Mini travel update plus FWD: TURN LEFT TRIPS

Hey All, 

Boosting the signal for a new travel company. This is a wonderful woman I met while wandering through Thailand last winter. She's pretty awesome, and these trips should be tons of fun. For all you, "I wish I could go travel like you do" people on my list here. :) Well, go have at it! (see below)

For a quick update on me, I am pretty settled in the Seattle area for now, it's pretty and I have been meeting a ton of nice people. I won't be going to Burning Man this year (lack of ticket mostly, but also lack of funds) and I'll probably be lying (somewhat) low on the travel scape till next year. I am going on a road trip to California on Friday for 2 weeks, so not NO traveling, just no out of country trips till I can pay the CC's off again and save up some money.

Thinking possibly another big trip next summer, since most of the rest of my desired destinations are either in the far north (russia/china) or in the Southern Hemisphere, Africa/India/South America/Australia/NZ and as you know, I try to avoid it being too hot!

Hope you are all doing fantastically. 

-Lila

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: elaine lalonde <elainelalonde@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:59 PM
Subject: Fw: Finally .... TURN LEFT TRIPS

Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 11:44 AM Dear All,   Some of you I know well, some of you I met while traveling.  All of you are women who came to mind when I was designing my new business venture.  Last winter I spend 4.5 months in Southeast Asia and had the time of my life - and laid the groundwork for TURN LEFT TRIPS.   It's been a couple busy months since I returned from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam...and I hit the ground running!  I had 10 days catching up with my precious grandchildren before I left for 2 weeks on St. John, USVI with my youngest daughter.  Somewhere inbetween there, I was hit by a car running a red light and my vehicle was totalled!  One bruise, and many days of car-hunting later, I bought a 2000 toyota Solara which I love.   Now that the dust has settled I have prepared all my documentation to finally launch my new business:  TURN LEFT TRIPS!  I will run 5 trips this fall/winter - all for women only.  Next year I hope to expand my itineraries to include men as singles, other couples, families, etc.   Please read the attachments and forward them to anyone you know who might be interested in joining me.    I have detailed itineraries for each of the 5 trips but I will not include them with this mailing.  If you have interest in a specific trip, please email me at turnlefttrips@gmail.com and I will then forward you the particulars.   I would also be interested in any comments you wish to make. 'May health be your constant companion' - Lyle MacWilliam Elaine Lalonde TURN LEFT TRIPS 760-717-7308

Thailand and out..

 [PHOTO TAGS] [Papaya salad makings][Local Veggie Vendor][Local restaurant by the train tracks][Limestone spring][Buddha statue in Bat cave][Bat!][2million bats going out to hunt][Fashion statement!][Hanging Fern in Khao Yai][Jungle Khao Yai][one of the other girls being brave (i didn't try it)][The floating market][Nok and I at a mini museum floating market][Thassen Local Market, Bangkok]

Final Travel Post!!

Thailand (again)

This time COUCHSURFING!! With Jurri (Thai) and Paco (French) in a neighborhood exclusivly Thai! Other than Paco, I pretty much saw only a few foriegners in 2 days. They have a nice small studio apartment with a baby pidgeon on the balcony. After the public bus ride to find them which was an adventure all in itself, Jurri and I went shopping to a local market for ingredients for dinner. Green papaya salad! With Sapodilla (new fruit) for dessert.

Next day Jurri and I walked through several streets of furniture maker/woodworker shops (and Thai people) to the pier where I took the ferry North to Thonburri (the northernmost dock) and wandered around the town and markets for a while.  Lots of Fishies, chicken parts, chilies and garlic. :) Got a bottle of "strawberry juice" which was pretty much mashed strawberries. Tasty but odd.

Eventually sucessfully found my way back to the apartment with only one wrong turn! I win. Dinner was noodles with chicken at a local place actually up against the train tracks. We walked along the tracks to get to it. The train is LOUD when it goes by, I know people live right up on the tracks as well, couldn't imagine being able to sleep.

Sadly left J&P to go on an adventure out of the city. I went and visited Khao Yai, a national park about 3hrs East of Bangkok for a few days. After arrival and lunch, i took the 1/2 day tour which included swiming at a natural "lime" spring (makes the water look almost fake blue from the limestone residue, really, really cool). Then wandering through a cave full of bats. Afterwards we drove to another "bat cave" where 2 something million bats live, and watched, through the rain, as they flew out for the evening at sunset. It was pretty darn cool.

Back at the guesthouse (with only cold showers) I talked them into giving me a bucket of hot water and had myself a "hot shower" of sorts. Still works. :)

Next day was the full day tour of the national park. We drove there in converted trucks, and were given "leech" socks to wear. It's today's MUST HAVE fashion accessory! :) Several hours of treking through the jungle (pretty much walking +), bugs and birds and a Chamelion and Scorpion later, we stopped for lunch at a sortof clearing with a downed tree to sit on. Lots of underbrush, but not as dense as I must say I was anticipating. There were many decidious trees mixed in with the palms and vines.

Next we piled back into the converted truck and headed to a waterfall (was in the beach??). Pretty and not a bad walk down to the base (it's only 20meters tall). A bit of time hanging out, talking and taking pictures. Finally rounded out the day by driving around looking for elephants, but we were unsucessfull.

Said goodbye to my new friends in the morning and headed back to Bangkok to do some more couchsurfing with Nok, who lives West of BKK.

Met up with her in the city and we headed out to her place via taxi, minivan and then MOTORCYCLE Taxi. Remember at this point I have my big backpack with me, certainly an adventure to balance on the back of a bike with it.

Chatting, a visit to the local market for dinner ingredients, cooking dinner, and EATING dinner.. oh sooo good. Penang curry with pork, fried beef, fried veggies (tomato, mushroom, baby corn, I made this), soup (with soft tofu, pork sausage) and mango sticky rice for dessert. Feast! Then more chatting.

In the morning (ish) we went to visit a nearby "floating market" with boats of stuff (mostly food and fruit and veggies) on the canals. It's an odd mix of really traditional and really touristy. Glad I went to see, but not really my favorite "you have to see it" place so far this trip. :P Nok's BF joined us and we drove to another floating market which had more shops you could walk to (along the sides of the canal).

Next off to "fisherman's village" where Nok bought some seafood including 4 live crabs. We had dinner at a nearby (all thai people) resturant, the menu was in Thai, Nok ordered. Crab in curry sauce was fantastic though dificult to eat. Payapa salad (too spicy) Fish egg soup (waaay to sour) and grilled seafood, clams good, mussels (too much crunchy stuff inside, ew) and prawns, good. Nok ate the heads. I did NOT. :P Then drove back to apartment.

In the morning Nok had to go to class so we split up and I headed back to BKK to spend my last 2 nights in the city. After reching Khao San and checking in I wandered to check out Chinatown. Total cheap plastic crap central. Couldn't find "real" chinatown, with actual chinese food or apothicary shops, even though I duucked down tons of alleyways. Oh well. Ferry back to Khao San and chatting and hanging out with some of the other peeps at the Hostel and I was good.

Final shopping day, I walked North till I found another local market, bought myself some more mangosteens, and a starfruit shake, wandered through shops and stalls and more shops. Caught a Taxi at 2:30am and headed to the Airport and home. It's been a FANTASTIC trip.

----

Arrived! NOW in Seattle where I'll be based for a few months helping my mother launch a new business. (Jewelry!) I'll definitly be making a visit run or two to Cali as soon as I get my car fixed (it wouldn't start) so hopefully I'll see most of you soon!

The Philippines - Puerta Galera (beach time!!)

There's not much to say about Manila at 3:45am in the morning. Glad
Ken was with me on the bus and could hang out till I left for the
beach. Fast food and walking with my backpack. Wheee.

Bus then Banka (traditional ferry boat) to Puerta Guelera (on the
Island of Mindoro) took 4+hrs. It's gorgeous here. white sand beaches
and tourquoise water.

White beach has lots of Hawkers and tourist places, the next beach
down is aninipuan where Sandra and robert stayed at the Tamara Beach
Resort, much nicer and more peaceful. I had to scrabble over the rocks
to get to it from WB where the boat let me off. Was an interesting
experience with my big backpack on and wearing flip flops, but not too
bad. We had Dinner @white beach, beef in oyster sauce, tough but good
flavor, no relation to oyster sauce. None of the food has been
worthwhile here yet. Booo.

I went swiming for a bit but there are lots of teeny tiny jellyfish
and I got tired of getting stung. Really takes the fun out of swimming
for me, at least it's pretty.

My new favorite thing here, Calamansi juice. Hot. (teensy tiny little
limes with an orange center that I am beyond in love with, so far the
only thing the Philippines have going for them)

Dinner tonight was barbecue, pork skewer, belly and chop, shared. Ok.
But not a whole lot of food. They snack all day here, so portions are
smaller. I am not snacking, so it's a bit dificult. Food is also not
that cheap. Ok, but not cheap.

Found a room in Coco Aroma for the rest of my stay here, neat, in
attic of bar, 1000P/night ($25) with it's own bath but it's outside
the room. Cold water shower. *sigh*

Woke late, NO ROOSTERS!!! Walked across to Anipuan to say goodbye to
Robert and Sandra. Then peace and relaxation hanging out with peeps in
the guesthouse. (beach hostel?) Took a trike with Elodie to Puerta
Guelera town, found a local market and bought mangos, a Guyabayana
fruit (green spiky) and a banana flower. Guy tastes like custard
apple, tangy and soft, somewhat mealy. Ok blended into juice but not
my favorite. I got to ride on the top of the trike on the way back!
Woot!

Banana flower is fantastic. Tastes somewhat like artichoke. Made 2
ways, boiled with sauce, and cooked in a coconut curry sauce. Mmmm..

One of the days I got off my butt and took a trek trip with Marcea and
Jonah and others from Coco Aroma. 1/2 hr boat ride to Occidental
Mindoro, then walk up to Jonah's uncle's house, gather machete and a
few other people. We walked along the rice fields for a bit, then
through a small village, over fences (baby pigs!) crossed the river
(knee to thigh high) 3 times and stoped near a pool of water to
swim/barbecue lunch. Barbecue pork/chicken wings. Salad, rice, on
banana leaf?/ stalk plates. Dessert RIPE mango. Yum. :) Local rum and
coke. Yay good food and good company.

After lunch we hiked/walked the rest of the way to another swimming
hole then headed back. There were a total 22 river crossings (knee
high or higher), plus walking along the river a bit. (Jonah brought
his guitar, and it was a humorous sight to see him fording the river
with it!)

On one rest stop, one of our locals traveling with us shimmied like a
monkey up the trunk of a coconut palm and cut some down. Bigger than
my head, they fell with a HUGE thump. The "water" was sweet and they
cut us "spoons" out of the husk to eat the flesh with. Yum.

First jungle trek I have ever done in flip flops! I felt like a
native. It was about 1/2 jungle, 1/2 rural. Very fun. Boat ride back
we all got covered in sea spray, it was very windy, aren't I glad I
had finally dried from the river. :P

Last day it rained, and rained. Finally cleared and I go a Henna
tattoo. Dinner was another banana blossom, cooked both ways. I also
bought some Canned fruit to check it out, the coco de Nato is really
good. Tonight we had Live music. Yay.

Off back North in the pouring rain, makes it both harder and easier to
leave. I'll miss the friend's I have made here.

Boat -> Bus -> Taxi -> Bus -> Jeepenie -> Hotel in Clark, again, ugh.
Long travel day.

Airport in the morning then I go back to Thailand.

Getting closer and closer to the end..

The Philippines, Rice Terraces

[sorry it's so photo heavy, hopefully will not cause problems]
[overnight train car before conversion][Bagio City Lake at
night][Philippine countryside from the bus][The view from the
Greenview in Banaue][a Semi loaded Trike (they can add more people,
just watch them!)][Viewpoint in Banaue][View from Simon's in
Batad][The waterfall, yes it was worth it][a village below Batad in
the rice terraces][A cute kid][More rice terraces with clouds
reflected][A full jeepenie.. or is it?][I would NOT want to live
here][.. that same Jeepenie.. one (or more) more!]

Sad leaving Koh Lanta. :( But off to the next adventure!

Minivan to train station, overnight train to Bangkok. It had narrow
bunks, converted from seats that are about 3ft wide, facing each
other on either side of the isle. The guy comes around and converts
them around 8:30pm. Interesting to watch.The trip was really bumpy and
there were lots of stops. It was freezing with the air con but I was
ok, having anticipated and slept in my fleece.

Public Bus->SkyTrain->Airport. The International terminal is pretty
insane with shops. Plane->Clark International Airport, Philippines!

Thankfully I met some people on the plane, Angeles (the city where
Clark is, just north of Manila) is NASTY. Was really glad for the
company. A Philipino girl from a diferent island and I shared a room
for the night in a pretty iffy hotel that was recomended?? WTF. HUGE
angled mirror facing the double beds. Glad I have my sleep sheet.
There are soooo many strip clubs and hookers here I lost count. Many
hotels charge by the hour. Ugh.

[JOKE] How many Philippinos fit in a Jeepenie? (answer at end)

Next morning walked to jeepenie (fantastically decorated vehicles
converted from old jeeps abandoned when the US left the Philippines)
station and caught one to bus terminal. Bus to Bagio City. Met really
nice montrealians on the bus. Sandra and Robert. Arrived at BC at 3pm.
Expensive hotel, not that nice. Went and walked into "town" past a
really nice park with a boating lake in it. Walked a bit more just to
look, then dinner at Cafe by the Ruins. Salad! Then ckicken pitikipan?
Chicken in a sour soup, not too tasty. Then delicious strawberries and
cream and a demitase of hot bittersweet chcolate with cinnamon. More
walking and night photography then taxi back to hotel.

Bus. 9 long (but pretty, it's green here) hrs later arrived in Banuae.
The bus constantly stops to pick up passengers and drop them off.
Checked in to the Greenview, which was recomended. The view from the
balcony area and resturant is pretty spectacular. Pork Adobo for
dinner (a bit too salty for my taste, but ok). Bed.

Woke, rooster started at 4am!! We walked to "viewpoint" up the road,
watching the villagers and local kids, it was hot but fun. Took
pictures, lots of pictures. Lunch was Pancit Canton, square spagetti
sized noodles and vegies. I tried a red horse beer, it's ok. Nothing
much the rest of the day, it's raining.

Woke (4am again with the rooster, bloody bird!!), took a Jeepenie to
the saddle (you can take a trike to the junction, 3km below the saddle
on a reallllly bad road for cheaper, but oh wow I wouldn't want to!)
We then had to walk down from saddle to Batad. It was Gorgeous and
while steep, not as bad as I was expecting. Lunch was a pita (homemade
flatbread) with salad and cheese and egg, second really tasty food I
have had here, and it's hard to mess up strawberries!

Split with S&R at this point and checked into Simon's lodge to spend
the night. Met up with some american/canadians. Jenna, Gina, Jennifer,
Alison, Jeremy and hiked with them to the waterfall. Down and across
the rice terraces, then down a million uneven steps. Goregous though.
Then back. Oh god the stairs, ow. Dinner was Noodles with vegtables,
absolutly delish, with carrots, cabbage and greenbeans and some other
veggies.. squash?

The power was out for 1hr or so. Bucket shower! They boiled me water
and I "showered" by candle light, it was a interesting experience.
Then card games and hanging out. Bed early.

Woke, mellow, breakfast pita with cheese, egg, and tomato. Hanging
out. Massage!! For 350P plus tip = 400= 10$. Bought a gatorade for
$1.50. Then hike back up to the saddle, took about 45 minutes, oh ow
again. Thank goodness it was cloudy. The last bit is 417 steep but
thankfully not tall steps to the top.

Bumpy jeepeny back to Banaue. Lunch of Pork Adodb and another fruit
salad. Wandered through the souvineer shops. Bought a box and a few
neckalaces. Fruit. Night bus to Manila. (oh my F*&^ing god was it
cold. I was freezing in a long sleeve top AND my fleece, my NOSE was
cold.)

[JOKE - ANSWER] How many Philippinos can you fit in a Jeepenie?
One more! (or 6, who's counting :P)

Beach Break, Koh Lanta, Thailand

Jan 10th, 2012

Public bus to bus to airport. Singapore airport budget terminal isn't
all that nice. Plane to Krabi.

STUFFED minivan to Koh Lanta. There were too many people and the
driver kept trying to get a girl to move to the back (where there were
no more seats) and she kept resisting since she paid for a
seat.Eventually the driver gave up and told the 2 extra people they
had to wait for the next van. They piled all the luggage, and tons of
huge bags, on the top.

Arrived at Chill out house on Koh Lanta. It's made mostly out of
driftwood and recycled materials. I slept in "Floating" a bed out in
the middle of everything the first night. Moved to a closed(ish) room
the next when it came open. There is tons of Driftwood art. Neng and
the rest of the guests/workers were awesome. I got to explore the
outdoor kitchen. Washing dishes in cold water, always fun. The cold
showers though I could have done without. Hard to rinse my hair.

Spent the next few days making frineds and doing much of nothing. One
sunrise hike on the beach, and several walks to the main road to get
tasty inexpensive dinner. One pretty good massage and beer and company
in the evenings. A good rest place for a while.

With a bit over 3 weeks still to go I got talked into visiting the
philippines by an english woman I met. She raves about it so much,
I'll have to check it out. Booked a flight out of Bangkok, and now I
just have to take the train there.

Singapore!

Jan 8th

Decided to head to Singapore for a few days to stay with a couchsurfer. Took a SUPER VIP bus there (only 18 seats, lots of legroom and recline), almost 6 hrs with immigration. Made it through, though aparently the bus only waits for you for 20min. If you don't make it in that time they leave without you and you have to get a ticket on another bus.  Met JoAnna at vivocity, then got desert (for dinner). I got Mango Pomello Sago (Fresh mango and pomello with Mango pudding and small tapioca pearls as far as I can tell) it was wonderful. I also got to try mango dumplings (like mochi) and a mango pancake (mango puree? and whipped cream wrapped in a thin pancake into a small package) and hot black seseme paste. Everything was very, very good.  After desert we walked to see the harborfront for a brief,  very pretty view.

Prices here seem to be about equal with US prices (a little lower but not much). With the Singapore Dollar being almost one to one, it's not the cheapest city to visit. Still ok for a few days. 

Jan 9th was an insane day, trying to fit in all of Singapore! J and I had breakfast in a nearby food court type area, I got roasted duck noodles. Then I took off on my own with a map and bus/Metro schedule. Bus to Little india, wandered through the wonderful smelling streets, oh the spices! Then walked to Arab street and checked out the shops, pretty much all the same. 

After a bit of random wandering lost I managed to find the convention center and wandered through the mall a bit before snacking on an iced Peach Jelly. With Peach jelled stuff, shaved ice and Large tapoica pearls? Then more walking around. It's such a clean city with lots of green space. Tons of construction though. Eventually found the National Museam and spent several hours wandering through it. There was a fantastic HUGE history "section", an impresionists exhibit from the Orsay in Paris, and a beautiful swinging chandelier art piece. There was also small exhibits on food, dress and photography throughout Singapore History. 

Caught the Metro (super easy, though took me asking 4 people to find the station down 4 flights of stairs in the university!) over to Chinatown which was full of people and stalls gearing up for Chinese New Year. Met up with J and checked out the opulent Buddah's Tooth temple and saw an inpressive Hindu temple. Bought Jellies and had Dim Sum for dinner. Mmmm tasty. After more wandering we headed over to the Orchard Street (shopping district) area so I could say I saw it. Had to use the bathroom and wow. Couldn't resist taking a photo. Most bathrooms this trip have been pretty jenky. This one was a 10 out of 10. Wow! Then we bussed it back to the Apartment where I bought a plane ticket for the next day! Talk about flying by the seat of my pants travel. 

Next, Back to the beaches of Thailand (or the cheapest flight out of singapore!)