Cam in Cambodia

In August 2014, I took a few days to visit Cambodia. I, now living in South East Asia, had alwayd heard about the beauty that this country offers. In graduate school one of my best friends was from just outside of Phnom Penh. She'd always encouraged me to learn more about her culture, and that exactly what I did during my four day trip. Instead of a journal entry I decided to make a video. Since it's been so long since my last post, hope you enjoy this treat.

A Weekend in Napa Valley

Written by Cameron Thomas-Shah

Originally published on TravelNoire.com: July 7, 2014

“…on top of a hill that looks down low and across the bridge there lies lovely Sausalito.” -Gwen Thomas

Visualize yourself driving on a highway with the wind blowing through your hair, the warmth of the sun dancing on your brow, foggy bluffs on the horizon and the smell of moist air rising off a freshwater bay. These are the sensations one experiences on the way to Wine Country California.

Breaching the bay, Sausalito is a cute little town that presented a pleasant getaway en route to Napa Valley.   Boats lined the harbor framed by a series of waterfront restaurants and wine bars. Picturesque from both the hills and from the bay, Sausalito is touristy, yet familiar. Visitors can window shop while enjoying cones from Lappert’s Ice Cream, a local favorite. Sausalito has an impressive number of small art galleries, notably Studio 33 and Petri’s Gallery, that sell an array of works from artful sketches to edgy sculptures. However, the most worthwhile activity was sitting on the rocks and watching yachts enter the pier.

After a scenic hour drive, through rolling hills filled with neat rows of grapes and rose bushes, we arrived in the heart of Napa. The city itself starts to shut down around 10pm, with the exception of some bars and restaurants. Downtown Joe’s Grill is one well known Napa establishment that garners mixed reviews from locals. I’m not sure if it was the DJ blasting Pitbull and 2Chains that made it uncharacteristically Napa, or that Joe’s is famous for its beer, not wine, but in either case, I recommend their stouts. The next day we rode the Napa Valley Wine Train, celebrating it’s 25th year in service.  The old style locomotive serves lunch and dinner while passing through the beautiful vineyards of Napa and its surrounding towns.  The staff was very knowledgeable and pointed out different estates, citing their histories along the way. The train stops at some of the most famous wineries in California. We toured Grgich Hills and learned about the history and lore of its Croatian born founder and sampled his famous Chardonnay. On the ride back we toured the train and enjoyed wine flights in the lounge car. Napa locals consider this a must do if you visit.

Our next stop was at the famous V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. V. Sattui is described as the most popular and most visited winery in California. Their grounds feature an open picnic area, a retail store featuring a delicatessen, a huge tasting room, and an impressive cellar. Among its many award winning wines, V. Sattui is known for it wide variety of Zinfandels, Gamay Rouge, the Sattui Family Red, and the 1998 Vintage Port (my personal favorite). After tasting about six wines, we purchased our favorite, grabbed a picnic lunch from the deli, and enjoyed the scenery on the grounds opposite acres of vineyard.

Traveling to Calistoga was the perfect wrap up of our trip. Just a half hour north of Napa, Calistoga was the perfect place to detox and refocus after an indulgent weekend. Despite arriving into town late and without a reservation,  a stroke of luck landed us at the Golden Haven Spa Hot Springs Resort. While you wait, Golden Haven offers guests the option to roam its grounds playing Bocce ball, corn hole, or simply relax in a hammock. However the highlight of a stay at Golden Haven is their luxurious mud bath. A staff member brings you into the fitting room to disrobe in preparation for your mud bath. You’re brought to two concrete tubs filled with sulfuric mud. The sludge looks horrid until you sink into it, pile it on and allow the toxins to escape your system. Following the sticky and sweaty experience of the mud bath, is a shower and a long soak in the jacuzzi filled with hot spring water. Ice cold cucumber water was provided, but take care to pace your hydration. Feeling fully refreshed, we were wrapped in blankets and left alone to nap while we cooled down. Golden Haven’s mud bath treatment left us silky smooth and refreshed after a wonderful Napa weekend.

You can definitely feel the charm that Napa has to offer no matter how brief your stay. Good planning, such as speaking with your hotel or B&B about recommended wineries and special offers, will help to make the most out of your experience. There are also plenty of non-wine related activities such as biking, golfing and spa indulgences. You’ll be pleased with doing as much or as little as you want.

Happy Tasting!

A Language Learners Manifesto

Written by: Cameron thomas-shah

originally PUBLISHED on travelnoire.com: MAY 7, 2014 9:46 AM

As we continue to travel the world and engage with other cultures, we often encounter difficulties communicating. As someone who has formally studied four foreign languages and claims proficiency in two, I can say language learning is no easy task. Technology such as Rosetta Stone, Google Translate, and DuoLingo have certainly made it easier, but considering that most of the places we travel don’t have widespread wifi, a more systematic approach to language acquisition should be used.

Here are my top 5 tips for efficient language learning:

1 – Learn the common verbs
Go, be, have!  Think about all of the conversation you have everyday. When you gossip and chit chat it’s generally about someone DOING or something BEING. Make an effort to make a list of all the common verbs you use and practice them in the target language. Even if your vocabulary is limited, you can get your point across by conveying the action of an object.

2 – Practice pronunciation based on region
No one learns English as a second language to sound like a New Englander or Southerner because twangs and obscurely elongated vowels complicate one’s ability to communicate effectively in the target language. If you are learning a language that has varying regional dialect, elect to learn the most widely spoken form of that language. That way you can communicate with both street vendors and diplomats. If your target language involves tones, be sure to stress every low tone in the depths of your throat and sing the high notes as if a lofty hymn.

3 – Listen for keywords
Listening, I have found is the most difficult part of learning a new language. Native speakers tend to speak the target language much quicker than you’d expect. When listening, try to catch keywords and use context to understand what is being said. If you’re in a mall and someone says shirt and a bunch of numbers they’re probably giving you a price. Don’t stress out over catching every word.

4- Write to read and read to write
This is an old adage told to writers, but it rings true to learning how to read a new language. Often, newspapers in the target language are tough but if you practice writing small passages about your day or current events, before you know it you will understand syntax and grammar on both the beginner and intermediate levels. Make sure to have a native proofreader.

5 – Be confident
The biggest hurdle in learning a language is using what you’ve learned. Take every opportunity to launch into the language despite your limitations. Even if you just know “Hello” and “Today is rainy” a few key phrases can boost your confidence exponentially. Native speakers will also be pleasantly surprised by your efforts, and may take it upon themselves to teach you more. So greet the waiter at your favorite food spot, you never know where it may lead you.
Check out these resources to further your language conquests:

Quizlet is an online database for flashcards. It allows users to create digital flash cards and provides options for their use. It’s a great resources. Even if you don’t want to take the time to type in your vocab list, it’s likely a similar list already exists. Just use the sites search feature to find subjects from Hungarian health terms to physics 101 equations.

Byki is a freeware and fee-ware software that is similar to Quizlet, in that you can access a database of user created content, but also offers lesson based flashcards. They use a method called declarative learning (read: rote) to help the user learn vocabulary words and phrases, while using the voice of native speakers for pronunciation practice.

BestDict is a convenient offline dictionary that includes both colloquial and standard definitions. Available in over 15 languages, including Indonesian, Urdu, and Vietnamese, it is the most comprehensive non-web based platform I’ve encountered.

Happy Language Learning!

The 5 Travellers

Written by Cameron Thomas-Shah

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON TRAVELNOIRE.COM : DEC 23, 2013 4:00 AM

Whether you’re nestled in a cozy hotel bar in NW Washington, DC or staggering into a busy Macedonian Hostel escaping the biting Balkan air, you are bound to meet interesting people. One can always recognize fellow foreigners, but who are these folks?

1. The Wandering Soul

Having ascribed to Tolkien’s Wanderers Manifesto, “Not all who wander are lost,” this character is generally what we would regard as over-educated, under-groomed, and displaced among his/her generation. Whether bankrolled by mom and dad or a hefty savings account from yesteryears 9-5, this traveler cuts no corners in exploring where they belong on this rock we call earth. They are commonly seen with their Patagonia backpacks and a host of beaded hemp bracelets in hostels exchanging stories about their 3 months living with Buddhist monks in Bhutan or studying Uighur poetry in an Oxford Extension program. They may have lived an interesting life but they characterize their past as lacking meaning.

2. The Adventurer

Fresh from skydiving in Macau, this traveler will regale you with tales of dipping their toes in life’s rushing waters. The Adventurer doesn’t let life pass them by; rather they grab it by the horns, do a handstand and worry about the consequences later. He/she is a mainstay at international music festivals, wind surfing competitions, and considers the Hash House Harriers as gods amongst men. When you meet an Adventurer ask them about the best place to watch a sunset, odds are that they have already hiked, biked or camped there and experienced such a sight.

3. The Perennial traveler

The perennial traveler is akin to the Wandering Soul in every aspect but want. He/she expects nothing more than to drink in an experience and is more than content with partaking in the local fare and dabbling in linguistic feats before retreating back to the comfort of their inner self to reflect. The perennial traveler is selfish with their experiences because it has become a habit they think no one will understand. They fear sounding aloof to old friends and parochial to new ones. You can spot a perennial traveler by their hermit personality, penchant for bazaars, and propensity to wake to see the sunrise while he/she ferociously pens their thoughts on the leaves of a crumpled Moleskine.

4. Faded Passport Holder

This person has traveled for so long they can’t even tell you the mayor of their hometown. At some point in the not so distant past he/she bought a one-way ticket with no intention of returning. They have the best stories and probably have run out of money a few times but have been fortunate enough to do odd jobs like bar-backing in Berlin or promoting nightclubs in Shibuya.  This person could have been, at some point, a Perennial Traveler, and at some point, become a Wandering Soul. He/she has mistaken the Moleskin for their bluebook before approaching immigration control on more than one occasion, on account of them being both tattered from reflective scribbling or entry and exit stamps. This traveler knows that they are teetering on the brink of responsibility, with the full understanding that at some point in the next 100 miles he/she must return home, find a job, and leave the transient lifestyle behind.

5. The Tourist

Any serious traveler loathes the tourist because they see themselves in this camera toting, traveler check-carrying novice. We have all once been this person. He/she is always considering seeing the sights in proximity to the hotel and electing to take the recommendation of the concierge rather than that of the cabbie. The Tourist is an unrefined and primitive observer of culture. Simply whetting their appetite for what could one day become a habit or an outlet. Captivate the tourist, lure them into pushing their limits and busting into the unsettled planes of the world. And if you are a tourist, engage with fellow travelers and lose yourself.

Whether you are embarking on your first overseas experience or have found yourself adding new passport pages, embrace the evolution of your travel experiences. These 5 archetypes of travelers are not to keep you or those you meet in a box but to provide a spectrum of where your travels may take you.

Vietnamese Smiles

Vietnamese Smiles

Written by Cameron Thomas-Shah

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON TRAVELNOIRE.COM: NOV 8, 2013 11:00 AM

The most remarkable thing about the Vietnamese are their unwavering smiles. In all of my travels, I have never known people to be so happy, so often. Despite any hardships, circumstances, how or where they live, they smile. Is this a sweeping generalization? Absolutely. But in my experience, the people of Vietnam are extremely pleasant and helpful, two absolute musts for travelers who are new to the region.

Upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), you will be overwhelmed by the 6.6 million people who populate the economic capital of this Southeast Asian jewel. People are literally everywhere. Food shops are set up along small and large streets, women in conical hats walk along the sidewalks and 3,000 motorbikes vie to assume their own route on already teeming roads. I can equate it most to New York City, where the international feel and density of the population are vastly similar. The expat community in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is expansive. This is something an inexperienced traveler can take much comfort in. It is not rare to run into English speaking foreigners in HCMC because it is tourist hub for Europeans and Americans who are trying to reach neighboring Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand.

I spent two days in the Mekong Delta region of Southern Vietnam where some friends and I traveled by boat through some of the most beautiful waters in Southeast Asia. Stopping frequently to meet local business owners, we explored the sprawling rice paddies.

There are a handful of things one must do while in Vietnam: try the Pho, get a suit made, eat street food, and ride a xe om (motorbike). Most itineraries won’t suggest making friends and talking with the locals—this is at the heart of any traveler’s experience.

For those who have trekked through Vietnam, being here creates lurid memories. Whether you’ve explored the thick jungles of the countryside, tasted fresh jackfruit cut from the edges of Mekong Delta, experienced the vibrancy of Saigon or Hanoi—smelling the intermingling of fish sauce and motorbike exhaust in the air—Vietnam is a country rich to the senses with people who are open-minded and kind.

Macedonia

My friends Zach and Nicolas had the great idea of traveling after midterms, DESTINATION: Macedonia

Wizzair had a inexpensive flight out of Venice, an hour train ride and a two hour flight later, we were in Skopje.

We arrived at our hostel, the Art Hostel about 8PM to a group of people we didn't know who offered us Rajkia, the bourbon of the Balkans. After a few servings of the stuff we were off. We met another American doing on holidays from Fulbright in Kosovo. He joined us in our adventure throughout Skopje.

We went to old city tavern and we had a huge meat plate sausages and chicken and potatoes. unfortunately we ordered Pachia, which was an iced pork fat plate. It was terrible, no matter how much Rajkia we drank the Pachia would never be delectable. After we ate we met a Serbian Macedonian soldier. He told us about the conflicts which he fought i, I was amazed about how much about the Balkans I didn't know. He knighted me "Afro-Serb" because of my affinity to read cyrillic.

After, we we went to Club Dion, and Zach introduced us to Turbo-folk. He characterized it as the "peoples" music of the Balkans, I loved it,though I didn't understand it. But, I expect that it was very nationalistic.

We walked around downtown Skopje saw the statues of Alexander the Great. Saw the contrasts between communist and new era buildings. There was a lot of development going off the Varder river in Skopje. The buildings are beautiful the architecture likens to Moslem dome styles.

The owner of the hostel where we stayed had a friend names Aleksander who drove us from Skopje to Ohrid. He spoke chiefly in Macedonian and Zach, as he would through out the trip, would translate for me. Aleksander was the greatest tour guide. He told us crazy stories about Macedonian history, politics, and society.
We stopped in In the mountains of Straza, and had meketza and cheese. It was a flaky and oily bread and delicious locally made cheese. According to Zach, the farms that we passed on the ride to Ohrid would make the cheese and sell it only locally.

Чарли браун

Шов ит

After Straza, we drove through Debratza, which Aleksander called the California of Macedonia because of the luscious vast mountainous landscapes. Tall trees stalk hillsides over the road. This place is only 10km from Ohrid and 1KM from Albania.

We arrived in Ohrid and Aleksander hooked us up with a great apartment for only 40€, he tended to his errands and recommended we try the popular Fish restaurant in Ohrid. Which we did

MENU:
Sopska
Ribna corba
Mavroska fish

We had a wonderful waiter who was exceedingly accommodating he first brought the sopska which was similar to a greek salad but the feta was grated, the cucumbers and tomatoes were juicy, topped with an olive. It was delicious. Next was, Ribna Corba, the fish soup that was recommended by Aleksander it came with a side of garlic with lemons the soup was good without it but excellent with the additions. Accompanying it was toasted bread pieces with paprika and grated feta. We were pretty full after that but our main courses soon followed. I got the Mavroska fish. Which is caught in Lake Ohrid. Zach and Nick ordered a pork and mushroom dish that's native to Ohrid. Theirs came out smoldering and my fish freshly grilled. The meal was delectable. We saw the Macedonian band Tsar Samuaei (цар самуил), and the fellas bought the bands CD.

I started to pick up a bit of Cyrillic while there which meant fun reading signs and menus. The restaurant which was simply called Fish Restaurant was great. We came back to our apartment and listened to the CD.

Aleksander came by and we drove to the old town Stari grad (стари град) and we saw Tsar Samuel church, a stadium that predates Coliseum, but the most beautiful sight was the moon bathed view of Lake Ohrid

Went partying in the center of Ohrid to the pretentious Cuba libra then club revolution. Fun Night!

The next morning, after Nick and I decided to get some Macedonian Hair Cuts

we trekked to the Ohrid train station to buy our tickets back to Skopje. We stopped for Burek, a flakey meat pie eaten with yogurt. A Balkan favorite from what I gathered. We bought our tickets for 17:45, which left us 5 hours to explore more of Ohrid. We taxied up to the old town and saw St. Samuel church, the site where he'd lost a major battle to the Byzantines and where, according to rumor, the Byzantines blinded 14000 Macedonian soldiers before annexing Macedonia.

We visited St Klemits (plaosnik) church and the most beautiful of them, St Jovan Kaneo church which overlooked the gloriously picturesque Lake Ohrid. At the church we met Capt Crunch with his first officer Puppy, Fang, who would later chew a part of my bag off while the captain gave us a serene boat tour of Lake Ohrid. The waters were calm and clear and it seemed as if the sun peaked beyond the clouds through the mist so we could have a princely view of the city. We docked at the city center payed the 2€ then headed to exchange more euros to dinars. What we thought was the currency exchange guys attempt to rip me off by giving me half of my return turned into a misunderstanding and miscounting on both our parts. Macedonians prove once again to be the some of the friendliest people in Europe. It was only 13:40 so we decided to catch the 15:00 bus to Skopje instead. We changed over our tickets and ate at the сара cafe. We met Tony and Teddy. Both were older Macedonian men but Tony had been living in the US for the past 25 years. He, like Zach both called New Jersey home. We all spoke for an hour he bought us a few glasses of wine to accompany our Balkan Burgers. He had immigrated from Macedonia, or Yugoslavia in 1970 to the US and was soon drafted into Vietnam. 2 years later he returned to Yugoslavia and played soccer for the national team. He gave great life advice. Soon we were off to Skopje.

On the bus ride we talked about how fortunate we were to have met Aleksander and how Macedonia was as a whole. We stopped once again in Straza, I got the locally made cheese, and an hour and half later we were back in Skopje. We decide, after sometime, to return back to our beloved Art Hostel. A few of the same characters were there, like the Albanian Guy we'd me who couldn't hold his liquor and an odd Italian named Lorenzo , but there was a new cast including a lively Bulgarian,and our soon to be friend Woo from New Zealand. Woo was probably one of the most interesting fellows we'd met. He had spent the last couple months interviewing in the UK and Germany before he decided to just start traveling. In the last month Woo had trekked from Berlin through the Balkans, and was steadily making his way back to New Zealand. His next stop was Turkey, Iran, before catching a flight from Goa, India back home. Woo was a lover of NBA, which led to great conversation and had an impressive eye and even a more impressive camera and life story.

We had dinner, drank a great Macedonian wine called Blue Blood before setting off into Skopje for some shots of the city--and shots in the city. We'd set to meet Lorenzo at the huge statue of Alexander the Great in the city center but Lorenzo was a no show. We ducked inside a little bistro for wine and conversation, we soon found our selves cozied between the manly conversation and the warmth of the bistro. It was about 12 degrees celsius outside so we took our time leaving. After the guys met my mom via a Skype session, we thought it best to see some of Skopje's night life. We ran into what was probably a mob boss and his lady friends who walked with some city big shot. The "big shot" took interest in Zach being American and knowing Serbo-Croatian and Nicks great comprehension skills. His boss friend took issue with him taking us to the club, but the guy brushed it off. He led us into the front of the club, raised the velvet rope and like celebs we strolled in. In the club it was wall to wall with all kinds of folks. Old, young, fat, skinny. There is not filter on clubs here. But it was packed, wall to wall with people. We danced, unsuccessfully spoke to girls. Girls kept touching Woo and I because we were the only non-whites, but it never really worked to our advantage. I bumped into a short guy in a adidas track suit and a gold chain while i was dancing and he tapped me on the shoulder and yelled at me in Macedonian. Didn't really know what he was saying so i said sorry, he looked pretty pissed and hopped up into one of the booths with some friends. Simultaneously, Zach said it was time to head back to the hostel, I obliged.

We returned to the hostel at about 1:30, Nick went to sleep while Zach and I stayed up. Thats when we met Bill. Bill was a former financial economist at University of Toronto. He was Canadian and one of the nicest, smartest guys i've ever met. He was in his late 60s, jolly, with a white beard. He's retired recently and was zig-zagging through eastern europe. he said he hadn't stayed in a hostel since he was our age. He told us about parts of Skopje he's visited and gave us advice on what to do of our last day. Bill and I stayed up until about 4Am talking about education and US politics. I explained to him the Herman Cain debacle and why religion is so exploitable in politics. He told me the implications of market driven economies on the currency valuations relative to bank based one like Macedonia. The next morning Bill was gone. He'd apparently left to take picture and before I could say goodbye to him. Nick was gone too. After 2 hours of waiting, Woo, Zach and I decided to leave Nick a note and venture into the turkish side of Skopje. We ran into Nick at a store and he caught up with us at the city center. We saw some visiting Turks who asked to take a photo with Woo and me because we weren't white.

We headed to the Turkish side and saw some cool mosques, and ate more Burek. I met a man, who certainly wasn't the first, who didn't understand why we'd come from the US to visit Skopje but we reassured him that Macedonia as a whole was a wonderful place to visit. The Zach and I pigged out on more Macedonian food and coffee while Nicholas and Woo chilled and watched. The whole trip was a great way to get away from the monotony of grad school. We parted ways with Woo but still keep in contact. Nick, Zach, and I all returned to Bologna refreshed and refueled. Despite the sad silence we held on the plane and in the train station heading back and the problem set they tried to tackle on the train, we realized that we were returning to the arduous coursework of SAIS, we were grateful of our experiences that weekend.

Ciao -- In Bologna

“Ciao!”-- The greeting I received sweetly from a young stiletto and cowl top dress clad women with a matching tan pocketbook. Her equally styled friend followed behind expressively with the same greeting. I continued to hold the door open to my apartment building, as they seemingly floated by. Struck, I pushed out a broken “Buona Sera”, unsure of my pronunciation or the intent behind the smiles and informalities of the women, who’d later become a couple of my closest friends. My flat: Via Belmeloro 19, Northern Bologna, near the train tracks, described as a very dangerous area, but that relative to “those who choose to walk home late and oblivious to their surroundings” as described by the schools receptionist. Being here in Bologna is simply wonderful. I am enrolled in a 2-year Masters program in International Economics and International Relations with The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Students have the option of spending their first year in Italy, which I opted to do late in the summer much due to my previous experience in DC and a budding desire to see Europe.
Three weeks here I’ve settled and acclimated to the late dinners, early mornings, beautiful women, artisan streets, political graffiti, and economic torture—both inside the classroom and outside—of Italy; and though It took a while, but I can confidently say that I am settled. The Bolognese are very friendly people, from the first day I arrived with my friend Sarah, our taxi driver from the airport lent us great insight into how personable people really are in Bologna. Though he spoke little English he pointed out many of sights and attractions that would later serve as vital landmarks on my late nights walking home from school. I found an apartment after only two days of being in Bologna, it a long three bedroom that I share with two other SAIS students, one from Serbia who graduation from U-Chicago, she’s really nice and has got me addicted to drinking coffee everyday, and the other also from Chicago who graduated from Colorado, he’s a great cook and hilarious and the best part he is also a Semester at Sea Alum, so often we exchange SAS stories. Last week I bought a bike, seeing that I’m 25 minutes away from school and most other people in the program its very much a cost effective alternative to driving, I’ve had a car since I was 17 and getting around was strange at first but the bicicletta serves its purpose.
The other students in my program all bring a exorbitant diversity of life and professional experiences, I’ve made friends who have offered to trace my Irish ancestry after having grown up in Dublin and worked for the national genealogical registry, lived through the war in Balkans, competitively ice skated, and have played for national European lacrosse teams, and that’s only skimming the surface of the wonderful interactions I’ve had with these people.