To Market, To Market

Last Friday I accompanied my house father (Suban) to market to purchase vegetables for the 5 childrens homes for the next month. Considering there are some 120 kids, plus ~20 cooks, tutors, and didis who are also eat at the houses, there were a lot of veggies – tomatoes, potatoes ($60USD worth), onions, ginger, garlic, green beans, squash, bitter gourd, green onion, limes....and more. We left around 7:30 this morning, me of the back of Suban's motorcycle. In the 20 minutes it took to get to market, we travelled on one nicely paved road. The rest were in various states of bumpy. :P The market was fascinating. Most of what I write here I inferred from observation only, Suban and I didn't speak much beyond instructions to 'follow me' and 'take your tea now, I will be back soon.' The market appeared to be a wholesale affair, catering to organizations, restaurants, and the veggie wallas who roam the streets, baskets full of produce attached to their bicycles. There was an entire warehouse sized building dedicated to potatoes and onions.

I followed Suban around as he visited various stalls, scoping out the best produce at the best price. I could tell that this is a job he takes on often, he shook hands and greeted most stall owners whos produce we eventually purchased. After making the 'check out the produce' rounds, we went around again, this time to collect the bags of tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, etc. that had been prepared for us, and to pay for the purchases.

There are vans you can hire who will delivery your acquired goods and it was into one of these that we loaded our bags. I peered over the shoulder of the guy who filled out the invoice, with the name and address of the Umbrella office, under the 'price' section he'd written 375.00. I'm assuming this is the price of hiring a delivery van. 375 rupees is ~$3.75.

The market was a photographers mecca, there were so many colors of dress and people and veggies. There were bicycles and motobikes so overloaded with purchases that you wondered how on earth their owners would be able to ride them through the chaotic streets of Kathmandu, there were street kids plying through the cast-off veggies, searching for something to eat, there was the grains stall with sack and sack of lentils, beans, rice and seeds of so many colours. However, as I was conspicuous enough as the only white person, I didn't feel comfortable pulling out my camera and trying to take shots of these people going about their daily business. It was an amazing experience though and I hope I'll be able to accompany Suban again, on his next trip to market. :)  

Some photos of my time in the past week

'We are a family! I got all my brothers with me' 

Boys being boys 

On a walk to a monastery 

I did not take this photo.  I had given my camera to one of the girls and  she took loads of photos.  I saw this one  when I was looking though them later, I cropped it and lightened it up, but that's all.  It's a stunning image 

SARI SHOPPING!!!

Me and one of the lads after dal bhat (rice and lentils) 

Such a poser!

I can't get enough of the amazing views here 

Hanging out with the lads

This is my room, that I share with a fellow volunteer.  It's dinky, and the carpet is full of dust.  But it's home for the next three months and the view out the window is pretty nice :) 

Dog Bites and Rain: Just another day in Kathmandu

The other day I was bitten by a dog. Yesterday I got caught in a rainstorm. Although the later seems much more benign than the first, it was no less exciting. I'll start with the dog.

The afternoon had gone well enough. On the walk home from school, I picked a flower or two (typical hippie, I know). The boys caught on and soon I had a lovely bunch of wildflowers. :) After dropping them off at the house, I went over to the volunteer house to get a mug to put the flowers in and to grab my journal, so I could write a bit while they worked on homework. I had almost reached the gate of the boys house when this little yappy dog comes bounding up behind me. I turned around to chase it away, thinking it was just another one of the many annoying barking dogs that roam around the neighbourhood, when it reaches up and bites the back of my knee. Thankfully, some of the boys arrived at that point and chased it off. Lucky for me, i was wearing long, thick pants, although I have a small scratch, there's no hole in my pants, so I wasn't actually bitten. I even forgot about the whole incident until later that night when I was taking a shower. I survived till the next morning, so I must not have rabies. :)

The following afternoon I finally remember to bring my camera with me when we went to pick the kids up from school. We'd only been walking for 10 minutes or so when it starts to rain. At first it was just a slight drizzle, so I was able to keep the camera dry by hiding it under my shirt. But soon the drizzle turned to a downpour. My shirt would no longer suffice. I ducked into three small shops, asking for a plastic bag to wrap my camera in. They would have to do for the moment. When we arrived at school it was chaos. Few of the kids have umbrellas or raincoats, so the breezeway was packed with kids trying their best to stay dry. This is only my second day picking up the boys, and I'm having a hard time picking them out of the crowd. I know that I'm meant to walk with the 2 or 3 youngest and am hoping that they'll recognize and come up to me before too long. I end up with one of the 3, he says that the other two are walking with some other boys. Ok then... By this point, the rain has let up a bit, but my camera is still in danger of water damage so I ask the lad if he'd mind putting it in his backpack. He's a smart one and has a poncho that goes all the way down to his feet. :) I got quite a few looks on the way home. Drenched white girl, no umbrella or raincoat, walking barefoot in an area of town that's not often frequented by foreigners. I had a grand time puddle jumping. :)

A note on my placement:

I've been placed in Kanchenjunga House (named after the third highest mountain in the world), 29 boys aged 12-17 (approx.) It's interesting being around SO many boys. I eat dal bhat (rice and lentils) with them in the morning, walk them to school, pick them up, have dal bhat in the evening and hang out while they do homework. They go to school Sun. - Fri. Saturday is their one day off when they get to watch t.v. lounge around and whatnot. The volunteers are encouraged to plan activities for Saturdays – hikes, arts and crafts, games, projects, etc. I have a slight disadvantage in my house because I'm the only volunteer there. There isn't someone who's been here for a few months to help me learn the ropes. It been a challenge. The boys are grand though, so it's really not too bad. :)

Have you donated to your favourite charity yet?

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jewelinnepal

On a side note, I thought the Swiss flag was the only one that wasn't a rectangle. The Nepali flag isn't either. It looks like this:

My House and Other Things

Nepal, like India, has it's own time, and like India, it's different from ANYONE else. The time here is GMT + 5:45hr. Crazy. (I was told that Nepal wanted to be on a different time from India, so they decided to be 15 mins ahead).

My room/volunteer house: Not quite a plush as the accommodation in Siem Reap. During some free time yesterday I took a rag to all the window-sills in my room, they were a tad filthy. The room is carpeted, and Kathmandu is dusty. Not the best combination. Apparently carpet is cheaper than anything else, but so very, very dusty. The (shared) bathroom is full of cast-offs left by previous volunteers (used toothbrushes, empty toothpaste tubes, half used bars of soap, etc). There's no wi-fi in the house. :( BUT, I there are windows on three sides in my room, and the views are good. So that's something.

The view out my window

I had dal bhat with a different house this morning than the one last night. I'm making the rounds, to see which house I want to be placed in. After eating, the girls got ready for school. There being some 30 odd girls, this took awhile, especially because they all have to braid their hair, it's part of the uniform. It was amusing to watch, they're excellent hair braiders. Once the braids were in, the ties tied, shoes shined and pens filled with ink, we set off for school. It was about a 20 minute walk. It wasn't too long before one of the girls wriggled her hand into mine and started chattering away. Their English is excellent! She spent 15min or more trying to teach me her name. My English tongue has a hard time wrapping around the Nepali sounds. :P

Today I'm off to explore the city on foot. I'm sure I'll get lost among the warrenous maze of streets that make up Kathmandu, but it'll be an adventure!  

Some recent expenses:

3-month tourist visa - $100USD

SIM card and some credit - $1.25

Package of biscuits – 0.55

Chapstick – 0.35

Breakfast – 2.00

p.s. Keep the donations rolling in for the Umbrella Foundation (it's the whole reason I'm in Nepal)
http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jewelinnepal

Welcome to the Landlocked State of NEPAL!

First of all, I had a crazy ride to the airport in Bangkok.  15 passenger van (+ the driver), 14 people, 2 seats and the aisle taken up with luggage, one chaotic driver.  Also, I’m pretty sure the seats weren’t bolted to the floor, because every time the bus lurched, the seats moved.  I was glad to arrive in one piece. :)

Bangkok airport is HUGE! There were SO many check-in counters, and of course, Air India was at the OTHER end to where I was.  :P  I tried to change my Laos kip to USD, but apparently you can’t change Laos currency outside of Laos.  So now I’m stuck with ~$60USD worth of kip.  Great.

While deboarding in Delhi, all of the transfer passengers were herded together in a group and I got to chatting with a lovely gal from Australia, who was also headed to Kathmandu!  We went through the transfer security together (I’d forgotten that women are processed separate from the men in India) and we proceeded to our gate.  Upon arriving in Nepal, we banded together to sort out the visa process ($100USD for a 90 day visa) and exchange money so we could pay the taxi fare.  We decided to share a taxi into town, me to the NGO I’m working with and her to meet a friend of hers.  Finding a taxi driver was painless, and we even got a good rate!  The best part is that one of the drivers remembered the friend of the Australian girl, having picked her up from the airport that morning! Crazy!  The ride into town was BUMPY! I thought the roads in Laos were bad.  At least the ones in the capital of Vientiane were in fairly good shape.  Here in Kathmandu, I have yet to see a road that’s paved for more than 100m here.  Mostly it’s rubble/dirt/broken concrete, and potholes everywhere.  And like India, there are cows and chickens and people on bikes and kids running across the road.  :P Also like India, most of the women are wearing saris (this is a predominantly Hindu (and Buddhist) country).  I can even use the few words of Hindi that I know and people understand what I’m saying!  Words like, ‘stop,’ ‘please,’ ‘thank-you,’ ‘a little,’ and ‘door.’  The last one isn’t too useful, but I remember it from riding the Delhi Metro (‘Doors are closing’).   

There are HILLS (almost mountains) surrounding the city!  I haven’t had a good view of them yet, but I’ve seen glimpses. :)

I think even if I don’t go trekking, Kat. will put me back in shape, it’s a very hilly city.  

After being shown around the volunteer house and having a cup of tea, one of the other volunteers, Jack, offered to show me around the neighbourhood and point out the 5 childrens’ homes that the Umbrella Foundation runs.  We ended the tour with dal bhat (the national food of Nepal) at the home where Jack is placed.  Dal bhat is rice and lentils, and will be my main food intake for the next three months. :P

From what I can tell, the role of the volunteer is to have dal bhat with the kids in the morning, walk them to/from school, have dal bhat in the evening and supervise their homework/study time before bed.  On Sundays, and any day that they’re not in school, we come up with various activities to entertain them.   

I think I’m going to like it here. :)

P.s.  There isn’t any internet in the volunteer house, so don’t be concerned if my blog entries become less frequent.  

Bangkok at 3am

Why it took 12 hours to reach my guesthouse in Bangkok

14:50 – Scheduled departure of train from Ubon Ratchathani

15:50 – Actual time of departure

23:45 – Train arrives in Bangkok

1:45 – Catch a bus,that, according to my guide book, will bring me somewhere in the vicinity of Kao San Road. Being the stubborn, 'I can do it myself' person that I am, I was determined to use the buses to get to Kao San Road (7 baht bus vs. 60 baht tuk-tuk or 100 baht taxi). I never did see the bus that I wanted to take, so I alighted on my 2nd choice bus, only to be told by a very nice lady on the bus that we were not going where I needed to go. She told me to get off at the next stop, cross the street and take a bus going in the other direction.

2:05 - Wait around for the # 82 bus. I have NO idea where in Bangkok I am, but there's plenty of traffic going by and while I waited, a ladyboy (or perhaps he/she was looking for a happy ending, I couldn't tell) approached me, said 'hi' and wished me well on my journey. :) The first #82 bus goes right by, the second bus isn't the right one, but I manage to flag down the 3rd one.

2:45 – Hop on the RIGHT bus going in the RIGHT direction

3:00 – Arrive at Kao San Road

3:10 – Arrive at the guest house I'd stayed in the last time I was in Bangkok. They were full

3:20 – There's a cheap hostel around the corner that I remember from last time. They have room

3:21 – Use their loo. I can't even think about checking in until I relieve my bladder, which has been complaining since before I even got off the train, three hours previously. :P

3:40 – Finally lay my head down to sleep!!!!

I'm sure I could've walked to Kao San Road in the time it took me to take the bus, but it was an experience. And Bangkok at 3am is in interesting sight. The flower market was getting set up and there were still bars/clubs open on Kao San, and plenty of drunken tourist stumbling down the road. Crazy. 

Motobike Diaries – In the Land of Waterfalls: a Tour around the Bolaven Plateau

Day One: Pakse to Ban Khoua Set

Distance: 90km

Waterfall Count: 3

Price of accommodation in Tad Lo Village: 10,000 kip

Today I drove a motobike for the first time. I've ridden them before, but never drove one. It was an experience. And it's a proper manual motobike, not some simple automatic scooter. :) I was the slowest thing on the highway ridding out of town. Once I cleared the city though, I was much more comfortable, less possibility for casualties. :) I stopped a few times to consult my map and directions. One of my start up afterwards was just a little jerky, oops. I'm glad there was nothing in my way to hit.

The first waterfall of the day was in Utayan Bajiang Champasak, an 'eco-resort.' There were tree house bungalows you can stay in, a restaurant over looking the falls and a 'museum village,' where local families live and tourists are free to walk around and observe 'local daily life.' It was all a bit surreal. The falls, Phaxouam Cliff however, were fabulous, as was the bamboo suspension bridge crossing the river. :)  

Phaxaouam Cliff Falls

 I continued on up Route 20, climbing into the Bolaven Plateau, cruising through small villages, acres of corn fields and spectacular views of the 'mountains.' I had to stop twice to take shelter from the rain. The first time I huddled under an unused roadside stall. Getting my bike back up the embankment and onto the road was a chore, bikes are heavy!! I discovered that if you put it into gear, it's a lot easier. I hadn't driven more than a kilometre or two when it started to rain again. This time I joined a couple of kids under a shelter at the gas station. :)

I found accommodation in the village without too much trouble. 10,000 kip a night for a mattress on the floor in a room with 6 other mattresses. It's not the Ritz, but it's also $1.25. And the food in the restaurant below is delicious, and just as cheap.

Accommodation for the night

The second two waterfalls for the day were Tat Hang and Tat Lo. Picturesque and fantastic. :) And I saw some elephants.    

Tat Lo

Tat Hang

Day Two: Tad Lo Village to Sekong

Distance: 143km

Waterfall Count: 2

Price of accommodation in Sekong: 30,000 kip

My prowess with the motobike grows. Today I drove with a passenger on the back!! Going straight doesn't, change, it's the turns that are harder; with 150+ pounds the balance isn't the same. :P I did alright, until I turned onto a mud track. We crashed. I'm sure it will be the talk of the village for days to come. Neither of us was harmed and we came away from it laughing. It could have been worse. :)

The first waterfall of the day was on the same river as Tat Hang and Tat Lo. Tat Suong was phenomenal. A cascade falling 100+ meters into a turquoise pool. I had a grand time rock hopping across the boulders and marvelling at all the holes in the rocks. After enjoying the view from the bottom of the falls, we got back on the bike and rode to the top of the falls. The view.......I felt like I was on top of the world, the Bolaven Plateau at our feet. The cliff just ends and there's no barrier, no railing, nothing to prevent you from jumping over. No man made obstructions to soil the view. :)

Tat Suong

 I could've sat there for ages, but I had a long ride ahead of me. The 80 odd km between Tad Low and Sekong were one picturesque view after another. Small rural villages, cows, goats, dogs, pigs and kids on the road, rolling hills, vibrant green fields, fluffy white clouds. It went a long way to keep me occupied while I drove, but eventually but butt started to feel the seat and finally I arrived in Sekong. It's a pretty small town without too much to boast of. I found a place to stay and some lunch before heading out to the next falls on my list.

Tat Faek wasn't nearly as impressive as Tad Suong, but it was still pretty, and completely deserted. I did see three other bikes, but no people. The falls were at the end of a dirt road, some 2km from the main highway, so they're not the biggest tourist draw. I didn't make it back to town before the rains came. It poured, I got soaking wet, and I successfully drove in the rain!!  

Tat Faek

 Mud, passenger and rain. Not bad for my second day on a bike. :)

Day Three: Sekong to Paxsong

Distance Travelled: 103km

Waterfall Count: 4

Price of accommodation in Paxsong: 50,000 kip

Oh what a day. I never thought I'd say this in Laos, but holy fucking god I was COLD. I was shivering so much that it shook my bike. I had to either bite my tongue or clench my jaws to keep my teeth from chattering (and to think, earlier I was worried about getting sun burnt). I was wet, tired, hungry and still kilometers from Paxsong. This is how I got there:

I started out early from Sekong, hoping to beat the rain on my way to Paxsong (HA!). I saw one small falls on my way out of town, Tat Se Noi. Locally it's known as 'waterfall of the heads' owing to a WWII episode in which Japanese soldiers decapitated a number of Laos soldiers and tossed their heads into the falls. Ech! I didn't see any floating heads, but I did see the COOLEST ant colony ever!!!! There was this long stream of ants marching down a tree, across a low concrete ledge and up another tree 3 feet away. They were fascinating to watch!!   

Tat Se Noi

ANTS!!

 30km down the road I came to a junction. When you've only ridden a motobike for two days, and you come to an intersection where the sign says 'Paxsong - 71km,' pointing in the direction of a road that in the dry season could arguably be called 'dirt' but now, during the wet season, is 71km of mud, you should definitely take the 'mud' road. (Who doesn't love a good adventure?) Thus my 7.5hr journey though mud, mud, mud and more mud began. I still can't believe I actually made it through in one piece. I'd hardly gone more than 5 minutes down the 'mud' road (slipping a few times, but yet to actually fall), when I came to my first mud pit. The mud was at least a foot deep, and the only way onward was through the sludge. I quickly learned that it's easier to push the bike if you put it in gear and let it do some of the work. :P I'm sure I was quite the sight for the locals in the stuck lorry.

My first meeting with MUD!

 The rest of the day progressed in a similar manner. There would be stretches of smooth, almost pleasant dirt road (watch out for the pot-holes), and then there would be a lake of mud. The watery mud puddles were like minefields, I never knew how deep the were. I went though one, thinking it was just a shallow puddle....it was deep enough to get my ankles wet and made something on the bike sizzle and steam. Oops. I push and pulled the bike through calf deep mud, hauled it back up when it fell over and generally got the best workout in ages! My mantra for the day became 'I am as cool as a cucumber, when the bike starts to swerve, don't tense up, just go with it.'

The whole reason I'd taken this road was a) I didn't want to back track on my way to Paxsong and b) Lonely Planet said there were two falls worth seeing. The directions in the book were hardly helpful. :P At the point where there was meant to be 'a 25m-long trail leading back off to the left and out of the jungle appears this spectacular drop,' there was nothing but hillside. However, 100m further down the road, on the RIGHT-hand side, there was an amazing falls!!! Maybe they just got their rights and lefts mixed up. Further on, through more mud, I came to a falls that wasn't in the book. Score! :)  

Nam Tok Katamtok

Sekatamtok Falls

 And just past these falls was the HUGEST lake of mud yet. On the other end there was a stuck lorry, and 8-9 guys trying to un-stick it, with rocks and logs and man-pushing power. I made it about halfway through before I got stuck myself. The bike was so deep in mud that it stood up on its own. :P I turned it off and took a rest. It was only 11am. After watching the guys for a bit I gave my bike another try. I managed to get it out of the hole it was in, and into another one, directly in the way of the lorry. Three of the guys nicely came over and pulled it out for me. At this point, I was covered in mud from foot to waist, barefoot, because there's no point in wearing shoes in the mud, and exhausted. And I still had umpteen kilometres to go. Thankfully, that was the worst of the mud and the rest 'mud lakes' were small puddles in comparison.

Up, up, up I climbed, onto the Bolaven Plateau. It was gorgeous! And totally worth every inch of mud I trekked though. The only thing for miles and miles was green, green, greeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!!!! And a few small huts. :) It's a different life the people up here live. So different from anything you or I would know.

I thought I'd had enough falls for the day, but then I saw a sign, 'Tat Arang – 2,000m.' (Why didn't they just say 2km???) Anyway, the track was slippery and I learned that if you're in the rut, it's easier to just stay in the rut, rather than try and move into the middle of the track. There was a house at the end of the 2km, apparently you can do a home-stay there if you want. I left my bike and hiked the 300m to the falls. It was a lovely, if slippery walk, and compared to the two massive falls I saw earlier in the day, this one was just a pip-squeak. But still pretty, as any waterfall is wont to be. :)  

Tat Arang

I was meant to pay 5,000 kip (~70 cents) to the guy at the house, for parking, but when I got back to my bike he wasn't anywhere to be seen, and it was starting to rain. I didn't want to stick around, so I left. Karma, as we know, is a bitch. On the way back to the main road, I slipped and fell, the bike landing on top of my leg. However, I'd hadn't been going more than 5km/hr. so the worst that happened was I fell into a muddy puddle. And as the rain had become a torrential downpour, I wasn't too concerned.

On and on and on I went. 71km has never been to far. Because of the high elevation, and the fact that I was soaking, my body temperature started to drop. (I know, who's stupid enough NOT to bring a raincoat). Thankfully, I'd returned to civilization, and I was able to take cover in a small sundry shop. The whole family was watching some Laos sit-com, but the arrival of a drenched, single, white girl was enough to turn their heads. While I waited for the rain to abate (or at least lessen) I munched on some biscuits they had for sale, the only food I'd eaten since breakfast, so many hours before. Eventually, the downpour became a trickle and I ventured out. I was still wet though, and soon started to shiver. I pulled over, dug some dry clothes out and hid behind a bush to change. I was only slightly warmer, but at least I wasn't wet, for long. Of course, not 10 minutes later, it starts to rain again. Three more times I sought shelter in small shops, trying my best to keep dry. And still, Paxsong was kilometers away. At least the road had improved and I could move a bit faster. The mud was gone, but swerving around potholes was almost more than my shivering self could handle. I never thought I'd be this cold in Laos. I had to constantly tell myself to concentrate on the road, watch out for the pot holes and try not to think about how cold you are. :P

I finally, FINALLY rolled into town around 4pm and checked into the first guesthouse I found. Although it was 50,000 kip (~$6.25), they had HOT water and I was about ready to pass out from exhaustion. I stripped and took the best hot shower EVER. When I came out, I realized I'd left all my dry clothes in the compartment of the bike, so I slipped between the sheets butt-naked and promptly fell asleep. Three hours later I woke, starving. I ventured out to find some dinner and had the best hot soup and cup of hot-chocolate, which went a long way and warming me up. Then it was back to the room, where I slept like the dead for the rest of the night.

What a day!

Day Three: Paxsong to Pakse

Distance travelled: 55km

Waterfall Count: 2

Price of accommodation in Pakse: 30,000 kip

Compared to the day before, day three was a walk in the park. Paxsong is known for it's coffee, so I found a place with a 'coffee' sign out front and went it. I think I had what you'd call 'espresso,' small cup, no milk, really strong. It was interesting to note that the effects of espresso felt similar to being drunk. I'm sure it didn't help that I was drinking it on an empty stomach. :P I knew I wouldn’t be able to drive like this, so I quickly filled my stomach with food, hoping it would help absorb the caffeine. :) I saw only two falls on day three, and neither took much of an adventure to get to, though both were impressive cataracts. Tat Yuang is 40m tall and Tat Fan tumbles more than 120m down. 

Tat Yuang

Tat Fan

With the falls behind me, I headed down, down, down, off the plateau and back to Pakse, hot showers, internet and the promise of a meal that doesn’t consist of noodle soup. :)

Total distance travelled: 390km
Total waterfalls seen: 11

Thus ends my adventures around the Bolaven Plateau, but not my time with the motobike.  Tomorrow I'm headed to Champasak and the ancient Khmer temple there.   

Only five more days till I fly to Nepal!!!