You will be Assimil-ated!

     I feel like I have accomplished 0 since my last post on learning French. I shouldn't say that, I feel that I've accomplished a lot with pronunciation, but haven't gotten far with actually understanding French. I am going through Assimil New French with Ease, but it's really slow going. I know Rome (or in this case Paris) wasn't built in a day and it's hard to know how far you've gone if you don't have anything to measure against. And no I haven't tried to speak to anyone yet. My new goalpost is to just finish the goddamn book. As of now I am in the passive wave of learning and am only on lesson 16. It has taken me 3 days to finish this lesson and it's hella frustrating for a couple of reason. I am currently using the method laid out by LanguageGeek:
1. Listen to dialogue with book closed.
2. Listen to dialogue again while reading English translation.
3. Read French aloud while looking at the translation to get the meaning.
4. Read the French again without looking at the English translation.
5. Listen to the recording twice. Once looking at English translation. Second time looking at French.
6. Listen to recording again without the book. Hopefully by now you should pretty much understand the dialogue (if not I usually start back at #2).
7. And this is the time consuming part. Listen to the recording, stopping it after each sentence to repeat back what is said. I try to get the pronunciation very close if not spot on. Complete mimicry.
8. Read the comments and notes several times as they provide some important grammar notes.
9. Do the exercises.
10. Examine sentence structures of the lessons.

     It's probably not cool, but I totally skip 9 and 10. I plan on getting a decent grammar book once I get to the active phase of the book. I also amend #7 by doing something called shadowing. Instead of stopping the recording after each sentence then repeating the phrase back, I try to say what the person in the dialogue is saying in real time. Basically, speaking on top of the speaker. It's really satisfying once you've nailed it. I can feel my pronunciation at least becoming tip-top. It's just getting there that will have you throwing the book across the room.

     The sentences are getting a bit longer and therefore I'm having to work harder at pronunciation. I swear if I have to hear this bitch say, 'Oh, monsieur, je suis desolee, je n'ai pas un modele assez grand!' (that's what he said haha) and it coming out of my mouth as, 'Oh, monsieur, je suis desolee, je je gurgle pas de lodel laisel a grand! one more time I am going to hit someone with a loaf of french bread.

     The voice actors they use of course have a different way of speaking. There's one who seems to add a slight unnecessary uh sound at the end of some of her words. I like it! She embodies how French people speaking English sound to my ears. I imagine her wearing a beret, sitting in some outdoor cafe smoking heavily, 'Je suis une femme francaiseuh'. Then there is another woman whose pronunciation is quite clear, but she speaks quickly. I have a love/hate relationship with her when shadowing. I often have to repeat what she says at least 20 to 50 times on one sentence for my pronunciation and speed to catch up. She really makes you work, but she is also why it's taken me 3 bloody days to get through lesson 16! The book states that you're supposed to devote 30 minutes a day, but honestly steps 1 - 6 take at least that amount of time. I was able zip right through these in 30 minutes until I hit lesson 9. Then the time went up exponentially. Now it's more like 2 hours.

     All in all I really like this book. The dialogues are short and you really feel a sense of real accomplishment when you finish a lesson. It's also kind of humorous which helps. I am not using anything else but Assimil at the moment as I feel I might get too bogged down if I add something else to the repetoire. I want to see how far this alone will take me. I've tried little practice tests to see how far along I am right now and am miraculously sitting at B1. Although I still feel if you plopped me in France right now, I still wouldn't be able to have a halfway decent conversation with anyone beyond, 'Hello, how are you doing? Where is the restaurant?'.

     The New Year is upon us and I hope 6 months from now I'll be having some decent conversations and ordering French bread like a boss! Happy New Year peeps and may all your travel and language plans come true!

Allons-y!!

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com

It's that time of year again where I hem and haw about my next solo adventure. Next year I've set my sights on France! Aah Paris, you're probably thinking, but no you are a little wrong mon chers (or whatever). I plan on staying for as short a time as possible in Paris and will venture out to the countryside. Well, that's the plan for now. I have been to Paris before, nearly 15 years ago. I tried as best I could to learn French before my arrival.  This was all early internet, mind you, where there weren't a crapload of resources I could turn to for online learning. I was only armed with my French 101 college text book with no cassette tape accompanying it.

     By the time the trip arrived, I felt I was at least armed enough to say pleasantries and ask for simple directions. The French people I encountered, however, had other plans. My attempts to speak with the natives was thwarted most of the time..sometimes rudely. Looking back, my pronunciation was probably horrifying to the point of insulting as I had no one to practice with while I was learning and was too poor to take classes. I probably also sounded like a hick with my southern accent on top, 'Saloo, commahnt allay voo?'. While I did have a fun time with my friends, I couldn't help but think when I left that it would've been so much better if I knew how to communicate to the regular joes/josephines on the street. It very much felt like I just saw the city, but didn't experience the city, so much so that the thought of Paris today leaves me a little cold. Now that I'm a bit more experienced in travel, I want to give it a second shot. It's my white whale and I want to conquer that bitch! 

     Ever since then I've stopped and started learning this language off and on throughout the years. Oddly enough it's my favorite language, even over Brazilian Portuguese, but I couldn't stay motivated. Now I've decided to restart in earnest since this trip will be occurring next year around this time. Not only this trip being the motivator, but I also love French music and movies. There are a lot more free resources/options available for self-study as well. I have this entire week off so now is the time for some intensive studying. I'm going to hunker down and eat, breathe, sleep it for the next 7 days. No English allowed! Everyone says that I should get a language partner right away, but aside from saying hello I wouldn't know what else to say. Right now my goal is to just have a simple conversation with someone who is fluent or a native.

That said, here is my plan for the week:

1. Go through Pimsleur French and Assimil French. 2 to 3 hours a day, no exceptions. I need to up my game on forming a sentence without thinking too hard about it.

2. Get on Memrise (so fun and addicting) and shore up vocab for an hour a day.

3. Watch French movies/tv shows and listen to French music for fun breaks.

4. By day 5, get on italki or skype and partner up with a native or pay for a tutor to practice speaking.

     The biggest hurdle for me will be speaking with someone. I am shy and am usually not a person that will initiate contact. I also really hate the fact that being a complete moron when you speak to someone in your target language for the first time and possibly forever is a pre-requisite. Why can't I just know it dammit?! I just have to put my big girl panties on, be a little Zen, and let the humiliation wash over me. The satisfaction when I was learning a bit of Brazilian Portuguese was that I got to the point where I was starting to dream in the language. I felt I had turned a major corner when that happened. Hopefully this will happen for French as well, it's a great feeling. Until then, au revoir and see y'all on the flip. Maintenant, je commence!

I have a confession to make. I like to boogie.

 I slept all fucking day. Is that so wrong?! I know. I said I was gonna go out and get souveneirs and a massage, but dammit I was hungover and so tired! I didn't wake up until 630pm. Ok well actually I woke up at 1030am once I realized that breakfast was nearly over. By the time I got downstairs, it was over so I had to make do with a 'high tea' lunchy type meal which wasn't bad at all. I trudged back upstairs with the full intention of showering and getting out, but once I sat on the bed it just felt really nice and I crawled under the covers to not be seen again by anyone until 630p. This was just in time for me to get ready to go out with Sam and Co. at 730pm. Don't judge me bastards! I'm on vacation!

I was up and at 'em by the time I met Sam and in the lobby. As a sidenote, I learned a hard lesson about my wardrobe choices. I bought these linen pants before the trip on Etsy and they are really beautiful. The thing is that there's a whole procedure to putting them on which would be fine if I knew I wasn't going to be in a bathroom with nasty floors...a la bars and nightclubs..because you basically have to unravel them..almost like a sari, but pants. So while they are beautiful they are essentially useless for going out. Thank god I decided at the last minute to wear my jeans on the plane.

We walked a short distance up the street from the hotel where there was a little night market and some entertainment arranged by this really nice hotel that took up the whole street. It was really kind of cheesy though. I was starving, but Sam had a guitarist friend who was going to be a part of the entertainment for that night so we hung out until he came on. We also met up with one of his other friends from the night prior. The guitarist guy was pretty good..well better than I am at guitar which I don't know if that says very much. He sang 'House of the Rising Sun' which was pretty cool. It's kind of weird hearing it in a Cambodian accent though. After he finished we finally went off to grab some food.

We went to a bar that we went to the night before. I must say Siem Reap should be nicknamed Siem Cheap. Since Sam and Co. paid for my meals and beers the night before, it was only fitting that I should repay the favor that night. I had 2 cocktails and they both had 2 or 3 beers a piece. They shared a dinner plate and I had one on my own. Someone else also joined us and she got a cocktail as well. When I got the bill I wanted to die laughing. 11 dollars and some change total.
I think the cocktails were only 1.50. The beers were only .50. The food I think was only 2 bucks.
At the festival, I bought a tshirt for 6 bucks. Later at one of the clubs we had 2 big buckets full of beer and that was the most expensive at 44.00 total. However, it was Budweiser so not that big of a bargain from the American eye.

                                                         

Also it seems everybody knows everybody here. I can't count the number of times we've walked into a restaurant or bar and Sam or one of the other guys went to greet some people already there or vice versa. And everyone likes to give each other cheers with their drinks...a lot. I feel like I've been clinking glasses nonstop since I got here...ok except when I was sleeping.

                                                           

Now that bellies were full, we were off to work it off by dancing at a couple of Cambodian clubs.
You could tell hardly a foreign face, much less a black one, was seen in these places judging by the stares we received when walking into them. The first one was called Blue Sand. The lighting was completely dazzling. Different color lasers shooting out from all over the place. The guys felt it wasn't adequately exciting enough so we went to a different club called Club Hip Hop which is where we settled for the night. Mind you, I didn't hear one hip hop song while I was in there. It was cool though, as long it had a beat I was on the floor. One annoying thing about Cambodian clubs are the djs. They talk A LOT. Just as a song is about to reach a crescendo they add a little 'Oo oo' or sometimes their whole life story right into the microphone which not only nearly killed my eardrums, but interrupted my awesome Saturday Night Fever-like dance moves!

                                                         

By 1am we were getting a little tired and my flight leaves at 945am which means I have to be out of the hotel by 7am. We hop on the motorbike and jet, but stop to get a little something to eat first.
It was good, but I think my stomach is now giving me a warning shot. It's a rumbling a little loudly so I might take some Immodium to try to head this disaster off. I can't imagine a more miserable situation than having a very upset stomach on a plane. So here we are. I took a 3 hour nap and it's nearly 6am. I'm about to take a shower and then later head to the airport to go to back to Thailand.
A short layover in Bangkok, then arrival in Chiang Mai for 3 days! I don't know if anything will top my time in Siem Reap, but I guess I'm gonna find out.

Pork on top of pork with pork blood garnish. Oh and something turnipy.

Siem Reap is the new Bangkok bitch!

Ok I'm not really qualified to make this assessment since I haven't spent any real significant amount of time in Bangkok yet. I will say that I absolutely made the right decision when coming here. If you recall a few posts ago, when I was making my initial plans, I was trying to make a decision on whether to head here or to Laos or Myanmar (Burma). Last night I finally went out for a night on the town with my guide for Angkor Wat. By the way, if you need a guide for Angkor Wat, email Sam @ samhelloworld@yahoo.com. He was very knowledgeable and speaks English very well. He pointed things out in the Wats that I never would've paid attention to. Here he is eating at Ecstatic Pizza which is next door to Happy Pizza which is supposedly has a special ingredient to make you happy. And yes I know it's not pizza, but a chicken wing!

                                               

                                                        


I had something called Lok Lak and it was delicious! Basically it's beef cubes and the sauce is garlic, lemon, and black pepper. So good. Also at Angkor wat I had a dish that I can't pronounce the name of but it was really spicy made up of fermented fish pasted and some other stuff. Sam thought I wouldn't like it because he thought it would be too spicy for me. He obviously doesn't know me!
I'm not sure if I got a picture of the fish paste, but here's the Lok Lak.

                                                   

                                                   

                                                                

                                               

I digress. Anyway, me and Sam met up with some of Sam's friends a little bit after this at a bar and one of them asked me why I chose to come to Cambodia. I told him the story about how I was trying to decide between the three. I told him Laos looked like it was a real spiritual place and it looked like I would be bored. The only compelling thing about it in my humble opinion is the giving alms to the monks in the wee hours of the morning. As a tourist I would just feel funny exploiting a real cultural/spiritual event so I could take photos of monks. It just didn't feel right to me. And then there's Myanmar/Burma which seems like it would be a bit difficult right now. You would be on a cash only basis and I do mean cash only since there are no ATMs and therefore highly doubt anyone takes credit cards either. I'm going to let that destination marinate for a couple of years.

One of Sam's friends who I can't remember the name of said he stops frequently in Laos because he goes back and forth between Cambodia and Vietnam for school. He said that if you love nature and quiet, then Laos is definitely for you. I told him that I like nature but I don't like LIKE nature so I think my choice to come to Siem Reap was solid. It really does have everything in one package. You want to get templed out? Great go to Angkor Wat.  You want to party? Go to Pub Street. You want nature? Take a little cruise down Tonle Sap. It does have everything!

The Angkor Wat complex was amazing and I only saw 3 of the Wats. Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Phrom (Tomb Raider). You could probably spend a month there and still not see everything. How they got built at all with the tools they had at the time seems almost impossible and the wall etchings are so beautiful and a lot are very well preserved. When I first saw Angkor Wat I really was in disbelief I was actually there looking at something so grand. If you are ever in the southeast Asia area, you simply must see it. YOU MUST! Be prepared to sweat your balls off though and drink a LOT of water.

                                                 

Also speaking of partying, I am now nursing a bit of a hangover from last night and had a really good time with Sam and his friends at the Temple Bar on Pub Street. Loads of tourists and one crazy drunk guy dancing in the street, much to the amusement of everyone. I left Sam alone in the bar for a bit while I went and walked around. As I got closer to the end of Pub Street, there was a kid maybe 7 or 8 yrs old with a 4 or 5 month old baby strapped to him. He was wanting baby formula for the infant. So we walked to the store together and I bought him some. He wanted two large cans of it. One was 15 bucks. I don't know how much it is in the US. I know people back home complain about how expensive it is. I told him I would only get him one..he was really pushing for two, but I told him..either you want one or you don't want any. He actually pouted and stamped his little foot and grudgingly said 'ok'. The nerve! Hahahah!

Cynical me was thinking of ways this kid could possibly parlay baby formula into a profit for himself. I mean he could feasibly walk back into the store after I've left it to get a refund for it. I can only hope he used the formula for good and not evil.

After I left the store, I saw a few street vendors across the street so went over to see what was up because I was feeling a little peckish. Let's roll the videotape shall we?

It was noodle with cabbage and some other little green things with what tasted a little like the sauce you get on Chef Boyardee spaghetti. I was hungry and it hit the spot.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself today. It's my last full day so will try to maybe pick up a few souveneirs and a massage. Going out again with Sam later as I think we might be going to the bars/restaurants that Cambodians frequent. I think he wants me to eat a cricket and/or a cockroach. Last night I told him that I didn't come all this way to eat a hamburger, but I think this may be taking it a bit far. I'm getting quite cavalier with my digestive system..I'm waiting for the dreaded diarrhea to rear up, but it hasn't yet so I'm still gonna play it fast and loose (stool...hahha I'm gross). Until then, if you don't hear from me, I'll be getting my stomach pumped.
                                               

                                              

Check-in or Carry-on?

Greetings from Cambodia! I really have no idea what day it is. I thought I would be able to blog as I traveled, but the landing times combined with times I needed to wake up to get my flights have made any sit down and write times impossible. So I am going to give abbreviated versions of the past few days and maybe I will be able to catch up with myself. I am just now able to write this today because finally I am going to be settled here for the next 3 days. I've taken a very long nap and am now refreshed at nearly 12am in the morning. I think I sabotaged myself by taking this nap because I was pretty much sleeping on schedule by force because of the late night arrivals into Tokyo and Bangkok. I guess I just crashed from it all. Anyway, here I am at 12am, the night market is closed in town so it's either go back to sleep or write a little.

May 27
I wake up on time and am quite proud of myself that I'm not running around like a madwoman trying to throw things in my bag as was the case last year when I went to Colombia. I thought I would be the type of fabulous person that could throw things in a bag and go. Kind of like how I imagine an Anderson Cooper or Christiane Amanpour would be if they suddenly found out they had to go to Syria at the last minute. Boy, did I find out that not only am I NOT a rough and tumble traveler type personality, but I am quite diva-ish. A Kmart Anna Wintour of travel. I don't just need something to wear, I need an ensemble. Also last year I managed to misplace my passport right before we were supposed to leave for the airport. It was horrible. This year was vastly different. I was straight up chillin before the time I had to leave for the airport. I packed the night before. Everything, my passport, flight and hotel itineraries, toiletries, clothes etc were all organized and ready to go. I was about to walk out the door and I opened my purse for one last look. Where are my house keys?! Goddammit.

I never did find them before leaving. However Mr. Suitcase did find them later in the bed under covers, because yes I sometimes throw my keys on the bed and then forget about them. He was kind enough to text me when I landed at LAX, otherwise my mind would've been racing about how some criminal now has carte blanche to walk through our many doors and take whatever he/she wants.


May 28

Right before getting on the plane at LAX, I was stopped by a customs agent. People were going through, they would open their passport and be on their merry way. I, however, got pulled off to the side. Is this a case of traveling while black? I was a little mad. I mean, why me?! So here is our little exchange from what I remember:
Customs agent: Is Tokyo your final destination?
Me: Umm well no, my ultimate final destination is Bangkok.
Customs agent: You traveling alone?
Me: Yes
Customs agent: (looking over my passport) Huh, this is brand new. What places have you traveled to prior to this.
Me: (wow I kinda sound like a drug mule..whatever you do don't say Colombia or Brazil!!): Colombia, Brazil, India, Japan.... (great, idiot, you probably just got yourself an unsexy body cavity search)
Customs Agent: When was the last time you were in Japan?
Me: Maybe 6 or 7 years ago.
Customs agent: What do you do for a living?
Me: (ok here's where he has to let me off the hook. one perk about my job and where I work is instant name recognition) I am a Security Analyst @ X. (Boom goes the dynamite!)
Customs agent (completely unimpressed still looking at passport): Are you from L.A.? Aaah I see, Atlanta, Georgia. How long are you going to be in Thailand?
Me: Until June 17.
Customs agent: How much money are you carrying with you?
Me: (oh dear I think I'm in trouble) On my person? None. In the bank? X
Customs Agent (upon hearing this has decided I am in fact not a drug mule and if I am a very poorly paid one): Ok you are free to go.

The flight wasn't that bad. I went to sleep before we even took off (planes do that to me) and was woken up during dinner and drink time. I got economy comfort on Delta and it was nice to have a little bit of extra leg room and also you can lean back a little further. My seatmate was older and we didn't speak a word to each other. He had on a Venezuela windbreaker jacket that's all I remember. I stayed at The Claska Hotel in Tokyo (Meguro).

My cab fare from the Haneda airport to the hotel was 100 USD/Y10,000 which is outrageous. It probably would have been 10 or 20 USD less had we not gotten caught in a little traffic jam due to road construction. I really liked the hotel. The room was a bit small, but since it was only me I really liked it. The bathroom was pretty big. I liked the deep tub and took a bath the Japanese way. A nice shower to clean off the grime and then fill the tub with nearly scalding hot water and just soak. All the muscle aches from carrying my stuff all day just melted off.

May 29

Had a very healthy Tokyo breakfast and was on my way to the airport. Narita this time. I had to take a cab to the Sheraton Miyako which was only Y1200 and from there caught the limo bus bound for Narita at Y3000. I was very early for my flight and was the only one at the gate. As such I perched myself next to the electrical outlets and usb port stations and set up camp. By the time everyone else arrived all my shit was charged up. In LAX at the gate bound for Haneda airport, there was only one other black person at the gate and maybe 4 or 5 white people. At the gate in Narita, I swear it was split down the middle with half Americans and half Thais. Also the 'Bro' contingent was quite strong. It did give an air of a party bus as everyone started socializing with each other about their plans. The guy sitting across from me was a big guy from Michigan. He was going to Thailand on business and said if everything went well he would be returning home on Saturday. He seemed very impressed that I was going to all these places by myself.

On the plane I hoped for a more interesting seatmate than Mr. Venezuela and got it. The first one was Japanese and really cute, he looked like he was in his early to mid 30s, but I dunno. He plopped down and opened this very thick book that I swear looked like an almanac of the Japanese version of Tiger Beat and had manga comics in the back of it. Next to him was a Thai lady. Again, me and the Japanese guy did not speak at all but I was fascinated by him. We were served our meal and I swear it sounded like he inhaled the whole thing. I know that in Japan it is customary to slurp and whatnot..but this sounded like a vacuum. I looked over at his tray and there was not one lick or scrap of anything in his little food containers. They were absolutely clean! I don't know why but I thought of him as Ichi from the movie Ichi the Killer.

May 30

After a bit I fall asleep and wake up and we're landing in Bangkok. We don't pull up to a gate, we take the stairs down into a waiting bus, which will take us to the airport. I step outside and wham! The heat and humidity is like a brick wall. I am instantly schvitzing. I stuff myself onto the bus and we are on our way to the airport. I get through passport control (I've filled out so many customs forms and arrival/departure cards I now know my new passport # by heart) and walk outside. Already someone is in my ear about a taxi. I ask him how much and he says 1350 baht.
No. I already read where a trip from the airport should not cost more than 500 baht.

So I politely refuse and walk back into the airport to find the info desk to confirm that this is true and she says it is. She then points me down to the public taxi stand which is on the 1st floor of the airport. There is a little stand there so I walked over and told the lady manning it where I needed to go. She told me it would be 500 baht plus a 50 baht toll for the freeway. By the way, 30 baht =1 usd, which adds up to a much much cheaper cab ride than the one I got in Tokyo.

I don't know what it is about being in a cab in Asian cities (well at least Tokyo and Bangkok). Tokyo and Bangkok are a bit similar in that they have very very tall buildings stacked very close together and their streets are fairly new and pothole-less. I swear I feel like I'm in Blade Runner or something. And the drivers are very efficient..there are a lot of blind curves and tunnels and we are speeding through them but you are confident that they have complete control of the car. Almost like they are in 'the zone' so to speak. They are zen masters of driving.

I arrive at my hostel and it was really cute! The reception guy upgraded me to the Deluxe room since I was only staying for 5 hours which was very nice of him and the room was awesome! I G+'d a little and then went to sleep. The next morning I took a shower and went down to check out. I asked the hostel reception guy (who was still there) if I could just hail a cab at the corner.
He told me it would probably be best if I took the skytrain which was a block or two up the street and around the corner. The thought of carrying my pack in that heat was not a pleasant thought, but I needed to make sure that I could get my flight on time and as soon as I looked out I knew the train was the only way I would get there. Mind you, my flight didn't leave until 1030am. The time I was leaving the hostel was at 630am. That just shows you how horrible traffic is.
                                                   

This is just a tiny street in front of the hostel. The major street was much worse.

                                                   

So I walked outside and walked the two blocks and turned the corner and oooh myy god! FOOD!
Street vendors lined the street and that shit smelled delicious! I couldn't stop to eat because I was almost positive that I would get lost at least once taking a train system I was wholly unfamiliar with.
I was completely wrong. It's the easiest train system in the world. The vending machine for the ticket helps you out tremendously. It asks you what train station you want to go to (it's touch screen) and you touch the station. It tells you how much it is, you pay it, it gives you the ticket and you're on your way. In my case I was at Surasak station and had to go to Phaya Thai (30 baht) and transfer to the Airport Rail Link. Once you get to the Airport Rail Link station you pay again at a ticket machine, it gives you a token and it was 45 baht to take to the airport.

                                                             

The train of course was packed to the gills and even though my backpack wasn't huge, it was probably just big enough to be a little annoying to the people around me. I didn't keep it on my back and just dropped it to the floor and shuffled around when people needed to get off. The train to the airport wasn't that crowded so it was all good. I must say that the personnel at the train stations.. cops and everyone were really nice!


We get off to at the airport and we are walking towards the exit turnstyle on the way into the airport and everyone around me just stops in their tracks. I'd read about this but to see it happen is/was completely bizarre. It took me a second to figure out what was going on, then I heard the music on the speaker system and figured out it was the Thai National Anthem. I mean, I wondered about a couple of things. Do they play the anthem at the same time every day? It would be pretty disconcerting I think if it was at just random times during the day. And secondly do Thai children also do this if they are out playing somewhere? I mean it was hard as a kid to not goof off during the Pledge of Allegiance at school so I don't know if I would stop myself from getting the high score at Frogger or Asteroids (yes old) for my own national anthem.

I go to check in at Bangkok Airways for my flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia and the ticket agent gives me a free pass to their VIP lounge for no reason at all. It was really nice and I was starving so it was perfect really. After hanging out and eating for 30 to 45 min. I schlepped to my gate where I had to fill out not only the customs and arrival/departure card but also my Visa on Arrival document for entry into Cambodia. Again we had to take a bus to the plane and for once I was delighted to see my mode of transportation for this leg. It was really cute and brightened my day.

                                                     

Now here I am in Cambodia with a now fucked up/self sabotaged sleep schedule. I have to be up and out at 8am for my tour to Angkor Wat. It is currently 3am. Well at least I'm caught up with the current day and will now begin my vacationing life as opposed to the road warrior life I've had the past few days. The things you go through to see a wonder of the world.

By the way, MUSIC. I made a travel playlist on Spotify which is useless because I'm not always somewhere with internet access...like on planes/taxi/bus rides which is where I like to listen to music. I did bring my iPod though and have made do with it and I must say Duran Duran (the band that spurred my desire to go somewhere else since I saw the Save A Prayer video at 13) and The Blue Nile (love) have been perfect for this trip. So I shall impart to you what I've been listening to.
1. Lonely in Your Nightmare - DD
2. Last Chance on the Stairway - DD
3. New Religion- DD
4. Late Bar-DD
5. Secret Oktober-DD
6. Sound of Thunder-DD
7. Downtown Lights-BN
8. 7 a.m.-BN
9. Tinseltown in the Rain-BN
10. Easter Parade-BN
11. From a Late Night Train-BN
12. Let's go out tonight.-BN

I bought some stuff!

     I will be leaving in a week! I swear the months since I bought the ticket and now seemed to pass by really quick. I'm getting major butterflies and have attempted to alleviate it by shopping my ass off. I've bought so much shit over the past couple of weeks, just so I can NOT carry a bunch of shit on the plane. Ironic, no?

   So let me tell you what I've gotten so far. First off, I have resolved to not check any luggage. I've seen Brokedown Palace and the documentary Ganja Queen one too many times I think. Also it's going to be hella hot and I really don't want to lug a 65L backpack all over the place nor do I want to deal with all the luggage requirements on intra-country flights. Whittling my stuff down to nearly nothing has me filled with separation anxiety. I don't know why this is. I guess the illogical thought is that my clothes will get so dirty and will become unwearable. My hair will become matted and people will mistake me for a homeless person. As if Thailand doesn't have any washing machines anywhere or showers and I will have to find the nearest stream to wash my underwear and beat them against rocks..you know..like you see on the movies/teevee! In my mind it's like I could possibly go from Hilton Hotel to Survivor contestant in the span of 3 weeks. Anyway here is my list of shiny new things:

1. Kelty Redwing 50 Internal Backpack - I got a great deal on it at Sierra Trading Post.
2. Light As Air Hipster Underwear - 18 bucks each to feel like you're going commando!
3. LUSH Godiva Solid Shampoo - Also bought the conditioner. Gotta cut down on liquids. TSA.
4. Kinky Curly Knot Today and Curly Custard - Amazing..simply amazing.
5. Icebreakers Merino Wool Camisole - Supposedly keeps you cool and somehow stays odor-free.
6. Trespass Quickpak Jacket - Cheapie jacket for the rain.
7. REI MultiTowel Lite - Quick drying and I can also use it as a blanket on the plane.
8. Energizer 6 LED Headlamp - For walking home sober/drunk in the pitch black.

     There are only two more things that I need to get. TSA travel compliant bottles, a shawl/scarf for temple modesty, and maybe some earrings for those fancy evening meals. Then I will be set. Oh and shout out to Sierra Trading Post where I got my backpack, the wool camis, and rain jacket. The stuff there is already discounted and then they keep sending you coupons to use on top of the discount which made everything ridiculously cheap. REI is also having a sale and I bought a membership there. I went to the store on Sunday. It was pissing down raining and I thought there's no way anyone would be out shopping today. Apparently 100s of other chumps thought the same thing I did. The parking lot was full, but luckily I didn't have to wait
long for someone to leave so I could get their space.

     It was my first time actually in an REI store. I don't even camp or bike, but I swear I wanted to do all those things. Very cool stuff. After walking around for a while, it kinda started to feel like being in high school. On one side you had the campers (kids w/arguing parents, Bear Grylls wannabes), then the rock climbers, hikers, bikers (muscular legs), travelers (high school/college students,me, retirees). One thing that really annoyed me was that they were having a sale, but made it clear it was only on select items and you'd find out at the register. Why so mysterious? I don't get it. I was there for an hour and only walked out with the towel..which was not on sale by the way.The one place where everyone sort of mixed and had common ground was the travel backpack area. Some were stupidly expensive. I mean, unless the backpack is going to walk itself to my room/plane, I can't see paying 250+ for one.
       
     Thinking about it, I've bought different luggage for the past three trips I've been on. Hmm...maybe I've got a luggage addiction problem. Well I've already gotten to step 1 in the recovery process, which is to admit it. To be fair, I do bring less each time and each of those trips had different needs which almost required me adapt my luggage. For instance, I was mostly in cities for Brazil and Argentina, so a big rolling suitcase was fine. However, when I went to Colombia the next year there would be a part of the trip where I would be on a motorcycle and a roller would have been awkward. So I got the 65L backpack. This year, I will be arriving somewhere by boat that supposedly doesn't go all the way to shore and I will have to get out and carry my stuff to the beach, not to mention walking up stairs with no railing. Lighter weight =easier time getting around in all situations.
 
 I couldn't find a lot of videos on how a woman packs for carry-on only. This is the video that made me think I could do this and also tipped me off about the Icebreaker wools.

                                                   
She's my hero. I mean, she went a year. Surely I can stand 3 measly weeks.

My packing list as it stands now:
Clothes
3 pairs of pants.- all linen and lightweight for temple days. I will be wearing one on the plane. So really 2.
2 pairs of shorts
2 tank tops
1 lightweight dressy shirt/dress
1 long sleeve tshirt - for the plane(s).
3 pairs of underwear - All quick drying for wash and go. Should be easy to rotate.
2 bras
1 bikini (plan on buying a new one there)
1 rain jacket

Shoes
2 pairs of shoes: beach/waterproof/walking sandals and casual flats.
I would just wait to buy there, but I think I will be forced to buy men's shoes since my feet are an enormous size 10.

TSA compliant bottled toiletries...mostly composed of the Kinky Curly Knot Today, Curly Custard, and Kiehl's Oil Free Facial Cleanser.

     The Kinky Curly stuff is awesome. It's the only thing ever I've found that completely tames all the frizz and flyaways when I let my hair air dry without making it feel greasy/weighed down or the exact opposite effect products sometimes have on curly/wavy hair; crispiness. It feels soft with well defined waves/curls. It just feels like my hair even tho there's two layers of product in it. Crazy!

     As for Kiehl's Face Cleanser it's also a non substitution. I don't need to take it, but I want to take it. I like it simply for the lather. It's dumb, I know. I should also say it also makes my face feel clean without making it feel tight like regular soap does...blah blah..but really it's the lather.

Trash compactor bag to keep my stuff dry inside my backpack if there's a monsoon.
umbrella

Electronics

Kindle --Yes dammit, I go on vacation to read. It's the only time I get to actually finish a couple of books.
Laptop - Serves 3 purposes..offload my photos, entertainment while waiting in airports, keeping in touch via FB, G+, Skype, and GVoice.
Camera- Duh
Phone

Now, I should REALLY try to start learning how to say basic phrases like 'thank you', 'bathroom' etc.. in Cambodian, Thai, and Japanese.







                     

ALL THE THINGS!

     I haven't even taken this trip yet, but I'm already thinking of the next one. I mean, this year it was a little difficult to come up with Thailand as a destination. I don't know what's going to inspire me next year. I want to go to France, but I'm getting delusions of grandeur right now about possibly visiting South Africa. I'm also getting a little intrigued with Russia, probably because I'm reading too much of The Exile. The thought of anywhere else kind of bores me right now. As a solo woman traveler, I'm not sure how do-able any of this is and for whatever reason the thought of going alone to these places seems daunting. If there's something you must know about me it's that I'm a huge flake. Next year I'll probably be here (if I haven't gotten too lazy about blogging) declaring I'm going to California and then change my mind and say I'm going to Turkey instead.

     Speaking of flaking, I've had a change of heart about one of my hotels. It was in Chiang Mai and really the most expensive hotel of the whole trip. I am only going to be there for 4 days, 3 nights...and really it's just 2 nights since day one will be a travel day. Considering that I would like to do a cooking class and an elephant trek that could take me out of the hotel for practically the whole day for each day, I don't think I'm going to have much time to enjoy the splendor of my beautiful room and lazy soaks in my outdoor tub.
I still wanted a beautiful room just maybe something less expensive where I won't come away thinking, 'Well that was really wasteful.'. After searching I finally found a happy medium, I hope, between pretty and inexpensive.

 

     In other news I went and got shots last week and quite frankly I don't know if I saved money on this or not. I called my health insurance company to see if they provided immunizations for travel. They were like, 'Nope.', so I thought well I guess I will have to go the travel clinic route. I called around to one place and the shots were $100 USD a pop, plus a 80 buck ''consult'' fee. Considering that I wanted to just get 3 shots (Hepatitis A&B and Typhoid), with the consult fee on top, this was looking like a 400 dollar proposition, which is ridiculous. I've gone to a travel clinic before when I went to India in 2003, but it was on my company's dime so I didn't really give a shit about how much it was. I do remember thinking it was really expensive just for shots, but I was really poor then. I am not sure if I could've trusted my recall. I'm now solidly middle class with a cheap old car. Ramen noodles are now strictly crave eating as opposed to an absolute staple in my cabinet.

   Now I realize the RENTS BE TOO DAMN HIGH and all, but jeezlouise! Four hundred dollars is a lot of  money. I know for a fact that immunizations aren't that expensive because I went through a whole round of immunization shots a couple of years ago when I was thinking of going back to school. I recall maybe paying 100 bucks at most for everything..both rounds included. Also it was pissing me off that I couldn't get these shots through my health insurance. The thought I could've gotten them for the cost of a 20 copay, I sure as hell wasn't going to go all out the other way and pay this exorbitant amount which is only high because of this hole in health insurance coverage..at least mine. So I thought why not go to the place that gave you the whole round of immunization shots for school. My local county clinic. Sure enough they have a travel clinic. Hep A&B were 43.00 total and Typhoid 28.00. The consult fee was 50 dollars. Boom!
By the way, the typhoid shot left me a tiny bit sore afterward. The Heps were fine.

     I also bought a new Kelty 50 internal frame backpack because, dammit, I really want to go with carry-on only this trip. I have been so lucky in the past in regards to not having lost luggage when traveling, but I think I might be tempting fate this time. So I opted for this smaller backpack and hoping that it's carry-on compliant. One thing that is troubling me though is liquids. What do women do with all the liquids?

    Oh maybe I should reveal a little something about myself. I am a black female and our hair has special needs, be it natural or processed (permed). I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a decent detangler or a leave-in conditioner in Thailand. I don't think Thai people, generally speaking, really have to deal with frizzy,kinky, curly/coiled hair. If shampoo and conditioner were all that I would need, then I'd just get it there, but that ain't all I need to tame this beast on my head. And from what I hear with rainy season plus the heat and humidity, my hair will be a nightmare to deal with and I'm not that great at twisting or braiding. That being said, I need my products and 3 ounces is not going to cut it. I'm sure I will be washing my hair at least once a week if not everyday when I get to the beach portion of my trip (7 days) because I love swimming. So I've found that a cosmetics company called Lush makes a solid shampoo and conditioner and they make a shampoo that doesn't sound too drying even though it's got sulfates in it. I really don't like trying a new product while on vacation, but I really dislike the idea of checking in more.

     Now that all my hotels and finalized and booked, I am also looking into activities to do while there. There are guides and elephant parks and cooking schools. So far I've got a guide for one day for Bangkok to take me to the temples.I am going to try to do the floating market on my own and also I plan on getting a guide for Angkor Wat. Otherwise everything is wide open and I plan on going with hotel recommendations on the cooking school. The elephant park is a thing I am most conflicted with. While I would love to ride on an elephant, I mean when am I ever going to do that in life ever, but I now realize what they put the elephants through to make them tame enough. As such I am leaning with Elephant Nature Park as opposed to Patara. I won't have a elephant ride experience, but I think it will be enough that I will be able to feed and wash them. Of course I've never gone to Thailand ever in life either so not bad for a compromise.

My shiny new passport and my resolution to Tokyo overnight lodging.

I received my new passport yesterday and it's not a half bad photo. I look kind of red and shiny, but not hideous and even that took three tries at various passport photo places. 'Not hideous'  is highest standard I can muster for a passport photo. In the photo of my previous passport, I looked like a street tough from an off-off-Broadway version of West Side Story due to an unfortunate motorcycle jacket fashion choice.

The first set of photos were taken at a Fed Ex office. I just went on a whim because I thought my hair was looking and feeling fabulous that day. I got the photo and all my pores and imperfections were laid bare.My hair looked awesome! There was no way in hell this was going to sit in my passport for 10 years.  I then went to my local CVS. The WORST! I don't know what kind of lighting they use in that place, but I don't think I looked like myself...ok maybe funhouse mirror self. The third and final try before I was just gonna give up and try to do it myself was another Fed Ex office. The photo turned out fairly well. I was delighted!

Now that it's in the book it just looks slightly weird, but I'm ok with it. I feel like it is an accurate representation of myself. Possibly an even better representation of myself. I would like passport control officials to be dazzled and starry eyed when they see it, but having them just stamp the passport and saying 'Welcome to ___' is quite alright.

In other news I found a hotel in Tokyo albeit the outer edge or Tokyo. Screw staying in a capsule hotel.I remembered when I went to Japan a few years ago for vacation that a new boutique hotel was opening up. From what I could remember from the last trip is was a bit on the outskirts of the city, but it made it a little cheaper than staying somewhere downtown. Considering that I was basically going to be there for a longish layover, I figured I would be a little too jetlagged to do a lot of exploring, but at least I could stay somewhere interesting.

After searching to figure out the name (Thank Google!), I found it. It looks very cool and not horribly out of the way.
                                                                   

Claska Meguro

If anything I can go to Roppongi which is where I stayed during my last trip to Tokyo and it was quite fun.
I still have fond memories of dancing all night and drinking myself senseless at Soul Sonic Boogie. Then leaving the club at 3 or 4 am only to find bright, ridiculous sunshine right outside the door.

Tokyo Whine

photo courtesy PacHD

My flight arrives in Tokyo Haneda Airport at 11pm.
My flight leaving Tokyo on to Bangkok leaves the next day leaves at 645pm out of Narita International.


 I will have what I thought would've been a very nice little layover in Tokyo before flying out onward to Bangkok. Even though my arrival in Tokyo will be at 11pm, and with customs and luggage retrieval possibly taking an hour, I will truly be free at 12am and that's IF the plane arrives on time.

What I didn't find out until after I settled on the ticket was that it's a no fun situation.
The transportation options into Tokyo leaves the airport at 1230am. Taxis, from what I've read, are about 8800 yen . If my currency converter was correct, that's about 93USD (outrageous!) for a 30 minute ride in to downtown Tokyo. Haneda is closer to Tokyo than Narita so this alone makes it better to fly into in my opinion, BUT Narita seems to have more options on where to stay and cheaper even if you are stuck in airport region. In any case it's going to be a semi stressful situation when I get off the plane if I choose to risk that the stars will align, I will be alert, and automagically know where I'm going and I can catch the last shuttle into downtown. Murphy, however, may decide to lay down the law.

Staying overnight in this airport seems to be a thing as there are lots of forums where people are asking if it's ok to sleep in this particular airport. The answer appears to be yes and that it's fairly safe to do so as they have security walking around all the time.

I guess I'm just a little disappointed because I had already booked where I was going to stay, and now this is where I'll likely stay. While I would like to experience capsule hotel living, I would like to see the Tokyo city lights so much more (so spectacular) to the point I'm considering shelling out cab money AND staying at my desired hotel. I don''t know. I'm so conflicted and undecided!
These are my choices, which one would you choose:
a. No risk- Sleep in a capsule hotel.
Benefits: A quick taxi or shuttle to the next terminal and no worries about catching trains or buses until
the next day.
Cheap!
Con: It's a cap hotel. IN THE AIRPORT.
Possibly disruptive sleep from airport announcements and other snoring guests as there aren't really doors to rooms and walls are thin.
Won't see the city except when on the way to Narita to fly out.
I'll essentially be trapped in airport purgatory the entire day.

b. A real airport hotel
Benefits: Cheap taxi if I miss the shuttle.
A real room, with a real bed, and a real locking door.
Con: Expensive!
I may as well go into the city if I'm going to spend that kind of money on a room. At least I'd get to see the city.

c. Going to into the city to stay in desired hotel.
Benefits: The Cerulean is awesome. I loved staying there last time I was in Tokyo.
Opportunity to eat (izakayas, ramen shops!) and explore the city before  jetting out.
Shuttles arrive and leave at this hotel from both airports. Very easy.

Con: Definitely the most expensive of all the options.
Will need to take a taxi in when I arrive which could cost 100 bucks.

It really comes down to if I could stand a bit of discomfort for a day...well two days if you think about it.
The final destination is what's important, but even when I get to Bangkok, after a 5 hour nap then I'll have to leave to go to Cambodia. So really I won't have a full night's rest until I get to Cambodia. Considering plane rides knock me right out as soon as we level out, I can't imagine my jet lag recovery skills are gonna be that great. Screw it.

I think I just talked myself into an expensive taxi ride.

It's not London, it's not France...

So that's it then. I'm going to Thailand.
How I arrived at this decision was a long meandering mental road.

Let's just say France was the original plan, which was struck down after memories of my last trip to Paris. While I had a good time, I was part of a group and we could scowl at Parisian derision together. This time I would be solo and just feel I would have an even better time if I really hunkered down and tried to learn the language, which I am currently doing.

Then in a fit of, ''Oh God...where am I gonna go this year?!'' panic, I 'settled' on Hawaii rather spontaneously. It was born out of a conversation with my boss and a coworker. At the time it sounded perfect. I mean what could be better? Hawaii has absolutely beautiful landscapes, sun, and beaches. On these mere facts alone I went ahead a booked the ticket. Then I started doing the planning. That's when reality hit. Hawaii, believe or not, does have downsides especially for solo travel: not really geared towards solo travel (HA!), the necessity of renting a car, and the general expensiveness of day to day keeping yourself alive with food and drinks..ok cocktails..but drinks nonetheless, and shelter. I've also been to Hawaii before (Maui) so I would be sort of retreading old territory.

So what inspired Thailand?
This!
As soon as I saw the title of the article I facepalmed. Of course Thailand! I have been wanting to go there for years. However it seemed like everytime I bought the Lonely Planet book, there would be political upheaval and of course there was the tsunami. I just gave up the thought and fell in love with travelling through Brazil in the meantime.

The next thing was to find out was the cost of the plane ticket. I'd already plopped down a semi-respectable amount of cash for the Hawaii ticket. This would definitely mean more money not to mention the ticket change fee on top. Instead of searching for a flight from Atlanta, I decided to look for a flight from LA. Lo and behold, it was cheaper than from my home city. Of course still more expensive than my flight from Atlanta to Hawaii, but because I'd already purchased the Hawaii ticket it made the remainder price a little less painful. I figured I could probably snap up a good deal to/from LA later..which I later did.

Now with plane ticket bought, I had to figure out my itinerary and that turned out to be harder than I thought.
There are so many interesting places in Thailand. It's almost like you have too many choices on where to go and to make matters worse I started having thoughts like, 'Why not try to go to Cambodia or Laos and/or Myanmar too?'. I eventually nixed doing all three because that would mean being constantly on the move. I've done that before and I have to say it's probably the only time I can relate to a rockstar or a comedian bitching about being 'on the road'. Well, other than cracking lame jokes and singing in the shower or in the car. I did have enough time to do one of them, but which one?


Myanmar seemed a little too complicated in a couple of ways. The country is in the midst of some major political changes for the better hopefully, but still seems to be a bit wobbly. The visa process is a bit of work and apparently if you want to change money, crisp US dollars without marks or creases are accepted. I don't think there are ATMs either. The temples from photos I've seen are stunning and have put it down as a country to visit soon. It seems like a country that needs to be the destination as opposed to quickly tripping through for 2 or 3 days. Right now, I can just see me totally screwing up my bills and winding up flat broke (but not really broke because all my money is scrunched) and alone in a country that's sort of leaning toward democracy, but hasn't quite made it yet.

Now that I had taken Myanmar out of the running, it was between Laos and Cambodia.
Laos from what I've read is a very spiritual type of place. It's also become very popular with backpackers fairly recently. I think I just ruled it out because of travel logistics and I dunno..I just don't have an overwhelming curiosity about it.

I sort of knew it would be Cambodia all along, I just wanted to read up on the other places to see if what I'd read could swing my thoughts away from it. Angkor Wat is just too much of a tourist behemoth to pass up. For once I want to see a bonafide wonder of the world.

                                             

Turning back to Thailand, I pretty much knew I wanted take the well worn path to Chiang Mai and a beach. Beaches. Sooo many islands, so many beaches! To complicate things, I am  going during the wet/low season. And while you can get some great deals on places to stay,  you have to temper that with a possible rainout. I am hoping it will just be a daily cloudburst thing and then sunshine for the rest of the day.
Even if it does rain, I'll be rained out in Thailand! There's no way I could even complain. The only thing is if it gets bad, then I might have problems getting back to Bangkok and onward home. I'll just have to throw salt over my shoulder.

After poring through ALL the websites, I finally decided to hang my hat on West Railay. From what I've read it is a popular beach, but gets a little quieter once the daytrippers leave.After traveling around at that point I think I'll want 7 days of straight chill out time before heading back to Bangkok and then home. I also figured even if it did rain everyday I'd at least have great dramatic scenery for daily wonderment.

And here is what my itinerary looks like.

So there you have it.
From there I just booked all my intra-regional flights and hotels...and now I wait and blog about waiting.