After such flurried ride the last month through SE Asia, I think it all finally caught up with me in Hanoi. Things were going too smoothly. After flying into Hanoi I still had all intentions on heading though Laos before I went home, but alas I learned of that impossibility. In most cases booking tours, rooms or travel only 1 day ahead is plenty, however a 1-way flight to the USA is an exception. I knew this, so I was in contact with an online travel agency out of Bangkok since the beginning of November to ensure I had a good deal on a flight back home (in the end, they basically kept me on hold the entire time). It was about this time of the trip I had deduced how far my money would take me, so I picked a date and ran the motions of getting home. The trick is: travel agencies are typically quite cheap out of the country the flight originates in, because the agencies create so much traffic for the airlines.
So, being in Vietnam for the remainder of the trip, I was stuck with few options to book a flight out of Bangkok because Vietnamese travel agencies quoted ridiculous prices on such flights. However, flights out of Vietnam all of a sudden became reasonable. After I got back from my trip to Halong bay, which I'll talk about in a minute, I got quotes from a multitude of agencies for flights home. Also, I learned that a bus ride to Luang Prabang - a beautiful spot in Laos - was a 2 day / 2 night endeavour. It then became clear that there was no way I could travel through Laos and fly out of Bangkok.
One agency in particular had a severely discounted rate on a flight with only 2 seats left on the aircraft, so I put a deposit down only to discover the next day that the price had risen $70 because of a complication with the layover in Taipei and they'd have to put me on a flight through Bangkok instead! The next day I come to pay the full amount and discover the price has raised again! Oh joy! Poor receptionist =\.
On top of all that, the staff on the liveaboard to Halong bay basically ripped me off, I've got a cold now, and I can't go to Laos or anywhere else for that matter because my flight is out of Hanoi in 6 days. It's probably a blessing in disguise for me to recuperate though. It would be no fun to be sick on a bus and roughing it through Laos.
So I'm making the best of it, and relaxing in a this wild city (as best as I can). There are many things to do and see here, and there are worse places to be stuck in!!! Halong bay was stunning and the other travelers on the boat made it a blast. Saigon was really insane, but a hell of a good time.
I depart the morning of the 19th and layover in Bangkok for I think 7 hours, then land in LA around 7pm. Lily and Brandon are going to pick me up at the airport and give me a place to sleep that night, thanks you two! They'll drop me off at the airport early that morning and I'll land in Denver at 9:30am on the 21st. Home sweet home.
This, of course, is assuming all goes to plan, which we all know is a heavy assumption ;), but that's travelling!!! See you all soon!
Oh yea. Nov. 23rd. Boulder. Outback Saloon. 9pm. Be there or be [].
Muse - Feeling Good
Muse - Glorious
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Singapore, Cambodia, Saigon
I'm told I've been slacking on this blog thing, so here ya go :D. I think it's mostly because the trip is coming to that inevitable end, and I'm trying to squeeze every last bit of fun out of Southeast Asia.
Lets see, I left the Cameron Highlands on a very long day of travel. The bus left the highlands around 1pm to arrive in Kuala Lumpur around 5pm which left enough time for me to hang out a bit and catch the overnight train to Singapore at 11pm. I love the sleeper trains. You get a little bunk in a rail car and sleep the miles away! The beautiful part is that it's really cheap for the ride - about $10 from KL to Singapore. The hard part is: if you don't get a good night's sleep on the train, the next day still starts at 8am when the train comes to a stop at your destination which can make for a loooooong day.
Singapore:
Was rad. The gueshose I stayed in was fun and clean and in a good part of town, well, sorta. It was in Little India which was much more sketchy than the rest of Singapore, but it was really fun anyway, and close to the subway and downtown. It's a big city, so I didn't walk the whole time; luckily they have a pretty sweet subway system for when I got lazy. It was really nice to be in a westernish city, but not so nice to see that Levi's jeans were all over $100!!! I tried to go up this skyscraper for a cocktail the last night I was there but they wouldn't let me up because I didn't have long pants on, just shorts (and I didn't have any pants whatsoever!). Anyways, Hooters took it's place. I even saw a movie at the theatre, Rendition, pretty sweet.
Cambodia:
K, from Singapore I flew to Siem Reap. That night out in the city lasted longer than expected, and my flight was earlier than expected. So I got home, drunk, at 2:30am to find that my flight was at 6am, which meant I had an hour to pack and catch a cab to the airport. Ahhh another night without sleep, the joys of traveling. I caught a few hours in the morning at my guesthouse in Siem Reap and found a driver and set off for the next few days around the city and the temples. Pictures do justice for this section, go check them out. Mr. Lee was my driver and took me to all the right places and I really felt like I got to see all sides of Cambodia. Rich to poor, local to foreign, ancient to new, depressing to downright awesome. It was a great experience. I met some really cool people in Cambodia which also helped keep the mood positive in such a deteriorated, impoverished, tainted country. Despite all their hardships, most Cambodians were extremely friendly and fun to talk to.
Saigon:
Well, I just got here last night and it's been fun so far. I spent a few hours this morning shaping things up with flights and online jizjaz and am ready to go face the chaos that is Ho Chi Minh City.
I Fly out to Hanoi tomorrow to see Northern Vietnam. Halong Bay and Sapa are two amazing places I hear, so I'll try to spend a few days at each then head into Laos to hit Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng before I get to Bangkok to fly home. I'm trying to catch a flight that leaves the 20th so I'll be back for a good Thanksgiving weekend back home. Keep your fingers crossed, I hope everything works out these last 2 weeks.
Fort Minor - Kenji
Radiohead - Backdrifts
Lets see, I left the Cameron Highlands on a very long day of travel. The bus left the highlands around 1pm to arrive in Kuala Lumpur around 5pm which left enough time for me to hang out a bit and catch the overnight train to Singapore at 11pm. I love the sleeper trains. You get a little bunk in a rail car and sleep the miles away! The beautiful part is that it's really cheap for the ride - about $10 from KL to Singapore. The hard part is: if you don't get a good night's sleep on the train, the next day still starts at 8am when the train comes to a stop at your destination which can make for a loooooong day.
Singapore:
Was rad. The gueshose I stayed in was fun and clean and in a good part of town, well, sorta. It was in Little India which was much more sketchy than the rest of Singapore, but it was really fun anyway, and close to the subway and downtown. It's a big city, so I didn't walk the whole time; luckily they have a pretty sweet subway system for when I got lazy. It was really nice to be in a westernish city, but not so nice to see that Levi's jeans were all over $100!!! I tried to go up this skyscraper for a cocktail the last night I was there but they wouldn't let me up because I didn't have long pants on, just shorts (and I didn't have any pants whatsoever!). Anyways, Hooters took it's place. I even saw a movie at the theatre, Rendition, pretty sweet.
Cambodia:
K, from Singapore I flew to Siem Reap. That night out in the city lasted longer than expected, and my flight was earlier than expected. So I got home, drunk, at 2:30am to find that my flight was at 6am, which meant I had an hour to pack and catch a cab to the airport. Ahhh another night without sleep, the joys of traveling. I caught a few hours in the morning at my guesthouse in Siem Reap and found a driver and set off for the next few days around the city and the temples. Pictures do justice for this section, go check them out. Mr. Lee was my driver and took me to all the right places and I really felt like I got to see all sides of Cambodia. Rich to poor, local to foreign, ancient to new, depressing to downright awesome. It was a great experience. I met some really cool people in Cambodia which also helped keep the mood positive in such a deteriorated, impoverished, tainted country. Despite all their hardships, most Cambodians were extremely friendly and fun to talk to.
Saigon:
Well, I just got here last night and it's been fun so far. I spent a few hours this morning shaping things up with flights and online jizjaz and am ready to go face the chaos that is Ho Chi Minh City.
I Fly out to Hanoi tomorrow to see Northern Vietnam. Halong Bay and Sapa are two amazing places I hear, so I'll try to spend a few days at each then head into Laos to hit Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng before I get to Bangkok to fly home. I'm trying to catch a flight that leaves the 20th so I'll be back for a good Thanksgiving weekend back home. Keep your fingers crossed, I hope everything works out these last 2 weeks.
Fort Minor - Kenji
Radiohead - Backdrifts
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Diving, Malaysia
Diving was outstanding. The boat, the islands, the people, the underwater scenery, everything was so much fun. We dove the Similan Islands for 3 days on a total of 10 dives. Being my first diving experience I hardly have anything to compare it to, but with about 20 meter visibility, vibrant colors, and sea life of all kinds: coral, fish, octopus, eel, shrimp, crab, lobster, shark. It was extraordinary for sure. Unfortunately I couldn't take any underwater pictures. Rachael and I were lucky enough to have only two other divers on the boat along with the two dive masters. There was also a crew of five more Thai who did everything from cook to captain the ship. There was great food after every dive though, diving on a full stomach is not the best idea. Wow, it was awesome :D.
The weather since Khao Lak has been mostly overcast or rainy depending on the day, so after Khao Lak I decided to skip Krabi and Koh Phi Phi (amazing island I hear) and instead took a minibus to Hat Yai near the border of Malaysia to stay for a night and took an overnight train the next day to Kuala Lumpur (KL). I met a German guy, Thomas, on the train and we hung out in the city and shared a guesthouse room to save some money. The room was about $4 for the night, but was very simple and I rather enjoyed it. The next morning was a minibus trip to the Cameron Highlands just northwest of KL. That afternoon and evening was relaxed, mostly just hanging out with people I rode up with on the bus, and others at the guesthouse. Each night is a total of 8RM (Malay Ringgit, $2.60)! It's simple: just a cot in a room with maybe 10 others, you get a locker and share bathrooms and the TV room and everything; the atmosphere is nice and the people are good company.
Malaysia is very inexpensive aside from the alcohol I assume because of the Muslim influence causing high taxation. Food is about $1-3 for a meal, but a beer is $2-3 where in Thailand it was less than a dollar usually.
I'm uploading pictures as I write this so you can see for yourself, but KL is like an Asian stew pot, well, Malaysia is, but KL is a perfect example. Chinese and Indian nationalities rule the population and culture seemingly, but there is probably an equal share of Islam represented as well. It's an interesting mix for sure. Today I went on an all-day tour around Cameron Highlands and it was breathtaking. Many of the stops on our tour left much to be desired, but the landscape here is stunning, and the weather is great compared to the hot and sticky tropical weather I've been in. It's cool and misty here at about 6,000ft.
Anyway, I'm still having a great time and things are going smoothly. I'll be heading to Singapore over the next couple of days via minibus and train to catch my flight up to Seam Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia. I'm really excited.
I hope all is well where you all are, and cheer extra hard for the Rox, they need all the help they can get! I'll try to watch the game tomorrow morning.
Augustana - Feel Fine
Guster - Lightning Rod
The weather since Khao Lak has been mostly overcast or rainy depending on the day, so after Khao Lak I decided to skip Krabi and Koh Phi Phi (amazing island I hear) and instead took a minibus to Hat Yai near the border of Malaysia to stay for a night and took an overnight train the next day to Kuala Lumpur (KL). I met a German guy, Thomas, on the train and we hung out in the city and shared a guesthouse room to save some money. The room was about $4 for the night, but was very simple and I rather enjoyed it. The next morning was a minibus trip to the Cameron Highlands just northwest of KL. That afternoon and evening was relaxed, mostly just hanging out with people I rode up with on the bus, and others at the guesthouse. Each night is a total of 8RM (Malay Ringgit, $2.60)! It's simple: just a cot in a room with maybe 10 others, you get a locker and share bathrooms and the TV room and everything; the atmosphere is nice and the people are good company.
Malaysia is very inexpensive aside from the alcohol I assume because of the Muslim influence causing high taxation. Food is about $1-3 for a meal, but a beer is $2-3 where in Thailand it was less than a dollar usually.
I'm uploading pictures as I write this so you can see for yourself, but KL is like an Asian stew pot, well, Malaysia is, but KL is a perfect example. Chinese and Indian nationalities rule the population and culture seemingly, but there is probably an equal share of Islam represented as well. It's an interesting mix for sure. Today I went on an all-day tour around Cameron Highlands and it was breathtaking. Many of the stops on our tour left much to be desired, but the landscape here is stunning, and the weather is great compared to the hot and sticky tropical weather I've been in. It's cool and misty here at about 6,000ft.
Anyway, I'm still having a great time and things are going smoothly. I'll be heading to Singapore over the next couple of days via minibus and train to catch my flight up to Seam Reap (Angkor Wat) in Cambodia. I'm really excited.
I hope all is well where you all are, and cheer extra hard for the Rox, they need all the help they can get! I'll try to watch the game tomorrow morning.
Augustana - Feel Fine
Guster - Lightning Rod
Friday, October 19, 2007
Phuket, Khao Lak
It is absolutely pouring outside. The last few days have been pretty dreary by most standards, but I'm rather enjoying the rain and even if it rains tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the rain won't hinder our dives at the Similan Islands, which I've heard are amazing. We got all our gear fitted for the live-aboard and are set to disembark tomorrow morning.
The last few days on Phangan were relaxed, the weather started to catch up and restricted us a bit. Dakota headed home when we left Phangan, and Rachael and I took a long journey from the Gulf of Thailand to an island on the opposite body of water, the Andaman Sea - Phuket. This island is rather big, but we only stayed in one town called Patong. The place is pretty touristy, but in the same way that Th Sukumvit is touristy (think nightlife). The beach was really amazing, but much more crowded than we'd been used to on the islands, as in there were more than a handful of people there. We saw an absolutely amazing Muay Thai fight, ringside. 7 matches, 4 knockouts, and some wicked hits. It's a very unique feeling to watch someone writhe on the canvas in front of you, eyes in the back of their skull, and you just knowing that they see nothing but darkness for a good 20 seconds. That guy from Norway took a phantom left uppercut and was totally not expecting it and fell limp to the floor. Wow.
There's a big showing of Europeans out here, but hardly any Americans. Now, I've come to realize that in Thailand, if someone asks me where I'm from and I respond "US" or "The United States" or "USA,"they give me a blank stare until I come to "America," and all this time I was taught NOT to say that to give credit to the other countries in Southern and North America. Ah well. I'm sure it'll be a different story around all the Muslims in Malaysia, but we'll see!
The first day I was in Khao Lak I went on a walk to the bus station to find out the routes and means of hopping a ride down the peninsula toward Satun. I made it maybe 100m before a Thai man on a motorbike pulled over and gave me a ride up there. I did my research and caught a motorbike taxi back to town. The next day I was walking up to Rachael's resort, which is only like 15 mins, and he found me again and took me up to her place. Later that evening he spots me in town, he works at one of the tailor shops. We chat for a long while and he tells me about a festival up north of town at a wat (temple), and invites me to come with him after he gets off work. We ride up to his place to pick up his girlfriend and we go inside so he can change. His place is completely vacant. Soy sauce, a rice cooker, some dish soap and a handful of dishes are literally all that reside in his living room and kitchen. We sit on the floor and eat some food that his girlfriend had made and they had been eating for the past 9 days (aside from the rice that they make almost daily). The three of us pile onto his motorbike and ride to the wat and hundreds of Thais are all dressed in white ready to commence the last day of the Vegetarian Festival. Buddhist rituals, fireworks, chants, demonstrations, reenactments, more fireworks. I'll have to show you all the pictures and movies, they are great.
The rain has stopped for now, it's time to move on. Sorry for the choppy ramblings.
Oh yea. One of the last nights on Ko Phangan I fell asleep listening to my Ipod only to wake up to it completely missing. From plugged into the wall and my headphones to nowhere to be found when I woke up - my Ipod up and vanished. Thankfully nothing else was stolen, for some odd reason. O_o.
Muse - Soldier's Poem
Augustana - Boston
The last few days on Phangan were relaxed, the weather started to catch up and restricted us a bit. Dakota headed home when we left Phangan, and Rachael and I took a long journey from the Gulf of Thailand to an island on the opposite body of water, the Andaman Sea - Phuket. This island is rather big, but we only stayed in one town called Patong. The place is pretty touristy, but in the same way that Th Sukumvit is touristy (think nightlife). The beach was really amazing, but much more crowded than we'd been used to on the islands, as in there were more than a handful of people there. We saw an absolutely amazing Muay Thai fight, ringside. 7 matches, 4 knockouts, and some wicked hits. It's a very unique feeling to watch someone writhe on the canvas in front of you, eyes in the back of their skull, and you just knowing that they see nothing but darkness for a good 20 seconds. That guy from Norway took a phantom left uppercut and was totally not expecting it and fell limp to the floor. Wow.
There's a big showing of Europeans out here, but hardly any Americans. Now, I've come to realize that in Thailand, if someone asks me where I'm from and I respond "US" or "The United States" or "USA,"they give me a blank stare until I come to "America," and all this time I was taught NOT to say that to give credit to the other countries in Southern and North America. Ah well. I'm sure it'll be a different story around all the Muslims in Malaysia, but we'll see!
The first day I was in Khao Lak I went on a walk to the bus station to find out the routes and means of hopping a ride down the peninsula toward Satun. I made it maybe 100m before a Thai man on a motorbike pulled over and gave me a ride up there. I did my research and caught a motorbike taxi back to town. The next day I was walking up to Rachael's resort, which is only like 15 mins, and he found me again and took me up to her place. Later that evening he spots me in town, he works at one of the tailor shops. We chat for a long while and he tells me about a festival up north of town at a wat (temple), and invites me to come with him after he gets off work. We ride up to his place to pick up his girlfriend and we go inside so he can change. His place is completely vacant. Soy sauce, a rice cooker, some dish soap and a handful of dishes are literally all that reside in his living room and kitchen. We sit on the floor and eat some food that his girlfriend had made and they had been eating for the past 9 days (aside from the rice that they make almost daily). The three of us pile onto his motorbike and ride to the wat and hundreds of Thais are all dressed in white ready to commence the last day of the Vegetarian Festival. Buddhist rituals, fireworks, chants, demonstrations, reenactments, more fireworks. I'll have to show you all the pictures and movies, they are great.
The rain has stopped for now, it's time to move on. Sorry for the choppy ramblings.
Oh yea. One of the last nights on Ko Phangan I fell asleep listening to my Ipod only to wake up to it completely missing. From plugged into the wall and my headphones to nowhere to be found when I woke up - my Ipod up and vanished. Thankfully nothing else was stolen, for some odd reason. O_o.
Muse - Soldier's Poem
Augustana - Boston
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Island Fever
Phangan is paradise, I wish you could all be here with me.
Nothing really to report on, we've been on the island for over a week now and I could stay another year. But, places to go, things to see. I just booked a flight from Singapore to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Nov. 1st. Looks like the itinerary goes a little something like this: Travel the peninsula down to Singapore, then back up to Cambodia and onward. Phuket - Khao Lak - liveaboard scuba - Khao Lak - Krabi - Satun - Georgetown - Cameroon Highlands - Kuala Lumpur - Melaka - Singapore - Siem Reap - Phnom Penh - Vietnam. I've heard the typhoon did a number on central Vietnam so I'll probably explore Southern and Northern Vietnam. Phew. It's been a lot of travel planning lately.
Rachael leaves from Phuket after the liveaboard to head back to B-town.
I updated some pics. Oh and I watched the gamecast of the 5th inning on of the Rockies game... Hell yes! Wow, go Rocks. Come on, Where the HELL is this coming from?! When did we catapult from a mediocre, underfunded farm team to 2-0 in the NLCS? *sighs*. I'm also jealous, James, that you are going to game 3. I hate you with a passion, but have fun mate.
Motorbikes rule. Cruising the island on the bike is so nice. The food is good and cheap. The hiking trails are ummm... not really hiking trails, but they are fun adventures anyway.
I miss fall in Colorado, save some for me. I should be back earlier than expected so I can keep a little in the bank for who-knows-what's-next.
:)
-Chris
Taking Back Sunday - My Blue Heaven
Nothing really to report on, we've been on the island for over a week now and I could stay another year. But, places to go, things to see. I just booked a flight from Singapore to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Nov. 1st. Looks like the itinerary goes a little something like this: Travel the peninsula down to Singapore, then back up to Cambodia and onward. Phuket - Khao Lak - liveaboard scuba - Khao Lak - Krabi - Satun - Georgetown - Cameroon Highlands - Kuala Lumpur - Melaka - Singapore - Siem Reap - Phnom Penh - Vietnam. I've heard the typhoon did a number on central Vietnam so I'll probably explore Southern and Northern Vietnam. Phew. It's been a lot of travel planning lately.
Rachael leaves from Phuket after the liveaboard to head back to B-town.
I updated some pics. Oh and I watched the gamecast of the 5th inning on of the Rockies game... Hell yes! Wow, go Rocks. Come on, Where the HELL is this coming from?! When did we catapult from a mediocre, underfunded farm team to 2-0 in the NLCS? *sighs*. I'm also jealous, James, that you are going to game 3. I hate you with a passion, but have fun mate.
Motorbikes rule. Cruising the island on the bike is so nice. The food is good and cheap. The hiking trails are ummm... not really hiking trails, but they are fun adventures anyway.
I miss fall in Colorado, save some for me. I should be back earlier than expected so I can keep a little in the bank for who-knows-what's-next.
:)
-Chris
Taking Back Sunday - My Blue Heaven
Friday, October 5, 2007
Catching On
Koh Phangan!
We just floated over from Koh Samui, which was awesome by the way. The trip over here wasn't all that bad, maybe a 30 minutes ferry ride. Nice comfy leather seats and a movie, kinda overkill, but some people were going to be on a very long ride all the way back to Bangkok.
This segment of our trip we're really living like royalty. Everyone is bound to make newbie travel mistakes their first time out, and not to say we really made a mistake, but we're living much more lavishly than I had imagined or desired - and we're paying for it. Things will change. Money goes a long way out here living this lifestyle but not nearly as far as it could given a few logistical alterations.
Overall, I'm getting much more comfortable out here than I originally was while in Bangkok. Though, it's not hard when you're staying in some of the luxurious beach bungalows we've been in. It's really paradise.
Last night in Koh Samui was great. Rachael and Dakota were feeling kinda sick (buckets, of course), so I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while who just happened to be out here. Michael Jessup is going to live in Koh Samui for a couple months while he gets his scuba instructor certification, and he just got out there. I was walking back from an internet cafe to meet Mike at my place when I saw him ride by me in the pouring rain. I run over and hop on his vespa and we're off back to my bungalow to wait the monsoonal rain out. Drenched, we dry off and hang out on the porch for a bit and head back out after the rain settles down. On the way down the driveway from our resort, we stop and watch some Muay Thai boxing training. Damn, those 8 year-olds can kick some ass. There were also a lot of white guys (and a girl) about my age that were training. It's become a big thing in around the world I guess, the whole UFC thing. We ride around to get some local, spicy as hell Thai food, curry for 40 baht and ride to the local 7-Eleven (which are everywhere out here) and pick up a ~32oz bottle of Thai beer for 27 baht, like 80 cents, and head to the beach, chill, and watch the sunset. After a couple more hours of hanging on the beach, watching fireworks and bamboo tattoos, we head to the crazier part of the island called Chewang and get some street food, mingle with the locals, and party there for a while. It's getting late, so we hop on the vespa and head back toward Lamai where my place is. Long story short, we passed the turn off by a long shot and I got a good 30 minute tour around the entire island ;). Good night.
Miss you guys, I'll post pics later.
Go Broncos. Go Buffs. Go Rockies.
-Chris
Bright Eyes - Middleman
We just floated over from Koh Samui, which was awesome by the way. The trip over here wasn't all that bad, maybe a 30 minutes ferry ride. Nice comfy leather seats and a movie, kinda overkill, but some people were going to be on a very long ride all the way back to Bangkok.
This segment of our trip we're really living like royalty. Everyone is bound to make newbie travel mistakes their first time out, and not to say we really made a mistake, but we're living much more lavishly than I had imagined or desired - and we're paying for it. Things will change. Money goes a long way out here living this lifestyle but not nearly as far as it could given a few logistical alterations.
Overall, I'm getting much more comfortable out here than I originally was while in Bangkok. Though, it's not hard when you're staying in some of the luxurious beach bungalows we've been in. It's really paradise.
Last night in Koh Samui was great. Rachael and Dakota were feeling kinda sick (buckets, of course), so I met up with a friend I hadn't seen in a while who just happened to be out here. Michael Jessup is going to live in Koh Samui for a couple months while he gets his scuba instructor certification, and he just got out there. I was walking back from an internet cafe to meet Mike at my place when I saw him ride by me in the pouring rain. I run over and hop on his vespa and we're off back to my bungalow to wait the monsoonal rain out. Drenched, we dry off and hang out on the porch for a bit and head back out after the rain settles down. On the way down the driveway from our resort, we stop and watch some Muay Thai boxing training. Damn, those 8 year-olds can kick some ass. There were also a lot of white guys (and a girl) about my age that were training. It's become a big thing in around the world I guess, the whole UFC thing. We ride around to get some local, spicy as hell Thai food, curry for 40 baht and ride to the local 7-Eleven (which are everywhere out here) and pick up a ~32oz bottle of Thai beer for 27 baht, like 80 cents, and head to the beach, chill, and watch the sunset. After a couple more hours of hanging on the beach, watching fireworks and bamboo tattoos, we head to the crazier part of the island called Chewang and get some street food, mingle with the locals, and party there for a while. It's getting late, so we hop on the vespa and head back toward Lamai where my place is. Long story short, we passed the turn off by a long shot and I got a good 30 minute tour around the entire island ;). Good night.
Miss you guys, I'll post pics later.
Go Broncos. Go Buffs. Go Rockies.
-Chris
Bright Eyes - Middleman
Thursday, September 27, 2007
South Korea
September 28th 2007
I'm really glad I came up here to Korea. This place is great. After all the chaotic hustle in Bangkok, Seoul is a surprising change. The city is still very crowded, but the people are completely different. Everyone is so polite, there is hardly any crime, and there are far less tourists.
The food here is not really my style - everything is pickled; they don't know what sugar is; everything is some derivative of rice; and the meat needs some help. I've actually come to enjoy their seafood more than anything else, but I haven't been adventurous enough to try some of their more interesting seafood such as live squid.
It's so nice having a tour guide. Eve has been great about showing me around to all the hotspots in Seoul and all the scenery. Hikes, palaces, nightlife, shopping, food, tea - there's so much to do here. We both got a cold the first weekend I got here and we're both still sick, which a has been kind of a drag, but it calls for some well needed downtime which has been very relaxing at Eve's place. I hasn't kept us down completely though. Wednesday we got up early and rode their extensive subway system across town to meet a friend for some intense badminton and awesome hiking. Earlier in the week we took a trip over to Deokjeokdo - an island off the mainland - for a night. The island was almost empty because of the holiday (Cheusok) except for other english teachers. We had an awesome time, you should check the pictures. So much more to talk about, but I think I babble too much.
Back to Bangkok for a night on the 2nd, then Koh Samui the 3rd and Koh Pha-ngan on the 6th till about the 16th - just in time to head over to Phuket for some diving!
I miss home a little, but I'm having so much fun. =D
Jurassic 5 - Freedom
Counting Crows - Holiday in Spain
I'm really glad I came up here to Korea. This place is great. After all the chaotic hustle in Bangkok, Seoul is a surprising change. The city is still very crowded, but the people are completely different. Everyone is so polite, there is hardly any crime, and there are far less tourists.
The food here is not really my style - everything is pickled; they don't know what sugar is; everything is some derivative of rice; and the meat needs some help. I've actually come to enjoy their seafood more than anything else, but I haven't been adventurous enough to try some of their more interesting seafood such as live squid.
It's so nice having a tour guide. Eve has been great about showing me around to all the hotspots in Seoul and all the scenery. Hikes, palaces, nightlife, shopping, food, tea - there's so much to do here. We both got a cold the first weekend I got here and we're both still sick, which a has been kind of a drag, but it calls for some well needed downtime which has been very relaxing at Eve's place. I hasn't kept us down completely though. Wednesday we got up early and rode their extensive subway system across town to meet a friend for some intense badminton and awesome hiking. Earlier in the week we took a trip over to Deokjeokdo - an island off the mainland - for a night. The island was almost empty because of the holiday (Cheusok) except for other english teachers. We had an awesome time, you should check the pictures. So much more to talk about, but I think I babble too much.
Back to Bangkok for a night on the 2nd, then Koh Samui the 3rd and Koh Pha-ngan on the 6th till about the 16th - just in time to head over to Phuket for some diving!
I miss home a little, but I'm having so much fun. =D
Jurassic 5 - Freedom
Counting Crows - Holiday in Spain
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