so I got to thinking...

This started out as an email to a dear and special friend, but the more I wrote, the more I wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with everyone who was affected by my blog about the Landfill people... I received so many comments and emails about how that one entry touched everyone in differing ways and it made me think about how it affected me since I never really allowed myself to think about it fully. I don't think I was letting myself digest what I had taken in that day... on top of visiting the dump, it was our last full day in Phnom Penh (since the next day we left for Siem Reap) and it was full of good-byes to the beautiful people I'd met and whom I hold dear and will miss a great deal... I'd learned so much through them, talking with Roath, Marcel, Salem... went to Angkor Wat the following day, Carly got sick, and then I followed suit. So here are my thoughts... I haven't even written in my personal journal since I lost THE pen.

At the time when I wrote that blog, ya, I was being mentally tried and was mentally fried. What a tugging that was on everything and everyone I had ever held dear to me, something I'd never experienced before and something I am greatful to have experienced. But still... it didn't seem real that we were there... and then leaving them to go back to our guesthouses or hotels, shower, drink clean water, eat a good meal... while they remained and continued to breathe in toxic fumes and flirt with death with every passing dump truck... it just didn't seem real.

I mean, can you even begin to imagine what a place might look like filled with the rubbish and waste of over 1 million people?? Can you even begin to imagine what it might be like to live and work there? searching for plastic products of any kind: bags, bottles, seringes? Yes needles!! Carly and Leigh witnessed a little girl pick up a seringe - once filled with who the hell knows what - break it, bag the plastic and toss the needle. And do you know how much money they might make in a day of working in that wasteland? about 2000-3000 riel/day... that's $0.50-$0.75 per day! So that we were bringing them water was a huge thing for them since 1 big bottle of water would cost them a day's wage. Leigh was seriously thinking about asking the group of canadians - who did the health clinic for the Street Kids and who will be doing one for the Tonle Sap Village on Feb.2 - who work for an organization called the David McAntony Gibson Foundation (DMGF) to go to the Stueng Meanchey Landfill to do a health clinic there as well. I'm not sure if they will have the time to go since they are only here for 10 days, but I will keep you posted.

So ya, what do I think about this? I think it's absolute bull-shit to be quite honest. I'm really beginning to see how tightly everything is bound to everything else... like a line in a song: "ask any eco-system: harm here is harm there and there and there". When we were in Laos, boating down the niddy griddy Mekong River, the waste of all those inhabitants gets tossed and lost - more forgotten, flows down and down into Cambodia... where all the waste of its shores' inhabitants flow down and down... and all the waste that gets tossed into and of the Tonle Sap River flow into the Mekong creating this discusting river of man-made sewage and poison. The people bath in it. The people drink from it. The people piss and shit in it. The people fish from it, clean their food in it, and then eat from it. The people feed their livestock from it, then eat their livestock. There are no recycling programs in place, no water purification programs, no environmental awareness what-so-ever. It's understandable since they have only recently been free from the horrors of the Khmer Rouge Regime... they haven't had time nor the luxury to think about such things as environment preservation. So it's bound so tightly that it's so difficult to create an understanding in them that the environment is important because it affects their health directly as well as the health of future generations. And so now that the political climate is at a low and tolerable temperature, people like Leigh can come in and start up organizations such as Future Cambodia Fund to sort of start somewhere at creating some kind of awareness among a people who were brutally forgotten for so many years...

I am truly motivated to come back and help out as much as I can, but from where I stand now... I am looking forward to going home and seeing friends and family whom I love and miss so much. Many people whom I've met here have left their home fronts and haven't really looked back due to their particular situations and histories... some go back occasionally to make money to come back to Cambodia and fund whatever their endeavor is... I've been questioned as to why I'm going back since I would really like to stay and help more; it costs more to go and come back than it would to just stay. They find it hard to believe sometimes that us "tourists" will come back when we say we're gonna come back. Marcel - this interesting dutch dude who's marrying a beautiful young Khmer woman (Roath) on Feb 24 - sais that us westerners have the luxury of going back, of travelling to begin with, whereas most Khmers stay put because they are too poor... us westerners come into their lives and quite often make promises that we can't keep... the khmers trust us and then are dissapointed time and time again because many times, they don't come back. I understood what he was saying, but I don't consider myself to be your average "tourist" or "westerner" who makes promises she can't keep. Carly feels this way also. We have met some incredible people in Cambodia as well as Laos and we aren't the kind of people who make promises we can't keep.

The reason why we must go and come back is due to the fact that it is easier to make money to fund something here back home, than it would be to stay here. Another reason - the most important reason in my opinion - is that we didn't flee from our past lives... we have only ventured out to explore the world and document it and share it here with you all for you to experience some of what we have been... we have people who love us and who miss us to come home to and I know that I cherish that more now than I did before. So I'll see you all soon, but keep reading me cuz I haven't left yet! I think I'm gonna regroup on a beach somewhere in Thailand before I head home to freazing cold climates and even colder government.

anchor WHAT?

JANUARY 27
Went to the famous Anchor Wat (where Tombrader was filmed) and spent quite a big chunk of the day checking out the brilliance of all these temples. A nice little change from the intesities of the previous days. I for sure needed that. We took a tuk tuk out in the morning out to a temple that was about 37kms out from the main Angkor temple; this one is famous for its intricate carvings and detailing on all the buildings... friggen AMAZING! I mean, the time it would have taken to carve out the most minute detail... such concentration and patience. In contrast to the Acropolis and every other greek ruin, this place was so incredibly different even though both the Greeks and the Angkorians were once mighty empires toppled by time.
My favorite place was this one here: with immense trees growing up and out of the buildings, illustrating nature's power over man's creations... something else! The strangest thing is that when these temples were built from the 9th-15th C. AD, there were no trees at all... they've only since appeared over the passing of time, and have overgrown the entire area. Unfortunately, with all the tourists coming in to see these wats, there's nothing being done to really preserve the integrity they still hold. I mean, there is sort of tape to border off where you shouldn't venture, but it's still so easy to pass around it or under it and there is no one there to enforce these rules either. This tree you see here, I could have sat down in front of it for the whole day just looking at it. Its roots are as wide as I am and wider in some cases... the way they just push out through and from between the stone. We took some pictures (hopefully they'll turn out) and I hope to post them as soon as I can.

The Angkor Wat (the 1st picture here at the top) was a tourist MANIA and I hated being there amongst all those people who weren't really there for anything BUT the wat; so rude and ingnorant some of them were. It was as big as a small city and the monks still reside there. You're not supposed to photgraph the monks, but I snuck a couple photos in anyhoot... they were down the long hallway and you can barely see them, though they are surely there, so I don't think it'll come back to haunt me considering some people had no shame in blatantly taking photos of them. We were leaving the wat - having already crossed the moat - and looked up to see about 10 tourists just standing there beneath the entrance arch with their cameras up and poised to photograph the wat as the sun was setting... it looked absolutely HILARIOUS!! By the time we got our camera out to photogragh the foolishness, it was too late. Ah well. I'll always remember it and that's what matters most! I gotta stop relying on a camera to remember things anyhow...

and she gets sick...
So it's been pretty windy here in Siem Reap the past few days and
I didn't realize that would affect my health the way it did. I ate a little something at an outdoor restaurant just outside the Wat of ginormous trees - just rice and well-cooked beef. That night I had some pasta and I felt a little something going on in my body, like it was fighting something off, so I went to bed somewhat early just in case. The next morning I had a baguette for breakies and around 3pm some veggie fried rice and coke. I had woken up feeling slightly ill, but nothing serious... Carly had been up all night with a fever and diarreah and so she was in bed all that day. I even took her to the doctor to get some meds in her to bring her fever down and more cyprofloxin to kill that nasty parasite that keeps causing shit. That night I went up to watch a short documentary with Leigh on the Street Kids clinic that was held last year with the same team of canadians since the second one was being held the next day... we walked passed the kitchen on our way upstairs (we were at Earthwalker's Guesthouse where we've been staying) and I was overcome with this feeling like I was gonna hurle out all my innards! Weird. I ignored it and watched the film though I had to rest in the fetal position throughout the viewing since my tummy was feeling so strange... As soon as it was over I sat up and said "where's a garbage? I think I'm gonna puke!" and ran out the door and projected my days' meal about 6 ft out from the top balcony! Luckily, no one was walking underneath me at that time... though I did manage to cover the rear wheel of one dude's moto! haha So I thought that was it, but I was up on and off that entire night puking, diarreah, fever and headache. I couldn't keep anything down and became quite dehydrated. Carly took me to the hospital in the morning where I was given some meds and an IV to help keep the pills down. When I got back, I was bedridden the rest of the day and unfortunately I wasn't able to volunteer at the Street Kids health clinic... Carly did though. So I didn't eat at all yesturday save a few bites of rice in the evening. Today I'm feeling much better, though my appetite still hasn't quite returned. I can't tell if I'm hungry or not and my energy level is way down. I think things will improve over the course of a few days. I'll keep you posted.

Nice side-note eh? heehee Ah well. "shit happens!" Well, I got some stuff to do before Carly leaves for home this evening and so I better get to it. I'll be on my own for the first time in a while and it feels strange to think about...

Take care everyone and thanks again for reading and thinking. :-)

my bloody trip to the dump

Once upon a time...
there was a land full of garbage, waste, toxicity, and overall filth. This land was called: Stung Mean Chey Landfill. People not only had to physically work in that shit (pardon the pun), but they had to live there as well. The workers who were also inhabitants consisted of all ages, though the majority were small children. Human beings covered from head to toe with black toxic dirt - especially their hands since they were used for digging out and sifting for the valuable plastic from the rest of other people's waste, and especially their feet for they were used for walking on all the garbage since they could not be properly covered and protected with sandals or shoes due to extreme poverty. Some of them had acid burn marks on their faces and bodies, some of them had wounds that will never heal properly - physical wounds just as much as mental ones - and everyone, every single individual there was ill to some degree and unable to seek proper medical attention since there was no way of getting to a treatment centre let alone paying for treatment. Death at this Landfill was commonplace: getting run over by a large machine or malnutrition, whichever came first.

Everywhere you could see was garbage and the most discusting living conditions known to Mankind during this time. It stunk all the time, there was no refuge from the horrible stench no matter the weather; when it was hot - which was most of the time - it smelled worse, but when it was rainy it smelled just as bad and the chemicals from all the waste flowed like a river of everthing that is just not good for any living creature, but created by fellow human beings who called this "progress". Imagine this river (of everything that is just not good for any living creature) full of floating debris and waste so thick that you cannot differentiate where the land meets the river, creating a never-ending landscape of waste. Imagine, too, people - women, men, and children of all ages - up to their necks in this toxic chunky liquid searching for plastic bags, of all things. Try to imagine the stench eminating and steaming from all around: from the burning of this waste, from the people themselves. Try now to imagine bringing up a family in a land such as this...

...reality check...

This place really exists and I saw it with my own eyes and felt the sting of the toxins, smelled it with my own nose, felt the touches and tugs of the children on my arms and on my heart. We went - Carly, Leigh, Christian, Roath, and myself - to pay a visit to this place I didn't want to believe existed. We bought what seemed like a tonne of bottled water to give out, but of course it wasn't enough. Upon our arrival we were swarmed with children. We walked down to the village where Roath and I tried to disperse the life water fairly among them: it was an intense experience to say the least, and one that I won't soon forget...

But you know what? Despite all that, they were so happy to receive us and the water (probably more for the latter) and their smiles lit up through the steam and the smoke. It was beautiful in many ways to know that we helped in some small way... to know that this place exists and that these people exist is a knowledge that inspired all of us to act upon in any way we can, when ever we can.


Comedic relief?
Carly - the ever adventurous woman - was trying to get the perfect shot of the river (more like a stream) I detailed earlier; however, in doing so, she fell in to it!! up to her waste, managing to save the camera and the purse. I was on one side of her - having took the "bridge" across - and Leigh was right next to her and was able to pull her out. I couldn't believe what I had just seen! My first reaction was to laugh, as was Leigh's, but we were both unsure whether that would be a rude thing to do... since Carly had just about drown in toxic waste... Luckily, she handled it very well and and Leigh and I proceeded to laugh our asses off at the sheer incredibility of the whole incident. The locals were laughing too - a "barang" (foreigner) fell in the waste - and one of them ushered her over to him and he cleaned her up as best he could with somewhat clean water before the toxins seeped into her body... which they managed to a little since she claimed of a burning sensation in her bum. ***Don't worry, she took a hot and soapy shower at a clean hotel room as soon as we got back to the city and is just fine now.*** But, we had to laugh. Sometimes it's the only thing one can do in a situation such as that one.

Wondering what the bloody part is referring to?
Carly and I gave 350ml of blood this afternoon at the children's hospital here in Siem Reap, where we are now located.

Stay tuned for the next installment of my life. Thank-you for reading and thinking.

is it possible to continuously change as a person?

Siem Reap = See 'em Weap

I had no idea what to expect upon arriving in this small city of only 100,000 - which most likely doesn't account for all the children and entire families living on the streets, new-comers every day. Tourists usually arrive by plane, get shuttled to their hotel, go to the Anchor Wat for at least one day, get shuttled back to their hotel, leave the following day. The Wat will certainly crumble one of these days due to the high traffic on its delicate and ancient grounds: the supporting water underneath is dissapearing everyday. There is nothing being done to stop this trend (I'm not sure what could be done) and so one day there will be no more Anchor Wat. So "come see it while you still can" is the attitude of many visitors... Siem Reap is under crazy construction of immense hotels that cater to the high season of tourists. There is a street dubbed "Bar Street" and it is just that. This is the street where many of the street kids hang out; rather, this is where many of the street kids live.

But first...

The Village People

Upon our arrival to Siem Reap, we met Leigh for the first time: she is one of the founders of the NGO Future Cambodia Fund. She has begun work in a floating village just outside the city. The village is home to 6000 people, many of which aren't khmer but vietnamese and cham (Islamic) so they are the bottom of the barrel kind of people, so to speak. They live on canals off the river Tonle Sap which is a confluent of the Mekong... this is the only river in the world that reverses its flow during the rainy season (yet there are no scientists here studying why this is so, and hardly anybody knows in the first place). Leigh and a swedish man named Christian are working with the Health Clinic - a small shack with mediocre supplies, 2 rooms, 1 doctor - of the village to improve their water first and foremost so that they have clean water to nurture their sick with. Carly works with water so they planned to work together... the water is absolutely the most discusting muck I have ever seen: full of shit, piss, oil, gas, animal waste, garbage and whatever else you can think of. People bath their children in it, drink from it, cook with it! So you can imagine how starting by improving the health clinic's water would prove to be first priority. We met with the Chief of the village and discussed what is important to the village, clean water was numero uno. We tested water in the canal outside the clinic, then took a boat and tested the water in the middle of the lake and discovered that the latter was much better and could be filtered and cleaned with ease; the former however, needed some heavey duty filtering machine - something FCF anticipated and had already begun research on biosand filters and the like. We tested the wells from which they got their water for drinking and discovered arsenic in it. It's so crazy how we take these things for granted... It was so interesting to see all this planning, communicating, caring, working WITH the villagers and not just going in their and telling them what we think they need. FCF is holding a health clinic there on February 2nd (at which I will be volunteering) with a group of canadians to teach about proper hygene practices especially for the children.

the Street Kids

That night we went out Bar Street and got a first-hand experience of the children on this street. What Leigh and Christian do in this city is absolutely amazing and the closest thing to altruism I've known. We sat out in front of a bar - owned by a hefty and caring american who also does much work in Siem Reap and runs a camp back in Vermont - and the children would just scream with glee at seeing Leigh and Christian, come running over for hugs and kisses and to tell about their day. They work so closely with them and know many of them so well, know their family, know their situation. Many of the kids are extremely screwed up... for instance: one kid was beaten so bady by his mother that his eye is permanently damaged, his sister is chained up outside their "home" and they are both forced to sniff glue, and their infant sister has HIV and the mother was letting her die by not feeding her... she was unconscious when found. The mother cut her leg, didn't take care of it and so it got infected to the point of amputation but still she didn't care to seek medical attention thinking maybe she'd be able to make more money if she were disabled. When forced to go, she was there for a week and the little boy was never happier since he wasn't being beaten nor was he stoned. Crap like this are the stories of these little children... When we were there that night, these kids didn't try to steal from us or get money from us cuz they know Leigh and Christian are there to help them and they trust in that... it's about the only thing they can trust in. They jumped up on our backs, told us our names, tried to talk elnglish with us... such a heartwarming feeling. So Leigh and Christian have been working together on setting up a vocational training centre to get them off the streets for a little while each day, teach them some tangible skills they can use and earn a living with, through FCF. There is a Street Kids' Clinic being held this Sunday at which I will also be volunteering.

I don't know exactly what else I'll be doing during my time in Siem Reap before I come home, but Leigh will help me and put me to work somehow. Another thing she does is networks with all the smaller NGOs and does volunteer placement, so maybe I'll do some english teaching? whatever I can, really.

For today:

Well, I'm going to the Phnom Penh Landfill this afternoon. This is where families live and work, searching for the plastic people throw out cuz it's worth money. I have seen this place in a promotional video for Humans Being (another NGO Carly was involved with) and was touched deeply just by that viewing... now I'll be there, right in the thick of it. I can only imagine what I'll have to say about it in my next blog. Until then, take care and think of me and send me love over the miles, OK? I need it right now. I am on the brink of insanity...

Kep: southern Cambodia

***ASIA PHOTOS ARE ADDED TO MY YAHOO PHOTO ALBUM! So check them out using the link to the right marked "photo album". Yay!***

So this is what Cambodia looks like for all those who have no clue. I entered on the Mekong River into Stung Streng and stayed in Banlung for 4 nights... that's where I visited the hill tribes. From there we taxied it to Kratie and then I arrived into Phnom Penh on the 14th. We left the next day for Kep and spent 3 nights.

The night before Kep in Phnom Penh, I met a bunch of teachers from various countries and we chilled out at Guesthouse #9 - the original one on Lake Side. The mosquitoes were out in full force and I woke up the next morning with about 20 bites on my left foot and about 5 or so on my right. Hopefully I didn't catch malaria. :-) Anyways, the teachers are very cool people, down to earth, we had some rally interesting conversations... especially with this middle-aged flamboyantly gay dude from California named Salim. I will tell about him upon my return.

Kep

So Kep. The Khmer Rouge was in very heavey force there while the regime was still in power. Many rich Khmers had houses there, the King had a palace, all overlooking the beauitful - but of course very dirty - ocean. It used to be quite a booming city not too long ago until the mid 1970s (just after the civil war) when the Khmer Rouge slaughtered everyone and their babies. Terrible and bloody history. The homes are in ruins, the lands are being clear cut and sold off at ridiculous prices. In some cases there are trees growing out through the walls and the ceilings. It makes for an eery feeling when you drive the streets and see - in the rare cases where the family can afford a cop to patrol their area - families living in poverty in the brokedown homes. What a juxtaposition of imagery and reality. We drove around on motos - we had met up with my new and beautiful friend Roath (ro-wat) and her fiancé Marcel (a middle-aged dutch dude)... this is a whole other story - through the mountain and jungle, breathtaking view of the vietnamese and cambodian islands. We didn't go for a dip though since we saw the sewage pipes spewing into the ocean... haha All in all, it was a very interesting and educational experience... one that I will learn more about after having visited the museum here in Phnom Penh.

life changing trip...

We left for Phnom Penh again on the 18th, then hopped on yet another annoying karaoke-playing-full-blast-the-entire-way bus to Siem Reap on the 19th. It changed my life. It changed my outlook once again. It made me actually motivated to DO something and it gave me the confidence in knowing that I actually CAN do something.

Siem Reap

We were meeting up with a contact Carly knew through a close friend of her's to help her NGO test some water for a floating village. Her name is Leigh and her NGO is called Future Cambodia Fund (check it out cuz you'll be hearing lots more about it!) which is a project her and a friend began a year ago to help the street kids of Siem Reap. It is an amazing endeavor and I was fortunate enough to be present and see what it is they do, how they network, how they communicate with the children and the people of this floating village.

..........................................

I will write more on this next time because time has run out here, but do your homework and check that site out please! This is something I will be getting more envolved with in the near future, something important to me, and something I would like everyone to get a grasp on.

can you see me NOW?

Doing a bit of bouldering, as they say in the climbing world... heehee It's when you climb upside-down, very difficult and I was (still am) VERY out of shape. Not to mention the fact that I had never been rock climbing in my life!

The slow boat DAY 2 on the Mekong River heading to Luang Prabang, Laos. We had this whole boat to ourselves: Carly, Perdy, Abbey, Jetta, Neils, little Elkin, the american family of 4, and myself. Big difference from the 110 people of the day before, eh? Awesome. I'm rockin out to some great tunes and enjoying the beautiful sun...

These are just a couple, but be sure I'll upload the rest of my asia photos to my yahoo photo album real soon. Yay! And Kep, ya, tomorrow when I get back to Phnom Penh I promise! heehee Internet is expensivé in Siem Reap! Maybe I'll go to the Angkor Wat this evening, at sunset, when it's free after 5pm instead of the $20 US they charge. There have been many changes in my life since my last post... so strange that life can take such unexpected turns.

A la prochaine!

who said: don't go into the jungle??

So here I am in a lovely town called Kep which is situated right on the ocean-front, right in the jungle, right where I want to be. It is quite laidback and the townspeople are very friendly and beautiful. We bused it here from Phnom Penh on Sunday and will be going back tomorrow morning early. We were going to take a boat over to Rabbit Island (kind of funny, eh Sahana?) but it poored all night long and into the morning, the clouds are still here. Strange weather since it is Asia's dry season. Anyhoot, we're moto-ing it around the area, up the mountains, maybe go for a dip in the ocean later. Who knows?

Arriving into Phnom Penh was interesting, as travel always is in these countries I've been noticing. We left from Kratie (home of some of the only remaining fresh water dolphins in the world...which we did not see due to time constraints) and bused it, stopping in a couple little towns along the way. When you arrive from anywhere to these little towns, you are immediately swarmed with women and children trying to sell you some goodies for the road. I've seen some interesting "goodies", ie. entire chicks and small chickens roasted over a fire on a stick, the innards of pigs and chickens roasted and on a stick, to name a couple. Grosse. Anyhow, so the way it usually happens is that I come off the bus or the local bus and the children -after trying to sell me something- start spouting out the only english they know and comment on my hair and piercings... they really get a kick out of my tongue ring! haha Sometimes Carly and I will start playing hacky sack (I'm getting much better at it too!) and they just love that. They learn so quick, some are like naturals at it! We've played with small kids and folks our age too and it's so awesome to see them smile and have fun together beyond language.

We arrived into Phnom Penh early afternoon and had to ask the driver to pull over so we could get off at a short walking distance from Lake Side, the area that Carly has lived in and knows people. We immediately swarmed with dudes asking us for moto drives - nobody walks in Asia so they find it strange that we do. We got there, dropped our stuff off at the guesthouse of Carly's Khmer friend Rowat's mother runs (sweet sweet woman) and booked it for the THE best iced coffee I'd ever tried. We read the Cambodian Daily: probably the most reliable source for international news I have ever encountred. I even read about Canadian politics and how f-ed up it is even on the homefront, just not as in-your-face as it is here in Cambodia.

***Speaking of which, I won't be able to vote for the non-confidence election that's up and coming very soon as our vote wouldn't make it in time. All I can say is: DAMN YOU HARPER AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR***

Well... more soon... I am back in Phnom Penh but I still have to tell you about Kep! haha I hope this isn't too confusing for folks... oopsies! I guess I still can't manage my time properly. Ah well.

2 different countries... 2 very different feels...

Sabay Dii!

This folks is the view from one of the 4 thousand islands of Laos, Don Det. We stayed here for 2 nights on our way to the Cambodian border...

I rented a bicycle and rode around the island, across the bridge to the larger island of Don Kong, caught a glimpse of what village life is like. Simple. The people seem very laid back and happy, for the most part. A smile is always shown for those who show their own. However, this island did something to me I think... it affected me in such a way that my façon de penser is different, altered.

The women of the island have this strange, far-out look in their eyes... they don't smile as often... and they do EVERYTHING from the cooking to the cleaning, from the serving to the money handling, from the child rearing to the arts & crafts. The men? They fish, they drink, they talk, and sometimes they build something. But this look in their eyes... I mean, I can't say I know what it is or what it stems from looking through my white western feminist lenses, but it is definitly something I would like to research possibly... obtain a better understanding, well, an understanding PERIOD. It's so weird...

And another thing Carly and I got to thinking about is the country's politics. We befriended a man named Mr. Boon; 27 years old, engaged to the Chief's daughter, educated in the hotel/restaurant industry, runs a bar and a trekking outfit. Very busy young man. Big heart. Has a complete imbecile named Martin running the trekking office; brittish, almost 40, alcoholic, big dreams, immature, unreliable, a bit of a story-teller if you know what I mean. Ya. Carly was supposed to help him take a group climbing - she's experienced so he'd have given her 1/2 price to help him out - but she showed up to meet him in the morning (8am) and he didn't pull up on a boat from the mainland til 9:30am or so, still drunk, cancelled the climbing. Mr. Boon is shafted, the climbers are too. He almost kept Carly's deposit to boot. Great dude eh? So we told Mr. Boon our thoughts on Martin... Mr. Boon told us a bit about how business works out there. It's very interesting being in a place where tourism is still so new. These people - in the more remote areas - want to make money cuz they are told this is what is good; but the guesthouses are the people's homes, opened up to the outsiders. The tourists come and expect to be served, expect to be cleaned up after, expect good service where ever they go. The locals aren't slaves, they go at their own pace. It's the tourists who don't understand, not the locals. So anyhow, Carly and I did what we could, in the short time we spent there, by bringing our dirty plates up ourselves, running food when it was busy, cleaning up after ourselves and spreading our smiles and talking with them. It was a very unique experience.

Laos overall is a wonderful country ---- in transition. I hope it doesn't end up like Mexico... I loved my time in this country and have every intention of coming back within the year and after that as well.

Border crossing fun...

Just so you know: it IS possible to get a Cambodian visa at the south border crossing - this is contrary what the travel agents will have you believe; not to mention the fact that you'll pay the proper price of $20 rather than the $35-$40 the agents will require for "service fees". You can even get visa photos taken there. Apparently the borders have been cleaned up after the numerous complaints of folks trying to get into Cambodia, especially through Thailand. See what can be achieved when people speak up about something??

I could just picture army dudes hiding in the thick jungles on either side of us, guns cocked and ready to fire, fear and determination in their eyes. The road was terrible. The feeling and energy was worse... especially in that "no man's land" between Laos and Cambodia. So many people have fought and died in these countries, more bombs were dropped on Laos than any other country, more landmines in Cambodia that still haven't all been uncovered - let alone found. People use the old american bombs as heanging bells! It's so strange... But we got through no problem and we made it to Ban Long AOK, albeit the most inertesting ride of my life. Picture this: a taxi with the driver, myself and Carly in the front, 3 women, 5 children, and1 infant in the back, for 3 hours from the border to Ban Long. The way it works is that tourists pay the whole cost of getting where they need to go and the driver goes and finds as many locals as he can to pile in the car with you... they ride for free. And the road we took to Ban Long is the same road that will take you to the Viet Nam border and this is the worst road of all time, I kid you not. We have footage, I will show you when I mean.

We spent 4 nights altogether here, one of which was at an eco lodge in the jungle mountains, near the hill tribes. Awesome place. Everything's organic, hand made by the tribe people, fair trade. Great place to stay and enjoy the nature... and not as dusty as the town!! We took a hike through the jungle with a guide who is from one of the hill tribes and so knows the language and the history and just that way of life. It was so interesting and informative! We learned about the different trees, the different uses for the leaves and the roots, the different fruits that grow from them, the cash crops, the rice harvesting... we visited a chicken farm! haha No avion flu here, no worries. ;-) (Getting into the US is going to be interesting...) We saw a 15 year old woman - married for 2 years, had a small child, pregnant with another - hunched over and hand weaving a wall hanging that would easily go for $200 back home that she is selling for $10. Crazy. We tried some homemade rice wine and sipped some crazy strong moonshine! Smoked real tobacco - straight from the tree - rolled up in a leaf to boot! Such beautiful people... We loved it. But I wouldn't recommend coming here if you're not a fan of extremely hot climates, dry, and a hit load of dust.

And now I'm in Kratie, got here by taxi this time filled with 4 grown men, 1 old lady, a driver, and of course Carly and I. haha Awesome. We'll probably stay here tonight and tomorrow night and head for Phnom Penh Sunday morning early. I will be volunteering there with the same organization Carly has been volunteering with: Rain Water Cambodia. I am looking forward to this very much as it's been far too long since I have done anything to help any community.

Until then, take care and keep reading me... I appreciate all your comments and I apologise if I don't respond to them. They really warm my heart though, truly. (Sahana, I responded to your comments from 3 posts ago, I believe.)

Even though the thought of Cambodia is a negative one, equipped with not-so-nice connotations and illustrations, but it's much different actually BEING here. Sketchy and dodgy, YES, but not all the time and not much different from back home. I'm being smart and I have a woman with me who's quite in tune with her intuition and is teaching me to tune into my own a little better. Please don't worry about me. I promise I'll be writing much more often now that I'm out of the remote jungles and islands.

I love you all.

alive and well

Uhm, can't write a lot now cuz the connection out here is terribly slow and we have to go, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am well. It's HOT. Much has happened in the last week since I wrote. I will write the full meal deal after settling in Phnom Penh this Sunday.


*muah*

TOP 10 LIST of shit to do before I die...

I can certainly cross one more off!! Yesturday I, Jacqueline Yvonne Boisvert, climbed a MOUNTAIN!! I - the girl who's petrified of heights -climbed her first mountain and it was in friggen Laos, S.E. Asia! Crazy! Carly is a certified instructor back home and she had been itching to go climbing, especially in this country that is known for it's awesome climbing possibilities, and so we rented some gear for like 25USD total for the day, rented a moto for 5USD, drove out a couple kms to a eerily deserted resort, parked the moto, called for the boat man across the San Song River to come get us and bring us to the other side... which, so you know, should cost about 3000 kip return but since we didn't negotiate a price by the time we got to the other side, we payed 5000 kip. A little tip from me to you should you ever go to Vang Vieng, in Laos, and you should TOTALLY go! Anyhoot, the mountain wasn't far from the river and so Carly taught me in about 15 mins how to belay and she climbed to the top of the one side to set the lead rope. I was a fast learner, I guess you have to be if someone's life is in your heands... I went up after a few mins of mind over matter business, not to mention I didn't want to look like a wuss for NOT going up. So i sucked it up and went up twice, neither time to the time... second time about 2/3 of the way up. Not too shabby for someone like me! The second mountain was right behind us (picture a canyon of sorts where a river once ran between them, both mountains face to face). Carly went up again to set the lead. This one was more difficult cuz it had a part where you feel like you're upside down cuz it jets out a bit... But this one I climbed to the very top!!! It was such an incredible feeling... I felt so proud of myself! So cool. I think I could get into it! Uh oh! I can hear my family worrying already! haha So ya. We did a bit of scrambling afterwards (trying toclimb upside down, an area right near the ground) but I am so out of shape that I didn't last long. Not to mention our hands were all cut up. But ya. What a great experience!!

After climbing, we drove out to an organic farm and had some super tasty organic beer by the river, watching the locals bath and the tubers tube! heehee Next time I'm in Laos, I'm gonna stay out there at the farm and volunteer by teaching english and maybe even working the fields. Awesome place.

Today we took a local "bus" to Vientiane. It wasn't a bus at all. It was a truck with it's cab covered with bench seats which we experienced for the 3.5 hours it took to get to our destination. Yes indeed. Quite uncomfortable, locals and us crammed in there, some people standing up and holding on to the back on the outside of the cab... When we arrived here, we weren't dropped off where we figured we should have been and so had to the play the "I'm not taking my bags off this ride until I get a straight answer as to how I'm gonna get from here to where I want to go" game... and it worked! Sort of. haha Carly suggested the driver pay the tuk tuk dude our way to our destination... he ended up paying 3000 of the 4000 kip required for that journey. Ah well. You live and learn. It's a language thing. Had we known the language we would have understood what was going on. It's also a lack of knowledge of the way things work around here... "same same, but different" as the saying goes around here. And I have never been touched so much by strangers! My hair, my skin, my piercings... it's weird, but not intrusive. And Carly is constantly mistaken for a dude, poor girl! haha This trip is only gonna get more interesting, I can feel it!

Until next time!!!

xoxoxox

more caves and more sun!!

This is pretty much my amazing view dudes... from my balcony in Vang Vieng, Laos. Beautiful, isn't it? What a laid-back town! Totally tourist oriented and dependent, a lot of drunk partiers, but very low key which is exactly my style...

Yesturday we met up with a couple fellow canadians and another woman living in Barcelona, for a trek to see a few of the legendary caves. The first one was called the elephant cave because there is a carving in the limestone of an elephant (go figure). The Buddhist monks from long ago carved that out... poeple have walked through this cave for 3 days without ever reaching the end of it. We only went in about 100m but we could have gone so much deeper, we were all very curious. We had lunch made by a few local villagers, we sat and chatted for a bit before leaving to check out 2 more caves... one of which we could only view by inner tube! That was so cool! I can't wait to have these photos uploaded! From this cave, we walked to a nearby village but on our way saw some things you would never see in North America. Women, men, and children bathing in the stream - water used for everything including washing fruit & vegetables and cooking. These people live in houses built by hand, on stilts, with hay rooves and wicker walls... no running water... no electricity... children from the age of 5 fishing and working in the fields, mothers working the fields with new borns and infants strapped to their fronts and backs... This life is simple. Even in the large town of Vang Vieng, this is so.

We were driven to the Song River, a confluent of the dirty Mekong River, where we borded our kayakes! That was pretty neat, something I'd never done before, and I was pretty damn good at it too! heehee There were folks on innertubes floating down as well, stopping here and there at the riverside bars... what a life! We had dinner with the Barcelona lady, played pool on shitty snicker table - I won - and passed out from the 2 for 1 Lao Lao Slings.

Today... today was a laid back day for sure. I laid out in the scorching hot sun and got some sweet color! Yay! My tan is returning! heehee There are these covered hut things set up that are 1/2 on the river's edge and 1/2 on the rocks where you can order beer and snacks, lay out in the sun, and just chill right out. I laid on a bamboo lounging chair in the river... Carly played guitar in the hut. Beautiful day.

And tomorrow we're going CLIMBING! My first climbing experience will be in Laos, that's awesome! I'll be sure to write about that! Don't worry about me though... Carly's a certified instructor back home so even though I've never even been up a wall, I'll be just fine. ;-) A la prochaine!

time for the Laos goodness...

Hello again! So the saga continues but it's much more enjoyable I promise! Here's a map so y'all can situate yourselves...

OK so the next morning we were determined to charter us a boat to make the second leg of the journey more condusive to relaxation. It didn't work cuz the crazy boat lady kept sticking her nose into our bargaining business saying that she makes this much money and that he could also make that much money. We weren't trying to rip him off, offering him a very decent price for the 15 or so people we would have to pitch in... she was basing her amount on the 100 or so people on her boat. But, the dude didn't budge from 10,000 baht (a ridiculous price, 40 baht = 1 USD) and so we were forced to take the terrible slow boat to hell again... or so we thought. Abbey came down to the port and said she was talking to an american family of 4 who had a whole long boat to themselves and that they were willing to bring 5 or 6 of us on with them. So, after she got on the crazy boat, she came righty back off and declared she was taking the family up on their deal. Abbey, Perdy, Jetta, Neils, Elkin, Carly & I all got the wonderfully relaxing journey down the Mekong river we were hoping for! It was awesome! The family was so gracious and nice... We saw working elephants on the way down, gorgeous jungle scenary, stopped in on a village and played hacky sack with the children, I rocked out on the ledge of the boat to some groovin Ani tunes, it was hot and just so nice...

We arrived at Luang Prhabang at around 4pm or so, 10mins before the boatload of people, so we mad dashed it to find a hostel, the Phousie Guesthouse. Carly and I went for some tasty indian food (VERY spicy) then to straight to bed cuz I literally could not move after that meal. haha And so cheap in Laos!! It's great! Yesturday we met up with our boat crew for some delicious omlettes and to say our good-byes to Jetta, Neils, and little Elkin... so sad, always, to say good-bye to great people I meet along the way. I almost cried. :-( Last night we drank a beer, walked around the main hustle and bustle streets of the night market, past some way-too-busy bars and passed out around 12:30 or so. Made it to midnight, dudes! Yes indeedy!

But TODAY was probably the best day of my life for sure... what a way to bring in the new year! We hired a taxi (an old truck with a couple covered benches in the box) for 15USD for the day and he took us to the Kuang Si waterfalls. The amount of money this dude made today is like 5 really nice dinners back home when you convert that into Kip and what 150,000 Kip will get you here is quite a lot. It was early morning on New Year's Day and so not busy at all. They are amazing, by the way! I'll include a picture here when we get them uploaded, but picture: sky blue waters cascading down a jungle mountain and you might get an idea of what it was actually like... Awesome. We went for a swim in one of the pools and it felt like I had been reborn or something cuz I was just so invigurated and rejuvinated... FULL ON!

Something I NEVER thought I'd experience:

I saw a SIBERIAN TIGER today. Her name is Phet and she was rescued from poachers 5 years ago along with 2 brothers who didn't make it. She is the most beautiful creature, ferociously adorable. We were there for her feeding, saw her prowl up to the hording where she was fed buffalo bones. Can you believe it?? I even got to touch her! Her coat is like velvit... Wow. What an experience.

All in all, Laos is great and today was the most unique New Years I've ever had, let alone the most unique DAY period! Hope your's was full of awesomeness as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!