TON SAI BEACH
Well, it’s been a couple of weeks now so I've got a few things to talk about I think. When I left off we were on our way to Railey beach. We didn't actually stay on Railey we stayed on a beach called Ton Sai which is cheaper both for sleeping and for climbing. I may as well just say it, "We did not go climbing." This is the third time I've been to this damn place now with the hopes of climbing but once again things were working against me. All four of the girls decided that they didn't want to go climbing at the last minute. Now before you start calling me a pussy it's not as easy as just going by myself. If I went by myself I would be put into a group of people I didn't know and have to wait for my turn to climb. The group thing is actually a great way to meet people but not all groups are fun. I could be in a shit group and have to not only wait for my turn but then stand around and wait for others to climb. I'll make it up the damn mountain one of these days. Maybe I'll be able to talk my buddy Viz into it. His brother doesn't like heights so I think it's a no go for him. Although the girls didn't go climbing they did decide to go kayaking for "one" hour. lol Remember my last blog when I was having such an incredible time on the beach. Well, that was my only day on the beach. I tried but it's just not in me. Sand everywhere and in everything, the sun beating down on you and I just can't lay on the beach for hours on end. That one beach day with the girls turned into every fucking day being a beach day. I'll say it right here and now. I very quickly came to the conclusion that girls in their early twenties and a 30 year old guy have very little in common. I think we only stayed on Ton Sai beach for two days but we did have one fun night. The girls went to the bar early for a couple of drinks while I stayed in the room to read for a bit. The bar was having some Thai Boxing that they wanted to watch and I had already seen my share of it. This fighting was rigged anyway since they do it for the tourists every night. By the time I got to the bar the fighting was done and the girls had had a couple of buckets (micky of rum, two cokes and a red bull in a bucket). It wasn't long before all four of the girls had gloves on and were having a free for all in the ring. Not much actual boxing or even wrestling but the girls were having fun and the crowd enjoyed the show. The girls exhausted themselves and made way for the next batch of people who wanted a go at each other. After that it was pretty much it for the night. The next day we woke up and where on our way. We left for Krabi in the morning and went back to the Chan Cha Lay which we all liked. They had two rooms for us. Mandy and I shared one and the other three girls got to share one of the big rooms. It was really a very nice room. One of the best we've seen. The women who run the place really love to decorate and really seem to be good at it. Definately some style at this place. After a couple of days we decided to catch a night train back up north to Bangkok which is actually some fun and the beds are not bad compared to riding on a bus. They have a guy who walks up and down the train with a bucket of cold drinks and I took it upon myself to have a few beers so the ride was actually quite nice. At the little stops on the way up north you can quickly jump off the train and grab some food from the stalls if your fast enough. When we got to Bangkok I decided that I would get my own room instead of sharing. The girls were looking for something a little swanky and I just wanted cheap. I found a room for 120 baht ($4.50) and the four girls decided to share a room for 1200 baht ($48). They felt they needed a pool and somewhere to suntan. You can see what I'm saying about every day a beach day. I had been craving some butter chicken with naan bread and there was an Indian restaurant on Khoa San Rd where I found some. It turned out that they had rooms upstairs so that is where I ended up staying. We stayed for a couple of days before heading off to Kanchanaburi and the Bridge on the River Kwai.
KANCHANABURI
For only 60 baht ($2) each we all climbed into an air conditioned mini van for our two hour ride west of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. Not only did this place have the Bridge on the River Kwai and the Erewan National Park with some amazing water falls but it's also the cheapest place I've been too in Thailand. The five of us and two Austrians in the van all decided to stay at a place called the Jolly Frog. It's very popular with backpackers and it's were I stayed the two other times I'd been to Kanchanaburi. The people are nice, the rooms are big and cheap and they have a huge, cheap menu. Steaks, pasta and everything. Melissa and Mandy got their own room, Jessie and Rhiannon got theirs and I got my own. I didn't realize how much I was missing my own room till I got my own in Bangkok. Although Melissa and Mandy are pretty young they still go to bed early every night and up by 7am damn near every day. I was always feeling bad when I would come home at around 1 - 2am, sometimes drunk, and they were fast asleep. They assured me it was no problem but I still felt a little dinky. Anyway, from this point on I had my own room. My room was only 200 baht and it was a pretty good size with a huge comfortable bed and my own bathroom. Still having to deal with diahrea by this point it was a good thing. It just so happened that when we got to Kanchanaburi it was the last night of a celebration that had to do with the Bridge so we all bought tickets for later that night. Since we got there relatively early that day the girls all decided to go to an animal sanctuary where there are full grown tigers to pet and other animals to feed. I had my picture taken with a tiger a couple times on Ko Samui so I decided to skip this trip. The girls loved it. They fully enjoyed themselves while they got their pictures with the tigers and fed the other animals. For the rest of the day they relaxed and got massaged before the show that night. At 7 pm we all met in the common area of the guest house and waited to climb into the van. We arrived at a little place about 100 meters down river from the bridge and were walked out onto a platform just above the water and about 100 feet from shore. Here we sat and waited for about an hour for the show to start. I tried to take some pictures but my camera isn't that good in the dark. The lights went out and the music started and the show began. On the far side of the river was a little village built along the shore. A movie was projected onto the first two pillars of the bridge and it looked pretty interesting except that the angle was a little off to get a good view and the whole damn thing was in Thai. No english and no good view. When the sound of planes were played and the first of the huge fucking explosions happened we were all caught off guard and it scared the shit out of the lot of us. The search lights in the village along the shore went on and the guns started firing with tracer bullets going off into the sky. After a bit it quieted down and the movie went on again. Next came the train. The headlight came into view and then the train, slowly trudging along the tracks. Along behind the train as it crossed the middle of the bridge came more explosion. The train moved on and the movie started again. If only we could see or understand. Something to do with the Japanese I would think. Here come those fucking planes again. This time a direct hit. The bridge and water around it exploded... parts of the bridge collapsed. The village retaliated... more gunfire... more shelling. The village was taking some direct hits; explosions, bright lights, fires... every thing was F.U.B.A.R. With the village burning and the bridge in disrepair the allies were winning. The movie started again and the song from the Movie Bridge on the River Kwai was being whistled. Those who know the movie know the song. With the whistling fading and the village burning the lights came on and the show was over... or so we thought. Then came the fireworks. Only about 5-10 minutes but pretty good. And with that the show was over. Along with the celebration for the bridge there was also a huge festival going on right near. Despite my best efforts the girls all just went back to the bungalow. I was left to wander the festival by myself. This was another indication that the girls may even just be a little bit boring. Yes I said it, boring. It was an odd night when the girls would stay out to do anything. The festival was great. Tons to eat and see and lots to buy. I restrained myself from buying anything but I ate lots. So cheap. Under a dollar for a whole BBQ chicken breast and sticky rice. How could I not eat it? Either way it must not have been enough because when I got back to town around midnight there was a place called the "No Name Bar" which I like that serves english food. On their menu they had roast beef with yorkshire and mashed potatoes. I ordered it and ate as much as I could. The yorkshire was soo good I went back the next night and ordered four more of them with a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy. God i was stuffed. Anyway, after the festival and too much food I went to my room smoked a little weed and read for all of two minutes before I was in la la land. The next day we woke late and just lazed around for a bit before we had some lunch and made our way to the Erewan National Park... the most popular national park in Thailand. The five of us hired a mini van for the day for 120 baht ($4.50) each. The park is home to the Erewan Waterfalls. These falls are a series of 7 falls with pools for swimming in all but one of them. The last time I came it was on a weekend when the park fills with locals and tourists alike. This time we were there on a Monday and aside from a few locals and the odd tourist we could basically swim were we wanted and just take our time getting to the top. At the bottom waterfall, the first one, Jessie took out a bag of chips she just bought and after the girls ate a few she folded the chip bag and put it away. Before you knew it there was a flash of brown fur and a momma monkey and her baby had snached it out of Jessies bag and were up a tree. Unfortunately the monkey opened the bag upside down and lost most of it anyway. That little shit was fast. Probably would have snached it right from her hands if it wasn't in the bag. Besides that little episode it was a beautiful day and the water was so clear and refreshing. Little bit chilly but very much needed. We spent the day climbing and swimming and just having fun. It only took us about 1 1/2 hours to reach the top and then we started on our way down. We left the park at around 5 pm and headed back to town. After a good dinner and a movie it was time for bed for the girls. They had decided to go to the city of Ayuthaya the next day and were off to bed early, nothing new. Ayuthaya used to be the old capital city of Thailand when it was called Siam about 300 - 400 years ago. There are lots of ruins to see in Ayuthaya but once again I'd seen Ayuthaya and decided to stay in Kanchanaburi for one more day. The plan was to meet up with the girls back in Bangkok on the 10th of December for Rhiannons birthday. I do have to say one thing though. With the history that is in this place and as close as the girls were to it I was really dissapointed that they never took the time to actually go and see the bridge or the museums that are here too. So close to something this big in our history and no effort to go and see it. Melissa took the time to read a little book on it but then didn't even go see it. Oh well, to each their own. Anyway, with the girls off to Ayuthaya I set off for a day of moped riding and checking out the Allied cemetary, the new museum and the old one. Last time I was here I was a little rushed so this time I took the whole day and read as much as I could. Very interesting and shocking. Makes me want to learn more when I get home. I returned the moped walked up to the No Name Bar and had some drinks with the guys I met a couple nights earlier. My mini van didn't head back into Bangkok until 2pm the next day so I could sleep in, which is what I did.
BANGKOK
Now normally I wouldn't write about Bangkok because mostly it's just the same thing. Head to the mall or see the sights during the day and then hang around Khao San Rd. and email or drink at night. This night was going to be a little different. First of all when I got back into Bangkok at around 4pm I just went to the guest house above the Indian restaurant, cleaned up and dropped my stuff in the room. I went down to the street and headed out. I sent the girls an email saying that I was just going to let them do their thing that night. First because it was Rhiannons birthday and second because the girls had been getting closer and closer and it was even getting hard just to get in on the conversation. I headed out after sending the email and happened to find a TV with some Ultimate Fighting on where I could just sit, watch and have a beer. I started chatting with a guy from Santiago, Chile and we just talked and drank until the fighting was over. I'd tell you this guys name but fucked if I can remember. Juan Juis or something close to it I think he said. Anyway, after the fights we headed to a bar at the end of Khao San called Gullivers. This place has a full size tuk tuk over the door and it's a great place for drinking and playing pool. Wouldn't you know it but we ran into the girls coming out the front door. After some quick hellos and introductions they headed down to a place called Lava's where we decided to meet them a little later. We went into Gullivers for a couple of beers and pool games and then headed down to Lava's. The girls were well on there way and had hooked up with some Australians when we got there. While they danced us two guys decided to do a little more drinking. The price for a beer in this place was 110 baht for a small (regular size) beer. It's only 90 for a big beer anywhere else so we decided to leave and meet up with the girls later. We just went to the 7-11 grabbed a big beer each for only 60 baht and just wandered Khao San. Somewhere along the way I lost Juan Juis. We were pretty shit faced by now and lost each other in the crowd. I headed back to Lavas and met the girls coming out with the Aussies. They were all heading back the The Grand Guest House where the guys were staying to play some pool and so I joined them. When we got there we ordered about a dozen big Calrsberg for 9 of us and drank and played pool. The girls puttered out around 1am and the guys were left to play pool. We finished the beer and a couple more games and left to wander Khao San. Me and two Aussies went back to my room and smoked a shit load of weed. Too much in fact and when the two Aussies staggered out of my room at about 3am and I roled over and went to bed. Now here's where it gets funky. About 10am I woke to find my room a mess. I was so fucking hung over it took me a good 5 minutes to realize what the hell I was seeing. When the Aussies left my room I left the light on and the door unlocked. Someone had come into my room while I was passed out and had gone through all my shit. My bags had still been closed from showing up earlier that day. No shitting you but my bags were both open and eveything I had was scattered around my room. Whoever it was had gone through everthing. Every pocket and every zipper had been opened. My travelers cheques worth 500 US were gone and so was a nice little portabel short wave radio/alarm clock that I had. These people even went into my pockets of the shorts I was wearing and took the last of my baht from there. For whatever reason they left my cameras, my hard drive full of pictures and music, my passport, my credit card. They had handled it all but left it. I went downstairs to tell the guy who ran the guest house but he did nothing. I crawled back into bed and suffered through my hang over and the weirdest feeling of having someone in my room and sleeping through it all. That night at 11pm, which was 8am back home, I called my mom for the numbers to my travelers cheques and went through the whole process of getting them refunded. Police station at 1am and the whole bit. By the time I got off the phone with the Thomas Cook people, and their reasurance that my travelers cheques would be refunded to me in Bangkok it was 3am and I had a bus to catch to Cambodia at a quarter to 7. Still feeling hung over I went back to my room packed up all my stuff again and fell asleep for a grand total of 3 hours. This time my door was locked and my light was out.
CAMBODIA
I met the girls in front of the Sugar guest house, where we had bought our tickets, at 10 to 7 in the morning. The girls, a couple of whom had been as hung over as I was, looked about as worn out as I did. The girls who regularly got up at 7am were now looking decidedly worse for wear. lol We waited around till about 10 after 7 and then walked about a block away to catch our bus. We loaded our bags under the bus, found ourselves some seats and waited for other groups of people to join us. Talk about a small world. Kirk and Miguel, the two guys from Abbotsford we met in Lanta, climbed on the bus as one of the last groups. Kirk sat a little ways behind and Miguel sat with me. Nice to have somone other than a stranger to sit with. With the last of the people on board we set off for Cambodia, the city of Siem Reap and the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat I believe just so happens to be one of the seven wonders of the world but I'm not too sure so don't quote me on that. The first part of the journey is a four hour bus ride to a city about 15 minutes on the Thai side of the border. Here we go to a restaurant where we can get our Visas done and exchange some money. Now there are three currencies used in Cambodia. There is the US Dollar, the Thai Baht and the Cambodian Real. I exchanged 4300 Baht into $100 US dollars. It should have been only 4000 baht with the proper exchange rate but since this was the only place we could do it we were screwed. The currency conversion we all went by was 1US = 40Baht = 4000Real. As easy as that seems when your trying to figure something out and there are three damn currencies to work with it gets a little frustrating to say the least. We waited around for about an hour and a half while our Visas were done and so we ate and checked our emails. With the Visas done we all climbed back on the bus and headed for the border. Once at the border we all grabbed our bags and following our travel guy we made for the crossing. I don't know why but I have to be one of those people that gets there first. Whenever I'm travelling I'm usually the first one ready, first on the bus or boat, first over the border and so on. Don't know why I just like to get it done fast and with no hassle. So the first one through and out of Thailand I get to a bridge sorta thing where we can see the Cambodian border. Here we wait till our whole bus full of people gets through and then we move on. Here is where we start to see the poverty. Children asking for whatever they can get, mothers nursing kids sitting on the sidewalk.... it's not even bad yet. We walk past big casinos with rich white people ignoring the beggers and then through the Cambodian border. Once on the other side and now in Cambodia the little town is disgusting. Poverty, dirt and garbage are everywhere. We wait for all the people on the bus to pass through the border and then wait in a group to be led onward. After about 45 minutes we are led about two blocks away to sit in a travel agency and wait some more. Here we are systematically separated into groups to be put onto smaller buses and mini vans. By now we have a group of 9 people who have joined up. It's the four girls and me, Kirk and Miguel and two Aussie girls Sarah and Josie who are sticking together. As the last batch to go we finally get onto a smaller bus and are on our way. The paved road lasts for about an hour and then it turns into the most hideous of dirt roads for about 4 hours and then paved for another hour. Just at the end of the paved road our bus pulls up to a restaurant and we pick up 5 more people. We thought we were loaded but there were 4 fold down seats into the aisle. I moved back into one of those to make room and it was a very stupid mistake. I should have just kept my seat and let one of the new guys take the fold down one. The fold down seat acted more like a fucking spring board while we moved down the dirt road. Instead of being just bumped around I was flung all over the fucking place. Having come to Cambodia last year, and having had to take this journey on the back up a little pickup (broken down bus they said) with 11 other people and 7 in the cab I knew how bad these roads were. The roads were as bad if not worse this time around. Along the way we all chatted and made friends. We took pictures and the nine of us met two others, Matt (American) and Michelle (Canandian). Every two hours we stop too eat and stretch our legs. Most times we don't even want to stop we just want to keep going but it's the way it goes when traveling in South East Asia. Everyone has deals with everyone and the drivers had deals to stop for food at these places. With about 23 backpackers on this little bus the whole back of it was full of backpacks that threatened to avalanche on the back row of people, Kirk, Miguel and Matt and Michelle, whenever we hit a huge bump, which was always. Along the way one of the Aussie girls, Sarah, used her cell phone to call ahead and make reservations for the 9 of us at a guest house. However, when we finally pulled into Siem Reap at 9:30pm and the whole bus taken to one specific Guest House we all, the whole bus, decided to stay there. The place was new, the rooms were big and it was close. We were so tired we all just wanted somewhere to clean up and eat. My room with a big comfy bed and my own bathroom was only $3 US a night. Not too bad. The group of us which now numbered 11 people all met in the restaurant and had a few beers and ate while we made plans for the next day. It was told to us that it was impossible now to rent mopeds in Cambodia and we would all have to have a moped with a guide for $7 US a day. Even though I had rented mopeds last year the people assured me it was impossible. We made plans to leave for Angkor Wat at 10am the next day and continued chatting until eveyone slowly headed off for bed. I had a much needed shower and passed out around midnight.
At 10am we were all up and raring to go. We had 9 mopeds with guides and Kirk and Miguel had a Cambodian style Tuk Tuk with a driver for the two of them. We had our own little guide driven motor cycle gang. About 10-15 minutes outside Siem Reap are the gates to Angkor. We each bought a 3 day pass for $40 US and when everyone was through we all started off on our days adventure. Now I'm not going to go too much into this place because my words just couldnt do it justice and because there would be way too much to talk about. Needless to say we saw a huge number of temples, statues and ancient places. We climbed and ran and took picture after picture. The 11 of us stayed together and had a most incredible day. I'll try to post pictures of the group and the ruins. We started our day at Angkor Thom and the last place we went to that day was Angkor Wat itself. The place is stunning. We spent a couple hours there and near the end a bunch from our group talked with three young buddist monks. When the group and one of the monks moved on Miguel and I stayed and talked with the remaining two monks and for a bit. The monks spent a part of there day at the temples and sometimes talk with people to get a little help with their english. These two monks were only about 25 years old. Miguel and I somehow conveyed to them that we wanted to see a place called the Hall of Echoes. They took us there and it turned out to be a little square alcove where if you bang on your chest the sound resonates upwards like a big fleshy gong. Words don't echo but a thump on the chest makes a big hollow sound. Very impressive. We left soon after and once we found the rest of our group we made our way out of Angkor Wat. The group had plans to watch the sunset that night from the top of a huge hill with a temple on it. It'a basically the only hill, small mountain, we had seen on our whole trip into Cambodia. A couple of us suspected that this small mountain may have been the earth that was removed from around Angkor Wat when they built the huge moat. After a whole day of walking, running, climbing and jumping around, and of which halfway through the day a couple of the girls were worn out and had contemplated going back to the Guest House, it was not a nice prospect to be climbing this damn big hill. We all made it, found some good vantage points on top of the temple and waited for the sun to go down. The two young monks happened to be on top at the temple and showed me where a nice place to watch from was, where no one could get in the way. The wait wasn't long and the sunset was marvelous. Well worth the climb. It made the sky a bright red and yellow while the bright orange ball of the sun slowly decended beyond the horizon. The sky glowed orange and slowy got dark. With that everyone headed home. Miguel and I stayed a little longer talking with the monks and checking out the temple on the hill in the dying light of that day. We stayed a little too long actually because we had to climb down that damn hill in the dark which was a little adventure in and of itself. We made it down and headed for home. The group of ours was already downing some beers and talking about dinner. Our guides had told us of a place with grilled beef and soup and karaoke which we all decided sounded like fun. At about 8pm after getting cleaned up the whole group got together again and we started heading to dinner. Instead of heading into town the guides took us out of town to a Cambodian restaurant. We were the only tourist and certainly it seemed we were an oddity. A few tables were put together for us and we sat down to start our evening. We were all treated to Angkor beer which was very good and some traditional Cambodian soup. The soup was made right at the table on three burners that were set up, on for each table. The beef in the soup took some getting used to because it had some bone, grissel and fat to chew around but the taste was very good. On the side there was a plate of lean strips of beef mixed together with one egg. We were to take the beef with chop sticks and dip it into the soup to cook and then eat. Enough people lost their strips of meat into the soup that the last couple of bowls were very meaty and good. After the meat was gone there was more broth added to the pots and after it heated up there were noodles added to our bowls and then broth poured over top. All in all very good and very filling. We were all pretty full and getting a little drunk so the grills weren't added to the burners for grilling any of the meat. Dinner was put away, more beer was downed and our Cambodian guides sang some Karaoke for us. After enough beer was had, three of the girls, Melissa, Mandy and Sarah got up to sing a few Britney songs. We were the last group at the restaurant, maybe it was the singing. After dinner our guides took us to a Cambodian night club where the locals go to. The beer was expensive but the atmosphere was great. To begin with when our group arrived they were playing tratitional Cambodian music. The people crowded onto the dance floor moved in a slow circle and slowly moved their hands, waving them back and forth kinda like a hoola dance. We all enjoyed ourselves and did our best to join in. Just when we thought this would be the way the dancing went for the night the techno and rave music started up which really reved everyone up. It was funny seeing everyone, including the Cambodian people, go straight from the traditional dance to the much more upbeat and wild dancing. This lasted for a while and then went back to the traditional, back and forth all night. We closed down the bar, most of us pretty plastered but at least we had our guides to drive us home. I should say that the guides drove us to the restaurant and the club without charging us anything. They were just showing us around and having fun. We really enjoyed our night out and our little look into the lives of Cambodian people. I must say and I think that my fellow travelers will agree that Cambodian people are really very beautiful. They love to have fun and smile a lot. Our guides were a lot of fun. We all headed for bed none the worse for wear and decided again to meet at 10am in the common area.
Again at 10am our group was up and ready to go. Today I had a new guide because as my last guide told me the day before, today would be the day his girlfriend would become his fiance and within the month his wife. So with that I had a new guide and with it this day a new price. Our guides today were going to cost us $14 dollars US because they were going to take us out aways from Angkor to show us some different ruins. It was a very neat set of ruins and the ride out into the countryside was spectacular. Small stands of trees interspersing the huge fields of rice and grain with huts and homes and the Cambodian people all along the way. On the way back from the temple towards Angkor we stopped at a families home on the side of the road and were shown how they make Palm Sugar. They start by climbing palm trees and cutting phalic looking fruit, not fruit really but pods, off the trees and then crushing them to get the liquid out. Like sugar kane. The liquid is boiled down, stirred as it cools and then poured into molds which are then put out to set. It's very sweet and tastes kinda like when brown sugar goes hard. We were all given some to try as we watched the process and were set upon by children selling everything from the Palm Sugar (3 wrapped packets for $1) to wooden boats to bracelets... everything. The kids were very cute and I got a picture of a bunch together. I'm afraid they thought if they let me take their picture all together I would probably be more inclined to buy more things but I didn't. I bout one $1 bunch of Palm Sugar but that was it. I was already getting fleeced by the kids at the temples and had already boughten one of almost everything else. Two t-shirts, two books, postcards, wooden mouth twangy instrument like the hill billies use and a few other things. They were suckin me dry. We all stayed for a bit, took some pictures and were on our way. With that we went to see maybe four or five more temples around Angkor and then headed for home. No god awful hill for the sunset this night. We stopped at the market on the way home a did a little looking around and exploring. The four girls I was with were leaving early the next day to head back to Thailand and I was getting an early night because Kirk, Miguel, Matt, Michelle and I had decided that we would be up early the next day to watch the sunrise over Angkor. I wanted to get my three days worth out of my ticket to Angkor so I decided to stay for one more day.
Up at 5am and on our way by 5:15. My first guide was back which I liked because me second guide spoke very little english and he had this way of sliding back on the moped seat which made me a little uncomfortable. One too many nudges if you know what I mean. lol Anyway, we set off for Angkor and right away we realized why it was called the winter season. My guide says they only have three seasons in Cambodia; hot, cold and rainy. Their cold season is only mildly stipheling during the day to us but it gets a little chilly at night. It was still dark of course and I wore a t-shirt and my tear-away pants which might as well have been underwear. We froze on the way to the temple. We got there finally and to our relief realized that we didn't have to climb the big damn hill to watch the sunrise but only had to go into the grounds of Angkor. We left our guides, battled the little kids, and went past the first part of the temple and into the inner grounds to watch the spectacle unfold. There weren't too many people so we got a pretty good spot, got out our cameras and waited for the event to amaze us. Well there was no event, no amazing sight or spectacular vision to revisit in my minds eye in the years to come. It just got lighter out. We could have shown up a couple hours later and seen the same damn thing. One good thing did come out of it though. We were able to pretty much do what we wanted around Angkor Wat. With only about a couple hundred people we were able to take pictures without people all over the place and climb stairs and explore where we wanted. Luckily soon after the sun comes out the tempurature rises by a good 20 degrees. We spent a solid 3 hours doing what we wanted before wading through the little kids again and finding our guides for the return home. I should say that these little punks are pretty fuckin brazen in their selling tactics. If you say you have no money they call you a liar, if you say your sorry but no thanks they tell you that does them no fuckin good and ask how will they eat. Not to mention the damn puppy dog eyes. As I mentioned before, they could spot a sucker like me a mile away. Anyway, we headed home for a nap and then made plans for a night out. I had bought my ticket for $10 US for my ride back to bangkok over that god awful road. Rumour has it that Thai Airways owns and won't fix that road so that people will fly instead of drive. It almost worked too damnit except that I'm too cheap for that. Kirk, Miguel, Sarah, Josie, Matt and Michelle had all made plans to travel south to Phenom Phen the next morning. So as we were all traveling the next morning we all decided to go out for a nice dinner and then for some drinks and dancing. We all stuffed ourselves and I even found a nice big fresh salad which I had been craving for a long time. In Thailand they don't put lettuce in their salads but cabbage. I sometimes buy a salad thinking it will have lettuce only to once again get cabbage. Sometimes they fool you by putting the whole thing on a single lettuce leaf and covering the cabbage with other veggies. Finally I found a nice big salad and it was sooooo good. That and a really good Hawaiian Pizza. After we all ate we went to a place called Laundry and it had a good pool table, some great music and a really cool atmosphere. It actually looked like a classy little bar you'd find back home. There were some very pretty young ladies there doing shooters where they had to lick salt off each others necks and then kiss as they took the lime out of another girls mouth. Great entertainment while it lasted. Matt was nicely pissed so he was right in there. We stayed until about midnight and then hired some moped drivers to take us home. We all said our goodbyes, traded our email addresses promising to stay in touch and then headed off for bed. The others were leaving at 6am and I was leaving at 7am. Them on a boat and me in a bus. I think we all really enjoyed Siem Reap except that for me I spent about an 11 day Thailand budget on 4 days on Cambodia. I packed up my bags which by now are getting pretty damn full and then fell asleep thinking of the road ahead, literally and figuratively.
BANGKOK
My bus got into Bangkok at around 8pm. Since the place above the Indian restaurant is so cheap I just decided to head there. The girls had one of my walkie talkies and so it was easy enough to track them down. They were once again staying at the D&D Inn which they all really liked. By now it was the 16th of December and the Kiwis were taking the train down south on the night of the 17th for a few days before heading home on the 24th. This being their last night we all went out for dinner at a nice restaurant. At either end of Khao San Rd. they close it off at night now and there are taxi, tuk tuk and motorcycle taxi guys who hang around trying to get you to take their respective vehicles. The tuk tuk drivers are the most relentless and they always ask if you wanna go see a ping pong show or get a special massage, "Fun for you, pretty girl." Anyway, tonight the girls were actually a little interested in the ping pong show. So for only 10 baht the tuk tuk drivers drove us to dinner and because we showed the slightest interest in a ping pong show they waited outside the restaurant the whole time. For those women that don't know what a ping pong show is I'm not going to tell you here. Ask a man you know and he'll probably tell you. Anyway, dinner was very good. Salmon steak for me with a great garlic dill butter sauce. mmmmmmmm We all ate way too much which we always do when the food is good. We took some pics of the girls last dinner together and headed out. Over dinner the girls had decided that they wanted to go see a ping pong show with a little warning from Rhiannon that she might just kick every guys ass who was there and whisk the woman off stage to safety. The ping pong show was not to be however. The tuk tuk guys neglected to tell us that it would be 500Baht for each of us. We were all for it when we thought it was free, just buy drinks and watch the show, but when faced with that much money we all backed down. We went back to Khoa San Rd. for a beer and then all the girls were off to bed. The next day I slept in because the girls were on a shopping rampage. The Kiwis were leaving and Melissa and Mandy had until the night of the 19th, two days, before they started on their way home. The girls shopped all day and after going to the Thomas Cook agency in Bangkok to pick up my new travelers cheques I just spent the day being lazy. At 6pm I met the girls in the lobby of their hotel and we all walked to the end of Khao San. Jessie and Rhiannon, with hugs and forced smiles, said their goodbyes and climbed into a cab. They had all gotten really close and with a final "Be Strong!" from Rhiannon, they were gone. With that it was a couple of laps of Khao San for the girls to look at things before they were off to bed. For me it was one last McDonalds run and then bed. I had decided that I wanted to get my bottom lip pierced and so on the girls last day I did that around 1pm while they shopped. I had an appointment to get the piercing done but was still nervous so I had a couple of beers and was on my way. Just as I was getting to the piercing place I ducked into the tattoo parlour to stall for time and almost ended up with a tattoo instead. I left the tattoo shop and before I knew it I was in the piercing shop and in the chair with a stud through my lip. No pain and a new resolve to maybe get another one. Soon after I met up with the girls and with their help bought a couple of pairs of jeans. Two pairs of Diesel jeans for only $50, damn good price. They're shopping had worn off on me. Being their last night and being shopped out they just wanted to go to the mall and watch a movie and have dinner. I treated them to The Outback Steakhouse where we once again stuffed ourselves. Pasta for Melissa, Big ol' chicken burger for Mandy and a grilled chicken ceasar for myself, not to mention the two portions of garlic mashed potatoes we had for appetizers. Damn it was good. The first real western meal in ages. There was no movie we wanted too see that night so we just wandered around the mall before heading back to Khao San. Once there we wandered some more and then stopped by the place I usually stay at called the My House Guest house. Here we just sat and relaxed until the girls had to leave. They were playing a movie I wanted to see so this is where we said our goodbyes. Hugs and take cares and see yas back home. And with that I was alone. Besides having different ideas of what fun is the girls were really great and traveling with them was very easy. Although it's a little sad to see everyone you get to know leave it's still feels good to have some time alone. And so with that I've just been wandering and keeping busy cruising around Khao San Rd. chatting with people, trying to think of what to do next to pass the time. I was going to keep this a secret but I've bought myself a little Christmas present. I went to a place called Panthip Plaze. If there is anything electronic you want to buy then this is the place in Bangkok to do it. I was actually only going there to pick up a couple movies and some computer discs. I was thinking of buying a new camera too but the one I wanted used memory that my harddrive wasn't compatible with. Anyway, I wandered around and checked out all the little stores and shops. I found the adapter I wanted to turn Memory Stick into Compact Flash to use in my harddrive but for some reason I didn't buy it. I wandered around some more and ended up in some computer department store. And here I found myself... standing in front of the display with all the brand new Laptops. I was in a trance. I couldn't break eye contact. I checked every brand and looked at every model. After about an hour I had decided on the one I wanted, the Acer Aspire 2003 LWMi. So what if it was the most expensive one there I told myself. It's in Baht, 89,900 baht only sounds expensive. Add to that the 7% tax and it's only 96,193. I don't know what to say. Impulse buy... of course. Now the truth be told I was going to buy a laptop anyway when I got home but I just couldn't help myself. Now before you think, "What a dick." I did at least look around at the other shops. I finally found a shop that had the same model in stock and I was able to get them down to 84,900 tax included, which I get back when I leave the country, where as the other shop wouldn't budge from their price at all. To tell the truth I don't really know what the price I finally paid is because of the exchange but I did look online at the prices back home before I bought and by buying in Thailand I saved myself around $700 Canadian. This thing is top of the line and I can get any program I could ever want here in Thailand for only $4. So guess what I'm typing this blog on. The amount of money this blog would have cost me to type out in a little computer shop around here would be tons. And the time I spent working with my pictures and MP3s on my harddrive was expensive too. Now I do everything in my room or while sitting down near the beach and then sign on for only 10-15 minutes with my own computer. Anyway, Merry Christmas to me. I took the bus down to Krabi on the 22nd and here I sit. I went straight to the Chan Cha Lay, waited for a room to free up, broke out the laptop and proceded to play with it when who should walk up to me but the Kiwis, Jessie and Rhiannon. Their little trip to the islands of Samui and Phangan was rain soaked so they just headed to Krabi till they went home. They had one more night but we did our separate things. They had a ton of stuff to pack and an early trip in the morning and I just wanted to stay in and watch a DVD. In the morning they were off to Had Yai to catch a train down to Kuala Lumpur so that they could fly home on Christmas day. As for me I've just been lazy the last couple of days... last night was Christmas Eve so I went into Ao Nang and met a few people and got a little drunk at the Pirates Den pub, arriving home at 6am this morning. I woke up at 1pm and by 2 I took the moped back to Ao Nang for a turkey dinner (lunch) at an Irish Pub I found. Unfortunately you have to book ahead for the turkey dinner but as I was by myself they saw fit to make an acception. Being here is the best Christmas present I could get (besides my new toy) so I'm doing just fine. No plans for New Years yet but since every day is a party day I'll just make the most of it. Thats all for now, hope this blog made sense and was interesting enough for you. Usually I read over my blogs and fix mistakes or add things but this one is just too long so you'll just have to take it as is. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. You are all in my heart and thought of dearly this Christmas season. Save me a buttertart please...

Some pictures that I liked.


Full Moon Party :)

Canadian and Kiwi travelling companions

A little Thai boy enjoying his icecream

Swimming at the waterfall

Thai sunset

Storm rolling in

The series with the girls and the log lol





Here's that damn spider! eeeek!

Hello to everyone. Thank you for the great comments and encouragment, it's much appreciated. I should say though that I must have given the wrong impression of my feelings and situation. I was of course bummed about Corina and I not working out and her going home but I was not in the least bummed about being here in Thailand by myself. I was in fact looking forward to it. Some time to myself to do some thinking and reflecting. I still have things I have to figure out in my life but don't we all. In my eyes and my heart I'm still young.

My time alone, funny enough, turned into only 4 days. Danielle left on the 15th for Bangkok and I went to Krabi for a few days as you know. I did my Visa run to Malaysia on the 18th and then on the 20th I headed down to Lanta. On the way to Lanta I met some great people. We were all sitting at the front of the boat talking and I looked off to the right out at the ocean and was amazed to see a Baracuda jump out of the water and with great speed skip along the surface for about 200 feet. It was just amazing to see.

When I got to Lanta I met up with Melissa (22) and Mandy(21). So my time alone was short lived. The girls are great. I met them at a place on Lanta called Lanta Paradise Bungalow and it really was Paradise. We shared a room for 300 baht ($12) and enjoyed days by the pool swimming and looking out at the ocean and the nights were spent in the bungalows bar drinking and trying to learn Poi. I'll try to post a picture so you know what poi is. The girls are from Abbotsford as am I and funny enough we met a couple guys from the next resort from Abby too. Small world. With the Abbotsford guys was a young Swiss guy named Toby who was really interesting. He's 23 and just passed the tests to become a member of the S.W.A.T team. He's traveling for a couple of months before he goes home to start training. I'm going to keep in touch and try to hear what I can about his training and the experience.

Also while we were at the resort we met up with a couple of Kiwis (New Zealanders) named Jessie(22) and Rhiannon(23). They had been teaching english in Taiwan for the last 6 months and were now traveling through Thailand. They have decided to travel with us so now it's the 5 of us traveling around for a bit. The Canadian girls want to head to Chang Mai for a week before they head home on the 20th of December so we will probably separate from the Kiwis around then.

I don't really know where to start. The 5 of us left from Lanta Paradise on the 24th and headed to a little island called Ko Kradan. We had heard it was really nice and decided we would give it a shot. We got a boat from the Lanta pier and headed south. We were told it would be a 1 1/2 hour ride where we would be tagging along on a snorkeling tour. What we didn't know is that we would be tagging along while people did their snorkelling. Our 1 1/2 hour ride turned into almost 4 hours. If I would have know we were going to be visiting these places with the tour I would have had my shorts on so I could have been swimming too. Luckily 3 of the girls had their suits on so they did a little swimming.

One stop was into a long cave that came out into a kind of walled off sandy beach. Like what Dave and Allie saw in Mexico. Very cool I was told. Anyway, we finally got to Ko Kradan and it only had one resort. We checked out the rooms and found out that the ones right on the beach were only 100 baht. Divided by 3 thats only just over $1 Canadian a night. We were very stoked. We put our stuff away, the three Canadians in one room and the Kiwis right next door. We then went for lunch.

Then it started. A guy from the resort came who had better english and told us that the rooms we had put our stuff in were really 1000 baht ($40) a night. The cheapest rooms were 500 baht ($20) a night. We decided to take two of those and moved our stuff, which luckily we hadn't unpacked, into the new rooms. While the Kiwis went to read the 3 Canucks, as were called here, decided to go for a walk. The beach was beautiful, so very beautiful. Sometimes you're just walking along and it dawns on you where the hell you are. The whole amazing truth of where you are and what your doing. This was one of those times. Sun was out, water was turquoise, the sand on the beach is so white and soft and everything just seems perfect.

The power at the resort didn't turn on till 6pm so we strolled along killing time. The girls, Mandy and Melissa, saw a long thin log up about 5 feet off the ground that was across two trees leaning out over the beach. They thought it would be a good picture to get up and both sit on the log. You can see where this is going... After a couple of pics Mandy decided she wanted to hang upside down and have her picture taken so with Melissa still sitting on the log she turned around and swung down to hang by her knees. With the momentum of swinging down the log snapped and both came crashing down. Melissa landed on her feet and ass and Mandy landed right on her shoulders with her knees hitting the ground beside her head. I must say I missed the picture. After making sure she was ok, about 15 seconds of crying followed by mad laughter, I decided to go back to where I was and snap a few more pictures. It makes for a good sequence of photos and some good laughs later.

Mandy was ok so we did some more walking and exploring. Found some big crabs and Hermit crabs. Very interesting. When we got back to our bungalow we noticed we had no water. We thought it may turn on at 6 with the power. I'd've had the runs for a couple of days leading up to Kradan and with no water in the bucket to flush with I couldn't use the bathroom which I was really needing to do. When 6pm came around we finally got power but still we had no water.

Melissa and I were in our room reading when Mandy came over from the Kiwis room and said there was a beautiful butterfly in their bathroom that she wanted Melissa to see. Within a minute I heard my name being called. I had no interest in seeing a butterfly and so reluctantly got up and went next door. When I got there I knew that there was no way it was just a butterfly. All the girls were crowded onto a bed closest to the door. They told me there was a spider in their bathroom. Melissa hates spiders and so they thought the butterfly joke would be funny. It kinda was actually. Well the girls had been afraid of little spiders since I'd been with them so I went into the bathroom with a little drinking glass to catch it and get it out. Well the fucking thing was so huge that at first I couldn't even see it because I was looking for just some little thing. It was as big as a fucking turanchula.... the body wasn't as big but the leg span was huge. I was like Holy Fuck.... "Didn't you see me going in with this little glass, how do I catch it?" Now I never kill anything, just catch it and throw it out, but this thing was so huge I really contemplated just getting one of my sandles and squashing the mother fucker.

I grabbed the bucket that we use to flush with from the bigger bucket of water and used that to make my move. Well that thing was so fast it had coverd two walls and was behind me on the other wall blocking my way out before I knew what to do. I was trapped in the bathroom with this damn thing and a little bucket with no lid. The girls were screaming and I was yelling to find me something to cover the bucket with. The bucket was actually a big bowl. After a lot of swearing and picture taking I finally got the thing in the bowl and it's bloody legs were so wide they were about as round as the bowl. The girls could only find a roofing tile to put over the bowl and when I went to slide it between the wall and the bowl the tile was so thick that the thing started sticking it's legs out through the cracks and I almost dropped the whole damn thing. We finally got it outside and I got to be a hero for one night. lol My god, it's hard to act brave when your scared shitless.

Later, after we calmed down, during dinner we mentioned we had no water and the lady in charge started yelling at people and soon had them scrambling. Needless to say, after dinner we had water and had our respective poops. Wahooo They also told us that on the 26th there would be a party of 200 people, thai people, coming to the island and since they were the only resort we would have to clear out by then. That gave us only two nights. We decided to leave after one night. The next morning we spent on the beach and swam in the beautiful warm turquoise water. It was so nice boats would show up periodically and let of loads of people to snorkel before moving on to the next destination. Imagine... lying in the sun tanning after swimming in the beautiful ocean, reading your book. Turn you head to the right and there are four beautiful women you're traveling with tanning in bikinis. Turn your head to the left and there is just miles of beach and turquoise water and open ocean. Lay still enough and the crabs come out of their holes and explore around you, picking at the tassles on your sarong. The dog who you made friends with laying in the sand above sleeping. If ever I dream of paradise it will be that day on the beach.

Around 2:30pm on the 25th we headed out to the neighboring island of Ko Muk. About 2 miles from shore the engine on our long tail broke down, propelor shaft chain, and we had to sit and wait for awhile till another boat came. It gave those of us in the boat a chance to meet and talk. Another boat came and we transfered our stuff over and made it the rest of the way to the other Island. When we got to Ko Muk the prices of the first resort were ourageous. 1290 baht ($58) for three people. After we looked at the room the manager came and he upped the price from that even higher. We decided to move on and found a little ugly place for 300 baht. We had been spoiled by Lanta Paradise because for 300 baht this place was not the same. lol The people were nice though and it was kinda kozy. The power didn't turn on till 4pm but then broke by 6pm and everyone at the bungalows dining area was eating by candle light.

Sounds romantic but it's not quite how it seems. Candles attract bugs and it's hard to play cards and eat with one candle at a table for five. We had an early night and at 9am this morning we were on our way by boat and mini bus to Trang and then a bus up to Krabi. From 8am when we got up to 9:30am I had been to the bathroom three times. Having got the runs everytime I get on some sort of transportation it's an adventure. Never knowing if I'll make it to the next stop. Try using a squat toilet in the back of a full bus, trying to aim while the crazy ass driver is driving the bus like it's an god damn indy car. Loads of fun.

Today we got into Krabi and I had called ahead and gotten us rooms at the Chan Cha Lay. The girls like the place so thats where we'll stay for a few days. Tonight we went to the restaurant down the street and watched Bad Boys II and ate. The girls are all reading now or in bed while I write my blog.

Tomorrow I'm going to show the girls around Krabi Town and we are just going to relax. We are going to go over to Railey Beach the day after tomorrow where for the day the 5 of us are going to give rock climbing a try. Very cool because I was the only one that wanted or could afford to do it when Corina and Danielle and I were here earlier. Now the 5 of us will do it. The adventure continues. I guess my alone time is going to be put off until the girls head home on the 20th of December. I'm still looking forward to my time alone but I think it may be a little harder than I think being as how it's going to be during Christmas and New Years.

I wonder what I'll be doing during that time. I fully realize the adventure and opportunity that I have right now and I want everyone to know that I am doing and will continue to do what it is that makes me happy. This really does make me so so happy. The best way I can describe it is as if I was a child again. Every day brings something new and wonderful. Every day is an adventure and a wonder. I wouldn't trade this time in my life for anything. I wish you all could experience this with me. I have no doubt that when I look back I will count these as some of the best times of my life. For now I travel with four beautiful young women. Would I change anything..... would any of you? I didn't think so. My friends and family I miss you much but I'll be home before we all know it. For now the dream continues....

Hello Hello

It's been about 18 days since I last posted a blog. Where we were staying at, on Ko Phangan, there wasn't any internet at our bungalow so we had to walk down the road to another place. It was a little expensive so Danielle and I didn't do much emailing. So now that I'm back in Krabi I thought it was time to post something. I think the last time I wrote a blog it was the day before Halloween. Did everyone do something exciting? My niece Christina looked so adorable in her bunny outfit for her first Halloween. To think she'll probably be walking by the time I get home. Anyway, Danielle and I decided that we would celebrate my birthday on the night of Halloween. I always celebrate on Halloween. The Reggae Bar in Chawang was having a big Halloween party with dressing up and prizes and stuff but we thought it would be easier to stay in Lamai and find something around there. The Bauhaus was having a foam party so we thought that would be fun. The night didn't start till late but it was ok because the foam party didn't start till about 11pm anyway. Bottles of beer at the store are only 40 baht ($1.25) for a Carlsberg so for a while I just grabbed a bottle from there and Danielle and I wandered around the streets. Later we went to the Bauhaus and I would run across the street to grab a beer to bring it back. Until I got caught anyway. Danielle only had one beer the whole night. We went back to the bungalows so we could change into cloths we could get wet before getting into the foam . Once the foam party started it took us (me anyway) a little more drinking to get into it. The music turned to house and rave but it's good if you've had a few beers. We spent the next few hours dancing and having a good time. I grabbed my water proof camera when we went home to get changed so I'm sure I've got some good pictures. When I get them developed I'll post a few. We stayed until the foam machine was turned off and then walked drenched with blood shot eyes across the street to get some meat on a stick. We took our munchies home and passed out for the night. Corina missed out, wish she could have been there, she would have loved it. The next day for my birthday I went to an English restaurant for some Yorkshire pudding and mashed potatoes but they messed up the Yorkshire so it wasn't that good. Danielle had bought a donut earlier in the day and she put a big 3 0 candle on it and sang me Happy Birthday. She also gave me a couple of gifts that she and Corina had gotten for me. It was really sweet. The rest of the night we relaxed and watched a movie. Then a few days of relaxing and cruising on my Moped to see waterfalls and beaches and other sites. One of the waterfalls we went to had a little cave under the waterfall. We had to swim there with the help of a rope but it was great. Getting out from under the waterfall was a little harder. You had to jump through the waterfall to try to get past it to swim out but everytime I landed on my stomack on a rock and was held there by the rush of the water. Exciting. After climing the mountain to get to the waterfall the water was sooo refreshing. Unfortunatley Danielle lost her ring up there so she was bummed the rest of that day but it gave us an excuse to return to the waterfall. So she could look for the ring ( I told her it was gone) and so I could take pictures. I had forgot my waterproof camera the first time so I brought it the second time and I think I got some good pictures. It had rained before we got up there a second time so the water was running harder and made it harder and a little scary to get under the waterfall but I was determined to get pictures from under there. I did. On the 5th of November we were on to Ko Phangan.

We got our stuff together and waited for the taxi at 9:30am. Our boat left for Ko Phangan at 11am but we were early in case of unforseen setbacks. We got to the pier on time but of course the boat was going to be half an hour late. We went for breakfast and then sat in the shade to wait for the boat. Whenever there is a boat to take you to an island there are always Thai people all over the place with a photo album full of pictures trying to entice people to their bungalows. Danielle and I were going to head to a beach called Hat Salat. To the My Way Bungalow. A thai guy named "Chilly" came up to us and instead sold us on his place called the Leam Son Bungalow on Leam Son beach. It had beautiful white sand beaches and a shallow bay with no waves to swim in. Not to mention that they had bungalows for 100 baht ($4) a night. Leam Son is only a little south of where we wanted to got anyway and on the opposite side of the Island from Hat Rin where the Full Moon Party is. We wanted to stay away from party central. When we got to the resort we paid for 10 days in advance. Only 1000 baht ($40) for 10 days. Pretty damn good. Unfortunately the lady who ran the place was a bitch. They also had a weird way of paying for food. We had to write down what we wanted on a pad of paper with our room number and then pay at the end of our stay or every few days. Hard to keep track of what you owe or have spent that way. And there were signs everywhere basically telling us that they expected us to eat mostly at the resort and support their restaurant. The lady told Danielle once that she wasn't eating at the restaurant enough... bitch. There where, honest to god, about 8 other people from Brititsh Columbia and a couple from eastern Canada at the resort. The rooms were nice but there were geckos and ants all over the place. I can't begin to tell you how much gecko shit I had in my bungalow. Not to mention that they were in the walls and always fighting and squeaking. Scared me out of my sleep a couple of times. That and the roosters doing their thing every morning took getting used to. We rented a Moped for a couple of days and we went to a couple of touristy places. A waterfall with a great view, where we swan and stood under the waterfall and also to a Buddha in a cave. The Cave ended up being just two big rocks leaning together but it was still cool. I've got a pic of me under the waterfall I'll try and post. With the Moped we also found a lady in town with the best fruit shakes for only 15 baht (50c). We wiped out on the moped once trying to drive on the washed out dirt roads but we were going slow so no injuries and no damage to the bike. When you put on the front brakes of a bike and start to slide the instinct, I think, is to squeeze the brake which is what the problem is in the first place. Front tire slides out and down you go. The Thai guy in the truck coming up the hill towards us had a big ol' grin on his face as we passed. Up the road a little from our place was a restaurant owned by a young English guys that had great food and we could pick from his DVDs to watch. We did that a few nights. I'm sure a couple times were just to piss off the boss lady at our bungalow. Danielle and I had decided to go to the Full Moon party after all and on the day of the 6th we had a calm day and an early night so we we would have energy for the party the next night. After a relaxed day we got ready and went to the restaurant to wait for the taxis to start taking people. After about an hour and after I got a confused look from Chilly as to when the taxis would start running we found out that we had the wrong night for the party. It was on the Saturday and not Friday. The lady at the place we rented the motor bike had told us the wrong day. We decided to make it another early night and after playing cards for a while went to our respective bungalows to read. Damn I've been doing a lot of reading this trip. (Dave, if you read this, I've read books 1,3,4 and 7 of the Sword of Truth series. It's all I can find but I'm searching for the others. Love them.)

On the Saturday, the night of the party, we went to the restaurant where everyone was drinking and getting an early start on the night. Chilly was busy asking everyone if they needed anything. Mushrooms, weed or any kind of pills... don't worry just ask he says. I had bought my weed from him a few days earlier. 500 baht ($20) for a quarter ounce. 4 of the Canadians and a couple of Brits bought mushrooms and I had expected it to be like home... dried gross tasting mushrooms. Instead he came out with plates loaded with fresh mushrooms and a fork. It still looked gross and a little slimy. They tried to eat it that way but after awhile they asked Chilly if he could mix the shrooms into shakes for them. He did and they all finished their mushrooms. Then off to the Party we all went. Three truck loads, about 13 people per pick-up truck. The whole resort was basically emptied out. On the way to the Party we had to go through a road check and luckily I had decided to only drink beer that night. I left all my pot at home. Others were getting busted but all they did was take the pot away and give them a lecture. The Party was great. Music, food, dancing and soooo much drinking. There were people doing fire dancing with Poi, two chains with flaming balls at the ends that they swing like madmen and women, and staffs with flames at the ends. There were also guys spitting flames. There was fosforecent* (glows in black light) body painting also which Danielle and I got done. Danielle got flowers up her arm and I had a scorpion done on the back of my head. Hat Rin is about two kms of beach lined with bars and pubs. Each place has their own stack of speakers pointing to the beach and cranking out music. Dancing everywhere. Fireworks can be bought at corner stores on Ko Phangan and I'm talking like big huge fireworks. Every once in a while you can hear the things start to go and everyone ducks and looks up. Sometimes they fall over and bounce across the ocean before going off in a loud boom Luckily none went off in the croud like the first time I went to a Full Moon Party. The party went on. People were passed out in the sand in no time. I got good pictures too I hope. It was great. Everyone is out to just have fun. No fighting anywhere with that many people from so many countries. We saw a few Canadians from our bungalows and their mushrooms had kicked in so they were having a good time. Danielle and I headed home around 3am. Our driver was more interested in his cell phone which he couldn't get to work than driving so it took longer than it should have. We slept in the next day and from then on just relaxed and enjoyed the sun. Unfortunately for our last three days on Ko Phangan it rained non stop. And I mean rain, torential downpour. The bungalow was flooding. The roads had water running over them. Everything started to get moist from the air. Little hard gecko turds on my bed I was flicking off and now they were getting soft.... sticking to my finger... lol ...not fun. For about the last week there have been electric storms almost every night. Very cool to see and I don't mind the rains that come with it one bit. Just a little break from the heat.

On the 15th of November Danielle and I packed up our stuff and headed for the pier in preperation to go our separate ways. Danielle has gone off to Bangkok and I'm now in Krabi. Danielle has 4 more days in Bangkok and then back to Ireland for 10 days before she finally heads home after 7 months. I think she's looking forward to going home. I decided to spoil myself last night and went back to the Chan Cha Lay bungalow. They remembered me and asked where the girls were. I said they had gone home. When we were there last they were building some new suites in the back. They had said they would be ready by the middle of November. When I got to the bungalow the new suites had just opened the day before. I was the first to stay in them. So nice. 400 baht ($16) a night but it was only for one night. There was a big ol' bed and a front and back porch. The bathroom was one of the nicest I've seen and had a shower that was open to the outside. It was great to have a nice shower and then my first shave in a week. I needed it. I slept like a baby. Today I switched to a cheaper room, rented myself a moped and went for a long ride. There is a festival going on in town for a few days to mark the beginning of the tourist season. It's very cool and the food was great. I stuffed myself. I'm going to head down to Malaysia on the 18th to do a Visa run. After that god only knows. This is my first time in Thailand alone, or really alone ever, and so far, only one day, it feels good. It's a little strange to think that I'll be gone not just for Halloween and my Birthday but also for Christmas and New Years. Something that I've never done before. Not to mention that my Moms, Ryans and my buddy Vizs B-Days are in there too. I think I've decided that I'll take this oppertunity to disappear for a little while. No email or MSN for a little while. I don't think I'll be doing much anyway. If I'm going to be able to stay here until January when my buddy Viz and his brother Tyler arrive than I'm going to have to try to live cheap and save what money I can. Two friends of my little brother Ryan, Melissa and Mandy, are here in Thailand. They are in Lanta now and are in Thailand until the middle of December. December 20th I think. My plan is to meet up with them at some point and hopefully see some new places like Chang Mai or Trang. Being as now I'm 30 years old and don't have a place to live or anything really to show for my 30 years on this earth I think It's time I did a little soul searching. I'm sure I'll not come to some epiphany that will change my life but some time to think can't hurt. With things not working out with Corina and I the way I hoped they would I need some time to think and reflect. Corina was supposed to be with me for this part of the trip but as I'm on my own I've got a lot of time on my hands. More really than I know what to do with. I'll stay as busy as I can and try to meet who I can. Being as reserved and shy as I am (I really am) it may be a challange but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm determined to stay for as long as my money holds out and live this amazing time in my life as best I can. From time to time I'll try to post a new blog and check on news from back home. If I'm still not online by the time Christmas comes then a Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year. Think of me because I'll be thinking of all of you. Till then.....

Sawadee everyone. Hows things at home? Canucks kickin some ass or what? Everything around here is great. Just about got dragged into a bar on the way to the email shop by the most manly lookin woman I've yet to see. *shudder* Her (his) voice was deeper than mine. Startled me... lol Usually I have the girls walking with me which acts as a buffer for the bar girls but I'm on my own tonight. Corina has left for home today. She's been traveling for 7 months and it was time for her to leave. I'll miss her big time but for now I still have Danielle to keep me company. I believe she has got about 20 days left before she leaves. We are heading to Ko Phangan on the 3rd of November and are going to stay there for, I think, 7 - 9 days. A couple of Ryans (little bro) friends from work, Melissa and Mandy, are going to arrive on the island tomorrow evening. I think they are traveling in Thailand for 10 weeks. They are going to be arriving just in time to go out and party for Halloween. The Bauhaus is having a Halloween Foam party which could be fun but they always have a foam party so we can catch it another time. The Reggae Bar on Chewang Beach is also having a big Halloween party with dressing up and prizes and shit so we may do that. Not sure, I think I'll just let the girls decide. With everything that has been going on the last couple of weeks I have quite honestly not thought at all about my birthday. 30 doesn't sound like it is the easiest birthday for people but luckily being here in Thailand I think it will pass just as smooth and painless as can be. Only one full day left till I'm thirty... another shudder. lol Oh well, can't think of another place I'd rather pretend it's not happening.

While we were out today Danielle and I saw a place that has Yorkshire pudding on the menu. I LOVE yorkshire pudding. For 150 baht ($6) I got mashed potatoes, roast potatoes... thats right TWO kinds of potatoes.... half a roasted chicken, yorkshire pudding and a salad. My god did I stuff myself. I had the choice of substituting the chicken for roast beef, roast lamb or roast pork. They were out of the pork so I had the chicken. lol Can't believe I'm going on about my meal. Some english guys about my age owned it. I ate my meal, drank a Calsberg and played pool all at the same time while watching a movie. After dinner Danielle and I walked down the street and watched the new Kill Bill movie. It just came out at home not long ago and I can just sit in a pub here drink beer and watch it. Such fun.

I was thinking I was gonna tell you about the food here but I think it's just something you have to experience. Most of it is soooo good. The stuff that is iffy is, well, it's just that, iffy. Maybe I can get some pics of it for you. Sometimes the meat just don't seem right. A little too chewy or the taste is a little off. Makes you wonder what the hell you're really eating. The thai food is very good, hot, spicy hot, sometimes but very good. If only I liked my veggies there would be so much more for me to eat. I have to admit that I have been to McDonalds a few times. I know I know... halfway around the world to eat McDonalds but sometimes you just need a break. There are venders all over the place. We have fresh fruit damn near every day. Pineapple, watermelon, sweat and sour mango and a bunch of other stuff I don't even know the name to. There are full grown and baby Coconut too that they chop the top off and stick a straw in. The baby coconut has a more sweet flavor and the edible part is softer and sweeter. The other vendors sell fried and grilled meats. From chicken, to any kind of meat on a stick. I love the chicken on a stick. The other night though I thougth I was buying chicken meat but it was fatty chicken skin, grossed me out. There is also the grilled corn on the cob that Danielle loves. Almost every morning I have my scrambled eggs and french toast. They put honey on it here and it's so good. Ok ok, enough about food.

The bungalow that we are staying at now are only 200 baht ($8) a night. I've got a queen size bed nice bathroom with a sit down flushable toilet and hot water for the shower. My moped only cost me 150 baht ($6) a day. I've done a little bit of shopping lately. Some shirts and trinkits and a couple gifts for people back home. I saw a great pair of jeans but it's too hot to wear them and I don't want to add more stuff to my bag that I'm not even going to wear. Anyway, thats all for now. We are going to go and do some swimming at a couple of different waterfalls tomorrow so it's an early night for and early morning. Not too early of course. Bye for now. Don't be afraid to comment you chicken shits. Keep me updated. Back to the adventure.

Some pictures from the trip so far.

This cat looks dead but it's just having a nap.



This was at the border between Malaysia and Thailand.



Danielle and Corina out for pizza.



And heading down into the caves



Father and son on a bike in the rain.

Ok everyone, I know I know. I'm lazy you say. But you have to know, I've tried to post two big long blogs now and I thought both had worked when in fact neither of them did. I got pissed off and decided that I wouldn't do any more blogging. My mom has convinced me to give it another try and instead of posting myself I'm gonna write blogs and send them to her to post for me. I'll see if that works better. Instead of going over everything from the last three weeks I'm going to give you all the address to my cousin Danielle’s blog. She's been travelling with me and will be with me for another two weeks. Her site is here I'll try to write about the everyday things that we do and the adventures that we go through.

One tragedy I can report to everyone though is about the rapid use and impending depletion of my Royal Toilet Paper. My god, nothing but one ply sandpaper from here on out. Either that or a wet bum crack if I use the bum sprayer instead of paper. It sounds easy but I'm not too sure about the squat toilets with the sprayers so I think I'll stick to the sit toilets with the paper.

The girls are right now down at the night market having some great cheap food. I slept a little later than I had planned for my nap so after I send this blog I'm going to head down and meet them at a restaurant where we go to watch movies at night and drink beer. I think I'm addicted to Carlsberg beer. Good stuff that. We are staying at the Cha Guest House right now. I've stayed here many times before and there is a great family who runs the place. They let us have hot water for free (only place so far) so we can go to the super market and buy noodle soups to make. We've been doing more of that lately to try to save money where we can.

Anyway, yesterday was a long day of driving since we did a visa run to the Malaysian border. We were told to be ready and in the lobby of our Guest House at 6:45am to catch a ride to our bus at 7. By 7:30am our mini van showed up to pick us up and take us to our bus. We left from our guest house, picked up some more people to fill the van and then set off on our way. Not for the bus station like we thought but for the City of Hadyai (or Hat Yai). Over four hours in a Mini-Van. Not too bad actually but I thought I would let the ladies on first to be polite and got shafted with the worst seat in the van. 4 hours of sitting straight up with a head rest that bent my head to put my chin on my chest. lol No bullshit.

When we got to Hadyai we rented a taxi for 500 baht ($20) and the nice driver took us 55miles to the border, told us what to do, drove us through the border, did a u-turn and brought us back, then drove us back to Hadyai. It was very smooth and actually a little fun instead of stressful like we thought it would be. Corina even took a picture of Danielle and I with the Border Guard who was all smiles. I'll send the pic in a couple of days. Pretty cheap taxi for all that he did for us.

Then we cruised around the city of Hadyai for a bit, had lunch at Micky D's and then went to the travel agent for our ride back to Krabi in another van. I was first on this time and got a good seat. The van wasn't full anyway and it was pretty peaceful on the ride back. Corina talked with an old couple about their respective travels and Danielle and I tried to sleep and listen to music. We got back to town at about 9:30pm and after hitting the Night Market (bbq pork for my soup for me and rice dishes for the girls) we ate and then after some card off to bed. We slept in this morning and after a good breakfast I bought the tickets for the bus and boat trip to Ko Samui.

About 10 minutes later the lady at the desk came to my room and said that there was a big storm over the island and we wouldn't be able to go for a couple of days. So here I sit. Instead of packing and getting ready for the trip tomorrow I'm writing to you all and thinking of renting a motor scooter for tomorrow. I'm in no hurry to do anything. Danielle is the one with a time limit so she is fretting the rain a little but not much.

Anyway, I'll write more often and email more than I have been. Talk to you all soon and wish you were here. Paradise is amazing but I think with family and friends it would be more so. I'm sure I'll survive though. No hint at thoughts of heading home yet. Keep in touch...

OK OK, I know. I've been slacking a little bit in the blog department. My cousin Danielle is here with me and she is posting blogs too and so I had it in my mind that people could just read what she had written to see what was going on. It only just now occured to me that there are obviously people who read mine who do not read hers. Not to mention I'm just plain lazy. Lazy days on the beachs and all. I think the last I wrote we were going for a bus ride down to Krabi. It was supposed to be from 6pm to 10 am. Our bus didn't actually leave until 8pm, two hours of standing on the side of the road with our backpacks. We arrived in Krabi at 7am, not 10am and it was great to get off the bus. We walked into town and got rooms at the Chan Cha Lay Guest House. It was just being finished the last time I was in Thailand so it's about a year old. The rooms are nice and the ladies who run it are even better. They sometimes let us use the computers for free. The girls and I spent 200 baht ($8) on a room. They wheeled in an extra cot for us so we had three beds. Didn't have to cram two people on a little bed. It's just too hot to be sharing. We rented a couple of motor bikes from down the street for 150 baht ($6) a day. Danielle rode one and I doubled Corina on the back of mine. Danielle did very good and didn't scare me too bad. The second day in Krabi we took the bikes and rode about 40 minutes to Ao Nang. I promised the girls a beautiful beach but by the time we got there the tide was out and we had to walk quite a ways to get out to the water. Even still we went for a nice swim and it felt great. The water was hoter than the air outside but we survived. We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and then went for something to eat. We ended up having some Pizza at an Italian place. Not the pizza you would get at home but still good. We talked and ate and relaxed until around 7pm. By that time it had gotten dark and was raining a little bit. I've been riding these bikes for a while now so I wasn't worried about myself but I kept looking back at Danielle. She did fine though. Even with the wet roads and the pain pelting us in the face we got home ok. We made it home in time to wander down the street and take in a movie at one of the restaurant/guest house places. It's funny because we would go there earlier in the day and pick out the movie that we would watch that night. We had picked out Terminator 3. We thought it was funny the three of us picking out the movie the rest of the people had to watch. I think we did ok though. The next night we picked Final Destination 2. Our third day in Krabi we pretty much did the same think only we had to have the bikes back by just after noon so we hit the beach early. The tide was in and the girls went swimming. Even thought the tide was in the girls could still wander about a 1/4 mile out an still be only up to their waists. That was on Wednesday morning. Brent and his girlfriend Mint showed up that morning but decided to keep moving and took a Mini Van down to Ko Lanta. The girls and I decided to stay for one more night and take the boat down to Lanta. It was a very relaxing ride. The girls got a little burned but not too bad. When we got to the pier Brent and Mint were there with a van from the resort they were staying at to pick us up. It was nice because as soon as you get off the boat people come at you with pictures and bochures of their respective resorts. They are even on the boat with you as you go. Anyway, the place Brent and Mint found is very nice. We are spending 300 baht ($12) a night for our own bungalow for the three of us. It's got it's own bathroom which is nice. We've been swimming and relaxing and have already payed a week in advance. I plan on doing nothing more than relaxing are exploring the island. I think later today we are going to hit the market to look for some food, the restaurant is a little expensive, and after that we are going to visit the tiger caves. No actural tigers there anymore but it is a huge deep scary cave. Lots of fun. At one point you have to crawl on you stomach to get past one part. I'll make sure to take pictures. Anyway, my hands are sore from typing so thats all for me for now. I'm not sure but I dont' think I'm getting any emails that are sent to me. Unless of course you all are not sending any. lol Thats probably it if I know you people. If I remember next time I'll tell you all a funny story about a spider. Corina doesn't think it's funny but Danielle and I did. Bye for now. I'll try to keep a better schedule with this thing. Having fun in Paradise. Think I may not come home for quite a while. Bye all. Oh yeah, how are the Canucks doing?

Well, good morning everyone. It's quarter to 11 on the 5th of October and I've just finished my free two egg and toast breaky. Just right to start the day. The temp. is down today so it's not quite so stifling. I've been able to eat two dishs of food in the last two days. The heat will take some getting used to. It's supposed to be the monsoon season but I haven't felt any rain yet. I'm sure we will get some down south. We've just bought our bus tickets this morning for a 16 hour ride down to Krabi. Brent and his girlfriend are going to meet us down there. From Krabi we can hit a number of Islands and beaches. Anyway, let me tell you about my flights over here. Like most airlines I was told to be at the airport 3 hours before my flight. I was too excited about my trip and couldn't sleep so even though my flight was at 6:30am I was up and ready by 2:30. My dad drove me to the airport and I was there by 3am. I figured that would give me about 1/2 hour to wait before the check in time. Well the people didn't open their boarding gates until 5am. Two hours of sitting on my ass until I could check my bags. The first 3 hour flight was great because I had a row of seat to myself and I could stretch out and sleep. Then 5 hours wait in LA before my 13 hour flight to Korea. 13 hours of sitting straight up with no where to put my legs. I was so tired but couldn't for the life of me fall asleep. The flight out of LAX was delayed for an hour so we were leaving at 2:30 instead of 1:30, then something was wrong with the plane and it took another 40 minutes of sitting on the plane waiting while the maintenance crew did their thing. My layover in Korea that was two hours was now cut down to 20 minutes. I just made it to the plane and was sure that my backpack wasn't going to make it. One white guy holding up a plane full of asian people. Needless to say I was in my seat pretty damn quick. After another 5 hours from Korea to Bangkok I finally made it. 32 hours in transit with at the most 4 hours of sleep. After a 30 minute bus ride I finally made it to Khao San Rd. Yay. As I was walking to my Guest House I heard someone call my name and it was Corina, my girl who I hadn't seen in 6 months. It was very very good to see her. She looks great and is the same girl, thankfully, that I saw last in April. Anyway, we went to our Guest House and my cousin Danielle was already sleeping. Corina and I stayed up and talked until the sun came up. I slept for about an hour and then had a shower (no hot water here) and went downstairs to check emails and have breakfast. I've been able to sleep for about 4 hours at the most. I'm waiting for the jet lag to kick in or something. Corina and I stayed up all night again last night and talked. This is my second full day here now and I'm not tired at all. In the last 4 days I've had about 10 hours sleep. I'm going to have plenty of time to catch up when we hit the beaches. The three of us are getting along great so I don't foresee any problems along the way. Anyway, hopefully that wasn't too boring. I'll keep posting every couple of days or so and keep you all up to date on whats going on. Life is great right now. Don't be shy, pack your bags and join us on our grand adventure.

Hello Hello. It's the 31st of August and I've got 31 days 16 hours and 38 minutes left until my plane takes off. Too damn long if you ask me. I've got my backpack mostly packed and ready to go. Hopefully the time will go fast. We are still going through a labour dispute at Safeway and the way it looks I may be able to work right up until I leave. I just hope that while I'm gone there isn't a new contract put in place that will cost me my job. We'll see how it goes. I got word from my cousin Danielle that she will for sure be joining us in Thailand now. She gets into Bangkok on the 26th at 1:30pm and I'm hopeing that Corina will get there around the same time so Danielle isn't in Bangkok for too long by herself. Not really too much else to talk about. A couple of months ago though, I bought a digital camera from my brother. I was really excited about bringing it to Thailand but then realize that I would either have to spend a ton of money on memory cards for it or find some kind of portable digital storage device. Well for about a month I looked on the internet and everything I found was way too expensive for what it did. Basically they were portable hard drives with a Compact Flash slot to upload images too. The starting price was about $750 Canadian. Well, I finally looked on E-Bay Canada and found a 20 Gigabyte Storage Device that not only lets me upload my Compact Flash Cards to it but also lets me download all the music from my computer to it and it plays movies on it's little screen. I went looking for a storage device and found a little digital media player that lets me have music and upload my pictures too. It's called a Vosonic V-MP3H Digital Data Player. Pics here: www.vosonic.co.uk/vmp3h.html I out bid everyone else on E-Bay and managed to get it for $275 Canadian. I looked on the net and it still sells for $349 British pounds, thats over $760 dollars Canadian. Anyway, the guy turned out to be in Richmond so I just drove down and got it and saved on taxes and shipping. I just hope everything turns out that good or goes that smoothly. We'll see. Well thats all for now my friends and family. I don't think I'll have much to talk about before I leave but if I do I'll leave a blog, if not then the next Blog will probably be coming from Thailand. Let the adventures begin.

Hello people. It's the 7th of August and I'm still dealing with this Strike shit at work. I still don't know if I'll be working or striking next week. I just got off of MSN with Corina my girl in India. She's been there for 4 months already, Calcutta mainly. We are meeting in Bangkok on the 4th of October. We will be waiting there until the 6th when I will be joined by a buddy from home, Brent and his Thai girlfriend Mint. My cousin Danielle will also be meeting us around the 5th. She'll be coming in from Ireland where she had been visiting for the last 6 months or so. From there the five of us will be heading south to enjoy our first month on a couple of small islands, Ko Bulon and Ko Lipe, close to the big Island of Ko Tarutao. Where they filmed Survivor Thailand. Brent is heading home on the 26th so he'll be heading up to Bangkok shortly before that. Corina, Danielle and myself will be heading for a short stay in Malaysia, the island of Palua Langkawi, so we can renew our Thai visas when we go back. I'm not sure how long Danielle will be joining us but I'm sure that Corina and Myself will be in Thailand for at least 3 months. At least till New Years. Tons to see and do. I'll keep up my blogger if I think that people are reading. I still expect emails from people back home though and I'll send individual emails when needed. Feel free to join me on my adventures. I'll try to make it as exciting for you as I can. Bye for now.

Hello everyone. Its the 9th of July and I'm still just working and paying bills. I've got a little under 3 months left before I leave and I'm waiting patiently. There is a really good chance now that we at Safeway will be going on strike. If that happens we have no idea how long it will last or how nasty it will get. The union says there will assuradly be threats of store closures and of Safeway pulling out of BC. All of this means that it will be harder to save money and pay bill which in turn will mean a shorter trip. Never the less I will make the most of this trip and I can't wait to leave. I'll keep you all up to date and keep my fingers crossed that there is no strike. Anyone who wants to come along to Thailand is more than welcome. Later all.

This is about my journeys through Thailand and hopefully down to Australia. For now I have three months before I leave and am in the process of saving money and getting ready. A really good friend of mine is traveling though India right now and she will be joining me at the beginning of October in Bangkok. I've been to Thailand twice before and fell in love with it right away. This will be my third time in 4 years. Last time I went I was gone for 2 months. I went to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. I love Asia and I think I will always be drawn back. This time I've moved out of my apartment put all my stuff in storage, canceled all other expences and have plans to not return until my money runs out. My boss says I can take up to 2 1/2 years off. If everything goes as planned we will be backpacking down to Australia and looking for jobs. Only time will tell. I'll keep you all updated. So for now I wait to leave..... then the Thailand Adventure begins.