Saturday, May 2, 2009
clothesline
HAHA i just noticed that Jessica put up a picture of our "clothesline" a few posts down.
Camb
Wonderful, Wonderful, Wonderful place!! We just love it here. it feels just like Thailand.
This is gonna be a big one!
Entering Cambodia: We get to the border, the guy on the bus goes around and collects everyones passport and $20 american dollars to pay for your Tourist Visa (one thing i didnt like about Vietnam, was everyone took your passport like Hotels and Guesthouses, and you got it back when you check out ...i guess to guarantee payment)
He tells us to get off the bus and put our bags through customs and wait for our names to be called.
2 more busses show up at the border doing the same thing.
So theres men running around with handfuls of passports walking around and then they go up to the front and then the customs officers just start putting Visa stamps in everyones passport and calling out their names un-organized-ly. ??
People are smoking inside the area, and its just total chaos. People from the back of the crowd are pushing their way through when they hear their name and people's bags are getting bumped over and everyone that doesn't speak Khmer is wondering where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do.... but it worked. everyone made it through in less then half an hour. hehe
We continue on and then 3 mins later the bus pulls over near a river and drives onto a flat boat with a dump truck full of sandbags or saltbags and theres a little boy following the bus looking up at us begging for money. He just keeps putting his hands out and putting his hands in the praying position and then putting his hands out for money and follows the bus ONTO the boat. Theres about 4 feet in between the bus and the boat's wall and I look down to see how close we are and the little boy is in between the bus and the boat's wall still looking up into the windows. I I go get jess to come look but by the time she gets there he's already gone.
The boat drives across the river (total time: approx 30 seconds) ...so they could've just built a small bridge but thats ok, and then we drive off onto the road. We drive for about 5 mins and then the bus pulls off on the side of the road for us to eat. Jess and I run over to the bank because both of us have about the eqivalent to $1 in Vietnamese money and no American or Cambodian money. We come back and are starving so grab a baguette and then the bus guy comes running into the place where we are buying our bread and urges us to follow him, because the bus is backing out of the parking lot slowly. he opens the door, we get in and then he starts to drive off.
We arrive in Phnom Penh (The Capitol City) which is really nice. They have neat feilds that look as though they are flooded. We still aren't sure if they are flooded fields or if the farmers harvest some sort of plant in the water, because the greenery was evenly rowed and a woman on a small boat was rowing in between the rows of greens.
As we drive through the city we see many parks, where women are doing aerobics in groups and guys are sitting on their motorbikes, checking their hair in the mirror and cellphone in hand (very Thai-like) and every child under the age of 6 is running around naked. Running by the busy roads, chasing chickens, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, playing in water together...etc.
Same as Thailand. Nobody wears helmets....5 people to a motorbike, etc...etc.. and the intersections are just people swirving around each other and coming to complete stops in the middle of the intersection to wait to go around bigger vehicles.
Along the sides of the city streets there are fenced in housing or hotels. On the fence every so often you can find a small square mirror nailed to the fence with a chair sitting in front of it and a man sitting in the chair getting a shave or his hair cut. They are the local barbershops, we are to assume, and unfortunartely neither of us got a picture. [which i'm very dissapointed about! ;( ]
We arrive at a place called "Okay Guesthouse".....it was alright I guess :P
We paid $4 a night and had 2 beds and a private bathroom and a fan. No airconditioning for us!! Gives us stuffy noses and sore throats which ALWAYS end up in colds!!
We drop off our stuff (but take our important stuff with us, not to worry!) and grab a tuktuk to take us to the Killing fields. We asked him how much to get there and he said $15 american each.
PFTTT no way were we paying that. Thats how much it's going to cost us to get back to Thailand! So we talked him down to $2 each, there and back, and he also stopped at the Khmer Rouge Genocide Prison (which is now a museum with all the original beds and cells still inside) and he waited for us while we explored both attractions. Not Bad eh?
The killing fields was very sad. It's all outdoors and we walked through a gate and apprached what looked like a tall narrow temple. Inside the temple were thousands and thousands of human skulls that were remains of the Khmer Rouge and they were piled on shelves that went so high that we could'nt see after about 5 or 6 rows. They had signs beside some of them saying the age of the skull and wether it was a male or a female. Surprised to see how many 10-16 year old female skulls there were compared to the rest. We were told that the higher up the tower you go, you can see skulls of babies. There was no way to go up and look, not that we would have wanted to see that, but it was something that I guess neither of us had ever thought we would even come close to seeing in our lives. It made us realize how lucky we are to grow up in a country like Canada. Also in the Killing fields it showed us where the bodies were piled and sprayed with DDT (the pesticide) We learned that the bodies were sprayed with DDT to 1. Remove the smell of decaying bodies so that locals wouldn't become suspicious and 2. to kill any of the bodies that happened to still be alive. [i feel really weird typing this by the way...it so sickening to me]
Near the back of the killing fields there was a small river, that was atleast something plesent to look at. We walked back towards it and there were 5 small children on the other side of the fence. They call us over saying "this way lady, this way!" in English. We walk over thinking that theres a whole new piece of the fields that we haven't seen. The kids reach through the fence to shake our hands. talking in (very good) English saying things like "where do you come from? what is your name? etc..." We answer their questions and they see the camera in my hand and ask if I can take a picture of them. The huddle up and smile for a picture and then immediately press themselves to the fence to see how the picture turned out. Something about 5 kids with no shoes standing in the killing fields behind a fence made both of us think that maybe i should strap my camera to my wrist (i know that sounds really bad....but we have to always be careful in foreign countries) and the oldest kid grabs the camera to get a closer look. When i try to take it away he holds onto it really tight and then looks up and me and lets go of the camera and says "can you please give me one dollar?" Then the other kids pitch in saying "not just for one person, we will share" and then go on to tell us that they need to to buy pencils and books for school. They are all saying it in unicen, which lead us to believe that they were all taught this. Because we know how the Thai kids are with learning English and if theres any english that they know its getting to know you conversation and "am/is/are grammer". They knew too much English for their age. So we concluded that it was their job.
We started to walk away and they followed us around the fence saying the chant over and over "Please give me money, i go to school, i need to buy books, buy pencil, buy uniform, i don't have money"
we started to feel bad for them, but knew that this was going to happen a lot, seeing as Cambodia is a poor country and that we can't give our money away to everyone who asks. We walked for a while and two bare-footed children followed us along the fence for a good 15 mins saying the same things over and over again. Then the little girl started asking for my bottle of water because she was thirsty.... it got to be too much so we ended up not seeing that side of the fields because we didn't want to see the children begging anymore.
**this doesn't sound like positive feedback about Cambodia, but it happened, so I will write them in here**
We went to the Genocide Prison after that where it showed what life was like for the Khmer people who were put through interrogation. Yet again, not the greatest thing, but its something that both of us needed to see. I had a headache so i skipped the last building and went outside for some fresh air. I was talking with some tuktuk drivers and they were practicing their English and Thai with me. Jess came out and we went back to the "okay guesthouse" we wanted to watch the sunset at the river but then we decided we were too hungry so we went and found a little local restaurant where they had home-made ice cream for really cheap. They didn't have anything vegetarian but we had already sat down and poured a glass of water so we settled for an icecream. Jess got chocolate (which tasted like coffee) and I got coconut (which tasted like coconut milk) they were awesome!!!
Then we made our way back to Okay and found a Korean restuarant. Neither of us had eaten Korean food and wanted to try it so we ordered fried mixed vegetables. The waiter brings over complimenty Kimchi spicy vegetables compliments of the chef. We (naturally) thought DOH cause that ususally means expensive.... but the bill only came to $2 and I got a pot of tea instead of a cup of tea!
We booked our bus ticket for Sihanouk ville (beachy area of Cambodia) which left at 6am. Both overslept but somehow (Jess always manages to do this....but...) woke up at 5:50. We rushed to get ready and rushed out, grabbed a baguette at the front desk to scarf down as we were loading our bags onto the bus. We arrived in Sihanouk ville about 5 hours later and it was really pretty. Small town....not a lot going on....just a lot of beaches. We find a place on the beach for $5 a night. Same kinda place like the one we stayed in in Phnom Penh. We go to check out the beaches... we're walking along the big one [starts with an "o", can't rememeber the name] and we are walking down the beach and a little boy , about 7 years old, walks over to us asking if he can make us a friendship bracelet. Jess says no and I say nothing. He follows us down the beach. Asks where we are from. We say Canada. He starts saying the Capitol City, Prime Minister, Population, etc... Very impressive I must say. He didn't learn it in school because it was 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon....meaning he doesn't go to school.
He follows us for a while and all the while is making a red and white friendship bracelet (Canadian colors...this kids GOOD!)
We keep telling him we don't want one , because we know we will have to buy it, and he doesn't give up. We find a place to park and sit on the beach and he sits down and opens up his fanny pack and pulls out some plain thread. Then he wraps it around his fingers, asking us if we want a pedicure because our nail polish is not beautiful anymore. Watching his fingers twirl the thread we realize what hes doing. he's preparing to do "threading" on us....which is (i believe) an Indian tradition for hair removal. He rests the thread on Jessica's shin and starts ripping hairs out with the thread thats woven between his fingers. Jessica reacts in pain by pulling her leg away and he moves closer and starts taking more and more hairs out. Jessica tells him she doesn't want it but he persists, saying that she will have no hair on her legs for 3 months and it's better than shaving.
All the while he keeps telling me to be careful of my bag because there are many thieves on the beach.
We decide we might as well be nice to the kid, and tell him we don't want to buy anything but we will play in the water with him. And he doesn't have to make us a friendship bracelet if he wants to be our friend. He packs up his stuff , i think because he realized we werent going to budge anymore, and then he walks away saying goodbye. He was nice about everything and then he runs over to me and grabs my bug repellent from the side watter bottle section of my bag and runs off with it. I tell him to come back and he runs back laughing saying "i told you, watch your bag" and hands me my bug repellent. grrrrr hehehe
It started to rain so we went back to the guesthouse and watched a movie about a book club. It was really good.
The next day we go to another beach, we tell the tuktuk driver we want to go to a beach that doesn't have a lot of people. We wanted to just enjoy the day and not have to deal with people selling things. After agreeing on a price he drops us off on a very quiet beach. As we are getting out he tells us that its very dangerous on this beach and that we should go to "Victory Beach" which is 10km away. Not so cool. But we stayed because we could see that there were many people if we walked along the beach for a bit.
A few kids found us, threw mud at us, we played with them in the water for a bit.We found a good place to relax and we stayed there for a few hours then walked back to the guesthouse.
Last stop: Siem Reap
We paid for a direct bus to Siem Reap, but apparantly direct means that you have to drive all the way back to Phnom Penh (first place we were) and then drive to the other side of the country to Siem Reap. Oh well, we both had a book and it wasn't an expensive bus.
We stopped along the way and I took a picture of the sunset, and this family asked me to take a picture of their little boy...who was REALLY cute. He'll be in my pictures on facebook when we put them up. And then we arrived late last night. I think it was about 9 or 10 or so....which we were a little uncomfortable about because we don't like to arrive places at night because we don't know what to expect. But it was ok, a tuktuk driver named "Rak" was waiting outside the bus. He drove us to a guesthouse called "Number10 Guesthouse" (love that they try to make their places sound good eh??? Okay, Number 10....hehehe) and thats where we are now. We asked Rak how we can go about seeing the Angkor Wat temples at sunrise and he said that we can hire him to take us. So we arranged for him to come to the gueshouse at 5:15am and take us there for the day, drive us around and bring us back. Unfortunately we could only get him to settle for 10$. But it was worth it. We made it just in time for sunrise and got to see one of the most beautiful sights so far!! Angkor Wat is a series of many many ancient temples and it is one of the 7 man-made wonders of the world. I think we took over 200 pictures today! They will be up within the next week or so.
We were going to go to the floating village but decided we will save it for next time. Didn't quite get to do all the things on the itinerary, but we are so happy with all that we saw and had so much fun that it doesn't matter!
Tonight we went to the night market and we bought our friend Scott a bottle of some sort of liquor with a snake inside, which he obviously wont drink, it will be for decoration, and jessica bought some cool sweatpant shorts. We also got our feet "massaged" by tiny fish that looked like minnows. Basically they eat the dead skin off your feet but it tickles so much it feels like they are massaging you. They are called "Dr. Fish" and it was a lot of fun!We walked back but then got lost, but then found our way. I think we will stay in cambodia a few more days before heading back to Thailand. maybe just walk around and see the way of life, more so than the tourist attractions. Thats what always amazes us the most. I would like to get some more pictures and the people are so friendly and welcoming that we will have fun just doing that.
Ok mosquitoes are getting me.
I hope I didn't make Cambodia seem like a dreadful place, its actually so amazing to see how the people can live off so little and how they make the most of everything and day-to-day are constantly smiling and waving and having fun. Making the most of life. and helping each other and helping visitors as well.
cambodia is awesome. we would come back for sure.
This is gonna be a big one!
Entering Cambodia: We get to the border, the guy on the bus goes around and collects everyones passport and $20 american dollars to pay for your Tourist Visa (one thing i didnt like about Vietnam, was everyone took your passport like Hotels and Guesthouses, and you got it back when you check out ...i guess to guarantee payment)
He tells us to get off the bus and put our bags through customs and wait for our names to be called.
2 more busses show up at the border doing the same thing.
So theres men running around with handfuls of passports walking around and then they go up to the front and then the customs officers just start putting Visa stamps in everyones passport and calling out their names un-organized-ly. ??
People are smoking inside the area, and its just total chaos. People from the back of the crowd are pushing their way through when they hear their name and people's bags are getting bumped over and everyone that doesn't speak Khmer is wondering where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to do.... but it worked. everyone made it through in less then half an hour. hehe
We continue on and then 3 mins later the bus pulls over near a river and drives onto a flat boat with a dump truck full of sandbags or saltbags and theres a little boy following the bus looking up at us begging for money. He just keeps putting his hands out and putting his hands in the praying position and then putting his hands out for money and follows the bus ONTO the boat. Theres about 4 feet in between the bus and the boat's wall and I look down to see how close we are and the little boy is in between the bus and the boat's wall still looking up into the windows. I I go get jess to come look but by the time she gets there he's already gone.
The boat drives across the river (total time: approx 30 seconds) ...so they could've just built a small bridge but thats ok, and then we drive off onto the road. We drive for about 5 mins and then the bus pulls off on the side of the road for us to eat. Jess and I run over to the bank because both of us have about the eqivalent to $1 in Vietnamese money and no American or Cambodian money. We come back and are starving so grab a baguette and then the bus guy comes running into the place where we are buying our bread and urges us to follow him, because the bus is backing out of the parking lot slowly. he opens the door, we get in and then he starts to drive off.
We arrive in Phnom Penh (The Capitol City) which is really nice. They have neat feilds that look as though they are flooded. We still aren't sure if they are flooded fields or if the farmers harvest some sort of plant in the water, because the greenery was evenly rowed and a woman on a small boat was rowing in between the rows of greens.
As we drive through the city we see many parks, where women are doing aerobics in groups and guys are sitting on their motorbikes, checking their hair in the mirror and cellphone in hand (very Thai-like) and every child under the age of 6 is running around naked. Running by the busy roads, chasing chickens, playing in the dirt, riding bikes, playing in water together...etc.
Same as Thailand. Nobody wears helmets....5 people to a motorbike, etc...etc.. and the intersections are just people swirving around each other and coming to complete stops in the middle of the intersection to wait to go around bigger vehicles.
Along the sides of the city streets there are fenced in housing or hotels. On the fence every so often you can find a small square mirror nailed to the fence with a chair sitting in front of it and a man sitting in the chair getting a shave or his hair cut. They are the local barbershops, we are to assume, and unfortunartely neither of us got a picture. [which i'm very dissapointed about! ;( ]
We arrive at a place called "Okay Guesthouse".....it was alright I guess :P
We paid $4 a night and had 2 beds and a private bathroom and a fan. No airconditioning for us!! Gives us stuffy noses and sore throats which ALWAYS end up in colds!!
We drop off our stuff (but take our important stuff with us, not to worry!) and grab a tuktuk to take us to the Killing fields. We asked him how much to get there and he said $15 american each.
PFTTT no way were we paying that. Thats how much it's going to cost us to get back to Thailand! So we talked him down to $2 each, there and back, and he also stopped at the Khmer Rouge Genocide Prison (which is now a museum with all the original beds and cells still inside) and he waited for us while we explored both attractions. Not Bad eh?
The killing fields was very sad. It's all outdoors and we walked through a gate and apprached what looked like a tall narrow temple. Inside the temple were thousands and thousands of human skulls that were remains of the Khmer Rouge and they were piled on shelves that went so high that we could'nt see after about 5 or 6 rows. They had signs beside some of them saying the age of the skull and wether it was a male or a female. Surprised to see how many 10-16 year old female skulls there were compared to the rest. We were told that the higher up the tower you go, you can see skulls of babies. There was no way to go up and look, not that we would have wanted to see that, but it was something that I guess neither of us had ever thought we would even come close to seeing in our lives. It made us realize how lucky we are to grow up in a country like Canada. Also in the Killing fields it showed us where the bodies were piled and sprayed with DDT (the pesticide) We learned that the bodies were sprayed with DDT to 1. Remove the smell of decaying bodies so that locals wouldn't become suspicious and 2. to kill any of the bodies that happened to still be alive. [i feel really weird typing this by the way...it so sickening to me]
Near the back of the killing fields there was a small river, that was atleast something plesent to look at. We walked back towards it and there were 5 small children on the other side of the fence. They call us over saying "this way lady, this way!" in English. We walk over thinking that theres a whole new piece of the fields that we haven't seen. The kids reach through the fence to shake our hands. talking in (very good) English saying things like "where do you come from? what is your name? etc..." We answer their questions and they see the camera in my hand and ask if I can take a picture of them. The huddle up and smile for a picture and then immediately press themselves to the fence to see how the picture turned out. Something about 5 kids with no shoes standing in the killing fields behind a fence made both of us think that maybe i should strap my camera to my wrist (i know that sounds really bad....but we have to always be careful in foreign countries) and the oldest kid grabs the camera to get a closer look. When i try to take it away he holds onto it really tight and then looks up and me and lets go of the camera and says "can you please give me one dollar?" Then the other kids pitch in saying "not just for one person, we will share" and then go on to tell us that they need to to buy pencils and books for school. They are all saying it in unicen, which lead us to believe that they were all taught this. Because we know how the Thai kids are with learning English and if theres any english that they know its getting to know you conversation and "am/is/are grammer". They knew too much English for their age. So we concluded that it was their job.
We started to walk away and they followed us around the fence saying the chant over and over "Please give me money, i go to school, i need to buy books, buy pencil, buy uniform, i don't have money"
we started to feel bad for them, but knew that this was going to happen a lot, seeing as Cambodia is a poor country and that we can't give our money away to everyone who asks. We walked for a while and two bare-footed children followed us along the fence for a good 15 mins saying the same things over and over again. Then the little girl started asking for my bottle of water because she was thirsty.... it got to be too much so we ended up not seeing that side of the fields because we didn't want to see the children begging anymore.
**this doesn't sound like positive feedback about Cambodia, but it happened, so I will write them in here**
We went to the Genocide Prison after that where it showed what life was like for the Khmer people who were put through interrogation. Yet again, not the greatest thing, but its something that both of us needed to see. I had a headache so i skipped the last building and went outside for some fresh air. I was talking with some tuktuk drivers and they were practicing their English and Thai with me. Jess came out and we went back to the "okay guesthouse" we wanted to watch the sunset at the river but then we decided we were too hungry so we went and found a little local restaurant where they had home-made ice cream for really cheap. They didn't have anything vegetarian but we had already sat down and poured a glass of water so we settled for an icecream. Jess got chocolate (which tasted like coffee) and I got coconut (which tasted like coconut milk) they were awesome!!!
Then we made our way back to Okay and found a Korean restuarant. Neither of us had eaten Korean food and wanted to try it so we ordered fried mixed vegetables. The waiter brings over complimenty Kimchi spicy vegetables compliments of the chef. We (naturally) thought DOH cause that ususally means expensive.... but the bill only came to $2 and I got a pot of tea instead of a cup of tea!
We booked our bus ticket for Sihanouk ville (beachy area of Cambodia) which left at 6am. Both overslept but somehow (Jess always manages to do this....but...) woke up at 5:50. We rushed to get ready and rushed out, grabbed a baguette at the front desk to scarf down as we were loading our bags onto the bus. We arrived in Sihanouk ville about 5 hours later and it was really pretty. Small town....not a lot going on....just a lot of beaches. We find a place on the beach for $5 a night. Same kinda place like the one we stayed in in Phnom Penh. We go to check out the beaches... we're walking along the big one [starts with an "o", can't rememeber the name] and we are walking down the beach and a little boy , about 7 years old, walks over to us asking if he can make us a friendship bracelet. Jess says no and I say nothing. He follows us down the beach. Asks where we are from. We say Canada. He starts saying the Capitol City, Prime Minister, Population, etc... Very impressive I must say. He didn't learn it in school because it was 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon....meaning he doesn't go to school.
He follows us for a while and all the while is making a red and white friendship bracelet (Canadian colors...this kids GOOD!)
We keep telling him we don't want one , because we know we will have to buy it, and he doesn't give up. We find a place to park and sit on the beach and he sits down and opens up his fanny pack and pulls out some plain thread. Then he wraps it around his fingers, asking us if we want a pedicure because our nail polish is not beautiful anymore. Watching his fingers twirl the thread we realize what hes doing. he's preparing to do "threading" on us....which is (i believe) an Indian tradition for hair removal. He rests the thread on Jessica's shin and starts ripping hairs out with the thread thats woven between his fingers. Jessica reacts in pain by pulling her leg away and he moves closer and starts taking more and more hairs out. Jessica tells him she doesn't want it but he persists, saying that she will have no hair on her legs for 3 months and it's better than shaving.
All the while he keeps telling me to be careful of my bag because there are many thieves on the beach.
We decide we might as well be nice to the kid, and tell him we don't want to buy anything but we will play in the water with him. And he doesn't have to make us a friendship bracelet if he wants to be our friend. He packs up his stuff , i think because he realized we werent going to budge anymore, and then he walks away saying goodbye. He was nice about everything and then he runs over to me and grabs my bug repellent from the side watter bottle section of my bag and runs off with it. I tell him to come back and he runs back laughing saying "i told you, watch your bag" and hands me my bug repellent. grrrrr hehehe
It started to rain so we went back to the guesthouse and watched a movie about a book club. It was really good.
The next day we go to another beach, we tell the tuktuk driver we want to go to a beach that doesn't have a lot of people. We wanted to just enjoy the day and not have to deal with people selling things. After agreeing on a price he drops us off on a very quiet beach. As we are getting out he tells us that its very dangerous on this beach and that we should go to "Victory Beach" which is 10km away. Not so cool. But we stayed because we could see that there were many people if we walked along the beach for a bit.
A few kids found us, threw mud at us, we played with them in the water for a bit.We found a good place to relax and we stayed there for a few hours then walked back to the guesthouse.
Last stop: Siem Reap
We paid for a direct bus to Siem Reap, but apparantly direct means that you have to drive all the way back to Phnom Penh (first place we were) and then drive to the other side of the country to Siem Reap. Oh well, we both had a book and it wasn't an expensive bus.
We stopped along the way and I took a picture of the sunset, and this family asked me to take a picture of their little boy...who was REALLY cute. He'll be in my pictures on facebook when we put them up. And then we arrived late last night. I think it was about 9 or 10 or so....which we were a little uncomfortable about because we don't like to arrive places at night because we don't know what to expect. But it was ok, a tuktuk driver named "Rak" was waiting outside the bus. He drove us to a guesthouse called "Number10 Guesthouse" (love that they try to make their places sound good eh??? Okay, Number 10....hehehe) and thats where we are now. We asked Rak how we can go about seeing the Angkor Wat temples at sunrise and he said that we can hire him to take us. So we arranged for him to come to the gueshouse at 5:15am and take us there for the day, drive us around and bring us back. Unfortunately we could only get him to settle for 10$. But it was worth it. We made it just in time for sunrise and got to see one of the most beautiful sights so far!! Angkor Wat is a series of many many ancient temples and it is one of the 7 man-made wonders of the world. I think we took over 200 pictures today! They will be up within the next week or so.
We were going to go to the floating village but decided we will save it for next time. Didn't quite get to do all the things on the itinerary, but we are so happy with all that we saw and had so much fun that it doesn't matter!
Tonight we went to the night market and we bought our friend Scott a bottle of some sort of liquor with a snake inside, which he obviously wont drink, it will be for decoration, and jessica bought some cool sweatpant shorts. We also got our feet "massaged" by tiny fish that looked like minnows. Basically they eat the dead skin off your feet but it tickles so much it feels like they are massaging you. They are called "Dr. Fish" and it was a lot of fun!We walked back but then got lost, but then found our way. I think we will stay in cambodia a few more days before heading back to Thailand. maybe just walk around and see the way of life, more so than the tourist attractions. Thats what always amazes us the most. I would like to get some more pictures and the people are so friendly and welcoming that we will have fun just doing that.
Ok mosquitoes are getting me.
I hope I didn't make Cambodia seem like a dreadful place, its actually so amazing to see how the people can live off so little and how they make the most of everything and day-to-day are constantly smiling and waving and having fun. Making the most of life. and helping each other and helping visitors as well.
cambodia is awesome. we would come back for sure.
Friday, April 24, 2009
DaLat
We are in DaLat right now, on our way to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow morning. Jessica has me really excited to see the war museum and it seems like theres going to be a lot to see there! We are going to stick with walking like we have been because its just TOO dangerous to rent a motorbike. Our friend Greg read in his travellers book that 30 people a day die from motorbike accidents in Ho Chi Minh City......scary!
Last night we went to meet our friends at a Cafe and when we came back at 10:30pm and the doors were all locked and the lights were turned off for the place we are staying!!! At first we didn't know what to do but then i knocked a few times and a woman let us in. Dalat is weird, everything is shut down and quiet by 10:00 or earlier!!
We found a really nice vegetarian restuarant we are going to go down to for the second night in a row. They have so many options and they also have VEGAN food!! The staff is really friendly and welcoming and the dishes are affordable.
Our hotels have been fairly decent prices, but they keep getting higher and higher the further south we go down, but we were expecting the opposite!
Hope we can make it back to Thailand!! (just kidding :P )
Last night we went to meet our friends at a Cafe and when we came back at 10:30pm and the doors were all locked and the lights were turned off for the place we are staying!!! At first we didn't know what to do but then i knocked a few times and a woman let us in. Dalat is weird, everything is shut down and quiet by 10:00 or earlier!!
We found a really nice vegetarian restuarant we are going to go down to for the second night in a row. They have so many options and they also have VEGAN food!! The staff is really friendly and welcoming and the dishes are affordable.
Our hotels have been fairly decent prices, but they keep getting higher and higher the further south we go down, but we were expecting the opposite!
Hope we can make it back to Thailand!! (just kidding :P )
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Hoi An
Okay, sorry sorry sorry, the last post was really vague and lame.. hahaha
So we arrived in Hoi An today and reunited with our friends from Phuket (all except for our crazy Irish friend who is always drunk and in a different province now? oh how we love him). we went to the beach today- lovely!
we also rented out old fashioned bicycles and went all the way around the city- what a blast! the lights were gorgeous and there are 324092-4589304583 taylor shops- i think I'm goign to get a dress and a few shirts tomrorow!!! yay!!!
We love Hoi An, but we're running out of travel money YIKES .. it's cheap living for the most part though. we are staying in the fanciest hotel EVER for 10$ a night.... big pool, cherry wood everything, air con, tv etc etc... we tried to find an old guesthouse for cheaper but they're the same price??? anyways. we're having fun!!!!!!!!!
So we arrived in Hoi An today and reunited with our friends from Phuket (all except for our crazy Irish friend who is always drunk and in a different province now? oh how we love him). we went to the beach today- lovely!
we also rented out old fashioned bicycles and went all the way around the city- what a blast! the lights were gorgeous and there are 324092-4589304583 taylor shops- i think I'm goign to get a dress and a few shirts tomrorow!!! yay!!!
We love Hoi An, but we're running out of travel money YIKES .. it's cheap living for the most part though. we are staying in the fanciest hotel EVER for 10$ a night.... big pool, cherry wood everything, air con, tv etc etc... we tried to find an old guesthouse for cheaper but they're the same price??? anyways. we're having fun!!!!!!!!!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Hue
Hanoi- hilarious, busy, crazy, interesting!
Hue- relaxing, beautiful, cheaper, happier! =)
Tomorrow, we go to Hoi An.
Hue- relaxing, beautiful, cheaper, happier! =)
Tomorrow, we go to Hoi An.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Nam, day 1
Well... we had quite the adventure at the Bangkok airport! As many of you know, the red shirts and yellow shirts have been acting up again and Thailand has been declared as in a state of emergency.. UGH there were soldiers all through the airport etc etc. but it didn't affect us at all. in fact, you people from Canada were the ones who told us that there were issues hahahaa.
Anyways, we are safe and sound in Viet Nam today. we got here at 8:30am (it is now 8:30pm) and we are paying 4$ a night for our hostel- and it's actually kinda nice ! big bed, fan, tv, private bathroom , and no bugs! not bad! the lady gives us free meals too YUMMMM. Vietnamese food is gooood. although we didn't find many restaurants today!
We wandered all around Hanoi city for about 5 hours and had a great time .. the traffic is madness. the people are no where near as kind and funny as in Thailand, but it's so interesting to see the culture nonetheless. We are having such an amazing trip! Tomorrow we will leave for a gorgeous sightseeing trip, called the Halong Bay trip. we've already been told that we paid too much for our ticket- but what else is new? everyones' got a different price. it's frustrating but you really just have to let it go and decide what each thing is worth to you because if you compare it constantly to what others paid, you'll go crazy.
we also purchased an "open ended bus ticket" which gives us unlimited bus access (sleeping bus access- meaning we get full out beds and pillows for the 12 hour trips overnight- AWESOME) all the way across Vietnam. it costed 55$ (although my friend paid 70, and my other friend paid 37, and an old couple we met paid 300$ US YIKES) . It's worth every penny- we won't have any more travel expenses and it's valid for 3 months. excellent.
I've finished uploading the water festival pictures, and added a couple more videos. we will do our best to keep the Nam pictures alive and fresh too!! They are all on Facebook.
We do have a Vietnamese sim card now on which you can reach us. We will post the number in 3 days (after the Halong Bay trip) becuase right now I don't know it, and we won't be able to talk while we're away anyways. for now, you can send us emails! =)
Miss you all, but wow, what an amazing time we're having.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Anyways, we are safe and sound in Viet Nam today. we got here at 8:30am (it is now 8:30pm) and we are paying 4$ a night for our hostel- and it's actually kinda nice ! big bed, fan, tv, private bathroom , and no bugs! not bad! the lady gives us free meals too YUMMMM. Vietnamese food is gooood. although we didn't find many restaurants today!
We wandered all around Hanoi city for about 5 hours and had a great time .. the traffic is madness. the people are no where near as kind and funny as in Thailand, but it's so interesting to see the culture nonetheless. We are having such an amazing trip! Tomorrow we will leave for a gorgeous sightseeing trip, called the Halong Bay trip. we've already been told that we paid too much for our ticket- but what else is new? everyones' got a different price. it's frustrating but you really just have to let it go and decide what each thing is worth to you because if you compare it constantly to what others paid, you'll go crazy.
we also purchased an "open ended bus ticket" which gives us unlimited bus access (sleeping bus access- meaning we get full out beds and pillows for the 12 hour trips overnight- AWESOME) all the way across Vietnam. it costed 55$ (although my friend paid 70, and my other friend paid 37, and an old couple we met paid 300$ US YIKES) . It's worth every penny- we won't have any more travel expenses and it's valid for 3 months. excellent.
I've finished uploading the water festival pictures, and added a couple more videos. we will do our best to keep the Nam pictures alive and fresh too!! They are all on Facebook.
We do have a Vietnamese sim card now on which you can reach us. We will post the number in 3 days (after the Halong Bay trip) becuase right now I don't know it, and we won't be able to talk while we're away anyways. for now, you can send us emails! =)
Miss you all, but wow, what an amazing time we're having.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Saturday, April 11, 2009
elephant tribe camp
Chaing Mai is amazing!!!! we LOVE it! we will give so many more details when we have more time to give the computer. long story short: we spent the past two days hiking, white water rafting, camping, and elephant riding!!! AWESOME!! met really cool people, saw beautiful scenery!
gotta go get a Thai massage (for 4$) now though before it closes! we're sore from our trip. (gosh what are we going to do when we're in canada where you can't get authentic massages daily for 4$???)
we will give pictures and a more detailed update asap.
ps. slight change in itinerary, we are going to cut out BKK and add another day onto Vietnam.
xoxx
gotta go get a Thai massage (for 4$) now though before it closes! we're sore from our trip. (gosh what are we going to do when we're in canada where you can't get authentic massages daily for 4$???)
we will give pictures and a more detailed update asap.
ps. slight change in itinerary, we are going to cut out BKK and add another day onto Vietnam.
xoxx
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
leaving on a jet plane
in one hour we'll go catch a plane to bangkok. stop one on our itinerary. we are packed and happy and excited !!! but we have to leave our house door unlocked due to lack of working keys. (stupid slacking thailand...) luckily we have the most extreme type of nosy neighbors and insane barking attack dogs on our street, not to mention our house is empty of anything that could possibly be of any interest to anyone, so ... have no fear. (plus no one in this country... no continent.. reads our blog, don't worry).
we also have not paid rent for 3 months, for an unknown reason. our landlord usually comes to pick it up at the house but hasn't made any appearances? dunno! works for us though! hahaha
this country is weird.
check out the videos online , one of the motorbike drive with me and reffa! it's kinda fun?
the other is just me being a dork and saying hello/goodbye before our one month holiday!
i also attached a few pics of the weird creatures in/on our house, our hammock in our yard, our motorbike, annndddd the ghetto way that we hang out our laundry.
xoxx miss yaz.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
so excited!!
we're leaving for this trip so soon!!!!!
we got laser hair removal, the first time done already. it hurt really really really really badly.
missing home all the time, but so exciteda bout our travels!
congratulatinos mom and dad on all the big moves! and erin on the new subway job (so jealous by the way). Melissa, I want to hear more about wedding plans? I only hear things here and there through the grapevine?
I am also so very proud of all my friends back home who are coming up ont he end of their last year in their degrees- congratulations everyone, I am so so happy for you! You know I would be there giving you big huge hugs kisses and flowersi f I could be!!!
xoxoxoxoxox
we got laser hair removal, the first time done already. it hurt really really really really badly.
missing home all the time, but so exciteda bout our travels!
congratulatinos mom and dad on all the big moves! and erin on the new subway job (so jealous by the way). Melissa, I want to hear more about wedding plans? I only hear things here and there through the grapevine?
I am also so very proud of all my friends back home who are coming up ont he end of their last year in their degrees- congratulations everyone, I am so so happy for you! You know I would be there giving you big huge hugs kisses and flowersi f I could be!!!
xoxoxoxoxox
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Summer Vacation
Right now we are at a computer, looking up airline tickets to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hanoi(Vietnam)
We've found some cheap tickets ($15-$30 CAD) so we are just trying to figure out the best schedule.
We were going to bus, but the last busses we felt really carsick , and it would take about 22 hours to bus to Chiang Mai, so we would miss out on some of the Songkran Festival.
Songkran Festival is the reason we are going to Chiang Mai. Its a week long waterfight that goes over their New Years Day. The purpose of throwing water is to act as a "cleanse" from anything negative you've done, and most peoples new years resolutions here are to be a good person and to do good things and the water cleans away the bad so you can start fresh. :)
Everybody in Thailand has told us that Songkran Festival/New Years is the most fun in Chiang Mai and Khao San Road in Bangkok and we are going to get to see it in both places!!! (We have to stop in Bangkok on our way to Vietnam)
Jessica thought I should post our itinerary so that everyone can see the places we PLAN to see. (We don't know how much we will get to see, but we hope all of it!)
April 9th - Plane from SuratThani to Bangkok
- Plane from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
April 10th,11th,12th,- Travel around Chiang Mai, maybe do some jungle trekking and signtseeing. Chiang Mai is one of the most beautiful places in Thailand. Its in the North, so theres not a lot of beaches. Its mostly Elephants and Jungles, a lot of beautiful flowers and big open fields. Everyone has told us its going to be cold... and when we asked how cold, they said around 20 degrees and in the night it can go down to 10.
My friend also told me that Chiang Mai has Panda Bears and if we are lucky, we might see one!
April 13th - Day 1 of Songkran Festival. Go out and run around in the sun and throw icy water at people.
April 14th - Leave Chiang Mai and go back down to Bangkok to catch our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Since our flight isn't until the next day, go down to Khao San Road in Bangkok and compare the amount of fun between both Festivals.
April 15th - Catch a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi
- Try to find our friends Greg, Lorraine and Daryl who are meeting us there.
- Take a 2 day boat ride through Halong Bay. (http://aphs.worldnomads.com/jenko7/4999/P1020116___Ha_Long_Bay.jpg)
April 17th - Hue (pronounced "way" )
April 19th - Leave Hue and make our way down to Hoi An with our friends.Hopefully making a pit stop in Siagon to see the Cuchi Tunnels.
April 22nd - Nha Trang (Supposed to have a beautiful Boat trip)
April 24th - Leave Nha Trang for the over-so-popular Ho Chi Min City. So the History buff's can get their fix :) Look at some cool historical stuff, take lots of pictures.
April 27th - Make our way to the next country. Cambodia. Arrive in the capitol city, Pnohm Penh in the afternoon. Stay there for a couple days go check out the Killing fields and Tuol Sleng.
April 29th - Siem Reap. Take a boat and go over to Koh Ker island and look at the beaches there. Compare their beauty to Thailands.
April 30th - Go back to Siem Reap for a few days before heading back home. See the Flooded Forest, Floating Village and lots and lots of pretty temples.
Not sure how to get back to thailand from Siem Reap.... but last night Scott told us that we can take a plane to Koh Samui for very cheap and then take the Ferry from Koh Samui back home to Suratthani in an hour and a half. Then we can avoid the bangkok airport.
We are thinking maybe coming back the first week of May. If Jessica and I have enough money leftover, we want to stay in Cambodia a few days longer and check out some more of Cambo since we've really wanted to go there for a long time. There is a place called "Sihanoukville" that someone told us about. It has free accomodation on the beach as long as you buy the food from the family's restaurant while you stay there.
Also we hear "Krabie" has really friendly dolphins.
Very excited :)
Oh and sometime along the trip we want to float down the Mekhong River.
We've found some cheap tickets ($15-$30 CAD) so we are just trying to figure out the best schedule.
We were going to bus, but the last busses we felt really carsick , and it would take about 22 hours to bus to Chiang Mai, so we would miss out on some of the Songkran Festival.
Songkran Festival is the reason we are going to Chiang Mai. Its a week long waterfight that goes over their New Years Day. The purpose of throwing water is to act as a "cleanse" from anything negative you've done, and most peoples new years resolutions here are to be a good person and to do good things and the water cleans away the bad so you can start fresh. :)
Everybody in Thailand has told us that Songkran Festival/New Years is the most fun in Chiang Mai and Khao San Road in Bangkok and we are going to get to see it in both places!!! (We have to stop in Bangkok on our way to Vietnam)
Jessica thought I should post our itinerary so that everyone can see the places we PLAN to see. (We don't know how much we will get to see, but we hope all of it!)
April 9th - Plane from SuratThani to Bangkok
- Plane from Bangkok to Chiang Mai
April 10th,11th,12th,- Travel around Chiang Mai, maybe do some jungle trekking and signtseeing. Chiang Mai is one of the most beautiful places in Thailand. Its in the North, so theres not a lot of beaches. Its mostly Elephants and Jungles, a lot of beautiful flowers and big open fields. Everyone has told us its going to be cold... and when we asked how cold, they said around 20 degrees and in the night it can go down to 10.
My friend also told me that Chiang Mai has Panda Bears and if we are lucky, we might see one!
April 13th - Day 1 of Songkran Festival. Go out and run around in the sun and throw icy water at people.
April 14th - Leave Chiang Mai and go back down to Bangkok to catch our flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Since our flight isn't until the next day, go down to Khao San Road in Bangkok and compare the amount of fun between both Festivals.
April 15th - Catch a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi
- Try to find our friends Greg, Lorraine and Daryl who are meeting us there.
- Take a 2 day boat ride through Halong Bay. (http://aphs.worldnomads.com/jenko7/4999/P1020116___Ha_Long_Bay.jpg)
April 17th - Hue (pronounced "way" )
April 19th - Leave Hue and make our way down to Hoi An with our friends.Hopefully making a pit stop in Siagon to see the Cuchi Tunnels.
April 22nd - Nha Trang (Supposed to have a beautiful Boat trip)
April 24th - Leave Nha Trang for the over-so-popular Ho Chi Min City. So the History buff's can get their fix :) Look at some cool historical stuff, take lots of pictures.
April 27th - Make our way to the next country. Cambodia. Arrive in the capitol city, Pnohm Penh in the afternoon. Stay there for a couple days go check out the Killing fields and Tuol Sleng.
April 29th - Siem Reap. Take a boat and go over to Koh Ker island and look at the beaches there. Compare their beauty to Thailands.
April 30th - Go back to Siem Reap for a few days before heading back home. See the Flooded Forest, Floating Village and lots and lots of pretty temples.
Not sure how to get back to thailand from Siem Reap.... but last night Scott told us that we can take a plane to Koh Samui for very cheap and then take the Ferry from Koh Samui back home to Suratthani in an hour and a half. Then we can avoid the bangkok airport.
We are thinking maybe coming back the first week of May. If Jessica and I have enough money leftover, we want to stay in Cambodia a few days longer and check out some more of Cambo since we've really wanted to go there for a long time. There is a place called "Sihanoukville" that someone told us about. It has free accomodation on the beach as long as you buy the food from the family's restaurant while you stay there.
Also we hear "Krabie" has really friendly dolphins.
Very excited :)
Oh and sometime along the trip we want to float down the Mekhong River.
Rot
So lately i've been thinking "we should really get our motorbike checked" because when we are idle it rev's by itself and the lights fade if you aren't driving it fast enough, etc..
Also The girl that had it before us, our friend told us, hadn't serviced or taken very good care of it.
So this morning I woke up and I went down to buy a coconut and I waited for the mechanic to take a look at the oil. He let it drain into a bowl and it came out in almost drops.... it didn't even cover the bottom of the bowl, He looked at me in horror and basically said that it would've have made it until tomorrow!!
I'm glad we decided to get it checked, jessica would've never heard the end of that one!! :P
Also The girl that had it before us, our friend told us, hadn't serviced or taken very good care of it.
So this morning I woke up and I went down to buy a coconut and I waited for the mechanic to take a look at the oil. He let it drain into a bowl and it came out in almost drops.... it didn't even cover the bottom of the bowl, He looked at me in horror and basically said that it would've have made it until tomorrow!!
I'm glad we decided to get it checked, jessica would've never heard the end of that one!! :P
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
hi!
Vietnam visa: Check!!
Date for departure: April 9th!
Itinerary: Check!
Crazy lying foreign people: Check!
Happy in Thailand: Check!
ps. Erin, get with it.
pps. Rishard, I miss you!
ppps. Grammie, I tried to get a picture of the hummingbird today, and failed agian. I will keep trying!
xox
Date for departure: April 9th!
Itinerary: Check!
Crazy lying foreign people: Check!
Happy in Thailand: Check!
ps. Erin, get with it.
pps. Rishard, I miss you!
ppps. Grammie, I tried to get a picture of the hummingbird today, and failed agian. I will keep trying!
xox
Thursday, March 26, 2009
I reccomend walkin around naked in your living room
Don't worry- Just quoting Alannis ... isn't it ironic? I want to tell you the most ironic story that has every happened to me LOLLLL
Grammie: here's a message for you first!!! Me and Reffa have a mini hummingbird who visits our yard every single day- exactly like those ones that were in the magazine you showed me that time!! It's so tiny, I thought it was a big bug one day, but I looked closely and it is exactly like a hummingbird!! my current project is trying to capture a picture of the cute little thing for you to see it!!! maybe a video! :) love love love!! xoxoxoxox
as for work.... : :
reffa and I had this really important meeting to attend to at the school which we will both be working for come May right? So , we havne't really been working. just taking various vacations , and picking up random hours here and there to get us by on these months off. We didn't even know what the meeting was about, only that it was important and had a guest speaker from Bangkok coming. We thought, okay, maybe since we have to get up early we'll go to bed early for once! So we're just hanging out with Scott (a nightly thing now) and we're like okay night!!!
and we hop on our motorbike (yes, we can both easily fit on it), and drive home for the night, aruond 8:30 to relax and go to bed. When we get home, Scott calls and says, can you come back over? we have a problem.
So naturally we get back on the bike and scoot over to his house to see what's up. The lady who hires us to work for the school (the school doesn't hire us directly) is standing there with a 6 page thai document, and says "I need this done by tonight"
and we're like SHIT! She always does this... I'm sure we've mentioned her before? the lady who put our last official documents in the tree?? yeah that's her. so we have this last minute project to do , and I'm not sure if you've ever tried to translate thai to english before, but it's HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so it takes like hours and hours and hours. ughhhhh we knew we would be up late. so for three hours we translate .. and try to understand this pooor pooorrr half translation which was given to us. It's MORE difficult to translate thai if we're given a partial translation because we have to figure out what the hell it's trying to say?! ultimately it ended up being this 6 page official document which was to be properly written as a job description for foreign teachers teaching english. We weren't told what school it was for. we finally finish.. and the document is perfect. we head home at about 12:30am, and we have to get up early to go to this important meeting so we're kinda angry... but anyways we just suck it up and head home...
in the morning we get up (tired) and go to this 4 hour meeting at the school. the first thing we're given is a six page job description which we are instructed to read and understand because it's extremely important and we will be expected to sign our names acknowleging that we understand it's points and will abide by it....
LOLLLLL I wrote the damn thing!!! hahaha!!!!!
okay. anyways
we're going to visit our friends in phuket for 3 days tomorrow to solidify travel plans for april !!! :) yayy.
I miss home a lot :(
Grammie: here's a message for you first!!! Me and Reffa have a mini hummingbird who visits our yard every single day- exactly like those ones that were in the magazine you showed me that time!! It's so tiny, I thought it was a big bug one day, but I looked closely and it is exactly like a hummingbird!! my current project is trying to capture a picture of the cute little thing for you to see it!!! maybe a video! :) love love love!! xoxoxoxox
as for work.... : :
reffa and I had this really important meeting to attend to at the school which we will both be working for come May right? So , we havne't really been working. just taking various vacations , and picking up random hours here and there to get us by on these months off. We didn't even know what the meeting was about, only that it was important and had a guest speaker from Bangkok coming. We thought, okay, maybe since we have to get up early we'll go to bed early for once! So we're just hanging out with Scott (a nightly thing now) and we're like okay night!!!
and we hop on our motorbike (yes, we can both easily fit on it), and drive home for the night, aruond 8:30 to relax and go to bed. When we get home, Scott calls and says, can you come back over? we have a problem.
So naturally we get back on the bike and scoot over to his house to see what's up. The lady who hires us to work for the school (the school doesn't hire us directly) is standing there with a 6 page thai document, and says "I need this done by tonight"
and we're like SHIT! She always does this... I'm sure we've mentioned her before? the lady who put our last official documents in the tree?? yeah that's her. so we have this last minute project to do , and I'm not sure if you've ever tried to translate thai to english before, but it's HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so it takes like hours and hours and hours. ughhhhh we knew we would be up late. so for three hours we translate .. and try to understand this pooor pooorrr half translation which was given to us. It's MORE difficult to translate thai if we're given a partial translation because we have to figure out what the hell it's trying to say?! ultimately it ended up being this 6 page official document which was to be properly written as a job description for foreign teachers teaching english. We weren't told what school it was for. we finally finish.. and the document is perfect. we head home at about 12:30am, and we have to get up early to go to this important meeting so we're kinda angry... but anyways we just suck it up and head home...
in the morning we get up (tired) and go to this 4 hour meeting at the school. the first thing we're given is a six page job description which we are instructed to read and understand because it's extremely important and we will be expected to sign our names acknowleging that we understand it's points and will abide by it....
LOLLLLL I wrote the damn thing!!! hahaha!!!!!
okay. anyways
we're going to visit our friends in phuket for 3 days tomorrow to solidify travel plans for april !!! :) yayy.
I miss home a lot :(
Friday, March 20, 2009
i love summer
we're home from all our big adventures.
samui was awesome- but we didn't get to party there since we were in charge of 21 children haha.
about the job dilemma thing, I am gonig to be working at reffa's school. on the koh samui trip they offered me a position as a science teacher, and possibly a swimming teacher (I might send an email asking for help on that one char/mag lol) I'm a good swimmer, but i've never actually taught it???
reffa has some exciting news, i'll let her post it. ET: tomrorow morning.
my thai guy has gone to bangkok and doesn't call. I think that means it's over? HAHA these people are so confusing.
we love having a motorbike.
i miss studying at school.
I want more pictures and updates from home.
I missed Lilly really bad yesterday.
The shop was out of coconuts this week. :(
samui was awesome- but we didn't get to party there since we were in charge of 21 children haha.
about the job dilemma thing, I am gonig to be working at reffa's school. on the koh samui trip they offered me a position as a science teacher, and possibly a swimming teacher (I might send an email asking for help on that one char/mag lol) I'm a good swimmer, but i've never actually taught it???
reffa has some exciting news, i'll let her post it. ET: tomrorow morning.
my thai guy has gone to bangkok and doesn't call. I think that means it's over? HAHA these people are so confusing.
we love having a motorbike.
i miss studying at school.
I want more pictures and updates from home.
I missed Lilly really bad yesterday.
The shop was out of coconuts this week. :(
Thursday, March 12, 2009
cow
Update: The cow has gone and I smelled a BBQ the other night. I think we can draw the cow issue to a conclusive close. ew.
Update: Reffa and I have both accidentally had meat in our mouths this week because Thai people don't even differentiate between meat/non meat products, only delicious/non-delicious so when we ask if it has meat - they say no (because they know we are veg) and it actually does.
sorry for the bombardment of posts, but I've been meaning to tell you all these things and haven't had time. now I have 3 solid days in a stupid dirty boring place with access to a computer! hahaha.
on Monday we go to Koh Samui. I CAN'T WAIT.
in one month we go to Chaing Mai, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam for a super vacation with our super friends.
Update: I kinda have a Thai boyfriend? his name is Phi (pronounced PIE) he's really cute. I miss him right now though because he's in Bangkok for 4 weeks studying Law. Being a girlfriend in Thailand just means you have a friend who is a guy, who drives you places (in cool baby blue 1950's Volkswagons....)
hahaha
awesome.
xox
Update: Reffa and I have both accidentally had meat in our mouths this week because Thai people don't even differentiate between meat/non meat products, only delicious/non-delicious so when we ask if it has meat - they say no (because they know we are veg) and it actually does.
sorry for the bombardment of posts, but I've been meaning to tell you all these things and haven't had time. now I have 3 solid days in a stupid dirty boring place with access to a computer! hahaha.
on Monday we go to Koh Samui. I CAN'T WAIT.
in one month we go to Chaing Mai, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam for a super vacation with our super friends.
Update: I kinda have a Thai boyfriend? his name is Phi (pronounced PIE) he's really cute. I miss him right now though because he's in Bangkok for 4 weeks studying Law. Being a girlfriend in Thailand just means you have a friend who is a guy, who drives you places (in cool baby blue 1950's Volkswagons....)
hahaha
awesome.
xox
next term
Sorry, I forgot to answer some of our readers' FAQ in my ant and tree rants.
Right now we have two months of "real" school off, the same as students in Canada would have off for july and August. The term takes back in on May... 14th? around there anyways. I think Reffa is planning to go back to the same school with our friend Scott. I have no idea where I'm going. On paper, officially, I am supposedly going back to Tessiban 3- but the pros and cons... I keep weighing them and I think I will not go back there... ever.
Tessiban 3
pros: steady 30,000 baht a month, easy lesson planning, hardly any teaching, finish 2:30 every day. contract is finished soon so i have no commitments, visa is easy
cons: I hate it, no one speaks english, it's lonely, no A/C, have to deal with people from Udan Thani (wayyy up norht of thailand because my wages are being donated from them since my school is too poor to pay me).
I could work at a place called The Language
pros: monday-friday 8-4 good hours same as reffa, mattayom (high school- not elementary), teach a subject (not just random english things that i can think of), no contract
cons: it's paid hourly, high demand, difficult lesson plans, visa is hard
I could work at any of the private school mum pasa, mathus, etc
pros: work is way more fun at private schools, enjoyable, good pay! no contract
cons: the hours are exact opposite of Reffa's - evenings and weekends only. difficult visa
I could work at Thuanwhit (sp?) with Reffa and Scott
pros: I get to work with kids (15-20 instead of 30-50), my co workers are my friends, close to home, no contract, middle - upper class kids
cons: paid hourly, not guarenteed hours/money, have to deal with confusing/ time wasting situations, difficult and extensive lesson planning, visa difficult
Where would you work?!!??!!?!?!?!?! input please?!?!?!
right now I'm leaning towards either sucking it up and staying at the school from hell Tessiban becuase of ease and consistent income, OR , going to Thuanwhit with Reffa so that even if it's hard and i get less money, i'll still get the same as reffa and we can see each other more. I think those are the best two options.... I'll keep you posted? Maybe I just won't work. haha.
xo
Right now we have two months of "real" school off, the same as students in Canada would have off for july and August. The term takes back in on May... 14th? around there anyways. I think Reffa is planning to go back to the same school with our friend Scott. I have no idea where I'm going. On paper, officially, I am supposedly going back to Tessiban 3- but the pros and cons... I keep weighing them and I think I will not go back there... ever.
Tessiban 3
pros: steady 30,000 baht a month, easy lesson planning, hardly any teaching, finish 2:30 every day. contract is finished soon so i have no commitments, visa is easy
cons: I hate it, no one speaks english, it's lonely, no A/C, have to deal with people from Udan Thani (wayyy up norht of thailand because my wages are being donated from them since my school is too poor to pay me).
I could work at a place called The Language
pros: monday-friday 8-4 good hours same as reffa, mattayom (high school- not elementary), teach a subject (not just random english things that i can think of), no contract
cons: it's paid hourly, high demand, difficult lesson plans, visa is hard
I could work at any of the private school mum pasa, mathus, etc
pros: work is way more fun at private schools, enjoyable, good pay! no contract
cons: the hours are exact opposite of Reffa's - evenings and weekends only. difficult visa
I could work at Thuanwhit (sp?) with Reffa and Scott
pros: I get to work with kids (15-20 instead of 30-50), my co workers are my friends, close to home, no contract, middle - upper class kids
cons: paid hourly, not guarenteed hours/money, have to deal with confusing/ time wasting situations, difficult and extensive lesson planning, visa difficult
Where would you work?!!??!!?!?!?!?! input please?!?!?!
right now I'm leaning towards either sucking it up and staying at the school from hell Tessiban becuase of ease and consistent income, OR , going to Thuanwhit with Reffa so that even if it's hard and i get less money, i'll still get the same as reffa and we can see each other more. I think those are the best two options.... I'll keep you posted? Maybe I just won't work. haha.
xo
Malaysia #2: Tourist or Teacher?
Okay!!!! first of all, I'm really jealous that we missed the Hawksley concert. but we listen to him every day!!! <3 <3
Second of all. We are currently in Malaysia (so if you've tried to call us that's why we haven't answered. There is no phone service here for some reason?). We are here for our second visa trip, which means... that it's been 6 months away from home ? yup. 6 months. wow! Here's a funny "thai-style" story for you!!!
My visa was going to be easy. I have a degree, and my company was supposed to get me a work permit which would allow me to easily stay in Thailand for a year. They left it to the last minute (OF COURSE) and so I was unable to go this easy route. I didn't mind so much though, because we already had a confusing and difficult route due to Reffa's non-degree. Whatever she does, I do as well, so I figured we might as well get our visa's the same way so that if there's a problem , we're in it together. Life seems to be more fun the hard way.
So, the lady who is capable of helping us aquire a new 3 month visa, her name is PL. She is in charge of many businesses, and she is a very busy lady. We both do a lot of work for her and earn her a lot of money (for the past 5 months) so she didn't mind when we asekd for her assistance. All she had to do was print off 6 pages from her computer with our names and then off we go.
She promised to give them to me by monday (the 9th of March). I was weary of this promise, since everything else she ever promises is late, cancelled, delayed or changed in some way for some reason -ALWAYS.
So I wasn't surprised on monday when I showed up to get the papers and no one was at the office and there were no papers and her phone conveniently wasn't connecting and her daughters' phones weren't working. UGH. This is why I told her I needed them on Monday- because I ACTUALLY needed them on Tuesday night. SO I showed up on Tuesday morning to see if they weere ready- I cornered her in her office when she thought I'd be teaching somewhere else. She looks at me sheepishly and says "ooh... please come back to the school tonight and I will have them for you.. I promise"
NOW I'M NERVOUS. I ACTUALLY need them on Tuesday night- and she promised they'd be there on Tuesday night. her promise means the exact opposite, that they actually probably won't be there on tuesday night!!!! ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! we are going to get kicked out of Thailand and it's going to cost 2398095834 baht and we're not going to be allowed to teach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dammmnniittttt!!!!!!!!!!! - -- this is what's going through our minds.
So Tuesday night, we go to the language school as she asked, at the time she asked and not only is the door locked, but the large garage door is pulled down overtop of the whole building- meaning no one's going in or out for the remainder of the night. We sit and wait, and call every one of the 13 phone numbers which we have saved as her name in our Thai phones and only ONE is available. It's her eldest daughter. she says "helloooo yes my mother is market" (at the market) " she call to you in 5 minute" . so we wait. and we wait. and 30 minutes later we try the number (all all the other numbers) AGAIN. no one answers. we call over and over and over for an hour.
We make new friends accross the street, and eat with them (as is the Thai way..) and we tell them why we're waiting. they laugh- because misfortune is funny, not frustrating in this country (which sometimes makes it MORE frustrating..) . We decide ,after 2.5 long hours in a dark downtown street to head home and give up and perhaps we will have to just pay the extra 1000 baht for a late visa *SIGH* . we get home and use our friends' phone for one last attempt at contacting PL and they ANSWER (because we call from a different phone number grrrrrrr....) and she says "oh yes hello leefa and Jazy, I put already your papers in tha taree at my sakool" . HAHAHAHAHA me and reffa breka into a tired hysterical laughter. our important paperwork which determines our future in Thailand is IN A TREE DOWNTOWN SURAT THANI. in a tree.
our paperwork was in a tree.
so we go downtown to where she says, and sure enough, there's our immigration papers, addressed to reffa and Jessica, in a TREE. hahaha. this country... it kills me.
now we are in Malaysia. when we handed in our tree papers, the lady said one was missing. in one hour we find out whether or not we are allowed to work in Thailand for the next two months because our tree papers are faulty. UGGGHHHH. tomorrow, Reffa and I may officially be Thai tourists rather than teachers because the lady we work for is a flaky Thai BUFFALO. (when people are stupid, afriad, annoying etc etc you call them a buffalo- or KWAAIII in Thai.... ) . she's a BUFFALO.
verdict: Malaysia trip #2: tourist, or teacher?!
Second of all. We are currently in Malaysia (so if you've tried to call us that's why we haven't answered. There is no phone service here for some reason?). We are here for our second visa trip, which means... that it's been 6 months away from home ? yup. 6 months. wow! Here's a funny "thai-style" story for you!!!
My visa was going to be easy. I have a degree, and my company was supposed to get me a work permit which would allow me to easily stay in Thailand for a year. They left it to the last minute (OF COURSE) and so I was unable to go this easy route. I didn't mind so much though, because we already had a confusing and difficult route due to Reffa's non-degree. Whatever she does, I do as well, so I figured we might as well get our visa's the same way so that if there's a problem , we're in it together. Life seems to be more fun the hard way.
So, the lady who is capable of helping us aquire a new 3 month visa, her name is PL. She is in charge of many businesses, and she is a very busy lady. We both do a lot of work for her and earn her a lot of money (for the past 5 months) so she didn't mind when we asekd for her assistance. All she had to do was print off 6 pages from her computer with our names and then off we go.
She promised to give them to me by monday (the 9th of March). I was weary of this promise, since everything else she ever promises is late, cancelled, delayed or changed in some way for some reason -ALWAYS.
So I wasn't surprised on monday when I showed up to get the papers and no one was at the office and there were no papers and her phone conveniently wasn't connecting and her daughters' phones weren't working. UGH. This is why I told her I needed them on Monday- because I ACTUALLY needed them on Tuesday night. SO I showed up on Tuesday morning to see if they weere ready- I cornered her in her office when she thought I'd be teaching somewhere else. She looks at me sheepishly and says "ooh... please come back to the school tonight and I will have them for you.. I promise"
NOW I'M NERVOUS. I ACTUALLY need them on Tuesday night- and she promised they'd be there on Tuesday night. her promise means the exact opposite, that they actually probably won't be there on tuesday night!!!! ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! we are going to get kicked out of Thailand and it's going to cost 2398095834 baht and we're not going to be allowed to teach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dammmnniittttt!!!!!!!!!!! - -- this is what's going through our minds.
So Tuesday night, we go to the language school as she asked, at the time she asked and not only is the door locked, but the large garage door is pulled down overtop of the whole building- meaning no one's going in or out for the remainder of the night. We sit and wait, and call every one of the 13 phone numbers which we have saved as her name in our Thai phones and only ONE is available. It's her eldest daughter. she says "helloooo yes my mother is market" (at the market) " she call to you in 5 minute" . so we wait. and we wait. and 30 minutes later we try the number (all all the other numbers) AGAIN. no one answers. we call over and over and over for an hour.
We make new friends accross the street, and eat with them (as is the Thai way..) and we tell them why we're waiting. they laugh- because misfortune is funny, not frustrating in this country (which sometimes makes it MORE frustrating..) . We decide ,after 2.5 long hours in a dark downtown street to head home and give up and perhaps we will have to just pay the extra 1000 baht for a late visa *SIGH* . we get home and use our friends' phone for one last attempt at contacting PL and they ANSWER (because we call from a different phone number grrrrrrr....) and she says "oh yes hello leefa and Jazy, I put already your papers in tha taree at my sakool" . HAHAHAHAHA me and reffa breka into a tired hysterical laughter. our important paperwork which determines our future in Thailand is IN A TREE DOWNTOWN SURAT THANI. in a tree.
our paperwork was in a tree.
so we go downtown to where she says, and sure enough, there's our immigration papers, addressed to reffa and Jessica, in a TREE. hahaha. this country... it kills me.
now we are in Malaysia. when we handed in our tree papers, the lady said one was missing. in one hour we find out whether or not we are allowed to work in Thailand for the next two months because our tree papers are faulty. UGGGHHHH. tomorrow, Reffa and I may officially be Thai tourists rather than teachers because the lady we work for is a flaky Thai BUFFALO. (when people are stupid, afriad, annoying etc etc you call them a buffalo- or KWAAIII in Thai.... ) . she's a BUFFALO.
verdict: Malaysia trip #2: tourist, or teacher?!
the ants go marching one by one, hurrahhh huraahhhh
I had already finished double checking my freshly cleaned cup, the kettle and my sealed breakfast oatmeal for ants before actually making it. I poured the antless powder into the antless cup, and then added antless water.
As I was staring off into space contemplating the simplicity of my life in Thailand, I was forced to dually scoop three ants out of my breakfast, which two minutes ago had been antless. I put the cup to my lips, still in a sleepy daze and wondered just how many of these little creatures I eat/drink on a daily basis. The thought is one which, a year ago might have discusted me. Now it is part of me. Ants are everywhere, even when they are not there. The good news is, if you spill something sweet on the floor it never gets the chance to harden and get sticky because the ants will swarm and literally lick it clean before it does.
I used to use a pesticide spray on the solid and organized line of ants that runs all the way from the back door through the bathroom up the wall into the kitchen and out the side window on a daily basis. Now I just watch them in amusement, they were there first. Besides they don't do us any harm, and our house MUST provide a wonderful shortcut for them or else why would they be there?
They are actually quite cute. some going in one direction, some going in the other. They go on the left side, just like the traffic here in Thailand. I wonder if the ants at home go on the right side when they pass?
Their teamwork is phenomenal. I saw one dead ant on the wall. It only took about 3 minutes in total for the ants to surround him (only some, while others carried on working) and carry him with them on their way. For a burial? For.. ? What? It's strange.
When they pass each other, they never do so without running into each other, pausing shortly and then going. They are COMMUNICATING?!
ants... are amazing. I love them.
As I was staring off into space contemplating the simplicity of my life in Thailand, I was forced to dually scoop three ants out of my breakfast, which two minutes ago had been antless. I put the cup to my lips, still in a sleepy daze and wondered just how many of these little creatures I eat/drink on a daily basis. The thought is one which, a year ago might have discusted me. Now it is part of me. Ants are everywhere, even when they are not there. The good news is, if you spill something sweet on the floor it never gets the chance to harden and get sticky because the ants will swarm and literally lick it clean before it does.
I used to use a pesticide spray on the solid and organized line of ants that runs all the way from the back door through the bathroom up the wall into the kitchen and out the side window on a daily basis. Now I just watch them in amusement, they were there first. Besides they don't do us any harm, and our house MUST provide a wonderful shortcut for them or else why would they be there?
They are actually quite cute. some going in one direction, some going in the other. They go on the left side, just like the traffic here in Thailand. I wonder if the ants at home go on the right side when they pass?
Their teamwork is phenomenal. I saw one dead ant on the wall. It only took about 3 minutes in total for the ants to surround him (only some, while others carried on working) and carry him with them on their way. For a burial? For.. ? What? It's strange.
When they pass each other, they never do so without running into each other, pausing shortly and then going. They are COMMUNICATING?!
ants... are amazing. I love them.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
this summer I'm gonna get us a motorbike.... HW
yup. we got our motorbike like i said before! we can drive it a little bit, but so far we only go to and from the market which includes only left turns (they drive on the left side of the street here...) and no intersections!!!
Today we went through our very first intersection though! It was scary, exciting and not that hard. As longa s we wear our helmets, drive slow, and keep a watch out we should be fine. It's going to help out on saving money and time a LOT when we don't have to get tuktuks everywhere, and maybe it'll relieve our poor friend Scott who drives us everywhere.. hehe
I'm FINISHED at Tessiban 3. If you recall, that is the school I've been working at full time for the past 4 months or so. It's been kinda lonely, easy, and fairly boring. Hot with no air conditioning, and the kids are poor so the quality of the school is not very good. Kids are hit all the time every day by teachers... their socks have holes in them. there's no computers, some kids don't have pencils etc. so it's kinda sad to see. It was a bit of a hard semester working there but definately a learning experience!!! Amazing how happy the children were day in and day out.. amazing.
I am so much happier now that I am not working there each day! I will miss a few of the kids (a few... ) but now I am doing private tutoring each day which is such a lovely change of pace. I work in an airconditioned space with kids who were brought up with a bit of experience in English and I can acutally talk to a little bit. I have many 18/19 year old students who are looking to do nothing but practice speaking as well so I go and chat with them about anything and everything and correct small errors ! It's really enjoyable just like talking to a younger sister (only not quite the same er. ) but it's fun!
foudn out the biggest news ever this week. CONGRATULATIONS MAGGIE omg. it's going to be so hard to stay away for another year with allt his stuff going on at home. I miss you all so very much (as does reffa of course)... but may/june 2010 will be here before we know it. right? *sigh*
as much as I miss home though, and as much as I want to see you all so badly... I want you to know how amazingly happy reffa and I are here together. The people.. climate.. food here. every day, literally we talk together about how amazing it is. we are saving money and travelling and meeting people and I Sware to god we learn crazy and weird things every single day! I love this country so .. sooo much. I hope that I bring some of the culture home with me in my personality, because thailand's personality is so beautiful.
okay I'm off now! but I love you all so much. Especially you mags.
miss you!!!!!! love always,
Jesse
Today we went through our very first intersection though! It was scary, exciting and not that hard. As longa s we wear our helmets, drive slow, and keep a watch out we should be fine. It's going to help out on saving money and time a LOT when we don't have to get tuktuks everywhere, and maybe it'll relieve our poor friend Scott who drives us everywhere.. hehe
I'm FINISHED at Tessiban 3. If you recall, that is the school I've been working at full time for the past 4 months or so. It's been kinda lonely, easy, and fairly boring. Hot with no air conditioning, and the kids are poor so the quality of the school is not very good. Kids are hit all the time every day by teachers... their socks have holes in them. there's no computers, some kids don't have pencils etc. so it's kinda sad to see. It was a bit of a hard semester working there but definately a learning experience!!! Amazing how happy the children were day in and day out.. amazing.
I am so much happier now that I am not working there each day! I will miss a few of the kids (a few... ) but now I am doing private tutoring each day which is such a lovely change of pace. I work in an airconditioned space with kids who were brought up with a bit of experience in English and I can acutally talk to a little bit. I have many 18/19 year old students who are looking to do nothing but practice speaking as well so I go and chat with them about anything and everything and correct small errors ! It's really enjoyable just like talking to a younger sister (only not quite the same er. ) but it's fun!
foudn out the biggest news ever this week. CONGRATULATIONS MAGGIE omg. it's going to be so hard to stay away for another year with allt his stuff going on at home. I miss you all so very much (as does reffa of course)... but may/june 2010 will be here before we know it. right? *sigh*
as much as I miss home though, and as much as I want to see you all so badly... I want you to know how amazingly happy reffa and I are here together. The people.. climate.. food here. every day, literally we talk together about how amazing it is. we are saving money and travelling and meeting people and I Sware to god we learn crazy and weird things every single day! I love this country so .. sooo much. I hope that I bring some of the culture home with me in my personality, because thailand's personality is so beautiful.
okay I'm off now! but I love you all so much. Especially you mags.
miss you!!!!!! love always,
Jesse
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Cow
Good update Jess. Yes, the cow is between our house and Scott's house. Owner: Anonymous or N/A
We will for sure be home summer 2010, maybe before, but deff by then!
Its going to be 42 degrees soon, from what Jessica's Thai Teacher told her.
only 2 more weeks left of school for me (3 days for jessica) and then we are going to start planning to go away with Greg and Lorraine to Chiang Mai (northen Thailand) and Laos and Vietnam and Cambodia.
Should be a lot of fun, I can't wait!!
We will for sure be home summer 2010, maybe before, but deff by then!
Its going to be 42 degrees soon, from what Jessica's Thai Teacher told her.
only 2 more weeks left of school for me (3 days for jessica) and then we are going to start planning to go away with Greg and Lorraine to Chiang Mai (northen Thailand) and Laos and Vietnam and Cambodia.
Should be a lot of fun, I can't wait!!
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