Vacation

I'm sure that many of you reading this have already heard about this trip from my parents. But I thought I would write about a few of the highlights anyway. So here goes:

Chiang Mai: Our trip started off here, where my parents met me at my apartment. Even though we had a guide with us, it was pretty fun to be able to show my parents the things that I had already seen and done. We visited some of the most significant temples within the old city, which my host parents had taken me to several months ago. We went up to Doi Suthep, the temple on a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai, which I had been to with school and with my host parents. We went to Kad Luang, a giant market complete with clothing, shoes, baskets, dried fruit, nuts, bamboo worms, fresh fruit and veggies, live fish, raw meat, dried fish, and so much more-- where I often went to shop or walk around. We even bought some worms for my parents to check 'eating a bug' off their list but you can give them a hard time because they chickened out and never tried it. One night in Chiang Mai, we met my host family and went out for dinner with them. It was pretty hysterical. My sisters were as energetic and crazy as ever, running about the restaurant. My host dad was severely limping with a soccer injury. And my host mom struggled to find food that my dad's hyper-sensitive-to-spice mouth could handle. I had a great time and was so glad that they could all finally meet each other. We also took one morning to drive to Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. We took a little walk through the jungle, enjoyed the scenery, and saw a great waterfall.

We also spent one full day with...elephants. Upon arrival at the Mae Sa elephant camp, we first watched their elephant show which included some soccer, some darts, some painting, some log stacking, and other various tricks. But after the show, we became elephant trainers for the day. The people at the camp spent about 3 minutes going over how to ride an elephant before hoisting each of us up onto our own animal. And then there we were, walking down a trail sitting on the necks of the giant yet gentle elephants; no saddle, no bench, no nothing-- just us and the elephants. Granted, the elephants' real trainers (the only ones the animals would really listen to) walked beside us to keep the big guys in line, but still, I did some steering... We rode them over to these villages were many of the trainers live with their families. They are hilltribe people transplanted into this tourist site which basically puts them on display everyday. So it was a little bit weird but also an opportunity to see some of the traditional housing, dress, and even the long-neck padong women. We then rode back to the camp where we bathed the elephants in the river before lunch. After lunch came what was probably my favorite part of the day. Painting. How cool! The elephant will paint anything you want it to. You simply dip the brush in the color paint you want, stick the brush in his trunk, and then trace the paper with your finger where you want the elephant to paint. He will then remember and retrace that line with the brush! Dad made a cubs logo, Mom made a flower, and I made a portrait of an elephant. Overall, it was an incredible day. To be able to interact that closely with these charismatic and intelligent animals was really unbelievable.

Chiang Dao: We drove a couple of hours from Chiang Mai to Chiang Dao for only one night. We checked out this ridiculously huge cave. Monks used to live and meditate in there, until tourists started invading. So there are alot of Buddha images and shrines inside the cave. We walked and walked but still didn't even see half of what is down there. That night was Christmas Eve and we stayed in a little bungalow at this small place which threw their very Christmas party. Dinner was a big buffet and BBQ, which also featured some performances by local kids while we ate. It was the first Christmas Eve that I have ever slept through the night. The next morning, though we were greeted with small stockings and Merry Christmas wishes, hardly felt like December 25th. Instead of spending the day in front of a Christmas tree, tearing off wrapping paper, eating roast beef, and being with family, we visited a serene forest temple, walked through beautiful royal gardens, and were served a whole fried fish on a plate. It was a Christmas to remember, to say the least.

The Golden Triangle: Our next few days were spent in a quite luxurious resort where from our balcony you could see both Burma and Laos. But not only see them, you were literally on the border. All it would take is a couple minutes to walk to the river and a few more to swim across. On our way to this spot, we crossed over the border into Burma for the afternoon. We got farther than I did last time, taking tuk-tuks to a couple of temples just minutes form the border. One of them is a replica of an even larger pagoda in Burma's capital of Rangoon. The real one is made of some 60 tons of solid gold and is one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world. Whoa. Anyways, the Golden Triangle was historically THE epicenter of the opium trade. Today, though, Thailand has been really successful in its attempt to eliminate production and trade of the drug. We spent one morning in a really nice museum dedicated to opium and its influence in the area. Then, in the afternoon, we hopped on a long-tail boat that took us to Laos. We only walked around the little market there, admiring the countless tables of moonshine bottled with cobras and scorpions, before heading back to Thailand. While in this area we also visited a local village, which was nice to give my parents some idea of the kind of homes and lifestyle that characterized the Karen villages that I had spent time in. And we enjoyed some relaxing free time around the resort where they have their own elephants roaming about. It's a really gorgeous area, surrounded by mountains that are covered in jungle. It's also a bit mysterious, I thought. With the underlying theme of drugs and the proximity of the three countries, it just felt like any minute a boat full soldiers and machine guns would appear from around the bend and trees would began to sway with the force of helicopter blades. But no such luck, we spent a couple of very peaceful days up there.

Cambodia: We spent only 2 full days in Cambodia but they were pretty incredible days. For the most part, we were simply exploring the ancient temples from the Khmer empire. The biggest and most famous of which is Angkor Wat. And man is it big. We got an aerial view of it from a quick little hot balloon ride. And then walked around the temple itself. There is a moat that encloses the entire grounds. Within the moat is a huge manicured lawn, lake, incredible trees, some 6 libraries, plus what feels like layers and layers of walls and rooms and levels making up the temple. The sheer size was incredible. We spent around two hours inside and could not possibly have seen everything. Plus the craftsmanship was also incredible. Each part of the temple is built from giant sandstone blocks, which just boggles the mind to think about transporting and stacking the enormous weights without the help of any machinery. But then, every inch of the sandstone was artfully finished. Every column, every wall, every ceiling was carved or etched or sculpted. I can't even imagine what the place looked like in its prime-- with crisper details, sharper corners, and the pure white of the stone. Time has definitely taken its toll, as this site was built in the early 12th century, but overall this site is amazingly well preserved.

Most of the rest of our time was spent exploring other smaller temples and ruins in the area. I won't say too much because the pictures say it better. But I will say that Wat Bayon (the Temple of Smiling Faces) and the Jungle Wat were my two favorite sites in Cambodia, even more so than Angkor Wat. Wat Bayon has a total of 54 GIANT stone faces smiling and looking down on you as you wonder the temple. Each face is a puzzle of giant stone blocks pieced together to form a handsome portrait. This site was also in more of a state of ruin than Angkor Wat. The faces are largely whole and complete but the walls around them have crumbled here and there. You could walk through an intact hallway but then clamber over a pile of stay bricks, then look through a standing window frame without any wall surrounding it. Then, in a further state of ruins, was the jungle wat. It is widely known as the site of some Tomb Raider filming. But it is fascinating, I think, to see nature in the process or retaking a manmade structure. Incredible, giant, old trees grew from the tops of roofs. Roots traced their way through seams in the rock. Bark coated stone walls. It was, for some reason, truly beautiful.

We also took a trip to a floating village which was quite the site. The people live either on anchored boats, or on houses that they have constructed to float atop bamboo platforms with the help of empty barrels. These houses along with a couple of little stores lined both sides of the river, their backyards consisting of marsh. It absolutely reeks of dead fish. Toilets consist of a hole in the floor of the home which is then surrounded by scrap plastic sheets for the several feet between the floor and the river water below. Nearly all homes have hammocks, many or them occupied as we floated by. And surprisingly, many of those people were watching TV. They all get around in small boats, often children who looked as young as 8 were paddling by themselves. They grow vegetables in the water. There was even a floating pig pen. Most all of the villagers are fishermen, although the lake that the river opens into has seen a dramatic decline in fish population. Also, according to the seasons, each family must move their entire house due to the changing water levels. Our Cambodian guide actually grew up here. And while he shared many happy memories from his home, he also told of how hard the life can be and how it seems to only be getting harder.

A more uplifting experiencing in Cambodia was our encounter with "wild" monkeys who have grown all too familiar to the tourists visiting the ancient sites. We spent a while on the side of the road feeding them bananas, and simply watching them monkey around. So funny! Another amusing sight was to watch the activity on Cambodian rodes. Instead of the overwhelming amount of motorcycles that consume Thailand, Cambodia is covered in bikes. Everyone from small kids to grandparents navigate the streets on their bicycles. It was ridiculous to watch how many people could fit on one bike, to watch kids on their bike bum rides by holding onto their friend on a motorcycle, and the unbelievable loads that they would strap onto the bikes. So overall, Cambodia was a fun, educational, exciting adventure. And it was great to be able to see how different Cambodia is from its next door neighbor which I've been spending so much time in.

Khao Lak: From Cambodia we flew to the Western coast of Southern Thailand. We enjoyed another couple of days in sweet resort on the beach. For two of those days, my Dad and I went scuba diving. I really missed that feeling of breathing underwater and of course it was not disappointing. The highlights of our 2 days were: a couple of small rays, a couple of big turtles, a school of huge barracuda, countless different reef fish, colorful soft corals, AND 2 sharks! Each was around 5-6 feet long. One was a calm leopard shark sitting on the reef, while the other was a darting, skiddish black-tip shark. Awesome. Our third day down south was our one and only day of the whole day with absolutely nothing on the schedule. So despite a bit of rain we enjoyed our books on the beach and a morning at the spa. Mom had already made friends at the spa while Dad and I were diving. So she scheduled Dad for a foot massage and her and I for a traditional Thai massage. As my mom says, "it was like forced yoga". The resort also put together a really impressive buffet and party for New Years Eve. There were Thai dancers, fire dancers, and a ton of people releasing paper lanterns into the sky. We then enjoyed the midnight fireworks from the comfort of our own beds.

Bangkok: Finally, we made it to Bangkok. I had to do some stuff for school while my parents were still around but it worked out well because I still got to see most everything that they did and still got to spend most of the time with them. We saw the Grand Palace and the nearby temples that characterize the old part of the city. We saw the emerald Buddha which is only a few feet tall but is made form one solid piece of jade. We also saw Wat Pho which houses a 46 METER long reclining Buddha. Seriously. Alot of the buildings in these sites were covered in incredible ceramic tiling. All done by hand, they would arrange the tiles to be 3D, so that flowers bloomed off of the walls and patterns became textures. One night, looking for something to do, we jumped on the skytrain and got off at some ridiculous mall. Turns out, they have a pretty nice aquarium along with a really nice movie theater, both of which we took advantage of. Sherlock Holmes was a great movie, by the way. We also spent an entire day outside of Bangkok. We drove out to the bridge on the River Kwai where we learned alot about Thailand's part in WWII. From there we continued to the Tiger Temple which is a sort of wildlife sanctuary where you can watch and pet and take pictures with tigers (while they are on a short chain to the ground). Also in Bangkok, we walked through a giant and ridiculously cheap flower market, found and moved me into an apartment for this semester, ate lots of good food, and sat in our fair share of traffic.

So this entry is way longer than I was planning, congratulations if you made it through. I can't tell you how good it felt to see my parents. Although, it also reminded me of just how much I miss everyone else. Hope you all enjoyed the holiday season, and I hope winter is treating you well.

Pitcures!

I have finally uploaded pictures onto the internet! If you would like to check them out, you can go to this website:

http://picasaweb.google.com/juliecstetson

Tropical Paradise...and class

I know this is ridiculously late, but here is a bit about my last course of first semester:

It all started with a 23 hour bus ride. Seriously. We drove down Thailand's western coastline basically as far as you can go before reaching Malaysia. Thankfully, it was a pretty nice, double-decker bus with room enough for me to have two seats to myself. And thankfully, I packed some Tylenol PM. We made a few stops for meals and potty breaks, but we also made a stop at the site of Thailand's old capital. Rising out of the perfectly manicured lawn were incredible towers and walls of sagging red brick. The capital was built sometime in the 14th century and it was fascinating to see the toll that time had taken on these man made structures. The incredible detail and complexity of the buildings' ornamentation were evident. Yet at the same time, corners were rounded by erosion, cracks were widened by the roots of plants, and Buddha images were decapitated long ago by looters. And the charismatic red bricks set against the vibrant green grass and the striking blue sky was particularly beautiful. So it was really fun to explore the place, and a welcome opportunity to stretch our legs.

Sprawled across my seats, I awoke in the morning to the bus stopping at the pier. Finally, the ocean! But our journey was not over, we had a four hour boat ride ahead of us. Eventually, we came upon a couple of islands, ringed with immaculate white sand beaches and then surrounded by turquoise waters. This is where we would spend the next two and a half weeks. For my group, the first half of the course was spent on Lipe Island. It's pretty small, you can walk all over it in less than a day. But it is the only island in the Adang Archipelago that has been developed. The first resort opened nearly 30 years ago, but the past 5 or 10 years have seen a huge boom in construction. Today there are some 50 places offering accommodation and even more offering food. So we actually stayed in small bungalows at one of those 50 resorts. Our place essentially had its own private beach which we thoroughly enjoyed either laying out on, snorkeling off of, or looking out at from the deck of the restaurant. So while we on this island, we spent 4 days doing projects in small groups but we could spend the days as we wished. Usually this meant some morning beach time, a couple of hours of work, a yummy lunch, some more beach time, and maybe a little more work-- if we could squeeze it in. In the evenings, we often had meetings with significant people on the island such as business owners, restaurant owners, and locals. Speaking of, the locals are actually a minority people-- the Urak Lawoi. Years ago, they were semi-nomadic sea gypsies, spending most of their time on boats; fishing, living subsistencely, and moving from island to island. The Thai government, however, wanted to be sure that Malaysia did not claim these Southern islands, so they set up a National Park and gave land titles to the Urak Lawoi. This forced them settle in one place. Then, over the years, voluntarily and not, the Urak Lawoi sold off their land to developers. Now, the remaining Urak Lawoi often do not own the land they live on. In fact, an entire village was forced to relocate just months before we arrived. Furthermore, their primary livelihood (fishing) is at high risk due to the severely depleted fish stocks in the archipelago. Many now work in tourism industry but very few have high level jobs. So are projects on the island were meant to try to figure out what is going on on Lipe in terms of development, the local culture, and the state of the island's environment. Then, our last two days on that island were spent snorkeling the reefs in the area and writing midcourse essays. Aside from some rain on our second day-- which was a good excuse to get some schoolwork done-- our weather was fantastic.

At the halfway point of the course, it was time for us to leave Lipe. So we got into our kayaks. We paddled around the entire island of Lipe and then crossed the straight to its neighbor, Adang. It took us just over 2 hours. Once we arrived, we set up camp! The rest of the course we would be spending in tents. Tents on the beach, that is. This campsite was actually at the site of the National park, so we had dinners at their restaurant each of the two nights spent there. Breakfast was always a granola type mixture made with your own personal recipe of boiling and powdered milk, hot chocolate mix, instant coffee, and/or sugar. Lunches were always an endless supply of bread, peanut butter, nutella, honey, banana chips, and beef jerky, plus some watermelon or pineapple. The second campsite that we stayed at was a 17 km paddle away from the first which took about 5 hours, not including lunch. This site was much quieter and more secluded, with no restaurant or tourists to speak of. We had the same breakfasts and lunches but then cooked our dinners, some of which consisted of fish caught that day by our boat drivers. There were some bathrooms but they were straight out of a horror film-- filthy, broken, rundown, and accessible by a long overgrown path. I went there once and decided never to go back, a decision which was re-enforced when someone ran into a viper on that path. I also had a close call with a venomous creepy crawly at that site. While completing an assignment at a picnic table, I just happened to look down and see this ridiculous THING on the leg of the table, a mere inch from my leg. It was hideous. It's body was about 3 inches long, but then its LEGS. It had about 30, each around 2 inches long. It was bright orange. It was one inch from me. It was gross. And disgusting. I carefully but urgently removed myself from the table. According to our local boat driver, the venom from that bug hurts more than that of Thai centipedes. One of the teachers at school was bitten by a centipede and was sent to the hospital for a morphine drip. So yea... that was scary. But actually, I loved camping on the beach. I loved falling asleep to the sound of the waves. I loved waking up to the view of the ocean. I loved showering under a 4 ft tall hose attached to a beached boat. I loved spending a week entirely on either sand or water.

This half of the course was focused more on ecology and less on people. So our days were spent doing activities such as a forest plot survey, a mangrove study, a sea anemone survey, and a giant clam project. We did a few more short paddles in our kayaks. I always looked forward to them, it was pretty cool to slide right along the top of the ocean like that. And we did alot more snorkeling. Throughout the trip, I saw alot of barracuda, anemones and clownfish, starfish, crown of thorns, sea urchins, giant clams, moray eels, small rays, and all your colorful reef fish. Little surprise, I couldn't get enough of it. To get to and from different beaches or reefs when we didn't kayak, we took traditional long-tail boats (these boats also carried all of our gear when we did kayak). They are skinny but long wooden boats with a motor attached to the end of a swiveling 15 ft long pole. Our drivers were a couple of Urak Lawoi from Lipe. One day, on our way back from snorkeling somewhere, our boat suddenly started veering to the left. All of us students were facing forwards but one of our field instructors, Pi Aaron, sat facing backwards on the bow of the boat. We watched as he jumped up and headed for the back of the boat, stopping just before climbing over all of us, as the boat began to straighten out. So I look back to see what was going on back there. Turns out our driver was fishing. While driving. In fact, he had the steering stick in one hand, a fishing pole in the other, and a cigarette in his mouth. He hadn't actually caught anything, but had just become a bit preoccupied with the line for a moment. i kept watching him as he soon propped up the fishing pole, took a seat on the cooler, draped his elbow over the steering stick, took a drag from his cigarette, removed it from his lips, then smiled and mouthed the word "sabai" across the boat to our Thai field instructor, Pi Pui. "Sabai" is loosely translated as chill, relaxed, enjoyable. So that sums up the course pretty well I'd say.

The last part of the expedition, our travel back to Chiang Mai, was like a variation on Planes Trains and Automobiles. It began by loading up longtail boats at 4 in the morning. Those boats took us out into deeper waters where we transferred everything onto a ferry. After a 4 hour ferry ride we had a 2 hour bus ride to the airport. From there, we had an hour and a half flight to Bangkok followed by another hour and a half flight to Chiang Mai. It was a long day. But then a final seminar in Chiang Mai and a Thai language assessment interview meant ISDSI was over. Islands was a great way to end it, it would have been hard to top class on the beach. The scenery was spectacular and the activities were fun. The teacher was horrendous but thankfully, he doesn't even teach while we are on the expedition. So overall, it's hard to complain.

Alot has happened since then, such as a three week long vacation with my parents. Hopefully a report on that will come very soon, now that my new room in Bangkok is equipped with wireless. Until then!