Bloggers of the World, Unite!!

OK now, for reasons open to speculation, the Chinese government has blocked all blog sites. Thankfully there is a way to get around this should you use blogspot, so I can still post! It's like I never even moved to a communist country where the government periodically tries to hinder the influx of information by blocking silly sites where people discuss what they had for breakfast in the morning or whine about their favourite TV show being canceled. Yeah, you go, China! I for one stand by my right to tell the world what brand of laundry detergent I switched to or what I think of Britney Spears' new haircut. I joined the growing ranks of bloggers the day I created my blogspot account back in July of '06 and I am committed to telling the world every minute detail of my fascinating life. And, as usual, one of the many knights in shining armour of the cyber-world has found a way to get around this blockade and created a proxy. We will prevail!

OK on a more serious note, things like this are common in many countries, China being one of the most notorious. Some speculate that, with the large congressional meetings taking place in Beijing during March, the government wants to tighten controls on the information flow, but this is just conjecture. And it certainly is not the first time it happened. A few months ago China un-blocked Wikipedia, that free online encyclopaedia we are all wild about, and within a week had re-blocked it. I don't understand it and I just get frustrated attempting to.

In all honesty I still consider myself a reluctant blogger after all this time, using blogspot primarily so my family and friends back home can see pictures and read my little anecdotes. I do get occasional bursts of creativity, but other than those rare flashes of inspiration, they go little beyond pictures and descriptions. And I have yet to post the contents of my breakfast online. One day, perhaps I will get there. . .

OK time to stop burning holes through my eyes with this computer and go watch TV. Although my favourite show's been canceled so I don't know how much fun that will be.

:D

Penang, Malaysia

The beautiful Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss), one of the most famous Buddhist temples of SE Asia. We visited this temple during the few days we spent on the island of Penang. It rises above the little town of Ayer Itam with the Temple of the Ten Thousand Buddhas at the top, and shrines, gardens and a turtle pond along the way.








The fusion architecture - colonial and Chinese influences - is everywhere in Georgetown.
We also visited Fort Cornwallis, built in 1786 by Sir Francis Light after he took possession of the island from the Sultan of Kedah, thus making it a British outpost. The fort was named after the then Governor-General of Bengal, India. Its function ultimately became more administrative than military and during its entire history it never became engaged in any battle. In the last few years, a great amount of recording and ongoing restoration work has been taking place by the Malaysian government involving building conservation, surveying, architectural and engineering knowledge and archaeology.








Playing at the fort. I showed the picture of me to my kids and asked them why I was in prison. I got "stole something", "made a fire" and "cooked bad food". So not only am I a thief and an arsonist, but a horrible cook as well! So much for the cooking course I took :).
Mmmmm amazing Indian food - roti canai and milk tea.

The South

We spent a good amount of time in the southern beaches and islands - Krabi town, Ao Nang beach and Lanta Island.








We spent a day kayaking in the mangrove forests - which involved exploring caves, feeding monkeys and following in the footsteps of James Bond. . .

The monkeys were rather aggressive! They jumped right into our kayaks for the pineapple. They sure were cute. . . and smelly.
Kayaking through the site where James Bond was filmed





































The pier at Koh Lanta (Lanta Island), where we stayed for a few days.

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai is the main city of northern Thailand. This was one of my favourite places on our trip - the north is full of cooler temperatures, mountains, beautiful national parks. . . I felt like I could come back and spend a lot of time just wandering around. Chiang Mai is an old walled city built in 1296 (it's name means "New City") and situated on ancient trade routes. Today it is modern and very resort-y feeling, with very few high rises and lots of outdoor restaurants, bars and markets. It was nice to get out of the smog and chaos of Bangkok and spend some time here, although this was one of those places where I left wishing I had more time to explore it.











Elephant trekking :D We got the baby one, and all he wanted to do was eat. It was quite adorable. We also went trekking and bamboo rafting (decided to leave my camera out for that).
The stunning temple known as Wat Phra Doi Suthep. This is the most important Buddhist temple of northern Thailand. Legend says that worshipers placed an image of Buddha on the back of an elephant and followed it around until it trumpeted and laid down, thus marking the site of the temple. The main spire is surrounded by bells donated by worshipers, which people walked around and ring (see left), giving the site a magical sound.











Welcome to Thai cooking class! We took a day-long course and cooked a number of amazing dishes:
Pad Thai
Spring rolls
Green curry
Tom Kha soup
Cashew chicken
Mango sticky rice
Thai food is rich, fragrant and super flavourful - lots of curry, lemongrass, coconut milk. . . check out the other local specialties below:
Singha Beer - Thailand's most popular brand











Left: Mead wine, made from honey
Right: At "Just Khao Soy", a restaurant that took simple, northern-style street food, known as Khao Soy, and turned it into a culinary adventure. It is basically curry sauce and egg noodles, with a lot of little "extras" on the side (yes, it requires a bib).
I will definitely be cooking when I come home to Canada. As long as I don't forget everything in the meantime!

Bangkok

Our trip began in Thailand - first in Bangkok, then up north to Chiang Mai, back to Bangkok and finally to the beaches and islands off the southwest coast.

River boat on the Chao Praya river. The old capital, Thonburi, is located on the west side of the river (pictured here). King Rama I moved the site of the capital to the other side of the river in the late 18th century, to where present-day Bangkok stands.

























Pictures of the Grand Palace on the banks of the Chao Praya River

















Food!! One of the most important discoveries on the road. Clockwise from top left: colourful fish cakes, poached quail eggs, happy boazis (steamed bread stuffed with meat, vegetables, etc.), fruit smoothies - some of the best in the world here

Traveling, Traveling and Traveling

Our Chinese New Year vacation, which began with a slightly strange Christmas in Shenzhen, western New Year's in Hong Kong and a trip to the ancient capital of Xi'an, next took us on a loop through Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. Our journey was mostly by train and sometimes not-so-stable bus, but we made it without any real problems. We returned "home" with tans, bags stuffed with the luxuries of the orient - silks, maps, jade, massage oil - and a feeling that there is so much more out there to see and experience than 4 1/2 weeks can allow.

Blogging about all this is a daunting task, so I will mainly just be posting pictures of our time in SE Asia (although I will have a few comments to post along the way!).