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
No comments:
Post a Comment