Sivan's Blog

Photos are up!!!!

2008-11-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

finally...

where in the world is Carmen San Diego? HOME!!

2008-10-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

And by CSD I mean the computer game, not the TV show of course. I used to be an addict. I kind of felt like I was on a hunt in the past 2 days: left Kochin in 9:00 am on Wednesday, arrived in Colombo (by the way- we saw the building that represents CSD in the game! that's where the reference came from), woke up at 2:00 (now that is not a legtimit hour, my friends!) left Sri Lanka at 7:00 am, arived in Amman at 11:35 am which to us was 14:00 pm and waited until our flight to TLV which was at 10:00 pm (12:30 pm for us. the whole half hour difference was really weird). Luckily RJA (Royal Jordenian Airlined) had hotel rooms so we could A. Sleep, and B. eat NON SPICY FOOD!!!!! never thought i'd be so eat peppers- when they don't make me feel like "oh-my-god-that's-so-spicy-i'm-about-the-blow-my-brains-out-and-hit-the-moon-now-please-get-me-some-water-quick". YES!!
and now we are back home! back to an another possible strike, two final exams from last term, job finding etc....there is place like home. photos to come when I get home for real (we are staying with my sister and gang..)
and here is a spoiler- Carmen San Diego was caught:-) see you in prison!

Kochin

2008-10-27T04:51:00.000-07:00

We are now in Kochin- the area were my family came from. We are staying in Ernakulam- the city (used to be just a town) my dad and my uncle were born in. We went to see the neighborhood yesterday: saw my dad's preschool and Two synegogues, but couldn't locate the exact house and my grandfothers store (my gradfather was a butcher. good thing he never knew his grandoughter in vegetarian..). after looking for the place, we decided my dad will take pictures ans show one of the other siblings (they are Nine) and figure out which of the houses is the one. on the meantime wev'e taken pictures of all the optional ones so once we know we'll have a photo of the house:-)
later we went around town (which is one big city these days). we were all so fed up with the Indian food we went to Pizza Hut for dinner...which was funny.
other than that My funny signs collection is getting bigger and bigger! today's hit: a sign saying "Dutch cemetary" and underneath on small letters another saying "God's own country" or something like that. I thought it was histreical.
Another thing to be mentioned is the dayily power cut off. unbeliavale. there hasn't been a single day with no power cuts. makes me feel right at home!
can't believe i'll be home in Three days.

Thekkady- Masa Alukot

2008-10-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a few days. We have been to quite a few places, and now we are in Munnar- our last stop before Kochin. The road was rather steep and incredible. tea plantaions, trees, mountains, lakes- gorgeous.
Today's amusing story: yesterday we were in Thekkady- a very toured area. we decieded to go on an orgenized trip which included a jeep safari, a hike and boating. we got up at 5:00 am, and left. The safari part was ok- no animals though- they promissed elephants, cows, tigers.... it was showering rain.
we had breakfat in a pavillion in which some guy gave us a lecture about the area. jees, the mans accent was totally unfemiliar to the human ear, and I couldn't stop giggling. he sopted that and lectured me!! which of course made me giggle even more. In the showering rain we left for our 3 hours hike. But here is the thing- there were leaches! millions of them! We weren't quite prepared for that, so basically every ten seconds we had to stop for salt pouring and tried poking them with a stick. it was actually quite hillerious. The best part was when all of a sudden Nili started screaming and jumping around- she had a leach leaching her way on her hand. being the good sister I am, I strated smirking and moved to laughing my ass off seeing how funny the situation was. evetually the leach was off and I paid my due- after peeling my rainsleevs, sockes and shows I realized one very brave leach nibbled on my leg. oh well, who needs blood anyway?
on another note, we also visited an ashram a few days ago. Being an amazingly cinic person, I wasn't all that impressed, but we are thinking of sending my dad there for a while. a-ha...
as mentioned we are now in munar and are leaving tommorrow for Kochin- the cream on the top of our trip.
Shabbat shalom!

bim, bum Trivndrum!

2008-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

or my way of saying I can't find a good enough title. Yesterday we arrived to the resort here in Poovar- Isolated Island very close to the beach- beautiful. We had a great time RELAXING seeing as we were exhausted. This morning we went back to Trivandrum, went to see a Hindu temple, a museum, an old palace and the best part- the zoo. My uncle decided he has to see a tiger, therefor all of us went to the zoo. It was really funny, and we saw some really cool animals like monkeys, Elephants, Bambis (I know it's not their real name..) , hippos (and a baby one too!)and- a tiger. we also saw a lion who I think looked exactly like Scar.
Funny thing for today- this time around we found a very interesting way to point out toilets for men and women. Here are Three examples: on the zoo there were photos of a man and a women. In the resort there was a "He" and a"She" and today's winner- "King" and "Queen". Never in my life have I felt so royal as I did in the bathroom.
So Far India is very cool- It is sort of what I pictured in my head. It is really cool that my aunt and uncle can communicate. very useful too. but we all agreed that we must figure out how to do that head movement from side to side. Nili and I have been practicing. Nurit and Shimon have been trying to teach us Mali Alam. Man, this language is un-pronounceable . I can, however share with you the fact that my vocabulary is made up of animals mostly- I can say dog (Patti), Elephant (Annah), frog (Tavlachi), horse (something that sounds like Kudrah), and of course- monkey (korinechen). all pronounced very rolling-toung-ishly. I was so pround I could say monkey I sort of yelled it in the zoo. Yep, now a few Indian people think that I am weird. Well, I guess it isn't all that surprising.
I guess i'll call it a day- it's an annoying computer and due to the rain we had power cut off a few times (gees, shock)- won't risk it happening again.
photos to come.... sometime:-)

I almost forgot-

2008-10-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

Feliz Compleano Rebecca Victoria Buenavida Benaderet!!!!!!

besitos (pichon)

from all of us

***that was suppose to be posted yesterday. don't know why that didn't happen. happy late birthday bruja!****

Kandy can do it- and you can do it to!

2008-10-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

quick note: I don't have much time to post for real, so I will edit and add at some point. but here is a recap for the time being:
Hooray, we made it to Sri Lanka. we arrived at 4:00- great time to start travelling... or not. On our first day we went to visit Kandy- a city in the center of Sri Lanka. The scenary was very similar to the the one I have seen last year in south east Asia- Coconuts, pinnaples, trees etc.
We are a group of 8 people- my parents, little sister, my uncle Shimon and his wife Rachel, and my aunt Nurit and her husband Richi (and me. I guess). We visited a culture show which, I must say, wan't a huge hit BUT- and that goes to all of you who know Hebrew- we saw people HOLCHIM AL GECHALIM! now that was cool. Afterwards we went to see a temple and heard a lot about the Buddhism and the history of Sri Lanka by our tour guy Roy.
After basically crashing to bed we woke up and went to see an Elephant orphanage. now that was just cool! We saw how they feed them with milk-the mommy Elephant was standing near by and couldn't swallow- so it sort of seemed like se was dancing the disco, and sad as it was, it seemed kind of funny. then we went to see the herd going to the river. It was very nice, and we saw a blind elephant which was led by a guy and tied so he wouldn't get hurt, and a TRUMPELPIL- an Elephant with a missing leg. Maybe that'll be a good time ti oint out the fact that one of nickname at home is "Elephant" since, well, I'm not all that graceful and should I say- super clumsy. So I had to take a picture with an actual Elephant. I found it amusing..
later my dad and my sister insisted on riding elephant- and so we did. The official excuse my dad gave- "I'm doing it for my grnadchildren". Yeah, right. It was fun though- Nili and I rode and Elephant named "Nona". She was very cute and splashed quite alot. we are thinking of adopting her and writing a musical about it. It'll be a hit for sure.
later we got back to Colombo and spent the (sort of )night there- we had to get up at 4:00 (awwwww) to get to out flight to whatever-way-they-spell-it-but-it-is-called Trivnadrum in India. We made all right- we all got a real kick out of seeing the head movement the Indians make. The cooler part is having Shimon and Nurit, my dad's sibling, communicating fluently in Mali-Alam, the language spoken in Kerala (the province in which we are staying). The ironic thing is that out of all Three my dad was the only one who actually remembers India from his childhood, but he doesn't speak Mali Alam all that well. If you ask me it sound more like people mumbling with their tounges.
Anyhow I have to leave now and hand the computer to my darling sister. will add more at some point.
Shavua tov!

India,here I come!

2008-10-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

man, it sure has been a while.... anyway, a lot has happened in the past year since I got back- got back home, started Uni, striked, worked, striked some more, lived and all the rest of the blah blah.
However, it so happens that I am leaving for Sri-Lanka and India in two days. Will be travelling with La Famillia for two weeks (and a day. horray fot that!). The master plan is as follows- 3 days in Sri Lanka, and then Kerala- a province in southern India, where my dad was born and grew up (what in outstanding coincidence). He is rather excited about the trip (and umm, so are the rest of us).. So I hope i'll find the time to update my travelling blog, but since it'll be rather short and very intense- I am not sure it'll happen.
so meanwhile- Happy Sukkot people!

My last post? very possible....

2007-08-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home, Believe it or not (I still don't quite frankly). And here's what I have been up to in my last days in Thailand:
Well, since I had lots of time to spare and errands to run, I got up yesterday morning, happy and full of spirit (I got Ruach, Yes I do!)- After running my errands I headed back to my room...only with no key. Slightly panicked I went to the clerk, mumbling something about leaving my key in my room, and after almost an hour he let me in- only to find out I did in fact drop it on the floor before I left. Tough call. The place hates Israelis (Can't blame them, though), so I was rather worried....but It turned out for the best.
Then it occurred to me that I still have almost 9 hours left, so I handled it in the female way- went shopping at the mall. Oh god, it was painful. But fun.
Then I decided to see Harry Potter (quite an over dose since I'm reading the last one) when something unexpected happened- the screen showed the following announcement:"Please pay the proper respect to his majesty", as the national anthem was playing and photos of the king were rolling on the screen. Everyone stood up. I was completely baffeld by the whole thing, and it was rather...unusual. They sure love the king...
After that I went back to Khao San road, spent lots of time doing lots of nothing and headed on to the airport-and 11 hours later I got Home!
The funny thing is that my cousin in making Aliyah and joining the army, so right after I was picked up by my sister we headed off to her Aliyah ceremony- Which I have to say was very nice, very exciting and a very strange way to spend my first few hours back in Israel after being away.
Anyway, I guess this is my last post...since I'm back I don't see much point of proceeding. I will however post a short update when I put up the last batch of photos.
For all of you who read my blog for the past Three months- well, thanks I guess. Not sure if any of actually did, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Sivan

Kho Phangan- welcome to Israel

2007-08-04T02:38:00.000-07:00

So here I am now, in Kho Phangan, after finishing the course.... On the last day we did 3 dives- two of them included sharks- which was extremly cool, and the third one was a night dive and a night mare- which included an incident with one of those sea spiky creatures- my foot was not very content.
So 2 days ago, I left and now I am in Kho Phangan- which is pretty much like the Israeli colony- I hear Hebrew everywhere. Plenty of Hebrew signs, restaurants etc. Until today Anat and Shiran, the girls I did the course with were here and it was lots of fun- We went to the beach, got a massage, and basically just fooled around..Today they left for Kho Samui and I am stying here until tomorrow morning when I will be leaving back to Bangkok.
So this is it...I guess I won't be posting much since it's the end of my trip... I cannot believe I am going home in 2 days!!!!

Kho Tao- swin said the mama fishy

2007-07-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

Once again, it's been a few days but here I am now in Kho Tao (Turtle Island). It's one of the three main Island of the southern west coast, it's about 26KM big. The main area is located down the coastline- not much on the actual Islad.
Kho Tao is famus for the diving courses- I finished my open water today (equivallent to 1 star) and in two days will complete the advanced open water, the PADI (2 stars). The aquatic life are absolutly amazing. Reefs, fish, we even got a glimps of sea horse- this time alive, and in it's natural habitat (rather than dead and on a stick. Refreshing). Beautiful.
My ears are slightly less fond of me ever since Iv'e started the course, but it really is nice. We are a group of Four (we were 5, one droppout), all Israelis with an Israeli instructor named Mattan, and the course itself is in Hebrew, which I found rather useful.
Other than that there isn't anything really outstanding in the Island- it's very pretty, expensive and well- that's about it.
On another note- I am proud to say I am am a proud owner of a Harry Potter copy (including an amzingly ugly mug I got with)- started reading it today. I also finished the first Jonathan Safran Foyewr book (All is illuminated)- Must say that either I really didn't get it or I didn't understand. Anyhow, I liked the second one better.
So this is it... Can't believe that next week on this time I will be just a few hourse prior to my flight... I am excited, I must admit.

Where am I? oh, yes, in Thailand

2007-07-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's been a few days since I have last written. Well, after spending an extra day in Siem Reap I went back to Phenom Penh, where I randomly met a guy I have known from China which happened to be on same flight the following day. So we hung out together, which was quite nice.
The following day we took a flight to Bangkok and and left Cambodia. I must admit, I wasn't that fond of it- especially after Amir (the guy) told me that the room he shared with his friends was broken into and their stuff were stolen. Now that sucks.
Anyway, I am back in Bangkok....weird how I REALLY hated it at first and now it's actually rather nice.
It's unbelieavble how five minutes after I got here I already ran into people I met in China, Vietnam, Cambodia... yep, sure is a kibbutz galuyot.
Yesterday I ran errands....so nice to have clean clothes, I almost forgot what it felt like. yay! and I also went to China town with two girls named Dana (both)- I have to say that after being to the real thing, Chinatown is a disappointment.
so to make it up we went to MBK- huge mall. how incredibly feminine of us.
Tonight I am heading to Kho Tao and tomorrow I will be starting the diving course and get my PADI. yay!
last thing- finally got some photos up!

Angkor Wat (wait, what?)

2007-07-22T05:35:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I went to see Angkor- the center of temples located 8 KM from Siem Reap. It wasn't quite as I expected it to be, but it was lovely. Photos to come- once I make peace with what for reason is called "High Tech". God, it keeps getting worst. Gevult.
Anyway Sarit, Ayelet and myself had a Tuk Tuk driver (the most common way to get around seeing it's huge)- a very funny guy named Meth.
we got to see the Angkor Wat (what?)- the famous temple which is can also be found on the national flag of the Cambodia kingdom, and Angkor Tom, and even the place where Tomb Reider movie was shot. Yep, if it's good for Angelina, it's also good for me. Right.
The whole day was rather exhausting- by 16:00 we gave up and headed back to Siem Reap (which by the way, means Thai loseres. Honestly. Isn't that just hilarious?)- so we didn't get to see the sunset.
At evening, we were reminded we are in south east Asia- the power went off for like an hour, in dead heat....I am getting used to it by now.

Today Sarit and Ayelet took off, so I was on my own again. I went to a place were they train blind people to give massages- it was awesome and worth every cent (and it was damn cheap). oh, it was fantastic.
Tommorrow I will be heading back to Phenom Penh.... Yipi...

Cambodia- Angkor What?

2007-07-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

So here I am in Cambodia, after Two days of long rides, one killing field and quite a few temples.

I arrived in Phenom Penh on Friday afternoon, setteld in the guest house and along with Ayelet and Sarit, two girls I met on the bus, went to the Killing fields. I must admit I fell like such an ignorant- I knew nothing of what was going on here only 20 years ago. In two sentences, in favor of those who have no idea what I am referring to- in the mid 80's, after Vitenam backed out of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, a guerilla movement terrorized the country in a similar way as Chairman Mao- they executed almost 2 milliom people- mostly foreigners or people who were suspected as high educated (for example- people with eye glasses) after torturing them in camps. Today, one of the biggerst evidence, minus the horrible economic situation, is the killing fields, where one can see mass graves and, quite horrifing, a huge monument made with real humen skulls.

After being there we got back to Phnom Penh (rumor has it it's a capital. No real evidence for that;-)), and went to chack out the riverside.. quite nice.

In general, there is quite a resemblence between Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos- or as they would say- "Same same but different". the local currency in the Real but hell, who am I kidding? it's US Dollars. they are by far more used than the Real.

Yesterday we left Phenom Penh in favor of Siem Reap- which cought me by suroprise. It seemed at first to be a real dump, but turned out to be a very touristic and cool town. Of course, the only reason for that is the fact it is located 8 km from Angkor- the ancient temple center, which is also where I am heading to tomorrow.

after wandering in town for a while I ran into a friend- an Irish guy named Owen and we went to drink with two british girls we both know from difeerent place. It was nice, but man, driking with 3 british really tested my abuilitly to think straight.

Anyway tomorrow we are going to spent the entire day in Angkor. I really hope it's going to be good...

Saigon. Sigh. Gone.

2007-07-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

And the pond is there for a reason. What can I say? Hi Chi Minh City is huge- and it's devided into districts- the biggest one is district 1- AKA Saigone. So that was just a useless piece of information.
Yesterday I went to what used to be "The American War Crime Museum"- and these days is called "The War Remnant Museum". Wow. unbelievable. It really was shocking, although it was one of the only signs of hatred towards the Americans for as far as I spotted. But it was quite tough- photos (hopefully) to come.
Today I went to see the Mekong Delta. It was nice- though I didn't get to see to actual Delta. I went on a tour to Mytho, a town located right at the river bank, then continued on a boat to see Coconut candy making (YUM), and then some boat rowing, fruit tasting and local horrible music hearing (music is not the word I'd use for it) -and back to Saigone.
I also decided that I am leaving tomorrow to Phenom Penh in cambodia. I still need to get the actual ticket, but it seems about right.
Anyway this is it for now... once again, photos to come- once I get a computer that won't be outbeat by a limping Turtle with a blister. Hoping for the best!

Muy Ne- Muy Kef?

2007-07-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

actually the answer for that is no- I was quite disappointed. But first, I must share with you what appears to be the best form of toilet I had seen- and I had seen quite a few. Seriously, I thought the public restrooms in China was the high light, but clearly I was wrong: on the way to Muy Ne, the bus made a stop (as they often do). I was very happy since nature was calling- screaming, might I add- so like a typical female I rushed to the toilet. Now, here is the thing- I went to the cell, booth, room- whatever you'd call it- only there was NOTHING, other than a bucket of water and a teeny tiny hole in the wall. After a few minutes I figuerd out that one is pee ON THE FLOOR and wash it out with the bucket threugh the teeny tiny hole in the wall. Holly shit (scratch that- holly pee). In case you were wondering- I went out and found a bush. that was just too much for me.
Muy Ne is a one-street-town right by the coast, the beach is amazingly beautiful, and the place is so peacful, but for some reason I just didn't connect to the place. Not sure why.
I spent an entire day there- got there at noon, wandered around, went to a place called "The fairy stream"- not sure way- and to the waterfall.
The following morning I took a sunrise trip to the great sundunes- It was amazing, only I have a problem with the fact that 10 year old kids are up, following you around, carrying your stuff, help you sandsurf and then beg you for money, and then ask for more. It really makes me sick.
Sand surfing wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, but the concept is cool- you surf down the dunes.
Anyway, by 14:00 I was on my way to Ho Chi Minh city- AKA Saigone, which is where I am now. More to come about that later...

Nha Trang- or "Yay, I have a title!"

2007-07-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

God,I really can't understand why some computers here do cooperate and some don't. Oh well.
Anyway, I am in Nha Trang at the moment- a city which is famous for it's great beaches and water sports. I arrived here 2 days ago, after 13 hours on a bus (including a flat tire), and after arriving, it took me almost 3 hours to find a place to crash. It is that packed.
The beach is rather nice, though I must admit I liked Hoi An's beach much better,but the water here are clear, and lovely, and it is quite nice.
Yesterday morning I took a tour to the near by islands, along with two Israeli guys I met- I'm sure the tour could have been great, if only I wasn't THAT sea sick. It never happened to me before, but the it was rather windy, and like 5 or 6 people got sea sick. the scenery was amazing, and every time the boat wasn't moving it was very nice. We went Snorkeling and got to see some fish, and later a bunch of us just sat at the beach in one of the Islands. On the way back we stopped at the aquarium- and got a glimpse of some water creatures. All and all it was nice, but again- being nauseous did not leave such a great impression.
today I decided to take a day off- just hang out, find a book to swap and chill. I went to see a great sculpture of a sitting Buddha- 25 meter tall. it wasn't as impressive as I though it would be, but hey, I am not messing around with no Buddha.
anyway, that's it for now... tomorrow I will be heading toward Muy Ne- and I hope it will be good. Check out my photos!

2007-07-11T02:31:00.000-07:00

You are not going to believe his, but guess wha? I have uploaded photos! yay for me!
Enjoy:-)

2007-07-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

And yet, another title-less post:-) it getting better and better...
So I am now in Hoi An, a small town by the river side and the ocean.
It is well famous for its tailors- there are over 200 tailors and clothes shops. I promised myself I won't cave in and get some stuff made- and of course, I failed miserably- I guess that's where my feminine side kick in. I am getting 3 pairs of pants, 3 skirts and a coat, and trust me- It's NOTHING compared to the wardrobes other people are getting. Insane!
Other than that, the town is pretty mellow- it has a nice "old town" thing going on by the riverside, where one can find restaurants, shops, and of course- lots and lots of tailors. I must say it is rather pretty.
Today I decided to check out the beach- oh man, what a beach. It is located about 3 KM from town, which I gladly peddled until I almost fainted from the heat, and it is so nice, and peaceful, and quite surprisingly uncrowded at all. I spent about an hour and a half- until it HAD to start raining, because it's me... Yeah, Murphy is getting a real kick out of this one.
Also, I am glad to say that I finished "Lost In Translation" (nice, but not the best) and that I finally found someone to swap books with, and will be reading "The Kite Runner", which I must admit- I started once and never got to finish. So that's exciting! And I am SUCH a geek. But who cares?
Tomorrow evening I will be heading toward Nha Trang- a good 12 hours bus ride.. But it should be amazing, so I am looking forward to it.
So, that sums up this addition of "My travelling- why would anyone care? I don't know, but what the hell".
Enjoy!
oh, yes- still no photos. sigh.

2007-07-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, first thing's first- I thought once I leave China my Blogspot issues will be over, but NNNOOO... I think the computers of the worled are united against me. so that's why my last post looks the way it does, and why I cannot view other blogs (Doron, Alon, Erica, James etc.) as well as why there are no new photos (though I my camera is loaded) and why there is no title.
I have left Hanoi on Saturday and after what appeared to be a life time, though it was only 13 hours, I got here. On the way the driver stopped for fuel- then couldn't restart the engine and like 10 passengers had to push the bus to help him start. It really was funny.
Hue is a small town, located about 110 Km from the DMZ. They also have that annoying habbit to hover around you with "you want hotel?" "you want food?"- but at least here they did realize I am female. so I guess that's a GOOD development.I arrived at 8:00, obviously crashed for a few hours and then just wandered around, and today I went to the DMZ. The DMZ (DeMiliterzied Zone) is the 10KM strip that separated North Vietnam and South Vietnam until the war ended. It crosses the country from west to east- From the South China sea to the Lao border, and during the Vietnam war there were American forces located there.
I saw the famous Hi Chi Minh trail, which was heavily bombed during the war, and also the Vinh Moc tunnels- 3 levels of tunnels, hidden in the mountain by the coast, where Vietnamese villagers hid during the heavy bombing on their village- it's quite amazing- they have "family rooms"- holes on the main trail of the tunnel, tiny hole for 3-5 people. they also had a maternity room, where 17 babies were born in the time period of 6 years. there is also a crater in the Forrest, which was created with the great help of a B52 bomb.
I think what made it most interesting for me was the fact that amongst the group there was a Vietnamese guy who was a helicopter pilot during the war, it southern Vietnam. He later immigrated to the states and that was his first trip there with his family- was very interesting.
Later I went to see the Dahkron bridge and the combat camp- they have American Helicopters and a museum- some Vietnamese guy tried to sell me an American dog tag- how low can you go?
As said, I've get many photos, I am just waiting until the hostile electronic device forces will seas fire.
tomorrow I am hopping back on the bus and heading toward Hoi An- also knows as the tailor town- there are more than 200 of thrm and you can get clothes especially made for ridiculous prices. Now that's going to be fun....
So this is it. Nothing witty or sarcastic this time. Sorry...

Hanoi- or "Hey mister, you want motorcycle"?

2007-07-05T07:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, appearantly I look like a man, or so the Vietnamese motor cycle drivers thinks.
So yesterday and today I have appeared to be in every freakin museum in Hanoi- and there are quite a few, must I say.I went to the women's museum, which I am sure in nice, only it was renovated so only two exhibitions were opened, and then to the Hoa Lou prison- also known as "Hilton Hanoi"". It was actually rather interesting to see- they have lots of stuff from the French period and form the American one- when the prison was used to imprison American pilots whose planes got knocked off by the Vietnamese.
Today I went to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum- unbelievable security - they made me turn in my bag, as well as electronic devices-appearantly the noise disturb Ho Chi Minh... No I am kidding. Actually I thought the entire concept was rather creepy but I have to say that it was impressive- though I read Ho Chi Minh himself asked to be cremated. And when you pass by, there are 4 guards making sure you are quiet, and of course- that he won't run away:-)
the Museum near by was weird. wasn't entirely sure what the message was, but I found it interesting. To complete the the experience I later visited the Army museum. I must say that they have given it quite a lot of thought, locating the national flag tower right next to an exhibition of of Air crafts taken down from by Vietnam from the French and American periods.
Other than that I decided to skip Halong Bay and Sapa and tomorrow night I will be heading toward Hoa- on the open bus. hopefully I will upload photos shortly..or not.

Gooooood Morning Vietnaaaaaaaam!!!

2007-07-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

So predictable, but I was SO going to use this line. Actually, I think it's rather ironic for me to be in Vietnam on July 4th...Happy indipendence day all you Americans, by the way!
So here I am in Ha Noi- the capital of Vietnam, which after Beijing looks like a neighborhood...
Actually I had an awful experiance on my way out of China- no one alerted me that liquids are prohibited on board- So all of my shower stuff- soap, toothpaste,body lotion and the brand-new-haven't-been-oponed shampoo and conditioner were confiscated by the security. man I was bummed. and they were extremely rude too...well, at least some security officer at the Beijing airport is going to have a real shower party now....the most ridicules thing was that I was given a bottle of water, and then the plane landed in Guanxou for a connection flight, I had to get off the plane and wait, and of course they confiscated my bottle by the time I wanted to go back. JEES!
but here I am, back to the tropical-so-damn-hot-and-humid-I-want-to-live-in-a-refrigirator wheather. FUN!
I went exploring ans wandering around....serious flashbacks to the old city of Beer Sheva, only with cooler people. but I have to say it's nice and rather cool.
I am desperate for a book! I swaped Im Yesh Gan Eden yesterday for "Angles and Deamons"- yet again- and finished it this morning. See, now that's when reading fast is BAD! So I am stuck with an English copy of "Lost In Trnaslation"- I just started it, but I don't really have any expectaions...though I must say it's a safe candidate for the "what the hell were they thinking when they translated it into Hebrew?"- In Hebrew it's called "lost in Tokyo". Man.
Anyway, more to come on my adventures (?) in Ha Noi.. but meanwhile Happy 4th of July all you Americans!

Last day in Beijing!

2007-07-02T02:23:00.000-07:00

which is actually today, seeing as I am leaving tomorrow.
Apparently, yesterday was Canada day. Now, under any other circumstances i would never have known that, but last night I was hanging out at the hostel with an American guy and a Canadian guy, and there was another Canadian girl there and they brought my attention to that fact- the best part was when they were slightly drunk and stood up, hand on their heart and sang loudly the national anthem of Canada. The second high light of that night was hearing a Scottish guy saying, in what appeared to be Hebrew- "Sak ashachim gvinati masriach". for those of you who don't get that- you're better off that way. It was SO funny....there were Three Israelis there, and we cracked up.
Today I went with a dutch guy named Juri (Yuri) to a local amusement park. They charge 5 Yuan admission, but apparently you have to pay for each ride.... Chinese math. Whatever... Anyway I had a great time, we did really cool roller coaster, and seemed to be the only western people at the park.
Anyhow, tonight is my last night in China, so my next post is very likely to be from Vietnam. Hope all of you are doing good...

All and all, wer'e just amother brick in the wall

2007-06-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

Or in other words- today I went to the Great wall of China. Could have been awesome, if I'd actually manage to get a peek at the scenery but hey, I'm not greedy...
actually the weather was dreadful, worst vision in the world and the place was swapped with people but I did like it quite a lot.
I have uploaded the photos from the wall....not much of the view, so don't expect anything amazing:-)

Food market- how much is the doggy in the window?

2007-06-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

on Tuesday, after I got back from the forbidden city, I decided to go with a few people to the "bar Strip". I don't know which of them to count as the under-estimation of the week- the "bar" part or the "strip"- it's like 5 crappy places with very expensive beer.
later we went to a dance club. I felt I was raising the age average, and Zohar (an Israeli girl I met here) and me kept mocking drunk western girls dancing. Also some kind of fun.
Yesterday I decided I am going to get lost in Beijing- I just left with no map or guide and walked- and ended up going to a really cool shopping mall and an awesome food court that had things that I actually eat. Now that doesn't happen very often. So cool...
Later I decided to go to an acrobat show with a couple of Israelis- only we got there too late and the rates were so high we decided to skip and get back. So I guess I can say I spent the afternoon "exploring". Yeah right.
At the evening a bunch of us went to the food market. Oy Gevult. There are booths all over the place with stuff like worms, scorpions, snakes, cow stomach, sea horse, star fish, octopus and many more of the little mermaid's gang... as well as stuff like chicken, pork and i'm pretty sure I spotted a dog, which gives a whole new connotation to the song "how much is the Doggy in the window". EEEWWWW!!!! the smell at the place is just delightful.....
One of te gang was a dutch guy who ate a grasshopper- now that's wrong- Pinocchio's with be very mad... he said it actually tasted rather good, only a few minutes after he started to have an allergic reaction to it. Lesson to be learned kids- make sure you are not allergic to grasshopper Before eating it.

And yet- another post

2007-06-27T00:58:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering how come I post so often- it is pouring outside so I am in the hostel waiting for it to calm down.
Two funny incidents- yesterday as I entered the dorm room 2 Israeli girls were talking. One was looking for a band aid so I offered her one. She stared at me and said: "that's wrong, you don't look Israeli, you look American or Indian or something". I told her how accurate she was, and it was funny. The second thing actually happened in Zhongdian- I was sitting in a coffee shop when I hear 2 Israeli girls talking- Israeli1:"I think she's from Israel" IL2:"She doesn't look Israeli" IL1:"Yeah, but she has Shoresh sandals" and they kept going on and on when I realized they were talking about me so I said:"Paam habaha sheaten medabrot al mishehu, tishtadlu shehu lo yavin. aniti lachem al hasheela?" they were embarrassed, but I thought it was funny.
Today I decided to go to the forbidden city- it's like 30 minutes away, wtith crappy weather. It is huge, one can spend like 2 whole days in there...I kind of got the hang of it after 2 hours and went back. At some point I noticed a bunch of Americans waiting in a perfect line- when I got close I realized they were waiting for the STARBUCKS. Hoe low can you go?! it's China, the forbidden city and they have a freaking Starbucks there?! Of course I bought a Frappaccino, took 2 sips and realized I don't even like coffee... but the whole concept was weird. by the way, tourist refer to it as the forbidden Starbucks.
I also learned today that part of the preparation to the Olympic games is to ban spitting and teach Chinese how to stand in line- they are like Israelis when it comes to that. the way they teach it, get this- they make then stand in a line for 2 hours, and that's it. the line doesn't go anywhere, they just stand. Weird....
Anyway , I finally have a ticket to Hanoi on Tuesday- July 3rd- the last day I am allowed to be in China. So this is it. and new- new photos are UP at the China gallery. Enjoy...

Of course it didnt work....

2007-06-26T03:57:00.000-07:00

And as my Slovakian friends would say- Sprosta Machina (stupid machine). I told you computers hate me...

Beijing- Is it possible they are hosting the olympic games?

2007-06-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

and I wonder...I only crossed signs/merchandise/memos to that like 7,000,000 times today....how come I only go to cities that host the Olympic games a few months *before*? it makes no sense. oh well.
today I moved to a hostel named Leo- it's a VERY popular place among travellers and slightly cheaper than the place I was stying at until now. I decided that it's a good day to go to the summer palace. WRONG! actually there is no such thing. the place is great, beautiful etc.- only the pollution in this god forsaking country is so bad that even with complete sun you can dream of having good vision. FUN. and it took one and a half hours to get there by bus- and that's without leaving town. man this place is big.
Another funny thing is that I keep coming across signs of companies I am pretty sure were customers of Viola. Huwaii- I am hunting you down, wherever you are...!!! huh!
Yeah I am just babbling now. Anyway I am making yet another attempt to upload photos-hope this time it works but Don't count on it- computers hate me.

Kunming,Beijing,and in betwing

2007-06-25T01:32:00.000-07:00

So I was going to be on my own for 2 days before I leave to Beijing....only Gil's wallet was stolen 3 hours before his train, so he has to stay one more night... oh well.
So here I am, in Beijing- I took a flight seeing as 38 hours by train didn't sound like a great idea when i'm with stomach problems. I am staying in the touristic area- which really looks like a "shchunat pachonim", and is really close to Tianannmen square.
Beijing is SO damn big! it took over an hour to get from the airport to downtown....
Anyway today I went to the Vietnamese embassy and explored a little, finding myself in the pearl/silk market- both names random- it's a huge indoor market where people litteraly grab you when you bargin and walk away. But it's very very nice.
Random fact of this week- for some reason I have the most weird thing stuck to my head: Frost's "Stopping By Woods.." (.."Whose woods these are, I think I know, his house is in the village though" etc.). God knows where that came from.The second thing stuck to my head is a song, curtesy of my grandma who used to sing it all the time, and it goes like this (sing by the tune of "My Bonny Is Over The Ocean":
Last night as I lais on my pillow
Last night as I laid in my bed
I stuck my feet out of the window
In the morning my neighbors were dead
Aaaand bring back, bring back, oh bring back my neighbors to me hi hi...

no I was humming it myself when some american guy heard me and started laughing. OOPS!

so I guess this is it for now....I'm alone, and alive, and a leagle alien, god knows what that has to do with anything.

Kunming- fun place to get sick in

2007-06-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan province- now after being in "small towns" with populations of 1,000,000 people we arrived here....according to the lonely planet, there were 6,800,000 people in 2002- so I guess I had just arrived to Israel. In one city. Nifty! now that's nuts.
Anyway, the way here was fun...another 10 hours sleeping bus....and we got here at 5:00, so we got another one hour of sleep on the bus, and at 6:00 the driver woke everyone up and we had to get out.
We are staying in a cool youth hostel called "the Hump"- nothing to do we the stupid Black Eyed peas song...
Today I decided to go to a hospital because I have been having a really bad stomach ache for the past few days. Oy, the shame. I got to the hospital, was escorted to a room with a nurse and doctor, of course neither of them speak any English, they put me on the phone with an English speaking person, god knows who, and then just shoved medications in my hand and let me go. I was frustrated as hell, and later decided to go to a second hospital... thank god there was an slightly English speaking doctor and he actually examened me...crazy! so now I have to take antibiotics and I am way less frustrated with the Chinese people. And I have to say that Soroka looks like a very peaceful place compared to the Chinese hospital.
Something else that is going on is that I have decided not to continue with Gil to Guanxi province, so I will be staying here for a few days until i'm better and then go to Beijing, stay there for a few days and then I say goodbye to China!
so this is it...I guess. Check out the China photo album, I'm adding the latest photos and signs to it.

and back to Lijiang

2007-06-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

I have to say that having some time to myself was rather fun- I got to hang out with an American woman named Stephanie and an American guy named Ted, I also finally gone Chinese folk dancing and did very well! Erica would be so proud... (not). it was actually very easy to follow, and this old woman in traditional clothes got a real kick from the western girl trying to follow the steps.

so yesterday I arrived back to Lijiang- after the best bus ride in a NON SMOKING BUS! I didn't know such thing existed. oh, well.
Anyway, I arrived at about 15:30 and went straight to the Guest house- to see that it is full of people- half of them Israelis. The cool thing is that I managed to swap my book (by the way- Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer- weird book, but I liked it a lot!), and the coolest thing is that finally I have non Chinese music of my MP3 player! hooray for that!
And then it was showering rain (why!? no, seriously, why???), soI ended up staying at the GH with a few Israelis and we tought a few guys how to play Taki. It was actually very funny.
And at about Nine Gil arrived back from the trek in Deqine. So this is it... tonight or tomorrow we are heading to Kunming, the Capital of Yunnan province.

Deqin- and Back to Zhondian

2007-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

On Friday we left for Deqine (pronounced "Dechine")- we were told it's 5-6 hours... it was 7, in a very foggy yet gorgeous road. When we arrived, a Chinese guy (also tourist) came up to us and ask if we want to share a cab to Feilai (it's a village near by where most tourist stay) and we did. Afterwards he also helped us find a decant accommodation (how useful it is to have a Chinese speaking guy with you!) and we went to eat. His name is Wesley (of course his Chinese name is much more complicated) and he is very nice. We also met a guy named Chao, Chinese who spent 14 years in Germany, and a girl named Shadow (Red Shadow actually), also Chinese, and we were hanging out together.
The following morning Gil and Wesley decided to go on the Deqine Trek- I decide to skip because the weather is horrible, I wasn't feeling so good and I think I can use a few days on my own, So I headed back to Zhondian, and here I am. I spent yesterday evening hanging out with an American lady named Stephanie, and today I plan to hang out and do nothing....and tomorrow I'll be heading back to Lijiang, where i am due to meet Gil later on this week.
I also came up with a new hobby- taking photos of weird signs with funny mistakes. You kind find a few on the last Bach of photos, but there are a few I wish I would photograph such as: "This toilet is only for peeing", "Please help us save hot water and power, so China won't have to build another dam", "Be car ful of the falling rocks" (mistakes are as the original).
So this is it for now....

Zhongdien (Or Shangri-La)

2007-06-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we arrived here, after a 5 hours bus ride which was very nice. This is a city that it's charm is in the old city, but compared to Dali and Lijiang it's pretty lame. The cool thing was at evening- we went to the so called old town square, and they were doing Chinese folk dancing. it's actually pretty cool- I even joined them for a while, but with my lame experience in dancing I gave it up pretty quickly. But I am very proud of my Chines-folk-dancing experience:-)
Today we rented bikes and decided to go see the Napa sea- a lake which is about 10 KM for the town. Happy and light hearted we biked, in the freezing wind, just to discover that the damn lake is DRY! and we already paid the admission fee. Boy we were pissed. We biked back, stoped were there is a nice temple, and a nice lady charged us 2 Y (which is like a shekel).... to take a photo. After that we just biked back.
I met quite a few people here- some of them we met before on the Tiger Leaping and in Dali and Lijiang.
Believe it or not- I uploaded NEW photos! yay! I can't believe I finally managed to do so....
So I guess this is it...no witty stories for today......yet.
tomorrow we are heading to Decine (or Deqin) it's the most Northern part of Yunnan, and it's on the border with Tibet, and it should be very nice and freezing. we are likely to stay there for about a week and then go back to Lijiang and to Kunming. So that's it for now...

Tiger Leaping- Hutiaou Xia

2007-06-12T02:27:00.000-07:00

So I got back from the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek! It started yesterday- we took a bus for 2 hours, and started climbing a HUGE mountain. all way long a man with a donkey escorted me, waiting for me to bale and pay him some money to take me to the top and guess what- I did eventually. It was raining, and cold and I was soaking wet, but the view was just breathtaking.
Later we finished the first day in the Halfway Guest house, so we sat there, freezing,with a really weird bunch of people- a girl for Austria named Billie, an Italian guy named Stefano, 2 Danish women and three people from New Zealand- all in their mid 50s. One of them starting telling us stories about weeds and constipation- fun! It was very nice, and funny- I had a great time hanging out with them.
Today we got up at 8:00, and decided to go down towards a the river and head back. Usually there is a longer trail, but due to some very dangerous landslides it isn't very safe. Gil took a longer way and we met on the way back. All in all, very tireing but lovely. and good exercise:-)

tomorrow we are leaving Lijiang to Zhongdian ( I think). And it's going to be nice and freezing!
so this is it for today..... once again, I really hope at some point I'll find a picasa/USB friendly computer...

Lijiang

2007-06-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

So after a day of getting lost in the maze which calls itself "the old city"- I finally managed to find myself. GREAT! actually it's a very nice city- the old city IS tourism- it's like a giant pedestrian mall (midrachov), stone streets, and very easy to get lost in- but it's full of colors and life and well, it's cool.
so yesterday we went to see the black dragon park- the first time having a student ID actually gave me a discount:-) it's very very nice.
Today we went to the jade snow mountain- Icy glacier, huge mountain (4506 meters) and a very fast and foggy cable car ride.
tomorrow we are planning to do the Tiger leaping Gorge trek almighty- it takes between 2-3 days to complete the trek, and we hear that it's worth it... so we'll see how it goes.
meanwhile, hope all of you had a nice weekend, and I wish you all a great week!

Lijiang-or Happy Birthday to me!

2007-06-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

so, today (June 9th)I am celebrating my 23rd Birthday.. actually it's not much of celebrating, but still:-)
today we left Dali in favor of Lijiang, which is a city located about 3 hours north. We just arrived an hour ago and we are now setteling in the guest house, but the view is amazing- including mountains and SNOW on the peaks. Just Great!
We might be going to the Tiger leaping Gorge trek- it's a two days trek that is suppusedly very pretty...
anyway that's it for now... i'll update again soon....I hope.
Meanwhile have a great weekend and a great week..

Dali- or how to kill your legs in one day

2007-06-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

So today we have decided to take a hike to the near by mountains- climb up, see a temple, go on about 10 KM to another temple and come back.
When we asked, they said that getting to the first temple is about a 40 minutes climbing. Yeah right! it took Gil 40 minutes, and it took me 2 HOURS! even a couple of elders did it faster then me. It was steep, long and since I've walked on my own I wasn't sure what path to take- only to find out that as Gil said:"All ways lead to Rome". Rome wasn't very impressive, though; But then we went on the hike from temple A to Temple B and that was just gorgeous. Beautiful, not very steep, not that bad weather... amazing. when we reached the second one we went down by a cable car, but all and all, it was great and I earned the pain in my legs and blisters in my feet very respectfully.
so that's it for today....new photos will probably come when I actually find a USB/memory card supportive computer..

"See China right in front of you.." (U2, Beautiful day)

2007-06-06T01:04:00.000-07:00

After a few days of not writing, here I come again, from China!
The trip to Jinghong, our first destination in China was hell: 24 hours on a sleeping bus, a bus with what they refer to as beds and I refer to as toothpicks with a pillow. Of course since we got on the bus after it left it's first stop we got stuck on the back- 5 beds in a row, which basically meant I was either turning right and spooning Gil, or turning left and spooning a strange Chinese guy. FUN!
Another thing that caught me unprepared was the fact that Chinese people have a very unusual habbit- they spit. And they put their heart, soul and body liquids into it. GROSS! We see this cute little Chinese Girl, and out of now where we hear KHKHK and she spits her guts out, on the floor. EW! horrible.
Anyway we arrived in Jinghong on Sunday night, spent a night in what Gil referred to as a room and I as a dog house, then left and spent Monday wandering around town-8 hours of walking around and exploring. And after the first shock and lack of English it's was quite cool.
On Tuesday evening we took a flight to Dali- a town which is located in North Yunnan and here we are. It is absolutely beautiful (I think I should come up with some new words), and today we went Cormorant fishing- it's a unique way to fish with birds (basically it's quite cruel- they take the fish out of the Bird's beak. bet your not having fish again). And now we are hanging out. by the way I hope I'll have a chance to update again- I can't seem to log on to my blog here for some reason (here being China). Anyway we are staying here until Saturday, I think.
So long, and thank you for the fish..

Bye Bye LAOS

2007-06-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight we are leaving for China, so this is our last day here in Luang Prabang. I Actually had a lovely time in the past few days: Met a bunch of "siblings" in Beit Chabbad on Thursday, and went bowling- I'm proud to say that I still suck! Gil was actually winning, and Nir was even worst than I was... on the first game.

On Friday we hooked up with Jit and Phil- 2 English guys we met in Vang Vieng and along with a guy from Denmark we went to a waterfall which was absolutely beautiful- turquoise water, plants, fish... tourist picnicking all over the place... really really nice.

When we returned we went with then to an Indian restaurant- I think there is a hole in my tongue... clearly I was born in the wrong Eda.

At evening we went to Beit Chabbad for Shabbat dinner- it was lovely. We were about 30, some of them we knew and some not, and it was really nice.

Today we woke up to find out there is no electricity nor running water- and it kept going until the middle of lunch (again, in Beit Chabbad- by the way, the locals don't know what "Chabbad house" is, but if you ask about "Beit Chabbad" they will know exactly what you're taking about)- so that was fun....different kind of mingling, sweaty. Ew.

So now we are pretty much doing nothing.....just burning time until our bus to Jingxong (if I remember correctly)- we are leaving at 10 and it's at least 18 hours.... yay.

Anyhow, have a lovely week:-)

Loang Prabang

2007-05-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

So after a horrible yet gorgeous 6 hours van ride were are now in Loang Prabang (silent R)- As I mentioned, the road was amazing but horrible- the Van had natural air conditioning- windows. and rain... and he drove on like 30 KPH beacuse the road is full of turns... but here we are in the center of town!
No, wait a minute-"town" is over estimationg...it's like a very big village, not very town-ish. But it's right next to the Mekong and some other river, and there are many beautiful temples.
Last night we went to the night market which was nice, and today we went to the temples. The larget one is located on a hill called "Pou See" and PLEASE- no ponds/jokes/dirty assiciating, I am traveling with 2 guys and so help me god, I had ENOUGH with this joke.
Anyhow nice temples, but they charge 2$ admission fee each, so after one or two we got the idea. Afterwards we went to Beit Chabbad, and we are heading there tomorrow night for Shabbat dinner.
So that's it for now... i've uploaded more photos, so have a look:-)

Vang Vieng- episode 2

2007-05-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

I keep telling myself I am over posting.... and even though:
Today we went on a day trip- we went with a group of Eleven: 2 Irish girls, 2 British guys, 3 Israelis and the Four of us. We started with a visit to a Buddha cave- I can convert with all the Buddha info I learned recently...But I learned today that the reason Buddhists don't eat pork is because that's what killed Buddha. Random piece of information for today!
Afterwards we went Tubing in a cave- very dark, and we had to pedal most of the way cause there was no stream..
Then we went Kayaking- a very good day for my biceps, no doubt- once again, no stream...fun. but we also did Omega- with no safety cord- it was fun. Risky, but So fun.
Something else I learned today is that I am a very tasty mosquito food. Oh, the honor...
Tomorrow David is leaving us and in Two days we are leaving to Luang Pabang.
and that completes this series of "Mosquitoes- what Sivan did today".. yeah, that sounds nasty. I'll think of something better for next time... or not:-)
meanwhile, Have a lovely week!

Vang Vieng

2007-05-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

Shabbat Shalom! we are now in Vang Vieng- a small beautiful town about 4 hours north to Vian Tien. The trip was fun- 4 hours in horrible heat, no air conditioning, full of sweaty people.... splendid. but it's a very very nice road.
We are staying all four of us in a nice bungalow right down the Sam Xong riverside, so we have great view. I'm dying to upload photos but in this damn continent finding a cooperating computer is impossible- the ones that do have USB connections do not support them.
Today we rented two motorbikes and went exploring- I cannot begin to describe exactly how pretty the country side is- trees, mountains, river, creeks, fields and villages. the people here are so poor, but their lives are priceless, which to me is nothing but amazing.
Just as we were heading back the sky turned cloudy and as we sat down for lunch it started pouring outside.
funny thing- Vang Vieng is more of a village than a town, and it's very touristic- they have 2 bar/restaurants that have "Friends" on 24/7. TWO! and they are across to each other. to make things better, there is also a "Simpsons" bar.....so that's what wev'e been doing to avoid the rain. how odd..
So that's it for now....

Vien Tian &4,000 Islands

2007-05-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

So first of all- Happy Shavout! in a bit of a delay.
Right now we are back in Vien Tian after being in 4,000 Islands.
Vien Tian is the capital of Laos- only it's smaller than Afula and does not resemble a city what so ever. There are many temples and it's right by the Mekong river.
On Tuesday we (Gil, David- a friend of Gil's from Germany and me) arrived here and Gil and I went to the Chinese embassy to deposit our passports and now that we're back our visas to China should be ready.
In Between we spent a day in a half in 4,000 Island- it's a 50K area in the Mekong river in which there are, sure enough- about 4,000 islands- most of them are tiny, and in the winter are under water, but a few of them are settled- like the one we went to- Don Det (Don=island in Lao). it was awfully hot and humid, but beautiful- they only have electricity between the hours of 18:00-22:00- and with generators. GEES!!!
On our way back we went to Pakse ( a town in the way) and went to visit the waterfalls- they are simply gorgeous.
So now we are back here, we are about to meet Nir (who is arriving from Thailand) and pick up our visas and then we are moving on to Vang Vieng which is a small town about 3 hours away.
the weather is SO gross... it's kinda funny- out of 5 nights this week we spent 3 nights in a bus! and for some reason they insisted on playing Lao Karaoke DVD for like 3 hours on they to the Islands and back. well, what doesn't kill you make you stronger.

Just a Quicky...

2007-05-21T02:20:00.000-07:00

just letting you know that I switched to Picasa and the photos should be working. Let me know if they don't, and i'll figure out who to kill.
I know mom, Violence is no solution. Right.

Kanchanburi

2007-05-20T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, for some reason computers hate me. I honestly don't know why, But I don't see any other reason I can't manage to put up some photos, or encode the default language in the blog to a NON-Asian one. I'm in Thailand, than why the hell it's in Japanese!?
Anyway, back to my topic- We spent the past two days in a resort named Kanchanburi. Beautiful place, literally a spit away from the Khay river. We took a speed boat (some kind of a water taxi) to a Buddha temple. we climbed up ( I swear the air was thicker than the water. breathing is challenging), and faced what appears to be the fattest Buddha sculpture I have ever seen. apparently it's Chinese;The Thai Buddha must have dieted or something...
anyway in the cave we saw what I refer to as the "Buddha modeling book"- many many Buddhas in different positions. We learned that ones is to warship the Buddha of the day of the week he was born (each day of the week has a specific Buddha and one is to warship the one of his birthday, respectively).
After that we went to an Elephant farm, and we did some Elephant riding (PilPilon, here I come!) it's nice, yet not that exciting....but Elephants are way cuter than I expected. After that we went into the water with them and "helped scrubbing them" as they took a bath- meaning we scrubbed them like a rubber ducky for a few minutes and enjoyed their splashing with their trunks for the rest of the time. my Elephant, Mr. Pil, splashed quite a lot.

on the following day we went to 7 falls national park. it was beautiful, and our tour guide, Mimi was a very very cute Thai lady, who spoke to us both English and Hebrew.
Then we went to the tiger temple, and took pictures with DRUGGED tigers. So mom, no need to freak!

Today we were supposed to leave to Vien Tian, the capital of Laos, but we postponed it to tomorrow, since Nir is sick and I spent the entire morning in the Hospital with him. He is still there (dehydration) and he might have to spend a night or two there. Anyhow we are not leaving until we know for sure he is OK, but he might not continue with us to Vien Tian after all.
Anyway, if you survived my longest post yet, let me wish all a Happy Shavuot! It is my favorite holiday (well, it's MY holiday) so eat dairy and think of me;-)

Bang-Kok part 2

2007-05-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

well, It's kinda fast, posting day by day, but god knows when I'm going to get to a computer next...
today we did something very exciting- we made plans! We are leaving tomorrow for an over night in a place called Kachanubri or something unpronounceable like that... and on Sunday we are leaving for Laos.
Today we had a near death experience- we took a Tuk-Tuk to the MBK (a shopping mall). I do not want to hear another word about how bad Israeli drivers are. Jesus! The man drove in between lanes, speeding up so one could imagine the wings coming out of the Tuk-Tuk, and to complete the experience he almost crashed into like two buses and a taxi. Wow.
the shopping mall was beautiful and huge. 8 stories of what appears to be one of the biggest malls I have ever seen. So that's pretty much it for now.
After Laos we are heading towards China, then to Vietnam and we'll finish in Cambodia (we left it to the end so we can pull off an Angelina Jolie and adopt an orphan or something).
anyway, hope you're all well.. I put up like 4 photos, that's all I have for now. next time I'll have more...

Bangkok

2007-05-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

finally after what appeared to be the world's worst flight, I arrived in Bangkok. Geez.... once your out with your luggage, your like a freakin celebrity- people start chasing you around with taxi offers and god knows what. I took Gil's advice and pretended to be Hellen Keller- or the three munkies- and ignore them all.
Anyway I met Gil in the Isaeli Connection and we are now waiting for Nir- a friend of a friend who is arriving later on today.
I still haven't got any news, but I'm very anxious to see if I'll actually post, seeing as I can't seem to make the damn computer change the language from Thai... and yes, I tried encoding. Doesn't work, so I sort of have to guess what i'm doing. And speaking of which, all those hours working in the supermarket with Thai people finally paid off- I managed to explain myself to the cab driver! my greatest achivement yet.
anyhow, i'll call it a day cause I'm jet lagged and I am sick of fighting and losing to the damn keybord. No photos yet...

My first post- yay!!

2007-05-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

So I haven't actually left yet, but since technology is not my thing I thought I'll give it a test-run.
Anyhow, I'm leaving on May 15, and due to return on August 15 (at least for the time being). I'll be meeting my friend Gil in Bangkok and that's pretty much as far as we planed:-)

So I hope I'll update soon.. but in the meantime feel free to e-mail me at: sivanyitzhak@gmail.com

Sivan