I am staying...

I have finished the amazing Angkor site a week ago and every day for the last week I said I am leaving the next day, but I never did. First it was Christmas . As a good Jewish girl I stayed to celebrate Christmas with Jamie (21 Australia) , Diana (~20 USA), Sarah (~20 New Zealand), and my local friends, the tuk-tuk and motorbike drivers gang. Jamie, Sarah & Diana left yesterday, but I still couldn't...Instead I went to search for a home and something to do with my free time (which is all my time :-))...

Today I have moved to my new HOME, first home since I am away! I have rented a room in Yan's mom house (my good friend) . It is in the heart of Siem Reap local dirty and poor neighborhood, two rooms house. Yan and Sunny live on the first floor room and I rented the room on the second floor. It is a nice big room, with shower and toilets inside (not flushing toilets of course). There are two more houses on the same property, more accurate wooden huts where Yan's family lives. So I am surrounded by friends and family!!!

Teacher Bopha (my new Cambodian name, it means flower :-))

I also had my first lessons today in Jay's school. It is half abandoned wooden hut that serves as a FREE language school for all who want to study. There are one hour long language lessons supposedly running the all day, English and Japanese. Many people need Japanese because they work with tourist from Japan.
Anyway Jay asked me to take the class at 12:00 and 15:00, and any other hour I want if I can fill in a classroom. I got to the school today at 12:00 and found a full class of students ages from 15-30. Some are waiters, others still in high school, of course, tuk-tuk and motorbike drivers, etc'. They come to learn because they need English to provide themselves and their families. They all are working and/or studying and it is very hard for them to find this hour a day to come to school. We had an introduction session and starting from tomorrow, present simple.
I stayed in school after my lesson to clean the hut a bit and to prepare the lesson plan for tomorrow...
My second group, at 15:00 started with one student, but by 15:30 I had 8 students, one man and the rest are girls, the same characteristic as Group 1.

I need to work on my lesson plans now, so I will talk to you later...

Be well!!!

Yours always, Bopha, from Siem Reap, Cambodia

P.S the Internet connection here is impossible, so no pictures :-(...

LUCKY ME!!!

“Angkor is not orchestral; it is monumental. It is an epic poem which makes its effect, like the Odyssey and like Paradise Lost, by the grandeur of its structure as well as by the beauty of the details. An epic in rectangular forms imposed upon the Cambodian jungle.” - Arnold J. Toynbee

Today was my forth day of adoring every little corner of this lost "city". Nothing I ever saw before grabbed me as this place (maybe except Jerusalem), it is magical!!! Every day as we cross the entry gate, I am excited all over again...

I am very lucky to be here!!!

And, I have the best motorbike driver, Puty! He & his family are very kind to me. And in general, everywhere, I am surrounded by friends and family. Good people!!!

Be well!

P.S I will upload some pictures later, now I am going to see the sunset...

Still in Phnom Penh ...

I am staying in the worst room I ever stayed in, for sure. It is in a size of a cell, just a bed, and small shower and toilet space, but it is cheap (only 3 $) and I need to start saving now. I got to the lakeside on Friday, after a very emotional day of farewell parties in the school. The kids mad a lot of presents for me, wrote cards with wishes, etc'. It was very touching. I bought a lot of sweets and blew a balloon for every child, on each wrote I love ... and the name of the kid. The smaller kids were very happy, balloons are fun and always add to a party atmosphere.
Now, since I am here I had done absolutely nothing. I am so lazy, it is unbelievable. I move from one hammock to another. The only effort I do is roll a joint from time to time, or go eat somewhere.
I have not planned to stay in Phnom Penh after I finish with the school, but I must stay now, till I get my passport back, which as usual I sent for visa extension too late and now I need to wait till the end of the day on Wednesday to get it back.

The sunsets in this place are amazing! I am too lazy to take pictures, but every day it has new colors, new shapes. This is the only mandatory task on my daily to do list, NOT TO MISS the sunset. It is very hot during the day, and the sunset brings a nice breeze with it, which makes it even more magical.

People are very friendly around and it is very easy to hook up with people for an evening of beers, for a pool game, joint, munches, etc'.
All the guesthouses, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, have TV corners where you can choose a DVD and see it, different kind of table games, some even have PlayStation. Pool tables everywhere, happy hour for drinks and more...




Just relax, do little, have fun!


Be well!

What's next???

Tomorrow is my last day at school. I ended up staying here till the end, in some part because I felt obligated, but most importantly because of my small kids. I realize I am not a very good teacher, I don't teach them a thing. I am there so they can sit on my laps, hugs, kisses, etc'. I am the only teacher who happily spends the time outside when the smaller kids play with water and sand. We make sand cookies and splash water on each other...
It will be hard to leave tomorrow, the kids probably won't even notice. They are used to people coming and going. Last Friday, most of the teachers left (except Becky) and during this week, none of the kids even reminded them. I will definitely remember them!

Now, What's next?

I am trying very hard to resolve this one with myself. I mean I will stay in Cambodia to do some travelling for the next couple of weeks, but what next?
I decided to skip Australia & New Zealand in this round. So the question is should I make the arrangement to go back home, OR should I STAY? I mean, stay somewhere in Asia, there are so many places I loved. Stay for as long as I can, maybe try to find a job or something... I love the Asian pace of life, although it is rapidly changing, and the big cities loosing their Asian charm. There are still places, like Pai, Ninh Binh, Sihanokville, or even Phnom Penh's lake side which make me want to stay.
Well, in the mean time, I have started to prepare my mother, just in case. Yesterday, when she asked me when I am coming back (she asks this question every time we talk), I said I do not know. I am still out, and maybe will stay for much longer. I defiantly will not be home for the New Year, I said. She said she misses me a lot, but I am not sure how I feel...

"Leaving will be like waking from a dream, I think, the most intense and wonderful dream, knowing you'll never be able to dream again.
The only way to avoid waking is to avoid leaving. I will not leave here until I have lived here thoroughly, until it seeps into me, into blood, bone, cell, until I am full of it and changed by it, and maybe not even then." - from a great book I have just finished "Beyond the sky and the earth" by Jamie Zeppa.

That's the biggest fear, once you are there, you are not here anymore...

Be well!

P.S as always you can check out for pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/. Some are really bad, they were taken by really stoned people :-).

btw, how is Cambodia?

Here is a piece of a messenger conversation I just had with Kalpesh (my friend from India):
……………………………………………….
Kalpesh (કલ્પેશ) says:
btw, how is Cambodia?
oksana says:
Cambodia is
oksana says:
Poor
oksana says:
Corrupted
oksana says:
Beautiful
oksana says:
Dirty
oksana says:
Interesting
oksana says:
Shocking sometimes
Kalpesh (કલ્પેશ) says:
So many opposite words together
oksana says:
Law less
oksana says:
Amazing people!!!
oksana says:
Disturbing
oksana says:
Dangerous
oksana says:
Free
oksana says:
This is my Cambodia, the country of contrast, very much like India
Kalpesh (કલ્પેશ) says:
:-)
oksana says:
I love this part
Kalpesh (કલ્પેશ) says:
paradox is this world
Kalpesh (કલ્પેશ) says:
full of contrast
……………………………………………….

AND I LOVE IT!!!! Just LOVE IT!

Be well!

Good things!!!

James
It was strangely easy and comfortable, he did his drawings I read my book. The weather was beautiful, nice fresh breeze from the sea, and it even rained in some point. The sky were unbelievable, they looked alive, full of colors, really breath taking scenery. We had a spliff from time to time, changed location from one comfortable sofa to another. I felt lazy and very relaxed, pleased with myself that I stayed for another day on the beach, one more sunset, maybe sunrise, who knows...
James is from California, he is 32, and spent the last year away from home, in Cambodia. He is very interesting guy, the only problem is his English. I got used to British English accent after long time with Sarah and now this one, why people can't you pronounce words clear and slow :-). Anyway we managed just fine, I really enjoyed James company, he drew every part of my body, my foot, my hands... He is really talented, you need to see him drawing!!!
This is ME, by the way, on the beach with my cool sun glasses which James really liked.


We spent a very mushy evening together. It was very strange, although we knew each other only for couple of hours, it felt natural to me. I didn't even realized how much I miss a hug! And I mean a hug, Slavchik's hug, Pashkin's, Leikin and more... Just a HUG!
It was still dark when James woke up, we agreed he will wake me up so I won't miss my bus. We saw the sun rises making everything look shine and sparkling. Had a quick coffee, said good bye, and I left. James thought of having foot and hands drawings exhibition on the beach, and I felt very sorry to leave. To leave the beach, the sun, this place...

Back to school
I got back to the school, the kids were sleeping. It was around 01:00 PM, and everybody out for the lunch break. I also suppose to be free till 02:00 PM. I drop my bag in my room and go down to say hello to the local teachers.
I stand there and admire the children, they look so good this small pirates when they sleep :-).
I stay down and about 10 minutes later, Sok Ly wakes up (3 years old young man :-)). I love Sok Ly, he always makes me smile. He, on the other hand, has not showed me any special affection till today. Today as he opened his eyes, saw me, asked to take him to my hands. I gave him a big hug and my heart melted. I didn't want to come back to the school, but I glad I did, this hug was worth it.
I spent the rest of the day as usual playing around with kids. I was the last teacher to leave as I stayed out playing with the kids, waiting for their parents to pick them up.

Today is the first day of my third week here...

Be well!

Skipping school again...

I was thinking to go back today (Sunday), but as I had my breakfast right on the beach, admiring the blue water, amazing sky, gentle sun, I decided to stay the day here. The last bus leaves at 14:30 and we do not have sits on this one, so we have been offered to take the 13:30. Clare decided to take the bus, and for me this was a sign to stay. I asked Clare to say in the school that I will be in the afternoon tomorrow, will miss another 1/2 day.
Clare left now, and I am happy to be able to spend another day on the beach.

It is beautiful, very lazy and chill out place... people say in 2 years this will be the new Ko-Pangan, in the mean time, it is just heaven.

Be Well!
Yours, Teacher Oksana :-)

Cambodia - Sihanouk Ville beaches

This was my second week at school. It was okay, nothing special. The all week I was busy with arranging children's photos for 2007 calendar with each child. I found myself spending a long day in front of computer with photoshop designing the frame for the album.
I still wonder why I am there, and occasionally get angry at what going on around me, but i try to occupy myself and look at the bright side. The children are great!
I met Gav last weekend and we spent the weekend getting know Pnhom Penh. This weekend, I am now writing from a beautiful beach strip with guesthouses and bars on it. Sihanouk Ville is a beach town surrounded by 7 different beaches. Yesterday, Me & Clare took 1/2 day off at school and took the 02:30 pm bus from Pnhom Penh to Sihanouk Ville (4 hours drive).
We got here after dark and took a motorbike to Eden guesthouse recommended by the Lonely planet, on the Serendipity Beach. This is a party place, the ground floor is dance bar and a restaurant, and on the 2nd and the 3rd floor rooms for rent. The building located right on the beach and the ways are broken right next to me.
We had a dinner and couple of beers as we arrived, then went up to have a shower and were suppose to meet later on. Well, I wanted to try the bad and immediately was asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing load tunes from the bar down stairs. I went down to smoke a cigarette and found a place fully packed with a wild dancing party crowd.
Too shame Sarah is not here I thought.
I smoked a cigarette, watched the party crowd and went back to the room, where I could have a private party, accompanied by the music from down stairs and my own company.
As Me & Clare share a room in the school, when we talked about going away for the weekend we agreed on separate rooms before we even knew where we going. We both miss our privacy, simple things, like being able to walk naked after a shower, etc'.
Today I spent the laziest day on the beach. Moving from one umbrella to another, having shake in one place, ice coffee in another.
Such a chill out atmosphere, good music, fire shows around me, I really do not feel like going back tomorrow. But I am going, even already booked the tickets, not even sure why...



Be well!

Who said the world is fair ???

This was my first week in Phnom Penh. Below is an email I sent to Travel to Teach, the volunteering project organization, this describes the best what I feel:"
"Hi Jessica
First, thank you very much for caring and I am sorry I haven't notified you earlier. I found the school with no special difficulties.

As for the placement, it is very different than I have imagined, in many ways. I imagined poor school, in bad neighborhood. Travelling in Asia for the last four mouths I saw a lot of places like this, poor kids, who spend their time on the streets, etc'. I am sure you understand what I mean. I guess I was naive.
Arriving here, I found a very nice school (although under constructions), with mostly kids from "well doing" families (from what I understand). In addition, we are now 7 volunteers here and this again makes me feel uncomfortable, maybe there is a place which needs me more...

Jessica please do not get me wrong, today was my second day around children and they are amazing. I am sharing with you my feelings and being honest. I have no complains to anyone, and this is definitely an adventure. I am dedicated with all my heart to the children and will do my best in all.

I believe things happen to us for a reason and we shall learn from any experience, this is exactly what I plan to do.

Thank you,

Oksana "

I have paid 640$ for 4 weeks of volunteering (covers only my stay fee and the rest is donation), believing I am donating for a good purpose and now I am not sure. It is not at all as I expected.

The manger/owner of the school Mouy and her husband also live in the school, next door to mine & Clare's room (another volunteer). This means no privacy at all. Mouy is also very different than I have imagined, she is a determined, cold, business woman unlike I expected to meet a kind, loving spiritual woman, all devoted to children. I doubt her motives, and really dislike her attitude toward the local staff and in general people around her. Children afraid of her, and their happy smiles disappear every time teacher Mouy is around.
You know me, if I do not like somebody it is shown, so I just try to have as less interaction as possible with her.

In addition we live in the school which is currently under constructions, meaning a lot of noise, water supply problems, etc'. But this disturbs me the less.
Except me & Clare who arrived the same day I did, there is Corin (48) from Holland who is here for her second mouth, she also lives in the school and now thinking maybe to move to a guest house. Adel (Hungary) & Brigite (UK) also here already for a mouth and live in the school. Dona (Australia) and Beky (UK) live out and come everyday for work.

There are also five children who live in the school, they are relatives of Kin (Mouy husbund) and come from poor villages. Two of them live with their mother Sophep, and the other 3 on their own, as their mother lives in a village. But Sophep takes care of all of them and also does all the house keeping work around.

My day starts at 07:30 am till 17:00, with 2 hours lunch break. I am assigned with the young children in the kinder garden. There is also older children school, operated on the second floor, Beky & Brigit work with the older kids.
It is a Montessori kinder garden, so it is very different. There are ~30 children, 4 people local staff and 5 of us. The kids are AMAZING!!! Despite everything I just said, I spent my day with a smile. Children give you so much love that it fills you in!

This is my first weekend in Phnom Penh and I woke up today at 07:00 am as the constructions started. I had a quick coffee and spent all morning blogging. Now I will go to explorer the city. Tonight I probably will check in to some guest house, so I could get back late at night without feeling guilty to wake somebody up and most importantly sleep late tomorrow and have a proper hot water shower.

I try to stay positive and take the best I can from this experience, I just wish I could make more difference and give more in a place with real need. BUT who said the world is fair, right?

Be well!

Vietnam - Oy, Choy, Oy

I will try to shortly recreate some of my experiences in Vietnam as I promised. It is very hard to sum up a wonderful mouth in fascinating country as Vietnam. Each day was full of amazing experiences, everything was different & new.

Here is my path in Vietnam. There were at least another 3 places marked in my book, but I never got there. Which means there must will be NEXT time!
Hanoi > Halong Bay > Hanoi (boat cruise)
Hanoi > Sapa > Hanoi (train)
Hanoi > Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh > Hue
Hue > Hoi An
Hoi An > NhaTrang
NhaTrang > SaiGon
SaiGon > Mekong Delta > Saigon

Ninh Binh - breath taking country side.
The town itself described in the lonely planet as "sleepy town", which is perfect description, it i quiet and non touristic at all. Me & Sarah arrived in Ninh Binh around noon and just roamed around. People on the streets welcomed us with big smiles, inviting us for tea. Children gathered around us asking to take their pictures.


We used Sarah's Vietnamese phrase book to communicate with people, had beer in the local street stand by the river and later on that evening met Luang, a very nice young Vietnamese woman, who spent the all evening "talking" to us, using the phrase book.

The next day, Me & Sarah spent an amazing day on a motorbikes driving around Ninh Binh. Visiting Tam Coc - "Halong Bay on the rice paddies", Kenh Ga Floating Village, and more...

Hue - "Brown Eyes" (Love is in the air :-)...)
As I told you before, it is Sarah's second time in Vietnam and her heart was left in Vietnam last time with Fo, the owner of a dance bar called "Brown eyes". So we did a lot of partying in Hue, in "Brown eyes", they all very happy to see Sarah back again and we were accepted as old freinds. This was great fun, lots of drinks, and more....
(Bad picture of me & Sarah getting crazy)

Thanks to Gavin (who we met back in Ninh Binh), I did some non partying activities in Hue as well. He is old :-), so he didn't party with us. We book a motorbike tour to the DMZ (Demilitarized zone), that was established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam, First Indochina War. It was a very hard day, both physically and emotionally. First, I got back from "Brown Eyes" at 06:30 am, slept exactly 10 minutes and got on a long motorbike drive to the DMZ. The all day was full with war stories & scenery, including a visit to the tunnels, which mad me feel very sad. Coming from Israel where people till today occasionally are in shelters, and the war is not a history but a present, it really got into me.


Hoi An - Magical town
"Hoi An is a small town in Central Vietnam famous for its wooden houses, for its family chapels, for its Assembly Halls and for its silk shops."- from virtourist.com. It is magical town!
I spent the first day without Sarah, as she stayed back in Hue for another night of "Brown Eyes" (love, love, love...). Me & Gavin found a really great hotel and I just roamed around most of the day.

The following day Sarah joined us, the crazy girls were reunited and we took a motorbike around Hoi An to a near by villages and the beach. It was amazing!



NhaTrang - Vietnamese version of Tel- Aviv
NhaTrang is a beach city, kind of Tel-Aviv but igger. In NhaTrang, Me & Sarah spent lazy days. One day we took a boat cruise to a near by islands and snorkeling. The owner day spent a lazy day in a hot springs complex. The highlights of NhaTrang for us was Louisiana brew house restaurant on the beach where they have the BEST chocolate & coconut cake :-)!!!

Louisiana brew house restaurant

all good with me :-) - boat cruise

SaiGon - Sarah's family
In SaiGon we met Sarah's Vietnamese family. Last time she was in Vietnam she stayed with a family, who became like her own family. It is very poor family with a small house (2 rooms, hall & kitchen) in one of the crowded Saigon's alleys. The mother Wav and the father Hen are war remembers, they have two children, their older son is disabled, and the younger always working to bring the food on the table. They rent the two rooms they have to tourists, to make some money, and the all family of 4 sleeps down in the hall space & kitchen on the floor. This time we stayed with them again. They were very happy to see Sarah again and she was happy to be back in her Saigon home. The house is in the heart of Saigon's poor neighborhood, so we could smell, hear and touch the "real life" of Saigon.
In Saigon I didn't do much tourist activities, I mean no museums, no temples, etc'. We just stayed on the streets, moving from one coffee place to another, from one restaurant to another. We went to see a movie, checked out all the recommended party clubs, and just wandered the streets.
From Saigon I took a one day tour on Mekong Delta, the same river I spent two days on from Thailand to Laos. Amazing scenery!
On the 11/11, at 08:00 am Sarah accompanied me to the bus station, we said goodbye, and I left to Phnom Penh...

Vietnam for me :
* Kind, carrying and loving people
* Beautiful landscape
* Crazy traffic! The first expression I learned in Vietnamese was "Oy, Zoy, Oy" (north) and "Oy, Choy, Oy" (south), which means O, My god. This was a very useful phrase every time I crossed the street or took a motorbike...
* Everything is on sale and everywhere:
-"Miss, Motorbike?" - motorbike drivers offer their service
- "Would you like to buy a book? Postcard?" - mobile books shops try to make their living
- Mobile cigarette shops who are also drug dealers
- Cyclo's everywhere
- People on bicycles with noisemaker, me & Sarah were very curios to know what all this about, we stopped one, and apparently it is a street massage, imagine this?
- And finally the most funny thing is a man with a mobile height-scale (yes, yes, not weight, height) that plays Chrismas songs every time somebody gets on it.

* And of course, always important part of my Vietnam will be Sarah & Gavin, I was lucky to meet them and it was great fun!!! We meet people for a reason, as Gav says...

Oooo, Vietnam! Vietnam! Vietnam!

I miss my family!

The only time I feel really home sick is when I think about Osher, my dear niece. Before I left we spent a lot of time together, I couldn't imagine myself not seeing Osher for a week. Now I haven't seen her & Leika for almost four mouths. Osher is really grown up now and I afraid she won't remember me when I get back, but I hope I will be able to regain her love again.

I am lucky to have a friend like Leika, which is my sister not by blood relationship, but by choose. I am the most happiest and proud aunt to her amazing daughter Osher (Osher means happiness in Hebrew).

Leika finally sent me some new pictures, look at them!


Miss you a lot!

To be continued...

We have a lot of catching up to do my friends, these were amazing couple of weeks and very intense as well. I am now in Cho Chi Min city (Saigon) spending my last 3 days in Vietnam.
I loved everything about this country!!! And if I wasn't committed to be in Cambodia, I would probably stay here for some time. But I am starting to volunteer upcoming Monday, teaching small kids English in Cambodia. I am very exited about this opportunity and although it is a bit sad to leave Vietnam, I look forward to get to Cambodia, I am sure it will be a great experience.

I have lots of things to tell you, great stories, but I really don't want to spend any Saigon time on this :-), so I promise to do it later, in the mean time enjoy some new pictures I have uploaded http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/



Be well!

Sarah Mellows my Vietnam friend!

I met Sarah back in Hanoi, when I got back from Halong Bay she was sitting in the guest house lobby reading her book. We exchanged friendly smiles as most of the travellers do, I was on my way to have a drink and invited Sarah to join me. She is 23 from England, travels on her own as well. This is her second time in Vietnam, she was here two moths ago, then did Thailand and Cambodia and had one more mouth to spend before she goes back home, so she decided to go back to Vietnam, as she was in love with this place.
We had a great conversation over a drink, she was going to Sapa for couple of days, then back to Hanoi. We exchanged emails and agreed to meet up back in Hanoi, and continue from here together.
A week later, I returned from Sapa, knocked on Sarah door at 06:00 am, we packed out bags, went to the local bus station, took the bus to Ninh Binh... We are still together, spending the last 3 days before I leave. Sarah will probably stay in Saigon for sometime, as she is just in loved with this place.

Sarah is an amazing person, full with energy, very open to people, funny, smart and VERY HAPPY! Without Sarah my Vietnam wouldn't be the same. Her laugh, her positive and kind attitude is contagious!


We are the perfect match! We understand each other without talking, we even both snore, how cool is this :-)?
Gavin, a guy we met in Ninh Binh and travelled together for a week or so, called us "The crazy girls!", but in a positive sense of the word :-).


This is only a short introduction, you will get know Sarah closer as I will post more stories from Vietnam. And I am sure you will love this girl!

Sapa

First meet my Sapa fellow travellers, my Sapa freinds.
Uncle Andy (because he is so old :-), private joke)

And Andrea

They both are from Switzerland, good friends from back home (not a couple). I met them on my way to the train from Hanoi to Sapa. On the train I got a very boring cabin with 3 French people, they went to sleep as the train moved. I went out for a smoke and search for a company. Andrea and Andy were out smoking as well. The three of us went to the train bar. It was great! We were the only Westerns in there surrounded by friendly local people, mostly men. They had beers and were singing Karaoke, yes, apparently it is very common in Vietnam.
We arrived in Sapa early in the morning, and I decided if I already awake so early I might as well make the best out of it, so I hiked up to the radio tower, beautiful. It was really foggy because Sapa is quite high in the mountains but I enjoyed the fresh air, the piece of mind, the birds sound, it was AMAZING!


The next day, I had a slow morning and in the afternoon Me, Andy and Andrea went to see the near by Cat-Cat village.

The following day, the last day in Sapa (yesterday) we rented two motorbikes, one for me with a wild Vietnamese driver and one for Andy and Andrea. We had a beautiful ride to the villages around. The scenery was spectacular!


I got back to Hanoi today at 05:30 am, went back to the Old Street guest house were I was suppose to meet up with Sarah, an English girl I met in Hanoi before I left to Sapa.

Me & Sarah are now in Ninh Binh, lovely quiet town, tomorrow we are going to see the caves here around and then night bus to Hue.

This was my quick update
Hope you all are good!

Be well!
Some more pictures as always http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/

Books hit parade!

I decided to open a new "corner" in my blog and recomend you a book once in a while.

1. I read this one twice and loved it even more the second time. It is inspiring book about the life of Van Gogh "Lust for Life" by Irving Stone.
2. Remember I talked about Sex Tourism? Check out "Sex Slaves: The Trafficking of Women in Asia" by Louise Brown, I loved it!

Please comment back with your hits, I have a lot of time for books now :-)...

Hanoi

Great People
Yesterday I started my tour in Hanoi by searching for a hospital. For the last couple of days after the flight, my right ear was blocked but I didn't pay attention to it. Well, it got really bad, I couldn't sleep all night and completely lost hearing in right ear. I got really scared and first thing in the morning took a motorbike taxi to the hospital. I asked the driver to take me to the international Vietnam hospital (which was advised in the lonely planet), but I guess he only understood the hospital part and took me to local hospital. It was a challenge to find somebody who speaks English, eventually I did, and he kindly refereed me to a different hospital which specialize in ears problems.
I cannot describe to you how the hospital looks like, I prefer not to think about it. But the people were fantastic!!! The motorbike driver stayed with me the all time so I won't get lost and he could take me back when I finish. Without understanding one word in English he did his best to help me.
A local doctor checked my ear, explained me in a very poor English that I have a bad infections. She performed a cleaning procedure (sorry for the details) and prescribed me a "horse amount" of antibiotics, drops, etc'. For the next 7 days, no Bia Hoi for me :-).

Yes, they hassle you on the streets trying to make some money, but all you need is just look a bit deeper. They are amazing people!!!

This unpleasant experience really changed my attitude, I spent the rest of my day by the lake, answering with a smile to every offer for motorbike or any other sales campaign and getting a smile back! In some point a young Vietnamese man approached me and asked to talk with me to practice his English (yes, I know he made the wrong choose :-), but my English still was better than his), I gladly agreed and we had a nice conversation! (if he would approached me the day before I would probably be very suspicious and wouldn't agree to his company).

Don't worry, I will be fine, I am taking my medicine and most importantly I am surrounded by carrying people.

Sights
Today I started my day in the Ho Chi Mihn Mausoleum Complex, then continued to the Temple of Literature

then, Ngoc Son Temple

and finished my day in the Water Puppet Theatre. It was a magical show accompanied by Vietnamese traditional music.


Tomorrow I will pay a visit to some museums and catch a night train to Sapa.

I love Hanoi!

Be well!

P.S uploading pictures is a challenging mission, since the connection is very slow, I still uploaded a few http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/ and the rest with stories when I get back :-)

Halong Bay

"Magnificent Halong Bay is undoubtedly the natural wonder of Vietnam. Picture 3000 or more incredible islands rising from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of greatness." - Lonely planet

After all the amazing beaches I saw in Thailand I was sure it just cannot get any better. Well, I was wrong, Halog Bay is breath taking!!!
I spent two days on a boat surrounded by Islands with a great group of people.
No words can describe the stars and the moon you see lying on a deck, or the amazing sunrise (I woke up before 05:00 am, to see the sunrise)!
We reached Cat- Ba island on the second day, did great kayaking tour around and stayed the night in Cat-Ba. In the evening, Luat (our guide) took us to have Bia-Hoi, local draft beer in a local street drinking stand. It was really nice!
I had long conversations with Luat during the days, and we had so much in common. He new Russian songs (Vietnam was really close to USSR in past) , knew a lot about Russian culture, history, and of course the communist party. He shared with me very interesting insights on Vietnam, which were really great addition to the book I am reading a view of modern Vietnam. The history of this country is fascinating!!!

This was the best introduction to Vietnam I could ask for, beautiful landscape, friendly people, interesting and very different life! I cannot wait to explorer more...

Now I am back in Hanoi and for the next couple of days will stay around to enjoy this hectic and very busy capital, then to the mountains, Sapa.

Be well!
Pictures as always here http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/

From hectic Bangkok to even more hectic Hanoi, Vietnam

I had my coffee today in the morning in Bangkok and just now coming back from a nice live Jazz bar in Hanoi! This was a long day across countries :-).
I got to the old quarter in Hanoi around noon, and in the first 10 minutes almost got hit by a motorbike, what a traffic!!!!
It is hectic and even more annoying than Bangkok, you cannot walk on the street without being hassled to buy something, or offered a taxi, it is crazy!
I need some time off the cities, so I booked a Cruz in Halong Bay for 3 days starting from tomorrow. Then I will get back to explorer Hanoi and tell you all about it.
As a compensation for this crazy day, I found a nice Jazz bar and spend my evening in there.O, they were very good, what a saxophone!!!! It made me very home sick, Slavchik was missing there on a bass :-(

Anyway, we will catch up when I will be back to the ground...

Be well!

More of Bangkok

Guess who I met yesterday evening? Fu, remember from Chang-Mai trek and my bungy body (http://oksana-s.blogspot.com/2006/08/one-two-three-bungy.html). He recognized me as he saw me, and of course addressed me by my Thai name (given by him), Dao :-). This is unbelievable, what are the chances?
He was with some English people, got to Bangkok for only one night. I have spent the evening with them, catching up with Fu. It was really nice seeing him again, and I sent my best regards to Koy (Chang Mai Inn owner) and Sunny (the legendary trek guide).

As for the last days, I am spending my time exploring Bangkok.

Lumphini Park


Night Bazaar
For me just another site, I skipped the shopping part :-).
Check out the live concert video, it is so funny when they sing in English it's still sounds like Thai :-).


more pictures as always here http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s

Be well!

Sex Tourism

We have not yet talked about it, I mean I haven't stop talking about it since I arrived to Thailand, but have not yet blogged about it. Till now, I just stayed away from this nasty scene, but in Bangkok you can't really escape, it is EVERYWHERE!!!
Old, bold, fat western men with young Thai girls (English and German are rule in this scene, sorry, I don't want to offend nobody). Disgusting!!!!
And the most disturbing about it is that it is part of the norm, I mean nowhere you see propaganda against it, no street posters, etc'.
You can easily end up in prison for smoking a joint, but it is okay to buy a human toy for entertainment, even if she/he is a minor.
LONG LIVE THE KING!!!

Colorful Bangkok

I have decided to stay and explorer Bangkok in the 3 days I have left. I actually starting to like this city, it has everything! Temples, museums, art galleries, markets, cafes, and much more...
Today I have spent 5 hours in the grand palace complex, and then just roamed around, took a ferry, sky train, bus, etc'.

Grand Palace complex
(check out the skirt I been given, apparently 3/4 long pants are not humble enought for the royal palace :-))


River side


Sky Train


Street food - isn't it looks yummy?


I still have a long list of must to see places I have marked in my book, so more to come...

More pictures as always here > http://www.flickr.com/photos/oksana-s/ (sorry for the quality, I am still learning all the features of my new camera).

Be well!