Tonsai Daze

After our circus adventure and a few days in Bangkok, we did the highly unadventurous thing, and went straight back to TonSai beach. We contemplated Ko Tao and Ko Chang, considered Ko Phi-Phi, and kept in mind an opportunity to do some more volunteer work in Kao Lak. But we both kept thinking about TonSai and what a perfect little paradise it is for us. Not very cultural (more of a tourist destination than a Thai town), but warm & friendly, mellow, affordable enough, GORGEOUS, lots of opportunities to be active and play on the water, rocks, and beaches, and filled with very interesting and likeable backpackers. So, why not?

On our way back down south we stopped in Krabi town for a few days. We visited the night market and celebrated Valentine's Day at an Italian Thai restaurant with pizza and a huge feast... We rented a motorbike and headed to one of the bays where we rented a sea kayak and spent an afternoon paddling through limestone canyons, islands, and mangroves. It was a great trip- we went on a self-guided tour, and spent some time finding the route, but on the way we found a whole bunch of monkeys and saw incredible scenery.

Here in TonSai, days are again filled with morning jogs over the jungle trail, beachside lounging, swims to a small private beach, poi spinning, hula hooping, and yoga. We've taught several hula hoop lessons, and made some great friends that way. We get free coffee drinks just for bringing our hoops down and teaching a trick or two to the coffee girl now and then. And the beer is usually free when we spin fire at any of the bars down the beach. We're friends with a handful of the locals, and there's always interesting travelers passing through. So, we're quite comfortable here in our new Thai home.

I'm trying hard to think of reportable news here... We've had a few more misadventures with the food and our bellies, but nothing too serious. We also waged a war against bedtime mosquitos after a miserable night of being preyed upon. We've since won that war, employing mosquito coils, nets, clothespins, etc. What else...? We're both trying to eat with chopsticks in our left hands (hard!), Amy's on her 3rd pair of flip flops and 11th book. Brandon made a pet fish out of a water baloon and a sharpie, and strung a thread through it and hung it up at the bungalow. The rats make nightly visits to our bungalow to find anything they can, and chewed right through the lid of our tupperware to get at the banana bread. Brandon's still pretty obsessed with the slack line. We had the worst cocktails of our entire lives at one of the bars- undrinkable (but we choked 'em down anyway). Amy's learned lots of new poi and is starting to think of herself as a poi analyst- and is eager to become a poi dancer again. Brandon's head is filled with business decisions for the summer and is spending lots of time on the computer. There's phosphorescence in the warm ocean, and life is good.

Circus Updates

The circus adventure has been amazing... We've been with the group for about a week now, and it's incredibly exhausting, inspiring, and a load of fun. There have been about 20-24 of us involved in the project. Each day we dress up in outrageous, colorful costumes and pile into the back of two pickup trucks to head out to schools full of Burmese refugee kids. (A site to see, for sure!) When we arrive, we spend a few minutes getting organized, and then we do a "day show", as we like to call it. It's filled with clowny acts, physical humor, juggling and acrobatic acts, magic tricks, etc.. Usually it involves members of the audience- the Flame Oz girls lasso a couple of teachers and get them to try to hula hoop in front of the kids- which is always a big hit with the children.

After the show, we do a warm up with the whole group, getting them to stretch and hoot and holler with us, before we send them through an obstacle course of hula hoops and limbo sticks and jump ropes. Then we split them into workshop groups, which are typically between 10 and 40 students each, and we teach them circus skills like poi; hula hooping; spinning staff; juggling; balancing objects on hands, elbows, & face; devil sticks; acrobatics and tumbling. Usually the workshops are about 15-20 minutes, and then we rotate groups and teach again. Meanwhile, there is face painting, bubble blowing, and general laughing, being silly, and tickling of kids going on... Usually we close with some more whole group activities.

After that, we typically share a quick group meal of Thai and Burmese food, change our clothes, and prepare to do a fire show. Our fire shows typically run between 40 minutes and an hour, and are quite impressive, in my opinion. We've got jugglers, amazing poi spinners, double staff, staff, fire hoop, fire fans, fire ropes, and several choreographed partner pieces. We've even got a crazy tool that creates a HUGE fireball as a show closer.

The circus group is made up of people from all over the world- Sweden, Japan, Canada, Germany, Thailand, USA, UK, and Austria. We're called "Spark", and it's all organized by a Canadian woman named Andrea. The project itself has been going on for 5 or 6 years, and used to be called "Laughing for Life". It's an entirely grass-roots, volunteer effort. Because we work with schools and refugees that are not always "legitimate" in the eyes of the government, we can't apply for grants. So all funds are generated through volunteer performances and donations, and all the time and effort is completely volunteer. Andrea isn't paid for any of it, and all of us performers/teachers/clowns are paying for our own housing, transport, water, food, etc. while we are here. Andrea has donated most of the costumes we use, although some have brought their own. Funds raised through performances and donations are used to sponsor the Thai performers, purchase toys for the schools, and buy little gifts for the children (like bracelets and pencils). It's pretty awesome to be a part of a project that is so direct and grassroots and intimate... And you really feel it when a little Burmese child with a painted face and a huge smile runs up with arms outspread to give you a hug. And last night, we had a group of Burmese dancers perform and INCREDIBLE traditional dance for us after a day at their school. It was quite a memorable experience- very very far removed from being a "tourist".

All the people involved have been incredible to meet and work with. Wonderful, friendly, fun people. There's been a lot of skill-sharing going on, and a lot of silliness and laughter. We all stay together in a guesthouse about 20 minutes from town, about 6-8 people to a room, so we have quite the family-style living arrangements. It's a lot of organization to get people in and out of town, and try to work around everyone's individual needs, but we manage. It'll be a relief to have some peace and quiet and a bit of privacy again, when it's over, but we still have 2 more days of visits to schools, orphanages, and a woman's shelter. It has been exhausting, but AMAZING, and well worth the effort.

Refugee Circus Fundraising

Dearest friends and family,

On our travels through SE Asia, we have encountered an opportunity to do some inspiring volunteer work. We are joining the CIRCUS! Here's the story:

The Karen tribe, and other hill tribes of eastern Myanmar (formerly Burma) live far up in the mountains and don't identify with the dictatorship government of Myanmar. They would prefer to keep to themselves...but the Myanmar government has been going into the eastern hills and slaughtering the tribes people and destroying their villages. Those who escape cross the border into Thailand, in hopes of better chances. This has resulted in large refugee camps filled with Karen orphans and refugees, many of them children. Because they are not Thai citizens, they can't attend Thai schools, they can't get medical care, and it is difficult for them to find work. Unfortunately, this leads many into the sex trade, drug addictions, and other sad stories..

Many humanitarian organizations have come to the area and set up impromptu schools and medical clinics to care for the refugees. For the last few years, performers have flown in from all over the world to spend over a week performing and teaching circus arts to the children. This year, we will be a part of a group of 17 circus folks heading to Mae Sot, Thailand from Feb 2 - Feb 10, 2009. We'll spend afternoons traveling to different refugee schools and teaching 3 hours of a variety of skills, including acrobalance, poi, juggling, hula hooping, stilting, etc. Each evening, we will have a circus and fire performance for the community, bringing smiles, entertainment, and inspiration to people in a desperate situation.

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN BE A PART OF THE CIRCUS TOO! Well, if you're a performer, then you can look into heading to Thailand next year to teach and perform. If you're not, you can help by contributing funds to pay for class materials (hula hoops, poi, stilts, etc..)- which stay in the schools after we leave. Also, there are several Thai performers who need sponsorship in order to be able to participate in the circus. I can't stress enough how significant it can be for young children to see someoone who looks like them doing something incredible..(it may be a little harder for a young Karen refugee to identify with a 6 foot tall white man doing something cool). It takes about 10,000 Baht to send a Thai performer along with the circus for about 10 days, which is only $300 USD. This year's Thai performers include a breakdancer and a traditional Thai dancer.

So, if you would like to contribute to this festive and creative way of bringing happiness and smiles to the hard life of the Burmese refugees, you can sponsor us through the PayPal account setup for this purpose. Just "send money" to circusfunding@thespinsterz.com or click on the link below.

Even as few as $5 helps- that's a big meal in this part of the world!

Keep an eye on our blog for photos and stories, as I'm sure there will be many! Thank you all for your loving support in all that we do, and we wish you all a wonderful winter!

Much love,

Amy Burtelow and Brandon Huston

Off to join the Circus...

We're suddenly in Hat Rin, on the island of Ko Phagnan, after a rapid exodus from TonSai. The decision was to join a bunch of performance artists for a week-long circus that Brandon has been invited to. Now we're trying to decide whether to hike up through the jungle, or just fork over the $7 each to take a boat where all the circus folks are hanging out. We mostly know nothing about what we're headed to, or what the plan is, but it's hard to pass up a chance to join the circus, so we're just going with it.

We may not be in internet-land for a wee while, so if you don't hear from us, don't worry, we're probably just spinning around in circles on a beautiful beach...

More later!

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Big city, bright lights. We saw some sights, walked epic distances through all parts of town, hiked through a little forest by the KL tower, and ate lots of great Indian food. Nothing was too memorable, beyond the fabulous little hostel we stayed in. Travelers Palm Lodge, run by a woman named Suzy, who we never met. However, there was a man named "Boy" running the place while we were there, and he was a fantastic host. Filled with travel info, and great fun to chat with. Hostels are great, because you meet so many other travelers and hear about all parts of the world...

We took the "night bus" to Thailand, and emerged 6 or 8 hours later at the border, almost frozen by the AC (why do they do that?). Our "90 day visas" from the Thai consulate in Kuala Lumpur turned out to be 60 day visas when stamped at the border, so that's a pickle we look forward to dealing with (since our flight leaves Thailand 70 days from our entry date). Looks like we'll be doing a border run sometime...although there are other expensive options to choose from...they sure do know how to get the most $ out of tourism at the borders.

TonSai beach, Thailand

Jackpot!

After 4 days and three nights in the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, and a marathon of bus rides through Malaysia and Thailand, we have landed in the sweetest nectar of paradise that we could possibly imagine. We thought we had it good on Gili Trawangan, but I really don't think it could get much better than this. We're on TonSai beach in the Krabi area of southern Thailand.

Initially, we had our doubts- we arrived at low tide to a bay filled with dark mud-covered rocks. Although the limestone cliffs and turquoise waters were impressive, the lack of swimming was unappealing. We were also exhausted, a bit flustered by a relative increase in prices from Indonesia, and hard pressed to find a cheap bungalow during high tourist season. After a good night's rest and a day of play on TonSai, however, we were completely won over by this place. It's a giant playground for us...

It's super laid-back, crawling with climbers from all over the world. It's accessible by long-tail boat only, so everyone travels by foot (or rope). The cliffs and caves and sea scenery are mind-blowingly beautiful. When the tide comes in, it's a perfect beach for swimming. It's sprinkled with bars and places to hang out, which almost never seem full or crowded. And nobody seems to mind if you lounge on mats or cushions without buying something. We've found a few flat areas and platforms to do yoga and acroyoga on. There's slack lines everywhere- at every bar, and every shop. There are people juggling or spinning poi at all times of day, somewhere on the beach. There's even a bar with sets of juggling clubs and practice poi to play with.

So on any given day, we might hike up over the pass and through the forest (and monkeys!) to the other beaches on the peninsula, sea kayak and explore the cliff edges, snorkel the surrounding coral, explore limestone caverns and caves, go rock climbing with a new friend, practice yoga, acroyoga, and random gymnastics on the sandy beach, swim in the warm ocean, have fruit shakes and play board games in the shade, play on the slack line, eat cheap pad thai and enjoy the sunset, and/or spin fire with all the locals or dance to a reggae band in the evening. Not bad. We're pretty much freaking out about how much we love this place.

We've met quite a few Americans, and a guy named Andy, from Portland, took us climbing (sounds familiar, eh?) on same classy classic routes. We've had another offer to take us climbing tomorrow afternoon, with our new friend Martin, from Bellingham. It's a shame we didn't bring our shoes and a harness, but it would be a tragedy not to climb here- so we fork over the rental fees (which only add up to about $12 or $13 for a half day for both of us..) whenever we get the opportunity. Needless to say, we've been staying busy and deliriously happy....

Our journey continues.....

Happy New year!

After torrential downpours, amazing lightning storms, building-shaking thunder, and a couple pitchers of Gin & tonics, we have left the Gili Islands.

On our last dive we went out just as it was starting to rain and lightning. The ocean swells were big and we were getting pushed around by the powerful waves. As soon as we arrived at the dive sight, we were a little nervous to jump in with all the lighting happening, but our dive master assured us that it was "O.K." and we were not going to be electrocuted. It was quite wild to be underwater and still be able to see the flashes of light happening 20 meters above us, and this proved to be our best dive yet.

As we drew closer to new years, the island filled up with travelers and all the prices went up.......everything- drinks, water, rooms, all of it. On new years eve the streets were packed with foreigners and locals alike, all getting really excited and dancing all over the place. We went to the far end of the "strip" and spun some poi on the outside of a private party that was hosting a DJ from Ibiza. They wanted $35 to get into this party!!! We had another plan though- infiltrate their party, spin fire and have them ask us to stay and dance........YUP, that's how we roll! (Yes, it worked ;)

About 4am we made it home, only to roll our bodies out of bed at 7am to get on a boat for a 4 day/4 night sailing trip through some of the most pristine waters, lush green islands, idyllic snorkeling spots that I have ever seen. On this trip we went to Komodo and Rinca Islands, the only 2 islands in the world that are inhabited by the ancient Komodo Dragons. We went on a few hikes and got to see these very large prehistoric lizards, that apparently feed on wild pigs, monkeys, deer and each other....and the occasional human, should they get lucky. There was a great mix of people and cultures on the boat and many languages being spoken; German, English, Icelandic, Slovenian, Indonesian, Dutch, French, and Malaysian. Its so fun to be with such a variety of people and get to learn about other peoples lives and ways of seeing the world.

We arrived in a small port town and flew out the next day to Bali, then again 2 days later we flew to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is where we are right now. Getting tired as we were up at 3:30 AM to catch our "cheap flight", cheap if we wouldn't have had to pay $40 in baggage charges and $30 "tax" to leave Bali, but hey, that's the cost of traveling.

That's all I have for now. Make sure to check out our new pictures posted on the Flickr account (you can find the link in earlier posts). I'm sure Amy will have some more fun stories to tell you too!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22230486@N06/

Selamat Malam