The spanish word for "retired" is "jubilado" ... and that is just the word to describe my new travel companions. I met up with my dad and his wife about a week ago in Saigon. It was pretty funny walking into a hotel room (in the nicest hotel I had seen since the wedding) and giving my dad a big hug with a "welcome to Vietnam!" It is even more odd to think that 30 years ago there's no way in hell any American would have willingly come and payed to visit Vietnam! It is strange how the world changes ... perhaps we will all be touring Iraq in 20 years.
The trip to Vietnam has been very interesting in so many ways ... starting with my touring circumstances. This is my first trip on a tour group, with a schedule, planned meals and hotels, guides and transportation all pre-arranged and provided. It is nice in that I dont have to think about anything, not even when to go to the "happy house" (aka toilet) or what to order for dinner, but it is also not so nice in that I dont get a choice about what to order for dinner, when to eat or what to see. I am trying to totally relax and enjoy the complete mental break from the normal travel concerns. And I am also looking at this as another cultural experience, getting to know my fellow travelers. We are a group of 18, the oldest two are in their 80's -- my step-grandparents, and the youngest is myself. The rest fall between 55 and 65, I believe. these aren't your typical retirees, though. Most have traveled way more than I have. They have been to China, various places in Sub-saharan Africa, the Middle East, South America, Russia, Australia. It is remarkable. Most seem to prefer group travel, but have done solo traveling and also a fair amount of volunteer traveling. It is a great example of what to do with your time when you retire! They are all highly educated, open-minded and generally a positive bunch. It is interesting seeing Vietnam from the eyes of a Vietnamese tour operator, with people who participated in or have strong memories of the Vietnam civil war.
The country itself is fascinating. Where Cambodia is poverty-stricken and very undeveloped, Vietnam is a glowing example of the unique political policy of "Commu-Capitalism" -- Capitalist in the sense that everyone is trying to make a buck and the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, with nice hotels, a zillion restaurants, massage parlours and stores everywhere, but Communist in the sense that there are still very few global brands, the hotels and resorts must be Vietnamese to get the nice plots of land, the poor aren't visible because they have been "moved" to "nice, new housing" outside the sight of tourists, and the propaganda is everywhere. The anti-American sentiment is incredibly strong, but not by the people, by the government. It is clear that they want our tourist money, but all the museums and sights of the war clearly show the horrors and atroicities committed by US soldiers. (For example, I am sitting in a nice hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam, in the middle, on the coast, and there is a tourism desk with photos of different sights to see in the area, including, "Cham Museum, My Son Holyland, Marble Mountains, My Lai Massacre, DMZ ... " Ah, I'm sorry, was that a massacre on the tour schedule?!? crazy. I feel like it's their clever way at getting back at the US for getting involved in their war. They show us the horrors we committed, and charge us an entry fee, too! Well, I suppose for what we did in this country, it is the least we can do. While there were atrocities committed by ALL parties, it does not excuse the actions and involvement by the US. Our efforts would have saved many more people in Cambodia during the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime.
It is fascinating to me to see the "other side" and read history in a different light. I picked up the book "The Girl in the Picture" about the life of the girl in one of Vietnam's most famous war photos - the naked little girl running while being burned by Napalm. The book outlines her life during and after the war and helps to understand this country.
I guess I am older now, as I find myself drawn more to understand the history of these places, look at the political and economic factors influencing life here, and see how the culture has evolved and changed as a result. That and I cannot stop noticing all the Pepsi signage. Apparently Coke did not have the right connections with the communists to get their signs put up here. It is a Pepsi country all the way! (For those that don't know, my primary client for the past 3 years was PepsiCo and one of the last projects I worked on was the signage for Pepsi, Mirinda and 7Up - here they have a different flavor of Mirinda - Sarsi - tastes just like Root Beer - Delicious!)
Signing off from Vietnam.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
I love motorcycles
I am happy to annouce I have found a new passion in life ... motorcycles. Lucky for me, Asia is full of them! They transport everyone, from market sellers and really old people, to babies, school children, and families. They even take paying tourists, complete with luggage! (I will be inserting a photo here as an example in a few days... )
I have taken three rides so far - my first was a fun off-road adventure with my trusty guide Yee, a skinny 21 year old Cambodian boy with a huge smile that I didn't see much of due to his camo-colored face mask. On my third day of visiting the ruins in Angkor, I decided to go to a further out ruin Bantay Srei, that I had read was beautiful and well-preserved. Being on my own this time, I decided to go via motorbike. About 2 blocks from my hotel a shy guy with this grand smile offered to be my tour guide with this motorcycle. (please note that this is VERY common practice in SE Asia, in any given block of Cambodia there are 5-20 motorcycle dudes shouting at you "moto miss, moto, you want moto?" It is common practice and very professional ... perhaps safer than a Mexico City taxi ... which I took for 1 year!) So Yee and I negotiated a rate of $7 for an all day trip to see this ruin about an hour away, then too another one another ways further, and back. I hopped on the back, and away we go!!! (insert other foto here :)
I think this day, finally on my own, sitting on a bike with the wind in my hair (helmet, what's that?) smiling at the people along the road smiling back, passing farms and huts and green fields and locals on bicycles, I felt the warm exuberance of pure joy, complete contentment and confidence that THIS is it. This moment is worth all the long days of working, planning and saving that had to happen for me to be here on this trip. If I die now, I will be smiling ... big, really big.
But thankfully, I didn't die, and the day went on with more adventures. The first temple was completely breathtaking. Worth the long journey and effort to get there. The intricate stone carvings told far off tales of Hindu gods and Angkorian dancers, of another lifetime over a thousand years ago. It was beautiful. Then we pushed on, leaving the pavement for the dustiest dirt road I have ever traveled, where I finally understood the downside of motorcycles. I was completely covered in dirt from head to toe, ears, eyes, hair. dirty. really dirty. The best part was when big trucks would speed by spitting up complete dust storms, and I would duck behind my trusty driver Yee, squeezing my eyes closed and trying not to breathe ... and he says to me "dirt get in my eye, make it no see" ... ah, great. really fun. add one more element of excitement to the motorcycle and I am addicted.
My second motorcycle ride was after a long fun boat ride from Siam Reap to Phnom Phen, Cambodia, 6 hours on a big motorized "speed boat" jam packed with 40 tourists and their back packs. The first day I toured on foot, seeing the National Museum and some statues and parks. Then the next day I ventured out with a skirt and learned about the down-side to motorcycles. they don't work particularly well with skirts. especially knee-length straight skirts which really cannot be tucked around the legs. After protesting to the insistent moto-chofers, I learned the OTHER way to ride on the back of a bike: side-saddle. This added yet another more exciting element to my whole motorcycle experience. Imagine me, sitting sideways, trying my hardest to keep my legs together, balancing one foot on the foot-bar with the other on-top, trying to tuck my long legs as close to the bike as possible so as not to get hit by the hundreds of other motos zooming by ... super fun.
Which brings me to moto experience number 3 - in Vietnam. I arrived in Vietnam after another boat ride (which I have also grown fond of - will have to write another blog about my love of boats!), spent the night in a border town Chau Doc, dining out with my 5 new best friends from Chile and Germany, and the next day took a 6 hour bus ride with a lot of Vietnamese people, and NO gringos!, to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh). After arriving at the city outskirts, the bus dumped me and my new Vietnamese language tutors off in a dusty parking lot and I am suddenly bombarded by 10 eager moto-chofers asking me to hire them for a ride to my hotel. So, I pick the guy with the most messed-up blackened and missing teeth, of course. (If he is a good eater, he must be trust-worthy.) And after getting him down in cost, we start off. Only this ride is made more exciting by another new factor ... luggage. Okay, so NOW picture a much fatter and older Yee, or Hong, perhaps, holding my large bag in his lap, me behind with my small and medium-sized over-the-sholder bags, both in helmets this time (Vietnam requires them - happy, mom?), cruising through Saigon Friday afternoon traffic, over sidewalks and through red lights, asking for directions with my guidebook in hand, pulling up to this fancy hotel looking like I had litteraly just come from the front lines of the war zone Vietnam. hillarious.
In short, I love motorcycles and I hope to continue my writing my own Motorcycle Diaries over the next few months. (But not for a couple weeks as I am now traveling in luxury with the 60+ crowd with my parents and friends in a tour through Indochine.)
I have taken three rides so far - my first was a fun off-road adventure with my trusty guide Yee, a skinny 21 year old Cambodian boy with a huge smile that I didn't see much of due to his camo-colored face mask. On my third day of visiting the ruins in Angkor, I decided to go to a further out ruin Bantay Srei, that I had read was beautiful and well-preserved. Being on my own this time, I decided to go via motorbike. About 2 blocks from my hotel a shy guy with this grand smile offered to be my tour guide with this motorcycle. (please note that this is VERY common practice in SE Asia, in any given block of Cambodia there are 5-20 motorcycle dudes shouting at you "moto miss, moto, you want moto?" It is common practice and very professional ... perhaps safer than a Mexico City taxi ... which I took for 1 year!) So Yee and I negotiated a rate of $7 for an all day trip to see this ruin about an hour away, then too another one another ways further, and back. I hopped on the back, and away we go!!! (insert other foto here :)
I think this day, finally on my own, sitting on a bike with the wind in my hair (helmet, what's that?) smiling at the people along the road smiling back, passing farms and huts and green fields and locals on bicycles, I felt the warm exuberance of pure joy, complete contentment and confidence that THIS is it. This moment is worth all the long days of working, planning and saving that had to happen for me to be here on this trip. If I die now, I will be smiling ... big, really big.
But thankfully, I didn't die, and the day went on with more adventures. The first temple was completely breathtaking. Worth the long journey and effort to get there. The intricate stone carvings told far off tales of Hindu gods and Angkorian dancers, of another lifetime over a thousand years ago. It was beautiful. Then we pushed on, leaving the pavement for the dustiest dirt road I have ever traveled, where I finally understood the downside of motorcycles. I was completely covered in dirt from head to toe, ears, eyes, hair. dirty. really dirty. The best part was when big trucks would speed by spitting up complete dust storms, and I would duck behind my trusty driver Yee, squeezing my eyes closed and trying not to breathe ... and he says to me "dirt get in my eye, make it no see" ... ah, great. really fun. add one more element of excitement to the motorcycle and I am addicted.
My second motorcycle ride was after a long fun boat ride from Siam Reap to Phnom Phen, Cambodia, 6 hours on a big motorized "speed boat" jam packed with 40 tourists and their back packs. The first day I toured on foot, seeing the National Museum and some statues and parks. Then the next day I ventured out with a skirt and learned about the down-side to motorcycles. they don't work particularly well with skirts. especially knee-length straight skirts which really cannot be tucked around the legs. After protesting to the insistent moto-chofers, I learned the OTHER way to ride on the back of a bike: side-saddle. This added yet another more exciting element to my whole motorcycle experience. Imagine me, sitting sideways, trying my hardest to keep my legs together, balancing one foot on the foot-bar with the other on-top, trying to tuck my long legs as close to the bike as possible so as not to get hit by the hundreds of other motos zooming by ... super fun.
Which brings me to moto experience number 3 - in Vietnam. I arrived in Vietnam after another boat ride (which I have also grown fond of - will have to write another blog about my love of boats!), spent the night in a border town Chau Doc, dining out with my 5 new best friends from Chile and Germany, and the next day took a 6 hour bus ride with a lot of Vietnamese people, and NO gringos!, to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh). After arriving at the city outskirts, the bus dumped me and my new Vietnamese language tutors off in a dusty parking lot and I am suddenly bombarded by 10 eager moto-chofers asking me to hire them for a ride to my hotel. So, I pick the guy with the most messed-up blackened and missing teeth, of course. (If he is a good eater, he must be trust-worthy.) And after getting him down in cost, we start off. Only this ride is made more exciting by another new factor ... luggage. Okay, so NOW picture a much fatter and older Yee, or Hong, perhaps, holding my large bag in his lap, me behind with my small and medium-sized over-the-sholder bags, both in helmets this time (Vietnam requires them - happy, mom?), cruising through Saigon Friday afternoon traffic, over sidewalks and through red lights, asking for directions with my guidebook in hand, pulling up to this fancy hotel looking like I had litteraly just come from the front lines of the war zone Vietnam. hillarious.
In short, I love motorcycles and I hope to continue my writing my own Motorcycle Diaries over the next few months. (But not for a couple weeks as I am now traveling in luxury with the 60+ crowd with my parents and friends in a tour through Indochine.)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bad Blogger ... Great Traveler!
Okay, so just for the record, I dont know how good of a blogger I will be during my trip. I have found that now that I am out of the office and LIVING, traveling by motorcycle, bicycle, Tuc-Tuc, train and elephant ... I find it hard to sit in an internet cafe for hours to write. That and the fact that this dang website doesn't always load up well.
So, I will have to continue with the wedding stories later and write about my most recent experiences. I am in Siam Reap, Cambodia. I have just spent 3 days visiting Angkor ... some of the most amazing ruins I have ever seen in my life. In an area at least triple Central Park, there are hundreds of temples, sanctuaries, statues and buildings left in ruins, but showing a culture so advanced and devout it gives the Mayan and Inca a good run for their money. The structures are over 1000 years old, with intricate carvings depicting Hindu and Buddhist images. The most famous of the ruins is Angkor Wat, followed by Angkor Thom. Some of you might have seen images of the ruins in Angelina Jolie's movie "Tomb Raider" ... I myself never saw the movie. but I can assure you that in real life the ruins are simply incredible. It is a magical place filled with 5-story high trees, songs from at least 30 different birds, a hot sun and silent cool breeze. The morning is mystical and the evening serene. I can honestly say that despite the thousands of tourists ... many Chinese with a nack for standing right in the way of your perfect photo ... this place is completely worth a visit.
Which is saying a lot after the trip I made to get here! Lets go back three days to Saturday ... After a 14-hour overnight train ride from Chiang Mai, in North Thailand, I departed ways with my fabulous travel buddies Diksha and Raju, sad that I would no longer hear the Nepali chatter I had grown so accustomed to ... and sad about losing the best travel agent ever, not to mention great company for an evening beer! So, we departed ways at 6:30am, and I got off the train at my stop in central Bangkok at 7am and made like a mad woman on Amazing Race. I double-checked the bus station I needed to go to (bangkok has 4 of them), avoided a scam info dude, grabbed a taxi, headed to the bus station, bought my ticket and was on the bus at 7:30am. Wow! At first I was in a literal bouncy rocking chair, reminding me of those fun ones babies use, but not so fun sitting in the last row on a 4 hour bus journey. I slyly switched seats to a more comfortable one, next to a dude with BO, of course, just in time before they filled the bus aisle with people for the long journey. 4.5 hours later I arrive at the border town. Find another white dude who looks like he knows what to do, and we share a Rickshaw to the border itself. There I step out and get conned into getting my Cambodian Visa with a young Cambodian dude with a HUGE smile and perfect English. I am sure I am being over-charged, but am assured by other tourists that I must get the visa here. (upon later checking I payed about $5 over the going rate. oh well ... ) This turns out to be a very lucky stop because sitting at the road-side table waiting for my passport to be returned with the visa, I meet Nacho and Julieta, a lovely young Argentinian couple who I befriend and end up spending the next few days with ... speaking entirely in SPANISH!!!
For those that don't know, learning Spanish has been one of my greatest accomplishments in my life. And after having spent 1.5 years getting really good at it in Mexico, I am scared to death about forgetting the language. I have been praying for a way to practice my Spanish on this trip. And I suppose god (or Vishnu or Buddha ... I have been seeing a lot of manifestations of gods lately!) actually heard my prayers and sent this sweet couple to me to be my travel buddies and practice Espanol. It is also rare to find Spanish speakers here. I have only overheard one other person speaking the language and have heard thousands of people speaking in many tongues lately.
After crossing the border on foot, my new buddies and I contracted a car to take us to Siam Reap. The journey took 3 hours over the worst road i have ever seen. We bounced and swerved and caught air that would make the Dukes of Hazard jealous. Incredible. But at last we arrived, refusing a "free" Tuc-Tuc that would have taken us to a Guest house for a commission, and instead opted to walk. It felt great walking after the 14 hour train ride, 30 minute taxi, 4.5 hour bus, and 3 hour car/roller-coaster ride. We ended up walking a ways - over an hour - with all our bags, in the setting sun, until finally coming upon an open guest house in the city for $15 a night. We checked in at about 6:30pm, exhausted!
The next day we were up at 5:30am for an all-day tour (until 6pm) of the ruins by BICYCLE!! In total we went over 40 km, and climbed hundreds of stairs up and around the ruins. I have to give some major props to the Argentinians ... they are the most hard-core tourists I have ever encountered. And thanks to them I saw every ruin in Angkor and had a wonderful time with a million photos and lots of laughs. The following day we again started at 6am for an all-day tour by tuc-tuc, ending it all with a great sunset over the jungle. We departed ways last night as they were off back to Thailand for the rest of their month-long trip.
And today I had another fabulous, memorable day with Yee, a nice 21-yr-old smiley Cambodian motorcycle driver. He took me for an hour to see the most intricate ruin of all, with breathtakingly intricate carvings. Then we went another 45 minutes down a super dusty dirt road, to another river ruin, getting a bit lost and going 20 minutes out of the way. But Yee was a sport about it all, and he even hiked with me to the site, setting the pace up the steep rocky path at twice the normal speed, as we did the 45 minute hike (according to guidebook), in just 20 minutes! We took advantage of the small pretty waterfall to wash some of the dirt off - I was literally orange! Then had a quick meal of fried rice with veggies and chicken and drove 2 hours back to Siam Reap, stopping for a couple last photos of the ruins in the setting sun.
Tomorrow I am off to Phnom Phen via speedboat for 5 hours! Will write again when I can!
So, I will have to continue with the wedding stories later and write about my most recent experiences. I am in Siam Reap, Cambodia. I have just spent 3 days visiting Angkor ... some of the most amazing ruins I have ever seen in my life. In an area at least triple Central Park, there are hundreds of temples, sanctuaries, statues and buildings left in ruins, but showing a culture so advanced and devout it gives the Mayan and Inca a good run for their money. The structures are over 1000 years old, with intricate carvings depicting Hindu and Buddhist images. The most famous of the ruins is Angkor Wat, followed by Angkor Thom. Some of you might have seen images of the ruins in Angelina Jolie's movie "Tomb Raider" ... I myself never saw the movie. but I can assure you that in real life the ruins are simply incredible. It is a magical place filled with 5-story high trees, songs from at least 30 different birds, a hot sun and silent cool breeze. The morning is mystical and the evening serene. I can honestly say that despite the thousands of tourists ... many Chinese with a nack for standing right in the way of your perfect photo ... this place is completely worth a visit.
Which is saying a lot after the trip I made to get here! Lets go back three days to Saturday ... After a 14-hour overnight train ride from Chiang Mai, in North Thailand, I departed ways with my fabulous travel buddies Diksha and Raju, sad that I would no longer hear the Nepali chatter I had grown so accustomed to ... and sad about losing the best travel agent ever, not to mention great company for an evening beer! So, we departed ways at 6:30am, and I got off the train at my stop in central Bangkok at 7am and made like a mad woman on Amazing Race. I double-checked the bus station I needed to go to (bangkok has 4 of them), avoided a scam info dude, grabbed a taxi, headed to the bus station, bought my ticket and was on the bus at 7:30am. Wow! At first I was in a literal bouncy rocking chair, reminding me of those fun ones babies use, but not so fun sitting in the last row on a 4 hour bus journey. I slyly switched seats to a more comfortable one, next to a dude with BO, of course, just in time before they filled the bus aisle with people for the long journey. 4.5 hours later I arrive at the border town. Find another white dude who looks like he knows what to do, and we share a Rickshaw to the border itself. There I step out and get conned into getting my Cambodian Visa with a young Cambodian dude with a HUGE smile and perfect English. I am sure I am being over-charged, but am assured by other tourists that I must get the visa here. (upon later checking I payed about $5 over the going rate. oh well ... ) This turns out to be a very lucky stop because sitting at the road-side table waiting for my passport to be returned with the visa, I meet Nacho and Julieta, a lovely young Argentinian couple who I befriend and end up spending the next few days with ... speaking entirely in SPANISH!!!
For those that don't know, learning Spanish has been one of my greatest accomplishments in my life. And after having spent 1.5 years getting really good at it in Mexico, I am scared to death about forgetting the language. I have been praying for a way to practice my Spanish on this trip. And I suppose god (or Vishnu or Buddha ... I have been seeing a lot of manifestations of gods lately!) actually heard my prayers and sent this sweet couple to me to be my travel buddies and practice Espanol. It is also rare to find Spanish speakers here. I have only overheard one other person speaking the language and have heard thousands of people speaking in many tongues lately.
After crossing the border on foot, my new buddies and I contracted a car to take us to Siam Reap. The journey took 3 hours over the worst road i have ever seen. We bounced and swerved and caught air that would make the Dukes of Hazard jealous. Incredible. But at last we arrived, refusing a "free" Tuc-Tuc that would have taken us to a Guest house for a commission, and instead opted to walk. It felt great walking after the 14 hour train ride, 30 minute taxi, 4.5 hour bus, and 3 hour car/roller-coaster ride. We ended up walking a ways - over an hour - with all our bags, in the setting sun, until finally coming upon an open guest house in the city for $15 a night. We checked in at about 6:30pm, exhausted!
The next day we were up at 5:30am for an all-day tour (until 6pm) of the ruins by BICYCLE!! In total we went over 40 km, and climbed hundreds of stairs up and around the ruins. I have to give some major props to the Argentinians ... they are the most hard-core tourists I have ever encountered. And thanks to them I saw every ruin in Angkor and had a wonderful time with a million photos and lots of laughs. The following day we again started at 6am for an all-day tour by tuc-tuc, ending it all with a great sunset over the jungle. We departed ways last night as they were off back to Thailand for the rest of their month-long trip.
And today I had another fabulous, memorable day with Yee, a nice 21-yr-old smiley Cambodian motorcycle driver. He took me for an hour to see the most intricate ruin of all, with breathtakingly intricate carvings. Then we went another 45 minutes down a super dusty dirt road, to another river ruin, getting a bit lost and going 20 minutes out of the way. But Yee was a sport about it all, and he even hiked with me to the site, setting the pace up the steep rocky path at twice the normal speed, as we did the 45 minute hike (according to guidebook), in just 20 minutes! We took advantage of the small pretty waterfall to wash some of the dirt off - I was literally orange! Then had a quick meal of fried rice with veggies and chicken and drove 2 hours back to Siam Reap, stopping for a couple last photos of the ruins in the setting sun.
Tomorrow I am off to Phnom Phen via speedboat for 5 hours! Will write again when I can!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
THE Wedding - part 1
Before embarking on my journey to Asia, I told many friends and family about a wedding I would be attending at the start of my 4 month trip. I always mentioned that it was an Indian/Nepali wedding at a resort in Thailand, with many events planned, for which I had to pack many nice formal dresses ... but despite my anticipation and excitement for this unknown event to come, all my wildest dreams of the most beautiful, elaborate wedding imaginable were far surpassed with this incredible 3-day experience.
Welcome to the Sharaton Hua Hin, a newly opened luxury resort with a mile-long swimming lagoon, beachfront lawns and infinity pool, fountains, flowers and marble elephants gracefully placed along winding pathways. The bus pulled up and a young harmonica-playing elephant greeted us, placing a hat upon my head with his trunk, and I knew a once-in-a-lifetime event was about to take place.
We settled into our rooms and I started getting to know my roommate, a beautiful, super-educated Bangladeshi girl who lives in D.C. and works for the World Bank. (I am starting to feel already a little lame that I work, I mean worked, for a simple branding and package design company, doing little good for the world besides making the trash more attractive.)
We change (outfit #1) and go to the "meet and greet brunch" with serving trays after trays of the most delicious Indian and Thai food ... a literal taster of the food to come throughout the weekend. (And forget any weight-loss this weekend. I couldnt stuff my mouth fast enough to try all the delectable flavors available at each meal!)
I meet Indians from Australia, Nepalis from Boston and NY, British, Thai and Canadians. People came from Hong Kong and from Camaroon. (Though I was the only one who had flown in from Mexico! Just trying to represent the US and Mexico as best I could.) The guests spoke many languages and studied so many different things ... all highly educated, successful and from the higher classes of the world. I felt just a tad intimidated by the collective amount of knowledge and money in the resort, but soon would forget all that with the magical world I was wisked away to.
We return to our rooms, I get in a quick dip in the infinity pool with a huge smile on my face, and I meet a sweet girl from Boston whose family is from El Salvador. We speak a little Spanish and laugh at the Indian boys trying to "perform" for us with their poor volleyball skills in the pool. Then it is back to the room to change into tonights coctail dress for the beach-side soiree. I slip on dress #2, a cute red silk dress that I must suck in my stomach to wear. (after a week of eating tacos and drinking nightly prior to leaving Mexico, I didn't acheive my perfect wedding body I had hoped for.) I walk with my roomie down to the beach-front lawn, decorated with boquets dripping with a plethora of flowers, including roses, gerber daisies and orchids. Large torches burn bright with flames lighting the evening, and we are handed sweet, fun pink drinks and begin mingling. At first people did stick to their groups a bit, though with some more drinks and dancing, the groups soon opened up to reveal many fun, energetic, interesting wedding guests. We walk around and drink our drinks, then eventually make our way to the tables and food. There is so much food I don't even know what to do with myself. A 100 feet of serving trays, with 5 chef stations ready-cooking everything from asian noodles to thai papaya salads to indian tandoori dishes to sauteed shrimp and fresh veggies. I almost get stressed about which types of food to eat because I am so full but I want to try everything. I find a table with my new group of girlfriends and we soon start filling up the dance floor. There is a DJ set up with the coolest table right in front of the ocean, with lights and a dance floor and all. No detail is forgotton. And the drinks are nothing to sniff at ... I am no whiskey fan, but I have heard Johnny Walker Blue Label is nothing to sneeze at. With Absolut vodka and a great brand of champaigne, this wedding is nothing but the best.
After eating and drinking and dancing our hearts out, the 200 guests make their way away from the beach to the resort's night club. This place could compete with the best of them in Mexico City or SF. With a cool design, an indian DJ and singers flown in from Bombay, a bar stocked with the same top-shelf options (free to us), and a crowd full of international guests, draped in their finest duds, the party was just getting started. For the next 5 hours, we all danced and laughed and drank and partied, with hindi music blasting, feet jumping and hundreds of hands pulsing in the night; it was an Indian experience like no other! At about 2:30am I called it a night, slipping out and back to my room to fall asleep with sweet dreams of day 1 of the dreamy South Asian wedding weekend ...
Welcome to the Sharaton Hua Hin, a newly opened luxury resort with a mile-long swimming lagoon, beachfront lawns and infinity pool, fountains, flowers and marble elephants gracefully placed along winding pathways. The bus pulled up and a young harmonica-playing elephant greeted us, placing a hat upon my head with his trunk, and I knew a once-in-a-lifetime event was about to take place.
We settled into our rooms and I started getting to know my roommate, a beautiful, super-educated Bangladeshi girl who lives in D.C. and works for the World Bank. (I am starting to feel already a little lame that I work, I mean worked, for a simple branding and package design company, doing little good for the world besides making the trash more attractive.)
We change (outfit #1) and go to the "meet and greet brunch" with serving trays after trays of the most delicious Indian and Thai food ... a literal taster of the food to come throughout the weekend. (And forget any weight-loss this weekend. I couldnt stuff my mouth fast enough to try all the delectable flavors available at each meal!)
I meet Indians from Australia, Nepalis from Boston and NY, British, Thai and Canadians. People came from Hong Kong and from Camaroon. (Though I was the only one who had flown in from Mexico! Just trying to represent the US and Mexico as best I could.) The guests spoke many languages and studied so many different things ... all highly educated, successful and from the higher classes of the world. I felt just a tad intimidated by the collective amount of knowledge and money in the resort, but soon would forget all that with the magical world I was wisked away to.
We return to our rooms, I get in a quick dip in the infinity pool with a huge smile on my face, and I meet a sweet girl from Boston whose family is from El Salvador. We speak a little Spanish and laugh at the Indian boys trying to "perform" for us with their poor volleyball skills in the pool. Then it is back to the room to change into tonights coctail dress for the beach-side soiree. I slip on dress #2, a cute red silk dress that I must suck in my stomach to wear. (after a week of eating tacos and drinking nightly prior to leaving Mexico, I didn't acheive my perfect wedding body I had hoped for.) I walk with my roomie down to the beach-front lawn, decorated with boquets dripping with a plethora of flowers, including roses, gerber daisies and orchids. Large torches burn bright with flames lighting the evening, and we are handed sweet, fun pink drinks and begin mingling. At first people did stick to their groups a bit, though with some more drinks and dancing, the groups soon opened up to reveal many fun, energetic, interesting wedding guests. We walk around and drink our drinks, then eventually make our way to the tables and food. There is so much food I don't even know what to do with myself. A 100 feet of serving trays, with 5 chef stations ready-cooking everything from asian noodles to thai papaya salads to indian tandoori dishes to sauteed shrimp and fresh veggies. I almost get stressed about which types of food to eat because I am so full but I want to try everything. I find a table with my new group of girlfriends and we soon start filling up the dance floor. There is a DJ set up with the coolest table right in front of the ocean, with lights and a dance floor and all. No detail is forgotton. And the drinks are nothing to sniff at ... I am no whiskey fan, but I have heard Johnny Walker Blue Label is nothing to sneeze at. With Absolut vodka and a great brand of champaigne, this wedding is nothing but the best.
After eating and drinking and dancing our hearts out, the 200 guests make their way away from the beach to the resort's night club. This place could compete with the best of them in Mexico City or SF. With a cool design, an indian DJ and singers flown in from Bombay, a bar stocked with the same top-shelf options (free to us), and a crowd full of international guests, draped in their finest duds, the party was just getting started. For the next 5 hours, we all danced and laughed and drank and partied, with hindi music blasting, feet jumping and hundreds of hands pulsing in the night; it was an Indian experience like no other! At about 2:30am I called it a night, slipping out and back to my room to fall asleep with sweet dreams of day 1 of the dreamy South Asian wedding weekend ...
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