sawatdee
ummm, yeah, i know it’s been awhile since i have updated ye olde blog. it’s taken a bit to get back into the blogging groove and, admittedly, i’m not all the way back in it yet. here is a brief update:
after spending 2 solid days in transit from havana to bangkok, i spent a night and most of yesterday doing rudimentary things like getting acquainted with crazy-go-nuts bangkok, getting ripped off by tuk tuk drivers, indulging in some of the finest nourishment i’ve yet encountered, and the most needed of all (besides cooling off with Tiger Beers), naps. i am jetlagged, still, but starting to get over that now.
in short, i had a wonderful time in trinidad and cuba. both islands had much to offer in the way of culture and history, albeit quite different considering they are only a few islands apart from each other. trinidad is vibrant with an afro-indian feel to it and the food rocks, especially the cheap street food – roti, doubles – that you can find just about anywhere for about $.50 and are filling, spicy and good. did a couple ecotours with my friendly hostess’ son stephen and learned quite a bit about the variety of flora and fauna on the island. good times. after the chaos of carnival and lessons learned in ecology and botany, respectively, i headed out to havana. in between were a couple uneventful days in cancun. this actually didn’t disgust me too much as i expected cancun to (sorry to those who dig cancun. it’s not my cuppa tea, really, with all the walmarts and mcdonalds and megacorporations flooded in from america) and i enjoyed a rather pleasant stay in a small hotel in the center of town near the bus station. i was really anticipating the trip to cuba, though, so was really biding my time there. arrived in havana and got to my casa particular relatively easily. my host, raul, had been recommended to me by friends who’d gone there years earlier and he did not disappoint in the least. nice, clean, friendly place in stunningly beautiful vedado. did the whole town in 3 days, walked miles and miles through all those streets, snapped all those pictures, ate all those chickens and beans and rice, and sipped down easily all those mojitos. my only regret is that i didn’t have enough time to explore all of cuba. three days was far too short a time, but at least i got a little nugget.
so now bangkok. clogged with traffic and more pollution than i have experienced in quite some time (even mexico city was clean by comparison, if you can believe it), but all in all i am getting my bearings here somewhat and dealing with the chaos as any good travel trooper would. the idea is to go with the flow here and not worry about time constraints because they will not be met. the baht goes a long way here if you play it right, which i only have about 40 percent of the time, but it’s still so damn cheap that who cares if something costs $.30 or $.50!?! not i, truth be told. i realize this is a bad attitude to have as a budget traveler, and i should be more conscientious about my spending, but old habits are indeed hard to break and things are still relatively reasonably priced if you can manage the conversion quickly enough to figure it out. and frankly i would have paid dearly for some of the food i’ve had here, so i really don’t mind.
next up: north to nong khai on a second class sleeper on friday night (858 baht) where i will hang loose at mut mee guesthouse for a day or 15. i have read good things from other bloggers (see: “sandy does southeast asia” – she’s no longer there, i think, but it’s a good read and she spent six months in the area, the first bit at mut mee) and look forward to getting out of the traffic clogged city. bangkok is lively, that’s for sure, and the wats (temples) amazing but i need a break from the touts and smog. besides, from up there i can easily hang a left over to chiang mai or a righteous over to laos via the friendship bridge. how quaint is that? very, i think. the other possibility is to cover the rest of my “must sees” of cambodia and vietnam in addition to laos and northern thailand.
finally, i’m still working on getting my photos loaded up. apologies for delays galore…as you can imagine, hanging out in the internet room is not exactly my idea of traveling fun. i did far too much of this computer biz back home and one of my main desires for this trip was to get away from the creature comforts like the computer, cell phone, etc. etc. i won’t ignore this, and did promise to maintain the blog so everyone can know what’s up and that i’m healthy and well, but it may be more like a couple-three weeks between blog entries truth be told so i can get out and see the world rather than try to describe it colorfully (at this i am sure i will fail anyway – who am i kidding!) in text. a picture says a thousand words anyway, so hopefully i’ll get those photos of the trip so far up and running here.
stay tuned…
Tags: Cuba, on the road..., Thailand, Trinidad
karen_shelver
we missed you at the rodent records party karen! but wow what a trip!
i love reading your blog…
antonette
From Havana to Bangkok says it all doll! Can’t wait to read the newest update! xoxox JPG
Keep ’em comin’. You rock.
WOW! Just had lunch with you Mum and got the skinny on your travels. You are the Pride of the 29 PALMS GIRLS who have known you since BIRTH! When you are feeling low, just remember we are sending waves of love. Just watch movies on your eyelids. Love, Annie Weaver