Jan. 28, 2013 - LADIES ONLY

Jan. 28, 2013 - Ladies Only

Guys, you can't unread this, I've warned you. Ladies, this is meant to be comedic, if a a bit off color.  Please laugh with me.

Alene and I have planned for the entire month of February to be on the beach in Thailand, Singapore, The Phillippines, and others.  With that in mind I decided to get my bikini line waxed.  That seems like a natural thing to do when planning a month on the beach.  I had seen plenty of spas in Thailand offering the bikini line wax so I thought it would be easy to find a place.  I wanted to wait until just before heading to the beach so that the waxing would be in effect for as long as possible.  One of the days in Laos would be perfect timing just before our beach trip.

Now I have had my bikini line waxed before.  Its not a big deal.  Only slightly awkward.  They give you a one time use paper panties, the spa lady talks ya through the process, and they take care of the places a bikini doesnt cover up.  Apparently, a Lao bikini line wax is not at all like this. It's much much different.

I go into the room thinking this bikini line wax is gonna be like the others.  Nope.  The first sign of this is no one time use panty.  Nope.  The next sign was that I am supposed to also take off the panties I had worn.  Weird. At this point I was ready to change my mind about the whole thing.  The kicker was I had already paid.  Now this place looked legit enough, so I thought what the heck, I guess this is just how it goes.  Long story short I went in for a bikini line wax and came out with a BRAZILIAN wax.  I have had plenty of friends actually go in planning on a brazilian.  So I have heard the details on what happens and what the process is.  Everyone I have heard from acts like its no big deal, its just something they routinely do.  I guess planning on it and it sneaking up on you change things a bit.   If I had been planning this I probably would have drank a beer or 3 before hand, because well, its just weird laying there with your bits showing.  I dont even like going to the gyno, the medical doctor, the person that makes sure Im gonna keep living a healthy life.   The entire process was a bit shocking.

I made my smooth exit from the room and when I had finish the complimentary spa tea I immediately had a beer.

Needless to say I am well prepared to spend a month in a bikini.  But to those that plan on a bikini line wax in Laos, reconsider or at the very least be prepared.    

Jan. 27-28, 2013 - Luang Prabang, Laos

Jan. 27, 2013 - Luang Prabang, Laos

  The first night, last night, we venture out to a bar called Utopia.  The place was very western and was geared towards the backpackers.  I have heard this from other travelers but Laos has so many old bombs that they tend to use them as decorations.  Utopia was our first example of this.  They had been turned into lamps, the pool table light, and just random decorations on the ground.  Kinda odd, but I guess its a good use of what ya have available.  After a beer we walked the short distance to hostel.  On the way we stopped at a fruit stand because I really wanted to try this unknown red fruit that I had been seeing around.  At the stand we got a dragon fruit, some of the red things, and some grapes.

The plan was to supplement our baguette breakfast with the fruit.  That morning it worked our nicely.  We googled what the weird red things were, water apples.  We sliced up the dragon fruit and ate a few grapes.  When I finally got around to eating a water apple I ran into a little brown spot.  No big deal, I thought, Ill eat around it.  But then the brown spot started to move.  Worms!!!  I immediately spit the bite I had out on a plate.  Whewwww, crisis averted, the worm was still whole.  I hadnt eaten him!!  I just put the water apple down and decided I would slice the next one up, just to make sure it was worm free.  It was and I enjoyed it.  Water apples taste a lot like a mix of an apple, a pear, and a grape.  As Im enjoying my worm free water apple I see a spec jump outta the bad water apple and onto the table. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?  They are JUMPING water apple worms.  I quickly grab the plate and head for the trash can.  I am not fast enough because another jumping worm has exited the water apple and is now jumping its way across the floor.  Ewwww.  I finally make it to the trash can before a 3rd jumper can escape.  Dont worry though.  This worm experience didnt keep me from eat the rest of the water apples... I was just sure to slice them up before putting them in my mouth.  Exciting morning.

At  11:30 a group of us caught a minibus out to a waterfall and park.  The park also had a bear sanctuary.  They were little black bears with what looked like a lion haircut.  Lots of extra hair around their faces.  The water fall was only a 5 minutes hike from the parking lot, so we made the trek up very quick.  This waterfall was very unique because it had waterfalls in the waterfalls.  It looked like the water had also created natural travertines.  The water was also a very very beautiful light blue color.  Almost Caribbean blue.  We hiked the loop around the falls and took lots of photos.  Somehow we missed the fact that you could go swimming in one of the pools and didnt wear our swimsuits.  We did get to watch everyone else have fun in the water though!

We arrived back around 4 and just chilled for a bit.  We ventured around town for dinner and then had an early night in.

Jan. 28, 2013 - Luang Prabang Day 2

We rose at 5:30.  We had heard it was a cool thing to watch the monks file by for morning alms.  This is were the community or in our case tourists provide small amounts of food for the monks' breakfast.  The community lays out mats along the sidewalk and if you buy something to give to the monks they give you a carpet to sit on.  We bought some cookies and lined up with the other people giving food to the monks.  At 6am the first group of monks came by with there buckets to collect the food.  We didnt buy enough cookies to give to all of them so after the 2nd group filed by we went back to our beds for more sleep.

After waking up, showering, and checking out around noon we went to go visit a temple on the edge of town.

Then we visited the spa.  For this comedic and crazy story see the "ladies only" blog post.

We returned to the hostel for a little break then hiked up to the temple on the hill to watch the sunset.  Then we just waited for our transfer to the bus station for the night bus to Vientiene, Laos.

Night bus:
8pm:  We have managed to get ourselves on the VIP night bus.  We get water, a meal, a fresh blanket.  Its high rolling as far as night buses go.  It is FAR nicer than any of the other night buses I have been on.
9pm: At this very moment someone is puking in the bathroom with the door wide open.  Im right next to the bathroom.
10pm: No fewer than 4 people are vomiting.  Perhaps its the windy roads and they are car sick?

What I have learned:
Old bombs make interesting decorations.

A visit to the spa isnt always pleasant.

VIPs still get sick

Jan. 25-26, 2013 - Mekong River Cruise

January 25, 2013 - Mekong River Cruise

Breakfast was from 7:30-8:30 so it was an early morning. The hostel returned our passports with Laos Visas now attached.

Laos Visa Fee: $35
Exchange Rate: 7800Kips = 1USD

We were transported to the river taxi and boated across the river to Laos.  We disembarked and waited in line to get out Laos entrance stamps.  Then we waited. And waited.  Then were transported to a little restaurant.  Then we waited. And waited.  Then at almost 12 we were told we could board our slow boat.  There are a lot of people on this boat and its a bit cramped but the scenery is beautiful!  Its nice to get some fresh air.  We will be on this boat for 6.5 hours today and another 6.5 hours tomorrow.

I was sure to buy a seat cushion for 40Baht.  Just in case the boat seats where rock hard.  I picked out the blue one with hearts on it.  However, upon closer examination there were little cartoon maggots in the hearts and wording that said "In love" and "Maggot". It just made me laugh.  And it continued to make me laugh every time I looked at it for the next 2 days.

A random lady on the boat was sharing her fried mill worm looking things.  Of course, we gave em a try.  Not tasty at all.

OH!  I have happy and exciting news! My good friends Sara and Steve are getting hitched and Sara has asked me to be a bridesmaid.  This gonna be a spectacular wedding as these two people are amazing individually but will be even better as a happy married couple.  I cant wait to celebrate with them.  AND they have decided to wait til 2014 for the wedding which means Ill be back in the states!!!


Jan. 26, 2013 - Day 2 of Mekong River Cruise

I did my budget last night.  Its looking beautiful.  For Asia Im at $54.30 per day.  That's almost half of what I have allotted.  And that makes me very happy because as I have mentioned before I want to go back to Africa and do the West Africa trip, London to Ghana and that starts Nov. 1 and ends in early January.  If I keep saving on my budget I may be able to keep on going. :-)  I have also told myself if for some reason I cant find a job after a year and a half of not working then I will just go back for my MBA.  Life just works out so perfectly sometimes.  It makes me smile.

Its day 2 of our cruise.  We arrived at the boat early to get our choice of seats.  We did NOT want to be in the back of the boat near the bathroom and the unbelievably loud engine.  This time we have seats near the front that recline.  Though the folks behind us are pretty close so I dont think we will be reclining too much.  Its also a bit misty and foggy today which gives the shore and hills around the river a cool quite feel.

What I have learned:
Apparently, its not uncommon for people to die on the speed boat tour to Luang Prabang.  We have seen them whiz by wearing helmets!  b

Fried worm things arent good eatin'

Jan. 23-24, 2013 - Chiang Mai to Laos Border

January 23-24, 2013 - Chiang Mai to Laos Border


The trip on the slow boat to Luang Prabang was full for the 23rd so we had to wait another day in Chiang Mai before leaving.  Not a bad thing as its a nice town.   The 23rd we did mostly errands that we hadnt had time for the last week or so.  We had our laundry done 2.5 Kg for $3, washed, dried, and folded.  We finally found a post office and I sent a card.  We also made a trip out to the train station to book our tickets from the Laos border to Bangkok and from Bangkok to Chumphon where we will catch a ferry to the islands later on.  We will be taking back to back night trains with a full day in Bangkok in between.  We met some fun guys at the hostel and had a few beers.  I also joined them at the bars for a fun night out!  The next morning we were picked up in our van and transported to the Laos border.  Along the way we stopped at the white temple.  It was very unique.  All the temples we have seen up til now have been brightly colored.  This one however, was completely white with mirrors instead of colored tiles covering it.  Alene and I explored the area and bit and then back to the van to finish up our drive.

YAY!  A toilet!

  The slow boat trip to Laung Prabang consists of a 6 hour drive from Chiang Mai to the border.  The hostel there arranges our visas for us and provides dinner, breakfast and lunch and well as a room for the night.  Then the next two days are on a boat from the border to the city, with a stop for the night in a town along the way.   I'd like to think of it as a river cruise.

The hostel has kept these bugs in this glass jar, they say, for good luck.

What I have learned: 

Its almost impossible to tell the difference between a lady-boy and a real girl.  I have been warned.  lol

Jan. 21-22, 2013 - Northern Thailand

January 21 - 22, 2013 - North Thailand

The was the first day of our 2 day trek in the north of Thailand.  There were only 6 of us on this trek. One dutch and one Korean guy, a couple from germany and us 2 American girls.  It was a 2 hour drive to the start of the trek but had a few stops along the way.  The first was at a botanical garden and butterfy farm.  The butterflies here were lacking, definitely didnt compare to the butterfly exhibit in Houston.  The the botanical garden consisted of rows of orchids they were growing.  They were brilliantly colored in yellow, white, pink, purple, blue.  Almost every color.  My orchids never looked that good.

The next stop was at a market were I had to eat some noodles.  Im quite sure I may have a noodle problem.  I always want to eat noodles.  They are so yummy and warm and low fat.  Yum.  We finally reached our hiking start point and hiked about 30 minutes before we stopped for lunch.  Lunch was a banana leaf filled with pad thai noodles.  Again, tasty, I love noodles.  Mostly noodle soups but dry noodles work too.  After lunch we finished up our hike.  The landscape was so green and lush.  The last bit of our hike over looked the valley where the elephant camp and our grass huts for night were located.  We checked in to the elephant camp and put our stuff down in the hut.  It was just the 6 of us for the night.  The hut was situated on the hill with a balcony overlooking the bar and restaurant and the elephant camp grounds.  It was an open air hut with mattresses along the floor.  Each mattress had a bug net, two blankets, and a pillow.  All the beds where in one open room.  The bathroom was about 100 feet away.  

After settling into our home and having a complementary cup of coffee we got our chance to ride an elephant, bare back.  Alene and I shared the elephant.  For the first part of the ride I rode on the back and Alene on the neck. We went on a very slow walk along a trail just outside of the camp.  After following the trail they led the elephants to a little pond where they walked in and sat down.  We hopped off and where handed buckets to wash the elephants.  I jumped in the water without thinking and soaked my wallet and all my money.  hah.  After the elephant bath we got back on.   I got the neck this time.  It was WAY more comfortable than the back.  On the back you have a gaint backbone digging into your butt.  It was painful.  We cooked dinner and hung out with our group that night.  We even taught them the vegetable game.  Epic!  Always great for  a laugh.

The guide built a fire for us and we enjoyed seeing the stars and watching the fire.

The morning we had a slow start.  Breakfast at 9.  To cook our toast the guide split a stick about half waydown, slid the bread into the slit and the tied the open end of the split stick together.  Then we told us to hold it over the smoldering fire for a bit.  Sure enough, it toasted our bread perfectly.  We also got a boiled egg with the toast for breakfast and all the coffee you could drink.  Around noon we loaded up in the truck for the drive to the waterfall trail.  Once there we were handed our lunches, the same thing as the day before, and headed down the trail towards the waterfall.  The entire hike was along a very beautiful and lush creek/river.  After about an hour we reached the waterfall.  It was small in comparison to some of the waterfalls I have seen on the trip but you could hop in and swim right up to the bottom of this one.  And thats exactly what we did.  We braved the cooooold water and managed our way to the waterfall for a quick photo op.  We then settled in the sun to dry off and eat lunch.  The hike back was easy and we stopped along way to take pictures.

And that was the end of our fun.  We loaded back up into the truck and headed back to Chiang Mai.

What I have learned:
Riding elephants is VERY uncomfortable.

January 18-20, 2013 - Chiang Mai, Thailand

January 18-20, 2013 - Chiang Mai, Thailand

January 18th:
17 hour night train to Chaing Mai.  We finally arrived at our hostel, Thailand Wow, around 4pm.  They messed up our reservation and we only had one proper bed in the dorm room.  So, for a discount, I took the mat on the floor in the dorm room.  Not too shabby for 130 Baht (about $4.30 per night).  We just wandered down to the night food market and had dinner and went back to the hostel to chill.

January 19th:
Today we book a taxi to take us to Tiger Kingdom and to 2 temples.  One on a big hill overlooking the city and the other was underground in a tunnel.

The Tiger Kingdom was super cool.  Once you arrive you have to choose which size of tiger you want to get in the cage with and pet.  There are 4 sizes at Tiger Kingdom, large, medium, small, and smallest.  Of course, playing with the smallest aka cutest tigers was the most expensive.  We went with the large and small package.  Not long after buying a ticket they let us through the gate to where all the different tiger cages were.  We stopped at the large tiger cage first.  We dropped our bags at the gate, the trainer lifted up the gate and we walked through into the tiger cage.  There were 5 or so big tigers in this cage.  We got to pet 3 of them.  2 were sitting tail to tail snoozing, just like house cats, sleeping all day.  These guys were HUGE though.  They let you pick up their tails and it must have weighed 20 pounds, easy.  We even snuggled up and laid next to the tigers.

After the large tigers we went into the small tigers cage.  These little guys were a bit more active than the old guys.  One little one rolled over and let me pet his belly.  Then he romped around playing with various things in the cage.

After petting the small tigers we walked around the site to see all the other tigers at the facility.  They have a total of 50 tigers ranging from Giant to very tiny and still drinking from a bottle.  The baby tigers still had their blue eyes and were very playful with the people in the cages and the trainers.  The facility also had a lion.   Im not sure how or why they had a lion.  In africa the lions seem so huge, but after seeing how big the tigers can get the lions almost seem small. Almost.

Then it was off to the temple on the hill, Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep.  After about 20 minutes and lots of curvy roads we made it to the entrance of the temple.  Here various vendor were selling food and drinks.  We opted for a hotdog wrapped in a waffle.  It was delightfully delicious.  Like a little bite of heaven.  I may have to bring this idea back to America or even better sausage wrapped in a waffle with some syrup for dipping?!?!?  You would buy one, you know you would!  Anyways, this was a great energy boost for the 300 something step climb to the top.  It was a buck for foreigners to enter.  The temple site had a central large temple surrounded by a covered  sidewalk lined with Buddhas and a mural painting.  It also has a great view of the city.  It would have been better if it hadnt been so hazy but it was a good view nonetheless. On the hike back down from the temple we tried a cup full of corn with milk, sugar, and butter. It was quite sweet and tasty! Yum!
After the hill temple we hit the temple in the tunnel.  I cant remember the name of this one, sorry.  It was a small simple temple.  Basically, a tunnel dug out through the ground and at each end point was a shrine to Buddha with a central larger shrine.  Like I said simple but unique.

That night we ha arranged to meet up with my old high school friend Derek.  We met up at the UN Irish pub for dinner and drinks.  The local ultimate frisbee club was nice enough to let us hang out with them for the evening.

January 20:
We just wandered around town this day with no set plan.  We stopped at a little spa on one of the main streets and opted for the spa pedicure with included a nice foot massage.  I also decided to get my eye lashes tinted black so they stand our a bit more with having to put on mascara.  I have very happy with the outcome.  She said it would last about 6 months!  We shall SEE about that, no pun intended.

This night was the night of the big Sunday market. Its an incredibly large market covering several streets in town.  Vendors lined both sides of the streets and some even lined up down the middle of the road.  You could buy anything here.  Clothing, random electronics, hats, shoes (I bought cool strapy shoes), jewelry, leather items, bags, etc.  It also had a big food court set up.  There was a huge variety.  Alene and I shared several different things so we could taste as much as possible.  We had chicken on a stick, sushi, a chocolate and honey pancake, curry and Im sure there was more. I love street food.  We wandered around the market for a good 4 hours looking at all the things the vendors had to offer.

What I have learned:

A tiger is full grown at around 3 years and they eat 12 chickens a day each.  6 for breakfast and 6 for dinner. 

Tigers are the largest of all the cats. 

Buddhas are EVERYWHERE in this country.  EVERYWHERE.

Chiang Mai is surrounded by a wall and moat.