Happy Holidays!

The day before Christmas….Will and I spent our last day in Luang Prabang, a charming city in northern Laos. Side note: The same city that Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat. Pray. Love. stayed with “Phillipe” for several months while writing her next book, Commitment.  We had planned a full day of excitement and activities on December 24^th…..get up early, bike to the waterfall nearby, stroll around the markets, make a Xmas video for our families, etc.  Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as we planned.  The night before our big day, Will and I had a major insomnia attack, waking up restless at 3am for no rhyme or reason. We resorted to watching hours of BBC, including a one hour Julian Assange interview, hoping we’d eventually pass out, but alas it never happened.  On the up side, I was able to log 5 hours of interviews that night, bringing us up to speed with a total now of 24 hours of footage logged.  Oooff, makes my fingers tired just thinking about it!

Needless to say, the next day was spent napping and relaxing.  We ate an early dinner of chicken tikka masala at an Indian restaurant nearby, and came back to our hotel just in time to watch CNN Heroes with a bottle of wine and a pack of Oreos (…to honor our French and American-ness).  Apparently it was aired earlier this year, so perhaps some of you have already seen it – we were lucky to catch it the second time around.  If you’ve never heard of it (as we hadn’t), it’s an award show on CNN which acknowledges the extra-ordinary initiatives of ordinary people, hosted by Anderson Cooper – our favorite – and presented by a number of celebrities, including Kid Rock, Demi Moore and Halle Berry.  Their stories and loving dedication were truly an inspiration, often bringing us to tears.  It was wonderful to see one standing-ovation after the next as the nominees for the $100,000 prize selflessly introduced their cause, proving that anyone can make a big difference.  

After the show, I went on their website to learn more and it turns out that anyone can submit a nominee for next year’s awards. So, if you know someone that should be recognized for their outstanding work, anywhere in the world, here’s your chance!

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/index.html

Christmas Day…..Will and I caught an early flight from Luang Prabang to Bangkok, where I am now currently writing this blog! We were lucky enough to cross paths with Will’s sister, Helen, and her boyfriend Fabian, who have also been exploring southeast Asia.  We spent the day walking through the lively alleyways of Bangkok, filled with tourists in santa hats, pad thai stalls, and massage parlors.  Speaking of massages…that was our next stop! 30 minute head and shoulder massage for only $3 – not too shabby!  With the warm, humid air and ice cravings, it felt more like summer break than winter holiday, but with family in town and a few phone calls back home, we were reminded of that Christmas spirit!!

Thank you to all our friends and family for your support and love! We miss you! Happy Holidays!!

Get a read on our travels

Hi everyone,

We will be spending Xmas in Bangkok watching a muay-thai boxing match and getting a well deserved massage after the more than 60 hours spent on a bus during the past month (nope not complaining). If you feel like you haven’t had time to scout out what to read between those long days at work, after work cocktail parties and early morning jogging sessions (or late sleep-ins…) here are a few suggestions from two people who have a lot to of time to turn pages.

Chasing the Flame – Samantha Powers

This epic biography reads like a novel. It is for those who wish they paid more attention in history class or want a crash course on modern history. Through the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian born, Sorbonne educated, UN diplomat, Samantha Powers take you through all the major conflict zones since the Vietnam War. From the personal accounts on this man’s qualities and faults, to his work in East Timor to Iraq, you’ll get a better understanding of the UN’s structure and internal politics.  While reading this book, we got a sense of the inherent contradiction of the organization’s founding principles: A mission statement to stay neutral while being composed of national representatives.  If the UN fails to do good, maybe we have to look to our own leaders for answers ...

This is a story of a man that gave his life in the defense of the principles he believed in. You can decide if you think it was worth it…

Race of a lifetime (Game Change) – John Heilemann & Mark Halperin

Another book that will keep you awake late through the night. Through hundreds of interviews with both parties’ candidates, the authors manage to recreate the excitement and intensity of the election for the 44^th president of the United States of America.

Full of behind the scene quotes from campaign staff, journalists and the candidates themselves this book gives a broad – and relatively fair – account of the run for the top job. Through the scandals and the debates it also gives a sense of the degree to which the American media can weigh on the beat of a campaign and its outcome…

A people’s history of the Vietnam War – Jonathan Neale

A fresh insight on the Vietnam War but much more than this. From the French colony era legacy to the civil rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s in the US this book puts what the Vietnamese call “the American War” into historical context with great depth.

Turn in turn through class, racial and political lenses the author delivers a powerful argument and sheds a new light on one of the events that greatly shaped US foreign policy until 9/11.

The World is Flat – Thomas Friedmann

Okay this is an intense read. But if you want an update on the new era’s technologies, business models and employability criteria this is the place to start. Over 600 (I read the 3.0 version…) pages on how the interconnected world we live in is changing the rules of engagement in business, politics as well as its impact on the local cultures that compose it. Sometimes a little detailed in his accounts on the geeky stuff, Friedmann illustrates his points very skillfully and explains why the western world in general and the US in particular are being overtaken by our new rivals.   He exits opening up on a very actual topic: the moralization of the forces that drive change in our economies.

The Bang Bang club – Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

The subtitle on the cover reads: Snapshots from a Hidden War, and that’s precisely what the Hostel War in South African townships was during the early 90s.  Told from the perspective of war photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner, Greg Marinovich, the years after Mandela’s release from prison are described with heart, hope and torment.  I’d argue that the “hidden war” also refers to the personal conflict of those covering such gruesome events – the recurring question being: When do you stop being an observer and become a participant? 

And once you have read them or if you already have we always love to have your comments!

Have a great Christmas everyone

Just Say No!

No, I'm not talking about that fifth Christmas cookie...but something much easier to say no to - the use of cluster bombs! Over the past week, Will and I met up with Clear Path Int. and Handicap Int. in Vietnam and Lao to interview UXO victims and mine ban advocates. I know, this isn't a subject we often here about back at home - luckily, we aren't faced with the constant reminder of limbless people in the street, nor do UXO accidents regularly appear in news headlines...but they should. Long after war has ended, UXOs continue to maim, harm, and kill people, innocent people, all over the world. 

This past week, we listened to the stories of a number of people not much younger than us who had lost limbs and loved ones at the hands of a war-time weapon used nearly 30 years ago. I couldn't help but look at them and imagine my own siblings, or Will's siblings, in their place.  How lucky we are not to live in countries where this is a daily threat... Though, while I'm thankful that Americans don't have to worry about finding a cluster bomb in their backyard or accidentally stepping on a landmine, I'm furious that my country is responsible for such incidents abroad.  Especially, when we know that over 60% of casualties are civilians...people like you and me. So why are we still using them??

We learned a lot about the international effort to ban landmines and cluster munitions, movements that started at the grassroots level and have since blossomed into a beautiful step forward for humanity. Yes we can! Well, actually others seem to be able to, but not us.  Even though 108 Countries have signed, and 49 have ratified the cluster munitions ban that was launched this August, the US, along with China and Russia, has yet to show their support.

The last interview we did in Laos was with a boy about 20 years old who had lost both his forearms and his eyesight.  He kept saying that he couldn't believe this had happened to him. Since the accident, his friends had become distant and his ability to help support his family has basically diminished...When we asked our usual question, what is your dream? He said that he used to dream of being a leader, but since the accident, he no longer knows how.  These are the types of people, caring and ambitious, that are being affected by these weapons. It's time to put an end to that.

In his honor, and the thousands of other UXO victims around the world, I urge everyone to get behind the campaign to stop the US from manufacturing, stockpiling, and using cluster munitions. It is an unnecessary weapon that can't discriminate between civilian and military targets, and thus continues to harm newborns to ninety year olds long after a war has ended. I wish my government would step up and be an example to other countries that have yet to join the convention, but we can't wait around for them to change - it’s up to us to persuade them!!

An interesting insight on the Obama administration's position on landmines is this article on The Guardian online: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/nov/26/obama-landmine-ban-treaty

The initiative by 68 american senators to incent the Obama administration to sign the Min Ban treaty in May 2010 is analysed here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050705089.html

More ressources : http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Mine_Ban_Treaty_(Ottawa_Treaty)

What's up Doc?

Yesss, here is a list of our favorite documentaries! We recommend everyone reading this to see them!

1. No End In Sight
First up is a documentary that came out in 2007 but whose content is still extremely relevant today.  It reveals, in-detail, how the US dealt with post-Saddam Iraq, and the head-shaking, blood-boiling number of mistakes made during the first few years of US occupation of their country. Interviews with high ranking officials recount the decisions made by the Bush administration after the fall of Baghdad, decisions which allowed looting to destroy cultural heritage sites, left thousands of Iraqi soldiers without jobs and thus without means to support their families, and disregarded military advisors to do otherwise.  This documentary is a reminder that when you take away a person's dignity and a country's pride - terrorism and religious extremism often follow suite.



2. By the people: The election of Barack Obama
The second recommendation is By The People: The Election of Barack Obama. This well crafted documentary gives youan insight in the Obama campaign like never before. It is about Obama on, and off stage. Whether you agree with number 44's policies or not you will come out of this viewing experience with a better understanding of who Barack Hussein Obama really is. We also got a better understanding of what a grassroots movement can achieve in today's world. And if you like this you will love the book "Race of a lifetime" with gives more insight on the 2008 presidential campaigns.

Same, Same, But Different - Lessons from Cambodia

As we travel towards the Vietnamese border, I pull aside the green ruffled curtains on our bus only to find even more shades of green through my own reflection – palm trees, rice fields, elephant grass, cactus, various trees, and of course the road signs indicating that our time in Cambodia is quickly coming to an end.  Four hours to go and we’ll be in Ho Chi Minh City.  

As for now, we bumpily drive by pagodas, stilted houses, and farmers tending the land.  Every so often, our bus slows down long enough to wave back at kids or vendors selling waffles, dried fish, and creatively sliced mangos and pineapple.  Their faces strong and attractive – young girls with long shiny black hair and the boys with their well-coiffed 50’s style do’s.  Reminiscing about our two weeks spent in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, two weeks full of noodles and tuktuk rides and magical moments - I am sad to leave.

 I embarrassingly admit that before coming to Cambodia, I knew very little about its history.  In school, our lessons understandably focused more on Vietnam and the devastating war my country ignited.  As for Cambodia, I never learned who Pol Pot was, or what happened at the killing fields, or that a genocide (killing off 2 million i.e 20% of the population) had occurred here.  I also didn’t realize how recent it all was.  Visiting the S-21 prison for political prisoners in Phnom Penh, the killing fields, or Angkor Wat, you get the sensation that this all happened just yesterday.  Old blood stains and used bed frames are still in the prison cells.  Pieces of clothing from the buried continue to float to the surface of the hundreds of pits the Khmer Rouge dug for its victims.  Heads are smashed off the stone-carved 8-headed snakes and lions that protect the temples of Angkor Wat.  Although a disturbing (and important) reminder of the tragedies that occurred here, the rawness of Cambodia is one of the things I found most intriguing. 

To learn more about the country’s history, we bought “First, They Killed My Father.”  Anyone who is looking for a book to read – this is it! It is a truly remarkable, heartbreaking account of Loung Ung’s life after her family was evacuated from Phnom Penh in 1970.  What seems like a fictional horror novel – filled with pages too horrifying to imagine actually occurring – is, in fact, a true story that millions of Cambodians were forced to live through. Most of the book takes place when Loung is only a small child... 5 to 8 years old.  Meaning, at the age when I was still watching Care Bears and selling lemonade on my street, she had already survived years of starvation, training as a child soldier, and the devastation of losing her parents and several siblings.  

As I read this book on our six hour bus ride to Siem Reap, a Cambodian girl, around the age of five, would occasionally walk up and down the aisle with her Dad.  As I looked at her, with her chubby, rosy cheeks and innocent smile, it was hard to imagine how something so precious – a childhood – could have been taken away over night.  Cambodia, like many of the other countries we’ve visited thus far, has been a reminder of how lucky I am, how lucky I’ve been.   It’s history, a lesson in both the cruelty and strength that human beings are capable of.  For the past two weeks, we’ve been surrounded by many Cambodians who have lived through a civil war, the Khmer Rouge regime, what could only be described as hell on earth - yet still, somehow, are carrying on.  I wonder if I could ever be so strong.

Like the temples of Angkor, semi-destroyed by the Khmer Rouge but still as magical and beautiful as ever, Cambodia and its people stand strong despite their horrific recent history.   As I cross the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, I will take with me the lessons learned in this beautiful country, and await my return to be enchanted once again.  

That's the Way we Roll...

If you have a few days to spend in Siem Reap to visit the Angkor temples, and are conscious about your carbon footprint after those planes, taxis, buses and tuk-tuks you took to get down there, we have a proposition that might get your wheels turning… I hope you’re pumped up!  White Bicycles have been getting visitors from A to B around Siem Reap since 2006, when the NGO was first set up by Ken Oishi, who you’ll find at the Soria Moria hotel.   The idea is simple: rent a bike for only $2 a day, and pedal towards a better future for Cambodians living in a nearby rural village.  How? 75% of the proceeds go directly towards education and water projects, the remaining 25% used for maintenance and up keep of the bikes.  Sound too good to be true?  It isn’t!

 We realize as a traveler in Cambodia, you are often confronted with projects such as these – never quite sure which one to believe or support.  That’s why we asked Ken to show us the projects in Sra Brae village to see for ourselves.  About an hour’s drive out of Siem Reap, you feel as if you’re in another world… rural life is serene, lush, and peaceful.  Though, while picture perfect views are easy to find here, well-equipped schools and clean water are harder to come by.  That’s why White Bicycles has made such an impact.  They have sponsored student’s education, supported schools to provide them with proper facilities, and distributed water filters to families in the area.  For a westerner, the idea of not having access to education or water may seem as foreign as we felt standing there in what was once a Khmer Rouge controlled area.  But this is a very real problem for many in Cambodia.

Imagine for a second, what that would be like…

After seeing first-hand all the good that White Bicycles has accomplished in Sra Brae village, the lives it has changed, Will and I eagerly rented out White Bicycles the following day.  We biked all around the outskirts of Siem Reap, pedaling past rice fields, stilted houses, and villagers – who would giggle at their English as they shouted out a big, smiling “Hello!”  It was a great way to spend the morning – getting in some exercise and seeing a different part of the Siem Reap Province.  It felt good to know that not only did we get a whole day of fun for just $2, but that we had contributed - in a small way - to a much greater cause. 

Rent a White Bicycle at one of their 14 locations in Siem Reap, including the Golden Banana and Soria Moria Hotels! For more information, visit their website at http://www.thewhitebicycles.org/index.htm.