Phuket Safari

I have registered with the Canadian government that I am in Thailand, and Lucas is doing the same. We are heading to Phi Phi Island tomorrow for a couple days, and if things aren't cleared up by the time we're heading back to Phuket, we're going to be in contact with our travel agent in Korea and see what he can do for us. Everyone here in Thailand are pretty confident that this is going to be over soon. The government here doesn't seem to be moving very fast, but no one seems to be in panic mode here. Flights do leave Phuket for somewhere like Kuala Lampur in Malaysia, so we might see if we can get things diverted to there. But I'll be very sad if I have to do that, because I quite want to go to Bangkok and see the Tiger Temple and Floating market. We still have another week for things to get back to normal, but I'm sure there is going to be quite a backlog of people trying to get out.

We made it to Phuket Town. It is definately a lot shabbier than Patong beach. There are no young and hip beach bums around here, in fact, there really aren't many people at all. I guess it's just a drop off point on your way to Phi Phi or Krabi. We did visit the outside of the hotel that was used in the move The Beach. Lucas and I have been trying to find the book, and we're going to have to watch it when we get back, I think I remember seeing it at his house... When we were leaving Patong, we weren't really sure how to get to Phuket Town. We were going to the bus terminal (that goes here), but then we were told to look for the blue bus on the beach road, and flag it down. We did that, and it was a sawngthaew, which is like a bongo truck with seats in the back. it was only 25 baht, so that was good for me! I kind felt like a chicken being carted around though.

Today, Lucas and I went on a half day "safari" around Phuket island. It was a lot of fun, once it got started. It was only him and I, and the guide was 30-45 minutes late picking us up. And it seemed like it was put together at the last minute, because she had a different brochure than us, and there were some things on there that we didn't want to do. But she made it so we did the good things.

First we went to go elephant trekking. I got to ride on my elephant!! I was a little scary at times because the elephant would go on a steep hill, and we would almost be falling out of our seats! It was a quick ride, but we had a lot to pack into the day. After the ride, we fed the elephants some bananas. They would just take it out of our hands with their trunks. The end of their trunks are quite nimble and like a finger. I got lots of elephant snot on my hands trying to feed them. There was also another elephant nearby that was dancing for us, and when we would take a picture, he would smile. Elephants really are smart animals.

Next was a monkey show. The monkey would put his hands together as if saying sa wa dii khap (hello in Thai). Then he would do random things with a bike, or coconuts. We even got to shake hands with one of them, as you can see from the pictures.

From there we went to a jewellry store. Just like Korea and China, we had to go to some stupid jewelly store and get pressured into buying something. We tried to just look, but of course, someone is hammering on you to buy something, so we just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, which we did.

We then went to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre. This is a place where gibbons (a type of small ape) is made ready to go back into the wild. Gibbons in Phuket have been extinct since the 80's, and people here, even though it is illegal, keep them for pets or as tourist attractions. It was good to see someone taking the time to take care of them. Some of the animals would never return to the wild becuase they had been maimed by previous owners. It was horrible to see.

Beside the rehabilitation centre was a waterfall - Bang Pba Waterfall. It was a little climb through the jungle, but we made it, and it was refreshing to see. There were some people swimming below the falling water. Just just had a quick pitstop there. We then drove to a river where we went in a blow up canoe. The tide was low, and it was a mangrove forest. It was quite peaceful as we were the only ones around. There was a boat nearby that had been brought up the river from the tsunami a couple years back. We had dinner at the owner's house, and it was lovely. I love how so many things here are served with an orchid for presentation. At the house, the owner had many orchid plants, just growing wild. I keep thinking how expensive orchids are back home, and here, it's nothing. We even had a visitor frog and many geckos throughout dinner. The road out to this place was insane. A small dirt road, that was pretty much potholed throughout. The poor van we were in.... Lucas said that the van reminded him of the Suburban, becuase of the smell, and diesel, and the way that it drove.

I find it very interesting in Thailand that the majority of business have a small shrine outside, or inside, the store. They all have incense burning and offerings. There are also always a picture of the king and queen. In houses, over bridges. He is definately loved. It is unfortunate though that he is doing nothing about the protests at the airport. I can't believe that they have gone on this long really. An airport, especially for Thailand, is extremely important. Another interesting thing is that you can buy birth control pills here in the aisle of a drugstore. You don't need to talk to a pharmacist or anything. Just walk in, do to the aisle, and pay. Easy. Imagine trying to do that in Korea where you have to go to a pharmacist just to get a 10 pack of tylenol or IB profin!!! Guys in Thailand seem to have insane nails. Either their thumb, or pinky will have a ridiculously long nail on it. Seems like something that would be perfect for cocaine. I highly doubt that's the case considering the laws about drugs here. I've discovered that I really really like Tom Yum soup, a red sweet and sour soup that is beyond. Thai food is awesome!

Patong Beach

beautiful

creepy kitty eyes

hahahahahahah, YES! I got to hold him. Then the guy took my picture, and tried to get money from me. Heck no, 3oo baht for a polaroid? You are crazy. And we walked away with this picture from my camera before he knew it. I want one.
In Saigon Airport, the onlky place where Lucas could find a drink. How much was it you ask? 1 USD? 2? NO, he paid 3 USD for a can of Sprite. It was good though.

Oh my goodness. This situation in Bangkok is a little unnerving. We're currently on Phuket island, and are not going to attempt to make our way up to Bangkok for about a week. I'm just hoping that this situation is resolved so we are able to fly out of the country...not that I want to leave. But I don't know what to do about this ticket I have, or where to go for information. There is a man beside me trying to talk to whoever sold him his ticket to get home, trying to change it to fly out of Phuket, to any country that will fly him home (I'm definately eavesdropping), but he's having A LOT of problems. We are watching BBC and Aljezeera News every chance we get to see what new is happening. For the time being, we are okay, and heading to Phuket Town tomorrow for a couple nights. We're not sure if we are going to go to Krabi first, then Phi Phi (Phi Phi is smack in the middle of Krabi and Phuket). We need to figure out in the next few though because we are going to book a hotel for Phi Phi at least.

We left Ho chi Minh City with a little bit of a drawback. Lucas had bought a souvenier at Cu Chi Tunnels, a plane made from old bullets, and they held it in security, called us back, and then took it from him. I can see why, but why would you sell that to the tourists, if you're going to have it taken away in the first place? Also, Lucas didn't have his "departure card" for the Vietnam customs. He threw it away. I was going to throw mine away too, I didn't know that we had to keep it, no one told us anything. But I tucked it away to do outside of the country. Lucky me! So Lucas was sweating a little, until I went up to one of the immigration officers. We got things sorted, but in midsts of everything, they were harrasing Lucas a lot about marrying me. It was pretty funny. One guy asked me if he was my husband, I said no, then he said "I assume you are of age". Yeah, like that. And I said of course, so then he was all on Luc's case the entire time we were trying to get Luc on the other side of the desk.

I got my first sunburn today! It was sunny, and really really hot for the morning at least. It was nice knowing we weren't going to have to switch hotels (which we did yesterday cuase the first one was not for us). So we just spent the day at the beach. It was fantastic. We ate at a restaurant that has it's tables in the sand, and we went right in time because there was a quick shower, so we huddled under our umbrella. I don't think I've seen so many topless women in one place as I have today on the beach. And why, might I ask you, are they all so OLD? There were no young people sunbathing topless, no I think you had to be a part of the 55+ club for that. We bought a Thailand guidebook for more informationt than our one on SE Asia could, and those topless ladies are committing a Thailand faux pas! You can also tell who is European and who is not because of the choice in swimsuits: banana hammocks vs. swim shorts. I'm all for the swim shorts, thank you.

Patong is definately a party town. At night, it comes alive with it's million bars, go go ladies and lady boys. Then you see the sunburnt tourists buying into the goods being sold on the street (I for one am one of the, I admit). I find it interesting to see all the signs designating at tsunami evacutation route. I was trying to figure out where they go, but they don't see to be useful as many of the signs point you to go parallel with the beach. I would think you would want to be as far from it as possible when the time comes? But that's just me. Thailand also has cats with the freakiest eyes. I cannot turn away from a cat, but sometimes, it's like they are going to give me night mares!

We'll do our best to keep in touch, these computers are pretty old and rickety. They have trouble with simple things. We're keeping an eye on the news, but hopefully this will clear up soon. We miss everyone and are looking forward to being home in a couple weeks!

This is a video of the traffic in Saigon. I could feel the pollution in my lungs from breathing it in for a week. It was like this in Hanoi too.

Thailand - We made it out of Bangkok!

Just a quick note, we made it to Phuket!

We have been watching the BBC news here, and saw that protesters have taken over Bangkok Airport yesterday. We made it out of Bangkok JUST before they took it over. We were very lucky on that one to not be stranded at the airport.

So we arrived in Phuket, and it was dark. So basically we got onto an airport shuttle, herded into a place where we got a hotel for the night. It was interesting though. Every one of the people in the "travel agency" were very hard to distinguish what sex they were. There was one guy who looked like he was wearing some blonde page wig, but I actually think it was his real hair. Anyways, we got a hotel for the night, but it was pretty noisy, so now we have just moved to the hotel beside it, which I think will suit us just fine for two nights. Everyone wants us to pay in cash for the hotels and such which has put a huge damper on my cash. We were expecting to pay Visa for everything. I found out that my bank card works, but I can't take out money on my visa.

We will be in Patong for the next two nights, and then we will move on the Phuket town for a a couple nights I think. From there, we go to Phi Phi, and then perhaps to Krabi. Who knows what is going to happen with the anti-government protests, hopefully, we'll be able to make it up to Bangkok again, and fly back to Korea (though I'm not looking forward to Korea).

It's somewhat cloudy here, I hope it'll getting sunnier. We only saw the beach last night, so we'
re on our way there. We just wanted to let you know that we're okay and not stranded in the airport or Vietnam.

Saigon

We made it to HoChiMinh City (Saigon) with only a short delay at the airport. We were getting a little chilly in Hanoi, but when we got off the plane here, we were punched in the face with humidity and warmth at 10 at night. We eventually found a hotel and the people who run it are just like moms. They make sure we hold our bags properly to make sure they don't get stolen. They did our laundry for us. Always fussing to make sure everything is okay. They're so nice. We're currently in some little internet cafe that smells musty.

Yesterday we went to the Reunification Palace, or Independence Palace. This is where communist tanks crashed through the front gates and South Vietnam fell to the North. Lucas said it looked like a place where you could listen to Jefferson Airplane and do some blow. The decor is very 60's. We also went to a market where I bought some perfume, though the one is a bad knock off that's been drowned out with more alcohol and water, and the other one is alright. The place reminded me of China and Korean markets.

Randomly walking the streets of Saigon, we ran into the Aussie ladies again. They just keep popping up everywhere! We ended up eating dinner with them at the outside market last night. As we were eating, the skies opened up and it rained like I have never seen rain before. It was amazing! Right now it is also raining. I think becuase of the humidity all day, it just gathers and at night, it returns.

Today we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, north of the city. It is here that the VietCong had a vast array of tunnels to hide from the Americans. It's been very interesting learning about the war from the other side. History is written by the victors, right? Even though the Americans didn't win the war, they always hype themselves as the good guys. That's the same thing the Vietnamese do about themselves. We got to shoot a couple of AK 47's. We bought the bullets and went to the shooting range. Dang those things are LOUD!!! Lucas wanted to shoot all of the guns : M1, Thomson, M3, Colt .45, M60, M16, and Russian Machine guns (he's over my shoulder listing them with excitement). We also went to a bar that plays ONLY Gun & Roses. No joke. ONLY GUNS & ROSES. There is only so much of that that one can handle.

Tomorrow we are going to see the War Remnants Museum. Apparently, it's not for the faint of heart as it is a very graphic place to be. I don't think you really get a feel for the way things are if you sugar coat it, or learn in a text book. I learned that when I went to Auschwitz. Also tomorrow, I'm going to get a massage from a place that employs blind masseuses. They have many things around here that help people who would otherwise have a hard time in life. There are places like the one above, and another that teaches street kids to bake so they could make a living.

Lucas and I talked, and we're not going to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It sucks, but we really don't have the time to do that. We decided that we are just going to fly to Phuket. That's a chunk of cash to do so, but I think that it is better this way, and we have a lot more time in Thailand to enjoy ourselves on the beach and see the islands. Then hopefully we'll meet up with a friend in Bangkok - Ben, who I worked with at MoonKkang. We fly to Phuket on November 25 and get in at 5:30. From there we'll try and find a hotel. At this point, it's too late to try and book online. As we found out in Hanoi, we paid WAAAAAY too much online for a night. It's better just to walk in and ask!

Halong Bay

We are back from Halong Bay, one of the most gorgeous places I've been to. I'm glad that Lucas and I opted for the overnight on the boat instead of the day tour. It took us 4 hours to get out there in the first place. The wharf was ridiculous. There were "junk" boats everywhere. Junks are the awesome wooden boats that seem stereotypically Vietnamese. There were so many tourists milling about waiting to get on one of the boats.

The tour that we went on had 12 people, and we all got along great. Many Americans and Aussies. Lucas and I were the only Canadians on board. We got on in time to have Lunch - which was a seafood lunch. Hurray.... At least there was lots of rice, and one other meat dish. And spring rolls, man I love those things.

We start our tour, have some lunch, and then make our way into the karst limestone. They reminded me a little of Flowerpot Island, only more beautiful. There is over 3000 of these islands. All of us had our cameras poised for the entire trip. We made our way to the Cave of Surprises. This is a huge cave that was made a Heritage site by UNESCO (all of the islands are also another UNESCO site). It was amazing! It was also rad to see graffitti on the wall from 1904, and sometimes even earlier! We also went to this pagoda on top of one of the islands, which was 400 something stairs up. Then I went on my first kayaking experience. It was great! We kayaked under this small cave, and into a gorgeous grotto of some sort. You could feel the heat coming off of the water.

Also, because there are so many of these "junks" on the water with tourists, there is major competition between the captains to be the first to unload everyone at various places. So while we were at the pagoda, another boat was "parked" close by us. Then you hear the sound of glass breaking. Lucas and my cabin window had been smashed through. Superb! Just another adventure. We ended up transferring rooms, so we didn't have to deal with that. Apparently though, the crew members had to pay for that out of their own pockets.

This morning we were supposed to go for a swim, and as I was turning around on the ladder to get down into the water, I hurt myself - bad. My knee. As I was turning around, I just heard - and felt - a series of pops. I couldn't move my leg for a moment, and I was scared. I can move it now, but everytime I go down stairs, it's popping, and it aches. I'm scared, and I think I've regressed. I'm glad I'm going to the doctor when I get home. This is putting a damper on things right now.

We found a hotel for the night, and wouldn't you know it, it's on the very top floor, the 5th/6th, and there's no elevator. Fantastic. Tomorrow we're going to see the Temple of Literature before heading to the airport to catch a flight to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). We're probably going to have to buy a ticket to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see Angkor Wat. We don't have enough time to bus from Saigon to Phnom Penh, and everything. And I have to see Angkor. It's a little bit expensive to fly there, but I think we're just going to have to suck it up and do it.

Vietnam - the beginnings

We have arrived in Vietnam - safe and sound! There is so much commotion in this country, it's insane.

We went to Busan the night before - Sunday. That was a hectic day. We had to clear our apartment, get our stuff ready to go, and head to the train station. Luc and I said our goodbyes to Korea the night before. We went out with all our friends and it was great. We didn't get home until about 530. Sunday, we had to transport our enormous amount of luggage to Nadiras house where she had placed just the right amount of room for everything for us. I hope she'll be okay because there is cat hair on some of the bags, and she's allergic. It was hard to say goodbye to Whitney and Neal. They we the first people we met in Korea and the last people we said goodbye to. There were many tears shed, let me tell you. Our "love motel" in Busan and actually not bad. We ended up staying beside the trainstation, which is apparently, one of the more sketchy places in Korea. Full of Russian prostitutes and gangs. But we saw none of that, and it wad fine. It was an early morning to the airport.

We were, of course, the only foreigners on the plane to Hanoi. We also sat beside a woman, with such a cute baby. But the baby was a) sick and b) not liking the plane. So she wailed for take off and landing. When we got to the airport in Hanoi, I was surprised by the size of it! So small, for the capital of a country. Immigration too forever too. There were a lot of Koreans on the plane over, and of course the ajumas (Korean women) butted in line. Our bags took a long time to get onto the belt too, but there were so many other people still waiting, it was okay.

We took the airport shuttle to the Old Quarter where our hotel is. Vietnam used to be under French Colonial rule, and it shows in the artchitecture and language. There are A LOT of French tourists here, and many of the people speak French. Lucas hasn't really been busting out his supposed French Immersion schooling though.

This is the land of perpetual honking. You cannot go literally 10 seconds without hearing honking. There are so many motorcycles around. More so than cars, by far. Mom you would have a heart attack trying to cross the streets. There are crosswalks, but they aren't controlled. You just have to start crossing - slow and steady.

We finalyl found our hotel, after a little bit of searching, and they told us that there are problems with the room, so they have to take us to another hotel just down the street. Turns out its a nice place, and breakfast was pretty good. All the buildings here are tall and skinny, so it's hard to miss, but there are so many hotels and hostels everywhere here.

Last night Lucas and I went to explore Hoan Kiem Lake, which is in the heart of the Old Quarter. There is a temple (Ngoc Son Temple: Jade Mountain Temple) in the middle of the lake that has a giant embalm tortoise on it. Apparently, there is a giant Turtle in the lake, but the last time it was seen was 2006. Legend has it that the turtle took a sword from an emporer (who got it from a god) and he returned it to it's divine origins. We also saw a Water Puppet show. Vietnam is know for it's water puppetry, and it was interesting to watch it. We also saw St. Joseph's Cathedral, which is a stone's throw from the hostel. It's been nice to hear the bells ringing every 15 minutes.

We met a couple of Australian ladies who have been travelling Vietnam for the last three weeks. They have been having a ball here, and had a lot of info to share with us. It's been great. So many Aussies. You either hear Aussie or French.

We are constantly being bombarded by people. "Hello, motorbike?" "Hello, please buy". You have to keep walking. If you stop, they pounce.

Today, we went to see a temple: Bac Ma. It has a statue of the legendary White Horse that an emporer used when he was building the wall...or something like that. We also went to Hoa Lo Prison, which is where John McCain was held as a POW during the Vietnam war. That was an interesting place to see. Very depresssing though.

Tomorrow we are going on a one night - two day tour of Halong Bay. We will be sleeping on a boat, and kayaking, and taking millions of pictures! I'm suuuuper excited to see it. Halong Bay is the place that you see when you think of Vietnam, with the crazy rock formations and the gorgeous water. Friday, we booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh. We don't have time to take a 35 (yes thirty five) hour train from here to there. We are on a schedule. I want to see Cambodia and Thailand!

P.S. Vietnamese food kicks Korean Food harder than hardcore. Soo delicious. I love this country thus far.

And so the journey begins...

Today's the day we leave Daegu. I'm currently in the process of procrastinating (I learned to do that from Lucas). He's sleeping off the goodbye/Luc's birthday we had last night. I'm thinking about getting the pot and pan, and banging them together to wake him up, becuase there is only so much time left. Do you think he would be angry?

Last night we had our goodbye party, and had a lot of fun. You can't go wrong with Sam Gyeop Sal (Korean BBQ) for dinner, then Billibow (remember that mom?) and TBird's (fooseball tables) and then some Noraebang (Karaoke). I had one drink all night, and Lucas....well, he turned 24...

So now, we need to clear the apartment in a couple hours so we can catch our train to Busan. We leave for Vietnam in the morning at 10. I think this trip is going to be quite interesting, I hope we get to see everything that we want.

I'm happy to leave, I'm ready to leave. It's been great, but I want to see my own country, even if it will be freezing and snowy. I have to go shopping as my clothes are reeeeeallllllly tight and ugly and literally have holes in them. Same with Luc's. It's a little difficult to find clothes for someone my size here in Korea as the largest size in stores in a 30 if you're lucky (even in the western chains). I always wonder where the bigger Koreans get their clothes.

So I will see everyone in less than one month! Shanny, Alex...I have a countdown going too~!

Leaving on a Jet Plane in T Minus 4 Days

Luc and I have started packing, the house is a complete disaster. It feels weird packing up. We've been in Korea for almost a year. We have so much here. We're packing for our trip to Southeast Asia, and it is so hard trying to figure out what I'm going to need for three weeks and fitting that into one backpack. I know I'm going to forget something, but as Luc keeps telling me, we can buy it there. That is true. I'm probably going to have to buy another bag along the way just for the things I will acquire. I like to buy things. We are trying to sell some of our things, like bookshelves, and stereos. Some has gone, but there is still a lot to go. It is amazing how much we (I, really) have bought since being here.

I'm am looking forward to coming home. It is time. I'm needed back home, as well. This has been a great experience, but it's time.

Thank you everyone who supported us coming out here, and pushing us to do so.

We leave Sunday to go to Busan, and Monday we fly to Vietnam. I'll be trying to upload my pictures and blog when I can. We're not sure about anything that we're doing over there, so it could get interesting.

We're back home to Canada on December 13th, one month away!! Ahs sah! (That means Hurray!)

Rememberance Day in Korea

Actually, in Korea, they have a Memorial Day but that is June 25th. This is a day in memorial for their soldiers of the Korean War.

November 11th IS a holiday in Korea. It's a holiday that many people enjoy. It's a happy holiday. It's a sweet holiday. The stores have window displays and extra tables set up in preparation for this day. It's Peppero Day!

Peppero is the same as Pocky. Who knows what Pocky is? It's something I remember getting at friend's houses in Richmond, but never getting it at home. They are small thin breadsticks that have been dipped partially in chocolate, or strawberry flavour, sometimes with nuts put on too. They are mega delicious!

Our somber Rememberance day is their commercial candy day! I should be getting a few packages from my students.

Luc and I were walking around E-Mart when it struck us it was Poppy time. I felt a little bad becuase there was so much Peppero around, it distracted me from knowing what time of the year it was.

Time is going by so quickly! Luc and I have only one more week of teaching left. This last week went by ridiculously fast, I can't believe it's already over. I have a ball of anxiousness in my belly now, knowing I have one week of teaching left. And then we go to Vietnam. Oh Lord, is it already that time again? What is it going to be like being home again?

Goodbye Kitties

Good bye babies... :( I miss them

Happy Hallowe'en