LOZZA'S ASIAN ADVENTURE CONTINUES...

First of all - to Yuting, if you're reading this: thank you SO MUCH for letting me stay with you the last few days. I've had a lovely time. I don't think I would have enjoyed my time in Tokyo as much if you weren't here. Thanks for cooking for me, and looking after me, and showing me around, and being a wonderful host! You really do have the wife and mum genes.

Second of all... this blog contains adult material, so please be aware.

Anyhoo... the first interesting thing about Tokyo: the seats on the trains are heated. When I first noticed my bum getting warm on the train, I thought: Oh, shit! Have I pee-ed my pants?... Yes, that, of course, is the most logical and reasonable conclusion I come up with. But when I did a quick swipe under my butt, my pants were dry. So, yes... I was very impressed...

OK, so... what can I say about the huge city of Tokyo? Well, I think I'm a size sumo in this land of size 0 girls. These size 0 girls who wear hot pants that are BARELY covering their bums, despite it being 4 degrees celcius (no kidding!). The pants are so short that I have actually seen underwear. Yes, a boy's haven. Hot pants, and 4-inch heels... which they can run in when they rush to the train station. Lucky them!

And what else? Oh, in dating central, I saw a place where you can rent a puppy for an hour for 2500yen (which is the equivalent of about $35 AUS?)! And you won't believe how popular it is. Just goes to show how much people want to conform to this fantasy world that Hollywood gives out.

AND... the biggest shock came today...

So, today I decided to leave urban Tokyo and head off to Inokashira Park in Kichijoji. Btw, it's a beautiful park and I would definitely recommend it. So here I was, sitting down, writing in my notepad and listening to my MP3 player, when an old man sits next to me. This man had to be at the very least 60 years old.
Well, as some of you may know, I am a huge fan of old people. And this old man looked really sweet and adorable. And I'm always up for making new friends - especially in a land where nobody makes eye contact with you let alone talk to you.
So, we do the general chit-chat. He first speaks to me in Japanese, in which I responded with "I'm sorry. I don't understand." And then he asks "Are you American?". I say "No, I'm Australian". He asks me how long I've been to in Japan, when I'm going, if I'm a student, when I graduate, rah rah rah... Very reasonable questions which I was happy to answer. And, of course, I want to know more about him so I ask him what he does, etc etc.
And then, he asks me "Do you have a boyfriend?" Which, stupidly enough, I was not taken aback by because a few people have asked me that on this trip so far without any ulterior motive or intention. And so I say, "no". THEN, he asks, "Are you a virgin?". And I go, "Excuse me?". "Are you a virgin". And I respond "I think that's a bit inappropriate to ask". And at this point of time, things STILL don't click with me because I figured that maybe he was just a very curious person, and wants to know what an Asian girls living in a Western country is like. And so he defers a bit... But moments later... again, "Are you a virgin?"... But wait, there's more! He goes on to ask "Do you want to have sex?" And, thinking I heard wrong, I said, "Excuse me?". And he repeats "Do you want to have sex with me?". At this point, I'm completely dumbfounded and speechless, and wondering if this is really happening. But wait, there's more! He pulls his hand out of his glove, wiggles his fingers, and says "Would you like to have finger sex?" And before he could offer me a price, I stood up and said "I'm sorry. That's really inappropriate. I... have to go to the train. I'm in a hurry. That's really inappropriate. I'm sorry. It was lovely meeting you. Thank you. Sorry. Goodbye." And I took a quick exit and didn't look back.
Yuting, who's been in Japan for nearly a year now, says she has never happened to her. So, lucky me! And the thing is, I was wearing THE most unattractive, frumpiest, frumpier-than-Ugly-Betty winter clothes: track-dacks with those old-fashioned elastics at the bottom, and m oversized winter jacket. What sort of vibe could I possibly be giving out?
Anyhoo, I surprisingly am not too disgusted by it. More amused. I knew that there were a few seedy old men in Tokyo, but the place I was at wasn't the seedy district, so it really was a surprise.

Anyhoo, that's news from Loraine Ng so far! I still really miss Mirror, although the aching has settled down. Gosh, I wish you could experience these people yourselves. They really have touched my heart and given me so much insight.

Eating heaps and heaps and heaps, and can feel my clothes getting tighter! Cheerios!

So, I had written a blog a few days ago, but somehow it failed to publish it, so those words are now lost forever. Hopefully, this blog can equal if not better that blog in terms of expressing the thoughts and feelings of Loraine Ng.

I don't know where to start - though I guess the title says it all. Even as I'm writing these very words, I can feel my nose and chest getting funny, and my eyes getting wet - signs indicating my deep desire to cry out everything within me. And yet, I'm not sure why and what I need to cry about. I just have such a strong feeling of overwhelming-ness. I wish I can file away all these feelings and thoughts, and slowly analyse them, then store them in a treasured spot forever so that I can always go back and remember every detail. Does that make any sense?

So, anyways. I left the Mirror Foundation on Tuesday 30th December 2008. I arrived there on the 1st December 2008, and I think it may have been THE best month of my life. I can't describe it. It's not like everyday was happy-happy-joy-joy, or I had heaps of fun. But... the people. The PEOPLE. Oh, shit! I'm tearing up in the middle of an internet cafe in Chiang Mai.

I feel so fortunate, and blessed, and privileged to have met the people Mirror. They are people I would never have approached, let alone befriended, in "the real world". They have given me so much insight into the diversity, and beauty, and intricacy of human character - and it has been inspiring and eye-opening. Back home, it's so easy to look at the people around you - at uni, at work, at church, on the streets, in the supermarkets - and have all these preconceptions. It's so easy to form judgements, based purely on a superficial level, on whether or not they're a person you would want to get to know. But in Mirror, we're all "forced" to live with one another - and within a few days, you realise there is so much to a person beyond the surface.

The days, and even hours, prior to me leaving Mirror, I thought: No problemento! I can do this without crying... But as I gave my last hugs to people, the tears couldn't stop coming. I cried for a good 20 minutes after leaving - I actually had to bite my lip to stop myself from sobbing. Seriously! I was a wreck. I'm not sure if it was because I had become so attached to the people and the place. Or if I had become so attached to the lifestyle at Mirror. Or if I was going to miss the person that I was, the things that I learnt, during my time there. Or if it was the knowledge that this experience would never ever happen again in my life. Sure, I could always go back to Mirror in the future - but to have that same group of people from all over the world gathered in one place? Never again. I think that's the biggest tearjerker. And the truth is - I probably won't see most of the people ever again. And that almost grieves me. I won't know whether or not they fulfil their life's ambitions, or if they find the girl/boy of their dreams, or have the 4 kids they wanted, or even, when they die. And yet, I want to know. Because I hope that each and every one of them lives a fulfilling life.

There were a few doubts I had when leaving Australia. First, whether or not I could travel alone. And second, whether I should have chosen a Christian organisation to volunteer with. I'm so glad I did what I did. Mind you, travelling alone would have really sucked if I hadn't joined an NGO group. So I think, in future, travelling overseas and volunteering with an NGO is the way to go. That's how you meet the people of the country, and learn the culture. Every country has it's own beautiful sights and scenery and quirky thing - but, to me, it's the people that epitomise a country. It's the people I'm drawn to - and you don't really get to know the people as a "tourist".

So, the people I met? Gosh, I think that would take a whole other blog to write about. Which I think I will do. But let me say, (and I know I've already said this) I jsut feel so blessed to have met so many truly beautiful people - people of different race, religions, ideals. Thais, Canadians, Americans, Singaporians, Japanese, other Australians. Just the thought of them warms my heart, and aches my heart, at the same time.

I wish I could better express myself, articulate the thoughts and feelings within me - although, I'm not sure what they are either. I don't think any amount of words can give the people I've met justice. I am just so sincerely grateful for the wonderful insight I've gained. Thank you Kiyoshi, Keiko, Ashley, P'Aye, Lindsay, Bec, Linda, Tiep, Al, Chai, Thai Ai, Japanese Ai, Chow-Ping, P'Moo, P'Nu, P'Pi, Dor, O, Sakura, Emmie, Pu (Boo), P'Ning, Sunnie, Ked, Sid, and the lovely muchkins from Jalae village. And thank you to all the Thai locals who I randomly met, who offered to help me even though I was just a stranger walking by. (e.g. I decided to go on a 5km hike from the Chiang Dao Caves to the Chiang Dao bus terminal, and was confronted with a pack of dogs who took an interest in me. A Thai lady came rushing out of her house with a branch and chased the dogs away, but they kept on following me. So she flagged down a car, and asked the driver to drive me to the bus terminal).

This has really been one of the best times of my life.

Well, the title says it all! I can't believe that I left Melbourne one month ago. And I can't believe (or I don't want to) that I will be leaving this beautiful place in a week's time. I LOVE Thailand! Well, specifically, I love Chiang Rai. Well, even more specifically, I love being and living at Mirror, surrounded by warm, friendly, wonderful, fantastic people - both in and outside of Mirror. I could most certainly, and would very much so like, to live here another 6 months.
So much has happened since I last blogged. But I know that no amount of blogging and no amount of photos can do this experience justice - nothing can really capture the wonderful time here. I think of Melbourne, and I wonder - how am I supposed to go back? Sigh...
I would definitely love to come back - I'm already planning a return sometime in the 2nd half of 2009.
Yesterday, we went carol-ling in the hilltribes. Today, we were supposed to go to Phuco village to teach childcare, but got there and found that childcare had been cancelled. Instead, they had some sort of sports tournament going, and we were invited to join in. We had bamboo racing (2 teams of 5 run with a bamboo pole under their legs); balloon popping (we attached balloons to our ankles, and had to pop each other's balloon) and finished it off with a soccer game, in which I scored the winning goal! Yipppeee!!!
Well, Merry Christmas friends!
PS: What happens if there's not enough parking in a shopping centre? Well, the Thais in Chiang Rai will just park in the middle of the lane, and put their car into neutral. If you have a car blocking you when you want to go, you just push the car away!

OK, random things that have happened on my trip so far:

1. So, Mirror has bought a run-down guesthouse in Chiang Rai town, and is currently renovating it in the hopes that one day it will be an active guesthouse generating income for Mirror. Anyways, I've spent a few days at the guesthouse, helping out. So, lots of tearing down concrete walls, etc. These bits of unwanted concrete (and other rubbish) is thoughtfully wheelbarrowed to the land next door (which is currently unoccupied) and dumped there. ANYHOO, while I was wheelbarrowing some concrete, a swarm of flies attacked me! Yes, I said "attacked". Apparently, a nest had been occupying some part of the wall. And for those who know me, and know my hair - it's not a pretty sight. Well, guess what?! The flies swarmed into my hair (maybe it thought it was a nest?) and all died in it. I spent the next half hour shaking my head out, and pulling fly corpses out of my hair. Who needs a venus fly trap when they have hair like mine?! I'm not kidding you. DOZENS of flies literally met their untimely death in my hair.

2. The near impossible has happened. For the THIRD time in my life, I have lost ONE thong. Yes, ONE thong. I still have my right thong, but my left thong? It's missing in action. The thing is, we have to leave our shoes outside of the house that we're living in. Well, when I woke up one morning to put on my thongs to go out for breakfast - my left thong was nowhere to be seen. Candy, can you believe it?

3. Dogs. Lots of random dogs reside in Mirror - some with clothes, some without.

4. There was something else I wanted to report, but alas, I cannot remember it.

PS: I'm going to Hobart in April-June next year for placement
PSS: I ACED the hill tribe trek - I just RACED through it
PSSS: Oh my goodness!!! The people are LOVELY here! There's this Japanese guy called Kyoshi here, and he CRACKS MY BONES (a phrase I picked up from an American here)!!!! He is the cutest, most adorable, funniest, loveliest, most beautiful Japanese boy!!! He reminds me of an anime character.
PSSSS: Hopefully, next time I can report to you about my fun time during my hilltribe homestay
PSSSSS: Happy birthday Josie Posie for December 14th!!!

Oh dearie me everyone!!! It's been SOOO very much so long since I've last blogged... and now I don't know where to begin!!! So much has happened - I've seen so many things, I've met so many people, I've experienced so many things that I have never experienced before in my life. As I'm typing these very words, I feel myself being overwhelmed with a feeling of amazing-ness and "wow-ness" - I feel truly blessed.

So, where should I start? It's been less than 2 weeks since I last wrote, but as I said before, so much has happened... I think I left you at Ayutthaya, so I'll begin there. I'm afraid I'll have to load the photos up at a later date, coz that just takes too long - so please bear with my sole words.

Ayutthaya
So, Ayutthaya - what did I see in Ayutthaya??? Well, I pretty much saw nothing. I dragged Tsai Wei (the Taiwanese girl who shared the same dorm room in my Bangkok hostel) on a 1.5 hour van ride to Ayutthaya in the hope of seeing the historical ruins. First of all, we woke up late, which cut our day short. Second of all, when we got there, practically no english was spoken (fair enough, seeing as we ARE in Thailand after all) so no one could point us to the historical ruins. And seeing as we were on a tight schedule, and had to be back in Bangkok by 6pm (as Tsai Wei was going to a European film festival with a friend), we spent about a total of 30 minutes in Ayutthaya walking up and down the one street, asking for directions with no avail. If we had more time, we would have tried to bump into a bicycle rental place and find explore the town, but since we didn't... we decided to hop onto another sang-thaew (which is like a small truck with an open back) travel another 1.5 hours to the Bang Pa-In Palace, which my sister and Janice had highly recommended. My verdict? It was alright. I think it was worth it just to get a breath of fresh air. By that time, my time in Bangkok had probably blackened my lungs and I was coughing as if I smoked like a chimney. Anyhoo, Bang Pa-In Palace is more like a huge palace ground with several buildings inspired by architecture from various cultures. We went into one of the Chinese-inspired temples inside the palace grounds (temple, palace, or something - the down side with traveling without a tour guide is you don't know these things), and Tsai Wei stretched out her legs. The thing in Thailand, though, is that the feet are the literally and figuratively the lowest part of your body, so it's actually very rude to point at things with your feet. Well, Tsai Wei's feet just so happened to point at the throne (or something of the sort - please excuse my ignorance) and was told off by one of the guards. Oh, oh, oh!!! And we met military soldiers there, who were guarding the palace grounds. Tsai Wei and I went crazy taking photos with one of the solders, who must have thought we were silly Chinese tourists. I got a nice one of his rifle - I would have taken one of my holding it, but I chickened out on asking. Anyhoo, then we took a tuk-tuk to the train station, and trained back to Bangkok.

Kanchanaburi
Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi!!! What can I say, except that "I heart you, Kanchanaburi!" Oh, it was beautiful!!! Kanchanaburi just so happened to also be a military area. So we saw a few military tanks on our way there, and apparently (according to Apple No. 2, the host of our guesthouse), helicopters and military personnel were heading towards Bangkok because of all the trouble. Not sure if I can believe everything Apple No. 2 says, though. She also told us to beware of going back to Bangkok because the streets were blocked off for fighting; when we got back to Bangkok, everything was just as before!
Oh, I wish I could show you the photos of Kanchanaburi! First of all, Tsai Wei and I went to the food night market, which was filled with all different sorts of vendors... and DID WE EAT!!! I can count 7 dishes that we ate: green curry with noodles, coconut and peanut curry with noodles, some sort of meat on a stick, a pad thai wrapped in egg, mussels in egg batter, hokkien chicken and rice, mango and sticky rice with coconut milk (a MUST in Thailand - oh, it was soooooo good!!!)
We stayed overnight in Kanchanaburi, and the next day, we rented bikes again and went riding outside of town. We bumped into an Australian guy (called Ryan, I think), who we rode with. Oh, it was so beautiful!! I think I told you before, I felt like Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music!!! We bumped into this random wat (i.e. temple) cave, and I felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie. It was so cool!!! I don't think it was a tourist-y wat, so we were the only foreigners there. These 2 sweet girls guided us around the cave, and oh!!! I felt so adventurous! (even though there was no death-factor involved... well, not unless the caves collapsed in a random earthquake and crushed my body to its death).
Anyhoo, I REALLY REALLY wanted to stay another day in Kanchanaburi because I didn't even get to visit the 7-tiered Erewan waterfalls, which are apparently, quite spectacular!!! And I also really really wanted to go to the Death Railway Museum. Oh, oh, oh!!! Which brings me to the next point!!! Tsai and I visited the Thai-Burma Railway museum, which was an insightful and lovely (though not very bi-partisan, I thought) tribute to the many Allied POWs, who died during World War II, building the Thai-Burma railway under horrible, horrendous, and in many cases, fatal, conditions. I saw pictures of some of the soldiers, and you could see each and every bone of the body. Oh, it was really overwhelming, and almost poetic, and made me feel so proud to be an Australian (I know, I know - what a cliche). I would really have loved to have gone to the Death Railway Museum to gain further insight, but alas, it was not so. I was getting pretty teary-eyed going through the Thai-Burma Railway museum; I probably would have completely balled my eyes out if I had gone to the Death Railway Museum, where you actually go through one of the railway passes dug by the Allied POWs. I definitely would love to return to Kanchanaburi for another bike ride, and to visit this museum and Erewan Falls. Oh, Kanchanaburi, how I love you!!! Oh, did I mention the bike ride? I think I did!!! But, oh!! I felt so fit and cool (which is a TOTALLY uncool thing to say) and, oh, the views were tremendous!!!

Then I went back to Bangkok after a night in Kanchanaburi, where I bumped into Keiko Faruki from Singapore. I was telling her about my volunteering stint, and she spontaneously decided to come along!!! Unfortunately, when we went back to the hostel, the ladies dorm was filled. So Tsai Wei and I had to sleep in the mixed dorm, where we met an arrogant American man. Anyways, long story cut short - he was very rude, and we suspect slightly racist. I had written him a letter of concern (about his attitude), but he was gone before we could leave him the letter.

Now, finally, CHIANG RAI!!!! Which took me about 19 hours to get there because I couldn't fly there from Bangkok due to the protests, so I had to take public transport involving a sleeper train and a bus (where I sat, for some time, between a monk and a lady-boy! If only I had a photo to show you....)

Chiang Rai
So, I'm doing some volunteer work with an NGO called The Mirror Foundation in Chiang Rai. I don't know where to start!!! Well, the people are lovely here! The bunch that is up here at this very moment are just.... oh, beautiful, lovely, nice, and all that!!! They have Thai university interns as well as Japanese volunteers here - and, oh, how my heart sighs with fondness of them!!! They are so beautiful. You hear it all the time, but Thai people really ARE just friendly, beautiful, sweet-natured! Oh, they warm my heart!!! I confess, I actually had some trouble getting along with one of the Aussie volunteers in my first week here, but she left, which (I really don't like saying) has made me breathe a sigh of relief, and now I feel like I can be myself. I'm sharing a room with Keiko (the Singaporian girl I met in Bangkok) and a Canadian and American girl called Sunita and Saba respectively, who are just lovely. They were actually studying in Perth as exchange students over the last 6 months.
Anyhoo, I have to cut this short because it's sleep time soon. But first, let me tell you. I have been taking COLD, BUCKET showers everyday since being here - and it's winter!!! Oh, I shall never take hot, running showers for granted!!! Every time I pour another bucket of cold water down my body, I give a yelp. There's toilets, but you have to pour bucket water into the toilet bowl to flush it. I really don't mind it. I've done a few squat toilets - and may I say, I think I actually prefer squat toilets to the "normal" Western ones. I think certain things actually come out of that certain area better while squatting. And instead of using toilet paper, you're supposed to just splash a bit of water down the crack! But I confess, I've been cheating and using toilet paper.
Anyways, tomorrow I go on a 3 day trek to the hill tribes - apparently, the 1st day involves a few kilometres of steep, uphill walking - eek!!! At first I thought it was OK, and then it started to rain a bit tonight. I just hope that this trek isn't as bad as my Vietnam one!
Oh, oh, oh!!! Before I forget!!! Food = excellent (most of the time!) Lots of egg, chilli stuff, and RICE - breakfast, lunch and dinner! I've taught childcare twice, and primary school once and it's been a blast! Oh, the kids are so cute and sweet - they've stolen my heart!!! I really really enjoyed the experience. Oh, the childcare kids - oh my goodness!!! My heart melts at the thought of their sweet little faces. I've also done a few days at "the guesthouse", which is a run-down guesthouse that the Mirror Foundation has bought in hopes of renovating it and using it to generate income. Lots of carrying and lifting and moving and breaking - I felt like such a man!!! (In a good way, not in a "I want to become a man" way). Oh, and I do some private tutoring to some of the local ladies here, who hand-make delicate bird whistles, and to some of the Thai interns.

Anyhoos, long blog this time. I really wish you could meet these people, and see this place. Every day, I wake up in my rat-infested wooden hut, and outside are magnificent mountains and green pastures. Oh, the beauty of it all!!!