Trekking in Sapa, Vietnam

The group split up for the adventures in Sapa. Kenzie, Emily M, Jeremy, and I (Emily L) chose to go trekking into Thanh Phu Village for an overnight hometay. Our Guide, Mi, was excellent, and very friendly. After a half hour jeep ride, we started our trek... straight downhill. The loose gravel and dirt made it very difficult to walk upright, and I spent much of my time sliding down on my backside, unfortunately.

This trek was much different from the others we've been on thus far, because it was out in the open instead of through the jungle... and if you've ever been to Vietnam, you must know how hot it gets! We trekked for a good 5 hours in the middle of the day, under the blistering sun. The trek itself was challanging, but do-able, except for the intense heat, which made it twice as hard! But it was fun! We had a good time talking with the guide, and learning about her people and her village. She told us about how she was forced to marry someone she didn't like at age 15. A year after her marriage, she still didn't like her husband, so her mother gave her some "magic rice" (she put a spell on it to make her love him) and they've been happy ever since! Very different worlds we come from.

She was asking where we were from, and we took turns telling her, Utah, New York, and Maine in the United States. She asked how long it took us to get to each other's villages, and was very confused and shocked when we explained that it takes days driving to get to each other's "villages."

We got to our homestay, and were surprised at what we found. The family we stayed with had multiple televisions, a three level bamboo house, and a flushing toilt (a squatter, but hooked to a pipe with a wooden handle to turn to let water run through.) I guess I expected it to be more like the other villages we've stayed in. I'm always surprised at how different each village is from each other. The family was very welcoming, and excited to have us stay.

We wandered into the village, where there were smaller, more simple houses, no running water, and no TVs. We stumbled upon some kids playing what we assumed to be pirates, or something of that sort, running around with bamboo swords and pails full of who knows what. They had fun trailing us through the village, stopping to see what we were up to before running off again. I held up my camera and raised my eyebrows to take a picture. To my delight, they threw up their peace signs, giggled, then ran off.

We were the only "white" people in the village, other than one couple we passed. The villagers all waved and smiled, some pointing to our skin and laughing mumbling what i assumed to be the word for "white" or "pale." That's my favorite part about the villages... when there are no other tourists around, and you really get a feel for how these people live. One of the highlights of the trip, for sure. We broke out the bubbles for the kid's playing near our homestay, and they went nuts! Kids love bubbles... almost as much as getting thier pictures taken! We had fun playing with the kids, and interacting with the homestay family.

Dinner was an event to remember. I have never eaten so much food! They made sure we always had rice in our bowl, and practically forced us to eat more. Mi laughed at me when I said I had eaten too much and was full, and pushed more rice my way. We had a feast of vegetables, chicken, rice, and a special treat of pig hooves for the New Year. Accompanied, of course was the rice wine... man do they love their rice wine.

We enteratined them as they watched us play an intense game of cards. They laughed when we laughed, and had a great time. We all slept soundly in our mosquito nets after our day of trekking. Breakfast was just as grand as dinner... I was stuffed to the brim! After our farewells, we said goodbye to our family, and began our trek in the hot sun. It was pretty difficult after eating so much for breakfast, and poor Emily's knee was not working well after the downhill the day before. Jeremy and Emily jumped on a motorbike for the last half of the trek, while Kenzie and I trudged on.

For every down, there must be an up... and up it was. We climbed the dry rice paddies and hills under the hot sun...I almost didn't make it. Thanks kenz for pushing me through that one! We reached the top drenched in sweat, and extremely tired, but we made it! We met up with Jeremy and Emily for lunch before our exciting jeep ride back to the Cat Cat hotel. What an adventure!

Emily L.

Nam Ha Valley Excursion in Laos

100% pure unbridled nature. That's what we got trekking through the beautiful Nam Ha Valley in northern Laos. Two full days of rigorous trekking (most of it seeming to be uphill) brought our group through three Lanten villages and up, down and across more hills and jungles than I can count. But with natures glory bursting with joy out from the ground, and beautiful mountain vistas awaiting at the top of every hill, things weren't so bad.

The end of the first day of trekking up/down/around hills left our group (Shannon, Sam, Jack, Emily Long, Mckenzie, Jack, Jeremy, Craig) staying at a lodge in a Lanten village near the Nam Tha River. The Lanten are an animist tribal group in Laos who still live off the land as hunter gatherers, and now to some extent, traders. To give an idea of how remote we were, the village had no road, power of any sort, and the closest town was a 5 hour WALK away (this village could only be reached by walking or on the river during the wet season). So we were 'out there'. Although ethnically Tai, the Lanten are animists, meaing they believe in nature spirits, and are very superstitious. Some examples…they throw a bit of food into nature each time they have a meal as an offering…all their houses face down-stream…married women shave their eyebrows…water buffalo guts and other oddities are hung from the ceilings in the houses to ward off evil spirits. Kinda eccentric huh? Although you have to wonder what they say think about us 'crazy Americans'.

People may grow up and start expressing themselves differently, but our senses of joy and happiness inherited from childhood are all the same. I'm pretty sure that's a profound thought, or else maybe I just have taken it for granted, but playing with the children in this Lanten village had to be the most fun of the entire trek. Craig's (genius) idea of bringing bubbles paid off 10x its cost through the magical joy the Lanten kids expressed at these colorful, floating delights. Sam, Jeremy and Emily started blowing bubbles too and for hours these kids couldn't get enough. They thought our camera's were pretty cool too, but it was as if bubbles were the best thing to come from Western culture for these children. Who knows, maybe they're right! After that, the kids proceeded to play 'tag' and 'boys chase the girls' in the river sand naked, which was pretty funny, but nice to see that, although worlds apart, kids are still kids whatever circumstances you grow up in. Sometimes bubbles bring more joy than a Ferrari (if anyone wants to trade, I'm game).

That night, our group had some very interesting conversations about Bhutan, with the one outsider who trekked with our group. From idolizing and creating religious statues and staffs of penis', to over-the-top religious imagery (in temples) involving 'sky-clad' demi-gods ridings flaming tigers to earth, it sounds like a very…'interesting' culture. Bhutans form of Buddhism has embraced the very toungue-in-cheek religious teachings of a famous Divine Madman, yet take these as completely serious. After two hours of fireside explanations, I think most came out more confused than not.

After a night of wonderful sleeping (for some), we all awoke to the heavenly song of roosters bright and early at 6am. We were treated to some famous Laotian tea or coffee (both very good) then trekked our way to where the vans were set to meet us. After Jack and Emily's run-in with some leeches (we defeated them valiantly), we finally made it across the river, through the woods, and into the clear.

A beautiful taste of Laos, a lovely sup of nature, and a quaff of humbling, back-to-basics living left everyone in this group very happy to have been able to partake of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Jack Crestani

New Zealand Australia Program - halfway!

It's been an amazing month in New Zealand! We are now at the halfway point in the program having done two weeks of volunteer conservation work and two multi-day expeditions. Right now we're relaxing in sunny Nelson before our final week of conservation work at Nelson Lakes National Park.

Canoeing on the Whanganui River - expedition 2


Riverside cave on our canoe journey


The group enjoying the annual One Love concert in Wellington


Carnivorous snail survey on our second week of volunteer conservation work


Jordan enjoying mountain biking in Nelson

SE Asia 2009 pics

A selection of pictures so far.....
Craig

Just around the riverbend...

February 9th, three days ago, we said good bye to the quaint Boat Landing Guesthouse in Luang Nam Tha, Laos, with its amazingly soft warm beds and solar-heated showers, to embark on a river adventure. Let's just say it started off on an interesting note before we even set foot on the small wooden boats. The past few mornings I think our group of 15 hungry, French-toast-loving explorers ate not only all the bread in the guesthouse but all the bread in the entire village! You definitely know you are in a poor country when a town runs out of bread. So with a breakfast of eggs and pancakes and a large order of fried rice wrapped in banana tree leaves for a sack lunch instead of sandwiches, we packed our stuff waterproof tight and loaded up.

Floating down the Nam Tha River was an exciting and sometimes perilous experience. Especially considering there was barely enough water in some places due to it being the dry season. Several times our expert boat crew had to turn off the motor and guide the boat with bamboo poles and paddles through the rocks. They could not have been more skilled! I think they know the Nam Tha better then I know how to get around my home town. Still, it was inevitable that we would hit a few rocks. Upon which the wooden boards would make a "bang!" and a scraping noise that left you frantically praying that the boat would neither A: get caught and tip, or B: bust a hole and capsize. Never came close to doing either thank goodness! Ultimately, we made it safely (but sunburnt) to our home for the night in a small village called Ban Khone Kham, where the river is their only access to the outside world. Quite a trip! It is evident how important the river is to the village communities we passed along the way. Every bend in the river brought more waving children who splashed and played along the banks, or women wrapped in sarongs bathing in the shallows, or men with their fishing nets, and everywhere, bamboo huts with thatched roofs against a backdrop of jungle-covered mountains. Laos has such an untamed yet serene feeling, its gorgeous!

Until next time!
Taylor Sandelius

Something New to Try Chiang Mai

Pie in the sky Chiang Mai…finally doing the laundry Chiang Mai…it's good to be high Chiang Mai…buy a lady get a guy Chiang Mai - these are all the names our group thought up to help market the city in the States because, in the words of Tony the Tiger, its grrrrrreat!

Chiang Mai is a blast and a half and during the course of the last few days our group got a much needed massage, completed an 'amazing race', visited a Wat (temple), and spent a morning at a Burmese children's school. And of course many amazing Thai meals along the way. (Note: Our time in Chiang Mai time was intersected by a 2-day visit to a rock-climbing and caving area which will be covered in a separate entry)

The economic powerhouse of northern Thailand, Chiang Mai's atmosphere is more relaxed than the massive-city appeal of Bangkok, with a mixed appeal of riverside live-music bars, beautiful temples, a sleazy sex-tourist district, numerous open-air markets, rooftop lounges, and noticeably cleaner air than its larger city cousin. Our first activity upon entering Chiang Mai's fray (Chiang Mai literally translates to 'New City', the northern Thai area was recaptured from the Burmese only three hundred years ago), was embracing a much needed massage after three days of trekking to the Karen-tribe village. Phenomenal (said Shannon), Baller (Colin) Soothing (Emily), Dreamy (M.E.), were all words we used to describe the experience.

The next day (Feb 1st) we were off to visit Wat Doi Suthep, a magnificent temple built hundreds of years ago highlighted by the ridiculous 300-some steps (I lost count) to climb up into the main temple area, adorned with a massive golden Buddha (but beware the wandering elephant, for it expects bananas).

The 'Secret Activity' ended up being The Amazing Race: Chiang Mai. We were set-off in three groups to complete a dozen tasks as fast as possible and return by a set time to the hotel. After grueling hours of beer, sweat, and tears, The Pimp Daddies (Jeremy, Taylor, Emily Long, Mackenzie) completed the challenge first (albeit using questionable strategies…), the Tiger Paws (Shannon, Jack, Katie, Emily Maeder) completed second (completed every task perfectly), and then the Buddha Bellies (Colin, M.E., Will, E'Beth, Sam, Audrey) finished last, although (coincidentally perhaps?) they seemed to have feasted the finest that afternoon. The race involved a mix of learning about the city with visiting various places all around Chiang Mai from temples to a mall to a restaurant and more. By placing exploration in competitive circumstances, it created an inventive twist to get many of us exploring the city and interacting with the locals.

Children are the best. Yes I know there are many parents reading this who may say otherwise, but I'm talking about the younger, cuter sort. The group taught at a Burmese school this Wednesday. Some of the older students practiced their English by interviewing some of our group, while the rest (and most) of us played and drew pictures with the children. The older students were surprisingly good at English, and displayed a real drive to learn the language, while the younger kids were, well, typical kids and a lot of fun.

All-in-all, Chiang Mai is an awesome city that I wish I had the opportunity to stay in longer. The dynamic nature, fun, chillaxed people, amazing temples were a great experience for everyone, and a welcome breather from trekking. Now we are off to Laos, tune in sometime soon for the next post!

Jack Crestani

Sukothai by bike

Hello from Chiang Mai, Thailand! This is my first time blogging on the team blog and I want to share about our fun experiences from a few days back in Sukhothai, the ancient capital of Thailand. Although back then it was known as Siam - always makes me think of the movie The King and I. It was built in the 13th century I believe and the best way to explore the ruins...bicycle! I have ridden many bicycles in the states but these bikes proved to be quite a challenge to get used to for some reason, not sure why. I think maybe it was the angle of the handlebars or something, anyways, we had some interesting first time rides on our Asian bikes as the first few forward pedals all resulted in crazy wobbles. Basically had to learn how to ride a bicycle again. But so much fun! Imagine a group of 15 cruising down the road on bikes, trying to admire the ruins peeking out from behind the trees, take pictures, steer, and not run into traffic at the same time. And did I mention the brakes didn't work too well? I hope my mom isn't reading this...

There is so much history in Sukhothai it felt like an honor to cruise around on our bikes and walk through the ruins. Other tourists were there, as well as a Thai art class on a field trip of sorts, making sketches of various statues and architecture. Others offered incense and flowers to Buddha. I love the colors of Thailand! And the smiles are so infectious! Until next time!

Taylor Sandelius

Caving in Thailand

Feb 3, 2009 - Emily Long
 
After an eventful day of rock climbing and rappeling yesterday, we headed out from the campsite to spend a day traversing and caving... wow.  What an experience.  There's just no way to really put into words the feelings you feel when you are crossing a cave 45 meters in the air, with just a rope to support you.  And there's no way to put into words how you feel as you squeeze your body through tiny rock tubes into an entire new world under ground.  As a first time caver, I didn't think I'd make it past the entrance of the Furnace Cave, too small to stand up in, let alone crawl along the dirt on my stomach through holes barely bigger than me!  But I did!  What an awesome experience.  How often do you get the opportunity to play in dirt and mud in a cave, in Thailand! Our group is so encouraging and supportive of eachother.  The positive attitude really made the day.