leaving for the airport in a half hour. I find that i don't really like what bit of cambodia i have seen so far. perhaps the countryside will be better but i don't think i want to ever come back here again. rather sad, as this is the first time i've said that about any country. The fact is, once the temples of angkor have been covered, i find very little else here, be it the people, the attractions/sights, the food or the scenery to be worth my time, money and effort. I know i have also invested less effort while here than in other countries, but honestly, the warding off of touts and trying not to get ripped off too badly by businesses, hotels, guesthouse, drivers, food and drink sellers etc already take up all of my energy. I actually think this trip would have been a lot less pleasant for me had the other two girls not been with me... so, thanks, babes =))
can't wait to get home, though it will be one flight and an overnight train ride away. what a difference from my last foray into indochina!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
last night in cambodia
hmm.. it's been a while since i've blogged, no? guess it comes with having company =) the girls just left for the airport abt 2hrs ago, and i will be leaving tomorrow afternoon too, but for KL to take a train home (this is what comes of booking tickets too early: ie. before the news about jetstar's PHN-SIN direct $126 (?) flights came out. sigh. not to mention the S$60 SIN-BKK ticket i forfeited. ah well.
anyway, i wonder which of the girls scream tourist, because in the past 2 hours of walking around, nobody has really thought i am a tourist or at least nobody who dared to approach me. The policeman at Wat Phnom only stepped up after i took out the big camera and started snapping, and even then he spoke to me in khmer first. The usual huge gang of tuk tuk drivers at the entrance didn't even bother to get up, though the nearest one did ask me, "tuk tuk [something in khmer]?". Nobody at the old market bothered me either, nor on the streets... which, trust me, is a HUGE difference from the experience of the past week... they are normally extremely aggressive, enough to rival those of Java (and that time i was with 2 distinctly chinese/taiwanese looking friends).
what have the past few days been like? hmm.. royal palace is nice, but not half as grand or big as that in bangkok. The city is small, but not as small as vientiane. markets are ok, and i actually bought quite a lot by my standards =P probably because i was with people who do stop and browse carefully instead of just walk past the stalls like i usu do... Genocide museum and killing fields were sobering, and very very sad, and more than a little creepy at sunset. i think.. it's something that has to be experienced, because my words are simply not adequate to describe the horrors of recent cambodian history.
I'm not sure if i like cambodia the country. i don't think i've really seen it anyway, and it would be unfair to judge from the very (bad) tourist viewpoint solely. I can understand their desperation/need to rip tourists off sometimes, but it doesn't mean i have to like it, humor it or put up with it.
anyway, i wonder which of the girls scream tourist, because in the past 2 hours of walking around, nobody has really thought i am a tourist or at least nobody who dared to approach me. The policeman at Wat Phnom only stepped up after i took out the big camera and started snapping, and even then he spoke to me in khmer first. The usual huge gang of tuk tuk drivers at the entrance didn't even bother to get up, though the nearest one did ask me, "tuk tuk [something in khmer]?". Nobody at the old market bothered me either, nor on the streets... which, trust me, is a HUGE difference from the experience of the past week... they are normally extremely aggressive, enough to rival those of Java (and that time i was with 2 distinctly chinese/taiwanese looking friends).
what have the past few days been like? hmm.. royal palace is nice, but not half as grand or big as that in bangkok. The city is small, but not as small as vientiane. markets are ok, and i actually bought quite a lot by my standards =P probably because i was with people who do stop and browse carefully instead of just walk past the stalls like i usu do... Genocide museum and killing fields were sobering, and very very sad, and more than a little creepy at sunset. i think.. it's something that has to be experienced, because my words are simply not adequate to describe the horrors of recent cambodian history.
I'm not sure if i like cambodia the country. i don't think i've really seen it anyway, and it would be unfair to judge from the very (bad) tourist viewpoint solely. I can understand their desperation/need to rip tourists off sometimes, but it doesn't mean i have to like it, humor it or put up with it.
Monday, December 12, 2005
4th day of temples
tired.... a bit bored at times when revisiting the temples i had already seen.. but finally saw a sunset. at phom bakheng, of course. lots of people. too sleepy and contacts too dry to type more. waiting for my cd of photos to burn so i can clear my memory card. which is actually full of pics of mainly yl! haha... me seems to be her official photographer..
anyway, i just want to say thanks to all the people who wished me happy birthday =)) i brought my old phone with only my relatives and a few other ppl's numbers in it, so i don't know who sms-ed me, but thanks, and i'll get back to you when i get home! =P
anyway, i just want to say thanks to all the people who wished me happy birthday =)) i brought my old phone with only my relatives and a few other ppl's numbers in it, so i don't know who sms-ed me, but thanks, and i'll get back to you when i get home! =P
Saturday, December 10, 2005
waiting for friends...
Got an hour before i have to head out to the airport to pick up the 2 babes =) thankfully internet in the afternoon is so much faster than last night, when every other page refused to load or just took a damn long time, which was why i didn't blog.
anyway, sunrise at angkor: FANTASTIC!! definately worth getting up at 4 in the morning for. A freezing moto ride in the dark, under a clear sky filled with stars, then walking the causeway towards angkor wat with the stars above, the siloulette of the temple towers in front of me, the stars reflected in the moat/pools, and almost nobody there when i first arrived. No birthday could have started any better =))))
unfortunately the tour groups soon arrived in droves, as they would, but i'd already staked out my little piece of real estate on one of the libraries (the one facing the pond filled with lotuses), so it wasn't too bad, and the group that settled around me was a chinese tour group so i could listen in on some of the tour guide's commentary. Actually, I've been doing that a lot. The official angkor guides that many of them hire do notice me and know exactly what i'm doing, but unlike european tour guides who shoot you a dirty look and try to avoid you, those here just smile at me or even talk to me while their sheep are phototaking etc. Helps to know both english and chinese. hee. would have been better to know some japanese or korean though: it seems that koreans and japanese are 2 of the largest groups of visitors to cambodia.
I am a very slow temple visitor and i think i took a very long time at each of the temples. could't even finish the petit circuit. good thing i have 5 days to see everything i guess =P Have not yet seen an angkor sunset because i was so tired by 4.30pm yesterday. Actually i really sped up at the end cos i felt, for no good reason, quite paiseh to be keeping my driver waiting! Maybe would have been better to cycle like i usu do at these places, but i guess i can cover more and feel less tired this way... and the temples are really fantastic. really really.
Today i went to see the roluos group of temples in the morning. Less people, and only 3 temples of any note. The main one, Bakhong , is really very much like borobodur. was supposed to be inspired by it, but boro is in much better condition.. Done pretty quickly (relative to me) so my driver, Polin, took me to see the sights in town (which are all really close and walkable from anywhere in siem reap). Also saw where all the cheaper guesthouses, quieter neighbourhoods and where the locals go to market etc are, ie the kind of places and areas i would normally have stayed on my own, but i guess this is a different kind of experience too! the mid-range no need to learn the local language or change to local currency kind =P
but at least i have found a non-tourist food place and mama-shop in the middle of tourist central here =) phew. no point paying US$1-1.5 for a bottle of water when the locals pay just 1000 riel (US$0.25)!! i mean, i don't mind that price around the temples cos that's expected, but i won't do that in town... and i hate the separate tourist/local menu and sitting areas in most fo the restuarants and even roadside stalls in this area. And don't get me started on the million and one tuk tuk and moto drivers or restuarant touts on the sidewalks asking "lady, you want tuk tuk? angkor? some food? water?". give me the local market where people just ignore me or look at me as a curiousity rather than as a bag of money!!
anyway, sunrise at angkor: FANTASTIC!! definately worth getting up at 4 in the morning for. A freezing moto ride in the dark, under a clear sky filled with stars, then walking the causeway towards angkor wat with the stars above, the siloulette of the temple towers in front of me, the stars reflected in the moat/pools, and almost nobody there when i first arrived. No birthday could have started any better =))))
unfortunately the tour groups soon arrived in droves, as they would, but i'd already staked out my little piece of real estate on one of the libraries (the one facing the pond filled with lotuses), so it wasn't too bad, and the group that settled around me was a chinese tour group so i could listen in on some of the tour guide's commentary. Actually, I've been doing that a lot. The official angkor guides that many of them hire do notice me and know exactly what i'm doing, but unlike european tour guides who shoot you a dirty look and try to avoid you, those here just smile at me or even talk to me while their sheep are phototaking etc. Helps to know both english and chinese. hee. would have been better to know some japanese or korean though: it seems that koreans and japanese are 2 of the largest groups of visitors to cambodia.
I am a very slow temple visitor and i think i took a very long time at each of the temples. could't even finish the petit circuit. good thing i have 5 days to see everything i guess =P Have not yet seen an angkor sunset because i was so tired by 4.30pm yesterday. Actually i really sped up at the end cos i felt, for no good reason, quite paiseh to be keeping my driver waiting! Maybe would have been better to cycle like i usu do at these places, but i guess i can cover more and feel less tired this way... and the temples are really fantastic. really really.
Today i went to see the roluos group of temples in the morning. Less people, and only 3 temples of any note. The main one, Bakhong , is really very much like borobodur. was supposed to be inspired by it, but boro is in much better condition.. Done pretty quickly (relative to me) so my driver, Polin, took me to see the sights in town (which are all really close and walkable from anywhere in siem reap). Also saw where all the cheaper guesthouses, quieter neighbourhoods and where the locals go to market etc are, ie the kind of places and areas i would normally have stayed on my own, but i guess this is a different kind of experience too! the mid-range no need to learn the local language or change to local currency kind =P
but at least i have found a non-tourist food place and mama-shop in the middle of tourist central here =) phew. no point paying US$1-1.5 for a bottle of water when the locals pay just 1000 riel (US$0.25)!! i mean, i don't mind that price around the temples cos that's expected, but i won't do that in town... and i hate the separate tourist/local menu and sitting areas in most fo the restuarants and even roadside stalls in this area. And don't get me started on the million and one tuk tuk and moto drivers or restuarant touts on the sidewalks asking "lady, you want tuk tuk? angkor? some food? water?". give me the local market where people just ignore me or look at me as a curiousity rather than as a bag of money!!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Cambodia! Siem Reap! Angkor!
haha.. decided to give today's angkor sunset a miss though it would have been free entry with my next day ticket as i want to save my first view of angkor for dec 9. birthday angkor sunrise!! hee, like a big present to myself =)) hoping it won't be TOO crowded though..
today has been another long day of moving around. Border was surprisingly easy in spite of all the bad reports i'd heard about the Aran - Poi Pet border. Problem was somehow i crossed at a time when there weren't ANY lone tourists going to Siem Reap and waited i think 3-4hs at the bus depot. Thankfully the staff there were very friendly and talked to me almost the whole way.
the one female staff took me aside (away from the rest of the eavesdropping guys) to tell me about her love life and what she should do... i do empathise, but who am i to make judgements on or to influence her future? basically, she had/has a local bf whom she loves but due to family situation/finances, cannot afford to get married. There's a middle-aged american very persistently courting her who she doen't like/love but she wants to jump at the chance to go to the usa and have money and family and be loved... also, this guy wants to sleep with her obviously, and can't understand why she won't (apparently cambodian girls are not as easy as thai ones...). she thinks she is getting old (my age, sigh.) and won't have much chances left to meet a foreigner who will marry her and who she can love... sigh...
Finally a swiss guy came along but before we got our third person for the cab another one came along with a singaporean couple and 1 chinaman in it and i asked to join in. Thought it's shar with them as in pay the s'poreans 1/4 of the fare that they already paid but after they got off the driver told me that their fare was only for 3 ppl and i have to pay HIM an extra $10!! wish eh had said something earlier.. i could have done a lot with that $12, which i will ask the s'poreans for IF i do meet them around (but think they staying more up-market than me leh..)
anyway, the chinaman is quite interesting. Been CYCLING on the road for the past 5 years!! amazing.. the wanted to go to thailand but there are apparently quite a lot of restrictions on chinese passports so he had to turn back and go to Phnom Penh to get the visa. Lots of stories from him. Interesting views too.
I don't really like the look of siem reap so far... the people are nice, but i just don't feel very right here. maybe i just need to get used to it, and get used to paying slightly more for a slightly better room cos i don't have the LP with me and just can't seem to find all the $2/3 places i remember seeing listed. sigh. Or maybe i am just super not an urban/city person. Feeling distinctly unfriendly. guess i won't be sitting anywhere talking to anyone today. shall just go have dinner then sleep!!
today has been another long day of moving around. Border was surprisingly easy in spite of all the bad reports i'd heard about the Aran - Poi Pet border. Problem was somehow i crossed at a time when there weren't ANY lone tourists going to Siem Reap and waited i think 3-4hs at the bus depot. Thankfully the staff there were very friendly and talked to me almost the whole way.
the one female staff took me aside (away from the rest of the eavesdropping guys) to tell me about her love life and what she should do... i do empathise, but who am i to make judgements on or to influence her future? basically, she had/has a local bf whom she loves but due to family situation/finances, cannot afford to get married. There's a middle-aged american very persistently courting her who she doen't like/love but she wants to jump at the chance to go to the usa and have money and family and be loved... also, this guy wants to sleep with her obviously, and can't understand why she won't (apparently cambodian girls are not as easy as thai ones...). she thinks she is getting old (my age, sigh.) and won't have much chances left to meet a foreigner who will marry her and who she can love... sigh...
Finally a swiss guy came along but before we got our third person for the cab another one came along with a singaporean couple and 1 chinaman in it and i asked to join in. Thought it's shar with them as in pay the s'poreans 1/4 of the fare that they already paid but after they got off the driver told me that their fare was only for 3 ppl and i have to pay HIM an extra $10!! wish eh had said something earlier.. i could have done a lot with that $12, which i will ask the s'poreans for IF i do meet them around (but think they staying more up-market than me leh..)
anyway, the chinaman is quite interesting. Been CYCLING on the road for the past 5 years!! amazing.. the wanted to go to thailand but there are apparently quite a lot of restrictions on chinese passports so he had to turn back and go to Phnom Penh to get the visa. Lots of stories from him. Interesting views too.
I don't really like the look of siem reap so far... the people are nice, but i just don't feel very right here. maybe i just need to get used to it, and get used to paying slightly more for a slightly better room cos i don't have the LP with me and just can't seem to find all the $2/3 places i remember seeing listed. sigh. Or maybe i am just super not an urban/city person. Feeling distinctly unfriendly. guess i won't be sitting anywhere talking to anyone today. shall just go have dinner then sleep!!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Thai border: Aran
In border town now. Will cross over tomorrow.
hmm... for some strange reason, i took a bloody long time to get out of the airport, missed the 11.30am train to the city, hence missed the one from Hualumphong to Aran and had to go look for the bus station (which turned out to be fairly near the airport). Then the 2.30 bus was full and i had to take the next slower and more expensive one and finally got here only at 8pm, way after dark. (sun set early: it was totally dark by six.) Not fun, being on the road for 13h straight, and another goodness knows how long more tomorrow.
the hotel is nice. not super cheapo, but good value for 230B. was hoping there would be some hangout area at the lobby where i can try to look for people to share cab to siem reap tomorrow, but it looks like everyone just stays in their rooms. or maybe there are not many people around.... will have to try and hang around the lobby or customs/border tomorrow and try my luck. Not looking forward to paying US$45 for my ride!!
I know i promised to re-write last night's message, but i am seriously tired now.. just want to bathe and lie down on the bed.... plus the rates here aren't posted and the guy didn't say anything when i asked and everyone else here is a neighbourhood boy playing computer games. sigh.
hmm... for some strange reason, i took a bloody long time to get out of the airport, missed the 11.30am train to the city, hence missed the one from Hualumphong to Aran and had to go look for the bus station (which turned out to be fairly near the airport). Then the 2.30 bus was full and i had to take the next slower and more expensive one and finally got here only at 8pm, way after dark. (sun set early: it was totally dark by six.) Not fun, being on the road for 13h straight, and another goodness knows how long more tomorrow.
the hotel is nice. not super cheapo, but good value for 230B. was hoping there would be some hangout area at the lobby where i can try to look for people to share cab to siem reap tomorrow, but it looks like everyone just stays in their rooms. or maybe there are not many people around.... will have to try and hang around the lobby or customs/border tomorrow and try my luck. Not looking forward to paying US$45 for my ride!!
I know i promised to re-write last night's message, but i am seriously tired now.. just want to bathe and lie down on the bed.... plus the rates here aren't posted and the guy didn't say anything when i asked and everyone else here is a neighbourhood boy playing computer games. sigh.
ARGH!! stupid blogger!!
i typed a super long post, then it disappeared when i tried to spellcheck, then i typed another shorter one to explain, then that too disappeared when i tried to post. sigh.
anyway, flying tomorrow. have lost the inclination to write tonight. now to catch a couple hours sleep before i go to the airport...
will attempt to re-create lost entries when i get to Bangkok (wed afternoon) or Aran (wed night) or Siem Reap (thurs afternoon).
let's see if this post gets eaten too..
anyway, flying tomorrow. have lost the inclination to write tonight. now to catch a couple hours sleep before i go to the airport...
will attempt to re-create lost entries when i get to Bangkok (wed afternoon) or Aran (wed night) or Siem Reap (thurs afternoon).
let's see if this post gets eaten too..
Friday, October 14, 2005
next trip!
wohoo! Cambodia trip in december confirmed!! Not all by myself most of the time this time. And probably not more than 2 weeks as I really think i should be getting ready to go back to school soon. I will be heading there overland from BKK and getting a head start on the temples, while 2 more babes will meet me in Siem Reap: LH and YL(as in Bim, not Yarles).
I wish i was on my way there already!!
I wish i was on my way there already!!
Saturday, July 09, 2005
the meaning of the strings
no, its not some weird lao bondage thing.
Despite the importance of Buddhism to Lao Loum and some Lao Theung groups, animist beliefs are widespread among all segments of the Lao population. The belief in phi (spirits) colors the relationships of many Lao with nature and community and provides one explanation for illness and disease. Belief in phi is blended with Buddhism, particularly at the village level, and some monks are respected as having particular abilities to exorcise malevolent spirits from a sick person or to keep them out of a house. Phi are ubiquitous and diverse. Some are connected with the universal elements--earth, heaven, fire, and water. Many Lao Loum also believe that they are being protected by khwan (thirty-two spirits). Illness occurs when one or more of these spirits leaves the body; this condition may be reversed by the soukhwan--more commonly called the baci--a ceremony that calls all thirty-two khwan back to bestow health, prosperity, and well-being on the affected participants. Cotton strings are tied around the wrists of the participants to keep the spirits in place. The ceremony is often performed to welcome guests, before and after making long trips, and as a curing ritual or after recovery from an illness; it is also the central ritual in the Lao Loum wedding ceremony and naming ceremony for newborn children.
Source: U.S. Library of Congress
This ceremony is similar to a Baci, a ceremony usually associated with a "goodbye party" for people departing for destinations far away. Well-wishers tie white strings around wrists of the person leaving (or sometimes arriving, or getting married, etc.). The person so honored is not supposed to remove the strings for three days, and then he should be careful to untie them, not cut them, or the well wishes will be ineffective. But there is a deeper religious significance to such ceremonies.
The word soo in Lao means to call something back, and the word khuan means spirit or soul, which is abstract, and stays in different parts of a person as well as domestic animals. When we or animals get sick or shocked or frightened, we say: "we lost spirit," or "the spirit escaped," or "our spirit is weak."
At a soo khuan ceremony, the bamboo rice basket, which is one of the elements in the soo khuan tray, is called kong khao khuan. Kong means box or basket; khao means rice; and khuan means spirit. Peeled chicken eggs placed in the tray are called khai khuan. The old fellow in charge of the ceremony, who does the chanting, is called mor phorn, or mor khuan, which means spirit caller.
The overall purpose of arranging the soo khuan ceremony is therefore meant to call back our lost spirits, to eliminate fears from a person's mind, and to restore courage.
from: Soo Khuan Ceremony by Xay Kaignavongsa and Hugh Fincher
so.. i can actually untie the strings, and not have to bother anymore with people thinking that
1) I have converted to some strange lao cult or
2) i am into bondage.
But untying them would also feel like cutting off my ties with the village in Don Det (SiPhanDon), and Mr. Boun Son and his family, and it would be like acknowledging that my journey is at at end... I don't want that.. i can continue with a journey of the mind and spirit even in Singapore, but i also do have to admit that the strings are getting rather dirty and scruffy and tattered and washing them doesn't seem to help anymore and i hope they don't stink =P Did i mention that in vang vieng one of the strings broke/tore? maybe that's why i was so out of sorts.. tied it back on my own, but not in a baci ceremony. wonder if that affected anything...
so.. to untie or not to untie....
Despite the importance of Buddhism to Lao Loum and some Lao Theung groups, animist beliefs are widespread among all segments of the Lao population. The belief in phi (spirits) colors the relationships of many Lao with nature and community and provides one explanation for illness and disease. Belief in phi is blended with Buddhism, particularly at the village level, and some monks are respected as having particular abilities to exorcise malevolent spirits from a sick person or to keep them out of a house. Phi are ubiquitous and diverse. Some are connected with the universal elements--earth, heaven, fire, and water. Many Lao Loum also believe that they are being protected by khwan (thirty-two spirits). Illness occurs when one or more of these spirits leaves the body; this condition may be reversed by the soukhwan--more commonly called the baci--a ceremony that calls all thirty-two khwan back to bestow health, prosperity, and well-being on the affected participants. Cotton strings are tied around the wrists of the participants to keep the spirits in place. The ceremony is often performed to welcome guests, before and after making long trips, and as a curing ritual or after recovery from an illness; it is also the central ritual in the Lao Loum wedding ceremony and naming ceremony for newborn children.
Source: U.S. Library of Congress
This ceremony is similar to a Baci, a ceremony usually associated with a "goodbye party" for people departing for destinations far away. Well-wishers tie white strings around wrists of the person leaving (or sometimes arriving, or getting married, etc.). The person so honored is not supposed to remove the strings for three days, and then he should be careful to untie them, not cut them, or the well wishes will be ineffective. But there is a deeper religious significance to such ceremonies.
The word soo in Lao means to call something back, and the word khuan means spirit or soul, which is abstract, and stays in different parts of a person as well as domestic animals. When we or animals get sick or shocked or frightened, we say: "we lost spirit," or "the spirit escaped," or "our spirit is weak."
At a soo khuan ceremony, the bamboo rice basket, which is one of the elements in the soo khuan tray, is called kong khao khuan. Kong means box or basket; khao means rice; and khuan means spirit. Peeled chicken eggs placed in the tray are called khai khuan. The old fellow in charge of the ceremony, who does the chanting, is called mor phorn, or mor khuan, which means spirit caller.
The overall purpose of arranging the soo khuan ceremony is therefore meant to call back our lost spirits, to eliminate fears from a person's mind, and to restore courage.
from: Soo Khuan Ceremony by Xay Kaignavongsa and Hugh Fincher
so.. i can actually untie the strings, and not have to bother anymore with people thinking that
1) I have converted to some strange lao cult or
2) i am into bondage.
But untying them would also feel like cutting off my ties with the village in Don Det (SiPhanDon), and Mr. Boun Son and his family, and it would be like acknowledging that my journey is at at end... I don't want that.. i can continue with a journey of the mind and spirit even in Singapore, but i also do have to admit that the strings are getting rather dirty and scruffy and tattered and washing them doesn't seem to help anymore and i hope they don't stink =P Did i mention that in vang vieng one of the strings broke/tore? maybe that's why i was so out of sorts.. tied it back on my own, but not in a baci ceremony. wonder if that affected anything...
so.. to untie or not to untie....
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
choice
i don't want to go back to singapore! back to work, to school, to family reponsibilities, to expectations of society... but then.. society may put chains upon us, but only we can close the chains and shut the locks... even knowing this, i will still go back, still get on that plane. Why? I do not know... security, familarity, the comfort of family and friends? maybe one day i will have the courage to remove those chains and fly free.. there is always a choice, and i know which option i want... but can i not fly and yet be rooted at the same time? sigh... in the meantime..
click.
click.
day 37
huichin, don't worry, i did go for the cooking course! haha.. i will test out my new 'skills' on you guys soon.. prepare your stomachs! It was not the one i mentioned earlier, but another place called 'the chilli club' run by a guesthouse near the one i was staying at.. think it was better cos I got to select my own menu, and there was only another nice german girl besides me, so we got good instruction and attention =) at that place there was a spanish guy and a kiwi guy the greman girl had met on a trek a few days before, and they had taken the course before and decided to extend their stay in changmai one more day and hung around while we were cooking and stealing our food when we were done =) quite fun.. had an intense (?) discussion about SATC. us 2 girls trying to explain to the spaniard why women like such a shallow show as SATC... i had planned to go to the night market to do all the last minute souvenior shopping, but it started storming in the evening and didn't stop all night... so.. today's plans to go see museums and wats will be saved for another time while i go shop at the day market and maybe get a massage.. heh.. got to relax on my last day instead of racing ard on a bicycle or songthraew what..
there are lots and lots of things i missed out over the entire trip, will prob try to fill them in when i get home... there have been so many things, people, events, places that are worthy or note, and i have not done them justice, and i am scared that i will forget if i don't record them down (been too lazy to scribble in journal).
6 h to my flight. a smelly fat old white guy just sat beside me, so i've GOT to move.. see all of you soon!
there are lots and lots of things i missed out over the entire trip, will prob try to fill them in when i get home... there have been so many things, people, events, places that are worthy or note, and i have not done them justice, and i am scared that i will forget if i don't record them down (been too lazy to scribble in journal).
6 h to my flight. a smelly fat old white guy just sat beside me, so i've GOT to move.. see all of you soon!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Raindrops keep falling on my head..
Just came back to changmai from the hilltribe village near changrai. I loved the village and the family we were staying with.. julin was there last year for her YEP trip and is still there now.. I was very sad to leave, even though I spent hardly any time with them, cos the mother and the little girl were so nice.. didn't take any pics though. No mood, but you must take my word (and maybe I'll try to get jl's pics from last time) that its a beautiful place.. Really gives meaning to all those notes and museum exhibits I'd been reading and seeing before we went..
On Saturday we spent the day at changrai university, watching the Freshie Games, cos our host just started there and is in the football team. They seem very young.. younger than when we were their age.. I think thais in general look younger than lao people, whose faces so often start to reflect hardship, suffering, and a maturity beyond their years no matter what age they are... It makes them very beautiful though, the sadness and at the same time serenity in their eyes...
Tam (our changer host) was telling us about how his village was originally from Burma, and how fearful life was there, and I remembered what Xai (the photographer guy in Vientiane) was telling me about how when he was young his family hid out in the forest and mountains from the communists, and how so many in his village were killed, and also what Mr. Boun Sai (my host in Si Phan Don) would point to the mountains across the river, telling me that that's Cambodia, and how there are many bad people there, and suddenly the myriad of old scars on his chest and back jumped out at me.. I didn't dare to ask, and he didn't say.. But still...
Remembering all these certainly puts everything I've been going through in perspective... Also just finished reading cloud atlas. Good book, suited the trip and the mood. I realize.. humans will always harm and hurt each other, intentionally or not.. Is it possible to assign blame? I don't think so... But sometimes the only person you can really rely on is yourself. I'm been asked a couple of times on this trip: why do you travel alone? I gave the normal answers of own time own target: freedom, flexibility, locals find you more approachable, you seek to meet new people more, etc etc... But in the past few days, I think I have found the real answer: when I am alone, I will never feel truly lonely. Oh, I may miss home, and friends, but home and friends will then remain a good memory, something to look forward to.. But reality never fulfils the promises that dreams make. The loneliest moments are when you are with friends or supposedly in a group and yet are so disconnected, unwanted, not spoken to, not needed, not valued, not....
but I am grateful that I am still good enough company for myself, if not for anyone else... 'to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance' - Oscar Wilde. I still love all of you guys =)) just trying to find something sort of stable to stand on for now.... came back to changmai today cos I wanted to go for this overnight 'intro to Buddhism and meditation' workshop at one of the wats and Buddhist training centers, but got back too late in the afternoon for that... Will just spend more time sitting in one wat or another I guess, or buy a book and try to learn on my own...
saw this sign in a wat: Buddhist beliefs:
1. Always do good
2. Never do evil, never harm another living being
3. Meditate often. Always keep a peaceful spot in your mind/heart you can go back to.
I have been taking lots of photos of clouds, skies, flowers, mountains, rivers.. The eternal, the ethereal, the ephemeral. If I cannot find joy in my present life, that is where I have to look for joy in...
was also planning to see some museums and another wat tml, but realised that they will be closed! argh... Wanted to do a cooking course on tues (saw a pamphlet the other time and they look like nice cute people), so I will be lazing ard tml.. Other option is to get a tour of some sort, probably trekking, but a bit unwilling to spend on that, and to see hilltribes accustomed to tourists...
hmm.. I think the rain has finally eased.. Can go to the Sunday night market to look for jason's lamp now =)
woah.. I'm been away for 34 days.. Be back in another 3...
On Saturday we spent the day at changrai university, watching the Freshie Games, cos our host just started there and is in the football team. They seem very young.. younger than when we were their age.. I think thais in general look younger than lao people, whose faces so often start to reflect hardship, suffering, and a maturity beyond their years no matter what age they are... It makes them very beautiful though, the sadness and at the same time serenity in their eyes...
Tam (our changer host) was telling us about how his village was originally from Burma, and how fearful life was there, and I remembered what Xai (the photographer guy in Vientiane) was telling me about how when he was young his family hid out in the forest and mountains from the communists, and how so many in his village were killed, and also what Mr. Boun Sai (my host in Si Phan Don) would point to the mountains across the river, telling me that that's Cambodia, and how there are many bad people there, and suddenly the myriad of old scars on his chest and back jumped out at me.. I didn't dare to ask, and he didn't say.. But still...
Remembering all these certainly puts everything I've been going through in perspective... Also just finished reading cloud atlas. Good book, suited the trip and the mood. I realize.. humans will always harm and hurt each other, intentionally or not.. Is it possible to assign blame? I don't think so... But sometimes the only person you can really rely on is yourself. I'm been asked a couple of times on this trip: why do you travel alone? I gave the normal answers of own time own target: freedom, flexibility, locals find you more approachable, you seek to meet new people more, etc etc... But in the past few days, I think I have found the real answer: when I am alone, I will never feel truly lonely. Oh, I may miss home, and friends, but home and friends will then remain a good memory, something to look forward to.. But reality never fulfils the promises that dreams make. The loneliest moments are when you are with friends or supposedly in a group and yet are so disconnected, unwanted, not spoken to, not needed, not valued, not....
but I am grateful that I am still good enough company for myself, if not for anyone else... 'to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance' - Oscar Wilde. I still love all of you guys =)) just trying to find something sort of stable to stand on for now.... came back to changmai today cos I wanted to go for this overnight 'intro to Buddhism and meditation' workshop at one of the wats and Buddhist training centers, but got back too late in the afternoon for that... Will just spend more time sitting in one wat or another I guess, or buy a book and try to learn on my own...
saw this sign in a wat: Buddhist beliefs:
1. Always do good
2. Never do evil, never harm another living being
3. Meditate often. Always keep a peaceful spot in your mind/heart you can go back to.
I have been taking lots of photos of clouds, skies, flowers, mountains, rivers.. The eternal, the ethereal, the ephemeral. If I cannot find joy in my present life, that is where I have to look for joy in...
was also planning to see some museums and another wat tml, but realised that they will be closed! argh... Wanted to do a cooking course on tues (saw a pamphlet the other time and they look like nice cute people), so I will be lazing ard tml.. Other option is to get a tour of some sort, probably trekking, but a bit unwilling to spend on that, and to see hilltribes accustomed to tourists...
hmm.. I think the rain has finally eased.. Can go to the Sunday night market to look for jason's lamp now =)
woah.. I'm been away for 34 days.. Be back in another 3...
Thursday, June 16, 2005
chicken and duck talk
when that happens, what results is an unintended songthraew taxi ride around the city.. then to the outskirts of the district... haha.. first the driver didn't know where we wanted to go, but told us to get in anyway, and we went round and round the city till he found his friends who spoke a little english.. finally managed to get to where we wanted to go: the Hilltribe Museum, which turned out to be really ulu.. not many people, and the 'outdoor exhibits' of hilltribe house reconstructions was all barbed wired up and the paths inside overgrown with chickens and dogs running all over... got chased out by one of them dogs... think julin is too much of a cat.. in all my time travelling in laos and thailand, both of which have lots and lots of dogs ard, I have never gotten such a reception from them as I did today. they all barked at us and chased us away
=( sigh..
then when we tried to get back to the city, we got onto a songthraew going in the wrong direction, so when we finally saw a sign on the other side of the road pointing to 'changmai' we got off immediately. way back was thankfully less eventful.. lunch at market.. coffee/tea at a very nice cafe in a beautiful house we passed by... then sunset at Wat Suan Dok... haven't had dinner... getting hungry.. and very tired...
tml we will prob bus to changrai in the afternoon. Meeting julin's village friends at night, then will head to the village i think.. not sure about internet or handphone reception there, but will definately be back in changmai the night before my flight: tues 21jun.
=( sigh..
then when we tried to get back to the city, we got onto a songthraew going in the wrong direction, so when we finally saw a sign on the other side of the road pointing to 'changmai' we got off immediately. way back was thankfully less eventful.. lunch at market.. coffee/tea at a very nice cafe in a beautiful house we passed by... then sunset at Wat Suan Dok... haven't had dinner... getting hungry.. and very tired...
tml we will prob bus to changrai in the afternoon. Meeting julin's village friends at night, then will head to the village i think.. not sure about internet or handphone reception there, but will definately be back in changmai the night before my flight: tues 21jun.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
yay! julin's coming over tml! =))
meanwhile i've got abt 2 whole days to myself. Shall go recce the city and check out the wats inside the city walls... and see if i have time to go out... need to rent a bicycle.. darn, wish i knew how to ride a motorbike.. then can go so many other places (like the crafts village.. hmm.. maybe its good i don't know how to motorbike =P)
yesterday went to doi suthrup with the guys.. its quite high up n the mountains. noticably cooler air. lots of mist. good view if not for the rain clouds over the city...
running out of internet time..so.. maybe tonight shall write more: its cheaper to internet than to walk the night market and shop!
meanwhile i've got abt 2 whole days to myself. Shall go recce the city and check out the wats inside the city walls... and see if i have time to go out... need to rent a bicycle.. darn, wish i knew how to ride a motorbike.. then can go so many other places (like the crafts village.. hmm.. maybe its good i don't know how to motorbike =P)
yesterday went to doi suthrup with the guys.. its quite high up n the mountains. noticably cooler air. lots of mist. good view if not for the rain clouds over the city...
running out of internet time..so.. maybe tonight shall write more: its cheaper to internet than to walk the night market and shop!
Sunday, June 12, 2005
changmai!
ooofff... quite tired after the 3 days of travelling. and i mean on the move travelling. 10h boat ride to Pak Beng on the 10th, 8h boat ride to Huay Xai on the 11th, then the border crossing and 6h bus ride to changmai today... nice scenery on the boat ride though... the guys just came back from their trekking/elephant/whatever tour. I'm waiting for them to wash up so we can go to the night market for dinner =) they'll be leaving tml afterall..
Met lots of people on the long long boat ride. Most friendly was this old (relatively) rich french guy working for an NGO who went to vientiane to see something about a big dam project somewhere in laos, funded by the world bank.. started talking about what makes quality of life,. the situation in Laos economically, historically.... its like when i was in Tat Lo and talking to a welsh lady about the myanmar situation, or that american guy in the same place about hiedigger and oscar wilde and total crap like how to say "you're as smart as a moth" as convincingly as possible or about 'macaroni architecture'... =)) and of course people are always fascinated by the chinese language and religion (?) and about the multi-ethnicity of singapore... it's great meeting people who can talk about things other than the usual where have they/you been, how long is their/your stay etc...
In Huay Xai 2 brit girls invited me to join their table. They just came over from thailand, and started telling me about the massage and cooking courses they took here.. now i am feeling rather 'gian' about taking up a 1-day cooking course.. but its not cheap.. sigh... also traded info with another guy staying in the same guesthouse.. looks like a nice sort, and reccomemded me the bungy jump here. said its worth the 1,400B... tempted, but i don't have that much baht to spare.. maybe should not shop so much =P which means less presents for you people, haha...
Laos laos.. i wanna go back... =(
Met lots of people on the long long boat ride. Most friendly was this old (relatively) rich french guy working for an NGO who went to vientiane to see something about a big dam project somewhere in laos, funded by the world bank.. started talking about what makes quality of life,. the situation in Laos economically, historically.... its like when i was in Tat Lo and talking to a welsh lady about the myanmar situation, or that american guy in the same place about hiedigger and oscar wilde and total crap like how to say "you're as smart as a moth" as convincingly as possible or about 'macaroni architecture'... =)) and of course people are always fascinated by the chinese language and religion (?) and about the multi-ethnicity of singapore... it's great meeting people who can talk about things other than the usual where have they/you been, how long is their/your stay etc...
In Huay Xai 2 brit girls invited me to join their table. They just came over from thailand, and started telling me about the massage and cooking courses they took here.. now i am feeling rather 'gian' about taking up a 1-day cooking course.. but its not cheap.. sigh... also traded info with another guy staying in the same guesthouse.. looks like a nice sort, and reccomemded me the bungy jump here. said its worth the 1,400B... tempted, but i don't have that much baht to spare.. maybe should not shop so much =P which means less presents for you people, haha...
Laos laos.. i wanna go back... =(
Thursday, June 09, 2005
conversations
had quite a few of those with various monks today =) the guys had a kayaking tour today, thenI saw the girls off this morning, had a nap, and went for a walk to see all the rest of the wats.. weather not too good today: raining on and off, but everytime i took refuge in a wat the monks would always approach the sim (where i am leaning on the parapet looking out trying to look cool =P) and talk to me, to practice their english.. also been meeting a lot of people i met earlier on this trip. Saw an australian guy i met at Tat Lo at the night market here the night before, and today i met the brit couple i meet at champasak.. had a chat with both.. will prob be on the same bat to pak beng tomorrow morning with the brits... I wil be taking the slow 2 day boat ride to the thai border at huay xai, while the guys have opted for the 6h speed boat so they will have more time to see changmai... i may stay a night in changrai if there is anything to see there.. not sure.. but will meet the guys again when i reach changmai... it's a lazy day... and i need to get back to the guesthouse to meet the guys for dinner... then shop again =)) the shopping here is actually quite good.. maybe next time can come here to shop... with more money and luggage space... though i have already 'tom pang-ed' quite a bit of stuff for edlyn to bring back to spore =P from tml i will have to get used to my initial travelling style again, since i seem to have gotten kind of comfortable with the current style (which isn't luxourious, but isn't really scrimping either). So. I am doing well, and will be on thai soil in 2 days.. sigh.. i am definately coming back to laos if i have the chance to.. and soon...
Monday, June 06, 2005
LP!!
I'm in Luang Prabang! UNESCO World Heritage site, though most of the temples are not that old, but all look very pretty.. Just got here early early this morning, found a guesthouse, then slept till lunchtime.. Saw the monks going on their morning round of alms collecting.. A guy we meet in Vientiane yesterday told us its about 300++ monks in the line... He's a LP local, been a novice monk for 6 yrs, just went to Vientiane a month ago to start studying in the university. Very smooth talker. We were walking in That Luang, the big impt monument in Vientiane when he approached us 3 girls and we were wondering how long it would take the guys to come and 'rescue' us...
Journey here was at night. 10h by bus through the mountains. Think we missed a lot of wonderful scenery, glimpses of which I caught whenever lightning flashed and the siloulettes of the limestone mountains and fields and valleys were lighted for a couple of seconds... For a stretch it was very misty, and you see the fields and a few trees and the mist and the mountains.. Very atmospheric, and very pretty.. And maybe a little eerie...
Just booked a tour for tml to go to Pak Ou caves (with lots of Buddhas inside), some villages, and Tat Kuang Si (a waterfall). The guys may go kayaking the day after while we girls wack the market and wats and museum...
Journey here was at night. 10h by bus through the mountains. Think we missed a lot of wonderful scenery, glimpses of which I caught whenever lightning flashed and the siloulettes of the limestone mountains and fields and valleys were lighted for a couple of seconds... For a stretch it was very misty, and you see the fields and a few trees and the mist and the mountains.. Very atmospheric, and very pretty.. And maybe a little eerie...
Just booked a tour for tml to go to Pak Ou caves (with lots of Buddhas inside), some villages, and Tat Kuang Si (a waterfall). The guys may go kayaking the day after while we girls wack the market and wats and museum...
Sunday, June 05, 2005
last day in vientiane
been taking lots of photos.. yesterday after a tour of the wats in the main part of town, i left them to go to a wat further away with a traditional lao sauna and massage,where i met a nice local guy who is a comp student and works as a graphic designer/ photographer/ layout/ videographer for a lao-american magazine. He takes fantastic pictures and i met him for dinner later that night so he could pass me something to pass to his friend in spore... had a great time and found out more about how people here actually live and what's the situation and their history and all...=))) anyway the wat was pretty nice, in a forest setting, i talked to a few of the monks, one of whom led me to the massage place.. and i left my loney planet with the rest and the map from the old old photocopied footprint i had was useless so i ended up asking a lot of people along the way for directions in my broken lao =) and so got many smiles and nice encounters =)
hoping to get an overnight bus to luang prabang tonight... so i won't get to see the wonderful scenery and experience the rollercoaster daredevil driving skills of the driver as he negociates the mountains...
5 more days with the girls, 9 more with the guys (who are really 1st time backpackers and just scream tourist and have been staying in hotels and will prob be overcharged for everything).
there's so much more to say.. but i've still got to go check and maybe book tonight's bus then meet them at the market and i still haven't had breakfast.. so.. ciao.. internet in vientiane is actually pretty cheap, wish i had more time to talk though =)
hoping to get an overnight bus to luang prabang tonight... so i won't get to see the wonderful scenery and experience the rollercoaster daredevil driving skills of the driver as he negociates the mountains...
5 more days with the girls, 9 more with the guys (who are really 1st time backpackers and just scream tourist and have been staying in hotels and will prob be overcharged for everything).
there's so much more to say.. but i've still got to go check and maybe book tonight's bus then meet them at the market and i still haven't had breakfast.. so.. ciao.. internet in vientiane is actually pretty cheap, wish i had more time to talk though =)
Friday, June 03, 2005
back in vientiane
hmm... what to say.. vang vieng was beautiful, as i have already noted. I got a bloody hard slap on my back from some old senile man as i was walking down the street there. We stayed another day cos well, we decided to spend a day just lazing around. Good thing we did too, cos the day after, yesterday, we cycled to see 2 more caves, both of which involved some climbing to get to them, and both of which were beautiful, with blue-green lovely waters and lovely views over the valley... Last night went to a guidebook listed restuarant, which turned out to have quite a few 'happy' offerings... and not so good food.. This morning we came back to vientiane. raining almost all the way. we missed the bus so took a songthraew. not sure how the other 2 liked it cos it was dripping, but i wanted them to at least kind of experience that once, even if its not quite the real quashed dusty experience...
guesthouse at the moment not as good as the previous one, but cheaper: us$2 per person. more in the center of town too.
feeling a bit tired from travelling with other people. wish i was still on my own, for many reasons. ah well. But Laos is still a fantastically beauitful country and i still believe that the people here are wonderfully nice. Less detail in the blog and less blogging cos the other 2 are not as internet/blogging crazy as i and i don't think they know how to get back to the guesthouse or walk ard by themselves so... i'd better go rescue them from the couch now, and go for dinner..
guesthouse at the moment not as good as the previous one, but cheaper: us$2 per person. more in the center of town too.
feeling a bit tired from travelling with other people. wish i was still on my own, for many reasons. ah well. But Laos is still a fantastically beauitful country and i still believe that the people here are wonderfully nice. Less detail in the blog and less blogging cos the other 2 are not as internet/blogging crazy as i and i don't think they know how to get back to the guesthouse or walk ard by themselves so... i'd better go rescue them from the couch now, and go for dinner..
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
the shan1 shui3 of vang vieng
its gorgeous here. fantastic scenery. it's like guilin, except with way way above 7 degrees C temperature. and lots more rain. but every bit as beautiful. Staying in a nice place a bit away from the main tourist guesthouse strips. It has a nice garden and the most butterflies i've ever seen in laos, which is to say a bloody lot, cos butterflies are everywhere here. The owner's an interesting brit who has been here 5 yrs(?) and loves his plants and flowers and butterflies.
travelling w edlyn and her cousin is rather different from the kind of travelling i'd been doing... it's not just that i'm living in better (and more expensive, though it often works out to be cheaper when shared among 3 ppl) conditions.. it's everything i guess... and being with a group of people means i don't have as much contact w the locals or even with other travellers as i would like or have had, and i seem to smile less and get irritated more.... guess it just takes some getting used to... not sure what it'll be like when we meet jason.. we'll see...
Vang vieng is also very touristy... i guess its inevitable now that we'll on the standard 2 week tourist trail of vientiane - vang vieng - luang prabang, and it can\t be hapled cos i had to fit in jason edlyn etc's schedule,but i really wish i had more time to wander around the less populated parts of the country and entertain more locals who are not used to tourists rather than those who already know how to speak english and flirt w female tourists and ask for their money...
still, i cannot get over how beautiful this place is.. would like to wander around on my own a bit more.. but i guess i'm a bit well... trapped? actually feeling a bit stressed at times.. so much for finding peace and having time to think...
should be staying one more day tomorrow to see the rest of the caves we had to miss the day before when it started raining , then back to vientiane on thurs. will be meeting JS and friend on sat morning... went kayaking today. beautiful. glorious. heavenly. to be alive in such surroundings. sigh... i sit anywhere here in the countrysdie, in the rain, alone, and stone for hours...
travelling w edlyn and her cousin is rather different from the kind of travelling i'd been doing... it's not just that i'm living in better (and more expensive, though it often works out to be cheaper when shared among 3 ppl) conditions.. it's everything i guess... and being with a group of people means i don't have as much contact w the locals or even with other travellers as i would like or have had, and i seem to smile less and get irritated more.... guess it just takes some getting used to... not sure what it'll be like when we meet jason.. we'll see...
Vang vieng is also very touristy... i guess its inevitable now that we'll on the standard 2 week tourist trail of vientiane - vang vieng - luang prabang, and it can\t be hapled cos i had to fit in jason edlyn etc's schedule,but i really wish i had more time to wander around the less populated parts of the country and entertain more locals who are not used to tourists rather than those who already know how to speak english and flirt w female tourists and ask for their money...
still, i cannot get over how beautiful this place is.. would like to wander around on my own a bit more.. but i guess i'm a bit well... trapped? actually feeling a bit stressed at times.. so much for finding peace and having time to think...
should be staying one more day tomorrow to see the rest of the caves we had to miss the day before when it started raining , then back to vientiane on thurs. will be meeting JS and friend on sat morning... went kayaking today. beautiful. glorious. heavenly. to be alive in such surroundings. sigh... i sit anywhere here in the countrysdie, in the rain, alone, and stone for hours...
Saturday, May 28, 2005
in vientiane? veng chan?
cut and pasted from an email i just wrote when blogger refused to let me in earlier:
in ventiane now! for some reason blogger keeps posting an error when itry to access the blog, so its just email first.. a bit confused aboutthe time now, cos i thought its 3.24pm, but the computer clock saysits 4.24.. so am i about to miss the 4-5.30pm free saturday meditation thingy i was hoping to attend at one of the wats? when should i gopick edlyn n her cousin up? argh.. i thought i could have a walk ard the city after arriving at 6.30am today (and seeing the monks go on their morning rounds) but was so tired from the 10.5h bus journey here and the room i got was so nice i just cleaned up and had a long long nap...
staying on thanon sihom, some place called chamlysofshfn something something guesthouse.. its usd9 for 3 beds in a fan room w bath, but they didn't have a room w 3 beds avaliable, so i took one w two bedsfor the same price but they threw in aircon n tv, so its not too bad..its the best place i've stayed in so far: actually has a shower area in the attached toilet, hot water, a sink w pipes underneath so your dirty water doesn't fall at your feet, a window that stretches the whole wall, bedsheets that are not just clean and not dusty but have no holes or cig burns in them, firm mattresses, a wardrobe, cable tv, hangers, mirrors, doesn't look like there are any rats or even lizards... its too good to be true. my first thought was that this is a hotel!.. so, edith, i'm not going to make your sister suffer =P though i still can if you want me to...
vientiane is a rather sleepy capital city.. a bit weird to hear the guesthouse staff and tuk tuk/jumbo drivers actually speak english, and hear the price quoted in usd instead of kip, and to see a guest checking out paying in usd... rooms are more ex here, but w more people sharing, shouldn't be that bad =) not sure if i will like the city after all the wonderful country living, but i guess i shouldn't be too quick to judge =) better go check out that temple now...
in ventiane now! for some reason blogger keeps posting an error when itry to access the blog, so its just email first.. a bit confused aboutthe time now, cos i thought its 3.24pm, but the computer clock saysits 4.24.. so am i about to miss the 4-5.30pm free saturday meditation thingy i was hoping to attend at one of the wats? when should i gopick edlyn n her cousin up? argh.. i thought i could have a walk ard the city after arriving at 6.30am today (and seeing the monks go on their morning rounds) but was so tired from the 10.5h bus journey here and the room i got was so nice i just cleaned up and had a long long nap...
staying on thanon sihom, some place called chamlysofshfn something something guesthouse.. its usd9 for 3 beds in a fan room w bath, but they didn't have a room w 3 beds avaliable, so i took one w two bedsfor the same price but they threw in aircon n tv, so its not too bad..its the best place i've stayed in so far: actually has a shower area in the attached toilet, hot water, a sink w pipes underneath so your dirty water doesn't fall at your feet, a window that stretches the whole wall, bedsheets that are not just clean and not dusty but have no holes or cig burns in them, firm mattresses, a wardrobe, cable tv, hangers, mirrors, doesn't look like there are any rats or even lizards... its too good to be true. my first thought was that this is a hotel!.. so, edith, i'm not going to make your sister suffer =P though i still can if you want me to...
vientiane is a rather sleepy capital city.. a bit weird to hear the guesthouse staff and tuk tuk/jumbo drivers actually speak english, and hear the price quoted in usd instead of kip, and to see a guest checking out paying in usd... rooms are more ex here, but w more people sharing, shouldn't be that bad =) not sure if i will like the city after all the wonderful country living, but i guess i shouldn't be too quick to judge =) better go check out that temple now...
Friday, May 27, 2005
city girl
sigh... back in the city of pakse. Taking an overnight bus to Vientiane at 8pm tonight, so i've got half the day to while away here.. no help for it: didn't want to take the risk of missing the bus here from TatLo so had to leave there in the late morning...
on the bus to tatlo. got to the relevant bus station at abt 930 to catch the 10am bus. Of course this being typical SEasian rubber time, the bus only took off at 1140am... in the meantime, everyone on the bus was apparently quite bored, so guess who became their source of entertainment? All of them crowded around my seat, talked to me, kept asking me qustions i don't understand, and when i took out my lonely planet to try to point to lao words so as to have a slighly more meaningful conversation, yet another 2-way language course started. =) then my guidebook got passed around the bus as they flipped thorugh it and looked at all the pictures and made me say where each and every picture and map was from. There was this woman who looked kind of drunk (why do i attract drunk laos?) who keep talking to me in a very high shrill voice, then she started poking and grabbing my breasts and every once in a while her own i went argh! and tried to cover my chest but she always got past my defences.. damn strange.. and when it was time for me to get off she keep pulling my arm and pointing ahead and saying something. i think she wanted me to go to her house or village, but its a bit weird cos she'd been molesting me not 2h ago, not to mention her husband didn't look too happy at whatever she was offering me so i had to decline...
TatLo is another nice place. countryside. villages. tribes. waterfalls. treks. I was walking happily along some forest path when i heard a noise to my right. I turned to look and it was an elephant not 5m away from me. backside to me though. and not a very pretty one either. Land of a million elephants indeed... It's quite a 'resort' place though. some more expensive chalets and lodges in the prime locations over the falls (ok, my standards are pretty low, so expensive is anything more than 10USD/night. my v nice room w double bed was 2USD). Think they attempted to build more at some point but there are just quite a few abandoned half completed houses around... otherwise, typical nice lao riverside village life. Meet a few nice western tourists (!) who i drank and talked with every night. i stayed at a nice place with my hut just over the river, facing the west, so yes, nice sunsets again. though i've been waking up earlier every morning no matter what time i go to bed or how much beer i drank the night before. Today i woke up at abt 5am (with first light). and just had to get out of bed by 530am.. at this rate, i may be able to catch some nice sunrises soon...
the problem with getting too nua3 is that i'm feeling too lazy to even type =P just want to sit and stare at some nice waterfall or river, preferably with a bottle of beerlao in hand... jason, edlyn, please pardon me if i'm only active for half the day then spend the afternoon and evenings just chilling out somewhere....
on the bus to tatlo. got to the relevant bus station at abt 930 to catch the 10am bus. Of course this being typical SEasian rubber time, the bus only took off at 1140am... in the meantime, everyone on the bus was apparently quite bored, so guess who became their source of entertainment? All of them crowded around my seat, talked to me, kept asking me qustions i don't understand, and when i took out my lonely planet to try to point to lao words so as to have a slighly more meaningful conversation, yet another 2-way language course started. =) then my guidebook got passed around the bus as they flipped thorugh it and looked at all the pictures and made me say where each and every picture and map was from. There was this woman who looked kind of drunk (why do i attract drunk laos?) who keep talking to me in a very high shrill voice, then she started poking and grabbing my breasts and every once in a while her own i went argh! and tried to cover my chest but she always got past my defences.. damn strange.. and when it was time for me to get off she keep pulling my arm and pointing ahead and saying something. i think she wanted me to go to her house or village, but its a bit weird cos she'd been molesting me not 2h ago, not to mention her husband didn't look too happy at whatever she was offering me so i had to decline...
TatLo is another nice place. countryside. villages. tribes. waterfalls. treks. I was walking happily along some forest path when i heard a noise to my right. I turned to look and it was an elephant not 5m away from me. backside to me though. and not a very pretty one either. Land of a million elephants indeed... It's quite a 'resort' place though. some more expensive chalets and lodges in the prime locations over the falls (ok, my standards are pretty low, so expensive is anything more than 10USD/night. my v nice room w double bed was 2USD). Think they attempted to build more at some point but there are just quite a few abandoned half completed houses around... otherwise, typical nice lao riverside village life. Meet a few nice western tourists (!) who i drank and talked with every night. i stayed at a nice place with my hut just over the river, facing the west, so yes, nice sunsets again. though i've been waking up earlier every morning no matter what time i go to bed or how much beer i drank the night before. Today i woke up at abt 5am (with first light). and just had to get out of bed by 530am.. at this rate, i may be able to catch some nice sunrises soon...
the problem with getting too nua3 is that i'm feeling too lazy to even type =P just want to sit and stare at some nice waterfall or river, preferably with a bottle of beerlao in hand... jason, edlyn, please pardon me if i'm only active for half the day then spend the afternoon and evenings just chilling out somewhere....
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
khao jii pate
That's just jian1 tou2 mian4 bao1 with pate and some leaves from the roadside.. I normally don't like pate but this is actually ok... It's my breakfast, which I am eating as I type.. Going to catch the bus in an hour or so to Tat Lo, where hopefully its nice and quiet enough to spend 2 nights before heading back here fri morning and taking the direct overnight VIP bus to Vientiane.
Forgot to add to the what was eaten: I just love seeing the kids having such good innocent clean fun: climbing trees, playing in the river, catching fish, swimming, playing who can throw the slipper furthest, tying the leftover bamboo strips around their heads and limbs and swaggering around pretending to be 'some gang' =P to hear the sounds of their laughter just makes me so happy, and they seem to be having so much more fun than our kids stuck in front of the TV or computer the whole day...
The women here are also less modest than I thought. In the village they just walk around in spaghetti straps or even just the bra and of course the always present sarong, and lots of them wear sleeveless stuff everywhere. The men just wear a towel around the waist or undies or a loincloth. They usu change to something nicer and more decent when visiting or going to another village. At first, on all the public transport, everyone's pretty covered up, usually with a windbreaker or jacket or long shirt, but now I realise, after having my blue pants turn brown, not to mention my white tee, that it's just to protect them from the dust of the road, and from sunburn... I also realised that the women don't wear undies.. cos when we stop for toilet breaks by the side of the road they just squat right in the open, do their stuff and get back up on the bus without having to adjust anything.. =0
I am feeling much better today. Spent most of yesterday under the blankets and my sarong and windbreaker trying to sweat whatever it was that was making me sick out... Seems to have worked.. Had 'foe' (rice noodles soup) with very nice peppery beef balls last night. All the portions they give are damn big... I can never finish a meal...
I have not found the peace I am looking for ("if you find peace not within yourself, you will never find it without"), but it's still good to be here.. I will continue looking....
Forgot to add to the what was eaten: I just love seeing the kids having such good innocent clean fun: climbing trees, playing in the river, catching fish, swimming, playing who can throw the slipper furthest, tying the leftover bamboo strips around their heads and limbs and swaggering around pretending to be 'some gang' =P to hear the sounds of their laughter just makes me so happy, and they seem to be having so much more fun than our kids stuck in front of the TV or computer the whole day...
The women here are also less modest than I thought. In the village they just walk around in spaghetti straps or even just the bra and of course the always present sarong, and lots of them wear sleeveless stuff everywhere. The men just wear a towel around the waist or undies or a loincloth. They usu change to something nicer and more decent when visiting or going to another village. At first, on all the public transport, everyone's pretty covered up, usually with a windbreaker or jacket or long shirt, but now I realise, after having my blue pants turn brown, not to mention my white tee, that it's just to protect them from the dust of the road, and from sunburn... I also realised that the women don't wear undies.. cos when we stop for toilet breaks by the side of the road they just squat right in the open, do their stuff and get back up on the bus without having to adjust anything.. =0
I am feeling much better today. Spent most of yesterday under the blankets and my sarong and windbreaker trying to sweat whatever it was that was making me sick out... Seems to have worked.. Had 'foe' (rice noodles soup) with very nice peppery beef balls last night. All the portions they give are damn big... I can never finish a meal...
I have not found the peace I am looking for ("if you find peace not within yourself, you will never find it without"), but it's still good to be here.. I will continue looking....
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
what was eaten...
ok, i will try to remember some of what i lost last night.. since internet is relatively cheap here and there's nothing much to see in Pakse and i sent most of my clothes to the laundry in another 'hotel' so they'll only be ready this evening and its the middle of the day and too hot to be walking around...
ok, the night at the village house... they have tv but no reception, but the women and kids were watching some thai or lao karaoke vcd, then i watched the first half og Ong Bak (no english subtitles) with them. The kids kept staring at me when they thought i wasn'y looking. The slightly older girls would giggle and turn away then peep back when i smile or make faces at them but the younger kids just stare at me with theor big unblinking eyes... and the even younger ones are not so shy and just laugh and climb all over me. The women were inspecting my toes, and while bathing with them, were quite fascinated by how white the normally swimsuit covered part of me is...
There's a nice doggie who guards my door at night and keeps me company in the morning and at night. Afternoon its too hot on my balcony cos i am on the 'sunset strip'. of course, lovely sunsets.
the day before yesterday, my last day on the island, i finally managed to get away from the village to do some sightseeing on the neighbouring island. on a bicycle. on many LONG. HOT. ROCKY. paths. But the views at the end of all of them were worth. The Li Phin waterfalls (and lots of thai package tourists), the dolphin pool, where i didn't see any, but still it was perfect, and cambodia looked so damm close...
yesterday i went to Tat Fan waterfall in the Bolavan Plateau as a side trip before heading to town. Actually the angmohs are really helping me make my decisions. I always can't decide, but when i see a group of angmohs going where i had intended to go, i would head for my second choice instead =P the attitude i get and th hospitality i receive is really different when i keep away from them... anyway, Tat Fan. impressive. very tall, falls into a gorge/canyon. I tried to trek down to the foot but the path was very very slippery and had almost no handholds and many times were right at the edge of a steep drop and was quite overgrown... so i gave up before reaching the bottom...
Last night i was a little sick.. couldn't sleepin my cell of a room (the cheapest private and non-angmoh infested in town) with no window smelling of the indian restuarant downstairs. Puked out a little something, had a massive headache, and couldn't get myself out of bed till abt 11.30am, when i figured i need to see some sun and get lunch and maybe change more money (the banks close at 3.30pm). Stopped at the roadside stall for lunch. rather randomly. Turned out to be some laksa like thing, except with pig's blood.. the woman was very nice to me, and turned out knew a bit of chinese, knows someone from hongkong apparently. I speak and understand enough lao to apparently confuse them and make them keep trying to speak to me in lao even though i keep telling them i can't... btw, the yes is actually 'er' as in er4.like hungry in mandarin.and no:'bor' is not really 'boh' like boh tea but more like 'baw' or 'bor2' a in no in teochew or hokkien.
Other than the last horrible night though, the experience here has been good. esp as long as i stay in the countryside. It almost seems as though i was meant to be here now. The weather always works out in my flavour, and i almost never have to wait for my transport to start moving (unlike most of the angmohs =)
Wish you guys were here. I was lonely for the first time last night. And the pictures and descriptions sinply cannot do the beauty of the sights and people i have seen and met justice. Will probably go to another waterfall in the bolavans: Tat Lo tml, if i feel up to it.. if not, may just go to city after city: Tha Theak and Vientiane ahead of schedule... will give Tham Lot something something a miss cos it's really hard (and expensive) to get there...
ok, the night at the village house... they have tv but no reception, but the women and kids were watching some thai or lao karaoke vcd, then i watched the first half og Ong Bak (no english subtitles) with them. The kids kept staring at me when they thought i wasn'y looking. The slightly older girls would giggle and turn away then peep back when i smile or make faces at them but the younger kids just stare at me with theor big unblinking eyes... and the even younger ones are not so shy and just laugh and climb all over me. The women were inspecting my toes, and while bathing with them, were quite fascinated by how white the normally swimsuit covered part of me is...
There's a nice doggie who guards my door at night and keeps me company in the morning and at night. Afternoon its too hot on my balcony cos i am on the 'sunset strip'. of course, lovely sunsets.
the day before yesterday, my last day on the island, i finally managed to get away from the village to do some sightseeing on the neighbouring island. on a bicycle. on many LONG. HOT. ROCKY. paths. But the views at the end of all of them were worth. The Li Phin waterfalls (and lots of thai package tourists), the dolphin pool, where i didn't see any, but still it was perfect, and cambodia looked so damm close...
yesterday i went to Tat Fan waterfall in the Bolavan Plateau as a side trip before heading to town. Actually the angmohs are really helping me make my decisions. I always can't decide, but when i see a group of angmohs going where i had intended to go, i would head for my second choice instead =P the attitude i get and th hospitality i receive is really different when i keep away from them... anyway, Tat Fan. impressive. very tall, falls into a gorge/canyon. I tried to trek down to the foot but the path was very very slippery and had almost no handholds and many times were right at the edge of a steep drop and was quite overgrown... so i gave up before reaching the bottom...
Last night i was a little sick.. couldn't sleepin my cell of a room (the cheapest private and non-angmoh infested in town) with no window smelling of the indian restuarant downstairs. Puked out a little something, had a massive headache, and couldn't get myself out of bed till abt 11.30am, when i figured i need to see some sun and get lunch and maybe change more money (the banks close at 3.30pm). Stopped at the roadside stall for lunch. rather randomly. Turned out to be some laksa like thing, except with pig's blood.. the woman was very nice to me, and turned out knew a bit of chinese, knows someone from hongkong apparently. I speak and understand enough lao to apparently confuse them and make them keep trying to speak to me in lao even though i keep telling them i can't... btw, the yes is actually 'er' as in er4.like hungry in mandarin.and no:'bor' is not really 'boh' like boh tea but more like 'baw' or 'bor2' a in no in teochew or hokkien.
Other than the last horrible night though, the experience here has been good. esp as long as i stay in the countryside. It almost seems as though i was meant to be here now. The weather always works out in my flavour, and i almost never have to wait for my transport to start moving (unlike most of the angmohs =)
Wish you guys were here. I was lonely for the first time last night. And the pictures and descriptions sinply cannot do the beauty of the sights and people i have seen and met justice. Will probably go to another waterfall in the bolavans: Tat Lo tml, if i feel up to it.. if not, may just go to city after city: Tha Theak and Vientiane ahead of schedule... will give Tham Lot something something a miss cos it's really hard (and expensive) to get there...
Monday, May 23, 2005
ARGH! previous post 2-thirds eaten!
sob sob.. it has so much more of my island experience and what i did yesterday and today and what i think about some things.. and more importantly, how i wish i could share this experience with you guys... sigh...
ok, in the 'city' of Pakse now.. cheaper internet. anyway, i got a whole lot of white strings around both my wrists now! before i left my previous place the guy and his immediate family (minus the kids) said some prayers for me (mentioning my name and where i come from and where i'm going..) and each tied a string around my wrists... don't think its the same as ravin's, but i was still very touched =)) They've been wonderfully nice to me. The room rate was higher than all the other US$1 places the other tourists stay at, but this was more like a homestay and it turns out that all the meals and water and food I had with them are included, as well as the bost trip back to mainland, which makes it really really pretty darn cheap. Of course I gave them more than i should, the experience was priceless.
They never left me alone: there's always someone with me, talking to me, trying to teach me lao, make me teach them english, make me eat, watch me eat or just sitting and enjoying the view with me.. they sit around a lot.. guess cos it's not planting season (they're farmers) and the fish traps only need to be set up then collected once each day. The water i drink i presume is boiled mekong water (yes, the same water i piss in, bathe in, brush teeth in, wash my hands with, do my laundry in..), the food is basically rice and fish for every meal. Their bbq fish is perfect, the fermented fish takes some getting used to, I refused to touch the raw fish though. Everything is seasoned with rice. And they keep giving me food. Lots and lots of food: pudding, potatoes sweetened with sugar and rice, coffee, fish, leaves.. I loved their salad and laap.. ate a lot of different leaves. Not the chinese vegetables kind. really leaves. Sigh. My tummy is coming back =(
The guy keeps telling me every once in a while to "follow me!", and before i know it, i'll be on the boat to see something, visit some neighbours, eating with the family, bathing or swimming with them, or, one night, with the whole village in this bigger house w electricity and a tv and a vcd player where the old men were sitting and drinking (lao whisky is quite nice)
Saturday, May 21, 2005
er! boh! er! boh!
Actually that's just yes! no! yes! no! in lao. v expensive internet here: 30min=3nights room. argh! but nice islands, very pretty, some spectacular waterfalls, no electricity, no TV, no bathroom, lovely sunset, wonderful people. I found a few place just startibng far away from all the rest of the places. i feel like a novelty tin the village. Everyone's come by to have a look at me and make me go through their lao-english book w them one by one. very sick of that book now. i eat w the family, bathe w them in the river and all. not sure if the meals are included in the higher than normal room price (us1.5 vs us1). argh.. too much to say, no time.. leaving in 2 days. its just so relaxed... will report again when i find a a more reasonable rate in another place....
Thursday, May 19, 2005
An interesting journey and a heavenly morning
Yay! I found an internet connection! it's in someone's house, the kid keeps disturbing me (and the poor mother got to keep carrying her away) and the grandmother is sewing with the old sewing machine we used to have at home =) 300kip/min.
This morning: wat phou. I was hoping to catch the sunrise, but when i woke up at 6am, it was raining hard, and it didn't look like it was going to stop. But my luck held, and by 7.30 it stopped, though the sky was still dark. Rented a bike after breakfast, went to change money, cycled the 10km to the wat, passing kids catching something in the fields, a big group of men and boys fishing where a stream met the mekong, lots of cows, dogs, ducks, chickens, goats, even a turkey.. Nice cos it wasn't hot. Not very nice for taking photos at the wat (in ruins, but exquisite, and very nice views and atmostphere), though there were a few moments of sunshine when i walked into the main shrine at the top with my joss sticks and offering, and the gold of the Buddha's robes were shining. It was perfect... then an angmoh approache and the sun went away... then when i went to the holy spring behind it started drizzling but stopped the moment i left the cave/ledge. Hmm.
Staying at a place with a nice location by the river. splurged on a double room with attached bath cos a) i'd been on the road for more than 24h! b)in the super duper cramped songthraew from Phibun to Champasak, my bottle of meji coffee milk (bought in BKK) opened and i didn't realise it till I felt it soak thru my bag and my pants... so the bath with showerhead, tap, basin, western toilet w working flush for 30,000kip (US$3) sounded like a good deal... plus the hammocks at the veranda by the river just looked so good...
the journey here... long story...... the phibun-champasak part comes down to something like: took a long time, cramped, drunks on board who took a shine to me and who were smoking non-stop, cute kids, river crossing, owner of guesthouse's brother on board, hence got off at the most populated guesthouse (though that's not saying a lot) w lots of angmohs. Cos there were 2 brits on the same vehicle as i (and who had been on that same vehicle at the bus staion for 3h already waiting for it to fill up and move). railway overnight from BKK to Ubon was good, but JS, I wld reccommend that you take the lower deck. I had the upper cos safer for me i guess, but its too bright, too near the aircon vents, and too low and no view.... At the border I meet and eventually shared taxi with 2 finnish and an american. US citizens really get it hard ard here i guess... they were staying in Pakse or Bolavan for the night, so I got my own tuk tuk to the other bus station to go to Phibun....
so many more things to say and note, but the keyboard is seriously irritating....
what i love about this place though: the laid-back attitude. I thought some of the smaller thai villages were relaxed, but the laos take it to a whole new level...
tomorrow: down south to Si Phan Don: the 4 thousand mekong islands... will try to catch the morning slow boat, which takes anywhere from 5-9h to get there from here..
This morning: wat phou. I was hoping to catch the sunrise, but when i woke up at 6am, it was raining hard, and it didn't look like it was going to stop. But my luck held, and by 7.30 it stopped, though the sky was still dark. Rented a bike after breakfast, went to change money, cycled the 10km to the wat, passing kids catching something in the fields, a big group of men and boys fishing where a stream met the mekong, lots of cows, dogs, ducks, chickens, goats, even a turkey.. Nice cos it wasn't hot. Not very nice for taking photos at the wat (in ruins, but exquisite, and very nice views and atmostphere), though there were a few moments of sunshine when i walked into the main shrine at the top with my joss sticks and offering, and the gold of the Buddha's robes were shining. It was perfect... then an angmoh approache and the sun went away... then when i went to the holy spring behind it started drizzling but stopped the moment i left the cave/ledge. Hmm.
Staying at a place with a nice location by the river. splurged on a double room with attached bath cos a) i'd been on the road for more than 24h! b)in the super duper cramped songthraew from Phibun to Champasak, my bottle of meji coffee milk (bought in BKK) opened and i didn't realise it till I felt it soak thru my bag and my pants... so the bath with showerhead, tap, basin, western toilet w working flush for 30,000kip (US$3) sounded like a good deal... plus the hammocks at the veranda by the river just looked so good...
the journey here... long story...... the phibun-champasak part comes down to something like: took a long time, cramped, drunks on board who took a shine to me and who were smoking non-stop, cute kids, river crossing, owner of guesthouse's brother on board, hence got off at the most populated guesthouse (though that's not saying a lot) w lots of angmohs. Cos there were 2 brits on the same vehicle as i (and who had been on that same vehicle at the bus staion for 3h already waiting for it to fill up and move). railway overnight from BKK to Ubon was good, but JS, I wld reccommend that you take the lower deck. I had the upper cos safer for me i guess, but its too bright, too near the aircon vents, and too low and no view.... At the border I meet and eventually shared taxi with 2 finnish and an american. US citizens really get it hard ard here i guess... they were staying in Pakse or Bolavan for the night, so I got my own tuk tuk to the other bus station to go to Phibun....
so many more things to say and note, but the keyboard is seriously irritating....
what i love about this place though: the laid-back attitude. I thought some of the smaller thai villages were relaxed, but the laos take it to a whole new level...
tomorrow: down south to Si Phan Don: the 4 thousand mekong islands... will try to catch the morning slow boat, which takes anywhere from 5-9h to get there from here..
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
ON THE LOOSE AGAIN!
ahaha! in bangkok typing this. silom. I thought if i come to a more upmarket area and stay in the expensive shopping center i won't be tempted to shop, but the high class shops and salespeople intimidated me so much i went back to the streets where i belong more =P so many things to see/buy/eat.. I have to keep telling myself to save money and that my bag is heavy enough. Man, the stupid keyboard is damn hard to get used to again. this time because everythings so clear: there are 2 thai letters for on every alphabet key in addition to the normal ones... thank god for spellcheck.
I have spent the last couple of weeks before this trip in such a frenzy, trying to tie things up for the trip, meet friends, finish assignments and jobs, spend time with family, that even the hustle and bustle of bangkok at peak hour seems like a break. Like I can finally take a breath (even if it's noxious bangkok-city-center-peak-hour-traffic air). Not to mention locals here have always embraced me, and are super nice and friendly. It would be rare back home for people waiting at the train station or bus stop or just walking alongside you in the same direction to just turn to you and strike up a conversation (though their attempts to engage me are always stopped in their tracks because I have forgotten what little thai i picked up the last time round), with no other motive than to make a friend and have some company for the wait or the journey.
Not much time to spend online: i still need to get dinner, head back to Hualalompong, get my train ticket to ubon, etc. Yeah, i should have gotten it when i arrived in the city at 5.30pm (cos had to wait for train at airport for 1.5h), but the queues at the counters were crazy. Touched down at 2.25 BKK time. A bit late cos bad weather in s'pore, terrible turbulance. Reminded me of taking the roller coasters and amusment park thrill rides in Korea. Perfect landing though: I couldn't tell which was the moment we touched down. Only realised we were on the ground when the brakes started. Tigerair has nice clean new planes. Only they keep trying to sell you things. And maybe it's a singapore thing: the aircon was freezing!
as i was saying: not much time. At the same time, lots of time. To think, to look, to feel, to live.
I have spent the last couple of weeks before this trip in such a frenzy, trying to tie things up for the trip, meet friends, finish assignments and jobs, spend time with family, that even the hustle and bustle of bangkok at peak hour seems like a break. Like I can finally take a breath (even if it's noxious bangkok-city-center-peak-hour-traffic air). Not to mention locals here have always embraced me, and are super nice and friendly. It would be rare back home for people waiting at the train station or bus stop or just walking alongside you in the same direction to just turn to you and strike up a conversation (though their attempts to engage me are always stopped in their tracks because I have forgotten what little thai i picked up the last time round), with no other motive than to make a friend and have some company for the wait or the journey.
Not much time to spend online: i still need to get dinner, head back to Hualalompong, get my train ticket to ubon, etc. Yeah, i should have gotten it when i arrived in the city at 5.30pm (cos had to wait for train at airport for 1.5h), but the queues at the counters were crazy. Touched down at 2.25 BKK time. A bit late cos bad weather in s'pore, terrible turbulance. Reminded me of taking the roller coasters and amusment park thrill rides in Korea. Perfect landing though: I couldn't tell which was the moment we touched down. Only realised we were on the ground when the brakes started. Tigerair has nice clean new planes. Only they keep trying to sell you things. And maybe it's a singapore thing: the aircon was freezing!
as i was saying: not much time. At the same time, lots of time. To think, to look, to feel, to live.
Monday, April 25, 2005
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