I arrived in KL just before the Chinese New Year. It was boring so I left for Sumatra on a whim...best decision I've made -- Sumatra is the shit! But anyway, I'm not gonna bore y'all with the details so here are some pics. Most of the Malaysia pics are of Thiapusam this crazy Hindu festival. In Penang currently -- best street food city ever! Going to Southern Thailand tomorrow...two more weeks...no more blog after this so don't check. See you soon....
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89898&l=a115b&id=581927958
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89895&l=1bb8a&id=581927958
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
finally some pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85160&l=8dccd&id=581927958
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85163&l=003cd&id=581927958
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85163&l=003cd&id=581927958
Monday, January 12, 2009
Holiday in Cambodia
I'm currently in Sihanoukville, a beach resort town in Southern Cambodia It's on it's way to becoming the Puket of Cambodia. Development is going up everywhere, massive hotels, bungalows, the whole lot. The problem is -- Cambodia is still very poor. Plus, during the course of the Vietnam War we landmined the shit out of this country, most of which remain. So while you're on the beach trying to enjoy the beautiful day people come up to you trying to sell you everything, bracelets, fruit, copied books, fake sunglasses, whatever. Then come the people begging and people that come to show you their blown off hands or legs that they lost to a landmine hoping you'll give them money. Obviously, it makes it a little hard to enjoy the day. But I don't regret coming, I needed some beach and some party and easily found both.
Overall though, Cambodia is great. I started in Ratanikiri Provence, a beautiful remote area that no one visits then headed to Phnom Penh the capital, which for a city in one of the poorest countries in SE Asia is actually pretty cool. The Cambodian people are great especially considering what they've been through. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge managed to take one of the most prosperous countries in SE Asia and totally destroy it in five years killing two million in the process. But despite all this the people are still super nice and surprisingly, most speak some English. I've got a ten days left in Cambodia, a few more days here then back to the Capitol then on to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat. I then fly to Malaysia....
So I've gotten super behind on the blog, a mix of laziness and being in the middle of nowhere. I spent Christmas on Don Det, an island in the Mekong River in Laos. It was chill. Too chill actually - we were bored after a few days. Two of the people I'd been hanging out with, Brian and Dan had rented a boat for a day and explored some of the area around our island. Our island was one of thousands in the area -- dubbed the 4,000 islands -- and many were uninhabited or completely off the tourist trail. We thought it'd be cool to boat more around the area but below Don Det was a massive waterfall and travelling upstream would not have been very enjoyable. So we decided to head up about 100km north of the 4,000 islands, buy a boat and paddle down the river.
We were completely unprepared. We had no map, no supplies and barely any money. We found a boat easily enough though, it cost about $100 that we split between the four of us. We spent that night on an island in the Mekong at the only guesthouse in the area and headed off very early in the morning on a crazy adventure. The days were spent paddling down the river and trying to guess where we were. When we'd stop for food people would swarm to our boat to laugh at the stupid white people floating down the river. We spent the nights in local villages, staying in families homes or sleeping the in temple. Every village we visited people would follow us around and just stare at us -- I don't think many had seen any white people before. Most people didn't speak any English so if we were hungry we'd make eating motions and if we were tired we'd rest our head in our hands and say "sleep," it didn't always work so well. We never could figure out exactly where we were. Our first night, we had managed to hand draw a map based on the one on the wall in the guesthouse and we wrote down all the names of the towns going down the river. No one could read our map and no one had any idea of these towns we'd say to them. It took us about 5 days to get back to Don Det and we had planned on three. We arrived on New Years eve smelling of Mekong and totally exhausted. It was an epic trip though, I'd totally do something like it again.
Overall though, Cambodia is great. I started in Ratanikiri Provence, a beautiful remote area that no one visits then headed to Phnom Penh the capital, which for a city in one of the poorest countries in SE Asia is actually pretty cool. The Cambodian people are great especially considering what they've been through. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge managed to take one of the most prosperous countries in SE Asia and totally destroy it in five years killing two million in the process. But despite all this the people are still super nice and surprisingly, most speak some English. I've got a ten days left in Cambodia, a few more days here then back to the Capitol then on to Siem Riep to see Angkor Wat. I then fly to Malaysia....
So I've gotten super behind on the blog, a mix of laziness and being in the middle of nowhere. I spent Christmas on Don Det, an island in the Mekong River in Laos. It was chill. Too chill actually - we were bored after a few days. Two of the people I'd been hanging out with, Brian and Dan had rented a boat for a day and explored some of the area around our island. Our island was one of thousands in the area -- dubbed the 4,000 islands -- and many were uninhabited or completely off the tourist trail. We thought it'd be cool to boat more around the area but below Don Det was a massive waterfall and travelling upstream would not have been very enjoyable. So we decided to head up about 100km north of the 4,000 islands, buy a boat and paddle down the river.
We were completely unprepared. We had no map, no supplies and barely any money. We found a boat easily enough though, it cost about $100 that we split between the four of us. We spent that night on an island in the Mekong at the only guesthouse in the area and headed off very early in the morning on a crazy adventure. The days were spent paddling down the river and trying to guess where we were. When we'd stop for food people would swarm to our boat to laugh at the stupid white people floating down the river. We spent the nights in local villages, staying in families homes or sleeping the in temple. Every village we visited people would follow us around and just stare at us -- I don't think many had seen any white people before. Most people didn't speak any English so if we were hungry we'd make eating motions and if we were tired we'd rest our head in our hands and say "sleep," it didn't always work so well. We never could figure out exactly where we were. Our first night, we had managed to hand draw a map based on the one on the wall in the guesthouse and we wrote down all the names of the towns going down the river. No one could read our map and no one had any idea of these towns we'd say to them. It took us about 5 days to get back to Don Det and we had planned on three. We arrived on New Years eve smelling of Mekong and totally exhausted. It was an epic trip though, I'd totally do something like it again.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Vang Vieng
So there is this little town in Laos called Vang Vieng. Hugging the Nam Song river, surrounded by beautiful mountains and practically in the middle of nowhere it has become this sort of massively popular party town. It's quite surreal really, there are a million little bar restaurants where you can get mostly western food (read: pizza) and for whatever reason watch Friends. Yes, that crappy TV show. It appears that the Lao think that westerners are beer guzzling, pizza eating, marijuana smoking, crappy sitcom watching people. While, admittedly, this is not so far off, the idea of a place like Vang Vieng is, for many westerners, hell on earth. I was weary about going but was in serious need of some party. See, unlike most of South America where even the smallest little shit town is likely to have an all night rumba, South East Asia closes early and parties seldom (outside of the major tourist areas of course). So we headed out.
Most people go tubing in Vang Vieng -- yes, apple river style tubing. You get a tube at about 11am, float down the river and get drunk and at various riverside bars. They throw out bamboo sticks, reel you in give you free shots and encourage you to go on their massive, dangerous rope swings and zip lines into the river. Needless to say, many people come back severely drunk and hurt. Apparently, some people have actually died -- getting too drunk and drowning in the river. But like any third world country desperate for tourist's cash there are no safety regulations and no one even suggesting that massive amounts of alcohol, 20 foot high rope swings and dangerous rapids might not go together so nicely. But in the end, I'm glad a place like Vang Vieng exists -- get in, have fun, get out. Though it saddens me when I meet people who waste 2 weeks of their month long trip to SE Asia in a place like Vang Vieng. It seems like such a waste; I think we'd all be better off if they'd just go to Wisconsin.
Laos is more expensive than Thailand. This is relative of course -- I mean, I'm still spending well under $20 a day. It's also a little less touristy but not by much. You also get charged for EVERYTHING. For the first time in my life I've actually paid to walk (not drive) across a bridge. Ridiculous -- seriously, I could have waded through the river. The local currency is the Kip. You get about $8,800 kip to the dollar making transactions extra fun. Plus the biggest bill they have is a 50,000 kip. This "large" bill has apparently just been introduced. They celebrate this achievement by posting billboard adverts all over the country. It's like "yay! inflation!" Obviously, I'm a bit annoyed by the wad of cash stuffing up my pocket that equals about two dollars. But anyway, hows the states? I hear it's cold!
Most people go tubing in Vang Vieng -- yes, apple river style tubing. You get a tube at about 11am, float down the river and get drunk and at various riverside bars. They throw out bamboo sticks, reel you in give you free shots and encourage you to go on their massive, dangerous rope swings and zip lines into the river. Needless to say, many people come back severely drunk and hurt. Apparently, some people have actually died -- getting too drunk and drowning in the river. But like any third world country desperate for tourist's cash there are no safety regulations and no one even suggesting that massive amounts of alcohol, 20 foot high rope swings and dangerous rapids might not go together so nicely. But in the end, I'm glad a place like Vang Vieng exists -- get in, have fun, get out. Though it saddens me when I meet people who waste 2 weeks of their month long trip to SE Asia in a place like Vang Vieng. It seems like such a waste; I think we'd all be better off if they'd just go to Wisconsin.
Laos is more expensive than Thailand. This is relative of course -- I mean, I'm still spending well under $20 a day. It's also a little less touristy but not by much. You also get charged for EVERYTHING. For the first time in my life I've actually paid to walk (not drive) across a bridge. Ridiculous -- seriously, I could have waded through the river. The local currency is the Kip. You get about $8,800 kip to the dollar making transactions extra fun. Plus the biggest bill they have is a 50,000 kip. This "large" bill has apparently just been introduced. They celebrate this achievement by posting billboard adverts all over the country. It's like "yay! inflation!" Obviously, I'm a bit annoyed by the wad of cash stuffing up my pocket that equals about two dollars. But anyway, hows the states? I hear it's cold!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Laos
Really, I've been meaning to write more but I just can't sit around the computer for so long anymore...at least not when it's so nice outside. I'm not sure it's rained since I've been here. But anyway, I'm currently in Laos, known for mmmmmm nothing I guess...It's land locked and very poor. The locals are nice enough though and the landscape is amazing. Plus they drink this rice whiskey called lao lao that is really, really cheap and there is the very drinkable beer lao. Accomodation is slightly more expensive than Thailand costing a whopping five dollars a night for a room and food is dirt cheap -- I've been eating at this outdoor veggie buffet, you fill your plate for about 50 cents. I've spent the last two days travelling down the Mekong River on a slow boat. I'm not sure that that sounds super exciting and to be honest it wasn't, they cram a bunch of tourists on a shotty boat with asian (read small) size seats and you go down the river. It's nice for like an hour when you're like oooo look a mountain or ooooo look some kids bathing in the water. Then you stop at a small village and it's that whole human zoo thing that kinda makes you sick so you start thinking about the dollar beer lao they are selling in the back and well you know the rest of the story. But really, Laos is great. The french colonized the reagion so there are some great colonial buildings and if you are sick as shit of noodles and rice you can get a baguette sandwich and they have real coffee. Plus there are real cool signs in our guest house that say we can't have sex with anyone unless they are our wife and that if we do drugs we will be subject to the death penelty but of course there are people offering you weed everyday. And to top it all off, the bars close at 1130 and there is a 12am curfew. Yes, you must be in your bed by 12 or you are breaking the law. But seriously, I do like this place.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Chiang Mai, Pai and the Mae Hong Son Loop
Chiang Mai is the gateway to northern Thailand and also the second biggest city (I think?). Most people use the city as a base to do some trekking, visit hill tribes and ride elephants. People are like jumping out of their seats to get you on to these organized tours. I contemplated it and decided it just wasn't for me and headed to Pai intent on renting a motorbike and riding around the mountains for a while. Pai is a total hippy town. It's super chill, set in the mountains and seems to attract all sorts of different people. After the craziness of Bangkok and the tourist trap of Chiang Mai I found it quite refreshing. In Pai I got together some people I had met in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, rented some 125cc scooters for 3 dollars a day, bought a map and headed out.
ahhhh...I really intended to write about this whole 5 day trip, about how I got deathly ill for two days, rode my bike into a ditch, made it to the Burmese border, saw some great little villages with the nicest people and had a super awesome time but I've been on the internet for going on two hours and am hungry. I'm back in Pai, I didn't get hurt on my fall (though it was quite amusing to many a Thai) and my death sickness was terrible yet short lived. Maybe I'll write more about it later but probably not. I did, however, post a bunch of pictures to facebook. See the link below (you don't need to sign up). I've given up posting pics directly to this site, it's way too slow.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73785&l=fc80a&id=581927958
ahhhh...I really intended to write about this whole 5 day trip, about how I got deathly ill for two days, rode my bike into a ditch, made it to the Burmese border, saw some great little villages with the nicest people and had a super awesome time but I've been on the internet for going on two hours and am hungry. I'm back in Pai, I didn't get hurt on my fall (though it was quite amusing to many a Thai) and my death sickness was terrible yet short lived. Maybe I'll write more about it later but probably not. I did, however, post a bunch of pictures to facebook. See the link below (you don't need to sign up). I've given up posting pics directly to this site, it's way too slow.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73785&l=fc80a&id=581927958
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thailand so far
My first impression of Bangkok was not so good. I stayed near the Khao San Road -- an area infamous for backpackers and all night partying. It is unique. However, I found it to be too much; too many tourists, too many people pushing shit on you, too much bad music and too many dreadlocks. Once I ventured out of the area though, I found a much different city and began to really like it.
Bangkok is a city of contrasts. On one hand it seems very poor. Things are ridiculously cheap; my own private rooms cost about $4 a night, and most meals bought on the street cost about one dollar (and so far the stomach is holding out). On the other hand there are upscale malls and massive brand new hotels in the "new Bangkok" area -- a place not unlike Columbus Circle or something. Yesterday, I visited an 8 floor mall that was all computers, fake video games, fake software and fake DVD's. Really, you can get anything in Bangkok for very cheap.
Getting around the city is an adventure in itself. The bus system is extensive if not a nightmare to figure out. But it is so cheap, you just kinda hop on and hope it sorts itself out. You can also travel by river boat, tuk tuk (motorized rikshaw), motorcycle and taxi cab (about $2 for a half hour ride). There is also a brand new sky train that is fairly impressive, though, at the moment only covers a small section of the city. Traffic in Bangkok is horrendous, probably wost I've seen; red lights are a suggestion, cross walks are wherever and motorbikes sometimes feel its necessary to ride on the sidewalk. It's all a bit nuts.
Thai people -- when there not pushing this or that on you -- seem very nice and helpful and so far seem to speak enough English to avoid total frustration. I'm currently in Chiang Mai and plan to bum around the north for a few weeks then head to Laos -- I've heard great things. I hear it's cold in the states. Sucks....
Bangkok is a city of contrasts. On one hand it seems very poor. Things are ridiculously cheap; my own private rooms cost about $4 a night, and most meals bought on the street cost about one dollar (and so far the stomach is holding out). On the other hand there are upscale malls and massive brand new hotels in the "new Bangkok" area -- a place not unlike Columbus Circle or something. Yesterday, I visited an 8 floor mall that was all computers, fake video games, fake software and fake DVD's. Really, you can get anything in Bangkok for very cheap.
Getting around the city is an adventure in itself. The bus system is extensive if not a nightmare to figure out. But it is so cheap, you just kinda hop on and hope it sorts itself out. You can also travel by river boat, tuk tuk (motorized rikshaw), motorcycle and taxi cab (about $2 for a half hour ride). There is also a brand new sky train that is fairly impressive, though, at the moment only covers a small section of the city. Traffic in Bangkok is horrendous, probably wost I've seen; red lights are a suggestion, cross walks are wherever and motorbikes sometimes feel its necessary to ride on the sidewalk. It's all a bit nuts.
Thai people -- when there not pushing this or that on you -- seem very nice and helpful and so far seem to speak enough English to avoid total frustration. I'm currently in Chiang Mai and plan to bum around the north for a few weeks then head to Laos -- I've heard great things. I hear it's cold in the states. Sucks....
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