inbetween states

240 dollars worth of puddin'

2008-09-24T11:12:00.007+09:00

We had our first dinner party a few weeks ago. You can stop laughing. B and I are not entertainers, so yes, this was the first attempt.

Maybe it was longer that a few weeks ago, but since the school year started, I can't really say exactly. One big blur of 6th graders now. Anyway, we sent out e-vites and had 8 people over to eat vaguely Southeast-Asian themed food. Basically, our favorite foods that we ate and cooked while we lived in Asia. Our friends created many of the dishes and brought them over for a night of food and Rock Band.

B decided to contribute black rice pudding for dessert and we prepared it a night in advance. Black rice, palm sugar, coconut milk and fresh bananas on top. We doubled the recipe so we could give everyone a taste. Yummy, right?

Well, this pudding took on a frickin' life of its own. We used our big red pot and a wooden spoon and the rice sucked up all of the water and the rice was still hard so we started adding more. And more and more. We were drinking and chatting while I stirred with a wooden spoon, which was actually starting to get difficult as the pudding level rose.

We must have made a wrong turn somewhere, because before I knew it, I was having to use both hands to stir this full hot cauldron's worth of pudding. We filled up two shelves in our refrigerator and still had to throw about 10 cups away. Brad said that we made 240 dollars worth of puddin'.

flash of self-awareness

2008-01-22T14:20:00.000+09:00

You know how once and a while you just stop and realize that some mundane part of your day that you take for granted is actually pretty ridiculous?

I grumble about it and then go through the motions every Sunday night creating my weekly parent/student newsletter. I call it: The Herrera Herald (aka"The Herrerald").

Anyway, I typed the heading and it dawned on me what kind of job lets people write weekly newsletters, much less those called The Herrerald.

you say it's your birthday?

2007-11-04T11:38:00.000+09:00

...it's my birthday too!

Last year on my birthday I had food poisoning. In Laos. I ended up loosing 14 pounds the hard way and taking an emergency flight to Bangkok.

It can't get worse that that, you say?

Oh, the gods can top that. Yes, indeedy.

This year I will be taking 58 6th graders camping for 5 days. Nov. 5th-9th. They are so excited they could spit and I am trying to enjoy my last few hours before hearing the inevitable "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" in the car, in my sleep, in my head.

a year ago today

2007-09-15T01:25:00.000+09:00

Groups

2007-09-07T10:02:00.000+09:00

Our color-coded groups are self-named, can you guess the color of each group's name tag?

- Hot Chili Peppers
- Tasty Tangerines
- Rockin' Whales
- Tropical Birds
-Giant Hamsters
- Sour Apples
- IPODs

mah biscuits are burnin'!

2007-07-26T02:44:00.000+09:00

There's more than one way to burn the biscuits, as any good housekeeper can tell you. I can think of two ways right off of the top of my head:

1. Ignoring the recommended oven temperature in your cookbook will usually do the trick.

but if not

2. You can always burn the proverbial biscuits by doing your ironing in your underwear. One slip of the hand...

...which is what happened today. Yowch.

trikes aren't just for kids

2007-07-22T05:34:00.001+09:00

Within the past few weeks we've managed to clean out the garage and find bikes to fill it with.

A's bike is a nearly immaculate 1973 Schwinn Collegiate complete with sparkly green grips. All she needs are new brake pads and to true the front wheel.

Mine is a Schwinn Town and Country trike, but I'm not sure of the age. It needs considerably more work and is odd to get used to. Still, it should be a great bike for trips to the farmers' market on Sundays and the independent grocery store nearby.

A's bike

B's trike

banana fanna fo fett

2007-07-22T05:13:00.001+09:00

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=14177135552740615172

commercialism and piracy

2007-07-22T03:50:00.000+09:00

There are strong ties between commercialism and piracy, apparently. It's a bittersweet connection as I see it. I could do without much of the Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) movie marketing and the changes to the Disneyland ride of the same name. I think I'll listen to the ORIGINAL soundtrack on my iPod next time I sail through those waters.

Still, I can't help but enjoy some of the products of the POTC marketing juggernaut, such as specially stamped M&Ms. Regarding the other two pictures, I've been fascinated for most of my life by pirates, as established in an earlier blog post. In the past few years I've picked up a few of the pirate-themed toys I either (1) wished I had or (2) wish I'd kept. The availability of such toys is partially attributable to the POTC phenomenon, and I suppose I'm thankful for that.

The first POTC movie was enjoyable. The second failed to entertain me as I attempted to drown out the late-night noise of the disco down the street in Phnom Penh, and I dread the third installment. I never expected to tire so of Mr. Depp.

For all you land-lubbers who this post failed to enthrall, walk the plank! And for those of you who take your piracy too seriously, yes, I know that the plank device was scarcely if ever used. Yo ho!

home economics

2007-07-17T07:12:00.000+09:00

Just tallying receipts for the week and realized that we spent over 1/3 of this week's food budget on booze. Whoops! I guess we will survive. Beer is a food, right? I think I read that somewhere- Betty Crocker?

study session

2007-07-14T02:03:00.000+09:00

So, when you are a public school teacher, you have to take classes (about teaching) to renew your credential. 15 units every 5 years. You pay for this yourself and do it on your own time, but the bonus is that every 15 units you get to move over a step on the salary schedule, which more than makes up for the cost of the 15 units.

I recently discovered independent courses offered through University of San Diego. I am (foolishly?) trying to take 13 units this month. Don't laugh, I have all but finished 6 of them and still have energy a-plenty left over for all sorts of other stuff.

The independent part is the toughie for me. No master of self-discipline, I have taken many a study break to find myself doing things that seem crucial in the moment but really who am I kidding?

Yesterday's study break: Self-haircut.

I needed some fringe right then, apparently. Bangs or death!

I thought I did a pretty good job- here's a close up of the family nose more than the bangs. Taking pictures of your own face isn't always accurate.

So, more than anything else, this is a cry for help. I will be attempting to chain myself to the computer for the next couple weeks. If you feel like contributing to truancy- give me a call!

5 a day

2007-07-09T06:36:00.000+09:00

We just got schooled by a 4 (and a half!) year-old. According to Miss L, the "5 good food groups" are:

1. bacon
2. donuts
3. milk (+ chocolate milk)
4. pizza
5. gum

I personally really enjoy the gum group, but can't say that I ever eat from the bacon group. Tell me the truth, is my diet unbalanced?

a shift

2007-06-28T01:22:00.000+09:00

Just got offered the position that I was holding out for. I will be teaching in Davis next year. It looks like I am no longer "unemployed", I am now "on summer vacation". Whee!

boundaries

2007-06-21T03:23:00.000+09:00

The job search continues... One thing I can say about it as a learning process is that it is giving me plenty of opportunities to "define my boundaries." *Insert new age flourish here*

I think I am going to turn down the first offer. Which seems like a risky thing to do. I was feeling so desperate before this week that I never thought I'd write that, but when it's not right, it's not right. My time and life and are worth more.
At least to me!

so I married a pirate

2007-06-17T14:16:00.000+09:00

B has always been a pirate.
We are talking several Halloweens in succession.

This business started up again at Disneyland last month.
B wore pirate headgear at the park.

I wasn't sure I could get in the spirit.
It turns out I could.

I decided to take my pirate on a date this morning.
To the Northern California Pirate Festival, where else?

We pillaged a falafel tent and enjoyed sitting on the grass.

Watched the seadogs saunter by in their finery and then headed home.

If we start going to Startrek conventions, please do an intervention.

domestic goddess

2007-06-06T14:15:00.000+09:00

She thought she was answering the call of the wild, but really it was only the plumber.

fruits of our labor...or somebody's

2007-04-19T07:31:00.000+09:00

This is just to say CONGRATULATIONS to our lovely friends in Japan who just had their baby. In Japan!

We suspect this lucky guy was conceived after drinks and dinner during one of our last visits to their house, so we feel partially responsible. Well, maybe not responsible, but quite proud all the same!

Little EJS doesn't know how good he's got it yet, but he has truly lucked out with his tiny existential roll of the dice. Two of the nicest people ever, people that both B and I feel should be parents. We wish there were more Miss Yakis and Cs out there and now there are!

honey I'm home

2007-04-16T14:28:00.000+09:00

The last week was productive. B now has a job that starts at the end of the month and we rented a tiny old house in a part of Sacramento that I have always wanted to live in. Cute older homes with tons of character, mature trees, and good parks/restaurants/shops within walking distance.

After 9 months of living out of bags, I am really excited! We move in to the place in less than two weeks! I have never lived in a house before- I can't quite wrap my head around the idea yet. Here's the visual:

trees of mystery

2007-03-18T05:11:00.000+09:00

I know when people think of California, they usually think of Hollywood and the beach. Those of us from Northern California know that we have it made, too. It is gorgeous up here and I have the pictures to prove it!

For me, a lot of it has to do with the trees. As you travel north along the coast, there are giant redwoods waiting to greet you.

And for those of you who can't imagine, they are REALLY big.

There are beaches up here, too, by the way.

The rivers that cut through the rock and forest are almost unnaturally blue.

And there's Mount Shasta ready to greet when you finally cut inland through the forest .

Anyway, the last two weeks have reminded both us us how special this part of the world is. It may be a bit out of your way, but definitely worth a visit!

thans but no thans

2007-03-18T04:46:00.000+09:00

We bunked down at the Travelodge in Eureka for one night this week.

A real vintage charmer! 50 bucks a night will get you the following nifty features...

"rustic" radiator

Acne-scarred toilet seat

The best plastic flowers Eureka has to offer

Classic paisley comforter

Let's see that pattern up close!

Are we interested in a long-term stay? Thans but no thans.

another roadside attraction

2007-03-18T04:23:00.000+09:00

The vagabond lifestyle continues. In the past two weeks, B and A have traveled over 2,000 miles in their car.

Being car-gypsies can take its toll, so in an effort to make more of an anthropological study of their time on the road, B and A decided to stop and ponder the bits of Americana that they passed along California's highways and byways.

Does anyone really stop at these things except us?

Clearly, Cliff was here before us.

Mighty redwoods demand some car-tree-human interplay.

An even mightier Paul Bunyan confers with his bull, Babe, about how to best transform all these stinking trees into millions of toothpicks and disposable chopsticks.

finding a home

2007-02-27T10:56:00.000+09:00

We're in the process of finding someplace to settle down and have set out in our recently-purchased used car to preview or review the locales under consideration.

Northern California is green, green, green at the moment and we'd like to share the scenery with you including random shots of my favorite backyard and a photo with my parents while off on a wine-tasting tangent.

razr burn

2007-02-13T15:42:00.000+09:00

After a 2-and-a-half-year hiatus from cell phones, we are back where we started. Our recent family-plan cell phone subscription has left us feeling a little bit like the dorky kid who, finally finding the right toy, has suddenly become cool ... and is too surprised to respond in a socically competent way.

Our twin cell phones even have a silly name: "Razr." We can't decide if we love them or hate them, we just know they are getting attention. "Oooh! You got Razr." No, not kidding. They look like standard cell phones to us, having recently returned from technologically advanced Japan. (Everyone we knew but us owned a fancy cell phone there.)

We thought we were buying cheapies, but in our reverse culture shock stupor the razr-salezman may have shaved us.

quote of the day

2007-02-08T15:38:00.000+09:00

"I've got on my space diapers and I'm stalkin' you, babe!"

-my mom, eyeing someone with excess sugar cookies in his possession.

It's good to be back home!

looking back

2007-02-04T11:30:00.000+09:00

Now that we’ve returned it is time to summarize our trip. What better way to do it than by calculating the number of...

Miles / kilometers flown: 22,300 / 37,000
Hours flown: 47
Items confiscated at airports: 2
Countries visited: 7
Pictures taken: 1,300
Extra suitcases brought home: 3
Plates of fried rice consumed: 125
Bouts of food poisoning: 2
Bouts of travelers’ diarrhea: 16
Trips to the doctor: 3
Crooked taxi drivers encountered: 74
Scary bus rides: 7
Friends met along the way: 6
Transvestites our friend danced with ... misjudging: 1
Cases of Malaria among our friends: 1
Elephants seen: 10
Mosquitos swatted: 1,120
Monarchs and former US Presidents spotted: 2
Blog entries: 60

ayutthaya

2007-01-30T22:08:00.000+09:00

We cheesed it up today, trying a guided tour of Ayutthaya, near Bangkok. We were getting down to the wire and two previous attempts to get there had to be scrapped - once because of illness and once because of train delays. So we did it the easy way!

A minibus picked us up at our door and dropped us off again at the end of the day. We enjoyed a morning of sightseeing and a leisurely afternoon cruise down the Chao Phraya river. This was our last "new" excursion before returning to the States. Tomorrow we'll have one last chance to revisit some of our favorite Bangkok spots.

Thanks for joining us for the ride these past 4 months!

Ayutthaya style tuk-tuk

Lotus buds

Riverside house

Touring palace grounds

buddha overload

2007-01-30T21:56:00.000+09:00

It was Buddha overload in Ayutthaya today. These are just a few of the depictions we saw:

accessibility

2007-01-29T21:48:00.000+09:00

Near the place we called home in Chiang Mai was a center devoted to helping those with physical handicaps. Out front was this ingenious motorcycle, adapted for wheelchairs. The handlebars and controls are relocated over the sidecar to allow the wheelchair user to drive the cycle. A passenger can still sit side-saddle (as many do in Thailand).

the monkey within

2007-01-19T18:08:00.000+09:00

This week, I took the opportunity to experience a meditation mini-retreat through Wat Suan Dok in Chiang Mai. Most retreats I've seen require a 7 or 10 day committment from participants which I found rather daunting. As soon as I read about the less frightening opportunity Wat Suon Dok offers, I hurried over to sign up. It is an overnight introduction to Buddhism and meditation perfect for beginners like me.

The retreats take place at the International Meditation Center (IMC) outside of the city. Incidentally, it was within a half mile or so from our cooking class. 23 of us from about 10 different countries trucked out to the IMC. The campus is brand new and beautiful. It consists of 4 main buildings - residence hall for participants, residence hall for monks, large meditation hall and dining hall / office. The grounds are spacious and very quiet during the daytime. Surprisingly, the rooms were the nicest I've tried in Thailand except for the lack of hot water. Each had 2 twin beds, so we all had a roommate. The rooms were sex-segregated.

After taking late afternoon showers and donning our white robes, we went down for dinner where our temporary vows of silence began. Following dinner, we meditated. I think we did about 2 1/2 hours that evening and 2 hours the next morning.

The meditation we practiced can be broken down into 2 categories: insight and concentration.

One of the ways I've seen Buddhist insight meditation commonly described is the observation of one's "monkey mind." The idea is that one's mind constantly leaps from place to place and makes mischief, rarely resting and always resisting attempts to tame it. By observation, at the very least one may learn about the workings of one's mind - the games it likes to play, the patterns it follows, and so on.

Concentration meditation is focusing on something (like prayer beads or an object) or focusing on an activity (like walking, moving one's hands in patterns.)

None of the sessions were particularly taxing. We alternated between sitting and walking meditation mostly (switching every 30 minutes or so) with some laying meditation to finish the evening.

In addition to meditating, we tried chanting in Pali (to show respect for the Buddha, his teachings, and his disciples.) One of the participants led us in some yoga bright and early in the morning, but I found the breathing difficult to understand. The staff taught us about offering alms to the monks. We had an opportunity to break silence and talk with the monks in the morning for about an hour, but otherwise maintained silence until leaving the IMC.

My experience was much less rigorous than a typical retreat as I:
Didn't have to follow many of the usual rules (just silence.)
Was able to eat 3 meals a day (participants and monks don't usually eat after noon.)
Was able to get up late at 5 AM (I think 3 AM is the norm!)
Didn't have to meditate constantly (the typical expectation is even the most mundane of tasks are done mindfully, a form of concentration meditation.)

Still, it was the perfect icebreaker and I am very interested in learning more about meditation practice.

Here's the website, although the details are few:
http://www.monkchat.net/index.php

retreat pictures

2007-01-19T17:56:00.000+09:00

Here are pictures taken by the staff during the mini-retreat. The resolution isn't great, but it is nice to have them!

Sitting meditation

Chanting

Standing

Talking with the monk

Giving alms

Group photo

tackling the mean green mystery

2007-01-14T21:25:00.000+09:00

We finally solved the mean green mystery of what exactly goes into green curry paste. We'll bid adieu to canned pastes and make our own from scratch! We've read about how to make these pastes before, but never created them under the watchful eyes of Thai tutors ... until now.

We pulverized fat green chilies, tiny red ones, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, shallots, Thai long ginger, and kaffir lime peel, finding ourselves with a reasonable approximation of green paste that went on to make a fine curry. Here are the ingredients, minus the small red chilies:

Other dishes we made today included tom yum soup (ingredients below), Thai basil chicken, chicken with cashew nuts, spring rolls, and bananas in coconut milk.

Thai basil is quite different from the basil back home, smelling and tasting similar to licorice. Kaffir lime is also different from the lime I grew up with. It has a bubbly / wrinkly exterior and a stronger, more lemony taste. Unlike limes in the US, the leaves also have a strong scent and are used in cooking.

One last picture of me in the kitchen - I almost look like I belong there.

life in a northern town

2007-01-14T21:15:00.000+09:00

The following shots will help illustrate the culinary life of northern Thailand. All these pictures are from this morning's market tour preceeding our cooking class.

Fruits

Meats

Rice varieties

Sweets

Treats wrapped in banana leaves

animal antics

2007-01-09T22:17:00.000+09:00

One of the main reasons we visited Singapore was to experience its fabled Zoo and Night Safari. The monsoon rains graciously remained in the heavens and we enjoyed a pleasant day and evening at these 2 neighboring parks.

One of the best features of both parks is that many of the animals are kept in enclosures that appear to have no bars and few fences. Some of the animals you're allowed to touch, and vice-versa.

We got in the faces of fruit bats and lemurs, stared warily at hungry leopards and komodo dragons, hopped with kangaroos and laughed with satisfaction to watch flying squirrels do what they do best.

sparkling singapore

2007-01-09T21:58:00.000+09:00

The stereotype of Singapore is an extremely clean city with many prohibitions. Our weekend visit upholds this 100 percent. From the streets of Little India to the alleyways of Chinatown it felt like we were walking through different "lands" like you would find in a Disney park - Indialand and Chinatownland ... and the uber-synthetic Beachland. See for yourself...

it's good to be the king

2007-01-04T22:05:00.000+09:00

This evening, as we left our alleyway and turned on to Rama 1 Road, the street was deserted and police were asking pedestrians not to climb the stairs to the Skytrain station. Given the recent bombings in Bangkok, we were concerned at first. Then a motorcycle taxi driver explained that the King would soon be driving by!

The King of Thailand: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhumibol_Adulyadej

I wanted to take out the camera and photograph the motorcade, but with the current situation in Bangkok I deemed that unwise. The king and his security detail passed by only a few feet from us.

Who will we see next???

myanmar morning

2007-01-04T21:22:00.000+09:00

On December 28 in the afternoon we went to the Myanmar (Burma) border at Three Pagodas Pass, about 10 miles from Sangkhlaburi and the orphanage. As promised, there were three rather puny pagodas and a lackluster market.

Still, that age-old curiosity about the other side of the fence spurred 4 of us to return on the morning of the 29th when we'd have enough time to explore Phayathonzu.

What we found was worth the effort. The market on the other side was full of the longyis (skirt-like wraps) that Burmese men and women wear, the pigmented sticks they use for sunscreen and makeup, the mildly intoxicating betel they chew, and so much more.

Near the market, we heard children singing and followed the sound to a Spoken American English school where the teacher invited us in to chat. He bought us all cokes and had the students (of various ages) serenade us with Baa Baa Black Sheep and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. What an unforgettable morning!

more myanmar

2007-01-04T20:58:00.000+09:00

Three more pictures that wouldn't load for the last post.

baan unrak

2007-01-01T13:00:00.000+09:00

Well, we have returned from the week at the orphanage Baan Unrak. It is in the mountains that run along the Thai / Myanmar (Burma) border and houses 112 children, the majority of whom are either Burmese refugees or from hill tribes (or both). These kids, surprisingly, are thriving well on very little. It was an inspiring visit.

A few entries follow to give you a taste of it. 19 volunteers organized Christmas activities on Christmas Eve and Day, an Environmental Day extravaganza at the local elementary school, 2 days of teaching at the elementary school, and lots of general play.

So come along with us for the Baan Unrak teaser. This way to the orphanage ... watch your step!

FYI, the new orphanage site is http://www.baanunrak.org/.

faces of baan unrak

2007-01-01T12:59:00.000+09:00

Warning: These kids' mugs are so cute they'll make your eyes bleed.

environment day

2007-01-01T12:58:00.000+09:00

Our group organized a community Environment Day based at the elementary school but hosting children from all over the area. Kids made creative art from recycled materials, did a trash pick-up and played lots of environment-centric games. Brad was in charge of bottle bowling, of course.

teaching 1

2007-01-01T12:57:00.000+09:00

The two of us worked primarily with the kindergarten and nursery children at the home and at the school. We taught at the school for 2 mornings and worked on craft activities at the home throughout the week.

teaching 2

2007-01-01T12:56:00.000+09:00

2007-01-01T12:55:00.000+09:00

There is so much more to show and tell, but we want to do it in person. We'd like to do a bit of fundraising to sponsor a child ... or more.

The Baan Unrak home is an amazing model and we're hoping to host a few information nights when we return so you can see the facilities and hear about all the details. We'll feed you some yummy Thai treats as an incentive. Please come!

whew!

2006-12-30T18:49:00.000+09:00

Hello! B and I just rolled up to our guesthouse in Bangkok after a 7-hour bus ride through Thai countryside. We want to quickly let you know that we are back "home" safe and sound after that adventure.

Working with the kids at the orphanage had a profound effect on us and it will take a little time for it all to come into focus. We will tell you all about it. With many pictures. But we must prioritize. Right now we could use a hot shower! And maybe a beer.....or two....

happy holidays!

2006-12-21T17:05:00.000+09:00

Happy Holidays!

Here's the festive Wendy House lobby where we do most of our blogging.

One of the nearby malls.

We just want you all to know that we are thinking about you this holiday season, even though we may not be in touch for a bit. Please keep us in your thoughts as we spend the next week surrounded by hundreds of kids at the orphanage in Thailand (what are we getting ourselves into??).

Love, B and A

fruitcake

2006-12-21T09:29:00.000+09:00

Ok, so no fruitcakes this holiday season, unless you count us! But we have been enjoying various local fruits and I thought I'd give you a wee tutorial today on two southeast asian classics: Durian and Jackfruit.

Durian and Jackfruit are huge on the tree. One Durian/Jackfruit feeds many. The fruits inside break off in segments, each with a seed inside.

Durian is the most famous, mostly for the trademark raunchy smell. A little bit like sweaty gymsocks and a bit like vomit- but don't be put off. If you can actually get the stuff in your mouth, the taste is very mild, creamy and sweet. Because of the smell, it is banned on international flights, in many hotels (see sign), and other public places. But, the Durian remains a favorite in this part of the world. You can enjoy Durian in many forms: ice cream, candies, dried chips, you name it.

Durian: each fruit weighs in at (up to) 11 pounds.

No Durian allowed in Wendy Guesthouse!

If you buy it in a store, this is how the stinkfruit is packaged.

But we still buy it because it tastes so good.

Then there's Jackfruit. It looks similar on the tree, but the size is different. Inside, you find segments, but they are small, dry and rubbery. They look like litttle duck bills! They taste a bit tart, like an apple, with a hint of veggies: say, bok choy. Actually, I think the Durian tastes better, though Jackfruit has a great texture.

Jackfruit is huge: it weighs in at (up to) 80 pounds!

Jackfruit, from the market.

Quackfruit, more like!

For more pictures and information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackfruit

cambodia hodgepodge

2006-12-18T17:50:00.000+09:00

More shots from Cambodia...

A monk and cyclo:

Cambodian food, 3 varieties of a dish called Amok:

Morning clouds over the Angkor temples:

The moon rising over Angkor Wat - this is the best I could do without a tripod:

A remorque-moto, or tuk-tuk as it is more commonly (though incorrectly) known. These were our main source of transportation:

Farmlands near Kampot:

And one of the rural homes nearby:

And a few of the local children:

And peppercorns at a nearby plantation:

friends

2006-12-17T20:47:00.000+09:00

Each day we have been in Phnom Penh this week, we have been eating at a restaurant called Friends. The restaurant is part of an extensive program that houses, feeds and gives vocational skills to street kids. It's an orphanage of sorts, though not just for abandoned children, it's open to most children in the community that need it. The counseling and other services offered for these kids are comprehensive.

The food is fantastic, the teens look great and are doing a great job cooking and serving, so I thought I'd let you know. I bought a cookbook that the restaurant puts out and I cannot wait to cook for you!

Today's Lunch (we had tapas, so the dishes were small):

Pineapple and Thai Chili Margaritas (hot and sweet, mmmm...)
Mushroon and Leek Spring Rolls with Lemon Mayonnaise
Mango Asian Coleslaw with Sesame and Basil
Squid with Onions and Green Peppercorns
Noodles with Shrimp and Lemon
and Steamed Rice, of course!

I think that was it, but over the course of this week we worked our way through the cookbook's selections and are ready to recreate most of the dishes at home.

Here is the link about this group, should you be interested in donating money and/or volunteer work time. They are worth consideration, as I haven't often come across an operation that gives back so directly and avoids the BS:

http://www.streetfriends.org/index.html

all i want for christmas

2006-12-16T16:54:00.000+09:00

Is a Red Panda!

We just watched a show on these adorable little creatures last night. I'll spare you all the details, but check them out on the Wikipedia link below and if possible, watch them on Animal Planet or online.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Panda

Also, a Google image search for red pandas will help you understand their charm.

Another fantastically entertaining show on Animal Planet is a series called Meerkat Manor.

http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/meerkat/meerkat.html

fishbags

2006-12-14T16:25:00.000+09:00

So, we went down to a little seaside town called Kampot for a couple of days with our traveling friends. We hopped on the bus for the 2-hour ride. Which of course took about 5 hours.

Although a longer ride, it was better than our last bus trip where we were completely surrounded by puking (the gal behind us) , the TB-ridden (the couple in front of us), and the ones I like to call Senor and Senorita Poopypants (the toddlers off to our side). True, both the puker and the coughers had little plastic bags to spit their various bodily fluids in, but it didn't disgust me any less. Los Poopypants were not wearing conventional diapers.

So, that said, we enjoyed a day in Kampot and said our goodbyes because this was the last stop for us with our friends. We got back on the 5-hour bus to Phnom Penh the next morning, put our bags underneath the bus with the rest of the luggage and off we went.

I thought we were handling the heat, mosquitoes, infrequent potty stops, hacking TB-carrying busmates pretty well. When we finally pulled up to Phnom Penh, I was feeling like part of a competent, confident team.

That's when we pulled out our bags from the botttom of the bus. They were soaking wet, Brad's pack soaked all the way throughout. With fishwater. Someone was either transporting fish and crab beneath the bus right next to our packs or draining the riverwater-filled AC system into the luggage compartment.

Nothing left to do but put them on, soak through the backs of our clothes, and stinkily find a guesthouse.

We did so.

Unfortunately, after washing the packs in the shower, they still reek. Pretty badly.
Fortunately, our packs just really need a good soaking, in a washing machine. The internal framework comes out and they are washable. Unfortunately, this washing scenario doesn't exactly come around too often in this part of the world.

So, we are on the hunt for heavy trashbags today so we can put our clothes inside our packs, inside a plastic bag in an attempt to control the damage.

What a day.

down to earth

2006-12-09T19:20:00.000+09:00

We are now in Phnom Penh, and today a group of 4 of us went to Tuol Sleng (Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison) and to the killing fields of Choeung Ek.

It was the come-down from our natural high just a few days earlier at the Bayon.

There were signs reminding you not to laugh or smile, but these were largely unnecessary for the foreigners. The only people I saw laughing were Cambodian teens, too young to remember the atrocities and already grown too callous in rough Phnom Penh.

A brief explanation. The Khmer Rouge regime controlled Cambodia during the late 1970s. The regime, headed by Pol Pot, was responsible for killing upwards of a million people in its own country during that time. This example of genocide differs from others (in my opinion) in that people were turning in neighbors and in some cases their own family members. The Khmer Rouge itself was semi-routinely purged during these years, meaning that nobody was safe from their violence. The gruesome brutality of the torture and killings at Tuol Sleng is hard to envision, even with the grainy photographs of victims hanging in the rooms where the bodies were found.

Cambodia today is slowly recovering from the Khmer Rouge and other problems of the last century, but the scars are evident in people who have been maimed, lost limbs or their minds.

This is the former school that became the prison:

These are pictures of some inmates taken immediately prior to their executions. There are rooms full of posterboards with photographs like these of men, women, and children:

Can you imagine someone taking this mother away from her child?:

Or murdering the child?:

The things I have seen in and around Phnom Penh are some of the saddest imaginable.

wild bill

2006-12-06T18:31:00.000+09:00

"A", "B" and college friend Colin ... in the dark heart of Cambodia ... where the Divine, Mystical and Absurd meet, get on famously, and go off for a beer and a pizza ...

Deep in the ancient city of Angkor, home of Angkor Wat ...

Atop the ruins of Bayon Temple ... amidst the dozens of enigmatic smiling stone faces ... on the eve of a full moon ...

We happened to run into Bill Clinton.

Actually, truth be told, we were quasi-engineering the encounter. The night before, our tuk-tuk driver said Mr. Clinton was in town. We joked about finding him, buying him a beer, and talking about a thing or two. When we saw the motorcade blaze through Angkor, we knew we had our man. Avoiding the police, we quickly clambered up the back side of Bayon temple, while Bill and entourage prepared to ascend via the front stairs. Bingo!

The Shake:

"A", unfortunatley outside the frame and in shadows, about to stick our her hand and say "Glad to meet you, Bill!" Many thanks to "B", the resident papparazzo, who sacrificed the documentation of his own handshake for the sake of the job!

The Second Sighting:

Note - Colin's frame-worthy shot was taken by the Secret Service for him. I wish we could take credit!

in the news

2006-12-06T14:08:00.000+09:00

As read on India Daily ...

Clinton takes time out from humanitarian trip to tour Cambodia's Angkor temples
Dec. 5, 2006

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton played tourist on Tuesday with a visit to Cambodia's Angkor temple complex, as he neared the end of an Asian tour of programs to help victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and HIV/AIDS. Dressed casually in khaki trousers and a green shirt, Clinton was accompanied by U.S. Secret Service agents as he toured the archaeological site 230 kilometers (145 miles) northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh. Tourists from Asia, Europe and the U.S. expressed surprise to see Clinton and took snapshots of the former president. Last year, about 700,000 visitors toured the temples, Cambodia's biggest tourist attraction.

farewell, nepal

2006-11-29T22:35:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow we leave Nepal. It is bitersweet for us. The Kathmandu valley is a sensory explosion and we will miss that most of all, but the valley is also a dusty pollution holding pen rivaling ... anyplace we have ever been. Sniff sniff. Am I tearing up, or is that an allergic reaction?

The other day we finally caughed up the miniscule cash needed to buy some down jackets. Our "North Face" duds are the poster children for Fabulous Fakes. Even Vietnam can't match the near flawless tailoring. I say near flawless because sometimes one side of velcro is missing its partner. Oh well. They still zip. So here we are, goofy, and cozy as a couple of marshmallows in a campfire in our name-brand knock-offs.

mountains and more

2006-11-28T16:48:00.000+09:00

The Himalayas aren't particularly close, but with the weather changing, the skies over Kathmandu are clearer and the visibility has improved remarkably since our arrival. In the distance, we can see a few of the peaks while lounging in our room or on the roof. Bodhanath is another place for great views. Below are a few pictures of the mountains and other random things. I am trying to resist the temptation to bombard you with even more images of old buildings!

A close-up of the Ganesh Himal peak from our room:

The same peak as seen from Bodhanath:

The mountains at sundown from the roof of our hotel:

Alicia on our balcony, bundled up and ready for the day:

Saris drying in the morning sun:

Prayer flags at Bodhanath:

clean food, please

2006-11-24T17:02:00.000+09:00

We have done our best to avoid food poisoning, but both of us have succumbed to illness, "A" in Laos and myself in Nepal. We generally avoid all risky food situations possible. To give you an idea of how careful we are, read the rules we try to live by:

Choose restaurants that are clean looking, busy, where the staff looks clean, and there there are few or no flies.
Order dishes that are known locally, simple to prepare, and are cooked fresh.
Avoid reheated, undercooked, or underheated foods.
Avoid raw vegetables and unpeeled fruits (except at reputable places in Bangkok where the water sources are cleaner).
Avoid tourist dishes like nachos, burritos, etc.
Avoid ice cubes and dairy when possible.
Drink only purified water, bottled when possible (this includes toothbrushing).
Use wipes to clean the tops of soda cans and the rims of glasses before drinking.

Now I would like to turn your attention to Bhaktapur. It is an extremely beautiful town not far from Kathmandu where at times you feel like you have stepped back in time a hundred years or more. As such, it is not really capable of providing suitable food for tourists. If you ever find yourself in Nepal, I highly recommend a day trip to Bhaktapur - between meals.

We made the mistake of planning an overnight getaway and in the process had no choice but to eat 2 meals in Bhaktapur. For lunch, we chose a bustling, guidebook-recommended cafe that served some greasy fried rice. Usually, fried rice is as safe as you can get. For dinner, we vowed to try someplace a bit safer. We headed to a much more upscale, also recommended restaurant. After being served some kind of reheated spaghetti lasagne-style in a pyrex dish (which by all logic should have been freshly boiled instead) we decided to pay our bill without eating (an embarrassing experience, I assure you).

Thoroughly uncomfortable by this point, we tried one more guidebook-recommended place and once again tried the old standby, fried rice. I recall commenting that the cooking oil for the rice smelled funny. Famous last words!

"A" avoided illness, probably because she was already taking a course of antibiotics for a sinus infection due to the air pollution in Kathmandu. I was not so lucky. I spent the last couple of days in bed, having fled Bhaktapur as fast as possible.

Today, Kathmandu is gorgeous and I am on the path to complete recovery. We were able to see the Himalayas from our room for the first time. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful that Thanksgiving is over.

trekking

2006-11-19T16:47:00.000+09:00

A large number of the travelers who come to Kathmandu do so in order to go "trekking." We were trying to figure out why the word "trek" has been adopted to define these mountain journeys on foot, as it seems that "hiking" or "backpacking" would suffice to describe the activity.

In my opinion, there is something pretentious about the word "trek." Maybe the difference between trekking and hiking / backpacking is that while trekking some unfortunate "sherpa" carries the majority of your gear and food for you.

patan

2006-11-18T17:40:00.000+09:00

Yesterday we took a taxi across the river and through urban sprawl to Patan and wandered around the Durbar Square there. Don't be too confused, many towns / cities each have their own Durbar Square!

Durbar Square.

Schoolchildren on a field trip.

A sadhu (holy man).

Alleyway near Durbar Square.

A building nearby.

Ice cream shop advertisement.

A flower shop seen on the ride back.

nepal (the first 24 hours)

2006-11-16T16:26:00.000+09:00

Three-wheeled tuk tuks, oval fast-food style hats like the king's, drivers always pushing, pushing for space, rainbow rickshaws, paved roads, rutted unpaved roads, child-sized first floor doorways, sleeping dogs, a dead puppy, dead rats, a dead pigeon, pepsi ads, unintelligible ads: "Like u'n your relation Blue Ship," prayer flag lines, power lines, signs, signs, signs in Thamel, butcher shop with a lamb's head and chicken carcasses in the open air, raw meat on a rickshaw seat, crisp school uniformed children, Tiger Balm hawkers, enthusiastic storekeepers: "I have something to sell to you," kids destroying flower garlands decorating a shopkeeper's doorway - one kid being beaten while others are grabbing at the flowers, a mom flogging her tantrum-throwing child, pairs of same-sex adults or children walking hand-in-hand, spitting, spitting, spitting everywhere, deep indigenous bass music, hip hop David Bowie remix Nepali style, rump shakin' plumper on TV cheered on by a crowd, political reform posters, blue-cammo clad military personnel, cows eating vendors' vegetables, made-up holy men real or fake?, Namaste, Namaste, Namaste, a mom waving up to us as we peek down from our 5th floor window, red blood-like stains in altars, towering stupas and pagodas with intricately carved wooden windows, piles of reeking garbage, human shit to dodge, women carrying loads of rocks on their backs and dumping them to fill potholes, hunchbacks, dwarves, lepers, businessmen, vendors, hawkers, kids underfoot, sharp air, fresh masala milk tea (chai), potatoes are perfect for this weather, foothills in all directions, blue sky, cottony clouds, barking, chirping, greeting, singing in cabs and doorways, sketchy sidewalk kitchens with mystery cauldrons, horns honking, bells ringing, motorbikes revving schoolchildren happily yelling at recess.

kathmandu

2006-11-16T15:00:00.000+09:00

Kathmandu in pictures:

The view from our hotel room.

Thamel, the touristy district.

On a quiet morning street.

A busier street later in the morning.

The Durbar Square area.

The Bodhnath Stupa.

crossing paths

2006-11-15T20:25:00.000+09:00

The night before we left for Kathmandu, our paths crossed with Colin's for "one night in Bangkok." It was our first night-time excursion to Khao San Road, the tourist zone. The atmosphere was remarkably different than expected - very chilled-out. We had a nice time catching up with Colin after more than 3 years.

Happy travels, Dirty!

thai beer

2006-11-09T23:29:00.000+09:00

Thai beer has been in the news often lately. The reason? In December, advertisements like the one below from a magazine will become illegal.

All media is affected. No billboards or anything will be allowed. Already, companies are exploiting loopholes in the law. Heineken is advertising its bottled water employing its well-known red star and green text to keep the brand in your head. See below.

Chang, a local beer maker, is advertising its water using the same elephant logo as for its beer while changing only the background color.

The prohibition of alcohol advertising is going to have some ripples throughout the economy. The country is trying to figure out what will take the place of beer advertising for sports.

No matter what, alcohol consumption is not likely to diminish considerably after the new law takes effect.

When Alicia and I were here before we discovered that Thailand had made it illegal to buy alcohol between 2 and 5 PM. What will they think of next?

UPDATE: As of January, 2007 I can find no evidence that this advertising ban has gone into effect. I read in a couple of sources online that one government body has ruled the ban violates the law. For now, beer advertising is as common as ever in Thailand.

30

2006-11-07T22:22:00.000+09:00

Well, I am 30 years old, as of the 5th of November. Happy to be alive! Sadly, the day did not go as expected.

This is what I had in mind:

I was thinking fireworks, some baloons, definately cake. Ok, and throw in a pony and a scepter for good measure. C'mon, you only turn 30 once!

This is what I got:

Food poisoning. The real deal. In a matter of 3 days (the eve of my birthday through yesterday) I lost 2 dress sizes and seriously thought I might perish. Note the near-expiring clearly visible in my official birthday picture below.

I was also considering trying absinthe on my birthday, as the restaurant near our hotel advertized their supply of the elusive green fairy. Truthfully, the closest I got to that green madness was diluted Gatoraide. As shown in my official birthday picture.

Now, 3 days later, we are back in Bangkok and I am back to (carefully) eating solid foods. We've decided to have a belated celebration. Did I set my sights too high?

No pony required, God, just let me spend the day as far away from the toilet as possible!

bowling in laos

2006-11-06T19:38:00.000+09:00

The other day I decided to go bowling. Thanks, Lonely Planet, for mentioning the bowling alley in the guidebook. Ahem, next time, remember to put it on the map like you said you would!

The exterior of the Lao Bowling Center (one of 2 alleys in Vientiane) was shabby, though endearing. Who would have guessed what a classy place awaited within?

The 12 lanes were in great shape, and the machinery and scoring software seemed to be working fine. A dollar a game and free shoe rental from their stash of good-quality clown-shoes! And courteous employees. I could go on and on.

My only minor gripe was the oil slick on lane 4, reminiscent of the Exxon Valdez disaster. I was politely asked to change lanes partway through my 2nd game as a league was about to start. Apparently these Lao bowlers get off work VERY early.

I finished the day with a 144 and a 169. Not bad at all! If you're ever in town, try out the LBC.

extreme cuisine

2006-11-06T14:33:00.000+09:00

I have been meaning to write about this for a while, but I never seem to have the Vietnam guidebook with me.

THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF STOMACH.

According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, there is a variety of Vietnamese coffee called chon. This coffee is produced by feeding the beans to a weasel and later collecting them from its droppings!

Does it explain why some people say "coffee tastes like poo" or that it gives people "poo breath"? Perhaps.

I, of course, did not try this beverage.

vientiane in pictures

2006-11-05T13:47:00.000+09:00

We have only taken a few pictures in Laos. Vientiane is beautiful, but not in a particularly photogenic way ... or perhaps the palpable laziness is getting to us and it is just too much work to break out the camera.

Alicia at breakfast.

Two pictures of old houses. This style of architecture is no longer popular, but we sure like it. These places look like Lao haunted houses.

One of the city's landmarks - supposedly a dragon lives beneath it.

Rambo guarding a truck.

A wat decorated with flags.

Some rules at our hotel. Make sure you click on this one to see the bigger picture.

dear reader

2006-11-01T19:13:00.000+09:00

Please check to make sure you have read all the posts and seen all the pictures from October. We have added a lot in the last few days including updating old posts and slipping in new ones where they fit best.

loving laos

2006-10-31T19:37:00.000+09:00

Alicia and I are settling in to the slower pace of Laos just fine. So far we have enjoyed the pleasant surprises of relatively fast internet access right across the street and a no-hassle guesthouse proprietor, "If you don't want to stay that long, no problem, I'll give the money back." If you had only seen the wrangling over a few notes of currency in Vietnam, you would understand our giddy relief!

Below are excerpts from a few individual emails sent out during our Vietnam stay. Access to the blog was near impossible for the past few weeks. Enjoy...

EMAIL EXCERPT 1

"We are in Hoi An right now. It has been rainy off-and-on since our arrival here yesterday at noon. After much searching, we managed to find an almost-direct bus from Hue to this town. I say ALMOST because the driver and his buddy decided to stop at a DVD store in Danang since they couldn't figure out how to use the TV/DVD/CD player on the bus. We were ready to strangle the cross-eyed German lass who suggested they turn on the multimedia system in the first place. She was so clueless she didn't even realize that was why we stopped in Danang!!!

This town is beautiful. A little like Antigua in Guatemala, really. it is interesting to see the similarities between developing countries - including paint color, building materials and processes, grocery markets - so many things.

Despite suffering from the touristas - upset intestinal systems - we are doing well and enjoying things. Our hotel is a bit down-at-heel, so we are splurging tomorrow night for our last in Hoi An.

Hue was a miserable little place with the exception of the tour we took. (We made the most of our one day stay with the half-day tour.) Supposedly the culinary birthplace of so many Vietnamese dishes, we found Hue to be shabby and the restaurants few and far between as well as dirty as hell. Ugh. And double ugh!

Good thing we got out of there fast! There was even some kind of beastie in our hotel room that devoured part of a banana left for us by the staff. We think it was either a snake or a rat. Hopefully it got the touristas, too.

Wheee! It is funny - despite all the little hiccups, I am enjoying Vietnam more by the day. Hoi An is definitely the place to relax, and I am glad we came here last or I would not have been very eager to leave and tackle touristy things like Halong Bay."

EMAIL EXCERPT 2

Surprisingly for me, and I say this with a sense of shame and gritted teeth, the most ENJOYABLE parts of the Vietnam experience for me have been our cycling/boat tour of Tam Coc and the boat tour of Ha Long Bay. Hoi An was a beautiful place to visit, but it recently became more accessible (a huge tunnel below a mountain range cutting an hour of travel time between there and Hue.) With the accessibility come the tourists! They are starting to fill up all the extra hotel rooms built in anticipation of the tunnel's completion. Still, Hoi An was picturesque and calm compared to Hanoi.

The most INTENSE part of our Vietnam experience was the Hoi An return trip - the bus ride back from Hoi An to Hue, and the overnight train from Hue to Hanoi. The bus started out a half hour late and the air con was not working. It was a style of bus where the windows don't open. At the first bathroom / tout stop, we bailed and negotiated onward passage on another bus. I guess we were destined to go without air con for part of the trip, as it broke on that bus too! Did we jinx it? Anyhow, it was better and cut an hour of travel / stop time for us.

Later that evening we hopped on the train. It is the 2nd best train in Vietnam. We took the best one in the other direction and the difference was HUGE.

In the 2nd best train there were ... a random guy who popped into our 4-berth cabin and sat down for like 10 minutes ignoring our inquiries as to WHY he was in our already full cabin ... another guy who was taking commissions from Vietnamese passengers and moving them into our 1st class train car as tourists bailed from cabins at stops along the way, filling our car with vibrant families and a rooster ... oh yeah, the guy popped the door open to our cabin about 30 times to see if we had left ... the aggro guy demanding money for coffee and tea we never had ... the cigarette butts and ashes on the floor ... the bathroom that locked from the outside, making you fearful of someone locking you in with the sea of pee and cockroaches ... the uniformed train cop who went out of his way to elbow me after coming out of the bathroom, apparently to show me who is boss. You get the picture - an unforgettable 16 hour journey."

we'll take it!

2006-10-31T16:58:00.000+09:00

What does it take to be a cheap guesthouse in Southeast Asia? Surprisingly, there are several overriding characteristics that cross most cultural and linguistic boundaries.

After our last two hotel stays, I thought you might want to be clued in.

The initial "inspiration": A Dong Hotel. Nope, not kidding. It was in Hue, where we shared the room with some sort of pest who ate our banana breakfast.

We ended up with a case of the touristas and, appropriately, next moved ourselved to the Phu Tinh Guesthouse (pronounced Pootin' Guesthouse). The situation resonated soundly with rightness.

So, here seems to be the checklist for the cheap guesthouse in Asia. I suggest printing a copy of this post out, to help you as you quickly survey a potential room, just to assist things along.

Basic Features:

- Swimming centipedes in the toilet.

- A (full) closet. Full of Stink.

- Towels that in both appearance and smell resemble cheese. Circa 1960.

- T.V. with 4 stations. All the same station, which favor ballerinas dressed in communist uniforms and singing children in bumblebee costumes. Disclaimer: this one may be Vietnam specific. If your potential room doesn't have this, don't bargain for a cheaper price.

-Greasy bed headboards with the stuffing coming out.

-Sink with (sideways) trickle.

-Belching drains. Preferably smelling of broccoli. Poo will suffice.

-Bedside table lamp cord scotch-taped together.

-No less that 8 live electrical wires jutting out from the walls. At eye level or dangling over the light switches.

- Chunks of styrofoam holding up the water heater, making it even and stable. Water heater must not be secured to wall using convential methods. No fun in that.

Ok, that's all the help you get! The rest you will have to learn through experience!

free advertising

2006-10-30T17:46:00.000+09:00

We saw walls like this all over Vietnam. A tour guide explained to us that these stencilled tags are advertisements painted by plumbers, electricians, and other small businesses. The tenants of nearby buildings can call the phone number provided and schedule an appointment.

vivid vietnam

2006-10-30T17:41:00.000+09:00

We are still learning how to use our camera. Here are two of our vivid closeups.

hoi an

2006-10-25T18:19:00.000+09:00

Here are pictures from our stay in Hoi An, Vietnam.

halong bay

2006-10-24T17:29:00.000+09:00

Check out Halong Bay, there is so much to see!

hanoi headache

2006-10-23T17:53:00.000+09:00

Movie Quote of the Day:

"Ooooh! A scam!"

Whoopie Goldberg gets the tone just right in Rat Race, the most recent version of It's a Mad Mad Mad World. Even in the face of a potential scam, she is still saying "Yes!" to life. Enthusiastic. Playful. Willing to face what happens fully with a smile on her face, clapping her hands with joy.

This is not our attitude.

Hanoi, though pretty, is also pretty difficult to negotiate. In one week, we have stumbled upon:

- touts who lie and say that our hotel is closed, has moved, etc. They really go the extra mile in that (if they are also connected to your taxi driver) they refuse to take you where you ask and dump you at the side of the road of you dont go along with them to their place of buisness so they can get a commission. And they won't tell you where they dumped you.

-more taxis have rigged meters than not! Like, a ration of 90/10 percent, we'd say. You can go a kilometer in a few feet! We've never traveled so fast.

-fake banks

-fake police officers

-fake brand names. Like, in a government pharmacy. You need aspirin: try my Bayer Brand aspirin. Which is fake. And not aspirin.

-short-changers. Waiters short-change, or bring an inflated bill. That nice bowl of Pho suddenly jumpe from 1 dollar to 6. We have had to refer to the menu to get the price corrected several times, which makes us feel like cheap boobs. It's always a "mistake".

- Laundry is an issue, too. We keep getting charged for washing 5 pairs of undies instead of three. Which is CLEARLY a lie, because I only brought 3 pairs. Or it turns out that the hotels quote of 20 cents to wash socks is per sock. Who'd have thunk it?

-and much, much more.

Anyway, Vietnam is tricky like that. From the visitor's perspective, there is a pervasive sneakiness. But I think it is more complicated than that. Travelers come into repeated contact with a certain population: transportation guys, the service industry in general, etc. The problems seem to lie in those areas, as there is potential there for major money to exchange hands. Who knows what our experience would be like if we had our own scooter, shopped for our own food and washed our own laundry like regular people?

So, even though our experience has been filled to the brim with lies and tricks, I am not too dissapointed with the Hanoi experience. It is gorgeous. Exciting. And, also, a headache.

And, unfortunately, Bayer Aspirin, though somewhat more fun and mysterious, does not ease the pain.

now go into your cave...

2006-10-23T17:50:00.000+09:00

... and find your power animal.

Alicia has a Flight Club moment deep in the island caves of Halong Bay. Slide!

hoa lu and tam coc

2006-10-20T19:17:00.000+09:00

Here are pictures from our bike / boat tour of Hoa Lu (ancient capitol of Vietnam) and Tam Coc (where the limestone karsts jut up, like Halong Bay.)

We started off in Hanoi, bussed to Hoa Lu where we walked around, and biked to Tam Coc where we had lunch. After lunch we rode a bit further, hopped on a boat and were paddled through the valley. At the end of the valley the boat went through a cave and came out in a small clearing with a shrine.

Riding through the streets filled with the rice harvest:

Watching Water Buffalo bathe:

An old boat in a pond near Hoa Lu:

The cave entrance:

Banana boat:

hanoi beautiful

2006-10-14T14:30:00.000+09:00

Hanoi is fantastic. The last time I came to asia, this city made such an impression on me it made my "top 3". In no particular order: I felt that Hanoi, Kathmandu, and Bagan (in Myanmar) were the true must-sees in this region.

So, we are in Hanoi together and we are still getting settled. I made a clasic boo-boo at the airport in Bangkok yesterday. I misread our tickets- We were on Vietnam Air flight 830, which I read as "our flight leaves at 8:30". So, we got to the airport at 5:30- only to find that our flight really departed at noon. Whoops. So, we spent the day exploring Bangkok's new airport thoroughly. If anyone ever needs any tips about it- just ask away!

Brad was very patient. By the time we arrived in Hanoi, the place we originally planned to stay had given away our room, so we had to do the Day 1 Walk. Anyone who has done it knows it is one of the more unpleasant parts of this kind of traveling. Arriving in a new country or city and walking from guesthouse to guesthouse with our bags in tow. Being hassled by touts and taxi drivers and everyone and his brother along the way. Sweating profusley. Getting lost, being told the rooms are full. Etc, etc.

We found a temporary place for the first couple of nights and eventually found a place this morning that we really like for later. We made reservations. This morning, on our walk around the lake, looking for our future, more permanent guesthouse, we enjoyed fresh baguettes and Vietnamese coffees in a cafe, the sights of the city waking up, and crumbling French architecture, sagging beautifully under layers of moss and soot.

Hanoi is truly the Paris of the East. All of the reminants of French colonial Indochine are still present. Beautiful balconies, wide avenues lined with trees, wroght-iron street lamps, wine, espressos, and fresh baguettes. Also, Asia is very very much here, too. Chinese temples, conical hats on 4-foot tall women selling bananas, thousands of motocycles carrying every manner of people and goods. Cyclo drivers on the make.

Most appealing, the city is filled with art and artists- paintings, textiles, music, and literature. Whicle Southern Vietnam was very affected by the US presence and is very much one big hustle, the north remains a beacon of Vietnamese class and culture. Universities and temples, Hanoi remains very much itself, even in the face of past French colonialism, and current communism and Western cultural imperialism.

Enjoy the pictures! They are in the post below...

hanoi beautiful - the pictures

2006-10-14T14:20:00.000+09:00

when you gotta go

2006-10-14T14:15:00.000+09:00

For those who take interest in this kind of thing- you know you all are!

In southeast asia, the bathroom situation is different than home, different than Japan. Occasionally, we see the squat toilets that are common in Japan, the addition here is that toilet paper isn't preferred. There is either a spray hose attached to the wall, used for underneathy spraying. Or, there is a tub of water by the toilet with a scooper. Scoop the water from the tub, splash and wash with your left hand- done!

But more often hotels have the western variety of toilet. But it is more of a hybrid model. Below is the typical hotel room bathroom.

Note the spray hose behind the toilet, for those who prefer the water method. There is also toilet paper, for those who want to use it- but, you can't flush it. The pipes in asia can't handle the bulk. After use, you put the used paper in that little trash can on the left. It makes you think twice- you have to live with what you put in there for the rest of the day until the room is next cleaned.

The other issue with the "east-west hybrid" models is that even asians are not always sure about how to use them. It seems that western folk aren't sure about the water/tp situation and eastern folk aren't sure about the actual can. There are problems with people standing and squatting on the toilet seats, using them in the style of asian squat toilets. For this reason, you see shoeprints on toilet seats all over asia.

Hence, the instructions:

So, there's your splash of daily life!

baan unrak, baby!

2006-10-12T18:42:00.000+09:00

We just firmed up our "holiday" plans. We will be spending Christmas and the New year in Thailand, at a childrens' home called Baan Unrak (House of Joy).

We're going with a group of English teachers from Japan, including several people who still live in our old town in Japan. We will be meeting in Bangkok on the 23rd and then bussing together to the home.

Here is the link, if you want to read more about it:

http://www.neohumanistfoundation.org/baanunrak/

It is located to the "left" of Bangkok, nestled in the hills near a lake by the Burmese border. The town is called Sangkhlaburi, in Kanchanaburi provence. The town is an ethnic mix of hill tribes, Burmese refugees, and Thai.

We are excited!

leaving bangkok

2006-10-12T15:19:00.000+09:00

Our week in Bangkok is coming to a close. With any luck, we will be off to Hanoi in Vietnam tomorrow morning.

This has been a week of adjustment - getting used to the climate, time difference, and all the cultural elements. The weather has been a bit wild this week, with a few heavy downpours accompanied by thunder and lightning. One of these evening storms resulted in some short-term flooding in Bangkok. Other areas of the country have been less fortunate. Ayuthaya has been especially hard hit by flooding.

During the drier times, we have seen tires wrapped in gold foil, enormous billboards of the king on the sides of skyscrapers, spirit houses, canals (both from the water and land), stores selling giant buddha statues, others selling supply buckets for monks (soap, flashlight, snacks, etc.). We stocked up on necessities, such as shower shoes with skull-and-crossbones pattern to scare away germs.

We have tried to relax by going to the movies and just hanging out. Take a look at some of the pictures to get a better idea of the week.

leaving bangkok part 2

2006-10-12T11:01:00.000+09:00

Here are more Bangkok pictures...

day one in pictures

2006-10-06T21:49:00.000+09:00

Alicia lounging in the Hong Kong airport

Flags on our balcony at Wendy House

Words to live by

Food stall on a canal

Shark fins for soup

Thai "gold" Pepsi

i (heart) bangkok

2006-10-06T09:32:00.000+09:00

Right now I feel euphoric. It is like a part of me is at home again. It's a hard thing to explain, but now that I have lived in a few different places for extended periods, I never quite feel all the way at home in any of them, and a part of me gets to come home each time I revisit one of them.

My home towns:

Bangkok, Thailand
Kurashiki, Japan
Heredia, Costa Rica
Sacramento, California
Berkeley, California
Chico, California

There are other parts of the world that I also feel comfortable and at home revisiting, but I don't get the deep, immediate recognition that I have in these towns.

The moment we stepped off the plane, I had an olfactory reaction. Thailand smells like Thailand and nowhere else. Bangkok, specifically, smells like humid smog and sweet, grilling meats. Filthy and sweet. It is said that the sense of smell is the only sense that isn't "translated" on the way to our thoughts, that is it our most primal sense and that it follows the most immediate path to our brains.

I can believe it. I have memories that are triggered by smell that I don't access any other way. When I smell the rain on the cement in front of my childhood home in Sacramento, it conjers up thoughts I hadn't entertained since childhood, memories that were lost to me otherwise. They are all buried somewhere in the reptilian part of my brain.

This morning, I looked out our window on the 3rd floor and watched the sunrise (obviously, I am suffering from jetlag) and the city come to life. I felt joy.

The downside to living in many places, especially with different countries involved, is that I don"t ever feel 100% settled in any of them. It's like I have left parts of my heart scattered all over the world, like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. I have to enjoy my different homes one at a time.

I have decided that this is ok. I feel like a citizen of the world, like I belong in many places. I sacrificed the total comfort of belonging to one place unknowingly. I didn't mean to do it. But I think that the fact that I feel this way ultimately is something more or less desirable. I don't feel like other countries are "out there" filled with "them". I am connected.

Today, once the rest of the world wakes up, I am going to go outside. Visit my favorite spots, have a few cups of tea, and feel this homecoming to it's fullest.

this is how we do it

2006-10-04T11:06:00.000+09:00

It's Tuesday night and we are out the door, headed to San Francisco International. A mere 25 hours later, we should arrive in Bankgkok, via Hong Kong.

We each have a carry-on sized pack (24 inches by 14 inches by 9 inches) that is under the 15 pound requirement. Both of our packs are weighing in at 14.5 pounds apiece. We are also each carrying a purse-of-sorts as well. We are not checking real baggage, just a small box with our banned items (shampoo, razors, etc).
Wish us luck!

we are going digital

2006-09-29T00:59:00.000+09:00

Our good friends V and P consented to have their picture taken to test out our new camera. Knock on wood that this technological wonder survives southeast asia and remains in our possession!

More inbetweenadventures coming soon!

married

2006-09-20T03:42:00.000+09:00

As of September 15, 2006, we are married!

The gravity of the experience is settling in gradually. Guests accounts of the wedding have been positive, and I hope they are not merely being polite. It certainly was quite an evening for us, and we are thrilled that everything went so smoothly.

It will be some time before we get the pictures from our photographer, and it could be 2007 before we have a chance to upload any of the pictures. Below are 1 picture from the ceremony, and 1 from opening gifts.

get used to it

2006-09-06T03:33:00.000+09:00

Here are a couple of our favorite photos from the "engagement shoot" a few weeks prior to the wedding. It was a chance for us to get used to having our pictures taken.

baruto

2006-08-30T15:36:00.000+09:00

Behold Baruto, formerly known in Estonia as Kaido Hoovelson. "Baruto" sounds more imposing, doesn't it?

Sumo-size thanks to BZ, who gave me this card without too much grief. I really wanted at least 1 gaijin wrestler's card as a souvenir.

My Dad and I opened the last packs of cards this week and ended up with 2 more of my favorites, Hakuho and Kotooshu. Yes!

zilla

2006-08-30T15:27:00.000+09:00

Squatzilla, guardian of the ex-neighbor's door.

back in the sac

2006-08-20T03:44:00.001+09:00

As most of you already know, the tumultuous Japan adventure has come to an end. I have not even begun to process the experience yet. All I can say about it now is the last 2 years don't feel at all applicable to my current temporary homeless life ... at least on the surface.

Being back in Sacramento, California with its flaccid smoggy skyline and erect home prices has been a mixed bag, just like Japan. Skyline:

Thankfully, a trip to nearby San Francisco with A's brother S has helped remind us that oases of culture do exist:

It is refreshing to see friends and family again after the unexpectedly long hiatus.

Wedding planning has taken up the majority of my time. I am so glad I don't have a job to schedule around!

I still have enough time to look up things on google, and I recommend checking out a couple of artists. There's a long-time favorite on the sidebar (Josh Agle AKA Shag) and a new one below (Pete Fowler).

http://www.monsterism.net/

summer yukata

2006-07-24T11:16:00.000+09:00

Spurred on by friends and fresh memories of stunning, yukata-clad men and women at this weekend's festival in Kurashiki, "A" and I braved trying on and purchasing our own summer duds at the local mall. The more complicated woman's kimono came with English instructions. While some crucial words are incorrect - "hold" instead of "fold" - anything is better than trying to read kanji. Take a look at the instructions. They remind me of origami.

Below are shots from the summer festival - some of the revelers were students of ours.

go go postal

2006-07-19T10:32:00.000+09:00

A little suggestive for a government ad, perhaps?

bowling for vitamin drinks

2006-07-19T10:24:00.000+09:00

On Marine Day, "A" and I decided to go bowling again. Yes, we are addicted.

During the middle of our first game, the bowling alley staff dimmed the lights and made some announcement over the loudspeakers. Then they proceeded to shut off all the lights, save those directly over the pins and a disco ball or two.

So we were bowling blind for 10 minutes of craziness, during which a strike would score you not only 10 pins, but a vitamin drink as well. The difficult part of this "strike challenge" is that you can't see the lane arrows, or even the lane for that matter!

Some female students of mine were bowling a couple lanes over. Every time they won a drink, they came over to show us. I managed to win 1 drink and gave it to them, which they loved. That was our 10 minutes of Japanese-style randomness for Monday.

final exam fun

2006-07-11T11:35:00.000+09:00

Here are some excerpts from students' essay exams:

CONFLICTED

"We went to Hokkaido on the school trip for four days. First day, we went to Sapporo. We ate a ramen there. The ramen is very bad. But I couldn't say it then. Second day, we went to Otaru. But I lose my way there. Third day, I play rafting. But I fall down a river. I was all wet. My trip is very terrible. But I very enjoyed it!"

THE DRUGS, THE DRUGS!

"The four days when I tripped with my friends was very nice days."

A HAIR MILESTONE

"I have been to Okinawa with my hair length 1 milimeter."

diary

2006-07-07T09:20:00.000+09:00

Here is a thoughtful diary entry from one of my students:

doritos surprise

2006-07-03T08:58:00.000+09:00

This weekend a few of us were foraging for beers in the convenience store to smuggle into karaoke when we noticed a new line of strange Doritos packaging that made us laugh out loud and inspired an impulse buy.

Japan brings you Creepy-wolf-hat and Kick-in-the-crotch Doritos:

i wish i owned this shirt

2006-06-30T14:23:00.000+09:00

I saw this shirt yesterday:

the space

2006-06-26T12:04:00.000+09:00

Yesterday I went to The Space, a membership-only gym. A very kind math teacher at one of my schools invited me.

First let me say this. I hate working out in front of people. Yes I am insecure.

I was not looking forward to this outing. Even less so when it began raining as I set out on my bicycle for the 20-30 minute ride to the gym. I decided to call the teacher and he offered to give me a ride - otherwise I would have stayed home.

We did a pretty typical low-key workout that concluded with a very interesting aqua-aerobics class. Yes, I did aqua-aerobics. While I understood most of the commands, sometimes I was unsure if I should turn right or move right. This was only important because I didn't want to bump into anyone.

Most of the equipment at the gym was pretty standard. You know: the bicycles, reclining-bikes, stair-step machines, treadmills, weight machines and all. There was an aerobics room, a couple of areas with mats for stretching, a pool and spa.

The bathing area was Japanese style, complete with a very nice sauna. There were electronic massage chairs as well.

Almost everything seemed quite standard, except for the Joba! "What is a Joba?" you ask. Why, a Joba is a machine supposedly designed to simulate riding a horse. I am not sure exactly how it is supposed to help one in the quest for fitness, but that is the claim. I had seen them on TV commercials and shopping channels in Japan and always thought of them as some weird sexual device. While I didn't get any "special sensation" from the ride, I still wonder if that was the intent behind the Joba's development. Behold:

more kit kats

2006-06-12T13:10:00.000+09:00

Here are a few more kit kat packages:

* Adzuki Bean (Red Bean)

* Shave Ice (Ice, Matcha Syrup, Adzuki Bean Paste, Condensed Milk)

* Wine