Woke up around 7am, got us a quick breakfast and then headed to the place where the bus picks us up. Waited there for a few minutes until a Tuk Tuk driver told us he would take us to our mini bus so we got in with him and he drove us to our mini bus. Jumped into the mini bus to take us to Luang Prabang. The bus ride was 6 hours long, but the roads were so twisty and turny that if we were hungover we would have been sick more then a dozen times. I was thanking god I didn't drink the night before because I could see it being a disaster. The roads might have been bad, but the view was amazing, I tried to take pictures, but kept taking it at the wrong time so our mini bus stopped a few times so we could take a few pictures which was nice. Made us late arriving, but we didn't mind. We shared the mini bus with a few other people all from the UK, pretty much everyone we met was from the UK. But everyone seemed nice and we chatted a big part of the 6 hours, while the other half was spent trying to sleep, but not being able to because of the roads.
We go into town around 3:30, Grabbed a Tuk Tuk with the rest of the gang who were in the mini bus and headed to central part of the city. Found a really cheap guesthouse, but it was one of the sketchiest. We were pretty much living in this old man's home... no actually we were living in his home. It was weird, but he was a lovely man. Very nice man. We walked around the city for a bit and tried to found our way, but instead we found food so we sat down and ate. After dinner we headed to the night market where we bought a few things. Some things were super cheap, while others were very expensive... for some reason all the stuff I liked was expensive. I got good prices in the end so that's all that matters.
After spending too much time in the night market we headed to this bar/restaurant to have a few drinks and watch the football game. Watched Korea get their ass kicked and then decided to go check out the internet. After internet I went back to the guesthouse to drop some things off, but by this point the city was dying down fast. I know Laos has a curfiew, but I didn't think people would actually head to bed this early. Got to our guesthouse and the door was locked. I was locked out of the building. I knocked and woke the old man up, he let me in and then went to my room. Got into my room and saw a giant spider in our bathroom. Teale wasn't with me so there was no one to kill it. This spider was like no other spider, we do not have these spiders in Canada because it was a taranchula... actually it was. I was scared out of my tree so I ran out to the old man and woke him once again tried to communicate giant spider to him through body language. He came to our room saw the thing and killed it for me. He was my life saver. He laughed for a long time at me and called me a girl. He even teased me the next day when he saw me. I didn't really care though cause that was one less taranchula in my room. Teale came back a few minutes later and was sketched out because the city was dead and there were no one on the streets. This is when we decided it was time for bed since there was nothing else to do since the city was dead.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Day 34
Woke up around 9am feeling like ass on a stick. Was not one of my favorite mornings. I got a shower hoping it would make me feel better like the day before, but it was an epic fail. Went and got some breakfast, once again couldn't really eat a whole lot because my stomach was making noises I've never heard before, plus my head was spinning and advil just wasn't cutting it. I was even starting to think I never wanted to drink again, but we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon. I'm only young, wild, and free once right. After breakfast we sat around anf watched Friends for a while, it seemed to help the hangover. After Friends we went back to our guesthouse and took a small nap because our heads were still spinning more then a spinning top.
We woke up an hour later and decided today was the day to rent motor bikes and go motor biking around Vang Vieng. Got us some nice bikes and the woman looks at us and says do you know how to drive one. I look at her and say, how do you turn it on. I think she was a bit nervous for us, but she let us go anyways. The first few minutes on the bike was the hardest cause I had to switch gears, while watching for cars and trying to stear. Teale on the other hand was scary on a bike. She would reve the engine then switch gears so her bike would pretty much jump in the air, lets just say she didn't really have control over her bike. I think I only knew what I was doing because I drove so many of my fathers toys while growing up, such as a fourwheeler and seadoo. I thank him for teaching me now. We drove for a little while and I hear Teale yell my name, I look back and she had almost crashed into a fence. At this point I was thinking the motor bike idea wasn't a good one. After a little while she started to get the hang of it so we took off without helmets into the mountains. We drove for hours into the mountains seeing Laos the best way you could possibly see it. The views were incredible, way better then anything I've ever seen before. The mountains were huge, and it was one after the other after the other. They never seemed to end. We drove like real Laos people, meaning if someone was going too slow you pass them on the inside or outside whichever way you prefer, and beat your horn at everything and anyone for being in your way. You would even drive on the other side of the road while something is coming right at you. Driving like real Laos people means you must drive with no fears. At times I was a little nervouse because a truck would be coming right at me, but for some strange reason we would never hit one another. this would never fly in Canada, there would be more accidents in Canada if people drove this way.
After hours of driving around with motor bikes we decided we had enough, plus we were running out of gas and didn't want to pay for more. Took our bikes back and headed to an internet place. Took care of some business on the internet, got caught up on all the gossip, then went out for food, and of course more Friends.
Later that evening we booked our bus for the next morning to Luang Prabang. This meant no drinking for us because we had an early morning the next morning. We didn't want a repeat of us almost missing the bus because we got drunk the night before. That was bad enough the first time. We spent the night walking around seeing things we needed to see, then Teale went to bed because she still wasn't feeling the greatest from the night before. I went and did internet for a while and ran into Mel and Eli who we came to Vang Vieng together, but as soon as we arrived went separate ways and didn't see each other. It was great running into one another again, but at the same time they were out of it. Seems like someone got into the happy stuff that night. We parted ways and I walked around after internet then headed to bed because morning comes early.
We woke up an hour later and decided today was the day to rent motor bikes and go motor biking around Vang Vieng. Got us some nice bikes and the woman looks at us and says do you know how to drive one. I look at her and say, how do you turn it on. I think she was a bit nervous for us, but she let us go anyways. The first few minutes on the bike was the hardest cause I had to switch gears, while watching for cars and trying to stear. Teale on the other hand was scary on a bike. She would reve the engine then switch gears so her bike would pretty much jump in the air, lets just say she didn't really have control over her bike. I think I only knew what I was doing because I drove so many of my fathers toys while growing up, such as a fourwheeler and seadoo. I thank him for teaching me now. We drove for a little while and I hear Teale yell my name, I look back and she had almost crashed into a fence. At this point I was thinking the motor bike idea wasn't a good one. After a little while she started to get the hang of it so we took off without helmets into the mountains. We drove for hours into the mountains seeing Laos the best way you could possibly see it. The views were incredible, way better then anything I've ever seen before. The mountains were huge, and it was one after the other after the other. They never seemed to end. We drove like real Laos people, meaning if someone was going too slow you pass them on the inside or outside whichever way you prefer, and beat your horn at everything and anyone for being in your way. You would even drive on the other side of the road while something is coming right at you. Driving like real Laos people means you must drive with no fears. At times I was a little nervouse because a truck would be coming right at me, but for some strange reason we would never hit one another. this would never fly in Canada, there would be more accidents in Canada if people drove this way.
After hours of driving around with motor bikes we decided we had enough, plus we were running out of gas and didn't want to pay for more. Took our bikes back and headed to an internet place. Took care of some business on the internet, got caught up on all the gossip, then went out for food, and of course more Friends.
Later that evening we booked our bus for the next morning to Luang Prabang. This meant no drinking for us because we had an early morning the next morning. We didn't want a repeat of us almost missing the bus because we got drunk the night before. That was bad enough the first time. We spent the night walking around seeing things we needed to see, then Teale went to bed because she still wasn't feeling the greatest from the night before. I went and did internet for a while and ran into Mel and Eli who we came to Vang Vieng together, but as soon as we arrived went separate ways and didn't see each other. It was great running into one another again, but at the same time they were out of it. Seems like someone got into the happy stuff that night. We parted ways and I walked around after internet then headed to bed because morning comes early.
Day 33
We woke up around noon not feeling the hottest. Felt like a ball of shit to be exact. We honestly didn't know if we were going to be able to get up and get ready for the day, for a moment there we thought it might be a wasted day in Vang Vieng, but we pulled it together got us a shower which made life so much better. Headed out for food since it was already almost 2 in the afternoon. I wasn't feeling the greatest so I didn't eat a very large meal. After lunch we sat around for a little while and watched some Friends since that's all they do there is sit around and watch Friends one episode after the other. I wasn't complaining though, I love Friends.
After a few episodes of Friends we decided today was the day, it was the day to go tubbing down the river. Went to the tubbing place and met a few girls I can't remember their names for the life of me and a lonely boy named Tim. We got our tubs and jumped into a Tuk Tuk together and headed to the river. We were expecting a bunch of people who were going to be tubbing down the river stopping at the bars along the way, but when we got there we realized no one really goes tubbing they just go to the bars. Whatever its a learning experience. We started off at Bar 1 and got us a bucket, chilled at bar one for a while chatting and meeting new people. After bar one we jumped into our tubs and headed down the river and stopped at bar two. Got another bucket and stayed there for a while meeting more new people. Bar two had a rope that you could swing on into the water, but it was extremely high and I didn't think I was drunk enough yet to try that one. After bar two we headed to bar three obviously. We ordered another bucket... note each one of these buckets have a full pint of whiskey in them, I watched her pore them, with very little mix, so it was hard to drink at first, but after the first one and all the free shots each bar gives out you couldn't taste the second two buckets. We stuck around bar three for a while longer then the rest because this is where we met a bunch of girls and we hung out with them drinking. Also this was the bar with the giant zip-line into the water so by this point I was drunk enough and decided why not. Got on the zip-line and took off into the water. One time wasn't enough for me, had to do it a bunch more times with different people, Tim and I went once together, and then I went with the group of girls we met. After the zip-linning into the water I continued to drink by getting another bucket, at the time it was a good idea. While getting a bucket a bunch of girls were walking around giving out bracelettes for free buckets at the bucket bar that night, so me being a Wry and all I thought to myself if I was my father I would never pass up a free drink, so I didn't. Got me a bunch of bracelettes for free buckets.
Now for all of you who don't know the river only had eight bars along it. After the third bar we decided to grab our tubs and head to the fourth bar. Went to get our tubs, looked everwhere for them and realized they were stollen. We thought that was a sign so we stayed at bar three for much longer and continued drinking until way into the night. Once the darkness took over the bars shut down so we grabbed a Tuk Tuk with a bunch of randoms and headed back to town. I was spinning and was thinking maybe I had one too many buckets. Got out of the Tuk Tuk and headed back to the guesthouse. There was no way I could drink anymore buckets, my night was over. Got to the guesthouse safe and sound, passed out while locking Teale out of our room. She comes back to the room an hour later and bangs on the door, but of course I am passed out so I don't hear her. She had to get the man to open the door and she told me I was passed out on the bed and there was no waking me. So guess the night came to an end pretty early.
After a few episodes of Friends we decided today was the day, it was the day to go tubbing down the river. Went to the tubbing place and met a few girls I can't remember their names for the life of me and a lonely boy named Tim. We got our tubs and jumped into a Tuk Tuk together and headed to the river. We were expecting a bunch of people who were going to be tubbing down the river stopping at the bars along the way, but when we got there we realized no one really goes tubbing they just go to the bars. Whatever its a learning experience. We started off at Bar 1 and got us a bucket, chilled at bar one for a while chatting and meeting new people. After bar one we jumped into our tubs and headed down the river and stopped at bar two. Got another bucket and stayed there for a while meeting more new people. Bar two had a rope that you could swing on into the water, but it was extremely high and I didn't think I was drunk enough yet to try that one. After bar two we headed to bar three obviously. We ordered another bucket... note each one of these buckets have a full pint of whiskey in them, I watched her pore them, with very little mix, so it was hard to drink at first, but after the first one and all the free shots each bar gives out you couldn't taste the second two buckets. We stuck around bar three for a while longer then the rest because this is where we met a bunch of girls and we hung out with them drinking. Also this was the bar with the giant zip-line into the water so by this point I was drunk enough and decided why not. Got on the zip-line and took off into the water. One time wasn't enough for me, had to do it a bunch more times with different people, Tim and I went once together, and then I went with the group of girls we met. After the zip-linning into the water I continued to drink by getting another bucket, at the time it was a good idea. While getting a bucket a bunch of girls were walking around giving out bracelettes for free buckets at the bucket bar that night, so me being a Wry and all I thought to myself if I was my father I would never pass up a free drink, so I didn't. Got me a bunch of bracelettes for free buckets.
Now for all of you who don't know the river only had eight bars along it. After the third bar we decided to grab our tubs and head to the fourth bar. Went to get our tubs, looked everwhere for them and realized they were stollen. We thought that was a sign so we stayed at bar three for much longer and continued drinking until way into the night. Once the darkness took over the bars shut down so we grabbed a Tuk Tuk with a bunch of randoms and headed back to town. I was spinning and was thinking maybe I had one too many buckets. Got out of the Tuk Tuk and headed back to the guesthouse. There was no way I could drink anymore buckets, my night was over. Got to the guesthouse safe and sound, passed out while locking Teale out of our room. She comes back to the room an hour later and bangs on the door, but of course I am passed out so I don't hear her. She had to get the man to open the door and she told me I was passed out on the bed and there was no waking me. So guess the night came to an end pretty early.
Day 32
We got into Viientiane around 6am. Felt so nice to get off that bus. We arrived at the other bus station to find that the other bus we needed to take wasn't leaving till 10am so we had to chill in Vientiane for a few hours. We split up, Teale and myself went to a small cafe and chilled there for the whole time eating and doing the internet thing. We realized that Vientiane may be the capital of Laos, but there is nothing to do there, which is why we are passing through and not staying.
Got on the bus at 10am and headed to Vang Vieng finally. The bus ride was only a few hours which made it so much sweeter since we've had enough buses for a while. We got into Vang Vieng around 1:30 and left Eli and Mel to find their own place, while we ventured into town to find something a bit closer to the party. Found the perfect place, and it had AC so we were in heaven. After dropping our stuff off we headed to the Aussie bar and got us some burgers and beer. The burgers were massive, I couldn't fit it in my mouth that's how big it was. It had two patti's and egg and so much stuff you couldn't even believe it. It was called "the really huge burger" so I guess that explains it right.
After burgers we walked around and checked out the place. We found a bunch of people so we headed off to the bar and started drinking with them while watching the game. Teale and myself got a tad bit drunk so we may have gone home a bit early. A lot more happened in the night, but pictures will explain it better then I can.
Got on the bus at 10am and headed to Vang Vieng finally. The bus ride was only a few hours which made it so much sweeter since we've had enough buses for a while. We got into Vang Vieng around 1:30 and left Eli and Mel to find their own place, while we ventured into town to find something a bit closer to the party. Found the perfect place, and it had AC so we were in heaven. After dropping our stuff off we headed to the Aussie bar and got us some burgers and beer. The burgers were massive, I couldn't fit it in my mouth that's how big it was. It had two patti's and egg and so much stuff you couldn't even believe it. It was called "the really huge burger" so I guess that explains it right.
After burgers we walked around and checked out the place. We found a bunch of people so we headed off to the bar and started drinking with them while watching the game. Teale and myself got a tad bit drunk so we may have gone home a bit early. A lot more happened in the night, but pictures will explain it better then I can.
Day 31
Woke up a bit early this morning due to the heat and because we had to get off the island for 11. Packed all of our things and made sure we had everything this time. Got breakfast together and headed down to where the ferry picks you up. Right before I decided a beer would be a good way to say goodbye to such a beautiful island, so beer it was. We took some last minute photos and said our goodbyes as we got on an even sketchier boat then the night we got in. At this point we were wondering if they actually had an actual ferry, or were they all this sketchy.
Got to the mainland and jumped into our mini bus that was going to take us to Pakse. Spent the entire morning in the mini bus until we finally got to Pakse. Finally we could get out stretch our legs and chill in this cool town for a few hours before getting another bus. We were wrong... not so much about the chilling part, but about the cool town. The town is a ghost town, nothing is open, everything is closed down. It was so hard to find somewhere to chill for 6 hours, Teale and I managed to find a place where we could buy beer so it was all good in our minds. Then we walked around and met this American couple who told us about the only restaurant that was open, and it just happened to be Indian. We headed there and got food before taking another bus. Met up with Eli and Mel and went to thr bus station. Our bus was much different then any other bus we've ever taken... why you ask, well it was a sleeper bus. This means there are beds on the bus instead of seats. It was an overnight bus so at the time we thought it would bve a good idea. So not. Last sleeper bus Teale and myself will ever take, the roads were so bumpy we were flying up in the air and almost fell out of our bed. It was brutal, we so did not get any sleep, only because we had to hang on for our lives the whole way.
Got to the mainland and jumped into our mini bus that was going to take us to Pakse. Spent the entire morning in the mini bus until we finally got to Pakse. Finally we could get out stretch our legs and chill in this cool town for a few hours before getting another bus. We were wrong... not so much about the chilling part, but about the cool town. The town is a ghost town, nothing is open, everything is closed down. It was so hard to find somewhere to chill for 6 hours, Teale and I managed to find a place where we could buy beer so it was all good in our minds. Then we walked around and met this American couple who told us about the only restaurant that was open, and it just happened to be Indian. We headed there and got food before taking another bus. Met up with Eli and Mel and went to thr bus station. Our bus was much different then any other bus we've ever taken... why you ask, well it was a sleeper bus. This means there are beds on the bus instead of seats. It was an overnight bus so at the time we thought it would bve a good idea. So not. Last sleeper bus Teale and myself will ever take, the roads were so bumpy we were flying up in the air and almost fell out of our bed. It was brutal, we so did not get any sleep, only because we had to hang on for our lives the whole way.
Day 30
Woke up around 8:30, we didn't really sleep much because it was so hot and had no AC to cool us down in the middle of the night. Also we were staying in a very sketchy place and I was worried about waking up with bugs on me all night, so obviously I was up almost every hour checking for bugs. God I am weird, or am I. Nope I'm just a sissy scared of bugs. We got showers and for the first time Teale and myself didn't have to meet the group, we were on our own. It was a bit scary, but at the same time such an adventure. We met up with Eli and Mel, who also decided to come to Dondet with us and got some breakfast together. After breakfast I decided it would be a good idea to have a beer since it was such a beautiful day. The beer was amazing, so smooth and just what was needed after a horrible day yesterday of travelling.
We walked around a bit checked the bus schedule and prices because our goal was to leave the next day and head to Vang Vieng. Booked our bus ticket, felt like we accomplished something so we all rented bikes and biked around the island. Took us most of the day to go all the way around, but we did stop a bunch. First stop was because of a monkey. It was a tiny baby and I kinda got carried away playing with him... found out later it was a girl. This monkey wasn't the so much a friend. He tried to take my camera... got a hold of hit and started to take off, but at the last minute i got a tiny piece of it so he dropped it just in time. Got my camera back and was done playing with the monkey... we parted ways.
Kept biking around the island and we ran into a bunch of children playing around so obviously me, I stop and play with them for a little while, while the rest of them kept biking. The kids were adorable and cute and we played games I could not tell you the name, but I lost every time. That could be because I was white and couldn't understand what they were saying so for all I know they could be making it up on the spot and they say the white lady loses every time.... who really knows.
Got back on my bike and found the others. They found a hammek bar so went in there grabbed me a hammek and chilled out there for a couple hours drinking the best mojito's I've ever tasted. We got food and sat there over looking the water. The view was incredible, and the bar was one of my favorite. Not a dancing place, but for sure a very chill place.
Biking finally came to an end as we passed the tiny monkey on the way back. I think he remembered me because as I was passing he tried to take Eli's shirt that was hanging on my bike. He got a hold of it, but I was too quick for the little buggar, the he tried to bite me, so I decided our time together was over.
Brought our bikes back, got more beer to hold us over for a while and went swimming. Myself personally I didn't go swimming. My leg was still not heeled over and it was still very open so I decided to hold off getting into the very dirty water that all the poop goes into. We then chilled out on a couple more hammeks as we watched the sun go down. After spending a lot of time in a hammek we decided to hit up the Indian place for food. I do not recommend, not good so don't go the only Indian place on Dondet island.
Got back to our place and chilled there watching some of the Football they call it while we call it soccer and then headed to bed.
We walked around a bit checked the bus schedule and prices because our goal was to leave the next day and head to Vang Vieng. Booked our bus ticket, felt like we accomplished something so we all rented bikes and biked around the island. Took us most of the day to go all the way around, but we did stop a bunch. First stop was because of a monkey. It was a tiny baby and I kinda got carried away playing with him... found out later it was a girl. This monkey wasn't the so much a friend. He tried to take my camera... got a hold of hit and started to take off, but at the last minute i got a tiny piece of it so he dropped it just in time. Got my camera back and was done playing with the monkey... we parted ways.
Kept biking around the island and we ran into a bunch of children playing around so obviously me, I stop and play with them for a little while, while the rest of them kept biking. The kids were adorable and cute and we played games I could not tell you the name, but I lost every time. That could be because I was white and couldn't understand what they were saying so for all I know they could be making it up on the spot and they say the white lady loses every time.... who really knows.
Got back on my bike and found the others. They found a hammek bar so went in there grabbed me a hammek and chilled out there for a couple hours drinking the best mojito's I've ever tasted. We got food and sat there over looking the water. The view was incredible, and the bar was one of my favorite. Not a dancing place, but for sure a very chill place.
Biking finally came to an end as we passed the tiny monkey on the way back. I think he remembered me because as I was passing he tried to take Eli's shirt that was hanging on my bike. He got a hold of it, but I was too quick for the little buggar, the he tried to bite me, so I decided our time together was over.
Brought our bikes back, got more beer to hold us over for a while and went swimming. Myself personally I didn't go swimming. My leg was still not heeled over and it was still very open so I decided to hold off getting into the very dirty water that all the poop goes into. We then chilled out on a couple more hammeks as we watched the sun go down. After spending a lot of time in a hammek we decided to hit up the Indian place for food. I do not recommend, not good so don't go the only Indian place on Dondet island.
Got back to our place and chilled there watching some of the Football they call it while we call it soccer and then headed to bed.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 29
Had to catch a bus at 6am, Woke up at 6am. Good god it was a mad rush for both Teale and myself. We threw everything into our bag as fast as we could ran downstairs still haggard from the night before, luckely the van was waiting for us and we got it just before it was about to leave us behind. Got to the bus station ran to our bus threw our bags down and jumped on the bus just in time. Sat down, couldn't think because I was still so drunk from the night before. Was trying to go over things in my head to see if I brought everything but I couldn't focuse so I passed out. When I woke up I was hungover, but couldn't help but laugh cause we almost missed our bus. It was an epic disaster, but not a fail since we made it. The bus was 16 hours long and I know this because I was so hungover for the entire time on the really bad roads. the whole time I thought I was going to be sick so I tried to sleep. Slept the whole way with no food in my belly... I was too afraid I would get sick if I ate something.
While on the bus for 16 hours our bus breaks down for an hour on the side of the road. So we're chilling on the side of the road bored out of our tree, lukely I slept due to the mad hangover. Once we got to the border of Cambodia and Laos it took forever because not us, but other people had border touble and the boder closed so they couldn't get into Laos. They had to pay the police man to let them in... it was a disaster lets just put it that way.
Finally got into where you take a ferry over to Dondet the 4000 islands, it was about 8:30 and the bus was suppose to get in at 6. Well take a guess folks... the ferry was closed for the night. We all had to bribe a random dude to take us over on his sketchy boat. Finally he did, it was horrible and I thought we were going to drown. Made it to the island in one piece and so happy to finally be off of a bus/ferry so I could finally get me some food. We got a guesthouse, got some food and then walked around the island. It was pretty quiet and we were all tired so we headed to bed for the night.
While on the bus for 16 hours our bus breaks down for an hour on the side of the road. So we're chilling on the side of the road bored out of our tree, lukely I slept due to the mad hangover. Once we got to the border of Cambodia and Laos it took forever because not us, but other people had border touble and the boder closed so they couldn't get into Laos. They had to pay the police man to let them in... it was a disaster lets just put it that way.
Finally got into where you take a ferry over to Dondet the 4000 islands, it was about 8:30 and the bus was suppose to get in at 6. Well take a guess folks... the ferry was closed for the night. We all had to bribe a random dude to take us over on his sketchy boat. Finally he did, it was horrible and I thought we were going to drown. Made it to the island in one piece and so happy to finally be off of a bus/ferry so I could finally get me some food. We got a guesthouse, got some food and then walked around the island. It was pretty quiet and we were all tired so we headed to bed for the night.
Day 28
We woke up around 6... why so early, well it was biking day. Got showers and met the group downstairs for 7. We all headed to the bike shop got our rented bike, which were pretty nice mountain bikes. Got helmeted up, and road our bikes to the ferry. Following our guide of course because it is very dangerous to bike in the city unless you know what you are doing. One guide at the front and the other at the back making sure we all made it to the ferry safe and sound... Kia on the other hand had never road a bike so it took him much longer to get to the ferry, I'm gonna say 40 mins when it only took the rest of us 5. Kia had the adventure of a lifetime that day, falling and trying to learn, he now can ride a bike, but not very well.
We took the ferry to Mekong Island where it is less city and more country, more of a biker place, which is why we were going there. Started our trek at around 9 am with a nice cold beer. Beer and biking are so a good combo. We didn't stop at 1, we may have had another one as well. The rest of the group started the biking while myself, Amanada, and Mikka stayed behind and kept drinking. We knew we would catch up at some point. After 15 mins of drinking we decided we should hit the road. Got on our bikes with Amanda's speakers blasting sweet melodies. We stopped every 5 seconds whenever we saw a store and bought another beer, chugged it and then kept going. It was now 9:30 in the morning and all these Cambodians didn't understand why we were drinking so early, we didn't either, but trust me its always a good idea. At this point we are now lost from the group, but we didn't care. We all knew how to bike and drink so we figured we could put the both together.
As we were ridding our bike, I happen to get distracted and hit a giant rock, went ass over handle bars onto the ground. All the locals started running towards me, they thought I had died, but really I stood up totally fine and was asking for more beer. They laughed and thought I was crazy. This is when I noticed my chain was off, so I had to fix that. One of the locals helped me fix it like a nice man he was and then it was biking time again. Amanada and Mikka on the other hand could not stop laughing so I joined in and got another beer. We biked a little more and then stopped again for another beer. This is when the rest of the gang came up behind us and we were confused because we were behind them. They all went to check out the temple which is why they got behind us. We all joined in together and got beer. Nat found her future husband, he was really 3 yrs old, but the mother loved Nat so much she wanted her to come back one day and marry him. We found this odd, but went with it. Myself, well I made friends with the guide. He called me baby and wanted to marry me. So we are now planning our marriage together.
We kept going with the biking, took another ferry to another island. Biked hard for a while since there were no stores to buys beer. We started to bike faster and faster, and we all know that means bad news. Going around this turn Nat was going wide and I was coming in sharpe, Nat decided last minute to go sharpe and I made a quick decision call, it was either both of us go down or just one of us. I decided I should go and save Nat. Well you all know what comes next. Down goes me. My ass scrape the pavement along with the side of my knee. At this point my helmet was not on my head since I gave it to our guide to hold onto and I was on the ground. In pain... no not so much. Might be because of the alcohol, but I was laughing, gave Amanda a heart attack though. She thought I died. My man in shinning armor came to the rescue, he biked back picked me up and everything was ok. Got back on my bike and road off, blood running down my leg, but I love battle wounds.
We kept ridding and found a spot where we could go swimming in the river. The river wasn't the cleanest so I decided not to go in since my leg was open and dirty water would not be the best thing for my wound. We kept ridding and got on another ferry back to the city. Finally got back to the bike shop where we had dinner lunch with the guides.
After lunch we all went home and took showers since we were covered in dirt. We all met up and I bandaged my leg up and we went for supper at Friends. It a place where orphanes go and learn how to be servers so they get get a good job at a fancy restaurant instead of begging on the streets. After friends we all went out to Top Banana for our last night before ITT, meaning time on our own to travel. It was also Steph's birthday celebrations so we celebrated hard. Free shots all night from the bartenders, and loads of booze to be drank. After Top Banana we headed to Pontoune to drink more. At this point I was feeling great, along with everyone else. After Pontoune we went to Candy Bar drank there for a bit until 4am. This is when I realized I had to be up at 5 to catch a bus at 6. It was time for me to go home and catch a few ZZzzZzZ's before bussing all day.
We took the ferry to Mekong Island where it is less city and more country, more of a biker place, which is why we were going there. Started our trek at around 9 am with a nice cold beer. Beer and biking are so a good combo. We didn't stop at 1, we may have had another one as well. The rest of the group started the biking while myself, Amanada, and Mikka stayed behind and kept drinking. We knew we would catch up at some point. After 15 mins of drinking we decided we should hit the road. Got on our bikes with Amanda's speakers blasting sweet melodies. We stopped every 5 seconds whenever we saw a store and bought another beer, chugged it and then kept going. It was now 9:30 in the morning and all these Cambodians didn't understand why we were drinking so early, we didn't either, but trust me its always a good idea. At this point we are now lost from the group, but we didn't care. We all knew how to bike and drink so we figured we could put the both together.
As we were ridding our bike, I happen to get distracted and hit a giant rock, went ass over handle bars onto the ground. All the locals started running towards me, they thought I had died, but really I stood up totally fine and was asking for more beer. They laughed and thought I was crazy. This is when I noticed my chain was off, so I had to fix that. One of the locals helped me fix it like a nice man he was and then it was biking time again. Amanada and Mikka on the other hand could not stop laughing so I joined in and got another beer. We biked a little more and then stopped again for another beer. This is when the rest of the gang came up behind us and we were confused because we were behind them. They all went to check out the temple which is why they got behind us. We all joined in together and got beer. Nat found her future husband, he was really 3 yrs old, but the mother loved Nat so much she wanted her to come back one day and marry him. We found this odd, but went with it. Myself, well I made friends with the guide. He called me baby and wanted to marry me. So we are now planning our marriage together.
We kept going with the biking, took another ferry to another island. Biked hard for a while since there were no stores to buys beer. We started to bike faster and faster, and we all know that means bad news. Going around this turn Nat was going wide and I was coming in sharpe, Nat decided last minute to go sharpe and I made a quick decision call, it was either both of us go down or just one of us. I decided I should go and save Nat. Well you all know what comes next. Down goes me. My ass scrape the pavement along with the side of my knee. At this point my helmet was not on my head since I gave it to our guide to hold onto and I was on the ground. In pain... no not so much. Might be because of the alcohol, but I was laughing, gave Amanda a heart attack though. She thought I died. My man in shinning armor came to the rescue, he biked back picked me up and everything was ok. Got back on my bike and road off, blood running down my leg, but I love battle wounds.
We kept ridding and found a spot where we could go swimming in the river. The river wasn't the cleanest so I decided not to go in since my leg was open and dirty water would not be the best thing for my wound. We kept ridding and got on another ferry back to the city. Finally got back to the bike shop where we had dinner lunch with the guides.
After lunch we all went home and took showers since we were covered in dirt. We all met up and I bandaged my leg up and we went for supper at Friends. It a place where orphanes go and learn how to be servers so they get get a good job at a fancy restaurant instead of begging on the streets. After friends we all went out to Top Banana for our last night before ITT, meaning time on our own to travel. It was also Steph's birthday celebrations so we celebrated hard. Free shots all night from the bartenders, and loads of booze to be drank. After Top Banana we headed to Pontoune to drink more. At this point I was feeling great, along with everyone else. After Pontoune we went to Candy Bar drank there for a bit until 4am. This is when I realized I had to be up at 5 to catch a bus at 6. It was time for me to go home and catch a few ZZzzZzZ's before bussing all day.
Day 27
We got to sleep in, and this time I slept in till 11. May sound early to some of you, but that was the latest I could sleep. We all got ready and met up and went to a sandwich place that Amanda loves so much. We chilled there for a large part of our day chatting and reading the Cambodian news. Read up on the Korea business since all my wonderful lady friends are there. Just making sure everything is still safe, cause if it wasn't I would turn into a mother and say get home you girlies. Sitting there I saw this little boy, he came into the sandwich place and asked me to buy a book. I don't read so the obvious answer was no, but he picked out a book for me and it was called "They Shot my Father First". It was all about the Khmer Rouge regime and this girls story. I decided it would be a perfect book to buy since Cambodian history facinates me. And plus he picked it out for me and promised a good deal. I trusted him, until I ran into another boy selling books and he was selling the same book for two bucks cheaper. I got scammed from those big brown eyes.
It was starting to look like it was going to rain so we went to a friend of Amanda's where we all sat around and discussed where our money we raised was going to go. We decided to sponsor one of the girls from NFC to go to University. We also decided to buy batteries for the solar pannels for the hill tribes, this will mean they can have electricity for longer then 10 minutes. Last we decided to give more money to S.C.A.O to build another school in a different part of the city so he can educate more children from different areas.
After chilling there for the day and discussing money we headed to Tiny Toone's which was a center for children. Not an orphanage, but if the child has no where else to go they are able to stay there. It is more of a place to go and be educated, and also learn how to break dance which allows them to take their mind off of the things that trouble them in the world. We stayed there for a while, watched them dance. Some of these kids were really good, they could kick any one of our ass on the dance floor. Some of the older kids/ not really kids are so good that they have even been in different music videos for different rappers.
We left Tinny Toone's and headed out for supper at a hot pot place. It's kinda like a Korea BBQ, but not. you have this hot plate in front of you and you cook your own food. It was interesting, but I way prefer Korean BBQ any day. After that we all went back to our guesthouse and chilled for the night watching movies. I got caught up in my journal and then headed to bed after screaming because of the massive bug in our room. I didn't sleep well that night because I kept having dreams of giant bugs in my bed... Ewwww.
It was starting to look like it was going to rain so we went to a friend of Amanda's where we all sat around and discussed where our money we raised was going to go. We decided to sponsor one of the girls from NFC to go to University. We also decided to buy batteries for the solar pannels for the hill tribes, this will mean they can have electricity for longer then 10 minutes. Last we decided to give more money to S.C.A.O to build another school in a different part of the city so he can educate more children from different areas.
After chilling there for the day and discussing money we headed to Tiny Toone's which was a center for children. Not an orphanage, but if the child has no where else to go they are able to stay there. It is more of a place to go and be educated, and also learn how to break dance which allows them to take their mind off of the things that trouble them in the world. We stayed there for a while, watched them dance. Some of these kids were really good, they could kick any one of our ass on the dance floor. Some of the older kids/ not really kids are so good that they have even been in different music videos for different rappers.
We left Tinny Toone's and headed out for supper at a hot pot place. It's kinda like a Korea BBQ, but not. you have this hot plate in front of you and you cook your own food. It was interesting, but I way prefer Korean BBQ any day. After that we all went back to our guesthouse and chilled for the night watching movies. I got caught up in my journal and then headed to bed after screaming because of the massive bug in our room. I didn't sleep well that night because I kept having dreams of giant bugs in my bed... Ewwww.
Day 26
We woke up around 7 once again today got all ready and done up because we decided to go check out another lecture at the University. This time around we did not teach the class, we were part of the class. I thought my University days were over, but I guess not. It was another gender class so we learned more about women in the sex trade and how not only women are used, children are also at risk. Things we all knew, but more in depth. Once the lecture was over we got to talk to the students, they asked us questions about Canada, and we asked them questions about Cambodia. University in Cambodia is only 500 bucks a semester, which to them that is huge, but once we told them how much we pay in Canada they were pretty much falling off their chairs. Not everyone in Cambodia can go to University, only the people who are rich or who hve been sponsored by someone else to go. This means there are a lot of people who do not go to University. A little off topis here, but when we were at NFC orphanage we discussed where some of our money is going to go that we raised and we decided to sponsor one of the girls at the orphange to go to University and hopefully each year this trip will be able to continue sponsoring this girl along with more as soon as the idea takes off. Thi will mean more girls going to University, which there is a lack of and better education, which will help them achieve their dreams.
After the University lecture was over we were given a free day. Not like yesterday were we ended up not having a free day, this time it was an actual free day. The ladies got together and all went out for poutine once again... we just can't get enough of it. It so good and its so Canada at heart. Then we did the internet thing, I was trying to get caught up on the blog... epic fail, and still today I am far behind. After getting bored with internet I found Teale and we decided we needed some adventure in our lives. We thought we would do the touristy thing and find something to do. Went downstairs checked the list of things to do while in Cambodia and read shooting range. We looked at one another and thought "this could be interesting".
Got in a Tuk Tuk, he drove for 40 mins finally got to the shooting range which was the military base. We were a little nervous because big tanks and army people all around us. Didn't want to do anything wrong there or who knows what might happen. Went inside and they gave us a book. The book said menu and Teale and I were both like we don't want food. That's when they opened the book and it had guns and everything you could possibly imagine. The menu was military weapons that we could buy and shoot, throw, or whathever. We looked at each other and obviously pointed to the AK 47. When else would we ever be able to shoot an AK 47, not in Canada anytime soon. They got the massive gun ready, took us to the shooting room where we put on these headphones so we can still hear today. And then it was shooting time. The first shot was the scariest because the gun had some kick to it and kinda hurt my shoulder a bit, but I wasn't scared I kept shooting. Teale went after me and then it was over. We got our target and well, we're not joining the army anytime soon, out of 50 shots we only hit the target 4 times. Gonna cross army off of my list of future things to do.
We left the army base and headed to race cars, we thought since the sign said race cars meant actual race cars... it was go karts. We chose not to do this since we can do this in Canada anytime we want. Started our trek home, which was another 40 mins so we thought. WRONG! Our Tuk Tuk broke down, then finally got it fixed so we were on our way again when I looked up and noticed the sky was black. Two seconds later it started poring rain, like worse then I've ever seen. The water was filling the streets because they don't have good drainage systems. So obviously the engine in our Tuk Tuk floods. We are now on the side of the road 40 mins away from our guesthouse in a massive storm and need to be back by 5 to meet group and its already 4:20. We are screwed. We flag down another Tuk Tuk from our Tuk Tuk, Jump on the other Tuk Tuk and as we do he turns off his engine and I yell NOOOOOOO. His engine is now flooded as well. Teale and I are sitting there in another Tuk Tuk rushed for time trying to come up with a plan. Nothing comes to mind, until we see another Tuk Tuk. Flag him down and jump on his Tuk Tuk. This guys speaks no English, but for some reason he says he knows where he is going so we trust him. WRONG! Never trust a Tuk Tuk driver who doesn't speak English. He took us to some random place and said it was our guesthouse when we obviously knew it wasn't. Got out of his Tuk Tuk and by this point its 4:55, we need to meet the group at 5, they said don't be late and we have no idea where we are. I'm running around the street yelling Tuk Tuk, finally this man comes out and he is a young fella who speaks perfect English. He goes you need a Tuk Tuk, I told him where we needed to go, and that we needed to go fast. He said jump in, at this point the other Tuk Tuk won't leave us alone cause he wants more money when we didn't agree to that. We give him more money to shut him up after a few more minute arguing with him. Its now 5 and the English speaking Tuk Tuk tells me its going to be 15 mins before we are there because of traffic and rain. Epic fail on our part.
Finally get back to guesthouse everyone waiting for us, we are socked in water from the rain. Everyone looked at us and was like what the hell did you two get into. We both looked at them and never spoke a word. Went to our room changed and came back down. At this point people were wondering what the hell happened, we told them our story and they died laughing. Us on the other hand were not laughing so much. Now, I find it hilarious.
After a long day of Tuk Tuk's we all went out for Indian food, came back and grabbed a shower. Since the day was filled with adventure I decided to stay in and watch movies instead of going out. I think that was a good choice, because my bed was wonderful.
After the University lecture was over we were given a free day. Not like yesterday were we ended up not having a free day, this time it was an actual free day. The ladies got together and all went out for poutine once again... we just can't get enough of it. It so good and its so Canada at heart. Then we did the internet thing, I was trying to get caught up on the blog... epic fail, and still today I am far behind. After getting bored with internet I found Teale and we decided we needed some adventure in our lives. We thought we would do the touristy thing and find something to do. Went downstairs checked the list of things to do while in Cambodia and read shooting range. We looked at one another and thought "this could be interesting".
Got in a Tuk Tuk, he drove for 40 mins finally got to the shooting range which was the military base. We were a little nervous because big tanks and army people all around us. Didn't want to do anything wrong there or who knows what might happen. Went inside and they gave us a book. The book said menu and Teale and I were both like we don't want food. That's when they opened the book and it had guns and everything you could possibly imagine. The menu was military weapons that we could buy and shoot, throw, or whathever. We looked at each other and obviously pointed to the AK 47. When else would we ever be able to shoot an AK 47, not in Canada anytime soon. They got the massive gun ready, took us to the shooting room where we put on these headphones so we can still hear today. And then it was shooting time. The first shot was the scariest because the gun had some kick to it and kinda hurt my shoulder a bit, but I wasn't scared I kept shooting. Teale went after me and then it was over. We got our target and well, we're not joining the army anytime soon, out of 50 shots we only hit the target 4 times. Gonna cross army off of my list of future things to do.
We left the army base and headed to race cars, we thought since the sign said race cars meant actual race cars... it was go karts. We chose not to do this since we can do this in Canada anytime we want. Started our trek home, which was another 40 mins so we thought. WRONG! Our Tuk Tuk broke down, then finally got it fixed so we were on our way again when I looked up and noticed the sky was black. Two seconds later it started poring rain, like worse then I've ever seen. The water was filling the streets because they don't have good drainage systems. So obviously the engine in our Tuk Tuk floods. We are now on the side of the road 40 mins away from our guesthouse in a massive storm and need to be back by 5 to meet group and its already 4:20. We are screwed. We flag down another Tuk Tuk from our Tuk Tuk, Jump on the other Tuk Tuk and as we do he turns off his engine and I yell NOOOOOOO. His engine is now flooded as well. Teale and I are sitting there in another Tuk Tuk rushed for time trying to come up with a plan. Nothing comes to mind, until we see another Tuk Tuk. Flag him down and jump on his Tuk Tuk. This guys speaks no English, but for some reason he says he knows where he is going so we trust him. WRONG! Never trust a Tuk Tuk driver who doesn't speak English. He took us to some random place and said it was our guesthouse when we obviously knew it wasn't. Got out of his Tuk Tuk and by this point its 4:55, we need to meet the group at 5, they said don't be late and we have no idea where we are. I'm running around the street yelling Tuk Tuk, finally this man comes out and he is a young fella who speaks perfect English. He goes you need a Tuk Tuk, I told him where we needed to go, and that we needed to go fast. He said jump in, at this point the other Tuk Tuk won't leave us alone cause he wants more money when we didn't agree to that. We give him more money to shut him up after a few more minute arguing with him. Its now 5 and the English speaking Tuk Tuk tells me its going to be 15 mins before we are there because of traffic and rain. Epic fail on our part.
Finally get back to guesthouse everyone waiting for us, we are socked in water from the rain. Everyone looked at us and was like what the hell did you two get into. We both looked at them and never spoke a word. Went to our room changed and came back down. At this point people were wondering what the hell happened, we told them our story and they died laughing. Us on the other hand were not laughing so much. Now, I find it hilarious.
After a long day of Tuk Tuk's we all went out for Indian food, came back and grabbed a shower. Since the day was filled with adventure I decided to stay in and watch movies instead of going out. I think that was a good choice, because my bed was wonderful.
Day 25
Woke up around 7am gt showered and all that junk to meet the group at 8. Today we were headed to a University class that was being taught by a friend of Amanda's. The class was a gender class and talked all about the sex industry, and slavery that still happens around the world today. Off we went thinking we would be sitting in on the class, but when we got there we were surprised to hear we were going to be teaching the class. Oh good god... that's what was going through my head. Broke off into groups and discussed the issues. Not gonna lie I learned a lot and I was the one who was suppose to be teaching them. I learned that slavery still happens in Canada today... it isn't talked about, but it happens. The Canadian goverment keeps it hush hush because it is a slight form of slavery, but not to the extreme where the media can make it sound bad. Throughout the class a lot of the students didn't actually know that there were problems with slavery in Cambodia, and that the sex industry was as bad as it really is. They were shocked to hear, as was I with a lot of things.
Finally the class was over and I could breath again. We decided as a group to spend the rest of the day as a free day because some of us had to get passport photos, including myself since I lost mine somewhere in the travel. We all went our separate ways and met up at the Russian market were we went to this cute little cafe owned by this french man. Food was amazing, but kept being bothered by woman begin for food. I decided to give one of the ladies half of my food since I knew I would be eating again later and who knows when she would be getting her next meal. After lunch we decided instead of spending the whole day as a free day we would go back to S.C.A.O orphanage to complete the building of the school.
When we got to S.C.A.O we finished up all the painting, and the roof and what not was all put together. The only thing we had left to do was build 12 more desk. Instead of building I spent the day playing with the children. Actually we all spent the day playing with the children instead of building, but that was because the wood had to be sanded and they didn't want us doing it. Playing with the children I learned how to play rock, paper, scissors the Cambodian way, and let me tell you it is not easy. I really got to know the children, more then I had in the past few days at S.C.A.O. I have some favorites not gonna lie. Some that I wanted to put in my bag and bring back to Canada with me, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea.
We left the orphanage around 5pm got back to the guesthouse and had us some showers. Went out to eat as a group anddecided to go play pool and have a few beer. Amanda taught me how to play pool like a champion, since I guess I didn't know how to play it before. She's the pro, so she knows best. I was a horrible partner, the only reson we won our games is because she got all our balls in. After playing some pool we decided to head off to Top Banana for more drinks. We do love Top Banana, one of our favorite places to drink. Drank there for a while and then left around 2 where I then decided to head to bed since tomorrow was another early morning.
Finally the class was over and I could breath again. We decided as a group to spend the rest of the day as a free day because some of us had to get passport photos, including myself since I lost mine somewhere in the travel. We all went our separate ways and met up at the Russian market were we went to this cute little cafe owned by this french man. Food was amazing, but kept being bothered by woman begin for food. I decided to give one of the ladies half of my food since I knew I would be eating again later and who knows when she would be getting her next meal. After lunch we decided instead of spending the whole day as a free day we would go back to S.C.A.O orphanage to complete the building of the school.
When we got to S.C.A.O we finished up all the painting, and the roof and what not was all put together. The only thing we had left to do was build 12 more desk. Instead of building I spent the day playing with the children. Actually we all spent the day playing with the children instead of building, but that was because the wood had to be sanded and they didn't want us doing it. Playing with the children I learned how to play rock, paper, scissors the Cambodian way, and let me tell you it is not easy. I really got to know the children, more then I had in the past few days at S.C.A.O. I have some favorites not gonna lie. Some that I wanted to put in my bag and bring back to Canada with me, but I knew that wouldn't be a good idea.
We left the orphanage around 5pm got back to the guesthouse and had us some showers. Went out to eat as a group anddecided to go play pool and have a few beer. Amanda taught me how to play pool like a champion, since I guess I didn't know how to play it before. She's the pro, so she knows best. I was a horrible partner, the only reson we won our games is because she got all our balls in. After playing some pool we decided to head off to Top Banana for more drinks. We do love Top Banana, one of our favorite places to drink. Drank there for a while and then left around 2 where I then decided to head to bed since tomorrow was another early morning.
Day 24
Today we got to sleep in, which was awesome for a change. We didn't actually have to be anywhere until afternoon so the sleep was much appreciated. Ok I lie, yes we got to sleep in, but we were so use to getting up early it kinda just came natural to us. Since we were up and really had nothing to do the only thing we could think of doing is internet for a while until it was time to start our day adventures. Got me on a computer and first thing I did was call mother and woke her up in the middle of the night her time.... oops. Oh well it was nice chatting with the lovely lady, even though she was right out of it.
We left the guesthouse around noon and headed to another orphange called New Future for Children (NFC). When we got there we were swormed with children, teenagers, and even adults living there. The teenage girls were the most excited because the whole day was planned around them and spreading possitive attitude and spirits for these young girls. They took us up to their room, only the girls... the boys played bball with the boys. While we were upstairs with the girls they painted our nails and talked girl talk, it was quite interesting because we learned a lot about these girls and how low their self-esteem is compared to the boys. They told us how they hate the color of their skin, how they wanted to be white because white is so beautiful, but we described how most white people stay out all day long trying to get a tan because we hate being so white. They were shocked when we told them this. More conversation was had and then we all ate lunch together before we started our workshop.
Once lunch was over we headed into a tiny room with over 100 people, no fans, no AC, we were sweaty. We put together a slideshow all about Canada cause they wanted to learn more about our country and presented it to them. They couldn't believe Canada didn't have elephants, and they also didn't understand why we thought it was so hot in Cambodia until we told them how cold it got in Canada, then they knew. After the slideshow we headed outside to the play area and got into groups. My group was obviously the best, wild ones I had. We played games with the girls to break the ice, which they really enjoyed. They were having loads of fun, my group even had our own cheer before every game. I would do that, that's the O-Crew in me I tell ya. After spending most of the afternoon playing games we sat down in our groups and talked about our goals and our dreams. This was important because so many of these girls have big dreams, but will never accomplish them, because they end up going into the sex industry to make money because they are unable to pay for proper school. Hearing the dreams of these girls was amazing, so many of them want to be doctors, and business owners, and even teachers. It was great, then they asked me my goals and dreams... well that caught me off guard, because I honestly didn't know how to answer that. Got me thinking a lot and all the dreams I thought I had meant nothing to me really, it just took a bunch of teenage girls who may never be able to achieve their dreams to realize it.
Once the discussion was over we set up a fitness workout/game for the girls. Most girls are lacking in the exercise so we decided it would be good for them to experience fitness in a fun setting. Broke into two different teams, my team was called team number one... how original, I know right. Well lets just say team number one kicked team number two's ass. I think it was because we were better at cheering... but they did have me on their team so of course. After spending the rest of the day playing around we gathered the gang... including everyone living at NFC and took them on a boat cruise on the river. While we were on the boat I got to meet some of the boys living at NFC and they also had interesting stories of their own. It so weird meeting these individuals because they will tell you their whole life story and act like it doesn't affect them while you're sitting there feeling so bad, but you know feeling bad is not what they want, they just want a friend to talk to. Its weird to me. Anyways we ended up putting some music on and they taught us some real Cambodian dances... I couldn't pull it off, but we all know my hips don't move. It was fun though watching the sun go down dancing the night away with the children/teenagers.
Once the boat was over we said our goodbyes, most of the girls started crying, which was hard. They didn't want us to go. As we were leaving they kept telling us to come back and visit some day. I couldn't say I would be back, but hopefully one day I will be back to visit. And hopefully they all remain in school and keep dreaming big dreams because I really want these girls to make it.
We got back to the guesthouse and all of us ladies went and got poutine and had a girls night. We really enjoyed not having the boys around for a change. We could talk girl talk, even though we ended up just chilling out watching movies for the night and then peaced to bed.
We left the guesthouse around noon and headed to another orphange called New Future for Children (NFC). When we got there we were swormed with children, teenagers, and even adults living there. The teenage girls were the most excited because the whole day was planned around them and spreading possitive attitude and spirits for these young girls. They took us up to their room, only the girls... the boys played bball with the boys. While we were upstairs with the girls they painted our nails and talked girl talk, it was quite interesting because we learned a lot about these girls and how low their self-esteem is compared to the boys. They told us how they hate the color of their skin, how they wanted to be white because white is so beautiful, but we described how most white people stay out all day long trying to get a tan because we hate being so white. They were shocked when we told them this. More conversation was had and then we all ate lunch together before we started our workshop.
Once lunch was over we headed into a tiny room with over 100 people, no fans, no AC, we were sweaty. We put together a slideshow all about Canada cause they wanted to learn more about our country and presented it to them. They couldn't believe Canada didn't have elephants, and they also didn't understand why we thought it was so hot in Cambodia until we told them how cold it got in Canada, then they knew. After the slideshow we headed outside to the play area and got into groups. My group was obviously the best, wild ones I had. We played games with the girls to break the ice, which they really enjoyed. They were having loads of fun, my group even had our own cheer before every game. I would do that, that's the O-Crew in me I tell ya. After spending most of the afternoon playing games we sat down in our groups and talked about our goals and our dreams. This was important because so many of these girls have big dreams, but will never accomplish them, because they end up going into the sex industry to make money because they are unable to pay for proper school. Hearing the dreams of these girls was amazing, so many of them want to be doctors, and business owners, and even teachers. It was great, then they asked me my goals and dreams... well that caught me off guard, because I honestly didn't know how to answer that. Got me thinking a lot and all the dreams I thought I had meant nothing to me really, it just took a bunch of teenage girls who may never be able to achieve their dreams to realize it.
Once the discussion was over we set up a fitness workout/game for the girls. Most girls are lacking in the exercise so we decided it would be good for them to experience fitness in a fun setting. Broke into two different teams, my team was called team number one... how original, I know right. Well lets just say team number one kicked team number two's ass. I think it was because we were better at cheering... but they did have me on their team so of course. After spending the rest of the day playing around we gathered the gang... including everyone living at NFC and took them on a boat cruise on the river. While we were on the boat I got to meet some of the boys living at NFC and they also had interesting stories of their own. It so weird meeting these individuals because they will tell you their whole life story and act like it doesn't affect them while you're sitting there feeling so bad, but you know feeling bad is not what they want, they just want a friend to talk to. Its weird to me. Anyways we ended up putting some music on and they taught us some real Cambodian dances... I couldn't pull it off, but we all know my hips don't move. It was fun though watching the sun go down dancing the night away with the children/teenagers.
Once the boat was over we said our goodbyes, most of the girls started crying, which was hard. They didn't want us to go. As we were leaving they kept telling us to come back and visit some day. I couldn't say I would be back, but hopefully one day I will be back to visit. And hopefully they all remain in school and keep dreaming big dreams because I really want these girls to make it.
We got back to the guesthouse and all of us ladies went and got poutine and had a girls night. We really enjoyed not having the boys around for a change. We could talk girl talk, even though we ended up just chilling out watching movies for the night and then peaced to bed.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Day 23
Woke up around 8am... was not a good time. Nat and I were hungover as shit, but we couldn't let the team down. We had to pull it together and go build a school. Got some bfast and headed on the road for 10sm to S.C.A.O. Once we got there both Nat and I thought we were going to die, but we got a paint brush and started painting. Spent the first part of the day painting and trying to finish the walls... that didn't happen. But we worked hard so that was good enough. In the afternoon I found a hammek and passed out for an hour trying to deal with the hangover. Once I woke up Nat took over my spot and passed out while I went and played with thew children. We played hide and seek and I leanred a lot about each child which was really good. Most children in Cambodia grow up much faster then children in Canada because they have to. They have to learn at an early age so they can get food for themselves. Its crazy, which is why so many of them have such facinating stories.
Later that night we decided to stay really late so we could take part in a conversational class they have every evening. We devided up into groups and the children got to ask us questions and we got to ask them questions. My group was interesting, they didn't know anything about Canada so I taught them as much as I knew. It also made me think... I don't actually knopw a lot about Canada myself so I would love to learn more. The children also taught me a lot about Cambodia so I think we both learned, me and the children. It was good to sit down and talk with the children. They all had interesting stories and couldn't believe how cold it got in Canada.
Once the conversation class was over we headed back to the guesthouse. Once back at the guesthouse a couple of the girls and myslef found a small cafe that had poutine so we went there and enjoyed a nice poutine that reminded us of home. It was awesome and amazing to finally have something different then rice. After the poutine we all went back and got a shower and decided why not go out. So obviously we went out. We went to a train station party, which was a giant party at a train staion with a bounch of different DJ's. It was pretty sick not gonna lie. Danced it up for a few hours at a train station and then headed to Heart of Darkness which was a bar we've never been to.
Got to the bar and it was totally sketchy. So many hookers and we were unsure if we should go in or not, but I was like lets do it girls we only live once. In we went and danced it up hard on the dance floor with i'm pretty sure they were hookers and a bunch of locals who loved us. Finally it was time to go home. I didn't need another hungover day building a school so we left the bar around 2am. Got ourselves some motorbikes and peaced home to bed.
Later that night we decided to stay really late so we could take part in a conversational class they have every evening. We devided up into groups and the children got to ask us questions and we got to ask them questions. My group was interesting, they didn't know anything about Canada so I taught them as much as I knew. It also made me think... I don't actually knopw a lot about Canada myself so I would love to learn more. The children also taught me a lot about Cambodia so I think we both learned, me and the children. It was good to sit down and talk with the children. They all had interesting stories and couldn't believe how cold it got in Canada.
Once the conversation class was over we headed back to the guesthouse. Once back at the guesthouse a couple of the girls and myslef found a small cafe that had poutine so we went there and enjoyed a nice poutine that reminded us of home. It was awesome and amazing to finally have something different then rice. After the poutine we all went back and got a shower and decided why not go out. So obviously we went out. We went to a train station party, which was a giant party at a train staion with a bounch of different DJ's. It was pretty sick not gonna lie. Danced it up for a few hours at a train station and then headed to Heart of Darkness which was a bar we've never been to.
Got to the bar and it was totally sketchy. So many hookers and we were unsure if we should go in or not, but I was like lets do it girls we only live once. In we went and danced it up hard on the dance floor with i'm pretty sure they were hookers and a bunch of locals who loved us. Finally it was time to go home. I didn't need another hungover day building a school so we left the bar around 2am. Got ourselves some motorbikes and peaced home to bed.
Day 22
Woke up around 7ish and got ready for a long day. We headed to S.C.A.O orphanage around 8:30am to begin the build. Once we got there we realized the wood wasn't bought yet and nothing was ready for us to do so we chilled out in the orphanage playing around with the children. After a while we finally got to work. We started top help take out nails and take down the old school that was already there. Once it was down we realized that there was nothing for us to do except paint the walls until the Cambodians decided what they wanted to do and how to go about building the new school. We started painting the walls because it wasn't the prettiest place to study... we figured a pretty place makes a better place to learn and study and we wanted the children to feel more like home so we got to painting. We painted forever it seemed and then we continued our painting to the gate. The gate was looking pretty old so we figured why not make the whole school area look more happy so all the children will want to go to school. I thought it was a good idea until I realized the paint didn't come off. You needed gas to get the paint off. So after spending the entire day painting and smelling like gas I was impressed, but not all at the same time. Near the end of the day we had made friends with many of the children who we also got to help us paint. We thought it would be nice to get them to paint so they can say they did that one day, and then we helped raise the school 2 feet from what it was before. That took some serious muscle, which I didn't think we had until we actually did it.
Once the day was over and it was supper time we decided to stay a little bit longer and play with the children. Everyone loves soccer so of course we played soccer the one sport I don't like. It was fine though, I wasn't the star player, but I did the best I could do with the little skill I had. We left shorlty after that and went staight out for supper with paint all over us. On the way home we stopped at a stop light and this woman on a motor bike pulled up next to us. she kept stairing so we said hello and she was like thank you so much, thank you so much for being here. You do good things for Cambodia and I want to say thank you. It was great and we all felt like we've been doing something good on this trip. She could tell that we had been painting all day and what foreigners actually go to Cambodia to paint instead of drink. We do, it was awesome for someone to realize the work we've put in and I love Cambodia and can't wait to go back and do more work for that country.
For supper we went out to eat at a very sketchy burger place. We all ordered burgers and well lets just say they weren't cooked. Teale and myself didn't eat the burgers because they were pink and we both thought that would just end up bad. After supper Teale, Kia, Issac, and myslef went out to a really fancy ice cream place called Chill and it was awesome. So Canadian prices, but way worth it. The ice cream was the best I've ever had in my life no word of a lie. So creamy and the presentation was amazing.
Finally got back to the guesthouse and we showered and got ready for the night... meaning time to drink. We all peaced to Top Banana for more drinks. After a while being at Top Banana people started to peace out, but myself, Nat, and Amanda were not ready to go home at all. We stayed and drank until 3:30 before we headed to another bar to continue our drinking. We went to another bar called pontoune, which was a bar on a boat. I didn't know at the time it was a boat, but when we were there I was like yo Nat why is the dance floor moving so much and she answered its because of all the whores on the dance floor. I found out the next day thaqt it was a boat and that's why it was moving so much. Nat and I left around 4:30am and peaced back home leaving Amanda because she was having so much fun. We knew we had to get up early so if we stayed out any later it would just be bad. Got home after a long time fighting with a Tuk Tuk driver about the price of a Tuk Tuk, We got what we wanted and that's all that matters. Then headed to bed because 8am comes early.
Once the day was over and it was supper time we decided to stay a little bit longer and play with the children. Everyone loves soccer so of course we played soccer the one sport I don't like. It was fine though, I wasn't the star player, but I did the best I could do with the little skill I had. We left shorlty after that and went staight out for supper with paint all over us. On the way home we stopped at a stop light and this woman on a motor bike pulled up next to us. she kept stairing so we said hello and she was like thank you so much, thank you so much for being here. You do good things for Cambodia and I want to say thank you. It was great and we all felt like we've been doing something good on this trip. She could tell that we had been painting all day and what foreigners actually go to Cambodia to paint instead of drink. We do, it was awesome for someone to realize the work we've put in and I love Cambodia and can't wait to go back and do more work for that country.
For supper we went out to eat at a very sketchy burger place. We all ordered burgers and well lets just say they weren't cooked. Teale and myself didn't eat the burgers because they were pink and we both thought that would just end up bad. After supper Teale, Kia, Issac, and myslef went out to a really fancy ice cream place called Chill and it was awesome. So Canadian prices, but way worth it. The ice cream was the best I've ever had in my life no word of a lie. So creamy and the presentation was amazing.
Finally got back to the guesthouse and we showered and got ready for the night... meaning time to drink. We all peaced to Top Banana for more drinks. After a while being at Top Banana people started to peace out, but myself, Nat, and Amanda were not ready to go home at all. We stayed and drank until 3:30 before we headed to another bar to continue our drinking. We went to another bar called pontoune, which was a bar on a boat. I didn't know at the time it was a boat, but when we were there I was like yo Nat why is the dance floor moving so much and she answered its because of all the whores on the dance floor. I found out the next day thaqt it was a boat and that's why it was moving so much. Nat and I left around 4:30am and peaced back home leaving Amanda because she was having so much fun. We knew we had to get up early so if we stayed out any later it would just be bad. Got home after a long time fighting with a Tuk Tuk driver about the price of a Tuk Tuk, We got what we wanted and that's all that matters. Then headed to bed because 8am comes early.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 21
Woke up around 8ish feeling much better then the day before, but still not 100%. It was fine though, nothing I couldn't fight through. Grabbed my Ellen D flag and said to myself "today is going to be a good day". We all jumped into a couple of Tuk Tuk's and headed to the market to pick up a ton of food. So much food that the three Tuk Tuk's were full, why you ask, well because we were headed out to one of the dumps in Cambodia where many people live there without homes, without food, and with many dreams that may never come true.
On our way to the dump we prepared ourselves for bad, we knew it wasn't going to be easy and what we were about to see would change us forever. When we arrived there we knew there was no way we could have prepared ourselves for this. It was much worse then what we ever imagined. Children running with open arms as fast as they could so they could eat food they haven't eaten in a while and would probably not eat for a while after this. So many children just running and women with babies, even pregnant women just hoping for something to keep them going just one more day.
We had bread, and a bunch of different fruit. People were pushing because they knew they had to get in there because there is always that chance of not getting any food, it could run out and they end up empty handed. We gave each person a small portion, I wanted to give more, but I knew if we did that then others would not get any. So many children without medical care, and this one child I will never be able to get out of my head her eye was swollen over and puss was dripping from her eye. She couldn't be any older then 7 and you could already tell she may never see the age of 10. So many children with swollen bellies from malnutrition, so many mothers just trying to feed their children. It was so sad it was hard to be there. I was giving out bread, at one point I looked and there were only three peices of bread left and over a dozen people still needing food. I looked at Amanda and said "I can't do this, I can't pick and choose who eats and who doesn't" I had tears in my eyes, she told me I had to and that I could do it and no matter what whoever I chose it would be for the best. This was one of the hardest moments in my life. I looked around with 20 some people begging me to give them the bread, I chose a pregnant women because if she dies due to starvation then her baby dies as well. I chose the smallest child because he was being pushed around the most and I knew it was probably hard for him to get food everyday since he was the smallest. And I chose a very sick child who I knew would probably be one of his last meals. I will never be sure if I made the right choice, but to me I think it was the best I could make.
After the food was gone we walked around the dump sitre seeing what type of living conditions these people lived in. Most places just had something to cover them from rain, but the bad thing is when it rains the dump floods so they can't even stay in their homes when it rains. We talked to some of the kids and then jumped back in our Tuk Tuk's to head back to the guest house. Everyone was silent until we decided not to be sad, but to be happy since all the people living at the dump site were happy about life so they were not asking us to feel bad for them, just to be happy that they are still going strong. Which is when the water fight started. It was girls agaisnt guys and we were throwing water back and forth from Tuk Tuk to Tuk Tuk. When we finally got back to the guest house we were all wet and discusting.
Got a shower and had some free time to internet or whatever we wanted. Eli and I decided to go for a walk around and we found some interesting things such as a bunch of people playing these massive drums. Watched them for a while and then headed back to meet group. Met up with the group and went out for supper together. After supper we went to S.C.A.O orphanage to have a meeting with them to find out about the rpoject we would be starting with them the next day. Met some of the children and played around with them while we were there. Once the meeting was over we headed back to the guest house and went to bed because it was going to be an early morning the next day to start building a school for the orphanage.
On our way to the dump we prepared ourselves for bad, we knew it wasn't going to be easy and what we were about to see would change us forever. When we arrived there we knew there was no way we could have prepared ourselves for this. It was much worse then what we ever imagined. Children running with open arms as fast as they could so they could eat food they haven't eaten in a while and would probably not eat for a while after this. So many children just running and women with babies, even pregnant women just hoping for something to keep them going just one more day.
We had bread, and a bunch of different fruit. People were pushing because they knew they had to get in there because there is always that chance of not getting any food, it could run out and they end up empty handed. We gave each person a small portion, I wanted to give more, but I knew if we did that then others would not get any. So many children without medical care, and this one child I will never be able to get out of my head her eye was swollen over and puss was dripping from her eye. She couldn't be any older then 7 and you could already tell she may never see the age of 10. So many children with swollen bellies from malnutrition, so many mothers just trying to feed their children. It was so sad it was hard to be there. I was giving out bread, at one point I looked and there were only three peices of bread left and over a dozen people still needing food. I looked at Amanda and said "I can't do this, I can't pick and choose who eats and who doesn't" I had tears in my eyes, she told me I had to and that I could do it and no matter what whoever I chose it would be for the best. This was one of the hardest moments in my life. I looked around with 20 some people begging me to give them the bread, I chose a pregnant women because if she dies due to starvation then her baby dies as well. I chose the smallest child because he was being pushed around the most and I knew it was probably hard for him to get food everyday since he was the smallest. And I chose a very sick child who I knew would probably be one of his last meals. I will never be sure if I made the right choice, but to me I think it was the best I could make.
After the food was gone we walked around the dump sitre seeing what type of living conditions these people lived in. Most places just had something to cover them from rain, but the bad thing is when it rains the dump floods so they can't even stay in their homes when it rains. We talked to some of the kids and then jumped back in our Tuk Tuk's to head back to the guest house. Everyone was silent until we decided not to be sad, but to be happy since all the people living at the dump site were happy about life so they were not asking us to feel bad for them, just to be happy that they are still going strong. Which is when the water fight started. It was girls agaisnt guys and we were throwing water back and forth from Tuk Tuk to Tuk Tuk. When we finally got back to the guest house we were all wet and discusting.
Got a shower and had some free time to internet or whatever we wanted. Eli and I decided to go for a walk around and we found some interesting things such as a bunch of people playing these massive drums. Watched them for a while and then headed back to meet group. Met up with the group and went out for supper together. After supper we went to S.C.A.O orphanage to have a meeting with them to find out about the rpoject we would be starting with them the next day. Met some of the children and played around with them while we were there. Once the meeting was over we headed back to the guest house and went to bed because it was going to be an early morning the next day to start building a school for the orphanage.
Day 20
Woke up around 7ish not feeling the greatest. I was unsure why since I didn't go out drinking the night before so I found it a bit odd. I decided it was nothing and tried to ignore the feeling like shit. Ignoring it was not a success. Finally made it down stairs and everyone was looking at me like I was dying, I guess I looked bad or something. As we were walking out the door to get into a Tuk Tuk I ran back up to my room, just made it in time and puked my guts up. The group decided it best I stay behind and rest and they would come get me at noon. They were only going to the hospital anyways to donate blood, and obviously I could not give blood in my state. I spent the entire morning in the bathroom shooting fluids out both ends. It was not a pretty sight. Finally was able to get some sleep for a an hour or so.
I woke up to my stomach rumbling, not from hunger, but from a warning to get to the bathroom fast. Amanda came back to pick me up, I pulled it together and went to meet the group at a pizza place to eat lunch. Got to the pizza place and ended up spending the whole time in their bathroom. After lunch that I did not eat since I was unable to keep anything down all day we went to the market before our meeting. I was dying at this point so I took a Tuk Tuk back to the guest house where I slept until supper time. Jonah woke me and said I needed to go with him to get meds cause I was dehydrated and needed to fix this problem asap before I landed in the Cambodian hospital. Got me some meds... tasted like ass, but they did the trick. That night I went to bed before sunset because my body was so weak from the shitting and the puking all day. It was not a good day lets just put it that way.
I woke up to my stomach rumbling, not from hunger, but from a warning to get to the bathroom fast. Amanda came back to pick me up, I pulled it together and went to meet the group at a pizza place to eat lunch. Got to the pizza place and ended up spending the whole time in their bathroom. After lunch that I did not eat since I was unable to keep anything down all day we went to the market before our meeting. I was dying at this point so I took a Tuk Tuk back to the guest house where I slept until supper time. Jonah woke me and said I needed to go with him to get meds cause I was dehydrated and needed to fix this problem asap before I landed in the Cambodian hospital. Got me some meds... tasted like ass, but they did the trick. That night I went to bed before sunset because my body was so weak from the shitting and the puking all day. It was not a good day lets just put it that way.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 19
Woke up around 8am... so not my favorite morning. I pulled through though. Hungover, but didn't complain since it was my own fault. Got some breakfast and this is when we discussed as a group a bet. The bet was they would give me 50 bucks if I could be quiet the entire day. They honeslt y didn't thinki I could do it. Hello, of course I can do it, I just never chose to shut my mouth. So the bet was made and the quiet started.
We then went and checked out the S21 prison. This prison use to be a school and then was turned intio a prison during the Khmer Rouge where many people were brought and tortured. Most individuals died, it was said that only 7 people who ever stayed in this prison lived and are still living today, only one girl in the 7 people. Walking through the prison it felt dark. I had a hard time walking through because I could feel pain. The floors were stained from blood. They never cleaned the place so you could still see blood all over the floors. The cells were tiny, you could not spread out in them. They had pictures of the different people who stayed in the prison, and looking at those pictures made the hurt feeling so much worse.
There were different buildings, we checked all of them our. Each building was as bad as the other. It was aweful to see how people were treated. Some of these people were children which made it even worse. Anyone or anything that was said to be a threat was put in jail. Tortured for things they didn't do, but everything was justified through false documents. After seeing the prison we headed to the killing fields. The killing fields was just as sad. The people who were in the prison were brought to the killing fields to be killed. They dug up many bodies, but there are still so many left in the ground. Everywhere you walked you were walking over bodies. You could see bones that are now coming out of the ground due to the rain. Clothes from the victims are now starting to come out of the ground due to the rain as well. If you look closely you can see the clothes stained in blood. I felt bad walking over the ground that so many bodies were barried underneath me. We learned that no one was killed by a gun because the Khmer rouge people wanted to keep it quiet so people were beaten to death by mostly children. Children are the ones who did most of the killing because they are weak and easily convinced to do something. They would take the children of the victims and throw them agasint a certain tree to kill the babies. Khmer Rouge believed that no one who was related to the victim should stay alive because they were worried that one day they would come back for revenge. Most families dies on those fields. Some families still do not know which field their family died on, or if they were even killed on the killing field. Still today there are so many misteries that will never be revealed.
After spending the day in an intense environment I decided it was time to break the bet because I needed to talk about everything or I would go crazy. I told them to all keep their money and we discussed everything we saw as a group. It was an intense day and even still when I think about it all I can do is shake my head and can't believe how this could happen.
We headed back to our guesthouse and got to have free time for the rest of the night. II was really tired since the night before I got no sleep. So obviously I peaced out to bed early.
We then went and checked out the S21 prison. This prison use to be a school and then was turned intio a prison during the Khmer Rouge where many people were brought and tortured. Most individuals died, it was said that only 7 people who ever stayed in this prison lived and are still living today, only one girl in the 7 people. Walking through the prison it felt dark. I had a hard time walking through because I could feel pain. The floors were stained from blood. They never cleaned the place so you could still see blood all over the floors. The cells were tiny, you could not spread out in them. They had pictures of the different people who stayed in the prison, and looking at those pictures made the hurt feeling so much worse.
There were different buildings, we checked all of them our. Each building was as bad as the other. It was aweful to see how people were treated. Some of these people were children which made it even worse. Anyone or anything that was said to be a threat was put in jail. Tortured for things they didn't do, but everything was justified through false documents. After seeing the prison we headed to the killing fields. The killing fields was just as sad. The people who were in the prison were brought to the killing fields to be killed. They dug up many bodies, but there are still so many left in the ground. Everywhere you walked you were walking over bodies. You could see bones that are now coming out of the ground due to the rain. Clothes from the victims are now starting to come out of the ground due to the rain as well. If you look closely you can see the clothes stained in blood. I felt bad walking over the ground that so many bodies were barried underneath me. We learned that no one was killed by a gun because the Khmer rouge people wanted to keep it quiet so people were beaten to death by mostly children. Children are the ones who did most of the killing because they are weak and easily convinced to do something. They would take the children of the victims and throw them agasint a certain tree to kill the babies. Khmer Rouge believed that no one who was related to the victim should stay alive because they were worried that one day they would come back for revenge. Most families dies on those fields. Some families still do not know which field their family died on, or if they were even killed on the killing field. Still today there are so many misteries that will never be revealed.
After spending the day in an intense environment I decided it was time to break the bet because I needed to talk about everything or I would go crazy. I told them to all keep their money and we discussed everything we saw as a group. It was an intense day and even still when I think about it all I can do is shake my head and can't believe how this could happen.
We headed back to our guesthouse and got to have free time for the rest of the night. II was really tired since the night before I got no sleep. So obviously I peaced out to bed early.
Day 18
Woke up around 8:30am in my bed instead of on the roof. We all grabbed a shower and packed out shit. We said goodbye to the guest house owners as it was leaving day to go to Phnom Penh. The guest house owners loved us, so much so that they got us all in a group and took our picture that they said they were going to frame iti and put it on their wall. They liked us because they said we were doing good things for Cambodia, and also we all loved their little girl. Cutest kiid award goes to this little girl. I wanted to take her home. Mom said no puppies, but she never said anything about no little people. The whole timei we stayed at the guest house we played with her and she loved us. I told her mother she could fit in my bag so I would take her back to Canada, the mother laughed and said she has passport hahaha. It was hilarious. Said our goodbyes, the mother hugged us all and got on the sketchiest bus we've ever got on. This bus took us to the real bus station where we got on another bus.
Got on the real bus and headed on our way to Phnom Penh. The drive was long, and slow. The view was amazing though. Say so many huts along the road that some would never call a house back home, but to so many Cambodians that is the best they could imagine for a home. Children running around with no parents, the view was less green and more brown since Cambodia is raw compared to Thailand. It was nice to see the real picture of Cambodia. As I looked out the window I did not feel bad or sad, it gave me a sense of appreciation I never had before. We take so much for granted every day, while these children are just happy to find a stick they can play with. It was a great sight to see. Made me think a lot more about what we really need in life and what we want. Our want always outweighs the need.
After spending 6 hours on the bus we finally made it to Phnom Penh. As we drive through the city we see the horrific driving these people do. Cars everwhere in every direction. No lights its just a free for all. You can only imagine the traffic jams. People on both sides of the road dodging one another driving in whatever direction they wish. It was crazy. Even witnessed a car running over a motor bike, ambulance had to come, but the ambulance couldn't get through the traffic jam. It was insane.
Got off the bus, grabbed a couple Tuk Tuk's and headed to Okay guesthouse. Got settled into our room, took some showers and then met up with the group for dinner. Went out for dinner at this really sketchy place with this giant dog. I swear the dog was bigger then a pig. He couldn't even stand or his legs would break. It was so sad. But really weird to see since all the dogs and cats are super skinny in Cambodia and Thailand because they barely ever get food. At dinner we met Issac one of Amanda's friends who we spent a lot of time with while in Cambodia. We also met Katie another one of her friends who we helped out at an orphanage later in the week. After dinner Issac was like who wants to ride on the back of my bike with me to Top Banana. No not a motor bike, just a normal bike. Of course Ii said me. We drove that bike through the crazy traffic... thought I was going to die, but I trusted him since he was from Cambodia and he said he's never been in an accident. Still scary though. Got to Top Bananawhich is a bar if you are all wondering. Met the rest of the group and we chilled out drinking.
Left Top Banana around 2am and headed back to the guesthouse. We all got back, but Amanda and I were so not ready for bed so we hopped on the back of a motor bike and drove around the city for a little while. Then we decided to go back to Top Banana and drink some more. Stayed at Top Banana until around 5am when we decided it was time ito go home since we had to be up at 8am that morning. Got back on the motor bike and the man drove us back home. Passed out hard that night in my bed, but still not enough sleep.
Got on the real bus and headed on our way to Phnom Penh. The drive was long, and slow. The view was amazing though. Say so many huts along the road that some would never call a house back home, but to so many Cambodians that is the best they could imagine for a home. Children running around with no parents, the view was less green and more brown since Cambodia is raw compared to Thailand. It was nice to see the real picture of Cambodia. As I looked out the window I did not feel bad or sad, it gave me a sense of appreciation I never had before. We take so much for granted every day, while these children are just happy to find a stick they can play with. It was a great sight to see. Made me think a lot more about what we really need in life and what we want. Our want always outweighs the need.
After spending 6 hours on the bus we finally made it to Phnom Penh. As we drive through the city we see the horrific driving these people do. Cars everwhere in every direction. No lights its just a free for all. You can only imagine the traffic jams. People on both sides of the road dodging one another driving in whatever direction they wish. It was crazy. Even witnessed a car running over a motor bike, ambulance had to come, but the ambulance couldn't get through the traffic jam. It was insane.
Got off the bus, grabbed a couple Tuk Tuk's and headed to Okay guesthouse. Got settled into our room, took some showers and then met up with the group for dinner. Went out for dinner at this really sketchy place with this giant dog. I swear the dog was bigger then a pig. He couldn't even stand or his legs would break. It was so sad. But really weird to see since all the dogs and cats are super skinny in Cambodia and Thailand because they barely ever get food. At dinner we met Issac one of Amanda's friends who we spent a lot of time with while in Cambodia. We also met Katie another one of her friends who we helped out at an orphanage later in the week. After dinner Issac was like who wants to ride on the back of my bike with me to Top Banana. No not a motor bike, just a normal bike. Of course Ii said me. We drove that bike through the crazy traffic... thought I was going to die, but I trusted him since he was from Cambodia and he said he's never been in an accident. Still scary though. Got to Top Bananawhich is a bar if you are all wondering. Met the rest of the group and we chilled out drinking.
Left Top Banana around 2am and headed back to the guesthouse. We all got back, but Amanda and I were so not ready for bed so we hopped on the back of a motor bike and drove around the city for a little while. Then we decided to go back to Top Banana and drink some more. Stayed at Top Banana until around 5am when we decided it was time ito go home since we had to be up at 8am that morning. Got back on the motor bike and the man drove us back home. Passed out hard that night in my bed, but still not enough sleep.
Day 17
Woke up around 4:30am to get our ass in gear to go see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Got to Angkor Wat around 5am as the sun was coming up. It was a bit cloudy so the sunrise wasn't the best, but its still something you are suppose to do while in Siem Reap since its one of the 7 wonders of the world. We spent the day walking around Ankor Wat, going in and out of the temple looking at the way it was built since it was all built by hand way back when. It was an amazing project, and honestly the whole time we were walking around I thought to myself, jesus this must have taken a lot of damn elephants. Spent a few hours at the temple until we decided we wanted to go see other temples in the area. We took a couple of Tuk Tuk's to the Bayon temple. This temple was unique because if you look at it you can see a bunch of budha faces carved intio the temple. It was really cool to see because every face was different some were smiling others were sad, it was really amazing.
After the Bayon temple we went to the elephant temple. This temple is described in its name because there are carvingis of elephants throughout the temple just like the faces in the other temple. We then went to the Tomb Raider temple where the movie was filmed. This was my favoritie temple because there were some seriously giant tree's growing out of the brick and tree's growingi over other tree's. I can't explain how crazy it was, but it was amazing because these tree's were huge, so many years old. It's like the brick and tree's come together to form the temple it was crazy. I see why they chose to do the movie there, it was awesome.
After spending the day at the temples we went back to the guest house. we thought it was like 4 in the afternoon, but really it was only noon. We were up so early that we thought the day was over, but really it was just beginning. So we decided to spend the rest of the day in the pool basking in the sun like real tourist do. Later that evening we ate supper together and moved upstairs to the roof where we watched Tomb Raider since we thought it would be a good idea since we've seen the temple now. We all fell a sleep outside on the roof, different people woke up in the middle of the night and peaced to their room. I didn't end up waking up until 4:30am and was like oh jesus I got bug bites like crazy... time to get my butt to the room.
After the Bayon temple we went to the elephant temple. This temple is described in its name because there are carvingis of elephants throughout the temple just like the faces in the other temple. We then went to the Tomb Raider temple where the movie was filmed. This was my favoritie temple because there were some seriously giant tree's growing out of the brick and tree's growingi over other tree's. I can't explain how crazy it was, but it was amazing because these tree's were huge, so many years old. It's like the brick and tree's come together to form the temple it was crazy. I see why they chose to do the movie there, it was awesome.
After spending the day at the temples we went back to the guest house. we thought it was like 4 in the afternoon, but really it was only noon. We were up so early that we thought the day was over, but really it was just beginning. So we decided to spend the rest of the day in the pool basking in the sun like real tourist do. Later that evening we ate supper together and moved upstairs to the roof where we watched Tomb Raider since we thought it would be a good idea since we've seen the temple now. We all fell a sleep outside on the roof, different people woke up in the middle of the night and peaced to their room. I didn't end up waking up until 4:30am and was like oh jesus I got bug bites like crazy... time to get my butt to the room.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Day 16
Slept in till whenever we wanted to get up. Once I woke up though this is when I noticed the door and the light. Light still on from the night before and the door wide open. Good god we need to stop drinking. I woke Nat and was like "Come in, come take Canadian passport for free... crazy Canadians sleep" all of this in a Cambodian tone. We laughed for a little while and now anytime we are drunk we say this and all the Cambodian people look at us like we are weird.
The day was spent chilling in the pool at our hostel, none of us were in any shape to move anywhere. Lets just say it was rough. As the day went on in the pool I decided the best way to get rid of a hangover is to start drinking all over again. So I started the drinking train again. Got a bunch of beers and chilled out in the pool nursing a hangover. Met some people from Montreal and others from the States. Had some convo and got them on the drinking train. So this pool day ended up being a party in the pool. Wonderful idea.
That night for supper we went out for Indian food. It was actually very good and I think I like Indian food now. So weird for me to like something different. After dinner we went to an orphanage to watch one of the shows the children put on for tourist. They played traditional Cambodian Music and danced traditional Cambodian dances. It was quite interesting, and this orphanage was very poor so it was nice to see the children so involved. After the show we got to meet the children and we chatted with a few. Their English was ok, but not as good as other orphanages we've been to. I think that this orphanage focusses too much on the show the children put on to make money then on the education for the children. This is my opinion and I'm sure others felt the same way, but at least these children were having fun and are being treated fairly. There may be some negatives to the situation, so I'm always trying to find the positive.
After the orphanage we went to the night market and all split up. Myself and Amanda went for massages where blind people who have been affected by the Khmer Rouge were the ones to give the massage. It was so much different then any other massage because they had to feel around a lot, but they were better at giving massages in my books because since they cannot see their other senses are stronger. After the massage we walked around and couldn't find anyone so we went out on the street and chatted with a couple Tuk Tuk drivers and a police man for a little while until we ran into Jonah and Kia. Since we couldn't find anyone else we decided we would hit up a bar for a few beers before heading back to the guest house.
Chilled out at the bar for a few hours drinking pitchers after pitchers until we realized we had to be up at 4am to go to Anchor Wat to see the sun rise. We called it a anight and peaced back to the guest house. Once we were there everyone was waiting around for us wondering where we were so we all went out by the pool and smoked some more tribal cigs that they gave us to take on our journey. Not long after we all headed off to bed like the good children we are.
The day was spent chilling in the pool at our hostel, none of us were in any shape to move anywhere. Lets just say it was rough. As the day went on in the pool I decided the best way to get rid of a hangover is to start drinking all over again. So I started the drinking train again. Got a bunch of beers and chilled out in the pool nursing a hangover. Met some people from Montreal and others from the States. Had some convo and got them on the drinking train. So this pool day ended up being a party in the pool. Wonderful idea.
That night for supper we went out for Indian food. It was actually very good and I think I like Indian food now. So weird for me to like something different. After dinner we went to an orphanage to watch one of the shows the children put on for tourist. They played traditional Cambodian Music and danced traditional Cambodian dances. It was quite interesting, and this orphanage was very poor so it was nice to see the children so involved. After the show we got to meet the children and we chatted with a few. Their English was ok, but not as good as other orphanages we've been to. I think that this orphanage focusses too much on the show the children put on to make money then on the education for the children. This is my opinion and I'm sure others felt the same way, but at least these children were having fun and are being treated fairly. There may be some negatives to the situation, so I'm always trying to find the positive.
After the orphanage we went to the night market and all split up. Myself and Amanda went for massages where blind people who have been affected by the Khmer Rouge were the ones to give the massage. It was so much different then any other massage because they had to feel around a lot, but they were better at giving massages in my books because since they cannot see their other senses are stronger. After the massage we walked around and couldn't find anyone so we went out on the street and chatted with a couple Tuk Tuk drivers and a police man for a little while until we ran into Jonah and Kia. Since we couldn't find anyone else we decided we would hit up a bar for a few beers before heading back to the guest house.
Chilled out at the bar for a few hours drinking pitchers after pitchers until we realized we had to be up at 4am to go to Anchor Wat to see the sun rise. We called it a anight and peaced back to the guest house. Once we were there everyone was waiting around for us wondering where we were so we all went out by the pool and smoked some more tribal cigs that they gave us to take on our journey. Not long after we all headed off to bed like the good children we are.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Day 15
Woke up on our own for the first time without a rooster, without a time, without any stress. It was awesome. Teale, Nat, and myself decided for lunch since bfast was over we would go to get Mexican again since we loved it so much. As we were walking out the door Amanda joined in. We ate a lovely Mexican meal with lots of children begging. To the point where you felt bad, but yet hated it so much. Finally since giving money to the children is the worst thing you can do we asked the child to sit with us and we would buy him a meal. We chatted with the boy and he was actually a very smart child. He was an interesting young fella and he really enjoyed the conversation as well.
After lunch Teale, Nat, and myself walked around and checked out the shops. Did the girlie thing and shopped all day/ really didn't shop since there were no shops really. We ended up going back to the hostel and played around in the pool like children, it was awsome since it was so hot out. Had us some beer in the pool and enjoyed life. We then all got our shit together and decided to have another night out dancing and drinking. Wild night it was. We drank till all hours of the night and didn't go home until way after the bar was closed. The night was eventfull, but the morning was painfull. No Columbian guys this night, but lots of Canadians that we danced with.
Bedtime came around and Nat and I were extremely drunk that we passed out in our bed to only realize in the morning that we had left the light on and the door wide open. Welcome to Cambodia and thank god we had a horseshoe up our ass because we would have never known if someone had come into our room. They could have taken our shit. We now know we cannot room together because we are not responsible when together haha.
After lunch Teale, Nat, and myself walked around and checked out the shops. Did the girlie thing and shopped all day/ really didn't shop since there were no shops really. We ended up going back to the hostel and played around in the pool like children, it was awsome since it was so hot out. Had us some beer in the pool and enjoyed life. We then all got our shit together and decided to have another night out dancing and drinking. Wild night it was. We drank till all hours of the night and didn't go home until way after the bar was closed. The night was eventfull, but the morning was painfull. No Columbian guys this night, but lots of Canadians that we danced with.
Bedtime came around and Nat and I were extremely drunk that we passed out in our bed to only realize in the morning that we had left the light on and the door wide open. Welcome to Cambodia and thank god we had a horseshoe up our ass because we would have never known if someone had come into our room. They could have taken our shit. We now know we cannot room together because we are not responsible when together haha.
Day 14
Got into Bangkok around 6am and we all headed straight to McD's cause we had a craving we couldn't say no to. Went to the 24hour one, but when we got there is said it didn't open till 7 so we were obviously pissed... one because we wanted McD's so bad and two because it was suppose to be open 24hours. Our bus to Cambodia didn't actually leave until 7:30 so we decided to wait around for McD's. Best meal ever... not really, but at the time it was awesome.
Got on the bus around 7:30 to head to Cambodia. This bus was tinny... more like a van. We all just fit so it was perfect. Not gonna lie thought it was hot and so uncomfortable. After 4 hours of driving we finally got to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. We got our visa's together and were on Cambodia soil. Now being in Cambodia we headed to the bus station to catch another bus to Siem Reap. Got ourselves some beer to have on the bus... and lets just say by this point I'm already feeling quite good because I was drinking all day on the bus/van. The only way to travel I tell ya. I couldn't tell you how long the bus ride was, but I know it was long enough that my bladder almost broke. Finally got into Siem Reap and headed to our hostel called Earthwalkers, which if ever in Siem Reap you should stay there its amazing and has a pool.
We all took lovely showers and got ready for the night and headed to pub street for Mexican food. Best Mexican food I've ever eaten and could eat it forever. After food we made a group decision and decided we should hit up the bars. Good decision I think. Spent the night drinking and dancing with loads of hookers, that was not so much fun, but they are everwhere. Then later in the evening I found this big giant Columbian man who became my dance partner for quite a long time. Good god this man was a beast, but we loved him. After a long night of drinking hard the night came to an end so we peaced home and decided the best thing to do after a long night of drinking would be to go swimming. It was a good idea at the time, but maybe we were a little too drunk fo this because I started passing out in the pool. This is when I realized it was bed time for me.
Got on the bus around 7:30 to head to Cambodia. This bus was tinny... more like a van. We all just fit so it was perfect. Not gonna lie thought it was hot and so uncomfortable. After 4 hours of driving we finally got to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. We got our visa's together and were on Cambodia soil. Now being in Cambodia we headed to the bus station to catch another bus to Siem Reap. Got ourselves some beer to have on the bus... and lets just say by this point I'm already feeling quite good because I was drinking all day on the bus/van. The only way to travel I tell ya. I couldn't tell you how long the bus ride was, but I know it was long enough that my bladder almost broke. Finally got into Siem Reap and headed to our hostel called Earthwalkers, which if ever in Siem Reap you should stay there its amazing and has a pool.
We all took lovely showers and got ready for the night and headed to pub street for Mexican food. Best Mexican food I've ever eaten and could eat it forever. After food we made a group decision and decided we should hit up the bars. Good decision I think. Spent the night drinking and dancing with loads of hookers, that was not so much fun, but they are everwhere. Then later in the evening I found this big giant Columbian man who became my dance partner for quite a long time. Good god this man was a beast, but we loved him. After a long night of drinking hard the night came to an end so we peaced home and decided the best thing to do after a long night of drinking would be to go swimming. It was a good idea at the time, but maybe we were a little too drunk fo this because I started passing out in the pool. This is when I realized it was bed time for me.
Day 13
Woke up around 8ish because we had a meeting with the owners of the orphange. We got to ask questions about what we thought and how things were being run. I liked the orphanage, but my opinion is that I think the orphanage was focused too much on religion and other things. I have my opinions on the place, but all in all these children have a place to live and fresh food to eat and are being given a chance at life so it is better then what it could be I guess.
we spent the day chilling at the orphanage. Myself and Teale layed around all day because we had the day to chill and clear our heads from the hill tribes. So I spent the entire day on the internet trying to figure my life out... still no progress. Later that afternoon we got all our stuff together and the owners of the orphanage drove us into the city of Chaing Rai to the bus station where we got on an overnight bus back to Bangkok.
we spent the day chilling at the orphanage. Myself and Teale layed around all day because we had the day to chill and clear our heads from the hill tribes. So I spent the entire day on the internet trying to figure my life out... still no progress. Later that afternoon we got all our stuff together and the owners of the orphanage drove us into the city of Chaing Rai to the bus station where we got on an overnight bus back to Bangkok.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day 12
Woke up pretty early because we had to pack all of our stuff and trek back down the mountain. Well not all the way down, but at least 13 km... nothing like 35km that we did on the way up. We said goodbye to the Lahu tribe, and just as we were about to leave they called us back and gave us a small ceremonie. We all had to kneel on our knees and put our hands out. They came around with water and washed our hands and then they all came around and put a piece of string around our wrist. Each one connected and they said a few words as they did it. The bracelette that they each contributed was the Lahu good luck breacele. You are never suppose to ask for one, and you can never buy one, it has to be given to you for doing something they appreciate for which they can wish you good luck on your life. It was a great moment for all of us. It may not be the prettiest in the world, but it means more to me then any other I'll ever own.
We then started on our journey down the mountain. took us about 2 hours before we got to a small village where we all got on a bunch of elephants and rode them down the rest of the way. Not gonna lie, it was scary, specially our elephant because he had an attitude problem. Which would be why I chose him, gotta have spunk right.
Got to the bottom of the mountain and walked through another village. Say this giant snake so a couple of us picked it up and took pictures with it. Surghai said it would be fine, but it could have killed us all. Finally the truck truck came to pick us up and we headed back to Chain Rai to hang out at an orphanage called River of Live. It was a Christian Orphanage. Not a place I wanted to go or would chose to go, but it ended up being a good experince. I have my thoughts about the way its run, but it seems to be doing ok.
When we got to the orphanage we all had the longest shower of our life. Probably one of the best I've ever had. We all went to bed pretty early, because it was the first time in a week that we had an actual bed and we wanted to enjoy every minute of it.
We then started on our journey down the mountain. took us about 2 hours before we got to a small village where we all got on a bunch of elephants and rode them down the rest of the way. Not gonna lie, it was scary, specially our elephant because he had an attitude problem. Which would be why I chose him, gotta have spunk right.
Got to the bottom of the mountain and walked through another village. Say this giant snake so a couple of us picked it up and took pictures with it. Surghai said it would be fine, but it could have killed us all. Finally the truck truck came to pick us up and we headed back to Chain Rai to hang out at an orphanage called River of Live. It was a Christian Orphanage. Not a place I wanted to go or would chose to go, but it ended up being a good experince. I have my thoughts about the way its run, but it seems to be doing ok.
When we got to the orphanage we all had the longest shower of our life. Probably one of the best I've ever had. We all went to bed pretty early, because it was the first time in a week that we had an actual bed and we wanted to enjoy every minute of it.
Day 11
Got to sleep in, no the rooster didn't wake me... only because I had my ipod in. We woke up around 8ish and had some lovely breakfast which was obviously the same as every other day. By this point a few of us were really starting to get hungry because the food was not any good, and you honestly could only eat so much rice. Good thing I thought this one through before I came to the Lahu tribe... brought me some baggels and what not to snack on. God I think of everything, its what picky eaters do I tell ya.
We didn't really do much all day, we played frisbee, and played cards all day. Finally the group wanted to go check out another village, but I stayed behind to help Surghai cook food. That was an experience. He made fun of me the entire time because he said I couldn't cook. I may not be able to cook Tribal food, but common, I can cook can I not. Once the group came back, since it was our last night there the Lahu tribe wanted to do something nice for us so they wanted to kill a pig for us to eat. This is their way of being nice, but to me this was so not fun. We actually watched them kill the pig. I will never forget the sound that pig made before dying it will haunt my dreams forever. A few of us started crying... myself included. The lahu tribe didn't understand that we don't see the animals die, we buy our meat in a store. They learned from us, and we learned from them. This was a big deal for the Lahu tribe though because they barely ever eat meat because they cannot afford the animals.
That evening we had pork for supper. I honeslty could not eat it. Also when they kill an animal nothing goes to waste cause like I said they never eat meat. With this being said they eat the brain, the insides and everything no word of a lie. Another reason why I didn't eat the pork because I didn't know if it would be the brain or what I would be eating.
After supper we chilled out in one of the huts with all the villagers. We gave them a present for each house. We decided on pots because no one had any pots to cook with. They were a big fan. We all sat around this little fire in one of the huts playing a game we taught them, it was hilarious to see them tryso hard to play with us. Then they brought out the Lahu instruments and played for us while teaching us real Lahu dancing. We stayed up to all hours of the night dancing and laughing together and still could not understand one another, but it was a good time. fially the Lahu tribe went to bed and we were so loving life we went and watched the stars up by the shower area. Was so peacefull and beautiful I can't even explain how much I wated to stay, but when I really thought about it, the food would be an id\ssue for me because I was slowly running out of supply.
We went to bed that night knowing it was our last night in the Lahu tribe. We took in the moent and all passed out.
We didn't really do much all day, we played frisbee, and played cards all day. Finally the group wanted to go check out another village, but I stayed behind to help Surghai cook food. That was an experience. He made fun of me the entire time because he said I couldn't cook. I may not be able to cook Tribal food, but common, I can cook can I not. Once the group came back, since it was our last night there the Lahu tribe wanted to do something nice for us so they wanted to kill a pig for us to eat. This is their way of being nice, but to me this was so not fun. We actually watched them kill the pig. I will never forget the sound that pig made before dying it will haunt my dreams forever. A few of us started crying... myself included. The lahu tribe didn't understand that we don't see the animals die, we buy our meat in a store. They learned from us, and we learned from them. This was a big deal for the Lahu tribe though because they barely ever eat meat because they cannot afford the animals.
That evening we had pork for supper. I honeslty could not eat it. Also when they kill an animal nothing goes to waste cause like I said they never eat meat. With this being said they eat the brain, the insides and everything no word of a lie. Another reason why I didn't eat the pork because I didn't know if it would be the brain or what I would be eating.
After supper we chilled out in one of the huts with all the villagers. We gave them a present for each house. We decided on pots because no one had any pots to cook with. They were a big fan. We all sat around this little fire in one of the huts playing a game we taught them, it was hilarious to see them tryso hard to play with us. Then they brought out the Lahu instruments and played for us while teaching us real Lahu dancing. We stayed up to all hours of the night dancing and laughing together and still could not understand one another, but it was a good time. fially the Lahu tribe went to bed and we were so loving life we went and watched the stars up by the shower area. Was so peacefull and beautiful I can't even explain how much I wated to stay, but when I really thought about it, the food would be an id\ssue for me because I was slowly running out of supply.
We went to bed that night knowing it was our last night in the Lahu tribe. We took in the moent and all passed out.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Day 10
Again today the damn rooster woke us up at the crack of dawn. We learned that they only make noise for an hour and then they settle down, so we were able to catch some more ZzzZZz's. We ended up getting up at around 8am, and another morning in the Lahu village means another morning of Yakha's cooking. So much rice, I swear I never wanna see rice ever again. After breakfast we split off into groups. One group would finish mixing and building the water tank and the other group was in charge of cutting down bamboo to make the shower area. The guys wanted big knives so they took charge on that area and left all the ladies to mix cement and get dirty.
The actual building of the water tank took the whole first part of the day. It was some serious lifting, we all had to work together to lift the big cement wheels. We worked hard, but we played in the cement like children as well. We had a bit of a cement fight... mind you when cement dry's on the skin it actually burns the skin away. We didn't think this one through... lets just say it wasn't pleasant.
We finlly finished the water tank and the boys finished the shower area at the same time. We turned the water on to see if it would work and it was a success. Water was flowing. This was one of the greatest moment while at the Lahu village because everyone in the village dropped what they were doing and ran over to see the water flow. It was a magical moment in life to bring water to the Lahu tribe after all these years of no running water. Now that we were finished our project in 2 days we decided to really get to know the village people since we were so hard and finished early.
The rest of the day was spent hanging around getting cleaned up and observing the village people. Trying to get to know them even though we could not communicate through words. That night we hung out in one of the village people's house and she got out her traditional Lahu instrument and played for us. We danced and smoked more tribal cigs. They loved us even more when we smoked the tribal stuff. Finally the villagers went to bed so we figured that was a sign to get out of their hut and head over to our hut and try and amuse ourselves. We ended up playing cards and played truth or dare... that got interesting cause none of us really know anything about one another. We learned a lot.
The night finally came to an end, we all went to bed feeling like we accomplished something amazing. We all had big bright smiles on our faces, and we felt good to be alive. I wasn't even hating the rooster... and that's huge. All in all, the day was very eventfull and it was an experience of a lifetime.
The actual building of the water tank took the whole first part of the day. It was some serious lifting, we all had to work together to lift the big cement wheels. We worked hard, but we played in the cement like children as well. We had a bit of a cement fight... mind you when cement dry's on the skin it actually burns the skin away. We didn't think this one through... lets just say it wasn't pleasant.
We finlly finished the water tank and the boys finished the shower area at the same time. We turned the water on to see if it would work and it was a success. Water was flowing. This was one of the greatest moment while at the Lahu village because everyone in the village dropped what they were doing and ran over to see the water flow. It was a magical moment in life to bring water to the Lahu tribe after all these years of no running water. Now that we were finished our project in 2 days we decided to really get to know the village people since we were so hard and finished early.
The rest of the day was spent hanging around getting cleaned up and observing the village people. Trying to get to know them even though we could not communicate through words. That night we hung out in one of the village people's house and she got out her traditional Lahu instrument and played for us. We danced and smoked more tribal cigs. They loved us even more when we smoked the tribal stuff. Finally the villagers went to bed so we figured that was a sign to get out of their hut and head over to our hut and try and amuse ourselves. We ended up playing cards and played truth or dare... that got interesting cause none of us really know anything about one another. We learned a lot.
The night finally came to an end, we all went to bed feeling like we accomplished something amazing. We all had big bright smiles on our faces, and we felt good to be alive. I wasn't even hating the rooster... and that's huge. All in all, the day was very eventfull and it was an experience of a lifetime.
Day 9
First night in the the Lahu village was an experience. As soon as it got dark out you had nothing to do, but go to sleep because they did not have electricity. We were all tired from the hike anyways so peaced to bed early. In the morning we woke up to roosters going off at like 5am. I will never ever ever have a rooster after this experience. Lets just say the roosters and I never really became friends... I was tempted to eat one just so it would never make another noise again, but that didn't happen.
Finally got out of bed/floor around 7, Yakha made us breakfast. Lets just say they had limited supply of food in the Lahu village so we ate the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday that we were there. After breakfast we put on our game face because it was work day. our plan was to build a water tank and allows these people to finally have running water. Spent most of the morning digging pipe lines, hard core I tell you. Mid day we breaked for lunch and then got right back to work lying piped in the ground and the digging continued. We finally got all the digging and pipes layed faster then what was expected. they thought it would take us two days to do that, but we never took any breaks and worked straight through the day. Now all we had to do was mix cement and build the actual water tank. As we started to mix cement the rain started so it was a mad dash to try and cover the cement before the rain ruined it... success. The rain finally stopped and we layed the first layer of cement for the base of the water tank. Once that was finished we couldn't do anything else until the next day because we had to let the cement dry.
You can only imagine how smelly we were so we decided to walk down to their shower/ really not a shower. Just a stream with running water, we washed up as best we could cause like I said before you can't take your clothes off. We got as clean as we could and then peace back to the village for supper. After supper Amanda and I went over to one of the houses and hung out with the village people. They couldn't speak English so it was quite interesting. We find common interest though... they rolled us up a tribal cigarette and Amanda spent the evening smoking tribal cigs with the viallge people. It was hilarious, and they loved it. Kept wanting us to keep smoking, finally we were like good god I can't have anymore.
In the later evening we got together as a group and played some cards and had little chats about how different the Lahu tribe lives compared to what we are use to. It was good to hear other peoples thoughts. Then it was bed time because I knew the rooster was be making noise in only a few hours. And plus we had another long day of water tank building in the am. Since we finaished more work then what was expected we decided as a group to also make a bamboo hut where the villagers could go inside and shower naked for the first time ever. Big day it was... but that's for another blog.
Finally got out of bed/floor around 7, Yakha made us breakfast. Lets just say they had limited supply of food in the Lahu village so we ate the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday that we were there. After breakfast we put on our game face because it was work day. our plan was to build a water tank and allows these people to finally have running water. Spent most of the morning digging pipe lines, hard core I tell you. Mid day we breaked for lunch and then got right back to work lying piped in the ground and the digging continued. We finally got all the digging and pipes layed faster then what was expected. they thought it would take us two days to do that, but we never took any breaks and worked straight through the day. Now all we had to do was mix cement and build the actual water tank. As we started to mix cement the rain started so it was a mad dash to try and cover the cement before the rain ruined it... success. The rain finally stopped and we layed the first layer of cement for the base of the water tank. Once that was finished we couldn't do anything else until the next day because we had to let the cement dry.
You can only imagine how smelly we were so we decided to walk down to their shower/ really not a shower. Just a stream with running water, we washed up as best we could cause like I said before you can't take your clothes off. We got as clean as we could and then peace back to the village for supper. After supper Amanda and I went over to one of the houses and hung out with the village people. They couldn't speak English so it was quite interesting. We find common interest though... they rolled us up a tribal cigarette and Amanda spent the evening smoking tribal cigs with the viallge people. It was hilarious, and they loved it. Kept wanting us to keep smoking, finally we were like good god I can't have anymore.
In the later evening we got together as a group and played some cards and had little chats about how different the Lahu tribe lives compared to what we are use to. It was good to hear other peoples thoughts. Then it was bed time because I knew the rooster was be making noise in only a few hours. And plus we had another long day of water tank building in the am. Since we finaished more work then what was expected we decided as a group to also make a bamboo hut where the villagers could go inside and shower naked for the first time ever. Big day it was... but that's for another blog.
Day 8
Got up around 7am. We all had the longest showers of our life I'm pretty sure. We knew that the village we were going to did not have running water so showering was a good idea cause we obviously didn't know what we were getting into to. We each grabbed a couple bottles of water and began our trek up the mountain to the Lahu village. The first 5 minutes of the trek was hot and in my head I wondered if I would actually be able to make it all the way to the top in this heat. We ran into a waterfall and clothes and all we all jumped in and swam around for a while before the 7 hour hike we had to do. At the time swimming in the waterfall was awesome, but then after we got out our clothes were wet and walking in wet clothes are not fun. You're all probably thinking why didn't you take off your clothes... well people these villages are very against taking off clothes. all girls need to wear shorts that cover the knee and t-shirts that cover the shoulder. Rules we had to follow since we were the guest on their land.
The first hour up the mountain felt like the longest hour of my life. Yakha one of our guides made us all bamboo walking sticks which were much needed so you didn't fall off the clifts as you walked up this giant mountain... no path to follow, you just had to go with it and grab whatever you saw in front of you to pull you up. It was so not a hike like any other I swear. Our guide was cutting trees as we walked it was so tarzan it was crazy. When these people say hike, they really mean trek through the jungle where yo could potentially die with one wrong step. Surghai was our second guide, he was older and much more the protector, Yakha was the funny guy and wouldn't save your life if you needed it. He would be the type to laugh, but yet I love him so.
Two hours into the hike we stopped and made a small campsite where we ate food we carried up with us. After eating I honestly didn't think I was going to make it any farther. I'm not in horrible shape, but it was completely up hill the entire time and I just cannot discribe how crazy this hike was. We all were so tired and almost out of water and we still had 5 more hours left of hiking. This is when I got a bit nervous cause we were almost out of water and no one except a few of us were conserving it. I stopped sharing water... a bitch has gotta fend for herself sometimes.
The day seemed so long, tension was building between everyone, some more then others. It really proved out team work together, even though we argued more then normal. At the half way point Surghai called a truck truck because some could just not continue up the mountain. We found our way to the road and most of the girls got into the truck truck. My ankle was sprained, I was out of water, and sweat was poring off my body. The thought of me getting into that truck truck was there, but I knew if I didn't complete the treck up the mountain I would always feel like I never really accomplished something so physically draining. I made a choice to stay as did Teale, Nat and Amanda and the three boys. We pushed through the rest of the afternoon working together as a ream building our team bond. We actually made a joke because the sleepers... meaning the ones who always go to bed early and never really party and do all the healthy life choices are the ones to go in the truck truck, while the drinkers and smokers were the ones who stayed and finished the hike in less then 7 hours that was predicted.
When we came over the last hill and saw the Lahu village it was the best day of my life. My legs were weak, and I honestly could not move anymore. Walking into the village was a whole other experience in itself. We knew the village had no running water, but it was so different then what we all expected. We saw 7 houses all made out of bamboo and grass. I swear it was something you only see in old movies. These people had nothing except respect and courage to keep moving on and hard work to make it another day. No one in the village spoke english or Thai, they all spoke Lahu, so we could not communicate with them the entire time we were in the village, it was all body language. Yakha took us to our hut the ladies were staying in and we honeslty slept on bamboo floor for 4 nights... my back was not loving life.
At first being in the village I was nervous because there was no running water, no shower and no toilet... its called the woods. But the more I sat there looking around at the village and the people I felt free from all societal norms and expectations. Was was peaceful and very calming. These people may not have computers, cell phones, and even running water, but they were the happiest people I have ever met. I can honestly say these people appreciate life and all the small things that we don't even notice anymore. Living and being a part of the Lahu tribe taught me a lot about all the things I ignore, the little things and the people I spend my time with. One of the greatest experiences of my life and would love to go back there again sometime, even if it means pooping in the woods again.
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