The Wandering Albatross has flown the coop!

I've decided to move my blog to WordPress, and here is the link:

http://talesfromawanderingalbatross.wordpress.com/

It's the same address, only at wordpress instead of blogspot.

The primary reason for moving was that I'm out of space to upload pictures (for free) on this platform, but I also like the layout better, and I'm taking a class that also uses WordPress so I'm learning all the ins and outs of the site. Blogger occasionally makes me want to chuck  my computer across the room, so I'm hoping WordPress treats me nicer. So far our relationship is going well, but we're still in early days. I'll let you know how we progress.

Thanks for reading my blog!

A quick whine about toilets in Asia

I miss toilets. After 8 weeks of travel, I'm homesick for toilets. Nice ones, where the seat is attached (and stays attached for the duration of use), and ones that have seats. Ones that don't spurt water from the pipe all over the floor when flushed. Ones that don't bubble up on you while you're sitting there, giving your nether regions a wash (luckily I was about to take a shower, which I promptly did). Ones that don't require hovering, ones where your tush can safely land without threat of immediate infectious disease. Ones that aren't cracked, and that are cleaned more than once a year (if that), and ones that don't smell like half of Asia and his brother have peed all over them.

I miss not having to wear shoes in the bathroom because the floor is covered in a 1/2 inch deep puddle from the leaking toilet and the shower, which drains through a hole in the floor. I miss bathrooms where the toilet and shower are separated, where the shower is contained in a tub, and where you're not bumping into the toilet and knocking the loose seat on the floor during your shower because the bathroom is that small. I miss not having to roll up my pant legs so they don't get soggy as I drop my drawers. I miss being able to assume that every bathroom will have toilet paper, including hotels. I miss toilets that flush, and not having to pour a bucket of water down the hole, which works better than I imagined in some toilets and not at all in others. I miss being able to flush my used toilet paper. In some places here, I miss having a trashcan in the bathroom because I never remember to look until it's too late, and then what do you do?

There are many reasons to travel through Asia. However, the bathroom facilities are not one of them. Particularly the bathroom facilities you will be forced to utilize when traveling Asia with Max Seigal, the king of cheaper-than-cheap hotels (generally only marginally nicer than sleeping in the gutter). However, a quick thank you to the US government for successfully preparing me for Asian bathrooms (and hotel rooms) by putting me up in some very, shall we say, Nepalese/Thai-quality housing for various internships. You should put that on the SCA website as a perk- housing will prep you for international travel!

Countries visited: 5 (Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand)
Number of decent toilets in said countries: 3

Lauren's kayaking adventure in Thailand

I suppose the title is misleading, in a way. You're probably now expecting some epic adventure account, a multi-day saga with pirates, no food, native Thai people and language barriers, some sort of heroic rescue, and then a celebratory bonfire and feast on the beach. No, sorry. I wish it involved all that. The truth, as usual, is much less glamorous. Anything that involves puke is generally unglamorous, I find. Throwing up is a universal leveler, brings us all down to the same miserable state of being. Though, of all the places I've thrown up in, emptying my stomach contents over the side of a kayak just off a beach on an island in Thailand in front of at least two restaurants of people enjoying their lunches is definitely the most exotic. My friend, who was a patron in one of the restaurants, said he thought we stopped to look at some fish, which gives me hope that I didn't put anyone off their food. I would like to apologise to my other friend, who was in the kayak with me, politely adverting his gaze, covering his ears and humming loudly. Apparently the waves were a little rough, and his foot might have gotten splashed a little. I'm sorry, but it did wash all over my legs too, dangling off the side, if that makes you feel any better, and I was slightly preoccupied at the time so I wasn't able to monitor the currents properly. I'll try to do better next time. I've never thrown up in public before, nor in a kayak, so I'm unfamiliar with the proper protocols in these situations.

In the future, when I decide to jump in a kayak with someone who wants to paddle to a distant island a good hour away by constant paddling (one way) over choppy open water, I'll try my best not to feel nauseous for the entire trip out and back. Also, I'll try to void my stomach contents before almost making it back to the beach, keeping in mind the wave patterns, wind speed, and current so as to avoid any splashage. I'll also work on being more discreet and trying to avoid such public stages for future barfing episodes, of which I fervently hope there are few (or none, none would be okay too). Now that I've ticked off throwing up from a kayak from my list of firsts, I've no desire to repeat the experience. Been there, done that, moving on (with the aid of Dramamine and some Pepto-Bismol).

Oh yes, we are having a splendid time here in Thailand.