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
Sunday, October 28, 2007
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
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