Misadventures in Dalat

Well, it has been a little while since I've updated and a lot has happened. I feel overwhelmed even beginning this post, but I'll just see how far I can get. Let's see, when last we left off, I had shopped my way through Hoi An. I've now got a crammed full pack, including leather knee-high boots. I'm a little crazy to be carrying them around Asia, but actually got some use out of them in Dalat, which I'll get to in a bit.

From Hoi An I took a night sleeper bus to Nha Trang,

a beach city--think Rio minus the bustle, crime, and well okay, minus everything. But, it does have a pretty nice beach right there, which is pretty cool. The night bus was quite an experience. You have this coffin type thing that is basically a seat on the floor that leans forward and back. I thought it wasn't going to be

comfortable at all, but actually it wasn't bad (thank you dramamine for helping me make it

through that night.)

The city was actually a bit of a relief from Hoi An, because the only thing people are hawking is motorbike rides and that was pretty easy to dodge. The city is actually quite calm and unless

you are on one of the few main streets or it is rush hour, there's barely any traffic. So, I spent a couple days there, hanging out on the beach and I did a tour to the "monkey island." The other option was to go on a "booze cruise" type deal and island hop, but I didn't totally think that would be my speed. I'd say the average age of tourists there was about 24, kind of a party town. However, the rain and the

incoming typhoon, plus the general low season/economic crisis actually made the place quite tame. The monkey island thing was odd. Let's see, first of all, on the tour are about 40

Vietnamese tourists, including a good number of children, two Russian couples that didn't speak a lick of English, a British couple and me. Thankfully, the Brits turned out to be cool. The guide would go on for about 15 minutes in vietnamese, then he'd look at us and say, 'lobster

boats', and then go back to speaking vietnamese. It was funny at

first, and then it got kind of annoying. So, the first stop was to feed Ostriches and deer. O-d-d odd.

Then, the second stop I actually rode and ostrich and hiked up to a small waterfall. The Ostrich was so fun, you climb up a fence and get on this saddle and all of a sudden it takes off. Like riding a

horse but pokey-er with their feathers and they only follow the commands of

the trainers. So it takes off for a bit and then comes to almost a complete stop and turns around and you think, it's gonna peck me. Their necks are so long. Anyway, it was good fun. Swam on the beach a bit, had lunch, was a nice time.

Finally, the creme de la creme, was monkey island. You first go and there's a dog and monkey show. The dogs "answer math questions" by barking the number. The monkeys were dressed up in silk outfits and led around to do tricks like jump through hoops, walk a tight rope, and oh

yes, ride bicycles. It was hilarious. But also disturbing and I was like, what am I doing?

Then, you move on to the "wild monkeys" where you can buy food to feed them. But man are they aggressive. You put your hand out and about 15 of them jump on you. It is crazy. Oh, and certainly don't try to open any chips or anything, bc they are sneaky little

buggers. I was kind of freaked out by the crazy monkeys and took some photos but actually

wasn't that into them. However, I did pay to drive four laps on a go kart track. It was really fun, but boy were these cars dodgy.

They would never pass inspection in America.

So, Nha Trang was a good time, hung out with a bunch of other travelers both nights, ate a great burger, and went to this place called the Sailing Club, a bougie little spot, a nice change from the usual bars I've been hanging out it in. I even got a custom bathing suit made while I was there. Sadly, I missed some of the sights like a big white buddha and some other stuff, bc all of a sudden I realized I was running short on time before my Vietnam visa ran out. However, now I think its not that big a deal to overstay by a day or two, or so I've heard, so I think I'm cool.

Next, I moved on to Dalat, a town in the mountains that was supposed to be quite nice and also cool. Actually, since it has been raining like crazy, I haven't actually been that hot, but I was excited for this town. I had heard from this Austrian guy that the Easy Rider tour, guys on motorcycles who take you around the area, are awesome. So I took the bus there. It was a bumpy and windy ride. The air con didn't seem to be working on the bus and the bus driver kept smoking. I was really not feeling happy at that moment at all. I get to town, get something to eat and go find out about the tour. Well, I contemplated doing a four day tour to Saigon,

but I wasn't sure if I wanted to miss Mui Ne. Also, the weather's been crappy, not the best time to be on a moto for four days. Another option was to take a two day tour to Mui Ne, but there's really not much to see that direction. The final option was just a one day tour where you see stuff around the town. I was really torn also because of the cost and the idea of being with some random vietnamese man by myself for a number of days. Started talking to another traveler, Ryan, who is possibly more scared of motorbikes than I am, and he convinced me a 4 day tour was a bad idea. So that was out. Then he said he was going trekking the next day, thus I decided not to decide yet, and go trekking.

Well, the trek was pretty intense. Straight up a mountain, straight down a mountain, repeat. We got some nice views, but it was pretty overcast and I imagine it would have been nicer if it were a clearer day. Our guide was maybe 19 years old and had a ton of energy. Whenever we would rest, he would jump up and start singing and dancing. He also had a friend or an intern or something with him, so there were two guides and the two of us. I was pretty beat by the end, when we made it to the waterfall that we were supposed to see, that you couldn't even

swim in. The scariest part of the day was traversing these insane swinging cable monkey bridge. I was so scared I thought I was going to cry about half way through. The intern guy thought it was funny to jump on the bridge behind me, and I thought I might kill him.

That night we ate dinner at Tu Ann's place. She's this zany chef who loves food. Her eyes just light up when she talks about what she's gonna make for that night. One time I was in there for breakfast and she showed me the cut of meat she was going to use for that nights dinner. " look Dina, very beautiful meat." On the cover of the menu it says, 'subject to the chef's mood swings.' She cracked us up. She learns your name and does not forget it. She told us how the peace cafe stole her menu and her name and tried to shut her down (her place is called the peace restaurant), then the cops came and she showed them the lonely planet page where they talk about her, and they finally left her alone. She speaks amazing English (something unusual for this town) but really fast, so it can be hard to understand her sometimes. "They vedy craazy,

these people. Come to my place, turn off electricity." Her food was delicious, I had chile con carne. She went to cooking school in France, I believe, and has cook books from all over.

Anyway, she was so sweet. I went in to ask her about a doctor because I have an infected sore on my side (don't worry, no big deal). First she asked, "Is Ryan okay" and I said yeah, actually it is me, and I show her my sore. She said, come back tomorrow at 10 am, I'll take you on my motorbike, the doctors, they don't speak English. I couldn't believe it, I think she's the nicest Vietnamese I've met.

Ryan and I did decide to do a Easy Rider one day tour, but thought, lets go in a car since the weather's been crap. So we get a card from a random guy on a street for an easy rider, mistake #1. We bargain him down to $30 for the two of us, he comes to get us and I ask, where are we going to go. He says, 'all in my head' so we believe him, mistake #2. His English name is 'Buddha', he says because he has such a kind heart and doesn't cheat people.

We end up going to the silk worm factory, the crazy house (a guadi type insanity) and a waterfall with a big female buddha. Then he says tour is over. We're like, what? So short, what about is pagoda, this rice wine factory. He's like no. So that was the end of that. We paid him but felt like we got a raw deal. Later on I found out that the rice wine factory was really just a place where they get pigs drunk so that they won't move much and get really fat. Didn't miss much there. But I do think we missed a couple things. What can you do?

So Dalat was a bit of a bust. Just kind of dark and gloomy and we were getting weather from the typhoon that hit the Philippines and then Hue, Vietnam. It was cold and I actually wore my boots and my puff ball jacket much of the time, even inside. In fact, my first hotel room there had a leaky ceiling and one morning I woke up with water all over my floor. The second place seemed better, but in the morning I found about 10 cockroaches crawling around the room. It is possible there is one in my backpack right now. Gross!

One last nice part of Dalat. We found this place called the Stop and Go cafe. It is this crazy poet guy who writes sort of cliches on these vertical papers. Super calm guy who has a long beard,

wears a beret and plays the guitar for you. The walls are filled with his "poetry" and portraits of him. He makes his own wine, which was so-so, but you just hang out and chill and it is this oasis from this bizarre little town.

So, today, I moved on from Dalat, thank goodness, to a quiet little beach town called Mui Ne. The icing on the cake was when I got on the bus this morning and a father and son got on after me. As soon as he gets on, the tout gives him a bag. Sadly the dad didn't quite get the bag around his mouth and bam, there was throw up on the floor, across from my seat. I sort of saw it happen in slow motion. The father's method of cleaning it up? Putting a few tissues on top of it. I'm not kidding, we all breathed in his throw up for four hours. It was disgusting. I think there are different norms for hygiene in this country. We even stopped about half an hour later, a perfect time for the father to pick up the dirty tissues and try to clean the floor. Oh no, the kid puke again instead. I swear, the perfect book-end to my time in Dalat.

So my time in Vietnam is almost up. I'm going to hang out at this chill guest house for a few days, go sandboarding on the dunes, see a fishing village and get in a bit of beach time, although there's quite a bit of surf here-more for surfing than for swimming. Next up is Saigon, so I really need to prep myself for the insanity. Am excited to see the delta and do a boat tour there. I woke up today feeling like I had busted through my traveler fatigue and ready for the next adventure. Ryan and I ended up on the same bus to Mui Ne and picked up another friend named Ana from Columbia. And the adventures continue...

Personal space

I have now been in Vietnam close to two weeks. It has so much to offer-Hanoi was crazy but fun and interesting, SaPa was beautiful, Hue was chill and Hoi An is a shopping spree, plus all the places I haven't been yet. But also, there's something about it that just puts me on edge. So, last night, while I was up in the middle of the night, I realized what is was--personal space, or lack there of. And I'm not just talking about the little Vietnamese grandma who comes up to your shoulder standing 3 in away looking at what you are buying. Nor am I talking about the women who pick up your fingers to check if you need a manicure, look intently at your ring and stroke your hand. I'm not even just talking about the people in the shops to grab your arm and walk around behind you as you think about what to buy. All of that is frustrating. But it is even more than that. Like I walked outside with my laundry, within 3 seconds this woman is beckoning me, laundry here, laundry here, and pulling me over to her place. I walk down the street and guys run up, motor bike???? with this extreme urgency. Why are you running? You walk past a hotel, you're not carrying your stuff, they scream 'hi, hotel?' There is just a general sense that they are watching your every move and you can't be invisible. They are constantly in my face with something. Someone says hello, and I count to five, they are offering me something. But sometimes they try to hide it by asking where are you from, what is your name.

So, I've started to cut to the chase. Very politely I ask, what are you selling, as soon as they ask where I'm from. I'm tired of the song and dance. But I think more than that, I think I'm tired of being seen as dollars. And I know that's kind of bull, because really, that's what I am. Right? I mean I can't really speak to anyone, and all I do is go from place to place, find a hotel, find a restaurant and then take photos or buy stuff.

On the other hand, Vietnam's been great. I had fun in Hue. I made a friend named Paulette from Australia. We met on a tour of the sites of Hue (many tombs where we heard the same information, but anyway, it was okay) and she showed me a great pool that was in a resort. I decided to stay in Hue and extra day to hang out with her. Plus, my hostel had free beer, you can't beat that. So, the pool was fun, I stayed in the shade and still managed to burn my stomach. Crazy sun. Hue was hot, hot, hot. Like dripping sweat while sitting under a fan hot. Not moving. Paulette and I had some adventures. There was a worker at the pool who really liked her, and began by asking for English lessons, progressed to asking both of us out for coffee, and finished it off by following her into the bathroom to profess his love for her. We also met a Texan, who is half-black, half-vietnamese, war baby, who has family all over vietnam that' he's just meeting. He's an ultimate cage fighter, with about 40 guns in his house, but don't get me wrong, not scary at all. Extremely sweet and just excited to see things. He was trip. He and I dressed up in the royal garb for 30,000 dong (aobut $1.50) and took pictures in the throne at the citadel. I probably wouldn't have done it if he hadn't wanted to, but it ended up being really fun. The photos a bit dark, but I'm hoping to get some from Marvin's camera.
Let's see, I went to food street in Hue where I ate some Pho with mystery meat. It was orange, couldn't quite bring myself to finish it. Well, okay, I only took a few bites. Other than that, I read most of my book and generally just chilled out. It was a nice time.

Now I'm in Hoi An. Which, for those of you that don't know, is a town filled with tailors. You walk around and pick out what you want them to make you, they take your measurements and everything is between $10-25. Not as cheap as I would like, but come one, it is made to order. I've already purchase: a skirt, pants, shorts, tank top, dress, and little shoes. Omg. Yes, I went a bit crazy. But it is okay, because I'd been planning on doing it. I brought very little with me (and sent a bunch of stuff home with Matt-thanks hon) so that I'd have space. It still might be a bit of a challenge to get it all in my bag. And I've spent about $100. I never could get all that for $100 at home. I'm contemplating boots, which is completely crazy as I've got another 7 weeks of carting my stuff around, plus 2 weeks in India, (but then I'll be able to leave some stuff at Joanna's) but they'll be like $50. I mean, at home they'd be $200-300. And I could actually get some that fit my little chicken legs. So, we'll see, if I can find what I want, for the right price with a shop I like.

The other cool thing about Hoi An is the architecture. I guess the North and the US agreed not to bomb this town because it so cute. I mean, I don't actually know why, but there are 100 year old buildings here, which is really unlike the rest of Vietnam because of how we ruined this country. That's pretty cool.

It's been raining like crazy, so I'm a bit sad bc I want to hang out at the beach and go on a boat tour. That's it for now. Hope all is well at home.

Here's a photo I took at sunset.

xoxo,

Dina

Cross the street-if you dare

Hanoi, how can I possibly explain the insanity of Hanoi? Crossing the street was my biggest nemesis. The streets are generally about two lanes each direction, but it is about 8 deep of motorcycles. They beep like crazy and swerve past each other. Then there's the bicycles, cyclos, cars, trucks and buses. There are very few stoplights, so to get across you basically have to start walking and, very slowly move across one by one, letting some past you and holding your course as best you can as they swerve around you. It is basically like skiing. You've got your fast and your slow, and basically the fast go around you. Just don't make any sudden movements or stop or turn back because that will completely confuse them and they might hit you. I had a very near miss when I freaked out and couldn't keep going. Even on the five lane roads, people are crossing, going the wrong direction, etc. It is totally, completely nuts.
Really, they are incredible drivers and super focused. And actually not going that fast because there are so many vehicles going so many different directions. Oh, and the sidewalks aren't much better. They are filled with people selling everything you can think of: silk, pho, cheap crap made in china, shoes, knives, etc. So walking on the sidewalks aren't really a respite as motorbikes pull up onto the sidewalk to park on a regular basis right in front of you. It really does something for heightening your awareness of what is going on around you. This is all on top of 100 degree heat and around 60% humidity. Plus, people constantly trying to sell you things like rides, make you hold their fruit (two baskets on either end of a long stick that goes over their shoulder-you'd be surprised at how heavy it is) and wear their conical hat, take a picture, then buy their fruit--at tourist prices. Basically walking a few blocks was completely exhausting and you are completely drenched in sweat by the end.
But, we did have a really good time in Hanoi. There's so much to tell so I'll just have to give the overview. Let's see, we saw the temple of literature, where we got a private traditional music show, we took a cooking class, where the teacher was hilarious. Her english was great and cracked us up the entire time, regaling us with stories about things like when she used to take kung fu, but then her mom made her stop because she was so strong she looked like a man, and other exploits. We learned to make spring rolls (mine weren't so round) and grilled meat and the sauces. Plus they gave me a carrot peeler thing because I thought it was cool and it was my birthday. Later that evening Matt surprised me with cake from one of the local bakeries, complete with a candle and everything. It was super cute.

Let's see, we also went to the museum of ethnology which was really interesting. Also, the revolution museum. Vietnam has a really fascinating history. Basically, a bunch of different countries have tried to rule and they fought back over and over. It is kind of like Israel. We saw a water puppetry performance which was impressive. ,We did some shopping, ate good food-including a hot pot--basically a boiling pot of broth where you put still squirming shrimp, and lots of other seafood, greens, tofu, seaweed and it cooks right in front of you. Fantastic.

We tried to go on this boat trip to Halong bay, but a typhoon was coming and the bus had to turn around about five minutes after we got in it.
So, we ended up going to SaPa, a mountain town a few km from China, with hilltribe people. It was similar to some of the mountain towns I had been to in Laos and Thailand. The difference was the amount of tourism there. Because companies run all-inclusive tours up there (which is actually what we did for the sake of ease) there are so many more tourists there. Which has basically turned their town into a begging center of women trying to sell the stuff they supposedly made. It is so bad that you literally cannot look at them or they will start saying, "you buy from me?" and just keep going until you can shake them by walking quickly or just ignoring them. The town itself is absolutely beautiful and we did two guided hikes with a really cute guide , maybe 4ft on a good day with heels on, who was from one of the local villages and had lots of local knowledge. She'd never been to school yet her English was quite good. However, I found the whole place a bit depressing because of the way that tourism has kind of ruined their way of life. It really made me wonder about what development is. I figure there is more money there now and I was happy to buy a couple bracelets at the end of our hike that were kind of like a donation. I'm hoping that I helped to feed some children. But the constant barrage is not only incredibly irritating, you just feel sorry for them. I can't quite figure out why it seems so much worse than in these other touristy towns where their main economy also comes from tourism. I guess it is something about the disruption of rural life where people had this really simple life at one point and now are just as capitalist focused as everyone else.

Okay, I should get out and do something with my day. I'm actually in Hue now, having left Matt at the airport on his way to Japan. Sadly our week is over and I'm back on my own. It is weird because I have no where really to be until Nov. 5 when I fly to Delhi. Of course, I've got some sort of idea, but it is weird to be very free of deadlines or required places.

I'll leave with you one last story about Hanoi. I flew to Hanoi from Vientiane (talk about a crappy city but anyway), and on the flight I sat next to another foreigner. So we started talking, and at baggage claim picked up two other travelers. So, we all get a taxi into the city, and we've hear stories about how crazy Hanoi is. Alright, we drive in, it is nuts, as I explained earlier. And we drive up to this hotel. We've asked to go to the Hanoi backpackers hostel. This guy opens my door, and starts screaming, 'Hanoi Backpackers Hostel' and shoves an old bent up card in my face. I look out and it is clearly NOT the hostel, although their is a big "backpackers" written on the door, there is another name of hotel on top. Very clearly, this is another hotel. He's not wearing the shirt, etc. He keeps saying, 'get out, get out, backpackers hostel'. We're like, 'no, we're not getting out, this is not it'. Then he really gets angry,' fine, we're full'. We're like, 'that's fine, we want to go to the hostel, driver, take us to the hostel, now'. He closes my door and I lock it. Then he opens the drivers door, and does it again. We're like, we'd have to be morons to believe you. Finally, we show the driver the map and he says, 'oh, I know, I know' acting all innocent in the whole thing. Meanwhile, his phone was ringing constantly on our trip over there, I'm sure he was setting it up. So then he does take us to the right place. Quite an introduction to Hanoi. We laugh. It was good to be with other people.

Okay, I'll try to add some photos this evening, although actually Matt has most of them on his camera. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I have officially entered my thirties, I'm sure I'm much wiser now.

Here's a photo of me having pizza. I was so excited. Sometimes you just need a little break from Asian food. Sadly, it was more like cheese and tomoato on a cracker, but it hit the spot anyway.

XOXO
Dina

on language

Perhaps this post might have some copyright infringement from a certain nytimes columnist, but I'm quite certain he doesn't read my blog, so I'm probably okay.

Having now past the one month mark of being in Asia, I've begun to feel a bit of traveler fatigue: crappy budget hotels, moving around on hot buses, having the same conversations over and over with other travelers, and trying to feed myself on under $10 a day. But the real kicker is not being able to communicate with local people. It has an odd isolating feel to it whereby you only use one or two word sentences and a lot of gesturing. I really want to know more about the culture and understand why I get certain looks or what a food is, etc. While I've only learned two phrases in lao--Sabadee (hello, good bye, peace, etc) and kap jai (thank you), I've decided I actually know more than that. No I can't speak any more than that, but I can decipher a bit more. Here's what I've learned so far:

Sabadeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee: screamed from a small child from the side of the road, meaning "helloooooooooooooooooo white person, wave to me."

SabedEE with a high pitched squeal on the end: being beckoned by an old woman trying to sell you something meaning, "white person, you have money, come buy from me."

Then there's, saaabadeee, generally from a drunk guy on the street, with a bit of an eye raise.

Finally, there's the passive, completely sans facial expersion, sabadee, from the high schooler working at a restaurant or guest house, meaning, "I have to stop texting or watching tv and help you, don't I? what do you want?"

Yep, that's it. That's all I got. I think I knew chicken as well, but that was in Thailand, gaiw. Here it might be gaw, not sure. Pretty pitiful, isn't it?


Well, in case people want to keep up with me on their map of southeast Asia, I am in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. It seems to be a city of bad budget hotels, a few nice bars, a fountain and one art museum that I'd like to see tomorrow. That's about it. The buildings are kind of crumbling and there is a musty smell. I'm staying in a serious dive because I'm low on kip and also I got tired of searching for a place in the insane heat with my backpack.

I left Vang Vieng this morning. I was supposed to kayak from there to here, but the other two people in my group bailed, so I was outta luck. I just took a regular, vip bus, but the nice part was that this was air conditioned. Vang Vieng was okay, I didn't meet as many people as I would have liked, I think bc everyone is watching tv all the time-friends or family guy. It is amazing how many episodes of Friends I had seen before. And also, what was up with their fashion, was that really cool?
Vang Vieng is flanked on all sides by goregeous rock formations, which is pretty amazing.
Tubing down the river was okay, not totally my scene--twenty somethings playing tug of war over a mud pit and juimping off of swings that may or may not have deep enough water below. I did jump off one but I made it sure it was deep enough. It actually ended up being kind of a tranquil day though, floating down the river in a tube and looking at the scenery. The next day I biked out 6k down a rocky road, and then I climbed pretty much straight up a mountain to spelunk down into a really cool but pitch black cave. There were amazing stallagtites and stallagmites. Getting down was a bit trecherous. I think I fell about five times, one time just barely grabbing onto a tree near me as my feet swung out from under me. My pants got caught on something and now my one pair of pants has a small hole in them.

Then I spent the rest of the day in a hammock overlooking the river. Not bad, but somehow I'm just a little down and out. Sorry if this post is a bit negative, just having a frustrating couple of days.

Cheers,
Dina

Here a wat, there a wat, everywhere a wat wat

So Louang Phrobang has been a wonderful experience. I got to eat some good breakfasts and some okay Lao food. I found a number of nice people to hang out with, I kayaked, biked, went to a waterfall, saw a boat race, took a weaving class, bowled twice, went to a disco twice and almost finished my fourth book of the trip. It is a city filled with wats (temples). I saw a lot and sat in a few. There are monks walking around everywhere, but I never managed to get up in time to see the monks out with their bowls taking alms at 6am. I don't know why, just never thought about it before I went to sleep so I didn't set my alarm. The temples are beautiful, ornately decorated, and clearly had so much thought and effort put into every detail.
It has mostly been a low key time in Louang Phrobang, but here's a few stories about what happened.

Kayaking:
I signed up to go kayaking with a tour company. It was theoretically white water rafting with level "2 or 3" rapids, but great for beginners, so I figured they couldn't be too big. I get there at 8:30, there's about 10 of us all together. we pile into a hot mini-bus and we're off. Except we stop to get the guy with the boats. Then we stop while the driver gets his breakfast of pork on a stick. In the midst of that, we lost the boat guy and had to look for him. Then we drive about 1 1/2 hours to the put. Get a mini-lesson, I find a partner for my double kayak, a german guy named Marcel, and off we go. We kayak for a bit and realize that sometimes we've been steering around the "rapids"-more like small areas where the water is moving a bit faster. Realize we have to start hitting them head on. We stop for lunch and some local kids come down to eat our left over food. I guess that was our village visit that was part of the tour.
Then, after lunch, they tell us we'll kayak for another hour or so, but actually the stop is in twenty minutes. ah well, it was fun while it lasted. Then we went to a boat race that is a yearly festival. Different villages race against each other in long canoes wearing different colored shirts. It was insanely hot and the festival was loud and crazy, but we got to see some of the local culture. The festival was complete with second hand clothes for sale, food on a stick, and children shooting bebe guns at helium balloons for the prize of orange juice. I guess they don't make those cheap giant stuffed animals here.

The next day, some of the crew from kayaking decided to go to the waterfall. we negotiated the price in the beginning, 20,000kip per person (around $3) for there and back. I thought that was a bit low since it was kind of a far, but he agreed so, okay, we go. We get there, we have to take this little boat across a river, kind of a long tail canoe with a loud motor. Then we pay to get in the waterfall. It was amazing. REally beautiful, lots of little pools. We swam a bunch and chilled out on the deck that they had built. It was quite a bit more built up than I thought it would be. Slowly, we make our way out, go find our tuk-tuk driver. He's angry. He wants to change the price on us bc we were in there an hour longer than we had said.

I wasn't sure if we were in the right or not, but it seemed pretty shitty to me to change the price after we agreed. I actually think maybe we bargained it too hard. I mean, it is like 4 or 5 hours of their time, we could each pay $4, but whatever, he agreed. and then he says 25,000kip not 20 per person. so we hold our ground. he postures some, walks away. the entire town is kind of looking at us. I guess he badmouthed us. he takes a little monk kid to show that he's pissed and need to pick up some more money. I'm quite certain the monk child did not pay the extra 25000kip. but whatever. we give him the original agreed upon price at the end and there is just stone cold silence. we walk away. ugh. anyway, I didn't want to give him any extra money bc that condones the practice. we had said we'd be out 2-3 hours and we came back after 4. I'm not totally sure how asian time works so I don't know if we really did trangress or not.

Other than that, I saw a traditional dance performance, it was cool, but like everything else in Asia, understated. They don't move that much, mostly just their arms. But cool costumes and stories and stuff. It was incredibly hot in there, so that was unfortunate. Louang Phrobang was cool, but I spent about 5 nights there, which was a lot, but I was pretty busy. I was pretty ready to move on by the end.

Now, I'm in Vang Viang, having taken the tourist mini-bus where they go around picking everyone up, lashing their stuff to the top, but then take you to the mini-bus station, make you get out and switch mini-buses. That whole thing took about an hour, how annying. Here in Vang Viang is where you go tubing and watch friends or family guy on tv while you eat or drink. I'll probably be here a couple days and then on to Vientiane for a day or two, then I'm flying to Hanoi on Thursday afternoon. I do believe today is Labor day, so hopefully everyone is enjoying the long weekend. Its weird, I thought it would feel odd not to go back to work at the end of August, but you know, it doesn't. While traveling can have its ups and downs, I think even the lowest low is better than working.

Alright again, I apologize for no pics, but I'm paying up the wazoo for internet here (okay, its liike $2/hr, but that's a lot!) so I can't wait for them all to upload. However, there are a lot up on my picasa site, if you are interested.

Cheers!
Dina

Grubbin

Addendum: Here are two food photos. It took forever to get them up here, so that's all you get until I get a decent internet connection. Sorry if this gets resent to you every time I edit.

Yes, I just posted yesterday, and no, I still don't have the most recent photos up, bc well, although this might be the most cosmopolitan city in Laos, that's not saying that much. Anyway, I'm waiting for Matt to Skype with me and there's so much I want to tell, so diarrhea of the mouth, here we go. A little food for thought, if you will.

For my food lovin' friends and family (emphasis on the latter) I wanted to giive a food update. I've been so focused on telling the stories and adventures that I haven't been able to give the small details. I often sit at meals by myself composing blog posts in my head. Don't worry people, sometimes I have other people to eat with, but a lot of times I am alone. Works since I don't like people that much =) just kidding.

Anyway, the food. Being in Louang Phrobang has been an incredible food experience so far! I feel like I came out of the jungle-which actually I did. Yes, I was only up there about 5 days, but that's a lot of bad meals. And, although it might hurt Laos' feelings, Thailand has incredible food. So, it has been a bit of an adjustment, but here's what I've liked:
-In the north, I had Eggplant Jaow with sticky rice. Basically a sauce-y type thing of ground up eggplant and yummy spices that you eat on super duper stick rice that you ball up in your hand.
-In Loung Phrobang, yummy crusty baggettes (nice work France); good, dark, Lao coffee; fruit shakes--delicious, you pick your fruit that is already cut up in the cup, they add milk (local, soI can drink it) and ice and blend it up; noodle soup being made in large vats all over the place.
-all over so far, meat on a skewer being grilled right there
-In Thailand, oh there's so much, but the highlights were the Pat Thai, mango sticky rice and curries.
-the different types chillies in the jars that you add to your food.
-beers, they are okay, they seem to be the same around the world.

What I'm not so into:
-odd cuts of meat, sometimes it is hard to determine what animal is used to be
-street food here in L.P. is these large tins of noodles and rice sitting in grease
-rats, racoons, etc that people by the side of the road up north try to sell
-little insects of some sort or another on trays
-Lao food that lacks spice-yes, you read that right, I now put hot sauce in my food bc there's no taste here.
-the napkins, okay, I know that's not food, but it goes together right? Thin little things that don't do anything. Iend up with like 10 balled up at the end of a meal. Seems to be the same around the world- Brazil, Honduras, etc.

I'll leave you with a little story about me and coffee, so it also connects. I'm at the bus stop in Oudamxai, there's atable where you can get coffee and stuff. Isit down, look at my phrase section of the rough guide, figure out how to say black coffee, kaffe dam. I go up, I order, I'm feeling really smug, I just ordered in Lao, I'm amazing. I sit down. It comes, it has condensed milk on the bottom. I just have to laugh at myself.

Oh, one more. I get in Louang Phrobang, I'm famished. It is Tues. afternoon. I kind of haven't had a real meal since Monday morning at 7 am. I've been sitting in busses or bus stops or nasty hotel rooms for days. I get a guest house, and race out to find some food. The first place I happen upon is Joma, this bougie coffee shop. I order a sandwhich and a water. It is so expensive. I pay with a 1000 thai baht bc that's what I have. It is this whole scene of them giving me around 250,000 kip. I'm like flagging myself for spending so much on food, what am I doing? I look down at my receipt. It has it translated into dollars: $3.14. Ha, I have to laugh. A little perspective, eh?

Okay, I know it almost sacriledge to put up a blog post about food without photos, but I swear I'll try to add some soon.

Cheers,
Dina

Childhood

Well, when last I left off I was a little discouraged and confused about the North of Laos. Well, fear not all, I had a wonderful experience in Muang Sing, a small town a few km from China. I shall begin my post waxing a bit philosophical and then I'll try to plow through everything I did because there is so much. Highlights for my ADD friends: beautiful countryside, amazing people, not very good food, long bus rides.

First, my thoughts on childhood. Being a burnt out teacher I was a little burnt out on children when I left the States. I really kind of wanted to get some space from little people. Being in Muang Sing made me realize that the joys of childhood are universal and brought back some of my sympathetic side toward children. I had the good fortune to run into another traveler named Donna from New Zealand. She's kind of a hippie who spent her life raising her children and now she travels a lot and when she's not traveling she lives on a farm and works in exchange for housing. Anyway, she and I tried to go on a trek but it was too expensive for the two of us. So we went to lunch and saw another couple come in. Donna quickly said hi and asked if they had gone on a trek. No, they've been in Muang Sing a few weeks. A few weeks? Okay, I should back up here because you need understand what the town is like. There is one main street with a few restaurants that never have anyone in them. There are about 5 guest houses, each probably filling 1-2 rooms a day, on average. There is no sidewalk, not really any cars, but a lot of motorbikes and bicycles. The women wear traditional sims (like an african sarong only it is woven, usually from wool, and a lot of times is mostly black except at the bottom there is a strip of color). There is an herbal sauna Lao massage place. And a curfew of 10pm for tourists. Not much to do here besides get a bicycle and go see the hill tribe people, which is mostly what I did, but more on that later.
So, we're totally shocked they've been here for a few weeks. They are living at a guest house because, try as they did, they could not rent a house. Neil, is a teacher taking a year off and he's been volunteering with this local organization. Yvette, his chatty and fun wife, is also taking a break from working in public health and sometimes works at the organization, but mostly just chills out and lives in this town. So I ask Neil if I can go with him to the after-school program, I've been looking for a place to volunteer and I'd love to see it. He calls and asks if it is okay, and so I get to go that afternoon.

Which is where I met Brian and Laila. American ex-pats who are living in Laos. Laila is a pediatrician who now teaches doctors and helps them with their patients. Brian is a professional photographer, kind of runs the non-profit, and is building a school in the community. They both run this after-school type program every day from 4-6. They have different kids each day and do things like play games, teach english, read books, etc. Basically, these people are saints. They've dedicated their lives to the people of Muang Sing. They've gotten international plastic surgeons to come and do surgeries for things like cleft pallattes and other deformities. They educate about good nutrition.

So, while there that Friday I did the limbo with the kids, which they thought was hilarious. Only every time I fell onto my knees and now I have bruised and scraped knees. We also played duck, duck, goose, which they thought was absolutely hysterical. Everytime someone got tagged they all started cracking up. This was the first time they ever played the game. Laila and Brian have also fundraised to send kids to school and university and to special camps to develop as leaders. I mean, just so inspiring to see the work that they are doing. And it was really fun to watch kids being kids. At the end of the day they sang for us and did a traditional dance and we sang for them (well, not me, becauase have you heard me sing?). Then Neil and Yvette were planning to stay for dinner and Brian and Laila invited Donna and me as well. So kind! The dinner was deliscious. Laila is of Syrian descent and she makes her own yogurt, and we had lentils and salad a whole bunch of other stuff. It might have been my favorite meal so far. Just such a great night. Then we actually watched a couple of videos that Brian had made about their work.
Overall, it was just so great to meet them and experience their warmth and hospitality and see some incredible work being done in the community.

The next day I got a bicycle and roamed around and saw some of the hill tribe villages. I spent much of the day reading and chilling out and then I did the herbal sauna at the suggestion of these Finnish guys who claimed this was the BEST sauna in all of South East Asia, and they should know, they are Finnish. OTOH, they claimed everything was the BEST-the guest house, the town, etc. They were happy to be away from tourists as they work as scuba guides in Thailand.

On Sunday I didn't really have a plan for my day. I had thought about leaving but then I decided I really liked it there and I should enjoy the calm and the beauty for another day. My guest house looked out on rice fields and behind that was mountains. It looked almost too beautiful to be real. Almost like a painting where the assignment is to use every shade of green. Bright green rice paddies, darker green trees, even darker pathways, etc. Just beautiful. So, having decided to spend another day, I went out to the market for some fruit. While there I bought some handmade textiles from the girls from Brian and Laila's group. They sell at the market and also at a shop that for some reason I didn't get to. They are very responsible girls and also very excited to see me again. They all wanted me to buy from them but I couldn't. Although, in retrospect, it really was so cheap I just should have. Ah well, live and learn.

So that day I ran into a few Spanairds who were having breakfast. They invited me to have breakfast with them, we spoke in Spanish, it was fun. So then they invited me to come biking with them. I figured, why not? So we rode off in another direction where we saw a lot more villages, each one different but also the same. The same in the level of poverty-children with little or no clothing, looking dirty and malnourished. Some women weaving. Some people in the fields working. Each had thatched roofs and bamboo houses, quite simple. It was really hard to look at such extreme poverty, which I hadn't seen to that extent since Kenya.

However, again I saw the true human spirit and the freedom of childhood. In one, a bunch of kids were gathered together and we started taking pictures and showing them. They were ecstatic. They'd jump on you to see the digital image, cracking up when they saw themselves. On our way to that one we picked up a Japanese guy. They really liked him. On our way down from the town they all started saying some phrase and giving him leaves. We had no idea why. But every time they would come up to him, hand him something, and say something. He'd repeat it and they would crack up. Hilarious. At the next one, a whole bunch of little kids, maybe 2-4 years, were running and sliding in bunch of mud. They were all naked and dying laughing. They'd run through, slide, and then run around screaming. It was an amazing sight. I have no idea why so many of them were the same age, but they were all about the same height.

That night, Yvette and Neil invited us to eat dinner with them in guest house. They have an electric wok, a bowl for washing dishes, a cutting board, and a mortar and pestle. They've been living like that for weeks. Yvette kept saying, it's like camping. Anyway, they made us pasta and deviled eggs and it was great not to go out to one of the empty restaurants and sit there alone, which is what often happened in this town. Additionally, teenagers are the ones serving, and boy are they surly. Again, universal.

Then, I decided to leave on Monday AM. The spaniards had told me about this great place called Muang Noi. The only problem was that to get there I needed to take a mini-bus to Luang Namtha, then one to Oudamxai, then on to Nong Kiew, then a boat to Muang Noi. I really thought I could do it though, even if it took me two days. So I got up early, ready to take the 8am bus out. Well, when I came back to the corner where the woman had told me to catch the bus from, there were about 17 people and about 3 times that in luggage trying to get in a 10 person mini-van. Oy vey. So I'm all zen, no problem, I'll take the next one. Okay, go to the real bus station this time, get my ticket and chill because I have some time. Then, around 845 I get on and realize almost every seat is taken (for a 930) bus, people have put their backpacks there to save their spots. Ugh, so the only real spot left was the last row. I got it and actually, I was next to Donnaa. Unfortunately, this bus didn't quite have the suspension of the mini-bus had that I cam in. Oh boy, did that test my stomach.
(Oh, forgot to put in that on my way to Muang Sing, I got what I thought to be the last seat in the mini-bus and then the driver promptly stops to let in three more. Think matatu in Kenya. So move on over, bc they are comin' in. This one guy goes to the back and this other guy sorta refuses to move and he just starts to sit down right on top of the guy. The bottom guy moved. Well, a little. Was a fun ride, cheek to cheek with a rural lady in a pretty sim.)
So, I get back to Luang Namtha, and try to get the bus to Oudamxai. Oh no, that's at the other bus station. Gotta take a tuk-tuk. Get over there around 12:20, the bus had left at 12. Next one at 2:30. No problem, I'm still feeling calm. I'll just knit and read my book. Get on that bus early (learned my lesson) only, that meant I was on a hot bus, even though I had a good seat (pick your poison I guess). This bus stops tons of times, I have some school girl next to me who keeps falling asleep and her head knocks into my shoulder. Ouch.
Finally get there ta 6:30. I'm stuck there for the night. Go look for a guest house. First one I happen upon seems to be a brothel for Chinese men. I move on. Find another one that seems more legit. Go out to find some food. The town is dark with few lights. Few restaurants and people don't speak a lick of engish, not even toilet or restaurant. In order to find out how much something is I have to take out money and give the how much look with my hands. Eat some pho (noodle soup) which has some questionable meat in it, so i stick with the broth and the noodles. Go back to my hotel and hide out bc the town is creepy and filled with Chinese businessmen in SUVs. These are the first cars I've seen in at least a week. Mini-bus, motorbikes and tuk-tuks yes. But no cars. So it is a bit odd. Especially since these are giant SUVs.
My patience for the whole off-the-beaten-track thing is starting to wane.

Got up the morning early, determined to get a bus to Nong Kiew. Except no, not going today. Going to some other place that isn't on my map and I have no idea if it is actually on the way. And I have no idea if I'll be able to get there from this other town. So, feeling discouraged, I get a ticket to Louang Phrobang and call it a day. Mission aborted. I'm sad. I really wanted to go Muang Noi, but I couldn't deal with another night in a creepy town and another full day of traveling on hot buses where my legs don't fit behind the seat in front of me, loud Lao music (with or without a tv showing the karaoke of the song being played), school girls sleeping on me (happened again today!) and pee breaks by the side of the road. Zen master forgive me, but my american sensibilities came back into play.

So, now I'm here in Louang Phrobang. Home of textile and silver shopping, good coffee, the Mekong River and wats to explore and lots of good food. Not bad, eh? I tried to upload pics, but these computers don't have picasa 3, so I'll have to look for another one that does. This computer is extremely annoying, so, hopefully I'll add photos soon.

Okay, this got really long and I'm sure I still forgot stuff. Read it at your leisure.

Xoxo
Dina