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World Trip Newsletter #3 (February 2007 - April 2007) We are now four months into our trip and have had an abundance of amazing experiences. Each country we visit brings a new set of learnings, challenges and rewards. We've spent the last two months exploring parts of Southeast Asia and I must admit that we have struggled a bit in this part of the world... mostly because of culture-shock. While we've both traveled to third-world countries previously, we weren't prepared for the sustained hardship of dealing with mass poverty and a general lack of both sanitary and creature comforts we take for granted at home. That being said, I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. We have learned more about the culture, the people, the history, the politics, the food and the language of these countries than we could ever learn from books. We both feel that we've made a real connection with these places and some of the people that live here. So even though there were periods of difficulty, I know we'll always look back on this part of the trip with fond memories. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand (southern)
We spent almost a month in Tonsai Beach, a tiny town in southern Thailand bordering the Andaman Sea. This part of Thailand is considered the promise-land for rock climbers because of the amazing limestone cliffs scattered throughout the area. The features are really unique and you get to do some very cool stemming moves. Needless to say, we did quite a bit of climbing while we were there. We also spent a lot of time laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, lounging in hammocks and getting Thai massages. :-) The highlight of our trip was when two of our favorite people came out for a visit. Karl and Amy joined us for about a week and it was so fantastic to be with them again. It felt like we had never been apart. It was a little hard to let them leave, but we picked ourselves up and danced our sorrows away. We're so thankful to have wonderful friends who love us and are able to share in our travels. Click here for full trip report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cambodia
Cambodia was hard. Tragic poverty, an oppressive history of violence and air of hopelessness combined to make this a difficult place for us to visit. This country reached its apex in the 15th century when it was known as the Khmer Empire. It has been a downhill slide ever since with numerous wars, hostile take-overs and genocide. Our first stop was to the amazing temples of Angkor. These breath-taking ruins are a walk through time and an amazing combination of architectural masterpieces and story books. The intricate carvings detail the history of the Khmer Empire as well as Hindu legends. It was a delight to experience this amazing place. From there, we went up to Phnom Penh to learn about the more recent history of the Khmer Rouge and their genocide of the educated class in the name of communism. The mass killing and oppression of the people set this country back at least a hundred years. It will take them a long time to become economically stable and to educate their people. We really felt that the people felt hopeless about their situation and that's so difficult to see on such a large scale. What did give us hope was when we visited a local orphanage and got to spend time with some amazing Cambodian children. These kids were happy and loving and we'll carry memories of them with us as we travel. Click here for full trip reports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam
We spent 3 weeks in Vietnam and were able to explore a little of each of the three distinct zones - north, central and south. We had to move fairly quickly due to our limited time and the size of the country, but we really wanted to get a taste of each area. Our journey started down south with an exploration of the Mekong Delta and we knew we had found home when we hooked up with locals for authentic Vietnamese food and karaoke on our first night in town. We spent a few days poking around Saigon and then worked our way north with a motorcycle tour of the Central Highlands. We stopped off at the coast for a bit of scuba diving and then headed north again to get some costumes made in Hoi An, a village renowned for its many tailors. From there we went to Halong Bay for a relaxing boat tour of the amazing limestone islands scattered throughout the Gulf of Tonkin and then finished our trip in Hanoi. After talking to locals, visiting museums, reading several books and observing the people, we feel like we have learned so much about this unique place and have gained some real insight into their culture. All that plus we get fun costumes out of it!! Click here for full trip reports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thailand (northern)
Chiang Mai was wonderful! We felt like strangers in a strange land all throughout Cambodia and Vietnam, but we felt right at home in this wonderful city. Everyone we met was friendly and welcoming and the city itself is the perfect combination of relaxed but full of options. Even though we only had a week here, we packed it full of activities. We arrived just in time to help ring in Songkran (Thai New Year) by throwing copious amounts of water on people, and downing a few gallons of lovely moat water ourselves. We learned how to cook up some fantastic Thai dishes - Sarah was a pro and I did surprisingly well for someone who never cooks. We got out to the local crag for a couple days of climbing and we managed to get several Thai massages. But the highlight of our stay was when we visited the Elephant Nature Park. This conservation center is doing its best to rescue mistreated elephants and to change legislation and local customs in order to stop inhumane treatment and hopefully regenerate this dwindling species. We already know that we want to come back to this city for an extended period of time. It's truly a magical place and there is so much more to see and do and learn here. Click here for full trip report. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Coming Up We are on our way to Nepal now. We fly to Kathmandu on April 23 and start out on our Annapurna trek on April 25. We are doing both the Annapurna Circuit trek and the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. We'll be hiking for 23 days for a total distance of over 200 miles and will top out at 17,700 feet. That's a lot of walking around :-) We are quite excited about this next adventure and are looking forward to seeing the amazing vistas and experiencing the Nepalese culture. We'll be completely out of touch until we get back to Kathmandu in late May so don't worry if you don't hear from us. We'll share the experience when we're down from the mountain. Lots of love! Leslie and Sarah
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