I did it!

Transition area before the start.

Among the changes in my life over the last 2.5 years, has been a renewed interest in physical activity and a 50 pound weight loss. As a resident and fellow working too many hours and not sleeping enough, regular exercise was not a priority in my life. Slowly the weight piled on and my fitness levels decreased until I found myself shopping in the plus size section and feeling a sense of accomplishment if I exercised once a week. Oh, how things have changed!

Last weekend I completed my first Olympic-distance triathlon in Port Dickson, Malaysia. After swimming 1.5 km in the Straits of Malacca, I biked 40 km through rolling hills and then ran 10 km. Not only did I survive, but I had fun!

First up was the swim. Being my first open -water swim I was a little anxious about it and did have some difficulty sighting and staying on target while also negotiating around other swimmers. Due to a misunderstanding of Malaysian-English, I thought there were four waves of people starting before mine. Actually, there were only three and by the time I realized this, I was at the very back of the wave. Being a pretty decent swimmer, it would have been better for me to start further toward the front so I didn’t have to pass so many folks, but that is part of the learning process. The swimming conditions were excellent because although it was ocean water, the straits are pretty calm and it was more like swimming in a calm lake with buoyancy. I was kind of sad when I reached the end of the swim because I was really enjoying the open-water experience.

Next came the bike which I also quite enjoyed. It was nice to be able to ride at a brisk pace and not have to worry about motorcycles appearing from nowhere or weave around tuk-tuks. The course had some rolling hills which made for a nice ride. It was work to get up, but if you pedaled hard down the hills, you could get quite a way up the next one. I need to learn how to hydrate without losing so much speed and I was nervous to go out too hard because I knew there was still a 10 km run to follow but I averaged right around 30 km/h for the 40 km.

And then there was the run. I’ve never claimed to be a runner and until recently, 5km was the furthest I’d ever run. I find it less painful now than I did three months ago, but I’m still unsure about the whole running thing and was quite apprehensive about this portion. As I started off down the path out of the transition area, I heard a slosh-sloshing in my shoes. Since I didn’t yet have cycling shoes, I had worn my socks and running shoes on the bike portion. Unfortunately, the water from my clothes for the swim ran down my leg as I was biking and soaked my shoes and socks. Not having alternative footwear, I set off for a 10km run with wet shoes and socks. Not so great and not a feat I plan to repeat (I've since purchased cycling shoes). The race organizers had said the water stations would be set up every 1.2 km. So, when I saw the fourth station approaching, I figured I had traversed 4.8 km and the turn around was near. They must have put them closer together than that, because after that 4th station, there was still another km or so to the turnaround and it was a mentally difficult portion. Revived at the half-way point, I made it another 1-2 km before I really started to feel the pain in my feet as the blistes developed. It was hard to get through the next couple km but I was determined. I was so relieved to reach the top of a hill and see the finish line less than 2 km away and picked up speed for those last couple kilometers.

Despite 3 hours of continuous strenuous exercise, fatigued muscles and multiple blisters the size of quarters on both feet, I felt amazingly alive crossing the finish line. Not only did I finish, but I was in the top half of women in my age-group and of women overall. Not bad for a newbie. What a sense of accomplishment! I may not be a skinny-mini, but I am cardiovascularly fit and getting stronger all the time. It feels great!

Next up, another Olympic-distance triathlon in Hoi An, Vietnam in September.

Playing Tourist in Vientiane

With two years down and just a few weeks remaining, I decided it was time to visit two of the major tourist attractions in Vientiane. Wat Sisaket and Haw Pha Kaew are located less than a kilometer from my house and I pass them several times a week, but I had never actually gone inside--until today, that is.



Wat Sisaket was built in 1818 by Chao Anou and was the only major temple spared when the Siamese forces destroyed many parts of the city. Apparently over 2000 Buddha images are in the niches with 300 of the larger statues in the square cloister around the main hall. The temple is badly in need of the renovations which are underway, but unfortunately for me, the construction work detracts from the temples overall impression. I can imagine, however, than in its day when the murals were fresh and the grounds clean, it was quite awe-inspiring.






Across the street is Haw Pha Kaew. This former royal temple was reportedly built originally in 1565 by King Setthathirath to house the Emerald Buddha after Vientiane was made the capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom. The Emerald Buddha was ‘reclaimed’ by the Siamese in 1779 and installed it in Wat Phra Kaew of Bangkok. The current building was rebuilt between 1936 and 1942 after the original temple was razed in 1828. As wats go, the inside of the temple is quite unimpressive with plain white walls and ceiliings, although apparently if I knew more about Buddhist imagery I would be impressed by the rare Buddha poses. (As an irreverent side note, I was struck by prominent nipples on the statues and couldn’t help but wonder if he was cold). Others have said the external structure is equally unimpressive, but I have often found myself admiring the beauty of this temple, particularly when the flood lights illuminate the night sky. The garden is particularly nice and I enjoyed roaming around as the dark clouds rolled in and brought in cooler air. It made for a nice Sunday afternoon stroll.

Ways I Know I’m Not Asian: #1 I Don’t Avoid the Sun at All Costs

Why is it we tend to desire those things which we don’t have. If we have straight hair, we want curly hair; if we have curly hair, we want straight hair. If we live in the mountains, we want to go to the ocean; if we live on the ocean, we long for the mountains.

And, people who have pale skin covet dark skin and people who have brown skin, want white skin. While my weight means I’m not the picture of beauty here, my creamy white skin is envied by many Lao people. I’ve always said that I was born in the wrong century. If I’d been alive in the Renaissance, I could have been the pale, plump beauty reclining naked on the couch. Instead, I was born in America in the 20th century where pale and plump are not considered signs of beauty or wealth. But since pale and well-nourished people have adequate food to eat and enough means to be able to avoid slaving in the sun, I can see how they are desired traits in many cultures.

I guess it shouldn’t surprise me, then, that skin-whitening creams are all the rage here (and in many other parts of the world) and umbrellas are used more on sunny days than rainy ones. I gaze in amazement at the women wearing gloves and long-sleeved coats turned backwards while riding their motorbikes in 100+ degree temperatures. Sometimes, my view is impaired by the sweat running into my eye as I do this. When I first arrived in Vientiane, I wondered why motorbike riding induced backward jacket-wearing. Now, I have learned that it is to avoid sun-exposure to the neck and collar area. And it is not only the women who are obsessed with pallor. I have spotted many men sporting their ‘winter’ gloves on the motorbike as the sun’s rays beat down on the handlebars. Sometimes I wonder about Vitamin D levels.

How is it, then, that I have managed to make myself so ‘ugly’? People who know me, know I am far from a sun-worshiper and I generally apply sunscreen liberally and hang in the shade whenever possible. But, the rays in Laos are intense and I find myself getting darker with even brief periods out and about. Consequently, with all the biking, swimming and running I’ve done of late, my body is like a patchwork quilt of skin tones. My arms, which get the most sun exposure, seem to belong to a different body when placed on my abdomen, which never sees the sun. Yes, I put sunscreen on my face daily and sometimes remember to put a lotion with sunscreen on my arms, but I am still the most golden brown I’ve been since my swimming days. Too bad, it’s not a desirable thing here. But I’m just not ready to sacrifice comfort and convenience for freckle-free skin. (I don’t really tan, my freckles just get closer together.)

While the Lao women chide me for allowing my skin to get so ‘black’ there are some bright sides. After 5 years on the frozen Minnesota tundra, I have quit taking my Vitamin D supplement. And, I often have the pool to myself at lunchtime while the Lao people are hiding from the sun.

Blog and life revived

Wow, time flies. I am not sure why I got away from updating this blog. My life has continued at a manageable pace and I have done plenty of interesting things since September, but unfortuneatly I did not document them. This saddens me because as I reread my prior posts, I am reminded of forgotten tidbits. Of course, I still remember the big things, but it is nice to have some of the little things written down for review. While some folks may find it interesting at times, this blog is really for me.

So what have I been up to in the last 6 months? Among other things, a whole lot of bicycling. In September, I wrote about my new bicycle and 25-40 km rides that left me tired and with an aching back. Things have certainly changed since then. I don’t know for sure, but I estimate I have ridden somewhere around 2500-3000 km in the last 6 months, including an amazing nearly 400 km adventure through the mountains from Vientiane to Xieng Khouang/Phonesavanh. Even though I didn’t blog about it, this trip is something I will always remember. All this cycling was spurred on by the challenge of an endurance ride, the idea of which leaves most people thinking you are crazy. When I started, I had no idea it was going to end up being such a lifeline for me. Despite the daily frustrations of my work here and occasional periods of restlessness, my exercise keeps me sane. Through cycling, I have become acquainted with a group of people who help motivate me to get out of bed and get my rear moving. They notice if I don’t show up and encourage me to keep at it. It is also nice to interact with people who don’t work in a hospital and who can talk about a whole variety of subjects while cycling through the countryside. With the encouragement of these folks, I have also started to get back into swimming and have started running. I had forgotten how much I enjoy swimming and it is fun to reminisce about my swimming days while backstroking and gazing at a beautifully blue sky. Running is still a difficult mind game, but it is getting easier and I think I am about to breakthrough to the point where it is enjoyable. The next challenge on the horizon is an Olympic distance triathlon. I plan to be able to say I am triathlete before I return to the US.

My physical fitness is much better than it has been in years. My weight has only slowly creeped down but my clothes are looser and my Lao colleagues want to know what I have done to get so ‘joy’ (thin). When I first arrived in Lao, my weight was a frequent topic of conservation, with repeated reminders of being ‘dtui’ (fat). Now, my weight is an even more frequent topic of conversation, but in a way that is less painful. I frequently hear my residents talking in Lao about my weight or appearance while I am lecturing, not realizing that I understand quite a bit of Lao these days. It still hurts some when Lao colleagues make hand gestures to indicate how big I was before and ridicule someone else for being ‘even bigger than Christine’ but at least they are no longer discussing my death by heart attack. My housekeeper told me a few months ago that I was beautiful. It would have been nice if she’d stopped there, but she continued “When you first came to Lao, you weren’t beautiful, but now you are.” Last week, the head of pediatrics stopped me at a workshop to ask my secret and wanted to know my daily diet. Funny how people think folks who are successful in losing weight must have a secret we are not sharing with the rest of the world. My “secret” of lots of exercise and making better food choices doesn’t seem to be what they want to hear. If I had a magic bullet, I’m not sure I’d be hiding it in Laos. It is a slow process, but I’ll keep chugging away.

Exhausted and worse for wear, but on top of the world--or at least the dratted mountain.

Patuxay

So after living in Vientiane for over a year, I decided today it was time to visit one of the most prominent tourist sites in Vientiane. The Patuxay is the Victory Gate of Laos and was constructed in 1962. The story goes that the US government donated concrete to Laos to build a runway. No runway was built and this Arc de Triumph-like structure appeared. It is hence known as the world's tallest vertical runway. Now it stands at one end of Vientiane's Champs-Elysées with the presidential palace at the other. For about 40 cents, you can climb to the top and visit souvenir shops along the way. Interestingly, I was one of the few foreigners there and I was surrounded by enthusiastic Lao visitors. I particularly like the sign on the wall with a less than flattering description that seems to have been copied directly from a guide book. Ah, monster of concrete.

More bicycling adventures

So, after the adventure I wrote about in my last post, I decided it was time to invest in a proper bicycle. My colleague and I are planning to do a fund raising ride from Vientiane to Luang Prabang (388 mountainous kilometers in 3 days) which will certainly require more than one gear. So after a day of shopping we settled on matching Thai bicycles. The first day out, we took the same route as my flat tire adventure. I happily waved at the tire repair shop as we zoomed by. It was a nice ride, but my back was sore and I couldn't feel the 4th and 5th fingers of either hand for the next four days. I returned to the bicycle store for new handlebar grips and gloves and the numbness has been much less on subsequent rides. I have ridden a different 25 km loop a couple times and am really enjoying the new bicycle.

So, this morning, Amy and I set out on a different route. About 5 km in to the ride, the road became exceedingly potholed and it was a challenge to dodge the mudpuddles, potholes and motorcycles along the way. It was so bumpy that Amy's water bottle holder jiggled off and landed in the middle of street denting her bottle. We then came across a fork in the road. We asked another foreign rider which way to go if we wanted to ride along the river. She said go right. As we approached the fork, it looked pretty clear that we should go left, but we decided to explore. After another jostling kilometer or so, we did come to the river. The road curved to follow the path and I thought it would be a nice quiet ride along the shores of the Mekong. The road did not go far, though, before curving again and winding us through a village before tapering off into a muddy mess and ending in a cow pasture. Being an optimist, I hoped it would just keep on going and join up with the other road so we kept riding through the mud and hoped the cows wouldn't mind. With the trail becoming fainter and now covered in mud, we decided it was time to turn around. I was happy to reach the packed dirt path again and it was actually nicer than the potholed pavement. I must have been quite the site as multiple motorcycles full of people laughed and pointed as they drove by. With well jostled bottoms, we decided to head for home where we had to give our bicycles a bath to return them to their blue color. I then enjoyed my own shower to return me to my usual pale hue. Ahh, it was great. Where will our next cycling adventure take us?

Sunday afternoon adventure

It was a beautiful, relatively cool day today so I decided to set out on a bicycle ride. I have been planning to buy a proper bicycle that has more than one speed as opposed to the Chinese specials which have been in the HF fleet for many years. They work just fine for getting around town, but I would like a new bicycle for longer rides. I have been hesitant to spend the money to get a proper bike because I wasn't sure I would really use it. So this afternoon, I decided to go for a longer ride and see if I am really interested in doing more riding.

I had a great ride from Vientiane to the Friendship bridge 17 km away. Traffic was light on Sunday afternoon and the sun was warm but not punishing. Being rainy season, the fields were a lush green and I enjoyed seeing the people enjoying their Sunday afternoon. I went a couple kilometers past the bridge until I found a shady spot on the Mekong where I could drink my water and gaze at the Thai landscape on the other side. It always amazes me to ponder how different life is on either side of this river. Two countries so close together but worlds apart.

After rehydrating and stopping to photograph the cows grazing in the post office yard, I set off on my 20 km trek back home. The sun was much less intense and I leisurely stopped to photograph the lush scenery and the Pepsi bottles guarding the entrance to the Pepsi factory. I was cruising along, when I heard a new noise which sadly did not fade with the passing car. Realizing that I had a flat tire, I stopped and started walking toward a nearby repair shop. Thankfully, repair shops are relatively ubiquitous in this land with lots of poorly constructed motorcycles.

At the repair shop, I was greeted by three men. Two of whom began working on my bicycle to assess the problem. The third reeked of alcohol and started talking to me non-stop in Lao language. I repeatedly told him that I only speak a little Lao and that I didn't understand most of what he was saying. He was undeterred, however, and kept rattling off. I tried to be show polite disinterest, but he persisted. My Lao language skills are enough to know that he was expressing his love to me and was pointing out the difference in our skin color. He repeatedly bowed to me and seemed to think I would be more responsive if he put his face two inches from mine and touched me intermittently. At one point he took to hitting me on the head. The guys who were working on my bicycle told him to leave me alone, but they weren't very insistent and he continued. I amusedly watched the repair of my bicycle hopeful that I could get away from this intoxicated man soon. At first, I chuckled when the patched tube popped when filled with air.

Unfortunately, my laughter disappeared as the repair of my bicycle drug on and I became increasingly annoyed with the drunk man. The men repairing my tire had been drinking, too, but were much less drunk than Mr. Obnoxious. Sadly, however, I think their mechanical skills were impaired. After taking an excessively long time putting the new tube in, they said I was ready to go. Much relieved, I happily paid and was ready to finish my afternoon ride. Before mounting, however, I noted the brakes did not work. Back for more tinkering. With that fixed, I jumped on to ride away, but then the chain fell off. Back to the shop with its wheels up. Somehow in the process of putting the chain back on, the new tire totally split down the seam. One man headed off on a motorcycle to find another new tube, but returned empty handed. In the mean time, drunk man had gone back to his preivous antics. An hour and a half later and with the sun heading toward the horizon, I decided that I wasn't going to get to finish my ride. They helped me hail a tuk-tuk and put my bicycle on top for the trip back to town. They did return the nice tip I had given them initially, but my tire still isn't repaired and I didn't get to finish my ride. Thankfully, though, the nice couple in the tuk-tuk was much more pleasant than the incessant yapping of the drunk man who blew smoke in my face and spilled his beer on me.

I love the Lao people, but I do not like this part of the culture. The abuse of alcohol is so pervasive and is considered an integral part of the culture. Alcohol is needed to have fun and there is little concern regarding the health or safety effects of excessive alcohol consumption. I don't even want to know the rates of drunk driving. It is pretty scary. When taking a social history about alcohol consumption, the residents always tell me he drinks "sometimes". When asked to clarify, the answer is "normal" or "when there is a party". From what I can tell "normal" is well beyond generally accepted levels for safe consumption. I wonder what the cost of this disease is in terms of loss of life and productivity.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home from my adventure. Given I have gone on two long bike rides and the bike has broken down both times, I think I will buy that new bike after all. The riding part was quite nice and I think it is an activity I would enjoy.