tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47192691227567359582023-11-16T06:40:15.191-08:00Pad Thai for breakfastJessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-88636077103998576062009-10-08T22:35:00.001-07:002010-01-25T16:48:40.313-08:00Khijee<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYunTjLib6Zpui8dv8WCbyOCDQ-_wCpqyzh5TLvGu-HAb0_QeTUaFmD47gnVLu9l9rvME5ZgudjL2bsKF79bQ60H9N3fHel2cW85xj4webjT77loxA83PEF4Krgx5MBuI8BEx9ly1oSb5/s1600-h/IMG_8540.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391284236473763570" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYunTjLib6Zpui8dv8WCbyOCDQ-_wCpqyzh5TLvGu-HAb0_QeTUaFmD47gnVLu9l9rvME5ZgudjL2bsKF79bQ60H9N3fHel2cW85xj4webjT77loxA83PEF4Krgx5MBuI8BEx9ly1oSb5/s200/IMG_8540.jpg" border="0" /></a><div>After working with James' charity for a month, James set me up with some of his Nepali contacts to teach English in a remote part of Eastern Nepal. Going in, I knew very little. All I knew was 1) To get to the village, it was a 2 day mountain trek from where the road ended and 2) I was to be the first foreigner to ever live in Khijee. Over my 3 month stay, I stumbled upon a gem. In a place that has never seen any kind motorized vehicle, this is far removed from the 21st century, I found a very special place in the world.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"In that poor and simple town, no one doubted or forgot that its treasure was its people" -</span>Gregory David Roberts (Shantaram)<br /><br /></div><div>Khijee was a mix between Buddhism and Hinduism. In Nirvana, the highest level of Buddhism, a person may not have any desires, because desires signify inadequacy with your current mind state. Almost everyone in Khijee was extremely content with themselves, and willing to give away any material possession. Being the guest of honor, everyone wanted to make sure that I was enjoying myself, and they would sacrifice almost anything to do so. </div><br />On the first night I arrived, a lady offered me food and rice whiskey. Sick and tired, I declined, heading to bed without dinner. Later I found out that she was upset that she could not be of help to me on my first night. This was not an act to impress a visitor. This was the general attitude of the town, every day, every night.<div><br /><div>Yes, there were many inconveniences for me (leeches, beg bugs, bucket showers, no modern technology, getting sick from bad water, being forced to overeat a diet of only rice and potatoes, kids knocking on my door at 6AM, etc.), but getting to experience a community like Khijee was more than worth any minor hardship. Plus, it was impossible for me to voice any complaint because they all dealt with the same issues. For them it was a way of life, and they didn't know any differently, and they did so with smiles on their faces.</div><br /><div>A friend asked me why there are a billion NGOs (charities) in Nepal and not so many in other 3rd world countries like Burma or Vietnam. I now realize why Nepal is such an NGO darling. After 1 month in Vietnam, I was over Vietnam, mainly due to the Vietnamese people. After 4 months in Nepal, I want to stay here longer and help more, all due to the Nepali people (well, it wasn't due to the Nepal Transportation department or diet)</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopE6p6ge8bh7EzRtoDDGwgpGzgQA_BA4RtJy7A8DRwJuVu2y3Ni3dIplro4dOzCVABiZalxFxHcNuWMzaI8zBOhvtxDtnC4BAOLjBnMo3rmhj3-aB_pdSLjaa9Z9geSWTO8hw-rwjFQHV/s1600-h/IMG_8326.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390473373909403650" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopE6p6ge8bh7EzRtoDDGwgpGzgQA_BA4RtJy7A8DRwJuVu2y3Ni3dIplro4dOzCVABiZalxFxHcNuWMzaI8zBOhvtxDtnC4BAOLjBnMo3rmhj3-aB_pdSLjaa9Z9geSWTO8hw-rwjFQHV/s200/IMG_8326.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Mom:</span></b> You were so close to a phone and you waited a month to call me?</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">My response</span></b>: Well, it was true that I only brought 3 20-minute phone cards, but maybe I did so on purpose, The only reason I called was to make her day. It love my mom, and enjoy talking to her, but it makes me think about home. It makes me think about that hug I'm gonna give/get after1 year of separation, probably in the driveway or at the front door. That scene is going to happen if I think about it now or not. And if I think about it now, it takes away from where I am currently. Khijee Phalate, Okuldunga, Nepal. Where they eat the goat's intestines and the bones. Where they don't get a stock report. Where everyone is family, and is treated as such. Where the old ladies drink local whiskey. At 9AM. On Wednesday. Where they don't look forward to Saturday, because everyday is a good day. Where the joy of giving is the gift (no, its not just an expression). Where they actually use the frisbees, guitar, volleyballs and chess sets I gave them. Where the family all sleeps in 1 room and sing and dance together at night for fun. Yes, this is where I am right now. And let me soak it up. Whats the point of the journey if my mind is back at home.<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vIsnP6rTJaNRq83vfwtVd_WMvn1dgAxb0RJ7vxt8TKWcNId0bbKSyGaCvnjwGS6oPSl9D8VjGAgmDnvKPIRIq91PyyGc5UvjmGlUtzKmt9QejPs1v05JWySBvc_R4IZ9K4b085rzTjZz/s1600-h/IMG_8195.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390473287047732194" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8vIsnP6rTJaNRq83vfwtVd_WMvn1dgAxb0RJ7vxt8TKWcNId0bbKSyGaCvnjwGS6oPSl9D8VjGAgmDnvKPIRIq91PyyGc5UvjmGlUtzKmt9QejPs1v05JWySBvc_R4IZ9K4b085rzTjZz/s200/IMG_8195.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Are we there yet?</span> -</b> To get from Kathmandu to the end of the road, my Nepali friend, who joined me on the journey, told me he had made the ride in 5-6 hours. Not even close. 4 landslides and a giant boulder parked in the middle of the mountain cliff road meant sleeping on the crowded bus. 29 hours of fun. </div><br /><br /><br /><div>Math Question: There are 40 passenger seats plus 1 for the driver? How many people can fit in the bus? 41. Wrong Another 30 can squeeze in the aisle, on peoples laps, and in the drivers cabin. How many? 71. Wrong. Another 35 can fit on the roof. How many? 106. Wrong. Answer: There's always room for 1 more.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nirCu1iiKMKWw2J-XwK50lSLkrQsAaDQ_Ke84Cp2YwxznxglLyfMzrmpVUtahj0ag9lvNiCi236WRJKSSt1a9wuN98cr5ZiaGIR7KyCoVEKz35oPZgo0mEK34Uvum-Df-AgxOj34XRtO/s1600-h/IMG_8218.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391284225803358658" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 150px; height: 200px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nirCu1iiKMKWw2J-XwK50lSLkrQsAaDQ_Ke84Cp2YwxznxglLyfMzrmpVUtahj0ag9lvNiCi236WRJKSSt1a9wuN98cr5ZiaGIR7KyCoVEKz35oPZgo0mEK34Uvum-Df-AgxOj34XRtO/s200/IMG_8218.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Beasts of Burden</span></b> - In this picture, Lakpa, the guy who set me up with this opportunity, is towering over Wangda, our porter. Wangda came up to my chin. 5'2'', 120 pound, strong and compact, with eyes that spoke of the hard life. At 18 years old, carrying 100 pound loads up and down the steep mountainside for days at a time will be the only way he ever earns a rupee.<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAuZBJW7OU0vQb5CGJLfAWjB8rpsvxlgWD4I-wZOPGbsSuW6a4mnyn9YQEDJ_UxbUqzPnpoa2DSB94Z1c33apmOrl6n2Nqpav00vBP7ag7F9ajDxpGiuQ0cMGmnVtvWHgUdzhKkwFla0d/s1600-h/IMG_8260.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390473326251850002" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAuZBJW7OU0vQb5CGJLfAWjB8rpsvxlgWD4I-wZOPGbsSuW6a4mnyn9YQEDJ_UxbUqzPnpoa2DSB94Z1c33apmOrl6n2Nqpav00vBP7ag7F9ajDxpGiuQ0cMGmnVtvWHgUdzhKkwFla0d/s200/IMG_8260.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Good Morning</span></b> - Most of the trek, I had no option but to drink unboiled water. This, (and possibly the altitude) made me quite ill on the first 2 day. Waking up every hour on the first night, the last thing I needed was a 3AM wake up call from a giant leech, taking all the blood from neck and leaving his mark on my white t-shirt. Things had to get better from here.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9ESWsNtlGUbfWHmYNJayyiAZSC8SI3Pe8FK3RS2EAx0mEcyQmDj5cgpRg_UH6flcRT5t_01aPcAdDwBVGFc7ImOTxC7B_W7kSjbXkISuI0X3NqiLgCuBmRPT06iOufLSFHDHJYbAWVXe/s1600-h/IMG_8623.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391287199763047730" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9ESWsNtlGUbfWHmYNJayyiAZSC8SI3Pe8FK3RS2EAx0mEcyQmDj5cgpRg_UH6flcRT5t_01aPcAdDwBVGFc7ImOTxC7B_W7kSjbXkISuI0X3NqiLgCuBmRPT06iOufLSFHDHJYbAWVXe/s200/IMG_8623.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">How was the view?</span></b> - Just in case you were wondering about the scenery. This is the toilet. The shower was not any nicer.<br /><br />For those of you who have not used a bucket to shower, know that you're not missing out on much. Being around 9,000 feet, the air was cool and crisp, even on a sunny day. Like pouring salt on a wound, the gentle wind reminds you that you are pouring Everest ice run-off water on your head. The worst shower I ever had was my first cold water bucket shower. Actually, it was my only cold water shower. After that memorable experience, I made the family heat water on the wood stove. The best shower I've ever had was the day I returned to a hot water shower in Kathmandu.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8dSH2c-Q_rKGCG32Lb2B7qcMXk4vqmAMD3VlZOkgV97xWsahyphenhyphenQcQlTr_BqEyVpFvVhTLUX5DBhXdD2nhHAj0k8GMHE_8aCKMZlCHfw6f_pM_TuivlasczVs4NlWKLDXi9su1P2JSrEwI/s1600-h/IMG_8407.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391334901708067794" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik8dSH2c-Q_rKGCG32Lb2B7qcMXk4vqmAMD3VlZOkgV97xWsahyphenhyphenQcQlTr_BqEyVpFvVhTLUX5DBhXdD2nhHAj0k8GMHE_8aCKMZlCHfw6f_pM_TuivlasczVs4NlWKLDXi9su1P2JSrEwI/s200/IMG_8407.jpg" border="0" /></a><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Where's the rest of the town? -</span></b> The center of town consisted of about 15 houses in a more or less flat area. In every direction of the mountain face, houses were scattered every so often, with each family having enough room for crops to sustain. Some of my students walked 2 hours to school every day. </div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3NC9gcFHfJuBVClW35UGzd6X7ah-m4I1_LJhIBh-RMrk2eqodbAvlIj2nKQE8vT5YoKiM-2w2lqeS1om26-RDshnPkS2Q_Ai3fXu-gSRODc_Tr6Y2NpxRKo60r90nxYZPHE02x4unFrD/s1600-h/IMG_8432.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390479509827600562" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT3NC9gcFHfJuBVClW35UGzd6X7ah-m4I1_LJhIBh-RMrk2eqodbAvlIj2nKQE8vT5YoKiM-2w2lqeS1om26-RDshnPkS2Q_Ai3fXu-gSRODc_Tr6Y2NpxRKo60r90nxYZPHE02x4unFrD/s200/IMG_8432.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">The best students in the world</span></b> - The slender, goofy looking Science teacher came up to me in the first week and asked " Are the students doing the homework you give them" I replied, "Well, some of them" In his thick Indian sounding English he said "If the kids don't do their homework, you must walk out of class, go to the tree, find a stick, and come back in a hit them and say 'why didn't you do your homework'". I worked with the principal to stop this behavior, citing so many other ways for correcting behavior. </div><div><br /></div><div>This was just one of many things I recommended to changed in the school and town, among a few of the other changes I asked for were:</div><div><br /></div><div>To have the teachers teach for the full 45 minute class period instead of 20-30 minutes, to give in class tests (currently the kids are not tested in any form), to have substitute teachers when teachers leave Khijee for a week or 2 (currently, half the students are running around school because there is nobody to teach them), to give grades and report cards, to not burn plastic in the kitchen fire stove, to not inhale the plastic smoke, to eat fruit or veggies every day.</div><div><br /></div><div>To give you an idea of my teaching environment, please fill in the blank:</div><div><br /></div><div>Why is there ________ outside my classroom?</div><div>A) A cow pooping</div><div>B) A toddler with no pants</div><div>C) A random guy smoking a joint</div><div>D) All of the above</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl30wsSsAQnS-QVA5COz5lU3NY_OknDk9ht7Z6HM8Z-jqxv96nCDrmXPR_y3WNrlO0lW4Mx2uNbpGBi1Z3PVg2DTwir1T_bYbxZ7XfpJ-SMbm7fEM4HyZeplOHuhsTwPpGjy7zDtfgPOy/s1600-h/IMG_8373.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390473421357035106" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 150px; cursor: pointer; height: 200px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnl30wsSsAQnS-QVA5COz5lU3NY_OknDk9ht7Z6HM8Z-jqxv96nCDrmXPR_y3WNrlO0lW4Mx2uNbpGBi1Z3PVg2DTwir1T_bYbxZ7XfpJ-SMbm7fEM4HyZeplOHuhsTwPpGjy7zDtfgPOy/s200/IMG_8373.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Food</span></b> - I may not have the biggest appetite, but most of these kids ate just as much rice as I did. A full grown man would eat 3-4 times as much rice as me. Twice a day I was uncomfortably full for the amount of rice they pressured me to eat. Not eating all the food was a sign of disrespect.</div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYDHqkBlyYmca82hbnjVkiJRteWXz5bHEAiHLDLxVyj7ua-zJvqLwaBon4OCJrfYBtw-4fRh9_xplXgqvJNCIHhRnMPt_is5Wnv20_VuRpBDPDHaHI9vNQXWY_pKPTHMWwXvBwPXQu_iq/s1600-h/IMG_8511.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391284252019872866" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYDHqkBlyYmca82hbnjVkiJRteWXz5bHEAiHLDLxVyj7ua-zJvqLwaBon4OCJrfYBtw-4fRh9_xplXgqvJNCIHhRnMPt_is5Wnv20_VuRpBDPDHaHI9vNQXWY_pKPTHMWwXvBwPXQu_iq/s200/IMG_8511.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Where's the 7-11? -</span></b> Everyone looked forward to Wednesday. Wednesday was market day. Wednesday was a good day. Wednesday was the only day fruit was available. The bananas were usually black and mushy, but necessary to give me the vitamins and minerals lacking from my all white diet.<br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVuEP4Gns9haUch3CG7D0NViHCH7k2fbi266Z2RkkW77ydQFuWLPpA1imEB2OwdI22U615JWdXRXNDbGOQefc-mfsYaqj7NZA6MaUnBqrIAs3RFqj9uIWTtq35TMTvwfZrjeELiaNMG00/s1600-h/IMG_8708.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391286223498107522" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKVuEP4Gns9haUch3CG7D0NViHCH7k2fbi266Z2RkkW77ydQFuWLPpA1imEB2OwdI22U615JWdXRXNDbGOQefc-mfsYaqj7NZA6MaUnBqrIAs3RFqj9uIWTtq35TMTvwfZrjeELiaNMG00/s200/IMG_8708.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Peanut Butter</span></b> - To help me get protein, I bought peanuts and ghee at the Wednesday market and made peanut butter, grinding the peanuts by hand. </div><div><br /></div><div>The family I ate with did give me meat about once a week. In the kitchen, there was usually a chicken tied up in a bamboo crate, or a goat tied up outside. After our meat dinner the animal somehow disappeared. Coincidence? It was quite a common occurrence to see a boy running through the fields trying to catch his dinner.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_sYQZ2vfPsj3Q8ocwRUQbxaGc6gDimMuDKQC4RQKKhqGOhadTB28jjRvmx1WknRDZWP1PoJLm8YajopG6WpPgyfEFJDwX1bBr7GM8kJ5VF7nfpkC3cuuakyeDc3dCfL2KOf_ISYBVDpP/s1600-h/IMG_8278.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390473471752960530" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_sYQZ2vfPsj3Q8ocwRUQbxaGc6gDimMuDKQC4RQKKhqGOhadTB28jjRvmx1WknRDZWP1PoJLm8YajopG6WpPgyfEFJDwX1bBr7GM8kJ5VF7nfpkC3cuuakyeDc3dCfL2KOf_ISYBVDpP/s200/IMG_8278.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Here's a saw, a chisel, and string... build me a house</span></b> - Everything here was done the hard way. To build this classroom, the workers carried gigantic stones from the bottom of the valley, chiseled them into the right shape, and used mud instead of cement to keep everything in place. With sweat and tools that are 300 years outdated, the level of precision was amazing. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVpVPWWxnO3WUifza24Kvc-CUWqmlccutMkABxnWOCuHGDxYoU5kOKUK41ZCI13nsdvHnLqx3ueWgckZ-W-XK1aR953tQmWqhpnwEauz9uXx_sgMgC9UsJry8SE7t9ZMx8O3U_Do7TZq-/s1600-h/IMG_8535.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390479689791171922" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidVpVPWWxnO3WUifza24Kvc-CUWqmlccutMkABxnWOCuHGDxYoU5kOKUK41ZCI13nsdvHnLqx3ueWgckZ-W-XK1aR953tQmWqhpnwEauz9uXx_sgMgC9UsJry8SE7t9ZMx8O3U_Do7TZq-/s200/IMG_8535.jpg" border="0" /></a> "Everything is one because everything is connected. Therefore, since there is holiness, everything is holy" -Buddhism</div><div><br /></div><div>"Everything dies, baby that a fact. Maybe everything that dies someday comes back" -Bruce Springsteen<br /><br /></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejL7mr6PPHADDzrUYvQrxdkTUCLfYHm76xJZfLHWfPeOnSHqIz_mocongnqiTcnpxPQIp-oR30XruMuwOn5l2AwOUECeEctEktmjV_Pw3YUE1Izk352N4iAVWqSSAHSC1COkmt6A0_Ofz/s1600-h/IMG_8593.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391286200992954514" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejL7mr6PPHADDzrUYvQrxdkTUCLfYHm76xJZfLHWfPeOnSHqIz_mocongnqiTcnpxPQIp-oR30XruMuwOn5l2AwOUECeEctEktmjV_Pw3YUE1Izk352N4iAVWqSSAHSC1COkmt6A0_Ofz/s200/IMG_8593.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">A fork in the path</span></b> -Walking from my house to the monastery for a Puja, I came to a fork in the road. Neither way looked familiar. I took my pen out of my pocket, and threw it up in the air. Whichever way the tip landed I would walk. The pen couldn't have pointed more to the leftward path. "OK" I said with some uncertainty. After 5 minutes, nothing looked familiar so I turned around and walked back to the fork. Right when I got to the point where the pen landed, I noticed a fallen tree that I had seen on a previous trip. Indeed, the pen had led me in the right direction. With confidence, I walked the leftward path again. 10 minutes before I reached the monastery, a heavy thunderstorm drenched me. Had I not made that detour, I would have arrived dry. </div><div><br /></div><div>Moral of the story: Never doubt yourself, or you'll get wet.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK604M4468Ir4TaRpXAgR4fomNFeWZcSZchGmyQL1Nv0gdTJyZp9S8ngrt5SgTmcQZ8b4m2549lrQBmXxVgoqbIVdXad7N3SA4iF4YQPSpxoA6IXTuVTOjf_ra3u1qA8UiudqpxyxYq-Mo/s1600-h/IMG_8650.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391284242518617042" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK604M4468Ir4TaRpXAgR4fomNFeWZcSZchGmyQL1Nv0gdTJyZp9S8ngrt5SgTmcQZ8b4m2549lrQBmXxVgoqbIVdXad7N3SA4iF4YQPSpxoA6IXTuVTOjf_ra3u1qA8UiudqpxyxYq-Mo/s200/IMG_8650.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Gaurishankar</span></b> -After our 4 hour walk to the biggest closest hill, the view of Gaurishankar was crisp and clear. Spectacular. I wanted a picture standing in front of this holy mountain, but I figured I would finish my packet of crackers and peanuts before asking someone to snap my photo. By the time I finished eating, a small cloud moved in front of the base of the mountain. I figured I'd wait for the cloud to pass, but soon a bigger cloud moved in. From there the weather got worse, and soon Gaurishankar got lost in the gray abyss. I never got my picture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Moral of the story: Act now, or your dreams will forever be cloudy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYAiwrEj7y0LrTpXDbsbBjIMCyQOV45e8TPlpSV_66nznL0ySG2zopcF91esa9Xc9DkD0MvKWIcossMvDTjmYgCG9r_eZBJqQfQnTr6xOzrRLO0dVZo4FjYRLVRCY9QUNW-zmxmz4R1S8/s1600-h/IMG_8485.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390479584753395874" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYAiwrEj7y0LrTpXDbsbBjIMCyQOV45e8TPlpSV_66nznL0ySG2zopcF91esa9Xc9DkD0MvKWIcossMvDTjmYgCG9r_eZBJqQfQnTr6xOzrRLO0dVZo4FjYRLVRCY9QUNW-zmxmz4R1S8/s200/IMG_8485.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Long days</span></b> - The kids in Khijee had extremely long days. The average kid would wake up at 5 or 6 (yes, AM) then work in the field for a few hours before walking up to 2 hours to school. After school from 10-4, the long walk back home. When asked to perform an errand, kids would drop whatever he/she was doing. Without being asked, kids would do the dishes, sweep the floor* and serve me food and drinks. I never heard one complaint from any kid in town, or hear a kid question the authority of his parents. The 13 year old boy at the house which served me food was by far more disciplined than I.</div><div><br /></div><div>* I always questioned the sweeping of the dirt floor, how clean can it get?<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBpQjlhmxK19p9ATFEgaLy8uC4wLLc0b97mXg9ek5HyczGTmvrazq1zTZ4wIQBUZoDSDjy5zkvK8Kx4Ue6zcpQ-ubhJEhbQDH5nq0tP4J9iBwbo-wlUZVAGGQ7Aq25aTH59waVTMVfogr/s1600-h/IMG_8512.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391286212057567266" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBpQjlhmxK19p9ATFEgaLy8uC4wLLc0b97mXg9ek5HyczGTmvrazq1zTZ4wIQBUZoDSDjy5zkvK8Kx4Ue6zcpQ-ubhJEhbQDH5nq0tP4J9iBwbo-wlUZVAGGQ7Aq25aTH59waVTMVfogr/s200/IMG_8512.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"> Are you just gonna sit there?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> -</span></b> 67% of Nepali adults are unemployed. They are blessed with fertile land to plant crops and build shelter. Content with minimal survival needs, they are really good at doing nothing. Really, really good. After working in the field from 6-9, they spend the rest of their lives sitting on benches. </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>Also, never get into a staring contest with a Nepali. Combining the extra time on their hands, and the lack of any real exciting event (ever), they have plenty of time to practice staring at anything that moves. In Kathmandu, I saw a crowd of 40+ people watching a guy paint his store front. Being one of the most exciting events in the history of Khijee, I was always being watch and followed. Once I had 3 kids wait for me outside the toilet. The level of openness is amazing but it's not my style. After 1 person asked me if I needed a nailclipper, 3 more people commented on my long nails that day. To say they were very interested in me was an understatement. This was their most endearing, yet irratating quality.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADWmp7iEN776xtvN9xhiBY6gSHxzB3qBbNE2RD-Uc1gHjaTJ2wJWJACoHGodT8hCK6NSLk5OLURwDdNCUHvYNoKkt_eGN5AsBJkrOOHcI5D_3XOxoDpblveHST2kjV-NIw8rAeX5W75Da/s1600-h/IMG_8479.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390479539452602610" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 200px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADWmp7iEN776xtvN9xhiBY6gSHxzB3qBbNE2RD-Uc1gHjaTJ2wJWJACoHGodT8hCK6NSLk5OLURwDdNCUHvYNoKkt_eGN5AsBJkrOOHcI5D_3XOxoDpblveHST2kjV-NIw8rAeX5W75Da/s200/IMG_8479.jpg" border="0" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Presents</span></b> - Khijee was an eye-opening win-win experience for with the town and me. Before my departure, we both gave gifts to each other. Gifts that we had ample supply of, but the receiver could use a bit more of. I gave the town money donations, health advice, a guitar and other games. They gave love. Without any material possesions, they let me know that they were very very grateful of my work. It was very touching to hear these people thank me for helping to give their kids a chance to leave Khijee speaking English, the gateway language to the rest of the world.<br /><br /><b><i>**************Right now, there is no English teacher in Khijee. If you are interested in volunteering in Khijee, and experiencing the warmth and innocence of the Nepali people, please send me an email at katzjesse@gmail.com </i></b></div></div></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-54754997012110997652009-07-20T14:26:00.000-07:002009-10-07T03:37:36.321-07:00nepal 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY670XC7XOhVyrVTaUT7EfnBwPZwLEatm07-jzWJJKh7SXGyMSauAdMPtz3Wnafjf1bWB8U1g6byNkXRTzzvZ9VPxo2zOphvEiBhxJXsiCJmqwjibeN0QZaJA9IV9rxrLO0-uTGHiI5yEs/s1600-h/IMG_2985.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY670XC7XOhVyrVTaUT7EfnBwPZwLEatm07-jzWJJKh7SXGyMSauAdMPtz3Wnafjf1bWB8U1g6byNkXRTzzvZ9VPxo2zOphvEiBhxJXsiCJmqwjibeN0QZaJA9IV9rxrLO0-uTGHiI5yEs/s320/IMG_2985.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtTx35JV93OqcE-fNZSUmQvcpASz7JnYsTrWyjC9inmDIq4KiyHb_pWV6jRK9sTCS8DcG8xVV6RqDnwso803sxhDj8KCcaRdFHNmjFmJW-NbJd_b-UKNe75e22mRfwKZZKqHK209M4Yoc/s1600-h/IMG_3077.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtTx35JV93OqcE-fNZSUmQvcpASz7JnYsTrWyjC9inmDIq4KiyHb_pWV6jRK9sTCS8DcG8xVV6RqDnwso803sxhDj8KCcaRdFHNmjFmJW-NbJd_b-UKNe75e22mRfwKZZKqHK209M4Yoc/s320/IMG_3077.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Wh does this guy have a pet goat. Oh, he's going to chop its head off and sacrifice its soul to the gods. Afterwards, the gods will say "cool, thanks for the goat soul, with one swing you have made me happy and prepared your dinner"<br /><br /><div style="CLEAR: both; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; moz-background-clip: initial; moz-background-origin: initial; moz-background-inline-policy: initial" alt="Posted by Picasa" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-6983614391681149212009-07-20T14:20:00.000-07:002009-10-07T03:28:02.936-07:00nepal 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA7sNB-hBG_zgnaj6TpKqpB6eRZTxDJO6GnOJhpsN0obLZDo3wKAmPRBQenCk5p8MgV-IdtJBQKn3U5FGKNSrO8jLmaE92DCHvx_9ylM7vGnzWQsupo1sLZV_rAgsunI6gbCUhQs_aqoG/s1600-h/IMG_2670.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPA7sNB-hBG_zgnaj6TpKqpB6eRZTxDJO6GnOJhpsN0obLZDo3wKAmPRBQenCk5p8MgV-IdtJBQKn3U5FGKNSrO8jLmaE92DCHvx_9ylM7vGnzWQsupo1sLZV_rAgsunI6gbCUhQs_aqoG/s320/IMG_2670.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I didn't just fly from Bangkok to Kathmandu, I flew to a new world, and got a glimpse of Mt. Everest on the way. In 3 hours, I was trasformed from a relaxed beach bungalow setting to a crazy dirty city with honking horns, as cars swerved to avoid people goats, cows and motorbikes. Organized crazyness assaulting my eardrums... It reminded me of the Stanford Band.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hyXxsn5162-PpcYPnOZevhC8gVoq1m1_uYw-DQoqdU5cFE6ZFjsipCh0fwiKq4bmwgeAbRFnwFG7VXCC2zPR1MNSEAh_kRoGE9cPtxbvLgY5ExDNxolhmL2y62cZfC2S9VkzYTmhZXsh/s1600-h/IMG_2767.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hyXxsn5162-PpcYPnOZevhC8gVoq1m1_uYw-DQoqdU5cFE6ZFjsipCh0fwiKq4bmwgeAbRFnwFG7VXCC2zPR1MNSEAh_kRoGE9cPtxbvLgY5ExDNxolhmL2y62cZfC2S9VkzYTmhZXsh/s320/IMG_2767.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkiJnxHx7rxT2fDJmpSMAjryLNJ6_aHJfXmQsDedW6SF_IUWSsdVPNKV-Igd0Mp5H9W9wgHLgTAAyae4vfSBsc1G_q5DhmC84gcKe4MHp7NuyoFQV6EMZODZUSpST2qx7g8eIPMO91iqw/s1600-h/IMG_2777.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkiJnxHx7rxT2fDJmpSMAjryLNJ6_aHJfXmQsDedW6SF_IUWSsdVPNKV-Igd0Mp5H9W9wgHLgTAAyae4vfSBsc1G_q5DhmC84gcKe4MHp7NuyoFQV6EMZODZUSpST2qx7g8eIPMO91iqw/s320/IMG_2777.JPG" border="0" /></a> Leaving the mess of Kathmandu ASAP, we headed to the most beautiful place in the world. Sans the one days we took a boat out on the lake, I spent my week within a 50 meter radius of my guest house. Recipe for a day: Lazyily wake up, and make my way to a lakeside cafe. Order lunch. Realize the sun was going down and I hadn't gotten out of my chair. Order dinner. Repeat x7.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Question: If a bus has 40 seats plus a driver seat, how many people can fit in the bus? 41... wrong. Say another 30 can fit in aisles? 71... wrong. And another 30 on the roof? 101... wrong. Correct answer: There's always room for a few more. Yes, now imagine how much leg room I had for my 14 hours ride back to Kathmandu, and my 25 hour ride to Salyan to work with James' charityJessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-2794725847091131432009-07-18T14:40:00.000-07:002009-10-07T03:01:35.600-07:00Nepal 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu7O60NnOI2MmvsrRCBA_r1cUboeL9qxGCCi7YvivIxEZz2QBvgF6xDyaLG2BuT-yfh5Uu0Wj0ySsbLY0IBNfMJMDoyS_PjzQXUT7BIACbOqLTlSjtN5FnDsQyLPxSz2dNZF8D_CBPTcL/s1600-h/IMG_2835.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXu7O60NnOI2MmvsrRCBA_r1cUboeL9qxGCCi7YvivIxEZz2QBvgF6xDyaLG2BuT-yfh5Uu0Wj0ySsbLY0IBNfMJMDoyS_PjzQXUT7BIACbOqLTlSjtN5FnDsQyLPxSz2dNZF8D_CBPTcL/s320/IMG_2835.JPG" border="0" /></a> Volunteering at Salyan - After our 26 hour bus ride, James decided that doing a project this remote was unfeasable. Instead of calling it a lost cause, we spend our time translating proposals for NGOs (charities).<br /><br />The work ethic is so different in Nepal. If I had the rare opportunity to get my proposal translated into readable English, I would be prepared. But these guys didn't even have their computers turned on. Every day we had to wait about an hour for them to prepare work for us.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR5yN3pkbOFOas4ZdXlLv8PIxJe_70GtlA0oy7f-YH8tx9rDWy_7Za7qoVXuV4yoUc4iKrL1_ATU9yUkDeWQgJYJPigne33DLwNqKv0ibMRpR9oLKXHe6276c4js9blhX5IOhF2zBkJ9l/s1600-h/IMG_2845.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinR5yN3pkbOFOas4ZdXlLv8PIxJe_70GtlA0oy7f-YH8tx9rDWy_7Za7qoVXuV4yoUc4iKrL1_ATU9yUkDeWQgJYJPigne33DLwNqKv0ibMRpR9oLKXHe6276c4js9blhX5IOhF2zBkJ9l/s320/IMG_2845.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonXB31HaI9dGIBswaCZY7MxatARAX9uDOIKVd7jhwEXV62HQzcs-5F_TAcXg7caTBSIw-GsC6YSR-KU8ccRkRuTBtMu5mjzsV-1O-TepQIVsWabA2G4Q_3cUUv-DzIcRIvnffEonYmM4b/s1600-h/IMG_2869.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonXB31HaI9dGIBswaCZY7MxatARAX9uDOIKVd7jhwEXV62HQzcs-5F_TAcXg7caTBSIw-GsC6YSR-KU8ccRkRuTBtMu5mjzsV-1O-TepQIVsWabA2G4Q_3cUUv-DzIcRIvnffEonYmM4b/s320/IMG_2869.JPG" border="0" /></a> This was our view every morning<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The (fictional) Nepali saftey commision has not reviewed the seatbelt laws yet. This is a 5 seater jeep. There are 4 people in the front bench, 5 in the back bench, 2 in the truck, and 8 on the roof. Notice the cliff on the right. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYkfCE4bOOA">However, with the amazing views, riding on the roof is awesome. Even, if my parents a bit nervous. </a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The bugs out here are nuts. I dont know what this is. I have seen 2 inch rolly pollies, 1 inch ants and the biggest spider ever inside James' shoe.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ALZBSMvWk3vJz0Ns6qCNSezBFvlJI12LT0bkPqXt7PtMLFgCzBzfMRYd1qtxoFpXUk0g9NsymEU64xRrJ_BvZDjjQM9F8kf5o1KBsi4RKRy4H6aAOeGQucBi_8UUjHL1c6ZYncqUrXA_/s1600-h/IMG_2893.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ALZBSMvWk3vJz0Ns6qCNSezBFvlJI12LT0bkPqXt7PtMLFgCzBzfMRYd1qtxoFpXUk0g9NsymEU64xRrJ_BvZDjjQM9F8kf5o1KBsi4RKRy4H6aAOeGQucBi_8UUjHL1c6ZYncqUrXA_/s320/IMG_2893.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"></span>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-14197032695312083032009-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:002009-07-20T14:09:52.606-07:00Chiang Mai - Pai (Thailand) 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEyJApcrkU2jwl3h78EdruFyGyrbQMyv9JPFeTGSjxGXGHSTTlg-kQcPaNmjVStF9H3HCj919w1ClXRVDRBT99rjmpW5WRGxUCYycIZcgtfvFYG9zqaQj91qjpadbIUZiJji72Jy_dSHw/s1600-h/IMG_2362.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEyJApcrkU2jwl3h78EdruFyGyrbQMyv9JPFeTGSjxGXGHSTTlg-kQcPaNmjVStF9H3HCj919w1ClXRVDRBT99rjmpW5WRGxUCYycIZcgtfvFYG9zqaQj91qjpadbIUZiJji72Jy_dSHw/s320/IMG_2362.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWDMnvmZkdM">Tigers</a> - before we got into the cage with the tigers, they gave us a quick briefing. No flash on the camera, no running, etc. The unassuming scrawny Thai guy, with shoulders slightly hunched, gazing up at a cloud, fiddling with a skinny bamboo branch, happened to be our trainer. Full grown Siberian tiger: 500 pounds, instincts to kill. Scrawny Thai trainer and his bamboo...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ummm</span>, time to go in the cage, lets not finish this thought.<br /><br />These tigers were just as well behaved as Siegfried and Roy's, OK, bad example. They were very well behaved. The trainer put 2 fingers of pressure on the top of the tigers spine, and the tiger hunched down. 2 fingers on the mid spine and 2 on the lower spine and the tiger was reclined. Even when the tiger turned so he was staring at me from a foot away, I never felt scared, just in awe.<br /><br />P.S. many other tigers in Asia are chained or drugged. Not these ones: after we left the cage they were jumping and playing and growling. I highly recommend Tiger Kingdom.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgPLylR9DJMKrEo0Osqm8iKnuQOp_WZ-46_gsr7x7pERq427zO-JOampeBs57pqxlmjIX-kdu1wb4f_2n4lugeLOYBTATv8qQSMYrqUYmzlJ2TnBnYl02YHblUIh3I5fXvQGg3j7XiwhJ/s1600-h/IMG_2445.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgPLylR9DJMKrEo0Osqm8iKnuQOp_WZ-46_gsr7x7pERq427zO-JOampeBs57pqxlmjIX-kdu1wb4f_2n4lugeLOYBTATv8qQSMYrqUYmzlJ2TnBnYl02YHblUIh3I5fXvQGg3j7XiwhJ/s320/IMG_2445.JPG" border="0" /></a> Meditation - after the tigers, Guido, the German I was traveling with did a 2 day meditation retreat. Most of the meditation was concentrating on breathing, and only breathing, or a counting scheme, and only that counting scheme. My brain has never hurt so much from thinking about so little.<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-61531442334411875302009-06-05T11:37:00.000-07:002009-07-23T22:40:27.486-07:00Chiang Mai - Pai (Thailand) 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy24BZ9XUCxONUK2kwe_-rFnfOnZfTWwUbcYrVfQVrgONAbvbSNyKI0yPzslB0FsgRcBvFVFMcP0W4yjyoO2vWCS0vSjcBmUEOoOBmAW5AI02hIqW9ZljnndPavFyakSKNujw3P2lpxlg/s1600-h/IMG_2479.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy24BZ9XUCxONUK2kwe_-rFnfOnZfTWwUbcYrVfQVrgONAbvbSNyKI0yPzslB0FsgRcBvFVFMcP0W4yjyoO2vWCS0vSjcBmUEOoOBmAW5AI02hIqW9ZljnndPavFyakSKNujw3P2lpxlg/s320/IMG_2479.JPG" border="0" /></a> After Chiang Mai, we spent a few days in Pai, a small hippy town set up in the mountains. We spent a day at a waterfall you could slide down, and a few more at Joey's ranch. Joey was from Bangkok, but had just bought some land he was turning it into a farm and adding bungalows. when someone said "joey, are you going to plant mango trees?" He replied in his Thai accent "Why not?". Are you going to build a zip line from this hill to that one? "Why not?" Joey, lets go into town""Why not?" Any suggestion "Why not?" Any question "Why not?". I found the most chill guy on earth.<br /><br /><br />Also, I watched game 1 of the NBA finals in Luang Nam Tha, Laos, with Chinese commentary. Game 3 in Chiang Mai in English. And in Pai, I watched the Lakers bring the title back to its rightful home, in Thai. ดำเนินความ,เสนอ,ลงมือ! 冠 军 称 号 Lakers! Lets go Lakers!<br /><br /><br />Get out some paper and write me a diagram. In February, Andrew and I met Kellan in Saigon (Vietnam), bumped into him in Hoi An, and convinced him to come on our Halong Bay cruise when we saw him in Hanoi. In April, Kellan ran into Louise and Minty (the girls Andrew and I traveled with for 6 weeks through Vietnam and China) in Darjeeling, India. In January, before Andrew met up with me, he met Karen on an island in Thailand. We ran into Karen in Hanoi and convinced her to come on our cruise as well. Karen and Kellen traveled together for a month afterwards. In May I ran into Karen in Vang Viene (Laos) and again in Pai. In Pai, Karen and I ran into our Halong Bay tour guide. Its a small world.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCAA-bhszbOB3GpHvJarU5_fTxD5VE_f9ceniynX5xN3-s0PDHXC1vHN4tdXZtJGlFdXgAvtWTZURaClyHS0uW-tit2sLv94wS5xwj-A4hD-t_IgO3jmcQKRGaLC2qz-G4FPOVjjPHgAu/s1600-h/IMG_2540.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCAA-bhszbOB3GpHvJarU5_fTxD5VE_f9ceniynX5xN3-s0PDHXC1vHN4tdXZtJGlFdXgAvtWTZURaClyHS0uW-tit2sLv94wS5xwj-A4hD-t_IgO3jmcQKRGaLC2qz-G4FPOVjjPHgAu/s320/IMG_2540.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yes, I learned how to do this. Yes, this is fun. No, I was not 100% sober at the time of this photo. No, I did not burn my face off.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Its nice to see familiar faces. Jason and Laura, 2 friends from Santa Barbara, met me for 4 days back in Chiang Mai. After that, they spent 5 days on an island. Laura now regrets only spending 10 days in Thailand. As soon as the Thai culture seeped through her skin and took the tension out of her muscles, it was time to go. Americans do it wrong.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpj3agWddyFyjyyBbjruPFkAaCTNE1Qt401wBZ7HYe4RDBPVrLaIpXRnYTaAmXUMeBSNrPbepzYEFF3YxMDDL0ut6NnTcJ8sXXU6vR0MEmM4x93RfqaEplkBy1ua-g9TYqw0E5_sPUmXJo/s1600-h/IMG_2572.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpj3agWddyFyjyyBbjruPFkAaCTNE1Qt401wBZ7HYe4RDBPVrLaIpXRnYTaAmXUMeBSNrPbepzYEFF3YxMDDL0ut6NnTcJ8sXXU6vR0MEmM4x93RfqaEplkBy1ua-g9TYqw0E5_sPUmXJo/s320/IMG_2572.JPG" border="0" /></a> Ziplining - This was fun. The last repel was over 150 feet. I decided to repel upside down. 50 feet above ground my camera slipped out of my pocket, crashed on the landing pad, bounced into a rock, then another rock, resting in the mud about a foot from the nearby stream. The metal frame was dented and scratched, the plastic piece holding the battery was broken, but other than that, it works like a gem. Not bad for a $120 camera. I highly recommend Canon cameras.<br /><br />In college, the Zeta Beta Tau Amateur Engineering Department performed many experiments related to the structural integrity of many household electronics, such as televisions, computer monitors, microwaves and printers. As per standard "roof test" protocol, a lab technician released the item from a platform of 36 feet, and observed it during its decent as well as impact. If the item was not in proper working order after impact, our scientist would declare a "roof test fail" My Canon SD1100 is the first "roof test pass" observed. Of course, all necessary safety precautions were taken for all experiments.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP5xVeoYS5-FenqpT9KXEZ1vtFc42XPpZttO8q4qZfYaAgGhpDAnFuxRMthlTQvsTkJIc4K6qGjIbuI7o5JVoABpWA5indZHKhgancfQ6V8NdGp0NIc037VU3kJqL04IsG6hgqnjG0wtT/s1600-h/IMG_2497.JPG"></a><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-82670029239595837702009-06-04T12:06:00.000-07:002009-07-20T14:14:56.857-07:00Chiang Mai - Pai (Thailand) 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa8m3zNRy96TooFsdiqrERaEUccayYiKJYyV3eWHetttaIfhCY6y2SxsYM8s0fdE8KhwJ15ltakAZI9DPRHUcCFumpf_4c6bKeSKyD4yfZE0PbLzkOkaOX-qXA36ducx7oNF7hJQm8CqI/s1600-h/IMG_2610.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIa8m3zNRy96TooFsdiqrERaEUccayYiKJYyV3eWHetttaIfhCY6y2SxsYM8s0fdE8KhwJ15ltakAZI9DPRHUcCFumpf_4c6bKeSKyD4yfZE0PbLzkOkaOX-qXA36ducx7oNF7hJQm8CqI/s320/IMG_2610.JPG" border="0" /></a> Bam - Are you gonna ask me to cook you Thai food when I get home?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCYjWBPJQckr1ajVtBuF_3ZCY4v_0_3PgFz0n98m9L78Jb_IZ8or45zbt3Qx3EqAhl0wwYXBM3pmEFcHJAhIwK0e7w2AvUekQoEwSb00FOufB1H7dsaG6B6kaFbz-vJvw80pVcVxdxlam/s1600-h/IMG_2635.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjCYjWBPJQckr1ajVtBuF_3ZCY4v_0_3PgFz0n98m9L78Jb_IZ8or45zbt3Qx3EqAhl0wwYXBM3pmEFcHJAhIwK0e7w2AvUekQoEwSb00FOufB1H7dsaG6B6kaFbz-vJvw80pVcVxdxlam/s320/IMG_2635.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirj_Pl705F52Am4VRfgIZxbDn9SWR4-WFNwrX2LhZGRvhSqsBupY7hjWM1Gn7a0S6mcCXBLdGPnfIvxAbbEwl1A205e8KqNQ9-wNYQ53ymMlOTh7leIkmQ-UHUEjH6VndRuIVTr0eby-6Q/s1600-h/IMG_2635.JPG"></a>The Muai Thai fight was as violent as I thought it was gonna be. After 6 serious fights, they put 4 blindfolded fighters in the ring (and a ref). You can guess the rest.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUgeCCfdJ4Nqgl04SAppxlSwdN0d3uACUEUESDfHWZzgenNSNDkYsZW5mM5S5ImxurZwGpGh1zK2BlS562FoOyAjyYHUEWcrecT-eMtptXsy_6AAtUp-2wcO3xifdFEi7tgMjf1wlJK_7/s1600-h/IMG_2648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUgeCCfdJ4Nqgl04SAppxlSwdN0d3uACUEUESDfHWZzgenNSNDkYsZW5mM5S5ImxurZwGpGh1zK2BlS562FoOyAjyYHUEWcrecT-eMtptXsy_6AAtUp-2wcO3xifdFEi7tgMjf1wlJK_7/s320/IMG_2648.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The ring girls for the Maui Thai fight. This pic doesn't do justice. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y209qFTN0tA">Check out this video</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52zWPZ8d8r0VOhMjvjszgQo2FE8TJTQRQ55HRbDZTvRYd0Od1JK88y9dmcxOpcI3OXiKM-Dl9Lb2NRzJLqK9YhN8bHAsEynWjwjB1vhnwtR4p9jZYggtnC8QanzcX8yzF1l7GxUxIP5De/s1600-h/IMG_2663.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52zWPZ8d8r0VOhMjvjszgQo2FE8TJTQRQ55HRbDZTvRYd0Od1JK88y9dmcxOpcI3OXiKM-Dl9Lb2NRzJLqK9YhN8bHAsEynWjwjB1vhnwtR4p9jZYggtnC8QanzcX8yzF1l7GxUxIP5De/s320/IMG_2663.JPG" border="0" /></a> Umong Temple, so relaxing. This is the UC Santa Cruz of temples.<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-61774882310057076782009-05-18T03:30:00.000-07:002009-07-20T14:12:31.943-07:00Laos 1Laos is beautiful. The pace of Laos is just as beautiful. The endless gentle hills provide enough food to fill the skinny Loatian frames and enough bamboo and wood for shelter. Store owners commonly leave their stores unattended, and guest house workers would make an extra move on their board game before attending to your need. Nothing is urgent in Laos.<br /><br />It was refreshing to not be viewed as a money $ign. Instead, I was constantly invited over for customary lao-lao (the more incredible horrible tasting rice whisky) shots, and approached out of curiosity, not as a ploy to extract money out of me (this never happens in Vietnam).<br /><br />On top of this, the setting is surreal. Laos, with only 6 million people, is about the same size as its neighboring countries, but has signifigantly less people, 85 million in Vietnam and 60 million in Thailand. This leaves most of it natural beauty untouched.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQxwjodjyGYw9B8QyM7OWM_WmfyUf6USwBnNNk-23LX-d7OHMUc1vrOpvidsVrC0Q1UXYni8O7LFXuPLjalRX9_PNteC46CuykUp36nvWOSqZPZ95hNEJBYW03ey-yGcQYtgf8OOmeNFf/s1600-h/IMG_1792.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQxwjodjyGYw9B8QyM7OWM_WmfyUf6USwBnNNk-23LX-d7OHMUc1vrOpvidsVrC0Q1UXYni8O7LFXuPLjalRX9_PNteC46CuykUp36nvWOSqZPZ95hNEJBYW03ey-yGcQYtgf8OOmeNFf/s320/IMG_1792.JPG" border="0" /></a> After a quick jaunt in Vientiene, the most unassuming capital city I’ve seen, I settled into Vang Viene. My bungalow, on the other side of this bridge, was spaced out on a big grass field. Commonly, water buffalos, ducks and chicken would venture past me as I lounged on my hammock. In all directions limestone karst mountains jutted out of the ground, catching a layer of morning fog as it blew past. When the tropical rains came (it was monsoon season), the mountains acted as ping pong paddles, volleying the thunder sound waves back and forth, taking a full 30 seconds to slowly fade out. The week after I left, sudden heavy rains raised the water level, washing away a bridge, along with a few of the makeshift bars upstream.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshg_1wZ7_XfvFs41sSuxlz1JzIK_H91BLSeV2P9uxGlYtwD7KlkOol5kDa-o16J1NUQWqljbyVUSI3lI4-bakSb3KGa8jZ2kf5y_i7nCSOuNGPwKAgOYvDgMThxdi9PltJfI6XDXoFMec/s1600-h/IMG_1909.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshg_1wZ7_XfvFs41sSuxlz1JzIK_H91BLSeV2P9uxGlYtwD7KlkOol5kDa-o16J1NUQWqljbyVUSI3lI4-bakSb3KGa8jZ2kf5y_i7nCSOuNGPwKAgOYvDgMThxdi9PltJfI6XDXoFMec/s320/IMG_1909.JPG" border="0" /></a> The main draw of Vang Viene is not the scenery, (although it should be) it’s the tubing. At around noon each day, everyone takes tuk-tuks 2 miles up the river. Every hundred meters or so there are makeshift bars blaring music. As you float by they throw ropes out to latch onto so they can pull you in. Everyone has ambitions of floating all the way back to town, but no one ever stumbles past the 5th bar before dark. Also, every bar finds the closest highest tree and attaches a rope swing or a zipline. Most of them are 20-30 feet high. A shot of lao whisky and a shot of rope swing adrenaline will easily cure yesterdays hang over.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrO0he5wCqF_ddk_EJXB_axBEovsHITvFTrjmoSiFjtBUaLDnT_h456XHZSf5qNUjTwbifXM6TdMZ6N1ZaG_zuZ1aDkF5jYLK8UkAgOOQia5YfTPGSzzHT2C-aekV6ZdVDxdYnPQWxa2M/s1600-h/IMG_1929.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrO0he5wCqF_ddk_EJXB_axBEovsHITvFTrjmoSiFjtBUaLDnT_h456XHZSf5qNUjTwbifXM6TdMZ6N1ZaG_zuZ1aDkF5jYLK8UkAgOOQia5YfTPGSzzHT2C-aekV6ZdVDxdYnPQWxa2M/s320/IMG_1929.JPG" border="0" /></a> 34 kilometers (21 miles) from Luang Prabang is a beautiful cascading waterfall. After a few days in Vang Viene, we decided to pass on the tuk-tuk ride and bike. In typical Jesse style, we got a late start, riding through the rolling hills in midday Laos sun. At the 12 km mark, a local slowed down his motorcycle to inquire about me. Him and his friend on the back were on their way to a lake, but decided to be my pace car for the last 22 kilometers. After I told him we were headed to the waterfall, he changed his whole plans and joined me. Between my raspy breaths and over the humming of his machine, he proudly told me all about his family and town, and wanted to learn more about the falang on the bike.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPwwBB48GV_4-8Q3RyQpeIQM4hh6AgBzKeTsjXTY20zcpp2lN91OoxUslXfmUdABg6gp7JD5bIGP8z2ziNmOZz6aP-VNTb3ti0hxdqpZg3rMp_GUONUrzRKSCYOzU7ew8f6XHfZxBjiGC/s1600-h/IMG_1937.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPwwBB48GV_4-8Q3RyQpeIQM4hh6AgBzKeTsjXTY20zcpp2lN91OoxUslXfmUdABg6gp7JD5bIGP8z2ziNmOZz6aP-VNTb3ti0hxdqpZg3rMp_GUONUrzRKSCYOzU7ew8f6XHfZxBjiGC/s200/IMG_1937.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360587457160127826" border="0" /></a><br />After our ride in the humid SE Asia air, I didn’t want anything more than this<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbe66-ELisDOrEGLAQnHwsDhYvW8CLW4jSDJwSKbu-lcP61J5zm8g4ajehulQiLtfn-HhJNjkNOSQmF-qdpBx4NcFhU9jjvMGC_owcz2B8SY14J1mQAbNeryYH9akLd7R5ATMmytplOjX/s1600-h/IMG_1972.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbe66-ELisDOrEGLAQnHwsDhYvW8CLW4jSDJwSKbu-lcP61J5zm8g4ajehulQiLtfn-HhJNjkNOSQmF-qdpBx4NcFhU9jjvMGC_owcz2B8SY14J1mQAbNeryYH9akLd7R5ATMmytplOjX/s320/IMG_1972.JPG" border="0" /></a>The above pic is the bottom of the cascade. After a cold dip and 5 grilled plaintains, we hiked to the swimming hole above the main fall. The views were sweeping. Untouched and green. Really really green. … yes, I am the sunburnt one. The price we had to pay for this view: another 34 kilometers back.Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-90521606905161347202009-05-17T10:02:00.000-07:002009-07-20T14:13:25.412-07:00Laos 2As I headed into northern Laos, things got more and more remote. I went a week without seeing a car. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Nong</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Khiew</span>, and everything I saw afterwards was real Laos. Vang <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Viene</span> was a backpacker bubble. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Vientiene</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Luang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Prabang</span> were cities, with roads that had street signs. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Nong</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Khiew</span> had women skinning chickens outside their store, 8 year-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">olds</span> fishing with a stick, a mesh bag and weights. 60 year old ladies were carrying more than their body weight on their head and back.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2nuegzZnqHGoEOKT7KPgtzJySLXjoqyyevaUEBboQA7lgfvJr63UqQ1sDzZC476c6E0qx2NWj7mXhw0NmGqo7wTMt7rgvxCtZ_i0rhQ7QVXLsdG9xyMz7amR9A5YFGP5nypfqKM4Rf8h/s1600-h/IMG_2035.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2nuegzZnqHGoEOKT7KPgtzJySLXjoqyyevaUEBboQA7lgfvJr63UqQ1sDzZC476c6E0qx2NWj7mXhw0NmGqo7wTMt7rgvxCtZ_i0rhQ7QVXLsdG9xyMz7amR9A5YFGP5nypfqKM4Rf8h/s320/IMG_2035.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdgTtQANDoE">Watch This</a> - There are no roads from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Nong</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Khiew</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Muang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Nhoi</span>, only a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">longtail</span> boat. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">On board</span> I struggled to use the laws of physics to find a reason why the boat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">wouldn</span>’t tip over from the tiniest obstacle. The boat was 3 feet wide by 40 feet long, the driver sat up front, controlling the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">rutter</span> with pieces of string pulled back and forth. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Everytime</span> someone got on or off, we had to readjust the weight as the boat wobbled. The wakes of the passing boats made me worry about the security my backpack - all my possessions on this side of the world.<br /><br />the reward for the boat ride was a few days of sitting on hammock in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Muang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Nhoi</span>. Everything was cheap and the pace of life was slow. Everything in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Muang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Nhoi</span> was on the main street. The dusty road took about 5 minutes to walk from end to end (even at my pace).<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-ph8aCfNo412Hex21FLZv_dykrkOephsupYFdv9EQTeWqAHi3LXJIIgdHgs_mTofrJl5ratWks9kD8SXMMohD7MJyACySMaip1MyUgt1zGoQW7-IJEh0qoSPfoj7ERLzpE9eVh06POs/s1600-h/IMG_2077.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3W-ph8aCfNo412Hex21FLZv_dykrkOephsupYFdv9EQTeWqAHi3LXJIIgdHgs_mTofrJl5ratWks9kD8SXMMohD7MJyACySMaip1MyUgt1zGoQW7-IJEh0qoSPfoj7ERLzpE9eVh06POs/s320/IMG_2077.JPG" border="0" /></a> My next <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">destination</span> was Ban Na village. Walking past forests and workers laboring on rice <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">paddys</span>, I left my hammock, with all my 30 pounds of belongings. 2 hours later, I was greeted with a Laotian smile and a menu. I gladly sat down and massaged the part of my shoulders supporting my pack. The menu was quite extensive considering where I was. “I’ll take a mango shake and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">barbecue</span> beef” “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">baabeque</span> beef no have” replied the lady, holding her 3 year old son. “How about chicken curry” “No have” “Chicken chow <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">mien</span>” “No have”. This game went on for a while, until I asked what they DO have. My pancake and vegetables would have been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">mediocre</span>, but I had to wait an hour and a half for her to walk (or stroll) to the other side of the village to get fire wood, light up the grill etc. My pancake and vegetables were <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">fantastic</span>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFj-oNO6mk84B3IT3uUBqYA9aZcK3nm98Yr5Umfr0fF3G79CF36BxCpo2SITRnhPvdVUH1XekaenX1u3TbOfzczDbYXUI5SNzZSvDORWfsV_SgaOh81d15mB_h08fsxqIfkiLQFKgJSmzk/s1600-h/IMG_2099.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFj-oNO6mk84B3IT3uUBqYA9aZcK3nm98Yr5Umfr0fF3G79CF36BxCpo2SITRnhPvdVUH1XekaenX1u3TbOfzczDbYXUI5SNzZSvDORWfsV_SgaOh81d15mB_h08fsxqIfkiLQFKgJSmzk/s320/IMG_2099.JPG" border="0" /></a> Ban Na was tiny. And removed. Every water bottle, every toothpaste bottle, every bag of cement had to carried from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Muang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Nhoi</span>. While the men worked in the fields, the woman walked back and forth. Old fragile women, walking 2 hours, carrying more than I was.<br /><br />On my third day at the village I decided to walk to the next village over to check out the waterfall. 3 hours there. 3 hours back. One second I walking down the steep muddy trail. The next second I was on my back, on the steep muddy trail. Lying on the ground I realized how I was from medical care. 2 hours walk back to Ban Na. 2 more hours walking to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Muang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Nhoi</span>. An hour boat ride to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Nong</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Khiew</span>. A windy 4 hour ride back to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Luang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Prabang</span>. Then a plane ride to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Vientiene</span> or Bangkok. Sometimes I write things to make my parents nervous.<br /><br />When I got back to Ban Na, everyone was in a good mood. A guy shot a water buffalo, and for the first time in a while there was meat at the village. I got my BBQ beef.<br /><br />To get to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Luang</span> Nam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Tha</span>, I had to take a bus from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Nong</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Khiew</span>. Above the ticket shack, there was a faded sign, well actually it was a 8 ½ by 11 piece of paper taped to the wall, that said “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">NK</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">Luang</span> Nam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Tha</span> 40,000” (1 dollar=8600 kip) Of course, since it was a slow day and there were only 3 westerners, they tried to charge us 70,000. Only when they started loading the minibus with rice, wood, and locals, did we get the price that they advertised. We switched buses halfway through, this time we fit 40 people into 25 seats. I had a 4 inch stool in the aisle. I felt all 4 hours of bumps in the road. I don’t think Laotian buses are built with shocks. Also, it was funny how they <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">didn</span>’t try to charge us less if the bus was more than capacity.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrmC27ZU_qUOAXLw1F5BXZ_YxJ1YZZbgvlxZvq8aXn4kXLRUv2KI3itFL2HowuNJ158orjGXtK75QmfyRGcNdF0_bOoMExCJZ1VX57Cdiu6MZKntWMBtwUhAVoqR5EELSwGO30xSvavew/s1600-h/IMG_2136.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwrmC27ZU_qUOAXLw1F5BXZ_YxJ1YZZbgvlxZvq8aXn4kXLRUv2KI3itFL2HowuNJ158orjGXtK75QmfyRGcNdF0_bOoMExCJZ1VX57Cdiu6MZKntWMBtwUhAVoqR5EELSwGO30xSvavew/s320/IMG_2136.JPG" border="0" /></a>On our trek to an <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Akha</span> village our guide let us in on all kinds of local <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">knowledge</span> “we make tea out of this root when you get sick. We use this tree to dye your clothes red, and eat this bark to stop constipation” We were constantly eating different berries and leaves. We even saw a tree that smelled like tiger balm "icy hot"Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-88946497448656358472009-05-16T10:28:00.000-07:002009-07-20T14:13:57.234-07:00Laos 3<span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6So0SctyPrLdhVh5e0K_-lPS3TCZ4MRhpiyoJTnaQA8NeLbjdYxlix-yJRoNtOadx3X6YQjbvGerPtENlnUacGrjEmPg2qWppFW5vRv0on_Ouf6EihCIwBHDVX0hoUrd0Vldllu4iAIpx/s1600-h/IMG_2145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6So0SctyPrLdhVh5e0K_-lPS3TCZ4MRhpiyoJTnaQA8NeLbjdYxlix-yJRoNtOadx3X6YQjbvGerPtENlnUacGrjEmPg2qWppFW5vRv0on_Ouf6EihCIwBHDVX0hoUrd0Vldllu4iAIpx/s320/IMG_2145.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The kid on the left was part of the ferocious "t-shirt-no-pants" gang. There were about 10 gang members at the Akha village, all letting you know that you were in "t-shirt-no-pants" land</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnNSt7Rsge69c9kD2XrDGTtKJoEjRq72g3BWUQwKt1aT-gijHV_-o7jHlcOmgMmThwXXb7NiHRJ0zWebTZjjVVqw0tAKSj61Iol2mLgGsjtmrHxYhToAJW1kA0kBkxc1LT8cZSkNi1RPG/s1600-h/IMG_2196.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnNSt7Rsge69c9kD2XrDGTtKJoEjRq72g3BWUQwKt1aT-gijHV_-o7jHlcOmgMmThwXXb7NiHRJ0zWebTZjjVVqw0tAKSj61Iol2mLgGsjtmrHxYhToAJW1kA0kBkxc1LT8cZSkNi1RPG/s320/IMG_2196.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpgjwda6XEb2Kq7qimb3a7cPU5gnf4CaxTxy_WO0_xdeCbtLK_AsfSNbvhL3F333W4W9beMPoclCPzeBasmAcZXUzOaQ_NNBzb8Szmbk97FUdVmwLwZkESJ81ei95uR5wANsROeVseVhQ/s1600-h/IMG_2245.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpgjwda6XEb2Kq7qimb3a7cPU5gnf4CaxTxy_WO0_xdeCbtLK_AsfSNbvhL3F333W4W9beMPoclCPzeBasmAcZXUzOaQ_NNBzb8Szmbk97FUdVmwLwZkESJ81ei95uR5wANsROeVseVhQ/s320/IMG_2245.JPG" border="0" /> </a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">snow owls the kids at the village were walking around with. These owls weren't tied up or anything.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpgjwda6XEb2Kq7qimb3a7cPU5gnf4CaxTxy_WO0_xdeCbtLK_AsfSNbvhL3F333W4W9beMPoclCPzeBasmAcZXUzOaQ_NNBzb8Szmbk97FUdVmwLwZkESJ81ei95uR5wANsROeVseVhQ/s1600-h/IMG_2245.JPG"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Me and 2 Americans I met took motorbikes to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Muang</span> Sing, the next town over. The bikes were typical Chinese <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">POS</span>. All 3 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">speedometers</span> and odometers were broken. The loose metal in the engine hood <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">clunked</span> around at different beats depending on my speed and gear. We left an hour later than planned and we road after dark for the last 30 minutes. The road ran right through the jungle, and dusk was play time for <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">insects</span>. Man, did they love our headlights. I must have hit 1000 stupid bugs. With a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">barrage</span> of stupid bugs flying past my face, it reminded me of the intro from star wars.<br /><br />The next day we had the option of going to China or Myanmar (well, just the borders). We choose the 30 minute ride to the Chinese border before the guards quickly made us leave.</span><br /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-28782623118726517502009-05-13T08:24:00.001-07:002009-05-30T22:42:15.043-07:00Bangkok - Koh Phangan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyVwUD3jPiMiRMym-dQ15181Nxj9YKUWtc-hgwTtulp0l8spM2Q1f-YLIhxS8wO3U2y7vOKIN_e2pJa91dDOTgm8vN1tXCz3ZDdX3SsnPm0GAwg375MDD7VD5KJl0rhv2yDhyphenhyphenlQh7P4GV/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1399.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyVwUD3jPiMiRMym-dQ15181Nxj9YKUWtc-hgwTtulp0l8spM2Q1f-YLIhxS8wO3U2y7vOKIN_e2pJa91dDOTgm8vN1tXCz3ZDdX3SsnPm0GAwg375MDD7VD5KJl0rhv2yDhyphenhyphenlQh7P4GV/s200/jesse+asia+09+1399.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339367793717983986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Welcome </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">to Thailand</span> - We arrived to Bangkok during the water festival. Anyone who stepped outside during the water festival was fair game to get drenched in water with super <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">soakers</span>, hoses, or buckets or water. I was too scared (smart) to take my camera to the main part of the festival - should have bought the waterproof camera. I also saw an elephant in the middle of the street.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2gd9YgpJfkUv-I1y11tfmHoD5FWcRFc4YAsaEbhfTL0wQFy6uVyjw68OsJ0WZtG1_Sv4wZGqrmDawSKKogbggeU6ay-K7xBpNhpTus2b-6YdttsVQqkQAhhR2CyYP40_4j5eSwXdpggP/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1420.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2gd9YgpJfkUv-I1y11tfmHoD5FWcRFc4YAsaEbhfTL0wQFy6uVyjw68OsJ0WZtG1_Sv4wZGqrmDawSKKogbggeU6ay-K7xBpNhpTus2b-6YdttsVQqkQAhhR2CyYP40_4j5eSwXdpggP/s200/jesse+asia+09+1420.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339371571553049490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Haad</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Rin</span> - After 2 months of city after city travel, Andrew and I were relieved to make it to a beach. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ahhhh</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sGX3aDbYjAqtXRVzyNM_QCZ9VHN-KkUqWfcKGq8GmWpetCrMB9gbWbfT2bJnjfG_RPCmuasAKrSlDd38nsoBpRD3FHQGyPUHRneMA3EN5QJXmZywRCjUlA9mftISlfa1sthYsLeClCuc/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sGX3aDbYjAqtXRVzyNM_QCZ9VHN-KkUqWfcKGq8GmWpetCrMB9gbWbfT2bJnjfG_RPCmuasAKrSlDd38nsoBpRD3FHQGyPUHRneMA3EN5QJXmZywRCjUlA9mftISlfa1sthYsLeClCuc/s200/jesse+asia+09+1529.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339367799039901618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The viewpoint from bottle beach</span> - After a few days at the crowded beach, we moved to the most secluded beach the island. The"road" to this beach (and I use that word loosely) has 2 foot trenches on super steep hills, making it difficult to get to. Instead, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">tuk</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">tuk</span> drivers take you to a neighboring beach and from there you get a boat in. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZps3Zd22Z-7LRUNMmRv9nFNaCisAFkjzdJzJ7lUjXNmkMa798T9yfhSxy92y8sDGj1NYF4c1A0JCufNOOvRf41Bg9wr6PAOnLSisnyqdH_KpHdA47n3Y49WoOgMy36dNxoApTPcjL_XA/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1524.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZps3Zd22Z-7LRUNMmRv9nFNaCisAFkjzdJzJ7lUjXNmkMa798T9yfhSxy92y8sDGj1NYF4c1A0JCufNOOvRf41Bg9wr6PAOnLSisnyqdH_KpHdA47n3Y49WoOgMy36dNxoApTPcjL_XA/s200/jesse+asia+09+1524.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339371575117000082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fresh Desert</span> - On the way up to the viewpoint there was a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pineapple</span> field. I brought a few back for desert for the people staying at the bungalow.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aJL8_x7jR9YL-2XhChkpA1miv7DmKMd46EX576UUEcE6SNRh4iq8xjm3sflqxGlNlOh7nkp31Amv5XVEFAZDAi1-SX0d0pn3pJNsFY9D94Oa5PhIkwqo3MoOyonwBAcgjp2y1cU1mF5Y/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1556.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5aJL8_x7jR9YL-2XhChkpA1miv7DmKMd46EX576UUEcE6SNRh4iq8xjm3sflqxGlNlOh7nkp31Amv5XVEFAZDAi1-SX0d0pn3pJNsFY9D94Oa5PhIkwqo3MoOyonwBAcgjp2y1cU1mF5Y/s200/jesse+asia+09+1556.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339367803552448786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hot Entertainment</span> - At the Half moon party, they had Thailand #1 <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">reggae</span> band, Job 2 Do, and lots of fire spinners. Great party.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_pourlF6OJW_EixpL2-qksePhwBLBu_BVodG0aTCD50afDSOD590t7zLvcfMp_yqhcChCaNoJT9VrViFrQmwKkyxQzj3S8WiyHisGKuOjszTaeheZ0PImAbYN5cGdG6rxtsvPbzhUKpq/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1647.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_pourlF6OJW_EixpL2-qksePhwBLBu_BVodG0aTCD50afDSOD590t7zLvcfMp_yqhcChCaNoJT9VrViFrQmwKkyxQzj3S8WiyHisGKuOjszTaeheZ0PImAbYN5cGdG6rxtsvPbzhUKpq/s200/jesse+asia+09+1647.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339367815370150898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The famous full moon party</span> - 20,000 people on the beach. As the sun comes up, there are about 100 passed out people on the sand. Instead of 1 massive sound system like the half moon, every bar on the beach has their own system, so there are 10 different types of music playing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA17kI3LTCHFt4B2sx95lsPQAiyVo_2xjhoIbS2iovBgisgPB1KBTeR7RweurBEXfgyKC8KEYIrh7RNM537JxVF3uRs8akO-QQ1htrsODWYJe6reOsuTvjMAL6CUWk1jiln54th-P_ft4/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1633.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkA17kI3LTCHFt4B2sx95lsPQAiyVo_2xjhoIbS2iovBgisgPB1KBTeR7RweurBEXfgyKC8KEYIrh7RNM537JxVF3uRs8akO-QQ1htrsODWYJe6reOsuTvjMAL6CUWk1jiln54th-P_ft4/s200/jesse+asia+09+1633.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339367807674655522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Diving</span> - Some of the best diving <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Ive</span> ever done at Sail Rock, near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Koh</span> Tau. The coral was incredibly live and vibrant, and we swam into many schools of fish. Also, there is a <a href="http://www.easydivers-thailand.com/images/564/DSC05449.jpg">chimney</a>, or a vertical tunnel, where you enter at 18 meters, and swim up to daylight, and exit at 6 meters. Amazing.Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-87164444697109335492009-05-13T08:00:00.000-07:002009-05-30T22:14:38.667-07:00Shanghai - Hong Kong<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrCAOngpxMyPRsCQmSs3vz1cvQLqhAf8LyRWHeZTALvZt8hHBJq3t8n7oRePoH2YIYc3IfyjHEG_9SfamU6i24EZZk2IGiazKWlONrKZEA3M5pNENzINQNlcBIkrKJJc0CZc7HYOb2FKZ/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1330.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrCAOngpxMyPRsCQmSs3vz1cvQLqhAf8LyRWHeZTALvZt8hHBJq3t8n7oRePoH2YIYc3IfyjHEG_9SfamU6i24EZZk2IGiazKWlONrKZEA3M5pNENzINQNlcBIkrKJJc0CZc7HYOb2FKZ/s200/jesse+asia+09+1330.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339363696532203154" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Parks</span> - Overall, Shanghai is a very livable city. There are all kinds of parks with locals sipping on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">boba</span></span> and playing badminton in the grass. Also, they spend a lot more time designing their parks. I didn't see a flat area for sports and picnics, but zen gardens, ponds with fish and ducks, bamboo forests, etc.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa1BYepSkGBzOew0bhl2bY0ZbP2h6wu_f1788NwU9Wcdj0NM-zlBlHjQrvReQTL-bfYvIx5UImiv1MiUvKPBZLBjciy-m9hqqnM-ZCJL-t7kcyPyI4aJBEwxLGMW7bLKq7c5lTtJrRrCn/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1315.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAa1BYepSkGBzOew0bhl2bY0ZbP2h6wu_f1788NwU9Wcdj0NM-zlBlHjQrvReQTL-bfYvIx5UImiv1MiUvKPBZLBjciy-m9hqqnM-ZCJL-t7kcyPyI4aJBEwxLGMW7bLKq7c5lTtJrRrCn/s200/jesse+asia+09+1315.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339363694510605154" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Above the Clouds</span> -<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Pudong</span></span>, the financial center of Shanghai has the tallest buildings Ive ever seen. I went up to the Cloud 9 bar on the 87<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span></span> floor of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Jinmao</span></span> building (the tallest bar in the world). China is the only country in the world right now that has the ability to keep building. Shanghai is all under construction, every sidewalk is being uprooted. They are giving the whole city a face lift as they prepare for the 2010 World Expo. Like the Olympics, when China has the opportunity to go all out, they do, and they are using this as an opportunity to revamp a city like they did for Beijing with the Olympics.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuLocHD5tYFPKMpWDMlDmFcN-6f5dBxAFXU1c88WU50R1yc6NjDMuysHTdWEEeY7vGuepVxdH2WxOHCtMlGzeAz8tHfjVSankasQC7rt_pTr24f63bCRx1CEHv3LqgFLHz8L-6IU7mGFd/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1273.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuLocHD5tYFPKMpWDMlDmFcN-6f5dBxAFXU1c88WU50R1yc6NjDMuysHTdWEEeY7vGuepVxdH2WxOHCtMlGzeAz8tHfjVSankasQC7rt_pTr24f63bCRx1CEHv3LqgFLHz8L-6IU7mGFd/s200/jesse+asia+09+1273.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339363690255777266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The bar scene</span> is China is quite odd. The whole staff is female while the customers are male. When Andrew and I stopped in for a beer, a guy next to us bought a bottle of Absolute, and poured himself a drink, and one for each of the staff so they would pay attention to him and play dice games. The staff looked bored.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3v9zkyh7HqLPm0hEP5_gqhRIQs_dL_Y2pILTgKM5d2Yt6NlQITiCPmDXXmzT7Gl-Zefy458GBybpTyxx36v9mc_DPqH0O1FMCZ9MDxtHD01NeLJXE0fCikjXfpnD6NLHwKzIl3WGculY/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1348.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3v9zkyh7HqLPm0hEP5_gqhRIQs_dL_Y2pILTgKM5d2Yt6NlQITiCPmDXXmzT7Gl-Zefy458GBybpTyxx36v9mc_DPqH0O1FMCZ9MDxtHD01NeLJXE0fCikjXfpnD6NLHwKzIl3WGculY/s200/jesse+asia+09+1348.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339363700208200290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Buildings as Art</span> - Even the train station in Shanghai is an architectural gem. The architects must have a filed day in <a href="http://www.arcspace.com/architects/koolhaas/chinese_television/OMA.jpg">China</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />From the station, we took an 18 hour train to Hong Kong. Hong Kong, is the most western city in Asia, and is full of fast food chains and expensive western clothing shops. I couldn't believe how commerical it was.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoiM_vK7c6qOZpr2j8EiaS_MkcswDusfvpSCcmFhf4IuUfJiGoEyjhj58nxyCc9XjM5q08eKFrPfKCBxIBZS9ZsjX1ZAZmLkk7c-VxbG1seCQveMwmGhQen8vCZtfvy-YLh0RrmSdY7-d/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1382.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoiM_vK7c6qOZpr2j8EiaS_MkcswDusfvpSCcmFhf4IuUfJiGoEyjhj58nxyCc9XjM5q08eKFrPfKCBxIBZS9ZsjX1ZAZmLkk7c-VxbG1seCQveMwmGhQen8vCZtfvy-YLh0RrmSdY7-d/s200/jesse+asia+09+1382.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339363708249547554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Chungking</span></span> mansions </span>- There are probably over 1000 dingy rooms in this place.This is where we stayed in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Hong</span> Kong. Our room had no windows, and didn't smell too nice. I heard there are live animals living in this building. I would not want to be in this place in case of any natural disaster. This place is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">definitely</span> not up to US fire code, luckily for them, there is no fire code in Asia.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">don't</span> have a picture, but the fountain in the middle of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Hong</span></span> Kong was one of the funniest sites <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">I've</span> ever seen. All the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Persians</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Hong</span></span> Kong came out to have a giant flirt session around this fountain. Everyone looked like they were on their way to an A-list club - leather shoes, designer jeans, too much make up. Except it was 3PM.Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-17948902459586702722009-05-13T07:10:00.000-07:002009-05-30T21:48:27.534-07:00Xian-Pingyao-Beijing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdEbTjGpp10mBIPICH_oWzD-g2PPQnz6aZCIajEogMg_vSy2cFZ44U4Eytgk0oV_iAqUqpxWclXUObkMqXlMGZJ4WrUOxJKW3KlcbJ0WrMgahDhgIaEjhn3uLu58s25-DHnsBsJmpg-cn/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1099.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdEbTjGpp10mBIPICH_oWzD-g2PPQnz6aZCIajEogMg_vSy2cFZ44U4Eytgk0oV_iAqUqpxWclXUObkMqXlMGZJ4WrUOxJKW3KlcbJ0WrMgahDhgIaEjhn3uLu58s25-DHnsBsJmpg-cn/s320/jesse+asia+09+1099.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339357357217888402" border="0" /></a>Terra Cotta - To protect himself in the afterlife, a Chinese emperor built an army of over 7000 terra cotta warriors. To the current world, they were unknown until 30 years ago, when a farmer unearthed them digging a well. Since all the warriors were smashed and burned when Emperor Qin was conquered, they are still restoring the clay army. Its like the worlds biggest game of humpty-dumpty<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikupxKI6v2MaO2ZB8mocC7eAnBFyeQBChS974rSv1ZrnlDYktTAGbntKRYJ9npaYTrDFelhvCV_az8g8XVwbakx2OlFyuP45k8s_F23GMgMlEVNKXef-f_tyy9kvlycTabtJPp55QbbG6Y/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1065.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikupxKI6v2MaO2ZB8mocC7eAnBFyeQBChS974rSv1ZrnlDYktTAGbntKRYJ9npaYTrDFelhvCV_az8g8XVwbakx2OlFyuP45k8s_F23GMgMlEVNKXef-f_tyy9kvlycTabtJPp55QbbG6Y/s320/jesse+asia+09+1065.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339357354207297026" border="0" /></a><br />Hot Springs - For Andrew's bday we<br />stayed at a condo with a hot spring. It was amazing to have our personal 25 foot sulfur bath. When we closed the vents, the room got so steamy you couldn't see across. Louise and I walked around trying looking for a cake for Andrew. We found a cake decorator (with the help of our local guide, a college student who guided us around the city all day to improve her English) who spent an hour decorating our cake. I'd never seen such precision with frosting. It came to $3<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZX2i8yGlYp02sNxHOgyBWWSi6OoWkNIQ1yfk-mbLoI_YFTdjzmB999oEtWvwl0SUDceftSguamh-yM-1HoyR77qT0-59aUQqvQZUcuTLV-3S9YboCS8djYUJwwaQPZwNoR1VJPACMhGh/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1123.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZX2i8yGlYp02sNxHOgyBWWSi6OoWkNIQ1yfk-mbLoI_YFTdjzmB999oEtWvwl0SUDceftSguamh-yM-1HoyR77qT0-59aUQqvQZUcuTLV-3S9YboCS8djYUJwwaQPZwNoR1VJPACMhGh/s320/jesse+asia+09+1123.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339357362960202658" border="0" /></a>City Walls - Andrew and I walked the city walls of Xian, it took us 4 hours. Now the city has sprawled outside the walls, but it was cool to imagine a whole self sustaining city protecting itself from invaders. Pingyao is also a walled city, but much smaller. Xian has high rises inside the walls where Pingyao kept the same architecture from hundreds of years ago<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0pztNcnoQ9W7-_U1D-xX-2lBeYnN7DiyLqyuy7okF-ZyS7NcbLWtNAWLTsE9ghtDVtvJUqA2E6lguxKVPfu34-uoMzBI_n1LxWV8Suwk9C-TtL-cu1ZfnXwI5062ghHQd-S-vcKxxF_w/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1235.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0pztNcnoQ9W7-_U1D-xX-2lBeYnN7DiyLqyuy7okF-ZyS7NcbLWtNAWLTsE9ghtDVtvJUqA2E6lguxKVPfu34-uoMzBI_n1LxWV8Suwk9C-TtL-cu1ZfnXwI5062ghHQd-S-vcKxxF_w/s320/jesse+asia+09+1235.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339357369295246930" border="0" /></a>Great Wall - The size and scope of the great wall is hard to grasp. 4000 miles of wall, wide enough to have 4 horsemen riding side by side. Guarded posts as close as every 500 meters. I guess if anyone had enough manpower to guard the wall, it was China.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kd8ewyWivKXDbBOlGcfJFVLVg3sRpAakhoxNUVZ-QyvJu-goBJCWBS-M53NhVUd0Vsn6wrYMxp8oTY_4uKpX5ip9U5rj4QzD8MJOTqSv8WEm1CZSoG8tt_ZhksMtgOBEHpQW4Dz5f4KH/s1600-h/jesse+asia+09+1128.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kd8ewyWivKXDbBOlGcfJFVLVg3sRpAakhoxNUVZ-QyvJu-goBJCWBS-M53NhVUd0Vsn6wrYMxp8oTY_4uKpX5ip9U5rj4QzD8MJOTqSv8WEm1CZSoG8tt_ZhksMtgOBEHpQW4Dz5f4KH/s320/jesse+asia+09+1128.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339357370823469298" border="0" /></a>Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square- The enormity of these 2 sites is unbelievable. The Forbidden City is over a kilometer wide, lined with gold and the most expensive gems. Its a microcosm of China to see beggars and poor outside these "over the top" palacesJessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-17539495169227584202009-03-26T04:19:00.001-07:002009-04-27T03:49:47.467-07:00China Part1 Nanning-Chengdu<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ex-ZpCzLcN7x2sSr1f1LEZRHw5z2hjBNo4uRVx3yo8tSxWKKC0u9-Mtd7LlQk40kHhUBk_djwsqnypQ2bFKihfaqp59XYR3YwUXdCsztZiROh-9jtXuAZTfo_kTSN_MK6HnxLUJWsfJv/s1600-h/IMG_0982.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317464956506496402" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ex-ZpCzLcN7x2sSr1f1LEZRHw5z2hjBNo4uRVx3yo8tSxWKKC0u9-Mtd7LlQk40kHhUBk_djwsqnypQ2bFKihfaqp59XYR3YwUXdCsztZiROh-9jtXuAZTfo_kTSN_MK6HnxLUJWsfJv/s320/IMG_0982.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div>Compared to Vietnam, China is extremely commericalized, and yes, the whole world agrees that Kobe is the best basketball player in the world. Every city has these giant mega malls, with tons of neon lights.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguU2V_29PMEvKg3LzX8qPSinHYX6kEgRVxCi35vNuvM3-Xw10FasSN8btMH9DFiyv5PP0TW273v4deF2cZ_Ecp1M0K2hNJWmLnhbUi1eiaZDqRPkhhf2fpcL93E0tecXknE6hW8aOrdRC4/s1600-h/IMG_0962.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317464953545547634" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguU2V_29PMEvKg3LzX8qPSinHYX6kEgRVxCi35vNuvM3-Xw10FasSN8btMH9DFiyv5PP0TW273v4deF2cZ_Ecp1M0K2hNJWmLnhbUi1eiaZDqRPkhhf2fpcL93E0tecXknE6hW8aOrdRC4/s320/IMG_0962.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Tea is served at every meal. Also, the Chinese spend whole afternoons at teahouses. The tea house give you loose leaf tea, and a jug of water. The tea leaves lasts for 20 cups of tea, which means that the 1st 5 cups of tea are going to be undrinkably strong<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwO5IR5mouiSH2ih6YvuE955flnHhlXu-16skh6dLpt30Xa4u1nlB3FdKiLIVRmIMsLJO7SkIFG8jiZ8qOaJlmoOzIu8WqN1mAlFs_N0bWfvkNMKu7Fb_UN8K4no3IBKHKZM5EVpJhqoa/s1600-h/IMG_0837.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317464950279862546" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwO5IR5mouiSH2ih6YvuE955flnHhlXu-16skh6dLpt30Xa4u1nlB3FdKiLIVRmIMsLJO7SkIFG8jiZ8qOaJlmoOzIu8WqN1mAlFs_N0bWfvkNMKu7Fb_UN8K4no3IBKHKZM5EVpJhqoa/s320/IMG_0837.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Yes, It is that part of the world<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55QhDKBhp0HKMKTQWZb7FC_IuUu1g-VTGex8nBSndXU3emPwKeI2jq4S6e6fyDy7Inzl4hIPIBy9cBeh4lNSTB7g8_NErIplX2R2dIknGOg4imWdUOWe8tOF0ADXJdB9OGFDD3AUav2_x/s1600-h/IMG_0806.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317464945112553970" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55QhDKBhp0HKMKTQWZb7FC_IuUu1g-VTGex8nBSndXU3emPwKeI2jq4S6e6fyDy7Inzl4hIPIBy9cBeh4lNSTB7g8_NErIplX2R2dIknGOg4imWdUOWe8tOF0ADXJdB9OGFDD3AUav2_x/s320/IMG_0806.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>From Guilin, we went to Yungshou, a small town surrounded in all directions by the karst mountains. Renting a bike and exploring the scenery along the river was relaxing.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWyDK_uvR3mSmOGov4jdFmT1mcoG2pg04id5Y540BKCS6U1_eACZWGNse4Oxj5zenzYiMYgwzC3xg95gF9uwTvNX9cUgOCKnFi7l28x4qxZ15nkiW8F9l6gbdwNFvIO3b2Iei7I69FKTG/s1600-h/IMG_0848.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317463251679736706" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWyDK_uvR3mSmOGov4jdFmT1mcoG2pg04id5Y540BKCS6U1_eACZWGNse4Oxj5zenzYiMYgwzC3xg95gF9uwTvNX9cUgOCKnFi7l28x4qxZ15nkiW8F9l6gbdwNFvIO3b2Iei7I69FKTG/s320/IMG_0848.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><p>At our cooking class, we made garlic eggplant, sweet and sour pork and handrolled beef dumplings. When I get back, don't keep your expectations too high, but I am pretty sure I can make it better than Panda Express. </p><br /><p><br /><br /></p><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyxYNCRr2rS1pHKii9C2jy01DvqS2a7GrFjI7vP-YT8Jm8Vh8dU2If1zmIOFISIkHLXcWTFj2RT-nYoaEpF_Y9pW12dBjla4opioV_wccLhAJKMi6IkI9P0ufec4CT4ZRTAi2SXJQIz17/s1600-h/IMG_0902.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317463242977454242" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyxYNCRr2rS1pHKii9C2jy01DvqS2a7GrFjI7vP-YT8Jm8Vh8dU2If1zmIOFISIkHLXcWTFj2RT-nYoaEpF_Y9pW12dBjla4opioV_wccLhAJKMi6IkI9P0ufec4CT4ZRTAi2SXJQIz17/s320/IMG_0902.JPG" border="0" /></a> We are like celebrities here - It seems like almost daily that we get asked to pose for a picture with a stranger. Also, 5 times a day little kids run up to us and say "Hello, where are you from"<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid47cbqRzgHCA4wFGcWVP8NWF7Gh3JhzEGXAE72opnB7PeVfKi8NqfCB2YZ1lYuyv1n0xt9a9R5SE39Tp-laoEW3eCYLZs19OFo1TvUMQXF_5axoOB2-GSYv05gs8Nk9xWEjidYS68dgpD/s1600-h/IMG_1009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317463238706604210" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid47cbqRzgHCA4wFGcWVP8NWF7Gh3JhzEGXAE72opnB7PeVfKi8NqfCB2YZ1lYuyv1n0xt9a9R5SE39Tp-laoEW3eCYLZs19OFo1TvUMQXF_5axoOB2-GSYv05gs8Nk9xWEjidYS68dgpD/s320/IMG_1009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>People say that temples are the same as cathedrals, once you've seen one, you've seen all of them. However, I have found temples much more relaxing. Temples have people meditating in the gardens or relaxing by the pond.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ovvw0naMx2h-72OzU7FkDbVxOqj0n2z1meUa5dEDqmlQJkWNS2ibNrj4RCYV872-ygnrGDRP6ihjp5-vESwonONrREonS_THq700qpxUXdvGSvkcPrEY78J9_ebpBa1iYhunENS-uvhZ/s1600-h/IMG_1055.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317461453028382466" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ovvw0naMx2h-72OzU7FkDbVxOqj0n2z1meUa5dEDqmlQJkWNS2ibNrj4RCYV872-ygnrGDRP6ihjp5-vESwonONrREonS_THq700qpxUXdvGSvkcPrEY78J9_ebpBa1iYhunENS-uvhZ/s320/IMG_1055.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>At the panda center in Chengdu, we saw red pandas and adult pandas at feeding time. I tried ripping through bamboo with my hands and it didn't work out to well for me. Those pandas have quite strong claws.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqOIPvpobJYeC_wJnAIsQmhST27dssMVMUorbGOpL1ixB9NqB1c7xB1nApU1YUarKV03lIVa_mNH3QKA9QlctgJDuXUBOOGQ9Faba-Y5MNEv_RNDeC7tBt3vHTt0dIbAAi72Mla-WngJ0/s1600-h/IMG_1059.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317461460759937058" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmqOIPvpobJYeC_wJnAIsQmhST27dssMVMUorbGOpL1ixB9NqB1c7xB1nApU1YUarKV03lIVa_mNH3QKA9QlctgJDuXUBOOGQ9Faba-Y5MNEv_RNDeC7tBt3vHTt0dIbAAi72Mla-WngJ0/s320/IMG_1059.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Everything is fake here - Some of the Swooshes on logos are laughable. Most Adidas or Nike clothing also has the brand of the company that manufatured it. This guy conned us into stayed at his hostel in Yungshou by telling us it was "HI" (or "hosteling international"). They even made a fake HI placard.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><div></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gdnv-KgU1pz17Ry8VOkLESJEocsH2Iiv4LRux828g1Q12PjzdFFu-WOIl3zwxGXiNKU5p1nSmbuLSN5jFD1t6u0x48TTncv82i75J3ivu45FrX_8JCPrtTjJND02doW98m8vEA9l9GO3/s1600-h/IMG_1058.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317461452655780818" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Gdnv-KgU1pz17Ry8VOkLESJEocsH2Iiv4LRux828g1Q12PjzdFFu-WOIl3zwxGXiNKU5p1nSmbuLSN5jFD1t6u0x48TTncv82i75J3ivu45FrX_8JCPrtTjJND02doW98m8vEA9l9GO3/s320/IMG_1058.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />This is the result of traditional chinese medicine- After putting cups on your back, they light them on fire to create a vacuum. They basically pull the underlying tissue up to try to get rid of all the toxins. I look like I have been bean bag gun shooting practice.<br /><br /></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-90060982516111115412009-03-24T08:24:00.000-07:002009-03-26T04:18:12.945-07:00Hanoi-Halong Bay-Sapa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_4kfAExGJqKyIR535MfSqSQAZfeq-Xf4pxf493g8T5-rgJpJxZVOCQ2h8SyjcHRxP9rp6LXLAwVSu0RCDE-oM8M9I9WEUDo2x0pPz4Zzleweb1XPcWKWCW6sjpLLbBv0puPqbqAtjYa8/s1600-h/IMG_0546.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_4kfAExGJqKyIR535MfSqSQAZfeq-Xf4pxf493g8T5-rgJpJxZVOCQ2h8SyjcHRxP9rp6LXLAwVSu0RCDE-oM8M9I9WEUDo2x0pPz4Zzleweb1XPcWKWCW6sjpLLbBv0puPqbqAtjYa8/s320/IMG_0546.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316790228396112370" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Snake Village </span>- When we got to Hanoi, we met up with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Jaycie</span> and spent an afternoon at Snake Village. They took a live snake, slit its throat, and put a still beating snake heart in a shot glass, which we got to eat.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZShsJbO7blHm28Re0sqh7R4ATK3ro-kN5NB2GxVjClJCoKiRmxOBRHOV-hDN1P1EMeG_oqj0lAJJI2jFjd9xa-zU2KBysuHpWLE_mTCCeiQ3BP2u02H2kzn9H4rz3c36jcqt4sqpv530/s1600-h/IMG_0555.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZShsJbO7blHm28Re0sqh7R4ATK3ro-kN5NB2GxVjClJCoKiRmxOBRHOV-hDN1P1EMeG_oqj0lAJJI2jFjd9xa-zU2KBysuHpWLE_mTCCeiQ3BP2u02H2kzn9H4rz3c36jcqt4sqpv530/s320/IMG_0555.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316788829096355122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then they turned the snake into a 6 course meal, and gave us unlimited snake wine<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbSxhXhqTU9g6_O6DfbG3CELFEUCFfxChmy9Lqnsz-4zxn1BXu7blRAvqLK1t_dM9O6a9G2Cp5KAyPkWXt2JQ4Ou7EECdJPrGQxCXC-QNrd3jy-bb8rCdB9hlC42GhQID4FYtD7AJDWbj/s1600-h/IMG_0574.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbSxhXhqTU9g6_O6DfbG3CELFEUCFfxChmy9Lqnsz-4zxn1BXu7blRAvqLK1t_dM9O6a9G2Cp5KAyPkWXt2JQ4Ou7EECdJPrGQxCXC-QNrd3jy-bb8rCdB9hlC42GhQID4FYtD7AJDWbj/s320/IMG_0574.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316788827799232882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Uncle Ho Forever - </span>Like the Pope, the Vietnamese have embalmed Ho Chi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Minh's</span> body and put it on display for everyone to see. (No cameras were allowed)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcS5xFec8XD4OnKtTNEGOywe3QAdDH_Mmkri3TdcPOF5ImpH5IXHNWDiK4NXD52LAe2hZ1uDx9YQZBo448G7QQThhoeg_1Ri_n_JFSerPFdnsnoOLjQRuOA8omII7sorsu37MTmQv6iD8L/s1600-h/IMG_0591.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcS5xFec8XD4OnKtTNEGOywe3QAdDH_Mmkri3TdcPOF5ImpH5IXHNWDiK4NXD52LAe2hZ1uDx9YQZBo448G7QQThhoeg_1Ri_n_JFSerPFdnsnoOLjQRuOA8omII7sorsu37MTmQv6iD8L/s320/IMG_0591.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316786665466594050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">A foggy dream</span> – Ha Long Bay has 2000 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">karst</span> islands darting through the bay surface, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">surreally</span> masked by the intense fog. It was unlike anything else I had <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">experienced</span>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDNP_UD6M5nvIDQt0M9X_1RFQxjCiJkGZVxMTYd8l5b4lym8IvTDlb-Yum32gaDEVx6cNyFVRQ1AivLj_6yXEE6moXg-L7RTvypct8oMT6MK63O-Kf2Q4d6clpeoMZQHT375eBRAiLPzJ/s1600-h/IMG_0605.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDNP_UD6M5nvIDQt0M9X_1RFQxjCiJkGZVxMTYd8l5b4lym8IvTDlb-Yum32gaDEVx6cNyFVRQ1AivLj_6yXEE6moXg-L7RTvypct8oMT6MK63O-Kf2Q4d6clpeoMZQHT375eBRAiLPzJ/s320/IMG_0605.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316787944434477298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The water was quite cold but kayaking around the islands was a highlight. We stopped to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">spelunk</span> at an island with a cave. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Jaycie</span> and I stayed an extra day because we didn't want to leave this unreal place. On our extra day we had a hike with the unbelievably lush plant growth. We heard monkeys but could not see them. At the top of our hike, there was a rickety water tower about 100 feet high. Every step that everyone took shook the tower. Also, the last step was missing so we had to jump over a gap to get onto the top platform. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Definitely</span> not built to US quality control standards.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15nDa11dlGXRa-RychBFok5-VrO8s5I8VX2_CEmU9f8caS2w-i5Gnz-SR9cK7DNP8Yla4VsP2ggclyrPjw3hWSMo8XEGrECLa9xf1SP7kNDvDYGxAV7UxyYFk9sW-2juhj_OdHNwUnp_5/s1600-h/IMG_0642.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15nDa11dlGXRa-RychBFok5-VrO8s5I8VX2_CEmU9f8caS2w-i5Gnz-SR9cK7DNP8Yla4VsP2ggclyrPjw3hWSMo8XEGrECLa9xf1SP7kNDvDYGxAV7UxyYFk9sW-2juhj_OdHNwUnp_5/s320/IMG_0642.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316786655172931506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eastern "Medicine"</span> - Our guide bought this bottle for his father. Inside are 6 fermenting geckos and 4 fermenting sea horses. Apparently this drink is "very good for old man" "Makes him <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">sooo</span> strong"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyYH68X-rdZJP_hcS0owEmtr-D-uo4IN7ap_kJPlmMMaXqikak79v-lZgACO6V8k44v3skLyFe1CnICIvYfGv6mQxUgg7ZXHrw8qvP56cHV62cwuiLNRIKM61L5xWEoPjARaQDnLcVWVK/s1600-h/IMG_0763.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidyYH68X-rdZJP_hcS0owEmtr-D-uo4IN7ap_kJPlmMMaXqikak79v-lZgACO6V8k44v3skLyFe1CnICIvYfGv6mQxUgg7ZXHrw8qvP56cHV62cwuiLNRIKM61L5xWEoPjARaQDnLcVWVK/s320/IMG_0763.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316784470852328866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">So how do I drive this thing?</span> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Jaycie</span> and I rented a motorcycle for a few days to explore the small villages in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Sapa</span>, the jungle region. The road to the villages was carved into the side of a steep mountain, with gigantic drops (and breathtaking views of endless rice <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">paddies</span>) - not the best place to learn how to ride a bike. Just as I was getting a feeling as to how to handle the bike, a stream interrupted the road. I stopped about 20 feet before the start of the stream, which I could see was 6-8 inches deep, and rocky. There was no easy way around the water so I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">cautiously</span> eased in, with no momentum. As we hit the deep part of the stream my front tire hit a rock and we felt our bike tipping over to the right. I hit the gas as hard as I could and my front tire lifted out of the water. As we came out the other side, I sent <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Jaycie</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">air born</span>. He <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">miraculously</span> landed in his seat, and I sorted the steering out. Needless to say, we both started screaming in elation. When the driver of the bike is screaming <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">expletives</span>, its not so fun to be the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">passenger</span>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXsjTkfUJxdmoHx1OUhSZcS9D-Dh7EkmtowNBw8KiYhVI9gUTjoogiD_mcsbWw_nQFAU1EAwKgSIWy19R8WhhFrOCy76CRV5FjkOXQ7H66siXls9Eufx1T4wOKGbfVGaLg3XlgAjiN1uD/s1600-h/IMG_0702.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXsjTkfUJxdmoHx1OUhSZcS9D-Dh7EkmtowNBw8KiYhVI9gUTjoogiD_mcsbWw_nQFAU1EAwKgSIWy19R8WhhFrOCy76CRV5FjkOXQ7H66siXls9Eufx1T4wOKGbfVGaLg3XlgAjiN1uD/s320/IMG_0702.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316790240603283090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Not as scary as they look</span> - Water buffalo have big horns. Which made me a bit wary about getting too close. But later I was little village kids riding them like horses. I did muster up the courage to pet one walking in the middle of the road. However, I was prepared to set my personal record in the 40 yard dash<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NtjICHbkA23lsoPIC0VdC7rfBsZOSIPwRBxilOIgitL2rknJcTEr35DdlYyAyraVwB8PZURVBFHy7o5nAMLoQ5EcDlYbBETdy12zJ9i-f_XNZvhBDZocMF5hpBxYzEImUZkXCkzh16xo/s1600-h/IMG_0728.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NtjICHbkA23lsoPIC0VdC7rfBsZOSIPwRBxilOIgitL2rknJcTEr35DdlYyAyraVwB8PZURVBFHy7o5nAMLoQ5EcDlYbBETdy12zJ9i-f_XNZvhBDZocMF5hpBxYzEImUZkXCkzh16xo/s320/IMG_0728.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316784475262949554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ban Ho Minority Village <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Homestay</span></span> – After a few hours of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">cliffside</span> riding, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Jaycie</span> and I spent a night at a local village. Everyone was really nice, and family that we stayed with spoke English and wanted to know more about California.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYIwiZudCOCA6GSH3eUxH_4Js9vh9OpS65eHLQvNf8Y2aQtKbZefgp-8Q0vHXlKTDS8I9W1uoCF5Ov9R7W2XSC9PWd-cFi4OUp9zoL7D7TcutdjVxV28Y7OzRZy8BA2w_UXNM75rX-hfB/s1600-h/IMG_0772.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYIwiZudCOCA6GSH3eUxH_4Js9vh9OpS65eHLQvNf8Y2aQtKbZefgp-8Q0vHXlKTDS8I9W1uoCF5Ov9R7W2XSC9PWd-cFi4OUp9zoL7D7TcutdjVxV28Y7OzRZy8BA2w_UXNM75rX-hfB/s320/IMG_0772.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316781848843637266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The calming sounds of a nose flute - </span> On our train back from the jungle region, this guy sat next to us, played Beethoven's 9<sup><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">th</span></sup> Symphony with a wooden flute through his nose. For our 11 hour bus ride we bought the $4 hard seat tickets that mainly the locals ride. They never sell out of train seats. If all the seats fill up, they start selling B-tickets. Ticket 22B means you have to stand or sit on the grimy floor near seat 22. <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgHVvuUGXkem68M2W9aVhIKCrF6gb_GSbfJroNTFGx6LrZlZoBCKH8Yjiax8cPPu8FyY_MsoSK7i3e3xRUNfkH30KvmP3S2-wlzPK1lKIq5WXNMGa3czbKNJPix5Guxtq9TI-_qp0wUg6/s1600-h/IMG_0663%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgHVvuUGXkem68M2W9aVhIKCrF6gb_GSbfJroNTFGx6LrZlZoBCKH8Yjiax8cPPu8FyY_MsoSK7i3e3xRUNfkH30KvmP3S2-wlzPK1lKIq5WXNMGa3czbKNJPix5Guxtq9TI-_qp0wUg6/s320/IMG_0663%5B1%5D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317441412919081730" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other crazy things <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">I've</span> seen on a bike</span> – over 1,000 bananas, a pony, 30 chicken in 2 crates, a family of 5, 14 20-liter (about 5 gallons) bottles of water.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewyuwimMBxqyLvRqOsTHb5LoNgr6O6ajUp0WcP1Sa0p5Jwopc7cPizwbL5NrjOHz3kmC55AYW7NyQH5DKUIwTQYV3GOo4s1Vv_jt-nj9aW4HbVqyeRKNJki2RlhhDspFjEMBXQxV2EKyU/s1600-h/IMG_0678%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewyuwimMBxqyLvRqOsTHb5LoNgr6O6ajUp0WcP1Sa0p5Jwopc7cPizwbL5NrjOHz3kmC55AYW7NyQH5DKUIwTQYV3GOo4s1Vv_jt-nj9aW4HbVqyeRKNJki2RlhhDspFjEMBXQxV2EKyU/s320/IMG_0678%5B1%5D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317448517025408178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Girl Possessed</span> - This girl followed me around for 10 solid minutes trying to get me to buy a hand woven cell phone holder/purse. I didn't have money on me but I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">couldn't</span> translate that to her. And I couldn't outrun <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">outmaneuver</span> her on the rocky muddy trail. I had to use <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Jaycie</span> as a human shield, until she got distracted by another tourist. Serious <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">persistence</span>!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Obva4kjdG5fLQUMk7oGuUuW0jUqIH5AqoODYKlPf9Rx7DsDG_A3mElhMCBsm1uMo8NP53u6X8sPNPaP_3QX3O695R1jcr8mmS5PzELdYdLX5GjEj_G6L_FTt9uEh5ugGwAzHSxmH6tNg/s1600-h/IMG_0043%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Obva4kjdG5fLQUMk7oGuUuW0jUqIH5AqoODYKlPf9Rx7DsDG_A3mElhMCBsm1uMo8NP53u6X8sPNPaP_3QX3O695R1jcr8mmS5PzELdYdLX5GjEj_G6L_FTt9uEh5ugGwAzHSxmH6tNg/s320/IMG_0043%5B1%5D.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317448507111081554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Matching Ladies</span> – There are a ton of fabric stores around here. I only presume that every lady pics out a pattern and says “tailor me a matching jump suit”Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-91050895967603807052009-03-23T07:23:00.000-07:002009-03-24T08:21:06.834-07:00Nha Trang-Hoi An<span style="font-style: italic;">Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to but this blog up. I wrote it about 2 weeks ago, but I have not had the time to upload the pics and finalize it. </span><br /><div> </div><div> </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBTdMsCqzKxl_VYdPHE52g_d3IHdH2HI1z_eWjxPqy_BLhFco3mnHfLuqzfgnCvpbzbXjzQXcGu9af5l-IfZfU_TTuObkJ5QYLHHGQtz8l8Teq1Bw9SMPn_FfNpdmGm5h8LVmaiQkwmY5/s1600-h/IMG_0267.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316763052525181922" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBTdMsCqzKxl_VYdPHE52g_d3IHdH2HI1z_eWjxPqy_BLhFco3mnHfLuqzfgnCvpbzbXjzQXcGu9af5l-IfZfU_TTuObkJ5QYLHHGQtz8l8Teq1Bw9SMPn_FfNpdmGm5h8LVmaiQkwmY5/s320/IMG_0267.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Boat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cruisin</span>'</strong> - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Nha</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Trang</span> was big backpacker destination. One of the main draws is a day long cruise to 4 islands with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">snorkeling</span>, a nice beach and a Vietnamese feast. I went on the cruise with Sarah, the English girl we traveled with through 3 cities, and met quite a few other <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">backpackers</span>. When we went out to a bar at night with the people I met on the day cruise, I ran into a few Aussies I met in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Mui</span> Ne. Somewhere between walking drunk people back to their guest houses between 4 and 5 AM, I decided to set my alarm for 8AM and join the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Aussies</span> as they were doing the cruise the next day. 2 days of boat cruising made me pretty tired.<br /><br />It was nice how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Nha</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Trang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">accommodated</span> Westerners, but there were all kinds of people out to get your money. A bar worker took a full drink off our table, and made us buy another drink. When we begrudgingly did this, they tried to keep our change. Also, there was a band of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">pickpockets</span> that the police looked the other way about. The further north we got, the more crime there seemed to be.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXU54I4HAt0dxj7xiD_xyeQEQndOCNZqe2Y0em7Mio6tImUi1WT-8bsSCkkgRI9OaPSWl6rSDy0QbIHcdK329IL5T7UdaTLGWLQisDKjV34TzqS0xuFFV-cB5rJhI26VkXvVrIcUJfA-xs/s1600-h/IMG_0496.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXU54I4HAt0dxj7xiD_xyeQEQndOCNZqe2Y0em7Mio6tImUi1WT-8bsSCkkgRI9OaPSWl6rSDy0QbIHcdK329IL5T7UdaTLGWLQisDKjV34TzqS0xuFFV-cB5rJhI26VkXvVrIcUJfA-xs/s320/IMG_0496.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316770885252250802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Easy Riders</strong>– From <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Nha</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Trang</span>, Andrew and I took a 3 day motorcycle tour through the central highlands. One of our guides was an ex-South Vietnamese soldier in the US-Vietnam war. He had an amazing life story. After the south lost the war, he was sent up to the north for 4 years of “re-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">education</span>” camp to learn how to be a good communist. Afterwards he took his family on a tiny canoe, and tried to escape Vietnam. He got caught and was “re-educated” for another 4 years. He had a very different view of the US war effort. He thought that we were in there for the right reason, we were just hesitant and unorganized. He thinks that if the war had been popular back at home, history would be written differently.<br /><br />All the pics except for the last 2 were on our easy rider tour:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmvMM2pbjIVH9iHMTqa_21oru3M7-xldSQ9VyVd229YdXw-KWTELwHx92bfFYbv0xRkLw2MwSh5OWkQiFTYrllj-qpcfK_ThTemOc84lYymZG0jXZbhDgv11Zo7bfPibv4K4WMoNcG5OW/s1600-h/IMG_0506.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316614195321174370" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTmvMM2pbjIVH9iHMTqa_21oru3M7-xldSQ9VyVd229YdXw-KWTELwHx92bfFYbv0xRkLw2MwSh5OWkQiFTYrllj-qpcfK_ThTemOc84lYymZG0jXZbhDgv11Zo7bfPibv4K4WMoNcG5OW/s320/IMG_0506.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>The real back country</strong> -Some of the views on the passes were incredible. This ride really changed my view of Vietnam. There is so much untouched land. It was dry season, so there weren't as many swampy areas as I thought. Also, the government has spent a lot of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">resources</span> replanting trees since 1975 because whole groves have been wiped out with Napalm<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2J_3uDvpQhK1goorESOSiMSnpo8iYXsFdMCoP2xhlV1UJ-nLVXGPZ28I_ROc3WTi6xLAeW3z2ZUdqHYnkPizNWNcax3jYR5_sPSj1R3uXz7U5Md6pDbgkvUIUZ49mMjnHx6bx6oUR_C5/s1600-h/IMG_0310.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316393975802871810" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF2J_3uDvpQhK1goorESOSiMSnpo8iYXsFdMCoP2xhlV1UJ-nLVXGPZ28I_ROc3WTi6xLAeW3z2ZUdqHYnkPizNWNcax3jYR5_sPSj1R3uXz7U5Md6pDbgkvUIUZ49mMjnHx6bx6oUR_C5/s320/IMG_0310.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Hook and Line</strong> -For the amount of resources given to them, the Vietnamese are extremely clever. In America everything that can be automated is. In Vietnam, labor and cost of living are so cheap, many more things are done by hand. Also, they don't have the infrastructure to handle or create the mass production that we have in the states. Boats go out for up to 45 days at a time, but they do not have <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">refrigeration</span>. Instead, they load the boats up with 2000 pounds of ice to keep the catch cold until they get back to land. Obviously, the boats that go out for a month are on the left of the pic, not the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsVIwZOl1g0Kg340PIrzlFsXJ1C3BOA91GLvXcjpo2vabwWYvanDiFGBOrYKdW4uBGn8zmnYfGZZUxVDgbi7_zn2i5PcFr3NPuddI07kH9SdeT-01A47j4HnHEsicIWmxbmeb3WxCYc9Z/s1600-h/IMG_0462.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316614188062645538" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsVIwZOl1g0Kg340PIrzlFsXJ1C3BOA91GLvXcjpo2vabwWYvanDiFGBOrYKdW4uBGn8zmnYfGZZUxVDgbi7_zn2i5PcFr3NPuddI07kH9SdeT-01A47j4HnHEsicIWmxbmeb3WxCYc9Z/s320/IMG_0462.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Buddha</strong> – Our guide told us this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Buddha</span> was smiling because he was bathing in the river and he saw a beautiful girl on the other side of the river so he cut off his “snake” and threw it at her. It fell in the water and now he has 7 mermaid kids. He could then spend the rest of his life being <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">celibate</span> and have less distractions as he searched for answers.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZqZgtFZWHNIaTqNnvsp7DghQ70P0bO7yHlGFkL6uv4xMvHxJzzpiHvFIJ0dS_DyLrGseHk6FTE_OkS4t6ujzBL1kYX34DZnK4548Zu2TY1Ni8aX7_RelCVfy00XjcgDjJ-d_Lt0biUpb/s1600-h/IMG_0434.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316614178499492114" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZqZgtFZWHNIaTqNnvsp7DghQ70P0bO7yHlGFkL6uv4xMvHxJzzpiHvFIJ0dS_DyLrGseHk6FTE_OkS4t6ujzBL1kYX34DZnK4548Zu2TY1Ni8aX7_RelCVfy00XjcgDjJ-d_Lt0biUpb/s320/IMG_0434.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>It was only a 50 foot drop</strong>- This bridge was made out of bamboo and rope. Some planks were missing. It swayed in all direction as we crossed it. It seemed like I could build something like this in my back yard.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DJt8SQYs0wu-6qSUwKdQvBN19ufXHJsXy-ZTuIzw3UqihETzB4NKLt__C_RvWZAV9RJ3VKGvLkvMbs921oU40dVsJ8WI6oWWeeuYUBqv5UNIGDm51PD72l9iJe2toyKlmWWvgt2oTALV/s1600-h/IMG_0395.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316612065582763634" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DJt8SQYs0wu-6qSUwKdQvBN19ufXHJsXy-ZTuIzw3UqihETzB4NKLt__C_RvWZAV9RJ3VKGvLkvMbs921oU40dVsJ8WI6oWWeeuYUBqv5UNIGDm51PD72l9iJe2toyKlmWWvgt2oTALV/s320/IMG_0395.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Minority Village</strong> – The minority villages in Vietnam were treated similar to the Native Americans in the states. they were put on a land with very little help from the government. The houses were built in this fashion so tigers couldn't come into the houses. Instead the tiger would steal a (more easily replaceable) chicken or boar and head back into the jungle.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_3d_sKiVrt5FXnS3VOoH32l6HZsEtx82NiJOUQVVcoc5oAc2xL7wg-ihmHiMVdLT9RIEwnnvG2nRL3Rd4qDO02Te94_6IqHDUJd8tXXWt9xvLQYt4TxDyxoNNrAX5CD71wM1U7gk_pXX/s1600-h/IMG_0423.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316614174752015410" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA_3d_sKiVrt5FXnS3VOoH32l6HZsEtx82NiJOUQVVcoc5oAc2xL7wg-ihmHiMVdLT9RIEwnnvG2nRL3Rd4qDO02Te94_6IqHDUJd8tXXWt9xvLQYt4TxDyxoNNrAX5CD71wM1U7gk_pXX/s320/IMG_0423.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>The scariest thing since passing semi-trucks on windy roads on motorcycles a few hours before -</strong> Andrew and I also did an elephant ride in the village. At this point our toes were in the water as the elephant crossed the deep part of the lake. We both thought our cameras were toast as the elephant stumbled on the lake floor. Elephants are such prehistoric creatures.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWi8TnikrJU4KvD1_Q673Ki0D5vjelmeoTTwVJxr9jxj8_W6euB_ilwd7s5z_6OE_7J8yp328nUuO3ZuSzrqjpjxiHGVXHTgb3GeIFUSLlx00SwrA9C4kZJxB8KHvGRv2pgRgzLrEKGfv/s1600-h/IMG_0409.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316612069416668290" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrWi8TnikrJU4KvD1_Q673Ki0D5vjelmeoTTwVJxr9jxj8_W6euB_ilwd7s5z_6OE_7J8yp328nUuO3ZuSzrqjpjxiHGVXHTgb3GeIFUSLlx00SwrA9C4kZJxB8KHvGRv2pgRgzLrEKGfv/s320/IMG_0409.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYUSatzJmb-NpSAi21NYJ_GCGoNptqH0JjLKS6geXuyIKVxjiL4lGTkhtlRPI_U5T3HIA9mBVA4yETJKz3sDQeFc1sDawesaGi22kl3sPqQfuXYV_odJPq0g9oNGnKCt6XkNYW2480S-J/s1600-h/IMG_0384.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316612057518949234" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYUSatzJmb-NpSAi21NYJ_GCGoNptqH0JjLKS6geXuyIKVxjiL4lGTkhtlRPI_U5T3HIA9mBVA4yETJKz3sDQeFc1sDawesaGi22kl3sPqQfuXYV_odJPq0g9oNGnKCt6XkNYW2480S-J/s320/IMG_0384.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>I almost got a fang shaped memory of this trip</strong>– One of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">guide's</span> friends owned a python, so we stopped by. After I took this picture, I took a closeup of the snake's face. I left the flash on and the snake lunged at me and tried to sink it's teeth into my arm. I don't like snakes much. I also assume Andrew was a little freaked out with an angry snake on him.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRWdy6nzCSziZgAVUv3Px6X5QkPxEX0Lo21g3ii91oku9BewKJRmDfNmDeoj3UjA-h0AmHBrFbrJwOT3y94wAFfoK0rQc0jW3BVVxmXTyFfxvFwqFRU-Q771wCIZicHfZVYHH49OZsN1s/s1600-h/IMG_0261.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRWdy6nzCSziZgAVUv3Px6X5QkPxEX0Lo21g3ii91oku9BewKJRmDfNmDeoj3UjA-h0AmHBrFbrJwOT3y94wAFfoK0rQc0jW3BVVxmXTyFfxvFwqFRU-Q771wCIZicHfZVYHH49OZsN1s/s320/IMG_0261.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316770110634827458" border="0" /></a><br /><em></em><span style="font-weight: bold;"><em>Guess what they were out of that day?</em></span><em> - Instead we ordered Hedgehog. Other things I have eaten/been offered: snake heart, bat on a stick*, cubed chicken**, sea urchin soup</em><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><em>*They killed a bat, ripped off its wings, and put it on a skewer, skin and all. </em></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><em>** We thought that they were going to cube the meat, but they cubed the bird. We got a beak, neck slices, 2 feet, and who knows what else. </em></p><em><br /><br /><br /></em><div><em><br /></em></div><div></div><div><em>After the easy riders, we went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Hoi</span> An. The touristy part is about a 1km x 1km, and there are over 200 custom tailored suit shops. For cheap, I got 2 nice suits. As long as I don't put on 20 pounds, they will still fit. </em></div></div></div>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-80062488515768077902009-02-20T20:14:00.000-08:002009-02-20T23:09:18.262-08:00Ho Chi Minh/Mui Ne<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCE5jLRVNmS3AgvbkxAG2gDoFTtxw96EuCbvEZY-JeGqsM-N-usgFpuk0YzNPneH7XQ5SbjvMWh3ueH4wIF-yMUn-CqDm2anwY_aFm6revt4Y55UpYuBB0pCZuWKRHT8-UDpm-VXA-Eif/s1600-h/IMG_0006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirCE5jLRVNmS3AgvbkxAG2gDoFTtxw96EuCbvEZY-JeGqsM-N-usgFpuk0YzNPneH7XQ5SbjvMWh3ueH4wIF-yMUn-CqDm2anwY_aFm6revt4Y55UpYuBB0pCZuWKRHT8-UDpm-VXA-Eif/s320/IMG_0006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305110346950230754" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Greetings everyone,</span> welcome to my blog. Loads of people have asked me to update my status online. I choose this method because it allows me to embed pics and videos with text. I have read hundreds of travel update over the past few years, and I can't truly get a feel for the trip unless there is some type of visual. (I apologize for offending any of you who have sent me text only updates over the years) Also, I am going to try to spare you the major details of all the minor discomforts that I face. As a backpacker, you must expect long delays and problems - but that is half the fun. I am sure that you could care so little about the story where my ipod ran out of batteries on my 8 hour bus ride. Instead, I will fill this blog with rumination about cultural differences, and anecdotes that shed a light on my mental and physical situation. With that enjoy and feel free to write back.</span></span>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjoU07nFOTaOdnlBXZO8rUqd5pLESLJJnGlhk7qCYDIyAqktS9GqG_BrG4hGOv6Hj5e89bqCBNB7raAU6znMH1p5a7vIYMDq5po9-UWwCqvcT5UPizUA7QyzUcYgH-tJEhATDQtBDUAqZ/s1600-h/IMG_0045.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjoU07nFOTaOdnlBXZO8rUqd5pLESLJJnGlhk7qCYDIyAqktS9GqG_BrG4hGOv6Hj5e89bqCBNB7raAU6znMH1p5a7vIYMDq5po9-UWwCqvcT5UPizUA7QyzUcYgH-tJEhATDQtBDUAqZ/s320/IMG_0045.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305110351384892946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">There is a certain charm to this place</span> - Between getting approached by vendors every minute and the hustle and bustle of the city, Ho Chi Minh has a very harmonious feel. There is no road rage, no visible crime, and everyone has a smile on their face. Everyone feels they represent Vietnam.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGm10pZmyc2gqQYDddl0Tx1rOdQ_eiHbdW8mgMQ9941HFZLmFYbIylYYovHMa8UKPCVkAAUKT6oy7PcQctHXEJKfGWNBUkm2pMpaSr5sN2FGtTj6dAMC4xOjbpSNObhJUE082fLcX3uML/s1600-h/DSCF1422.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGm10pZmyc2gqQYDddl0Tx1rOdQ_eiHbdW8mgMQ9941HFZLmFYbIylYYovHMa8UKPCVkAAUKT6oy7PcQctHXEJKfGWNBUkm2pMpaSr5sN2FGtTj6dAMC4xOjbpSNObhJUE082fLcX3uML/s320/DSCF1422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305106494443530914" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">I do the slow walk</span> - Ho Chi Minh City has about 6.6 million people. Crossing the street is a daunting task because mopeds don't follow street signs. The trick is to cross the street at a slow yet steady pace, and the mopeds will avoid you. I almost got ran over(about 4 times) by a family of 4 on a moped. Its in between a real life game of frogger and Neo from The Matrix.
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<br />The bottom picture is the main backpacker street, as you can see there is a lot going on - and never a quiet moment
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikF45lNqAGGyGXDXTnqjN_c2qYWP7WoQh_sA7dNrURo9jWKnNdYmlm29SAOfLRcbP3QXhGyQPNY2cYRYOd1je6wgsBwbrqYhIURVYZETrLdJ_cRgOoDFduJG2k_49_uzojHufjwDjjagAc/s1600-h/IMG_0042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikF45lNqAGGyGXDXTnqjN_c2qYWP7WoQh_sA7dNrURo9jWKnNdYmlm29SAOfLRcbP3QXhGyQPNY2cYRYOd1je6wgsBwbrqYhIURVYZETrLdJ_cRgOoDFduJG2k_49_uzojHufjwDjjagAc/s320/IMG_0042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305113800036159570" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hungry?</span> - Ben Tranh Market is the huge open air market in Ho Chi Minh. Everything is supercheap. I heard that the locals get insulted if you don't try to bargain with them. A guy at our hostel bought a dress shirt for $1.25.
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<br />This lady sold some type of heart, brain, liver, intestines, and eyeballs. Tasty!
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<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I held 1 million dong in my hand today</span> - Lance Bass, don't get too excited. And no, mom and dad, I did not get kidnapped by the Vietnamese gay bandits. The dong is the undervalued currency in Vietnam. 1 dollar will get you close to 20,000 dong, It only takes about $57 to be a million-dong-aire. Paying 15000 of anything seems like a lot for a rice and beef plate off a street vendor, until I realized I paid 85 cents. A 3 night stay at the hostel cost me an outrageous 158,000 dong, or $9 .</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Grounded</span> - One of the first things I noticed in Asia is how close everyone sits to the ground. Most of the backpackers prepartied at either “the red chair place” or “the blue chair place” I am quite certain I sat on bigger red and blue chairs in kindergarten. Some of the street vendors sit on stools no more than 3 inches high. These stools would be unusable for 99% of the American population over 8 years old.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Once we got over how small the chairs are, the red and blue chair bars were quite nice. They jam as many people into a 15'x15' area, often spilling into the street. The proximity makes it easier to break the ice with with people sitting next to you – you are more or less touching knees with people on either side of you. Also, a jug (about a pitcher) of freshly brewed local beer is 11,000 dong, about 65 cents.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnAoXwxYoI9HrjqGynHTXtXuVMEEBuaBvRQfhMfP5hIXR3SLyYQ8Wsg-dXNbzQhp2_hneusB7ulLgo28ae6WS2rKFIVe3kNahGeGw9ayigSRrxPBNc-dUyi_NbokheWi-Xzhrdsij35gh/s1600-h/IMG_0025.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnAoXwxYoI9HrjqGynHTXtXuVMEEBuaBvRQfhMfP5hIXR3SLyYQ8Wsg-dXNbzQhp2_hneusB7ulLgo28ae6WS2rKFIVe3kNahGeGw9ayigSRrxPBNc-dUyi_NbokheWi-Xzhrdsij35gh/s320/IMG_0025.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305115150402820002" border="0" /></a>
<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" lang="en-US"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lost in Translation</span> - Its great how everything is written using English characters (unlike Thai), but the translation is not always 100%. We stayed at the “Domytory” for $3/night and across the street they sold “<a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/">loney lannet</a>” guide books. When we asked the cab driver to take us to Cu Chi tunnels, we ended up in Chinatown (yes, every city over 100,000 people must have a chinatown). We cant complain because they go out of their way to learn English, and I learnt my first 2 words of Vietnamese yesterday. </span></span> </p>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX0X2dqdEDvj_DlEz7j_u4PeNrQZm5olsVR2ey875u0xLLNgU-gSSH1y0lMw5k4iv2motI1McC8fjTXXqJ7jHehEaSsbaGFHsoxPNy8-z08caJ0_tX3Uaffw_0tbc8TdlSujffGCE-do5/s1600-h/IMG_0092.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiX0X2dqdEDvj_DlEz7j_u4PeNrQZm5olsVR2ey875u0xLLNgU-gSSH1y0lMw5k4iv2motI1McC8fjTXXqJ7jHehEaSsbaGFHsoxPNy8-z08caJ0_tX3Uaffw_0tbc8TdlSujffGCE-do5/s320/IMG_0092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305110352981179234" border="0" /></a>
<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">No honey, your ass isn't that big</span>, the tunnels are that small. The Vietnamese took 20 years to build a secret network of underground tunnels. 250 k of tunnels by hand, complete with hospitals, kitchens, and booby traps. A fully sustainable society safeguarded from the Americans. The tunnels are pitch black and they actually made the tunnels bigger for tourism. Andrew and I did the day trip with 2 English travelers we had met the night before, Jay, a self proclaimed pacifist from Sussex, and Sarah, a Vietnam war buff from Chesire. The war/peace dynamic and bickering in English accents kept me and Andrew entertained all day. According to Sarah, they both “had a whack at taking the piss out of each other”</p> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ePhbYDrmqafj0KZDHHrL8yz-E5iPwdygJ8g0-oo0nkm2iPrHBesNlLsY63oBWYE_AtfzpRVkk-aXfpIXxMUc38LvLoJVjTBQcOd10ZLfSh0zClkH4SzoGe3aSjcId6g7Lu5Tbz-fExx8/s1600-h/DSCF1365.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ePhbYDrmqafj0KZDHHrL8yz-E5iPwdygJ8g0-oo0nkm2iPrHBesNlLsY63oBWYE_AtfzpRVkk-aXfpIXxMUc38LvLoJVjTBQcOd10ZLfSh0zClkH4SzoGe3aSjcId6g7Lu5Tbz-fExx8/s320/DSCF1365.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305106483991064338" border="0" /></a>
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<br />*BTW the first picture is not Sarah Howlett, from 2271 Stonebrook Road, Chesire, England
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrL-JcoHwQvEWQHvCAC_UYwhIEA_-lzNxc9JMu22ngvyogtEZeDLmUy8f25G5TrLfmsRtNg-8R9FpId34QBW4AmQg2TFwJd1n88cRVi3E4UPgIf8h3HIwn-UMhdxJRtiUyGnK6o1rxo46/s1600-h/IMG_0030.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUrL-JcoHwQvEWQHvCAC_UYwhIEA_-lzNxc9JMu22ngvyogtEZeDLmUy8f25G5TrLfmsRtNg-8R9FpId34QBW4AmQg2TFwJd1n88cRVi3E4UPgIf8h3HIwn-UMhdxJRtiUyGnK6o1rxo46/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305110344036324658" border="0" /></a>
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">War Museum</span> - This picture caught my eye. The museum graphically details the US-Vietnam war. There is a whole wall dedicated to the effects of agent orange <a href="http://images.google.com.vn/images?um=1&hl=vi&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&ei=daKfSc7gGoPI6gO2pvi4Cg&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=agent+orange+vietnam&spell=1">(graphic)</a>. After this museum, I am even more surprised by the warm welcome Americans get here.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-JmQnhLYzFPuN0G6Z_VVtiYWquaAiCkkeQlQWoxd2RtzF0hxgNIhDwCOG50CROy6vOlE84Elqh0eiyNTCiVhITV6VtKIlrk8AuXnceZggNIIbPOlYyF84WkpOVsBP49WrAt-cLJf7IzD/s1600-h/IMG_0204.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-JmQnhLYzFPuN0G6Z_VVtiYWquaAiCkkeQlQWoxd2RtzF0hxgNIhDwCOG50CROy6vOlE84Elqh0eiyNTCiVhITV6VtKIlrk8AuXnceZggNIIbPOlYyF84WkpOVsBP49WrAt-cLJf7IzD/s320/IMG_0204.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305113412313569794" border="0" /></a>
<br />A monkey we fed on the way to the sand dunes in Mui Ne.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX43naKoG32Kv1boT4QX-av1InIN2rAX7edwRD96gaT0pneAMVyI46umpIGVTPR31zLQYL6pALQF45TpPE6iiAlXUQBm3w4s4owxLfIUbSxriMeRfLlLhnjJwSJa39jzpgflHHh2eayjU/s1600-h/IMG_0157.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGX43naKoG32Kv1boT4QX-av1InIN2rAX7edwRD96gaT0pneAMVyI46umpIGVTPR31zLQYL6pALQF45TpPE6iiAlXUQBm3w4s4owxLfIUbSxriMeRfLlLhnjJwSJa39jzpgflHHh2eayjU/s320/IMG_0157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305113397654083746" border="0" /></a>I paid 2 little kids to rent a plastic sheet to slide down the sand dunes a few times. The kids spoke perfect English and were extremely intelligent. I told one 13 year old kid to move to America and become a doctor.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">American do it wrong</span>- still about a week into the trip, I am just starting to release all stress from the daily grind, and make it into the travellers mentality that I am so desperately seeking. Every euro traveler I have met, is in the middle of a 6 month, or a 1 year trip. It really does take a while to make this mental shift and free the mind of all the clutter that comes with city life. No offense to my ex-co-workers at Neubauer & Associates and Quest Diagnostics, but it take a few days to mentally downgrade my mind and get out of that go-go-go mentality. If I had to go back to work in a few days, I'm not sure if I could ever truly make it into this travelers mentality I have been talking about. A 2 week vacation doesn't do the trick.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Madden's dream come true - </span> There is a ton of exotic fruit over here, and a ton of crazy foods I will never see back in the states, however, the creature on the left is unexplainable. A real life tur-duck-en! Take a nice look at that creature. It has webbed feet, and a ducks body, but chicken wings and kind of a gobble. The cows do eat plastic bags, so there may be some type of genetic mutation, but this must be the work of a cross breeding mad scientist.
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<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p>Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4719269122756735958.post-88662082423680958682009-02-10T14:13:00.000-08:002009-02-11T05:52:23.980-08:00Sitting in my empty room at 4AM, ready to dreamFriends and Family, I have gotten numerous request to send pictures and updates from the trip I am about to go on, and with the wonders and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">convenience</span> of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Internet</span>, I will be sharing my travel experince in this blog.<br /><br />In an hour, I will put my laptop and cell phone in a box, not to be touched for at least 3 months. This will likely be the last time in my life that I will have no way to be reached and zero responsibility. The more research I do, the more excited I get. However, I find it hard to think about my mindset for this trip. The fast paced <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">environment</span> of San Francisco contrasts with the laid back <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">lifestyle</span> of the travelling community. I know that in 3 days I wont have a care in the world, but it is hard to actualize that feeling considering that I just finished my 9-5 job about 12 hours ago.<br /><br />As I prepare to catch a plane in 7 hours, I reflect on my 6 month journey in 2005 to Fiji, Australia, and 9 countries in Western Europe. I would consider this one of the highlights of my life, and have been outspoken about buying an around the world plane ticket instead of studying abroad. Instead of being locked down in 1 city, drunkenly recreating freshmen year, I had time to immerse myself in cultures from all over the world, not just spend a weekend here or there. While I will be in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">slightly</span> more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">impoverished</span> areas than Aussie or Europe, many of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">fundamentals</span> of the trip will be similar:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkNMclNfZa9iKFRpF0Ho_Laor44jdqC6-ApYh2jI25hbJfc3JUPntivEGjMBVaSOTOmoz1s3Oo34aHdr4dvm1m0ry0QCei_0CbS4sf0_rhHsO5Kb_kszxZ-Kl5AhMrrtCAMb1eB00tTsl/s1600-h/Picture+651.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkNMclNfZa9iKFRpF0Ho_Laor44jdqC6-ApYh2jI25hbJfc3JUPntivEGjMBVaSOTOmoz1s3Oo34aHdr4dvm1m0ry0QCei_0CbS4sf0_rhHsO5Kb_kszxZ-Kl5AhMrrtCAMb1eB00tTsl/s320/Picture+651.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301508297340489746" border="0" /></a>I will explore other cultures, and do my best to learn how other people in the world live<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlO4_ia7FvuKMCbbHoqQq8AOYRcR4ZuFbxcztq_XhYiXcwu8YMu5yDlE7GzuZ5QQGfotD4oR6lw1Iyv5Olq8Zqle7bfkl-cMbvGkcP9rVYJ_CFZtHEWnuqPSFR-_fMpAE_3XUBDCbRg4D/s1600-h/Picture+994.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 155px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlO4_ia7FvuKMCbbHoqQq8AOYRcR4ZuFbxcztq_XhYiXcwu8YMu5yDlE7GzuZ5QQGfotD4oR6lw1Iyv5Olq8Zqle7bfkl-cMbvGkcP9rVYJ_CFZtHEWnuqPSFR-_fMpAE_3XUBDCbRg4D/s320/Picture+994.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301508299761876082" border="0" /></a><br />I will bring a little bit of my culture to the people I meet<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTeMFwotejezRS_KYak6ciTRlS1AUdctu0L408GbqgERJtkTjEHl2PRvcfEwGkXosmsK9c4tP04UYXLCMqngZDjKKo-TdeM9nZg_xuSfzxfmo1RU16dzYg58mkcCZ3Rd0Qj1FODhPVXtF/s1600-h/Picture+975.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTeMFwotejezRS_KYak6ciTRlS1AUdctu0L408GbqgERJtkTjEHl2PRvcfEwGkXosmsK9c4tP04UYXLCMqngZDjKKo-TdeM9nZg_xuSfzxfmo1RU16dzYg58mkcCZ3Rd0Qj1FODhPVXtF/s320/Picture+975.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301508295462688450" border="0" /></a><br />The backpacking community is really a unique culture. Its a very open, liberal culture where everyone looks out for everyone else. My dad offered me a free stay using credit card points. I told him I would rather stay in a $4/night hostel to be around backpackers<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzDV6nvJh7u4tVU9lswo9ffOQAKYGKcyBrg2kz1mTEl_UdFj9e7kbo2O7oV7XQBOe8W7zdTT-wFBZr5MaCcNd3QpzvHPLE2ccY4yg-cB_ND1oJzKi36mhtU9mBZ6T_vRoN3VkHmYWFA60/s1600-h/Picture+919.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzDV6nvJh7u4tVU9lswo9ffOQAKYGKcyBrg2kz1mTEl_UdFj9e7kbo2O7oV7XQBOe8W7zdTT-wFBZr5MaCcNd3QpzvHPLE2ccY4yg-cB_ND1oJzKi36mhtU9mBZ6T_vRoN3VkHmYWFA60/s320/Picture+919.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301508304738335122" border="0" /></a>This picture has 2 points. First, there is no place I would rather be than on that boat. The ability to have total freedom over everything I do<blockquote></blockquote> will put me in the travellers mindset<br /><br />Second, look at my clothing in the above pics. I am only bringing 5 shirts for 100 days, do the math.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03ZRVaAzx2l0SSPilARFUdlaF82g60WGNWarl9rgjIuBG8OgNdNkUbcAZiIBUOeVfOR3x0hJKOZQt-dL2hZDhOQ6Usgb1TgRKsFT3-R9JeMntkS4jkfW2Wjl9IVijsbDBRWuBZFznpUH-/s1600-h/Picture+577.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 147px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03ZRVaAzx2l0SSPilARFUdlaF82g60WGNWarl9rgjIuBG8OgNdNkUbcAZiIBUOeVfOR3x0hJKOZQt-dL2hZDhOQ6Usgb1TgRKsFT3-R9JeMntkS4jkfW2Wjl9IVijsbDBRWuBZFznpUH-/s320/Picture+577.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301508291264810914" border="0" /></a><br />And finally, the last tenent: Facial hair<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*******************************************************<br /></div><br />Here are some of the higlights of this upcoming trip:<br /><br />2/11 - Fly into Ho Chi Minh, and meet my college roommate, Andrew<br /><br />2/27-3/12 Meet my high school friend, Jaycie, and explore Hanoi, Halong Bay and the jungle region<br /><br />3-20 - Tube down the river in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2DYvYQw3Gk&feature=related">Vang Vieng</a><br /><br />4/9 - Full Moon party in Ko Phan Gnag. Hopefully a few of my San Francisco roommates will spend a few weeks island hopping with me.<br /><br />5/11 - 5/16 - Fly from Cambodia to Japan for a few days, then back to SF (only if i'm ready to come back)Jessehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751785930546065426noreply@blogger.com0