Merry Christmas from Bali!!

Sending our family and friends love and hugs and wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! We miss you!

Love,
The Rongeys

Nusa Lembongan, Amed, Candidasa and back to Ubud

(pic: Nusa Lembongan)

Bali, I just can’t get over how nice and charming the Balinese people are. With smiling faces and friendly hellos, I think they are the friendliest people we have met during our travels.

During our time in Ubud, we were able to experience the Balinese festival, Galungan. This Hindu holiday fell on December 8, and is celebrated every 210 days (the end of the Hindu calendar year). During this festival the Balinese people pray, present religious offerings to their God, and share food together.

Ad and I decided to rent a scooter and headed north out of Ubud to a temple located in Tampaksiring to see what it was all about. As we arrived, many locals were entering the temple carrying (either in their hands or on their head) religious offerings such as food, rice, flowers and small gifts. As we got off our scooter, we grabbed our sarongs (thanks Kram) and were immediately greeted by Made (Maw-day), an extremely nice Balinese man who had huge hoops hanging from his ears. He introduced himself and told us we could be his guests for the ceremony (very cool!).

[Sidenote: Everyone in Bali is either named; Wayan, Made, Oman, or Ketut. This is the order of when they were born; it starts over with Wayan when number 5 is born.]

We followed him and his family into the temple where we sat cross legged on the grass and observed the ceremony. There were a series of bells that rang, people were blessed with Holy water, and rice was placed on their foreheads and throats for protection from evil spirits entering their body. After the ceremony, we went to Made’s house where he and his family treated us to homemade ‘satay’ (incredible!) and Balinese coffee. We checked out his art (he is a Jack of all trades for sure) and listened to him play his guitar before we left; it was a really great experience.

Ubud is a cool town with many shops and restaurants, and is located about an hour north of Denpasar. We stayed in two places while we were here, Gusti’s Gardens and Kajeng Bungalows. Both places had bungalow style rooms surrounded by lush gardens and a refreshing pool. We could hear the river and see the beautiful rice paddy fields from our porch, pretty nice! However, the climate is incredibly hot and humid, I (Adam) felt like I was melting everyday and much prefer our Colorado weather.

After checking out Ubud for about a week we decided to head to Nusa Lembongon, an island that is about one hour off Bali. We didn’t really know what to expect yet we were excited to check out another place. On Nusa Lembongon, there are no cars and when you pull into the beach there is no dock either; the accommodations are pretty close by, so it wasn’t a problem to walk and find a place.

We stayed at Tarci’s Bungalows, nothing spectacular (which is about par for the course in Bali when you are traveling on a budget), but it did have a pool. The beach, which was directly out in front of our place was kind of depressing with the trash and boats monopolizing the shoreline. So, swimming wasn’t really an option. On the positive side, three surf breaks (Playgrounds, Lacerations, and Shipwrecks-all reef breaks) were also right out our front door, but there was no swell, therefore no waves. This was a bummer as I heard these breaks are awesome when it is pumping.

We rented a moped and made our way to the other side of the island via roads that were more like bike paths, and a suspension bridge that was a little rickety. Something we noticed while we were cruising around is how quiet it was, Nusa L is pretty chill. We did find a nice little gem of a place called, Dream Beach (out in the middle of nowhere), it had beautiful turquoise water and a small white sandy beach. We relaxed here for a bit and had lunch, then made our way back to our bungalow. Being a small island, there is not much to do if you aren’t scuba diving, snorkeling, or surfing, and since we weren’t doing any of these things we decided to leave and head back to Bali.

The next few days we spent between Amed and Candidasa, both VERY quiet places northeast of Denpasar. We enjoyed chillin out eating some tasty fish and talking with the locals (all who wanted us to buy their wooden boats they made, nerp!). I (Adam) had a great time giving math lessons (in the sand) to two very bright local boys, Wayan (14) and Made (12) down on the beach.

We are now back in Ubud, as it has been our favorite place (and has the most to do) until we head down to Seminyak for Christmas. Until then, Happy Holidays everyone!!

Love,
Adam and Cathy

Vang Vieng to Bangkok and onto Bali

December 7, 2010


We spent 4 days in the peaceful riverside village of Vang Vieng with stunning views of limestone mountains, the slow-flowing Nam Song river meandering through the town, and lush forests filling the landscape. On our second day, we decided to go tubing down the Nam Song, one of the area’s biggest attractions. We hired our tubes from the market up the street, jumped into a VERY SMALL tuk tuk, and went on the 4km ride to the start.

At the starting point we were greeted with a free shot (just a little one Sal, come on buddy) of homemade Lao whiskey, KAW! In addition, you immediately see all of the make-shift bars that you will soon be passing, or visiting if you choose to take the ropes the kids (teenage bar workers) throw out to you. I (Adam) thought this was funny, because if you remember, I am not…petite and most Asian people…are therefore, I was more nervous of ripping them off the deck where they stood then having them try to pull me into their bar.

[The Bars]
The make-shift bars aren’t just bars; they include CRAZY rope swings, zip-lines, and slides. Most bars are up and off of the water with sketchy steps and NO railings to stop one from falling into the rocks below. This may sound exaggerated, but I am telling you it is not. Of course it doesn’t have to be a scary thing, and it is safe if one is aware of what they are doing and doesn’t make poor choices.

We decided to start our tubing adventure around 11:30 am in order to avoid (yes avoid) all the drunks that tube later in the day. The water was a little chilly initially, but became very refreshing and pleasant after a few minutes. Our first stop, about 500 feet from where we started (LOL) we stopped to enjoy a nice cold Beer Lao to help cool us off before continuing (at this point I (Adam) dumped my tube and lost my SECOND pair of glasses).

Our next stop was the Slingshot bar, the last stop before you continue the 3.5 remaining kilometers down river. While enjoying a “bucket”, a small plastic bucket (imagine a child’s beach bucket for making sand castles) filled with gin and tonic for two, we kept hearing what sounded like a small child periodically yelling and whistling. The bar owner told us they were talking birds and that we could check them out if we wanted to. Intrigued, we climbed up the hill from the docks and found these two amazing birds. One of them would say “sabbidee” (‘hello’ in Laotian) and “Good morning”, the voice was identical to a human, no robot sounding crap, but a human voice; it would also cough like a human, it was incredible! The other bird would ‘yell’ every time it heard a whistle, needless to say, we were fascinated.

The next day, we decided to hike out to a scenic overlook called Pha Poak. Pha Poak is a small hill/mountain (depending how you look at it) that has an amazing overlook of Vang Vieng. To reach the top, you climb a series of sketchy bamboo ladders before scaling sharp rocks to the top. It was steep, scary and completely exhilarating once I (Cathy) was finished. I am not a fan of heights and was really happy to have reached the top (and bottom) with the support of Adam, who decided to cross a steep and scary chasm at the top to get some amazing photos and video. [Adam here; Cath was AWESOME! The whole way up she told me she couldn’t go any further, but she ventured on like a champ, I was really proud of her, as it was not for the faint of heart; it was indeed very steep and very technical.]

We left Vang Vieng by yet another bus and headed to the country’s capital of Vientiane. Once arriving, we were surprised at how much this felt like a bustling city compared to the other places we visited in Laos. After a brief thought, we decided to catch the local bus to Nong Kai, the border of Thailand, and then an overnight train to Bangkok.

We arrived in Bangkok the next morning (surprisingly somewhat rested from the sleeping bunks) at around 7:00 am and immediately headed to the backpacker’s district of Khao San Road. Once there, we were disappointed with the selection of sub-par hotel rooms and guesthouses so we went online and booked a nice 4-star hotel in Bangkok’s Silom district, a business district filled with shopping malls and high rises. We enjoyed two nights of luxury that included a rooftop pool, air conditioning, hot shower and a clean bathroom with toiletries… life was good. Our next big adventure: Bali.

Arrival into Bali on December 4

We arrived into Bali around noon and immediately grabbed a taxi and headed north to the small town of Ubud. Ubud (Ah-bewd) is a charming town filled with chilled out restaurants, cafes and spas, as well as ancient temples and of course Balinese culture. A day in Ubud could include anything from Balinese dance lessons, yoga, cooking courses, visiting ancient temples, and walks around the beautiful rice paddy fields, to a relaxing day at the spa or wandering through the many art galleries that line the streets. Or, you may find yourself retracing Elizabeth Gilbert’s steps when she visited the town before writing her best-selling novel/movie, Eat, Pray, Love, which we did not do.

We found a nice, quiet guesthouse called Gusti’s Garden located a little off the beaten path in Ubud. Our bungalow overlooks a beautiful terraced garden, a pool, a small river and rice paddy fields in the background. It’s a peaceful location with the sound running water and the smell of beautiful frangipani flowers.

More to come….

Many hugs, kisses and KAWs to you all!

Love,

Cathy and Adam

Pai back to Chiang Mai and onto Laos

November 29, 2010

Ad and I enjoyed our week in Pai, a small and quiet town 5 hours and ‘762 curves’ north of Chiang Mai. During our last few days, we enjoyed a full-day Thai cooking class at the Pai Cookery School. The options of what to cook were a “green” course, “red” course or “yellow” course which referred to the type of Thai sauces you wanted to make; I chose the red course while Ad chose the green. My menu included mango sticky rice, pad Thai, red curry, tom kah soup, cashew nut stir fry and papaya salad while Ad’s included masaman curry (an Indian curry), tom yum soup, holy basil and pork, mango salad and sweet and sour pork.

Included in our class was a visit to the local market with our Thai chef, Gaew, a really fun and hip woman. As we strolled through the market, Gaew explained the different fruits and vegetables used in traditional Thai dishes. We also had the opportunity to try a few Thai ingredients like buffalo hide, coconut cakes, tamarind and banana sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf.

We also biked to an organic farm called Bueng Pai Farm, located a few kilometers out of town. The farm is situated on a small pond for fishing and surrounded by bungalows, small open air bamboo huts and a chemical-free swimming pool. Most of the food was grown at the farm and used in the dishes. I ordered muesli with fruit and yogurt which consisted of over 30 ingredients such as popcorn, yam chips, oats, nuts, edible flowers, and delicious fresh fruit like mangos, melon and bananas. Ad ordered the Bueng Pai fried rice which was fresh brown rice mixed with red and green peppers, chili peppers, cucumbers, carrots and topped with an egg; both were so delicious that we ordered the same things the following day. After a week of relaxing and enjoying the night markets, we headed back to Chiang Mai to see a traditional Thai festival.

Back to Chiang Mai

Back in Chiang Mai, we enjoyed the Loy Krathrong Lights Festival; a Thai holiday celebrated on the full moon of the 12th lunar month which, in this case, was November 21. The Thai translation for Loy is ‘to float’ while Krathrong is ‘raft’. The holiday is about letting go of the “old” and welcoming the “new” into your life. The tradition includes lighting Thai paper lanterns and setting them off into sky for good luck and floating candle-lit flower boats down the river for new beginnings.

The celebration took over the whole town as thousands of paper lanterns filled the sky, a Thai parade marched down the street, music blasted throughout the air and fireworks boomed all around us like a New Year’s celebration (yet in this case, it was Thai-style meaning anything goes). You could light fireworks, walk around with beers, or set up a stove and sell food on the street.

While in Chiang Mai, we were able to see our friends Brett and Jenny from Boulder who are also traveling around the world. They started their trip in early June and we were finally able to connect with each other, it was great seeing familiar faces from home. We shared stories of our travels, discussed our upcoming adventures and empathized with each other about missing home and our excitement of returning with new and fresh outlooks from our travel experiences.

Thanksgiving and Cathy's 40th Birthday in Luang Prabang, Laos

After the festival in Chiang Mai, we left the next day to head to Luang Prabang in Laos. Our travels included: a 5-hour bus ride to the border of Thailand, a longtail boat to the border crossing and a 15-hour overnight bus, whew! It was by far the hardest overnight bus ride; our seats did not recline, legroom was minimal and the old bus crept up and down mountains stopping every few hours to give the brakes time to cool off.

Luang Prabang is situated in northern Laos, surrounded by mountains and bordering the Nam Khan and Mekong River. (The Mekong River is one of the world’s longest major rivers that runs through many countries in south East Asia, including China, Myanmar/Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.) This unique city is Unesco-protected and combines French architecture with Buddhist temples. Streets are filled with European and authentic Lao cuisine restaurants, a healthy night market and a stream of tangerine-robed Buddhist monks taking alms at 6:00 am each morning. In Buddhism, alms or “giving materially” (such as food, clothing, etc.) by ‘lay’ people to monks “to nurture virtue, merit and blessings and ensure monastic continuity”. Or, doing good in order to receive good.

During our stay, we enjoyed our time exploring the town, trying traditional Lao cuisine and teaching English at a local non-profit organization called Big Brother Mouse (one thing I really wanted to do on my birthday/Thanksgiving). One of our favorite Lao cuisine restaurants was a place called Tamarind. The family-run restaurant served amazing food including a dish consisting of a light, white fish baked in lime juice with fresh herbs, wrapped in a banana leaf and served with warm sticky rice, yum! The owner explained to us that you eat with your hands by pulling a chunk of the sticky rice, rolling it, and then dipping it into the dish. The dish was delicious and we enjoyed a few of their lemongrass-lime and ginger-lime granitas (crushed ice drinks) to wash down our food.

One of the highlights of our trip was volunteering at a non-profit organization called Big Brother Mouse. The organization’s goal is to promote literacy in Lao by producing, publishing and distributing books to locals hoping to make literacy fun and accessible. We met a few of the organization’s illustrators at the local night market who mentioned they needed English-speaking volunteers to help at their office. So for a few hours in the morning, Adam and I helped teach English to a few very grateful locals. It was wonderful to see (and for us to feel) their enthusiasm for learning.

After 4-days in Luang Prabang, we headed south on yet another very windy, 6-hour bus ride to Vang Vieng, a peaceful river village along the Nam Song River surrounded by beautiful mountains. More to come!

Love and miss you.
Cathy and Adam

Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai to Pai

November 18, 2010

Ad and I enjoyed our time on the islands, yet decided to leave the “dodgy” weather behind (cyclones, tropical depressions, etc) and booked a flight to Chiang Mai rather than endure a 2-3 day bus-train-bus trip.

As we were landing, we took notice to the many lights scattered below and realized that Chiang Mai is a bigger city than we expected. In the taxi from the airport, Ad shared his vision of Chiang Mai --men standing around in samurai uniforms and large swords dangling from their hip similar to Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai, yet realized that we were heading into a vibrant city surrounded by mountains and filled with restaurants, bars, street markets, motor-scooting Thais, tuk tuks and friendly smiles.

Chiang Mai is considered one of Thailand’s “cultural darlings”. The walled city is surrounded by a moat and filled with plenty of places to stay and eat; they are hip, laid-back, and funky and filled with the north’s distinctive Thai architecture made of teak wood, intricate carvings, mosaics and sometimes colorful dragons and lions that guard the entrances.

Our first day in the city, we walked around and checked out the weekly Sunday market conveniently located across the street from our guesthouse. As we strolled around smelling the delicious aromas, we immediately took notice of the 60 baht foot massages (roughly $2 American dollars) and decided to indulge. Next, we ate one of our favorite Thai dishes, a spicy Papaya salad made with papaya, hot red and green peppers, rice wine vinegar, tomatoes, shrimp and peanuts—yum!

After a night or two in the city, Lucia and I decided to enjoy a girl’s night out and headed to a yoga class on the north-side of town. A friend of Lucia’s who is studying Thai massage in Chiang Mai is also a yoga teacher was hosting a class. After an hour of stretching and sweating, we enjoyed a delicious fresh Thai dinner of, curry, chutney, salad and brown rice at a restaurant called Cat House.

While we enjoyed our night, Eddie and Adam headed to their first Muay Thai Boxing match. [Adam here]- Eddie and I were stoked to check out the fight, but first we had to ‘prep’, so we went and had some tasty Pad Thai and a couple/few/a couple more than a few big Leo beers; we wanted to be in the right frame of mind, and we were.

The fight(s) were fun to watch; there were about 5 fights, beginning with boys, girls, lightweight men, middle weight men, and then the premier fight between Canada and Thailand. Before the main fight they had 5 Thai boxers in the ring (at the same time) blind folded and let them go at it, hilarious!

Eddie and I both bet on the Thai boxer in the main event (thinking that he would dominate the Canadian) but towards the end of the 3rd round our guy took a shot to the chops and was down for the count, despite my yelling “NO NO NO!! Get up!” We should have known better than to bet against North America, I lost 200 baht and Eddie lost 100.

After the fight we nursed our losses (and soaked up some of the beer we drank) by eating french fries from a street vendor out in front of the venue. While we were eating our tasty fries an elephant came walking down the road, a weird thing to see at 12:30am, but pretty cool too. We didn’t win our bets, but had a great ‘Man Night’ out (with no tartlets, cake and ice cream, lemon bars, or fish tacos), beers and Muay Thai boxing, that’s a “Man Night!”

Next, we decided to check out the mountains and booked an all-day guided mountain bike tour. Ad, Eddie, Lucia and I ventured out into cooler temperatures and the lush forest to enjoy some challenging single track, uphill climbs and amazing views of Chiang Mai. As we made our way through the 18-mile ride, we enjoyed getting to know our Thai guides, Nu and Daniel, as they laughed with us (and at us) while we enjoyed the dirt trails while both riding and falling off our bikes.

One of the great joys of Chiang Mai is the street markets – the Night Bazaar happening every evening, the Sunday Market and the “special occasion” markets. There is never a shortage of “hawkers” (small food stalls) serving delicious Thai food such as noodle bowls, curries, or mango sticky rice, pad thai, and if you are really courageous, you can enjoy the “insect cart” filled with fried silk worms, crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches and many other interesting critters. When we stumbled upon the cart, we noticed that there was not much left in each tray to enjoy…..ugh.

One of the things I wanted to do while in Chiang Mai was to attend a meditation class. So, Lucia and I decided to attend a two-hour Ratu Bagus Shaking Meditation class. When we arrived, the instructor explained the Balinese shaking technique as “a way for the body to feel its energy from the high vibration of the body’s movement” and gave us a brief demonstration (it looked like a women convulsing in front of us) and instructions on how to draw out the body’s energy.

While shaking your head, hands and feet, you focus on a poster-size portrait of Ratu Bagus (who is pointing at you) and repeat the mantra “Om Swastiastu Ratu Bagus”. Ratu Bagus is considered an energy master whose method teaches you how to connect with your internal energy not just with your mind yet with your body through the shaking method. After 45 minutes of butts and boobs bouncing everywhere to loud trance/techno music while staring at a poster and repeating the mantra, Lucia and I decided that it was enough and headed for a tasty Thai dinner and a few cocktails.

During our stay in Chiang Mai, we stayed at the Boonmee Mansion, a centrally located and inexpensive teak wood guesthouse run by Florence and her brother Sam. Each morning we woke up to Sam giving tours to new Chiang Mai arrivals that included him flushing toilets and turning the faucet on in the shared bathroom while forgetting to turn off the faucet during the tour. Additionally, for 90 baht (or roughly $3) you could enjoy a dip in the pool filled with green water so dark you couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. And each night we experienced a new adventure at the guesthouse, like the one from our neighbor Dan and another from two Russians.

Chiang Mai to Pai

After almost a week in Chiang Mai, we decided to head to the small mountain town of Pai. After 762 windy turns, we arrived in the small, hippie town filled with cool and inviting restaurants and bars featuring live music, a night market for inexpensive local eats and just outside of town, scenic vistas, hot springs and waterfalls. There is not much to the town yet the Thais have made it an urban playground for those hoping to escape the heat and enjoy cooler temperatures in the mountains.

Since we have arrived, we have enjoyed the live music scene, delicious food at the lively night market, entertained by refurbished VW vans selling everything from tourist gifts to coffee and chai, motor scooter trips to the hot springs and waterfalls and simply, enjoying the peaceful surroundings of the mountains.

More to come….

Miss and love you tons,

Cathy and Adam

Railay to Ko Phi Phi

November 8, 2010
Adam and I woke up on the morning of Halloween, packed our bags, said good bye to Railay, and headed to the beautiful island of Koh Phi Phi, a two-hour boat ride northwest. Koh Phi Phi is the infamous island where the movie The Beach was filmed and also one of the island’s that was hardest hit by a tsunami in 2004.

It was drizzling rain when we arrived in Phi Phi so we decided to head to a bar near the pier until it passed. While we were there we met a nice Aussie couple, Luke and Vivian, who had arrived from Phuket. Luke had been out searching for inexpensive places to stay and found a few up in the quiet part of the island, so through the pouring rain we all headed up the hill and booked a room at the Golden Hill Bungalows (a decent room with a fan and the added bonus of splattered mosquitoes all over the walls).

With the rain coming down we headed to ‘Garlic Restaurant’ for a cold beer and some good Thai food (what else were we going to do, it was raining), oh how we LOVE Thai food! For those of you who have not yet had the privilege to enjoy a Thai papaya salad, I suggest you do so at your earliest convenience (fortunately we got the recipe from the owner of this place and I will be making it when we get home) it’s AMAZING!

Our first two days on Phi Phi it rained without stopping, which was a bummer, as there’s not much to do when this is happening. We found ourselves at the bookstore both days where we enjoyed reading our books and drinking tasty coffee shakes and hoping for the sun to make an appearance.

One of the highlights of our time on Phi Phi was an all-day boat/snorkeling tour around the island. The tour began in the morning with a stop at Shark Bay to snorkel. We snorkeled around the reefs, looking at unique and colorful fish and hoping to catch a glimpse of a shark, yet we had no luck. As I was getting back into the boat, I had my first experience with getting stung by a jelly fish…ouch!

After Shark Bay, we made our way to beautiful Bamboo Island. As the boat anchored off-shore, we jumped in and swam to the sandy beach and walked around the island that is also a nature preserve; pretty cool place, but very small; following Bamboo Island we headed to Monkey Island. In the bay, we snorkeled around the reef looking at sea urchins, little “Elmo” fishes [sidenote: I (Adam) was looking at little ‘Nemo’ fish, not sure what little ‘Elmo fishes’ are, but I love you still the same Cath], clam shells, octopus and other fun sea creatures; and from the boat, we watched the langur monkeys run all over the beach.

Our final stop on the tour was Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lay, a stunning little cove sheltered by surrounding cliffs (this is where they filmed the movie ‘The Beach’, a story about a group of young travelers who drop out of society to live on a remote island in Southern Thailand). The bay is beautiful and quiet and the water is exceptionally clear. After Maya Bay, we headed back to Phi Phi Don to enjoy a wonderful Thai dinner at our favorite restaurant, yep, Garlic (the Massaman Curry was INCREDIBLE!).

Another highlight for me, were the adorable spider monkeys. There were a handful of them that local Thais had taken as pets, like the one I am with in a picture. The owners of the monkeys also have both the mother and the father of the babies, so the families stay together. They were so sweet, cute and cuddly; whenever I saw these little cuties I couldn’t keep my hands off of them.

We spent 5 days on Ko Phi Phi and it was a great place to visit, but we were happy to be heading up to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand via PLANE (yes, no long bus ride!!) the following day. A short stop over on Phuket (which has some beautiful beaches, but other than that a little expensive and overrated) and a few hours in the airport and we were on our way, cheers!

Ko Phangan to Andaman Coast

Ad and I really enjoyed the 12 days we spent on Koh Phangan; it was great to give ourselves some time to rest and relax while enjoying delicious fresh food, fruit shakes and of course the island’s beautiful sandy beaches, endless ocean and amazing sunsets.

As our time on Koh Phangan was coming to an end, the last couple of days were fantastic. We (Adam, myself, Lucia and Eddie) rented scooters and headed out for a day of snorkeling. We ventured around the point and over to the beach next to ours called Haad Salad; this was a small and more beautiful bay than ours (even though ours was amazing!) in ‘Reggae Village’ that had a good vibe, fun snorkeling, and the best beach rope swing ever! Adam and I sat on the swing together swinging over the water while spinning round and round, it was great! We would lean back and the dizzying effect made us laugh out loud, it was so much fun!

We rented our snorkeling gear from a shop up the street and headed out to find a spot to chill for the day. We came upon the property Green Papaya which is probably the most beautiful resort we have seen on our travels thus far. Even though we couldn’t afford to stay there, we were still able to walk around and check the place out. Teak wood bungalows, huge endless pool, beautiful foliage and flowers, fresh water showers, and only steps from the beach, it was amazing. We ended the day in the water enjoying the beautiful sunset and then capped it off with a wonderful dinner on the beach at the resort; it was a very memorable and wonderful day, one of the highlights of our trip.

Our final night in Koh Phangan, we all decided to take in some of the local music and headed to Zion Bar. The bamboo bar was filled with people chillin out, enjoying a drink, and listening to live reggae/ska music. It was nice to see both locals and foreigners hanging out and enjoying the music together. After a few hours, we decided to head home. On our way, Ad and I laughed at the frogs hopping around in the dark, the fun winding roads, and how we almost ran over a HUGE, goldish-green snake with black markings as it was slithering across the road. Eeeewwwwhhhh!!

Krabi to Railay

We left Ko Phangan at 7am and arrived at the pier on the mainland at 10am, we hopped on a bus for the 1+ hour ride to Surat Thani, and then into a shuttle van for a 2 hour jaunt over to the town of Krabi (this was all done in the POURING DOWN RAIN, which was a little sketchy). Once we arrived in Krabi (a town used mainly for shuttling people by boat to its nearby islands) we had to hire a long-tail to take us over to Railay beach (you cannot access Railay by auto, in fact, there are no cars on the island at all). Railay is a climbing mecca and very famous for its beautiful limestone cliffs and turquoise water; we were excited to go!

We waited about an hour because the drivers of the boats won’t go until there is a minimum of 6 people (unless you are willing to pay more). There were four of us, but it didn’t look like anyone else was coming, so we all decided to throw in a little extra cash in order to get over to Railay sooner than later.

We left the dock in our long tail for the 25 minute trip, but shortly into the ride the sea started to get pretty rough and our tiny ship was tossed, if it wasn’t for the fearless crew, our long tail might’ve been lost, our long tail might’ve been lost. Ok, couldn’t resist the Gilligan’s Island reference, but really though the sea was getting pretty gnarly and a bit scary. In fact, when we were about 10 minutes from Railay the driver of the long tail said, “Um, I think we need a big boat, I think this dangerous for you and me.” We thought that if the driver was nervous enough to say something then conditions must be pretty bad, so he turned the boat around and we went all the way back to the dock (where we started). The boat driver got a taxi to take us to a different pier where we would have a short 10 minute boat trip to Railay without the rough water; another 60 baht later we were on our way and made it safely to our destination- Railay East.

It’s October 29th and we have been here for two days enjoying the small island and all its beauty. We will continue to explore for the next couple of days before we make our way to Ko Phi Phi (where they filmed the movie ‘The Beach’) and possibly Ko Jum. High season is just around the corner and prices are going to sore; when this happens we will head up to northern Thailand to the towns of Chiang Mai and Pai where the prices will be more reasonable. We are looking forward to indulging in Thai cooking classes, zip line adventures, trekking, and a family home stay in a hillside village.

More to come, hope you are all well!!

Love,

Ad and Cath

P.s. Everything is cool and we are safe. We didn’t get caught in any of the floods, typhoons, earthquakes, or volcano eruptions. KAW!!

Siem Reap - Then headed to the islands!

Siem Reap to Thailand......
Once we got to Bangkok (via another long and sketchy bus ride from Siem Reap) we checked out a little bit of the town (Ko San Road and the backpacker area) before finding our place for the next couple of nights.  I like Bangkok, I think I had an image in my head that this place was going to be really sketchy and super crazy, but I didn't find this to be true (although we were only there for a couple of days).  It's a great place to get things taken care of, such as puchasing tickets to where ever one wants to go next; for us it was Ko Tao, a little island directly south of Bangkok.

We booked a bus/boat combo that would take us from Bangkok to the town of Chumpron, then a 2.5 hour catamaran ride over to Ko Tao; another long travel day was ahead of us.  We had a few beers before departing, ok, I had a few beers before departing, Cathy only had one, so my sleep was better, but her morning was nicer then mine.  The catamaran ride was fine and we reached Ko Tao mid-morning.  Before we left on our trip, our great friends (Mike and Kate) gave us some recommendations on where to stay on the island, as they were there a couple of years ago; we were fired up!

We hired a taxi (a four wheel drive truck with a bench in the back) to take us to 'New Heaven', ahh, New Heaven!!  As it turned out, New Heaven was out of our budget so we had to look elsewhere, the place down the road had rooms for rent, and although on the water, they were pretty nasty, so we continued our search...for the next 3.5 hours!!!  We were walking all over the streets, through the 'jungle', sweating our arses off and finding nothing. 

Even though we are in Thailand where prices are, for the most part reasonable, we thought it was a little expensive (like happy hour prices in the USA). 

Being on a budget and traveling for as long as we are we needed to find cheaper accomodations.  We ended up back where we were dropped off and found a place just off the main street above a massage studio.  We were happy with our location.

Our plans were to get our diving certification, as this is one of the most popular (and cheapest) places in the world to get it, but the weather did not cooperate.  It rained a lot and the water was unclear and choppy, so we decided to not get certified (yet).  If you are not diving and the weather is crappy, then there is really not much to do on Ko Tao.....see ya, we're headed to Ko Phangan!

Ko Phangan, Thailand
We took a one hour ferry over to Ko Phangan and immediately loved our new destination.  Upon our arrival we were bombarded by people trying to sell us their resort.  We settled on Haad Yao Bay View Resort, and it is awesome!  We are on the Northwest part of the island where it is quiet and peaceful, and exactly what we wanted.

Ko Phangan is known for their 'Full Moon Party' each month, it's said to be one of the top 3 places in the world to see the full moon.  Along with this comes a raging party where 8,000-30,000 people gather to get crazy!  We will check it out on October, 23, but are glad to be staying on the opposite part of the island so we can get away when we want.

We have been spending our time relaxing on the beach, renting mopeds to explore the island, and eating seafood.  It's been 4 days now and we will be here another week before we continue our journey to other islands.  It is nice staying in one place, something we realized is that it takes a little while to decompress and relax.  We often find ourselves restless and feeling like we should be doing something, but the great thing about being here is that that feeling is slowly disipating, which is a good thing.

Hmm, seabass or red snapper for dinner?

 Siem Reap - Temples of Angkor

Siem Reap is a small town outside of the infamous temples of Angkor, the eighth wonder of the world.  Adam and I stayed there for a few nights and enjoyed the charming town, as well as visiting the Temples of Angkor located 5-10 minutes outside of town.

The temples of Angkor were built as a source of creative ambition and spiritual devotion by the Khmer empire to their god-king.  The most famous of the temples are both Angkor Wat (the largest religious structure in the world) and Ta Prohm, well-known for being in the movie Tomb Raider.

We (Adam, myself and our non-english speaking tuk tuk driver) spent over 5-hours touring the unique monument built in the 1100's.  It was fascinating trying to understand how they were built, all with a unique design and decoration.  Some include unique carvings while others are covered in centuries-old trees, green moss, creeping plants and delicately carved rocks.  One of the unfortunate curses of past wars in Cambodia is the risk of landmines around the temples.  As you tour the monument, you are reminded to stay on the trails and paved roads so as to avoid the risk of stumbling upon one. Yikes!

Cambodia - Thailand

October 14, 2010

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Hello Friends and Family,

After a few overnight buses, ferries, border crossings, etc., Adam and I have made our way to the small island of Koh Tao, Thailand.  Koh Tao, known as Turtle Island, is located on the east coast of Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand.  We are not sure ho long we are planning to stay since this part of Thailand is still experiencing the rainy season (sunny or overcast for half the day, rainy the other half) yet thinking the west coast (Andaman Coast) may be calling our name.

Our travels.....

During the last few days in Phnom Penh, we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (or the Killing Fields).  Both places reflect the unique and horrific 3-4 year rule of the Khmer Rouge (or Democratic Kampuchea).  During their rule (1975-1979), the regime implemented one of the most radical and brutal restructurings of society to try transform Cambodia. 

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a former high school that was transformed into a detention center and place of persecution. Also referred to as S-21, it was predicted that over 10,000 Cambodians passed through facility and were brutally tortured by the Khmer Rouge.  The goal was to obliterate the former Khmer culture which consisted of differing beliefs, political interests and/or backgrounds.

After Tuol Sleng, we visited the Choeung Ek, also known as the Killing Fields. This facility detained over 17,000 Cambodians, some brought from Tuol Sleng (S-21) to be executed in the most horrific ways, bludgeoned and beaten (bullets were precious and not to be wasted on prisoners).  The Killing Fields is now an orchard with a memorial stupa (or Temple) in the middle that is dedicated to those killed; it displays more than 8,000 skulls of victims along with their ragged clothes.

After visitng both places, we felt drained and extreme sadness for what Cambodians had to endure during this time period; it's hard to believe that something so horrific happened only a little more than 30 years ago.  Furthermore, both places provide a memorial and reminders to the atrocities committed, and play a role in hopefully preventing something like this from ever happening anywhere in the world again.

After Phnom Penh, we headed south to some beaches in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.  We enjoyed a few days of the beach and then sadly said to goodbye to our fellow travelers (Lucia and Eddie) as they headed to some small bungalows on Bamboo Island and we headed to Siem Reap to enjoy Angkor Wat, a series temples surrounded by a moat, and the largest religious structure in the world.

More to come on Angkor Wat.....

Love and miss you all,

Cathy and Adam



Vietnam to Cambodia

Mekong River - Vietnam to Cambodia Slowboat Tour

Hue - Hoi An - Nha Trang - Saigon, Vietnam
September 22-October 1, 2010

Mopeds with families of five (seriously), beers for .20 cents, $13 hotel w/pool, sandy beaches close by, cheap food, and friendly requests (many) of “you buy something from me- it happy hour” --this was Hoi An. A truly charming and artsy little town located a mile from the infamous China Beach where we enjoyed a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of some of the larger cities in Vietnam.

Hoi An is located on the east coast of Vietnam between the northern city of Hanoi and the southern city of Ho Chi Min or Saigon. Known as a former international trading port, Hoi An features unique architecture, local art and plenty of affordable custom-made clothing shops. We enjoyed relaxing mornings frequenting our favorite cafes for coffee shakes and banana pancakes while heading to the beach in the afternoon to enjoy a noodle bowl, a few beers and our favorite books.

One afternoon Adam and I decided to check out the custom-made clothing and visited a few local tailors. We picked out the clothing style, fabric and color and then got measured; 24-hours later we had our new clothes! Adam got a nice blue button-down shirt, a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of unique Thai-style linen shorts while I had a colorful skirt, orange top, green cotton skirt, and a more formal gray-silver dress all custom-made and all very affordable. For instance, the skirt I had made cost $10 while Ad’s blue button-down was $8.

After three days in Hoi An, we (Adam, myself, Eddie and Lucia) headed to the beach capital of Vietnam called Nha Trang. Located further south on the east coast, Nha Trang offers an endless beach with views of mountains looming in background. We enjoyed our first sushi visit since traveling (which was amazing and a 1/3 of the cost), some Indian food, $5 one hour massages on the beach and then decided to head to Ho Chi Min City-Saigon.

To travel the length of Vietnam from Hanoi to Saigon we purchased ‘open-ended bus tickets’. The best price ($40 each) does not necessarily mean the most comfortable ride. We endured four, 10-hour overnight bus rides that were bumpy, loud, and crowded, with Vietnamese videos and music playing most of the bus TV. To save our sanity we relied on I-Pods, ear plugs and valium--our saviors. Buses were double-decker style, but with beds (made for little people) instead of seats. Once on the road for a few hours the driver would pull into a bus stop and give everyone a chance to eat; food usually consisted of fried noodles, fried rice or Pho (noodle soups).

Our last 10-hour bus ride brought us to Ho Chi Min City (or Saigon) at 5:30 am. As we departed the bus in “central park”, we were surrounded by people walking, running and a large group of women (100-150) doing a rhythmic-jazzercise type of class to the sound of music over a loud speaker. Women (and some men) were shuffling their feet, pumping their arms up and down and back and forth, twisting and thrusting their hips…it was a lot to take in on at 5:30 am in the Saigon.

Instead of sightseeing in Saigon, we decided to leave on the 8:30 am local bus headed to Chau Doc to start our Mekong River trip, a slow-boat floating us from Vietnam up to Cambodia. Our local bus was filled with all Vietnamese with the exception of us four. As we headed out for our 7-hour non-AC bus that stopped often, too often. Every time it stopped, a small group of locals would climb on the bus selling cold jasmine tea, salted fish rolled in a banana leaves, herbs, boiled quail eggs, etc. It was crazy! And we can’t forget the occasional cigarette a local would enjoy as the ashes made our way back to our faces sitting in the back of the bus. I felt like The Dude on the Big Lebowski when Danny passed away and Donny decided to throw his ashes out of a Folger’s can out on a windy day – and there was no hope of dodging the ashes either.

As we rolled on down the bumpy, degraded highway, we had the opportunity to mingle with the locals. They seemed interested in us: our IPods, what we ate, what we were reading, our sunglasses…. while neither understood one another’s language it was fun trying to communicate. They shared their salted fish, we played with their kids, explained where they lived – all by pointing, smiling and laughing at one another. While the travel day was long, it was truly a unique, humbling and an unforgettable experience.

October 2, 2010 – Arrival in Cambodia via the Mekong River

After our local bus ride, we arrived in the small town of Chau Doc located by the border of Cambodia on the Mekong River, one of the world’s longest rivers reaching areas such as China, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia and Vietnam. After a night of enjoying “hawker-style” food, open-air stalls serving inexpensive local food, we got up the next morning for a 8-hour slow-boat along the river taking us from Vietnam up to Cambodian.

As we slowly made our way up the river, we observed locals working on their boats or in rice paddies, cruising down the river, kids laughing and playing in the water, water buffaloes enjoying a break from the heat… it was relaxing yet a bit too long when your butt and feet fall asleep from sitting in the same position for more than an hour.

Once arriving to our destination in Cambodia, we took a bus for another 1.5 hours to the town of Phnom Penh (or “Hill of Penh”). Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s capital and largest city and is filled with temples, pagodas, surrounded by small villages and is rich in culture and history. As we venture out to learn more, we will share our pictures, what we learn and experiences.

Thanks for following our journey.

Miss you and much love,

Cathy and Adam



Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam

Last few days in Nepal, Singapore, Hanoi & Halong Bay-Vietnam

September 13-21, 2010

Hello from the other side of the world! Adam and I are currently in Hue (pronounced “whey”), Vietnam and enjoying a restful and relaxing day to catch up on both sleep and update our blog in this quiet town located south of Hanoi and off the east coast of Vietnam.

Nepal – Our last few days

On one of our last days in Nepal we headed to the Swayambhunath Temple located atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is filled with painted images of deities, prayer wheels, shrines, prayer flags and many other religious objects. It is also known as the ‘Monkey Temple’ and filled with monkeys who roam freely and are considered holy according to ancient traditions. As you can see from our pictures, we were able to feed a few of them with a cucumber--Ad was much more comfortable than I was.

Our next stop was Durbar Square, a plaza opposite of the old royal palace in a bustling section of Kathmandu. Considered a Unesco World Heritage site, Durbar is filled with temples and surrounded by spectacular historic architecture designed by artists and craftsmen over the centuries. Due to an earthquake in the 1930’s, the buildings reflect only those that are still standing and some are severely damaged.

If there is one thing that I have learned about traveling is that you never travel alone. You are constantly meeting amazing and interesting people along the way that enrich your travel experience. During our last few days in Nepal, we enjoyed a some beers with a local Nepalese guide, Ang Tseching, (a friend of Krammy’s) his two friends, a woman from Malaysia, a man from Bhutan, and a couple from Minnesota staying at the hotel. It is fun to share stories, travel experiences, see other cultures, and most importantly, make new friends.

Regarding our new friends from Minnesota (Eddie and Lucia), we are lucky to have had a chance to meet them. Less than a few weeks before our arrival into Kathmandu, a plane went down by the Lukla Airport (airport servicing Mt. Everest treks) sadly killing all 14 passengers aboard; ironically, the pilot's name was 'Lucky'. Eddie and Lucia were scheduled to be on that flight to trek Everest Base Camp yet due to inclement weather they decided to postpone it a few days instead; angels must have been watching over them that day.

Singapore – September 15

After Nepal, we flew through Mumbai and onto Singapore. Singapore, officially called the Republic of Singapore, is an island country located on the tip of Malaysia in the very southeast part of Asia. The city is cultured, clean, outdoor-oriented, cosmopolitan and one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We learned that Singapore is the world's fourth leading financial center and its port is amongst the top five busiest in the world. One of the reasons it is unique is that you cannot chew gum, graffiti or litter in this country or you get a big fine and possibly jail time, as signs are posted everywhere; if you bring drugs into the country, the penalty is death – which was clearly written on the visa paperwork we filled out upon arrival at the airport.

Hanoi, Vietnam – September 16-19

We arrived in Hanoi on September 16 and had a car pick us up at the airport. We heard that you get mobbed by taxi drivers, as well as potentially scammed by some that purposely take you to a hotel in which they receive a commission. Yet, we were grateful to arrive to a surprisingly peaceful airport and didn't have any problems.

Hanoi, translation, "Ascending Dragon," is the capital of Vietnam and located along the bank of the Red River. We stayed in the Old Quarter which is described as where the old meets the new. The streets are swarming with motorbikes, “hawkers” (vendors cooking meals on the side of the road for locals as well as tourists) fill the streets, and the sound of horns honking are in the air. If you plan to get anywhere, you must maneuver both motorbikes and cars in the street. It is pedestrian survival--you must cross the streets slowly to give the motorbikes sufficient time to judge their position and pass you on either side. It’s crazy and unlike anything we have experienced.

We spent a few days walking around the Old Quarter enjoying the lake (Hoan Kiem) in the middle of the city, delicious local food specialties like Pho, fried rice with seafood, things you didn’t know but tried anyway, looking at temples and enjoying the outdoor market at night. After a few days in the city, we decided to head to Halong Bay, one of Vietnam’s unique treasures.

Halong Bay – September 19-21

Halong Bay is best described as both majestic and mysterious and comprised of over 3000+ islands among emerald green waters. Also a Unesco World Heritage site, the unique bay is filled with vegetation-covered limestone cliffs that create breathing taking views; it's one of the best sites of Vietnam!

Ad and I decided to book 2-night, 3-day tour of Halong Bay through a travel agent recommended by Lonely Planet (Ocean Tours-and for the record they suck! Don't use them). The package included one-night on a boat, or a “junk” as they refer to it (and it's name deinitely represented the boat, it was a piece of junk), and one night in a bungalow located on Monkey Island. After we arrived in Halong City, jumped on a small boat to take us to our “junk”, we were bummed to arrive to a less than glamorous boat (it was really a junk boat) compared to most others out in the bay. Regardless, we made the best of it and enjoyed the company of the other 11 people on the boat.

We cruised out on our “junk” heading to tour a cave, then kayaked and ending with a slow ride toward Cat Ba Island (a national park where we would spend the night in our bungalow) while enjoying a beautiful sunset and conversation with new friends. We woke up on the boat the next morning and disembarked to Cat Ba Island. At this point we had the choice of either a hike or biking around the park; due to the 90+ degree weather (and 85% humidity) Ad and I opted for the bike.  Sidenote: we called our bike a 'geared single speed, as it had gears, but only one worked.  I (Adam) felt like Chris Farley in the movie Tommy Boy, but instead of 'Big man in a little suit', it was 'Big man on a little bike' VERY LITTLE BIKE. (Still crushed our 2 pack a day smoking guide-KAW)

After the bike, we were taken by another small boat to Monkey Island where we enjoyed a private bungalow (which was great!) on a sandy beach in a small cove. As the sun was starting to go down, we all enjoyed a few cocktails out in the water and slowly watch the beautiful sunset.

The next day, we took the boat back to Halong City and then the 4 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  Once in Hanoi we caught an overnight bus to Hue (15 hours south) which would be our next stop on our travels down the coast of Vietnam.  

We hope you are all healthy, happy and enjoying your life.

We miss and love you dearly,

Cathy and Adam