Goodnight, goodmorning, good bye.

Sam and I were given an opportunity to voulenteer in Bali for 10 days with the international humane foundation. It can take awhile to get to Bali from Kota Kinnablu--depending on your route. And we need to be in Bali by th 29th, So we have been booking it toward Indonesia.

We flew into Jakarta on the eve of the 26th. The flight was delayed 2 hrs, but we made it by 12:30 am.

As we strolled through visa applications the customs guy was like "when are you leaving"... "you know 10/15 days" I respond. "what do you mean? You don't have a departure ticket?" the guy asks. "shit"... Well I didn't say that out loud but Sam and I both had that look on out faces. Fortunatelly the guy was cool and was all, "I'll make an exception this time, but next time, you'll need a departure ticket."



(breakfast at the airport, the coffee was Aweful!!)

We really lucked out. Sam lay it on me good as we walked away. From now on, he can do the talking.

Sam and I had heard not the greatest things about Jakarta and are in a bit of a rush to get to Bali. We made a last minute decision to sleep in the airport in hopes of buying tickets to get to Bali (our initial plan was to take a 26 hour bus).


(Jakarta airport)

Now we are in Bali. It's touristy and expensive--seems like a better spot for a vacationing family (there is a lot to do here) or a honeymooning couple (who want to spend money--the high end seems to be lovely). We are staying in Sanur Beach at a small hotel with a salt water pool (my new favorite thing). We are going to spend one more night here, despite the high sticker prices. I just can't handle another travel day. I'm pooped. Tomorrow, beach and unlimited soda waters! Then off to voulentteer.

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Heading South of the Equator

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to Everyone!!

Maggie and I are enjoying our last day in Borneo and are heading down to Indonesia tonight to volunteer at the IHF center ( International Humantarian Foundation ) for the next 10 days on the island of bali. We've had an amazing time on the island and had christmas dinner with a dutch gentleman last night, wohoo!

KK ( Kota Kinabalu) is a small city on the northern coast of Borneo sitting on the South China Sea. a few days ago we tried to head up to Mount Kinabalu to climb the 13,500 ft mountain, but we ran into many beuracratic issues and too many tariffs to make it worth our while, so we scrapped that idea and made it back to KK.

Yesterday for Christmas we took a ferry out to Mamutik island, a national park just off the coast of KK, and it was beautiful. We got some snorkels, threw our towels down on the beach, and went for a Christmas snorkel through some beautiful Tropical waters with more species of fish than I could count.

We saw Sea Anenomies, Starfish, Sea Snakes, barracudas, clownfish, pufferfish, etc. etc. and all in some cool coral formations. after a nice day of snorkeling and swimming, we went to head back to the mainland but our boat wasnt coming back for us for another hour, so we relaxed at a cafe on the island, met another super friendly cat ( we named her izzy) it seems like every restaurant in asia has a cat or four that hang out, probably scare off mice and rats, and are always super friendly. Izzy lounged in my lap until our boat showed up to take us back to the mainland, from there we went to meet up with our new dutch friend, steven and see if he wanted to have christmas dinner with us.


Steven met up with us later and we all went to the seafood night stalls in KK where you get to pick your fish out of live aquariums, select how you want it cooked etc. it is a little inhumane but the fish tastes too good for me to lose much sleep over it. after an amazing dinner of King crab, Grouper, satay and veggies we cruised over to starbucks for some free wifi. ( note: all starbucks have free wifi, for anyone travelling with an iphone or laptop.) made a few christmas call and emails, and called it a night.

Hope everyone had an awesome christmas, Merry christmas to my Nana!! Merry christmas to Uncle Bill, Aunt Jack, John, Allison, Mom and Pa, Uncle Ken+ Aunt Barb, Scott + Kiki, Manus + Emily, Brian and Alice, Matt and Lindsey, Andrew, Christine, Joe, Elise, Calvin, Tiff + Scott, Dick and Barbara, Nick and Ellen, Jeremy and Sophie, Lisa and Blake, and everyone else!

Be awesome

Malaysia, Borneo

En Transit, Borneo

Bako National Park

Kuching

Malaysia Photos

Malaysia

Malaysia, Photos

KL

Cameron Highlands

G-Town, Penang

Thailand, island photos

Ko Lipe, Thailand

Ko Chang, Thailand

It WAS my birthday

I've tried to write this blog post two times now on my phone. Each time, I was 90% finished and it got erased from my phone. So... hopefully 3rd times the charm!

I'm am going to take you back a few days.

Post the Oran Yatang day Sam and I decided we would head out to Bako National Park. famous for the Proboscis Monkey. We thought if we locked ourselves on an island with a rare species we would surely see them, right? Well... "sort of" (to quote Dmitri Martin)

Sam and I arrived at Bako at 8:30 a.m. in order to get to the island you have to take a local bus from Kuching for 1 hr and then a 20 min boat ride. The tide goes so far out that at low tide the boats cannot reach the island. We made sure to know before-hand when low tide would be, that way we could actually enjoy a full day on the island.

Upon arrival we decided to go for a hike. I was having one of my over achiever days and after looking at the map I had made up my mind that we were going to do the most extreme path. Sam wasn't on board, yet.

We started off heading out toward the beach looking for this monkey. We saw the monkey, in a tree really far away. But we didn't get to observe it playing or doing monkey things. I don't even think we got photos of it. We continued on, thinking we might see more. But evidently these rare monkeys are much smarter than the small grey ones (the ones we see all the time).

Post monkey/beach walk (2 km) we decided (together) to continue onto the waterfall (3.5 km). The trek to the waterfall was beautiful! One of the best hikes I have ever been on--I of course went on about it the entire hike, Sam was like "yeah, yeah, I get it...". The waterfall was nice, nothing mind blowing. The cool water felt good to tread in. The water was whiskey colored, and Sam and I had fun thinking of what liquids the water could be... coffee, tea, Bourbon...?

At the waterfall we sat down and discussed the path home. Sam wanted to go back the way we came... "boring!" I thought. Lets be overly ambitious and hike the 10 km long path home! Sam was hesitant, but agreed in the end.

Almost immediately the trail went from well maintained and manicured, to a giant spider web infested, tree eroded, swamp-land. I knew I was the one that got us into this mess, so I had to be as upbeat and positive as possible. I could hear Sam cursing my name behind me as we slipped off of logs into swamps and grabbed monster thorn trees.

Eventually we made it back. A total of 14.7 km hike (about 10 miles). We were both happy to have a nice cold soda and stretch. Oh, and we saw a bearded pig at the end (which sweetened the deal).

We had made arrangements to stay on the island that evening, the park has lodges they rent. The next morning was Dec 18th, when we woke up we decided we would make our way back to Kuching, neither of us were in the "trekking mood!". We raced down to the beach to flag down a boat taxi, realizing that low tide was fast approaching. Fortunately we made it back to main land just in time. I was thrilled to not be stuck on the island for my BDay.

We took a bus into Kuching. By 11:00 we were back, and our hotel let us check in early (thus far my favorite hotel on the trip, despite the lackluster Internet connection.) We did laundry, which made us both very happy, had lunch next to the river, went to a foot reflexologist, and saw Avatar (the new James Cameron movie, for those of you who don't know). Overall I could not have asked for a better day. Sam was so supportive, and put up with my indecisiveness all day.

Dec 19th we decided to skip town in hopes of making our way up to Kota Kinabalu. Kuching is in the far south of Malay Borneo, and KK (as the locals call it) is in the far north. We knew we couldn't make it there in one day... it has taken us three days!! We took a boat from Kuching to Sibu, and then a bus to Miri (that was a 14 hr travel day). The morning we woke up in Miri we realized we couldn't get to KK, because we had missed the one and only bus. However, we were at the station, packed and ready to go... so we just hopped a bus to wherever we could get that was in the right direction. Seven hrs later--to Limbang. FINALLY today we traveled from Limbang to KK. Mind you we had to exit Malaysia and go into Brunei not once, but TWICE. Now we have been in and out of Malaysia a total of 4 times. In less than 3 weeks. I think it's time for some open boarders Brunei!

Tonight we are in KK City and tomorrow we hope to make our way to KK National Park.. aiming to climb Kota Kinabalu. 4,500 meters (12,000 feet). Not super high, but considering we are on the beach right now... it's pretty impressive for the landscape to change that much in such a small amount of space.

We are finally posting photos. So keep and eye out for those.

Sam and I are headed to Bali next. We will spend Christmas in Borneo, Fly to Indonesia, and we'll be volunteering in Bali over New Years. We are a little concerned about the Philippines. If anyone has any advice/tips on the volcano and if we should/should not go please feel free to email us.

Borneo

Sam and I have been all over, and have not had a moment to write about it!

From KL Sam and I took a long and adventureous bus ride to Singapore. It began with our bus being 2 hours late... We sat in a polluted, HOT, and loud bus terminal. Boarder crossings via busses are always chaotic. We have to go from one bus, through the exit of one contry. Onto a new bus, and pass immigration into a new country. Unloading and reloading each time.


(Waiting in KL for the bus to Singapore, we ate about 2 pineapples while we waited)

We made it to Singapore at 9:00 pm and were fortunate to find a hostel that was clean and had free wifi! We shared a room with 10 other backpacker's and long term residents. We quickly learned that Singapore rivals the West in terms of amenities and cost!

Despite what everyone said "Singapore is just a big mall"... "there is nothing to see there"...etc. I LOVED Singapore! I call it the OCD persons dream! It's clean, polished, and I found there to be lots of charm. We stayed in Little India and loved the colonial architecture. Small double decker buildigs, painted pink, green, yellow, etc.


(The most expensive casino in the world, being built ($3.5 B) --the white balls in the water are for New Years Eve, they will light up)

Sam and I did a bus tour in Singapore (a great way to see the city), spent an afternoon at the botanical gardens, and visited Samposa Island (to visit Underwater World). We also spent some time checking out malls--such a spectical. Most of the malls had free stage shows, like an Australian ice skating show, a sponge bob square pants show, even a Christmas music show. I made Sam stand around and watch all of them... I thought they were hyterical.


(Australian ice show at a mall)

We flew to Kuching, Borneo after 4 nights in Singapore. We wandered the streets for accomodations and found a new hotel with a special promo rate. The hotel is new and clean (but the wifi leaves something to be desired).

Our fitst day in Kuching/Borneo we visited an Orang Yatang reserve, where upon which we didn't see any Orang Yatangs. We rushed all morning to make it there for the 9 am feeing. After spending $10 on a taxi and running 2 km we made it (with a considerable amount of sweat on our faces). The park guide started going through his schpeal: "no smoking, no yelling, don't bring food in, etc" then he goes onto say "it's fruit season, so the Orang Yatangs may not come out"..."and, we have taught them to hate humans, so they can better adapt to the wild". Renaming optimistic we treked 500 meters with a group of about 30 into the jungle and stood on a wooden platform while a park operator called for the animals. An hour and fifteen minutes later everyone gave up and dispersed.

Seeing real monkeys in the wild, we have come to find, is more difficult that we thought. The litle pesky ones will come out and play very easily (esp if you're holding a banana). But the bigger and more rare ones are smart and would rather avoid human contact. We decided to take the bus back into Kuching to nap and explore.

It was a fun adventure, but sadly, a little bit of a let down.


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KL

(water feature outside the mall)

We know we haven't been the most dilligent bloggers since leaving Thailand (in part because free wifi has been hard to come by). Before we left KL, we thought we would fill everyone in.

We left Thailand a few weeks ago, the route was Ko Lipe, T - Langkawi, M; Langkawi - Georgetown (in Panang); Georgetown - Cameron Highlands (where we had Sam's birthday); CH - Kuala Lumpur.

Sam and I had a few assumptions about KL--we thought it would be a big Asian city, perhps similar to Bangkok. My sister had descibed it as her first and favorite city in SE Asia--so maybe that's where the assumptions came from? However, KL is significantlly smaller than Bangkok. The city is more or less walkable, does not have nearly as much traffic, and is relatively new/modern. I call it the Western Asian city.

KL is also hot. Similar to the heat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Fortunatelly you are never out of AC for long. Seeing as AC pours out of the stores and shops you pass by. I swear even the outdoor food stalls are air con'ed. Wasteful, yes. Convienient, yes.



(The only way I can get Sam to smile for the camera)

KL is rich in cluture. It is a city where Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim religions converge. And despite what people told me before comig to Malaysia, i.e. that I would be stared at and feel uncomforatable, I have felt very comforatable, welcome, and am certain that if people do stare at me it's because I have food stuck on my face (or am talking loudly). There are many tourists and locals that wear shorts, dresses, and tank-tops--this is not a place where one need to be overly modest. Unless, of course your days events include visiting Mosques and Wat's--where coverage is a sign of respect.

Whilest in KL Sam and I joined the early riser club to get in line for the Patronas Towers. I was less than trilled with the early rise, but I knew that being with an architect meant going along with things like this, so I only had myself to blame. The tickets are free, but thy only give out 1,200/day. When you get your ticket you get to select what time you want to come back--every 15 mins from 9:00 - 6:00...by the time we got to the front of the line the only available times were 11:30 - 6:00 (it was 9:00). So we went for 11:30. And killed the extra time by wandering the mall.


(Patronas Towers)

We also spent a day in the very large park KL offers. This is a driving promoted park, less of a walker park. But we hit up the Malaysia National Museum, the Planatariam (where I made Sam go on the Spaceball ride... That's right. All the 10 year olds were SO jealous), the Orchid park, we walked by the Deer park (couldn't find the entrance), and bird sanctuary (too expensive and not that into birds).... Before walking back to our hotel.



(Merdeka Sq)

For dinner our last night in KL we went to Britang (a neighborhood), that seemed so cool, we wished we had stayed there. And ate at Sao Nam, recommended by Frommers a Vietnamese resturant--Amazing!! Every resturant Frommers refers us to have been our best meals.


(If in KL you must go here--better food than what we ate in Vietnam!)

The most important part of KL, I forgot to mention, is it's selection of knock off items. There are vaiable levels of knock offs. There are the blatent plastic ones, the mid range ones, and the ones that are SO good the seller convinces you it's stolen... "card of authenticity, it comes with" they say. Sam and I both struggeled with saying no to these guys. There is SO much to buy! But at the end of the day, the only real designer goods come from the designed themselves. And spending $100 on a good knock off to project an image seemed superficial and silly. That, and my Godmother sent us an email that made us realize, "we don't need it". I did get a pink Tokyo Kid LeSportsac duffle bag.... It was $10! How could I not!!

We have ha a lot of fun observing KL and learning about how it all works. One seller said, "it's good you didn't come yetersay, the police were here"... The way it works. The guys on the street pool their funds and pay the cops 50,000 RN ($15,000), the police call them before they come (and say, put your knock off suff away), they come, and then go back to LV, Prada, Channel, etc and say "no there is nothing". If the police don't do this then the designers won't want to be in Malay Malls and KL won't have the image of prestige.... So it goes.

Leaving for Singapore in 20 mins!

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30th birthday and jungle treks

Today Maggie and I went trekking in the jungle for my birthday and it was great. We hiked up in overcast skies with slick moss, slimy ropes, and wet roots that were riddicoulus to climb over. As we made it up to the top, the skies opened up and it started downpouring.

we laughed and enjoyed the rain while we started hiking down to the main road. The rain however, got stronger and harder, and as we were soaked to the bone and starting to get a little chilly, an old, 1950's pickup truck came down the hill behind us.

we stepped to the side of the road to let the truck pass, and the driver pulled over and waved at us to see if we wanted to get in the truck, he spoke no English and we spoke virtually no Malaysian but we were able to communicate enough to all get on the same page with hand gestures and smiles.

maggie rode up front and I was in the back with the vegetables, we picked up two other Germans that were hiking down the road as well and they road in the back with me. The driver gave us a ride all the way up to tanah rata and wouldn't take any money from us. It was such a fun ride back up to the town where we were staying.

After we made it back to the guesthouse and got hot showers, some dry clothes, and a cup of tea, we relaxed in the guesthouse lounge ( fathers guesthouse, Cameron highlands awesome place to stay) and chatted with some other travelers.

Maggie had made dinner reservations somewhere and we headed out in a taxi, I had no idea where we were going and we arrived at the Cameron highlands resort, which was the fancy of the fancy restaurants around.

We has an amazing meal with beef ribs carved for us at our table and an amazing lava cake dessert.

afterwards we made it back to our guesthouse, has a cup of tea with the owner, who shared with us something called miracle fruit.

this fruit was so cool, you chew it for a minute and the. Sour things, like lemons or limes, taste sweet, like candy, it coats your flavor receptors on your toungue and fools them to think of sour things as sweet.

This morning we left the guesthouse and headed for the bus station.

(BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!)

bags flying out of the side of the bus as we go down the switchback roads to kuala lumpur !! We scream for the bus driver to stop the bid and I go running back up the hill to get the 2 bags that fell out on the last turn whe the underbid storage area flew open. We resolved that problem and got back on the road.

now......



Here we are in a broken bus graveyard trying to fix the brakes after making down the rest of the hills.





Maggie is embracing her inner muslim and wrapping her scarf as a headwrap as we wait for these mechanics to hopefully resolve the issue soon.

Have a great day and happy holidays



-Samuel Jacob Kachmar

The stranger's bed gave us bed bugs

Sometimes when I overreact it's nonsense, but somethimes it's real. And this time, when I said "these accommodations make me want to vomit" I knew we would catch something.

Over the past day tiny acne-like welts have popped up all over our skin. I slept with the after-bite in my hand last night.

I never thought we would get bug bites. Gross. More than ever I miss our 1,000 count sheets and down pillows.

4 Ferries in 4 Days

Wow, where to begin.

It seemed that the forces that be just didn't want for us to enjoy Ko Lipe. First we missed the stop on our way to Satun, the following morning we accidently WAY overpaid for a taxi back to Pak Bara. Once on PB we had to pay for a ferry and park fee (the park fer was 40B for locals and 200B for tourits... Which we both felt was really unfair). THEN, after paying the ferry and entrance fee the Thai government is trying to preserve the "integrity" of Ko Lipe, so everyone that takes a ferry in gets off on this barge and you have to pay AGAIN for a wooden long boat. It was 50B, but totally stupid. No reason for it, excet to keep the long boats in business. We hated being put up for money again and again total, 800B to get to Ko Lipe, excluding the taxi and bus fares.



(speedboat we took to Ko Lipe)

Once we put the ferry/entrance thing behind us we kept saying, "it's okay, let's just try to enjoy ourselves."

It started raining. No, like a hurrican came in. We got accomdations and said, maybe it won't last long. Maybe tomrrow will be better.

Overall, it was stormy, overpriced, over developed, and they charged 3B/M for Internet---which really sent us over the edge.

After one night, and a solid effort to enjoy the island we decided to leave. At 12:18, when crawling out of the stormy seas (of couse we played in the waves) I looked at Sam and said, "do you just want to go?"... "YES!" he said.

We raced back to the bungalow, threw our crap in our bags, and raced to the immigration office, we were going to Langkawi, Malaysia.

This is where the trip got fun again. We had to check into immigration at 1:30, but the boat does not leave until 4:30 (most laxed immigration ever, they let you walk around, get food, etc etc.) we returned to the shore at 4:00 and waited. Of course the stom cleared as we prepaired to depart.

Again, a long boat took us out to a speed boat on the barge (this time the price was included, much better). There were about 10 people on board, including 3 of the most addorable Sweedish children... One boy was in a stroller, maybe 10 months old... SO cute! Their parents put little floaties on their arms.

Also aboard was a Brit, Chris, who lived in Langkawi. He provided us with some good info about the island.

The water was very choppy. But, when you grow up with an uncle like mine danger involving speedboats and race cars does not phase you. I was quite enjoying the roar of the 450 horse power engine and flying off and crashing down into the waves until...

"one of these sank last year", Chris yelled over the engine. "WHAT!?, how?!". "the guy was going too fast on a choppy day and the hull split in half"..."all the passengers lived, but their luggage was gone"..."that's why the captain holds all of our passports in a dry bag together".

I spent the remainder of the ride planning our escape route. Sam and my packs are 100% waterproof, they are like dry bags (this is smithing we pride ourselves on). I envisioned myself tearing everyhing out of the pack, putting in my phone, camera, jewlery Sam bought for me, and offering the left over space fo the rest of the passengers. I even thought... Maybe we could put the baby in there... Until I realized he'd suffocate.

As we arrived in Langkawi the waters calmed, the sun came out fully, and we pulled up into a beautiful yatch club. I couldn't help but think of my father--so many sailboats around.

The hull didn't crack, and I joked
with Chris that I was happy I didn't have to put my "plan into action".

We only spent one night in Langkawi, just our luck we arrived during the 2009 World Aerospace Convention. Every hotel was booked--we basically stayed in some guys time share. I won't get into how disgusting I found his place to be. Sam says it wasn't that bad... Maybe I'm just being picky, but I felt like I was sleeping in a strangers sheets all night which for me is unpleasant.

Today is another travel day for us, off to Penang (we are going to Georgetown!). We think we might have found a super deal at a 5* hotel. So hopefully tonight we will have normal/fancy accomodations to tell about. We'll keep you posted!



(KFC! We were in a hurry, so we grabbed this. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be)

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In Malaysia

A country that values Western amenities and free wi-fi...


We are VERY happy. Even went to our 1st Starbucks. Happy Birthday Manus!

With Love,
From S&M

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LONG travel day

It was like a room a junkie would use to get high in--and I burst into tears upon entering. It had been a long day, made even worse upon seeing where we would have to sleep. I envisioned Etta James and Ray Charles on tour, strung out on the bed--the only two heroine addicts I could think of. Of course, I couldn't piece together how or why Etta James an Ray Charles would ever go on tour in Satun, Thailand.


Sam and I left Ko Chang the same way we arrived--chasing after the ferry. Our hotel kept putting us off when we requested to settle our bill, and only put a rush on it as the roaring motor of the long boat ferry approached. It was 7:50 am, and we were both sad to go.

We had no plans for when we arrived in Ranong, just the idea that we might try to make it to Ko Lipe (an island very far down the west coast)--per a friends referall.

Once in Ranong we hitched a tuk-tuk ride to the bus station and decided we would take a bus to Krabi... I had sort-of recalled the book saying "go through Krabi". We ended up on a local bus. This means that the air con spits out 80 degree 'cool' and stops every 10 mins to pick someone up--Krabi is suppose to take 4/5 hrs to get to... It took us 7.5. Fortunatelly our iPods were charged and we had new books to dive into.

By the time we made it to Krabi all we had eaten were Lays chips, Oreos, and some very tasty pineapple... 100% sugar. A melt down was brewing. We decided we would try to make it to Satun, which is a city close to the port (Pak Bara) from where we would have to take a boat to Ko Lipe. We managed to grab some take away food before hitching the next bus--but somehow all we got was protien-less fried rice, french fries, and a small chiken sandwich... Mostly carbs and sugar... Thus encouraging more of a melt down.

As the bus moved forward I grew intent that we would get off at La-Nagu (the town closest to where we wished to go). Every time the bus stopped I would ask "La-nagu?" and people would sake their heads at me. I thought the driver understood that this was where we wanted to go--certain he would stop there for us.

Of couse, as we sped through La-Nagu the bus didn't stop. My body wanted to run forward and tell the driver "stop stop!" but my brain kept telling me "he knows where we want to go--he would have stopped had that been La-Nagu". An hour later we arrived in Satun. Now we would have to back track or skip Ko Lipe entirely. I stood on the curb, arms crossed, sulking, waiting to attack the next chipper thing that crossed me. Looking for a hotel was going to be a challenge, seeing as we were both exhausted, hungry for real food, and very smelly.

Hotel 1, was described by Lonelly Planet as having "the best view of the town and jungle"..."updated western matresses"..."clean and comforatable". It was the most expensive joint in Satun, a whopping 600 Bhat ($30). I figured, if we had to stay in this dump, we might as well sleep well and maybe catch a little CNN, to provide a sound other than our arguing.

The woman at the front desk smiled, and was polite and helpful. The lobby was polished and clean--I was optimistic. She told us the room would be 680 BHT. We smiled and through our teeth said "fine, can we see the room". Her assistant took a key and escorted us into an elevator. We boarded. She pressed "7" (the penthouse). I smiled. And a fly buzzed around our heads. I stopped smiling.

As we got off the elevator and walked down the hall I noticed a very large animal scurry away. I cringed. We looked at the room... Two twin beds (which given our attitudes toward one another was slightly appealing), mold on the walls, wood damage at the base of the TV stand (perhaps from gnawing rodents)... I smiled at the assistant and at Sam and said "I don't think so". Upon exiting the room I looked down the hall again, my fears confirmed "Sam, there are two rats down there". For $30+ no way was I sleeping in an establishment with rats! Esp on the 7th floor!!

When we went back to the lobby the English speaking receptionist said "no discount!" and Sam said, "that's okay, you have rats up there". We left.

The best thing about traveling with Sam is that he really understands my need for a clean bed. And as we left the hotel there was hope for us still. I also realized that no matter how angry we were with one another, there was no way I wasn't sleepig next to him. I needed protection!

Hotel 2 was very modest looking, but at 200 BHT ($8) for a fan room, I figured I could sleep with rats. We went up to the 4th floor to take a look at the room, the receptionist allowed us to go alone. Upon reaching "4" we were greated by 3 or so bats--enjoying the dungeon-like hallway. The place, as described by LP, "was institutional"..."providing spring-y mattresses"..."nothing fancy". And upon entering the room, I discovered how low the standards were of the people writing for Lonely Planet were. Had I been the author I would have written "run for your life"..."never come here"..."room looks like crime scene".

I plopped down on the plastic chair, crying and surveying the room for rodents. I realized, we had no choice. Sam went back down to the lobby to pay the receptionist and I sat there. In shock. I was going to have to sleep here. I surveyed the room. The linnen company had written it's logo and contact info on the sheets and pillows in red. But they were not good at it, the letters were smudged and it looked like someone had been stabbed or shot in the bed. I tried to think possitively "well, the sheets look ironed..." I told myslef. "there is toilet paper..."

Sam came back into the room and we both decided tomorrow would be anoter day. A clean slate to reasses our plan and an opportunity for an "attitude adjustment" (to quote my godmother).

At 5:00 am a louspeake went off--perhps a Muslim prayer?--our hotel was right above as Mosque. We drifted back to sleep until 7:00. When we woke we looked at eachother and laughed a little. "That was ridiculous!" Sam made sure to note, "no bugs or rodents". And even though the room was disgusting, he was correct.


(the pics don't emphasize just how bad it was)

We decided to hop into a cab and head to Pak Bara--we are going to make it to Ko Lipe. We may only stay one or two nights. But after all that travel we just wanted to get there. We now also know that we have the option to take a ferry into Malaysia from Ko Lipe... So the trip might be worth it after-all.

Today has certinly provided us with an attitude adjustmet, and we are enjoying reflecting upon the ups an downs of our trip.

Before we left, Sam's good friend asked him if he really thought I would be able to handle backpacking... I can say that the adjusting hasn't been easy, but we made it through last night. And we are really proud of eachother.

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What to pack

Because Sam never wants for me to post a blog without a photo...


This is our Ko Chang pet dog, she moved right in and made herself at home.

While on our tavels Sam and I have received neumerous emails from friends who are seeking out information about our trip. Most importantlly people have wanted to know what we packed.

In doing research for our trip Sam and I found other Blogs to be the best source of information. One of my favorites was; "euros ate my dollars" (you can google it). Mostly I liked it because it was a couple that traveled together and they provided funny insight into various situations.

Some of you may just be curious, how are we carrying our belogings (especially a high mainetance girl, such as myself).

Sam and I spent about 1 month planning and packing--but about 1 year researching (keep in mind, we are little more neurotic than the average Joe). We decided that large backpacks would be the best way to carry our belongings--although we see plenty of people we bring rolling duffle bags. It depends on what kind of trip you intend to have--this should be the first question you ask yourself. Will you be traveling via land? Air? Sea? All three perhaps? Do you intend to do extended stays in a few places or shorter stays and see more?

Once you know what form of luggage you're bringing you can start to fill it. Sam and I had different approaches to this, so I will provide you with what I did. I was of the opinion that I would be washing all of my clothing in sinks, and it would be best to have as little cotton as possible--nylon, polyester, wool, etc. From there I generated a list, which was very helpful.

Pack, Arc'teryx Maia 65 (Sam has te male version, the Naos). I have always viewed rain flys as rediculous--why not make the pack waterproof? Afterall, it's not when it's raining I am concerned, it's when the pack is set down in 2 inches of water, or carried over the ocean (and could slip). We happened to get really stellar deals on our packs, so for us they have been perfect. If your budget allows (or you come across a deal), we both HIGHLY recommend these packs.

2 wool socks--I brought smartwool

5/6 ex officio underpants (I also brought Patagonia), these are critcal... Even though it stinks that they cost $18/each. Underpants ia about the only thing I wash in the sink regularlly.

3 bras (2 underwire & 1 sport, all non cotton)

1 baithing suit--you can easily buy these at any ocean town.

3 pants (jeans, adventure pants (i.e. convertable pants), comforatable loose somethings)

1 shorts

5/6 tees and tanks. You must cover your shoulders and knees when you go into a Wat, so don't over-do it in the tank department. You can and will buy cotton tees in many places.

1 long sleeved shirt--lightweight. I only use it when I am burnt and need to stay out of the sun. A flow-y coverup will do.

1 lightweight fleece

1 light rain coat (you do not need goretex!)

1 good baseball-type hat (they don't have great hats over here)

1 adventure sandalls (I love Chacos)

1 hiking sneaker (I brought asics)

Head lamp/small flash light (you can also easily obtain this in Asia)

Small bag for walking around the city and short hikes. I brought an EMS satchell and Sam brought the Arc'terix Cizero '18 (super lightweight). Sam and I are against the front backpack, backpack look. First of all it's super nerdy looking and second these people appear high maintenance. All of your crap should fit in your pack--or FedEx it home.

Small cord and lock for securing you bag on the train and such (helps with peace on mind) we got ours at EMS--made by Eagle Creek

Money belt/necklace. Great to wear if your sleeping on a train/bus/plane. Do not wear your money belt outside of your clothing--thieves have been know to cut and run. Always conceal your most valuable belongings.

Pak towel--very useful

Watch--make sure you know how to operate the watch before you leave. My watch was from target--$9. Tells the time and occasionally wakes me up when I want it to and occasionally when I don't! Sam's watch has the temp and date--which is really nice.

Pens!!! Pens are like gold in Asia! Bring more than one.

Things I wish I brought...
A dress--Patagonia makes one that is non cotton, but it was $80 and I couldn't justify it. They have dresses here, but you can't really try stuff on... Very hit or miss.

Things I wish I left behind (and eventually sent home)
Socks!! It's hot here, we barelly ever wear our sneakers. I sent 3 pair home, kept 2.

Okay, so this we are a little on the fence with... Sam and I both sent our sleeping bags home. First I want to say that you DO NOT need a 15 degree bag. At most a 40/50... It's hot here. We opted to keep our sleeping bag liners. We hadn't used our sleepbg bags at all up until Bangkok, and they take up valuable space. Of course, as soon as we sent them back to the US we stayed at a bungalow that only provided tiny blankets. Our sleeping bag liners have been great. After all, it's hot, and neither of us are particularly cold people. Our advice, if traveling as a couple, get one light sleeping bag that fully unzips (not a mummy, but the other) and then use it as a blanket. Alternativelly, just bring liners.

Outlet converters. We didn't send them all home. But all of the outlets up until Thailand have accepted regular US plugs. These also appear the be easy finds, they sell them in most tourist neighborhoods for a buck or two.

As far as toiletries go, bring small 3oz sized ones. You really can buy it all here, for cheaper or the same. Bring sun tan lotion!!! The good stuff (meaning 30 and waterproof, is really expensive) otherwise all you get is skin whitening lotion or 15, not waterproof (useless!)

If anyone has anything to contribute, please feel free to do so! Any questions, we will happily reply. And no, you won't be washing all of your clothing in a sink, they do laundry here better than mom--going rate, $1/kilo.



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City traffic and crowded beaches...

Sun set on Ko Chang 2 (in the Admand Sea)


Our bungalow...



View from our bungalow



Me, in the hammock on our porch



Sam stirring his tea at breakfast



Beach, left



Beach, right

...there is no one here!



Sam blogging on our porch.

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Patriots and paradise

Hello, currently Maggie and I are staying on another island called koh chang off the southwestern edge of Thailand. We went to Burma for a visa run a couple days ago and are now making our way down to Malaysia and then on to Singapore.



This past week in Bangkok


I was able to catch my second patriots game , this time at 4am Monday in Bangkok. The patriots played the jets and I set the alarm for 345 am, Maggie slept in and thought I was crazy, but I was completely happy heading down to khao son rd to the 24 hr bar to see the pats.

Upon arriving the first thing I noticed was all the late night revellers still trying to put down the last drink or make that play on a girl or guy for a one night stand in Bangkok. I'm not drinking alcohol on this trip so it was quite a spectacle to see everyone in smoky bar doing their thing, but so I got a cup of tea and some chicken wings and settled in. The patriots took an early lead and everyone looks at me funny when i cheer cause they have no idea what I am cheering for.

As we got closer to 5am and 6am, the bar began to turn into a breakfast buffet with a few straglers still drinking beers in the dawn hours, but mostly we had early morning go getters up to get some breakfast and to head out to see Bangkok. Anyways, back to our island paradise.




Maggie and her new friend Tao, a cat we met after hiking to the other side of the island where we are staying, we passed through a rubber plantation,


small villages, and plenty of jungle to find on the other side, at first ......nothing, we found some bungalows but no places for food, then finally, once we thought we would be hiking home hungry, we found this restaurant with a nice ocean view,



and great food all for under 10$. Maggie fell in love with the cat Tao and we hiked home happy. A couple more days on this rustic island and we will be on the move again. Happy belated thanksgiving to everyone.


View from our bungalow

PHOTO'S Bangkok

Bangkok

Last Day in BK

Sam and I spent our last day in Bangkok biking! Our hotel had bikes for us to use, so it was free. Our hotel has been great, the people are so sweet. If anyone is planning a trip to BK our hotel is named "Siamese Views Lodge". Almost no tuk tuk's or taxi's know where it is. So you'll have to bring an address and/or map. The hotel is new and clean, and comes with breakfast.

Anyway, back to our day. Bangkok is one of the least bike-friendly cities either of us have experienced. Which is strange, because the city isn't that large and the weather is always bike-permitting. Instead, the Thai would rater sit in bumper to bumper traffic for hours on end... it does not match up for me.

Bangkok is a difficult city to navigate via foot too. The sidewalks are narrow, non-existent, or taken up entirely by synthetic prada bag vendors and sausage stands. Our hotel staff was amazed at how much we walked, but there are very few options for maneuvering the city after 8:00pm (when the river boats shut down), unless you understand the bus system.

Biking was quite the experience. Traveling down narrow roads with cars, motor-bikes, and vendors wheeling their carts. Traffic in Bangkok lasts all day, and it can take hours in a car to move 2 kilometers (I am not being sarcastic). We didn't believe the locals when they told us this, and then Sam and I got into a cab at 5:00. Such a waste of money, gas, and time.



Today we decided we would bike to Klog Tome, a market about 1 kilometer from our hotel. We went for the food, not for the shopping. Outside of the market is the most amazing tempura fried chicken we've ever had. As we rolled up I yelled to Sam "Order 50!" Ever my gate-keeper of self control Sam bought 4 to start with... they are the size of small chicken breasts (on sticks!). After the initial 2 each I insisted we buy more. Sam opted for the seafood option, I returned to what I knew best. We also ordered coke in a bag. The best lunch thus far, fried chicken on a stick and cokes out of a bag = $3 total. The smile on my face (and the post-indulging stomach-ache) = priceless. *The street vendors do not take credit cards.

After lunch we decided we should bike it off. We decided that biking the streets of Bangkok was not really fun. Wanting to give it our best efforts we decided to bike down the large, new, main roads... that sort-of had bike paths. We soon learned that the locals treat the bike path as a joke. Mostly people walk in it, but vendors also set up shop in it. As we navigated our way through we headed in the direction of the Royal Palace and some Wat's.

The Royal Palace is very uninviting. There really isn't anything to see. It's a white concrete wall. You can't see in unless you happen to catch a gate or two open. Across the palace is a Wat with yet again another giant golden Buddha. We're over the whole Wat/Giant Buddha thing... after awhile it's all the same. Fortunately Sam and I took the "Thai" entrance... so we avoided the 50 Bhat fee (about $1.65). Not that it's such a large fee, it's just that it's like every time you step into a place of worship you're hit up for $$. After the 50th time we felt we deserved the frequent visitors fee.



By 2:00, we were ready to head back to the hotel. Sam wanted to pick up a new book, and he had his final suit fitting this evening. Sam is at Narin's for his fitting and I'm at our hotel using the computer. We depart for Ranong in a few hours (9:00 overnight bus) to do our boarder hop and then off to the islands... for Thanksgiving & Sam's Birthday (Dec 7th)!

Photos from Thailand

Thailand

Bangkok

Sorry we have been MIA for the past few days--I promise we will upload new photos of our Bangkok experience within a day or so (I like to do it the last day we are somewhere).

Bangkok has been amazing, but I think we are both ready to move on. Bangkok is a fast paced, metropolitan city with a lot of character. The majority of "what's going on" are Wat tours and shopping. Sam is shopped out (I don't think I could ever be shopped out) but both of our wallets are feeling the pinch. Next we are headed to spend a few cheap cheap days lounging on the beach and reading.

The reason we spend 10 days in Bangkok is mostly due to Sam's suit. He is having one of the best tailors in Bangkok make it (his name is Narin, on Sukamvit... if anyone is headed here and is interested). A very nice guy, trained in Paris. I too jumped on the custom bandwagon and am having a blazer and dress made. Picking them up today, hopefully they will look alright.

On Saturday Sam decided he needed some Maggie space--after spending 30 consecutive days together without any space. I had a hard time with this, I wanted my buddy to hang out with. But, Sam wanted to stay in, read, and walk another 10 million miles. And that was not what I wanted to do.

In the morning, I headed off to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Siam Square. The museum is very Guggenheim-esque, and was commissioned to be built by the princess. Evidently the King does not want his kids to be spoiled "prince/princess'" So he makes them take on projects. This was a project the princess took on (I couldn't even imagine, being in my 20s and leading a group of people to build a museum!) But I guess that's how royalty works.

Anyway, in typical Asian fashion the layout goes; F1 Shopping, F2 Shopping, F3Shopping, F4 Shopping, F5 Information, F6 Special Exhibits (not open), F7 Exhibit.
Fortunately the shopping was cool, non-profit, hipster/artsy, shopping. Which was fun to look at and a change from the other shopping. The Bangkok Opera House is based out of the museum, a Feminist League (they had little-kid Tee's that said "Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere" they didn't have one in pink, so I didn't get one for Leah), The Greater Bangkok Society of Photography, and they had a cafe that served "Cigarette Ice Cream" and "Beer Sorbet".... yum.

The exhibit was really cool, called "Twist and Shout", and I had a lot of fun taking photos without Sam saying "you are such a tourist" in my ear. (I took a lot of photos of the space for all of the architects out there)... it's one of the more modern buildings in Bangkok.

Post Museum I crossed the road to get to MBK--which is a huge, tween, shopping mall. In my week in Bangkok I have learned a valuable lesson. Anything of quality will always be somewhat expensive. And in Bangkok, as I mentioned before, there are two classes. Poor and rich. It seems that if you buy something on the "cheaper" side, you'll get plastic and polyester. There is very little middle ground, because then it jumps up to fine leather goods and Thai Silk. I didn't buy too much, just a few gifts. I was mostly there to enjoy the chaos and the spectacle.

As the day wore on I left MBK and headed to a dress fitting in Patpong (the old Backpacker district, today the Gem district). By 6:00 I was on a boat headed back up to our hotel. I had such a great day and was really excited to see Sam--he was right, the day apart was good for us.

Sam and I made dinner arrangements with a guy staying in our hotel, Jack. Jack (as he introduced himself) is an Asian Jew. He is Thai (lives in Thailand) but grew up in Israel. He as been so helpful to Sam and me regarding where to go and what to do.

We had Jack take us to a small restaurant and order--which was really cool! He ordered all of the traditional Thai dishes, and Pad Thai was not one of them. We had curried prawns, crab omelet, soybean pork,... cant remember them all... but it was great. Post dinner we walked around a bit and Jack took us into a Wat with a big golden Buddha.

At the end of the day we crashed--I guess that's what the city does to you. Rushing off the computer, we have a ton of stuff to do today. I promise photos to come!!

Photos from Cambodia

Cambodia

Sukamvit

(the canal subway)

Safety in Asia does not include car seats for children. It does not include posted signs that read "keep your arms and head inside the moving vehicle". It is a place where red lights and stop sings are optional (especialy for motorbikes). Safety in Asia does not include news stories such as "raw and exposed street meat; what this meat--sitting in the roasting streets of Bangkok for hours before you eat it--could mean for YOUR health." Most of all safety in Asia is near non existant. And it's great!

As we stroll the streets, and peer into cars, we enjoy seeing a mother without her seatbelt, freely and openly feeding her newborn baby as her driver speeds down the freeway. Or, my personal favorite, a family of four (infant, parent, infant, parent) squeezed onto one motorbike. Sorry people--evidentlly you don't need a Hummer to shuffle your kids to soccer practice.

All of this freedom. Makes me smile. It's not only the freedom that makes me smile, it's not that these people are so "free", it's that they are not emotional about a hypothetical possibility. Upon seeing the mother and infant in the car I recalled the Britney Spears "controversy" that made CNN, Fox, & every major new station in the US. This was a huge story, and people were up in arms. Claiming she was an unfit mother. I wonder what the news channels would say about Asia.

Today we took the river subway. Which takes every emotional US news story and wraps it into one great boat ride! For those that have been to Bangkok, this is not the Chao Phraya--this is on one of the smaller canals (which is why I call it a subway).

The river subway is a long wooden boat with benches running down the middle. When it pulls up to the dock it does not stop--not for the handicap, not for your grandmother--you're either on or you're not. Once you're on, the boat goes speeding down a narrow canal (think Amsterdam, if you've been there). Ticket sellers walk on the very edges of the boat only hanging onto a rope that runs parallel above. But the bridges the boats go under are barely enough for the boats to fit, so the ticket collectors have to duck every time the boat cruises under a tunnel, or they'd be taken out. The canal has two way boat traffic, and they go roaring past one another creating Atlantic Ocean type wakes within the contained canal. Of course, only one boat can fit under a bridge at a time. So the boat headed west must give way to the boat headed east. Ocassionally the western boat will come to an abrupt hault, sending you, your belongings, your infant, and grandmother, flying forward. But I know you're wondering--Maggie, don't the passengers wear life preservers?--No, they don't. The motor in the center of the boat is exposed, and very loud. And the only thing between you and the splashing polluted river water is a thin blue tarp that you hold into place. And when you get off, be prepaired. Otherwise you'll end up in the drink, and compaired to the Charles River in te 80s the Charels was and is drinking water.

Sam and I love the river subway. Safety is the last thing these people are concerned with.



(Illegal drug sales on Sukumvit Rd) anybody need any? Post this photo this Thai lady yelled at me--I told her I didn't get the shot.

Today... Sam got ftted for a fancy suit. Per my nagging he went to the gay tailor (I told him he was the best dressed person we saw... The decision should be obvious). We learned a lot tailor shopping today, and it was really fun. Bangkok has 2 classes--really rich and poor. The rich are so rich they only wear Louis Vuitton and Hermes and the poor wear the plastic and synthetic knock-offs. This also means there are 2 types of suits. Real, tailor made, with Italian wool and suits that ate not really tailor made--the measure you, but what they really do is take a polyester Macy's suit and alter it. You can. Tell which is which based on the price.


(Christmas decor, and music!, at Emporium)

After the fitting we walked around Sukumvit Rd. This is where all of the fancy high rises are, and the expensive mall "Emporium" is. We started to get tired so we went to a resturant, Kuppa. Sam's architect friends would have appreciated this place (I didn't take a pic on my phone of the exterior, but will this week). Very cool spot--very "upscale". It's a local Thai Mobb hot spot... But we didn't see any. After shoving our faces, we wanted to take a cab but needed to walk off the chocolate cake and ice cream--we walke back to the river subway, but missed the last one. Forced into an ACed cab... We made it bak to the hotel by 8:30.



(Sam at Kuppa)

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