Welcome to the Jungle

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees
(a little GnR for ya ... in case you didn't know it)



I rode an elephant, went bamboo rafting, trekking, swimming at waterfalls, saw a few poisonous snakes, and met some of the Karin hill tribe. Needless to say, Rang, our guide for our three-day trek did a fantastic job.



For our trek, we were only with two others and a guide, for a total of 5 people. The "others" happened to be a lovely newlywed couple from the states ~ Anna and Justin. This is part of their honeymoon. They are working their way to China where Justin will study Chinese as part of his degree. Anna just finished her undergraduate in Art History. It was nice to be in such a small group and the four of us all got along very well. We haven't met too many Americans in the other part of our travels, so it was a nice change. Justin and Anna managed to squeeze all of their stuff into one backpack which Justin carried for most of the time, there was no way Mike was carrying my stuff....



Day 1: Rang picked us up from the guesthouse and brought us to a market "in case we forgot anything" that was on the list he had given us at our pre-meeting the night before. Mike and I were prepared, so we opted for some fried noodles for breakfast at a whopping 20 baht (less than 60 US cents). Yummy. Try not to thing about the sanitary conditions.... Next up, was an elephant ride through the jungle. We all felt like we were going to fall off, when we headed downhill, but we all managed and just got a bit muddy when the elephant sprayed himself off. After the elephant ride, we had a rice-y dish for lunch in a small village. 3 weeks of eating rice everyday makes you not look forward to it at all. After lunch, we began our trek into the Jungle of Thailand. It was a good hike, but not too strenuous. We completed our hike at a spot built out for the tourists with little bamboo huts and right next to a lovely waterfall. The waterfall was our shower for the evening and really cool. It was nice after sweating continuously all afternoon to relax in the cool waterfall. Dinner was a combination of dishes (and of course, rice) and was delicious. We were camping with another group of 8 that had just completed Day 2. We got chatty with some Canadians that were headed the opposite way and gave them a few pointers about what we'd liked so far.



Day 2: Breakfast is toast! Yeah. It's not warm and there is nothing but jam and margarine to go with it. I just love it. Ah well. Today we trekked all day. We started pretty late, about 11 am, and just adventured upwards towards a small hilltribe village. Of course, it wouldn't be the jungle without a litle rain. It downpoured upon us for a good while, but the tempture also cooled considerably so we were not in a state of constant sweat. Rang is very knowledgeable about the jungle and all along the way, for three days, he pointed out various animals and plants and such to us. We saw large anthills that took years to build. He also explained to us, when we reached an abondoned field, that the US governemnt pays the Thai governement to help enforce its anti-drug policies. (We were walking through what was formerly an opium field.) The posionous snakes were a real joy to behold ~ I hate snakes. He also picked some baby mangos for us to eat (too bitter, no fleshyness). When we arrived at the place for lunch, we had some noodles with veggies ~ ala ramen noodle style. Yippie!! Of course, we ate a ton since we'd worked up an appitite. Rang took the leftovers along and gave them to the children of the village. For dinner, we had some lovely rice with green beans and some wierd dried pork. It was pretty decent overall. After dinner, the Karin people brought us some of their tribal goodies to buy. Mike & Justin bought hill tribe shirts which are quite unique, I bought two scarves, and Anna bought a skirt. The people of the village are extremely poor, so we did our share to add to their future prosperity. They also basically never leave the village. Some of them have never been into Chang Mai, where we're staying right now.



Day 3: More fantastic toast for breakfast. My favorite thing!! Off to start another trek. It was less strenuous than day 2, and we soon reached a lovely little waterfall area. We rocked our swimsuits and had fun playing around. After that, we had another short walk and reached the "jungle seven eleven" and then waited for our truck to take us into the next village. This was the wealthiest village by far, that we visited in the 3 days. We arrived at a small place and had a scrumptious lunch full of different veggies and meat. We also were encouraged to have some chili sauce with our food, as always. It was yummy! Much better than the noodles they served us yesterday. Then it was off to bamboo rafting. Bamboo rafting was the ultimate fun. My favorite part of our trek, I wish we could have done it all day. The raft is made up of very long bamboo and they fashion a bit of a seat in the middle. This is where Anna and I sat. We had a guide in the front part of the raft and then Justin and Mike stood at the back. They took turns being the man of the raft or Man of the Jungle. They had a large piece of bamboo with witch they used to push the raft downstream and away from rocks. We floated through a few small rapids and almost tipped off a few times, but overall it was a blast. Ahh jungle trekking in northern Thailand... loads of fun!!

Bangkok

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The road to Bangkok, from Siam Riep, is not paved at all. It has many ups and downs as you travel SLOWLY along. We did manage to have a flat tire to boot. They told us at the bus ticketing office that it was 4 hours to the Thailand border. I don't know how they tell time back in Siem Riep, but we left at 8 am and arrived at the border at 4 pm. Slight miscommunication I think. The first part of the journey, the Cambodian side, is infamous for being bad. It was uncomfortable, but we survived. After crossing through to Thailand, we picked up a very large, well-air conditioned bus for the trip to Bangkok. I'm thankful that we had the uncomfortable, slow journey first.

We arrived in Bangkok and stayed at the somewhat infamous Khoisan Road. It was quite busy with constant traffic, clubs, bars, and the peddlers. We found an average place to stay, but the price was more steep than it has been in the other places. The next morning, we slept in and enjoyed our AC. Then we hit the big sights of the city: the National Museum which was fantastic, Royal Palace & the Jade Buddha, and then climbed the Golden Mount for a picturesque view of the city.

Of course, we didn't stop there. We also managed to find the zoo and see white Bengal tigers and a red panda. There were also heaps of snakes and turtles and even a hippo. After the zoo, we decided to move locations and took a cab to Siam Square. From Siam Square it was easy to catch the SkyTrain (Bangkok's newish monorail system) and go out to a bar or three. The first one was a bit of a go-go bar, where the ladies are your "friends." Not too much of my forte, so we ducked out after a beer.

Saturday morning we woke up lazily again and headed off in search of the weekend market. The weekend market is huge. They sell everything. Mike and I both bought some clothing that was one-of-a-kind and the temptation to not by more is difficult. Afterwards, we worked our way back to the MKB center. It's one of Bangkok's malls. It's only 7 stories high. Ha ha ha. Bangkok has brought us back to the world we know, full of McDonalad's and American companies. We actually went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 which was decent at the movie theater since we were so hot and tired from the market. We then caught an overnight train to Chang Mai... which is where I right to you now.

The Most Amazing Thing I've Ever Done

The ancient ruins date from the 9th century and you are able to climb all around them. The Angkor kingdom had its capital her and thrived from about 9th century -12th century. From the high peaks of the crumbling temples, you gaze out into the Cambodian jungle. You pass ancient trees that have retaken parts of the magnificent city that once thrived underneath. I'm not doing it all justice by attempting to describe it all, but it's true. The striking views surround you as you make your way pass monks and ancient Buddhas. While I'm not exactly Lara Croft on a mission here, I still feel like an explorer trekking through the jungle.

Angkor Wat is one of the world's greatest wonders. I am confident of this fact. It was built in the late 12th century, at the height of the Khmer power. It is still an active Buddhist temple to this day. While it is probably not as visited as the pyramids, visiting the temple complex is by far the most amazing thing I've ever done. It only costs $40 USD for a pass to enter for three days. We saw sunset the first afternoon we arrived. We climbed up the hill and while the place is packed with tourists brandishing their cameras for that perfect shot, it was still marvelous.

To enter the temple complex, you also must have transportation. The complex is not only vast, but it is important to stay in "safe"areas since the Khmer Rouge had a strong hold in this area. Thus, the threat of land mines is a very important risk of being solo. We decided to hire a tuk tuk, which is like a little rickshaw on a motoscooter. It makes the "tuk tuk tuk tuk" as you go along. We met our guide & driver on the bus from Phenom Phen to Siem Riep. He was an extremely enthusiastic and friendly guy. He said he was studying English and he spoke it pretty well. He took us for sunset on the first evening, sunrise the 1st morning we were here, and drove us all around the last two days. It's been a bit more money, costing us $15 for the tuk tuk, $40 for the pass, plus our accommodations ($5/night/person) and food (avg. spend of $4/meal). In Vietnam, we were scrapping by at $20/day. Of course, every penny is well spent here. I can't say enough how spectacular and impressive this place has been.

[Side note: Cambodia is a strangely traditional culture in some aspects. Everyone pays more heed and attention to Mike than to myself. I don't know if they assume he's paying or what... but they always speak to him and not to me. It's rather convenient when we're being stalked by the little begging children at the temples. I just walk right by them and they flock to Mike.]

Interestingly enough, we almost exclusively use American dollars here. (I don't think I mentioned this ... if I did already I'm sorry!). The only time we get Riel ~the Cambodian currency~is in amount less than a dollar since they do not use American coins. All prices are listed in USD and that is how everything is paid for. In Vietnam, we could use American dollars but they didn't dispatch them from the ATM and everything like they do here. Craziness.

Tomorrow we're off to Bangkok... the road from Cambodia to Bangkok is notoriously awful and long. It's also through the ruralest part of the area, with higher risk of catching a disease like yellow fever or malaria.

Naked Baby Count

The children of Cambodia are very friendly and smiley. Both the Cambodian and Vietnamese children run up and say hello. Some of them are trying to sell you something, others are just happy to have you talk to them. Some of them are Hawks and others are great little entrepreneurs. They loved waving to us from the boat as we traveled up the Mekong River Delta. They can also be incredibly intelligent. Right before the border crossing to Cambodia, we had a little boy of maybe 6 or 7 serve us at the little restaurant. Not only did he whisk around our table of six taking orders, bringing us food and drinks, he also collected the money at the end. Since its near the border crossing, he was so sharp he was making currency conversions and change. He is probably the swiftest moving 6 year old I've ever seen. Mike forgot his water at the restaurant when we went to go through customs, and this lovely little boy ran it over to us while we were in line.

Neither Mike nor myself was prepared for the difference between Vietnam and Cambodia. After we boarded the slow boat (which may as well have been an oven because it was so hot), we drifted our way up the river towards the capital of Cambodia. All along our way, the happy children along the banks waved and yelled to us. Most of them were naked or next to naked. The naked baby count reached to at least 27, after we decided to jokingly keep track. The poor people of Cambodia in this rural part of the country still live in wooden shacks and farm for their subsistence. We never saw this type of poverty in Vietnam.

We did eventually get on the most cramped bus I've ever been on with 22 of our new close friends and have about an hour and a half from the river to the capital of Cambodia, Phenom Phen. We snagged a room with the much needed AC (something you have to pay extra for) and since they were out of doubles, we got an upgrade to a triple room instead of a double (extra bed that mike and i don't really need). it was nice.

today, the naked baby count is 4. the poverty and disparity that exists here is extreme. the street is filled with nice, modern BMWs and Toyotas and garbage. I saw a child of about 4 or 5 sitting on a heap of rubbish and eating the carved out piece of coconut. Its obviously distressing, but the divergence of incomes is quite apparent in this setting.

after breakfast this morning, we headed to the killing fields. they are slightly outside the city and our lovely guide filled us up with the most distressing details of the Khemer Rouge genocide. The most chilling fact that she told us at least twice, was that they never found any skulls of the children that were buried (more like dumped) into the mass graves. The children were taken by thier ankles and swung like bats against tree trunks or tossed into the air to kill them. How do human beings do this sort of thing to one another? Our guide was born in 1980, after Pol Pot and his reign of terror lost some ground to an invasion by the Vietnemese. An estimated 2 million people (out of a population of only 7) died in the four years he was in power. After the killing fields, it was off to the Genocide Musuem to learn about their torture chambers.

We did have a much more pleasant afternoon-- visiting the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda (which is all gold, we didn't see any Silver), the Jade Budda, a Wat (temple), and seeing the water. Tomorrow we're off to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat...

I'm a Bit Behind...

Last posting I was in Hoi An. Its been a lifetime since then! (Ok, so like 5 days but it feels like a lifetime.) After Hoi An we went to Na Trang (or is Chang?). The bus' AC was broken. It was a totally crap overnight bus. I barely slept at all and was mostly uncomfortable all of the time. When we got in, we were both exhausted. After searching around for a hostel with AC, we took a quick nap and then left for a boat tour. the boat tour was $6 and included lunch and some miserable red liquid they called wine but I would never recommend as such. It was a lovely sunny day and quite enjoyable way to spend it. The only downside being that I chickened out and didn't jump off the top level of the boat ~ of course Mike managed it. Ah well..

We left Na Trang first thing the next morning for Mue Ne Beach. It's a resort type area and was absolutely fantastic. My 2nd favorite thing about all of Vietnam. We got in around lunchtime and went on a tour in the afternoon. The afternoon tour took us to the sand dunes that Mue Ne is known for. Since we had spent some time at the beach pre-sand dune tour, it was incredible to end up in the dessert just 1/2 hour later. It was magnificant but extremely hot. After the white sand dunes, we were able to visit red cannoyons. Incredibly made out of red sand, they were the best part of the tour. Then we stopped at red sand dunes and a fishing village for sunset. I think I snapped a few good shots of the sunset. :-) After dinner, we hung out at a random resort for 4 hours since our bus was coming at 1 am for Siagon. We didn't buy anything and went swimming in their pool. It was incredible fun and it just goes to show how nice they are in Vietnam. If I go back to Vietnam, I'd spend more time here. It's just so lovely.

Siagon or Ho Chi Minh City as its supposed to be called now but is not really called that by most, was crazy like Hanoi. As soon as we got in, we booked the 1/2 day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. They were incredible. The guide was by far the most informative of all the guides and tours we've had. We then managed to squeeze in our afternoon the Reunification Palace (total crap waste of money, even if it was less than a dollar to get in) and the War Remanats Musuem. The War Musuem explictly goes on about the "war of american destruction"as they call the Vietnam War in Vietnam. The pictures are chilling and depressing, particularly the parts about Napalm bombings and Agent Orange. They kicked us out of the museum before we were done soaking it all up.

Next day, we were off towards Cambodia. There are two ways to get there for the most part -- traveling 1 day via bus or 2 days via the Mekong Delta. I wanted to see the Mekong River Delta, so we booked the 2 day tour. It was the crappiest tour we've been on. It was nice to see the river and all, but they took us from one tourist trap to another all day. Then they brought us to a totally miserable hotel that didn't have working AC, even though its promised when you book the tour. The only nice part about the tour was the two friendly couples that we got to meet. We did arrive in Cambodia the next day without any big problems and quickly found a hostel.

So that's the brief overview of the last few days ...