I'm in Siem Reap, basically a tourist town for the huge temple attraction Angkor Wat. It's much more ordered than Phnom Penh and has many more high-class places since Angkor Wat attracts many wealthy tourists. At some point, it almost feels like a cambodian disneyland since almost everything is set up for tourism for Angkor Wat and they even have a place called the Cambodian cultural village which looks like an amusement park.
Nonetheless, my english friend Andy and I had a good time going around to temples, which were pretty spectacular. The amount of detail on them is amazing and just the grand scale on which they were built is astounding. However, the last day and half, you do hit the point of temple-saturation. Its about 95 degrees everyday, so you do get a bit worn out, but the cheap prices and amazing food are good compensation. I'm staying in a cute little hotel for half the price that I paid to stay in hostel room with 5 other people in Paris.
Despite the quaintness of Siem Reap and it's prosperity, I still keep seeing signs of all the many problems that afflict Cambodia such as a poor health, corruption, poverty, landmines, lack of accessible education, child prostitution, etc. It's got a rough past and seems to have a long way to go, but hopefully things are improving.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Cambodia
So I'm currently in Phnom Penh! The first night, we just sat in a cafe outside which ended up being a front row seat to the chaos of Cambodia. In two hours, we saw people playing a foot-toss game, a drunk man pass out in the street and almost get hit by cars, a strong wind caused tamarind fruit from a tree overhead to fall which caused great excitement from people picking them up, and a major storm rolled in and we watched the torrential rain. Goodness.
Cambodia seems to have infrastructure in some places and lacking in others and it just seems to be a jigsaw puzzle of poverty and slight prosperity, with things like university next to shanty town. There are a lot beggars with lost limbs due to land mines, which can be quite shocking to see sometimes. We pretty much get around in tuk-tuks, which weave in an out of the ordered chaos of traffic. It looks terrifying, but the mass of cars, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles just weave in and out of each other effortlessly. Motorcycles often have a whole family on them, including two parents, two children, and a baby.
The only accident we've seen was when a van crashed into the lobby of our hotel. Yep. Not completely, but the van must have pulled in too quickly or fast and shattered the glass wall and bent the iron gate that was protecting it.
Other observations are that there are a lot of dirty perverts around here. The plane seemed to have quite a bit of possible sex tourists, and after reading a book on sex slavery in Cambodia, it all just makes me sick. I was sitting next to a man who looked a bit dodgy and it just made me disgusted to think that he possibly could be going to a brothel that night. Obviously, I could have misjudged, but it's quite common here--there are constant brochures announcing "sex with children is illegal".
The second type of pervert here is the 65-year-old western men I see walking around here with 18-year-old Cambodian old girlfriends. I had to go to the american embassy and I saw that same type of couple except the woman had his baby, and he was trying to help her get her visa to the states (neither spoke a word of each other's language, interested to know how that relationship worked).
It was really strange being in the embassy and seeing people's attempts to get visa. You could hear the conversations at the windows and the interviews given to them, so I saw them show pictures to children to verify that the people in the states were their parents (which was probably a lie since he couldn't identify him), and then a man seemed to have gotten a lot of girls to the US under different circumstances and they were questioning him about his motives. It was strange.
My last thought is that it was another weird moment when I was in a market today and saw some really cheap H&M, Gap, and Hollister clothes, and saw that they were "Made in Cambodia"". I remember being in the H&M in the US before coming here and buying things and noticing their tags, and now I'm in Cambodia. It always seemed so foreign and now I'm here, still buying an H&M shirt, but for two dollars. Strange. The one positive thing that I've heard is that Cambodia was part of a special subsidies program and had one of the best work conditions compared to other asian countries. Unfortunately, they just took away the subsidy this year, and now Cambodia is starting to struggle to keep up their standards with keeping prices low, so that is a current struggle.
Cambodia seems to have infrastructure in some places and lacking in others and it just seems to be a jigsaw puzzle of poverty and slight prosperity, with things like university next to shanty town. There are a lot beggars with lost limbs due to land mines, which can be quite shocking to see sometimes. We pretty much get around in tuk-tuks, which weave in an out of the ordered chaos of traffic. It looks terrifying, but the mass of cars, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles just weave in and out of each other effortlessly. Motorcycles often have a whole family on them, including two parents, two children, and a baby.
The only accident we've seen was when a van crashed into the lobby of our hotel. Yep. Not completely, but the van must have pulled in too quickly or fast and shattered the glass wall and bent the iron gate that was protecting it.
Other observations are that there are a lot of dirty perverts around here. The plane seemed to have quite a bit of possible sex tourists, and after reading a book on sex slavery in Cambodia, it all just makes me sick. I was sitting next to a man who looked a bit dodgy and it just made me disgusted to think that he possibly could be going to a brothel that night. Obviously, I could have misjudged, but it's quite common here--there are constant brochures announcing "sex with children is illegal".
The second type of pervert here is the 65-year-old western men I see walking around here with 18-year-old Cambodian old girlfriends. I had to go to the american embassy and I saw that same type of couple except the woman had his baby, and he was trying to help her get her visa to the states (neither spoke a word of each other's language, interested to know how that relationship worked).
It was really strange being in the embassy and seeing people's attempts to get visa. You could hear the conversations at the windows and the interviews given to them, so I saw them show pictures to children to verify that the people in the states were their parents (which was probably a lie since he couldn't identify him), and then a man seemed to have gotten a lot of girls to the US under different circumstances and they were questioning him about his motives. It was strange.
My last thought is that it was another weird moment when I was in a market today and saw some really cheap H&M, Gap, and Hollister clothes, and saw that they were "Made in Cambodia"". I remember being in the H&M in the US before coming here and buying things and noticing their tags, and now I'm in Cambodia. It always seemed so foreign and now I'm here, still buying an H&M shirt, but for two dollars. Strange. The one positive thing that I've heard is that Cambodia was part of a special subsidies program and had one of the best work conditions compared to other asian countries. Unfortunately, they just took away the subsidy this year, and now Cambodia is starting to struggle to keep up their standards with keeping prices low, so that is a current struggle.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
So it's definitely true that you never know whats around the corner when you're traveling. I arrived two days ago with no idea what I was going to do and now I've got a $30 flight to Cambodia with a fellow traveler I met yesterday. So surprises, surprises. I met a good group of people at the hostel and ended up going to huge weekend market with them today where we wandered around hundreds upon hundreds of stalls of cheap stuff. I got all my shopping jollies yesterday so I don't have any space in my bag, so I didn't buy anything. In any case, I did enjoy a wonderfully amazing mango with sticky rice, the ripest mango I've ever eaten, just fabulous!
So I continue to feel fortunate and things have gone well so far. I now have to go to the hospital to get anti-malarial medication, which is quite fun since everybody gives you a different opinion, from your fellow traveler to your pharmacist (and different pharmacists), so it can be quite frustrating, so I think I'll just do it properly and go to a doctor and hopefully get this new stuff with less side effects since malaria tablet side effects are normally not considered fun. I won't be in considerable risks zones for extended periods but malaria isn't quite something all warm and fuzzy that I really want to get acquainted with.
Here is the link to pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078820&l=3965d&id=1700835
So I continue to feel fortunate and things have gone well so far. I now have to go to the hospital to get anti-malarial medication, which is quite fun since everybody gives you a different opinion, from your fellow traveler to your pharmacist (and different pharmacists), so it can be quite frustrating, so I think I'll just do it properly and go to a doctor and hopefully get this new stuff with less side effects since malaria tablet side effects are normally not considered fun. I won't be in considerable risks zones for extended periods but malaria isn't quite something all warm and fuzzy that I really want to get acquainted with.
Here is the link to pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078820&l=3965d&id=1700835
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Bangkok Madness
I am on a new continent!! I had my usual "crappy first 4 hours" that I experience in every country/city when I arrive, but it all seemed to work out in the end. I stopped in Dubai for two hours, which felt quite strange, the airport had all the usual Starbucks, and duty free shops, but full of men in large robes and women with burkas. The bathrooms had ablution rooms (which I looked up and said was a relgious body washing ritual) and you would see women dressing themselves in their burkas or headscarves. The flight attendants also had headdresses on the plane.
I arrived in Bangkok at night and took a cab into my hostel which is quite nice, but though I had problems getting into the room, finding a bed, lost my key, all part of the 4 hour crappness period I always experience. But I chatted up some brits and ended up walking around a night market and having a good time. Nothing was open so where did I end up to have my first meal? Subway and KFC. I wasn't thrilled but there wasn't another option close by.
Today I went into town with a dutch girl and a german guy and we just wandered the streets and went in and out of shops. It was pouring pretty bad and will continue to do so everyday. It is pretty hot here, but if you aren't in air-conditioning, you seem to get used to it better than when you are going in and out of air-conditioning. In any case, I had a good time buying cheap clothes (the american dollar finally helps me out somewhere). Sadly, the dollar isn't what it used to be so while things are cheap, I'd say that it varies between a 20-40% discount on things in the US. It was quite a lot stronger when my brother was traveling, so he got to live like a king. In any case, I had fun bargaining constantly, some shop keepers seemed to enjoy it and some were a bit more cross. We got around on tuk-tuks which are little carts connected to a motorcycle engine, which makes for a thrilling and terrifying ride. Almost like a rollercoaster, but without the sense of security. Lets just say, I'm glad there were metal bars to hold on to or the poor german guy next to me would have had red marks on his arms
I arrived in Bangkok at night and took a cab into my hostel which is quite nice, but though I had problems getting into the room, finding a bed, lost my key, all part of the 4 hour crappness period I always experience. But I chatted up some brits and ended up walking around a night market and having a good time. Nothing was open so where did I end up to have my first meal? Subway and KFC. I wasn't thrilled but there wasn't another option close by.
Today I went into town with a dutch girl and a german guy and we just wandered the streets and went in and out of shops. It was pouring pretty bad and will continue to do so everyday. It is pretty hot here, but if you aren't in air-conditioning, you seem to get used to it better than when you are going in and out of air-conditioning. In any case, I had a good time buying cheap clothes (the american dollar finally helps me out somewhere). Sadly, the dollar isn't what it used to be so while things are cheap, I'd say that it varies between a 20-40% discount on things in the US. It was quite a lot stronger when my brother was traveling, so he got to live like a king. In any case, I had fun bargaining constantly, some shop keepers seemed to enjoy it and some were a bit more cross. We got around on tuk-tuks which are little carts connected to a motorcycle engine, which makes for a thrilling and terrifying ride. Almost like a rollercoaster, but without the sense of security. Lets just say, I'm glad there were metal bars to hold on to or the poor german guy next to me would have had red marks on his arms
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Surfin' Sligo!
Right now I'm in Strandhill, on the west coast right near Sligo and got to go surfing today! I've done it once before so I could stand up a good amount of times, which was great. The waves weren't by any means huge, but a good size for a beginner like me. It is quite cold around here (despite being late April) and ironically I was warmest in the water in my wetsuit than I was all bundled up walking around.
Driving out here I got to see the irish countryside which reminded me of New Zealand a bit--big open fields, hills, mountains, and sheep. I got a little country-hospitality when I bought an ice cream in a small shop on the way there, with an old irish woman saying "Ah, thahnk ya, that'll be graaahnd". Being in Strandhill is a quaint little town but it's quite touristy since I hear tons of americans around, but I still got to experience a quaint irish pub feel (basically like every other irish pub in any country, but at least it felt genuine!).
So this is my little weekend-country trip with Neil, otherwise we just hang around the house, and go out for sandwiches and pizza, and occasionally venturing out for a game of bowling or air hockey. (I got my bowling record: 142!). A little break from the backpacker lifestyle has been quite lovely.
I'm also proud that I finally made a big gain on those coin-gambling machines where you put 20 cents in and it falls onto a stack of 20 cent coins that the machine pushes. I won 7 euro! If you add up all that I've lost in total on machines this weekend, I probably have a profit of 3 euro, but I still like to look at the handfull of euro coints and feel proud. Yeah, gambling in arcades is really big in beach towns, you can just see how they just hook children (and adults) and then when the kids become 18, they can wander over to the next room, to the slot machines.
Driving out here I got to see the irish countryside which reminded me of New Zealand a bit--big open fields, hills, mountains, and sheep. I got a little country-hospitality when I bought an ice cream in a small shop on the way there, with an old irish woman saying "Ah, thahnk ya, that'll be graaahnd". Being in Strandhill is a quaint little town but it's quite touristy since I hear tons of americans around, but I still got to experience a quaint irish pub feel (basically like every other irish pub in any country, but at least it felt genuine!).
So this is my little weekend-country trip with Neil, otherwise we just hang around the house, and go out for sandwiches and pizza, and occasionally venturing out for a game of bowling or air hockey. (I got my bowling record: 142!). A little break from the backpacker lifestyle has been quite lovely.
I'm also proud that I finally made a big gain on those coin-gambling machines where you put 20 cents in and it falls onto a stack of 20 cent coins that the machine pushes. I won 7 euro! If you add up all that I've lost in total on machines this weekend, I probably have a profit of 3 euro, but I still like to look at the handfull of euro coints and feel proud. Yeah, gambling in arcades is really big in beach towns, you can just see how they just hook children (and adults) and then when the kids become 18, they can wander over to the next room, to the slot machines.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Leaping Leprechauns!
I'm now writing from Ireland, goodness! I had a great time with Jason for two days in Barcelona, then I went to London for two days where I stayed with one of my new aussie friends and his housemates. I got the 3rd-degree again going through London customs, they really really do not want Americans travelers who seem like they might not be the kind to work there. Each time I've passed, I give a different answer to the questions (what nationality are your friends you're staying with?) and each time it seems to be wrong. They evidentally can't be aussie, english, or basically exist. The correct answer is probably, "I have no friends, I'm staying in a hostel, here is my return ticket, and I have 5 million dollars to spend in your country". But alas, that was not true, but despite my poor answers, they let me in.
It was nifty to experience the foreigners-living-London crowd which included canadians, aussies, and south africans (oh my!). My backpackerness came out when I was in absolute awe to be in a spacious house and have a whole couch to myself. I had an awesome night out with them at a nifty quaint bar, which is rare since I'm not much of a night person. Good times!
Between being in London and getting to Dublin, I had a couple frustrating days where I had to be going all around town on public transportation with a huge backpack, where everything was breaking down, it was raining on me, and it was one of those experiences that could really burn you out of traveling, but I got through it. It was a 5 hour debacle getting to Dublin and when I finally arrived, I saw 5 people in the non-EU passport customs line, so I thought my luck was changing finally and I'd be out in no time. Unfortunately, all those 6 people were coming from Mauritus to study in Dublin and had a huge load of paper work so it took at least 10 minutes per person with only two agents, so it took me 45 flipping minutes to get through. But when I saw my irish friend Neil at the airport, everything turned roses. I was absolutely floored by the lap of luxury I got to experience--cable, internet, food, my own bedroom, I could hardly believe it! I was really excited to be in a spacious house in London, here he has a home that would normally have had 6 or more occupants in London, I mean, hell, people in London would turn a closet into a bedroom.
In any case, we've had a splendid time so far, and today I got to play golf! We did the pitch and putt, which is basically a smaller golf course and I ended up having a knack for long drives. My putting was pretty poor, but it felt really great to be able to wack that ball so far. I felt so classy on that golf course in Ireland with all these old men around, it was like being in an english novel (but in Ireland). I've been around so many backpackers where I go, it's strange to realize that I'm the only foreigner around these parts. He's outside of Dublin so there's really not many others, so he said it was funny when I asked for "tomato" on my sandwhich in a deli instead of "to-mah-to", and about 5 people stopped and turned their heads at me. I'm also being influenced by Neil's habbits and getting into a 3 cups-of-tea-a-day habbit. The irish and english love their tea!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pictures
For those not on facebook, here is a link to see my pictures:
Ireland: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077626&l=2ef69&id=1700835
Greece: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076864&l=522b8&id=1700835
Barcelona: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076803&l=17837&id=1700835
Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076600&l=69487&id=1700835
Berlin: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074152&l=9b4a6&id=1700835
Berlin 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075130&l=c22c8&id=1700835
Roadtrip in England: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074122&l=8c01b&id=1700835
London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072989&l=e7d96&id=1700835
Singapore: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072988&l=a99f4&id=1700835
Sydney: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072986&l=9caa8&id=1700835
Ireland: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077626&l=2ef69&id=1700835
Greece: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076864&l=522b8&id=1700835
Barcelona: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076803&l=17837&id=1700835
Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076600&l=69487&id=1700835
Berlin: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074152&l=9b4a6&id=1700835
Berlin 2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075130&l=c22c8&id=1700835
Roadtrip in England: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074122&l=8c01b&id=1700835
London: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072989&l=e7d96&id=1700835
Singapore: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072988&l=a99f4&id=1700835
Sydney: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072986&l=9caa8&id=1700835
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Barceloooona
So the past two days I've been on my own, and have just wandered around. Again, my international approachability factor has led to more interesting experiences. I was in an art museum and an thai man motioned over to me to take his photo (people continually ask me for directions and to take photos of them).
It wasn't a great place, it was between two lamp posts and he signaled that he wanted them in the picture and then made some strange motion pointing to the spot where he wanted it taken, bent down, smacked his leg, said "okay!" and signaled to me, and then made the gesture if I understood what he meant. After multiple attempts, I just signaled for him just to go and do whatever it was he wanted. He went to the spot and then got on one leg and lifted his body up in some strange yoga position and then said "okay!", and I took the picture. It was pretty interesting, at first I had started to wonder if this was some elaborate plan to rob me since 4 days in Barcelona has made me suspicious when anyone does anything that seems a bit strange, but he wasn't getting close to me and he was handing me his expensive digital camera, so that seemed counterintuitive.
My paranoia comes from seeing 3 almost robberies in the 4 days I've been here. And I got to take part in one of them! I was walking and a beggar woman was holding a cardboard sign saying she was hungry and did the usual approach asking for money, but I thought it was strange she was getting so close to me and then I realized that she was shoving the cardboard sign close to my side so that I wouldn't see her hand go in my pocket. I instantly slapped my pocket (along with her hand) and yelled "Oye!" (Hey! in spanish). She acted all innocent and got away with a dirty look from me. Maybe I should have notified the cops or something, but I felt like, it looks like she's already got it pretty bad and they probably couldn't do much to her anyways, though I feel bad if someone else fell victim to her because I didn't do anything. She was gone 10 minutes later so maybe she moved on realizing someone had caught her. Well anyways, I'm obviously not well-versed in the world of pickpocketing.
Today I went to the Catalan Museum of Art and walked around the endless halls. There weren't many people there and it was pretty cool being in absolute silence for most the time I was there. Not a single sound. I'm still surprised that I'm getting into art museums, I seem to like the 20th century and earlier paintings, and it's not like I stand there analyzing them, I just seem to like to be surrounded by colors. I guess art history majors like my brother can explain in better terms my evoked feelings and sensations, but I'll just settle for that.
I seem to start getting really hungry in the middle of museum touring, but I've realized that its worth coughing up money for the expensive museum cafe food than it is to just leave the museum early due to hunger. And I don't know why, but that tomato and cheese bagguette sandwhich with a cup of milk was absolutely sensational when I was hungry. I guess I should try all traditional foods in countries when I'm really hungry and I'll fall in love with all of them no matter what.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Barcelona
Ah, it´s quite nice now being able to speak a country´s language instead of grunting and pointing and things. I feel human again! It seems that my first day in every country is never that great, it´s always a bit disorientating and frustrating. One highlight was when I went to a restaurant and ate an omellette at the bar with all the other individual Spanish businessmen. We all just stared straight ahead, minding our own business--I felt one with the Spanish people...
The second day turned out much better, I took a free tour, which was not part of the tours that I´ve gone on in other countries, and it was definitely not as high quality. Evidentally the Spanish guy running the free tour was a horrible businessman since he thought that a good start time for the tour was 10:30am, in a town known for it´s late night partiers. So instead of finding 200 people waiting for a tour like in other cities, I found 3. It was essentially hearing a cocky-california surfer boy give a speech about the past of Barcelona and Spain, and his style was be funny at all costs, including making jokes about torture and disappearances in the different regimes. Classy. I wasn´t thrilled and so I decided to go to the Picasso museum which had a 45 minute line since it was a free day and I ended up having one of those moments of luck when I met 3 Aussie guys and ended up hanging out with them for the next 48 hours straight. Good times!
We went all over Barcelona, ate tons of ice cream (I probably single-handedly increased their risk of diabetes), went to the beach, and just wandered around to different sites such as the mosaics of Gaudi in a park, and La Sagrada Familia. It was quite a fun group, which I´m so glad to have found through such a random event such as waiting in line. I´m now on my own again and hope for some more good luck! Here were some highlights:
--One of the guys had taken out money and was trying to find something in his wallet on the metro, which blatantly showed the 50 euro bills sticking out and I nudged him and told him to be careful, and he said "oh come on, who is going to rob me on the train?". I mentioned to other guy that he looked like a perfect target since he had fiddled with his money and then put it back, so people would know exactly where it was. About a minute later, he runs up to us, "Someone just tried to rob me!". An unsuspecting looking couple had basically seen him and tried to distract him and steal his wallet while they got off the train. It was the epitome of a "I-told-you-so" moment.
--We went to the Barcelona Museum of Erotica and saw plenty of old phallic objects, drawings from the greeks, and a couple disturbing old iron machines that make you shudder. The highlight was the old 8mm rolling film that was from King Alfonso´s private collection, made in the 30s, of two ridiculously unattractive people having the most awkward sex you´ve ever seen. As we walked out of the museum, Joel said "Ironically, I don´t think I´ve ever been turned off this much from sex".
The second day turned out much better, I took a free tour, which was not part of the tours that I´ve gone on in other countries, and it was definitely not as high quality. Evidentally the Spanish guy running the free tour was a horrible businessman since he thought that a good start time for the tour was 10:30am, in a town known for it´s late night partiers. So instead of finding 200 people waiting for a tour like in other cities, I found 3. It was essentially hearing a cocky-california surfer boy give a speech about the past of Barcelona and Spain, and his style was be funny at all costs, including making jokes about torture and disappearances in the different regimes. Classy. I wasn´t thrilled and so I decided to go to the Picasso museum which had a 45 minute line since it was a free day and I ended up having one of those moments of luck when I met 3 Aussie guys and ended up hanging out with them for the next 48 hours straight. Good times!
We went all over Barcelona, ate tons of ice cream (I probably single-handedly increased their risk of diabetes), went to the beach, and just wandered around to different sites such as the mosaics of Gaudi in a park, and La Sagrada Familia. It was quite a fun group, which I´m so glad to have found through such a random event such as waiting in line. I´m now on my own again and hope for some more good luck! Here were some highlights:
--One of the guys had taken out money and was trying to find something in his wallet on the metro, which blatantly showed the 50 euro bills sticking out and I nudged him and told him to be careful, and he said "oh come on, who is going to rob me on the train?". I mentioned to other guy that he looked like a perfect target since he had fiddled with his money and then put it back, so people would know exactly where it was. About a minute later, he runs up to us, "Someone just tried to rob me!". An unsuspecting looking couple had basically seen him and tried to distract him and steal his wallet while they got off the train. It was the epitome of a "I-told-you-so" moment.
--We went to the Barcelona Museum of Erotica and saw plenty of old phallic objects, drawings from the greeks, and a couple disturbing old iron machines that make you shudder. The highlight was the old 8mm rolling film that was from King Alfonso´s private collection, made in the 30s, of two ridiculously unattractive people having the most awkward sex you´ve ever seen. As we walked out of the museum, Joel said "Ironically, I don´t think I´ve ever been turned off this much from sex".
Saturday, April 5, 2008
So I left good ole Paris, it was quite a nice stay overall. Yesterday I went an art museum where I go to see works of Degas, Cezanne, Renoir, and other big names, and though I´ve really enjoyed the art museums I´ve gone to in Europe (and art is normally not my thing at all), I kind of reached the threshold of seeing artwork for now. I then walked in the french gardens around the hedges, which accidentally became a game of how-many-making-out-couples-will-I-encounter, followed by how-many-perverts-will-hit-on-me when I was sitting on the grass. Some french men are really ridiculous.
So, as for other interesting people I´ve gotten to meet on my trip, I met my first russian (which sounds like a starter kit: My First Russian), but in any case, he was also from Kurdistan, that´s a first as well. I´ve met so many people from different countries, I was surprised when I realized I´ve never met a russian before. He said it´s not always that easy to get a visa to visit EU countries, but he was studying in Finland so he had taken a cheap flight to Paris. We were chatting about Finland and I asked him what finnish people were like:
Dude:Oh man, they drink a lot of alcohol, it´s nuts
Me: Aren´t russians known for drinking quite a bit? Don´t you serve pitchers of vodka in restaurants instead of water jugs?
Dude: OhYeah, but the difference is that we drink and go absolutely nuts, they drink and pass out on the floor. Yep, they´re strange.
So, as for other interesting people I´ve gotten to meet on my trip, I met my first russian (which sounds like a starter kit: My First Russian), but in any case, he was also from Kurdistan, that´s a first as well. I´ve met so many people from different countries, I was surprised when I realized I´ve never met a russian before. He said it´s not always that easy to get a visa to visit EU countries, but he was studying in Finland so he had taken a cheap flight to Paris. We were chatting about Finland and I asked him what finnish people were like:
Dude:Oh man, they drink a lot of alcohol, it´s nuts
Me: Aren´t russians known for drinking quite a bit? Don´t you serve pitchers of vodka in restaurants instead of water jugs?
Dude: OhYeah, but the difference is that we drink and go absolutely nuts, they drink and pass out on the floor. Yep, they´re strange.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Pariiiiis
So Paris has been another interesting experience. I came here when I was 16 years old for two days and I don't remember much and think I was a quawky young teen that was just trying to fit in with my friends and waste tons of film, so it's interesting to come back, and hopefully my fashion sense has improved a bit. I mean, hey, I actually match this time and my pants are not 3 sizes too big, that's gotta be an improvement. I got a picture taken of me in front of the Eiffel Tower which should be an interesting comparison of my 16 year old self in front of it and now. I somehow do feel that there is some classy Parisian lady perched on my shoulder who continually sighs when I'm trampling through the streets of Paris with sneakers and hair all wild, eating a piece of cake like a piece of pizza(they don't give me forks at bakeries), but hey, my imaginary parisian lady wears uncomfortable heels and probably smokes too much, so I'm okay with doing my own thing.
My first day in Paris was not the best, it was one of those days where you feel like the entire city is spitting and tripping you. I got lost with my bags, had multiple rude encounters, and was just overall frustrated. So by the time I was standing in front of Notre Dame, it was hard to take in the beauty while I was cursing Paris. Luckily things turned up, I had breakfast with a Taiwanese-kinda-Texan who now is part of the French Legion and is one of those who guards the Eiffel Tower with a machine gun. I got to learn lots of French Legion facts, I'm really tired of having the whole travel-conversation of where-did-you-go-where-are-you-from, so I am always quite excited to meet people who actually have a job, and an interesting one at that.
The next day I took at free tour of Paris and ended up spending the whole day with two zimbabweans (if you say it that way) who now live in England. We had such a giddy time going around Paris, we saw everything, climbed the Eiffel Tower, ate tons of crepes, it was maaaarvelously fun. I'm still sore today from all the walking (basically from 10:30am-12am). I probably was a bit of a loud annoying tourist, but I didn't care, I had a great time.
Today, I decided to go the Lourve and wanted to get a power breakfast since I didn't know if I would get food all afternoon since the Lourve is quite an experience so my mind created a new crepe combination--having egg (normal) and banana (normal) together (not normal). I chatted with the crepe man and asked it and he didn't seem to be bothered, but through understanding bits of french and random english, I was quite amused by the following conversation between him and his coworker (translated, accuracy questionable but overall idea):
Co-worker: So what crepe are you making there?
Mr.Crepe Man: Oh with egg and banana
Co-worker: Egg and Banana?? What the hell?
Mr.Crepe Man: Well, that's what she told me. I dunno, she's from America
Co-worker: So that's what they eat that there? Crazy americans.
::While Mr.Crepe Man prepares my coffee with milk::
Co-worker: You're giving her milk?? You're supposed to charge another Euro!
Mr.Crepe Man: Oh, its fine
Co-worker: You're not supposed to do that!
Mr.CM: ::Pouring:: Just a liiiiiittle bit of milk. Look, just liiiiiiitttle bit.
Co-worker: ::Hands up:: Man, but you can't--
Mr.CM::pouring more:: --liiiiiiittle bit of milk, not much, liiiiiitle bit.
Co-worker: Bah! ::To me:: Hey, in exchange for milk, you think I can have your address in America? I want to find work...
Probably need to witness the scene, but I was amused for the day. And no, I didn't give my address. Anyways, I went to the Lourve which was enormous, but quite enjoyable. I felt like I saw pretty much everything my heart desired, and being 24 instead of 16 years old, I enjoyed it much more this time and actually paid attention to the art instead of just running around all camera-happy. I then went on a night free tour around the burlesque-Moulin Rouge area as well as saw the bohemian area (with tons of places where Amelie was filmed). I got to learn fun facts such as the red light district has on average about 3000 prostitutes working every night, and where Pablo Picasso did his paintings while suffering from a venereal disease. Good times!
Last note--I don't know what it is about me, but in every country, no matter how out of place I look, natives always seem to ask me for directions. Chile, Germany, France--women always approach me for directions. And I get to respond like a deer in headlights--"english? No?". Well except in Chile, I actually knew the answer there--which was still ironic because I would be standing next to a chilean sometimes and the person would still turn to me and ask. I must look very approachable or something! I could put that on my resume--"international approachability".
My first day in Paris was not the best, it was one of those days where you feel like the entire city is spitting and tripping you. I got lost with my bags, had multiple rude encounters, and was just overall frustrated. So by the time I was standing in front of Notre Dame, it was hard to take in the beauty while I was cursing Paris. Luckily things turned up, I had breakfast with a Taiwanese-kinda-Texan who now is part of the French Legion and is one of those who guards the Eiffel Tower with a machine gun. I got to learn lots of French Legion facts, I'm really tired of having the whole travel-conversation of where-did-you-go-where-are-you-from, so I am always quite excited to meet people who actually have a job, and an interesting one at that.
The next day I took at free tour of Paris and ended up spending the whole day with two zimbabweans (if you say it that way) who now live in England. We had such a giddy time going around Paris, we saw everything, climbed the Eiffel Tower, ate tons of crepes, it was maaaarvelously fun. I'm still sore today from all the walking (basically from 10:30am-12am). I probably was a bit of a loud annoying tourist, but I didn't care, I had a great time.
Today, I decided to go the Lourve and wanted to get a power breakfast since I didn't know if I would get food all afternoon since the Lourve is quite an experience so my mind created a new crepe combination--having egg (normal) and banana (normal) together (not normal). I chatted with the crepe man and asked it and he didn't seem to be bothered, but through understanding bits of french and random english, I was quite amused by the following conversation between him and his coworker (translated, accuracy questionable but overall idea):
Co-worker: So what crepe are you making there?
Mr.Crepe Man: Oh with egg and banana
Co-worker: Egg and Banana?? What the hell?
Mr.Crepe Man: Well, that's what she told me. I dunno, she's from America
Co-worker: So that's what they eat that there? Crazy americans.
::While Mr.Crepe Man prepares my coffee with milk::
Co-worker: You're giving her milk?? You're supposed to charge another Euro!
Mr.Crepe Man: Oh, its fine
Co-worker: You're not supposed to do that!
Mr.CM: ::Pouring:: Just a liiiiiittle bit of milk. Look, just liiiiiiitttle bit.
Co-worker: ::Hands up:: Man, but you can't--
Mr.CM::pouring more:: --liiiiiiittle bit of milk, not much, liiiiiitle bit.
Co-worker: Bah! ::To me:: Hey, in exchange for milk, you think I can have your address in America? I want to find work...
Probably need to witness the scene, but I was amused for the day. And no, I didn't give my address. Anyways, I went to the Lourve which was enormous, but quite enjoyable. I felt like I saw pretty much everything my heart desired, and being 24 instead of 16 years old, I enjoyed it much more this time and actually paid attention to the art instead of just running around all camera-happy. I then went on a night free tour around the burlesque-Moulin Rouge area as well as saw the bohemian area (with tons of places where Amelie was filmed). I got to learn fun facts such as the red light district has on average about 3000 prostitutes working every night, and where Pablo Picasso did his paintings while suffering from a venereal disease. Good times!
Last note--I don't know what it is about me, but in every country, no matter how out of place I look, natives always seem to ask me for directions. Chile, Germany, France--women always approach me for directions. And I get to respond like a deer in headlights--"english? No?". Well except in Chile, I actually knew the answer there--which was still ironic because I would be standing next to a chilean sometimes and the person would still turn to me and ask. I must look very approachable or something! I could put that on my resume--"international approachability".
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