Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Here I go...

After Malaysia I visited Thailand and China. I spent three weeks visiting the terracotta warriors of Xi'an, the pandas and teahouses of Chengdu (four baby pandas in a row lying in a crib, so cute!), the Three Gorges (and Three Small Gorges, and Three Mini Gorges, who knew?) on a "cruise" down the Yangtze, strolling along the 1920's Manhattan-esque Bund in Shanghai, and finally, scrambling along the Great Wall outside of Beijing. This will all be posted eventually in the blurbs below.

My original plan was to then park it in Beijing and eat dumplings with my aunt for a month. On November 30, Typhoon Durian ripped through southern Luzon, in the Philippines. A week later my travel buddy Marc, the operations director for Hands On Disaster Response, was asked to deploy and set up a volunteer relief operation there. And...I got to come too.

Less than 24 hours later, we flew to Manila to research, meet with agencies, and prepare. This afternoon, we'll fly to Legaspi, a city in the middle of the affected area. There is still no water and power, so communication may drop off for the next few weeks. I will likely have limited cellphone reception (+63 918 663 9840), and an even more limited ability to charge my phone.

I've set up a system so that we can use Marc's phone to connect his laptop to the internet; I'll see if I can email and post using that. Updates may also be availabe at the Hands On Disaster Response website. In the meantime, take care and wish me good luck! (And oh yes, once we get set up, feel free to come on out and volunteer!)

Back in Manila

To be posted...

Scrambling and packing, scrambling and researching, scrambling and calling, scrambling and meeting, and otherwise tiring myself out.

Beijing, China

To be posted...

An amazingly cushy train ride, Really Cold Weather, steamy delicious date bread, the Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, underground clothes malls, and the Great Wall.

Shanghai, China

To be posted...

The quest for Thanksgiving dinner, catfights in the street, riding the world's only mag-lev train, and otherwise being lazy.

Yangtze River Cruise/Three Gorges

To be posted...

Hilly Chongqing, our Chinese "cruise," the Fengdu "Ghost City"/house of cheesy horrors, the Three Gorges, Three Small Gorges, Three Small Small Gorges, Three Small Small Small Gorges (just kidding), and temples at night.

Chengdu, China

To be posted.

Getting sick on a train, watching dueling duets of octogenarian karaoke singers in the park, pandas, spicy tofu that made my lips completely numb, and the town of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Xi'an, China

To be posted...

The zoo (a.k.a. Xi'an train station), glazed haw on a stick (so yummy!), the terracotta warriors, Muslim street snacks, and Fantasmic-esque bizarro water show.

Bangkok, Thailand

To be posted...

Riding the water ferry, the Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo, more night markets, and the search for a winter jacket in 30 degree Celcius weather ...

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

To be posted...

Bridge over the River Kwai, Erawan waterfall, the BEST PAD THAI EVAR, sunrise on the Thailand-Burma Death Railway, World War II cemeteries, and cave temples.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

To be posted...

Trekking, losing my Istanbul coin purse from Laila (auughhh!!! i loved that coing purse!) and subsequently all my credit/debit cards, the BEST STREET MARKET EVAR, and spicy green mango salad.