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Published: March 14th 2011
Portland Airport
this is us leaving the states!Dear Loved Ones,
It has been a long while since I have blogged. Partly because I felt I had little to update you on. Where have we been? Well, we are still in Bangkok. Tomorrow we hope to leave for the eastern island of Koh Samet. A tiny T-shaped island which has huge popularity both with international tourists and Thai people trying to get away from the city for the weekend. It is a short trip (about 4-5 hours) away from Bangkok and we hope to stay there for 5 days before we head to India on March 23rd. We are drawn more because of it's proximity than it's popularity, but hope to find some little quiet stretch of beach to recuperate from almost 3 weeks in the bustling, exciting, delicious, stimulating, sweltering, muggy, smoggy city.
Other than enjoying a new foriegn adventure, dentistry was our main 'excuse' or impetus for being here and this is why we will have spent 3 weeks in Bangkok before exploring other regions of this amazing country. Yesterday we went yet again to the hospital where Dave thought he was going in to receive more oral surgery, the post of the implant needs
Hair cut
She trimmed his chops and goatee to be put in. BUT, we keep learning about this process, and it turns out that because he had to have the extraction 2 weeks ago instead of the post put in, he now has 2 more months to heal before they can can perform that surgery. SO...this means that we cannot accomplish the entire package of procedures that we thought originally, and we may 'have' to come back over Christmas break, which would actually be lovely as my paternal Grandparents, as well as another aunt and uncle (my dad's younger sister, Janice) will be coming here and then heading to Sarawak/Borneo where they all lived for some time when my dad was growing up.
I have developed a persistant dry cough which was keeping me (and Dave) up at night, so when we went to the hospital yesterday, I went to see an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist who gave me some throat spray, and cough medicines which have already helped greatly. The visit and the 4 or 5 different meds cost me a total of $35. Amazing.
Our first week here we spent living at Riki (my dad's older sister) and her husband Yik's house, though Riki was in
Our Guestroom at Hospital
Twin beds...but but but...we're a couple! Oh well. We had some where to sleep after Dave's surgery :) the states visiting her parents/my grandparents both in Southern California and then Oregon. She arrived back home safely (despite her flight going through Tokyo) yesterday. Yik is a wonderful Thai-hospitality host. Though he doesn't speak barely a word of English, we somehow get along fine with sign language, pointing at clocks and calenders, making 'I will call you on the phone' signs with our hands, and hoping that what few words we do use, he understands. At the end of the night when we need to catch a taxi (if we're lucky enough to find a driver who's willing to take us out to 'the boonies', many of them say "No!" and drive off) we call Yik and hand the phone to the driver whom he gives directions to and miraculously, in this shockingly huge city, they get us home to a very obscure address/part of town.
We spent two nights at the Bangkok Adventist Hospital when Dave got his surgery and all they could provide us with was a room with two little single beds. So the morning of my 27th birthday, March 3rd, we headed on over to our new friend's house, Beth and Adam. They live
Typical Transport
Taxi time - navigating this city is quite an exciting adventure! in a very nice part of downtown. It is a tall (4 story) town house with our guestroom being at the top level. What luxury! We felt so blessed to have serendipitously met this couple while buying our little NetBook laptop at the tech-mall, called Panthip. We shared lunch that day and hit it off so well that we went to Asia's largest open-air market called Chatuchak, or as the locals call it, 'JayJay". They said we could come stay with them anytime, and so here we were, settling into a comfortable big bed, air conditioning to help us sleep at night, and two awesome people who were up for showing us their city, night and day! Adam works in diamonds and jewelry, and Beth is a hair stylist who is focused right now on bringing a new little life into the world. She's half way through her pregnancy, and is due at the end of July. They lived in LA and San Diego for many years, so they have lots in common with Dave, and his job moved them to Bangkok 3 years ago. He speaks fluent Thai, and she's conversational, so it's quite an adventure exploring this place
The State Tower
This is at "La Boua", the swanky bar on the rooftop. Stunning location. with them!
For my birthday we went to a place called Ta Wa Dang, a big famous German Brew Pub that has live entertainment every night of the week. They were singing, dancing, cabaret-ing, goofing, rockin' out and kereoke-ing the night away as we dined like kings and queens on amazing food. Bean-thread noodles with river prawns, steamed with spicey mint sauce, a apparently amazing pork-knuckle (for them omnivores), shrimp cakes with sweet chili sauce, sauted morning glory (a delicious crispy green that grows in the rivers/canals around here), green papaya salad with lime juice, peanuts, chili flakes and green onion, and of course, rice rice rice! Then...just as I was half way to the bathroom they started singing Happy Birthday and I had to run back to the table where they shone spot lights on me, waved big "happy birthday" signs behind me and the entire audience and stage sang a long-winded and fabulous, Asian-influenced version of happy birthday. It was a surprise and quite a special event! Then they served our table a huge pile of 8 different kinds of ice cream and 4 spoons. After dinner, we headed to an 'interesting' district for people watching and
dancing. It was a fascinating experience and quite entertaining. Adam, Beth and Dave showed me a fabulous time for my 27th and I feel incredible blessed to have shared my day with them in this exotic location!
The next night we went to the top of the State Building to a rooftop bar called "La Boua", which is hands down one of the swankiest places I have ever nibbled on pistachios! I didn't even buy a beverage because the prices were comparable to a day's budget here, but I certainly enjoyed the incredible view of the sparkling city, the fancy yet relaxed ambiance and the good company. Then we headed off for our Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya river. We again, ate well from the (not-so-extraordinary) buffet, laughed, danced and enjoyed seeing all the temples and buildings and bridges lit up in all their glory at night. Afterward, we headed towars the uber-active area for travelers called Banglamphu on Khao San road and boogied late into the night to fabulous music and groovy beats.
We enjoyed shopping at outrageously fancy shopping centers, watching "The Adjustment Bureu" in the cushiest-fanciest-most exclusive movie watching experience ever, wandering interesting city
streets, exploring the Grand Palace and hiking the strikingly steep steps at Wat Arun, drinking/eating fresh coconuts and yummy noodle soups, thai iced tea and juicy fresh fruit from street vendors and bargaining hard at bustling colorful markets. We had a fantastic 6 days with Beth and Adam and our friendship continues to blosoom as we've continued to see each other even after heading back to stay at Riki and Yiks.
We are now planning our trip to Southern India where we will be for 3 weeks. We land in Mumbai and spend a day or so there before heading by train (a quintessential Indian cultural experience) to Goa and then Kerala, both on the West coast, then we will head to Pondicherry on the East coast and will fly out of Chennai (used to be Madras) on April 14th headed towards Denpasar, Bali where we will be for 3 or 4 weeks before heading back to Thailand for Dave's dental appointment on May 10th.
We are filled with excitement about these places, and yet also hold a bit of healthy caution about travel in India, both for gastrointestinal and crush-of-humanity-sensory-overload reasons. We know that it will be
Wat Arun at Night
This is not the best pic, but it's taken from the dinner cruise we went on for my birthday an amazing journey filled with both exhillerating beauty and teeth-clenching challenges. We hope that acclimating to the heat and the few travel-bothers that come with Thailand, we will be better equipped to deal with what may come in India.
In Bali and Lombok we will seek some precious solitude, paradise-beaches, lush and beautiful surroundings and gorgeous temples, architecture, food, traditional dancing, cultural traditions and smiling people. It is the only island in the 6000+ island country of Indonesia, that has a Hindu-based spirituality instead of Muslim. I've wanted to go there since elementary school when one of my classmates headed over there with his family and came back with exotic and exciting photos to show our 5th grade class.
We have been allowing ourselves to marinate in the questions of where we'd like to live and train to become Waldorf School Teachers and though we are still holding both options open (Sacramento or Eugene), we are leaning more and more towards Eugene for several reasons. The main ones being affordability, ability to live desired lifestyle (read: little house and a yard, more time for friends and social life etc) and the proximity to dear family and friends, all
Tops of the Temples
Each one is unique and ornate! within a 2-4 hour radius of Eugene.
We are beginning to talk more about dates and location for wedding, and though there is SERIOUSLY nothing even sketched in stone, we are playing with the idea of late summer of 2012. With possible locations (perhaps even two different events) being in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and/or West Coast somewhere in California or Oregon. We'll of course keep you updated, but that is what we are holding lightly right now.
I did get some disheartening news a couple of days ago. My previous captain (both from 2006 and 2010) responded to my e-mail, letting me know that he has decided, at this late hour, to take a long-time friend on as crew and second permit-holder on the boat this year instead of me. I won't mention all the thoughts and feelings this brings up for me, save to say I am quite disappointed, and struggled with the news. So, at this time when most captains have their crew and permits long-ago lined up, I am seeking employment once again. I spent the day today contacting as many of the people I could think of who might be able to help find
me a good fishing gig this summer. It is yet to be revealed whether my destiny will have me fishing this summer at all, but I am remaining optimistic and have confidence that if I am meant to be there I will! I usually conclude that the Universe must have something 'bigger' or 'better' in mind for me. Wish me well friends!
Life is good and every day I count my blessings. To be fortunate enough to be here and with my beloved Dave, surrounded by beauty and having new and exciting adventures daily, is just more than I ever hoped for, though it is what I have always dreamed of. Thank you all for your support as we explore a litle more of this phenomenal planet as well as our inner worlds.
With much love and lots of warm hugs,
Heather
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