Part 1-Dubai to Thailand- The last day of school before the winter holiday (not supposed to call it Christmas here :)) went out with a fizzle and not a bang. It was a half day on Thursday Dec. 15th and most of the students didn't bother to show up. The highlight for me was when I won the charity raffle at the winter holiday assembly and was granted the wish of shoving a whip cream pie in the face of my friend and fellow Ithaca Alum, Jonathon Ames. Things were off to a good start.
That evening Jenn and I made our way to the airport, and in the check in area ran into 6 or 7 other DAA teachers who were also making their exit from Dubai and heading to Thailand on Sri Lankan Airlines.
Arriving in Bangkok is exciting no matter what time of day. The buzz on the street is non stop and goes on most of the night. Tuk-tuks and motor bikes jostle, honk, and weave through busy streets lined with food vendors and shops selling everything from 9 foot high Buddha statues to counterfeit Gucci bags to Peking duck. People stay up late in Bangkok.
We checked in at the old backpacker hangout of Khoa San Road. The area seems to have expanded and taken over several city streets. Grungy looking twenty year olds sitting in plastic chairs in make-shift bars stare lazily at you when you pass by. Next to them, massage lounger chairs have been set up on the street where milky white-skinned british girls get their feet rubbed for 40 Baht. We felt old walking past the chatter on khoa San Road. Where did all these westerners come from? was it always this crowded? ... i'm ready for bed.. and it's only 8pm. well, maybe after a night cap of Chang beer and a street vendors serving of pad thai, all while watching premiership football game from the back of an old volkswagon bus- which was also serving as the street bar.
Amy, Jenn's mom, arrived the following evening and we set off onto the Chao Praya river to take the water taxi to several temples along the river.
Here are some pictures of Part 1 of our Journey in Bangkok:
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| Amy's first tuk tuk ride |
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| weekend market in bangkok- you could buy pretty much anything |
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| at night in Siam Square- down town BKK |
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| heading to the temples via local boat |
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| Wat Arun |
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| New friends |
Part 2- The Temples of Angkor Wat.
We took the early bus from Bangkok and passed fairly easily through the border into Cambodia. Jenn was the eagle eye who told the scam tuk tuk driver that we wanted to go to the REAL border, not the scam shop that was going to charge us double for the visa. Kindly, when he new we were onto him, he sheparded us towards the border. An hour taxi ride through the rice paddies of northern cambodia and we were in Siem Reap, the town that hosts the Temples of Angkor.
The temples were built mostly between the 10th and 13th Century by the kings who reigned over extensive areas of what is now Thailand, Cambodia and parts of southern Vietnam. The temples were made for their gods, mostly Buddha, but also with Hindu influences. The temples were incredible. Like the pyramids of Egypt, you wonder how they were able move these massive stones and carve the rocks with such precision. The villages and palaces that surrounded the temples were all made of wood, and are of course gone. The only thing that remains are these stone temples that blend into the jungle. This was a once-in-a-lifetime visit. On the third day I rented a bike and saw the sights at a slow pace which was a nice way to finish off our stay in Angkor.
Here are some photos of our stay in Cambodia:
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| Tuk Tuk ride number 2. Hang on Amy! |
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| Shiva and other hindu gods are carved throughout |
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| more steep stairs. |
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| Most of the ruins were surrounded by jungle until they were discovered by the western world in the 1800s |
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| Jenn got bored waiting for the sun to rise at Angkor Wat. this was the result |
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| A fairly non picturesque sunrise at Angkor Wat- too cloudy |
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| Angkor Thom |
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| View from the top of Angkor Wat |
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| favorite shot |
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| Naga with temple in the background during my bike ride to smaller temples |
Part 3- Vietnam- Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne Beach
After three great days in Angkor Wat we headed to the airport for a quick flight to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Arriving on the 23rd the City was buzzing. Like China, Vietnam has communist roots but has fully embraced capitalism and trade with the rest of the world. The city is jam packed with commercial buildings cell phone stores, and MOTORBIKES. Like buzzing bees the motorbikes come from all directions. Families of 3-5 on their motorbikes choke the city streets. Helmets are mandatory and it seemed trendy to have a matching helmet with your partner. Also, everyone was wearing bandana type scarf/face masks to keep the fumes at bay. The taxi ride to the center of town took about 45 minutes of creeping through traffic. The city was lit up with christmas lights and decorations and although most residents are buddist, they seemed to embrace the christmas spirit with elaborate window displays of holiday spirit.
After two days in Ho Chi Minh including a day trip to the Mekong Delta we took a 5 hour bus ride to the beach of Mui Ne where we spent several days relaxing by the beach and exploring local sand dunes. Overall, Vietnam was great. Not too expensive. I think we'd like to return there and visit the northern part of the country.
Here are some pictures of our time in Vietnam:
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| The sand dunes near Mui Ne, Vietnam |
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| A reflection of the French colonial past, Notre Dame Cathedral in HCMC |
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| More french architecture- the post office in HCMC |
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| The Reunification Palace- Former presidential palace. |
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| A model of the tank that crashed through the gates in 1975 |
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| Balloon guy on a motorbike |
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| Happy Buddha on the way to the Mekong Delta |
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| boat ride on the Mekong |
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| They took us on little canoes through the waterways of the Mekong |
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| boat ride # 3 on the Mekong |
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| Seaweed Pringles anyone? |
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| The streets of Ho Chi Minh on Christmas eve. Motor scooters everywhere. |
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| Center of HCMC on Christmas eve |
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| Beach at Mui Ne |
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| Amy at our beach side guesthouse |
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| bodysurfing big beach break |
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| On our day trip from Mui Ne- Fairy River |
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| Stop at a fishing village near Mui Ne |
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| Yellow Sand Dunes near Mui Ne, Vietnam |
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| Our trusty jeep with driver- Awesome coast line near Mui Ne |
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Part 4- A quick stop in Sri Lanka on the way home.
After our time in Mui Ne we took a car back to Ho Chi Minh airport and flew back to Bangkok. We spent one day shopping and picking up the tailored shirts that Amy and I had made for us. That evening Jenn and I said goodbye to Amy (who was flying out the next day) and headed to the airport for our evening flight to Sri Lanka.
We booked our flights with Sri Lankan Airlines and were going to have a 10 hour layover or something crazy, so we decided to extend our lay over and get a quick look around Sri Lanka. We decided to hire a driver and a car in advance, which turned out to be a good move, but also an annoying move. It was great to have someone pick us up at the airport and take us to all the best spots, but at the same time, after years of independent travel we both realized that having a guide has its downsides as well. We usually ended up at all the places the other tour groups were going, and in the car ride, there are times when you'd just like to sit quietly and look out the window and not have your guide yammering on about the road conditions and "all the oxygen that is available in Sri lanka because of all the trees" . Having said that, Sri Lanka was incredible. It is one of the most green and lush places I've ever visited, on par with Costa Rica. The mountains and rivers were beautiful and every shade of green was on display. The people were friendly and unlike India the streets were quite clean.
We started off in Colombo on our first night. That day we went to see an elephant orphanage, which was pretty cool. You could stand literally right next to the elephants.
On our second night, New Years Eve, we stayed at the Queens Hotel in Kandy. Kandy is right in the middle of Sri Lanka in the highlands area popular for tea plantations. The hotel itself was worth the trip to Sri Lanka. Built around 1900, the colonial feeling was overwhelming with wide dark wood stair cases, high ceilings, and a massive ball room that they were preparing for the evening's big New Years celebration. It was as if you could feel the ghosts of British gentlemen in their white army suits and women in their ball gowns walking through the hallways with you.
Here are a few shots of the hotel:
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| View of the outside of Queens Hotel, Kandy, Sri Lanka |
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| Lady Holmes in our room |
The New Years celebration was probably one the strangest, funniest, and most odd experiences we've had for a new years eve. The ball room was completely decked out in 1980s decorations, and lights, with glittering gold table runners and fully set tables. The staff was enormous, there seemed to be more servers, cooks, and managers running around the place than there were customers. This was all set to the music of a hilarious Sri Lankan band singing hits of the 80's- often times messing up the words completely. A jolly, awkward dancing MC was on the microphone for most of the night organizing guests from italy, spain, germany, etc into dancing competitions. Everyone was in a good mood and the staff were SO into it. It was really a big event for them. As midnight approached Jenn and I were on the dance floor, completely expecting a big count down to the new year. I looked at my watch and it was 12:05. I figured there was no countdown. Then all of a sudden.. the power goes out in the entire ballroom.. balloons fell from the ceiling and everyone sort of froze. Then, above the band a sign came on in golden lights- Welcome 2012.
The following day were were taken to a place called Sigirya Rock, which was a massive 600 foot rock outcropping that a king in the 5th century had decided to build a palace on. It is now a UNESCO world Heritage site. We then went to the ancient city of Polonowaru, which was another site filled with ancient ruins. Our next day took us back to the airport although we barely made it there in time. This was followed by our first day back at school... ugh.. no more vacations until spring break.
Overall, we really loved Sri Lanka and would like to go back again and explore the southern part of the island.
Here are some pictures from Sri Lanka:
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| Buddha statues near Polonawaru |
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| Super lush Sri Lanka- lots of rice paddies coconut farms, tea plantations |
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| Dining while watching Elephants in the River |
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| Jenn was the brave one to be the first to pet the elephant |
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| The Ballroom at the Queens Hotel in Kandy for New Years Eve |
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| oh.. that's not a good dance move. |
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| Happy New Year from Jenn Holmes |
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| Sri Lankan rockstars |
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| Queens hotel Kandy |
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| Sigirya Rock- The palace was built on top in the 5th Century |
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| These paintings are 1600 years old with dyes made from natural materials |
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| 1100 stairs later and we were on the top! |
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| Going down= more scary |
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| The guard to the entrance of the ruins at Polonawaru |
Happy New Year to Everyone!
