Phuket Town, the Vegetarian Festival and two Thai beaches

If you've ever seen the movie, the Beach, you might remember the scenes in a hotel called "On On" where Leonardo DiCaprio meets a crazy man who gives him a map to the secret beach. I hadn't actually seen the movie until after I stayed at On On my first night in Phuket Town (pronounced poo-get). Still, I should have taken fair warning when another traveler handed in a can of bug killer as she checked out. It was 7am and I had just arrived after taking an overnight bus from Bangkok. My pack weighed heavily after a decent walk from the bus station. It couldn't hurt to stay one night, right? By afternoon, I felt differently. Giant cockroaches crawled out of my squat toilet. I ran for the front desk, where the guy first held up a can of air spray (I later realized that the toilets emit an unpleasant smell during the heat of the day) and finally gave me the insect killer. I sprayed my bathroom three times, until the can emptied. The dirty walls were covered in yellow splotches of paint, an attempt to cover up warning messages from other travelers. I could still read some of them, and wished I had noticed sooner. The staff made no apologies for the roaches, and just as I was drifting off to sleep I heard yells down the hall, followed by the thump of a thrown shoe and cheers of victory. I wasn't the only one with bug problems.

Luckily, I found a cleaner, cheaper hostel on the main street of town, where I could better enjoy the upcoming Vegetarian Festival. Before the event started, I explored the town, climbed up a big hill overlooking the city and ventured out to two beaches- Kata and Kamala. Phuket Town is located on the island of Phuket, an easy commute to many different beaches. I chose Kata and Kamala because of their mellow reputation. On both beaches, I enjoyed sunbathing and swimming in the slippery turquoise water. I only had to share the beaches with a handful of others.

By the time the festival started, the main street boasted stall after stall of amazing vegetarian food, packed with pedestrians perusing their options. For a veggie like me, it was amazing to be able to eat anything I saw as I walked along the street. And tempting it was: steamed sweet rolls, fake meat on a skewer, fresh tropical fruit, noodle soup, coconut pudding balls, corn on the cob, roasted chestnuts, fried EVERYTHING, fresh spring rolls, morning glory leaves stuffed with coconut, starfruit, peanuts and ginger, tofu cooked in every possible way, and so on. My favorites included noodle soup with crunchy wood-ear and white-flower mushrooms, steamed corn buns, vermicelli topped with thick curry, pickled greens, sprouts, pineapple, cucumber and fresh greens, fake meat skewers with chili sauce and the best mango sticky rice I have ever tasted.

Before the festival begins, a pole of bamboo is decorated with gold leaf and then raised to bring the power of the gods to the event. Another American, Kuulani, and I went to the temple and placed some gold leaves on the pole. We were pleased to see it raised the next day. On the evening of the opening ceremony, we went to watch the monks go into trance. They welcomed the spirits, one by one, clad in white pants and a colorful apron. They stood over the smoke of incense, shaking their heads back and forth as if saying "no" over and over again, breathing heavily through their mouths and mumbling, whispering or sometimes yelping like monkeys. Big drums beat slowly in the temple and they raised their flags at the sound of a chime, rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. At first, I felt extremely nervous, and doom filled my stomach as I thought they were to begin the acts of self-mutilation. They all carried something harmful like a spear or a whip. Once I realized that it was a peaceful demonstration, I relaxed and was quickly absorbed into the the feeling of the ceremony.

Phuket historically contains a high percentage of Chinese inhabitants. When they first arrived in Phuket, the settlers became extremely ill, and abstained from meat to purify their body. The vegetarian diet worked and most of the sick were cured. Since then, the Vegetarian Festival has been repeated each year. In accordance with the Chinese calendar, the festival lasts for the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month. It is not a festival of vegetarians flocking to the area; rather, it's meat-eaters choosing to abstain from meat, alcohol and sex as a purification ritual for the body. Thus, those in attendance wear all white clothing as a symbol of purity. The festival is celebrated all over Thailand, yet Phuket leads the way, with Thai tourists swarming in from all over to attend.

Throughout all the processions, people throw fire-poppers at the feet of monks to scare away the bad spirits. The monks also demonstrate the power of their gods by undertaking acts of self-mutilation during their trance. It is said that they do not feel the pain during their demonstration and they heal quickly after the festival is over.

During the morning procession, I saw the monks walking with all kinds of things stuck in their cheeks, such as vegetables, swords, guns, and even a large chain connecting three monks through their cheeks. They don't appear to be comfortable, yet they didn't show signs of pain either.
The afternoon procession followed a ceremony blessing the food. Giant pots of food and rice were placed steaming in front of the altar. The monks came by, placing incense in the food and blessing it with the dragon tips of their whips. Men prepared bowls of food for the gods and placed them near the altar. Then, the crowds of people followed the monks into the streets for the procession. I joined them, and witnessed at every intersection a circle formation of monks wildly throwing axes over their shoulders and yelling. I turned, horrified, to find right next to me a monk sharpening his axe on his tongue, blood spilling down his chin. Later, I saw another monk hitting his forehead repeatedly with a sword. In the video below, you can see the circle of axe-swinging monks. If you look closely, you'll see one kneeling on the ground shaking his tongue back and forth against the blade of a sword.





The evening procession was intense in it's own way. Crowds dressed in white lined the streets, holding fire-poppers and amateur fireworks. Monks skipped through the streets, fireworks went off from every direction (often set off by little kids) and processions of drums and altars flashed by. Some monks would stop and bless babies, others handed out candy, and a few stood patiently while people threw fire-poppers under their feet. It was loud, it was crazy, it was a good farewell parade for me. I left the next morning, before the monks walked on coals and climbed ladders made of knives.

I made my way to Surat Thani, a gateway to many islands in the Gulf of Thailand. There, I spent one night and stumbled across the Chinese Temple. Kind women ushered me to the back of the temple, where they served vegetarian food free of charge. They handed me a bowl of rice and motioned for me to sit at a table with three other women. In the middle of the table, we shared dishes of sweet and sour vegetables, fake meat soup, yellow curry and crunchy greens. The cook asked me in Thai if the food was delicious or not delicious. I said delicious. One woman at my table spoke English and asked me questions about my life and travel plans. Another woman kept arranging the food and pushing it towards me. The third woman asked me again if the food was delicious or not. The woman that spoke English explained to me that most people find vegetarian food to be too bland. I kept saying that since I only eat vegetarian food their food tasted amazing to me. After I couldn't eat any more, I sat there among the women while they spoke in Thai, so grateful to be among them and their motherly tendencies towards me.

I left on a ferry early the next morning on my way to Koh Phangan Island. More to come...


Click HERE for more pics of Phuket. Careful if you're squeamish!



...And if you missed Bangkok, you can find it HERE.

Bangkok: My first week in Thailand

After a sleepless night on the plane, I landed in Bangkok at 9:30am (4:30am, Europe time). The bus to Banglamphu took 2 hours due to traffic jams. As soon as I got off the bus, the sky opened up, drenching me and my pack with rain. I stood under a vendor's umbrella, but eventually gave in to the weight of my pack and looked for a place to stay. I drudged from guesthouse to guesthouse, looking for the best deal. I finally found a reasonable room with a fan and a window. The receptionist gave me a deal without even having to ask. I spent the day trying to stay awake by walking around the neighborhood. Banglamphu is the backpacker hood. The streets are filled with guesthouses, food carts and clothing stalls. Tuk-tuk drivers wait on every corner, women in colorful hats walk the streets selling handicrafts and there seem to be more foreigners than locals. I spent the next week getting to know Bangkok.

Sights

Wat Pho: After a ride down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River, I stopped at Wat Pho to see the city's largest and most ancient temple. It contains Thailand's largest reclining Buddha at 150 feet long and 50 feet tall, covered in gold. Scattered around the site are various temples displaying more Buddhas. In several, I removed my shoes and sat before the altars. The grounds make for a beautiful place to walk and the reclining Buddha is quite the spectacle.

In a nearby park, I sat down to rest my feet. Pecking pigeons covered the ground around me. A small Thai boy ran up to the pigeons, displaying his fiercest karate moves and yelled "You know what's happenin'!" He paused for their reaction and walked away nonchalantly. Awesome.

China Town and Little India: From Wat Pho, I walked to Chinatown to find all kinds of narrow covered markets, Chinese restaurants and nearby Phahurat- Bangkok's Indian neighborhood. In China town, there are a few square blocks of shops selling "hot" goods.

Siam Square: I spent about two hours looking for the Khlong taxi (canal boat) that would take me to Bangkok's commercial center, Siam Square. I finally found it after a long walk past temples, major intersections and a man selling paintings of the King. Siam Square hosts no less than 4 huge shopping malls, ranging from 4-7 floors each. Each mall is connected to the others by pedestrian bridges. One of these malls is home to the famous MBK food court, a place where you can find all sorts of Thai dishes cooked in front of you for about $1. It's also where I had my first introduction to jelly desserts. Either coconut milk ice cream or snow ice are topped with coconut syrup and your choice of colorful morsels, including taro pudding, kidney beans, neon jellies, corn, barley, lychee jelly and other things I couldn't quite identify. The chaotic atmosphere of Siam Square makes for wonderful people watching. School girls in uniform giggle their way around the malls, security guards haunt the aisles of shops and women show off the latest fashion.

Erwan Shrine: Fenced on a corner, in the midst of Siam Square, Erwan Shrine attracts locals and their wishes. A band and colorfully adorned dancers await those who return to Erwan shrine to pay their respects for a wish granted- traditional custom is to hire the band. The shrine sits below massive Burberry windows, sandwiched between two busy streets. Once you walk into the gate, the noise of buses and motorcycles fades along with the pedestrian traffic making its way towards the shopping malls. The golden shrine seems small compared to its surroundings and the magical presence it holds. I paid 60 cents for a package of incense, wreath of marigolds and candle and stood with the others waiting to light their incense in one of the four lanterns. Awkwardly holding the lit incense, wreath and unlit candle (it was windy!), I made my wish and placed the incense and wreath in front of the shrine. If my wish comes true, I'll have to return to hire the band- just another reason to come back to Bangkok.

Chatuchak Market: The biggest outdoor market in Bangkok, Chatuchak reportedly contains over 15,000 stalls, selling clothes, housewares, furniture, handicrafts, food and animals. It's easy to get lost and find yourself in an aisle selling maggots, crickets and chickens caged underneath overturned wooden baskets. For a budget traveler like me, it probably isn't the best place to go, given how easy it is to justify cheap purchases. I managed to only splurge $3 on a shirt. It was a sweltering day, so I cooled down with the juice of a fresh coconut.

Transportation

Boat: Despite my traumatic ferry ride (see Vomitous Voyage), I've really come around to water transport, at least the short term kind. Here in Bangkok, you can hop on an express boat that travels the length of the river or take a khlong taxi boat through the canals. Water travel cuts your time significantly as there are no traffic jams! Riding the taxi boat is much different than the express boat- smaller, cheaper, less crowded and wetter. The sides of the boat don blue tarp, but I still managed to get splashed.

Sky-tram: From Siam Square, I took the mod sky-tram to the hospital for vaccines. It's like the L train in Chicago, but nicer. TVs show commercials, and it blasts air conditioning on sweaty passengers.

Bus: There are two kinds of buses in Bangkok- air conditioned and non. The air-con buses cost about twice as much at 50 cents a ride. Bus travel takes patience because drivers compete with stopped traffic. Sometimes you flag down a bus, like you would a taxi. Sometimes the bus driver doesn't come to a complete stop when picking you up or letting you off. Sometimes the driver lets you out into another lane of traffic. It can be tricky getting on and off the bus while maintaining a reasonable amount of street cred. Nevertheless, I love riding the buses, especially when lucky enough to grab a seat.

Walking: Walking obviously lets you take in more of the city through noises, smells, and pedestrian activity. A tourist like me is usually confronted by tuk-tuk drivers trying to score a ride. Crossing the street can be a bit of a gamble- even if there are pedestrian traffic lights, often cabs and motorcycles disobey traffic lights. It's best to go one step at a time, or in some cases, run. My feet get sore from wearing flip-flops all the time, but I still love travel by foot.

Food (aka heaven)

Breakfast: Although Banglamphu caters to western diets, with bacon and eggs on restaurant menus, I prefer to eat like the locals. They might eat noodle soup or curry for breakfast. I've also tried typical Thai standards like sweet & sour and picked up breakfast treats from street vendors like green onion dumplings and sticky rice pockets stuffed with taro and lemongrass coconut, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled.

Lunch/Dinner: Street food usually costs between 30 cents and $1.50 a meal. I'll just list my favorites: 50 cent pad thai; bean curd & curry noodles with pickled greens, sprouts and shredded cabbage; mushroom and sesame noodle soup; and tofu with garlic sauce. The other day for lunch, I stopped into a small restaurant called "the Joy Luck Club" with picturesque seashell scenes underneath the glass tabletops. Three women and a small girl sat around a table arranging orchids, laughing and chatting. They asked me to rate one of the arrangements. They seemed to think that the middle stem, much taller than the rest, looked awkward. I gave it a 9.5 and they laughed. They gave me a small dish of shredded taro chips to munch on while the cook, also a woman, prepared mushrooms and basil with little balls of vermicelli. It was the young girl who took my order. She handled her notebook with authority, shooing away her older brother when he asked "want some drink?"

Snacks: Snacks are fun and usually come served in a plastic bag with a wooden stick as a utensil. For instance, grilled calamari is cut into slices off the grill, put in a plastic bag and doused with chili sauce and vinegar sauce. Also served in a bag, is freshly cut fruit. I picked guava, a round, green, bumpy fruit with a dry, white flesh. I sprinkled it with chili sugar and ate it with a stick. Tropical fruit smoothies are also popular.

Spice: The food here never disappoints with it's intense flavor and spice. The spice is strong, but not overpowering. The heat generally leaves quickly, or else stays dormant in your throat until you cough. Although I don't usually like spicy food, the quality of spice here doesn't bother me and adds a depth of flavor that can't be beat.

Miscellaneous
When I was growing up, my parents would take my sister and I for ice cream if we got good grades on our report cards. We usually went to Swensen's in Friendly Center, until it closed down. You know, the one with the choo-choo train circling around the restaurant? I see Swensen's everywhere in Bangkok! It's also hard to go a block without seeing a 7-11.

The vibe here strikes an interesting balance between chaotic and relaxed. There's always something to engage the senses, but I never feel rushed or overwhelmed.

The rainy season lasts until the end of October. It's hot, humid and usually rains heavily once a day. It doesn't take long for the skies to clear up and the rains bring a welcome cool-down to the constant heat. It's not unusual to need to take 2 cold showers a day.

After a lovely week in Bangkok, I'm on my way south to Phuket for the vegetarian festival.

Find pics here:

Bangkok

I'm finally here

It all started my freshman year of college. My friends and I went to "Taste of Thai" for dinner at least twice a week. We had a crush on our waiter and he told us all the lovely things about Thailand. We told him we'd visit someday.

My senior year of college, I spent my time scooping up dog poop and walking high-end poodles on treadmills so I could save up to go to China. I even had my plane ticket. For reasons I won't mention here, that trip fell through.

Three and a half years ago, engaged to the wrong man, we planned our honeymoon to Vietnam. We even had our plane tickets. Since we canceled the wedding at the last minute, a trip abroad together didn't quite seem right.

Folks, I've been trying to get to Asia for a long time. I'm finally here.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I absolutely love Thailand. Each day, I choke back tears of joy just because I'm actually here. I might be taking the express boat down the river to visit a temple; I could be walking down a street lined with carts selling food I've never seen before; Or I could be exchanging deep smiles with the friendly people here. And it hits me hard: here I am, where I've wanted to be for so long. I'm finally, finally here.


If you missed my account of Budapest, click HERE. And stay tuned for my adventures in Bangkok!

Budapest

by annie

Our bus from Prague dropped us off in Budapest at 5:30am. We left our luggage at the train station and hit the town, finding a seat at one of the only open places in town- church. We arrived just in time for morning service and managed to stand when the congregation stood and sit when they sat. We struggled to stay awake, not only because we were exhausted, not only because the service was in Hungarian, but because the priest himself seemed pretty bored. We left when the second priest made his way to the confessional booth and people jumped up to form a queue.

We walked for a while and stopped in a park for a quick snooze. We walked a little further and stopped in a cafe for another quick snooze. And we walked even more and stopped in front of a big museum for yet another quick snooze. You get the picture. We had lunch in a big open market- sausage for Brian and kraut strudel for me. We walked across the Danube River (leaving Pest and entering Buda) into a giant park on a hill. There, we snoozed again, admired the cave church and eventually walked up towards the citadel on top. We could see the whole city below us and the weather couldn't have made a day in the park much nicer. The sun was shining, leaves were turning and short-sleeve t-shirts sufficed. Down the other side of the hill, we made our way to the fortified old city where we found old buildings, squares and lots of museums. Again we delighted in a wide panorama of the city. Of note was the Parliament building just opposite us on the other side of the Danube. On foot, we made our way to see the Parliament up close before heading to our couchsurf host's flat. Gabor greeted us excitedly and we talked of travel, bikes and photography before retiring on his hardwood floor.

Other highlights in Budapest include Margaret's Island, sandwiched between Buda and Pest on the north side of the city. We rented squeaky bikes and rode around admiring ruins, gardens and waterfalls. On our last day, we had our first Turkish-style bath experience. We entered a yellow Roman-influenced building with a large outdoor courtyard. In the courtyard, families lay in the sun by 4 heated swimming pools. Inside, we had 18 different hot and warm pools to choose from, in addition to cold plunge pools and 8-10 saunas of differing temperatures. One sauna had a stone fountain supplied with ice chips. We happen to know that this bathing complex also had mud baths, massages and underwater jet massage pools, but we just couldn't find them! We stayed 2 hours alternating the hot pools with cold pools and sitting in various saunas. The place was packed with people, only one of many such bath houses in Budapest. Amazing!

I left Brian in Budapest in order to make my way towards Thailand. But first, I stayed in Dusseldorf, Germany for one night with a couchsurf host named Susanne. She set me up with a friend of hers for a tour on foot of the town. I had a good time with Dominick and Susanne- it was a great end to my time in Europe. I hopped on an 11 hour overnight flight, unable to sleep and partially entertained by the 3 sappy romantic comedies they showed throughout the night. I've landed in Bangkok safely while Brian makes his way south to Italy for yoga, meditation and helpxing.

*a note about the blog: since the world has different paths for Brian and I, the blog will continue following my adventures alone. Brian is considering creating a blog of his own- stay tuned for the link!

Pics here:

Budapest

If you missed our last two days in Prague, click HERE.

More on Prague

by annie

Prague is a place where you can meet people our age who grew up during communist times. Maybe their parents are still communist. The Velvet Revolution of 1989 got it's name from the smoothness and peaceful nature of it's process. After only 10 days of non-violent protest, the Soviet occupation withdrew. It was part of the greater resistance throughout parts of Europe.

You can still see bits of communist influence throughout the Czech Republic (which split peacefully from Slovakia in 1992). For instance, the Astronomical Clock in Olomouc was repaired under communist rule after a fire and represents typical communist propaganda- the anonymous working man, a hero. Working was a virtue. Low wages didn't matter to an ideal communist hero. He worked for the sake of working, for the good of everyone. In fact, he worked longer hours than his colleagues and volunteered to work on holidays, rarely taking a day off. He sought no recognition and little compensation, yet he knew that working long, extra hours played an integral part in the fight against the United States. Through propaganda, the Soviets had to work hard to convince Czechs that USA was the enemy. An example of a notice posted by timecards: While the anonymous heroes were working hard for the collective, supply and demand got all wonky and store shelves were empty. Only those with enough money to pay "behind the counter" prices could obtain what they needed. It goes without saying that those working the hardest generally did not have the means to exercise such privileges.


After a lovely time in Olomouc, we returned to Prague for 2 more days, milling about parks and random neighborhoods, and hopping on trolleys just to see where they went. We climbed up the tower of the New Town Hall, admiring the photo exhibit entitled "Intimacy" on the way up. And we stared up at the Praha Tower, creeped out by the giant babies crawling all over it.














Barka and Tomas hosted us for the last two nights in Prague. They gave the insider scoop on Czech beer while Barka played the accordion for us and even let us try. She fed us fantastic mushroom soup, creamy Czech honey and homemade chestnut cake. Over breakfast, Brian and I noticed that one of their tarantulas had apparently escaped. It sat on the wall opposite us as we devised a game plan to prevent it from crawling into our sleeping bags in our absence. Later that night, we learned that it was a decoration made of real spider skin ( kind of like the deer heads you see on hunters' walls, except different because, for instance, you know that the deer didn't escape from the woods and suddenly poke his head into the hunter's wall. You know it's not alive. Furthermore, deer heads, to my knowledge, are not poisonous). We had a good laugh of course, at our own expense. We had fun with Barka and Tomas, and they recommended great places for us to visit, including Kutna Hora, a 1 hour train ride east of Prague.

There we walked around the Gothic historic district, visited the Corpus Cristi- a cavernous ossuary, toured the alchemist museum and cursed our luck when we arrived right at closing time of the more elaborate ossuary located in a church on the edge of town. We arrived back in Prague just in time to catch the overnight bus to Budapest.

If you missed our account of Olomouc, click HERE.

Olomouc, on a whim

by annie

I have to tell you something. It's pretty gross. So I'll start from the beginning. We had two couchsurf hosts cancel at the last minute in Prague. So by 9pm on our first night, we still had no place to sleep. We showed up at a hostel, desperate, and fortunately scored two beds. We opened our room to find an overweight, middle-aged man sprawled out on a mattress in the middle of the floor. It was dimly lit, so we settled in as best we could. As I climbed into bed, I noticed stains on the wall. I resolved to sleep on the half of the twin farthest from the wall. Just as I was about to shift my glance, some of the stains moved. There on the wall, between dirty white paint and actual stains, tick-like bugs the size of my pinky fingernail came alive. Horrified, I made Brian squash as many as I could see. Needless to say, I woke up countless times in the night to flick mystery bugs off my pillow and mattress. I lasted until about 2am before pleading with time to move faster.

I mention this story for the silver lining. It came in the form of a bright blue brochure in the lobby of this dreadful hostel. It advertised a cozy hostel in a Moravian town called Olomouc, 2 ½ hours south of Prague. The brochure outlined all the day trips and cool things to do nearby, and eventually led us to the town and the hostel itself, called Poet's Corner. Olomouc quickly became my favorite part of the Czech Republic so far. It is quiet, but big enough to keep you exploring.

We took a full bus from Prague and felt a little weird as the only passengers de-boarding in Olomouc. We felt even weirder when we couldn't find out how to get into town because the lady at the info desk didn't speak English (our first sign we weren't in Prague anymore). The bus station was deserted and the info desk closed 10 minutes after our arrival. It was 4pm on a Saturday afternoon. We turned to the bright blue brochure and easily obtained directions through a phone call, landing ourselves at the Poet's Corner, a clean, hip hostel with helpful staff and a burcak party that night. Burcak is a local, young wine that can only be enjoyed a few days out of each year before it ages into something else. It tasted better than fruit juice and better than wine. We tried the red and white varieties alongside Czech delicacies.

We awoke the next day, took much needed showers and headed towards the Astronomical clock tower in the center of town. You can find 2 such towers in the Czech Republic, here and in Prague (ahem, not to brag, but we've seen both). Then we moseyed over to St. Micheal's church. I've come to expect a certain experience in European churches and cathedrals. Usually, they are so overrun with loud tourists, that the mystic grandeur and ancient energy has long ago been lost. I've never found the silence in these places that I so crave. They're nice to look at, but can feel gaudy and worldly. This was not the case at St. Micheal's. The pews weren't roped off and so I sat in one to meditate, basking in the silence and unique spiritual energy of the place. Afterward, I climbed the winding stairs to the church's bell tower and looked out over the city. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a stone entrance to the unfinished basement, where a dimly lit altar hid in a corner. In utter silence and near-dark, I sat in one of two chairs set before the altar.

I left St. Micheal's rejuvenated and joined Brian for a picnic in the sunny Botanical Gardens. We walked alongside the stream, through gardens and in playgrounds full of tree trunks turned musical instruments. Entrance to the museums in Olomouc was free on Sundays and St. Wencenlas day (the country's patron saint), so we went to both. The museum of modern art blew my socks off. We saw collections of Czech book art and climbed the winding stairs to an attic space called the “Artist's House.” There we found works by Alfonz Mucha, Gustav Klimt (including “The Kiss”) and Utagawa Hirosige. For such a small museum, they displayed impressive diversity.

We also visited the museum of the Archdiocese and two elaborate tea shops with book-size menus. We indulged in the famous chocolate pie of cafe 87 and a Czech specialty, potato pancakes. When we visited a local microbrewery to try some local beer- Czech beer is fantastic by the way- we encountered another language barrier. I cheerfully asked the waitress if she spoke English and received a hard glare in return. Since I couldn't read the Czech menu, I pointed to the blackboard, simply taking a guess at the beers listed (and why not at 1 euro a pint?). She started pouring from the tap something very dark. Intrigued, took a sip. It tasted sweet with minty/fennel undertones. “Is this beer?” I asked Brian. “Nope” he said. “Looks like you ordered a Czech coke.” Oh well. Brian's beer stein of house pilsner was big enough to share.

Although we encountered a handful of tourists, the town is certainly not geared towards tourists. There are no souvenir shops, and you don't have to seek out real Czech people. Because of this, Olomouc feels more authentic than Prague and we felt like we discovered a hidden treasure. We met some great travelers in the hostel and learned about many other places in this country that I hope to visit someday.

The pics:

Olomouc

And you can find Prague Part I HERE.