Coming to America

The time is quickly approaching when I will board a ferry, snag a cab, hop on a plane to Bangkok, and then, after another 24 hours of traveling via Tokyo, I will return to my beloved and very missed home.

It is a bittersweet feeling to leave such a life of travel and return to more accepted routine. I can not wait to hug my family, see my friends, sleep on a bed with sheets, drink from a faucet, not be sick all the time, and have a hot shower with strong water pressure. Did I mention that I will eat a huge burrito faster than a dog eats a treat. I am done living out of a backpack and wearing the same two pairs of shorts...at least for now. The real world and responsibility are calling me back. Leaving a life filled of constant stimulation- learning about cultures and languages, seeing new places, and exploring some where new everyday- will certainly provide me with reverse-culture shock. Thus, I expect a barge of phone calls in the first few days I am home to aid in my re-adjustment. I get back on Wednesday, June 22nd in the morning. Crazy. Although it is not up and running yet, my cell phone number is still the same.

The last few days have been a great way to transition back. According to the U.N. and various other organizations and even the U.S. government, I left the "most repressive country in the world" that was devoid of travelers to arrive in the most touristy islands in Thailand filled to the brim with young, sunburned vacationers. It was easy to slip into the tourist role- spend more money, live better, eat healthier and cleaner, and do nothing. But I am done being a beach bum. It is super fun but the repetition gets quite boring, and I have never been good at vacationing.

I will bother you all with one more email, which I suspect will be rather long, in a few days time. I will also post the rest of my pics online. Writing these missives has brought me great pleasure and I thank you for bearing with my sometimes muddled jargon, poor grammar, and verbose reflections. Take care. I can't wait to see you all.

From Behind the Bamboo Curtain

First thing first, I am alive and well. I am actually sitting in the Bangkok airport eagerly awaiting the arrival of my young cousin for a debaucherous trip to the southern islands to finish off the trip in style. However, we don't plan to lose the knowledge that we have gained thus far. Don't worry mom, Craig, or Julie, debauchery is hyperbole and an unnecessarily strong exaggeration. But for my contemporaries, you know what I'm talking about.

As for Burma, well, in short, it's the most interesting and amazing place that I have been. But we were ready to get the heck out of there. I have analyzed the cut lure, geography, and political situation so much and have written so many observations and thoughts that I will not share them with you now. Burma is a place of unique culture, unlike anywhere else in South East Asia or India. Their traditions and outlook on life are very special.

Here is a one-two punch summary: Yangon- capital, beautiful pagodas, diesel in the air, craziness (meaning daily life, not the night life, the town shuts down at 10pm and the electricity is cut at 11pm); Inle Lake- serenity and beauty, perhaps my favorite place of the entire trip, lived with monks; Mandalay- more pagodas, more diesel, and marionette shows; Bagan- more than 4,000 pagodas, oy.

I will also share one little anecdote. Having read that Burma had no ATMS, Nate and I hit up the one in Bangkok and withdrew several hundred dollars in Thai Baht. That combined with my left over Vietnamese Dung and travelers cheques should be more than enough to get through a few weeks in Myanmar, I thought. Upon arrival, we discovered that no "international" banks or exchange places would change travelers checks or Thai Baht. What a predicament. Furthermore, no one had even heard of Dung. uh-oh. With no Western Union, no ATM, no U.S. dollars, no internet, one could quickly find himself in a very precarious position. Thankfully, there was a bustling black market. Changing travelers cheques for a 12% commission plus another 4% for currency exchange was painful. My advice to you would be to bring crisp $100 bills to Burma. For two full weeks of travel, including travel expenses, guest houses, food, activities, and souvenirs, I spent around $200. Cheap enough.

That is all for now. We have an evening departure and I will most likely be too busy getting as tan as this jew can be before my return to the states to write anything with depth. However, I do promise a solid analysis when I get home. I get home on the morning of June 22nd and my phone should be working shortly afterwards. I miss you all. Can't wait to see you soon!

“Sabaidee, Lah-korn”

Hello, Sabaidee. This will be my last email from Lao and perhaps my last email from Asia. This evening, Nate and I are hopping on a pickup to the Lao/Thai border, walking across it, hopping on a night train to Bangkok (12 hours), arriving at 8am, going to the airport, and grabbing a flight to Yangon, Burma that afternoon.

As some of you may know, Burma is not the most free country. In fact, it’s down right repressive. The government controls every aspect of Burmese life with an iron fist. So, as you would expect, internet is banned from the country. I have been told that in the most touristy parts of the country, you can get online for a dollar a minute, but access to yahoomail or hotmail is impossible. Thus, I will be out of comission for a few weeks. We fly back from Burma on June 14th and meet my cousin Sean in the Bangkok airport and immediately go to the gorgeous Thai islands of Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan. After more than two weeks of repression and soul cleansing at all of the monestaries, we will most likely be in dire need of a drink and some scantily clad Scandinavians and there is no better place than Ko Pha-Ngan. After five days of baking in the sun, we return to Bangkok and before you know it, I will be arriving Dulles Internatioal Airport in the morning on June 22nd.

I will wait to summarize the trip, what I have learned, and how I have grown until I have had time to reflect while sitting in the air conditioning of my parents house, eating delicious, bacteria free food, and watching TV in English. So, to your disappointment, the long, dense email of self-reflection will have to wait a month. Oh darn.

If you are interested, I have posted about 30 pictures from Lao online. Here is the link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=879333293205&page=1&sort_order=0 .

The fact that I will not be reading or responding to your emails for two weeks should not discourage you from updating me about your lives. I expect a full inbox when I first check mail on the beach. I can’t wait to see you all, and I look forward to hanging out with many of you soon. You have all been missed. I wish everyone a happy summer. Enjoy.

Goodbye, Lah-korn.

It's called Lao, duh

Laos. Well, I guess I should refer to this communist state properly, Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). No one calls it Laos, its just Lao. So now you have learned something new.

Nate and I finished working for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). And all we got was a lousy t-shirt. We actually really enjoyed it and the tshirt rocks. It was an educational experience, we were able to give back to the community, have an impact, and do it all in ten days! Our job was to completely re-write, re-do, and re-create their webpages. After two full days of interviewing all of the staff and project managers, Nate and I sat down with a plethora of research and reading materials. The WCS updates their webpage fairly frequently, but the Lao webpages have not been updated in nearly three years. Needless to say, we had a lot of work to do. It was quite difficult creating webpages when the office only has a dial-up connection and our computers couldn't even connect. So, we created the templates, wrote the information, and added the pictures. The data CD is being sent to New York in order to be uploaded. If you are super bored and would like to check out the website and in a few weeks compare that with ours, feel free. The address is www.wcs.org and then follow the directions to the Asia page and then the Lao PDR page. Enjoy.

Due to the long stint of our time in Vientiane, the size and population of the city, and the opportunity to work with long-seated foreigners, we were quickly immersed in the expat lifestyle of Lao. Just to give you an understanding of Vientiane, it has a population of 280,000 in a country of under six million. It's small and to tell you the truth I have no idea of where these 280,000 hang out because Vientiane is more of a ghost town with tuk-tuk drivers and travelers. We found our hangouts, breakfast place, lunch bar, and of course, evening lounge. Through our exat co-workers we were dialed into the social and cultural Lao scene. We went to a huge rubgy tournament that was far more professional than I had anticipated. We also went to a hug concert at the Cultural Center. A french hiphop and reggae band that rapped in spanish came to town. Everyone showed up and it was quite a mob. They were awesome. I can say that honestly, even with my distaste for the french.

After ten days in lazy Vientiane, we were ready for something new. A gorgeous bus ride filled with contouring around mountains brought us to the relaxation eutopia of the world. Laung Prabang. This town is filled with pagodas, wats, and monestaries. And, young travelers like ourselves. Last night we watched the UEFA Cup Final (soccer match between Liverpool and AC Milan). Because the government shuts the city down at midnight, we were illegally crouched in the back room of a Kiwi's bar with belligerent Brits and their Swedish companions. What a sight to see. It was a thrilling match that went into overtime and finally a shoot out. I will let the suspense of the result motivate you to look it up yourself.

That is all for now. I have uploaded a few Lao pictures to the internet and will be sending the address very soon. Eighty days down and only twenty-seven to go. Time flies. Miss you all. Take care.

Kip, Kip, Everywhere!

Have you ever awoken on a minibus and asked yourself, “where in the Viet Nam am I?” Well, I have, and it’s as scary as a Ho Chi Minh. The night train to Sa Pa was actually quite lovely. Fitting six beds into a room smaller than any U.S. prison cell was impressive, but not as impressive as the sleep I managed to get on my plank of wood. After eight and a half hours, Nate and I arose at dawn to an unfamiliar place with the familiar in-your-face harassment. While still in a stupor, we boarded a minibus from a place I couldn’t tell you the name of to hopefully a mountain town called Sa Pa. It worked. Sa Pa was like nowhere else in Vietnam. For all we knew, we could have been dropped in the Andes. The people wore traditional, cultural uniforms that resembled the indigenous dress of Andean tribes. The town was quieter and more peaceful than the rest of Viet Nam, but we couldn’t be enchanted away from our climb. Fansipan, or Fantzy Pants, took two full days of climbing. After bushwhacking through jungle, scaling slippery rocks, and sloshing through deep mud, we found camp on a bamboo platform at over 2,400 meters. The two-man tent did not fit the three westerners and one tribeswoman very well. Yet, the sleepless night did not distract us from our goal, and we reached the summit at 3, 143 meters. Although a strong wind and large cloud cover prevented a view of the valleys below, the summit was still sweet, as was the snickers bar that was ravenously consumed.

After another night train, we were ready to leave Hanoi for Laos. Which brings me to a few words of advice from this world traveler: Do not overstay your visa in Viet Nam, well, that is, don’t over stay your visa unless you enjoy being surrounded and interrogated by several immigrations agents in the back room of the customs/immigration office. Do not lose your yellow customs receipt, unless you want to be further harassed by customs officials. Do not travel without a sufficient amount of back-up U.S. dollars, unless you want to have money extorted from you by immigrations agents. I think the story is unnecessary, but do be aware of these warnings. Not all of them happened to me, some happened to Nate too. It was a lovely experience getting out of Viet Nam, but we made it and landed on our feet…as usual. Although a language wall existed between us and our prosecutors, we managed to talk them down from their extremely extortionist position and get out of there as quickly as possible.

For those reasons and the fifth gear lifestyle of traveling in Viet Nam, Nate and I were ready for a new place, but we were unprepared for the unmistakable “ahhhh” that you let out upon landing in Vientiane, Laos. Needless to say, it is lovely, relaxing, and even if you wanted to, you can’t live too fast here. The people lead a pace of life slower than one found at a Golf Club in south Florida. Living life in first gear could even be described as an exaggeration, appropriately replaced by neutral. So, it is a well needed rest. Also, the people are pleasant and non-confrontational.

One interesting side note is that the money is called “kip.” So, for once in my life, “I am so money, I don’t even know it.” It is ridiculous to hear my name a hundred times a day. I mean really, how can you put a price on me? A cup of coffee is 4,000 kip. And it is delicious.

Nate and I start work volunteering for the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) tomorrow morning early. Oy. Am I really working when I don’t have to be? Take pity on me cubiclers, its been several months since I have been confined by a computer and desk. Volunteering or working here is technically illegal, so don’t go around spreading this gossip. I am excited to be involved in a such an organization, but I must admit that the man in charge has been here six years, can’t speak a word of Lao, and seems only relatively sane. Should be yet another learning experience.

That’s all for now. Keep those emails coming. Miss you all. Congrats to all those now done with exams.

Get Organized- Get Our Lives Together

Dear my loyal vicariously living readers,

This will be a report of recent occurances, but also, it will include my thoughts on Vietnam as a whole. Nate and I have dubbed each leg of our trip as a tour. Like a tour of duty. Cambodia was "Earn Your Stripes Tour 2005." This was because we were getting our feet wet, adjusting to travel life, and also, to be honest, we were both quite lazy and didn't want to go to the bar to get beers. It was kind of like pledging all over again...get ready Sean. Malaysia was the "Mark It Zero Tour." This was in part due to our mutual obsession with the film "Big Lebowski," but it also was because it became the catch-phrase for rolling with the punches thrown at us by airlines, buses, trains, and moto drivers. Things never goes as planned, so "mark it zero," and move on. Vietnam is the "Get Organized Tour." We have hit more snags with Vietnam due to visa problems, lack of planning, and a basic carelessness, so we are trying to put our lives back together. I think its working. We are now on a health kick that includes more fruits and vegetables, less fried spring rolls, stir fried pork, and of course, less beers.
HALONG BAY:
It's been said for generations, and I will say it once more, Halong Bay is“heavenly.” It is so breathtaking and supernatural that you would think it is from another world. Over 3,000 islands occupying a small part of the ocean. This was a three day adventure. We stayed on the boat for a night. This of course turned into a ridiculous evening of cards, ending up in a midnight swim. The weather was less than stellar, but that added to the islands mystery, intrigue, and ancient feel. It was thought that dragons swam about and lived in some of the grottos and caves. I could see why. Mark this place as a MUST DO in your life. Inexplicably amazing.

HANOI, Part II:
Our Halong Bay tour featured Brits, Germans, Aussies, a Canadian, and a Dane. So, we all came back to Hanoi together and rolled thick to the pubs. At least now I can speak a little German- "Ich bin bertrunkene" - "I am drunk." For most of today, Nate and I have been running around planning out the rest of our trip, buying plane tickets, getting visas, etc. We are forced to do some flying against our wills. However, I must say, the hellish 38 hour bus ride from Hanoi to Vientiane that a Brit descibed for me sounded like it would be more fun to cover myself in honey and lie in an ant farm. So its a hour and fifteen minute flight for $100 instead. Phew, I am almost glad we are short of time and forced to fly.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Saigon is a microcosm of the whole country. Saigon is a city in transition. There is no shortage of contrasts that you would expect to find in any city pulling itself out of the depths of what we once called the Third World, and now, what we politely call underdeveloped. But no sooner do you think it has broken free when you turn a corner and come face to face with a group of homeless children shaking their cups at you. Around another corner dilapidated buildings that should have been condemned and torn down long ago house dozens of families. Yet, only a block away plush hotels line the streets, and Gucci and Chanel products are readily available. Such diversity, gaps, and unique development, this is Vietnam.

In response to my comments about being hassled and smiling, my dad said "Each time the bus stopped, the entire village would swarm around me like I was a big fat turd, and they were flies. They had never seen anything like me before. I shooed the flies, but of course, if you're a turd, that doesn't much help. They just laughed, never having seen a turd wave its arms in such a funny way." You said it man. But you get used to it. Im back to my super-smiley self, and everyone always gets a polite "no" in response to any question.

In the end, it's a gorgeous country. Mountains, hillsides, small villages, big booming cities, beaches, jungles, rice paddies. As the cliche goes, my pictures don't do it justice. I will be posting Vietnam soon...I hope. The food, I mean, simply put- delish fish, always mo pho, and rice is nice. The people, as smart as a dart is sharp. They never cease to amaze me. Rice is not just a staple, it's a way of life. Planting, growing, gathering, and eating is non-stop. The people don't have much, but you really don't need much to love and enjoy life. Perhaps everyone should take a step back from their daily lives, and ask yourself, what do I really need? Needless. Live by it. You will take pleasure in the little things more. AC, good books, delicious cheap food, a ice cold coca cola on a hot day, an ice cream after a sweaty bus ride, a walk through a market after a meal, you know, the little things.

So that's it. Nate and I are off for the northwest to a place called Sapa. We look forward to a soul building rest as we climb Vietnam's tallest mountain, Fansipan. We fly to Laos on May 16th. Crazy. It's the middle of May. Time flies- aprovecharlo- take advantage of it.

SHOUT OUTS: Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom out there, you are loved and appreciated; to my MOM, you are the best there is, thanks for everything; Got to give it up to the graduates, good work, now brace for the real world, or those lucky souls graduating high school, get pumped for college; to those taking exams or finishing them, congrats and good luck, respectively; Kate Jay, keep em coming; Carrie and Paul, good luck with the wedding planning, I hear things are getting out of control; Katherine, welcome home, don't worry, I will have him back in one piece

One, Two, Three- Smile!

I apologize for the absence of emails, but i suspect that you all enjoyed the free time away from reading long entries. we have been up the entire coast of vietnam since my last log, but i will make this one quick.

right now. we are in hanoi, the capital. young women in their all white dresses bike by, old goateed men amble past, and we try and find our way around hanoi's maze-like streets. it is an enchanting city with lakes, parks, and french colonial architectural facades, but the vibe is different. people are friendly, but not as friendly as saigon. furthermore, they try and rip you off more frequently. not just by trying to extort money with high prices but by adding fictional additional costs. its frustrating and annoying. crossing the street is no longer a fun experience. its down right difficult. they don't follow the same rules as in the rest of the country where you can walk in a deliberate, straight line. here, you would get run over. nate and i think its because the moto drivers are amateur. the best ones must get drafted to saigon.

smiling. believe it or not, i have had it. i cant smile artificially anymore. i mean, im sure many of you thought that the day would never come when i couldn't smile. but it has. oy. my face hurts. its like waiting for someone to take your picture and they cant find the button. today i saw a t-shirt that summed up my feelings. "no thanks, i don't want a moto ride, i don't want any postcards, i don't want a piece of gum, i don't want a taxi ride, and i don't want a bike ride, so please leave me alone!" seriously. do i look like someone who can afford a taxi ride or a postcard? i certainly do not, nor do i smell approachable in any way. but they insist.

all of this is not to say that we are having less fun, learning less, or enjoying the country less, these are strictly observations. now, on to traveling.

this is the speed report. mui ne. small town. okay beaches, really interesting sand dunes, fun night life. next, nha trang. busy, busy, beach town. very nice beaches, better nightlife. crazy saigon independence celebration. next, hoi an. small town, very interesting art, museums, and beach. scenes of recently burning rice paddies on long stretches of road reminds one of vietnam war movies. eerie. next, hue, very brief...and now, hanoi. phew. im spent. so, till next time. remember, help control the pet population, have your pets spade or neutered. miss you all.

Gooooood Morning Vietnam!

Well, I must first apologize for the lame and obvious title, but it was better than the one quote from Forrest Gump.

One word- Ho Chi Minh City, I mean Saigon, wait, I mean Ho Chi Minh City. Whatever. Arriving was a culture shock from Malaysia. I meditated for ten minutes on the plane before taking on Vietnam. It rushed over me like a hundred pumping motorcycles. Wheeling and dealing, smiling and beguiling, the Vietnamese people possess a vitality as unstemmed as the flow of manic traffic. I love it.

Traffic. I thought Cambodia had lots of traffic, near accidents, and tons of motorcycles, well, its craziness is all relative. Although there are stop lights here, people don't really care about them. Nate and I have coined the term "stop-tionals." Moto drivers sort of plow through and chose whether or not the intersection with eighty motos is crossable, to them, it usually appears to be doable. The streets overwhelm and overload your senses. Rather than fight it, we still down and drink a beer with the local working men, buy plates of rice from the women with pole-baskets, and cross the street multiple times for cheap thrills.

The People. Friendly, charismatic, and clever. Those are the best words to describe them. They smile more than any other group of people. This of course causes me to smile back and everyone is happy. They are always trying to make a deal, sell a toy, or take you off to show you something. My advice: smile. It’s as simple as that.

The Mekong. Mighty, mighty. We took a day tour that had us learning about coconut candy production, honey and bee keeping, python holding, and long boat riding. Touristy, yet informative and interesting. The python took quite a shining to me, and her constricting was a little embarrassing and frightening. Luckily, I got out of her clutches….at least I think it was a her. Anyways, it was a nice day and the islands on the Mekong were covered with agriculture and life.

The Cu Chi Tunnels. These were amazing. There are 200km of extensive underground tunnels outside of Saigon that lead to the Saigon River and into former US bases. Our guide was quite a comedian. He explained that Americans and westerns can’t fit in the tunnels because of their “big asses.” He says, the Vietnamese women have small asses and cook great. So, his advice was for each of us to find our own little Miss Saigon. Apparently, I have a small ass because I fit in the tunnel and went about 30 meters before claustrophobia kicked in and I had to exit.

After the tunnels, we went to the War Remnants museum. It gave a graphic portrayal of the war and several pictures of Mr. McNamara. In fact, they tried to sell me “In Retrospect” outside the museum. Little did they know….In any case, the museum was informative, and I learned more about the efforts of both sides.

That just about brings this chronicle to an end. I have uploaded even more pictures. They even cover the Mekong and the Cu Chi tunnels, so be sure to take a look. Oh, and there are a couple of different facial hair styles. Just for the record, I am back to being cleanly shaven though, the mustache didn't last. Enjoy: http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=183770203205&page=1&sort_order=0

Smile.

Nalan, nalan

in this latest edition, i have the privilege of writing you from malayisa, although we are stuck here for the moment. against our wills. but this is neither the time nor place to discuss such things. nate and i are back up to 100%, and we have bested the jungles of borneo. this one is gonna be a long one. i have quite a bit to share. first thing though, i have uploaded a few pictures to ofoto. rather than give you the address now, those diligent readers will find it at the end.

so, we left the diving mecca of semporna right before an annual festival. we didn't have much choice because we hadn't booked accommodations in advance so we found ourselves out on our touchases. this was okay by us. in keeping with the kip/nate tradition of spontaneity and flying by the seat of our pants, we just showed up at the airport. we got there at 9:20am and discovered a $20 flight at 9:40am. normally time would be a problem. but the beauty of the malay domestic flight is that the security is loose. well, loose isn't quite right, try nonexistent. no one even glanced at our passports.

after two legs on a ghetto airline, nate and i were relieved to be alive and on solid ground. baru, a lun bawang tribesman and friend of my dad's from his peace corp days, had agreed to meet us at the airport in miri. miri is the second largest town in the sarawak province of southern malaysian borneo. anyways, his son, jonathon, had studied at the university of washington, in seattle, and stayed with my parents for two days last summer. usually, i would be nervous about meeting a new family in a foreign country. i mean, we stink. our clothes are terrible, we both have excessive five o'clock shadows (to put it nicely), in fact, when asking about tickets at the airport the people nodded and then said, "well, the budget airline is at the other end." we had only asked if they flew to vietnam. so, our appearance is less than welcoming and certainly inappropriate for meeting new family friends. but, my dad had said that baru was "like my brother." so i had no worries. the whole family came out to greet us. baru's wife, supong, is chinese and the chinese mother i never had. apparently the chinese are just like the jews. pushy, overbearing, and extremely motherly. it was great. she took us by the arms and marched us to a nice hotel. they put us up in a place with AC, hot water, and a tv! we were in heaven. also, she snatched our disgusting laundry from us and announced that it would be cleaned by tomorrow. there was nothing we could do. for a little woman of 85 pounds, she sure packs a wallop.

baru was on his phone before we could sit down. he planned out our next week. early to rise. too early, as usual, but this time, the breakfast buffet put me in the right state of mind. cereal. real cereal and milk! delicious. also, at this point, i have developed a need, nay, an addiction, to rice. they eat it with every meal, and now, so must i. so, i had my rice for breakfast too. yum.

baru had booked an adventure in mulu national park, and jon would be joining us. in the airport, we met a tribeswoman with ear lobes down to her chest. she had gold weights in her ears, and jon explained that this signified royalty and status in her tribe. it made me wonder if i hung myself by my toes, would i stretch as much? mulu is best known for the pinnacles, a difficult climb, and the head hunters trial. due to our limited timeframe, we planned to spend two days exploring caves rather than the week long treks. the mulu rainforests were exceptionally humid. the sights, sounds, and smells of the jungle are very special. the jungle has a pulse. the smells are wonderful, dense, and new. the air is so thick that you struggle to breathe it in, and sometimes, you can almost eat it. every time you go on a trek, you are guaranteed to see an insect or animal that you have never seen before. those pictures will come shortly.

inside the first cave, the surreal formations are hard to comprehend, especially when you realize that it takes 100 years to form 1cm. huge stalactites and stalagmites grow up from the ground and hang down from the roof of the cave. the second cave we visited is the biggest in the world. you could fit something like nineteen 747 jets in it. also, the smell of guano was overwhelming. it stung. it smelled like windex. but this cave housed an estimated 3 million bats, so it was useless to try and avoid schlepping through it.

after mulu, baru and supong had planned a road trip through the kingdom of brunei, to limbang, to lawas, to long semado, to bakelalan, and over to indonesia. so, including thailand, cambodia, malaysia, brunei, and indonesia, that makes 5 countries so far. not bad. anyways, brunei is a small, clean, safe, and well maintained country. the sultan gives away a lot of money and makes sure things are plush. every year, he opens up his palace to the community and gives everyone who waits in line $50 and a free tour. needless to say, a crowd of more than 10,000 patiently wait each year. as we approached the border back to malaysia, i noticed many people carrying plastic bags and walking across. alcohol is illegal in brunei, so this was happy hour. many people buy booze in malaysia and bring it across. so, the border was kinda like a tailgating party with people in lawn chairs drinking beers out of coozies. made me feel like home.

in lawas, we all piled into a heavy duty 4x4 truck. it was essential. no road existed to long semadoh or bakelalan. after a rugged ride, we arrived in long semadoh, baru's birthplace and father's home. in the afternoon, we went trekking through the jungle. we came across the lun bawangs' building a long house for a wedding celebration at the end of the month. one of baru's cousins had just retired from business in miri, and had moved back to this village. away from the greed, desire, anxiety, bustle, pollution, and all together, painfulness of urban life to the peace and quiet of the jungle. we took a brisk dip in a nearby waterfall and returned home to find the success of the hunters. they had killed two deer and were carving them up in the backyard. pictures to come. so, we had deer for dinner and some boar that was killed previously. yum. of course, it the meat still had the skin and much of this fur still on it. yum.

thus, another day in the 4x4 in mud and bumps combined with the kosherness of the previous nights' dinner had left my stomach in shambles. like the soft american that i am, i threw up. a lot. for the rest of the morning. my pain was seen as comical by baru and his tribesman. i guess i would have laughed at me too. nate did. jerk. anyways, i was embarrassed but horribly sick. luckily, my chinese mother, supong, was there to baby me. well, she was there to baby me after she finished giggling.

after i tossed all of my cookies, i was ready for the rest of the day. we finally arrived in bakelalan. just say bakelalan out loud. isnt it fun? ba-ke-lalan. especially the lalan. anyways, while visiting these villages, we learned a little lun bawang. nalan, nalan means to walkabout. this was a primary activity. but, we decided to make a break for the indonesian border. baru's uncle had friends that worked at the border, so he came along to make sure everything went smoothly. crossing for a day without a visa isnt exactly legal, in fact, it was called an "official" illegal visit. so, we had a military escort. or, to put it another way, my moto driver wore a camouflage mesh shirt and said something about the army. the raod was steep, bumpy, and fun. even the moto couldn't make it up some of the hills and we were forced to push our metal steeds.

indonesia was lovely, and we ate yet another meal there. this one i was able to stomach. supong called everything in the villages "organic." to me, this meant, generally diseased meat, see stomach section above. on the ride back, which took about an hour, i switched drivers and landed on the crazy dude's moto. sweet. once on, he turned to me and asked, "do you like to gamble?" before i could respond, he pealed out. as i clutched on for dear life, i realized that when he asked if i liked to gamble he didnt mean with cards, but with life. he was a moto racer and was just recovering from a spill. the roads and his speed had me bouncing around like a rubber ball. there was constant fish tailing and at one point i found myself on the ground. the adrenaline rush compares to other near death experiences. my driver explained that besides driving a moto, he was into such humanitarian and important community events as cock fighting. ladies, he is single! better get him while he still has all his teeth.

after all these tribal adventures in the villages of interior borneo, we crusied back through brunei and stopped to see the sultan's national mosque. it had large gold domes, not gold plated, but genuine gold. quite impressive. a door was open, so we peeked in. a glorious chill of AC enveloped us, a majestic elevator and a jeweled dome caught our eyes, but security guards quickly spotted us and began circling. we escorted ourselves out.

tomorrow we are off for vietnam. finally. in malaysia bargaining is nonexistent and people dont try to rip you off; however, vietnam is infamous for the art of "rip off white man," so nate and i are preparing our bargaining master facades. we do a little good cop, bad cop. one of us suggests a price and compromises, while the other one looks unhappy and finally throws out his arms in disgust. at this point, the vendor/driver either accepts our offer, or we head to the next guy down. we are always loud enough for the other vendors to hear us so as to cut down on unnecessary negotiating time.

so that’s it. hope all is well in the US. i am impressed if you made it this far, but you will be rewarded. here is the website with my pics. enjoy. thes are only a few because uploading takes time. unfortunately, i still dont have the elephants on CD yet, so you will have to check back in next time. http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Uc=ixb2es9.2cf818at&Uy=nhiyi1&Upost_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp%3FshowSlide%3Dtrue&Ux=0

much love.

the coveted shout out list: birthdays, soko you are a rockstar; dave, stay young; caroline, im sorry i couldn’t be around dc to celebrate; and Elaine, i wouldn't forget!

Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious

Im not even sure where to start. The last you heard from me, I was in Angkor in the northwest of Cambodia. Since then, I have been to Kampong Cham and Kratie in the center and northeast, and back to Phnom Penh. We were suppose to be in Vietnam by now, but we have been having some visa troubles, so its off to Malaysia. totally unexpected, totally spontaneous, totally righteous. word. so we are stoked about jungles, climbing, snakes, tribes people, etc. Being the mountaineers we are, we have planned a climb of the highest mountain in the area. Well over 12,000 ft., we will be gaining a lot of elevation seeing that it starts around sea level or so.

There is only one word that can describe Kratie, Cambodia- Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious. It was awesome. Kratie is known for its location along the mighty Mekong River and as a place to see some of the few remaining freshwater dolphins. It was a great chance to see rural Cambodia. Its kinda out of the way so it does not attract that many tourists either. We cruised out on the Mekong in a long boat just before sunset and saw tails, fins, heads all bobbing around and playing. On the moto ride back to town, we drove though small villages where children were playing games, mothers preparing dinner, and fathers tending fires. This was Cambodia.

Since we have been stuck in Phnom Penh, we have been enjoying the locals and fellow travelers more. In fact, we are regulars now. Its been a nice, relaxing way to prepare for the rest of our trip. Last night, we went to a bar known as “Heart of Darkness” with about 15 people. Some of them had been living here for quite some time and referred to the bar only as “The Heart.” We could feel the music pulsing and the bass thumping from blocks away. This only bred excitement. Once inside, it was a mad house. The music was exceptional and the DJ suffered a barrage of requests from the Westerners-such a memorable mix of old school Madonna, Rage, Jay-Z, 80s, etc.

There are really only two things I miss after nearly a month. Aside from friends and family, there are just two. First, Air Conditioning. Oh the wondrous cool breeze of an AC would allow me to sleep through the night. I don’t even remember the feeling of a crisp sheet insolating me from the freezing atmosphere of a AC filled room. I wish I could. Secondly, I’ll keep this one clean, but I miss flushing toilets. Oy. In the places we stay and frequent, there is no such thing as a flushing toilet or normal plumbing. When you turn on the sink to wash your hands or brush your teeth, you are immediately caught off guard by the water running down the sink and out of a pipe directly on to your feet. The method of flushing a toilet is even worse. You take the accompanying bucket, filling it under the sink, then use a ladle until all is clear. Gross. Needless to say, this doesn’t work very well.

So that’s it for now.

Shout outs: First, I gotta give it up to the new comers to the listserve, what up; Matty d, thanks for the note, Diana, of course you get lots of love, and good work with “once in my life, “and Merideth, you gets love too!; and I guess ill give one up to Darren, tell him to email me directly; uncle don thanks so much for the letter, its great to get emails from family (wink wink); UNC its your year baby; jillian good luck with the youngins; Ms. Dart or should I say, Mrs. Ratledge, thanks for thinking of me, er ah, us; Asher good luck in Chapel Hill; Rosenberg, good looking out; Tiff good luck on GRE’s, you’ll do great!; Ritzy you rock (that one is for bandita); Simmons, keep it real; Jan thanks for the update; Em Mac, keep em comin; and to the rest, write me about your extra exciting lives….

Angkor What?

The Kip Chronicle faithful,

Up to this point, it has been very hot for the whole trip. However, nothing compares to a typical day in Angkor. It can be summed up in one word- sweating. I am generally not a big sweater but oy. It takes 5-6 litters of water a day to stay remotely hydrated. You sweat during the day, you sweat while you sleep, and even though the shower is never close to warm, you sweat in there too. But that is really a minor side note.

Angkor is everywhere in Cambodia. It’s the heart and soul. It’s the beer, on the flag, and everywhere you look. The monuments that make up Angkor were built between the 9th and 13th centuries. A large misconception is that its just Angkor Wat, when really, Angkor Wat is only 1 of nearly a hundred temples. Nate and I awoke at 4:30am to catch the sunrise the first day. It was worth it. We hopped a motto and sped there to a bridge spanning the darkness that was a moat. As we approached Angkor Wat, it appeared in all its majesty. Over breakfast, we were harassed by young children, as usual. One girl in particular took a shining to Nate and believed that she could sell him some postcards. After hundreds of “no thank yous,” she resorted to putting them in his baguette and cheese. Her young brother was sympathetic to our cause and taught us an invaluable phrase, “te aw kohn”- “no thank you.” After breakfast we began our 25 km day (16 + mile) day of Indiana Jones style adventures. We must have been the only people walking, and we soon discovered why. No only was it a long, hot hike, but monkeys blocked our path across a bridge. We were excited to see monkeys and approached slowly, but all of a sudden the big fella chased after us screaming. A local villager’s hut was on the other side and we could hear them expressing their concern. We bolted across, water bottles drawn prepared to a skirmish. Luckily we avoided them, but we were petrified of all monkey herds after that. The second day seeing that we dare to try anything and our adrenaline rush from mottos had subsided, we decided to enter the crazy traffic mix on bikes. Yikes! We discovered a pleasant way to travel, get exercise, and get our fix of danger. Furthermore, we became enlightened to the mess of traffic. Really its just organized chaos. You just go. And people always swerve to avoid you. Its that simple, fun, and dangerous. You will see pictures of the monkeys, the traffic, the temples, etc soon.

Cultural reflections/ insights: Cambodians. The Cambodians are extremely nice, friendly, and are not really looking to snag a bag. We have had several conversations with the locals and have learned so much. Yesterday, we watched the sunset atop an Angkorian temple and chatted with a Buddhist monk. He was 22 as well, and could speak English and Spanish, though my English and Spanish are both better than his! But his Khmer embarrassed mine. Obviously. The French. Man, they stink. On so many levels. We can’t even bear to look at the French women anymore….but we still do. Whenever there are French approaching or causing a raucous, we say “FF.” You can figure out what the first “f”is for. Cell phones. They are everywhere. For such a poor country, everyone seems to be able to afford one. I, myself, have gotten over my cell phone withdrawal. Although I had the shakes for a few weeks, the vibrating feeling on my leg has finally gone away. Conversations. Well, after a few weeks of 24/7 with Nate, you would think we would have run out of conversation. It couldn’t be further from the truth, only now, they begin with sentences like, “dude, wanna hear my conspiracy theory?”or “this one time, I chugged a whole gallon of milk and…”

So that’s it for now. Tomorrow we are trying to go north to the Thailand/Cambodia border to a temple, Preah Vihear, that is never visited. This is because its nearly impossible to get there. No bus, no taxi, no jeep rental, but we plan on figuring something out. Hitching perhaps. More to come.

Shout Outs: Gotta start out with some nyc love, proctor thanks for the update, another to all the peeps on 18th and 8th, those way west side too; Rosenberg good luck with the shows; Sean good luck, hope the injuries heal up and you are ready to take on Burma in two months; the whole McNamara clan; Kate Jay, well done, give those Saint A’s kids hell; a bandita, cause I had to; the Pastors of DC, MN, and Boston; and Henry Hubschman, stay healthy! Much love to everyone else.

Earn your stripes,
Kip

Further Insights

brave readers of the kip chronicle,


i feel that it is time to address some advice that has been given to me. now, keep in mind, this particular list serve is not for the prude or PG crowd. of course, my family and many of their friends are on it. but i must say i have suffered a barage of emails about thai massages. i indulged last night, it was a two hour massage, and strictly a massage. seriously, just a massage. so relax. i am. i went with a british friend that i met yesterday while awaiting nate's arrival. this brit along with a canadian (both in their late fifties) took me out for drinks and then dinner. the canadian told me of his adventures with the hells angels and running speed across the border. the british bloak had less crazy stories, but he definately had a concupiscence that manifested itself in his constant stares at the women on the street. so basically, i had beers with two dirty old men. gross. oh well, it was free and certainly entertaining. the hotel im staying at gave a 20 percent discount at the massage place next door and for 8 bucks for a two hour massage along side a dirty old man, i couldnt resist. john (the brit) and i changed into a silk shirt and pants. we shared a room and i must say that i havent heard something so "brillant" in my whole life. he was righetously pissed at the time and definately enjoyed his massage. of course, he then took his massuse out for drinks. i enjoyed my massage too, but there were too many elbows involved. afterwards, rather than joining john and said massuse, i went up to my room and promptly passed out. i awakened at 3:30am when nate arrived, 28 hours late. but that is another story for another time.

the food. well, simply put, delish. all of my travels and all of the advice and travel books that i have read state explicitly not to eat the food sold on the street. they warn of the dangers and parasites. but again, lets get back to frugality. i have eaten all of my meals on the street. obviously. this usually means that breakfast is a tom yum soup or some type of noodle. lunch and dinner are no different, expect sometimes i hook up a little rice. my stomach has been rumble free thus far, but dont worry, if he starts up i packed enough immodium to plug a whale.

tomorrow nate and i are heading down to pattaya in the south east, then over to cambodia and the bokor national forest, some remote island, and then phenom penh to work for conservation international.

things are great and i am thrilled to have mr. ratledge along for the ride. i forgot how big he was (6' 3''), so all of that "fitting in" i was doing is now lost. no more subtle wanderings. oh well. its nice to have a travel companion. so thats it for now, you will next hear from me when i am in cambodia. wild.

lots of love,
kip

ps. mom they even have a starbucks here. so whenever you come here, you can leave your coffee beans at home.

Adios Hermanos

well folks, its that time. i leave for bangkok, thailand tomorrow morning (march 9th). i fly from washington, dulles to tokyo, japan in the healthy time of 14 hours 5 minutes. then, its off to bangkok in under 6 hours. i think.

anyways, this will be the asia listserve. if for whatever reason you are uninterested in living vicariously through my adventures (with nate ratledge) or would prefer not to read my uncapitalized ramblings, please just drop me a line and you will be promptly removed. but, for those brave souls prepared for uncensored, graphic descriptions of cambodian jungles, thai women, burmese monasteries, vietnamese motorcycle treks, ancient wonders of laos, and whatever the hell else we do, i would recommend staying on it. if for no other reason, it should be entertaining.

i wont bore you with the detailed potential itinerary, but the plan is thailand, to cambodia, to vietnam, to laos, back to thailand briefly, then to burma (myanmar), and finally to the thai beaches to relax before returning to the states on june 22nd. thats when i return back to the states and to real life. oy.

ok, thats it. im off. have safe and wonderful months. i shall see yall soon enough. take care.

one love