Playing in the Mud - Thailand (Chiang Mai)

I’m researching and visiting as many ceramics villages as possible on my route through Southeast Asia.  

So far, Vietnam and Cambodia both offered traditional handbuilding techniques unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  Thailand, however, takes the cake for innovative wheel throwing processes. 

The village doesn't make too much of a variety of vessles.  They make very big pots/vases, very small candle holders, and a specific type of medium sized genie-like bottle.  Every artist was open to me visiting their home and taking photos or videos of their process.  The village was free to enter and there was absolutely no pressure whatsoever to purchase anything.  That was a first.  I actually wanted to purchase something, but the type of work they made wasn't exactly conducive to backpacking.  

Genius!

Pimp my Phnom Penh Ride

My Ho Chi Minh couchsurf host

Today has been an exhausting but fun day of transport.  At 6:10 (ten minutes before my alarm was scheduled to rattle me awake) I rose from my host's couch and prepared for the bus ride into Cambodia.  She generously drove me to the ticketing office where the most recommended bus company was to pick me up at 8:00am.  We said our goodbyes, I helped her kick-start her bike (it had been having problems), and then she was off to work!  Walking into the ticketing office, I froze with panic.  I had left my purse inside her bike seat because she had warned me about moto-theft.  The bus was leaving in twenty minutes and it would take her at least ten minutes to get to work and open her seat, realizing my purse was in there.  Of course my phone was in my purse so I couldn't call her.  All I could do was wait on the curb and be calm, because there was absolutely nothing else I could do to get my purse faster.  Playing through all the possible scenarios of what I would do if I missed the bus, I turned my head to the right and there she was, thirty meters away, walking her bike toward me.  With my two backpacks, I awkwardly started waddle-running toward her in an epic romance fashion, yelling, "I knew you'd come back!" 

Kelsey.  Seriously.  No more of that.

A Fastpack through the Big One

DAY ONE!!!
I'm going to TRY to blog SOMETHING every day while traveling.  Sometimes it might be small, sometimes it might be a ramble, and on some nights, I may have more time to put some decent effort into a post.

This morning started early with my darling roommate zipping me off on my last DaNang motorbike ride to the airport.  I tried to soak in the trip as much as horn-honkingly possible, but I knew I would be in HCMC soon anyway and get a good dose of motorbike terror on the backs of random nice-smelling xe-oms (moto taxis).  Sitting on the hard steel chair in our dinky airport, I tried not to be too sentimental.  I gave my roomie a giant hug, and some of the people from the restaurant I volunteered at showed up at 6am (bless them!) at the airport to give gifts and see me off.  They and the rest of my DaNang family were on my mind when our boarding call sounded throughout the terminal.  I slowly stood up and stood in the chaos of an attempt at a queue for plane ticket ripping.  Being a temp resident in Vietnam, I knew better than to expect a line - this is the closest I get to unintentional moshing these days.

The flight was fast!

Ho Chi Minh has some beautiful parks, right in the middle of urban life

Today I wanted to take it easy because a) no offense HCMCers, but I'm not huge into big cities and after living in VN for nearly a year, I'm excited to see other countries!  So I'm visiting a select few museums and calling it a day!

I might have started my day in a more cheery place, but my couchsurfing host was working in District1 and she said she'd look after my rucksack while I meandered around.  Her work was walking distance to the War Remnants Museum so that's where I started.

Everybody's Gone Surfin...[Part Two]

Our next surfer wrote me one of the most unique and personal couch requests I've ever read.  With hers being the exception, most requests are pretty short, and the occasional nimrod will copy paste a standard request without any personal connection (take note new surfers - not desired).

She talked about what she was doing in Vietnam and what we had in common and why she wanted to come stay with me.  She even included my secret word indicating she had read my entire couch description (I noted it in the end).  Most surfers are of the 20 to 30-something variety as this is the golden era of traveling to faraway lands before commitments ground you to a home base until you're retired.

Everybody's Gone Surfin... [Part One]

If you're a traveler and you don't know what Couchsurfing.org is by now, you are missing out on one of the most brilliant programs invented since Craigslist.  Why is couchsurfing even better than Craigslist? It's free!  I know, I know, there is an inherent danger in sleeping near people you don't know.  Of the million people I host or surf with, the one rotten apple wouldn't have allowed me to have a "well, I won't be inviting THAT Bundy over for tea again" reflection. But I made a conscious decision during this adventure to trust people that I don't know, and so far, it has given me a wealth of positive experiences, none of which I regret.

The Giant Hanoian Post

Since my stay in Hanoi was only three days long, I wanted to pack in as much as possible.  I have been learning the ways of Vietnam rather quickly which is good – fewer lessons learned the hard way.  I want to give no illusion of having it all together right from the get-go.  Every day I see things that are so unique from anything I’ve experienced, and to be sure that I improve my navigational skills, I walk to every destination in Hanoi – no taxis.   

In Transit

Let me first start off by saying that I have never had a more pleasant flight and airport experience.  Even with three security check points, a building change between flights and two attempts at putting my backpack in checked luggage (it was over 10 kilograms), I navigated through the international terminals of Ohare, LAX, Seoul’s Incheon and Hanoi’s Noi Bai airports with relative ease. 

Bi-Bim-Bab!

Also to note – up until this trip, Southwest Airlines had taken the cake in airline love, but my heart now belongs to another – swoon – Asiana Airlines was like royal treatment compared to any American flight experience I’ve ever had.  With a fleet of graceful attendants dressed in silk aprons and identical tight buns in their hair, my flying companions and I were treated to pillows and super soft blankets, individually screened blockbuster movies and games, two delicious full course meals, complimentary wine, coffee and tea, and numerous rounds of orange juice and water.  If you ever have the chance to choose this airline, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.