and all these girls got together in various venues and places to cook up their best dishes and feed us all so happily
so the menu was … eggplant dip, rattonwood dip, green papaya salad, green bean chilli mushed up salad, freshly roasted pumpkin seeds (my contribution and the only thing i can apparently cook well!), fried kaffir lime leaves w garlic, sticky rice, steamed rice, fried rice, fried tofu, apple potato cauliflower salad. all so sooooo tasty!!!
and i feel a small victory today as many people noted to me how they had never had just a vegetarian party before, and actually just eating all fresh vegie based stuff was in fact great!!! nice!!
my greatest birthday cake stash ever!! on the left you can see the delightfully fake creamed fake chocolate fluoresescent green chinese bakery version, the middle a cake carved out of watermelon!! and the right is essentially a big pancake with some homemade uht cream variety garnished with steamed carrots and sultanas!! and the thing i love about all these cakes is they reflect what people perceive i love which is essentially quite true … big flowers on top of the choc one, my attachment to fresh fruit in the middle one, and my perceived over eating of vegies (coming from a culture of people who love meat) embraced in the steamed carrot garnishing. fab!!
i actually for the first time in the history of lnt sampled some of this fake cream stuff, and you know, it’s surprisingly just not too bad at all!! happily spooned in a number of mouthfuls!
i write this in BKK airport after a rather massive day which involved rising at 4.45am, a magnesium, salt, gatorade hit, a bandaiding of feet, arrival at the mcg (the inaugural melbourne cricket ground), the 7am melbourne marathon with another 5000 odd people (with a super route tracking around all the inner city historical sites, along the bay from inner city out to elwood, and a return through st kilda), culminating in a joyous lap of the mcg @ just before 11. from there a speed walk/hobble for another km or two to a tram to get me home to st kilda, a lightning fast shower, a picking up of the backpack, another 2km walk/hobble to a 12.30 tram to zip me back into the city, to a 1.30 bus to the airport, to a 3.30pm flight to sydney anddddd bc of the weather delays on this one, required me to then hobble at high speeds through sydney international airport to jump on the waiting plane to now be here in bkk. nothing like a flight booking to help push you through those 30km + moments where you just feel like stopping, stretching or plain slowing up out of something close to just being sick and tired of running!
and if you’re wondering why I am in BKK not Australia still? had to make a last minute change (ie a couple of days back) of dates due to a fabulous interesting challenging work opportunity in the Solomon Islands in nov/dec … hence having to get back to laos and finish up some work here first. so apologies if I didn’t call you and explain etc etc … but it was all completely last minute, and my brain is still racing to catch up with the when’s, the where’s and the what’s at the moment. so the next couple of days in bkk for some lockdown uni writing time and then laos on friday.
just thinking a little further … it was a large day indeed, but a happy day, and a chosen day. there’s a lot of people having way beyond large days at the moment, and days that are far from anything happy and certainly not chosen. sobering.
well the sun is rising soon … time to head out and find somewhere to sleep. more soon. and in case i don’t say it often enough … THANKS for all the different types of special places all of you hold in my life. even if for many of you, i don’t get to say it face to face so often.
FOOTNOTE THOUGHTS
- the mcg is really a lot bigger than you think ie upon entering the mcg at the end, i thought i would put in a sprint to the finish line, but then after about 200m the end point still looked a long way away, so I had to pull my enthusiasm back under check until the real last 200m!
- murphy’s law … the very day when you do have a plane of hundreds waiting just for you is of course the day when the airport security decides to do a full drug/bomb check down, body, bags, mouth the lot. “But I don’t have time for this today, I’m running to catch a flight” Yes dear, everyone’s on the way to catch a flight. “No but you see mine is meant to be taking off in 1 minute and i’m the final passenger they’re waiting on”. Yes dear we understand. I even showed them my boarding card, drawing attention to the departure time, and was there a moment of consideration? No nooooooo. And the worst thing about these moments is when you eventually stumble red faced, sweaty and puffing onto the plane and every 2nd person sends grumpy looks your way, bc you (aka “I” in this case) are the person that has clearly been holding the flight up. I can see everyone just assumes I have been trawling through the duty free shops, buying up on perfumes and makeup & lost track of the time. And I want to explain the weather delays, the security people and the blisters under and between my toes. But there’s no point. So I sit down all the while feeling large buckets of gratitude for the lovely check in man in melbourne who put me on an exit row without charge, bc he was impressed with the early morning run. such a lovely unexpected treat.
so i’ve been back in aus for about 5 days now and these are the standout thoughts
- it’s nice to go for a run and see a whole lot of other people doing the same thing
- beachside beers are just so tasty
- it’s so easy to get around when everyone speaks your first language!
- people think they need so many things that are irrelevant
- train travel is fab
- cockatoos are gorgeous
- when did 2 x cans of red bull for $6.95 ever become a bargain???
- it is soooo nice being able to drink out of a tap!
- pickled onions are a treat
- bread became expensive in the last few years
- you don’t have to spend much to get a really tasty red … fab!
- there are a lot of people sitting around in coffee shops analysing relationships
- everyone is doing yoga
- and my little spot in the world here in st kilda is lovely … bc of the coffee nearby, bc of the bay nearby, bc of the lake nearby, bc of the city nearby, bc of the music nearby, bc of the wonderful running places nearby, bc of the coffee shops w big comfy old couches nearb, bc of the cockatoos and seagulls nearby, bc of the abundance of wine stores nearby but mostly bc of the sweet lovely people i’m living with who have dinner cooked constantly, put my stuff in to wash often, have wine corked regularly and are just generally good chatty lovely people
a few little pics …
well i am now in my usual transition koh phangan home enroute between laos and the next stop … which is melbourne for 7 weeks! have a fab opportunity working with an aus lady i met in laos actually … on various cross cultural training things, monitoring and evalution of project design type stuff, workshop preparation for various seminars w ausaid staff, abc etc etc … will be great
it will be a little bizarre being back in aus again for a permanent stint, but also totally looking forward to and intending to have daily doses of good homegrown live rock n roll, beach runs, VBs, daryl lea licorice and brushing up on my slang …
the last month in laos was spent working with akha ladies … amazing … check out www.towardsgenderparity.com (a few little layout font issues at the moment until i have better internet, but 95% ok) … or use the link on the left if you’re at all interesting in seeing, feeling, knowing more
well if you an aus person in my life … these are the movements
- arriving in melbourne 13th sept
- staying in st kilda with some lovely people (thanks rach & jess!) til 31 oct
- in g coast from 31 oct pm til 10 nov
- then laos again for a bit
so if you’re in melbourne, i’ll be seeing you soon … if elsewhere, book a wnd to melbourne!!! if gc or bne, c u in november, but definitely talk on the phone without any strange beeps fuzz or delays soon soon soon!
some pics of the last month below …
Well I write this little upload from my room in BKK, enroute to Vientiane and then Luang Nam Tha again on Monday. I have 4 weeks there doing an impact study on how effective the EU education project I have been working with for the last few years, has been in increasing gender parity in the enrolments and general support for girls in education, specifically in Akha villages. Will also take with me a group of different ladies who have demonstrated interest and activity in their own villages, to give opportunity for them to see other ways of being and time to sit, chat, share ideas, concerns and give to each other. I look forward to giving back to you the stories and faces and moving accounts that always create challenges for personal change in me.
But before that … a little rundown on the last few of my movements post Crete, which was the last sum up.
Crete (which blew my mind by the way by it’s raw rugged mountain beauty, crystal waters, rocky precipices, spectacular seafood and warm lovely people) is a spectacular place, and big enough to get away from the crowds and find your own little rocky swimming spot with olive tree to shade. My favourite spot was Matala … an old hippies hang out from the 60’s, with a rocky hillside with caves dug out the sides and a grassy hill behind to whack up the tent. Met some great people there, one being a sports massage therapist, which was a perfect leadup to the Olympus marathon again, with the daily de cramping massages. Cheers M! Perfect!
After Crete I met torge tp, from Berlin, and we went camping around Sithonia … the middle leg of the Halkidiki Peninsula which is in the Macedonia region of Greece. Endless rocky, sandy green headlands where you can place your tent pretty much wherever and soak and enjoy the wilderness. Both nights we were witness to amazing electric thunderstorms, schools of dolphins, and woke to mornings of “textile free” delicious cool Mediterranean swims. Completely delightful.
Then came the marathon again. Bit proud of myself this year … bettered the time by 41minutes!!! and was 5th woman in my section up to 40yrs! yeow! Think I paced myself a fair bit better (ie was 10 minutes slower to the first checkpoint, but then 20 minutes faster by halfway, and 41 by the end). And another completely fab greek wnd with a whole pile of delightful people … known & unknown
Followed the same track as last year, and took myself up to Roskilde … once again my pal Marcus (who manages one of the stages there) sorted me out with backstage everything so it was all done in delightful comfort … although 5 days of rock n roll kind of hurt this time round, I’m slightly embarrassed to say! The top moments … I’m from Barcelona (from Sweden) … if you like Flaming Lips and Polyphonic Spree type joyfulness you will adore them. (I actually held back from being a doting groupie at the festival, but then randomly saw them at a bar in Berlin the next day which was fab … so a great half hr conversation w them all involved. Fun Fun!! We also managed to be right on the fence for Nick Cave and yes … he did look right into my eyes often with his words … check the pic below. Other memorable moments … The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cut off your Hands ……
Then my gorgeous pal Julie (another cute aussie also working now on the EU project and shares the fishpond pad with me when I’m there) came over for a couple of weeks, so we had some fab german social times thanks to tp, christian and mo mainly for sharing their homes, places, people and made us aussie girls super welcome.
and my last days in eu land was spent on amrum … a truly wild rugged and spectacular frisian island in the north west of germany. The sand iisssssssss as good as aussie beaches, and there is kilometres and kilometres of it … solved some of my homesickness problems being there actually. And behind the beaches sand dunes everywhere forming natural bird habitats and acres of forest with hares, squirrels and all manner of amazing wild birds running, hopping and flying everywhere. And tp sorted me out with great adventures, fab swimming spots, forest runs, beach camping and amazing seafood day after day night after night. If you’re an EU land person, you really mustttttt make a little adventure there one day.
sooooooo then … even though i know some of you think that i’ve just been ambling my way around the place for the last few years i do believe i pumped out enough reports, interviews, assignments, bibliographies, analyses blah blah blah in the last month to last me another year … really … ok well i sense the majority of you have little care factor so i will order myself a wine and continue !
so the last month has been back in laos and doing some really interesting surveys etc on the influencing factors behind effective community development through the village committees in the project’s target areas. so this took me far wide high and low in the mountains of luang nam tha and had me eating and seeing an equal variety of entities. you know up and until this trip, i had always struggled a little with the whole notion of bringing “development” to the masses. don’t get me wrong … i absolutely believe 100% in everyone’s right to education and the freedom that can come with that … but i did sometimes feel like we were potentially upsetting the equilibrium in some communities … ones that had operated fairly happily in their remote mountain top existences for hundreds of generations. i guess i used to think that through creating knowledge you create desire and if one would never have the opportunity to fulfil desires and wants then isn’t that the definition of frustration?
but then i met Saryoh in a village called lakkam mai … an akha and hmong village between luang nam tha and muang sing. there were three of them but Saryoh had the most beautiful, intelligent, mischievious, curious eyes and they burned into my soul i would have to say. Saryoh is 15, married, about to have a child and was made to leave school in grade two. she’ll never go back and will never study non formal education because she’s married … and that’s the way it works with akha girls. and to be honest, saryoh is one of the lucky ones … at least she had two years.
she’s the one on the right …
and now i don’t have any more answers than before but … i do believe in upsetting the equilibrium now … with obvious measure to guide and support the way … but it needs to be upset …
now i am back at the same fabulous place i was in thailand before, for five days of uni writing craziness (with of course a few cheeky swim and singha island moments thrown in!), before heading to athens on sunday. and there for about 4 weeks with the film peoples from the marathon last year … to try and work on my own creativeness in that area and see if we can’t put some combined projects together. apparently the first project is working on a promo film for some mediterrarean yachting company …. oh yeah, i’m definitely up for that one!
so if you’re a european resident you’ll be hearing from me soon to track down a local beverage sharing moment … or come find me in greece!
some pics from the last month, until the next time …
Filed under: Updates
so the prof photo people from the marathon last year in greece finally sent me some pics from the race, so i uploaded a couple for you … such painful but good good memories … the brain forgot the pain enough to make me register again … hmmmm
in laos and about to head out to some rather remote 8 hr from the nearest road on the side of the mountain type villages for the next couple of weeks … will be a combination of super beautiful super confronting super inspiring super interesting super empowering super reflective super everything time …
and then next steps … to athens for may to do some learning and work with the film doco people from the marathon … www.olyvon.com and then … we’ll see …
so i am now in aus for 10 days, but have just spent a completely sparkling delightful month in thailand studying, writing, swimming, seafooding, singhaing, mountaining and having all round lovely times … so easy to study overlooking the ocean with a fresh pineapple shake in hand!
back to laos this weekend for a month
enjoy the pics …
TODAY people, 05 march 2009 i am officially officially KATIE DE CARTERET which makes this the first visual representation on record!! … and just to make sure i don’t spend the rest of my life correcting people, this is “little d e space big C, a r t e r e t!! I think in fact i have been this for 2 weeks but just was notified today, so today is the day! So there will be a celebration tonight here at Than Sadet Beach on Koh Phangan in Thailand at the Treehouses with Bec and Sandy at my favourite bar, with berlin dj’d tunes with whoever else wants to join! If the notice is in fact too short for you 
lock in 05 march next year to join!
Feeling great! Now to track down some family genealogy and see if there is in fact a castle waiting for me in the Jersey Islands to come and take up residence!
have just finished up an assignment in laos and have 6 weeks to soak some sun and salt, get stuck into some study, invigorate some creative thoughts and train!
the purpose of this quick entry is to motivate some of you people to kick some travel plans into action and join me for an adventure sometime in the next few months!
some dates places events to motivate you …
feb 14 – 28 than sadet beach, koh phangan in thailand … there’s a bungalow ready and rented so all you need is $$ for prawns, pad thai and pina coladas (www.thansadet.com)! i have a mate coming for a few days up til the 28th but aside from that is free!
feb 28 – mar 14 … well now unfortunately thai visa rules have changed since dec and land crossings only give you 15 days! so after this either a quick border run to myanmar/malaysia and back for more than sadet time orrrrrr another little adventure somewhere else for a couple of weeks … any bright ideas throw them my way!
mar 15 – 28 australia time
march 29 – april 28 another assignment back in laos
and then people … 3 months or so in europe with a few little plans in amongst there for you to join on
a warmup mara to olympus again … currently trying to decide between one in the vineyards of austria 02 may (www.welschlauf.com – translate it) or in trieste, italy 03 may (www.bavisela.it – english version) … if anyone feels like a little challenge and feels strongly either way, i can be persuaded either way!
then time to roam …
june 29 olympus marathon
july 02-05 roskilde festival in denmark http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/uk/
july 16 – 19 benicassim festival, spain … i have been trying to make it to this festival on the beach for a few years now, but think i need a festival buddy for this one … anyone??? http://benicassimfestival.co.uk/
july 28 back for another assignment in laos ….. and that’s about it so far
a few little pics to help motivate you … i’m waiting to hear from you!
so my lack of activity has been due to a completely delightful 5 week sojourn in aus which was a revolving calendar of bbqs crazy pals beach sweet pals champagne hilarious pals live tunes overly generous pals surf delightful pals aunty katie moments wonderful family sumptuous seafood girly ridiculously silly pals byron beachfront beers remarkably strong pals and and and … clearly no time for internet moments
overwhelming revelations … looks are more important than culinary taste & enjoyment these days (aka the overly flooded market of low carb beers!), i still have big day out youthful energy in me (all about the fence position), i have some remarkably generous, and strong strong strong selfless wonderful friends in my life, geographic distance doesn’t mean emotional distance, being with my family is a peaceful and happy place to be, xxxx tastes better than it used to, i like no love being a nomad
soooooo … my next movements … here in laos til mid feb, then 6 weeks somewhere beautiful to get cracking on “the book” and put a good dent in my masters study (yes! i have bitten the bullet once again!) … and then another mission back here in laos … and then another beautiful place in the world for more of the above and thennnnn … well i’ll write something more by then
i have been known in the past to have my camera handy at every moment, but this time home, i saved the memories for my mind’s eye and will share with you just these two pics which fairly much some up the key activities and happiness of my aus hours
the last month has been a wonderful merging of all things i love about laos … far remote villages, beautiful souls with nothing showing wonderful kindness in random places, karoake and keys moments, several lao lao, giggles and friends times, papaya salad at the market, sticky rice and chilli dinners with adopted families, early am ginger tea gazing over the misty fishponds, creative wedding dancing, morning runs through the fog, random meetings with random travellers and a consequent broadening of my mind (thank you estonian toms) and it goes on … a new aus girl, julie, is taking over my F/T job here, so she has been here for the last fortnight for some handing over which has been equally fab … our combined love of papaya salad, morning runs, roasted pumpkin seeds and the fishpond pad has made the time highly enjoyable.
now in bkk enroute to aus … and realllllly hoping the election of the new PM tomorrow doesn’t upset the wrong people and see me spending the next few days at the airport! i have to admit tho, despite the rather adverse immediate effects on some individuals and the stability of the country as a whole in the process, i do admire the overall peaceful manner by which the people cut to the source and took the effect they were after.
tried to go xmas shopping today and i have to say the constant reruns of jingle bells, the fake snow, the overly fashionable people and the ridiculous prices of ridiculous things kept me sipping coffee and eating papaya salad for most of the day.
a couple of final snaps …
so then … am currently in Vientiane for some meetings etc after a rather endless series of movements btw my little town to small villages in the mountains of Phongsaly, to small villages in other districts, to time off in northern thailand, fleeting thai island time to hang with some good pals and in 3 weeks australian summer sand beach yay!
as for next year … i finish up full time work here mid december and will operate on short term consultancies throughout next year, so lots of time to be in aus and in various other delightful places in the world … my new years goal is to live the year in permanent summer … am feeling rather excited as this will also give some lovely time to get the dust off some creative little endeavours that are in the wings as well
well … a few pics, and if you are in aus, c u soon! if you aren’t, c u whenever summer hits your corner of the world!
Filed under: Updates
well well … i’m in thailand for the weekend … a new visa and some pool coffee wine time
this also means the internet is working about a 100 times faster and therefore things like uploading photos and writing here is just a whole lot easier
many people seem to think i’m still galivanting around greece which in fact is not the case … i’ve been back for about 2 months now, but have however been a little delayed and too internet speed frustrated for providing any katiekatiedotcom updates. actually just recently mimis (from the mara in greece) came out to visit which was indeed great! hats off to him for forging through with the chilli, fried grasshoppers, horrible, muddy bogged roads and mosquito swarms which seemed to characterise his visit
so anyway a few pics below of the last couple of months which have seen me spending a good chunk of time right up the north north of laos in phongsaly province, bordering china … in fact it gets a little hard at time finding any laos food or people speaking laos to work with
lots of things on the go and possibilities for next year which may see me anywhere between laos, switzerland, greece, myanmar, thailand, san fran, canada or aus … so i am in a present state of insomnia working through all these possible paths … but options are always good!
ok then … photos below tell some stories …
well well … the lack of activity on my blog is a clear indication of the rolling good times i had in greece
the place is truly magical and has just about all the ingredients of a perfect destination as far as i’m concerned … crystal clear sea, white sand beaches, unspoilt islands, feta cheese and olives in too many varieties to count (&&&&& for less than a loaf of sliced bread), night time energy, afternoon siestas, fabulous coffee, freddocinos, waterfalls, streams, rivers and wonderful mountains for exploring … not to mention a very vibrant, energetic and warm bunch of people all round
i was very lucky in meeting a whole lot of lovely peoples during my marathon time, so spent the majority of my days with these peoples and was therefore privileged to see, stay and go many places i would otherwise never have found. so thank you mara, versilles x 2, mims, fanis, alex, sophia, apostelos in particular for making my time so memorable and special
i also spent about a week in denmark at the roskilde festival where another lovely friend … thank you marcusssssss!!! … found me a ticket, luxury camping, backstage entry, backstage dining, beer tickets, food tickets and a whole lot of licorice which was the perfect accompanient to a whole feast of music … radiohead, band of horses, hf, tokyo police club, kings of leon, goldfrapp, the ting tings, digitalism, cat power, blonde redhead to name only my cream of the crop
so as you can see, i am indeed a lucky lucky girl … i’ll let the pics below tell the story
(and ohhhhh … i see i have just uploaded all the photos in the exact opposite order so think backwards or head to the bottom and scroll back up!)
sooooooo people … it’s been done! a time of 9.17.57 … yes NINE hours plus people. Oh my … this body is in a place of pain today that has never before been experienced. I was actually planning on moving onto another beach place today but I physically unable to take down my tent!
Ok … this race was truly an amazing experience all round. I could babble, but that wouldn’t be interesting so I will attempt to summarise for you.
The Starting Line
This was in a cute little historical village called Dion about 20km north from here (Litochoro). I was starting to feel super scared at this point because I’m telling you … everyone surrounding me is looking super super fit and super amazing and sucking down special power glucose drinks and eating carbo gels and power bars and I’m just throwing back some tap water and sucking on a lollypop!! (Hey … that’s glucose too right?!) But anyways, I grabbed a lift there with this super super lovely group of greek people that were staying at the same camping ground. And even though they were pretty super athletic themselves, they were totally easygoing which was good, so we went on a little warm up jog and had a bit of a giggle and I was good. Then at the starting line, they were pumping out over the loudspeakers this totally uplifting chariots of fire type music … the type that makes you think you can conquer the world … so at this point I felt a fire of running passion, so Maria (one of the Greek girls) and I decided we didn’t need to let all the pro athletes demand space on the starting line, so we pushed ourselves forward!
The Uphill
I have to admit … when I came to the first checkpoint I was feeling exhaaaaaaaaaaaaausted. Like really exhausted. As I was throwing back gels and a load of special energy drink, however, I noticed a couple of people coming by that had been in the top 20 from last year! Clearly the music had pumped me up a little too much and I started out a little fast … so I stepped the pace back a bit and then settled into a good rhythm. The whole uphill section wasn’t actually as bad as I had anticipated. There were definitely some really tough stretches, but I got into the habit of not looking up at all, never stopping (except at the drink stations) and focusing on the feet of the person in front of me and sticking with their pace, which seemed to work well. I think my stupa training paid off!
The views were absolutely absolutely incredible. I decided in the end to not take my camera, but there were heaps of camera crew along the track and soon I will be able to download some pics which I will share. Some parts were in dense forest, some in open grassy hills, some past and behind waterfalls, but the best at the top. A lot of sections were along these really narrow rocky ridgetops that just dropped away either side and really were breathtaking. I would have liked to look around a bit more but I nearly fell over every time I tried, so gave that up! Was even a bit of snow at the top!
The Downhill
So the whole race was 44km and the uphill finished around 21 km (at just under 2695m). Once I had reached this point I was actually feeling pretty good and had done a reasonable time, so was mentally pumped to be in the top five women! Welllllll … the biggest fallback in my training was clearly the lack of DOWNHILL training. I know that downhill can be tough on your knees etc but you have nooooooo idea … The trickiest part was the terrain … 90% of the downhill was on loose gravel and loose rocks … and some on really steep ridge tops. So the entire 23km’s required 110% brain concentration. I think everyone was on the verge of spraining ankles … I mean picture running at full speed on a ridge top that falls away either side of you with massive boulders and stones of all different sizes. That aside, the first 10km’s downhill I nailed it and passed a load of people and was now picturing myself in the first 3 women! Once I reached about 30km’s however, my knees really started to cave in. The final 10km’s was about 70% rocky, uneven, steep stairs and I gotta tell you, I started moving at the pace of an athritic 80yr old grandmother. Suddenly all those people I had dashed past, started dashing right back past me! At this point I adjusted my goals and started concentrating on making the 10 hour cutoff! Anyway there was a nice Greek guy that clearly started feeling sorry for me and stuck with me for the last 10kms. I have to say, I don’t know if I would have made it if he hadn’t kept pushing (metaphorically!) me and urging me on. My lastest Greek word “ligo ligo!” … which means “just a little bit more/not much further”! Clearly he was lying at certain points, but it worked anyway!
The Finish Line
So I tried to make the Greek dude cross in front of me but he would have none of it, so we crossed together with another girl that had run the last couple of km’s with us. Felt like an absolute champion! There were these two cute little girls that even asked me to sign their hats! Yesterday, my knees felt like they could fall apart, but my muscles didn’t feel too bad. Todayyyyyyyyyy however, I am walking around like a 100+ yr old extremely arthritic grandmother. Spent the morning on the beach trying to swim and stretch it out, where a whole lot of other marathoners were too. Was funny … like a special kinship between everyone … a lot of little knowing smiles, waves and grimaces!
The Greek People
I have to say, if the rest of Greece and the people are anything like what I’ve experienced here, I think I will need to come and live here at some point. I think I have hardly opened my wallet to pay for a single drink or plate of food since I’ve been here. People always ask where I’m from and why I’m here … and upon hearing my answer are so obviously touched that I made the effort to come out here that we either have a chat for half an hour, or I am provided with a free coffee or food or whatever depending on the venue of course. I also met a few shop owners when buying some bandaids, gels and magnesium tablets etc in the days before, and they were all planning to shut their shops for the day and were volunteers on various stations along the track. This totally pumped me up actually, because along the track they would recognise me and yell out “Come on Katie, keep it up Katie, go Australia” … etc etc Was super super nice. Kinda felt like family!
The funny funny funny media stories
If you haven’t already, you need to first read the post below to understand this section.
Anyway, the film doco people seemed to find me everywhere on the track! At the starting line, in random spots along the trail and dragged me over for an interview less than 2 seconds after the race finished!
The funniest part happened just this morning … Was flaked out, half asleep in invalid fashion on the beach and the film crew people just appeared out of nowhere and asked me if I would do another interview with them and ALSO with a writer from Runner’s World! They wanted to do the interview around my tent and when I arrived at the top, the Runner’s World writer (apparently a famous marathoner from Austria???!!!!) had set my filthy runny shoes and sweat band beside my tent and was busy photographing them! Apparently the TV crew people had taken him for interviews with all the winning runners etc and then they told the guy that they thought he would be interested in meeting me and hearing my story! That’s right … little insignificant probably never meant to be an athlete at all Katie! So anyway, I start prattling on and told him my story about how I decided to do the run, but didn’t have any decent shoes, and no one on the internet would deliver to Laos. So I took two bus rides to Chiang Rai (about 6 hours away in Northern Thailand) to the one sports store there. They had a few different varieties, but all Asian sizes so none fit me. At the time I had walked out a little despondently thinking I wouldn’t be able to participate (because my old shoes were dead), and then noticed this one bigger pair of Adidas hanging in the window display that I hadn’t noticed inside the store. I asked them if I could try them, and they weren’t too keen to start with because they were some freebie from Adidas to use in their advertising … but I urged them on, and it turned out they were a perfect fit! Anyway, he seemed to find that all very amusing, in addition to my stupa running stories! At the end, he asked if he could take some photos (keeping in mind I have just wandered up from the beach, so no doubt my hair was crazy, and my shorts and singie were half damp and sandy). So I was like sure, why not, so he gets me to sit with my arm resting on some statue of an ancient greek athlete that was in the garden! I had about 1 minute between his request and him taking the photos, so I had the option of quickly rushing to the bathroom to sort my hair out, or getting into my tent to find some beads … so yes of course, I went for the beads. Can’t have myself being photographed without my main attachment.
So yes … I am still giggling to myself a LOT!
Anyway the film people want to meet up in Athens and follow me around down there etc as well, so more giggles ahead no doubt! The upside is, they always end up buying me lunch or drinks and driving me places, so my viewing of the acropolis and various other places will perhaps be done in a whole lot more stylish comfort!
oh yeah … if you want to check out any more detailed stats or pictures etc go to
It’s in Greek so you need to click the UK flag on the top right for translation.
ok i had to file a little update because this whole experience is really making me giggle a whole lot
so last night i headed into the main reception area to register … a very small minority of participants are non greek so when i turned up and started speaking english, suddenly this camera crew, massive boom mike and interviewer started filming everything i was doing … including fumbling in my bag for my passport, signing my name and started pounding me with questions!! so you’re katie from australia but living in laos is that right?? so are you living in the jungle? what are you doing there? why did you decide to come all the way to greece for this event? what other mountain running events have you done?? meanwhile a thousand other people are milling around, i’m still trying to find my passport, sign the registration form and and and!! anyway they asked if they could come and have an interview with me today … i said i’d meet them at the reception, they said, oh no that’s ok we’ll just come and find you on the beach! anyway when it came closer to the time, i decided i definitely didn’t need myself in bikinis on some greek documentary, so whipped in for a quick shower and clothes! so i had my little interview and the guy tells me that this year they are wanting to focus on a few individuals and their stories leading up to the race and afterwards … serious athletes and non serious alike (he seemed to sum up fairly quickly i was the non serious type!) so he says your story is kinda unique so we’d like to follow you on the day and after the event as well. so he tells me that whenever i see a camera tomorrow i need to pay attention to it and say something (he’s assuming i will have enough breath to actually be able to speak) and then asks me what i am doing for the rest of my time on holidays! i told him i was flying to denmark next week for a music festival, so he was like great! we can get some footage of you leaving athens airport … and then says … we will try and send someone to the roskilde festival to get footage of you there, but otherwise do your best to get some people you know to capture some so we can include that … footage of what i’m thinking!!! sweating it out in the mosh pit, crowd surfing, skulling a beer … what???!!! then he asks what i’m doing for the rest of my holiday and i said i didn’t really have a plan and he said ok you need to keep us in the loop and we will send camera crew to meet you wherever you are in europe! then he says we would also like to follow your story over the rest of the year so will hopefully be able to come over to laos and meet you there … how very funnnnnnnnny is all of this!
ok well anyways … i am off to a “scientific athletes meeting”, pasta party and then early to bed for me. really trying hard not to be intimidated by the extremely svelt athletic types milling around town
sooooooo … i’m in greece and the day has nearly arrived! staying in a beach place called plaka and camping 20, no maybe only 15 metres from the beach with the clearest water ever. eating loads of fetta, olives, yoghurt and not much else … and my alcohol free training zone of the last 3 months has disintegrated in the face of local wines, and a multitude of icy cool european beers on tap. probably could leave it til after the mara, but … oh well … the temptation has been too great to hold out against … and besides … i’m in tapering mode … and so my re entry into this also needs to be tapered. there … justified perfectly
am feeling kinda excited! there are signs and banners everywhere around this little town – litochoro - and a real buzz!! i think every bar or cafe i’ve been in i’ve been asked why i’m traveling alone … tell them about the marathon … and then without fail get an extra top up or little discount!! and then today, they have been setting up the finishing area and there are flags for all the nationalities taking part, and i have to admit to feeling super patriotic seeing my aussie flag flapping in the wind there!
i’m still trying to work out how i can take my camera with me … maybe a head sweatband?!! i don’t want to kill myself running up that mountain without any photo evidence! the weather is super hot … like 35+ it feels, so i reckon i am going to have some hometown running advantage on some of these svelt athletic cold weather running europeans.
and some traveling insights for you …
1 cultural lesson of the day – do not drink a greek coffee to the last dregs … even though it looks deceivingly like an espresso … there is a whole world of coffee grains layering the bottom of that cute little cup which really kills the end of a good coffee
2 cultural insight of the day – if you are a man, have grey hair, a big belly, a great throaty laugh and are 60 +, then greece seems like a great retirement place of choice. the cafes in the mornings are lined for hours with big groups of jolly old men just catching up on the gossip of the day … for hourrrrrrrrrs. i asked the waiter where the women drank coffee and he looked at me kinda strangely and said “oh this is where the grandpas sit”.
well it’s been at least 3 hours since my last olive, so best i head to locate some more. hmmm … kalamata, green, anchovy stuffed, marinated ???? some stressful decisions ahead …
well it’s no secret to those of you that know me well and in fact even those that don’t … that i love summer. it creates a certain energy, brightness and sparkle in my step that only a warm sunshiny day can do. i’m feeling particularly chirpy today because the “tapering” part of my training has begun! every run is now a few kms, a few mins or a few stairs less than before, which feels good so good! in fact it’s 3 weeks from today that i will be sweating my way up the delightful mt olympus, gazing at the view of the ocean, and counting the km’s til i can submerge in the water again … ahhhhhh. i think i am sorted … i have my special NU PURE shirt in hand, some springy shoes, ergonomic socks, a box of bandaids and even a couple of sets of muscles that i’ve never before seen on my body! in fact i was a little worried a couple of weeks ago that i had some weird swelling thing on my leg, but upon finding the same kind of weird swelling in exactly the same position on the other leg, i’m putting it down to a new muscle group … never before seen and very possibly will never again been seen on this set of pins! i’ve also turned into something of an insomniac of late, not helped by the 4.30am chopping of wood next door … but there’s too many exciting things for my consciousness to be entertained with at the moment!
summer around here also means the wet season, but to be honest, some drenching rain in the early morning, a sunday afternoon or on a hot hot run is quite lovely. and everything is greeeeen, more green than the greenest green you can imagine. i have attempted to capture a little bit of that below, but i’m sure have not done it justice.
the wet season also means that the animal world continue to take refuge in my house, and the frogs are my latest additions. and i don’t mean cute little green frogs. i mean brown fat moley ugly frogs, getting cosy amongst my clothes. apparently if you’re a gecko, my bed is a comfy spot for laying an egg or two as well. and i’m telling you … these guys either lay eggs daily, or word is traveling around gecko world that my pink sheets are the spot to go … because if i don’t check the bed before zzzzzz, i wake up with yolk on my feet. anyway, it’s all good material for my entry into the published writing world, which will happen one day before i’m 60, i’m going to make sure of it.
was having dinner on my own the other night, and a laos guy at the restaurant started up a chat. after a bit he asked me how i like living in town now. i couldn’t remember ever having met this guy before, and apologised and asked where we had met. he said, oh no, we’ve never met … but i see you running all the time. and last year you always looked most tired when you were running out of town, and this year it’s when you’re running back into town. observant guy! i have also found out that the lady from my favourite papaya salad stall at the market can see my house from her kitchen. so every time she sees me now, i get grilled on my latest movements … why didn’t you go running this morning, how come you came home so late last night, what were you doing in your garden yesterday …. and and and … small townssssss! as much as it’s all very neighbourly and nice, i’m looking forward to some european anonymity.
had a bit of a cold this week and have been sniffling and coughing my way through the days. now of course if i was back home, the general opinion would be bed rest, orange juice and some codral cold & flu. a few of the people in the office noticed i was a bit under the weather and told me i should do some afternoon exercise, followed up by a local herbal sauna. not being much of a medicine taker, i decided to take their advice, and two days later, am as right as rain! the saunas here are amazing … a little wooden room on stilts, with a fire underneath, burning all sorts of weird twigs and leaves that have a distinct gum leaf, tea tree kinda smell. really is perfect for a chesty cough.
some good pals are on the trail of releasing a new album, so i’ve done a little unrequested promo for them below … and not because they’re good pals … because the tunes are good, really good
so … yep … i’m going to do it … the marathon up mt olympus … i just checked out the site again and see they have uploaded my registration. i thought i better really quickly book my flight before i chickened out, so now it has to be done …
also just followed the link from my registration and found out the following facts …
1 they all look really fit
2 93% of participants are male
3 they all look really really fit
4 i am the only australian female
5 most of them have fancy sounding sports sponsors
6 they all look incredibly fit
7 i thought it was only 42km but it is 44km
8 i thought it only went up to 2400m, but it goes up to just under 2800m
ok … i think i am in over my head … i really do … but then, the possibility of outrunning a mob of greek men down the side of mt olympus could be fun … and this, my friends, along with feeling really scared and out of my depth, is like a spring under my bed when i wake every morning. unfortunately not so many hills to be accessed particularly easily around here so the 172 stairs of the stupa in town have become my best friend.
the funny thing … when i sent in my registration, you had to attach a photo of yourself. i did my rego on a bit of a spontaneous whim when i was holidaying in the islands and could only access a few online photos, which are for the most part out and about frivolity photos … so i grabbed one and cut off the beer and other people … HAD i known this would be put online, i would have thought twice!! after a quick glance through some other participants i see that everyone else has chosen their most athletic, sporty, fit looking photo … and i look like a joke really.
this brings me to my plea and request … i need a sponsor!!! i need a shirt with a fancy sounding business so i can be a force of sporting intimidation to those around me!! and this request isn’t about money … heck I’ll pay for the shirt, i just want someone out there with a business to stick a big huge emblem on a running shirt for me, so these greek people know this aussie girl is a force to be reckoned with …
other news …..
have decided to start selling the bats that continue to terrorise my sleep patterns, at the market … hey everyone else is doing it
the world is a picture of beautiful green rice fields at the moment
a multitude of varieties of amazing tropical fruits to be divulged being the wet season here
the ant, spider, moth, bat etc world seems to feel my house is a good place to take refuge from the wet season rains at the moment … which i have to admit to not being particularly welcoming about
it’s corn season and not a day goes past without a cob or two finding its way into my mouth
the rivers are getting higher so i can submerge again … and soon a bit of tyre floating action i hope
my grandma has started dropping by on her way from the market in the mornings. a few days ago she brought me oranges and eels … mmmm
found a few pics below of some of the amazing views i will see and be in on the way up mt olympus …
alrighty then … more stupa stairs it is for me
Have just come back from an absolutely delightful week island hopping thru the Andaman Sea on the south west coast of Thailand. My pal Angie, who I haven’t seen in over 2 years, flew over from Sydney, first to LNT for a few days before heading with me for some island good times. I told her when she first arrived that she needed to focus on building up the 3+ syllable words in my vocabulary again, however I think the reverse has occurred and I am now speaking in more slang, abbreviations and various shortened word options than I did previously. Hmmm … Was so great to have someone here to share some LNT moments and places with … not forgetting the bats in the bedroom, the bats in the mosquito net, the rice whiskey, the friends and my favourite sunset spots.
As for the beach time … a continual rotation of swimming, snorkelling, hammock time, sundowner sampling and beach bbqs was had. True true bliss. Some of the beaches around this area (Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Jum and the tiny places in between) have the clearest water, the most colourful fish and the whitest sand I have ever seen.
So the photos below show you a bit of island time, a bit of lnt time and the first official dining of my fishpond fish in celebration of women’s day.
so … i’ll cut to the chase. i need the following …
one added motivation in my running regime
two this means i need a project
three also want beach
four and to drink espressos
five so i did a bit of google dot com & came up with the perfect synthesis of the above
six www.olympus-marathon.com (click the link on the RH side)
seven so now i need someone to join me … june 29
eight what could be better than summer in greece … crystal clear waters, exotic islands, ancient wonders, snow capped mt olympus, fair dinkum greek salads, and a breathtakingly beautiful run in the year of the olympics in the place where it all began
nine ok … so all you people that made new years fitness resolutions that haven’t quite transpired or like me need something to get you lifting those knees a little higher … join me!! i am 95% decided but will be 110% decided when one of my lovely friends out there commits to the plan with me!
ten check the trail photos below … and then email me
eleven do it now
I have just recently come back from a week in Vieng Phouka district (south west from here), visiting a selection of our target villages as part of a small scale study into the effectiveness of the community development part of our project. All the target villages in the project are either provided with funds to workshop, create, discuss and implement initiatives to support education in their villages or new classrooms are built. We spent the week visiting a wide selection of villages in different contexts in an attempt to provide better and more effective training and support in this area. Was definitely one of those weeks whereby a broad range of thoughts and experiences came across my path. The stand out’s in words and photos …
* the teachers operating in these schools have hardly any resources, if at all, and in many cases don’t speak the local dialect, however their passion, energy and strong desire to provide good teaching to the kids in their village is little short of remarkable
* in aus we whinge when we have more than 25 students in a classroom … these guys have anywhere between 40 and 70
* the classrooms that have smaller numbers than that would prefer to have more … the point isn’t that there are too many classrooms … more that the children can’t/don’t want to/aren’t able to/are working with their parents etc etc
* i used to spend a great deal of my time back in aus dreaming up creative methods of getting students to wear the right thing, do the right thing, study the right way, treat each other the right way etc … the students here on the whole are better groomed, tidy, excited and encouraging of each other in their learning than i have experienced in a long time … fancy schools with fancy facilities with fancy opportunities doesn’t create effective learning on its own
* no private squat toilets to be found in a few of these villages … so yep … I just pulled the sinh (the long Lao kinda sarong style skirt you can see in some of the pic’s) up around my neck and squatted on the dirt in the middle of the village with a crowd of people surrounding me … even had a couple of conversations mid stream so to speak!
* rat soup … feet, hairy legs, toenails and all
* my favourite new word i learnt that week … “oopagone” which means “materials” ie learning materials, teaching materials etc … but it reminds me of the oompaloompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory … so makes me smile every time i hear or use it now!
* the teacher from Ban Namkhongnoy … read about him in the photos below …
What else … oh yeah and when I returned back home, a mate of mine from Vientiane was passing through and brought me bagels, gin, lentils, coffee and honey … mmmmmmmm … cheers mike!
notable things of the last week …
moving into the fishpond house which by the way is completely amazing … many hours of creativity, laziness, books, talk, beer and more could be spent here so if you were maybe just a little bit thinking of taking a trip over you should check the photos below and then head to flight centre and book the flight
turning up to the fishpond house on moving day and finding a whole lot of people I knew from the Teachers College and more who had already scoped out where I was moving to, and had set themselves up nicely with sunflower seeds and chairs on the deck
arriving at the fishpond house and being informed by the landlord (who is totally lovely) that his sister in law would be coming to live in one of the spare rooms since I was there alone and clearly wouldn’t need all that space … he probably had a point … but i nipped that one in the bud as quickly as possible
coming back to the fishpond house after work one day and having a visit from one of the very sweet, one toothed old ladies in the village … i went to grab her some water and then found her wandering in and out of the rooms checking it out … her main concerns? i was sleeping alone so must be cold … her offer? one of her sons to marry who could then come and live with me so i wouldn’t be cold … also nipped that one in the bud fairly promptly
waking up at my fishpond house to fish gliding and spinning out of the water … very gentle and far superior to a buzzing alarm clock actually
phooooooottttttooooooossssss …
