The Amazing Cheese Sandwich

I had a simple cheese sandwich with Manja yesterday. Wow, I'd almost forgotten the taste and how amazing aged cheese smells. We can get it here, but tend not to as we're always eating the yummy local food. In Germany or Australia, I can't imagine hardly a day going by where you don't eat bread and cheese.When you eat stuff every day, you miss out on the noticing of how it smells and tastes. God I love traveling, even for the small experiences.

More Mekong Images

Pak Beng harbour lights

I took more than 20 photos from this scene from a high point in Pak Beng, over breakfast. (wish I'd had the sense to take 200)

The bustle of Vientiane, Laos' capital city, from our hotel room. That's the Arc de Triomphe (hehe, at least that's what we nicknamed it while we were there. It's actually called Patuxay, built in the 1960's to celebrate Laos' independence.) 

The Visa Run/Anniversary Trip

We hopped on a bus last week to take a break from our school duties in Mae Sot. We timed it to celebrate our first wedding anniversary in Chiang Mai - another interesting northern Thai city. We found a great little guest house with a pool that would cost you a small fortune in any other country. Our balcony overlooked the pool and river behind it.

Chiang Mai

We had a little shopping spree at the night market - so many goodies on sale! You could buy a Rolex or a Breitling watch copy here for about 10€ (AUD$13) I was tempted, but bought some T-shirts instead. The quality of the copies is unbelievable - but do I really want to pretend that I can afford such a watch, and pass it off as the genuine article. At the market, in the heat of a buying frenzy, yes. Later, when I had come to my senses, not at all. A three-year-old could tell that the cost of such a watch, if it were genuine, doesn't remotely match the cost (or style) of the clothes that I wear. Okay, I just like shiny things...

We had a beer right next door to one of those Aussie-style bars and were treated to a little show when the fat ignited, and the whole barby caught alight. It burned for at least 10 minutes while they struggled to put it out. I tried to help by suggesting to up-turn a sandy pot plant over it as they had no fire extinguisher or fire blanket!

They did finally manage it by pulling the drip tray onto the street. Buy this time I'd taken quite a few funny photos! We then left for somewhere with less burned paint fumes in the air.

This beast was at the Thai/Laos border crossing at Chiang Khong. A Honda motor/Yamaha seat/and God-only-knows what other bits and pieces sticky-taped together. It looks like it would be in place on a Mad Max set. Thai Customs in the background, on the bank of the Mekong.

Then we crossed the mighty Mekong River into Laos in one of these beautiful little ferries. This was to set the stage for many, many more beautiful boats along the way.The crusty paint-jobs only added to their beauty.

Ferries, and one Chinese freighter

We very quickly learnt to say hello and thank you in Laotian(?), and jumped onto our ferry-boat for a 2-day trip down river to Luang Prabang. We had a full boat, and collected chickens and other cargo along the way. There's lots of little villages along the river, and the boat stops here and there to collect more passengers. Children come on board selling food and souvenirs. I got an icy cold beer from one.

Bilge-Rat

Our boat was in a constant state of sinking so this guy had to jump in to the open engine room to bail 'er out from time to time. The stern-gland (where the propeller shaft passes through the boat) had water gushing in. I know it helps keep the shaft/bearings cool, but this was a bit of overkill!

This is the fast way - gets you there real fast, but maybe not too safe.There's many sunken rocks along the way when the Mekong is low.

A Bamboo village along the river - one of many

If it's just the scenery you want to see - then go no further than the Hinchinbrook Island channel, in North Queensland. It looks almost exactly the same. Of course you won't have the lovely Asian culture...or those pesky rocks to navigate around...

Chunky Passport Holders

My passport holder now needs a spring-clean. Along with notes of currencies from all over the world, it holds snippets of stuff, old boarding passes, even a momento of a visit to a cruise ship in Sydney Harbour. It's getting heavier too, with all that ink from many, many customs stamps and visas! Soon it may have to be checked in as a separate piece of baggage...

This was torn out of a German pharmacy magazine, Ihre Apotheke, or "Your Pharmacy", and yep, it lives in the worn passport holder. If ever I'm thinking about staying in one place for too long (pigs might fly), I can whip this out and say: "There must be somewhere in the world I haven't seen yet!"


Sprech Zimmer  translates to "Consulting Room" (not directly), but the artist has forgotten the "P". Who said that the Germans don't have a sense of humour?

"The patient with the travel-bug please!"

Living in the Big House

It's so different from what I'm used to, here in this house. We have the 12 students (18-23years old), Manja and myself, and "E" from Canada too. "E" wanted to live in the house to get to know everyone before he moves to another house across town. We're "stuck" here - that's our "job" - as live-in youth workers, but it's a lot of laughs. A year ago I'd have said : "no way do I want to live with so many people!", but it's actually okay. There's always something happening, somebody singing, or playing a game.

But sometimes there's a bit of drama: Last week was one of those times...

A student collapsed at lunch. I enlisted another to help me carry him up the stairs in a "fireman's-carry". He's cold, and has extreme pain in his hands, and sometimes his chest. Four other students and I rub a local version of "Deep Heat" into his hands and feet to try and stimulate the circulation while we wait for a Tuk-Tuk to get him to the hospital. At one point, I'm massaging the stuff into his chest, as he's having breathing difficulties, and he starts to slip unconscious. "Stay with us!" I'm calling out, and talking to him to keep him awake. I was very worried that he might die right there in my arms. Then the Tuk-Tuk is there, and we carry him off and put him in the back. The hospital is luckily only a few minutes away, and he's found to have a mineral deficiency. We all go out and buy some bananas and kiwi-fruit! Phew! I was a bit stressed after that and went off to a quiet spot to sit and chill out for a bit.

Back in Time

I just found some older photos of my last few days in Germany that are worth putting in here. So jump back to the 16-17th August and this is where I stayed. This is Stella's beautiful Schrebergarten, or allotment, in Berlin. They are very popular in Germany, especially for people who live in the cities. I helped her put up a fence before I left, to keep wild pigs from munching on her veggie crops. (Not that wonky one on the right - the wonky one you can't see on the left!)

And here's an arty-farty one, using a glass garden decoration thingy.
(Spot the camera on the chair - this took a little bit of mucking around to get the angle I wanted just right)

And here's a side to Berlin that not so many might know about. This area of Berlin has heaps of canals and natural waterways. It was a few minutes walk from the garden hut.

Drawing

I watched Ghandi the other day with the students, so I thought I'd sketch a picture of him too. I used a smaller picture to draw from, and I think I got the dimensions close. I couldn't quite capture the cheeky smile - try as I might. It's more of a "stumped-mullet" expression in mine. Oh well, I'm learning. It wasn't done in five minutes - more like 5 hours, spread over three days.

 Here's another one I drew from a picture in a "Learn to
Draw" book that belongs to one of our (very talented) students. I find it a very relaxing hobby, and rewarding too. Drawing from other pictures is a good way to refine technique and train the eye. Maybe even both eyes. I'm up for that.

 I've been slack on finishing my picture book drawings, I hope that I can get on with that soon, it's been a fun process.