Oreo's

We are going to need an official count on the amount of Oreo's consumed up to this point.  When i left i think it was 300,  Just kidding.  Hope things are well.  Peace!!!

Singing in the rain

It's been raining here on and off since we got here, but last night started the biggest storm yet. It's raining so hard now that our roof has leaks in the kitchen and the road to our house has become a river/waterfall. Most days we find a bit of a break in the rain to drive into town for supplies and a meal out, but I think today is the start of being held up inside. The storm is so strong that we can't even sit on the porch in our hammocks since the rain comes in sideways. We have enough food to last hopefully until another break in the weather permits us to drive into town for more food. Lucky for us we got into town yesterday and each of us have a new book to read. For those of you who know me I am not a reader, and yet so far I have read three books since being here and yesterday I read a book in one sitting. So for my next one I got a nice long book so I will have plenty to keep me busy during the rain. I've read the beach, Bangkok boy, and tuesdays with morrie. Now I'm onto a book about a women's struggle with being in a Thai prison for smuggling drugs. It's the perfect environment to read as there are no distractions and when its raining, its literally all you can do. Life here has become very simple as we read, eat, sleep and enjoy the silence of the island under the cloak of rain. Our motorbike trips to town are an adventure as the two of us manage to drive thru ponds and rushing water down to the main strip.  7/11 has become a ritual supply stop for water, oreos, yogurt, and noodle soup. It sounds like the rain is hitting all over right now, so for now its time to eat, listen to the rain, and go on a sweatpants marathon!

Singing in the rain

It's been raining here on and off since we got here, but last night started the biggest storm yet. It's raining so hard now that our roof has leaks in the kitchen and the road to our house has become a river/waterfall. Most days we find a bit of a break in the rain to drive into town for supplies and a meal out, but I think today is the start of being held up inside. The storm is so strong that we can't even sit on the porch in our hammocks since the rain comes in sideways. We have enough food to last hopefully until another break in the weather permits us to drive into town for more food. Lucky for us we got into town yesterday and each of us have a new book to read. For those of you who know me I am not a reader, and yet so far I have read three books since being here and yesterday I read a book in one sitting. So for my next one I got a nice long book so I will have plenty to keep me busy during the rain. I've read the beach, Bangkok boy, and tuesdays with morrie. Now I'm onto a book about a women's struggle with being in a Thai prison for smuggling drugs. It's the perfect environment to read as there are no distractions and when its raining, its literally all you can do. Life here has become very simple as we read, eat, sleep and enjoy the silence of the island under the cloak of rain. Our motorbike trips to town are an adventure as the two of us manage to drive thru ponds and rushing water down to the main strip.  7/11 has become a ritual supply stop for water, oreos, yogurt, and noodle soup. It sounds like the rain is hitting all over right now, so for now its time to eat, listen to the rain, and go on a sweatpants marathon!

Life at the Belveldere

----- Forwarded message -----
From: "acdc1267@gmail.com" <acdc1267@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 27, 2011 10:46 am
Subject: Life at the Belveldere
To: <rlskeers.kickass@blogspot.com>

Sorry for the lag time in posting. WiFi is a bit touch and go at our new place. So anyway to catch you all up I made the long trek to koh phangan and arrived to the island only to be greeted by downpouring rain and a familiar face, Chantelle. After we dried off in a coffee shop we tried to figure out what to do next on our trip which involved leaving the island in a day or so. I wasn't too keen on staying on this island since its where the massive full moon parties take place and I wanted a more relaxed atmosphere. We decided to head to the north of the island to see if there was accommodation there since chantelles friends where there too. After just wondering around catching up we stumbled across a really nice layout of bungalows perched up on a hill overlooking the bay. For shit we asked to see a room and how much it was. It is its own building, a stilted wood cabin of sorts with a large deck for 2 hammocks a nice bath and bed... but the real kicker was our own kitchen. It has all the cookwear and a propane burner. Then to top all of it off, 500 baht a night for the two of us. So without hesitation we took it. So needless to say we haven't left the island yet, and I was wrong about it being a tourist trap here. People come to the southeastern beach for the full moon parties and then they leave to surrounding islands. But we are on the north side of the island in a small town. Chantelle already knew people hear from a couple months ago and it wasn't long before I was hanging out with them as well. Chantelles dive instructor Gem and her boyfriend Al have been great to hang out with. They helped us find the best places to food shop and the best restaurants to eat at. By the way I had an Italian meal that was legitimate and the owner of the place is Italian. We have a motorbike from gem since we live on the hill and we drive into town and sometimes across the island for supplies. Weve also been to some cool bars and one that had a live jam session where they played old rock music. Most days we've been here it rains and some of the storms have been brutal. We don't mind though as we sit in our hammocks, read books, drink tea, cook food, and sleep in... all to the sounds and smells of rain and the waves down on the beach. It's nice here and both of us want to relax as much as possible before going home so there is a mutual feeling of just taking it easy here. So for now its life at the belvedere until we decide to move on to something else. It's raining again this morning and I have some food in the fridge as well as a new book to read. Life is going to be tough today.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

To the River Khwae and back

Its funny how you try and have the little bits of familiarity that you can in place where there is a constant feeling of being lost or at the will of others. So i right this from a computer on khao san just as i have on three different occasions. Unfortunately my time in khao san is not over. i took the bus back from Kanchanaburi this afternoon and i have a 2 hour "layover" before my night bus leaves from Ko phangan. My time in Kanchanaburi was short lived but it was a cool place. I stayed at the Jolly Frog which was right on the river. there were hammocks and chairs set in a garden shaded by palm trees where you can relax, have a drink, and read a book. O for those of you who know me and my distaste for reading, you'll be pleasantly surprised that i finished reading The Beach which is a backpacker must and now i am on my second book Bangkok Boy. Reading novels that take place around here end up enlightening you to cultural things sometimes lost in translation. Such things as why they try and keep their skin white, and the importance of body language, as well as having "face" are all things i have become aware of that are different than in my own culture. As far as the River Khwae and the war museum, it was kind of a bust. The thing that stuck me the most was other places that there has been wars or people lost have been solemn places of reflection and awareness. This was not the case as people made funny faces for pictures in front of the bombs lining the bridge and loud dance music by street vendors crowding around the entrance. It was upsetting that as much as i tried i could not focus on what i had been there to experience, which was feeling what had happened. I did get to read more on what happened during the building of the "death railway" and the museum was packed with information. the downside was that there was no rhyme or reason to any of the stuff that was in the rooms and they even clustered different wars together. It was nice to get away from bangkok and see something new as well as being in a small town where i wasnt getting heckled all the time by street vendors. Also it just so happened to be the cheapest place ive been to in thailand with my own room costing 70 Baht compared to 300 baht in bangkok. Well its time to get some food in me and prepare for the long journey south.

Aftermath

I woke up several times last night wondering where i was.  I feel the transitions are going to be difficult.  I'm having trouble remembering small things, like where the light switches used to be, and what shoes i used to where all the time.  I was told that going home was always the hardest. Your sense of reality kicks in, and you realize what life used to be, is no where near what it is now.  You have a real job, real bills, and of course a sense of  "what the fuck, i can't function in the real world any more".  Its funny what traveling does to a person.  The adventure of not knowing what will  happen day to day, hour to hour, or even what will happen ten seconds from now.  Where as here the monotony of waking up, working, eating, sleeping, etc. continues.  I now i shouldn't call it monotony, cause its just life! There are plenty of adventures to be had, and things to see. There will always be another "big trip".  I'm going to miss Asia, and I hope that one day i will see it again. There is definitely nothing in the world like it.  Jess...if you read this, know that the decision you made was the right one.  I know that we all have to come home someday and we all have to face the machine, but there will be time for that.  Know one thing, if i had it any other way, i would be sitting next to you reading this. Jess I'm proud, jealous, but most of all glad your doing it.  As Peter Fonda once said, "do your own thing in your own time"   Life happens quickly, take advantage of it.  Have fun Jess, and most of all be careful, we will see you in a couple of weeks.  Oh....and by the way the fucking coffee still sucks!!!!

And it begins once again

So my adventures start again tomorrow morning as i will be taking a bus a few hours west of bangkok to a city called kanchanaburi, which for you history buffs is where the bridge over river kwai is. And in case your a movie lover i recommend seeing the 1957 film Bridge Over River Kwai (Khwae in thai). Its a stretch of railway that the japanese made POWs and thai, chinese, burmese prisoners build including serveral bridges and khwae inparticular was bombed repeatedly by allie forces. So!!!... anyway im sure after visiting i will have more historic info on it. It sounds like a sleepy town a bit off the tourist track since there are no beaches or big cities. Sounds like a perfect place to relax and get some world perspective. After that i come back to bangkok and will head south to meet my friend chantelle off the coast around Kho Pha-ngan where the next leg of the trip will begin as we blaze thru the islands ( and maybe a route or two back in tonsai!!) Anywho hope all is well. And ry and sky enjoy some awesome food for me. i will still be on the asia weight loss diet. Boy im gonna need some fatty foods when i get home.

slight change in plans

so 2 hours before we boarded i found out that because of japan i found a ticket without extra charge for me to stay one more month. after many debates i came to the decision that im here, its free to change the flight, free visa, so why not. its scary to change such a massive course, but i speak so much about doing things that are a risk, not playing it safe, or taking the easy way out. i also ran into some friends from vietnam that were excited for me to stay and i couldnt find a reason not to stay other than the unknown, which is scary but what i live for. its hard to leave my safety net of ryan and sky, but the people i will be with are good people, so mom!! try not to worry... ive got a good head on my shoulders. i was excited to see old faces again, and i know they will be there for me when i get back. i will head down south to southern thailand to the islands and do more exploring. ive started to get asia down and wise to its tricks so i know i can do this on my own. i will meet more people and see more places. its off to khao san road again to meet my canadian friends and tomorrow night hop a bus down south. i guess i need to do laundry again, ha. and so much for home food. more rice and well rice. this blog is gonna keep rockin so watch out!!

Last day in Asia

So we are officially done with our trip in asia, and i can say for myself that it is bittersweet.  The last day ended on a serious note as we took a trip to the S-21 prison and killing fields outside of the main town in Phenom Penh.  At first it seemed to shock me that i was ignorant to the fact that so much devestation happened here, and within my general lifetime. Over 3 million people were killed under the rein of the Pol Pot regime and seeing the towers of skulls, mass graves, and reading the literature sure snapped me back into reality that we have it DAMN good.  The most incredible part of it is that most people that we interacted with here were involved in it in some way. For example our touk touk driver himself was forced to work for the regime in the rice fields as a 9 year old boy. And how is his attitude now??!!... One of the happiest most pleasant people we met.  Because it has been such a short time from the rein of power, people still have vivid memories of what it was like and therefore have a strong love for what they do have in this life.  It reminds me that i need to remember what amazing things i have in my life and not dwell on the things that i dont. This reality check was also coupled by the extreme division of classes that we saw here where you can walk a block and see a bentley, rolse royce, and an aston martin for sale, and then a woman and her children starving and begging on the streets.  There is still alot of revovery needed in this country, but all said and done and they are doing their best. I also watch the people in Japan and what they are going thru and it makes me feel fortunate that we three were able to take this trip and experience all that we did.  I cannot thank enough the people that we met like Bang, Tex, Wee, Hoa, Hung, Alex, and all the other travellers that we crossed paths with on this trip, because its not where we went that made this trip but the people that came into our lives along the way.  The travellers mentality is so different from the states because there is a short time that you have with people and you make the best of the hour or day or week that you have with them.  You become open and honest faster than you would with the social norms that restrict us back home.  I mean where else would you be at a coffee shop or on a bus or in a hotel and just strike up a conversation with someone or join their travel path for a short while.  Its amazing how this trip changed us and i could blab on for hours on the unsaids and unseen that made this what it is. All i can say is that i hope all three of us take some of what we learned back home with us and use it to inhance our lives in whatever ways we can. And on that note, encourage those around us to do the same and open their hearts and minds to the possibilites around us, because if you have the 5 minutes of down time to read this, your damn lucky. dont take life for granted

We are on our way home now and its not home because of what we are coming home to, but who. We love you all and hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. See you soon...

Watching Japan

So it is crazy enough to be on this side of the world during this disaster. We watch every night and morning while we eat to see the updates of the crisis in Japan. One of our concerns that is personal is the fact that in just a few short days we are flying into tokyo. As of this morning Delta is allowing people to change flights up til the 15th. Our flight is on the 17th so for now it looks like they estimate that we will still be able to fly into and out of tokyo. There are over 20,000 people stranded in the two japan airports as of now. we are going to keep looking each day to hear if delta will be bumping up the dates of change or if it will be ok for us to fly there. Our hearts go out to the people of japan and our thanks to those who are aiding the relief work. As we fight the heat we hope to continue to see more here before its all said and done. And on some level i think the stress of coming back to the states is sneaking up on us. Its going to be a hard transition back to bills, jobs (or lack there of), and finding our grooves again. For me the next step is still unclear and i can tell that my dreams and subconcicous are bubbling my curiousity to the surface. I guess all i can do is enjoy the last few days we have here, and keep the mindset that things will fall into place when i come home. Transitions are always difficult, but a strong life lesson.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We caught the 6 hour bus ride from Siagon to phnom penh, and were all a little sketched out when we reach a small ferry that took us across a small river. This was our very first stop in cambodia since leaving the border, and we were convinced we had made a mistake.  The locals at the ferry looked a little weathered so to speak, and we were getting worried.  Anyway, we arrived in phenom penh around 8:30 pm, and were dropped off in some wierd parking lot layered in garbage. Again, are anxiety levels were on the rise.  We were greeted by a local tuk tuk driver, who immediately spoke English to us, and convinced us that he would take us to the backpacker sanctuary across town by the river.  When we asked how much, we were told a dollar each and we agree.  As we struggled, to load 3-50 pound packs and three very skinny, but good looking men in to a tuk tuk, things where bound to get better.  We all giggled as the tuk tuk struggled to enter traffic, and had an even harder time trying to keep pace with traffic. As we drove this amazing city came to life. We all knew not to judge this book by it's cover, and the book taught us this very same lesson again.  This city is absolutely amazing.  The city night grasped our attention as we drove, and reviled some breathtaking statues, architecture, parks, and amazing people thus far.  Anyway, we hope to do some exploring today to get our bearing.  Then do some touron thing the following days.  Our main goal in coming to phnom penh was to see the genocide museum or the killing fields.  We all seem very excited, but on the same note feel a little sicken by the thought of going. We were told the tour is a must for everyone who comes here.  I'm sure you will hear more about this in future blogs.  Anyway we are off to explore.

Bye bye Siagon

Are days in Siagon have came to an end.  We will leave Siagon for Phenom Phen today, and spend 4 days there.  I'm actaully very glad to be leaving Siagon even thought it is a great place.  There are way to many people.  There are over 7 million people here, and it is way to americanized. We have not had a bad expericence here, and hope to keep it that way.  The city is just to big.

Siagon

Typical telephone pole in Siagon

Vietnames man sharpening knives on the side of the road

Hot!!!! Vietnames Tourist Police

We left Da Lat yesterday and took an eight hour bus ride to Siagon.  Well it would have been eight hours, if we wouldn''t have gotten stuck in a traffic jam/flood on the outskirts of Siagon. So when it was all said and done, we had been on the bus for aroud 10 hours.  Fotunately we reached Siagon unscathed.  For some unknown reason I started coming down with the hunga bunga late last night and had to start a cycle of antibiotics.  I can't imagine eating unknown meat from a bag that I had boughten from a street vender would have made me sick, but Shit happens.  Anywho, we are off to explore Siagon today, and will spend approximately 3 nights here before our visa's run out on the 11th. On the 11th we will be heading for Phenom Phen in Cambodia, where we will spend the remainder of our trip befor coming home.  I will post pics and blog more about Siagon later.

Scooter's

There are so many scooters.  There are literaly millions of scooters, it's like a sea of scooters every where you look.  I think asia has the right idea. Parking is easy, their efficient, and of course their cheap!  We were at the movie theater/department store/convienence store/scooter store last week, and you can pick up a new no name brand scooter for around $400.  Some of the name brand scooters, like Honda or Yamaha are around $1500.  There are no rules on the road.  For the most part people do like we do in the states.  (We call it organized chaos) but they are constantly on the wrong side, passing when cars are comming, and of course ride up to 4 passengers per scooter.  It's absolutely amazing to see small children riding standing up between two people.  Oh, and of course to see how much stuff they can get on one scooter.  I have seen 16' piece of pipe,  stacks of garbage, and of course my favorite sheets of plywood.  They literaly ride with it on top of their heads.  We have learned not to ride in the front of buses, they honk their horn so much. You hear a horn, you know to get out of the way.  It's amazing to watch. There is no road rage either,  you would be shot by someone if you honked your horn or drove like they do in the States.

Misc Pic's

We really liked this picture!!!

Jess and Chantelle in deep conversation only a few drinks in.

Pagoda Nha Trang

Pagoda.  Marble Mountains, Da Nang

Whole chiken for sale, heads, feet, and god only knows what else.

Sunset.  Train ride from Da Nang to Nha Trang

Reclining Buddha Nha Trang

Vietnamese flag waving outside of Hoa's place

Common Vietnamese women trying to sell us fruit

Vietnamese Women feeding dog coffee ouside of Tailor shop

Horrible pic of Jess and I after long night of drinking

Typical Vietnamese Architecture with French influence.  Hoi an

View from top of Marble Mountains. Da Nang, Vietname

Vietnamese Children who followed us around. 

Our bathroom. Shower, toilet, and sink.  Very common throughout Vietnam

Jess and I catching the last rays of the day.  Hoa's Place

Skyler asleep on his pack waiting for the train.  After being sick for the last few days

Train ride to Da Nang

One of many show venders in small market.  Da Nang, Vietnam