Making Roti in Thailand: a video

Well, we’re mid-winter, have cabin fever after a few snow days, and are feeling the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder. There’s not much else to do but dip into the memories, and relive some great moments.

Here’s one from Thailand: in the night market in Chiang Rai, wandering the aisles between vendors, when this guy caught our attention. Callum captured this video of him performing his magic, as he made Roti Sai Mai – a sweet green pancake – and totally impressed the socks off of us. Check out his left hand – what talent!

 

The Chiang Rai night market was incredible. It went on and on, seemingly without end, and full of food stalls, artisanal products, and basic necessities like sunglasses and shoes. We can still taste the fresh oysters fried with eggs in coconut milk – divine! We were there during the Flower Festival, which meant the added bonus of a massive stage with traditional Thai dancing and singing, as well as floral sculptures throughout. A fun tuk-tuk ride to and from the market sealed the night as one to remember.

Here’s the original post, with more pictures from the market:

https://alottabiota.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/exploring-northern-thailand/

As we endure this first winter back, we’ll continue to upload videos and post them here, hoping to warm our cockles with flashbacks to our grand adventure.

Stay warm out there!
Theresa

The Money Post

It is finally time to lay our cards on the table. I’ve inputted all the data, and done some basic summaries and statistics to get a sense of what we spent, and how we spent it. I’m not ashamed to tell you that I had a bit too much fun with this – I might miss working with spreadsheets more than I thought. But if you’re at all curious to see the breakdown of our budget (and to find out if we even managed to stay on budget!), your wait is over. Are you ready? Here goes!

A bit of background, in case you’ve forgotten (it has, after all, been 6 months since we’ve been back in Canada!):

1. There were 4 of us, travelling for 8.5 months.
2. We did not use Air Miles or Points for any expenses.
3. We saved the money for the trip ahead of time, and came back with zero debt (high-five!).
4. We did not do a Round the World (RTW) ticket, thus bought every flight individually.
5. We took leaves from our jobs, and did not work on the road (i.e. we’re not digital nomads).
6. Our daily budget was $200 CDN, including food, accommodation, transportation, and activities, but NOT including flights; we expected some countries to be below and some to be above this figure.
7. I did not use an app to record expenses…I wrote daily in a journal, and jotted down every time we spent money (hence the delay getting this post up – I had to re-read and enter everything into a spreadsheet upon our return home).

PRE-TRIP EXPENSES

Before we left, there were some major expenses we had to incur:

• World Nomads Insurance (for 6 of the 9 months)
• Gear – suitcases, clothing, travel toiletteries, UV sterilizer, headlamps, etc
• Electronics – laptop, smartphone, external hard drive, and quick charger
• Immunizations and Medications

Other than the travel insurance, most of these items will be used at home or for subsequent trips (including the immunizations); and the medication was covered with our benefits plan, so I am not itemizing nor including these costs in the averages.

FLIGHTS

We flew a total of 16 legs x 4 people = 64 flights; the grand total of all flights was $11,641.

FROM	TO	AIRLINE	COST (CDN, for 4 flights)
Toronto	Singapore	United	$2659
Singapore	Kota Kinabalu	Air Asia	$330
Kota Kinabalu	Kuala Lumpur	Air Asia	$190
Kuala Lumpur	Medan	Air Asia	$212
Medan	Denpasar	Lion Air	$460
Denpasar	Darwin	Air Asia	$360
Melbourne	Auckland	Emirates	$990
Auckland	Bangkok	Thai Air	$2208
Surat Thani	Chiang Mai	Air Asia	$243
Chiang Rai	Bangkok	Air Asia	$260
Bangkok	Siem Reap	Air Asia	$429
Ho Chi Minh City	Danang	Jetstar	$176
Hanoi	Toronto	EVA	$3124

*Other forms of transportation, including car rentals (all of Australia and New Zealand), trains, and buses, are included in daily averages, below.

I think the cost for flights was actually really good! Of course, the distances travelled weren’t around the world (we mostly stayed within one continent), but considering all we got to see and do, I am impressed. It would have been nice to use points, but we don’t collect, so that wasn’t an option. Also, we chose to not always opt for the cheapest flight, but paid slightly more to get the most direct routing, while avoiding red-eyes – it was a small price to pay (literally) for our health and sanity.

DAILY AVERAGES

The daily total spent on the entire trip (excluding flights) was $51,400.22.

Average daily cost for the entire trip (256 days), broken down by country:

Country	Num days in Country	Average daily costs	Average nightly cost of accommodation	Average daily cost of food
Singapore	4	$185.27	$166.20	$48.86
Malaysia	44	$162.25	$79.68	$43.30
Indonesia	28	$196.27	$80.22	$42.82
Australia	64	$214.04	$80.98	$42.11
New Zealand	40	$229.48	$93.32	$47.01
Thailand	30	$177.03	$89.78	$31.92
Cambodia	17	$202.52	$83.75	$37.86
Vietnam	29	$182.91	$69.12	$41.78
TOTAL	256	$200.78	$81.63	$41.80

NOTES:

1. For Australia and NZ, purchased camping equipment is included in these numbers
2. Australia: 39 nights camping, 25 nights hotel/Apartment/AirBnB
3. NZ: 20 nights camping, 12 nights hotel/AirBnB, 8 nights at friends’ home; the average price per night calculation excludes the 8 free nights at a friend’s.

If you’re more of a visual thinker, here are a few charts for your viewing pleasure:

A few things to keep in mind when digesting these numbers:

• Daily averages include one-off expenses such as entrance Visas, or souvenirs.
• We didn’t stay in hostels, but we definitely didn’t choose luxury. Our accommodation was usually basic, middle of the road, found on Booking.com or Agoda.com, and booked within a week of arriving somewhere.
• We pretty much only ate street food, at night markets, or very simple restaurants. There are gourmet foods in fancy restaurants that would blow a gourmand’s socks off, but we found delicious food for cheap and thoroughly enjoyed eating through the trip.
• Our boys were 8 & 10 on the trip, and they ate as much as adults, if not more.
• I tried to separate food & accommodation costs from transportation & guides in tours, but my breakdown was a guesstimate.
• Transportation costs can vary widely depending on how much ground you’re covering, where you’re going, and how you want to get there; because of this, I decided not to include averages here. However, just an FYI, while we did take ferries, motorbikes, buses, trains, subways, Ubers, and taxis, we found the price of a single private car to be almost the same as public transportation for 4, so we sometimes chose this for efficiency and comfort.

THE *BIG* ACTIVITIES

We actually didn’t do a whole lot of tours; we were quite selective in deciding where and how to spend money for organized activities (i.e. guided trips). There were smaller expenses I’m not listing here that were <$200 (ex. snorkel trips, entrance to temples or national parks, etc), but these are the major ones. All prices are for the 4 of us, and in Canadian dollars.

• Great Barrier Reef full-day snorkel tour (full day, lunch incl., guided; Australia): $530
• Kaikoura Albatross Encounters (½ day, guided; NZ): $333
• Kaiteriteri Full-day Kayak Excursion (full day, lunch incl., guided; NZ): $387
• Danum Valley Field Centre (4D/3N, transport and food incl., no guides; Malaysia): $1096
• Sumatra Jungle Eco-Tour (8D/7N, guided; some food incl., Indonesia): $1960
• Sukau Greenview Kinabatangan River Tour (3D/2N, food incl., guided; Malaysia): $543
• Ha Long Bay Cruise (3D/2N, food incl., guided; Vietnam): $1489

IN SUMMARY

We anticipated spending $200/day, and ended up spending $200.80/day.

So, in other words, we are ROCK STARS. I cannot believe that we managed to stay on budget, without tracking our spending, for such a long trip. Yay us!

But there was SO MUCH MORE we could have spent money on, I can’t even begin to tell you how much we missed out on because of how cheap we were. There was ziplining and scuba diving in Thailand; waterfall day trips, swimming with whales, and jeep overnighters to Fraser Island in Australia; Maori shows, sleepover island visits, and glow worm caves by boat in New Zealand; river dolphins in Cambodia; and on and on. But we have zero regrets. Every decision we made, we were happy with, and every activity we did, we loved. We had a blast doing all the cheaper activities, too – hikes to see platypuses and pittas, ice cream or noodle soups on the street, jumping into schools of fish off the rocks – all of that was so much fun. And by doing things cheaply, we got to have very real and raw experiences – you can’t hear a koala bellowing outside your tent if you’re sleeping in a hotel, you don’t get to help make roti from the little old man in the back of the kitchen if you’re always eating in more expensive restaurants, and you feel far more rewarded when you finally find and see an elusive bird compared to if a guide pointed it out. (Actually, that last part isn’t true – seeing a bird is always rewarding, no matter how it’s been spotted!).

Adventure doesn’t have to be expensive to be memorable. Yes, we could have seen or done more. But we choose to live our lives looking forward, and being content with having enough instead of wanting it all. So – no regrets: it’s a good philosophy to live by.

I think we did a great job staying on budget, and I think we managed to check a whole whack of bucket items off our list while doing so. It was a brilliant trip – in fact, we’ve already started saving for and planning the next one. It won’t be soon and it won’t be for nearly as long, but we have to feed the wanderlust, whichever way we can.

*Feel free to fire me any questions you might have, I’m happy to help, if you’re planning your own trip, or just curious about the breakdown.

Cheers,

Theresa

Home Again

And…that’s that. After 8 countries, 255 days, and a myriad of experiences, we’re home. It’s definitely bittersweet, but such is life – you have to ride the roller coaster, with all it’s highs and lows, and take the good with the bad. We had had incredible adventures, but we were ready to come home.

Last dinner in Hanoi!

Our flight home was smooth: we flew EVA air through Taiwan, and even managed to get a lifer from the airport, a Eurasian magpie.  Grandma had arranged for a limo to pick us up (sweet!) and it was Easter weekend – lots of family, lots of food, lots of chocolate. We were jet lagged but happy. The weather could have been better – in fact, we were pretty much frozen for the first month back, as our bodies reacclimated to a Canadian spring – but the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. It was actually great to see birds that we had missed while we were away. Even cardinals, blue jays and chickadees were exciting, it was like getting reacquainted with old friends.

[Left to right: first day of school; Easter egg; befriending the chickadees]

The jet lag was bad; we all felt like we had been hit by a bus. But we found the best way to get over it is to throw yourself back into the rhythm of life, with regular work and school routines to exhaust you, allowing for sound sleep. The kids had no issues having missed school for 7 months, and reintegrated into the school system smoothly, but the transition from freedom to structure felt harsh. Kevin had a tough time accepting that he was pretty much coming out of retirement and going back to work, whereas I was lonely – hanging with family 24/7 to suddenly no longer having people around for company and  conversation was hard. We were all emotional for the first few weeks as we settled back into life, with some mild depression all around. We were dazed; Canada felt real, but the trip felt like it had been a dream.

But it was great to put on jeans and favourite hoodies again, to play with old toys, to sleep in our own beds. And to bake again! Oh, how I had missed biting into hot and freshly baked chocolate cookies, pumpkin muffins, and raspberry scones. And we definitely ate a lot of comfort food, with shepherd’s pie, perogies and sausage, and tostadas on the priority list. Needless to say, the lack of exercise and increase in eating had us all put on a few pounds (totally worth it though). Our bodies have had a tough time adjusting to the western diet, as we’re not able to deal with dairy and bread as well as we used to. It makes for a musical household 🙂

Many long-term travellers prefer the nomadic lifestyle, and eschew suburbia and office jobs and soccer practices and all that a Canadian life offers. We are not those people though: we absolutely love travel, and embrace other cultures, languages and foods. We love to explore old towns, big cities, museums and temples. We love to interact with people who live an entirely different existence than us. We also love to explore jungles and grasslands, beaches and oceans, mountains and valleys, and encountering wildlife that are so weird and wonderful that we couldn’t even dream of them. And yet…we are always happy to come home. We love the nature in our backyard – the maple leaves and trilliums, the warbler migration and raccoons staring at us in the night. Our neighbours on our street kept an eye on our house, our children were so excited to play with their cousins, and the teachers at the school who were so supportive of this journey were thrilled to hear adventure tales from our kids. It’s been awesome to catch up with family, friends, and neighbours. And I can’t imagine not having that in my life. Canada is home, and it always will be.

But now, the wanderlust has set in. And while we’ll never do a 9-month voyage around the world again, we have set our sights on the next adventure awaiting us. Even if it’s only for a couple weeks, and even if it’s not for a few years, the dream is what keeps us motivated. The world is a big playground, and there are so many more places to visit and adventures to experience in the short time we’ve been given on this extraordinary planet.

Thanks for joining us on our journey. We hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did!

On our way home!

Theresa

Footnote:

We are still tallying up our expenses, and will post what the final total is, and whether or not we managed to stick to our budget. I can’t wait to see the breakdown of our expenses per country, and per category – the Excel geek in me has been looking forward to this the whole trip! And Kevin will write a summary post to let you know how the birding fared. There were some amazing highlights, some unexpected difficulties, and some incredible surprises, too. If you’re hoping to bird in some of these places, we can for sure give you our two cents on what worked and what didn’t. We also have lots of video to edit, and we’ll make sure to share our montages with you. And we plan on identifying how the gear held up, in case you’re looking for recommendations. So stay tuned; we’ll continue to write posts as we decompress and debrief over the next while.

 

Vietnam in Three Parts: 3 – The North

It had come, at last: the last 10 days of our trip. Our final hurrah to Asia, to being free, to adventure. While our hearts were heavy, we were also starting to move on, mentally – we had registered for soccer back home, spoken with our renter about move-out timing, and made Easter plans with the family back in Canada. It’s hard to be grounded and present when you’re faced with reality, but we tried to ensure we soaked in as much as possible while we could.

We arrived by night train at 5 am into Hanoi, after a restless but exciting night rolling over 500 km through the Vietnamese countryside from the centre to the capital city in the north. After a streetside coffee in the dark with other early morning risers, we grabbed a taxi to our hotel. In between naps we spent a day of gentle explorations of the west end of Ho Tay lake; a residential neighbourhood with coffee shops, schools, butchers and barbers, and the ubiquitous flower vendors on their bikes.

Arriving in Ha Noi

School drop-off Chaos

The next morning we ventured to Tam Dao, a hilltop station 80 km to the north. The steep switchbacks were starting to get us car sick by the time we arrived at the village on the mountaintop, nestled in the fog. It’s a very small town, with hotels piled haphazardly on top of one another, some old and empty, with odd castle-like monstrosities in a state of half-build.

There’s a small market on the main street, where they sell the specialities of the area: piles of freshly harvested su su, a tasty green leafy vegetable, and tables of poached meat from the surrounding forests, including porcupines and squirrels. It was hard to visit restaurants for the 3 nights we were here, as menus included a shocking array of wildlife: deer, turtle, pheasants, trogons, you name it. Needless to say, we ate vegetarian noodle dishes for dinner, and the safe (and delicious) bun cha from a local street vendor for lunch. Breakfast was a steaming bowl of Pho, which was a mental roadblock, but delicious and filling. While we saw and heard some formidable karaoke in town, we decided not to join in *ahem*. Walking the short circle road around the main square allowed us to be entertained by the antics of the numerous wedding and engagement photo shoots, various cock fights, as well as be included in selfies with Vietnamese tourists.

[Clockwise from Left: Local vendors selling their produce, cocks ready for their next fight, Pho for breakfast, the town square where we were asked for selfies, a bowl of Bun Cha, porcupine and squirrel meat, Com Lam: coconut and sticky rice stuffed bamboo]

Fresh Su su

Cooked Su su, on a bed of fried noodles

This stop was very much centered on a final big birding push. There were some good birds to be seen here, and we were ready to go hard for a few days. Scouting our route on the first afternoon, we walked over to the government-manned gate at the start of the road winding through the national park. We were surprised by a sign blocking access, and confronted by unfriendly guards who presented us with a firm NO, for reasons unbeknownst to us. We returned with our friendly english-speaking hotel manager, hoping that with a translation and explanation of our case, we could convince the guards to let us pass. Alas, we had no luck, and were turned away. We were more then disappointed; we were angry. But arguing with a government official isn’t always the best path to take, so we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and came up with a plan B – hiking the 1000 steps up to the radio tower on an adjacent hill. The habitat wasn’t as pristine, and the path was busier than we would have liked, but considering our options, at least we managed to do a bit of birding. We did see some incredible species – Short-tailed Parrotbill, Black-chinned Yuhinia, David’s Fulvetta, Red-billed Blue Magpie, and a few endangered Laughingthrushes (which I won’t name, to protect them from further persecution). We even encountered a couple of bird tour groups who mentioned how they had to bribe the guards to get into the park, and who were flitting in and out of town, missing out on the eccentric personality of this little mountain village. There are many ways to travel, and our way might not get us all that we want, but we definitely manage to see a slice of culture that is authentic, and we are grateful for that.

Where we hoped to bird, but weren’t allowed in

Where we ended up birding, with some success

Once more, considering how difficult the circumstances were in Tam Dao, the kids were troopers – patient while we pursued sounds in the underbrush, and open to changes in plans, as well as new foods and experiences. We are so proud of them, and we’d happily jump into more adventures with them, anyday.

Flipping through the field guide

A found friend

Caterpillars on the trail

Birdwatching at the waterfall

Listening for Laughingthrushes

After Tam Dao, we went back to Hanoi to get ready for the next few days of travel. We decided to switch things up a bit, and treat ourselves with a tour into Bai Tu Long Bay on a Junk boat! We booked through Indochina Junk, and chose a smaller boat with only 20 passengers, for 3 days and 2 nights. We had seen pictures of Ha Long Bay, and while it looked beautiful, we weren’t impressed by the unsustainable numbers of daily tourists. Our tour meant quieter bays with less boats, with (hopefully) less of an environmental impact. It was more luxurious than anything we had done over the last 9 months, but it was a welcome relief to not do any planning for the next few days, with excellent food and service, and lovely views and fun activities. There were wonderful guests to chat with, and friendly and helpful staff. The tour included a water puppet show, a cooking class, a visit to a floating village and a pearl factory, a cave visit, some squid fishing, and a couple of kayaking excursions through the bay, one of which ended with a large and sumptuous seafood lunch on a private beach. We had wonderful weather, and the location was spectacular – hundreds of karst mountains jutting out of calm green waters; if it all sounds magical, that’s because it truly was.

After our tour, we landed in Hanoi with only three nights left on our trip. We filled them the best way possible: by wandering the streets of this vibrant city. We ate fabulous bun cha and drank mango smoothies, bought beautiful local handmade pottery and fabric, visited the incredible Women’s Museum, had heartfelt interactions with locals, crossed the streets and didn’t die, watched men play board games and women giggle while chopping pineapples.

It wasn’t all sunshine and roses: at this point we were tired of noodles and rice, our lungs were feeling the effects of the ever-present smog, and our nights were being interrupted by honking horns and barking dogs. Speaking of dogs, this was the first time we actually saw cooked dog meat for sale on the street; it’s a sight that was sad and sobering, and will be hard to forget. We were also saddened by all the caged songbirds hanging in storefronts, but were grateful for the ones we had seen in the wild.

Vietnam is a huge country that is economically strong, with a powerful past and an exciting future. We have walked UNESCO villages, seen natural caves that were jaw-dropping, witnessed traditional fishing and rice farming, hiked through jungles and sailed through bays. After a month in this great land, we fell in love with it all, and want to see so much more – the Sapa terraces, the birds in Dalat, the coast at Nha Trang, the old city of Hue, the bioluminescence in Ha Long Bay…the list goes on and on. Our desire to see the world is not at all appeased by travel – in fact, with every step on foreign soil, with every sampled strange food, with every new bird, with every wonderful connection with another culture, our wanderlust grows. It’s a beautiful world; we can’t wait to see more of it.

Theresa

Vietnam in Three Parts: 2 – The Centre

Since the planning stages of this trip, Hoi An was high on the list of places we wanted to visit. It’s an insanely photogenic town: a UNESCO world heritage site, with cobblestone roads and narrow alleys, surrounded by rice fields, near the ocean, with magical lanterns lighting up the nights. It has an interesting history as a trade port, with a blend of Vietnamese, French, Japanese and Chinese influences. The village is stunning; it’s a great town to wander and revel in history, art, and architecture.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We had hoped to spend a few days in Hoi An itself, a day of birding in nearby Bach Ma Park, and some time on the nearby beaches. Our fabulous homestay was outside of town, but the free bikes available made it easy to get to town. Well, maybe not easy – have I mentioned yet the insanity of the roads, with their apparent lack of rules? We survived, but man, there were some close calls, especially coming back in the dark. It’s all part of the adventure though, right? Staying outside of town allowed us to decompress a bit after the business of the last 10 days, plus, there’s always the potential for some birds. There was a Green Bee-eater flycatching over the rice fields, a Plaintive Cuckoo singing his song every morning, Brown and Long-tailed Shrikes hunting for insects, and a Black Drongo doing his aerial tricks. Hoi An itself provided a new bird for the list too: Oriental Greenfinch, hanging with the Flowerpeckers in flowering trees in town.

In Hoi An, you can buy a ticket to the old city for a few dollars (120 000 VND) which gives you access to 5 free attractions. There are old Chinese shophouses and assembly halls, a few different museums, and a free arts performance with singing, dancing, and music. These attractions were amazing, and definitely shouldn’t be missed- they really helped us appreciate the history and beauty of the town and culture. There are many many MANY shops selling souvenirs, plus lots of shops with leather-made goods, and oodles of tailors willing to provide 24-hr custom clothing for cheap. We were holding off on buying souvenirs still, as our suitcases didn’t have a lot of room to spare. And while we contemplated the custom clothing, after a bit of research we found out the reason it’s so cheap and fast is because many use sweatshops – I’m sure the higher end stores have their own seamstresses, but we opted to avoid the issue in case we unknowingly contributed to the problem. Instead, we opted to wander and eat, feasting with our eyes and our mouths.

One thing we weren’t prepared for was the slew of tourists present. We can’t turn our noses up at the other visitors enjoying the sights, since we are included in such company, but it didn’t mean we had to embrace it. We ended up chillaxing in our homestay more than expected, but that’s ok – there have been few moments of doing nothing on this trip, and they were welcome. Other travellers said they got up early to walk through town, and it was quiet and lovely – in case we ever go back, that is definitely a strategy we will try.

Our hopes of visiting Bach Ma were dashed when we found out it was over 3 hours away: to be there at dawn would have been impossible. This is definitely a problem with pre-booking the itinerary for the month, since we couldn’t alter our plans to stay somewhere closer. It was hugely disappointing as that was definitely where we hoped to pick up a lot of birds, but there wasn’t much to be done about it.

Instead we spent a day on a snorkeling trip to Cham Island, just off the coast. It was a bit of a bust: we had to wait 1.5 hrs to leave the dock until our boat was full; the ocean was 19 C and we could barely breathe from the cold; another passenger sliced his leg open on the propellor, so the boat had to detour to a hospital; the tour of the fishing village was lame, and seeing all the sea life harvested out of the ocean from this marine preserve was heartbreaking; and there was no reef to speak of, much less fish (other than a gorgeous crown of thorns sea star). The seafood buffet on the beach was tasty though, so there’s that? Oh well. It wasn’t horrible, just not exceptional. The good thing about 8.5 months of travel is that if 1 day isn’t as unsuccessful, there’s a heck of a lot more good days to make up for it.

I had heard about the prospect of bioluminescence in the oceans around Hoi An, so we headed out late one afternoon to the beach in the hopes of seeing some after the sunset, but unfortunately there wasn’t any. We did get to watch the local fishermen in their woven round  basket boats paddling and surfing the waves, which was super cool.

From Hoi An we took a train to Dong Hoi, to visit Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. This place was incredible:  karst mountains, millions of years old, hiding massive caves – in fact, the largest caves in the world. The town is quaint, filled with kids taking their bikes to school, water buffalo lolling on the river side, and women harvesting aquatic plants from their boats.

From the boat dock, we booked a longtail with another Canadian family we had met along the way, and headed upriver to visit one of the most accessible caves, Phong Nha. The engine got cut as we entered the cave, and we glided in under the formidable formations, the only sound the slap and rhythm of the boat driver’s paddle in the water. Those paddlers must have abs of steel – what they’re doing is definitely a full body workout. We then left the boat to wander about the lit-up stalactites and stalagmites in the caverns – truly awesome. We visited a second incredible cave up the mountain, Tien Son. Not many people venture up the long staircase, which meant we were almost alone here, walking the boardwalks deep underground, admiring the textures and shapes made by eons of dripping water. Definitely gives one a sense of perspective, of both time and scale.

We found a few creatures around here, too: frogs, skinks, spiders, and glow worms!

We borrowed free bikes from the homestay to cycle the 10 km to the botanic gardens, along a scenic back road beside fog-covered mountains, sharing the road with cows (while dodging their patties). Single gear bikes made it hard to tackle some of the hills, but getting off and pushing the bike up allowed us to slow down and take in the beauty of the area, and even do a bit of birding – we saw a Chinese blackbird and Ratchet-tailed Treepie en route, while keeping our eyes open for the elusive Brown Hornbill.

At the gardens, we hiked the trails and managed to see some Scaly-breasted partridges, a Radde’s Warbler, a huge black and white squirrel, and a massive iguana/lizard thing. Inside and outside the boys bathroom was also a great spot for bugs: we found caterpillars, a thorn spider, Sphinx moth, butterflies, a stick insect, and Dobsonflies. The brakes on the bikes couldn’t be trusted on the downhills back, but otherwise it was another pleasant return bike ride to the village after a great day in the forest.

Our accommodation for our 2 nights in town was a homestay along the river with a sweet family, where our boys played with their 3 children, and we cooked and ate a delicious traditional Vietnamese dinner with them (with samples of rice alcohol, aka “Happy Water”), and listened to sobering stories of growing up during and after the war. As a child, our host had lost friends to explosions, and he himself had scars from napalm bomb shrapnel. He told us about all the millions of tons of unexploded ordinances still buried in the area, and took us for a drive along the Ho Cho Minh Trail in his 1967 US Army Jeep, pointing out the bomb craters amidst the rice paddies. It was a very intimate and very real history lesson which we won’t easily forget, in a beautiful part of Vietnam with a difficult history.

We would have loved to stay longer, but the train schedule meant we had to cut our visit short. A night train to Hanoi would bring us to the last phase of our trip, Northern Vietnam. Our voyage was nearing it’s end, but there were a few remaining adventures to be had.

Theresa

 

Basic words in different languages

In every country there is a different language and it is always hard to understand the basic words, like hello, and thank you. It always takes about a couple days to learn it.

I have learned a lot of the basic words in a couple different languages, but it took a long time. Here are some of the words I have learned on this trip:

Hello in Malay is simply ‘hello’ but, thank you is ‘terima kasih’.

In Indonesian hello is ‘helo’ (it’s a little bit different, but not much) and thank you is ‘terima kasih’, again.

In Australia and New Zealand, it’s the same as ours.

In Thailand hello is ‘sawasdee ka’ for female (and ‘sawasdee krub’ for male), and thank you is ‘khob khun kha’ for female (and ‘khob khun krab’ for male).

In Cambodia hello is ‘chom seab suor’ and thank you is ‘arkoun’.

In Vietnam hello is ‘xin chào’ while thank you is ‘cam on’.

People love it if you speak in their language, because they feel like your trying to understand their own language.

Hopefully that will come in useful.

Bye!

Owen

Vietnam in Three Parts: 1 – The South

I can’t believe we are down to our last country, and our last month on the trip. Where has the time gone? We planned a whole month in Vietnam (the longest time our visa would allow) before heading home, and filled it with many adventures – cities and villages, forests and oceans, caves and rice fields. And hopefully, a few more birds to add to our list.

While sick in Phnom Penh, we decided to book as much of Vietnam as possible. We were tired of worrying where to go next, and then not having good hotel options or train schedules. I can’t tell you what a difference it has made – we actually have down time! We have cars waiting for us when we get off a plane, and we know how many days we have in one spot. Of course, while it takes away the stress, it also takes away the spontaneity, but we’re at the point where our sanity is paramount, so we’re happy with a non-flexible schedule.

We took a 6-hr Giant Ibis bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh city, which was comfortable, smooth, and efficient. Another passenger on our bus didn’t get his visa beforehand, and was turned back at the border – not a smart move on his part, but it made us smug in our preparedness.

Ho Chi Minh city was an assault on our senses, but in the best way possible. Honking horns, steam from street food wafting by, navigating around motorbikes parked on the sidewalk, carts full of fruits and veggies being lugged down the street, narrow alleyways full of life.

Our homestay was in one such alley just off the backpacker street, in District 1, and was at a perfect location – within walking distance to the Cathedral and Post Office, Palace and park space, street food street and bustling market. Our hosts spoke English, and were super-duper helpful, giving us a map, tips on where to eat, to buy shampoo, and get our shoes fixed. What a difference it makes when your hotel is warm and engaged! We had 4 nights in town, which was the perfect amount, and we wandered the streets and got to experience the city well. By day we visited the sights, did a little bit of shopping (after haggling hard), and got lost in little alleyways. We learned how to play foot badminton, met some local kids, ate lots of Pho and Bun Cha, played in new playgrounds, and visited the local markets.

By night we checked out the night market, ate Bot Chien on stools on the roadside (with rats running between our feet), wandered by a fashion show, a traditional performance with song, and a free stage production of fairy tales for children (which ended with the chicken dance in Vietnamese).

We tried not to die crossing the streets, with it’s constant onslaught of motorbikes, buses, and cars, and figured out a trick – just start walking, and keep walking, at a steady pace – the vehicles will respond accordingly, and will avoid you – it’s terrifying but it works. We didn’t do any organized tours, or visit any museums – our kids are more into natural history than history, and that’s ok with us. Saigon has an energy that’s palpable, and we really loved it here.

Our next southern stop was a quick one to Can Tho, in the heart of the Mekong Delta. It was a 3 hr bus ride away, on a sleeper bus with permanently reclined seats. The kids loved it, but they’re not 6-ft tall, like *ahem* some people. Upgrading the transportation has been brilliant, and at this stage of the game we don’t regret spending a little extra money for a little extra comfort.

Upon arrival we booked a tour for 5 am the next day on a sampan (a little wooden longtail boat), to visit the famed floating market, watch traditional trade on the river, and sample various food offerings. It was neat to leave in the dark heading upriver, with the stars overhead, and bats twittering away. Then as the sun rose, we bought our coffee while on a boat from another floating boat, and watched buyers and sellers move produce back and forth. Most of the traders live on their boats, and you could see their laundry hanging out to dry, while they did their dishes on deck, and rested in a hammock after the melee was over. What a great experience.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We headed to another, smaller floating market where we bought and ate fresh fruit, then went on a rice noodle factory tour followed by an orchard tour. The noodle factory was  amazing – they make a rice liquid, then cook it in sheets – using rice husks to fuel the fire – then dry it in the sun on bamboo mats for 5 hours, after which they run it through a cutting machine producing the noodles. The process is still done in a traditional way, which is so humbling, as we realize the effort that goes into producing our food.

We were given lots of information by our tour guide, and our sampan driver wove us gifts from palm leaves as she steered the boat with her feet.

The only negative on the tour was seeing how our boat driver had to stop the motor every 15 minutes to unclog the plastic bags that had tangled themselves in the propeller. The Mekong River is definitely seeing the full force of the continent’s addiction to plastic, and it’s sad to see. As well, the floating market is slowly disappearing, with fewer boats on the river every year as bridges, roads and trucks take over the distribution of goods. I’m happy to have seen this traditional way of life before it’s gone.

Our next stop was for an intense birding marathon in Cat Tien National Park. We had 3 nights here, which meant 2 full days and a couple half days to see what we could see. The park did not disappoint. Our days included a 2-hr evening boat tour, a 10-km return hike through the jungle (in 41 C heat!), and a 10-km return bike ride on rough roads.

We even managed to charm our way into a few blinds, sitting beside bird photographers with their 600mm lenses who had paid a premium to be there, while we giggled silently at the prospect of seeing rare birds, not caring about capturing them on film.

[Bored kids in a blind; they did great, considering how long they had to sit still and be silent.]

All of this hard work paid off big time: we saw oodles of wildlife. We managed to see 97 species of birds, including Siamese Fireback, Germain’s Peacock-Pheasant, Bar-bellied Pitta, Blue-rumped Pitta, Greater-Eared Nightjar, Brown-backed Needletail, White-crowned Piculet, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Puff-throated Babbler, Pied Kingfisher, Banded Kingfisher, and so many more. (You can find Kevin’s full checklists on ebird).

We also saw lots of other biota, such as Mouse Deer, Sambar deer, Long-tailed Macaque, Golden-cheeked Gibbon, Siamese crocodiles, Wild boar, frogs, caterpillars, butterflies, bats, spiders and more. It was so awesome to be back in true wilderness, not knowing what would see around the next bend. We love exploring, and this highly successful stop was the epitome of jungle adventure for us.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

To see all that we saw in Cat Tien meant early mornings, lots of walking, and long, hot, hard days. We were pooped by the end, and anxious for some down time – maybe even a sleep-in? – which was coming up next in Central Vietnam, for the next segment of our trip here: Hoi An and Phong Nha.

Theresa

 

The Highs and Lows of Cambodia

It doesn’t always go perfectly, no matter how hard you plan. Sometimes it’s the weather, sometimes it’s an illness, sometimes it’s just life. There’s usually nothing that can be done but to just roll with it, looking for glimpses of light to keep you going.

It all started great – flying into Cambodia on AirAsia was the way to go. It was super easy to get the visa on arrival at the airport, and we had a tuk tuk waiting to take us to our hotel. We had connecting rooms – space and privacy, win-win! – and were not in the crazy part of Siem Reap, but were within walking distance to a strip of casual and cheap restaurants serving local food – another win-win.

But then things took a turn…we blame the fresh sugar cane juice gifted to us by our tuk tuk driver. Some of us started having tummy troubles, which is not ideal when embarking upon early, long hot days exploring Angkor Wat. Through resilience and determination, we didn’t let that stop us, but it made for exhausting days, as we pushed through the illness.

To make things worse, it was the onset of Lunar New Year, or Tet. This meant that there were busloads and busloads of tourists, mostly from China, who were spending their vacation the same way we were. Everything was busier – the streets had traffic jams, the restaurants were full, and Angkor Wat had lineups to get through the ruins.

So many people!

Still, we did get to see the awe-inspiring temples in the jungles of Cambodia, and they were truly incredible. It was hotter than Hades out, and we didn’t go for sunrise or sunset, opting for sleep to help get over the sickness. There were some birds to be seen as well, including 2 new species of raucous parakeets (Alexandrine and Red-breasted). We spent one day on the “small circuit”, taking in the classic popular temples of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Phrom, Bayon, and some smaller ruins. We were impressed by all of it – stunning with it’s scale artistry, and presence. Of course, it was harder to appreciate it when dodging selfie sticks, and while feeling claustrophobic caught in a tunnel with a few hundred other humans (praying there wouldn’t be any immediate earthquakes), but we persevered.

The next day we went further afield, visiting Banteay Srei, the pink sandstone temple with incredibly intricate carvings. We then proceeded another 10 km up the road (40 mins in the slowest tuk tuk ever) to bird Kbal Spean, where we saw White-crested Laughingthrushes, and the boys had monks ask for selfies with them – go figure. We got here late, and wished we had more time exploring the forest.  But the sun was setting and we still had a 2-hr tuk tuk back, mostly in the dark. While we only had 2 days of checking out Angkor Wat, considering our health, the heat, and the crowds, we were content with what we accomplished.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We had heard about a local social enterprise in town called Phare Circus, where kids are given an education and training in the arts to help keep them off the streets, and then they participate in creating and performing a show. They tell meaningful Cambodian stories through music, dance, comedy and acrobatics. Ours was set in the modern urban jungle of Cambodia’s bars, and talked about the dangers of making ends meet, and trying to find romance. What a wild ride! We were oohing and aahing, amazed by the tricks, while also impressed by the humour and emotion. Really well done, and something totally different for us – a fantastic night out!

Siem Reap also has a workshop called the Artisans d’Angkor, which was an open studio where you could watch artists at work, painting and sculpting traditional products. It was neat to interact with the artists, and to see the process involved, as they transformed wood and stone and silk into detailed artworks.

We managed to meet up with a couple other travelling families we had met through a Facebook group, and had a great day of adult conversation while the kids got to interact with other kids – both of these have been rare over the course of our trip. We played in a park, went to a museum, and headed out for dinner together. It’s awesome to meet others who put an emphasis on travel like we do, and to bond over similar experiences.

It was time to leave Siem Reap by bus, and spend the next few days in Phnom Penh. Originally we had booked 3 nights in the city, which would have been enough to get our Vietnam visas and be on our way. However, Tet derailed our plans, again, as the Vietnam Embassy was closed for the weeklong holiday, so we extended our stay for 2 more nights until the embassy reopened. Our illness got worse, and we barely managed to leave the room to get food, and to drop off our passports at a travel agency who took care of the visa process. Being sick was bad enough; being sick in the gritty, loud city of Phnom Penh made it worse; but being sick in an unfriendly hotel, in a moldy, stained room, with the permeating odor of sewage, was awful. We were too weak to move elsewhere, so we endured; we were in a dark hole. It was an unfortunate low point in our trip, but these things happen. We are grateful for our emergency supply of antibiotics that we had brought with us from Canada, and for free wifi that kept us sane. But it was definitely rough.

Thankfully we were all better by the time we checked out, and we were happy to be on our way (in a private vehicle, just in case) to the near-coastal town of Kampot. We had a wonderful little hotel, with an amazing French-inspired breakfast (crepes anyone?), in the heart of the little town. Kampot has a vibrant ex-pat community, which meant little bistros and bars, coupled with a Cambodian culture: a nice blend for weary travellers. It’s a lovely spot along the river, with thousands of Germain’s swiftlets constantly chittering and circling overhead, and a nightly exodus of fishing boats headed to the ocean.

Here we managed to fit in a few activities that made our days magical:

• a boat cruise downriver at sunset, where we stopped to watch the fireflies dance;

• a fabulous cooking class at Khmer Roots Cafe where we learned to make coconut milk and curry paste from scratch, and then devoured the delicious dishes that we had proudly concocted;

• an early morning trip up Bokor mountain with the Kampot Cruiser, where we had a great day of birding, watching termites marching, studying thorn spiders, and checking out viewpoints.

Great Hornbill

Wreathed Hornbill

• A visit to the local night market for dinner meant we stumbled upon a mini amusement park, where the kids laughed their heads off and riding bumper cars and flying roosters.

We switched hotels for a couple of nights so we could be outside of town, and enjoyed the peace and solitude. We swam in the river, and kayaked at dusk down a loop through a green cathedral of palm trees. We saw a few birds – Mountain Hawk-Eagle, and Plain-backed sparrow – but mostly enjoyed reading in the hammock and doing homework on the porch.

There was also a bakery/restaurant that was owned by a Canadian that served (drumroll please)…Poutine! The kids were elated to have a taste of home. Here we bumped into another travelling family from Montreal, and we chatted and bonded and had a great night eating poutine together in Cambodia. The bakery was drool-worthy, and I’m not lying when I say that after living more than 40 years on this earth, we have discovered the best donut in existence: caramel banana cream. So fresh, not too sweet, a big pillowy pile of ambrosia; I doubt we will ever encounter it’s equal.

There were some major ups and downs to our 17 days in Cambodia – the lovely thing about memory is that over time the bad moments fade away, while the highlights become even more golden with each retelling.

Mes pensés sur notre voyage

Je veux te dire mes pensés sur notre voyage. Le voyage est très bon et amusement mais je suis fatigué et j’ai le mal du pays. J’aime le rythme quand on voyage: quelques jours dans un place et quelques jours dans un autre place. J’aime beaucoup les différents types de nourritures. Mon préféré nourriture était en Bangkok parce qu’il y a d’incroyable nourriture de rue partout. Il y avait des bols de soupe avec nouilles, et des smoothies à la mangue fraîche.

Je suis un peu fatigué de regarder les oiseaux parce que on fait ça beaucoooooooooooooooup. Aussi c’est difficile à parler aux autres personnes parce que ils parlent des autres langues et je ne peu pas les comprendres.

Je suis excité d’arriver à notre maison parce que je peux jouer avec tout mes jouets,surtout mon Lego, et parce que je peux voir mes amis encore.

Merci,

Callum

Exploring Northern Thailand

There was so much appeal to heading to the North of Thailand: a better climate, a few mountain peaks begging to be birded, and two cities that are on many people’s favourite’s list, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We landed in Chiang Mai, ready for a few days of wandering through the old walled city. The first couple of days we explored markets and temples, drank mango shakes (always!) and ate curries, rode in tuk tuks and walked for hours. We visited the famous Night Bazaar, but were underwhelmed – it’s much more touristy than we expected and we’ve had better, more authentic experiences elsewhere in Thailand.

(Left to Right: the Old City Wall, fresh mango smoothies, a Wat at night)

In a Tuk Tuk!

On our wanderings we toured numerous Wats, impressed as always by the peace and serenity held in these places of worship, and by the intricate details in the architecture. Sitting in the shade of a tree, watching multi-coloured ribbons dance in the breeze, and listening to the tinkle of bells was so soothing for the soul. A monk came up and chatted with us, hoping to practice his English. It was neat to hear about his studies, and his aspirations – he wants to become a chef in England! – and to be as in awe of him and his life as he was by us foreigners.

We also visited the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders, a private collection amassed over a lifetime by two Thai entomologists, and a real labour of love. The information shared was fascinating, and the biodiversity included was absolutely incredible. For science geeks like us, it was a stop not to be missed.

A lucky coincidence meant that we were in town for the annual Flower Festival, where all the surrounding villages and hill tribes walked in a parade with traditional costumes, presenting flowers from their region. There were floats, marching bands, and beauty contestants, and it lasted for hours! Such colour and beauty, a lovely Saturday morning surprise spectacle.

Four days of city is enough for us before we need a nature fix; this time, we rented a car and headed southwest to a town called Chom Thong, near the base of the highest mountain in Thailand: Doi Inthanon. Our hotel was a short walk from a great little market, where we could grab tea and chocolate milk, banana waffles and sweet roti, and noodle soup with bok choi and pork. These markets where we interact with locals are the absolute best:  we see live eels for sale and fresh coconut being cleaved, we giggle with women and high-five kids, we try odd and interesting new foods, and we can really be immersed in the culture. Sometimes there are even hugs by an 80-yr old toothless woman who says that she loves me. The best!

The purpose of being here was to bird Doi Inthanon, which meant for a couple of days we had early mornings and long days, stopping at viewpoints, scanning the canopy, hiking in rainforest thick with moss, and listening for rustling in the understory. All of this hard work paid off, and we got some great birding rewards: 4 species of minivets, Maroon Oriole, Yellow-cheeked Tit, Hume’s Treecreeper, Black-backed Sibia, Green-tailed Sunbird, Plumbeous Redstart, and Silver-eared Laughingthrush (to name a few). Unfortunately, the kids are starting to lose interest in birding – after 7 months, I can understand why – which makes for shorter tempers all around. But when we all get glimpses of a Slaty-bellied Tesia, we all still get equally excited, so we plow on. And if we find a tiny stick insect, or eat weird rice crispy snacks, it helps us all get through the tough moments. One such tough moment was when Owen found a huge tick on his leg – like, 1 cm by 1 cm – but he was a trooper as Kevin managed to dislodge it, thankfully before it had started to feed.

Silver-eared Laughingthrush

Green-tailed Sunbird

Blue Whistlingthrush

Chestnut-tailed Minla

We dropped off our car rental at the Chiang Mai bus station (where Owen got his cheek squeezed by an elderly Thai woman) and we hopped on the public bus headed north to Fang. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride – they had 3 people sit on bench seats made for 2 – but thank goodness it wasn’t that long, only 3 hours. It was a bit chaotic when we arrived in Fang, as there are no taxis, Uber, tuk tuks or anything that will get the public around the city (seriously, Fang, get your act together!) so we were stranded wondering how to get to our hotel at the far end of town (5 km away). After much angst, we dragged our weary feet and worried heads into a nearby hotel, and the lovely lady at the front desk made some inquiries and got our hotel to send a car and driver. Lady, you rock! I could have kissed her.

In a bus!

The hotel was perfect – quiet, a cheap onsite restaurant with local food, and a friendly owner who arranged transport to get us around. It even had breakfast included; while chicken and rice soup isn’t quite what we expected, it was hearty and delicious. There were also rice paddies nearby that were fun to explore.

From here we had 2 excursions – the first was an early morning heading up Doi Ang Khang mountain to bird (of course). Some lovely lookouts and walks in the woods, and some lovely birds too: Mountain Bamboo-Partridge, Vivid Niltava, Japanese Tit, Gould’s Sunbird, Scarlet-faced Liocichla,  a bunch of Old World warblers, and a Chestnut-vented Nuthatch.

In a truck!

We stopped at the border to Myanmar and gazed from the army base over the barbed fence, grateful that there were no current hostilities. Here some local hill tribes in traditional clothes were selling their wares, and we also stopped and had some delicious lunch by a friendly lady who I would have loved to get to know better.

Yummy soup served with a great smile

The next day we rode in a songthaew to Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park where we got to enjoy the geyser and hot springs. We weren’t brave enough to sit in the saunas spewing their hot sulphuric gases, but a soak in the hot natural mineral baths after we wandered the roads birding (we heard, then saw, a Collared Owlet, but missed the White-capped Robin) was a neat experience.

In a songthaew!

In a hot spring!

From Fang, we got a ride by our hotel owner to the quiet town of Tha Ton, where we booked a trip on a longtail downriver to Chiang Rai. It was a great, cheap and relaxing way to travel, although maybe not super comfortable if you’re 6-ft tall. And you have to beware rogue waves! We greeted fishermen that we passed, watched water buffalo wallowing on the riverbanks, and waved to children bathing in the river. Highly recommended!

In a longtail!

We passed a village with many elephants ready and waiting to give rides to tourists, and shuddered; how awful. We had contemplated volunteering at an elephant rescue facility, but after much research, we couldn’t be sure that any facility was genuine, and not still exploiting elephants in order to gain tourist dollars. It’s possible that some good places exist, but without being sure of their intentions, we decided to avoid them entirely.

I bought some handicrafts from a local hill tribe woman; she’s not smiling here, but she cracked a smile after, and we hugged – it must be so hard bargaining with tourists day in and day out, but she had a twinkle in her eye once we settled on a price. Funny twist: she’s wearing a Starbucks t-shirt under her traditional clothing!

Chiang Rai was only a quick stop for a couple of nights – enough time to visit the night markets and see the famous White Temple. The night markets were amazing, a sensory overload, and we shopped and ate to our hearts content. There were Flower Festival festivities here as well, and we “enjoyed” some local dancing and singing talents.

Chiang Rai Flower Festival entertainment

A hill tribe woman weaving blankets on her loom

The Temple was a bit of an oddity, with beautiful architectural details in white and silver, including ornate dragons and buddha heads, but there were also skulls, bodiless hands, and a plethora of pop culture motifs painted on the walls of the main temple, including Yoda, Harry Potter, Aladdin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and more. In the midst of all of this there were worshippers laying offerings at the foot of Buddha. We found a quiet hall where the was an exhibition of the architect’s artwork, and we enjoyed studying the various media and techniques he used in his paintings and sculptures, in an air-conditioned room away from the hordes (and I mean hordes) of tourists. Definitely an interesting, if a bit overwhelming, morning.

There wasn’t as much wildlife in the forests as we had hoped, but it could be that we were visiting at the busy time of year, and at the end of the dry season. And while we hadn’t planned on a hike through the hills to visit the tribal villages, if we come back that will for sure be on the agenda, it looks like a fantastic experience. The north of Thailand had everything we look for in a vacation; we loved it here.

In a … I don’t even know.