Earth Rhizome

Zlata Koruna

2011-09-09T10:35:00.001-07:00

Hops. Rhizomatic, lush and bitter. They are the heart of beer, and it's only fitting that they become the springboard of the Rhizome's re-sprouting. It's been too long hasn't it?

I awoke before dawn in the fog heavy medieval town of Česky Krumlov. Mist veils the castle and lies heavy in the deep ravine splitting the city, its cobbled streets glimmering with morning dew. Pivovar Eggenberg coughs steam from the morning mash an subsequent boil. Yesterday we sat on a stone wall outside this brewery enjoying one if many .5 litres of fermented nectar. Pivo = beer and Pivo Velki = is large beer. One phrase I have learned very well in my few days in the Czech Republic.
In 30 minutes we are catching a train to Českè Budjovicè, and then another to Pilzn... the birthplace of pilsner and the soul-center of Bohemian beer.

We arrived in Prauge 3 days prior, and quickly crossed off the requisite sites. Made our way through smoked pork knuckle, fried ham, cheese, bread and even more beer. It seems the only place you are encouraged not to drink beer is in the Church. We have a long journey ahead an many more beers to drink. I know you all are anxiously awaiting photos, as that is a huge part of the Rhizome's purpose. This post is coming from my phone, and integration of photos from my camera is not happening yet. I will leave you with this:

Firey Re -entry

2009-01-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today I am lost.
I could say that I just woke from a coma and nothing has changed, or that I just blinked my eyes for a very long time. But I know thats not true. My house is the same, although there are new smells and new rules for where the chips go. Denver FEELS the same...yet it's not. The supermarket has again rearranged everything in my absence, there is a blemished swath of recently leveled earth across the the street from the middle eastern restaurant. I knew people who lived in those apartments once. Now they are gone. Usually I know whats going in when they tear something down, but today I have no clue.
I have to admit 3 months is not a terribly long time, it is just long enough though for some things to evolve and some things to fade.
There are small differences and peculiar things I noticed. 3 times today when I was changing on my way to the post office I turned the windshield wipers on. Olds habits die hard. Newer habits seem
I found myself going down the left hand side of the car park and it took the toot of an Escalade to make me realize my error. Its scary...you can actually see the rage in some peoples eyes, the veiny death-grip of their hands on the steering wheel. Being "pissed off in the car" seems so commonplace on the road now, I had to take the side streets home.
Everybody is on their cell phone, all the time. In the car, on the street in the line at the grocery store. Even when we choose to get away, to go for a walk...we are on our phones.
The guy on the corner waving a laminated sign for the local Indian restaurant had me mutter in muffled amusement. I had truly forgotten about this line of employment.
I have already had 2 nosebleed and my lips are chapped. Now I know that altitude and dryness that everyone talks about. I'm no longer accustom to it, but rather exposed to it.
I have to get away. I know i just came from away, but being dropped back into it all is too much right now. I'll be in Steamboat if you need me.

Goin' on a eel hunt...

2009-01-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

WARNING: Some photos may be graphic and unsuited for those with weak stomachs.

Eel a-la Kikkoman

Stu, ass over tea kettle in the river...he managed to save his beer

Darius AKA "Daaz" baiting the hook

Me, trying to land to eel on the rocks

Darius giving the eel its last rights.

Stu showing us the ropes

Preparing dinner.

One of a the more favorite Kiwi past times is eel and possum hunting. Endearingly know as "eeling and possuming." I know this because the Kiwi folk I camped with for a few nights in the Coromandle Peninsula tuned me on to the finer points of doing both. First eeling: This is not a passive activty like possuming. Its very similar to fishing, but with the lights out, and you use the highest quality meat scraps you can find. To begin you must consume copious amouns of beer or (for the ladies, who are very schooled eelers themselves) wine. This not only gives one the extrasensory ability to sense an "eel on the line" but gives you the perception of having warm dry feet when they are nothing of the sort. Find yourself a nice perch on a wet mossy rock and cast out a ragged piece of twine hooked with the finest fatted scraps of the nights Kiwi feast.

Wait.

Turn off all your headlamps and "shhsh" each other in hopes that the silence will somhow trick the eels into some further auditory lack and take the bait.

When there is no pole tip (as in fishing) to alert you of a nibble or a strike, you become wise in the ways of feeling the devine energy of the eel from the rocks below up the line and into the tips of your filthy steak fatted fingers. Eventually the eels will "smell" the bait and swim upstream to sniff if out. If its appealing they will swallow the fatty bit and you can "hook 'em". This whole process doesnt take very long (about 5 minutes) eels are not the smartest of creatures and are drivn by food. Once you catch the eel there is a frenzy of eel whipping to give everyone a spook and a laugh. And finally when the eel is landed you get the man with the biggest knife to cut the head off the thing. Now there is some debate as to weather the nerver center of an eel is in the hear or the tail and while some people think its in the head there are others who think it must be in the tail. NOt knowing we start with the head and if it stil moves work our way to the tail.

Eating eel. Being in the company of Kiwis I assumed that preparing eel was somthing like gutting a fish. They eat all sorts of odd foods, Kina, Paua and Mutton. Well it turns out that catching and eel is quite different than preparing and eating an eel. At this stage it's well past midnight and nobody is really hungry for more food considering the massive steaks that were for dinner. So the debate as to weather eels have guts that need to be dealt with or skin that needs to be pulled off begins. Turns out the impressive knowledge of Kiwi eeling stops at the hunt. Nobody knew how to prepare the eel as they had always eaten them smoked. It was decided that the eels would become possum bait....thats the next installment. Possum Hunting.

Mt. Ngauruhoe & The Tongariro Crossing

2009-01-09T01:34:00.000-08:00

Ketetahi Springs

Turquoise Lakes...like what else would they be named?

The valley below Red Crater....which is to the right.

The summit of Ngauruhoe from the Tongariro/Ngauruhoe saddle

Halfway up Ngauruhoe, you can see how steep it is, eh?

The summit of Mt. Ruapehu in the background from the summit of Ngauruhoe, a remarkably clear day from what I hear.

For some time; long before Peter Jackson's hobbits and elves graced the silver screen and put New Zealand on "the map", there were the three volcanic peaks of the Tongariro national park which have had a special place in my book of "need to do adventures. " I made the journey south of Lake Taupo to the Mangatepopo Hut trailhead about 7am and began the 18km trek across the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Considered one of the 'Great Walks" in New Zealand, this track crosses the saddle between the summits of Ngauruhoe and Tongariro and traverses across the lava fields of Ketatahi. I'm at a loss of words for what to say at this point. I survived the hike, which included a 3 hour side "scramble" up the 45 degree slopes of Ngauruhoe. It wasn't easy and my AS decided to have a near paralyzing flare up about 5km before the end of the track. It's days like this that I thank western medicine for its ability to safely get me off the mountain, it's days like this that also paint a very clear picture of my physical limits. I guess I know how far my body can take me, and how real my disease is. You can't run away from something like Rheumatoid Arthritis, but you can for damn sure grab it by the horns and give it a run for its money.

Lack of oxygen or sheer delight of making it up the side of the volcano brought tears to my eyes. There was little threat of any volcanic activity that day (i checked this with the national park HQ to be sure), but Ngauruhoe is an active volcano, and they warn you of this. Get your ass off the mountain if she starts to shake or your eyes or lungs start to burn from the build up of volcanic gasses.

from the saddle, about 4km from the trail head, it takes about 2 hours to get up Ngauruhoe. Loose gravel and volcanic rock make every 2 steps forward equal 1 step back and the steepness of the incline are constantly acting against you, pulling you backward. Getting down is the fun part, and it only takes about 15 minutes. Sweet As Mate! Plant your ankles in the volcanic scree and start to jump down. One leg and then the other, taking strides sometimes 10 or 12 feet in length (remember the 45 degree angle) and you literally float down the scree slopes with your legs shin deep in the loose sand. They call it "screeing" for rightful reasons.

Continuing the journey once down brings you by the red crater and the turquoise lakes, both unique phenomenons to the area.

A bloody brilliant hike, which I WILL do again in a hearthbeat. Maybe next time I'll take it in 2 days and really savor the adventure and give my back a break. (not literally of course)

For those who are nerd enough to care, Ngauruhoe is the volcano which made an appearance as "Mt Doom" in Lord of The Rings. The whole Tongariro National Park was used as the setting for Mordor, but as you can see the near perfect cone of the volcano lends well to starring in a movie.

My Maori New Year

2009-01-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

Coastal horses with East Cape in the background.

On the way from the Motu Sheep station

The wild road thru Te Urawera

The land of milk and honey...

Weta on the Wall

Morning light outside Wairoa

I spent five days driving around the East Cape of the north island. It's a very remote area with a few B&B's, about 2 gas stations (this haunts me later....as I ran out of gas and had to hitch to the next town) and a little convienence store with not-so-cold milk, and not much else. So ramen noodles, bread and Marmite were about all I had to eat. You can live on this....but I don't suggest it. I stayed the first night (it was raining again) in Te Urawera National Park. In Maori, Te Urawera translates to somthing along the lines of "burnt penis"... it might have somthing to do with the geothermal activity in the area, but I was spared of any Te Urawera myself! There was the Onopoto Cave which I hiked to. It's pretty cool, and they have giant Weta's living in there. Weta are like BIG New Zealand grasshoppers. They are harmless, but the cave smells like Weta poo. Not much to the cave, it was cold and wet and muddy and that can be fun if you are into that sort of thing. The 100km road through Te Urawera is really rough and takes a solid 4 hours to drive, so it's not really somthing to drive if you are going from A to B. I took another dirt road off this dirt road to a sheep station in the middle of nowhere. There is a free DOC campsite here with not much more than a stream and a place to pitch your tent, or in my case park you van. It was really nice and I was invited to join the Kiwi family holidaying there (it was just the 6 of us) to some traditional lemon pudding around the fire....it was delicious. Another amazing show of Kiwi hospitality. Im noticing this trend down here. I had wanted to camp for New Years at or near the lighthouse on East Cape, but after telling the family this they advised against it. I guess most of this area has been given back to the Maori and it's all private property now. Being at the lighthouse would mean that save for a few small islands off the coast I would have been one of the first people to see the new day, and in this case the new year. The way the international date line is cut, this section of NZ jutting out happens to be the first place in the world to see the new day. Leela, whom I ran into first upon settling told me of a place that's not on many of the maps called Lottin Point. One of the other people in her group said this too was Maori land and you can't camp there any more. Leela said I should at least drive out there, it was a beautiful place and I should at least see it. She said even if I cant camp there, I ought to just take a look.

******

Paradise has a meaning different to each person. For some, and in the literary sense, it evokes hedonistic laziness in a hammock between palms...cool carribean waters licking your toes. For others, paradise is the rough-hewn timber of a remote and rustic cabin in the woods. Miles from the nearest electrical outlet...where the dancing embers of the fire chase the autumn cold around the room. I knew paradise for me the moment I peaked the crest of the hill and nearly carreened off the road down to the sea below. This is when I first laid eyes on Lottin Point. A rough spit of land with carpets of green Beech and crimson Pohukatawa falling softly to the sea below. Not a beach in sight, here the angry sea meets volcanic rock; the primal union of heaven and hell on earth. Look closer and the rough edges of igneous rock are softend by the clearest sea water I have ever seen. Tidal lagoons 10 meters deep as clear and vibrant with life as any place on earth.

I knew at this moment that no matter what laws I had to break and no matter how concealed I had to make myself, I could deal with being " a few minutes behind" on my eastern sunrise dream. I had to stay here. No matter what. Turns out that one of the 2 Maori land owners in the area will let you camp on the bluffs above the sea. It's private property, but I ran into a guy who was already camping there with his wife and son and told me to just go see if its OK with Grahme up at the house. Grahme was in the shower, but the woman I spoke too told me it's fine to camp there, and whatever I could donate would be apprecited. 30 minutes prior I was ready to break the law to stay here, I would be spared.

After a totally awesome swim in the tidal lagoons and a nap in sweet New Zealand sun, I spent the night playing guitar and singing Guns and Roses songs with a Maori family and eating Paua (abalone...delish!) and Kina (sea urchin....disgusting!). Tony, his wife Kare (Carrie) and their son Maniah showed me a night I will truly never forget. I learned where the southern cross constellation can be found, and how to properly sneak up on a fish when you are spearfishing. A very usefull skill for me im sure! I had breakfast the next morning with them too. Freshly caught Butterfish and NZ sweet corn. I can't ask for a better way to have spent my new years than this, and I'm sad still to have had to leave them. When somthing is so absolutely perfect you tend to try to make the feeling last forever. If I ever feeling down in the future, I have this memory nuggest to pull out of the bin and toss around.

Tony, Maniah, Kare and yours truelyThat grassy area between the trees is where I set-up camp. You can walk down to the lagoons from there and swim.

The view across Lottin pointto the other end of this land.

**Maniah is my guess on how to spell Tony and Kare's son's name. I didn't actually get a spelling, but if it's like some other things down here I think thats how it's spelled. So this is a disclaimer that if anyone know differently, please let me know.

A camping kind of Chirstmas

2008-12-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

Anchorage Bay, from the trail
The last 12km....you can see some of the beaches down there.

Looking North

Unnamed waterfall

Christmas Morning!!!!

stockings hung with care.....

They swim around like you are not even there with your kayak

Akersten Bay...1st night camping on the beach in Abel Tasman...

Santa Clause does exist. This I know because I asked him to quell the monstrous swells and part the grey clouds as my Christmas present this year. Sure enough, when the forecast called for yet more rain, my Christmas wish was answered. and I woke to the sunlight beaming down through the grey clouds... beckoning to release their grasp from the torrent of the previous day!

I spent 3 days kayaking north up the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park and then hiked (tramped) back the coastal track for 20 some odd kilometers over the next 2 days. So technically Christmas eve (day) was spent on the kayak in a violent unforgiving storm. Amid seals and sea birds...which was pretty cool. And Christmas eve night I hung my dirty, sweaty, muddy, foot-brined sock in the tent and waited for Santa to clear the rain and stuff something sweet and delicious to eat for breakfast. Sure enough he did. I got a really kick-ass ornament, some chocolates and a delicious organic New Zealand Tengelo! Thanks Santa! ;)
If I celebrated festivus I might say something along the lines of "It's a festivus miracle!"

I asked myself What does Christmas feel like? And I knew immediatly it was the warmth of a fireplace nap, and the cold nose of a husky on your cheek. It's the laughter of family and the smells of the kitchen when the oysters and champagne are being served. And its the dimly lit Christmas tree on Christmas night after the presents have been unwrapped... when the lights have gone out and the house lays down to rest. Not having that this year, I didn't know what to expect, what to feel, what to look for. Sure the 25th is the DAY I know to be Christmas, but where is John Denver? And tree cookies? Where is the rude joke of a sibling you see once a year or the taste of a new sauce for the potatoes? Christmas in New Zealand, away from the lights, and the cold. Away from the familiar smells and comforts of home, the wilds of New Zealand opened a new page in my book of Christmas memories. One filled with skin searing sun and cold piercing rain. Salty deadlocked hair and freeze dried beef stroganoff. Of sweet smelling sea breezes and the wonders of clean, cold stream water on your face. The icy chill of a naked high-tide swim in anticipation of the days adventures. (Don't worry, nobody else was awake that early!) A walk on the barnacled rocks of the island across from your campsite which is quickly interrupted by the bark of a 500 pound bull seal just in front of you telling you to back off, this is his territory as he undulates after you in a hypnotic swelling of fur and fat. (Trust me...it's scary when he is more sure footed on the sharp rocks and he bares his horrible teeth at you...they ain't so cute then!)
This is a brief glimpse of Christmas this year. This computer isnt dealing well with photos, so ill try again at another cafe. I'm off to the north island tomorrow and will leave the south island for this trip. I will be away from things till possibly after the new year, but that's OK.
Happy New everyone! Drink many glasses of champagne for me, and eat a bit of fine cheese. That's what I'll be doing!
Cheers!

Sandflys, rain and the west coast

2008-12-19T15:15:00.001-08:00

East coast black sand beach
The water is freezing cold, so don't let the color fool you

This animal looks oddly familiar...New Zealand Fur seal.

Beach campsite near Westport. The clouds broke long enough to cook some curry.

Punkaiki blow holes.

Fiddleheads are EVERYWHERE

After the glacier hike. I have never been so happy to be so wet!

Fox Glacier from the hike up through the forest.

Jacksons Bay lobster boat named after my sister.

The blue pools on the way to Haast. Looks like Listerene.

Midnight moon on Lake Ohau (?)

South Lake Mavora campsite....just behind me is where they filmed Fangorn Forest.

Bathing Hole.

Sandfly nightmares

If there is one thing everyone forgets to mention about New Zealand in their "oh right...I almost forgot" moment it's the sandflys. Well im not going to forget and iI'm going to warn you all that as wonderful and exotic and lush and remote as it is here, there are sandflys just about everywhere. They look like big fruit flys, and they bite. The bite doesn't swell up or hurt for about 72 hours, so just when you think the swarm that you snuggled with last night didnt have a feeding frenzy on your exposed flesh, a few days go by and a violent surge of sandfly toxins enter your bloodstream and set off a feverish race of violent itching. its terrible and only a big glass of wine, and an anti-histamine ease the pain. The bugs inThailand, Cambodia and Vietnam were nothing compared to the New Zealand Sandfly.

Wet n' Wild Glacier fun!

On the west coast, about 100 kilometers north of the township of Haast, is Fox Glacier. There are a number of glacier here, but Fox is the lesser visited of the 2 major hitters. (Franz Joseph being the major attraction)

We had camped off a 4x4 road, north of Lake Paringa for the night, and due to the rain (I'll get into this later) we took off about 9 am to see the glacier. We pulled off the highway down the Department of Conservation road that leads to the glacier but were halted at a gate indicating the road was closed. DAMN! Not more than a few minutes later a park ranger pulled down the road and opened the gate but warned us that due to a landslide the road was closed yet again further down but that we should be able to at least see the glacier from there. Prying further into the situation, It turns out that there has been biblical proportions of rain in the past few days and landslides have threatened to wreak havoc on the west coast. We were able to see the glacier, but only from a afar, and so my impending malase and disheartening gloom got a little more intense. I have never seen a glacier, and St. Marys doesnt really count in my book, and so seeing this and perhaps touching this was really important to me!

FEAR NOT...

There was a company in town that hired guides that would not only take you to the terminal face of the glacier, but take you up on the glacier for a hike around about halfway up! So thats what happened later that afternoon. So it's been raining all day and this makes for all kinds of rivers which cascade down the glacier and into the crags and crevices, only adding to the fun. Because it's New Zealand and everything is squirelly, exciting and backwards, this glacier is surrounded by temperate rainforests and is only about 15 kilometers from the sea! It's a phenomenon that is only found in New Zealand thus enhancing the reality of what a wondefully crazy place this really is. And for those of you who miss it... ask me about my my unholy intestinal distress that plagued my journey halfway up the ice flow. I thought about sharing it here, but I think there are only a select few of my readers who really care about this sort of thing!

The rest of the drive up the west coast was rainy and grey and indeed proved impossible to sightsee. (literally you couldnt see more than a few hundred meters off the road and so "seeing sights" was impossible.) Where is could I popped off to snap a a few photos before heading back across to the the east coast to see Kaikoura. (again...rain....so the Kaikoura mountain range that falls into the sea was a sightseeing nightmare.)

I'm headed off to Abel Tasman to go kayaking and hiking for 6 days, and will be away till just after Christmas. Consider this everyones holiday greeting and will someone please listen to the John Denver Chirstmas album for me? I thought I had it on my iPod but I dont and it's really hard to get through this holiday away from the family without this album! Nic, im counting on you for this!

Merry Chirstmas everyone!

(and sorry about the blue tone of this post, the rain kind of just brings it out in me...)

Learning to drive

2008-12-12T17:25:00.000-08:00

Silver Fiddlehead

Morning rainbow over Glenorchy....it just sounds like there should magic in the air.

Just another view I had to deal with on the way camping.

Mount Cook and Lake Pukaki. The water looks like blue milk, i have never seen anything outside a chemists lab that even remotely resembles this!

The Ben Ohau Range with Mt Cook in the background.

11:15 pm. Had to take a pee so I was presented with Mount Cook in all it's evening glory. It doesnt get dark till aroun 10/1030 here because it's so far South

Not too shabby of a place to call home for the night...oh and thats the camper van....Strugatsky!

The Banks peninsula and the Akaroa harbour. This is where the Onuku Farm Hostel is.

Obviously they drive on the other side of the street down here, which for us in the states is the wrong side of the street! After first getting in the car I thought the entire process of being behind a wheel again after not having driven for 2 months would be frightful enough not to add a new element of having the wipers and the turn signal flip flopped around. They have a crazy law down here that if two cars are turning down the same street and meet head to head, the car with the biggest distance to turn has right of way. (again, total opposite of our right of way laws)
In reality its no sweat. Round-a-bouts are no big deal and most of the time you don't even see another vehicle for hours! So I'm a champ now, I don't even activate the wipers when I want to turn left! I did get my hand stuck between the posts of the steering wheel as i reached in to reset the trip odometer as i was turning a corner and then went to turn out of thew corner and realized i couldnt becase my hand was stuck! Nearly crashed into a fruit stand and ruined someones hard days work! Don't try this EVER!
The above pictures take me from Christchurch to Akaroa down the inland scenic route to Mt. Cook and then over to Queenstown and Glenorchy/Kinloch. Then down again further to Milford Sound and then up to Te Anu and Lake Mavora! I'll be headed up the west coast tomorrow and am praying this spectacular weather lasts!
The landscapes here are shocking. They change literally every ten minutes as you drive. The craggy mountains collapse into soft verdant hills and the bluest waters morph instatly into the blackest abyss. You cant go one kilometer without seeing a sheep, and more accuratly seeing about 300 of them. I havent once smelt or seen the evidence of smog or pollution. Granted I havn't been to the bigger cities.
I have spent the night in some amazing places and have woken up to sunrises that have no place on this planet.

Fresh air...

2008-12-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Made it. The air is fresh, and the sights are wonderful. This is short, a compliment of the Cafe in Farlie, MacKenzie Country Soth Island. Im headed to Mount Cook for a night, hope the clouds clear and the rain plays its game somwhere else. Last night was cold, and I can only imagine it will be colder tonight. Time for the heavy clothes (which didn't come with me...DOH!) So far New Zealand is more than I expected it to be, two days at the Onuku Farm hostile put me in the right place. For those photo lovers, don't worry, they will come....just give it time.
I may not be reachable for some time, so don't fear if you dont hear from me till next week!

JMW

CHANGi International

2008-12-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, so if you ever are stuck in Singapore for any extended period...you can add these perks to the list of entertainment options to help pass the time.
- Free movie theater
- Free X-Box, PS3, Wii
- Free online video games
- High-Def entertainment lounges about every 30 feet
- Orchid, Bamboo Fern, Cactus and Sunflower gardens
- A butterfly pavillion
- Any shop you could imagine...you want a Ferarri...they got one for sale here.

So, between fits of noturnal unrest I visted most of these just because I could.
Still a few hours to go before I actually can clear customs and check in, but I'll get to sleep on the plane tonight...I heard it snowed in D Town! Somebody, please....throw a snowball at someone else... And take Juno for a romp in the park...he loves a good fresh snow!

Singapore Airport

2008-12-04T01:25:00.000-08:00

Internet is free in the airport here in Singapore. That said, I doubt that even this perk (along with bathroom attendants, free cell phonje charging lockers, rest beds, and fern gardens) will pass the next 30+ hours in any kinds of breakneck speed. . . I was supposed to be in New Zealand yesterday, and was pretty close to getting there but after a tedious few days on the phone (and a few hundred dollar phone bill) Singapore Airlines, named "the best airline in the world" failed to live up to any of there promises as such and could only cancel all my flights and was unable to rebook anything unless i could get through to the office in Banghkok. This bitter game of tail chasing to get to NZ has landed me with a perpetual stress neck and a wretched case of BO. . . I Was forced to rebook everything on my own, and with such short timing and heavy demand out of Thailand,I had to wait and wait here in Singapore for around 34 hours....
BUt tomorrow...oh yes tomorow evening i will be on a flight with Malaysia airlines and will ge to Chirstchurch on the 6th! I'll let you know how sleeping...like really sleeping....goes in the airport. BUt hey, on the bright side...they have drinking fountains here....with DRINKABLE WATER! How refreshing is that!

Exodous

2008-11-30T22:00:00.001-08:00

Phi Phi Lay...Really Great Snorkling
My bunglow in Railay...5 Stars all the way

Thanksgiving Dinnner!

Soft Corals

The infamous "purple starfish"

Bamboo Island...White Sand, and Turqouise Waters

Monkey Beach...need I say more?

Mike playing with long exposures.

Sibling bliss...That Phi Phi Lay in the background...where the filmed the movie "The Beach"

I found him!

Phi Phi Don viewpoint...our beachside bunglows are down there somwhere.

One of the many indicators of the reality of Tsunami

The Krabi night market. You name the meat on a stick and they have it here!

The river in Krabi Town.

The hassle of re booking flights has taken it's toll on me. Last night I was really sick and spent most of the night with my head in the toilet. I don't know if it's from stress, or if the Tom Yam w/ Seafood had something to do with it, but i was in really bad shape. I'm feeling better today, and so I'm hoping it was just a passing bug. I will be going to New Zealand, all my new flights are confirmed and I'm working on refunds with the previous carriers.

So, now that you all know about what been going on that makes me I'll, let me tell you about the kick ass week I had boating around the islands in Krabi, Phi Phi and Railay!

I met Nicole and Mike at the Airport in Krabi town, the day before Bangkok went belly up with its current political nightmare. This was a thanksgiving blessing to have them on the ground and NOT stuck in Bangkok. I can't imagine a worse place to be stuck.

The following morning we took the passenger ferry to Phi Phi Don, one of the islands heavily ravaged during the 2004 Boxer day tsunami. Evidence of this disaster is dotted across the island, (mountains of trash and concrete litter the car-less streets) but in this era, money trumps environmental consciousness and the rebuilding effort is marching forward at a frightening pace. The only thing the locals care about is getting money from tourists, and preservation of natural resources seems a very insignificant side note. The islands of Phi Phi Don, and Phi Phi Lay (pronounced P P) are indeed beautiful and without a doubt some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world can be found here. Sadly, the surge of unchecked tourism will take its toll on this fragile ecosystem if the government doesn't get involved. (Seeing how they handled the situation in Bangkok leaves me little hope of a rescue. Thanksgiving was pretty crazy, we went snorkeling during the day with a hired long tail boat and then, for dinner, we had hoped to buy some "rotisserie" chicken. The whole chickens, which was our pathetic attempt at recreating some quasi-aspect of a proper Thanksgiving meal. The chickens were about to be boxed up when the guy selling them wanted 600 B for them (about 20 bucks). We opted for a few stir fries, some fried chicken, and some potato chips. Who needs turkey anyway...

After a few days on Phi Phi we took off for Railay, which is not an island but is only accessible by boat due to the massive Karst walls surrounding it. Its a quiet little laid back place, withe awesome views and accommodations for all pockets.

Although there were many other places we would have liked to visit too, there were thousands of people trying to re-book flights and we felt it was important to do the same...I just heard on the ticker the airport might stay closed for 3 more weeks! I'm glad to be headed out of Thailand in a few days!

I hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. I didnt get my tryptophan induced post thanksgiving meal coma I would have liked, but I'll live.

Stranded in Thailand...

2008-11-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Currently I'm stuck in Krabi (actually Railay...which is not such a bad place to be stuck) but with the situation in Bangkok it's impossible to fly anywhere. At this point it looks a 24 hour bus to ingapore is my only hope of getting to New Zealand. All flights in Asia are f$*ked up because of the protests in Bangkok.
If you need to get ahold of me, my number in Thailand is 08-7330-9598
I'll keep you posted on what happens!

Cheers!

Hasta la vista Hanoi

2008-11-20T04:09:00.000-08:00

There are no stoplights, and no rules. Great place for a big ol lungful of exhaust!

Traffic sample #1, 9:45am.

Le Cyclo Cafe...not really Vietnamese or French, but it's a bike thing!
Drinking my beer at Le Cyclo Cafe...coincidence with my shirt? Divine intervention or plan 'ol laziness?

The best "Pho Bo" in all of Vietnam was made in this kitchen! This is beyond street food...this place didnt even have a sign out front. When you see plastic chairs and tables sized for Uumpa Loompa's, they have Pho...go tell the lady with the cleaver what you want and take a seat.

There is somthing like 10 million moto bikes in Vietnam, and a majority of those must be in Hanoi! The traffic is mad. The concept of a traffic signal, or "blinker" is totally foreign. Instead, they use the horn to alert others to their whearabouts. So imagine 10 million scooter horns honking in succession....there isnt enough tylenol to fix ones head.

My point being that after I returned from Ha Long bay to Hanoi, I delcared war on the big city. Not just Hanoi, but "big city" i have had enought. The streets are filthy, there is no place to walk (sidewalks are a cruel joke) and people are hasseling you every 10 feet for a "taxi" or a "moto"...or "bananna" and "donut"!

I left Hanoi, and won't return unless I am forced to or am passing through. Coming from the quiet solitude of the bay to this madness is just nerve wracking.

I will fly to Bangkok and spend the night and then it's off to Krabi!
If I get swallowed by the beach or just dont feel like coming back, I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Please chew your turkey well, I hear about too many turkey related accidents. If you are so kind, please eat some mashed potatoes since they dont seem to have anything here but fried potatoes! And pie...eat an extra piece of pie for me.

Ha Long Bay

2008-11-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

Junk boat, smilar to the one i was on 'cept ours had no sails! (BOO)
Too much salt water

There are over 3000 of these "islands" in Ha Long Bay

Sunset...you can see another few boats in the bay where we had anchored for the night!

Never really get this opportunity mcuh at home, John...this is chicken scrap compared to the things you jump off.

Took an overnight cruise at Ha Long bay. It's really quite something. Literally translating as "the place where the dragon enters the sea" (dont ask how "Ha Long" becomes 8 words) the local lore supports that the islands were formed when the dragon tail lashed about cutting deeply into the land and letting the water it. At least thats what the guy on the boat said.

It was pretty hazy when I was there, and so visibility was much lower than normal. Still, an incredible place to spend 2 days. My time is out here, so I will have more on Ha Long in the future. I'll be leaving Vietnam tomorrow. Which is both happy and sad. I have to say i wont miss someone trying to sell me something every 3 feet. "Mis-ter...you buy!? 2 Dolla? Mis-ta?...

Gotta go!

And yes... I DID eat the rest of the sandwich! (keep reading the older post if you don't understand this)

Tastes like chicken!

2008-11-18T03:43:00.000-08:00

I ate pigeon the other day.

Vietnam, perhaps more than most other Asian countries, is known for its vivid and curious cuisine. It happened like this:

After 14 hours on the train, and not having had any food for nearly 24 hours (thanks to the train being 4 hours late in Hue) I arrived in Ha Noi half crazy, emmiting a noxious odor of train and B.O and badly needing food. After finding a rather dodgy guesthouse down an alley filled with prawn guts and chicken feet, I asked the lady working the front desk where I could find a bowl of Pho. She informed me of a place that was "go left, then right and then right and then left" and then look for "#65...very good food there!". I never found the place she recommended and most certainly walked much farther than I needed to find food, but when navigating Hanoi, alone without a map, it's best to stay on one street and walk back the way you came, and pray that you can identify the dodgy alley by the stench of fish being gutted there.

I finally found a place on the sidewalk with baguette and "stuff" ...but no english menu, or english anything. Fear not. I have gotten quite good at getting what I need by smiling, and pointing and closing my eyes and enlisting a higher power to guide the food through my my gut to a safe and uneventful end. I pointed to some mass of white "meatish" substance with the opinion that it was probabaly chicken or maybe fish. I pointed to a block of "happy cow" cheese and some cucumbers and the no-frills street matron proceeded to slice open a baguettte and haphazardly load in the fillings. She wrapped it in some kind of oily, previosuly used paper, and thrust it at me. She went back to her chopping and prep work giving no more notice to me than any other customer she had that day!

It was then that I noticed what must have been her son's nearby googly eyed and awestruck at Farang (asian gringo) about to endulge in what for them must be like a slice of pizza. I found a nearby stool and had a go at is.

"Tastes like chicken...must be chicken"

Her son mimes to me "drink?" and I politely reply with "Bia Siagon". He screws his face like he doesn't understand and so I simplify to just "Bia".

"Bia" being the widely used term for beer I thought this would bring about some kind of frothy beverage that would be appropriate for my mid morning feast. He doesn't get this either, but then in a flash of brilliance, gives me the index finger pointed up to indicate "wait just a second" bounding off up a previosly unseen stairacase. Leaping down minutes later with a huge smile on his face and holding what looks like an english-esque menu, he trusts it in my face and I point to a "Tiger Beer". During the ensuing rush of enthusiastic bottle jostling and top-popping, I continue to masticate my sanwhich and vacantly peruse the menu. To my horror realize that there are only 2 meats listed on the menu.

I know what pate looks like, and I could eliminate this option as what was now nearly half-chewed in my mouth. Opposite "pork liver pate", was Pidgeon. Just plain pidgeon.

Weather by choice or by instinct my jaw stopped working and the half-chewed mass became my singular focus at the moment. I was certain then that the hard, cartiledge bit that I was processing with my molars was no normal chicken tendon , but rather a claw, or a piece of scaly pidgeon foot...maybe even a beak. In shock at my current situation, I chewed through it and swallowed hard, recounting the sage advice of my doctor, "if it's cooked you don't have anything to worry about" ...

The beer arrived and I drank nearly two-thirds of the bottle before returning my focus to my sandwich. I stared at the white meat between the cucumbers and the cheese, and told myself "this was actually not too bad before you knew what it was, maybe a little gamey but it is street food." My options weighed heavy and I recall for the first time the unnatural silence of the traffic. Should you be rude and chug the beer, settle the bill and walk? Or should you finish the remaining one-third of the sandwhich because at this rate if your gonna be sick...your gonna be sick"

If you know me well enough you know what I did.

It started here innocently enough.

...North

2008-11-13T03:35:00.000-08:00

The Vietnamese version of a Pith Helmet..very classy!

Fishing Boats anchored ourside Nha Trang.

A game of pickup with the locals.

The Vietnamese are very proud people andthe flags fly everywhere.

Going down into the Cu Chi Tunnel...

Procesing rice on the side of the road. I never thought I would say this, but I think I have had enough rice for awhile.

Saigon is the largest big city in the south of Vietnam, and in a country filled with such history it's hard to leave so much behind in the Mekong delta. But money is running low, and I told a friend I would meet them in Hue on the 15th, so I have begun my journey north on the train. It takes about 3 days to go directly from Saigon in the south to Hanoi in the north, which is my terminus, but i will split this into a few shorter segments for sake of saving sanity!

But first, a stop at the Cu Chi tunnels before I go. (Pronounced "Goo Chee), Throughout Vietnam, there are tunnels which were built as safe havens from the attacks of enemy forces durting the Vietnam war. Between 3 and 9 meters below ground the network of the Cu Chi tunnels span more than 200 KM of interconnected rat holes not much bigger than the diameter of a basketball. Of course today, for the sake of fat tourists, the tunnels have been expanded to a width where one can crawl through them on hands,knees and bellys. It's an interesting experience to be so far below the ground in a light-less hole with bats clinging to every crevass. Feeling the walls and hoping that you spot the exit before the next bat does a reconnasance mission into your face. Only during the cover of night was it that the Cu Chi people would emerge for supplies. They lived for many weeks below ground during the heaviest of attacks. The longest tunnel a tourist can go in is 120 meters and believe me, that's quite enough distance in the dark. If you are claustrophobic, don't go here. The bats and the mud are enough to keep most people out.

Going North...
The night train to Nha Trang was surprisingly posh. The train has just been renovated with all new interior, western toilets (no more toil-hole) and LCD TV's in every cabin. Remarkable! Really a classy way to travel.
Nha Trang is known for its calm, tourqoise waters and spotless beaches. However duing my 3 days here, due to the typhoon offshore, the beaches were closed. The sea was angry and she would eat everything that came near. Except the garbage, which she threw back to the land loving mortals. So what can you do when the beach is not beach-able? Play a game of pickup football with the locals. Notbody spoke any english, and none of the poeple I was with spoke much Veitnamese, but I think the rules are the same and football is football. It's the only truly global sport.
I found out today that Nha Trang is where T-bo's grandfather was born. As he stated in his e-mail, "it's a small world...but not too small!" Im sad to know that he will be gone when i decide to come back. I guess thats a good excuse to travel around Europe for a while.
I will be off again on the train tonight for a 13 hour journey to Hue, the ancient capital. If all goes according to plan, I will meet Nichole and Steve for the day and we can bum around the roayl tombs before I continue north into flooded Hanoi.
Keep your fingers crossed that the water subsides and I can make it to Halong Bay!

A world away...

2008-11-11T17:55:00.001-08:00

King Moto getting on one of many ferries needed to get across the many tributaries of the Mekong.

The only quiet street in Saigon.

The view of Sam Mountain, looking west to cambodia. The border is at the far end of that road.

The last town in Cambodia before the border. He took about 10 minutes to finally look and me and smile.

The Bamboo Island Beach, not what I had pictured when i thought of Cambodia+Beach

I'm writing all this nearby the beach in south central Vietnam. The city of Nha Trang.

Quite a bit has happened since I jumped on last. I'll do my best to fill in the gaps.

After PP I was off to Sihanoukville, on the beach in southern Cambodia. I wasnt sure what to expect of a beach in Cambodia. I know what the streets looked and smelled like and when it rains all that drain into the river at some point along with the dog, cat, rat, bat and human waste. The river then collects the runoff of hundred of miles of villages without any sewers or wastewater treatment facilities. This all then eventually drains into the ocean where I expected it to look like somthing from a post apocalyptic war movie. I was dead wrong. The beach was actually pretty nice. It had the dead fish and garbage that you expect in a place that has no governement to facilitate beach clean-up efforts, but it was still pretty nice. A shot boat can be hired to go to bamboo island (which is the generic name for pretty much every island i have come across) but there, the tourquoise waters and warm sand pretty much had me questioning if i was still in Cambodia. I never expected it to be this nice. Incredible.

A 10 hour bus trip through the greater Mekong delta brought us near to the town of Chao Doc, Vietnam. Flooded rice paddies and thatched huts dominate the landscape and once again shortly after the border everything changes again. The sweet smell of dried fish and bananas, the shape of faces and the landscape are just different again. How these things change so dramatically when a political boundary is crossed is a mystery. The land knows no political lines, yet inexplicably things DO change. That's a pretty lame description of how it really feels to just experience it. Maybe next time I'll do it a little better.

In Chao Doc I hired a guy a guy to take me to the top of Sam Mountain on a "moto". A little vespa like scooter that is the dominating mode of transport in Vietnam. Without traffic lights or lane designations, traffic here is pretty much a game of Russian Roulette. A chaotic go-anywhere dance of suprising elegance. Its amazing i havnmt seen more traffic accidents. Twice, i have seen a bus hit a moto and twice, the moto and its passengers get up, brush off, and get back on. Bumps and bruises are part of the game in Vietnam. The view from the top of Sam Mountain is really somthing to see. IN one direction you can see the road leading from the Cambodian hills through the rice paddies into vietnam and in the other, you begin to see the vast and uninterrupted life-scape of Mekong living.

There isn't much to do in Chao Doc but sleep and see a few bits of an "un-touristed" city. Vietnam is truly a land ruled by the Moto. With a nod to the occasional truck and Cargo van, Moto is the ONLY vehicle. Used for hauling everything from familys of 4 to a basket of chickens or even a half-ton hog, tied up and tossed onto a makeshift pannier on the back.

The next day was spent on a a bus....always on the bus it seems to get to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) or Saigon.

Saigon:
I thought the Chaos of bangkok was bad. May I please retract that statement from the record? Saigon is like a beehive in a bonfire. The same 1 to 1 ratio of moto to human exists here, but on a massive scale. There is plenty to do in the city when its not raining, but it was raining at least most of the time. So what does one do when it rains in Saigon? Go for a walk of course! It's just rain...right? Due to the pollution-infused clouds, the rain is filled with chemicals which burn your skin. I had never experienced this before, but I have also never been anywhere as polutted as this! The War museum was really an experience that everyone who was no yet born, or doesnt remember the Vietnam War needs to experience. Photos, displays and writings documenting every perspective of the war are found here. There is one exhibit which hit me particularly hard. It was a dedication to memory of the photo-jounralists who lost their lives to bring snapshots home of the reality that was going on so far away. Many died during surpise attacks and explosions, and seeing the "last frame" taken only moments before their death speaks to the indelible and everlasting power of a photograph. For civillians, this was the first war where radio could no longer "yellow up" the airwaves and shape the way we perceived things. It was a war where media was brought directly into the living rooms of people across the globe. We could finally "see and hear" the reality of war, and it changed the world.

A personal note: I feel like I have been suffering from photo-block, I'm just not seeing things and feeling things the way I like to. Im dealing with this as a temporary hiatus in creative living, and that this too shall pass in time. Keep your fingers crossed.

My time here is up today, but stay tuned for Cu Chi tunnels, and Nha Trang!

Phnom Penh

2008-11-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

Ýes, you have to peel the meat out of this big ones or the shells get stuck in your throat on the way down. I haven't yet...but'I'm told they are like salty crisps. Its the ones that are still alive that i will stay away from.

Our tuk-tuk did run out of gas and we had to push it to the nearest petrol stand so the driver could buy a liter. (notice the Johnny Walker bottles they sell petrol in)

Part of the wall-o-weapons

The shooting range... I think it speaks for itself.

You just go back the way you came when you come across this.

A former high school classroom turned into one of the cells at S-21

Another....they have pretty much left them untouched.

The food stalls deep within the bowels of the Russian market. Sadly I didn't see any Russians when I was eating my noodles with "pork"...which was most certainly mystery meat!

Phnom Penh from our hotel window. Anyone care for a lung-full of smog to go with your morning cuppa-joe?

The central flower market

A motley crew of package delivery boys.

A pretty typical street in PP. It used to be pavement, but they road repairs have left the city looking like this.

This blog will be a continuation of Siem Reap and the inclusion of Phnom Penh, so stick with me as I ramble around.
Angkor Archaeological park was an incredible learning experience on my first day in Siem Reap, but seeing as there is a vibrant and lush countryside extending out hundreds of miles in every direction, temples are only one thing to see. Many developed countries have national parks and wilderness preserves. Cambodia is a little behind on this development due to a fractured economy and the ravages of war and genocide.
Land mines are real here. They are not props in movies and there are physical reminders of this in the signs dotting the country side, and the people you see walking in the streets. Many of the places visited by tourists have been thoroughly cleared of any danger, but just a few yards off the beaten path, danger lies under foot. I paid a visit to then land mine relief museum which contrary to my initial thoughts was not a gruesome and grisly picture show of what we all might expect, but rather one man's uplifting story and life-mission to clear the country of land mines and prevent such devices from being used in the future. The museum wasn't much, but reading the stories and new paper articles written over the past 30 years this mans work (forgive me I don't have notes with his name) was a worthwhile venture.
Our tuk-tuk driver on the way back from the museum asked us (this would be a few guys from the hotel, Andre from Canada, James from Ireland and myself) if we wanted to fire guns...only he couldn't say "fire guns"so he imitated what a child does when he plays war and cradled the barrel of an invisible rifle in one hand and with other pulled the same invisible trigger attached to that gun. "Bang! Bang!" His smile was so convincing, how could we say no! So we said yes. Apparently when the mafia-army-civilians are not training (which is all the time) they just lay around in cement tunnels that double double as fire ranges. This is about an hour outside the city for good reason. You have your pick form pretty much any gun you want, AK-47, Uzi, grenade launchers, machine guns etc... I know this sounds quite fictitious but trust me, and remember it's Cambodia!
Some of you will be relieved to know that I DIDN'T fire any of the weapons available as the price was a little beyond what I could afford. A clip for the Uzi ran 80 dollars, but this did not stop Andre from pursuing this weapon and an AK-47. (I hate to think what price they wanted for the machine guns or the grenade launcher) It was actually a very fun time, sans actual trigger pulling, and the army-guys, who speak little english, were really thrilled that we ventured so far from the tourist trappings near the city to join them for a morning of male bonding.
Off to PP...
The public bus arrived in Phnom Penh after dark and we were assailed by tuk-tuk drivers and moto owners all trying to win your business. It's quite amusing if you are as tired as Í am to listen to them fight with each other over who talked to the tourist first and who should get the next fare....etc..physical fights do break out over this subject.
A ride to the central part of the city is about $1-2 from anywhere else on the outskirts of the city. whic is quite expensive seeing as a tuk-tuk in Thailand is half the price. I guess since the US dollar is so readily available and used here, the small bill gets a rather high rate of circulation and everything becomes "One dolla!"...One dolla..you buy!". All prices are listed in US currency.
Although my arrival in Phnom Penh was after the election took place, it didn't stop hordes of ex-pats from swarming the streets and celebrating Obama's win. Quite a spectacle to witness "Cambodian Democrats for Obama" af the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) on the main drag next to the river! Yes, I stopped in a for a beer to revel in the spectacle...

Afterward-
Cambodia is an extremely poor country. From the roads and electricity, all aspects of urbanized infrastructure we take for granted is challenged here. The majority of the roads remain unpaved (I''ll get to the "remain" part in a minute) even in the largest city, Phnom Penh. The country has a very rich history and is the people remain amazingly upbeat and are always smiles, even in the face of adversity. In the late 1970's the Pol Pot regime took power and began what many believe to be acts of terror, violence and unspeakable torture worse than Hitler's. Entire family's were exterminated and anyone with any education, especially doctors, and teachers were thrown into horrific prisons for interrogation and unfathomable acts of anti-humanitarianism. I don't feel like going into a lesson of history here, nor do I feel like reliving yesterdays sobering visit to the S-21 "school-prison"and the killing fields. I will be happy to share my experience with you in person upon my return, but not here. The tour guide, who's father committed suicide in prison so he wouldn't have to rat-out his family, was an incredible wealth of knowledge despite his very personal connection to the subject. A statistic I heard was that 77 percent of Cambodians are 35 years of age or younger. If you look at the dates that means a huge percentage of the population in todays cities was born after the genocide, after Pol Pot had been defeated. It also means that a very large population of middle age people died during that time. As a result, the cities fell into disrepair, and poverty seeped into the ever expanding cracks in the foundation that would have very possibly made Cambodia a semi-modern country like neighboring Thailand. Despite this, it's remarkable that in just over 30 years these people have managed to lift themselves up and start again.

Ahhh...Angkor Archeological Park

2008-11-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

Ta Prohm...Locally known as "Tomb Raider Temple"

Smiling Faces at Prasat Bayon

Tuk-Tuk? ...uh I mean Toot Toot...they have elephant Taxi's in Siem Reap

Sunrise: 5:28am....Angkor Wat...worth it to get up and see it!

Just a few photos for now..I'll get some stories and text go with them whenI find a decent keyboard....hopfully that'll be in Phnom Penh.

Welcome to Cambodia

2008-11-03T02:34:00.000-08:00

Rice as far as the eye can see...and some palm trees.

National highway 6...can you see why it took 13 hours?

This is the local FedEX across the border....

No Man's land....anything goes until you get to the gate!

I made to Siem Reap, in northern Cambodia yesterday. A 13 hour bus with 2 hours getting across the border. Airport imigration is so smooth compared to overland entry. It's not possible to cross the border in a vehicle, and so the bus dropped you at a check point filled with surly and no-nonsense guards. From there you haul you baggage throug customs, across a bridge that is technically a "no mans land" ...anything goes here, sex, drugs, gambling...i dont know how some of the things get into this 300 meter stretch of land seeing as they are illegal on both sides, but they found a way. I suppose bribes are the law of the land.
The road from Poi Pet to Siem Reap was horrible. National Highway 6 is a very organic thing. Shifting soil, pot-holes the size of school bus and livestock blocking the road. Yes, the highway is not paved to Siem Reap and so it's a dirt road with highway traffic....through rice fields, and villages. Naked children bathing in the rice paddy, oxen and water buffalo working so diligently to prevent any vehicle through.
It was quite something if you need a spine splintering nerve-racking day. But gorgeous. The difference between Thailand and Cambodia is immediate. The landscape changes almost the instant you leave Poi Pet (the border city). From cane fields and teak forests in Thailand to rice-rice-rice....as far as the eye can see. Lime green and golden...
After a bite to eat at "Dead Fish Restaurant" we meandered our way to the night market where the ladies when for some retail therapy and the gents found a great bar to sit back and drink some cold brew....and then the bartenders started pouring shots...and then they started lighting them on fire...i think they had hoped that we we be drunk enough that they could rob us on the way back to the Hotel, but that didn't happen...just this:

Someone said: "He'll do it! Give it to him! It was some blue thing that was on fire and I had to drink it through a plastic straw before the straw melted....it was disgusting.

Back in Bangkok

2008-10-31T05:58:00.000-07:00

arrived back in Bangkok via third class rail yesterday. It's a universe apart from the second class. No goats or chickens like I imagined, but plenty of dogs and shoeless folks. Squid-on-a-stick seller and pineapple peddlers a plenty. It was only a 3 hour trip, so i fared well enough to live another day.

Happy Halloween! Will somebody please eat a handful of candy corn for me? I love that stuff once a year and would really dig a nosh on it tonight! The holiday is celebrated here, but it's a little different than we do back home. Candy isn't a hugely consumed item here. The fruit is so sweet and fresh and everything can be fried if you want, so the kids typically snack on these items. (fried unripe papaya is particularly delectable)
A trip to the ultra modern and ultra posh Siam Paragon shopping centre was made this afternoon via a self-guided skytrain (elevated subway) tour of Bangkok.(a really nice way to avoid the heat and see the skyscrapers) They have a cinema complex there and let me tell you, we are treated like dogs in American theaters! Every detail is tip-top. The seats are wide and recline. They are made of super soft leather (the real stuff...like in a BMW or a Benz)They whole thing reminded me of a $2000 barka-lounger(?) Plus, a movie is only 140 Baht! So that's less than $5.00. There are towel attendants in the bathroom, and each toilet is sanitized immediatly after use! It's amazing. If you every come to Bangkok and want to get out of the heat I cant speek more highly than to take a trip on the subway/skytrain to the Paragon shopping complex. You can buy a Cartier necklace, a Maseratti and a mango shake all within the same 7 floor shopping center! You can find the best of anything you want! They even keep Mobil 1 Motor Oil and Mr. Clean behind halogen-lit glass cases!
It's quite a treat!

Tonight will be the last full night I have in Bangkok, which is ok with me. I have seen what I needed to see, and maybe someday in the future I will return. But for now..it's finis! The city is a zoo, and if people say NYC will give them a heart attack, they can put that plan into overdrive living here. If the smog and the noise doesn't get to you, the open sewers and fish stench certainly will!
The situation in Cambodia is mellowed down enough that it should be safe to cross the border. It's really just the Thai nationals they have problems with, but best to keep on your toes. Machine guns and a mafia-run government are nothin to mess with!

Lemonade

2008-10-29T18:07:00.000-07:00

It just lit up and was perfect!

Nice pink and blue clouds, with just the right amount of light!

If you cannot capture details, capture what you can that makes every moment in life worth living!

Almost as spectacular as it gets!

A different set of ruins, but very nice and restored indeed.

Do you see the stone Buddha face wrapped in the Bodhi tree? It's unknown how it got there, they believe the body of the figure is beneath the rest of the tree! Very magical!

A better photo of the Ayuthaya tuk-tuks from a sci-fi movie!
The drivers speak 2 words of english: "Hello!? - - Taxi?"

The old saying speaks with clarity today. On 2 fronts this adage spoke to me clearer than words themselves.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

Yesterday when I was sitting enjoying my breakfast a phone call came in on my cell. The unexpected kind that we all fear and cannot bring ourselves to answer...but we are forced to. The person on the other end of the line doesn't even get a word or a breath in and the vacancy in emotion explodes around you like some cosmic supernova of dread. It was my sister, she had called to tell me my dad had been in a bike accident yesterday and was pretty roughed up. A collapsed lung, busted pelvis and maybe a fractured vertebrae. I will be calling to talk to him shortly, but needed to get some feelings scribed before the phone call. Stabilize my situation.
Lemons. Sour and bitter, and they leave and electrified sensation in your body. Somtimes good, somtimes not. I feel so helpless so many thousands of miles away. A distance it seems no hug can travel. Keep your thoughts and prayers with my dad for a speedy recovery. We are planning on riding the Triple Bypass next summer and he needs a clean bill of health for that!

Lemons: Part Deux
I hired a rickety boat to take me along the river to see some ruins of the ancient city that were beyond walking distance. The boat driver was obviously drunk and the craft was far from sea worthy (insert pirate joke here). There was no swimming involved and so in that sense all is well and I'm safe. However the sales pitch for the boat trip indicated that we would see the ruins lit up in all thier nightly splendor so one might be able to snap a few pictures to look like postcards. This was not the case...well...almost not. Through some divine intervention of cheap Thai whiskey and a 2 stroke motor that really should have been a 4 stroke we arrived at the last and most spectacular temple about 30 minutes later than planned. Just in time to witness a glorious pollution induced sunset and then the lights came on to make what could have been a horribly bitter experience turn out wonderfully sweet and electrifying. (sorry for the pun)

An illuminating (sorry again) end to an otherwise bittersweet day. Sometimes as seen in the photos above when you cannot capture the vivid details life gives your, its better to capture the moment as you lived it. Never force a false reality upon yourself, it only leads to false memory.
Back on the train again today to head to Bangkok. Send you thoughts to my dad. He's gonna need them!

Ancient Ayutthya

2008-10-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Caught sleeping on the job!

Cows mowing the lawn. I'm serious. It's easier than hiring day labor.

Biggest Buddha yet!

Old ruins

Arrived in Ayutthya safely on the day train. Which is much speedier than the sleeper train at a whopping 13 hours. Better than an airplane though, at least there is room to get up and mosey around if you want. It's a pretty small(ish) town, not much for nightlife or lodging or places to eat. In addition to this, the few guesthouses in a decent price range are pretty far from the ruins so you have to hire a tuk-tuk to take you. These tuk-tuks look like they were lifted from some Phillip K. Dick novel or the movie total recall. They have a distinctly retro look to them from the 1940's era Hollywood. I'll try to snap a photo before I leave! Super cool!

You will have to live with my generic captions for the photos. I don't have my notes with me on what each of these temples is named. Give it time....
I'm off to Cambodia on the 1st, and then to Vietnam. Keep your fingers crossed that the situation in Cambodia cools off a bit during our visit! I will be back to Thailand to meet Nicole and Mike around Thanksgiving. Oh the beach will be so nice!

Thai Cookery

2008-10-28T03:36:00.000-07:00

Fresh Veggies...Thai Eggplants are the little green egg shapes things in the upper right.

Fried banana's...oh man...these are a keeper. If you are nice, i'll make them for you some day!

My Favorite food now. Khao Soi.."Chiang Mai Noodles"

Chicken w/ coconut milk...simple and nutricious

Stir fried chicken with cashews and curry! A quick and flavorful treat.

A small representation of the varieties of rice for sale.

Dried goods of unknown orgin

Our fruit seller. She looks thrilled to be selling fruit. But now i know there are 2 types of dragon fruit available.

First of all I need to make a correction to a previous post. Our jungle trek was not near the border of China. In fact, after looking at a map and re-schooling myself....Thailand doesn't border China. Only Myanmar and Loas in the north and Cambodia and Malasia in the south. So please forgive my geographical oversight.

I took a one day course in traditional Thai cooking. Being the "slight" Gastronome (is that the right word?) that I am it was a great way to spend a last day in Chiang Mai learning the secrets and tips to make Thai cooking much easier. We started our day with a trip to the local market to purchase the produce and meats and fish we would need to cook for the day. Typically most good restaurants and households will go shopping daily. It's the only way to ensure the freshness that is critical in the cuisine. It was fascinating to learn about all the bizzaro fruits and veggies, and also get to try them in-situ. Seeing the fish get yanked out of a plastic pail and them get brutally clobbered by a woman with a mallot and then gutted in really somthing to see. The fish guts just get washed into the street at the end of the day when the dogs come and eat whatever the birds havnt already eaten. It's the great circle of life around the market. Only the dogs dont typically get sold for consumption here....thats in Vietnam and some other countries.
As results depicted in the above pictures, the food is simple and delicious and really isnt that hard to make with the right ingredients. Assuming you have an asian market in town you can get most everything you need. So look forward to many a yummy meal with me when I return!
I'm off to Ayuthaya on the train Monday. It's a city with lots of old ruins similar to Ankor Wat in Cambodia. Will spend a few days there seeing the ancient temples and stone Bhuddas before returning to the madness of Bangkok and then the trecherous roads to Cambodia. Thankfully someone else will be doing the driving!
Au revoir!

Wat U Mong

2008-10-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

"...light breaks through in a world darkened by man's egotism and lust for domination over his fellow man and nature." Q. Beatrix of Holland

A beautiful stone staircase coexisting with forest moss.

Stone carvings that are gracfully falling back to earth after centuries of worship and prayer.

WOW!

What-a-wat! A Wat is a temple in Thailand..no you know. They are everywhere. There are 100's and 100's in Bangkok, 1000's in the country, and the concentration of Wat's in Chiang Mai is intense. You can walk to 5 or 6 within an hour!
One of the most visited is Wat Doi Suthep, which I think I spoke of the other day. Its VERY visited, and thus is very beautiful and well maintained.
One of the NOT SO VISITED Wat's in Chiang Mai is U Mong..."The Forest Wat with a Tunnel"
It's set just outside the city in the forest at the base of the mountain. Its very lush, and very overgrown and there were maybe 10 other people we saw while we were there. Which is really refreshing. The temple is not well maintained like so many others and consists of the ruins of yesteryear!
Its a beautiful, quiet and cool escape from the heat and noise of the city.
Oh heavens. It's just started to rain...and when it rains...well I need to get home. I'm only wearing flip flops and the streets have very poor drainage. And what with all the dogs and cats running amok, the lack of trash cans....well I have about 5 minutes!
Gotta run...

Survived the Jungle

2008-10-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

,The local sticky rice plant...used for eating, animal feed and fermenting!

Our morning coffee...ahhh...dehydrated Nescafe, dry milk and sugar. (Along with us thats Kevin & Sven from Holland)Cute little village girl...a little camera shy.

Big bad Jungle...Actually it's quite nice when you get used to the bugs and the spiders... the noises that go bump in the night

Moonshine... Our fearless guide "Oh My Buddha"

7:15 am, a Stroll through the village

No electricity...so it's dinner a-la candlelight!

Oh these kids are like monkeys! They love shiny things and grab onto anything!

Night 2, our hut next to the river

Meet "Mojo", our Elephant...he just wants a banana!

Our hut in the hills...it's surreal looking at this again.

Hello again.
I survived my jungle trek. Ate some weird fruit, shat in some REALLY funky places and drank some hallucinogenic rice whiskey made by the locals. It was hard to tell what they were saying, but I think "take a shot" is pretty standard in every culture.
It was a crazy uphill battle the first day for about 8 kilometers. A VERY VERY steep mountain through very dense and humid jungle and my love affair with bamboo has been forever changed due to the intense heat and density of the jungle. I have always thought of bamboo the way that Hollywood portrayed it. Lush, cool and elegant. It's not. It's a real part of the jungle, and its thick and unforgiving and more of a pain in the arse than it's worth.

The first night we stayed with a village hill tribe near the border of Myanmar and China. About 90Kilometers away i thinkThe Hmong people belong to no country, bow to no king and cannot get passports to any neighboring country. They live on Thai soil, but technically don't belong to any nation. They are an agrarian culture who have lived in these hills for hundreds of years. Contact with people from the city pretty minimally. It was an interesting first night sleeping in the bamboo and thatch hut far above the tree line of the jungle. It was worth it to wake up in the morning with our hut completely shrouded in a cloud. I had always wondered what it would be like to swim in the clouds. Aside from dreams, this was as real as it will ever get.
The second night was a little different than the first as we camped on the big bad jungle floor with the BIG bugs and the unseen monsters lurking only a few feet from the hut. Our guide, "Moonshine", told us... "If you see me run...you better run too!" Safety briefings in Thai are so different. You don't quite get a clear picture of the situation and just kind of go with it. See what happens. Hope that the Boy Scout in you kicks in when you need it to.

The trek went well, and with minor incident. I can honestly say that the bugs in the jungle were not as horrific as I had imagined in my nightmares. Emily close you ears, but the spiders WERE the size of dinner plates. Moonshine told us they don't go after people, just whatever lands in their web. Thats why you don't get up to pee in the middle of the night. They build webs at night. I am suffering from a bit of the Thailand tummy torture this morning. Too much swimming in rivers and eating fruit that resembles insects I suppose. Its not so bad that i wasnt able to get a Thai massage last night. 500 Baht for a 2.5 hour full body massage.(about 30 bucks) The good thing was that the money went to recently released prisoners from the Chiang Mai Women's prison. A rehabilitation into society program if you will. Yes, my massuse WAS a former criminal, and by lethal death grip she had (but it fel so good) she must have been in prison for murder.
But hey, in a place where "Thai massage" can have SOOOOO many connotations, its nice to know that this was strictly medicinal and had no "happy endings".

I am in Chiang Mai for a few more days, and then its back on the train south to Ayyuthaya (uh..thats not spelled right) I think I'll head to Cambodia around Nov. 1st. Ill keep y'all posted.
Until then! Happy trails!

Weekend In Chiang Mai

2008-10-17T20:03:00.001-07:00

One of the Cats at the Monastary at Doi Suthep.

Beautiful scene inside a Temple in Chiang Mai.

A Monk overlooking Chiang Mai...at Doi Suthep

Chiang Mai is such a great place. Its got all the city feel of Bangkok without the horrific traffic and oppressive heat of the city. Plus it's nearer to the mountains, which is a nice reminder of home. (even if the snakes are super deadly and the tigers are not caged)

We have arranged a 3 day jungle trek with elephants to a hill-tribe jungle village near Myanmar and China! I met a guy in Bangkok at the guest house we were staying at and he used to be a guide for them. T.I.C. Travel in Chiang Mai...in case anything happens! It should be fine, it's actually a very common thing to do while in the Golden Triangle area...I cant wait!

Weekends are filled with Markets and Bazzar's and good food, so Tonight we will venture off to the southern tip of the city to see the local silver smiths doing what they have done in the region for 100's of years!
I could live in Ching Mai, but Juno would not fare as well. It's just too hot for northern dogs here. The dogs that DO live here are small and super short haired. They lay in the gutters and in the side streets waiting for the shadows to cover them so they can sleep! Life in Chiang Mai will just have to wait for some other reincarnation of life!

Thai Trains & Chiang Mai

2008-10-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Tonights sunset in Chiang Mai! It's good to be out of Bangkok!

Mmmmm....more delicious Thai street food!

Nightime...Shh.....its so peaceful in Thailand's 2nd largest city!

Temple across from our rented apartment.

Sunset from our front porch! Not too shabby for 250 baht / night (less than 10 bucks for AC, hot water and cable)

A nice hidden alleyway off the main street. I wish bamboo would grow like this in Colorado!

A little overwhelmed with getting to the train station in Bangkok!

Which train is ours?

Took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai...Northern Thailand near Burma (Myanmar) Laos and China. What was scheduled to be a 12 hour train took 15, but we were delighted that the seats we had bough were also beds! Ahhhh... rest for the wicked! (finally...)
From my journal:

"ratcheting down the rails away from the heat and bustle of Bangkok we rocked. Left to right. The motion was set and tonight i would be rocked back to sleep after a 25 year hiatus. Pickup up sleep where I could the pre-dawn light enticed me with misty mountain fog and lush, but still sunless rainforests. The mist veiled canopy of the moonlit yearning for the morning light to replace the night. Mountains of vine covered limestone peered up from their soft pillow of sleep and midnight dreams. Clicktey-Clack, Chang, Chang, Chang we ambled along through villages and towns. Slowly up we rose into the emerald canopy, thick with bamboo gently bowing to greet the the new day. Ravines and waterways pass underneath as we roll onward, fuled by diesel and dreams. "

We arrived in Chiang Mai safely. Unharmed by the possibility of wild Bengal tigers and railway thieves! Have you ever had to use the toilet on the 2nd class (or heaven forbid, 3rd class!) trains in a 3rd world country?! ITs a delight! Thankfullymy buisness was limited as a I was gifted with the hardware which allows me to pee while standing! The toilets really are not...they are simply holes welded out of the bottoms of the train car floor which allow your deposits, waste etc... to fall directly to the train tracks below. No flushing, no rinsing...no NOTHING! No pictures even... i feared the loss of my camera too much. Perhaps on the way back to bangkok in a few weeks i will brave the photo op.

Chiang Mai is gorgeous. The old city is surrounded by a moat, and the best temples and hidouts are inside! The clubs, discos and commerce areas are all outside the moat leaving an old world charm within. As we have just arrived this morning and have been negotiating our way around in the back of a Suakonthong (SP?) (pickup truck with a cage around it) I haven't been out to explore. My photos are limited to today only!

More to come im sure! We have arranged for a 3 day trek in the hill tribes that live near the border of Burma (Myanmar) which will allow us to see a side of Thailand rarely experienced by most. Part of our journey will be on the back of an elephant to a remote camp in the rain forest! Let's hope I brought enough bug spray!

Off to Chiang Mai

2008-10-14T16:12:00.001-07:00

Typical Street Vendor cooking meat.
Everyday life in the neighborhood near the train station. (and everywhere else) A young girl preparing an offfering of boiled eggs for the Buddha.

We will be off to Chiang Mai this evening via the overnight train. It should be an adventure, the railway had no more first or second class seats and so we are left with what we get. I dont know what that was, but it was cheap. About 20 bucks to get to northern Thailand. I'll of course do my best to let you know how THAT goes..we are looking for a guesthouse with FREE internet. Keep your fingers crossed for that!

In an attempt to be financially frugal, we spent yesterday walking around aour neighorhood. No matter your location there IS something to see! Bangkok has hundreds of temples and many are not on the maps. After having stopped of at Wat Traimat, the temple known for having a 5.5 ton, 3 meter tall solid gold Buddha, (I will have to check the spelling on that) we ventured into the heart of chinatown to see what was to be seen. It seems every large city has a chinatown and Bangkok is no exception. To our surprise, Bangkok chinatown is more or less precious gem sellers and machine shops. the Smell of kerosene and burnished metal mingling with roasted meats and the general smell of street is somthing unique to Bangkok. We wandered down toward a little garden at the end of an alley and stumbled upon one of the temples

that DOESNT exist on any map. Not sure where we were or if we are allowed to be here, we kinda poked around wating to be scolded and shooed out. This wasnt the case and within 10 minutes of our awe-struck gazing, a lone monk emerged from within the temple with smiles and a gesture to join him inside. A truly rare situation as monks typically do NOT interact with tourists. Our luck had been spared by venturing down an uncharted alley and we were rewarded with an intimate encounter with this monk.

Alone with him, and 2 dozen golden Buddhas he handed us some Joss sticks (temple incense) to light and give to the Buddha. For our choice to share this time with him, the monk offered us a bottle of chilled holy water...another extremely rare offering to tourists.

There was nobody else in the temple during our time, and sharing this time with the monk was emotional beyond words. Tears did come to my eyes, as they are coming now recalling this.

I still dont know what the name of the temple is where this divine experience occured, and chances of me finding it again would be simply that. Chance.

Photographs were not taken then (as they are not allowed inside the temple) but they will not be needed for me to relive this experience.

Lupini Park & Bangkok NIght Bazaar

2008-10-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

One of the few HUNDRED Soi's in the maze of the night Bazaar! Yikes! How I found my way back to the subway is still .unknown to me

Can you see the duck? It's like a Where Waldo. This is the night food market @ the Bazaar. Tasty treats for a buck or two!

You'll have to forgive the atrocious spelling here and there.
We took the subway to Lumpini Park today...a kin to NYC Central Park. It's really beautiful, but the striking thing is the wildlife....Monitor lizards and turtles rather than rodents and pigeons. It was a refuge away from the heat, noise and madness of Bangkok streets. If you want to come to Bangkok, you need to prepare yourself for something you cannot imagine. Its madness. Get with someone who has been to have a gameplan, cause you simply cannot just wander. Well you could...but its not really something I'd do again!

Later that evening, we hopped over to the Bangkok Night Bazaar. A market really filled with cheap crap from around Thailand. They did have some beautiful silk which I will try to pick up on my home. I had some delicious duck off the side of the street....one of those greasy birds that's been hanging in the window all day! Mmmmmm

Grand Palace

2008-10-11T23:22:00.001-07:00

One of the golden warrior guardians!

More beautiful architecture.

Offering eggs to the Bhudda!

Some kind of offering...im so ignorant as to what though?!

The kings Palace in Bangkok...surreal!

Took the #53 bus to the Grand Palace / Temple of the Emerald Buddha this morning...woke up about 3:30 and couldn't get back to bed....So at 7:30 we hopped on the bus and away we went. Well, the bus was rerouted due to a religious demonstration at the Palace, and so we had to "look and see" where we needed to go. This is hard on the ground level of Bangkok. Everything looks and smells the same.
I will post pictures of this at some point, but today wont be the day. This computer is on perma-vacation! The grand palace is an amazing place. My 10Baht is about to run out so i have to publish this now. Be back later!

Arrived In Bangkok

2008-10-11T04:03:00.000-07:00

Just off one of the streets. The lanterns seemed to glow even though they had no lights on.

Yes it's real. And it's heavy. Lucky for me I didn't know what was going on. I still had really nasty jet lag. (can you see it in my eyes?) I was willing to try anything at this point.

Mmmm...Thai Food. And beer...of course BEER!

A view from our guesthouse in Bangkok! Luxury all the way baby!!!
Bann Hua Lampong Guesthouse! Best guesthouse in all of Bangkok!

A photo snapped on our long tail boat trip thru the Thonburi Canals. Children swimming in the river. Don't ask whats in the river...it's pretty gross to think about it.
This river is filthy. But the kids don't seem to mind.

A view from the hotel window....bliss. Hot, humid and sticky if you go outside. It's 95 with 100% humidity.

Made it to Bangkok safely. It's now 4 days into the trip, and I do mean TRIP. We have left the delightful refuge of the Shangri La to go buy train tickets to Chiang Mai (sorry about the lack spelling...im fighting off sleep or lack of). We are now staying at the Baah Hue Lamphong Guesthouse near ther trainstation. Never would have found it if we were not run off the streets by tuks-tuks and taxis. More to come later when internet is easier to deal with. See pictures of Bangkok for now.
OK, not so much for pictures now. It's taking forever on this computer. Stay Tuned..We are off to Chiang Mai on the 15th.

St. Mary's Glacier

2008-09-25T12:43:00.001-07:00

John hurling himself off the rocks at St. Mary's glacier.

Just in time for the autumn morning light.