Google ads have earned enough for a slice of pizza and a drink YTD!

Pictures have been added to flickr.com. Blog post for the last month will be delayed due to a lack of notes from the last month.

As for now I've returned to the good old US of A. Flew in on August 1 after some long delays in Paris. Turned out to be the first flight from Paris to JFK for XL airways. They had to work some kinks out.

Today is a Megabus ride to Rochester at noon.

Feel free to check out the updated sets of pictures in the France collection! In addition to Brussels, Amsterdam and London.

I forgot to post that I didn`t find out Micheal Jackson died until 4 days after the fact. Strangely I feel proud of that. RIP pop.

June 29 - 30. LONDON. Visited the sights. Took one look at the Charlie Foxtrot going on inside the Tower of London and decided against getting to close. I found the contrast between the huge egg building and the patch work old fort funny.

Next headed to the Tower Bridge bridging the River Thames. Helped a few Asians get pictures in front of it.

Checked out Big Ben. Wow. Have to hand it to the weather man. Sunny and nice in London & Amsterdam.

BBQ'ed with our host Jean-Baptiste and roommates in their Notting Hill flat. The grill was smoking like crazy creating some brilliant British comments from the neighbors.

Walked miles of old canal in the North of London. Ending at the disappointingly Little Venice. Also checked out The Photographers' Gallery.

Places on a map. Holland Park, Hyde Park, Angel, Piccadilly Circus, Soho, Chinatown, Chapel and more.

Red phone booth bus, Micheal J memorials, Oyster cards, look right, mind the gap, black taxi, exchange rates, brilliant mate and cheers.

June 25-28. Amsterdam. Our schedule and pocket books only allow of short stays in our cities of Europe tour. I like to think of it as traveling like a rock star on tour. Less the musical talent, concerts, fans, money and pretty much everything else.

We stayed in a tent city a short ride from Amsterdam. Picked up a used tent for 10 Euros from a Detroit guy. I never stopped being impressed by the number of bike riders.

Of course visited the sights. Red lights and coffee shops serving sailer's and hippie`s delights. Found delight in the well done Vincent van Gogh museum. Walked the canals and discovered that one always ends up where they started. Visited many markets in the outskirts of the city. Definitely did do the following. Get soak to take a picture of a stupid wind mill. Go to a sex museum. Walk in circles.

June 22-24. Brussels. Took a bus for 5 hours to Brussels. Visited the sights and walked the streets. Drank the beer and tasted the sweets. Waffles, chocolate and beer OH MY! Played twister with our hosts Sabine and Celine. Met a guy who bought a 1940`s Leica for 70 Euros at a second hand sale. Saw an iron atom multiplied 165 billion times. Went for a run so I can fit into that old dress.

June 19-21. Meet some Troyes natives. Took the bikes out for a ride. Watched as Paris got over taken by music. Had a picnic and Jazz in the park with Gait, Emmanuel, Fèlix and Melodie.

Pictures have been updated to flickr.com in the France collection.

June 17-18. Pompidou (Musée National Dàrt Moderne) witnessed the exhibitions of Alexander Calder and Kandinsky. Kandinsky`s progression as an artist was astounding. Later years are great. The permanent collection was focused on female artists and feminism. A very different approach then the male dominated galleries I`ve been visiting.

Went to a picnic and played some Bocce Ball which is very popular here. Tried to get into a soul concert but the cover was to high so we went to a bar in Canal Saint Martin.

Celebrated Olivia`s birthday at the same wine and cheese bar I went to my first night in Paris. Also worked on the bikes more...

June 15-16. Gorilla glued some furniture. Adjusted the brakes and deraillers on some bikes. Attempted to true a wheel that ended up being beyond repair. Meet with friends. Explored the under ground quarries and catacombs of Paris. Discovered they do not allow flash photography if you have a nice camera but if you don`t its ok to do what you please.

June 14. Road trip from Rouen to cliffs of Etretat. A short drive away to the coast a couple of Melodie`s friends and I walked the cliffs along the edge of the ocean. A few remnants of WWII are visible but it isn`t the famous beach of D-day. Most of the cliff feature are shrouded in clouds for my pictures. However, it did clear up as we headed back to Rouen and eventually Paris.

June 13. In the morning we hopped a train to Rouen for the weekend. Rouen is in Normandie and is a tourist draw for its old buildings. Melodie used to live here so she took me around to the sights. Joan of Arc Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral (famously painted by Monet), Saint-Ouen Abbey church, Great Clock (one of the oldest in Europe) & Aitre Saint-Maclou (a high light of the great plague).

Unfortunately we didn`t have time for the many museums and the streets were packed with tourists so I didn`t feel like taking to many pictures of the old buildings. After our exploration and my guided tour we went to a birthday party a few miles out of town. I spent the night and early morning sipping wine and using a mixture of English, French and body language.

June 12. Preparation for for arrival. Melodie`s parents are in bound for the week so we cleaned the flat and continued to use our Thai cooking training with an attempt at sticky rice with banana. I also made some hummus with my world famous skills.

June 11. Musée d`Orsay. Spent the whole day exploring every bit of this museum. Most impressive to me is Monet, Van Gough and the impressionist / neo-impressionist work they have in permanent collection. This is the first museum to have almost all the art information in English. I learned a lot but still can`t claim to be anything but art illiterate.

On my walk back to the flat I took pictures of the Louvre and surrounding gardens. Sunny day with tons of people out enjoying!

June 10. In preparation for dinner Melodie and I took bikes via Place de Italy to Paris`s version of China town. In the streets we found a grocery store with all the Asian ingredients we needed for our planned Thai dinner & slide show. We settled on a more simple dish Pad Thai also picked up some sticky rice for later in the week. Cooking went well and the slide show was a bit long for everyone.

Check the France photo link for updated pictures! Also I actually proof read my posts this time so there might be less grammar mistakes.

June 9. Parisien life. Place de Vosges, Notre Dame Cathedrale and Musèe Carnavalet (Paris history). A note to any English speaking travelers. Nothing is writen in English so you`ll have to take a tour or opt to learn nothing but a visual history. I choose the latter. There was a revolution at some point and they don`t have a guillotine on display. I asked. "Maybe the Louvre?" they say.

June 6-8. Paris Tour con`t. Free first Sunday visit to the Louvre. Escape culturel Louis Vuitton and the trippiest elevator ride around. Attempted to cook an Indian favorite Roti/chapati and curry. Failed miserably with that cooking adventure. It looks so easy when they do it!

Walked a ton. North in a wandering zigzag pattern to Gare du North (train station). I like to walk without a map until I get lost enough then I reorient with the compass and map. East to Parc des Buttes Chaumont. Took some pictures and enjoyed a baguette with Camembert cheese. Next South to Cimetière du Père Lachaise. Which is resting place of a few famous people including Jim Morrison of the Doors. I didn`t have time to find his. Security kicked me out for closing time. Ended at the Place de la Bastille.

Finished the weekend with some of Steve`s famous home made hummus.

June 4&5. Paris. A sushi dinner and Argentinian DJ. Helped Melodie prepare for a bacheloret party. Took a few pictures of the festivities before they took off to the south of France for the weekend.

When I returned it was late so I went out to take some night picture of the streets. Not a block away I broke my cheap Walmart tripod taking a picture of a mannequin in a shop window. Not a big surprise and its not able to hold my heavy camera well anyways. Continuing on using my camera bag as a tripod I headed in no particular direction.

Near a metro stop I almost literally ran into a guy. He was talking quickly in French and getting way to close to my personal space. Personal space that gets larger when I have my expensive camera with me at night. It took me a while to explain I do not speak French. By this point I figure he might be trying to mug me. But then he throw himself into me and gave a good shove. It all came together, he just wanted a fight. He didn`t even notice my camera. Apparently Daddy hit him and Mommy didn`t hold him enough. Anyways, I ran away.

June 3. Paris tour continued. Tour Eiffel, Champs Elysèe and Arc De Triomphe. Paris has a wonderful collection of public bikes that are rented by the hour or day from automated bike racks. Once you figure out the basics you can travel environmentally friendly all over the city in ease. I did learn a valuable lesson about the system. When the bike seat is turned around facing the wrong direction it may appears a minor inconvenience. Thats what I thought anyways. A few yards down the road I realized that is French for this bike is broken. So if public bikes catch on in your city keep that in mind.

June 2. Happy Birthday. Melodie brought me breakfast in bed and gave me a sweet hat to replace the one I lost in Thailand. After that we headed to get my camera sensor cleaned. Every price quote was between 40-60€. In Bangkok Canon themselves cleaned it for 10$. So I bought the stuff to do it myself.

Next we started the sight seeing. Basilique du Sacècoeur à Mont Martre and Seine river side. For dinner we picnicked as a group on Pont Des Arts a bridge near the Louvre. Known for it lively music and youthful wine consumption. Great birthday!

June 1. Paris. French immersion starting with a croissant for breakfast. Lunch with baguette, cheese and wine in Monceau park.

To view all the Asia pictures as a slide show use this flikr.com Set. They play in chronological order and includes everything posted thus far. Once in flickr.com click the slide show icon in the upper right of the web page.

May 31. SIN -> France. In Beijing we had a 6hr layover and slept until our flight to Paris. Our arrival was on time around 6pm. Safe flight unlike the one from Brazil thats all over the news. Now that I think about it our plane was ancient and we had some bad turbulence. The wing outside my window had boot marks all over it. It appeared to have hosted a square dance.

In the airport someone mistake Melodies bag with theirs. An identical bag to hers was going round the baggage belt unclaimed. We left with a promise from the airport people that it will arrive by tomorrow. In true French style we celebrated our arrival with wine and cheese. Had a great time meeting Melodie's sister and friends.

May 30. Tioman -> Mersing -> SIN. Took the 3hr ferry back to Mersing. All the buses to Singapore are full until "3pm due to a school holiday. During the wait we bought stuff and got our fill of Asian food. Bus to Singapore and a train to the airport. Flight to Beijing on China Air.

May 27-29. Tioman Island. Snorkeling, taking sun, reading, fish BBQ dinner and drinks with French friends. Jungle hikes to Monkey Bay, Salong, Panuba Bay and Tekek. High tides, low tides. Sunrises, sunsets.

May 26 -Tioman Island- Jungle walk to the East side of the island. Approximately 7km each way. The walk was unbelievably beautiful. We saw Black Giant Squirrels and heard all kinds of exotic sounding birds. As soon as we arrived at the beach a light rain turned into a monsoonal down poor. We shored up in a restaurant and sipped tea waiting for it to pass for an hour and half.

After the rain we discovered the viability from the end of the pier was easily 20 meters or more all the way to the bottom of the ocean. We could see huge schools of fish. Next we walked to a turtle conservation operation. We checked out the blind turtle they have and headed up a trail to a waterfall.

I figured the falls would be in good form due to all the rain. After hiking 35 minutes in the jungle we arrived at the creek. Which had swollen due to the rain and consumed the rest of the trail to the falls. We headed back not having time to bushwhack through the jungle. A family ran into us heading up the trail and we discussed the colorful snakes we've been seeing on the trail.

On the walk back we chose a different route and eat dinner in Tekek.

May 24&25 -Tioman Island- Walked to a small beach a short jungle walk from ABC. Took some sun, snorkeling and valuable reading time. Walked to the town of Tekek. Discovered the duty free shops near the small airport. Spent time becoming island culinary critics.

May 23 - Took the 3 hour ferry to Tioman Island. Tioman Island (locally known as Gunung Daik Bercabang Tiga) was the setting for the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands. (wiki)

Found the cheapest bungalows on the Air Batang Beach (ABC). I did all my laundry including my backpack and camera bag. My poor Granite Gear-Vapor Trail backpack has developed a large hole in it`s Rip-stop nylon. Afterwards I took advantage of the local guesthouse libraries. Trading all my books for a stack of unread material.

May 21-22. Mersing. Internet day. Discovered I've had dust on my Canon 5D's image sensor for a few weeks now. Thanks to the high quality monitors here in Malaysia. Also updated all my images and blog. Thanks again to Malaysia's for a good Internet connection.

Melodie`s sandals got stolen presumably by a hotel cleaning person. Walk the ocean road and did a park workout circuit. Grazed at a local night market and tried all the unfamiliar dishes & treats.

Win a free prize if you can find the dust in my unedited pictures!

May 19-20. Bali -> SIN. Took the night plane to Singapore on Lion Air. Only a 2 hour flight but we got a full meal for free. Strange these days. Arrived at 3am. Slept in the airport until 8. Took the MRT train to Little India. Eat some delicious food. After which we found some Internet and got directions to Mersing, Malaysia. The combination of buses and border crossing worked extremely well. After arrival we got a place to stay and some local fare. When we got back to our room we found hundreds of bed bugs all over our stuff and the room. Turns out the owner has been having a little problem. He refunded our room and we moved to a bug free hotel. Luckily we had a balcony to quarantine our bags until we figure out how to de-bug them.

May 15-18. Kuta.
Beach time a plenty. Book reading a many.
Fell deeply in love with the fried treat Martabak Telor.
Witnessed a ceremony which ends in stabbing ones self with a sharpened wood sword. Used slow and unreliable Internet.
Imbibed with some friendly French folks.
Danced better then anyone has punch danced before.
Searched the entire beach for a bookstore with something more intellectual then romance novels. Came up empty handed.
Witnessed possibly the best fire dancers in the world. On the beach for sunset w/drumming.

May 14. Ubud -> Kuta. Uneventful ride it was not. Unlike usual we didn't lose our way. Strait through Denpensar onto Route 1. Not far out on 1 we got pulled over by the local law enforcement. My first thought was the Grateful Dead tune Shakedown Street. "Tell me this town ain't got no heart". Safe in the fact I was doing nothing wrong I stood calm. He demanded my papers. I handed the bikes registration/ownership and my passport. During my trip research I'd learned of a scam the cops use to make extra money. Demand an international licence that not one traveler carries. Sure enough that's what Officer Jerk Face wanted. "If I take you in its 500 Rupiah." "But I'll make you special price 200". Me, "What a nice guy special price". So I told him I only had a couple Dollars worth of Rupiah on me. Which I gave him. Then I started writing all his badge info in my notebook that I always carry. I figured if he gave me more trouble I'd have it. Just in case. Man! did he start getting scared. "Thank you, Thank you, friend, friend, thank you".
So now I can say I've bribed the police. Worth a couple bucks to me!

May 11-13. Ubud. Ubud was such a pleasure the first time we headed back. During our first full day in town we visited the biggest art gallery. The collection to my untrained eye was every good. It entertained for a better part of the day. Most interesting was the history of Bali through its art. Early into the gallery I could feel the rumble of trouble in my tummy...

Woke up the next day getting worse not better. Spent the day in bed popping antibiotics and Imodium AD. Read the better part of a 700 page novel.

Woke up feeling lighter weight and much better. Explored the markets and art vendors more. In retrospect I should have taken pictures of more Bali art. However it was raining and I wasn't 100% yet. Took a late afternoon motto ride in the rice paddies on the twisty roads.

May 10. Amed -> Ubud. Final day for diving. Again we headed to the Liberty wreak. The ship had been torpedoed during WW2 and towed to shore. After an eruption of Gang Agung in the 60's the ship ended up submerged. Now its home to fish and corals. Our guide took us in and out of the ships haul going down to 22 meters.

After our dive we jumped on the motto and headed to Ubud. The drive is scenic with vistas of rice terraces and winding roads through mountain villages. At some point in the day I eat some bad food. More on that later...

Picture of Indonesia/Bali fully loaded. Had a headache getting them posted. My appologies for doubles and other problems you might find. Unreliable internet and fairly large uploads don't mix well.

Currently in Malaysia, Mersing

Pictures From Bali have began the slow upload process!

May 5 - 9. Amed and PADI. Headed for the coast for some fish and salty water. The local mafia has the bungalow prices set to rich diver year round these days. Due to Melodie's keen sense we found the only cheap place and settled in. The only down side to the place is the noise from the locals cock fighting operation. We explored the rocky beaches and cruised the scenic shore line roads. Complete with rice patties and cliff vistas of the ocean.

PADI. Finally its time to get dive certified. What better place then Bali. Fuji? Check out the local dive places. Settled with one under Dutch operation which has the "best" equipment. More on that later. In total its three days diving. I was nervous at first since I've never breathed under water before. However, our instructor was good and we all passed. Got 100% on the test. The PADI videos are like watching a long advertisement with commercials about safety. During our training dives we did pool work and visited one coral reef and the Liberty ship wreak. Both extremely cool!

Took a day off before our last two dives in Amed. Did this Blog update from Amlapura. Now its off to the night market for some food!

May 4-5. Gunung Agung 3142m. The first volcano was so cool that I had to see another. Also I miss hiking! First we attempted to climb the popular side of the mountain from Besakih. Again the fascist guides had a road block set up so you couldn't get around the jerks. Also they wanted a bunch of fees for some temple I have no desire is seeing. Once again its off to the "back" side of the mountain. On the way two people blocked the road and demanded money for the volcano gods and other crap. Then notified the guides that we headed to the mountain. Minutes later a "local" guide would show up on a motor bike trying to talk to us at 80km in hour.

You can drive half way up the hill to a temple. From there some guys ask you if you are hiking. You say no and fill a back pack with water. Him and his buddies eye your bike and grin. From the temple more guides demand you go with them. Then say there is only jungle from here no trail.

Once on the well marked trail its a demanding 2 hour hike to the top. Around noon the clouds roll in and lift only momentarily for the rest of the day. Didn't care about missing the views even though I hear they are great.

May 3-4. Gunung Batur. I couldn't go to Indonesia without seeing some volcanoes. We found accommodation on the creator rim road. Most of the towns moved here after the last eruption covered their homes with lava. We chose to hike the less popular south west. Its slightly lower in elevation and has the most volcanic activities. Finding the trail was difficult. The local fascist guide organization forces everyone to use a guide on the mellow trails for a mere $30 US. "Not unless you carry me up". At risk of motor bike vandalizing and harassment we explored the volcanoes. Our guest house owner helped with some hand drawn maps. I figured we just head to the base of the mountain and go up. This turned out to be a bit steep and a bad idea. "Hotshot country". Melodie is still talking to me so it couldn't have been that bad. Took some pictures and played around the steaming gas vent thingy's at the top.

After the hike we took the bike to the crater lake for a cruise.

April 30 - May 2. Ubud. Largest artist community I've ever seen. Crafts from painting, wood, jewelry and everything else. Lots of really great work and not all of it touristic. Ubud has a history with artist and is a really comfortable place due to that atmosphere. I don't claim to know enough about painting to make quality judgments. However, if I could easily take home some art from my travels this is were I would buy it.

Monkey Forest Sanctuary. Fun to walk around with all the monkeys. Took a few monkey portraits when they took a break from eating and reproducing. Strolled the rice gardens and a few terraced rice paddies.

April 23 - 29. Arrived in Bali. Again no guide book. Took a taxi to the wrong end of town. For us anyways. Expensive hotels and restaurants. Eventually found a home stay for more then we are used to paying. In retrospect sleeping on the beach would have been a better option.

Moved to Kuta/Legion a more youthful and cheap tourist mecca. Well know for its 2002 bombings. Also known for its surf which draws every drunk Aussie who thinks he can surf, Bro/Brah!

Tried my had at surfing. Only broke one fin off when I ran into some guy. I got up on the board a few times. Mostly just tried to not get hit or hit anyone. Very crowded surf and this is low season. Learn some valuable lessons. Replacement fins only cost US $3. Board resin/wax (for your feet on top the board) is why people wear shirts when they surf. Chest hair doesn't count as a shirt. Lessons are a good idea.

Rented motor bike to visit some other beaches and surf spots. Uluwatu - Rocky, reefs and cliffs. Experienced surfer hangout. Even though I was not cool enough to hangout in the surf the area is great.

Where are you going? "Dreamland" Another rocky beach in South Bali. Again great place with less people. Looks like they are in the process of turning it into a mall. If you think the boardwalks in Maryland are bad come to Bali in 10 years.

No visa extensions for us or anyone else. Got plane tickets back to Singapore for "cheap cheap" on one of Indonesia's many safe... airlines. Leave the 19th May. Went to the airport to buy tickets again. Turning out to be cheaper than the internet.

Pura Luhur Ulu Watu. Known for its cliff side temples, eye glass stealing monkeys and Kecak dance. We stayed for the dance which is very touristic. If you've seen the movie Baraka its like that chant. With the sun setting and the temples it was great. Our seats were not good for taking pictures and the scores of rude tourists took away from the actors performances.

Did I mention all the sitting on the beach, sunsets, swimming, fresh fruit and drumming?

April 21 - 23. Jakarta. Arrived late and without the assistance of a Lonely Planet guide book. Found a cab who took us to the cities backpacker ghetto for next to nothing. Spent several days in Jakarta planing our next move and taking in the cities delicious foods.

While in Jakarta I found my favorite street in Asia. No traffic at all, great food vendors and central location. Turns out the president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was going out to dinner. Explained the mellow traffic situation and come to think of it all the police.

Regretfully we didn't venture around Jakarta much at all. Back to the beach Bali bound.

April 19-21. Travel days. Long time on a bus. Many sleepless hours and painfully swollen feet. Not a recommended long haul. Arrived in Singapore after the cattle gates and mazes of the Malaysia/Singapore border crossing.
After grazing at some food stalls. The only cheap thing in Singapore. We walked to the Indonesia embassy to get 60 day visas. On arrival the office was closed and would take several days of waiting in Singapore to maybe get visas. Headed to the airport to check on last minute flights to Jakarta. Most likely the cheapest place to fly to from Singapore so we got tickets.

MORE PICTURES HAVE BEEN POSTED TO FLICKR.COM. More to come soonish.

April 18. Ko Pha Ngan-> Singapore. Spent our last day on the second best island beach Haad Rin. Watched the sun set from the Amsterdam Bar. Returned the motor bike without a hitch. Said good bye to our new friends and hopped on the night boat.

April 12-17. Moved to a beach front bungalow. Frequented the little markets for meals. Bought a knife for easy mango and pineapple extraction. Eat wild mango's thanks to Ruth and Johnathan our Swiss friends. Practiced how to dance with fire. No fire yet. Checked out an island accessible from a sand bar. Had a jungle house BBQ. Got shaked down by the police. Had a great all you can eat Thai dinner.

April 11. Beach bum. Island bike cruise. Waterfall hike. Boon Bar.

April 10. Ko Pha Ngan. Got on a ferry to the island. Ran into an Alaskan guy I met in Siem Reap. Made friends with a Swiss couple. On arrival we rented a motor bike for the week. Almost a necessity on the island unless you want to pay for expensive taxis. Headed to Haad Rin home of the famous Full Moon Party. Which we missed by a few hours. found a place to stay and realized the extent of my sun burn from the ferry ride. Went to a bar with the Swiss couple. Hidden yet on the beach and BYOB! Caught word about the problem in Bangkok. Would have been fun to take pictures.

April 9. Bangkok -> Ko Pha Ngan. Left the cities for the beaches. A few hours into the trip one of the people who work for the bus got caught stealing money from a ladies bag. We remained calm knowing all our valuables were on our person. After arriving at the transfer point the thief took off running. When other people started to realize they too lost money the bus driver claimed that he didn't know the guy and wouldn't call the police. Apparently they were all in on it. Some bystanders went looking for the guy and found him hiding. They took him down and pinned him until the police showed up. In the end everyone got their money back. To much excitement after an all night bus ride.

Some from Myanmar posted more to come.

April 8. Awoke at 3:30 out of habit not necessity... Took a uneventful flight to Bangkok. Helped a Buddhist Nun smuggle extra carry on luggage. Share a taxi with her to the city and eat lunch at the monastery with her. Fun, life loving lady. Bought bus tickets to the full moon party on Koh Phangan. Also, we bought a plane tickets to Paris for May 31.

April 7. Back to Yangon for flight preparation and mental un-mindfulness. Have to admit I have a different mental state. Reconnected with Melodie whom I talked to little for the last 10 days.

Still no working Internet connections in Yangon.

March 28 - April 6. Vipassana Meditation.

The typical day of Chanmyay meditation:
3:30am - wash up with mindfulness
4:00 - start with walking meditation then sitting and more walking
5:30 - Breakfast. Eat slowly with mindfulness. I eat alone and have more food then the local lay mediators.
6:30 - Clean room with mindfulness. I also room alone, locals stay 6 per place.
8:00 - Walking, sitting and standing meditations. Breathing (rising, falling).
9:30 - Interview with mentor monk. Talk about experience and improvements.
10:30 - Lunch/Dinner. Eat with mindfulness. Good food.
11:30 - Laying meditation. Sometimes I fell asleep but your not supposed to.
12:30 - Walking, sitting, walking, sitting, walking. Working on sitting for longer and longer time with better concentration.
6:00 - Lessons. Taped lectures from the 90's.
9:00 - Laying meditation or sleep.


Final impressions: I'd recommend to anyone interested in meditation to give it a try. Push your self. Patience, persistence and practice. I'd liken it to running long distance. In 10 days I got the idea but have the understanding that much more time is needed to reach deep concentration. When I do another retreat I'll be more mentally prepared.

March 27. Yangon. Little sleep for the second night in so many days. Headed to the Abbot of Chanmyay Yeiktha in Hmawbi. On the way I had another impulse buy. Picked up a bright red Denver Nuggets sweat band. Righteous. Took local buses for 3 hours to get to the meditation center. Much longer than expected. Met with the "Vice President monk" who gave us approval to start the next day. We headed back to the guest house on another 3 hour adventure.

Made an effect to use the Internet and found that it had been down for several days. The story goes that an under water cable broke so the whole country has slow or no Internet.

March 26 - Mandalay. Arrived in the am at the train station in Mandalay. It was a sleepless night of rocking back and forth. Myanmar has the same track system that the British installed during the colonial days. Nothing has been done to improve it, only maintaining.

From the station we bought bus tickets to Yangon so we wouldn't have to waste a night in Mandalay. We walked from there to a market in search of conservative traditional dress to wear for meditation. I found a plaid longyi (sarong/man skirt). And vintage ugly 70's button down shirt. Also had an impulse buy. I'm the proud owner of a woven ball now. Used similar to a hacky sack.

All night bus ride to Yangon. Loud music and rough roads.

March 25 - Katha -> Mandalay - Left early for bus station to get a ticket to Nobia. From Nobia a night train to Mandalay.

Waiting for the bus departure time we walked back to our friends the old tire shoe makers. Since the Burmese don't have size 12 feet I couldn't get a pair of the sandals that fascinate me so much. In hopes of getting a custom made pair talked to some bored looking craftsmen. Once they understood what I was wanting they jumped at the challenge. Soon I had two guys working on tracing my sandals and crafting the parts. The rest of the street soon arrived with chairs and offers of food. Pretty soon I was entertaining the local kids with a slide show from the screen on back of my camera. Melodie made friends with a young girl who gave her a pin and wanted their picture taken together. It also turned out to be an opportunity to photograph the shoe making process. It took about 30 minutes to make the shoes and they only wanted $1.50 USD. 1500 kyat. I paid $3 and felt cheap for not giving them more. However, the man was shocked that i gave them more then they asked and insisted we take some snack es with us.

Found out why it is recommended to take the train over the bus. The roads are worse then any I've seen. Chunks of pavement only create obstacles on what is effectively a dirt road. Bridges flex with the weight of the bus, creaking and moaning.

Once at the train station we ran into trouble. The station manager would only except dollars. The ride cost $14 total and all our singles didn't meet the crisp bill standerds. All our fives didn't meet his standard either. No change is available in dollars or in Kayt. Over paying ended up being the only option and both of us had reach our limit of patience with the manager. The other troubling reality was that the money goes directly to the government. Going back to Katha to get a bus would have ended up costing more then $20 and take a longer time. NOTE TO SELF: bring crisp change with you next time!

After the train headache we found a beer at sat down to mellow out. Before we could finish our cold drinks a google of kids gather to stare at us. When they would give up we gave in. Melodie started making them games out of paper and drawing. I started folding the scrapes into paper air planes. We spoke broken English with them and cause a few jealous fights over paper toy greed. As usual they enjoyed flipping through the pictures of our Lonely Planet paper weight/door stop.

Also have to give a shout out to the local guitar players. One heck of a jam!

Decided I'm going to miss Katha and really wish I had more days here. I feel like I just started to connect with the people. So little time before our visas run out and 10 days minimum for meditation still fast approaching.

March 24 - Katha - Rented Bicycles for the day in hopes of getting into the country side. We figure the town is small enough to see in its entirety in one day. The bikes are typical of Asia. Falling apart and single gear. As soon as town disappear the mountains came into view through the farm smoke. In no way would we make it with our bikes up the hills. We turned back and stopped at a local sandal makers shop. Several families on one street have set up a cottage industry taking old truck tires and cutting them up into sandals. Only 25 cents for a pair!

Noticed all the horse drawn carriages still in use. Got invited to a Buddhist temple for a ceremony. Met up with the guy who rented us bikes. He seemed friendly enough. Got to talking and sound out he is retired military. Said he was a "judge, jury and lawyer". Only foreigners in town at the time. Everyone seems to know we are around.

March 23 - Ayeyarwady River -> Katha - Should arrive today. When we bought tickets they said 24 hours on the boat one night. Now we are do to arrive tonight just before dusk. Melodie played with the kids on the boat. It seems people are starting to warm up to us. Still they stare. Even if you stare back. Boat broke down one town from Katha. Took a few hours to worked out the problem. Happily on land we looked for a guest house and realised the local police have rigged the pricing for foreigners at 10$ a night. We checked in at the best looking one and explored the small town. Chinese and Nepalese influenced.

March 22. Ayeyarwady River - Around noon another passenger ferry was able to pull us out of the sand bar. Passed the hours reading and practicing basic French words. Getting the feeling we came unprepared. Had to eat the food served on the boat. Got to see it an hour later in much the same state. No more boat food for me. Melodie has an iron stomach and came out fine. The boat almost got stuck again just after dark. And... Another long night of bugs.

Talked a little with the guy next to us. Proud to be in the military. He also felt he should have far more space then the two of us. So our three spaces turned into two.

March 21 - Mandalay -> Ayeyarwady river - Ferry left at 5:30am Katha bound. Melodie and I are the only foreigners on board. Our "seats" are three numbered rectangles painted on the deck. About shoulder width and 6 feet. Totally unprepared for the journey ahead we pushed off into the shallow waters headed up river. The ferry is full of goods and people. The bottom deck is goods, bathrooms and cooking staff. The bathrooms got foul in a matter of minutes after departure. The second decks were cabins and our sleeping/siting space. Then the top deck.

It felt like everyone on the boat was watching us. Really they stared at us. No one talked to us at first and it was a bit uncomfortable.

Just after dark the bugs started to swarm the florescent lights. Millions and millions of them. Not to mention the mosquitoes. Attempting to gain protection until past sunrise.

March 20 - Mandalay - Got up early to rent bikes and explore the city and around. Immediately got sick after renting bikes and spent a few hours cleaning out my system. If I recall this is the 5th time. Gave me time to make French lesson flash cards out of business cards purchased at the market. After enough Imodium A-D to plug up a horse we left on our bikes. First we headed to the ferry station and bought slow boat tickets to Katha. Then took the highway headed for the longest and oldest teak bridge in the world. After going to far we found the bridge just in time for the nice light of the impending evening. The 18th century bridge is a little scary to walk on. It collapsed this time last year and one can see why. Really worth the bike ride and in my opinion the best attraction in Mandalay. After riding home in the dark we got some tasty chapati.

March 19 - Mandalay - Shared a taxi with some Norwegians "Vikings" from the bus ride. Found a hotel with a included roof top breakfast and indulged. Walked to the river to find the ferry station with no luck. Had a nice walk and enjoyed the river side and shipping industrial area. Took some tea and dinner at one of the many infamous tea shops. Back when the Burmese tried to push the dictatorship out in favor of a democracy tea shops were a gathering place for democratic political minds. Walked a poorly light night market.

Same as Yangon power goes on and off every couple hours. Traffic is just as heavy. Tourists are almost non existent.

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March 18 - Yangon -> Mandalay - Spent the morning exploring and getting packed for a 4pm bus to Mandalay. Realised at 3:30 that we had gained a half hour of time from Bangkok. Funny to not have noticed until today. Probably best to be waking up earlier anyways.

March 17 - Visited the Shwedagon Pagoda. The Pagoda looks much more impressive from far away. Four massive escalators and elevators take you to the top. Waiting at the entrance was a "Monk" demanding a donation of 2000 kyat(2$). I use quotes because a real practicing Buddhist monk would never demand money. Lots of robed young punks in Yangon. I get the feeling some monasteries are run like troubled youth centers. Images of monks listening to Ipods, eating after noon, smoking and chewing tobacco would be a good project. All activities that are theoretically not for monks.

Had a tasty lunch with some very generous locals before attempting to navigate the local bus system. System probably is the wrong word. We navigated the local bus situation. Our lunch hosts drew and wrote out detailed bus directions. They even ran after us to correct them.

There are three types of buses. The long distance travel type that run mostly over night for foreigners.

Local buses that run loosely defined routes, typically N<->S, E<->W and are numbered. They have the standard crazy driver with a traffic spotter/fare collector.

Last are the pickup trucks that go by many names. You sit in the back with what looks like large propane tanks. There is no logic to where they go. Other than where the driver or spotter thinks they can find customers. However they get there fast and recklessly.

Proving no disillusionment towards Burmese monks we headed to a Vipassana meditation center in the after noon. Our hope was to set up 10 days of meditation towards the end of the 28 day visa. At the Yangon center we spoke to Sujunta who in good English entertained us for at least an hour. He was very welcoming and excited about teaching the ways of Buddhism to lay people. Unfortunately the up coming Water Festival was going to restrict any foreigner instruction due to preparations. Instead we got information about the Hmawbi center that is 30 miles away. More shaded and less noisy. After parting ways with Sujunta we trekked the buses back to the Mother Land Inn 2.

March 16 - Yangon. Took to the streets early excited to explore more and this time take some pictures. Found a great little market near our guest house. Spent the morning exploring the city streets and taking a few photos. Then had lunch with a Burmese lady who we meet on the street while looking up directions in the Lonely Planet guide book. She helped us with some questions about the culture and language. Later, headed to the China town area and continued to explore until sun set.

So far the people and atmosphere have been great. I'm really enjoying walking the city streets. The poverty is obvious and much like I saw in Cuba. Much more interesting life here then the other parts of Asia I've visited so far.

Grandma's Thai Cooking sent me a link to pictures from the cooking class in Chang Mai. Here is the link:
http://www.grandmasthairecipes.com/gallery/march/2009_03_09/index.htm

March 15 - Bangkok -> Yangon, Union of Myanmar (Burma). Took a plane at 7am. Arrived 8am with little to no sleep from the day before. Got hustled in the Bangkok airport. I had dangerous levels of shampoo and scissors that couldn't cut paper let alone hold up a plane. They didn't take well to my arguments. So no more showering or nose hair trimming for the rest of the trip.

Found a great little guest house off a ways from the tourists called Mother Land Inn (2). Walked the city streets for a long time. Refrained from taking pictures just to get a good feel for the city and get over the change in cultures. First impressions? Stay away from Indians trying to rip you off. Try not to smell the raw sewage if you can. Is this Havana?

March 14 - Chang Mai -> Bangkok. It is what it is. A long day on a bus 4pm-2am.

March 13 - San Kamphaeng -> Mae Takrai National Park. Found the park and headed to the visitors center. Walked around the lake near the park entrance. Some guy followed us around for too long. Not sure what he wanted. Probably to get paid to guide us around the park. He was still drunk from the night before and didn't look like the type of person you want following you in the woods. Eventually he got hint that he wasn't welcome. Next we rode over some mountain passes. The views were poor due to the smoke from the burning forest. It seemed like the Thai's burn the whole forest every year. Found a small village tucked back in the woods and walked up a long flight of stairs to a Wat. Then headed for Chang Mai stopping in a sleepy little town for lunch.

March 12. Samoeng -> San Kamphaeng. Headed off in the morning for the hot springs in San Kamphaeng. Eventually found Melodie's first hot springs. Fun to visit but nothing compared to Old Faith full. While gassing up a very nice Thai showed us how to get to a home stay in San Kamphaeng. Got dinner at a local market and had a drink with some of the local drunks.

March 11 - Chang Mai and around. Rented a motto and checked out of the guest house. Got on the road headed to Wat Phra That/ Doi Suthep. Long up hill twisting winding road. Fun to ride but with two people on a 125cc bike that has seen better days it was slow going. After the Wat we headed to a village in the mountains. Mostly just a tribe shopping complex. Headed farther up the road to another smaller village. The park was closed to camping so the plans of sleeping in the park didn't work out. Instead we headed to Samoeng. Found a great little road side market to eat dinner and arrived in the dark at the guest house.

March 10 - Got some web links for anyone concerned about travel in Burma (Myanmar). Please believe me when I write that it is a very safe country. The best resource I've found with the most accurate and reasonable information is Wiki travel.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Myanmar

Give it a try, its right on. Also I'm more convinced that Internet will not be a problem for most my time in Burma.

March 9 - Cooking Lessons. Spent the day learning how to make my favorite Thai dishes. Great class and very knowledgeable instruction. Check out the pictures on flickr.

March 8- Chang Mai. Signed up for a cooking class on the 9th with Grandma's Kitchen. Rented a bicycle and headed south with my compass. Explored the southern reaches of the city before heading back for the night bazaar. And they mean bazaar. Craziest night market I have yet to see. Miles of street vendors and people packed in like sardines. Craziness. Great street food!

March 7 - Chang Mai. After a sleepless night on the bus I arrived in Chang Mai. A much smaller city than Bangkok yet more touristy as a whole. Full of trekking groups headed to the north of Thailand. People looking for a cheap message and of course the masses of Thai and foreign tourists looking for some cheap goods at the night market. Spent the morning looking for a good guesthouse and found a great one. Then got oriented with the down town city streets. Its a relatively small downtown surrounded by a moat. Spent some time looking into Thai cooking courses and motor bike rentals. At dusk headed to the "local's" market for a street food snack and some exploring.

March 6 - Bangkok. A day of Internet. Trying to get as many pictures posted as possible!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenpassmore/collections/

March 5 - Bangkok. Finally got the Burma visa. Extremely nice to have my passport back in my possession. Had lunch with an American who teaches SAT training courses in Bangkok. He is headed to Burma for a month long meditation retreat. Something I'm considering doing for a week. Bought bus tickets to Chang Mai in the north of Thailand to pass sometime until the flight to Burma. Waited for the bus for an hour until they informed us the bus broke down. Got a free night in a guest house and another day in Bangkok.

March 4 - Bangkok. Explored the city and when to a night market.

March 3 - Bangkok. Got paper work into the Burma visa office. It took 4 hours and the line was almost out the door. No problems other than having to fill out a work history. Something only Americans have to do for a visa, not sure why. Booked a flight to Burma leaving on the 15th of March @ 7am. Learned that no internet is allow in the country. So its going to be next to impossible to keep in touch with family and friends during the 4 week stay.

March 2 - Bangkok. Headed to the Burma,"Union of Myanmar" as recognized by the UN, embassy to obtain visas. Took the local ferry and sky train. Turns out Monday is a holiday and no visas are issued until Tuesday. Got info on the needed documents. Passport copies, photo's, 810 baht and 3 days. Took a bus to China town and walked the markets. Did some more research on the political climate and other travel issues in Burma. Long story short is its painfully safe to travel in Burma. The only problems stem from being forced to give the government money. Which is a problem if your into human rights since Burma is known for neglecting them. Once your in the heart of the country you can spend you dollars on the people who need the money. To get there you have to purchase a visa from the government and they force you to fly into the country (no land travel from borders). The reason for this isn't safety due to border drug trade and terrorists. Its because the Burma government makes a large amount of money from your flight.

March 1 - Cambodia - Thailand. Long day of bus travel. Chris from Sihanoukville ended up being on the bus. No problems with the border crossing or visa. Trouble finding a cheap room on arrival in Bangkok. Walked the madness that is Kosan Market, "Charlie Foxtrot".

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenpassmore/collections/

PICTURES ARE UP! I'm still working on getting all of them up. They are just a sample of the best ones. None have been corrected in Photoshop or anything. That will have to wait for a few months.

Someday I might get photo albums on my blog if I can figure that one out...

Working on Flickr account for the rest of the night so that some day soon you can view pictures!

Feb 28. Phnom Penh. Walked the city streets. Took pictures and tried to explore the local neighborhoods in a similar fashion to when I was in Cuba. I found that Phnom Penh has much of the same feel. Unlike Bangkok or the cities of Laos. Had some conversations with locals and continued my Khmer language lessons. Pondered why so many women wear pajamas all day here? In the evening got a bus ticket to Bangkok. Hung out with some French guys and got to use the few French words Melodie had been teaching me. Eat some really good Indian food with them and gave them the opportunity to practice a little English.

Feb 27. Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Took the bus to Phnom Phen. Looked for Melodie's bag which was left on the bus. Got it back. Including the camera and wallet inside. Minus $20's. I forgot to mention they use US dollars and Riel in Cambodia. Riel is just used as change for large us bills. Got a much needed shirt at the market. Mine flew away on a speed boat ride. A smart wool gift to the ocean gods. Got a stomach bug which put me to bed early.

Feb 26. Bought ticket back to Phnom Penh. Spent the day of the beach. Played with some local kids. Tic Tac Toe and then, lets pull Steve's leg hair. Melodie chased them off. Went to Dolphin Bar with folks from Montreal. Ended up being the only native English speaker.

Feb 25 - Missed my flight to NYC JFK. Wrote the parents and work trying to defend my decision. Did laundry. Started making plans for visiting new country and more of Thailand. Bought some groceries instead of eating out...

Feb 24. Made plans to head back to the main land and get a bus ticket to Bangkok for my flight back to reality. Before leaving I met Armin from Toronto Canada. Had a conversation about life and love. He went to Cambodia to sponsor several children through school. We talk about what it means to travel and how best to do it. Made plans to met up back in North America. Got my first serious thoughts of staying over seas. On the boat back went for another snorkel. Got a huge $3 tuna BBQ dinner. Met Jon Paul who has been traveling for 4 years on his "Y2k" programmer savings.

Feb 23. Upgraded to a bungalow. Went snorkeling off the beach. Relaxed @ the bar. Eat coconuts in the sun. Learned about the recent sale of the island to the Chinese.

Feb 22. Sihanoukville, Cambodia. left the main land for Bamboo Island (Koh Ru?). Got to snorkle off the boat for a half hour and swan dive of the bow. Quit little island with only two basic bungollow operations. Ended up getting a dorm bed on the sun set side of the island. Unbeleivable amount of trash on the beaches. I hear its nothing compared to India but that didn't make it any better.

Feb 21. Siem Reap to Sihanoukville. Left early with a mid day stop in Phnom Penh. Went to the Central Market for some lunch and a new swim suit purchase. Met Hugue, a French Canadian, on the bus. Him and Melodie eat spiders that the vendors had at a bus stop. I didn't and I'm ok with that, no regrets at all. Got rooms in Sihanoukville.

Feb 20. Siem Reap. Ended up missing all the buses to Sihanoukville. Decided to wander some locals markets then search for a hotel swimming pool for a mid day cool off. Scheduled a morning bus and moved to a guest house farther off the beaten path.

Feb 19. Angkor Ruins. 4 of us crammed into the Tuc Tuc for the sunrise. It turned out to be cloudy so the rise was weak. I took more pictures of the people all crowded around then the ruins. Spent the rest of the day exploring the most amazing wonder I've ever seen. Mid day we took a break from the heat and had a great conversation with our driver. He had plenty to say about Cambodia and its history. The most shocking info was that Cambodia sold the use of Angkor to South Korea. So the 20 dollar entrance fee and anything you spend inside ends up in S. Korea. This was sad for me because Cambodia needs the money. The only bright side is that its a World Heritage Site so the poor restorations have stopped in favor of more professional means. Went to view sun set from a ruin on top of a large hill. Sun set was just as spectacular as sun rise. The crowds were fun to photograph. Ran into Melodie from Vang Vieng and Don Det on the Pub street in Siem Reap. Decided to head to Sihanoukville next.

Feb 18. Siem Reap, Cambodia. Caught an early bus to Siem Reap home of the Angkor ruins. When I arrived I ran into some South African girls I had met in Phnom Penh. We agreed to meet up for drink and discuss splitting a Tuc Tuc for the next days ride around the ruins. At their guest house I ran into Tom who I hung out with at 4,000 islands (Don Det, Lao). Got a few drinks and heard about every ones travels. Off to bed early so I can get up for the 5am ride to sun rise @ the ruins.

Feb 17. Phnom Penh. Rented a moto bike and driver. Stopped first at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Caught the 10am video about S-21 and the killing fields. Very power full experience and somber start to the day. I split my shorts during the bus ride yesterday so I stopped at the Russian market and got some new digs. Next up the National museum. Forgot to pay the entrance fee but I didn't feel bad. Not worth my time. The Palace turned out to be closed until 1pm so I got some lunch and checked out the Mekong river side. Checked out the Palace after it opened up. The highlight was a replica of Angkor Wat and a gold and diamond encrusted Buddha. Happy pizza.

Feb 16 - Laos to Cambodia. Left Pakse today for a marathon bus ride to Cambodia. Almost missed the bus and earned a morning jog up and down 4 flights of stairs. A mini bus took me too the Laos border. Which closed a few years ago when Laos stopped offering visas on arrival from Cambodia. Here we got stamped for exit and changed mini bus to a over capacity mini van. Plus an unofficial stamp fee. Next stop the new Cambodian border crossing. Here we change mini's again then pay for our visas and extra unofficial stamp fees and charges. The rest of the ride to Strung Treng I had a little Laos guy sitting on my lap due to the cramped bus. We shared fish chips. Got on a bigger bus with even less seats for everyone in Strung Treng. Found Bjorn from my trek in Luang Prabang sitting on the bus. We regretfully shared a seat. He's about 6'5" so between me and him we didn't even get close to fitting in the tiny seats. It would have been ok if leg room existed in the isle. Unfortunately a group of drunk English guys were passed out there. Finally the trip ended at Bueng Kak lake in Phnom Penh. Got a cheap room some dinner and passed out.

Feb 15 - Coffee served us breakfast of pastries and fresh fruits. After what seemed like a dozen cups of coffee we headed to the first farm. Coffee taught us the fine details between Farm trade and Fair trade. The methods of coffee production and plant productivity, natural fertilizers and much much more. After the farms and nursery we headed back to the coffee shop to hand roast our own beans. This was the most exciting part to me. We got to cook the beans in a wok then taste them all afternoon. When the sun was getting ready to start falling we left for Pakse to return of already late bike rentals. About a mile out of town my front brake locked up. The only way we could get the brake to release was open the bleeder valve and manually open the brake. So I rode home with no front brakes but at least the brake wasn't rubbing the rotor. When we got to Pakse we returned the bikes and retrieved our bags and passports before they found anything wrong with my bike. I've heard horror stories about getting over charged for problems with motor bikes. Close call.

At night we meet up with the Belgians, Curt and Tom. Bought a bottle at the Pakse Hotel which has a great 360 deg view of the city. Stayed till closing time and moved to the hotel. Said our good byes, in the morning we all head our separate directions.

Feb 14 - Continued the ride to Paksong today. Even longer stretch of dirt road then the second day. I ended up being covered from head to toe in road dirt. Great views from the road and no mishaps today. Got coffee in Paksong from a guy named "Coffee" who runs tours of the plantations and coffee production. Decided to take his tour the next day and also convinced some Belgians who showed up to come along. The 6 of us got dinner at a local restaurant. Just about cleaned them out of Beer Lao before the end of the night.

Feb 13 - Continued on to Tad Hua Khon. Good long stretch of dirt roads today. At some point I hit a pot hole and laid out my bike. Didn't get hurt at all but it sheered of the front brake handle. Got that fixed in the next town for a mere 3 dollars. The Lao guys had that bike apart and back together is just a few minutes. After arriving we went for a swim in the waterfall and enjoyed the secluded nice guesthouse.

Feb 12 - Finally decided its time to leave this amazing island getaway. Time to take a motorbike trip into the Bolaven plateau with Jake and Kristine. After arriving via mini bus in Pakse we rented motorbikes and left for Tat Lo. Tat Lo is a waterfall and village with guesthouse accommodations. Found a great place with a view of the water and eat a big dinner. Then headed to the high class Tat Lo Lodge for desserts and wine.

Feb 10 - Went for a morning run with Kristine. Rented a bike again to checkout more of the falls and beaches on the islands. Eat/drank my first coconut. At least that I can remember having ate. Later we collected wood to have a bonfire on an island. Ended up being to much work to find a boat driver. Watched sunset from an island and swam back after dark. Eat some food with Mama and family. Usually you don't eat at Mama's unless you have several hours available to wait. Food always good though!

Feb 8 - 9.
Spent two solid days doing nothing. I read, I swam, I went to a bonfire and I ran into Melodie who I met in Vang Vieng.

Feb 7 - Went to breakfast and eat with Chen. Swam out to some islands for a morning workout. Ended up getting uninvited sit-up lessons from a some old German guy. Turns out he was actually there to play Frisbee with some friends so I tossed the bee for a while. Spent most of the day reading a book in between swims. Ended up finishing my book and trading for "Off The Rail". Its about to Australians that bike across Russia.

Saw a bunch of mullet dreadlocks today. Anyone know what the deal is with that? I saw a few in Seattle but WTF?

Meet Chris, Jake and Kristine from California and Minnesota that stay at the same guest house. Then I found Tom to go get a world famous Don Det pumpkin burger.

Feb 6 - Awoke to a great sunrise over the Mekong and islands. Before it got hot out I ran the perimeter of the island. Ran into the Swedish couple I climbed with and a couple other people I meet in Vang Vieng. Got a great breakfast with Chen and Tom at the cafe Rouge then moved my stuff to "Mama's" place on the sunset side of the island. Two reason for the move. 1. Closer to all the action on the island which isn't much. 2. The swimming is better. Rented a bike for the day and rode to the island of Don Kon and the waterfall and beaches. Later went to dinner with the Tom & Chen as well my climbing buddies Hanna and Martin. Chen lead us in a Jewish prayer to start the Shabbat. Ended the night with Reggae bar.

Feb 5 - On the road again. This time to Si Phan Don (4000 islands). Took a ferry ride on the Mekong to the island of Don Det. While trying to find a hip bungalow I met Tom who was looking for a room as well. We found a nice place with cheap rooms on the sunrise side of the island. The place is a bit far from the town area so we decided to walk around the island in search of more ideal accommodations for tomorrow. The whole loop is probably 3 miles. Afterward went to dinner with two Germans Tom knew and Chan a pretty Israeli girl. For after dinner drinks the Reaggee bar is the only real option. So I hit that up with the Germans until the islands generator power shuts off at 11pm.

Feb 4 - Headed across the Mekong from Champasak today to an island called Don Deange. At first the people seemed nice and I got the usually hello from everyone. I rode the perimeter of the island which amounts to about 12 miles. During the ride my bike pedal fell off. Nothing a little sports tape couldn't fix. Then the begging kids started. First they would demand money then pens for school work. I don't mind donating pens to a school. I think it's a great idea. But don't give them to the kids! They get the idea that all foreigners own pen factory's and give out samples from bikes. On my trek in Luang Prabang Cathy and Scott brought books for the school. The guide said you always give a gift like that to the village leader. So follow that example and give your pens to the students teacher. After that experience a local guy started following me around asking for money because his rice crop is dry. I informed him that it is the dry season in South East Asia and all the crops that are not irrigated are dry. He stopped following me after that. By this point I was ready to leave when some kids road by on bikes. I decided to chase them down and started a race around the island with the kids how were just getting out of school. My bike pedal completely disintegrated so I had to head back to Champasak.

Feb 3 - Moved on to Champasak. Took a fury across the river with a guest house owner. Seemed like a nice guy, always laughing. Turned out he runs a great operation so I got a room. Next I headed to the Wat Phu ruins. The road is a solid 45 minute bike ride which seemed to take forever on an ancient fixed gear bike. To start off I viewed the little museum they have set up. The exhibit kept mentioning the Linga. So I asked a girl who worked there. She got all embarrassed and didn't really answer my question. Turns out to mean phallus. So that's why she was giggling. The Ruins were neat but I hear nothing compares to Angkor Wat. On my way back to town I took the back roads. Little kids always yell "Saba di!" or hello as you ride by. Spent the night planning my trip in Cambodia.

Feb 2 - Showed up in Pakse to late to watch the super bowl. Turns out no one had the game in Pakse anyways. Found a guesthouse and rented a motorbike. I wanted to take the bike up into the hills. Ended up seeing a few small waterfalls and some local swimming holes. People had mention finding neat villages in the hills but I didn't have any luck. Went to my first Laos 7-11. Turns out once you leave the tourist areas pricing is completely different for locals. The smallest bill I'd used was 1000. They lady behind the counter didn't know what to do so I just rounded up the bill. I think she said something about foreigner not being allowed to shop there.

Did some joy riding around the city before returning my bike. Took a few photos and was reminded of how much the tourists in Luang Prabang could get on my nerves. This was one of my reasons for heading south. It seemed to me that hordes of amateur photographers swarmed that city and got in the locals faces a bit much. Especially the Buddhist monks. Pakse was devoid of that kind of tourism.

Feb 1 - Long day of bus rides. From Vang Vieng to Vientiane was a regular bus. From Vientiane to Pakse is a sleeping bus. This was my first sleeping bus ride. I had no idea what to expect. How it works is you get a to share a little sleeping area with another guy. I figure each person gets a sleeping area about 5"11 long and width just smaller then my shoulders. I felt bad for the poor Australian who had to sleep next to me. I woke up drooling on his pillow a few times. Not to mention the one speaker that worked on the bus was directly over my head. The driver had it cranked to the max so he could here the music. After he refused to turn it down I rigged up book over the speaker in an attempt to muffle the Thai pop. He was kind enough to turn the music off between midnight and 5am.

Jan 31 - Back on the rocks! I've been wanting to climb again ever since I left Tan Sai. Vang Vieng is known for its lime stone walls that compare in difficulty and quality to Krabi. The main differences I found are the routes tended to be shorter. The rocks are sharper and less polished since less people climb there. And the views once you get up aren't of the ocean and beaches. During the day I made friends with Flow and a Swedish couple. To end the climb we went up a route that had just been made by one of the local guides. I was lucky enough to be the third person to climb it. It was cool to see how sharp the fresh rock can be. Also the weak rocks are still breaking off the wall so your hand or foot hold might just disappear.

Got dinner later by myself and was joined by some Welsh guys and a French girl. Turned out I had heard about them earlier on my trip from other travelers. Small world. Long story short, very entertaining dinner.

Purchased a ticket to Pakse for an afternoon departure.

Met up with my climbing buddy Flow for a drink. Went to Smile Bar and met Flows friend Melodie. Learned a bit about French culture over drinks.

Jan 30 - Missed rock climbing since I still felt ill and hadn't much sleep. Took my daily malaria pill and felt even worse. Side note: its cheaper to buy pills in Bangkok than the states so wait to buy them if you go to South East Asia. Took it easy all day with plenty of nap time.

Jan 29 - Hopped on a bus back to Vang Vieng. I've decided to head back south eventually landing in Cambodia. As soon as I arrived in town I headed for the tubing. This time with no tube and the intention of trying all the swings and madness. Had a good time swimming around and drinking some cold beer. Two things only Laos would encourage doing at the same time. Later I signed up for rock climbing on the 30th. In the evening I played pool with some Brits. I awoke in the night sick as a dog. Wretched my guts out till sunrise. I think bad food again. No more street vendors for me...

Jan 28 - Time to hike out of the woods. On the way we passed through another village and eat some lunch. While there we ran into another trekking group. It turns out the areas aren't that remote and roads seemed to lead to all the villages. That aside it was a great experience. After we got to the road a few of us checked out the river and watch some gold panning on the banks. By the end of the trip our group Cathy & Scott, Kelly & Tim, Bjorn and I all got to know each other. In the evening we got together for a drink at a rare (in Laos) wine bar.

Jan 27 - Left early for two days of hiking to some hill tribes. The guide and guide trainee did a great job leading the group of 6 through the woods. Our first stop was lunch. A great selection of Laos food laid out on a banana leaf. Next we headed to the first village Mon(sp?) people. Afterward we hiked farther to another village. Where we meet some kids who taught our trekking group how to play a bad mitten like game. You use your hands to hit a birdie. Which is made of feathers tied with woven leafs. Then you try and volley with the kids. After play time we headed to the top of a hill for the sunset. Some village kids came to meet us and help navigate the slick hill side. In the evening we rested with another good meal and some "Lao Lao" or homemade rice whiskey.

Jan 26 - Rented a Bicycle again today. Made plans to take a two day hill tribe trip with Green Discovery while cruising around. Leave tomorrow @8:30am. Got interested in going to a good ride to get some much needed exercise so I headed to the mountains near by the city. Found a dirt road that looked like fun and took the little fixed gear bike to the top. I must look funny on it since all the bikes here are designed for shorter people. The views were not spectacular but I had fun. The wheels were so out of true going down the mountain that they looked like they might just fall apart. Oh and the brakes didn't barely work. Oh and the road was under construction. The Beer Laos I got at Tee's restaurant afterwards was spectacular. Took some pictures of the night market and the sun setting behind clouds over the Mekong river.

Jan 25 - Rented a bike looking for a waterfall that Lee told me about. Ended up not able to find it. Something got lost in the language barrier and no maps show it. Ended up getting sick of drunk college student and left for Luang Prabang by mini bus. Meet a Laos guy on the bus Bodnthanh. He claimed to be a teacher and headed to his house in Luang Prabang. He spoke some English so he practiced and taught me some Laos. He invited me to dinner at his house. I figured it could either be awful or a great experience with some Laos people. Turns out he wanted a free tuc tuc ride to his Sisters place. Who apparently didn't want him there because he's a rice whisky drunk. When he started asking me for money I high tailed wave down a taxi. Got to town and found a guest house with the help of Tee a local kid who runs a restaurant in town.

Jan 24 - Rented a bicycle to be mobile while checking out some local caves. On my way around I got to see the surrounding mountains better. Also got to check off seeing rice patties from my list of things to do. Turns out this is a bad time of year to go rice patty watching. Since they dry up and brown this time of year. The caves are great here. You can walk every where with out restriction. No safety measures at all. I had fun exploring with other cavers first time I've meet people I couldn't see first. On my ride back to town I meet Lee a nice Laos girl that invited me to lunch with her and friends. My first taste of truly Laos food. Much spicyer & more lively then the Laos food at restaurants in town. Lee got to practice her English skills for a while. I tried to pick up some Laos word and phrases. Spent the rest of the night on the Internet updating this blog - 40,000 Kip -

Also found out what the happy menu is all about. The rumors are true...

Jan 23 - Vientiane appeared not to have to much to do so I didn't stay long. For some reason I didn't feel like touring the typical sights there. Took a taxi to the bus station and headed to Vang Vieng. It took 4 hours. The road was not bad but no foreigners wanted to chat. After arrival I headed into town to find a guesthouse. Which was easy since people seem to come and go from here often. All I've heard about Vang Vieng is tubing tubing tubing. All the traveler i talked to are right. Buckets of rice whiskey for a 1$, 20oz Beer Laos 1$, zip lines, slides and swings. How it works is you rent a tube and get a ride to the "start" of the river trip. Then you stop at all the bars along the way. 6 or 8 bars I think. I went to the ones with the best activity. I liked the swings. After you pass the bars that are all in the first 1km the river trip goes for another 2km down the river. I found it to be cold, slow and shallow. The first km was much better. Afterward I got dinner and watched friends episodes. Most restaurants in town have a TV show playing non stop all day. Later checked out the local scene at Smile Bar.

Jan 22 - Woke up after a tough night of sleep. All I could dream about was someone stealing my stuff so I kept waking up. One of the guys who worked on the train didn't help. He had police tearing through peoples packs looking for his hat. Which he ended up having misplaced. When I got off the train I headed for an ATM for one last try. No luck. So I went to a Bangkok bank and got cash from my credit card. I had to sign my life away and give them a copy of everything but a birth certificate and finger prints. It didn't help that I was sweaty from the long search for the bank and nervous that they wouldn't do it. I finally got to the boarder with Laos just across the friendship bridge. Got there just in time for the Laos border police lunch break. So I chatted with every foreigner I could find to pass the time. Short taxi ride to Vientiane. Nice little city. The people seem super friendly. The food was great and cheap. And Beer Laos is one of the best beers I've had! Its the only choice in Laos for a reason. Had a long talk with a Buddhist monk while wandering the city. Also got a hold of USAA and my debit card is working! Thanks for the help Mom.

Jan 21 - In the morning I took a bus to the train station and left my baggage with the left baggage people. Whom tried to get in my bag at some point during the day with no success. Due to my nifty pack safe device. I recommend a pack safe to anyone traveling with valuable gear (camera's, climbing gear, etc). One of the experiences I wanted to have in Bangkok was to ride the Subway and Sky train system around the city. So I went to a couple different park close to the train stops. On the way I stopped at MBK a hug shopping mall. I wanted to get a polarizing lens for my camera. Turned out my debit card still wasn't working and i hadn't brought my credit card with me. In the end I got a polarizer but the cheapest one I could find.

Got on the sleeper train to Nong Khai headed for Loas. First time on a sleeper train riding second class. Got the top bunk with very unsocial lady below me. A few Aussie got drunk into the night. I had to conserve baht till the debit thing got worked out.

Jan 20 - Took the early morning slow boat to Ranong with Jit and Rob. The island has spotty internet access and no ATM just a money exchange with hefty fees. I didn't bring enough dough so Rob loaned me a few baht. When we got to Ranong I found out my debit card no longer worked. So I exchanged some US dollars to pay rob back and get me on by a few days while I work this out. Before I left for South East Asia I warned USAA (my bank) that I would be in Thailand, Loas and Cambodia. Then before I left I called again just to make sure. Didn't work. The important part is decided to stay in Bangkok for the night to deal with the bank thing. Initally I was to catch the night train Loas direct from the airport.

Caught a plane to Bangkok and got a room near Th Khao San. Played some ping-pong and had a few drinks at Khao San the world famous backpacker hangout. When the 13 hour time difference from my bank enabled me to call I did so(9:30pm here). Which did not end up working for my debit card but I found out later that my credit card worked.

Jan 19 - Morning run and swim. Got done just in time for American football. This is when all the Americans on the island gather at the one bar in town with satellite TV and watch a replay of the 3am game around noon. Turned out three of the fans are from upstate New York like myself. Good game, I've already forgot who played. But they are going to the super bowl. Good for them. Went to dinner with some more of Robs's friends. Had fresh caught fish with Thai food at a private party. Afterwards jungle party on the beach where we play volleyball. I think everyone on the island turned out. It was great.

Jan 18 - Went with Rob on a morning beach run. Finally realized how out of shape I've gotten traveling. Going to have to hit it hard when I get back to the states. Later after some morning yogart and muesli I cruised the island looking for more beaches and some landscape photo's. Hangout with Robs girlfriend a bit Jit (means spirit) is great. Thai's tend to have names with similar types of meanings are Native Americans. She was nice enough to do my laundry. Thanks Jit! In the evening I played volleyball with the local pro's. I had no idea I was that bad at volleyball. Beach bums take it seriously.

Jan 17 - Moved into Rob's place. He's house sitting for a friend and has plenty of floor space. Rob took me around on his motor bike and showed me the high lights of town. Lots of great hidden coves with small beaches and great snorkeling. I found out that you can't breath salt water today. First time snorkeling in a long while. Today I got to meet some more of Rob's friends. One of whom is Rich a bar owner in need of some pirate flags from the states. The one flying over his bar was brought over by a Gila hotshot a few years back and is in need of replacement. I've emailed Alex who's headed to Phayam in February about acquiring a new flag or two. After the island tour I rented a motor bike for the next three days so I can cruise the beaches on my own.

Jan 16 - Ko Phayam - First things first you can spell Ko Payam any way you want. It seems to not matter. I got a free ride from the hotel owner who was so happy to have his first customer. Got a morning ferry ticket on the slow boat. When they say slow they mean sllooooooooooowwww. First we got shuttled via Toyota hilux truck bed to the ship yards due to low tide. The dock workers were cleaning shell fish which was great to take pictures of. Waited several hours here for the boat. Then road the boat for a good 3 hours. Took almost all day to get to an island that is reached via speed boat in 30 minutes. Met a guy on the boat who recommended the Joker bar as place to stay. While at the bar that night I met a guy who is friends with Rob and called Rob's girlfriends cell phone. Since I didn't bother to tell Rob I was coming he was caught off guard. Rob came down to the bar for a few minutes and I got to meet his girlfriend Jit.

Jan 15 - Ranonge Province - Good time to leave Tan Sai. I figure I can recover during the bus ride north to visit fellow Gila hotshot Rob in Ko Phayam. I didn't want to leave since I meet good people and was having a blast climbing, kayaking and sun bathing. One thing I noticed is small wounds heal very slowly here and tend to get infected fast. Climbing is a great way to get cut up. Anyways, long boat to Ao Nang, Bus to Krabi, Bus to Ranonge. Meet some great people on the bus rides. Wish I had meet them while still around Railey. Found a brand new hotel that just opened. I was their first guest. Only 250 Baht I got AC, my own bathroom, great bed and a TV. At night I explored the streets. Not much of a night life.

Jan 14 - sick as a dog - Rock climbed again with a different guide "Dee". Out of Tansai Rock. He seemed a bit hungover or maybe high. But he let me climb challenging routes all day. Which is hard for the guide since I'm not a lead climber they have to go up first. I cut my day short. Something with my guts wasn't right. By dark I was puking in my bungalow. As I was laying around trying to rest it off I could hear other people puking. I figure it was bad food at the resort.

Jan 13 - Long boat adventures - Got coffee at the best shop in Railey. Made plans with Ten to rent a long boat for the day and beach hop. Due to the full moon tides are extreme and beaches get bigger. Some even have sand bars that connect only during the full moon. Rough seas today rumors of a storm out at sea. Hit up Chicken island among others. Swam off the boat out at sea which was fun. Lots of fish swimming with me. Also found a tree hammock which was a good chill spot for a while. Waited to long to get back to the boat and had to walk on sharp rocks due to low tide.

Jan 12 - Climbing - Tried out a new climbing guide since Joe was booked. Wee Climbing School and guide Nan. Fellow climbers included a guy from Spain who had a good amount of experience. He ended up teaching me more then the guide. We climbed Panange Beach wall and crawled through a cave and belayed down to Railey East. Worked on getting up 6a and 6b climbs. Got dinner & drinks with Mel and Ten.

Jan 11 - Railey - Explored the Lagoon in Railey today that is hidden down a rough trail in the center of the island. Took 3 hours down and back. With some stops for view points and chill time at the lagoon. Meet some people on the hike but very few. Most wouldn't brave the tough hike. Turns out I'll run into one of the people I meet a week later on Phayam. Walked a jungle trail from Railey to Hat Tan Sai. and spent a couple hours with a book on the beach.

Jan 10 - Full Moon Party - Kayaked all day with Mellisa and Ten (Austin TX). Ten is part Thai so everywhere he goes locals ask "are you from Thai?". During the Kayak trip we checked out island caves and a beach called Poda. Poda is few km away but seems farther then the sea are rough! Mellisa stepped on a Sea Erchant(sp?). The Thai solution was to pee in a bottle for her and pour it on the wound. Mel said it worked and the Thai's got a good laugh. Meet some fellow kayakers who took a long boat back from Poda. Turns out they had no water or money and were afraid to ask us for help. Bummer. Full moon tonight so everyone was out partying. Live music, dancing and fire!

Jan 9 - Hat Tan Sai - Left from Ao Nang beach on a long boat. Long search for a room on Tan Sai. Everything was booked solid until people left around 11am. I found a place that would hold my bags and a room if one opened up. That freed me for some rock climbing. I got a signed up for a class with On The Rocks. My guide was Joe with fellow climbers Melissa(Spain) and Guro(Singapore). Climbed two walls "1,2,3" and Railay west. When to dinner and drinks with my new climbing buddies. I'm finding slack rope walking and fire dancing very popular on the beach @ night.

Jan 8 - Krabi - Only took an hour to fly into town. Took a bus to Ao Nang. I figured that last boats to my final destination Tan Sai beach had left for the night. Little did I know you can charter a long boat at anytime... Anyways, I got a room in Ao Nang which is a very touristy beach packed full of European vacationers. I took pictures of moneys as the sun set over the ocean.

Jan 7 - Ko Kret - I found a little island with no cars in my guide book. It looked like a nice break from the city so I took a local bus for 5 baht to Pak Kret and a 5 minute ferry to the island. Ko Kret is known for its Mon people who in turn are know for their pottery. The island had cement walk ways that encircled the perimeter of the island. Lots of cool Wat's. Let in the afternoon for Bangkok. Decided to hit up Wat Pho which is home to the famous reclining Buddha. Took my first Tuc Tuc ride (three wheeler). It was great! Purchased a plan ticket to Krabi for the 8th. Only 2300 baht last minute! Krabi is in the south of the country on the Andaman Sea or West side of the country.

Jan 6 - Bangkok - Didn't sleep well last night. Still dealing with 12 hours of jet lag. Did a little calisthenics in my hotel room to wake up. Nice rooms for the equivalent of 13USD$. Shared bathroom with a fan in the room. Today I did some sight seeing. Saw the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace. Checked out the famous backpacker ghetto Th Khao San. Walked a ton and in the process picked up a knock off Lowe Pro bag for my camera and to act as a day pack.

Bubba, a fellow Gila hotshot recommended that I buy everything when I get to Bangkok. He is right, do it! Cloths and everything else are cheap. You can get anything you need and its fun to bargain with the Thai people. Next time its just me and my camera.

I'm slowly learning some Thai words and phrases like hello and thank you. I can think in terms of Baht most of the time. Also, I'm figuring out the toilets here...

First impressions? Smoggy, noisy, touristy at times and I think I'm going to get sick of Wat's (Buddhist temples).

Jan 5th? - I think this day got lost in the Pacific Ocean somewhere. I get it back on my way home Feb 26. 54 days later? Something like that...

Jan 4 - Stayed up all night and got to see Chris and Fiona for a few hours before I took a late night train from Queens to JFK airport. When I arrived at the airport there was a quarter mile line at the security screener... I didn't panic since I had too hours until my departure. Then American Air lines informed me that I was staying in Thailand too long without the proper visa. Which is true but shouldn't be a problem or so I thought. They refused to issue my tickets. At this point I got pushed to the back of another line and I started to panic a little. They decided to issue my ticket to LAX and let Asiaona Air deal with me. Situation getting better. I arrived at LAX and had to got through security again. No problems with getting my tickets this time. However, I set my watch back 2 hours instead of 3. So I rushed to the departing gates with only minutes to spare. I got this strange look from the representative before we realized my mistake. On the flight to Soul, South Korea I meet a Dylan from LA. He's been going to Thailand for a while and gave me some tips. One of which was to get a room in Bangkok during the layover in Soul. Arriving at around 2am and looking for a room is no fun. On arrival in Bangkok I split a cab with Dylan. He showed me how to bargain with cab drivers and Thai people in general. Proved to be very important! Now I'm in a world where 1 US dollar = 35.2 Thai Baht. BRILLIANT!

Jan 3 - I'm in NYC planning my travels. The idea is to stay vague with just a few set plans. By doing that I have the flexibility to stay in one place the whole trip or just travel everyday to a new town. I have a feeling that I'll do a combination and be drawn to places other travelers recommend. I'm bringing two Lonely Plant guide books "Thailand" & "Vietnam, Cambodia, Loas & Greater Mekong". Another must do during my travels is pack light and stay light. Here is my inventory. All of which fit into a day pack size bag.

Inventory: Passport & copies of important documents, notebook, security wallet, 3 zip lock baggies, Compass, ImodiumA-D, Floss, Q-tips, nail clippers, tooth brush & paste, eye drops (no more contacts!), first aid, iodine, bug spray, sunglasses, pack towel, 2 pair socks, 1 shirt, 1 shorts, 1 pants, 2 trash bags, head lamp, tons of camera gear(canon 5D, 24-70L F/2.8), shoes, flip flops, novel, stuff sack, dry bag, pen.

I had decided not to keep my blog while traveling. Yet here I am changing my mind. Pictures will still have to wait. Its just to time consuming and I don't have my computer with photoshop and stuff to edit images. Here it goes! When I'm done I'll post how mush Kip (Laos$$$) this cost.