Half Man Half Noodle Wears Tailor Made Clothes and Partakes in Motorbike Madness While Singing Catchy Asian Pop and Sleeping on Bus Floor Aisles

Although I didn't know it at the time, our crazy bus ride from the Lao border was a good indication of the ride that Vietnam had us in for. Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, was our first stop and considering it is a big city I was surprised at how much I liked it. The streets are quite the show as there are hardly any cars - 95% of the traffic is comprised of motorbikes which not only weave in and out of each other with incredible ease, but carry ridiculous loads that you cannot help but wonder how they don't just tip over (some of the more interesting ones that we have seen - a tall wooden post strapped onto the back with branches off of it from which dangled plastic bags full of water and live goldfish, a motorbike with a stack of 8 full size bicycles on it, another with 3 full grown dead pigs strapped on the front, back and middle, and any number of passengers from 2 to 8. It is really quite amazing.) There is actually a book called "Bikes of Burden" which is a compilation of pictures of the exceedingly ridiculous loads - definitely worth a flip through if you can get your hands on it! A lot of the buildings in the Old Quarter look they could be of elegant colonial style, yet they are so randomly placed and surrounded by tangled power lines that the potential for elegance is somehow lost. However where elegance may be lost, intrigue is definitely gained! Our first night in Hanoi was Shaina's birthday and we happened upon a gem - a hole in the wall bar called Half Man Half Noodle (how could we not go into a bar by this name?!). By the end of our time in Vietnam we have spent 4 of our 4 nights in Hanoi at this bar. The staff know us and our drink preferences, and we all got free t-shirts - I never would have guessed we could become locals at a bar during our travels!

Next stop - Sapa, which is in NW Vietnam. At this point we had said goodbye to Stina and Roger, the fantastic Swedish couple we had been with since our border extravaganza in Laos, but were still travelling with Idan and Uri, the hilarious Israelis. Sapa is in the hills and the surrounding area is full of many of the minority tribal groups in Vietnam. Shaina and I got our fill of hiking in and set off on a "self-guided" tour of the area (much more to our liking than the many planned typical group "hikes" offered). This resulted in us hiking through lush green forest alongside a crystal clear emerald green river, through a valley full of rice fields following a small path that wound it's way beside thatched houses busy with squaking chickens and grunting pigs, and bushwacking (or "rice-paddy hacking", if you will) through disgruntled water buffalo, ignorant cows and territorial dogs, making our way from smaller dirt path to even smaller dirt path and eventually finding our way back to Sapa. A perfect Shaina-and-Jenn-need-a-hiking-adventure-day. Before we left Sapa we said a sad goodbye to Idan and Uri - it had been a fantastic 8 days of travelling with them, however we were all still on the move, but in this time in different directions. We then spent one night in Bac Ha, another northern town who only sees tourists for their Sunday market (so of course we went during the week), and did some more hiking, which rewarded us with fantastic views of the incredible undulating and artistic lines of the rice fields.

Next stop - Ninh Binh. This was the start of our motorbike madness (actually the moto-taxi ride we took the day before through the streets of Hanoi, passing every car, bus and motorbike in sight and weaving back and forth in and out of everything, and racing off the traffic lights, not unlike the start of a Formula Car race, and leaving me wavering back and forth between feelings of death and exhilaration was likely the start of it, however....) We rented motorbikes for two days in a row and had the time of our lives. It didn't matter that some of the sights we visited were less than inspiring, the freedom of being on the bike made it all worth it! My first 20 minutes EVER of driving a bike involved Shaina on the back and the two of us together navigating ourselves through "Highway 1" - the main road through town. I quickly learned that as long as you hug the right side of the road, yield to all things bigger than you, and honk at everything you pass, it is a breeze .....

Continuing south, we stopped for a one day tour of the Demilitarized Zone - the area separating North Vietnam from South Vietnam during the war. Our guide worked during the war as a liason between the Americans and the Southern Vietnamese - he was a huge source of knowledge and provided us with the insight that we had been looking for. Once again, we headed off on motorbikes (although this time with drivers) and explored some of the reminders of the war, many of which were off the main roads, off of a small path off of a dirt road - impossible to have found on our own. Among them we saw Charlie 1, a bunker still standing, a huge cemetary containing the graves of fallen soldiers , and the Vinh Moc tunnels. These are similar to the famous Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City, in that they were used to shelter people and move supplies, however, unlike Cu Chi the area is not nearly as popular with tourists, so they have been completely unaltered from their original form. I was walking hunched over the entire time, with the walls crowding in on either side of me, and found it so hard to comprehend that people actually lived in these tunnels, and 17 babies were even born in them. The determination and perseverance of these people is truly incredible.

It was a good thing that we had not planned to spend too much time on the beach, as we were in for a spell of rainy, dreary weather - a result of Typhoon Durian that hit the southern coast. After only spending two nights and one rainy day in Hue we continued on to Hoi An - the custom-made clothing capital of Vietnam where we were instantly immersed in the culture of couture. Although Shaina and I had both previously decided that we would not get anything made, within a few minutes of arriving we had already succumbed to the great tailors and ridiculously cheap clothing, which they spin off in only a few hours using any design you can dream up or find in a magazine. We both went a little crazy - good thing the duffle bag business is also booming in Hoi An, as we definitley needed one by the time we were done with the tailor shops! I am not really sure when the next time will be that I can say "I would like that suit", look through rolls of fabric, "In that color with that liner", be measured to a T, "to fit me just like this" - I must admit I felt a bit like a celebrity! The other highlight of our time here was a completely unexpected reunion with Stina, Roger, and Idan - it was so great to see their familiar faces again!!!

With our duffle bag packed to the max, we boarded a 18 hour bus ride bound for Hanoi. This time I followed the lead of the locals and bought a woven mat, spread it out in the aisle of the bus and proceeded to sleep on the bus floor. I have to say it was really not that bad....beats folding up into a pretzl and trying to sleep on the seat!

Our final stop in Vietnam was Halong Bay. I will not go into the details of the scams that surround this popular tourist stop, however in order to avoid it we decided to go on our own, instead of joining one of the numerous tour groups that leave from Hanoi. Needless to say this decision gave us a ride in itself, however turned out to be the right one as it seemed that every person we met was not satisfied with their tour for one reason or the other. We took a boat tour of the bay which is simply stunning. The gray misty skies cast a very surreal effect on the peculiar limestone rock formations which rise randomly out of the water. I felt like I was in a black and white film, as the rocks were in various shades of gray, yielding the appearance of large vertical shadows rising from the water. We spent one night on Cat Ba Island, and although the weather was not quite beach-worthy, we still had some fun splashing around in the water and on the sand (despite the fact we were wearing fleece jackets and pants!!).

At this point we had sadly reached the last night of our trip together. We spent it in Hanoi, at none other than Half Man Half Noodle, reminiscing about the countless hilarious times, adventures, and memories. The next day we took a flight together to Bangkok, where we said a tearful goodbye as Shaina headed south to Phuket and I continued on for my treacherous journey home - 5 flights in 5 days. It has been a fantastic 3 months and I could not have asked for a better travel buddy. Thanks Shaina!

I am now in Delhi in the middle of my Long Way Home (6 flights in 5 days), and will post some more pics and some final thoughts when I (finally!) get home .... after overdosing on airplane food, memorizing the airplane safety demonstrations and becoming a complete zombie from lack of sleep and recycled stale air, I will be back in cowtown on Dec.17!!

Food for thought - an exerpt from a book by the Dalai Lama that I thought was just so fitting given the time we spent at the Demilitarized Zone, and Vietnam's history of war:

"We see murder as dreadful, but there is no association of war with criminality. On the contrary, it is seen as an opportunity for people to prove their competence and courage. We speak of the heros it produces, almost as if the greater the number killed, the more heroic the individual. And we talk about this or that weapon as a marvelous piece of technology, forgetting that when used it will actually maim and murder living people. Your friend, my friend, our mothers, our fathers, our sisters and brothers, you and me."

Vividly Vietnam

Ahoy from Hoi An, Vietnam! I am not really feeling the writing vibe right now so instead: some random pictures from our time in Vietnam thus far. When I can find a computer that a) Has a CD drive and b) Has a CD drive that actually works, I will post some pics from Laos. Details on the events behind these pictures to come, and then it will all make more sense....... for now, sit back, relax and enjoy.
Ciao!



Two crazy Canadians, a fantastic Swedish couple and two hilarious Israelis - who could ask for a better combination??!!


Maturity beyond her years .... a young girl in Sapa, Vietnam


Incredibly artistic undulating curves of the rice fields in Sapa, Vietnam


Our new favorite animal - the incredibly docile, gentle and kind-eyed water buffalo


Two women from the Black H'mong tribe in Sapa in their incredibly colorful hand-embroidered clothing


Motorbike madness in Ninh Binh, Vietnam


Apparently rowing a boat in Vietnam is absolutely nothing like rowing a boat in Canada.......

Livin' it up in Laos

Howdy ya'll! It has been awhile since I have put anything up here, so I figured I might as well get to it. Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe in Ninh Binh, Vietnam wearing every article of warm clothing I have, and I am still chilly. I have had a lot of "firsts" on this trip, and I just might be in for one more - my first typhoon! Apparently a hurricane is bound for the coast, and is causing this cold, dreary weather. It is supposed to hit tomorrow, so hopefully it passes by quickly and is not too serious! (Not to worry, we are inland right now so should not be affected). However, more on Vietnam later as first it is back to the 10 days we spent in Laos.....

Our entry into the country was less than spectacular, as it involved a 14 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. However, when we finally arrived we were greeted by a city with wide roads void of much traffic, an eclectic asthetic of buildings with traditional wood structures to dreary concrete to French-influenced elegance, and a variety of restaurants offering every type of food one could want, from Mexican to Indian to French cuisine and Scandinavian Baked goods. I would quickly realize that this was but one of many indicators of the large and influential expat population in the city. We spent our time here seeing some of the pagodas and temples, eating some delicious interactive Laos meals (meaning you get a pot of boiling broth over red-hot coals, along with fresh veggies, meat and fish that you cook it yourself at the table) on the banks of the Mekong river, and a 50km bike ride dodging the crazy traffic to "Buddha Park", a green shady park right on the banks of the river that was full of bizarre, yet compelling, concrete sculptures of Buddha, Hindu deities and others that were odd combinations of people, poses, and animals - slightly weird yet interesting.

Continuing north, Vang Vieng was our next stop. If I had wanted to take a break from Lao culture, food, and people this would have been the place to do it. However, as I wasn't quite in the mood for a main street with every restaurant serving the EXACT same menu (I think they were literally photocopies of each other) consisting of hamburgers, pizza and french fries and playing "Friends" re-runs at high volume and an environment reminiscent of what I would imagine Spring Break Cancun to be, it was less than inspiring. However, the dramatic scenery made up for the excessiveness of all things Western and lack of anything Lao. The town is surrounded by very distinct and abstract limestone "peaks" that look like massive boulders, and sprout randomly out of the lush green hills. I have never seen anything quite like this and it made the vista look so odd and interesting - an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet for my eyes. The area is surrounded by caves, which we spent some time hiking to, tubing through (involving pulling yourself through the cave on a rope, while sitting in an innertube) and kayaking around. These were really neat, full of stalacites and stalagmites and sparkling colored ridges of minerals (which my first year engineering geology course failed me in being able to identify). Easily the most ridiculous time in Vang Vieng was the day we spent kayaking down the river. The kayaking itself was less than challenging as the river slowly meandered its way, with no regard for those seeking some white water. However, the unexpected and many "bamboo bars" set up on the side of the river more than made up for this lack of action. The one we stopped at had a HUGE rope swing built out over the river on a bamboo platform, which was easily 25m above the water. You stand on the platform with your knees shaking at how high it is, grab on to a bar and hold on for your life, jump off and swing wildly out over the river, making sure to let go at the highest point so as to have the longest fall into the water - just brilliant!

Following this slightly ridiculous interlude, we continued northbound to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage sight. It is quite a pretty city, full of quaint side streets lined with houses of all shapes, sizes and materials, many with flowers or greenery out front. It is right on the banks of the Mekong and surrounded by mountains - beautiful! We took a short boat ride up the river, slowly puttering along passing people watering their small green market garden plots with metal watering cans balanced on a bamboo stick across their shoulders, and the sun slowly casting an orange hue on the water. We also succumbed to a small taste of luxury and had Lao massages (how can you resist when it is only $3 USD for one hour?!). Apparently after only the second massage of my life, I am getting picky as it was not quite as heavenly as the Thai massage, however I cannot complain!

Luang Prabang marked the beginning of our Vietnam Border Crossing Bonanza. Being the stubborn and "off-the-beaten" track seeking travellers we are, we were determined to cross the border overland, although we lacked any concrete information as to whether the border was open, legal for foreigners, or completely closed altogether. However, the mix of information we had received included more positive responses than negative, so we decided it was a go. We were lucky to meet up with a Swedish couple and two Israeli guys who were also attempting the same path, so we all rented a minivan with a driver and off we went. On the way we spent one night in a small town with two guesthouses and three restaurants, all serving the same staple of noodle soup (which we ate for lunch, dinner and breakfast). This ended up being the authentic Laos experience that we had been looking for, as we had a chance to talk to some of the locals, do some hiking in the surrounding area which was full of spectacular green hills and peaks with randomly placed limestone rocks and enjoy the market being the only 4 foreigners in the town. Actually, the market is worth mentioning as we had our first introduction to Laos market meats, which looked more like roadkill to me than something I would want to bring home to cook! (One particularly scrumptious item resembled more of a housecat than dinner.....)

Our quest to the border continued, with the last stop being Vieng Xai where we spent one day exploring a few of the 102 caves in the surrounding area which were used to shelter government officials during the Indochina war. Many of them were complete with rooms for weapon and artillery storage, meeting rooms, bedrooms, and even living and dining rooms. Laos is the most heavily bombed nation, on a per capita basis, in the history of warfare and by the end of the war approximately 1.9 million metric tonnes of ordnance - over half a tonne for every man, woman and child living in Laos - had been let loose on the country. Shocking is a severe understatement. Despite this tragic past, the people of Laos were just stunning. With an always cheerful "sabaidee" (hello in Lao) and friendly smile, they were so kind and welcoming. Children, shop vendors, women, men, monks - everyone would greet us with "sabaidee" whether we were just passing by or stopping in. Such a simple act, yet it made for such a welcoming atmosphere. Laos really was a pleasant surprise and an unexpected gem.

Our travel luck continued as we met up with 4 other travelers seeking to cross the border, so the 10 of us rented a minivan and amazingly enough made it to the border, through the Laos customs, and past the Vietnam officials (involving shuffling us back and forth between a small network of bamboo huts) and into Vietnam!!!!! However, the adventure was not quite over, as we still had to find a means to make it out of the random border town and to Hanoi, the capital city. The Birthday balloons that I had tied to Shaina's backpack (yes, Shaina had the pleasure of spending her 23rd birthday not only away from home on a prolonged day of bus rides and chaos, but in TWO different countries - Laos and Vietnam) must have been exceedingly lucky, as we managed to arrive at the border on one of only three days per week that a bus goes to Hanoi. So, we bordered the bus and the madness ensued as we were crammed into a sticky bus full of people, baskets of food, full rice sacks (which people were sleeping, standing on and leaning on), remnants of chewed-upon sugar cane all over the floor, a duck hanging in a cage from the ceiling of the bus, and chickens riding on the roof. We were bound for Hanoi and I really don't think it gets more authentic than this.

I am now in the last 2 weeks of my trip and am in disbelief at how fast time has flown! It is time to hop onto an overnight bus headed for Dong Ha .... so, until next time.....

p.s. If anyone wants to update me on the ludicrous motion of Stephen Harper supporting Quebec separating, that I have been hearing rumours over here about, I would love to hear it.

Pictures!!!

Howdy!
Shaina has posted some pictures along with her accounts from Burma on her blog at http://therickshawdiaries.blogspot.com/ Please feel free to check it out!

We are now in Luang Prabang in Laos and are going to explore it by daylight, as we just arrived last night. It is right on the Mekong river and a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I am quite sure it will not disappoint! When I have some time I will post some words on our time in Laos, which thus far, have been fantastic.

Cheers!

Myanmar revealed

I stepped off of the plane and was greeted in the Yangon airport by men wearing skirts! At least this is what I initially thought until I learned that the long piece of cloth the men in Myanmar wear wrapped around their waist is called a longyi, and is a traditional dress that, thankfully, has not yet been traded in for western-style jeans. The women all had yellow-ish makeup smeared on their cheeks, which I was to learn is called thanaka, made of powdered sandalwood and used to smoothen the skin and to protect it from the sun. So many interesting cultural differences, and this was only the airport! This was excellent foreshadowing for the incredibly interesting 8 days to come.

Due in part to advice from others who had previously travelled to the country, and in part to literature we had read warning that Myanmar is not the safest country to travel in ("One of the world's six outposts of tyranny", as cited by Condoleeza Rice), we decided to travel the country through the help of an organized tour, consisting of just the two of us. Our experiences in this country of stunning geography, a strong culture and incredibly kind, generous and friendly people who prevail in the face of astonishing suppression by their government could not have been more contradictory of these warnings. Not only were we treated with utmost friendliness and helpful attitudes, but it really was a haven for female travellers - the women were so sweet and the men treated us with nothing but respect. Next time I return to this country, I am happy to say that I would be completely comfortable doing it as an independent traveller.

Although we returned from this country 5 days ago, right now I am still trying to reflect on everything, and am struggling to put it all into words. However, I will give it a shot and try and share some of the highlights.

Our first 3 days were spent in Bagan, an area that has been said to rival Angor Wat in Cambodia as one of southeast Asia's most remarkable sites. Scattered amongst the lush greenery are over 5000 temples and pagodas!! Their dazzling gold-leaf painted stupas seemingly rise out of nowhere and each one was impossibly more beautiful than the last. They all had Buddha images within and around them, with one temple containing a gold-leaf Buddha 46 feet tall, and another containing over 1000 Buddha images - incredible. We climbed up to the top of one particularly large pagoda, and were rewarded with a magical 360 degree view - the lush green plains of Bagan stretched out before us, meeting the hazy hills in the distance. In every direction I looked, the land was dotted with temples and stupas of all sizes, shapes and colors. Most were brick red in color, with a few shimmering golden stupas amongst them - incredible. I was in awe of the abundance of these spiritual sites ... I kept forgetting that people actually lived in this area, as all I could see were temples, with no house, shop, or building in site to disrupt the view. WOW. Watching the sunset over this vista was one image I will never forget. (Sidenote: If you are wondering the difference between a temple, stupa, and pagoda (as I was), a stupa or a pagoda (same thing, different name)does not have an interior room, whereas a temple does and you can go inside the structure.)

I cannot count the number of times that I felt as if I had been transported back in time 100 years, and was witnessing Heritage Park or Upper Canada Village in action. Most work is still done by hand, and at most points during our journeys by road, the traffic was comprised more of oxen carts, water buffalo, goat herds and bicycles than by vehicles. We were fortunate to observe many of the traditional handicraft methods, which are still being used - weaving by hand using wooden looms, cloth woven from the stems of lotus flowers, reducing peanuts and sesame seeds to make their respective oils using a oxen-powered wooden crushing apparatus, umbrellas made from handmade paper from the bark of trees and constructed using bamboo, and blacksmiths forging huge swords, knives and household utensils - all by hand. I kept feeling that in North America we are so wrapped up in our complex and "state-of-the-art" technology that we forget that technology can be something as simple as a piece of bamboo or a stick... and can work just as well (if not better) than our complicated solutions.

We spent 4 days in the town of Neung Shwe, which is on the beautiful Inle Lake. Our guide for this leg of the journey was just stunning; by the end of our time with her, San san was more like a mother figure to us as she was SO kind, patient and generous, and she quickly learned our travelling style (involving getting off the beaten track and to as many "non-touristy" places as possible!) Inle was spectacular - the morning haze over the water resulted in no clear distinction between land and water .. the misty lake just seemed to flow into the mountains surrounding it, with the silhouettes of fisherman in their hand carved wooden canoes dotting the calm water. Some of the highlights of our time at Inle were a HUGE limestone cave filled with 8094 Buddha images - they were EVERYwhere, on the ground with smaller ones in between, in the walls, above your head, in the crevices - everywhere you looked - golden Buddhas; the time we spent on the lake exploring the fascinating villages that are built entirely on the water; the endless floating gardens which are literally islands of soil floating right on the lake; jumping into the lake fully clothed for a refreshing swim (much to the delight and astonishment of our guide and the fisherman around us); exploring the early morning floating market with commerce occurring on the water, from boat to boat as goods and money were passed from one canoe to another (everything from fruits and vegetables to meat to necklaces and flowers); the time we spent in the Paho hill tribe village where we had tea in the house of one of our guide's friends - a house made ENTIRELY of bamboo - so interesting to see how the people really live and an experience we were really hopign to have; and the time we spent in a canoe attempting to paddle it without tipping. (This involved me sitting crosslegged on the small square part over the water, Shaina at the back of the TIPPY canoe, and only a few run-ins with plants and trees ... not bad for our first time!)

This is getting long-winded, so I am going to wrap up by saying that although the time I spent in Myanmar was short, I learned and saw more than I could have ever hoped for. The people are incredibly kind and sweet, attributes which are enhanced even more by the fact that they live under incredible suppression by their government. This is a topic I feel I need to read more about, as it was not as obvious as I had thought it would be. However, there is huge corruption, ridiculous restrictions (you can be arrested for even taking a photo of a government official) and the government ministers do whatever they please (including packing up the entire capital city one year ago and randomly moving it to an isolated place in the jungle and spontaneously changing all of the currency to include 45 and 90 kyat notes in order to appease the President's fixation with the number 9, a lucky number in Buddhism) It is appalling and disturbing that in a country of 53 million individuals, the government can put up with such random controlling bs. On a positive note, it was encouraging to hear from everyone we spoke with that they feel tourism is a positive contribution to their country, as as long as it is done with private companies, it has worked to improve the lives of many people in the country.

To conclude, Myanmar is a wonder of geographical beauty, a fascniating culture deeply rooted in Buddhism and not yet watered down by western influence, and simply incredible people. I only hope that they will one day find freedom and peace in their amazing country.

We are now continuing our adventures in Laos .... 'til next time

Take care.

Pai in 3.14159 days or less

Our Indian Odessy was over when we sad a sad goodbye to the country that had us hooked from Day 1, and boarded our Indian Airways flight bound for Bangkok. My first impression of Bangkok was utter shock at how modern it is! The brand new airport that we arrived in looked like something out of a futuristic space age movie. I guess I hadn't mentally prepared myself for the transition from the chaos and random assortment of buildings in Delhi, to this organized modern feat. We were dropped off at the end of the road that is the famous backpackers paradise - Khao San Road. Although I have heard tales of western males with Thai "girlfriends" and the multitude of fake designer items available, I really ahd no idea that both would be apparent in such quantities! The stalls and shops along Khao San road were full of everything from North Face backpacks to designer perfumes and Lacoste shirts, just to name a few. You can even get a fake driver's licencse, ISIC card, or university degree made in "5 minutes or less". Interesting. Although I was expecting it, it was also a huge shocker to be suddenly thrust into an environment with so many foreigners. We easily saw way way more in 10 minutes than we had come across during our entire month in India.

We only spent 24 hours in Bangkok and then caught an overnight bus north, to Chiang Mai. I have to say that in a sense, at times Shaina and I have almost felt bored here - everything is just so convenient and easy here. The bus was easily found, it was a huge double decker wtih large, cushy seats with leg rests, and English movie, blankets and even a toilet!!! What luxury...we had to laugh as it all just seemed so easy after our experiences in India. I immediately liked Chiang Mai more than Bangkok, as it is much smaller (about 350 000) and the old city has small quiet streets, surrounded by a pretty canal. We immediately headed for the market and feasted on amazing juicy mangoes (my FAVORITE) and bright pink dragon fruit. Just by chance, we happened to be there for the weekly Sunday market, which happens from 5 pm - 11pm, and encompasses several blocks which are closed off to traffic and lined with vendors selling everything from clothing, to jewelry, to handicrafts and multitudes of food in such interesting forms - on sticks (I have decided that we really need to have more foods on sticks back home), in banana leaf packets and in bamboo cups. The highlight was definitely the vendor that we ran into who was selling roasted cricket, beetles, huge grasshopper-like insects and worms. Yum. Our second day in Chiang Mai we rented bikes ($1.00 CDN for a full day!) and went exploring, in search of the "real" Thailand, away from the multitude of internet cafes, English restaurants and foreginers that had been surrounding us thus far. As we manouvered our way through the constant traffic of scooters, cars, tuk-tuks and taxis I was amazed at how natural it felt to be on the left side of the road! Things got interesting when we came to the "Superhighway" and had to cross it twice, over 3 lanes of traffic - yikes! Good thing India prepared us with techniques in which to navigate oneself across crazy roads! It felt so incredible to be on a bike - to be going fast enough to cover some distance, but slow enough to take it all in. Our destination was the Tribal Museum, which had information and artifacts from the various and numerous different hill tribes in Thailand; 'twas interesting and informative. It was located on a large pond which was surrounded by bamboo structure food and drink places. After visiting the museum, we ventured into one of these places and removed our sandals, and sat crosslegged, relaxing on the bamboo mats which were only a few inches off of the water. There was not another foreigner in site, we were surrounded by Thai people and the menu had not a word of English on it - exactly what we had been looking for. Along with Shaina's quick sketch of a "pig" and my chicken noises and arm flapping, we managed to get the point across that we wanted something to eat with no meat in it. It must have worked, as we got a delicious meal! On our way home we came across stables and a horse racing track - of course I was in heaven just wandering around and admiring the beautiful horses. One thing I have definitely learned while travelling is that stepping off the beaten track and exploring always pays off. Another highlight of our time in Chiang Mai was the traditional Thai massage that I had - 1 hour for less than $5 CDN!!!! I have never had a real massage before, but I can't imagine a better introduction to this art. I left feeling just incredible. I will defintiely have to take advantage of this one (or a few) more times when we are passing through here before heading home!

Our next stop was the small town of Pai, 4 hours north of Chiang Mai. In our continuous effort to escape the tourists, we decided to take a local bus instead of one of the many advertised tourist minibuses. We had to laugh again, as although Lonely Planet described the trip as follows: "The road is savagely steep and snaking; grab a window seat and ride on an empty stomach if motion sickness is a problem", it was a breeze for us - I guess India really did toughen us up! Pai was a really chill town, and a popular destination for Thai artists and free-spirits. This day also just happened to be Halloweeen, and as Shaina and I had made an earlier pact that regardless of where we were on Halloween, we would dress up in some shape or form, we did. We decided to be nerds, and made use of the town's name by making Pi symbols out of duct tape for our shirts along with huge square glasses made out of straws and chopsticks, pants hiked up to our ears, and me with a calculator in my pocket and Shaina with pens in her shirt pocket. Not bad for the limited resources we had!!! We hit up a Halloween party (we were surprised to find that there were 4 or 5 different ones going on - the influence of tourism for you ), and had a fun night. The next day we jumped at the opportunity to rent bikes again, and found ourselves finally in the "real" Thailand we had been hoping to see - on a quiet road in the midsts of bright greenery, rural traditional agriculture and bamboo houses. Our destination was one of the many waterfalls that surrounds Pai, where we played in the water and relaxed in the sun.

We are now back in Bangkok and are both battling with a bout of food poisoning. Although Shaina's is much worse than mine (hence the proposed title of her recent blog, "Explosions") we both have to laugh at the baffling fact that we managed to tough out India with not a single case, and are now hit with it in Thailand! That is irony if I have ever seen it.... Tomorrow we are taking off for Burma (Myanmar), where we will be doing a 10 day tour. I am quite excited to explore this country that is not readily travelled by tourists, and it will be quite eye opening given the current situation in Burma with the Totalitarian government that is in place there. For this reason, among others, there is a lot of controversy surrounding travelling within this country, but I only hope that I do not leave feeling as if I have supported the government and done more harm than good. We have done our best to ensure we are only staying in family run guest houses and using non government transportation. We shall let you know how it goes when we return.

(Just for the record, I am not as big of a nerd as the title of this blog makes me sound - I just couldn't resist! Even though I may be an Engineer, I had to google "Pi" for the last 3 digits ... I promise.)

It is not "goodbye" it is "until next time" ...

Orange, Orange, Orange. Our first introduction to Diwali - The Festival of Lights and the most important festival of the year in India was a man we ran into on the street who was dressed as Hanuman, the Hundu Monkey God. His costume included orange fabric draped over his body with a long monkey tail, bright orange face paint and fake bristly hair along his jawline. Orange marigolds were for sale in long garlands and huge piles all over the street. These brilliant flowers were used to decorate everything from houses to offices to trucks and rickshaws, always in excessive quantities! Makeshift booths all over the place were selling boxes of wrapped Diwali sweets and every object and building was decorated with lights, Christmas light style. It ended up being quite lucky that we took an overnight bus that evening, as it provided us with front row seats to the events of Diwali - mainly the fireworks that were being lit up all over the place (on the road, from rooftops, outside of shops) all throughout the night and by all ages of people (little kids to seniors - I don't remember ever being able to play with fireworks when I was a child.....). The lights on all of the houses combined with the random and spontaneous bright lights of the fireworks was such a beautiful sight (and distracted us from the insanity of yet another mountain bus ride adventure!) I can't say I have ever really seen a firework display quite like this one.

Our Diwali bus ride concluded at Chandigarh - India's only planned city, and by far the cleanest and greenest. You may be thinking - "India's only planned city, what is the big deal?" Well it is a huge one. This city actually has roads that are straight and in a grid system, wide streets with medians, very modern traffic lights that not only work, but are obeyed, trees and green spaces, and garbage cans. If it weren't for the rickshaws and horsecarts sharing the wide roads with marked lanes and beautifully landspaced traffic circles and medians, I really may have been fooled into thinking that I was in a North American city! Definitely was a huge contrast from the India we had seen thus far. Unfortuantely this unique city brought an end to our time with Leslie and her friend, Fayza and we said goodbye and went our separate ways. Who would have thought in first year University when Leslie and I were roomates in residence that we would be trekking in the Himalayans together four years later ... small world it is.

As our time in India was fast approaching an end, we had to make a difficult choice as to where to spend our last few days before heading back to Delhi. We made a very spontaneous decision and caught a bus headed to Northern Punjab and the city of Amritsar. This bus ride encompassed us in a very valuable quality in India - as we arrived to find the bus full of people and were just thinking that we would have to catch the next one, India's strong sense of community and "help your neighbour" mentality slapped us smack on our sweaty foreheads, as we were pulled onto the bus and then told there was one empty seat left at the front. There really is always room for one more person here..... This was a huge lesson to me in lending a hand, and another example of how India has really shown me how to be a better person. Not only seeing, but being on the receiving end of freindly people who have done things to help us out, which to them are so small, but to us make a huge difference, and experiencing and witnessing the incredible generosity of people who sometimes have so little themselves has reminded me how much friendliness and the desire to lend a hand can go such a long way.

I feel it necessary to comment on the dynamics of the road in India, as I was able to sit in the front seat of the bus on this trip I think I now actually understand how this organized chaos works. Aside from the hierarchy of the road which I had already witnessed on numerous occasions, in which pedestrian yields to cyclist, cyclist to cycle-rickshaw, cycle-rickshaw to autorickshaw which yields to cars, cars to trucks and trucks to buses. The only thing the bus (and ALL other entities on the road) will always yield to, without question, is the King of the Road - the cow, I learned something else. Here is how it works: the bus roars down the highway in the right inside lane. When an object blocks it's path, the driver simply lays on the horn (which sounds like a doorbell-meets-video-game-sound-effect) until said object moves out of the way into the outside lane. This continues until the destination, meaning that the bus barges along in the same lane for the entire journey - no time wasted on passing or anything silly like that. In the rare instance that it is necessary to pass, often the vehicle in front will use their signal, but not to initiate a lane change, to tell the driver behind that it is safe to pass on that side of their vehicle. As crazy and bizarre as this all sounds, it really just works.

Amritsar is home of the Golden Temple which is the holiest and most sacred sight of the Sikh religion. We were actually able to stay in the temple, as the Sikh temples always offer accomodation, to anyone. Due to the scale of this particular one, there was actually a "foreigner visitor" dormitory, which we stayed in for free (but gave a donation for). This was the beginning of what was to be a very incredible and memorable experience. In search of the toilets, I walked out of our dorm and immediately entered a circular area full of people - curled up on the concrete floor sleeping, families sitting cross legged and pilgrims enrobed in bright orange cloth bathing in the communal shower area in the center of all of this activity. I kept on walking to the female toilets - a room with 20 or so squat toilets which I used along with the other female pilgrims, Indian visitors, Sikhs and non-Sikhs and the few other foreigners. For the first time in our travels through India I felt as if I was truly a part of this fascinating mass of humanity, rather than an external observer ..... The temple itself had a truly magical feel. I still can't really describe it, but it just felt so peaceful with such a vivid sense of community and ... belonging. Before going to sleep, I went out to use the toilet and was stopped in awe of the scene before me - the same circular room of earlier was now filled with hundreds of people sleeping on the concrete floor. The various sleeping positions, rainbow of fabrics and sheer mass of people gave it the look of a woven tapestry carpet. If not for the fear of disturbing the sleeping ensemble, I could have stood amongst this scene for hours, taking in the details of the faces, the minimal belongings tucked safely beside each resting body and imagining the life of each person. On our last night, we ate our dinner in the dining hall that offers free meals to all (a characteristic of all Sikh temples) and serves over 30 000 people per day. Sitting on the cold concrete floor, surrounded by the warmth hundreds of people from all walks of life all eating the same Indian meal (which, even in this instance was offered with so much generosity - the food just kept on coming), was truly an experience of welcome and generosity.

We spent our last few days in India in Delhi, back in the luxurious comfort of Mr. Sahgal's house. Walking through Delhi on our last day felt quite different than one month ago - somehow things just make a lot more sense now! I have to say that I am quite sad to be leaving India, and feel that I could easily spend another few months in this vast and fascinating country, and still not see everything. However, this only means that I will be returning sometime in the future. India has been a great host, teaching us so much and also steering us clear of food poisoning! (No Delhi Belly for us!!!!!) Not only have I learned so much about religion, culture and humanity, and am also now know the ins and outs of bargaining and have perfect the squat toilet technique. To this country with its ability to inspire, frustrate, thrill and confound all at once - thank you, and I will be back!

"... India .. it's ability to find beauty in small things - the tattoo of circles on a camel's rump, a bright silk sari in a dark slum, a peacock feather in a plastic jar, a delicate earring glinting by a worn face, and a lotus painted on a truck. ...the sheer exuberance of a billion individuals and their pantomine of festivals.." - From Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald