first glimpse of Angkor Wat at sunrise

Leaving before sunrise to see monolithic temples bathed in the first light of day ... enigmatic faces carved into hundreds-of-years-old rock ... age-old Hindu and Buddhist stories ... the persistent chorus of sellers asking for "just one dollar" ... a monsoon-like downpour ... cows in rice paddies ... aromatic Khmer curries ... the sounds of toads, birds, and insects in the jungle at night ... school children commuting by twos and threes on adult bicycles that dwarfed their young bodies ... motorbikes and tuk-tuks going every which way (including straight into other motorbikes -- yes, I witnessed a nasty collision) ... the back of my trusty tuk-tuk driver ... clouds of dirt and dust that I tried not to inhale for kilometers on end ... motorbikes carrying wooden cages full of squirming piglets (or just a giant boar lying awkardly on its back) ... that same pig, except decapitated with flies buzzing around, for sale at the market ... screaming naked children asking me to give them my ice cream as I sat in town waiting out the rain.

Angkor Wat upper terrace at sunrise

Angkor Wat upper terrace at sunrise

A kind gentleman from the Palm Village Resort whisked me and my backpack away, and we set off for the hotel which was slightly outside of town. He was very apologetic when we turned off the main airport road onto a bumpy dirt road... and onto another ... and another... and they just got bumpier. Our conversation was interesting, though. He acknowledged that times have been very hard in Cambodia, but there's a lot of optimism for the future, and that "maybe the next time I visit these roads will be paved!"

I really was struck by just how underdeveloped Cambodia was. According to my guidebook, the area around Angkor Wat was well-developed for tourism, so I guess I assumed I wouldn't see much of 'authentic' Cambodia except for the temples. In actuality, I saw a lot of rural life, which was clearly a struggle. Traveling from my hotel to town or the temples (since I was staying in a rural area in between the two), as well as riding north of town to Banteay Srei and south of town toward Tonle Sap, I saw people working in the fields and living in primitive bamboo housing... in short, a pretty tough life.

Bayon temple in Angkor Thom

faces of the Bayon

sausages and hogs (ok, not exactly Harleys, but you get the idea)

schoolgirls

the mother of all temples

And thus, here we are in the sleepy, UNESCO world-heritage town of Luang Prabang. So far, we've sat lazily on the porch of our guesthouse and watched an amazing late afternoon thunderstorm roll through, and also spied on the young monk at the monastery across the street doing an exercise regimen of handstands and cartwheels (all in a saffron-colored robe). Cool. This place has a wonderful vibe to it -- calm, almost lazy. I think it's right up our alley.

We're off to find dinner and later, with luck, catch up to our Michigan friends Matt, Neda, Jeff, and Tanuka. Hope all is well back home!

p.s. for those of you actually following my travels closely (hi, Mom, Dad and Chris!), please note that I sneakily posted a report from Cambodia but back-dated it to June 4. So, you'll have to scroll down to find it. :)

written by  GoBlue on June 12, 2007 from Luang Prabang, Laos
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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written by  GoBlue on June 17, 2007 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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Luang Prabang was just different than anywhere else I've visited on this trip. At first the differences were imperceptible, so I couldn't really identify what was unique about the place. Staying for 4+ days really allowed us to soak up the place, though, and I've tried to gather some impressions.

-- PICTURESQUE. In contrast to Chiang Mai, where we had many fun outdoor/gastronomical/shopping/historical adventures but where the city itself is not especially beautiful, I found Luang Prabang to be really lovely to simply stroll around. It's an accessible small town, occupying a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Kan rivers, and there's really only two main streets. In addition, it has the status of being a UNESCO World Heritage City, which I presume means there are many restrictions on development. As a result, the low-rise buildings lack the bland architecture we've seen in other parts of SE Asia, and there is a lack of advertising on buildings. Finally, there are still vestiges of French colonial architecture, as well as other French influences, so we ended up finding oodles of quaint shops, guesthouses, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants. There's nothing better than a Lao iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk or a mango fruit shake to refresh you in 90+ degree temperatures!

Nam Kan River, Laos

-- ISOLATED. We explored the town but also did some tours outside of town. Even on those short jaunts, it was amazing to see how mountainous the region is. Originally we meant to reach LP from Northern Thailand via a 2-day river cruise down the Mekong; the same route takes 15 hours to drive. Travel between cities in Laos takes a lot of time and patience for windy, bumpy roads. Along these lines, I was struck by our tour guide on our day of kayaking/elephant riding. He was from one of the local Hmong communities, and for him, Luang Prabang represents "the big city." As we kayaked, he asked me if I had ever been to Hong Kong, and if it is like Luang Prabang. I wasn't quite sure how to answer, knowing that he probably couldn't even comprehend the level of hustle, bustle, and population density of Hong Kong. In Luang Prabang, the most happening bar in town stays open until 11:30.

Lao countryside, south of Luang Prabang

-- FRIENDLY. As I did in Chiang Mai, I found myself letting my guard down in LP. Everywhere we went, people smiled. Even people who wanted to sell to us were remarkably non-pushy. The service was great, our tours did not disappoint, and shopping was a really fun experience.

In addition to these impressions, I wanted to write about our activities (and hopefully post pictures soon). Another special thing about Christi's and my time in Lao is that we met up with no fewer than six other Ross grads. Our friends Neda, Matt, Jeff, and Tanuka (as well as Neda's friend Laura) were on their way through, and we caught them for dinner and drinks at Hive (the very bar that's open until 11:30!) before they left for Thailand. In addition, we spent most of our time there with Karina and Ian, whom Christi traveled with during her Germany semester last year. It was probably the biggest Ross contingent Luang Prabang has ever seen!

On our first day in town, Christi and I wanted to take it easy and get our bearings. So, we did some sightseeing, shopping, and investigating to decide on treks for the upcoming days. We decided to try something a little different, as well, based on guide book recommendations, and headed off to the Lao Red Cross to try their spa treatments. For only $1, we supported their programs and got to try the herbal sauna. Popular among Lao women and men, the sauna promotes good health and skin using 25 different herbs in the steam. Now, why anyone would go in a sauna in 90+ temperatures, I'm not sure... but we bravely headed in anyway!

Luckily, a young Lao woman Deng befriended us, and showed us the ropes (shower in between sessions, wet down your sarong, drink tea now, don't shower after the last session or you'll wash off the herbs, rub your skin with milk, etc.) At first, we were the only "falang" (foreigners) there (two more came before we left), but there were at least 15 Lao. There was a bit of excitement when a ladyboy came in and popped into the men's side of the sauna wearing a sarong and a pink headband. This amounted to a fair amount of confusion when the poor Australian man who arrived after us walked in and right back out, thinking he had read the signs wrong! All in all, Christi and I were completely amused by our so-very-authentic sauna experience. Later that evening before dinner, we took in a performance at the Royal Ballet Theater, which sounds more professional than it actually was, but at least gave us a taste of Lao culture through dance, music, and costumes.

The next day, we ventured out on a Tiger Trails tour to see their Elephant Park Project, ride elephants, and then kayak back to Luang Prabang on the Nam Kan river. The elephants were lovely, and I can only imagine that they are treated better than the ones we saw in Chiang Mai. For starters, they didn't demand bananas and sugar cane every five steps, and the mahouts (elephant trainers) were more gentle as well. The ride was much more peaceful as a result, and we still got to feed Mae Nam (our elephant) at the end.

Now I know how high corn grows...

Christi kayaking

That night, we decided to eat at an outdoor restaurant along the Mekong. Just as we selected the place, there was a dip in the electricity and then... power outage. Like my experience in Cambodia, there were often power dips in the evening, but this time, the power stayed off for at least an hour. It was actually quite amazing how quickly the restaurant lit candles and carried on, managing to cook our entire meal in the dark. (Good thing for natural gas!) The only light other than candlelight came from the headlights of passing motorbikes. I was almost disappointed when the electricity came back on.

Power outage... dinner by candlelight!

Friday was a big day for us, as we ventured to the Pak Ou caves in the morning with stops at local villages along the way. This was a lesson in "you get what you pay for..." we had decided to book a less expensive tour, which meant that our 1 hour longboat ride upriver was in a rickety boat with no real seats and approximately 1 square meter for Christi and I to sit in. As another tourist on our boat said to someone at the dock as we pulled away, "please tell our story if we don't make it back!" Despite a brief stop to re-fuel along the way, we made it to the caves. They are actually somewhat bizzare -- caves right on the Mekong, filled with Buddha shrines. Local children lined the steps up to the upper caves and sold fruit, stones, and other trinkets. Oddly, one girl also had a large black beetle leashed by a string as her pet, and another young girl was playing with her pets, two rodent-like animals (moles?) tied together by their feet. The children were sweet and gentle, but it was sad to see their obvious health problems (a broken or possibly congenitally deformed foot, skin diseases, etc.).

That afternoon, following a lovely lunch at Cafe Vat Sene, I hired a tuk-tuk to visit the Kuang Xi waterfalls. I had just enough time to get there and hike up to see the falls, as well as take a dip in the swimming areas. They were some of the most gorgeous waterfalls I've ever seen -- a tall falls that cascaded down into several pools of clear blue water.

Kuang Xi Falls

more Kuang Xi Falls

Jennie pre-waterfall-swim

sunset over the Mekong from Mount Phousi

On our last morning, Christi and I took a 1/2 day class from OckPopTop, an enterprise that means "east meets west" and employs local women weavers to produce and sell handicrafts in their shops. We learned about weaving and dying silk and even got the chance to create dyes from tamarind, indigo, and sappan wood. Hopefully I'll come up with something creative to do with my hand-dyed silk thread.

Chris and Jen with yellow dye made from tamarind

We checked out of the Sala Prabang and headed to the airport with lots of good memories as well as a few purchases. This is a place I'd happily revisit!

written by  GoBlue on June 17, 2007 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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Case #1: Having heard about the hotel scam pulled upon Carl, Jocelyn, and Vivian's arrival in Hanoi, Christi and I were prepared -- savvy and street smart, with our guard fully up. We went straight to the official meter taxi stand at the airport, which had a clearly posted sign indicating the flat rate to town was $10 or 150,000 Vietnamese dong. We reconfirmed the price with the eager driver who showed us into his cab, and I felt better when he chatted excitedly with us, asking where we were from and if it was our first time in Vietnam.

When we arrived at our destination, Christi offered a $10 USD bill as payment; he declined, asking for dong. "Great," I thought -- healthier for all involved not to rely on US currency. Without thinking, I pulled out two 100,000 dong bills and handed them to him. Next thing I know, he's shoved them in his pocket, grins widely, and says, laughing, "I good driver for you!" Uh oh. At first, I think he's joking with us, and politely ask for change. He declines. Repeat interaction 5 times. No progress, except Christi and I are getting angry, though we are keeping our calm. Finally, I decide to throw in the towel. 50,000 dong is around $3, so it's not the worst thing in the world, but it's still basically petty thievery. As we walk away, I yell at him that I would have given him a bigger tip if he had given me my change. Of course, this complicated a sentiment in English means nothing to him, but it still felt better to vent.

Case #2: After getting Christi checked into her tour group's hotel, we went over the the hotel I'd selected. With Frommer's advice that "everything in Vietnam is negotiable" fresh in my mind, and knowing that it was off-season, I was ready to bargain my way to my room. "Do you have any single rooms available?" Yes, of course, and the price is $30 USD. "OK," I say... "well, if I stay two nights, can you make the price $25?" The receptionist laughs and says, "well, Madam, I think we can lower the price $5 for you." Whee!!! Score!!! Wait... that was too easy... I didn't anchor low enough! Regardless, I checked in, happy that I was paying less than the originally quoted price.

Fast forward two days to checkout. Suddenly, the room price appears as $27.50 per night. What?!?! I brought it down to $25! I guess according to the hotel, though, they offered to lower the price by $5 over two nights, not per night. Oh, and they forgot to quote me the VAT (room tax) as well. Suddenly my good bargain wasn't looking so hot after all.

Case #3: I'm waiting in line at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater, waiting to buy a ticket for tonight's performance. Prices are 20,000 dong (a bit over $1) and 40,000 dong (shy of $3). I step up to the window and ask for a second-class ticket at 20,000 dong, and present my 50,000 dong bill. The box office clerk stares at me, and asks if I have a smaller bill. Now, in Vietnam, I had already seen denominations of 100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, and 500. I can't see how scraping together 30,000 in change seems like that big a deal, so I hold my ground: "no, I don't have anything smaller." She stares at me. I stare at her. Repeat. Likely, the dozens of people in line behind me stare at me. Finally, I give in, and pay the extra $1+ for a first class ticket. Had I really been scammed, again? These are little tricks, but they add up, and leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Despite these rather deflating experiences, I will say that Hanoi grew on me over the course of my day. I wandered around the Old Quarter, dodging swarms of honking motorbikes, cyclo-cabs, and fruit sellers, to make my way to Hoan Kiem lake.

Hoan Kiem Lake

We really dug all the propaganda art posted in public places

The lovely garden of the Green Tangerine in Hanoi

My 24 hours in Hanoi passed quickly, and then we set off for a 3-day tour to enjoy the stunning and peaceful scenery of Halong Bay. More on that to come...

In Vietnam, sight lines are optional

Seriously, though, I can't get over how funny this was. I was sleeping on the make-shift third bed in our room at the Prince II Hotel, which was a mattress atop a camping cot about 70% its size. Needless to say, this was not the most stable contraption. When I woke up, I reached for my watch to see what time it was, and next thing I know I'm on the floor, legs legs in the air, mattress on its side, laughing hysterically. So much for trying not to wake up Viv and Katie.

written by  GoBlue on June 21, 2007 from Hanoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
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Luckily, our goodbyes were mixed with a good bit of humor. Just as my taxi pulled up in front of our Nha Trang hotel, the young boy who had tried multiple times to sell us postcards (or, if you are Carl, the chance to lose to him in a game of pool!) showed up as well. This kid was a real kick, and the sight of him standing next to my friends, mimicing their good-bye waves as my taxi pulled away, made me laugh like crazy.

For my last true stop in Vietnam, Nha Trang was a delight. The beach was lovely, we had a great time with Brendan and Allison, and we visited the mineral mud baths for an authentic spa treatment. We even went to a brewpub on the beach for a fancy dinner to celebrate my last night.

Who knew Louisiana-style microbrews are so big in Nha Trang?

Maybe it started with the idea that sat in mud for a half hour to cleanse my skin, but on my journey south to Saigon, I continued thinking about some things that have struck me over the past couple of days. Call them ironies, or contradictions, or just plain rambling ... but bear with me:

-- "Safe" is a relative term.

I was white-knuckled for at least 50% of my short Vietnam Airlines flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Due to some terrible weather, and despite being in a large Airbus jet and not the ATR-72 prop plane, I had one of the bumpiest descents of recent memory.

It's not night time...it's just a big rainstorm that makes landing extra exciting

-- Getting there is more than half the fun.

I think this applies best to our time in Hoi An. On the way into town, we watched the mountain-filled sky turn from blue, to amber, to blazing orange, before it faded into dusty pinks and dusky blues reflected in rice paddies and tributaries.

A gorgeous sunset on our trip from the Da Nang airport into Hoi An...

... and it just kept getting better!

South China Sea seen from Marble Mountain

Viv frolics in the China Beach surf

Hoi An streetscape

Likewise, as Viv described so perfectly in her entry on our tailoring experience, we learned to relish the process more than the end product. While I'm really quite happy with my suit, two dresses, and four pairs of pants, in the long run, it's the memories of being like a kid in a candy store, selecting fabrics and styles with all my friends, that will last.

-- Girl, you'll be a woman soon.

What I'm getting at here is that being an MBA graduate-turned-backpackers is kind of a weird phenomenom. We don't quite fit into the 21-some crowd, which becomes clear when we can't stay up past midnight and party at the clubs/beach parties/karaoke bars to save our lives. (OK, I'm speaking for myself here.) Yet, we share the "trail" with the shoestring travelers, staying at budget hotels, booking economical tours, etc. Mostly, this works out just fine, but on occasion, it's a bit of a mismatch. Case in point: I was thrilled with our decision to upgrade to business class, for a mere $44, on our flight to Hoi An. It was great to arrive a day earlier, and it was even better to do it in such style.

OK, so we don't LOOK like we're business class travelers. Is it because we ate everything in sight in the airport lounge?

It's time for me to sign off so I can get a good night sleep before my Saigon-Bangkok-Hong Kong journey tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures of the Victoria Harbour skyline on my last night in Southeast Asia. Speaking of pictures, I've uploaded a bunch and added them to some to our entries below, including Halong Bay and Hoi An tailoring. Plus, Aaron has some good ones on his site, too: http://www.aaronshouse.shutterfly.com. Enjoy!

Follow that fish!!

one of the world's greatest skylines

View from my room at the YMCA ... note the Peninsula next door and the HK Air and Space Museum across the street

Victoria Harbor

a Junk lit up by the Harbor skyline

On Friday, I ran around town to do a bit more sightseeing and shopping before heading to the airport. The Star Ferry across from Kowloon to Hong Kong was a brief but memorable ride. Once I started making my way through the pedestrian walkways connecting the MTR stations, malls, and office buildings, I immediately sensed a strong police presence. Only later did I realize I couldn't have been far from Chinese President Hu Jintao, who was in town making the rounds to participate in the celebration commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule.

Getting Around in Hong Kong

near Hollywod Ave., Hong Kong

In true form, my United flight for home left two hours late. Once I was on the plane, I re-discovered how much fun (I think) it is to listen to the flight deck on channel 9. You can really hear some crazy things coming from your pilots. For example:

Hong Kong Ground control: "United 828, once you've completed pushback, taxi right... yada yada"
Captain: "Um, we have a little bit of a problem here. Apparently, one of the passengers is having some kind of a panic attack, so we may have to return to the gate to get him off the plane. One of the co-pilots is downstairs talking to him right now. Is there anyone behind us, or can we sit here for a few more minutes?"

(Apparently the situation resolved itself, since we didn't have to return to the gate, and there was never an announcement asking if there were any mental health professionals on board.)

13.5 hours later...

Janesville, WI air traffic control: "United 828, turn right 18 degrees and slow to 25* knots."
Captain: "Roger, right turn and slow to 25 knots. Gosh, that just about turns us into a hovercraft."
Janesville, WI air traffic control: "Well, it's because of sequencing getting into O'Hare -- there's a lot of traffic."

(*I don't really know how many knots they said, but apparently it wasn't a very fast speed for a 747.)

5 minutes later...

Captain: "Any chance we can pick up the speed here?"
Janesville ATC: "Nope. Sorry."

And there you have it. Having flown over Taiwan and Japan, crossed the international date line, eaten three bad airline meals, and completed my first ever sudoko puzzle, I landed at O'Hare around 9 pm. I'm signing off for now, until the next trip... and will be eagerly keeping up with Viv, Joc, and Carl as they continue their adventures! Thanks for reading, all.

Victoria Harbor and the Avenue of Stars

Back on American soil at ORD