Top 10 Reasons I love Laos, and especially Luang Prabang/Northern Laos:

10. Fried Rice Salad at Tum Tum Cheng in Luang Prabang

From December-January 20082009 Trip

9. Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream at L'elephant in LP

From December-January 20082009 Trip

8. Christmas lunch at Tamarind in LP (I realize it might be piggish to have food be 3 of your 10 favorites, but the food in LP was really, really good!!)

From December-January 20082009 Trip

7. Monks

From December-January 20082009 Trip

6. Puppies
Note: I have no pictures of puppies. I was too busy playing with them, but look at www.dailypuppy.com for some cuties!
5. Monks and puppies together!

From December-January 20082009 Trip

4. Cutest. Kids. Ever!

From December-January 20082009 Trip

3. Gorgeous, charming architecture

From December-January 20082009 Trip

2. The incredible night market

From December-January 20082009 Trip

From December-January 20082009 Trip

1. Laos is where Chris and I got engaged!!! The big moment took place in these caves!

From December-January 20082009 Trip

This is a photo taken right after we came out into the light, dazed and excited (and giving direction to the man we asked to take our photo)!

From December-January 20082009 Trip

This is a photo of the "temporary" ring, which I still do love and might even consider wearing still, if I didn't lose so many "stones" throughout the week or so that I wore it, and if I didn't get such a beautiful replacement in Chiang Mai!

From December-January 20082009 Trip

Also.....

From December-January 20082009 Trip

A Long Overdue and Quick Update

I know that I haven't posted anything in over 2 months, almost 3. But I have a good excuse! I have been so busy with my coursework that I didn't have the energy to write anything else. And, as I'm finishing my last paper tonight, I still don't.

We leave tomorrow for a 3+ week trip around Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. We'll be spending about 10 days with our friends Abigail and Jesse, in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and an unknown location that Chris has organized for us. Then, we'll spend New Year's in Bangkok and, after recovering on the 1st, we'll welcome my parents as they make their first trip to Southeast Asia. We'll visit Bangkok, Koh Samet, Chiang Mai and Chiang Dao in Thailand, then head to Cambodia for a stop at the Wats in Siem Reap and a quick visit to Phnom Penh.

I'm excited for the whole trip and to show my parents our adopted and adored "home." But I'm really excited for Laos. Every person we've mentioned it to has either said, "Ohhhhh I LOVED Laos" or "Ohhhh I can't WAIT to go to Laos." I just stumbled upon a blog post whose writer put into words what I've expected Laos to be like (the last paragraph, not the "Dragon" part...) and I'm even more excited to get this paper done, get packed and get out!

Here it is: http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/12/18/gonzo-traveler-robin-esrock-discovers-why-he-travels-in-laos/

Happy Holidays to any of our friends and family who read this! We wish you all every happiness as we move into a new and HOPEful year!

xoxo Jenna and Chris

A great website!

I just came across this website that tells you (out loud) how to pronounce words...I always wondering if I am pronouncing words from other languages correctly (place names, food names, etc.) and this is a great resource!

http://www.forvo.com/

Check it out...

Below are some photos from our recent trip to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat and the other nearby temples. I'm not sure what I expected from Cambodia, but it was really amazing. It is a poor country, filled with people who have suffered unbelievable atrocities under Pol Pot and his regime, yet everyone seems to have a smile on their face. I can't wait to go back! More details to come...

Part I: Greeting the Smells of India

OK, as promised, I'm starting the large task that is writing about our India trip....

The trip started out in Delhi. Actually, that's not true, it really started at the Bangalore airport. If you've heard of Bangalore, it's probably in its capacity as the IT capital of India. This, despite all of Chris' warnings that India was going to be "tough" and unexpected, put me in the mindframe of expecting something, oh I don't know, modern? However, we get out of the airplane in the "International Terminal" and begin to look for the "Domestic Terminal" from where we will continue our journey. I use the quotes because I am not sure I would even call them a terminal or separate them into two, because they are basically 2 big, connected rooms that you still need to go outside to move between. We step outside and, wham!! India whacks me in the face. First of all, it doesn't smell good, a little like curry, b.o. and pee, all mixed into one, fine package. Secondly, many, many rickshaw drivers start accosting us. The ones who weren't peeing in the bushes on the side of building, that is. As we are carrying our luggage and walking toward the "Domestic Terminal" it didn't seem to make sense, but as we were continually reminded throughout the trip, making sense and India didn't really go together. This would be proved, not a moment after pushing through the rickshaw drivers, by the x-ray machine at the entrance to the "terminal." First, you go to a window outside, with your e-ticket printout and pick up your ticket. Then you walk to the door, with a "line" (anytime I use the words line or queue, they must be taken with a grain of salt. While we Americans tend to be an orderly bunch, the Indians prefer "cluster" approach. One you propel your way to the front of the cluster, you arrive at the machine, where a guard asks you what bag you are checking. This bag, and nothing else you are carrying, gets put on the x-ray machine. Now, to me, this didn't make sense. Couldn't you just go inside and check in another bag when you get to the counter? Yes. But again, it goes to show I know nothing about what makes sense here.

After braving this chaos of the outside world for a few minutes, we were safely inside the "Domestic" piece of the airport. A true caffeine addict, I was ready for a non-Indian-Airlines-brewed cup of coffee. I figured they wouldn't have a coffee shop in this 1970's throwback of an airport, but I started to wander around. Lo and behold, I found a place that claimed to serve coffee. We hadn't changed money over before we left, generally preferring to use ATM machines when we arrive, to get the best rates. I stood in line at the coffeshop and asked if I could pay with a credit card (I was that desperate). No? Maybe Singapore Dollars? Hmm..US Dollars? With the shopkeeper growing increasingly impatient, I asked where I could find the nearest ATM. "No. No ATM" How can an airport NOT have an ATM machine?? So I move on to a man selling silk scarves. Surely, HE'D know where an ATM was. Shot down again. No currency change booth either. Finally, I gave up, knowing that my coffee dream was slipping away. Instead, Chris and I got into line to check in for our flight. I couldn't remember the time difference between India and Singapore, so I started surreptitiously checking out other people's watches. "Crap," I thought, "my watch stopped again." I thought this because everyone's watches showed a half hour time difference (plus the time zone difference) from mine. I mentioned this to Chris and he looked at his watch too - Same as mine. This is when we asked someone else in "line" about the time. Turns out - India is HALF AN HOUR away from the rest of the world on time. That's right - it's 3.5 hours different from Singapore, and likely about 8.5 from the Eastern US. I personally think this is what's thrown the whole thing off!

Anyway, coffee-free, we eventually board the plane, Kingfisher Air, which just seems to be the nicest domestic airline in India. We were really impressed and would definitely fly them again! It was a nice treat, after our short and already overwhelming introduction to India!

Note: Bangalore is in the process of opening a NEW airport, which I'm sure is going to be very nice, so you shouldn't be afraid to go!

Part II: Delhi in my Belly...Coming soon

It was just requested that I update the blog, and since I can't say no to a fan :) and since I now spend my days at a desk with a lot of free time, I really have no excuse. I was thinking about why I update this blog so infrequently - is it sheer laziness? Well, yes, I do have that nice lazy streak everyone wishes they could have, but it's more that Singapore just isn't as "interesting" at Turkey. By "interesting" I of course mean bizarre, frustrating, foreign, hilarious, etc...It's just a much nicer, and more "normal" place to live. This isn't to say one is better or worse than the other. I have recently put together my "Istanbul list" for a few friends who've gone to visit Istanbul and it made me miss it. I now have a small and constant hankering for lahmacun, and I occasionally miss the ferry ride commute to work (which truly proves that there's nothing like time to erase the negative - like the stares and the crowds and being surrounded by a boat full of people lighting up a cigarette at 8am).

On the other side of the coin, Singapore is everything people say it is; it's clean, efficient, organized. It's also lush and green, and hot, hot, hot! The food is delicious and the shops are more than enough to get me into trouble! There just haven't been many things here that make me say, "What???" Rather, things just kind of "make sense". Hence part of the reason for my lack of communication. The other part is that I've been pretty much working full time and I just completed my first semester of my Masters program (yay!) It was alot more work than I expected and took up most of my free time. But now that I'm free from classes (for a few more weeks) I appreciate that free time even more. One of the projects from this semester was to design a website, which I did, and it's here. There are some updates on there about the trips we've made this year (to China, Thailand, India and Bali) on the website, along with some library related things that I don't recommend you look at unless that's what you're in to (Flight of the Conchords reference, if you weren't sure. Are they coming back on the air? I miss them.)

Our last trip (well, my last trip. Chris' last trip was a field trip with his students to the non-resort part of Bintan, Indonesia) was to Bali. It was incredible and is now on my list of favorite destinations. The people are amazingly friendly and warm, and the places we stayed were nothing short of luxurious, all at a good price. We were amazed by how upscale it was (of course, I'm talking about the tourist areas.The local parts of the island were more rustic). Rather than a bunch of beachside shacks, the restaurants and bars in Bali were chic and the food was some of the best we've had in our travels. And not just local cuisine either. I had several italian dishes that would rival anything I've had in New York, and a usual meal, including wine or beer, appetizers, a main course and dessert, would be well under $20USD per person. It was amazing! One of the best experiences in Bali was taking a day trip with Wayan, who we met at the Three Monkeys Cafe, in Ubud, where he was our waiter. He is such a nice guy, working hard to support his family and he was really knowledgable about the island. During out tour, Wayan took us to a temple where there were hundreds of school children on a field trip. They were so curious about us and so friendly with the biggest smiles - It made all three of us (Chris and I and our friend Katie, another teacher) want to try and find a way to teach, at some point, in Bali). 4 days was too short of a time to spend in Bali and we look forward to going back and getting to know better the island and the Balinese people.

Still nagging me is the knowledge that I have to post about our India trip. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm intimidated to begin writing about it. It was such a long trip and overwhelming in so many ways, that I was mentally writing a long post about it while we were there, but now it's hiding somewhere in my brain. I do promise, though, that I'm going to start it today and hopefully finish it tomorrow. The photos are in a few different places, including the website I mentioned before.

On an exciting note, both Chris and I leave Singapore soon for our US summer holiday! We can't wait to get home to see family and friends and leave a bit of the heat and humidity behind. See you all then!!

The Police!

This is a great week! We had a short week thanks to Chinese New Year, which we got to experience last night. We also got to go see The Police play at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Monday. The Police aren't a band I'd even think of going to see at home (although I do love so many of their songs) but there's something about being far away from home that any "import" is a big deal (and yes, I know the Police are from the UK and that is not my home either!)

It was a really fun concert, preceded by some more fun beer and pizza's at our friends' place. I didn't get videos or decent photos of my own, because i had read that we couldn't bring cameras into the arena, and you just don't break rules here. Or so I thought. Most people had cameras, and I found this good montage of the show YouTube:



And I learned one very important lesson from the show...Old(er) Sting...Wayyyy more attractive than Young Sting. Who knew?

Chinese New Year photos and a posting about India (that I've been putting off because there's so, so much to write about) to come!

I Hate It When...

The NY Times beats me to the punch! I always have big goals for my updates here, but I slack off way too much! I meant to write about our visit to Beijing and Xi'an back in October but it never happened. I meant to write that the nice people we met on the Great Wall gave us super tips about fun places to visit in Beijing, such as Pure Lotus, a fantastic Buddhist, vegetarian restaurant, with fabulous atmosphere, beautiful presentation,

great tableware and really funny names of dishes on their giant menu. I felt totally behind the times when I opened up the nytimes.com travel section to see the 36 Hours in Beijing article where they wrote just about the same thing.

At least they didn't also mention the Red Capital Club, another place we were directed, a bar/restaurant where Mao and his buddies used to hang out, furnished with old Communist relics, where all the drinks had names relating to the bar's theme. From the Club, the Maitre'D put us in a cycle rickshaw, where the driver took us through streets of the old hutong to the Red Capital Residence - the related hotel, where you can go into the courtyard, slip down a rabbit hole and end up in an former bomb shelter, where you can have a drink and watch old Communist propaganda films in the background. If you're heading to Bejing, we highly recommend an evening at one (or both) of these places.

Help!

Once again, too much time has passed since I've posted, but I have an excuse...I have been working pretty much full time since we returned from our fantastic trip to Krabi!

I will update more soon, but now I'm writing with a favor...I have been taking a photography class and we have to print up and turn in for critique 6 photos, covering different categories. They are: Portrait, Night, Motion, Macro (super close up,) Landscape and Architecture. I think. Anyway, I've posted some that I thought might be fitting in each category to my Picasaweb page

If you are reading this and have lots of free time, please take a look and either post a comment here, email me or post a comment on my photo page if you have any thoughts on which one, if any, in each category I should print? (I know there's only one now in Macro, I need to do some more work on that one)

I have looked at them so many times that none of them are looking good. Also, if there's any other picture that you see that's not in one of those recent albums, please tell me. And if there's a photo that anyone else has taken that you think I should co-opt and use instead, definitely tell me!

Thanks!!!!!!

Krabi (or Dear Jenna and Chris, Though you have different ideas of the perfect destination, we have created a place that is, individually, the dream location for each of you. Please come. Sincerely, Thailand. And Nature)

Chris and I were both really looking forward to our trip to Krabi, but for different reasons. Krabi is known as one of the world's premier rock climbing destinations, and also has beautiful beaches and plentiful spa/massage amenities. It is also very inexpensive and has great food. Based on these things, there was pretty much nothing to not like about this place. But we ended up liking it even more than we anticipated!


We stayed at the Railay Bay Resort in the area called Railay Beach. The hotel was great, overall, but our room wasn't quite as nice as some other places in the resort. It was a huge place though, and you can't get to this beach by car, so comings and goings were by longtail boats. We were welcomed to the hotel on our arrival by this sign
possibly the first time I've ever been welcomed visually (well, technically it was Chris, not me) to a hotel before...

This is me sitting at the restaurant hotel, with the beach in the background

and this is Chris enjoying himself on the rock

And my favorite (of the 6 massages I tried in our four days in Krabi - each one cost between $6 and $10USD for one hour) masseuse, Mama

The rest of our photos are here

Krabi, Thailand - Thanksgiving 2007

We really did not want to leave Krabi and we can't wait to go back!!

Best. Taxi Ride. Ever.

I have been nothing short of amazed by the service of the taxi drivers here in Singapore (once you're actually in the car. Actually hailing a cab is another, long and frustrating, story.) In contrast to what we experienced in Turkey, and on occasion in the US, they are honest, friendly, helpful, chatty, informed, well-spoken and really interesting. They also (with few exceptions) speak perfect English. Usually I will end up chatting with the driver, sometimes even if I'm just in the mood to stare out the windows and listen to some music.

Today was one of those days. I had just gone all the way to the East of the island to see Chris and 3 friends compete in an all day (11 hours to be exact) group mountain biking race in Tampines. After doing my share of cheering and picture taking (photos to come) I decided to leave and take a bus ride home. Unfortunately, taking a bus from there to our place would likely take 2 hours and my bladder wasn't sure if wanted that long of a ride on the bus. So after a good, long walk to the bus depot, I changed my mind about public transport and hailed and hopped into a taxi. I had about 5 minutes left on the Grey's Anatomy I started watching on my iPod and really wanted to sink into the back seat and focus on George and Izzy's problem, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to happy when I got into the car and in an oddly loud, yet friendly voice, my driver said:

"Lady, where you from?"

Me: The US

Driver: Yes, Yes, where in the US?

Me: (this is a departure, as I normally just say "New York" since everyone knows NY, but it just popped out of my mouth) Connecticut....Near NY

Driver: Ahhhh, Connecticut. Hmmm...Let's see. Greenwich (green-witch)? Cos Cob? Stamford? Westport?

Me: (shocked) Um...Yes, Greenwich (Grenich) How did you know that? Have you been?

Driver: No!!!!! w...w...w...yahoomaps...com

Me: Wow, that's really amazing.

Driver: Let's see...Connecticut. That is I-95 anddddd....Merritt Parkway, yes?

Me: Yes. Wow.

Driver: Now, what does the Merritt Parkway turn into? The Taconic-no, that's not right.

He couldn't come up with the Hutchinson Parkway, but knew right away when I said it. This went on and on - with my College, knowing exactly which highways went by this small town in upstate New York, and continued on with more knowledge of Connecticut. Just by studying maps online. I was shocked and awed for the whole trip home.

After he finished regaling me with tales of Northeast USA roads, we moved on to a conversation about politics in Singapore versus the US (in Singapore, the government is like a 'farm family father. He wants to tell the son what to do all the time, but the son is 42 years old. Sometimes he wants to say "piss off" but he grudgingly says okay to the father', and in the US, we actually tell the "father" to piss off) and the pros and cons of the tight hold the government has on the people (a little less freedom and a lot more safety.)

I didn't get to finish my show, but I had yet another amazing taxi ride in Singapore. I have really learned a lot from the cabbies here!

Oktoberfest and China Part II

Before I continue to update on our China trip, I thought I'd just share a fun story about Oktoberfest. Chris participated in not one, but two competitions! One was eating and drinking, and one was a tag-team Erdinger drinking competition, more of a marathon than a sprint. Chris and 3 of our friends were victorious and won us free drinks for the rest of the night and an Erdinger "Oktoberfest" set, complete with 2 glasses, 4 beers and coupons for free things around Singapore. Here are photos of the victorious group before and after their win!






Now...Onto China...

After a restful day/night at the Simatai Guesthouse, we moved on to hike the portion of the Wall between Simatai and Jinshanling, about 5 km. We had been told by several people that it is difficult and steep at the beginning of the hike and then it calms down, but I didn't get that at all! I felt like I was climbing up stairs and downstairs, and upstairs and downstairs, and...you get the idea. For about 5 hours. It was fun though, and the views were beautiful. I did feel a bit dumb though - we brought Chris' daypack and left our other bags in the car. However, we didn't really measure out how much that would hold, versus what we wanted to bring with us. It ended up that I had to carry a shopping bag (brought from home, but it happened to be a Duty Free bag) on our whole hike - I got some weird looks for that!

This is the scary bridge he had to cross to start our day:



and some of the ups and downs...



We had alot of people following us, trying to get us to buy 'beer, soda, water, postcard, t-shirt?' - all said in rapid succession. But, being used to hawkers from our time in Turkey, we were able to shake them off pretty easily. We had been told that we'd find our next host through his wife, who'd have my name taped up to her stall of 'beer, water, etc...' and we were very unsure about whether or not this was actually going to work out. But sure enough, we walked into the nicest, most 'together' tower we'd seen that day, and there is a woman, smiling like crazy, with my name on her table.






She served us tea, on our 'terrace' where we hung out for the afternoon, looking at the wall in all directions.

Eventually, her husband arrived, at just about sunset, and walked us into town to his home/shop/restaurant for a fabulous dinner!

Some shots from dinner:





After the humongous dinner (including, among many other things, a plate of dumplings for each person!) we took the 20 minute walk by flashlight back up to the watchtower, shared a bottle of wine on our new friends' watchtower and took our walk home along the wall to our home, where Mr. Sun had set up our beds for us and we went to sleep to get up at 6am for sunrise.

After seeing the beautiful sunrise, we walked down to meet our driver to take us into Beijing. We got stuck in a ton of traffic on the way home, but had some time to relax before starting on our whirlwind tour of Bejing and Xi'an...to come...