More Office Pictures

Bus

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Negotiating for Tuk Tuk Fares

Getting around in cities in Southeast Asia has been a trial. Almost every time we need to go somewhere we have to negotiate with a tuk tuk driver. They over-charge, tell you they know where you want go, and then want you to pay for the time they took driving around town when it turned out they didn't actually know.

Video Game Review: Mosquito Killers

So we played a new game recently. Here's my review of it. I even posted the cover to it, so click the 'read more.'

A Rough Start to Cambodia

We knew traveling from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia was going to be long.  It started with an overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.  The train left a little after 4 PM and was scheduled to arrive in Bangkok at 6:30 the next morning, but actually arrived two hours later at 8:30.   We all had our own sleeping bunks so that was great but I really didn't sleep well that night.  The next step was to get to the border.  The next train was in 5 hours so we looked into taking a bus instead.  We talked to a travel agent and booked a minibus from Bangkok all the way to Siem Reap after they told us it would be a three hour ride to the border and another 2 hours from the border to Siem Reap getting there much faster than waiting for the next train.   That was our mistake of the day!

Chiang Mai, Thailand

While staying in Chiang Mai, Thailand we took a tour that included several zip lines. These were longer and higher than anything I have ever done before. Despite being a little nervous at the beginning, it turned out to be a lot of fun. We had three guides who helped us as we did the course. Jenna (age 8) seems to have no fear for anything and she was always willing to go first. In a few places we had to be lowered to a platform beneath us and on one of them, she had them clip her in on the back so she could be like "superman." The last line was over a river and Jenna and I went together both clipped in on the back and flew over the river like superman.  Very fun!

Getting ready for the zip lines

Joe

Seth

Jenna playing Superman

Sam and Seth on the last line

Sam

Jenna

Other parts of the day included bamboo rafting on the river, riding elephants, and playing in the waterfall and riding in a mosquito infested van.

This bridge is as rickety as it looks.  

Seth and Sam on an elephant

Me on a bamboo raft

Jenna in the waterfall

Seth playing with a little elephant

Laos Sunset

I made this a few weeks ago in Illustrator. I posted it to Facebook, so some of you may have already seen it, but I figured I could post it here as well. So here you go.

(you can click on it to make it bigger)

Golden Triangle

A few days ago we saw the Golden Triangle. It's basically where the three countries of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet. It's kind of like 4 corners in Utah. Our mom was sick so she stayed back, but the rest of us went to the White Temple and to the official Golden Triangle place.

Cooking in Thailand

     We went to a Thai cooking class in Chaing Mai.  A tuk-tuk picked us up from our apartment and took us to the cooking class.  When we got there we sat down a a table and they brought us a menu.  We only did a half day class so we didn't get to do everything, but we still got to cook a soup, noodles, and curry.
      For the soup I choose hot and creamy.  We walked outside and there was a table that we all stood around.  On the table there were wooden blocks and huge knives.  We cut up some vegetables and then moved over to the stove place.  At each place there was a pot and a spoon.  We dumped all the stuff that we cut up in the pot and then waited.  We put coconut milk in, but we weren't supposed to stir because it made the color of the soup red.  When we finished we went back into the table and ate it.  Mine was alright, but the coconut soup was very good.
   Next up was the curry.  I chose masaman curry.  We went back to the cooking table and there was a mortar and pestle, which is basically a heavy bowl and stick.  We got a bunch of vegetables and cut them up then put them in the mortar.  Then we took the pestle and started smashing the vegetables for about a half-hour and that made a very small amount of curry.  Then we headed over to the cooking area and started boiling the curry with some oil and other stuff. It took about an hour to prepare and cook it, but it was very good.  It was straight off the stove so it was hot and so delicious.
     Last was the noodles and I chose Pad Thai.  We started cutting vegetables like normal then headed over to the cooking station.  Instead of the usual pot there was a frying pan.  We put all the noodles and vegetables in then stirred it up.  One persons noodles caught on fire and that was supposed to help them cook better.  Once they were done we took the noodles to the eating area and ate them.  It was almost as good as the curry and once I was done I was stuffed.  I felt bad for the people that had a full day because I could have never eaten that much.  We got a cook book and then we were dropped off at the train station.

thats a really big knife

Jenna trying her soup

mortar and pestle

After a half hours work...

I Am Not an Elephant

My self-esteem took several blows during our time in Thailand. You see, every city we stayed in had at least one market and I think we visited every one, some times more than once. One of the things I was looking for was a nice loose-fitting, light-weight, pull-over, long-sleeve shirt without a collar. I know that's kinda specific but it's what I fancied.

Very often when I saw a shirt I thought I might like and asked about it the person at the stall got a scared look on their face and just shook his or her head. I'd ask anyway, "Do you have my size?" Mostly I got a shake of the head in answer but one vendor told me, "No jumbo size." Another told me, "You 5X. No have." 5X, really? That's "extra extra extra extra extra large". Doesn't that sound huuuuge? I like loose fitting clothes but 5X?!?

Just for the record I weigh less now than I have in all of my married life but I guess compared to the average Thai shopper I am kinda jumbo.

Cooking Class [BY JENNA]

We went to a Thai cooking class.  We started out going to a market.  Our teacher showed us where they got the food, but they did not buy any of the food.  They gave us a menu to choose what kind of soup, noodles, and curry.  The soup I chose was called Chicken Coconut Soup, the noodles I chose was called Fried Noodle Thai Style, and the curry I chose was called Panang Curry.  When we got to the cutting station they had cutting boards and huge knifes set out.  We cut lots of vegetables and fruit.  When the knife was placed right in front of me I just couldn't stand it I had to play with it. When we cut all of the fruits and vegetables we went to a cooking station they had pans out for us to cook.  When I stirred above the pan me hand just about fell off.  By the time we were done cooking the let us eat the food.  When we were done eating our food we were full.
 I have some pictures to show you.

This is where they got there vegatables

This is Seth standing by the entrance

Me with the huge knife

Me and my family

Me with my Chicken Coconut soup

We worked so hard for this curry paste

Me cutting with my huge knife

Me cooking 

Me mashing some curry paste

Me cooking

Me with my curry

They told we could have a break

The teacher lighting someones food on fire .  It was on purpose

I get my feet sucked off by tons of little fish

A couple of days ago at the night market, we came across a massage shop and at the front of the shop were 3 big tanks of water with tons of little fish in them.  In one of the tanks some people had their feet  and it looked like all the fish were eating their feet.  The idea was that all the fish ate off all the dead skin cells on your feet.  I wanted to try it, but the rest of my family was not so enthusiastic about the idea.  Finally my dad agreed to do it with me.  We washed our feet before putting them in the tanks (probably so we didn't kill the fish) then we walked over to the tank.  I let my dad go first and all the fish rushed to his feet.  It looked like he was in pain so I was hesitant to put my feet in.  Once I did it felt like my feet were asleep, but only in little areas of my feet.  I never got used to the feeling.  Usually it didn't hurt, but once in a while a bigger fish would bite, which would feel like a small pinch. When we were nearing the end of our time Jenna wanted a turn to so she came up for a few minutes.  When we got out I didn't notice any difference in my feet, but my dad said that his felt a lot better.

my dads first reaction

My dads feet

Us three at the end

Dining by Trial and Error in Vangvieng Laos

When we arrived in Vangvieng (Seth's pronunciation is the best) we had no idea where to eat. It seemed like every restaurant had the same menu. Seriously, it looked like the same company printed the menu and made the signs. We thought they must all be about the same in quality and price. The first one we tried was pretty good. The second we tried wasn't as good as the first. We tried a third and it was so good we stopped looking. We went back for every meal after that. I think my favorite meal was the "Porridge with coconut milk, milk, sugar, and bananas." It is absolutely the best oatmeal I've ever had. Throw in a banana smoothy and was good to go at least until lunch. Every time we ate there it was around $20 for the six of us and we all came away satisfied.

The atmosphere at the restaurant was good too. It was open air and they offered "platform" seating and table/chair seating. We opted for the platform seating every time and it really is a very relaxing way to eat as long as the tall people have places to put their legs. Add the awesome view of the mountains and river and it really was an exotic (and affordable) dining experience.

9NOI'S PLACE NO BED BUGS OK

"9NOI'S PLACE NO BED BUGS OK"

At one of our stops we signed in to the hotel, paid, and went to our rooms. We were pretty proud of ourselves for getting a deal at a comfortable hotel. We agreed to forego air conditioning because it wasn't really that hot. Each room had a fan and we smugly saved a few bucks on each room.

All was well, until we tried to access the Internet. The network "9NOI'S PLACE NO BED BUGS OK" popped up on our computers. The first part, "9NOI'S PLACE" was the name of the hotel and made sense. The part that was a little disconcerting was "NO BED BUGS OK". Those four little words planted an ugly seed in our minds. Every little spec of dust or ant became a bed bug in our minds. With the help of the Internet and the passage of time we were able to calm ourselves a bit and some of us didn't sleep that well the first night in that hotel. Elaine's sleep sacks that she made for each of us came in handy.

In the end we decided that there were no bed bugs and that everything we thought was a bed bug was really an ant. We don't really know for sure if there were or weren't bed bugs.

"Me" Time on the River Boat Ride

I would highly recommend the two-day river boat ride we just took from Luang Prabang, Laos to Chiang Khong, Thailand. In all it was about 17 hours on a river boat. It doesn't sound fun but I really, really enjoyed it. It was a great time for pondering and reflection while taking in beautiful scenery.

At this point I'd like to make an observation about traveling around the world with my family. I love each person in my family a lot. However, every once in a while I need some "alone" time. I need to put myself in time out or something. No computer, no people. I'd recommend that any long-term family trip include some alone time for everyone. Even if you aren't traveling around the world with your family take some time out for yourself.

Back to the story, did I mention the scenery was amazing?!? We saw water buffalo and elephants. The elephants weren't wild but still, how cool is that? On both sides of the river there were what looked like jungles: palm trees, banana trees, and green stuff everywhere. It surprised me how little civilization there was along such a big river. There were people, little villages, and signs of life just about everywhere but not too much in the way of modern cities or towns. Some villages I wondered if the river was the only way to get there.

It seemed like every inch of the river bank had a garden/farm on it but I couldn't see any houses most of the time. I imagine that during the wet season all of these gardens are under water as the river rises. Life looked so simple: fishing and farming. Bathing in the river.

I was sad for our river trip to end.

It was a misty morning.

My Office - 2013-01-09 and 2013-01-10

This is my office on the river boat.

Accidental Food Donation

Yesterday we arrived at the river side before the boat was ready for us. We sat down, took our packs off, and cleaned up our food bag from the previous day (we try to put together a food bag for our long travel days). After cleaning out the food bag the boat was ready for us and so we boarded the boat.

12 days in Laos

We have spent the last 12 days in Laos, a country not even on our itinerary. We entered the country from Nang Khai, Thailand and arrived in Vientiane, the Capital City. Right away we could tell the country was not as developed as others we have visited. We spent New Years Eve and New Years Day there. We saw a few sights, while a  few others we wanted to see were closed for the holiday.

Pak Beng, Laos

If Pak Beng is on your list of 'Top 10 Places to Go Before I Die', I'm going to persuade you otherwise. If you have your heart set on going to Pak Beng, don't click the little 'read more.'

SIM Adventure in Laos

So, if you have been following our blog you know of the difficulty I've had in providing backup Internet access while we have been traveling. This is the story of my adventure in obtaining a working data SIM in Laos. Maybe it wouldn't be quite the adventure if I were smarter. Here is the story such as it is (and as I am).

My Office - 2013-01-07

This is my office today in Luang Prabang, Laos. It is a chilly morning, probably in the 60s. Without the many wires it would be a pretty view. I am sitting on the second floor balcony of our guest house looking out over a main street. Across the street is a buddhist temple and market. The structure in the picture is a gate/entrance to the temple. Palm trees are pretty any time and anywhere. Do you think anyone would mind if I just cut those wires to make the view better?

The Blue Lagoon

     Today we set out for the blue lagoon, a natural swimming area with an amazing cave next to it.  When we started, we packed sandwiches from a street cart and water shoes to change into.  We rented some bikes and set out to find the blue lagoon.  We quickly found out that the brakes on my moms bike didn't work and that the bikes were about to fall apart, but we kept going.  A little way into the journey we came across a stream, as I set across it I lifted my feet to keep them dry.  The water was deeper than I expected and I stopped in the middle.  My feet dropped down to balance myself and soaked both of them.  With my shoes sopping wet I continued on.  The road was very bumpy with rocks everywhere.  In some parts it was all that I could do to hold on and hope that the bike wouldn't break.

River Fun in Laos [BY JENNA]

Today I went on a tour  that included tubing on a river in a cave,  jumping off a high platform (a really high scary platform) into the river and kayaking (for 2 hours).   All of those things combined took about 7 hours, it was a LONG day (for me at least.)

When we got in the cave in was a bit tight, but we made it.  In the cave we were on tubes  and the water was really cold.  Through the cave there was a long rope and we all had to hold on to it to get through the cave.  Sometimes it was to shallow so we had to stand up and carry the tubes.   Some parts I didn't have to pull my self on the rope, I was right by the tour guide and he let me hold on to his tube.  We had headlamps and one time the tour guide told us to turn off our headlamps and then it was really dark.'

One of the tour guides jumped off a high platform and it looked fun, so I wanted to do it too.  It was scary going down but I had a life jacket so it was okay.  My brothers Seth and Sam also jumped off the platform.  I jumped off the platform four times.

We started kayaking by being pushed out into the river.  Then we started to row.  The tour guide that jumped off the platform splashed me so I tried to splash him back but when I tried, he splashed me.  For the first hour I rode with Sam and for the second hour I rode with my dad.  I wanted to take a break from rowing every 5 minutes because I was tired but I couldn't because I was usually in the back.  It was fun but I was really tired after we were done.

Me entering the cave

In the back of a truck with the kayaks on top

Eating lunch after tubing in the cave

Me jumping off the high platform

After jumping in the river

Kayaking on the river

Kayaking on the river

Me and my dad in a kayak