Back in the USA!

I made it back! It was a truly wonderful adventure from start to finish. It's nice to be back home, but it's always hard saying goodbye to adventure of travel and all that goes with it. Overall I would definitely go back to Asia again, and I highly recommend it to anyone else who is looking for a different and interesting experience. One of the things I like most about traveling is that it reminds you that the world is a big place, and that there are a lot of different ideas and perspectives out there, and this trip reminded me of this to an extreme. Many thanks to everyone who was part of my travels and for all of you who virtually tagged along. Much love to you all and take care!

49 hours in Tokyo

As a finally to the trip, I decided to stop in Tokyo on my way back home. I actually have some Japanese who live friends here, so it worked out great. The funny part is that I am only here for exactly 49 hours, and I'm currently on hour 44! It has been crazy stop. Everything that SE Asia has been, tokyo is the oppostite. Crowded, clean, modern and expensive! In Laos, a 9.5 hour VIP bus trip cost $11.50, including lunch! Here, the train from the airport to downtown cost $29, nothing included! My friends have a new baby and a very small place, so I took advantage of the opportunity and stayed at a capsule hotel! Nothing beats sleeping in a tube! For $43 dollars I got a hole in the wall with that was 3' x 3' x 6', cable tv, radio, clock and access to a public bath (not 7 year boy with me this time!). The biggest trouble was that I am 6'2"! You wouldn't think 2 inches would make much a difference, but it does! It was quite an experince! Tokyo is everything you would think it to be, crazy big, neon everywhere, gaint buildings and the people have an obsession with fasion that is unlike anything I've ever seen. I will post some pictures of the hotel and Tokyo soon. Now it's finally time to head back home. One last LONG plane ride across the pacific, customs and immigration in San Fransico and I will at long last be able to sleep in my own bed again. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to being able to speak to people in English, and to have them understand! And to eat green chile! Stay tuned as I have a bunch of pictures from the trip and a couple more interesting stories to post.

Weaving cooperative

My friend Jackie in Chiang Mai has worked with this weaving cooperative in the northern part of the country for the past couple of years, and I asked if we could go up and pay them a visit. We did, and it was a pretty damn moving trip. The region is home to MANY different ethnic groups, and many of these groups who live in the mountains and rural areas still live in the same basic state that they have for centuries. The towns have no electricity, running water, etc. One of the biggest crisis's that is hitting these communities is the modern world. Today, many of the villages are occupied largely by only older people and children. The trappings of the modern world lures all the young adults away to the city, and they never return. Along with them goes the group's language, culture and traditions. In another generation there will be little left of many of these cultures. Additionally, this migration tears apart families, separates children from their parents, and leaves the elderly with no one to care for them, and to take raise the children. In an effort to off set loss, this cooperative was started in a village of the Karen (pronounced ker-rin) tribe. The Karen people have a long history of weaving, and the cooperative takes this skill and allows them to make a living doing it. The goal of the cooperative is to provide jobs in the village which will allow people to not only stay in the village, but because the product is a traditional one, the work actually reinforces and preserves the tradition. So far, it has worked great. The coop has been in operation for 15 years now, and 80 members of the village participate in it. The most amazing part for me was Dewey, the fellow who started the group. He was a village member who saw his culture dying before him, and decided to try to help stop it. He started the group with 1800 baht (about $200) and continues it with almost no personal compensation. He was clearly tired and overworked the day we visited, and the most touching part was that he still took over hour out of his day to sit and talk with us and explain the organization and it's goals (thank god Jackie speaks thai!) During this talk you could really get a sense of the deep caring and compassion Dewey had for people and trying to make their lives better. The work was hard, but to him it was unquestionably worth every minute. It was incredible touching and moving. I can say I haven't met many people like Dewey, and the world could use a lot more of people like him. Needless to say some of you have some Karen handwoven gifts when I get back!

This idea of a sewing cooperative is not unique, there are many other similar groups in Thailand. The link below isn't for this group as they don't have a web site, but it is for a very similar group that does the same thing for Karen refugees from Burma.

http://www.karenwomen.org/shop.html

Motorscooter mania!

This week has been a blur of motorbikes, bazaars and food- it's been great! I can't tell you how nice it has been to be back with familiar faces that speak the language and know the surroundings. The biggest difference about this week has been my mode of transportation, namely the motorbike. Some Thais drive cars, but I'd say 80% of them seem to prefer to travel by motor bike (including my friends here). When I say motorbike, we're talking mostly scooters, with some dirt bikes and a few motorcycles. The funny thing about motor bikes is that they are much smaller then cars, and so they can do fun things like travel 3 wide in a lane, or drive between cars, or on sidewalks! And let me tell you- they do all of that and more! People seem to see motor bikes as basically akin to walking. In fact I've been told (and seen) that ONLY tourist walk anywhere, Thais take their motor bike. And because driving a bike is about the same thing as walking, you can basically drive your motor bike anywhere you would walk! They also seem to believe that because they are not really driving, they don't need to follow the rules made for cars! This "driving" style has been similar everywhere I've been, and has provided a good deal of entertainment as I rode along nice and secure in a taxi or tuk-tuk. But my friends here only have motor bikes, so everywhere we go is an adventure! Being on the motor bike is such a different experience because you are completely vulnerable, plus you are doing the crazy maneuvers, not just watching them. You basically feel like you are about to die a horrible death constantly. I am not sure I can actually express the shear insanity, it is like nothing we know in the US. If you actually worry about what is going on you would just start screaming. The only real option is to just put your trust in fate. Pretty quickly you attain this zen like state where your horror is replaced with a mild amusement. It's actually pretty peaceful, assuming nothing bad actually happens! I think everyone should try it at least once! And let me tell you, driving a motor bike here is 10 times more terrifying, partly because they drive on the left (or as i say 'wrong') side of the road! It's a wild ride!

Bugs? Yummy!

Sorry for the long gap in posting, I made it to my friend's place in Chiang Mai, and the past few days have been filled with eating, sight seeing, scootering around (yes, I DROVE one!), and catching up with my friends.

The food has been one of the best parts of this trip, I have tried just about anything new or different, just for the sake of trying it. Some of it has been not good, but a lot of it has been wonderful, and I have enjoyed trying it all! The food in this part of the world is a little different then 'western' food (western is what they call any food from North America or Europe). One specific thing that they eat here that is very different is what we could classify as bugs. In the western world bugs are something we try hard to keep out of our food, but here, they are the food! My first run in with eating bugs was in Laos. There was this little old woman on the sidewalk selling something wrapped in banana leaves, and it smelled wonderful. I attempted to asked her what it was, and it was clear that such a discussion was beyond her English ability, and well beyond my Laoscian ability, but she was more then happy to sell me some so I could find out for my self! So I bought some, and I honestly thought it was some sort of fruit, or rice, or possible meat, as these things are commonly wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. Turns out, I was a bit off- it was some sort of larvae. You can judge for yourself in the picture below, but my best guess is that is was wasp or bee larvae, and it was still in the comb. I was rather unsure how to go about eating such a thing, and so I just bit in. I won't lie, it was pretty damn good! I really expected it to be seriously nasty, but it is actually one of the most tasty things I've had on the trip. It's hard to imagine, but once you got it past your lips (and out of sight!), it really tasted, smelled and chewed nothing like what you would expect larvae to be like! From a mouth feel perspective, it really was no grosser then eating green beans. But I do have to admit, that getting it up to your mouth, and getting the visual image of what you just put into you mouth out of your mind, was a little tough! Due to the visual, I only managed to finish about 1/2 of it, but I think if I had it a couple more times, I would really learn to love it! For dinner tonight we went down to the local market (which is nothing like Safeway!), and I picked up some crickets and maggot looking things, both fried. They are both very good as well, nice and crunch with good flavor, they taste nothing like you would expect a bug to. The maggots are not unlike cheeze puffs!

Some folks have commented on the speed of the embedded slide shows (pictures go too fast), and I have looked and looked and can't figure out how to slow them down. So if you click on the little colorful circle in the bottom right corner of the slideshow, it will take you to a new window where you can see the pitures full screen, and control the progression.

More soon!

Pictures from Laos

I can only describe so much- a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a books worth of images of Laos. It's a pretty wonderful place, landscape, people, culture, food, you name it and it's pretty nice.

I also wanted to talk about one of the other surprises I've seen here, and that's in the tourist. It's not the numbers that surprise me (there are a LOT), but the type. There are a lot of families here, some with little kids even. In Cambodia at least half of the tourist were families. I think this is a great idea as it definitely gives the kids some first hand experience with different cultures and peoples, though I think little kids (less then 13?) are probably too young to appreciate or remember much of it. I also can't imagine the work of traveling in a foreign country with small children!

Laos!

Laos has very much surprised me! I knew very little of the country before coming here, and really wasn't expecting much, but it is simply beautiful here. In Cambodia, the people were desperate poor. The locals were hungry and even appeared malnourished at times. None of the locals were laughing, relaxing, no children playing, in fact most of the children you see are working, selling anything they can, or simply begging. It all made one uneasy because as a tourists you are constantly asked "you buy?" It was hard to say 'no' because you could see the desperation in their lives, but at the same time it became very tiresome very quickly. In Bangkok the situation was much the same, except the locals were well fed, they have just become very accustom to dealing with tourist and taking their money. In fact in Bangkok you quickly get the feeling that there are as many people looking to rip off the tourist as there are tourist. In both places there were very strong lines dividing the locals and the tourist- they shopped, lived and ate completely separately. Laos (the locals don't pronounce the 's') is the exact opposite. While still definitely poor, the standard of living here is a major step up from Cambodia, and there is no desperation. And it's a very different kind of poor, the children are fat and happy, and are playing- and not working. Some of the locals are acctually pudgy! The restaurants are filled with tourists and locals- at the same restaurant. Everyone is very relaxed, happy and friendly. No one asks you to buy anything. The mood and environment of the whole place is very warm and welcoming. And the landscape is stunning, simply breathtaking views of forested mountains and wide river valleys. And it's cheap! Hotel $10, lunch $2, steak dinner (not that I eat steak, but still) $4! Needless to say there are a lot of foreigners here, a good many of whom seem to be here for the long haul! I will try to post some pictures soon, though the internet feels like dialup here!