The World's Largest Volcanic Lake - Lake Toba, N. Sumatra

Before I left on this journey, I was watching a nature special with Darryl on the Sumatran Rhino and found myself entranced with Sumatra. I am the first to admit I have a horrible sense of geography, so when I found out that it was right next to Malaysia, I was sold.

When I landed at the airport in Medan, Sumatra, I realized it was the most "foreign" I had felt since I started this trip. Let's start with the obvious: I was the only white person on my flight, and saw maybe one or two white people throughout the entire airport.

Calls of "LADY!" and "MISS!" would follow me from the airport until now. I don't expect it to stop. Thailand was certainly not like this at all, probably because it is overrun with tourists, and I only got a small taste of this in Malaysia. Here people are very, very curious about me. And unlike the states where someone would gawk but not say anything, many will brazenly walk up and say "Hello Miss! Where you from?"

America, the promised land. They believe in the hype, and I can't blame them, because this is also the most impoverished country I've visited. Which is another reason for the attention - my money. And again, that's OK.

My least favorite question: "You travel alone?" ... because I can't answer honestly. It's just not smart.

The first full day here was a long, confusing day full of non-stop travel to reach my required stop: Lake Toba, the site of a massive supervolcanic eruption (and the largest known explosive eruption on earth in the last 25 million years, THANKS WIKIPEDIA). A resulting collapse from the eruption led to the formation of Lake Toba. My end destination was the island in the middle, and I hoped to take in its beauty and reflect on life. 

The local Batak people are predominantly Christian
and these buildings dot the side of the roads

It was about 9 hours of travel, which started in a rundown minibus with the locals, who again asked probing questions, and even wanted to take pictures with me. I agreed, but only on the condition that I could take a photo of them back.

A hot, smoke filled 5 hours later (you can smoke on these buses and ferries, and the driver chainsmoked the whole way), they dropped me off in Parapat, the town with the ferry to Samosir Island in the middle of Lake Toba. They didn't drop me off with any directions, so when another minibus full of schoolkids (some of them smoking) pulled up and said "Ferry!" I hopped in. I paid about 50 cents and was dropped off at a ferry terminal. 

Definitely the wrong ferry

I suspected it was the wrong terminal, as the "right" ferry came every 30 minutes, but as no one spoke English except to confirm that a ferry stopped there, I waited 2 hours. Once on the island, I hopped on the back of a scooter to my guest house, a 40 minute, very uncomfortable bumpy ride due with my 15kg pack on.

When I showed up at the guest house, I was greeted by a friendly employee, Jelita, who looked shocked at my time and mode of arrival. I had definitely taken the wrong ferry, and she told me that the right ferry would have dropped me off right at the guest house. 

But suddenly everything was OK, because she was so sweet and comforting. Her voice purred with her "r"s gently rolling every time she would say "No problem, my friend." I felt right at home.

I dropped my luggage in my room and sat down for dinner, only to witness the spectacle of an overweight middle aged Russian man arrive in the same way, but this time on the back of tiny Jelita's scooter. He was exclaiming "THIS IS IS JUST CRAZY" in a thick Russian accent, and I knew we had something to bond over. His name was Vladimir and he was a physics teacher. For real. We agreed to rent scooters together the next day and explore the island.

It turned out that Vladimir liked produce. Like really, really liked produce. So when we went to the market the next morning, he must have bought at least 8kg of fruits and vegetables, including tiny chilies that he eats raw. Our small trip proved tiresome to Vladimir, so I continued on my own to the Stone Chairs, which were used by the ancient empire for judgment and execution... and apparently cannibalism.

There are no words to describe the sheer variety and beauty of the island landscapes on Samosir, only pictures. I spent the next day just driving in one direction until I thought I might run out of gas, and was greeted by scenic vista after scenic vista. The photo opportunities were endless. Whenever I would drive by other tourists we would give each other a knowing smile: We were somewhere very special.

Unreal

Working the land

On one hill I was greeted by children who ran after me "HELLO! HELLO!" and then they chanted "Money, money, money, money, money!" - the only English they spoke.

Back to money, which kept running through my mind. On my "meager" budget, I was still wealthy in comparison and these people had so little.

Jelita and I had become fairly well acquainted over the past few days, so I asked her that afternoon (my last day) to take me to her shop, as well as help me find some authentic wood carvings, which the Batak people of the island are known for. She drove me to her store and showed me some woven textiles made on the island. I selected a few items as "maybes" and we headed to the woodshop.

As she drove we chatted, and remembering that earlier she had asked me if my parents were "around," I asked the same of her. She let me know her father had passed, and that her mom was very sick in Medan. As she is a single mother trying to put her son through school (she never finished school) and makes very little money at the guest house, she admitted she couldn't afford to go see her mother. She was able to take the time off, but with the cost of transporting her son to school, it wasn't possible.

I asked how much the trip would cost and she said about 300,00 Indian Rupiah (IDR), or $25 USD. I felt myself tearing up. Yes, it's a lot of money for a local, but I couldn't imagine $25 standing between me and my family if they were sick. And this is a reality for many, many Indonesians, and well, anyone in poverty in the world.

Jelita then took me to her family's carving shop and I bought a few fantastic pieces to send back home with Darryl. When we got back to the guest house she asked if I wanted to buy the textiles we had discussed. I handed her the 300,000 IDR, but knowing she wasn't making much of a profit off what she sold, I told her I didn't want to buy anything. I just wanted her to go see her mom.

I spent the rest of the evening grappling to wrap myself around this reality. We all know poverty exists in the world, have maybe even suffered through it, and I have seen it throughout my travels - especially noticed by me in the form of animals suffering. But you just never know when something is going to hit you hard, and this did. 

The next day I was supposed to take a bus to Bukit Lawang up north, the place that National Geographic dreams are made of, to see orangutans. The guest house had told me it was a 4-5 hour drive, but once I go to the pier they gave me a more realistic 8-10 hours. Knowing I had a busy week ahead of me, I just couldn't fathom that much time in a car. I'm glad I just went back to Medan, because it took 6 hours and I was OVER IT by the end.

So now I have a big reason to come back to Sumatra. Hopefully it will be on a big trekking expedition in a few years with Darryl, when we can spend extra time really getting lost in the jungle, seeking out the elusive and rare Sumatran Rhino.

Next stop.... Java!

-Erin

Pit Stop In Malaysia - Penang Food Paradise and Langkawi Island Escape

"I talk a lot about getting lost in the East. About breaking away from the world you left behind. If only for a week, or a few days, it’s easy to do that here. To take pleasure in the unfamiliar. To be forced, just walking down the street, or ordering breakfast, to learn new things. Let me tell you – that feels good; especially in Penang." 

- Anthony Bourdain 

I have wanted to visit Penang since that famous Bourdain episode. I came and left with mixed feelings, but I also feel like we weren't properly introduced.

There definitely is a cultural shift once you hit Malaysia as a majority of the population practices Islam. It was visually apparent based on the many mosques and more conservative dress, and also something you could hear, with the call to prayer echoing throughout the area wherever we stayed. It is quite beautiful.

Our first day in Penang was a rough one. As we were walking (well off the street) a man on a scooter zoomed up onto the sidewalk past Eric and I, then quickly zoomed back into traffic, almost getting into an accident. I glanced at Eric who looked a bit shocked, and he told me that his gold chains had been ripped off his neck by the guy driving the scooter! What the hell?!

Calling for back-up

We were taken to an officer who must just sit and drink coffee at the same spot every day as a "police hub," who called for back up. A police van showed up and they gestured at us to get in - we definitely looked like American convicts on our ride to the (FIRST) police station. As it all happened so fast there was no way to ID the guy, but Eric filed a report for insurance reasons.

They said we had to go to another police station, and ended up in the "DETEKTIF"s office. They unsuccessfully tried to extract details about the assailant. Eric got his stamped report for insurance and one of the detectives, Azmi (a Corporal) drove us back to our hotel. I have to hand it to the Malaysian police, because they were very nice and easy to talk to and could have easily told us to find our own way back. Anyway... day kind of ruined.

This guy asked up front if we wanted a photo - of course!

We wandered around the town a bit more and I appreciated the colonial style juxtaposed with modern, and especially the abandoned buildings that they had let grow over with foliage.

It was something out of this History Channel special I saw called "Life After People," and while staring at some of the structures pretended it had been 50 years after humanity had been wiped off the earth.

We ate some non-Malaysian food - burgers! - with very unique black bamboo charcoal buns. They tasted pretty much like normal bread and are supposed to be a very healthy alternative.

Char Kaoy Teow

I wanted to head to Langkawi Island the next morning, which is a 4 hour ferry ride away, so while Eric stayed in the room that evening, I went off (a little nervously after the day's earlier events) on my own to track down some of the famed street food.

I first went to the Red Garden which is a well known food court, but as I had no way to save a table while ordering food, I abandoned ship and went to the vendors that were set up nearby our hotel. I excitedly ordered my first famed Malaysian dish - char koay teow and took a seat.

I realized I was definitely the only foreigner in the area and while I sat there taking in the sights, I realized what Bourdain meant. I felt completely removed from the hustle and bustle of tourist Asia, and like I had found my own little food paradise. I devoured my char kaoy teow - imagine a very peppery tick noodled pad thai with the extra goodness of the pan scraped onto it, and went home to prepare for the journey ahead the next day.

The ferry ride was pretty uneventful and at first we weren't too impressed with the beach near where we were staying on Langkawi. I had Phuket flashbacks from all the garbage, ugh.  I knew that if we rented scooters a whole other world would open itself up to us, so we did just that the next day.

View from the Langkawi Pier - huge eagle statue!!!

The island is absolutely gorgeous once you escape the touristy areas, and even felt a bit more untouched than many places I went in Thailand.

At one point we ended up at a police checkpoint, asking if I had a driver's license. Sure I did! and I gestured at my backpack, so they let me pass. They didn't have to know that it was merely my Washington state one and I lacked an international driver's license.

It boggles my mind that we drove past at least 30 checkpoints in northern Thailand (most unmanned) and at no point did anyone even talk to us, but twenty minutes into our first Malaysian scooter adventure and we had to interact with the police.

There were also monkey police, and I mean real monkeys. After the checkpoint I slammed on my breaks as I saw about 7 monkeys just hanging out on the side of the road. Outside of Monkey Island in Thailand, I haven't had much exposure, so it was an exciting moment.

We got off our bikes and started taking pictures when I was reminded about where Curious George got his namesake. I left a plastic bag hanging from my bike, and when I turned I saw a monkey pawing through the bag looking for food. Then he just sat on my seat, staring at me with beady eyes. Honestly I'm a bit terrified of monkeys as I've read enough tourist horror stories, so I snapped a few pictures and just waited for it to jump off because I wasn't about to get rabies.

Back on the road, and after getting lost a bit, we found a much less popular beach at the north of the island, with the kind of waters I was hoping for. I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise considering this island shares the Andaman Sea with Thailand. Paradise found! The lush green countryside was a wonderful accompaniment.

We revisited that beach the next day before I had to get back to Penang. Eric decided to stick around Langkawi for another day before heading back to Seattle to see his family, so we parted ways, and I took the ferry back home solo.

Why they decided playing a (pirated) version of Captain Phillips was a good idea is beyond me, and I'm still pissed off that I wasn't able to watch the last 15 minutes due to the pirated DVD malfunctioning.

For my final night in Penang I HAD to eat more Malaysian food lest consider myself a Penang foodie failure, and sought out the top rated nyonya (a name given to the Penang style of food) restaurant. The owner had a set menu that he kindly let me sample even though I was a party of one.


I loved half of it and the other half not so much. I didn't expect to eat baby stingray but there it was, and I felt obligated to eat it. It reminded me of flavorless fish in a delicious sauce....

Don't know whether to blame the cook or the stingray, but it was still a great experience nonetheless.

As I flew out of Penang and got a bird's eye view of the city that I missed on the way in, I wished I had more time. It was stunning. Honestly the scorching sun and heat (90+ degrees) may have made the visit a bit difficult, but I can always go back.

-Erin

Christmas in Chiang Mai, NYE in Bangkok - I've Always Wanted to Say That

It is a pretty unique opportunity to spend your holidays abroad, but honestly it just doesn't feel right. At least not without Darryl, or the normal family traditions (where are my Norwegian meatballs??). I am thankful I had Eric by my side and we were able to try to be the most AMERICAAAN we could be while in Chiang Mai for Christmas.

Our plan of action at first was thus:

• See Anchorman 2
• Eat Chinese food

In either order.

In reality what happened wasn't what we planned, because (NOOOOO) Anchorman 2 does not exist in Thailand...and there was no breadcrumb trail anywhere on the internet to hint that it was ever going to end up in Thailand. Anchorman is a shared favorite movie of ours, so we came up with a backup plan and decided to see American Hustle, which was listed as "American Bullshit" on the Thai movie websites.

We got to the movie theater and found no American Hustle (such Bullshit!), so our options were slim... very slim. Demonstrating our lack of options, we chose "Walk with Dinosaurs 3D." The next showing wasn't for 2 hours leaving us with empty bellies unwilling to wait the trek to the Chinese restaurant I had in mind.

So we proceeded as Americans should, and found the Pizza Company in the mall. The Pizza Company had been tantalizing us for days with its disgusting cheese stuffed crust with lava cheese dip pizza option, so that happened. And it was delicious.

The movie was really, really bad, even though I did cry at one point (shut up). We spent a few more days in Chiang Mai, ate some non-Westernized Chinese food (it's just not right!!!), and took our scooters for one last trek, up to the top of Doi Suthep, where it was cold, cold, cold and the skies were not clear. Part of the joy of Suthep is the views of the city it provides so that was disappointing, but at least we got to zip around the city before taking our flight the next day to Bangkok.

Bangkok... oh Bangkok. It was pretty much what I expected. So. so. so. seedy. Which isn't really a problem to me, but I didn't realize how it could wear on someone.

Eric found an awesome sounding rooftop NYE party for us to attend, but first I realized I'd sent any NYE-ish clothes home. After accidentally boarding the sky train going in the opposite direction of our intended mall, we decided to just see where it took us, and ended up at the end of the line: the Erawan Museum, identifiable by the gigantic three headed elephant statue on top.

The building below the elephant contains ornate staircases, stretching up to a fantastic stain glass window dome with a map of the world etched into it.

I had read that you could enter the "belly" of the elephant so we continued to climb until we were inside the beast. It was spectacular - the constellation painting on the curved ceiling something I would have died to have in my room as a child (or...now). This all encompassed a breathtaking Buddha shrine.

Inside the elephant's belly

That night for New Year's Eve, we danced the night away on a fancy hotel's helipads (and on stage with the DJs), made friends from around the world and watched fireworks. The city felt alive in the way that New York does and I decided I was in love. It would have been the perfect NYE if Darryl had been there, though dance parties are not really his caliber. :)

Yummy scorpion

The love was shortlived. I was disappointed with our visit to Chinatown (no one would barter with us, I though this was Bangkok?!), so we changed course to Khao San Road. I was told to avoid there, but it was our last chance to grab some souvenirs before exiting the country.

It actually wasn't as bad as I expected and I managed to enjoyed myself. I even ate part of a fried scorpion, with the help of Eric. Besides the VERY crunchy texture, it was delicious because they salted it so much. Who can say no to salt? Erin.

Soi Cowboy

I messaged a friend we had made in our hotel and for our final night, we decided that was time to peer into the world of Soi Cowboy, one of the famed Bangkok red light districts. OK, mom and dad can stop reading if they want to, but these are the areas with "go go" dancers and ping pong shows. It's kind of a requirement to stop by, even if just to gawk.

And I was really there just to gawk and peek into the window of this super gross part of society. The (mostly older white) men hiding in the shadows, or not hiding at all, with girls draped in their laps. We didn't even mean to see a ping pong show, but one just started out of NO WHERE at the bar we were at. I wont go into detail, but if you ever want to hear about it, I'm happy to share. Oy.

Eric was so disgusted he walked out. So good for him! Honestly. I had one last thing I wanted to see with my own eyes - a ladyboy bar - so my other friend and I walked into one and were immediately cornered. They pull you in, and suddenly you're "buying" them sodas at $4 a pop without you even consenting. So while it was worth it to appease my curiosity, we got out of there as quickly as we walked in.

All in all a very strangely entertaining night, but in the end, Bangkok made me feel skeezy (I guess partially my own doing), worn out, and I was ready to get out of there. It's sort of akin to Vegas - 3 nights is more than enough.

Definitely one of my weirdest holidays to date. I prefer Darryl and family holidays, but I think the best of both worlds would be for an international holiday checking out somewhere new in the world, with everyone I love.

-Erin

Me in Bangkok

Viva Laos Vegas, Burma Border Crossing, Hilltribe Christmas, and the Road Back "Home" - Motorbikin' Days 11-18

**My mother gets credit for the clever usage of "Laos Vegas," and I have stolen it for this blog title.

I've been trapped (or freed?) in the world of questionable WiFi for a while now. I thought getting to Bangkok or even Penang would mean super fast internet, but no, I'm still stuck trying to catch up to uploading pictures to Flickr at a snail's pace. Anyway, a bit behind, so let's see if I can get caught up at least through (almost) Christmas!

Pt 1: Laos Vegas

I left off as we were pulling into the Golden Triangle... AKA the opium triangle, where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet. Mostly in the middle of a river, a silly way to draw borders in my opinion.

We set our sights on heading "overseas" to a casino, which consisted of wandering down the main road on foot until we saw a sign for the "Thailand - Laos Border Crossing Point." After convincing the Thai immigration officials that No, we don't need a visa to get into Laos, because Yes, I'm POSITIVE there is an exemption for one day trips... (something I'd read and was starting to doubt more by the minute), they stamped our passports and we took a tiny speedboat across the river.

Thai immigration's skepticism was correct, but lady luck was in our favor as there was a booth for visa on arrival, meaning we could apply on site and pay the fee. $30 later and we were approved to stay in Laos for up to 30 days, in case we ended up trapped in the casino. We just kept saying "CASINO?!" along this path and were given a free cab ride to the promised land (AKA Casino!), which was actually pretty reminiscent of Vegas.

No photos were allowed beyond the ornate entrance area, but the main casino floor was probably 90% baccarat tables. I was there to find the only game I can actually play well - blackjack. We found the table and were instructed to go buy chips... in yen. This was a Chinese run Laotian casino - yikes. We were the only people playing blackjack and most definitely a spectacle, as about 5-8 additional staff people surrounded the table to watch us play this apparently foreign game.

Casino!

Since Eric lost his wallet, I was the main source of funding, and yen is a quick way to spend money when you're used to spending Thai baht. I left the table to try to figure out where the nearest ATM was, and after a confusing conversation, resulting in the conclusion that my non-Asian credit card was not a form of appropriate casino credit, went back to the blackjack table. Most of my chips (DO NOT SPEND THOSE CHIPS, ERIC, had fallen on deaf ears) were gone, and he was basically empty handed.

We had only been gambling for a short period of time and were not about to let our visas go to waste. Why there are no ATMs or access to cash anywhere in the near area of the casino is beyond me - if you want a great money source, set one up at the Laotian casino. A bit of negotiating later and we found ourselves a ride in a large electric powered golf-cart-esque vehicle manned by a casino employee.

About a 45 minute slow moving and bumpy ride through the Laotian countryside later, we finally made it to the nearest village with the only ATM in the area. That of course provided money in Laotian kip, which is about 10,000:1 USD. A few million kip dispensed later (a painstaking, multi-withdrawal process as it understandably had a low-ish per transaction withdrawal limit), our casino friend took us to the local currency exchange - a hole in the wall mini mart. To convert the money back to Thai baht. To then convert into yen once we got to the casino.

Who knows how much we lost in the conversion, but this is all moot, because once we got back we (especially Eric) were on a hot streak. Security gathered and they tried to shut down the table. For some reason us saying "What the ?! - no!" and start to make a scene convinced them to keep the table open. About $2500k+ (USD) ahead, we walked away, got a ride back to the dock, and sped back across the river to the safe Thai countryside, formally re-entered the country... and proceeded to have a "make it rain" party in our hotel room.

Thai immigration

MONEY

Later Eric let me know he picked up and pocketed a 9 of Spades card right outside of the ATM - possibly our lucky token? Or something that could have gotten us booted out of the casino if it had been discovered, but whatever.

Pt 2: Burma and the Hall of Opium
The next morning, high on our winnings, it was time to take on another border crossing - Burma. After stopping by the local immigration checkpoint and learning we couldn't take a boat there (my geography is horrible, but why have a checkpoint there...?), it was time to hop on the motorbike to the nearest border, back in Mae Sai. First we had to get gas and for the first time since Ko Lanta, used one of the unmanned, automated stations. I filled my bike up and drove about 45 seconds before my bike sputtered and died.

:(

As my friend Jill keeps saying, "You and your scooter luck!"  It could have been worse, however, and died in the middle of no where, but it conveniently gave out right in front of our hotel.

Eric determined that I put diesel in my bike - the station had two pumps, one labeled completely in Thai with a truck photo under it. The pump handles were both the same color. As a diesel car driver in the states, I usually pay close attention to handles as to not make this mistake. Dammit. I consulted my scooter expert, Google, and determined this wouldn't do any damage to the engine, so we figured we could syphon out the diesel later. I hopped on Eric's bike and we rode tandem to the border.

We wanted to drive the scooter into Burma, but knew that was a long shot... immigration immediately shut us down, so we parked the bike and walked across with a swarm of other tourists.

We were pulled into an office shortly after the border for them to hold our passports (!!) and pay the tourist tariff. Foreigners kind of get the shaft throughout SE Asia in this regard, but I figure it's my way of giving back. Passportless, we were swarmed by a crowd of tuk tuk drivers offering to drive us to the "hot spots" in town. It was cheap, so why not - easier than on foot for an unplanned visit. At our request he took us first to eat (Eric's "best pad Thai".. in Burma of course), then took us around to a few temples.

The most striking was the golden chedi at the top of the city, which provided sweeping views of Tachilek. I momentarily felt a bit like I was in another land, maybe South America... but otherwise, this border town proved to be not so foreign.

Tachilek's main income is from people doing visa runs or walking in for the day, so you are hassled constantly to buy cartons of cigarettes, viagra, gold... everything. The non-hassling Burmese people we did encounter were definitely extra friendly - almost more smiles than Thai, but I still didn't get a real sense of the culture. I will have to make a visit back deeper into the countryside. Hopefully this trip.

Burmese tuk tuk

Chedi of Pathat Sueli Lacon

Yes please!

Yep, cop on my scooter

The next day it was time to leave the Golden Triangle, but we had to take care of my millionth scooter incident. We got a hose from hotel staff and Eric siphoned out the diesel from my tank (and barfed a little - thanks bud!), but the scooter still wouldn't start. There must have still been diesel in the fuel line or carb.

A large police presence at the hotel (due to some Chinese/Thai diplomatic meeting) meant we had on location assistance, and it was hilarious watching police officer after police officer (and then a tiny Thai woman) try to kick start my scooter... because explaining what was actually wrong was completely lost in translation. One of the hotel staff finally understood what we needed and called a local repairman, who picked up my bike, brought it to his shop to flush the engine, and delivered it back to me for less than $10.

Attractively melting with a triple chin

Finally it was time to start heading out of town, but we couldn't leave without seeing the Hall of Opium. This is a museum that was created with non-profit and government grants (a pet project of the deceased Princess Mother) to raise awareness of the opium trade and addiction in the area.

Until the early 1990s, the Golden Triangle was supplier of most of the world's heroin, so it is understandably a national concern. The museum was a mix between psychedelic - you start by walking down a very long blue lit tunnel with screaming or expressive/melting faces sculpted into the walls, trippy music playing in the background - then conversely end up in an educational/"normal" museum, which is partially an anti-drug campaign. There was actually some pretty nice architecture inside and I found it to be one of the better museums I have been to, outside of the whole depressing drug war and addiction aspect of it all. No photos were technically allowed...shh...

About to enter the museum after the "hall"... see - trippy!

Pt 3: Unexpected Hill Tribe "Christmas"

Up next was Chiang Rai, where we took it easy, but coincidentally arrived at the inaugural night of the annual flower festival, which lasts for a month. We checked out both locations of the flower festival, downtown and at the airport the next morning, before heading to stay with the local Akha hill tribe. Bright tropical flowers love the hot and humid Thai weather, so it was a treat to stumble onto.

Staying with a hill tribe had been on the "to do" list for a while and I was excited to check it off. I don't know what I would do without having a data plan and Google maps on this trip, because English signs tend to come and go, and lots of places try to use local or hard to find references that pan out maybe 50% of the time. So I'm amazed we actually found this hill tribe as it was definitely up in the jungle. Thai serendipity kicked in for the millionth time when we heard the non stop firecrackers going off - they were celebrating Christmas THAT night.

We walked up to the "top" of the tribe area and they were happily pouring shots of both locally made rice whiskey and the standard Hong Thong. The rice whiskey was something akin to Dominican Republic's Mama Juana, but well, not wine based, but there were herbs that soaked in it for an extended period of time. It was clear and tasted like tequila, which was unexpected.

We sat around the campfire and one of the local guides played his guitar and led a sing-a-long out of his "popular English music" book. As we made friends, another guide invited us to his family's home down the hill - how could we resist? We walked in and it was packed with generations of families, babies to elderly, cats and dogs... all in a humble small space. He explained to me that he was, I'm not sure if this is quite the right word, but embarrassed to share because this is all that they have. I was glad I was able to reassure him that these are the real experiences I am looking for, and that it's family that matters more than anything in the world - not big homes or possessions, though I of course understood the yearning for it.

Animals keeping warm next to the roasting pig head

They laid out some dishes that included a bit of organ meats that we ate politely, and then they threw a pig's head on the fire in the middle of the hut. I could look inside the head and see everything... Suddenly the group of local carolers (and pastor I believe) showed up and started singing both "traditional" Christmas and local tunes.

We joined the group of carolers and sang our way back to the campground, hanging out close to the fire whenever possible to stay warm, late into the night. It was one of the best nights of the trip, accepted into a local family, a hill tribe that wasn't dressed up and exploited for the sake of tourists - honestly one of my biggest fears entering in the first place.

It's Christmas time... in the hill tribe

The next morning we said our goodbyes, and the guide I had spoken intimately with the night before (I feel really bad, but I am not confident in the name) truly looked saddened to learn we weren't extending our trip and were instead moving on.

We closed the Golden Triangle "loop" the next two days, consisting of a visit through the sleepy lakeside town of Pha Yao (and riding swan foot pedal boats on the large lake, naturally) and then to Lampang for our last night. In both places, the "best pizza in Thailand" according to Trip Advisor eluded me as they were closed either for church or the holiday! That's OK, my belly didn't need it anyway.

This road trip has taught me so much, most of all to remind myself that any type of adventure, be it on two feet or two wheels is attainable. It helps to have a travel buddy on these "crazy" treks as well. :) If you had told me a few months ago that I would clock almost 2000km on a motorbike through the Thai countryside and survived to tell the tale, I would most certainly have told you "No, that's way too dangerous."

Maybe it was, but it was worth it.

-Erin

Our good luck charm