Thursday of the 8th week in our 10 week intensive training program (PST - Pre-Service Training) we got a Safety Alert text message that there was fighting in South Ossetia (off-limits conflict zone/separatist region) and we will be picked up for transport to our training center in Khashuri in one hour. We had occasionally gotten texts about the conflicts in Abkhazia (the other conflict zone/separatist region) and S. Ossetia, but this was the first one that necessitated an all-trainee meeting.

This weekend was to be our ‘cultural trip’ when we would spread out and explore the country of Georgia, see the sights, etc. on our own, away from the training villages near Khashuri. Our plan was to skip our Saturday morning language class (pre-approved, since we are Kartuli (Georgian Language) superstars, ha!) and head to Kazbegi in the mountains of NE Georgia, a few minutes from the Russian border. Well, it became clear soon that those plans were no more. We were strongly encouraged on Thursday to reconsider our travel for the upcoming weekend. That night from our training village of Tashiskari, 20 minutes west of Khashuri, we heard what we thought was thunder, but hmmm… why are there no clouds in the sky? Other trainees were kept awake that night by the sound of the gunfire from the conflict and Georgian tanks rolling by on the way to the conflict area. However, even though these sounds could be heard, these trainees were at a safe distance from the actual fighting (these were trainees in other villages closer to the action - we were lucky enough to be the furthest away), but the sounds travel quite far.

The next day (Friday), we were forbidden to travel on our cultural trip. This was due to reports that Gori (a larger town 1 hour east of Khasuri, where we had celebrated the 4th of July at a nice restaurant, and where our host mother, Ani’s parents live) had been bombed by Russian planes. Peace Corps immediately evacuated the permanently-placed volunteers stationed in and around Gori. In lieu of our cultural trip, and serving as a practice safety and security exercise, Peace Corps arranged transportation and accommodation (posh) in the mountain town of Bakuriani, which we had come to know over two previous visits there for training/conferences. We and the other trainees were given 5 minutes each to grab enough clothing, etc. “for the weekend” as we were transported through the villages by marshutka (minivan). Ours was the first marshutka to reconvene in Khashuri so we chose to spend a few minutes buying emergency essentials such as extra cell phone minutes and watermelon (Georgian watermelon is the best we’ve ever had). We then all traveled together (dare I say Peace convoy?) up to Bakuriani from Khashuri. At some point that night or the next morning the other permanent volunteers countrywide (G7s and G6s - we are called G8s - the 8th group to come to Georgia) were consolidated in Kutaisi or Tbilisi, depending on where their sites were.

We spent the next two days on an emotional roller coaster in Bakuriani, having 3+ meetings per day getting updates from Peace Corps staff on the situation (since all the TVs at the hotel were in Georgian or Russian). Some reports sounded positive, while others were shockingly negative, however, we felt 100% safe at this faraway resort location in the southern mountains of the country and other Georgians were there as well, presumably for safety reasons. The hotel has to be commended for being able to house and feed a surprise extra 90 people in a time when food supplies were scarce and tensions in the whole country were quite high.

There was no internet at the hotel either, but one Peace Corps staff member had a cell phone link to the internet and an office printer in his room and was faithfully printing English news reports from the web and taping them up on the walls for us. The entire PC Georgia staff was impressive in this stressful time, especially considering they left family (some even have children) behind elsewhere in the country, placing their concerns on us, the Peace Corps volunteers. Our families (both in the U.S. and host families here) were concerned about us but the entire time, all of us were having feelings of guilt (for drawing them away) and sorrow for the Georgians, including our wonderful staff.

On Sunday, the possibility of relocation to Armenia became a probability then a reality. Reports came in that Russians had bombed and/or occupied targets/areas inside Georgia (i.e. entered the area controlled by Georgia, not just the separatist regions), including Gori, Zugdidi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi. We were to pack that night and prepare for leaving by bus Monday morning at 11:00 AM local time.

That night there was a noticeably drastic change in mood among the volunteers, trainees, and staff.

We boarded the buses the next morning after a final breakfast at the hotel in Bakuriani and began our journey south to the Armenian border. The roads were not great in places but this was a much more comfortable trip than some of the bus trips I remember taking in South America last year - plenty of food/water/bathroom breaks. Plus, this route was chosen as the safest way to leave the country. Air evacuation was not an option due to the possibility of Russian warplanes in the air at any moment.

Border formalities took a while (about 3 hours), as can be expected when 2 buses carrying 80+ Americans shows up at the Georgian/Armenian border (in the middle of seemingly nowhere) and some of them don’t even have their passports! All told, it was handled as efficiently as possible given the situation, and we can thank all the officials for their patience and courtesy. We changed buses at the border, which was very quick because all of us were packing light (remember we were just packing for the weekend?), and eventually were on our way in Armenia at dusk with the ink still drying on our Visas and entry stamps. Also, our snack bags were re-stocked (no restaurants existed on our way to Armenia that could handle us so we were on snacks all day - but far from being hungry - we also had been given plenty of water) with fresh apples and Snickers bars - which was the most delicious Snickers we had ever eaten!

We arrived at the palatial hotel 4 hours later (plus a 1 hour ahead time change made it almost 1 A.M.), and despite the late hour, there was a Peace Corps Armenia welcoming committee, and everything was organized - rooms were pre-assigned and we each had a welcome packet with Armenia country info and some useful phrases transliterated for us into English characters (Armenian uses its own alphabet, as does Georgia, but it is different from Georgian, which we had been studying for the last 8 weeks). We were told to dump our bags in the lobby and head straight for dinner - the cafeteria was in full swing awaiting our late arrival and they had a multi-course meal ready for us to inhale, er, devour.

We are now enjoying a decent night’s sleep in a nice place here in Armenia, watching BBC (English) news broadcasts with long faces. We are all hopeful for a peaceful and expedient resolution to the conflict and we all wish to return to Georgia, since we have left behind many friends and family members. Our thoughts are with them.

Our first night we went to Jim’s Steaks at 3rd & South. I had a steak sandwich with “Whiz” (Cheez Whiz) with peppers and onions - Meghan had hers with provolone with mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Yum! Surprisingly though, I found myself wishing they had put more whiz on my sandwich. It was a very light spread, not like they dunk the whole sandwich in it. It was interesting to look through the window and see the man working the grill with a huge, Costco-sized can of Cheez Whiz sitting up there.

Last night we walked back down to South Street with Greek food on our minds. The walk took (about 20-30 minutes) is quite nice from our hotel near the Philly convention center - we passed lots of cool rowhouse neighborhoods, an artsy mosaic-covered building, a couple community gardens, etc. We went in to South Street Souvlaki, near 5th & South. What a great place. We ordered an appetizer plate loaded with several dips including melted feta (eat your heart out Suz), baba ghanoush, hummus, tzatziki, dolmas (not really a dip - sorry), and something else that I don’t remember the name of, but was very much like slightly cooked pureed garlic (eat your heart out - me). Our waiter (the barman) recommended dragging a beet through the garlic dip - pretty intense.

I had a gyros sandwich, hold the tomatoes and lettuce. It was slathered in tzatziki, which, despite being horribly messy, is the only way (IMHO) to eat a proper gyros sandwich. Personally I still prefer the tzatziki served at the Greek House in Norman, OK, but perhaps it is just what I am accustomed to. Washed all this down with a couple draft Yuenglings Lagers (a Pennsylvania brew). All in all, great food in a great atmosphere and reasonable prices - highly recommended.

One of our fellow Peace Corps trainees from New York City accompanied us and mentioned that if we like Greek food then we should love Georgian food, which uses many of the same ingredients. Uh oh. 2 things came to mind: 1) maybe we should have had Mexican or something else we won’t be able to get, and 2) I better start jogging again because I won’t be able to afford to buy any bigger pants anytime soon.

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• Hoi An, Vietnam, February 08–It was so unusually cold in Hoi An that a local woman was wearing 5 layers.
• Hue, Vietnam, February 08–We were so cold in Hue that we had to go the market to buy warm clothes. Though Vietnam does experience cool weather, this is the coldest weather Hue has ever seen (according to the locals), and the city was not prepared for such cold weather. There is no heating in the buildings, so we slept with all of our clothes, hats and 3 blankets.
• Hue, Vietnam, February 08–Our tour guide Tam hadn’t seen the sun in 40 days. The longest he could ever remember not seeing the sun prior to this season was for 2 weeks (to give further credit to Tam, he is a numbers guy–he rattles off precise distances between 2 towns, populations of cities all over the world and dates like he was an encyclopedia).
• Kecil Perhentian, Malaysia, February 08–The dive shop owners said they planned to open on February 1st because by then the rainy season is usually over. We were there on March 11th, and it was still too rainy and wavy to go to all but 2 dive sites. The locals said that normally by this time of year the bay where we were staying was completely calm, but the waves and current were so strong that we didn’t even venture into the water.
• South China, February 08–Though we were not in China, news came while we were traveling that snow had hit South China. This region of China never sees snow and was consequently ill prepared to handle it. The result was fatalities and riots.
• We met a couple from Holland that said they used to have 4 very distinct seasons, but now they just blend together.
• Singapore, March 08–It was supposed to be the hot and dry season in Singapore, but we were caught in several torrential downpours, and our friend Jai confirmed that it has been raining unusually often for that time of year.
• Kinabatangan River Basin, Malaysia, March 08–Usually, the pygmy elephants come around Uncle Tans camp (where we stayed) in March, and the camp is flooded from December to February. This year however, the elephants came in January and it was flooded when we were there. Thanks a lot global warming! I could have seen elephants!
• Fellow divers from England explained that they used to get snow in the winter, but now it is very rare. Additionally, unusually high temperatures in the summer have caused fatalities in the elderly. I even read an article on the BBC that someone found an avocado growing in London–very unusual!
• Derawan, Indonesia, April 08–We experienced super strong currents while diving, so strong in fact that we had to abort 2 dives at different sites. Our dive master said that in 10 years of diving he has never seen currents like that at those sites.
• Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, April 08–It rained every afternoon while we were in Ubud. Many locals commented on how unusual the weather was since it was supposed to be the dry season. Our friend Wayan said, “Maybe the rainy season is becoming the dry season and the dry season becoming the rainy season.” Having rain this time of year is not good for the rice because only young rice needs a lot of water. This time of year is supposed to be harvest season when the older rice needs to dry out.
• Phang Nga, Thailand, May 08–Though it isn’t supposed to be the rainy season until the end of May or June, it poured down rain every afternoon.
• Myanmar, May 08–While in the neighboring country of Thailand, we got news that a cyclone hit Myanmar and killed over 100,000 people and left 2 million people homeless.
• Khao Sok, Thailand, May 08–Hiking through Khao Sok National Park, we were soaked to the bone, and it poured down rain pretty much all day everyday. Though Khao Sok is a rainforest, the rainy season is not supposed to start until June.

In addition to our travels, we have experienced some unusual weather at home in Colorado. For example, for the past 2 years we have had white Christmases. All of the Christmases in my memory were of very pleasant weather (which is surprising in itself, and a white Christmas does seem more appropriate, but it is nonetheless unusual for here). The winter before last, Colorado had 3 back-to-back blizzards, and the snow in Boulder didn’t melt until March. Usually snow in Boulder only lasts a few days. Though Colorado is no stranger to snow, this amount of snow was record breaking, causing airports, roads, and stores to shut down for days. Farmers lost thousands of cattle that were essentially buried in all of the snow. This past winter was similar in the amount of snow it saw though it was not quite as drastic but still unusual. It seems that we are getting more heavy, wet snow and up-slopes in the winter that we normally don’t see until spring. It is the kind of storm we get in the spring when it is warm enough to quickly melt what falls. Coming when the days are still cooler and shorter, the snow just doesn’t go away. Meanwhile, relatives in NY are having unusually mild winters.

Some may argue that these accounts of unusual weather patterns are simply climate change, part of a natural cycle of change and not related to global warming or the carbon dioxide we put in the atmosphere. Cold weather in Vietnam and more snow in Colorado seem to actually contradict the theory of global warming. However, evidence suggests that the overall warming of the earth is causing ocean currents to change resulting in unusually cold weather some places, or more extreme weather such as Hurricane Katrina or the cyclone in Myanmar. If you need more convincing, check out the recent National Geographic Magazine dedicated entirely to global warming and climate change and also The Inconvenient Truth.
And it is an “inconvenient truth.” Even for me it is hard to accept that I might have to give up my passion for travel. I feel so guilty for flying–in fighting gravity, planes are putting ridiculous amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The problem of global warming seems overwhelming when you witness a sea of motorcycles and burning trash in developing countries or when you are stuck in traffic for 2 hours on your way to work here in this country and you wonder how you are going to convince all of these people to give up their cars or their current lifestyles.
But global warming is going to have serious consequences. Tropical diseases could spread; plants and animal species could go extinct. The places that we have just visited and loved may be completely submerged if we don’t change something soon. Something has to be done.

]]> http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/20/evidence-of-climate-change/feed/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/20/chicken-feet-soup/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/20/chicken-feet-soup/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 15:24:30 +0000 MeggiePie Uncategorized http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/20/chicken-feet-soup/ There are a lot of things that you kind of accept, deal with and/or try while traveling that would never cross your mind as a possibility at home. Sometimes these encounters were due to the attempt to conserve money when we opted for the least expensive option, and sometimes it was just due to cultural differences. So here is a brief list of these acceptances and trials that we have chalked up to new experiences and that contribute to the adventure and reason we travel.

• Chicken Feet Soup–I have never seen chicken feet sticking out of soup at a buffet at home, and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t try it, but this soup was actually delicious (I didn’t eat the actual chicken feet)
• Ants marching through the hotel room–I’m quite used to that now; they really don’t bother you too much
• Sand in the bed–at home I probably would have left the hotel if there was a layer of sand coating my bed, but when you pay so little and are right on the beach, it is hard to complain
• Sharing the shower with insects and reptiles
• Squat toilets and scoop showers
• Bathrooms without a separate shower, just a drain in the floor and shower head on the wall
• Staying in rooms with peeling paint, walls that have never been washed, mildew stalactites, rickety furniture, bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling, shelf paper instead of linoleum that is not cut perfectly to the size of the room and folds up on the walls, no amenities such as phone, tv, fridge, AC, heat or hot water
• Staying in windowless, cement rooms
• Staying in brothels
• Sewers backing up into the room
• Crowded buses–so crowded that your neighbor’s elbow is in your ribs and you are sitting on someone’s shoulder, but they let more people on the bus, at least if there is an accident you won’t move
• Having to buy drinking water in a bottle even for brushing teeth
• Having meals come 1/2 an hour apart when dining with others–in Laos they said this is because everyone shares everything, so it doesn’t matter when the meals come. In fact, in the Laos language the word for yours and mine is the same
• Fish head, eyes and all–fish are served with the head and eyes still intact, to me it looks less appetizing, but the body tastes the same
• Hearing, “Sorry, finished”–finally settling on your 5th choice of meals at a restaurant because the first four things you chose from the menu don’t actually exist
• Viruses at internet cafes that can infect your iPod and camera
• Negotiating everything–taxi rides, hotel rooms, clothes, food, tour prices
• Safety third–barefoot construction workers, exposed wires, no handrails, no seatbelts in cars or helmets on motorcycles
• Nonfunctional sidewalks–used for motorcycle parking or a storefront instead of for walking, not maintained and in such bad shape it is easier to just walk on the street, giant holes that could swallow you and lead to the sewer below, tiled sidewalks that are so slippery in the rain it is a wonder I didn’t break my neck
]]> http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/20/chicken-feet-soup/feed/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/14/here-kitty-kitty/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/14/here-kitty-kitty/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 03:05:14 +0000 saltwatersteve Thailand http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/14/here-kitty-kitty/ I got to meet and pet really big kitty cats today. It was so cool.



Yes Mom, they’re chained up (well hidden in the picture above) and recently fed. Also, supposedly (and shockingly), they are not sedated.

They are all orphan tigers that have been adopted by the monks in a monastery near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. So they have grown up around Buddhist monks, and apparently that upbringing is enough to tame the savage beast. They also only allow the visitors near the cats in the middle of the afternoon heat, when they are naturally the most dormant (they are nocturnal).

Not surprising though, you have to sign a waiver to enter the Tiger Temple (as it is now known by the tourist industry), and there’s an admission ‘fee’ (really a donation, since you’re entering a Buddhist temple). The money is going towards building a better habitat for the tigers. And construction was indeed underway when we were there - it is a large and zoo-quality (as far as I know).

]]> http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/14/here-kitty-kitty/feed/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/11/living-in-a-greenhouse-with-the-sprinklers-on/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/11/living-in-a-greenhouse-with-the-sprinklers-on/#comments Sun, 11 May 2008 17:13:27 +0000 saltwatersteve Thailand http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/11/living-in-a-greenhouse-with-the-sprinklers-on/ This is supposed to be the end of the dry season. Well, it is the opposite of dry. Meghan, Mrs. T. and I went for a hike in the Khao Sok National Park in southern Thailand yesterday and in the first 3 minutes of our walk from the hotel to the Park entrance, my shoes were full of water. They stayed that way until I took them off 6 hours later. Meghan made the comment that her toes were past the prune/raisin stage and were probably turning transparent. Forget about Gore Tex� here, you need a good pair of waders!

Since we got into town the night before last, the clouds have spent more time raining than not. The good news is all this rain cools things down quite a bit - and it is beautiful here. Tropical flowers like heliconia grow from the ground outside, not from pots or in a greenhouse. Little frogs and big insects sing us to sleep at night and songbirds wake us in the morning.

We have been pretty good about watching for leeches - I picked a few off of Meghan and Mrs. T - but one got me. We stopped for a break at a ranger station and I noticed a red spot on the ankle of my sock that grew larger through the rest of the day, thanks to the very effective anticoagulant in the leech’s saliva. Luckily there is no spread of disease via leeches - only mosquitos, etc. It’s weird how they walk like inchworms, stretching out and waving about, sensing which direction has the most heat, planting their front end then bringing their back end to meet the front. You see them at times, on the trail, scanning for a host, waiting for us to walk by. Apparently there is some record that a guide holds for finding 186 leeches on himself in an 8 km hike (same distance we did).

Also, we have gotten used to geckos cleaning the bugs off the ceilings for us at night - they are all over SE Asia. They are pretty daring, sometimes taking on large bugs that are half their size and weight, swallowing a bit more every 15 minutes or so. However, last night I saw a 5 inch long praying mantis (bigger than the majority of the geckos) hunting right alongside the geckos for the same bugs! I bet they give the mantis plenty of room! Can I use some punctuation other than an exclamation point? OK, there I did. It’s getting late - time for bed.

]]> http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/11/living-in-a-greenhouse-with-the-sprinklers-on/feed/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/07/mom-is-here/ http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/07/mom-is-here/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 14:31:23 +0000 MeggiePie Indonesia http://saltwatersteve.com/travel/2008/05/07/mom-is-here/ And we are so happy that she is! She has jumped right into backpacking with both feet–her introduction to Indonesian bathrooms included squat toilets and scoop showers which she used without batting an eye. I guess it is kind of like camping indoors, and she is certainly an experienced camper.
Mom’s first Indonesian food was a durian dough nut. Until Mom arrived, both Steve and I have been afraid to try durian or anything durian flavored because the smell is quite repulsive (literally–it pushes me away). Asians love it, and foreigners say you can acquire a taste for it, but the dough nut was enough for us all.
Unfortunately, we all became wiser backpackers in Jogjakarta. After awhile we felt that everyone was trying to scam us, and we didn’t really trust anyone. As a traveler, you would like to be able to have nice conversations with people that talk to you on the street, but each and every time the conversation ended with “a special government Batik exhibit that is only going on today and will be closing in an hour,” which is a big lie because there are no government galleries and everyone will try to sell you handmade or machine Batik at an outrageously marked up price (FYI: Batik is hand dyed fabric that originates in Java and is sold all over Jogjakarta). We were even scammed into visiting a fake Kraton (where the sultan lives)! OK, it wasn’t a fake one, but it was only part of the Kraton. There was a big wall blocking the rest of the building for renovations, so you couldn’t see the real thing, but no one, not even the carriage driver that brought you there, told you that the interesting stuff was around the corner. Instead, they happily took your money and tried to convince you that you should also pay for a guide. OK, it was only $0.30, but it is the principle!
Enough griping. We do have to give credit to the elaborate schemes we encountered and be happy that we were able to recognize them before getting sucked in and for the education that we received. Borobudur, the Buddhist temple nearby and the reason for visiting Jogjakarta was really impressive.
After that we headed to Bali where the atmosphere changed and we were much more relaxed. Even in Kuta, the tourist center, we did not feel hassled and instead could enjoy the beautiful green gardens and a short walk on the beach.
From there we headed to the Gili Islands for gorgeous beaches, crystal clear water that is every shade of blue looking at it from the beach, quiet cabins with hammocks 2 minutes from the beach, no cars (only horses and buggies), wonderful fresh BBQ fish, cute restaurants with ocean views and breezes and pillows to sleep on when your food coma kicked in, lots of naps, reading time and canasta of course! and really friendly people. We went snorkeling everyday, twice right from the beach near our place where it was like watching the discovery channel or swimming in a giant aquarium. Wonderful!
Now we are in Thailand with more adventures to come!
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