Home?

Location: Maple Grove Road, Mohnton, Pennsylvania
Date: May 27, 2010

I'm home, or back in the states at least. I guess I've learned, that like the book I read when I was little about hermit crabs changing shells, and essentially changing "homes," I can find my home all over the world. I found a bit of home in the Incan lands of Peru, as I frequented the local bakery and caught up on conversation with the children playing in the plaza...I found myself at home in frozen lands of Kosovo, as I was invited indoors for cup after cup of coffee by the teachers at the school...I found myself at home in the mystical beauty of Istanbul, standing barefoot on the carpeted floors of the Little Ayasophia mosque...I found myself at home on the unpaved roads of Lao, as I whizzed by yet another water buffalo. For so many months, my backpack was my house, and the land was my home. I carried all of my possession from one location to the next, everything so meticulously packed that I could go blindly through the pack and find whatever it was I was looking for. Over the months, I created for myself a routine and made it so that certain things in my life were consistent. My body knew that it was time to sleep when I got on an overnight bus, it knew to search for shade on a hot day, knew to find the nearest cup of coffee when feeling sleepy. Certain automatics became part of my daily life- the search of toilet paper and water safe to drink, the nightly patrol for bed bugs, the organization and placement of each item in my small backpack...these things I never had to think about- there was a sort of rhythm to these actions that I never second guessed, I would find myself packed, with toilet paper and water on hand, and with as few bedbug bites as possible. Each night the sounds changed- sometimes it was the buzzing of mosquitos outside of the net, or the scurrying of rats under the bungalow, sometimes it was the heavy fall of rain as the wet season set in, or the moos of cows and explosion of fireworks on the streets of Delhi....I got used to playing with these sounds, listening to them, deciphering them, and seeing if I could figure out which sound would come next. Knowing the meanings of the sounds would be a comfort, and it was one more little way of making my surroundings feel like more of my own.

Upon my return, all I could think to myself was, "How lucky was I to go on this trip!!!! How lucky!" Over and over, this became a mantra in my mind as I changed planes and slowly began to think about my descent home. Rather than dwell on the fact that this amazing adventure has come to a close, I had decided to cherish every bit of it and remember how fortunate I had been to have gone. (And start planning my next adventure, of course!).

Home feels nice. My dad and stepmom picked me up at the local bus terminal (I had taken a bus from NYC to Reading), and I got in the car, exhausted, with a huge smile on my face. I have to admit that it still felt like a foreign place to me- having moved out of Reading to Seattle, I no longer assimilate the city with my hometown, but there remained the sense of familiarity. Sleeping in my bed that night was a very satisfying event, and I woke the next morning feeling refreshed, alive, and starving.

So, here I sit, gazing upon the green vibrance of Pennsylvania farmland, with my fruit shake in hand. No, the berries were frozen and the milk was out of a carton, but it was tasty. As I look forward to the next few months- my return to Seattle, moving in to a new place, and hopefully securing a great teaching job, I am filled with excitement and hope. Yes, I had to say goodbye to tropical lands and speed racing tuk tuks, but I get to bring all of those memories with me, and they are much lighter than my backpack.

Thanks to everyone for all of your support throughout my trip. Friends and family have helped make my coming home an easy transition and I can't imagine what my trip would have been like without you. Lots of love and gracias por todo :)

Ali

Holding Hands

Location: Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), Vietnam
Date: May 22, 2010

Saigon is a very very busy place. Everywhere you look, motos and cars are zooming by and it is nearly impossible to cross the road. Today, after I left Ben Thanh market and then grabbed a quick bowl of pho, I walked up to the corner in order to cross one of the busiest streets in District 1. There is a giant roundabout with about 6 streets coming off of it, and just thinking about crossing made me nervous. But, I needed to cross, so I stepped off of the sidewalk into the street. I noticed a Vietnamese woman next to me, wearing the typical garb- a pointed "rice fields" hat and patterned pajamas (for some reason, this is the style- matching pajamas, which are worn day and night), so I slid alongside of her so I could cross with her. She didn't take a look at me, but she noticed I was there because after her first step she motioned with her right hand for me to follow. I did, and together we made our way through the first few meters of road. Suddenly, she reached back and grabbed my hand, and in this way, we crossed the road safely. At the other side, she let go of my hand, and we went our separate ways. Never did she look at me, or utter a word, but after saying thank you and just being in shock of the woman taking the initiative to reach for my hand, I just had a giant smile on my face that lasted the rest of the day. Vietnam is such an interesting place- culturally, there exist many differences in everything from food to hygiene, and truthfully. is has been difficult to make meaningful connections to many people here, but today, she reached for me, and I held her hand as together we crossed the street.


Happy Birthday Tracy!

The adorable kids waving as we wizzed by on the motorbike past the rice paddy fields.

Location: Hanoi and Sapa, Vietnam
Date: May 2010

Sim chao!

Aside from the Hmong market experience, the trip to Sapa was filled with adventures. But first, though inappropriate as it may be, I have to share a little bit about our experience getting into Sapa. First of all, my friend Abe and I went to the train station to get 2 tickets to Sapa, and the lady there immediately said it was full for the next night. Then she made a call on her cell phone and looked at us and said, "Ok, here are two tickets...my friend cancelled." We weren't sure what happened, but we were happy to have the tickets. The next night we arrive at the station and get settled into our car, which happens to be the very last one. At this point, there is a Vietnamese man sitting on the bottom bunk (there are 4 beds to a car) texting on his phone. His only luggage is a small black briefcase. A few minutes later a pretty Vietnamese woman enters the car with a man and they sit on the other bottom bunk. I start to get a little worried because it seems like there are 5 of us to a 4 bed car, but when the man leaves the car, I figure that he will go solve the issue. The train leaves and the man never comes back, and as soon as we take off, the man in the bottom bunk shuts and locks the door and turns off the lights in the bottom half of the car. Abe and I are a bit curious as to why the man wants to sleep so early in the ride (it is only 7:30 or so....) but we enjoy our train snacks and ignore the lower half of the car. However, a few minutes later, the man moves into the woman's bed- it was obvious that these two do not know each other, so we are just thinking that maybe they want cuddle buddies for the night or something...noises a few minutes later told us differently....so, needless to say, as hard as it was to ignore, Abe and I tried to chat through this little interaction below us and just chocked it up as part of the adventure. The couple continued their romantic rendevous throughout the night, but when we got into Sapa, the woman made her self presentable and then sped off. 5 minutes later the man left, going a different way. After putting our heads together, we came up with the reason for all of this craziness: we were in the prostitution car!!!! Either the woman at the train station was playing a cruel joke on us: "hahaha....we'll give those tourists an experience they will never forget!!!" or we just happened to be amidst one of the unusual ongoings of Southeast Asia....anyway....

After we got over our little encounter, we took a van into the highlands of Sapa, a beautiful region full of rice paddies and chao (water buffalo) and hill tribe people.

That was taken in Hanoi- thought I would throw it in- a cock fight in the middle of a park...very strange experience. The cock owners suck the blood off the roosters and then spit some substance on them in between battles- very disturbing to watch.

Met these little fellows around the lake in Sapa. Just 3 little kids, sitting and eating a meal of rice and guarding the water buffalo near them.

Sapa is often enveloped in a cloud of heavy fog- as we crossed the streets we could make out a herd of water buffalo in the middle of the road among all of the moto drivers.

Sapa Valley- Que bonita, no?

more of Sapa Valley

The majority of our time was spent cruising on a motorbike and getting out of the tourist track and into more of the remote villages, where every single person we encountered- Black Hmong, Flower Hmong, Red Dzao, waved with a huge smile and said hello. They weren't used to seeing tourists where we went.

Red Dzao tribe members

We went on a hike in Cat Cat Village on an old goat path. When we got far enough in, we rounded a corner and saw 2 giant black noses, and much to my delight, ran into these two beautiful creatures, just chewing their cud and enjoying the respite that the coolness of the river provided for them.

Sapa at sunset

The next day we explored a cave, and tried to go deep into all the crevices inside the cave, sharing a single headlamp. When we saw a bug with about 4000 legs, we knew it was time to leave. Outside of the cave, we met this lovely lady, May Ling, a member of the Red Dzao tribe, who invited us into her home, which was just down the hill.

As we spoke with May Ling, this little girl continued to bring flowers to us. By the time we left, I had a pile of flowers next to me so big that I could barely carry it out of May's house.

Sapa was beautiful and it was nice getting to meet members of many of the tribes. Next we will make our way east to Ba Be National Park, which is in central north Vietnam...

Dumbiet!

Not May, Chu and Ha

Location: Sapa, Northern Vietnam
Date: May 3, 2010

The Older Generation

Here is a little portrait of the older Hmong women, who don't have the English skills that the younger girls do. Basically what happens is that they approach you with their goods, no matter whether or not you show any interest in the item, and then they flock to you, whipping out different colors and sizesd and saying in a loud shrill voice, "BUY FROM ME!" The women are very kind and continuously have smiles on their faces, but the competition is fierce, and the last one to hang around usually is the winner. Below is a photo walk of the experience one afternoon between Abe and some of the Hmong women in the market...one of the women ended up following him all the way down the street, where the conversation was something like:
A: "I can only spend 80. I'll give you 80."
H: "Ok, 90."
A: "I can do 80, but not 90. 80 ok?"
H: "100 ok...."

The beginnings of the negotiation...

More and more women come and follow Abe throughout the market...

This little lady was persistent...following Abe down the street...

She was not happy that I was taking photos- it was interrupting her "game..."

In the end, he got the pants for 80. I guess she was tired after following us for an hour...

May, Chu and Ha

Ha, Chu and May, with Abe and I

Location: Sapa, Northern Vietnam
Date: May 3, 2010

I don't remember the first thing she said to us. I wish I did, but I know it was something that made me think twice before giving her the normal "leave me alone" glance. It was dinnertime, and my friend Abe and I were in the middle of a delicious meal, and although we were being completely interrupted, I was curious. When I looked over, I saw a young girl dressed in typical Hmong clothing. Her hair was long and pulled into a ponytail, and she wasn't smiling. After the normal, "BUY FROM ME!!!!' spiel, she looked at us, and in one long line of speech, quickly spit out all of the phrases she used when selling to tourists..."Buy from me. How old are you? Are you new in town? How long are you in Sapa? How many brothers and sisters do you have? Did you go to the waterfall? Did you go to the cave? Buy from me..." She had us laughing, and we knew she was making fun of herself and the entire selling operation of Sapa. I had never heard any of the Hmong ladies comment on how ridiculous they sometimes sounded, and to do it in such a manner was hysterical and completely unexpected. From the minute I met her, I was hooked. She was the rereshing breeze that blew through Sapa and her name was Ha.

We invited Ha for a drink (non-alcoholic of course!) and she came and joined us, shutting out her world of sales. She could speak Hmong, English and Vietnamese, and all perfectly (most of the older generation of Hmong could only speak a few words in English). Ha had it all- humor, sarcasm, wit, intellect, beauty....the girl amazed me. She was tiny and already 17 and she wanted to get out of Vietnam. Sadly, I learned that she only attended schools for a few hours per week and wasn't literate in any language. She lived in the village of Sapa so she could sell things and only went back to her village on special occasions. We got to meet her friends Chu and May a little while later, and they came to join us for a meal. We spent a few hours with these girls, just chatting and laughing. In all my travels, I had never met such a threesome. They made fun of each other and played jokes and laughed and laughed. And we laughed and laughed. At the end of the night, it was time to go home, and we walked home with the girls. I had given Ha one of my bracelets earlier in the night for good luck in sales, and she had told me that the next morning she would come and give me one in turn. We got to their temporary home, which was a tiny house without electricity. The girls asked me to wait for one minute, and ran to get their cell phones for me to charge. We made plans to see them in the morning, and I walked away with their flashy cell phones in my hand trying to make sense of what was going on...

What a lovely morning!

Because of Sapa's tourism, the Hmong people have been able to profit and have overcome what used to be a very poverty-striken existence. Yet, you have these women who are 70+ chasing you in the streets yelling "BUY FROM ME!!!" They can't speak any other words in English, and so many interactions with them are hand signals and made up sign language. Then, you have the younger generation of Hmong, who can speak perfect English (yet can't read) and have flashing cell phones that use in between sales. It's a huge difference- and it seems that the older generations are jealous of the younger, English speaking girls. It makes me really wonder what will happen from here- will the girls leave the village or will they stay, making money for the family and carrying on the tradition?

Ha and I with all of our friendship bracelets

Chu braiding my hair

The next morning, we woke up to find Chu, May, and Ha downstairs of our hostel. They were making bracelets and chatting, and we got to spend a lovely 2 hours just sitting with them int he sunlight. Chu braided my hair, Ha tied about 6 bracelets on my wrist, and May and Ha dressed up Abe in all of the goods they were going to try to sell that day. I think it was just about one of my favorite mornings of my trip. When tourists walked by, they didnt even try to sell, but the tourists looked at us like, "What in the world are those Hmong girls doing with those tourists?" The girls were holding our hands and sitting on our lap, and we had somehow been able to cut the "buy from me" crap out of the equation.

Chu and Ha dressing up Abe in all of their goods

Over the next few days, we spent the evenings with the girls and before we left, we made them copies of some of the photos that we had taken with them. I also was determined to get these girls to read so I did my best to seek out the one shop that sold books. I bought a beginning to write book (to learn the alphabet in Vietnamese), a beginning to read book, a comic book (to read the pictures and go from there), and a pencil for each girl). We gave them the packages before we left and they promised to do their best to learn to read. The faces on each of the girls when we gave them the presents was something I will never forget. That night over dinner, the girls sat below us on the sidewalk, and they were each writing in the books we gifted them. It was a very cool moment. Giving the girls the photos and books

Watching the girls read and write in the books

Saying goodbye to the girls was hard. The girls meet hundreds of tourists every week, but somehow, we managed to have a special relationship with them. We exchanged Facebook information and the girls walked away, cell phones in hand, wearing their traditional Hmong attire....I will never forget Chu, May and Ha.

"Feeding the Monks"

Location: Luang Prabang, Lao
Date: April 9, 2010

My last day in LPB, I woke up at 6am to "feed the monks." Basically, you buy food- sticky rice or any staple food, and you put it into the monks' canisters as they walk by. The only eat what is given by donation, so many locals wake up every morning to give their offering. Many tourists also wake early to watch the parade, but I tried to do mostly feeding and a little bit of picture-taking...here is a look at the monks coming and going...

"It's all part of the adventure, mate..."

Location: Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang (Lao)
Date: April 28, 2010



Sabaydee!

“Its all just part of the adventure, mate,” my Australian friend Joel says as we get whipped on our faces by giant jungle bugs and nearly hit a herd of water buffalo as we ride the motorbike under the full moon.

In Vientiane, getting a blessing bracelet.

He’s right. And what an adventure it is. It is hard to see in the dark, though the full moon is providing us with enough light to barely make out the road. The bugs glisten in the headlight of the motorbike, and they seem like Christmas lights in the air- there are millions of them! You can tell the size of them by the impact they have with your skin- “oh, that was a big one…” or “oh, just a little dent, must have been a small bug.” And I love it- every second of it- I try to saturate myself in the moment, feel the cool jungle breeze blowing on my skin as we travel on the curvy Lao roads. But like many adventures, it whirls right past me, and we return to the charming town of Luang Prabang. As much as I try to hold on to the moments they soon become memories and I am left only with pictures and my imagination to recall just how I felt in those times.


Vientiane, before the storm brews...

Lao is incredible. The kind, gentle people, the lush green jungle landscape, the winding Mekong River…I love it here. I crossed the border from Thailand into Vientiane, Lao, about a week ago, and since leaving Thailand, I have felt completely renewed and refreshed, which is just what I needed at this point of my trip. The heat, the business, and the pushiness of Thailand had left me frustrated, and entering Lao was like diving into a cool, deep swimming pool after being brutally burnt by the sun. Forgive me for complaining about Thailand- I just think the chill Lao vibe is much more my style and conducive to my type of adventuring.

Vang Vieng

Getting a flat on the jungle mountain roads!

Sneaking into the temple in Luang Prabang

After my two consecutive overnight buses that were required to leave Thailand, I jumped on a border crossing bus and entered Vientiane, the quiet capital of Lao. You would never guess that this is a capital city- the city is small and feels more like a sleepy town than a city at all. The entire population of Lao is only just above 6 million. Much of the population is comprised of Hmong hill tribes who live outside of the cities. Lao is a country slow to progress, and 4 years ago, they didn’t have a single ATM. I think they have about 6 or 7 now (3 of which I tried and didn’t work!). Education is not highly regarded here, and though I encountered many elementary schools, many of the children did not go to school and helped their parents work instead. Many children are illiterate and very little effort is given to literacy and academics. English is only spoken by people employed in tourism, and even at that, it may be limited. I did, however, stumble upon a center that encourages literacy, which is solely donation based. People (mostly foreigners) can buy books from the center and then donate them to children. Books are available in both English and Lao, but since most kids can’t even read Lao, I decided to donate books teaching basic Lao. There is also an organization here called Big Brother Mouse that lets visitors come in to read English books to the kids. Yet, despite the slow progression of the country, I found myself in one of the warmest, most hospitable places I have been on my entire trip. Every afternoon and suppertime, I share meals Khmer-style with Johge, Saks, and Sou, who are siblings and the employees of the hotel where I am staying. Khmer-style essentially means a giant bucket of sticky rice and 5 or 6 dishes placed in a circle, and you share the dishes and eat with your hands. We share a mutual friend who lives in states, and since I know Bill, they have treated me like a honored guest rather than another tourist even though Bill isn’t here.

Enjoying a family style meal at the Muong Lao Riverside Guesthouse

Speaking of which, I strongly encourage you to check out NatureBag.org and spread the word. Naturebag is a company started by Bill and Sou to help reduce Lao/Khmer poverty by employing workers to use vines from the jungle to build super strong eco friendly bags. Check it out- support them and their cause! http://www.naturebag.org/

With Sou, Johge, and Saks (Sou is half owner of NatureBag)

Joel and I chilling at the Buddha park

So after exploring Vientiane, I headed north to Vang Vieng, a pretty town that is nestled in the mountains, which, sadly, has become a tourist party town. Good for bringing in a profit- bad for every other reason. Basically, drunk, half naked tourists spend hours and tons of money drinking and tubing down the Mekong River and stopping at bars along the way (on their tubes, of course). Now, it doesn’t sound so bad, except it seems to me that the drunkenness of the day extends throughout the night and really permeates the once quiet town in a negative way. There are signs around the town that say, “Please cover up- respect Lao culture…” which means, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! But many of the tourists don’t, and girls continue to walk around in skimpy bikinis and guys with pants around their ankles…so, needless to say, I spent a night and then headed out, up to Luang Prabang.

LPB is a stunningly pretty town. Because of the French influence, many of the buildings look European, and there are many outdoor cafes for sitting and eating along the Mekong River. I got to this little gem after a drawn out 8 hour winding bus ride through the mountains and jungles of Lao, where we blew a flat tire along the way. Along the way, I got the pleasure of meeting and befriending my seatmate, Joel, who is an Australian man who has been living and studying meditation in Thailand for the last 3 months. Upon arrival, I got the pleasure of having Joel as my partner in adventure for the following 2 days.

Monks at the Wat (temple) in LPB

Kids leaving and going to school in the villages outside of LPB

We started off our visit in LPB by diving into the Mekong and watching the sun go down. The current was really strong, and I found myself struggling to go back upstream after one minute of swimming out into the river. After a while, many of the boys from the Hmong village across the river came to swim and bathe in the river, and it was nice to be under the tourist radar in a place that locals came to everyday.

Over the next few days, I got to explore the temple atop the hill and the many Buddha sculptures that are along a pathway on a hill. Since Joel speaks Thai, which is similar to Lao, I got to meet and chat with many locals and market vendors, which was lots of fun. Yesterday, we rented a motorbike and got out of town- drove to a cave 30 km away which we got to by boat, and then through more jungle, windy roads to a pretty waterfall. (I even learned how to drive the motorbike- woohoo!!!)

Joel, Peter (our new buddy from NYC) and I enjoying a Lao coffee

The Mighty Mekong

The pristine beauty of Lao is hard to describe, but the colors here seem more saturated than everywhere else. The greens are brighter, all of the flowers are in bloom, and even the brown Mekong has a certain appeal. Outside of LPB. The roads lead through the jungles, where wild water buffaloes roam, and there are no houses for miles and miles. Though the progress here is slow, I am sure that modern advances will come year by year. My recommendation for those of you interested in Lao is COME NOW- relish in this beauty while it lasts.

Girls outside of the caves

Grabbing a boat to the caves

Buddhas inside the caves

HERD OF WATER BUFFALOES! Look at the pink one!

Tonight I jumped on the back of the motorbike and head to the night market to help Johge pick up dinner…I’m going down to eat now- I have my choice of what to indulge in: water buffalo skin, water buffalo meat, cow brain, snails and sticky rice…