A hop, a skip, and a jump later...

A hop across the Atlantic, a skip through London, and a jump off the Virgin Atlantic plane, I arrived at Delhi International Airport! 29 hours of travel time is rough, but seems like so long ago already...

The first 10 hour journey was tolerable due to the excitement of leaving. Bridesmaids and X-men: First Class kept me entertained for a couple hours while a glass of wine mellowed out the ride.

The 10 hour layover in London was awesome due to Grace's presence. Rode the tube to Grace's school and watched her slice open a rat and snip its kidneys in the lab. We caught up on our last year of life over a frittata and a quesadilla while pondering where we may find ourselves living next. The most brutal part of my journey was sitting in on a 4PM talk about associating some kidney disease with some periodontal disease using DNA analysis. It might've been interesting if I wasn't jet-lagged, but it was a physical battle keeping my eyes open.

The last 10 hours on a plane was just exhausting. Nothing spectacular happened...and maybe that's what made the exhaustion more noticeable. However, that first step into the Delhi airport brought a smile to my face because I'd made it to India. Finally.

Delhi Airport's Terminal 3 was recently renovated in 2008, so it's clean and gorgeous with plenty of natural light. Heart racing and stomach uneasy, I took my time reorganizing my bags and my mind as I saw the sea of people waiting to pick up loved ones, businessmen, and unsuspecting tourists like me. With a final deep breath, I put on my game face and stepped into the Delhi arena...

And the count resets...

Mosquitoes: 4     Nancy: 3

There was a mosquito buzzing by my ear as I wrote this. Hoping to add one more to my count soon...

~N

Just a Picture

Before I start on Cambodia, here is a picture taken on Nam Song River in Vang Vieng, Laos courtesy of Dave's camera. This was taken in the afternoon after my little purse-pilfering incident. All smiles with the three Australian gentlemen!












This post started a couple days back but went unfinished. I figure I'd post the picture anyway.

~N

Blasts from the past...and a continuing journey...

Hi Friends,
I hope I'm not spamming those who originally subscribed to the blog. A pitiful three posts from a six week Southeast Asia trip clearly shows my diligence in writing. Anyway, I decided I wanted to share a couple more stories. Reasons for this include your entertainment purposes, my own written recollection, and inspiration for my impending trip to another country on the malarial radar - admittedly, selfishly, more for the latter two reasons. Feel free to continue reading or unsubscribe.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

~N

Identityless!

Soooo...my purse was stolen from my bungalow/chalet in Vang Vieng, Laos in the middle of the night when I hopped out for 5 minutes to use the bathroom. Passport, credit cards, money, camera, memory sticks, and notebook have vanished! But everything is OK and as always, I'm OK. :)

As with any situation, it's always the people around you that make or break you. I was completely blessed by meeting three amazing Australian guys from Melbourne (I loved Melbourne already, but even more more so now...) on the bus ride down from Luang Prabang, Laos. We were initially on the same minivan that took us to the local bus station, but ended up on separate buses for the 6 hour journey through beautiful, windy mountain roads of which I have no pictures to show for. I chatted them up at one of the longer rest stops and ran into them later that night in a bar and drank with them all night. After climbing the second day, I met up with them for drinks again and it was later that night which my purse was stolen. Although I had only known them for about 2 days, when I told them about the situation the next morning, without any hesitation, they helped me with passport research, telephone calls, and paid for my meals, drinks and guesthouses for the next 2 days until we got to Vientiane, Laos. Goran, Dave, and Adrian are my saviors in so many ways and words could not express how grateful I am to have met them. Despite being identityless and slightly loss, I felt that everything really was going to be OK. It doesn't hurt that they are absolutely hilarious, have Australian accents, and aren't too bad on the eyes (ha!). Since I couldn't do anything until I got to the US Embassy in Vientiane, we even went tubing later that afternoon and had an awesome time. They had to leave yesterday morning, but Dave left me a generous amount of cash which I'll be meeting him in Phuket to return. I'm really looking forward to sitting on a beach and doing absolutely nothing, but need to venture through Siem Reap first.

Regarding Laos police...they are not open on weekends! Thus, my incident happened on Saturday and I could not report it because there was a handwritten sign on the door that said "Today Closed". Since I didn't want to stay in Vang Vieng on my own, I went to Vientiane with the guys on Sunday. I spent all yesterday walking miles around Vientiane (because I'm stubborn and refuse to pay for a tuk-tuk).

Some stats from yesterday and today:
Weather: 90 F and humid as hell
Miles walked: 5
Statements written: 3
Tourist police visits: 2
US Embassy visits: 2
Immigration police visits: 2
Laos Ministry of Foreign Affairs visits: 2
(None of them are in the same building or even on the same block...)

Number of times berated by officials about being careful: countless
Feeling inside after having my new passport in hand: F***ing PRICELESS!

I wanted to hug and kiss the US Consular office associate when he handed me the passport, but instead I asked him for his name and said, "Thank you so much Pavong! It feels so good to have an identity again, and as much as I like you right now, I hope I NEVER have to see you again." A massive, ridiculous smile was also included.

Mosquitoes: 37     Nancy: 5
(Got eaten alive in Vang Vieng, and despite all of this, it's still an absolutely gorgeous place)

Hugs,
N

What's the worst that could happen on a sleeper train?

Landing in Bangkok, I could feel the stickiness from humidity from that first step off the plane. Showering is almost useless since sweat appears immediately after a cold shower. Bangkok is a lively city filled with people, cars, shops, and everything you could possibly imagine. After a day, I wanted to ship home everything that I packed because I could basically buy anything I needed for a fraction of the price at home. I spent two days staying on Khao San Road, where backpackers basically drink and shop all day. Walking around, you see more tourists than Thai people, but I chose to stay here for easy access to tourist needs for my SE Asia introduction. A total false sense of security for me to blend in and feel safe, but it soothed my mind....
  
And since I had been craving that papaya salad before I left California, my first Thai dish from a random street stand was this lovely plate.


It was only after 5 big mouthfuls that I thought "Oh shit. How long has this shredded papaya been sitting out? Did they rinse with tap water? Will I be drowning in digestive troubles on the second day of my trip??" And since it was too late to worry, I enjoyed every last bite of that juicy wonderful heap. It really was better than any papaya salad I've had in the States.


For those of you who think traveling alone is dangerous or you could never do it, in my 6-person hostel room, all of us were traveling solo. I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with 3 of them and two of us decided to continue into the night for my first drink in Bangkok.

Thailand has these things called buckets all over the place. I was weary of them, but Kelsey got one for herself. It's the fastest path to s***-faced and it tastes absolutely disgusting with a mix of coke, redbull, and your choice of alcohol. I decided to go with a mojito (surprising, I know, but I did end the night with some local whiskey on ice...)



The next day was spent exploring temples and Chinatown. I met two other solo girls on their way out of the hostel for their first day in Bangkok and invited myself along (hey...I asked nicely). And here's the obligatory temple picture:

 

Later that evening, I gladly left Bangkok to jump on the 12-hour sleeper train to Chiang Mai. I had booked my tickets the day before and they were out of the first-class individual compartments for that train so I had to go with a second-class train that you share with others. The worst thing that could happen besides a train wreck was that I get stuck with a crazy nomad that hasn't showered for days and decides to steal my stuff. Never did I imagine my bunkmates would be quite the opposite although it could easily be someone's worst nightmare. Introducing the terror....

And his buddies:

Getting on the train, I immediately could hear and see around 10 children running around and eating KFC. As I approached my bunk, I realized I would be sleeping amongst that family because children are only allowed to sleep on bottom bunks. My initial thought was a rather unpleasant chain of expletives due to much-needed sleep, and then I just laughed at the situation. Turns out the family is actually Thai-Chinese, so I was able to talk to one of the mothers in Chinese. They were on their way home to the rural areas of Chiang Mai after spending the holidays in Bangkok and it was the first time the children had been on the train. 

Apparently there is a huge population of Chinese in the rural areas, enough that they teach Chinese in their schools. They spend the first half of the day with lessons in Thai and the second half with lessons in Chinese. Anyway, minus the random early morning peek-a-boos with the bunk curtains, the kids were rather fun to be around. The lull of the train and the exhaustion from jet lag resulted in an awesome 7-hour night of sleep. I am now currently in Chiang Mai and will update later. I absolutely love this city.

And I'm on the board!

Mosquitoes: 16     Nancy: 1

Much Love,

~N

Thanks Grandma. I love you, too.

I decided to start this blog since people have asked for periodic "I'm Alive!" emails. Due to my disinterest in constant Facebook updates, this will work for now until I get lazy and not want to post anymore. Please feel free to comment on content, writing style, etc. Having been an engineer for the last three years, I realized that my writing ability has deteriorated immensely. Criticism will probably elicit a f*** you followed by a very gracious thank you.

The name of the blog was inspired with my struggles with mosquitoes in the past. My sensitive skin reacts severely to bites, so I ALWAYS lose. In a single night at Kaohsiung, my face was eaten alive by mosquitoes (7 bites on my face...), and it won't be the last time this happens on the trip.

Anyway, it's crazy to think that I was still working a week ago. The last couple days have been spent relaxing, laughing, and arguing in Taiwan with family...finally not for a funeral like the previous two times. The best parts are Grandma's comments. Besides the typical worrying of why I am not married or have a boyfriend and if I did, he probably wouldn't be Asian, here is the best one to date:

Within two minutes of seeing her...
Grandma: Tien-ah (my chinese nickname), you got chubbier.
Me: Yes, Grandma. I did.
Grandma: How much weight did you gain? Your butt is getting bigger. It is turning out like your mother's. Ai-yah...You should be worried.
Me: Yes, Grandma.

Thanks Grandma. I love you, too...

And like previous travel posts:
Mosquitoes: 11     Nancy: 0

~N