Congratulations, Flyn!
Your IQ score is 136
This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.
Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns. And that's just some of what we know about you from your IQ results.
I think I did pretty good on this thing. Everyone should go to www.tickle.com and check out their IQs.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Well, Viz and his brother have been gone for a few days now and I've finally managed to get back into relax mode. Things were so hectic there for about 10 days. To tell the truth I'm a little bit lazy and not much into writing a blog but I guess I had better do it before I start getting emails. I'm back at the My House Guest House and have been given the old room I had on the ground floor so that was a score. I'm paying only 190 baht a night with my own bathroom. It's such a good deal that I'm not sure if I should just stay here for the rest of my trip to save money or if it's worth doing a little more traveling.
I'm not sure if I can take Bangkok for that long but I guess I'll just have to see. I've yet to check my bank accounts and MasterCard so I'm not sure exactly how much money or how long I've got left here. I'll look into that in the next couple of days. For now here I sit. I'm hungry actually but since the whole Avian Flu outbreak here in Thailand everyone is too scared to eat chicken and most restaurants don't even serve it anymore, including the My House. Since chicken has been my main staple I've got to start looking at other options. I sure as hell am not a vegetarian and I've never really been partial to seafood so that only leaves pork and beef. As I've been saying all along the beef here is a little weird, kinda chewy. If you ask me it's probably water buffalo. So that leaves pork I guess. Pork and rice. If I never eat rice again it will be too soon. I would kill for some mashed potatoes and gravy. Of course since I'm in Bangkok I can still get some Micky D's or some Burger King, even some KFC if I was brave enough to eat chicken but I'm getting tired of even that. When I was out with Viz and Ty the other night we did find a Subway, the first in Thailand, but it's a little far just to go for that. God it was good though. I think the only thing that could chase me from Thailand right now would be the food. Ok ok, enough about the food. On to the last two weeks.
LAOS
Viz and his brother Ty actually arrived on the night of the 19th with Ty's friend Kevin. I thought I would surprise them at the airport but somehow missed them. They went right at arrivals and I was on the left. I guess if I told them I was going to be there, and not surprising them, they would have been looking for me too. Anyway, I stayed at the airport till 10pm, got back to the My House by 11 and then after packing fell asleep around midnight. That meant that I wouldn't get nearly enough sleep before I had to get up at 3:30am to be back at the airport by 5 for out trip to Laos. After leaving my laptop in a storage locker I was off. It was very cool to walk through the domestic terminal doors and right away hear a "Hey" from Viz. Damn it was great to see a good friend and a familiar face from home. After a quick hello to him and Ty and introductions to Kevin we checked in and headed for our departure gate. I won't go into too much detail about the journey to Laos. First was the flight to Udon Thani and then from there a mini van to the border. The border was a boring wait of about an hour while we got our 15 day Visas to go into Laos. That cost us $32 US. After the border it was a rickety old Toyota Corona taxi from the 70's into Vientiane.
I have to say that one of the coolest experiences in my life has to have been being there with Viz and Ty as they returned to Laos after about 22 years. The look on Vizs face is something I'll always remember. The look of concentration on his face, of trying to remember things and of trying to take everything in. I wish for just a small glimpse into his mind at that time. My first impressions of Vientiane were that it wasn't as big as I though it would be. I pictured tall buildings like Bangkok but it looked actually more like a small town. I'm sure it was spread out and large, but the building themselves were not at all high-rises.
We let the taxi driver take us to a hotel he knew of and it turned out to be not bad at all. The place even had TV, hot water and air-conditioning for 300 baht each a night. Viz and I shared a room and so did Ty and Kevin. We dropped our stuff in our rooms and decided to do a little exploring. Our first restaurant was pretty fancy but the food was great. Not what I'm used to but good to have for a change. These guys basically had no budget at all so it was very hard to try and keep up with them. After a while I basically just decided to go along with them and worry about money later. We ate our lunch and just explored. It was a lot of fun. Once again though, I was back to three currencies and a lot of conversions in my head. There was the Thai baht, American dollar and the Laotian Kip. It's far too much thinking for a vacation, as far as I'm concerned.
After lunch we headed to a monument that was modeled after the Arch de' Triumph in France. It's very cool, as the main roads in Vientiane heads straight for it. The structure itself was never finished, as stated right on the plaque, and not even half the size of the original Arch. Still it was seven stories high and after some huffing and puffing it had quite a view. The Arch is where Viz started his shopping. I'm sure I'll say it more than once but Viz is somewhat of an addict when it comes to shopping. I've been traveling with women almost exclusively so far and none of them shopped as much as Viz did. To tell the truth though, shirts at the Arch were selling for only 50 baht, less than 2 dollars. The cheapest I could get a shirt in Thailand is about 120 baht ($4). Anyway, the guys did some shopping and then we left the Arch and headed back to our rooms for showers so we could go out that night. As I mentioned our room had air conditioning, a TV and hot water. Not what I was used to but a nice to have for a change. After we all had showers and just lazed around for a bit watching some TV, we all met in the lobby and headed out for dinner.
We wandered into a part of the city that has traveler's guest houses and lots of restaurants. This area basically runs down beside the Mekong River which separates Laos from Thailand. After some deliberation we chose our restaurant. One of the restaurants had about 10 beautiful young waitresses and no customers so we were leaning that way but it was Chinese food and Ty and Kevin had been living in Hong Kong for too long to be craving Chinese food. Besides, with Ty being gay and Kevin being married it was really only Viz and I that wanted to eat there. We went next door and ate where they had Laotian, Thai, Western and Chinese food but only guy waiters (damn). The food was pretty good except for one thing. The menu has some mashed potatoes which Kevin and I noticed right away and so ordered, they were so late with it though that we thought they had forgotten. The rest of our meal was done and we were just about to cancel then when they brought them out. The mashed potatoes were colder than my water was. Needless to say it was disappointing. We left our mashed potatoes and paid our bills.
I should say that Ty is very good at languages and has been acting as our interpreter since we left from Thailand. He knows Thai, Laotian, Chinese, English of course and a few others.
We kept on walking till we came to a place called The Cabaret. Outside there were about 15 young women sitting around. As we approached they all casually walked inside, presumably to take up their places. The four of us went inside and found some seats. This place was dark and empty. There was a dance floor with some dim lights, a band at the head of the dance floor which was pretty good and then there were chairs and tables on the other three sides of the dance floor. As I said it was dark, I could barely see the other guy's faces as we sat around. Every song a different person would come out and sing, sometimes English sometimes Thai or Laotian. I think there were about 4 female singers and one male singer. They just came out and sang a song and then went in the back to be replaced by another. Our waiter came over and asked us what we would like to drink (Beer Lao) and if we would like some women sent over. Now there are some extenuating circumstances when it comes to the women. First of all we didn't know what the whole woman thing was about, were they there for our company and conversation or were they looking for more. Second there was Ty and Kevin, no women for them, and then there was Viz and I. I'm pretty shy until I get some beers in me and I hadn't even started my first one yet. Viz was all for it but had three other people shaking their heads at him. For now anyway.
We listened to some music, drank our beers and tried to talk but it was too loud and dark. Here's a funny story though. At one point Viz got up to go to the bathroom. As he was at the urinal a man came up behind him and put a cold towel on this neck and started to squeeze. Now Viz doesn't like to be touched in the first place but stand him in front of a urinal to do his thing and I'm sure that feeling is ten fold. Well I can't tell you his exact reaction but he didn't seem too happy when he came out. lol
We finished out beers and left. We had all been awake since about 4am that morning and Kevin was completely worn out and Ty seemed content to go back to their room with him. Viz and I decided to do a little more drinking. We sat at a guest house and had some more beers. Viz talked me into going back to the Cabaret but I needed a few more beers to be comfortable enough. Anyone who knows Viz knows that it only takes him one beer to be feeling pretty good. I on the other hand need a few more than that. Maybe more now that I've been in Thailand for so long.
We sat around and talked and drank our beers and finally decided to go back. Within the last maybe hour and a half the place had filled up with Laotian people. We found a couple of empty seats, ordered our beers and a couple women (lol weird) and sat back to enjoy. If I haven't mentioned it yet I will now. Laotian women are absolutely beautiful. Probably the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Not just the odd one but most Laotian women that I saw were beautiful. I had whiplash in Laos. Sometimes I just had to put my head down and not look. When Viz left home he didn't like Asian women but now he has definitely changed his mind.
Poor married Kevin was in his "can look but don't touch" mode for so long that it may have overloaded. If I ever decide to get married I'm heading to Laos or Northern Thailand to find me a wife. Laotian woman are beautiful without even knowing it which to me makes them even more beautiful. Ok, back to the Cabaret.
Basically we just sat and drank and tried to talk to the girls. Viz was pretending he couldn't talk Laotian so he could see what the girls said but it kind of backfired because his girl could barely speak any English and since it was so loud the girls didn't talk too much. To each other anyway. My girls English was not bad and we talked and laughed. Viz made one more trip to the bathroom but this time gave the guy a look that made it's meaning clear. I had to go when Viz got back so I headed in. I'm more of a go with the flow kind of guy and even though I knew what to expect it'fs still fucking weird to pee in a urinal and have a guy put a cold cloth on your neck and proceed to massage your neck and back. He damn near shoved me into the urinal.
I finished, paid the man a tip, which I'm assuming is what I was supposed to do and went back to the table. Viz and I finished our beers and decided to leave. Now here's a stupid story about me. When the bill came I just pulled out my money and gave it to the girl beside me so she could grab what was needed and pay for us. Maybe four beers and two cokes. I didn't want to work out the conversion in my head, kip to baht, so I let her do it. She paid with my money and a tip for the girls and we were gone. When I get outside Viz tells me that the girl who was beside him was telling my girl to take more money for them. She didn't know Viz could speak Laotian. He tried to signal me I guess but I didn't see. Either way it couldn't have been that much because I really only had enough to pay for our bill. Chalk one up for drunken ol' Josh. We called it a night, wandered home and passed out.
The next morning the four of us, all feeling pretty good woke up early and headed for the morning market. More shopping for the guys. Clothes and presents for people back home. There was also some really nice antique looking stuff, Asian antiquities that was very cheap considering. Viz bought a few very nice things from one lady and I'm sure more than he intended to since she was so beautiful. We just spent the day shopping and exploring. We made a little trip to the Mekong River for Viz and Ty to see. They used to swim in the river when they were little kids which is pretty cool. We took some pictures and went for a really nice dinner. We made plans to meet up early the next day for a trip into the country to a place called the "Buddha Garden" and then headed off for a early sleep.
We woke on our third day in Laos and having made arrangements with the cab driver we took to Vientiane from the border he was there at 10am. We all climbed into the cab and made our way out of the city. The countryside is pretty flat with most buildings being small and open. Beyond the buildings that lined the road it looked like there was not much past that. Rice patty fields and the like. We traveled for about 45 minutes before reaching the Buddha Garden. It's a place were there are just many many statues of Buddha and ancient mythological creatures. Something that is best seen and can't really be described. I've got pictures so you can see. We stayed for about an hour taking pictures and climbing around like kids before we headed back to the city. We quizzed the cab driver on everyday life in Laos and well I'm sure it goes without saying that we have it pretty damn good in Canada. Our driver works 12 hours every day. We got him to pull over beside some rice fields before he dropped us at our hotel. After a nice tip he was gone with an agreement to pick us up the next day at noon for a ride to the border.
Viz and I decided that we wanted to rent Mopeds for part of the day so we left the guys and wandered towards the touristy part of town. Viz's mom has a friend in Vientiane and she had sent along a gift for her that Ty was going to deliver that day. Viz and I rented mopeds and went in search of a gas station. My gas was ok but he needed to get about half a tank. It took us a little while to find a station and for one dollar US Viz got half a tank which was about twice what he should have paid for that amount. Did I mention Laos is cheap?
As we cruised around we saw Ty and Kevin on the street buying a couple of baguette sandwiches. We pulled over a little up the street and called them on the walkie talkies that each pair of us had. It turned out that the two beautiful young ladies that were standing near by to them were driving them around in a nice new mini-van. Vizs mom's friend's daughter, Noi, and one of her friends. The guys, including Viz, decided to go back to the hotel and pick up some shirts they had bought from the Arch which they wanted to exchange for a bigger size. Then with the girls and Ty and Kevin in the mini-van, Viz and I followed on the mopeds and headed for the Arch.
Traffic was crazy in the capital city and was a little daunting but we made it there and even beat the others in the van. When the others arrived we were all introduced with the secret warning to be careful because Noi could speak English. Ty and Kevin ate their baguettes and we all headed up the Arch. I should say that of all the Laotian girls I had seen Noi was one of the most stunning. She's absolutely beautiful and smart with really good English. She actually graduated from a school in Florida. Maybe Vizs mom can set something up.
After the arch it was decided we would all go back to Nois' moms place so Ty could give her the gift from his mom and just to say hello so she could see Viz and Ty. Their place was nice and big, it looked like a hotel converted to a house. Top two floors with another being built on top for BBQ's and things like that. After a nice visit Viz and I left to get a little more time out of our mopeds before we had to have them back. Then we would meet the other guys back at the hotel before dinner. After a little cruising around we brought back the mopeds and wandered home to have showers. It turned out that on the way back to the hotel Noi had shown Ty and Kevin a big billboard with a picture of one of her friends on it. Noi it also turned out would be getting her own billboard coming out soon which she seemed a little embarrassed to talk about.
It was decided that Noi and her friend would be taking us to dinner at a nice restaurant owned by one of her friends and she would be inviting a few model friends including the one from the billboard. Sometimes life is so good. I'm in Laos with one of my best friends, going out to dinner at a nice restaurant with beautiful Laotian women who turned out to be a model with model friends. Needless to say it was a great evening. We ate like kings and Noi insisted on paying. The young ladies were a little stuck up according to Ty and Kevin but I didn't notice. All was good with me and Viz. We had a great meal and then all the girls had a little private party to go to for Chinese New Year and the guys all went to a nice pub for drinks and pool. Great way to end a nice evening. We actually went to bed kinda early but only because we had to get up and pack for our trip back to Thailand. Viz had bought the most shit and some of it was big so he had the most to pack.
We woke early and went downstairs to find our cabbie waiting. We would be crossing the border and then heading into Udon Thani by mini-van. Our flight back to Bangkok was so early on the 23rd that we decided we would have to stay in Udon Thani one night. When we got there we picked a place from the Lonely Planet guide book and decided to stay there. It was not bad but had a look and feel like it was built around the 40s or 50s. It was kind of neat actually. We put our stuff in our rooms and headed out to find something to eat. I don't know what it was but boy did we get some looks. Two asian guys with two white guys or just the two white guys or maybe even two white looking asian guys, I don't know but we sure got a lot of looks.
Near the centre of town we found a big mall and near by found a buffet style restaurant. Only 50 baht all you can eat. Not bad at all but I'm sure they didn't expect a couple of big guys live Viz and Kevin to come in for all you can eat. We stuffed ourselves and then headed for the mall to look around. Basically we were killing time until the next morning. While we were walking around the mall I finally bought a 128mb card for my new camera for cheap. Viz had accidentally erased my pictures from Laos while checking out my camera earlier but since that card was so small it was only around 12 pictures. Now with my new card I could finally start taking pictures again. Later that evening Viz decided to get some work done on one of his tattoos and so while he was doing that Ty, Kevin and myself went for dinner with the promise I would bring him something back to eat. The food was great. While we were eating an elephant came by the restaurant and for a small fee you could buy some food to feed him. I'm such a tourist but I had to do it. Got some pics and after tearing our eyes away from the beautiful young Thai waitresses serving us we finished dinner and left.
Kevin had gotten a massage earlier in the day and so was feeling very relaxed so after we ate he went to bed and Ty and I returned to the mall to get Viz. He was done when we arrived so we went to have a beer while he ate and decided what to do. Ty felt like doing his own thing and so Viz and I headed for a night market. Viz had been complaining about the smell of my sandals, which I admit were getting pretty damn funky after four months of backpacking, and since we were sharing a room he wanted me to get new ones. Baby.
I hadn't planned on getting new ones since my trip was nearing it's end but I thought we could look just to make him think I planned on getting some. Instead one of the first stalls we came to had some camo pants and shorts. We decided we would each get a pair of shorts and he would get some pants. Now in these markets the only thing you could do to check sizes is drop trau right there and change in the open or get behind a little sheet. There is no way Viz would change right there so we put up a little sheet to change behind. Lucky for me. I had totally forgotten that I was going commando (no underwear). I'm behind the sheet, pull open the buttons on my jeans and totally freeze. I have to drop trau in an open air market in northern Thailand with no underwear behind a sheet. It was the quickest into and out of change I've ever done but I got the right size and love the shorts. We bargain the guy down to 450 baht ($15) for the two shorts and one pair of pants and move on.
By the end of the night I don't have any sandals but Viz has an arsenal of weapons he hopes he can get across the border. One cool thing he bought is a flashlight that looks and works like a flashlight but with a second button the thing turns into a damn stun gun. Pretty freaking cool. We finished our shopping, headed to 7/11 for a beer and some munchies and then called it a night. We have to be packed and ready to head to the airport by 6am. One thing we were not prepared for was the cold. Northern Thailand and Laos were pretty chilly at night if you were riding around in a Tuk Tuk or on a moped. Our ride to the airport was a Tuk Tuk. We wanted to get a ride in a taxi but the Tuk Tuk driver had sat out in front of the Hotel all night waiting for us. So we froze. It was t-shirts for all of us. When we got to the airport the place was closed still but at least it was warm inside. We waited around for the place to open so we could check in and have some breakfast. It did and we did and then we were off. 8:20 am flight back to Bangkok.
THAILAND
We had decided that we would spend the next two nights in Bangkok, since it was a Friday and Saturday, before flying south to Krabi. Viz was cool enough to pay for my flight to Krabi and back. This way it would save us some time to do other things. When we got to Bangkok, Kevin stayed at the airport because he would be catching a flight in a few hours that would take him down to Krabi. Kevin's wife had already been to Laos and so went on ahead to Krabi while the rest of us went to Laos. He would now be meeting his wife for their little holiday together. After all the beautiful women in Laos and Udon Thani that poor woman won't know what hit her. Kevin said to look for a small mushroom cloud in the direction of Krabi.
For the next two days it was basically just shopping. We got rooms at the Khao San Palace hotel and then headed out. First was Siam Square and Pantip Plaza during the day because Viz was looking for an MP3 player or Digital Video Camera (no luck) and then later that night it was over to Silom Rd. for some dinner and drinks. Silom Rd. is notorious for a place called Patpong Rd. which is basically the centre of the red light district in Bangkok but it is also the area where the more upscale travelers stay. We wandered around, played some pool and had some drinks and basically stayed out until the city closed down. Funny enough Thailand has passed a new law that makes serving alcohol past 1am illegal. Anyway, our second day in Bangkok was basically the same. First thing in the morning though we looked out our window to see hundreds and hundreds of parachutists heading for some landing zone nearby. It's funny to look out the hotel window and expect to see nothing but instead see that. Apparently it was for the Queens 72nd birthday and the ending of her 6th cycle of life.
Well after that it was off to the Chatachuck weekend market for some more shopping. This place was fucking huge. I mean massive. We wandered for at least four or five hours and only saw a fraction of the place. Did I mention Viz is a shop-o-holic? Did I also mention how he and his brother are with food and drink and dirt? We stopped at a little restaurant for lunch and these guys will only drink out of bottles with straws and after seeing the meat sitting in a bowl on top of some ice there was no way they were going to eat any of that. All meat in Thailand basically comes like that, fresh in the morning and on ice the rest of the day. Ty and I had some soup and Viz had Pad Thai and then out came the bottle of disinfectant hand cream for both of them. Well when we finished at the market we went home for a shower and after wandering around Khao San for a bit headed back over to Silom Rd. More of the same, drinking and wandering. Being me we watched a few shows on Patpong which I won't really go into because they were more scary than anything else. Basically if you go into a strip club for men there should be only women in there dancing. That's a pretty straight forward concept isn't it. Although watching the faces of the older couples in there when they realized they were watching a man with boobs was pretty funny.
Or another place were it looked like more than half were once men or still were. We went into one place and were told there was no cover charge but beers would be 100 baht. We thought we would give it a shot but after ordering two beers we were presented with a bill for 600 baht. We had to fight our way through one waitress and three strippers each to get out. Funny enough no bouncers in any of these places. We headed home at around 1:30am. The next day we checked out of our rooms. Put some stuff in storage, mostly souvenirs and wandered Khao San again until we had to head to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 6:30pm so it was just me following Viz and Ty around for the day. Viz got two pairs of jeans for only 1200 baht I think which is only 45 bucks Canadian. Not too freakin bad. That evening we made out way back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and headed for the airport.
Once we got to Krabi we had decided that we would stay at the Chan-Cha-Lay for one night because it was too late to catch a boat to Lanta. Ty had met some people on the plane and so was going to go and meet them for dinner in Au Nang. Viz and I decided to once again rent mopeds and having met a girl named Tru (short for Trudy) at the Chan-Cha-Lay, Viz invited her to go for a boot around. We went for a short cruise through town and then went for a couple of beers at the Old West Bar. After that none of us were tired so we decided to go for a ride to Au Nang. I think it was more than we bargained for. By the time we got there everything was closed. It was too dark to get a good look at the beaches and it was actually a little chilly to be flying down some back roads on mopeds but we still had fun. As we were sitting looking out at the dark where the ocean would be we watched as a pretty young lady pissed out of her mind wiped out onto the road. Just tripped on her sandal on the edge of the road and fell down . If there had been a car coming she would have been toast. I asked if she was ok and needed a ride but she said she was fine and kept walking. The three of us thought that this was not the place for a drunk girl to be wandering around. We caught her as she was wandering off into the trees now with no sandals which she had thrown away. We asked where she was heading and since I knew there was nothing in the direction she was heading at least got her to turn around but other than that she wouldn't accept any other help. We did what we could and decided to leave. She was at least heading back towards civilization now.
We got home late that night, around 4am, and headed for bed. The next three days were just relaxing and swimming. We spent one day in Ko Lanta at the Lanta Family Bungalow and two days on Ko Jum. Viz had always given me the impression that he couldn't swim but he actually wasn't too bad. Mainly he was self taught with some problems kids have like putting your head under water and learning to stay afloat. I think he had a great time swimming and if he had his way wouldn't have gotten out of the water. I being a white ass burned a lot more easily so couldn't swim as long as him. Nothing really to see in the waters around Ko Lanta so we saved the snorkeling until Ko Jum.
When we got to Ko Jum the next day my German friend Chris was still staying up in the tree house and he was cool enough to give us a little weed. We smoked some ganja looking out at the beautiful blue ocean from the tree house and then went for a swim. There were some cool things to see out there including Nemo and some equally cool currents that we could just let ourselves float around in. After swimming we just went back to the bungalow and both passed out. This was the part of the trip for Viz where it was time to relax after being in go go go mode for the past 7 days. I was supposed to play volleyball at 5pm like I usually did on Ko Jum but I was too tired from swimming. We both got sunburned but had a great time. We woke from our naps and had a good Thai dinner before heading next door for some drinks.
Ty once again met some people and decided to have dinner with them. Viz and I had dinner and drinks and when the power went off at 11pm decided just to smoke a joint and go to bed. The last day on Ko Jum was basically the same as the first with a little walk into the village thrown in. This time though Ty joined us for some snorkeling, which we did for about 2 hours, and then back for food. Like I said, just relaxing and doing pretty much nothing. We were taking the early boat back to Krabi on the 29th so that we could drop our bags at the Chan-Cha-Lay and head into Au Nang for the day. We had planned on doing some paintball but it was closed so we just hit the stores for shopping. Viz wanted to get a new tattoo but after waiting for a couple of hours for his turn found out that it was 4000 baht just to get a small one. Au Nang turned out to be very expensive so not much of anything bought that day.
We flew back to Bangkok that night and the three of us ended up staying in a little back alley room which was all we could find. This was the kind of place I was used to. Still a little nice since it had air conditioning and a TV (no channels though). Viz and I went back to Silom Rd. and did the same old same old while Ty went on his own to do his thing. We didn't stay out too late since the guys had to leave the next afternoon. I woke up early on their last day and went over to the My House to get a room for that night. When I got back the guys were up and ready. We had to check out at noon so that gave the guys a couple more hours to do a little more shopping. At noon we all checked out and headed for a restaurant across the street where we dropped our bags and ate. I had a lady write out a saying, "mai ben rae", in Thai that I had been thinking of getting tattooed on my arm. Well Viz liked the way it looked and so in a matter of seconds he had made arrangements to have it done and was in a mad rush to do it before they had to get a taxi to the airport. It looked pretty good actually when it was done. "Mai ben rae" is basically a way of life here in Thailand. It means "No Problem" or "It's Cool". Everyone here in Thailand is on "Thai Time". If someone says 10 minutes here it could mean anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, you never know, but it's "mai ben rae". It's kinda the Thai philosophy on life. I've got my appointment on the 13th to get mine done and maybe one more piercing except that I have a feeling my work won't like the one I already have. Anyway, Viz got his tattoo and then just like that they were gone.
I grabbed my bags and headed for the My House Guest House. And that is where I sit and have been sitting for the past few days. I've met a girl who works at the Grand Guest House on Khao San named Ae. We're going to go out for dinner tonight (5th) so at least I have one thing to do. She's a pretty little thing but it's only one dinner. Not sure what to do over the next few weeks but I'll make the most of it. I actually like Bangkok except for how dirty it makes one feel. Not sure if I'm going to head back down south or just check out things around here. Ayuthaya and Kanchanaburi are a couple of choices. I've been to Kanchanaburi a few times but love it so may go back and Ayuthaya I've only been to once and only for one day so that may be another choice. Since I'm getting near the end of my trip now a lot comes down to money. I have to make sure I go home with enough to pay my bills before I get my first pay cheque near the end of March. Well that's about it for now.
Once again I feel like I've been rambling, forgive the jumble and the lack of focus in some parts. I'm sure now though that if I had had a laptop in school and had done this much typing I'm sure I would have gotten better grades. At any rate, my story for now is done. Here are a few things I miss. I miss my family and especially our newest member Christina. I miss being greeted at the front door by Keesha and Kody (even though they get me dirty). I miss going for drives with Jackie. I miss smoking a joint with my friends and family. I even miss work a little, or at least some people from work. I miss a good home cooked Canadian meal. I miss playing cards with my parents and I miss getting hugs from my Mom. That being said I love my life here in Thailand. I can only hope that Viz got a fraction out of Thailand that I have gotten from it and I wish all the rest of my family and friends will one day get to experience it as well. I think when I get home my life will be heading in a direction that won't include traveling for quite some time. Time to start growing up I think. Adieu for now, I'll write again soon and let you all know what's going on. Till then, take care.
The border crossing between Laos and Thailand
Viz visiting with the monks
Viz and Ty visiting a temple
I'm not sure if I can take Bangkok for that long but I guess I'll just have to see. I've yet to check my bank accounts and MasterCard so I'm not sure exactly how much money or how long I've got left here. I'll look into that in the next couple of days. For now here I sit. I'm hungry actually but since the whole Avian Flu outbreak here in Thailand everyone is too scared to eat chicken and most restaurants don't even serve it anymore, including the My House. Since chicken has been my main staple I've got to start looking at other options. I sure as hell am not a vegetarian and I've never really been partial to seafood so that only leaves pork and beef. As I've been saying all along the beef here is a little weird, kinda chewy. If you ask me it's probably water buffalo. So that leaves pork I guess. Pork and rice. If I never eat rice again it will be too soon. I would kill for some mashed potatoes and gravy. Of course since I'm in Bangkok I can still get some Micky D's or some Burger King, even some KFC if I was brave enough to eat chicken but I'm getting tired of even that. When I was out with Viz and Ty the other night we did find a Subway, the first in Thailand, but it's a little far just to go for that. God it was good though. I think the only thing that could chase me from Thailand right now would be the food. Ok ok, enough about the food. On to the last two weeks.
LAOS
Viz and his brother Ty actually arrived on the night of the 19th with Ty's friend Kevin. I thought I would surprise them at the airport but somehow missed them. They went right at arrivals and I was on the left. I guess if I told them I was going to be there, and not surprising them, they would have been looking for me too. Anyway, I stayed at the airport till 10pm, got back to the My House by 11 and then after packing fell asleep around midnight. That meant that I wouldn't get nearly enough sleep before I had to get up at 3:30am to be back at the airport by 5 for out trip to Laos. After leaving my laptop in a storage locker I was off. It was very cool to walk through the domestic terminal doors and right away hear a "Hey" from Viz. Damn it was great to see a good friend and a familiar face from home. After a quick hello to him and Ty and introductions to Kevin we checked in and headed for our departure gate. I won't go into too much detail about the journey to Laos. First was the flight to Udon Thani and then from there a mini van to the border. The border was a boring wait of about an hour while we got our 15 day Visas to go into Laos. That cost us $32 US. After the border it was a rickety old Toyota Corona taxi from the 70's into Vientiane.
I have to say that one of the coolest experiences in my life has to have been being there with Viz and Ty as they returned to Laos after about 22 years. The look on Vizs face is something I'll always remember. The look of concentration on his face, of trying to remember things and of trying to take everything in. I wish for just a small glimpse into his mind at that time. My first impressions of Vientiane were that it wasn't as big as I though it would be. I pictured tall buildings like Bangkok but it looked actually more like a small town. I'm sure it was spread out and large, but the building themselves were not at all high-rises.
We let the taxi driver take us to a hotel he knew of and it turned out to be not bad at all. The place even had TV, hot water and air-conditioning for 300 baht each a night. Viz and I shared a room and so did Ty and Kevin. We dropped our stuff in our rooms and decided to do a little exploring. Our first restaurant was pretty fancy but the food was great. Not what I'm used to but good to have for a change. These guys basically had no budget at all so it was very hard to try and keep up with them. After a while I basically just decided to go along with them and worry about money later. We ate our lunch and just explored. It was a lot of fun. Once again though, I was back to three currencies and a lot of conversions in my head. There was the Thai baht, American dollar and the Laotian Kip. It's far too much thinking for a vacation, as far as I'm concerned.
After lunch we headed to a monument that was modeled after the Arch de' Triumph in France. It's very cool, as the main roads in Vientiane heads straight for it. The structure itself was never finished, as stated right on the plaque, and not even half the size of the original Arch. Still it was seven stories high and after some huffing and puffing it had quite a view. The Arch is where Viz started his shopping. I'm sure I'll say it more than once but Viz is somewhat of an addict when it comes to shopping. I've been traveling with women almost exclusively so far and none of them shopped as much as Viz did. To tell the truth though, shirts at the Arch were selling for only 50 baht, less than 2 dollars. The cheapest I could get a shirt in Thailand is about 120 baht ($4). Anyway, the guys did some shopping and then we left the Arch and headed back to our rooms for showers so we could go out that night. As I mentioned our room had air conditioning, a TV and hot water. Not what I was used to but a nice to have for a change. After we all had showers and just lazed around for a bit watching some TV, we all met in the lobby and headed out for dinner.
We wandered into a part of the city that has traveler's guest houses and lots of restaurants. This area basically runs down beside the Mekong River which separates Laos from Thailand. After some deliberation we chose our restaurant. One of the restaurants had about 10 beautiful young waitresses and no customers so we were leaning that way but it was Chinese food and Ty and Kevin had been living in Hong Kong for too long to be craving Chinese food. Besides, with Ty being gay and Kevin being married it was really only Viz and I that wanted to eat there. We went next door and ate where they had Laotian, Thai, Western and Chinese food but only guy waiters (damn). The food was pretty good except for one thing. The menu has some mashed potatoes which Kevin and I noticed right away and so ordered, they were so late with it though that we thought they had forgotten. The rest of our meal was done and we were just about to cancel then when they brought them out. The mashed potatoes were colder than my water was. Needless to say it was disappointing. We left our mashed potatoes and paid our bills.
I should say that Ty is very good at languages and has been acting as our interpreter since we left from Thailand. He knows Thai, Laotian, Chinese, English of course and a few others.
We kept on walking till we came to a place called The Cabaret. Outside there were about 15 young women sitting around. As we approached they all casually walked inside, presumably to take up their places. The four of us went inside and found some seats. This place was dark and empty. There was a dance floor with some dim lights, a band at the head of the dance floor which was pretty good and then there were chairs and tables on the other three sides of the dance floor. As I said it was dark, I could barely see the other guy's faces as we sat around. Every song a different person would come out and sing, sometimes English sometimes Thai or Laotian. I think there were about 4 female singers and one male singer. They just came out and sang a song and then went in the back to be replaced by another. Our waiter came over and asked us what we would like to drink (Beer Lao) and if we would like some women sent over. Now there are some extenuating circumstances when it comes to the women. First of all we didn't know what the whole woman thing was about, were they there for our company and conversation or were they looking for more. Second there was Ty and Kevin, no women for them, and then there was Viz and I. I'm pretty shy until I get some beers in me and I hadn't even started my first one yet. Viz was all for it but had three other people shaking their heads at him. For now anyway.
We listened to some music, drank our beers and tried to talk but it was too loud and dark. Here's a funny story though. At one point Viz got up to go to the bathroom. As he was at the urinal a man came up behind him and put a cold towel on this neck and started to squeeze. Now Viz doesn't like to be touched in the first place but stand him in front of a urinal to do his thing and I'm sure that feeling is ten fold. Well I can't tell you his exact reaction but he didn't seem too happy when he came out. lol
We finished out beers and left. We had all been awake since about 4am that morning and Kevin was completely worn out and Ty seemed content to go back to their room with him. Viz and I decided to do a little more drinking. We sat at a guest house and had some more beers. Viz talked me into going back to the Cabaret but I needed a few more beers to be comfortable enough. Anyone who knows Viz knows that it only takes him one beer to be feeling pretty good. I on the other hand need a few more than that. Maybe more now that I've been in Thailand for so long.
We sat around and talked and drank our beers and finally decided to go back. Within the last maybe hour and a half the place had filled up with Laotian people. We found a couple of empty seats, ordered our beers and a couple women (lol weird) and sat back to enjoy. If I haven't mentioned it yet I will now. Laotian women are absolutely beautiful. Probably the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Not just the odd one but most Laotian women that I saw were beautiful. I had whiplash in Laos. Sometimes I just had to put my head down and not look. When Viz left home he didn't like Asian women but now he has definitely changed his mind.
Poor married Kevin was in his "can look but don't touch" mode for so long that it may have overloaded. If I ever decide to get married I'm heading to Laos or Northern Thailand to find me a wife. Laotian woman are beautiful without even knowing it which to me makes them even more beautiful. Ok, back to the Cabaret.
Basically we just sat and drank and tried to talk to the girls. Viz was pretending he couldn't talk Laotian so he could see what the girls said but it kind of backfired because his girl could barely speak any English and since it was so loud the girls didn't talk too much. To each other anyway. My girls English was not bad and we talked and laughed. Viz made one more trip to the bathroom but this time gave the guy a look that made it's meaning clear. I had to go when Viz got back so I headed in. I'm more of a go with the flow kind of guy and even though I knew what to expect it'fs still fucking weird to pee in a urinal and have a guy put a cold cloth on your neck and proceed to massage your neck and back. He damn near shoved me into the urinal.
I finished, paid the man a tip, which I'm assuming is what I was supposed to do and went back to the table. Viz and I finished our beers and decided to leave. Now here's a stupid story about me. When the bill came I just pulled out my money and gave it to the girl beside me so she could grab what was needed and pay for us. Maybe four beers and two cokes. I didn't want to work out the conversion in my head, kip to baht, so I let her do it. She paid with my money and a tip for the girls and we were gone. When I get outside Viz tells me that the girl who was beside him was telling my girl to take more money for them. She didn't know Viz could speak Laotian. He tried to signal me I guess but I didn't see. Either way it couldn't have been that much because I really only had enough to pay for our bill. Chalk one up for drunken ol' Josh. We called it a night, wandered home and passed out.
The next morning the four of us, all feeling pretty good woke up early and headed for the morning market. More shopping for the guys. Clothes and presents for people back home. There was also some really nice antique looking stuff, Asian antiquities that was very cheap considering. Viz bought a few very nice things from one lady and I'm sure more than he intended to since she was so beautiful. We just spent the day shopping and exploring. We made a little trip to the Mekong River for Viz and Ty to see. They used to swim in the river when they were little kids which is pretty cool. We took some pictures and went for a really nice dinner. We made plans to meet up early the next day for a trip into the country to a place called the "Buddha Garden" and then headed off for a early sleep.
We woke on our third day in Laos and having made arrangements with the cab driver we took to Vientiane from the border he was there at 10am. We all climbed into the cab and made our way out of the city. The countryside is pretty flat with most buildings being small and open. Beyond the buildings that lined the road it looked like there was not much past that. Rice patty fields and the like. We traveled for about 45 minutes before reaching the Buddha Garden. It's a place were there are just many many statues of Buddha and ancient mythological creatures. Something that is best seen and can't really be described. I've got pictures so you can see. We stayed for about an hour taking pictures and climbing around like kids before we headed back to the city. We quizzed the cab driver on everyday life in Laos and well I'm sure it goes without saying that we have it pretty damn good in Canada. Our driver works 12 hours every day. We got him to pull over beside some rice fields before he dropped us at our hotel. After a nice tip he was gone with an agreement to pick us up the next day at noon for a ride to the border.
Viz and I decided that we wanted to rent Mopeds for part of the day so we left the guys and wandered towards the touristy part of town. Viz's mom has a friend in Vientiane and she had sent along a gift for her that Ty was going to deliver that day. Viz and I rented mopeds and went in search of a gas station. My gas was ok but he needed to get about half a tank. It took us a little while to find a station and for one dollar US Viz got half a tank which was about twice what he should have paid for that amount. Did I mention Laos is cheap?
As we cruised around we saw Ty and Kevin on the street buying a couple of baguette sandwiches. We pulled over a little up the street and called them on the walkie talkies that each pair of us had. It turned out that the two beautiful young ladies that were standing near by to them were driving them around in a nice new mini-van. Vizs mom's friend's daughter, Noi, and one of her friends. The guys, including Viz, decided to go back to the hotel and pick up some shirts they had bought from the Arch which they wanted to exchange for a bigger size. Then with the girls and Ty and Kevin in the mini-van, Viz and I followed on the mopeds and headed for the Arch.
Traffic was crazy in the capital city and was a little daunting but we made it there and even beat the others in the van. When the others arrived we were all introduced with the secret warning to be careful because Noi could speak English. Ty and Kevin ate their baguettes and we all headed up the Arch. I should say that of all the Laotian girls I had seen Noi was one of the most stunning. She's absolutely beautiful and smart with really good English. She actually graduated from a school in Florida. Maybe Vizs mom can set something up.
After the arch it was decided we would all go back to Nois' moms place so Ty could give her the gift from his mom and just to say hello so she could see Viz and Ty. Their place was nice and big, it looked like a hotel converted to a house. Top two floors with another being built on top for BBQ's and things like that. After a nice visit Viz and I left to get a little more time out of our mopeds before we had to have them back. Then we would meet the other guys back at the hotel before dinner. After a little cruising around we brought back the mopeds and wandered home to have showers. It turned out that on the way back to the hotel Noi had shown Ty and Kevin a big billboard with a picture of one of her friends on it. Noi it also turned out would be getting her own billboard coming out soon which she seemed a little embarrassed to talk about.
It was decided that Noi and her friend would be taking us to dinner at a nice restaurant owned by one of her friends and she would be inviting a few model friends including the one from the billboard. Sometimes life is so good. I'm in Laos with one of my best friends, going out to dinner at a nice restaurant with beautiful Laotian women who turned out to be a model with model friends. Needless to say it was a great evening. We ate like kings and Noi insisted on paying. The young ladies were a little stuck up according to Ty and Kevin but I didn't notice. All was good with me and Viz. We had a great meal and then all the girls had a little private party to go to for Chinese New Year and the guys all went to a nice pub for drinks and pool. Great way to end a nice evening. We actually went to bed kinda early but only because we had to get up and pack for our trip back to Thailand. Viz had bought the most shit and some of it was big so he had the most to pack.
We woke early and went downstairs to find our cabbie waiting. We would be crossing the border and then heading into Udon Thani by mini-van. Our flight back to Bangkok was so early on the 23rd that we decided we would have to stay in Udon Thani one night. When we got there we picked a place from the Lonely Planet guide book and decided to stay there. It was not bad but had a look and feel like it was built around the 40s or 50s. It was kind of neat actually. We put our stuff in our rooms and headed out to find something to eat. I don't know what it was but boy did we get some looks. Two asian guys with two white guys or just the two white guys or maybe even two white looking asian guys, I don't know but we sure got a lot of looks.
Near the centre of town we found a big mall and near by found a buffet style restaurant. Only 50 baht all you can eat. Not bad at all but I'm sure they didn't expect a couple of big guys live Viz and Kevin to come in for all you can eat. We stuffed ourselves and then headed for the mall to look around. Basically we were killing time until the next morning. While we were walking around the mall I finally bought a 128mb card for my new camera for cheap. Viz had accidentally erased my pictures from Laos while checking out my camera earlier but since that card was so small it was only around 12 pictures. Now with my new card I could finally start taking pictures again. Later that evening Viz decided to get some work done on one of his tattoos and so while he was doing that Ty, Kevin and myself went for dinner with the promise I would bring him something back to eat. The food was great. While we were eating an elephant came by the restaurant and for a small fee you could buy some food to feed him. I'm such a tourist but I had to do it. Got some pics and after tearing our eyes away from the beautiful young Thai waitresses serving us we finished dinner and left.
Kevin had gotten a massage earlier in the day and so was feeling very relaxed so after we ate he went to bed and Ty and I returned to the mall to get Viz. He was done when we arrived so we went to have a beer while he ate and decided what to do. Ty felt like doing his own thing and so Viz and I headed for a night market. Viz had been complaining about the smell of my sandals, which I admit were getting pretty damn funky after four months of backpacking, and since we were sharing a room he wanted me to get new ones. Baby.
I hadn't planned on getting new ones since my trip was nearing it's end but I thought we could look just to make him think I planned on getting some. Instead one of the first stalls we came to had some camo pants and shorts. We decided we would each get a pair of shorts and he would get some pants. Now in these markets the only thing you could do to check sizes is drop trau right there and change in the open or get behind a little sheet. There is no way Viz would change right there so we put up a little sheet to change behind. Lucky for me. I had totally forgotten that I was going commando (no underwear). I'm behind the sheet, pull open the buttons on my jeans and totally freeze. I have to drop trau in an open air market in northern Thailand with no underwear behind a sheet. It was the quickest into and out of change I've ever done but I got the right size and love the shorts. We bargain the guy down to 450 baht ($15) for the two shorts and one pair of pants and move on.
By the end of the night I don't have any sandals but Viz has an arsenal of weapons he hopes he can get across the border. One cool thing he bought is a flashlight that looks and works like a flashlight but with a second button the thing turns into a damn stun gun. Pretty freaking cool. We finished our shopping, headed to 7/11 for a beer and some munchies and then called it a night. We have to be packed and ready to head to the airport by 6am. One thing we were not prepared for was the cold. Northern Thailand and Laos were pretty chilly at night if you were riding around in a Tuk Tuk or on a moped. Our ride to the airport was a Tuk Tuk. We wanted to get a ride in a taxi but the Tuk Tuk driver had sat out in front of the Hotel all night waiting for us. So we froze. It was t-shirts for all of us. When we got to the airport the place was closed still but at least it was warm inside. We waited around for the place to open so we could check in and have some breakfast. It did and we did and then we were off. 8:20 am flight back to Bangkok.
THAILAND
We had decided that we would spend the next two nights in Bangkok, since it was a Friday and Saturday, before flying south to Krabi. Viz was cool enough to pay for my flight to Krabi and back. This way it would save us some time to do other things. When we got to Bangkok, Kevin stayed at the airport because he would be catching a flight in a few hours that would take him down to Krabi. Kevin's wife had already been to Laos and so went on ahead to Krabi while the rest of us went to Laos. He would now be meeting his wife for their little holiday together. After all the beautiful women in Laos and Udon Thani that poor woman won't know what hit her. Kevin said to look for a small mushroom cloud in the direction of Krabi.
For the next two days it was basically just shopping. We got rooms at the Khao San Palace hotel and then headed out. First was Siam Square and Pantip Plaza during the day because Viz was looking for an MP3 player or Digital Video Camera (no luck) and then later that night it was over to Silom Rd. for some dinner and drinks. Silom Rd. is notorious for a place called Patpong Rd. which is basically the centre of the red light district in Bangkok but it is also the area where the more upscale travelers stay. We wandered around, played some pool and had some drinks and basically stayed out until the city closed down. Funny enough Thailand has passed a new law that makes serving alcohol past 1am illegal. Anyway, our second day in Bangkok was basically the same. First thing in the morning though we looked out our window to see hundreds and hundreds of parachutists heading for some landing zone nearby. It's funny to look out the hotel window and expect to see nothing but instead see that. Apparently it was for the Queens 72nd birthday and the ending of her 6th cycle of life.
Well after that it was off to the Chatachuck weekend market for some more shopping. This place was fucking huge. I mean massive. We wandered for at least four or five hours and only saw a fraction of the place. Did I mention Viz is a shop-o-holic? Did I also mention how he and his brother are with food and drink and dirt? We stopped at a little restaurant for lunch and these guys will only drink out of bottles with straws and after seeing the meat sitting in a bowl on top of some ice there was no way they were going to eat any of that. All meat in Thailand basically comes like that, fresh in the morning and on ice the rest of the day. Ty and I had some soup and Viz had Pad Thai and then out came the bottle of disinfectant hand cream for both of them. Well when we finished at the market we went home for a shower and after wandering around Khao San for a bit headed back over to Silom Rd. More of the same, drinking and wandering. Being me we watched a few shows on Patpong which I won't really go into because they were more scary than anything else. Basically if you go into a strip club for men there should be only women in there dancing. That's a pretty straight forward concept isn't it. Although watching the faces of the older couples in there when they realized they were watching a man with boobs was pretty funny.
Or another place were it looked like more than half were once men or still were. We went into one place and were told there was no cover charge but beers would be 100 baht. We thought we would give it a shot but after ordering two beers we were presented with a bill for 600 baht. We had to fight our way through one waitress and three strippers each to get out. Funny enough no bouncers in any of these places. We headed home at around 1:30am. The next day we checked out of our rooms. Put some stuff in storage, mostly souvenirs and wandered Khao San again until we had to head to the airport. Our flight wasn't until 6:30pm so it was just me following Viz and Ty around for the day. Viz got two pairs of jeans for only 1200 baht I think which is only 45 bucks Canadian. Not too freakin bad. That evening we made out way back to our hotel, picked up our backpacks and headed for the airport.
Once we got to Krabi we had decided that we would stay at the Chan-Cha-Lay for one night because it was too late to catch a boat to Lanta. Ty had met some people on the plane and so was going to go and meet them for dinner in Au Nang. Viz and I decided to once again rent mopeds and having met a girl named Tru (short for Trudy) at the Chan-Cha-Lay, Viz invited her to go for a boot around. We went for a short cruise through town and then went for a couple of beers at the Old West Bar. After that none of us were tired so we decided to go for a ride to Au Nang. I think it was more than we bargained for. By the time we got there everything was closed. It was too dark to get a good look at the beaches and it was actually a little chilly to be flying down some back roads on mopeds but we still had fun. As we were sitting looking out at the dark where the ocean would be we watched as a pretty young lady pissed out of her mind wiped out onto the road. Just tripped on her sandal on the edge of the road and fell down . If there had been a car coming she would have been toast. I asked if she was ok and needed a ride but she said she was fine and kept walking. The three of us thought that this was not the place for a drunk girl to be wandering around. We caught her as she was wandering off into the trees now with no sandals which she had thrown away. We asked where she was heading and since I knew there was nothing in the direction she was heading at least got her to turn around but other than that she wouldn't accept any other help. We did what we could and decided to leave. She was at least heading back towards civilization now.
We got home late that night, around 4am, and headed for bed. The next three days were just relaxing and swimming. We spent one day in Ko Lanta at the Lanta Family Bungalow and two days on Ko Jum. Viz had always given me the impression that he couldn't swim but he actually wasn't too bad. Mainly he was self taught with some problems kids have like putting your head under water and learning to stay afloat. I think he had a great time swimming and if he had his way wouldn't have gotten out of the water. I being a white ass burned a lot more easily so couldn't swim as long as him. Nothing really to see in the waters around Ko Lanta so we saved the snorkeling until Ko Jum.
When we got to Ko Jum the next day my German friend Chris was still staying up in the tree house and he was cool enough to give us a little weed. We smoked some ganja looking out at the beautiful blue ocean from the tree house and then went for a swim. There were some cool things to see out there including Nemo and some equally cool currents that we could just let ourselves float around in. After swimming we just went back to the bungalow and both passed out. This was the part of the trip for Viz where it was time to relax after being in go go go mode for the past 7 days. I was supposed to play volleyball at 5pm like I usually did on Ko Jum but I was too tired from swimming. We both got sunburned but had a great time. We woke from our naps and had a good Thai dinner before heading next door for some drinks.
Ty once again met some people and decided to have dinner with them. Viz and I had dinner and drinks and when the power went off at 11pm decided just to smoke a joint and go to bed. The last day on Ko Jum was basically the same as the first with a little walk into the village thrown in. This time though Ty joined us for some snorkeling, which we did for about 2 hours, and then back for food. Like I said, just relaxing and doing pretty much nothing. We were taking the early boat back to Krabi on the 29th so that we could drop our bags at the Chan-Cha-Lay and head into Au Nang for the day. We had planned on doing some paintball but it was closed so we just hit the stores for shopping. Viz wanted to get a new tattoo but after waiting for a couple of hours for his turn found out that it was 4000 baht just to get a small one. Au Nang turned out to be very expensive so not much of anything bought that day.
We flew back to Bangkok that night and the three of us ended up staying in a little back alley room which was all we could find. This was the kind of place I was used to. Still a little nice since it had air conditioning and a TV (no channels though). Viz and I went back to Silom Rd. and did the same old same old while Ty went on his own to do his thing. We didn't stay out too late since the guys had to leave the next afternoon. I woke up early on their last day and went over to the My House to get a room for that night. When I got back the guys were up and ready. We had to check out at noon so that gave the guys a couple more hours to do a little more shopping. At noon we all checked out and headed for a restaurant across the street where we dropped our bags and ate. I had a lady write out a saying, "mai ben rae", in Thai that I had been thinking of getting tattooed on my arm. Well Viz liked the way it looked and so in a matter of seconds he had made arrangements to have it done and was in a mad rush to do it before they had to get a taxi to the airport. It looked pretty good actually when it was done. "Mai ben rae" is basically a way of life here in Thailand. It means "No Problem" or "It's Cool". Everyone here in Thailand is on "Thai Time". If someone says 10 minutes here it could mean anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, you never know, but it's "mai ben rae". It's kinda the Thai philosophy on life. I've got my appointment on the 13th to get mine done and maybe one more piercing except that I have a feeling my work won't like the one I already have. Anyway, Viz got his tattoo and then just like that they were gone.
I grabbed my bags and headed for the My House Guest House. And that is where I sit and have been sitting for the past few days. I've met a girl who works at the Grand Guest House on Khao San named Ae. We're going to go out for dinner tonight (5th) so at least I have one thing to do. She's a pretty little thing but it's only one dinner. Not sure what to do over the next few weeks but I'll make the most of it. I actually like Bangkok except for how dirty it makes one feel. Not sure if I'm going to head back down south or just check out things around here. Ayuthaya and Kanchanaburi are a couple of choices. I've been to Kanchanaburi a few times but love it so may go back and Ayuthaya I've only been to once and only for one day so that may be another choice. Since I'm getting near the end of my trip now a lot comes down to money. I have to make sure I go home with enough to pay my bills before I get my first pay cheque near the end of March. Well that's about it for now.
Once again I feel like I've been rambling, forgive the jumble and the lack of focus in some parts. I'm sure now though that if I had had a laptop in school and had done this much typing I'm sure I would have gotten better grades. At any rate, my story for now is done. Here are a few things I miss. I miss my family and especially our newest member Christina. I miss being greeted at the front door by Keesha and Kody (even though they get me dirty). I miss going for drives with Jackie. I miss smoking a joint with my friends and family. I even miss work a little, or at least some people from work. I miss a good home cooked Canadian meal. I miss playing cards with my parents and I miss getting hugs from my Mom. That being said I love my life here in Thailand. I can only hope that Viz got a fraction out of Thailand that I have gotten from it and I wish all the rest of my family and friends will one day get to experience it as well. I think when I get home my life will be heading in a direction that won't include traveling for quite some time. Time to start growing up I think. Adieu for now, I'll write again soon and let you all know what's going on. Till then, take care.
The border crossing between Laos and Thailand
Viz visiting with the monks
Viz and Ty visiting a temple
Sunday, January 18, 2004
So you'll never guess what happened. Take a guess, seriously..... ( Pause ) Give up? You sure? Ok, well my traveler’s cheques were stolen again. No bullshit. The last time my traveler’s cheques were stolen I had them replaced on the 19th of December. Since that time I had started keeping them in my camera case which I always carry with me. I had put the traveler’s cheques in first, then my passport and then the camera on top. There is a pocket on the front where I keep my money and room key. I always have that with me. Well once I had put the travelers cheques in there they were out of sight and honestly out of mind. On the 28th of December I was packing my bags to move on the next day and decided to look for them after coming across the receipt. After a frantic, repeated search of all my bags and a near fatal heart attack I realized they were gone. I was thinking "Oh fuck, now they'll think I'm trying to defraud them." Losing travelers cheques twice within a few weeks and then only 10 days after getting them back? I went through the last 10 days in my head and I could only come up with two scenarios for where they could have been stolen. The first place was on the bus down to Krabi Town. I kept my camera case in the back of the seat in front of me and since it was an overnight bus they could have been taken sometime while I was sleeping. The second time, and I think this is when they were taken, was on Christmas Eve. I was having a great night and was actually quite pissed up. While I was out dancing with a few girls I had met we left our things on the table of the club. Later that night I noticed the hand strap for my camera was hanging out of the camera case. I thought that was odd because I didn't remember taking any pictures but the thought of my traveler’s cheques being stolen never entered my mind. I even checked the camera to see if I had taken any pictures, which I hadn't. I explained all of this to the people at Thomas Cook and they saw fit to once again refund my travelers cheques. With all the phone calls over seas to Great Britain and home to Canada for both times they were stolen it's cost me almost $150 Canadian. I've just got them refunded again in Bangkok on the 16th of January and am now just waiting for the US dollar to come up a bit so I can cash them once and for all. Of course now that I’ve decided to cash them the US dollar is at its lowest here in Thailand than it has been in years. Since buying my laptop, MasterCard has decided not to give me any more money so I'm running short and now I have to spend more money to call them and see what the hell is going on with them.
As I said, on the 28th of December I had decided to move on from Krabi. I spent that day and the next morning dealing with Thomas Cook and the police but still managed to move on on the morning of the 29th. I had at first wanted to spend New Years on Ko Lanta but since this seems to be the most expensive time of the year in Thailand it was virtually impossible to find anything in my price range. A room I had shared with Melissa and Mandy at the Lanta Paradise for 300 baht had now gone up to 1800 baht. My budget was at 200 baht a night for a room so that put Lanta out of the question. I found a shitty, ugly little place with a shared bathroom on Pee Pee for 350 baht. I was about to give up actually and just stay in Krabi when the Chan-Cha-Ladies told me that the sister of one of them owned and ran a resort on the island of Ko Jum and that I could have a nice little bungalow with my own bathroom for 200 baht a night. Well that was exactly what I was looking for. At 10:30 am on the 29th I was on my way. The island is one I've passed by many time before. It's the same passenger (no car) ferry that you take down to Lanta, only about half way there the boat stops and long tail boats that come out from the island pull along side and those going to Ko Pu and Ko Jum off load before the big boat moves on again. Well the resort, The New Bungalow, was a little rustic but it was exactly what I was looking for. There were even a couple of tree houses that could be rented. The restaurant and common area was big and nice. The ladies, although the english was none too good, were very nice and lots of fun. The food was pretty good and there was one dish in particular called a hot plate that they only really do on the islands in the open air restaurants. The food is brought out steaming and bubbling on a cast iron skillet. Tons of smoke and a sight to see. It seems everyone that comes to the island has to try it at least once. Anyway, my bungalow was near the back so it was nice and peaceful. The first thing I did was set up my hammock and break out what little weed I had left. My first day was peaceful and very relaxing. The power at the resort and on the island comes from generators and so was only on from 6pm until about 11-12pm. I did nothing at all on my first day, just sat around, smoked and read my book in my hammock. Well I passed out from the weed and you know how sometimes you fall asleep in a weird place and you wake up and it takes a minute to realize where you are. Well this happened to me and it’s one of those times when I really realized where I was and what kind of an adventure I was on. I love that feeling. I had decided to leave my Laptop in Krabi at the Chan-Cha-Lay for fear that it could get stolen or knowing me get sand all in it. I slept in, of course, my first morning there and wandered down to the restaurant around 10am. That day the morning boat came in around 11:30am. This became somewhat of a ritual, watching the incoming boats to see who was coming in on the morning boat and then again in the afternoon. On the afternoon of the day I had arrived, a guy named Eric had also come in. He was from the US and turned out to be a pretty cool guy. We hit it off and were soon joined by a guy named Chris from Germany. Chris had been there for some time already. The three of us hung out and basically did fuck all. Eric bought a bag of weed the day he came in and since we all smoked that’s what we did. Eric had gotten one of the tree houses when he arrived but on his first night he found out that there were rats up there with him. They had gotten into and eaten about half of his pot. Not a small amount as it turned out. Must have been some pretty stoned rats that night and as a matter of fact they must have liked the stone because Erics second night the rats got into more of his things. They even chewing on something that was up near his head which he didn’t even hear. The ladies at the New Bungalow decided to give Eric a bigger bungalow with a bathroom for the same price he was paying for the tree house. On the 30th during the afternoon, the three of us all went next door to the Joy had a couple of beers and bought a bag of weed each from the bartender. Probably the easiest deal we could have done. A 500 baht bag each for us and a 300 baht bag for one of the Thai guys who worked at our resort. As New Years eve was rapidly approaching, Eric and I were trying to figure out what to do. Chris had to go into Krabi to see his girlfriend for a couple of nights before she headed home so it was just the two of us. The resort next to us was bigger and their common area/restaurant had a bar so we had tentatively agreed to party there. Since the day I had arrived, the lady who ran the New Bungalow kept asking me if I was going to do New Years there, pushing their dinner and party on me. Even though I have no obligation to do so it always feel a little traitorous going somewhere else to eat or drink. We eventually decided that we would stay at our resort to have dinner and drinks and then head next door for the turning of the hour. As the night started, there were tables and chairs set out on the beach, and a buffet style dinner with great food, free (alcoholic) punch and fresh fruit to eat. We could have as much as we wanted for 200 baht. There was also beer and booze to buy of course. Music was playing, a bonfire was lit and we all ate and drank as we pleased. We were having such a great time that we didn't even go next door. As it turned out it sounded like we had the best New Years party we heard about. For one thing we were the only resort of the island where every guest was given a traditional hot air balloon and a little gift. At midnight a huge string of firecrackers, 2000 in all, was lit and a few big fireworks. Then we all lit these torch like sticks on the bottoms of our balloons and they all started to fill with hot air and sail into the sky. About 40 big balloons sailing out over the ocean into the dark stary night. It was very impressive. We had a great night drinking and talking. The bungalow beside ours, The Joy Bungalow, had a lot of people but they all just kind of sat around in little groups doing their own thing. Since our resort was smaller it was a little closer knit and people did more talking. People stayed up until well after midnight and then slowly drifted off to bed. Eventually it was just Eric and I and about 4 Thai guys left on the beach sitting around the fire, finishing our beers and smoking one last joint. The Thai guys headed off somewhere and it was just Eric and I left. Out of nowhere came a Japanese girl we had met the day before at the Joy while we were having a beer and grabbing out pot. She joined us and after about 15 minutes Eric decided it was time to leave us be and head for bed. The girls name was Midori and we hit it off really well, we stayed up most of the night talking. For the next few days we hung out and had lots of fun but unfortunately she had to leave for Rangoon, Myanmar and was gone before we really got a chance to get to know each other. Our little group had grown a bit and it was now Eric(29), Chris(39), Anna(29), her very active but much loved, 7 year old daughter Ninty, Sam(30) and his girlfriend Tanya(23) and I. There was also an older lady there, Angela(50?), who would also sit with us for dinner. She used a wheelchair and walking sticks to get around though so was mostly just there for dinner and sitting on the beach. She was a very nice lady. Besides Eric and I the rest of the group was German. For the first time I think the both of us felt like minorities. Lots of German spoken and lots of blank looks from Eric and I but we all got along great and if there was anything important it would be translated for us. It was really only Anna and Ninty who had some trouble with English anyway. Basically we all did nothing but hang out and smoke and swim from day to day. The only thing we all had on our agendas was volleyball everyday at 5pm. There were lots of people who played with us... Nick, Jon, Remy, the cool Thai guy Kim who drove the longtail boat and anyone else who came and went from our resort. It was funny because if any of us ever had anything else to do besides volleyball we would joke that our agendas were getting too full and it was time to slow down. It was just a great place to relax and do nothing. Chris had ended up in the big tree house when he got back from Krabi and that was where the group of us would end up after volleyball to watch the sunset and smoke a joint. In the way of food I had taken to carrying some instant Mama noodles with me to help save some money. Usually I can get free water where ever I am but at the New Bungalow they were charging me 30 baht for hot water. I was a little pissed since it was only 40 baht to buy soup off the menu. Anyway I decided to make my instant noodles anyway since I liked them. What I didn’t realize was that all the cooks in the kitchen were Muslim and the only flavor noodles I had were pork which Muslim people don’t touch. After about my 4th time making noodles they finally asked me if I could bring another flavor which I didn’t have. What it came down to was me sitting at my bungalow eating dry noodles to try and save money. Time would sometimes go slow on the island and sometimes fast. Unfortunately on the 7th of January, Eric had to leave to meet his girlfriend in Bangkok but be vowed to bring her back to the Island if he could. The group of us all boarded the longtail to see Eric off to the ferry and that became sort of a tradition. I told Chris I was going to tell you guys this story. On the way out to the ferry Chris climbed up on the bow of the boat to enjoy the ride. He had his knees pulled up and unknown to him his whole package was showing and we all knew it but him. No one wanted to say anything so we all kinda looked the other way and laughed about it. Eric and I were like… " You tell him." "No you tell him." Anyway, no one told him until later that night when we were stoned and having some drinks and laughing our asses off about it. He became knows as "Two Balls" for a couple of days and when we climbed the ladder up to the tree house we would make him stand back from the trap door just in case. On the 8th, Sam and Tanya left and then on the 9th it was Anna, Ninty and Angela. Ninty had made friends with a little German girl, Sarah, down the beach and with everyone at the New Bungalow and so she was very sad to be leaving. Since we were going to go to the ferry with them to see them off Chris and I decided to surprise her by getting on the ferry with them and seeing them into Krabi. Chris had to do email and I had to check email and grab some more money so it was all for the good. Ninty was such a sweet girl. She was sad and crying but then very happy and surprised when Chris and I followed them onto the ferry. We helped Angela onto and off of the ferry and then the five of us made our way to the Chan-Cha-Lay. There we had lunch and the ladies waited to catch their respective busses while Chris and I did email. After some final little girl tears Anna and Ninty left us. Ninty just quickly and very easily makes fast friends with everyone so it was hard on her. Our whole resort basically looked after her. One of her few English phrases was a pleading "Frisbee please!!" Well they were gone and at 1:30pm we left Angela at the Chan-Cha-Lay to catch the last ferry to the island. Finally it was just Chris and I left. We just lazed around and did not much of anything. We went next door to drink one night, since they had an actual bar, and we met a couple of Californians Ivan and Sage. They turned out to be pretty cool and also, as it seems everyone does nowadays, they also smoked a little ganja. We didn't do much for the next couple of days but relaxed, played our scheduled volleyball and that was about it. On the day I got to the island I had paid in advance up until the 12th of January. By now I had fallen in love with this place but all along I told myself I was going to leave on the 13th so I stuck to my plan. On the night of the 11th there was a band called "Job to Do" playing next door at the Joy bar so Chris, Jon and I decided to join Ivan and Sage and party for one last night. The music was pretty good and everyone was dancing and Chris and I shared three bottles of Sang Som whisky. We got pretty drunk and at some point Chris wandered off to bed. Jon and I stayed up until 3am smoking week and then we were off to bed as well. The next day, happily without a hangover, I got up, late had some breakfast and then went back to my bungalow to pack my bags. Surprisingly when I finally wandered back down to the restaurant on the afternoon of the 12th Eric had shown back up on the island with his girlfriend Jen. Pretty girl as he said and very nice. Well with the two of them showing back up it was even harder to leave. That afternoon we all just hung out and by 5pm got together and played one last game of volleyball. It was really good actually. We usually play best of three and the last game of the day ended with our win at 16 - 14. Afterwards we sat on the beach, watched the sunset and then went to get ready for dinner. Eric, Jen, Chris, Jon, Nick and myself all had a nice dinner and then most of us shared one last bottle of whisky. Eric and Jen had an early night since they were up traveling since 8am, Nick usually goes to bed early so he was off and then Chris, Jon and myself rolled up one last fat one and headed for the beach. We smoked under the many beautiful stars, talked for a bit and then we headed off for bed ourselves. At first I was going to leave on the 8am boat on the 13th but with the return of Eric and after the whisky and pot I changed my mind and decided on the 2pm boat. We all had breakfast around 10am and then just sat around chatting and waiting for the boat to come. The time came and after many goodbyes and following tradition, Chris and Eric boarded the longtail to see me off to the ferry. As we always did, people come out to wave and see me off. About half a dozen were on shore waving and Chris and Eric in the boat. Very nice. After 16 days I had become, besides Chris, the senior tenant in our group at the resort. I left them with a vow that I would try to get my Buddy Viz and his brother Ty too follow me back to the island on the 24th. I know Chris will still be there and maybe Eric and Jen too. I watched the island fade away and one more chapter in the adventure was over.
I didn't do very much in Krabi. Ivan and Sage ended up leaving the island the same day as me and a fellow Remy, from my resort, left the day before. I had spread the word to the three about the 89 restaurant and we all met up there on the night of the 13th for dinner. We watched a movie, had some drinks, chatted and then went our separate way. Remy was heading to Malaysia and Ivan and Sage were heading to Bangkok. I stayed in Krabi long enough to do some laundry, rent a moped for a day in Ao Nang and then bought my ticket to leave for Bangkok the night of the 15th at 4pm. As it turned out Ivan and Sage were on the same bus as I was so we sat together and chatted and at night we broke out the laptop and watched a DVD. After the movie we all popped a sleeping pill each and were off to bed arriving at Bangkoks Khao San road at 5:30 am. I headed for the My House guest house and of course they were full so I dropped my bad and waited around until about 8am when they had a double room open up. I went to my room and had a nap until 10am. My first order of business was to head into the heart of Bangkok and pick up my travelers cheque refund. It was no problem and I had them by around 1pm. Then it was off to Pantip Plaza where I bought my laptop to see if there were any little accessories to buy for it. I was feeling a little cheap that day so didn't buy anything. As I mentioned earlier I was looking to buy a new Sony Digital camera. Well I had a price in mind that I had seen near Khoa San. The Sony DSC-P10 was selling for 18500 baht near Khoa San but here I couldn't find it for less than 19990 baht or in the color I wanted. After looking around and asking if they could lower the price at three different places I had given up. No one would go lower than 19600 baht. I did a little more wandering around and decided to check one last place that had Sony cameras. As it turned out I lucked out and this place was selling if for only 17,900 baht. I tried to use my MasterCard and here is where I found out that I couldn't use it anymore. Well I was pissed off because I wanted the camera. I tried to use my new traveler’s cheques but they would only take cash or credit. I left Pantip Plaza and tried to find a place to cash the cheques but every place I found was closed. I had almost given up when I decided to just use my bank card and take out almost the last of my money, 20,000 baht. I went back to the store and finally I bought my camera. Not only did I get the camera I wanted at a price cheaper than I could have thought to find if for but I also got it in the color I wanted. 17,900 baht is about $595 Canadian. If I bought this camera back home it would be $650 plus taxes, about $740, so I saved myself almost $150 buying here. I've still not managed to get any actual pictures with it though except that of just screwing around. I’ve been in Bangkok here many times so I have all these pictures already. Oh well, not only does this camera take great pictures but it also can take continuous video, up to about 90 minutes on a 128mb card and also has a lot of manual settings. My laptop has a Sony Memorystick slot on the front of it so I can easily just take the card out of my camera and slide it into the little slot to upload my pictures and videos. Ok, well I've been sitting here in the common area though for a good three hours typing this blog out. Actually I think I'm done now so that’s about it. I've asked my boss, through email, if I could come back to work for the beginning of March and he replied saying that he has put me back on the schedule for March 7th with plenty of hours to replenish my bank account. My buddy Viz is already in Hong Kong and will be in Bangkok on the night of the 19th. Two days from now and I'm very very excited. My big goal now is just to make him forget work and money and his &*%# (c-word) ex girlfriend and just enjoy himself. I'll let you know how it turns out. He leaves for home on the 30th of January so around then will probably be my next blog. I'll send along some pics from Ko Jum when I can. I have to apologize for this blog. It seems to be jumbled and hard to read. It’s hard to put everything that’s happened and all I’ve experienced into a short blog. Things constantly pop into my mind that I’ve either got to fit in somehow or leave out. Like a big drama with a Canadian couple from Victoria at our resort. Not sure if it’s worth putting in the blog or if I should leave it out which I have. Or about the Thai guy Pie (Pi?) from our resort who we were always giving pot to instead of the other way around. Or even about a cool 11 year old kid Liam who on New Years Eve said he thought I was real cool and asked if I could come back to England with him and his mom to be his new dad. Right in front of his mom, and then asked her to confirm that his dad is a real Wanker anyway, which she did. Or even how the lady who ran the resort was calling me "Josh Boot" which none of us could understand until finally we realized she was calling me George Bush. Go figure that one. Anyway, I wish I could convey everything that has happened in a clearer and more concise way but this will have to do. Thanks for reading anyway and I’ll try to do my best to keep it interesting. Sorry about not having many good pictures but to keep Ninty busy I let her play with my camera and she ran the batteries down. Ok, Goodbye for now.
New Bungalow
The Treehouse
Me, Ninty and Anna
Ninty with Sam and Tanya
Bringing in the New Year
And Lighting the Balloons
Me with Kim the longboat driver
Vollyeball on the beach with Jon, Chris and Anna
Anna and Chris on opposite side
And finally the Sunset ritual
As I said, on the 28th of December I had decided to move on from Krabi. I spent that day and the next morning dealing with Thomas Cook and the police but still managed to move on on the morning of the 29th. I had at first wanted to spend New Years on Ko Lanta but since this seems to be the most expensive time of the year in Thailand it was virtually impossible to find anything in my price range. A room I had shared with Melissa and Mandy at the Lanta Paradise for 300 baht had now gone up to 1800 baht. My budget was at 200 baht a night for a room so that put Lanta out of the question. I found a shitty, ugly little place with a shared bathroom on Pee Pee for 350 baht. I was about to give up actually and just stay in Krabi when the Chan-Cha-Ladies told me that the sister of one of them owned and ran a resort on the island of Ko Jum and that I could have a nice little bungalow with my own bathroom for 200 baht a night. Well that was exactly what I was looking for. At 10:30 am on the 29th I was on my way. The island is one I've passed by many time before. It's the same passenger (no car) ferry that you take down to Lanta, only about half way there the boat stops and long tail boats that come out from the island pull along side and those going to Ko Pu and Ko Jum off load before the big boat moves on again. Well the resort, The New Bungalow, was a little rustic but it was exactly what I was looking for. There were even a couple of tree houses that could be rented. The restaurant and common area was big and nice. The ladies, although the english was none too good, were very nice and lots of fun. The food was pretty good and there was one dish in particular called a hot plate that they only really do on the islands in the open air restaurants. The food is brought out steaming and bubbling on a cast iron skillet. Tons of smoke and a sight to see. It seems everyone that comes to the island has to try it at least once. Anyway, my bungalow was near the back so it was nice and peaceful. The first thing I did was set up my hammock and break out what little weed I had left. My first day was peaceful and very relaxing. The power at the resort and on the island comes from generators and so was only on from 6pm until about 11-12pm. I did nothing at all on my first day, just sat around, smoked and read my book in my hammock. Well I passed out from the weed and you know how sometimes you fall asleep in a weird place and you wake up and it takes a minute to realize where you are. Well this happened to me and it’s one of those times when I really realized where I was and what kind of an adventure I was on. I love that feeling. I had decided to leave my Laptop in Krabi at the Chan-Cha-Lay for fear that it could get stolen or knowing me get sand all in it. I slept in, of course, my first morning there and wandered down to the restaurant around 10am. That day the morning boat came in around 11:30am. This became somewhat of a ritual, watching the incoming boats to see who was coming in on the morning boat and then again in the afternoon. On the afternoon of the day I had arrived, a guy named Eric had also come in. He was from the US and turned out to be a pretty cool guy. We hit it off and were soon joined by a guy named Chris from Germany. Chris had been there for some time already. The three of us hung out and basically did fuck all. Eric bought a bag of weed the day he came in and since we all smoked that’s what we did. Eric had gotten one of the tree houses when he arrived but on his first night he found out that there were rats up there with him. They had gotten into and eaten about half of his pot. Not a small amount as it turned out. Must have been some pretty stoned rats that night and as a matter of fact they must have liked the stone because Erics second night the rats got into more of his things. They even chewing on something that was up near his head which he didn’t even hear. The ladies at the New Bungalow decided to give Eric a bigger bungalow with a bathroom for the same price he was paying for the tree house. On the 30th during the afternoon, the three of us all went next door to the Joy had a couple of beers and bought a bag of weed each from the bartender. Probably the easiest deal we could have done. A 500 baht bag each for us and a 300 baht bag for one of the Thai guys who worked at our resort. As New Years eve was rapidly approaching, Eric and I were trying to figure out what to do. Chris had to go into Krabi to see his girlfriend for a couple of nights before she headed home so it was just the two of us. The resort next to us was bigger and their common area/restaurant had a bar so we had tentatively agreed to party there. Since the day I had arrived, the lady who ran the New Bungalow kept asking me if I was going to do New Years there, pushing their dinner and party on me. Even though I have no obligation to do so it always feel a little traitorous going somewhere else to eat or drink. We eventually decided that we would stay at our resort to have dinner and drinks and then head next door for the turning of the hour. As the night started, there were tables and chairs set out on the beach, and a buffet style dinner with great food, free (alcoholic) punch and fresh fruit to eat. We could have as much as we wanted for 200 baht. There was also beer and booze to buy of course. Music was playing, a bonfire was lit and we all ate and drank as we pleased. We were having such a great time that we didn't even go next door. As it turned out it sounded like we had the best New Years party we heard about. For one thing we were the only resort of the island where every guest was given a traditional hot air balloon and a little gift. At midnight a huge string of firecrackers, 2000 in all, was lit and a few big fireworks. Then we all lit these torch like sticks on the bottoms of our balloons and they all started to fill with hot air and sail into the sky. About 40 big balloons sailing out over the ocean into the dark stary night. It was very impressive. We had a great night drinking and talking. The bungalow beside ours, The Joy Bungalow, had a lot of people but they all just kind of sat around in little groups doing their own thing. Since our resort was smaller it was a little closer knit and people did more talking. People stayed up until well after midnight and then slowly drifted off to bed. Eventually it was just Eric and I and about 4 Thai guys left on the beach sitting around the fire, finishing our beers and smoking one last joint. The Thai guys headed off somewhere and it was just Eric and I left. Out of nowhere came a Japanese girl we had met the day before at the Joy while we were having a beer and grabbing out pot. She joined us and after about 15 minutes Eric decided it was time to leave us be and head for bed. The girls name was Midori and we hit it off really well, we stayed up most of the night talking. For the next few days we hung out and had lots of fun but unfortunately she had to leave for Rangoon, Myanmar and was gone before we really got a chance to get to know each other. Our little group had grown a bit and it was now Eric(29), Chris(39), Anna(29), her very active but much loved, 7 year old daughter Ninty, Sam(30) and his girlfriend Tanya(23) and I. There was also an older lady there, Angela(50?), who would also sit with us for dinner. She used a wheelchair and walking sticks to get around though so was mostly just there for dinner and sitting on the beach. She was a very nice lady. Besides Eric and I the rest of the group was German. For the first time I think the both of us felt like minorities. Lots of German spoken and lots of blank looks from Eric and I but we all got along great and if there was anything important it would be translated for us. It was really only Anna and Ninty who had some trouble with English anyway. Basically we all did nothing but hang out and smoke and swim from day to day. The only thing we all had on our agendas was volleyball everyday at 5pm. There were lots of people who played with us... Nick, Jon, Remy, the cool Thai guy Kim who drove the longtail boat and anyone else who came and went from our resort. It was funny because if any of us ever had anything else to do besides volleyball we would joke that our agendas were getting too full and it was time to slow down. It was just a great place to relax and do nothing. Chris had ended up in the big tree house when he got back from Krabi and that was where the group of us would end up after volleyball to watch the sunset and smoke a joint. In the way of food I had taken to carrying some instant Mama noodles with me to help save some money. Usually I can get free water where ever I am but at the New Bungalow they were charging me 30 baht for hot water. I was a little pissed since it was only 40 baht to buy soup off the menu. Anyway I decided to make my instant noodles anyway since I liked them. What I didn’t realize was that all the cooks in the kitchen were Muslim and the only flavor noodles I had were pork which Muslim people don’t touch. After about my 4th time making noodles they finally asked me if I could bring another flavor which I didn’t have. What it came down to was me sitting at my bungalow eating dry noodles to try and save money. Time would sometimes go slow on the island and sometimes fast. Unfortunately on the 7th of January, Eric had to leave to meet his girlfriend in Bangkok but be vowed to bring her back to the Island if he could. The group of us all boarded the longtail to see Eric off to the ferry and that became sort of a tradition. I told Chris I was going to tell you guys this story. On the way out to the ferry Chris climbed up on the bow of the boat to enjoy the ride. He had his knees pulled up and unknown to him his whole package was showing and we all knew it but him. No one wanted to say anything so we all kinda looked the other way and laughed about it. Eric and I were like… " You tell him." "No you tell him." Anyway, no one told him until later that night when we were stoned and having some drinks and laughing our asses off about it. He became knows as "Two Balls" for a couple of days and when we climbed the ladder up to the tree house we would make him stand back from the trap door just in case. On the 8th, Sam and Tanya left and then on the 9th it was Anna, Ninty and Angela. Ninty had made friends with a little German girl, Sarah, down the beach and with everyone at the New Bungalow and so she was very sad to be leaving. Since we were going to go to the ferry with them to see them off Chris and I decided to surprise her by getting on the ferry with them and seeing them into Krabi. Chris had to do email and I had to check email and grab some more money so it was all for the good. Ninty was such a sweet girl. She was sad and crying but then very happy and surprised when Chris and I followed them onto the ferry. We helped Angela onto and off of the ferry and then the five of us made our way to the Chan-Cha-Lay. There we had lunch and the ladies waited to catch their respective busses while Chris and I did email. After some final little girl tears Anna and Ninty left us. Ninty just quickly and very easily makes fast friends with everyone so it was hard on her. Our whole resort basically looked after her. One of her few English phrases was a pleading "Frisbee please!!" Well they were gone and at 1:30pm we left Angela at the Chan-Cha-Lay to catch the last ferry to the island. Finally it was just Chris and I left. We just lazed around and did not much of anything. We went next door to drink one night, since they had an actual bar, and we met a couple of Californians Ivan and Sage. They turned out to be pretty cool and also, as it seems everyone does nowadays, they also smoked a little ganja. We didn't do much for the next couple of days but relaxed, played our scheduled volleyball and that was about it. On the day I got to the island I had paid in advance up until the 12th of January. By now I had fallen in love with this place but all along I told myself I was going to leave on the 13th so I stuck to my plan. On the night of the 11th there was a band called "Job to Do" playing next door at the Joy bar so Chris, Jon and I decided to join Ivan and Sage and party for one last night. The music was pretty good and everyone was dancing and Chris and I shared three bottles of Sang Som whisky. We got pretty drunk and at some point Chris wandered off to bed. Jon and I stayed up until 3am smoking week and then we were off to bed as well. The next day, happily without a hangover, I got up, late had some breakfast and then went back to my bungalow to pack my bags. Surprisingly when I finally wandered back down to the restaurant on the afternoon of the 12th Eric had shown back up on the island with his girlfriend Jen. Pretty girl as he said and very nice. Well with the two of them showing back up it was even harder to leave. That afternoon we all just hung out and by 5pm got together and played one last game of volleyball. It was really good actually. We usually play best of three and the last game of the day ended with our win at 16 - 14. Afterwards we sat on the beach, watched the sunset and then went to get ready for dinner. Eric, Jen, Chris, Jon, Nick and myself all had a nice dinner and then most of us shared one last bottle of whisky. Eric and Jen had an early night since they were up traveling since 8am, Nick usually goes to bed early so he was off and then Chris, Jon and myself rolled up one last fat one and headed for the beach. We smoked under the many beautiful stars, talked for a bit and then we headed off for bed ourselves. At first I was going to leave on the 8am boat on the 13th but with the return of Eric and after the whisky and pot I changed my mind and decided on the 2pm boat. We all had breakfast around 10am and then just sat around chatting and waiting for the boat to come. The time came and after many goodbyes and following tradition, Chris and Eric boarded the longtail to see me off to the ferry. As we always did, people come out to wave and see me off. About half a dozen were on shore waving and Chris and Eric in the boat. Very nice. After 16 days I had become, besides Chris, the senior tenant in our group at the resort. I left them with a vow that I would try to get my Buddy Viz and his brother Ty too follow me back to the island on the 24th. I know Chris will still be there and maybe Eric and Jen too. I watched the island fade away and one more chapter in the adventure was over.
I didn't do very much in Krabi. Ivan and Sage ended up leaving the island the same day as me and a fellow Remy, from my resort, left the day before. I had spread the word to the three about the 89 restaurant and we all met up there on the night of the 13th for dinner. We watched a movie, had some drinks, chatted and then went our separate way. Remy was heading to Malaysia and Ivan and Sage were heading to Bangkok. I stayed in Krabi long enough to do some laundry, rent a moped for a day in Ao Nang and then bought my ticket to leave for Bangkok the night of the 15th at 4pm. As it turned out Ivan and Sage were on the same bus as I was so we sat together and chatted and at night we broke out the laptop and watched a DVD. After the movie we all popped a sleeping pill each and were off to bed arriving at Bangkoks Khao San road at 5:30 am. I headed for the My House guest house and of course they were full so I dropped my bad and waited around until about 8am when they had a double room open up. I went to my room and had a nap until 10am. My first order of business was to head into the heart of Bangkok and pick up my travelers cheque refund. It was no problem and I had them by around 1pm. Then it was off to Pantip Plaza where I bought my laptop to see if there were any little accessories to buy for it. I was feeling a little cheap that day so didn't buy anything. As I mentioned earlier I was looking to buy a new Sony Digital camera. Well I had a price in mind that I had seen near Khoa San. The Sony DSC-P10 was selling for 18500 baht near Khoa San but here I couldn't find it for less than 19990 baht or in the color I wanted. After looking around and asking if they could lower the price at three different places I had given up. No one would go lower than 19600 baht. I did a little more wandering around and decided to check one last place that had Sony cameras. As it turned out I lucked out and this place was selling if for only 17,900 baht. I tried to use my MasterCard and here is where I found out that I couldn't use it anymore. Well I was pissed off because I wanted the camera. I tried to use my new traveler’s cheques but they would only take cash or credit. I left Pantip Plaza and tried to find a place to cash the cheques but every place I found was closed. I had almost given up when I decided to just use my bank card and take out almost the last of my money, 20,000 baht. I went back to the store and finally I bought my camera. Not only did I get the camera I wanted at a price cheaper than I could have thought to find if for but I also got it in the color I wanted. 17,900 baht is about $595 Canadian. If I bought this camera back home it would be $650 plus taxes, about $740, so I saved myself almost $150 buying here. I've still not managed to get any actual pictures with it though except that of just screwing around. I’ve been in Bangkok here many times so I have all these pictures already. Oh well, not only does this camera take great pictures but it also can take continuous video, up to about 90 minutes on a 128mb card and also has a lot of manual settings. My laptop has a Sony Memorystick slot on the front of it so I can easily just take the card out of my camera and slide it into the little slot to upload my pictures and videos. Ok, well I've been sitting here in the common area though for a good three hours typing this blog out. Actually I think I'm done now so that’s about it. I've asked my boss, through email, if I could come back to work for the beginning of March and he replied saying that he has put me back on the schedule for March 7th with plenty of hours to replenish my bank account. My buddy Viz is already in Hong Kong and will be in Bangkok on the night of the 19th. Two days from now and I'm very very excited. My big goal now is just to make him forget work and money and his &*%# (c-word) ex girlfriend and just enjoy himself. I'll let you know how it turns out. He leaves for home on the 30th of January so around then will probably be my next blog. I'll send along some pics from Ko Jum when I can. I have to apologize for this blog. It seems to be jumbled and hard to read. It’s hard to put everything that’s happened and all I’ve experienced into a short blog. Things constantly pop into my mind that I’ve either got to fit in somehow or leave out. Like a big drama with a Canadian couple from Victoria at our resort. Not sure if it’s worth putting in the blog or if I should leave it out which I have. Or about the Thai guy Pie (Pi?) from our resort who we were always giving pot to instead of the other way around. Or even about a cool 11 year old kid Liam who on New Years Eve said he thought I was real cool and asked if I could come back to England with him and his mom to be his new dad. Right in front of his mom, and then asked her to confirm that his dad is a real Wanker anyway, which she did. Or even how the lady who ran the resort was calling me "Josh Boot" which none of us could understand until finally we realized she was calling me George Bush. Go figure that one. Anyway, I wish I could convey everything that has happened in a clearer and more concise way but this will have to do. Thanks for reading anyway and I’ll try to do my best to keep it interesting. Sorry about not having many good pictures but to keep Ninty busy I let her play with my camera and she ran the batteries down. Ok, Goodbye for now.
New Bungalow
The Treehouse
Me, Ninty and Anna
Ninty with Sam and Tanya
Bringing in the New Year
And Lighting the Balloons
Me with Kim the longboat driver
Vollyeball on the beach with Jon, Chris and Anna
Anna and Chris on opposite side
And finally the Sunset ritual
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