SE Asia 2009

I figured this would be the best way to update the masses. As many of you already know, Jon came down with a fever our last day in Ko Phangan. He started to feel worse during our journey to Bangkok and we were having trouble managing his fever with Tylenol, so we decided to go to the Bangkok Hospital Medical Center shortly after we arrived in town. Jon was diagnosed with Dengue Fever and admitted. For those of you who don't know, Dengue is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes and is characterized by a high fever and a rash (though Jon's was difficult to discern from his sunburn). It also causes a low white blood cell count and decreased platelet count, which the doctors wanted to monitor from the hospital.
After a few days of generally feeling pretty lousy, it appears that Jon is on the mend. He hasn't had a fever for 36 hours now, and his wbc and platelet counts are coming back up. The doctor anticipates that we will be able to catch our originally planned flight tomorrow, so long as this positive trend is reflected in his blood test tomorrow morning.
Currently, he is incredibly stir-crazy. He really seems to feel fine and is frustrated that he has to stay here another night. We are definitely counting our blessings though- it could have been much worse. The guy a few doors down from Jon has Dengue and is having to receive blood transfusions and Jon didn't experience much of the pain that they warned us could come with the disease. It also does not have long term side effects.
The care at the Bangkok Hospital has been phenomenal. We have a top floor room with a great view of the city, a nice tv, fridge and microwave. They have a number of restaurants (including Starbucks!) that we can order room service with. The nurses are fantastic. They scrounged up a DVD player for us yesterday and brought us a lot of movies to watch. They also have been quick to respond to any questions or needs he has. He even has a sweet pair of pajamas that I took a picture of him in that I will be sure to upload as soon as possible. I get the impression that lots of people from all over the world fly to Bangkok for elective surgery, so the customer service seems more similar to a spa than a hospital.
If for some reason we are unable to leave tomorrow, I will try to let you all know. I just found out they have a computer for patients' family members to use.
Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers. Looking forward to catching up with you all soon.
Love,
Kaci (and Jon from his hospital bed)

The connection here is a bit shotty, so I am emailing these pics to the blog to see if they might upload that way.

I decided to take a minute and pry myself away from the beach and the pool to update you all on our travels. Let me tell you, it was a struggle.
After a couple of pleasant days in Samui, we hopped on a ferry to Ko Phagnan. Samui was suprisingly nice. We knew it was to be the more touristed of the two islands, but for some reason (recession? swine flu?) there were very few people there. While it was difficult to justify leaving, the kiting is supposedly better on Phagnan and everyone we met who had been to the two islands preferred it to Samui. So we boarded the ferry from hell and made our way here.
Once we arrived at the ferry port, feeling quite queasy from the rocky ride, we hopped on the back of a truck that was headed to the beach we wanted to stay at- Haad Yao. We had visions of beachside bungalows in our head, but upon arrival, we found a nice resort for cheaper than the bungalows we had been told about (recession? swine flu?), so we opted for the life of luxury. Our resort had a nice infinty pool overlooking the beach and we have a great room with a tremendous view. The beach here is fantastic- you can snorkle right in front of the hotel and the water is almost too warm.
Since our arrival we have spent many lazy days between the beach and the pool and finished a couple of books. There are other things to do here, and we plan on doing them, but after the whirlwind tour of the last month, relaxation has definitely been in order. Jon rented a moped a couple of times to check out some kiting spots. Against my better judgment (he had just reminded me of his two previous, failed attempts to drive a motorcycle), I hopped on the back and went for a ride. He actually is a very safe driver now (he's come along way since he went through the Lervik's fence).
The first kiting excursion was pretty successful, though the French guy that rents out the kites is kind of a tool. I dare say, with his limited experience, that Jon was just about as good as he was. Yesterday, we found a much better spot to rent on the south side of the island from some really laid back Thais. The wind gods weren't in Jon's favor, but we will try it again today if the wind picks up.
Tomorrow we might try to do a kayak trip in the marine park and hook up with some friends we met in Vietnam that are coming in. Jon just bought tickets to fly to Bangkok on Saturday (disregard his last post about trains in Thailand... I definitely was not privy to that plan before he posted it- 40 minute flight, or 12 hours on the train for nearly the same price? Did I mention people have barfed on every train we have been on too? Tough choice indeed...)
We fly out of Bangkok on the 19th. I am sure we'll update you all again from there.
Hope this finds you all well!
Cheers,
Kaci and Jon

Our journey from Laos to Siem Reap started off easily enough. Having heard from more than one fellow traveler about the pandemonium that is Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia, we decided to skip out on the town and instead travel directly from Laos to Siem Reap, the home of Angkor Wat. We purchased bus tickets from a place next door to our guest house in Southern Laos with the guarantee that this ticket was for a six hour ride to Kompong Cham, a smaller town three hours north of Phnom Penh, followed by another four hour bus ride the following day to Siem Reap. If there were any troubles, the ticket seller assured me, just go ahead and call the number she had written on our ticket. I, having no clue of how to use a phone here, happily shook my head in agreement and stuffed the tickets into my wallet.

We traveled into Cambodia, where we stopped at a restaurant in the town of Kratie, about three hours away from our final destination for the day of Kompong Cham. So far, the sailing had been smooth. The bus was air conditioned, our driver made his way through the countryside like Dale Earnhart Jr. on meth, saving us an hour already, I was happily doped up on dramamene and no one to this point had thrown up near Kaci--more on that later. However, upon arrival in our restaurant in Kratie--which as a town reminds me of the South Park rendition of Mogadishu--we were told we would have 30 minutes to eat. This restaurant, strangely enough, was located on a street in a foreign town with no other nearby restaurants. Fine, a little kickback for the driver for dropping a whole bunch of doe eyed tourists at the restaurant's door, maybe a free meal, or vial of bathtub speed, same same. A sign at the front of the door requested we take our shoes off before we enter. This at first even seemed quaint, a fun little ritual for the tourists to make us feel like we weren't in the type of restaurant that was playing Ashley Simpson or some other such shit over the loudspeakers and made several different types of hamburger. Were were in Cambodge, the unknown, the unexplored, the far mid-north-central-east. All us eager tourists clamored for the limited amount of seats and threw subliminal elbows at one another as we lined up to place our order, as it was now three o'clock in the afternoon thanks to the efficiency of our transport thus far--save our latest speed freak bus driver. We entered, removed our shoes, and saddled up with a French family at a small table. This is when the trip broke down. Kaci went to use the bathroom, and upon arrival her whole body appeared to be one germ induced shudder. And with good reason. Shoes off, keep in mind, applies to all parts of the restaurant. The bathroom was located in the back section of the restaurant, through the kitchen. Upon entering the bathroom, the floor was covered in maybe about a half inch of standing water(ish). The toilet was a classic squat style, which to me has always seemed like the style I'm used to, except instead of your butt cheeks on the seat, you put your feet on the seat and squat. And to flush, use a ladled out bucket of water. Which works, kind of. So after wading through suspicious standing water, standing on a toilet seat just used by a bunch of tired tourists with bad aim, and wading back through the water--when I did this I also cut my foot on the bathroom door on the way out, further adding to the collection of antisanitation underfoot, one wades back through the kitchen. Right next to the staff who are washing dishes directly on the floor. No more than three feet from us. Back to the dining area. Back to eat the food now served on those dishes.

Which brings up the point, taking off your shoes is over rated if you have to walk through piss and shit once you're inside. We've been to plenty of super clean places here where shoes are not allowed, even open air wooden shops with thatch roves on dusty streets with regular bus traffic keep an elevated platform spotlessly swept all day long. But in this case, and a few others, I'm over the shoes off thing, especially if that means using a public restroom at the same time.

We boarded back on our bus, fresh up with food borne illnesses, and headed to Kratie. Upon arrival, the only English speaking employee of the bus company informed us that his boss had just called, and there would be no bus tomorrow from Kompong Cham--three hours away from the present location--and only from Phnom Penh--six hours away. But not to worry, because we wouldn't have to pay any more for the extra three hour bus ride to arrive at ten pm in a city half of the bus hadn't planned on going to. Wouldn't have to pay more. We responded as a collective whole, voicing our protest. He said we don't pay more. I said to him we pay less. He pays us. A suggestion he apparently didn't find to be a reasonable middle ground when he reaffirmed that no matter what, there would be no bus at all from Kompong Cham to Siem Reap tomorrow. With that, he wished us a happy trip, said goodbye, and was gone forever. We were left with a bus driver and crew who spoke no English, and a six hour ride. Full of vomiting.

At this point, it's only fair that I mention Kaci's ability to make anyone one a bus sitting in front or behind her, vomit violently for at least 65% of the trip. She thinks it may be me as well having this affect on people, who are typically all local. Bottom line is every time we step on a bus, almost without fail, the person sitting behind or in front of us will eventually spend the better portion of the ride retching violently until I offer them a dramamene. Even upon arrival at our latest guest house in Siem Reap, within a few minutes of scoping the pool from our room, we witnessed a baby--who shouldn't have been in the pool anyway what with the whole lack of excretory control thing--puke into the pool and the mother try in vain to clean the mess out of the pool with her hands. Kaci hasn't been in the pool. I went in once for a few minutes. Smelled funny.

So we arrived in Phnom Penh that evening, much to our displeasure. The bus company tried to get us to stay at a hotel of their recommendation, probably the only reason they drove us to Phnom Penh in the first place. We resisted and ended up staying at another place around the corner. In the morning we headed back to the bus station, and after much deliberation and hassle, including a helmetless ride on the back of a moped ducking and weaving traffic through Phnom Penh in order to return to the hotel we had been offered last night, in order to get our bus ticket, and back to the bus station, we were on our way to Siem Reap. Relatively smooth sailing after that.

Siem Reap has been nothing short of excellent thus far. Our hotel is called the Green Village Palace, and is a sweet spot a little off the main drag. Lush garden out front and hardly any noise at all. Excellent sleep every night. We hired a driver for two days to exploring Angkor Wat, hands down one of the best sights I've ever seen. We took a long tour around the complex on day one, followed by a more densely populated trek through temples on the second day. We both liked the temples that had been reclaimed by the jungle the best, but it's almost impossible to pick a favorite.

The opportunity to but souvenirs is almost endless around the temples. Everywhere we turn there are miniature hordes of children asking us repeatedly to buy something. Kaci found that just telling them no, we don't buy from kids, as they shouldn't be selling cheap souvenirs but instead be in school, works well much of time. I did buy an album of traditional Cambodian dance music played by a band of guys who were disabled by accidental land mine explosions. I bought the CD of the first group I saw, but unfortunately groups like this are everywhere.

We stuck around last night for a brief hike up to the top of a temple on a mountain to catch the sunset There was a crowd like we couldn't believe, but we secured a great location surrounded by some friendly fellow travelers and got some excellent photos.

The dining scene in Siem Reap is definitely more posh than any place thus far. There's a very central street about 10 minutes walking from our guest house called pub street, straight up gastronomical cornucopia. I've been most interested in the local Khmer food, and what I've had has been excellent. Spicier than anything we've had thus far, which is a major plus. The four dollar price tag for any main course and .75 cent draft beers don't hurt either. We went to one Khmer run place that occupies about half of a block in the town called Temple Club. They had free Aspura Dancers in the evening, so we stopped by for a few cheap draught beers and watched the show for a bit.

We ran into some friends we met earlier on the trip by chance last night, and went on a miniature pub crawl around the city. They were the same British 21 year olds from Hoi An, but this time it was definitely a more relaxed experience, both in the evening and the following morning.

We're about to board a plane in a few hours here to fly to Koh Samui in Thailand, and head over to Ko Phangan in a few days to follow. It's our first regional flight, and we're both looking forward to avoiding the hassle of riding a bus. Once in Thailand, the rail is fairly put together, so we'll probably be taking a few trains to get from one place to another. We're not really sure what we're going to do for the rest of the trip. Right now we're both pretty set on sitting on the beach, and I'm really looking forward to getting some kiting in provided the wind is up.

Hope you're all enjoying the heat at home, we hear it's been pretty intense. We miss you all and are looking forward to getting together when we get back. Talk to you soon.

Cheers,

Jon and Kaci

p.s. I didn't get a chance to post this before Thailand, and I'm currently putting the finishing touches on it from our hotel restaurant on the beach. Koh Samui is amazing. Shin deep bright blue water, cheap dinners directly on the beach, a pretty decent sunburn for yours truly, a typical bronze luster for Kaci. It's going to be tough to escape the pull of this place. We're headed to Koh Phangan tomorrow to find a little more laid back scene, preferably a bungalow on the beach and somewhere to kiteboard. Here's a couple pictures from Samui thus far.

This blog entry comes from a computer about 20 yards off the Mekong river. I'm sitting in an internet cafe on Don Khong island, enjoying the first full non travel day in Laos. So far Laos has been a welcome respite from the constant intensity of Vietnam. I respect the urban Vietnamese culture of capitalism at any cost, even if it means never making it more than 20 feet as a traveler without being offered a motorbike ride or cyclo tour as an impulse buy. Gum is an impulse buy. Riding on the back of a moped through a city that loosely accepts traffic signals for 20km instead of going to dinner, is not. Even if after I say no thank you you tell me the price, and how long you will drive me for, and repeat that you are indeed offering me a ride on a motorbike approximately eighty five times until I am out of earshot and within range of the next willing driver.

Laos, on the other hand, has been in a word, quiet. This is a quiet place. These are generally very quiet people. And friendly. And willing to sell me lots of things, such as crickets on a stick--closer to an impulse buy than a motorbike ride through Hanoi, I'll give you that--or delicious donut-y orbs on a stick. Of which I accidentally bought five sticks worth as our sonthaew pulled away driving down to Si Phan Don yesterday. Indeed Laos is the kind of place I could get used to for a few days. Or months. But alas, in the interest of time and in Thai beaches, we're making our way through in just under a week.

Our last few days in Hue were full. We signed up for a six dollar tour of some local pagodas and tombs of kings. While the boat wasn't all we had hoped, the sights made up for the price of admission.

Our first stop was a "Traditional Vietnamese Village" during the time of what we first thought our guide said was federalism, we later inferred as feudalism. Either way, it turns out, according to the evidence of the six dollar dragon boat tour, Vietnamese feudalism consisted mainly of Kung Fu centers that put on displays for tourists. Sure, it was cool, but the whole thing did have a slight Napoleon Dynamite you don't want a roundhouse kick to the face in pants like these sort of feel to it.

From there we were loaded back on the boat and continued upriver for several hours. No working fans on the boat, but we did have the gentle breeze of 40 other people's hot breaths on the back of our necks to keep us cool. We stopped for lunch where all the western looking people under the age of thirty were forced, and I mean forced like told directly, "you there, not here," to sit at one small, overcrowded table and share a six person portion of noodles and lukewarm tofu between twelve or so of us.

After lunch however, the tour improved. As in we visited some tombs from some of the more recent kings of Vietnam, the most recent being the one just before the communist revolution in 1925(?). This one here is from the last king of Vietnam. He was highly unpopular and clung to the French in order to retain power for his final years. In order to build his very French style tomb, he levied a 30% tax on an already economically disadvantaged (read:starving) people for 11 years to finance this project. After this it wasn't too difficult to talk people into a communist revolution.

Here's some photos from a few of the other stops on our tour, including another tomb, a pagoda and monastery and a traditional incense and conical hat making village.

The next day we spent walking around the old citadel of in the town of Hue. Pretty impressive as a whole, but it was under a lot of reconstruction. We were amazed to find out that this citadel, as well as many of the other places we visited looked ancient but had in fact been built less than 200 years ago. Turns out the US Government helped antique much of the citadel and other sights by carpet bombing the hell out of much of the area we visited during the Vietnam war.

From Hue we took a long cross country bus ride to the town of Savannakhet on the western border of Laos. A very, very quiet town, we had trouble finding a restaurant when we went out to eat. Luckily we stumbled upon a great French restaurant. Super fancy, way friendly staff. About a fifteen dollar bill when we were all finished. This place even brought out the food with those bowl things over the top of the dish and lifted them off with a steamy flourish as they set them down on the table. Oh yeah, and the beer Laos didn't hurt, either. Best beer yet, hands down.

The next day we had only planned to make it halfway down to Si Phan Don in Laos, a collection of thousands of islands in the Mekong at the southern border of the country. However, upon arrival at the town in Pakse, our original destination, a German couple mentioned they were going to try and make the rest of the trip that evening. We had until this point though the trip wasn't doable in one day due to bus schedules. We were kind of right. We took a songthaew (a small flatbed truck, three wheel cart or pickup truck converted so there are benches on the inside of the bed) to the bus station and found that our only option for transport to the Four Thousand Islands was another, slightly larger songthaew for the next three hours down the highway. We decided to go for it. After paying our three dollars each to the driver, we were graced with a relatively comfortable albeit cramped ride to Si Phan Don. Just Kaci, myself and a couple Germans piled in with an ever growing amount of locals the further south we went. I took some video, but the internet connection here won't support me uploading the file. Here's some pics of both the ride down and the ferry crossing across the Mekong.

We arrived on Don Khong Island to find Pon's Guesthouse, a restored colonial relic overlooking the Mekong river. We enjoyed some Beer Laos, local food and conversation with the German couple to finish the night.

Today we took in what was probably a fifteen or so mile bike ride around the island. Very quiet and relaxing, and we're a hit with all the kids. We learned how to say what I'm assuming is 'hello' rather than 'foolish tourist your bike sucks and you smell' from all the shouting, smiling kids we passed by. We finished our three plus hour ride about two minutes before a cloudburst opened up.

Tomorrow we're going to take a boat to a few smaller islands to visit some waterfalls, do a bit of interisland treking and hopefully see some rare Iriwady Dolphins in the Mekong. We've got a full on rally to Siem Reap to follow the next day, but should make it to Angkor Wat by August 4. Hope you're all doing well, we're looking forward to seeing all of you when we get back.

Cheers,

Jon and Kaci