Trekking the Planet

The Quest for Internet on the Road

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:27:29 +0000

One of our biggest challenges on this trip is finding Internet. We need Internet in order to publish our educational materials and also to answer the questions that we get from students. Our primary strategy has been to only book hotel rooms that offer free or inexpensive Internet. This way, we can at least check our email at night and in the morning when we are typically in our room. However, in order to give our subscribers the feeling that they are "traveling right along with us", we must have mobile Internet access so that we can post updates and answer questions throughout the day. In 2003, we took our kids around the world on an around-the-world trip. We used a Casio Cassiopeia E11 to write emails and reformat photos. We then transferred the emails and the photos to a CompactFlash card which we could later upload from an Internet Cafe. This worked well at the time. Even the smallest towns seemed to have an Internet Cafe. And, in general; they were cheap (a few dollars per hour). But the stakes have been raised on this trip. Instead of a single weekly email with up to 10 photos, we want to communicate at least once per day. The amount of data we want to send has increased too. For example, many of our videos are over 100MB. (That's a 100x increase!) In order to handle the increased demands for connectivity, we purchased phones on two competing networks. Sandy has AT&T and Darren signed up with Verizon. However, the international data plans are expensive ($30 on top of a normal domestic one) and they don’t support all of the countries that we plan to visit. In countries that didn't have coverage, using data can cost $20 USD per MB (just checking your email once can take 1MB)! Worse, the same countries that are not covered under international plans are the same countries that don't have hotels with Wifi or Internet cafes on every corner. The country of Laos is an example and we will be visiting more of these countries between now and when we arrive in Europe. Darren was able to get his phone unlocked before we left home, which means that he can use other SIM cards on the road. (Basically, the SIM card determines the carrier and phone number of the phone.) Our first experiment with locally-purchased SIM cards was in Singapore. We purchased a SingTel SIM card as we arrived into the country, just after we collected our luggage. It cost $20 Singapore dollars, which is about $16 USD. Inside the wafer-thin package were instructions in several languages, including English. The voice service worked right away. Darren made a test call to Sandy’s phone and she made one back to the number that called her – his new phone number with a Singapore country code. But the data portion (that which is needed for Internet access) required some configuration. After several hours of trying; Darren finally got it to work! This allowed him to check his email and also update our location on our Live Tracker page. This was an experiment at the time, because Sandy had access under her International Data Plan and our hotel has WiFi as well. Since we were only in Malaysia for three days, the next place it made sense to try again was Thailand. However, even though Darren configured everything as specified on the Thailand TRUEMOVE-H website, he wasn't able to get it to work. Darren even tried calling TRUE's call center, but there was no one available who could help him in English. The good news is that we only spent 149 Baht or $4.84 USD trying all of this. Nevertheless, we were encouraged by our SIM card experiments thus far, so we decided to put Darren's Verizon plan on hold for 90 days. In Laos, we were able to purchase an ETL SIM card at the bus station while waiting to leave on the bus from the Thai-Lao border to Luang Namtha. While the SingTel card had detailed instructions and TRUE had pretty detailed information on their website, the ETL card that Darren purchased said nothing about data and didn’t list their website. Darren was surprised when he called the call center and found someone that spoke "a little" English. Based on his prior experiments, he knew he needed something called a Access Point Name or APN. Darren asked the young man for the APN and was told to use “etlnet” and to leave the rest of the parameters defaulted. After making the needed changes and restarting the phone, it worked! Next, Darren wanted to figure out his balance, the cost to transfer a MB of data and how much more credit he should purchase before we really got off the grid in Laos. By calling the phone number 122 and hanging up, he found that he could have his balance sent as a text message (we had 15,000 Kip or around $2 USD credit.). He then turned data on and brought up google.com. Using a data monitoring tool, he was able to determine how much data he transferred. Then, by checking his balance again, he figured out that transferring a MB cost 360 Kip or about $0.04 USD. So instead of paying $20 USD per MB by using one of our plans, we got the same service for only $0.04 / MB by buying direct! Darren purchased another 10,000 kip (a little more than $1 USD) of credit and added it to his account by entering *121*, followed by a number that was revealed on a scratcher card. Finally, he checked his balance again and confirmed that he had 25,000 Kip ($3 USD) or the equivalent of 85MB! Now, as long as we had a signal, Darren could send a photo and a short textual update to Facebook and Twitter (we can do this using the Facebook and Twitter apps or by sending an email to a special email address.). We can update our location on our Live Tracker page using an app called Latify. We have just started to experiment making audio updates with an application called Audioboo and video updates using uStream. Of course, we also have access to email so we can answer questions that we receive from students. Overall, these tools, as well as the connectivity to the Internet, give our trip a level of interactivity not available in the past. Our next destination after returning to Thailand is Nepal. We are here for three weeks. Our strategy is to purchase a SIM card as soon as we arrive. Since neither of our International Data Plans cover Nepal, Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, the first time we will consider turning these plans back on is in July when to travel to Europe. How often you hear from us in the next month will depend on our level of success.

25 Things You Wouldn’t Believe About Countries in the World

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:30:51 +0000

A good friend forwarded this to us. Courtesy of List25.com, it contains a list of 25 things that may surprise you about certain countries in the world. Included are which country covers 12 time zones (hint: it is not Russia), which island has 350 sheep per person (hint: it is not New Zealand) and which country has the most lakes in the world. It's a great way to learn more about our cultural and natural world. To review the list for yourself, click here.

Video: Navigating the Mekong (Laos)

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 16:34:57 +0000

Catch up with the Van Soyes as they review their time on the Mekong. In this video, you will learn which countries the Mekong flows through. You will see everyday life on the Nam Ou River (a tributary of the Mekong). You will also see what it is like to visit the Pak Ou Caves and learn more about the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang, Laos.

Our videos are also available in Vimeo. Check out our channel!

Traveling the Rivers of Laos

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:41:23 +0000

[slickr-flickr tag="w16" size="medium"] May 1, 2012 Laos is a land of rivers. There are over a thousand rivers in the country with more than 2,850 miles (4,600 kilometers) that are navigable. Our travels in Laos took us on a three-day river journey down two major rivers in the country: the Nam Ou and Mekong. In addition to being an interesting and nostalgic way to travel, the river was actually the most direct route to reach our destination of Luang Prabang from the northern Phongsali province, as there are no direct roads. We started our trip in the small village of Hat Sa, population 500. After spending the night there in very basic accommodations we were ready to begin our trip early in the morning. We loaded our luggage into our longboat and left at 8:00am for the first leg of the journey, 74 miles (120 kilometers) to the town of Muang Khua. Mountains rose along both sides of us as we moved downstream. As it is the end of the dry season we had the extra bonus of encountering rapids every so often, created by diminishing water flowing over the rocks. Our driver, assisted by his son, did a great job piloting us through these obstacles. However, we had to pull over several times to fix the propeller, which kept getting nicked as a result of contact with the rocks. Along the river we traveled at about 15 miles per hour. We did not pass much traffic but went by a couple of villages every hour. There we observed children swimming in the river, girls washing their hair, or people out in their boats fishing. In addition, we saw many water buffalo by the banks, looking to cool off during the hot day. Another interesting sight were small turbines in the water with wires leading to village homes. The rushing water produced electricity for a few houses in this way. After about five hours the first day we arrived in the town of Muang Khua. Here we disembarked to spend the night at a hotel while the father and son team turned around for the trip back to Hat Sa. We had a new boat and driver the next morning when we started the 56 mile (90 kilometer) trip to Nong Khaiw. The terrain became less mountainous and featured more hills. The rapids continued and added some contrast to the peacefulness of the trip. We continued to pass villages and people along the river. Children were almost always excited to see us and would wave to our passing boat. We also saw people literally panning for gold in one part of the river. The last hour of the day brought forth some amazing karst scenery. Then we rounded a bend and were in the city of Nong Khaiw, which is situated among some of the most picturesque karsts. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at our hotel watching river traffic from our window. The last morning we left early to continue passing through the karsts south of Nong Khaiw. The morning light illuminated the karsts during the first hour of our journey, making it spectacular. After the karsts ended the terrain flattened out as we moved closer to Luang Prabang. About four hours into our 71 mile (114 kilometer) journey, the Nam Ou emptied into the Mekong River and we reached the Pak Ou Caves. These caves were used historically by villagers for religious purposes and contain thousands of Buddha statues. We visited both the upper and lower caves. In the lower cave alone are over 2,500 statues to see. A final hour back on the longboat brought us to Luang Prabang. We spent the next three days there relaxing in this peaceful town. We took the opportunity to watch the morning alms giving ceremony in which the monks walk around the city collecting food from the faithful. Visits to several of the Buddhist temples and the former Royal Palace also provided a great overview of this UNESCO World Heritage city. Our river journey was an amazing complement to our trekking in the north in terms of providing us with more local flavor. In all we covered about 200 miles on the water over the three days. However, the route we traveled may not be an option in the future. Roads are being built all over the area. We saw several being built with heavy machinery as we went down the river. With every road completed there is less demand on river travel. We were also told by several people that more than one dam is being planned on the Nam Ou River, which would make through journeys impossible. So we felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to enjoy the romance of river travel and observations of Lao daily life while it is still possible to do so.

The Search for Everyday Life in Laos

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:41:48 +0000

[slickr-flickr tag="w15" size="medium"] April 27, 2012 We have completed our first week in the country of Laos. We are spending more time in this country than any other during our five weeks in Southeast Asia. This is a remote area and by taking it slow we are hoping for “off the beaten path” cultural experiences. Laos is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia and getting around is not easy. Until the 1990s there were very few roads and thus rivers were the only way for moving about. So it was no surprise that we entered the northern portion of Laos from Thailand by actually crossing the Mekong River in a boat. The terrain of Northern Laos is a series of rolling hills and mountain ranges. The roads here are very basic. It is said that an average driving speed of 20 miles an hour is a good pace. We traveled about 300 miles in three days from the Thai border to the remote northern providential city of Phongsali (population 6,000 elevation 4,600 feet / 1,400 meters) and it was indeed slow going. The last day alone we spent about 65 miles (100 kilometers) traveling ever so gradually on rocky dirt roads. Couple the slow speeds with the heat, humidity and the “natural” air conditioning that the vehicles have and you will appreciate that traveling even just 300 miles in three days was tiring. Phongsali is indeed a remote place, being only about 50 miles from both the Chinese and Vietnamese borders. The limited infrastructure made getting food a challenge. There were virtually no restaurants, and although we kept a supply of snacks close at hand, the variety diminished as we moved further north. This area was the site of our first Asian trek. Our plan was to learn more about the ethnic people by trekking from village to village and participating in home stays. After we finally arrived in Phongsali, we met with our local guide, named Sang, to discuss logistics for the next day. He was concerned about the weather for the first day of our trek. The dry season here extends until the end of May, but the conditions looked threatening. During the wet season in Northern Laos transportation grinds to a halt, due to the condition of the roads, and trekking trails can be impassible. In the middle of that night we woke to the sound of heavy rain. It went on for about 15 minutes and then stopped. When Sang arrived at 8:30am to begin our trek he expressed some concern about the rainfall but felt that we could continue our hike as planned. We spent the first hour trekking on a wide dirt road to a small village. Unfortunately, almost everyone was already in the fields so it was deserted. We then turned on a very steep track leading down the hillside. Leaves and mud covered the path and made it very slick. After slipping a couple of times we got a feel for the terrain and made some progress down. It was very hot and humid. After another hour we took a short break to eat and then ended up on a ridge about halfway down the hillside. It was then that we could hear the sound of ominous thunder. We quickened our pace but it was clear that we couldn’t outrun the storm. When it came it poured. We had rain jackets and our packs were lined with plastic but we were still soaked from head to toe. After the rain passed 20 minutes later, the trail became even more treacherous and hundreds of leaches appeared. Both of these things made our progress excruciatingly slow. We continued to slide and fall and were continually picking leaches off our boots. We made it to the halfway point of the hike, at the Nam Long River, and took a break to eat some food and ensure that the last of the leeches were gone. Final score: leaches 3 for Darren and 1 for Sandy. It was mid-afternoon now and we had to climb hundreds of feet up a steep hill on the other side to get to the village where we were scheduled to spend the night. We started up but again made little progress due to the nature of the trail. At least the leaches had abated. After about 30 minutes we stopped to discuss our situation with Sang. At this rate we would not reach the village before dark. The next day’s hike was supposed to be even longer and steeper than this one. It was then that we decided to look for an alternative village location for that night. Sang suggested an ethnic Phunoi village called Ban Khounnounlaoung that was still a climb but on a less steep trail. This group of people emigrated long ago from Burma to Laos. Choosing this alternative would mean that we could not keep to our trekking plan, as there would be no way to include the other planned villages on the schedule. We felt that it was best to not continue with the original plan, as the trail was not conducive to multi-day hiking. Since we had both already fallen several times we did not want to get hurt and perhaps jeopardize our future planned treks. So we reversed course and within three hours were walking on the outskirts of the Phunoi village. It was quite large, with 39 families and 178 inhabitants. As we approached the village we saw beautiful tea bushes growing on the hill. Off to the side of the trail the village shaman was cooking up a brew with native ingredients to cure an ailing person. Several excited boys ran up to us and we tried an interesting piece of fruit, called a rambutan, right from the tree. It was a nice welcome after our 10 mile (16 kilometer) hike. Trekkers are always welcome in the chief’s home and we made our way there. The houses are thatched bamboo on stilts with a ladder up to the main living area. This consists of three rooms: the kitchen, powered by an indoor wood burning fire, a living room and a bedroom. There is electricity but no indoor plumbing. Underneath the stilts is used for storage and the chief kept two horses and chickens there. As we relaxed with some harvested hot tea, we had a perfect view of the entire main street of the village. We watched the man across the road hacking the inside of a banana tree as food for his pigs. We saw a little girl dart in and out of her front door, shy about seeing us. Boys went running up and down the street pushing a tire with a stick. Dogs, pigs, ducks and chickens wandered up and down the village path. As people saw us some came to visit. Sandy showed them pictures of our family and used our pictorial translation card to communicate. The chief and Sandy taught each other the numbers from 1 to 10 in English and Lao. Soon it was time for dinner and we enjoyed a nice meal of fish, fowl, sticky rice, scrambled eggs and more fresh hot tea. After dark, mattresses and blankets were set up on the floor of the living room and we slept well after such a long day. As soon as it was light the next morning at about 5am, the village came to life. Looking out of the chief’s house, we could see clouds covering the valley below. It was a peaceful scene. After breakfast we bid the chief and his wife farewell. We had received permission to speak about our journey at the village school. It was a basic building open on the sides with a dirt floor. Inside were a few tables and a chalkboard. Sandy spoke, using our inflatable globe, while Sang translated. The kids and the teacher seemed fascinated by our talk and Sang was clearly excited. When he suggested that we could spend the day visiting other schools in the area, we immediately agreed. Sang arranged motorbikes to transport us to several other villages. All the teachers and students enjoyed hearing about our journey and learning a little more about geography. We also learned how the students loved art and played basketball and volleyball. One small school told us that they wished that they could teach English but didn’t have an English teacher. In the afternoon we visited a private school and even got into the act with helping with their gardening activities. The next day we also spoke in the English class of the secondary school back in Phongsali and explored the town. This also gave us some time to nurse some bruises and slight injuries from the trek. So even though we did not experience Lao culture by trekking from village to village, as we had initially planned, we learned so much more by being able to not only spend the night in the Phunoi village but meet with children and teachers from six schools to share our enthusiasm for geography and the world. Next we are moving south on a three-day river longboat that will take us about 200 miles down the Nam Ou and Mekong Rivers to Luang Prabang. While we are on the river we hope to observe more local culture along these traditional transportation byways of the country, as we continue searching for life, Lao style.

Video: Off the Grid in Phongsali, Laos

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 07:20:26 +0000

Catch up with the Van Soyes as they review their time in the Phongsali Province of Laos. In this video, you will learn about their fascinating visit to the Phunoi village of Ban Khounnounlaoung, their visit to the sights around the town of Phongsali as well as their visit to several local schools with the help of "Sang", their guide / translator.

Our videos are also available in Vimeo. Check out our channel!

Miles to go before I Sleep – Traveling on Thai Trains

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:49:46 +0000

[slickr-flickr tag="w14" size="medium"] April 21, 2012 While in Southeast Asia we have been traveling primarily by train. In fact, we have covered over 1,700 miles by rail since leaving Singapore. We love trains and have taken them all over the world in countries ranging from Zambia to Peru to India to Canada. As we neared Thailand we looked forward to train travel here. We had experience with these trains eight years ago when we were last here with our children so we knew what to expect. They are great for covering large distances in a relatively painless way. So during our time here we planned three overnight trips for an average of about $30 per person per train journey. The air conditioned 2nd class car has 40 berths, 20 uppers and 20 lowers, arranged down a center aisle running lengthwise along the train. When we boarded the train our reserved ticket led us to two seats facing one another with a window between them. With enough room for four people, it was spacious to sit in these seats. The train contains a mixture of Thais and foreigners and is a great way to meet people during the time to travel to the destination. Soon after we boarded a food attendant arrives to take orders for dinner and breakfast the next morning. The menu consists of just a few items. We bought dinner and breakfast on one train and brought our own food on another. In the first instance the meal we ordered for 190 Thai Baht a piece (about $6.30 each) consists of a chicken plate and vegetable plate, which came with soup, rice, mushrooms and noodles and apple slices for dessert. Breakfast the next morning, for the same price per person, consists of an egg on top of toast, fruit and orange juice. There is also a dining car on the train with similar food but having it brought to your seat is very pleasant. After dinner another attendant moves through the car to prepare the berths. He motions to you when he is ready to transform your seating areas to beds. While we stand to the side with our daypacks, the process begins. The seats are moved together to form a horizontal surface. Then he unlocks the top platform and moves it down to place it above the seats. Inside the top berth are sheets, pillows, blankets, mattress pads and curtains. One mattress pad is placed on top of the bottom berth and that the bed is made. Then the top berth is made up as well. Finally, the curtains are placed in front of each berth. The entire process takes about three minutes and the beds are ready. The beds are comfortable and even though there are 40 people in the car, it is surprisingly quiet once everyone gets to sleep. The trains we booked were express so there were not too many stops during the night. The next morning, once everyone is up and moving around, the same attendant appears to take the bed apart, puts clean items in the top berth for the return journey and converts it back to the original configuration. There is still time to have breakfast, relax and talk to other passengers before arriving at the final destination. We have taken two of our three planned Thai train journeys: a 22-hour trip from Butterworth, Malaysia to Bangkok, Thailand and a 13-hour journey from Ayutthaya to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our last train journey will be 14-hours from Nong Khai to Bangkok, Thailand when we return from Laos. We could have flown any of segments but chose to take the train instead. Although these trains are by no means high speed there is nothing like experiencing the world at a slower pace to get a real feel for it. As we continue on our global expedition we have train travel planned in other areas of the world and will share our impressions as we complete those journeys as well.

Happy New Year – Thai Style

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:06:07 +0000

[slickr-flickr tag="w13" size="medium"] April 18, 2012 Our visit to Thailand happened to coincide with the Songkran Thai New Year’s festival. It is a four-day celebration that is an occasion to visit family and friends and even make resolutions, similar to New Year’s celebrations in other parts of the world. But what makes Songkran different is the water. The throwing of water signifies a way to cleanse or pay respect to individuals passing by. This has evolved to people walking around with water containers or plastic water guns to ‘greet’ others. Along the street it is even more extreme. There are groups who post themselves at the side of the road with buckets or hoses who douse anyone who passes by. Another step up from this are the pick-up trucks that roam the streets, filled with people sitting in the back who heave buckets on other pick-up trucks. Getting wet in April, which is the hottest month of the year, also provides an opportunity to obtain some relief from the heat. We were in Ayutthaya for the majority of the Songkran celebration. Before we went out each day we placed our wallets, cameras and phones in ziplock bags to protect them. We also utilized the free bikes offered by our hotel to cover the large sightseeing distances and to allow us to move quickly through any roadside water stations. This had mixed results. The roads were busy, so we rode single file, Darren usually in the lead. Time and time again, we would pass a water station and the revelers would only notice Darren right as he was passing by. This meant that they were ready for Sandy right behind him and she got the brunt of the water. Once you were wet, then others assumed you were a willing participant and things escalated from there. So Sandy ended up soaked. But it was all good fun and not so bad because of the heat and the precautions we took. The only problem was when talc was included in the water mixture. This created little clay-like lumps all over us, but fortunately it did wash out. However, the real attraction is the city itself. Ayutthaya was capital of the kingdom of the same name from about 1350 to 1767. It is estimated that close to one million people lived here in the early 18th century, making Ayutthaya one of the largest cities in the world at that time. In 1767 it was destroyed by the Burmese army and much of the historic city is in ruins today. That said, there are many sites to visit, both on the ancient city’s island, where the Grand Palace was located, and on the riverbanks surrounding it. These series of wats or Buddhist monastery temples contain other structures, including chedis (also known as stupas and containing relics) and prangs (towers). We didn’t want to get “templed out” in the two days we were there so we planned to visit just a few wat sites rather than try to overdo it. The first one we visited was Wat Yai Chaimongkhon. It is located to the southeast of the island and contains rows of Buddha statues. We also climbed up on a ledge to view the entire wat area. We moved onto the island and visited two wats while cycling by several more. Wat Maha That, built in 1374, is famous because it contains a Buddha head surrounded by a growing tree. It actually moves a few centimeters a year. Right across the way was Wat Ratchaburana which has a commanding prang tower with massive carved figures. We climbed steep stairs to the top. We then cycled off the island to Wat Chaiwatthanaram on the west bank of the river. The skyline is in Khmer style and reminded us a little of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. This was one place we could not walk into, due to flood damage that had occurred a few months ago. At the end of the second day we made our way to the train station to wait for our overnight train. The Songkran celebration was still in full swing with loud music playing. Even the train station staff was running around with plastic water guns, joining in the fun. Soon we boarded our train and left the ancient city of Ayutthaya behind as we continued our journey to the north of Thailand.

Video: Chiang Mai, the “Second City” of Thailand

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:59:48 +0000

Catch up with the Van Soyes as they review their time in Chiang Mai, the second city of Thailand. In this video, you will see the Night Bazaar and hear about our visit to the Varee International School.
Our videos are also available in Vimeo. Check out our channel!

Video: Experience the Ancient City of Ayutthaya, Thailand

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:49:42 +0000

Catch up with the Van Soyes as review their time in the World Heritage City of Ayutthaya (Pronounced: I Ru Tie a). In this video, you will see the Thai New Year's celebration of Songkran and the ancient sites of the ancient city of Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand.

Our videos are also available in Vimeo. Check out our channel!