South East Asia

    Mon, 07 Jan 2002
hello all,

i cant believe i am finally going. i am at the airport now and i am really excited about this trip. it has been a long time in planning and now it is actually happening. kinda scary, but i am looking forward to travelling.

thank you everyone for all your support and encouragement.

i will email when i can find internet cafes. i would love to get emaill back about everything.

happy trails,jen

    Hello,

I am at David's right now and he has just arrived. He is great and we are going to go grab some food shortly since we are both hungry.

Thanks for the news about survivor, I can't believe that Kim was that stupid, she should have gone against Lex. I guess the producers wanted her to go against Ethan and fixed a special deal.

I went to Macau yesterday and spent the night at a hotel there. Take a look in the books in my room if you want more info. It was a really nice place to visit and I saw some temples, and some fortresses and some parks and a couple museums. There was an interesting art gallery with a bunch of photos of China in the 20s.

I can't believe that I was in the Mensa newsletter. It must have been the hungarian named Andrew who wrote that. I forgot to bring the email addresses of the foreign contacts with me, and I left that newsletter at my apartment, oh well, I can probably find the email addresses on the internet somewhere.

Hong Kong is great. There is a lot to do just outside of the city, such as Islands to visit and such. I will probably spend tomorrow doing laundry and maybe go for a walk. Today and yesterday were fairly packed with the Macau visit. David has to work, but I will see him in the evenings. I have a flight on Tuesday to Bangkok which is the same flight that David is on. I will probably only stay a few days in Bangkok and then head North to Chiang Ma.

I hope you are all doing well, I am loving everything and am getting used to the travelling mode again. I keep thinking of you and wanting to tell you things and show you things. I am keeping a journal and am taking lots of photos and will tell you everything when I get back.

Have a great week and I will email again soon,

Take Care

Lots of Love

Jenny Wren

    Hello everyone,I took the train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai overnight last night and met a great gang of travellers from all over. We are now at a hotel and are going on a 3 day trek starting tomorrow. There are some people from Austrailia, New Zealand, South Africa and the states. There are 10 of us in total. We are going to see some of the sights of Chiang Mai today and then head off early tomorrow morning.

Hong Kong was really great to see, but it was a bit too big and cityish so I am glad to be in a smaller town now. While in Bangkok I saw the grand temple and several wats (temples) and the National Museum and National Art Gallery. The art gallery had some cool black and white shots of Bangkok which were really awsome to see. At one of the Wats I had an interesting chat with some buddhish monks. I was really suprised how educated they are, many of the speak excellent english and have travelled to other countries for university. It was great to stay with David and to meet Aew, David was super-busy working on a project, but we got to spend some fun time together.

Aew is really sweet and was super-helpful with taxis and train tickets and stuff. Two nights ago we went to a great Thai restaurant, the food was excellent and there was some local live music too. They gave me a buddha necklace which is like a St Christopher and is good for protection. I went to the big weekend market and was amazed by all the stuff for sale.

There was the usual clothing and food, but there was also pets (some amazing aquariums that Brian would love) and flowers (exotic orchids and other wild looking plants) and arts and crafts. I did buy a wrap skirt and a small purse (which I need when I have no pockets), and some wonderful wooden hair clips (I got to show you these Brian when I get back). There is also a night market in Chiang Mai which we are going to tonight, but I am going to try not to buy anything :)

The trek includes visiting some hill people in Northern Thailand, some rafting, and a ride on an elephant. I also want to do a longer trek after, but I decided to do this one first with the group of people I met on the train. It costs around $80 canadian and that is for the three day/two night trek plus two nights accomodation at the hotel plus food while on the trek! It should be great.

I am having an excellent time, missing you all,Talk to you all soonLove Jenny

    Hello
I am loving travelling. I am having a great time and can’t believe that my trip has only just started. I am writing to you from Chang Mai, Thailand, right now. Stuffed full after eating all day on a 1-day Thai cooking course. But I should really start from the beginning.

My journey started in Hong Kong (I am not including the 20+ hours of flying to get there :) I spent a few days travelling around HK enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city and the peace and quiet of the islands. I went to Lantau island and visited a small town called “Tai O” which was great to walk around. The smell of dried fish everywhere took a bit of getting used to, but it was a great day trip. I also spent a night on Macau Island. (It is similar to HK since it used to belong to Portugal and now it has been handed over to China). Macau is mostly known for gambling but there was a lot to see on the island such as fortresses, museums, and some really lovely temples. It was also great just hanging out in the park eating noodles. Ferries travel often between the islands, I was hoping for a better view of HK, but unfortunately the haze from the pollution just makes visibility horrible.

I also got up early a couple mornings to do “Tai Chi” in the nearby park with a group of seniors. They were very welcoming and I found it is a great way to wake up.

Then I flew to Bangkok. After spending a day sorting out visas for countries I want to visit I went to see the Grand Palace. It was absolutely amazing. There is this phenomenally large complex with a beautiful main temple and surrounding buildings. I went a bit crazy with my camera; I really have to cut back on the number of photos I am taking. The food in Thailand is so good, and so cheap. I have eaten some great curries, pad Thai and other dishes. I was worried it would be too spicy, but most places seem to understand “no spicy”. I also went to the National Museum in Bangkok; it was great to see some of the Thai artifacts to get a better understanding of this place. I also went to the “Jim Thompson” museum. He was an American Architect who lived in Thailand and collected a whole bunch of Thai art works and ancient objects. There are Wats (temples) all over Bangkok and I went to visit a few of them. The important thing to remember is to not point your feet towards Buddha. There were also some great markets in Bangkok and even I am going to have to carry everything I buy for six months, I still can’t help myself from buying a few things.

>From Bangkok I took an overnight train to Chiang Mai. The train was a “sleeper” car and was actually quite comfortable (but a bit loud). I met a group of 10 travelers from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the US who were travelling together and I joined up with them. We found a great guest house to stay in (a hotel which is like a hostel), only 8$ Canadian per night with a hot shower. It was so refreshing to be out of the big cities and somewhere with clean air. We signed up for a three-day trek around the surrounding hill tribes. The next morning we set off on a tiny minibus for 1.5 hours to a remote village (the mini-bus was actually a pickup truck with seats in the covered back). After lunch in the village we hiked up the hills. It was exhausting and we were all panting for breath after 15 minutes. We had packed a small backpack each, but it was fairly heaving, especially with the water we were carrying. I had also brought my big camera and sketching materials too. We arrived the first night at a farmer’s house and were grateful for a cold shower which was just a hose hanging from the ceiling. Dinner was excellent, a curry with Chicken and veggies and potatoes served w ith rice. I sketched one of the smaller huts and enjoyed sitting on the porch and relaxing. Once it got dark there was no electricity and we played cards lit by lanterns while drinking some of the local whisky. The next morning after a breakfast of tea and toast with jam we set off again on another hike, this one was longer than the day before, but much easier since it was flatter. By lunchtime we had arrived at the elephants. Since it is bad luck to ride an elephant in the middle of the day we had to wait until later afternoon which was fine by us as we enjoyed another round of cards. Then the elephant ride started.

They put two of us on each elephant along with the driver. We passed through rivers and trees and a few villages, and the driver even let us sit on the elephant’s neck. Thankfully the guide had warned us to wear long pants because elephants are covered in course hair and would be very scratchy. We arrived near the village where we were staying and the elephants all lay down so that we could get off. This village was really neat and there were kids playing a game like volleyball, but they can only use their feet and heads, so the game is really more like hackysack. There were also locals weaving on small looms and pounding flour and feeding chickens and doing just everyday things. After another wonderful cold shower we were given a great dinner with a choice of a green curry or a red curry. I tried both, but preferred the milder green curry. Then the girls from the village came to show us their local dances and to sing some songs, of course they also wanted us to sing we managed the hokey-pokey and a conga line.The next morning I woke up hearing Buddhist monks from the nearby temple chanting. I enjoyed walking around the village, which was beautifully covered with a morning mist. We hiked a short way back to the main rode and took a mini-bus to the river where we started our rafting. They put us on bamboo rafts, the bamboo sank when you stepped on it, but overall the whole think floated quite well. We saw some more fields and huts and some of the guys on our trek had fun jumping from raft to raft. After the rafting we were a bit wet, and had a short break before heading back on the mini-bus to Chiang Mai. That evening I treated myself to a Thai massage. It is different than a Swedish massage since there is more twisting and stretching. It was lovely, especially since I was still sore from the elephant ride. That night I was happy to relax and head to bed early.

Now we come to today and as I said earlier I am so full from eating all day. The cooking course was great (those of you who know my cooking ability please stop laughing). We started off with a shopping trip to the local market. Then we went to a Thai house to cook the food. We used a mortar and pestle to create our own green curry paste which we used in a ‘Coconut Chicken Curry’ cooked over a lit burner. We also cooked: Pad Thai, sweet and sour chicken, bananas with syrup and coconut cream, spring rolls, and a hot and spicy soup. They let us take home the piles of food that we couldn’t eat, and the hotel said they would heat it up for us later.
Tomorrow I am taking a day trip with some people I met this afternoon to see: an orchid farm, a monkey farm, a snake farm, and some other nearby attractions.

Feel free to forward this email to anyone I may have missed. The next one will come out when I write it :)Hope you are all doing well, talk to you soon,Jen

    Thu, 31 Jan 2002
Hello,

I can't believe that i have been away for over three weeks now. Time is just going so fast. I am in Chiang Khong right now and am going to head over the border to Laos. Then there is a river boat that takes two days to get to Luang Prabang which I have heard is really great.

I miss you all, it seems so strange to be away, but I am really enjoying everything and it is not as scary as I thought it would be. I have mailed off a package which should arrive in 20 days, hopefully before Mum's birthday :)

I went on another 3 day trek near Mae Hong Son and stayed with the 'Karen' tribe. The houses where we stayed belonged to relatives of our guide and it was really nice to be so welcomed by the village. I have done a few sketches of the villages and the people, but my portraits need some work. The trek was much less touristy and we didn't run into any other travellers for the 3 days. There were four of us on the Trek (Sophie, Richard, Casper and I) plus the guide. Very nice people, all from England. I didn't see any of the long neck tribe, but I hear that it is a bit of a tourist show anyway. You can pay to enter their village where there is a market where they sell you stuff. I also spent a night in Chiang Rai and just happened to catch their yearly festival/fair. There was ferris wheels and bumper cars and food and things for sale and music and scary houses. It was strangely like the Ex, but then it was also nothing like the Ex. It is hard to explain.I am probably going to go along the circuit that most people are following. North Thailand to Laos to Vietnam to Cambodia to South Thailand (like a big question mark). I hear great things about India and Nepal from other travellers and I really want to go there on a future trip.

Anyway, I should head to the border now so that I can get a place for tonight. Hope you are all doing well, I hope to check email again tomorrow. Email me whenever you want, I love hearing about normal things from home.

Lots and Lots and Lots of Love,
Jenny

    Mon, 04 Feb 2002

Hi,

Sorry to call so early the other day, it was great talking to you even though it was only 3 minutes. There is no way to call collect from Laos and it costs 25000 kip per minute. (that is around 5 CDN dollars).

I am really enjoying the food everywhere. The only exception would be last nights dinner when I tried deep-fried bamboo shoots stuffed with pork and papaya salad. Other than that I have really enjoyed everything I have tried. My tummy has been ok, I am actually having more problems with constipation than diarreah which I was not expecting, but I will just eat more fruits and veggies.

I am glad that it is finally snowing, but I hope it has not been too slippery. I want to be able to say that I missed a real Canadian winter.

I am going to Vang Vieng tomorrow (halfway between Luang Prabang and Vietienne). I am sharing a room right now with Phong (a British girl who is half vietnamesse/half chineese) She is also heading to Vientienne and she has already done Vietnam and Cambodia and is giving me some great information.

Today 7 of us went to the waterfall near Luang Prabang (check the lonely planet guide in my room for more info). It was really beautiful and it was great to relax and swim and sit in the sun. There are two girls from Holland, three guys from Sydney, Phong and I. After we got back I went for a sauna and had a Lao-Massage. Very relaxing, and similar to a Thai massage. She even walked on my back. The Sauna was very steamy and aromatic. I don't know what herbs they use, but they smell very nice. I am in an internet cafe right now sitting beside a Buddhist monk. They are just everywhere. I am going back to the restaurant in a few minutes to join the group.

I do love getting your emails. I have read a couple copies of the Bangkok english paper, but there was no news about Canada.

Glad to know the fish are doing well. I expect to see a few more ecosystems by the time I get back :)

Let me know how the appointment with Mason and I hope Grandpa's eyes are ok.

Love you lots
Hugs and Hugs
Jenny

    Wed, 06 Feb 2002

Hello,

John if you want a day off work then there are much easier ways to go about it :) I hope it does not scar. You might not care too much about scars now, but you may when you get older.

I am in Vang Vieng now and it is a real backpackers place. The internet cafes are everywhere. I didn't even know if they would have them here since it is smaller than the last city, but with all the backpackers it makes sense. There are no Buddhists monks in this internet cafe right now, and there were none in the sauna! The men and women are in different sauna rooms anyway.

Most of the guest houses are fairly full, but Phong (the British girl I am travelling with who is half Chineese/half Vietnamesse) and I were able to find a room and then we moved this morning to an even bigger room. It is an expensive room at $10CDN per night compared to the other places, but $5 each is not really that much when you think about it.

The weather here is perfect, not too hot during the day and nice and cool at night. We are going to float down the Nam Song river in inner tubes this afternoon or tomorrow which sounds relaxing and fun.

Brian, if you send me your Mum's, Joanne's, and Helen's email addresses I can add them to my list.

Let me know how things go at PMH today.

Love you
Jen

    Sat, 09 Feb 2002 08:35:23 -0500

Hello,

I am in Vientienne right now (the capital of Laos). It is a big city, so I probably won't stay here too long. I think I am going to head to Cambodia and then Vietnam.It was really great seeing David. He mentioned that he and Aew had planned to marry a couple years ago, but that with his job changing it was just not a good time. He probably wanted to tell Pam first which makes sense. I am glad to hear about his new job, I will have to email him and congrate him.Cyber cafes don't usually sell food and drink, they are probably worried that you would spill stuff on the comptuers. There are just a whole row of identical comptuers.If you could renew my Mensa membership, that would be great,and then I can pay you back later. I will want a membership for the later part of the year anyway.

Love you all, and it was great to hear about the PMH news. Keep smiling

Lots of love
Jenny

    Sun, 10 Feb 2002

Hello All

I am in Vientiane right now heading to Savannakhet tomorrow in Southern Lao. I don't know if they have internet cafes there or not, but I will email again when I can. I am travelling on my own again since Phong wanted to stay in Vang Vieng. I did meet a nice girl this afternoon and we ate dinner together and walked around town for a bit. We ended up sitting outside an expensive hotel listening to some live music and eating cake. She is planning to work in Laos so our travelling plans do not match which is a shame since I think she would have been great to travel with. Oh well I am sure I will meet someone on the bus tomorrow. The bus is scheduled for 7:30 am, but it could leave anytime between 6:30 and 9:30 so I have to get there early. Otherwise you do not get a seat and for a 8-9 hour journey a seat is really important :) I have a bit of a cold which is really a pain, but I think I am over the worst of it now. I am just making sure I get enough sleep and I am taking my vitimins.

Hope you are all doing well, take Care
Lots of Love
Jenny

    Mon, 18 Feb 2002
Hello,

I am now in Cambodia, in Stung Treng. Sorry I have not emailed in a while, there are were no internet cafes in the south of Laos.

I spent a lovely 4 days in Si Phon Don (4 thousand islands) and relaxed on the beach on the resort-like island. There were lots of travellers and it was great to stay in one place for a while.

11 of us travelled across the Lao-Cambodia border and were able to bargain for a reduced "fee" for crossing the borders. We arrived in Stung Treng and were only going to spend one day, except that the boat only goes to Kratie every second day. I can't wait to see the Irriwadi dolphins near Kratie which often swim along with the boats.I am heading towards Phnom Penh and then Angkor where the temples are supposed to be magnificent after that I will either backtrack a bit and head to Vietnam or head back to Thailand and then South.

Please wish Joanne a happy birthday for me and say hi to Jay when she comes for dinner. I am looking forward to seeing your fish when I get back, I wonder how many tanks you will have by then :) Mum, where do you keep your fish? Are they in the kitchen or downstairs with the others?

I have so much junk mail in my inbox and it keeps filling up. I will really have to tidy it up once I get to somewhere with a faster connection. I think the photos of John's stiches will have to go :( Katy, I will read your Valentine as soon as I get to a bigger city. It is taking several minutes just to read each small email right now.

I have met lots of nice people, but unfortunately most of them are travelling in couples. I think that meeting Tanya last trip was great and I can't really expect it to happen again, but you never know. I am just going to travel where I want, there are always people around to talk to.

John, your apartment sounds great. Just make sure that you are not running home every weekend to do laundry :) I expect you to invite me over for dinner sometime when I get back :) ! I don't think I will be able to get home in time to help you move, but I am sure that you will be able to find enough people to help you move. I hope Jer is an ok guy to live with. (a cleaning schedule on the fridge is not a bad idea).

Today, there is not much to do in Stung Treng so I might just go get my hair cut and then go see some temples. It is nice to spend time in a small city like this, and not be in a hurry to be anywhere.

Any sign of my package yet?

Hope you are all doing well. Thanks for your emails, I will probably send out another big email soon to everyone. I also have to write back to a lot of people, including Chris and Gill who just wrote and Nicole who sent me a long email. It sounds like Jonathan might be in Vietnam at the same time as me, do you know his email address? I don't have it with me?

Lots of Love and Hugs
Jenny Wren

p.s. I just finished reading "Our Mutual Friend" by Dickens and now I know where the name Jenny Wren came from :)