Noodles, narrow streets, and lots and lots of motorbikes=Hanoi, Vietnam

We made it to Hanoi this morning and I couldn't bemore excited and shocked to walk outside and feel "chilly"! Yes, I am aware that itis the end of winter here, but c'mon, winter in Thailand was a joke and I thought this would be comprable! I am wearing a sweatshirt and scarf and I think if I straightened my hair it might actually stay that way for more than five minutes. Crazy.

We're so rich! ;)

Yet again we lucked out with a really sweet hostel for about $6 a night in the center of the old quarter. Outside the bright modern interior is a crowded street lined with food vendors, boutiques and people going places. I love seeing all the traditional hats, people sitting on tiney stools drinking tea and the women carying fruit dangling from baskets hanging off their shoulders.

To make our flight, Leo and I got up at 2:30 am and took a cab into the BKK airport. I slept maybe a half hour on the plane and in the shuttle from the airport. For some reason I have been having really bad luck with my left big toe. Remember when I sliced a piece off in the grate in the street? Well that's about healed, I opened it up again on the uneven streets, but then the other night while out in the city, smashed between a million gay men at DJ Station, someone crushed my poor toe with their out or control dance moves. It started bleeding all around the edges and is currently in bad shape again. The problem is that I walk here all the time in sandalsand it is hard to keep it clean. Now it is so bad that my leg gets cramped from walking weird and compensating for it. I had to take a cab home after walking all day because I couldn't take it any longer. Not good, but other than that I can't complain! haha it seems like one injury after another.
Leo and I went to the Ho Chi Mhin museum (closed, but the grounds were cool), and this restaurant for lunch called Koto, which is a grassroots organization who helps give people off the streets a place to work and gives all profits to the charity. We had these amazing cold noodles with beef, peanuts and chili lime sauce.

I just got back to the hostel and am going to do some planning and napping before going out to eat more delicious food hopefully including clay pots and spring rolls!
To be continued...

The City Life

Just a look at some of the things Leo and I are doing over our week in Bangkok before we head to Vietnam on Monday! Sightseeing, meeting cool peeps in our hostel and so forth :)

Wat Po (reclining Buddha) 

Wat Arun

View from the top

Out Awesome hostel- LubD

My first trip to the ER in BKK

Last night Leo, Erin and I went to a little restaurant just across the street form our hostel because it was torrential down-pouring. I love the seafood in Thailand, so of course I order this dish full of squid and shrimp with sticky rice. It was delicious and I had just them about how I used to be allergic to shrimp and how my mouth would itch. Well we finished dinner and were on our way to buy a drink at seven eleven when my mouth started feeling funny and I felt like I got bit by a mosquito behind my ear. I asked Erin and  she and Leo both said I would be fine, but them in the light I asked again and she saw a hive under my eye. We went back to the hostel and I took benadryl but it just kept getting worse. My tongue swelled up and felt like a rock in my mouth and I had hives all over my head, in my armpits and thighs. I have never been in anaphylactic shock before so of course I was freaking out. We called the hospital and they told us to come in immediately so we jumped in a cab. Leo was taking to long putting things away so we left without him. Lizzie was just walking to our hostel at that time so we told her to come with too. I was admitted and injected with medicine in my hand. The sensation was insane and I didn't realize what was going on at first, but there was this intense burning in my "groin area" and I flipped! It was sooo funny because I think the nurse knew that would happen but didn't tell me. It went away in seconds but my knee jerk reaction to grab my crotch was the funniest thing the girls have seen I'm sure. I can't imagine what the guy who was talking to me about finance thought at the time! The doctor wanted me to spend the night so he could monitor me, but when we saw the 40000 baht deposit it was a sure NO. I waited there for about an hour and a half until I started to deflate a bit. Lizzie and Erin were on observation duty and thought it was funny to watch me try and touch my tongue to my nose (I couldn't even stick it out) or make me pronounce my last name. I just thought everything was funny by that point. I got some more medicine to take and we went back to the hostel. Our plans to go out were ruined, and I spent way more then is typical in BKK, but at least I don't look like Will Smith in Hitch anymore. My neck still feels like I got badly chocked and I think I'll stay away form my favorite food for a while.

Semester #1 -SET LAOU!!!

Time sure does fly fast when you work all week and travel every weekend! I have now officially made it through my first semester teaching and boy am I excited! (set laou=finished) It still seems like a joke that I have the next two and a half months free to travel. During this time I will be exploring the cities and bays of northern Vietnam, sunbathing and hitting up a full moon party on the southernmost islands of Thailand, trekking in Nepal, sightseeing in India, and reconnoitering the lush rice fields of Bali. May this turn out to be my own version or Eat, Pray, Love! 

Getting ready!

During the first month (actually in the next few hours) my dear friend Leo from Iowa will be joining me. I can't wait to glimpse his first perspective on Thailand and rehash all the wonderful things I have come somewhat accustomed to here. He will be traveling on to Australia with nothing but a backpack and working holiday visa after this and my hope is to be able to visit him there when my contract here is up. I've been chilling here at the hostel all day anticipating his arrival (just took a break to go get some of the best tom kha gai soup I've ever had at a small street-side restaurant that cost $4). 

This morning I had an appointment at an International hospital in BKK, which was by far the nicest hospital I have even been in. I have been having some stomach issues and now acid reflux that could be something serious if not taken care of. Before doing an endoscopy, however, I am reforming my diet and taking antibiotics to see if a 

Happy Valentine's Day! The students decorated our shirts

less invasive method could be the key to getting rid of this. Worst thing is, I can't have coffee or chocolate *sigh*. But let's look on the bright side, maybe this will also help the few kilos I've gained while living here as well. I was sad to have to freeze my Fitness First gym membership, I'm going to really miss it and the trainers! 

Well, with that said, let the epic adventure begin!!!

“Sexy Elephants” Trip to Khao Yai National Park --February 11-13

Khao Yai is said to look like something straight Jurassic Park just like so other many national parks in Thailand. We took the recommendation from some friends to stay at Bobby’s hostel, which ended up being a great choice. We opted for a day and a half tour of the park, six girls and our guide Aton (or just Ton). He was a short little guy with tattoos that covered every inch of his body as far as I could tell.  He really enjoyed calling everything “sexy”. Sexy girls, sexy guide, sexy waterfalls…everything was considered sexy. He spoke English brilliantly well.

The first night we all sat around talking about teaching and the ups and downs we all go thorough in a single day. It’s nice to hear of similar experiences and new ones that the others encounter in their schools. We also got into our tiffs about the expats who are overpopulating some areas (in our opinion). I just can’t look at old, white, guys with beautiful Thai women and imagine a genuine love connection there. It’s too bad.  

Our "sexy" guide Ton

We called it a fairly early night so that we would be well rested for our jungle trek the next day. I was pumped yet skeptical about seeing wildlife such as gibbons and elephants in the jungle since I had read that they are not always easily spotted.

Our day started at 9 am. After the ride to the park we commenced our trek, stomping through leaves off the beaten track. Every so often Ton would make us stop so he could listen, or stop to show us a cinnamon tree or a rubber tree.

Gibbon, taken with a large zoom

The first rare animal we saw was called a hornbill; a huge bird that sounded like a helicopter when it took off because of its massive wingspan. It was almost time to break for lunch and after we were quite tired out when suddenly we came upon a family of black gibbons! They were way up in the canopy and we watched them until our necks got sore and they finally started swinging away through the branches. They are such amazing creatures, and very rare compared to all the “ling” (monkeys) in the park and all over Thailand. After lunch we went to see a waterfall that was used in the scene from The Beach. This was really the only part of our day where we encountered other tourists, two of whom told our guide that they had just come face to face with a wild elephant a little ways into the forest. They scared look on their faces translated into an excited face on our guide and all of a sudden we were scampering through the trees in search of the elephant.

I thought that since I have 50 elephants as my closest neighbors, seeing just one in the wild would be no big deal right? WRONG! It’s like being around dogs all the time and then seeing a wolf in the wild…heart palpitating, and ready to run through the jungle underbrush for my life I just stood and watched the bamboo shacking as if got stopped down. Finally I could see some grey, then a head and two ivory tusks. I think this male was the king of the jungle; he was larger than any on by block.

Hello there!!! 

After seeing the elephant we treaded over to the waterfall to take a dip. It was nice and completely secluded from the other tourist and after our initial shock at how frigid the water was, even to our sweaty skin, we all go the courage to bare all and jump in. It was refreshing to get all the dirt and grim off our bodies.

After our numbing swim under the waterfall and attempt to all dry off a bit with one towel, we headed quickly back through the foliage, still on the lookout in case the elephant turned up again. By this time we were all exhausted and the blister that had sprung up on my heel was rubbing me the wrong way. There was no one left on the beaten trail and we were about to reach our ride when all of a sudden Ton leaps back, his arms spread, clutching his machete. We all stop and stare down at the path directly in front of us. There, wearing camouflage that matched perfectly with the leaves was a long brown snake. Ton was pretty damn close to stepping on the thing! He starts freaking out and all of a sudden I hear him say “crobar!” “Um, excuse me what’s that?” “Most poisonous snake, the king crobar!” “OH. Mygod. It’s a King cobra. Just when I thought our day could not get any more exciting. I had taken a picture of one of these in the park museum, but this one was alive, not coiled in formaldehyde… our driver didn’t even believe Ton when he told him until we showed him a picture! 

Young King Cobra

After a delicious dinner or masaman curry and some tea, and after zoning out and watching An Education for a bit on the TV, we all crashed.  What a spectacular, extraordinary day. 

The next day Ton took us to this temple that is literally built into a mountain and there is a cave inside where Buddhists go to meditate and pry. Every inch of this this was covered in the Buddha image and medallions. It was so gaudy and over the top that it actually worked, it was spectacular. There were many photographs hanging of a monk who looked like he had been all around the world and who is special to this particular temple, at least I think that's what Ton said. Well when we were almost ready to leave, we look into this room and there is the monk, just about to eat lunch, the same one who is in the photos. He invites us to sit down and welcomes us to Thailand by giving us each a beaded bracelet from a bag. In Thailand you mush always stay lower than a monk and also never touch their hands or clothes. This monk seemed very carefree and had a childlike glimmer in his eyes. He explained to us why meditation is so important and led us in a ten minute silent meditation. It was a real treat to be able to do something like that.

The very top of the temple

Inside the cave

Following that tour, we briefly stopped to bathe "Thai-style" (fully clothed even if you are wearing jeans, which of course none of us were, but many Thais do) at a natural spring. After climbing through the temple and walking around in the powerful sun, it was a welcomed treat to cool off. Because of work obligations the next day we were unable to visit the bat cave that is usually included in the tour, but mai pen rai, maybe next time.