One for the kids....and Santa is on his way!

Bike4Kids - Angkor, Cambodia

We took off last weekend to visit one of our favorite countries, Cambodia, to see a part of it we had never visited as well as to help give back to those in need.    We went with a group of friends to participate in the annual Bike4Kids fundraising event, we signed up for the 30km bike ride throughout the temples of Angkor while others ran the Angkor Half Marathon the next day.  The event raises funds for various charities in the area, primarily geared towards helping and saving children from human trafficking and child labor/slavery.  I've spoken of Cambodia's storied past before and the abundance of youth in its population combined with poverty there is a perfect storm effecting these children.  You can read more about it HERE so you don't have to listen to me rattle on, but at the end of the day these kids need our help and assistance to ensure them a future that they deserve and to help them rebuild their country, culture and heritage in a positive direction.

Siem Reap is an area just outside of and area known as Angkor.  Depending on what you google up, Angkor is one of the 7 Wonders of the World encompassing an area the size of Greater Los Angeles and hosting upwards of 70 temples dating back thousands of years.  At one point it involved highways, reservoirs and thriving civilizations.  To be honest, that is about as much as I know about the area and it's history.  We were there for only 2 days and I have not read up much about it.  Having been there, and knowing we will definitely be back someday, I look forward to diving deeper into it's steeped history.  Come for a visit and we will take you there so we can all learn in awe together!

The 4:30a.m. alarm came way too early after a hellish Customs experience the night before had landed us in bed much later then anticipated.  But, as they say, there is only one sunrise a day and we'd hate to miss it!  We brought Graeme's bike seat along with us and rented bikes from the event.  Having never been there, we really did not know what to expect but I think we were all surprised at the amount of tree's, shade and cool morning air.  Graeme actually asked us if it snowed there!  (you see, that is funny because it was probably 80 degrees out and Cambodia is known as the hottest place in all of SE Asia).  

The ride was fantastic - gliding past temples and ruins, rice fields and endless groups of waving children.  We took our time to take it all in.  While the race is a large event, they could not actually close down the area - it's too big of a tourism draw as well many people actually live there - so we rode along with women heading to work on their bicycles, children heading to school, water buffalo meandering and monkey's looking for handouts.  Unfortunately we saw many elephants as well.  Unfortunate because they were being ridden by tourists - sorry, you are not supposed to ride elephants as an attraction, I don't care what story the dude selling the tickets spins you about how well they are cared for.  Ahem....back to the fun stuff.  This was truly an incredible experience and an amazingly fantastic way to be introduced to the sights of Angkor.  We are absolutely beside ourselves for the opportunity and hopefully next year Graeme will be on his own bike for the ride!

If you would like to help, please CLICK HERE for Graeme's fundraising page.  We don't usually ask others to help with things we are involved with but we really feel this is a worthwhile cause and would greatly appreciate any help at all possible.                https://www.justgiving.com/Graeme-Hawken/  

Here is a video of what the morning looked like:

The next day we set out to explore the temples.  The thing to do is get there just prior to sunrise.  Some of the temples were built in a way to great the sunrise and showcase its rays on the structures.  Having already seen the sun rise the day before we got a later start and headed to Angkor Wat, the largest Religious structure in the world.  Wow.  I mean really.  Wow.  I would try to explain it but, well, I am not sure I can.  This is truly a thing to see firsthand, my words would not do it justice.  We spent just about 2 hours at the temple and I feel as if it would take me weeks with a personal guide to fully get a feel for the place and its purpose.  Just unbelievably beautiful.  To think of the engineering, foresight, fortitude, sense of community, and spirituality that went into creating this environment over 900 years ago!  Angkor Wat itself was built in just 35 years (some of the great Cathedrals in Europe took up to 200 years to build), pulled the stone from over 20 miles away and is actually built on water - it is floating!  Graeme had a blast exploring and climbing, dodging monkey's and, as usual, being a bit of an attraction himself for others to photograph.  Still mind blowing, here we are at a world wonder, the largest religious structure in the world and you want to take a photo of our kid?  He must have the "IT" factor going for sure....

From there we headed over to Ta Prom, which you may recognize from the movie Tomb Raider.  We didn't last too long there as the heat crept in and it was time for us to hit the pool in preparation for our departure that evening.

Tuk Tuk Life....

In and out and nobody got hurt.  A quick trip for sure, but it's only a 40 minute flight and with the ease of life and culture that Cambodia affords us we will most definitely be back to explore more of what Angkor has to offer!

To see all of our Angkor pictures CLICK HERE.

It's Christmas Time in Vietnam

December and the Holiday's seemed to sneak up on us this year!  Just like in the States, things tend to get a bit hectic here with social events, preparing for Santa, and planning for Winter Break.  One of the things that has been different this year is that it seems that Christmas is EVERYWHERE in HCMC.  Just 3 years ago you might have seen some decorations at an upscale hotel downtown.  Last year I found us a tree at an obscure market stall in an out of the way district by just randomly spotting it.  This year you cannot walk 10 feet without being able to buy a tree, ornaments, tinsel, etc...you name it, you can get it.  Every building is done up to the nines with window dressings, blinking lights and decorated trees.  We are literally watching Globalization happen right before our eyes and this is a great example of it.  HCMC is quickly becoming an "International City" just like many other places in the world.  Bit by bit losing what each place makes it special in lieu of catering to the Global Market.  It's a fascinating process to watch and be a part of and mind bending how fast it takes hold, as well a bit sad.

SSIS has an annual Holiday Party for the staff and their significant others and each year it seems to outdo itself from the year before.  The buildup is a bit intense, as people start to plan outfits, get custom made dresses and suits, coordinate pre-parties, etc.  This year was no different and everyone donned their best gear and put on their dancing shoes to enjoy a great time.  Of course, I had the hottest date of the night and a great time was had by all.  I will just leave it at that because what happens at the SSIS Holiday Party stay's at the SSIS Holiday Party ;)

Graeme has been very busy crafting decorations for the tree, baking cookies, visiting Santa and getting his list ready and mailed off to the North Pole.  He is really in the spirit this year and for the first time he was not scared of sitting next to Santa for a picture.  Adding a bit of giving to his holiday spirit, Erin created an Advent Calendar that involves a riddle each morning to try and find a little gift or a message for him to do something that day for someone else.  He's been leaving little anonymous messages of thanks and praise for people, drawing pictures for others as well as delivering coffee and cookies to those he has chosen to brighten their day a bit.  He has really been enjoying it and seems to get as much excitement out of giving to others as receiving his gifts.

Another milestone hit - Graeme played in his first soccer (football) game with the Saigon Ghosts!  His team played the Korean school and although the Ghosts didn't prevail, a great time was had by all.  Graeme debuted as a goal keeper and then moved up the field a bit.  He practices with the Ghosts every Mon/Wed afternoon but this was the first game we've been able to attend.  So much fun and he is looking forward to playing in more games!

Somewhere along the line we snuck in Pajama Day at school.  I will leave you with this fantastic photo of Graeme and a few of his buddies in his class.  They were all holding hands before I asked to take their picture.  Here you have USA, Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia all represented.  As adults we have so much to learn from our children and this felt like a touching moment in that regard.

Next up is Christmas, well we will sneak in a quick trip to the beach beforehand.  We are staying in Vietnam this year for the holiday and looking forward to being home and waking up to presents under the tree.

We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday season!  

Hoà Bình,
The Hawken's in HCMC
#thetaoofgraeme

Paradise Found

Sea gazing.....

KRUI, SUMATRA

This was a long time coming....or a long time planning I should say.  I had been dreaming of this place since I was a kid when Surfer Mag would run articles of surf trips in "Indo" and you'd see them surfing unreal waves in pristine waters,  riding scooters through jungles with all kinds of animals on the road, sipping coconuts...you get the idea.  Now living basically around the corner I figured we just needed to book a ticket and go, right?  Not so easy.  Most of the info out there will put you in Northern Sumatra for traveling.  Great surf in the Mentawai Islands, volcanic lakes, etc...but just one problem - it's about a 36hr trip to get there!  That is 12 hours longer then it takes us door-to-door from the US to HCMC.  Add to that the cost of the surf resorts ($2k-$3k for 10 days per person!) and things just don't link up to make it an easy trip for a small family.  I spent the better part of 1 1/2 years trying to configure flights and boats to lower the travel time as well as find a place that wouldn't break the bank - even got into a bit of a spitting match with one of the owners about the rates.  I'd work on it for a few days then let it sit for awhile before tackling it again.  I didn't get too far.....

Sometime last spring Southern Sumatra popped up on my radar.  No one really travels to there and Krui is a village that sits on the coast with some pretty great surf accessible from land (no boat needed).  As luck would have it, there was 1 direct flight a day from HCMC to Java then it was only a 1/2 hr flight over to Sumatra.  Add in a 6 hour car ride and our travel time was down to about 15 hours - a piece of cake for this clan, and we could knock it out all in one day!  There seemed to be only a few options for places to stay so I started researching a bit more.  Some googling around brought me to Amy's Place.  As you know from our previous adventures, where we stay is important to us.  We spend a bit of time there so that Graeme can nap and we can have some down time, etc.  I started a conversation with Amy almost 6 months before our trip.  She was super helpful and confirmed my notion that this was going to be our spot.  You could just tell the vibe was right....

After a perilous, 6 hour rally race through the jungle we arrived at Amy's around midnight. We awoke to a slice of paradise.  A sweet compound carved out of the jungle with the reef right out front for exploration (and one ridiculously savage left hander).  Amy was actually on a surf trip in the Mentawai's when we got there so we were to be put in Ron's hands for the time being.  He was watching over things while Amy was away.  We didn't expect it but Ron made sure we didn't have to figure anything out.  He had our motorbike waiting for us, took me for a ride to show me where the local waves were and a few other helpful stops we might need to know about.  And after breakfast he took us for a surf.  It was like a private surf guide!  I didn't realize our booking came with a built in buddy!  It was a nice touch and much appreciated.

Our routine was generally waking up just before dawn when Graeme and I would walk out on the reef or along the beach for sunrise, checking out some sea creatures in the tide pools - lots of brittle starfish, crabs, sea cucumbers and colorful coral heads.  After some breakfast we'd load up the family truckster with 2 surfboards, a bodyboard and all 3 of us and head to one of the surf breaks for a session.  I'd surf while Erin and Graeme played on the beach or body boarded or just frolicked.  Then I'd come in to tackle waves with Graeme while Erin gave it a go out on the reef.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  In between sessions we'd chill at the compound and swim in the pool, relax, play with Pete (Amy's dog - he's a salty dog for sure as most pups you come across in Krui look suspiciously just like him!)  

We'd found it finally.  

What we've been looking for in all corners of the world is right here in Krui, Sumatra.

There are a bunch of waves in the area.  I won't get into details here, but if you go you will be dialed in pretty easily to the main breaks - a lot of lefts, a few rights and a few widow-makers.  All accessible via paddling, all in pristine clear water at about 80F and all over very alive and very sharp reef.  We had swell everyday but nothing epic, El Nino had the surf coming in at a weird angle.  Having seen pics of the surf that was there the week prior to our arrival was enough to convince me to come back solo in July on a surf strike - who wants to join me?

The local population of Sumatra is Muslim (actually all of Indonesia aside from Bali is Muslim - the largest population in the world) and this area has only been visited regularly by surfers for about 10 years.  As we see in a lot of our travels, there are tons and tons of kids!  As you ride your motorbike by them they all wave and scream "Hello Mister!"  Somewhere along the line someone taught them that and it stuck as what you say when you see a foreigner go by. No matter if you are male or female, you are getting greeted with a "Hello Mister!" all day long.  They also reach out for some high-fives!  Getting in and out of the water at some breaks was interesting as I would have to high-five about 30 kids each way and get stopped for pictures on the beach on the way back to our towel.  Graeme was a big attraction as usual, but even more so was Erin.  We were very respectful of the culture and stayed covered up as much as we could, but inevitably when Erin showed up to surf all the men would decide to take a smoke break from whatever they were doing and watch the show!  One very cool thing I experienced was surfing a right-hander all by myself (offshore, head high and reeling in about a foot of water) while the call to prayer was bellowing from the Mosque nearby, surrounded by the tall peaks engulfed in jungle.  A very surreal and unimaginable moment for myself - I had placed myself right in the pages of those old Surfer Mag articles I used to drool over as a kid.

A highlight of the trip involved a trip over to Banana (Pisang) Island.  A small island just offshore inhabited by a small village.  Ron hooked us up with a boat from a local fisherman and we were off.  We landed on the beach and our captain lived right out front and had a shaded hut for us to take cover and leave our gear.  We immediately hit the cement pier for a look and took the plunge!  Graeme almost went for it....he was right there but I think maybe one more year before he is ready!  As it turned out, we were the only 5 visitors to the island that day.  Yes.  Just us.  5.  Total!  Our host provided some scooters and we went off to explore a couple of empty beaches and lagoons...we literally had the whole island to ourselves, the local villagers and some monkey's!

One of the highlights of our highlight trip over to Banana Island was lunch.  Upon our arrival, our captain's wife began preparing a lunch for us with out our even asking.  We returned to their house about midday and ate the most scrumptious and delicious meal served to us in their home.  So not only were we the only 5 visitors to the village that day, we ate a home cooked meal fit for a king in someone's living room.  How is that for hospitality?  Fresh fish, rice, tempe, veggies - so many good things!  What a spectacular treat!

While the ride there was smooth sailing and accompanied by a pod of dolphins, the ride back was into the wind, into the swell and we all got beat to a pulp on the way!  That is, everyone except for Graeme.  He proved his Hawken DNA once again and managed to sleep through the whole thing!  Amazing....

Another highlight?  Graeme's love for the ocean.  He really digs checking out the creatures in the tide pools, asking tons of questions about them all, noticing all the different corals, fearlessly smashing into/over/under the waves.  He charged a bit on his body board and even let me paddle him half way out to one of the breaks on my surfboard.  We just hung out in the channel while he cruised around underwater checking out the reef and fish.  He hasn't taken the plunge and fully started catching waves or shown the urge to stand up on a board, but that doesn't concern me.  Just the fact that he is not afraid of the ocean, yet at the same time respects it, puts us over the moon.  We couldn't be prouder watching him enjoy being in the ocean.

Per usual, Graeme made wonderful connections with the crew at Amy's.  By the end of the week he was "helping" out in the kitchen - which somehow ended up with him getting more food then the rest of us, and going on motorbike rides into the village to help run errands.  Imaging showing up at the local market with this blue-eyed, blond haired 4 year old on your motorbike - you'd be a local hero! (for those who may not know - kids are revered in this part of the world and light colored hair and blue eyes simply don't exist).

Needless to say we had a blast and were sad to leave.  The crew at Amy's made us feel like part of the family.  Their hospitality, generosity, infectious smiles and laughter really helped make this such a wonderful experience.  So, our hats off to Amy, Ron, Pelly, Diane and the rest of the crew because you rock!  We cannot wait to see you again!  And Pete, try to slow down a bit dude...there are enough puppies in Krui to last awhile ;)

THE BURN

We need to get on our enviro-soap box a bit here - if you notice a lack of blue skies in our pics that's due to the haze and pollution created from The Burn.  Basically large portions of forest burnt to the ground this time of year (dry season) to accomodate Palm Oil plantations and Logging.  Not only are they destroying the shrinking habitat of Orangutans, Tigers, Elephants and countless other animals, they are poisoning our planet.  Indonesia put more greenhouse gases into the sky in the past 2 months then Germany will all year.  The smog literally shut down schools and outdoor events in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.  We live over 1,000 miles away and for about a month chose not to play outdoors.  It engulfed all of SE Asia.  If you think this won't affect your weather or health you are wrong.  What can we do?  Start by NOT buying products with Palm Oil in them (ever look at the ingredients of your Peanut Butter?  Why does Peanut Butter need Palm Oil, peanuts create a natural oil!)  Look at the ingredients of the products you buy.  We've seen the destruction first hand and felt the burn in our lungs....if we all do our part these evil corporations won't have a consumer base to sell to and end their business model.  Check out THIS SITE for some good info on how to be a good consumer.  OK, off the soap box.

CLICK HERE to check out all of our Krui pictures.

THE MEKONG, INTERNATIONAL WEEK, HALLOWEEN and WHERE'S ERIN??

This trip was much needed.  The last 6-8 weeks at home have been non-stop.  Erin left the country twice for school related trips - once to Indonesia with all of the 9th graders, then once to Bangkok for a conference.  We had International Week at school, Uncle Matty came for a visit and we went to the Mekong (aka "Guys Week"), I had been subbing just about every day...basic normal hectic life for most families.

Uncle Matty swung by for a visit on his way back from a surf trip to the Mentawai Islands in Sumatra.  He timed it, unknowingly, the same week that Erin was off to Indonesia for a Week Without Walls trip with the 9th Graders.  It was a bummer that they were basically passing in the night but it led for a good excuse to have "Guys Week".  And as Graeme would say, "What happens on Guys Week stays on Guys Week!"

Graeme and I took Matty down to the Mekong Delta with our friend Phuc Tran.  It's such an incredible spot and never ceases to amaze.  Hanging on the boats in the floating markets, riding bicycles through a village on one of the many islands while high-fiving kids as they yell "Hallo!" running out of their homes to greet you, and eating ourselves silly along the way.  One thing about hanging out with Phuc is that you need to be wearing elastic banded pants because his version of ordering a "snack" takes up two tables in a restaurant!

River rats

After the Mekong we wore Matty out on the streets of Saigon with more great food eaten while sitting on tiny pastic chairs and watching the hectic life of Ho Chi Minh City go by.  It was really special to get to hang out with Matty.  We missed him this summer on our trip to the states as he was mountain biking throughout Canada.  It always means a lot to us when someone visits and it felt just like old times back in Marin County again!

CLICK HERE to see all of our Mekong pictures.

While Matty was here Erin was in Bintan Island, Indonesia with a gaggle of 9th graders paving roads, painting houses and putting the kids through various team building stunts.  But don't feel too bad for her as these were her digs for the week:

Pretty much right after that Erin took off again for Bangkok, Thailand to attend a conference. Again, we'd rather have her home but don't shed a tear too fast as she was staying in probably the nicest hotel we've ever been to, the Shangri La.  The breakfast buffet alone is worth whatever cost and time it would take to get there from just about anywhere in the world.  The honey drips onto your freshly baked bread or croissant directly from the honeycomb of a beehive.  No, I am not exaggerating!  Somewhere in between all this we managed to squeak in our 10th Anniversary since the day we met, September 23rd 2005! Wow, where does the time go???

Finally we celebrated International Week at school (SSIS).  It's quite an event. The school represents over 35 nationalities, Graeme has 9 different countries represented in his class.  He can tell you where all his friends are from and what thier flag looks like.  Pretty cool.  They host fun booths for the kids to experience different cultures and the whole week culminates with a parade as everyone dresses in their home country colors or traditional dress.  A newer tradition has been to do a schoolwide group photo.  Last years picture was epic.  This year we seemed to be on the field waiting for the shot to be taken forever...the heat stroke factor was high and some people started to weep....well it was for good reason.  Check out this awesome video below of the process and the result.  Well worth the wait!

OK, OK.  I will just put this here and say that getting up on stage and dancing in front of an entire Elementary School, it's staff and the parents was never something that I imagined I'd ever be doing.  But, Graeme wanted to be involved so here you go!  (just try to focus on Graeme please)  He loved it!  We practiced for 2 weeks and when we were getting off of the stage he asked, "Can we do it again?!?!"

Pshew!  It's has been a busy time but so much fun!  Graeme has also been enjoying soccer a few days a week after school, playing with all of his friends and dressing up as a "Mummy, Vampire, Skeleton Chef" for Halloween!

Well, we have about 6 or 7 weeks until Winter Break....we will find ways to stay busy and sneak in a few trips I am sure.  For now we are looking forward to a few weeks of normal everyday life and reminding you that you all need to book a ticket and come visit us!  As always, if you've made it this far down the page, thank you so much for reading and sharing our adventures!

Hoa Bin,
The Hawken's in HCMC