a road trip.

I've also ventured a little farther than my towering mountains to find respite from my less-than-ideal situation. A few weeks ago a friend and I drove two hours north to Promontory, Utah where we learned about the long ago meeting of the railroad.

In 1869 the nation was recovering from the effects of the Civil War, seeking to find ways to build the economy, bolster patriotism and take advantage of the scientific and mechanical advances being made like never before.  One side effect of all of this was a frenzy of railroad building on both coasts and an effort to literally unite the still-damaged country. The Union Pacific Railroad was coming from the east while the Central Pacific was building from the west.  They'd been getting money based on the amount of track laid and weren't being very judicious about it when President Johnson and others in Washington stepped in and gave them a completion deadline. The agreed upon point was Promontory Summit near the Great Salt Lake and on May 10 engines from both sides met and a symbolic Golden Spike was driven completing the world's first transcontinental railroad.

There's a visitor's center there now (it's a designated National Historic Site) but not much else. However, they bring out full-sized replicas of the trains (the originals were scrapped for parts around WWII) and have knowledgeable staff that share stories about the historic day.  There's also a gift shop, small museum, and several informational movies that run throughout the day. It was a surprisingly delightful place to visit.  Highly recommended, especially for train or history enthusiasts.

yes, my photo is touched up a bit (ala Instagram) but the colors were nearly that vivid in real life-the trains were truly something to see!

And then nearby at the Great Salt Lake is a famous art installation, Spiral Jetty.  Created by Robert Smithson in 1970 it's made out of basalt rocks from the nearby hills and is over 1500 feet long (the pictures don't do it justice.) Depending on the time of year it can be covered by the lake but we've had such low rainfall the past few years that the water was barely visible from the viewpoint/parking lot.  We walked down to the jetty itself and beyond where the salt from the lake had dried in such a way that it seemed as if we were walking on ice or marble (I imagine that it's similar to the famous Salt Flats where they do all the land speed testing, but I've never been there.) We poked around in puddles marveling at the designs and variations of the crystals, the different colors and shapes, the strangeness that makes up this world we call home.

the two dark dots you can almost see just below the mountains, that's about where the water line is-everything else you see in the foreground is all dry/salt

It was definitely worth the drive and the half day or so we spent exploring. Utah, a pretty great state indeed!

a road trip.

This past weekend a few of us teachers decided to take one last road trip. Lao is only about an hour north of us so we headed that direction to get one more stamp in our passports before our time together ends. Friday night we got on a bus to go to the city of Nong Khai where we stayed in a darling guest house, Mut Mee, on the Mekong River. We wandered through a night market/festival for a couple of hours eating some delicious food, watching a volleyball/soccer game (I’ve never been able to figure out what it’s actually called) and doing some shopping. Then we went back to Mut Mee and spent a couple of hours in the floating bar getting eaten by mosquitoes and visiting with the bar keeper, a young British girl who had come on vacation a few weeks ago and ended up getting a job and staying, and enjoying the cool breeze off the river. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast overlooking the river and then set off to cross the border.

It’s always a gamble when you have to deal with various government agencies, especially when you don’t know the language and aren’t quite sure of the procedures. Things aren’t very clearly marked and I have yet to meet an Asian person who truly understands the concept of a queue. But we’d gotten some pretty specific instructions from the owner of the guest house so we made it through to Lao with very little complications. (Coming back was another story!) We stood in line to pay our fees, get our visas checked, get our pictures taken, and board the bus to cross the bridge and then do the same on the other side. We exchanged some money, found a taxi and we were off.

Our taxi took us 15 or so minutes into the county to the capital city, Vientiane. There’s not actually a lot to see but the goal of getting our passports stamped had already been accomplished so we were free to wander and explore without any real pre-conceived ideas or expectations. Lao had been colonized by the French at one point so it has the benefit of some of that influence to this day including architecture, and more importantly, food! We had some amazing bread (the Thais don’t do bread so well and oh, how I have missed it!), French pastries, a smothered baked potato with real cheese and sour cream (the Thais don’t do dairy well either, aside from ice cream), a salad with amazing feta, some pizza, crème brulee and a breakfast bagel. It was a carb-lover’s dream!

We visited the Asian Arch de Triomph (actually called Patuxai Gate and never completed but modeled after the one in Paris with a few obvious Asian touches) which was beautiful. We climbed up to the top for a pretty great view of the city, fountain and gardens in one direction, tree-lined streets in the other. Inside the building itself every corner was crammed with tables and stalls selling fabulous (dripping with sarcasm) souvenirs.

In between our bouts of eating we saw the presidential palace and a few other beautiful and huge buildings we couldn’t identify as well as a few temples and an ancient stupa. We walked along the river (which was almost non-existent in some places due to its being dry season) and through some shops and enjoyed an evening concert at the base of an illuminated fountain.

The next morning we were back across the border after our breakfast but since we hadn’t had the step by step instructions from anyone it was a little more complicated this time. But we made it with relatively little problem, just a lot of waiting in line and not having the correct forms and such to make it a little longer and more stressful than the day before.

Back in Nong Khai we made our way to a large sculpture garden, Sala Keoku, which was pretty impressive. It illustrates many of the tenants of Buddhism which I would love to explain except it was all in Thai so I’d have to just guess. But I’m sure Wikipedia can tell you more! It was all carved by the same man, who is lying in state under a glass dome in a locked room along with a host of his worldly belongings, a myriad pictures of him and even one of his bloody tissues from his final days (yep, kind of creepy.)

Then it was back to the bus station and back home where we all got together for dinner and a viewing of Frozen which none of us had seen yet (it only showed in Thai in the theaters here) but had heard a ton about. We found a DVD copy for about $1 in one of the markets and decided it was worth the splurge! What a fun show. We all laughed and sang (and maybe even cried a bit) all the way through it. It was the perfect end to a fun weekend but a bittersweet reminder that we’ll be done here soon and who knows when we’ll see each other again. I’m going to miss these faces!!!!

volleyball/soccer game

breakfast view of the Mekong

the missing Mekong on the other side

ancient stupa in the middle of the road

the arch

the view from the arch

massive loaf of bread (the two on the right are a little larger than what you'd buy at the grocery store!)

delicious coconut macaron

Sala Keoku

a trip to the past. Part 2

After a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up we were back in the tuk tuks headed in the other direction through town and countryside to a small lake for a relaxing dinner and a view of the sunset. It was great to get to see so much of the area. It’s very similar to Thailand but still felt like a whole different place somehow.

We’d decided to head back to the border early rather than pay for another night at the hotel and have to get up super early again. Our tuk tuk driver arranged for a taxi to take us that night. We made it just as they were getting ready to close and were cheered by all the workers as we slipped in just in time. The process was much quicker at 10:00 at night, aside from a little confusion as to why we had two re-entry stamps in our passports (we’d gotten one for this trip and one for a trip to Malaysia in a couple of weeks) we were stamped and processed and quickly sent on our way. Hoping to find a bus we were instead greeted by taxi drivers who told us all the buses were gone for the night. We’d anticipated maybe hanging out in the casinos there in the no-mans-land between the two countries, or taking a taxi to Bangkok and then finding a bus there but we ended up convincing one of the drivers to take us the full 500+km back to Udon for a little more than we would have paid for all the buses. The promise of a direct trip was too much to hope for but somehow it all worked out. So instead of getting home late Sunday night after another 12 hours and multiple bus rides we pulled up about 5 am Sunday morning after just 6 hours. It would have been perfect if I’d been able to get a bit of sleep on the drive, but as it was I crawled into bed and slept until 11 and had the whole day to myself instead of sharing it with strangers on a bus. We couldn’t have planned it much better if we’d tried!

It was a quick weekend, that felt long because of the hours we kept and all the travel that we did. It made me realize just how old I am. I don’t bounce back from that as easily as I would have in my 20s. *sigh* it had to happen sometime I suppose.

a trip to the past.

One of the first non-European/western sites I remember being aware of was Angkor Wat. I don’t know where I first saw or heard of it but I’m sure it must have been because of a perusal through a National Geographic magazine or something. But for some reason it’s always sort of held my imagination and was one of the few places in Asia that I’ve always wanted to visit. When I first made a bucket list back in high school it had a place on there and one of the reasons I decided to come to Thailand was because of its proximity to this wonder of the world. And this weekend I had a chance to finally see it in person.

Since we’re all trying to save money we voted to do it the cheap way and take the bus. Thursday afternoon we took a 5 hour bus ride to Kurat only to find out we’d missed the last bus of the day going to the country border. So we found a hotel, got some dinner and then hit the hay so we could get up at 4 to catch the first bus out in the morning. That journey was another 5 hours to get us to the Cambodian/Thai border. There we were met with long lines, lots of waiting and more than a little disorganization (ah, Thailand.) Several hours later we made it through and found a taxi to take us two more hours through the countryside to the city of Siem Reap.

It was a little disconcerting to be driving on the right side of the road again. But the laws in Cambodia are just as hazy as the ones in Thailand. Basically if you’ve got your blinker on or honk first you can drive wherever you want. After a while I tried to stop looking (which is hard when you’re in the front seat) as we weaved in and out of all the traffic, some moving at the speed of light, some at a snail’s pace, and dodged tuk tuks, bikes, dogs, kids and potholes the size of sofas. Miraculously we made it to the city and found a hotel that could accommodate all five of us in one room and then spent the evening wandering the market area.

We had a delicious meal of Indian food followed by some ice cream and shopping and people watching (one girl even ran into someone that she knew from home…small world!) Jen talked us all into getting a fish pedicure against everyone’s better judgment. You stick your bare feet in a tank and the fish all swarm and nibble at your feet eating the dead skin. It’s as gross as it sounds. We all squealed and laughed the entire time while making faces and pretending we were enjoying it but mostly it was disturbing and freaky. I have a hard time swimming in lakes because I’m afraid of the fish and what they will do to my feet (for some reason I don’t have this fear in the ocean where there are sharks and jellyfish and other things that could kill me…there is no logic) and here I was paying for the privilege of watching it happen! Granted I only paid a dollar and my feet looked pretty good afterwards, but still!

Bright and early the next morning (well, not so bright at that point, just early—four am should not actually exist!) we met our tuk tuk driver in front of the hotel and rode about 20 minutes in the dark to the historic park. There, with hundreds of others, we waited in the dark in anticipation of the sunrise. It was sort of a cool way to do it as the anticipation of what we would see built as we got closer but could still only make out the barest of outlines and silhouettes against the sky. It gradually lightened and lightened and then the sun rose behind the temple, a glowing orange sphere peeking through the towers and reflected in the lotus pool below.

After the sun was up we ate some of the best pancakes ever for breakfast, served to us by Tiger Woods! Each shop owner would come and solicit you while you were standing there in the crowds and had his shop named after a famous personality to make it easier to be found since the shops were all identical and situated right next to each other in a row. Some of the others were Madonna, Bill Clinton and Mickey Mouse.

After breakfast we ventured into the temple itself to wander around the grounds, up into the towers and marvel at the beauty, mystery and history found there. It was incredible to be in a place so old and revered, somewhere I’d wanted to see for such a long time and to be there with great friends. It’s up there with Stonehenge, Rome, Greece and Egypt as one of the most incredible and ancient things I’ve seen.

Originally a Hindu temple it reverted to a Buddhist one after one of the many governmental overthrows. The area is actually about 400 square km, sort of a complex or city really, the ruins of various Khmer capitals spanning the 9th to 15th centuries.  I hadn’t realized there were so many other ruins and temples nearby but we had our tuk tuk drivers for the day so they shuttled us around to a couple of the other areas including Ta Prohm where Tomb Raider was filmed (another movie I have to go home and watch now so I can say “Hey, I’ve been there!”) and Bayon Temple known for its giant heads. I think Ta Prohm was actually my favorite. It was surrounded by trees so you felt like you were in the middle of a jungle and I honestly expected Indiana Jones to come running around a corner being chased by Nazis. It was easy to imagine yourself stepping into the movie. Sometimes, too, I had the feeling I was on a Disneyland ride that was on steroids. It was so great!

We climbed and explored and channeled our inner adventurers until early afternoon. We also had a pretty fabulous lunch, fed some road-side monkeys, and basked in the scenery from the backs of our tuk tuks.

fish pedicures

exchange rates sometimes make you feel like a millionaire

 

sunrise at Angkor Wat

Ta Phrom

Bayon Temple

feeding the monkeys

More tomorrow!

road trip.

Because I’m in a decent sized city and I don’t leave it very often, I sometimes forget that there are some natural beauties to see in the countryside. Just a couple of weeks ago the other teachers and I took a little road trip about an hour northwest to see one such place.

Phu Phrabat Historical Park is dry and barren compared to the green jungle-like regions surrounding it that are more typical of Thailand. The area reminded me a little of southern Utah though these rock formations aren’t quite as vast or stunning as the ones back home. But they’ve been used by various groups of people throughout the area’s history for temples and homes and other things and you can still see the remnants of those uses today; including prehistoric cave paintings, ruined buildings, and old Buddha statues.

We spent a good couple of hours wandering among the rocks and along the trails and at times it almost felt like being at home in the mountains or the canyons. And the weather was beautiful. It had been unseasonably cold for the past month or so (and while I know many of you are still dealing with polar vortexes and the like and this in no way compares, when you come prepared for 80 degrees and you’re stuck with a consistent 60 degrees—no jackets, no heaters, very few socks and no way to ever warm up—well, that starts to feel really cold after a while!) But this particular Sunday the sun came out and finally brought the warm with it, making it a balmy and perfect afternoon for our long motorbike ride, picnic lunch and some light hikes.

a road trip.

 

This guy was massive-notice the lady kneeling near the sign

I've had the chance to take a few mini-road trips the past month or so.  Not quite the extensive traveling I had planned to do while here but it's still interesting to see the different parts of the country. Every moment is an adventure, even if it's not a grand one.

One hour north of Udon by motorbike is Nong Khai. Three of us American teachers had decided to take a Sunday excursion to a waterfall marked just beyond the city on the tourist map we had. We figured we'd ride the bikes part of the way and then find a taxi to take us the rest of the distance. (Your bum can only handle so long on a motorbike and an hour is a bit past my limit.) Once we got to the city though we had a hard time finding a taxi and then we finally found one who told us that the falls were another 75 km. Our map made it look much closer but that was 1/2 again the distance we’d already come. So we plan B’d it and had an amazing lunch of Indian food and took a leisurely drive home, stopping at some temples and markets along the way. Not quite the afternoon we'd hoped for but a lovely one nonetheless.

looking up

looking down

1 ½ hours south by bus is the city of Khan Kaen. My friend Jessie and I had decided to venture out one Saturday after our school camping trip for the weekend had been cancelled. Jessie had friends with an extra hotel room in the city so we decided last minute to hop a bus and join them. It wasn’t until we’d made it to the station, got our tickets and were on our way that Jessie realized they were waiting for us in Chiang Mai, not Khan Kaen. Good thing we had our guidebook with us. We quickly devised a plan of attack, made a few phone calls so they wouldn’t think we died somewhere and had a fun little un-planned adventure in a new city. We spent a couple of hours exploring some of the temples and the park in the heart of the city. We paddled boated around the lake, wandered through a few markets and had a very un-Thai dinner at Pizza Hut (sometimes this girl just needs some cheese!) before hopping back on a bus and heading home. Again, it was nice to get out even if it wasn’t the adventure we had in mind.

look close and you can see the road winding through the middle there

a horrible picture but you can kind of see the campsite

and I couldn't get this one to turn, but here's our dinner prep

sunrise over a cabbage field

bikers racing up the mountain while we were coming down--because the road wasn't scary enough!

nope, not all that cold!

And then this past weekend we finally took that school camping trip. We loaded 16 teachers (5 American, 1 Dutch and the rest Thai) and our principal into two of the school vans and drove about 4 hours south (I think!) to a national park for the night.  And none of it was what I expected.

First off we had the mountains.  They were gorgeous. Very high, respectable mountains, not hills masquerading as mountains as happens so often. But they weren't really forested like I expected. There was some wild growth, some bushes and small trees, but mostly they were cultivated fields. The area is known for cabbage and strawberries and the hillsides were covered with both.

Next, the roads were super steep. The last couple of miles were all switchbacks and there were several moments where I honestly thought we might die. The van stalled and proceeded to roll backwards; once into the closely following on-coming traffic, and once in the direction of the very steep cliff. When those disasters were averted our driver (bless his soul) put the van into first gear and then floored it the rest of the way up the mountain. Which meant we took some of the hairpin turns a lot faster than we should have. And you can imagine how steep and sharp those turns were...you can only go so fast in first, even if it's floored! I had horrid visions of us tipping over and rolling down the previously mentioned steep mountain cliff. It was a stressful half an hour or so.

Once we made it to the top of the mountain I expected open spaces, peace and solitude.  Silly me! Instead we found more narrow winding roads, these lined with the ever-present stalls and markets, stretching as far as the eye could see. We drove past them to a crazy crowded parking lot where there were a few more close encounters with the edges of cliffs and other cars. (At one point there were 8 or 9 random Thai people pushing one of our vans up a hill in search of a parking space big enough to fit it.) No peace and quiet or solitude anywhere!

We finally drove to the other side of the mountain to a much quieter area where we were able to set up camp for the night. Steps were carved out of the hillside, each step about 10 feet deep and 30 or so feet long, that constituted our campsite so you were no farther than about 8 feet from your neighbor on both sides. We set up our tents all in a row on one step and used the other to set up our 'kitchen'.  The Thai teachers threw down some ground covers and proceeded to whip up an enormous batch of Sam Tam. There was also some grilled octopus, fish and pork along with vast quantities of beer and whiskey for everyone but me. We sat around eating (and drinking) and talking and laughing until late in the night, pulling out candles as it got darker. 

Once the sun set I finally felt like I was really camping. You could no longer see the camp right next to you or the hillside filled with cabbage (though when the wind shifted you could still smell it). Instead, the temperature dipped and the sky filled with stars, (and thanks to the new/no moon that night we could see millions of them) and you could almost pretend you were alone on the mountain.

The next day we got up to watch the sunrise and had camp torn down by about 7. One of the teachers' husbands' family lived nearby-ish so we trekked to their place for a home-cooked Thai breakfast of rice, vegetable soup and eggs to warm us up and then hit the road for home. A small detour was made to visit a temple along the way and to make a stop at the consistently coldest place in Thailand but otherwise it was a much less-eventful journey than the one we took to get there (going down the mountain was far less treacherous than going up!) And it felt shorter since we all slept most of the way, making up for the lack of sleep we'd gotten during the night.  It wasn't the trip I anticipated but it was nice to leave the city for awhile (even if it seemed as if all the city people had the same idea!)