So as you know, I just got back from my trip to South East Asia and had an amazing time learning about the culture, food, and local people. While pictures don’t do the trip justice, you should check out my blog. It’s currently more of a photo journal as I've put up a set of pictures for each day that I've traveled; however, I haven't had an opportunity to elaborate on some of the more interesting stories of the trip. I’ll be posting those shortly as time allows so please check back periodically. If you’re short on time, I would recommend perusing the pictures for Japan, Cambodia, and Vietnam specifically Sapa and Halong Bay.
Prior to my trip to south east Asia, my plan upon my return from my 3 month learning experience was to go to Shanghai for 6 months and teach English, practice mandarin, and travel to Tibet, Nepal, S. Korea, and Taiwan. However, I met a number of travelers who have backpacked through South America and raved about the continent. After weighing the pros and cons with my family and friends, I have decided to postpone my trip to Shanghai and instead to take a five month trip through South America.
One of the things that I learned while traveling through Asia is that travel is much cheaper when booked locally and flexibility is key. So I’ve given myself a tentative itinerary but it will undoubtedly change once I learn more information upon arrival.
I'll be starting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and moving south through the Iguazu Falls, Montevideo, Uruguay; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Patagonia, Argentina; and Antarctica. North into Chile, over to the Easter Islands, back to the mainland through Bolivia and Peru, trekking along the Inca trail and up to Machu Picchu, north to Lima and Ecuador and then over to the Galapagos Islands and finally back to Rio. By that point I think my time may be up, but if resources permit, I would go on to the northern section of SA – like Colombia, Venezuela, and the Guianas.
I’ll be making an effort to update this blog periodically with news and photos from my trek through South America. So check in and follow along.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
My Picasa photo albums are GONE!
I just accidently deleted my 90+ albums of my trip to South East Asia! HELLLLLLP! I wish I could just redo the work but it’s way too much. It’s weeks and weeks of work sorting through and touching up 15,000+ pictures to create 90+ albums with 5,000 pictures in them.
I created this mess while moving files on my PC to align them in preparation for a PC backup. Without realizing it, the album links to the specific files were broken and all the albums disappeared. If anybody has a good idea of how to restore my albums, please let me know. I’ve found a work around that will suffice although it’s far from ideal and requires a lot of manual manipulation.
I created this mess while moving files on my PC to align them in preparation for a PC backup. Without realizing it, the album links to the specific files were broken and all the albums disappeared. If anybody has a good idea of how to restore my albums, please let me know. I’ve found a work around that will suffice although it’s far from ideal and requires a lot of manual manipulation.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Singapore, Singapore - Day 3
Singapore has a fantastic blend of three main cultures from China, India, and native Malay. The food is amazing – spicy, flavorful, and diverse. I could live here just for the food.
I ran into a Japanese FOOOD COURT…there were 15 upscale stalls differ styles of Japanese cooking – the usual sushi / sashimi, ramen, teriyaki, yakitori, and curries stalls, but then they also had more interesting things like Japanese pizzas, Italian takes, stews, bakery goods, and stuff that I’ve never seen before…I wanted to take pictures of all the stalls but at the time I thought that would be a bit odd…in hindsight I really wish I would have taken the pictures or at least ordered something from every stall…wow it was heavenly
I ran into a Japanese FOOOD COURT…there were 15 upscale stalls differ styles of Japanese cooking – the usual sushi / sashimi, ramen, teriyaki, yakitori, and curries stalls, but then they also had more interesting things like Japanese pizzas, Italian takes, stews, bakery goods, and stuff that I’ve never seen before…I wanted to take pictures of all the stalls but at the time I thought that would be a bit odd…in hindsight I really wish I would have taken the pictures or at least ordered something from every stall…wow it was heavenly
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| Singapore, Singapore - Day 3 |
Vientiane, Laos - Day 1
So I traveled to Vientiane with some travelers from Ireland that I met in Vang Vieng and we decided to grab some dinner after touching down in town. We settled on a restaurant that was very nice, modern, and could have done business in the US. It has a rather extensive menu from Laos, American, Chinese, Indian, and Italian foods.
My new friends wanted to get the crickets and started to pop them like nuts once they arrived. Do I want some? Sure why not. They were crunchy and salty like most other snacks. The main difference was the distinct bug after taste, somewhat earthy like eating a handful of dirt, that you got which reminded you that these weren’t Cheetos.
My new friends wanted to get the crickets and started to pop them like nuts once they arrived. Do I want some? Sure why not. They were crunchy and salty like most other snacks. The main difference was the distinct bug after taste, somewhat earthy like eating a handful of dirt, that you got which reminded you that these weren’t Cheetos.
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| Vientiane, Laos - Day 1 |
Vang Vieng, Laos - Day 2
I took a white water rafting tour today which was amazingly fun. I learned how to paddle my canoe backwards and sideways. I played a game with the local tour guide where we’d throw around a huge orange fruit with our paddles during the slow sections of water. I can’t wait to do it again in South America. We also got to go off a huge rope swing which I somehow managed to do upside down. Fun day!
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| Vang Vieng, Laos - Day 2 |
Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 4
So I found out today that Thai and Laos are relatively similar in terms of culture, food, and language. I met some Thai Airways flight attendants at a waterfall which was severely overflowing due to the huge monsoons that have been hammering the area. Every four years they get an irregularly high amount of rain fall during the wet season. In Vang Vieng, where tubing is popular with tourists, the river had become so flooded and powerful that a Swedish girl flipped over in her tube and died when her foot got caught in the rocks. They had to suspend tubing for a while amongst the massive evidence of the rain’s impact as houses and buildings were left in disarray, bridges collapsed, and trees were strewn around like Godzilla had just sauntered through. At the waterfalls we were practically walking mid shin deep in water up the steps which are obviously not normally covered with water.
At dinner, we were talking about how a lot of the foods of northern Thailand and Laos are very similar. The use of sticky rice, formed into small balls with your hands and then dipped into the foods, is common in the northern half of Thailand and in Laos. The languages are also somewhat similar and the girls spoke Thai to the Laos people and they were able to understand Thai mainly because the only TV channels that they get are Thai. I also believe that at one point Thailand had ruled parts of Laos.
At dinner, we were talking about how a lot of the foods of northern Thailand and Laos are very similar. The use of sticky rice, formed into small balls with your hands and then dipped into the foods, is common in the northern half of Thailand and in Laos. The languages are also somewhat similar and the girls spoke Thai to the Laos people and they were able to understand Thai mainly because the only TV channels that they get are Thai. I also believe that at one point Thailand had ruled parts of Laos.
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| Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 4 |
Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 3
I got to hike through elephant poop…barefoot.
So we stayed overnight in the village which was really fascinating. The villagers had a chief who was one of the taller guys in the tribe and had one of the best looking woman for his wife. But best of all…he had one of two TV antennas in the village. They hosted TV night where what seemed like the entire village squished into their living room and watched the wife channel surf the Thai TV channels.
The next day I woke up early around 6 am and it started raining shortly after. So we started hiking down the mountain after breakfast in a steady downpour. The trail was a complete mud slide. I would just slide down the mountain; and I had two sticks that I would periodically stick in the mud to stop myself from careening out of control. So for most of the hike the mud was the slippery variety which required a lot of effort to not fall off the trail. Then we hit another type of mud that was more clay like and it stuck to anything it touched. After hiking about 5 minutes in the clay like mud it would constantly build up on the bottom of my sandals until I was basically walking on stilts. Stilts that weighed 25 lbs. I couldn’t get the mud off my sandals it was caked on so hard. So I took my sandals off and proceeded to slide down the mountain barefoot. It was smooth sliding until I hit these HUGE pot holes which looked like a couple moon landings took place on the trail. I asked the guide what these were and he said that they were elephant footprints. Then I noticed the large mounds of poop scattered along the trail which were slowly “melting” into the trail as the rain mixed them in with the mud and made little poop pools in the elephant footprints. And I still couldn’t put my sandals on because I would be sliding all over the place – not that they would have offered much protection from the feces mud mixture. LOVELY!
So we stayed overnight in the village which was really fascinating. The villagers had a chief who was one of the taller guys in the tribe and had one of the best looking woman for his wife. But best of all…he had one of two TV antennas in the village. They hosted TV night where what seemed like the entire village squished into their living room and watched the wife channel surf the Thai TV channels.
The next day I woke up early around 6 am and it started raining shortly after. So we started hiking down the mountain after breakfast in a steady downpour. The trail was a complete mud slide. I would just slide down the mountain; and I had two sticks that I would periodically stick in the mud to stop myself from careening out of control. So for most of the hike the mud was the slippery variety which required a lot of effort to not fall off the trail. Then we hit another type of mud that was more clay like and it stuck to anything it touched. After hiking about 5 minutes in the clay like mud it would constantly build up on the bottom of my sandals until I was basically walking on stilts. Stilts that weighed 25 lbs. I couldn’t get the mud off my sandals it was caked on so hard. So I took my sandals off and proceeded to slide down the mountain barefoot. It was smooth sliding until I hit these HUGE pot holes which looked like a couple moon landings took place on the trail. I asked the guide what these were and he said that they were elephant footprints. Then I noticed the large mounds of poop scattered along the trail which were slowly “melting” into the trail as the rain mixed them in with the mud and made little poop pools in the elephant footprints. And I still couldn’t put my sandals on because I would be sliding all over the place – not that they would have offered much protection from the feces mud mixture. LOVELY!
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| Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 3 |
Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 2
So I decided to do a two day trek with an overnight stay in village. This would have been one of the highlights of the trip if it wasn’t pouring both days. Now I’d been traveling during the rainy season in South East Asia so I figured I would get stuck in the rain sometime but so far I had been lucky. The only rain that I got was a little bit in Sapa for a couple hours. It also had to happen on the days that I decided to do a trek. I was trekking with two girls from Italy and one from Spain along with our guide. We first took a boat that looked about as sturdy as one of those paper boats that I made when I was 10 and floated in my sink until it sank. If you leaned a little the entire boat rocked, so you tried to do your best to mimic a statue while one of the guys on the boat was bailing water. The water was extremely fast and viscous as it was engorged with the past monsoons. We were crossing the river to a point perpendicular to where we were starting, but the water was so fast that we had to go up stream a bit then boat down across the river. The combo of the fast water, preposterously paper thin boat, and the bailer only having two arms and one small bucket didn’t lead me to have much faith in this trip. And of course safety regulations like life jackets are nonexistent in the interior of a third world country. And if there were life jackets they were probably pillaged a long time ago to be made into pillows or something more ingenious and practical than a life saving device.
Somehow we managed to skitter across the river and hiked up the mountain in the rain - luckily I had a poncho from my Sapa trip. I only had flip flops and because of the rainy and muddy conditions sliding a bit on the way up. But it was better than the girls who had sneakers. As we had to cross a couple rivers, they had to keep taking them off and putting them on. After an hour or so they were soaked and covered in mud. Sandals were cleaner and more convenient; you just a little less traction when climbing…which isn’t the problem…going down in where lies the issue. So we climbed for 4 hours, made it to the top and then got a small bowl of fried rice to eat. I’m trying to remember the last time I ate so little fried rice in one sitting when rice was the only available food item, especially after a grueling 4 hour hike…I’ll let you know when I think of it.
Somehow we managed to skitter across the river and hiked up the mountain in the rain - luckily I had a poncho from my Sapa trip. I only had flip flops and because of the rainy and muddy conditions sliding a bit on the way up. But it was better than the girls who had sneakers. As we had to cross a couple rivers, they had to keep taking them off and putting them on. After an hour or so they were soaked and covered in mud. Sandals were cleaner and more convenient; you just a little less traction when climbing…which isn’t the problem…going down in where lies the issue. So we climbed for 4 hours, made it to the top and then got a small bowl of fried rice to eat. I’m trying to remember the last time I ate so little fried rice in one sitting when rice was the only available food item, especially after a grueling 4 hour hike…I’ll let you know when I think of it.
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| Luang Prabang, Laos - Day 2 |
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Hanoi, Vietnam - Day 2
It doesn't take much to be a pop star in Vietnam. I ran into a music video shoot at the Temple of Literature with a 5'6'' guy lip singing to a boom box and dancing with a girl. Wasn't really impressed but afterwards my driver told me that he's the biggest thing in Vietnam right now.
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| Hanoi, Vietnam - Day 2 |
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 2
Today I rented a motorcycle and drove out to My Son (prounounced Mee Sun), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I got extremely lost on my way there and a 25 minute trip turned into a 2 hour trip. I had to stop multiple times to ask in pointing sign language to figure out how to get to this national monument. While it wasn't fun to be lost in the middle of never ending rice fields and villages in the scorching sun, in hindsight, the experience was a rewarding one as I enjoyed the open road and time on the bike. I eventually got to my destination and wow what a let down. I had just come from Cambodia where the temples of Siem Reap were awe inspiring. My Son was about half the size of the smallest temple in Siem Reap and in much worse condition. It was also very architecturally similar so it was rather disappointing.
The rest of the day included a trip to Denang about an hour away to visit the Marble Mountains, a really cool mountain full of temples and nooks and crannies to explore.
The rest of the day included a trip to Denang about an hour away to visit the Marble Mountains, a really cool mountain full of temples and nooks and crannies to explore.
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| Hoi An, Vietnam - Day 2 |
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