Hello from Luang Prabang! Everyone told me it would happen and they were absolutely right: I'm totally in love with Laos. Wish I could stay for a year.



Luang Prabang is a gem. A UNESCO World Heritage City, this place is teeming with temples, monks, rivers, mountains, acecia-ribboned cobbled streets, French colonial architecture, baguettes, bicycle traffic, and plenty of frolicking, bare-bottomed children.



Have been relaxing here for 4 days after my two-day trip down the mighty Mekong. I just wasn't prepared for the size of this river. I believe I'm going to be seeing a lot of it in the next 2 weeks as I make my way South.



Yesterday was a 5 star day. I made friends with some novice monks at one of the monasteries. We talked for an hour and they showed me where their families live on the map of Laos. Also, a new friend and I rode about 30 kilometers around the remote villages surrounding Luang Prabang.



Photo are taking way too long to upload so sorry for the disappointment. Heading out tomorrow for Vang Vieng, will write more when I can. Life is goooood is Asia. :)

Moving On...Finally

My blood pressure has finally come down. I almost had to take myself (and the Thai boy who narrowly missed receiving my sandal in his colon) back to the hospital for a much-needed bear tranquilizer. In the process of simply transferring photos from my camera to a CD, the young man at the internet café erased all of the photos from my digital camera! Oh, the fury.

Fighting back a calamitous tantrum, I pedaled across town to the night bazaar in search of a camera specialist. When I found one, he meddled for 20 minutes and was able to retrieve the deleted photos. There is a God but, holy smokes, does He just love putting the screws to me.

Speaking of pictures, the last few days have gotten exponentially more exciting. Today I went to Elephant Nature Park a few hours North of Chiang Mai. ENP is a very humane, privately-owned sanctuary for rescued elephants. It was the most fantastic experience yet: feeding them, bathing them in the river, petting their trunks, watching them play. (Thanks for the great recommendations Christa!)

I also went to the dentist a few days ago. Had a teeth cleaning and two cavities filled for a grand total of $85!

The next time this blog gets updated I should be in Luang Prabang, Laos. Wednesday morning I’m catching a bus from Chiang Mai to the border of Thailand/Laos. (This was a stretch I intended to be in the saddle but I’m playing catch-up for my Dengue week). From the border, I take a two-day boat ride on the Mekong River to Luang Prabang. I’m really looking forward to getting away from the tourists here in Chiang Mai. Onward ho!!

Much love to you all from Thailand! Happy to be feeling strong and healthy again!

Making New Friends

Return From the Shadows of Chiang Mai

Don't turn your back on that pesky skeeter! Here I was all concerned about the threat of malaria, when it was malaria's first cousin, Dengue Fever, who turned out to be the real neighborhood prowler.... at least this time anyway.

After 3 days of high fever and body aches, I decided that my "food poinsoning" had definetely morphed into a more serious ailment. So to the hospital I went, and there I stayed for the next 5 boring and depressing days. Overall, the care at the facility was very good, the hospital very clean and comfortable with color television, hot shower, and a mini bar with the worlds worst assortment of artificially flavored sodas. (Neon green? Looked like an antifreeze accident waiting to happen.)


The good news, besides feeling better, is that I came away with a new appreciation for American hospital food. In Thai hospitals, the offered comfort foods like chicken noodle soup, spaghetti or grilled cheese sandwiches are a miserable failure. Naively, I just didn't know spaghetti could be screwed up so badly as to cook down 1/2 cup of sugar in a pile of onions and call it "sauce". I got my taste for Thai food back as I was on the brink of institutional starvation and eventually made it out of Chiang Mai Ram Hospital alive and in much better shape than I showed up. Thank God for travel insurance, who, thus far, has footed the 49,000 Baht bill (roughly $1,500).

The doctor doesn't want me taking malaria pills this week so, again, I'm pretty limited to putzing around Chiang Mai. (God, get me outa here!) This bout of Dengue Fever has definitely set me back a few weeks on my bicycle trip, but it's nothing that a strategically solicited bus can't fix. My Thai visa is running out, and I've gotta leave the country by next Friday. I can't wait to get to Laos to start the next chapter of this strange adventure.

So, once again, I've got no exciting photos or stories to brag about. Just trying to survive this hazardous vacation lifestyle. Hope all is well in the States and thanks so much for the emails!

Sa Wat Dii, ka!

Hello all from Chiang Mai! This vacation has turned into a full-time job so this week haven't had much opportunity to site-see or update the blog. Have been very busy taking courses in Thai language and Thai massage. Also, the markets here are quite consuming but I think I'm finally shopped out.

The language class is great, learning a lot of words and phrases that should help me as much in Laos as in Thailand. And who could complain about receiving several hours of daily thai massage from a true expert? (Thanks for the Lek Chiaya recommendation, Christa!)

As far as Chiang Mai goes, it's kind of Thai utopia with all amenities within spitting distance by bicycle. A very laid back and funky town with hundreds of temples, foot massage shops, markets, restaurants, yoga, etc. Though everything is relatively close, I still manage to get lost everytime I leave my guesthouse. Spent two hours the other day looking for my guesthouse only 4 blocks away....oh my. (Golden Triangle has turned Bermuda Triangle). So now my cardinal rule is to never get out of bed without map and compass.

Speaking of my guesthouse, I couldn't be happier than at the Happy House. For less than $6/night I have a very clean, comfy, quiet room with private bath/shower and a safe place downstairs to lock up my bike at night. Don't worry, Mom. I'm probably going to have a bed to sleep in every night I'm in Asia; this isn't a camping trip.

Still meeting lots of great people everywhere I go. Not much more to report right now since school is monopolizing my time. At the end of the week I'll have an opportunity to see some temples and spend a couple days at an elephant rescue park. I plan to be in Chiang Mai for another week before hitting the open road on my bicycle. However, the province I'm planning to ride to first (Chiang Rai) is experincing flooding so my plans may change. Photos and stories should get more interesting as I get out of the classroom. Thanks for all your emails!

Kristi

Where is Fuang Nakhong Street?

I have no idea what I ate for dinner tonight. I chose this reddish(vegetable?) soup from about 20 other unidentifiable options at the night market here in Ayutthaya. It wasn’t spicy upon eating but minutes later mouth of fire syndrome.
I’ve been initiated- bicycle riding in Bangkok ain’t that bad, folks. The machine is in top running condition after a $5.00 repair job at my new favorite Bangkok bike shop. The subway police put the kybosh on my bicycle so into the frying pan of Bangkok rush hour I went. Not surprisingly, I found drivers in this city of 8 million people to be much more courteous and aware than in Santa Fe. Despite the non-existent grid system and kaleidoscope intersections, I (slowly) made my way around town for two days. Two blocks at a time, of course, checking my map, checking my compass, checking my map again, riding two more blocks, checking my map, and so it went.
Yesterday I took the train from Bangkok to Ayutthaya, former Thai capital from 1350-1767. The city was sacked by the Burmese and abandoned. What remains today is a quaint, non-touristy town built amongst an incredible spectacle of ruins.
To answer some practical questions, Thailand is extremely hot and humid. I’m fortunate that it isn’t even the “hot” season. Most social activity here revolves around the street markets. Today I saw my first pile of dead frogs for sale, very sad. I also saw fried crickets and bugs, not so sad. The night market is a perfect place for me to eat, shop, chat, observe people, and read travel books. I did say chat, the Thai people love to engage in conversation even if a language barrier exists. I am practicing many words and phrases since the people are so patient and helpful. Thai and Lao are predominantly the same language so the more I try now the easier my life will be in a few weeks when I get to Laos.
Tomorrow I get the night train to Chiang Mai in the North. Sending love to you all!!
KRISTI