Khap jai lai lai!

...or as they say in America, thank you very much...for reading and commenting and sharing in on our adventure through SE Asia!

We're back in the States! Jess is in DC preparing the classroom for the kiddies and I'm in Ohio preparing to head off to India on Saturday. Wow, how time flies!

This is our last post (Jess, don't even pretend you're sad. haha) but we'll probably keep the blog up so that after our Thai tattoos are healed and digital pics are finally copied off our memory cards, we'll be able to look back and remember how pooj and jess spread the love in se asia summer '08.

Peace & love & tuk tuks,

pooj and jess (aka pb& j)

p.s. I'll be posting to my new blog, Either Here or There (or somewhere in between), while I'm in India. Keep readin' :)

thai tattoos and island paradise

So, I got a thai tattoo.

I wasn't really planning on getting a new tat, especially after the whole "What is that ugly thing you got in Spain? A mouse? A rat?"

And still, I am quite ambivalent about the whole thing. But, a tattoo, as you know, isn't something you can really change your mind about.

What is done is done. Right? Right.

It's on the front of my left calf, about halfway between my ankle and knee. Not too small, not too big. Probably just right.

Luckily, it was free...that is, aside from the medical expenses. And luckily I was drunk so I couldn't feel the pain. And even luckier am I that it didn't bleed profusely or require a tetanus or hep shot.

But that damn motorcycle exhaust just gets you every time. And gives you a 2nd degree burn. And will never let you forget that you once got a ride home from Teepee bar in Chiang Rai from a crazy Thai hippie who knew the words to the cheesiest American songs and could play them perfectly on his acoustic guitar.

Nope, that motorcyle exhaust is not forgiving. In fact, so evil are its ways that once called just an unfortunate, awful and painful burn to the leg is now given the great title, "Thai tattoo," and will be with you for years to come.

Hey, at least there's a story, right?

Well, my trip is also coming quickly to an end. I am spending my last days in Southern Laos on one of 4000 islands in the middle of the Mekong Delta--riding bicycles from island to island, spending cool nights on a hammock outside my bungalow and high-fiving little Laotian kids while they are playing with frogs and monkeys tied to ropes. Ah, heaven.

overheard in southeast asia

Since I am flying out of Bangkok tomorrow morning (and yes, I intend to make this flight), I thought it would be appropriate to share a sampling of the numerous, eh, colorful (??) conversations I've engaged in or have been a subject of thus far during our travels.

Well, actually, before I continue, I should preface this post by explaining how well I truly blend into my surroundings here. I have been mistaken for a local in every country we've visited except, ironically enough, Vietnam. There have been many occasions where a local server has had difficulty understanding one of our European friends' English accent; of course then, it's only logical that said server should turn to me and continue the conversation in his/her native tongue. I am all about complete cultural immersion these days, eh?

All names have been omitted to protect the offenders. But alas, not their nationalities.

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Vietnamese street vendor: Who is that girl over there?
Family member: Oh, that's Pooja. She's Indian.
Vietnamese street vendor: Oh. I knew that. But what is that girl next to her?
Family member: Um, well, she's not mine. She's half Filipino.
(Yes, that would be me standing next to Pooja).

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Dutch man: So what's your name?
Me: Jessica.
Dutch man: No, really, what's your name?
Me: Jessica. Jerkface.

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Dutch man: So I know you hate me but one last question. What color are your panties?
Me: Die.

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British guy: Excuse me.
(I'm sitting at a table at a hostel in Chiang Mai reading a newspaper. I look up).
British guy: Do you have any rooms here available tonight?
Me: Ummm, why don't you go to the reception and ask the guy who actually works here.

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British dude: I would pay a good amount of money to watch you strip.
Me: Die.

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Irish guy: I don't understand why it's so offensive to you that people would mistaken you for a Thai prostitute?

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If only we could sometimes be lost in translation with other English speakers...

Cam on, Vietnam.
Khap jai lai lai, Laos.
Ar kun, Cambodia.
Khap khun kha, Thailand.

It's been fun.

Love,
Jess

(I miss Pooj).

controlled chaos

The video says it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1XuP2VFuSs

(And yes, it's actually worth it to click on the link. Pooj and I make guest appearances near the end).

too many chefs spoil the green curry...almost.

We had gotten a recommendation from Ben and Aliyah to take a cooking class when we were in Chiang Mai...we thought, "hey why not? when else can we learn to cook pad thai for 20 bucks."

So after we got our prison massages (check out Ben's blog about it at: delhidispatch.blogspot.com, similiar experience except we definitely got medium to light) we headed over to Baan Thai cooking class down the street from our hostel.

We were told to pick four dishes to prepare and it would be our dinner...most people would probably have picked an appetizer, a couple of main dishes and a dessert. Not us. Jess and I (along with our three new friends from Canada, Switzerland, and Finland we met on the train from Bangkok) picked 4 main courses: Green Curry, Pad Thai, Spring Rolls and Coconut Chicken Curry Soup.

We started with the curry paste for the green curry. I can't even remember all the ingredients (thank god they gave us a cookbook as a parting gift) but there were definitely over a dozen fresh vegetables and spices. I was in charge of chopping the root of the corriander plant and so, as best I could, I diligently began chopping it up into small pieces, including what I thought to be all the necessary parts.

The curry paste was then one part of the green curry, which turned out to be probably the best curry we've tasted yet (obvi). The five of us were all at our separate stations trying to avoid spilling coconut milk and causing grease fires. The spring rolls came along really well and our wonderful teacher (who knew such phrases as "hey you, get your ass in gear") let us enjoy the first part of the meal.

Somewhere between the amazing green curry and the fresh spring rolls, our teacher came up to us and said "Who cut the corriander root?"

I got really excited, as I thought I was going to be the "best student" and be given extra "points."

"I did!" I screamed between mouthfuls.

"Well," she said holding up a corriander root in her hand, "You only cut the stems and forgot the root. Next time, include the root, that's where all the flavor comes from."

Oops.

Needless to say, the curry tasted perfect to us, as did the two bites of pad thai and coconut soup we were able to stomach after the first two main courses.

It was the best cooking class ever...followed by after-dinner whiskey shots to help us digest the meal and a night out to a late night club called "Spicy."Let's just say that our night out turned into a morning out, after which 3 of us missed our 8:30 am trek the next morning and one delayed his departure all together from the city...so we spent the next day recovering, getting foot massages and eating greasy western food for lunch and greasy indian food for dinner.

We heart Chiang Mai.

Mother and daughter from a Long Neck tribe
Antti, Claudio, Mike, and Katie McHugh!
Sign posted outside a wat. Yes, you read it right--"Women are prohibited to go up."

Mike and Antti on our ghetto prison train.

the week...in pictures.

Jess is kissing Buddha. This might be sacreligious but our guide made us to do it. No really, he said all the cool kids did it.

I rented a motorcyle thinking it would be no big deal. Let me tell you, it was one of the scariest experiences ever. The hills were bigger than San Francisco hills and I almost stopped on the way up one of the hills because the guy didnt teach me how to "rev" the engine. ahhh! but it was hot pink and the helmets were cool and it cost $5 for 24 hours.

Full moon party with old and new friends.

Trivia at Tropical Murphy's, an irish pub in Koh Samui. The "american girls" whose team name was "fat kids are harder to kidnap" came in last place. Saaad.

Sunset over Koh Samui. Gorgeous!

WAT WAT!

Wat Wat! (Not to be confused with WHAT WHAT!)

What a whirlwind of a week. Jess and I have been in 3 countries in the past 1.5 weeks. From Vietnam we went to Cambodia and now we are back in Thailand...

Cambodia. The whole country is like one big dollar store (no really, they actually use dollars). Upon arrival, Jess tried to get money from the ATM in Cambodian currency and realized she could only take money out in dollars...US Dollars. And everything costs a dollar-- from motocycle rides to coca cola light, it's all a dollar.

Angkor Wat was amazing. We visited 5 of the 39 temples of the massive old city, starting the day at 4:30 am to make it in time to see the sunrise. So impressive! Some of the Wats (aka temples) were over 1000 years old. Many of them started as Hindu temples and others were Buddhist temples that were later converted to Hindu temples...when we asked our guide what he thought of the Hindus that changed the ancient carvings of Buddha to lotus flowers he replied "Oh, they all went to Hell."

Um, yeah.

So yeah, we're back in Thailand after a 28 hour commute for a party...but not just any party...the Full Moon party on Koh Phagnan. Buckets of cocktails, thousands of backpackers and lots of neon lights...like an International spring break. Thank god we're fully immersing ourselves in Thai culture (but we survived and it was amazing and we are buying tshirts).