Going Home – July 12

July 12, 2010

And so this journey ends where it began. Sitting on an Air Canada flight in the sky – this time pointed towards home.

It hit me last night as I was enjoying a beer and Gyros in Athens that I was spending my last night in another place and my adventures over the past 9 months were ending. Of course, that’s not to say that adventures back at home aren’t coming my way! Life is one adventure. But this time of stepping out of my comfort zone and the routine of life as I know it in Kamloops was different for me in so many ways and it was exactly what I was looking for.

There were times during those months when I truly missed my routine life and home and it felt like it might be way too long before I got back there. But, mostly, I am full of new experiences and sights and this was the charge I was seeking while I still feel young and healthy enough to do just that. I am already planning the next time I get to do this.

So, since I am on a 9.5 hr flight to Montreal I will indulge myself in some rambling from where I left off on my last blog.

After Milos Island and the kayaking, Tracey and I did some island hopping. 2 nights on both Sifnos and Serifos Islands and then 3 on Santorini, before coming back to Athens for 1 night for Tracey and 2 for me.

Serifos was great to us! It is very small and quaint and quite untouched by the horror of capitalism. We had a room right across the street from a great beach right in the harbour of Kamares. Of the things we decided to do on that island, one was to go visit a silversmith in a small village who makes (duh) jewellrey for pretty awesome prices. The following morning we set out to do that by taking the bus to Appollonia (the main town) and then walking on paths the remaining 3 km to the village of Kastro to find Maximos, the jeweller.

There are pathways everywhere on Sifnos and had it not been the nasty heat of summer and had Tracey’s plantar facaitis not been bugging her so much, we would likely have done more. Anyhoo – Kastro was like something out of a greek fairy tale. On a cliff, so clean and white and peaceful and we had no clue where to find this Maximos guy but just started wandering around the quiet little narrow paths between buildings. I had to dodge past a whole long 10 metre bush of beautiful flowers with buzzing bees and then turned a corner to see a nice looking guy in his kitchen (the door was open and right in front of me). I said hello and Tracey and I kept on going down below and then I saw the sign for the jewellrey shop – but it was closed. I mouthed to Tracey that I think the guy making coffee is may be Maximos. It was. !!

Long story short here – we both ended up buying a ring from the lovely and charming Maximos after he showed us his new shop he has spent months renovating and is just about to re-open, and helping him carry his coffee and jewellrey down there to set up and show us. It was 20% cheaper if me paid cash, so together we scraped enough cash to pay for the rings and still have 3 Euro left over to catch the bus back to Kamares!

|BUT – we weren’t ready to go back to Kamares yet. We wanted to see more of the island so I suggested we try hitchhiking. It turned out great and we managed to get to a whole ‘nother part of the island and back and then caught the bus back to our place. More stories there in our hitchiking pick up experiences, but I don’t want to get too carried away here!

That night we (well Tracey in her cute short skirt, and I) got us invited on a yacht for drinks. We couldn’t see who was calling us except that it was a bunch of guys and lo and behold they were all about the same age as my kids. It was funny and they were polite enough to offer me (Tracey was a shoe-in!) not one, but 2 drinks before they got rid of us. They were 8 Norweigen guys renting a sail boat for a week.

Our next day we had a little adventure too! We wanted to see another beach that Maximos recommended, but it was far away up the island. So – we tried to rent scooter bikes, but they wouldn’t rent to us because we weren’t experienced. We tried to rent a quad but they only had one that couldn’t take 2 people up the hills we were going to have to do. A car rental was out of our budget. So – hitchhiking it was, again! I saw a guy sitting in a car across the street and jokingly told Tracey to go talk to him and see where he was going. She did! Turns out the guy is Albanian and because Tracey can speak a little of the lingo it worked like a charm. He was waiting for his friend but they would for sure take us to the beach we wanted to go.

It was a long long way and we were feeling kind of bad that they had agreed after realising the distance. We had coffee with them at the beach and they left us, but not before they arranged to come back and pick us up when we were ready to go back!! Oh my goodness! So – they did and once again we had ice cream with them at our town. It was all we could do for them (buy them ice cream and coffee at either end – they simply would not accept money for driving us all that way. Too proud) We took a couple of pics. They loved that. Tracey’s knowledge of Albanian came in handy so many times during our time together. People love it when you make an effort to learn their language and while I know that is cliché, it hit me just how true it is. They were very nice guys and just happy to be able to help us out. One last thing about Sifnos – the food. Pretty darn good for greek food! They make a nice chick pea stew(soup) on Sundays too, which was a nice break from the rather steady usual fare: greek salad, mousakka, boiled beets & greens, white bread (always white bread!) etc. Greek yogurt is fabulous!! Perhaps the food item I enjoyed the most, its just so rich and creamy.

Serifos, our next island was pretty uneventful. It’s very pretty and nice beaches with lots of trees for shade. Very family oriented. There is a great camp site on it. We lucked out with a great room at Corelli Bungalows for only 40 Euro/night. The promenade area was pretty touristy. Our experience on that one was just sort of – meh.

Santorini!! Beautiful setting. Very busy because of that beauty and teaming with tourists and nightlife and shops etc. We were ready for something a little more and decided to get dressed up on our 2nd of 3 nights and go out for a nice dinner. We picked a beautiful spot overlooking the Caldera and watched the sun set. Once again, Tracey’s beauty came in handy. The owner of the restaurant spotted her and asked us to have a drink with him before we left. We said…. sure! He also brought us another ½ litre of wine “on the house”. Yamas! (is the Greek cheers) Needless to say – we were feeling no pain by the time we left that place.

We found the dancing place – some jazz/blues bar with great music and danced ourselves silly. SO much fun. There were 2 more bars before we called it a night.

We got the Speed boat back to Athens from Santorini. Man – it flys! It was extremely windy and big waters and that boat was FLYING across it all. A little scary to say the least. It was about a 5 to 6 hour boat ride – but the last couple of hours not rough at all.

Tracey flew back to Albania yesterday morning and I had to wait until today to get on a standby AC flight. I managed to visit the Acropolis properly (our first visit it was closed!) . It was the middle of the day though and hot hot hot. Its all so impressive – and I did put up with the sun for a few hours of poking around and taking many pictures.

Greece was wonderful and so was travelling with and getting to know my buddy, Tracey, so much better. She was the perfect travel companion. Full of positive energy and common sense when I was lacking or humour when I was lacking or just all of it! Thanks girlfriend!!

So – for you who have read my blog and shared in my adventures… THANK YOU! It has been a great way to journal and I will be turning back to these pages when my memory needs a jolt. Until I’m ‘Out There’ again – I’ll look forward to reading about YOUR experiences while I catch up on work and routine.

Gill xo

Greece June 25 and beyond

Monday June 28

We have arrived on Milos Island. It is so incredibly beautiful here and such a treat to be out of the horror that was Athens…..

Monday July 25

Wow – one whole week later and I see I never got very far with that first attempt! I decided to leave that part to remind myself how much fun I’ve had in the last week. There was no time for blogging.

We actually arrived in Greece on June 25 where we spent our first 2 nights in the northern part of the mainland in a village called Kestrake. Our reason for going there was to see Meteora – an area of huge rocks jutting straight out of the ground. These ‘rocks’ are about 400 metres high on average (sort of like what we call hoodoos in Kamloops) and they have monasteries built on top of them (to provide protection from the Turks) The monasteries were built back in 1300 – 1400. There were a few hundred built and there are about 8 still fully operating out of those few hundred. The monks used to access the monastery by basket and pulley rope. Today, there are stairs or swinging bridges built.

Tracey and I spent a full day wandering around them. There are hiking trails connecting and we visited a nunnery as well as the regular (male dominated) monasteries. Part way through the day we had a cool interaction with 3 guys who pulled up right as we were studying our may while walking the road from one monastery to another.

They were an Austrian, an Italian and an Australian driving 1943 WW II BMW trikes across country from Rhodes. They were choosing the dirt roads and back country routes on the map. They offered us a ride to our next monastery and it was pretty cool to get a chance to ride on those things.

We bussed to Athens the next day and spent one night in the big city before flying to Milos Island. I don’t feel like I can comment much on Athens. We stayed in a not so great area and only went by train down to Styagmata (or something like that) – one of the main shopping districts and where the Acropolis is. Saw that – check it off the list!

So – kayaking. Wow wow wow! We left the following morning from Milos. There were 5 in our group including Dave (our guide from the north of England – retired and just helping out with guiding for the busy season), Dimitrios a 27 (or thereabouts) yr old Greek God who was kayaking for the first time. He teaches phys ed in Thailand and was just home for the holidays. Anna, a 30 year old beautiful swedish girl travelling on her own. And last, but not least, lovely and animated 30 something Tracey travelling with the lovely and animated 20 something Gill Stanley. Ha ha

Our route was to circumnavigate 2 islands off of Milos, in a figure 8 pattern. We headed off of Pollonia on Milos and went across to Porto Psathi on the island of Kimolos. Stopped for iced coffee at the Port – and then crossed over to our other island, Polyaegos. Polyaegos was a volcanically formed mass so many cool formations and colours. The east coast was particulary fascinating and we spent our time poking in caves and going through cool arches. (That was the theme of the entire kayak trip, really) We travelled 16 km that day and camped in a really great spot, sharing our fire with a yachting family from the U.S. and their Greek guides.

Our group had decided to buy and cook our evening meals together and take care of our own breakfast and lunches. That first night we were relying on a fire to cook meat and a chef’s mess of veggies. It took forever, of course, and we were sharing the cooking stage with the yachting family. So many good laughs that evening!

Next day we came up the west coast of Polyaegus and stayed the night at the north west corner of it. It was the less eventful day. The winds were picking up, however, and so we got a chance to paddle in stronger waves than the first day. Our kayaks were Italian built Rainbows. Great design and well maintained.

The next morning we crossed back over to the same town on Kimolos, called Psathi. We walked around the town and went to the bakery and then had iced coffees again before setting out and heading up the east coast Kimolos. The northern end of the island is fascinating, with an area called the Labyrinth. Tons and tons of caves and archways to play in! This idea of ocean paddling through small spaces was big for me to wrap my head around – in that there is no tide in Greece (well, what tide there is amounts to about 3 inches) so there is no current or rip tides to worry about. Its so easy! All you have to do is show up!!

We spent our last night on the north west coast of Kimolos. Another great spot with trees for shade. In the morning Dave and Tracey and I hiked up to see some of the old ‘houses’ on the hillsides. Built for farming, they are stone structures and primitive. It was interesting to see everything still there. A well and wash basin. The hooks still in place in the house with the buckets for the well still hanging there.

There were many olive trees, still being used for their yield. The owners must still come back and get the olives because there were fresh prunings of the trees on the ground. In Greece, if you own an olive tree you get an allowance from the government. The same applies for a donkey! There are some 200 donkeys on Kimolos apparently.

We stopped at “the donkey beach” to see a special donkey the kayak guides like to take people to visit. He was very friendly and came and ate out of our hands (we gave him whole tomotoes, something we had excess of!) – then he grabbed my straw hat off my kayak and was going to off with it. Little monkey!

We crossed back over to Milos, essentially completing our figure 8 route and then continued kayaking up the coast from Pollonia to where we would meet our driver. BUT – on the way we got to see a really cool phenomonen called Columnar Basalt. |It looks like play dough hair, black, sticking out of the ocean. The scientific reason for the formation is that this particular Magma (liquid rock under the ground) while cooling, contracted uniformally to create regular hexagonal columns. Okay – Tracey helped me with that last paragraph! So cool to see – and there was even a cave in that one to go into! Stay tuned for pictures!

We had a great dinner out that night with our whole group. Said our goodbyes in the morning and then Tracey and Anna and I went to see the catacombes on the island. Basically an underground cemetary – is the main thing we were able to pick up from our 2 Euro tour!

We just spent 2 nights on Sifnos Island. That is a whole ‘nother blog! We had one event after another.

Cheers.

Gill

Croatia – Dubrovnick

Split – June 20/21

Split is a big city at the coast – the gateway to many beautiful islands in Croatia. I found a room right away after getting off the train. It started raining, and I’ve learned over here that when it rains it doesn’t just rain. It f’ing rains! Everything is soaked within seconds and huge amounts of water accumulate in no time.

I went for dinner at a restaurant recommended by the guy who I rented a room from. (Fife) Great place with big tables and very crowded. I was placed at a table with 4 Irish people. A mom and daughter from Dublin outskirts and 2 young guys from Dublin proper. They were great company and sat the whole evening away drinking wine.

I spent the next morning looking around Split. Would have liked longer there but Tracey and her friends were leaving Dubrovnik for Tirana on the 22 so I had to get there. It was a five hour bus ride to Dubrovnik along the coast and so incredibly beautiful! I had no idea this part of the world was so lovely. A twisting winding road following every inlet and bay with sparkling water and great beaches and beautiful towns with ancient cool buildings. I`m getting used to seeing castles and great churches and interesting roof lines everywhere.

Dubrovnik! Wow – even better! The Old Town (called Grad) is the coolest ever! Pictures aren`t going to do it justice but it was a great place to meet Tracey and the girls below the clock tower at 7 pm. They had been staying there in a great apartment for a week vacation before they all say goodbye to each other after teaching together for 2 years. We had a great pizza dinner out and then went to watch some local folk dancing. It was interesting to see all the costumes etc but a little touristy for me.

Next morning I got up and went for a run (with my camera!) around Dubrovnik. I had to take in a little more of it since we were leaving again to drive south to Tirana. It was great and once again I climbed up high to get a glimpse of the old town from a distance.

Great ride south with the girls. We had 2 boards to cross and we first entered Montenegro (again just a a beautiful beautiful part of the world) and then into Albania. A point of interest is the money part of things. Slovenia is part of the EU so Euros were the currency. Croatia is not (supposedly will be by 2012) and so the currency was the Kruna. Didn`t use money in Montenegro so don`t know about that but Albania now is the Lek. Everything is cheaper in Albania.

As soon as we hit Albania it was obvious we had entered a country still struggling economically. The driving is nuts (Sarah was great and just drove nuts too!) – cars have only been introduced to Albania since ÉÉÉÉ Cows and donkeys in the middle of the road. Horse drawn carts being used for transport by some (even though they are illegal) Corrupt cops waving their sticks and blowing their whistles to no avail. It will be years before Albania manages to join the EU apparently.

Dinner out at an Albanian restaurant – fantastic food!!! Grilled vegetables and meats and wonderful feta stuffed peppers-grilled and great breads with sticks of butter and feta and great salads too! Yum!
Entela – the 4th girl in the group who is Albanian and has been teaching at the school met us there. She hadn`t been able to join the girls on their holiday since she couldn`t get a visa for Croatia. She is lovely and Tracey and I will travel with her tomorrow to Korce, her home town near the boarder to Greece.

Enough rambling. Over and out until I get some Greek experiences!! Ciao!

Ljubljana to Croatia

Hi Everyone,

I’m travelling today – a 7 hr train ride across Croatia. I came from Slovenia this morning and we are now heading east, out to the coast from Zagreb (where I changed trains) to Split. Its great to sit here and see new things every second. I have a coach all to myself and my stuff spread all around me. In short – totally content!

I will arrive in Split late afternoon and spend the night and then tomorrow I’ll do a 5 hr bus ride to Dubrovnik, which is where my girlfriend who I’ll spend the next couple of weeks with is currently holidaying. I will travel with her and her girlfriends back to Tirana, Albania – where they have all been teaching for the last couple of years. Then Tracey and I will head down to Greece.

So, I had 4 nights in Slovenia. I went up to Bled for a day. It was a short one hour trip there and so I decided to just leave my stuff in Ljubljana and go lightly. Bled was fantastic. Its truly the gateway to many many wonderful hiking/mountain biking, rafting, kayaking opportunities. The largest mountain in Slovenia Mt. Triglav can be seen there. There are also places called Bovec and Bohinj that are more serious for those things. Bled itself is the gateway to it all.

Anyway – Bled. A beautiful lake is the main attraction. But not only that – it also has an island in the middle with a beautiful church on it that you can row a boat to. As well, there is a castle on a hill right at the lake’s edge. There is a trail all around the lake – about 6 km. I did the trail and hiked up to the castle and then I rented a bike. There are tons of bikes trails leading off all over the place! I was in heaven! I rode out to a Gorge – called Vintner Gorge and hiked the 3km trail along it. So great! It started raining like mad, with thunder and lightening and the whole bit while I rode back. I got back to the town of Bled soaking wet and went into a Pizzeria for beer and a wood fire cooked pizza, while watching the locals watch the World Cup. There was a big TV screen in there and it was Slovenia vs USA! Perfect.

I keep getting distracted typing this!! The scenery is incredible as we work our way down the track. There is the most teal green of rivers and its smooth and serene and then there will be the most fantastic little ledge and a drop and of course there is always a lovely little house at these spots. Its sooooo pretty! The weather is shit. Very cloudy – perfect for pictures though! The houses are really cool, sort of Bavarian looking. We seem to be getting away from the window boxes, but until now they have been everywhere. Ohhhh – wait a minute – we’re not away from them. I see them on a bunch of houses right now. Simply every house and window has them. Even when I rode the bike out into the country there were window boxes with the most pretty of flowers on the side of the barn windows!!

The people in Slovenia were very generous. I think I mentioned last time that they just give stuff to you when they feel like it. And they feel like it a lot! Yesterday I wandered around the Saturday market in Ljubljana. I went to buy and apple and the woman wouldn’t let me pay for it.

Good food too! I had the best Falafel wrap in my life yesterday at a take-out place. The ice cream is to die for and the cream pastries as well! I had the most wonderful salad with tomatoes and bocincini (sp?) cheese and ‘rocket’ greens. Have to check that one out when I get home, because why am I not growing that stuff in my garden? Its amazing!

Just to cap this one off, that train ride I was on while typing this ended up taking 7 hours instead of 5. Pretty standard, everyone told me later. All in all it was a 9 hr train ride day, including the 2 hours between Ljubljana and Zagreb. Fantastic!

Enroute to Canada!

My watch tells me that today is Tuesday, February 2nd.

Gregg and I are 5 hours into a 14 hour Air Canada flight Hong Kong – Vancouver….. in first class! Its the only way to go, baby!! Do I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven!!! We’re being pampered every inch of the way and I just finished soaking up the entire Globe and Mail.

So – Gregg made it through on standby flights faster than we both thought. He arrived in Phuket early morning on Monday. I was still 3 hours away at that point so he waited at the airport while I made my way over to Phuket and arrived at the airport on the back of a motorbike with all my gear in tow. I’ve been packing 3 bags around again! (I mailed stuff home and was doing well for a short while) My backpack is way too heavy for my current strength and then I carry my smaller day pack on my front and my beautiful Hmong woven shoulder bag from Laos over my – shoulder! Right…. So the motorbike taxi drivers are amazing how they insist on taking me with all my gear. They balance my huge heavy backpack between their legs and I wear my smaller day pack and my shoulder bag.

Gregg and I jumped on the next boat leaving Phuket for Ko Phi Phi and stayed there for the first night. Ko Phi Phi is bragged about as one of Thailands most beautiful islands and we’re sure it must have been beautiful in the beginning but it is so totally overrun with tourists and so-called high end resorts now and to make all of that a little worse, has not managed to keep up with the development. The smell from the open sewers which run through the tourist strip and past the resident’s homes is really bad. We climbed to the high point on Ko Phi Phi in the morning to catch a view from up high and had a chat with a wise old Thai man up there who showed us pictures of how beautiful the island once was. As well, he showed us the devastation pics from the Tsunami.

We headed to the island of Ko Lanta the next day. It wasn’t long before we had a motorbike and were doubled up touring around the island. It was so much fun to share the sites with Gregg and have his company! I was so ready for that his arrival was just the ticket. After the first couple of days we decided to do a much advertised day trip that is offered, with a choice of going either by speed boat or by long tail to visit four of the smaller islands and do some snorkeling at each. We headed out on the long tail early the next morning from the northern tip of the island down the less travelled east side through mangrove trees. There are so many pathways through there – almost like roadways and we noticed that they were even marked with directions. It would be so easy to get lost in there.

We had arranged to get dropped off at the end of the day on the last of the four islands we would be snorkelling at – a very small island which I had been told was a paradise – called Ko Hai – (also called Ko Ngai). We had booked ourselves a room at a remote place there on the west coast called Paradise and thought we’d spend 2 nights there.

But – after 40 minutes or on the long tail, we reached open water and it was blowing so hard that after half an hour of being bounced around like mad, the driver got on his cell phone for direction from his boss and the long and short was that we had to turn back. We were pretty disappointed – mostly about not getting to go to stay at Ko Hai because, time wise, it was our only opportunity to get there. But – we ended up renting an even better motorbike and going further south on Ko Lanta to the bamboo huts I had stayed in earlier – called Top View. We dumped our bags there and headed to the beach, rented snorkel equipment and just went on our own little trip from the beach!

We were in the habit of making sure we had beer and chips and were sitting at a nice beach spot for the sunset each night, at that point. Each sun set has its own beauty and I’m afraid I’m a sucker for the romance of it all. It was so great to have Gregg with me to share that!

Next day we actually got out on another long tail boat and did the four islands snorkel trip. It was great and we had fun. The island of Ko Hai, where we would have stayed is really, really beautiful! We’ve got it on the list for another time.

The following morning we headed across by boat to the main land and Krabi as we were going by bus the following evening to Bangkok. We grabbed another bike and drove out to a nearby waterfall. Saw the biggest spiders ever! Got some great pics of that.

We ended up hiring a long tail from Krabi and had a really interesting time with the driver and his son as he took us to a really cool cave across the river from Krabi. We climbed up a pretty rickety stair case to the neatest cave I’ve ever seen. Our boat driver told us of the Japanese takeover that had taken place within the cave. It looks like the place is being restored to become a show site for tourists but that it is still under development. We felt fortunate to be seeing it as it was. We saw a crocodile for a minute before he stuck his head back underwater, and lots of monkeys as we cruised the river.

The driver then took us to his friend’s fish farm and showed us some poor puffer fish that they have in captivity to show tourists like us. Gregg was feeling pretty sorry for the fish because of the way the driver manhandled them to make them puff up to give us a show. They are very cool fish, but, as Gregg saw it, are gasping for air and not really liking the whole experience! The whole trip was a great way to spend our last afternoon in the south of Thailand, though.

Our bus ride to Bangkok was uneventful but just fun to share a Thai bus ride experience again, with some one else!! We got into Bangkok at 5 in the morning and headed straight out to the airport where I booked myself onto the same standby flight Gregg was managing to get out on to Hong Kong.

We had to cancel the Beijing idea because as we were watching the flight loads from Thailand all available seats on every single flight during the week were filled up. This was so totally unusual from what we had been watching over the last few months – so we’re pretty certain that it has something to do with the Olympics in Vancouver. Our only option was to get out from Hong Kong on Tuesday. – the one we are on now. That is the down side of flying stand by and we both have taken that into account. On the other hand, if one is willing to be flexible and just take what comes – it is an amazingly cheap way to travel…. not to mention the first class status!!

We had a great night in Hong Kong. Booked ourselves into a really nice hotel in Kowloon district (the older Hong Kong) at the Empire Kowloon. Its a huge hotel and we were on the 25th floor with a great view over the city. We wandered the streets last nights trying to take in all the sites. Gregg was accosted by a guy every 10 feet to either buy a watch or have a suit hand tailored for him. We saw a million wonderful cameras, both old and in amazing shape and new. We had an authentic Chinese meal for dinner and just wished we had more time to spend there. We were both pretty wiped from our all night bus trip the night before and had a great sleep high above the city in the most comfortable bed I’ve slept in, in 2 ½ months.

The subway system, like Beijing is so well done. We easily got to the airport. And so ends part one of my Out There experience! It almost seems surreal to be headed to Vancouver, being pampered like hell, drinking Gin & Tonic and sitting in comfort.

I have had a few comments from people surprised that I am coming home so early. I think I have mentioned more than once that I have not enjoyed the traveling alone part so much.

The teaching experience was good for those 5 weeks and in retrospect I can say that I was only just really settling into the adjustment – getting to really know the students and the staff – as I was leaving. Had I known how to speak Thai I would have gone back or stayed longer in a second. I enjoyed the side trips I did to Khon Kaen, Chaing Mai and Cambodia – knowing that I was going back to the job and some people who knew me.

Travelling somewhat aimlessly, on the other hand, got old fast, for me.. I did meet people, mostly men, who were doing the same thing and loving it. I, on the other hand, found myself constantly looking for someone to share my experiences with. I saw some really wonderful places and things but I think the second time around of being ill really wore me out. That, and then heading to the south where it is hotter was enough.

Yes – the beaches of Thailand are beautiful! The culture of Thailand is not there, though – the Thai people in the south are generally jaded by western ways and the dollar that flows so strongly there. The combination of heat, mosquitoes and sand flies took away from the beauty for me! I don’t know what it is about me – but bugs truly love me. I am/was literally covered in bites. Then, I got some weird allergic reaction to some plant or coral I grabbed while we were snorkelling. My hand (both, actually, but one way more than the other) was blistered, swollen and itchy for a few days. My ears are still weird and plugged from diving Gregg and I went back to another health clinic and she gave me yet more drops to help clear them. They ARE getting better slowly and I’m happy to report that flying hasn’t been the problem I was worrying about.

All of this has worn me down and I feel like I need a purpose again. I feel I have spent enough time backpacking in Asia in the heat and staying at second rate guest houses. Doing nothing but ordering meal after meal and seeing beautiful site after beautiful site is great for a while. There has to be a purpose for me again and so I am so looking forward to unpacking my bag, washing all those clothes and clearing out the cockroaches. (One ran out of my clothes that I had just put on when we arrived at our hotel in Hong Kong!)

This time away from my routine life has always been for me an opportunity to do whatever I WANT to do – something that our 9 – 5 lifestyles do not usually afford us in our working years. What better in life than to have freedom, I think! I must have bragged about travelling for a year too much, because some of my dear friends and family are worried that I am ‘throwing in the towel’ too soon. Worry not! I am still on this journey of time away from routine and so I will rest in Airdrie at Gregg’s house and decide my next move.

The only thing I know for sure at this point is that I want to get to the UK and visit Megan and Matt and meet Matt’s family some time. I think I will speculate no more on this blog because I will change my mind many times before I come to something concrete. The fact that I have a British Passport as well as a Canadian one opens some doors for work opportunity over there too. So…. we shall see.

In the mean time – I cannot wait to be cold again!

January 24 thoughts – 10 days later…

I’m updating myself by reading my last blog first, this time! I see I dated it Jan. 16. Today is Jan. 24. The last 8 days have all melted into one another as the tide goes in and out, so the sun sets and rises and the ever constant waves break on the white sand beach.

The hermit crabs are fun to watch and every time the tide goes out they get very busy digging in the sand and making the most beautiful decorations of little balls of sands they are spitting out as they dig.

My scuba diving experience was a wash out. The first day of theory was fine and in the afternoon we went to the pool and with all the gear on, practiced the skills under water. The next morning we headed out early on the boat for an hour and a half trip to the island of Koh Haa to dive. It was very beautiful under water …. but I hated it! My biggest problem was equalising the pressure on my ears – and I didn’t do it properly. I think to be fair, if that part had not been such a problem for me I would have relaxed more and enjoyed the experience. But – I was bleeding from my nose when I surfaced and my right ear is STILL blocked, and this is 6 days later. I didn’t dive again, and so I did not complete the Open Water Certification – just the Scuba Diver Certification. I think I’ll stick to snorkelling!

I hung out on Koh Lanta for a few more days. Changed my accommodation for something cheaper and was up on a cliff overlooking the ocean with a great view. – The place was called Top View. There were monkeys hanging around the place which added to the atmosphere nicely. I rode around on the scooter and enjoyed a bit of beach time too.

Three nights ago I got on the boat for a one hour trip over to another, quieter island called Koh Jum. It is only 9 km in length and they only recently got electricity here (3 months ago) . Koh Lanta, where I was is much busier and the entire west side of the island is lined with tourist resorts and restaurants and internet cafes and massage places – some high end, some not.

Koh Jum is another story. I am staying at a place called Sun Smile. There is no pier here for the ferry to drop off, so the long tail boats from the resorts have to come out and meet the ferry. The ferry stops and all the long tails from the various resorts pull up at once and it is mayhem for a few minutes as everyone tries to find the correct boat to get in. The sleepy little village of Ko Jum where there is internet is 3 km from my place.

Since I have been in the south of Thailand I have noticed Muslims – whereas in the north and central parts of Thailand it was strictly Buddhist. The Muslim people of southern Thailand are, for the most part much softer than my previous experience with Muslims in India and other parts. I wonder if it is the Buddhist fusion? Not sure – but in any event, they are great.

I have met some interesting women here! The girl in the hut next to me is from Finland (Suvi is her name). She is travelling around the world for 6 months on a paid leave from her job at the Helsinki Airport in a wine bar. She is a real wine connosieur and was dazzling me with her knowledge of wines last night. (Incidentally, wine in Thailand is a waste of money. Beer is the way to go)

Another woman I spent the day with yesterday is from Brazil (Ila), but she lives in India now. She leaves every 6 months to renew her visa and has been on Ko Jum for 2 months! She is as brown as the local people at this point. She was a lawyer in Brazil for 10 years and was hating her life and so she quit. Now she reads Tarot Cards and lives in Darmshala (sp?), in the north of India. She is a very wise woman and I enjoyed philosophising (oops – spell check doesnt like that one!) with her. She has figured out how to live super cheaply here and also does the Tarot Cards reading to help pay her way. You know where this is going…. Yes – I had her do the Tarot Cards with me and I’m trying to not be sceptical about that stuff and process some of what she told me, so I will say no more about that!

I went to the Health Centre on the Island yesterday afternoon because my right ear is still messed up from diving. I have damaged the drum, I think, or else there is a blockage in there. It feels like I am speaking from a tunnel, and it is difficult to hear from it. Not good. Anyway – the woman at the Health Centre gave me some drops and some pills and if nothing starts to improve within 3 days I will go to a hospital where they can actually look inside my ear. The woman at the health centre simply used a flashlight. I think the drops are just a salt/phospate kind of solution and I think the pills are an anti-imfammatory.

Last night Suvi (Finland) and another woman from France (don’t think I ever got her name) walked down the beach to visit another resort’s restaurant for dinner. I use the term resort loosely. These resorts are simply a set of huts, sometimes bamboo, sometimes cement. There is a restaurant attached to each one and the menus are all pretty much the same. They offer rice or noodles in various formats, and then they try to offer some western food, but its usually not anything like at home so I find it best to stick to what they are good at. Anyway – this place we went for dinner is owned by a Scottish man and so the décor is a little more western influenced. Very beautifully done, too! It was a great place (Called Ao Si) and we sat up on the open bar on the cliff watching the sun set. Life is good!

I have a gecko in my room and he woke me up last night. I hope to get rid of him today! Also – a monkey jumped on my roof in the middle of the night with a big crash. Those are the challenges of life in paradise!

Gregg is on his way here, as I write this. I will leave in the morning to go to the airport to meet him, assuming he has made it all the way through on stand by status. Really looking forward to this next part with him and then, back to Canada for a bit, to reload, and make more plans!

Gotta get to the beach now……

Kicking back on the Andaman Sea

I guess I have really reached ‘kick-back’ mode! The blog posts are fewer and I have distanced myself from my little lap top computer, preferring to just “be”. I’ve lost interest in ‘blogging’!

I have arrived, again, though at another paradise that I feel like sharing. I’m so out of touch that I’m not sure where I left off, but I think it was Luang Prabang. (I don’t have internet access at present and will cut and paste this to my blog when I do).

So – the trip from Luang Prabang was absolutely brutal, to be kind! I would never recommend busing up and back through Laos. I’m guessing, but I know I won’t be too far out when I say that the bus trip involves some 500 hair-pin curves. The 400 km is covered in 11 hours and on the way back down I opted for the “VIP” bus which is supposed to be better than “AIR CON” but in these VIP buses you sit up very high (you actually climb stairs to sit up top) – sounds nice in theory, on a straight road, but after the first 50 turns almost everyone around me was barfing. The driver’s assistant was constantly picking up bags of puke from people – both the Laos girls sitting in front and behind me were very sick – and so that alone made me feel nauseous although I managed to hang on to my cookies!!! We stopped for one of the famous pee breaks I talked about earlier and I watched the assistant hurl (no pun intended) the now huge bag of combined puke bags into the bushes. Nice. Enough of that nastiness.

Vientiene, again, for the primary purpose of picking up my passport from the Chinese Embassy. Pretty uneventful – except that from my evening meal there, I acquired another bug and got sick again. I won’t go into detail but suffice it to say I didn’t dare eat anything and stayed that way for almost 3 fulls days. They were difficult days of travel. My flight to the beaches in the south was already booked so I had no choice but to keep on with travel the next day. I went from Vientiene across the border, and back into Thailand after picking up my passport in the morning – praying I’d always have a toilet available!

Udon Thani, where I was flying from to get to the south of Thailand, is a pretty indistinct town except for its reputation of girly bars and older western men preying on the young girls. I went for a short walk at night and the street my room was on was one ‘sexy’ (they are actually named like that) bar after another. I came across 4 girls sitting waiting for the action to happen and I guess I was an unusual sight being a lone female ‘farang’ (foriegner). They called out to me so I went and chatted with them for a while and tried to convince them to go back to school!

Flew to Bangkok and then Phuket the next day – then a 3 hour bus trip to Krabi. Stayed the night in Krabi and then in the morning got the ferry over to the island paradise I am now on – Koh Lanta.

I’m staying in a bamboo hut which is pretty basic but has a mosquito net (important!). Cost of living is noticebly more expensive here in paradise so I’m having to adjust with that. I listened to the gheckoes screeching around me as I went to sleep and then woke at 5:00 to the monk chanting on a loud speaker. Such a beautiful sound which breaks the silence and puts a perfect perspective on any day.

I met a girl from Holland on the ferry here (Meik). We shared a ‘taxi’ to the other end of the island – about 20 km – and I swear (and so would she and everyone else who saw us) we had the craziest, wildest ‘taxi’ driver ever! The ‘taxi’ was a motorbike with a side car for her and I and we flew down the road with the horn beeping and passing everyone and only on 2 one wheel on the corners! Then, he just randomly stopped on the side of the road and asked if we wanted a smoke – it was smoke break time! Ha ha – too funny!!! Then, once the smokes were lit, off we flew again.

Enjoyed having dinner with Meik last night and sharing our life’s stories. It was great to chat with another woman again. She had to move on today because she didn’t have a good accommodation but I will always remember her.

This beach is amazing and I’m loving it. The water is incredible – the sand is white and soft. The beach bar has a great laid back atmosphere and the “Bob Marley” Thai guys running the place are pretty cool! They do a twirling fire show at night (turn off all the lights for the show) and they are playing GREAT music.

So – today I rented a scooter (Honda Dream) and toured around the island. Got a hair cut – bought a bathing suit. THEN – I made the big leap and signed up for my PADI dive certification course! I’m doing it through Scuba Fish – very reputable. (It was actually Meik who inspired me) I’ve started the theory part which officially starts tomorrow morning at 9:00, and then tomorrow afternoon we go to the pool. There are 3 more days after that, 2 of which involve going out in the boat!!! I’m pretty pumped. The diving here is spectacular, so they say.

So – I’m getting back on track here and realising I never talked about the water falls at Luang Prabang. They were so incredibly beautiful – like something out of a movie. They almost looked fake, but they weren’t.

I also had another great day in Luang Prabang bicycling around to a nearby village and watching the women making paper out of banana plants. I just had to buy some! I have so much stuff I’m packing around again!! I know – I’m crazy. Now I’ll have my dive books too.

Oh ya – also went on a boat ride up the Mekong to see some caves. Met another girl – Sue from Dublin – on that trip. Great day. (that was LPB too).

Gotta study up on my dive theory now!

Its the next day now…. I’ve just finished day #1 of my PADI Open Water Dive Certification. The morning was all theory – 3 videos and quizzes and then the afternoon was my first contained dive in a pool. I am one on one with a beautiful young Swedish woman for an instructor. She is great, and I have learned so much today. I was nervous about the underwater stuff at first (even though I love water – under water is another thing and I had to learn to trust the equipment). Tomorrow morning at 8:00 we head out with a whole bunch of people – an hours boat ride to an island. I will do my first open water dive. The next day is theory again. And the next day another boat trip and a deeper open water dive!

I have moved my accommodation to a cheaper bamboo hut, but nicer! It is up a steep hill from the beach, and sits on a point overlooking the ocean (not my hut, but the resort). The hut is pretty basic, but clean and cheap! Its actually a little bit bigger than the last hut but the floor boards are pretty sketchy – not sure they will hold my weight when I walk on them!!

Only one week until I am joined here by Gregg. He has decided to come all the way to Thailand rather than Beijing. I’m really looking forward to having his company and sharing some of this with him.

I will travel back to Canada with Gregg and try to earn some money for a while before I make my next move (to the UK – visiting Megan and Matt and his family – and who knows where else that will lead at this point). Money always has to be considered, unfortunately!!

Time to go enjoy the paradise I am in again.

Sa Wa Dee Kaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!! – from Koh Lanta, Thailand.

xo

Luang Prabang, Laos

I’m in a different space now – not being in the routine of “work” anymore. Joining the ‘travel circuit’ I find I am not as disciplined to sit on the computer and journal as much. However, I have settled in to Luang Prabang for a bit of relaxation and find myself in a cafe drinking a Beerlao (soo good!), snacking on deep fried eggplant with a spicy dip (sooooooo good!) and time to reflect on the last few days in which time has just seemed to melt into bliss.

At the risk of repeating myself, I will start off with leaving Bangkok by bus for Nong Khai, the border town to Laos. That was an all night bus trip, or so I thought. I actually arrived in Nong Khai at 4:30 a.m. Hmmmmmmmm… what do you do when you get dropped somewhere at that time? The ever present Tuk Tuk drivers are always waiting for business. So, I checked my travel guide and asked my driver to take me to Mut Mee Garden Guest House. It turned out to be a good choice.

He dropped me at the end of a long driveway in the pitch black and I stumbled down the alley with my belongings and found myself in an beautiful open air garden cafe, overlooking the Mekong River. I dumped my backpack and looked around and a woman appeared (I found out later she was one of the owners) and told me ‘sorry’ she had to leave for the temple but just find a hammock to lie down in and wait for the place to open at 7:30. I did just that – covering my feet with my towel to discourage those f-ing mosquitoes!! It wasn’t 10 minutes before a guy appeared, having just woken up himself to do his morning ritual of playing guitar while watching the sun rise. My good fortune! He introduced himself as Duke, from Montana. Turns out he is a professional guitar player, has produced a couple of CD’s with a band and just finished writing a book on guitar ‘garage band’ instruction. Google Duke Sharp to check him out.

After that great introduction of being sereneded, watching the sunrise over the Mekong River I kind of liked the place! There is quite a following of people, it turns out, that stumble upon the place and end up staying for a long time. Duke had been there for a month, playing every other night at the floating restaurant owned by the guest house. He was spending the winter in Thailand getting dental work done – the savings on that compared to the USA paying for his flight. People gradually arrived in the garden for breakfast and warned me I would stay longer than I expected.

There were no rooms to be had, after I waited for check out time to come and go – so a guy from Israel, named Gideon, offered to share his room with me, since he had 2 beds in there. I was a little weirded out by this proposition but my sense of adventure made me say yes! Turns out Gideon was a bit of a pain in the ass as far as trying to tell me what to do all the time (to be fair, I think it was his culture to talk to a woman like that – he didn’t mean to be a pain in the ass) Other than that, he was a gentleman in every way and respected my space within our room.

I befriended another regular at the place – an older british man from France named Tony. He offered to go for dinner with me. It was great to share a table with someone and we just went to the local night stalls that are set up and ordered grilled chicken, raw papaya salad and pork. Tony spends his winters in Thailand every year and does some charity fundraising work for children while there – and it was refreshing to hear his perspective regarding the situation I have yet to write about but will now.

It is almost epidemic, this trend of (mostly) older men coming to Thailand to find a mate. This is not news to any of you, but I have to admit it is really disturbing to see how prevalent it is. I don’t know whether it is more disturbing for the men, who are accosted by the girls for the money (Tony said he can’t go anywhere without being bugged) or the girls who end up with these awful men. I’m sure there are even more than 2 sides to this story. I saw a man about 85 years old with a young, beautiful Thai girl at a restaurant and she was wiping the drool from his chin! There are also many men who come to Thailand for the whole package, hopeful to find love. Thai women are seen as good potential wives because they are subservient and very family oriented compared with the independence women of the western world have acquired, which some men find not so appealing. Whatever, there are many different situations, but it is a huge sub-culture here. In the bigger cities almost everywhere I look there is an old western man with a young, beautiful Thai girls. Puy was trying to explain to me that the girls actually find these guys attractive (the ‘opposites attract’ thing). Hmmm.

I have talked to 2 men in my relatively short travel time, who have been burned by Thai women too. They fall in love, move here, give everything to the relationship financially (can own property in a joint situation with their lovely new wife) and then have the woman say, sorry, not interested anymore.

Okay – back to Nong Khai. I did end up staying 2 nights instead of my planned one – mostly because Duke was playing in the floating restaurant on the second night and I wanted to take that in. I rented a bicycle during the day and rode out to a sculpture park. It has incredible sculptures dedicated to |Buddha, built by a very intent Buddhist of the area over the span of his lifetime.

I came to Laos the following morning and because the border town in Laos, “Vientiene” is the capital it is the place where I decided I better get my Chinese Visa again. Gregg and I are planning to meet there, when he has some vacation time at the end of January and I was not on the ball when first applying for a visa to China in that I could have just gotten a double entry visa which would have covered the second entrance within 3 months. Anyway – it was a huge hassle finding the Chinese embassy in Vientiene (their website is terrible so I had no forewarning) and when I got there that day they had just closed – at 11:30 a.m.! I decided to spend the night in Vientiene, drop off my passport in the morning and just leave it there until I came back from travelling north in Laos to pick it up again. I did just that and then ‘got out of dodge’. BUT – my evening in Vientiene was interesting!

I wandered around the city in the afternoon and then read that the place to eat was on the river bank (Vientiene is on the other bank of the Mekong River from Nong Khai where I had been the night before. The Mekong borders the two countries) where all the night market stalls set up. I found myself sitting on a straw mat ordering ginger chicken watching the sun set and then I was joined by 2 great guys who had just arrived in Vientiene to renew their Thai visas. One was a Irish 37 year old, teaching Business English in Chaing Mai and the other, a guy from New York, possibly a bit older than me, who has been travelling for 2 years trying to come to turns with having lost his wife to cancer 4 years ago. He sold his house and quit his job and was spending much time in spiritual corners (Buddhism mostly) searching for … something. We spent 4 hours telling our stories to each other and then parted ways. A great evening!

So – after the chinese embassy and dropping off my visa the next morning – it was raining! First rainy day I have seen (yesterday) I got the Tuk Tuk to take me out to the Northern bus station and asked for a ticket to Luang Prabang. Turns out it wasn’t leaving for 2 hours! Shit. But – I was already all the way out of town at the bus station, so that is what travel is like. I waited for the bus and it was a brutal 11 hour slog from noon – 11 p.m. to here.

There are 3 types of buses here: Ordinary, you don’t want to be on. Express, the one I ended up on because there was no other choice with my lack of planning! And then the VIP bus. The difference in price is about $10. So worth the better bus if they are leaving! I will make sure to go back to Vientiene on the VIP bus! That bus stopped all along the way and was overloaded with supplies (chickens… rice.. you name it)

The first unforgettable experience on that trip was when a passenger yelled out in Laos language (I am meaning I didn’t understand what he was yelling) to the driver and then the driver stops right away, just like that. It didn’t seem to matter that we were on a blind corner facing up hill! So, next thing I know, everyone is getting off the buss and going pee! Girls too! Except the girls had sarongs with them, (which, for anyone who doesn’t know, is a tube shaped piece of cloth that they wear as skirts or to get to the shower in). The girls just wrapped the sarongs on themselves and pulled their pants down in privacy with the sarong, and squatted to pee. I sat there for a moment thinking, shit, this is maybe my only chance to pee on this 11 hour trip so I better do it! I headed for the bushes… Everyone gets back on the bus feeling relieved and I watch the driver chug back his water bottle and chuck it out the door onto the side of the road! The litter in the third world is atrocious.

We had to cross and very deep river gorge. A cement truck was in front of us (part of the process of building the new bridge) and we waited while it crossed over with its heavy load. I could see the deck of the bridge buckling underneath the weight. I kind of crossed my fingers as we took our turn to cross. There is much road construction going on in Laos – apparently heavily funded by Japan and China.

We had many close calls with cows and dogs who wander the highway. I don’t know what they do with the ones that get hit but there has to be a few a day! The amount of traffic on those roads and the near misses we had suggest there has to be fatalities often.

The drive between the 2 places is 400 km of winding, twisting, climbing mountains, descending mountains. Very beautiful scenery once we reached the Karst mountains at Van Vieng, despite the socked in cloudy feel. The bus kept fogging up unless the door was left open and the driver’s assistant kept having to wipe the driver’s windshield with a towel.

We stopped for dinner half way – rice and ‘stuff” – and then it was survival the rest of the way.

….. I’m 2 nights into this town now, and enjoying the sites. Yesterday I just checked out the town itself. In the centre is a mountain with a temple on top. There are 400 steps up to the temple. Its a great view from the top, and at night time the temple is lit up creating a beautiful centrepiece to the town! This morning I watched the procession of monks walking the streets for the offerings. Its is a really neat sight. I found a wonderful guesthouse and restaurant which I am moving to this morning. The guest house is down a quiet little alley and beyond it is a restaurant which sits high above the river. Its just beautiful and open air and lovely places to perch and watch the river. Its called Utopia – and its a good name for it!

I am headed out to Tat Kuang Si waterfalls in a couple of hours for the rest of the day. Looking forward to swimming for the first time on this trip!

People have warned me I would find Luang Prabang too touristy and that the better, less travelled parts of Laos are further north where there are wonderful trekking opportunities and some great eco-tourism. I know this is true now, but I am going to pass on it anyway. The bus ride to that area is another 9 hours over really rough roads (worse than what I have already done) and I’m really looking foward to having a week with Gregg on his holidays soon. We plan to meet in Beijing – an easy spot for both of us to get to. Time, therefore, is the other reason. A week at the beach is still high on my priority list!

Bye for now.
g.

Happy New Year 2010!

January 3, 2010

Happy New Year one and all! I wish for everyone who’s eyes scan this page all the very best of health and peace and contentment for the new year of 2010. I thought of each of you in a special way as I watched the New Year arrive over a 15 hour time span – thinking of each time zone that was just then welcoming the new year.

Four hours of my New Years Eve day was spent at the Buddhist Temple in Nakon Sawan – about 2 hours north of Bangkok. Puy and her friend, Pop (who I’ve been calling Bob for the last few days until I finally asked how the name was spelled) – I didn’t really think they were saying Bob but it was the closest I could get without asking AGAIN. So, anyway, we were at the temple between 10 and 2. in the middle of the day. I will try to explain this experience.

It was a special event at the temple because the year was ending. There were many different things to do. For example, one was to lie down in a ‘coffin’ kind of box, hands folded up in prayer holding a flower and some kind of cloth, and the monks sat above and chanted. Another was to buy offerings for the Buddha and light incense and candles and pray. There were many more and all of this took time. Then, at 12:00 the formal ceremony started. We each filled out forms with our names, day of the week of our birth (I guessed at mine!) and the date of birth. These were placed in a bowl along with some string and a prayer flag and some seeds & rice. The praying and chanting started and then we wrapped the string around our heads which had been attached to the prayer flag, which had been attached to criss-crossed strings above our heads that connected the whole building.

There were 4 monks by now, sitting on the platform in front of us. There was much chanting and then a break for 10 minutes. Quite a challenge to sit on the floor for all this time! Then we started the second session and this one was way more aggressive. The monks level of noise in chanting had risen to a very strong and forceful chant and then they started doing all this crazy kind of chanting to expel all the evil from us as the year was ending. The chanting was very powerful and 2 guys on the floor ‘freaked out’. Apparently this happens because they have tattos and have ‘much bad and evil’ in them and they want to fight when this kind of chanting evokes such emotion. One of the guys was right behind me and had to be held down by about 6 men. It was a little scary, but very very interesting to be part of this. Puy told me that she was surprised by the ceremony and that it was a very unusual one and I was very lucky to see such a thing because it does not happen very often. \\

Puy and Pop took me for lunch afterwards to a little hole in the wall restaurant where we had a really different kind of noodle soup. Not the regular run of the mill noodle soup that is served for lunch everywhere in Thailand! This one had jelly fish and squid and octopus in it! It was quite spicy but oh so yummy and the cook was concerned lest I didn’t enjoy it. I assured him it was great.

Then – Puy and I went to her friends who is a hairdresser and got our hair done! Just randomly! This is the main thing about ‘hanging out’ with Puy. I NEVER know what is coming next and its always a big curve ball! So – Pop lay down on the couch at the hairdresser’s and slept while Puy and I got our hair fixed up. Then we went shopping for groceries and to KFC for dinner (yuck – but it is very popular in the bigger centres here). We were tired by then – wandered through the night market and then home to bed. There were fireworks going off like crazy outside my bedroom window but I was so tired I ignored it and slept.

The next morning we were up at 5:00 to leave to drive out to Puy’s parents place. We went straight to another temple, which is right near her parent’s place out in the country. We met up with her family at the temple for another ‘session’ to welcome the New Year. We arrived at 9:30 and had another less eventful ceremony in a very open air and beautiful temple. All the people brought food for the monks and after the ceremony they ate, and then we all ate.

The farm is lovely! It is so peaceful here and I have met some wonderful people. Puy’s Aunt and Uncle, who are my age more or less have been here for the weekend as well. Even though it is difficult to have a conversation we have had a lot of fun. Puy’s Mom and Dad are great and so welcoming. They have a little store attached to their house, so all the villagers stop by for cigarettes or whatever and visit. They just happen to have beer for sale, so I got into the beer with Pop and Mic – (Puy’s unlce is Mic) Sooo much fun with them and we laughed our heads off trying to understand each other. Then Puy’s Mom drank rice wine and the villagers were stopping by for a ‘shot’ and to point and stare and talk about me. I always let them know I know when they are talking about me and they just laugh.

We have had some wonderful meals together. New Years Day we had a BBQ – Thai style. I think I mentioned what that was like at a restaurant I went to with the students in Chaiyaphum. This was the same cooking experience but just at their home, all sitting on the ground on straw mats. Yesterday we had some more challenging stuff for me! Pork intestines cooking in lemon grass then mixed with some delicious Bap (I think). Ground pork, garlic, onions, chilis, fish sauce, rice flour. I made the rice flour! We fried the rice for quite a while – uncooked – just brown in the wok. Then I ground in with a mortor and pestle until it was flour. Then mixed it with the pork. They had to wreck all that good stuff my adding the intestines! Then to make it just a little worse, they poured fresh blood over it and cooked it again. I couldn’t do that one. We had some great meals though and just visiting was fun.

A strange thing has happened here. Puy’s great grandmother of 92 years has been failing and so 2 months ago she was in the hospital Puy’s Dad and Mom went to the Monk and the Monk prayed for her healing. She has not gotten any better and no worse since them, but she has been just lying down and refusing to eat. So – yesterday morning Puy’s Mom and Dad went back to the temple to pray to Buddha to release her because she is not enjoying her life anymore. They waited to do this until after New Year’s day because apparently that would not have been a good day to die.
Sooooo – anyway – last night around 9:00 great grandmother passes away!!!! I couldn’t believe that was actually happening.

There was much commotion after that. People coming and going all night. I haven’t seen Puy’s Mom since then, but the great grandmother was her Dad’s Mom. They are grateful for her passing and even more grateful that it happened AFTER New Year’s Day. They are busy preparing for the funeral now. I should explain that the great grandmother does not live at this house I am at. She is about a kilometre away.

I was a little confused because yesterday Puy’s aunt took me in the car to meet some other relatives and at that house there was a very old woman of 92 as well. I thought, when they told me that great grandmother had passed, that it was the woman I had just sat with and watch chew the beetle juice and tobacco. I was a bit weirded out about that – and somewhat relieved, for whatever reason, that it was NOT her.

So it is morning and I was up before sunrise to ride a bicycle along the dirt road and take pics of the rice paddies and bird and sunrise and moon set. So beautiful! Now – I sit and wait to be taken out of here and to a bus so I can get on my way. Puy has disappeared somewhere to get a photo of Great Grandmother developed and said she would be back to take me to the bus. That was ages ago – so, once again, and possibly for the last time! I sit here in the dark in the middle of the bright, hot hot sun! Patience is a virtue – I remind myself!!!

My plans for Laos have changed again. I have been advised to pass on the boat down the Mekong River idea. Its either long and slow and very uncomfortable, or fast, noisy, smelly and dangerous (because of the fast part!) So – because I am so close to Bangkok and the family is dealing with funeral preparations now, and not going back to the city of Nakon Sawan yet as I was expecting to be dropped off at – I will just get on a local bus headed for Bangkok and figure out my next move from there..

So long to the village and Nanongthumwittaya School

Today I leave Nanongthum Wittaya school and all the wonderful students. This morning I had to say goodbye to Lam, MeSang, Tam, Yew and Yui and all the other villagers. I am sad.

I am also overwhelmed with the treatment and honour they all bestowed upon me. Yesterday a party was held at Yui’s house for me. Many of the teachers, as well as the Director of the School came. There was much food served – straw mats were placed on the ground in Yui’s yard and the staff were all served on these mats. Yui’s friends (a group of 5 or 6 students) were there to serve us. There were speeches and gifts which Puy (teacher with English) interpreted for me and she also told me when to give MY gifts and what to do when. I was given beautiful silk cloth, hand woven by both Lam and MeSang as well as another neighbour. Each gift is so meaningful because this is what the village represents and what these women are all about. As well, the school gave me beautiful thai silk.
Another special part of the night – every villager and teacher who is older than me (not sure how they can tell) came to me and tied a string around my wrist and they say a prayer for me for good luck and gave the knot a definite ceremonial twist and then bow their head to me and I bowed back. This ceremony went on for a long time and was so very touching.

I will miss riding on the back of Yui’s motorbike to school every morning, her pony tail and ribbon slapping me in the face as we go. I will miss her smiling face and every other face I saw every day for that matter – each one of them was always smiling!

I have had the pleasure of watching an entire cycle of silk worms, from eggs to the actual silk in production and oh ya! …even to eating the worms afterwards!! The whole process is so interesting and to have the things sauteed in garlic after all the silk that has been taken off of them just seems the right thing to do in Isan! As an aside, I braved eating crunchy bugs too – some kind of beetle looking thing. I have to admit it was actually pretty tasty.

I have had the serene pleasure of watching a farmer hand grow his crops of corn amongst ponds of lotus flowers. Every morning I would look for him working away and over the month I saw his plots grow and come to fruition.

I have been blessed and wished well and told that I have a second home in Thailand. Whatever winds, or God, or Great Spirit guided me in this direction and on this path, I am forever grateful. As I told all of them last night – my life is sooooo enriched for this experience.

The Director of the school said the school was so grateful that I would stay with such a poor family and give that family the opportunity to have me. The thing about this kind of speech and the people’s attitude is what is so neat. In my country, this speech would have been thought rude to mention a poor family and how lucky they were to get a break – but not here. It is not shameful to be poor, it is just unlucky. People are respected just as much, rich or poor – at least in the context of this countryside and the villages the school supports.

Today is the New Year’s celebration in the auditorium. The kids are buzzing with excitement and carrying gifts for each other. I watched Yui last night, painfully carefully (compared to me!) wrapping gifts for her friends. I have been asked to play the guitar and sing jingle bells with one class – so we have had a little bit of practice and up we go!! I’m encouraging the kids to sing REALLY loud! Its actually an electric guitar and they insist on plugging the thing in.

…….Okay – so its the end of the day and jingles bells went okay if not a little scratchy! It was an eventful day for everyone and now I am waiting for Puy to take me onward. I have decided to go to her house which is west. Its sort of a back track for me in terms of where I have already been, but after staying at Puy’s house and meeting her parents (she seems to really want me to do that, I think – or is just being Thai nice!) I will go north to Chiang Rai. YES – I have already been to Chiang MAI, but this is Chiang Rai – north of Chiang Mai! From there I will cross the border into Laos and to Luang Prbrang and then come south through Laos, to come back to Bangkok. That’s the beauty of travelling alone (sometimes I really have to search for it!) – but ya, I can change my plans and it doesn’t affect anyone.