Wazzup from Wazzah

Once we arrived back on Koh Samui, we took a taxi to the resort we booked for our last night in Thailand. The place was called Wazzah Resort Bungalows and we figured with a name like that, who could refuse. No really, we picked it because it was reasonably priced (1900B ~$63USD total), had a pool and AC and the pictures of it looked cute. Unfortunately, we didn't get the family unit which was the upper and lower units with an internal spiral staircase, but instead we had both levels of one unit.

We checked in slightly after 11am and had the whole day. We hung out by the pool swimming, lying around and reading books. It was a nice relaxing day. The only downfall to the place is that it is a bit out of town and not on the beach. It was a 10-minute walk to town and about 5 more minutes to the beach. No big deal. We walked down to the beach for a late lunch at Mae Nam Cheer. The restaurant was tasty, so we ended up going back there for dinner that evening. I had the best Som Yam (spicy papaya salad) of the entire trip...boy was that a spicy meatball!

We trekked back to the room at close to 8pm in the dark. Since I had finished The Kite Runner earlier in the day, I read a bit of Lisa's Ancient Angkor book before finally going to bed at 9:45pm. Lisa was still reading Erica Spindler's All Fall Down when I fell asleep.

On the rocks (no, not booze)

We flew to Koh Samui on Tuesday evening and got a room at Mae Mai Home on the Mae Nam beach there. Apparently the caretaker was confused with the time we would be arriving and had it in his mind that it would be 1800 hours instead of 8:00pm. So, when we arrived at 9:00pm, he was saying we were rude for waking him up out of his sleep. Once he calmed down and realized his mistake, he was great. He showed us to our room of two twin beds and a rollaway cot which Lisa termed the "diaper bed". It was a cot mattress covered in plastic, so every time I moved throughout the night, it made a great deal of noise. Anyway, all we were doing was getting up the next day to travel by ferry to Koh Pha Ngan.

Unfortunately, the ferry we wanted to take was not running due to the rough seas, but there was a backup plan. We took the high-speed catamaran to Thong Sala and then met our taxi to take us on a one-hour, jarring ride through the jungle to Thong Sadet. Better buckle up for safety, Flash!

There we checked in at Mai Pen Rai bungalows - the place Staci has affectionately called On the Rocks for three years now. It is an appropriate name given that the bungalows are literally carved partially out of the rocks surrounding them. Our bungalow #30 consisted of a queen bed and a loft with two twin beds. The bathroom is a work of art! We spent an hour that afternoon and all the next day on the small beach there. At night, we would climb the rocks to eat at Silver Cliff restaurant. That was a workout, although well worth it given they served the best Tom Kha Gai soup that I have had to date.

The next morning, Friday the 14th at 9:30am, we boarded the Thong Nai Pon longtail boat ferry at the beach there which took us directly back to Koh Samui. On the way we passed Haad Rin, a very nice beach where tons of people were gathering to celebrate the half moon that evening with a huge "magic" fest. Even though our stay on Koh Pha Ngan was short, it was well worth the trek there.

Life's a beach

The past couple of days have been spent doing nothing but lying out in the sun, swimming or floating on rafts in the ocean and eating beachside. The beach is quite nice and has some really cool bungalows up from ours that are directly on the beach. The place is called Lonely Beach, but it gets enough traffic with a place called The Treehouse (a backpacker camp) right next to our bungalows and the very nice place up the beach called Siam.

These two days (Sunday and Monday) have been really low-key and that has been good. Lisa and I finally got our first massages last night. How awesome is it that we had a full hour of authentic Thai massage while being directly on the beach watching the sunset - all for the grand sum of less than $7USD...I could get used to this!!

It's Tuesday afternoon here. Staci and I went to one of the internet cafes in Lonely Beach this morning, met Lisa for our last lunch at Sunset Restaurant (amazing chicken pad thai and a watermelon shake for just over $2USD!) and boarded our shuttle to take us on the ferry from Koh Chang to the Trat airport. The ride to/from our place to the ferry was a bit hairy. Koh Chang's got some major hills and 180 degree turns while going up and down, although it doesn't hold a candle to the rode from the southern airport to Castries in St. Lucia.

Now, we've checked in for the flight back to Bangkok where we'll then transfer to a flight bound for Koh Samui this evening. We're here using Bangkok Airways' free internet service drinking iced coffee while waiting. The airline service here is a bit different than at home. Meal or snack on every flight and lounges available while between flights. I think those days are gone in US, but it's nice to have while we're here.

Tomorrow, we'll leave Koh Samui on a ferry en route to Koh Pha Ngan. Staci believes this to be the highlight of our trip, so I'll tell you guys all about it once I have internet again. Until then...

The sun'll come out tomorrow

Let's recap since it's been a while...We spent our last day in Cambodia leisurely strolling through town and reading books at the hotel. Our driver came to take us to the airport at 6:45pm for our 8:55 flight back to Bangkok. From there, we were taking a plane first thing in the morning to Trat Airport en route to Koh Chang. Since we arrived so late and cleared customs at 11:30pm, it made no sense to us to get a hotel room for the 7 hours we would be away from the airport since we had to be back and check in at 6:30am. So we bucked up like little campers and claimed our space along a row of chairs in the main terminal and slept. Lisa and Staci were on one set and I was on another along with Chatty Patty, who kept me awake for the better part of the night. Actually he was a very nice, decorated Vietnam War vet who was going back with some of his fellow soldiers to Vietnam. His stories was truly interesting, but I'm sure my eyes were completely glazed over when I was trying to stay awake.

So, after about 2 hours of actual sleep, I was ready to go on about the day. We checked in and then headed to the Bangkok Airways lounge complete with free hi-speed internet and snacks. One of our group didn't fare too well with the lack of sleep and was extremely cranky, but once we landed at Trat, things were cool. From there, we boarded a ferry to Koh Chang and arrived at our home away from home for the next 3 days - Sunset Huts. They are right on the beach, 1000B for an AC bungalow, and very nice. There were torrential downpours earlier in the day, so there were pools of water everywhere. I took advantage of the cloudy afternoon by taking a nap while Lisa and Staci went to lunch and hung out on the deck at the Sunset restaurant.

We gathered around 5:30pm for dinner on the deck. As many of you know, Ali and I just went to Negril, Jamaica in January which is known for its sunsets. All I can say is that this sunset was the most beautiful I've ever seen. We saw the entire ball of sun fall from the sky into the ocean facing due west. It was a completely unobstructed view with nothing surrounding it but the ocean. The only thing that would have made it better was to have Ali here to share it. ;-)

We all crashed pretty early in hopes of getting up at a reasonable hour and taking advantage of a day of sun on the beach.

It's really hot, hot, hot in Angkor Wat, Wat, Wat

After going to bed at 7:45pm last night, we got up bright and early at 4:30am this morning. We had arranged for our tuk-tuk driver (Sarith) to pick us up at 5am to head out to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We arrived at the site in pitch-black darkness, but we joined some people that had a flashlight and trekked on over to get a prime position in front of the water to see the sun's reflection when coming up. Waiting for the sun to actually appear was like watching paint dry, but once it was on the move, it was amazing! I videod the few minutes where it came over the top of the wat and that turned out great. By this time, it was 7am and we were off and running. The Angkor complex consists of 27 temples and other buildings, so there was a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. Angkor Wat, the main temple, is the true symbol of Cambodia and is the building represented in the middle of the Cambodian flag. We decided to leave the viewing of this particular temple for later, so we could hit some of the other temples before the crowds came. We went to Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple, The Terrace of the Elephants, The Terrace of the Leper King, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, Banteay Srei and finally Angkor Wat. It was ungodly hot at a near 100 degrees and full sun, but we were able to burn through the complex in just under 12 hours and nearly 200 pictures! We were completely whipped, but all in all, it was a great day and we were completely proud of ourselves for having done the majority of the temples in one day. Tomorrow, we are here in Siem Reap all day and then fly back to Bangkok around 9pm. Our flight leaves the next morning to go to Ko Chang where we'll begin the chill-out period of our trip. Can't wait...

Me love you Luang time

Our last day is Luang Prabang is here. Bummer! This town has totally grown on me. It was a great first stop on our trip to decompress and spend a few days in a true "local"-type setting. This morning, we got up and went to see the Tak Bat ceremony with the monks again. It is such a peaceful way to start the day. Of course, I woke up today at 4am after just over 4 hours of sleep. Needless to say, tonight may be an early night for me.

From there, we had breakfast at the same place as yesterday. Afterward, Lisa went back to the room to get ready to leave while Staci and I caught a little more time online. Our strategy was really not about the internet time but rather to stalk the little lady that was coming a bit later with our iced Lao coffee. Boy is that stuff worth waiting for...um, um, good!

We booked it back to the room and got our packs ready to go to the airport. We boarded our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia and are in town for just over two days to see Angkor Wat, an ancient set of formerly Hindu now Buddhist temples which are one of the man-made wonders of the world. We are staying at a place called the Golden Banana (more on that later) and all seems to be well. We went out for a late lunch/early dinner where we had amok chicken, long beans & chicken, spring rolls and corn seed & rice bubble dessert along with a bottle of red wine. Tomorrow, our tuk-tuk driver comes to pick us up at double 0 dark (a little before 5am), so we can be in the Angkor compound to watch the sunrise. Should be spectacular, so stay tuned.

Oh say can Phu Si

Today was a much lower key day than yesterday in Luang Prabang. We all slept in and got up around 9:30am. We had banana crepes with honey and chocolate for breakfast and then went to the internet cafe for a couple of hours. After that, we had more khao soi for lunch (this time it included beef tendon which as Ali knows is one of my favorites). Staci and Lisa were not thrilled about the tendon, but they did a good job getting through it!

From there, it was on to the art gallery where both Lisa and Staci bought one-of-a-kind pieces by Wang Kone. Lisa debated it for a while, but finally decided to bite the bullet since she would never have the opportunity again. After that, we split up. Lisa went to check out one of the oldest wats in town. Staci and I had our priorities which included iced Lao coffee with milk (as Jang and Kalama would say, this stuff is "MONEY!!").

We went back to the room to meet up with Lisa. Staci wasn't feeling so hot, so Lisa and I went on our own to hike to the top of Phu Si (pronounced foo-see) to see the sunset. Unfortunately it was a bit of a bust since there was a lot of cloud cover, but it was still worth it to see the awesome views overlooking the entire city of Luang Prabang. After we descended, we went back to the room and grabbed Staci for dinner. We ate traditional Lao food and then turned in early. Tomorrow, we leave for Cambodia.

Welcome to the jungle

After our morning of seeing the monks, we headed off at 7:45am to go on the tour we booked for the day through All Lao Travel. First stop was the Mahout Elephant Lodge. These huge, heavy animals have the nicest eyes. We saddled up and at first, they had all three of us on different elephants. Unfortunately some more people joined our tour, so Lisa and I shared while Staci had one to herself. The good part was that this was Staci's third time on the elephants, so she went ahead of us and took pictures. All I can say is that we're well documented on this excursion! We rode across the river and then out through the jungle for an hour. Honestly, the trip was really cool, but I was ready to get off and do something else for a while.

We went from the elephants to our bamboo raft. We meandered down the Nam Khan River while eating lunch. We had fried rice with egg, pork and spicy sauce which was great. Our tour guide, Tuoy (pronounced Two-ee) had studied English for three years in college and was excellent. He was 25 and married just a month. He spent the bulk of the time telling us about the life of a monk. The minimum time a boy must spend as a monk is 6 nights/7 days. You can start as early as 6-7 years old. First, you begin as a seung, then you become a teep and finally a john. A boy's monkhood determines his mother's safe passage to nirvana, the afterlife.

From the raft, we boarded a van to take us to the Kuang Si waterfall. Having seen a ton of waterfalls in several different countries, this is one of the most beautiful set of waterfalls I have ever seen. We had two hours at the falls. They had bears and a tiger for viewing as well. At most every stage of the falls, there was a "pool" for swimming, but the water was pretty chilly. Somehow on the way up, Lisa and I lost Staci. Up to this point, the path was a relatively easy grade; however, that changed quickly as we began a very steep 45-55 degree ascent on the trek up to the top of the falls. Once we were literally at the top, we met the first two people coming down. We were unbelievably disappointed to learn that there was virtually no view from the top. Determined to prove them wrong and find a better view, we decided to cross the water to get to the part where the water drops over the edge to form the falls. Bad idea!

I went first - one foot in on the slick mud bank and down I went. My only concern was not for my safety but rather my brand-new camera that had just gone partially under. The next thing to worry about was my soccer sandals which were fast approaching the overflow. Fortunately the camera was in the case and upon inspection, no water had come into the bag. THANK YOU, Christine, for having such a nice waterproof bag and letting me borrow it!!

So after all that excitement and with soaking wet shorts, t-shirt and sandals, we began the journey down. I think it was 20x scarier going down than up! We were able to stop along the way down and walk out to the falls. Gorgeous! We met back up with the van and headed back to town.

We had an 8pm reservation at Villa Santi, but after a very long, action-packed day and less than 4 hours sleep for me, we decided to go and see if they could seat us early. They happily obliged and we ordered a feast of fried fish in pepper sauce, green papaya salad, Luang Prabang salad, fried noodle with beef, red curry chicken, banana fritters in honey and caramel custard. Staci and I split a carafe of red wine (which turned out to be an Italian red, Elefante, in a BOX!) most like a pinot noir and very good. All in all, we spent a whopping $17 each on dinner.

My eyes were getting glassy by time dinner was coming to a close, so afterward, we walked back to the room. The couple of blocks back to our guesthouse was not without event. Lisa stepped off the curb and in slow motion, nearly face-planted. Once we determined she was okay, we nearly laughed ourselves silly. It was the perfect ending to a great day!

A lot came from the wat for Tak Bat

I'll explain this post title in just a second. First a recap continuing from our first night in Bangkok...

We got up early the next morning, ate breakfast and headed to the airport in a cab with Manoo Richon - killer, insect killer. He was super friendly and made our 35-minute taxi trip to the airport quite enjoyable. We checked in, breezed through customs and were on our way (along with the chickens stowed just outside the captain's door in the airplane) to Luang Prabang, Laos.

Upon arrival, we checked in at the Sayo River GuestHouse, a charming place on the Mekong River. They didn't have the big room ready, so we split up (Staci and I in one room, Lisa in the other). We ditched our backpacks and headed out to tool around town. We ate khao soi, a noodle soup with beef with fresh herbs. Then we strolled down to a side street offering many unique food offerings such as intestines, heart, tongue and other fun stuff. Later, we ate dinner at a pretty upscale place called 3 Nagas where we feasted on Luang Prabang salad, fish/chicken/eggplant & mushrooms in banana leaves, water buffalo stew, beef & onions, warmed banana & tapioca, and chocolate fondant with cream & caramel sauce). All for the grand total of $15 each. It's great to have good friends so you can order a bunch of things and have a small taste of each one!

Now, I'll explain the title of this post. Every morning at 6:30am, there is a ceremony called Tak Bat. All the monks in the entire city come from their respective wats (temples) and walk a route through town collecting alms from the loyal Buddhists in the community. It is absolutely amazing to see the long line of orange-clad, bare feet monks walking through with their bowls to collect rice. Male Buddhists paying homage are allowed to stand and give the rice while females must remain kneeling the entire time. Those observing the procession are supposed to respect the tradition - dress accordingly (no bare shoulders or knees), be lower than the monks (i.e. sit while they're walking through) and remain on the side opposite the alms-givers. It is always curious to me when traveling to other countries how little some people read about other's cultures and completely disrespect them by not being aware of their traditions (i.e. taking pictures up close during the procession, standing in the middle of the road, etc.). Just a pet peeve of ours: When you travel to a foreign land, do the research and don't be the ignorant American that gives the rest of us a bad name!

Off to the elephants...

One night in Bangkok

After the never-ending day of flying over 24 hours, we finally arrived in Bangkok. Our trip through immigration was a nightmare - I felt like it was the old Jamaica airport taking us over an hour to clear. Lisa and I decided to hang out at the airport and wait for Staci. We all boarded the bus to Khao San, a very popular spot near the Royal Palace. We stayed at the Royal Palace Hotel and upon arrival, dropped off our packs and headed out to see the sights.

We walked past the Palace and down to Wat Phra, a very old and ornate set of temples with the world's only reclining Buddha. It is amazing, enormous and truly unique. We're getting the feeling quickly that once you've seen one wat, you've seen 'em all. After our tour of the wat compound, we headed back to Khao San for shopping and dinner. I feel compelled to list our dinner menu from the street vendors - pad thai (35 B), spicy green mango (15B), spring roll (10B), thai iced tea (17B), and mango sticky rice (20B). Yes, all that for about $3 USD!! Unbelievable! In bed by 8pm after our first day in Asia...not bad!

On the plane again, just can't wait to get on the plane again!

Wow, what a full day of traveling! Lisa and I left Dulles at 5:45pm on Thursday evening, took a nearly 5-hour flight to LA only to have a 2.5 hour layover to take a 14-hour flight to Taiwan. We're here in the airport waiting to board our nearly 4-hour flight to Bangkok. Yes, that's a lot of flying. It's crazy but the flight to Taiwan wasn't so bad. We slept for about 5 hours and then watched 3 movies (Gone Baby Gone, The Kingdom & Michael Clayton). EVA Air was great and we were completely comfortable for the trip.

Our layover here in Taiwan has meant one thing - FREE massage chairs (just like the $5,000 ones they have at Brookstone)! Just ask for a token at one of the shops and you can spend 15 minutes in the Green Room surrounded by plants and peaceful music while getting a great massage. We took two turns but didn't want to overdue our welcome. Now, we're off to Bangkok to meet up with Staci near the Royal Palace. Adrenaline's high, so we're pretty lively for people running on little sleep. We'll see what happens tonight. Until the next post, take care.