First stop in Laos

Where is Rachael now?: Back in snowy Shanghai

I'm back in Shanghai now. Today was my first day of teaching for the second semester. Of course, I woke up to snow of the ground and heavy flakes falling. Good to be back, though I had hoped to be past the winter.

Anyways,

After riding elephants in northern Thailand, I found it a good time to cross over to Laos. Typically, people take a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong, which serves as the border, to get to the northern-most big Lao town of Luang Prabang. The ride is known for its beauty and discomfort. I was ready to find a place and stay there for awhile since my schedule had been very rapid thus far.  So I saddled up for 20 hours on a bus. First we drove through Chiang Rai, visiting one of the coolest Buddhist temples, The White Temple (Wat Rong Khun).  It is made entirely of white plastic with mirrored mosaics to represent the purity of Buddha.

At the border (I was dreading another long wait out in the sun), we were hustled across the river and through quick lines. Welcome to Laos! Now back on the bus! Before, I had taken 'sleeper buses' where the seats reclined and we, well, slept. But here was a whole new level on the 'sleeping bus'. They were actual cots. Three rows of bunkbeds were crammed in the bus. I looked at my ticket and headed for the back. But instead of getting a narrow cot to myself my ticket indicated that I would be sleeping in the back row made up of 5 cots all together with only narrow metal loops to keep us from getting cosy with our new neighbors. I had an older French man to my right, two American girls to my left, and another French man to the left of them. Cozy. My slot was also where you climbed up so throughout the night my mattress (and legs) slowly slid towards the floor. I was thankful to make friends with the American girls from San Fran and Bend, OR. They provided jokes and melatonin to get through the night. My French neighbor provided snores and complaints. What a riot. 

Made it to Luang Prabang, Laos. Similar to Chiang Mai, we sipped coffee and watched the young monks collect alms as we waited for hostels to open. I splurged with a room (plus bathroom!) to myself. I went back to sleep.

Elephants in Thailand!

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Day two in Chiang Mai was a big day. I was going to spend it with ELEPHANTS. 

First stop, the markets to pick up some bananas. At the elephant center, we learned commands to give to the elephants (faster, stop, turn, head down, leg up) Then we got on the elephants. We were bare-back since the seats are uncomfortable for the elephants. One way to get up is to sort of hurdle yourself over the head and then turn around on its back. You sit around the neck, holding onto the ears. The elephants are surprisingly hairy with lots of bristly black hair sticking up. We rode around for a bit and then had lunch. After lunch we met the baby of the herd (providing lots of bananas and sugarcane) and then mounted the big guys again. This time we went off into the jungle. It was a bit scary being so high and knowing the elephants could charge off into the jungle at any moment. The clunked along so heavily so that when going downhill, you felt you could easily slide off. At one point, we stopped at a stable area and my elephant wandered over the water bucket (with me still on his back!). He started sucking up water and pointing his truck straight at me! Whoosh! I was drenched over and over again. We also waded through a river with them until they decided to lay down and wash themselves off. As they knelt down in the water, we slid off their backs. We got some brushes and proceeded to help scrub off some dirt on their backs.

'giving me a kiss' literally, sucking off my neck

1

2

3: made it up!

da baby

 

It was a great experience. A little terrifying, humbling, and empowering all at once.  

On another note, today, February 10th, is both Chinese New Year and Tet (Vietnamese New Year). This is according to the lunar calendar. So 

Chúc mung nam moi ! (Happy Vietnamese New Year)

Xīnnián kuàilè ! (Happy Chinese New Year)

Wat-tastic! Wat-exhausted.

Where is Rachael now: Vientiane, Laos

Chiang Mai, Thailand

I escaped Bangkok to head north to Chiang Mai, Thailand. After the overnight bus dropped us off around 6:30am, I sat outside my hostel at an early opener cafe and watched novice monks pass by. Every morning, monks file out of the temples and walk the streets with their bowls to collect alms. Practitioners of Buddhism give them food in their bowls showing respect and merit to the monks.

Anyway, I eventually got into the hostel, took a shower, and decided to explore..via bike.
There are over 300 wats in Chiang Mai. I was a bit tired of stopping and taking pictures of more temples, but it was fun to ride around town and see tons of golden stupas jutting out from between buildings. My issue, as I mentioned in my list about biking, was not veering off to the right side of the road. It took me longer than it should have to realize they were driving on the left.

the old city is surrounded by walls and a moat

That night, sitting in the hostel, the winds picked up and the sky opened up. For the next 15 or so minutes it poured! The wind blew the rain inside and pamphlets flew everywhere. Then the power went out.  Nothing better to do than drink some beer and wait it out.

candle-lit beers

Power came back on and in the interim, I had been convinced to try steak for the first time. So we headed out for steak. I'll tell you, I don't understand eating so much of something that has the same taste. I preferred all the vegetables on the side.
Upon arriving back at the hostel, I found out there was another inhabitant at the dorm. A rat. A large, black rat who had come up from the bathroom drain. I found out later that he also chewed through the "brain' pouch of my bag. 

"Keep bathroom door closed. Big Rat!!!" The sign everyone wants to see on their dormitory

Day 2: Elephants! I'll do a separate post on that experience!
That night I went out with a few others to a mostly -Thai club. I danced a bit with a local Thai girl, perhaps the only other girl in the club wearing pants. We bonded to the rhythm of techno.
I wish I had stayed longer in Chiang Mai, but it was time to get to Laos. The next morning I boarded a bus to the border. We stopped in Chiang Rai to see one of coolest Buddhist temples, The White Temple.

Bangkok and bicycles

Where is Rachael now: Luang Prabang, Laos

Well, I survived Bangkok. 

I can't take this seriously when it is in the same font as Harry Potter

But it wasn't pretty. Who would have guessed that the girl who doesn't like big cities didn't jive very well with the "capital city of SE Asia". To keep it short, our bus ride from Siem Reap, Cam to Bangkok, Thailand was four hours longer than expected. That was caused by sitting out in the sun in a nearly standstill queue at the Thai border. Of course, you could bypass with a little bribe, but I wasn't going to give into the corrupt system! Instead I just got sunburned and angry. My first full day in Bangkok I successfully navigated the subway, the air tram, and the river taxi to get to the Royal Palace. Pretty impressive right? And then I got scammed. I guess I should have re-read that warning in my travel book-classic "Oh, it is closed now for cleaning so come back later. In the meantime, go to this special place and then there is a sale of real Thai handicrafts! Have this speical tuktuk price, too!" Listen all, if it sounds like a gem scam, it probably is. It was. After seeing a small Buddha, we pulled up to a gem store. I had just figured it out and stood my ground and made the driver drop me off down the road. You can't walk anywhere, try to get any tuktuk, without being molested about special tours. So frustrating. Once I finally got back to the Royal Palace, I paid 500baht for a claustrophobia attack. I zoomed through it...waaay too many people but you know, now I can say I did it...at least that's something right?

motorin'

Royal Palace

The rest of the day continued the same with two stops for street Pad Thai (Bangkok's saving grace). I was only too happy to book my ticket for the following day to head north. Day two consisted of more temple and wat ("monastery temple") sightings, more PadThai, and a lot of self-control to not buy cheap clothes on the main backpacker road Khao San. All the trains were booked so that night I settled in for an 11hr night bus to get the heck out of dodge. A cough has followed me from Bangkok traffic pollution.

Bangkok view from Wat Arun (the coolest Wat in town)

Great! Enough about Bangkok. Chiang Mai is much more my style! Back to nature! It's my first day here (arrived at 6 this morning) and I decided to explore the city by bike. Here are some things I've learned:

Rachael's Bike Riding Realizations

1. I have just as bad indecision of where to turn and stop on a bike as I do in a car

2. This bike is not going to make it up that very mountainous-looking hill (but nice try said the motorbikers)

3. I can't keep a straight face whilst ringing my bell (at least this one doesn't sound like a dying toad)

4. I need to pay attention to where I park my bike

5. No one should give a bicycle to an American to ride around in a city where they drive on the left side of the road. (whoops, drifting!)

Angkor history visited

Where is Rachael now: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

view from a tuktuk

After a long hot bus ride through the middle of Cambodia, I arrived at Siem Reap, a small town developed to hold the tourists visit nearby Angkor Wat: the gem of Cambodia. At my hostel, I saw three beds all next to each other. Well, we were about to get cosy. I was placed with two other single girl travelers. They off the bat invited me to join them in biking around Angkor tomorrow. I jumped on the chance to get in some exercise instead of riding a tuk tuk (read: rickshaw) from place to place. I picked up my $1 bike and headed downtown. The girls wanted to catch the sunrise over the main temple (Angkor Wat) so I didn't plan on staying out late. I met a new friend from the bus ride and we grabbed some drinks. My downfall was next going to a dance club. Soon it was 3am. I hurried home, climbed in bed (in between the other girls) and slept soundly: for about an hour and a half. At 4:30, they woke me and I hopped up. I had committed myself to this! We took our bikes to Angkor and settled in with a few hundred others to watch the sunrise. After we explored Angkor Wat: the largest religious structure in the world (Hindu) and built in the 12th century. After, we hopped on our bikes and began a circuit to see the other temples that had caught our eyes. Namely Ta Prohm (where some of Tombraider was shot) and Bayon (with over 200 faces carved into its rocky spires). It was a hot day so we often stopped at the lesser temples, glanced around a bit, and then propped up our feet and sipped on fresh coconut. It was a fantastic day. That evening after we washed off our sweat and grime, we went to the Night Market and got massages! I couldn't believe at 11pm I was still awake! But I fell asleep as soon as we got back to the hostel. 

Angkor Wat

 

blissful

 

Bayon

Remember those pants I bought in Phnom Penh!?

The next day, as I still had more days on my pass, we headed via tuktuk to another temple much farther out. One of the older temples from the the Angkor times (900ad), Banteay Srei is intricately carved of pink sandstone to depict different Hindu stories. It was breathtaking. 

Later, we stopped at the Cambodian Land Mine Museum and Relief Center. It is the personal collection of a child soldier of the Khmer Rouge who has dedicated his adult life to finding and disarming land mines like the thousands that he set while in the army. Land mines are a plague in Cambodia. More often than not, unsuspecting children or farmers step on them left over from the war and are maimed or killed. That night, we went to a famous ice-cream joint called the Blue Pumpkin. I got Raspberry Yogurt and Ginger with Sesame seed...now that's a flavor that I would like to taste more of!

Banteay Srei

the old method of detecting mines: poking it with a stick

The next day, I awoke early to sadly leave Cambodia and cross over to Thailand.

*A great moment: at a restaurant we asked about Happy Hour. "Oh yes," the host said "we are all ver happy you. Come in, you can be happy!" Not only were we happy, we managed to introduce them to the drink special that is That 'Happy Hour'

Phnom Penh, Cambodia is stop 1

Where is Rachael now (yes, it's back; I'm on the move!): Bangkok, Thailand

Cambodia. Oh, I love Cambodia. I flew into the capital, Phnom Penh (ignore the 'h's) and walked out into the HEAT. It was wonderful! Nighttime heat with yellowed lights and laughter and good smells greeted me and I breathed out. On my flight from southern China to PP, I noticed someone with a Penn State shirt. When I ran into him at the visa station, I had to ask..and turns out he was a native! He had grown up in a nearby town as well as Boalsburg AND he had helped out at Camp Golden Pond one summer..my girl scout camp! Oh the places Penn Staters go... Anyway, I hopped in a tuk tuk and headed for my hostel. Since I am traveling alone, I have been picking hostels that cater a bit more for a party scene or include a bar..just so I know I can easily meet people. The Mad Monkey was perfect.

The next morning, I had some delicious breakfast at the hostel open air restaurant. Great people watching at all hours. I decided to tackle the tough sites first. I arranged to ride passenger to a moto driver. He took me to the Killing Fields first. The Khmer Rouge civil war is recent history for Cambodia. The Killing Fields is one of the sites where prisoners of the regime were executed. Over 20,000. Next we went to Tuol Sleng Prison (now a museum). It was here, just in town, that many people were held and tortured typically later ending up at the Killing Fields. I cried. It's a terrible story of pitting neighbors against each other and the Museum did not hold back. Truly saddening, but when I asked my moto driver: he said he was just happy that foreigners were coming and learning about this and that his country was mending.

commemorative stupa

no rhyme or reason: only Poi Pots' paranoia

I relaxed and contemplated the rest of the day at some cafes. I hadn't had a chai in months! What is so strange about Cambodia is that they work in US dollars. The taxis, the restaurants, the shops. Whatever change there might be, they make up the difference in Cambodian riel. So you get a mix of both. That evening I drank at the bar with some assorted travelers. It's easy meeting people there.
The second day I went shopping at the central market. My best purchase: pants. Everyone has These Pants. They feel like I'm not wearing pants which is best in this weather. Then I saw the Royal Palace. That evening, I went out on my own. At a restaurant I ordered...frog! Why not! It was actually quite good! On my walk back, I grabbed some icecream. That night I went out and explored the club scene a bit. One of the girls was from Seattle and she reminded me so much of friends, I really enjoyed her company.
My last day I went to one more site, the Russian Market. After that, I boarded a bus to Siem Reap. Stop 2.

a spirit home: they are all over and about the size of large bird houses

One line to sum it up: I'm used to seeing balancing acts on the backs of motos in China, but it was a first to see an entire refrigerator balanced on the back! This town is great!

Chinese New Year plans

Today is Thursday. Or day 7 on my 8-day work streak. It hasn't been so bad. Most of the local English teachers at my school have asked for my classes to review test material with the students. So I sit in the warm office smiling, resting my voice, and saving my stickers. Not a bad week at all.
Once Friday is up, the fun begins. I'm not due back at school until February 18!
First, I get on a 31-hour train. Sounds delightful, right? It must be heading somewhere good, right? Right?! It's heading to the northern most major city of China, Harbin, which is near the Mongolian and Russian borders. It's heading to a city that is currently running a temperature of around -15F. You say to me (and many of you have), "Rachael, WHY are you going there??" Well, National Geographic rates Harbin's Ice Festival as the #1 Winter spot and Guinness World Records has given Harbin the title of largest Ice Sculpture. But really, I don't know what I'm thinking going there. Other than knowing I need all the warm socks I can get. Should be fun! At least it's known that their indoor heating system is one to be admired. I am going with a few teacher friends and we will spend two days exploring the ice city, sliding on the ice slide, and defrosting in the evening.
Then back to SH, re-pack my suitcase with warm weather clothes, attend a birthday party, and hop on a plane for...

Phnom Penh, Cambodia! Then the wandering commences. Here's the plan:

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Angkor Wat (Siem Reap), Cambodia...getting my ancient ruins fix!

Bangkok, Thailand: thai food, thai food, THAI FOOD

Chiang Mai, Thailand: elephants, bicycles, coffee oh my!

Luang Prabang, Laos: taking it easy by the Mekong River

Vang Vieng, Laos: tubing down the Mekong, climbing some Limestone crag

Vientiane, Laos: back into the city

Hanoi, Vietnam: including Halong Bay where US marines once waded ashore.

I can't wait. In the beginning, I will be 'alone' until Laos and Vietnam where I will find some of my fellow SH teachers also searching for sun and warmth. With my backpack back on my back (can't wait!), booking trains and buses, and meeting the world in the streets and at the hostel, I will be opening my eyes, heart, and mind to SE Asia.. and stomach to the food. Is it wrong to say that I am most excited for the food? Fresh fruit and spicy curries? SIGN ME UP.

Stay tuned, there will be lots for me to share!