Thailand - Bo Derek Hair

After a few months of challenging travel I usually went on a 2 or 3 day beach retreat. I got bored at the beach so easily that usually after 3 days I was ready to get going again. I always felt like I was wasting time there. Therefore, even at the beach I had to try something new.

When in Thailand I tried 2 new things on the beach on Ko Pha Ngan. The first was an hour long massage. I was really hoping that I would not like it so that I would not crave a massage when I got back to the States. Well, I was in luck. I absolutely hated the massage. It was so painful. Every time she went to touch me, I tensed up in anticipation of the pain. Maybe I got the wrong type of massage, but it definitely was not for me.

The second thing new that I tried was a new do. I call it my Bo Derek look. You know, from the movie 10. I got cornrows. I sat on the beach and had 2 women braid my hair. It took them 1 1/2 hours and it cost me $4.

I loved the cornrows. The 2 women did a fantastic job. They gave me nice straight lines and tiny braids to the very end. The colorful beads were a nice touch too. I was loving my new do.

With my new hairdo I went about my daily business as usual. I got up in the morning, went for a swim, had breakfast, went back to the beach, read a book, went for another swim, went for a walk, ate lunch, watched a pirated movie, took a cold shower during the hottest afternoon hour, headed back to the beach, and got one more swim in before dinner. Of course it was sunny and beautiful. I could not complain.

Here are a couple of lessons I learned about cornrows. First of all I burned my scalp very badly. Remember how I liked the nice clean lines. Usually my hair covered my entire scalp and protected it from the sun. I had no idea that I needed to protect my newly exposed skin on top of my head. My scalp ended up peeling gross dead skin all over the place. It was not pretty.

Since my hair is naturally curly, it really wanted to curl. For me this came in the form of frizz. As you can see from the picture on the left, the top of my head became a big frizz ball. Even though I was told that I could keep the braids in for a month, after 2 1/2 weeks I absolutely had to take out the braids. This is when I learned my third lesson.

My braids were so tiny at the ends and there were so many braids in my hair, that I needed help taking my frizzy braids out. Fortunately for me I was traveling with a woman named Melanie at the time in Sumatra, Indonesia. I do not remember how long it took the two of us to get all the beads and braids out. What I do remember is the fact that I lost close to 1/3 of my hair or it at least appeared that way to me. Usually a little hair falls out every day. With the braids the hair can not fall out. When you do get around to taking the braids out, all the dead hair can finally come off. It was an unbelievable amount. So much hair came out that at the time I said I would never do cornrows again.

Even on the beach I learned a few lessons. One, I do not like rough massages. Two, if you get a Bo Derek do, then you need to have a sun protection plan for your scalp. Also, do not be surprised by the large quantity of hair that falls out after weeks in braids.

Burma - Village Overnight

Although most of my travel is done solo, from time to time I hook up with other travelers. Sometimes we travel together for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks. It all depends on whether the person is interested in seeing and doing the same things that I am interested in seeing and doing. In the case of Burma I met Yossi my third day in Burma and we traveled together for about 2 1/2 weeks. One of my favorite experiences in Burma was a village overnight.

Yossi and I along with 3 or 4 other travelers took an hour or two boat ride to a village. The boat was actually filled with locals bringing goods back from market. Earlier in the day they had brought goods to sell and now they were returning to their villages.

The village we stayed at was absolutely gorgeous. The homes were built on wooden stilts. The walls were made up of weaved patterns. The roofs were either thatch or some form of metal such as tin or aluminum. In all the homes looked sturdy and well maintained.

Our small group met our host family. We had some fresh fruit and a drink together. Our guide translated some for us. It was a very nice gathering. About an hour later the 3 or 4 other travelers and our guide returned to the boat. Yossi and I stayed behind. Arrangements had been made for use to sleep over 1 night with our host family. Yossi and I were the only foreigners in the entire village now.

Yossi and I went exploring. We walked around the village, which had many different fruits and vegetables growing. This must be what they take to market to trade each day. Again, this village was absolutely gorgeous and pristine. There were children outside playing everywhere. We ran into a couple of cute little girls. We saw a boy carrying water back to his family's home. We joined a group of children who were playing jump rope. It was really wonderful.

By the time we returned to our host family's home, it was time to wash up before dinner. I chose to bathe in the river. Yossi chose to clean up near the well. I am really glad we picked two different options, because half the village followed Yossi and the other half followed me. Had we both gone to the river, 100% of the village would have been staring at me while I was bathing.

Dinner was a wonderful meal of rice, spinach, and lentils among other things. Our host family really made us feel welcome. If I recall correctly, there was a mother, father, and 3 girls. We were limited in our communication due to a language barrier. I struggled with even 1 word of Burmese, since the English alphabet used to represent Burmese words in my guide book did not match the true sounds. In other words, my guide book would show me the letter 's' but it would be pronounced like the letter 't'. I did not understand the sound system and had a very difficult time picking up the local language.

After dinner we were taken to a village meeting area. It seemed like a small tea shop. Many from the village met us there. Again, there was a language barrier but we found a few things that we could communicate. For example, there was a world map on the wall. Yossi and I each pointed out our respective countries. We enjoyed tea together and just enjoyed each other's company.

We returned to our host's home. It was time to go to sleep. Since our host knew that Yossi and I were not a couple, they gave us separate bedding. They gave me the bed and Yossi got the floor. Yossi did not say a word, but my guess was that he was not all that happy about that. Truthfully it really did not make a difference, since the bed was just a wood board set off the ground.

One concern I had was the bathroom arrangement. The toilet was actually an outhouse a significant distance from the house. If I had to go at night, I would have to make my way down the steps of the house and along a curvy path in the dark. Maybe I would find the outhouse but surely I would get lost on my way back. Without me even saying anything my host brought me a metal pot. She explained that I should use this in the night and it would get dumped in the morning. That night I had a difficult time falling asleep. Sure enough I heard someone in the next room urinating into his metal pot. For just a brief moment I chuckled to myself.

The next day our host made use a nice breakfast. I felt the finest and best of everything was put out for us. We were really treated to feel special. I was truly overwhelmed by their hospitality.

Shortly after breakfast our host mother took us back to the river to wait for the return boat. No one from the village besides our host mother was around. This was a perfect time for Yossi and I to offer her some money for all the food and trouble she went through to host us. Although we insisted, she absolutely would not accept even a penny.

The guide who arranged this overnight did not take any money from us either. Time and time again we found the people of Burma to be incredibly hospitable, while asking nothing of us in return. If anything, I was asked to share my experiences inside their country with the rest of the world.

India - Varanasi, the Ganges

I had both read and heard that a trip to northern India must include Varanasi. This is one of the locations of River Ganga, which is considered by Hindu followers to be holy water. India is so crowded with people, cars, and animals, that I was looking forward to a serene as well as pristine place. It turned out to be nothing like I envisioned. Honestly you have to see it to believe it.

After finding a hotel in Varanasi, I put my backpack down and headed to the Ganges. To get to the holy river I had to go through narrow, windy, stone alleyways filled with people, small carts, and water buffalos. Once at the river I found more of the same hectic surroundings.

Instead of finding unadulterated water in a peaceful surrounding, there were people and animals everywhere doing all kinds of activities in and outside of the water. From my point of view the water could not have been more polluted. People were bathing and washing dirty clothes in the same location. Oh yeah, they were also washing their water buffalos there as well.

As a matter of fact, I was almost run over by a pair of water buffalos. I was sitting on the steps just watching the scene around me, when 2 water buffalos in the middle of a sexual act came running/hopping forward at me. I had to very quickly jump up from my seat and get out of their way. I was lucky I was not trampled by 2 pleasure seeking buffalos.

Not only are people, clothing, and animals all washed in the same location, but people are also cremated next to the water. Many people come to Varanasi to die and then are cremated at the river. After the cremation a person's ashes and rib cage are tossed into the river. Yes, this is the same location in which you will find people brushing their teeth. Shocking!

I thought it would be nice to take an early morning boat ride on the Ganges. I arranged for a sunrise boat trip. It was a small boat that fit about a handful of people. This happened to be a quiet time. For the most part the only people at the river were meditating.

I knew at this point not to touch the water. Although the people of India may be used to this water, my body certainly was not. My decision to not drink or even touch this water was reconfirmed as a wise decision during my boat ride. I thought I saw a dead pig float by. After a closer look the pinkish object was in fact a dead baby. I was told that babies are not to be cremated but rather should be placed in the holy water whole.

My definition of holy water and how it is handled is completely different from how holy water is treated in India. I consider holy water to be pristine or untouched, especially by the masses. In India holy water is used to purify and one should bathe or completely immerse oneself in it to wash away any sins. This is not so different from purification rituals in many religions around the world. The difference for me was the washing of everyone and everything en masse.

This is definitely a sight to be seen. Many people do find inspiration and peace in Varanasi.

Egypt - Nile River Captain

While in Luxor, Egypt I took a sailboat, called a felucca, down the Nile River during sunset. Near the end of the ride my felucca captain invited me to a wedding in his village that very evening. Attending a wedding is a unique cultural experience, which I am always excited to partaken in.

As soon as my felucca captain docked the sailboat, we took the commuter ferry together across the Nile River. Once on the west side of the Nile, we took approximately a 15 minute minivan bus ride to my felucca captain's village. We walked together to his home. I was immediately introduced to his sister. I was also introduced to a man on a bicycle, who was selling birds and chickens. Wow, this was going to be a special night.

My felucca captain, his sister, and I all went inside his home. I was motioned to the living room. We would relax there for a bit. I entered the living room with the felucca captain, and his sister went elsewhere in the house. A short time later a few of the felucca captain's friends visited. This was not exactly what I expected, but I was enjoying being away from a tourist area and instead being inside someone's home.


We sat around and talked for a while. One man took off his turban and rerolled it on his head. This was quite amusing for me, since I had never seen an unwrapped turban. Another man was sitting on the floor in the corner smoking a hookah pipe.

Eventually the sister reappeared with tea. This was very kind of her. I made a mental note that she did not actually enter the living room but stood outside the door. I am starting to realize that I am the only female in the room with 4 Egyptian males. Although everything seems to be pretty lighthearted, the man who rolled his turban has been looking at me funny. His bigger friend is making me feel uncomfortable as well. Quite a bit of time has passed. I ask about the wedding. When should we go? My felucca captain said that we would leave for the wedding in just a little while.

The 3 male friends left. The felucca captain wanted me to meet his mother and also provide me with a tour of his house. I was shocked to see that his mother was smoking her own hookah pipe. I had never seen a woman smoke. All of the coffee/tea/lounge shops in Egypt are only visited by males. This is where they sit around and smoke. If you are a frequent visitor to a certain shop, that shop will hold your hookah pipe for you. Again, only the men do this in public. Of all the places I visited in Egypt I had never seen a woman smoking a pipe.

Next my felucca captain took me upstairs. At this point I did not care if there was a wedding. It was getting late. I decided that I would be very judicious about the rooms that I viewed upstairs and then I would go back to my hotel. When we got upstairs, there was a big mat on the floor with lots of food on it. In other words, his sister had been in the kitchen all this time cooking dinner for me and her brother. Now I felt obligated to eat something.

During the meal my felucca captain noted that I was sitting so far away from him. I told him that was the perfect location for me. For the next twenty minutes the conversation centered around sex. Basically he wanted to have sex with me. I told him that was not possible, since I was married. I pointed to the wedding ring that I was wearing. He told me that since I am married "inside sex" was not permitted but "outside sex" was o.k. I told him that I loved my husband very much and neither inside sex nor outside sex would be o.k. I was ready to go back to my hotel. Could he please take me back now?

At this point I was in a real predicament. I had no idea where I was at. The streets were not lit. I did not know where to pick up the minivan bus. It was late - about 10:00 p.m. - and the streets were empty. I was at my felucca captain's mercy. He told me that he would walk me back to the commuter ferry. I told him absolutely not. I would not walk a mile or more in the dark with him. I told him we would take the minivan bus or a taxi.

When we got outside I let my felucca captain walk in front of me a couple of feet. I wanted to watch his every move. He wanted to walk beside me. I told him to keep walking. I asked him where the minivan was and he said we were going to walk. I stopped and yelled "ABSOLUTELY NOT!! I am taking a minivan or a taxi!" He said, "ok, ok." We get in the minivan. My felucca captain also wanted to take the commuter ferry back across the Nile with me. Although I was not thrilled about this, I told him he could. I really needed to make it to the ferry, and I still needed his help to do so. We took the ferry together. Although I was furious, we departed nicely. I made sure he was not following me. I also took a long curvy route back to my hotel.

The next morning I got up and went directly to the police to complain about my felucca captain. He had lured me to his home under false pretenses. I was very fortunate that I was not raped. I took the police to the felucca port to point out my felucca captain. He was not there at the time. The police told the workers around the port to tell my felucca captain to report to the police station. While I was giving a statement, my felucca captain showed up. He knew he was in trouble, and he tried to play the whole thing off as a misunderstanding. There would be a trial, and my felucca captain would most likely spend a night or several in jail for his actions. I did not want to stick around for all of this. I just wanted out of town and to keep moving. Mostly I wanted the police to know that this guy needed to be watched. He preys on unsuspecting women.

Honestly, I have very mixed feelings about this whole incident. Seeing the inside of his home, meeting part of his family, and interacting with several of his friends were experiences that in some respects I treasure. On the other hand, I was extremely fortunate that I was not harmed.

Namibia - Himba Tribe

Namibia, which is just north and towards the west of South Africa, had some of the most interesting tribes and spectacular natural sites to see. If you do not mind long car rides and sleeping on the ground inside a tent, then Namibia should be on your list of must see countries.

One particularly notable tribe is the Himba tribe. The members of this tribe live in a homestead that is "gated" by tree branches. All of the mud huts are within the circular gate. The tribe breeds cows and goats. All parts of these animals are used in some shape or form. For example, the walls of the mud huts are actually made of cow manure.

Female members of this tribe are very easy to spot. The women have a very distinct appearance. They cover their bodies, including their hair and clothing, with butterfat and ochre powder. This gives them the reddish appearance from head to toe. This protects their skin from the sun as well as acts as a moisturizer. Instead of using water to bathe, the women stand with their legs apart over burning incense. Their limited clothing of course is made out of cow or goat skin.

The children wear special jewelry and hairstyles. Both of these tell the age of the child. An infant has his/her head completely shaved and he/she wears a beaded necklace. As the infant grows older, the number of hair braids in front and back gives away the child's age. The type and design of the necklace and bracelets tell the age and family of the child. Since cows and goats are very important to the sustainability of the Himba people, the children must from an early age learn to tend to them. Therefore, the children are often given the responsibility of learning to care for the small goats at first. Watching a 5 year old take his kid to graze is a sight to be seen.

On the day that I visited, the entire Himba homestead was having a celebration. The women were dancing. The men were sitting around watching. There was a big slab of meat on a fire. There was also what looked like a skinned animal up high in a tree. The dead animal is placed in the tree so that no other animals will get to it and eat it. This allows them to eat the meat at a slightly later time. Honestly, I could not imagine eating this meat. Without refrigeration it looked rancid. Their stomachs must be used to eating older meat that has been sitting in the sun.

In order to gain entry to this homestead our group of 9 brought a gift. I believe we brought a big sack of rice as well as something else that would be useful for all. These items were given by our tour guide to the Himba tribe leader, who is sitting in the chair on the right. The leader must approve before we can visit. Once the leader approved, we were permitted to enter the gated homestead. After we walked around for a little while, the leader formally met us in front of the entire tribe. What was shocking was that he then asked for money to buy alcohol for the celebration. Our whole group was flabbergasted. We did not know what to do. We were being put on the spot and I was looking for our guide to jump in. If more of a gift was needed, our guide should have known to bring it. Our guide did nothing. Each group member including myself handed over a very small sum of money. This last interaction really tainted our experience.

That night we slept in tents outside of the homestead. The next day our group was invited back into the homestead. We collectively decided to skip our second visit. Our first visit was not exactly the exchange we had in mind.

S. Africa - De Beers Diamonds

One thing that South Africa is known for is its mining of both diamonds and gold. Kimberley is the location of South Africa's first diamond mine, which was the original headquarters of the now world famous De Beers. Diamonds were first discovered in Kimberley in 1867, but it was not until 1870 that Nicolaas de Beers found diamonds on his farm. News of the existence of diamonds caused an absolute frenzy with hundreds of families taking over Kimberley in search of diamonds. Today there are 6 major diamond mines in South Africa. I was fortunate to be able to go down into the Kimberley Mine.

When I say that I went down into the Kimberley Mine, I mean that I went 870 meters (2,854 feet) or a little over half a mile below the surface. Before I could do that I needed to gear up and go through some safety procedures. I also had to sign a paper stating that anything found in the mine is the property of De Beers (Darn!!).

I was told a mine usually takes about 7 years to build and then about 10 years to mine. The diamonds are found in kimberlite rock. Through pressure and dynamite the rocks fall. Large machinery is used to scoop up the large rocks and place them into a barrel. The barrel is pushed down the tracks to a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt moves the large rocks into a crushing machine, where the large rocks become small stones. Another conveyor belt catches the stones and moves them to the top of the mine.

My tour guide was very excited for me to hear the dynamite. He could not wait to see my reaction. Unfortunately or fortunately for me one of the main conveyor belts broke. Production had to stop until the belt was fixed, which would take several hours. Therefore, I did not get to experience a dynamite blast underground only hundreds of feet away from me.

One part of the tour that I found fascinating was the emergency procedures. When dynamite is set off, there is always a potential for catastrophe. There can also be a fire underground, an earthquake, or water seepage that can cause a mudslide. When these things happen, you have to run like a maniac to safety. When you are half a mile underground, you are not likely to make it to the elevator in time to get out. There are many, many tunnels. It is a maze down there. Therefore, there are several rescue rooms. If you can not get to the elevator, you are to try and get to one of the rescue rooms. One of the challenges is that the lights underground may go out. It could be pitch black. You may not be able to see your hand in front of you. With this in mind the mine has hanging poles that are there to basically smack you in the face. When you hit one of these, you know the door to the rescue room is on one of the sides. Once safely inside of the resouce room, you will find food, water, lamps, oxygen, and a radio communication system. You can survive in a rescue room for many days.

Once my tour was over, I went to the museum that explains the diamond mining process in detail. After the stones are brought to the surface, the stones are rinsed. Next the stones are placed on a special machine. This machine has a belt with oil on it. The diamonds stick to the oily belt and all other sediments fall off. This is how the diamonds get separated from the other materials.


Once the diamond is separated from the other sediments, it is sent off to someone to cut it into jewelry. It usually takes about a 12 foot by 12 foot room worth of rock and dirt to mine a single carat of diamond. That's a lot of rock and dirt for just 1 wedding ring.

In addition to the diamond mine tour and the museum, there is an outdoor historic small town that can be walked through in Kimberley. It looks like a town from an old western. It has a bar as well as places that people would go to weigh their diamonds and stake their claim. It was interesting to walk through and try to imagine what it was like back in 1890 or so.

For me Kimberley, South Africa was completely out of my way and was not part of my original plan. I did not have a car and Kimberley was in the opposite direction of Kruger National Park. I definitely think I made the right decision to hop on the bus and take a couple of days to view the diamond mine. It was well worth a visit to see something I would never get to see in the States.

Indonesia - Holding Hands

On the bus ride from Yogyakarta, Indonesia I met a young Muslim woman, who wore a typical veil that covered her hair and around her chin (see picture - women on the right). She was returning from university to her parent's home. This young woman spoke excellent English. We talked a great deal during the bus ride. Eventually she asked me to come meet her family. Wow, this was a special invitation. Most English conversations that I had in Asia were with males, since they were the ones fortunate enough to have a formal education. The invitations I received by most males, I could not accept. My gut often told me that there was more to those invitations than a cup of tea. So this invitation was extra special, since I felt that I could accept it from this highly educated Muslim woman. We got off the bus. I tossed on my big blue North Face backpack and followed her home.

When I got to her home, I was a bit self-conscious. I was not dressed appropriately to meet her family, especially her parents. What was wrong? My legs were showing. Fortunately, I always carried a wrap for just these occasions. I pulled my wrap out from my backpack and wrapped it around my waist. I made sure it touched the top of my sandals, hoping to cover my ankles as well. Now I was ready to enter her home.

I am not sure if this young Muslim woman brought people home often or I was a unique guest. First she announced my presence and then I was asked to come in. When I walked through the door, her parents, brother, and younger sister were all very welcoming. Since this took place in 1996, I can not remember if they all spoke English or not. I do remember being well taken care of. I was served tea and a few cookies in a room with just females. A couple of female friends came by to meet me. After about an hour of tea, cookies, and chatting with her sister and female friends, we all went outside for a walk.

The walk was more like a parade around her neighborhood. Although the sun had already set, I think my young friend wanted to be seen with me. It certainly was a pleasant night so I was fine with this. After walking for a few minutes, my new friend grabbed my hand. We were holding hands! This was extremely awkward for me. I so wanted to pull away. However, I had learned in Asia that holding hands with someone of the same sex is not necessarily a sign of one's sexuality. I first realized this in India. Men hold hands in the street with other men all the time. At first I thought India had a huge gay population. Eventually I came to realize that this was most often a sign of friendship. This young Muslim woman was letting me know that she thought of me as her friend. I did not want to insult her in any way. I held her hand for close to 10 minutes before I could figure out a way to release without being rude. As you can tell, I was uncomfortable but I realized this was just a difference between our cultures.

After spending a couple of hours at her home and around her neighborhood, it was time for me to get to my hotel for the night. Since I had no idea where I was and it was getting late, I accepted a ride from her brother. He had a motorbike and he knew where my hotel was located. I ran into a slight problem here. In this situation women usually sit side saddle. At least that is the appropriate or lady-like way of ridding on the back of a motorbike. I had my big backpack on and there was no way for me to do this. I also had my wrap on. There was no way I could hop on the back of the bike with the wrap. After pretending to be a proper lady for her family, I ripped off my wrap and straddled the back of the motorbike in my shorts behind her brother. Again, another uncomfortable situation. I tried to stay at least an inch away from her brother and hold onto the seat of the motorbike the best that I could. This was a difficult ride to my hotel with my backpack on but fortunately for me her brother did not bring attention to this awkward situation. I am sure he had a fun story to tell the next day.