Southern Thailand

Railey Beach, Thailand

We capped off our incredible SE Asia adventure, with five glorious days at the most breath-taking beach we've ever laid eyes on. Accessible only by longtail boat, Railey Beach was a little crescent of white-sand paradise!







We stayed on the east side of the Peninsula, Railey East, at the Ya Ya Resort









Our days were filled with sun bathing and lots of body surfing!




In rolls the monsoon... luckily the storm only lasted about 30 minutes, and the rest of our stay was filled with sunshine!




Enjoying lunch later that day=)




Our new favorite desert... coconut sticky rice... MMMMMMM!!!

Charmed by Chiang Mai

Three days of relaxing in Chiang Mai, Thailand has been good for us! After our exhilarating and exhausting Gibbon Experience, we spent one more night in Laos, before crossing the Mekong in a long-tail boat and catching the bus to Chiang Mai. Our first night we took it easy and wandered around the town in search of a Middle Eastern restaurant fellow travelers were raving about. Not too far from our guest house we found Jerusalem Falafal... a hole in the wall eatery that serves some of the best fresh pitas and hummus known to man! (We've eaten there three days straight!) After stuffing ourselves with a fabulous array of Arabic and Mediterranean foods, we waddled to the massage parlor for an hour of relaxation. The next two days were very lazy... a lot of time spent reading, napping, playing cards, and wandering around the city. We also changed accommodations, and moved to a much cleaner and more affordable guest house just up the road from the first. We are in a great location in town... steps away from restaurants (most importantly, Jerusalem Falafal), shops, massage parlors and Internet cafes. We really love Chiang Mai. Its just large enough to be interesting, but small enough to explore on foot. A man-made creek encompasses the center of the city, and crumbling sections of the wall that once enclosed Chiang Mai still stand.
Yesterday evening we had a great time exploring the night market. Many of the stalls were pushing the same old t-shirts and "copy bags" you'd find anywhere in the country, but there were many beautiful and unique items that we hadn't come across before. A highlight for me was finding my favorite wrap skirts that I usually pay close to $30 for at Saturday market, for a mere $6- score! A local artist was creating stunning portraits (for those of you Oregonians, his talent matches the man who creates portraits at the state fair). As I looked through his work, I noticed a portrait of a man in a dish dash. The face was very familiar, so I asked the artist who it was. "Sheik of Dubai," he responded. Ha! What are the odds?! As soon as we told him we lived in Dubai he hopped up and began showing us all his drawings of each of the Sheiks... Mohammed, Zaiyed, etc... How funny!!!
Today we started off the morning with coffee and breakfast at Starbucks! It was great to have a little "western" experience after all this time. During the day we took part in a cooking class at an organic farm just outside of town. We started by going to Chiang Mai's largest market to pick up a few items that weren't found on the farm. Northern Thai cuisine is certainly different from the "Thai food" we know back in the states. Bulgy frogs, pigs' heads, and fried insects were just a few of the items for sale that turned our stomachs at the market. The organic farm was beyond charming, with coconut and banana tree-lined walkways, wood-shuttered buildings, and antique wheelbarrows spilling over with flowers. Our instructor first showed us how to make jasmine and sticky rice. Then we moved to an over-water enclosure, and made curry paste. We were able to select from green, red, or yellow curries (We chose yellow). We chopped, diced, and pounded away with our mortars and pestles for a good 10 minutes, until we had created a thick, heavenly smelling paste. With pastes in hand, we moved into a big airy barn-like structure for cooking. Each person had their own prep table and stove. The first item on the list was making our curries from our homemade pastes... yum! It was surprisingly simple (chicken, potatoes, onion, and coconut milk), and I think something that we can make at home. With our curries transferred into crocks for safe keeping, we made Tom Yum Goong soup, with chili-paste, onions, tomatoes, shrimp, gallangal, Thai parsley, and a handful of other yummy ingredients. The last item for our lunch was stir-fried chicken with cashews. After cooking, we returned to the over-water hut and dove in. YUM!!! We all over-ate, but everything was just too good! Afterwards, Isaac and I wandered around the grounds taking pictures, before we returned to the "kitchen" to prepare spring rolls and coconut sticky rice with mangoes for dessert. I'm not sure how the spring rolls turned out... they looked lovely, but we were so stuffed that we didn't try them. We did, however, bring them back with us for later!
Tomorrow we head off for 3 days at the Elephant Nature Park. We are beyond excited!!!

Tree-Swingin' Like Tarzan and Jane!

We just returned from 3 days of tree house living, deep in the Bokeo National Park in Laos. Completely thrilled that we took part in the "Tarzan and Jane" experience, we are more thankful for modern conveniences than ever before! I'll back track a bit...
We traveled from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai on an overnight bus, and are quickly learning that Laos transportation is NOT one of the country's finer points!!! Our "bus" turned out to be a 20-seater van, into which nearly 30 of us packed! We sat in the back row of 4 seats, next to a very large Finnish man. We spread out as much as possible, and he cast his most intimidating scowl at hopeful travelers, but after our first of many pit stops, the bus driver insisted that 4 people should sit in the back and instructed a tiny man come back and sit between us. So, we experienced what it is like to be a sardine for 13+ hours... no wiggle room, in a stinky tin container, and with pocked roads that rivaled our journey from Poipet to Siem Reap. It was not fun, but luckily the road evened out and exhaustion settled in somewhere around 1:00 am, so we were able to get a few hours of sleep. After arriving in Huay Xai we wandered around and found a guesthouse. We tried to "rough it" and booked a fan room, but after 4 hours in the sweltering upstairs enclosure we switched to an a/c room... so spoiled=).
The next morning we piled into the back of a pick-up and headed for the Gibbon Experience in the Bokeo National Park. The windy paved road led to a bumpy mud road, and I was plenty woosy by the time we arrived to the "basecamp" village 3 hours later. Then we set off for the most difficult uphill hike of my life! The Gibbon website prefaces that participants should be prepared for "moderate" physical exertion- let me tell you this hike was NOT moderate! Staring up the seemingly endless mud switchback trails nearly brought me to tears. We arrived to our first stop, the kitchen, panting and dripping with sweat... eww! After a short break and pineapple snack, we put on our zip-lining harnesses and headed back UP, UP, UP!!! The second portion of the hike was slightly less miserable, with intermittent stretches of flat or declining slope. I had been slightly nervous about zip-lining again, but after our exhausting ascent, I was beyond willing to strap myself to a cable and let gravity do the work! The ride was exhilarating! Definitely a Tarzan and Jane experience=). We crossed several more zip-lines, including a loooonnnggg line that boasted breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and valleys, before reaching our home- Tree house #2. Thanks to a tip from a friend, we reserved a private tree house. We even zipped to the front door. So, we've spent the last three days, perched high in a tree, staring in awe at the stunning scenery around us. The main level of our tree house had a mattress, covered by a heavy duty (though not completely reliable) bug net. There were two rattan squat stools and a table, and a shelf for supplies. A trap door in the floor led down to our "bathroom" area, with a sink, shower nozzle, and toilet. The toilet was just for looks... it covered a hole in the platform, and everything that entered the toilet just dropped straight out of the tree house to the ground below... this was quite amusing at times! Dinner was soon delivered, via a pulley rope, and we enjoyed our meal looking over the thousands of trees below us. The sounds of the forest were particularly amazing. The bird calls were melodic, the insect chatter was varied and interesting, and a loud guttural barking noise kept us guessing (we later found out it belonged to a large barking deer- no joke!) The conditions that night were less than pleasant... the bug net was not breathable, so we were soon enveloped in sauna-like conditions, and after several hours we discovered hundreds of ants swarming the head of our bed- ewww!!! After sweeping them away, and swapping our head and feet positions on the bed, we counted our numerous bites (darn bug net!!!), and eventually fell asleep. The next morning one of the guides, Tai, came at dawn and took us on a hike to find animals. Everyone we had met who had participated in the Gibbon Experience hadn't seen or heard the monkeys, so we didn't have high expectations. We wandered through the forest for about 20 minutes, with Tai pausing to listen periodically, before he determined that the gibbons weren't calling and we should head back. We turned around and hadn't been walking more than a minute when we heard a loud whistling sound. Tai froze and whispered, "Gibbons!" We stopped and listened. Shortly after another whistling sound rose, and then another and another. Quick as a shot, Tai was off, jogging up the path after the noise. He dashed off the trail, down an embankment, and we stumbled behind him as best we could. Above our own fumbling, we heard the calls, blending together in almost a siren-like wail, growing louder and louder. Finally, Tai stopped us and we sat. The calls were still going and very close by. We peered through the trees and saw gibbons! They were only about 100 meters away, but a thick wall of foliage stood between us, making it difficult to get a clear look. We sat and listened to their song, and caught fleeting glimpses of the black creatures gliding from branch to branch. It was amazing!!! Several minutes later we heard two other guides approach. Before long the gibbons sensed them as well, ended their singing, and disappeared into the forest. After trekking back to the tree house, we enjoyed breakfast, and opted to spend the day lounging. We napped, read, wrote, played cards, and enjoyed being lazy together. That afternoon lunch was served in tree house #1, so we got out for a bit, and had fun on the zip-lines... I even perfected my one-handed photo-taking technique. That evening a storm rolled in, which was great for clearing the bugs, but leaked water onto our bed (mildew is so NOT pleasant!). We created a bit of a fort with our bug net, half a dozen mosquito coils, and candles, and played cards until it became dark. It turned out to be pretty fun. The fog hung low over the forest this morning, so we opted not to go on a hike in search of animals. We were treated to another beautiful collection of gibbon songs from the comfort of our tree house, however=). Hiking back down the mountain was far less exhausting, and the thought of a shower and bug-free accommodations put an extra spring in our steps. I did manage to pick up a nice little leech on the way down (EWWW!!!) but caught him before he made off with too much of my blood. Our ride back to Huay Xai kept me feeling pretty queasy, but after checking back in to our familiar guesthouse, taking a nice shower, and eating a yummy lunch, I'm feeling fabulous! We had an amazing time at the Gibbon Experience, it was truly a unique and precious opportunity, but we are happy to be back in civilization!
Tomorrow we cross into Thailand and head to Chiang Mai. We're looking forward to a few low-key, unplanned days before volunteering at the Elephant park!
Love and hugs to you all!
Tarzan and Jane =) =)

Divine E-mail?

There is a monk sitting right next to us at the Internet cafe... I didn't know they surfed the net?!?! =)

A Birthday for the Records...

I had a wonderful birthday in Luang Prabang! Yesterday evening we went to Restaurant Brasserie L'Elephant... a charming little French eatery for dinner. The building itself was gorgeous, situated on a corner a block from the river, with wide plank floors, sheer billowy curtains, and soft lighting. We sat out on the breezy veranda as the sun set and enjoyed some delicious champagne- yum! We started our meal with incredible soups. I had the french onion (which rivaled PaPa Hayden's, for you Portlanders) and Isaac had a fabulous cream of mushroom that was made from local mushrooms. For dinner I had a New Zealand ribeye with blue cheese sauce, potatoes, and veggies. Isaac had pork loin with garlic mashed potatoes and veggies. For dessert we had tiramisu and creme brulee with coconut and roasted bananas.... DELICIOUS!!! Who'd ever thought you could eat like that in this part of the world??? Can you tell I'm so excited about the food?!?! After dinner we walked all through the night market. It was a sight to behold! Every night the main street in town closes at sunset and is filled with hundreds of vendors selling beautiful textiles, silver jewelry, paintings, carvings, etc... We wandered through the stalls, but didn't purchase anything. Just wanted to get an idea of what was there, so that when we go back tonight with money we'll be ready. Ha! It was a fabulous day!!!

Laid Back Laos

We flew into Vientiane, Laos yesterday afternoon. Before leaving Cambodia, we spent the morning touring the killing fields and S-21 museum in Phnom Penh... I don't even know how to describe the emotions you experience as you look into the faces of all of those killed during the genocide. Pol Pot was a meticulous record keeper and took mugshots all of his victims. These haunting photos filled many rooms (former prison cells) in the museum. I am very thankful to have spent time in Cambodia, but experiencing the poverty and desperation of the people was so heartbreaking and emotionally draining that I was ready to leave. It was amazing how relaxed Laos is... a completely different atmosphere from Thailand and Cambodia. At the airport we met a really nice young woman named Felicia, who works as a doctor in Australia. We shared a taxi to the guesthouse and spent the evening chatting with her. This morning Isaac and I had a lovely breakfast at a charming little French cafe. Then we headed to the airport and flew to Luang Prabang. What a gorgeous little town!!! All of the buildings are literally nestled in thick emerald foliage, along the Mekong River. We had an hour long foot massage this afternoon, and plan to have my birthday dinner at a fancy little French restaurant this evening. We'll be here for a few days and are looking forward to exploring. The night market is supposed to be the best in SE Asia, so we are very excited to do a little shopping! So far we are loving Laos...

Sweatin' in Cambodia

Leaving the tigers was tough, but we boarded the train to Bangkok (3 hours) early on the 17th and then took a bus (5 hours) to the Cambodian border (well, several km from the border). At this point, the sky turned dark and it began to rain. From that stop, we were transported by tuk-tuk to a stop even closer to the border. As we were getting off the bus we met another American who is currently living in the Middle East (small world) so we all shared a tuk-tuk. We had been chatting for several minutes when Isaac realized he left his camera bag on the bus- YIKES! We asked the driver to turn around, and said a lot of prayers. Luckily we found our bus and the camera bag and its contents were inside- Whew! So, back again towards the border. When the tuk-tuk driver dropped us off a friendly young Cambodian assigned himself as our guide to help us cross the border. He reminded us repeatedly to watch our bags and pockets, for as we approached the border we were swarmed by people, begging, and pulling at our clothes. It was heart breaking. We moved quickly through the departure point, and our guide continued to lead us through the mud and muck, across the border. He offered to arrange a taxi for our transport to Siem Reap (the buses were all gone for the day). We were tired, and well aware that we were likely being pulled into a scam, but decided to allow him to make arrangements. Once in the taxi, we were able to really look at our surroundings... the immense poverty was gut-wrenching. The roadways of rust-colored mud were riddled with potholes and small lakes! People and motorbikes were everywhere, wading through the muck. Many small children were without clothes, in the road, and unaccompanied by anyone. Mud and garbage was piled up against buildings, and in random spots through the road. It is said that an unknown airline is paying an unknown government official to postpone the development of the road, indefinitely. This must be the case, as this road (from Poipet to Siem Reap) sees high tourist traffic. The ride on this bumpy "road" was bone-jarring! Our driver worked to avoid the countless potholes, but it didn't seem to alleviate the bounciness in the least! After another 5 long hours, we were actually hurting from the experience. The paved roads of Siem Reap were heavenly! The town itself appeared quite westernized, with fancy hotels and twinkly lights hanging everywhere. Once inside Siem Reap we made another transfer to a Tuk-Tuk. The "guide" on the tuk-tuk was part of the same company as our first assistant in Poipet. He took us to get cash, and then recommended a guest house. The Green Tree guest house is a large colonial style building close to the center of town. It was clean and the price was right, so we took it. We made arrangements for the driver to pick us up the next afternoon to purchase our tickets for Ankor Wat and to watch the sunset from one of the temples. We had a long glorious sleep that night, and a lazy morning watching the NBA Finals. That afternoon, our driver, Ngo, picked us up and took us to the temples. It was an easy hike, along a lush forest trail, to the temple. Clearly the other tourists in town wanted to see the sunset as well, becuase they were all there! We meandered around and snapped some pictures, but the charcoal skies indicated that rain was fast approaching. We hurried back down the trail, but couldn't beat the downpour. We got soaked! After cleaning up at our guest house, Ngo picked us up and we went to dinner at The Dead Fish Tower. This expansive, ecclectic retaurant had tables on mutlti-tiered platforms, traditional Cambodian dancing, and a crocodile farm! It was great! We invited Ngo to join us for dinner and had a very nice time talking with him about his life in Cambodia. This morning Ngo picked us up at 9, and we headed for Angkor Wat. We visited 3 seperate temples, including the jungle temple where "Tomb Raider" was filmed. The jungle temple was absolutely unreal, with massive trees sprouting from the ruins- stunning! All of the temples were amazing, but the weather was un-godly hot and humid! After touring the temples, we went out into the country to visit a landmine museum. A man, Akira, who was once a child soldier, now spends his days defusing landmines with little more than a stick and cigarette. He has cleared thousands of mines and UXO's. He also started the museum to raise awareness, as well as an orphanage. We actually met a man from the states our first night in Siem Reap, who works with Akira, and told us some amazing stories about his work. After the museum we partook in a little shopping and worked on our bartering skills.
We didn't try too hard, as it just felt selfish to haggle over a dollar or two, when that amount of money could support a family for a day. We did make some good finds, and supported some families=). Whew! What a day!!! Tomorrow we plan to move onto Pnhom Penh for a day or so. After assessing the time needed for travel, we have decided to cut the Vietnam portion out of our trip. We'll just have to add that to our growing list of must-see places=). We plan to fly on to Laos, and spend a week or so there. We will head into Bokeo National Park for our tree-top gibbon experience on the 26th!
Well, I hope my ramblings made sense... I'm trying to recall as much as possible and type quickly!

Tiger Snuggling in Thailand

Yesterday we caught a morning train to Kanchanaburi, about 3 hours west of Bangkok. The ride was a bit bumpy, at one point Isaac's seat even collapsed (he wasn't hurt, so it was absolutely hilarious!) but all in all, third class travel wasn't bad. We each had a big wooden benchseat to ourselves, and the open windows brought in a nice breeze. A few little Thai kids were in the seat next to us, and they enjoyed spying on us over the seat backs and flirting up a storm... very cute!
Before we arrived in Kanchanaburi, a women stopped us and gave us brochures for her guest house. It was right on the river and the same price as all the others in our guidebook, so we decided to give it a whirl. We got a room, in a floating building, right on the water, with stunning riparian views (hehe, like the Hyacinth reference, mom?). The room itself is VERY basic... vinyl laminate from floor to ceiling, a toilet that requires you to pour water down it to make it flush, and our shower is a nozzle in the corner of the bathroom. Very basic, but that's half the adventure!
Yesterday afternoon we went to Tiger Temple. Woo hoo! I'd been waiting to do this for months and months. As we made our way into the Tiger Canyon we could see a mass of people and about a dozen tigers spread out. We decided to purchase the "special" picture package, so that I could hold a tigers head in my lap. I got that and a lot more! Apparently the abbot (head monk) likes to do special poses for certain people, and he must have sensed my extreme love for animals (right?), so next thing I know, the trainers are telling me to lay down next to one of the tigers. He was on his side, snoozing away, and so once I was on the ground he was actually spooning me! Next thing I know, they're bringing his big paws around my head. I was certainly thrilled and frazzled at that moment, and was making sure that I stood very very still as they snapped pictures. When I was back up and reviewing the shots, I was so happy to see that the abbot had joined Isaac behind the tiger for the pictures. Those will definitely be some treasured images. Later, the abbot instructed me to lay my head right on the belly of another sleeping tiger... more thrills! Isaac and I were both surprised by how coarse the tigers were... somehow, we had imagined them being soft and fuzzy, like stuffed animals =). We began talking with some of the long term trainers and found out about an opportunity to join in a training session with all of the cubs, so we were up bright and early this morning, making the trek back to the temple!
The first item on the agenda was breakfast. The monks eat only what is donated to the temple, so we brought some food to add. All of the tiger cubs are brought to the temple, and are present during breakfast. First, four very large 5-month old cubs arrived, and were teathered to columns on one side of the temple. Then, two 3-month old cubs followed, and stayed on the other side of the temple. Then came a basket of four 3-week old cubs! TOO CUTE!!! The first hour of the day was spent playing with the cubs, and having breakfast. Isaac bottle fed Lucky, one of the 3-month old cubs. I was supposed to feed Happy, his brother, but he was not interested in food in the least.
Next, we walked the 5-month old cubs to an open area for their exercise and enrichment activities. Basically, we formed a loose wall with 4 or 5 other volunteers, to ensure the cubs wouldn't wander too far. They were thrilled to be free and play. They were crashing through the bushes, and a few made a couple of charges at Isaac... frisky little cubs! The highlight of their playtime was when all 4 squeezed themselves into a clay watering trough... it was too funny! They had a ball splashing around, and once they were done, proceeded to race to a giant sand pile for wrestling. After their playtime, Isaac and I got the messy, but entertaining job of hosing the cubs down. One was giving my hands kisses as I bathed her.
Afterwards, the trainers had us crawl into a small cage with one of the 3-month cubs. When they first instructed us to do so, we weren't sure what was up. A creative hazing method, perhaps? Happy joined us in the cage for some wonderful snuggling and wrestling! It was amazing how strong he was already, and we had to be on our guard as his attention quickly changed from his chew toys to our boots, calves, hands, etc. Our time spent with Happy was absolutely precious!
The last portion of our day was the exercise the 1 year old cubs... they were BIG! The largest male was the size of a small horse. We assisted in walking them to the canyon, and then stood about 6 feet away as they were taken offleash for playtime. Our protection? Well, two guides with bamboo sticks... that sounds impressive, right? Well, they did their jobs, and the tigers paid us no mind. They dove right into the water and splashed around. They had a ball stalking and pouncing one another, and it made for great entertainment. The immense size and power of these animals is absolutely unreal when they are up close. We spent about an hour watching them swim before returning them to their cages.
The training session at Tiger Temple was an absolutely INCREDIBLE experience that we will carry with us the rest of our lives!!!
On our return from the temple, we had our taxi driver drop us off at the Bridge over the River Kwai. It was heartbreaking to look at the structure, with the background knowledge of how it came to be. It was hard to comprehend that a bridge of that magnitude had been constructed in just over a year.
Catering to the tourists, a little park was developed around the end of the bridge, and was filled with vendors. We walked along the bridge (no guard rails- eek!), and then found a floating restaurant for lunch. The 1.5 km walk back to the guest house was long, hot, and sticky! A shower has never felt better=).
We're heading in the direction of Cambodia tomorrow. Not sure exactly how long the journey will take. It has been a very good few days=).

Our apologies for the lack of photos. We tried to upload more, but kept having problems, and we've already spent a loooong time in this internet cafe. Looks like you'll have to wait to see the really fabulous shots when we come home! ;)

In Case You Haven't Reached Your Cuteness Quota for the Day...

here are our most recent pictures of Safa. He just gets cuter (and bigger) with each passing moment!!!





Lazy Saturday morning snuggle








A bit blurry, but too cute to pass up




Safa loves playing with his tail




BIG stretch!




Miller is so patient=)




You will either find this completely sentimental or totally gross! Safa loves to suckle on my upper lip... a strange discovery, yes. It brings him so much comfort, and stops him from his high-pitched screeching! Any parent would understand my willingness to participate in such an odd habit for a little peace and quiet=)




Attacking Daddy's shorts





The boys at work... this perspective makes Safa look much bigger than he really is!
Again, the shot is a little grainy... still figuring out all the settings on my camera=)




And, its nap time again=)

Musendam Trip

On Friday a group of us went to Musendam, Oman for the day. We met up with Dan, Ashley, Jen, Richard, Chip, the Hart's, the Russell's, and James' cousin Ann, at 6:00 a.m. We hired a driver and a 14 seater van, so spent most of the 3 hour trip snoozing and chatting. When we arrived at the pier, we discovered that the exclusive dhow we had rented would not be exclusive. The Russell's were less than pleased and put up a good fight, but unfortunately we had to share the boat during the second half of our trip. We didn't let this little mishap spoil our trip, however, and enjoyed a great day of lounging, dolphin watching, snorkeling, and swimming!





Dan getting ready for a luau??? =)




Dolphin watching




Relaxing




Richard's first taste of Arabic coffee... we are certain they just strain water through dirty gym socks to make the stuff!




A little modeling...




She knows she's cute;)




Musendam




Momma and baby Arabian humpback dolphins














The men driving the dhows know right where to find pods of dolphins. Two boats often work together to create big, enticing wakes for the dolphins to play in.














Friendly Omanis




After our first snorkel stop




Dan coaching Ashley about jumping off the rock




Her first jump went well, but she hit something (rock or coral?) on the second. Poor thing!


We were highly entertained when the spin-jump competitions started...



Graceful Adam




Not-so-graceful James... he smacked himself upside the head with his own arm =)




Ike




Too cute Teryl


Serious Dan