Miss Hua Pok 2008

So the other night, D and I were wandering about Chiang Mai and a young man handed us a flyer. Normally, we disregard them because they are generally advertising Muay Thai boxing which neither of us understand nor really want to watch. However, we had been discussing the fact that these guys just need to hand out all their fliers so we recently started taking them just to help out. I read the flyer and it talked about the Miss Hua Pok 2008 beauty contest. This is a Thai ladyboy beauty contest with a cabaret show. We both thought it would be fun and as the entrance was only 50 baht ($1.45 USD) it sounded like a great way to spend our Saturday night.

What is a ladyboy you may ask. Well, since I'm not an expert and can't definitively explain the meaning, here's the Wikipedia definition. From my experience, a ladyboy is a socially accepted transgendered person in Thailand and it is not at all uncommon to find a ladyboy working, socializing, living etc. with no noticeable discrimination from others around them.

The show was fun and the cabaret was very flashy and well choreographed. We were both unable to swear that there weren't biological females amongst the contestants because for the most part they were all so beautiful.

One of the more interesting parts of the pageant was when the finalists were instructed to remove their wigs and display their beauty with their own hair. Most of them looked just as pretty without the wigs and some even prettier.

Our favorites didn't win the contest but they did make runners-up. After the contest was completed, we joined the contestants backstage so we could have pictures with some of the most beautiful beauty pageant contestants I've seen, no matter what biological gender they may have been.


Soy Mak Mak! (Very beautiful!)

You can see more pictures from the show here.

Peace.

Christmas in the sun, Hot Springs, Lady-boy Beauty Contests and Sung Tou Adventures

Christmas dinner at The Garden was a nice mellow social affair with a spread of food that resembled the attendees, a mix of Frarang and Thai. There was turkey and cranberry sauce with potatoes and gravy (neither of the last two resembling the kind we have back home) along side some interesting Thai dishes of rice noodles with green curry eggplant and other interesting dishes. During the midday dinner, the owner Tim had hired an Eastern Thai band to play and their authentic musical style was quite lovely. We had a lovely day as it was sunny and warm and we ate with our English friends Linda and Mike (they are from Hull). It felt a bit odd to be fanning myself and worrying about staying in the shade since we were outdoors for our Christmas dinner! It was a first for me. The owner of "The Garden" is British as well so there was a traditional fruitcake...I asked the Thai girl serving for "A small piece of cake and lots of ice cream". She didn't correct me so when I sat down Mike and Linda said "Wow you sure are going overboard there" and I just thought they were joshing me until I stuffed a whole mouthful in and almost gagged...felt like pure lard and tasted almost as gross. I promptly spit it into my napkin and said "That's not ice cream!!" which prompted the entire table to laugh at me and explain what "hard sauce" or "buttered rum" is.

Saturday, while collecting our laundry down the street, Kim and I were discussing what we should do after dinner when someone handed us a flyer for Miss Hua Puk 2008 Beauty Contest and Cabaret show. Problem solved. So after dinner we walked to the Thapae Gate area paid our 50baht ($1.45 per person) entrance fee and then watched the pagent, cabaret and comedy that was the show. So many of the contestants were so beautiful I had difficulty believing they weren't female-even when they made them take off the wigs! I used up every last photo on shots of the contestants and vegas style costumes worn by the cabaret acts. Check out more amazing photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/KimStJohnWoodward

Today we met Linda and Mike at their hotel early so we could join them for some rice porridge (Juk/Comgee) and then go on a Sung Tou adventure. We had heard that you could get to San Kampang by Sung Tou and so we took one out to the village. 15 baht later we found out that the hot springs labeled San Kampang Hot Springs is about a 30 minute drive outside of said village. After picking up a stray Aussie, nice young man named John, Linda managed to haggle another Sung Tou to take us for 20 baht each. We walked the floral laden grounds, boiled eggs in the hottest pool and then had a swim in a luke warm swimming pool with a light sulfur smell. It was a nice day and although it cost us 300 baht in a taxi to get back to town we all enjoyed the adventure of it all. We had the taxi drop us in BoSarn where the hand painted umbrella factory is. I had one of the artists paint an elephant on the back of my little daypack and now I am quite pleased with it. Before it was just a good deal being 50baht and slightly faded from spending years hanging in the night market but now it is nicely decorated for 50baht more and I like it even better.

Now however it is time to head out and have a little supper since the 2 boiled eggs and handful of banana chips I ate for lunch aren't holding me very well. Tough dilemma now...pizza or Thai food?

Anyone interested in reading more details about what Thailand is like...this writer's description is right on the money! http://mybt.budgettravel.com/_Thailand-The-Land-of-Smiles/BLOG/154630/21864.html

Tomorrow is New Years Eve and we are invited to a BBQ and then have booked in at the Holiday Inn for a Seafood Buffet/Music/Dance evening by the riverside. I expect it will be enjoyable and decadent . I will be thinking of all of you, my dear friends and family back home and around the world and wishing everyone a very Merry New Year!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Well, it's now the evening of Christmas here in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the year 2008.

It's bizarre and somewhat of a relief having Christmas in Buddhist country. There is very little hoopla about the whole holiday. We have some people wishing us Merry Christmas but for the most part things are just business as usual.

Christmas eve we went to dinner at a lovely restaurant and then walked back to our hotel. While people were enjoying Midnight Mass, I went and had a Midnight Mass-age. Absolutely fantastic! Tong-ma at Moonlight Massage in Chiang Mai is incredible and the massage is only 150 baht (approx. $4.29). It's very hard to do any better than that!

We then slept in until about 10 AM. We walked into town to our favourite vegetarian breakfast restaurant. Not very vegetarian since we have eggs quite often and they offer dishes with fish and meat ... but the fresh baked bread is great and the fruit and muesli along with cinnamon toast is to die for!

After breakfast, we headed to the Royal Lanna to help one friend who had damaged his computer system and then meet-up with Linda and Mike who we had made plans to have Christmas Supper with at "The Garden" (the place we stayed at when we first arrived in Chiang Mai a few months ago).

The meal was a nice buffet of both Thai dishes and a few English/Christmas favourites. We had Northern Thai green curry and prawns over noodles, as well as roast turkey and mashed potatoes. The owners of "The Garden" had also hired a Ponglan (Eastern Thai) musical group to play during the afternoon and they were very, very good!

After supper, we waved goodbye to Linda and Mike as they were off to hand out gifts at a local orphanage and we then had a nice cup of coffee and slice of chocolate cake. Afterwards, we went to Lila massage and both of us had a fantastic hour long Thai foot reflexology session! (same price as the massage the night before).

Now, evening has come upon us and we're going to go have a little bite to eat and then join some friends at a bar near the night bazaar. I hope you all have a very, very Merry Christmas!!!

A day in the life...Chiang Mai style!

So my dear friend Donna mentioned how exotic and adventurous we've been and asked what our typical days are like. I thought I would share my response with all of you.
Since we've been in Chiang Mai, Thailand and Singapore our adventures haven't really been that exotic. They are both modern cities with all the conveniences and amenities. And the demonstrations didn't affect us at all, other than noticing that there are very few tourists around. Certainly not as many as there should be for this time of year.

As a snapshot of our lives here in the north of Thailand:

The other day I woke up early to make my calls to shrimp customers(yes I am still working selling shrimp...same as if I was in Colfax..maybe more as I don't have housework, errands or my massage practice to distract me) then we adventured out to find breakfast. Came back to the hotel and did some paperwork/emails on the computer while Kim worked at his programming. By 1pm we took off and met our friends Linda and Mike and went to a car show at the BigC (K-mart-esque)where we enjoyed puzzling over the Hydrogen kits for better fuel mileage and the fun little fiat 500's with snazzy paint jobs.
Then we came back to the center of town and went out to dinner at this little place next to their hotel. It is someone's front yard and there are several tables set up and one guy with a wok cooking dishes one by one. So eating there with 5 people was interesting as each dish came individually. But they were all lovely so we were happy. I think I had flat noodles with chicken and veggies and Kim had pineapple fried rice with pork. After wandering about the night market and catching a little bit of the puppet show and traditional Thai dancing in the Kalare food court Kim and I walked back across town to our hotel and then I stayed up late enough to call Barry and Skip and put in my shrimp orders.

Today was a Sunday relaxation day with a sleep in until nearly 9 and then a walk about town looking for a new breakfast place. Found one, but it was a disappointment. Luckily, it wasn't far from Starbucks and I got my chocolate fix (only place to get real dessert) of a double chocolate cupcake...warm!! Then we went to the Luck Fish Spa and had another one of the fish clean your feet sessions (see weird video) and a lovely full body Thai massage. The rest of the afternoon has been spent cleaning up my in-box and writing to May re shrimp stuff.
Now it is time to put on shoes walk back to Thapae Gate and listen to some live Jazz at that same Starbucks before we meet Linda and Mike again for dinner and more live music (blues this time I think) at "The Garden". I think that pretty much describes an ideal day for me. If we are feeling really decadent then on the way home tonight we may splurge and spend another $5 dollars each on another hour long foot massage before bed.
Well the music at Starbucks wasn't worth staying for so we went to Ratana's Kitchen on Thapae Road and had an awesome dinner (Khao Soi) one of my favorite dishes. After that we had a long, tedious, slow walk to "The Garden". To get ther we had to walk through the Sunday Walking Market where they close off most of the streets to traffic and everyone has stalls on the sides and middle of the roads. The music was fun...classic rock stuff Jimmy Hendrix, Dire Straights, Beatles etc. By the time we left it was late enough that we passed on getting another foot session and just came back to the hotel.
I am hoping to stay up late enough to make a few work calls but if not I will set an alarm and make the calls first thing when I get up.

So far no special plans for tomorrow, work in the morning and Fish and Chips day at Sunee's restaurant. Other than that I think we will just "wing it".

Emergency Visa Run to Singapore

On the 10th when we were taking the taxi to the University for the orchid show our friend Allen was bemoaning having to have his visa renewed and I made the nonchalant comment that I was glad as Americans we had 90 instead of only 30 days on our visa. He informed us of the recent changes in the Thai laws which are not so friendly to visitors for some reason. Sure enough we got back to the hotel that evening to find our visa had indeed expired that day! So in a flurry we researched where to go, got up really early, packed up all our stuff and went to the airport. We bought a ticket to Singapore as it made sense to go there and renew our visas in style. I was able to contact my cousin Daniel and voila, it is a return of what my father affectionately calls the “Grateful Dan Fan Club”! Back in 95, the last time we were gallivanting the globe ,we kept following him around from Paris, France to Majorca, Spain and Miami to the Florida Keys too.

Kim and I are in Singapore now and just made the conservative decision :( to go back to Thailand rather than take an 18 day cruise to Hong Kong. It was a tough call as that did sound like fun. It was on the Azamara line which I have been interested in checking out. But, it would have been completely out of budget so we are behaving.

We are also quite enjoying Singapore. It is a clean lovely city, manageable in size, easy to get around and lots to see. There is plenty of upscale stuff but we have found food is really reasonable and the taxi's are downright cheap! Dan has taken us around a bit and turned us on to some local specialties. My current favorite is the Sambal Stingray. Basically BBQ stingray smothered in a sweet and mildly spicy roasted chili paste very unlike the sambal I have had in the past. We have checked out Boat Quay, hiked in the big park up to the top of the small mountain behind his house, had a buffet brunch with him at the American Club and gone to some great hole in the wall eateries. He took us to see Quantum of Solace (ok fun but not spectacular) and we got to hang out at his house for a while. (Bless him for letting us mooch his internet and do some long overdue laundry too!)

The other night we explored Chinatown on our own and we have been taking advantage of the pool at our hotel almost every day. Although it is quite cool in the water we keep reminding ourselves that it is mid-December and really not that cold at all! We have had rain almost every day and it is quite humid and much warmer than the north of Thailand.

It is Monday night and as soon as Kim finishes his work for the day I'd like to go check out all the over-the-top Christmas lights on Orchard Street and find some dinner. Tuesday/tomorrow we pick up our passports and visas at the Thai Consulate office in preparation for our return to Chiang Mai the following morning on Wednesday. At that point we will have 36 more days in Thailand and 5 in Hong Kong before our return. Seems like it is going by super fast.

Life in Chiang Mai Thailand

Kim and I have been in Chiang Mai, here in the north of Thailand since the 15th of November. Most of this time we have been keeping busy by doing some work, walking everywhere, eating delicious food, dancing and seeing the sights.

Kim has been working on his laptop and I have been keeping up with shrimp clients by phone and booking some travel for folks via the Internet. I have done a few hotel reservations, some research for a group going to Hawaii and may be putting together a group for a Panama Canal Cruise at the end of February or the middle of March. Anyone interested? So far I think we have 3 cabins already spoken for. Write me for the details if you want to come with!

What have we been keeping busy with you ask?
On the first two Sundays here at the Queen Vic, we've gone downstairs to the pub for the all you can eat “Carvery” buffet of roast meats, Yorkshire pudding,gravy potatoes etc. and it is almost $10each! So for the sake of our cheapness and our big bellies we've skipped it since.
Every Sunday evening we find ourselves hanging out at “The Garden” listening to the blues/folk music there...we even got up and danced to one 50's song last Sunday despite the fact that we were the only people dancing! We have made some great friends there and have had lots of fun with Linda and Mike from England since our first Sunday at the Garden.
We've gone to High Tea and dancing at the Shangri La hotel for the last few Saturday afternoons. It was fun despite the fact that there wasn't much food and the band stunk- we are talking “cringe” bad. At least we got to dance.
We had two Salsa lessons on Wednesday nights since we have been up here in Chiang Mai and have now switched to Monday night Argentinian Tango class. Only had one lesson so far but really liked it! Linnie and Ty, you would be proud of us!
On the 3rd of December I went with Linda and her friend Valerie to the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School and learned to cook several more Thai dishes. The lesson was: cooked Pad Sey Yew (Wide noodles fried with sweet soy sauce), Steamed fish in Banana leaves, Yellow curry chicken, Chicken with Cashews and Spicy Prawn salad North-Eastern Style (in a chili jam sauce!) Everything was delicious and I brought my leftovers back for Kim. Unfortunately the dessert was a disappointment, it was cooked green bananas in Coconut Milk...not my thing!
On the 4th we went to the, get this...Ratchaphruek rumjaiphukrakporluang, (see Bobbie your name isn't really that long!) The Royal Flora Rachaphruek 2006 exhibit just outside of town. We are talking impressive gardens, with an orchid show going on and all sorts of events leading up to the King's birthday. The evening we chose to go, there was live Jazz and they were to play some of the King's compositions. I don't know if we heard any of his music but the band and singer were really pretty good. Linda caught us dancing on the way up towards the stage (see pics!) I don't know how she managed it but somehow she got us in the shot without anyone else, as if we had the place to ourselves, which was far from the case.
Monday we spent the morning working and then had a lunch date at Sunee's for her Panko battered fish & chips day, with Linda and Mike. After lunch we all went to the Holiday Inn to reserve our New Years Eve Buffet dinner and then to the massive Airport Plaza mall. They have this lame machine at the gym there which I was dying to check out until I saw it- I think it is called the Turbo-sonic back home but this seemed like a knockoff. Remember those goofy machines ages ago that had a vibrating belt you stood in and it was supposed to jiggle the fat away...same thing just a vibrating platform you stand on...no belt. Got back to the hotel with just enough time to grab our shoes and catch a taxi as we had a Tango Dance class that night.
The next day I worked for our dinner. I did an NMR/NKT session on Noriko, one of our Tango classmates. She has had neck stuff for a long time and I am hoping it helped her out. She certainly fed us well on an amazing organic peanut butter curry, which I will be struggling to replicate as soon as we get home!
On Wednesday the 10th we took a Green Sung Teow out to one of the big Universities and checked out the flower show there, orchids, bonsai, gourds, agriculture exhibits and a parade including parrots and a snake that I got to touch.(again see pics)
So we've gone from having very little on our plates to a busy schedule in no time at all! And you can see we are in no danger of getting bored with Thailand. The weather has been in the low 80's consistently and I hear there is snow at home so I am sending you all warm tropical mental hugs from here!

Visa Run

Every day we learn something new if we're open to the education!

I learned that my tourist visa expired today! If I had done a little more research, I would have found that the 90 day visa that Americans have for free in Thailand is only available if you pick it up at the consulate office from the USA. Now, we're stuck having to make a visa run to the border to renew our tourist visas and then determine what we will do in the coming months of this trip.

If you don't hear from us over the course of the next few days ... don't worry ... we're just jetting around Asia trying to make our passports valid once again! ( No, seriously, don't worry. This happens to travelers in Thailand all the time. )

Peace

Lovely Chiang Mai

After spending about 2 months total here over the last 5 years, both Kim and I feel pretty familiar and comfortable with the city of Chiang Mai. This time we decided to stay within the moated center of the city. After an extensive search online we ended up choosing "The Garden" due to the advertisement for live music every Sunday of Jump/Jive/Swing. We arrived and checked in to this 3 room guest house. Tim is an ex-pat from England and his lovely Thai wife Thong is a great cook.
To see where we were and where we hang out every Sunday night listening to blues/folk music(swing guitarist being out of commission) go to: http://www.thegardenchiangmai.com/

Well it turned out that because the King's sister had recently passed away there was no music or alcohol being served that week and then the main guitarist broke his wrist. So we had a very nice and quiet couple of days there pretty much having the place to ourselves after dark. During those first few days we spent much of our time walking around town and checking into "long-stay" rates at different hotels until we settled on the one we are in now.

We are staying at The Queen Victoria Inn and Pub. We have a large room overlooking a temple (Watt) with French doors onto a small balcony. Having a really comfortable bed as well as our own bathroom en-suite and free wi-fi cinched the deal. So we booked in for 2 months. It does seem a little odd to be in Thailand staying in a British pub, this one run by an ex-pat from Geneva Switzerland. His name is Pascal and he speaks with a thick French accent.
For pictures and an idea of what our place is like go to http://www.queenvictoria-chiangmai.com/

As we scoured the center of town for our new digs we also went to every bike shop in the area looking for a few decent used bikes for the two of us. By the time we had walked to all of them and looked at the meager offerings we realized "this town is just too small to need bikes" and now we just walk everywhere. If we had bikes we'd spend more time unlocking and locking them to things than it would take to get anywhere.
It takes us less than 30 minutes to walk from one gate all the way across to the other, so nothing is very far.

Brilliant timing makes Bangkok a delightful place to Recover!

Instead of staying in India to go to the Pushkar Camel Fair, Kim and I cut our losses and left India. Good thing too as the situation there has gotten less than desirable over the last while. We departed on the 10th rather than waiting until the tour was over on the 13th or staying in India on our own longer. I booked Pat and Jessica a room at the Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok and then did the same for Kim and I.

This is an absolutely delightful luxury hotel with all the trimmings and amazing customer service. It is located right on the Chao Praya River and every room has a gorgeous view. The plush beds and 2 pools were delicious as well as the food and ambiance. It was just the sort of pampering for a couple of nights that we all needed to get over the bad feelings from our trip through India.

Upon arrival the girls took a nap and Kim and I took the water bus over to the Vieng Tai Hotel in the Khao San Rd area to retrieve our left luggage. It was there and intact so we were pleased. This meant not only that I had some clean clothes again but also that Kim would have his old laptop to be able to work from.

When we got back we ended up swimming and falling asleep by the pool for a few hours to make up for the red-eye flight from Delhi that night. The four of us got together for dinner and I can't remember now but there were definitely some foot massages in there somewhere.

If I haven't talked about them let me just say that getting Thai foot reflexology is one of the best things about being here. For an hour session they wash your feet, apply mentholated rub, massage and use a stick or knuckle to work the acupressure points. It is so relaxing and most of the time for the last few minutes they have you sit up and they rub your shoulders and neck to finish.

Our second day in Bangkok with Jessica and Pat we spent going around the Khao San Rd area looking at jewelery for Pat and then while Jessica got pampered by getting massages and foot rubs the three of us went on a longboat ride through the narrow canal passages in Bangkok. It was a part of the city I had never seen before and it was both interesting and beautiful.
Later that evening before the four of us went to dinner we sat in the lobby and watched a parade of beauty contestants from all over Thailand and a small dance/music performance. It turns out that this night was the Loy Krathong Festival and there would be big celebrations, floating and flying lights and fireworks everywhere in Thailand. We took Jessica and Pat to one of our favorite restaurants(Kim and I try and go there every trip to Bangkok) it is called Tongue Thai and it was even better this time than I remembered. At the end of our meal they presented us with the flower/candle arrangements that are meant to be good luck offerings. On our way back to the Sheraton we stopped at the pier and lit and launched ours into the river.
We then sat in Pat and Jessica's room in front of the huge picture window and watched the amazing fireworks display over the river. I have to say I haven't always been impressed by fireworks displays but this was by far the longest, most elaborate and largest I have ever witnessed.

We had such a great time with the two of them, we were sorry to see them off the next day as they headed to Hong Kong for a brief layover on their way home to Sacramento.

Kim and I checked out of the Sheraton and into the Win Long Place just a few blocks in from the river and a fraction of the cost as well. Two nights there and some laundry and catching up on rest and we decided to head for Chiang Mai.
On the last night before we left, Kim and I put on our fancy clothes and walked over to the Shangri La Hotel. I had found out online that they had a live jazz band. Turned out we were the only ones in the whole bar. So, when they played a suitable song we got up and danced. The bartender gals enjoyed it and the band was delighted and asked us what we wanted to hear. So we got to dance to several more songs before heading back to our hotel. It was a great night and Kim and I plan on going back there when we go through Bangkok on our way home.(Given that the airports re-open and we go out that way.)

Next stop: Chiang Mai in the north-west of Thailand

The Doctor Fish Is In

Okay ... so I just had to share this one. DaLeiLei and I went out dancing today and on our way back to our room, we stopped for dinner. After dinner we decided to have a foot massage, as one does when one is in Thailand.

We came across this place called "Fish Spa". Now, there are a lot of weirdly named places in Chiang Mai offering massage so we just figured it was an odd name ... then we looked in and found out that they offered to have these fish eat your feet for 30 minutes before giving you foot massage.

We had just seen an episode of "Ugly Betty" in which the main villainess does the same thing to help rid her feet of callouses so she can more readily seduce a man so we thought ... I've gotta try this!

It was weird. You sit for 30 minutes with your feet submerged in a tank with 1000 of these little fish called "Doctor Fish" [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish ] as they swarm over to your legs, feet and toes and proceed to "nibble" off bits of your old, dead flesh. It was creepy, it tickled, and by the end of the 30 minutes it seemed like the most natural way to remove skin that could be imagined. We've already decided to try it again ... and the two women, Ann and Ead were great therapists for our feet.

Here's a video of the fish in action! [ http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1925518/garra_rufa_fish_in_action_giving_a_natural_pedicure/ ]

Staying safe and enjoying Thailand

Let me just begin by assuring everyone that we are safe and staying out of harms way. I know some of you have seen the political protests on the news and I just want to let you all know, in case you were concerned. We are relaxing in a small and fairly touristy city, Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand. Kim is staying on top of the news and making sure we are nowhere near any demonstrations/protests/marches or meetings for these political groups and activists. We are still doing just great and it is not very apparent that there is trouble afoot. Since our flight out is not for quite a while we are not very affected by the shut down of the airports at this time and I am certain that it will all have worked itself out by the time we are set to fly again. But regardless we are being careful.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!
Dana

My first haircut

Okay ... not my first, but it's been a while since my last official haircut. In 1993, I had my friend, a hair stylist, cut my hair and started a new job at Apple Computers. (Yeah ... I know that it's weird to get a haircut to work at Apple, but I'm wacky like that!)

So, I had my hair cut and then let it grow out for the next five or so years. I had hair down my back, most of the way to my waist until I moved back to the Colfax area. Both myself and one of my best friends had very long hair at the time and we were both sick of how hot it was in Auburn and Colfax with pounds of hair hanging down our backs so we then got a set of clippers and shaved our heads. That would have been around 1998 or so.

Since then, the only hair-cutting I've had done is with a set of clippers and a 1/2 inch guard to shave my hair off. I've gotten to the point that I can trim all the hair of my head in under five minutes and do a pretty darn good job of it.

So today, my shaggy hair and I went in search of a barber in Chiang Mai. The first woman that I asked for a hair cut said she only cut women's hair and sent me down the street to a barber. The barber was a nice Thai ladyboy who did a fairly respectable job trimming my hair up. It was funny when she got to the grey hairs because the look on her face was definitely questioning what a "boy" like me was doing with grey temples. The hair cut was 120 Thai baht (approximately $3.50) and I threw in an extra 20 baht for a shampoo ($.60). So, for under $5 I got the first haircut I've had in 15 years. Not sure if I should make it a habit or not!

India/Swindlia a Grand Failure!

I last blogged to say we were on our way to an overnight train to Varanasi and would give the trip a few more days before we passed judgement overall. I can now say that the India portion of this trip was a complete failure. We lasted until the 10th and left along with the three other travellers Pat, Jessica and Kim. (not counting our leader and her ex-boyfriend, who were going to travel further after we left anyhow) So we never made it to the Pushkar Camel Fair. I have to say even if we'd gone we wouldn't have had a good time because at that point we were "DONE" with India and our tour altogether.

Although we did get swindled a few times in minor ways from the $50 at the Kali Temple to any purchase we made at white people prices, the biggest swindle of all (hence my nickname India-Swindlia) was the tour itself. Our guide touted 1st class hotels, heritage sites and lovely pools in said resorts and then we were in what I would call 2 star hotels at best. They were dirty and no pools except one. So I would say overall our trip should have cost about $2500 at the most. We had paid $8k so the big swindle was unexpectedly from our trip leader from Sacramento who put on the trip.

Everyone else I know who has gone to India in the last few years has gone with a group trip and had an excellent time. They all said..."you have to go first class so that you have a refuge from the filth and overwhelming crowds you will experience there." I thought that is what we had signed up for. Instead it was more like a group of backpackers mooking along not quite sure what there was to see. Our leader's travel book was 3 years old and she hadn't been to India for 28 years, both things we didn't know before embarking on this adventure.

A few days into the trip, I had to have a sit down with our leader and tell her it was unacceptable for us not to have local/informed guides with us to show us the sights, look out for swindlers, and that meals needed to be included for the price we paid for the trip(as we found out when we arrived that they weren't going to be!)

The 2 overnight trains were a nightmare of cockaroaches and disgusting toilets that I would rather not go into detail about as I would rather block them out of my mind. I can say with certainty that none of the other members of our group were pleased with the train and accomodations either.

The final straw for me was after an overnight, miserable train to Delhi we checked into another dark dank cold showered dirty hotel room with sheets that were so filthy we had to use our hostel sleepsheets. Thank goodness we brought them! As Kim had his cold rinse I sat there ready to cry and thinking "This was supposed to be my "Orient Express" trip as it was just as expensive and was supposed to be posh. We had never spent so much on a trip in our lives, including the 65 day trip Kim and I did in Europe back in '95. I had packed a cocktail dress and my dance shoes in case there were any live musicians at the "heritage hotels". We never needed any nice clothes and the clothes we did wear got filthy within minutes.

Ok enough griping...it was a bust...so we left. The five of us got a car (at our own expense mind you) to drive us from Jaipur to Delhi. We hired him to take us into Delhi so we could have dinner and then to the airport. We had him take us to the Imperial Hotel which was of the caliber we had all hoped to experience throughout the trip. That was where I could have pulled out my heels and dress but since no one else dressed up I just wore my nice silk shirt and Kim wore his sports coat. After the best meal of the trip we went to the airport and made our escape to Bangkok. How do you make Bangkok feel as clean as Europe? Go to India on the cheap first!

I am sorry it has taken me so long to post but I had to wait until the sting of it had passed enough to write about it.

One positive thing I will say is that the Taj Mahal was as lovely and impressive a piece of art as it is touted to be. I expected to be dissapointed and I was not! It was the one bright gem in an otherwise depressing trip.

If you want even more gory details of the day to day along with the sights we did see check out Kim's blog. http://wwfam-kstj.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-india-review.html

Coming soon....Thailand makes it all better!

Thai time and the livin' is easier!

So after a bit of a stress filled trip in India, it is awesome to be back in Thailand. If you haven't read my dry review of India you can find it here: My India Review

Also, my photos are posted here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwfam/sets/72157609642570017/

So D and I left India a few days early with three of our fellow companions. The five of us decided that getting out of the situation we were in was going to make us much happier and that we'd rather go back to Bangkok and pamper ourselves than continue on to Pushkar. I'm sure I will regret it later as I hear the camel fair at Pushkar is quite amazing, but at the time, we were ready to get back to a more pleasant place and enjoy ourselves again.

The five of us got to the airport in India and one of our companions flew to London while four of us flew back to Thailand. We all got in a taxi and headed to the Sheraton and we all spent the next few days eating, getting multiple massages per day and enjoying the pool and amenities at the Sheraton.

We also did a great "tour" of the canals off the Chao Phraya river and we were able to watch all the fireworks and launch our own "good-luck" candle in the river during the Loy Krathong festival.

After two great days with Jessica and Pat, we then changed to a much cheaper hotel in Bangkok for a few days and spent our time walking the streets, eating well, receiving massage and planning our next two month stay in Thailand.

We decided to head North and caught a flight to Chiang Mai. Once in town we went to a guest house we had read about named "The Garden". It's a great bed and breakfast run by an Englishman and his Thai wife, Tim and Thong and the vibe there is fantastic. If you're looking for a very reasonably priced guest house with great people running it, give it a try. Although we enjoyed The Garden, we decided that for 2 months we would prefer to have our own bathroom versus a shared one and found the place we are currently staying.

We are now in the "Queen Victoria Inn". The proprietor is a Korean born man raised in Switzerland, who owns an English pub in Thailand and speaks French, English, German and other languages, and adds to my complex about being a mono-glot white boy from California! The room is wonderful and we're planning on staying here until we head to Hong Kong in January. (We have talked about a trip to Cambodia before Hong Kong ... check back to see if we do it!)

At this point, I'm back to work and am enjoying days filled with good food, massage, warm weather and a decent Internet connection to work with. I'll try and keep everyone posted with new updates / events that happen while we're here in Chiang Mai for the next few weeks. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Peace.

My India Review

So let me start my review of India by saying this ... I will go back in the future and try again. That being said, let me give you a bit of detail about this trip and how it happened for DaLeiLei and I.

There are a few places on the globe that both of us considered ourselves ill-prepared to visit on our own and India was one of them. A friend of ours who travels quite extensively was putting together a trip and described it to us about 18 months ago. She described a trip with 5 star hotels, a second "tour operator" who had experience taking other groups into India and a "first class" experience all the way. We talked about it extensively because the cost was the highest of any vacation we had ever taken and it ended up costing us over half of Dana's massage income for the previous year.

I will be the first to admit that this trip was probably a "failure" for me due to expectations on my part which may or may not have been valid based on the tour operator's ideas of how the trip would work.

When we arrived we found out that meals wouldn't necessarily be included, tips were generally up to us and that there would not be a "guide" every day to give us some history or direction in the locations we were visiting. After two days, I was ready to leave and DaLeiLei had to calm me down. She tried tell the tour operator how we were feeling about this trip and that it was rather unacceptable to not have guides every day or meals included for the $8000 ticket price that we had paid for this trip. (The price didn't include the airline tickets or all of the other extraneous things such as visas, travel vaccinations, transportation back to the airport at the end of the trip, etc.) Also by the time we were on the trip we found out that there was only one tour operator who was on the trip and she hadn't been in the destination cities that we were visiting for the past 28 years. So, needless to say, the trip had a few major blows from the beginning in my mind. But for now, on with the review!

(Also forgive the holes in my memory since my luggage was opened on the flight between India and Thailand and all my notes were lost somewhere en route!)

Day 1 - Kolkata

• Arrived in Kolkata (Calcutta). Immediately had the tour guide take one cab and leave Dana, myself and one other passenger arguing over the cab fare from the Airport to our hotel. After 5 minutes of playing dumb he finally decided to take us to the hotel and try and get the money from our guide.
• Got to the first hotel (HHI / Hindustani Hotel International). It wasn't too bad. It wasn't clean in our room and certainly wasn't what I would have considered much more than a 3-star any where else in the world. At this point, I did some math and started noting that DaLeiLei and I paid a total of $650 per day of our trip and if the hotel room wasn't at least $250 for the two of us per night I was starting to feel a bit ripped-off.
• Went for a cab ride to visit the famous flower market at the Howrah bridge and ended up not getting back to the hotel for a few hours with the cab drivers taking us all over Kolkata and beyond to raise the cab fare. Also, we never made it to the flower market. On the flip side, we almost died numerous, numerous times at the hands of psychotic drivers who were ready to start their next incarnation on this earth!

Day 2 - Kolkata / Varanasi

• Had breakfast and then sat through deliberations on what the day's schedule would include. In many cases, I think it is nice to have flexibility in group settings, but in this, I was relying on someone else to tell me what to see and what was important to visit while in India so the hour long confab as to where we would visit was a waste of time.
• Went to a temple for Kali. At some point, a "priest" associated himself with our group and led us on a tour of the temple. At the end of the tour he took each of us individually through a semi-religious ritual and indicated that we should give money to feed the poor. While normally, I would feel a bit more cynical about such a thing, we were outside Mother Theresa's hospital and the people in front of me in line were giving large sums of money to help feed the local poor. I ended up giving way more than I wanted (approx. $50) and then found out that they were lying through their teeth about how much previous people had given and most-probably about giving any money to the poor. I was livid at this point when I was told about my mistake. What the f**k am I paying a tour operator if not to look out for me in such situations!!! (The best part was reading our tour operators guide book later that afternoon and having it spelled out in the section on visiting the Kali temple ... that says to me that she didn't even bother reading the tour guide book or just figured it wasn't important to inform us about what might happen during our visit to this site. This was the point at which I was truly ready to leave the trip. The remainder of the trip was done with me feeling very, very skeptical about anything else that took place. Any chance of the trip having a spiritual awakening for me was pretty much right-off at this point.
• The remainder of the group went to a planetarium in the afternoon (I couldn't figure out why the hell I would travel to India to go to a planetarium) and I stayed in the hotel trying to lick my wounded wallet and reduce some of the frustration I was feeling at that point.
• We made our way to the Kolkata train station for the 1st class train ride we would take overnight to Varanasi. We then ran back and forth through the station as our guide had no clue where we needed to be to catch our train and when the train arrived on the platform we ran up and down the length of the train (which was no small feat) to try and find the car we were all situated in for the night. Finally we were in our compartments and as we started to think of getting under the sheets to sleep our way to Varanasi, I noticed a plethora of antennae waving roommates who would be traveling with us in our newly acquired roach motel on rails! I slept quite poorly with every few minutes seeming to bring another set of itches across my arms, back or legs. EEEEEWWWWWWW!!!! 1st class my eye! If she had done this in the last 25 years she would have known to hire a van and have us drive or have us fly instead of having most of our group's first experience in a sleeper car be filled with roaches, disgusting toilets and layers of filth on all the floors, seats, walls and windows! By the way, the train ride was covered in our $650 per day and I'm sure the train tickets didn't cost more than $100 for each of us. I'd look into what the actual cost was but I think I would find it depressing to know that it was incredibly low!

Day 3 - Varanasi

• Arrived in Varanasi after the roach coach train and headed into our hotel. This was another HHI but was of a lesser quality than the first one. The pool was out of commission and the building was quite a bit shabbier. Had breakfast and then tried to take a walk from the Hotel.
• Taking a walk was near impossible. "Auto-rickshaw" drivers (similar to Tuk-Tuk) would actually pull their vehicles in front of our path and then block us from continuing so they could try and get us to hire them to drive us around. This didn't go over too well for me, and after walking a few blocks it was evident that our hotel was no where near any part of the city that we wanted to be walking through.
• I believe it was at this point that DaLeiLei had a talk with the tour operator to try and let her know that we weren't pleased with the services being offered for the amount of money we spent and that if she wanted to try and make the trip better, we would suggest she start lining up tours as well as taking care of meals as well as the hotel rooms. Honestly, at this point, our operator did start paying for all of the meals (minus drinks) and there were also tours being given almost every day from this point forward. It looked as though things might get better from here.
• We hung out in the hotel until Gaurav, the gentleman from Delhi whom our tour operator had befriended over the Internet while booking hotels for this trip, arrived and took us down to the Ghats to view the Ganges river.
• The Ghats were one of the more interesting things I saw in India. I enjoyed the life down there when it wasn't busy trying to separate me from my wallet (which was 90% of the time) and watching the holy-men bathing in the Ganges river was quite fascinating. I personally would not set a toe in the river for fear of any number of diseases which could creep into your system but hey-ho ... they certainly wanted to bathe in the "mother" Ganges for religious reasons as well as hygiene (of a sort).
• We took a boat ride to the largest crematorium on the river and watched as bodies were placed on the pyres and then set alight. Afterwards we watched the religious ceremonies being performed to say good night to the river.

Day 4 - Varanasi

• A tour guide took us to the ghats in the morning and we got aboard another boat and went up and down the Ganges looking at the ghats we had seen the night before. He told us some things we didn't know but mostly repeated what Gaurav had said the night before.
• We then were taken to a shop as part of the tour but it was really just a stop so the guide could make a commission of any of the sales that were made by us. We then walked back to the rickshaws and were taken back to the hotel.
• We were then at the hotel with the option to go back to the ghats again that afternoon.
• For the life of me I can't remember if we did anything else on day four. If we did, I'm feeling that it wasn't very memorable at this point.

Day 5 - Varanasi / Sarnath / Delhi

• Hung out at the hotel until the afternoon when we went to Sarnath. An interesting site, this was where the Buddha gave his first teachings after receiving enlightenment. We visited the museum, viewed the Stupa (memorial) and then went to the local Buddhist temple.
• Headed back to the train station. This was exciting. One of our fellow travelers had brought "leftover" food from lunch and upturned the plastic bag on the train quay for a cow who seemed to be waiting for the train as well. We watched locals stepping up to the tracks and then urinating onto the train tracks without any sense of modesty. Another member of our group screamed rather excitedly at the rats that were enjoying the comforts of the ladies toilet. It was all great and we got to spend an extra hour and half waiting for the train to arrive so that it was about midnight before we got in our sleeper cars and were able to go to sleep. I didn't see quite so many roaches on this train ... but it was still nothing like a first class sleeper in Europe!

Day 6 - Delhi

• Arrived in Delhi around noon and made our way to the hotel. Not really a great hotel and it didn't bode well when the drivers couldn't find the destination no matter how many times they stopped to ask for directions.
• Our tour operator attempted to find us another hotel and was unsuccessful for the first night so we got to stay in this lovely slice of heaven. The shower never got hot, the towels were filthy and our bed sheet looked as though some one had blown their nose on them while making the bed. We were grateful to have brought our hostel sheets to travel with at this point.
• One of our groups members reported back that when the room porter brought them their two bottles of "complimentary" water, he then announced that it was complimentary at the cost of 40 rupees and waited for them to pay him to leave. They instead, strong-armed him from the room and told the front desk to not have another person bother them in their room or they would start throwing the bodies down the stairs rather indiscriminately!
• Our group all got back together and headed over to the Imperial for a late lunch, early dinner. It was a wonderful meal in a beautiful hotel and while everyone enjoyed it, it depressed Dana to no end. She went to the front desk and asked what the room rate was for a single night. The rack rate was $450 US per night. This room had been announced as far too expensive for us to have on this trip, but even at full price, it would have left $200 in our nightly budget if our operator had only bothered to do the math. (Another excuse our operator kept telling us was that there were no more rooms available anywhere in India and that when she had booked the trip four months prior she had gotten the best that was available at the time. I personally would have been much happier if we had been told that the trip would be in sub-standard hotel rooms because of this issue, but didn't really receive that type of info until we were already in the country. After our time traveling around, however, I am convinced that a bit more research could have turned up rooms that would have been much more suitable to the amount of money we were paying.)
• We tried to go to a "sound and light" show that was being displayed in the city (according to the 2005 guide book our tour operator had) and when we arrived found out that the show hadn't been displayed for 3 years or so. Might have known that with a bit more recent guide book!
  
• We walked through some markets, had a few drinks (well others did ... I had a few sodas) and the strain of the trip started becoming evident on most all of the other members of our group!
  
• We returned to sleep in our dingy room and hoped to not catch any communicable diseases that may have been lurking between the bed sheets.

Day 7 - Delhi

• Moved to a new hotel which was a much nicer hotel and then went on a few tours.
• Somewhere around day 3 I contracted "Delhi Belly" and couldn't eat much throughout the trip. Around Day 7, the intestinal cramps got really, really bad and I was starting to lose weight from not eating and having most of my insides forcefully removed every time I stopped by a toilet!
• We went to see the world's largest Muslim Mosque, Jama Masjid, a Sikh temple and some other sites around the city before returning to the hotel.
• As a group we talked with our tour operator and told her how unhappy we all were with the way the trip had gone. We asked her to find out if we could receive any refund on the portion of the trip in Pushkar and let her know that if we could, we would like to cancel the last few days at the festival. She said she would let us know if there was any chance of canceling that portion of the trip. (By the end of the trip, I had never been informed what the outcome of that request was ... I had to ask our other companions to find out that she told them that refunds would not be made no matter what!)
  

Day 8 - Agra

• We hastened our trip to Agra because it was determined that our second day in the Agra, the Taj Mahal would be closed. Glad we found out before going since we were scheduled to see the Taj the second day in Agra instead of the first.
• We arrived and went pretty much straight to the Taj Mahal. It is an astounding sight to see and is quite beautiful. I was feeling so sick at this point and couldn't care any less about visiting India so one of the eight wonders of the world was nice to see ... but I wasn't as blown away as I thought I might be.
• We stopped at a marble factory on our way to our hotel (which was the first hotel that was booked that I felt lived up to the hype our operator presented before we signed on for the trip) and one of the tour members purchased a very nice marble table for the sum of $2k. They threw in some Masala Chai for us all so we were happy to drink tea and encourage our traveling companion to spend way too much money on a table for his home in Tahoe.
• Another member of the tour suggested we go to the "nice" restaurant attached to the hotel instead of eating at the buffet as we had been doing everywhere else. It looked like a lovely meal and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I had chicken broth and white rice ... and then got rid of it all quickly thereafter.

Day 9 - Agra / Jaipur

• We went to the Red Fort and then loaded into our van for a 5 hour drive to Jaipur. This was the fort that housed the Muhgal emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, when his son overthrew him and placed him under house arrest until he died.
• We stopped en route at the Fatehpur Sikri. The palace that was to be the capital seat for the Emperor Akbar but was abandoned after too many problems with water arose at this site.
• We then drove-on to Jaipur and arrived at the hotel that would end up being the final hotel of our trip. The hotel in Jaipur was named the Naila Bagh Palace and was quite a lovely place. It didn't live up to the expectations set by our tour operator but was nice none-the-less. If you have proper expectations set, I would highly recommend this as a place to stay as the staff and owners are very, very nice and the hotel itself is the family home that has housed their family for the past 140 years. http://www.nailabaghpalace.com/
• We talked with our fellow travelers and they all decided that they would be leaving the organized trip early and not continuing on to the Pushkar Festival and Camel fair. That was going to leave DaLeiLei, myself, our tour operator and her ex-boyfriend who was planning to travel with our guide after the end of our trip.

Day 10 - Jaipur

• Went on a tour of the City Palace, the Observatory and the Amber fort. Also saw the Palace of Wind and the Water Palace in Jaipur from our tour van.
• The sites were somewhat interesting, the only problems for me was that it was hot and I was having worse and worse stomach problems at this point in the trip.
• That afternoon, we had lunch at a Jaipur restaurant and then skipped dinner that night.

Day 11 - Jaipur

• We spent the day shopping in Jaipur and then our companions and us went and had a beautiful lunch at the Hilton. It was another case of disappointment for us as we found the room rates quite reasonable and the hotel grounds miles above most of the places we stayed during the course of the trip.
• We talked further with our companions and Dana and I decided that we would be much happier leaving with the rest of the group and heading back to Delhi and then on to Bangkok for a little rest and relaxation after the trauma which was called India.
• We broke the news to our tour operator and one of our companions overheard our guide explaining to the hotel owners that all of the members of the tour were leaving because we were inexperienced travelers and it was just too much for us to travel so far from home. We surveyed our group and each of the 5 members who left Jaipur to return to Delhi had traveled through a minimum of 15 different countries around the world.

Day 12 - Jaipur / Delhi

• We said good-bye to our hosts at the hotel and to our tour operator who was heading on to Pushkar. We hopped in a private car that drove us to Delhi. We ate a fantastic dinner at the Imperial again and then drove to the airport for a 1 AM flight to Bangkok. Once in Thailand, our spirits lifted, our smiles grew and our adventures continued but in a much more positive light!

All in all, the best part of the trip were our traveling companions. We made some great friends and shared our woes and disappointments and swore that we would all travel again together to try and have a much better trip with fond memories to be shared in the future! Kim, Jessica, Pat, Dana and I all bonded quite a bit during this trip and when we have saved some money again, we're looking to take them all on a trip with us that doesn't have quite so many roaches!

I'll be posting about Thailand soon! Thanks for wading through such a long rant about India!

Kim and I are in India right now...it is....well... different, dirty and difficult, and we spent a ton of hard earned money to come with a guide who turns out to not know much about it or how to get around without us getting ripped off :( we are going to give it a few more days and do our best to see the bright side of things and enjoy it as much as possible. I think that says something about this place that "we" are having to work so hard to enjoy it a little.(Jimmy I can hear you saying 'I told you so') Bangkok foot rubs, Thai street food and swing dancing is sounding awfully good to us about now! Instead we leave Calcutta in a few hours and take an overnight train to Varnasi. Wish us luck in sticking it out!

Ack! I'm in India!!!

Okay ... I'm going to give it a few days before I make my final judgement, but so far I'm not thrilled with India. I've been scammed in a temple, ripped-off by just about every cab driver in the fourth largest city in the world and have spent most of today holed up in a hotel room reading a book to stop being stressed out.

One of the reasons I came on the trip was because it was a "tour" and I figured it would be a lot easier or safer with a guide who knew the ins-and-outs of traveling through India. It turns out I may have had higher expectations than I should have.

So now I'm having to try and reset my expectation on this trip ... I'm going to spend about 2 - 3 times as much as I had hoped to while in India. The safety factor is pretty small and now I feel like I have to "keep on my toes" more than I would prefer to do for two weeks and I'm not yet sure what exactly I'm going to take away from this trip, other then a sense of relief of making it out of India in one piece.

Now, I'm totally willing to believe this is just the impression I'm receiving today ... but frankly, I just have the overwhelming feeling that being a white person in India means I'm an easy mark and that I should be robbed blind and that right at the moment I've got no one on my side except for my sweet DaLeiLei who is trying to keep me looking at the bright side.

So, on the bright side, India is interesting. The people are beautiful, the city is filthy, the poverty is everywhere, the caste system appears to be alive and well and traffic is hellacious. Pretty much everything I heard is true.

Hopefully, I'll have a much better set of things to report the next time I catch y'all up on India.

Peace.

Thailand feels like home away from home!

Here we are in Thailand again!

I love this country. The people are magnificent the food delicious and the temperatures are fantastic! I highly recommend Thailand to the person who wants an introduction to Asia.

We'll be leaving for India in another day and then will return here after. I promise to write more while I can in India but will give a much more detailed post when we're back in Thailand again. For now, I need to find some phad thai and a foot massage!

Peace!

Dance Camp Was Awesome!

After a late night packing Kim and I didn't get the earliest start on Friday. But we made it to Mendocino in time for Intermediate Lindy Hop class and dinner. Stompy Jones was awesome as usual and there was quite a large contingent of Foothill dancers that we knew. We danced until the wee hours and then made it up for Blues Dance class at 9:30 Saturday morning. After that we took Hand VooDoo Lindy (no idea why it was called that) and after lunch took Balboa Variations for the Not So Faint of Heart as well as Intermediate Balboa Moves. Another even later night of dancing to Stompy Jones after the fun and interesting Variety Show. Some amazing dancing going on in that rec hall in the middle of the Redwoods.

Camp Swing is so much fun that we are already looking forward to next year! And this time the food was amazing so that made it even better.

We cut out a little early Sunday morning to head for San Francisco where we parked the camper on Geary Boulevard and went to Wonderfoot for much needed foot massages and then had dinner with my folks at the Pacific Cafe.

After dinner we drove to the airport and spent the next 24 hours in transit.

I am now sitting in Bangkok catching up on e-mails and I am happy to report we are well and arrived safely. It feels good to be back here. Although I am feeling rather jetlagged the afternoon nap and shower have gone a long way towards making me feel more human. I am sure that as soon as I eat something I will be ready to go back to bed though.

We have all day tomorrow here and then leave for India Friday morning. I am not certain how often I will be posting from India but I will try and remember to take pictures and post as soon as we return to Thailand.

Get Ready ... Get Set ...

Okay, we're all packed and ready for the next chapter. Well, not "all" packed.

We didn't pack our entire house before leaving. I ended up having to write code for the whole time we were back in California before leaving for India, Thailand and Hong Kong so I couldn't have possibly done the work I needed to complete and pack my whole house in 8 days.

It was crazy ambitious ... and it didn't work. :) Oh well, when we get back in California there will still be the opportunity to pack up the house and get-a-long to the next destination. For now, we're off.

Tomorrow morning we leave for "Camp Swing" in Mendicino. Sunday night we fly from San Francisco to Thailand. From there we hop to India.

Today I was talking with someone who asked, "Are you excited?" and I realized, "Yes, I am." After he asked me I realized that this was the first true moment of excitement that I've had the time to enjoy. And now ... about 4 hours later ... I'm REALLY FRICKIN' EXCITED!!!!!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Peace.

Two days to Dance Camp!

As a kid I got to go to summer camp when I was 11 or 12. I remember being nervous and excited before leaving. I remember worrying about getting along with the other kids and making friends. Well I guess I have grown up a bit because I am not nervous now just excited and glad to have this opportunity to go to camp as a grown-up. Of course this time I won't be making corn-husk dolls or lanyard keychains or hiking for 2-5 days at a time in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina. I was lucky enough to go to Quaker summer camp. The food was amazing and I learned to love homemade honey-butter and apple-butter. I got to go hiking in Blue Ridge and learned that I am wickedly prone to blisters on my feet, which reminds me....

Travel Tip of all travel tips....take shoes you've already broken in...and real socks (thorlo, ultimax, smartwool) there is nothing like huge blisters to spoil a good time!

This time round, I am going with Kim and other friends to the Mendicino Redwood Camp, several miles inland from the coast. There will be classes all afternoon Friday, all day Saturday and in the morning on Sunday. On Friday night and Saturday night there will be dances with live band "Stompy Jones" and costume contests for Halloween as well as a talent exhibition with some amazing talent.  I plan on working on my Lindy Hop and Balboa Swing technique as well as perhaps learning some new Charleston and perhaps even some Shag. 

Camp ends Sunday mid-day and we will head directly to the airport as our flight to Asia leaves that night.  A mere twenty some odd hours later we will arrive in Bangkok to begin the next leg of our big adventure. I am excited about that too, but first things first...Let's Dance!!

Check out the camp band at www.stompyjones.com

or check out the camp at www.campswing.com

[ Removed ] A Call To Arms: Podango In Trouble

Depending on how closely you watch this blog, you may have read my previous posting titled "A Call To Arms: Podango In Trouble". I have taken down the post for a few reasons:

1. It appears that the studio may close soon.

and

2. The illness that has Liana Lehua is much too serious to worry about her "company" when our thoughts should just be with her.

After reading a number of follow-ups to this story, I believe that the seriousness of the situation has very little to do with the Podango studios and has everything with Liana's health and that is where I think we should focus our good wishes and good will. Thanks for taking the time to read this, you can read more here.

http://leoville.com/2008/10/17/1885/

Peace.

Back to the mainland!

So tomorrow we fly out of Maui. It will be a sad departure in a small way but we have so much to look forward to at this point that it will also be another step in the great adventure that we've started this last month.

Work has been crazy and I'd really like to get things organized as much as possible before taking off for India in just under two weeks.

It's 10 more days until Camp Swing in the Mendocino redwood forest.

And now ... I'm sitting in Maui, in a pair of shorts, enjoying the warm breezes at 10PM at night.

The other day, a friend on twitter (@exoticat), introduced me to a "Bucket List" and I really love the idea! So ... I'm keeping my list on twitter ... search the stream for #TTDBIKTB ... "Things To Do Before I Kick The Bucket". http://tinyurl.com/4o8lvt

Also, I've started at Twine for the topic and if you'd like you can visit my twine here: http://tinyurl.com/4slfkt

If you need an invitation to Twine, let me know.

Okay ... see you all soon on the Mainland! Aloha Maui. You are truly a joyous place to spend time!

Peace.

Okay, Late as ever I found the "simpsonize yourself" website. It is cute. I do find it interesting that the only "body type" wearing flip-flops and a Hawaiian shirt was so very thin. I'm having to admit ... it would look more like me if I lost a few pounds ... but I do enjoy the yellow pallor!

Get yours at: SimpsonizeMe.

Things in Maui are going okay. Work has been very trying this last week and even though I have a great internet connection I am struggling to get done a project before returning to the mainland to pack up the house and then head to India.

Hence, I'm procrastinating now and simpsonizing myself and writing a blog entry. You got a problem with that? Anyhow. The weather is perfect, the ocean beautiful and the West coast of Maui is splendid. Come visit when you can!

Peace.

To own or be owned!

So, one of the reasons for the big life change I've been going through comes from about a year ago when I realized a few things ...

1. I have owned all of the toys that I thought would be great fun to own. Don't get me wrong ... I love toys! I have enjoyed the hell out of most of the toys I've owned and have had great experiences trying all sorts of sports from boating to motorcycle racing to 4x4-ing to woodworking to just about anything! But, most of the time there was a huge commitment to owning these things that made me feel much more like the slave than the master. For every toy I possessed, some amount of free time was spent maintaining the toy or earning enough to be able to use it.

2. To me, a description of being middle class means owning a bunch of stuff and having to work hard to keep it, whereas, being rich means having the funds to own what you want, but, also having the funds to rent things when you want them and let others take care of the maintenance, upkeep and upgrading costs. Being rich means not being owned by your "stuff!"

So now, I'm loving the idea of not being owned by material possessions ... although, as I stated above, I still love toys. I have a sweet little computer (MacBook Air) and a number of bicycles, a great truck / camper combo and a few other toys ... but the thing that is really getting me excited ... is getting rid of more and more stuff!

After we get back to Colfax from Maui, I expect we will do a whirlwind job of packing up our residence and getting it ready to rent while we are in Asia this winter. It will be wonderful if it could be earning enough money to take care of the things that come up while we're traveling ($3K in plumber's bills this month so far from a rotten pipe) and keep us light, mobile, and free of being owned by "stuff!"

Peace.

Maui No Ka Oi!

Yes Maui is the best! Kim and I are just having the most wonderful time here. 

We decided that we didn't want to rent a car and have to deal with the expense, parking, theft issues, fuel costs etc. So instead we got off the airplane and took the bus. Someone else drove, it was nice and air-conditioned and we met some fun people on the way. I even traded e-mails with a gal from Australia. She said we could come stay with her in Sydney and I said she could stay with us in California when she visits. Only catch with the bus is, they don't like you to have too much luggage. They looked at us a little sideways because of the size of my bag but because I held it on my lap I think they let it slide.

We checked into the Napili Surf Monday afternoon with just enough time to take a dip in the ocean shower off and catch our rideshare to the Maui Lindyhopper's monthly dance. (SwingMaui.org) We lucked out and it happened to be their annual Luau potluck so we got dinner too! I can't imagine there is anywhere you can get a fabulous Luau dinner complete with purple sweet potatoes, shredded pork and fried rice along with a whole evening of music and dancing for only $10 per person!

We danced until 10pm, which felt like 1am to our bodies and were staggeringly tired but happy by the end.

The first full day here got off to a fabulous start with a 7am dip in the ocean. We had the beach to ourselves and enjoyed the cool, wet, wake-up swim. Then we went next door to the Gazebo where they make the most evil of delicious pineapple pancakes with coconut syrup!

To make up for not having a car, we took the bus to Lahaina and bought some cheap, used, beater, cruiser bikes for getting around. Mine is ugly, only has one working speed, and is perfect...I can lock it to a railing and not even worry if it gets stolen or rained on.

Since then we have made a point of swimming at least 2 to 3 times a day in the ocean. We ride to the market or into Lahaina and we are eating really well from the Honokawai Farmer's Market and fresh fish from Napili Market.

So Todd picked us up as well as two other friends to take to the dance. One of whom was Linley, a soon to graduate massage therapist. Yesterday she came over with her table and I gave her a massage in exchange for one sometime next week. It felt good to cut the nails off and stretch my arms and hands after a week off. She was nice enough to leave her table with us so I will try and work on Kim later. What, the massage therapist's husband getting a massage??? You must be joking!

I think everyone should get over here to Maui as I can't rave about it enough.  You have to experience it yourselves!

Gotta go swim the ocean is calling...

Hugs to all,

Dana

(Da Happy LeiLei)

Could It Be Any Sweeter?

So, right now I'm convinced life couldn't get any better!

I've been working, using a high-speed internet connection here in Maui. I've swam in the ocean and pool a few times today. Outside my front door is the beat-up cruiser bicycle that I bought yesterday to replace the car I have had in my life for years.

It feels like a perfect world for me right now!

Sorry, I forgot the camera cable so I can't post new pictures for another few weeks, but as soon as they are there, I'll get 'em put online.

Our friends Kevin and Pam are going to come over from the mainland and see us in a week or so and we'll all go out dancing when we can!

Peace!

Grand Adventure Part 1 Under Way!

So the whirlwind of the last few weeks has finally come to a blissful halt. My schedule was quite full and my lists of things to do kept spinning in my head. I had a lovely day Saturday working the Railroad Days fair in Colfax with Beth and Audrey. We handed out brochures and got people to sign up for a free massage drawing. I had the opportunity to help set up books for a little while with the Friends of the Library and of course ended up leaving with almost as many books as I dropped off. A little last minute packing and then it was time to go dancing!

Balboa Junction was a ton of fun with all the friends we have made wishing us a good time in Hawaii. The theme was "Back to School" so I dressed in a plaid skirt and white shirt with knee high white socks and patent leather Mary Janes. Kim went in full "geek" regalia with his plaid shirt buttoned all the way up, a pocket protector and the big thick black glasses complete with band-aid around the bridge. He looked adorable! I was smitten all over like the schoolgirl I was dressing up as. We danced until 11 and then drove to Marin where we slept a few hours at my folks.

Sunday they drove us into the city and we were able to re-live the bliss that is "Wonderfoot". After that we had a delicious Chinese dinner at Eliza's on California (thanks Akiko!) with  Mom, Dad and Lydia and Tim.

After a nice night at the  Burlingame Marriott we headed for the Airport and a mere 12 hours later we arrived at the Napili Surf Condos. I wish Kim and I had brought the camera cable but let's just say it is without a doubt paradise here!

Quick Post From The Beach

Dana and I arrived in Maui today. Our flights were fine and we decided to use the bus instead of renting a car. It cost us $8 instead of $80 to get from Kahalui to Napili and now we're in heaven.

We dropped our luggage, stripped our clothes off and donned our bathing suits to hit the beach. We had a quick dip with a few sea turtles that swam about 5 feet from us for 10 minutes and now we're showering to join a new-found friend at a swing dance / luau in Kihei. We'll be sending you updates soon from paradise!

Peace!