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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photos from laos

Laos

photos from vietnam

Vietnam

Goodmorning, Bangkok!

Sam and I arrived in Bangkok last night, from Ko Chang. Upon arrival, we spent about 2 hrs with our packs on looking for accomodations. Our bus dropped us off by Koh San Road (which is THE backpacker neighborhood). As we walked around we would go into a hotel and it would ether be too expensive ($50) or too cheap ($15)... We were looking for something in the $30 range--but were hard pressed to find it. As we treked through the busy streets we kept reminding eachother that it was hot and if either one of us needed a break to voice it--no fighting. As we approaced the "democracy monument" we noticed some cute resturants and we decided to inquire whether or not these resturants had hotels too. Sam approached an older gentleman, I guess he was like the maitradee or valet? He basically said, "follow me," and we did. He took us down a dark alley, and I thought... Sam's a big guy, he could take this old man... Fortunatelly, squeezed between the older concrete buildings I noticed modern construction with horizonal wood siding and glowing light beaming out of it. The man led us into a fairly modern building with a smiling receptionist. And it was at that moment that I didn't care if it was $50/night. We were taking it. Sam and I negotiated a good rate and the room was exactly what we were looking for. Clean, modern, large, free in room wifi, and a good bathroom (my main priority)... And less than $50!

We have agreed to stay in Bangkok for a week, and I am so excited! Bangkok reminds me of what I envision NY to have looked like in the '70s. It has an interesting relationship between modern and dated. The roads are freshly paved; fuschia, green, blue, and yellow taxis fill the streets; modern buildings and monumets are scattered throughout; and the public areas (gardens and landscape) are impecably maintained. But there are also dated aspects. The tuk-tuk's (motor bikes with carriages attached) are classics; the busses are reminicient of the bus Rosa Parks was kicked off of; and most of the buildings could, in the least, use a good scrubbing!

When we went out for dinner last night Sam and I were on shop-aholoc overload. The streets are so visually stimulating, it was hard to exercise the self control to not buy everything. I had Sam remind me that all of this crap will be here all week--he then also reminded me that most of it is Made in China, which as we have learned, falls apart after one washing. He escorted me out of the shopping area proptly after dinner--otherwise he knew he would fall victim to me shopping for endless hours!

Now, a story.

All week Sam has screwed up my metal clock. Every day, "so MAYBE on Monday morning at 8:30 we could go out and find a place that has the Pats game on!". (the US is a perfect 12 hr time difference). This has led me to think that every day is Sunday night... "so what day is it? When do you want to watch this game?" I keep asking....

When it comes to American football Sam is a 10 year old boy on Christmas eve. And last night (Sun) he reminded me, again, of his Monday morning wish. Thos morning he reminded me at 7:30 ("let's go and find the game"), 8:00 ("honey... Hurry up!"), 8:30 ("can you please get off the phone with your mother so we can go"), and 8:45 ("I'm not getting my hopes up, I am just crossing my fingers"). We headed to Koh San, figuring we would have the best luck there and as we headed down the road we discovered a plaza looking space with a McDonalds and Starbucks... And an Irish Pub! I led Sam upstairs and we looked at all of the TVs.... Nothing. So we asked the bartender. He began searching the channels an I swear Sam stopped breathing while he did this.... You know, like a kid holding his breath by a cemetery. And then... Like magic. Sam spotted NBC. "There it is!" He pulled up a bar stool and almost shouting hapiness at the bartender "two menus please!"

And so here we sit at 9:00 am. At a bar in Bangkok. Sipping on fresh fruit smoothies. Me, blogging. And Sam with the loud clap whenever we get a touchdown (except here, no one knows why Sam is clapping. So they just turn and stare at us like we are crazy).




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Ko Chang Adventures

So, Sam and I have been in Ko Chang, Thailand for the past few days. And have been loving it. Yesterday we spent the day kayaking and snorkeling on a tropical beach. And last night we had dinner over the sun setting... see photo above.

Today, our last day here, we decided to rent bikes. Renting bikes seems to be a theme (we do it on our last day where ever we are). BUT this time we rented a motor bike. We had a great time exploring Ko Chang. We ended up at this fishing pier, walking around and I did some shopping (I got two great dresses for the hot weather!).



Ko Chang has been great. Just what we have needed before heading to Bangkok. However, a few things we hadn't expected. Thailand is much more expensive than Lao and Cambodia were. Maybe this is just where we are... but we suspect it has something to do with the weak US $. Just a year ago the Thai Baht was 42 / $1 and now it's a meager 31 / $1... it may not seem like much, but in the overall scheme of things it does affect us. We are hoping that there is more competition in Bangkok, and the prices are lower on account of this.

Another thing we came across, we were only able to obtain a 15 day visa. Thailand only offers 30 day visas when you fly. Why? you ask... I asked too. Well, Thailand does not feel that backpacker dollars are good tourist dollars. And since only "poor" people would choose to take the bus over the boarder they want to discourage the poor people from hanging out in the country. This came from a local... so who knows how accurate it is. But it is still annoying. Mostly because Sam and I want to spend more than 15 days here. And we want to spend money here. We took a bus to see more landscape. Not because of a financial reason... well spending $10.50 as opposed to $100 was also nice... but that was not the sole driver of the decision.

Overall we LOVE Thailand. It seems to be much cleaner and better organized that any of the other countries we have been to. Even though it's a little more expensive and going to be a hassle to arrange to leave the country and re-enter, I think it will be well worth it. However, having had this information in advance would have also been good... it was not mentioned in any of our guide books. So for those of you planning a Thai trip, plan to enter and re-enter. This wont be a problem. And at the end of the day the visa (15 or 30 day, is free)... So there is always that!

PICTURES

Last day in Luang Prabang, Siem Reap/Camboida, & Ko Chang/Thailand

http://picasaweb.google.co.th/curriermaggie/SiemReapCamboidaAndKoChangThailand?feat=directlink

Hello, Paradise.

Sam and I woke up in paradise. And it's as amazing as we hoped it would be.

SO.... we took a bus and boat from Siem Reap to Kho Chang Thailand. The entirety of the trip took 12 hours and cost us $10.50 each. We were amazed at how the company could make money off of this. We didnt even have to negotiate with the lady selling the tickets, she did it all herself... `ticket cost 15 dolla´, `but today we have special price, 14 dolla´... `but since you buy two I give you bery special discount, 13 dolla´, `ok, ok, lady you have special price of 12 dolla´... when we told her we would have dinner and come back to buy the tickets she gave us a card and wrote $11 on it, she said `I hope you come back!´. When we did she knocked the price down to $10.50... I didnt have the heart to negotiate with her. She had already done all of the hard work for us!

The ride was more or less air conditioned and of course over loaded in typical Asian style (people and luggage sitting in the isles). The ride went like this, 1 hr, stop so Westerners can buy quality Asian souvenirs. 2 hr, Thai boarder. Everyone off of bus. 1 hr, onto smaller bus shuffled to border control. 1 hr, actual boarder crossing. 1 hr, onto small bus to restaurant so that fat Westerners can eat quality Asian cuisine. 4 hr, to Trat to take boat to Kho Chang.... almost NO stops! The driver was a total maniac. 2 hr, boat from Trat to Kho Chang... a very slow boat. We finally arrived at 730 and were so excited to be here.

This morning when we were talking about what to do with our day it was pretty obvious. Breakfast, beach, lunch, snorkel inquires, beach, sunset, shower, dinner, call our mothers.

Tomorrow looks about the same with more beach and kayaking.

Thailand has the most amazing fruit smoothies, and Sam and I wanted to share the recipe with everyone so that if people are missing us they can whip something up in the blender and join in on our trip....

Basically, pick your fruit. Our favorites are pineapple andor mixed fruit (they use pineapple, banana, apple, watermelon, mango, papaya, dragon fruit...etc) Take a cup or so of diced fruit, toss it in the blender. Add a little less than a cup of ice. 14 cup of coconut milk 14 cup milk. Blend. Sip. Smile.

Sorry, no pics tonight. More to come soon. We promise.

Last day in Cambodia...

Yesterday morning Sam headed off to Angkor Wat to watch the sun rise over the ruins... Naturally, I slept in! Unfortunately, my alarm unexpectedly went off at 7:55 and I couldn't get back to bed (the walls of our guest house were bright yellow, south/west facing, with golden curtains... So it was bright). I didn't expect Sam to return until 1:00, so I rolled over and turned on a "quality" HBO flick. I figured I had plenty of time to be lazy, shower, find breakfast, and even do some shopping before he returned.

HBO flicks in Asia are hardly movies. They appear to be US rejects. Movies that never made it to theatres (at least no reputable theatre). Movies like "Blade V", "Killer Leprechaun III", etc. On this particular morning the HBO flick wasn't that bad... Some story about a 1960s game show hoax, evidently based on a true story. Nestled comfortably in bed with the AC blasting, not feeling guilty at all about wasting the morning away, I was shocked to see the door bust open at 9:00. Sam laughed at my typical behavior an proceeded to tell me that the sunrise was so amazing he didn't even need the rest of the day at Angkor Wat.

Half disappointed about being lazy and half hoping Sam would "shush" so that I could watch the movie, I smiled, nodded, and convinced him that hotel air con and HBO movies were GOOD inventions. (thank goodness he was tired from the early rise).

Promptly after the movie ended Sam jumped to his feet and said, "let's get out!". We headed out into the hot and sweaty streets of Siem Reap at about 12 (it was a staggering 99.5 degrees. In the shade). Sam pointed out that these people are early risers, work, and siesta until 3/4 pm. Clearly, we're idiots. We decided we would go souvenir shopping, but as I passed two, beat-up, red bikes on the side of the road with a rusty old sign on them reading "$1.5/day", I decided biking was way more fun than walking (and Sam had already refused to let me hire a tuk tuk for the day to chauffeur us around) biking seemed easier than walking and I was able to convince Sam that it would still provide us with ample exercise.

Once on the bike there was no controlling me. Weaving down dirt roads and exploring, my energy level soared! Sam stopped me and asked, where are we going? And we collectively decided we would bike to Tole Sap Lake. On the map it looks really close to Siem Reap... But Sam, who has considerably more map reading skill than I do, told me it was about 5 miles away. Sam and I are both stubborn, and half wanting to prove one another wrong we decided we would attempt to find it.

An hour later we began to see mirages of water in the far distance. Dying of thirst and our skin charring by the second we pulled over into a restaurant with hammocks and downed a coke (they didn't seem to have water, let alone diet coke). Despite our shirts being soaked through we pushed on... We couldn't be that far now.

Thankfully we weren't and about 15 minutes later we reached the end of the road. The end of the road was interesting. Bombarded by tour guides to buy a ticket for a boat ride we decided "what the heck". Tonle Sap Lake is huge. The water has lots of plant-life growing on it which create highways of westerners in boats with guides all taking us to view a village that people have created on the water. They build their homes of twigs and wood, floating on old empty oil barrels. They have a school, basketball court, restaurants, stores, even a tourist information center.

Tonle Sap Lake was the first time we encountered begging during our trip, and we both became inverted immediately. Mothers with crying babies in wooden boats and young disabled naked children floating in giant pots with sticks to row with, approached our boat and were all quick to ask for "a dolla".

Tonle Sap made us feel a little like we were at the Disney world of Siem Reap. But without the fairy tale. A spectacle. Where the locals are observed and survive off the expectation the Western heart will be guilt ridden and give in to their requests.

As we departed the boat we were relived. We retrieved our bicycles and began the long trek back to Siem Reap... Over 100 degrees in the sun... And there was no shade on the right side of the road. Once back in town we laughed at our "laid-back" day and my very burnt nose.... I wore my sunglasses all day, and have the tan-lines to back it up. Our late lunch and ice cold smoothies tasted so good.

We hid in the air conditioned hotel until the sun went down... Where we laughed that the story of a drunk Boston woman falling into the rails and almost died made international news. We did some shopping (I did a lot of shopping) once the sun disappeared and made it back to the hotel not too late to pack and get ready to move on from Siem Reap.

This morning we woke to load a very full bus and head onto Thailand. Our 1st stop is Koh Chang (an island on the south east side). So far our travel plans are way head of what we initially planned for. We are going to try and slow things down. Take more buses, fly less, and really experience Thai culture. Hopefully we are finished with being sick!

For those of you who are wondering, Sam and I are getting along really well. The biggest challenge has been being sick, and Sam took excellent care of me. Hopefully I'll get an opportunity to return the favor... But he has a "super" immune system so I'll be shocked if he gets sick. But we like to see a lot of the same things and have been really good at compromising when one of us feels passionate/scared/excited about something.

I'm starting to miss everyone/everything (i.e. western comforts) at home, but I'm very happy to have Sam with me who reminds me that I'm beautiful despite my red nose and Afro hair.

Bribery and subterfuge inside the walls of Angkor wat

morning, I wake up at 4:43am, camera, sketchbook, water, Khmer pass, shoes, check check check. I head downstairs for a 455 tuk tuk ride up to Angkor wat. Download monday morning quarterback in the lobby to read on my phone on the drive up. As we cruise through the checkpoint station I realize alot of people head up to the temple for this sunrise.

Upon arrival it becomes painfully obvious that this is a paparazzi event and angkor wat is the celebrity. I move past the couple hundred people just at the main guard gate, some waiting for the early morning shot, others just snapping away because that is what tourists do and I move closer to the actual complex.

Another heard of photogs at the refection pond waiting for the two for one shot. I say screw it and try to make it into the wat and around to the back before the sun actually rises.

upon arrival in the lower courtyard it is beautiful empty, free of the paparazzi and people in general. As I stand gawking at the architecture one of the security guards approaches me and asks "you want to go up?" into the highest tower. We negotiate an appropriate bribe And then hop the fence and run up the stairs to the central tower.




we get up to the top level and he gives me a hushed guided tour, the top level is in process of being restored and is gorgeous, with a different god looking out north south east and west. We can see all the people down at the reflecting pool clamoring for shot position and it Feels cool to be up in the restoration area getting a private tour of the central tower.

it's 654 and I'm off to get some breakfast. Meet a Norwegian girl named turiel at breakfast who reccomendation surrin island in Thailand. Enjoy the day everyone

4 faced budha's and we're off to koh chang

Today Maggie and I headed back up to the Khmer temples, starting off at Angkor thom and heading through many of the smaller temples before swinging back through Angkor wat.




Angkor thom had a giant moat surrounding it with a bridge that had statues of warriors holding a giant long naga serpent, this of course led us us to a giant entry gate that had the four faces of budha, one on each side of it.



as we toured through the different temples we realized how extensive the khmer empire really was, this civilization had drainage, canals, amazing architects, builders, and spirituality.

we made our way back throug angkor wat and had a great conversation with a budhist monk named zean. He was in his early 20's and was completing his 10th year in the wat, he gave us a great insight on how monks live on a day to day basis.

upon returning we made the decision to hop a bus to koh chang in Thailand on the 11th instead of going to Bangkok.

a special shout out to my grandmother Charlotte and happy belated birthday, I love you and miss you, hope things are well in nh.

until next time............samuel j

Khmer temples

Yesterday Maggie and I made our way from siem reap up the khmer temples to explore Angkor wat, Angkor Tom and others.


We were able to hire a tuk tuk driver for the whole day for 8$, amazing. So we got our three day pass and headed into Angkor wat. This wat was a temple in a city that had over a million people back in the 11th century. I can't believe that we didn't study these temples more in school, Angkor wat is amazing in terms of it's layout, it's symmetries, architectural metaphors etc.

we spent the whole morning walking through the outer courtyards and sketching, then grabbed some brunch at a shack in the courtyard where we met a nice Canadian man named albert.

albert turned out to be an industrial designer in Toronto who had decided to head out on an extended holiday and visit angkor wat. Maggie and I enjoyed our meal with him and then headed back into the hot, humid weather that comes with visiting the temples.

Thai Massages

I have only had 3 massages in my life; the first was at Mohonk Mountain house last November, the second was in Vietnam two weeks ago, and the third was today in Cambodia. Before Sam, massages were not a part of my realm of understanding.

Sam, loves massages. There is no question in my mind he would leave me for a less interesting woman should she posses the talent and agree to provide him with daily massages--this is undoubtedly his weak spot.

It would seem a requirement, to be with Sam, that I too should love massages. But, as I learned today, this is not the case.

Getting a Thai massage was the most painful hour of my life. And for those of you who don't know me, I don't like pain. 2/3 of the hour was pain, 1/6 of the hour was uncontrollable tickling, and the last 1/6th was pleasure... Like when she was FINISHED with certain parts of my body. Getting a Thai massage is like going to Vinyasa Flow hot Yoga for a chain smoker who is hungover and out of shape.... I take it only some of you will know what that means, but it's the opposite of pleasant.

Sam, on the other hand, quite enjoys this sort of thing. As we lay next to one another (this was an upscale joint) my cries of pain were responded with his hums of pleasure. He sounded like a coo-ing baby while I sounded like a torture victim.

Unbelievably I made in through the whole hour. (Sam signed up for an hour and a half). As I escaped the torture chamber I looked at the attendant and very politely said, "I think I'll have a pedicure now".

Leaving Laos & Coming to Cambodia

Sam and I had an amazing last day in Luang Prabang. We began the day by attending Tak Bat at 6AM (shortly after I returned to bed). At around 10 Sam nagged me enough to get me out the door. We decided to rent bikes--I was feeling much better and we both could use the excercise. Unfortunatelly for us the sun in Laos beats the hardest between 12 and 3 and many of the locals looked at us like we were crazy!

Despite the sun, we had an amazing time exploring and at 3 we found ourselves lounging in a resturant overlooking the Mekong (one where you sit on the ground). We had our own private bungalo to eat in and a blue and red spotted lizard joined us. On our way back into town we enjoied biking in Luang Prabang rush hour traffic and watching the sun set on the river.

That evening Sam had his heart set on dining at l'Elephant (one of the fanciest French resturants in Luang Prabang). I was indifferent. We made our way over, but I was still feeling full from our late lunch. I decided on a salad.... Figuring if there was any place safe this would be it (we had also already had salads from way sketchier places... So this place would of course be fine) BIG mistake.

The following morning we attended Tak Bat again (this time we decided to participate by handing out rice). We had to pack up and get to the air port (our flight was leaving for Siem Reap). At breakfast I was feeling bloated, so I decided to go with fruit and yogurt instead of the normal banana pancake (our guesthouse made amazing pancakes!). As the morning progressed so did my stomach ache.

Once Sam and I were at the airport my stomach was fully upset--but I still couldn't pin what was wrong. The flight was horiffic, Sam and I were both sitting next to each other clenching the barf bags. When we arrived we took the first guest house our driver took us to (I wasn't so sick that I couldn't negotiate $5 off the price though!)

Once in our room (at 12) Sam and I crashed. I have been sleeping/watching CNN in the fetal position for 24 hours now, and just begining to feel better. I think we are ready to brave the outdoors. There does not appear to be a lot special about Siem Reap... There are 1,000s of hotels and guesthouses, many of which are designed to look like Angkor Wat. Oh yeah, it's HOT here. In the uncomforatable way.

Sam went out for a small walk earlier this morning and came back with the report that the people are much more agressive than they were in Laos, grabbing your arm and following you down the street. I think we are both looking forward to seeing Angkor Wat and then moving on to more tropical settings. What is the point of heat like this if there is no beach? (hotels with a pool were $10 more, so we skipped it... Incase you were wondering)

PHOTOS

LUANG PRABANG

http://picasaweb.google.com/curriermaggie/LuangPrabang?feat=directlink

Last day in Laos...

Good day everyone! Today is Sam and my last day in Laos (tomorrow morning we will fly to Siem Reap). We have been MIA for the past few days because we have been laying low. I got sick our second day here (with a cold) so I didn't want to do much of anything. When I was feeling well Sam and I spent time walking around to the various Wat's in the city.

Yesterday I was feeling much better, so we decided to do some shopping and an adventure. In the afternoon we too a boat ride up the Mekong River to a temple in a cave; Pako Cave.

Pako cave was a good 1.5 hr ride up river. Opposite a large limestone mountain (that reminded us of Halong Bay). The cave is RIGHT on the river! Very drastic landscape change. The temple was very cool... All be it the 25 requests for "donation" we could have done without.... I don't think they quite get that a donation is optional... Which is especially hard to do when you pay to get into the temple to begin with.

We made it back to Luang Prabang at dusk and decided to save some money and eat street food for dinner. They offer 5.000 Kip/plate meals (that's like, .60)... Which was good until I realized we needed some protein. Then we bought chicken on a stick for 5.000 Kip... Oh yeah and a water for 2.000. Thus far, best priced meal yet... Sam and I ate for $1.70 each! Bite me McDonald's (and our food was 100% organic and locally grown... Shit, I think I even saw that chicken crossing the street earlier that day ;) and for those of you who are wondering how our stomachs handled this "street food", so far so good.

We made the decision that if we didn't get to siem reap at this point then we probably never would. We even toied with the idea of skipping Angkor Wat, but one conversation with our parents and they pretty much slapped that bad idea of the shelf! They were both very supportive of us visiting the temple and basically told us we had to go... So we are!

Until next time...

Tak baht

This morning at dawn I attended the Buddhist ceremony of tak baht here in luang prabang.

The monks from the different Wat's around the city walk through through the streets in a procession and people give each monk some of their rice that they get from the market in the pre dawn hours.

After all of the Wat's gather together and have collected their daily rice, they all join together near the Mekong river for a large communal breakfast. This ceremony was quite moving and for me it had a quiet air of authenticity.

wishing everyone a good November

-Sam