April 23rd Days left: 6
We are in Ko Chang staying on Long Beach at the Tree House Lodge number 2. The tide is very dramatic here and it seems to rise more than three feet, maybe even five feet a day! In the morning there are little islands in front of our bungalow but by night time they have disappeared.
Today we have stayed here five days and four nights. We went on a snorkelling trip for six and one half hours. First we got in a little speed boat that bumped on the waves to a bigger boat that had all sorts o f equipment on it. Then a dive instructor fitted us with flippers and masks. We rode on the boat for a little while and Mama, Matthew and I each had a wafer bar. All food on the boat was free but we got two cans of pop and unlimited everything else, so wafer bars, water, coffee and tea. Then we got to the spot and the divers got out and swam away. Then we (Mama, Matthew and I) and the three other snorklers went into the water. There were all sorts of fish that were about this big (drawing in journal) and had stripes on them.
They were mostly different shades of blue except for their eyes which had an amber ring around a black centre. Then there were little tiny fish, about this big: (drawing in journal) and bright blue except for their fins which were neon green.
There were sea urchins that were black and spiky and looked like they had a little eye or something in the middle: (drawing in journal). The eye thing was brown with a black dot on top.
There was coral too, some that looked like a big maze that was orange (drawing in journal) and other coral that looked like a forest of twigs. We also saw a lot of sea anemones. Then we went back to the boat, dove to a beach and then stopped for lunch. We had a buffet on the boat of lettuce, squid with rice ,baby corn and other vegetables, fried rice with vegetables. pork, beans and three other dishes I don't remember.
We scraped the scraps into the water and lots of rainbow coloured fish came to eat it.
Then we swam back to the boat and played in the water a bit. I even dived off the roof of the boat! Then we drove to another spot to snorkel and then we came back here.
April 29th Days left 1!
We are in Bangkok again, whiling away the hours before our flights which we are 42 hours away form taking. Yesterday I bought a music CD with traditional Thai wind instruments on it. I also bought 2 hats.
It is 7:?? in the morning right now and we are about to go eat breakfast. The hotel has wireless internet so that's nice. I am getting hungry now and want to go eat.
After breakfast....
The buildings here are huge in some places like Papa says that it looks like a science fiction movie. Lots of glass and concrete.
(Drawing in journal)
Jonas
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Back in Thailand
April 16th Days left: 14
Today we switched hotels in Chiang Mai, Thailand because while one had a nice reception, the other had a nicer room. Then we went for breakfast and then did a bit of a walking tour. We went to see a partly ruined wat with a big, partially ruined tower on top. It was made all of brick and had big Naga banisters. The Nagas were being swallowed by sea monsters.
We went to another temple that had a big Buddha statue. Then Mama and Matthew went back to the hotel and Papa and I went tot eh Computer Plaza. Mostly computer software, mostly for Windows. We didn't buy anything. Then we got Mama and Matthew and we ate lunch of hamburgers and slurpees. It was very good.
April 17th Days left: 13 (oh my gosh!)
Today we saw some interesting signs with many wise sayings on them near a wat. I remembered four of them. The first one said, "Merit calculated to impress is not real merit." That means that if you do something just to show off or to impress people it doesn't really count. The second one said, "Do try to do good but not to be great or else you will be in great danger." It meant pretty much the same thing - if you do good only to uphold your reputation, then later when all the good things pay off, it won't count. The third one said, "Don't escape when you a problem because there is always a solution." What that meant was, don't give up or, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Triumph is elusive only if you let it be. These signs were nailed to trees and were in a forested area. They were very wise.
Jonas
Today we switched hotels in Chiang Mai, Thailand because while one had a nice reception, the other had a nicer room. Then we went for breakfast and then did a bit of a walking tour. We went to see a partly ruined wat with a big, partially ruined tower on top. It was made all of brick and had big Naga banisters. The Nagas were being swallowed by sea monsters.
We went to another temple that had a big Buddha statue. Then Mama and Matthew went back to the hotel and Papa and I went tot eh Computer Plaza. Mostly computer software, mostly for Windows. We didn't buy anything. Then we got Mama and Matthew and we ate lunch of hamburgers and slurpees. It was very good.
April 17th Days left: 13 (oh my gosh!)
Today we saw some interesting signs with many wise sayings on them near a wat. I remembered four of them. The first one said, "Merit calculated to impress is not real merit." That means that if you do something just to show off or to impress people it doesn't really count. The second one said, "Do try to do good but not to be great or else you will be in great danger." It meant pretty much the same thing - if you do good only to uphold your reputation, then later when all the good things pay off, it won't count. The third one said, "Don't escape when you a problem because there is always a solution." What that meant was, don't give up or, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Triumph is elusive only if you let it be. These signs were nailed to trees and were in a forested area. They were very wise.
Jonas
New Year fun
April 12th Days left: 18
Happy Lao New Year!
We went to the Khmu Restaurant for breakfast today and then we went to see three temples. The last one we had to climb 328 stairs to get to. There was also a big bug with neat feet. Then Mama didn't feel well so she went back and Papa, Matthew and I walked around, dipped our feet in a river
and then we went to the Scandinavian Bakery for lunch. Then we got shakes and sat on chairs and watched people splash each other.
Once we were done our shakes, Matthew and I joined in the fun. Every pedestrian, every motorcycle, every tuk tuk and every car, they could not escape without being soaked. Squirt, squirt! We splashed them and we splashed the other splashers. It was very chaotic. It was very fun. There were buckets with hoses running where people would fill up their water guns and/or water bottles and/or their cups. No one could escape!
Happy Lao New Year!
We went to the Khmu Restaurant for breakfast today and then we went to see three temples. The last one we had to climb 328 stairs to get to. There was also a big bug with neat feet. Then Mama didn't feel well so she went back and Papa, Matthew and I walked around, dipped our feet in a river
and then we went to the Scandinavian Bakery for lunch. Then we got shakes and sat on chairs and watched people splash each other.
Once we were done our shakes, Matthew and I joined in the fun. Every pedestrian, every motorcycle, every tuk tuk and every car, they could not escape without being soaked. Squirt, squirt! We splashed them and we splashed the other splashers. It was very chaotic. It was very fun. There were buckets with hoses running where people would fill up their water guns and/or water bottles and/or their cups. No one could escape!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
More water fun
April 11th
Today we went to the Tat Kuang Se Waterfall. There were many pools that were shaped like this [drawing in journal], each terrace lower than the last. There was also a rope that hung from a tree and we could swing from it into the water.
I had fun doing that but then Mama suggested doing it a bit different and hold on a bit longer. I tried it but I did a belly flop. I was not to be dissuaded though, and tried again. This time I slipped off the rope too soon and somehow it smacked me a bit up and to the left of my left eye. It hurt a lot so I didn't swing again.
On a lower level there was a semi-submerged log and I had fun diving off it with Mama. Way up at the top there was a place that had water dropping for about 15 metres. I had lots of fun splashing and swimming.
Jonas
Today we went to the Tat Kuang Se Waterfall. There were many pools that were shaped like this [drawing in journal], each terrace lower than the last. There was also a rope that hung from a tree and we could swing from it into the water.
I had fun doing that but then Mama suggested doing it a bit different and hold on a bit longer. I tried it but I did a belly flop. I was not to be dissuaded though, and tried again. This time I slipped off the rope too soon and somehow it smacked me a bit up and to the left of my left eye. It hurt a lot so I didn't swing again.
On a lower level there was a semi-submerged log and I had fun diving off it with Mama. Way up at the top there was a place that had water dropping for about 15 metres. I had lots of fun splashing and swimming.
Jonas
Elephant Ride
April 9th Days left: 21
Yesterday we took a hot and stuffy minibus to Luang Prabang. We got off at the bus station and took a ride in a truck sort of thing to get to the centre of town. During the ride we got splashed with water three times because it is very close to the Lao New Year. The way people celebrate is by throwing water at each other. There is a shop selling water guns across the street from us. There is also a Scandinavian Bakery in Luang Prabang as well as in Vientiane (that's where I had the good egg sandwich in Vientiane).
April 10th Days left: 20
Today we rode elephants! We drove to a camp called Elephant XL Camp. People there rescue elephants from strenuous logging work and have them give tourists rides instead. The put a special saddle on that has a couch sort of thing on top and a[n upside down 'V'] shape on the bottom. Tourists sit in pairs on the couches and the mahouts (those who take care of the elephant) sit on the head with their legs behind the ears.
We got to the camp and took a boat down the river to a village. We looked around there a bit and then they took us to the elephants. They were smaller than I expected. They had a platform set up so Mama and I went up and the mahout (who had been lying on the saddle) moved to the head to let us on. We got on and off we went!
The elephant skin felt rough and she had lots of wiry hairs. The elephant lumbered down the path through the jungle. One part was slightly steep, going down to the river. Then it got really bumpy! We got down to the river and the elephant spryed herself. All of a sudden, the unexpected happened. The mahout asked me if I wanted to ride on the elephant's head! I said yes and we switched places.
The elephant's head was hairier than it's neck. When the ears flapped it felt windy. It was also a bit tiring because you needed to hold your legs a special way that only mahouts can learn not to get tired of. The little hairs kept poking me in the legs. It was very fun.
Afterwards I got to feed her bananas! She twisted her trunk around like this [drawing in journal]. I learned she was 37 years old. Most elephants live to be 100 in this world. We ate lunch there, played in the water a bit and then went back to Luang Prabang.
Jonas
Yesterday we took a hot and stuffy minibus to Luang Prabang. We got off at the bus station and took a ride in a truck sort of thing to get to the centre of town. During the ride we got splashed with water three times because it is very close to the Lao New Year. The way people celebrate is by throwing water at each other. There is a shop selling water guns across the street from us. There is also a Scandinavian Bakery in Luang Prabang as well as in Vientiane (that's where I had the good egg sandwich in Vientiane).
April 10th Days left: 20
Today we rode elephants! We drove to a camp called Elephant XL Camp. People there rescue elephants from strenuous logging work and have them give tourists rides instead. The put a special saddle on that has a couch sort of thing on top and a[n upside down 'V'] shape on the bottom. Tourists sit in pairs on the couches and the mahouts (those who take care of the elephant) sit on the head with their legs behind the ears.
We got to the camp and took a boat down the river to a village. We looked around there a bit and then they took us to the elephants. They were smaller than I expected. They had a platform set up so Mama and I went up and the mahout (who had been lying on the saddle) moved to the head to let us on. We got on and off we went!
The elephant skin felt rough and she had lots of wiry hairs. The elephant lumbered down the path through the jungle. One part was slightly steep, going down to the river. Then it got really bumpy! We got down to the river and the elephant spryed herself. All of a sudden, the unexpected happened. The mahout asked me if I wanted to ride on the elephant's head! I said yes and we switched places.
The elephant's head was hairier than it's neck. When the ears flapped it felt windy. It was also a bit tiring because you needed to hold your legs a special way that only mahouts can learn not to get tired of. The little hairs kept poking me in the legs. It was very fun.
Afterwards I got to feed her bananas! She twisted her trunk around like this [drawing in journal]. I learned she was 37 years old. Most elephants live to be 100 in this world. We ate lunch there, played in the water a bit and then went back to Luang Prabang.
Jonas
We're in Laos now...
April 3rd Days left: 27
Today we woke up at 5:30 in the morning so we could catch a flight from Vietnam to Laos. My first impression of Laos was that it was very sunny and very hot. We went to look for a hotel. After two hotels we decided that we would probably want to have breakfast so we did. Then Matthew, Papa and I watched over our bags while Mama went room finding. Mama found a room so we went and got settled. My second impression of Laos was rainy. It started to rain hard. All of a sudden the torrential downpour began leading into our room! Then it stopped. Before it stopped we could look outside and see little waterfalls coming off the corrugated metal roofs.
The visitor does not have ESP.
April 4th Days left: 26
Today we saw lots of stuff. For breakfast I had an egg sandwich with ham and cheese. Then we went to Wat Mixay which had neat dragon bannisters. Then we went to Wat Ong Tem Mahawihan. Right beside it was a big tree with lots of vines and two Buddha statues underneath it. Then we walked across the street to another temple called Wat Hai Sok. Inside it were ..... cats! It has been a long time since we have seen cats so close. There were many painted scenes on the ceiling.
Then we went a little further and came to Wat In Paeng. They were doing a lot of work on one of the gates. I think that maybe they were actually building it, not just fixing it. They had a lot of moulds and were making decorations out of cement. Then we walked to a restaurant and had fruit shakes. We sat there for a while and then walked on but everything was now closed for lunch. While we were waiting we had lunch. I had the egg sandwich again. Then we went and saw more temples.
Wat Si Saket was interesting in that it had ten thousand seven hundred something Buddha statues. Most of them (8000)were about two and a half inches tall, but some of them (120) were life sized and one of them was HUGE! there were some others of varying sizes in between.
Then we went to Haw Pha Kaew where there were a lot of religious objects. All of the Buddha statues were holding money. Then, as we were leaving, disaster struck! Froggy's sting broke! We left with saddened hearts.
Then we went to the bus station to check the bus schedules and prices. Then we walked back, stopping on the way to look at That Dam (a Buddhist stupa). It was quite big. Then we went back to the hotel and Matthew and I made Froggy's string even longer than before!
April 6th Days left: 24
Yesterday we arrived in Vang Vieng by bus and lazed around. Today we took four inner tubes and floated down the Nam Song River. After 20 metres we pulled into shore at one of the giant swings. These swings are very, very tall and the thing you swing on is shaped like an upside down 'T'. You grab onto the arms of this T, leave all rational thought behind and swing from a platform 45 feet above the water until you reach the height of your swing on the other side, then you turn and go a foot or two back and then you let go and fall. Mama did it three times, I did it twice and Matthew and Papa did it not at all. Then we got back in our tubes, floated another 20 metres, and stopped at a zip line (flying fox, flying gibbon). For this one you zip down the line and let go just before you hit the spring at the end. Matthew and I did this numerous times, Mama once and Papa not at all. We had two fruit shakes there and then floated away, this time, Papa said, for more than 20 metres. Famous last words. We stopped 20 minutes later for lunch and then set off again. Three hours later, we began to wonder why there weren't any more restaurants Then my inner tube began to leak. I kind of stopped it and we quickly paddled down stream. We decided enough was enough soon after and we paddled to shore. Papa was tired of it he said, and it was five hours since we started so we stopped.
Jonas
Today we woke up at 5:30 in the morning so we could catch a flight from Vietnam to Laos. My first impression of Laos was that it was very sunny and very hot. We went to look for a hotel. After two hotels we decided that we would probably want to have breakfast so we did. Then Matthew, Papa and I watched over our bags while Mama went room finding. Mama found a room so we went and got settled. My second impression of Laos was rainy. It started to rain hard. All of a sudden the torrential downpour began leading into our room! Then it stopped. Before it stopped we could look outside and see little waterfalls coming off the corrugated metal roofs.
The visitor does not have ESP.
April 4th Days left: 26
Today we saw lots of stuff. For breakfast I had an egg sandwich with ham and cheese. Then we went to Wat Mixay which had neat dragon bannisters. Then we went to Wat Ong Tem Mahawihan. Right beside it was a big tree with lots of vines and two Buddha statues underneath it. Then we walked across the street to another temple called Wat Hai Sok. Inside it were ..... cats! It has been a long time since we have seen cats so close. There were many painted scenes on the ceiling.
Then we went a little further and came to Wat In Paeng. They were doing a lot of work on one of the gates. I think that maybe they were actually building it, not just fixing it. They had a lot of moulds and were making decorations out of cement. Then we walked to a restaurant and had fruit shakes. We sat there for a while and then walked on but everything was now closed for lunch. While we were waiting we had lunch. I had the egg sandwich again. Then we went and saw more temples.
Wat Si Saket was interesting in that it had ten thousand seven hundred something Buddha statues. Most of them (8000)were about two and a half inches tall, but some of them (120) were life sized and one of them was HUGE! there were some others of varying sizes in between.
Then we went to Haw Pha Kaew where there were a lot of religious objects. All of the Buddha statues were holding money. Then, as we were leaving, disaster struck! Froggy's sting broke! We left with saddened hearts.
Then we went to the bus station to check the bus schedules and prices. Then we walked back, stopping on the way to look at That Dam (a Buddhist stupa). It was quite big. Then we went back to the hotel and Matthew and I made Froggy's string even longer than before!
April 6th Days left: 24
Yesterday we arrived in Vang Vieng by bus and lazed around. Today we took four inner tubes and floated down the Nam Song River. After 20 metres we pulled into shore at one of the giant swings. These swings are very, very tall and the thing you swing on is shaped like an upside down 'T'. You grab onto the arms of this T, leave all rational thought behind and swing from a platform 45 feet above the water until you reach the height of your swing on the other side, then you turn and go a foot or two back and then you let go and fall. Mama did it three times, I did it twice and Matthew and Papa did it not at all. Then we got back in our tubes, floated another 20 metres, and stopped at a zip line (flying fox, flying gibbon). For this one you zip down the line and let go just before you hit the spring at the end. Matthew and I did this numerous times, Mama once and Papa not at all. We had two fruit shakes there and then floated away, this time, Papa said, for more than 20 metres. Famous last words. We stopped 20 minutes later for lunch and then set off again. Three hours later, we began to wonder why there weren't any more restaurants Then my inner tube began to leak. I kind of stopped it and we quickly paddled down stream. We decided enough was enough soon after and we paddled to shore. Papa was tired of it he said, and it was five hours since we started so we stopped.
Jonas
Halong Bay
March 28th Days left: 32
Today we went out on a boat to see Halong Bay. There is a lot of mist floating around everywhere, engulfing the large rocky islands, with all their plant life, enshrouding them in a blanket of cloud.
We stopped at one of these islands to see a cave. It was very big. The group's guide pointed out some interesting rock formations, like a cannon, an elephant, tiger, reclining lady (I thought it looked more like a giant crocodile head in combination with the rock above it) and a woman Buddha praying. The whole cave was 3 km from start to finish (ed. note: this is what the guide said, but that was hogwash).
Then we got to go kayaking around the ocean amongst the islands and through the mist for 40 minutes. I saw a tree that looked like a green puffball on a stick. The scenery is beautiful. Oh, I forgot to write this before and just remembered that we had an interesting food for lunch today. Squid! Squid, squid, squid, squid. It tasted a bit like shrimp. They looked like little octopus.
After kayaking, we had supper (lunch was as soon as we got on the boat) of chicken, fish, french fries, pork salad, lettuce/spinach things, and part apple part pear fruit for dessert. Then we went to bed.
March 31st Days left: 29
We are back in Hanoi again. We had to get a different hotel than last time but we now are staying in one with free internet as well. Also, I have a secret project that is progressing smoothly without any major problems.
Later the same day
Today we saw the Ambassador's Pagoda. There were three statues inside a big one in the middle and two smaller ones on either side. They looked like buddhas but we are not sure if they actually are. They all had a shiny gold covering.
The interior and exterior decoration was mostly red and gold. There were long wooden panels hung on the four sides of each pillar and around the doors. Each one had a red background and gold Chinese lettering in a single column. Above the doorways were plaques of wood, cut to look like cloth scrolls. These too had a red background and gold lettering. Underneath each of them was a weird gold dragon-like face.
Outside on the front the steps went from one side of the building to the other. On the steps, exactly in the middle, was a bird bath sort of thing with a tree growing in it. There was lots of water too, and in the water were two little fish and two little turtles with shells about two inches across. They would come up for air and sit at the water's surface but if we moved even a little bit they would zip around and swim away.
There were two small buildings outside that were too small to stand in made of stone, with fires burning inside them. The fires consisted of paper and nothing else.
Jonas
Today we went out on a boat to see Halong Bay. There is a lot of mist floating around everywhere, engulfing the large rocky islands, with all their plant life, enshrouding them in a blanket of cloud.
We stopped at one of these islands to see a cave. It was very big. The group's guide pointed out some interesting rock formations, like a cannon, an elephant, tiger, reclining lady (I thought it looked more like a giant crocodile head in combination with the rock above it) and a woman Buddha praying. The whole cave was 3 km from start to finish (ed. note: this is what the guide said, but that was hogwash).
Then we got to go kayaking around the ocean amongst the islands and through the mist for 40 minutes. I saw a tree that looked like a green puffball on a stick. The scenery is beautiful. Oh, I forgot to write this before and just remembered that we had an interesting food for lunch today. Squid! Squid, squid, squid, squid. It tasted a bit like shrimp. They looked like little octopus.
After kayaking, we had supper (lunch was as soon as we got on the boat) of chicken, fish, french fries, pork salad, lettuce/spinach things, and part apple part pear fruit for dessert. Then we went to bed.
March 31st Days left: 29
We are back in Hanoi again. We had to get a different hotel than last time but we now are staying in one with free internet as well. Also, I have a secret project that is progressing smoothly without any major problems.
Later the same day
Today we saw the Ambassador's Pagoda. There were three statues inside a big one in the middle and two smaller ones on either side. They looked like buddhas but we are not sure if they actually are. They all had a shiny gold covering.
The interior and exterior decoration was mostly red and gold. There were long wooden panels hung on the four sides of each pillar and around the doors. Each one had a red background and gold Chinese lettering in a single column. Above the doorways were plaques of wood, cut to look like cloth scrolls. These too had a red background and gold lettering. Underneath each of them was a weird gold dragon-like face.
Outside on the front the steps went from one side of the building to the other. On the steps, exactly in the middle, was a bird bath sort of thing with a tree growing in it. There was lots of water too, and in the water were two little fish and two little turtles with shells about two inches across. They would come up for air and sit at the water's surface but if we moved even a little bit they would zip around and swim away.
There were two small buildings outside that were too small to stand in made of stone, with fires burning inside them. The fires consisted of paper and nothing else.
Jonas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)