The Plan B Adventure

(Warning: this blog entry is entirely written with Jeff’s opinions)

Maybe, I’m getting lazy in my old age but I just couldn’t bring myself to waking at 6AM (alone), wrestling a 100Baht ride 7KM into town, waking a bar owner and getting past the language barrier to watch a football game where, from all accounts, it sounds like I was lucky for missing. Of course as usual we (Seattle) were screwed by the officials (Big Ben TD), robbed of a game we should have won (Nice 4Q interception Hasselback), and never saw the trick play coming (how many times has Randle-El pulled off that pass….plenty). I guess I’m just being a little crass since I just learned of their defeat but it was quite peaceful (and tiring) hiking with the Buddhists through 1000 year old caves while, full well knowing, I could be watching the Seahawks. Doesn’t mean I’m not a fan….it might just mean I’m learning to prioritize. Well….we’ll see next year if I still have that opinion!!

With all sincerity thank you to all whom helped with brief posts during the game….it was very thoughtful. Talk to you all soon…..

Ahh…..out of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok!! We are now in the quiet Northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai. As our guidebook recommended we splurged for $25/day on a room at the Montri Hotel. Very nice and very centrally located in the old city part of Chiang Mai. The city has a population of over a million yet it feels like a quarter of that. As we’ve seen in much of Thailand there are many more tourists compared to China but people are extremely nice and courteous to the local Thais….well I guess that can’t be said for the old single men travelling alone (if you know what I mean) but at least they are spending their $$$ here.

As we stepped off the plane with our new friends, Stephen and Melissa, we decided to pick up a local songthaew (pickup w/benches in the back) and split a ride downtown to our hotels. Our tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai were under $50 each so we decided to splurge on the transportation for a whopping 50 baht ($1.10USD). The cost of things is something we knew was going to be inexpensive but once you are immersed in it, the idea of how cheap things are really sinks in….Of course we are trying to make up for this by properly (yet still within the local scale) compensating drivers and guides for what they do. It is shocking to see yourself get caught up negotiating with a tuk-tuk driver between 30 and 40 baht when the monetary difference to your pocket is less than 10 cents. There is another interesting conundrum we have noticed and begun discussing with other travellers. It is the issue of letting your defense mechanism down enough to enjoy the local people and their advice. After our ride from the airport and stopping off at our hotel we made our way down the street to a gorgeous wat (Buddhist Temple) at closing time. As we were entering, I (Jeff) began talking with a local guy and he began to offer advice, ideas, etc……We are both extremely open to meeting new people and adhering to some of their recommendations but letting your guard down enough to enjoy the conversation and not believe they have ulterior motives is not always easy. Our solution: being just as interested in their lives as they are in ours. This leads to legitimizing their curiousity and helps us to acclimate with others better. The gentlemen, Pui, at Wat Prasingh, happened to be an electrical engineer at the Singha Brewery in Bangkok and was in Chiang Mai for the big Flower Festival and vacation. He comes to Chiang Mai quite often to escape Bangkok and enjoyed sharing with us where the locals shop, eat, and how to catch the best of the monk activities at the local Wats. In addition he recommended we go see Doi Suthep, the famous Wat on the mountain, where the sacred white elephant found its final resting (story is a bit more involved) place over 600 years ago. We loved it!!! After meeting Pui and listening to the monks chant for over 40 minutes we ran into a local Thai history teacher on the way out. He confirmed our comfort with Poon’s recommendations and offered some others….Amazing what you can experience when you learn to consciously trust others. This doesn’t mean we are losing our “big-city” skepticism and will become extremely naive, it really means that we want to be more open in accepting people’s generosity and experience the world for what it has to offer.

Ok….so enough about our travelling philosophy and back to the adventure. We ended up meeting Stephen and Melissa for a great dinner that night and ending the night sauntering through the local night bazaar. Now this is an open message to all…..things are ridiculously cheap here, so much so, that if you can afford a ticket to Thailand (not that much) we can point you in the direction of things you buy at home (silk pillow covers, wooden teak furniture, knock-off watches, tailored clothes) for a tenth of the price. Seriously……I don’t think Westerners are meant to see these things as they will never pay full price at home again. Unfortunately, we can’t tote too much around with us and are attempting to keep our budget controlled so shopping is a frustrating experience for us (Jeff especially)….HAHA.

What has been our solution….purchase the things that can be digested (or sometimes not) and enjoy a filling meal for under 5 dollars. Unbelieveable…..the cuisine has go to be one of our favorite characteristics of Thailand and we are making it the full experience. After getting up on the 2nd day in Chiang Mai and visiting some of the local sights we wandered down the streets of the local Anniversary market and here’s a sample of what Jeff (don’t be jealous, Russell) took in:

1. Pad Thai (10Baht = 25 Cents)
2. Fried Sweet Pumpkin Fries (10 Baht = 25 Cents)
3. Grilled Sticky Rice (5 Baht = really cheap)
4. 3 Pork Dumplings (10 Baht = 25 cents)
5. Glass of Fanta Orange (5 Baht = even cheaper)
6. Palm Sugar Donuts (10 Baht = 25 Cents)

Yes….Jeff might become extremely large in SE Asia by the looks of this meal, but he just couldn’t stop…….Becca was much more conservative with her waistline effect and had the local Chiang Mai speciality, Kaow Soi Gai, brown curry chicken soup with yellow noodles (20 baht), but she also got a brown skirt (160 Baht = 4 dollars).

We know….the food is great so why not learn how to make some. That is just what we did at the highly-recommended Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School. The class (on their website, we took Class #1)in from 10am – 4pm and cost $25….unbelieveable!!! We showed up promptly after watching the big, local Flower Festival parade and were whisked off to the market for some research. Here we learned about rice vs bean noodles, different local veggies, and, most imporant, how Thais obtain there fish meat!!! After picking up some ingredients we went back to “slave” in the kitchen. Before each dish we would sit down with our resident chef, Roond, (Em….she really knows how to handle her kitchen, you’d approve!!!) and learn how to build the dish….then we would prep our ingredients and begin to cook. After each meal we would get to enjoy the fruits of our labor and a little chat with the others, then back up for more cooking and more eating. Check out the pics of all our eats on the Flickr site. This is something we BOTH really enjoyed and will have to become a regular budgetary item while on the road!!!

Well…this has taken a while to upload pics and document our adventures. We are off to share a Chang Beer and play some Cribbage….We leave for Chiang Dao and the Nest tomorrow so stay tuned for our elephant adventures and Becca’s first day of pampering.

Hello Everybody…….we are currently enjoying lovely Thailand (90 deg and humid, quite a change from China) and the people of their largest city, Bangkok. By the looks of all the food and shoe vendors I can’t believe anyone ever starves or wears unattractive shoes. The people of Thailand (especially Bangkok) have us completely enamored. So much so, that we are booking a flight ($40/each) to Chiang Mai and heading north to experience the hill towns and cultural communities of Northern Thailand. With Air Asia (Yes…they are safe, Dad) it is ridiculous to ride in a sweaty bus for 8 hours opposed to a comfortable 1 hour plane flight.

Our initial impressions of Bangkok are diverse. The food is delicious, locals endearing, yet fellow travellers a little meaty (tattoos and heavy drinkers), if you know what we mean. We did meet a fabulous world traveller like ourselves from California. Vicky, you are an inspiration to all solo-travellers and thank you for your advice and conversation. We are headed to Northern Thailand as you can see and hope to see you there!!!

We are also attempting to secure our Indian and Pakistani Visas while in Bangkok. As you can all imagine the Pakistani embassy doesn’t have a line at the door so it looks like we can get that one pretty easy. The Indian Visa is a bit more time-consuming. You have to submit an application on Day 1 with a copy of your passport, drop off your real passport in the AM on Day 5 and pick up your passport and Visa in the PM on Day 5. We might wait for Beijing on this one since we won’t be in BKK for that length of time.

We will keep in touch as we plan our adventures through SE Asia and anticipate a picture download in the near future. As a STAY TUNED…..we anticipate a cooking class in Chiang Rai, a float down the Mekong in Laos, and a beach bungalow some where in Vietnam……Thanks again for all your attention and your continued posts.

MOMS – we love your posts. It’s so nice to see the Internet having a positive affect on your lives!!!!

Back in HKG after a great jaunt into southern China. We are celebrating the New Year with the locals and getting planned for the next leg of our trip in SE Asia. Talk to you all soon. We really appreciate all the comments and postings. Keep it up!!!!

What a great, educational 4-5 days we had in Guang Xi and Guangdong provinces. We are back in Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year (known as Spring Festival locally). I’ve finally found a computer that didn’t freeze up, shock me, or reject my camera USB connection so visit the World Photo Map for a sampling of our first week’s pictures.

Our last post left you with an idea for the hellish bus trip we took from Guangzhou. After a bit of discussion with other travellers and some additional personal experience we were a little “green”. But it’s the experiences that make us richer, right? I don’t know if Becca would agree in this case!!!

Yangshuo is a great little backpacker haven. Seems like it use to be a sleepy little town before the West and many of Chinese discovered the beauty of the Yulong and Li River mountains. It is still completely enjoyable and allows you to join up with other travellers after an exciting day and share your stories. We quite enjoyed our experience in the city and hired a local guide, Jade, to take us around the Yangshuo countryside. We were joined by a couple from Holland, Manon and Brant. Manon is volunteering outside of Beijing with Chinese orphans (kudos!) and Brant is a sous chef in Haarlem. We had a great time peddling through the back channels of the agricultural community of Yangshuo. In our opinion the people are extremely friendly and very welcoming as we snapped shots of them in the fields and working their everyday task. We stopped by a few touristy traps (Moon Hill was the best) where we all got a feeling for the way capitalism has affected small town Yangshuo. It seems that they have named every mountain that resembles something and charge something nominal just to cast your eyes in its directions. We ventured up Moon Hill (vista pics on the map), covering 800 steps to amazing sweeping vistas of the Yulong River valley. Little did we know these steps were a small pre-cursor of our journey to come. Returned to town after venturing through the back streets of a small Yangshuo outskirt and finished off the afternoon by splitting a few LiQuan (local beer better than Tsing Tao, Matt!!) with Manon and Brant, and sampling some of the local cuisine. Yangshuo and the surrounding areas have some interesting eats. Not necessarily our favorite flavors (or lack thereof) but the noodles and veggies were Bec’s fav while Jeff tremendously enjoyed the local Beer Fish. That night Jeff taught Becca to play Cribbage and we enjoyed some additional beers in the relaxing, yet smoky confines of Lisa’s Cafe. Seriously I don’t think we’ve met anyone in our age group whom hasn’t smoked. Ugh!!!

The next AM we lazily got up, had some breakfast, chatted with Thomas (a Yangshuo local from Appomattox) and then headed off for the local roaming town market in Fuli. Jumped on a local bus to experience the everyday folks of the region and just loved it. They treat Becca like a queen (who doesn’t?!!) due to her height and hair. As the only non-locals we got quite a bit of attention making our way through the market which contained an enormous array of worldy goods. From herbal medicines, to public dentistry, to children flash cooking pork, and even a local Tony Robbins selling a build-it-yourself gas machine better known to us as a “Coleman Camping Oven”. After all the excitement of the market we decided to thumb a ride on the local bus to Xingping, the launch point for a small boat float down the Li and Yulong Rivers. As we made our way to the boat we ran into our American friends, John and Janice, whom were a blast and wealth of knowledge (We tried to get to M at the Fringe Janice, but got terribly lost and went to Ruth’s Chris instead..HAHA) to hang out with for the rest of the afternoon. The boat float was breathtaking even when our El Capitan made us hit the deck as the authorities zoomed by. Apparently he is only allowed to take a few passengers and he had more than he should of. Oh Well….makes for great stories! On our way back into Yangshuo we ran into our new friend, Neal Clark. Neal’s an Aussie living in Norway whom we thoroughly enjoyed sharing a coffee and conversation about everything from his SE Asia advice, to communism, to the beggars in China. We hope to run into you again Neal. Safe Travels.

Up the next AM early and leaving Yangshuo to move onto the hidden-away world of Longsheng. Unknown to us prior to leaving, Longsheng is the large town at the bottom of all the mountains. Definitely the place you want to stay if you go to that area. Instead we chose to stay in the small, small village of DaZhai where the bus dropped us off. DaZhai is an ancient community inhabited by many of the smallest groups of Chinese ethnic minorities built into the rice-terraced mountains of China. Absolutely gorgeous but very remote and very “RUSTIC”. We hiked around the mountains the whole day while our bags rested safely in our new accommodations. It wasn’t until later in the evening after all the tourists left that we realized where we were and what we had gotten into. Not that we regret the amazing experience at the Pan’s guesthouse but it might have been a little ambitious based on our desired level of comfort and the next days activities. HAHA!!

Oh….man. This day was the toughest yet. Jeff decided a 17km hike through the mountains to the next town wouldn’t be that bad. But once you strap your pack on, look down at the stones you are walking on, and proceed to hike up and down four mountains each changing by 1500 feet up and down….it turns into quite an adventure. Two days later we are still recovering!!!! For all the heartache it was a Chinese hiking trip of a lifetime. We hired a local guide whom after further review was interested in every spare dollar we would give her. Kind of disappointing that tourism has affect such a beautiful culture in this way but I guess we don’t help it by throwing our money around. We arrived in Ping’An, the final village, 4 hours later….WHEW!!! Then Mr Intelligence (Jeff) thought let’s just hike down the mountain to the bus stop where we would be picked up for our transport to Guilin, where our soft-sleeper chariot train awaited. Well, another miscalculation as the bus pickup is located 2000 ft below Ping’An. As we hiked (our first big argument) Jeff finally put his thumb to work and we grabbed the local bus to transport us the rest of the way. Maybe, we should have done what the rich Chinese do……..In Guilin we got our first truly, enjoyable Chinese meal and hopped on the train to Hong Kong (via Shenzhen). These soft sleepers are the only way to go on the Chinese train if you have the money. The hard sleeps are all in one car and allow smoking. We wouldn’t have been happy and all for only an extra 10 bucks!!!

Sitting here in our favorite place in Yangshuo….Lisa’s Cafe. Great little backpacker hangout with a ton of Aussies. It seems like the entire country (ages 18-25) is travelling in China.

We arrived in Yangshuo via Guangzhou (formerly Canton), the heart of southwestern China. We got to Guangzhou via a very nice train and stepped off into what we thought would be a easy trip to the bus station to find the overnight bus to Yangshuo….not the case!!! Southwestern China doesn’t have any (I mean,any) English speakers in non-tourist towns. So after 2 hours of lugging our packs just to find the long-distance bus station we were determined to forge our best Chinese onto paper and hold up the name of Yangshuo to the ticket agent window. Got the ticket but then had to decipher when it left and from which terminal….needless to say it wasn’t easy with everything being in Chinese characters.

On the bus at 7.30pm, being the tallest and widest-eyed we were stuck unknowingly in the back without reclining seats. (We will learn, eventually) After 12 hours, one 2hr standstill as a rock slide was cleared, and surprisingly cold temps we made it to the Shangri-La of Yangshuo. We arrived int he AM with little in our tummies and no rest so we had str8 for the hotel and crashed. After waking up we discovered the wonderful world of Yangshuo. It is a bit more touristy than in the past but still quaint and small. The people are amazingly happy and helpful. Of course everyone wants to sell you something and we have kindly obliged on a few occasions. Over the next few days we will be biking through the green mountain scenery, trekking to overlooking vistas, and floating the Li River. We plan to head north to Longsheng in a few days and then battle the hords of people back to Hong Kong for the New Year. I will post pictures once we get to HKG so you can see the great scenery of the Guang Xi province of China.

We have arrived at the first destination on our 8-mo world tour. We couldn’t have asked for an easier beginning. Hong Kong is great. Quick customs, simple transportation, lots of English speakers, and (keeping us in our element) rain like Seattle. After an arduous (14hr) yet extremely smooth flight on Cathay Pacific (2005 Airline of the Year), we slipped onto the public train and made it to our hotel in a breeze. Thanks to Russ (sister’s fiance) we are staying in a nice starter hotel, the Salisbury. Everyone should do this to ease themselves onto the road. In attempting to acclimate to new cultures, timezones, and travelling partners…. a comfortable, no-hassle hotel is hands-down the best choice even if it costs a little more.

We can’t upload pics on this internet connection so you will have to mentally picture our first day in HKG. We got some needed sleep, a needed coffee….and headed to HK Island across the way from our hotel (Kowloon Island). We had a great time walking thru the streets of old HK and window-shopping (the only kind we can do on this trip). We had our first taste of real Chinese food for lunch and learned a little Cantonese as well. I won’t attempt to spell Happy New Year in Chinese but I can say it. We are going to catch a laser light show over the harbour tonight and then hit the sack as the jet lag is kicking our ass. We are hopeful to make it to mainland China tomorrow (Yangshuo via Guangzhou) and then back in a week to celebrate the New Year (Year of the Dog)with the Hong Kongers.

We hope to entertain you all with our postings and pictures. Please forgive us if we aren’t as witty as normal ….. the 14hr (up for 25 hours straight) jetlag is taking me down as I’m typing. Thanks to both MOMs for their recent posts. We are so happy to see they are so technologically-inclined. We hope to hear from all of you soon……

Our passports have arrived!!! For those of you who have spoken with us recently you’ve heard us bemoaning the Visa process and worrying that we might have to postpone our trip. Well, the passports came via FedEx this morning. THANK YOU UZBEK CONSULATE!!! They even covered the extra cost of Priority Overnight. This should reduce our stress levels tremendously. Now all we have to do is find our way to the airport.

Jeff’s parents threw a little Going-Away party at their place….We had a blast celebrating our upcoming adventure with a small group of friends and family. Thanks Mom and Dad and to everyone who joined us!!

Alright…back to the trip. We are leaving for Hong Kong on Thursday and 99.9% prepared (although only 50% mentally prepared..HAHA). Many of you have asked about our supplies, clothes, etc. so we laid everything out for you to see what we have for the next eight months. Yea, we know not a lot of stuff, but it’s not like you can plan an outfit-per-day for eight months. Instead we found three shirts, three or four pants, and a few tshirts that we really like. As we continue our journey we will let you know how this philosophy is working out. We (especially picky Jeff) can imagine there are going to be some items we love and others we wish we left at home.

Well, we have quite a few little things to wrap up, so wish us luck and stay tuned for last minute freaking out!!!

This is so cool….We will be uploading a few of our pictures to Flickr while on the road. You can browse all of them directly, by date using the Calendar View, view them as a Slideshow or simply play with the interactive map below to find pictures for specific locations. In order to find this map later just click on the World Map Photo link on the right hand side.