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The BEST of Southeast Asia: Beaches, Massages, Markets, Temples and Food

3/21/2015

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By Caitlin and Jed

In our last post we discussed the sad realities and the things that annoyed us about the countries we visited in Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia). Maybe it was a bit depressing, but we really did love SE Asia, and here is a list of our favorite things about the region:
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Beaches

One of the most well known tourist attractions in SE Asia is its beaches, and for good reason. In Thailand, the choice of which beach or island to visit is surprisingly frustrating, because of the hundreds of possibilities.  After endless research, we eventually settled on Koh Lanta, a decent sized island with about a half dozen beaches, including secluded bays in the south and long open beaches in the north. One of the most famous beaches in Thailand (if not the world) is on Koh Phi Phi island, and reachable only by long boat. Maya Bay, where the movie “the Beach” was filmed, may be hard to reach but that does not deter hundreds of people (us included!) from making the journey every day.  The view of the green water and surrounding rock formations is quite breathtaking and if you squint and concentrate hard enough you can pretend you are the only one there.  

We also had a great stay at the beach in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. In retrospect this is almost solely due to the place we stayed on the quietest part of the beach. The main part of the beach is pretty run down and not super pretty, but we were able to find a nice little hotel, with very few tourists around...and for wicked cheap. If you are ever in the area, definitely stay at Sunset Lounge and enjoy the relaxing days doing nothing but laying on their hammocks and drinking killer margaritas. 
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Massages

One of the best parts about SE Asia is the abundance of extremely cheap massages. There are literally more massage places around than any other type of business.  Despite their reputation, the vast majority of these places are completely legitimate businesses. In Chicago, when I was stressed at work, I would get a very cheap massage for about $60. In SE Asia, some of our massages were as cheap as $6, Yes, you can pay a person to rub your muscles for an hour for $6. Needless to say, we got a ton of massages. We were pretty relaxed throughout our six weeks in SE Asia.
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Markets

Many times during our travels I have wished we were going straight home just so I could load up an extra suitcase with the beautiful arts, crafts, clothing and occasional kitsch that fill some of the most glorious markets in the world; more so than ever in Southeast Asia. Whether it was flower markets, food markets or just another tourist trinket market, we couldn't get enough of them. Luckily, there were many and they were enormous. The Saturday market in Chiang Mai probably encompassed 7 square blocks selling everything from various ready-to-eat insects to hand-carved wooden iPhone cases. All these markets have some percentage of crafts that are probably made in a factory in China, but you see those same fabrics and products so often that you develop an eye for what is unique and likely handmade. And of course, any market experience wouldn't be complete without a friendly haggling over price, which is always expected and a fun way to practice our language skills. 

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As a side note, because we get this question frequently, we do buy things every once in awhile and ship things home. For example, we bought a carpet in Turkey and a Buddha statue in Thailand. I often buy jewelry because its small and portable. In total, I think we've mailed 4 or 5 packages home. In fact, still waiting on one we mailed from Cambodia in December that hasn't yet arrived and may truly be at the bottom of the Pacific. 
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Turn down for Wat??! 

The temples of Southeast Asia are really beyond description. From the ancient to the most opulent, they are nearly indescribable. Anyone who plans on spending time in SE Asia needs to have an appreciation for temples and shrines. These make the churches of Europe seem both few in number and modest in decor. Buddha statues are as plentiful as spires. Despite knowing very little about Asian architecture, the variety and beauty of the temples in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand continually awed us even as we grew weary of removing our shoes to enter every single shrine. Whether Hindu or Buddhist, literally every home, business, or property has a small shrine where daily offerings of fruit, rice or money are made. A simple, comforting reminder of the spirituality that permeates the varied cultures of Southeast Asia. 

Although most temples we visited were relatively modern creations, the oldest ones we saw in Siem Reap were far and away the most magnificent.  Of course we are talking about the temples of Angkor Wat. We spent 3 full days visiting the temples of Angkor Wat and didn't get sick of them. The highlights were the many carved faces of Bayon, the gigantic trees invading Ta Prohm Temple (where "Tomb Raider" was filmed) and of course the massive and most famous temple in the region: Angkor Wat.  Oh and we were there the same day as Beyonce and Jay-Z!
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Night Food Market
Amazing Pad Thai
Yummy bugs for sale
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Whole fish at Koh Lanta, Thailand
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Pornographic Cappuccino. Only in Thailand
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A feast of all rice products after a "hard" day in the Luang Prabang, Laos rice fields
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Cooking some delish street Pad Thai
Food! Yum, Yum, Yum. 

Soups, curries, stir fries, bbq, smoothies! Just a few of the things we couldn't get enough of in the cuisine of Southeast Asia, which has to be among the most nuanced in the world.  That's about as descriptive as I can get because we are not foodies, but we do seek out local and delicious food. We were not disappointed here. In an effort to learn (as we stuffed our faces), we took a street food tour in Chiang Mai, Thailand with a local food lover who walked us around the local food markets to introduce us to some things that would be hard for most tourists to spot. 

The local food stalls really get fired up at night, when people come out to enjoy the cooler temps and mingle or just grab some chow on the way home from work.  Whether it's an area where many food carts gather, or just a solo cook on a corner, each one specializes in one or two dishes. All the ingredients are there ready to go, with the searing hot wok frying them up. After you place your order, there are typically plastic tables and chairs set up. This experience can be intimidating and tricky for a vegetarian. You can't read the signs, so you can only point to ingredients and hope for the best. It almost always ends up delicious.  While there is a lot of continuity in these cuisines, there were also many distinctive dishes and ingredients, such as padek, fermented fish paste, that was especially stinky in Laos and rendered an otherwise enjoyable raw papaya salad, inedible. Even in this instance, the colors, smells, and flavors of food in SE Asia kept us excited to try new things.   For lots more pictures of some of the local food we tried in SE Asia and during our other travels, be sure to check out or food photos section of the blog!
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Home made Absinthe from a dude on the tiny island of Koh Ta Kiev, Cambodia
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From our Street Food Tour in Chiang Mai, Thailand
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Enjoying our street food tour with an American Chef
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Honey-glazed street bacon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is the best thing in the world
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The WORST of Southeast Asia

3/13/2015

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By Jed and Caitlin

PictureThe pro of long bus rides is people often come on the bus to sell you food. The negative is sitting on the bus for 10 hours after eating said food
Although we really enjoyed our two months in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand), there were some things that definitely annoyed us as well. For our next posts, we will focus on the good, but for now here is some of the bad:

Long Bus Rides

There is a pretty well-developed airlines system in SE Asia (You may have heard of Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia), but the budget traveler can't afford frequent flights all over. Therefore, we were often forced to take very long bus and/or mini-van rides, which were often worse because you get packed into those vans. In a week stretch, we had four 10+ hour bus rides. The buses are old, grungy, crowded, hot, and take forever. Sometimes the pee breaks are just pullovers on the side of the road (which doesn't make you feel very comfortable in countries like Laos that have millions of unexploded bombs). But hey, for a ride that's only $10, sometimes you have to risk peeing in a landmine infested field.

PictureShirtless, Shoeless Backpacker making a scene
Backpackers and Other Tourists

We find backpackers everywhere on our travels, but they are especially abundant in SE Asia because its known to be extremely cheap. We have nothing against backpackers per se, as they are just younger and more budget-conscious versions of ourselves. But they are often disrespectful in large droves. When you are trying to unobtrusively observe a new culture or interact with locals and large groups of young, drunken, loud tourists are around asking where they can get drunk and go tubing, it interferes with your experience. One of the unfortunate consequences of travelers discovering a wonderful place is that often the place begins to change and cater to the travelers. Many times in SE Asia, this was especially apparent and instead of being able to experience Thai or Cambodian culture, it felt more like Spring Break in Cancun.  It took us some time to figure out that the well-trodden path was not always the most beautiful or culturally-rich plac,e but the place with the most relaxed-drug laws. 

PictureI realize I am in this Tuk Tuk, but I didn't have any pictures of being hassled by a Tuk Tuk driver!
Being Hassled

This barely bothers Caitlin because she is so used to it that she doesn't even really notice it, but I am definitely sensitive to the constant yelling directed at our attention. The worst offenders are Tuk Tuk drivers, who pull up along side of you and shout at you or honk their horns whenever and wherever you are walking. If I needed a ride somewhere, I would be raising my arms and flagging you over. My favorite shirt I bought on this trip was the “No Tuk Tuk today” shirt I bought...it came in very handy. 


Price Gouging

SE Asia is generally pretty damn cheap. In Savannahket, Laos, we paid $4 a person for our private room with private bathroom and wifi. However, as certain areas develop (e.g. the beach towns), so does the pricing. It's frustrating to pay 5X the cost of Pad Thai just because you are near the beach and there are large numbers of tourists around to take advantage of. That said, it was never “expensive” anywhere in SE Asia, just not always as cheap as we would have hoped.

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Tragic Histories

Coupled with our visit to Hiroshima, traveling in SE Asia was often incredibly sad because of 20th century history and induced guilt and horror because of the US involvement (or lack thereof) in regional conflicts. We visited the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh, one of many places throughout Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge decimated the population. It was a somber experience, reminiscent of Auschwitz, where the trails walked by visitors to the site are still littered with bone and hair fragments, as erosion of the soil takes place.

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In Laos, we were shocked by the number of unexploded bombs that remain in the fields of Southern Laos. 75 million (yes, MILLION) remained following the US campaign to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail, used by the North Vietnamese. Children often try to collect the scrap metal for money leading to tragic results. Farmers plowing fields accidentally explode them as well. We had trouble wrapping our brains around this devastating reality that lingers so long after the Vietnam War. Along with the fact that efforts to remove the un-detonated bombs remain grossly underfunded. 

Despite this list of unfortunate realities and minor annoyances, we learned from each of them and became smarter travelers. We really did love SE Asia, and the negatives were far outweighed by all the positives, which barely fit into our next post. Check back soon!
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Japanese Entertainment

2/21/2015

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By Jed

As mentioned in our previous blog posts, Japan has a lot of interesting and different cultural experiences from the U.S. One such difference that is near and dear to my heart is entertainment. Here is a little bit about the highlights of Japanese entertainment:
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Golden Gai (Tokyo)
Like in America, drinking is one of the favorite pastimes of young (and old) Japanese. One of the most interesting places to get a drink is the “Golden Gai” district in Tokyo. It is an area about 8 square blocks filled with old 1-2 story buildings, each containing a TINY bar...and I mean tiny. The occupancy of these bars varies from about 4 seats to as “big” as about 15 seats. The bars are so small that you need to squeeze in tight and cozy with everyone inside.

We didn't know which of the over 200 bar to go to, so we randomly picked one that looked interesting up a set of steep, tiny stairs. Upon entering, we were greeted by the bartender (who is literally 1 foot away from the entrance). As there were only 4 other seats, and we didn't have any elbow room between us, we got some nice cultural interactions at the bars here. We highly recommend hopping around the bars in this district, but note that many charge a cover charge since space is so limited.

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Climbing the stairs to the bar
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Inside the bar
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With our new friend
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Head almost touching the ceiling
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Karaoke and Arcades

Probably the most well-known Japanese entertainment export, it is still a whole different ballgame here. There are mega-complexes (12+ stories tall) everywhere you turn that are devoted exclusively to Karaoke; and many are open all night. We of course had to check it out and went to a karaoke complex late night after a few drinks; post-bar is the most popular time to go. It feels very professional to go to a karaoke complex...more like going to the movies than like going to the bar (as it usually is in the U.S.). You enter into a sparkling lobby with many employees behind the desk, you book a personal room from one of many different options and you get an awesome menu full of food and drink options which will be delivered to your room. Ala “Lost In Translation” style, all the karaoke here is done in private rooms. We weren't sure if it would be as much fun singing without the public humiliation aspect, but once the music came on, we were enjoying being in our own little karaoke world. The hour flew by and we were wishing we had more time. It took half our time just flipping through the song choice book.... it is literally bigger than the bible. Opening up one of these karaoke complexes in the U.S. may be our post-travel profession.

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Figuring out how to work this thing
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Caitlin's Turn
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About just as common as karaoke are arcades. Nearly everywhere you turn, there are massive arcades full of thousands of loud, flashy games. Caitlin and I ventured in one, but most of the games were pretty hard to figure out for English-only speakers. We did manage to play a game where we both got to beat on giant drums in rhythm to the music. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out how to change the song, so we were pretty tired of the game after the third time banging out “Let it Go.”  

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Robot Restaurant (Tokyo)

What is the “Robot Restaurant”? Well, that is kind of hard to explain. I'm still not quite sure what it is, but lets just say that it is the kind of thing that only makes sense in Tokyo. It is a dinner show that supposedly cost $100 million to make (which is obviously a gigantic lie), but it is almost believable after seeing the crazy elaborate dinner show. The show consists of an over-the-top light show, pyrotechnics, giant video walls, costumed characters, segways, yelling Japanese girls and, of course, robots. The whole show is an odd collection of scenes that don't make much sense. Some of the show's sequences included 10 foot robots dancing in unison, a women riding a giant, robotic snake which ate an “evil” woman and a mock robot boxing match. It was random, nonsensical, crazy...and amazing. I don't know why I enjoyed it so much, but something so weird, elaborate and “techy” is not something I have ever witnessed and felt so right at home in Tokyo. Obviously, this is hard to explain with words (and even photos), so you must watch this short two minute video I took of the night. Seriously, if you like seeing weird things and being confused, press play!


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Spa World (Osaka)

On the opposite side of the spectrum from the hyper spectacle of the Robot Restaurant is “Spa World.” Forced into it by Caitlin, I didn't regret it in the end. Spa world consists of two levels, separated by gender, one which is themed “Asia” and one which is themed “Western.” I was certainly a bit intimated to partake as it is completely nude. Being naked in public is usually reserved for my recurring dreams. Additionally, it is a very “local” place: there was maybe one other tourist there. Once you get into the locker room, it is a bit confusing as I saw a bunch of people dressed in robes, which I did not have, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I didn't want to be the one weird naked white guy walking around. After some confusing conversations with the staff, I figured out that the robes are for post-spa relaxing and so off I went naked into a brave new world.

On each floor, there are about a dozen different hot spring baths and other spa activities designed based on the theme. For example, on my floor (western themed), there was an outdoor spanish-inspired hot tub with waterfall, an italian inspired grotto jacuzzi, a Finnish style salt sauna, etc. Despite the initial uncomfortableness, it was pretty relaxing. My favorite part of the place was definitely the massive post-spa nap room, complete with a dozen big screen tvs, about 100 fully reclining leather chairs (each with individual speakers) and full bar. It was an amazingly peaceful place, aside from the hundreds of people snoring.

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Grotto (these pics taken from website)
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Greece Medicine Bath
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Finnish Sauna Room
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Kabuki Theater

One of the oldest forms of Japanese entertainment, we felt like we had to check it out. Fortunately for us, they give you the option of paying for just one of the three acts instead of watching the whole show. Since the show is in Japanese (with some monotone translation in a speaker), and we have a pretty short attention span, this was the way to go. Nevertheless, we still both managed to fall asleep. If you ever need a good nap, Kabuki seems to be the trick. =) It was interesting to see the performance and partake in some more traditional Japanese culture, even if it was for only a few minutes of awake time.  


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Food

Eating in Japan is also a form of entertainment (at least for a tourist). From the cooking done in front of you at Hibachi (called Teppenyaki in Japan) to conveyor belt sushi, eating can be quite an experience. Conveyor belt sushi has come to some suburbs around America, but it is a much bigger deal in Japan. If you are not familiar with conveyor sushi, the way it works is the sushi goes round and round the entire restaurant on plates color coded by price. If something looks appetizing, you just grab it and enjoy. By the end, you have a shame pile of plates stacked up in front of you, but it typically ends up being quite reasonably priced. Another experience in Japan is ordering Ramen (one of our faves). Ordering is done on a surprisingly low-tech vending machines that look like a cigarette dispenser. Because it is all in Japanese, I am never quite sure what I am getting, but pushing a few various buttons usually produced a yummy gigantic bowl of Ramen in front of me, so it was all good. Japanese BBQ, Yakitori and Sushi chefs also provided some great fun and definitely good eating.

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Conveyor Sushi
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DOUBLE Conveyor Sushi
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My Fave, Habachi!
Japan is definitely a stimulating place. I don't know how the people there are used to the bright lights and people with mega phones shouting in your ear from the store fronts. It is an extremely interesting and unique place and we felt like we were just barely dipping into all that Japan has to offer. Can't wait to go back and belt out a few more tunes and take another nap at the spa.
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Hiroshima: Why Don't Humanity and Science Progress at the Same Rate?

2/12/2015

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By Caitlin

PictureA building at the center of the where the bomb hit; one of the only remaining buildings.

As we made our way through Japan, and Japanese people asked us about where we were visiting next, they seemed to expect us to say Hiroshima. As if we were morally responsible, as Americans, to witness it (although that may have just been our misunderstood perception).  While not usually on the typical tourist itinerary, we were curious to witness the post-war city, that was reputedly thriving and beautiful. 




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And it was both of those things. Next to a bay with dozens of small islands a short boat ride away and rolling hills forming the inland boundary of the city, You might never know that just 70 years ago, the city was devastated by the 1st nuclear weapon to ever be deployed in a war. It is now a modern Japanese city that was rebuilt from ashes and rubble. A beautiful monument to the catastrophe sits in the middle of the city, just near where the bomb went off. 

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However, I'm primarily writing this to convey that visiting the Hiroshima Peace Museum was the most devastating musuem and one of the most profound experiences I've ever had.  Consisting of victims stories and belongings and survivors' accounts of the day and months that followed were truly horrific. As something we've all learned about as a grave and important decision undertaken by the Allies to hasten the end of WWII, it was still utterly different to see the human side of it.  While the justifications for dropping the atomic bomb are not argued in this post or even within the museum, which focuses on nuclear disarmament and securing world peace, it is impossible to not question the event for what it was: one of the darkest events in the history of humanity. 

It was particularly heavy-hitting to us, after having spent 2 weeks in Japan and being steeped in the kindness and generosity of the Japanese people we met.  I did not get the sense that the Japanese are vengeful about the events in Hiroshima or Nagasaki at all and found their resilience and dedication to peace remarkable. And without making this too political, I think we could do more as a society to remember the deaths and experience of those 135,000 people who lost their lives to end the largest war of the 20th century.  

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Images of burnt children
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Children's clothing from the day the bomb was dropped
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Really horrific mannequins showing the melted skin of victims
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Enjoying Being Lost in Translation (Japan)

2/7/2015

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By Caitlin

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I was not expecting to love Japan. I initially argued against its inclusion on our itinerary because I thought it would break the budget. Now, I'm so glad we ventured here, even though it was frustrating at times. Plus, outside of Tokyo, it turned out to be much more budget-friendly than I was expecting.

Over and over again, Japan felt like the exact opposite of America.  Despite being a similarly "modern" country, it felt as opposite as east and west.  Some examples: you board buses at the back and pay before you get off (as opposed to boarding at the front and paying as your board); there are no trash cans anywhere (yet no litter!);  traditional beds are just mats on the floor (and way more comfortable than that sounds); and I could write a whole blog on bizarre toilets and bathrooms alone! In short, Japan is weird. It feels like the most foreign place I've ever been and I found it really fascinating.

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Japan is tech-y, tall, and over-stimulating. 

Flashing lights, tv screens and hoards of people: Tokyo is just as imagined. There are shops and neon signs for 10 and 12 stories up in every building.  Not being able to read Japanese, you might not even realize there are different restaurants and bars on each floor unless you investigate the building. We stayed in an area called Shibuya, near the busiest intersection in the city, which has become iconic for the crush of people that cross the massive intersection at once. Giant malls are all over the place and you could spend a week exploring the labyrinth of shops in one mall alone. Half the neon signs in Tokyo, Osaka and other hyper-urban areas are dedicated to one of Japan's favorite pastimes: karaoke. These are massive complexes. There is at least one multi-story karaoke complex in every block. I have to admit that after experiencing the indulgence of karaoke, I'm a little jealous America doesn't have the same karaoke appreciation.  Japan is also super high-tech. I mentioned the toilets. Even basic public toilets have a keypad of buttons to enhance your toilet experience. I never figured out what half of the buttons did, but those that i did, seriously altered your typical trip to the toilet (I'll leave the details to your imagination). Jed loved exploring the electronics stores that were often 4 or 5 stories tall, full of random gadgets never-before-seen.

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A mega complex all for Karaoke
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Japan is traditional, artful, religious.

Gardens, tea ceremonies, kimonos, origami and stunning Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines: just some of the more well-known aspects of Japanese art and religion. I could and did spend hours wandering in and out of shops of beautiful ceramics and textiles shops in Kyoto. I even stalked a few ladies in beautiful kimonos to get a good picture, since they were dressed for traditional ceremonies or visiting temples. Every meal is beautifully presented and proportioned, even the simplest and cheapest ones.  Even in the chaos of Tokyo, we found beautiful gardens and tidy, residential neighborhoods that exuded Zen. The gardens surrounding some of the temples in Kyoto were still peaceful and colorful despite the beginning of winter. 

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Japanese people are the nicest, most gracious we have encountered.  

I'm not sure why I was surprised but we met so many lovely people all over Japan. Cultural values of honor and hospitality coupled with a deep love of their traditions equaled amazing people and great cultural exchanges. People were very helpful and eager to meet and talk with us about all kinds of things...especially Japanese cars.


Like I said in the beginning, at times traveling in Japan was really frustrating. Not a lot of people spoke English and outside of touristy areas, things were not written in English either. We traveled by train which was generally easy, but the chaos of the stations and the public transit, particularly in Tokyo and Osaka, was difficult to navigate. Wandering around was fun and interesting but looking for something specific often led to “Lost in Translation” moments (or hours). Despite the frustrations, Japan was amazing because of the people and the culture. For anyone not wearing their Adventure Pants I would recommend an organized tour, but it ended up being the number one place we can't wait to return to. 

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What Were We Thinking?! (Everest Base Camp Trek Part 3/3)

1/25/2015

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By Jed

PictureSpoiler alert, we made it
You know your are nearing the top when some of your fellow trekkers are throwing up due to altitude sickness. You feel quite bad when you see groups arriving to the lodge at night in the pitch black, rushing down the mountain because someone is quite sick and needs to descend immediately to try and overcome their sickness. Altitude sickness can kick in at around only 6,500 feet, but once above 15,000 feet, the risk is high and effects could be severe. Thus, it is best to go quite slowly at these altitudes. In addition to AMS risk, it is just damn hard to breathe this high up, so climbing is much more tiring.  The final climb to the summit is a long, rough day.


The general accepted strategy for trekking is to climb higher than you are going to sleep for the day to help get used to the altitude. That means we would need to climb up to the summit and then back down to the town we are sleeping in all in one day. The summit day starts in the village of Lobuche (elevation 16,200 feet) and takes about 3 hours to get to Gorak Shep, which is the last sleeping spot on the trek. Amazingly, this is the only spot on the whole trek where I had 3G internet on my phone! But I digress. After the winding, up and down slopes to Gorak Shep, it is a quick stop for lunch and then on to the summit. At this point, the daytime temperature has dropped dramatically compared to rest of the trek and we are trekking on top of a glacier. It is time to fully bundle up with the down coats, knit hats, wind-proof gloves etc. The air is super thin and it is really dry...it is quite hard to breathe. And the terrain has also changed; it is now just giant piles of loose rocks that you need to climb over. Twisting an ankle is a real concern, as is a series of rock slides from one of the thousands of loose boulders up hill from where we are walking. 
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Trekking on a glacier
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The terrain has become quite rocky
The time to the summit and back from Gorak Shep is another 4.5 hours (at our slower pace), and they were not fun ones. Although definitely the worst conditions of the trek, you are motivated knowing you are just a few hours away from completing your goal after trekking for the last 10 days. It was at this point that I really started to feel lightheaded for the first time. There were a few points where I felt like I was having an out of body experience...like my body was weightless and I was watching from above. Very, very weird feeling and not something I have really ever experienced. 
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Battling against the conditions, we could finally see our endpoint, but it seemed like it was getting further and further as we walked. The slow hike seemed to last forever as the sun started to go down, but after a long day, we finally climbed onto the official markers of base camp. A lot of people who do this trek say that the actual Everest Base Camp kind of sucks as it is just a pile of rocks. While they are right that the views along the way of all the other largest mountains in the world  are better (see photos from our Part 2 blog post), it is still very cool to be at the base camp for the tallest mountain in the world. The spot feels special as it is marked with a lot of prayer flags and signs from previous trekkers. The view is pretty spectacular, and although the view of Everest is mostly obstructed (as it is everywhere in Nepal) since it is in the middle of a mountain range, you can still see a good part of the peak which is spectacular. What really blows me away is that we are looking at a mountain that is 3X the elevation of some of the massive mountains I had seen just a few weeks ago in the Alps. 
Caitlin is getting tired
The tallest mountain in the world (i.e. Everest)
At Base Camp!
With our guide at the top
After about a billion photos, we realized we had to get back as the light was starting to fade. We slept like babies that night.  After hustling down the mountain in only 3 days (since no AMS fears going down), our trek was complete. We almost didn't do this trek at all (see list of concerns in our Part 1 blog post), but we were so glad we ignored our rational selves and did it anyway. Now we can go back to the rest of our trip of drinking beers and laying on the beach and not feeling so bad about it =)
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"Team Jaitlin": our guide Bhanu and our two porters
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Celebrating our climb at a happening bar in Lukla
P.S. If the two of us, who have no training, asthma, fear of heights, bad knees, etc., can do it, then you can too! If you are interested, shoot us a line and we would be happy to discuss any questions or provide motivation! 
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What Were We Thinking?! (Everest Base Camp Trek Part 2/3)

1/19/2015

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By Caitlin

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PictureThe start of the trek

Well, we were on our way. My expectations were low. I had no idea if we would be able to conquer this trail that people's opinions varied from "rather easy" to "incredibly difficult." In retrospect, it was both at times and everything in between. Here's some of the highlights (and lowlights) of what its like to trek to the base camp of the tallest mountain in the world: 

PictureLooking mIserable in the cold
On a typical day we would get up pretty early and have breakfast. One of our most dreaded early tasks became stuffing our sleeping bags into the compression sacks in the freezing cold. I would usually do as much in my sleeping bag as I could (washing face, brushing teeth, changing clothes) to preserve my body heat. Then we were off for 5-6 hours of hiking. As we got higher, our hiking time was shorter, about 3 hours) and on the way down from Everest Base Camp, they were much longer (7-9 hours), as we compressed a few days walking into one. Once we reached our destination each day, the battle against the cold began. We would find the warmest spot in our teahouse, usually the dining hall, and try to stay in the sunny patches as long as they were around. Once the sun went down, we either huddled around the stove in the teahouse, or retreated to our sleeping bags until dinner to read or watch Freaks and Geeks on the iPad.

PictureMmm, Dhal Bhat
Meals on the trek were pleasantly surprising. However, every teahouse seemingly had the same menu which offered various bland potato, rice or noodle dishes. No hesitations on the constant carbo-loading. That was the only option. Every menu offered pizza but it wasn’t great (think frozen pizza bagel). I came to really enjoy the local staple food Dhal Bhat, nicknamed the “24-hour power food!”  It's just lentil soup with rice and usually served with curried vegetables. The Nepali locals were eating it at least two meals a day and it was pretty darn delish! Snacks like Pringles and Snickers were also readily available and we occasionally indulged for either an energy boost, emotional boost or both. 

The teahouses we stayed in ranged quite a bit but were usually above my expectations. That being said, my expectations were incredibly low. Every building was little more than thin plywood walls and a piece of foam on top of a plywood “bed”. Crucially, everywhere provided a blanket which made the difference in us surviving the sub-zero nights, despite having pretty warm sleeping bags. Our rooms at night were roughly the same temp or a few degrees warmer than the outside temperature, which was near freezing for several of the nights. During the last week, water left on the floor over night would be frozen by morning. 
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A typical room
Despite cold and discomfort, the teahouse nights were some of my favorite moments on the trek, characterized by awkwardness and camaraderie. All the porters, guides, trekkers and teahouse families huddled around the fire in an effort to keep warm. One night we shared a fire with some Buddhist monks. We taught some Nepalis how to to play the card game Asshole and another game Pass the Pigs, while they taught us Nepali games. Another night we watched some of a very Bollywood-esque Nepali movie on someone's phone (featuring only Akon songs!). 
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Cute little village girl giving bunny ears to a dog
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Up, up we go
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A glacial stream
PictureYak traffic jams is a thing
Besides the cold, the toughest parts of the trek were the conditions on the trail and hiking at high altitude. The trail was incredibly rocky, uneven and steep. Watching every step was crucial because you were one turned ankle from falling off the cliff. Especially on the way down, the stairs became very hard on our bodies and knees. The longer days resulted in pain and fatigue. Often very narrow, the trails were shared by herds of Yaks and donkeys, hired to carry everything from tourists supplies to beer, as far up as people go. Human porters also did a vast amount of the hauling. Doors and timber were just some of the unbelievable things we saw people carrying up the trail, while we griped about our 15 lb packs. Fascinating to me was the complete lack of the wheel. No bikes, no carts, and definitely no cars. Its may be the only place I've been where there is no mobility outside of human or animal power, unaided by wheels. 

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That is an old lady carrying that stuff
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That is 9 cases of beer he is carrying up!
Hiking at high altitude was something neither Jed nor I had done before. I don't think I'd been any higher than 10,000 ft before Nepal. Even just a little effort makes you breathe like you're running up stairs, so actually climbing stairs is very difficult. Luckily, we were going pretty slowly in an effort to acclimatize properly. Because of this, we had almost no altitude sickness, which is usually brought on by moving too quickly up the mountain. We also forced ourselves to drink 3-4 liters of water a day in order to stave off altitude effects, which is much harder when its cold outside.
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It goes without saying that the views were breathtaking. Literally. After staring at our feet for an hour, water breaks were also moments to enjoy the view. The vastness of each peak and the way the same mountain changed in different light and from every angle made no two pictures the same. One critique of the EBC trek, in contrast to other trekking routes in Nepal like the Annapurna Circuit, is that you go and up and back down along the same route. This did not matter to us as we found the back-down view different and equally as beautiful as the way up. In fact, without the anticipation of reaching the “goal” of EBC, we probably appreciated it and relished it more.

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Reaching the top was not the emotional high you might expect (more on that in the next post). The trek really became about the whole experience to us and we loved all the good and the bad. To that one random guy we met in Tanzania who told us “You can't do that! There's no way you are prepared for that!”: I wish he could see us on top of Everest Base Camp. 

Here are a bunch of pictures from the trek (click on any picture to bring up a larger gallery you can scroll through):
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What Were We Thinking?!  (Everest Base Camp Trek Part 1/3)

1/4/2015

3 Comments

 

By Jed

During our travels, we sometimes get some big ideas. But often, once we really analyze the scary realities of the ideas, we often decide not to take on such momentous challenges. Climbing to Everest Base Camp was one of our big ideas. The potential issues were numerous:

Conditioning
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Caitlin and I have never hiked more than a half a day before. The hike to Everest Base Camp (EBC) and back would be 13 days of hiking.

Altitude Sickness
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Even though Base Camp is at the base of Mountain Everest, it is still very high: an altitude of 17, 598 feet (5,364 meters). Neither Caitlin nor I had been anywhere near that high. EBC is higher than the peaks of the highest mountains in the continental U.S. (which are around 14,000 feet) and in the alps. Altitude sickness, or AMS, is a real and serious risk at this height. AMS affects everyone differently and actually has nothing to do with physical fitness. It is just a chance thing that no one is quite sure why it effects who it does, but it can be deadly.

Lack of Oxygen/Fatigue
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The Oxygen level at EBC is approximately half of that at sea level. In addition to presenting AMS risks, it makes it much more physically exhausting to hike since your muscles are not getting enough oxygen.

Extreme Weather Conditions
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Just a few weeks before making our decision, there was a horrible disaster at the Annapurna Circuit, the other most popular trek in Nepal. An extreme blizzard and resulting avalanches killed over 40 people in what was otherwise thought of as a very safe trek.

Dangerous Airport
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Lukla, the airport you fly into to start the trek, has been dubbed “the most dangerous airport in the world” because of the one and only very tiny runway on the side of a mountain cliff. If you don't time it perfectly, the plane will crash into the mountain. It has happened on a number of occasions.

Extreme Cold
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Although the daytime hiking wouldn't be too bad with the sun out, the nights get below freezing and the accommodations (teahouses) have no heat and are made of super, super thin plywood (no insulation whatsoever).

Injury Risk
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There is no paved path on the trek; it is a rough path of dirt and rocks. It is quite easy to trip and sprain something or break a limb. There are also risks of rock slides or a run in with a yak on the trail, which has actually resulted in numerous serious injuries when yaks have pushed hikers off cliffs on the trail.
 
Fears/Personal Ailments
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I have a fear of heights and Caitlin has asthma and some pain in her knees. We weren't sure 13 days of high-altitude trekking in the mountains would go well with these conditions.

Forced Vegetarianism
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Not really an issue for Caitlin, who already is a vegetarian, but 13 days without meat was a bit of a scary thought for me, especially when I would be craving protein after the long hiking days. There is meat on the trail, but the conventional wisdom is not to eat it since the meat is not fresh up that high and you do not want to be battling an upset stomach during the long hikes.

General Sickness
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Which brings me to the last fear, which is getting sick and having to do this hike. Pretty much every report of someone who has hiked to EBC includes some sort of sickness, ranging from nasty colds to serious stomach bugs. It didn't sound fun
PictureEven the Starbucks in Nepal is a knock-off. Seriously, this is a fake Starbucks
Despite this numerous list, we went against our usual better judgment and decided to do the trek. We weren't sure if we would make it all the way, but decided to give it a try. This decision was literally made in Nepal, 3 days before the trek was to begin. We spent the next 3 days scrambling around the extremely busy area of Thamel in Kathmandu, trying to find which of the hundreds of trekking companies to use and buying gear from the endless knock-off shops that line the streets.  They are amazingly good at making knock-offs in Nepal; the fake North Face, Marmot and Patagonia items were near perfect looking, right down to the tags. 

After three very stressful days, we had secured two porters, a guide and all the gear we needed for our trek. Most hiking duos use just one porter instead of two, but after seeing our ridiculously full and heavy duffle bags, we felt there was no way human could carry both those bags (over 40 lbs) up a mountain, in the high altitude. After a few days on the trek, we came to realize how wrong we were as the Sherpas are incredibly strong people and were carrying loads 3X or 4X that. Oh well, we gave someone else employment for 2 weeks. The night before the trek began, we barely slept more than 3 hours due to our anxiety of the upcoming journey. Not a great way to start out 2 weeks of hiking.

Due to my fear of flying, particularly on an old, Nepali plane into the most dangerous airport in the world, we booked a helicopter into Lukla for just a little bit more money. Turned out to be an amazing ride with the spectacular Himalayan scenery in the backdrop. Seeing the mountains as we flew by, I knew these next two weeks were going to be epic...
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Tea break at one of the many gear shops
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Stressed about all our stuff
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