tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27038525741392532932024-03-18T21:34:39.269-07:00Journey of a lifetime.... to the PhilippinesStefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-75395837502106106502012-12-05T01:17:00.001-08:002014-11-17T16:48:15.045-08:00Good-bye AsiaDay 28 (Fri)<br />
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Today I had originally planned on going on a motobike adventure and getting out of the city for a while. However I drank a bit too much Chang Beer last night and was pretty slow moving this morning. But my volunteer friends are leaving Chiang Mai tomorrow so I decided I couldn't waste the day.<br />
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My friends Kate and Frieda also wanted to get out of the city and see a waterfall so we decided to rent some motobikes (mopeds really) for the day. Though I have rented motobikes before and am pretty comfortable driving them around, I was a little nervous about navigating in a city as big and busy as Chiang Mai. But Kate sat behind me and with map in hand she navigated us through the city and out. I have mentioned before how really great the infrastructure here in Thailand is and it definitely helps when having to get around a foreign city. Though every time I made a right turn, I said "left, left, left" out loud to make sure to remind myself to stay in the left lane (which made Kate laugh every time).<br />
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Though Chiang Mai is a pretty awesome city, it was really great to be able to get out and see some of the beautiful countryside that is Northern Thailand. There are mountains all around, making for a very scenic ride. We went to some waterfalls that are on the Samoeng Loop outside of the city. The loop is suppose to be an excellent ride and we originally planned to make the whole trip but our late start didn't leave us with enough sunlight to make it back before dark (and I hate driving in the dark even in States, so I was most certainly not going to drive at night while in a foreign country and driving a moto).<br />
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The waterfalls are composed of 10 levels and it was a pretty good hike going up to see all of them. It felt great to be in the forest, breathing fresh air and getting some exercise. We waded into the water for a bit and it was refreshingly cold! It doesn't seem to matter how many waterfalls I see, I never really get tired of them! I always take so many pictures but of course you never seem to be able to capture the real beauty of them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3Cy9UJJ1bAYquzMcy3bKv_HcbJcjG0qe2Ngx3lEf8xg3q87vAd3L6GBLx9P2X7zh2X6ktI-fbh4ZbqDoEJP5QAsOydDKhi6-Be8R5-sYcqSXl2IcdYeqgtLzPuRz7dWWjjhN1foBPbFs/s1600/P1090317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3Cy9UJJ1bAYquzMcy3bKv_HcbJcjG0qe2Ngx3lEf8xg3q87vAd3L6GBLx9P2X7zh2X6ktI-fbh4ZbqDoEJP5QAsOydDKhi6-Be8R5-sYcqSXl2IcdYeqgtLzPuRz7dWWjjhN1foBPbFs/s1600/P1090317.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it to the falls.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying out moped adventure.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a dinner out with new friends.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy Thai barbecue</td></tr>
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After seeing the falls for a while it was about time to head back into the city before dark. But even though our moto adventure wasn't what we planned, it was still nice to get out of the city for a little while and enjoy the outdoors!<br />
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Day 30 (Sun)<br />
<br />
This weekend was my last in Chiang Mai. I met up with some other volunteer friends who are traveling around, including two of my island mates from Guimaras! It was really awesome to see them and catch up. We had all been traveling around and been to most of the same places, just in a different order, so we talked about our experiences traveling and our favorite sights. We also talked about missing the Philippines, the food we liked (we are pretty much always talking about food) and how we are all feeling about getting back to the States. I will be the next to get home as they are all travelling for a few more weeks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace Corps friends!</td></tr>
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We were all pretty worn out from our travels and stayed away from a lot of the "tourist things" while in Chiang Mai. Instead we just walked around, window shopping, eating and enjoying some of the night life that Chiang Mai has to offer. It was a pretty great ending to my travels, being able to relax and enjoy being with friends. Tomorrow is my overnight train ride to Bangkok, and then I will fly out to Manila. Last stop through the Philippines before I'm finally home-bound!<br />
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Day 33 (Wed)<br />
<br />
So I finally made it back to Manila! My train ride to Bangkok was pretty uneventful, seeing as I slept pretty much the whole 13 hrs (those sleeper berths are really not too bad.) My flight from Bangkok to Manila wasn't till after midnight but thankfully I was able to spend the day at my friend's place (he was a volunteer in the Philippines but now works in Bangkok and I am so grateful I was able to relax there til my flight!) Taking a taxi to the Bangkok airport late at night would have been a bit expensive so I opted to take the brilliant metro rail system and airport link that goes straight to Suvarnabhumi International Airport.<br />
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After flying all night and arriving into Manila around 5am local time, I didn't make it to the hostel until close to 8am. For some reason getting through Philippines immigration takes longer than even Thailand. And when you're running on little sleep, having traveled for over a 24 hours and just gotten off a midnight flight, standing in line for another hour or so just to get your passport stamped is pretty frustrating... But I finally made it and am at pension (hostel) now. I will be here for two days, getting everything in order (mainly picking up and repacking my luggage that I had left here) before heading back to the States Friday!<br />
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I really can't believe that I have been in Asia for over two years now (27 and a half months to be exact!) It is a little surreal thinking about being back in America but I look forward to being reunited with my friends and family and for the holidays! I know I will have a time of readjustment of being back in the States and trying to figure out what my next steps will be.<br />
But the last two years have been the most amazing and life changing experience. I have met people from around the world, immersed myself in another culture, learned a new language, and experienced different ways of life. I have eaten new and sometimes "weird" food and learned new customs and ways of doing things. Though there have been some challenging times, whether it be puking my brains out readjusting to food, dealing with new "bathroom situations", or constantly standing out as a foreigner in a strange land... but the rewards have far outweighed any of this. I have made new and amazing friends whom I will never forget, been accepted into a small island community, and worked with locals for environmental sustainability. It has been an amazing journey! And I know it will never really be over. I am forever changed by this in ways that I can't yet comprehend. Though I go back to American and will eventually fall back in to the way of life there, a part of me will always be a little Filipina. And I will always consider a small island called Guimaras to be my home on the other side of the world. So, really, I leave one home for another.<br />
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This will be my last post for this blog. I hope that in some small way I have been able to share some of my experiences with others and achieve that third goal of PC, to help others know, love and appreciate the Philippine culture and people the way I do.<br />
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Thank you Philippines for an amazing two years! Damo gid nga salamat sa Pilipinas!<br />
<br />
And the journey of life continues....Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-47373489737572914202012-11-30T08:05:00.001-08:002014-11-17T16:42:33.137-08:00Loy KrathongDay 25 (Tues)<br />
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After finally making it to Chiang Mai, I headed to check in to my hostel, called Deejai Backpackers. Out of all of the hostels/guesthouses that I have stayed in, this is definitely the best! I am staying in a fan dorm room with private bath. I have two roommates and our room is pretty clean and complete with hot shower (luxury)! The common area is really great to meet people and today the hostel was providing materials for anyone who wanted to make a krathong (basically like a water lantern).<br />
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Loy Krathong (or Lantern Festival, as I have been referring to it) is a huge festival in Thailand, but the place to celebrate it seems to be in Chiang Mai. The festival is a time when Thais pay respect to the water goddess by making krathongs and setting them afloat as an offering down the river. It is celebrated during the last full moon of the Thai calendar, which usually falls in November. Thais also believe that it is a way of sending bad spirits off with the krathong, ensuring good fortune for the coming year.<br />
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The hostel provided us with the materials to make our own krathong. Using the trunk of a banana tree as a base, banana leaf is used to cover the base and as decorations. The krathong is also usually topped with flowers, sticks of incense and a candle. It was a great way to get into the spirit of the festival and to meet new people as we all took part in an afternoon of 'arts and crafts'.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making my krathong.</td></tr>
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After making our krathongs, a few of us decided to wonder out into the city to find some good Thai food. We passed this one restobar that had a pretty good list of Thai food options. We were greeted by a very well dressed and tall "ladyboy" who worked there. She told us that we must eat there because they had the best food in all of Thailand. Of course we were a bit skeptical but figured this place would probably be as good as any. So we asked her recommendation for us to order. Without hesitation she told us to get kao soi. So we did. And it was the most amazing meal I think I have had yet! It is a Thai soup made with chicken, rice, and coconut milk, usually having a chicken leg in the bowl and topped with crispy noodles. SO GOOD. After we had our fill, we, slowly, made our way back to the hostel in time for the evening festivities.<br />
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At around 6pm the hostel arranged for a number of taxis (which resemble more of a jeepney to me) for about 20 Baht each to take us all to the river to set our krathongs afloat. Despite a little rain, we were able to successfully launch our offerings down the river (though whether our candles stayed lit was doubtful). After making our Krathong offering we walked around Chiang Mai, taking in the sights of the festival - lanterns being launched, krathongs floating, fireworks in the air, music and tons of delicious looking street food!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lighting out lanterns.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sending out lanterns down the river.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street food!</td></tr>
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I had a great time enjoying the festival and reconnecting with some of my volunteer friends who are also here for the festival. But it didn't take me long to get pretty tired (especially considering the previous 24 hr of travel), so we headed back to the hostel and now I look forward to a good nights sleep!<br />
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Day 26 (Wed)<br />
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Today I decided to take it easy. I woke up and had some breakfast while looking through my guidebook trying to decide what I wanted out of my time here in Chiang Mai. Then I went out with some of my volunteer friends to walk around and get to know more of the city. There are of course lots of wats (temples) but I have to say that as beautiful as they are, I am getting kind of wat-ed out. But while walking past yet another wat, we were able to watch as three Buddhist monks launched a lantern into the air. After it got a few meters from the ground, the tail of the lantern started exploding as the fireworks attached went off. Pretty cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdi55b26LY_IqpQJbcdrhl08hbUdhTszqpQ1kkxI5KQnQXX5yA1ETQ8_OwEJEGRso-ryhQ580vB_axPMHdD5OP4hgWJ1KRHreKzsnmDSx7LK1JVGL2LC0TXD_O8k5ZoWNwLraRdGh2tOXR/s1600/P1090165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdi55b26LY_IqpQJbcdrhl08hbUdhTszqpQ1kkxI5KQnQXX5yA1ETQ8_OwEJEGRso-ryhQ580vB_axPMHdD5OP4hgWJ1KRHreKzsnmDSx7LK1JVGL2LC0TXD_O8k5ZoWNwLraRdGh2tOXR/s1600/P1090165.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sights around town.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a leisurely walk around Chiang Mai.</td></tr>
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So it was mostly a pretty chill day, just walking around Chiang Mai. I really enjoyed again being able to hang out with fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. We were able to share some of our experiences of our different trips and talk about what we already miss about the Philippines. I can't believe that I have little more than a week left in Asia. Time has gone by so fast!<br />
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Deejai backpackers yet again proved its awesomeness by having lanterns for us to send off for free! So we went to the courtyard behind the hostel and lit the giant cylindrical paper lanterns, wait a few minutes for it to fill with hot air and then made a wish before sending it into the night sky. Afterwards we headed to the river for more of the festival activities. Today is the last official day of the festival and we were craving some good festival street food!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to let our lantern fly!</td></tr>
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When we got to the riverside we had to manage our way through the massive crowds of people. It seemed like the entire city must have been there for the festival. And everywhere you looked there were people sending their lanterns into the air. The entire night sky around the city was filled with lights from lanterns floating up high. The lantern lights seemed to outnumber stars in the sky! I have been to many different festivals around Asia but this one was truly magical!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People lighting lanterns in the street.</td></tr>
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We walked down the street further and found some really great food stands. The first we headed to was the fried noodle stand where we had a variety of fried noodles to choose from for only 15 Baht ($0.50). After devouring our noodles we moved on to the sushi stand. Now I know street sushi might sound sketchy but it was amazing! We choose from a variety of rolls, for either 5 or 10 baht each (so cheap!) The stand was also pretty popular so the rolls were actually very fresh as the vendors worked laboriously behind the stand, making rolls and trying to keep the stand stocked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTEcOXVXD7R0k5LX9unu21YVWZrYVJnXc22XDCdc49CjfkXRA9TgWUEE8ds6sqU3evdU_2m07-ZPv4e_YwrHs7EIlURQLbVNlfeM63oy1xDYndvTkmvDfZE5PJn05r4hlLvcRSzKzxI7A/s1600/P1090239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTEcOXVXD7R0k5LX9unu21YVWZrYVJnXc22XDCdc49CjfkXRA9TgWUEE8ds6sqU3evdU_2m07-ZPv4e_YwrHs7EIlURQLbVNlfeM63oy1xDYndvTkmvDfZE5PJn05r4hlLvcRSzKzxI7A/s1600/P1090239.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noodle stand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgeGJiC65JEdzZyI-qURuhQGw-fwi6wZfG3kO50OzHwAmHYXxWEeiRXMJrrYa9U_avSHbnCZIv6d0r2CGMYobUKjvnmJLRgRDyFFkditvZfbouWeIMwkzMXUcDbf3812SV45m82fxR6MN/s1600/P1090241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtgeGJiC65JEdzZyI-qURuhQGw-fwi6wZfG3kO50OzHwAmHYXxWEeiRXMJrrYa9U_avSHbnCZIv6d0r2CGMYobUKjvnmJLRgRDyFFkditvZfbouWeIMwkzMXUcDbf3812SV45m82fxR6MN/s1600/P1090241.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About to chow down on some fried noodles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT_lvyz8jLLqIMO7MC2ApujLtkn4bmbICKlRP254SwQOQzRK9XJqXLqJ7xsEHrbKqn_kSWEr2A_UddEn7YzJIDm4rjVcFXrQXLVmM2GMN90cxiwpV0R3zJlcNZw1CelRLwmpNxT313pC8/s1600/P1090243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT_lvyz8jLLqIMO7MC2ApujLtkn4bmbICKlRP254SwQOQzRK9XJqXLqJ7xsEHrbKqn_kSWEr2A_UddEn7YzJIDm4rjVcFXrQXLVmM2GMN90cxiwpV0R3zJlcNZw1CelRLwmpNxT313pC8/s1600/P1090243.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sushi cart! My favorite!</td></tr>
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After sushi we moved on to the tempura cart and ordered an assortment of tempura fried chicken and shrimp served with a sweet chili sauce. At this point we were getting pretty full, but next we walked past a fruit cart and the strawberries looked so amazing that I just had to get some. I got a cup of strawberries for 10 baht and the vendor sprinkled a sugar concoction on top. It wasn't until after the third bite that I realized the strawberries had a bit of a kick to them! The sugar mixture that he sprinkled on top had crushed red pepper in it too! I never would have thought it would be good, but sweet and spicy strawberries are pretty amazing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGkzrL8aDIidzDUlh7xiWkWxZwhhyphenhypheny7jxvMqwHrRMrUIV27KLZOCJPbr2Nzp7n6LlaTv-zzs-GytzTETLGUeCaofPBUa1Pt_fcFpiRX_-GoM3U8FltyP1vbqm4XYFjKqJkq4rvFO_Z2nE/s1600/P1090257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHGkzrL8aDIidzDUlh7xiWkWxZwhhyphenhypheny7jxvMqwHrRMrUIV27KLZOCJPbr2Nzp7n6LlaTv-zzs-GytzTETLGUeCaofPBUa1Pt_fcFpiRX_-GoM3U8FltyP1vbqm4XYFjKqJkq4rvFO_Z2nE/s1600/P1090257.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more street food!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN26u4EUYwKiSyTRuJZEJO-ehyb10ckDhUo24fGX6_VolbuL1r1D9wo-ZW-e297TbVsGXie_Nc_idHPRaS4AhYkYFga43lPFHTuK0jNxX0_JXhUB4FsHaS5MseHrcNOMQn8cFgYX6W6QBX/s1600/P1090258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN26u4EUYwKiSyTRuJZEJO-ehyb10ckDhUo24fGX6_VolbuL1r1D9wo-ZW-e297TbVsGXie_Nc_idHPRaS4AhYkYFga43lPFHTuK0jNxX0_JXhUB4FsHaS5MseHrcNOMQn8cFgYX6W6QBX/s1600/P1090258.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberries with sugar and crushed red pepper - spicy sweet!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrTYiwqZqmQFb1_8Yfj4Akh9c7djd-8J3UljfsdvkHH-8Hvr_K-s7uMH32GcYgGk_6j_wrpRQrR2qlSBxNlvW40Igna1EtbpuUEm2a0u8tL9SmTfqluInK6lX-fzNPZRoHTpY_xGR2ap0/s1600/P1090248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrTYiwqZqmQFb1_8Yfj4Akh9c7djd-8J3UljfsdvkHH-8Hvr_K-s7uMH32GcYgGk_6j_wrpRQrR2qlSBxNlvW40Igna1EtbpuUEm2a0u8tL9SmTfqluInK6lX-fzNPZRoHTpY_xGR2ap0/s1600/P1090248.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The parade going past us.</td></tr>
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At this point we are moving pretty slow. We stood around for awhile digesting and watching the parade as it went by but then the food coma started to set in. So we walked back to the hostel, every few steps glancing up at the night sky to watch the lanterns rise. What an amazing festival night!<br />
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Day 27 (Thurs)<br />
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Today was our tiger day! We decided to visit Tiger Kingdom to see and even pet tigers. Now I know these places are sometimes known to drug the animals to make them sleep but I did some research before going and Tiger Kingdom does NOT drug their tigers. The tigers are bred in captivity and therefore use to being around humans. Tigers and also nocturnal animals, therefore it is natural for them to be somewhat sleepy during the day. The only tigers that are pet are females and only up to a certain age.<br />
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Now this was an especially amazing experience for me because tigers are my absolute favorite animal. EVER. Ever since I was young and begged my mom to buy me Zoobooks (as advertised on t.v.) I have been mesmerized by tigers. I think they are the most beautiful creature in the world and could spend hours watching them at the zoo, never thinking I would one day be touching them!<br />
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When we got there we were able to choose what tigers we wanted to see. There were four ages of tigers that you could see: smallest, small, big and biggest. I decided to see the small (6 month) and biggest (18 months). It. was. amazing. And those tigers were most definitely not sedated. It was later in the day when we went so the tigers were slowly getting more and more active. The 6 month olds were really cute, but still bigger than the average house cat. I couldn't believe how big their paws were for still so young. We had to always approach them from behind and we weren't allowed to touch their heads and paws (apparently they don't like it). It was so surreal. At times I would look down and see how cute and sweet they looked lying around that I almost just wanted to jump on them and hug them. But then I remembered that they could quite literally rip my face off, so I resisted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1fZ4w31CAbCWqOmOt1ik67ITFoWiscEZiI8ShW5B11Xwuy35fBhWD8Bh8JjhDrK4xWNiUXbzzJPm20O2r4kf9bqWBMLjCFdNcg1DTi4bxJFLa5i1DkEB9AFu-NdKWXK8dliHttUrfGsg/s1600/P1090268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1fZ4w31CAbCWqOmOt1ik67ITFoWiscEZiI8ShW5B11Xwuy35fBhWD8Bh8JjhDrK4xWNiUXbzzJPm20O2r4kf9bqWBMLjCFdNcg1DTi4bxJFLa5i1DkEB9AFu-NdKWXK8dliHttUrfGsg/s1600/P1090268.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A childhood dream comes true!</td></tr>
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The big cats were even more surreal. The tiger we saw would occasionally get up and start walking around, at which point the handler would caution us to move back and give her some room (we quickly obeyed). The size of these cats is really amazing. Their heads and paws are so big and it was amazing to see how muscular they are when they are walking around. Truly beautiful and amazing creatures!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most beautiful creature in the world!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBhJKrMipCSPT2WNy4m8OJ0dTTLh90xEuvFmZJ0KOiWY8xLzTmpMdcfNvAS_bW682_i0IeCbiRHP3C8tVii1YYad7E8VDnxIwkV0GJcabDURpUIx-sf6cIzLkhNIVpMEum3lLzd75zgmM/s1600/P1090287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlBhJKrMipCSPT2WNy4m8OJ0dTTLh90xEuvFmZJ0KOiWY8xLzTmpMdcfNvAS_bW682_i0IeCbiRHP3C8tVii1YYad7E8VDnxIwkV0GJcabDURpUIx-sf6cIzLkhNIVpMEum3lLzd75zgmM/s1600/P1090287.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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So my experience at Tiger Kingdom was pretty awesome. It was a lifetime dream of mine that I never thought would come true. But it also makes me sad to think that in my lifetime the wild tiger will probably become extinct. Habitat destruction and illegal poaching has left the tiger population in the thousands and decreasing every year. But I am so glad I was able to experience them here in Thailand. It was most definitely an experience I will never forget.<br />
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to be continued..Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-6485759852758850372012-11-27T17:22:00.003-08:002014-11-10T19:43:55.667-08:00How I almost didn't make it to Chiang Mai...Day 24 (Mon)<br />
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Yesterday I arranged and bought my bus ticket from Vientiane, Laos to Chiang Mai, Thailand. It's a long 17 hour ride that involves riding an international bus from Vientiane over the border then about 2 hours to Udon Thani, Thailand where I transfer buses to get to Chiang Mai. The bus ticket cost me around 1200 Baht ($40) but I was excited that it was going to be so easy to get there.<br />
Or so I thought.....<br />
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The guesthouse I stayed at is the one who arranged my trip for me but they use a tour company. I was told I would be picked up at the guesthouse around 3pm and taken to the bus terminal, and my bus would leave around 5pm. So I waited in the guesthouse lobby for my pick-up. My ride to the bus terminal was a little late, not arriving to get me until after 3:30 but I wasn't worried since I knew that my bus wasn't leaving until 5. On the way to the bus terminal we also picked up 4 Chinese people at a different guesthouse. Only one of them spoke much English but I found out from her that they were also going to Chiang Mai. The driver took us to the town bus terminal, but he didn't make a move to let us out or direct us anywhere. So we tried to ask him where we should go. Turns out our driver didn't speak much English either so he brought a woman who I suspect works for the tour company I booked through to explain to us that we would wait there until the bus arrived.<br />
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While we were waiting my driver left and came back with a very delicious looking Lao baguette. I tried to ask him where he got the sandwich, though he didn't understand at first and tried to give me his. After a few more hand gestures he understood that I wanted to also buy a sandwich like his. He went over to his motorbike and motioned for me to get on. I was a bit confused because I thought the sandwich place must be close but the bus hadn't arrived yet so I hopped on the back of his bike. He drove me literally to the other side of the bus terminal, where he ordered me the same sandwich he had. It was so yummy (tho I am not even sure what was in it except lots of chili sauce!) Then he drove me back to the other side of the terminal.<br />
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Around 4:30 the bus arrived. We watched as it unloaded its passengers and then people started to board again. My Chinese travel companions and I tried to ask our driver if we should get on the bus (our bags were still in the back of the van he picked us up in) but he only motioned that we should wait for a bit. So we waited and waited. I didn't think anything of it really, because I figured that he knew what he was doing and would make sure we got on the bus.... until it looked like it was about ready to leave. Then he started to frantically motion for us to get our bags and get on the bus. Oh boy.<br />
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So we got our bags from the back of the van, shoved them under the bus and boarded. ...Only to find there were no more seats left on the bus. At this point I have not started to panic really, but worry has definitely set in.<br />
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The woman from the travel company came on the bus and apparently tried to buy back some of the seats from the other passengers so we could have seats, but no one seemed to want to give up their seat to Udon Thani, Thailand. Eventually the bus driver said it was time to go. Things started to get a little chaotic as the bus driver was trying to kick off the travel company woman, while she was trying to tell us she was sorry but we might have to stand for the ride to Udon Thani. At one point the driver was yelling "bus full, you get off" and "time to go", a western man sitting in the back was complaining about the bus not leaving on time (jerk), and the woman is yelling at us to stay on the bus and yelling something in Thai to the driver. It was all very confusing but I was determined to stay on that bus and make it to Chiang Mai!<br />
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So finally we started to move and the woman stepped off the bus. I went and sat at the back of the bus on the step that is above the engine....<br />
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Not too much later we arrived at the Laos border. So we all got off to go through exit immigration, which was pretty easy. While I was getting through immigration, I talked to two other western guys who were also going to Chiang Mai (though they had seats). I found out they had paid the same amount and was explaining my situation (as best I could, since I really didn't understand what was going on).<br />
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After we boarded back on the bus, the bus conductor was waiting at the back of the bus for me and the Chinese people. He tried to tell me that I needed to pay 500 baht (about $15) to ride the bus going to Udon Thani. I told him that I would not pay that since I already paid 1200 Baht for the whole trip. Of course he also didn't speak hardly any English. He kept repeating to me that I only paid for Udon Thani to Chiang Mai until I showed him my receipt that said from Vientiane to Chiang Mai. After that he left me alone, for a bit.<br />
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Next we came to the Thailand border. At this point I was pretty worried. I remembered reading in my guidebook that sometimes the international bus is in a hurry to get through immigration. To get into Thailand we had to take our bags from the bus storage and take it through immigration as well. So I started to worry that if I took too long through immigration that since both me and my bag were off the bus they might try to leave me. So I quickly got my bag and ran ahead to immigration where I jumped in front of people to get an immigration form, filled it out and got through. I headed back to put my bag back on the bus when the conductor again was waiting for me..<br />
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He told me I had to pay 100 Baht this time and tried to motion for me to take another vehicle. Now I was not about to pay any more for this trip and I was certainly not going to get on another vehicle not knowing how I was getting to Chiang Mai. So I had to make a decision, one that was probably the key decision I made that night. I told the conductor 'no, I am riding this bus' and despite his yelling, I threw my bag inside the bus and quickly boarded. He was gonna have to carry me off that bus if he wanted me out.<br />
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After the other passengers were on the bus I saw my Chinese companions outside looking very confused. They saw me on the bus and started to try to get on as well. Turns out the bus conductor was able to get 100 additional Baht from each of them so he came looking for me next. I told him I was not going to pay 100 Baht (a little over $3, but still..) to sit on the floor for 2 hours. I motioned to the seat next to me, "do you have a seat for me then?" He understood so he started motioning for me to follow him to the front and sat me down in his bucket seat next to the driver.<br />
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Now at this point the driver has already started the bus up again and we are on our way to Udon Thani. So the way I figure, I am getting there. So why pay more? I ask the conductor who will get the 100 Baht he is still asking me for. I motion to my pocket and then his, asking "is it going into your pocket only?" At this point he laughs and says yes, motioning it will go into his pocket. Now I was not about to let this guy make some money off of my misery. So I said no. Then he told me "you stand, you stand". Since he wasn't getting any money from me, he wanted his seat back. But I was tired of his game. So I just sat in his seat a little longer and stared quietly up at him and smiled until he was quite frustrated with me. Then I pointed to the step behind the driver and said "I will sit there." I think he was so happy to have me out of his seat that after that he didn't bother me any more for money or a seat.<br />
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As I sat there on the floor I was feeling much better. I made it past the border and would at least make it to Udon Thani. Then the very kind Thai woman who was sitting in the front row started to ask me questions about my trip. I explained to here how I had bought my ticket and she tried to explain everything to the driver and conductor so they could understand and she told me what they had said earlier. She also told me what the woman who I assumed worked for the travel company had been saying to the driver earlier. She had been begging the driver to let us stay on the bus. The Thai woman told me she thought what had probably happened was the tour company had cheated me and that when I arrived to Udon Thani I was probably going to have to buy another ticket to get to Chiang Mai. So I settled into thinking that that was the way it was going to be. At least I would make it there.<br />
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When we arrived to the bus terminal in Udon Thani, the Thai woman explained to me that this was the old bus station and that I needed to get to the new bus station for a bus to Chiang Mai. So she took me by the hand and told me should would talk to a tuk-tuk driver for me to make sure I got there OK. But wouldn't you know, when we got off the bus a man approached us in a red vest, saying he was with our tour company and would be not only getting us to the new bus terminal but also getting us our bus tickets! So it wasn't a scam afterall! WOOHOO! I rounded up the other passengers going to Chiang Mai and explained to the Chinese people what was happening. The Thai woman made sure we were all ok and then I thanked her in the traditional Thai way of putting my hands together, as if praying, and bowing my head while telling her "kab-kun-ka". She reciprocated the gesture and wished us good luck.<br />
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So we all followed the guy in the red vest and piled into the back of his pick-up truck. He took us to the new bus terminal, gave us our Chiang Mai tickets, and took us to the bus. And oh what a glorious bus it was! After the tortuous ride I had from Luang Prabang and the chaotic time getting to Udon Thani, this bus was like heaven. It had nice seats that reclined all the way, comfy blankets, working aircon, a bathroom on board, and they even gave us snacks along the way.<br />
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I sat with the other travelers that had been on my bus and we talked about the crazy time making it there, speculating on what had caused all the confusion. It could have been the bus workers, who, wanting to make some extra cash, sold our seats and then tried to charge us more too. Or it could have been a simple miss-communication between the tour company and the bus company to reserve us our seats. We will never know. So we just toasted our success, with cans of BeerLao, on making it on the right bus and to how things always work out. Because they really do. They may not work out the way you expected or hoped for, but as long as you persevere, they will work out. Everything always does.<br />
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So now I am in Chiang Mai, and have reunited with some of my volunteer friends. The hostel I am staying at is really awesome (it's called DeeJai Backpackers and I highly recommend it). I have already met a lot of fellow travelers and we are all excited about participating in the festival activities!<br />
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to be continued!Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-51767506817469459712012-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:002014-11-10T19:48:17.558-08:00Laos - Land of ElephantsDay 20 (Thurs)<br />
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Today we decided to visit the KuangSi waterfalls, which are supposed to be amazing. We booked a van through our guesthouse to take us and some others to the falls, by far the cheapest way to do it. It was a windy 45 min drive through the mountains surrounding Luang Prabang but we made it to the falls! They are so beautiful. Natural formations of limestone and turquoise water! There was a swing and people were jumping off the smaller falls. The water was so cold but very refreshing. We enjoyed taking pictures and swimming for a few hours before heading back with our van crew.<br />
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We got back around 3:30 which was just in time for me to get ready for my cooking class! I had originally planned on taking a cooking class in every country I have been in but haven't been taking time (or money) to do it yet. At around $25 to $30, it can be a bit expensive for the budget traveller but you get what you pay for and I thought this Laos Cooking Class was one of the best experiences I have had here in LP!<br />
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I had originally wanted to book the day class but it was already full for days, so I booked the evening class instead. I took the guidebook's advice and went with Tamarind Restaurant's cooking class. It has a reputation for being excellent and it really was!<br />
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There were 12 of us in the class and since it was evening time and the restaurant needed its space for the dinner crowd, we headed outside the city for the class to a small farm lot. It was picturesque! A beautiful outdoor set up with a long table by a pond for eating our creations together. The instructor's table was filled with fresh herbs and vegetables and there were coal pots (the native way to cook - no stoves for us!) already lit and burning.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our ingredients</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVKsU3td5euBV6Ue1gF6Vze9Mg23DMMGF7Cwd6RK8noxYCz7ULE_zTE2eeF-eFlUQaOyNZKXgVinRC-LW-00ef2PYaxmQN5o25zD4l55SpcSzf5OwlLgRvnuaF5x-fLF3X9ffnuB78mor/s1600/P1080882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVKsU3td5euBV6Ue1gF6Vze9Mg23DMMGF7Cwd6RK8noxYCz7ULE_zTE2eeF-eFlUQaOyNZKXgVinRC-LW-00ef2PYaxmQN5o25zD4l55SpcSzf5OwlLgRvnuaF5x-fLF3X9ffnuB78mor/s1600/P1080882.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice cooking</td></tr>
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We made three Laos dishes and one dessert using ingredients the locals use, including lemon grass, basil, peppers, garlic, shallots, green onions, tomatoes, Chinese eggplant, cilantro (which they call coriandor here), ground chicken, and of course, sticky rice!<br />
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The first dish we made was a jeow, which is a kind of paste. It was very simple and included toasting peppers, eggplant, onion and garlic and then using a mortor and pestle we ground it together with fish sauce, salt, herbs and chicken flavor. Then we put plastic over it for later.<br />
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Next we prepped our steamed fish in banana leaf by making a similar paste for seasoning, soaking the fish and then wrapping it in banana leaf and leaving to steam cook.<br />
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Our last main was chicken laab (Laos salad) stuffed into lemon grass. We made a jeow and mixed in the ground chicken. Cutting the lemon grass correctly was the hardest part. I, embarrassingly, went through a few lemon grass sticks before I finally got one that would hold the chicken mixture (and my instructor made my second one, which was much prettier than mine...). Next we coated the stuffed lemon grass in egg and fried in a pan.<br />
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Finally we prepared our dessert. We had already had cooking some red sticky rice, which we then put into a pot with a bit of sugar, and pinch of salt. Next we extracted coconut milk from some fresh coconut shreddings and cooked the sticky rice in it. The final step was to add some delicious native fruit. I added to mine banana, mangosteen, mango, tamarind, and dragon fruit. Then, time to eat!<br />
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We had a great time cooking together and during dinner it was nice to talk to the other travellers. Some British, some Dutch, German, Australian, and even another American. We talked and swapped travel stories while we ate. It was a great experience to meet other travellers from around the world and bond over learning to cook Laos food!<br />
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Day 21 (Fri)<br />
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So today was our tour to elephant village! We went through a company called Tiger Trails, which I mentioned before. Elephant Village and Tiger Trails were both started by German guy who travelled to Laos and fell in love with the country. Many elephants are still used as a main source of labor in logging. This can be a very hard life for an elephant. So the creator of Elephant Village wanted a place for captive elephants to have an easier life. Elephants can consume between 150 and 250 kg of food each day, making them quite expensive to keep. By using them for sustainable tourism, they can in a sense pay for their keep while living an easier life than if logging.<br />
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Elephant village is currenlty home to 11 Asian Elephants, 3 of which are owned and 8 are rented. I was told that often times the owner will not sell the elephant to elephant village, so they are rented instead.<br />
The elephants all come with their mahout, or elephant trainer/rider. Most of the time, a elephant will have only one mahout so the bond between the two can be very close.<br />
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For our tour, we started with just a small trek sitting atop an elephant carriage. Along the way we would stop at points for our elephants to grab a palm frond which they would munch on along the way like a giant celery stick.<br />
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When we got back we were able to "thank" our elephants by feeding them bananas, which they seemed to really love! Next we had our mahout training. We learned the proper way to approach, mount and ride an elephant. We had to learn the calls in Laos since that is the only language the elephants understand. We also learned how to ride on the back of the elephant head/neck, which is where the mahout usually sits.<br />
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After our class (and a lunch break for us and the elephants) it was time to use our mahout skills and take the elephants for a bath! This was my favorite part! The elephant I rode is named Mae Unk, and was the same one we trained on. I asked her mahout, named Sae, what her name means. Sae told me "Mae" means "mother" and all female elephants are called this, and "unk" means "hangover". I asked Sae why he would name his elephant hangover, and he just laughed and said because she always over eats and has hangover, moving very slow! And sure enough, although Mae Unk was not the biggest elephant, she was certainly the fattest!<br />
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So I rode Mae Unk down to the river. She really liked to go underwater, dunking me about waist high into the cold river water. She would stay under for a few seconds before emerging her head and trunk to take a breath. I scrubbed her thick skin and pat her head, which was covered in course hairs. It was an amazing experience to sit atop this huge elephant as she played and bathed in the river!<br />
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After the river bath, the elephants headed back to their home in the jungle where they can eat and rest for the remainder of the day. Meanwhile we continued on our tour to see the Sad Tae waterfalls just a little way down the river. The falls were smaller than Kuang Si falls but just as beautiful with clear refreshing water. It was also much less crowded at these falls and a bit more enjoyable. I was able to talk to the other two travellers on our tour, sharing travel stories and advice and talking about how much we enjoyed our elephant experience together.<br />
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After the falls we made it back to Luang Prabang and arranged to meet one of our new friends for dinner later. This was such an amazing day that I am sure I will never forget!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crepes bought from a street cart.</td></tr>
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Day 22 (Sat)<br />
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So today we left Luang Prabang to head back to the capitol, Vientiane. Linds has her flight back to the States tomorrow. We left on a bus at 6:30am for the 11hour trip south. This time the bus was full, mostly of locals including 3 monks. Two monks sat in the seats directly across from us. At one point they took out some kind of snacks wrapped in bamboo. As they were eating, the woman sitting behind me said something in Lao to them and offered some other food for them. So the younger monk sitting on the aisle seat stood up, allowing for the woman to place the food on his seat. Then he picked up the food and sat down again. Buddhist monks are not allowed to touch women, even in the most innocent of ways. (I have heard that if they do touch a woman, even by accident, they have to undergo a cleansing ritual, but I am not sure if this is true..)<br />
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Later on the bus ride, Linds and I had just finished a cup of noodles that proved to be a bit spicey, and we were both coughing a lot. Then Linds tells me she thinks the monk is trying to get my attention. So I look over and he has fashioned a stick with a small package strapped to it by rubber band, and is holding it out to me. At first I was confused until I realized he was trying to give me the small package, which was a cough medicine. So I took the package off and the rubber band came with it. I thanked him and Linds and I split the medicine. Then I wanted to give him the rubber band back so I held it out to show him and then placed it on the arm rest. So he grabbed it and put it back in his bag.<br />
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Our small interaction with the monks was probably the highlight of the bus trip, which ended up being the most grueling trip I have ever been on. Our bus broke down numerous times, at one point we slowly pulled up beside a very rural repair shop in the middle of nowhere, where we waited for the bus to be fixed again. Our 11 hour trip turned into 13 hours and when we finally arrived, the bus that had left at 8am was also arriving...<br />
What a trip!<br />
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Day 23 (Sun)<br />
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It rained all last night but Linds and I were comfy in our hotel room. We decided to splurge on a nicer place since we were so exhausted from the long trip. Our room had aircon and really comfy beds, and we ended up paying $10 each. Today she will be leaving for her long trip back to the States. So I arranged for a cheaper accomodation for myself down the road. My new guesthouse is also arranging for my bus trip to Chiang Mai. I have reservations there starting Tues and really can't wait to get there just in time for the Lantern Festival festivities! Unfortunatley my bus trip to get there will be 17hr overnight.... oh boy.<br />
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So today and tomorrow I will wonder around Vientiane, perhaps see a few more temples and the famous Buddah Gardens (if the weather improves) and then tomorrow evening I will be leaving Laos and heading back into Thailand (for the 3rd time this year!) This will be the last leg of my trip before heading home!<br />
But first, a few pictures from Vientiane:<br />
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to be continued!Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-77195244558406163162012-11-20T20:38:00.001-08:002014-11-10T19:33:09.902-08:00Hello LaosDay 15 (Sat)<br />
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So today we had our diving adventure! Lindsey officially has her Open Water SCUBA certification and I joined her for two dives today. I have to say the coral was definitely not as good as I have seen in the Philippines but there was an abundance of fish! Right after we finished our descent, our guide tapped his tank and made the hand motion for barracuda! and sure enough above us a few meters away was a serious looking barracuda, scoping us out! We also saw a bluespotted stingray, which are so beautiful, a puffer fish, filefish, trigger fish, parrot fish, and schools of other reef fishes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEwZdzv_d2ixH91G0Bd3JzSR6osFBEcI2rX1B-jPCmpP-7KTRYhzq2iaIao4i6F5n4y2GyIZoZh8lmc0iaO-J-LTPePhZUxnuz1S6H8qIMuOqg14p_bCYfX445sl3Z1b3AFLcAwrIlZnm/s1600/P1080594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEwZdzv_d2ixH91G0Bd3JzSR6osFBEcI2rX1B-jPCmpP-7KTRYhzq2iaIao4i6F5n4y2GyIZoZh8lmc0iaO-J-LTPePhZUxnuz1S6H8qIMuOqg14p_bCYfX445sl3Z1b3AFLcAwrIlZnm/s1600/P1080594.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to dive in!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/stingray-ig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/stingray-ig.jpg" height="280" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Spotted Stingray<br />
(Photo: http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/stingray-ig.jpg)</td></tr>
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And on our second dive we ran across a sea turtle! Now I have been lucky enough to see sea turtles on just about every dive I have been on in the Philippines but I was not expecting to see one here in Thailand. But this was probably the best sea turtles sighting yet! It was a beautiful and healthy looking Hawksbill Sea Turtle looking around the reef for food, and she didn't seem to mind us one bit! According to our guide, this particular turtle is known to hang around the reef so she is pretty used to SCUBA divers being around. We hung around her for a while, just watching her look for food, so amazing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg/240px-Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg/240px-Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hawksbill Sea Turtle<br />
(Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg/240px-Hawksbill_Turtle.jpg)</td></tr>
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After while it was time to continue on our dive, but I felt like I could have watched her forever (or at least till I ran out of air).<br />
<br />
Now we will spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. It has been a really awesome detour to Thailand but it's time to move on. Tomorrow we start the long journey to Laos!<br />
<br />
Day 16 (Sun)<br />
<br />
We left around 6:30 am from our resort on Koh Chang Island. It took about 3 hours just to get off the island since our van had a few other stops to make picking up other people and the ferry took longer than expected. All in all though I am very impressed by public transportation in Thailand. The infrastructure is well maintained and well organized. Minibuses are the popular mode of transportation for tourist, and tend to be a faster and more comfortable way to get around. These minibuses are really just big vans, but they have good working aircon and the drivers almost always seem in a hurry. They are sure to make plenty of bathroom and snack breaks along the way but still get you to your destination in a good amount of time.<br />
<br />
Although we could have gotten to Laos in a more direct path via bus, it would have been probably a longer and more frustrating journey, consisting of many bus transfers. So we decided to head to Bangkok and take the night train. Our minibus dropped us off at the airport and the railway station was on the other side of town. But again the Thailand public transportation system impresses. There is a "airport link" metro that runs from the airport into town and connects with some of the other sky train metro lines. It was an easy ride and train transfer to the MRT, which ran right to the railway station. The metro trains are clean, easy to use, cheap and announce all stops in both Thai and English. Thank you Thailand!<br />
<br />
So we bought our train tickets for the night train to Laos and then took the sky train again to the mall to get a bite to eat and kill some time. We have a 12 hour train ride but Laos here we come!<br />
<br />
Day 17 (Mon)<br />
<br />
Our train arrived into Nong Kai this morning, at the Thailand/Laos border. Despite the sleeper beds on the train being pretty comfortable, I wasn't able to get much restful sleep, but I have to rally for another long day of travel!<br />
<br />
After exiting Thailand, we were able to ride a shuttle bus across the Friendship Bridge into Laos. Getting through Laos immigration was pretty painless, especially since we had printed out our visa application ahead of time, allowing for us to be one of the first ones to get our visas. But after getting through immigration, it was a little more confusing to determine how to get to the Northern Bus Terminal. (We decided since we had a detour in Thailand, we would just go straight to Luang Prabang so we can maximize our time there.) After two somewhat stressful tuk-tuk rides we finally made it to the bus station. Unfortunately we missed the 9am bus so we waited around for the 1:30pm bus. Despite being only a few hundred kilometers away, the trip from Vientiane (where we were) to Luang Prabang takes an estimated 11 hours via bus. This is due to (as we found out) the many break downs of the bus. In the first three hours alone we made three stops to allow for the crew to tinker with the bus engine. Although these stops were nice for bathroom and snack breaks, I was really hoping to stay on the road longer so we could get to LP before it was too late.<br />
<br />
Although the trip is long, the scenery is pretty breath-taking. Rice fields melt into mountains and jungle landscape. It certainly makes the bus ride less dull.<br />
<br />
We eventually made it to LP at about half past midnight. We took a tuk to a cheap guesthouse recommended in the guidebook only to find that it was full. So were the next two we checked. But finally we found a cheap place to stay for the night. After getting some semi-restful sleep, we set out to look for a guesthouse located a little closer to central town. After checking in and dropping off some laundry to get done (some of my clothes are getting a little too smelly...) we went to book our much anticipated elephant trek!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1lBbNt7KrjgeVwvhTl08K-ZuByX0PjQgluqGuAnqmoRKbAfcIVeM8O7sb0HMMAOX9ZwZP2JeZ5EOEm8LuIZZOdq9pwjmjLWBiHla9BHCGpQ9JKKYxr4l6xgUvH-T_tXZ4ZbS_ZqFlhwP/s1600/P1080601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1lBbNt7KrjgeVwvhTl08K-ZuByX0PjQgluqGuAnqmoRKbAfcIVeM8O7sb0HMMAOX9ZwZP2JeZ5EOEm8LuIZZOdq9pwjmjLWBiHla9BHCGpQ9JKKYxr4l6xgUvH-T_tXZ4ZbS_ZqFlhwP/s1600/P1080601.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm yummy noodles - I can't get enough!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfiQEU92CkaHgvKCDxmRkxbut_c5kbx2H_FYrhQpcuISfeGeMZ85s9Ny0K3TOhXqKtm_-NNwWUATXbyuNhh2qvDlCysJSCfCboHdY4zBqd6KyqoAcYGZtaBKuvicMqJ_yaZZi6wSRoH6b/s1600/P1080603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfiQEU92CkaHgvKCDxmRkxbut_c5kbx2H_FYrhQpcuISfeGeMZ85s9Ny0K3TOhXqKtm_-NNwWUATXbyuNhh2qvDlCysJSCfCboHdY4zBqd6KyqoAcYGZtaBKuvicMqJ_yaZZi6wSRoH6b/s1600/P1080603.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our cute hostel.</td></tr>
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Now there are a lot of elephant treks you can go on but I am always worried about how the animals are treated, so we went to a company called Tiger Trails. Although their tours are a bit more expensive, they have a good reputation at being sustainable and doing what they call "fair treks" which involve and benefit the local community. We planned a one-day trek for Friday, that will include lessons on how to properly treat and ride the elephants, then we will take them on a trek through the jungle and a bath at some waterfalls. Should be fun!<br />
<br />
Day 18 (Tues)<br />
<br />
This morning I wanted to get up early and witness the cultural event that happens every morning at dawn in Luang Prabang - alms giving. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And part (or most) of the reason why is that is is home to numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. It is home to monks, old and young. If you aren't familiar with Buddhist Monks, they are they guys with shaved heads wearing orange robes. They live their life as simply as possibly, attempting to eliminate suffering and temptation from life, spending much of the time in meditation, trying to achieve the Buddhism goal of Nirvana.<br />
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<br />
As a way of living this life, they rely on the support of their community to live. A few times now I have been riding a tuk-tuk somewhere and we will pick up a monk who will sit in the front with the driver, who will give him a free lift to wherever he is headed. And every morning at dawn in Luang Prabang, the community comes out to the street to give alms, mostly sticky rice, to the monks as they pass down the street. The food that they collect will be the only food they consume for the day.<br />
<br />
So needless to say one of the things I planned on experiencing in LP is to wake up and witness the giving of alms to the monks. So this morning I woke up and headed out to the street. I barely got out the door of the guesthouse before women approached me to buy sticky rice and other foods to give to the monks. I wasn't planning on participating in the ritual because I am not Buddhist and don't want to offend practicing Buddhists, so I just kept walking. When I arrived to the street where the monks walk down to collect alms, there were tourist lining the sidewalk with alms to give. Again I was confronted by women telling me I needed to give alms. I was quite confused at what I should do but ended up deciding that if I was going to come to take pictures that I might as well give alms in return. She wanted me to buy bananas and some small wrapped candies but I insisted on only getting a bowl of sticky rice to give, and I am very glad I did..<br />
<br />
Further down the road from me there were many more tourist so I stayed near the end and positioned myself after three local women so I could watch and mimic what they did. I have to say that I was very disappointed in the attire of some of the tourist. I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt since you are never supposed to have exposed knees or shoulders in temples or around monks. But there were women wearing short shorts and mini-skirts with tanktops. Um really?! It's not even that hot outside since the sun is barely up and these girls are wearing beach wear when they should be wearing temple attire. I just don't understand coming to a country to experience the culture without first researching what is culturally appropriate. I think it is very disrespectful for them to come to such a cultural and spiritual ritual dressed like they are going to a bar.<br />
OK end rant.<br />
<br />
So the monks came down the street and I did my best to give them alms of sticky rice as they passed by but I noticed as they came past the local Laoation women sitting next to me that they were taking the candy packages out of their alms buckets and giving them to the street children. In fact the street children had bags full of candy, bananas and rice, as it seems the monks were getting too much alms. They are trying to live a simple and modest life, after all, and eating too much would be sinful. Meanwhile tourist are almost getting in the monks' faces to take pictures of them.<br />
<br />
After awhile I was getting uncomfortable being there. I felt like an intruder. And I didn't like being associated with the other tourist wearing skimpy clothes and getting too close with their cameras. So when there was a brake in the monks' procession, I quietly got up and left.<br />
<br />
I thought that witnessing and participating in the alms giving would be a great cultural experience. But as I walked back to my guesthouse, all I felt was sadness and guilt. Sometimes tourism can benefit the community, but other times I think it just slowly destroys it. When I got back to the room I looked over the few pictures I had taken and couldn't help but to feel a pang of guilt. That is why I have decided not to share the pictures. I won't be posting them on facebook or this blog, or anywhere for that matter. I deleted all but two and will only keep them as a personal reminder of how I never again want to cross the line between respectful observer and cultural intruder.<br />
<br />
So although it was nice to get a glimpse of this spiritual ritual, I won't be going back. I think some experiences are better remembered as quiet observer. But it would be hypocritical of me to say don't visit Luang Prabang to witness the alms giving. So instead I will just recommend that if you do, sit across the street away from the alms giving, be as less intrusive with your picture taking as possible, and for God's sake (or in this case, Buddha's sake) wear appropriate clothing. And if you can resist the temptation of taking any pictures, you might find you enjoy the whole experience better, as just a bystander in a sacred community ritual.<br />
<br />
---<br />
to be continued...Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-15207392206385585002012-11-15T20:08:00.002-08:002014-11-10T19:12:23.234-08:00Detour to ThailandDay10 (Mon)<br />
<br />
So although we were planning on leaving today for Thailand, last night we decided that we wanted one more day in Siem Reap. Linds is finally feeling better and wanted another day to visit Angkor, specifically the Bayon temple that I visited by myself Sat; and we had a few more souvenirs to purchase.<br />
<br />
So today we took our time getting up and having breakfast. We walked around the old market, purchasig a few more gifts and then spent time on the internet planning our detour to Thailand. Linds and I are both coastal girls. We LOVE the beach. And although she lives on the beach at home and I spent the last two years doing coastal work and living on an island, we both felt the ocean calling to us. We also decided after talking to other travellers that we didn't need to spend a week and a half in Laos like we originally planned.<br />
<br />
After planning our detour, we decided to hire a tuk-tuk to take us to Angkor. Although we have been enjoying renting and riding bicycles to the temple, we didn't want to be worn out for the next day's traveling. We bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the Bayon temple and he waited for us as we spent about an hour walking around the temple and taking pictures of the over 200 faces carved into sand stone. This visit was much nicer for me than my first one since most of the tours happen in the morning. So in the afternoon when we went there today, there was only us and a few other straggling tourist wandering around the temple. It gave us the opportunity to take some really great pictures and to really take in the wonder and history of the temple.<br />
<br />
When the temples of Angkor were built, the sand stone used was quarried over 50 km away and then transported down the Siem Reap River.Considering Angkor is one of the biggest temple complexes, this was a massive undertaking. It is almost surreal to imagine the man power and time it took to create such complexly designed and massive structures.<br />
<br />
So after taking in Angkor for the last time, we returned to Siem Reap to pack. After preparing for our departure we had our last Cambodian dinner. All of the guidebooks tell you to have Cambodian barbeque, often recommending a more high-end place located on Pub Street. However Linds and I had noticed a more local place serving Cambodian barbeque with outdoor seating across from the night market. It was quite a bit cheaper and the food was delicious! They have options of a $5 or $10 set. We were able to split the $5 set, which included two meats, noodles, vegetables, sauces and steamed rice. They set the barbeque up on our table, which consisted of a gas burner and a pan that had a steamer in the middle. After adding broth, fresh greens and noodles to the outside of the pan, we put the meat in the middle to steam, then made our own mixture of meats, noodles, rice, veggies and sauces. YUM!<br />
<br />
After eating we walked around the night market one more time and bought some last minute gifts. Tomorrow we head to Thailand and THE BEACH!<br />
<br />
Day 11 (Tues)<br />
<br />
We left on a bus this morning at 8am leaving for the border town of Poipet. It took around 2 hours to get to the border and another hour and half to get through immigration on both sides. The Cambodian side was easy enough to get out of, but the line going into Thailand (despite us not needing a visa) was long. After finally making it into Thailand, we had to figure out the best way to get to Koh Chang. We originally planned on taking a tuk-tuk to the the Aranyaprathet bus terminal and finding a way from there but a Thai guy approached us about taking a van all the way to Koh Chang. He wanted to charge us $15. It sounded like an easy way to go but we wanted to look around for a cheaper fare. We went to one of the many van companies and found the same trip for $11. Sold.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvFKb89KrWIY6gxFqsTgZc4ZH2k8boRiQmFqLhXBC_bBm_lCW4T9qo9voJRHBkzEjLdCv3q_kE7zakpUr0cn6BbSRnU1TNHEIPWdqlkhyphenhyphen4Gvw2BbzUz6Dtu0Bl-Mgoq4BdeYWXv7n1fLd/s1600/kohchang_map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvFKb89KrWIY6gxFqsTgZc4ZH2k8boRiQmFqLhXBC_bBm_lCW4T9qo9voJRHBkzEjLdCv3q_kE7zakpUr0cn6BbSRnU1TNHEIPWdqlkhyphenhyphen4Gvw2BbzUz6Dtu0Bl-Mgoq4BdeYWXv7n1fLd/s320/kohchang_map.gif" height="400" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The island of Koh Chang, off the coast of Thailand. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The sign in the office said "van to Koh Chang, leaves 1-3pm", so we were expecting to have to wait around for awhile to see if there would be others joining us in the van. But we had a bit of luck and only a few minutes later we were in a next-to-new van heading south. We were even more surprised to find that we were the only passengers. So we had a huge van to oursevles for the 4 hour trip south.By the time our ferry got to the island of Koh Chang it was already dark so we hired our driver to take us to the other side of the island referred to as Lonely Beach, the more "backpacker friendly" beach with cheaper accomodations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq2YW3ObZJGu16y4QuWp57NoPS3_AmFl2trXecApym72CYVuXsBjBJJ2_RrSOtd0HhCN9dSvvdEYrJC9m5KG6QJPFY-s6K6eXWE5eA6lBYPm0AKZ3yPZPnbNONbSw0R1JdckQPd08qJZY/s1600/P1080464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq2YW3ObZJGu16y4QuWp57NoPS3_AmFl2trXecApym72CYVuXsBjBJJ2_RrSOtd0HhCN9dSvvdEYrJC9m5KG6QJPFY-s6K6eXWE5eA6lBYPm0AKZ3yPZPnbNONbSw0R1JdckQPd08qJZY/s1600/P1080464.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading into Thailand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCDRf0TBCtIiUlh6RbxcnZvRL8IXV1BH81mSBysKrAgKxFp3qXaK-KfVsF-j8q8-5JXk_HjeOqRqXRbnH-Jy9M-TpsAmh3tTp48y56NSC5GC5t0LfupNbGz9uVPGcCixmLdgyG14uvj7pf/s1600/P1080467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCDRf0TBCtIiUlh6RbxcnZvRL8IXV1BH81mSBysKrAgKxFp3qXaK-KfVsF-j8q8-5JXk_HjeOqRqXRbnH-Jy9M-TpsAmh3tTp48y56NSC5GC5t0LfupNbGz9uVPGcCixmLdgyG14uvj7pf/s1600/P1080467.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the ferry to Koh Chang Island.</td></tr>
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We stayed the night in a wooden bungalow for a mere 100 baht ($3.30) total. It doesn't get any cheaper than that. Tomorrow, beach time!<br />
<br />
Day 12 (Wed)<br />
<br />
So today we decided to transfer hostels. We don't feel our belongings are secure in the place we stayed at last night and though it is located on a beautiful creek bed and feels like camping in the jungle, we want to stay closer to the beach. We found another bungalow to stay at called Siem Hut. It is a bit nicer of a bungalow, complete with fan, mosquito net and private bath. It is only $4 each and located a few short steps from the beach. It also has a pretty cool restaurant deck on the beach and has a dive shop and kayaks to rent.<br />
<br />
After having a nice breakfast on the beach, we decided to inquire about diving. After a short talk with the local dive shop, Linds decided to get her SCUBA certification! So we would be extending our stay for three more days a this beautiful paradise beach! After making our SCUBA plans (Linds' three days of certification, with me joining her on her last day for a fun dive), we rented some kayaks and headed to a small island off the coast. The water is crystal clear and it was a gorgeous day. We paddled for around 15-20 min to the island and then spent some time looking for shells, swimming in the secluded cove and taking pictures of the mangroves.<br />
<br />
After enjoying the island we kayaked back to shore and walked around the small beach town looking for some good Thai food. We settled on one of the many dining choices and ordered delicious alcoholic shakes, coconut tempura shrimp, chicken pad thai, and french onion soup to share. (I know the soup is not Thai but it sounded good! LOL)<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbDBVV9ZHv25gSWyQNsCEtdTEhTfdbcBjs4ZU4H-ClTFwY8tMCinYvJW9gzjaQ4HeyfsMcAqS5p002Fx5TmKwRDnC1v_gjH_y5zRYbrfoj2dKfe79FCR7p5ioP62oBwbmYd9MuJL7Aa0Z/s1600/P1080471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTbDBVV9ZHv25gSWyQNsCEtdTEhTfdbcBjs4ZU4H-ClTFwY8tMCinYvJW9gzjaQ4HeyfsMcAqS5p002Fx5TmKwRDnC1v_gjH_y5zRYbrfoj2dKfe79FCR7p5ioP62oBwbmYd9MuJL7Aa0Z/s1600/P1080471.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our place on the island</td></tr>
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We are really enjoying some island time and are more and more glad we decided to make this detour!<br />
<br />
Day 13 (Thurs)<br />
<br />
So today Linds starts her first day of SCUBA school. She will be spending some class time at the dive shop and then working on skills in the pool. Since she will be busy with that for most of the day, I decided to rent a moto and explore the island a bit.<br />
<br />
I headed to the opposite end of the island, where I saw on the map there is a mangrove forest you can visit. It took be about an hour, and aside from a few sharp turns going up and down a mountain side, the ride was nice and the view was spectacular! <br />
<br />
When I made it to the Mangrove Forest, I decided to rent a kayak and paddle around. It was so quiet and beautiful. The only sounds were that of the wind, birds and water lapping against my kayak. I took my time paddling around and tried (unsuccessfully) to take a picture of a circling sea eagle. After about an hour I was tired and ready for lunch, so I headed back to the fishing village where I rented the kayak and had lunch at a local restaurant, built on stilts alongside the mangrove forest. I had delicous spicey sweet and sour shrimp with fresh steamed rice. Oh how I love Thai food!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGiFsRkuTcmXwNcTCrqEu9USS8jPEN85kSOfRqrja4Q5Ra7yXuAd4WNZHh2PeGzMCJKVaA781R8bwBARcwaYN21mlrW6k5UwfFaaWWLAJtOwTXdjS0TJ7h6nV_auWlK-8MBudiwRMlZaZ/s1600/P1080520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGiFsRkuTcmXwNcTCrqEu9USS8jPEN85kSOfRqrja4Q5Ra7yXuAd4WNZHh2PeGzMCJKVaA781R8bwBARcwaYN21mlrW6k5UwfFaaWWLAJtOwTXdjS0TJ7h6nV_auWlK-8MBudiwRMlZaZ/s1600/P1080520.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mangroves!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My delicious lunch</td></tr>
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After leaving the fishing village, I ventured further around the island to see one of the many temples on the island. I ended up at the Salek Phet temple. This temple is home to a rather large gold buddah, but the most amazing part is the painted mural that covers all walls of the place, depicting different ways of honoring and celebrating Buddah.<br />
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After taking a few pictures, I got back on my moto and started to head back the way I came. I had wanted to stop by a few waterfalls that I heard were free but I must have missed the turn off and ended up at the gate to another waterfall that would cost me 200 Baht. I have never paid to see a waterfall (unless you count paying for a guided trek) and I had no intention of spending money to see this waterfall so I just turned around and continued on my way. At this point I was beginning to get tired and my bottom was sore from sitting on the moto for so long so I just headed back around the island to Lonley Beach.<br />
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I really enjoying riding a moto around, it is very freeing and can be a great way to see the island. With that being said, there are many accidents involving tourist that happen every year, so although I recommend it as a way to explore, I also recommend that you are comfortable on a moto and always wear a helmet! Also remember that in Thailand, you drive on the LEFT side of the road! I was a bit nervous about remembering this at first but actually it's not that difficult to get used to.<br />
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After getting back to the resort, I did some laundry in the bungalow and waited for Linds to return and fill me in on her first day of SCUBA class. We had dinner at the resort and Linds worked on her "homework". At our resort, they show movies in the evenings during the week, projecting on a screen so you can sit at the beach and enjoy dinner and movie. So Linds and I enjoyed a relaxing evening before turning in.<br />
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Day 14 (Fri)<br />
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It rained almost all last night and is a bit cloudy this morning. Linds went off for her second day of SCUBA school and first day of diving in the ocean so I hope the rain will stay away. I was hoping for a beach day in the sun so hopefully the sun will come out later. I am pretty sore and tired from the past two days of kayaking so I will just take it easy today and relax by the beach. There is a beach party tonight at our resort and then tomorrow I will join Linds for some diving!<br />
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I am just loving the beach here and am already thinking of future beach vacations to southern Thailand...<br />
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to be continued...<br />
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<br />Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-49373591038272853882012-11-10T23:24:00.001-08:002014-11-10T18:55:48.579-08:00Cambodia, Part 3Day 7 (Fri)<br />
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Another amazing day in Cambodia! Today we had another early start, getting picked up around 5:30 am for our day to Tonle Sap lake to do some birding. There were two older British couples with us who were great to talk to along the way, especially since they had just come from Laos so we could pick their brains on what we should do when we are there.<br />
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We took a van to the port and then road on a small motor boat for about an hour or so to one of the floating villages in the lake. Tonle Sap lake is pretty spectacular in that it changes size from the dry season to the wet season, from 2,500km<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span> to 12,500km<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span>. During the rainy season all of the water flowing from the Mekong River going to the South China Sea backs up and flows into the Tonle Sap Lake. But during the dry season the water flows back out, leaving more land exposed. The trees that grow in the Lake are submerged during the rainy season, shedding their leaves to reduce air exchange, and then leafing again when they make it back out into sunlight during the dry season. Pretty cool actually.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caught a great sunrise on the way.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">setting out on our boat ride</td></tr>
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We are at the end of the rainy season now so the lake is still at it's largest. SOO many birds come back as the lake is full. Right now there are a lot of cormorants, herons and pelicans (the divers and swimmers), and later in the season as the water flows out of the lake, the storks will also come (the waders). So sadly we didn't see any storks but we are glad we got to get pictures of them at the zoo outside Phnom Penh (especially the Black Necked Stork, which is extremely endangered and rare).<br />
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Like the birds, the people also migrate with the water. They live in floating houses and follow the water as it leaves for dry season. Now that the lake is full they are all living in the center where we went to see the birds. What a life! To follow the lake (and fishes) as the seasons change!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the look out for birds!</td></tr>
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We had an excellent time birding from the boat, though I did wish we were able to paddle as the noise from the boat engine scared away the birds as we approached them. But we were able to get some good views and pictures of the White Spotted Pelican, Asian Open Bill, herons, egrets, a kingfisher, and especially the cormorants as they are nesting now.<br />
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We stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant where we ate some fantastic Khmer soup, noodles, fried fish and rice, with fresh pineapple for dessert. There was also a small store next door where the local women weave a water plant, called water hyacinth, into different products, like bowls, hats and hammocks. The water hyacinth is an invasive species that made it here to Cambodia many years ago. It became a nuisance as it can poison some of the local fauna and impedes the floating villages when they are moving down river. But it so happen that there was local knowledge of weaving it so they woman took advantage of this invasive species and now are able to make a living from weaving it.<br />
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It was a really great day spending time on the boat in the lake watching for animals and enjoying the great outdoors. But after two days in the sun I think we will be taking it easy tomorrow and resting before heading back to the temples for a second day.<br />
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Day 8 (Sat)<br />
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Today was a day of rest for us, after the last two very active days in the sun. We enjoyed some shakes at the Blue Pumpkin (excellent ice cream and yogurt!) and then went shopping at the old market. I remember the shopping in Thailand was pretty good, but I have to say that when I walk through the markets in Siem Reap, I WANT EVERYTHING! Of course the vendors always give you a high price to start with, but unlike in Vietnam, they will bargain with you. If you are really serious about getting a good price, you can play hardball. For instance, Linds bought a dress from a vendor for $5. At a different vendor I found a dress that I liked and she wanted $15 for it, so I started bargaining her down. She got to around $6 or $8 and wouldn't budge... that is until I started to walk away saying I would just go back to the other vendor for a $5 dress. Then she let me have the dress for $5. Hell yeah.<br />
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The rest of the day we just hung around the hostel, got some laundry done and rested. Linds started not feeling well, but hopefully she will feel better by tomorrow for another day around the Angkor temples.<br />
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Day 9 (Sun)<br />
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So Linds still isn't feeling 100%. We decided she should just rest today to make sure she is OK for tomorrow since we plan on leaving Siem Reap. We both kind of want a beach day so we are changing our plans a bit and before we head to Laos we will cross into Thailand and head to one of the beaches in the south for a day or two.<br />
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So while Linds stayed behind to rest and recoup I rented a bike and headed to Angkor. I reallythink renting bicycle is the way to get around Siem Reap and Angkor. Most people end up renting tuk-tuk drivers but they always try to overcharge you and I have to say I really enjoy riding through the Angkor park on a bike. And besides the obvious benefit of being green, both for you and the environment, at $1 a day, it's by far the cheapest way to go. It is also nice when you can bypass the car and tuk-tuks when they get bottle-necked up at narrow roads or bridges and at the ticket booth. The ride is all flat, so it's pretty easy, but during the day it can get pretty hot. My hostel is located in the southern part of town (Angkor lies just north of town), and the ride takes me no more than 30 min (and that is including going through the ticket center). I always make sure I take plenty of water and sunscreen though, since we are closer to the equator and the day gets hot.<br />
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So I headed to Angkor on my own this time and explored the Bayon and the temples around it. Bayon is pretty neat in that is has over 100 carved faces that stare at you from every angle!<br />
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I enjoyed the morning at Angkor and was pretty done by the afternoon time. So I biked back to check on Linds and then went up to the hostel bar for a refreshing shake. Also one of my PC friends is getting into town today so I will try to meet up with her later (HI Sarah!). Today will end our Cambodia part of the trip. It has been an amazing week here seeing all that Cambodia has to offer, which is completely exceeded my expectations. From the nice Khmer people to the amazing temples, ruins, shopping and food, Cambodia is a country that I think everyone should make an effort to visit!<br />
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So tomorrow we will take an early bus to the border and cross into Thailand. Our plan is to head to Koh Chang, which is a small island off the southern coast and from the pictures on the internet, looks like paradise. Beach here we come!<br />
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to be continued..Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-74342430040654586182012-11-08T02:48:00.001-08:002014-11-10T18:52:39.971-08:00Cambodia, Part 2Day 4 (Tuesday)<br />
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Today we set out on a bus to Siem Reap, the town by the famous Ankor Wat temples! This is the place that me and Linds have been waiting to go to. We plan on spending at least a week there, seeing all the temples, and doing some bird watching (they have some amazing stork species that aren't found in other places of the world and the birding season has just started).<br />
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The bus was a bit grooling... the guidebook said 5-6 hours but it took us closer to 7 to get there. We reserved our tickets ahead of time at our hostel and it was $6. When we boarded the bus, it was already pretty full. A nice older Khmer woman took our tickets and shooed the men sitting in our seats for us. We sat next to her in the very back of the bus. I was surprised to see the bus had aircon but it had a hard time keeping up with the heat of the day and we were sweating for most of the ride.<br />
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We finally made it to Siem Reap at close to 7pm. A friend of mine that had traveled this way last year recommended us a place to stay and we shared a tuk-tuk to the hostel (and after arguing with the driver to give us a good price). Our hostel is called Garden Village and it is THE backpackers place to stay. They have beds and rooms ranging from $1 and up. It is definitely the cheapest place to stay in Siem Reap and has a great rooftop bar serving 50 cent beers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room </td></tr>
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After settling in to our bungalow (and very native) room, we headed to the bar for food and a beer. The place was really bustling and we were pretty tired so we didn't stay long. It was the most Westerners I have been around in over 2 years so I was a little overwhelmed at first but I think it will be a great place to meet fellow travelers and share tips.<br />
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Day 5 (Wed)<br />
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Today we wanted to get a better feel for the town of Siem Reap, especially since we arrived last night and weren't able to get our bearings around town.<br />
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We woke up and headed to the rooftop bar for some coffee and breakfast. We also switched the t.v. on to CNN to watch for the election results! After breakfast they still hadn't even announced the winner for Florida and we were getting anxious to get out into town so we left to rent bikes from the hostel. Bike rentals are $1 a day and definitely the best way to get around! Tuk-tuk drivers are constantly harassing you and trying to charge you extra but when we are riding around on the bikes, no one bothers us. It's also really flat around town and perfect for biking!<br />
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We first went to the Sam Veasna Center for Wildlife to look into reserving a day of bird trekking. The treks are kinda expensive (definitely more than our $30 a day budget) but we knew before coming that it was something we had to do! (Especially Linds, since she is a photographer and bird enthusiastic - check out her facebook page: Flyway Photography! - https://www.facebook.com/FlywayPhotos)<br />
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The bird trekking is cheaper if you go with other groups and it just so happen that a couple wanted to go tomorrow and was on a waiting list to see if others could join. So we made our reservations and the center planned to pick us up at our hostel at 5:30 am for a day of birding!<br />
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Next we biked around the town, just taking it all in. It is much slower paced and sleepier town than Phnom Penh. It feels almost like a beach town due to all the tourist, tourist shops and restaurants and cafes (though there is no beach here).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wandering the streets.</td></tr>
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We decided to go to the Angkor Museum next since it is suppose to be a good introduction to the temples. Admission is $12 but we got a $1 off coupon at the ticket booth going to Angkor Wat (which is just a few kilometers outside the main part of Siem Reap). It was nice to walk around in the aircon after biking in the hot day and the museum is pretty organized, though we realized that it is probably better to skip most of the reading sections on the wall and just watch the short videos they have posted in each section of the museum. It was a great introduction to the history of Angkor Wat and the transition from Hinduism to Buddhism in Cambodia.<br />
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After the museum we headed to a place for lunch called Butterfly Gardens, which is a sustainable company that employs and trains local youth in the restaurant and tourism business. The food was fresh and delicious! I had the chicken, tomato and pineapple sweet and sour soup and Linds had the Khmer curry and our surrounding was a beautiful garden filled with butterflies (hence the name). After lunch we headed back towards the hostel. We stopped in the rooftop bar to see the election results and I won't try to make this blog in anyway political, but we were very pleasantly surprised!<br />
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After having a beer we decided to walk the three or so blocks from our hostel to get some snack foods for our day of birding the next day (it includes all our meals but it's always nice to have your own snacks!) Then we had an early dinner at the hostel. I had what is probably the Cambodian country dish, Amok - steamed chicken or fish cooked in coconut milk and herbs - VERY tasty! As we headed to bed early for an early rise, the front desk informed us that we had a call. It was the Center for Wildlife calling to inform us that the couple we were suppose to go with on the birding trek cancelled their plans... This is a bit of a bummer but we decided to just stay on a waiting list for the time being and see if there will be others wanting to go on a trek later this week (otherwise we have to pay even more for a "private" trek...)<br />
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We decided to still plan on an early day and head to the temples tomorrow. Angkor Wat here we come!<br />
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Day 6 (Thurs)<br />
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Wow what a day! We woke up around 4am to bike to Angkor Wat in time to see the sunrise, a must-do for everyone who comes here!<br />
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Despite getting a little turned around in the dark on our bikes (thankfully we both had our headlamps!) we made it to the temple just in time for sunrise. It was a beautiful scene as the sun slowly rose over the majestic temples. Pictures are the best way to explain...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angkor Wat at sunrise.</td></tr>
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After getting all our pictures of the sunrise, we stopped to get a cup of coffee at one of the food stands. All of the prices of food and water are doubled in Angkor Wat so we were pretty glad we still had the snacks packed that we had planned for our birding trek. We just snacked on those for the rest of the day but we couldn't really get around not buying the water, especially since we were getting pretty hot and sweaty from biking around Angkor.<br />
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We set out to explore the main attraction first, Angkor Wat. For those who aren't familiar with Angkor, it is a small town of centuries old temples built by Cambodian kings of the past. Angkor Wat was the first built in the area and remains the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. Built in the early 12th century, it was originally made as a temple for worshiping the Hindu god Vishnu. Later Cambodia transitioned to Buddhism, and the temple continues to be used for Buddhism practices today.<br />
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As Linds got side-tracked into photoing local birds, I headed into the temple. I tried to steer clear of the large tourist groups and managed to find myself walking along along the long corridors. Every inch of the sandstone complex is covered in carvings, some depicting stories of Hindu gods and others just floral decoration. As I walked around the impressive temple complex, taking picture after picture of stone carving, my mind wondered what it must have been like those hundreds of years ago as it was built and used in its prime. It is so amazing to walk the corridors of a building so old and majestic.<br />
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After Angkor Wat, we rode around the complex a few kilometers away to another site I was desperate to see, Ta Prohm. You may not know the name but you probably would recognize the structure from scenes in Tomb Raider. It is a smaller temple complex where nature seems to have taken over again. Large trees have grown over parts of the temple, their roots partly taring apart and partly keeping together the stone ruins. It is breathtakingly beautiful.<br />
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After Ta Prohm, we were pretty spent for the day. So we biked around the complex once more, planning our stops for our next day's visit (we bought the 3 day pass, which can be used over the course of a week).<br />
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As we returned to Siem Reap, we stopped for some much enjoyed ice cream at The Blue Pumpkin, where we both enjoyed some coconut ice cream cones! Yum!<br />
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After getting back to the hostel, we showered and took a much needed nap. We awoke to some pretty good news too. The Center for Wildlife called us back and have a group of four who are planning on going on the bird trek tomorrow! So we will be going along with them, which is even better since that means we will pay less too!<br />
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A great ending to an amazing day! I am so overwhelmed by the awesome temples and ruins of Angkor and I am excited for our bird trek tomorrow! What an amazing trip so far and there is so much more to come!<br />
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Well, my stomach is letting me know its hungry again so we will go out in search of some food and probably have another early night to prepare for our bird trek tomorrow (though probably not until we have enjoyed some 50 cent draft beers at the rooftop!)<br />
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to be continued....Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-10094078130666931042012-11-05T19:25:00.000-08:002014-11-10T18:56:50.138-08:00Cambodia, Part 1So my PC adventure has come to an end. I said my goodbyes (which were very hard to do), and I left on a boat from Guimaras Island for the last time for probably a long time. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I won't be going back. Probably it will hit me as I board the plane heading back to the US. But before I do, a last hoorah in Asia is a must!<br />
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So before heading back to the States, I planned a 5 week trip of Asia. I have been looking forward to this trip so much, partly because my friend from the States, Linds, is joining me, and partly because it promises to be the relaxing long travel that I have wanted. Apart from booking my flights and having a somewhat time scale of where I wanted to be and for how long, I really didn't make much of a plan. I wanted this trip to be flexible and a day-to-day planning kind of trip... And so far it is and has been great! The best way I can think to tell you about this trip is to share with you my daily journal. Most of the hostels have computers with internet for public use. So for the next couple weeks, while I travel around, I will be posting my journal entries of my trip. I hope you enjoy!<br />
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Day 1 - Getting to Phnom Pe<span style="font-family: inherit;">nh, Cambodia</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My flight to Cambodia included a 18 hour layover in Singapore. This could have been a huge headache.. however, life working out the way it does sometimes, I have a friend who just moved to Singapore for a job! And she was nice enough to offer me to stay the night with her and her cousins. When my flight got in at around midnight, I took a (rather expensive) taxi to her house (thankfully it was not too far from the airport). I am so grateful that I was able to stay with them! Otherwise I would have spend that 18 hr layover in the airport! And their house was amazing! They had an extra room and bed for me complete with comfy blankets, aircon, hot shower and completely western bathroom! What luxury to me! They also have a house helper who is from the Philippines! So I enjoyed talking with her too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">They had work and plans in the morning and their house helper offered to cook me breakfast when I woke up, but I was determined to fit in some good Singapore food while I was there! I decided to go for a walk around their part of town. After a couple of blocks I came upon one of the many food centers. While I was at the food cart trying to decipher what to eat, a nice older Singaporean man approached me and helped me order a bowl of delicious noodles with dried fish, mushrooms and greens. I sat next to him and we talked while I ate my delicious food! He even bought me a cup of coffee. I just love Asia! Where else in the world do you get treated with such hospitality just for being a foreigner?!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4ZYMJFawMzyp9FojJOgKErTu_CAXTXwpyJd85KTjhR_3Z-Ts_pWU7S66C_ZtS3MCt8ULkiC5wgiLlvfTLzHQ4pF02nSiVCN9VzrVpq7c6eEd8adOw9NcD0ZYbXxyv4ztTC5HAdWu35zV/s1600/P1070639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4ZYMJFawMzyp9FojJOgKErTu_CAXTXwpyJd85KTjhR_3Z-Ts_pWU7S66C_ZtS3MCt8ULkiC5wgiLlvfTLzHQ4pF02nSiVCN9VzrVpq7c6eEd8adOw9NcD0ZYbXxyv4ztTC5HAdWu35zV/s1600/P1070639.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lunch spot for the day.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After going back to the house and relaxing from the heat of the day in aircon, it was time to eat again! I had lunch with my friend and her cousin at another food market, where I had fresh passion fruit juice and a fried oyster </span>omelet<span style="font-family: inherit;">, complete with </span></span><span style="color: #222222;">spicy</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> sauces. After lunch we went for a drive so I could see the city before dropping me off at the airport. Singapore is a very clean city, with a skyline of the most unique architecture that I have ever seen. I am glad I got to see some of Singapore but the city is a little too expensive for my travel plans. I am hoping to keep a daily budget of around $30 for this trip, though I will have some more expensive days for seeing Angkor Wat and hopefully going on an overnight bird trek.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My flight from Singapore was about an hour and a half before I finally arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! After settling in to the room I went to a Chinese restaurant near the hostel and had really amazing fried noodles with seafood! Oh the food here is so amazing and I have just begun!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The next morning I got up and decided to go for a walk around the city and also look for a different hostel to stay at. The one I stayed at the night before was too hotel like for me. I wanted a more hostel-like place where it's easy to meet fellow </span><span style="color: #222222;">travelers. After walking around for a bit, I found a </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">hostel called Tat Guesthouse. It has an upstairs outside porch area for eating and lounging about and its also a great place to meet new people. It's also owned by a Khmer family who lives there so it feels more comfortable and safe.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from my hostel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcM2cWSxYSIgRT5ktNGWjWszT6KobtQ3984DhY_LRF3I7baAyhI8qcOeQZQwtteBOxe3EbFaUoX_yZsmDhpyp71Hq9AjUmHbELPP1lMBXfspzY06IoclHxE0mPvdxSCZHTBatz39NiQG1W/s1600/P1070660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcM2cWSxYSIgRT5ktNGWjWszT6KobtQ3984DhY_LRF3I7baAyhI8qcOeQZQwtteBOxe3EbFaUoX_yZsmDhpyp71Hq9AjUmHbELPP1lMBXfspzY06IoclHxE0mPvdxSCZHTBatz39NiQG1W/s1600/P1070660.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love fried noodles! Makes for a great breakfast :)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">After settling into the new place and eating lunch (another meal of fried noodles and veggies - I just can't get enough!) I decided to explore the town more and walked to a local market place. It was a </span><span style="color: #222222;">bustle</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> of activity! There were floors and floors of stalls with people selling cookware, plastic ware, food, clothing and more; there were also seamstresses making clothes and people doing nails and hair. Quite the place to be!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After that I decided to go across town to find this shop called Tabitha. It is run by a NGO that supports local women, especially widows, by giving them a job making silk handicrafts. My motorcycle driver had a hard time navigating but with my guidebook in hand (thank you Lonely Planet maps!) I navigated him to the place (he also spoke no English so it was a real success when we found the place!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a neat place where you could watch the women hand weaving and making the products. I ended up buying a really cute bag and some small bracelets. It's really great to see somewhere that is safely employing women so they can care for their families and send their kids to school, especially in a country that is so poor and seen such hard times!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a great first day in Cambodia and I look forward to tonight when I will take a tuk-tuk to the airport to pick up my friend, Linds! After spending most of the last two days by myself I am really looking forward to having Linds here to talk to and travel with!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Day 2 (Sunday) - Getting to know Cambodia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So Linds and I are reunited after 2 years! and I am so glad for it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today we went to the killing fields. It was quite sad and depressing but we both thought we should go to show respect for the people here and try to understand their very tragic past that really wasn't so long ago. From 1975-1979, Cambodia was ruled by the Kmer Rouge, who believed in a type of revolution that included performing genocide on their own people, arresting, torturing and eventually killing over 3 million. Yet today the Cambodian people are so happy, smiling and friendly! They have embraced tourism as a part of their economy, and apart from the tuk-tuk and motor drivers who constantly ask if I want a ride, the people have shown us nothing but kindness and hospitality. They are truly an amazing people!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy traffic but our tuk-tuk driver knew how to handle it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAI07i5DjKl-jZhpYPvUDAZSWT0pBXkY79Zz1-pLRKYT4e0yOuMEP6s0M1uCs-xHHEC3T6fywZqBWXEfD89to8r1jo589IhjvysZUaPWimy-oIC-OM-XD2KyF0np7XnvWM5GBDl9R5Lo-/s1600/P1070697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvAI07i5DjKl-jZhpYPvUDAZSWT0pBXkY79Zz1-pLRKYT4e0yOuMEP6s0M1uCs-xHHEC3T6fywZqBWXEfD89to8r1jo589IhjvysZUaPWimy-oIC-OM-XD2KyF0np7XnvWM5GBDl9R5Lo-/s1600/P1070697.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Killing Fields.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">After the killing fields we went to the palace and silver pagoda. It was a lot like the palace that I visited in Bangkok, with lots of gold </span><span style="color: #222222;">Buddhas</span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and elephants and monkeys but also some birds showing the </span>Hinduism<span style="font-family: inherit;"> influence too. After that we walked along the river boardwalk and stopped for some food and local beer before coming back to the guesthouse for a nap. Later we went to this Vietnam restaurant for dinner and it was sooo good: pho noodles and Vietnamese pancake, yum! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A local beer after a long day!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">P.S. While we were at the palace today I overheard some ladies speaking Filipino, so without even thinking I asked them in </span><span style="color: #222222;">Tagalog</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> where they were from. They were so surprised and told me they are from Iloilo! So I started talking to them in Ilonggo (which even further surprised them!) What are the odds I run into Filipinas who are from Iloilo and speak my dialect!! Amazing planet we live on!</span></div>
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Day 3 (Monday) - Last day in PP<br />
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Today was our last day in Phnom Penh. After having coffee and breakfast out on the porch at the hostel, we set out for the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary (which they also call a "zoo" here). We bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us there and back for $20. Everything in Cambodia is costing us a bit more than we are expecting but I guess it's because there is a lot of tourist traffic here. But today we set out to stay to my $30 a day budget (though I am beginning to realize that when we get to Siem Reap, this will be a hard budget to keep.)<br />
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It was nice to venture out of the city today, though a lot of the road was dusty. It took us about an hour to get to the sanctuary. We walked through parts of the park and our tuk-tuk driver drove us through the rest. The animals at this sanctuary are there because they were either confiscated from illegal poachers or from owners that were treating them poorly. The road leading to the park was lined with beggars and even when we arrived we were immediately approached by locals trying to sell us bananas and potatoes to feed the animals. They were friendly but we don't believe it's proper to give the animals food so we didn't buy anything. We were able to see a lot of animals that we probably won't be able to see in the wild: elephants, sun bears, tigers, crocodiles, gibbons and TONS of birds. Linds is a super bird nerd (more than me) and an excellent photographer so we totally geeked out watching for birds and taking pictures. I saw the most beautiful stork as well as a few other rare bird species. The black necked stork is the biggest and most beautiful bird I think I have ever seen and there was one who was more than willing to pose for us as we took picture after picture.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black necked stork</td></tr>
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After we finished taking all the animal and bird pictures our hearts desired, we left the park. But no adventure in SE Asia would be complete without.... a flat tire. On the way out of the park our tuk got a flat. We had to continue 5k down the dirt road until we reached the highway so it could be fixed. Linds and I sat in the shade and looked on to see how they repaired the flat and soon enough we were on our way back to the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-HDAHft-g29F9-7oG4FbNlImG4IVmJOzen-xFrISTN_HV_xPKD2sMZ0DXKzASCRbsrA0IJQHO9DzYHsw_hFrwxwQ_FOOjokfs7MIzrgfkIO54GwKs0ZNgfBlJLM8cIhbLyiZM-lwwAaP/s1600/P1070938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-HDAHft-g29F9-7oG4FbNlImG4IVmJOzen-xFrISTN_HV_xPKD2sMZ0DXKzASCRbsrA0IJQHO9DzYHsw_hFrwxwQ_FOOjokfs7MIzrgfkIO54GwKs0ZNgfBlJLM8cIhbLyiZM-lwwAaP/s1600/P1070938.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat tire on our tuk-tuk!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvzTsbtNDAI9pjF35AyQPUZol7FdZ7NB3DJwsbAJO-80z2khIo7WxoZkOqkV-Tb2-xyugs-XyeUQyNEmvLjxhO2J6gjqG0hQcpFmDIqM1_O7N9rnYpOjoUsUobwLIeroaMmXgHltftpE7/s1600/P1070944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglvzTsbtNDAI9pjF35AyQPUZol7FdZ7NB3DJwsbAJO-80z2khIo7WxoZkOqkV-Tb2-xyugs-XyeUQyNEmvLjxhO2J6gjqG0hQcpFmDIqM1_O7N9rnYpOjoUsUobwLIeroaMmXgHltftpE7/s1600/P1070944.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our driver is a pro at fixing his tuk-tuk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We asked our driver to drop us off at the central market so we could get some good street food and buy some fruits. A friend of mine who lives in PP (but was out of town at the time of our visit) had recommended some good food stops. One such recommendation was this: "look for a food vendor in the central market. They will be two older, attractive looking women, with gray hair cut into boyish cuts and wearing aprons - their fried noodles with vegetables is amazing!" So we set out to look for them. We found what we think was the right place and set down for some food, and the noodles were delicious (of course!)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-yDJ6u20px4ZIHkpG1yQ9_RAtUbyxdHqfV0Xu3UG_ZXbEe6-vvgLmaNp9QxEHHiu2SoZ9FMmOhAx8rRDWxyrK0fVvIpcUfs7t3kZHdKugxObChuDA2psHzSpCKwpL5YLrfKiau6lrd47/s1600/P1070950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-yDJ6u20px4ZIHkpG1yQ9_RAtUbyxdHqfV0Xu3UG_ZXbEe6-vvgLmaNp9QxEHHiu2SoZ9FMmOhAx8rRDWxyrK0fVvIpcUfs7t3kZHdKugxObChuDA2psHzSpCKwpL5YLrfKiau6lrd47/s1600/P1070950.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"dinner service"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After filling our stomachs, we visited the fruit vendors. Linds really wanted to try some native fruits and I wanted to have a last chance to eat my favorites since I am leaving Asia so soon. We bought a variety of my favorites that are in season: rambutan, lanzones, dragon fruit, pomelo, and my favorite - atis. When we got back to the hostel we gorged ourselves again on fruit. Delicious!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC0iOQgJEPl3YbJjw8PXvCBICKOkeaRYEPZbgOEuzmMgXgk609Nxx4YFG9PoamWOrAAl7AAzFIDV0ny0AUBln53jmFxn7uyiBZTBHVx9QdTR_rszVdUTk1juOAVcswK-NxcD5ZTJ8Vf-J/s1600/P1070951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC0iOQgJEPl3YbJjw8PXvCBICKOkeaRYEPZbgOEuzmMgXgk609Nxx4YFG9PoamWOrAAl7AAzFIDV0ny0AUBln53jmFxn7uyiBZTBHVx9QdTR_rszVdUTk1juOAVcswK-NxcD5ZTJ8Vf-J/s1600/P1070951.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the market.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow90uwC-a350iwqYlnFhFizVt7-aS4P06yJcqzCGX3ZNP7rwnqSsirLQS42xN4Jq5PYtlm3YQEofB2eTFWYaPLZK9ZQkq3-NqI9hXW3g4atB8IL8feZDrcLGs_OzwiQMQTa1c8IQsXHrA/s1600/P1070953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow90uwC-a350iwqYlnFhFizVt7-aS4P06yJcqzCGX3ZNP7rwnqSsirLQS42xN4Jq5PYtlm3YQEofB2eTFWYaPLZK9ZQkq3-NqI9hXW3g4atB8IL8feZDrcLGs_OzwiQMQTa1c8IQsXHrA/s1600/P1070953.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the fruit stand.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thus ended our last day in PP. Tomorrow morning we will catch a bus to Siem Reap and start our much awaited week exploring Angkor Wat!<br />
<br />
---<br />
to be continued!Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-85242940653202489432012-10-23T06:11:00.003-07:002012-10-23T06:15:49.864-07:00Weird for awhileWow. I can't believe this is my last week at site. Sunday I head to Manila to end my PC service. It's been an amazing two years filled with so many new experiences and friends and I'm sure it will take awhile to process. I have been thinking a lot lately about what it might be like for me when I get back to the States and I keep thinking of a story that an already returned PCV (we call them RPCVs) told us via video clip during our end of service conference. It goes something like this..<br />
<br />
This volunteer had just arrived in the States and was standing inline at the airport. She was eating a pack of gummy bears and couldn't help but notice the sweet American kid standing in front of her and eyeing her candy snack. Without a second thought she offered the boy a gummy bear and he promptly put it in his mouth to enjoy............. ok so at this point you might know where this story is going. But for the record I would like to explain that this is a perfectly acceptable social interaction in the Philippines (and I would bet most of Asia). Here everyone looks after children. It is not unusual for perfect strangers to give candy to, help onto a jeepney or even hold a child. After over two years of living here, we have become so accustomed to these types of social interactions that we may forget that things are different in the States.<br />
<br />
So back to the story (though I am sure you probably already know what comes next). The mother of the child started yelling at this volunteer and made her kid spit out the candy immediately. The volunteer tried to explain to the woman that she just came from the Philippines where this was ok and she didn't mean any harm to the woman's kid. Of course this woman wouldn't listen to anything the volunteer was saying and kept yelling at her about not giving candy to her child.<br />
<br />
What I am trying to say here is this, it might take awhile for me to get used to American culture again. At first I was a little nervous about it, but more and more I am beginning to accept the idea that I might just be different for awhile. I am sure there will be some American culture and social graces that I quickly slip back into, but there might also be things that take me awhile to readjust to.<br />
<br />
So fare warning to anyone that I might/will interact with when I get back stateside - I will probably be weird for awhile. Just bare with me!<br />
<br />
For now I am just trying to get all of my things packed up or given away, and spending time with my friends and coworkers here. I am also looking forward to and preparing for my last trip before I return home. I will be travelling the next month around Cambodia, Laos and Thailand for a bit. I am really excited to see some more of Asia before I leave. Big shout out to Linds, my travelling companion - we are going to have an epic time!<br />
<br />
Halong! (Take care)Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-52679548070893477652012-10-09T02:07:00.000-07:002012-10-09T02:07:37.796-07:00COS<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
So with less than a month left in the Philippines I’m
feeling a little crazy... I just got back from COS (close of service
conference, that is) and boy was that a whirlwind of emotions! COS is something
PC does to help volunteers prepare for our departure from the Philippines and
to help us start thinking about whatever our next step is. They had sessions for us on
resume writing, interviewing, and tips for job hunting. They also had a panel
of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who are working in and around the
Philippines. They were able to share their experiences with leaving Peace Corps
and moving on to grad school or careers. But the most important aspect of COS
for us volunteers was the opportunity to be with each other. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our batch 269 of Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines
started out with 144 in August of 2010 when we arrived in-country and started
our training. Today as we get ready to end our service, our number is around
102. Some were sent home for medical reasons, some for breaking rules (i.e.
riding motorcycles) and some decided this experience was not for them and left
early of their own accord. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the 102 of us that remain share a common bond: We made
it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And when we return it might be somewhat difficult for us as
we experience what is referred to as “reverse culture-shock” and try to decide
what our next steps in life is. Grad school? Looking for a job? Or just bumming
at our parents’ house as we try to figure things out..? Wherever we end up we
know there are 101 others going through the same mental anxiety and are only a
phone call away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So COS was a bit emotional as we said good-bye to many of
our fellow volunteers, not knowing when we would see each other again and in
what country it might be. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/189347_592987027674_1068881677_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/189347_592987027674_1068881677_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PC Phil Batch 269 (photo courtesy of L. Heil)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now I am back at site and I have 3 weeks left in
Guimaras before I leave again for the last time. After an emotional week and a
half with fellow Americans and then having to leave them I was feeling a bit
down. But my Filipina friends are amazing people…</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Manang Susan, one of my office coworkers, had invited me to
her house that Saturday after I returned from Manila to have dinner with her
and her family. Manang Susan has 6 children, the four youngest are 2 sets of
twins. They are ages 26, 22, 20, and 16. They are all incredibly smart and
hard-working, a truly amazing family. They remind me a lot of my own family at
home, a big and close family, sitting around the dinner table together. And
when nang Susan yelled at the younger boys to turn off the TV and come to
dinner, I could almost hear my own mother’s voice yelling the same phrase (but
in a different language!) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I assumed they would be preparing typical Filipino food,
maybe some of my favorites. But imagine my surprise to walk in and see a table
full of pesto pasta and salad, along with some Filipino lumpia and monok! They
had prepared an American meal they had heard me talk about before and it was
delicious! Each family member was responsible for a different aspect of the
meal and later on Sam, the eldest, admitted to me that he looked up the pesto
pasta recipe online! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After eating they brought out some red horse beer and we talked
into the night, laughing and sharing stories and culture! They asked me questions about American
culture, what I was looking forward to and what I would miss about the
Philippines. We made jokes about our own cultural differences, speaking in
English mostly and sometimes Ilonggo. It was a perfect night that I didn’t want
to end. These are the moments that I will never forget and that I will think of
when I think back on my time in the Philippines…</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/317560_10100609687268748_841160853_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/317560_10100609687268748_841160853_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me with Manang Susan and her kids (slight height difference haha)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-30181870934150442442012-09-05T05:18:00.002-07:002012-09-05T05:23:16.084-07:00My first kill<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have done it. My first kill. I am now a man…. er woman.
But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone has different ideas of what Peace Corps is or what
PC service might be like. When I first thought about my PC service I imagined
myself living rurally, maybe no running water or electricity, walking or riding
a bicycle as my only means of transportation, having a garden and, of course,
killing my own food. When we first arrived to Manila for our initial
orientation, it became apparent to me that my PC service would be quite
different from this, what with the SM City Malls, McDonalds, lots of city
pollution, and even the fancy hotels I would stay at during PC conferences.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my PC service in the Philippines, and I do live quite
rurally (and at the writing of this blog I don’t have running water) but I am also not living is some hut in the middle of nowhere... Everyone’s
PC service is different and mine has been and continues to be a great one! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was in the States I was not a big meat eater. I ate
mostly vegetarian meals at home and when I did eat meat it was only poultry or
seafood. This is not out of a dislike of killing animals (we are omnivores
after all), but rather out of dislike for how our farms are run in the US. Here
in the Philippines there are no CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations)
and most of the livestock are allowed to graze. Even though this is more
sustainable method of farming I still do not eat much meat, out of trying to
lead a healthier lifestyle. Add to the fact that most of us PCVs usually live more vegetarian
lifestyles just because of our living situations. Not having access to a
refrigerator and not knowing what to do with the parts of the animal you don’t
eat means that few of us venture to cook meat at home and end up eating mostly
veggies and rice. So although I occasionally
bring home a whole fish to fry up, I usually don’t buy meat and even if I did,
the animal I would be buying is already dead and bought at the open market
nearby. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I digress…. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other day I was hanging out with some of my volunteer
friends. Rob had just been on a trip to visit another volunteer and while he
was there he killed and prepared a goat for dinner, cooking it a multitude of
ways including one in which he ate the brain. This of course brought up
discussion about the times Jensen killed a chicken and Elliott killed a pig.
And that made me realize my lack of killing experience.. so although the
thought of killing a live animal intimidated me a little, I realized it was
time to achieve a PC milestone (at least in my book) and kill myself some
dinner. So we talked to our Filipino friends and Jensen’s counterpart offered
to donate a chicken to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a beautiful white, native Filipino chicken. And it
was dinner time.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/3831_10100578241331658_1015989322_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/3831_10100578241331658_1015989322_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">say hello to my little friend</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now there are different ways to kill a chicken but since our
Filipino host wanted to make adobo (a native and very delicious Filipino meal)
and they wanted to be able to fry up the blood to eat afterwards (it taste
rather iron-like), death by bleeding was chosen. Jensen’s counterpart, Jolie,
held the chicken for me and even plucked a few feathers on the neck to clear a
spot for the cut. With knife in one hand and the chicken’s head held
outstretched in the other, I ended the chicken’s life. Or at least attempted
to…. I thought I could make it a quick slice. But after two tries I realized
not only was the knife a tad dull, but there were virtually no marks on the
chicken, who seemed to look at me like “really?” So I mustered up some strength
and cut true. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/304950_10100578242384548_1522123191_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/304950_10100578242384548_1522123191_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262245_10100578242569178_810799723_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262245_10100578242569178_810799723_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We held the chicken tight as the warm blood drained into a
bowl on the table. Once the deed was done we boiled a pot of water and dipped
the chicken’s body into it to help with plucking. Plucking was not so bad, the
hot water makes it very easy for the feathers to slide out. Though apparently I
was a slow plucker since Jolie decided to “help” me and then just told me “I
will finish” as he took the chicken away from me… </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207980_10100578242808698_578202538_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207980_10100578242808698_578202538_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So that’s the story of my first kill. And it really wasn’t
that bad. After all if I’m gonna eat the animal, I should probably know how it
got to my table. I’m not saying I will be killing a lot more chickens in the
future, but when I get back to the States and go to the grocery store to pick
out some organic, cage-free chicken breast, I will have a better understanding
of the life that was taken so that I could cook up a delicious meal.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
.............And that chicken adobo sure was delicious!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/539473_10100578242908498_2139935466_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/539473_10100578242908498_2139935466_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">taste even better when you kill the chicken yourself!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Until next time!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Halong! </div>
Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-7992976979961433892012-09-03T23:54:00.000-07:002012-09-03T23:54:02.190-07:00A rainy day poem<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My 1st attempt at poetry (and perhaps my last )....</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Rain rain<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Comes abound, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>No more will
percolate<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>The ground.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Everything comes to
a halt, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>As water pools<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>And people gawk.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>The rainy season, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>True to its name, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Has come to the
Pilipinas again.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>It reminds us we<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Are not in control<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>As roads fill<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>And buildings
float.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>But perhaps
tomorrow it will subside<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>And people will
return to stride.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>Until our next
reminder comes<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>By way of flood,
quake or storm<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>That Mother Earth
is in control<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>And deserve respect
in truest form.<a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i> - </i>S</div>
Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-74724931790802309042012-09-01T05:02:00.000-07:002012-09-01T05:13:22.801-07:00Samar and Leyte Adventures!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been fortunate enough to have many travels during my
two years here in the Philippines but there was one region that I had not yet
visited. So with my time here quickly coming to an end I planned a trip with
two other volunteers to visit Region 8 of the Philippines in the Eastern
Visayas. This region is known for getting the worst of the storms as it lies on
the Pacific Ocean. But with their rainy season ending and the rain still
pouring where I live in the Western Visayas, it would be the perfect weather
for our trip!</div>
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The Eastern Visayas is primarily made up of two large
islands, Samar and Leyte. Samar Island is the third biggest island in the
Philippines after Luzon and Mindinao. For a long time this island was
off-limits to Peace Corps Volunteers due to the active presence of NPA or
New People’s Army. The NPA is a communist organization in the Philippines whose aim is to overthrow the government but they usually hide out in mountainous areas. However in recent years the NPA has
receded to the northern parts of the island and PC has deemed it safe to travel
to and even has assigned volunteers in southern and eastern parts. Samar and
Leyte islands are known for being more rural and beautiful, with many beaches,
caves, rivers and blue waters. <br />
<br /></div>
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It took me two flights to reach Tacloban, Leyte (which is
unusual since you can usually get anywhere in the Philippines with only one
flight!) The small city of Tacloban is located on the northern tip of Leyte
island. Just north of the city is a 2 km bridge connecting Leyte to Samar,
making Tacloban the perfect place for travelling to either island.</div>
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After meeting up with volunteer friends we made our way into
Eastern Samar to the town of Guiuan, where some of our PC friends are assigned.
They took us on a sightseeing trek around their site, walking along beautiful
rocky coastlines and crystal blue waters and into some caverns along the beach.
Just a few years ago there was a US base located in Eastern Samar. The
coastline is very rocky and then drops off, allowing for lots of wave action
along the shore that could be dangerous. So in the very hot Philippines weather
the soldiers made make-shift “pools” that they could swim in by blowing up
areas of the coast line and creating large tidal pools. As an environment
volunteer I definitely do not condone this coastline destruction, but the
soldiers are long gone by now and the large tidal pools have remained behind,
offering a nice swim for us along our hike. <br />
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDTxa8zhwZy9GQwFHWR5FWrAbs_GtbgUv8iCVoDICEy9f3amfrkWthSrlQZInn1lnWOnHRJzDn2trqg0HG7OF0s6dsrNd5ia664mP40kfxKJkV2oP8KGBiCKLNV9fo-KTw4a19ioYZpc0/s1600/P1060795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDTxa8zhwZy9GQwFHWR5FWrAbs_GtbgUv8iCVoDICEy9f3amfrkWthSrlQZInn1lnWOnHRJzDn2trqg0HG7OF0s6dsrNd5ia664mP40kfxKJkV2oP8KGBiCKLNV9fo-KTw4a19ioYZpc0/s400/P1060795.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful coastline of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMjq_3Sen7XO9LgLolKsD7JRrijtwV4FxinRhSGwpCJJyYDTlVDEoPiG82hp_vbx3nPbRWEiecKyf25jPQkJQzJ4KS9JvUtLwfo-nb1TuOhdxmSIfj_ouhfUK3KPF7oMp-ElG7_Klmubc/s1600/P1060824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinMjq_3Sen7XO9LgLolKsD7JRrijtwV4FxinRhSGwpCJJyYDTlVDEoPiG82hp_vbx3nPbRWEiecKyf25jPQkJQzJ4KS9JvUtLwfo-nb1TuOhdxmSIfj_ouhfUK3KPF7oMp-ElG7_Klmubc/s400/P1060824.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stepping inside one of the beach caverns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXUuBIvjSo0YIJ5PJNqOscj3zPmXOU5DWGnJgxGjxbGFJ7b95Ikh_0219peReWaiPHeapJaQ9xfwVKzimC-dQK0npa5d5zYYEDj_DgpYkQkKOFkIUbIOhsEWQw6vibif_U57nzUMGrWaM/s1600/P1060843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXUuBIvjSo0YIJ5PJNqOscj3zPmXOU5DWGnJgxGjxbGFJ7b95Ikh_0219peReWaiPHeapJaQ9xfwVKzimC-dQK0npa5d5zYYEDj_DgpYkQkKOFkIUbIOhsEWQw6vibif_U57nzUMGrWaM/s320/P1060843.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wa7tiNtBl9OErPDfefhPl4jZdlgExE2isgv0CGZAMQihFQvqxmo0Ry5AZVyEJ4f0wmgX3MMH4oZecU2R02OEU8xrmk3fCcAzshGlE5LEwfQ-un4Cc-7Fhq9VVEG6tJKVlBowhxXfAxsp/s1600/P8200432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wa7tiNtBl9OErPDfefhPl4jZdlgExE2isgv0CGZAMQihFQvqxmo0Ry5AZVyEJ4f0wmgX3MMH4oZecU2R02OEU8xrmk3fCcAzshGlE5LEwfQ-un4Cc-7Fhq9VVEG6tJKVlBowhxXfAxsp/s400/P8200432.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">relaxing in one of the tidal pools left by the US soldiers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Our next stop in Samar was to the town of Lawaan. There was
a PCV assigned to this site but he has since left. So the volunteers in Guiuan
put us in contact with the old local counterpart in Lawaan who arranged for us
a guide to hike to some waterfalls in the area. (Another example of how PCVs
are the best source of information and contacts when traveling abroad!) When we
arrived in Lawaan we met up with our guides and set off on the hike. It was a
hot day but the hike was through beautiful thick Philippines forest and along
the rivers. We came to about 4 different waterfalls, allowing us a nice
refreshing swim along our hike in the ice-cold waters.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01Os5KAyLRuZSXe9TjX0fHLxOvfeNb6sgdllnlMfVSbEN2PlHB2AWvGNz8aF_75taUC2SYwLaGAAOsWT1GcOMiNWjg9ciAHeyiRcCNef2fH9cB782D6TKx-arw2yyy_tbk595KtWfxZBJ/s1600/P1060881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh01Os5KAyLRuZSXe9TjX0fHLxOvfeNb6sgdllnlMfVSbEN2PlHB2AWvGNz8aF_75taUC2SYwLaGAAOsWT1GcOMiNWjg9ciAHeyiRcCNef2fH9cB782D6TKx-arw2yyy_tbk595KtWfxZBJ/s400/P1060881.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4V7SEx2MlwcRFB7ue6DC01S_H54Tvhs-IQgrtwMwEbUjCKkO8vCOQDOMJ82tPyuQ5vUgHJl6-cmozN2vRc7O3ubtGrU1Fia7MygiPcKQQ60ejydJb0tVaauXceY2pfjmuOapjKpoRl-qa/s1600/P1060910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4V7SEx2MlwcRFB7ue6DC01S_H54Tvhs-IQgrtwMwEbUjCKkO8vCOQDOMJ82tPyuQ5vUgHJl6-cmozN2vRc7O3ubtGrU1Fia7MygiPcKQQ60ejydJb0tVaauXceY2pfjmuOapjKpoRl-qa/s400/P1060910.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1JLe7F-z0jcyFuFBpXkQIjZJsawmGzpL0wvwGxooV07alJe1MKEFqi6n5n44d0BjkNugM1h80yRV2Xn1LAkUsJyV7HtTPfO4fW5T8v3cqZKLfj4V20Rc8yuZp9xGKgFKr2Q8T70r-ipK/s1600/P1060924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr1JLe7F-z0jcyFuFBpXkQIjZJsawmGzpL0wvwGxooV07alJe1MKEFqi6n5n44d0BjkNugM1h80yRV2Xn1LAkUsJyV7HtTPfO4fW5T8v3cqZKLfj4V20Rc8yuZp9xGKgFKr2Q8T70r-ipK/s400/P1060924.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtFi8xou383olMbpGoGQ25zuZC5trULmvXUcX9QTK3k_YAxLWS4aJ4of4V-8fX9xdJPI7wHHlPmzIv-PT2iICBiHpWRPgEI_ycyGQ-4XGjoefb1XA1pCrX0CqHF_Msq1thM8GjwXwoVzH/s1600/P1060939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQtFi8xou383olMbpGoGQ25zuZC5trULmvXUcX9QTK3k_YAxLWS4aJ4of4V-8fX9xdJPI7wHHlPmzIv-PT2iICBiHpWRPgEI_ycyGQ-4XGjoefb1XA1pCrX0CqHF_Msq1thM8GjwXwoVzH/s400/P1060939.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> refreshing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our final stop in Samar was to the Sohoton National Forest.
We stopped in the town of Basey where their tourism office is surprisingly
organized and efficient! We arranged for our tour to the caves of Sohoton. We
rode a river boat inland to the caves, passing by many of the river villages
along the way. When we got to the caves it almost looked like something out of
a movie and made us feel like we were in the amazon! When we arrived to the
caves we were greeted by our cave guides who gave us helmets and held lights as
we walked around the three huge caverns of the cave. Along the way our guide
pointed out rock formation, their names referring to what they resembled. I was
very impressed with the state of the caves considering how many tourist come
through their on a weekly basis. After the caves we hiked a bit farther to a
swimming area where we could cool off from the heat of the day. The river and
rock formations were truly breathtaking and I would urge anyone travelling to
the Philippines to visit the Sohoton Caves of Samar if you are able. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1614UrgcELNXsP3Wx1kd0S7QaVV686-pnq5uJaE80KaWNG3g52cJLpKt5ANZ2Q1AgLQj-NOR3jzbZlidcCXi0STqbvgOn_-0hkiFgQuuO23S1KRWw_s013TzEKIERa2rMJ2IuaDVovug/s1600/P1060996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1614UrgcELNXsP3Wx1kd0S7QaVV686-pnq5uJaE80KaWNG3g52cJLpKt5ANZ2Q1AgLQj-NOR3jzbZlidcCXi0STqbvgOn_-0hkiFgQuuO23S1KRWw_s013TzEKIERa2rMJ2IuaDVovug/s400/P1060996.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">arriving by boat to Sohoton National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCx5At9p6VEJNpYwn1OssMfEKXpBvykC0szFpIMcKIucXu0tUMPWI8qMKP1MCkoWx-Y7tIp_l5gf0o13KvsvlG1fCE2RvXzsAz1JzfKVKB_YCrv8DVVeJB8GxGu6Vo7bwZYTNhANfzR58/s1600/P1070016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCx5At9p6VEJNpYwn1OssMfEKXpBvykC0szFpIMcKIucXu0tUMPWI8qMKP1MCkoWx-Y7tIp_l5gf0o13KvsvlG1fCE2RvXzsAz1JzfKVKB_YCrv8DVVeJB8GxGu6Vo7bwZYTNhANfzR58/s400/P1070016.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOVE the helmets!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_VY1yIXesOUhpjB2dzrX1N3P9IL2r_kMMLcSFFQWysQuTpIw-42kfV6i7l3xrrEcv-gPlWisYsJaB3Ou5MACxzrwav7JRGQCPP8fI4kcQtxkB-TC6ariZloPj4T5OBuv7bzstCgFcHKw/s1600/P1070035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_VY1yIXesOUhpjB2dzrX1N3P9IL2r_kMMLcSFFQWysQuTpIw-42kfV6i7l3xrrEcv-gPlWisYsJaB3Ou5MACxzrwav7JRGQCPP8fI4kcQtxkB-TC6ariZloPj4T5OBuv7bzstCgFcHKw/s400/P1070035.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sohoton was our last stop in Samar, so afterwards we made
our way back to Tacloban and then continued south to Hinundayan, Southern
Leyte, the site of one of my volunteer friends. We spent the next few days with
her swimming and snorkeling at her site and meeting her coworkers. Its always
fun to see where other volunteers live and work and explore their site with
them. She took us on a short boat ride to some of the rocky coastline where
there was a nice place to jump off into the ocean. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRuMlHgTDrjH20tdc3_t9yaCnrbooTyGrHuS4r6vgXFy1e1LycV0xCGtwAFJLMycjeczD4lfMom98DNkfUrVKv0W1KqCrQluceEJDsF6x8G2MWz5urXUr0KTYHtmCKM_DecGWFxO2AIH-/s1600/P1070062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjRuMlHgTDrjH20tdc3_t9yaCnrbooTyGrHuS4r6vgXFy1e1LycV0xCGtwAFJLMycjeczD4lfMom98DNkfUrVKv0W1KqCrQluceEJDsF6x8G2MWz5urXUr0KTYHtmCKM_DecGWFxO2AIH-/s400/P1070062.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">exploring Southern Leyte</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqTbNh95gMm1wX1lTZdtOpTPgXxn0WXAqyjWRw13UGlek50PIJD6JNpF8fC_GsavFuLEO_qG6Qo8OhuDLqTFD1dwec0pqVJByJjRlHLSO6HyhwdzjvHsqXk2yDylpTwOZlFus8GC4JM7c/s1600/P1070074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqTbNh95gMm1wX1lTZdtOpTPgXxn0WXAqyjWRw13UGlek50PIJD6JNpF8fC_GsavFuLEO_qG6Qo8OhuDLqTFD1dwec0pqVJByJjRlHLSO6HyhwdzjvHsqXk2yDylpTwOZlFus8GC4JM7c/s400/P1070074.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">beautiful coast!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdlN4_QSAXKPpNFHlCL_-l3s-43-ZHGQRPr2eEtuiqeRhOt6jD92ZaIxCRS2WvglTPTtQlubY03RDIU3QDZ-d0ZN-wbPx-qadM3xBXEBJ6PDWgS88E1WpXs-PVZRVs9gtlq7TfM0aDyJw/s1600/P1070085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdlN4_QSAXKPpNFHlCL_-l3s-43-ZHGQRPr2eEtuiqeRhOt6jD92ZaIxCRS2WvglTPTtQlubY03RDIU3QDZ-d0ZN-wbPx-qadM3xBXEBJ6PDWgS88E1WpXs-PVZRVs9gtlq7TfM0aDyJw/s400/P1070085.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0sfWH1QZLtyRqVla0HacjRTu0LGJ3MkWdJDSvstNc-RujajRvbvA7KZXfKl4LOAppNydEZuHL6iymXOiOvopWHNduGuaC0svlJPb2Qn5yT1eIBql28CIjd9YhWOdNSgE_JNqq17UJtyl/s1600/P1070105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY0sfWH1QZLtyRqVla0HacjRTu0LGJ3MkWdJDSvstNc-RujajRvbvA7KZXfKl4LOAppNydEZuHL6iymXOiOvopWHNduGuaC0svlJPb2Qn5yT1eIBql28CIjd9YhWOdNSgE_JNqq17UJtyl/s400/P1070105.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">jump away!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDgpcUCrFh4u766ZzpgQm06C4fBhWre_37O7qPc5Azkfw83hErGzPMKOH2ibOUWoFuvnvcrViq8lrSiwrRRuNLly0pSqhNtcwyveRjcYeghh0r_0PWsiEAQaIcOU5pkH1rZUi7IOTyfJl/s1600/P1070107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDgpcUCrFh4u766ZzpgQm06C4fBhWre_37O7qPc5Azkfw83hErGzPMKOH2ibOUWoFuvnvcrViq8lrSiwrRRuNLly0pSqhNtcwyveRjcYeghh0r_0PWsiEAQaIcOU5pkH1rZUi7IOTyfJl/s400/P1070107.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After our time in Southern Leyte it was time to return to
Tacloban for my flight back. My flight to Iloilo via Manila was 6:10am in the
morning… not a pleasant time to catch a flight…. Especially after spending a
night out in Tacloban and only getting to bed at 2am… What made matters worse
is that I forgot to set my alarm and did not wake up until 5:30am! I was so
sure I would miss my flight but quickly gathered by belongings and hailed the
first trike I could find to take me to the airport. The trike ride took around
20-30 min, the whole time I was preparing myself to miss my flight and have to
pay to rebook. When we finally reached the airport I ran up to the counter and
asked if my flight had left yet. I was a mess, breathing hard from running and
slightly hungover. But the nice Filipina at the check-in counter simply smiled
at me and told me that my flight was boarding and of course I would make it. I
was so happy I almost started to cry! Only in the Philippines!<br />
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After checking
my bag I made my way on the plane, thanking my lucky starts I had made it!</div>
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My travels to Samar and Leyte were some of the best times I
have had travelling here in the Philippines. Its not a popular tourist visit
which makes it all the more appealing to me. It was an amazing week filled with
hiking, swimming and exploring the islands of the Eastern Visayas. These island
are perfect showcases of all the natural beauty that the Philippines has to
offer and I highly recommend taking a visit if you get the chance!</div>
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P.S. Aug 21 marked my two years in the Philippines! How time
has flown! With only two months remaining I am finishing up spending my grant
monies with two additional trainings (one on management strategies for the new
MPA management board, and a second on performing biophysical assessments for
the fisherfolk associations). It seems like a lot to do but I know I can get it
done!</div>
Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-1202706207512478912012-08-15T06:10:00.002-07:002012-08-15T06:11:28.834-07:00Birthdays are good for you!The time is quickly going by with less than 3 months left in the Philippines! Oh my! I have my official leave date to be October 31! Although I won't be flying direct to the States quite yet. It is tradition for PCVs to travel a bit before going home and with holding to this tradition I am planning a trip to Laos and Cambodia with a quick stop in Japan to visit a friend before heading home to the good 'ole USA in time for Christmas. But my big news is that my primary project that I have been working on is pretty much complete! The ordinance has passed in both the municipal and provincial offices declaring the new Balcon Marine Protected Area. And the guardhouse is finally complete!<br />
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Part of the project plan to make the reserve more sustainable is to establish a MPA (marine protected area) management board up of community members to effectively manage the MPA. So we had our first organizational meeting with those who will be part of the management board. The meeting was held, appropriately enough, in the new guardhouse. My counterpart explained what the boards duties would be and they elected a Chairman among the members. They decided to meet bi-monthly with the first meeting to be early next month. During that first meeting I will hold an informal management strategies workshop to help instruct the board how to come up with a management plan and monitor and evaluate that plan in the future.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417191_10100557633988938_726738199_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417191_10100557633988938_726738199_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me at the new MPA guardhouse - this building overlooks the reserve enabling the community to watch over and enforce no fishing inside the MPA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/483970_10100557634278358_2068629133_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/483970_10100557634278358_2068629133_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the community members making up the new MPA management board at their organizational meeting held in the new guardhouse</td></tr>
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This all means this project is pretty much complete! I ended up having excess funding left over from the grant so I am planning two trainings to use the remaining funds. The mayor and community have donated so much supplies for the guardhouse so we ended up saving a lot that can go towards expanding trainings and included more participants. I also have completed the final draft of a 5-year CRM plan for my supervisor and hope it will help them in planning for future management of coastal resources for Jordan. </div>
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In other news I celebrated my 26th birthday and the last of which I will be in the Philippines for. So in proper Filipino custom I threw myself a party! (Instead of someone throwing you a party and giving presents, its more Filipino culture to pay for a party and food for your friends when its your birthday, so the birthday bill falls on the birthday girl, lucky me!) I rented out our favorite kareoke restaurant (they gave me a discount since I am "suki" - repeat customer) and invited my coworkers and friends. All of my coworkers made it as well as other Filipino friends, Peace Corps, and Japanese volunteer (JICA) friends!</div>
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As a surprise my coworkers and friends arranged to have a "program" for me complete with surprises! First they had me sit up infront of everyone. There was a prayer and then my coworkers sang "The Journey" by Lea Salonga for me. This was followed by every one of my friends and coworkers getting up and, one at a time, giving me a heart felt birthday speech which left me in tears. I feel so fortunate that I have made such amazing friends here!</div>
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But getting away from the sappy parts there was also a surprise....</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G2J9y-Ze0I7goNDn8vJQr_0ilzs2RM9huVFX0Ro3pxUrwOZWMmPq84ZzwyRaRGKGHaSXSsu9dzhsEqylP2GJopAPVeKxQyg3z7qWuyw4p85iXO02neB-lDDv4U1UNwOYra9kin6AFy2u/s1600/P1060679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G2J9y-Ze0I7goNDn8vJQr_0ilzs2RM9huVFX0Ro3pxUrwOZWMmPq84ZzwyRaRGKGHaSXSsu9dzhsEqylP2GJopAPVeKxQyg3z7qWuyw4p85iXO02neB-lDDv4U1UNwOYra9kin6AFy2u/s400/P1060679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yep... thats my face in the sun and my coworkers faces atop many slightly underdressed bodies... lol</td></tr>
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It was an amazing birthday that I will surely never forget!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr_1icAL-1xFkR35S8y7F20wyP5DmwzYM9xpWLYUuP4xvNKrmqbhzDYuOkAkGp-daRzL_eK_k-jK360PJGyAPnMZu9p4WmfUlZ6uukJUYnIjmOJEaLwrA1NKxENqHUWgAQFX1njTu6j1X/s1600/P1060656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqr_1icAL-1xFkR35S8y7F20wyP5DmwzYM9xpWLYUuP4xvNKrmqbhzDYuOkAkGp-daRzL_eK_k-jK360PJGyAPnMZu9p4WmfUlZ6uukJUYnIjmOJEaLwrA1NKxENqHUWgAQFX1njTu6j1X/s400/P1060656.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with my coworkers at my Bday party</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatuNUfGtPkaTSgiuDubEDMpQRuj3J-NMfPJUQe8msmJTfBaCGTipe96WzoqXoyQq9hk8yAfp4PHR-3eSEc8q-HQj2Qf9G4nwuaC-d6C799QoZz5fCYEHwIdE4OqIAmfgsgACKyn1symk7/s1600/P1060682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatuNUfGtPkaTSgiuDubEDMpQRuj3J-NMfPJUQe8msmJTfBaCGTipe96WzoqXoyQq9hk8yAfp4PHR-3eSEc8q-HQj2Qf9G4nwuaC-d6C799QoZz5fCYEHwIdE4OqIAmfgsgACKyn1symk7/s400/P1060682.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting a Bday message from my supervisor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkvkQzcOTwkdRlK161-askeKEEvnNqti1c7mwZZ9e9ahrmCXcu88zosjupUOIIsooSeg4FYV8RkbFRhPwV5oFBRR1ymn_JFXfDvXU6N3TneKUTgXy4MwA-xbQGkh593zeYUZvwe9molSi/s1600/P1060687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkvkQzcOTwkdRlK161-askeKEEvnNqti1c7mwZZ9e9ahrmCXcu88zosjupUOIIsooSeg4FYV8RkbFRhPwV5oFBRR1ymn_JFXfDvXU6N3TneKUTgXy4MwA-xbQGkh593zeYUZvwe9molSi/s400/P1060687.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">singing kareoke</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdX7XfNNKttGRbZeKCrDDAODd1AheknHyxCGYYwyblrtFo2xHixAAKfnnKz5nhcGnQGb4QrCfCkLRoNufTEFKWHNTewxKJPKdBnUQcTJk3Xc_-KfDJ_nWQjNdEKOKsXKTnMYmYeexURgA/s1600/P1060708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdX7XfNNKttGRbZeKCrDDAODd1AheknHyxCGYYwyblrtFo2xHixAAKfnnKz5nhcGnQGb4QrCfCkLRoNufTEFKWHNTewxKJPKdBnUQcTJk3Xc_-KfDJ_nWQjNdEKOKsXKTnMYmYeexURgA/s400/P1060708.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more Bday messages from my coworkers</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgugrHf1pdzsJiFUded2U3ufPreWUzHlb82yhTsBm47CqbWSNKp8BW_ig9xVjSsHqbP-ZjaF7l42e_LM9wcWvSX6BNIEuPwqNYemgBKuDS06yZ3Rg4A-fDd-nZXN3pwFRunlp2juXHzAJ/s1600/P1060713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwgugrHf1pdzsJiFUded2U3ufPreWUzHlb82yhTsBm47CqbWSNKp8BW_ig9xVjSsHqbP-ZjaF7l42e_LM9wcWvSX6BNIEuPwqNYemgBKuDS06yZ3Rg4A-fDd-nZXN3pwFRunlp2juXHzAJ/s400/P1060713.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">drinking with coworkers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUIoVty6Mm7FnbhX0oDA8wONeImgneWGtmTybl9-9G7QUVoVsIBasWghOmXK0YaRBA22LoEe_SsM6cYCXCCSkyEKLIY6qS0IshN3gqe6vICqw6ztmpI3VRds312QBt_yF3U67WbByMewV/s1600/P1060716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUIoVty6Mm7FnbhX0oDA8wONeImgneWGtmTybl9-9G7QUVoVsIBasWghOmXK0YaRBA22LoEe_SsM6cYCXCCSkyEKLIY6qS0IshN3gqe6vICqw6ztmpI3VRds312QBt_yF3U67WbByMewV/s400/P1060716.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">party party!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XdRXQvdBM7HHP-T4Ru2o-pPYhx__5_KTV72azsFLSkfCO2AOQ6uT2GMn0kh99CIyOn0BIu26tqrQNBfsU07lu_irq8wLJI_KmRVCujZhWymrOGRgkcfsPfdVmFDaOkJi_kijq7MEU5cg/s1600/P1060720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XdRXQvdBM7HHP-T4Ru2o-pPYhx__5_KTV72azsFLSkfCO2AOQ6uT2GMn0kh99CIyOn0BIu26tqrQNBfsU07lu_irq8wLJI_KmRVCujZhWymrOGRgkcfsPfdVmFDaOkJi_kijq7MEU5cg/s400/P1060720.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kareoke time!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmV1HX8E_i54Hw5BW2uumYrS7N3FSYSQ6fCwJ0X7kghUNlmwqsDltdrJbSjqXywxQIS1__Qz0C3dIDq7u3l2LHdhEzXrUzBllbzyw3c8R_QgSxhsBKoz1RAluzeAT6Ag8mePyQfYIAUqJL/s1600/P1060728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmV1HX8E_i54Hw5BW2uumYrS7N3FSYSQ6fCwJ0X7kghUNlmwqsDltdrJbSjqXywxQIS1__Qz0C3dIDq7u3l2LHdhEzXrUzBllbzyw3c8R_QgSxhsBKoz1RAluzeAT6Ag8mePyQfYIAUqJL/s400/P1060728.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylDCtjOCvYxMGhyWtwpNNcHVOVFj4SGp15nhBiRK8HS5YgHzGgdEbf-zOCyqvOOd8_X5Y3y5mbeL7dQdtfi7DouGFwJY224F9nD3rcyTJnvSzxqh3gEoDTRmBKfefaKQ-rg99mCmR6hrd/s1600/P1060733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylDCtjOCvYxMGhyWtwpNNcHVOVFj4SGp15nhBiRK8HS5YgHzGgdEbf-zOCyqvOOd8_X5Y3y5mbeL7dQdtfi7DouGFwJY224F9nD3rcyTJnvSzxqh3gEoDTRmBKfefaKQ-rg99mCmR6hrd/s400/P1060733.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and no party is complete with cake! and lots of it!</td></tr>
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Next week I am heading to the island of Samar for a week long vacation trip (trying to use of those vacay days). This will be my first time to the western visayas! Stay tuned :)</div>
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Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-83294800570489891502012-07-12T02:53:00.002-07:002012-07-12T02:53:41.443-07:00A Mystical Island Adventure<br />
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Siquijor Island is known as the magical and mystical island
of the Philippines. Ask any Filipino not living in Siquijor and they will tell
you the island is home to witchcraft and warn you not to go. But hearing about all
the superstitions surrounding the island of Siquijor only make it more enticing
to visit. So when Stacey proposed an impromptu trip to the island to meet up
with some other volunteer friends, it didn’t take me long to request for a
couple of vacation days and pack my bags! </div>
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The trip came at a perfect time. I was just finishing up the
Bantay Dagat (local coastguard) training that Rob and I coordinated on. We had
great attendance from our two municipalities and were able to make it an
overnight training, which not only ensured attendance for the second day, but
also gave an opportunity for community bonding and sharing of experiences as
the participants talked about starting a new reserve in their respective
villages. Coordinating with the different agencies involved in the training
gave us a rough planning start, but everything came together in the end (as it
always does) and the fisherfolk and police men participants seemed to really
enjoy the training and get a lot out of it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">working with the Jordan participants</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The newly trained Bantay Dagat fish wardens for the new marine reserves in Jordan and Buenavista</td></tr>
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After the training I immediately prepared for the trip
starting that following weekend. Since its rainy season the Philippines has
been battling many storms and at the time there was a typhoon to the northeast
and a monsoon coming from the southwest. I was hoping that since Siquijor is a
small island (even smaller than Guimaras) located in the central islands that
it would be protected from most of the stormy weather. </div>
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And it was <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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It was a long trip involving an hour ferry boat, a 5 hour
bus ride and another hour ferry boat but we finally made it to Siquijor! As usual
we had heard of where to stay from previous volunteers. (The wealth of travel
knowledge of PCVs should never be underestimated!) The place is called JJ’s and
is located in San Juan, Siquijor. They are known for their beachside café but have
recently expanded to have two small dorm rooms to rent. However we were there
for camping! JJ’s had very recently added the option to sleep in tents on the
beach for a very low price. They set up a huge 6 person tent and provided foam
pads and other beddings to make out stay comfortable. The beach scene was
beautiful!</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgqHDNUfHi-5GtQm74WBINkIdgl64FLD0suBpdpYn4fGwJ9Ms_1MFj-LUS9umJGWoCdHvBOcA3JKcBPeS7PV73ZF7rucFwNxtdAUOgQAjAOFOyvX1njUt5RYEcoSmX_gv46amsC3MoZwb/s1600/P1060565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgqHDNUfHi-5GtQm74WBINkIdgl64FLD0suBpdpYn4fGwJ9Ms_1MFj-LUS9umJGWoCdHvBOcA3JKcBPeS7PV73ZF7rucFwNxtdAUOgQAjAOFOyvX1njUt5RYEcoSmX_gv46amsC3MoZwb/s400/P1060565.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the beach at JJ's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3UJpvGXC1_fOO7C2A_TY7cqrJpSDF5uStdkbN2g5IUpw4X5TD-mHP6qAFx_FfVzPeakjkk12A-Jd4SQ8y0FnK_8Hn9tCFBZT2ogxQcerviPbPH1WizfwRNcRW1Mule4zaYa9rKYTEWcr/s1600/P1060568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3UJpvGXC1_fOO7C2A_TY7cqrJpSDF5uStdkbN2g5IUpw4X5TD-mHP6qAFx_FfVzPeakjkk12A-Jd4SQ8y0FnK_8Hn9tCFBZT2ogxQcerviPbPH1WizfwRNcRW1Mule4zaYa9rKYTEWcr/s400/P1060568.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the tents we stayed in - we had to put the tents under cover for nightly rains</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpCMlC8SJwZEM8AloJb03ohk_lG93_WafqX096g7Dsq0e_8M-IEtETH2eJ9lplbtmuZ_jPwfK43bzxe8l73ZVT-ZwNkWaCyT2GsP-PSYjnxS98AxxQ9KtDe1BiN5Vkz1kFPWzN917OA9N/s1600/P1060569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYpCMlC8SJwZEM8AloJb03ohk_lG93_WafqX096g7Dsq0e_8M-IEtETH2eJ9lplbtmuZ_jPwfK43bzxe8l73ZVT-ZwNkWaCyT2GsP-PSYjnxS98AxxQ9KtDe1BiN5Vkz1kFPWzN917OA9N/s320/P1060569.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kris relaxing in our huge tent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best thing to do in Siquijor is to explore the island
(which, since it’s so small, can be done in a day or less) and to find some
native healers! Since locals are the best source of information we talked to
the owner of JJ’s to find out where we should go to find a natural healer. She
told us where we could find a bulo-bulo healer. On our way to see the bulo-bulo
we ran across a small stand selling natural remedies. We couldn’t help but to
check it out! She was selling many different mixtures of herbs and tree barks
that were mixed with coconut oil. Some of the other volunteers bought an honest
to god “love potion”… only time will tell if it’s effective!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYaqM-Z5xNT-KyWBcaS5vIYH1COKgSoy6BkD2av9BHyYS9Q8RLEPVeMEDQ-Wxl2BOICM3QKxOYmy0rrAPonElzkFnIOYWN_naG7mKkLGjCwS90hkxRkvO6mY76SIDA4EuEvupmEt8-kfh/s1600/IMG_3072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYaqM-Z5xNT-KyWBcaS5vIYH1COKgSoy6BkD2av9BHyYS9Q8RLEPVeMEDQ-Wxl2BOICM3QKxOYmy0rrAPonElzkFnIOYWN_naG7mKkLGjCwS90hkxRkvO6mY76SIDA4EuEvupmEt8-kfh/s400/IMG_3072.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the local remedy stand we ran across</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZyFj7p6X0BvZatzlUSjpCSqAFu2E7Lshcp4w7ck2LPT3AmCO_jefBibhRDQI3ls72Q6IR2oGp3Hb8z2l9VSnK8BAL7yA74Vem-zwFVMRf0NUihE7QrTRKXF79oNRuw0OBO8bjtw2TPSi/s1600/P1060545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZyFj7p6X0BvZatzlUSjpCSqAFu2E7Lshcp4w7ck2LPT3AmCO_jefBibhRDQI3ls72Q6IR2oGp3Hb8z2l9VSnK8BAL7yA74Vem-zwFVMRf0NUihE7QrTRKXF79oNRuw0OBO8bjtw2TPSi/s400/P1060545.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">love potion!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTwMp7L5y0togj_KuhASShjHw3IS47hFtdSmwFFDa5BjPLkalfrKBMgt5LRfR6TBYOEYoeX86XJEiTOIC3b2rjwnrVtdW0tXQpQcbeHYhsbvdLLL8vJGNKiTPWnLCzoQorm-BVDQ6vc7Y/s1600/P1060546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTwMp7L5y0togj_KuhASShjHw3IS47hFtdSmwFFDa5BjPLkalfrKBMgt5LRfR6TBYOEYoeX86XJEiTOIC3b2rjwnrVtdW0tXQpQcbeHYhsbvdLLL8vJGNKiTPWnLCzoQorm-BVDQ6vc7Y/s400/P1060546.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">all of the herbal remedies being sold at this local stand</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wanted to bring back some gifts for my co-workers since
none of them had been to Siquijor (they are too scared to go!) The woman was
also selling <i>panagang</i> or defense bracelets. Inside each bracelet is herbs and
coconut oil, said to ward off evil spirits. If you are wearing a bracelet and
come into contact with a witch or <i>aswang</i> (Filipino version of vampire) the
bracelet is said to burst, spraying the evil one with the herbs and oil and
casting them away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I bought 20.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVzNQNGBjeEFf9BZvu_5boUUj-YMWJ-aEC_m9ynruNHt5kzODiH2uxpz9D4LZgK7gaV57vLpK1k9UdvLY5FUaBCtHkqn-tfNLplwwWJL5xM5SAx9NvSPSQld8_e1tGjL3iSixMX6pLSom/s1600/IMG_3069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVzNQNGBjeEFf9BZvu_5boUUj-YMWJ-aEC_m9ynruNHt5kzODiH2uxpz9D4LZgK7gaV57vLpK1k9UdvLY5FUaBCtHkqn-tfNLplwwWJL5xM5SAx9NvSPSQld8_e1tGjL3iSixMX6pLSom/s320/IMG_3069.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">herbal bracelets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My co-workers LOVE them! I had no idea that this was
something common place, but many people put these bracelets on young children
to protect them from harm. And the fact that the bracelets I brought were from
Siquijor I guess made them that much more powerful! I was so happy to see my 10
peso gift bring so much happiness and wished I had bought more!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we bought our herbal remedies, we headed off again in
the direction of the bulo-bulo healer. Bulo-bulo is a native healing method,
where the healer uses a small glass, a black stone and a bamboo straw. When we
finally found the healer she was just as you might expect her to be! We learned
she is 87 years old and one of few people left practicing the old healing
method. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First you have to tell her where your problem is. I told her
my back (true story). So I sat down and she began by blessing me with a coconut
oil mixture and praying in a dialect I don’t understand. Then she poured water
into the glass with the black stone. Using the bamboo straw, she blew bubbles
into the glass as she rubbed the glass along my back. After a short time, the
water became discolored and had floating particles in it. She examined the
glass and expelled the dark water. After refilling the glass with clean water,
she repeated the process. The second time also resulted in dark water. But the
third time the water remained clear. Dun Dun DUN! I was healed!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8mbmAVlhCBQvAdlmGCHVvLpyRupa-XY2pcJYyTwQAEW0UJZx3xTYLxxLi7R5zD3-c-1NEYmAP2e2qHWaSFwNZOJ6nWAvNDHthK7-vjhtsF0iAvi1TytKn-6y86btrd16to3eZDqdV3C3/s1600/IMG_3083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8mbmAVlhCBQvAdlmGCHVvLpyRupa-XY2pcJYyTwQAEW0UJZx3xTYLxxLi7R5zD3-c-1NEYmAP2e2qHWaSFwNZOJ6nWAvNDHthK7-vjhtsF0iAvi1TytKn-6y86btrd16to3eZDqdV3C3/s400/IMG_3083.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the bulo-bulo healing mu back</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTTfOVGQms5ajVbPT77Fb3KhIyOwp9ZxelPn9GMkLj_pj8xYKctZHnm6gesu1yZ-7ffy8UbPD91DsoN0TE65gNHMfUrisQuH74dCvvz_RsiB92Ar63aqDIxWEpD1Emlu8QpF4MsAbT8OO/s1600/IMG_3096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTTfOVGQms5ajVbPT77Fb3KhIyOwp9ZxelPn9GMkLj_pj8xYKctZHnm6gesu1yZ-7ffy8UbPD91DsoN0TE65gNHMfUrisQuH74dCvvz_RsiB92Ar63aqDIxWEpD1Emlu8QpF4MsAbT8OO/s400/IMG_3096.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sooo my back still hurts.... but many of the locals really
believe in what the bulo-bulo healer does and will go to see her if modern
medicine fails them or if they can’t afford to be seen by a doctor. In fact
after we were “healed” by the bulo-bulo, there was a mother with her small
child waiting to be seen after us. The Bulo-bulo doesn’t charge but only
accepts donations. Even though she didn’t cure my back, we all made sure to
give appropriate donations <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Siquijor is really a magical island. We had an amazing time
there talking with the locals, experiencing the culture, exploring the island
and finding beautiful and remote beaches. Siquijor is not a main tourist stop;
there are no big attractions aside from some diving, snorkeling and the
superstitions surrounding the culture. But this means the island still has its
charm without being overdeveloped. Mainly other backpackers visit there,
wanting only to enjoy its natural beauty. One of the things I love most about
the Philippines is that you can think you know its people and culture, but only
travel to the next island over and you will be surprised again! The diversity
of the Philippines is more than just the marine life. The people and culture
are amazing and I will sorely miss it when I am gone.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Less than 4 months left! Where did the time go?</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-49938170571218358432012-06-04T03:29:00.005-07:002012-06-04T03:29:47.505-07:00SEAS and rain<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I mentioned in previous post, the five of us volunteers
on Guimaras Island took on the big project of putting on an environmental camp.
Denise and Jensen worked on writing and submitting a grant (which was approved)
and then found us a venue for the camp. The small village of Tando in Guimaras
is quite far from the main part of town and takes a couple hours to get to
while driving over mostly unpaved road. But this small and far community is a gem
of Guimaras and made for the perfect place for our camps!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few years back Guimaras was the victim of an oil spill
which greatly affected the marine area surrounding Tando. But the people of
Tando care a lot about their resources and have since been working to restore
them. They started a mangrove nursery and assist in mangrove plantings not just
in Tando but all of Guimaras. Tando is also the site of a new marine protected area
that Jensen helped to establish. The coastal resources there are now recovering
and the people are very supportive of such projects. They were more than happy
to host us and our camp. Over the week of the camps we really got to know the community as they housed us and assisted us with the camp. The Tando Community is full of amazing people who live humbly and take care of their environment. </div>
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The environmental camp, named SEAS – Stewards of the
Environment and Advocates of the Seas, consisted of two 3-day camps over the
course of a week. The first camp was attended by over 70 students from the 16
high schools on the island; all were members of the environment club at their
school. The second camp was focused on youth from villages with reserves,
specifically the communities that Rob, Jensen and I work with to establish our
new marine protected areas. Community counterparts were
integral in planning the activities, leading discussions during the camp, and
ensuring the facilitates were equipped to accommodate the influx of people,
from setting up a makeshift electrical system (since the school did not have
electricity) to hauling over 800 jugs of well water for bathing and cooking (…or
running water).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The purpose of the camp was to teach the participants what
they could do to protect their environment, with a focus on the
newly-established MPAs. The first day gave participants the foundations
in coastal ecosystems (me), MPAs (Rob), communication skills (Stacey), and
leadership (Denise). The day was topped off with a coastal clean-up and
the viewing of a BBC Blue Planet episode, which was meticulously dubbed in
Tagalog. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vHbzY8ZxW1cxBzYwA7qiTYJ-mzwdy_prpGUzHoHRUBb3n6Iuss-wlzuXok6cekt_drtW4YmppL_2p6f9HFDb80EwOY-vfAI0j_vur0e7Cw3wvpjVa2lKoWIXGRdSQQvDqdEIDJ4Q5GB/s1600/DSC_0441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9vHbzY8ZxW1cxBzYwA7qiTYJ-mzwdy_prpGUzHoHRUBb3n6Iuss-wlzuXok6cekt_drtW4YmppL_2p6f9HFDb80EwOY-vfAI0j_vur0e7Cw3wvpjVa2lKoWIXGRdSQQvDqdEIDJ4Q5GB/s400/DSC_0441.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to know each other.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNgSQNsdtlCPsDH2okho45IOocub4B8eJpNuLchbhBIrI6G4UNOZDJEevQs20aQ7t0s9BQpX_R3ttT6GuJooK3tV0V-e_FyV9xEDWuiHS0qt0KVjENxYOmHy80jYtxWVWOLtyG2j6_OEX/s1600/DSC_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNgSQNsdtlCPsDH2okho45IOocub4B8eJpNuLchbhBIrI6G4UNOZDJEevQs20aQ7t0s9BQpX_R3ttT6GuJooK3tV0V-e_FyV9xEDWuiHS0qt0KVjENxYOmHy80jYtxWVWOLtyG2j6_OEX/s400/DSC_0576.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">team building games</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On the second day, in addition to learning about solid waste management through bottle bricks and magazine bead-making, participants went snorkeling inside the Tan-Luc MPA. For most campers, it was their first experience using snorkel gear and seeing what lies beneath the surface of the ocean. In the afternoon, participants and facilitators braved high tides and deep mud to plant 1,000 mangrove propagules nearby. On the final day of the camp, participants conducted community perception interviews to gauge the community's knowledge of the MPA and also to practice sharing with others what they had learned about the environment. Before the closing program, we held small group discussions to prepare participants on how they can take what they’ve learned at the camp and apply it to where they live. Each participant made a bracelet to remind themselves of their commitment to the seas. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUyRvyqQAUSonHdu0HDpG-DZ423yfp1cqGO3e6vEvZZz9MqQFMQ4UE7XFNGGbQCeBLtlI617gPsNdmkJiE7tnU1CVWfLqsHErslnDN1dGBLGq3lIMIbtB98JM3K_2EiLapUkZNTpKjfAf/s1600/DSC_0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUyRvyqQAUSonHdu0HDpG-DZ423yfp1cqGO3e6vEvZZz9MqQFMQ4UE7XFNGGbQCeBLtlI617gPsNdmkJiE7tnU1CVWfLqsHErslnDN1dGBLGq3lIMIbtB98JM3K_2EiLapUkZNTpKjfAf/s400/DSC_0917.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making bottle bricks!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHo7SiUZlqpgZRf6XZXHLJQNRtCvT8ybODSvbkaudVLZKwL_89HK2HPEKy123NjZebAZZLnJtSXjRiyYHOvBcZwr-7q0jmK9MQdHGmICW_e6lJrYtrHvTgo64MynP8L6KCpJBtb2W8trY/s1600/P1040853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHo7SiUZlqpgZRf6XZXHLJQNRtCvT8ybODSvbkaudVLZKwL_89HK2HPEKy123NjZebAZZLnJtSXjRiyYHOvBcZwr-7q0jmK9MQdHGmICW_e6lJrYtrHvTgo64MynP8L6KCpJBtb2W8trY/s400/P1040853.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">going snorkeling in the MPA!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uIfKmL7_uQY1R4BE68KrEIcUnZvgswL1IxQl4L5dnD19EHUZYyTRi70MCY0tJldGSQ2rTGNLKnc1fp3H6OyCQUB3LIZPuknzCu_20svH7ejswLWwy9p6eESS_tH_pdMQC-a7JcGuNu8y/s1600/P1050800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uIfKmL7_uQY1R4BE68KrEIcUnZvgswL1IxQl4L5dnD19EHUZYyTRi70MCY0tJldGSQ2rTGNLKnc1fp3H6OyCQUB3LIZPuknzCu_20svH7ejswLWwy9p6eESS_tH_pdMQC-a7JcGuNu8y/s400/P1050800.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">making more bottle bricks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzVo2gn3pJJ_A2trUboTACn07Niyh27_dX4jhA6a0f9V3cIhJODSabKbfo2Cy6UwuIV-HtAxv4AvXSP37-E0UQFpSlpByIu_SaVO1r68x0Tx_FZgoyOKCljbiDXo22QDKG5VAfHTv_U8b/s1600/P1050802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzVo2gn3pJJ_A2trUboTACn07Niyh27_dX4jhA6a0f9V3cIhJODSabKbfo2Cy6UwuIV-HtAxv4AvXSP37-E0UQFpSlpByIu_SaVO1r68x0Tx_FZgoyOKCljbiDXo22QDKG5VAfHTv_U8b/s400/P1050802.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready to take out the next group for some snorkeling fun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKwbozKDjz3O9Ydg5VW1uRM7cP9rFP5Pz2xGp13sxbxDfQhfNTvHqNtcC9FcGuHkKd-bEEvPMUpU_ySSoJ_Hee5nUd_NiHf3VGffY-XRgG4q3K3e2x6MgIgUKb9AqvEBxl47m91DdpHS8/s1600/DSC_0646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghKwbozKDjz3O9Ydg5VW1uRM7cP9rFP5Pz2xGp13sxbxDfQhfNTvHqNtcC9FcGuHkKd-bEEvPMUpU_ySSoJ_Hee5nUd_NiHf3VGffY-XRgG4q3K3e2x6MgIgUKb9AqvEBxl47m91DdpHS8/s400/DSC_0646.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">planting mangrove propugules</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vq0oMmbzqP194Oxt4vK7o2ZSzblkKrTv7h3dhtAiYyaT9ArEXNhdux03ymi6ZAa_cj-_jsgS8Q50WsI6ZzG3phxFhNnwCLh8fF6NW-LXZUZFo_RpNkbavXlDjYeEtFFEpkilNHzwc5UM/s1600/P1050955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vq0oMmbzqP194Oxt4vK7o2ZSzblkKrTv7h3dhtAiYyaT9ArEXNhdux03ymi6ZAa_cj-_jsgS8Q50WsI6ZzG3phxFhNnwCLh8fF6NW-LXZUZFo_RpNkbavXlDjYeEtFFEpkilNHzwc5UM/s400/P1050955.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">performing community interviews - learning what the community knows and sharing what they have learned</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWdg9Xhfyovwdm70x3p73NKGmwIP7yE45nXuhaSaqzHY8esKX0b3sfxeNfe7_VmkT_LQVJ3jWNrOIdwNh0fG1TqZzvLdxszF4E00Xem6HVSYUd3uTqLS2y18KQcpUZf2Ud4deS2NlL-VZ/s1600/P1060046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdWdg9Xhfyovwdm70x3p73NKGmwIP7yE45nXuhaSaqzHY8esKX0b3sfxeNfe7_VmkT_LQVJ3jWNrOIdwNh0fG1TqZzvLdxszF4E00Xem6HVSYUd3uTqLS2y18KQcpUZf2Ud4deS2NlL-VZ/s400/P1060046.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">team bonding</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-JED43XJVTnnOVc1YOgxvM12AK3_Ww5FdVNaZhI9lE7z6ozniIJ-QscmUyrh8wQojxB-fAk6lE3q12Uo5u1pvGGHVbSoX4IPRl09BA0ExTnt2D7GqJ-dVdRPYXQqy1wftLzTtwp3Fws7/s1600/P1060143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-JED43XJVTnnOVc1YOgxvM12AK3_Ww5FdVNaZhI9lE7z6ozniIJ-QscmUyrh8wQojxB-fAk6lE3q12Uo5u1pvGGHVbSoX4IPRl09BA0ExTnt2D7GqJ-dVdRPYXQqy1wftLzTtwp3Fws7/s400/P1060143.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">discussing how they can take what they have learned and apply it to where they live</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvDvLDkeHiI1ZLLzxPINsvjgzennUTe1q94qv6IrGrV1nxGL7SFCejrgbJNAhqlW_iflQ8tPpmUSP4bjktSzDiupYr8zTBekNWpzlcVo-Okq-no86Mp2v7ymZZ7wmklzmci8G00w4ILIw/s1600/P1060216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTvDvLDkeHiI1ZLLzxPINsvjgzennUTe1q94qv6IrGrV1nxGL7SFCejrgbJNAhqlW_iflQ8tPpmUSP4bjktSzDiupYr8zTBekNWpzlcVo-Okq-no86Mp2v7ymZZ7wmklzmci8G00w4ILIw/s400/P1060216.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the kids leaving camp, so sad!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We plan on following up with the high schools and coastal communities to monitor progress
and to offer any advice or assistance for future projects. We hope to
help the youth apply and share their knowledge and excitement about the MPAs
with the rest of their communities. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xSEGeyLsVJ12Ztth4DyJtQqEXjFjZoqcPIRcblGMWnyjlQs05ZaQw4uD1dP8M8V94PD2vl8HATaGm_lMbQJVDjw929XGuMhljhvWlZd5IYn1pSsFcMSZzYrXp4LcgWZvO4NnInekFX1A/s1600/P1050989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xSEGeyLsVJ12Ztth4DyJtQqEXjFjZoqcPIRcblGMWnyjlQs05ZaQw4uD1dP8M8V94PD2vl8HATaGm_lMbQJVDjw929XGuMhljhvWlZd5IYn1pSsFcMSZzYrXp4LcgWZvO4NnInekFX1A/s400/P1050989.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SEAS Camp #1 with high school youth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkKeQrEf2RTpH95H3_nhpftGAnht8JgbbdRYqcBVcy4qGo_joIelMHnUDkBQK72kgQYSMK519t38wNH7IDK_xVC4AgI9y74S2YGPqyDKpa7wZogXNpD4AonkGn3ZM-71Tjjk9SOkpJm8V/s1600/P1060205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkKeQrEf2RTpH95H3_nhpftGAnht8JgbbdRYqcBVcy4qGo_joIelMHnUDkBQK72kgQYSMK519t38wNH7IDK_xVC4AgI9y74S2YGPqyDKpa7wZogXNpD4AonkGn3ZM-71Tjjk9SOkpJm8V/s400/P1060205.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SEAS Camp#2 with coastal youth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC2RIV2hBm7KPMmvr7fBpRBe-DHL3NQ_fF5ybdOwi5-mLDLpCpg9KL3TEA6z1IifVYiCTe8I8YIspyCRacsXMv_8iupGQH8Q_m6gjEGDLDG_bqJEiTIbHpqybqYonBbkVd2zWOMdSDBCz/s1600/P1060232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC2RIV2hBm7KPMmvr7fBpRBe-DHL3NQ_fF5ybdOwi5-mLDLpCpg9KL3TEA6z1IifVYiCTe8I8YIspyCRacsXMv_8iupGQH8Q_m6gjEGDLDG_bqJEiTIbHpqybqYonBbkVd2zWOMdSDBCz/s400/P1060232.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us volunteers with some SEAS campers after their community pageant (we stayed an extra day to show support for the youth in the pageant and they won!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for the MPA
(marine protected area) that I am working on with my community, we are
making progress with the construction of the guardhouse! I also recently bought
(with the grant funds) supplies to make marker buoys. As with a lot of
this project, I depend on the knowledge of the fisherfolk and other community
members. I am not sure the best way to make a buoy (and apparently there are
many ways), so I left that decision up to the community. They just told me what
supplies to get and this is what they came up with…</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsWrduhOXqlMqh5yRbnlfl4dd6_vY8TMD-zs7M0MpFwkstw1VgB3Ina2HHnyyzWGnIluC5CrpUwip7HoT-mIuRXu7onfFcgVNM6HeqpgRxUqaovBQhzcbRohtLqsYvP1Ke960LQAlBkOq/s1600/P1060243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsWrduhOXqlMqh5yRbnlfl4dd6_vY8TMD-zs7M0MpFwkstw1VgB3Ina2HHnyyzWGnIluC5CrpUwip7HoT-mIuRXu7onfFcgVNM6HeqpgRxUqaovBQhzcbRohtLqsYvP1Ke960LQAlBkOq/s400/P1060243.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our marker buoys for the new marine protected area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unfortunately rainy season has started early again.. we had planned on putting the buoys out today but when we got there the wind was strong and the waves too big. Hopefully the weather will clear in the next couple days so we can put out the marker buoys soon. But the rain and wind are not stopping the construction work for the guardhouse so progress continues!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQwHjidhO39lV2Bg-31GPbdmK2JFK8r__r9TSVrTceBaBFoG-oxZc68dpuJ7qsjzlvf95ycygJL5ZP7NjnVJjAjKKi33MTDKWIh9oNn36ojCyIaXFR_f4eFlrTjRp4wvg1gDT8YMAwhhy/s1600/P1060246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQwHjidhO39lV2Bg-31GPbdmK2JFK8r__r9TSVrTceBaBFoG-oxZc68dpuJ7qsjzlvf95ycygJL5ZP7NjnVJjAjKKi33MTDKWIh9oNn36ojCyIaXFR_f4eFlrTjRp4wvg1gDT8YMAwhhy/s400/P1060246.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">working on the guardhouse!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtkcTU2NoN57iSDOiMtbE3eq-p56ZbkkZGntFa3hzzhQvjk4yzCpWxDed-ErEURAAXm_d9rlD6stqgAJnmHnvg5pWUwdaCMOPIIaqPqHewhXPaDFY3i5J2KQpN8wl4ufCwT0LRc1j_XNM/s1600/P1060254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtkcTU2NoN57iSDOiMtbE3eq-p56ZbkkZGntFa3hzzhQvjk4yzCpWxDed-ErEURAAXm_d9rlD6stqgAJnmHnvg5pWUwdaCMOPIIaqPqHewhXPaDFY3i5J2KQpN8wl4ufCwT0LRc1j_XNM/s400/P1060254.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">rainy season has begun and the waves and wind were too strong to deploy the buoys that day..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob and I also are planning a training workshop for new
Bantay Dagat (type of coast guard) for our new MPAs. The new Bantay Dagat
members will be deputized and put in charge of enforcing the management of the
MPA (i.e. keeping illegal fishers out). Later this month we will have the
training at a local resort in Rob’s site.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These last 5 months are going fast and are staying very
busy!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Until next time, halong!</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-66634483623191395472012-05-15T06:12:00.000-07:002012-05-15T06:12:51.643-07:00Random moments of culture<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Bonding-Bonding"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Filipinos are known as the friendliest and most hospitable people in the world. Part of where this notion comes from is their openness of talking and getting to know strangers. This is often referred to as "bonding-bonding." The other day, I was heading into the city to purchase some supplies for
our upcoming environment youth camp. As I was waiting for the boat to fill up (it’s
a 15-20 minute boat ride from my island to Iloilo City), an elderly couple
sat down next to me. Like many times before, part from curiosity about what I am
doing here and part wanting to practice her English, the woman started asking
me questions: where are you from? How long have you been here? What are you
doing here?.... Like many conversations I have
with people here, there is no such thing as “personal information”. I learned
about her husband’s illnesses and her daughter’s failing marriage. Then she
asked me the usually questions, how old am I, am I married, why am I not
married, and what religion I am (which is always a tricky one to answer). In the
course of our 15 minute boat ride we got to know each other quite well! Then as
we arrived to the city, she said the typical parting phrase <i>halong</i> which means
“take care” and we went our separate ways….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I guess that wasn’t an important part”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a Monday morning and, as I do every Monday, I leave for work early to be there by eight for the flag ceremony. I am waiting by the road for a <i>salakian</i> or "ride". A trike pulls up with two women in the front seat of the sidecar. I take my place in the back seat. We drive a little further and pick up another woman who hops on behind the driver. We drive a bit further when suddenly there is an awful sound like the scrapping and moving of metal. I think we have run over some object in the road. We slow to a stop and the driver pokes around the motorcycle. Finally he pulls a large metal piece that resembles a brake pad (though I can’t be sure since I know nothing about motorcycle parts). He then places the dirty part on the floor in the front of the sidecar. The two women sitting in front look at each other, and then at me. I say “I hope that part isn’t important.” They smile and chuckle, and the driver cranks up the bike, and we continue on our way.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"The coconut nut is not a nut"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once or twice a week, my Filipina friends, Cindy or Yet-Yet,
will text me to hang out. A typical evening starts out at RJ’s, a local
restobar where they serve arrozcaldo and batchoy daily. Arrozcaldo is a Spanish influenced rice soup containing boiled egg or chicken. Batchoy is a very Ilonggo
(the region where I live) dish. It is basically ramen-type noodles in a broth
with pork. Usually I will have a big bowl of arrozcaldo and Cindy will have
batchoy. After eating we head to another restobar where we can sing videoke. It's
5 pesos a song and sometimes we rack up quite a bill! I never used to sing in
the States. I explained to Cindy that in the States you usually don’t sing karaoke
unless you are a really good singer or just very entertaining. Since I consider
myself neither I usually refrain… but in the U.S. we love to dance! At clubs
and concerts everyone is dancing! In the Philippines it’s the opposite.
Filipino people love music and often have bands performing during town fiestas,
but everyone stands around the stage watching the band play. Some might be
dancing but you can assume only after they have had a lot of drinks (about the same time Americans might start singing karaoke). But videoke
bars are everywhere in the Philippines and EVERYONE sings. Love ballads and classic rock is
usually the genre of choice. Older men can be heard singing Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”,
Air Supply or Whitney Houston’s “ I will always love you”. But my favorite is
when Cindy sings the coconut song, or “Da Coconut Song” as it is titled. It’s a
fun song singing about all the different ways a coconut tree can be used <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Chicken’s Last Ride”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a Tuesday evening and I am returning from work. They
always want me to sit in the front of the tricycle sidecar so I get in first. A couple gets in the back and two young girls hop on the
back of the motorbike. An elderly lady has just purchased what is probably her
dinner for the evening: a bag of vegetables and herbs, and a very live chicken
tied only at the feet. I am handed her bag of greens to hold and she sits next to
me. But where to put the chicken? The driver nonchalantly takes the chicken by
its tied up feet and places it at the bottom of the sidecar, at my feet. So I
ride home with greens in my lap and a chicken at my feet. The chicken lets me
know she’s still alive at every big bump in the road as she clucks and moves around..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBzjaR6K_AsNDOgwm7lgc5rRlB5Rd2iWGyp_ZHuNaKpbcWCi7l82gmm3zAMUN-8GBFm_drUguKB_AgI49tBPmN3t4tZh3H-WHxT9YnGp3oIancmF10jC5BIYyRHqufYFsXdRDphkXXtOH/s1600/P1020649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBzjaR6K_AsNDOgwm7lgc5rRlB5Rd2iWGyp_ZHuNaKpbcWCi7l82gmm3zAMUN-8GBFm_drUguKB_AgI49tBPmN3t4tZh3H-WHxT9YnGp3oIancmF10jC5BIYyRHqufYFsXdRDphkXXtOH/s400/P1020649.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many times squeezing my giant American-self into a tricycle sidecar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRNftsZqSqdV0z7SmSd7BVTlHLxwNbLBRxQNebAgmQCY5eqpgod_GIxfoQcMENXDC_UA91sxwG4QDW3duNQkkd-ZXqsGcy7L4IxTBm3ERqv5MNzxaffsfl-_s3AqNCqYQocUhh_J1pymB/s1600/IMG_7472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRNftsZqSqdV0z7SmSd7BVTlHLxwNbLBRxQNebAgmQCY5eqpgod_GIxfoQcMENXDC_UA91sxwG4QDW3duNQkkd-ZXqsGcy7L4IxTBm3ERqv5MNzxaffsfl-_s3AqNCqYQocUhh_J1pymB/s400/IMG_7472.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using my cellphone flashlight to find my next videoke song!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qywL-z1FmPoGtgcmtg-aR4GVANqV1hrqtvZXH-q6_Y6JLyyn2qOsul7sctI363zJqXip2CusNFK7MBdXfeZ5CA5mjljqEtlL1JUy8jF6X1DuEU9XZEqaFvEVhaWtTahS310ZehwVfY2u/s1600/boat+to+the+ras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qywL-z1FmPoGtgcmtg-aR4GVANqV1hrqtvZXH-q6_Y6JLyyn2qOsul7sctI363zJqXip2CusNFK7MBdXfeZ5CA5mjljqEtlL1JUy8jF6X1DuEU9XZEqaFvEVhaWtTahS310ZehwVfY2u/s400/boat+to+the+ras.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pumpboats going from the city to Guimaras. You can see my island home in the background!</td></tr>
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I love it in the Philippines!</div>
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<br />Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-49492648427122336052012-04-26T06:03:00.000-07:002012-04-26T06:34:07.313-07:00Our last Manggahan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year for Guimaras’ Manggahan (Mango) Festival, we
wanted to make it extra memorable since it would be our last as volunteers. Stacey had the
idea of having a PC booth where we could showcase some of our projects and spread
awareness. The five of us volunteers on the island had many meetings leading up
to the festival, discussing what the booth would focus on and searching out
funding. The Governor was able to give us 10,000 pesos (a little over $200) and
the Mayor of Jordan let us use half of the LGU booth. We decided to have two
focuses: an environment one and a sexual awareness one. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvSbMZqP6oq_OiEGITyzRt_j5BoIAGcoT6bNTPT9Z9XPUNZsrViLFSSnbC1LlSPNr2fxFwDQX7rVhj1Ui83it6_k9r5i6w0oUEj-qGu7NSbjKX2yuvyNLdoxNk7TOYDyie9PyyFEhXnD-/s1600/P1050528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvSbMZqP6oq_OiEGITyzRt_j5BoIAGcoT6bNTPT9Z9XPUNZsrViLFSSnbC1LlSPNr2fxFwDQX7rVhj1Ui83it6_k9r5i6w0oUEj-qGu7NSbjKX2yuvyNLdoxNk7TOYDyie9PyyFEhXnD-/s400/P1050528.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our PC booth at Manggahan Festival</td></tr>
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The environment half of the booth showed how to make and
use bottle bricks, also called portable landfill device. (For more information
on bottle bricks, visit <a href="http://earthbench.org/">earthbench.org</a>.) Our goal was to spread awareness about
using bottle bricks and how they can be used to make an earthbench. We collected plastic trash throughout the festival week and hope to make an earthbench for the island. There were fliers to explain the steps of making a
bottle brick and a Decomposition Game, informing participants the length of
time it takes for some ordinary household waste to decompose. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsg4NXco38RADhqvR4WTOD5CN4_qo6Vw4vakZ4HOa_97bNPCukDuOk8PypeeoO1n9QPaQRDga8IkopKKOy9wzNF09yPplMjl2unTBPp3SC2I7BIrSNws6AYhIKC2gien8iWFfxki7Qe_n/s1600/P1050295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsg4NXco38RADhqvR4WTOD5CN4_qo6Vw4vakZ4HOa_97bNPCukDuOk8PypeeoO1n9QPaQRDga8IkopKKOy9wzNF09yPplMjl2unTBPp3SC2I7BIrSNws6AYhIKC2gien8iWFfxki7Qe_n/s400/P1050295.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J helping a kid play the Decomposition Game</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzrSqP1-OxU_pUsqiC62yJm79algDCjN7fc7R8-Jo9BN3TWkmhs8kRrMjKC82ERwSEie-vWSPmXIbxWFNIBj8uSuj5a6nssEQCJJj6Y2IJG7ini3t1WZ6OX7_j8u_HCMCy_COWZ1YVIhl/s1600/P1050478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzrSqP1-OxU_pUsqiC62yJm79algDCjN7fc7R8-Jo9BN3TWkmhs8kRrMjKC82ERwSEie-vWSPmXIbxWFNIBj8uSuj5a6nssEQCJJj6Y2IJG7ini3t1WZ6OX7_j8u_HCMCy_COWZ1YVIhl/s400/P1050478.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D explaining how bottle bricks work</td></tr>
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The second half of the booth was dedicated to sexual health
awareness. It explained about HIV/AIDS and other STIs (sexually transmitted
infections) and where locals can go to get a free STI test. It also listed ‘101
ways to make love without having sex’ and the ABCDEs of STI prevention:
Abstinence, Be faithful to your partner, Consistently use condoms, Don’t use
drugs, and Educate yourself and others. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgkmVYAmEpthmDrZ7VQEAYu-sg13aXh_-a0oBVUbZPOoz-Pz56IGgWs3vjVnVF6KqQe0T_FoZvhsaVZQk7ajLWCXEmo9fm9TibnKDep-hRMFD77VEPdM3gDsQdBptb8B4basQaBXy_pep/s1600/P1050391.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgkmVYAmEpthmDrZ7VQEAYu-sg13aXh_-a0oBVUbZPOoz-Pz56IGgWs3vjVnVF6KqQe0T_FoZvhsaVZQk7ajLWCXEmo9fm9TibnKDep-hRMFD77VEPdM3gDsQdBptb8B4basQaBXy_pep/s400/P1050391.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S assisting in a challenge to explain STIs</td></tr>
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But the highlight of the booth was the “Wheel of Knowledge” that was out front. Participants
spun the wheel and the color they landed on determined the topic of question
they were asked. Topics varied from environment, STIs, Peace Corps facts, and
Guimaras fun facts. All of the answers could be found inside the booth so
everyone was a winner and the prize was candy! There was also a special DARE
spot on the wheel. When someone landed on the DARE they were given a challenge.
If they completed the challenge they were given either a bracelet or t-shirt
advocating volunteerism. Challenges included bringing a stranger to the booth
to explain to them about STIs, stuffing a bottle brick, or picking up three pieces
of litter and disposing of them properly in the segregated trash bins. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO5uM-IBQZLngLn_QAGzrCTUcbMNa9Zu8eFaIS7qLgSgE49UtGOX7tBP1Y3heWk8AIwcpltgg8Tk5SwEN0YDETrfnyYjFzYChg3Xo4P12OjRexABwEgmBE5CDfh-Wdyd_7Vt-IX27XrUj/s1600/P1050440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO5uM-IBQZLngLn_QAGzrCTUcbMNa9Zu8eFaIS7qLgSgE49UtGOX7tBP1Y3heWk8AIwcpltgg8Tk5SwEN0YDETrfnyYjFzYChg3Xo4P12OjRexABwEgmBE5CDfh-Wdyd_7Vt-IX27XrUj/s400/P1050440.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the WHEEL OF KNOWLEDGE!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAfdxeoKZEop2mKKa31XeDMy9AG9GAj-zhqi0C09OaFXvYtK5T8bwHfu_FW010FUjp74U740AZ_Ujn1euut3LMupOBZFw1RJxJBwajhtXruOFX5YSmrCbqkFp4HcpvxdzZhfn4ay9UaBB/s1600/P1050633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAfdxeoKZEop2mKKa31XeDMy9AG9GAj-zhqi0C09OaFXvYtK5T8bwHfu_FW010FUjp74U740AZ_Ujn1euut3LMupOBZFw1RJxJBwajhtXruOFX5YSmrCbqkFp4HcpvxdzZhfn4ay9UaBB/s400/P1050633.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guimaras volunteers</td></tr>
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Lots of excitement centered around the wheel with people not
believing it was for free and trying to land on a DARE spot so they could win a
bracelet or tee. Each day of the week-long festival there were more and more people
there. On the last day there was almost a constant crowd around the wheel. Most
were too shy to spin but they looked on as others spun the wheel and tried to
answer their questions (as always the PCVs helped to answer). It was amazing how interested and interactive people were in answering the questions and learning about our projects.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXDI5Mg6sJfEZ0aESoPdeOScnhskc0RKGZFpO8R9bKSJaKNFqJW4Km1R-GdS0nJEDnWaJjPAFR8-bFNgFqL7NmcuhPwTGLB16_FLTVe_cpsDF6dNgDlDIiaEn1BENezZ7W0VcUV5OgHbb/s1600/P1050523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXDI5Mg6sJfEZ0aESoPdeOScnhskc0RKGZFpO8R9bKSJaKNFqJW4Km1R-GdS0nJEDnWaJjPAFR8-bFNgFqL7NmcuhPwTGLB16_FLTVe_cpsDF6dNgDlDIiaEn1BENezZ7W0VcUV5OgHbb/s400/P1050523.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a crowd gathering to spin the wheel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJDEXkXLfVQFb1VUyAAGPp6_aG6yo1H138rMLTiGJ_7pr_loiSxG3YAOZVJzxGud40sR0NXsie4nEfKAZJP8oeZZn1i5G8GLa-uqaFXhpr6jAMEc9GhSXdqkew5xWEEYqFjf1YKIcqc5R/s1600/P1050525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJDEXkXLfVQFb1VUyAAGPp6_aG6yo1H138rMLTiGJ_7pr_loiSxG3YAOZVJzxGud40sR0NXsie4nEfKAZJP8oeZZn1i5G8GLa-uqaFXhpr6jAMEc9GhSXdqkew5xWEEYqFjf1YKIcqc5R/s400/P1050525.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiGPwm7zO5y2o2K5uj1QicikUdUkDVz6rlOOUh1hmjCiCgPVGrxvsVrwMYIOCFvqTKAOsSxWUMrS7qJ3vumEf-adxly7UU_GAmlFxRRxAwA34-ihj2TuZm12B26SberDKkKKH3QcmGEtP/s1600/P1050662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiGPwm7zO5y2o2K5uj1QicikUdUkDVz6rlOOUh1hmjCiCgPVGrxvsVrwMYIOCFvqTKAOsSxWUMrS7qJ3vumEf-adxly7UU_GAmlFxRRxAwA34-ihj2TuZm12B26SberDKkKKH3QcmGEtP/s400/P1050662.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my friend, Yetyet, came to spin the wheel!</td></tr>
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The booth was so much fun but we couldn't have pulled it off without the help of some very special community members and co-workers!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBisWjb8nWkyb1A1CYzG5AFmR4WTGrxZt121V2_iMndowxzO_xLEM4D1cFTMNnTfrv7EbpnvxPBKYn6-_bQEbMySlk-VFCP-G3tjvEx7UW54VsaTd68phcxGEUvO14JtPazbIZwdMW32zd/s1600/IMG_1415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBisWjb8nWkyb1A1CYzG5AFmR4WTGrxZt121V2_iMndowxzO_xLEM4D1cFTMNnTfrv7EbpnvxPBKYn6-_bQEbMySlk-VFCP-G3tjvEx7UW54VsaTd68phcxGEUvO14JtPazbIZwdMW32zd/s400/IMG_1415.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our amazing crew! Wacky face!</td></tr>
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Every day we ran the booth from morning till evening. Then we
watched the evening festivities while eating and drinking at the nearby vendor
stands. There were bands, talent shows, dance competitions and, on the last
day, a fireworks competition! And of course it's not a festival without lots and lots of food!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADe4-F9_oQQ3mt3OAQttvhE573e8WXcCID1IGWMG29hOUZFGShIFxVfF89fS_S93RWZAQAbgD3xvJZyrTF5_uqoajpbwcz4qWEd7UUAcuf_n2uN-2dE5G_J7uwHQXcRzABm9Qy3IjJziR/s1600/P1050386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADe4-F9_oQQ3mt3OAQttvhE573e8WXcCID1IGWMG29hOUZFGShIFxVfF89fS_S93RWZAQAbgD3xvJZyrTF5_uqoajpbwcz4qWEd7UUAcuf_n2uN-2dE5G_J7uwHQXcRzABm9Qy3IjJziR/s400/P1050386.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fried fish balls! yum! one of my favorite festival foods!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ObGEZKc2IMqZzsn3jDq5lLrm-sG0WVdHE2Tm3_qVf8UlEJ-QCTrjuf7LbOb-QtGxLZqarG4ihRCeQEqwRX-1jpTrijbqkfnN3gkbnZ6ZUaB3_cxJRHzO7mzIKLyrlO_jzh7tLMi4xQlz/s1600/P1050560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ObGEZKc2IMqZzsn3jDq5lLrm-sG0WVdHE2Tm3_qVf8UlEJ-QCTrjuf7LbOb-QtGxLZqarG4ihRCeQEqwRX-1jpTrijbqkfnN3gkbnZ6ZUaB3_cxJRHzO7mzIKLyrlO_jzh7tLMi4xQlz/s400/P1050560.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eat all you can Mangos! I ate 2 kilos!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaD7InIp8olWbUppfCfPlaytA3WrK0weSrtkRR_Yf00Dl2fUblMxML62tHRjyujlQX-1TSLCQI0Mb-6pVQ-Gt-Ftbi3eai9uWFZ2hD81d6C-MNcrBD4jAslSakCuBwDtQfLfQ_kQAI1YHl/s1600/P1050674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaD7InIp8olWbUppfCfPlaytA3WrK0weSrtkRR_Yf00Dl2fUblMxML62tHRjyujlQX-1TSLCQI0Mb-6pVQ-Gt-Ftbi3eai9uWFZ2hD81d6C-MNcrBD4jAslSakCuBwDtQfLfQ_kQAI1YHl/s320/P1050674.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love ube flavored ice cream!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYDKG5nariCRLuzHHhEQlfeAepSPj0C6SnnID1DNomuXF3A2pGtR5nng2-GQ8ww0ODpdEWhcU3J0vKBl_q-eOTgDDQnG0y_HRqlsipvmAG-lLDuZuKWLuCGzmFMcxvzms0z5T4OiTworq/s1600/P1050699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpYDKG5nariCRLuzHHhEQlfeAepSPj0C6SnnID1DNomuXF3A2pGtR5nng2-GQ8ww0ODpdEWhcU3J0vKBl_q-eOTgDDQnG0y_HRqlsipvmAG-lLDuZuKWLuCGzmFMcxvzms0z5T4OiTworq/s400/P1050699.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I borrowed a vendor's snack collection... just a few of the munchies we enjoyed during the festival.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvqr1CxM-iw7lyKRhbi1ji12WS1Uni5m_4Up7D1rBhG8iJtPworz7Quo33N0FDY14uiU9E3eebtXuEKQmwZWCaGuCKmQE5CpgLhVeCOmHinuCk_bVmWNkBbx02XxzOe9oSA60-dgy42n2/s1600/P1050719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicvqr1CxM-iw7lyKRhbi1ji12WS1Uni5m_4Up7D1rBhG8iJtPworz7Quo33N0FDY14uiU9E3eebtXuEKQmwZWCaGuCKmQE5CpgLhVeCOmHinuCk_bVmWNkBbx02XxzOe9oSA60-dgy42n2/s320/P1050719.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And of course there may have been some drinking....</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The event was a huge success and already some are talking
about trying to make the “wheel of knowledge” a part of the festival next year!
People were generally interested to learn about our projects and even start
their own bottle brick project at their place of work or school. When I came
into work the following week one of my co-workers had already began placing all of her
plastic waste into a bottle brick! Success!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although the week left us all exhausted it was lots of fun
and we hope it will start a trend of interactive and educational booths for the
next year’s festival even with us volunteers gone. But either way it was the
best Manggahan yet!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25aijxgUCTD_FzcajSaFasi3yT_to43sqGKqxoAtYzPsr57hkfhghxRLRlnhV6448FzZQmC4GKRA9nCzgyVjl2WuQPAI6k_iuAodnYViMIm5_GYIZz77dfOjTy9XNdtjZEaDNilfBpHrK/s1600/P1050695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25aijxgUCTD_FzcajSaFasi3yT_to43sqGKqxoAtYzPsr57hkfhghxRLRlnhV6448FzZQmC4GKRA9nCzgyVjl2WuQPAI6k_iuAodnYViMIm5_GYIZz77dfOjTy9XNdtjZEaDNilfBpHrK/s400/P1050695.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace Corps Philippines - Guimaras crew!</td></tr>
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<br />
In other news, I am still working on my marine protected area project and am planning the trainings for MPA management and an enforcement crew. But we have another joint project coming up to put on an environment camp next month! Stay tuned!<br />
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<br /></div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-8796407806883945382012-03-14T04:44:00.004-07:002012-03-14T07:25:17.720-07:00The Balut Man<div class="MsoNormal">It has been very productive in the Municipality of Jordan lately! Right now the Ordinance to make the new marine protected area into law is at the SB office (town hall of sorts) waiting to be approved! I feel like this is the culmination of the past years work. We started last January 2011 when we did community meetings in all of the coastal barangays. One of the barangays said they wanted a reserve in their community. Since that time there have been coastal assessments, submitted funding proposals, countless community education and information campaigns about marine protection, and finally we have the ordinance ready for approval that officially creates this MPA (marine protected area). Of course the work is far from over. We will be creating a community run MPA management board as well as constructing a guardhouse near the MPA. We also plan on holding trainings on how to perform coastal assessments and deputizing additional Bantay Dagat (type of coast guard) personnel to enforce the MPA. All of these activities are set to happen in the next few months!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/417108_10100357266696598_12700901_47002783_2145851443_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/417108_10100357266696598_12700901_47002783_2145851443_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Community members voting on whether to establish the Marine Protected Area - I think its a go!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">And a few months is all there is left for me here it seems! Time has been flying by and you might think that counting down my last year in the Philippines means wrapping up projects instead of starting new ones… but that’s not how volunteers think. The five of us volunteers on the island of Guimaras are currently working on another project. The three municipalities we all work in have been establishing MPAs similar to the one I have been working on. We have been mainly working with the adults of our coastal communities on these projects so we all thought it might be nice to also include the youth. We submitted a grant to put on two three-day overnight environment camps for the youth of Guimaras, to teach them about marine protection and how they can be actively involved in their communities’ coastal management. Its crunch time so we are trying to finalize the project plans now but I look forward to working with the youth of my community. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mNfEy2q5gPc8oHWTYX3x2xxE3UHZpz7AWKEdcvNbAocwHwja9aezlO_0kO88IcvDF9kY_bebVD4a3j9BG9hrt8zKt_wyW44CjHWaD6TSvTR1nqmO7ZtT7TS8mbh0rYdpa6Nb-Nw4qeBu/s1600/P1040820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0mNfEy2q5gPc8oHWTYX3x2xxE3UHZpz7AWKEdcvNbAocwHwja9aezlO_0kO88IcvDF9kY_bebVD4a3j9BG9hrt8zKt_wyW44CjHWaD6TSvTR1nqmO7ZtT7TS8mbh0rYdpa6Nb-Nw4qeBu/s400/P1040820.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In my down time, some kids from next door came over to watch Finding Nemo on my laptop</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">In other news the volunteers of Region 6 Philippines had a big weekend. The US Embassy has been putting on events in cities around the Philippines called “America in 3D: A roadshow in diplomacy, development and defense.” Last weekend this big event came to Iloilo and the PCVs were asked to lend a hand. The three day event was held at SM City mall and included a line-up of different information and entertainment sessions. Some of the sessions included information about obtaining visas or how to study in the US, while entertainment sessions included hip hop dance lessons and performances by local singers, and by the US 7<sup>th</sup> Fleet Band (they were a big hit singing favorites like Justin Bieber). PC helped out by standing near the “Peace Corps Story Board” to answer questions. We also did a 30 min presentation of sorts on what Peace Corps is. The presentation was all in local dialect and starred yours truly as the host along with three other PCVs. You can see us in action at: <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20842924#cmd=loadSLTs&bcookie=3b1982742bfe2cc54ee5&callbacks=meebo.util.SLTXD.callbacks&callbackId=0&sltKey=slts">http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20842924#cmd=loadSLTs&bcookie=3b1982742bfe2cc54ee5&callbacks=meebo.util.SLTXD.callbacks&callbackId=0&sltKey=slts</a> </div><div class="MsoNormal">(how’s your Ilonggo? – the local dialect spoken in Region 6). We asked the audience questions about the three different PC sectors in the Philippines, followed by a volunteer from each sector explaining it in more detail.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/431403_10100357263308388_12700901_47002761_850745218_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/431403_10100357263308388_12700901_47002761_850745218_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The US 7th Fleet Band kicks off America in 3D in Iloilo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my co-workers and their kids came to support me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of us volunteers and our country director posing by the PC storyboard </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since I am counting down my last year of Peace Corps service, I think its fitting that all further post will end with an aspect of my life here that I will surely miss once I am stateside again...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Things I will miss in the Philippines: the sound of the evening balut guy riding his bicycle and sounding his horn - like the ice cream truck of the Philippines...</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-58354651944875203452012-02-07T21:10:00.000-08:002012-02-07T21:10:08.494-08:00A Tale of Two Buddhas: Part 2<div class="MsoNormal">We arrived in Vietnam utterly exhausted after having little to no sleep at the airport in Bangkok. But as another best friend always told me “you can sleep when you’re dead”(shout out to Katie!) so we decided to push on. After getting our visa on arrival and passing through immigration we decided to go to the tourist information desk and see what they had for us. We knew we wanted to take a trip to Sapa, to see the Hmong villages, and go to Halong Bay, as well as see what Hanoi has to offer, and we only had six days to do it all in! Before the trip we had looked online to see what packages to these places usually cost and what we wanted to do while there. The woman at the tourist desk was very helpful and we ended up booking two tours, starting that night with a night train to Sapa. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we were finishing up booking our travel plans, a German girl approached us saying she was headed to the Old Quarter and, if we were too, would we like to share a taxi. Knowing how expensive taxis can be from the airport to town we happily agreed. So Kelly and I along with our new German friend and a Chinese girl shared a taxi into the city of Hanoi. As it turned out the German girl was a volunteer living just outside of Hanoi teaching English. She was able to give us some useful tips and even showed us around town, pointing out some things to do and where the best bargain shopping was to be found. (I love how you always meet friendly fellow foreigners while traveling!)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since we weren’t spending the night in Hanoi, we dropped our bags off at the tour company and decided to sight see before our night train ride. We grabbed a bite to eat at a local place our German friend recommended since we said we wanted to try pho – the famous noodle dish of Vietnam. It was a local restaurant that served only difference varieties of pho. As I walked into the restaurant a man sitting outside on the ground started touching my shoes and saying something to me in Vietnamese. I was confused then but later learned he wanted to clean my shoes. Everywhere we went people wanted to clean my shoes. My first thought was “are my shoes really that dirty?” but then after talking to other foreigners I discovered that it is just a typical street profession. One Australian girl we met later said a guy took her shoe off mid-step and started cleaning it. another time, while walking around Hanoi Kelly and I saw a man standing on the corner waiting while a young local cleaned his shoes. I looked at him and smiled and he said “eventually I had to give in”… some could be quite persistent.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But at the time of my first shoe cleaning offer I just stepped past the young man in confusion and sat down for my first pho meal. Kelly and I ordered vegetarian pho and a Bia Hanoi Beer. Let me just say, it sounds so simply and probably it is but pho is also very delicious! It was served hot alongside some fried dough for dipping. And yummy! It made both of us into pho lovers!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-fxiQmJvM4uNHsz1Vp_pnCrc-k_fAr6nLuURDHnB5TbcLJH0VIppgPXSDwnQKXZJgIMw2HHqsuOPrGt40lKpZwuGiG-WUkn3cFJ-XZvDmPJHB7kuBRZxqXkWaj_X4IcxyEFmWxLFtpL_/s1600/P1030782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-fxiQmJvM4uNHsz1Vp_pnCrc-k_fAr6nLuURDHnB5TbcLJH0VIppgPXSDwnQKXZJgIMw2HHqsuOPrGt40lKpZwuGiG-WUkn3cFJ-XZvDmPJHB7kuBRZxqXkWaj_X4IcxyEFmWxLFtpL_/s400/P1030782.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first meal in Vietnam!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5LXO1VeEECaUlbb_ysrc-XPmI5fQoF4UHeASUhblZFhZ7QYFdEPyvGen0c6m9TdymlhErFfn4ShZhNClsEA2d2Z8gppJCckVWSvuOd_nVZtF5m-wv1Ji-p5h-5YJw0AVNXXP9osPHR91/s1600/P1030783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5LXO1VeEECaUlbb_ysrc-XPmI5fQoF4UHeASUhblZFhZ7QYFdEPyvGen0c6m9TdymlhErFfn4ShZhNClsEA2d2Z8gppJCckVWSvuOd_nVZtF5m-wv1Ji-p5h-5YJw0AVNXXP9osPHR91/s400/P1030783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moment we both became pho lovers!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After lunch we decided to check out the bargain shopping. It was a bit colder in Vietnam than either one of us expected and we knew it would be much colder in mountains of Sapa where we were headed that night. So Kelly bought some gloves, I bought some socks and we both bought matching hats. (Another good thing about traveling abroad – you can dress ridiculously and it doesn’t really matter.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lIK738SuPFHoFW6a3f9is3pfa2Bbsy0Oi_SZK42m4HDzKIakGXSpPdnh9EewsUPxT8nMyLc78nTARX38c3P9UcUECTW2BbF0GxGinjtg-z3Smeun3z64ti1VeQUlaa37uVksjXpeG9CS/s1600/P1030789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lIK738SuPFHoFW6a3f9is3pfa2Bbsy0Oi_SZK42m4HDzKIakGXSpPdnh9EewsUPxT8nMyLc78nTARX38c3P9UcUECTW2BbF0GxGinjtg-z3Smeun3z64ti1VeQUlaa37uVksjXpeG9CS/s400/P1030789.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shopping alley in Hanoi</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Next we decided to check out the Hoa Lo Prison Museum. As the name suggest it was once a prison used by French colonists to hold political prisoners. The museum was organized nice, and even had English translations under the Vietnamese descriptions (although usually these translations were fraught with grammar mistakes). It was interesting to see the Vietnamese point of view of both the French and American wars with Vietnam. Vietnam is a Communist nation so seeing history of the war from a country where Communism won is a different side than what our American text books taught us. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After the prison we went for a coffee break. Vietnam is said to have great coffee and Kelly and I both agree. Although I am coming from being in a country for over a year where “coffee” means “3-in-1” packs which has coffee listed as the last ingredient….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It finally came time for our night train to Sapa. The tour shuttle picked us up and took us the three blocks (that we easily could have walked) to the train station. It seemed a little chaotic with all of the other travelers around and at one point as we were walking past cargo trains I whispered to Kelly something about hoping they weren’t taking us somewhere to harvest our organs, but we finally boarded the train. (On a side note I really regretted making that comment to Kelly the next day when she told me she had nightmares on the train about waking up in a prison cell…. Sorry Kel.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0K2JaXZ6pjG_kmLQW2pBZ1MiRGpsvhxJLU0SKOFJj80YMzUFVywYGkSo71b31VD2x3LObOpZJA1yktDyEDDNySlQ4YTo6jGzGFB9LCtfya_goxmPiO4pGc5uuMAIRLRdCaG5WAVtLZ-_/s1600/P1030794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0K2JaXZ6pjG_kmLQW2pBZ1MiRGpsvhxJLU0SKOFJj80YMzUFVywYGkSo71b31VD2x3LObOpZJA1yktDyEDDNySlQ4YTo6jGzGFB9LCtfya_goxmPiO4pGc5uuMAIRLRdCaG5WAVtLZ-_/s400/P1030794.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All aboard!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguz0C2Aopy46LJzqklPocwUAdUqed5B6QOdOR0-wjr8zAl-3NtKBmMJorfvKQWtLdMwIA2wq53qviqLKsEmhoGMl-sxr8VBt26_yAx9Prit_XBX_o6fviNJ72YQo1EV3y6xUUHexMqjnIN/s1600/P1030795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguz0C2Aopy46LJzqklPocwUAdUqed5B6QOdOR0-wjr8zAl-3NtKBmMJorfvKQWtLdMwIA2wq53qviqLKsEmhoGMl-sxr8VBt26_yAx9Prit_XBX_o6fviNJ72YQo1EV3y6xUUHexMqjnIN/s400/P1030795.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our sleeper cabin for the night's journey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sapa was COLD. Ok maybe not cold cold but to two girls from the south, and me living the past year in the Philippines, it felt COLD. In Sapa we went on a 8 km hike to the Hmong villages. The Hmong people are one of a few minorities that have lasted through the centuries and kept their culture and heritage, partly due to their living isolated in the mountains. Accompanying us on our walk were some Hmong women and girls. They enjoyed practicing their English with us and we enjoyed asking them questions about their daily lives. When we arrived to the Hmong village we ate lunch and enjoyed the scenery. Although it was a foggy and rainy day, it was still beautiful to see the rice terraces all around. (The terraces are similar to the ones I saw in the mountains of Northern Luzon in the Philippines, which made me curious if these two different cultures invented the type of irrigation system separately or from some common ancestor). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwxPLGpGx80EgRYravzXpheFEi6cCjyyBH_CHFggWJlU_uAYTHkAGJnbs0NSC93JAGvQEBFp78VOHDqYwzpayXUUoab89nyYkAvi1nvfPmf1ypkwN80XFTUsaIcv7gyLDjwwM7vGnBvGn/s1600/P1030798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwxPLGpGx80EgRYravzXpheFEi6cCjyyBH_CHFggWJlU_uAYTHkAGJnbs0NSC93JAGvQEBFp78VOHDqYwzpayXUUoab89nyYkAvi1nvfPmf1ypkwN80XFTUsaIcv7gyLDjwwM7vGnBvGn/s400/P1030798.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hiking companions, some Hmong women and girls.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlVPL8SM-qmPXu5QQo4jhpUUhM_juQ9CUAgm7E5prAeHYrw8udkrFsM05T9fdTyZH718Z7kGSccbSEREzdm1qb0yUUYuqQ0ppyBCwv6st3XlPkE51BlmiW-2UM-86G_HF4A3IoOmMG1Eq/s1600/P1030807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlVPL8SM-qmPXu5QQo4jhpUUhM_juQ9CUAgm7E5prAeHYrw8udkrFsM05T9fdTyZH718Z7kGSccbSEREzdm1qb0yUUYuqQ0ppyBCwv6st3XlPkE51BlmiW-2UM-86G_HF4A3IoOmMG1Eq/s400/P1030807.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rice terraces of Sapa, Vietnam.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">After our lunch we hiked back to the hotel where the only heat to be found came from our electric blanket, brrr! The next day we traveled via shuttle to the Hmong market, where I went picture crazy!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf-wxvGiS4x5DXaMUxXEmlRkwkTDCZfKx2dKcQhyphenhyphenpOaS59Vo1OgqAfT2Y1YeQsYk2cWgzTC8hsqJL3R3mrNaHr6UBT0DZV2TojQFiT9DhvChhemMrNg3FkljjrH0gLyghdiOf38FFcxRE/s1600/P1030819.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf-wxvGiS4x5DXaMUxXEmlRkwkTDCZfKx2dKcQhyphenhyphenpOaS59Vo1OgqAfT2Y1YeQsYk2cWgzTC8hsqJL3R3mrNaHr6UBT0DZV2TojQFiT9DhvChhemMrNg3FkljjrH0gLyghdiOf38FFcxRE/s400/P1030819.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmong women at the Bak Ha Market</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHraHIHQOh4WCTio2DZ5U06gMVKuPbB9vgMHgk_Krf6Y50pdI3miQVGUj2QLc6v_CT4g61xyk1b9ZE20ZGq9PzIPwexHGCYR57IUcyqPsre3J2SkAI52CipOcdd8bODWZc3MTuo9XVWVMB/s1600/P1030821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHraHIHQOh4WCTio2DZ5U06gMVKuPbB9vgMHgk_Krf6Y50pdI3miQVGUj2QLc6v_CT4g61xyk1b9ZE20ZGq9PzIPwexHGCYR57IUcyqPsre3J2SkAI52CipOcdd8bODWZc3MTuo9XVWVMB/s400/P1030821.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kel checking out some souvenirs made by the Hmong people, very colorful!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbppVmfVTX8yeNBs8t_HZn3ARXsdv3E3QLlnYWP2z9XckVPqs0BnNeAnJl-voE90NjHn9pE9ME5kZpOTU_EaokXA4XbA10xoGWF-649F2yZG1EhveIn2hyfNBk8aCzw4m3JMXqGUDVJ8Fn/s1600/P1030831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbppVmfVTX8yeNBs8t_HZn3ARXsdv3E3QLlnYWP2z9XckVPqs0BnNeAnJl-voE90NjHn9pE9ME5kZpOTU_EaokXA4XbA10xoGWF-649F2yZG1EhveIn2hyfNBk8aCzw4m3JMXqGUDVJ8Fn/s400/P1030831.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the hat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFyZtVFW1ks1MCqw6BTF11Qi-vT1-L42GofAljRFBs-bkfRdl8w6Fki2NgmxH0F-Gs1K2l77o_obZN1Eb7Xz0s-cdzgXrwJZm3L7k86bDuITRr5iaNxkCGbbN6Lf1Q3IKO0XyCArShuwS/s1600/P1030833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFyZtVFW1ks1MCqw6BTF11Qi-vT1-L42GofAljRFBs-bkfRdl8w6Fki2NgmxH0F-Gs1K2l77o_obZN1Eb7Xz0s-cdzgXrwJZm3L7k86bDuITRr5iaNxkCGbbN6Lf1Q3IKO0XyCArShuwS/s400/P1030833.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can't leave baby behind on market day!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K1_NiCZTmmlu24NbAsuOrfrJBBXDaIde1mGFd0vjhuJ-EoKO0UkvbyKGCrqxOEZuUoxIoA0WTXUAxVpikZQciTsiEU1Zg4mXdJ1ZUQblKEjIOY_KrS66eExNnaZerO5Pnjk40h-_a0wI/s1600/P1030837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K1_NiCZTmmlu24NbAsuOrfrJBBXDaIde1mGFd0vjhuJ-EoKO0UkvbyKGCrqxOEZuUoxIoA0WTXUAxVpikZQciTsiEU1Zg4mXdJ1ZUQblKEjIOY_KrS66eExNnaZerO5Pnjk40h-_a0wI/s400/P1030837.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaborate jewelry worn by some of the Hmong women</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After the market and dropping by to see the China border (not China Buddha as we thought our Vietnamese guide was saying in heavily accented English), we made our way back to the train station for another night trip.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFpsmih6zg9kGLrjMiX4XnbJnP9B7HUzFkTwTA0drVwbbwF_RmZTc5TheScGaWHdiNE37keBafBD_xP1aVCnHEk_aR3qkx63KAvoPWVIGgYa5W23YQknC5kX5swjU6LO4s_INrLiFLOCW/s1600/P1030856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGFpsmih6zg9kGLrjMiX4XnbJnP9B7HUzFkTwTA0drVwbbwF_RmZTc5TheScGaWHdiNE37keBafBD_xP1aVCnHEk_aR3qkx63KAvoPWVIGgYa5W23YQknC5kX5swjU6LO4s_INrLiFLOCW/s400/P1030856.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">China!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAA6w8i1rzoR0DZXjy8-qxBgk-2j_sbLa5xiS1Py3jRhoCSCQJ6oZPzun5qK9AFNRTtzQ0L3xoLqMvvlEjzVRqxSSaznpk8LDCiWADq5DEHvM1-k6fjZPM6HAa6-pEfhmW_OvTThF1n1e/s1600/P1030860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUAA6w8i1rzoR0DZXjy8-qxBgk-2j_sbLa5xiS1Py3jRhoCSCQJ6oZPzun5qK9AFNRTtzQ0L3xoLqMvvlEjzVRqxSSaznpk8LDCiWADq5DEHvM1-k6fjZPM6HAa6-pEfhmW_OvTThF1n1e/s400/P1030860.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a local beer while waiting for our night train back to Hanoi (not a very good beer, we switched back to Tiger Beer after this one).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjROwr1N48xSwI5CV7I9IZMzgSKpisOecRsbDe9hKjcwQJC2QyQrhG35ZMFajNrQUKbRi4NgSfGXFU38clsQ96_dYMGKoCT_w59tv7Lta8KmCDvzVR9GmkRpj_lPpJI9Fg4b7UXKkYXG3O/s1600/P1030862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjROwr1N48xSwI5CV7I9IZMzgSKpisOecRsbDe9hKjcwQJC2QyQrhG35ZMFajNrQUKbRi4NgSfGXFU38clsQ96_dYMGKoCT_w59tv7Lta8KmCDvzVR9GmkRpj_lPpJI9Fg4b7UXKkYXG3O/s400/P1030862.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The French style architecture around Vietnam</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We arrived back in Hanoi around 4 or 5am. After some difficulty in finding a hotel to stay in we completely passed out for our first good sleep in days. After some well needed rest we went to buy tickets for the Water Puppet Theatre. We heard several travelers say it was a must-do while in Vietnam. Water Puppet shows date back to the 11<sup>th</sup> century where it was used as a way to appease the spirits. The show we went to in Hanoi showed different aspects of Vietnamese life and tradition, but the best thing about the show is the live music! Musicians dressed in cultural wear play traditional Vietnamese instruments, making beautiful music to go along with the puppet show. It is definitely a must see if you are ever in Hanoi! I will add another travel tip while I’m at it; Vietnamese are not the best to haggle with. They expect to get more money from foreigners and no matter what, you will NEVER get the local price. Although Kelly and I both generally prefer to stay away from package tours and travel independently, while in Vietnam I highly recommend it. Otherwise you will end up haggling for every price and still walk away feeling cheated.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H6pEFm6Jyh8u069Vbe17MXxXtOxXruKyfwGObaNeKhVVsapgRh6wDaZTNKrwkm7DuUj_sQV6nJICoMEpc2Zr2D0uucuIbPpyRy4-2563MYQ5Dc9lxN9xR_S9iT63nbGogYSG4LEfyygH/s1600/P1030875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H6pEFm6Jyh8u069Vbe17MXxXtOxXruKyfwGObaNeKhVVsapgRh6wDaZTNKrwkm7DuUj_sQV6nJICoMEpc2Zr2D0uucuIbPpyRy4-2563MYQ5Dc9lxN9xR_S9iT63nbGogYSG4LEfyygH/s400/P1030875.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water puppets!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next morning it was off to Halong Bay. The bay is famous for the thousands of limestone islets that are found there. And of course the best way to see the bay is to spend a night on a ship traveling through it. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and it remained foggy but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the beauty of the bay and kayaking around it. We also went into one of the largest caves I have ever seen!</div><div class="MsoNormal">We only spend one night in Halong Bay before returning to Hanoi and then heading back to Bangkok for our flight to Manila. Our flight to Manila was at midnight (that’s what we get for booking the cheap flights…) so we spent the day in Bangkok, catching up with Ann before we had to leave.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaROn8yvubwvjnOpQ6LqmhCQTdzLy_c1SfI7vLk-NzSWauL1kEFbQEiXvaFo-6anKXVtillANhvA5PxUrV5uioeHxV_PHQL0LBVeNdHAn_YAz2q82hySRqHUHvCQsnKcEQErMQdnGN-C10/s1600/P1030880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaROn8yvubwvjnOpQ6LqmhCQTdzLy_c1SfI7vLk-NzSWauL1kEFbQEiXvaFo-6anKXVtillANhvA5PxUrV5uioeHxV_PHQL0LBVeNdHAn_YAz2q82hySRqHUHvCQsnKcEQErMQdnGN-C10/s400/P1030880.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our over-night vessel around Halong Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRh9YKiYEyhOF-y-lQOvyQwR1LQNw-lM5X9k4oxo-hpqamaRemyxZMrclwj03W1V9Yu2WAd8gvV-ToyFZR-xk7EbFi_oai0syBcdXAk6-i6gtczqcPyQtsBQbSJIdH75CzmbF2P4k61jwl/s1600/P1030892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRh9YKiYEyhOF-y-lQOvyQwR1LQNw-lM5X9k4oxo-hpqamaRemyxZMrclwj03W1V9Yu2WAd8gvV-ToyFZR-xk7EbFi_oai0syBcdXAk6-i6gtczqcPyQtsBQbSJIdH75CzmbF2P4k61jwl/s400/P1030892.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These vendors followed us around trying to sell us snacks and beer. They even came knocking at our cabin windows!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JVCdj4avV6HnOLAYVsOTMhJmrF6wHnG2kl3DXNSFieC5QA81NM4gfXKPxP3DSgsLUM89IyTA_N_Iuut0093mnD0OyEMOKSM9UUNY45dVs5bNsJ9hixlu4JYGd8uhotq2oGmWBc2Aczy7/s1600/P1030907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JVCdj4avV6HnOLAYVsOTMhJmrF6wHnG2kl3DXNSFieC5QA81NM4gfXKPxP3DSgsLUM89IyTA_N_Iuut0093mnD0OyEMOKSM9UUNY45dVs5bNsJ9hixlu4JYGd8uhotq2oGmWBc2Aczy7/s400/P1030907.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside a limestone cave in one of the many islets of Halong Bay</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4SXirrM6cjuj_cnPmf-bLZuyKke3QURJ8YrqDCmZt_t3X3ibbdkVnbE0u1Mf2JeAphxeBHC9mlmmDfPh9HOl_JaVBNRfHB2jBE7yXi6lXSaev3KlrlZ6Vmf7d-rNvJhEZZa06xmaKvyo/s1600/P1030942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4SXirrM6cjuj_cnPmf-bLZuyKke3QURJ8YrqDCmZt_t3X3ibbdkVnbE0u1Mf2JeAphxeBHC9mlmmDfPh9HOl_JaVBNRfHB2jBE7yXi6lXSaev3KlrlZ6Vmf7d-rNvJhEZZa06xmaKvyo/s320/P1030942.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking fun around Halong Bay!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thailand and Vietnam are amazing countries rich in religion, culture and history. It was amazing to see how the two cities of Hanoi and Bangkok have managed to progress into modern cities while still holding on to their culture and preserve their past. Kelly and I were only able to get a small glimpse of what these cultures have to offer but I hope to go back and see more in the future.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Also a note on the "two Buddhas" that I mention in my heading. Both Thailand and Vietnam boast Buddahism as a main religion but looking around the Buddhas both look very differently. The Thai Buddha is tall and regal looking, coming from the Indian influence; whereas the Vietnamese Buddha is fat and happy, coming from the Chinese influence. Both countries have had so much outside influence but have managed to maintain their own identity. Thanks be to Buddha!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Since this post is already longer than l like, I will recap Kelly’s time in the Philippines with a few pictures rather than a bunch more words. After all pictures do say more…..</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the parade at Iloilo City's Dinagyang Festival</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cramming in a jeepney with some fellow PCVs and visiting friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting time in at the beautiful beaches of Guimaras</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">watching a parade for my town's Foundation Day Festival</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hiking to Bula-an Bukid, the highest point of Guimaras</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcEaCg4z5DaPdfhyphenhyphenpZTa1-T0_eJZqnMFDcTDxukZLfvFdHT028NTt470-oDSdHVlmW_aUlEx3zxGetGCy1XEAhBtZqnarx6WUnoVYOHkdQFDYIztc_XtEp5KDp-Iavp6LRZM4sZ_ls7a8/s1600/P1040123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimcEaCg4z5DaPdfhyphenhyphenpZTa1-T0_eJZqnMFDcTDxukZLfvFdHT028NTt470-oDSdHVlmW_aUlEx3zxGetGCy1XEAhBtZqnarx6WUnoVYOHkdQFDYIztc_XtEp5KDp-Iavp6LRZM4sZ_ls7a8/s400/P1040123.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">another hike to a local waterfall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVW4yxVRcFL_cwLNXqcEo2rTD5B6G-bV9GuaxswqDsJttcx165xejUwfbKLYPZ1bWjPzsPh-TDfP9UlmQpsQWQrysd5VoC8msxJgqJa03GBqWIBhXY7OxRh9xBERRKSxM39u7GH1l8sRu/s1600/P1040134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcVW4yxVRcFL_cwLNXqcEo2rTD5B6G-bV9GuaxswqDsJttcx165xejUwfbKLYPZ1bWjPzsPh-TDfP9UlmQpsQWQrysd5VoC8msxJgqJa03GBqWIBhXY7OxRh9xBERRKSxM39u7GH1l8sRu/s400/P1040134.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and finally, a must-do while in the Philippines, a little karaoke -ing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Until next time..... Halong!Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-27241778604853005192012-02-01T02:53:00.000-08:002012-02-01T04:08:20.282-08:00A Tale of Two Buddhas: Part 1<div class="MsoNormal">Well January has really flown by, with Kelly’s visit and with it being festival season once again for Panay and Guimaras Islands. But I finally feel the slow island pace of things again and have time to recount my travels abroad. I have been looking forward to Kelly’s visit since I first found out I was going to the Philippines and she told me she was coming to visit me. I had no doubt in my mind that she would because that is precisely the kind of friend she is (shout out to you, Kel!). Let me first say that planning a trip together when we are literally a world and 12 hours apart is no easy task. But with the help of google chat, email and skype we were able to make it happen!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally the morning came when I arrived in Bangkok. Kelly’s flight wasn’t due in till the late evening time so I decided to head to the Peace Corps office there (fortunately Thailand is a PC country and the main office is in Bangkok). I was hoping to run into some volunteers with helpful tips on where to go in the city and how best to navigate around. Bangkok happens to be the medical hub for all Asia and Eastern Europe volunteers so there are usually people around. Sure enough when I got to the volunteer lounge there were a couple of volunteers. One volunteer in particular had been in Bangkok for almost a month and was nice enough to not only give me some maps and tourist brochures of the city, but she also told me the best things to see and showed me how to navigate the sky train system. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa8Qlkj9N1kmh9d1bcfibmhRex3tWMUgD0Ce87ziriJIIRKkZBAXUJremxUvdxnV0R-X3U9M1mBbYc-n7JCCfmMICe56BnIYlQaJuGZ_8i09TTs8VwnaG7nlsGutzodBKNckAarKYhVjj/s1600/P1030628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa8Qlkj9N1kmh9d1bcfibmhRex3tWMUgD0Ce87ziriJIIRKkZBAXUJremxUvdxnV0R-X3U9M1mBbYc-n7JCCfmMICe56BnIYlQaJuGZ_8i09TTs8VwnaG7nlsGutzodBKNckAarKYhVjj/s400/P1030628.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it to the PC office in Thailand</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was very impressed with the metro in Bangkok; it had several tracks running through the city, cheap fares (around $1 to get to your destination) and had a link straight to the airport. So when it was time for Kelly’s flight to arrive I saved lots of money by taking the train back to the airport instead of another expensive taxi. </div><div class="MsoNormal">It just so happens that one of Kelly’s friends in the States used to work in Thailand and had put us in contact with a friend of his. So I knew when I got to the airport that I should look for a small Thai woman by the name of Ann. Sure enough I saw a woman holding a sign with mine and Kelly’s names on it. I introduced myself and we got to know each other while waiting for Kelly. After waiting what seemed like hours (in actuality probably only 30 min) Kelly finally game out of the terminal! It was almost surreal to see one of my best friends from the States here in Asia with me! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reunited at last!</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ann was very adamant that we stay with her instead of paying for a hotel and she didn’t get much argument from us! She was so hospitable, giving up her bed for us to sleep in while she slept on the couch. She even arranged for one of her best friends to take us sightseeing the next day since she had to work. So the next day Ann introduced us to Ning and we headed to the Grand Palace. Using the sky train and river taxi, we headed out for our day of sightseeing in Bangkok. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_1qinlRuEIVhJKIqytU5I23NxEZ6QiDmxqv0BT_yLGmyuIQAlWbzPAnlhm0jdMsFEjzAj8Fo7_4fOdli06YZVYavgWWQmkSVFROsHpssQwtUJ0ZPNKtxeAjSnK00pdJMvDwzmN21FwJO/s1600/P1030646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_1qinlRuEIVhJKIqytU5I23NxEZ6QiDmxqv0BT_yLGmyuIQAlWbzPAnlhm0jdMsFEjzAj8Fo7_4fOdli06YZVYavgWWQmkSVFROsHpssQwtUJ0ZPNKtxeAjSnK00pdJMvDwzmN21FwJO/s400/P1030646.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">riding the river taxi</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Grand Palace was built in 1782 by King Rama I and its large compound includes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Inside the temple is enshrined the Emerald Buddha, where religious ceremonies are performed. It is a very sacred place and tourists are expected to show respect. You must take your shoes off before entering and no cameras or videos are allowed. Ning explained to us to enter one side and exit the other, walking around the front of the temple to get our shoes instead of just returning the way we came. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The Grand Palace and Temple are beautiful, with large paintings and statues everywhere, covered in gold. The paintings on the walls tell the story of Buddha. There are lots of temples and Buddhas to see around but my favorite was Wat Pho, the gigantic, gold plated, reclining Buddha. It is 46 meters long and 15 meters high with inlaid mother of pearl soles.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elaborate paintings depicting the story of good vs. evil</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guarding the Grand Palace!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLLn1I54bah2uMnj7gq8wr6bW1jLb4FgQ45rVk4BBlIk-siNWc7Ywl0G6U-rs5gtQbl6kmuqafdd0ABKbWgC-CfIFqAgLkBV3Ie46jhe65ji3BMFeaCPDKNMhnEXq8XgJxSH0pzXUzZdJ/s1600/P1030679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLLn1I54bah2uMnj7gq8wr6bW1jLb4FgQ45rVk4BBlIk-siNWc7Ywl0G6U-rs5gtQbl6kmuqafdd0ABKbWgC-CfIFqAgLkBV3Ie46jhe65ji3BMFeaCPDKNMhnEXq8XgJxSH0pzXUzZdJ/s400/P1030679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (sorry no cameras allowed inside)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpvSUmXYAuHDL8b3j27ufHLlUiuQeOWh4KiOOfogTErhCPbcu45rxPP7QRdCijpP5HNK9IS_xCSFVLhmlXJUiokOPxPNWcld2a5p0bvXjcc45gU-IADRC0ZKHKOU1jWAu6_cV9cK8bRLF/s1600/P1030681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMpvSUmXYAuHDL8b3j27ufHLlUiuQeOWh4KiOOfogTErhCPbcu45rxPP7QRdCijpP5HNK9IS_xCSFVLhmlXJUiokOPxPNWcld2a5p0bvXjcc45gU-IADRC0ZKHKOU1jWAu6_cV9cK8bRLF/s400/P1030681.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A monk! These guys are everywhere in Thailand but after being warned by Ning that women are not to be near the Buddhist monks, I made sure to keep my distance and tried to play coy when taking their picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkS8BWoLqtABb8R16WbUfXF5fdYVG3ysN9VM3c71CninJty9U2VMMUvo8Io07TjS1_cdy1ZDfGEVR6gGlNN9g-0dnPppppFXP7BF_A6tlHhlPYpecqsjLerKM_1sU5ybdhWGbPoJGkGxq/s1600/P1030686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkS8BWoLqtABb8R16WbUfXF5fdYVG3ysN9VM3c71CninJty9U2VMMUvo8Io07TjS1_cdy1ZDfGEVR6gGlNN9g-0dnPppppFXP7BF_A6tlHhlPYpecqsjLerKM_1sU5ybdhWGbPoJGkGxq/s400/P1030686.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Grand Palace, where the royal family once lived</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKPggj-qcey_fgnlOWWFPlB0NquQeV-yoCM6TH9Yd0mOYVhDiq-fBWmpbRTOKjpUybbkKJrr9H51AOMeYBrkIdEAz7Tp95o7I62jKvLL6SbHSkuUDz-4srSNyQFze64VdoxQzNWYS44oj/s1600/P1030688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKPggj-qcey_fgnlOWWFPlB0NquQeV-yoCM6TH9Yd0mOYVhDiq-fBWmpbRTOKjpUybbkKJrr9H51AOMeYBrkIdEAz7Tp95o7I62jKvLL6SbHSkuUDz-4srSNyQFze64VdoxQzNWYS44oj/s400/P1030688.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now THAT is a BIG BUDDHA!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hBwKl5ulWPmiLlpRfYTy0nnWkb0wJ6uoa26x4_Sl_owQuSOLLoxRjL08ux7wpOsBbcgZDyi4i1vCj9HSAAYunFA6C0B4wK3pKj3-RAbpQz4m1wZ25S3J-dh0MQ_eVquTKxFRWtsR_Wtu/s1600/P1030696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-hBwKl5ulWPmiLlpRfYTy0nnWkb0wJ6uoa26x4_Sl_owQuSOLLoxRjL08ux7wpOsBbcgZDyi4i1vCj9HSAAYunFA6C0B4wK3pKj3-RAbpQz4m1wZ25S3J-dh0MQ_eVquTKxFRWtsR_Wtu/s400/P1030696.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Buddha, what big feet you have!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On another note, while traveling around Bangkok, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how many portraits of the Thai King we saw. The King is beloved in Thailand and his face is everywhere, in portraits, statues, and all of the paper and coin money. According to Ning, he works very hard for the Thai people and so the people love him and honor him.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HdUBfICQJJuJjZWziSke5nmfa1W7rPsaDYeXaZ2zTSPGaybBOTOmglqJmKMZH6a4_krcy7kTyOSFzZPJhgF-co-UJM2g6IAACWXUdsncCe2KMluJ__bFVbjoF1tiP4sM25iCBRt-hFGv/s1600/P1030633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HdUBfICQJJuJjZWziSke5nmfa1W7rPsaDYeXaZ2zTSPGaybBOTOmglqJmKMZH6a4_krcy7kTyOSFzZPJhgF-co-UJM2g6IAACWXUdsncCe2KMluJ__bFVbjoF1tiP4sM25iCBRt-hFGv/s400/P1030633.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Thai King!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DWOp167jHOrDxuwcy5alMR96dXs91QPIwreGWheVXEhGSThp796b8yd0w6AMGcx-FRDXT0KcskCKIVBYsAPhXxCKSbhQzHBrSNt4DFUlIcLqyzoh9vCusADsoE5JbGG2nzLZdQMuri5o/s1600/P1030634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DWOp167jHOrDxuwcy5alMR96dXs91QPIwreGWheVXEhGSThp796b8yd0w6AMGcx-FRDXT0KcskCKIVBYsAPhXxCKSbhQzHBrSNt4DFUlIcLqyzoh9vCusADsoE5JbGG2nzLZdQMuri5o/s400/P1030634.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There he is again on a billboard...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQbhfY6-Vhyw2PzIx11I_pm95Hj6na6tNSwuimPTk3Nx8W7jLeixo-Ew-kqOX6WfxJmNOrABF3VicJ3mReRCleex3aIQXbHeBlHWKS8TC6CMBSokHFOlkgc7GKOKoZ7hILea5W5xf0nUu/s1600/P1030635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQbhfY6-Vhyw2PzIx11I_pm95Hj6na6tNSwuimPTk3Nx8W7jLeixo-Ew-kqOX6WfxJmNOrABF3VicJ3mReRCleex3aIQXbHeBlHWKS8TC6CMBSokHFOlkgc7GKOKoZ7hILea5W5xf0nUu/s400/P1030635.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and again! He is everywhere!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When we returned from our sightseeing, Kelly and I grabbed a bite at a Thai restaurant in the mall. Kelly had green curry and I had something similar to <i>tom yam kung</i> (prawns in coconut milk). The food was exactly what you think Thai food should be, tasty but oh so spicy. In fact I looked over at Kelly at one point and she had tears coming down her face. Once we ate as much as we could, we met up with Ann and headed back to her apartment. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The next day Ann had volunteered to drive us to the Khao Yai National Park, the first national park in Thailand. It was great to get out of the city, do some hiking and breathe some fresh air. Our first stop in the park was a waterfall. After walking down what seemed like a million steps (not looking forward to the return up) we reached the waterfall. Ann then told us a true story she said all Thai people know. Years ago a family of elephants was crossing the river at the top of the waterfall. A young elephant got stuck on the rocks and was unable to join his family. The older elephants tried to rescue the baby but one after another they slipped and fell to their death at the bottom of the waterfall. The story made headline news all over Thailand, telling about the loving elephant family that died trying to save the baby elephant. As we walked back from the waterfall we passed a small shrine with wooden elephants and incense. Ann said it was for paying respect to the fallen elephant family.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EqyHqKU8jojGguk_sisdovj6Z3qQXd_JL5JzALhUnP8wXl8sd-tAKz5j2lbq3vgBCIBPCJlnw8COAc7cEn7SLarzZ4GO-qcRK9uPHGtc_USkM0NPbhh4ryhmHVC2u58_CvV41ccFaiAD/s1600/P1030710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EqyHqKU8jojGguk_sisdovj6Z3qQXd_JL5JzALhUnP8wXl8sd-tAKz5j2lbq3vgBCIBPCJlnw8COAc7cEn7SLarzZ4GO-qcRK9uPHGtc_USkM0NPbhh4ryhmHVC2u58_CvV41ccFaiAD/s400/P1030710.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road trip!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmU2mtSjakJujsXz1UPwSA_OkIcy9nKeyhT3rZ26r8cOQ1SuhBs8_RW1v40jPWO81WxlMkhpOZwOD1B7sXnFEd15tWC92gfbJ8v0xS6FjpclhPkGQ4zZqDDMm_NGObiPZzYG3kvubX72z/s1600/P1030720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmU2mtSjakJujsXz1UPwSA_OkIcy9nKeyhT3rZ26r8cOQ1SuhBs8_RW1v40jPWO81WxlMkhpOZwOD1B7sXnFEd15tWC92gfbJ8v0xS6FjpclhPkGQ4zZqDDMm_NGObiPZzYG3kvubX72z/s400/P1030720.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shrine for the fallen elephant family.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vWbDKHJD79M4W9VUc7sjBLrLo1fVx5yUQ7jIS8AzPFnyFDM3Vf_gqS-xvSn2isnwpatsp7cZ7v3LdIKuYd1aEMAtOI3suJ2XTxDrwnk49TcARzFuaXowswgWgRqrmiUgz9VcNYfcMfqX/s1600/P1030722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vWbDKHJD79M4W9VUc7sjBLrLo1fVx5yUQ7jIS8AzPFnyFDM3Vf_gqS-xvSn2isnwpatsp7cZ7v3LdIKuYd1aEMAtOI3suJ2XTxDrwnk49TcARzFuaXowswgWgRqrmiUgz9VcNYfcMfqX/s320/P1030722.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our looong walk down to the waterfall.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRjD3EiklR3yG_CFY94A06Ll7F1x2-RXtyw7s5jaYsrVTZrL145EFnj-49z5JcL7UGMRiqlAVlNmOleuBryjuml1v6yGdfAjM89BY8uuMWQ_d68O4HVGvVIZqHp4LhEFnaGpxkLGHwR23/s1600/P1030729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRjD3EiklR3yG_CFY94A06Ll7F1x2-RXtyw7s5jaYsrVTZrL145EFnj-49z5JcL7UGMRiqlAVlNmOleuBryjuml1v6yGdfAjM89BY8uuMWQ_d68O4HVGvVIZqHp4LhEFnaGpxkLGHwR23/s400/P1030729.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful waterfall with a sad history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We continued through the park, stopping to go on a little hike here and there and look for wildlife. Of course Kelly and I wanted to see some elephants, but Ann said it was unlikely during the day since it was too hot. The elephants were known to come out more in the evening time, walking along the road. We did however see birds and lots of monkeys! (Also I go a little crazy for monkeys, I just love ‘em!) </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-1wXiOT7ICQ3M1NyFbeKiwhWp_ypNwH97euCN7Au_THrbjm9eT9C7ZIrp2ccgaMN1jsvhNbdT5QKPrbeP5oqxQsYp9Rj5JsLaD3lxxXHmUypbD-17Fn9s7-i2n7LnoHRCS43eXwMFmJo/s1600/P1030769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-1wXiOT7ICQ3M1NyFbeKiwhWp_ypNwH97euCN7Au_THrbjm9eT9C7ZIrp2ccgaMN1jsvhNbdT5QKPrbeP5oqxQsYp9Rj5JsLaD3lxxXHmUypbD-17Fn9s7-i2n7LnoHRCS43eXwMFmJo/s400/P1030769.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aDV1E91XiVODosUx-bdt_2ERnFmmoXT1eozwiB72Wfrqccb7TplDVR1fXWlRY5WOMKcmKKPi4T4bKbVVU2xxpFdNUMuhhMjrkC5aBEiGhDjFVphtMqDEb2xuS2Wn8vP3dldhPfF6bnJD/s1600/P1030772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4aDV1E91XiVODosUx-bdt_2ERnFmmoXT1eozwiB72Wfrqccb7TplDVR1fXWlRY5WOMKcmKKPi4T4bKbVVU2xxpFdNUMuhhMjrkC5aBEiGhDjFVphtMqDEb2xuS2Wn8vP3dldhPfF6bnJD/s320/P1030772.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More MONKEYS!!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuTRf2fiMIXCpzrLufacUs7KNqjQ0E4O6_pvvx1zqVPCw9z4d8js5hZnpiNBkeya__Ll11FHy5rkeNUiqFP0KrGFvDXUr_06acy4wybuRTiQMbSBpmCpkO_8cDWBVk1OQfJVFrsvhERMn/s1600/P1030773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuTRf2fiMIXCpzrLufacUs7KNqjQ0E4O6_pvvx1zqVPCw9z4d8js5hZnpiNBkeya__Ll11FHy5rkeNUiqFP0KrGFvDXUr_06acy4wybuRTiQMbSBpmCpkO_8cDWBVk1OQfJVFrsvhERMn/s400/P1030773.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">too many monkeys! and they are chasing our car!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After our day at the park Ann took us to a road side eatery where the menu was all in Thai. Ann ordered us a variety of local Thai foods, making sure to tell the waiter not to make it to spicy for her foreigner friends. We had papaya salad, mushroom salad, roasted chicken and soup. It was still a deal spicy but bearable for me and Kelly, however according to Ann the spiciness of the food was “for babies” LOL</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaEZ0fFqd7zpXdFHHsNfyNnnxAzIRzt53H2Oxo0twUIjn7X5XRL5dvcqBXD6yOuKC1avGGO_5KfFCoDrHTEiK0LuuhyphenhyphenxgX88XQx8iDd9RsNCZvIuzY5dvXUiSURh7L6b2S-4RBP7vVL6L/s1600/P1030774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaEZ0fFqd7zpXdFHHsNfyNnnxAzIRzt53H2Oxo0twUIjn7X5XRL5dvcqBXD6yOuKC1avGGO_5KfFCoDrHTEiK0LuuhyphenhyphenxgX88XQx8iDd9RsNCZvIuzY5dvXUiSURh7L6b2S-4RBP7vVL6L/s400/P1030774.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yummy food!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We got back to Ann’s apartment and prepared to leave for the airport. Our flight to Vietnam was at 6am, which meant that in accordance with the ‘get there 3 hours early for an international flight’ rule, we had to be there by 3am. Ann being the nice hospitable person that she is offered to drive is there but we just couldn’t allow it after all she had already done for us. So we opted to take the last metro to the airport at midnight and spend the night in the Suvarnabhumi Airport of Bangkok, where we (embarrassingly) enjoyed our first beer in Thailand.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9x1wk-1CCJapRgwf7OcMiA25fo8iHvfSHHe4mQ6GYstlLSVLjWepkskfujAVp3zW_lKSEyoWh_TeAQ9w-A-IG20BBKw9UlXYQafXtbSHJ1CCFuHqbmfw5rhVrNQUc5_ekzL0zkEr-JVCJ/s1600/P1030777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9x1wk-1CCJapRgwf7OcMiA25fo8iHvfSHHe4mQ6GYstlLSVLjWepkskfujAVp3zW_lKSEyoWh_TeAQ9w-A-IG20BBKw9UlXYQafXtbSHJ1CCFuHqbmfw5rhVrNQUc5_ekzL0zkEr-JVCJ/s400/P1030777.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at last....</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">So that makes quite a long post for now. Tune in next time for our travels to Vietnam in Part 2!</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-77999661605712371492012-01-07T03:35:00.001-08:002012-03-14T07:29:28.938-07:00Party with some Whale SharksNew Years in the Philippines is culturally a family celebration where people stay home, eat and shoot off home-made fire crackers. Of course this differs a lot from the American tradition of going out, staying up late and counting down the New Year. So most volunteers make travel plans to party places in the Philippines. My friends and I decided to spend the weekend in Cebu, an island in the Visayas that none of us have spent much time in. We planned on staying in Cebu City for the big night since there are lots of food and bar options, also hoping to see some good fireworks shows. But Jensen and I decided to head south first for some diving in Moalboal, Cebu.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Its a three hour bus ride to the dive town of Moalboal where the atmosphere is chill with lots of places to eat and drink along the beach, and a dive shop around every bend. The reserve near Moalboal is Pescador Island and we had already decided we wanted one of our dives to be there. But for some reason a lot of the dive shops were not going to the island, even though it was a really close 10 min boat ride away. But after walking around the beach strip we were able to find a shop that would take us for a morning dive to Pescador Island. We also opted for a second dive in the house reef. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The weather was a little gloomy but that wasn't about to stop our dive plans. Despite the overcast and a few showers, visibility was great and we had two fun drift dives. The dives were walls of reef, tons of coral and fish. The highlight of the trip was to see four Green Sea Turtles and a good size frog fish. We didn't have a dive camera but for those that don't know, a frog fish is one ugly creature! However it is really neat to see on a dive. Below is a picture I pulled off the internet just to give you an idea of what we saw:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jl4XRpikgdE/TwP4ZxC1WbI/AAAAAAAAAWU/L6V_Z0epz3Y/s1600/Frog_fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jl4XRpikgdE/TwP4ZxC1WbI/AAAAAAAAAWU/L6V_Z0epz3Y/s400/Frog_fish.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He thinks he is camouflage... the one we saw was actually sitting on a coral that resembled his colors. I think this one is confused...<br />
(Pic: scubatravel.co.uk)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div>I really enjoyed the dive town of Moalboal (called Pangasama beach by the locals). The atmosphere was really chill and quiet. There were a lot of foreigners there, some just visiting and others liked it so much they live there now. It is a nice beach strip with seafood restaurants and bars on the water but still has a small town feel, unlike the over populated and overcrowded Boracay. It was a great morning of diving in Moalboal but our adventure was not over yet!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xvylNZFXkfc/TwQDLQlaoWI/AAAAAAAAAXY/co3VLc_Uyag/s1600/P1030544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xvylNZFXkfc/TwQDLQlaoWI/AAAAAAAAAXY/co3VLc_Uyag/s400/P1030544.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading to Pescador Island reserve.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0jWA5QlKOy8/TwQDnibNheI/AAAAAAAAAXg/orxQdhLBpks/s1600/P1030548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0jWA5QlKOy8/TwQDnibNheI/AAAAAAAAAXg/orxQdhLBpks/s400/P1030548.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had a great time with Nelson's Scuba!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div>When we had walked around to find the dive shop, we kept hearing word that there were Whale Sharks at a small town on the other side of the island. Most people head to Bicol to swim with whale sharks in the Philippines but it's a long ways away and we hadn't made the trip yet (its around a 12 hour bus ride from Manila). But this town was just on the other side of Cebu from where we were. After our dive we headed back to Cebu City to meet up with our other friends, but on the way we decided that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to snorkel with whale sharks when they were so close to where we were.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In case you don't know, whale sharks are sharks and not whales. They grow very large, with the largest documented whale shark being over 12 meters (36 ft), making them literally the largest fish in the sea. These massive fish, despite being part of the shark family, are actually gentle giants that are filter feeders. Because they are so large but eating such small food, they move quite slowly. Snorkeling with whale sharks has become a popular tourist attraction and has been on my 'bucket list' of Philippine activities for a while.<br />
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So after having dinner with friends in the city, and getting a few hours of sleep, we got up and headed out on a 4am bus (the whale sharks are only out feeding in the morning hours). We rode a packed bus, standing room only, for three hours, as we headed back down south. The driver knew right where to drop us off for the whale sharks (where all the foreigners were headed haha). We brought our own snorkel and mask but rented fins and paid a small fee that goes to the local fisherfolk.<br />
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The whale sharks showed up in this small town two months ago when fishermen were out in the early morning trying to make a catch. They were very surprised when this big shark bumped against their boat trying to get the small shrimp the fishmen use for bait. At first the whale sharks were seen as a nuisance but then the locals realized that they had a great tourist attraction in their waters. So they have been getting the word out the sharks are there, enticing tourist to come snorkel.<br />
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Jensen and I headed out to the water and were amazed at these huge and beautiful creatures! They move slow and gracefully through the water, sometimes surprising us as they swam underneath. It was an amazing experience that I am sure I will never forget!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmQHNRl59yE/TwP90wRtp0I/AAAAAAAAAWg/7elfxkEvtNs/s1600/DSC02984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UmQHNRl59yE/TwP90wRtp0I/AAAAAAAAAWg/7elfxkEvtNs/s400/DSC02984.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were the "little guys" at around 4 m.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7GeyPhKMDQ/TwP-MuKgCRI/AAAAAAAAAWo/QqM-LqqscKM/s1600/DSC02985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O7GeyPhKMDQ/TwP-MuKgCRI/AAAAAAAAAWo/QqM-LqqscKM/s400/DSC02985.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am swimming with the biggest fish in the sea!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9fcZSvqC14/TwP-i57xGKI/AAAAAAAAAWw/DOfWDWTRqvo/s1600/DSC02987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M9fcZSvqC14/TwP-i57xGKI/AAAAAAAAAWw/DOfWDWTRqvo/s400/DSC02987.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One big shark!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="text-align: left;">After our adventure with the whale sharks we made it back to the city utterly exhausted. And of course New Years Eve was upon us so we rested up with a 4 hour nap before getting ready to hit the town and bring in the new year!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tb9HpCHETU/TwQBH59pHKI/AAAAAAAAAW8/V5ZZyTOU3DM/s1600/P1030566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><br />
<img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tb9HpCHETU/TwQBH59pHKI/AAAAAAAAAW8/V5ZZyTOU3DM/s400/P1030566.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a great view from the top of Cebu City to see all of the hundreds of fireworks shows down below!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> It was lots of fun celebrating the new year with good friends in a big city. The volunteers who have become my friends over the past year are my friends for life. We are able to share all of our frustrations, stresses, experiences and celebrations with each other and have become more like family. I don't know how I would get through all of the ups and downs of this experience abroad without them and I look forward to another year together serving in Peace Corps Philippines.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--LmaXfjVTWQ/TwQBj6eTZWI/AAAAAAAAAXE/kRWWsY-fE4s/s1600/P1030578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--LmaXfjVTWQ/TwQBj6eTZWI/AAAAAAAAAXE/kRWWsY-fE4s/s400/P1030578.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guimaras volunteers celebrating the New Year!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k8pUhfN9fus/TwQBxnkRTdI/AAAAAAAAAXM/0RTrxD_jHZ8/s1600/P1030581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k8pUhfN9fus/TwQBxnkRTdI/AAAAAAAAAXM/0RTrxD_jHZ8/s400/P1030581.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks! Happy New Year!</td></tr>
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So I hope everyone had a very happy New Year! I look forward to 2012, and all the experiences that await me!<br />
Next week I leave for Thailand and Vietnam! I will be sure to post when I get back about my adventures!</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-30859774905109851352012-01-03T22:15:00.000-08:002012-01-03T22:15:02.308-08:00Diciembrye sa GuimbalWow this holiday season really flew by! Since I am on my last year here in the Philippines, I really want to make the most of every moment. Christmas last year was still new to me with culture and food and the language but this year I have a better understanding of the culture here so I feel I am able to participate more in the traditions instead of being a bystander. Christmas in the Philippines really is more about the weeks leading up to Christmas day. There are lots of fiestas and Christmas parties and of course lots of food!.<br />
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My LGU (local government unit where I work) held a Christmas party the Thursday before Christmas weekend. There were lots of Christmas decorations everywhere, especially the star lanterns that are so popular here. This year Stacey (the other volunteer at my site) and I were asked to prepare the games for the Christmas party. Because it can be difficult to explain a game in another language, we decided to use a lot of Filipino party games that people are familiar with but also add a little bit of new games we know from the States.<br />
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A classic Filipino game is 'longest line' where there are two teams that must make the longest line they can in a given time by using only things they are wearing. It is pretty funny to watch as people take off shoes, belts, jewelry and anything else they can use to add length to their line.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--60GxY1ubFU/TwPeW45SbbI/AAAAAAAAAUE/muHlDu0OQvY/s1600/P1030399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--60GxY1ubFU/TwPeW45SbbI/AAAAAAAAAUE/muHlDu0OQvY/s400/P1030399.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the line long!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lCL50Qn4H6I/TwPe1j9KB4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/bVPcXxnHVuc/s1600/P1030402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lCL50Qn4H6I/TwPe1j9KB4I/AAAAAAAAAUM/bVPcXxnHVuc/s400/P1030402.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These lines even made it outside the building!</td></tr>
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Another one of my favorites to watch the employees play was the 'hoola-hoop' game. In this game the teams had to pass the hoola-hoop down their team line without breaking hands. There were a lot of nice moves going on to get the hoola-hoop around their body and on to the next person in the line. And some of my co-workers were on the winning team!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrM1WJp2IE0/TwPf9dL_KaI/AAAAAAAAAUY/t4yNJsS_h2M/s1600/P1030456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nrM1WJp2IE0/TwPf9dL_KaI/AAAAAAAAAUY/t4yNJsS_h2M/s400/P1030456.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">moving that hoola-hoop down the line!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xj5hZGtzoP0/TwPga5hwn4I/AAAAAAAAAUg/HuiXji01lRc/s1600/P1030457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xj5hZGtzoP0/TwPga5hwn4I/AAAAAAAAAUg/HuiXji01lRc/s400/P1030457.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">he must have some great dance moves too</td></tr>
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All in all I think everyone enjoyed the games and Stacey and I enjoyed putting them on.<br />
Next was time for food! My office bought a '<i>baboy lechon</i>' or roasted pig! It is a favorite party food and can feed a LOT of people. There were also the Filipino staples of rice, milkfish, and pancit noodles. I made some deviled eggs, which my co-workers had never tasted before but seemed to like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_DBjfA9WBss/TwPhXzwUnaI/AAAAAAAAAUs/-nJoRBylcEU/s1600/P1030393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_DBjfA9WBss/TwPhXzwUnaI/AAAAAAAAAUs/-nJoRBylcEU/s400/P1030393.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">posing with my co-workers' kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSXtTudksio/TwPh1O7IZCI/AAAAAAAAAU0/JmGivJc6gmQ/s1600/P1030426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qSXtTudksio/TwPh1O7IZCI/AAAAAAAAAU0/JmGivJc6gmQ/s400/P1030426.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">time to butcher the baboy lechon!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtQ5o02U5GI/TwPiSOdhsWI/AAAAAAAAAU8/HQBCi4s78os/s1600/P1030434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtQ5o02U5GI/TwPiSOdhsWI/AAAAAAAAAU8/HQBCi4s78os/s400/P1030434.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the food line in my office</td></tr>
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After lunch we all hung out in the office, chatting and playing card games. One of my favorite Filipino past times (besides singing kareoke) is to play <i>tongits</i>, a Filipino card game. It is somewhat similar to rummy but with an added betting element. I really enjoy playing with my co-workers even when I end up loosing 20 pesos ( I can just make it back the next game).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppjg8vwZqDc/TwPjhFgJ0cI/AAAAAAAAAVI/mr5GRtd3WHg/s1600/P1030438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ppjg8vwZqDc/TwPjhFgJ0cI/AAAAAAAAAVI/mr5GRtd3WHg/s400/P1030438.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">playing tongits in the office</td></tr>
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Christmas in the 'Pines really culminates on Christmas Eve when everyone goes to midnight mass and then comes back for a late night fiesta. Last year I went with my host family but this year I decided to head to Guimbal (the site of Elliott) for the <i>Diciembrye sa Guimbal</i> Festival. It is a week long festival that Guimbal puts on every year. The entire lawn of the Municipal Building is covered in lights and every night there is lots of food, drinks and dancing!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MT-XlHYYQqI/TwPkV6UyO6I/AAAAAAAAAVU/VgOEus85OIE/s1600/P1030508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MT-XlHYYQqI/TwPkV6UyO6I/AAAAAAAAAVU/VgOEus85OIE/s400/P1030508.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lights lights everywhere!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Elliott's parents were visiting from the states and they treated us to dinner. It was really nice to have that added American family, especially during the holidays when we are all missing our own families so much.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-McsfB5IuCD0/TwPkw8xp8ZI/AAAAAAAAAVc/VGFPzXo06ck/s1600/P1030524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-McsfB5IuCD0/TwPkw8xp8ZI/AAAAAAAAAVc/VGFPzXo06ck/s400/P1030524.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dinner with the PC family (plus E's parents)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> On Christmas day we were invited to Elliott's host family for lunch. They prepared a big spread of Elliott's favorite Filipino foods. There were also three cakes in celebration of the family birthdays in December.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HEzRLpztsa4/TwPlLtxmNLI/AAAAAAAAAVk/1qYVCcLBudE/s1600/P1030526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HEzRLpztsa4/TwPlLtxmNLI/AAAAAAAAAVk/1qYVCcLBudE/s400/P1030526.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lola (grandma) seems to be guarding the cake...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zXH_Q1ooPl4/TwPlpUHNUaI/AAAAAAAAAVs/y1gZPcprIDE/s1600/P1030527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zXH_Q1ooPl4/TwPlpUHNUaI/AAAAAAAAAVs/y1gZPcprIDE/s400/P1030527.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our American-Filipino Christmas Family</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After our Christmas lunch we hung out with the family and played with the kids as they opened their Christmas presents.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gA8SqHj2HQ0/TwPqjmlRNVI/AAAAAAAAAV4/Lzd3Qf6HJSE/s1600/P1030530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gA8SqHj2HQ0/TwPqjmlRNVI/AAAAAAAAAV4/Lzd3Qf6HJSE/s400/P1030530.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Renz thinks Ty is a mountain to climb</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IWtwEPE0w68/TwPrDpw8ZRI/AAAAAAAAAWA/y7QwvrOsOkg/s1600/P1030537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IWtwEPE0w68/TwPrDpw8ZRI/AAAAAAAAAWA/y7QwvrOsOkg/s400/P1030537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids playing with their new toys</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ4ROa96XiM/TwPrekZbFJI/AAAAAAAAAWI/71ZNQRxNwxo/s1600/P1030538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QQ4ROa96XiM/TwPrekZbFJI/AAAAAAAAAWI/71ZNQRxNwxo/s400/P1030538.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Renz is so happy to wear his Georgia shirt, xmas gifr from Elliott's parents</td></tr>
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So that was my last Christmas in the Philippines! Stay tuned for a recap on my New Years adventure complete with Whale Sharks!Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703852574139253293.post-49822678335742312112011-12-09T02:48:00.000-08:002011-12-09T03:08:33.823-08:00New Heights<div class="MsoNormal">Let me preface this by saying that although I am an Environmentalist and I love being outdoors, the longest hike or camping trip I have been on is a couple nights and not too difficult of a hike (mostly in the coastal Carolinas). But I have always wanted to go on what I deem a “real hiking trip” - up a mountain and far from roads or cars or any other chances of escape. So when another volunteer suggested we go on a week-long vacation after MST (Mid Service Training) and hike Mt. Amuyao in the Mountain Province of Northern Luzon, I decided it was my time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But let me back up for a second….</div><div class="MsoNormal">It is a PC Philippines tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving in the mountain village of Sagada. It takes a 12 hour bus ride to get to from Manila, so not every volunteer makes it there. Last year I was too new at site and it was just too far to travel. But this year I decided I needed to take part in the tradition and experience the cold weather of Northern Luzon. The other reason for making the long trip is a chance to see the famous rice terraces, considered a staple stop for tourist visiting the Philippines. The most popular place to go to see these rice terraces is Banaue, Ifugao. Most people take a short day hike around Batad to see the terraces…. but we (five of us volunteers) decided to go off the beaten track.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our journey began with a 10 hour night bus to Banaue to meet up with our guides. Then we took a jeepney ride to Mayoyao, only 44 km away but the winding and unpaved mountain roads made the trip a 5 hour ride. It sounds grueling but the view along the way is spectacular! By far the best jeepney ride I have had! We had a fantastic view of the mountains and rice terraces. The rice terraces of Mayoyao are said to be over 2000 years old!</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwEXboL-niB4FXmP3VgeHRbN6wUF_QvwY8Sb9Oc4qIUQX_6siisBY2nfbzf6EWC28Li47eCj_Nf48jY-OoYSa3Lryz6XdVVNeZ8sQ76LzXRwvrFktdj3FQ4Mj1dDGBfMsTQA6y94_Qmyk/s1600/P1030008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixwEXboL-niB4FXmP3VgeHRbN6wUF_QvwY8Sb9Oc4qIUQX_6siisBY2nfbzf6EWC28Li47eCj_Nf48jY-OoYSa3Lryz6XdVVNeZ8sQ76LzXRwvrFktdj3FQ4Mj1dDGBfMsTQA6y94_Qmyk/s400/P1030008.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rice Terraces of Banaue</td></tr>
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We spent the night at the Barangay Captain’s house before setting out the next day. Part of the experience of hiking in the Philippines is the Filipino hospitality. When we got into town, our guides (who speak the local dialect) asked around for a place for us to stay. It never took long for them to find a family that was more than happy to have us spend the night, offering up the best they had.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_ULvqERtn6ciCbizPoCPl8eEr_Lma9rRys4jq9iS4FqFxVe9jxhXnej6uAcswWB9j5axm5AQomcVq28El5x14iA_PZKMb9gQ8lYxeEv04xEY6VofXCJ0ZoWR76jXSoGzSD8uqJa9WTFy/s1600/P1030067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_ULvqERtn6ciCbizPoCPl8eEr_Lma9rRys4jq9iS4FqFxVe9jxhXnej6uAcswWB9j5axm5AQomcVq28El5x14iA_PZKMb9gQ8lYxeEv04xEY6VofXCJ0ZoWR76jXSoGzSD8uqJa9WTFy/s400/P1030067.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Barangay Captain and his family where we stayed our first night.</td></tr>
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Staying with a local family is another way to get to know the people and culture. My batch of PCVs is mostly in the Visayas (the middle part of the Philippines made up of all the smaller islands). Since these islands of the Visayas are smaller, most of the towns are coastal or have pretty easy access to the coastline. Therefore fishing is a major part of the culture. In the past year we have gotten to know this culture pretty well and often make the mistake of generalizing the Philippine culture as the culture we are familiar with. But our trek through the mountains gave us all a glimpse of a completely difference Filipino culture. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAr-DgggjSVFFcG4576UKsekfDLONuXuNP0OUVjZXMB_t8Ywf-02zZxBq6ATEwVP8dSUofv44d3190mhyphenhyphen4XchES7g17SVl6O9M8ozp6KYMip5QCTOlKfV4pyHxNLoi1fRDCFADww4Z0JA/s1600/P1030144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAr-DgggjSVFFcG4576UKsekfDLONuXuNP0OUVjZXMB_t8Ywf-02zZxBq6ATEwVP8dSUofv44d3190mhyphenhyphen4XchES7g17SVl6O9M8ozp6KYMip5QCTOlKfV4pyHxNLoi1fRDCFADww4Z0JA/s400/P1030144.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our guides preparing the chicken for dinner.</td></tr>
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The mountain villages are so isolated that they have their own culture. And instead of fish being the main source of food and income, rice is the cash crop. Every mountain village has its own beautiful array of rice terraces up and down the mountain side. And the people there not only speak a different language, but they have an entirely different way of life, from the way they build their houses, to the way they prepare their food.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our hike from Mayoyao took us 6 hours through the mountains, following around the mountain sides and to the town of Pat-yay, where we stayed the night with another generous Filipino family. We even bought one of their chickens to slaughter and eat for dinner (our guide did the food preparation part while us volunteers watched). This small town is home to barely 100 people and has no electricity. The only way in and out is the hike that we traveled to get there. The bathroom was a log on the edge of a wall (so you squat with your behind over the log and do your business… and try not to look on the other side because it’s not pretty). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReDk8SQTd-lqqr60E-fZ9BR6TwW0VY23GYGIfJJAw89-uzp-E0cqrV1UaOKWcstCKJzHVKy0eVxIXWIJStKnl29z1H6WP6HtUcnypI8C4k-Yu70_4h9xyjF6FEsQs5LK0Reo64MqiNN4N/s1600/PB200258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReDk8SQTd-lqqr60E-fZ9BR6TwW0VY23GYGIfJJAw89-uzp-E0cqrV1UaOKWcstCKJzHVKy0eVxIXWIJStKnl29z1H6WP6HtUcnypI8C4k-Yu70_4h9xyjF6FEsQs5LK0Reo64MqiNN4N/s320/PB200258.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking along the terraces.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6hrKrlPyhYpVv7uOMt9IQ73ygYXWKIaDO6HTmDLtXBy-nAcdqkvIpDps3CQ5uDN996oMaordFRc2noEzQTg8ckwNouqTFvfRCpb6Ov9Tvu1LveFMDGJn8LGvcg8gl5obrFHGb3J5JsSG/s1600/PB210292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn6hrKrlPyhYpVv7uOMt9IQ73ygYXWKIaDO6HTmDLtXBy-nAcdqkvIpDps3CQ5uDN996oMaordFRc2noEzQTg8ckwNouqTFvfRCpb6Ov9Tvu1LveFMDGJn8LGvcg8gl5obrFHGb3J5JsSG/s400/PB210292.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a short rest..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The next day we hiked 7 hours up to the summit of Mt. Amuyao, 2702m (over 8,000 ft). The trail is not used often so it was a challenge, along with the cold weather, off-and-on rain, and wet ground. But we made it before sunset and the clouds cleared just in time for us to take pictures of our accomplishment. The view was breathtaking! Mountains as far as the eye could see, a truly amazing scene.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSX2H6vfK2oug9VB3YTg3OH7KB3v-wvVLMQVFqbNfLjuxNqwpgQNAykJQXbGFynW5t70gVWEyvloGSnRyyOQo65we69zagvJGGiyng_X0Uq-Zcm76mnUtzzY7elycC5OyrdqDC3caQpc1/s1600/PB210349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSX2H6vfK2oug9VB3YTg3OH7KB3v-wvVLMQVFqbNfLjuxNqwpgQNAykJQXbGFynW5t70gVWEyvloGSnRyyOQo65we69zagvJGGiyng_X0Uq-Zcm76mnUtzzY7elycC5OyrdqDC3caQpc1/s400/PB210349.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail had a lot of fallen logs to go under... not my favorite part.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T1VooarqcxLVZMlogbvkggl3QXwC9MnGwWI3bUZNv65CrdP-rb0eOV6WGW2LPnznN52HZBsx2I4JUepSz9JnGt3QlmnGyu4NrWBAsDR8SXblX72vGmveinT1vVf7pwUKL6uAqLK_Dc-z/s1600/P1030167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4T1VooarqcxLVZMlogbvkggl3QXwC9MnGwWI3bUZNv65CrdP-rb0eOV6WGW2LPnznN52HZBsx2I4JUepSz9JnGt3QlmnGyu4NrWBAsDR8SXblX72vGmveinT1vVf7pwUKL6uAqLK_Dc-z/s400/P1030167.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it to the top!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRJIDMina04TtwN4zBTFnm2LUNHTMT3j3Ze4MhOjqdVVT5K7zdT5-lON8YuosAJRRqhWSZB7IWlnF1fI-wdEeSleonXWrqMHd4rYFaEetuWGTLEfw4tv-Xr2wh65ipxCTQv50jgnryeHR/s1600/P1030171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikRJIDMina04TtwN4zBTFnm2LUNHTMT3j3Ze4MhOjqdVVT5K7zdT5-lON8YuosAJRRqhWSZB7IWlnF1fI-wdEeSleonXWrqMHd4rYFaEetuWGTLEfw4tv-Xr2wh65ipxCTQv50jgnryeHR/s400/P1030171.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
There is a radio tower at the top that is manned by two guards. There is also an old building with a bathroom, kitchen and two rooms, complete with fireplace. And since the weather was cold and getting colder as the night set, we made a fire and dried our socks and shoes for the next days hike down. (It was refreshing but also kinda strange to be so cold in the Philippines.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9YYvT6IMqVYFtJXoKVWj-0RBdoQmX8yP_WAD4CIGuAGPFIX0DM8QQ4q8pMJnxDulp21gANlB80stUIJUizThmYdVt2luj-RELTo-1hVEsoavx_AnCbsnaF0Zzp-s2HxkOo3dLo3h4xsY/s1600/P1030173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR9YYvT6IMqVYFtJXoKVWj-0RBdoQmX8yP_WAD4CIGuAGPFIX0DM8QQ4q8pMJnxDulp21gANlB80stUIJUizThmYdVt2luj-RELTo-1hVEsoavx_AnCbsnaF0Zzp-s2HxkOo3dLo3h4xsY/s400/P1030173.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our "home" on top of the mountain..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oBEg0DUtrDKeLHx59z2xA13Qssc2YqypgsEM7E56SByXsDvFaE4enZSeWn4d3EPQCc4q2mzQx1siK_EpJGnQc3UdnnkMjDkoHhXX6iiyyuisgsa26o8blPw626l4JVPyvnLk1Z-z_7JH/s1600/P1030186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oBEg0DUtrDKeLHx59z2xA13Qssc2YqypgsEM7E56SByXsDvFaE4enZSeWn4d3EPQCc4q2mzQx1siK_EpJGnQc3UdnnkMjDkoHhXX6iiyyuisgsa26o8blPw626l4JVPyvnLk1Z-z_7JH/s400/P1030186.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the stockings were hung by the... no wait, wrong story..</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Our decent the next day took around 4 hours to get to the town of Burlig.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2703852574139253293&postID=4982267833574231211&from=pencil" name="_GoBack"></a> The way down the mountain towards Burlig is the most common trek to the mountain top and as we hiked down we were passed by workers carrying supplies up. It was mind boggling to see these older men carrying jugs of water and gasoline up and down the mountain! I was going slow and shaky down the wet and slippery steps but they went up and down so quickly, making it look so easy!<br />
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My legs were tired and my feet hurt but I made it back down the mountain. It was an amazing hike and I will definitely remember it forever!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAlnEBgWhM_CsxH1lNvKs2irV9KKGJ7_6UqKnxDz6jipWkoPyDbZPMZMvQMSKX010bzayeblxJZ9b6FD86dVThE5sfIU8sbCtRX0OtSZNXXDgMaAivvfMC8rhortbe4DBHU_6jHMbjWYW/s1600/P1030217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAlnEBgWhM_CsxH1lNvKs2irV9KKGJ7_6UqKnxDz6jipWkoPyDbZPMZMvQMSKX010bzayeblxJZ9b6FD86dVThE5sfIU8sbCtRX0OtSZNXXDgMaAivvfMC8rhortbe4DBHU_6jHMbjWYW/s320/P1030217.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made it to the town of Burlig.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Once we finally made it down, we thanked our guides who then accompanied us to Sagada for our PC Thanksgiving Day. There were around 25 volunteers there, which really made it a nice celebration. Here are a few photos from our PC Philippines Thanksgiving.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQRDs9qPui1NaZCNWPAUc2sZ4Ftz7ye4P1jOyIqutysXLuv69p960H1LKeca0VJbw8T7yC2CrLdnVwvV-R66yxOheV5n1vcuU4RyoKqMHv8UTDfJO9Aj_nLXAA4x-fbYMyMYYFkdjZC41/s1600/P1030231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQRDs9qPui1NaZCNWPAUc2sZ4Ftz7ye4P1jOyIqutysXLuv69p960H1LKeca0VJbw8T7yC2CrLdnVwvV-R66yxOheV5n1vcuU4RyoKqMHv8UTDfJO9Aj_nLXAA4x-fbYMyMYYFkdjZC41/s320/P1030231.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chicken being prepared for Thanksgiving dinner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CJVT5mOK6J6D65KEStOOw4cZWeqLvRxFjjkUYS-xuQVkqcpSOpj2yZfFEOM6CIGeq0WSV6KjkrGagRAo7RHLfo2EbToBJB_yJH_8J18VkyKqzEFOpewjXohxMlsVvkHO1pfX6hH8hTVI/s1600/P1030234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CJVT5mOK6J6D65KEStOOw4cZWeqLvRxFjjkUYS-xuQVkqcpSOpj2yZfFEOM6CIGeq0WSV6KjkrGagRAo7RHLfo2EbToBJB_yJH_8J18VkyKqzEFOpewjXohxMlsVvkHO1pfX6hH8hTVI/s400/P1030234.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The turkey waiting his turn....</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgsXKS7mCn0-X4oXpvmIQjnVdH-Adjfdd7E2JDll-CurRyspgGRF2q6LPYGlEjNcTt0QdGGrj1W8-LiwgA6cJLuXsj9Fda_8WitJBhEP1hqfbojdWqN4dmpJpiPaEgwAShhbw9I_OjNnf/s1600/P1030269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgsXKS7mCn0-X4oXpvmIQjnVdH-Adjfdd7E2JDll-CurRyspgGRF2q6LPYGlEjNcTt0QdGGrj1W8-LiwgA6cJLuXsj9Fda_8WitJBhEP1hqfbojdWqN4dmpJpiPaEgwAShhbw9I_OjNnf/s400/P1030269.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sagada bags - hand made bags that have become a trademark of the mountain town.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN49ZRZm43s5WMdoPsMTzGNZs96vmxSTPgn12KVuMubFU_0Q72wiKgQHxUbU8ehh6wdjuxjh2sBRqlFooxCM9JSO3mawpsm47cMzvjhBXrf72qDBee3Vu5Vcyd6r21o-EHbci-p-QGB6kp/s1600/P1030270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN49ZRZm43s5WMdoPsMTzGNZs96vmxSTPgn12KVuMubFU_0Q72wiKgQHxUbU8ehh6wdjuxjh2sBRqlFooxCM9JSO3mawpsm47cMzvjhBXrf72qDBee3Vu5Vcyd6r21o-EHbci-p-QGB6kp/s400/P1030270.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local women weave the fabric for the Sagada bags. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7b-INg0dXusPjSR856izEHZJQB44-EC3D_msLXz38s9tIOQgvPGLQ-O3cZUzbI2G1z1zsVzMDWJVGDgKpC0sLcYrOK0VJoGgAI0rItZBWut1n3GpU43SuVKkl_TQTHktrnRACornI_rOp/s1600/P1030273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7b-INg0dXusPjSR856izEHZJQB44-EC3D_msLXz38s9tIOQgvPGLQ-O3cZUzbI2G1z1zsVzMDWJVGDgKpC0sLcYrOK0VJoGgAI0rItZBWut1n3GpU43SuVKkl_TQTHktrnRACornI_rOp/s400/P1030273.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting the Thanksgiving birds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFlOMUQeY4iyTjJCtq6bcjihjgeavhIVLdVCVo4_4vp8GuFmksFCOAPJXXbQmx423tCYUHLCMu8-Ukhc-kRhKe54my5VTwNOZiAUw_XI396xJlDmc3_dAadHvUDOqIhL_WYExRB3lZw5h/s1600/P1030282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFlOMUQeY4iyTjJCtq6bcjihjgeavhIVLdVCVo4_4vp8GuFmksFCOAPJXXbQmx423tCYUHLCMu8-Ukhc-kRhKe54my5VTwNOZiAUw_XI396xJlDmc3_dAadHvUDOqIhL_WYExRB3lZw5h/s320/P1030282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of yummy Thanksgiving foods made by PCVs.</td></tr>
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I had an amazing trip to the mountains of Luzon and would recommend any traveler to the Philippines to visit the Mountain Provinces and see another part of the Filipino culture. It was a challenging trip but worth every moment!<br />
<br />
Happy Holidays everyone!<br />
<br />
p.s. Thanks to I.A. for sharing his pictures with me. We both ended up having lots of pictures of each other but none of ourselves since we were usually in front of or behind one another on the trail. So thanks for swapping pics with me :)</div>Stefaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08109536899723899839noreply@blogger.com3