Coming Home!

I'm 8 miles high, out over the Pacific Ocean on my way home.  Just had the most extraordinary meal for "breakfast"!  I was brought a tray with a little wooden box, with an elegant black paper wrapping and a red cord.  Inside was:
Nori Over Rice
Grilled Salmon
Deep Fried Fish Cake with Nori
Japanese Home-style Omelet
Boiled Green Vegetables
Pickled Plum with Honey
Pickles (these were daikon radish pickles, I believe)
I was also offered a cup of Miso Soup, which I accepted and Orange Juice and Coffee.

Everything in the box was 'just so' and amazingly delicious, though there was too much rice for me to finish.  So elegant.

I managed to sleep a bit even though I'm an idiot and forgot that I could recline my seat!  I only remembered toward the end of my sleep cycle and it made a very big difference.  Oh well.  I asked for a bulkhead seat, and that was a good move, as I can stretch out my legs (though the video screen is much smaller).

The first leg of the trip was on Royal Thai Airways and it was very nice.  The seats were roomy and the food was also delicious (Thai, of course).  This is such a wonderful upgrade over China Air, with its crammed seating and bare bones amenities.

I'll be getting home around 7:30pm local time, but for my body it will seem like 10:30am!  I guess.  Even so, it should be easy to sleep tonight, I think.

I had one strange surprise in Tokyo.  I was pretty sure we landed around 9pm local time and boarding was for 11:30pm.  But after checking my email and Facebook, and putting on a long sleeve shirt in the bathroom, and exchanging a $20 bill for some yen, it was suddenly time to board!  I couldn't figure out where the 2.5 hours went.  I had to go right back to the money exchange and turn in my yen, at a $2 loss, I might add.

I was actually quite glad to get on with the trip, but I had thought to traverse the Tokyo terminal and maybe buy a few souvenirs for the kids.  Whatever.

As I was dozing in and out of sleep, my mind was ranging back and forth across this wonderful trip--meeting Alana and Jacques, and the kids at LCP, my more recent friends Ice and Dr. Ignapa and of course Dr. Nalinee!  And her brother Sam and his wife Branee.  And all my lovely students and clients, and the woman who was so intent on setting up EFT teams to cope with earthquake trauma in her village.

And there were good folks at Cave Lodge and Chiang Mai.  I remember the wonderful Burmese waiter at the Peppermint Cafe and Tapanee.  And on and on.  So many people and an endless stream of sights flooding in through my eyes.  Just the few hours of seeing Apo coral and fish is enough for years of remembering!  It's all stored away, just waiting for story telling and discussions to allow it to stream back into my conscious memory.  I feel deeply grateful that I was able to take this trip.  Grateful to all the people who sponsored me, and hosted me, and especially to my wife Krista, who kept our home life running and even dealt with new braces (not to mention homework) for Eden.

I'll be home soon

My Hog

My Hog, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

Without really meaning to, I've been facing some fears on this trip. The worst so far has been riding. Seems a bit silly now, as the roads here are mostly empty, and the scooter is an automatic and very easy to ride.
Of course, they do drive on the left here, and that made negotiating intersections a bit more challenging! Fortunately, there were very few intersections in Pai and none at all on the way up here to Soppong.
I had a mini-fear to face yesterday, immersing myself in the muddy river down below. It's not very deep, maybe 21/2 feet, but very strong current! Not a big fear, but it took me a bit.
Tomorrow it's my fear of heights...in Pai there's a zipline tour of the forrest canopy, which has 14 stations. I guess this sort of thing started in Costa Rica as a way of exploring the rain forrest there. I don't know what the balance is between educational and thrilling, but if it's open, I'm going for it!

Fellow Travellers at Cave Lodge

Fellow Travellers at Cave Lodge, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

Up until I arrived here I was starting to feel a bit lonesome. That has been cured (though I decided to keep my private room and not sleep in the co-ed dorm with 5 other folks).
I've had wonderful times with folks from Australia, Canada, Oakland CA, Ireland, Germany and Romania.
Last night was a series of long conversations about travel, politics, and philosophy. A sweet cure for my solo blues.

A River Runs Through It

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Just had the BEST adventure.  Joined two other guests, Jessica from Canada and David from Australia, and two Thai guides and kayaked down the river here to and through a huge cave.

Last night it rained so hard!  I don't think I've ever heard rain like that before.  It woke me up about 1:45am and I realized I'd been drying my towel and swimsuit out on the porch railing!  Despite the overhang they were soaked, of course.

It was hammering so loud on the metal roof of my bungalow I finally had to put in ear plugs.  I'd gone to sleep with the most exotic sounds--geckos, tree frogs, someone singing across the ravine at a Temple, and some frog that sounds like a duck!  Plus various assorted insects, I imagine.  It was lovely.

So anyway, all that rain swelled the river and it was moving fast!  Our kayaks were two person rubber jobbies, and I went with one of the guides, which was great.  One of the guest's lent me her 'wet bag' so I was able to bring my camera and video camera.  I was so grateful to have it, because at times we got absolutely soaked.

I didn't realize there would be such rapids.  Someone said they were class 2 and 3, whatever that means.  To me it meant getting very wet at times.  Other times the river would be relatively placid and I'd whip out my cameras.  Twice we went over dams!  They had a really steep slope and we'd go right over.  Of course I was in the front.  The first was maybe 12 feet, the second one 20!  Sploosh.

There was almost no signs of humanity for most of the river.  This really is a remote area I reckon.  The river and surrounds were just beautiful, but of course the main course was the cave.

As we approached the cave I saw swarms of swallows.  I mean swarms!  Thousands.  They were in the sky and going around and around in the cave.  Our guides beached us there so I was able to indulge in my photography.  Then we set off on a walk, with helmets and headlamps.  Our guide had a more powerful electric lantern.  We saw amazing cave stuff.  Huge stalagmites, stalactites and columns where they met centuries ago.

There was a lot of scrambling up slippery slopes and ducking under low overhangs.  We were all glad for our helmets.  There were hordes of bats deep in the cave, god knows how many.  Then we climbed back in our boats and went off through the darkness of the  inner cave.

I should mention that this was a really big cave.  The opening is big enough for a five story building to fit in there.  When we came out the other side, once again there were thousands of swallows in the air and the air had a very peculiar smell...bird and bat shit, I imagine.  I saw a woman filling a 50# rice sack with something.  Not hard to guess what.

Next we beached and took a hike through the forest to another cave that we had to scramble down into.  It was pretty tight.  There we saw bats up close and a myriad of wonders, including musical stalactites--they made different tones when we tapped them.  Crystals on the ceiling that looked so much like fine plant life.
 

There was one cave that had amazing acoustics and we OM'd a bit.  This is where our guide turned off our headlamps and we hung out in the dark for a bit.  Total, absolute darkness.  Not one of my phobias, but it would have been kinda hard getting out of there without light!  There was a string to follow, but...

After all the caving we had plenty more rafting ahead, including the most intense of the rapids and the two dams.  It was exhilarating, beautiful, and almost overwhelming.  We were met by a songtheaw like vehicle for the ride back to the lodge.  The three of us were all smiles.

Out of Pai

Saturday November 3, 2012 Cave Lodge, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand Woke up this morning in Pai, feeling a bit jaded, or lonesome or something. I went to a little organic cafe and met some Americans there (from New Jersey) who mentioned this place. I had forgotten, but last time I came to Thailand I had plans to visit here. The big draw is kayaking through beautiful cave complexes. Plus a VERY quiet, natural atmosphere. Once I decided to go it was just a matter of steeling my nerves to drive the 40 Km through winding mountain roads. Turned out to be a wonderful trip with almost no traffic at all. Soon out of town I was in gorgeous farm land with rice growing, and verdant mountainsides. I got used to the road very quickly and stopped a number of times to take photos. My only worry was fuel. I left Pai with only 3/4 of a tank and watched it go down to the red empty level! There were no towns for a very long stretch. Finally I found one Nam Rim, which is a very tiny village off of the highway. There were no stores or shops that I could see, but I spotted four boys, maybe 8 to 12 years old and asked for fuel. It actually took a little doing to get this across, but then they got it and laughed. One of them ran around the side of their shack house and came back with a liter water bottle with yellow stuff in it. Hooray! They charged me 60 baht and I think that's actually about what it would have cost at a station. Neat kids. It was cool motoring through this village. Minimal concrete construction, mostly bamboo and thatch. All the houses situated along a creek. I get that the living is pretty easy for these folks, relative to back home. At least the basics are pretty much covered: housing, food, health care (Thailand has universal health care). The boys were looking at a laptop when I drove up. So I guess they have some sort of cash needs. It's wonderfully quiet here. There's a river down a steep hill from here and I'm going to go down in a minute and plosh about. So far I've met six other guests in the great, open air common room. It's super nice, in a very down home way. Tomorrow I'll be kayaking through the caves! Woo hoo!

Market Shop

Grains, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

My last day I took a stroll through Dumaguete's massive public market. Notice the look that older fellow is giving me. It wasn't exactly a friendly experience. So unlike Thailand in this way.

Bread Camp

Bread Camp, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

These kinds of places were everywhere, offering little baked rolls and buns for 2 or 3 pesos each. Not a lot of really sweet things, but many that were just mildly sweet (very Asian). These places kept me going on the cheap!

Anti-Contraception March!

Anti-Contraception March!, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

The Philippine government was considering a reproductive health bill that would make contraception more available. Guess what major religious institution was opposing it? Yup. The good old Catholic Church, in classic knee jerk fashion. Never mind that many Filipino families have so many children they can't afford to feed them. Very frustrating.

Cute Kids

Cute Kids, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

They came over to sell me something or other, I think. But really they just wanted to stare at the sunburned white guy. I was SO sunburned and putting on apple cider vinegar (I'd read this would help...didn't). They were so adorable I asked to take their photo, and like kids everywhere, they loved looking at the pictures once I'd taken them.

Big Tree in the Tropics

Big Tree in the Tropics, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

I was fascinated by these trees. I wish I was more of a botanist to know about them. They really made this boulevard in Dumaguete.

Crowding in Manila

Crowding in Manila, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

This shot just about sums it up. You've got your big modern skyscrapers, and nice open spaces and upscale neighborhoods (upper left) and then you've got massive slums, especially along the waterways. A few haves and a whole lot of have-nots!

Ouch!

Well, I'm sitting here in my room with some bloody gauze in my mouth. The good news is the operation only cost $68! Back in the states I'm guessing it would have been well over a grand, because it took almost two hours.

The bad news is this a procedure I wasn't totally expecting, and it isn't over by a long shot.  I knew I had a cavity under one of my crowns, but I didn't know how bad it was.  It was bad.  I remember being so optimistic when I got my first crowns.  I didn't realize my gums would recede.  The one they did today was my left upper rear molar, which used to have a shiny gold crown on it.  Once they pulled that crown off, it was very clear the tooth would need to be pulled.

 I use the word "pulled" euphemistically. They did a lot of pulling alright, but it came out in many many pieces, all the way up to my sinus cavity. It had been root canal'd and it was brittle and even though I prayed and tapped, it really wanted to stick around.

Anyway, it took forever, was very painful at times, and very stressful the entire time. Wish I'd asked for another Xanax. The gold crown is sitting here on my table, and will probably more than pay for todays two hour treatment, but I'm going to need another implant.  Damn.

And here I am in one of the great eating capitals of the world and I'm supposed to stick to scrambled eggs and yoghurt!  I know that I'm whining and I really have no right.  Hurricane Sandy hit land this morning and it doesn't look good for New York City and surrounds.  I'll stop complaining now and wish everyone back there love and light.

Some Dumaguete Photos

Filipinos are a bit obsessed with light skin. In this they are like the Thai, I believe. It seems such a shame, but then I think back to my 20's when I would try and get a tan! But I never stooped to using darkening soap. Alana told me it was hard to get any soap that didn't include bleaching agents! Uck.

  Before I got to the Philippines I was worried about eating well enough. Ha! Even though their native cuisine is a bit limited, the whole country seems to embrace western food. For breakfast I would usually just go to a little hole in the wall and get eggs for about 35 cents, and a few buns I got on the way for maybe 12 cents. The fancy meals like this one would set me back $3 to $5. This was one of the most gourmet meals I had my whole stay!

  The far back wall of LCP had a number of these...murals? PSAs? To me this was the most intense. There are recruiting companies that offer domestic service jobs, especially in rich countries like Dubai. I know they also prey on Africans from Kenya. Once the girls get there they are actual slaves, receiving no pay and no freedom whatsoever, living in squalid conditions and forced to work long hours 7 days a week. Probably there are legitimate companies as well. Alana told me that there are more Filipa overseas workers than from any other country right now. My dear hosts, Jacques and Alana, are hopefully enjoying a much deserved R&R vacation on the beach in Sri Lanka. I would never have taught in the Philippines at all, were it not for Alana. They delayed their own departure (and I think they were READY after 2 years) for two whole weeks and endured a second round of tearful goodbyes! What wonderful folks.

Can't Sleep So Here's Some More Photos...

Well, it's 2:30  am and I can't sleep, so I thought I'd catch up by posting some photos from Dumaguete.  The photo above is from my enthusiastic class at LCP - the Little Children of the Philippines, where Alana worked for two years in the Peace Corps.  Lovely folks.  Some of them are women who represent rural districts, as part of an empowerment program for women.
The gal in the front with two hands up on her head, she came back the next day and brought her niece who is still traumatized by a flood that wiped out her home.
We had an awesome session and then worked on the Aunt's Bell's Palsy.

Fun Facts on the Philippines:  If you squeezed the island nation into one land mass, it would be just slightly bigger than the state of Arizona, but would contain the population of our 5 biggest states: California, New York, Texas, Florida and that 5th one I can't remember.  That's a lot of folks.
Unfortunately, they've achieved a deforestation rate of about 95% and that's why the flooding is so horrific here.

And of course the cheapest land, or free land, is along the rivers.  Not good!



And here is my first, 2 day class at NORSU - Negro Oriental State University.  This was a much tougher class, with less participation.  Here I met the culture shock head on, and yet there were some folks here who I'm certain will take the teachings to their community in a very big way.  By the end I was so happy to be there.




Okay, this is a shopping mall in Manila.  I don't go to malls in the US much, so I'm not sure if this looks unusual or weird, but this is in a third world county, with beggars and families living on flattened cardboard on the sidewalk!  I saw them on the walk over to this place, which was super air conditioned, of course.
Alana, who has been here for two years, said "we still don't know who can afford to shop here".  We had a lovely dinner at one of the restaurants.  My first meal in the Philippines.  I took home leftovers and on the way back to our pension a little boy beggar tried to grab it from me!
Welcome to the third world, which is built upon vast disparity of income.

Banana Pancakes and Oral Surgery

It's a beautiful morning on Soi 5. Im guessing low 70s. I'm at one of my favorite restaurants, just steps from Kavil House, my new digs. My room there is a big improvement over the one at Harold's in Dumaguete. Much more spacious and big windows letting in the sunshine.

I had a rough night though. Woke up with a fever and chills and actually had to bundle up and turn the fan off. Whatever it is seems to have passed and even my sunburn is a little better today.

There is a joke about how you can tell Americans abroad: they're the one's who take pictures of their food! Guilty as charged.

I ordered a big breakfast because I'l be on soft foods for the next three days or so. So I got a vegetable omelette, banana pancakes and fresh coconut juice (which I LOVE). 120 Baht or about $4

So right after eating and brushing my teeth (of course) I walked over to Dental 4 You and signed in. It's quite a lovely waiting area, and there were lots of staff (I think I counted 9 of them!

The dentist is a tall (for a Thai) handsome young man, very soft spoken and polite. The took panoramic x-rays, and he explained everything to my satisfaction. But I was nervous as hell and asked for an oral sedative (they mentioned that in their literature). It was something called Xanax and I think it probably helped.

The implant process itself wasn't that big a deal, but on one side they had to drill into my sinus cavity and add bone graft material. Hang on...I think I'm going to faint. That part was MUCH more intense and horrible, but I got through it. Now I'm icing my face off and on and laying low.

I certainly wish (and not for the first time) that I'd taken better care of my teeth when I was a kid. Love and hugs, rob

Bye Bye Philippines

My Philippines adventure is over.  I'm high in the air on my way to Chiang Mai, with a quick stop in Bangkok.  I see a long muddy river winding below us, and I wonder if it's the Mekong.

Last night we had a final supper up on the rooftop of Harold's Mansion, all the Peace Corps folks who were leaving, and a few who were staying for a bit.  I was able to write a letter to Joy, which made me happy.  It will be delivered by Janet, who has been volunteering at LCP.

Some of them went out for karaoke--they rented a private room.  I guess that's really big  in the Philippines.  I would have loved to go with them, but I was feeling too wretched from my sunburn.  I was asleep by 8:30!

Four of us rode to the airport and flew to Manila.  My companions had been living there for two years and were happy to be moving on.  I felt a little sad.  But now I'm on my own.  I've been following them around like a puppy for two weeks, as they knew the territory so well.

If all goes to plan, tonight I'll be checked into my guest house on Soi 5 Ratchadamnoen and can stroll down the alley to the Sunday Walking Market!  Maybe I'll buy a lot of stuff!  In many ways it'll be great to be in Thailand.  The Thai are MUCH more friendly (it is the 'land of smiles' after all) and I'll be staying in a tourist ghetto, more or less, with ready internet access!

And tomorrow morning I meet my new dentist and he'll drill holes in my skull and screw in a couple of implants for new teeth!  Wish me luck!

Happy

This was a very good day, at the El Dorado resort.  The first time I was able to really just relax since arriving in Manila last week.  Dumaguete is so noisy and smoky and has so little to do or see, it really colored my outlook on the Philippines.  Turns out that a lot of travelers consider the Philippines to be a top destination, for diving, snorkling and beach play.

It certainly was beautiful along the beach there, and wonderful being in the ocean.  My friends went back there today to snorkle, but alas, I am so sunburned I'm staying put.  No outings for me, on this last day of my trip.  

Apo Island

Apo Island, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

It took about an hour to reach Apo. My diving guide grew up there! Tiny place with two tiny villages. I'm happy to say that it's now protected and one side is even a marine sanctuary.
All of the small ships here have outriggers made from bamboo. Adds a certain element of the exotic!

Me and the Girls

Me and the Girls, a photo by Robbi Baba on Flickr.

It's absurdly difficult, here at least, to go back and add photos to my posts (and I finally have a few photos uploaded to Flickr, also crazy hard to do). So I'll be posting things all out of order!
After my little EFT class for the kids, they all wanted to pose for me, especially the girls.

Getting in Over My Head

It's sunset here, on the top of Harold's Mansion.  Jack Johnson is playing (loudly) on a rather impressive stereo.  And I have a rather impressive sunburn on much of my body, especially my face and head.  Alas.

I have to say it was worth it.  I got to do 3 dives today and saw wonders of nature, including a vast variety of corals.  A truly mind boggling diversity and most of it very healthy and colorful.  I got to meet a number of sea turtles, including several up close (though no touching allowed).  I saw a lion fish--which was small but so impressive!, a scorpion fish, clown fish galore, a banded sea snake (my dive master told me it's venom is 8 times more deadly than a king cobra, though it has a very small mouth).  There were little schools of angel fish, and iridescent fish, and brain corals and....I saw so many incredible things that I feel full to bursting.

And I met two wonderful gals from NZ and Holland, and a nice couple from Estonia.  The ship was awesome, the trip there and back gorgeous, but the borrowed sunblock didn't help at all.  A little while ago I felt very ill indeed.  Turned out I needed to eat and Harold's produced the best and biggest Filipino pizza yet for a mere 150 pesos.  That and some Buko (fresh coconut) juice has me feeling much much better.

To be honest, I was a little scared for a bit.  I felt terrible and it wasn't just the sunburn.  Harold's provided heaps of free barbeque'd oysters for everyone on the roof and the look and smell of them made me most unhappy.  Also, everything is still pitching and rolling.  I think my inner ears took a bit of a beating from the 3 dives.  It'll be fun falling asleep though.

But I had a lovely time up on the roof tonight, once I recovered, joining in with the peace corp folks, and my ship mates too.  Tomorrow is my last full day in the Philippines but I'll most likely have to lay low and stay out of the sun.