Come as a Tourist, leave as a friend...

Journey: Vang Vieng Laos - Vientiane by bus (4 hrs), Vientiane - Nong Kai Thailand by bus, tuk tuk and taxi (3 hrs), Nong Kai - Bangkok by train (12 hrs), Bangkok - Kathmandu Nepal by slow taxi and flight (5 hrs), Kathmandu - Chitwan by suicidal busride (8hrs), Chitwan - Kathmandu - Nagarcott by bus, motorbike (12 hrs), Nagarcott - Kathmandu - Dunche by motorbike, bus, on foot (14 hrs), Dunche - Syabrubesi on foot trekking (7 days), Syabrubesi - Kathmandu - Pokhara by bus (20 hrs) Total Travel Duration: (I need a calculator) 246 hrs. From October 1st - October 23rd.

Other than my 6 countries in 24 days stint around Europe in 2002, this one takes the cake for amount of land covered in 3 weeks. No wonder I'm exhausted! I've decided to take it easy in Pokhara, well at least for today, as tomorrow I leave for another trek for 7-10 days around the Anapurna Sanctuary. But first, lets go back a few weeks to catch you up.

Cam, my Aussie travel partner, flew out to see me in Laos, about half way through my stay. We spent about a week together in Vang Vieng before flying out to Kathmandu Nepal. We had an interesting ride to Bangkok airport however, before our departure. For whatever reason, we were never informed, the traffic in Bangkok was bumper to bumper and we could have walked faster to the airport. It turned out there were 5 people in our minivan on the same flight to Kathmandu, so we were all pushing to arrive in time for our fight. In the midst of the traffic, I had to pee more intensely than I could ever recall. The driver was not waiting for me, even if I decided to try peeing on the side of the road in the middle of Bangkok. So Cam cut the top off of a 1.5 L bottle and handed it to me. Luckily we were in the back of the mini bus but everyone knew what was happening. Cam and I killed ourselves laughing, while everyone else seemed mortified. I peed about a litre of liquid, and when we finally arrived at the airport, I said to one of the other passengers, "I can't believe I peed that much!" She replied, unimpressed, and without a smile, "I can't believe you peed." Leaving the serenity and simplicity of Laos and arriving in large and stinky Kathmandu was crazier than the reverse culture shock I experienced when coming back to Canada, well not really...

We did our best to get out of there asap and took a bus shortly after arriving to Chitwan National Park in search of Rhinos and Elephants. For a city which seems to have been taken over by the tourist industry, it was incredibly hard to get to. I supposed it was because we weren't part of the packaged tours. After an eight hour bus ride, we took another bus, then a mini bus, which over-heated and started smoking on the way. Cam dove out of the window, and the locals fell to the ground laughing at him and taking turns making jokes in his favour.

We went on a one-day safari in search of wildlife, which we found a lot of. Down the river on the canoe, we came dangerously close to two masmongruel Crocodiles, which are aparently the most dangerous in the world. They didn't seem to be phased by our passing. Sandpipers and Stocks flew over our heads as we made our way to the trail. The mission was of course to find Rhinos. I was more concerned with how to escape if a Rhino charges us than seeing them at all. We came across many termite hills, families of Monkeys, tons of leeches, wild boars and elephants (used heavily in the tourist circuit), but unfortunately, no Rhinos. We stayed that night in the Wildlife tower and two Rhinos came really close to the tower. Although we didn't manage to get any pictures of them, it was amazing to see them quietly drift into the meadow, two ghost-like figures, being gawked at by a group of tourists.

We came back from Kathmandu and the next day rode a motorbike to Nagarcott, a two-hour ride up the kathmandu valley, which was supposed to have amazing views of the himalaya mountain range at sunrise. We stayed at Eco-Home, a guest house run by a joyful man named Semanta. Everything he did in his life seemed to have meaning. The guesthouse was designed completely eco-friendly, everything down to the menus was recycled. He also ran a volunteer program for the people in the local community, helping with different projects to assist them with becomming healthier and happier. There was a lot to be learned from this man, and his giving nature made us feel like family, staying with him. I think his guesthouse was the first of which we saw the slogan "Come as a tourist, leave as a friend." Although the motto he expressed regulariy was something along the lines of "Smile, your life depends on it."

Touched by our experience with this man, we decided to visit a friend of his on the way back to Kathmandu. He owned a Fair Trade work shop where we received a tour of the ladies working and bought some of their crafts. Our time was limited though so we went back to Kathmandu quickly. The following day we hopped on a bus to Dunche to do the Lang Tang trek.

We didnt have a bus ticket so we had to pay a bit more to ride in a mini bus to the half way point of Tusuli. In this town we were offered a ride on the tourist bus which was packed on the inside and had exploded upwards with bodies hanging off the roof, no doubt clinging to the rail for dear life. He said 100 Rupees (about $1.25) and pointed at the roof. We declined. Finally we found a chartered bus and paid a lot more than we should have for a suicidal bus ride that got us 3/4 of the way to Dunche where there was a landslide blocking the road. We walked over it and found our way on another bus and an hour later, arrived in Dunche, lucky to be alive. On the way back we drove over the landslide in the local bus, being the guinea pigs for other busses to come... I closed my eyes and prayed.

The trek is hard to write about. It's difficult to put natural beauty into words. It was difficult to walk up hill for 6 hours a day but I was lucky to have Cam as he carried the heavy bag and listened patiently as I moaned and groaned the whole way... But it was a fantastic challenge, one I was greatful to experience. Best to look at the pictures as they will tell the story of our trek.

After the trek, Cam had to leave and move on to his main purpose for returning to South East Asia, a 4 month apprenticeship in the Phillippines. One can't express the bond you create with another that you travel with for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through challenges and joy, and a variety of cultures. You would only know it if you've experienced it, but it's wonderful. I was so blessed to have him with me on this part of my journey and his departure in pursuit of his own dream, helped me to be pushed back on track to what I came here to do.

So here I am in Pokhara, leaving on yet another up hill journey through the mountains. It was challenging getting to this point and I am interested to see how the next week presents itself. After this trek I am embarking on an entirely different journey of going inwards to another 10 day vipassana retreat.

Check out my pics and please write back with any comments, questions and updates on your lives.

Namaste and lots of love,

Tiff xo

Check out my pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/KusumaTiffany/LaosToNepal#

My return to Asia

Journey: August 24^th – Sept. 11^th Toronto – Vancouver (4 hrs), Vancouver – Taipei Taiwan (13 hrs), Taipei – Chunan (4 hrs), Chunan – Hualien (5 hrs), Hualien – Chunan (5 hrs), Chunan – Taipei (3 hrs), Taipei – Bangkok Thailand (4 hrs), Bangkok – Nong Kai (13 hrs), Nong Kai – Vang Vieng Laos (5 hrs) Total duration of travel 56 hrs (over the course of 18 days.)

I’m back at the organic farm in Laos. It’s been an unbelievable year and a half since I was last here and it seems as though so much has happened since then. Guess life’s like that, close your eyes, suddenly you wake up and you’re so much older than the last time you looked in the mirror. The farm has changed quite a bit since my last visit but I also feel different. Ah the realities of life and change, as the Thai’s would say, “same, same but different.”

I left Canada on August 24^th. It was difficult to leave, but I felt that it was time. Rae and dad came to the airport with me to see me off and thus I began my journey.

I arrived in Taiwan, this time without a new school to pick me up from the airport, no scooter for transportation and no home base, but I still felt like I was coming home in a way. Being back, I knew that Taiwan and I had learned all that we could from one another. Taiwan being an old friend that I know I can call upon anytime I need her and I shall always be loyal to my friend in a time of need. I stayed with my chinese family for a week and went to visit my friends in Hualien for the following week. I spent most of my time packing up boxes upon boxes of things that I couldn’t somehow manage to get rid of. Look out Canada, here comes my stuff!

I said another tearful goodbye to Taiwan and flew back to noisy, stinky but dependable Bangkok. A productive day was had, searching for a flight to Nepal and a train out of Bangkok the next night. I took the overnight train where I met Sanda, a Buddhist nun, about my age from England. We had a great conversation that night and I felt we gave each other so much just in those few hours. Upon arrival to Nong kai, I met two English guys who hadn’t learned the tricks of the trade and were severely ripped off at the border. I discovered later though that I have become incredibly stubborn my bargaining skills, while the English guys were riding in a nice air conditioned mini van, I saved $1.50 US to ride with the locals for double the amount of time, on a hot local bus with a chicken as my only companion. I did however get to witness a rather strange local treat of cockroach/beetle like creatures. I questioned the woman beside me with communication in the style of charades, she made a gesture of breaking the bug apart, then raised her hand to her mouth and made a slurping noise, finishing with a smile and a thumbs-up. She pointed at me then the bowl of treats as if to inquire would you like to try some? I said, “No sorry, I’m a vegetarian.”

After the shoulder injuries I sustained from my last trip, I had wildly imaginative day dreams of carrying a bag as light as a feather. People would say to me, “you’re travelling for a year and that’s all you brought?” My fantasies were shattered with the reality of being Tiffany, as in actuality, I’m lugging around two huge backpacks and a box on a small trolley. People now look at me and say “how long you travelling for, a year!!! And what on earth is that helmet strapped on the outside of your bag for…?” Don’t ask… I told the English guys “It’s for the tubing you came here to do, you mean you didn’t bring one? Good luck!”

So here I am, back at the Organic farm for a month to write and live in the mud hut that I have been dreaming about since I left last time. A small, hand built hut made entirely of mud, straw, wood and bamboo. Even the couch is made of mud and it’s surprisingly comfortable! I’ve met most of my roommates, the geckos, ants, two bats and a family of mice. I’ve given a written notice to the landlord that the snakes and scorpions may not return until my departure in one month. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking, as my balcony overlooks the mulberry bushes, river and mountains, no shortage of inspiration here. Now I’ve just got to find myself a Fred Flintstone and my life is complete J

Lessons I’ve learned thus far; One should NEVER under any circumstances thoroughly tape a box before going to the post office, Even half a kilo can ruin your day, Taiwanese rarely share their name with someone else, it is completely unique to them, they can however, change their names if they find out that someone else has the same name, and the most valuable lesson, wheels, no matter how appealing they may seem, are never a good idea when lugging your stuff through third world countries!

Check out my pics at
http://picasaweb.google.com/KusumaTiffany/BackToAsia#
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The Butterfly of Freedom

As I prepared for this journey, so many people asked me how I can just pick up and go. How I can leave everything and everyone behind and travel with just a bag on my back.

I had a hard time answering until I received a card from my coworkers at Goodness me. This I feel explains a lot of how I can justify living as I do :)

On the front of the card was a picture of butterflies inside a box. One of the butterflies had flown out of the box. The card read:

The Butterfly of Freedom

"Why do you fly outside the box?"

"I fly outside the box because I can."

"But we KNOW the box. We are SAFE inside the box!"

"That, my friend, is why I leave it.

For you may be SAFE... but I AM FREE!"

Back to my homeland...

Journey: Taiwan - Vancouver (flight 15 hours), Vancouver - Revelsoke (Hitchiked 12 hours), Revelstoke - Victoria (Bus/Ferry 16 hours), Victoria - Hornby Island (Bus and Ferry 4 hours), Hornby Island - Victoria (Ferry and Hitchiked 4 hours), Victoria - Vancouver (Bus and Ferry 2 hours), Vancouver - Toronto (Flight 4 hours), Toronto - Hamilton (Drive 1 hour) Total duration: 58 hours, over the course of one month...

Happy 2008 everyone. Time to say hello to the new and toss the old out like a bag of rotten potatoes, taking the good ones out of the bag first of course... It has been a long time since I wrote and informed all of my wonderful friends around the planet what it is that I am up to these days. It's strange to be writing a blog from home, as I feel that it is a way to tell you about my travels, and I don't think home = travelled territory. Nonetheless, here's the past few months in a nutshell...

When I left Taipei, I felt a little anxious about returning to my homeland as it was never part of my plan. I felt that I needed some time with friends in beautiful BC before going back to Ontario to get adjusted to Western culture again. I met up with a couchsurfer Darren in Vancouver and he let me stay in his wonderful home right in down town Van, near the beach. My friend Dustin came the second day and met up with us, and we continued on to Revelstoke (where he lives) together in a travelling art form commonly known as (dad don't read this part) hitchiking! It took us about 12 hours and we travelled in about 5 different vehicles and met some really great people including an interesting woman with all of her material posessions in the backseat, and the father of two guys Dustin knew from Revi.

When we finally got to Revi I decided to stay for about a week to spend some time with my ol friend from Taiwan and get aquainted with his wonderful girlfriend Shannon. Not to mention the amazing scenery of Revelstoke being a magnet keeping me there. All those pictures of beautiful landscapes with snow capped mountains in the backdrop, picture that and more. During the week we hiked a lot, saw lots of bears, went swimming in the nearby lake and visited Dustin's newly purchased land, which is in the middle of nowhere, well it's close to Neeeewwww Denver! That one was for you Dusty ;) I made some new friends as well and as it turned out, through a very strange coincidence, Ryan knew a guy that I'd met in Thailand three years ago, Randy. Such a small world. So I contacted Randy and told him that I'd met Ryan and he said, "well why don't the three of us meet up and hike a glacier?" Well it wasn't coffee but hiking a glacier sounded like a good idea to me, so off we went.

We left Revelstoke with Ryan's friend Tom who was passing through on his way to Calgary. The three of us hiked up Roger's Pass, which is beside the highest point on the cross Canada hiway. When we reached the top, the weather changed incredibly fast, and as we were walking down, we got hit by hail the size of peanut m&ms. Afterwards, Ryan and I drove for two hours to a wee little "town" called Spillimachine, although I don't know if it can even qualify as a town... We set up camp and went to Radium hotsprings, which is actually a very large outdoor swimming pool equipped with hot water and chlorine... We made a feast back on our campfire and then turned out the flashlights. The next morning Randy magically appeared! The three of us set off on our big adventure. He brought us to the old little cabin that he used to live in as a child, and a waterfall close to the glacier. At the base of the Bugaboos (name of glacier) we had to porcupine proof our car but putting a fence around it and wooden pillars. There were also signs around saying, "Do not pee on or near the deck as porcupines love urine flavoured wood." Welcome to Canada folks :)

It took us about 3 hours to hike the trail up and the view was indescribable, amazing beauty that made me so proud to call this my country. We reached the top, which had a cabin with a full kitchen and HEAT! It was September but even in the summer, there's ice and snow at the top, being a glacier and all. We couldn't stay long cause sun down was coming fast so we made our way down, eating fresh raspberries along the way. It was an incredible experience and I felt blessed to meet and be reunited with two wonderful people.

I took the overnight bus back to Vancouver and then a ferry over to Vancouver Island the next day. I met up with two of my best friends Hayley and Troy and we went straight to the ocean. I stayed at Hayley's house with she and her roommate Dan, who was a very friendly and environmentally aware kinda guy. The three of us and Troy went dumpster diving at the local health food store one night, justifying along the way how doing this was saving the world by saving perfectly good food that used up fuel to transport it there and energy to break it down afterwards. That's just us, saving the planet one bunch of kelp at a time...

Hayley and I took the bus to Hornby island the following weekend. It's about a 3 hour bus ride from Victoria and then a 40 minute ferry to Denman then Hornby. The only mode of transportation once on the island is hitchiking unless you choose to use your feet. Everyone is used to this though and helps everyone else. We stayed at a wonderful place called Deerheart Sanctuary which was in a beautiful forest setting with deer running around day and night. We camped and used their outdoor facilities, washroom and kitchen. They also had a Yurt which is a mongolian hut, in which we did yoga and meditated. The island has a very special feel to it, people feel drawn there for very profound reasons and some never leave. Hayley and I both felt the beauty of the island and enjoyed exploring it. The fall festival happened to be on this weekend so we went and met up with many of the locals, which was a fortunate opportunity as Hornby at other times of the year is overrun by tourists. We both felt sad to say goodbye and knew that we'd be back.

I spent another week in Victoria and celebrated Hayley's birthday with her. She came back to Vancouver with me and I got to spend some time with my cousins, whom I hadnt seen in years! We also hiked the grouse grind, which I was very proud of as last time I forgot my inhaler and didnt make it... I again felt so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people in such a beautiful place. It was time to leave BC and continue on to Hamilton Ontario, which was my purpose for being in Canada.

As most of you already know, I came back to Canada to help a family member. My mom found out in the summer that she had breast cancer. My initial reaction was of course shock and fear but I soon replaced that with strength and certainty that she will get through this. I began to look at the word Cancer and realized that you can approach it in two different ways. You can see it as a disease, as something responsible for taking lives. Or you can see it as an opportunity, if caught in time, to fight it and look for reasons to survive. To not say "I may die of cancer" but rather "I can-cer-vive!" So that was my attitude and I came home to see to it that this is exactly the way it would go.

Surprisingly, despite my plans to travel, my return for this reason was not a difficult decision, although I was really afraid of coming back to live in Hamilton after 9 years! My mom didn't know that I was coming back when I did so my dad picked me up at the airport and I surprised her. It was a very emotional reunion and I knew that this is exactly where I am meant to be at this time.

Life is tricky and the universe has a way of placing you exactly where you need to be at certain times. Sometimes things don't always go as we plan, but that's why a plan is just a plan and not a certainty. We never know until we're actually there doing it. Therefore the only time and place that we can truly depend on, is here and now. I've tried not to resist being here, although at times challenging, it has been surprisingly comforting and positive. I've been given fantastic employment opportunities which have put me in two wonderful organizations, working with very positive people. I have a new niece whom I love spending time with. I've met some really great new people and had a great time catching up with old friends. And I felt so excited to be able to spend Christmas with my friends and family. I again feel very greatful to be provided for and I'm certain that when the time is right, I will continue my worldly journey.

I wish everyone reading this a magnificent 2008. It is going to be a great year, filled with positive change, growth and happiness beyond our imagination. I feel that 2007 was a challenging year for many and I feel confident that after every period of suffering, an even greater period of joy will follow.

I look forward to hearing from you and your feedback is always welcome.

Love and peace

Tiffany

Check out my photos from BC and Ontario at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=a415xus7.7brszinj&Uy=-tvrhju&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Click on the above link or cut and paste it into your internet address line. Enjoy :)

Plans, puppies, Burma and a piece of Pi

Journey: Pi Thailand - Mae Sai border (10hrs), Mae Sai - Tachilek Burma (10 mins walking), Tachilek - Kuang Tong (3 hrs), Kuang Tong - Loi Moi (2 hrs), Kuang Tong - Tachilek (3 hrs), Border crossing (10 mins walking), Mae Sai - Bangkok (12 hrs), Bangkok - Taipei (4 hrs flight), Taipei - Ju Bei (45 mins by car.) Total duration: Approx. 10 days.

The universe seems to have a way of surprising me when I least expect it. It's interesting planning a trip of this nature and thinking about where you're going to be in two months, and who with... It doesn't matter though because you can plan all you like but in a minute all those plans change, the faces around you change and soon you're sitting right back where you started knowing that this is where you are meant to be at this time...

The changes in regards to my trip began with an email in Pi. I was enjoying my time in the beautiful valley. Amazing scenery, cozy bungalow all to myself, friendly locals and travelers and stunning sunsets. I had finally decided that I would return to Taiwan for the summer to work, mainly because I left a sweet, gorgeuse, and wonderful little puppy back in Hualien and needed to find a way to get him home. Yogi is his name and he is a Tu go doggie (the name for mixed breed in Taiwan.) Anyway, I had finally found someone who would take him back to Canada and my mission was to get him ready. Plans all set, confidence in tact, I checked my email one week before my flight to find that Yogi had been hit by a car and died... I was, and still am devastated. He was such a special friend and although I never had any plans to adopt a dog (hence my intense allergies) he kinda adopted me. But that's life, and I have to believe that everything happens for a reason and I will see him again...

The following day, I decided that I needed a change of scenery if I didnt want to go insane with what ifs and such. The opportunity came with a guy I met in Pai JJ, who introduced me to the guy (Freddi) he'd been traveling with, who was heading to Burma that night. Keeping up with my no plans status, I decided to join him. 10 hours later, we arrived at the Mae Sai border.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into really, I hadn't done any research for Burma whatsoever. So when I entered the country, I received a little map that had a town about 3 hours north on it, called Kuang Tong, and decided to go there. The cultural change from Thailand to Burma aka Myanmar was seen instantly. The government officials at the border were pretty scary, they asked me a million questions, took my passport and said they'd be keeping it at the border until my return, gave me a handful of "permits," and they wouldn't even accept my American currency in the account of too many folds... When I hit the street, I could see that this country was much poorer in comparison to Thailand. I was interested to learn more about the country and decide for myself why it was that tourists are often advised not to visit.

It was strange traveling here on the account of needing to hand out passes wherever you go, as the government needs to know where you are at all times! I was pleased to find that there was a tremendous amount of chinese influence in this part of the country though, because this meant that I could communicate with the locals, something a lot of travelers are unable to do. I met a young girl on the bus to Kuang Tong who invited me to meet her family and helped me decide where I would stay. At this point Freddi and I had decided that we would just do our own thing, so this gave me plenty of opportunity to mingle with the locals. I checked into the only real backpackers in town that wasn't run by the government, and slept.

The next few days were incredible. I bumped into a local man on the street who was anxious to show me around. He introduced me to Li Li, a chinese woman from Beijing but who'd been living in Burma since she was 13. I spent that afternoon with Li Li touring around the city and chatting. She told me that she and her family moved here because there was more freedom and opportunity here than in China. Strange because the locals have very little freedom and opportunity. She plays tennis and told me that she and her father would return to Beijing for the olympics. Not sure if she said to participate in the olympics or watch them... I asked her where I could use the internet. She said "Ohhh no, you can't use the internet here!" She could only use it with a special pass and in another town three kilometers away. Locals are not allowed to use it and there is no way to get connected, except of course if you want to bribe the government officials on the top of a sketchy hill, which I was not prepared to do. Oh, and a one minute phone call home would have cost me about 6 USD for one minute!! She told me that almost everyone she knew didn't have a passport. Unless you are really rich, you aren't allowed to have one, but you can get special passes that will allow you to go to Thailand or China temporarily... A lot of people don't even have enough money to go to school as the government doesn't pay for it, so if you don't have money, you don't go... She was very careful about talking politics and such with me in public cause she would have gotten in trouble, not as much trouble as a local she said, but definitely trouble.. Wonder what trouble would be in store for a local talking to a foreigner... and why? Brings the question of freedom and human rights to a whole new level...

The following day, Li li, Mister um... Cant remember his name, and I set of for Loi Moi. An old village high in the mountains which was colonized by the English years ago. We had to go to the local immigration office and get a pass, which I had to pay a bribe to get, on top of the men at the office being incredibly sleezy. When we got to Loi Moi, I had to pay yet another bribe for them to let me enter, despite my having a permit. I was beginning to wonder if it was them who asked for the bribe or the old man who offered it to them... One US dollar was more than a lot of people make in a day, so I wasn't too upset in having to pay them. Nonetheless, it was worth it becuase Loi Moi was incredible, like a little heaven tucked away on a mountain. There were horses grazing in the fields and beautiful little houses covered in flowers. It was definitely worth the drive.

On our way back we visited a boy's orphanage. They were really intrigued by my presence, I think most of them had never seen a foreigner before. Even just asking them for high fives received a very happy response. I went with them to play soccer under the nearby temple and spoke a little with the owners, congratulating them on taking on such a wonderful task.

The next few days were spent cycling around the city and trying to find a place to swim, which ended with me finding a square hole filled with brown water with about 15 teenage boys inside... Not my cup of tea, but it looked like tea.. or coffee maybe... Anyways, the girl that I met on the bus to Kuang Tong had tracked me down and found me at my hostel. She invited me to come out to her house in the country and see the hotsprings. Very excited, I went with her. The drive out there was spectacular, rice fields with a huge fluffy cloud backdrop, and horses running by. Her family was so sweet, they wanted me to stay with them, but I'd already booked my bus for the following morning. She (wish I remembered her name, but it was chinese and not easy to remember) brought me to the local school which reminded me of little house on the prairie, see pictures below. I've considered going back to teach but I'm pretty sure that would not be permitted, I might cause too much trouble...

I wasn't able to get to the heart of the problems in Burma, but I could see a lot of them with my own eyes. People that are expected to adhere to a very strict set of rules, no socializing with foreigners, no passports, restricted travel, corrupt government officials... But the people were still... happy. As it seems is the case in all the countries I have visited. Those who have very little and yet don't need any more than that... Something to be learned from this?

When I left Burma, I knew that I needed to go back, and next time see more of the country via arrival in Yangon. I wasn't allowed to travel there by land because the space of land between where I was and where the capitol city is located, is where a vast majority of opium is grown and sold. There's been reports of a lot of violence in that area, as well as witnesses of military training of children... You can learn more at:

http://burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/200102/msg00016.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5071966.stm

Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Ong San Soo Chee), Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace laureate, symbolises the struggle of Burma's people to be free. She is currently under her third house arrest and the government has continually restricted her movement within the country and abroad. See the link below to learn more:

http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutburma/aung_san_suu_kyi.htm

And a great site to learn more about Burma is www.voicesforburma.org

The more aware we are of what happens in the world around us, the more we can help or bring awareness to those who can...

I'll leave you with that thought. I am leaving for Canada in one week from Taiwan. Going back temporarily to help my family and then will be traveling again. Let me know if you want to meet up, I'll be in BC for the month of September and then onto Hamilton, near Toronto.

Love and peace to all of you,

Kusuma/Tiffany xo

See Burma photos at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=a415xus7.43yistu7&Uy=-89sp5m&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=329394716108_797120681503

My crazy month in Laos, China, Laos and Thailand...

Journey: Chinese Border - Muang La (2hrs), Overnight in Muang La, M.L - Kunming (18hrs), 4 days in Kunming, K.M - Dali (4hrs), 4 days in Dali, Dali - Li Jiang (8hrs), 2 days in Li Jiang, L.J - Kunming (16 hrs/due to bus crash), Flight Kunming - Vientiane Laos (1hr.), V.T - Vang Vieng (4hrs), 10 more days in Vang Vieng, V.V - Luang Prabang (8hrs), 3 more days in Luang Prabang, L.P - Nong Kiao (4hrs), N.K - Muang Noi by boat (1hr), 5 days in Muang Noi, M.N - N.K - Odomxai - Luang Nam Tha (8hrs), Overnight in L.N.T, L.N.T - Thai border Huei Xai (4hrs.), H.X - Chang Mei (3.5hrs) Overnight in Chang Mei, C.M - Mai Sariang - Mae Hong Son - Pai (3 days/driving motorbike through the mountains.) Total time for this journey, approx. 25 days...


Phew!! It looks like a lot when you list the amount of hours traveled... It's no wonder I am vegging in Thailand at the moment and not wanting to move! Looking at my pictures and hearing about all the places I've seen in the past 4 months you might assume that I am the kind of traveler who likes to cram as much as possible into a short period of time. Really it's an art, this type of travel I mean... It takes a lot of energy, non-planning and lack of trusting instincts to pull off what I've done in the past month. Oh the stories to tell...

It all began with a coin toss and a rock fall. Sasha and I planned to go to China from Laos to meet up with her boyfriend Lloyd in Kunming, Yunnan province. Being the painfully awful decision maker that I am, I was debating on staying in Laos a little longer as China just didn't feel quite right. So I tossed a coin, and it landed tails on China. We went to the bus station and as the bus was minutes from leaving, we stood in the rain, Sasha wrote a C in the sand on one side of a big rock and L on the other, gave me a small rock and said "drop it." It, of course, landed on the C side... So I paid my 20,000 kip (2 bucks) and hopped on the bus to China.

Two days, 4 buses, a scary taxi ride, and much lack of sleep later, we arrived in Kunming, at 3 am. The woman at the front desk wouldn't let us see Lloyd in the dorms so we checked into a room and decided to kidnap him James Bond style. We tip toed past two guards and a hotel clerk, carefully working our way up the stairs and woke everyone up in the dorm, but we accomplished our mission, obtaining one surprised and sleepy Canadian boy.

We spent 4 days in clean and modern Kunming, doing I don't really know what... That much travel makes one delirious. We then headed to the old town of Dali. It is apparently one of the only places where one can get a true glimpse of old China. The town and buildings were charming but it seemed like somewhat of a theme park with travelers from all over the world eating in "Tibetan" style restaurants with vegetarian lasagna and brownies. The mountains are said to be spectacular in Yunnan province, we sadly could not see any due to the massive downpours of rain. I had a very unfortunate mishap involving a poorly run guest house and a crazy Chinese man, making me question what I was doing in this country, with public rest stop washrooms that need a sign which says "Beware, enter only with blindfold and gas mask," when I could be enjoying beer Laos and relaxing in Vang Vieng. Nevertheless we continued on.

We paired up with a couple from Holland and took a minibus to Li Jiang. Our goal was to see Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is supposed to only be around for a few more years due to plans to build dams and destroy the nature in the surrounding area. We drove past the oldest pagodas in China, where they were charging something crazy like 20 USD to enter, and continued on. We had strong hopes that the weather might be better in Li Jiang but sadly it wasn't, and it was colder. Unfortunately I started to get sick from the wet and cold and spent our first night sucking back inhalers and fighting off the hotel cat, who insisted on sleeping in my bunk bed. The following morning, I decided to turn around and go back to Laos.

I said a sad goodbye to Lloyd and my lovely travel partner Sasha before boarding the overnight bed bus to Kunming. This bus actually has three rows of bunk beds all along the bus, without any seats. It was a cozy bus ride, until in the middle of the night I woke up to the bus swerving, and a sound that can only be described as terrifying, as the bus collided with a transport truck and the highway's central railing. It was a little like a movie, people screaming and crying, the smell of leaking petrol, nobody knowing what to do... With only a small bruise on my leg, I left the bus to find the truck overturned, the metal coils it was transporting all over the road, along with its gas supply. Not surprisingly, people were smoking while standing in the gas puddle, so with my Chinese ability I told them how dangerous that was and luckily no one was blown up. Almost everyone seemed to be ok, most surprisingly the driver of the truck as it was crunched. The front of our bus was as well, and I heard later that our driver had lost his leg. It was truly one of those moments where you look over the other side of the highway, see the huge drop off and realize how incredibly lucky you are to be alive...

When I arrived in Kunming I changed my game plan of taking the 40 hour bus ride to Laos and hopped on the first flight back, which just happened to be an hour after I arrived. I made the flight, which also connected perfectly with the bus to Vang Vieng. Perhaps it was all the chaos of the previous night, but It wasn't until then that I realized I had a full blown respiratory infection and felt like I was going to die. I made it to the organic farm in a few pieces and said a quick hello to some friends before checking into a room and sleeping for 12 hours straight.

The next ten days were spent doing exactly what I needed; relaxing, laughing with friends and getting my health back on track. This return also gave me a chance to truly see what an impact the owners of the farm, the employees and the volunteers have on this community. It was so impressive to see the way in which this village was united and how everyone had so much interest and respect for the English class, run 4 times a week. I taught a few times and had a wonderful experience, getting to know the kids and the adults in the community. As fellow travelers know, its very rare to get an opportunity to have an authentic meeting with locals that are not working in the tourism business. I was happy to be a part of this and to be back in this amazing place.

A friend from Australia, Cam was still at the farm when I came back, so we decided that when he was finished his teaching contract with the farm, we would head north and travel together for a while. We left on the 27th after vegging in town for a day, getting a good dose of movies and friends episodes. We went to Luang Prabang and took a day trip to the waterfall that I had visited 3 years previous, and was now about 1/10th the size... From there we took a bus to Nong Kiao in the north of Laos, and then a boat to Muang Noi, our desired destination.

Muang Noi is a quiet and very undeveloped village which has streets of mud, is run on generators and has only been seeing tourists for probably less than 5 years. We found a bungalow with hammocks overlooking the river for a dollar a night (50 cents each.) On our second day we talked to some travelers who had visited the villages in the surrounding area and raved about how great it was. So we packed our bags and the next morning we headed out into the unknown. (I say the unknown because we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into!)

We first visited a cave, about a half hour from town and hiked through rice paddies to the first village for lunch. We indicated that we wanted to hike to the village close to the waterfall, and a villager showed us the way to the path. He left us with a point uphill and a laugh saying "you go uuuuup!" Ok, how hard could it be? Three and a half up hill climbing hours later, knees shaking, skin burnt and only 100 mils of water left, we finally spotted the village. Both Cam and I are used to being stared at, that's the nature of being a foreigner in a foreign land, but this gave a new definition to "stare." When we entered the village, I think everyone came out of their house, and every child gathered around us. Luckily they understood "water" and people even said "you stay here!!" offering their houses for the night. We settled into one family's house and shortly headed off to the waterfall. About half of the kids, maybe 20 of them, surrounded us and then showed us the way. It happened to be straight downhill about 40 minutes walk, but the kids ran, in bare feet, I slid most of the way, mostly on my bum. When we finally got there, the waterfall was nice but all we wanted was to rest. 40 minutes later we were back at the house, fed a dinner of instant noodles and bamboo shoots and then attempted to go to sleep, when a group of mid 20s guys arrived with a boom box on one of the guy's shoulders. They played their music and sat in our room, very little was said due to the language barrier, it was all very bazaar. After an hour or so they said good bye and we got some much needed sleep.

The following day we hiked down the 3 hour mountain trail and made it back just in time for a massage in the first village. We made it almost the entire way back to Muang Noi when for the last 20 minutes we walked through torrential downpour and sloshed our way through the mud. We finally made it back and I had my first leech on my leg. There were a few travelers in the restaurant who looked horrified at the state we were in, no doubt rethinking their plans to venture into the void the following day.

From there its all travel talk, border crossing into Thailand, motorbike trip around the mountains of Mae Hong Son, and finally a chance to settle in Pai Thailand, where I am now. Cam stayed for 3 days, then to stay on schedule with getting back to Aus in time for the school semester, he had to leave. It was sad to say goodbye to another fantastic travel partner. That's the tough thing about traveling, always bidding farewell to good people... But there's always more lovely folk to meet right around the corner. I'll probably stay here for the next ten days, teaching Chi Gong and chilling out in my bungalow by the swimming pool of my guest house. Life.. Is good.

I am heading back to Taiwan on June 28th to teach summer camp and make some more money before going to India and Africa. If you're going to be in Taiwan, let me know so we can grab a coffee and swap stories.

Love and miss you all,

Kusuma aka Tiffany xo



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My Return to Northern Laos

Journey: Pakse-Vientiane (12 hrs), VT - Viang Vieng (3 hrs), VV - Luang Prabang (8hrs), LP - Luang Nam Tha (8hrs), LNT - Muen Sing (3 hrs), MS - LNT - Boten/China border (6hrs) Total time for this journey: Approx 18 days.

I am currently in Li Jian Southwest China, which is approx. 30 hours away from Laos and relatively close to the Tibetan border.

We have covered quite a bit of land over the past month, bus after bus and tuk tuk after Song tao, we managed to see a lot of Northern Laos and make our way to China. This blog however, is to update you on the remainder of our time in Laos.

We left Pakse in southern Laos, sadly, and ventured north on the overnight bus to Vientiane, the capitol city of Laos. Our mission was to extend our visas, which is aparently a difficult task during Laos New Year when the government offices stay closed for days, weeks even past the actual holiday. So we decided to hop the first bus to Vang Vieng.

For those of you who haven't been to Laos, Vang Vieng is a beautiful haven wedged between limestone cliffs, on the Nam Lik river (which connects with the Mekong.) The last time I was there I found it incredibly inspirational and longed to return. This time we stayed at the organic farm which is 3km outside of town. The owners of the farm help the community in various ways and they appreciate the help of volunteers to keep the various activies running. They have built a school where they teach English to the children and adults in the nearby village, every evening. I attended the class a few times and was blown away by the friendliness of the locals and their passionate desire to learn English. We also worked on the garden and participated in a few activities to support the locals, ie. learning cross stitch embroidering. Sasha and I haven't stopped since we left the farm, making all sorts of cool stuff. Yes, I am officially a grandmother...

We had an awesome time at the farm with great people from around the world. Some days were spent tubing down the river, while enjoying the unique menus in town, special pizzas and such. And nights were spent playing mafia, and insane card games causing us to acting like monkeys, dancing rediculously with each win, while simultaneously managing to finish off more beer than my whole trip combined... with the help of an Aussie ;)

I wish I could stop to tell you the various stories that happen along the way but it's so hard to find the balance between what I think to be funny and exciting and those stories which you had to be there for. I guess I'll have to save those for when we see eachother once again.

After ten days we said a sad farewell to the farm and hopped an 8 hr bus to Luang Prabang. I can't say that I have much to report from here as we really just spent our time pigging out on great food (thank GOD for the french influence... cheeeese mmmmmmmm) and shopping at the market. We were too lazy, or too full of food to motivate ourselves to see anything, although I'd already been there so it was alright with me.

We then had about a week to see Northern Laos. The main attraction here is trekking in the tribal villages and enjoying the country side. Due to the weather we weren't able to do much of either. We did however find a great place named Adima which was only 10 kms from the China border and within walking distance to local villages. We walked to two or three in one day and witnessed the tribes in their natural setting. The children were very friendly, one was very anxious to show off his mud tobogganning skills, sliding down on his bare tooshie... We seemed to attract the attention of half of one of the villages while playing a detuned guitar and singing along with the locals. My sad attempt at brown eye girl was a big hit :) It was great to have the opportunity to see all of this with our own eyes and without the assistance of a tour guide. It created a great experience and it was a nice way to end off Laos.

Despite my clinging to Laos, and my desire to return to the farm to vedge out for another month, I hopped a bus with Sasha to the China border. We were sad to leave and honestly extremely culture shocked the second we crossed the border. It's amazing how two countries that share a border can be so incredibly different. When I write next, I'll fill you in on China and my plans for the summer, perhaps back to Taiwan, or Canada even??

Wishing you all well. Thank you for reading about my adventures and following my progress through my travels. Your input, comments, and questions are always appreciated.

Love and peace,

Kusuma aka Tiffany xo