Goa, India

I will forever have eternal gratitude for Jason's hard work in accumulating all these hotel points. We're currently fortunate enough to stay at the Marriot, which is located in Myramar, Goa. We spent the majority of the morning/afternoon feasting, sleeping and web surfing but finally managed to organize a mini jaunt outside the compounds to tour the neighboring area. I'm hesitant to say this, but, man, this place is a dump not pretty. Similar to many parts of 3rd world asia, there seems to have been no care put into urban planning/sanitation/pollution control. Heaps of garbage, plant debris, various other crap fill the gutters and, what seems like, every nook and cranny along clay roads. We took our walk at dusk and the beach was far from idyllic. Its monsoon season- hazy lighting from heavy clouds combined with red clay dust and thick smog and the suffocating humidity give feeling, like something out of a zombie horror film.

Nonetheless, tomorrow will be more promising: we'll venture into Old Goa and remnants of Portuguese establishment among other tourist sites.

Bangalore, India

Having a good time, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

It was devastating to leave the paradise that is Rangali Island, Maldives but we managed to say goodbye with few tears :(

We are currently in Bangalore, India where we have ~12 hour layover (4pm until 6am next day) before continuing on to Goa. We had the not so brilliant idea to stay up all night, exploring the city then staying up at the airport. Luckily there is free wifi to kill the next 6 hours before we board our plane :)

We did get dropped off in the middle of the major shopping district, but it seems for the most part that Bangalore is a surprisingly westernized, extremely modern and highly bustling city. I was disspointed that the ubiquitous "Cafe-Coffee Day" (equivalent of Starbucks) didn't have any Chai Tea.

The next 3 weeks in India should amount to plenty of interesting pictures,and experiences. I have wanted to visit this country for a very long time and i'm so glad to finally be here!

Fish Massage in Cambodia

Getting a fish massage on our feet, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

After walking around Angkor all day (well, for 3 hours) our feet required some maintenance to maintain their supple, but firm textures. As if a sign from God, we saw a sign for "fish massage". I had heard of this phenomena from the news and was eager to test it out. Because we are cheap bastards, we, of course, bargained the $3 dollars/per person for 20 minutes into $4 for 2 people for 15 minutes thus saving $2 dollars which was applied to our dinner fund. (s.e asia is absurdly affordable. nyc will be hell)

We were led to a tub-like wading pool and greeted by a few other tourists (Guailos) who had already submerged their feet into the tub which was infested with tiny little fish. An attendant cleaned our feet with a communal towel before we were allowed to begin.

Upon submersion, the fish hungrily swarmed to our parched, delicious heels and nibbled ferociously, as if their very lives depended on our calloused contributions. It took about 10 minutes to get used to all the weird nibbling but my feet really did feel smoother after.

Apparently, in the US, this type of massage has been outlawed, deemed "unsanitary" and "illegal." Fortunately, S E Asia has no guidelines around sanitation, so if you are interested, you can try it in Cambodia!

Ta Prohm

Trees growing in and out of walls, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Of all the temples we managed to squeeze in during our 6 hour tour of Angkor (divided between 2 days), the last, Ta Prohm, was the most beautiful and interesting. The majority of the temple was in shambles due to the intense pressure of the giant silk cotton trees growing through/around/on top of/(preposition) the structure. I really love it when nature trumps man. In this case, it made this particular temple the most memorable and awe inspiring.

Jason vs Cricket

A nice lady offered me a snack, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

We took a 5 hour bus from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Saigon, Vietnam. En route, we were momentarily paused by the Mekong River "pier" where we were quickly swarmed by troves of merchants selling sunglasses, mangoes/asstd fruits, banh (bread), zippo lighters, coffee (toxically awesome caffeine in SE Asia!), and insects. We turned to each other "should we buy some?" in our 5 minutes of debate and vacillation, we began to cross the river and lost our chance. Fortunately, the lovely woman in front of us bought a bag! Jason peered over and asked if he could sample a morsel and she was kind enough to sacrifice poor little fried jiminy for hungry Jason.

I documented the entire 3 second event and refused any affection for the remainder of the ride lest bits of shell or antennae remained in his teeth. Needless to say, I was impressed. He says it tasted like sauce.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Today we visited the Killing Fields and the S-21 prisoner detention center of the Khmer Rouge.  To be honest, my understanding of this 3 year mass genocide of Cambodian citizens was (an for the most part, still is) vague.  Since I'm pressed for time, ill copy and paste an excerpt from an email i sent about my experience..(sorry :( !)

...the killing fields is this relatively small plot of land about 15km from the city center of phnom penh where tens of thousands of cambodians were killed during pol pot's terror regime in the 1970s.  its hard to describe. the land is small in comparison to how immense and intense it felt.  when you look out onto the landscape, its just like tons of indentations in the dirt with lots of green, beautiful grass covering them.  these indentations are the mass graves of all the tortured prisoners. they would just stack hundreds/thousands of bodies in the graves. when they exhumed one grave, in particular, they discovered bones but no heads..the prisoners had all been decapitated. there was a separate monument, the architecture was similar to their temples here and it was just glass cases of skulls...even though they cleaned them and everything, the stench was totally undeniable..i started feeling kinda sick after that.

after the killing fields, we drove back to town and went to the s-21 prison where these prisoners were detained before being taken to the killing fields. from my understanding, it was mostly just an inquisition/torture center.  we were allowed to go into the cells and they had left the beds that prisoners were kept on along w/ the torture instruments used on them. on the walls, they enlarged photographs taken by the Khmer rouge of their victims.  in the upstairs rooms, there were rows and rows of hundreds of face portraits taken by the khmer rouge to document the prisoners followed by rows more pictures of these prisoners being tortured.  these were all pictures taken by the khmers to document their torture. it was just unbelievable.

i just told jason to take me somewhere happy after this tour, we went to this market and got some shaved ice and steamed corn. still now, when i'm sitting poolside, i can't shake this nauseating feeling....

Cambodia

The Monk way, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Siem reap, Cambodia has been a pleasant surprise so far. We came into Siem Reap not knowing what to expect. However, for our short stay here, we have been pleasantly surprised.

There are still many touts, asking you for tuk tuk rides, but that is the same all over southeast asia. The Angkor Temples were absolutely wonderful and I was a bit awe-struck. It's definetely comparable to the Taj Mahal.

Siem reap itself is your pretty standard southeast asian tourist enclave. However, there are many modern developments and 5-star resorts. I was a bit surprised but I guess angkor wat really brought in the tourist dollars.

Food is also very cheap. Jennifer and I have eaten at some very nice Western style restaurants and come out paying only 10 USD for a big BBQ dinner.

Okay, there are way to many bugs at this internet cafe so I'll be writing again later

Jason

Charmed in Luang Prabang, Laos

Our whirlwind tour throughout Southeast Asia continues and we are currently in Luang Prabang, Laos. During a previous trip to Thailand with my family in 2004, I stepped into Laos while we were doing a "golden triangle" (laos, vietnam, cambodia) tour of the Mekong and didn't find it particularly appealing or special. But, sfter minor deliberation, we decided that despite the expensive one-way plane ticket from Hanoi to Laos since we'd probably never get a "natural" opportunity to visit this sliver of a country.

I am SO SO happy we decided to visit because Laos, at least Luang Prabang, is unexpectedly charming. It'ss like the Sierra Madre of Southeast Asia- outside of the wats, the architecture is very Westernized (probably result of some European colonization) and the town is quaint and on the sleepier side. The barely bearable temperature (35-40C) might have something to do with the sleepiness, but compared to the crazy buzzing of Hanoi, Laos is like a gentle slumbering bear. In fact, there is a government mandated 12:00am curfew and dancing is restricted to select few establishments. Tonight, Jason and I have decided to get back to our hotel by 8:30pm so we can shower and catch "Fool's Gold" on HBO on our tiny 12'' Samsung TV...yes, we are getting crazy!

My impression of Vietnam is mixed. It's like when I was 8 and my sister was 14 and I wanted to follow her and her friends everywhere and be just like her. But she was in junior high and a teenager and she'd deliberately speak French, which she was taking in school, and write her notes to her friends in French so I couldnt spy.

Vietnam has so much to love but it doesnt want my love, which irritates and frustrates me to no end. Contrary to the Balinese, which were, at times, obsequious with their attention to tourists, Vietnamese seem to tolerate. I often found the mighty Western side of me wanting to punch them in the face for shoving me, albeit gently, aside when I offer them unreasonable prices for mangos. The fact that I speak broken Spanish, Chinese, Taiwanese and English has no clout in Vietnam, not that is should, but again, the mighty westerner in me demands some polite attention. I'm only half serious.

I commented to Jason that perhaps there is TOO much French influence in Vietnam...

Hello Uncle Ho

One tourists at Uncle Ho's, originally uploaded by jasonwmak.

Last night we arrived in Hanoi. Chelsea and I visited Hanoi a few years ago and it was one of my favorite Asian cities to visit. Hanoi evokes the image of what a Westerner would think of as traditional and developing Asian city. Lots of scooters and bikes zooming around. Many small stores selling everything from baskets to bras. And of course restaurants spilling onto the already crowded sidewalks where we can eat pho or ice desserts. The smells, noises, and sights of Hanoi somehow remind me of spending summers in Taiwan when I was a kid.

Today we walked around the Old Quarter and visited Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Jennifer is learning that real Vietnamese food is slightly different to that of Pho 32 in New York and Golden Deli in San Gabriel. Tonight she found a great little pho restaurant serving very beefy (and oily) pho. It was tasty and I only had one bowl. Then we walked around a bit and found a deli for a Vietnamese sandwich, with random meats and pate.

I quite like eating in the streets. The little stools are surprisingly comfortable and you can't beat the prices. Anywhere from $1-$2 for a bowl of pho and $.50 for a beer from a "Bia Hoi" stand.

Another thing, we felt lazy today so we hired a "cyclo" (vietnamese pedi-cab). Our restaurant was about a 10 minute ride away so we negotiated the rider to take us there for 15000 dongs; this is the equivalent of 80 cents in the US. I remember the summer where I pedi-cabbed in downtown San Diego. I remember that I once got paid $40 to take two drunk guys up the street (though they were big guys and overweight). How different two worlds are!

Anyways, hope everyone is doing well back home.

Jason

Ubud (pronounced OOOO-BOOOD)

We are spending our last few days of Indonesia in a town called Ubud. It's an inland town away from the beach but it is supposedly the art and cultural center of Bali and there are many art galleries, temples, and museums here to justify that. Jennifer and I have been pampering ourselves with good food and massages instead.

Last night we went to a Cecak dance. It was a traditional dance show where 70 men sat in a circle chanting a (chk chk chk) noise for two hours while a show was being performed in the middle. It was hard to describe but hopefully when I post the pictures you guys can get an idea of what it is like. Otherwise, we have been battling out our turf with the local monkeys here.

In a few hours, Jennifer and I will be taking a cooking class, to cook some traditional Indo food. Hopefully after a night of drinking and clubbing, I will be able to invite you all back home for some late night nasi goreng and chicken curry!

alright, i'll be posting more pictures when i get to a faster internet connection...a bit slow here.

hope everyone is doing good and staying away from the swine flu

jason