Hey folks,
I'm home!!! After close to nine months of amazing experiences, I'm back in good ol' Vancouver, taking in the familiar sights and sounds and catching up with family and friends. But before I get to that, let me tell you about my experience in Bangkok...
So I finished in my last post by noting that I was getting sick. That got a lot worse unfortunately... by the end of the second day in which I explored the temples at Angkor Wat, I had a full-blown case of the flu and was lying in my hostel room bed with the chills, aches, a fever, and all the other nasty symptoms you might expect. The flu is tough enough when you're at home, and even tougher alone, but being alone and in a foreign environment made it one of the worst cases I have ever experienced. It lasted for a few days, including taking its toll on me while I made the rough eight hour bus ride into Bangkok from Siem Reap. Once I arrived in Bangkok, the bus dropped all the passengers on Koh San Road, not my first choice for a place to stay as it is known for its never-ending party atmosphere and many vendors and aggressive tuk-tuk drivers. But by the time I arrived, I was so tired I checked into the first hostel I saw and collapsed in exhaustion on the bed. It did take some time to fall asleep, however, as on Koh San Road they blast the music at full volume till 5AM and you can hear the revelry of drunk tourists till about the same time! The next day, it was merely a countdown till my airport shuttle at 9PM but I needed to fill the day somehow so I decided to head to the movie theatre to see The Hangover 2. After all, the movie is set in Bangkok so what better place to watch it? First, I had to get money out so I walked over to an exchange place and got in line. Within two minutes, a woman came up to me and tried to argue that she had been in line before me. Not in a rush, I allowed her to go in front of me despite this obvious lie she was telling me, but then she got on her cell phone and was holding up the line! So I simply pushed in front of her and handed the guy my money, taking advantage of my Israeli adopted behaviour and pushing my Canadian over-politeness to the background. With cash in hand, I hailed a tuk-tuk driver and told him where I wanted to go. He told me he could take me there for 100 Baht but with one stop on the way. I was familiar with this tourist trap and told him I wanted to go directly there. He kept persisting to make the quick stop till finally he said "Okay 100 Baht, we don't stop" and I got in. But sure enough, after 10 minutes of driving, the driver stopped in front of a suit shop and told me to go in for 10 minutes so he could get a coupon. I was quite angry now at this point, tired, still sick, and not happy to be taken advantage of by the locals. I argued with the driver and told him he had deceived me and either he took me to the theatre for 100 Baht or I was getting out and he would get nothing. He tried to change the price to 200 Baht without me going in the suit shop but I wasn't having it. When he saw I wasn't budging, he told me to get out and starting screaming obscenities at me, calling me names that I won't repeat again here. When I actually stepped out, he tried to take a swing at my face! Now I was really pissed off and so I turned around and booted his tuk-tuk in my rage, almost toppling it over in my fury. I then turned around and went to find a cab. The cab driver told me it would 200 Baht to go the theatre but I was so frustrated and angry at this point, I just told him to take me back to Koh San Road, paying 100 Baht for essentially a waste of a trip. When I got back, I was hungry and bought some Pad Thai, at least looking forward to some good food. But halfway through eating it, I realized that most of the chicken was still raw! This was the last straw for me, and my assurance that I hate Bangkok and really have no interest in ever spending time there again. I know part of that stems from not feeling well and being ready to head home, but my experiences in a simple 24 hour period further confirm that the big tourist cities are my least favourite in South East Asia and I prefer the smaller towns where I can experience culture and get some peace and quiet...
It was a brutal flight home, made worse by the fact that my leg was killing me from a scrape that had become infected and was spreading. I tried to sleep but had no luck and simply had to pass the time reading and getting lost in my own thoughts. But once home, it was such a relief to see my dad and my brother Zack waiting for me at the airport and we went out for lunch with my sister-in-law Shellie and my niece Nevada, a great way to celebrate my return. In the afternoon, I took a trip to the doctor and found out that the infection spreading on my leg is actually impatigo, a bacterial infection that is similar to minor flesh-eating disease! I am on a major set of antibiotics now and hopefully it will clear up within a week or two. Not the greatest souvenir to bring home but at least Zack has an amazing television and a good DVD collection for me to go through as I recover on his couch!
So that's about it for the blog. This will be my final post! It's back to routine pretty soon and a rather dull existence to write about, not that I'm complaining. It's a life that I love and I can't wait to start working at day-camp again, to start running down by Kits Beach, to start cooking new recipes and babysitting my niece, to start writing new songs again and playing guitar... Plus, things will be anything but dull in Vancouver for the next week or so, with the Canucks in the playoffs and starting things off with a 2-0 lead! So thank you all for reading and keep in touch!
Ciao,
Max
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
"Making A List, Checking It Twice..."
Hey folks,
With my trip coming to an end, and my return to Vancouver being imminent, I thought I would compose a few lists, highlights of sorts from the past nine months, split into different categories. Hopefully they can serve as a guide/aide to you in the future should you visit any of the same places as me!
Top Adventure Activities:
1. Bungee Jumping in Phuket, Thailand
2. Scuba Diving in Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
3. Deep Water Soloing (Rock-Climbing) in Koh Yao Noi, Thailand
4. Rock-Climbing (@ Railay Beach) in Krabi, Thailand
5. Zip-Lining With Flight Of The Gibbon in Chiang Mai, Thailand
6. Tubing/Rope Swings, Slides & Zip-Lines in Vang Vieng, Laos
7. ATV Expedition in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Top Cultural Experiences
1. Teaching English in Ashdod, Israel
2. Funeral Of Oldest Woman in Vientiane, Laos
3. Muay Thai Boxing in Chiang Mai, Thailand
4. Visit To COPE Landmine Museum in Vientiane, Laos
5. My Cousin Shira's Wedding in Tel-Aviv, Israel
6. Children's Orphanage Dance Recital in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Biking Along Highway On Yom Kippur in Herzliya, Israel
Top Beautiful Vistas/Landscapes
1. Sunrise View From Masada in Ein Gedi, Israel
2. Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
3. Tea Plantations in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
4. Karst Mountain Backdrop in Vang Vieng, Laos
5. Mount Yoash View Of Four Countries in Eilat, Israel
6. Long Beach Panorama in Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
7. View From Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Top Temples
1. Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia
2. Kek Lok Si in Penang, Malaysia
3. Bayon in Siem Reap, Cambodia
4. Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand
5. Ta Prohm in Siem Reap, Cambodia
6. Ta Som in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Banteay Srey in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Top Strange Foods To Try
1. Cow Tongue in Israel
2. Corn Ice Cream in Malaysia
3. Raw Water Buffalo in Thailand
4. Deep Fried A-Ping Tarantula in Cambodia
5. Ox Tripe in Cambodia
Top Strange Foods To Avoid
1. Durian in All Of SEA
2. Bee Larvae in Laos
3. Salted Crickets in Thailand
4. Fish Eye Curry in Malaysia
5. Boiled Pig Intestines in Malaysia
Top Places To Party/Have A Good Time
1. Nam Song River (Tubing) in Vang Vieng, Laos
2. Boat Cruise in Eilat, Israel
3. Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, Thailand
4. Tuesday Nights @ Pigal in Ashdod, Israel
5. 10 Baht Shot Stand in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
6. Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Bowling Alley in Vientiane, Laos
Ciao for now,
Max
With my trip coming to an end, and my return to Vancouver being imminent, I thought I would compose a few lists, highlights of sorts from the past nine months, split into different categories. Hopefully they can serve as a guide/aide to you in the future should you visit any of the same places as me!
Top Adventure Activities:
1. Bungee Jumping in Phuket, Thailand
2. Scuba Diving in Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
3. Deep Water Soloing (Rock-Climbing) in Koh Yao Noi, Thailand
4. Rock-Climbing (@ Railay Beach) in Krabi, Thailand
5. Zip-Lining With Flight Of The Gibbon in Chiang Mai, Thailand
6. Tubing/Rope Swings, Slides & Zip-Lines in Vang Vieng, Laos
7. ATV Expedition in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Top Cultural Experiences
1. Teaching English in Ashdod, Israel
2. Funeral Of Oldest Woman in Vientiane, Laos
3. Muay Thai Boxing in Chiang Mai, Thailand
4. Visit To COPE Landmine Museum in Vientiane, Laos
5. My Cousin Shira's Wedding in Tel-Aviv, Israel
6. Children's Orphanage Dance Recital in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Biking Along Highway On Yom Kippur in Herzliya, Israel
Top Beautiful Vistas/Landscapes
1. Sunrise View From Masada in Ein Gedi, Israel
2. Maya Bay in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
3. Tea Plantations in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
4. Karst Mountain Backdrop in Vang Vieng, Laos
5. Mount Yoash View Of Four Countries in Eilat, Israel
6. Long Beach Panorama in Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia
7. View From Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Top Temples
1. Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia
2. Kek Lok Si in Penang, Malaysia
3. Bayon in Siem Reap, Cambodia
4. Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand
5. Ta Prohm in Siem Reap, Cambodia
6. Ta Som in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Banteay Srey in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Top Strange Foods To Try
1. Cow Tongue in Israel
2. Corn Ice Cream in Malaysia
3. Raw Water Buffalo in Thailand
4. Deep Fried A-Ping Tarantula in Cambodia
5. Ox Tripe in Cambodia
Top Strange Foods To Avoid
1. Durian in All Of SEA
2. Bee Larvae in Laos
3. Salted Crickets in Thailand
4. Fish Eye Curry in Malaysia
5. Boiled Pig Intestines in Malaysia
Top Places To Party/Have A Good Time
1. Nam Song River (Tubing) in Vang Vieng, Laos
2. Boat Cruise in Eilat, Israel
3. Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, Thailand
4. Tuesday Nights @ Pigal in Ashdod, Israel
5. 10 Baht Shot Stand in Kanchanaburi, Thailand
6. Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia
7. Bowling Alley in Vientiane, Laos
Ciao for now,
Max
Angkor What?! Temples Galore!
Hey folks,
So I arrived in Siem Reap on Wednesday and took the recommendation of a friend for a place to stay, the Siem Reap Hostel, a great backpacker joint with air-conditioned dorms, an indoor pool, good food, cheap drinks, a DVD player with a ton of movies, massages, a pool table and foosball... pretty much all the amenities you could hope for. A friend of the woman who owned my hostel in Phnom Penh picked me up in a tuk-tuk from the bus station and told me he would be my driver for the entirety of my stay for whatever I wanted to do and that I could decide a price at the end. Very trusting of him but I'm guessing he's happy to have the work. After all, Siem Reap is a city where tuk-tuk drivers are a dime a dozen!
I spent an hour settling in and then my driver picked me up and took me to Angkor Wat to see the sunset. After purchasing a ticket for three days, we headed in and I got my first far-off glimpse of the magnificent, ancient temples, very impressive even from a distance in their stature! We drove further down the road past Angkor Wat and I climbed a hill to see the sunset from Bakheng Temple, one of the highest viewpoints for the popular activity. There were at least a hundred people at the top and it was scorching hot but I got a good spot on the edge and enjoyed the sun going down over a vast landscape of foliage, fields, and flowing rivers. When I returned to the hostel, I got talking with a couple of guys at the bar and we headed out together to check out Pub Street, the popular place for people my age to go out for a good time and plenty of drink specials. After a night of margaritas, dancing and very loud music, I contentedly headed home to sleep in.
The next day, I took a break day to relax at the hostel and recuperate, tired from a late night and from all the transit from the past few weeks. But at night, I headed down the road to the local orphanage for a dance recital performance, food, and refreshments. The orphanage was quite sad, as the size of it and the living conditions for the children are quite poor. However, the kids seemed so incredibly happy and they put on a hell of a show, with a mixture of traditional dances and hip-hop mixed in. Once again, I have to mention that Cambodia kids are some of the most friendly youngsters I have ever met and they invited all the audience on stage at the end for a communal dance. It was a great cultural experience and I'm really glad I got the chance to do something different!
On day three, I had my first full day of temple exploration. I got up at the ungodly hour of 430AM and headed to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. It was very busy there despite how early it was but I managed to get a good spot again and took in the first rays of sunshine while snapping some great photos. Afterwards, I hired a guide who took me through the epic Angkor Wat Temple for an hour and a half, explaining who the carvings represented on the walls, figures like Vishnu and Krishna, and also giving cool facts about how they constructed the temple itself. It took 37 years, 30000 people and 5000 elephants to put together the massive stone temple but it shows. Its size and beauty is really unparalleled compared to any other temples I have seen and it is intricate in its wall carvings as well. Next I headed to two other main temples that were also very impressive, Bayon and Ta Prohm. Bayon is a very old-looking temple that has something in the neighbourhood of 50 huge stone carvings of faces and it was one of my favourites. Ta Prohm is a jungle temple where the trees mingle with the man-made stonework and it was the site of the filming of the first "Tomb Raider" film with Angelina Jolie. It's funny how its name has pretty much changed to the Tomb Raider temple now, much like James Bond Island and Maya Bay which was simply called "The Beach". American films dictate tourism over here whenever possible and tourists eat it right up... I saw a few smaller temples as well before heading back to the hostel for a rest for a few hours, exhausted from my early morning wake-up call and seven hours of exploring temples in the 37 degree heat! But in the afternoon, I headed back out and saw three more temples on the outskirts of Angkor Wat. Two of them were quite dull and unexciting but the third was quite impressive and luckily it was the last one, making it worth the trip...
Today, I headed to another slew of temples, bringing my total up to 15 and ending my Angkor Wat expedition. I am officially all templed out! Banteay Sray, a 20km drive from Angkor Wat was worth the journey, however, a temple known as being smaller and housing the most intricate red sandstone carvings in Cambodia, and also considered to be the temple most popular with the aristocratic population. It was very busy also, and like all temples, there were a ton of people haggling me while I walked to and from the temple, desperate to sell me postcards, paintings, food, drink, bracelets, or guidebooks. This part of my time in Siem Reap has been a little difficult to adjust to, mainly because Laos was laid back and I got used to not having to deal with the haggling. But in Siem Reap, a tourist haven, there are literally hundreds of hawkers with extortionist prices, and it was pretty tiresome by the 15th hour of my expedition. I am looking forward to a life free from "Excuse me sir"s when I return home to Vancouver!
Unfortunately, in the afternoon, after many days of little sleep and walking in the heat, I succumbed to my first cold/flu of my backpacking experience and it has been awful! I lay in bed for several hours this afternoon, unable to sleep and suffering from a bad fever. Thankfully, I picked up cold medication this morning before the temples when I felt the starts of something coming on so it has made me feel a bit better. I can only hope that it doesn't last long and I board my flight fully healthy and happy...
So that's it for my travels! Tomorrow will be a recovery day from this illness and then I head to Bangkok the next day to have one full day in the metropolis before I go home. It's hard to believe that my nine month adventure is almost over and all the planning that I spent so much time on over the past one and a half years has come to fruition. As this blog has been solely for the purpose of my travels, it will soon be coming to an end so I thank you all for reading and hope you have enjoyed it. See you all soon!
Ciao for now,
Max
So I arrived in Siem Reap on Wednesday and took the recommendation of a friend for a place to stay, the Siem Reap Hostel, a great backpacker joint with air-conditioned dorms, an indoor pool, good food, cheap drinks, a DVD player with a ton of movies, massages, a pool table and foosball... pretty much all the amenities you could hope for. A friend of the woman who owned my hostel in Phnom Penh picked me up in a tuk-tuk from the bus station and told me he would be my driver for the entirety of my stay for whatever I wanted to do and that I could decide a price at the end. Very trusting of him but I'm guessing he's happy to have the work. After all, Siem Reap is a city where tuk-tuk drivers are a dime a dozen!
I spent an hour settling in and then my driver picked me up and took me to Angkor Wat to see the sunset. After purchasing a ticket for three days, we headed in and I got my first far-off glimpse of the magnificent, ancient temples, very impressive even from a distance in their stature! We drove further down the road past Angkor Wat and I climbed a hill to see the sunset from Bakheng Temple, one of the highest viewpoints for the popular activity. There were at least a hundred people at the top and it was scorching hot but I got a good spot on the edge and enjoyed the sun going down over a vast landscape of foliage, fields, and flowing rivers. When I returned to the hostel, I got talking with a couple of guys at the bar and we headed out together to check out Pub Street, the popular place for people my age to go out for a good time and plenty of drink specials. After a night of margaritas, dancing and very loud music, I contentedly headed home to sleep in.
The next day, I took a break day to relax at the hostel and recuperate, tired from a late night and from all the transit from the past few weeks. But at night, I headed down the road to the local orphanage for a dance recital performance, food, and refreshments. The orphanage was quite sad, as the size of it and the living conditions for the children are quite poor. However, the kids seemed so incredibly happy and they put on a hell of a show, with a mixture of traditional dances and hip-hop mixed in. Once again, I have to mention that Cambodia kids are some of the most friendly youngsters I have ever met and they invited all the audience on stage at the end for a communal dance. It was a great cultural experience and I'm really glad I got the chance to do something different!
On day three, I had my first full day of temple exploration. I got up at the ungodly hour of 430AM and headed to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. It was very busy there despite how early it was but I managed to get a good spot again and took in the first rays of sunshine while snapping some great photos. Afterwards, I hired a guide who took me through the epic Angkor Wat Temple for an hour and a half, explaining who the carvings represented on the walls, figures like Vishnu and Krishna, and also giving cool facts about how they constructed the temple itself. It took 37 years, 30000 people and 5000 elephants to put together the massive stone temple but it shows. Its size and beauty is really unparalleled compared to any other temples I have seen and it is intricate in its wall carvings as well. Next I headed to two other main temples that were also very impressive, Bayon and Ta Prohm. Bayon is a very old-looking temple that has something in the neighbourhood of 50 huge stone carvings of faces and it was one of my favourites. Ta Prohm is a jungle temple where the trees mingle with the man-made stonework and it was the site of the filming of the first "Tomb Raider" film with Angelina Jolie. It's funny how its name has pretty much changed to the Tomb Raider temple now, much like James Bond Island and Maya Bay which was simply called "The Beach". American films dictate tourism over here whenever possible and tourists eat it right up... I saw a few smaller temples as well before heading back to the hostel for a rest for a few hours, exhausted from my early morning wake-up call and seven hours of exploring temples in the 37 degree heat! But in the afternoon, I headed back out and saw three more temples on the outskirts of Angkor Wat. Two of them were quite dull and unexciting but the third was quite impressive and luckily it was the last one, making it worth the trip...
Today, I headed to another slew of temples, bringing my total up to 15 and ending my Angkor Wat expedition. I am officially all templed out! Banteay Sray, a 20km drive from Angkor Wat was worth the journey, however, a temple known as being smaller and housing the most intricate red sandstone carvings in Cambodia, and also considered to be the temple most popular with the aristocratic population. It was very busy also, and like all temples, there were a ton of people haggling me while I walked to and from the temple, desperate to sell me postcards, paintings, food, drink, bracelets, or guidebooks. This part of my time in Siem Reap has been a little difficult to adjust to, mainly because Laos was laid back and I got used to not having to deal with the haggling. But in Siem Reap, a tourist haven, there are literally hundreds of hawkers with extortionist prices, and it was pretty tiresome by the 15th hour of my expedition. I am looking forward to a life free from "Excuse me sir"s when I return home to Vancouver!
Unfortunately, in the afternoon, after many days of little sleep and walking in the heat, I succumbed to my first cold/flu of my backpacking experience and it has been awful! I lay in bed for several hours this afternoon, unable to sleep and suffering from a bad fever. Thankfully, I picked up cold medication this morning before the temples when I felt the starts of something coming on so it has made me feel a bit better. I can only hope that it doesn't last long and I board my flight fully healthy and happy...
So that's it for my travels! Tomorrow will be a recovery day from this illness and then I head to Bangkok the next day to have one full day in the metropolis before I go home. It's hard to believe that my nine month adventure is almost over and all the planning that I spent so much time on over the past one and a half years has come to fruition. As this blog has been solely for the purpose of my travels, it will soon be coming to an end so I thank you all for reading and hope you have enjoyed it. See you all soon!
Ciao for now,
Max
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Phnom Penh: The City Of Four Faces
Hey folks,
So I finally arrived in Cambodia on Saturday night at 8PM, a full 24 hours later than originally anticipated. After my horrendous overnight bus journey and stop in Pakse, the second day of traveling went much better. I was low on cash and met some travelers from Quebec who were nice enough to lend me a few bucks to get my visa and cross the border, paying them back once we reached an ATM. The look of the Cambodian countryside was a familiar sight at this point, similar to many of the landscapes I have seen in South East Asia. However, I did take note that the ground was flatter and the overall feel was very rural, no big towns or even moderate size towns in sight for the first four hours after entering the country. At a stop on the side of the road to allow some travelers to switch buses, I indulged in trying another weird food that is commonly eaten in Malaysia, the A-Ping Tarantula! It was deep-fried and had some sort of sweet, sticky exterior, making the crunch and slight fuzziness of the fur much more tolerable. All in all, not bad and much better than the crickets in Thailand...
Once in the city, I got a tuk-tuk and again had to adjust to a little bit of culture shock, the same as when I went from the small islands in Eastern Malaysia to the big city of Kuala Lumpur. I have spent the past two weeks in very small towns in Laos, with a slow lifestyle and a laid-back vibe. The first thing I noticed in Phnom Penh was the traffic and the amount of motorcycles on the streets. Granted, every place I have gone in South East Asia motorcycles or scooters have been prevalent. But in Phnom Penh, they double, if not triple, the amount of cars on the road and there seem to be no rules that I am aware of for traffic. Drivers weave in and out of small sections barely large enough for someone to walk through let alone drive. Some can be found driving on the wrong side of the street against traffic if they're in a hurry! All I could think of when I first saw the chaos on the streets was what would happen if you took the drivers from Vancouver and placed them in the driving environment in Phnom Penh. I would give it five minute before a traffic massacre!
I stayed at a very nice hostel in a busy part of the city, not far from the Central Market and the National Palace. On my first day, I met up with two of my brother Juan's friends for a delicious Chinese lunch and a trip to the mall. Monika and her husband Yeng pointed out some local sites for me to check out and I bought a new pair of shoes, $100 cheaper than what I normally pay for sneakers. That night, I tested my palate again and feasted on some ox tripe with fresh morning glory and green bananas. This was very tasty and something I would probably try again in the future. On my second day, I signed up for TripAdvisor's top activity in the city, a tour with Blazing Trails which includes a stop at the Killing Fields and an exploration of the countryside and small villages by way of ATV. The Killing Fields were a somber stop but very informative and not entirely shocking for me, now that I have some experience in seeing the atrocities of history in Laos and Israel. What did surprise me is the fact that trials for war crimes from the times of the reign of the Khmer Rouge were still going on up until six months ago, over thirty years following this black period in history. I spent an hour at the museum and walking around the fields until I was picked up again and set off to learn how to use an ATV. Surprisingly, I was the only one signed up for the tour that day, so I had the pro of being able to stop whenever I wanted to take photos and go by my own timeline, but the con of not meeting any fellow backpackers and only having my guides to speak with. All in all though, it was much more of a pro than a con! It only took a few minutes to adjust to the controls of the ATV, pretty much identical to those of the motorcycle I used in Koh Yao Noi in Thailand, however, it's funny that the tour starts off traveling down very narrow roads through a village, with children running at you from all sides to say hello and give you high fives. This was very cool albeit nerve-wracking with so little experience behind the beast of a vehicle... The drive through the countryside was magnificent and it's easy to see why people do the tour more than once. The children greeting me were so friendly and happy to see a visitor, to witness someone with different clothing, the sought-after pale skin that so many Cambodians adore, and of course the gurgling vehicular companion I rode in on. After a couple of hours of riding past mango plantations, isolated temples, and many, many cows, we stopped at a little stall in a tiny village and enjoyed some fresh sugarcane juice. I got a chance to watch the woman skin the cane herself and she gave me a chance to try it myself, a technique similar to peeling a potato or carrot. Once she had enough, she placed it into a giant juicer and it was only moments before I had a cool, refreshing beverage to enjoy. It was very tasty and not overly sweet, a welcome relief from the blazing sun. After our stop, we had a few more hours of countryside expedition before stopping on the riverside to watch the sunset. As we watched the sun go down, my guide taught me how to speak some Khmer and admired my quick learning skills for language. I returned the favour by teaching him some French to help him in his future dealings with French tourists. It was a fantastic day and gave me pause from thoughts of home and the ticking clock signifying my approaching return to more familiar civilization...
Today, I went exploring in the neighbourhood and saw the National Museum, the National Palace where the King resides, the Independence Monument, and many different temples. It was blistering hot (37 degrees!) so I had to make several stops along the way for beverages or just to escape the heat somehow. I met up with Monika and Yeng for dinner again tonight, and we ate some traditional Khmer food which was very good. Afterwards, we headed to a country bar for a few drinks before calling it a night. I really enjoyed getting to know Monika and Yeng and my time in Phnom Penh has been very enjoyable!
It's off to Siem Reap tomorrow for my last real stop, a chance to see the famous Angkor Wat and its magnificent ancient temples. Really looking forward to it and only one week till I arrive safely back on Canadian soil!
Ciao for now,
Max
So I finally arrived in Cambodia on Saturday night at 8PM, a full 24 hours later than originally anticipated. After my horrendous overnight bus journey and stop in Pakse, the second day of traveling went much better. I was low on cash and met some travelers from Quebec who were nice enough to lend me a few bucks to get my visa and cross the border, paying them back once we reached an ATM. The look of the Cambodian countryside was a familiar sight at this point, similar to many of the landscapes I have seen in South East Asia. However, I did take note that the ground was flatter and the overall feel was very rural, no big towns or even moderate size towns in sight for the first four hours after entering the country. At a stop on the side of the road to allow some travelers to switch buses, I indulged in trying another weird food that is commonly eaten in Malaysia, the A-Ping Tarantula! It was deep-fried and had some sort of sweet, sticky exterior, making the crunch and slight fuzziness of the fur much more tolerable. All in all, not bad and much better than the crickets in Thailand...
Once in the city, I got a tuk-tuk and again had to adjust to a little bit of culture shock, the same as when I went from the small islands in Eastern Malaysia to the big city of Kuala Lumpur. I have spent the past two weeks in very small towns in Laos, with a slow lifestyle and a laid-back vibe. The first thing I noticed in Phnom Penh was the traffic and the amount of motorcycles on the streets. Granted, every place I have gone in South East Asia motorcycles or scooters have been prevalent. But in Phnom Penh, they double, if not triple, the amount of cars on the road and there seem to be no rules that I am aware of for traffic. Drivers weave in and out of small sections barely large enough for someone to walk through let alone drive. Some can be found driving on the wrong side of the street against traffic if they're in a hurry! All I could think of when I first saw the chaos on the streets was what would happen if you took the drivers from Vancouver and placed them in the driving environment in Phnom Penh. I would give it five minute before a traffic massacre!
I stayed at a very nice hostel in a busy part of the city, not far from the Central Market and the National Palace. On my first day, I met up with two of my brother Juan's friends for a delicious Chinese lunch and a trip to the mall. Monika and her husband Yeng pointed out some local sites for me to check out and I bought a new pair of shoes, $100 cheaper than what I normally pay for sneakers. That night, I tested my palate again and feasted on some ox tripe with fresh morning glory and green bananas. This was very tasty and something I would probably try again in the future. On my second day, I signed up for TripAdvisor's top activity in the city, a tour with Blazing Trails which includes a stop at the Killing Fields and an exploration of the countryside and small villages by way of ATV. The Killing Fields were a somber stop but very informative and not entirely shocking for me, now that I have some experience in seeing the atrocities of history in Laos and Israel. What did surprise me is the fact that trials for war crimes from the times of the reign of the Khmer Rouge were still going on up until six months ago, over thirty years following this black period in history. I spent an hour at the museum and walking around the fields until I was picked up again and set off to learn how to use an ATV. Surprisingly, I was the only one signed up for the tour that day, so I had the pro of being able to stop whenever I wanted to take photos and go by my own timeline, but the con of not meeting any fellow backpackers and only having my guides to speak with. All in all though, it was much more of a pro than a con! It only took a few minutes to adjust to the controls of the ATV, pretty much identical to those of the motorcycle I used in Koh Yao Noi in Thailand, however, it's funny that the tour starts off traveling down very narrow roads through a village, with children running at you from all sides to say hello and give you high fives. This was very cool albeit nerve-wracking with so little experience behind the beast of a vehicle... The drive through the countryside was magnificent and it's easy to see why people do the tour more than once. The children greeting me were so friendly and happy to see a visitor, to witness someone with different clothing, the sought-after pale skin that so many Cambodians adore, and of course the gurgling vehicular companion I rode in on. After a couple of hours of riding past mango plantations, isolated temples, and many, many cows, we stopped at a little stall in a tiny village and enjoyed some fresh sugarcane juice. I got a chance to watch the woman skin the cane herself and she gave me a chance to try it myself, a technique similar to peeling a potato or carrot. Once she had enough, she placed it into a giant juicer and it was only moments before I had a cool, refreshing beverage to enjoy. It was very tasty and not overly sweet, a welcome relief from the blazing sun. After our stop, we had a few more hours of countryside expedition before stopping on the riverside to watch the sunset. As we watched the sun go down, my guide taught me how to speak some Khmer and admired my quick learning skills for language. I returned the favour by teaching him some French to help him in his future dealings with French tourists. It was a fantastic day and gave me pause from thoughts of home and the ticking clock signifying my approaching return to more familiar civilization...
Today, I went exploring in the neighbourhood and saw the National Museum, the National Palace where the King resides, the Independence Monument, and many different temples. It was blistering hot (37 degrees!) so I had to make several stops along the way for beverages or just to escape the heat somehow. I met up with Monika and Yeng for dinner again tonight, and we ate some traditional Khmer food which was very good. Afterwards, we headed to a country bar for a few drinks before calling it a night. I really enjoyed getting to know Monika and Yeng and my time in Phnom Penh has been very enjoyable!
It's off to Siem Reap tomorrow for my last real stop, a chance to see the famous Angkor Wat and its magnificent ancient temples. Really looking forward to it and only one week till I arrive safely back on Canadian soil!
Ciao for now,
Max
Friday, May 20, 2011
"On The Road Again..."
Hey folks,
So it's been a few days since my last post and activity has simmered down quite a bit since then. The majority of my time, or at least half of it, has been spent on the road, traveling from one destination to another. While this is a necessary part of backpacking, it is getting rather exhausting and tedious at this point, especially after my experiences the past few days...
First, I headed to the Northern region of Laos to visit the old capital of Luang Prabang. I seem to have somewhat bad luck when it comes to who I sit next to/behind when I travel from one city to another. Unfortunately, I was sitting behind a woman on the way who had reclined her chair almost fully before I got on and had proceeded to pass out, leaving me and my long legs with no option but to sit cramped for the seven hour journey. Ironically, the person next to me was a full foot shorter than me and had all of their leg room, but he too was passed out and I was too polite (it's my Canadian nature) to ask to switch seats. Despite this minor pitfall, the scenery on the trip was magnificent and some of the best I have seen in two and a half months of traveling. The whole drive North is along twisting mountain roads, to the right a sprawling landscape of karst peaks and rolling hills, scattered smoldering patches from the heat and cows and goats crossing the road in front of us, delaying our journey only slightly in their leisure. Passing through little towns, the children always stare you down with their calculating eyes, transfixed by the gaggle of Westerners passing through their home. After the long bus journey, I was happy to find the first place I could to settle down and happened to end up in a nice little hostel, cheap and with all the amenities I was desiring. My next day, feeling a mixture of pain from my wounds, weariness from my commute, and longing for my own bed back home, I stayed in and powered through two full books, happy to have some down time. The day after, I rented a bicycle and explored the city in a few hours, stopping at temples along the way and for views of the river banks. All in all, Luang Prabang was nice peaceful city, and if it had been my first stop in Laos, I certainly would have been more appreciative. That being said, after the activity and beauty of Vang Vieng, and the culture of Vientiane, Luang Prabang was a little lacking for me and slightly disappointing. The drive to and from the town was the most entertaining part of my experience there...
After a trip back to Vang Vieng, and another night in my wonderful hostel there, I set out on the road yesterday for Phnom Penh, excited and eager to explore a new country and new surroundings. It was going to be a doozy of a commute, a full 30 hour journey with three to four separate buses and a passing through border control where I would have to obtain a visa, but I was determined to get it over with and have the last major commute of my travels completed. I took the four hour bus journey down to Vientiane and switched buses to a huge overnight VIP bus, equipped with a bed about the size of a single. The bus was supposed to leave at 6PM and take twelve hours, but it was two and a half hours before it finally took off. I spent that time having a light dinner and actually stretching out quite comfortably on the single bed, impressed at the amount of space I would have for the long journey and convinced it would go by quickly. Unfortunately, I soon realized that I was sorely mistaken in thinking I had the whole bed to myself. After two hours of sitting idle, the bus suddenly started to fill up and I took note at that point that there were two pillows on the bed, a perk that was too good to be true. Fifteen minutes before take-off, an English guy named Tommy stumbled up the stairs and notified me that we would be sharing the bed. I was a little mortified at the thought of spooning with a complete stranger, but alas, I had no choice in the matter and he crawled into the single with me! At first, it was not too bad... he got out his laptop and we watched "Into The Wild", a great film and quite appropriate considering the protagonist is a 23-year old man going on a journey of self-exploration... but when it came time to go to bed, I had no room to get comfortable. I started on my side facing the window, but my knees were pressed up against the glass and my ankles were chafed together quite painfully. I then switched to my back and hoped to fall asleep that way but it was hopeless and my legs started to cramp that way as well. Finally, after four and a half hours of lying in pain and distress, I faced the other way towards my bed companion and managed to doze off for a few hours. Before this all occurred, the bus we were on stopped after only 45 minutes of driving due to engine troubles and a flat tire (at least that's what I assume, I couldn't see out the windows what they were doing). This caused a three hour delay in the trip. By the time we arrived in Pakse, the transfer point to my next day bus, it was just before 12PM and I had been on the bus for close to 18 hours! In the morning, when the sun came out, the window concentrated the heat all over my body, no curtains on the bus to shield me from the blistering 36 degree heat and nowhere to escape to. All in all, it was an absolute horrendous experience, and my worst one with transportation so far. Because we arrived so late due to all the delays, I missed my connecting bus and I'm stuck in Pakse for the day and due to leave in the morning bright and early to get to the border. I still have at least 16 hours to go and I am not optimistic about the comforts of my remaining transportation. I would be okay with the stop in Pakse if it were nice or there was anything to do here, but the town is one that has exploited tourism and yet has no natural beauty to offer. The streets smell of stale weed and palpable humidity and my current accommodation smells of sewage and body odor. I feel the world is playing a cruel, cosmic joke on me right now and I can only hope that the journey to Cambodia is worth it and I am met by something wonderful to make me forget my current state of despair...
Sorry for the somewhat cynical, depressing post but there really has not been much to brag about or praise in the past few days. Hopefully, the next post will be a cheerful one. Less than two weeks until I arrive back home!
Ciao for now,
Max
So it's been a few days since my last post and activity has simmered down quite a bit since then. The majority of my time, or at least half of it, has been spent on the road, traveling from one destination to another. While this is a necessary part of backpacking, it is getting rather exhausting and tedious at this point, especially after my experiences the past few days...
First, I headed to the Northern region of Laos to visit the old capital of Luang Prabang. I seem to have somewhat bad luck when it comes to who I sit next to/behind when I travel from one city to another. Unfortunately, I was sitting behind a woman on the way who had reclined her chair almost fully before I got on and had proceeded to pass out, leaving me and my long legs with no option but to sit cramped for the seven hour journey. Ironically, the person next to me was a full foot shorter than me and had all of their leg room, but he too was passed out and I was too polite (it's my Canadian nature) to ask to switch seats. Despite this minor pitfall, the scenery on the trip was magnificent and some of the best I have seen in two and a half months of traveling. The whole drive North is along twisting mountain roads, to the right a sprawling landscape of karst peaks and rolling hills, scattered smoldering patches from the heat and cows and goats crossing the road in front of us, delaying our journey only slightly in their leisure. Passing through little towns, the children always stare you down with their calculating eyes, transfixed by the gaggle of Westerners passing through their home. After the long bus journey, I was happy to find the first place I could to settle down and happened to end up in a nice little hostel, cheap and with all the amenities I was desiring. My next day, feeling a mixture of pain from my wounds, weariness from my commute, and longing for my own bed back home, I stayed in and powered through two full books, happy to have some down time. The day after, I rented a bicycle and explored the city in a few hours, stopping at temples along the way and for views of the river banks. All in all, Luang Prabang was nice peaceful city, and if it had been my first stop in Laos, I certainly would have been more appreciative. That being said, after the activity and beauty of Vang Vieng, and the culture of Vientiane, Luang Prabang was a little lacking for me and slightly disappointing. The drive to and from the town was the most entertaining part of my experience there...
After a trip back to Vang Vieng, and another night in my wonderful hostel there, I set out on the road yesterday for Phnom Penh, excited and eager to explore a new country and new surroundings. It was going to be a doozy of a commute, a full 30 hour journey with three to four separate buses and a passing through border control where I would have to obtain a visa, but I was determined to get it over with and have the last major commute of my travels completed. I took the four hour bus journey down to Vientiane and switched buses to a huge overnight VIP bus, equipped with a bed about the size of a single. The bus was supposed to leave at 6PM and take twelve hours, but it was two and a half hours before it finally took off. I spent that time having a light dinner and actually stretching out quite comfortably on the single bed, impressed at the amount of space I would have for the long journey and convinced it would go by quickly. Unfortunately, I soon realized that I was sorely mistaken in thinking I had the whole bed to myself. After two hours of sitting idle, the bus suddenly started to fill up and I took note at that point that there were two pillows on the bed, a perk that was too good to be true. Fifteen minutes before take-off, an English guy named Tommy stumbled up the stairs and notified me that we would be sharing the bed. I was a little mortified at the thought of spooning with a complete stranger, but alas, I had no choice in the matter and he crawled into the single with me! At first, it was not too bad... he got out his laptop and we watched "Into The Wild", a great film and quite appropriate considering the protagonist is a 23-year old man going on a journey of self-exploration... but when it came time to go to bed, I had no room to get comfortable. I started on my side facing the window, but my knees were pressed up against the glass and my ankles were chafed together quite painfully. I then switched to my back and hoped to fall asleep that way but it was hopeless and my legs started to cramp that way as well. Finally, after four and a half hours of lying in pain and distress, I faced the other way towards my bed companion and managed to doze off for a few hours. Before this all occurred, the bus we were on stopped after only 45 minutes of driving due to engine troubles and a flat tire (at least that's what I assume, I couldn't see out the windows what they were doing). This caused a three hour delay in the trip. By the time we arrived in Pakse, the transfer point to my next day bus, it was just before 12PM and I had been on the bus for close to 18 hours! In the morning, when the sun came out, the window concentrated the heat all over my body, no curtains on the bus to shield me from the blistering 36 degree heat and nowhere to escape to. All in all, it was an absolute horrendous experience, and my worst one with transportation so far. Because we arrived so late due to all the delays, I missed my connecting bus and I'm stuck in Pakse for the day and due to leave in the morning bright and early to get to the border. I still have at least 16 hours to go and I am not optimistic about the comforts of my remaining transportation. I would be okay with the stop in Pakse if it were nice or there was anything to do here, but the town is one that has exploited tourism and yet has no natural beauty to offer. The streets smell of stale weed and palpable humidity and my current accommodation smells of sewage and body odor. I feel the world is playing a cruel, cosmic joke on me right now and I can only hope that the journey to Cambodia is worth it and I am met by something wonderful to make me forget my current state of despair...
Sorry for the somewhat cynical, depressing post but there really has not been much to brag about or praise in the past few days. Hopefully, the next post will be a cheerful one. Less than two weeks until I arrive back home!
Ciao for now,
Max
Saturday, May 14, 2011
"I'll Be There For You..."
Hey folks,
Life has gotten pretty crazy in the past few days! I arrived in Vang Vieng on Tuesday after a great night out with a friend from Israel. We checked out the bowling alley in Vientiane and played until the wee hours of the morning before we were kicked out of the place. Nice to see a friendly face after so long traveling alone...
Vang Vieng is a tourist haven and is most well known for its tubing, but there is a lot more to do than just get drunk on the river. I have been staying at a great guest house and have been paying only 30000 Kip a night ($3.50 CDN). It's a great place to meet people and it's a little bit off the main stretch so it's quieter. There's a good lounge to hang out in and they make world-class sandwiches that I have been feasting on every day. My first full day in Vang Vieng, I signed up for a kayaking tour. We started by visiting Elephant Cave which is home to a huge buddha footprint and a rock formation which gives the cave its name. Next, we checked out another cave called the Water Cave where we hopped on tubes with a headlamp and went deep into the cave (about 700 or 800 metres) using a rope to pull ourselves along. I brought my camera in with me to take some photos and on the way back, while adjusting my grip, I accidentally dropped it! I realized right away but it was somewhere on the soft muddy ground under 12 feet of water... I spent thirty minutes diving underwater and feeling for it in the pitch black, which was absolutely terrifying but I was determined, and then finally had to give up hope. When I emerged from the cave, we ate lunch and I had settled with the fact that my camera was gone forever and that I would have to purchase a new one for the last leg of my trip. But then, one of the guides came over and offered to go back in with me to try finding it with a snorkel mask. I thought it couldn't hurt and I had made a point of remembering the surroundings where I had lost it. We arrived at the spot where I had dropped it and he dived down to look. Incredibly, within five minutes of searching, he resurfaced with my camera in hand! Despite being underwater for over an hour and caked in mud, it still works perfectly! I gave him a nice reward and we continued the tour, 18km of kayaking down the Nam Song river with beautiful karstic landscapes in the background and plenty of rapids to go over. At the end of the river, we made a few stops at some of the bars in the 500m stretch which has made Vang Vieng so well known. I took a few turns at some of the jumps before we did the last few kilometres of kayaking and headed back to our respective hostels, content and exhausted...
On day two, I rented out a bicycle and decided to go explore some of the caves in the area and the local spot known as the Blue Lagoon. I went with the guy I met in Vientiane who I am still with somehow, however, he has gotten a lot better and is up for anything so that's always a perk for a travel companion. We stopped at a smaller cave first which had an awesome swimming grotto and then headed up the hill a little bit with headlamps to check out the bigger cave. It was massive and had lots of stairs and ladders to climb, with a ton of amazing rock formations along the way. Once we got to the end, we turned around and headed back to the opening, daylight a welcome sight! We stopped for lunch in a tiny village halfway between the Blue Lagoon and the main town, where little kids came and pointed to candy on the wall, to them too expensive but to us, less than 50 cents. They were very happy when we obliged their demands by buying them a treat to gobble down. After some delicious fried noodles and a break from the sun (it was 35 degrees at least that day!), we finally went to the Blue Lagoon, or at least what we thought was the Blue Lagoon... it turns out that we didn't actually make it all the way there but rather to one of the impostors that have sprung up in the area to take advantage of the site's name and tourists' money. Even so, the little place we stopped for a swim was nice and the scenic backgrounds were great to relax next to. That night, we met a bunch of new backpackers at our hostel from Sweden, England, and Norway and all went for dinner together. We had a delicious meal at a nearby restaurant and spent some time enjoying another thing Vang Vieng is known for: episodes of "Friends"... Nearly every restaurant and bar along the main road shows episodes all hours of the day and night, some of the places changing things up by showing "Family Guy". It's really a wonder the people in Laos aren't sick of the show but I guess they figure it brings in tourists by giving them something familiar and so it is a tradition that will last for many years...
On day three, myself and three others from the hostel went to the cave just down the path from our hostel known for its many shrines and buddha statues. Before heading to main cave, we went swimming in another cave which was quite the experience, maybe one of the coolest I have had in Laos so far! We hadn't known about a swimming cave so none of us brought flashlights but I led the way and swam into the dark, using one of our cameras' flash as an aide at ten-second intervals in order to have some idea of where the walls were. I must have swum about 500 metres into the cave against the current, completely enveloped in darkness, with no natural light creeping in from the outside world. Very scary, but unbelievable unique and exhilarating! I decided to get out when I felt something the size of a small shark slither up against my leg! On the way back to the hostel, I bought what I thought was some local corn dish wrapped up in a banana leaf. I was wrong and when I smelled it, it had the smell of honey. I assumed it was honeycomb upon closer inspection, and took a big bite. Wrong again... Bitter, rancid juice squirted into my mouth and when I looked down I realized what I was actually eating: bee larvae! Not something I will EVER try again! After a quick, real lunch, we got our things together and hired a tuk-tuk to take us tubing. Unfortunately, the driver didn't tell us that we had to rent tubes in town and not at the river, so we didn't actually even use tubes the whole day but it didn't really matter; the experience has more to do with the bars. When I floated down the river on my kayak my first day, it was quite an assault on the eyes to see the over-developed stretch that has given Vang Vieng the ultimate party boost. It was almost like entering a different universe, the contrast was so strong! Something like this could never exist in a developed country simply due to safety regulations. Basically, there are bars scattered along both sides of the river and when you arrive, they give out free shots of Laos whiskey to everyone. There's mudfootball, pole-climbing, beer pong, volleyball, tons of slides, rope-swings and ziplining, people falling over dancing, and people jumping off the decks of the bars into the rushing current below. Because we didn't have tubes, we simply swam across the river, letting the current carry us on our backs to the next bar until someone threw out a tube attached to a rope to reel us in. I took multiple turns at doing zip-lining and rope swings, tried a few backflips (which have left me sore today), and danced until the sun went down. It was a crazy experience and also completely unique, much better than my time at the Full Moon Party in Thailand. Today, I have many cuts and bruises, spraypaint all over my back and front, and sandals that are coming apart from the insanity yesterday. I find it a little hard to believe that people go there every day for weeks on end to drink, party, and throw caution to the wind with silly stunts... I'm exhausted from just one day of it!
Tomorrow, I head to Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos and a town known for its many temples. I think I might take a cooking course there and rent a bike to explore the countryside. It should be a welcome break from the craziness of Vang Vieng.
I'm home in three weeks and can't wait to see you all!
Ciao for now,
Max
P.S. Not a tough one, but name the song I took my blog title from!
 |
| The view from outside my hostel in Vang Vieng |
Vang Vieng is a tourist haven and is most well known for its tubing, but there is a lot more to do than just get drunk on the river. I have been staying at a great guest house and have been paying only 30000 Kip a night ($3.50 CDN). It's a great place to meet people and it's a little bit off the main stretch so it's quieter. There's a good lounge to hang out in and they make world-class sandwiches that I have been feasting on every day. My first full day in Vang Vieng, I signed up for a kayaking tour. We started by visiting Elephant Cave which is home to a huge buddha footprint and a rock formation which gives the cave its name. Next, we checked out another cave called the Water Cave where we hopped on tubes with a headlamp and went deep into the cave (about 700 or 800 metres) using a rope to pull ourselves along. I brought my camera in with me to take some photos and on the way back, while adjusting my grip, I accidentally dropped it! I realized right away but it was somewhere on the soft muddy ground under 12 feet of water... I spent thirty minutes diving underwater and feeling for it in the pitch black, which was absolutely terrifying but I was determined, and then finally had to give up hope. When I emerged from the cave, we ate lunch and I had settled with the fact that my camera was gone forever and that I would have to purchase a new one for the last leg of my trip. But then, one of the guides came over and offered to go back in with me to try finding it with a snorkel mask. I thought it couldn't hurt and I had made a point of remembering the surroundings where I had lost it. We arrived at the spot where I had dropped it and he dived down to look. Incredibly, within five minutes of searching, he resurfaced with my camera in hand! Despite being underwater for over an hour and caked in mud, it still works perfectly! I gave him a nice reward and we continued the tour, 18km of kayaking down the Nam Song river with beautiful karstic landscapes in the background and plenty of rapids to go over. At the end of the river, we made a few stops at some of the bars in the 500m stretch which has made Vang Vieng so well known. I took a few turns at some of the jumps before we did the last few kilometres of kayaking and headed back to our respective hostels, content and exhausted...
 |
| Nice refreshing swimming grotto |
 |
| One of the many bars on the "party" stretch of the Nam Song river |
Tomorrow, I head to Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos and a town known for its many temples. I think I might take a cooking course there and rent a bike to explore the countryside. It should be a welcome break from the craziness of Vang Vieng.
I'm home in three weeks and can't wait to see you all!
Ciao for now,
Max
P.S. Not a tough one, but name the song I took my blog title from!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
People Coping Through COPE
Hey folks,
Throughout my travels, I have focused most of my efforts on visiting cool historical sites, stepping out of my comfort zone with new crazy activities like bungee jumping and scuba diving, and eating all kinds of different foods, many which I thought I would never try. However, I have not taken/had many opportunities to really get a full cultural experience in the places I've been, mostly because that isn't always something readily available for the traveling tourist... But there have been a few "real" experiences, and in Vientiane I added another to my list...
I went and visited the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) visitor centre, a small museum operating to educate people on the atrocities of the Vietnam war specifically when it comes to how it affected the people in Laos. Because it wasn't just the Vietnamese that were bombed on a daily basis by the Americans... Between 1965 and 1973, cluster bombs rained down on the people of Laos every 40 minutes, day and night! In an eight year period, over 260 million cluster bombs fell from the sky, and after the war, 80 million of them still remained on the ground, remaining a threat to innocent civilians long after the war ended and still affecting today's younger generation. The museum was very informative, eye-opening and incredibly sad, filled with stories from parents who lost children who were simply inspecting a glittering piece of metal on the ground or collecting scrap metal to help their families. The museum hosts many videos, photographs, and bicycle wheelchairs and crutches for you to try out in order to get a sense of what all the amputees in the country face every day. The organization COPE is quite spectacular in their efforts, not only educating the people of Laos on the dangers surrounding them, and tourists on the horrible history of the war, but also providing prosthetics for those who bring their stories to them, and providing rehabilitation for individuals who simply want a better life, whether it's children who want to be happy and go to school, or parents who need to find a way to provide for their families...
It's a shame that so many people skip over a city like Vientiane during their travels, simply because it does not offer activities like rock-climbing, kayaking, and tubing. The amount of culture I have soaked in within two days of being here, and the information I have learned as a result, is in many ways much more rewarding and long-lasting than the memories of some drunken trip down a river! It's things like my trip to the COPE visitor's centre that I will remember many years from now and that I will tell people about, hopefully spreading the word on their good work and ways to help them in their quest to heal the wonderful country of Laos. I don't know if the U.S. ever made amends financially for the horrible aftermath of their presence in the Far East but it's up to the people of Laos to make their land safe again and thankfully there is a good task-force available, working hard to clear the territory of remaining cluster bombs and trip wires that pose a constant threat to children every day...
All in all, my trip to COPE was a good one and if you wish to donate, visit their website (http://www.copelaos.org/). It only cost $75 to give a brand new leg to a child so that they can walk again, and even less to give them physiotherapy once they have that leg.
Ciao for now,
Max
Throughout my travels, I have focused most of my efforts on visiting cool historical sites, stepping out of my comfort zone with new crazy activities like bungee jumping and scuba diving, and eating all kinds of different foods, many which I thought I would never try. However, I have not taken/had many opportunities to really get a full cultural experience in the places I've been, mostly because that isn't always something readily available for the traveling tourist... But there have been a few "real" experiences, and in Vientiane I added another to my list...
I went and visited the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) visitor centre, a small museum operating to educate people on the atrocities of the Vietnam war specifically when it comes to how it affected the people in Laos. Because it wasn't just the Vietnamese that were bombed on a daily basis by the Americans... Between 1965 and 1973, cluster bombs rained down on the people of Laos every 40 minutes, day and night! In an eight year period, over 260 million cluster bombs fell from the sky, and after the war, 80 million of them still remained on the ground, remaining a threat to innocent civilians long after the war ended and still affecting today's younger generation. The museum was very informative, eye-opening and incredibly sad, filled with stories from parents who lost children who were simply inspecting a glittering piece of metal on the ground or collecting scrap metal to help their families. The museum hosts many videos, photographs, and bicycle wheelchairs and crutches for you to try out in order to get a sense of what all the amputees in the country face every day. The organization COPE is quite spectacular in their efforts, not only educating the people of Laos on the dangers surrounding them, and tourists on the horrible history of the war, but also providing prosthetics for those who bring their stories to them, and providing rehabilitation for individuals who simply want a better life, whether it's children who want to be happy and go to school, or parents who need to find a way to provide for their families...
It's a shame that so many people skip over a city like Vientiane during their travels, simply because it does not offer activities like rock-climbing, kayaking, and tubing. The amount of culture I have soaked in within two days of being here, and the information I have learned as a result, is in many ways much more rewarding and long-lasting than the memories of some drunken trip down a river! It's things like my trip to the COPE visitor's centre that I will remember many years from now and that I will tell people about, hopefully spreading the word on their good work and ways to help them in their quest to heal the wonderful country of Laos. I don't know if the U.S. ever made amends financially for the horrible aftermath of their presence in the Far East but it's up to the people of Laos to make their land safe again and thankfully there is a good task-force available, working hard to clear the territory of remaining cluster bombs and trip wires that pose a constant threat to children every day...
All in all, my trip to COPE was a good one and if you wish to donate, visit their website (http://www.copelaos.org/). It only cost $75 to give a brand new leg to a child so that they can walk again, and even less to give them physiotherapy once they have that leg.
Ciao for now,
Max
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