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.