Barbados, Week 2: Where the Wild Things Are

January 30, 2012

It’s the start of a new week, and I finally feel like I’ve got my head on straight.  Survival mode has seamlessly transitioned into “vacation” mode, as the first week of classes at the University of the West Indies consists of only one class meeting, in which the professor may or may not show up, merely handing out the syllabus and discussing it if he or she does indeed come.  The days have blended together, as my biggest daily decision is whether to head down the hill to Batt’s Rock Beach with the morning crew, the afternoon crew, or both.  There’s been days when I’ve rolled out of bed and thought to myself, “there has to be something I have to do… I can’t have this open of a schedule”, but, in reality, the only absolute necessities of the day are picking out some delicious food to eat at the cafeteria and tracking down the lecture halls for my 6:00 or 7:00 pm classes.  After the hectic hustle and bustle of the first few days — sorting out school payments, navigating the transportation systems, and getting my class schedule straightened out — things are definitely feeling more natural.

As soon as I had become comfortable with life on UWI campus, though, the urge to keep exploring was buzzing around my head.  This was probably one of the last weekends of the semester of abundant free time before my nose would be stuck in the books, I realized, and thus it was prime for checking out some of the more remote destinations on this island of 166 square miles.  Although Barbados is not necessarily known for its abundant wildlife, there were rumors that a place called the Barbados Wildlife Reserve, in the northern parish of St. Peter, had a number of different species within their confines.  Oh, and not all of them were in cages!  Our group crammed ourselves onto the local bus headed north toward Speightstown, passing the ritzy tourist-trap Holetown on the way.

The Wildlife Reserve is located in the middle of picturesque rolling sugarcane fields, but once inside the “zoo,” visitors follow winding stone pathways that are nicely shaded by hundreds of tall trees.  Immediately, the cameras were out, and before we walked more than a dozen yards into the park, many of us were excitedly snapping countless pictures of the large tortoises meandering through.  Little did we know that Bajan deers (formally known as red brocket deer), peacocks, pythons (caged, of course), parrots, and the famous green monkeys awaited our eager eyes.  A Bajan zoo-keeper distributed peanuts to those who wanted to feed the monkeys, and it was a challenge to keep a straight face as the mischievous-looking monkeys hopped up next to you, uncurled your hands with their miniature fingers, and proceeded to eat all the food in your hands in mere seconds.  Reactions ranged from one girl shaking in nervous energy to another proclaiming she could “die happy” after having had such a close encounter with the green monkeys.

The next nature adventure our group undertook was one that I, myself, had searched out and organized.  Before I arrived in Barbados, I knew two things:  One, I wanted to see as much of the island as possible; and two, I wanted to do so on a budget where I could still eat during the last month of school.  The Barbados National Trust hikes are the love-child of such ideals, as they are free hikes guided by the Barbados National Hikes every Sunday at either 6:00 am, 3:30 pm, or 5:30 pm.  This Sunday’s hike took place in Foul Bay, a complete geographic unknown to me before that afternoon, and I discovered it was all the way on the other side of the island.  I called a taxi, gave him all the logistics for the 3:30 pm hike, and estimated that about 10-15 students would be going on the hike.  Sunday afternoon, nearly 30 students came out to our meeting spot to take the taxi!

Foul Bay turned out to be quite an amazing scene.  We drove down a steep hill, parked among a thick enclave of trees, and marched out onto the beach, lined with palm trees and sandwiched between huge stone cliffs.  Our tour guide was a wizened, older Bajan man named George, who not only gave us some historical background about the area we covered, but also launched into some serious philosophical musings about the future of renewable energy, the dangers of money, and World War III.  At one point in the 6- mile, three hour hike, he took me aside and told me that “you, young man, are going to be the leader of your group.  There is a lot of you, and we need to make sure everyone makes it back”.  I took away a strange satisfaction that George would make me second in command without any previous knowledge of my abilities, but I agreed to keep an eye of our pack of 29 and make sure no one fell behind.  Our hike took us through the beachside forest, up a stone staircase to the top of the sea cliffs, and winding through the grass fields that skirted the coast.  On the way back, we took a number of back roads that would through villages of both large and small, colorful Bajan abodes, often waving to the onlooking locals as we passed.

We tramped back into the beach parking lot well after sundown, and it’s safe to say we were all tired and hungry to the bone.  As we were clambering aboard the taxis that would return us to campus, George stopped me and said “I made a good choice in choosing you as your group leader.  You did a good job, and I look forward to seeing you on more of the hikes!”  Again, I wasn’t aware of anything I did to deserve such high praise from our tour guide, but I guess someone with so much life experience was able to see in myself something that I’ve never truly noticed.  Whatever it was, I will try to cultivate it further in my time here at the University of the West Indies, knowing that it’d make George proud.

The stunning view of the east coast from Farley National Park.

A green monkey catching a ride on a tortoise at the Barbados Wildlife Reserve.

Foul Bay beach is sandwiched between rocky cliffs.

George appointed me group leader of the exchange students.

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Elephants, Waterfalls, and Bamboo Rafts

January 27, 2012

I just got back from an incredible weekend in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which is a ten hour bus ride north of Bangkok.  Chiang Mai is close to the Burmese border in Northern Thailand.  I was there with my roommate, Addie, as well as two other exchange students.  Thanks to the fantastic recommendations of another Spider (thank you, Dora!), we packed a lot into a three-day weekend.

We took the night bus to and from Chiang Mai, meaning we had three full days there — Saturday through Monday.  Because we had such a short time, we wanted to make sure we made the most of our stay.  Through the hostel that we were recommended, Libra Guesthouse, we were able to book a 2-day, 1-night “trek,” which ended up being incredible.  Our trek started off Saturday morning with a stop at Mork-Fa Waterfall, in Doi Suthep Pui National Park. The water was freezing, but the sight was incredible, and in the end, very refreshing.  After the waterfall, we stopped for some delicious lunch (vegetable fried rice with fresh pineapple). and then we headed to yet another national park, which was home to hot springs.  When I say hot, I mean hot — upwards of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius.  It was at this point that we begun our “walk through the jungle,” as it was advertised on Libra’s website.  Well, let me tell you, this was not just a casual stroll. This was, in fact, a 5-hour hike through the jungle.  The walk provided us with incredible views of the mountains, and in the end, it was fantastic, but certainly not what we were anticipating.

On our hike, we came across a few “hill tribes.”  Hill tribes are essentially groups of people — most of the time not recognized as Thai citizens — who, over the past few centuries, have migrated from China and Tibet, settling in the border between Northern Thailand, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar).  It was wonderful to be able to see a different part of Thailand, and to learn a little bit about the hill tribes, especially because most of our guides on the trek are members of those hill tribes.  So after five hours of trekking, crossing many unstable bridges made of bamboo, and finishing every last drop of our precious bottled water, we finally made it to our campsite for the night.  We bundled up quickly, because unlike Bangkok, where the temperature never drops below 85 degrees F (30 Celsius), it was freezing.  We had a delicious freshly made dinner by our guides (fresh fruit with homemade chicken and potato curry), and spent the evening sitting around the campfire, hearing hilarious and inappropriate stories from our guides, as well as learning an elephant song that none of us could quite understand. I must also mention that we were joined by eight crazy Russians on this trek. They did not speak a word of English, but somehow thought that speaking Russian very loudly to us would help us understand what they were saying.  After they had a few drinks that evening, it certainly made for an interesting campfire.

After a freezing cold night with only a thin, damp mat separating us from the bamboo floor, we woke up on Day 2 of the trek, and before we knew it, there were elephants in the river! We could not believe our eyes – our guides were on top of them, washing them, and the elephants casually strolled out of the river towards us, at which point we were able to feed them and touch them.  We were then mounted on the elephants – at first sitting on a contraption they had tied to the elephant, but wanting the real jungle experience, I opted to slide down and ride on the elephant’s back.  We spent about an hour just wading through the jungle and the river on the elephants.  A truly incredible experience.  Instead of hiking back down the mountain to get back to our starting point, we opted for a more relaxing variety of transport, taking a bamboo raft that our guides made for a two hour trip down the river.  Definitely a fun way to end the two day trek!

For the last day of our trip, once we were back at the hostel in Chiang Mai, we were able to see the many sights of the beautiful city.  These included the Sunday night market, the Night Bazaar, and many Buddhist temples, including the most famous temple in Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep.  Doi Suthep is situated in the mountains above the city — about a 30 minute drive away.  It has incredible views of the city, and like many of the other temples we have visited, the beauty of the temple was breathtaking.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend! And I have to say, for anyone who is wondering… the weekend was unbelievably cheap.  For the entire weekend, door-to-door, bus, taxi, food, water, trekking, hostel, everything; the weekend came to a grand total of $140 USD.  Not bad, right? Still on a high from this weekend, Addie and I are certainly excited to plan our next adventure…we have our sights set on Cambodia next!

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Barbados: In the Land of Fish and Cricket

January 23, 2012

As I bounced around in the back of a jam-packed ZR (pronounced Zed-R), which is more or less an industrial mini-bus, with loud Bajan music blasting through the air, the stark contrasts of Bajan versus American life were definitely in the forefront of my mind.  Minutes earlier, 20 exchange students managed to cram into the mini-bus on our way to Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, with an older Bajan women and her son, unfazed by the apparent invasion of everyone’s personal space.  When you’re forced to nearly sit on a relative stranger’s lap, becoming comfortable around the other exchange students has been comparatively easy.  All things considered, however, the ZRs are a great way to travel, as they’ll take you anywhere on their respective routes for a mere US $1.00.  I joked to the only other American male exchange student, Glen, that I should start one of these ZRs in America, but he shook his head, responding, “they would never let this many people in a vehicle this size in the states… too much of a safety hazard”.

Transportation, though, was just one of the many great unknowns I faced as I stepped out of the taxi and onto campus at the University of West Indies.  It became clear to me that my first few days in Barbados would consist of a less severe state of survival mode.  After I moved into my on-campus single room, my goals for the afternoon broke down to 1) find an ATM to get money 2) find food 3) find my way back to campus.  Part of the studying abroad experience, I suppose, is not always figuring out things the easy way, as I ended up walking for two hours in the rain in my search for a local restaurant; I ended up getting bread, chips, and Sprite from a local mini-mart, which sufficed for my first night’s dinner on the island.  Being the American that I am, I assumed there would be at least five different types of restaurants on every corner, especially near a University campus.  Evidently, Bajans are much more self-sufficient and opt for the cooking at home option rather than spend their hard-earned money out on the town.

My fortune changed the next morning, however, as I discovered at our foreign exchange orientation that the typical exchange student here at UWI was Canadian, female, and very friendly.  Facebook was able to quickly unify everybody in our coordination of daily plans, and after a day of touring campus and doing the mandatory meet-and-greet, we decided to head down to the famous Friday night Oistins Fish Fry for our first cultural experience.  The fish fry is exactly what it sounds like: a ton of small food vendors and restaurants all lined up in between the beach and the road with local bands or DJs providing some background music.  It was packed full of tourists fresh off the cruise ship, so we all settled down with some food and drinks and continued to figure out who’s who, where they live, and other basics.  I hadn’t met so many new people at one time since freshmen year at Richmond, so it took all my brain power to keep names and faces together.

The first truly cultural event I went to, as the beach does not count (in my opinion), was the Caribbean Cricket Championship at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown.  If you want to get a good perspective on how important cricket is to Bajans, just know that the entire UWI campus is literally centered around the “Oval”, which is baseball’s equivalent of a diamond.  A US$10 ticket got us great seats for not only the 3rd place match between Barbados and the Windward Islands, but the championship match between Trinidad and Jamaica.  The group who went consisted of 19 girls from Canada, the United States, and Finland — oh, and me.  Being in a fraternity back at Richmond, and thus hanging out with a lot of guys most of the time, this was definitely a different scene.  While I grappled with figuring out the rules of cricket as the game progressed, the girls were busy discussing future baby names and how they wanted their dream weddings to go.  I cracked up laughing as the conversation turned to which cricket player they thought was the cutest.  Unfortunately, Barbados had a terrible day and only scored 101 runs after 10 batters — a very poor showing, I eventually discerned — and they lost to the Windward Islands in the 3rd place game.  I actually really enjoyed watching the game and the reactions of the crowd, who were a lot of fun — there was a ragtag band of percussionists who played from time to time, and we ended up doing the wave numerous times.  After nearly five hours of cricket, however, I was pretty saturated and ready to head back to campus, where I fell asleep streaming the Giants vs. 49ers playoff game on my computer.  I guess after a weekend of pure exploration and discovering new people and places, an NFL playoff game was too familiar an entertainment to keep me awake.

The rowdy Bajan crowd cheers on the national cricket team.

Swinging from the rope swing at the Boatyard Beach Club.

Batt’s Rock Bay Beach — just a five minute walk from campus.

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Learning a lot in Thailand

January 16, 2012

I have been here for almost two weeks now, and since my last entry, a lot has happened: school orientation, moving into my apartment, opening a bank account, my first week of classes, exploring the city, joining a gym, conquering the Bangkok bus system, using the river boat taxis, navigating Thai malls, grocery shopping, dealing with the warning of a terrorist attack in Bangkok, and my first adventure in Chinatown with some Richmond Spiders.  I have included some pictures taken around the city to give you an idea of the setting.  All of these firsts have included learning many interesting nuances of Thai culture:

1.  The importance of politeness:  as I mentioned in my last blog post, Thais as a whole are some of the most kind and friendly people that I have ever met.  They are always smiling, always willing to help, and completely accommodating and understanding of the fact that I am a foreigner in this city.  Most of the time, Thais are not out to rip you off in order to make an extra baht or two.  That being said, many natives have warned us that it is essential to reciprocate this kindness.  Once you get angry or hostile with a Thai, the smile stays but suddenly their helpful, genuinely kind demeanor goes out the window.

2.  Eating street food is much cheaper than cooking at home: counterintuitive, right?  In the US, cooking meals at home is emphasized everywhere – partly because it is healthier, but also because it is cheaper than going out to eat.  Here, however, on average, eating a big meal on the street costs about a dollar or two.  Buying fruits and vegetables on the street is easy and cheap, but buying fruits and vegetables in the supermarket is extremely expensive.  I am not complaining, though; fresh mango and pineapple at every hour of the day, with stir fry, rice, Pad Thai, and spring rolls on every corner…  Thailand is truly food heaven.

3.  Some strict cultural customs are NOT negotiable: a) Never say anything bad about the King and the royal family, because it is against the law and very offensive.  The current King is a beloved man here in Thailand, because he is truly someone concerned with his people and has done an incredible amount for Thailand in his sixty-some years of rule.  He is also the longest reigning monarch in the world. b) Never put your feet up anywhere — for example, on a seat in the bus, in the movie theater, or on your desk.  Showing a Thai the bottom of your feet is one of the rudest offenses, and is taken very seriously. Apparently a picture of President Obama with his feet up on his desk in the oval office caused quite an uproar here. C) Twice a day, when Thailand’s national anthem (of sorts) is blasted on the loudspeakers around the city, everyone — including foreigners — must stop and pay respect until it is finished.  Not doing this is considered incredibly rude.

4.  Buddhism has a big influence on Thai culture: By some estimates, Thailand is 95% Buddhist, which is made very evident by the thousands of temples and shrines blanketing the city.  As I mentioned before, I have been overwhelmed by the politeness and genuine kindness of Thai people, and I learned recently that much of this has to do with Buddhism.  There are five precepts of Buddhism, which guide people to live a happy and enlightened life. This will, in turn, help them to reach the afterlife.  These precepts include refraining from stealing, killing, lying, and engaging in adultery.  These rules, and the hope of accumulating enough karma to reach the afterlife, are taken very seriously, which I believe is a large reason why Thais seem so incredibly kind.

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Falling in Love with Bangkok

January 5, 2012

After a 6 hour flight to London, and then an 11 hour flight to Bangkok, I have finally arrived in Thailand!!

What did I first notice after arriving here? Despite the fact that this is very much a city, there is greenery everywhere!! Lining the highways are palm trees, plants, and every tropical flower imaginable.  It is truly paradise.  Today I had my first adventure in Bangkok, alone, and after only two days here I have completely fallen in love with the city.

One of my main missions of the day was to get my uniform for Thammasat University where I will be studying for the next semester.  There are many signs around the university that state that any student without a uniform will not be served; so they take the uniform thing very seriously. I went to the bookstore at Thammasat and after many hand motions and pointing to a picture of the uniform, I was able to communicate that I needed to buy a uniform– only to be told uniforms are no longer sold at the bookstore.  Great. My Thammasat orientation packet said it would be at the bookstore, and the email I received yesterday about orientation reiterated this fact.  But nonetheless, no uniform.  The gentleman at the bookstore who was helping me kept repeating “tuktuk” and “market” meaning I could take a tuktuk to get the uniform at a local market.  I had him write down the name of the market in Thai because I have learned this is the best way to accomplish anything around here: with actual words, in Thai, written on a piece of paper.  I walked outside and ending up hailing a cab.  After much more confusion my taxi driver motioned down a street saying “here, here.”  The only problem was that the street was completely packed with millions of identical looking clothing stands, none of which seemed to be selling official Thammasat uniforms.

I went up to one of the stall owners to ask where I could find a Thammasat uniform, and he was wonderful.   He took it upon himself to guide me through the market, bringing me to each stall that I needed to go to to get the essentials for my uniform.  Every stall owner was so incredibly sweet.  I was overwhelmed with how generous and kind everyone was to me.  I never felt taken advantage of, and felt such genuine warmth from everyone.  After my shopping was complete I grabbed a taxi to go back to the house.  Instead of taking a taxi to the doorstep, however, I decided to walk the last bit of the way to completely soak up my surroundings.   Here are a couple of pictures of the street I am staying on until I move into my apartment:

I am in love the freedom of being able to walk alone and explore the city all by myself, on only my second day in Thailand.  It is the most liberating and wonderful feeling, a feeling that I never had studying abroad in Kenya last semester.  I am so excited for the next five months here!!

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Sydney Adventures

December 14, 2011

So they say the human attention span limits our ability to focus for extended periods of time. That’s why experts recommend that about every two hours you deserve a 45 minute study break in order to refresh your mind. You know what? I value expert opinions. I mean, after all, they are called experts for a reason. So before my last exam I figured I’d take my study break. But, since I had been studying and writing essays for the past two weeks, I figured that, mathematically, I need a break proportionate to the amount of work I had been doing. And that’s how I justified my one week vacation to Sydney before my last exam. A few other spiders studying at University of Melbourne and I went off to Sydney to stay with a few Spiders studying there. And thus, we were spreading our spider web over Australia…because we’re spiders. Spiders spin web. And that, my friends, is almost definitely the last Richmond Spiders pun I will make.

Anyway, a few friends of ours from Richmond offered to let us stay with them in Sydney. What’s nice is we’re getting an opportunity to see what it’s like at other universities in Australia. They live on campus at their university, but much like University of Melbourne it is very much a commuter school. Still, the smaller minority who live on campus is proportionate to the size of the entire student population. So, there are about 1000 students living here at a time.

The city of Sydney is incredible. We took time to visit some of the famous touristy areas like the opera house and the royal botanic gardens. Before we left to venture out into the nightlife of Sydney, we had to decide whether we would try to catch the last night train, or wait until they started again in the morning. And that’s when I realized you reach a point in life where you tell yourself that all-nighters are over-rated. You come to believe and accept that, after countless late night study sessions and written-in-one-night papers, nothing really special happens at the break of dawn other than a weird bodily sensation of fatigue that you can’t really differentiate between “just woke up” fatigue and “it’s really time for me to go to bed but I’ve had too much caffeine” fatigue.

So, like back at school, we decided that we would catch the last train, feeling that we had outgrown the all-nighter phase. And with that decision, we learned another very important lesson. Some decisions don’t go the way you plan them to. Sometimes, because of things like track work on trains, a changed bus schedule and a very convincing argument that there will be a second “last train”, you just don’t get to avoid the all-nighter…And sometimes you don’t get to avoid it three times in a row. Now, as much as I would love to say that the incredible people we met at 4:30 in the morning showed us a different part of Sydney that I will personally hold dear forever, I can’t, mainly because everyone else was asleep at 4:30 in the morning. What was incredible, though, was the way friends can make up games to keep themselves entertained for hours until the trains start running again. I guess that’s when the creativity kicks in. But you definitely find out who you can and cannot deal with after four hours in the Australian version of Burger King. And I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

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Time for Harvest, and Final Projects

December 5, 2011

Harvest time means that all the green fields from the beginning of my journey have turned golden yellow.  It is a physical representation of truly how much time has passed.  Pretty cool, though, because just as the rice has changed through process, so have I, through our group process.

This last unit before final projects was based on mining, and it brought together everything we have learned so far.  Water gets poisoned, land rights are violated, and of course, the farmland is destroyed.  What was most interesting about this unit was its complexity.  I, as an American consumer, contribute to this issue.  At our reading discussion, we had to take everything that had mined products in it and put it at our feet.  Jewlery, electronics from our backpacks, notebooks, pens — everything was sitting at our feet.  It was a scary realization.  Then we went off to the communities, and they, too, use products that have been mined.  It’s really a “not in my backyard” argument, but it needs to happen in our current economy, so whose backyard do we put it in?  More importantly, how do we ensure that those people have a say? That seems to be one of the biggest problems here in Northeast Thailand.  The villagers simply are not heard when the proposed projects will change their livelihood forever.

Despite all the work that was due, two friends and I decided to take our personal days and return back to the organic village.  What an adventure it was.  I could not stay with my host family, so I stayed with my friends and Paw Wan.  Paw is the local rice varieties expert, so it was cool harvesting rice in his farm.  It wasn’t just Jasmine 105 or Gaw Kaw 6; we were harvesting black rice, and then for dinner, we had the most delicious red sticky rice.  (Which doesn’t mean the rice is sticky — it is a different kind of rice that is eaten in this region.)

The trip back was where the adventure happened.  A driver brought us to the city nearby, then we got on an open air bus to take us to the bus station, and then there was only standing room on the four-hour bus ride.  Plus, the air conditioning was broken.  I found myself sitting on the floor (because it was cooler) scrunched between my friends, and just hoping that time would pass quickly.

We got home safe and sound as always, appreciating the adventure and impressed with our language skills.  It is now time for final projects, so off to the village to assess the feasibility of a Green Market.  But more on that soon…

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Adventure Wednesday and Cinque Terre

October 24, 2011

As any college student knows, or any future college student will find out, having a good class schedule can make or break your semester.  In my experience, a higher number of early morning classes has a direct correlation to being unhappy most mornings, but also improves your productivity (when you’re up early, you have nothing better to do then be productive… or go back to bed). Also, the holy grail of class schedules for almost everyone is setting a schedule that gives you off on Fridays, as 3-day weekends are a college student’s best friend. Because I had to get courses that I knew would transfer credits back to Richmond, and because I had to take all of my classes in English (which gave me far less options), I could not be very creative with my schedule this semester. This, unfortunately, left me with the reality of two 8:45am classes, two classes that actually overlap on Tuesdays, and instead of Friday off, or even Monday, I have a day off on Wednesday…. Wednesday. What can you do with an off-day on Wednesday? You can’t take a long weekend, it splits your week in half completely, and is just generally unnecessary. But as I have done (or attempted to do) with most things on this trip that have seemed to not go my way, I turned it into a positive. This was done through the creation of Adventure Wednesdays, which is my brain child that is exactly what it sounds like. Every Wednesday… I go on an adventure. Whether in the city, out of the city, taking a train, plane, or automobile, I find something to do that will make a memory and create an experience (some positive, some negative).

As my test trial for Adventure Wednesdays, I decided to go to a place that tops many experienced travelers’ list of “must-see places” and now that you have heard of it (I hadn’t heard of it before I came), it should top yours. It is called “Le Cinque Terre,” or “The Five Lands.” In the Liguria region of Italy, Cinque Terre was a place I knew I needed to see. Most of my friends had already gone, and even though it was a little far (about a 3 hour train ride) I decided I would make the trip on my own, to uncharted lands, with no background knowledge, as a great way to kick-off Adventure Wednesdays.

To give you a minute-by-minute breakdown of my solo adventure would be both time consuming and long winded, so I suppose I will give you a plethora of highlights instead.

After a tram and metro ride to the train station, I missed my first train at 8:05am because of a malfunction with the ticket machine, delaying my departure  until 9:10am, the next available train. After an hour and a half, I switched trains in Genoa and had a lovely train ride along the western coast of Italy and the Mediterranean.  After reaching my train’s destination, I was told I needed to board a regional train that stopped at each of the 5 lands (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare) but reached another snag when I boarded the incorrect train, headed in the wrong direction. After asking an elderly Italian woman (with my little Italian) where to go, I got off the train, only to find myself stranded in the nearby town of Moneglia because the next train to Le Cinque Terre would not be coming for over an hour. It turned out Moneglia wasn’t the worst place to get stuck in, and I had a wonderful lunch there while enjoying the small and beautiful town along the Mediterranean Sea.

Finally, I arrived in Cinque Terre, and started at the bottom of the 5 towns in Riomaggiore.

A leisurely 30-minute walk along cliffs over looking the sea brought me to the lovely Manarola. It might sound girly, but Manarola was definitely the cutest of the 5 lands.

Because of a rock slide, the hiking path was out between Manarola and the next of the five towns, Corniglia. Despite receiving warnings, I decided to see for myself, so I got to the edge of this cliff before deciding it was best to turn around.

Next was a train ride from Manarola to Monterosso al Mare (by far the biggest of the Cinque Terre, almost like a small city) which was full of tourists enjoying the beautiful restaurants and beaches. After walking through the city, I began a grueling 2 hour hike up steep stairs, rocks, and along cliffsides (without railings of any kind) to the most beautiful of the 5 towns, Vernazza.

With sore feet, out of breath, and sweat pouring down my face, after walking through trees and wildlife (very beautiful), I turned a corner to see a breathtaking view of this incredible city.  In what seemed like the middle of nowhere stood this city as beautiful as a painting that took my breath away and made the near torture of the last 2 hours more than worth it. A giddy 15 minute walk down to the city to get a closer look opened my eyes to the true atmosphere of Vernazza. Incredibly impressed and worn out, I decided to take a swim in the bay in Vernazza as I watched the sun set slowly over the Mediterranean, signifying the ending of a seemingly perfect day.  After grabbing a pizza in Monterosso, sadly without time to enjoy the glorious seafood restaurants of the area, I boarded the final train for Milan, capping off my first-ever Adventure Wednesday, which supplied me with memories that will truly last a lifetime. This solo adventure proved to be a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The imperfections and perfections combined to make it a perfect trip in my eyes, and to a place I would be extremely lucky to get to see again.

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Posted by johninitaly

Downtown Duomo

October 5, 2011

Downtown Milan is home to the Duomo (Church/Cathedral) di Milano, which is the 3rd largest Catholic church in the world. This place is stunning! The entire building is made of hand-carved marble, and the detail of it, combined with Italian inefficiency, took them almost 600 years to complete. Every inch of the building is carved with intricate details; sculptures of Saints, religious symbols… A true enthusiast could be entertained for days just admiring the masterpiece that is this building.

But you didn’t think I would actually write an entire blog about a church, did you?

Although short of the Vatican, this thing is the crème de la crème.

The main focus of this post is to describe the atmosphere in the Piazza (Square) in front of the Duomo. Milan is a cool city, and there is a lot going on all the time, but there isn’t much to see from a tourist’s standpoint. Which means that anyone traveling through the city on vacation, staying in the city for a business trip, visiting a son or daughter that’s studying abroad (my family), or even just people living in Milan who are bored all go to this one place– downtown Milan at the Duomo.

The downtown area as a whole has a great atmosphere. The streets are lined with shops and restaurants in the city center that make for great shopping (real shopping for most people, and window shopping for broke college kids). Some other attractions include the Castello, built in the 14th century (very old and cool to look at); La Scala, the famous opera house, which is filled with culture in the form of ballets and opera; and the beautiful Parco Sempione, which has everything from babbling brooks and nice footpaths, to basketball courts, to a library, and even a miniature go kart track for kids (only for kids, though… believe me, I tried).  In addition, the world renowned Galleria– an indoor/outdoor mall with some incredibly high end stores with prices that approach CEO housewife status– is a must see, even just if you buy a McFlurry (yes, they have a McDonald’s tucked in between Armani and Louis Vuitton) and walk through it admiring the architecture, along with the clothes and shoes that most of us normal people cannot afford.

However, the best thing to see is the Duomo itself, and as it turns out, my favorite thing to see has been the Piazza in front of the Duomo. This place is a people-watcher’s dream come true. Whether it is the street vendors selling useless stuff that you “need” to have (I have already made some solid purchases from these guys), the “Marochinni” looking to tie a “free good luck bracelet” to your arm as you walk by (which they will later pester you for money for), or the mass flood of tourists doing obvious cliché tourist activities (taking pictures, holding maps, etc… you know what I’m talking about), there is plenty to keep you entertained and busy. However, the most noticeable thing in the Piazza might be the pigeons. These crazy birds will swoop at your head from nowhere, so you need to watch out. I have seen locals with an unhealthy lack of fear walk up to these pigeons and pick them up without a flinch. They are everywhere! Some of the more brave, and in my mind, deranged tourists actually pay 50 cents to hold rice in their open hands and allow the flock of pigeons to eat straight from their hands…. It’s even more disgusting in person, trust me.

With the occasional event or concert in the Piazza, it is truly a local hangout because of its proximity to the most beautiful sites in all of Milan. Most recently in the Piazza, I attended a city-wide party located in the Duomo for the start of Milan’s “Fashion Week.” If you were in Milan, you were there, as shops everywhere offered free food and drink to all customers, with the city center decorated lavishly to promote the crown jewel of events for this fashion-driven city. In addition, the Piazza was home to the NBA (yes, the National Basketball Association) who sponsored a 3-on – 3 tournament for locals in the Piazza, as a way of promoting American basketball abroad.

At the end of the day, sitting and staring at the Duomo is awe-striking enough that at times, you can feel alone in the middle of this crazy atmosphere. Day or night (especially at night, because the stained glass windows light up and it is beautiful) the Duomo is spectacular. So, loyal readers, if you happen to be in Milan for a day, or week, or 4 months, make sure you take a trip downtown– all of the trams go to the Duomo, more or less. Walk around the downtown area, and conclude it with a trip to the top of the Duomo, which will allow you to see the city for miles straight from its center and enjoy the beauty of Milan from a whole new perspective.

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Posted by johninitaly

I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Get Back on the Bus

September 7, 2011

The Beatles had people in complete awe of them, wanting nothing more than to be near them. Now, I would not say I have John Lennon status here in Thailand, but at school in the village, the children certainly wanted to hold my hand.  In fact, all of us had 3-4 Thai kids ranging in age from 6 to 13 hanging off of us at any moment in time.  For our third day in the community, instead of Thai class, we had a “Thai Fun Activity”, consisting of us playing games with kids at school, and then us teaching them an activity.  Thank you, summer camps, because we all quickly agreed to teach them “Baby Shark”, and out second was “The Banana Song”.  If you are unfamiliar with these, I highly recommend learning them, because just as I thought they would never come in handy again—I was mistaken.  The joy that came from these kids was indescribable.  Later, at our homestays, we had kids doing the hand motions, asking us to sing it again.

My homestay could probably be best described by the final night.  Until the last night, it was a lot of observing and eating.  I didn’t really feel a strong connection to my family, and it was not the easiest three days of my life. It did, however, have a very happy ending when the entire village gathered at my neighbor’s house and we had what I would call a block party.  There was music, all the students ate a meal together prepared by many families, and we danced into the night (meaning like 8:00pm, because that is a normal bed time in villages.)

These past few days in Khon Kaen have given us a time to actually explore the city and get a hold of public transportation. Saung Taos, which are “buses” where you sit on benches on the flat of a pick-up truck with a roof, have been an exciting way of exploring.  For instance, last night as we tried to get to this Italian place for dinner, we were supposed to switch buses.  This, of course, we did not know, and ended up past the slums and far from the city.  As the Saung Tao slowed to a stop, the nine of us looked at each other, and got off hesitantly as we were kicked off by the driver.  The fear started to set in for sure, but luckily, there was one store with its light on, and the two women in the pharmacy spoke a little English.  We had them call a cab for us, because we had no clue where we were.  Seeing as cab drivers have numbers, but do not answer their phones, we were stuck.  At that moment, another Saung Tao drove up, and we had the women ask them to drive us to the hotel down the street from the restaurant.  At the price of 200 bhat, it was totally worth it.  So our personal taxi Saung Tao drove us back down the shady roads, and the night concluded with a delicious pizza.  (I absolutely love Thai food, but as a true American, I really missed pizza).  Another adventure, another night in Thailand.

Leave a Comment » | Fall 2011, Julie in Thailand | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by julieinthailand

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