Tuk Tuk Madness

You could say we got our World’s ROCKED!!  On the ride home from an amazing night of hitting the lanes (bowling) our Tuk Tuk crashed into a telephone pole at 40 mph!!!  We didn’t even see it coming!!!  At the moment of impact our 40 oz beer bottles smashed into a thousand sharp pieces that sliced our white legs open in deep, red gashes!!!  Pretty much we were thrown into a wall at an accelerated speed!  The damage to our bodies was beyond belief.

To be fully honest our memories of the initial impact are vague to say the least.  It was like a scene from a war movie.  Screaming, blood and major injuries plagued our crew of six.  Anton, our Swedish savior was thankfully there to help us out.  Chelsea had passed out from her concussion and awoke on the ground with five Laotians surrounding her.  Anton was there to help her through, explaining what had happened, holding her hand and getting her into the other tuk tuk that was our ambulance.  Kinsey on the other had knew the minute she gained consciousness that her collarbone was broken!!  When she finally got into the tuk tuk Anton held his own shirt to the deep wound on her leg all the while holding her hand till we got to the hospital.

At the hospital they took, Tom, Reeta and Kinsey into the third world ER to sew up their open wounds.  On three brown beds they placed the victims and began sewing, with No anesthesia!!  From outside the ER all was heard were the screeches from our three friends as the doctors stitched them up.

Ex-rays were taken and we were given aspirin and told to go home!!!  We could barely make it out the door on our own!  We were all stumbling and helping each other into the tuk tuk that was taking us back into town where we stayed.

Our Injuries:

Kinsey had a collarbone that was shattered, two broken ribs, a torn ligament in her shoulder and gashes on her head and legs.  Kinsey got Fuuucked!!!!

Chelsea’s head was smashed into the cab of the truck causing a deep dent and a concussion.  Not only that but she had two fractured ribs and a messed up arm.

Reeta had deep gashes in her legs, something wrong with her shoulder and a head injury.

Anton had a head injury and broken bones in his hand.

Tom had Deep, Deep gashes on his legs.

And Thomas had a swollen tongue…the lucky bastard!!!

We just want to say that we love you all and would not have made it through that ordeal without the four of you!!  Free stay if you ever grace us with your presence here in Boston!!  XOXOX

Due to the severity of our injuries we returned home within 36 hours of the accident!  We want to thank United Airlines for theexceptional care from Bangkok allllll the way to Boston.  You guys Rock!!!

We were so humbled by all of the help we were getting from the people of Laos, the passengers on all of our flights and in the airports.  So many people extended their hands to us when they saw the conditions we were in flying home.  From helping carry our bags, pushing our wheelchairs and going to get us food and water we cannot thank you more for your kindness!! However, once we landed in our own country we pretty much were kicked to the curb!!  No one cared or stopped to help us out.  We were so shocked and saddened that our own people didn’t look twice at us.  Welcome to America!!

Moral of the Story:

We know you have all heard this before but life is short.  You think you are in control but you are not!!  Life can be taken away in a split second!!  So you might as well live everyday doing what you love and what makes you happy and Not giving a flying fuck about what others think!! This hasn’t scared us away from travel it has only made us want to travel More!!  Live life to the FULLEST!!!

Rock On Rock Hard!!

Your Trusty Travelin’ Duo!

Chelsea & Kinsey

Stay tuned for more Amazingly Awesome Adventures!!!

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Our Profound Life Experience

As you saw in the video, Self Help Community Center or S.H.C.C is a small school located just outside Siem Reap, Cambodia in Krobey Real.  It provides free additional education to twelve villages based around Krobey Real.  Each student receives an additional hour of schooling free of charge.  S.H.C.C. was founded and is run by a community local, Sambath Chourn.

When returning to his home village of Krobey Real after a six-year absence, he noticed that his community was not evolving.  Lack of education is a direct result as to why the people of his community are not prospering in the modern day economy.  With the money he earned living in Siem Reap he started S.H.C.C.

How did we find this place?  A fellow traveler told us about her experience volunteering.  We wanted in on the action.  She said they weren’t looking for any teachers at the moment but were looking to maybe make a promotional video for their website.  “We make videos!!!”  we said in unison.

We got in contact with Sambath and were on our way to help out S.H.C.C. not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into…

The next ten days would turn out to be some of the most profound days of our lives!!!

Because we were doing such a big project, Sambath invited us to stay in the village.  This gave us a real taste of what being a Cambodian really means.

The family that we stayed with consisted of tailors and security guards that worked in Siem Reap.  They seemed to have it a tiny bit easier than the farmers or fishermen but not by much.  Our family was also small, with only three children. The only way we could communicate with our family was through sign language and Rockstar, the youngest brother, who was the only member of the family that spoke English.  The bond that we formed with this family surpassed anything that we could have possibly imagined despite the language barrier.  When they found out that it was Kinsey’s birthday while we were there they planned a surprise party for her.  Throughout our stay, lots of laughs, hugs, hitting and tears (hitting in Cambodian culture is a sign of affection) were exchanged!  To the point where they invited us back after we had finished editing the video for a celebration at the local pagoda.  The time we spent living with this family taught us things about life and ourselves that we could never learn from textbooks or lectures.  They have touched our hearts and souls and we miss them every minute.

The people of Krobey Real work from sun up to sun down.  Children as young as six or seven work besides their parents farming, fishing, sewing and basket-weaving all to just to make ends meet.

Because the government does not fund public education the poor get the short end of the stick.  They can barely afford to clothe and feed their children let alone pay to provide additional schooling.  In return, this leads to fewer opportunities because they are uneducated.  The jobs left for these people are physically strenuous and low paying.  It is a vicious cycle that S.H.C.C. is trying to break.

The Cambodian poor do not have access to basic health care needs.  Most adults have more than a few teeth missing and the others they do have are rotting.  Tooth decay is apparent as early as five years old.  After walking back from the market, a family invited us in for a shot of rice wine.  They were very happy to have us there, so of course they were all smiling.  Instead of white pearly smiles we got toothless and rotten grins.  Even the little boy we were living with had tooth decay and he was only twelve.

With families as large as eleven and twelve people, the majority of rural Cambodians have absolutely no education on sexual health and birth control.  This results in a lower standard of living in a place where the standard isn’t very high to begin with.  While biking around the village, one woman held up her baby and began yelling to us.  Sambath told us that she was saying, “Come take my baby, you can take care of my baby.”

Sambath is an Inspiration!!  What he showed us we will never be able to reciprocate.  The selflessness that Sambath lives is a lesson that everyone should take a chapter from.  He is not in it for the bragging rights but to truly help the people of his community.   Sambath, it was a privilege to have met you and to have worked with you.  Hopefully, we have helped a tiny bit for your cause and all those beautiful kids.  We will Never Forget you!!!!

TO DONATE: Please send a Money Gram or Western Union to Sambath Chourn in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Send him an email at chournsambath@yahoo.com with the reference number for pick up!!

Thank you for ALLLL your help in making S.H.C.C.  grow and Grow and GROW!!!!!!

For more photos, check out our Flickr account ———->>>

The Khmer Empire

One of the first things that one learns while on the road is that you Cannot do or see Everything!!  You have to pick and choose the things that you want to do and the things you are o.k. missing out on.  Sad but true!!

Our experience at Angkor Wat is a prime example of this lesson.  Angkor Wat consists of hundreds of temples and takes up to three days to see all of them!! The main temple and most famous is Angkor Wat itself!  Because we had decided to work with a school a half hour outside of Siem Reap, we only had about half a day to see the temples.

Since Angkor Wat is the most famous we decided to head there.  It is the symbol of Cambodia today, gracing the nation’s flag.  It was built in the 12^th century for King Suryavarman II.  It is the largest religious structure ever built, and it is roughly 1,000 years old.  It is the epitome of classical Khmer architecture and the best-preserved temple, or wat, on the site.

Hopefully, one day we will make it back to Cambodia.  When we do we will dedicate three full days to Angkor to see for ourselves the extent of the Khmer Empire at its finest…unless something else comes our way!! 

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Shocking Realization

As we stated in the video, we had Never heard of Tuol Sleng, S-21, The Khmer Rouge or the Cambodian Genocide.  We were shocked to find out that this even happened!!  How could something so much like the Holocaust just be ignored.  In our schools the Holocaust is portrayed as the only genocide to ever have happened in recent history.  We understand the restricted time that teachers have in the classroom.  But we believe that just touching on the fact that other things like this have occurred throughout human history and recent human history is vital for not only learning empathy towards others but for understanding world issues on a higher level.

After going to Tuol Sleng, it started to dawn on us that anyone over the age of 30 living in Cambodia today were effected by Pol Pot and The Khmer Rouge.  It made us really begin to look at the people of Cambodia in a different light.  Cambodia has blatant after effects due to the policies of The Khmer Rouge.  Understanding their history helped us comprehend their present and hope for their future.

We could only fit so much information about Tuol Sleng and this genocide into our video.  There are so many more horrific events that happened to these people not so long ago.  Check out the following websites to further your education on not only the Cambodian Genocide but the mass slaughtering in Rwanda and the current Genocide going on in Darfur, Sudan.  Education is key!!

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

Cambodia

www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/pol-pot.htm

www.cambodiangenocide.org/genocide.htm

Darfur, Sudan

www.savedarfur.org/pages/background

www.genocideindarfur.net/

Rwanda

www.rwanda-genocide.org/

Asian Karaoke

Once again do not assume when traveling!! Karaoke, Asia Style is not what you think it is!!

On our last night on the motorcycle adventure we were asked if we wanted to go to karaoke!  “Heck Yeah,” we said!! We ran back to our rooms to get so fresh and so clean to hit the karaoke bar!!

Now when we think of a karaoke bar we imagine of a bar full of people getting crunk with an American Idol reject at the front serenading the crowd.

This is Not the case in Asia.

We walked out of our hotel waiting for a tuk tuk to take us to the bar.  However, all we were doing was crossing the courtyard of the guesthouse we were staying at… and it was Not a bar.

It was a room that you rented by the hour.  Fresh fruit, snacks and beer abound!  Pretty much, you sit on couches with your friends and sing your heart out together.  No audience.

So here we were, sitting in this room with our two Vietnamese tour guides while they belted out love song after love song.

Finally, we broke down and busted out rhymes to “Gansta’s Paradise” by Coolio and flexed our pipes in “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey.  Needless to say, we will be hitting up record companies pretty soon with our newly discovered talent!! 

The next morning we drove into Saigon…

Hanoi ain’t got nothing on Saigon when it comes to motos!!  They decimate the streets!  There are over 4 million motorbikes on the streets of Saigon, and we were in the middle of it.

Near death crashes; Chelsea: 6 Kinsey: 4 Total: 10

These on the verge accidents all occurred within a 20 minute period!!  Insanity!!!

For More Photos, Check out our Flickr Account! ————>>>>

Easy Ridin’

Easy Riders are abound in Vietnam!  In any city or beach town on the coast you will find Easy Riders that are willing to take you on an adventure of a lifetime!!  A motorcycle journey for 3-30 days based on your wants touring the back roads of this overly touristic country.  They take you to places most travelers never see and all the while on the back of a bike!!  Can you really beat that!?!?!?

As we all know, or should at least know, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a series of roads, paths and waterways used by the Viet Cong to get supplies to the South during the Vietnam War aka The American War.  The H.C.M. Trail was a pivotal reason why the Vietnamese kicked our Butts!!    Even though it was sad to know what happened here in Vietnam in the past, especially due to the actions of our own country, it was enlightening and empowering to know just how far Vietnam has come since the devastation of the American War.  Here we were sitting on the backs of motorcycles with Vietnamese natives driving us around their country, a country where its people exude a sense of pride from not only their history but their present.  The four of us genuinely got along and there was no animosity towards us for being Americans not only from them but from all the Vietnamese we encountered!

Seeing the barren fields as a result of Agent Orange being dumped on the jungles of Vietnam was humbling to say the least.  Knowing the extent of the damage that the U.S. Government poured onto the lands of this country and its people made us a little ashamed to hold our heads high our there!  These fields are still a kind of waste land where nothing grows even 40-50 years later and where it is still not unheard of for babies to be born with birth defects.

Moral of this country’s story: It is sad that this country and its people are still being punished years after the conflict has ended and relations have mended.  It makes us think that maybe we should take a lesson from this period in time and maybe make better decisions for a brighter future for all of us on this small blue and green ball we call home!!

For more photos, check out our Flickr account ———–>>>>

Head Out on the Highway!!

Kinsey’s Guide to Better Living, Chapter Nine: Entrails should Never be consumed!!!

Heading out on the highway for a four day Easy Rider adventure with our favorite tour guide…Wang!!!!  From Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City, these next couple of days were going to be Wild!!

You don’t just haul ass for four days straight cause that is just Too hard on your butt!!  Making stops throughout the day to see the sites and flex our gluteus maximus muscles!!

Now when you think of a roller coaster what comes to mind?!?!?  Exactly, a track that people ride in small cars on with really steep slopes and narrow turns to pump up the adrenaline junky in all of us as we barrel down the incline at rapid speeds!!   Boy, were our assumptions wrong on this one!! In the land of Vietnam, a whole nother countray, roller coasters are different!!  How so you may ask??!?!  Well for one you control the speed of the car with a brake that you use to keep the car at a sight seeing pace!! If you go to fast and someone is in front of you, you can and will slam into them at an enormous speed!!  Making you responsible to any and all injuries/lives.  We did not realize these rules until after we barreled into the automatic brakes at the end of the coaster and three attendants were waving and yelling at us to slow our butts down!!!!  Oooopps!!  Thank God all railways were clear!!

Chelsea’s Quick Tips: When in a foreign country, Never assume!

For more photos, Check out our Flickr account! ——->>>

Age: 26

From: Lima, Peru

In the need for a little retail therapy and in Saigon??  There are two major markets in Ho Chi Minh City.  One in the Chinese Market and the other is Ben Thanh Market.  Avoid the Chinese Market unless you are in need of a blender.  Just stick to the Ben Thanh where you can get great souvenirs and handicrafts.

The Vibe: This was a nice little hotel.  Good atmosphere and free internet although it is not that fast.  Also a large delicious breakfast is available in the morning for about $1.50 extra a night. 4 Stars

Beds: The beds here were great!!  Nice and big with decent pillows!! 4 Stars

Whereabouts: Only a five minute walk to the main drag where other travelers are at.  Close to a lot of food stalls and convenience stores. 5 Stars

Staff: The staff were very hospitable making sure your stay was delightful. 5 Stars

Cleanliness: Nothing to complain about here!! 5 Stars

Overall: 23 out of 25 stars!  A nice little stay!!

Highland Adventures

Located in the highlands of Vietman, Da Lat is known for it’s mountain views, great trekking and flower farming!  Most of the flowers grown here grace your tables back home.

We came to Da Lat to get off the major tourist trail, whichplagues the coast.  We decided to hire some drivers and spend a day scooting around & seeing the sights!  That is how we met Quang or “Wang” the best tour guide Ever!!  Even beating out our hilarious guide on The Great Wall!!

This was also the day that we discovered “The Vietnamese Drip” or the world’s Best coffee!!  Thick, strong and iced it has flavor like you can’t even imagine!!  Screw Italian espresso!!!

We loved Quang sooooooooo much that we decided to take a four-day motorcycle adventure to Saigon or Ho Chi Ming City instead of taking the bus we had planned.  Stay tuned for some more Wang Chung!!!!

Get your motors running!!

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