Drinking From The Ganges

I once read a quote somewhere (or maybe heard it in a song):  ‘The days are long, but the years are fast.’  Couldn’t agree more.  Cannot believe it has seven months since my last post.  A lot and very little has happened to me in the last seven months.  I returned to Seattle, applied, applied, applied for jobs, found one after three months.  However, that is not where my story ends and it certainly was not as simple or easy during the three months of trying to find a job.  I certainly had my ups and downs…..I’m just glad that I had my wonderful grandfather and his wife Rita supporting me when I was down, thank you, I love you both!!!

Fast forward to Friday September 11, 2009 and you will find me in South Korea!  Yes, far from Seattle, where I was just two weeks ago!  How did I get here you ask……well after several months working in my new job in Seattle, I realized I was very unhappy with my life, i.e., living in Seattle and working my given profession.  So, I decided to make a change, one that would be completly different from my current life and one that would further my passion of traveling, trying new food and experiencing different cultures.  So here I am, living in Cheongju, South Korea (about an hour by bus from Seoul-further details later) and teaching students English.  You couldn’t get more different than that!

The final choice to come to South Korea was not so easy for me, up until two days before arriving, I contemplated, not going at all.  There were several reasons:

1)  First and the most important, my grandfather!  My grandfather is 89 years old and I didn’t want leave him for a whole year (under contract-may not be possible to go home if something should happen to him)

2)  I would make far less money teaching English in Korea than at my current job

3)  After many months of trying to find a second job, Finally three days before I was about to leave to South Korea, I found one

There were many more factors, but ultimatly the three above were the main ones.  Well clearly, the Pros out weighed the Cons, because here I am!  And after two weeks of being here, I can say, I made the right choice!

If you would like to continue to follow my blog about my life teaching English in South Korea, please follow the link to my new blog:

http://101-waystoeatkimchi.blogspot.com/

I write this entry not from an internet café in a far off land, a land where sounds, smell, people and languages are unfamiliar…..but rather from the place my journey began a little over thirteen months ago, Seattle Washington.

Writing this entry brings tears to eyes and sorrow to my heart, as this entry brings a sense of ‘closure’ to my journey of thirteen months and marks the beginning of a new journey….an unknown one much like my around the world journey, but possible not nearly as exciting (who knows only time will tell).  I mean really how exciting is it when; I understand the language, I don’t have to haggle for a pack of gum or a bar of soap, I’m not paying 200% more than the locals for a taxi ride (and I actually know how far it is from my house to the train station or airport), I’m not being constantly groped by the young local men and I know or can ask ‘what is in the soup’ rather than be surprised by unknown animals, rodents, reptiles and insects.  What is the excitement in knowing…….

I have been back three weeks, ‘back to life, back to reality’…..well definitely back to ‘reality,’ as for life…..well still trying to find my place.  I’m sure like many people who set off on an around the world trip for an extensive amount of time and return home, find it difficult to transition back into the life they knew before they left, one that is the same as when they left, but they are not the same upon return.  I am no different; I have come back to a place where all my friends’ lives are still going on just as I left them….a few with new additions, such as wife, husband, child, new house, new job, etc.  But as for me, there is no house, no automobile, no significant other, no furniture, no job (never owned a house, sold, donated and quit all of the above).  But what I do have is thirteen months of travel and twenty-two countries full of memories and experiences…..yes not tangible items, nothing that I can put on my resume, put on my w-2 form, put in my 401k, show to someone as I walk down my block or while standing in an elevator, nothing in that sense….but some of the best things in life you cannot touch, define or explain….and sometimes when you do the value of that ‘object’ looses some of its worth.  Some things are best experienced by doing……not by buying, reading, hearing, showing, but doing and that is exactly what I have done!

I have often cursed this Blog throughout the course of my travels; it has been like homework for me.  Homework because, I would always have it as a ‘to do,’ have a ‘deadline’ when it must be completed (though an imaginary one and one that I really didn’t follow too closely, especially by the time I reached my fifteenth country), find an internet café in every new city/country so I could write the blog entry for a country I had left three weeks prior.  However, after arriving home, I am definitely glad I have kept up with my blog.  Because, like many people when they take a two week holiday from work, return home, return to work, it feels like you never left.  Well, I know I actually did travel for thirteen months and on those days it doesn’t feel so real…..I have my blog!  Speaking of blog, I do plan to write my entries for Australia, New Zealand and upload photos.  I also, plan to do a ‘top ten’ list and a few additional items…….and after that well, onto my next journey, which is currently in the works.  So I won’t say ‘good-bye,’ but say, ‘until next time!’

Revision to this entry as of September 2009-  I suspect i won’t be writing about Australia or New Zealand, I have since moved on to South Korea……on a new blog.

Sapa, Vietnam (Northern Vietnam)

Sapa is in northern Vietnam and lays 38km from Lao Cai, China (border town in South West China).   Sa Pa is surrounded by the Fansipan mountain (about 3000m high), the Ta Van River, dotted with Hmong villages, valleys, and rice terraces.  Sa Pa is surrounded by an endless amounts of natural beauty.

During my three day stay in Sa Pa I rented a moped which took me through Hmong villages, caves, and mountains.  After the first day crusing Sa Pa on mopeds, I booked a tour to visit local Hmong villages.  The tour consisted of a 2 day 2 night trek/home stay.  The first day of the trek we were led by a local Hmong girl, who guided us through the hills of Sa Pa, up, down and around rivers, mountains, rice terraces, dodging pigs, chickens and water buffalo…until finally making our way to our home stay….. the house of Mr. Tim!  Read the rest of this entry »

Link to Photos:

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj159/Rbalthazar/4000%20Islands-Champasak-Tad%20Lo/?action=view&current=89b5b6ec.pbr

I took an eight hour bus ride from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang…..although the people who booked the bus tickets said ‘it only takes six hours,’ don’t believe them!  The roads from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang are not paved, are rough and curvy…..as a result, many, many people throughout the journey had to run to the toilet on the bus because they were sick from the bus ride!  However, once you reach Luang Prabang you have arrived in a beautiful, beautiful city with mountains in the background and the Mekong river sitting calmly beside the french influenced architecture in the city center. Read the rest of this entry »

Link to Photos:

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj159/Rbalthazar/Luang%20Prabang%20Laos/?action=view&current=1234d518.pbr

Link to photos:

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj159/Rbalthazar/Ha%20Long%20Bay%20Vietnam/?action=view&current=6da31262.pbr

Vang Vieng, Laos is a small, small town of about thirty-thousand…..but has a big, big reputation for the best tubing experience, EVER!

Drunken debauchery is a side effect of tubing in Vang Vieng, it cannot be avoided, if you want the ‘true’ tubing experience.  And here is the recipe:  1 part- tube, 1 part- river and 2 parts- Lao Lao Whiskey!

‘Tubing, Vang Vieng Style’:  First you put on your swimsuit, load your pockets with ‘kip’ (Lao money)- lots of ‘kip’, because you will definitely be consuming, many, many, buckets of ‘fine’ Lao Lao Whiskey, various types of mixers, shots and of course BEERLAO.  Once the suit is on and the pockets are loaded….you are ready!  Keep in mind, whatever else you bring for a day of tubing could be lost in transit, while inebriated…..therefore it is not recommended to bring anything else ( common lost articles are; cameras and ATM cards). Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine a country where all the retirees go to retire in their ’golden years’.  A country who’s capital city (Vientiane) only has a population of about two-hundred thousand (the largest populated city in Laos).  A country that is landlocked by Thailand and Vietnam, but has the ‘Mighty Mekong’ running through it.  A country where the retired ‘folk’ can regress back to childhood; by frolicking in the sun, tubing down the Mekong or leisurely riding a bike (of course without hills) through jungle lined paths.  A country where the only hurry you have is to make it past the heard of water buffalo crossing in front of you while biking…..but even then, you can stop for a break and soak up the scenery and let them pass before you.  A country where your only bother is the rooster (more like roosters- there are many) who wake you up at 5am each and every morning, but can be cured with a delicious cup of ‘Laos Coffee’ (which can be taken black or sweet-which is made with condensed milk-YUM).  A country where the only decisions you have to make are; at what time should you crack open your first BeerLao and what hammock (of the many, many dispersed throughout the country) do you want to lay in first?  And this was my first impression of Laos…….

Laos, is such a slow moving country.  As a Lao person once said to me ‘we are lazy,’ I disagree, i just think they are laid-back.  A country where the ‘Tuk, Tuk’ drivers, Guesthouse owners and retailers could careless if they make a ‘kip’ (Laos money) off of you.  Either you like the price stated or you can ‘piss off’….as one Guesthouse owner said, “I’m not in it for the money.’

I found Laos way of living quite refreshing after many, many months of traveling…..just what I needed at just the right time.

Photo Link:

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj159/Rbalthazar/Sapa-Vietnam/?action=view&current=19db814d.pbr