia (had gone for a helicopter ride to see it all, she was so shocked and surprised) where she will set up an elephant refuge, as well as to take care of any other animal life there. The question none of us dared ask was how they were going to deal with clearing it of the landmines Cambodia was notorious for. But she said they would start on only 10,000 acres and involve the local communities in the work, just as she has in Thailand. It's an amazing thing and brings so much hope.
 |
| Loaded up to visit the new property (other faces: Mark, MJ, and Lek) |
We went for a night and a day to the new property where they are expanding to nearby (a small group at a time). We did a lot of what was advertised as weeding but was actually bushwhacking an intense weed that had taken over all the plants, soil, and banana trees in the area. Then, we planted trees (or rather I did as the boys kept at it). We also built a bonfire pit we used later that night and ate what our leader Chet prepared for us (all the Volunteer Coordinators were amazing guys and so much fun).
The next day we had to be evacuated quickly in the middle of our work as it started raining hard and the road wasn't going to hold out. It was a rough, wet ride in the back of the truck.
We were also much to go up with half the elephants to visit what is called Elephant Haven up the mountain but the woman who usually runs that show was busy with the sick elephant so no one went. But we were actually quite content to not take another night away from the park and just wanted to hear the elephant was getting better.
 |
| Making friends after bathtime |
We got to see and touch the elephants a lot. By the end, I even started feeling more comfortable going up and just touching them (it's a little intimidating at first having a lot of safety rules thrown at you and then a so many tons animal moving toward you). They were such beautiful, docile, and hungry creatures. I was just honored and constantly amazed to take part in the experience of their day to day.
All the people we met were just incredible. The volunteers were anything from students and young people like us to a couple from China with their two adopted girls (who were a ton of fun). We spent many a night relaxing after dinner just talking to so many amazing people. The volunteer coordinators and the mahouts were incredible people, very helpful and relaxed (and surprisingly good at soccer in an intense game we played the second to last day). Interestingly, the only people who were stressed or uptight about interactions with the elephants were a couple of the long-time (many years) white volunteers at the park. With the exception of one, Michelle, an Australian woman who ran the kitchen, had brought her bear of a dog with her, and also loves the Flaming Lips - she's as chill as they come.
 |
| The coordinator, Burt, who took care of us our first day and one of my favorite dogs |
And I can't forget what may have been the best part for me (okay maybe not the best, but definitely a dream come true): dogs. The park not only takes care of elephants. It adopts stray dogs - 70 of them thus far, who run the park chasing oxen and elephants and begging ever so adorably for your leftovers in packs. It's a dog's life. And incredibly, once they are taken back from that life on the street, they revert to being pets. Many of them really wanted love and attention. And of course, I was more than happy to give it to them.
One dog in particular I will always remember. His name is pet (means something different in Thai of course). He always had a board or stick in his mouth. He ate grass and dirt and whatever else he shouldn't (really bad pica). And the poor thing was wearing down his teeth really badly. Michelle had taken it upon herself to make sure that all the dogs on the park got spade and neutered. She's my hero. The dogs actually love her a lot still too, but that's because she's the food lady.
It was amazing to see how the elephants stuck together and really cared for each other. And god forbid one of the babies should let out a cry, you'd have a whole herd of elephants coming down on you if you were the one causing trouble.
 |
| Ready to eat |
The park itself and its 50 acres were absolutely picturesque. I know its in their best interest for publicity and all but holy cow they really designed it perfectly. And everywhere you turned there was a different vantage point for picture taking. It was a photographer's dream come true.
Lek quickly became a personal hero to all of us. What she is doing, what she has done, and the way she has devoted her life to these animals is simply incredible. She asked of us that we write to guidebooks like the lonely planet to ask that they take elephant trekking and elephant rides out of their books. Also that we tell other people what we had learned. It was like a call to action from an angel, something that absolutely cannot be ignored.
So here's the hard and important part - why these elephants need saving. Even though the time of logging is over and prohibited in Thailand, most elephants still undergo the long honored technique of training called the Pajaan. We had the privilege and horror of seeing what this actually entailed in one of the documentaries. The elephant is penned up with large logs holding it in on all four sides. It is kept there for days on end until it is broken by being jumped on, beaten with rocks, poked, and stabbed with large knives and spears. They feel this is necessary to make the elephant ready to be obedient and perform the tricks of the tourist trade. Lasting damage can be inflicted and the elephants' two inch thick skin is broken and bleeding, accessible for bad infections. It was one of the most horrifying things I've ever had to watch and it would take only the hardest type of person to be able to watch that without feeling, intensely, their pain. (Sorry, I couldn't get the highlight off this and meant to edit more later.)
Lek is going against the Pajaan and trying to show that elephants can be trained to do all the positive things tourists love by positive reenforcement and reward only. From the other elephant parks opening in the area, it looks like her way may be slowly catching on.
Elephants eat, a lot. And their quite insistent about it too. You had to be carefully when handing them food that they didn't pull your arm off too. And don't even try to hide bananas from them. Saving bananas for the babies on the park walk was out of the question. The other elephants would follow you and get uncomfortably close until you gave up the goods.
Other than that, they really weren't aggressive at all. Save one who actually killed her abusive owner and they say still has a lot of psychological damage. But that's pretty impressive given just how much collective abuse all the animals had taken. One who'd already broken a leg in working was forced into an elephant mating ceremony in which the bull laid on her until he broke both her hips. Or a few who'd been rescued from logging in neighboring countries had also been made addicted to amphetamines so they would work harder. But here they have been physically and emotionally rehabilitated. They never have to work (and only the couple naughty boys are ever ridden) and they can just be elephants again.
By the way, elephants (almost all) love bath time. And that's important to know when they com charging at the water your standing in. They're just excited to get wet, not charging at you. But the naughty boys don't get the bucket treatment. They're too poorly behaved so they've been trained to roll over and bathe themselves, which is a great show for us.
 |
| Stephane and the eager awaiters of lunch-time scraps |
The park was actually pretty hard work at times and we were all pretty exhausted by the end. But we also had plenty of opportunities to relax. A couple late afternoons we grabbed some inner tubes and walked up to the village and floated back down the river to the park. The local kids thought we were quite a sight and even jumped in to join us on one occasion.
The elephants had a lot of personality. Two of the boys, Hope and Jungle Boy, have two or three mahouts each to keep them out of mischief and Hope has a bell on him to let you know that he's coming. Probably my favorite, Mai Lae Tong, who had part of one of her back legs blown off by a land mine, was constantly breaking down fences. I mean constantly. As soon as they rebuilt it, she'd be back through. She really liked the taste of flowers. You can actually read each of the elephant's stories on the park website - elephantnaturefoundation.org, I believe. They all liked a good scratch though, whether it was on the platform posts and moved you a good deal or on the large rocks you learned quickly not to sit on as they were often a good spot for an elephant ass scratch.
The experience was remarkable, unique, enlightening, inspiring, and once in a life time in a way I cannot truly convey (though there were a couple people who'd been there twice including MJ, Stu, and Stephanie). I am grateful to be able to pass on a little of what I have learned and hope that you will be inspired to do the same.
 |
| The eye of Jokia, the blind elephant |
By the way, I took nearly a thousand pictures at the Elephant Nature Park - no joke. We can play show and tell later.
When we got back to Chiang Mai, I immediately noticed all the large trees wrapped in shawls/ribbons. We'd learned at the Elephant Park (and would have done it if we'd went to Haven) that people have the monks bless these and then tie them around the trees to save them. People are too superstitious to want to cut through anything blessed by a monk.
 |
| Mom and baby at bath-time in the river |
When we got back from the park, we were all tired but hungry. So we decided to go hit the Sunday night market before we collapsed. We walked up from our hostel through one of the market areas densely populated by food vendors and the boys immediately found the Chiang Mai sausages they'd been wanting to try. I however found multiple non-edible items I wanted to buy but held back.
We entered the food court area that is interestingly settled in a Wat's courtyard, but includes a staffed area for recycling, and found a ton to eat (chicken shwarma for me). As we left, we had our first run in with a few of our fellow park volunteers who came running up happily to greet us since we'd missed the goodbye earlier in the day (including fellow Denverite MJ). While we were standing there talking, the couple from NY we enjoyed so well (Stu and Stephanie) showed up too. In the end, five americans and our token frenchman wandered on through the market, talking and snacking as we went. It was a lovely night and we all collapsed into bed quite content.
I warned them in advance and despite power tools going directly outside our window, I slept in. Nothing so glorious as getting out of bed after ten when you've gotten up early to scoop elephant poo the whole week before.
We went to an internet cafe with a surprisingly decent connection and I had my first opportunity to see my whole family at once since my brother came home for Christmas. It for some reason made me feel very relieved but just generally happy to see them. I felt so comfortable that it was odd getting off and hearing Thai again. Now if only I could figure out how to make my mom stop having nightmares about me being eaten by different big animals on each continent...
After finding the pick up area, we hopped in the back of a converted truckbed to go to one of the temples outside of town. Despite being only 15k away, it was a very curvy, steep road and took a long time. I didn't handle it well.
Many people pay to take a cable car up but that seemed ridiculous to us. It was only three hundred or so steps up. It was nothing. We explored the outer ring of the temple, surrounded by prayer bells, and took in the view. The temple, built where an elephant carrying a "relic" of Buddha collapsed and later died, is high enough to have a spectacular view looking down on all of Chiang Mai but unfortunately also on the thick layer of pollution covering it. It was so sad that it should have been so beautiful and so reminiscent of South America. So not to say that I'm arguing to halt environmentally conscious efforts in the US but I truly don't think what we do can have any positive effects while the rest of the world lives as it does. Until other countries start fixing their emissions standards, stop burning their plastics and other garbage, implement recycling programs, etc., etc., I can see any progress being made. Just think of the population in China. With a population so big contributing so much to world pollution, it's a nearly unfixable problem. But for people in poorer countries having to worry about their families' health and food insecurity, how can I possibly fault them for not giving a damn about the environment?
The actual inside of the temple was incredibly crowded. It felt a little like commercial Buddhism as everyone approached to sell photography services, etc. The Wat structures themselves were so covered in gold that they were often too bright to look at in the sunlight. Honestly, all the gold structures get a little gaudy.
Other than tourists, there are always plenty of local worshipers present when we visit a Wat. You try your best to stay out of the way and not interrupt but sometimes you really wish you could ask what they're doing and why. Inside one of the small temple rooms, a monk was tying string around people's wrists and blessing them just as in the ceremony we'd been in. It was nice to actually understand that one but I think we felt a little too intrusive to participate.
The outer wall of the inner temple was covered as usual with beautiful murals telling a story but was mostly blocked by dozens of donation boxes between each Buddha statue. It was overwhelming. We try so hard to travel in a way that contributes to the community more than just the tourist organizations but when you see so many causes and people in need, you get the feeling that it can never be enough.
We headed back down the stairs and through the throng of sales stands, snacking a bit too (never would have thought to find so many waffles in Thailand), and took another truck back down the mountain - it was a nicer ride.
We walked through the town and to one of the main temples (in a city that has more than three hundred) that Chris and Stephane had visited the week before. The main temple was expansive and included (other than the normal huge golden Buddhas) a monk sitting perfectly still, which the boys are still arguing over as to whether he was real or statue (I couldn't see him breathe).
We went out in the courtyard to see the Buddhist aphorisms painted on signs and hung on trees. I was so taken aback and startled when two young monks started talking to us in English that I didn't have time to react appropriately. We sat with the two young monks who wanted to practice English. One left and the other talked for a long time about the differences in language. He was from Laos and was the only monk we'd seen wearing purple instead of orange. Then he spoke at length on Buddhism. It was a very interesting experience (and good practice for him) but to be honest a lot of it was very hard to understand and the drone of his voice a little too relaxing with the evening chanting coming from the temple in the background. None of us fell asleep though!
After excusing ourselves, we continued on to look at the Buddhist sayings hanging on the trees. Here are a few notable entries:
- Today is better than two tomorrows.
- Anxiety shortens life.
- Living without hope is like burying oneself.
- Clean, Clear, Calm; these are characteristics of a noble person.
- Good to forgive; the best to forget.
- Selfishness is the real enemy of peace.
- Poverty with dignity is better than wealth based on shame.
Later we wandered through the night market and all tuckered out quickly after a long day of walking and dealing with crowds (though infinitely less so than during the Sunday market. We sat up and did some debating as to how best to cross the border and poor Chris went to bed with a raging headache.
We woke early the next morning for our thai cooking class. After scouring the available pamphlets, we'd decided on Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking. They picked us up from the hostel and we climbed into yet another converted pickup bed with benches, the preferred mode of transport around Chiang Mai. There were eight of us in the truck, the class max.
Our first stop that morning after the half an hour ride out of town was a local market, which having started at 4am was already winding down after 9. Sammy's wife walked us through picking up fruits and herbs to show us. Chris is already great at that kind of thing but Stephane is more knowledgeable still. I know he's a marine biologist but his knowledge of plants and animals can never cease to amaze me.
After that, we went back to the organic farm Sammy and his family run. We were greeted with Roselle water and continuous water, tea, and coffee. Sammy gave us a run through of typical herbs, using examples from his garden. I mostly sat there smelling the lemongrass in my hand feeling overly relaxed.
Our first culinary mission was making curry paste with all the fresh herbs and a mortar and pestle. For each course we made there were always three choices and being three of us, we cooked them all to share (though it turned out people were nicely into sharing anyway). Chris made red/jungle curry, Stephane the green, and I the yellow/masaman. This was all at a table on the patio and then we switched to the outdoor cooking stations under a sort of veranda. It made for great ambiance but the double heat of the stoves and the outdoors quickly became stifling.
Each made their respective curries and then we moved onto soups (tom ka is my favorite thai dish) - all with a healthy helping of fish sauce - and finally stir-fry. Not to be too cliche but I made Pad Thai. Then we all sat down to eat and share around. I couldn't finish it was so much (went into a plastic bag for the next day) but it was all really delicious.
The schedule allowed for an hour and a half of down time after that. Sounds weird when you are paying for it but it was actually quite nice. Most people stayed around the table but I went to a hammock and ended up falling asleep.
The first set of dishes was overseen all at one by Sammy's wife despite three separate dishes being made. The last two sets, appetizers and desserts were all a little more involved and so she supervised them one by one. I made fried spring rolls for my appetizer though I'll definitely be baking them if/when they happen a home. For dessert the boys made their respective favorites, banana cooked in coconut milk and mango with sticky rice. Yummy.
After yet another gorging session, the class was over. Sammy talked to us a while (in a very cute Thai/British accent) about the intricacies of sustainable farming, an idea he attributed to the king, and gave us cook books for the class. We rode back in the back of the truck in the dusky late afternoon light. The class was a great experience though I felt a little happy to be moving on to Laos since it was a little bit of a Thai food overdose.
That night we went back to the night market (and of course bought more thai fishermen's pants) and then went back to the hostel to prep and brush teeth before hopping a mini-van to the border town.
In the midst of that, I dealt with one of the repetitively noted short-comings of Thai cities - public bathrooms. Because I refused to spend money at McDonald's (yes, there are those and KFC and Pizza Hut and Chris even spotted a Sizzler), I had to buy something at Starbucks. I thought something holiday flavored would be nice (still tasted like crapuccino). So I wandered the night market with my first latte in who knows how long, much hotter than the stifling heat outside. It's interesting where travel will take you.
Our Thai travel felt a little hastened but part of that was getting to spend such an amazing week at the Elephant Nature Park. The other part of that is Stephane's early January return flight out of Bangkok (even the French with their ridiculously nice vacation time have to go back to work sometime). So in order to see everything we wanted to with him meant leaving for Laos somewhat quickly. A very small price to pay for such lovely company. Plus, if we had stayed there were certainly more places to go but some involved trekking around hill-tribe community. We've heard great things about this but also had concerns about visiting communities in a respectful manner we based on what we'd seen previously. It seems like a crapshoot no matter what.
Being in Asia is inevitably different from South America. But one of the big differences I am continually struck by is all the big white people. It's a much more tourism accessible area than where we were in parts of Peru and Bolivia. From our first night we saw lots of older westerners and bigger westerners, which is just interesting for us after so long away from similar people. Unfortunately, it also means there's a lot more tourism industry to deal with and less apparent opportunities to just go explore on your own.
To get to Laos and eventually Luang Prabang, we decided on taking the slightly more expensive mini van through our hostel rather than waste too much time figuring out public transport. We were again picked up from the hostel and then taken to the company office. We spent most of our time next door at the 7-11, which really is surprisingly the main convenience store, getting snacks. The driver didn't inspire a lot of confidence, actually turning around to go back to the office in the beginning, but after about six hours of bumpy ride sprawled out trying to be comfortable, he got us there.
We arrived at the Thai bordertown at 2am. Why they don't leave later at night (there is only one departure time) makes no sense to me. But we arrived at the hostel expecting benches to wait out the night in and were given rooms with beds (wooden planks with sheets) and breakfast the next morning. So that was a nice surprise.
We woke up early, ate, and climbed into the back of a truck (not converted this time) to go to the ferries to cross the Mekong. The hostel's black lab ran next to us the whole way there.
The crossing and immigrations were uneventful. We'd decided to go directly to the pier and find a boat instead of paying more through a tour company. Still people tried to trick us into buying, and as part of customs! Luckily we went with gut instinct and went to the boats directly where it was much cheaper than the quoted price.
The trip down the river took about six hours. The surroundings were of course beautiful, lush and green. Honestly, I thought of every movie I've ever seen of SE Asia. It was pretty spot on. There were huts and small villages scattered along the river. We even saw women using their hats to pan for gold in the river.
The scene on the boat was less gorgeous. You're warned a lot about uncomfortable seats but in the last couple years, it appears they converted to upholstered chairs instead of wooden benches. But not a ton of leg room and more people than chairs of course (we got on early, which also meant we were on the boat 9-10 hours). Otherwise, there was a screaming baby who was obviously much too young for the trip and a lot of people smoking and letting there ash fly back and hit the rest of us. There was a group of Aussies who got obnoxious and drunk and a couple very loud Texans. I read and wrote some of this (yay kindle!). Very nice to say we floated down the Mekong.
That night we were all very tired. We thought the hostels would be really expensive in the small town of Pak Beng we stopped in for the night but competition made it really cheap. We made a deal with a young boy for what we thought was reasonable without short-changing (Chris is fond of quoting now a guideline from the guide company we're using in Africa - bargaining down may mean an extra dollar to you but it could be a day of food to them). We had decent beds and a hot shower after we had a nice dinner. The boys tried the local dish Lap. Chris' chicken was very good but neither of them loved Stephane's buffalo. And unfortunately the national beer, BeerLao, just isn't as good as thai Chang (elephant), though I'm doing much better with lagers in general.
The quick morning we spent in Pak Beng we were lucky enough to witness the alms giving ceremony of the monks, called Tak Bat. The monks came in a line to receive their day's food from the town people (though only women participated), which I was also told is a giving of food to sustain your next reincarnation. The monks then chant a blessing over the person. It was really wonderful to get to be present for something so beautiful in the early morning light.
Sitting on the boat listening to the young girls talking about their drinking and vomiting experiences the night before on our second boat day was interesting. I can understand what they were enjoying to a point but I think at home going out and drinking is for stress relief. And I guess here I'm not stressed enough to feel like getting wasted on a boat would be relaxing. But maybe that's just me. I do know that Chris and I have seen way too much of the culture that seems to travel solely to drink and party. You've got bars at home. Go enjoy some history and culture! They're usually the types that really need both.
We arrived in Luang Prabang in the late afternoon of the second day. We grabbed our bags in the chaos and headed into town, walking a fair bit before finding a little area with decently priced hostels and beds. Note that I did not say comfortable beds, simply, beds.
Having heard about the Hmong (an ethnic tribal group in Laos) night market, we were excited to go explore. But were dismayed to find the same level of touristy junk we'd seen everywhere else (even worse maybe) and almost no original crafts. After making down through the entire market, we came to the tourist section. It was like shell-shock. We couldn't have predicted how touristy it would be. Everything was expensive cafes and hostels. Everything was decorated for Christmas and New Year's. It was a little nauseating. Despite Luang Prabang being a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its temples, we decided early on that we would only stay one full day.
Walking back to the hostel, we encountered the Canadian couple we'd been close to at the elephant park, Kim and Antoine (we were also amazed that Kim saw us before we heard her, meant only in the nicest way). They'd already been there a day and were leaving by plane for Vietnam the next day having felt the same as us about the city.
We ate dinner buffet-style in an alley way. It was interesting but mostly noodles. No one got sick.
The next day was Friday, Christmas Eve. The boys started out early and walked a bit while I probably slept in. When I joined them, we enjoyed the French influence and had croissants for breakfast (that after Chris having brought me a chocolate cinnamon roll). We started our Wat tour with the National Museum/Royal Palace. An old, previous Lao palace and a newer (1970s) temple occupied the site. The style of the temple was almost off-puttingly new and when you entered, you immediately felt an absence. Despite a lack of religious beliefs, I do believe in the power of faith and when you enter a place of faith that has been used consistently, often for centuries, it has a feeling, almost a presence. You can tell a newer temple before you even know that it is new by the lack of this same feeling.
The palace I thought would be nothing too interesting, despite having previously housed the Thai Emerald Buddha when the Lao army stole it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the walls bore tapestries and paintings sequentially telling a native story of the last avatar of Buddha. He was a prince who was kicked out of his kingdom for giving away his white elephant (the symbol of royal power) and he then proceeded to give away both his children and his wife when asked. This was all later restored to him and he was made king of course. Despite the story horrifying me (who the hell gives away their kids to a creepy old stranger?!), it was exactly what I had been looking for. I felt in so many other places, I just wanted to hear a story from the culture and here it was.
Again, the story itself was not my favorite. We went to see a photography exhibit behind the palace on Buddhist meditation, which was beautiful, and saw there a quote. It said a student had asked Buddha to sum up his beliefs in one line and he said, as I can remember it - Nothing is worth clinging to. Before, I'd felt the story of the prince was an exaggeration but now I understood that it was an exact example of this belief. One that I can never abide by if it truly applies to people as well. Chris and I were talking about this and both agree that things shouldn't be clung to but that a life without holding onto the people who are important to loses its meaning (This is the part where I tell you our lives wouldn't be the same without all of you - but you know that already).
We wandered around the city a bit and saw a few more temples from the outside (as you have to pay each time you want to go in - not something that happened in Thailand) and found the Red Cross office we'd be going later for a sauna.
Later in the afternoon, we visited one of the main famous temples in the city. The local market had very, very loud music going. I believe it was Stephane who said that the atmosphere wasn't exactly zen. It was just oppressively hot and a little underwhelming.
We went to visit some gardens by the river and found we'd have to pay a toll to cross a rickety old, wooden bridge to cross the river. That was the last straw for Chris. We had to pay for everything in Laos whether it was using a bathroom, entering a temple, or crossing a bridge. We weren't too impressed.
That afternoon we'd planned on going to the high temple (very small and pleasant actually) up on the hill for sunset. It took us a bit to get there (having to back track as the bathrooms were in ill-repair and required payment of course) but when we did, we found the rest of the tourists (maybe a hundred of them) had heard the same thing. It was crowded and people were climbing on parts of the temple that they shouldn't have been (including me at one point when I didn't notice a rail). Regardless, it was beautiful.
On the way down, we stopped to see a supposed Buddha footprint. If that's a real footprint, the man must have been a giant. I could have laid in it.
To end the night (before our second night buffet experience and another walk through the night market), we went to the Red Cross for a sauna. This was my first sauna experience and it didn't occur to me until we got there that I would be separated from the boys. I went into a small dark closet full of steam and Lao women and a panel on the floor I kept burning my feet on. The heat was so intense it almost triggered a panic reaction for me (and I'm from Tucson!). After a few deep breaths, I made it work, but finally asked for the small towel they'd forgotten to give me that everyone else was using to cover their faces. We all spent nearly an hour going in and out and drinking the tea they provided. It actually made the entirely humid, hot air outside feel pleasant and cool. And we all loved that the majority of people there were locals. Our first less touristy experience of the day.
The other great discovery in Luang Prabang was the nutella-oreo shake for the boys and banana-oreo shake for me. Lovely.
We'd thought of going to the ruins/waterfalls outside of town but despite being a UNESCO site, there is no public transportation and it can cost as much as $20 US by tuk-tuk. This seemed outrageous so we passed and were satisfied by what we were able to see for our Christmas Eve in Luang Prabang.
Christmas morning we woke early to again see the monks' morning alms ceremony. We'd read that this had become a real tourist phenomenon in Luang Prabang and there were signs up at the temples asking people to watch respectfully, quietly, from a polite distance, and to only take pictures without flash. This may all seem like common sense to us but it was outrageous what we saw that morning.
There was a long line of monks all dressed in orange robes in the early light. There were the people of the city sitting next to the road to receive them one by one. And then there were the hordes of tourists flashing their cameras from only a few feet away and even stepping through the light. They were obtrusive, interrupting, and rude. I wish I'd been shocked but it was predictable, though still horrified me. They weren't even able to chant the blessing, I assume because of the intrusion. I wanted to yell at them but knew that this would be equally as disruptive.
We discussed the double standard at how outraged any of these people would be if someone flashed a camera in their priest's face during a service. But that apparently didn't apply or simply didn't occur to them. I began Christmas very angry.
That morning was also my first southeast Asia bus experience (only boats and trains up to that point). It was a winding road, though I luckily slept through most of the beginning. We were on the local bus and probably passed many times over by the more expensive, air-conditioned tourist minivans. But we were quite satisfying with our less privileged, if a little slower, vantage point.
The world outside the bus windows was like a high jungle and eventually like the hills in California (or South America depending on which of us you asked). It was pleasant enough but I think it being Christmas and spending the day (or at least 8-10 hours of it) in a bus was depressing for me. I wasn't exactly homesick but I was people-sick and spent a lot of time thinking about how excited I would be to see everyone when we get home.
We were riding to Phonsavan, a small town but very largely touristy. The main attraction here is to see the Plain of Jars - centuries old (nearly 2000 years I believe) craved stone jars weighing upwards of a couple tons each. There are multiple theories as to their uses (and no way of proving any of them) but the most feasible to us seemed that they were used for urns. So there we were arriving to see the Jars for a single day and then head out to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.
Our bus had only stopped once for a restroom (and once again with no where for a woman to hide on the side of the road - there were only three of us on a half full bus) and when we got to the bus terminal in Phonsavan, I had to go. While I went to deal with my necessaries, the boys got suckered in to a van ride into town without realizing that it was linked to the man pestering us to go to his hostel. They brought us to his hostel instead of where we asked and then assumed we'd still like to say. This sort of this, more than being a real pisser, is just bizarre in that the people truly don't seem to understand why you would be mad.
We walked to and eventually found the hostel I'd looked up previously based on our book saying it had a documentary on Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in Laos we really wanted to see. The arrival was perfect. It was farther away from the main road. The guy who met us was friendly and funny (an intern we later learned). The rooms were clean and cheapish with fairly decent beds. The boys said, what a great place, everything is going to be fine. Never, ever say things like that.
We went walking and discovered they'd turned the power off for the day and we couldn't use the ATM. We wandered a bit more but there wasn't really anything to see and no internet with Skype to call our families for Christmas.
Back at the hostel, we tried our first Lao curry (very nice) and waited for the owner to return to let us watch the documentary (Bombies) and discuss tour options for the next day, since we'd read and would confirm the next day that you couldn't see the sites on your own.
The owner got back early while we'd been walking and was asleep already. No wait he was watching TV. Of the options listed on his sign, only number 2 (not all three of the major jar sites and more junk we didn't want to see) was available. When did we want to go? All this was relayed by the very nice intern who I don't think understood why we were pissed. How much? More than two and a half times the listed price and we couldn't even seen what we wanted to. AND!!! The guy wouldn't get up off his coach to come talk to us. No thanks. We went and found another company and paid still more than what we wanted to just be driven from site to site without a guide (what narrating do you need for a bunch of big jars?).
We went back to the room, tired and bummed. I begged Chris to find his smaller iPod where he'd loaded the Nutcracker Suite for me (my absolute favorite and the only important Christmas music if you ask me) and we both fell asleep listening. At first, it made me really sad but then I found myself smiling a little as my favorite parts played. I wouldn't remember my mom's candied nuts (Hazel's nuts) that I'd brought along especially for the holiday until the next morning. It was a lame Christmas.
It was a shame we didn't get to really do anything special for Christmas or Christmas Eve, especially that we didn't eat any of that good Chistmas food. But it made me especially grateful for the late Thanksgiving dinner Chris' mom made for us when we were home. Now I'll be especially hungry next year when the holidays come.
Waking up the next day, we were ready to set off to see the Jars. The power was still out and since we were running low on cash, Chris had to exchange at a less than favorable rate. We bought snacks for breakfast and head out. Only, there was a guide with our driver and they said we'd be picking up five other people. Oh no, your price won't change, we were reassured, but please don't tell them how much you paid. Oh yeah, and we'll be going to a couple goofball extra touristy sites on top of it. Nuts.
We shrugged our shoulders and continued on, enjoying our comfy seats and my good view of the road to ward off carsickness (less common and severe now by the way). Our first stop was a Russian tank belonging to the Vietnamese that had been bombed. The guide gave a little spiel and talked about the two hits that must have torn it apart. But Chris could tell by looking that it was only one bomb blast.
Then, we went to the first, least populated of the jars sites. The night before, though we hadn't been able to see the Bombies documentary, we did visit the UXO museum of MAG (Mines Advisory Group). The museum itself was small but carried more weighty information than you can find in twenty average museums.
From our visit, we learned more about the Secret War, in which the US dropped bombs on Cambodia and Laos supposedly to attack the Ho Chi Min trail line of supplies from north to south Vietnam (and to just generally wipe out communist supporters). Thus, from the ten years and more than two million tons of bombs, some 30% or more never detonated. The bombs were eithr defunct or not dropped from a sufficient height to arm, so for decades they have sat, littering the countryside. At that time, the US was dropping cluster bombs, which were large containers of many hundreds of "bombies" which each exploded sending off hundred more individual explosives for nearly a kilometer around. These nightmares have been killing, and sometimes worse, not killing but maiming, normal Lao citizens. MAG and other groups have come in to try to clear the land and make the people safer.
So already knowing all that, we were not surprised to see the red and white markers indicating what areas had and had not been cleared, what paths were safe to walk on. I maybe was a little too anal about where I stepped but the idea, and worse the reality, is simply horrifying. More on that later though (no incidents or live explosions, I promise).
The jars were fascinating though not terribly ornate. Without too much of a cultural story, there wasn't a whole lot too them. And as predicted not much for the guide to say, which perhaps made what he did say even more boring.
We visited the second site, again staying within the lines marked by MAG. The boys enjoyed taking close up pictures of preying mantises.
Before visiting the final site, we went to "Whiskey Village" where a single old woman makes rice whiskey. Ironically, most of our small group didn't want to sample and some even declined. I tried out of politeness. Strong stuff, let me tell you. That sweet, toothy old lady knows how to pack a punch.
On the way to the final jars site (the biggest one an closest to town), they stopped for us to see a Hmong mate choosing ceremony- despite objections as to the cultural insensitivity of our presence from the three of us. The rest of the group went. Chris, Stephane, and I stayed by the van out of respect. We were all certainly interested (something about throwing a ball back and forth) but this was exactly the sort of thing that makes us avoid organized tours. We shouldn't have been there.
But the traditional clothing was beautiful. And after a while of staring at us, the kids did actually smile and wave too.
The final site seemed to act as a local hang out and was also over-populated by asian business types on a tour. Most of them stopped to have their picture taken with the jars over and over but never really stopped to look at them. They also tested Chris' patience as he waited for his turn for the perfect shot.
There were something around three hundred of these enormous stone jars at this site. Only a couple still had lids (probably replaced) and some fragmented from bombing. There were also trenches in the area as well as numerous bomb craters with trees and grass growing out of them. Life continually coming from death. It was actually quite beautiful though a sad reminder of the countryside's past.
Speaking of which, we finally watched Bombies at the MAG museum that night since our hostel could or would not show it for it. In the positive aspect, it showed some of the Mennonites who initially were involved in the clearing effort, the British founder of MAG who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, as well as a lot of local women who'd come to work clearing ordnance (culturally deemed not a woman's job). Oh and they showed projects in schools to educate kids to keep them from playing with bombs they find since they look like little toys (many kids have died) and the successes they've had, which was all wonderful. But of course they interviewed people about their experiences during the war, especially about a massacre in which a cave full of civilians was purposefully bombed, the continuing casualties and accidents, and how people don't have enough food because they cannot work their land for fear of hitting a bomb, which is not uncommon.
The night before when we walked out the night before after reading the exhibits, we were all overcome with sadness and became very quiet. This time it was simply too much. Feeling hopeless (no possibility of volunteering, no real money to donate - though I signed up for more information for that purpose in the future), we almost just had to look past what we'd seen. It is simply too overwhelming. Yet for these people, it is the reality of everyday life.
The US has put some money into efforts to clear (and not all help has been accepted by the communist government) but they say it could still take the better part of a century to fully clear the land. And what will people do for food until then?
I did find myself looking more closely at the Lao people and kids after this. Despite reading that nearly 40% of kids are in food insecure homes, I couldn't help but notice that all of the adults and many of the kids had cell phones, even in this small town. I can't fault them seeking an improvement in lifestyle and I know many similar conundrums exist in the US and elsewhere but so much expended on technology with a scarcity of food does not make sense to me.
We ate at an Indian place for the second time in Laos that night, as we were not finding much enjoyable (or cheap) Lao food.
After just over 24 hours in Phonsavan, we left that night for Vientiane. The night bus was packed and short on leg room, but worse yet, we got a group of vomitters. The road was bad but this was extreme. The one in front of Stephane vomited all over the floor for half the night. Poor thing but poor everyone whose vomiting she triggered too.
We stopped for dinner and bathrooms at midnight. Despite all the upchucking, I actually felt like eating. It was my first dinner included night bus and the Pho (pronounced Poe, noodle soup) was quite nice.
Reaching Vientiane, all the tourists were thrown on the same truck for a better price. We spent nearly an hour wandering with our bags on to find a place with three beds and a decent price.
I finally got to call my family at the Christmas gathering a few hours after we arrived in Vientiane. It was Sunday night in CA and the whole Denver contingent were the only family members missing (there are four of us). We couldn't get the video working and I probably didn't take it very well being so tired from the bus. I just really wanted to see my grandma to tell her happy 90th birthday (two months early since I don't know what type of internet access we'll have in Africa). It was still very nice to talk to them and I know I'll see everyone in May. It was just a good reminder that I miss them very much and I'll appreciate Christmas that much more next year.
That does remind me that in the last couple of frantic entries, I'm not sure I mentioned that we've finalized Africa- and you're invited! No seriously, anyone who has a good hunk of change and the whole month of February is invited to come safari with us. I have to try... Anyway, email me if you're at all interested.
We spent the day wandering and looking at Wats. The first was small and interesting with hundreds of broken Buddha statues. We saw the copy of the French Arc du Triumph, which was built with US donated concrete meant for an airport runway (undoubtedly to bomb Vietnam). The whole thing was a little bitter, having been built before the communist party took over, and the signs even called it a concrete monstrosity. Seemed a bit severe.
We went to see the famous temple that appears on Lao money (which by the way only comes in denominations of a thousand, which meant when Stephane first exchanged, he walked away with 1.5 million kip) - big and golden. But everything, we found, closed early in Laos and we were too late to get in. We still got a view from without and walking around, found enormous social disparities between the surroundings of the golde temple and the slums behind it with burning garbage and half-clothed children playing on a dirt hill.
The one thing we did enjoy seeing was all the free to use exercise equipment down by the river. One of the perks to a socialist society I suppose. And even better, we actually saw tons of people using them at night.
The next day was really a day of rest as neither Stephane or I was feeling well. We went on a wild goose chase to find an ordnance survivors museum that maybe doesn't exist. Chris discovered a Lao dark beer (cheap as dirt though not cheaper than water as Aunt Leanne discovered in other communist countries) and we spent some time in the night markets as well as fair trade shops.
We left Vientiane on a night bus. The company picked us up from the hostel where we'd bought our tickets. They were a little early so I'd just finished eating a sandwich (key for later as it was the only time I ate something neither of the boys did - there's a give away for you) and hadn't changed or brushed my teeth. But we loaded into the back of a truck and made circles around the area picking up people. There was absolutely no order and we ended up repeatedly visiting the same area resulting in eighteen of us with our big bags on the back of the truck - we were the first stop. It was ridiculous and we ended up being late to the bus terminal because of it. We had to run to the bus and deal with an angry driver who was ready to leave and not to give us time to sort ourselves. We boarded without my pillow, sleep sack, or antimalarials, among other things but those were the ones I would miss that night.
We got on our first ever sleeper bus - actual little beds instead of seats - and found we'd been given tickets to two spots which didn't exist. So Chris and I were ushered to the back where instead of two rows of upper and lower bunks there were two levels of a single large bed area. This was great and spacious on top. On the bottom there was only maybe a three foot space and very little room to breathe. We were on the bottom.
We got settled and Stephane came down to join us. Your head and feet would touch top and bottom at the same time and there was a cold vent that we had to partially plug up. I was next to a window and a little chilly despite the bus blankets. It was an interesting ride and despite it all, still much better than sitting up all night. Chris loved it.
When we got to Pakse, the biggest city overall and the jumping point for southern Laos, we never left the bus terminal and immediately arranged our transportation to Champasak. We hopped on a less than cushy VIP bus for a couple hours then on a ferry to cross the Mekong. From there we walked to the first hostel in the Champasak area that rented bikes, having refused to pay the asked for tuk-tuk price for a couple kilometers (being cheap can be a great way to get into shape in the world). After eating a quick breakfast, we jumped onto rented bikes and headed off to see the famous temple of Wat Phou.
It was a lovely (hot) day for bike riding. Our bikes were not in the greatest shape (my brakes didn't exactly work, but we weren't going very fast) but they worked. There were two seats on each bike - the normal and a lower level behind. The boys liked to sink into the back seat (I wasn't really long enough for it) and Chris would sing Low Rider, which was a welcomed break from his continuous singing of Tequila.
Chris also took to cruising up beside me humming the evil flying monkey theme from the Wizard of Oz. I told Stephane, with a boyfriend like Chris, who needs kids? (But I need a playmate! was his response)
The town was lovely. It was the rural setting I did not realize I'd been missing. All we'd seen of Laos (probably pronounced Lao by the way though I'm still not sure) was cities and we were sick of them. The people in Champasak seemed a little more friendly and the kids would come running, screaming hello (sa-bye-DEE).
The day was intensely hot and in addition to the problems of my fair complexion, Chris and I are taking the anti-malarial that makes you more prone to fry. Stephane, with an olivey French complexion, uses SPF15 once or twice in a trip and makes fun of my SPF 50, which didn't keep me from burning that day.
The temple itself had a relatively large influx of tourists (mostly coming by van) as we got there. This included a couple young, loud French guys, which incited Stephane to shake his head and curse French people. I love that.
Much of the site was closed for restoration but the actual temple was at the top of the hill up some very steep stairs. The site was beautiful, very secluded in the shade, and had an amazing view of the land stretching out to the Mekong River below. The site did however lack a lot of upkeep and we accidentally found a huge garbage heap on the outskirts. The temple was previously Hindu and converted to Buddhist. So it was interesting to see a Buddhist sanctuary with an adjoining sacrificial altar. We wandered and were occasionally interrupted by ironically the first big group of Asian (middle aged Japanese) tourists I'd seen in SE Asia.
Looking out over the expanse and being in the company of so many people of different origins made me think of everywhere we have been, will be, and have yet to see. I failed to mention last time a really incredible Christmas gift Chris and I received from his brother and sister-in-law. They gave us a world map board with pins to mark where we've been, a pin for the next destination, and one for a dream destination. We're going to have so much fun marking it all up when we get home.
We had to leave in a hurry to try to catch the ferry a couple hours away to the islands we were going to. Otherwise the area was really nice and probabl worth taking the full day to explore and relax. We went back and took the public ferry, along with the Japanese group's bus with the auto open doors for anyone who needed to pour out to frantically take pictures of the river. We found a van to the main road where we were supposed to catch the next hourly bus down.
After waiting more than an hour and a half (in shade with interesting company), we grabbed a converted truck full of people and supplies. It was a much more authentic experience and we bought sticky rice when the truck stopped and all the local food vendors swarmed (mostly holdin chicken on a stick). Chris was very nice and loaned his pillow to a woman leaning on the huge bags and things in front of her to sleep. I tried to do the same but got ignored. We helped a little with the unloading of provisions at a small town (a small dusty place devoid of tourist presence - it was real) and all the locals found this amusing.
We arrived in the town of Nakassang - the entry point to Si Phan Don (four thousand islands - in the Mekong right at the border between Laos and Cambodia) after sunset. We still could find a boat to the first large island Don Det, the notorious party place, but not to Don Khon, the island south connected by bridge and supposedl more quiet.
We'd had the thought to stay in Nakassang overnight if need be but we were happy not to (dirty) and headed to the boats resigned to a night on the party island. Even in the dark, it was easy to see how disgustingly littered the beach was and how unsafe it would be to walk in bare feet. The first two boats left without us, half full, and we stood there in the dankness with our heavy packs on waiting. When one boat finally came back, we walked over a small boat filled with dirty water, soiling ourselves and our things, to sit down.
Despite the rest of the night, the quick ride was beautiful. The little islands were dark, curving objects all around us and the stars were magnificently clear. The boys had to keep reminding themselves they were on a river and not an ocean.
We eventually found a place that wasn't full but was a little dinky. Even so, we had our own bathroom, with a spigot but no sink and a flush with a bowl of water toilet. The toilets outside were unusable.
Searching for a decent restaurant, we landed on one with a young girl serving with impressive English skills. I was progressively feeling worse and by the time I'd finished my sandwich, my nausea had worsened and I had to run back to the room. It was one of those times you just want to throw up so you'll feel better. Wrong thought. The vomiting started and didn't let up. Then the other end started. It was the first time maybe ever but certainly the first time in my adult life that I've been sick at both ends. I simply don't have the words to describe how awful the night was. Chris was so terribly sweet. Trying so hard to always follow me in to hold back my hair and pet my head and back while I tossed on the bed. Finally, he konked out though. Eventually I did too.
I don't know whether it was my sandwich in Vientiane that did it or Norwalk virus with a long incubation from that poor girl on the bus, punishing me for my doubt, but either way I really, really hope I don't have to deal with anything like that for a very long time.
There was actually plenty of other vomiting going on that night, along with very loud club music coming from all directions. But I don't think much of that throwing up had anything to do with a virus. It was the disgusting symphony of self-indulgence on the party island.
I spent most of the next day in bed. The boys explored the island and ate for their fourth time in Laos at an Indian restaurant, though this time they were served by cross-dressing men, which was a first. I walked slowly out with them and we watched the sun setting on the river with fishermen in their boats casting nets in front of us.
We found a quieter place away from town for dinner. I managed about half a bowl of soup while we ate sitting on the ground. I was sick again later.
We had intended to leave for Cambodia the next morning because we were only about five days out from Stephane's flight. He was kind enough to decide to stay another day so we could spend another night on the more peaceful island and I could actually see the light of day. It was New Year's Eve and we tried to head for Don Khon.
Unfortunately, some white people had organized a party on an island, which was then the boatmen's first priority since that was where the money was. We could have walked but it had taken the boys nearly an hour to reach the bridge on foot the day before without bags and I wasn't feeling quite strong enough yet. So we sat and waited more than an hour on the tiny pier area that served as the only beach area we saw on Don Det. Chris is simply too nice a guy and it took me getting up and getting a little more forceful to finally get us a boat.
We got on Don Khon and walked probably the length of the north beach where the hostels were to find one - things were a little more expensive up there. We settled in and rented bikes to go see the island. We got to the entrance to the rest of the island and had to pay a fee to enter. That was a final straw for Chris with Laos. You had to pay for absolutely everything without the infrastructure, help, or even friendliness you received in Thailand. We were all frustrated but Chris especially so - in part because we felt we had ruined Stephane's vacation.
We biked first to the small waterfalls - the largest by volume in SE Asia. To give you an idea of what they were, Chris' response was, I've kayaked worse than that.
We dealt with a lot of people who didn't seem to know how to bike and long lines of tourists brought in by van. We left and made it on to a small beach that turned out to be a starting point for boats to go out to see the Irrawaddy dolphin, an endangered freshwater species in the Mekong and really the main reason we came out.
We sat in a long boat not really meant to hold all four of us (three tourists and one driver) but it got us there anyway. We enjoyed the ride down to the end of the island and were grateful our driver was comfortable leaving the motor off while we watched. He was also helpful pointing out though he spoke almost no English.
We saw plenty of dolphins but they were quite hard to see in the distance and nearly impossible to take a picture of.
We sat, sometimes cameras in hand, sometimes just watching, until the dolphin play had moved far enough off that we couldn't see their fins gliding, arcing up out of the water. We rode back continent that we'd seen such mysterious creatures.
We rested on the beach for a bit to enjoy the view and enjoyed a maybe partially drunk laughing fisherman who came up to squeeze the boys' biceps and say something in Lao (Stephane had already a couple times experienced similar as a somewhat brawny looking guy, once someone even pointed and laughed calling him Rocky).
We got back on our bikes and made our way down to the end of the island, passing a line of pigs on leashes, where a platform overlooked the area we'd been to see the dolphins. Chris provided a customized bluegrass island radio station for us.
We knew neither of the boys would be making it to midnight. So we decided to celebrate with a nicer dinner. We'd already seen this was the nice quiet island with families and older people but it was still shocking how many electronics we saw people using at dinner - cellphones, laptops, iPads (she says as she types with a Kindle on the beach).
We all had curries, the boys had their bananas in coconut milk for dessert (amazingly deliciou but too much for my shrunken tummy), and for drinks we had mango shake for Stephane, a big bottle of beer for Chris, and a glass of actually decent red wine for me. Seems kind of telling actually. But the wine and curry were maybe a little too much, too soon and didn't stay down well.
Otherwise, it was a lovely New Year's Eve. The dolphins and the rest of the bike ride had been a saving grace for Chris and a wonderful experience for all of us. I'm really glad we got to see and do all the things we did in Laos but it's the first country for any of us that didn't make it onto the return list unfortunately. I don't know whether it was the order we did things in or how rushed we were, but something just didn't work for us. No regrets. Now that we're a little more rested and relaxed, I can say it was a good experience. And little kids in Laos have really incredible smiles by the way.
We left for Cambodia the next day and ended Stephane's trip with us in Angkor Wat (it's the eighth wonder of the world, so if you don't know it, look it up!). But that's where we'll end now since that was just last weekend and it's been a very full few weeks.
We're lounging on the beach in Cambodia now (Stephane left us two days ago unfortunately) and will be radio silent for a while.
Wishing you bright shores with clear, peaceful horizons and beautiful fresh starts,
With much love and always thinking of you,
Sara and Chris
No comments:
Post a Comment