Blogs from Asia - page 14742

This past weekend I went on the DMZ Tour with the Korean Conflict class. Even though I had already been to North Korea, I thought taking advantage of this opportunity would be educational. We woke up bright and early and left on the 1-hour bus ride to the Joint Security Area (JSA). It was cold and rainy, but over 90 people still showed up to go. At the JSA, both North and South Korean armed forces co-exist in the same work environment. Though it is common to see troops from the North in the JSA, this by no means takes away from the seriousness and constant threat that exists between the two groups. There is no harmony, only the necessary respect that comes with wanting to keep peace and doing one's job. Both sides are allowed ... read more

Arrival: May 6 at 2:15pm. I arrive at the airport and drag my luggage into a taxi because no one picked me up. I go to the YMCA, where I find out that my host organization did not book me a room, so I call my contact, Ms. Juliana (her first name is Juliana, but they say Ms. in front). She told me that I was supposed to be at the YWCA. Great. . . okay, my taxi driver left and I had to get another taxi cab about 5 minutes away to another road. I shouldn't have packed so much, my luggage was so heavy! This guy, Raymond realized that I was struggling with finding a place and offered to give me a ride, oh and find me a SIM card for my cell phone. ... read more

hey people i just got back from tibet and am now finally clean after taking a really long shower. the weather here seems so hot now compared to the frigid night at the everest base camp. so yes, i am super tired but i want to tell everybody about my trip, so i have decided to just describe one of the days because it was the most exciting and most important, being may 1st (my birthday). okay, so we woke up at about 5 am to catch breakfast in the restaurant inside our hotel. they had to open the restaurant early especially for us and they were not happy. we took off at 6 o'clock to start our fourteen hour drive to the mount everest base camp. the ride was really bumpy because we were traveling ... read more

On Monday, I took a trip with a group of expat women to one of the knife making villages, Aranyik. The village is right next to Ayuthaya. Our first visit was to the knife making shop. This small business is part of Thailands OTOP project. OTOP stands for "One Tambon, One Project" and is a government project based on the fact that many villages specialize in a certain type of handicraft, be it knives, porcelain, agricultural goods, etc....therefore to some degree they have some efficiency of production. The government assists in helping the villagers with their distribution and sales networks. At the knife making shop, the owners first served our group refreshments (chai yen and pork sate! yum!) and gave a us a quick presentation on the history of their shop and the area. They had ... read more

Hey guys! This will be short, but I've been in BKK for two days and I leave to teach english in Rasi Salai tonight. I will tell you about my travels when I get there b/c here I have to pay for the computer, and there I think it is free. All is good.... I'm safe and sound, and having good times. I cut my knee though. And it is infected already! So hang in there until I get up north and can use the computer for free and load up some pictures. You guys guys are so silly, though... I got on the comp today and I had 29 emails from you all!! Calm down, I am fine hahaha. Take care, Raylene... read more