I'M BAAAAAACK!

Greetings from my friends,' Dan & Nicole's, home in Bethesda, MD!!!

After a quick stay in Kuala Lumpur last week I caught a flight up to Bangkok for a final night out (with Ed & Gemma!!). Then I caught my flights back to Johannesburg, South Africa (via Doha, Qatar in the Middle East where the Duty Free shop included a car section with Mercedes & Audis on display!). I stayed one night in Joberg with the immensely generous & lovely Sands family , then caught a flight up to Paris, and finally one from Paris over to Newark. WHEW! I was exhausted, but it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and flying in I got to see the Manhattan skyline and even Lady Liberty -- a fantastic welcome back to the States!

As the U.S. air travel Gods would have it, however, getting from Newark down to DC proved to be next to impossible. After nearly five hours in the Newark airport I found myself hanging on by a very thin thread as they announced yet another delay to my final 38-minute-long flight. But I finally made it back, and my luggage arrived the following morning, so all is well now. (Huge thanks to Paul O'Neill who took me in that first night and supplied me with Ambien!)

So now the real games begin as I get to select a new home city, determine a new place to live, find a new job and just generally set up shop. I look forward to reconnecting with all of you reading this blog in the process. Chat soon!

xoxo,
Mere

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Cage!

One day on Palau Kecil I took a snorkeling trip around the island. On our first stop, we swam with sharks! That's right! Black tip sharks, and big ones at that -- 1.5 - 2.5 meters long! I was sooo nervous and scared, but our snorkeling guide let me grab his hand whenever I wanted to, and that was a huge help. I had been so disappointed back in Cape Town when all the Great White Shark Cage Diving trips were sold out. And granted, these black tips are no great whites, but it was fantastic to see them so close, swimming amongst the reefs. Wow! And now I'll be just fine to NEVER see another shark in person again!

At a later spot, we swam with turtles....huge ones! They're so cute and wise looking. I'd been trailing above one for several minutes, and much to my delight it began to surface. As it surfaced, I saw that it was so much bigger than I'd realized. And then suddenly, this huge sea turtle was directly under me! I was gently stroking it's soft, slippery, mossy shell as we swam along for a pretty good distance together. But in my excitement, I didn't pay attention to my snorkel, and suddenly I took in a huge gulp of salty sea water - bleeech! My jerk reaction was to go from a horizontal swimming position to a vertical position with my head above water, and in the process I kicked the poor ol' turtle and sent him flying back down to the bottom -- poor guy! I felt horribly. Way to go grace! Unlike the sharks, I do hope to have another chance to swim with big turtles one day.

Back on land there were other exciting creatures on the island. Most fascinating were the huge monitor lizards. Picture a big alligator but with slightly taller legs, and a head that looks just like the velociraptors from the Jurrasic Park movies, and that's what a Malaysian monitor lizard looks like! Thankfully, in the scavaging ways, they mostly kept to the trash heaps. There were also huge bugs, including a spider that shared my bathroom with me. It was too big to even attempt squashing it. Believe me, I've never showered so quickly in all my life! There were also beautiful huge fish eagles with their mighty talons and beautiful white heads. Overall, I had a great time sharing the island with the Malaysian creatures.

xoxo,
Mere

stuck...Stuck...STUCK!

No...I didn't stick my tongue to a flagpole on a triple dog dare. But I was very stuck nonetheless -- stuck on the smaller of Malaysia's Perhentian Islands in the South China Sea.

I left Singapore in search of these undeveloped islands of paradise. My plan was to chill on a low-key beach for my last full week of SE Asia travel. Palau Kecil, the island I was on, delivered in spaids. It was the perfect spot for some one-on-one time with me. The island is tiny. It has no roads, and no motor vehicles -- not even a single motorbike. There isn't even a pier or dock anywhere on the island. The small boats that ferry tourists (and all supplies) over from the mainland stop once the boat is in about 1.5 meters of the translucent aqua waters, and you must jump overboard and wade ashore from there (no small task with my THREE overstuffed bags!).

I found a cute, simple little bungalow to rent. The island has no central plumbing, and no electricity. My place had a generator that ran at various hours (it always seemed to be off more often than it was on). And there was even a small room off the dining deck that had a few computers and a satellite Internet connection. If the stars aligned just right, you could get in to use a computer when both the generators were on and the satellite was up.

I arrived early the morning of St. Patrick's Day, and after checking into my bungalow and hitting the beach with my book for most of the afternoon, I decided to pop into the biggest bar on the beach for a sun-downer (happy hour) beer -- green, if they were getting into the holiday spirit. Surprisingly, I was told the entire islands was out of all beer and spirits! Malaysia is a Muslim country so drinking is not a practice of the locals on the mainland, and the island bars and resorts do their best to get shipments, but the deliveries are erratic. There were some mopey Irish tourists on the island that March 17!!

As the days passed, I really got into the laid back, simple island life. If a hotel wanted to promote a special dinner menu or dance night at their bar, etc., they'd send a staff person walking on the beach handing out flyers that had been hand written (no Kinko's here!). While most places just threw their trash on the side of their property and did a burning every morning, cans were recycled, and every two days, this little guy would pull up in a little boat and walk the beach collecting every business' cans. By the time he walked back to his boat in the shore waters, his bundle of cans was enormous (see photo)! At lunch, rather than stray dogs, you might get stray goats, and mangy ones at that, nosing into your lap begging for handouts. This was definitely the unplugged life, and it was a splendid way to wind down five months of go-go-go travels.

And then I tried to leave.

The storm began around 3am with lightening and thunder so fierce I expected the four shabby walls of my little bungalow to unhinge from one another and fall to the ground leaving me to get soaked in the torrents of rain that were pelting down. The rain and thunder was still strong when I drug myself out of bed in the morning. I ran over to the dining deck for breakfast and actually thought about how this is so perfect -- a rainy day that would make it easy to say goodbye and head back to the mainland for my overnight bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's very metropolitan capital city. I relaxed at the table with a book and went back to my room to pack up my bags. OH...my bags! None of them are waterproof, and it was still raining hard. I did my best to wrap things in plastic and headed over to the dining deck to check out.

It was at check out that I first had a local say to me, "You really think you're going to get off the island today?" It hadn't dawned on me that the small 15-passenger ferry boats probably couldn't make it to the mainland in this weather....oh crap! But no worries...so I can't leave at noon as planned, but surely the weather would lift in time for the final 4pm ferry trip...right? Wrong! It got worse! And I even let some people talk me into walking on a jungle path across to the other side of the island where the surf is always calmer. The jungle walk about killed me. The muddy path went up and over a hill to get to the other side, and in the pouring rain, and with my THREE extremely heavy, not-water-proof bags, it was painful! I slipped and fell once getting everything super muddy. I was a mess. And on the other side it was more of the same -- panicked tourists huddling under restaurant decks with wet luggage watching the sea churn under a dark ominous sky as they clutched soggy plane, train and bus tickets that were soon to expire.

By the time I threw in the towel, all lodging was booked save for one waaaaay overpriced room at the very end of the beach. I hauled all of my soaked luggage down there and took it (Doesn't anyone in Malaysia need a job? PORTERS, people...I would have tipped ANY AMOUNT on that day to have had some help!). I used the space in the costly room to lay out all of my wet belongings in hopes they'd dry a bit before being packed up to try again for the 8am ferry the following morning. And thankfully that ferry did, in fact, run! Unfortunately, it took 2 hours to complete the 45 minute trip, so I missed yet another pre-paid bus reservation to Kuala Lumpur, but I did finally make it back to the mainland and on a bus through the beautiful, lush jungles of Malaysia...just in time to arrive in Kuala Lumpur for, that's right kids, another big bad rainstorm!

Almost dry now!
Mere

The Other Magic Kingdom

On the 14th, I left Vietnam to meet new friends, Ed and Gemma, in Singapore! You remember Ed & Gemma -- they're the adorable honeymooners Kathleen & I enjoyed palling around with on our Namibia Overlanding tour -- the Brits who are on a year-long honeymoon. So nice to see them again!

Singapore is a lot like a theme park. This tiny island nation at the bottom tip on the Thai/Malaysian peninsula is a living example of what would happen if Disney ever formed a country. It's like a park where "City" is the theme, and money & technology are everywhere you look. It's so unlike SE Asia's other cities in a very Stepford/Disney kind of way. Some examples:

The place is spic-n-span clean and has the most beautiful landscaping everywhere -- from the gorgeous green trees lining every street, to the exotic flowering blooms that brighten up each median.

The public subway system is far superior to Epcot's monorail! Singapore's MRT has to be the most efficient, nicest, cleanest public transport system in the world. One odd note, however -- on the flat screen TVs that hang from the ceilings in all of the platform areas, they show hi-def vignettes about terrorist attacks, showing images of the attacks on London's subways. The spots are meant to encourage vigilance, but it's not the images one wants to see before boarding the trains!

Singapore has a mascot with a huge statue. They call is the Merlion -- 50% lion, 50% mermaid and 100% odd!

There are themed areas throughout the country...which is also the city...which is also the island. There's Little India (where we stayed!), Chinatown (photo on left), the Harbor Front, Orchard Road (main drag for shopping), Clarke Quay (main area for restaurants & nightlife), etc.

The only thing Singapore doesn't have in common with a theme park is the rides. Those are replaced in this lovely land with shopping malls. And the malls are everywhere! They call shopping Singapore's national sport. Unfortunately, the prices are more on par with Chicago's Michigan Ave than with Bangkok's Khoa San Road. But we did enjoy the sights and a Singapore Sling at the famed Raffles Bar.

Cheers!

Mere, Gemma & Ed

The Hills Are Alive....

Greetings from Sapa, Vietnam!! There's Internet up here, after all!

Wow - did we enjoy our trekking. The rolling green hills and mountains are breathtaking with their terraced rice paddies and occasional fields of flowering indigo. We set off very early after an overnight train ride from Hanoi that jostled us around too much for a restful sleep. But once we hit the clean, cool, crisp morning air of Sapa, we were invigorated and ready to go.

The trek began with our guide, Quinn, explaining that the usual course follows the main road for a good bit, thereby making it less scenic & adventurous, so given our group was just us three fit gals (Amy, Laura & me), he'd take us on a less travelled path. Hmmmm... He then proceeded to RUN down some of the smallest, muddiest, slipperiest little pathways into the valley and hills of this gorgeous region. Wow... Keeping up with Quinn was no easy task, but we wanted to fit his bill for us, so we soldiered on, swallowing our fears of falling down as we skimmed ourselves across the slippery, wet terrain. Oddly, Quinn moved fastest when going up a hill - he'd run, never walk up. I think he embodies the concept of "delayed gratification" better than anyone I've met.

As we passed by or walked through the little villages of the various hill tribes in the area, we'd be accompanied by little girls aggressively trying to sell their wares. Buying a little bracelet each did nothing but encourage them to try to sell us more. While their company was cute and fun, their constant pitches for money grew tiresome.

After 13 kilometers up, down and through this gorgeous patch of earth, we arrived to our destination for the night -- a little village of the Xai hill tribe. We stayed the night in the home of a Xai family who prepared a delicious supper that was interrupted every few minutes by our "ma" (she was only 36 years old!) pouring yet another round of shots of her homemade rice whisky! The family didn't speak English, they didn't even speak Vietnamese, but they knew how to say "Cheers!" After 8 shots or so, Quinn disappeared. When we wondered aloud about where he'd gone, we heard a slurred "I drunk!" come from behind a curtain, and we went over to see Quinn had already put himself to bed...with a big, silly grin on his face. So much for our having an interpreter for the night! After a few more rounds of the rice whisky, we closed out the party around the fire with our "Ma," "Pa," and "Cousin Meng." Good times, good times.

The next morning, we trekked some more (hungover Quinn conveniently passed us off to another guide for the most gruelling vertical portion of the hike), and eventually found ourselves up on the main road, returning to Sapa for an incredible sunset over the mountains.

xoxo,
Mere

Back in 'Nam...

Some Vietnam happenings/observations:

Laura and I went to see Dreamgirls at the movie theater last night, and there was assigned seating, which is apparently the norm here in Vietnam. When we bought our tickets, we were shown a seating chart and had to pick our seats. Then an usher showed us to our seats when we entered the theater. I sorta like the concept, but what happens if you select a seat behind someone really tall -- can you move???

There are over 3 million registered motorbikes in Hanoi, and each one of them has a very well-worn horn. The cars & trucks too. Everyone lays on their horns here...all the time. It makes it really hard to enjoy wandering the streets.

When parting ways, the Vietnamese have a lovely habit of wishing each other "Good luck." or "Good fortune." It's nice.

As a former French colony, all the cities have had amazing bakeries with delicious baguettes and pastries - yum!

On many occasions, we've talked about whether or not in 35 years we could be touring Iraq the way we're currently touring Vietnam...

Following Tet last month (Chinese New Year), I've heard a lot about this being the "Year of the Golden Pig." They say the Golden Pig year only happens every 600 years or so, and all who are born in a year of the Golden Pig are blessed and will bring good fortune to their families. One woman even told us that China lifted their 1 child per family rule to accommodate extra Golden Piggies. Good news for all who are expecting before next February!

We happened to be in Hoi An during the last full moon, and the city celebrates each full moon by turning off all lights save for the ones inside the colorful silk lanterns that adorn all the shops, restaurants & homes. People also sent many little silk boats with candles inside floating down the river. It was just lovely!

Many of the countries I've visited have sizable visa stamps & stickers, so my passport was full, and I had to go to the U.S. Embassy offices here in Hanoi to have extra pages added. I was so nervous about the process, imagining a lot of red tape, but was pleasantly surprised by a fairly painless, hassle free visit to our Embassy offices, and I now have plenty of extra space to keep travelling -- bring on Singapore & Malaysia!!!

All of the taxis, motos, and cyclos here in Hanoi try to scam tourists. We always agree to a price in advance, but each time, when we arrive at our destination, the driver tries to argue for more. It's horribly frustrating, and last night, our taxi driver even followed Laura & me into our hotel arguing that he was due more money. It turned into a big scene, and unfortunately our hotel staff interpreters didn't seem to take our side. As lovely as this city is, I'm happy to be leaving the horns and transport scams behind.

My last adventure in Vietnam is a 4-night, 3-day trek to visit hill tribes in the Sapa area - we leave in a couple of hours. When we wrap that adventure I'll fly to Singapore, parting ways with Laura & Amy (Michelle left yesterday to return to her life & work in Canada - boo!). Look for my next blog to come from Singapore around the 15th!

xoxo,

Meredith

Some Things Just Don't Quite Translate...

My favorite establishment to walk by in Hanoi!

:)

xo,

Mere

Happy Birthday to Me!

March 8 is International Woman's Day - a great day for a birthday abroad!! I don't know why we don't celebrate this day in the states -- apparently it's a big deal in the rest of the world. The day is marked by women receiving flowers, and men going out of their way to do the little things -- open doors, carry luggage, etc. It was fantastic!!

We arrived back in Hanoi from the boat trip around 4:30, and after settling into our hotels, we (Amy, Laura, Michelle & I) all put on new tailor-made dresses from Hoi An, and set out on the town! First, we enjoyed free cocktails at the I Heart Vietnam bar (women drink free on Intl Women's Day!). Then, we had a lovely dinner at the Green Tangerine (recommended by the Irish girls who'd already done Hanoi!), and we closed the night dancing away at the Amazon Bar where within minutes of entering the place, an Australian guy made me stand on a bar stool as he announced to the entire bar that it was my "21st" birthday - I couldn't believe how many people actually believed him! Before I could come down from the bar stool, they made me sing a song. Sadly, Row, Row, Row Your Boat was all that came to mind, but somehow everyone seemed to love it and the rest of the bar joined in! Then the Aussies started spraying champagne everywhere and the bar sang Happy Birthday back to me. Laura then hopped behind the bar and assumed DJ duties for the night, and we had a great time singing and dancing till the staff kicked us out so they could close up shop.

Thank you Hanoi for a great 21st birthday! :)

Cheers!
Mere

Chilly Willy!

We didn't know that when we left the quaint little town of Hoi An we were also leaving the heat and humidity of Vietnam behind. But that's what happened as we arrived in Hanoi to a strikingly cooler climate. Despite the cold temps, Amy, Laura, Michelle and I spent our first three days in the North on a boat cruising Halong Bay.


The bay is full of karsts, or tall limestone rocks that jut up out of the water. The local legend behind the unique & dramatic vistas of Halong Bay is that mountains once lined the shore, and a dragon lived there. One day the dragon became angry and went crashing down into the sea, crumbling the mountain into thousands of huge rocks that fell into the sea with him where they remain to this day.

On the boat, we enjoyed the fantastic karaoke set up (although not as much as our Vietnamese hosts -- I'm convinced they would have kept singing all night long if the generator had stayed on!). And when we weren't taking turns on the mike, we were playing a fantastic game of charrades - soooo my kind of entertainment!! Plus, our fellow boat-mates were a lot of fun, so the cruise is a definite highlight of my time in Vietnam.

On our last day of cruising the karsts, we stopped on a small island called "Monkey Island." We never saw any monkeys, and the little path our guide suggested we might enjoy a leisurly hike on turned out to be quite the trecherous climb with incredbly sharp & wobbly stones to navigate. So we decided the joke was on us, and we were the monkeys. A fun day nonetheless!

xoxo,
Mere

Every Girly Girl's Dream Destination

After Ho Chi Minh City, the Turkish boys, Amy and I travelled to Central Vietnam and stopped in the lovely little city of Hoi An. Amy and I immediately fell in love with the charming old city and its colorful silk lanterns and amazing array of shops. The Turkish boys took the same quick look around and decided there wasn't much to do in Hoi An, so it'd be a one-night stop for them!! And I suppose it's fitting, as Hoi An is basically a shopping mecca.

Hoi An has countless tailors, jewelry makers, shoe cobblers and purse shops where you get to design your own pieces, select the materials, place an order, and return within 24 hours to pick up your custom-designed, tailor-made goods! Four nights, 1 suit, 2 dresses, 4 tops, 4 pants, 1 skirt, 3 necklaces and 4 pair of shoes later, I found myself at the post office standing in a long line of other female tourists shipping an 8 kg box home!

Between all the orders and fittings, Amy and I also expanded our group while in Hoi An! First, we met up with Laura and Michelle (Big thanks to Annie Linehan, a pal back in DC, who knew both Laura & I were travelling in SE Asia and put us in touch with one another via email!). Laura & Michelle are a ton of fun and we instantly made a great quad (that's Laura in the market photo with me). Then, on my last night in Hoi An, I ran into Olivia & Davina -- the two Irish girls I'd palled around with in Chaing Mai, Thailand. SE Asia is definitely a circuit, and if you're staying in the backpacker areas of the major cities & sights, you're bound to keep seeing the same faces. So much fun!

xoxo,
Mere

I love this photo of the Hoi An marketplace - the colors of the fresh fruits, veggies & flowers were a delight -- and the Vietnamese ladies really do wear the straw hats!

Ha, Ha, Ha...Now Where's the Real Museum?

Greetings from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam! I'm still travelling with Amy & the two Turkish guys from Cambodia, and you'll be happy to know Murat, one of the guys, is just dorky enough to shout out "Good Morning Vietnam!" first thing every day...a ritual that's so "Mere," I'm jealous I didn't think to start doing it first!

HCMC is huge and bustling. There's a great backpackers area with tons of color and energy like Koh San Road in Bangkok, but much cleaner and nicer smelling! Today we saw some of the major sites, and I won't bore you with all the history lessons, but I have to write something about how atrociously skewed the "War Museum" is. The place is an absolute JOKE! It gives a ridiculously one-sided "story," painting the entire conflict as a war between Vietnam and America. Nothing at all is said about the civil war that was going on, about the hideous crimes against humanity that the Viet Cong were committing on Vietnamese civillians, nothing about the fact that America entered to support the South in their resistance against the Viet Cong. I mean it was just appalling! The exhibits and photos all made it out to appear that the U.S. just came in to this peaceful country and started blowing up the countryside & cities for no reason. Completely ridiculous, and such a shame for anyone who visits the museum without some understanding of the true history of events.

Heading North tomorrow.
xoxo,
Mere