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).

wow...we ate bow wow.

To all my veggie friends...you may want to stop reading this entry now. For the rest of yáll (I think I've been hangin out with Jess too much), keep reading!

First, a few words about the Phams. They eat more than the Bhatias...but are half our size. Seriously? Seriously. We ate so much good food in Vietnam, it's crazy. From fresh lychees to spicy Lau and super ripe mangosteins to fresh lobster-- we really ate a lot. Starting at 7 in the am and all the way until late into the night we found the best Vietnamese food around (apparently Jess's mom searched Vietnamese forums back in the States...amazing). We even stopped by a farmer's house boat in Nha Trang, purchased fresh fish and lobster and then took it to a restaurant to have them prepare it for us...did someone say byos (bring your own seafood?!?)

And with all this amazing food, we also ate a lot of meat. Like a lot. I thought I was maybe possibly going to turn vegetarian this trip, but no. Prawn eyes, porcupine, deer jerky, clams, snails, water buffalo in ADDITION to all the fish, chicken, pork and beef. Oh, and dog.
Jess's uncle, Cau Canh, actually called it bow wow.

Ok, so we had decided we wanted to try it, because, well, we were in Vietnam. So, we did. I had one (teeny tiny piece, like really really small) of bbqed dog. And to be honest, it wasn't that bad...kinda tasted like chicken...but needless to say, Jess and I both have given up bow wow for good.

Our trip in Vietnam came to a close a few days ago. We had to say farewell to the 16 members of Jess's family we were travelling with, the amazing 34-seat private bus complete with leather seats and a beer cooler (it came from the States) and the $2 million mansion with rooftop pool and 8 flat screen TVs we crashed at in Hanoi...

...and we said hello to Cambodia and hostels for $2.50 a night.



Jess having the time of her life right out side Dalat. Obvi I was the photographer.

Our lovely selves with our lovely bus.

Tommy fishing for our din din...drunk...at 2 pm

The girls in Ba Na...a mountain resort near Danang

Rooftop pool what what

omg V.I.P in the c.l.u.b

We stopped in Danang, Vietnam (the third largest Vietnamese port city) for a few days. Danang is the city where Jess's mom and relatives were raised. A peaceful town on the coast with nice and quiet beaches all around...


But of course, Jess's mom's mom's adopted brother's daughter's husband (aka jess's first cousin once removed) was once a dj at this club in Danang, Vietnam...

So, when we visited Danang a few days back, he gladly offered to take us all there. (Actually, he forced us out of bed when we were all switching channels back and forth between Wimbeldon and Friends repeats). Either way, we left the house in our normal, travelling gear, consisiting of no make-up, hair in pony tails (except Tommy) and semi-sweaty selves.

We got to the club...and let me tell you, were transported to god knows where.

The club was PACKED, with HUNDREDS of Vietnamese dressed to the nines. We were seriously scrubbed out, but they still let us in. We got a table in the VIP section (which in Vietnam is referred to as vip) and were immediately served half a bottle of whiskey, fruit, two types of nuts, pepsi, bottled water, etc. There were TV's around playing American music videos and American sports and the Techno (or house or trans, we're not sure) was DUF DUF DUFING in the background. On all sides of us there were strippers (or call girls) with nametags flirting with old white men (ew.) We're not sure about the nametags either.

Seriously, what a sight.

We're in Sapa, Vietnam now which is also quite a sight. It's a mountain town near the border of China that is kind of a combination of Bolivia and Cusco, Peru. It's a small world, afterall.

how do we love thee rice? let us count the ways...

Vietnam is a land of many things... It is a land of great beauty from the tree-covered mountains near Dalat to the gorgeous beaches of Nha Trang. It's a land with a rich cultural heritage after overcoming a difficult past. It's a land of great seafood and spices.

And it's also a land of rice.

White rice. Sticky rice. Fat rice noodles. Skinny rice noodles. Rice paper. Fried rice paper. Rice paper with sesame seeds. Rice kernels. Rice popcorn. Rice crispy treats (seriously). Rice noodles wrapped in rice paper. Rice noodles and fried rice paper wrapped in rice paper. Rice porridge. And those are only the ones off the top of our head.

I guess I should probably give up the low carb diet.

Got rice,
Pooj

i know why the caged bird sings..

In Thailand, it is quite possible to buy everything you could possibly dream of at a street stall. Flip flops? Sure, right next to the pad thai stand outside of your hostel. Shampoo? Sure, right next to the other pad thai stand that's next to the flip flop stand. Northface backpack? Sure, right next to the vegetarian pad thai stand that also serves eggrolls that's next to the shampoo stand. (Pad thai seems to be the Visa in Thailand; it's everywhere you want it to be. And you betcha we took full advantage of that every night, circa 3am, after popping a Pepto pill each). Anything you want at the tip of your hands: Hello Kitty paraphernalia, buckets of booze, friendship bracelets, fresh fruit.

If you so care choose, it's also quite easy to buy "company" for 15 minutes or for an entire week, depending on your travel plans, of course. How lonely it must be for an elderly single retiree to scuba dive and dine on the island of Ko Samet, about 5 hours off the southern coast of Thailand, when everyone else is paired up. Yeah? Looking for company? Sign up down the road, to the left, stand right next to the pad thai stand.

Ping pong show? Uhhhh, WIKIPEDIA that shiznatch.

And if you're feeling really charitable, it's also possible for you to give money to support animal rights. Oh yes, right on the streets of Bangkok. A woman was walking around, meandering, outside a bar in Patpong. In her hands, she had about 6 cages with what looked like little brown stones in them. When we politely called her over to ask what we could procure from her, she smiled oh so coyly and replied, "If you pay me, I will set these birds free."

Everything so conveniently laid out. Everyone so willing and eager to cater to your every need or want.

Oh Thailand, it sings for you.

PS-Who is "1234567890"? We are completely befuddled.

Love,

Jess

fisherman pants and water taxis

I think buying a pair of thai fisherman pants means I've officially become a backpacker...yeah?

The pants are awesome--navy blue linen capris that feel like the perfect thing to be wearing in this heat...so soft and comfy...and the best part, only 90 baht...aka less than $3. I know, right.

Anyway, in other news. Ant and I navigated through the streets of Bangkok today and only got lost, um, like 6 or 7 times. We took two river taxis, which are probably the most amazing thing ever invented (after the thai fisherman pants, of course). They go up and down the rivers in Bangkok avoiding all traffic and pollution--the breeze and views of the city are unbeatable. We then made our way to the Hindu Temple in Bangkok (the Bhatias would be so proud) and through the Red Light district (wow). We also found the most amazing gourmet grocery store and food court inside of a mall that would put any U.S. food court to shame. Ohhh, and there was also a really interesting exhibit downtown about global warming with gorgeous aerial photos of places all over the earth being affected by our pollution and waste...it's just nice to know that people around the world are thinking about this, ya know? (not to get all emo).

Jess lands tonight (knock on wood)...and then the three of us are heading to Koh Samet for a few days...getting outta the city and to the BEACH! We'll definitely be black when we get back...hopefully.

BKK is HOTT.

BKK = bangkok. Not to be confused with the two other southeast asian airports I had layovers in-- Taipei and Hong Kong. It took 24+ hours to get here, but I made it! (Yes, Jess, I'm giving you shit...for...missing...your...flight...to se asia...) :)

Anyway, so BKK is HOTT. No, like literally, really really hot. In fact, I don't think I've stopped sweating since I've landed...unless the shower counts.

My last 1.5 days have been spent eating pad thai and spring rolls and drinking fresh mango shakes from street vendors, riding in tuk tuk's (aka auto-rickshaws) and getting foot massages (yes, plural). Oh, and I visited the most amazing market ever- Chakatuk market...it was HUGE...and had everything from puppies and rabbits for sale (no seriously) to the best top 40 hip-hop ever. I have decided a full day will be dedicated to this market on my way back to the states (send requests this way).

...Ant arrives tomorrow...and Jess...well, who knows...

harbinger?

I was trying to be efficient; late-night karaoke in Eastern Market with the gang meant that I was going to pass by the Northeast Public Library.

It was after business hours. I had 4 books on Native Americans that needed to be returned before June 23rd. I saw the book drop and thought, "How convenient!" I shoved my books in and closed the door.

Jess (to herself after realizing she only had her keys and wallet in her hand): Where is my phone?!?!?! Linds! CALL MY PHONE!

(5 seconds after hearing "Stickwitu" blaring from INSIDE the book drop)

Jess: I'm an idiot!

Email > phone calls?

lots of words of advice from mama bhatia...

Please e-mail jess 's address,.email address&phone no. also send me phone nos.of Kate.Katelyn ,Emily and Kat.Also the name of your Insurance company

Please leave your inportant papers in a folder with Monish.

Please email us .

at least every other day when u are travelling (if u wan't us to remain sane)Carry Mace --buy it here.BE SAFE---No late nites out.Try not to take a drink from any strangers.CLEAN WATER is a MUST.No sharing drinks.No Sex! (I am just nervous--not preaching.So take a deep breath)

Let us know if u need anything at any time---do not hestitate.Hope u sent your boxes by now.

We will miss u--------.Let us know about location in India as soon as u know.(NOT BIHAR PLEASE)

LOVE Mom

who do we think we are?

and the countdown begins...