Bangkok/Phuket: the endless bus rides

DAY 2:

Day two started out in groups. Monty and Amy, still relatively jet lagged from our previous day of sight seeing and moving around, took a quiet morning to shop and explore our neighborhood in Bangkok. James and I got up early to go and get the bus tickets for Phuket at the airport. After some navigating, bus riding, and a trip to the Bangkok airport ( note: this quick trip of exploring the Bangkok airport was vital to our survival later in the trip...) we got our tickets and headed back to the hostel.

We went over to the Jim Thompson house for lunch. The Jim Thompson house acted as the main US outpost in Southeast Asia during WWII and is famous for it's traditional Teak architecture. The house was beautiful, and lunch on the veranda was actually quite luxurious. After a tour and some daydreams about running away to this beautiful house for the rest of the year, we headed out to Wat Po, the temple of the famous reclining Buddha. We only had a little bit more time in Bangkok, so I decided to take the NYtimes recommended list and see the highlights. Wat Po, another sprawling and beautiful structure, houses the incredible 46 mlong, 15m high buddha. We also got to see some monks, who call this beautiful temple home.

After a rather rushed trip back to the hostel and trip in a tuktuk, we got ready to go to the airport. A tuktuk are small, covered trucks that act as local taxis around bangkok. I love tuktuks for their character and different take on sightseeing (example: Oh look at that building AH I HOPE I DON'T DIE!) We jumped in a cab and headed to the airport, where we boarded the first of MANY buses. After a tedious yet very local trip through bangkok to get to the south terminal station, we rushed to get on our overnight bus to Phuket. After slurping down some boiling cup noodles and doing a final bathroom run, we all got into our plushy seats and headed out to Phuket. The bus is 12 hours total, leaving at 8pm and arriving at 8am. This worked out great, as we were all exhausted and ready for 12 hours of nothingness.

It was about this point when I put on James's jacket, popped some Tylenol simply sleep, and curled up in his lap and called it a night. Maybe it's because I usually travel with type A girls (my own family included in that statement) but I never realized how great it is to have a type B boy around. Not only do they let you ramble and stress and try to solve the world's problems, but they also just smile and tell you it's going to work out just fine. In B land, the worries are few and the little things, like taking an overnight bus to Phuket, become memorable.

Bangkok: Buddha's, Wat's, and Pad Thai

A few weeks late on this post, but somehow it's still pretty fresh in my memory. This blog is being difficult about picture uploading, so bear with me and visit my facebook page to see the pictures from this trip.

Let's start with Bangkok:

Flying above Thailand as we circled the Bangkok Airport, I could only wonder what this strange new world held for four (three at the time) young travelers. None of us had ever been to anywhere like Thailand... so this trip was already pushing us out of the comfort zone of familiar, Westernized locations. Upon arrival, Monty, James and myself jumped into one of the brightly colored taxi's and headed into the city of Bangkok, ready for whatever the night held for us.

We booked at a small, boutique hostel in downtown Bangkok. The location was fantastic because we were right on the edge of the historical districts and far, far away from the infamous red light night districts. We arrived to a friendly staff, who lead us up the stairs to somewhat of a thai-closet-darkwood bunkroom. It was actually quite lovely, with open air showers and fresh, clean sunlight pouring into the thai-style living quarters. For a hostel priced at 15 dollars a night, we were doing pretty well. That evening, we all headed out to the night market on the other side of town to find some dinner and hopefully get some shopping in. The night market was fantastic. Endless vendors, selling everything from thai pants to bath oils. We grabbed dinner at a small local restaurant underneath an enormous tree, right in the middle of the plaza. This is where we first discovered the beauty of the Thai Baat. Everything in Thailand is incredibly cheap... which makes student travel a dream. Sitting under our bungalow in the open air plaza, we enjoyed our first of what turned into many thai meals on this trip: Pad Thai, Green and Red Curry, with delicious thai jasmine rice. After dinner, we strolled along stopping to our hearts content. James, like all good males accompanying women while shopping, grabbed a beer and silently strolled along behind Monty and myself.

We all headed back and waited for our fourth piece, Amy, to arrive. After crashing hard, we all got up the next morning for a day of sightseeing.

DAY 1:

We all got up the first morning tired, but excited for the day. After grabbing some coffee at the hostel, we strolled around the neighborhood looking for the route to the Grand Palace. Though beautiful and sunny, Bangkok was BOILING. At 95 degrees with thick, tropical humidity, we were all sweating and ready to eat by the time we got to the palace. After a quick brunch at Au Bon Pain (they have those in Thailand!) we went into the palace. Built in 1782, this palace had me singing "The King and I" all through the tour. How fabulous it must have been , to be here in the height of imperial Thailand. The sprawling structure kept us busy for most of the afternoon, looking at the different areas of the compound and the fabulous architecture of the traditional thai culture.

After the grand palace, we were all feeling the heat and exhaustion of the Bangkok sunshine. We headed to the nearby river stop to ferry across the river. After browsing the street fare and enjoying some of the local culture, we ventured cross the river to Wat Arun, one of the most traditional and most famous Wat's in Bangkok. Wat, in Thai, means temple... so everything is Wat this, Wat that. Wat Arun was beautiful, with elaborate carvings on a spire-like pillar that reached high above the river. What struck me about this architecture is how very different it is from everything else in the world. It isn't Indian or Chinese, and certainly not Western. The architecture and culture of Thailand is uniquely Thai... with bright colors and patterns I've never encountered before.

After Wat Arun, I realized I was sunburnt. No, not sunburnt... crisp might be a better term. However, no slowing down for our team. After a quick shower and some quick R and R, we all jumped in what had to be the longest cab ride ever (traffic...ick) to go to the highlight restaurant of the trip: Cabbages and Condoms. Despite the name, the restaurant was fabulous. We enjoyed pad thai and curry ( I think our count at this point was around 3 meals with just these staples) while learning about AIDS prevention in Southeast Asia. At the recommendation of the New York Times (which, while being in Asia, has been my saving grace for news, travel recommendations, and good articles) we attended dinner with an open mind... and our cameras. Not only were condoms a central theme; they were also the decor. All and all, it was memorable to say the least. On the way back from dinner, we spotted a Starbucks and immediately had our taxi driver pull over. Before we could correct our mistake, we were standing outside a Starbucks, surrounded by prostitutes.

Now i'm not someone who gets uncomfortable around prostitutes, especially in Asia. After reading Half the Sky and listening to Nicolas Kristof speak at Castilleja this past winter break, I feel I have a greater understanding of the true travesty that is Human Trafficking. Monty, Amy, and James all ran for the Starbucks. I hesitated, standing there with these women, many younger than myself. I watched as Western, Chinese, and all ethnicities of men passed, picking out women like items on a dessert tray. It was heartbreaking. Outside one of the most well known and profitable coffee chains in the world, I was watching women being picked up like grande lattes. The group was pretty shaken by this experience. I however am glad I saw it. From this point onward, human trafficking has a face in my mind... the face of the teenage girl outside of Starbucks who, in any other lifetime, could have been myself.

Chinese New Year and Thailand (the beginning)

Off on another adventure. Sorry about the late Harbin post... This past week has been crazy with midterms and getting ready for THIS trip. I realized that from two weeks ago in Harbin to the middle of April, I will literally be traveling every other weekend. Lucky me! Travel plans have changed slightly since the last time I posted about travel. Instead of Malaysia for the four day weekend in March, I'm headed to Tokyo with about half my house. It's going to be a big weekend of crazy fun. I'm in the process of booking various hotels, day trips, etc.

If there's one thing I'm doing a lot of lately, it's planning. I'm planning next year, this semester, the summer, my last two years of college, and my daily life. I have to remind myself to not plan so much and just LIVE. I think I could plan my life away and end up never actually living...

Last night was Chinese New Year. After a relatively crazy Friday night, our house was pretty exhausted last night. After some pizza and endless games of Mafia, we all got our our fireworks and headed down the the street. In China, fireworks aren't regulated, so people just set them off in the middle of the street...with cars... and people around. Our own show was pretty great; the boys got creative with the firecracker strings. Later that night, as midnight approached, we started actually running through the streets to make it down to the local temple in time to see the city light up. In a five way intersection near our house, there were fireworks going off at every ally leading up to the center circle, creating a picturesque scene as we all ran, fireworks booming and crackling on the ground everywhere, through the bright streets of Shanghai. It was like being in downtown Baghdad, or in some crazy movie. Either way, it was by far one of the craziest, most memorable moments of this year. We all stood in the middle of Beijing Lu, cars flying around us, as we looked down each avenue to watch the city sky light up. As actual snow rained down on us, we rang in the year of the Tiger together.

Anyway, here I am, on the plane to my next big adventure. I'm currently on a plane from Guangzhou, China, to Bangkok, Thailand. Monty, James, Amy and myself are all off for a week in Thailand, spending two days in Bangkok, and three days in Phuket. Two days of cultural city touring, followed by three days doing absolutely NOTHING on the beach. I am sooooo excited!

The morning was off to a bit of a rough start. After staying up all night watching the Chinese New Years celebration, I ended up crashing around 3:30am. At 6:30, I jumped out of bed for a shower, some cereal and coffee, and a round of emails. At 8:50, we were out the door, ready to go. With plenty of time for our 11:45 flight, we arrived at the Pudong airport at exactly 9:45. We strolled up to the counter, asked for the China Southern Airline desk, only to be told that our flight was out of Hongqiao, not Pudong.

In a moment of panic, I ran out the door and jumped in the nearest taxi, yelling hongqiao and quickly in Chinese. About a month ago, Expedia.com had sent me an updated itinerary, which I had read through and hadn't noticed anything but a change in the return flight. Unfortunately, Expedia also changed my departure airport. Luckily, we arrived at Hongqiao at 10:30, whirled around the airport departures for awhile, and finally got through and onto our plane with a few minutes to spare. Chinese airports, specifically Hongqiao, is incredibly difficult to navigate. After being redirected to three different counters, we finally found a counter with about 5 people standing around, all doing nothing productive. In my new hybrid American-Chinese style, I marched up to the front of the counter, pointed at our departure time and started shoving our passports at various attendants. This actually worked great and we were on our way within minutes, while Chinese passengers looked on in amazement. Rule one of traveling as a student: NO CHECKED BAGGAGE. We all planned on two carry-on's, so despite our rather rough start, we are on the last leg of our journey with all baggage in tow.

What I've learned by traveling with my peers instead of my family is that things are not going to go perfectly. I have a tendency to micromanage my travel plans, thus I feel the need to take responsibility for every wrench in the plan. I've learned that not only can I not account for the element of surprise and/or fate, but that I it isn't my fault either. All I can do is make sure that I am well prepared and full of contingency plans. As James has reminded me a few times this morning, whatever is going to happen will happen, and all I can do is keep my extra-prepared backpack handy and try to roll with the punches.

I will put in a quick ode to Valentines Day:

Here, in China, no one celebrates Valentines Day. Noting the number of single girls in my house, this probably isn't such a bad thing. However,last night, we were all treated to a little love. When we all returned from watching the fireworks and watching the snow come down on Shanghai, there were chocolates and roses waiting for every girl. Every girl I saw was touched. It's cheesy, but just a rose and some chocolate makes the holiday worth it. I'll be bringing something back from Thailand for the boy who was sweet enough to make sure that every girl in our house felt a little bit special today :)

I was a little luckier. My Mom, who always goes the extra mile to make every holiday special for me and my family, sent a bag of goodies along with my Dad in January. A box of chocolate and cards are all I need, of course with a few sweet tee shirts too :) My family is always my first valentine. I miss them so much... and LOVE THEM!

More to come later, probably tomorrow. We land in Thailand at 5:30, so we'll be able to get to our hotel, get some dinner, and just chill tonight. This morning aside, I think it's the start of a great vacation :)

Harbin: Day 3

Harbin, Day 3

Another great day in Harbin, another not so great trip to the Chinese Airport.

Our final morning in Harbin pretty laid back. We got up late, ate some lunch, and headed over to the airport. Unfortunately, our plane has been delayed something like four hours. We were supposed to leave around 7, but it looks like we're not leaving until 11:30. Lovely.

....

Well, it's four in the morning. Fantastic trip, LONG trek back. After eventually leaving, I am here, in my bed, unable to sleep and exhausted from the day. I am simultaneously uploading pictures and blogging to drain whatever energy seems to be keeping me awake.

All in all, Loved Harbin. Great adventure. must. sleep. nowwwwwwwww.

Harbin: Day 2

Harbin, Day 2.

It's amazing I'm even still awake at this point. After something like a 15 hour day, I'm sitting in my hotel room with everyone, still laughing and savoring the last of what has to have been one of my best travel days ever.

We started out the morning at 6:45 (or at least I did.) Side note: never in my life did I think I would be an early riser, but in college, I get up at least an hour before anyone else. After a shower and breakfast of a powerbar, apple and coffee (again, thank GOD for Starbucks VIA packets!!) Katy, Luke and myself met the group down in the lobby for an 8:30 pickup. Our rented bus was waiting, and off we went to meet Chris and Cory VanVeltzer, our program director and amazing wife. We're lucky enough to be traveling with the VanVeltzers, who along with being our program directors are just fantastic people.

First stop: Saint Sophia church in downtown Harbin and the Jewish Museum

Driving through Harbin, I wouldn't necessarily think I'm in China. The town is more Russian than anything else: the architecture is very western and much of the layout is European in feel (long, organized streets versus the Chinese tendency for crossing shorter streets.) The Chinese tell is the character signs, which cover just about every corner. We arrived at Saint Sophia around 9:20. The church was not even a little bit Chinese. The Russian orthodox style combined with the icy cold wind would make just about anyone think they're standing somewhere outside Moscow. After the church, we made our way over the Jewish Museum. This museum is dedicated to the large jewish population in Harbin. During WWII, while the Jews were fleeing Germany and parts of Russia, a small migration made it's way over to Harbin, China. China at the time had no antisemitism, making Harbin an ideal settlement for those jews brave enough to make the Siberian trek over here. The museum reminded me of how much I really enjoy museums and somewhat-education experiences. I like traveling and relaxing as much as any other person, but my parents have certainly instilled a thirst for cultural knowledge in me.

Second Stop: Main Street Harbin and the Frozen River.

I guess when I was planning this trip, I realized it would be cold... I even planned ahead for it. However, California has done me absolutely NO favors in terms of retaining any of my Midwestern cold tolerance. At about 10:30, I realized my fake thinsulate gloves (courtesy of the fake market on Nanjing Xi Lu) were not going to cut it against the -3 degree windchill. The bright sunlight did just about nothing, except illuminate the beautiful ice throughout the town. We strolled up and down the main street, admiring the eclectic cultural buildings and shops. We even found a Walmart super store ( Note: In the states I despise going to Walmart because of the claustrophobic crowds and inevitable inability to find what I'm looking for, but in China, Walmart is like a beacon of familiar light.) We went on first of what turned out to be many slides of the day on the Frozen river on the end of the Main street. The river completely freezes in the winters here, so crowds of eager tourists spend hours simply slipping around on this great frozen lake. After a cold but great time, we all headed back down the street for lunch. We stopped at a recommended Russian restaurant. I tried some borscht and an assortment of Russian-esque items, which was fun but definitely not my favorite cuisine. All and all, downtown Harbin was great. Then, back to the bus and onward to the afternoon activities.

Stop Three: The Tiger Park

I remember being a child and going to the zoo to see the tigers. Back then, the tigers were so big yet so far away. Today, the tigers were still big, but they were right next to me... or in my lap.

Upon our arrival at the Tiger Park, we purchased our tickets. With these tickets, we had the options of purchasing various small animals: chickens, pheasants, goats, or steaks. We learned we would be going out in a Jurassic Park style vehicle and driving up next to the tigers. The animals were to feed the tigers as we watched. Despite my more liberal inclination to shout animal cruelty, I figured this is an experience I would never get to witness in the US, so why not. I bought a chicken. Before jumping into our vehicle, I went over to a corner of our waiting area where there was a baby tiger in caged area. I decided I would pay the 7 dollars and get to hold the tiger, because hey, when else in my life am I going to hold a baby tiger! The handler sat me down and then put the tiger in my lap. The first two seconds were fine, until the tiger processed that (he?) was being held by some nice smelling foreigner. At this, the tiger started to growl and swatted my hair. I figured this was relatively harmless, so I smiled and waited for my friend luke to start taking pictures. However, the tiger was not as amused. After failing to get my attention from the swat, the baby tiger turned around and took a big bite right into my pashmina (around my neck... thank you overpriced fashion statement.) At this, I was done holding the tiger. In an effort to stay calm and hopefully save my jugular, I started to bounce the tiger and yelling at the handler to get this thing off me. After one more attempt at a bite, the baby tiger was promptly removed. I got some great, terrified looking pictures out if it... but I think my career as a Tiger handler will be going nowhere for now.

After the incident with the baby tiger, the group jumped in our van and headed out into the tundra. This preserve has something like 720 tigers, along with a few other assorted large felines. As we approached the feeding area, our animals were thrown out of a van across the pavilion. I watched in part horror, part fascination, as these HUGE tigers jumped, pinned, and cornered various pheasants and chickens. It was very cool, watching predators do what they do best: kill.

Warning: Next part is Graphic and awful. Be warned.

After getting off the bus, we went through a walkway where there were various tigers, lions, Ligars (Lion-Tiger mix, there are only 10 in the world and three of them happen to be in Harbin) Jaguars, and leopards. Every couple minutes a woman selling more chickens would come by and offer us a good price to literally throw a chicken over the side to a Tiger. A group ahead of ours agreed and purchased one of these poor birds. Then came the worst display of feline cruelty I've ever seen. It's true what they say about cats being mean creatures: they play with their food before they eat it. I won't go into specific detail, but this tiger spent about twenty minutes ripping apart a live chicken before eventually killing it. Needless to say, it was gruesome.

After that lovely display of the "circle of life," we headed back to the van. At this point, we were getting cold and tired. For anyone traveling in China: rent a van or driver. The easy pickup and lack of navigating made the whole day 100 percent easier.

Stop Four: The Ice Park

Harbin is famous for it's annual ice and snow festival. Every year, people and teams from around the world come to Harbin to carve various sculptures out of ice blocks and enormous snow piles. The creations were fantastic, ranging from cityscapes to portraits of various religious deities ( Jesus in snow, anyone?)

After a few more slides and ice sculptures, I could no longer feel my toes, hands, or nose. I am generally a good sport, and I try not complain. However, it was 4:30, and the sun was starting to do down in this vast park of ice and snow. I was cold, hungry (borscht only lasts so long...) and I'd been moving for almost 10 hours. I was ready to be done, or at least get some dinner. The rest of the group decided to go and see one last thing at the park, while I opted to wait for them back near the slide. Sitting outside in the cold was numbing, but I was happy just to sit and let myself mentally breathe for a few minutes. Luckily, it wasn't long before everyone came back and we headed out, once again, into the cold night.

Stop Five: Hot Pot

There are few things better in the world than a hot meal in the freezing cold. We all went out to a Hot Pot dinner. Hot Pot consists of a big pot of flavored, boiling broth, that cooks whatever you choose to put in it. It's almost like Chinese Fondue. As a group, we ordered various meats, vegetables, noodles and sides to boil in our own personal pots, flavored to our liking. Nothing beats spicy Hot Pot after a day in the icy cold tundra of Harbin. After an interesting game of two truths and a lie with Chris and Cory, we all headed back out into the night for one last stop.

Stop six: The Disney Ice Park

Like any good Dillon Daughter, I pass up no good Disney attraction. Our last stop of the night (around 10pm) was the ice park in central Harbin. This park is Disney themed, with huge ice sculptures carved into palaces, princesses, and fantastic slides. Endlessly tube sliding in the middle of Agraba (Aladdin) and Sleeping Beauty's palace was more fun than I've had in a long time. Innocent, good fun, taking me all the way back to the days of sledding in Cleveland or playing make believe. I'm a sucker for Disney, and amidst the sledding and lights and ice sculptures, the cold no longer mattered. I was just being a kid :)

So now I'm back here, in my little hotel room, while Luke and Katy get ready to pass out to which I will surely follow. It's approaching 19 hours, but today was worth it. Something about snow just brings me back to being eight years old again (in spirit, not in total practice) and makes everything a little more magical. Being here with these amazing people, my friends and mentors, roommates and true pengyoumen, I am reminded how lucky I am. Here, in Siberian China, I have no doubt I'm one of the luckiest girls in the world. Now I need to sleep before I get even more sentimental. What a great day :)

Harbin: Day 1

Day 1:

Well, I'm cold.

We're in some god forsaken Best Western on the outskirts of Harbin. Harbin should be the Chinese word for SIBERIA. There isn't anything around, mostly because it's January and freezing cold. As we were flying in from Shanghai, I started to realize that after the rather interesting northern China terrain, you are left with basically nothing but snowy flatlands. Fun times. After arriving at airport, we got in a cab (definitely made to seat two comfortably, but we squished four college students... yes?) and drove an hour to this ever lovely hotel out in the middle of nowhere. I don't want to make this sound bad, because truthfully, things could be a LOT worse. Really, they could.

After attempting to take a "quick" nap that ended up lasting all afternoon, we all sleepily stumbled to dinner. Enthusiastic about our new surroundings, we decided we would try the local cuisine, a hybrid of Russian and Chinese food. After finding what seemed to be a food street near our hotel, we chose the one restaurant with Russian writing. Turns out it was just Chinese food. At this point, I need to put in my words of gratitude for Amanda Shen. Amanda is the only person in our group who speaks Mandarin, and she has spent the majority of this trip (all one day of it) translating for us. Thank God for Amanda. We had a relatively good dinner of kabobs, noodles, and some of the local Harbin beer.

We haven't really seen the city yet, so I'm waiting on tomorrow for my full impression. We smartly have hired a driver for the entire day, so tomorrow we're up and running. More to come later :)

Travel Plans

This semester, I'm trying to get on top of my travel plans early. As much as I loved last semester, I didn't get to travel as much as I would have liked to, mostly because I couldn't get anything planned in a frugal, timely manner.

As of now, I have three solid travel plans. In about a week, I'm going up north to Harbin, China. For those who are unfamiliar with Harbin, it's a city in the middle of nowhere. Harbin is a frozen tundra that annually carves an elaborate city out of ice. Harbin also houses the largest white tiger sanctuary in the world. I'll only be there for three days, therefore limiting my chances of frostbite and hypothermia. Fun times.

I'll For Spring Break, I'm headed to Thailand: Bangkok and Phuket. A few friends and myself are headed out for a week of temples, curry, and beaches! Then, in March, I'll hopefully be headed to Panang and Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. I want to head to each location for two days. I've never been to Malaysia, and I don't really know much about it. Should be fun?

Finally, I have tentative plans to go out to Tibet in April. After the program ends, a few friends and I are hoping to spend a week in Lhasa, Tibet. Lhasa is the capital of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the former home of the Dalai Lama. After visiting Tibet once a few years back, I have felt a great spiritual pull to return. Though my plans are not yet finalized, I am set on returning this spring.

In this year, I will have visited China, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Tibet, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and possibly India this winter. Oh, and that place I call home, the USA! It's going to be a busy year!