Lets get some things Straight here People...

Okay, so while life's all fun and games for you people, we've been having to struggle to get by here in Southeast Asia and the old "Hey Adam, where are the Blog Updates" ain't helping. Oh, Sure, you've got your problems, but wait till you hear what we've had to endure.

First, look at me. I'm wasting away here.

Pad Thai and Massaman Curry just don't have the nutritional value required to replace the thousands of calories burned sitting on a beach reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel". If you've read the book (Winner of the 1998 Rhone-Poulenc Science book prize - I MIGHT ADD!!!) you know what I'm talking about. And/or listening to my Ipod, which, behind swimming and Moto-cross is one of the most caloric intense activities one can engage in. Are you as surprized as I am by that?

Second, look at my Tan. That golden brown ain't easy to come by considering my blood's a Norse/German/Irish cocktail. All I can say here in Apply, Nap, Repeat. Exhausting just talking about it.

Third, these islands are potentially lethal. Seriously! Just look at this warning from Malaysia. I mean, if you're not on top of your game here, you're as good as dead.

Fourth, the threat of dehydration is always right around the corner. People don't like to talk about if much, but every year dozens of travelers fail to heed the warnings, don't keep up on their Chang/Shingha/Heineken intake, and head home without a hangover. Tragic.

Fifth, the powder white sand. "Danger" should be it's middle name.

It's so easy to turn an ankle here it's comical. And just think, if you did injure yourself, all you could do is lay in the sand and occasionally stroll to the water for a refreshing dip. It's best to eliminate the risk by not walking along the beach, but rather, lay in the sand and occasionally stroll to the water for a refreshing dip.

Sixth and finally, before I cease this mindless rant. There's the crystal clear water.

Do you have any idea how nerve wracking it is to go swimming with sharks when you actually see them! And their creepy jellyfish friends!(and for those of you keeping score at home, yes, we have now gone swimming with sharks twice)

But hazards aside, we've spent the past month on islands and they're really lacking for internet service. I'll try to blitz through everything from Angkor to now in the next few hours/days while we're on Peninsular Malaysia, but after that it's back to the Chaos and dangers of the islands and you might not hear from us for a while....

Gibbons--nadalavahetus ahvidel kylas

Gibbons experience-vaadake seda lehekylge ja siis teeselge, et selle tydruku ja kuti asemel olime meie Adamiga-tapselt sama. http://amberinasia.travellerspoint.com/36/
Toestuseks panen aga siiski ka enda poolt moned pildid yles, et te siis ei peaks kahtlema kas raagin tott.
Siin on meie oobimis onnike, mis nagu naha asub tavalisest vahe korgemal
Ainus viis koju saamiseks ja sealt lahkumiseks oli aga noor mida mooda liikuda
Vahel aga kui ma ei jooksnud piisavalt kiirelt maast lahti voi ei hypanud servalt alla, pidin end kattpidi kohale tombama
Gibbonseid meil kahjuks ei onnestunud ennem naha,kui Tais tanaval, kuid see eest tegid meile kohalikud ahvid nalja, rabades meie taskutest mida votta oli ning ahvardades meid hammustada kui ma ei olnud nous oma toitu jagama.
Kui te arvate et mina hoian ahvi kinni siis te eksite. Ma yritasin enda prille ja juukseid kaitsta kui see mul peas trampis ja tsirkust tegi.

Esimesel ohtul oli vaike kosk veelombiga meile pesemiskohaks, kuid teisel ohtul oli meil voimalik nautida oma elu korgemat vannituba lausa oobimis ja soogikoha korval.
Vahepeal pidi ju ka kohaliku puuvilja-Papayaga end kostitama, et siis jalle turksamalt edasi liikuda.
(issi see oleks sinu lemmik ---- kui seda Eestis myyaks)

long neck ladies-pika kaela tadid

Koige pohja poolses Tai tipus onnestus meil ka omal kael leida need kuulsad pika kaela naised. Mida pikem naise kael, seda ilusam. See oli vahemalt pohjus kunagi selliseks ouduseks.
Kuid tanapaeval ma kahtlen rangalt, et rongaste kaela panemiseks on samad pohjused.
Kahju oli vaadata noori tydrukuid rongastega ymber jalgade ja/voi kaelte, kui samal ajal isa voi onu opetab korvalt kuidas kaameratele poseerida.
Tundub, et ratikute valmistamine ja pileti tasu enda naitamise eest on nende ainus igapaevane sissetulek.

Day of cooking in Thai

Tanaval pakutakse koikvoimalikke maiustusi alates magustoidust........

kuni praadide ja niisama krobuskiteni valja.(Need on krompsukad olis praetud ussikesed.)
Otsustasime ka siis Adamiga teha paevase soogi valmistamise kursuse, kus opetati valmistama 6 erinevat, maitsvat rooga.


Onneks anti vahemalt iga toidu soomise ja valmistamise vahel hetk, et lasta eelneval roal vahe seedida.

Thailand

Jatkame siis oma seebi ooperiga. Tanases osas raagime .....................
$1.- = umbes. 35.-Baht'i
Oobimine ligi $3-6.-. Toitu saab tanavalt alla $1.- eest ja olle leiab umbes $1-2.- eest.

Nii kui olime joudnud Bangkoki, istusin ma rongile, et jargmiseks hommikuks jouda Chiang Maisse, kus siis oma kaua oodatud Tai massasi alustada.

Adam laks aga oma rada Singapori, kus teda ootas ees (USAs oleva) ari kooli interviuu. Loodame ja oodame!(ma tean, ma tean et see on ootame? ega see eesti keel mul nyyd nii palju ka ei longa ;) )

Esimest korda proovisin siis ka ara oise pehme pingi rongi.(kuna kova ja pehme voodi kohad olid valja myydud). Kuid onneks ei olnudki asi nii hull. Ruumi oli rohkem kui lennukis ja vaade avatud aknast oli ka palju ponevam).

Chiang Mai on vaga armas linnake, mis on kuulus oma Tai soogi ja massasi kursuste poolest, 700 a. vanuse myyri poolest,(mis ymbritseb kesklinna) ja selles olevate ligi 300 templi poolest. Praktiliselt igal tanaval on mingi vaike voi suur tempel.Lisaks sellele saab siin magi ronimist teha ja tuiata ringi junglites.


Minu nadalane massasi kursus moodus aga vaga raskelt, nagu seda on naha ka pildilt.Tagatipuks kais hinna sisse ka takso mis sind igapaev kooli ja koju toi. Iga hommik ootasid mind puhtad kooli riided, looduslik tee ja puuviljad, mida vois paevotsa nautida. Ja fantast Tai sook, mis iga paevaga oli parem kui eelmine.

Ja nadala lopus anti certifikaat toestamiseks, et ma need 30h. suutsin labi elada.
Siin on mu igapaevane hommikusook, mis tundus algul kyll hirmuaratav, kuid nyyd ma ei suuda ara oodata, et jargmine hommik jalle seda kookose piima muna karbikest saada.

Parast masaasi kooli otsustasin veel end taiendada mingi tervisliku opetusega, et siis aega sisustada enne Adami tulekut. Parast tanavatel ringi tuiamist leidsin paberi, kus kuulutati Universumi, energia, karma jne, jne, tutvustust yhe paeva jooksul. Nii siis otsustasin ara proovida mis see endast kujutab. Hommikul tuli mulle jargi yks kohalik naisterahvas, kes mind siis oma mootorrattaga soidutas maal asuvasse koiju. Hommikut alustasime Yogaga

Ja sealt pika seletusega Universumi, eelmise elu ja muude asjade kohta. Paeva lopus kylastasime kedagi, kes oskas meile raakida meie minevikust, olevikust ja vahe ka tulevikust.
Pean tunnistama, et paev oli huvitav ja taiesti asja eest.

Killing fields & Temples of Angkor in Cambodia

Leaving Viet Nam, we traversed Cambodia in just over a week and only managed to take in the major sights of Phnom Phen and Siem Reap. Cambodia as been the closest country to India we've visited, besides India, and you're stupid for making me have to write that. Apologies to the 99.9873% of you that aren't stupid and didn't require that clarification. There's always one ya know, and you know who you are.

We entered Cambodia's capital city and were promptly greeted by, the Swiss?

Apparently the Khmer are big fans of those gun toting mountain dwellers, the Swiss cross was plastered all over the place. I'm still attempting to decipher the Swiss Stratigem of aligning with Cambodia - must be all that weed.

Speaking of weed, and no we didn't try any, Cambodia is a PotHeads paradise. The stuff is everywhere, you can buy bags of it at the local market along side Salt and Pepper. There's a restaurant "Mary Jane's" that serves their Pizza "Happy", "Very Happy", and "Extra Happy". And one morning we were awoken at 7:30am by our neighboring bungalow. They were having a "Wake and Bake" and the fumes were seeping into our bedroom! What a town. It's also the first place to deny me entry to the club just because I was carrying a hand grenade. Honestly, it's for protection!

The other universal in Cambodia is football, that stuffs everywhere.

Other than that, hold on to your hat, Cambodia is a world away from anything you can imagine.

Here's something I found odd. This is the view from the waterfront balcony and dinning area of our guest house.

In a city with One lake, and that one lake having only one sunset facing shore (I'm pretty sure of this though I admit I didn't investigate), the entire sunset facing shore is owned by Backpacking hostels. $1 - $5 per night Backpacking Hostels. Does anyone else find this odd or is it just me?

Of course, this is the land of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot's Killing fields.
While I promise not to get all deep and emotional, here's the deal. S-21 was a converted High School in Phnom Phen where the KR would torture people before sending them to the killing fields. S-21 is a pretty creepy place. The killing fields were surprisingly small and, I suppose, efficient. This photo shows roughly 40% of the entire area.

While I'll save the details for anyone who asks, a lot of people died here in a lot of awful ways.

Oddly, I didn't experience the gut wrenching feelings that hit me when I visited Europe's Nazi concentration camps. The most I can reason is that I could understand the discrimination of the Jewish people and that driver for the German behavior, that lead to feelings of blame, hate, and sympathy. In Cambodia however, this was Khmer people acting on Khmer people with no apparent reason other than to feed four leaders. The confusion of that and the lack of any and all regret by the people who performed the atrocities blocked other emotions and left me feeling numb to it. It was really quite odd.

After PP, we headed across the countryside to Siem Reap and got into some serious Indiana Jones Territory. The Temples of Angkor really are a lost civilization, which teaches all you kids out there to learn to read and write!


MORE TO COME, GOTTA EAT.





Minu yllatuseks kasutavad Cambodialased (nagu Zimbabweilasedki)peamiselt USA dollareid. Hinnad on koikjal doltsides ja isegi raha automaadid annavad valja $. Kuid soovi korral voib ka maksta Rielis ja selle jaoks ei pea minema panka, vaid void julgelt poorduda tanaval asuva laua juurde, kus sulle see sekundite jooksul ara vahetatakse.
$1.- = umbes 4000.- Rieli. Toit(praad) ligi $2.- ja jook $1.- Meie oobimine $1-$3.- oo. Hinna sisse kaib ka kylm vesi,mida voib endale lausa mitu korda paevas lubada. Sooja vett leiab vaid kallimates hotellides, kuid kuumuse tottu pole sellel eriti motetki.
Vietnami piiri yletamisega jatkusid ka ajaloo tunnid. Mida ma ei suuda siiani uskuda on see, et kogu see koledus toimus mu vanima oe ja minu synni aja vahemikus.
Umb. 17 000 inimest (kes olid vahegi haritud, )tapeti aastatel 1975-'79 Khmer Rougei poolt', kes vottis sellel ajal voimu kuid hiljem pogenes Vietnamlaste eest. Nyyd on jargi jaanud vaid vang, millest on saanud muuseum(1 vang ja 1 valvur kes on siiani elus), ligi 8000 pea luud, mis on esitatud klaasi taga olevas tornis, hunnik auke inimkontide ja riide ribadega.

Teine huvitav ajalooline ja oluline paik pohja Cambodias on maailma suurim usu hoonete paik Siem Reap'is. Yks kuulsamateist on Ankor Wat oma suuruse poolest, Bayon--kus suured naod sulle otsa vaatavad, Ta Prohm, kus on tehtud igasugu filmid. Kuid Adami ja minu lemmik on tempel, mille oli dsjungel enda alla neelanud.

Templeid oli aga nii palju, et me ei joudnud koiki oma 3 paeva jooksul kylastadagi. Kahel esimesel paeval kimasime ratastega ringi (jalle porkasime kokku toredate ahvikestega), kuid kolmandal paeval otsustasime siiski palavuse ja 30km.tottu palgata mootor Tuk-tuki.

Siin tutvusime ka oma esimese hiigel sisalikuga, kes meie ees oma ohtusooki ryndas.(kutt oli tavalistest sisalikest, kes siin mooda seinu ringi siblivad, ligi 3-4 x suurem.)

Bussi reis Tai piirile oli seiklusrohke. Inimesed ei teadnud algul kas nutta voi naerda, kuna vaike buss topiti paksult inimesi tais (kellest enamused olid oma suurte reisi kottidega nagu Adam ja minagi) ja tagatipuks suruti ka koikkide kotid
sylle, porandale ja kuhu iganes veel vahe ruumi oli jaanud.Aga no mis siin ikka imestada, kuna Aasia riikides pakitakse koik voimalikult maksimaalselt. Onneks kestis see auk, augu otsas soit aga ainult 6.h. ;(
Jutud kaivad, et lennuliin maksab teede ehitajatele head raha, et siis seda hullu situatsiooni hoida nii kaua kui voimalik. Kuid paljud lollid turistid kes odavalt tahvad labi ajada (nagu Adam, mina ja veel terve ports) ei taha aga vihjest aru saada, et peaks lennu pileti ostma.

Viet Nam Mekong Delta

And So I'm Back! From Outer Space. I just logged in to find you here with that sad look upon your face....

So I fell behind Ingrid in the blogging, AGAIN, but I have a really good excuse, I just can't tell you.

Anywho, where was I? Ah yes, the Mekong Delta.

This would be one of those places where you feel like a

Once the location of ferocious battles, the Mekong has now become a location of ferocious tourism. Sadly, we fed the dog by taking a one day tour. We explored the Delta the same way the locals do, aboard 60 person capacity seated long boats with our Jungle guide ensuring we didn't miss anything! (I feel so dirty sharing this with all of you. Please don't think less of us. We were young, we needed the money, it was a mistake but it happened, now all we have to do is move on.)

Other "traditional" experiences included visiting a Bee farm.


Playing with the wildlife (Or perhaps, I played, he tried to constrict my breathing by wrapping himself around my neck shortly after this photo was taken - silly snake)

Drinking the Snake wine (More as an act of revenge against the above python than for the flavor. While snake wine is not the worst thing I have ever tasted, you'd be surprised how few things taste worse than it.)

Paddling down a tributary (She paddled, We Sat)

And generally feeling like Dweebs.

On the plus side, we did come across "The angriest man in sculpture" (See the Estonian 2 Kroon Note for "The angriest man in currency"; a la Tim McCollough)

And were exposed to the Flagwavingest group of people I've ever met!

It's like a small Nebraskan town with a flag making factory.

In an attempt to really boost those Tourist Dollars, the locals have begun referring to the Mekong Delta cities at "the Rivera of Asia". That's right, Not "The Rivera of the Delta", "The Rivera of Viet Nam", or even "The Rivera of this armpit of a community" - No folks, they're going for ASIA. Take that Hong Kong and Singapore, what with your Glass Towers, Quays and Waterfront dinning. THIS is what the people want! Long skinny boats with standing pilots and homes that merge seamlessly with the water. "Stand up Damn you! The tourist is taking a photo!"

See!

Seamless integration of the Mekong River into the home. Complete with flotsam and jetsam. We've even integrated the shower facilities.

Who's First World now Sucka!

Another Highlight of the Delta was that it proved to be the location where Adam would reach the peak of his Shagginess.

In a last ditch effort to take in some local flavor, we stopped at this friendly road side Bamboo Barber to kick around a few facial hair concepts.

Ultimately, I saddled up for the first straight razor barber shave of my life.

Right about the time I realized a Vietnamese resident of the Mekong Delta was holding a razor to my throat, I managed to utter "we're cool on that whole American War thing right Bro?" He just smiled.

The Photos in Ingrid's section depict the Cu Chi Tunnels. This was a 215km tunnel system that webbed its way through an area just North of Saigon. We toured tunnels that once housed thousands of VC soldiers and were the location of devastating carpet bombing and ground attack missions. I didn't have the capacity to take out my camera and start taking pictures as my mind raced through what a horrific environment that must have been to try and fight a bloody war in. And that's all I have to say about that.





Delta ise-enesest tasub kylastamist et naha kuidas inimesed ilusatel saartel ja nende kallastel elavad,
kuid kahjuks pead sa seda tegema kui turist, kus sulle koik asjad kaasa arvatud paadi soudmine ette taha ara tehakse. Palju enam nauditav oleks olnud liuelda era kanuudega monusalt mooda ojasid, kuid sellist voimaust ei pakutud.
Kyll aga viidi suur grupp turiste bussist laevale ja sealt vaiksemale paadile ja siis saarele, kus oli voimalik naha meetarusid, maitsta kookose kommi (mille valmistamist me nagime), hoida ussi ja juua selle veini. Kohalikud usuvad et see annab meestele joudu ja aitab armastuses. Ma ei tea mis minuga peaks juhtuma kuna ma seda ussi myrkki maitsesin, kuna mulle oeldi, et see ei ole moeldud naistele.

Saigon linnast hoiduksin mina aga eemale ja veedaks enamus aja Hoi Anís voi HA Noi's ja Ha Long Bay'l. Saigon e. Ho Chi Minh City sarnanes vahe Indiale mis oli must ja kus oli tohutult inimesi ning mootorrattaid. Kuid linn on kuulus oma ajaloo poolest Ameerika ja Viet Nami soja parast. Muuseumis oli meil voimalik saada parem ylevaade mis seal kunagi toimus ja millega inimesed pidid ka parast soda oma elu jooksul yle elama.

Enne Riigist lahkumist kylastasime ka kuulsaid Cu Chi Tunneleid, mis ulatusid Vietnamist Cambodiasse. Cu Chi linna kandis ise oli juba 200 km. tunneleid nii, et voite ette kujutada kui lopmatud need tegelikult olid ja kui kaugele ulatusid.


Vietnamlased ei olnud rumalad. Augud tehti piisavalt vaiksed, et nende vaiksed kehad sealt labi mahuksid, kuid Ameeriklaste jaoks oli see oudus unenagu,kuna nad jaid neisse pidevalt kinni.