Adding Banana Leaves

Adding Banana Leaves, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

I've tried, unsuccessfully, to post about Loy Kratong for the past two weeks. It's coming, soon. I promise. Also to come: celebrating Thanksgiving in Thailand!

Another Year Older!

Happy Birthday!, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

I was spoiled rotten on my birthday this year! At work, my bosses took my coworkers and I out for an enormous lunch. My birthday actually fell on an inservice day so we had no students in the building. This meant I was able to have a really leisurely lunch and a pretty relaxing day in general. That afternoon as I was working the lights in the hallway went out. Unbeknownst to me, my roommates had managed to buy a cake and hide in in our fridge overnight. It's a small fridge. I'm surprised I didn't see it. After work, I got what is possibly the best pedicure of all time. It was an expensive one-- 500 baht (or around $15) but completely worth it. They spent over an hour massaging and working on my feet before they actually put on polish. It was incredibly relaxing. Naturally, I managed to smudge them later that night. After the pedicure, I went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a birthday dinner. This restaurant has free margaritas for women on Thursday nights so it seemed like an ideal venue for a party. About twenty of my friends from work, frisbee, and assorted other things met me for dinner. It was so nice to have (nearly) all the people I have become friends with here in Bangkok with me to celebrate.

This past weekend we made a little trip to Ko Samet to get out of the city and onto the beach. Not really much exciting to report and I took no pictures. I've been there once, I just wanted to enjoy it this time! I was happy to meet up with my Danish travel buddy from my trip to Mai Chau in Vietnam!

I'd like to thank everyone back in the states for all of the birthday wishes. It really made my day to get so much love sent my way. It was especially lovely to have a little stack of birthday cards from family and friends to open up that morning.

Monks in Wat Saket

Monks in Wat Saket, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

On Saturday afternoon we visited the Golden Mount and Wat Saket. We passed by these monks as they were praying in the Wat.

Wat Saket

Wat Saket, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

Wat Saket at dusk with the Golden Mount in the background.

Vietnam, Part 4: Mai Chau Valley

I had been hoping to take a train up to Sapa in the mountains near the Chinese border to spend some time in rural Vietnam. I wanted to see hill tribes and hike in beautiful mountains and along rice paddies... but unfortunately a seven day trip doesn't really leave enough time for that sort of thing. My roommates wanted to go to Ho Chi Minh, so we parted ways and I teamed up with a friend I met in Halong Bay to explore the North. I ultimately decided to go to a valley populated by hill tribes much closer to Hanoi-- only 135 km away. Though honestly, when 135km takes 4+ hours on a public bus, I might as well been on the other side of the country!



Driving down into the valley was unreal. Steep mountains, covered with green forests and shrouded with fog were on all sides of us. Most other vehicles on the road were motorcycles, the most common form of transport in these areas. The roads are either rough or non-existent and most houses don't really have space for a car. After a quick lunch of pho at a street stall we accepted a ride from a man offering a homestay and went further into the Valley to see his home.



We stayed in a beautiful one-room stilt house owned by couple named How and Bing in a White Thai village named Lac. The stilt house is one room, divided into three sections by curtains at night. The cooking is done on a hotplate in the house and there is one TV and an armoire-- but other than that, no furniture. At night, mats, comforters, and mosquito nets are set up for sleeping. I was worried about being uncomfortable sleeping on the bamboo-slat floor, but I slept like a baby. It seems like a lot of daily life goes on underneath the house. There are tables for socializing and eating and the fridge/freezer is plugged in down there. The bathroom is an outhouse with the cleanest squat toilet I have ever seen. There is no hot water, but they do have a shower and a tap. Most houses would have a small garden, a few animals in pens, and a pond for fish and other seafood. The valley is filled with lush green rice paddies that belong to the families. Both husband and wife have spent their entire lives in this town. They've seen electricity and tourism come to the area, but other than that their lives and the lives of their neighbors and family really have remained the same for hundreds of years.





We spent our afternoon hiking through villages with Bing. It seemed like she knew every person that we crossed paths with, several of whom were actually her relatives. We saw the house she grew up in, the brick forge, schools, and rice paddy upon rice paddy. We learned how to separate the rice from the stalk (?) and how to weave on a traditional loom. Her English is not great, but this woman had the most wonderful laughter I have ever heard. Her smile just lit up the room.



At night our dinner was cooked by their 16 year-old daughter. I don't know if I have ever eaten so locally. We had sauteed cucumbers from the mountains, rice from the valley, local chicken, and some sort of fried sea creature from the ponds. It was simple and delicious. After dinner we spied on some traditional dancing through the windows of a neighbors house and then went to bed early.



The next day was a few more hours of wandering the valley before we had to head back to Hanoi. Bing pointed into the mountains and showed us that people live up there-- but there there are no roads so they are completely inaccessible by car or motorcycle. A little further on there are some Hmong villages. Had we stayed longer, we could have hiked during the day and stayed at different villages in the mountains each night. Mai Chau was incredibly relaxing, I would really love to do another homestay before I return to the states-- maybe in Thailand next time?

Vietnam, Part 3: Perfume Pagoda

The fifth day of our vacation was a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. This is another one of those adventures that you really need a tour for... twisty turny bumpy roads all the way. After an hour or so, our van ended up at a dock 70 km south east of Hanoi. We were herded off the van and into small boats. Each boat sat six people and a rower. The next hour was spent gliding slowly down the river. The riverbanks were fascinating, every now and then we saw a tiny house or a temple. It seemed like the middle of nowhere to me-- but there were certainly people who called it home. The further down the river we went the taller the mountains grew. Unfortunately, the day was quite hazy so it was impossible for us to fully see the mountains. This did make for a slightly mysterious landscape. Once we reached the second dock we had a quick lunch before hiking up the mountain. The hike was less beautiful than it could have been-- the path was lined with stalls for selling souvenirs and snacks. The majority of them were empty but they were still there blocking our view.





After a sweaty 40 minute hike we reached our destination, a set of stairs dropping down into a majestic cave. The cave that the Perfume Pagoda was located in was so much more alive than the one we saw in Halong Bay. Water was dripping, wind was moving through the trees, the scent of perfume was in the air. The place was almost deserted as well-- only our tour group, a few others, and two monks. One of these monks was chanting beautifully and hitting a bell. It was one of the most peaceful places I've ever visited and was well worth the exhausting trip.






As a sidenote, we also visited the gorgeous Thien Tru Pagoda at the base of the mountain.