I forgot to write about the legend surrounding Halong Bay. Apparently, as the mighty dragon descended from the mountains it gorged out valleys and caves and left Halong Bay in its path. I like legends that involve dragons.
Oh, Vietnam (which is actually Viet Nam if you want to be correct with your translation because Thais and Vietnamese have one syllable languages so all words are one syllable) means "the people who came down from southern China". Similarly, Hanoi means "the people who live south of the Red River".
All the houses in Hanoi, and some in Saigon, are very tall and very thin. This apparently goes back to the days of the French when people were taxed by how much of the street their property took up - same as New Orleans! It is very trippy to see all these super thin, super tall houses and everything here involves TONS of stairs.
All the traffic lights in Hanoi, and some in Saigon, count down how long til the green light becomes red and then again til the red becomes green. You would think this would help make traffic orderly, but it does not.
Oh, all the bus trips in Asia involve special bathroom/shipping stops at factories and stores (most of which involve hand made crafts by handicap people that are exploited for tourist money and the goods overpriced). I haven't seen that since Egypt and it gets rather old but I suppose the bathroom breaks are nice. Silly Asia.
So far, my favorite foods/drinks are: Bun Cha (pork and noodles- odd since I don't really eat pork), Pho (spicy noodle soup), squid, tofu, morning glory/pumpkin greens - we would call morning glory water spinach, and passion fruit everything (including rice wine), oh, and of course the great goat cheese apple salad I have had twice now.
So this morning we took a taxi to the Hanoi airport and our driver pulled over to let us out and apparently pulled over to the wrong side so as we were paying him a police man came and hit him with a stick on the back. We could tell we just needed to leave so we tipped him and paid and left. Poor guy.
Now, time for Saigon/HCMC....
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Hanoi Days 5 and 6
Early Friday morning our group got on a bus to Hai Phong - an industrial port city northeast of Hanoi. We got to visit this amazing NGO started by a women who contracted HIV from her husband and who was basically shunned by her community. Her son who is 5ish also has HIV and is not allowed to go to school because the Headmaster is discriminatory and thinks he will basically infect or scare the other children. Now for those of you who don't know much about the HIV epidemic in Vietnam, there is a LOT of stigma associated with people with HIV. Most of the people who get HIV in Vietnam contract it through a "social evil" - there words not mine - like injection drug use (IDU) or commercial sex work (CSW). This women did not contract HIV that way but the stigma she encountered was horrendous. It was a great morning, but a rather sad one.
Then we headed to lunch at some local tiny Vietnamese restaurant. Oh, all the toliets in Vietnam are pretty much squat and pee ones. This one was out behind the restaurant by where they held all the sea food they later cooked you. Quite a site.
Friday night we went back to a restaurant we had been in Hanoi already called Hoa Sua - this is a restaurant that is also a cooking school for street kids to give them vocational skills and whatnot. The food is awesome and the teenagers who work there are great. I have this amazing goat cheese and apple salad - mmmmm makes me hungry just thinking about. Oh, and the chocolate moose isn't too bad either! Then we headed to the Dragonfly bar to have some drinks (less then two dollars for a very potent vodka soda!) but we headed home by midnight because we had a trip to Halong Bay schedule for the next morning.
Halong Bay, well I can't say enough about it. First, the driver who got us there and back - CRAZY! Now most drivers here you would call crazy but this guy went above and beyond. He was never in a lane and constantly flashing and honking people. Shannon and I were in front (the girls who get car sick!) and we were fairly amused/terrified the entire time. Oh, we also witnessed a motorbike crash (nothing serious though) and got to see people carry an interesting array of things on these motorbikes including, but not limited to, 4 dead hogs, two giant baskets of live chickens, a basket of dogs, and about 4 giant bushels of melons. No, none of those are jokes. Sadly, no pictures to prove this thus far, but I promise to work on it.
Halong Bay is a bunch of limestone islands in the Gulf of Tonkin - for those of you who aren't history nerds like myself the Gulf of Tonkin would be the same gulf we faked the attack on our ships in, blamed Vietnam for, and thereby justified starting the Vietnam War. Lovely history right? Well, it is beautiful! Plenty of pictures of that. We also go to go through a giant cave. Pictures of all of this to come. The boat was super and while it was rainy the whole time, that made it seem more tropically and such. Sadly, we didn't get to swim, but I suppose I shall just have to come back! Alright well it's Sunday morning here and Sarah, Nicole, Daniella, Twan, and I all have to catch planes to HCMC/Saigon in a few minutes so I must stop.
Then we headed to lunch at some local tiny Vietnamese restaurant. Oh, all the toliets in Vietnam are pretty much squat and pee ones. This one was out behind the restaurant by where they held all the sea food they later cooked you. Quite a site.
Friday night we went back to a restaurant we had been in Hanoi already called Hoa Sua - this is a restaurant that is also a cooking school for street kids to give them vocational skills and whatnot. The food is awesome and the teenagers who work there are great. I have this amazing goat cheese and apple salad - mmmmm makes me hungry just thinking about. Oh, and the chocolate moose isn't too bad either! Then we headed to the Dragonfly bar to have some drinks (less then two dollars for a very potent vodka soda!) but we headed home by midnight because we had a trip to Halong Bay schedule for the next morning.
Halong Bay, well I can't say enough about it. First, the driver who got us there and back - CRAZY! Now most drivers here you would call crazy but this guy went above and beyond. He was never in a lane and constantly flashing and honking people. Shannon and I were in front (the girls who get car sick!) and we were fairly amused/terrified the entire time. Oh, we also witnessed a motorbike crash (nothing serious though) and got to see people carry an interesting array of things on these motorbikes including, but not limited to, 4 dead hogs, two giant baskets of live chickens, a basket of dogs, and about 4 giant bushels of melons. No, none of those are jokes. Sadly, no pictures to prove this thus far, but I promise to work on it.
Halong Bay is a bunch of limestone islands in the Gulf of Tonkin - for those of you who aren't history nerds like myself the Gulf of Tonkin would be the same gulf we faked the attack on our ships in, blamed Vietnam for, and thereby justified starting the Vietnam War. Lovely history right? Well, it is beautiful! Plenty of pictures of that. We also go to go through a giant cave. Pictures of all of this to come. The boat was super and while it was rainy the whole time, that made it seem more tropically and such. Sadly, we didn't get to swim, but I suppose I shall just have to come back! Alright well it's Sunday morning here and Sarah, Nicole, Daniella, Twan, and I all have to catch planes to HCMC/Saigon in a few minutes so I must stop.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hanoi Days 3 and 4
Driving in Hanoi is an adventure. The drivers use their horns constantly, not out of road rage, but they use they as a type of announcement to the other drivers and passengers - kind of like a "hey y'all, I'm coming!". It takes so getting use to and my blood pressure is normally a bit higher post driving. Picture the 15 of us on a full sized bus driving around with 1000s of motobikes and a few cars - as my teacher put it "those motorbikes are like gnats" and they need to watch out for us. We just plunge ahead into the traffic because we are the biggest and we can. What a riot!
Seriously the food in Hanoi rocks. Bun Cha (slaughtering that I am sure) is some noodle pork dish that rocks (and I don't really eat pork). Pho is a breakfast noodle soup thing that is pretty stellar and Iwill be having a bowl in about 5 minutes when I must leave for breakfast.
Last night we had the alumni dinner at a place called Highway 4 that makes there own rice wine. Well, rice wine is flavored, a tid bit I didn't previously know, and pretty alcoholic - made for a fun evening of people not being aware of how much they were drinking. We had a passion fruit flavored one (probably my favorite), a pulm, an aprocot, and I believe apple. I enjoyed the experience. We went to a lunch place yesterday that was not in any guide book to say the least. It was tiny and some local people working at a hostel pointed us towards it - you had no menu and when you sat down they just brought you Bun Cha and you ate it. It was awesome.
Sights seen in Hanoi so far: the ballet at the opera house (modern, Asian, and really neat), water puppets (pretty damn awesome!), Temple of Literature, the Prison, and Ho Chi Minh Masoleum (a word I need to learn to spell). The HCM masoleum was awesome. You had to leave your camera, walk in pairs on a specified path. You could only go inside in groups lead by a socialist guards in a white uniform and they you were marched around the tomb and stared at the embalmed body in a highly air conditioned room. It was creapy, HCM looked like he could just sit up and chat. Hard to believe he'd been dead so long! Outside the masoleum we saw the One Pillar Pagoda (pagoda is the word for like temple) and that was pretty and the pond surrounding it was filled with lily pads.
Today we are off to Hai Phong which is an industrial coastal city. Should be interesting.
Oh, the green tea here is very bitter - nothing like Chinese green tea. Word to the wise who are future Asia travelers. I mean I like it, but it isn't what you expect. We have been driving through the tea and rice regions and lining the road are farmers in the wicker Vietnames hats picking tea leaves and rice. It is so beautiful. Oh, good beer here is the Saigon beer. It is awesome.
Alright, time for my breakfast of spicy noodle soup.
Seriously the food in Hanoi rocks. Bun Cha (slaughtering that I am sure) is some noodle pork dish that rocks (and I don't really eat pork). Pho is a breakfast noodle soup thing that is pretty stellar and Iwill be having a bowl in about 5 minutes when I must leave for breakfast.
Last night we had the alumni dinner at a place called Highway 4 that makes there own rice wine. Well, rice wine is flavored, a tid bit I didn't previously know, and pretty alcoholic - made for a fun evening of people not being aware of how much they were drinking. We had a passion fruit flavored one (probably my favorite), a pulm, an aprocot, and I believe apple. I enjoyed the experience. We went to a lunch place yesterday that was not in any guide book to say the least. It was tiny and some local people working at a hostel pointed us towards it - you had no menu and when you sat down they just brought you Bun Cha and you ate it. It was awesome.
Sights seen in Hanoi so far: the ballet at the opera house (modern, Asian, and really neat), water puppets (pretty damn awesome!), Temple of Literature, the Prison, and Ho Chi Minh Masoleum (a word I need to learn to spell). The HCM masoleum was awesome. You had to leave your camera, walk in pairs on a specified path. You could only go inside in groups lead by a socialist guards in a white uniform and they you were marched around the tomb and stared at the embalmed body in a highly air conditioned room. It was creapy, HCM looked like he could just sit up and chat. Hard to believe he'd been dead so long! Outside the masoleum we saw the One Pillar Pagoda (pagoda is the word for like temple) and that was pretty and the pond surrounding it was filled with lily pads.
Today we are off to Hai Phong which is an industrial coastal city. Should be interesting.
Oh, the green tea here is very bitter - nothing like Chinese green tea. Word to the wise who are future Asia travelers. I mean I like it, but it isn't what you expect. We have been driving through the tea and rice regions and lining the road are farmers in the wicker Vietnames hats picking tea leaves and rice. It is so beautiful. Oh, good beer here is the Saigon beer. It is awesome.
Alright, time for my breakfast of spicy noodle soup.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Hanoi Day 2
Okay so the most dangerous thing you can do in Hanoi is cross the street. You literally have to close both eyes and just pray and DO NOT stop walking. It is a hell of an experience. We have had some super meals here in Hanoi. I had a goat cheese and apple salad; a mango, avocado, prawn salad with chili dressing; vermicilli noodles with morning glory; tofu, spring rolls, and veggies.... it has been fabulous.
Yesterday we had a talk from PEPFAR and it was really great. It was so cool to hear how they run PEPFAR so differently in Asia than in Africa. Also, I loved hearing how the Vietnam PEPFAR gets around all the funding restrictions. The women was great and gave us M&Ms when we got her questions correct. Yes, I did earn a bag.
Last night we also went to see the Water Puppet show. It was awesome. It was indoor, which I didn't know, and really really cool. While it was in Vietnamese you could understand most of it. Also, today I got to buy some fun gifts! I pretty much love them!
Today we to see the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, this is the big prison where all the American POWs were held during the war, including John McCain. It was awesome to see and had some great pictures of what Hanoi looked like pre and during the bombings. Then, we headed to the temple of literature which is very old, built circa 1070 and is dedicated to Confucius. It was all in Chinese but it was beautiful and oh so Asian looking. Tonight we are heading out in a bus to see the "red light district of Hanoi" but we are staying in the bus and basically doing a drive by. Then, we are going to a wine and tapas bar.
Oh, in Vietnam the famous Pho is a breakfast food. Yes, the eat spicy beef boodle soup with noodles for breakfast. We tried to order it tonight for dinner and got SHOT DOWN! (no pun intended with the prison topics above).
It is so hot in Hanoi. I was drenched in sweat already today and you kind of just get use to it and drink cold beer and water as often as you can.
Also, thimbles are NOT an Asian thing. Sadly I have only found them once, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and they don't say Thailand. I am on the lookout but I will be begging Nicky to continue the search I am sure.
We booked our Saturday trip to Halong Bay for $18 a pop. Day trip, transportation and lunch included. NOT TOO BAD!!! I am pretty excited.
Still no snake wine to be tried, but I am optimistic about the potential!
Can I just say I am a little sad I am not in Germany tonight to witness the craziness that ensues as Germany and Turkey face off in the Eurocup Semi-finals??? I really wish I was down on Konigstrasse seeing the maddness up close. Guess I shall have to settle for the maddness of the Hanoi moto bikes instead, sad life I have right? Alright, time to watch some Asian MTV and wait for this bus trip to commence. Later.
Yesterday we had a talk from PEPFAR and it was really great. It was so cool to hear how they run PEPFAR so differently in Asia than in Africa. Also, I loved hearing how the Vietnam PEPFAR gets around all the funding restrictions. The women was great and gave us M&Ms when we got her questions correct. Yes, I did earn a bag.
Last night we also went to see the Water Puppet show. It was awesome. It was indoor, which I didn't know, and really really cool. While it was in Vietnamese you could understand most of it. Also, today I got to buy some fun gifts! I pretty much love them!
Today we to see the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, this is the big prison where all the American POWs were held during the war, including John McCain. It was awesome to see and had some great pictures of what Hanoi looked like pre and during the bombings. Then, we headed to the temple of literature which is very old, built circa 1070 and is dedicated to Confucius. It was all in Chinese but it was beautiful and oh so Asian looking. Tonight we are heading out in a bus to see the "red light district of Hanoi" but we are staying in the bus and basically doing a drive by. Then, we are going to a wine and tapas bar.
Oh, in Vietnam the famous Pho is a breakfast food. Yes, the eat spicy beef boodle soup with noodles for breakfast. We tried to order it tonight for dinner and got SHOT DOWN! (no pun intended with the prison topics above).
It is so hot in Hanoi. I was drenched in sweat already today and you kind of just get use to it and drink cold beer and water as often as you can.
Also, thimbles are NOT an Asian thing. Sadly I have only found them once, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and they don't say Thailand. I am on the lookout but I will be begging Nicky to continue the search I am sure.
We booked our Saturday trip to Halong Bay for $18 a pop. Day trip, transportation and lunch included. NOT TOO BAD!!! I am pretty excited.
Still no snake wine to be tried, but I am optimistic about the potential!
Can I just say I am a little sad I am not in Germany tonight to witness the craziness that ensues as Germany and Turkey face off in the Eurocup Semi-finals??? I really wish I was down on Konigstrasse seeing the maddness up close. Guess I shall have to settle for the maddness of the Hanoi moto bikes instead, sad life I have right? Alright, time to watch some Asian MTV and wait for this bus trip to commence. Later.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
First Impressions of Hanoi
Well Hanoi is very different than Bangkok. First off, it's hotter and more humid. Second, there are about a million more motos (tiny motorcycles - yes, I have plenty of photos). We arrived and had to get our Visas. They are giant and take up a whole passport page - like the one I had years ago for Russia. Sarah got a Visa that didn't have her name on it and thank God she caught it in time and she got a new one. Then, we left the airport only be loaded onto a VERY HOT bus with minimal AC - we were all stripping off clothes. Got to the hotel - we are staying at "The Army Hotel" which is part of a Vietnamese Army Base. Funny that some 30 years after the Vietnam war a group of American students in Hanoi are staying at what was once a Viet Cong base. Anyway, we headed out to see the city which is beautiful. The main lake is great, it has an island in the middle and there is some legend about the island being where this giant tortise took this sword back unwater at or something. Regardless, it is beautiful. We walked all through the old quarter, had drinks at a lakeside bar and then walked to dinner in the old quarter at "69-Bar Restaurant" which is so named for its address at 69 Pho Ma May. Creative right? Well we got to order specials like "chicken 69 style" which provided endless entertainment. I had some tofu, some spring rolls, and some prawns, all of which were fabulous. Also, Hanoi beer is great. Loved that. After dinner a group of us walked home and a group took taxis - well of course I walked. And I walked carrying 4 giant liters of water and sweating. We stopped to get dessert off the street at a place our TA Beth recommended - she was taking us - and ate fruit (which included avocados here) with condensed milk, coconut milk, and ice. Yes, I both ate street fruit and ice all my first day but so far, not sick and it's been 12 hours. We shall see. Anyway, I need to eat breakfast now. Signing off!
Bangkok - Days 5, 6, and 7
Well Friday was our last day of classes. We got to go to the Thai CDC and learn about a ton of great research that they had going on with MSMs and IDUs to learn more about the nature of the epidemic and treatment potentials. It was pretty interesting. They we did a wrap up of our class and ran over some logistics for the weekend and how we were going to leave on Sunday for Vietnam.
After class a group of us headed to dinner in Chinatown. We ate at some hole in the wall, half outside half inside, tiny but 3 floored Chinese restaurant. The group of us took up the entire top floor of the place. Ordering was interesting since they spoke NO English as many Thais do but luckily we had a couple of Thai friends we had made during the week (a guy named Nicky and his friends) and they basically ordered for us. I tried to order bubbled water and that was hilarious. First I tried "soda water" then I tried "mineral water" - to which my response was "what minerals??" haha. Then, I tried "soda water" again and they waiter goes "oh, soDAAA" and I laughed and nodded. It was hilarious, the whole group was cracking up. Anyway, I ate to eat crab cakes with rice noodles in them, super garlicky and spicy squid, and some water spinach stuff they don't really have in America. It was very good. Oh, of course we had bunches of Singa - the national Thai beer as well. Singa isn't great but it passes as cold and beer. After Chinatown dinner we walked around a bit and then headed over to the Night Bazaar on Tuk Tuks - these are the bicycle taxis - I have pictures for those of you who don't have a mental picture of 4 adults crammed in the back of this tiny thing. The Night Bazaar was GIANT. You couldn't haggle as much here but I did manage to buy Tyler's little gift and some of my friends got foot massages. They had a bunch of hilarious clothing - many of which were American style dresses from the 1950s-1980s. Truely awesome. Then, heading home from the Night Bazaar we got in Taxis. Shannon, Megan, Sarah and I got in one taxi and headed back to the Ambassador Hotel. Well about 4 minutes into our journey we were waiting at a light in the middle of the horrendous Bangkok traffic and a truck starts getting really close to us. Well now if you had been doing Bangkok traffic now for 4 days you wouldn't be worried about this because the traffic is indescribable and they get very very close to each other. Well, this truck side swiped us. Yes, we got in a car accident in Bangkok. Now don't freak people, we are fine. But the truck was literally stuck on the taxi. They had to throw the car in reverse and pull themselves apart. The taxi driver was so upset and apologetic that we paid him and got in a new taxi that a Bangkok police officer called for us on the side of the road. Then, we paid him again. But, we got home alive.
The next day was our free day and Sarah and I headed out to see the Bangkok sights. We saw the Wat Pho and the reclining Buddha - which is so giant it takes up a whole room!!, the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha - which is tiny and on top of a giant shrine, and then took the boat across the river (for a whole dime) to see Wat Arun and climbed to the top to get a great view of Bangkok. It was so hot, I got sun burned, but loved the entire experience. Between the two of us we have over 100 pictures so get ready to see those! I got more Pad Thai at some tiny whole in the wall our Grand Palace tour guide recommended. It was cheap and decent considering we were in the tourist area. Then, Sarah and I got back to the hotel around 3:30 and by 4:30 we were both asleep and didn't get up til about 4:30 the next morning. Yes, we were exhausted. But, hey, we needed that sleep.
Sunday we packed, ate, and left for the airport to go to Vietnam. We arrived safe and sound Sunday afternoon!
After class a group of us headed to dinner in Chinatown. We ate at some hole in the wall, half outside half inside, tiny but 3 floored Chinese restaurant. The group of us took up the entire top floor of the place. Ordering was interesting since they spoke NO English as many Thais do but luckily we had a couple of Thai friends we had made during the week (a guy named Nicky and his friends) and they basically ordered for us. I tried to order bubbled water and that was hilarious. First I tried "soda water" then I tried "mineral water" - to which my response was "what minerals??" haha. Then, I tried "soda water" again and they waiter goes "oh, soDAAA" and I laughed and nodded. It was hilarious, the whole group was cracking up. Anyway, I ate to eat crab cakes with rice noodles in them, super garlicky and spicy squid, and some water spinach stuff they don't really have in America. It was very good. Oh, of course we had bunches of Singa - the national Thai beer as well. Singa isn't great but it passes as cold and beer. After Chinatown dinner we walked around a bit and then headed over to the Night Bazaar on Tuk Tuks - these are the bicycle taxis - I have pictures for those of you who don't have a mental picture of 4 adults crammed in the back of this tiny thing. The Night Bazaar was GIANT. You couldn't haggle as much here but I did manage to buy Tyler's little gift and some of my friends got foot massages. They had a bunch of hilarious clothing - many of which were American style dresses from the 1950s-1980s. Truely awesome. Then, heading home from the Night Bazaar we got in Taxis. Shannon, Megan, Sarah and I got in one taxi and headed back to the Ambassador Hotel. Well about 4 minutes into our journey we were waiting at a light in the middle of the horrendous Bangkok traffic and a truck starts getting really close to us. Well now if you had been doing Bangkok traffic now for 4 days you wouldn't be worried about this because the traffic is indescribable and they get very very close to each other. Well, this truck side swiped us. Yes, we got in a car accident in Bangkok. Now don't freak people, we are fine. But the truck was literally stuck on the taxi. They had to throw the car in reverse and pull themselves apart. The taxi driver was so upset and apologetic that we paid him and got in a new taxi that a Bangkok police officer called for us on the side of the road. Then, we paid him again. But, we got home alive.
The next day was our free day and Sarah and I headed out to see the Bangkok sights. We saw the Wat Pho and the reclining Buddha - which is so giant it takes up a whole room!!, the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha - which is tiny and on top of a giant shrine, and then took the boat across the river (for a whole dime) to see Wat Arun and climbed to the top to get a great view of Bangkok. It was so hot, I got sun burned, but loved the entire experience. Between the two of us we have over 100 pictures so get ready to see those! I got more Pad Thai at some tiny whole in the wall our Grand Palace tour guide recommended. It was cheap and decent considering we were in the tourist area. Then, Sarah and I got back to the hotel around 3:30 and by 4:30 we were both asleep and didn't get up til about 4:30 the next morning. Yes, we were exhausted. But, hey, we needed that sleep.
Sunday we packed, ate, and left for the airport to go to Vietnam. We arrived safe and sound Sunday afternoon!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Bangkok Day 4
Today we went to the slums. It was a crazy experience. About 100,000 people live in these conditions that I cannot possible do justice with typing so y'all will have to wait for the pictures. Then, we spoke with an organization that helps these people, provides a kindergarten (complete with the pink Montessori blocks) and education for young mothers and trains fire fighters.
Last night was quite an adventure. Went to an NGO (non-governmental organization) in Pat Pong (the Bangkok red light district) called Empower. I got some gifts for myself and people there so get ready for those beautys. Then we had dinner - got to try real Thai Tom Ka Gai or whatever - it was "mega tasty". Then we went to a "girl" show complete with darts, pin pongs, smoking... the works. Then, in the spirt of being equally opportunity offenders (and under the strong encouragment of a gay classmate) we headed to the "male" show where it was very, um, sexual I guess. The girl show was basically sexy/kinky fun and games while the male show was like showers and scarves and always two men together. The most disturbing thing of it all was the 70 year old Santa look alike at the girl show. Then, we went to a gay club that was having a transvesite lip singing show. No words. Got home around 2am and was up by 7am.
Tonight we are going to eat at a place called Cabbages and Condoms. It is a Thai restaurant that gets food from local farmers and gives out condoms and promotes AIDS education. I hear the atmosphere is one of a kind and the gift shop is a cannot miss Bangkok attraction. Alright, must get ready for dinner!
Last night was quite an adventure. Went to an NGO (non-governmental organization) in Pat Pong (the Bangkok red light district) called Empower. I got some gifts for myself and people there so get ready for those beautys. Then we had dinner - got to try real Thai Tom Ka Gai or whatever - it was "mega tasty". Then we went to a "girl" show complete with darts, pin pongs, smoking... the works. Then, in the spirt of being equally opportunity offenders (and under the strong encouragment of a gay classmate) we headed to the "male" show where it was very, um, sexual I guess. The girl show was basically sexy/kinky fun and games while the male show was like showers and scarves and always two men together. The most disturbing thing of it all was the 70 year old Santa look alike at the girl show. Then, we went to a gay club that was having a transvesite lip singing show. No words. Got home around 2am and was up by 7am.
Tonight we are going to eat at a place called Cabbages and Condoms. It is a Thai restaurant that gets food from local farmers and gives out condoms and promotes AIDS education. I hear the atmosphere is one of a kind and the gift shop is a cannot miss Bangkok attraction. Alright, must get ready for dinner!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Bangkok Day 3
Okay. First let me just say: it's official, I have hives. They are all around my mouth on my face - seriously attractive I tell you. I don't know what caused them but I do know that I am smearing Benedryl cream all over my face twice a day and popping Benedryl pills. Oh, I ran out of Benedryl and had to venture into a Thai pharmacy. Lovely experience actually. The lady behind the counter stared at me - I said/asked "Benedryl?" and pointed to a liquid bottle. I said "pills?" and she brought out a giant bottle of pills and told me they were 5baht each and asked how many I wanted. Not expecting this - I blirted out "10" and she counted them and handed them to be. So, 50 baht (circa $2) I have more Benedryl. They are pink and white like normal Benedryl so I would guess they are legit.
Okay, more interesting stuff. Thai movie theaters are ridiculous. Sarah, Megan, Shannon, and I went to see Sex and the City last night at a theater Lonely Planet recommends in the Siam Center. It cost 500 baht (like 15 bucks) for the VIP theater and about 200 for a normal. We went for the VIP (figured what the hell, you are only here once) but let me tell you - well worth it. First, drinks and food weren't much once you were inside. Second, while we waited we were lead to the VIP waiting lounge that had a full bar (not included in the price though sadly), massage chairs (free), waiters and waitress, couches, mood lighting, chandelers (spelling?), the works! Third, there were about 8 other people in the theater - bringing it above 50% capacity. It was a giant theater but rather then cramming people into seats and having stadium seating, the Thais took a different approach. Each set of two people got to sit in full on recliners. Picture a giant couched formed from two lazy boys. On each lazy boy couch was a pillow and blanket set for each person. Seriously awesome.
Our hotel is basically a high in escort service. I learned this while taking a 3am midterm and sitting in the lounge chairs by the elevators near the business center where the wireless worked the best (which isn't saying much). Every few minutes old business men and young (like my age Thai women be brought to the elevators by the hotel staff and escorted to their room. Some pairs went, some groups. Also, there is a disco in the hotel parking lot where you can pick up these women. It was a rather interesting thing to witness. The men in Thailand don't hit on you, why bother? Tonight we will given a tour (yes, we hired a tour guide) of the red light district after eating dinner down in that area (called Pat Pong or something similar) and visiting a sex worker empowerment center.
This morning in our talk about the 100% condom policy for sex workers in Thailand we got to make a long condom chain by tying condoms together. Then we saw pictures from a fashion show that had occured on World AIDS Day in 2006 with costumes made entiring of condoms (do I hear an idea for the next America's Next Top Model competition??). Some of them were very cool.
The hotel, which is called the Ambassador Hotel, has a shopping area in it with a suit shop and earlier this week the seller tried to lure me in with the phrase "ma'am we have been waiting for you, please, come in!". Needless to say I didn't take the bite. Oh, the electricity at our hotel also went off during the rain the other day. I thought that was rather interesting.
In Thailand, the have both Starbucks and 711. Starbucks are similar but 711 sells random Thai things, along with double big gulps. Oh, I also saw an Ethan Allen - random! Also, to make it more interesting there were beggers outside and vendors on the street lining it. Not quite the suburban setting you normally see the store in.
Another interesting thing about the language - they only have one syllable words which they say in different tones to change the meanings. Then, when they write in Thai, the string all these syllable words into one long line read right to left (which is the opposite of English for you trying to figure that out). There are no spaces and no periods. Seriously odd. Oh, and everyone is Thailand goes by nicknames, not there very long, sanscript based legal names. They get these nicknames a babies/kids and they stick for life. Most of them are terms like apple (which are considered special in Thailand for some reason and in Thai sounds like "Bun"), or pig (which are considered cute here), one (as in first born), red (pink baby), etc. Glad we don't have that tradition in Thailand - I prefer Aubrey to something like "pig".
For those of you who are interested, the AIDS epidemic in Thailand is very different than the one in Africa. It has been interesting learning how different the courses of the epidemic are. For instance, in Africa there are no "high risk groups". The group in Africa with the most AIDS is young women. Not sex workers, just your average women ages 17-30ish. Also, there isn't much injection drug use (IDUs - public health LOVES it acronyms) or homosexuality (aka men who have sex with men or MSMs for you acronym lovers out there). In Thailand, the epidemic started really to take off in the sex workers which is why the 100% condom policy was so successful. Condoms prevent AIDS transmission as well as sexually transmitted diseases (STDS or STIs). This is important because having an STD dramatically increases your chances of getting AIDS - makes it easier to sexually aquire the virus. In Thailand, the HIV/AIDS crisis has primarily been in the sex worker community, the IDUs, and the MSMs. This is changing somewhat the the newest risk group is married women (who's husbands sleep with sex workers and bring the virus home to their wifes - nice right?). In Africa, the 100% sex worker condom policy would be almost irrelevant. Africa is a unique in the nature of the epidemic - all other ares have risk groups where the virus is concentrated. Alright, there is your public health lecture for now.
Well I promise to report back on the red light district. I hear we may be going to a pin pong show - use your imagination. I have also heard about potential darts shows and smoking and scarves - we shall see. I am prepared to be overwhelmed and very uncomfortable but hey, it's part of the culture.
Okay, more interesting stuff. Thai movie theaters are ridiculous. Sarah, Megan, Shannon, and I went to see Sex and the City last night at a theater Lonely Planet recommends in the Siam Center. It cost 500 baht (like 15 bucks) for the VIP theater and about 200 for a normal. We went for the VIP (figured what the hell, you are only here once) but let me tell you - well worth it. First, drinks and food weren't much once you were inside. Second, while we waited we were lead to the VIP waiting lounge that had a full bar (not included in the price though sadly), massage chairs (free), waiters and waitress, couches, mood lighting, chandelers (spelling?), the works! Third, there were about 8 other people in the theater - bringing it above 50% capacity. It was a giant theater but rather then cramming people into seats and having stadium seating, the Thais took a different approach. Each set of two people got to sit in full on recliners. Picture a giant couched formed from two lazy boys. On each lazy boy couch was a pillow and blanket set for each person. Seriously awesome.
Our hotel is basically a high in escort service. I learned this while taking a 3am midterm and sitting in the lounge chairs by the elevators near the business center where the wireless worked the best (which isn't saying much). Every few minutes old business men and young (like my age Thai women be brought to the elevators by the hotel staff and escorted to their room. Some pairs went, some groups. Also, there is a disco in the hotel parking lot where you can pick up these women. It was a rather interesting thing to witness. The men in Thailand don't hit on you, why bother? Tonight we will given a tour (yes, we hired a tour guide) of the red light district after eating dinner down in that area (called Pat Pong or something similar) and visiting a sex worker empowerment center.
This morning in our talk about the 100% condom policy for sex workers in Thailand we got to make a long condom chain by tying condoms together. Then we saw pictures from a fashion show that had occured on World AIDS Day in 2006 with costumes made entiring of condoms (do I hear an idea for the next America's Next Top Model competition??). Some of them were very cool.
The hotel, which is called the Ambassador Hotel, has a shopping area in it with a suit shop and earlier this week the seller tried to lure me in with the phrase "ma'am we have been waiting for you, please, come in!". Needless to say I didn't take the bite. Oh, the electricity at our hotel also went off during the rain the other day. I thought that was rather interesting.
In Thailand, the have both Starbucks and 711. Starbucks are similar but 711 sells random Thai things, along with double big gulps. Oh, I also saw an Ethan Allen - random! Also, to make it more interesting there were beggers outside and vendors on the street lining it. Not quite the suburban setting you normally see the store in.
Another interesting thing about the language - they only have one syllable words which they say in different tones to change the meanings. Then, when they write in Thai, the string all these syllable words into one long line read right to left (which is the opposite of English for you trying to figure that out). There are no spaces and no periods. Seriously odd. Oh, and everyone is Thailand goes by nicknames, not there very long, sanscript based legal names. They get these nicknames a babies/kids and they stick for life. Most of them are terms like apple (which are considered special in Thailand for some reason and in Thai sounds like "Bun"), or pig (which are considered cute here), one (as in first born), red (pink baby), etc. Glad we don't have that tradition in Thailand - I prefer Aubrey to something like "pig".
For those of you who are interested, the AIDS epidemic in Thailand is very different than the one in Africa. It has been interesting learning how different the courses of the epidemic are. For instance, in Africa there are no "high risk groups". The group in Africa with the most AIDS is young women. Not sex workers, just your average women ages 17-30ish. Also, there isn't much injection drug use (IDUs - public health LOVES it acronyms) or homosexuality (aka men who have sex with men or MSMs for you acronym lovers out there). In Thailand, the epidemic started really to take off in the sex workers which is why the 100% condom policy was so successful. Condoms prevent AIDS transmission as well as sexually transmitted diseases (STDS or STIs). This is important because having an STD dramatically increases your chances of getting AIDS - makes it easier to sexually aquire the virus. In Thailand, the HIV/AIDS crisis has primarily been in the sex worker community, the IDUs, and the MSMs. This is changing somewhat the the newest risk group is married women (who's husbands sleep with sex workers and bring the virus home to their wifes - nice right?). In Africa, the 100% sex worker condom policy would be almost irrelevant. Africa is a unique in the nature of the epidemic - all other ares have risk groups where the virus is concentrated. Alright, there is your public health lecture for now.
Well I promise to report back on the red light district. I hear we may be going to a pin pong show - use your imagination. I have also heard about potential darts shows and smoking and scarves - we shall see. I am prepared to be overwhelmed and very uncomfortable but hey, it's part of the culture.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Bangkok Day 2
Okay so first, it rains daily here. When I say rains, I mean serious monsoon style rain. It comes out of nowhere, the skies turn black and the skies open up with sheets of rain. It last about 1.5 to 2 hours but wow, everything floods and nothing keeps you dry.
I have been eating very strange fruits here. I just try whatever people put in my hand. But, I have pictures of them and they are "mega tasty". Coconut ice cream is a pretty awesome Thai tradition. As it sushi - which I didn't know was so popular in Thailand but I love it and the hotel lunch has it so I get it every day. Oh, food update - tried wild bore today. It's fatty and chewy and not my favorite. But, hey, try everything once.
Sarah and I went shopping today in our free time. We went to MBK which is a 7 story Thai mall and it was insane. Truely overwhelming. But, I got lots of cool stuff and didn't spend all that much money and so that is good. But, I did buy things I don't know how I am getting back in my suitcase. Guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Oh, the school is going to pay for a group of us to fly to Saigon from Hanoi so we are going to get to go to Cambodia! More later - movie time at some crazy modern theater with recliners!
I have been eating very strange fruits here. I just try whatever people put in my hand. But, I have pictures of them and they are "mega tasty". Coconut ice cream is a pretty awesome Thai tradition. As it sushi - which I didn't know was so popular in Thailand but I love it and the hotel lunch has it so I get it every day. Oh, food update - tried wild bore today. It's fatty and chewy and not my favorite. But, hey, try everything once.
Sarah and I went shopping today in our free time. We went to MBK which is a 7 story Thai mall and it was insane. Truely overwhelming. But, I got lots of cool stuff and didn't spend all that much money and so that is good. But, I did buy things I don't know how I am getting back in my suitcase. Guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
Oh, the school is going to pay for a group of us to fly to Saigon from Hanoi so we are going to get to go to Cambodia! More later - movie time at some crazy modern theater with recliners!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
First Impressions of Bangkok
I intially titled this on "First Impressions of Thailand" but rethought that to just Bangkok. Okay, well right off the bat, Thai is a language you have NO CHANCE of understanding. I am use to European languages where at least you can understand a bit. Thai, no way. Those symbols don't even resemble letters. But, most everything is in English - but the translations are often humerous. For instance, blemishes or whatnot on your face are called "face pollution". Also, the advertising in Asia is like Time Square on acid and constantly surrounding you. Half the ads talk or move somehow and they are seriously everywhere. We saw a clean and clear add that was like a kiddy carnival ride - it moved, talked, and was 3D. Also, white people are featured in all the ads, kind of strange.
Oh, have I been living in a bubble or did no one else know they drove on the left hand side of the road (like England and Ireland) here in Thailand. I had no clue and almost sat in the driver side of the taxi at the airport. Oh, we took the sky taxi (the metro) to dinner last night, that was fun. Apparently it gets really crowded but it wasn't so bad at 8pm last night. The security people did find us threatening when we stood arond talking at the station though and they asked us to leave. On the way to dinner we saw an elephant walking along one of the Sois (spelling?? that that is the Thai word for like a small street). Now Bangkok is a huge city of millions of people, not really elephant territory.
Dinner was food from northeastern Thailand aka Laoian food (food from Laos, a country that is between Thailand and Vietnam and above Cambodia). It was very tasty. Oh, I took pictures which will come later but you eat it with your hands. You get this container of sticky rice which you pinch with your fingers and use to pick up the meat/veggie portions. It was fairly spicy and tasty. Oh, and I learned that the tail portion of fish is suppose to be the best. Also, I ate pork and learned that you just eat and ask later. The beer was alright, strong but kind of sweet, but cold and that is what counts in this muggy heat. Dinner only cost about $3.5 each for all that food, beer, and water so that isn't bad. I also hear I have to try Thai homemade whiskey.
Breakfast at the hotel is a combo of American style pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and then fruit and Indian food. So, I had some Indian lentel dish, a pancake, eggs, and fruit for breakfast. We shall see how my stomach likes that. It was fairly tasty. I am on a mission for Pad Thai (which I hear from friends there is a good place for 30 baht (about $1) nearby. Oh, at breakfast Sarah and I sat with two other girls on the trip (Daniella and Nicole) and we might all head from Hanoi to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Min City or HCMC) and then travel back to Thailand through the Mekong Delta in Cambodia. That would be awesome. We shall see! Asia will be an adventure however we end up seeing it! Alright, signing off, more later!
Oh, have I been living in a bubble or did no one else know they drove on the left hand side of the road (like England and Ireland) here in Thailand. I had no clue and almost sat in the driver side of the taxi at the airport. Oh, we took the sky taxi (the metro) to dinner last night, that was fun. Apparently it gets really crowded but it wasn't so bad at 8pm last night. The security people did find us threatening when we stood arond talking at the station though and they asked us to leave. On the way to dinner we saw an elephant walking along one of the Sois (spelling?? that that is the Thai word for like a small street). Now Bangkok is a huge city of millions of people, not really elephant territory.
Dinner was food from northeastern Thailand aka Laoian food (food from Laos, a country that is between Thailand and Vietnam and above Cambodia). It was very tasty. Oh, I took pictures which will come later but you eat it with your hands. You get this container of sticky rice which you pinch with your fingers and use to pick up the meat/veggie portions. It was fairly spicy and tasty. Oh, and I learned that the tail portion of fish is suppose to be the best. Also, I ate pork and learned that you just eat and ask later. The beer was alright, strong but kind of sweet, but cold and that is what counts in this muggy heat. Dinner only cost about $3.5 each for all that food, beer, and water so that isn't bad. I also hear I have to try Thai homemade whiskey.
Breakfast at the hotel is a combo of American style pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, and then fruit and Indian food. So, I had some Indian lentel dish, a pancake, eggs, and fruit for breakfast. We shall see how my stomach likes that. It was fairly tasty. I am on a mission for Pad Thai (which I hear from friends there is a good place for 30 baht (about $1) nearby. Oh, at breakfast Sarah and I sat with two other girls on the trip (Daniella and Nicole) and we might all head from Hanoi to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Min City or HCMC) and then travel back to Thailand through the Mekong Delta in Cambodia. That would be awesome. We shall see! Asia will be an adventure however we end up seeing it! Alright, signing off, more later!
Never fly on Friday the 13th
So Sarah and I had some adventures trying to get to Thailand. Our flight from Little Rock to Dallas was delayed by over an hour and so our short layover in Dallas turned into less than a 10 minute layover. Despite running like crazy people and making it halfway through the Dallas airport in 10 minutes, we missed the flight to Tokyo by 6 minutes. It left 1 minute late, but seriously, who ever heard of an international flight that was so on time??
So, needless to say, we had to be rerouted. We were sent to JFK (that's New York City for those of you who aren't airport code junkies like myself) and spent the night at the world's nastiest Ramada Inn ever but American Airlines did give us a hotel vouchers for it. Then, we tried to eat breakfast with the food vouchers but we could only use the one 10 dollar voucher ($5 per person) and breakfast cost 21 bucks each (at this nasty hotel!) so we said no thanks to that breakfast and headed back to the airport. Well we tried to check in and that was a fiasco because American hadn't given us the proper paperwork or anything but we finally got boarding cards and got our luggage checked and went through security only to find there was nothing at all to eat in Terminal B of JFK. So, Sarah and I spent $50 in food vouchers on waters, snacks, bananas, etc. Then, we boarded our plane from JFK straight to Bangkok (that's BKK for those of you keeping track of the codes). Talk about a long flight! 18 hours was planned but made up time in the air. We flew over Russia and Greenland, not the Pacific route.
Oh, yea, I drugged Sarah on the plane. Not on purpose but just an FYI - ambien newbees shouldn't take them with a double shot of whiskey that the flight attendent man encourages you to drink. It was pretty funny to observe. Thai Airways was nice though, decent Thai food (mom, I got red curry on the plane) and I didn't get hives from it - at least not yet! We were in the center of the big jet but it was okay - fairly roomy and we had individual tvs. Oh, and Thai airways is really really colorful. The seats were hot pink, purple, and like a merrigold color. Anyway, after many delayed flights (our flight to JFK was also delayed 2.5 hours) we made it to Asia a day late. 12 hour time difference from Central Time. Flight one to Asia down.
So, needless to say, we had to be rerouted. We were sent to JFK (that's New York City for those of you who aren't airport code junkies like myself) and spent the night at the world's nastiest Ramada Inn ever but American Airlines did give us a hotel vouchers for it. Then, we tried to eat breakfast with the food vouchers but we could only use the one 10 dollar voucher ($5 per person) and breakfast cost 21 bucks each (at this nasty hotel!) so we said no thanks to that breakfast and headed back to the airport. Well we tried to check in and that was a fiasco because American hadn't given us the proper paperwork or anything but we finally got boarding cards and got our luggage checked and went through security only to find there was nothing at all to eat in Terminal B of JFK. So, Sarah and I spent $50 in food vouchers on waters, snacks, bananas, etc. Then, we boarded our plane from JFK straight to Bangkok (that's BKK for those of you keeping track of the codes). Talk about a long flight! 18 hours was planned but made up time in the air. We flew over Russia and Greenland, not the Pacific route.
Oh, yea, I drugged Sarah on the plane. Not on purpose but just an FYI - ambien newbees shouldn't take them with a double shot of whiskey that the flight attendent man encourages you to drink. It was pretty funny to observe. Thai Airways was nice though, decent Thai food (mom, I got red curry on the plane) and I didn't get hives from it - at least not yet! We were in the center of the big jet but it was okay - fairly roomy and we had individual tvs. Oh, and Thai airways is really really colorful. The seats were hot pink, purple, and like a merrigold color. Anyway, after many delayed flights (our flight to JFK was also delayed 2.5 hours) we made it to Asia a day late. 12 hour time difference from Central Time. Flight one to Asia down.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Timelines
Peace Corp Timeline:
Because I am a Masters International volunteer, my timeline is different.
- started process in March 2007
- nominated on August 24, 2007
- recieved Medical forms in early September 2007
- Medically cleared in late November 2007
- cleared for placement in March 2008
- recieved email that my placement package was on the way on April 8, 2008
- recieved placement package on April 12, 2008
Summer Timeline:
- May 9th turn in last paper for Spring 2008 semester at Tulane
- May 9th Courtney comes to visit
- May 10th Courtney, Emily, and I go to Gulf Shores for a night
- May 19th Courtney leaves
- May 20th I head to California to hang out with the Herrs
- May 26th I have to leave California early to head to Wisconsin because my grandfather is sick
- June 10th I leave Wisconsin and head back to New Orleans
- June 12th I drive to Little Rock, Arkansas
- June 13th I head to Bangkok, Thailand with Sarah
- June 22nd I fly to Hanoi, Vietnam
- June 29 - July 9th I get to play in Vietnam and Thailand with Sarah and Nicky too!
- July 9th Sarah and I return to the States
-July 10th I drive to Wisconsin and pick up Joey along the way
- July 12th I take the Tulane cumulative exam
-July 12-26 my family (Sam, mom, Joey, Jensen, Sandy, Jana, grandpa, and maybe more folks) all head to Pelican Lake, Wisconsin
- August 11/12 I take the Public Health Certification Exam
- August 13th I head home to Stuttgart, Germany
- September 17th I am due at staging for the Peace Corp (probably in Philly)
- September 20th I leave for Cameroon!
Because I am a Masters International volunteer, my timeline is different.
- started process in March 2007
- nominated on August 24, 2007
- recieved Medical forms in early September 2007
- Medically cleared in late November 2007
- cleared for placement in March 2008
- recieved email that my placement package was on the way on April 8, 2008
- recieved placement package on April 12, 2008
Summer Timeline:
- May 9th turn in last paper for Spring 2008 semester at Tulane
- May 9th Courtney comes to visit
- May 10th Courtney, Emily, and I go to Gulf Shores for a night
- May 19th Courtney leaves
- May 20th I head to California to hang out with the Herrs
- May 26th I have to leave California early to head to Wisconsin because my grandfather is sick
- June 10th I leave Wisconsin and head back to New Orleans
- June 12th I drive to Little Rock, Arkansas
- June 13th I head to Bangkok, Thailand with Sarah
- June 22nd I fly to Hanoi, Vietnam
- June 29 - July 9th I get to play in Vietnam and Thailand with Sarah and Nicky too!
- July 9th Sarah and I return to the States
-July 10th I drive to Wisconsin and pick up Joey along the way
- July 12th I take the Tulane cumulative exam
-July 12-26 my family (Sam, mom, Joey, Jensen, Sandy, Jana, grandpa, and maybe more folks) all head to Pelican Lake, Wisconsin
- August 11/12 I take the Public Health Certification Exam
- August 13th I head home to Stuttgart, Germany
- September 17th I am due at staging for the Peace Corp (probably in Philly)
- September 20th I leave for Cameroon!
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