Our goal was to try everything on the brochure we were handed day one. (This is the compressed version.)

There were more than 20 dishes listed out that Penang was known for.  We almost made it through them all, and most were delicious!

In addition to all of the amazing food and drinks we consumed, we also had the opportunity to wonder around the city and check out all of the street art that is painted.

One day we were there, we made it out to the other side of the island where the national park is located.  We took a long (hot) hike to a lighthouse that gave us an amazing view of the coastline. We were also able to meet up with one of our friends from our island volunteering session! It was extremely hot during the hike, but the view at the end was worth the walk.

Most days were spent waking up early (usually between 6-7), walking around  to grab some breakfast and check out the street art, hiding in the A/C during the afternoons, then heading back out for dinner and more wandering.  It was too hot to be out in the heat of the day.

A couple of times throughout our stay, we ended up busing over to the mall to watch new releases. We couldn’t pass up $2.50 movies in a nice theater with winter cool A/C!

All in all, Penang was a great city that we enjoyed wandering throughout, slamming food, basking in A/C, and people watching.

Best,

Danielle and Grant

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It was an easy ferry ride over and we reached the campground nestled in its own cove south of the main resort beach area. No dock, just jump off the front of the boat. Private beach: check. A pirate and Malaysian flag, hand painted signs all over the place, several bamboo structures, and tons of friendly people greeted us as we made our way to the reception counter.

We met the other volunteers (including a Danielle from California…this was about to get confusing) and the owners who all seemed like incredibly laid back people. We were given the rundown: the cafe and bar has to be manned, tents and bathrooms need to be cleaned, and labor needed to be completed. Easy. In exchange for our time, we were fed and housed for free for a month. Kickass!
 We learned that the couple who we would be replacing slept in the treehouse, which is also where we would be staying. It came equipped with three of the most massive geckos I had ever seen (later to be named Ali, Mercury, and Falsto).

In addition to geckos, there was much more wildlife walking, flying, or swimming around our campground. Giant monitor lizards, sea eagles, stingrays, and black tipped reef sharks were things that we saw daily. Vipers, territorial monkeys, and sea turtle tracks on our beach were special sightings. I had to continue to remind myself that we were staying in a rainforest, because some of these sightings became so commonplace. Turtles and amazing snorkeling: check and check.

We learned more about the island as we explored around. Long beach is a fairly dirty, party beach where nightlife (including crappy house music) can be heard well into the early morning. It makes for great sunrises though, as it is east-facing. Coral bay, on the west side of the island is a bit classier with nicer eating and resort options. We would walk over to coral beach for milkshakes and wifi as needed. Our beach was a 25 minute walk south of coral bay, on a beautiful path leading through the rain forest. This island is unique in the fact there is not a single car, truck, or vehicle of any kind on it. Boat taxis are plentiful however, and many times we could hear tourists screaming as the drivers tend to go as fast as possible between point A and point B. The fishing “village” on the south tip of the island, is is more like a local town.

Our days would be spent snorkeling, hammocking, hiking, exploring, kayaking, or relaxing as wanted.

A couple of times we made it to the fishing “village” for breakfast (always before 8 AM to snag local prices).

We also spent a day scuba diving, which is always awesome. One spot had horrible visibility so we spent the duration of our time diving through underwater caves. It was a lot of fun. The day we spent kayaking was great because we could spot good snorkeling areas as we were cruising over them.

Another highlight was putting up a volleyball net on our beach so we could play in the evening (the daytime was way too hot). While there, an Italian couple that were patrons-turned-volunteers, spent all day preparing for homemade pizza night (cheese included). We all ate way to much that night. They also taught us how to make homemade pasta and gnocchi!

And we ended up seeing the bioluminescent plankton! Check. Apparently, it is always in the water but there is so much light pollution on other beaches on the island it is impossible to spot elsewhere. For 4 or 5 nights in a row, around the new moon, we grabbed snorkel gear and headed to the beach. It was incredible to see the little bits of light spiraling around our moving body parts. The light from the stars in the sky and ocean were almost interchangeable. It was also hilarious to see grown adults flailing around as much as possible to disturb the plankton into glowing bright. Shouts of “You’re a wizard, Harry” were screamed. We were surprised to see fireflys floating through where the rainforest hits the beach. We were surrounded by points of light in the sky, ocean, and air around us. It was one of the most magical things I have seen.

Even though my days weren’t spent doing all that much, I still found myself wishing there was more hours in every day. The volunteers, patrons, and owners of the place were all really great people to talk to and I often spent an entire day sitting in the cafe chatting with whoever was down there. Rainforest Campground is beautiful, and attracts beautiful people in return. It wasn’t uncommon to hear about folks deciding to stay with us after wondering down to our beach randomly, or extending their stay by a week or so once they see what the place has to offer. We had so many laughs there as well as deep conversations about internal struggles, politics, and dreams. One of the volunteers led beach yoga sessions in the mornings. One patron painted a beautiful mural in our cafe. People were often seen meditating on the beach. Our place was magical. I’m going to miss Rainforest quite a bit. 

But, it was time to move on after a month. I feel grateful to have the memories I will take home from this place.  Hopefully we will meet again, Rainforest.

Danielle and Grant

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Kota Bharu is a little dull compared to some of the other places we had visited. Day one we attempted to walk through a few museums that we had researched in advance, only to find them completely closed. So instead, we wandered around the city to see the sights and people watch. We did find a delicious lunch restaurant and enjoyed being the only westerners at the tiny place we were eating at. Eventually, we made it back to our hostel to relax before more food!

We made a few hostel friends and ended up tagging along to the night market.  The food was alright, but the appeal of the night was chatting with fellow travelers who were out as long as we had been. The guys we met had similar interests and a love for traveling that we felt as well. We would soon notice more and more how different the westerners were in Malaysia. As a Muslim country, Malaysia attracts a different sort of person than any other southeast Asian country we had visited so far. I think the way alcohol is frowned upon (or completely banned depending where you go) is one of the main factors.  We hardly found the ‘partying type’ in Malaysia, which was fairly refreshing after a handful of obnoxious people we met on the trip at various points (the worst were the ones in the same dorm as you with no regard for the time of day, night, or level of noise they were making). Most traveling folks we met in Malaysia had more love for experiencing people or the culture than than a night out on the town. It was one of the appeals of the country.

The owner of the hostel were staying at was a really nice local guy and ended up inviting us to a beach barbecue with his friends the following day.

He supplied cheese-filled hotdogs (“what westerners eat”, right?) along with some Malaysian dishes made by his mom that were more to my taste.  While there, we chatted with the locals and learned a lot about the Malaysian culture.  Something that surprised us was the amount of racism that Chinese Malaysians felt from some of the Malay citizens as well as the government. On a lighter note, we also learned that it is illegal in the state we were in to buy or sell any sort of alcohol.  Apparently, the beer they were passing around comes from Thailand because it is cheaper/easier to cross the boarder than to find it elsewhere in Malaysia. Crazy.

All in all, it was the people that made Kota Bharu special for us.  The city did not have much to offer in terms of activities or sights, but the people we met were all so nice and friendly that I enjoyed my time there immensely. If you do go there, however, look up the cultural shows. They are quite cool apparently, but are only on certain days of the week (days we weren’t there unfortunately).

Onto our next volunteering opportunity: a month hanging out on a resort island. It’s gonna be rough… heh. Until then!

Regards,

Danielle and Grant

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I wish I had the money to dive there, but we didn't. Instead we enjoyed two days of non-stop diving throughout the other two islands, and it was a stellar experience. We'll be back for Sipadan, one day.

To get to Mabul, our destination island, we took a bus and found ourselves sitting in the stairwell of a crowded bus for the second time. Why are these things always so crowded? After landing in Semporna and noting the sketchy vibe, we shipped out to Mabul to stay with a dive center called ScubaJunkie.

Mabul is the island where “macro-diving” or “muck diving” was invented. Although the visibility is mediocre, the reef is brilliantly colored and it hosts an array of intricate and beautiful small species. It's common to see cuttlefish, octopus, turtles, sea horses and nudibranchs. The island is also home to a population of sea gypsys. Many of these nomadic village people don't have a citizenship with any country and vary between living on the island and in the sea.

ScubaJunkie turned out to be an awesome company for reasons beyond the dives. To start, they have created a turtle hatchery and emergency rescue center, with hope to offset the human impact on the beaches. Next, they host weekly beach clean ups, and they have started to get the village involved in helping and learning about the environment, littering, and sustainable fishing. The dive center refuses to serve local fish until the villagers fish sustainably. Also, they give out and collect biodegradable trash bags from the villagers so they can stop littering directly into the ocean, and hire local help. Finally, they do their part to create awareness about the fall of the shark populations (10% left) and banning shark fin soup.

On to the diving… One word: Awesome!

I apologize in advance, we didn't take pictures. We didn't want to fiddle with a camera, composition, and angles, so we selfishly enjoyed all of it to ourselves.

We dove through reefs, walls, drop offs, artificial reefs, and sandy bottoms. We dove in the morning, afternoon, and even the night. We were basically alone (besides the dive master) the whole time. We explored coral and navigated underwater village reefs. We swam through schools of barracuda and watched cuttlefish hunt. We found moray eels thicker than me, and spotted octopus, squid, porcupine fish, orangutan crabs, and frog fish. It was great.

On the side, we played volleyball with the locals, took saltwater showers (no fresh water taps on the island), talked about future dives, and ate.

On the way out we enjoyed some delicious food from Semporna and finally took a fresh water shower. Now, back to KK and then the peninsula!

Grant and Danielle

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Palms, palms, palms, and more palm trees. We noticed this from the plane as well. Unfortunately, a huge amount of primary forest has been decimated in the last century for palm oil. It's unfortunate to see and everyone hopes to see progress begin moving back in the right direction. As green as the palm plantations are, they don't support diverse life. The only reason the area we are visiting next, the Kinabatangan River, is such a hot spot for wildlife enthusiasts and birders, is because the river and the small protected forest that borders it is all the forest that is left in the area.

Apparently actions are being taken to protect the area and land is being bought back slowly, so we hope for the best. This area was really nice, and, true to it's reputation, packed with wildlife.

We arrived to our accommodation in the afternoon and after seeing our awesome dorm, we went for tea and immediately found a Yellow Ringed Cat Snake. It was a little juvenile and wound its way around a flute hung for decoration. After this and a donut, we left for the first river cruise. On the first cruise we saw two hornbill species, proboscis monkeys, long tail makaks, silver leaf langers, king fishers, snake eaters, egrets, herons, and crocodiles. The amount of wildlife we saw was unreal and it was made infinitely better by the local guide who was spotting and IDing everything in a heartbeat.

Dinner was delicious that night, especially since it was the first times we had beef in a few weeks. Later, geckos rained down from the sky.

The next morning started early and was full of crocodile spotting. Apparently no one with half a brain swims in this water because these crocs are big and probably hungry.

Next, we enjoyed breakfast and a day trek through the limited forest. We spotted stick bugs and fresh water otters and tracks, scat, and sounds for many local mammals. We even heard a wild elephant. The guide was so nervous he started beating on the roots of every tree we passed, so we never spotted him. At the lake at the end of the hike, we were warned not to swim in the water. Besides crocodiles, the area was packed with the little feeder fish that are normally seen cleaning tourist feet on the side of the road in Bangkok. Normally a fun and ticklish activity, this lake had so many that it was kind of a hazard. Ha. Imagine being slowly nibbled to death.

The new guide for the day was kind of a bore, but at the end of the second afternoon boat ride, we spoted a wild Orangutan! She was a huge silhouette in the distance, watching us as the sun set from the top of the canopy. After seeing her, I completely understand why the big foot myths exist, and why 'orangutan' means 'man of the forest'.

The next morning revealed a few more hornbills, monkeys, and crocodiles. After that, we were of to Semporna and Mabul to dive with ScubaJunkie for the next three days. So stoked!

Thanks for reading. I wish I had a SLR to take proper photos during this last leg of the trip, but my phone pictures will find their way to Dropbox eventually.

Regards

Grant and Danielle

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We woke up in the morning and caught a bus to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Center. This organization rescues injured and orphaned orangutans and helps ween them into independent, jungle life. The center is located on the edge of a healthy rainforest that is perfect for introduction to solitary life. The rehab center quarantines new orangs to ensure they are healthy. Then, they are intruduced to play structures that help teach necessary climbing skills. The creatures often help one another with other life skills such as which leaves to eat and how to build nests (one for an afternoon nap and one for sleeping at night). There are a series of feeding structures that the trainers load up with food twice a day. Each structure leads deeper into the forest, which helps the creatures become more comfortable in the habitat they were born to live in. Bolder orangs often push the more timid to venture farther out of their comfort zones. Once they are ready, the orangs are able to venture out of the scope of the rehab center and live on their own.

We made it just in time for the 10 AM feeding session that occurs every morning. We watched them eat while a couple of the orangs enjoyed a bit of forplay on the vines above us. It was hilarious to watch the crowd filming and taking pictures of this behavior. What a bunch of voyeurs.

After, we went on a low-key jungle walk to look for birds and other wildlife. We had a very friendly butterfly following us around for a good amount of time in the beginning. We also spotted a flying lizard. When Grant reached up to take a picture, it jumped off of the tree it was on and spiraled to the next tree over.

We went back to the orangutan area for the afternoon feeding session. During our walk back a naughty female orang decided to jump on the boardwalk and follow the crowd around. She kept approaching people with toys: hats, sunglasses, cameras pointed her way. We were waiting for a tourist to get robbed of an item but one of the employees grabbed her hand and walked her away from the crowd before that could happen.

After we had to leave we took a bus home and relaxed the rest of the night. The next day we were headed to Kinabatangan River for a series of jungle cruises. Like my mom said, it would be like the Disneyland ride, but in real life!

Thanks for reading.

Danielle and Grant

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After volunteering on the farm, we spent a day in KK to recover. During that night I was able to find a local group of university students that played ultimate frisbee twice a week, and a group of Chinese international students playing basketball! This was the R&R I truly needed after not playing any sports for so long. The next day we took a bus to the national park for cheap, and we were there in no time.

The ride to the national park is an excellent warm up. As we traveled away from the city, we started to enjoy the green jungle as it surrounded us. As we climbed higher, we began to see the rolling hills of jungle and palm plantations. The green vegetation all around us was highlighted by the bright blue sky and white clouds. Finally, as we rounded a corner, Mt Kinabalu broke through and we were left in awe at how striking the peak is. The mountain is so huge that you're tired just looking at it, and we hadn't even started to climb yet.

Like I said earlier, the park is very nice, clean, and well maintained. It's also expensive. To visit you have to know what your plan is in advance. The interior hostels for example, cost 4 or 5 times the hostels just outside the entrance, and climbing the mountain by making a normal reservation costs $200-350 per person.

We stayed outside the park at a hostel called D'villa that took walk-ins, had a wonderful view of the mountains from the deck, and enjoyed a spectacular show of local bugs as night came. Everyday we enjoyed hiking in the area around the mountain for cheap. Although not at 13.5k feet, the trails around the mountain are lush and beautiful none the less.

Every morning, we waited at the base of the mountain hoping for a cancellation so we could cheaply scoop up someone's mistake and climb the behemoth. We expected to be disappointed, but on our last day, we got lucky!

Day one of the climb to the top was 6km and 2000m of straight uphill. One foot after the other we slowly trudged to our accommodation. Our base camp accommodation was shockingly nice, maybe the best bed we've slept in yet. The food was excellent, and I made sure to carbo-load for the next day of hard trekking, while enjoying the sunset above the clouds.

The second day started at 1:30am with breakfast. Soon after, we hit the summit trail that quickly turned into empty and exposed granite. We climbed the last 3000ft of elevation that morning to make it to the top before sunrise. As the first signs of light began to slip into the horizon, we were treated to a show. The milky way began to melt away and the sun began to light up a sea of clouds beneath us. We felt like we were in a plane, and although still freezing cold, all the hard work became instantly worth it.

The trek down was the worst. Down down down down down down down, 11,000 ft in 6 hour. Ha. The day after the big downhill, we were so sore we could hardly make it to our bus stop to move on to the next city, Sendakan.

Thanks for reading. Remember that high res photos are on Dropbox.

Grant and Danielle

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The next day we started the homestead opportunity. The bus dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and we found our hosts happy to see us and hitched a ride with them on motorbike to their house. The scenic route took us though somewhere but I don't quite know where… And our only point of reference (until I turned on GPS seven days later) was the island across the way which was apparently where they shot the first season of Survivor.

To say our first day was a learning experience would be an understatement. After showing us our tent, which was fully equipped with falling coconut protection, we got straight to our first job: killing dinner. They wrangled up three chickens for us and killed them (with a bit of mess) and handed them off to us for plucking, gutting, and cleaning (the key is to pluck them before they get cold). As a happy carnivore I couldn't say no, or else I'd forever be a hypocrite, so I dove in with my hands and a knife, and learned a new skill.

As we toured the land the hosts showed us all the edible fruits, the open air showers, the private beach access, and the animals. We were told about all the local threats ranging from cobras, dengue fever, and local gossip. By the end of the homestead a week later, after hearing stories about travelers in dangerous situations the woman host reminded me of my parents in that they seem to want to scare me away from ever traveling again. Too bad for them however, because I'm way too stubborn and arrogant for that. ;P

That first night and every night to follow started with a delicious meal for dinner (she was a hell of a cook) and then Majong, which is kinda like a Chinese version of gin, but way faster. I was hell-bent on beating them at Majong, but I wasn't even close. Maybe next time.

Everyday went about the same. Wake up at 540 for a delicious and never repeated breakfast, then start work. Because it is very hot in the afternoons, we decided to do all of the work as early as possible. When they saw me the first day, the hosts were oddly excited. Apparently they hadn't had a tall guy in a long while. To take advantage, we spent all our time working on a new concrete house they are building. I welded rebar, casted concrete, and cut steel. Danielle helped as needed, but mostly fed animals, watered plants, built cages and planters, and caught chickens (after letting them all out by accident).

It was hard work, but once we were done we took some well earned R&R on the beach every single day. Not much life in these waters, but it didn't matter. We swam, lounged, and read the heat away.

We caught a solar eclipse while working one day. I looked up, noticed the sun was a crescent and had to do a double take. We looked it up a few days later, and it was in fact an eclipse. So awesome.

While out there (wherever we were…), we also enjoyed brilliant stars, playing with the dogs, watching the rooster and African guinea fight, ate as good as anyone can eat, cracked coconuts, and enjoyed some great conversation with two westerners that retried early and have created this nearly sustainable housing situation in the middle of Borneo to stretch their budget with a simpler and more disconnected lifestyle.

Now back to civilization… Sort of…

Grant and Danielle

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To get to From Laos to Cambodia is a simple, yet surprisingly daunting task. Although the Laos-Cambodia border is not as scam ridden as the boarder Cambodia shares with Thailand or Vietnam, the scams are still there, as always. First, the passport service scam asks to help you across the border by taking your passport to get the exit stamp for you, usually asking for an extra 3-10$…we snuck by that one. The next, the exit stamp fee scam has the Laos border officials asking for a 2$ “overtime fee” (at 11am on a Monday…) to exit the country. Once the rest of our bus happily and ignorantly paid, we were stuck paying too. Next, the “health quarantine” is the first thing you see as you approach Cambodia. Apparently it costs 1$ if you don't have a copy of your vaccination card, but it's also free if you casually walk by. I would have stopped if they asked me to, but they just charged whatever tourists stopped at their booth first. As you can see in the picture below, the area is not intuitive. After walking around in circles for several minutes we realized we needed to literally walk across the invisible border and ask around until we hit the visa office. Officials are banking on the fact that tourists get tripped up in the area and fork out whatever extra “fee” is asked for by someone in uniform. Finally, after a quick and easy visa on arrival, we jumped in the bus, insisting on the bus with AC that we paid for and not the 3.5 wheeled van off to the side that they reserve for overflow. Four hours later, we landed in Siem Reap and started our adventures.

The first morning (and every day after that) we were up at 4:30 AM to beat the sunrise. We began our Angkor tour by paying $20 for a tuk-tuk escourt all day. Unlike Bangkok and much of Thailand, I actually trusted my tuk-tuk driver here, and I was stoked to find out he spoke English well and could shine a little light on the history of the area. We went to a lot of places on the first day, as we did the “short” circuit of temples. To start, we watched the sunrise at Phnom Bakheng, a temple on the only hill in Angkor. The tourist numbers were small and the view was gorgeous. After this, we went to Bayon, Baphon, Preah Palilay, Tep Pranam, the Terraces, Preah Pithu, the Twin Temples, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei, and of course, Angkor Wat. Bayon Temple, the Temple of Faces, was Danielle's favorite of the day. The towers of the temple are covered in carved faces, (over 200 in the whole complex) giving the temple a very unique style. My favorite was Ta Prohm, or Tombraider Temple. This temple is very over grown, and the huge 200+ year old trees, reminds us that nature will be here even after we are long gone. Finally, Ankor Wat was, as promised, huge, impressive, awe-inspiring, and packed to the gills with tourists.

That day, at the second to last temple, I twisted my ankle. Apparently this is extremely common because 10% of the folks in our hostel were limping with ankle wraps. Since I was injured, we took the next day off and enjoyed AC and hot pot for dinner.

Given the injury, we splurged and got another tuk-tuk for our second day exploring the ancient city. The start of the day, we caught the sunrise at Pre Rup, which was even better and less crowded than the first sunrise. After that, we visited Banteay Srei, which is a beautiful temple an hour away that is apparently so intricate that many scholars believe it had to have been designed by a woman. Luckily, we arrived early, because as we left dozens of Chinese tourist busses began unloading through the temple. As we maintained pace to stay ahead of the crowd, we visited Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, and East Mabon. Learning from our mistakes the previous day, we brought our own lunch to avoid the outrageous cost for fried rice, and sat back with some tea as we talked about the government with the locals. For dinner that night we caved and bought pizza and ice cream. Real cheese and imported crusts quickly reassured us that we made the right decision.

The last day we went cheap, rented some surprisingly smooth bikes for 2$ each, and headed out for the sunrise as always. Today, however, we started by embracing the crowds and headed to Angkor Wat for the sunrise that gets even the sleepiest people up at 4:30am for its beauty. It was worth it. Although the left reflecting pool was packed to the gills, the right was not too crowded and we had a great view of the sunrise, the temple, and the reflection with only a few hawkers around.

After Angkor, we wanted to hit all the temples that we hadn't been to yet. We theorized that if it's not part of the typical short or grand circuit, maybe no one takes the time to visit. We visited brick temple, Bayon (again), Krol Romeas, and Banteay Prai. The last two were completely isolated, and we were free to photograph and screw around as we pleased. Next, we searched for the botanical gardens, which were a bust, and then we unintentionally mountain biked through the park on our shabby 1980's cruisers (equipped with baskets). After much delay and a few close calls with trees and sand, we finally found out last stop, Ta Nai Temple, which was awesome and fairly empty, as promised. After we finally found the road again, we headed back to relax in the AC. Before we left for Malaysia the next day, we treated ourselves to one more round of hot pot, and a beer with a friend Danielle hadn't seen since elementary school.

Siem Reap was incredible, and anyone making there way to Cambodia shouldn't miss it. Now on to Malaysian Borneo!

Grant and Danielle

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We arrived to Don Khong in the morning, so we grabbed a hostel and a motorbike, and decided to explore Khone Phapheng waterfalls, “The Pearl Of The Mekong”. We brought our swimsuits excited to cool off in the water (it was about 95° that day), but found the area to be a bit different than we thought. Firstly, it was $7 per person to get in…quite a bit of money to see a natural wonder. Then, there was a temple associated with a sacred tree that was onsite. As soon as I saw the first monk walking around I knew I had to ditch the whole swimming idea. Bikinis and monks do not mix. Bummer. The falls were stunning, but I'm not sure it was worth the price and the heat. That night made up for it as we celebrated our 100th day on the road by splitting a huge dinner and a few BeerLaos.

The next morning we headed over to Saibadee Volunteer School. This is the homestay we would be teaching English at for the next week. There are four levels of students attending the school. Groups 1, 2, 3 were almost the age equivalent of elementary, middle, and high school in the states. All the children and teenagers show up after school and each get an hour of class time in their respective levels. A small group of adults show up in the afternoon on their lunch break to learn as well. Classes run every day, Monday-Friday, and most of the time a group of kids come on the weekends to play games with the volunteers.

Because we showed up on a Saturday, we had a lot of time to get into full relaxation mode at the homestay. The first day was fairly mellow, and we stuck around the property to play games with the kids as they showed up. Uno, hangman (all English of course), and tag are all favorites of the younger classes. The kids knew numbers, colors, and “sorry teacher!” in English (I had a lot of draw 2 cards directed at me). The kids were all smart and adorable. They kept asking me the names of new words or actions in English. It was nice to see what level they were at in a fun way.

The next day, Grant and I borrowed bikes from the homestay and biked 5 miles across the island to get to the larger, morning market. Being there was one of our favorite market experiences so far. We filled up on fresh spring rolls, donuts, and a sugary drink for about 50 cents each. It was the first time we were getting charged the same price as the locals. After eating, we wandered through town and found the shore. There, we watched a series of boats with questionable safety standards riding to and from the beach. Shortly after, it was starting to heat up (at 9:30 AM) so we decided to trek home. Because of the heat, we learned to hide out in the shade or in the water for the majority of the afternoon. No wonder markets wind down at 9:00 in the morning…it's too hot to be active after that time. On a walk later on, we saw a golden tree snake and the locals were as excited to see it as we were.

Monday was our first real class. We volunteered to teach the adults at first, and later on I taught Group 2 and Grant did Group 3. The lessons are all planned by the volunteers. The classes themselves were difficult because no one who spoke Lao was ever around to help out. Miming and consulting various dictionaries/translate apps was the only way to get our points across at times. At one point during a question/answering exercise, Grant asked why the chicken crossed the road. After giving a sincere answer, we tried to tell them what a joke was and they didn't understand what we were gesturing about. Unemployment was another difficult concept for them to understand as well. Despite this, the adults had a pretty good grasp on the language, but were not comfortable speaking casually. So, of course, that is where we focused a lot of our energy on during the week. By the end, they really did seem more comfortable talking, so I hope future teachers continue to work on that with them.

The kids classes were more difficult for different reasons. It was hard to get them to settle down and to not use Lao to one another. Also, they were all at various levels learning the material. Since our lesson was after their normal schooling, I don't blame them for being slightly rowdy. We worked on answering questions about time and played competition games for practice.

When we weren't teaching, making lesson plans, or hanging out in the shady hammocks, you could find the volunteers playing cards, reading, hanging out in the Mekong, or eating the delicious food that was made for us. Curries, stir fried dishes, soups, fruit, eggs, bread, rice, and more rice were some of the things we would have in front for us for every meal. It was awesome to have 7 days of home cooked Lao food to eat.

Our room was simply made, but had an awesome view of the sunrise over the Mekong. With no doors or windows, the swift breeze would blow through our hut throughout the night. The breeze was welcome, however, since the nights were warm and the wind blew the smoke from the sky. Although we summoned the energy for a few late nights of Lao Lao (rice 'whisky'), BeerLao, card games, and stories, most ended early since we were almost always up for the spectacular sunrises (various island roosters and Jimmy made sure we were awake).

Finally, the host family and founders of the program were amazing to all the volunteers that came through the school. Although we only spent a day with the leader and father of the program, Khamla, we could tell how kind he was and how interesting it would be to know him. During our one evening together, he told us about Lao traditions, his life as a monk, his family, and his time as a student in Laos. He told us about how Laos struggles to keep young talent from going to the surrounding countries, unable to resist the lure of more money. He stayed in the country because he is the youngest in the family, and therefore, responsible for taking care of his parents as they become older. He had a good sense of humor and he treated the volunteers with honesty and fairness; I'm glad we were able to spend just that day with him. His wife was a delight as well, dispite the language barrier. Her smile brought more light to the homestay, and she was always working hard to feed the volunteers and students, and to take care of her 10-month-old son, Jimmy. Jimmy (named after James Bond) was as cute as it gets, and as all the volenteers learned, curious in almost a dangerous way. Somehow, Jimmy was already walking everywhere, but the concept of ledges and steps were foreign to him. He'd routinely walk off of drops, with a volenteer or his mother arriving just in time to catch him. Everything new needed to be picked up, inspected, and tasted. Most of the volunteers are convinced he'll be an engineer as well, since he routinely investigated the motorbikes and bicycles for moving parts.

In the end, this was an awesome experience, and now we are even more excited for the next volenteer opportunities ahead of us in Malaysia.

Before then, we will be exploring the Angkor temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We finally caught up with our postings, so stay tuned for an update soon!

Danielle and Grant

The post Don Khong – Relaxing, Teaching, and Homestay-ing appeared first on Quarter Life Excursion.