This weekend (Friday-Tuesday) we were lucky enough to get some coworkers to cover our classes while Sheena and I headed across the Mekong River into Vientiane, Laos. Sheena rightly so, suggested that we just stay in Luang Prabang... a mere 10-12 hour bus ride to the north of Vientiane, located ultimately in the center of Laos, instead of doing a mini whirl-wind tour of Laos as I probably would have done..
Everything was planned pretty much last minute.. and I think I only told my parents I was leaving the night before. Bus tickets would apparently have to be purchased on the run. There are no online sites I'm aware of that allow you to purchase these bus tickets ahead of time... slightly nerve wracking but a good experience for someone who probably has minor travel OCD.
We left mid-day on Friday for the Friendship bridge, which connects Thailand and Laos via Nong Khai and Vientiane. I was expecting utter chaos, rudeness, and annoying summons from tuk-tuk drivers imploring us to take their ride for a mere 100 Baht.... Why would I spend 100 Baht, or about 3.5 dollars, when I could take a bus for a mere 20 Baht, about 75 cents.. Honestly. (Yes I realize I'm going to have a shock and a struggle when I get back to the US and realize the actual price differences. Luckily I don't really remember how much things cost in America anymore...) The cross over couldn't have been easier for me happily, although the currency exchanges for Sheena turned out to be pretty aggravating in terms of red tape. Still we made it through in no time!
The first thing that caught my attention was all the soviet flags hanging everywhere! Tons of them! I know you're communist but get your own party flag guys... After crossing over, we went straight to the bus station where we had about 4 hours to kill. We attempted to eat at the restaurant across the street... and managed to get some sort of soup.. mystery meat was determined to be chicken neck... Although Sheena rudely suggested that it was cat meat due to the very large number of cats wandering around the restaurant. Ironically a chicken escaped from the kitchen as we were served our food and strutted around the restaurant for a bit while we began to eat his relative... I knew this trip was going to be an adventure already!
The bus, supposedly VIP (whatever that means here) turned out to be just a regular crappy bus, without a bathroom! We stopped every once in a while for passengers to relieve themselves. We didn't realize why we had been stopping before Sheena asked about a bathroom. Promptly the bus pulled over and let her get our, after which almost the entire bus got out and stood basically in a line next to the bus peeing in unison - Men, women, old ladies.. you name it. A sight to see let me tell you!
The bus ride, which was supposed to be one of the worst in the world wasn't that bad to me. I even successfully ignored the sounds and smells of other people vomiting as the bus turned 90 -180 degree turns about every minute to 30 seconds for probably around 4 hours. The bus ride back, on the actual VIP sleeper bus was pretty much the same deal in terms of the vomit, but the ride was a heck of a lot better. There were three rows of bunk beds on the bus, and a toilet on board as well! Needless to say we got a lot more sleep on the ride back!
Arriving Luang Prabang at 6am with 30 minutes of sleep between us was not the greatest of feelings but the Lao Sandwich I ate right away, a baguette with chicken, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, maybe an egg, and some other things I don't know was a lovely welcome to what turned out to be an incredible picturesque and charming town!
We napped for about four hours.. not gonna lie.. and walked around the entire town in pretty much 4 hours. We checked out the museum, the temples, the river, as well as the yummy restaurants we planned to eat at. Although it is supposedly best to travel there in rainy season, when the river and waterfalls are at their prime, we did get a chance to see and walk across the bamboo bridge that they take down when the river gets too high. That night we checked out the night market, ate another baguette, and headed to a really cool place called Utopia (fitting with all the soviet flags) right on the water. We enjoyed some wine, and caught a free movie across from our hotel/guesthouse.
The next day we had to get up super early in order to feed the monks! Yes this is what it sounds like. We got some rice and other things, and lined up with everyone as 200+ monks passed by, opening their special buckets for us to put food into.. I was wondering how they felt about everyone touching all their rice before they ate it, but how western of me! It was nice to see that the monks also took some of their food and gave it to orphans who were sitting on the side of the road as well. Right after we hiked up mount Phousi (you may pronounce that however you want) and got a great view of the town and surrounding area. The next day we went to some temple caves via a boat, stopping by a whiskey village, all the while enjoying French inspired food and failing to really see a difference between Lao and Thai food.
Our last and final day turned out to be one of my favorites so far this year. We caught a tuk-tuk up to these waterfalls about 30 minutes outside of Luang Prabang. They were beautiful, falling gently into cool milky blue ponds/lagoons that you could swim in. There was a bear sanctuary as well, and we hiked up a 100 degree or so (it felt like) path in order to get a good view. Swimming in the ponds felt fantastic in the heat, and we went back into town to pack and get dinner with a Malaysian film crew who had interviewed us at Isara.
All being said, we were let back in to Thailand, tired but having had a wonderful and yummy weekend! Today we finally got to help out the recycle center and it felt good to do some useful manual labor. Must say it feels good to be "home," and I'm gearing up for another week of teaching! My first class on my own is today...!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Nong Khai, What I Actually do Part III, and Ants All Around
I'm just about to finish up my second week at the Isara Foundation in Nong Khai, but it seems like I've been here a month! I've been having a great time so far exploring the city, tasting awesome street food, and of course learning how to teach English. My two closest friends here are a Canadian named Sheena, and an Aussie named James. We often do a ton of things together, such as renting a motorbike to go visit the sculpture park here (an amazing park where one man made about 50 huge Buddhist/Hindu statues). We've enjoyed some great meals, gotten some nice Thai massages, and have gone down to the Mekong River for a swim with a couple of other people who live here permanently who James knows after being here himself already for a few months. The other 3 volunteers with whom we work are great as well and it's always nice when they join us for pizza, korean BBQ, or a swim at one of the hotel pools in town.
Now for what I am doing... For those of you who know me well I've never been a huge fan of the concept that everyone in the world needs to learn English. I always try to learn as much of the local language as possible, (something that is proving to be quite the challenge here!) and I am almost never surprised or angry if someone can't speak English, especially in a poorer country. Still, I have found an exception to these rules of mine here at Isara. The way they teach the children here is geared almost entirely towards reading. The method/word on the street here is that if they cannot read/ read English then they really won't learn that much. This emphasis on reading in general is something that I really appreciate about the Isara Foundation. In addition, after traveling thus far, I have realized that while by no means I believe everyone needs to speak English, I have a greater appreciation for the advancements learning English can have on the career of someone living in a third world country, or a place like Thailand, where tourism is probably a top commodity. The tourism industry in many parts of the world is such a huge business that the individuals involved in it and related industries who really understand and speak English can in fact make a greater impact on their families income and therefore lifestyle.
Sheena and I have been teaching about a class a day, and we are helping with the reading in another couple of classes. The classes are usually about an hour long and can be a ton of fun, unless the kids are being kids, or have not done their homework.... Then I have to turn into that rude teacher I always hated growing up! Although we teach children, we sometimes are called in to the police station or hospital here (as was the case yesterday) in order to do an English review, vocabulary/situation specific lesson. The nurses were a lot of fun to work with, and I could tell that they would appreciate knowing the English we taught them when speaking with the tourists who often come in with various ailments. In addition, Isara has a recent recycling center and a helmet/ motorbike safety campaign that I hope to check out in the coming weeks. The people who work here take what they do very seriously, and strongly wish to give back to the community in any way that they can. This is of course a lot different from other English teaching centers around the world.
All of us have been attempting to take some Thai lessons from the interns Isara has here. It's going a bit slowly, as should be expected, but I'm pretty sure I have all the numbers down which is very exciting!!
The house we live in is quite nice, albeit a bit rustic, which is totally fine :) The first floor is actually the school, equipped with an office, two class rooms, a small library, and a computer lab. The second floor is our floor (there is four of us up there, the other 2 volunteers live off the grounds). There is a kitchen, 3 bedrooms, a living room, and of course a bathroom with a shower. No house dogs here like in Addis, but there are plenty of geckos, ants, and I hate to say cockroaches to go around!
Since leaving America there are some things I've gotten very good at ---
1) Dealing with and sometimes fixing dodgy plumbing
3) Taking cold showers / Living in a black out
4) Ignoring people talking to me and offering me things on the street
5) Killing mosquitoes and other insects
6) Arranging mosquito nets (or mozzie nets as James would say)
The latter two should by no means convince you that I am not getting bitten by mosquitos and other insects but I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job at keeping numbers of bites down to a minimum!
This weekend, and a bit into next week, Sheena and I are hoping to pop over to the other side of the Mekong to check out Laos, particularly Luang Prabang, although we will be seeing Vientiane for a little bit as well. Hopefully it will work out well, and my next blog will be about that! Speak soon!
Now for what I am doing... For those of you who know me well I've never been a huge fan of the concept that everyone in the world needs to learn English. I always try to learn as much of the local language as possible, (something that is proving to be quite the challenge here!) and I am almost never surprised or angry if someone can't speak English, especially in a poorer country. Still, I have found an exception to these rules of mine here at Isara. The way they teach the children here is geared almost entirely towards reading. The method/word on the street here is that if they cannot read/ read English then they really won't learn that much. This emphasis on reading in general is something that I really appreciate about the Isara Foundation. In addition, after traveling thus far, I have realized that while by no means I believe everyone needs to speak English, I have a greater appreciation for the advancements learning English can have on the career of someone living in a third world country, or a place like Thailand, where tourism is probably a top commodity. The tourism industry in many parts of the world is such a huge business that the individuals involved in it and related industries who really understand and speak English can in fact make a greater impact on their families income and therefore lifestyle.
Sheena and I have been teaching about a class a day, and we are helping with the reading in another couple of classes. The classes are usually about an hour long and can be a ton of fun, unless the kids are being kids, or have not done their homework.... Then I have to turn into that rude teacher I always hated growing up! Although we teach children, we sometimes are called in to the police station or hospital here (as was the case yesterday) in order to do an English review, vocabulary/situation specific lesson. The nurses were a lot of fun to work with, and I could tell that they would appreciate knowing the English we taught them when speaking with the tourists who often come in with various ailments. In addition, Isara has a recent recycling center and a helmet/ motorbike safety campaign that I hope to check out in the coming weeks. The people who work here take what they do very seriously, and strongly wish to give back to the community in any way that they can. This is of course a lot different from other English teaching centers around the world.
All of us have been attempting to take some Thai lessons from the interns Isara has here. It's going a bit slowly, as should be expected, but I'm pretty sure I have all the numbers down which is very exciting!!
The house we live in is quite nice, albeit a bit rustic, which is totally fine :) The first floor is actually the school, equipped with an office, two class rooms, a small library, and a computer lab. The second floor is our floor (there is four of us up there, the other 2 volunteers live off the grounds). There is a kitchen, 3 bedrooms, a living room, and of course a bathroom with a shower. No house dogs here like in Addis, but there are plenty of geckos, ants, and I hate to say cockroaches to go around!
Since leaving America there are some things I've gotten very good at ---
1) Dealing with and sometimes fixing dodgy plumbing
3) Taking cold showers / Living in a black out
4) Ignoring people talking to me and offering me things on the street
5) Killing mosquitoes and other insects
6) Arranging mosquito nets (or mozzie nets as James would say)
The latter two should by no means convince you that I am not getting bitten by mosquitos and other insects but I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job at keeping numbers of bites down to a minimum!
This weekend, and a bit into next week, Sheena and I are hoping to pop over to the other side of the Mekong to check out Laos, particularly Luang Prabang, although we will be seeing Vientiane for a little bit as well. Hopefully it will work out well, and my next blog will be about that! Speak soon!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Traveling Southeast Asia
I have finally settled in Nong Khai, the small city on the border of Laos, connected to it's capital Vientiane, that will be my home for about the next month and a half. Boy does it feel good to unpack my backpack after almost 3 weeks of nonstop travel, not staying in one place for more than 2 nights!
Since my last blog I visited Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Phnom Penh, Phang-Na Bay, and Bangkok with a friend and their sister. Everyone always asks what was your favorite but as I'm sure you can imagine I would say, they each had something special about them. Singapore was incredible, so multicultural and modern. I finally got to go to the top of the hotel there with a huge infinity pool on the roof, about 50 stories high. Kuala Lumpur was not as fun of a city, but the Batu Caves were incredible, and it was pretty cool seeing the Patronus towers. Siem Reap was perhaps the best in all. Not only did it have Angkor Wat, a huge expanse of Buddhist/Hindu temples, but it also had a very international crowd and a fun night life with all kind of things from glow in the dark pubs to fish foot massages! Phnom Penh was a city in itself and since we arrived during a holiday, many of the attractions were sadly closed. After arriving in Phuket we went a bit off the beaten track to a quiet resort and enjoyed some pool time before taking about around the bullet islands, finally visiting James Bond Island, featured in Rodger Moore's Man with the Golden Gun. And finally Bangkok I really enjoyed! There were so many things to do... and so many Buddhas! There was lying down buddha, standing buddha, resting buddha, angry buddha... it was a lot haha. The palace was unreal, and I couldn't help but think about Anna and the King/ the King and I.
In all the places the weather was hot and humid, and I can't remember consistently sweating like this in my life! Despite that, the street food smells so good that I can't help but try basically everything I see. Sometimes I have no idea what things are but boy do they always taste good! A fun thing they do here is drink soda out of bags. They empty the soda into a plastic bag with ice so as to keep the bottle for recycling and refilling. Pretty funny looking but I guess that's one way to do it!
I took the night train up to Nong Khai, 14 hours in total. Luckily I had experience in Russia and already knew what to expect for the most part of sleeping cars. Surprisingly there were a lot of white people in my car and I sort of helped them figure out how things work out.
So far my job/where I'm living is great! Yes I did finally hear back from the Isara Foundation, and they have provided me with accommodation and so far 3 soon to be 4 awesome roommates! As I'm learning how to teach the kids in our after school program here English, I have been wandering around the week long street fair across the street and have seen already Muay Thai fights and Sepek Takraw which is basically volleyball with your feet. In the next week I hope to explore this place a bit, and get to know my roommates better, as well as what my job here will really consist of. We are supposed to also be teaching the police men and nurses here English, and I plan to go to the recycling center Isara also has. More to come next week!
Since my last blog I visited Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Siem Reap (Angkor Wat), Phnom Penh, Phang-Na Bay, and Bangkok with a friend and their sister. Everyone always asks what was your favorite but as I'm sure you can imagine I would say, they each had something special about them. Singapore was incredible, so multicultural and modern. I finally got to go to the top of the hotel there with a huge infinity pool on the roof, about 50 stories high. Kuala Lumpur was not as fun of a city, but the Batu Caves were incredible, and it was pretty cool seeing the Patronus towers. Siem Reap was perhaps the best in all. Not only did it have Angkor Wat, a huge expanse of Buddhist/Hindu temples, but it also had a very international crowd and a fun night life with all kind of things from glow in the dark pubs to fish foot massages! Phnom Penh was a city in itself and since we arrived during a holiday, many of the attractions were sadly closed. After arriving in Phuket we went a bit off the beaten track to a quiet resort and enjoyed some pool time before taking about around the bullet islands, finally visiting James Bond Island, featured in Rodger Moore's Man with the Golden Gun. And finally Bangkok I really enjoyed! There were so many things to do... and so many Buddhas! There was lying down buddha, standing buddha, resting buddha, angry buddha... it was a lot haha. The palace was unreal, and I couldn't help but think about Anna and the King/ the King and I.
In all the places the weather was hot and humid, and I can't remember consistently sweating like this in my life! Despite that, the street food smells so good that I can't help but try basically everything I see. Sometimes I have no idea what things are but boy do they always taste good! A fun thing they do here is drink soda out of bags. They empty the soda into a plastic bag with ice so as to keep the bottle for recycling and refilling. Pretty funny looking but I guess that's one way to do it!
I took the night train up to Nong Khai, 14 hours in total. Luckily I had experience in Russia and already knew what to expect for the most part of sleeping cars. Surprisingly there were a lot of white people in my car and I sort of helped them figure out how things work out.
So far my job/where I'm living is great! Yes I did finally hear back from the Isara Foundation, and they have provided me with accommodation and so far 3 soon to be 4 awesome roommates! As I'm learning how to teach the kids in our after school program here English, I have been wandering around the week long street fair across the street and have seen already Muay Thai fights and Sepek Takraw which is basically volleyball with your feet. In the next week I hope to explore this place a bit, and get to know my roommates better, as well as what my job here will really consist of. We are supposed to also be teaching the police men and nurses here English, and I plan to go to the recycling center Isara also has. More to come next week!
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