tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81461059040319077222024-03-21T13:40:49.773-07:00Andy's Southern Asia Travel BlogAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-76888985304542339302010-01-13T00:41:00.001-08:002010-01-13T00:41:49.000-08:00In Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, IndiaI got stuck Vagator for longer than I expected but was a really good time. I actually started this blog a few days ago but did not finish before I had to go because I had plans for my last night in Gos Kwertis left a few days after my last blog so I've been hanging out with Vince and Audrey a lot. We hung out a lot before but we didn't talk much, just knew we enjoyed each others company because of the vibes, so its been nice the last few days to talk and get to know each other better. I traveled south to Kanyakumari on the very southern tip of India because there is a solar eclipse that will be the most visible in the south of India. Vince and I talked about it and we both wanted to go and enjoy each others company so we are going together. Audrey and her mom also decided to come down for the eclipse and they arive tonight or tomorrow morning, but now for the story of the last week.<br /><br />After playing chess and writing will all day before Audrey, Ruby, and Josh came to the Moon Dance for dinner and we all decided to go to Shiva Valley to party for Kwertis's last night in Goa. The Goan Trance at Shiva Valley that night was actually pretty good, or not bad. We had a great time dancing, I was tired but I pushed it a bit because I wanted to spend time with Kwertis before he left. Music stopped at about midnight so we went bact to Audrey's, which is close to Shiva Valley, but it came back on after a little time so we went back to dance more. We met up with Josh at the party (it was just Kwertis, Vince, Audrey, her mom, and me) and then the music turned off at about 3 so we left.<br /><br />On the way out we ran into Ruby with a bunch of guy's and we all went to Ruby's place to hang out because no one was tired. At Ruby's it was funny because we all hung out outside and talked for a while and eventually woke up her neighbors. But it is Goa so nobody cared at all. They said it was fine, keep on talking and hanging out, they even joined us. Before the sun came up we all went to get some food at the resturant next door, waking up the family, but again its Goa so they were happy to cook us food. After eating Kwertis and I went back to the guest house and played one more game of chess before going to sleep.<br /><br />The next day Kwertis left at about 6 pm and I didn't wake up until 2 so we played some final games of chess before he had to leave. After he left Vince had gotten into chess watching us play so we continued to play chess. Audrey came over some time later so we made plans to party that night at Prim Rose which is a club near Vagator that I had not been too and stays open to 6 every night because it is indoors. We stopped at a bar Vince knows on the way and didn't get to the Prim Rose until about 1:30. Soon after Ruby came with another large group of guy's. The music was the same Goan Trance but someone was playing a drum along with it so it had some life.<br /><br />After a while a large group of us were out in the bar of the Prim Rose instead of the dance floor talking. One nice thing was usually everyone is speaking English but at this time there were more French speakers so that was what was being spoken mostly. I liked it because I felt a bit bad making Audrey and Vince speak English all the time. We stayed at the Prim Rose until after it closed making a bit of a scene but there were so many of us the place did not care or kick us out. In the morning Vince, Audrey and I went to Spagetti Beach which is right next to little Vagator to relax in the morning. The beach was very beautiful and had a big carving of Shiva on one of the rocks on the beach and another of Buddha on the rocks behind the beach. Around noon we decided we were finally tired so we went back to the guest house to sleep.<br /><br />The next day we woke up late again and decided to go to Anjuna to have dinner with Audrey's mom. We were very hungry and ate at a resturant on the beach next to Curly's. At dinner Audrey and her mom invited Vince and I to a house party in Anjuna at a friend of thiers house that has lived in Anjuna for about 30 years, and we said we would love to go. After eating we all went back to Moon Dance and hung out for many hours together talking. Audrey's mom doesn't speak English so there was a lot of French-English translation but it was fun because French is a very beautiful language. At 4 or so we all decided we were tired so Audrey and her mom went back to Anjuna to sleep and we made plans to meet in Anjuna the next day at 7 to go to the party.<br /><br />Vince and I bought a fish from our guest house and had them cook it into a fish curry for the house party. We arrived late as usual and then made it to the party by about 8. The party was nice there were a lot of older hippies that have lived in the area for about 30 years or younger people that grew up in Goa. There was a fire outside and people playing music and stuff. One funny thing was we were some of the only people to bring food and we all brought meet dishes (Audrey and her mom brought stuffed peppers and tomatos that were excelent), and there were a lot of veggie people there that didn't bring any food so they started complaining when there weren't any veggie stuffed peppers. A really cool thing that happened was that the owner of the house Gypsy is also a hot springs freak, she even has a website like me, but focuses of spring around the world. We talked for a long time about hot springs in the US, Thailand, and India. When we left Gypsy did not want me to leave and we exchanged e-mails to possibly go to some springs together in the future.<br /><br />That night we hung out at Audrey's place for a while and then Audrey came back to our guest house to hang out. We just drank a bit and went to a bar nearby that Vince knows the owner. We made plans to go to Chapora beach the next day for sunset but ended up staying up too late and didn't actually do that. Vince and I also made plans to go to Kanyakumari to see the eclipse.<br /><br />The next day we woke up way too late and Audrey had to go back to Anjuna to do some stuff. Vince and I just hung out and made plans to go to Kanyakumari. We decided to leave on Monday morning and take the express to Trivandrum and then take another train to Kanyakumari. If everything worked, which it did, then the timing would be almost perfect. There were no reservations left so we decided to get the general admission which opens one hour before the train departs. All this planning to a little bit of talking so we just went to little Vagator to see the sunset. <br /><br />We were going to go to Anjuna to have dinner with Audrey that night but didn't. We were running late as usual and then when we were about to leave the guy at our guest house asked us where we were going. When we said Anjuna he said not to go there that night because there were many police, and many tourist getting in trouble. So we took his warning to heart and just hung out for the night and the guy from the guest house joined us for a while and we talked. We went to Anjuna the next afternoon to see Audrey and tell her what happened and when we did she told us it was good for us not to come. Curly's got shut down at 8:30 and a bunch of people got arrested. It was even in the newspapers all over India the next day. Apparently it was a large bust they had been planning for a while and no one could bribe there way out of trouble, which is strange for India.<br /><br />We made plans to go to one last party at Hilltop because that was where the party was that night and I had not been yet. That is when I tried to write a blog but had to leave to Hilltop before I could finish it. Hilltop was nice, with florecent trees all over the place and good speakers, and a very good croud that night. It is funny because when you spend some time in northern Goa you get to know all the faces. By this time I knew a lot of the crowd and they knew me. We could all dance together and when the music ended it was all about where to go next to dance more. Because Hilltop is more of an established club it ended promptly at 10 and we decided not to party more so we could sleep and catch the train the next day. We actually did four people on Audrey's scooter back to Moon Dance becuase Vince and I walked, that was really funny. We hung out for a while made plans to meet Audrey and her mom in Kanyakumari and went to sleep.<br /><br />The next day Vince and I were up and packed in time to catch a taxi we had set up to Madgaon to catch the express to Trivandrum. The train was a little late, which is normal, and everything went smoothly. We were on an AC sleeper and it had good meals too. Also you could go to the area with toilets and the doors to get out and open the doors and look out. It was really cool to feel the wind and look out at India as it passes you by. All in all it was a great first India train experience. At Trivandrum we got there at 6 am and had to wait four hours for the train to Kanyakumari. We had some tea in the town, walked around a bit and then had breakfast in the train station. Again the train was fine to Kanyakumari and we got there at about one in the afternoon.<br /><br />We walked into town to find a hotel. There are many many Indian men here in black clothing, wearing a longi, with a colored scarf, and a red dot on there forhead. At first I thought maybe these were some Hindi group only in Kanyakumari but they are pilgram Hindi's, or tourist Hindi's. In Hindi they are required to go on pilgramage around India for at least one year of there life. They usually go to all the spiritual sites in India and this is one of the oldest places for pilgramage. There is a temple right on the tip of India that has been there before white people came here and is a place where men come to devote there lives to Hindi and a life of celebacy. That is why most, if not all the pilgrams here are men (also it does tend to be a sexist culture where men can do more than women, especially within the Hindi religion).<br /><br />Anyway, we walded into town and found a nice guest house, where we are on the top floor and have a good view, and it is a good price. After settling down in the room we went for a walk around town. At first we walked through a neighborhood that was all locals, some old ladies were playing some board games I don't know, and fishermen were walking into the area with fish from the days catch. When we got to the ocean you could see the ferry dock that takes you out to this island that has a temple honoring a Hindi teacher that was built in 1970 and large sculpture of a poet from Tamil Nadu (the state) on the next island over that is very big. <br /><br />After looking at this for a while we walked through the center of town and it is very touristy with Indian tourists (that is when I realised they are not a local Hindi group but pilgrams). There are tons of little shops like a market but is all kinds of crap, and they are everywhere, like the whole center of town is a market of crap. I don't know if its always like this or if its just for the eclipse. Maybe there are a lot of pilgrams because of the eclipse, but I can tell you there are not that many white people. Also many of the men in the black cloths are driving packed into these decorated jeeps with orange flags and large Hindi shrins on the front. We walked away from all this to find a place to eat and got some Indian food from a little place. Then we went to look for some Indian insence for Vince and it was hard to find. Eventually an Inidan woman that is an engineering professor at a nearby university took us to the shop that would have insence.<br /><br />That night we went out to call Audrey and have some dinner before stuff closed. Everything was good with Audrey and we ate at a veg place. There are actually more all veg places here than meat places. The culture here is very geared towards no animal products. After dinner we had some tea at one of the tea stall that are all over the place on the streets and went to sleep.<br /><br />Today we just walked around town again and had some breakfast. We walked right by the old temple and there were men in black cloths everywhere. This place is very strange. An old fishing town in some places and completely filled with pilgrams in others. Anyway, thats how I've been doing and what I have been doing, and what I have seen in the few places I've been. The eclipse is on Friday, the day after tomorrow and I don't know what I'm doing after that. Just pray that there are no clouds on Friday and I get to see this thing, because it could be another amazing thing I did not expect to see while I'm in India. Peace and Love to All.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-80773732616446379272010-01-05T03:39:00.000-08:002010-01-05T03:42:50.421-08:00Through New Years in VagatorI've made it to the next year here in Vagator, Goa and I would like to appologize that it took me this long to get on the computer but it has been quite an eventful week. I've gone to some parties made some really good friends and even spent a night in the jungle. It has really been an amazing experience for me to be here to celebrate the new year. So, I'll start from the beginning and try not to make this too long.<br /><br />When I last left off I was headed to the Sunburn festival on a beach down south, I think it was Candolim. That is exactly what I did. I met up with Kevin at the Chill Out bar and a couple people from London named Joe and Lucy. The festival was fun but very expensive. Since I drove all the way down there I payed anyway. The last DJ is well kown I guess for house music and his name was Roger Sanchez. It ended at 10 o'clock so we heatded back to Vagator to bring Kevin home, then met up with other friends, two more London guy's from the same group named Timmy and Tillo, and a guy from Jersey (a small island and independent country between France and England) named Kwertis (I have become very good friends with him).<br /><br />We went to some parties at around 11:30 that were in Anjuna. The first one was at Bamboo Forest which was a crazy drive and hard to find. Eventually we saw an Israli guy on a scooter who showed us the way. The music was bad Israli trance and the police came and shut down the party at around 1:30, but I had a good time talking to Kwertis about philosophy. The setting was really cool too in a bamboo grove outside. Next we went to Curly's and Shiva Vally (which are right next to each other and on Anjuna beach) and continued the conversation over the bad Goan Trance. Curly's was cool too with the florecent trees good vibe. Curly's ended at around 4:30 and we lost the London group so Kwertis and I went back to his place at Moon Dance and talked for a little while longer before I went back to my guest house to sleep.<br /><br />The whole next day I slept, watched Soprano's and recovered from the late night partying. On the 30th I headed out of my guest house to see the sunset and met up with people to figure out what was going on for new years. I found out that there was a party right on Little Vagator in Disco Valley, which is a place that used to be the place for Goan trance parties but this was the first party in 5 years. Then I went to visit with Kwertis at the Moon Dance and arrange to meet him the next day to party for new years.<br /><br />On new years I had a great time. I met up with Kwertis at about 3 o'clock, and a couple French people named Audrey and Vince (which have also become good friends). We started the night out early and it was ton's of fun. We got impatient for Disco Valley to start so we went to Shiva Valley but nothing was going on so we went to Audrey's place which is right there. We hung out for a little bit with Audrey's mom and another guy named Jeremy and the pet crow they had been raising for a couple weeks. At around 10:30 we went back to Moon Dance and lost Kwertis on the way back, so Jeremy, Vince, Audrey and I walked down to Disco Valley. The water was really high and was hitting the shacks on the beach so it was strange walking across the beach to Disco Valley. We waited outside the venue to see the fireworks on the beach and then went in.<br /><br />Disco Valley was really an amazing spot. Its a sandy valley with palm trees on the sides and you can almost see the beach. The music was dark Goan trance that was not very well mixed but all the people were good and the vibe was really nice. The moon was also full on new years eve and there was a luner eclipse at about 1 o'clock with I saw. So the night was really special. We found Kwertis at Disco Valley and the group from London. It was nice because everyone was doing there own thing and every time I found myself alone I could look around and see someone I know and move over to dance near them. I went up on the hill with the London group and the music ended at about 4:30 because there was a wave of police that came and shut the party down (I guess they weren't payed enough or they are just ass holes).<br /><br />Kwertis, Audry, Vince and I went back to Moon Dance when the party ended and hung out for a while. When the sun was up Audry and Vince went to sleep and Kwertis and I went to play some chess on the beach after eating some food. That was fun playing chess in the morning on the beach, the locals were just going about there work and we played while watching the day get brighter. The only bad part was there was a really drunk guy from Cali that I know from the Chill Out and he was making a complete fool of himself. I guess after we left at about 10 in the morning he even broke some chairs and a table.<br /><br />The next day was another day of recovery and finishing the last of the Soprano's. I actually have no pictures of anything I just described becuase when I went to Sunburn there were no camera's allowed and Keola didn't want to pay so I gave him my camera to watch. We kept seeing each other and the camera was safe but I didn't get it back until the 2nd. On the 2nd and I had to leave my guest house (which was too much money anyway) and move over to little Vagator, where I spend most of my time. I went to Moon Dance because that is where I know the most people and the vibe is mellow but they were full. Kwertis was very nice and let me sleep on his floor.<br /><br />I spent the day playing chess with Kwertis and hanging out with Vince, Audry and a couple of their friends from London who knew Kwertis also. The day was fun just hanging out and talking and I really had a wonderful time. I meant to go to the internet that day but I got caught up hanging out. Kwertis, Vince, Audry and I planned to leave the next day and spend a night in Arombol in the Jungle where Kwertis had lived for a week or so a year ago. I was up for it because it sounded like another special experience to take advantage of while in Goa, and it was.<br /><br />The four of us left Moon Dance at about 11:00 in the morning and made it to the jungle in Arombol by 12:30. This place was a very special majical place. We camped up a valley from Arombol beach (the one furthest north if you walk around the rocks). There is a Bodhi tree that is a place for pilgramage for Hindi's in this jungle and people live there year round, also it seems to be in some guidebooks because there we a lot of tourists going there during the day. We didn't camp at the Bodhi tree but at another one down the valley a little bit.<br /><br />After setting up camp we went down to the beach to swim and Vince went to buy some fish for us to eat. The beach is really nice with the ocean obviously and there was a fresh water lake behind it where the river came to the beach. Also beyond the lake there is some yellow clay in the river that is good for the skin so people were completely covered in the clay and looked like strange yellow people. We swam in the ocean, then the lake, and then decided to go back into the Jungle just before the sun set, thinking Vince was taking a really long time and must be back at camp. When we got to camp there was no Vince but we had to start collecting wood for the fire before it got too dark.<br /><br />We hung out in the Jungle until maybe 10 when we decide to go to the beach to see the stars and ocean, and see if Vince was there. He wasn't so we hung out for a while and went back into the Jungle. The Jungle at night was crazy. You could here sounds everywhere and it almost felt like I was part of the Jungle sleeping under that tree. In the morning we went up to the big Bodhi tree and it was a very majical place. People were sitting around in a circle and reading books about Hindi and you could feel the energy in the place. The only bad thing was all the tourists coming up there and taking pictures like it was some sort of spectical. For me it was even more special because I had never heard of this place until I was there.<br /><br />After visiting the tree we packed out, got some food at the beach and went back to the scooters. At the scooters we ran into Vince and he had had a crazy night getting lost finding fish, then getting to the beach too late, then getting lost in the jungle at night with no torch. It ended good for him though because he found nice people and a good place to hang out in Arombol. After getting back to the Moon Dance Audry went home to go to sleep and Kwertis and I played chess until Vince got home, then we all played chess. There was also a room open at the Moon Dance so I have my own room now.<br /><br />Today I have just been hanging out with Kwertis and Vince playing chess and writing this. I'm ready to move on but I also don't want to leave before I'm ready. I think tomorrow I'll book a bus to south Goa and then move on from there. This last few days here have been really special to me. I have not been thinking about my trip at all but about why I am here. What did I come all the way over to India to see? It has been really nice just to think like this before I move on to the rest of India. I am ready to fully get into the culture here and see what I can learn. Thats all for now, peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-43549240143520653992009-12-27T23:08:00.000-08:002009-12-27T23:35:48.496-08:00In Vagator, Northern Goa, IndiaGoa is not really India, its Goa, one of these tourist/traveler created beach paradise places. I am in northern Goa which is known as the more touristy/party area, which is why I'm here before New Year, and it is the right place for that. I have met so many heads that come here every year, or have been here for many months, and many of them live very similar life styles to mine. But there is that element of fakeness with all these foreigners that have come here to create their own paradise. All in all, its a pleasant place to be and many people consider this a version of paradise, so I've been able to get to know a good group of people and get into my comfort zone.<br /><br />On Christmas eve night I met a nice Norwegian guy at the internet cafe that was also traveling alone so we hung out for the evening to celebrate together. We just went to a small hole in the wall bar and drank some. Then we found some street food around midnight that was in front of the church garden square. That was cool becuase there were lots of dressed up Christians going to the midnight mass and the church and garden had tons of lights. After food we just went back to the guest house and hung out a bit before going to bed.<br /><br />I woke up early on Christmas day because check out was a 9 am, so I packed and got a taxi to Vagator. I paid for the taxi because I really didn't feel like dealing with the public bus that involved a transfer in Mapsa. It only took an hour to get here and I was checked into a pretty nice guest house by 10. The guest house is actually more than I'd want to pay but its new years so the prices are higher and now that I've found some cheaper places I can't be bothered to move, plus they are all full.<br /><br />After a nap I made my way down to little Vagator beach. It is a very nice small beach with rock outcrops on either side. Up on the hill is 9 bar which used to be the hip spot but now is just an empty bar that plays really loud Goan trance trying to relive the old days. On the beach there are a bunch of women selling stuff that are very pushy and anoying but after a few hours they all knew my face and left me alone. I went into a beach bar called the Boom Shankar that was playing loud mellower music that drowned out the 9 bar. I actually really like that place and have met several people through hanging out in that bar.<br /><br />On Christmas night I hung out with a nice Irish guy I met at the Boom Shankar and two Indian guys, it was a pleasant evening of good conversation and a couple games of chess. The next day I spent most of the day hanging out at the Boom Shankar. I had been moving for three days straight and needed to relax, plus the Boom Shankar is my kind of place so I could pleasantly spend my day there reading my book and talking to other travelers. I became friends with a guy raised in Eugene but lived in Holland for 20 years and is much more European than American, named Keola (which is a Hawaiian name). Later the Irish guy came back and we relaxed while watching the sun set. I called it an early night and just went to my guest house, had some dinner, read, and went to sleep.<br /><br />Yesterday I got out and walked around the area a bit trying to get the know the layout of the Vagator/Chapora area. I walked the long way to little Vagator so I could see where some of the clubs people talked about are located. At little Vagator I ran into Keola and he took me over to Chapora because he had told me about it the day before and offered me a ride. Chapora is actually about as far from my guest house as little Vagator so I can walk there easily. Chapora is an amazing little town, it is definitely the shakedown street of this area. There is a juice shop that is packed and a tree outside in the center of town that is always just full of people. Everyone is relaxing, talking, and smoking chillums in such a open and free way. It makes me wonder, because police are everywhere else enforcing the law but not in Chapora and everyone knows the mellow place is Chapora.<br /><br />After a couple hours drinking juice I headed back to my guest house for lunch and to read my book. I actually read through sunset and then went to the Boom Shankar at the beach but there wasn't anyone I knew, so I headed up the hill to the Chill Out Bar where I ran into a friend of Keola's and I hung out all evening talking to different people. I talked mostly to a guy named Kevin who was a wealth of information and a fun guy to talk to. Today I am going to meet Kevin at the Chill Out later and go to a big festival a bit further south of here for the day. Everyone seemed to know a handful of the DJ's that are going to be at this festival and talked very highly of them so I figure I'll check it out, plus I got a group of friends to go with.<br /><br />Some thoughts I've had while being here are that I come to the same realizations every time I travel (well basically the same as last year). Like that I like my life in the States and have developed a life that I fully enjoy. I like my good friends better than most of the people I meet, sometimes I'm lucky but not all the time. I'm not traveling out here for all this touristy stuff. I'm here and am going to do my best to enjoy myself but I party at home I don't need to find it on the other side of the world, plus I like my parties better. But for some reason I always feel obligated to see the places everyone goes and talks about just so I know I'm not missing something. I'm here to experience culture and see new and different things. So basically I'm going to do new years, then go to southern goa to see that, and then move on to hopefully more cultural and exciting things.<br /><br />Insights into Goa are strange. Like I already said it is a place created by foreigners but also each state in India is actually more similar do different countries in the EU than states in the US. The laws are so different and the boarders have real check points (in this way more intense than the EU). So Goans really do consider themselves different than the rest of Indians and treat other Indians as immigrants. As a result most Goans are well off and the majority of the Indians are immigrants. Another thing is because of the parties and all the foreigners the police get tons of money in bribes. This made it so the police station is actually the biggest nicest building in the whole area. Also Indians are fighting to get into the Goan police force so they can get their cut. There is a four year waiting list and they usually are only allowed to be here for about two years until they have to go back to where they came from. That makes it so the police that are here try to get as much as they can while they are here. All this makes it feel very much like a police state (similar to Jamaica), and has made it so I'm not renting a motorbike because I don't have an international license. People say its no problem but you have to bribe the cops a couple hundred ruppies every time you go through a check point. I don't feel like dealing with this so I'm trying my best to walk everywhere or hitch rides with people.<br /><br />Anyway, that's all for now, I have to get ready to go to this festival and see what the day brings me. Pictures aren't uploading correctly, maybe at the next place. Peace and Love to All!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-8163647976894822952009-12-24T05:50:00.000-08:002009-12-24T06:24:07.245-08:00Arriving in Mumbai India, to Panjim GoaThe flights and transport from Orion's flat to the airport went well. Actually the transport to the airport went better than expected and I left an hour early and arrived at the airport an hour earlier than expected. The plane ride was good and I sat next to a really nice British woman that is moving to Goa permanently. She was really kind and told me all about Goa and invited me to go to Christmas dinner with her in Vigator and possibly see her Portuguese Villa that her and her husband bought.<br /><br />I got into Mumbai at around one in the morning. I got a taxi from the pre-pay booth which I guess is the most reliable way but the guy didn't know the hotel I booked over the internet. We drove to the area and kept asking other taxi's and rickshaw's (same as tuk tuk's in SE Asia) until we ended up at the right place. Then the rooms were being worked on so they took me to another hotel owned by the same people. It was actually a very nice and fancy hotel but in the middle of some slums in Mumbai which isn't too hard since a huge portion of the city are slums.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlikKBSNxVEDVxUF7tNgz-ffPza1fnYqLmVWrlDY3745sBGKwJmJfFGX-pNnbRmpEsTShTiyu6XOE6P8WnySDz7B1xNCgp68v48_AWD8t2ckqYUr0jmlEjXtMZOYG6tUGYz6yPPY65aU/s1600-h/pictures+fm+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlikKBSNxVEDVxUF7tNgz-ffPza1fnYqLmVWrlDY3745sBGKwJmJfFGX-pNnbRmpEsTShTiyu6XOE6P8WnySDz7B1xNCgp68v48_AWD8t2ckqYUr0jmlEjXtMZOYG6tUGYz6yPPY65aU/s200/pictures+fm+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418804317717551842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh991sYGofNGJbOR3m5luT2rV5hXZ-upMxmT8gYph7nCMLv9nThC44oQMMW4U-1JHx68G8neyenWzOIzjvKSyLCXYe_g3OHW7Fsidkj2Fy-thpOdYIkNj28QuJAp357_Clnf3z-9hHvPq0/s1600-h/pictures+fm+002.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh991sYGofNGJbOR3m5luT2rV5hXZ-upMxmT8gYph7nCMLv9nThC44oQMMW4U-1JHx68G8neyenWzOIzjvKSyLCXYe_g3OHW7Fsidkj2Fy-thpOdYIkNj28QuJAp357_Clnf3z-9hHvPq0/s200/pictures+fm+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418804327827624530" border="0" /></a><br />the view from my window in Mumbai<br /><br />In the morning I talked to the receptionist about getting a night bus to Panjim and then ate my complimentary crappy breakfast. After arranging the bus I decided to walk around the area of the hotel to get some sort of feel of what Mumbai is like. I didn't realize how poor the area was until I was walking around. For one I was the only foreigner I saw in about 2.5 hours of walking up to a couple Km from my hotel. The main street was crazy so I ducked into a ally/street, it felt safe because of how many people were walking there (and it was pretty much).<br /><br />I wish I could describe what it was like in these slums accurately. I was never more than a meter away from anyone to give you an idea of how many people were in this area. All the buildings were constructed and built very close to each other occasionally with very small alleys between them (which I never walked into). Almost every building had a store front and they were small establishments that did nearly everything, with a mettle workshop, next to seamstress, next to a tea shop, next to a clinic, next to a cell phone spot, next to a shoe fixing place, ext. There were even goats and chickens around, and some area's with Buffalo's in a corral thing. Random unofficial markets were all around, I turned one corner and saw a vegetable market in a slightly wider part of the walkway. Personally I've never seen a place with such obvious poverty without any begging.<br /><br />After walking around a bit someone offered me some tea and I stopped and drank some tea with him and and his friends. Even with the poverty he would not let me pay, which left me with a good feeling, but then the next person that talked to me tried to sell me drugs. A police guy told me I should be careful of pick pockets, and another 3 guy's tried to sell me drugs (I guess that's the only reason a foreigner usually walks around there). Finally I decided to go back to the hotel when someone asked me what I was doing and I said walking around and he responded “you want to see poor people?”, I said “No, living people”. But that made me think twice about walking around anymore. I did not take any pictures of the slums because I did not want to walk around a bunch of poor people with an expensive camera.<br /><br />Next I ate some lunch in the hotel and the receptionist took me to the bus station to help me find it because he was off his shift and it was on his way home. He was really nice and it took us over an hour to get to the bus station because of traffic. I got an idea of how extensive the slums are and we drove through the Mumbai National Park because there was less traffic that way. He helped me get into the bus then I was off on a 16 hour journey to Panjim, 3 of which were just getting out of Mumbai. That has to be the biggest poorest city I have ever seen. One cool thing I saw was in one neighborhood a lot of kids were playing with those Chinese fighter kites which I know my dad would have thought was cool.<br /><br />Now I'm in the capital of Goa Panjim in a very cheap place (which would be cheaper is it wasn't right before Christmas). This is a cool city that's small enough I can walk everywhere, and it has a lot of Portuguese architecture because Goa used to be Portuguese. I had some lunch which is funny because I still don't know what most of the food is so I choose something and order it without knowing whats going to come. So far everything I've ordered has been good.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Nct2IfMXPWTa-0euiaay-i80X9GvjuTAJPmPnulLsTIgOQxQs7sAt7JZukM33uEwS1v0eObgMpc2mpsIe0uM4zvuhmT3nc2Bv8F7WAoav_n8RVuiO-6cY92OIuhzhsEeJaurWwA41_o/s1600-h/pictures+fm+003.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Nct2IfMXPWTa-0euiaay-i80X9GvjuTAJPmPnulLsTIgOQxQs7sAt7JZukM33uEwS1v0eObgMpc2mpsIe0uM4zvuhmT3nc2Bv8F7WAoav_n8RVuiO-6cY92OIuhzhsEeJaurWwA41_o/s200/pictures+fm+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418804338331007602" border="0" /></a><br />my guest house my room is the right grate on the very top, not a balcony<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz517iXC2myCp4ofFlDdaJ4CnOkYk3mUCeQyOOaDQ6NUGJvFuKk5K6MIhUNwLqGHC6BjWRx-ow314VkhdFdvDhVKcZN3vlN5ylnLmvgJI2LblKUXT8IpglaprMAyOa3Wzc0Le-furqrI4/s1600-h/pictures+fm+004.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz517iXC2myCp4ofFlDdaJ4CnOkYk3mUCeQyOOaDQ6NUGJvFuKk5K6MIhUNwLqGHC6BjWRx-ow314VkhdFdvDhVKcZN3vlN5ylnLmvgJI2LblKUXT8IpglaprMAyOa3Wzc0Le-furqrI4/s200/pictures+fm+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418804344047087410" border="0" /></a><br />a walking bridge from where I am over to the buses<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvdmsa7C_9f4mRu1S_aggqwVRPmzJ4u7S9jbHH9XBZoXJMA8ITuBD4HpnDGJTnE-Yq4_1w8KnqVgE0wDUqN4FHZPfjbXE6mRHVbGWrjuZOGgzmCBBnX1p-6Q5kBzNc6dXtgKFNAUUZHc/s1600-h/pictures+fm+005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmvdmsa7C_9f4mRu1S_aggqwVRPmzJ4u7S9jbHH9XBZoXJMA8ITuBD4HpnDGJTnE-Yq4_1w8KnqVgE0wDUqN4FHZPfjbXE6mRHVbGWrjuZOGgzmCBBnX1p-6Q5kBzNc6dXtgKFNAUUZHc/s200/pictures+fm+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418804355748566626" border="0" /></a><br />some cool statues in town<br /><br />Now I'm in my room after taking a nap. Its cool having this netbook because I can write this in my room without paying for internet and then just copy it in the internet cafe. That's all for now, and I have been gradually getting my traveling feet back. Meeting all these people that love India, especially Goa helps, but it also feels good being in a third world country. India definitely has all the smells, sounds, and colors associated with a third world country and is more intense in these ways than anything I've ever seen, in a good way!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-3545369556424890222009-12-21T09:36:00.000-08:002009-12-21T15:01:57.688-08:00The Beginning of Another AdventureI'm off on another winter of traveling. I actually left Seattle 5 days ago and flew to London to see a very close friend named Orion from college that lives in London now. The plan this year is to travel for four months with three and a half months in India and a week in London hanging out with Orion on either end of the trip. It was actually the same price for the plane tickets straight to Mumbai and with stopping in London and it had been way too long without seeing Orion. It was been a great few days hanging out with Orion and meeting some of his friends and sharing stories from the last four years. <br /><br />The first night I was here which was Thursday I relaxed at Orion's flat with him and his girlfriend Julia. It was a really nice and relaxing and I was tired from all the traveling. It snowed that first day and the next morning there was a light layer of snow on the ground. Orion and I went on a little walk in the morning to get some fresh air and see what the snow did to the city. Then we didn't do much all day but talk but there was a lot of catching up to do.<br /><br />That night we went out drinking on Londship Lane in Duliich with a bunch of Irish rugby fans because one of them is Orion's fiddle instructor and we were invited out. We didn't get out until about 10 and actually got turned away from the bar when we got there. Orion's friend was able to get us in but I guess we weren't dressed up enough for that neighborhood. We only went to that first pub and then one more and went home before they closed but Orion and I remember coming home but not getting into bed but we both woke up in our respective beds.<br /><br />So the next day we both felt like crap all day, it really doesn't make much sense because we didn't drink that much. Anyway, we were invited to a party that night in a penthouse with a great bunch of people and pulled ourselves together by around 10 again and headed to the party. It was an amazing little party up on a penthouse condo with a DJ, jamming in another room, about 20-30 people and an amazing view. Orion says its the best view of London he has seen and I can believe it. We ended up staying up very late, the party didn't start winding down until about 5. I have always been impressed with the kind and nice friends that Orion meets and this party showed his ability to meet good people.<br /><br />That party basically destroyed the possibility of doing anything the next day since we woke up at 2 in the afternoon. We just recovered and cleaned up the flat making some curry for dinner and going to bed early. <br /><br />Today I woke up early with Orion because he had to work and walked to the train station with him. Then I went back to the flat, ate and hung out until mid day when I headed into the center of the city to meet Orion for lunch. He works in a very busy area in the center of town but we met up fine and went to a pub for lunch. After that I walked around the city and saw Trafalgar Square, and the Parliament Buildings but went back to the flat quickly because it was pissing down rain.<br /><br />Right when I got back to the flat the rain turned to snow and the city started having problems. The buses even stopped running. I actually leave pretty early tomorrow and I hope everything works out. Its not that big of a deal though because its one flight so it can be delayed and I'll still be fine. Well I'm off a friend of Orion's that he lived with in Edinburgh when I visited him for a month, so we've had a nice dinner all catching up and its about time for sleep to prepare for some more traveling tomorrow. Sorry about the absence of pictures but I haven't pulled out the camera at all.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-1466422385437509272009-06-01T09:49:00.000-07:002009-06-01T10:27:34.189-07:00Back in SeattleI'm back in Seattle and jumped right into my life at home. Its funny how happy I am to be home but also how quickly I miss Southeast Asia. When I first came back it was a beautiful day and you could see all the mountains. People kept asking if SE Asia was more beautiful than home but I just said it was different and where we live is very beautiful in its own way. Well, I'll finish the story of my trip and the first couple days back home.<br /><br />The night after my last blog I met up with Dharma for lunch and then hung around Khao San. We walked around and said hi to all the people Dharma has become friends with while there. It was really fun because he has met a lot more people on the road than me, we even ran into Shy who had missed his plane twice. Then at night we met up with Moo and had some drinks with some of Dharma's friends and some of Moo's friends that work in a travel agency on Khao San.<br /><br />That night was really fun and I ended up becomeing really good friends with one of Moo's friends named Natt. We drank on Khao San then went to a club to dance. Moo left at about 1, and then I stayed dancing. At the end of the night it was just me and Natt. Meeting Natt changed the end of my trip because the next night I also hung out with her, and Moo, Dharma (it was his last night), and a couple of his friends. Some of us met up at 8 in front of Dharma's guest house.<br /><br />At dinner I ran into a British friend of mine from Don Det who hung out with us for the night, and then while drinking at Chart on Khao San I ran into Clause from Cambodia. It was really fun to catch up with Clause at the end of our trip. Moo met up with Natt and Su (another friend from the travel agency) and then met us at 10:30 or so after closing the store. That night we all drank buckets because it was Dharma's last night and we all wanted to party. Moo got very drunk so Natt and I helped her back to her condo at the end of the night.<br /><br />The next day I packed and then spent the last hours with Natt before I left for the airport. The flight was long but I slept most of the way due to the sleeping pills. There was a 10 hour lay over in South Korea and I just slept that whole time also. After the flight I was happy to be home but it was an amazing last few days and deffinately left me want to come back to Thailand sooner rather than later.<br /><br />When arriving home somehow my Dad and I missed each other in the airport and then my Mom showed up randomly so I left with Mom. We tried calling Dad but he left his phone in the truck so Dad ended up waiting in the airport for 3 hours, leaving after he heard a page that I did for him in the bagage claim area. It was a strange way to come home but after all the confusion was over everything was great.<br /><br />I found out that the very next day there was a barbeque and basket ball game at my old elementary school Summit. Then the next day there was a final performance in the theater in the school. This year is the last year of my elementary and middle school, I could have gone there for high school but I left. The Seattle School District closed the school this last year, so the 09 year is the last. I even went to the city hall meeting to try to keep the school open but we failed.<br /><br />It was really fun to go to the school events and see all the old faces but I am still jet lagged so after the gatherings I would fall asleep until early in the morning. After the basket ball games I went to meet a close friend and ended up falling asleep at his friends house then went to his house and slept until 5 the next morning. Then I had more events for school to go to and a big reunion after the event that night.<br /><br />Yesterday I recovered some more and began a garden project in the back yard with my parents. I'm beginning to get over the jet lag but am already leaving tomorrow for California for a music festival. A close friend of mine from College (Adam) is in a band and playing in a small festival in southern Cali. So another close friend (August) and I are going down there and going to see hot springs on the way down and back up. Adam may even come with August and I to a few hot springs after the festival and shows that we will go to with him.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm hitting the ground running and living my life here and already beginning the fun of traveling in the western US. This will be my last blog until I leave on my next trip. I could continue to write about my life here in the US but I feel like that is my personal life. I have this blog to document my travels, keep my close friend and family informed about what I'm doing, and share my experiences and impressions of other countries and cultures. Now that I'm back home the main purpose of this blog is done but I will continue it next winter on this same website. I think I'll go to India and/or Nepal, probably leaving in December. Until then, peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-31589156841244431832009-05-24T23:41:00.000-07:002009-05-25T00:22:13.275-07:00In Bangkok and have Ticket homeThe trip to Bangkok from Don Det went well. I caught a boat at 11 and then went to Pakse from the dock, then went on a bus through the boarder to Ubon, and finnaly had a overnight bus to Bangkok getting into the city at about 5:30. All in all I actually slept on the bus and got to Bangkok relatively rested. In the morning I just had some coffee waiting for things to open.<br /><br />When places opened I checked out a bunch of places but nothing was cheaper than what I had found on the internet so I just bought the ticket from the internet. So now I have the ticket and get into Seattle at about 12:30 pm on Thursday. Its funny because Dharma gets back just one day before me on the exact same flight, if I had just bought the ticket originally from the internet then we would be on the same flight home.<br /><br />After dealing with the ticket thing I figured out that Dharma was getting into Bangkok today, and then called Moo to hang out. We met up here at Khao San and had some food, and then went to the big shopping mall to go see a movie. I don't have much energy so that sounded perfect. The theaters are different too because you choose your seet, not first come first served, and the seats are almost like recliners. We saw Angels and Demons and it was pretty good.<br /><br />Then after the movie we went to JJ market to see Moo's artist friend that works there because it was Sunday (JJ market is only on the weekends). That was really fun. We just hung out with the artists and drank a bunch of beers. Then people wanted to go to this one neighborhood that is very well known as the gay area of the city. I said I go if Moo was there with me. So we went and it was interesting. Of course because we were with artists the one place we went to was an art gallary/bar. Then we just had some noodle soup before going back to Moo's place.<br /><br />This morning Moo had to work so I got up with her but then relaxed for a few hours for the trafic to die down in the city. When it was 10:30 or so I got a taxi back to the Khao San area. When I got here I took care of some stuff and then saw Dharma was on the internet so we connected and I went over the the internet cafe he was hanging out in. We caught up a little but he had to check into his guest house still and shower so I'm going to meet him in a few minutes for some lunch and who knows from there. I know Moo wants to hang out again and meet Dharma so thats probably going to be what happens.<br /><br />I have been really surprized how comfortable I am in Thailand. I know what food is good. I know more words than any of the other places I've been, and the roads and stuff are practically as good as home. Its nice that I feel comfortable here. Thailand is a really nice country with an interesting mix of western and eastern cultures. Anyway, thats all for now and my next and last blog might be from my house in Seattle. Peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-91364434225629311552009-05-22T04:55:00.000-07:002009-05-22T06:25:59.190-07:00I'm on my way homeI'm in a beautiful island on one of the largest rivers in the world and all I want to do is come home. I just feel drained and like I don't have the energy to go and see anymore tourist sights. I wanted to try to see a temple thats near here, a plateau thats said to be beautiful and one of the largest waterfalls in southeast asia but I just don't have the energy. I don't want to go see some sights and not appreciate them because I'm too drained and really should be home resting for the next adventure.<br /><br />I'm not planning on quitting my travels all together. At home I am going to festivals, camping, going on hot springs road trips, and whatever else comes my way. So I'm going to continue my travels just within my own country and doing activities that I know I love. Also I do plan to continue traveling every winter as long as possible, and continue to write blogs about every place I go. I think I will be a better traveler and have more fun when I'm re-energized and ready for new cultures. Maybe next year I can make it 6 months.<br /><br />I haven't done much on Don Det due to the lack of energy and general lack of interest to go see some sights verses swim and read. I've made a routine of waking up and going to one of the restaurants next to the beach and ordering an iced Lao coffee and reading. Then ordering breakfast when I'm hungry enough, and go swimming at the beach when I'm hot and sweating. I still go to the reggae bar at night, and its always packed every night until they shut off the lights at 11, or 10:45.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMY861QPmnsxn01Xa2u23kIpcqNJF782yqlEamEzYtxnpnnKsO505MCvZOxsD0TDVk_sSX0UOx3c_VbBWPYHQ658Qj-kL39onzadi7Qb6J54LBJ3-fFPZGtHjigdAGkURuO52N1uopXPY/s1600-h/Picture+005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMY861QPmnsxn01Xa2u23kIpcqNJF782yqlEamEzYtxnpnnKsO505MCvZOxsD0TDVk_sSX0UOx3c_VbBWPYHQ658Qj-kL39onzadi7Qb6J54LBJ3-fFPZGtHjigdAGkURuO52N1uopXPY/s200/Picture+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338637969545882770" border="0" /></a><br />The water buffalo relaxing in the water agian<br /><br />I like being in a place that has limited electricity. It attracts a certain kind of crowd that I really get along with. Plus I don't really need the power, during the day you can swim, and after 11 you hang out at the beach with a fire or at bungalows with candles. But they are installing power lines right now to bring 24 hour power to this island. The lines are actually already up and complete and power is said to be here anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 months. It makes me sad because I'm worried about how this place with change, but also happy because I got to experience it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_xmk3qgg9WSYzYpYHDKfEbsuniuTqeTt4hvHLdXQMBTknrS4nCGm8hPfmVcKUpJ_J1q-vmKDBljUuFIWr6RiC7TJI5ROAWqkj0GUdytGkJS6hy0ZHRSw89XQ7BGI_LSLBAuSGxWMc_M/s1600-h/Picture+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_xmk3qgg9WSYzYpYHDKfEbsuniuTqeTt4hvHLdXQMBTknrS4nCGm8hPfmVcKUpJ_J1q-vmKDBljUuFIWr6RiC7TJI5ROAWqkj0GUdytGkJS6hy0ZHRSw89XQ7BGI_LSLBAuSGxWMc_M/s200/Picture+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338637971097016626" border="0" /></a><br />The view from my bungalow<br /><br />One very strange thing that has happened is that there is another Andy from Seattle here at Don Det. He actually left this morning but the odds of two Andy's from Seattle that don't know each other at all being in Laos are slim to none. It came up because a guy I met the day before said "Hi, Andy from Seattle" to me and I came over the beach and started hanging out with him, and then the other one just walked up and said "I'm Andy from Seattle what do you want". I've hung out with him a bit and he's a good guy, strange coincidence though.<br /><br />One day I did do something here and went tubbing down the river. It really was not that exciting but it was nice to do something. At my usual coffee and breakfast place in the morning some travelers asked if I wanted to go and I said it sounded great. A boat took us up the river and then we floated down near one big island. We basically floated back towards Don Det and the beach and the guy in the boat just waited till he saw us and zipped in the boat across the river to pick us up.<br /><br />I've been hanging out with different people almost every day because I've been with people that have been here for a while and are leaving. So each day I meet some new people and hang out with them periodically throughout the day. I've gotten tired of all the normal travel talk because its all the same. So I just hang out and don't talk much, speak up when the conversation is interesting but otherwise just relax. Its still nice to be with people though and most people understand how I feel because like Cambodia many of the travelers here have been out for several months.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXtE3oGFIGezFfFVMzRyJiDdQTjx-MlASNao0TrT7AocPfB_1AOungHyRi_hjKQ330fJgjNAJJgplFsrX79mGz9eaT8x6a9W0PYpYRyDOq35CQ5ai42vbcqMG52Fe-NuILD7UPE0rO_o/s1600-h/Picture+007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyXtE3oGFIGezFfFVMzRyJiDdQTjx-MlASNao0TrT7AocPfB_1AOungHyRi_hjKQ330fJgjNAJJgplFsrX79mGz9eaT8x6a9W0PYpYRyDOq35CQ5ai42vbcqMG52Fe-NuILD7UPE0rO_o/s200/Picture+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338637977240073634" border="0" /></a><br />Sunset tonight from the Indian food resturant<br /><br />So today I bought a ticket for Bangkok tomorrow. I'm just going straight there and buying a ticket home. The boat leaved at 11 am tomorrow and I get into Bangkok at 6 am the following day. Then I'll just take care of the ticket thing as fast as possible and hang out with Moo until I fly home. Thanks to everyone that have followed my blog, its been a nice place to express my opinions and tell my story. Until Bangkok, peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-23260860898712630692009-05-18T05:54:00.000-07:002009-05-22T05:56:53.554-07:00In Don Det in Southern LaosI finally arrived in Laos to Don Det. All in all I was 9 days over my visa and it was 5 dollars a day so I payed 45 dollars to get out of Cambodia. The border was a bit of a joke. There was one gate with a small shack on the Cambodian side then another 20 meters away on the Laos side and that was it. There was hardly any trafic and we had to wait for an hour for our bus and only one van came to cross the border. The trip was good up to the border. I left Phnom Penh at 7 am almost missing my bus because I stayed up too late. Then I stayed one night in Stung Trung in Cambodia and left the next morning 2 hours late for the border.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaYZlngpy2_nBIYP98a99PzX-chPPNp6bOzCKedIHIgw2zhI6-NJiFNI8WwJSjbdPYO81ZK31gJmNcDnrIIz18wtpnGmhSkuGCseuSz8nWrwg1Q7MwtlKD3ACOQ1oe1iPlLTzGPuAr7M/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaYZlngpy2_nBIYP98a99PzX-chPPNp6bOzCKedIHIgw2zhI6-NJiFNI8WwJSjbdPYO81ZK31gJmNcDnrIIz18wtpnGmhSkuGCseuSz8nWrwg1Q7MwtlKD3ACOQ1oe1iPlLTzGPuAr7M/s200/Picture+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338630310681692834" border="0" /></a><br />The boarder<br /><br />Don Det is a cool island in the Mekong. Its in an area called the 4000 island group where the Mekong gets really wide and there are several small islands throughout the river. In the dry season (which it is in water levels at least) several of the smaller sand islands are exposed and there is said to be over 4000. I can believe it because you can see 20 just looking out into the river in any particular direction.<br /><br />When I arrived here I just got a bungalow on the sunset side (but I can't actually see the sunset from there) and then went to the little beach. The beach is where the boat dropped us tourists off and it kinda looks like a fake bit of sand put in the center of the bars and resturants but maybe its real also. Several people just hang out and swim and drink beers. There is also a water buffalow that hangs out and gets into the water at the beach or rests on the sand, he is so relaxed he doesn't care if people grab his horns, or jump on him or anything. There is also a parret that flys around and I've seen locals call him over and it land on their shoulder.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvivCgVjUgo5sRhJPppqL247ap3V92gWtKXDpDKKk74Debbvw45Tv_JX-7eUHh7s-7T_aBTeRz3MDXUBQLYZN-8mo9taxFIFilEkIMXM8zXYRhkdRCeFkb88UZ4v7nQswcjY7QjSH9AoU/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvivCgVjUgo5sRhJPppqL247ap3V92gWtKXDpDKKk74Debbvw45Tv_JX-7eUHh7s-7T_aBTeRz3MDXUBQLYZN-8mo9taxFIFilEkIMXM8zXYRhkdRCeFkb88UZ4v7nQswcjY7QjSH9AoU/s200/Picture+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338630317333103634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTupMsjjpCrcjrOVQ4JB-G-BRwlGdtOTnlUYa_IOx12Cfl7m8k1T6ZQbyeM4_QM9fcsrBvCUFmDJeFZNTG7fG1appowG3J1w_vpDZSA_ApWG_djMYetcHHngH3rKHUaj4eYkcuL77GwUI/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTupMsjjpCrcjrOVQ4JB-G-BRwlGdtOTnlUYa_IOx12Cfl7m8k1T6ZQbyeM4_QM9fcsrBvCUFmDJeFZNTG7fG1appowG3J1w_vpDZSA_ApWG_djMYetcHHngH3rKHUaj4eYkcuL77GwUI/s200/Picture+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338630326830878258" border="0" /></a><br />The water buffalo hanging out before and after the sunset<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2muESdUnHnSUE_id758yGqbFcSuHDkxrumWCZ19nWHy7fZATJrdsdLQObnjIl_q1zmEU8nwWqkAdSg6HHT77ma9givGkiORMDojpu5gudS1cc37d2IMsharbNaQWyM7yzc0lgfUpmQc/s1600-h/Picture+003.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2muESdUnHnSUE_id758yGqbFcSuHDkxrumWCZ19nWHy7fZATJrdsdLQObnjIl_q1zmEU8nwWqkAdSg6HHT77ma9givGkiORMDojpu5gudS1cc37d2IMsharbNaQWyM7yzc0lgfUpmQc/s200/Picture+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338630324503593746" border="0" /></a><br />The sunset from the beach<br /><br />I met some cool people on my first night and had dinner with them. That night I actually got sick from the indian food but I still went to the same place the next night with them because they really like the place. I spent the whole next day with them just relaxing and talking. Today two of them left and I have spent most of the day reading. Now I'm here and just ran into the third person I've been hanging out with and we may go to the Reggae bar to hang out after the internet.<br /><br />There is only electricity here in the evening from the time the sun goes down until 10:30 or 11. Its like the small Koh Chang in Thailand in that way. I like it in places like this because it attracts a good group of travelers. Here on Don Det it seems like what most people do is hang out in the Reggae Bar until the power goes out and then move down to the beach for a bon fire. The first night there was a bon fire but it was funny because people had a very hard time starting it. Eventually it was lit and it was a nice fire with a lot of people around it, maybe 40-50 total. Last night it rained so there was no fire, we will see what happens tonight.<br /><br />So far I like Laos. I can feel the difference even in this short distance into the country. I can't put it into words quite yet but its nice in Laos, less hectic then Cambodia. I still don't know how much I'll travel in Southern Laos. I'm here so I feel like I should see the temple near here and a plateau near here but I don't know if I have the energy. Whats the point in seeing something if I'm just seeing it so I can leave and not soaking it up. But I'm down here so I will probably go see a couple things before leaving. Anyway, thats all for now. I'll add pictures later because I don't have my camera now.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-80931398929910722362009-05-13T20:18:00.000-07:002009-05-13T21:13:05.324-07:00Finally leaving CambodiaSo a week ago when I was leaving Siem Riep I found out there is no direct bus to Kratie but I would have to change buses in Phnom Pehn so I decided just to go to to city. I traveled with a friend Rich from Scottland that I met at Garden Village and spent the entire last day hanging out with. We took the bus to the city and then came directly to Same Same.<br /><br />Coming back to Same Same was like a big welcome home party. At first there wasn't anyone there but then one after another people I knew came out to hang out and say hi. All in All there were the Cambodian tuk tuk drivers, Mr. Hi, Mr. Paul, and Mr. T (he has never heard of A-team), then John the baptist, T-bo, and the Swiss guy (Claus), Rich and me. It was nice because we all new each other and hung out like old friends for the next few days. People thought we were traveling together then when they found out we were all from different countries they were impressed to see a group of 5 solo travelers from different countries all hanging out together.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsIINpbx649ldmzeLNVo60lvqjmuLvwiNG0Rt4p1vjnC667Y8B1HfGxbuR3hbnVF3gPW5KolBdbB6eSRocAJzEW24tj4GLbK2Dqvva83xEMDc68J2W7C-Ttrt7OkgPo2gXz9FHGWFzg8/s1600-h/andy+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsIINpbx649ldmzeLNVo60lvqjmuLvwiNG0Rt4p1vjnC667Y8B1HfGxbuR3hbnVF3gPW5KolBdbB6eSRocAJzEW24tj4GLbK2Dqvva83xEMDc68J2W7C-Ttrt7OkgPo2gXz9FHGWFzg8/s200/andy+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335524208407472690" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAsgb3mo5yn_bUUq20xJyqmlVBRaw8c5lt3GOfskCoRuLwScleOwI7B8qKujSwieRDSrLq0OXb0KDN4fGFvbVRUMW4jY9G7C4aJgwfRG_z1jYu8TSE0gqU2EqEvf-eiuEtLinfSXpJP0/s1600-h/andy+002.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAsgb3mo5yn_bUUq20xJyqmlVBRaw8c5lt3GOfskCoRuLwScleOwI7B8qKujSwieRDSrLq0OXb0KDN4fGFvbVRUMW4jY9G7C4aJgwfRG_z1jYu8TSE0gqU2EqEvf-eiuEtLinfSXpJP0/s200/andy+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335524213748799970" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJwbTqC3cym8pJWUJ-hadzRqbSayLCPgNdt1zrKkTG2fTmT3Ec1ZQbJlIk_Bbzf0cmRKPO2ek3ALcFqZsiZyPKfNrzUayHvNWfD2T0jDzjwjhNVemxHAEHLXeRwRRxg3HxVffAHcUOKI/s1600-h/andy+004.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJwbTqC3cym8pJWUJ-hadzRqbSayLCPgNdt1zrKkTG2fTmT3Ec1ZQbJlIk_Bbzf0cmRKPO2ek3ALcFqZsiZyPKfNrzUayHvNWfD2T0jDzjwjhNVemxHAEHLXeRwRRxg3HxVffAHcUOKI/s200/andy+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335524211950756066" border="0" /></a><br />hanging out on the deck and watching the sunset<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6wx2-Chheguabi5iaP94AvNaC6eULwjco9RC8lnSF85D9yMQFMK5Yz2DpcdUEpXWfrdbwEHkbWyfG-8kogeGocsXb8Lxacjez7D-Vr3TgLPTmFVTo1k91ylxFLoLZDHEMfLqVKQ2_ZI/s1600-h/andy+006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt6wx2-Chheguabi5iaP94AvNaC6eULwjco9RC8lnSF85D9yMQFMK5Yz2DpcdUEpXWfrdbwEHkbWyfG-8kogeGocsXb8Lxacjez7D-Vr3TgLPTmFVTo1k91ylxFLoLZDHEMfLqVKQ2_ZI/s200/andy+006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335524221887415026" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXco-IBF6OhQsyJhFUd7meUEWAu4l1rZM7F2CrDjv_4U5kjQdAh2Wg4zlOH0yA8XAixZQdUdQdo6RX8UfTiEninMopEsCYQZV8wDUusH4fh5ub_3AhGKRUFOplOPsnviqLRcro05gCnQw/s1600-h/andy+005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXco-IBF6OhQsyJhFUd7meUEWAu4l1rZM7F2CrDjv_4U5kjQdAh2Wg4zlOH0yA8XAixZQdUdQdo6RX8UfTiEninMopEsCYQZV8wDUusH4fh5ub_3AhGKRUFOplOPsnviqLRcro05gCnQw/s200/andy+005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335524214304493522" border="0" /></a><br />Looking out the deck at the lake, and into Same Same at the hang out area<br /><br />I really like Phnom Pehn, or really just Same Same but the city is nice too. I spend my time just relaxing around the guest house with different people. There is always someone to hang out with. One day the group of us went to the shopping center so we could take pictures from the top, but thats the only real activity we did. One night the rest of them went out to Candy, a girly bar, but I stayed back that night. It is so strange that a full week has gone by here in the city again but I like it and let time slip.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLIzhLlYVjedWv4mFgl9skRzIo4sbA9bds_NU4eeu6BajhDadjOJ3PEEciIpH82NdwNEfYBL7EDxu2gQ56Nqy9s_6hufxOXb7sZbKrCSvA4WaEdxxx0LYePFiOk24LyH0vlKDXYEMfC8/s1600-h/andy+007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLIzhLlYVjedWv4mFgl9skRzIo4sbA9bds_NU4eeu6BajhDadjOJ3PEEciIpH82NdwNEfYBL7EDxu2gQ56Nqy9s_6hufxOXb7sZbKrCSvA4WaEdxxx0LYePFiOk24LyH0vlKDXYEMfC8/s200/andy+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335525699916617042" border="0" /></a><br />View of the old market (used to be a bus terminal)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimehkSa3OnjPxVZHte9rdZ7QMhLZ2S212hz_LVXm1I0BlX258E63PMlpsHBJnTSdIEdly5VJLhuskMN0fU-aqRgnKgOD_2fK7LCiXdN_TdGTUyJDVQN_x5B4-50q50ozhTtQ_pl-hyuQo/s1600-h/andy+008.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimehkSa3OnjPxVZHte9rdZ7QMhLZ2S212hz_LVXm1I0BlX258E63PMlpsHBJnTSdIEdly5VJLhuskMN0fU-aqRgnKgOD_2fK7LCiXdN_TdGTUyJDVQN_x5B4-50q50ozhTtQ_pl-hyuQo/s200/andy+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335525700296242194" border="0" /></a><br />You can see the lake on the left (all big buildings are under construction like that one, and see all the cranes in the distance)<br /><br />Now I have overstayed my visa by 7 days but finally booked my ticket today to leave for Laos tomorrow. Everyone was making fun of me yesterday because they all got tickets to leave this morning but I didn't get my ticket yesterday so I was spending one more day here. I've said one more day for the last 4-5 days, but today really is my last day. With all the western friends gone I have more motivation to actually leave the guest house and get some things done, like the internet right now.<br /><br />I wish I had more to tell you about the last week but really its just been nice relaxing here where I feel like a bunch of people know me. Don Det should be nice in Laos but then thats probably it for the traveling this year. But also at my pace right now it could be a month until I'm home and all I see is Don Det. All in all I like Cambodia. Its a tougher country with the good and the bad all mixed up together. But the good is really good and the bad is really bad. It reminds me of Guatemala with all its beauty but also a war torn country with extreem poverty, but Cambodias history is even more bloody than Guate's.<br /><br />It is strange how everyone loves Hun Sen even with how evil and money grubbing he is. The people love him because they credit him with stopping the fighting. They say he is the one who made it so Cambodians stopped killing each other, so no mater how much money he takes, or land he steals, he is loved. I can actually understand that because people here still feel the anger from all the killing and just don't want to ever see a gun again. They will work hard and long hours for next to nothing as long as there is no danger of being killed.<br /><br />Another strange thing about Cambodia is that the travelers are different. In Siem Riep and Sihanoukville they were normal holiday tourists and travelers, but not so much in the rest of the country. The travelers are either like me, as far as being more adventerous and being able to handle the extreem poverty. So those people travel around for a long time and spend a lot of time getting to know the country and people, maybe even volunteer for a while. Other travelers (besides the NGO workers) are trying to excape from something. Tons of people are here because of legal problems at home and you can get away with anything here. It has become known for that, and its true, so drug addicts and other people with problems come here to live the rest of there lives. These travelers add a strange aspect to the country because in some cases they are worse that the begging locals.<br /><br />Anyway all is good here and I'll write from Laos when I get there. Peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-80488674497945294302009-05-06T20:20:00.001-07:002009-05-07T00:53:10.491-07:00Angkor Wat was AmazingNow I've been in Siem Riep for about 5 days and have been to the temples 2 full days. A full day of temples makes you very tired so it is difficult to do two full days in a row, but there is so much to see. Angkor Wat is one temple but the whole area is over 50 temples. I decided to go to a bunch of smaller temples around Angkor Wat one day by tuk tuk with a friend, and another day on bicicle for the center big temples. Each temple is pretty different than the others so every one was interesting. I'll try to label all the temple pictures with what temple it is (and there are a lot, now 1/3 of my pictures are from 2 days of temples).<br /><br />The first day I was there I just relaxed all day. I met a very nice french guy (his name is T-bo in english but its really spelled Thibault), who ended up being friends with John from Same Same in Phnom Penh. We hung out with a dutch guy all day and talked. T-bo and I made plans to go to see the smaller temples the next day by tuk tuk because he already saw all the big ones. It is very easy to spend all day at the Garden Village because you can choose your own music from a huge selection, get whatever food you want, check e-mail (if your ok with 30 min waits between pages), play games, and relax freely talking to cool people.<br /><br />The next day T-bo and I met up in the morning and got a tuk tuk. The ride was fun and we saw a lot of cool temples. The best temple of the day and maybe my favorite of all was one we had to pay the tuk tuk extra to go to because it was off the normal tourist track.. I'll let the pictures do the talking for the temples because I could go on and on. In a lot of places its all about the carvings, just amazing and all over the place. And in other locations the size is so big but you can never really capture it on camera.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmv79F8Rro6MvgZGIJ9iOUSgC7WXukBO4xBxxlgBo3r84KZRhxvDNOw5XSyjNzBDYEJIwEOY5GqBd7ZHAJBvDisj1XlVez7kRCzEbyjqHfo5KiNMiqtRVYLfPOFewxZOrvqWvLi2EQQg/s1600-h/IMG_1547.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332944561579259026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmv79F8Rro6MvgZGIJ9iOUSgC7WXukBO4xBxxlgBo3r84KZRhxvDNOw5XSyjNzBDYEJIwEOY5GqBd7ZHAJBvDisj1XlVez7kRCzEbyjqHfo5KiNMiqtRVYLfPOFewxZOrvqWvLi2EQQg/s200/IMG_1547.JPG" /></a><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332944567282469346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzpsLn7R31_RNP6o3Y0WqVlOJC2CdweUOA-SCEgJJWxc0OUah1PW2nN6iyLKIH14mbCXZTCGE5o7NsuNLyMtfSupsJXYjt9G7qKOcIyLPgcKUIf0mR5EAfaL0v1wihTGyFi0MSjaCPVE/s200/IMG_1548.JPG" /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Prasat Kravan</div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2il9UkWKTPISqqRT1H3h4ZBH8RU8Qd2QasUBpfyK8jwnvPyg4FfbKwSXtI1uRrbp2bBdHDH5YGi1Ii71t9Lsgj0Rl51DRTZ-Ll541LqpKzt4PgigB1DAZTHrRNexJLH47jAR90q5eEs/s1600-h/IMG_1550.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332944572758589666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2il9UkWKTPISqqRT1H3h4ZBH8RU8Qd2QasUBpfyK8jwnvPyg4FfbKwSXtI1uRrbp2bBdHDH5YGi1Ii71t9Lsgj0Rl51DRTZ-Ll541LqpKzt4PgigB1DAZTHrRNexJLH47jAR90q5eEs/s200/IMG_1550.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRoSBYpkp5dYq4r8JiPvfcgxdiXFE1TRxFcKxyVyUHTp6GgIld-X1e8sKl3mXoaKFGQmRqJmonBWUDzm-0Ut13ooAtI1i6MmtU4RP6xtt5_h8u3wD8kHQdRzx-K1_iWUOohYOMPYOD8Y/s1600-h/IMG_1556.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332944582157013362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRoSBYpkp5dYq4r8JiPvfcgxdiXFE1TRxFcKxyVyUHTp6GgIld-X1e8sKl3mXoaKFGQmRqJmonBWUDzm-0Ut13ooAtI1i6MmtU4RP6xtt5_h8u3wD8kHQdRzx-K1_iWUOohYOMPYOD8Y/s200/IMG_1556.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBPdcurkacYp2mrH9HTUULd8ywlVk7SW-BYWzs6vfM6eMyEVnLQtcMfBxgNky-ZR8-Gyp5QNf41r1D4mtkENeWDnZMBA1QLdB-ovko4JSX17vNFJAIyfmWBIAMTUKZqfD2zojXhj0IwU/s1600-h/IMG_1561.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332944593444396530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBPdcurkacYp2mrH9HTUULd8ywlVk7SW-BYWzs6vfM6eMyEVnLQtcMfBxgNky-ZR8-Gyp5QNf41r1D4mtkENeWDnZMBA1QLdB-ovko4JSX17vNFJAIyfmWBIAMTUKZqfD2zojXhj0IwU/s200/IMG_1561.JPG" /></a></div><div>Banteay Kdei</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp_Oz412gmdVwYOWHCqWevNfwRL5vR_aQn0CK9m-JvewHXAeULCtShoAmNfqOofeuduXJP3ez5uOjoMQZDJozLI9gJWWCTtawgnnA0eKxfgZP8M6rvWqriG-pX4-dS5-ZkVqPqZMfD7U/s1600-h/IMG_1565.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332951779197307442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp_Oz412gmdVwYOWHCqWevNfwRL5vR_aQn0CK9m-JvewHXAeULCtShoAmNfqOofeuduXJP3ez5uOjoMQZDJozLI9gJWWCTtawgnnA0eKxfgZP8M6rvWqriG-pX4-dS5-ZkVqPqZMfD7U/s200/IMG_1565.JPG" /></a></div><div>Srah Srang reserviour</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbDOTsOy-tqejV859LDajh2Yj4qszMnm76hx_ksOEg01hBIbJxUJ6Kh7TRFK-fxQZBJ0nG5mJrLACqcOK0zF2B1o87vRgN5Bf3pIkMNg-fC6JazzB5QcTLuDFWIEPClyrG9VzNKxNTlg/s1600-h/IMG_1567.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332948009430828050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbDOTsOy-tqejV859LDajh2Yj4qszMnm76hx_ksOEg01hBIbJxUJ6Kh7TRFK-fxQZBJ0nG5mJrLACqcOK0zF2B1o87vRgN5Bf3pIkMNg-fC6JazzB5QcTLuDFWIEPClyrG9VzNKxNTlg/s200/IMG_1567.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKIH2EfGQxAby81i0fp81Rmb5GTDswdnN-AV_Z5a25u674K09zRxEe50K_Ju2z2FlzHWvTdMBrKQOhsFN7YBlgLGdSpe4WvRbXU0q71pmmUPEtVv2EsOm6ZEee-FhCfncxbG2ZPhM_Ek/s1600-h/IMG_1570.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332948018816849570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKIH2EfGQxAby81i0fp81Rmb5GTDswdnN-AV_Z5a25u674K09zRxEe50K_Ju2z2FlzHWvTdMBrKQOhsFN7YBlgLGdSpe4WvRbXU0q71pmmUPEtVv2EsOm6ZEee-FhCfncxbG2ZPhM_Ek/s200/IMG_1570.JPG" /></a><br />Pre Rup<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkPRryK6j5uoZ4iPKzEW-38yFSpkSN06iGnStTPsJQ17esqD8ePUOiEjnaru-F8c0vjsoCAtP0i_tXPPEGXU1oiawhsfYqPSLxJ4zUbTCjlSva0sP9ujy0egjIW_iV0TDZ4sviSWjjyQ/s1600-h/IMG_1577.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332948022908790786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkPRryK6j5uoZ4iPKzEW-38yFSpkSN06iGnStTPsJQ17esqD8ePUOiEjnaru-F8c0vjsoCAtP0i_tXPPEGXU1oiawhsfYqPSLxJ4zUbTCjlSva0sP9ujy0egjIW_iV0TDZ4sviSWjjyQ/s200/IMG_1577.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZtCs4wrpRqtxnlWdtrILzA5TMmVUVRZuHjcu3OicyTImDoFkZimEdNssH0P3R8Blqf04UNWiE4xc9otjUbKawMoKVzZ8DsOuUuwDSunGbkkaPMAASfnbhKVmVYH9Yr6KJnHh7k1jxbw/s1600-h/IMG_1581.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332948026172512562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimZtCs4wrpRqtxnlWdtrILzA5TMmVUVRZuHjcu3OicyTImDoFkZimEdNssH0P3R8Blqf04UNWiE4xc9otjUbKawMoKVzZ8DsOuUuwDSunGbkkaPMAASfnbhKVmVYH9Yr6KJnHh7k1jxbw/s200/IMG_1581.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOjQMwcF9CIsZsELJg55z4dX8f3-jhll4DMRJJ1_b6LIyYxH3wjBIb_oaz5TWyCnBV1L9CH0AoHV0unjM4jf3t_Lgo9pOMnyTckxRHIAsu6zwxGz9mdpDNYd_1abpcbEjsOU-v5tWxzA/s1600-h/IMG_1587.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332948030572410642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOjQMwcF9CIsZsELJg55z4dX8f3-jhll4DMRJJ1_b6LIyYxH3wjBIb_oaz5TWyCnBV1L9CH0AoHV0unjM4jf3t_Lgo9pOMnyTckxRHIAsu6zwxGz9mdpDNYd_1abpcbEjsOU-v5tWxzA/s200/IMG_1587.JPG" /></a><br />Banteay Samre (My favorite, I think)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTc5dZ80eVZ-sPDQuaNvRic7UMhAOhYW8YOMZikAgDtQVzwvPRSSs80hxAczzykein0mKq3n2RcZCD-HonB0b7NCgmkNTBOIgzz8SXAWxjXsxmxh8KBoyYO5ZdJPd1EJrC6x79AXFhTE/s1600-h/IMG_1598.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332951782154240018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWTc5dZ80eVZ-sPDQuaNvRic7UMhAOhYW8YOMZikAgDtQVzwvPRSSs80hxAczzykein0mKq3n2RcZCD-HonB0b7NCgmkNTBOIgzz8SXAWxjXsxmxh8KBoyYO5ZdJPd1EJrC6x79AXFhTE/s200/IMG_1598.JPG" /></a><br />riding between temples<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP3OFNoQvjMGReHsLTxMMo6IW5Y2oH2c02CVL3EKUHnvrIdjmLySBHje9Ax82475EGbkrwBsJ9TF3CBOD1A0gam5GZrwKUXFmFFZ2w_kSAKUZ2W0NwClOnuy0zpvTgRs4nUt_w8LZlMc/s1600-h/IMG_1604.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332951790339614418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIP3OFNoQvjMGReHsLTxMMo6IW5Y2oH2c02CVL3EKUHnvrIdjmLySBHje9Ax82475EGbkrwBsJ9TF3CBOD1A0gam5GZrwKUXFmFFZ2w_kSAKUZ2W0NwClOnuy0zpvTgRs4nUt_w8LZlMc/s200/IMG_1604.JPG" /></a><br />East Mebon<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsigugSr-iTbUBEKB3bdyFPLcdm3Ub4AfCT6PFYhou-fjzKn8EVqS5fbfwM1FLTZX3N1xzG4yiL10jRJ9WGk85IAatcKO5ksNDE8wqU_IRrj438pZ7yPUjMY0yQcd3fyQFcEHx9WDXX3M/s1600-h/IMG_1608.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332951792096128130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsigugSr-iTbUBEKB3bdyFPLcdm3Ub4AfCT6PFYhou-fjzKn8EVqS5fbfwM1FLTZX3N1xzG4yiL10jRJ9WGk85IAatcKO5ksNDE8wqU_IRrj438pZ7yPUjMY0yQcd3fyQFcEHx9WDXX3M/s200/IMG_1608.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1Pu4mB-UujGgat3cPlkMciRe8nv5FageAM-AZzdHpLB_36FPkxMZnnvi-VQ1MKyJ55Q1cfYKV0N6-E1NF9Wu6mUi5gRonF62tfjmL24tZ3F3QBj3J4lys_o0izuobO_UYrqnPJHMgPY/s1600-h/IMG_1616.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332951800867864322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1Pu4mB-UujGgat3cPlkMciRe8nv5FageAM-AZzdHpLB_36FPkxMZnnvi-VQ1MKyJ55Q1cfYKV0N6-E1NF9Wu6mUi5gRonF62tfjmL24tZ3F3QBj3J4lys_o0izuobO_UYrqnPJHMgPY/s200/IMG_1616.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUvawK2MFtapTn2rDmnNdgii9oi9o3qgn_UKrlZKW_7YajdadyWaDgYqCFINLjRIQCCBtK7QZ1RlyYcNVpf7AuT7AJRPxNbHRKP1OdHLH7iavEzBMxdrKWPRAdO-vfQGN-gsPGlHkHNU/s1600-h/IMG_1621.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332955646878146114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUvawK2MFtapTn2rDmnNdgii9oi9o3qgn_UKrlZKW_7YajdadyWaDgYqCFINLjRIQCCBtK7QZ1RlyYcNVpf7AuT7AJRPxNbHRKP1OdHLH7iavEzBMxdrKWPRAdO-vfQGN-gsPGlHkHNU/s200/IMG_1621.JPG" /></a><br />Ta Som<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo84_eIHr5fvPImaGZ3aa1wQb59ukjkFgdMO8mIHNLVl9vFf-Ir3w43FpLKi61aH1hTzS595w_ewzzdMwdTXFGSf4DHjVg0QpE8KRhZwgXLjzU5GSmYb4qG49jncaLuGqNikeoynhW-jU/s1600-h/IMG_1624.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332955648894617010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo84_eIHr5fvPImaGZ3aa1wQb59ukjkFgdMO8mIHNLVl9vFf-Ir3w43FpLKi61aH1hTzS595w_ewzzdMwdTXFGSf4DHjVg0QpE8KRhZwgXLjzU5GSmYb4qG49jncaLuGqNikeoynhW-jU/s200/IMG_1624.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJf_yul5JtRI2Iz-7pYvrVUp0SQA9okQRdlaG7GCuxtjb5ANa_9eOe7vDLO-8PlFiEmPDzUTDeiPbe4fD-HIMkmZ3zug_eXoNFH529ExekW-ZtjTdgHs_4YFBVQu4ZKcauRf54-1Hm0vI/s1600-h/IMG_1629.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332955651960336738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJf_yul5JtRI2Iz-7pYvrVUp0SQA9okQRdlaG7GCuxtjb5ANa_9eOe7vDLO-8PlFiEmPDzUTDeiPbe4fD-HIMkmZ3zug_eXoNFH529ExekW-ZtjTdgHs_4YFBVQu4ZKcauRf54-1Hm0vI/s200/IMG_1629.JPG" /></a><br />Neak Pean<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87A7CRn3n3XO5OYGuPAKmKCRqbyp3o0I70Phf-l2mTcPcA_mmnMO7iZs3k-pkJAxSz_jWBBnhcQO6VReZy5CI8UbklSru-zM2bRzF53Z_rGjlgRIZx5njyhzG3v8TKlR2Ym0lxZBxyT0/s1600-h/IMG_1643.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332955661531833890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87A7CRn3n3XO5OYGuPAKmKCRqbyp3o0I70Phf-l2mTcPcA_mmnMO7iZs3k-pkJAxSz_jWBBnhcQO6VReZy5CI8UbklSru-zM2bRzF53Z_rGjlgRIZx5njyhzG3v8TKlR2Ym0lxZBxyT0/s200/IMG_1643.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaJvA1g4n-SJLTc2DzxoG0BwsxvaKXjhF58ABJZP3QmiF2TRuVnAEU10eR90oXFUywaTmhqHGieA1q7Gx4WchZbIysF_l-y_aogMpbjjdYNU2SJ9UfRmyva8NfbYyOkkD_cs1nqhBU_c/s1600-h/IMG_1648.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332955668356897138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaJvA1g4n-SJLTc2DzxoG0BwsxvaKXjhF58ABJZP3QmiF2TRuVnAEU10eR90oXFUywaTmhqHGieA1q7Gx4WchZbIysF_l-y_aogMpbjjdYNU2SJ9UfRmyva8NfbYyOkkD_cs1nqhBU_c/s200/IMG_1648.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQimOlm82RfX-xsXBTbOVW74WPPQXC_1dKzC_pf7_vofA66MzWca-ZBVgatEwtKyGy__aymSdwRt01W0yiFW24ll2S0DjjrT3R7YdrAYb1Qhg0Xf020RwPlT0XL4uyyP0pPggYBHSqMw/s1600-h/IMG_1657.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332958337637152674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQimOlm82RfX-xsXBTbOVW74WPPQXC_1dKzC_pf7_vofA66MzWca-ZBVgatEwtKyGy__aymSdwRt01W0yiFW24ll2S0DjjrT3R7YdrAYb1Qhg0Xf020RwPlT0XL4uyyP0pPggYBHSqMw/s200/IMG_1657.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6caQ-1SqocGgmqHA1kOzmbq6FzowrTsIIGB7lT-gQ8jFvAcLyGvxPGxZ2UWwwva0O2p3ehVegNNuI6RIK1zoL7-YP6yRTmJCP6LHlqyn43HO7Jx83giH3NG6x-qOZ-0a6E_bC0HV_HTE/s1600-h/IMG_1672.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332958349456784338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6caQ-1SqocGgmqHA1kOzmbq6FzowrTsIIGB7lT-gQ8jFvAcLyGvxPGxZ2UWwwva0O2p3ehVegNNuI6RIK1zoL7-YP6yRTmJCP6LHlqyn43HO7Jx83giH3NG6x-qOZ-0a6E_bC0HV_HTE/s200/IMG_1672.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIEakFfDztc0j3OqkXmuxtb0D72V6lGN3RfSCiobm0g9c4GXpaAZ9qA9FoYgu0-Y1VCf1sVd6E7UsAipi1ClR_OFM_SAx_Vzf57HrrzV7EXTPy3Mq0ZIRBCndqnXsszbnpQKOrWNZ94E/s1600-h/IMG_1668.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332958346238429250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIEakFfDztc0j3OqkXmuxtb0D72V6lGN3RfSCiobm0g9c4GXpaAZ9qA9FoYgu0-Y1VCf1sVd6E7UsAipi1ClR_OFM_SAx_Vzf57HrrzV7EXTPy3Mq0ZIRBCndqnXsszbnpQKOrWNZ94E/s200/IMG_1668.JPG" /></a><br />Preah Khan<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAXtXoDx9RJyzZZb_joaj0aqKO5Kk_tAdIHUzyOtD5uJ_gkjxA118tXrbeCtDjrCT08EjyT1rxu2G5yth-5eOmnwwe5jekMmjM28h5RyUbG1aIILFehFg06IHHvbfQp3lcu2mrsCiXZs/s1600-h/IMG_1689.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332958358624730354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAXtXoDx9RJyzZZb_joaj0aqKO5Kk_tAdIHUzyOtD5uJ_gkjxA118tXrbeCtDjrCT08EjyT1rxu2G5yth-5eOmnwwe5jekMmjM28h5RyUbG1aIILFehFg06IHHvbfQp3lcu2mrsCiXZs/s200/IMG_1689.JPG" /></a></div><div>Sunset over the outer Angkor Wat wall<br /></div><div>After a full day of temples, I relaxed again for a full day. There is not a lot to say. I was with a group of 4 danish guys a lot, T-bo, and a Sweedish guy. T-bo and the Sweedish guy were going to Battambong the next day and then going to try to get a train to Phnom Pehn. I guess there is one shipping train every two days on the railway but no passanger trains and they want to ride on top of the shipping containers. I wonder how that has gone for them.<br /><br />The next day I rented a bike in the morning and headed off for the big Angkor Wat. I met a Dutch guy when I was renting the bike and we traveled together to the temples. He was a cool guy and we had a good day together. Because I missed the main temples and he was only there for one day we both wanted to do exactly the same temples. These were bigger and more fantastic but I liked being in cool places where there weren't a lot of tourists. Angkor wat was not my favorite but Bayon in Angkor Thom was amazing. Anyway here are more pictures to do the talking for me. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlguclOHIAlhqn04G3V_d8m97tTZyU8CRuntVyPGRemdyJZQ3FexdUlDwgYborXGgEV_hBnDYFBWqwSQXx641GA6SX6_M5MLwIsC1IJWp7FOqaOohaiAXRdBLvyZN39EJ0CJuhYEX1ZM/s1600-h/IMG_1698.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332961994742467282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlguclOHIAlhqn04G3V_d8m97tTZyU8CRuntVyPGRemdyJZQ3FexdUlDwgYborXGgEV_hBnDYFBWqwSQXx641GA6SX6_M5MLwIsC1IJWp7FOqaOohaiAXRdBLvyZN39EJ0CJuhYEX1ZM/s200/IMG_1698.JPG" /></a><br />Wedding Ceremony outside Angkor Wat<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLuy9YTAGxctcyVGv5DclVJz9xyNz3oRbpX_T7pRN98MwIHhNTHrXJ2spUd9-gYgoJQchBc0wOOIuBcMrYPGs62k1KJvglnaboL8ZDkuldap64h9NmLsy4m0Kbu0XonO5GAsjmgR9A6Q/s1600-h/IMG_1702.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332961996500891202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLuy9YTAGxctcyVGv5DclVJz9xyNz3oRbpX_T7pRN98MwIHhNTHrXJ2spUd9-gYgoJQchBc0wOOIuBcMrYPGs62k1KJvglnaboL8ZDkuldap64h9NmLsy4m0Kbu0XonO5GAsjmgR9A6Q/s200/IMG_1702.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiopNB5DvewRPZTD17JcM2UWNbcjn-wqqrr-Wf7yrR1WO_2L5aY9JRJb2a1cR4eZWjYiqaMhCkEVoeUxuOMb-DG_A59HcWohP0niDRj9wvExUOWbq-WBr6XXwUcDdFMypXRFIWQcIPxD8/s1600-h/IMG_1709.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332962005565091490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiopNB5DvewRPZTD17JcM2UWNbcjn-wqqrr-Wf7yrR1WO_2L5aY9JRJb2a1cR4eZWjYiqaMhCkEVoeUxuOMb-DG_A59HcWohP0niDRj9wvExUOWbq-WBr6XXwUcDdFMypXRFIWQcIPxD8/s200/IMG_1709.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSk0ZJepbrQb4O8nzUysQFPy3sMC-4Y49cQrZ6GVOP83itrydElAPDiMIGCHr7myDhr5fwsF0VdYFpk5ImVeF7ssb-CFkP4eAcImptr-xxqmR84mQJEDFEB9pgyvsc6ezaTig_IcbUuKc/s1600-h/IMG_1724.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332962015303751506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSk0ZJepbrQb4O8nzUysQFPy3sMC-4Y49cQrZ6GVOP83itrydElAPDiMIGCHr7myDhr5fwsF0VdYFpk5ImVeF7ssb-CFkP4eAcImptr-xxqmR84mQJEDFEB9pgyvsc6ezaTig_IcbUuKc/s200/IMG_1724.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhag6vC-u-WUQddwW_8zR8XWH_vTejKGt9u8SuGcYsaiPbxy47rChVTc8HVI197LA7vNndQBCflUcVV4twivD0qOaBkr_UBU0i6t0zTnuZxxWR6gKkZBasVv1DTQGqfVeEZyY5tH8wnFC0/s1600-h/IMG_1725.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332966434966979826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhag6vC-u-WUQddwW_8zR8XWH_vTejKGt9u8SuGcYsaiPbxy47rChVTc8HVI197LA7vNndQBCflUcVV4twivD0qOaBkr_UBU0i6t0zTnuZxxWR6gKkZBasVv1DTQGqfVeEZyY5tH8wnFC0/s200/IMG_1725.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYqZYRWJG7lDdBpbxiLyVlwcWmrN8c3f4SGDPXF6iu22lFHq-qzLWWkXG_hZfTNIJlXjcGiVkyZ__C3CyrJEsJTqeZDfMCdibo0k2Jnn_33IMYQuCA8kaj3qruavGfzLylU4hbzKFDkc/s1600-h/IMG_1729.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332966438026119362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYqZYRWJG7lDdBpbxiLyVlwcWmrN8c3f4SGDPXF6iu22lFHq-qzLWWkXG_hZfTNIJlXjcGiVkyZ__C3CyrJEsJTqeZDfMCdibo0k2Jnn_33IMYQuCA8kaj3qruavGfzLylU4hbzKFDkc/s200/IMG_1729.JPG" /></a><br />Angkor Wat<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwghlNsRqXg3D2T8TyJ4TnisxYoCSOXXsxhljAI1JHM2TLK8ZaAe2ARhxZhhWznZIW0RGcKCq1kUNwhsywLDpDuRuvgqRx6KHGV8vX3ZCIMlXbpGhUGFKMDJxARkBcSju6pyDuAVhQ-Ro/s1600-h/IMG_1731.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332966442022148498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwghlNsRqXg3D2T8TyJ4TnisxYoCSOXXsxhljAI1JHM2TLK8ZaAe2ARhxZhhWznZIW0RGcKCq1kUNwhsywLDpDuRuvgqRx6KHGV8vX3ZCIMlXbpGhUGFKMDJxARkBcSju6pyDuAVhQ-Ro/s200/IMG_1731.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLomIy3HjUr4T2rnbA25OyElnOWEb9QEqTKK84QdO7ctf9Fe4vrvRcce4CHdU_ypOJ9ULFR1hhpEmyGrZAYwbzFHawXbAFrEjlOKHEy-Jn3P5RD6CBpu7iGBAuPTc6kZX5hurXpapqgA/s1600-h/IMG_1739.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332966450118049842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLomIy3HjUr4T2rnbA25OyElnOWEb9QEqTKK84QdO7ctf9Fe4vrvRcce4CHdU_ypOJ9ULFR1hhpEmyGrZAYwbzFHawXbAFrEjlOKHEy-Jn3P5RD6CBpu7iGBAuPTc6kZX5hurXpapqgA/s200/IMG_1739.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGQjLqUrOQ84hzJAtf7byF_aTF4-QuEw1XqzWuHavapw4aKFKga4MHUkRuuZRLKL3eROYzPndrE3oVQ-UY2-DEpi7HztkVHC2vSXdGXmRbv1kU9CTny7ULi0B2RPMNeKlZr0blmZA_20/s1600-h/IMG_1746.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332966461547581010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGQjLqUrOQ84hzJAtf7byF_aTF4-QuEw1XqzWuHavapw4aKFKga4MHUkRuuZRLKL3eROYzPndrE3oVQ-UY2-DEpi7HztkVHC2vSXdGXmRbv1kU9CTny7ULi0B2RPMNeKlZr0blmZA_20/s200/IMG_1746.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldDvfOUHApsPkXaZbooU6Gx7fXFT0mycRWwQ-aCfyF54s2kwhFxR7IbDEix5oNEj8Tvqyv0_o9W7gm1zs8u4sLROQHBpfjP3QwuOIPDxT-o54w2xrZmFH2WWTWTfTcnznT9r76CXTg6Y/s1600-h/IMG_1747.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332972739617106914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldDvfOUHApsPkXaZbooU6Gx7fXFT0mycRWwQ-aCfyF54s2kwhFxR7IbDEix5oNEj8Tvqyv0_o9W7gm1zs8u4sLROQHBpfjP3QwuOIPDxT-o54w2xrZmFH2WWTWTfTcnznT9r76CXTg6Y/s200/IMG_1747.JPG" /></a><br />Ta Prom (the tomb raider one)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWh59FjmlWiD107yOKSTZH1s7-6qwbDTqRNJh8YeFVKhIxw-3M7SrMvnvGF4x61Tn3IuGcAjrnJMaLwq3TY55e29uirGoLXaLjr0LHcQr5-fTznco6aaug4jlYvqDXtun9whb5A2co7_k/s1600-h/IMG_1758.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332972742903409650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWh59FjmlWiD107yOKSTZH1s7-6qwbDTqRNJh8YeFVKhIxw-3M7SrMvnvGF4x61Tn3IuGcAjrnJMaLwq3TY55e29uirGoLXaLjr0LHcQr5-fTznco6aaug4jlYvqDXtun9whb5A2co7_k/s200/IMG_1758.JPG" /></a><br />restoring the temple at Ta Prom<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaCqBpOsNgGAGTD0yV20ILTZdeKWfrODHnESTgd36VzgiP81dl3NEKUudWGr59epgit6gqaQldDt8N0tZezGse6zriKxP_58cQyTl-1-FPs1DL8WEx4hkRi5aD8RcBmMqrk8ZdCyqEUQ/s1600-h/IMG_1768.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332972755471851970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaCqBpOsNgGAGTD0yV20ILTZdeKWfrODHnESTgd36VzgiP81dl3NEKUudWGr59epgit6gqaQldDt8N0tZezGse6zriKxP_58cQyTl-1-FPs1DL8WEx4hkRi5aD8RcBmMqrk8ZdCyqEUQ/s200/IMG_1768.JPG" /></a><br />Ta Keo<br /></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04K-YsYbAL1yP5s-MMEwz-gyJJv9JByuYqUqCS_UnhlfAwq4iS52BsCr5a-8zv1MFeTU4GbbQ5GWhmhp-S3oADwzZdR5WZMoAQTvGvNd9c5rk_TOrRhd4xps1BT_4IuquPlRL8TagRNY/s1600-h/IMG_1772.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332972760450715666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04K-YsYbAL1yP5s-MMEwz-gyJJv9JByuYqUqCS_UnhlfAwq4iS52BsCr5a-8zv1MFeTU4GbbQ5GWhmhp-S3oADwzZdR5WZMoAQTvGvNd9c5rk_TOrRhd4xps1BT_4IuquPlRL8TagRNY/s200/IMG_1772.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mXVhM_DEqatZSv83GagUOi4aX7KDEpjS78ewvJIXfAXGKr69vLmcwL1BEvblE9iHFQUSFg8jz-wlCEKxNGJR9Jih2PEaz9IoN5dCE1XyNUzyVXFdrV3OZHKCj9hLZuodLuPrEe_XYlU/s1600-h/IMG_1780.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332972766801548162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5mXVhM_DEqatZSv83GagUOi4aX7KDEpjS78ewvJIXfAXGKr69vLmcwL1BEvblE9iHFQUSFg8jz-wlCEKxNGJR9Jih2PEaz9IoN5dCE1XyNUzyVXFdrV3OZHKCj9hLZuodLuPrEe_XYlU/s200/IMG_1780.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjEWjKzssFcWvfchTxgF87j-sTsDuRFjyPLI5bsSXs5vxdDOp4ejtgRUcwtyAQlzZDjGcXdmrk-V5MHF9lBTppFaahcXKNReqdDR4te8TtLHux4Rg8hb9HcPxoh6SepNwD7usnoeU-7E/s1600-h/IMG_1786.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332976529986579970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjEWjKzssFcWvfchTxgF87j-sTsDuRFjyPLI5bsSXs5vxdDOp4ejtgRUcwtyAQlzZDjGcXdmrk-V5MHF9lBTppFaahcXKNReqdDR4te8TtLHux4Rg8hb9HcPxoh6SepNwD7usnoeU-7E/s200/IMG_1786.JPG" /></a><br />Thameanon and Chao Say Thevada<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP_yEX16tWuqmge6EHTOPtH4v-OJ25cvgpY0h4JHNZltAekmXVz4jdNopwGv5GFYmBJOggO280rGgAE2G30kLb7msj-ZZm3dubZJMVJWLRAa5cyxxCHt9ZF3ZdBv0VdmpnIWH8gWF1Ug/s1600-h/IMG_1790.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332976535481588066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsP_yEX16tWuqmge6EHTOPtH4v-OJ25cvgpY0h4JHNZltAekmXVz4jdNopwGv5GFYmBJOggO280rGgAE2G30kLb7msj-ZZm3dubZJMVJWLRAa5cyxxCHt9ZF3ZdBv0VdmpnIWH8gWF1Ug/s200/IMG_1790.JPG" /></a><br />riding between temples<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUMhHk4PYqnzlbkjFEMIqpzv-ZfR-P3d7b7g9RldRWaR54DGw4DiKx-Zzz5NncvKIt0huhhTNLaxfijBgiiY-o1pCnSYkmZKvBXqWMoBddeQycQzeq7gtTHTZHzgoFLpnm23yD_aXoTo/s1600-h/IMG_1797.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332976539009490018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUMhHk4PYqnzlbkjFEMIqpzv-ZfR-P3d7b7g9RldRWaR54DGw4DiKx-Zzz5NncvKIt0huhhTNLaxfijBgiiY-o1pCnSYkmZKvBXqWMoBddeQycQzeq7gtTHTZHzgoFLpnm23yD_aXoTo/s200/IMG_1797.JPG" /></a><br />Victory Gate of Angkor Thom<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hcUgok8Umxo8gTjqZI-sDDleDx-tPcR3_tVh0jJRvXRcs_eIx-Fp38LMAS6Js20wxOLG14tqTiWRlP4S3JXwSUqJXUz61_1XOTudXCcfPv9igDpxf-ZQeUEd6uTb-q21KtOBfgYNJy8/s1600-h/IMG_1802.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332976543968328226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hcUgok8Umxo8gTjqZI-sDDleDx-tPcR3_tVh0jJRvXRcs_eIx-Fp38LMAS6Js20wxOLG14tqTiWRlP4S3JXwSUqJXUz61_1XOTudXCcfPv9igDpxf-ZQeUEd6uTb-q21KtOBfgYNJy8/s200/IMG_1802.JPG" /></a><br />An active temple in Angkor Thom<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqh4i2bSw9bMTvxSn-EHMup9aaf8P3OLQ0XewtxGoNEByjP6fUOrQLcbkOQxBYd3ZGp5UlU4LO1ExmL2IzQSk0uyVQ10RqYcZbEAJ_QW5SaEEPgSMsVC4mcsaiOEtu3iVJNeiHdpGYrs/s1600-h/IMG_1812.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332976549078271554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqh4i2bSw9bMTvxSn-EHMup9aaf8P3OLQ0XewtxGoNEByjP6fUOrQLcbkOQxBYd3ZGp5UlU4LO1ExmL2IzQSk0uyVQ10RqYcZbEAJ_QW5SaEEPgSMsVC4mcsaiOEtu3iVJNeiHdpGYrs/s200/IMG_1812.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlIDDG9xygV_Gq34xeWHHvjjYqyLWzs_c5G7ZpPb7YEr7bnTyjmT4CjbF_c9o6DdkIkQne7_QhnS3ZEClEuR-y6E8ejhy5htGtRAfs8lHK2fXiBxes-Uq8N5uqxA91kmkqUFlDH766VE/s1600-h/IMG_1814.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332981946194748178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlIDDG9xygV_Gq34xeWHHvjjYqyLWzs_c5G7ZpPb7YEr7bnTyjmT4CjbF_c9o6DdkIkQne7_QhnS3ZEClEuR-y6E8ejhy5htGtRAfs8lHK2fXiBxes-Uq8N5uqxA91kmkqUFlDH766VE/s200/IMG_1814.JPG" /></a><br />random ruins inside the walls of Angkor Thom<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAd6xl4IEOAXcaPyHStp2r85jBclUd75LEFjfKnY3_yb9GdThNkIlFCxhyphenhyphen6DQSjj-T7CR5eall7Sihbll1yt-gYTeeiyEhkRAdt4WErV61t-zYcDVQVjJMHZlEA7yVd8sdF7qR90lbX4/s1600-h/IMG_1844.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332981975424883842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAd6xl4IEOAXcaPyHStp2r85jBclUd75LEFjfKnY3_yb9GdThNkIlFCxhyphenhyphen6DQSjj-T7CR5eall7Sihbll1yt-gYTeeiyEhkRAdt4WErV61t-zYcDVQVjJMHZlEA7yVd8sdF7qR90lbX4/s200/IMG_1844.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicd0ZXjskWmF3e0rPaebKIeDCP1ZBLC0DRoAlQ1TjRATJO8Ccv_9K_AZHB4_8GeP1JnpSRdikIEGIavuw3vFKcTW5f6RAhVPmcEx8QZP2j9bbvIis0PA8o3vHRWAW9QxJo_fmOB6eFwd4/s1600-h/IMG_1833.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332981965816957778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicd0ZXjskWmF3e0rPaebKIeDCP1ZBLC0DRoAlQ1TjRATJO8Ccv_9K_AZHB4_8GeP1JnpSRdikIEGIavuw3vFKcTW5f6RAhVPmcEx8QZP2j9bbvIis0PA8o3vHRWAW9QxJo_fmOB6eFwd4/s200/IMG_1833.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccCu5XRuS38qDlqZwsyFEcCOk9zwKJQnGWYb4D7tggEwihx_vEIuY8kAkkgnqmYvDBO6Ms5uzFAgaVEav64YKvK-_tKfF-PfJd9f27AMK5I_KFrJaoQ5n7xGuFSFxz79sIFmPWQ3Cx2Q/s1600-h/IMG_1840.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332981967723371362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhccCu5XRuS38qDlqZwsyFEcCOk9zwKJQnGWYb4D7tggEwihx_vEIuY8kAkkgnqmYvDBO6Ms5uzFAgaVEav64YKvK-_tKfF-PfJd9f27AMK5I_KFrJaoQ5n7xGuFSFxz79sIFmPWQ3Cx2Q/s200/IMG_1840.JPG" /></a><br />Bayon in Angkor Thom<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOolu-pLcX713uofXpKWPKPQsJWtbQ9u5MzKMuHXrGyzWkrhATSBGxAGd98w3DYY9fTrBtYEvD6XTek5aHoTT05DMANU4AE_rO4Nf6taqSJJ14SteJjg7CsMi-DbQ1_mdP58mXJAHm7qc/s1600-h/IMG_1857.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332984641319594242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOolu-pLcX713uofXpKWPKPQsJWtbQ9u5MzKMuHXrGyzWkrhATSBGxAGd98w3DYY9fTrBtYEvD6XTek5aHoTT05DMANU4AE_rO4Nf6taqSJJ14SteJjg7CsMi-DbQ1_mdP58mXJAHm7qc/s200/IMG_1857.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgGDaYcGDs3isLwAZzLsrH0bq-EItvwATP9EGyfW1cdljeHNsj5qI8NbkzAZAWJ3CBXDKJnY_SxAaG911kx1PLjJgNzKrmCkHGYInvU-fEraf8uqxZQo_AwypF6ZGmWZjrfuAuEAurd0/s1600-h/IMG_1862.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332984646517248162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAgGDaYcGDs3isLwAZzLsrH0bq-EItvwATP9EGyfW1cdljeHNsj5qI8NbkzAZAWJ3CBXDKJnY_SxAaG911kx1PLjJgNzKrmCkHGYInvU-fEraf8uqxZQo_AwypF6ZGmWZjrfuAuEAurd0/s200/IMG_1862.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOJJDxfTkd1m5iCfOOLPUG5rEAu_6OkGiEh4AEYsEQvtfVuwXzZeNz5FD8QLyO3F8KO89FgTiqB6P_WL3sx2TytJW0TnkPzxuX8UzEqSZ7eeni9zyJ7zmcR3lon3LFwhAbJDFNNmYPuE/s1600-h/IMG_1866.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332984651050003010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOJJDxfTkd1m5iCfOOLPUG5rEAu_6OkGiEh4AEYsEQvtfVuwXzZeNz5FD8QLyO3F8KO89FgTiqB6P_WL3sx2TytJW0TnkPzxuX8UzEqSZ7eeni9zyJ7zmcR3lon3LFwhAbJDFNNmYPuE/s200/IMG_1866.JPG" /></a><br />Sunset from Phnom Bakkheng </div><div> </div><div></div><div>Yesterday I just relaxed again all day, recovering from the bike ride and temple walking which took a bit out of me. This time I hung out with a guy from London, a girl from Canada, and a New Zealand guy with a Czech girlfriend. I didn't do much again just watched football and talked, and looked into what I want to do in southern Laos. Later we all went out for some stall food at night. </div><div><br />Today I'm here and am planning to go to Kratie tomorrow, its a town on the Mekong between Phnom Pehn and the Laos boarder. Today is the last day of my visa so I will overstay it a few days so I can spend a few days in Kratie before I go to the boarder and the 4000 island group, which are a bunch of islands on the Mekong right on the boarder with Cambodia. These temples really have been amazing and the Garden Village guest house is great so all in all Siem Riep has been a wonderful experience and I'm ready to go to Laos!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-68652670097050981892009-05-01T01:45:00.000-07:002009-05-13T21:40:26.366-07:00Battambong to Siem RiepSo I feel like I'm starting to get my traveling shoes back on. I think one of the tricks of this long term traveling thing is to just roll with the feelings you get but keep on going. Also if I just move a bit slower like I talked about it is a lot easier to feel comfortable while always in new places. The last few days in Battambong I also kinda forced myself to do some touristy stuff and ended up having a great time.<br /><br />After my last blog I didn't do anything with the rest of my day but I did set up a moto driver to take me around the next day. He was a guy who got me right off the bus (actually he rode next to my moto in his moto giving me his speach) and gave me some info on him and a card. He actually worked for the water resource development team in Battambong as an interpreter so that sold me to use him as a guide. He took me to a hill/cave that was used to torture and kill people during the Pol Pot days. Then he took me to an old 11th century tempal on a hill. Next he was going to take me to the Bamboo Train but it started pouring on the way. The roads were terible and I was soked to the bone so I told him to just take me home.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV1bytWtaTEt-pcN1iZ7sH3bzJn6rwPot8kZ-kUpZhdCSXGQNHWOs_KkujJR-lV-HD5sF_FcuVBWUzv7naBERoeHokcOGKMQlH_W8-DW7kBd0eWqg9aeEFmyNH1-4t-gs_h0KNiDnD20/s1600-h/IMG_1496.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzV1bytWtaTEt-pcN1iZ7sH3bzJn6rwPot8kZ-kUpZhdCSXGQNHWOs_KkujJR-lV-HD5sF_FcuVBWUzv7naBERoeHokcOGKMQlH_W8-DW7kBd0eWqg9aeEFmyNH1-4t-gs_h0KNiDnD20/s1600-h/IMG_1496.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2sS_KQza9ie522-BNf4U47v2jbxQNHDEtXPrI9sUMDTWzC5W97fZ9BRJmIIpp7wMq0b81P9lk4aI_NsZuyxUuyIkXmpe8IWupB7fmVdz8zqhnUH_Ybi06cD3ZbKaUfR9qJrB1qtNETs/s1600-h/IMG_1498.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332937605313986418" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE2sS_KQza9ie522-BNf4U47v2jbxQNHDEtXPrI9sUMDTWzC5W97fZ9BRJmIIpp7wMq0b81P9lk4aI_NsZuyxUuyIkXmpe8IWupB7fmVdz8zqhnUH_Ybi06cD3ZbKaUfR9qJrB1qtNETs/s200/IMG_1498.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>The Killing Cave</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqptD2P0tq2hOsh2RDLcZ6VeE-f2kyRBQeha2RjshyphenhyphenqrdH7byoU7ubX_c1g4AAH_hkbpuEWWQt2jgQhYHfGMij-NyS_CUgXSRb-YXdT0umAeutJUAqVvcw05UNBmf4lMQjirPi4IQTty8/s1600-h/IMG_1514.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332937612579665810" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqptD2P0tq2hOsh2RDLcZ6VeE-f2kyRBQeha2RjshyphenhyphenqrdH7byoU7ubX_c1g4AAH_hkbpuEWWQt2jgQhYHfGMij-NyS_CUgXSRb-YXdT0umAeutJUAqVvcw05UNBmf4lMQjirPi4IQTty8/s200/IMG_1514.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The temple</div><div><br />That night I actually met a nice tuk tuk driver who gave me moto prices so I agreed to meet him the next day to go to the bamboo train. The next day his brother showed up but he was nice enough. The bamboo train was really cool. I thought it would be some stupid touristy thing but it was actually a nice thing to see. There are no trains in Cambodia because the railways are so bad so the only thing on the tracks are these little home made things. Its a platform on a pair of axles on the tracks then a little gas motor that has a belt wraped around one of the axles. Then to start the train he just pulls back the motor making friction with the belt and away you go. Another cool thing is that to go backwards they just twist the belt so the axle spins the other way.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiaPknv31H9Izz0iGgGb8iw3wgyWB6IFxFhit0Wla2gVkb0bN_xu98cwr0Hto5aKKNnJjiY4hv5bIzOB0sE_Aqgb4k6Gwuydv_jXVqHVAswwSDCNJr4m_2Ec0jGqaIau9Gkv4kG0hhv0/s1600-h/IMG_1520.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332937613766855186" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiaPknv31H9Izz0iGgGb8iw3wgyWB6IFxFhit0Wla2gVkb0bN_xu98cwr0Hto5aKKNnJjiY4hv5bIzOB0sE_Aqgb4k6Gwuydv_jXVqHVAswwSDCNJr4m_2Ec0jGqaIau9Gkv4kG0hhv0/s200/IMG_1520.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAr-iRWee7melHvitpPYcOFLHWnVNO5nXlGSGWUaOzCukY0wP6D7oQa4E-UWh1rogVKjKOyxHvt6FjRnv1yR6AgVzWWiXIbi82bsGdXfe2_RWB_IyYDwuZMBvjQhxD1X5KoFz_yQ3WaDM/s1600-h/IMG_1519.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332937623679674946" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAr-iRWee7melHvitpPYcOFLHWnVNO5nXlGSGWUaOzCukY0wP6D7oQa4E-UWh1rogVKjKOyxHvt6FjRnv1yR6AgVzWWiXIbi82bsGdXfe2_RWB_IyYDwuZMBvjQhxD1X5KoFz_yQ3WaDM/s200/IMG_1519.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The bamboo train, notice the belt is twisted on the second picture</div><div><br />After that I decided to hang out with the driver some more so I went to a winery with him. He showed me some old Khemur buildings on the way and a cool bridge on the way back but the winery was cool. We got there and soon after it started raining so we just hung out talked and drank the wine and brandy that they make at the place. I did buy a bottle of brandy because it was good and I didn't pay for anything I drank so I wanted to buy something.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15T8wfBafibQ_9EOiYAXRWZRrMAFh8qElRyHdrN9AvqH4FzqhU29P1xR1YMEs7hi0kEvYwh8-uAsuwjr_8S7NN5urkhsEYe4Oc3dT_-m9SNVeLNOF_mQ8aLV-GnljKfISW4w_ppOUq2Y/s1600-h/IMG_1524.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332939552818823714" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15T8wfBafibQ_9EOiYAXRWZRrMAFh8qElRyHdrN9AvqH4FzqhU29P1xR1YMEs7hi0kEvYwh8-uAsuwjr_8S7NN5urkhsEYe4Oc3dT_-m9SNVeLNOF_mQ8aLV-GnljKfISW4w_ppOUq2Y/s200/IMG_1524.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The winery<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKnTdMIL-l4n30FcGvnG953FnafLd9_2SLKrm6IljA4h5Kv6guRGEUplm3q1k3QhvpwC4MVgR8uX9n5GKdbOYyox8rGmeiR4TTGAutB4XOineXacrGAsYRnENBJCEnW8n77iaVvXOLQk/s1600-h/IMG_1528.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332939556163321314" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKnTdMIL-l4n30FcGvnG953FnafLd9_2SLKrm6IljA4h5Kv6guRGEUplm3q1k3QhvpwC4MVgR8uX9n5GKdbOYyox8rGmeiR4TTGAutB4XOineXacrGAsYRnENBJCEnW8n77iaVvXOLQk/s200/IMG_1528.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The tuk tuk driver on a cool bridge</div><div></div><div>That night I had a good conversation over dinner with an NGO worker in Battambong. There are so many NGO workers in Cambodia. I've met like 20 by now, and in Thailand I didn't meet one NGO worker. Then after dinner I finally went to the little local bar. I was the only one there at first so I just hung out with the owner and then a couple showed up (one from Spain and the other from France, both NGO workers). We all talked and drank until way to late so that I only got 4 hours of sleep last night because I had to wake up early to take a boat to Siem Riep.<br /><br />I was going to rent a moto in Battambong and then ride to Siem Riep so I would have the freedom here to do whatever I want. But after that accident I just didn't really feel like riding myself all that way so I opted for the boat instead, plus the guide book says its the prettiest boat ride in Cambodia. It was a really cool ride. We winded up this river from Battambong and there were houses along the river a lot of the way. They were basically shacks built on a platform floating in the water. In some places we would get to towns where there were stores and resturants and everything in these houses along the river. It was cool but at the same time you could tell everyone was very poor. Some people just lived in these little platforms or small boats on the water.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJC86SMIYf2kalU1psQTwaje_cBUC_SGRV6pfbX4NKwU-njzCXmnbS9z7yl3EIOqFNYbaejstLCvuA2hyphenhypheng80KhT7tL-VnXNm2dQMGTH0I6ciYXrbUSHIKQ2OF6aoS1aUnuUKGr8e_o9v8/s1600-h/IMG_1535.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332939561407048290" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJC86SMIYf2kalU1psQTwaje_cBUC_SGRV6pfbX4NKwU-njzCXmnbS9z7yl3EIOqFNYbaejstLCvuA2hyphenhypheng80KhT7tL-VnXNm2dQMGTH0I6ciYXrbUSHIKQ2OF6aoS1aUnuUKGr8e_o9v8/s200/IMG_1535.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuCbvugzwy2Ka640-fZwtxEfup-sr3UEKqvR9p5La6-3sYRZri_oSKC4Cr_r7a1LcEmlH_yLIB440Yr3UN6_N8iTYstEIK5az7As7jVOUX1UOKza4C_JPccHNv4jVxOl5aV4K6KiCGBo/s1600-h/IMG_1541.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332939567104898770" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguuCbvugzwy2Ka640-fZwtxEfup-sr3UEKqvR9p5La6-3sYRZri_oSKC4Cr_r7a1LcEmlH_yLIB440Yr3UN6_N8iTYstEIK5az7As7jVOUX1UOKza4C_JPccHNv4jVxOl5aV4K6KiCGBo/s200/IMG_1541.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>The floating houses on the river</div><div><br />The boat ride was great and there was actually a tuk tuk waiting for me at the end that took me to Garden Village (the cool recomended guest house) free of charge. This guest house is great. One dollar dorm room beds, free internet (but very slow), a rooftop bar/resturant, and a very chill vibe. Right now I just hung out with some locals and people staying here, ate and got on the internet to do this. Cambodia has been harder than Thailand as far as what I see and the desperation of the people, but I've found more of these gem locations where you can just chill and relax for days with mellow people.<br /><br />Well thats all for now. I'm feeling a lot better but am still thinking I'll just do southern Laos and then go home. One thing I've realized is that traveling is just like life at home, where there are bad days and good days. Just because I'm seeing new things and having exciting adventures doesn't mean that I'll love every minute. Sometimes I may feel like I want to go home but if I just relax for a day and see something new I'll get over it and remember again how lucky I am to see all these different cultures and places. Also I don't think I'll be able to do pictures while I'm here because the internet is so slow but maybe one day I'll be able to. Another thing is the club I went to in Phnom Penh was Heart of Darkness, not City of Darkness (I went back and corrected it). Peace and love to all!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzJN2cY4_-EfWOxjexvEoW61E7XVQFYTDgDZ8XEGSrmy0pU3TwulAwhpVWMqHcvYNewl1z6jD89kJ0p3t516A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-69964238259644044492009-04-28T00:49:00.000-07:002009-05-06T21:28:38.756-07:00Phnom Pehn to Battambong<div>Its been a while since I last posted but I've had a hard time moving fast. I'm not sure if its because I've been traveling for a while or because of what I saw but I just can't seem to move fast. I spent about a week in Phnom Pehn and then came here to Battambong yesterday. I actually liked the city a lot but thats mostly because of the lakeside area and the guest house I was in. Let me see if I can quickly go through what I did.<br /><br />The day after my last post I went into the city with Elena (The girl from London that was in the shared taxi with me). We went to the center market, which is a large market that is in the old main bus terminal building (so now there isn't a main bus terminal). She had some stuff to get and so did I. Then we walked to the riverside and went to the FCC which is a resturant called the forign correspondence center. Its an old building that reporters have been going to for years, so there were war photos everywhere. The drinks were expensive so we just had one beer then went to a pizza place.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr51ZhheDa3EwjcQyS4z7cOkKVS2kJPa-1DPf9rFNFnNgKatUHiIYpeQx-Zlfjiqm8Bh8CbgXJLxYe724MjEXjtJN3apQaPUKS0XAH0oiUH2QkGhgdOxeOiLhYLoeqd5NfXzOmAVwJWbk/s1600-h/IMG_1484.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332932517518730418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr51ZhheDa3EwjcQyS4z7cOkKVS2kJPa-1DPf9rFNFnNgKatUHiIYpeQx-Zlfjiqm8Bh8CbgXJLxYe724MjEXjtJN3apQaPUKS0XAH0oiUH2QkGhgdOxeOiLhYLoeqd5NfXzOmAVwJWbk/s200/IMG_1484.JPG" /></a></div><div>The view from the FCC</div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBPaOJhZWSCan229si2CAZ78hIAJYdEzY_Adr5P90zdfIKPvGOL7djE4rQ9Br_PXRtMNlOrOZmF0mb_Z_PygjX_A0VuXBHylT7_3P_Z04RE9IixSWDSJh3W8jTfmQuGYs4Oinjs-AS8g/s1600-h/IMG_1485.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332932519468039794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBPaOJhZWSCan229si2CAZ78hIAJYdEzY_Adr5P90zdfIKPvGOL7djE4rQ9Br_PXRtMNlOrOZmF0mb_Z_PygjX_A0VuXBHylT7_3P_Z04RE9IixSWDSJh3W8jTfmQuGYs4Oinjs-AS8g/s200/IMG_1485.JPG" /></a></div><div>The Grand Palace</div><div> </div><div></div><div>At the pizza place I ran into Ty and Cy (two of the Hawaii guy's that were with Moo when I first met her). We hung out and talked and then they walked to the lakeside with me while Elena went to the Vietnamese embassy. We hung out at Same Same for a while and then arranged to go to the Killing Fields and S-21 with paul (one of the tuk tuk drivers, my favorite). I think that night I went to the Moskito Bar nearby where one guy at the guest house works, and the manager helped open Bhodi Villa's.<br /><br />The next day the Killing Fields and S-21 were hard things to see. At the Killing Fields there are so many bodies that in the pathways you are actually walking on bones and pieces of clothings from the bodies. It was hard to take pictures so I didn't after a couple. So many people died there in such horrible ways. There was one pit of all beheaded people, another of just women and children (there was a tree next to this pit used to smash the kids against the tree in front of the mother). Then S-21 wasn't much better. Its a high school and elementary school that was changed into a torture and detention center in 1975. They had pictures of the last bodies they found there, old torture equipment, and blood still on the wall. Again it was like you could feel all the horible things that had happened there. For the rest of that day I just relaxed, played pool, and played chess.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS7g53vMovgZCX6JSje_l6KoA4NqFmWrHyDLc9KPrysg_c8LPVZExxcNCYTkaufzQdfcQIoeXYSlUnEzZ-x1kxLCkoY7uIJMRJnbsP5W9LbtaZ6bFF1XkwAOUYAWKg7H-iXhjUNdHqUo/s1600-h/IMG_1487.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332932527686131538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS7g53vMovgZCX6JSje_l6KoA4NqFmWrHyDLc9KPrysg_c8LPVZExxcNCYTkaufzQdfcQIoeXYSlUnEzZ-x1kxLCkoY7uIJMRJnbsP5W9LbtaZ6bFF1XkwAOUYAWKg7H-iXhjUNdHqUo/s200/IMG_1487.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpk97eVBTFyk7zsDKKklA43Yce8nWdmR3XQmkOXD3nYA4qSarGMn3sBvRAqWlvkPZXeg5baOz-pU-qvTvbbQUu8BDv_p2rWjKlxcXbGvi4KyMwmnZ1GfX3OE6wWm1QRDjjdTJ77qkFPc/s1600-h/IMG_1488.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332932540448952466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpk97eVBTFyk7zsDKKklA43Yce8nWdmR3XQmkOXD3nYA4qSarGMn3sBvRAqWlvkPZXeg5baOz-pU-qvTvbbQUu8BDv_p2rWjKlxcXbGvi4KyMwmnZ1GfX3OE6wWm1QRDjjdTJ77qkFPc/s200/IMG_1488.JPG" /></a></div><div>The Killing Fields</div><div><br />The next day I went into the city with John (a tall tatooed buy from london with a bald head and a huge beard) and Christian (a german guy) who both live at my guest house. We went to the shopping center for ice cream and then went to the top and saw and amazing view. There was a skating rink on the top of the shopping center also. John left to do some CV stuff (he is applying for jobs here) and Christian and I went to the Russian Market. After Christian got presents for his family we got a tuk tuk back to lakeside but a storm had just begun.<br /><br />The tuk tuk driver went slow but it was still a crazy sight. The city basically began to flood. Some roads just turned into rivers a couple of feet deep, but the moto drivers and cars just went right through it. We didn't see the worst of it and got back to the guest house safe but other people told me about how the water was deeper than their motorbike, or how outside our guest house the water was about 2 feet deep in the street (it was half a foot when we walked through). It is crazy to me that the city would flood that much because it may have been a two hour long downpoor but I have heard in the rainy season those same rains can last 24 hours and imagine what would happen then. I also wonder if the bad flooding near lakeside has anything to do with the fact that they are filling in the lake.<br /><br />That night I did the staying out all night thing. I was with John and other long time people, it was a group of 6 total, and then 8 later in the night. We went to some girly bar to pick up one guy's girlfriend, then went to Pontoon, and then Heart of Darkness. Pontoon is a club on the river in a boat that plays trance music all night and people dance and stuff. Heart of Darkness is a famous club from movies like pontoon and city of ghosts. It was a high roller club with lots of rich Cambodians and was in an old french building.<br /><br />The next two day I literally did nothing. I hung out at the Same Same guest house, played pool, played chess, drank beer, and watched some movies. I got to know everyone at the guest house and got really comfortable so I just didn't want to leave and go out traveling really soon. I also planned to do the internet both days but just didn't get out of the building. Its nice because the city is chaotic but at the guest house the lake is right there, and lots of cool people are about so its easy to just hang out and move from one conversation to another forgetting how crazy the city is.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD02eY-lEw0tKbVED8IkIzSIUaGmgMDhFaeRud1MPrrVC0IXJR_FckPeCDzZFEsiBmrrq9MbFvNMAAB1xlzjxa0_3hZR4vSLmG1DlMZw8PtaPRmhVujAO3R8Rh-gdve9Wr1SWP9GEnN4/s1600-h/IMG_1491.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332932548609630162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD02eY-lEw0tKbVED8IkIzSIUaGmgMDhFaeRud1MPrrVC0IXJR_FckPeCDzZFEsiBmrrq9MbFvNMAAB1xlzjxa0_3hZR4vSLmG1DlMZw8PtaPRmhVujAO3R8Rh-gdve9Wr1SWP9GEnN4/s200/IMG_1491.JPG" /></a></div><div>The Lake from Same Same</div><div><br />Yesterday I came here to Battambong by bus. There are not many farang here. Its a small city basically, similar to Kampot but without the river (there is a river but its smaller and very polluted). I'm not sure what I think about it yet. I just went out to eat last night and met a large tour group, and today I walked through the market. Maybe tonight I'll check out the main bar in town that I've gotten a couple of flyers for from a guy who lost his legs.<br /><br />Maybe its because of what I saw but I'm not as keen on traveling around a lot right now. I want to see Ankor Wat and a nice guest house people have told me about there, and I think I want to go to the 4000 island group in southern Loas but that might be it for me. I've been gone for a while so I miss my friends and family and am a bit tired of traveling. Before being in large multi cultural groups was new and exciting but now it is normal. I hardly have the drive to learn about people or cultures anymore, I just want some relaxed people to play a game with or something. Recently I've met a lot of people who kinda feel the same so its been easy to just relax and play games without really talking too much.<br /><br />This could just be how I've felt recently and will get back into the spirit of traveling in a few days, but if its not, then I can go home whenever I want. One couple I met in Bangkok showed me how you can just show up there and get tickets through the travel agencies cheaper than you could buying tickets over the internet, so that is probably what I'll do to get home. I'll go to Siem Riep and see the temples and then will decide if I want to make my way up to Laos or just go back to Bangkok.<br /><br />Well, thats all for now. I don't have many pictures and don't have the camera with me so I'll post whatever I have later. Also I'm sorry for sharing such a graphic image with everyone. It has been hard to deal with having seen a life lost so I think I described the experience in a bit too much detail to try to help it leave my brain and just infected all of you with the image. Anyway, peace and love to everyone.</div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-21134820018119282222009-04-21T02:28:00.000-07:002009-04-21T04:55:04.940-07:00In Phnom PehnNow I'm in Phnom Pehn. I like the area I'm in even though it will be destroyed within the next year, and I've seen one of the most graphic things I've ever seen. I can't seem to get this image out of my head and its been affecting me all day. It's like a bustling Asian city here without skyscrapers, without all paved roads, without rules (which is normal in Cambodia) and with a lot of bicicles and motorbikes. Its hard to be away from Bhodi's but its nice to be on the move again.<br /><br />My last day at Bhodi's I went on a boat ride up the river. When Chenda (one of the people that work at Bhodi's) asked me if I wanted to go I figured I might as well or else I'd just sit around all day. Before the boat ride I swam down to Jess's to help her move some big things, then she came on the boat also. It was a nice calm ride up the river with a bunch of people I'd come to know kinda and we just drank beers and went for a ride.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKJ5kRwtK4JicA9b_kGe-VbpX7C9yZmuqTYqWQNcfUeTkQj_DAjLNnouWtIjWfvT2gwVpeGIHYuQ5F6y4MtbQwj28TSTQv35DK6bixlB60WsNfjZYLVrGwlG1-3DbMd92WyVDjwmmzPc/s1600-h/Picture+018.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327102660358122258" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKJ5kRwtK4JicA9b_kGe-VbpX7C9yZmuqTYqWQNcfUeTkQj_DAjLNnouWtIjWfvT2gwVpeGIHYuQ5F6y4MtbQwj28TSTQv35DK6bixlB60WsNfjZYLVrGwlG1-3DbMd92WyVDjwmmzPc/s200/Picture+018.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div>On the boat</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q5id_sIh8Ebb6Ho_PSaf-GF64-1ksiiiXhZX7pYvYiluLuseQMY222ilXH4eTsFlUi2XR4GYjvC4ucZKiAouMPo28P7Xuxkl3E8joD_xaNumYlB8SH4hwK2ZHGRMfl4rDz-4fRbVQGI/s1600-h/Picture+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327102667958105074" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Q5id_sIh8Ebb6Ho_PSaf-GF64-1ksiiiXhZX7pYvYiluLuseQMY222ilXH4eTsFlUi2XR4GYjvC4ucZKiAouMPo28P7Xuxkl3E8joD_xaNumYlB8SH4hwK2ZHGRMfl4rDz-4fRbVQGI/s200/Picture+019.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Sunset from the boat</div><div><br />The last night there was also fun just hanging out with the bar tender, who also lives there, and drinking and playing pool. Then in the morning I did my normal morning swim but this time swam all the way to the other side and hung out in the abandoned building over there. That was nice, and a good ending to my time on the river. I booked a shared taxi with another girl from the guest house that also wanted to go to Phnom Pehn.<br /><br />The shared taxi was an interesting experience. The two of us shared the front seat of a normal car, there were four people in the back, and another Khemur person shared the drivers seat. It was a spectical but normal to the Khemur people. The roads were bad and unmarked for much of the way. The driver kept his left signal on most of the time and passed everything he could but also had to slow down a lot for the dirt sections. Also there were oxen driven carts sharing the road also. Then, near the city a horrible accident happened.<br /><br />We were very close to the city so the street was packed with mostly motorbikes, but also cars, large trucks, and bicicles and people are always trying to pass people in a generally chaotic patturn. We were maybe two cars back when it happened. Basically I saw a teenage girl on a bicicle start to wobble bad (I think a moto cut her off), she did maybe two to three wobbles and then toppled over. She fell right into the road, right inbetween the wheels of a large gravel or dump truck. Her head landed under the truck and the back wheel just went right over her head squashing it like a watermellon.<br /><br />We were so close I could see everything very clearly. There is no way she lived and I knew it the second that wheel went over the head. It was so fast, she was alive one minute riding the bike like so many other people and dead the next. I can't seem to get the image of the wheel riding right over her head out of my head. We drove right passed her then turned around and drove passed her again to go into the city. I think the truck stopped right there and wasn't going anywhere so the taxi spun around and went into the city a different way, but it made it so we saw her body up close twice. The second time there was a huge puddle of blood that was not there the first time. This is all kinda hard to write. It was all like something you'd see in a movie but I actually saw it happen before my eyes. I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at a crowded street the same again.<br /><br />Anyway after that we had to haggle for a tuk tuk into the lakeside area of Phnem Pehn where some travelers have recommended that I stay. The area is nice. Its a little allyway tucked away but is full of guesthouses, bars, resturants, and internet shops. Its like Khao San but better, or kinda like the streets in Phi Phi but better. All the guest houses are long and narrow and have decks that overlook the lake, and the sunsets over the lake. Last night I just checked into the guest house ($2 a night) and then went out to the deck to talk to people and relax. The girl from Bhodi and I drank together and ate together but didn't tell anyone about what we saw. I think it was too upsetting for either of us to have a big conversation about people dieing with these poeple we had just met.<br /><br />The only problem with this area is that they are filling in the lake right now to build on top of it. You can see to the left that they are filling it in with sand and gravel. They will fill in the entire area where the guest houses currently are, destroying the whole area, and then will build some kind of development or buisness area. It really makes me sick to think that this wonderful lake and area of the city will be completely destroyed within a year. The company doing it is some Malaysian company. This whole counrty is up for sale and its obvious everywhere, especially when your watching a beautiful sunset over a lake that will be some sort of development.<br /><br />Today I woke up slow, and moved slow. I was going to go on a walk around the city but left late. I met some kids I had met at Kho Phan-gan and then also in Sihanoukville at a little cafe. I sat down and three of them caught busses to leave the country and the fourth stayed around. We just watched a movie and now I'm here. The rains have come early this year so its rained hard the last few days but its a welcome rain because it cools it off and most of the time its almost too hot to walk, or even sit. Anyway, thats all for now. Peace</div><div> </div><div>PS. I added pictures and two video's. The oldest video is from the floating market.</div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-15248451267387758112009-04-18T19:44:00.000-07:002009-04-21T04:16:30.637-07:00Still relaxing at Bhodi'sIt is really nice here at Bhodi Villa's in Kampot. For the last couple days I've ventured out some but I really like the vibe here at the guest house. I was going to go to Kep, and to Rabbit Island which is right off the coast from Kep, but instead I decided to chill out here longer and take a day trip to Kep. The plan now is to head to Penom Phen tomorrow and then towards Siem Riep.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVs3ZrX28bpbMYxIszOIDqudXB818WpGC5Bu-LEe_65YPrjI8aZB-y2UoZofx0-fyL3iTgmCZf-1_y2aIoVYCJG8X6wjj_dh4pwNEr6v-0VQVzNN7s1XlNzzhOXXOH4ahH_RtSFjmNpU/s1600-h/Picture+016.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327099551414163458" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVs3ZrX28bpbMYxIszOIDqudXB818WpGC5Bu-LEe_65YPrjI8aZB-y2UoZofx0-fyL3iTgmCZf-1_y2aIoVYCJG8X6wjj_dh4pwNEr6v-0VQVzNN7s1XlNzzhOXXOH4ahH_RtSFjmNpU/s200/Picture+016.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />My bed in the dorm room<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvh3u5oZsTXkytOIbUODSqJCUyjLIJZhkQKtflSkeLXOqL4bFcnrBfAJMFuIoy3YanByYIlPQPGipD-uQHFBttwqLjlRjBGP_i3F8F6l5Wu4fiVdctaQjXxCgwEgxP1g4zgmtgtgON8U/s1600-h/Picture+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327099565125065698" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvh3u5oZsTXkytOIbUODSqJCUyjLIJZhkQKtflSkeLXOqL4bFcnrBfAJMFuIoy3YanByYIlPQPGipD-uQHFBttwqLjlRjBGP_i3F8F6l5Wu4fiVdctaQjXxCgwEgxP1g4zgmtgtgON8U/s200/Picture+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The chill area<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZ6Mts-ZAqxSKtnE9iQQVa0W5iA1o8HQvmWYflSCWA5btVJ46s_37sGgdospW4b1TWAThFBMg6zC5UL72tRmXBh7Lm2EzZzfeamUaqeGObb-4jYgzTUd-ep1Yh69DtI2l_yzH4saTYr0/s1600-h/Picture+023.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327099568840202066" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZ6Mts-ZAqxSKtnE9iQQVa0W5iA1o8HQvmWYflSCWA5btVJ46s_37sGgdospW4b1TWAThFBMg6zC5UL72tRmXBh7Lm2EzZzfeamUaqeGObb-4jYgzTUd-ep1Yh69DtI2l_yzH4saTYr0/s200/Picture+023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The bar area<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2y8XJJh0LaZB2I6QhXiuCEeqVAJmQQ3-EZVpB6npMF5nCu8jfnNHnXb5__FDr68uXHG1yO_TnJqIh8L-yuv31KiE41qxiD-OR-ceQeYix0ruJ9azVJrgwng6WRYIRXQ1pMjWDtv2inHo/s1600-h/Picture+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327099561391454882" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2y8XJJh0LaZB2I6QhXiuCEeqVAJmQQ3-EZVpB6npMF5nCu8jfnNHnXb5__FDr68uXHG1yO_TnJqIh8L-yuv31KiE41qxiD-OR-ceQeYix0ruJ9azVJrgwng6WRYIRXQ1pMjWDtv2inHo/s200/Picture+021.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>The deck down on the water<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6zc66mMgCdiuGOfMLPcs8jDNTpAAV-Au0rBTlG6qdjz9OaNn_YrnOmVVBpMniP-Hpr2oy2_dBo2kHyRxlzaofSyUHdNeZPmLkVJsQC9idKm_M2AQH0ibv07dJyZqTmDw_FapnMn_7aM/s1600-h/Picture+025.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327101086367397058" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR6zc66mMgCdiuGOfMLPcs8jDNTpAAV-Au0rBTlG6qdjz9OaNn_YrnOmVVBpMniP-Hpr2oy2_dBo2kHyRxlzaofSyUHdNeZPmLkVJsQC9idKm_M2AQH0ibv07dJyZqTmDw_FapnMn_7aM/s200/Picture+025.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The floating bungalows from the deck<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p9-3fDWl0q7bWiJiDs1JldgyU9Oml4we4E9wESzm7HJ2mmBn_NX0dTpL_p0-AQ6qx-Pw-da1hCO3PpaLP4C1U1Wqh6IFdbaFWOTP3basPg6Lf-Hj-VqGQv59dq6pCsFlDqcgEj8YTSM/s1600-h/Picture+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327101090941080258" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-p9-3fDWl0q7bWiJiDs1JldgyU9Oml4we4E9wESzm7HJ2mmBn_NX0dTpL_p0-AQ6qx-Pw-da1hCO3PpaLP4C1U1Wqh6IFdbaFWOTP3basPg6Lf-Hj-VqGQv59dq6pCsFlDqcgEj8YTSM/s200/Picture+026.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The chill area from the deck<br /><br />A few days ago after I posted on here I was going to go to town with Jess and the Israelie couple but my back tire went flat. We went from Bhodi's to Jess's place which is called the Blank Canvas and then when we left there the tire went flat when going on the road. I decided to turn back and hobble to Bhodi's and they continued to town.</div><div><br />The girl here called the bike guy's and the tire was fixed pretty quickly but I got food in the meantime. I still went to town and hung out with the paper people at the Rusty Nail. There has been a group of people staying here that all work for the Penom Phen post. They have been getting so drunk and partying so hard it is interesting to think that some of the articles I've been reading were written by these guys. </div><div><br />Anyway, after drinking with them a bit, I left when there food came and went over to Jess's place to hang out for the evening. We just chilled on the water and talked and went skinny dipping in the river. After a while we ate some rice and vegetables and then I went back to the guest house to sleep. Its cool walking around here because there are fire flies so it does feel magical.</div><div><br />The next day I relaxed again in the morning having my normal morning swim and then an interesting character came into the bar. It was an older guy with two mixed Khemur kids. He was insulting to the Khemur people and just kept talking about it and talking about how in Norway he would be arrested for drinking a beer like he was and letting his kids run around. So this strange character got most of the people in the place leave and eventually I went into town to eat the ribs at Rusty's and all the Bhodi people were there. I sat down and played cards with some of the guy's and then ate the ribs. They were actually the best ribs I've ever had. The tire on the back wheel of the bike was going flat again so I just went back to the guest house and relaxed.</div><div> </div><div>Yesterday I traded bikes and then went into Kep for the day. First I went to the Epic Arts Cafe in town which is a performing arts center and cafe for disabled people in Cambodia. That was nice and then it started raining so I stayed there for a bit. When the rain cleared I left for Kep but did end up driving through a down pore but by the time I got to Kep I was dry. Kep was nice and very busy with people. I walked through the crab market and then went to the beach. The beach was narrow and golden in color and again full of Khemur people. I think there were so many people because it was the Saturday after the new year. Anyway, I drank a beer and then went back to Bhodi's and played pool until I went to sleep.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0MMFipZ7ZvodsiW_uQjXdvnz7L9Yh8lkGAv5ULYodAGF5OwcLFlOqdMPBIraJQeTI9gwxnEBhkpYxK0ELWRFylq6MWm4X5nm0UYr2Bw0hJhU478s_5nIhZrDTZFGTpi1UwPzsa36KmI/s1600-h/Picture+017.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327099555784284658" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0MMFipZ7ZvodsiW_uQjXdvnz7L9Yh8lkGAv5ULYodAGF5OwcLFlOqdMPBIraJQeTI9gwxnEBhkpYxK0ELWRFylq6MWm4X5nm0UYr2Bw0hJhU478s_5nIhZrDTZFGTpi1UwPzsa36KmI/s200/Picture+017.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The Kep beach<br /><br />Now its the morning here and I've had my morning swim and am using Jess's computer again. Its interesting here at Bhodi's because besides the long term travelers who stay here a lot of people from NGO's also stay here for days off. They do intense work around Cambodia and then come here to unwind so much of the time they are getting very drunk. Its very interesting. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-Demysql8zjRnM-sGGLruNjr6PdTiZppPTELHiIWVBUI9eK-U_eeqEwcp422VE4mqmpYrS01SMgveh6jWP2_hBhS52BomEtsNYjp9NVGVJJUve9OeOpyuAMxFIWNt2Fad9aud_Sv3Fo/s1600-h/Picture+024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327101098591901330" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD-Demysql8zjRnM-sGGLruNjr6PdTiZppPTELHiIWVBUI9eK-U_eeqEwcp422VE4mqmpYrS01SMgveh6jWP2_hBhS52BomEtsNYjp9NVGVJJUve9OeOpyuAMxFIWNt2Fad9aud_Sv3Fo/s200/Picture+024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A kitten and mom that live in the dorm also<br /><br />Well, I need to leave here soon or I'll get stuck so the plan is to go to the city tomorrow. Till next time... </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-10197061948864364862009-04-15T21:21:00.000-07:002009-04-21T03:59:18.922-07:00In Kampot for the Khemur New Year<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kampot</span>, or more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">specifically</span> the Bhodi Villa guest house on the river (I actually haven't been to the town yet), is very nice and relaxing. There is a community here that consists of a bunch of long term travelers or people that decided to stay and live in this area. The place is right on the river and you can swim in the river which is nice in the heat of the day, and there is plankton in the water so at night you can see all the colors as you swim (like places on the ocean). I think its kind of a magical place where time slips away and you can completely relax.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>A few days ago I left Sihanoukville in the morning and got here by 10 or so in the morning. It turned out that someone didn't show up to stay at the floating bungalow on the river the day before so I got to stay in it. It is an amazing bungalow that is literally floating on the river so you can feel the ripples and your sleeping about 1 foot above the water level. I swam right away and laid in my bed feet from the water. I was still not feeling great so I just slept a lot and relaxed all day.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xoj_C1tsYbpQRgCWCGlsmNzoXgwJJDm1v3nkX6epibvhKDm9NxM9ObuSGISO-V8rLT2ixFrDcLjL7Gxo10T01T3HYctIHjY7rm4hMGu252IAa0a1JZhlORQuNbYUOvNJbFUNq1rLMCQ/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327093522677370962" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xoj_C1tsYbpQRgCWCGlsmNzoXgwJJDm1v3nkX6epibvhKDm9NxM9ObuSGISO-V8rLT2ixFrDcLjL7Gxo10T01T3HYctIHjY7rm4hMGu252IAa0a1JZhlORQuNbYUOvNJbFUNq1rLMCQ/s200/Picture+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Back of the sunset from the floating bungalow<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUT2xGdq8gO8ml0JVAAUXHb_l5ax37oeLum8J6HRQtcOPO42Dp_q6ffJlzhE6EXKXbYi8SLUt2pKpx9kljUpGlYIXVv4PFuyZkuMcZFFE4rNkRrXCJ9fF1lguONHehUpP_f-7sS_bQ9GA/s1600-h/Picture+020.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327093534214202498" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUT2xGdq8gO8ml0JVAAUXHb_l5ax37oeLum8J6HRQtcOPO42Dp_q6ffJlzhE6EXKXbYi8SLUt2pKpx9kljUpGlYIXVv4PFuyZkuMcZFFE4rNkRrXCJ9fF1lguONHehUpP_f-7sS_bQ9GA/s200/Picture+020.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The floating bungalow<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwsRnhQXXaYLqzvWkVO1DIaM4ZxGgwLyKEZtQFP1cX3KjjlRuEA8imTotv86zEbIg6K7TYbN4jXT8hFTATr0hkt7i5Ge1nYBhJUvgI6mUSgNX5WqBdP-ZQOoR5WjoNF6xipnmtMfEClE/s1600-h/Picture+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327093529685327970" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwsRnhQXXaYLqzvWkVO1DIaM4ZxGgwLyKEZtQFP1cX3KjjlRuEA8imTotv86zEbIg6K7TYbN4jXT8hFTATr0hkt7i5Ge1nYBhJUvgI6mUSgNX5WqBdP-ZQOoR5WjoNF6xipnmtMfEClE/s200/Picture+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The river view from the floating bungalow<br /></div><div>That first night was the beginning of the Khemur New Year so at exactly 1:36 am all the Khemur people lit incense and did prayers to the spirits, and the new year began (its a three day celebration). I stayed up for the 1:36 celebration and lit some incense saying my own prayers to whatever I believe in. The new year here is more of a spiritual celebration that has to do with their version of Buddhism than a huge party. Unlike the Thai new year which is also happening right now but is more of a huge party throwing water around.</div><br /><div>I really didn't do much the next couple days because I just wanted to enjoy my bungalow and get better. The second day here I met a girl from the US that is living two doors down the river. She is renting an art place with group paintings on the walls that anyone can contribute to and there are also canvases with art all over the place. It was fun to relax there, talk to the girl (Jess), and swim of course. That night she showed me the plankton, which I can't believe I didn't notice because I swam at night the night before.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz1cOS5CQNKjASqD4PLgKuS0prvhoI09ql6-3mXrQ3Lvu8pfVXn2mkHa_6niZv04RV69iiE2kmMwXxkh_w1X17Cm1Aqm9vUb9MXs-XwKTVaQr7jh95SUO8Mj7KL_sG-OFRBFf18Br_qc/s1600-h/Picture+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327093524759448594" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWz1cOS5CQNKjASqD4PLgKuS0prvhoI09ql6-3mXrQ3Lvu8pfVXn2mkHa_6niZv04RV69iiE2kmMwXxkh_w1X17Cm1Aqm9vUb9MXs-XwKTVaQr7jh95SUO8Mj7KL_sG-OFRBFf18Br_qc/s200/Picture+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Jess's place "Blank Canvas"<br /><br /><div>The next day I met Jess in the morning and then we rented bikes to go up to Bokor Mountain. Bokor Mountain is a cool place that was used for a huge casino/resort for the french near the turn of the century. Then due to the hatred of the rich that the Khemur Rouge had it was sacked and burned along with all the rich residents that were also on the mountain. For a long time it was fought for by the different armies because of its stategic location and today the building are still standing and burned. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoz_DU34CtwQ_ZRSk7oDlNXI9UW07B222hdCDdoHd_Wi7c8sa2hiD3pHroOqgorIWQMc1Cfc-1U0jgyjOQorZcC0jZmf7h8WWl4URk5oMXiT6AfmYaqtUgTOhSd1shN9EaYKDhi4gYiVI/s1600-h/Picture+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327093538862796386" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoz_DU34CtwQ_ZRSk7oDlNXI9UW07B222hdCDdoHd_Wi7c8sa2hiD3pHroOqgorIWQMc1Cfc-1U0jgyjOQorZcC0jZmf7h8WWl4URk5oMXiT6AfmYaqtUgTOhSd1shN9EaYKDhi4gYiVI/s200/Picture+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />View of the area from about half way up Bokor Mtn.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JL5jhiOz_m0s4UeZxxWio8AxwLuZdzmNahMQnjIIeVpQYW0-MfmshsFEpssUBqnRdZLfqBxcVKCfwzPGCSKyIwVZzGfFujcXH8XTP4bW3nLScd8kqUDT7COQj8UtB9JyH37yc5rNw8/s1600-h/Picture+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327096203542266626" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw0JL5jhiOz_m0s4UeZxxWio8AxwLuZdzmNahMQnjIIeVpQYW0-MfmshsFEpssUBqnRdZLfqBxcVKCfwzPGCSKyIwVZzGfFujcXH8XTP4bW3nLScd8kqUDT7COQj8UtB9JyH37yc5rNw8/s200/Picture+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Me at the top of Bokor Mountain<br /><br /><div>Right now Bokor Mountain has been closed because of some huge development that is going to happen up on the hill (development is rampant here and without regulation, so if your connected and have money you can do whatever you want) and opened up just for 4 or 5 days for the new year. Because its open only for a few days for the celebration and then will close for another year there were tons of Khemur people up there. There were large groups of families having picnics in the abandoned buildings, even in the old casino. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBP-Ibn9bjRfumm2QvXFrlgkOkNv0Xlyl-3OOgzVPoHs-9E5s_jgBerc90TmHfjMxJXNWb5qUKsWB0PiO6abZRYX-U-wcTv-EbfijhTUXgv4bbordR5oH0nOmsezBIq_ra4k5VRmn6nt0/s1600-h/Picture+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327096196563742866" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBP-Ibn9bjRfumm2QvXFrlgkOkNv0Xlyl-3OOgzVPoHs-9E5s_jgBerc90TmHfjMxJXNWb5qUKsWB0PiO6abZRYX-U-wcTv-EbfijhTUXgv4bbordR5oH0nOmsezBIq_ra4k5VRmn6nt0/s200/Picture+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Some cool art in an abandoned building<br /><br /><div>Jess and I had a great time seeing the burned out buildings and all the happy Khemur families. Also the casino was very big and had large halls and balconies and it was fun to imagine what it would have been like if it wasn't completely stripped and burned. The view was also amazing with a huge cliff that went down to the flatter land next to the coast. The last cool aspect was that up on the mountain you were at cloud level, or above it, so clouds would drift in and then flow over the ridge adding a cool misty-ness to the area. Overall it was a really cool place and I feel extremely lucky to have been there for the only 4-5 days its open in two years.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFSelSiDP0jm2Wq79_9Y_YN_VsB6DjVONkktypuDRIgX5ddkQW24P0yZu9Z6e1Xk0JNTReTzDsu8ihEhm7dM7cGO-3c91k1dZfcvN2CHU80hAmO0g5_sMz2F66lUiPbRbRlkN-SAtIl0/s1600-h/Picture+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327096214228672434" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFSelSiDP0jm2Wq79_9Y_YN_VsB6DjVONkktypuDRIgX5ddkQW24P0yZu9Z6e1Xk0JNTReTzDsu8ihEhm7dM7cGO-3c91k1dZfcvN2CHU80hAmO0g5_sMz2F66lUiPbRbRlkN-SAtIl0/s200/Picture+013.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The casino<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR25bX1Rohyphenhyphen14bTP3-AXzjEmnl-v5KvUJGrHezFU_mA_R50tOZx6RWNK0BoQ1hBq0oIvOySS_MYViDnD9jV_ikWZgOv93c6Yep6lMZVHz6md6qpaPi_2sMqKynMySHP-l-hMe6mJjzmYg/s1600-h/Picture+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327096209717865042" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR25bX1Rohyphenhyphen14bTP3-AXzjEmnl-v5KvUJGrHezFU_mA_R50tOZx6RWNK0BoQ1hBq0oIvOySS_MYViDnD9jV_ikWZgOv93c6Yep6lMZVHz6md6qpaPi_2sMqKynMySHP-l-hMe6mJjzmYg/s200/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The main hall inside the casino<br /><br /><div>Then last night after we got back from the mountain there was a party here to celebrate the end of the new year. It was an interesting party but I mostly just played cards at the bar with some of the regulars I have met. I didn't stay up too late and then went to bed in the dorm room (I had the floating bungalow for two days and now I'm in the dorm). Today I've just been relaxing and am using Jess's computer that she has left at the bar for people to use with the wifi. My plan is to use the motorbike I used yesterday to go and actually see the town of Kampot.</div><br /><div>Its nice to be away from the touristy areas of Cambodia. There are not people trying to sell things to you everywhere here, and I feel safer. Cambodia is a very strange country, beautiful and ugly at the same time. Its a religious country but due to the years of Khemur Rouge rule much of the culture has been destroyed and replaced with a desperateness that you can feel. People were forced not to practice Buddhism and just work as slaves, so today people care a lot more about money than anything else. But so many people can't earn money, most people make 1-2 dollars a day. Most people don't even have a place to live because the land prices are actually pretty high so they just squat wherever they can. The number of abandoned buildings is astonishing.</div><br /><div>There is also so much corruption in the government and just everything. Most things you would want here you can't buy but need to know someone who can buy it for you, like sim cards can't be bought buy foreigners. Even the motorbike rental was just that the people here called someone and then about 15 minutes later the bikes were dropped off for us to rent. The land thing is where the biggest amount of corruption is because very few own land because of the price but people live everywhere. Because of this when someone does something with land, like an ugly misplaced development, a bunch of families are pushed off the land. This financial crisis could not have come at a better time for Cambodia because the land prices are going down, and the developments are stopping so people aren't getting kicked off their land as much and the natural beauty is not being destroyed like it was only one year ago.</div><br /><div>Anyway, overall its a beautiful place and anything you would want to do you can. Thats what a lot of people like about Cambodia. There really are no restrictions on anything. If you can pay for it you can do it. There is even a place where you can shoot a tank if you have 300 dollars to spend. Also, you do use dollars here. I guess 5-10 years ago they decided to start using dollars because the riel was having so many currency issues. Today you use dollars for everything and riel is used for change. You can spend riel for anything also but its always translated into how many dollars that riel would be worth. Because of the riel/dollar thing there are no coins here which is kinda cool. Well, thats all for now, no pictures again because I'm using Jess's computer but I'll get them up eventually. Peace and love to all</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-34614695534983670872009-04-12T07:00:00.000-07:002009-04-21T03:22:54.814-07:00Still in Sihanoukville<div><div>Now I am traveling alone again. Basically we were all just crossing paths. Dharma left first then Gabe left the next day and then Sarah left today. Sarah and I were going to go to Kampot today but I got very sick. Most travelers know what kind of sick I'm talking about but starting two nights ago I could hardly get to the bathroom, couldn't keep anything down, couldn't hardly move, just slept and sweat. Now I'm feeling better. At least I've been able to move around today and have kept everything down.<br /><br />I haven't really done much in Sihanoukville, just a lot of catching up with friends. After my last blog I got desterbing e-mail from a friend that got me very worried. I think everything is fine but for a couple days it was hard for me to think of much else. Also everyone else kinda just wanted to relaxe on the beach. They have had much more of a culture shock than me coming to Cambodia starting with scams right across the boarder. Then there are the crazy stories you hear. It just isn't as safe here due to the poverty of the people. You can tell by all the armed guards protecting the guest houses here.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLmgePreDxgbSNQRWfpfyfIWEJrt4v_N_RjtwdGIa6ewe0XtqJUTZtppyvQcdeOdcydVX9HLjiY5D1O3PG4BGA2Dll_zvOmCXOuG4dhVE1Sc2WL-kN6y2oLu1yRDrEJer6IPpnHTfEhw/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327087190199395986" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLmgePreDxgbSNQRWfpfyfIWEJrt4v_N_RjtwdGIa6ewe0XtqJUTZtppyvQcdeOdcydVX9HLjiY5D1O3PG4BGA2Dll_zvOmCXOuG4dhVE1Sc2WL-kN6y2oLu1yRDrEJer6IPpnHTfEhw/s200/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Chillin on the beach</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQcCsxW_0vJ3RCJiBX63gibdiwSnTZOIDjq-TfToPd87KxlY4Z5-xPIYJ8jg2hy5J5d3aVQ82aAbbmHm3L6BXOFVySo80ThzIU6xg-AzPJzbWG2VTeiMXx_W1HBhMw2y6xBDdjnj2DVM/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327087190077726498" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQcCsxW_0vJ3RCJiBX63gibdiwSnTZOIDjq-TfToPd87KxlY4Z5-xPIYJ8jg2hy5J5d3aVQ82aAbbmHm3L6BXOFVySo80ThzIU6xg-AzPJzbWG2VTeiMXx_W1HBhMw2y6xBDdjnj2DVM/s200/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Chillin in front of Gabe and Sarah's room.</div><div><br />That night Dharma, Gabe and I went out to the beach to party a bit. It pretty fun. There were those comfortable chairs all around to sit on and the music was the same as it always is, this house stuff or whatever. We ended up staying up late dancing and talking to people. I ended up meeting the owners of one of the clubs. Even in the party scene you can tell a difference because anything goes here. If you can pay for it you can have it. Corruption is rampant and in your face. Even the prime minister is an ex Khemur Rough officer.<br /><br />The next day after Dharma left Gabe, Sarah and I had a mellow morning and then went to the market in the city in the afternoon. The market was a big market with stuff you would need, not touristy stuff. I needed some stuff and so did Gabe and Sarah so we shopped around a bit for what we needed. Then looked for a place to eat but decided to get closer to our guest houses before it got dark.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OdmX3lBFEkvAgqDnjUP3fcUf_PD3D0tQOW4IHwfiAQ9ukKZ0EozXGNv8FFqMM1zqe2JzPJs_HcV862VlpJsLAvyN055Ola8zfEynwe7l_It7r0UDxEOMnuvzG3Pf4ImixsZVc8zeRbA/s1600-h/Picture+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327087199625999074" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OdmX3lBFEkvAgqDnjUP3fcUf_PD3D0tQOW4IHwfiAQ9ukKZ0EozXGNv8FFqMM1zqe2JzPJs_HcV862VlpJsLAvyN055Ola8zfEynwe7l_It7r0UDxEOMnuvzG3Pf4ImixsZVc8zeRbA/s200/Picture+003.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Gabe in the tuk tuk going to the market</div><div><br />We ended up eating at a pizza place and meeting a middle aged guy who is engaged to a young Khemur girl. He just seemed completely in love with her and I'm not sure about how she felt. I'm sure she was very happy to get a more secure life and probably money for the family but he was so much older. Also the language barier seemed pretty big. We thought she would speak more english base on how he talked about her but when she came she could not speak much.<br /><br />Anyway, that night after hanging out in their room after dinner I decided to stay because I was really tired, then I got sick. I basically could not leave the room the entire next day and just barely kept the water down. Gabe left that morning, and Sarah left the next day, which was this morning. By this morning I could walk and even ate some toast. I've been doing ok all day. Its a good thing I know how to take care of myself when sick, just drink and sleep.<br /><br />Tomorrow I'm off to Kampot. I still want to go there and I'm feeling well enough to travel. I bought a ticket today from my guest house (which I haven't spent much time at becuase I was always at the other guy's place) and then a girl next to me suggested a place to stay at, but then realized it may be full because of the time of year. The Khemur new year starts tomorrow and so rates in Sihanoukville are going up, another reason I wanted to leave. The girl dialed the guest house and I talked to them. They had some shared rooms, or dorm rooms available so I booked. Only 3 dollars and it should be a relaxing place to get through the new year. Thats all for now, and the usb doesn't work here so I'll all pictures later. Peace and love to all.</div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-30399357804500266522009-04-08T07:56:00.000-07:002009-04-21T03:36:58.332-07:00In SihanoukvilleThis morning I woke up early to knocking on the door from my guest house manager waking me up for the bus ride to Sihanoukville. The ride was not too unpleasant. I was taken to the bus terminal on a bus from my guest house then we went to Sihanoukville. I slept most of the way, or I should say tried to sleep. The road was pretty good because they just finished building four bridges over rivers along the way and repaving the road. I guess just last year you had to take four ferries in order to get from Sihanoukville to Koh Krong.<br /><br /><br />As soon as I got off the bus there were taxi drivers all over me but there were enough tourist that I got out pretty good. A nice moto driver ended up taking me to the place I asked him to, which I guess is not that normal. When I got to the guesthouse I got a room and then tried to call Sarah (she called me on the bus from Bangkok to Trat and gave me the Cambodian number). Again I have lost my phone. It must have fell out in the bus, but now its really gone. I'm not sure if I'm going to get a new phone because now it seems like its not destined for me to have a phone in Cambodia. I still might buy another one but for at least a few days I'll see what its like without one. At the guesthouse I just borrowed a phone from worker there to call Sarah.<br /><br /><br />It turned out her, Dharma and Gabe had come to Sihanoukville the day before in the afternoon and evening. They were staying at a guest house only a couple minute walk from me. Its the guest house that most of the moto's take the people to no mater what they say, even my moto driver mentioned it to me. So I walked down there and it is really good to see close friends after you've traveled with them for a while, and then seperated for a while. I'm used to seeing them while traveling and know what it is like, plus now its the four of us that know each other the best as a group in Seattle also.<br /><br /><br />We all caught up on what we have been doing and soon after I got there I ran into the British girls that I met in Sukhothai. I ate some food with them while the rest of them got ready to go to the beach. We also caught up on what we've been doing because they have gone to Lao, Vietnam before coming to Cambodia 5 days ago. But I did realize how diferent it is catching up with close friends compared to people you've spent 2 days hanging out with.<br /><br /><br />The beach was interesting. There were really comfortable chairs everywhere under umbrellas with shade, a nice perfect sand beach, and little kids selling bracelets and all kinds of stuff everywhere. Dharma and Gabe started buying a couple bracelets and soon there was a group of 5 to 10. I did buy a newspaper from one but then tried to just sit and read. Some of them were really pushy but they were only kids. It definately affected the beach experience. One of the kids said that down the beach where most of the tourists are that they are not allowed to go.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIs9nE-5Y8BOkMMX6RMxlzshH74u8rhrU_Dovoo_BF0r0TK98vEvayzbhh5w6z8uZymH22OU_OpFFQcoh9yDGmRt00XzgXxZkwOYZrksl4we8q-Abx6BLFZvXG1-xuucW1sMj93qhrHA/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322343476662659298" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIs9nE-5Y8BOkMMX6RMxlzshH74u8rhrU_Dovoo_BF0r0TK98vEvayzbhh5w6z8uZymH22OU_OpFFQcoh9yDGmRt00XzgXxZkwOYZrksl4we8q-Abx6BLFZvXG1-xuucW1sMj93qhrHA/s200/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4Pk04EDLpLZcy8Jyd1xF3oO_enpWPxNdpGauvBX-BwB52LcXuBFSiOtXf6GYNNib5El6B02e3O_PnFyocKwk0FxIsrUqg5mQRhlHCFKWgCUahitQ8rilpbW6ZcavDSxudMmA2oUL4Io/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322343479851684738" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4Pk04EDLpLZcy8Jyd1xF3oO_enpWPxNdpGauvBX-BwB52LcXuBFSiOtXf6GYNNib5El6B02e3O_PnFyocKwk0FxIsrUqg5mQRhlHCFKWgCUahitQ8rilpbW6ZcavDSxudMmA2oUL4Io/s200/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The sunset tonight<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I haven't done much else with my day, just catching up and eating food. Now everyone is tired because last night they all partied for Sarah's birthday, and I'm tired because I've traveled a lot. We are all trying to figure out what we are doing in Cambodia. I think Dharma and Gabe will be around tomorrow and then go back to Thailand the next day, and Sarah and I are going to try to travel to gether for the next week or so before she moves on to somewhere else and then I see Penom Phen and Anchor wat before I go towards the Loas boarder.<br /><br /><br />Cambodia is a very different county. You can tell just from the roads, but the desperatness of the people for a sell is also apparent. The guy's have been telling me that the harassing by kids like today has been almost a constant along the tourist trail. I have to keep telling myself that I am in a different country becuase I was getting so used to Thailand. The people here act different, they look different, and have such a different history. I'll go through the tourist trail but I'm excited to see some towns most people don't see also. Well, I'm tired and need to sleep so thats all I got. Goodnight or good morning.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzlSUm3Bs-PUPbOAuSi8oUBvJYfCoTjlBy8ZdvJdFEm2fO60aFtOOSOCvPubRVknq87tct674W8ewyN7H_PHw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-14851896470225909372009-04-07T07:28:00.000-07:002009-04-21T04:52:38.459-07:00In Koh Kong CambodiaWell its been a long time again since I posted a blog but that is because I was having so much fun and then had to rush to the Cambodia boarder because my visa was about to expire. I have done a lot of fun stuff and decided that I actually like bangkok so this post will be a long one because I would like to tell as many details as I can.<br /><br />After my last blog Alyssa, Shawn (Hawaii friends) and I went to have some street food at the place I like and then went to the Blues Bar for some drinks and Moo met us there about an hour later. The bar was really small and cool with very good blues music. It was almost amazing such a place exists because only like 20 people or so could even fit inside. At the bar I ran into Mark, the older guy from Australia I met in Koh Chang. It is crazy how small the world can be sometimes. I had a really good time and made plans to meet Alyssa, Shawn and Moo the next day at the JJ market (or Chatuchak Market) and then go to the floating market the next day. That made it so I had to run for the boarder when it was all done but it was well worth it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmleJW6pCcdzhaGEH0kDe3H17tpJW-zBArVJ1wM6NBjWJlk0nPsEjdiaHm2hyphenhyphenXRVb3RHPdTvJ9tpQzXgNS5vgeTwYQC5NGLwevQbLQZqN8PwXMIkVdea5Tv9qmQdcMii_xmMtJkwV8VvY/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321979181372720578" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmleJW6pCcdzhaGEH0kDe3H17tpJW-zBArVJ1wM6NBjWJlk0nPsEjdiaHm2hyphenhyphenXRVb3RHPdTvJ9tpQzXgNS5vgeTwYQC5NGLwevQbLQZqN8PwXMIkVdea5Tv9qmQdcMii_xmMtJkwV8VvY/s200/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The group of us at the Blues Bar<br /><br />The next day after I had some breakfast I started walking towards the subway through China town (I took the skytrain one day so I wanted to try the subway). I called Alyssa on the way and found out that we weren't going to meet at the market until later in the day so I decided to stop at Wat Pho on the way (thats the Wat with the big reclining Buddha. On the walk I was practically walking next to a Swedish girl so I introduced myself and we went to the Wat together.<br /><br />The Wat was cool. Similar architecture as the grand palace and associated Wat and the Buddha was impressive. We walked around the Wat looking at all the building and Buddha's and talking. She was in her last year of high school and came to Thailand for a final project working with an orphanage, she wanted to teach them to swim or something. After the Wat she decided to walk with me through China town as I walked to the subway because she wanted to do some shopping. On the walk some dark clouds were approaching so she turned back around half way and I just made it into the subway before the rains came.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqrqbBNMd8Qvzt5JbLgH2ocybYZPt9mFEUE5kuBK9g9frDVT0bpSznLg647MM2PSPYpkLW4l_f4KSSTiy3WoCy9AYfM2rhyphenhyphenNT5zZB7vYsNudkaWgDrAo4AeakiJaKGrwbd3fOki3Urlk/s1600-h/Picture+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321979197591849042" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqrqbBNMd8Qvzt5JbLgH2ocybYZPt9mFEUE5kuBK9g9frDVT0bpSznLg647MM2PSPYpkLW4l_f4KSSTiy3WoCy9AYfM2rhyphenhyphenNT5zZB7vYsNudkaWgDrAo4AeakiJaKGrwbd3fOki3Urlk/s200/Picture+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_FrhBcXDxfd-9uffkJEUgiAMmdsfEPbQhYHyMzRaAZqDSK1Bhyphenhyphen1XCfj9wlq3HaJJPcCoVpqiHCv2nDOEmqd4eTuem0pTT5C_U35XACaf1zcKi1Jv1SBdEOcO5qNdtbEX2FhlfXErG7E/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321979195972678514" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0_FrhBcXDxfd-9uffkJEUgiAMmdsfEPbQhYHyMzRaAZqDSK1Bhyphenhyphen1XCfj9wlq3HaJJPcCoVpqiHCv2nDOEmqd4eTuem0pTT5C_U35XACaf1zcKi1Jv1SBdEOcO5qNdtbEX2FhlfXErG7E/s200/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The reclining Buddha<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6162ibuxJFFAEg_hXNWn8YfgRrNelzob3sIQ8lGSwL5wRNEFuDD2vzSJKRJ9LdkLCL0PEUsDadVkGC-Sj8OvB37i-hE2S0wKkDcWhpZdOYBpN7_2atbJsLy2Hbe8vGQ8oSHLfQfr3xGc/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321979200577244114" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6162ibuxJFFAEg_hXNWn8YfgRrNelzob3sIQ8lGSwL5wRNEFuDD2vzSJKRJ9LdkLCL0PEUsDadVkGC-Sj8OvB37i-hE2S0wKkDcWhpZdOYBpN7_2atbJsLy2Hbe8vGQ8oSHLfQfr3xGc/s200/Picture+004.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Wat Pho<br /><br />When I got out of the subway it was still dumping so I waited inside the terminal until the rain calmed down. When the rains died down I began walking through the market and when they stopped I called Alyssa and said they should come on over and meet me (they were waiting for the rain to stop). The market was crazy! The biggest market I have ever seen with all kinds of crazy stuff like a full section of pets and an art section that was like a museum. I met Alyssa and Shawn and they said Moo was just behind them (she was coming straight from work).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVnEFnOOGchfeMkmJ30KKq7QwnuTong9M8aoWmF1j8uKNinqtQdWBt4UWG9wCKjUbRUEg4zm32fW7TyK6TzIpAH3WlKUgmH9E33VSN0l5-Eu_QFRkonQFTjtyEpZAJB3FqQe-MogMSz8/s1600-h/Picture+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321979206155946978" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVnEFnOOGchfeMkmJ30KKq7QwnuTong9M8aoWmF1j8uKNinqtQdWBt4UWG9wCKjUbRUEg4zm32fW7TyK6TzIpAH3WlKUgmH9E33VSN0l5-Eu_QFRkonQFTjtyEpZAJB3FqQe-MogMSz8/s200/Picture+005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />At JJ market<br /><br />We walked around the market for a while and then went to visit with Moo's friend that is an artist and has a display in the art section. It was cool to hang out there because when I walked through by myself I saw all the Thai people hanging out and thought to myself "boy they look like they are having fun, wouldn't that be fun to hang out with these guys", then later I was. After a few beers we went to eat at a good place Moo knows and her friend came and another guy from the market. By the time we left the market it was closed so we had to scale the fence to get out. The food was excellent at the place Moo took us to. It was cool because we just sat down and Moo ordered for us and she knows what is good.<br /><br />After dinner we dropped the two guys from the art gallery at a place to catch a taxi and all went to Moo's place to sleep so we could get up in the morning for the floating market. In the morning we had some traditional Vietnamese breakfast and then got on the road to go to the floating market. The market was great and it was nice because you could tell Moo loved it and was not just taking us there because we were tourists. The market was on some isles along a river with shops and there were venders in boats along the river. It was quite crowded with very little farang (which you know makes me happy) and it took a while to go anywhere.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzRAYBEF7QyX9t8z1RZpDtjIUZ3m21j5ZtSkLV9dU06N1uTKTxo5BCqDsqCyiktXvlumv9qBV0JDo_Sh6MqIjGIMaHxQXtTl04OlDCCV7f1RgDKBp1o75SI158BpQjPvOliIk0LLTLVQ/s1600-h/Picture+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321986232617615554" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzRAYBEF7QyX9t8z1RZpDtjIUZ3m21j5ZtSkLV9dU06N1uTKTxo5BCqDsqCyiktXvlumv9qBV0JDo_Sh6MqIjGIMaHxQXtTl04OlDCCV7f1RgDKBp1o75SI158BpQjPvOliIk0LLTLVQ/s200/Picture+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIpkKzfEvcBcsz758KoMrdiq7TXhYSkCtm0Upe_6Gsobogu-ZIRfdJ63-jHAiryNId5OTcHtPyThYfM3fT40S115BUPYRLOMMcL3u9pN_k6gW4TI6vwiE8OoY0zzv2RxJnemhefCYwRI/s1600-h/Picture+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321986247629497298" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWIpkKzfEvcBcsz758KoMrdiq7TXhYSkCtm0Upe_6Gsobogu-ZIRfdJ63-jHAiryNId5OTcHtPyThYfM3fT40S115BUPYRLOMMcL3u9pN_k6gW4TI6vwiE8OoY0zzv2RxJnemhefCYwRI/s200/Picture+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The floating market<br /><br />After walking around a bit we got on a boat to go up the river and visit some temples that are some of Moo's favorite temples. I always get strange feeling and chills when going to the temples and seeing the people praying. Its like I can feel the spirituality in the air. Also Moo could tell us about the temple and what people were doing so it made the whole temple experience that much richer. A couple of the Monks at the temples blessed me with water and gave me bracelets, one of which I still have on. The monks seemed to give me special attention and Moo said it was because I looked like a holy man in the woods, and because I look like Jesus (how many times have I heard that).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGu_iv94h_YVlkhbPNyJjJtbSD2n5QkoJLGnN_zD4s9Xe8aU4vWeWh8Uqly3lv4fXksky4oNqDPO2kdO0GAkO2S-8Qjx9ob_ja8V3rHllQteGnkqrtyuYhn8_gEGjylqDH14LeBmBoNk/s1600-h/Picture+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321986243674318018" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGu_iv94h_YVlkhbPNyJjJtbSD2n5QkoJLGnN_zD4s9Xe8aU4vWeWh8Uqly3lv4fXksky4oNqDPO2kdO0GAkO2S-8Qjx9ob_ja8V3rHllQteGnkqrtyuYhn8_gEGjylqDH14LeBmBoNk/s200/Picture+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A really cool old temple that Moo brought us to<br /><br />After getting back to the floating market we got some food and while eating the power went out. It actually made the market a bit cooler because candles started popping up everywhere and there was some acoustic music across the water. We went over towards the music and while watching and listening the power came back on (I got that on video). We sat down for some drinks and then headed back to Bangkok.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Hzf7wSmWEtUPqxUv8GlRYhT1g2tgpi4vBUy9i_EbFpbOb4XIwEbLu5RjtstGv8r-hi5L30VXb2VsgR6velQ1tDCH7JNw6ffUp8iAHzG_p0na1dEIIPlRdelt2AkatZzAGKj4Eqg6Fo4/s1600-h/Picture+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321986254573135426" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Hzf7wSmWEtUPqxUv8GlRYhT1g2tgpi4vBUy9i_EbFpbOb4XIwEbLu5RjtstGv8r-hi5L30VXb2VsgR6velQ1tDCH7JNw6ffUp8iAHzG_p0na1dEIIPlRdelt2AkatZzAGKj4Eqg6Fo4/s200/Picture+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Sunset over the floating market<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nJlxQvR26Y4I3tURPpAC3EouxcAQgm1zr1ZzI_Quc6LpduZc6TvlqGN5YYB9mgh5A-1G8wS9mO4s1X0L8YUDBaOx7XVdPOEpolDHmoeIeiQBQa-Wffo5RHEQpjalJAuPYck7-YsOk9k/s1600-h/Picture+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321986257838071122" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nJlxQvR26Y4I3tURPpAC3EouxcAQgm1zr1ZzI_Quc6LpduZc6TvlqGN5YYB9mgh5A-1G8wS9mO4s1X0L8YUDBaOx7XVdPOEpolDHmoeIeiQBQa-Wffo5RHEQpjalJAuPYck7-YsOk9k/s200/Picture+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX_AboV88oRXtbQoeGkd9ltDWC1qNHD9UuKMKTbEK7ki-VbpVON3nkWE0t-cO_5D8sVxBG7OfykkPK0tG27aRnOcYlXKb9OpLxHVekbdDVGLz59LuUEJ8adi1YjZAwA8vpMTKnd7hdT0/s1600-h/Picture+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321988892319327250" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTX_AboV88oRXtbQoeGkd9ltDWC1qNHD9UuKMKTbEK7ki-VbpVON3nkWE0t-cO_5D8sVxBG7OfykkPK0tG27aRnOcYlXKb9OpLxHVekbdDVGLz59LuUEJ8adi1YjZAwA8vpMTKnd7hdT0/s200/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Hanging out having some drinks at the floating market<br /><br />They dropped me off at the subway for me to get back to the Kao San area and we all said goodbye because I was leaving the next day. Almost right away I realized I lost my phone and started to freak out. The only place it could be was in Moo's truck or at the market, so I rushed back to my guest house as fast as possible and got onto the internet. I knew they were going to go to the internet place after they dropped me off so I hoped I could catch them. Luckally I did catch Moo while she was on the internet and she did have my phone in the truck, so I just packed my bag checked out of the guest house and took a taxi to Moo's place. I was reunited with my phone and we all stayed up really late talking. It was really nice talking to Moo because she told me a lot about Thai culture that I didn't know and I could tell her about farang culture so it was a mutual exchange.<br /><br />The next day we just had breakfast, went to a photo place for Alyssa, dropped me off at the bus terminal, and said our goodbyes again. The bus ride went fine (I slept most of the way) and I got a place easily. The place I was at organized trips to the boarder so I had to be up at 5 am the next day, which is today. Of coarse again I couldn't decide if I wanted to go straight to Sihanoukville or stay at the boarder town of Koh Kong and just decided last minute to go to Koh Kong and see what it was like.<br /><br />This morning I woke up early before the sun was up and started the journey to the boarder (no where near where the fighting is, I did look into it). We all got to the boarder before the gates were open. It was quite a spectacle with Khemurs waiting to get into Thailand to work and a row or motorbike taxis lined up to drive then to work. The people got on the bikes almost as fast as the bikes could come and were zipping off before the people had hardly got onto the seat. The boarder went fine because I already had a visa and I negotiated hard to not get ripped off getting into Koh Kong.<br /><br />Koh Kong is a really nice town. In the morning I talked to a Khemur guy who works with an NGO on green farming and stuff, we talked for about an hour. Then I walked to the market to get a bowl of noodle soup. Everyone talked about how the Cambodians try to rip you off but here they seem very honest. I just ordered stuff and worried about the price later like I would in Thailand. After breakfast I walked around the town and ended up meeting an old retired British guy and we went for some coffee. He was an interesting guy who has lived in the area for over 10 years (Thailand and Cambodia) and was very blunt about the fact that he is a sex tourist. I try not to judge so we hung out for a while and talked about our different perspectives on life. I even went back to see where he was staying because it is on the water, a bit nicer, and cheaper than where I am staying. After lunch with him I headed back to my guest house for a nap, had some dinner, and now I am here.<br /><br />All in all Cambodia is very nice so far. Tomorrow I have a ticket to go to Sihanoukville. I would probably spend a few days here but I know Sarah, Dharma, and Gabe will be going to Sihanoukville tomorrow and it would be nice to meet them. Dharma and Gabe are headed back to Thailand for the Thai new years so if I don't go to meet them tomorrow I might miss them and I would like to catch up on what we have been doing while traveling apart. Well thats all for now, I think it is very long but I got all the details in. I could probably write more about my feelings and perspectives on some stuff but then it would be way too long.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyEzAeG4UmukSAuYV1Niu5PCMnYztkns413aEeNMenuWjFGTDB-Xp5En6W95x89_wO964Uy8J1CQ235OwdIyQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-12159910290968232712009-04-03T03:20:00.000-07:002009-04-03T07:03:41.596-07:00Bangkok's growing on meThe last couple days in bangkok have actually been really fun. After writing this blog a couple days ago I took a nap and then went on a walk around the area. I went to a park near the river first where there is a fort. I looked at the river and then left passing by some break dancers and watched them for a while. Then I went to Kao San and walked down that street. I wasn't sure what to do, just listened to music that sounded good.<br /><br />I was looking through CD's at this stand and then turned around to see an elephant on the road (kinda sad). Then standing next to me was a Thai girl that recognized me and I recognized her. After talking for a bit we realized that we met in Mae Sot. She was with the three guy's from Hawaii that I met that were staying in the same guest house as me. Her name is Moo and she was entertaining two girls and a guy from Hawaii also. We all hung out for the night and then around 1 they took a cab back to Moo's place after we made plans to hang out at Moo's the next day for some dinner.<br /><br />I wasn't quite tired so I actually went to a club on Kao San called "the Club" and danced to the house music for a while until I was tired. The next day, yesterday, I woke up lazily and went to the street food place that I like. Again I ran into the Colorado guy and the German girl. We talked while eating and then they went off. Soon after that I met a British couple and we ended up talking for about 3 hours. They just came from India and Nepal the day before, and are both really good people.<br /><br />While hanging out I was getting texts from Moo saying we were meeting at her place at 6:30 and how to get there. I took a nap after talking to the British couple and then left at about 5:30 to go way out to the edge of Bangkok. I took a motorbike taxi over to the skytrain. Then the skytrain to the very last stop, and then a taxi to Moo's place. It all took way longer than I thought it would because of trafic and I was an hour late.<br /><br />The night was really fun. We all ate the amazing food that Moo cooked and then played Jenga until we started to get tired. The guy and girls from Hawaii are really nice and Moo is fun. Her condo is really small (Thai style) and she had cushins on the floor that we sat on to hang out. I ended up sleeping there on the cushins and so did everyone else (it was just too far from the Kao San area).<br /><br />This morning Moo went to work early. She works in some sort of construction industry for a company that her brother owns. Then the rest of us woke up a bit late. They all planned to go to Kanchanaburi today. After a while we got hungry so we went to the mall near there and ate in the food court. After that I bought some new headphones (my other ones broke in one ear) and then we went back to the condo. It was late so they decided not to go to Kanchanaburi today, but one really wanted to. So we all got a taxi to Kao San because I needed to pick up my passport with the visas and they wanted to see about the bus to Kanchanaburi and the one brought her bags to leave today because she wanted to get out of Bangkok.<br /><br />Now I'm doing this and will meet up with the two that are left and hang out with Moo again. This all has been nice becuase I'm realizing this is an ok big city, with all the bad big city stuff, but some nice things too. Most of the people in Thailand work here so there are jobs and money, and if your not on Kao San they leave you alone and live their lives. I still want to meet the San Fran guy I met a couple days ago and hang out in the Sukomvit area so I actually might stay an extra day to do that (it will be saturday night tomorrow). Plus I realized I don't have time to go to the big Koh Chang so I'm just going to Trat near Cambodia until my visa expires and then going to Cambodia. I have my visas for Cambodia and Laos now and my passport back so everything is looking good. Well I'm off to go meet the friends I've made and figure out what we are doing for fun tonight!<br /><br />I'm back on the internet with my Hawaii friends and I added a bunch of pictures that I got from the group. Some new ones from the trek, full moon party pictures, and some others so check them out if you want.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-4357153044782090192009-04-01T06:12:00.000-07:002009-04-01T06:41:21.341-07:00In Bangkok getting visasI'm back in Bangkok and it's the same city I remember. The main thing I notice is that there are a lot less travelers now. Before it was busy even at 2 in the morning but now there are a lot less travelers here. Its a good thing and a bad. The streets are easier to manouver through but the hustlers are a bit more agressive because they have to be. Last night I had three thai whores grab my arm and insist that they were coming back to my room for boom boom. I practically had to push them away.<br /><br />So, after my last blog I went with Tom (the British guy) and Ben (the Finland guy) to the Ranong hot springs. It was the first time either of them had been to a hot spring. They seemed to enjoy it and deffinately were not used to soaking in really hot water. When I got all the way in the 108 or so water they were both impressed. I think that was a good hot spring for first timers. After the soak we just went back to town, had something to eat, and then went to the room in the guest house and had some beers before going to sleep (Tom and I shared a room).<br /><br />The next day was a basic traveling day but the bus ride took way longer than expected. We all woke up around 9 and had some breakfast. Then we packed and went to the bus terminal. They were both headed over to Koh Phan-gan, so they went together, and I was headed to Bangkok. I missed the 10:30 bus so I had to wait until the 13:30 bus. The ride was so long I didn't get into Bangkok until about midnight. I had met a nice guy from Colorado with his girlfriend from Germany on the boat from koh Chang, then at breakfast, and then on the bus to Bangkok, so we shared a taxi to Kao San Road. They are good people and we split up once out of the taxi.<br /><br />I walked straight to the place I stayed at before that had the 150 B single rooms. Again the lack of people was evident right away, tons of rooms open, and not hardly any people milling around. As I got closer to the guest house I could hear live music. There was a rock/punk concert in the street about 2-3 doors down from my guest house with a decent sized crowd. I checked into my room got a beer and joined the crowd. It wasn't quite my style of music but the scene was fun to see. It was mostly Thai people and what looked like Indian people (I think because it was an inian resturant that was putting on the concert).<br /><br />The music ended around 1 and the crowd was very drunk and not ready to stop partying. I talked to an indian guy from Bangkok and a Chinese guy from San Francisco that lives in Bangkok now. They were fun to talk to and after the crowd had disipated mostly me, the San Fran guy, and a friend of his from Texas who also lives in Bangkok went to central Kao San to have a drink. It was fun to talk and maybe they will take me out to have some drinks in a neighborhood that is more local tomorrow. They both didn't like Kao San very much because of how it doesn't really feel like Thailand and is some kind of perverted western place.<br /><br />After some drinks I went back to my room, thats when the whores wouldn't leave me alone. Before I stayed out that late but I think all the girls were employed in people beds but now there just aren't enough people to boom boom all the whores. Today has been a lazyish day. I got breakfast and ran into the Colorado guy and the German girl again, then went to deal with the visas. I paid for both the Cambodian visa and the Laos visa and its lucky I did it now because the embasies are closed next week and the following week because of holidays and there are only two more working days left in this week. So, I had to pay to get both of them quickly but I think it will be worth it.<br /><br />It is amazing how fast this 15 day visa is going by. I only have 6 days until I have to leave the country. I have to spend two more days here and then I only have 4 days to see something and leave. That doesn't give me enough time to see the big Koh Chang like I wanted to so I've decided just to go to Trat for a couple days and then to Cambodia. I was one day late to see Gabe, Dharma, and Sarah because they all left in the morning for Cambodia the day I got in at night. Maybe I'll see them in Cambodia when I go, maybe not, I'll just keep in touch and see if it works. Also this blog thing is interesting because now I have gotten some comments from people I don't know or can't figure out who they are (like Tofu Hunter). I bet there are a lot more people reading this than I realize which is strange and cool at the same time. Anyway, thats all for now, peace and love to all!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-89129017583617628202009-03-30T04:27:00.000-07:002009-04-01T07:50:46.826-07:00Back in RanongI left Ko Chang this afternoon on the one in the afternoon boat. It was hard to leave such a wonderful and relaxing place but because of my two week visa I need to keep moving and get closer to Cambodia. My plan is to go to Bangkok tomorrow and deal with my visa stuff for Cambodia and Laos (I decided to drop Vietnam on this trip), and then go to the big Ko Chang until my visa runs out.<br /><br />I haven't really done much in the last few days on Ko Chang, which was very nice! I would just wake up in the morning and go right into the ocean. The timing seemed to be just right where when I woke up the tide was all the way in and I could go swimming almost right outside my bungalow. After the ocean I would shower and have food. Then I did a bunch of nothing. I would talk to the people around like the guy from Finland, and an older guy from Australia I met, and a British guy that was staying at the bungalows next to us. They were all good people and fun to hang out with.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmlnW-vle6Q8Ad3CEK3oMUcq14URAEUx78jOVSPGq6qpXjUvI80LyT5zaunyh0RNdOj9xN5f1nPaSlO3bZHyf_DYR7U0ZhOk-1gf-Qcn4ccuaSKQ9FY3UBc8GWNgziZDQt6eW8cBBTQg/s1600-h/Picture.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319732709704148354" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmlnW-vle6Q8Ad3CEK3oMUcq14URAEUx78jOVSPGq6qpXjUvI80LyT5zaunyh0RNdOj9xN5f1nPaSlO3bZHyf_DYR7U0ZhOk-1gf-Qcn4ccuaSKQ9FY3UBc8GWNgziZDQt6eW8cBBTQg/s200/Picture.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div>looking back down the beach towards my bungalows (mid tide)</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjNXozBqyY1ieLyRv3wsVuJ5wRCoaWd0MQuenjbQxkrLyRLfBvC8hYYvsX7lcwRqDiMMjhrdXbPm3Dwo7KEmMHwqMZpt1EWnFaABYsqWIDuI6ph71cACO-e6srthTiaLJbLiehTe4pIQ/s1600-h/Picture+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319732718697340866" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjNXozBqyY1ieLyRv3wsVuJ5wRCoaWd0MQuenjbQxkrLyRLfBvC8hYYvsX7lcwRqDiMMjhrdXbPm3Dwo7KEmMHwqMZpt1EWnFaABYsqWIDuI6ph71cACO-e6srthTiaLJbLiehTe4pIQ/s200/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>looking down the beach away from my bungalows (low tide)</div><div><br />One day I layed around in Paradise Bungalow all day hanging out with the owner there, and rains came in the afternoon so it was nice to stay under cover. The next day I did the internet thing. The next day I went over the hill to the south and saw another beach over there with the British guy. Then on our way back we stopped of at a guest house that has cashew and mango wine. The wine was actually really good, and strong, and cheep, a bad combination. My last day I walked south along the long beach and over another hill to another beach to the south (also with the British guy). </div><div><br />There's not a lot else I did. Just drinking shakes by day and beers by night, and hanging out at Paradise (which is where I'll stay when I come back). Another notable thing is that the owner of the guest house I stayed at (Swasdee Resort) was a really good cook. I tried to eat other places to spead my money around but didn't really succeed because Noi was such a good cook. The weather was also pretty good. The first two days it rained in the afternoon, covering up the sunsets, but then it all cleared up and there were good sunsets the last three nights.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG0feMVE09f44_sAW-ogvIevWSR8nete3lkG-b_CKponVSjdIagjFxdwUKm2lN6HecLwsXbVxuXb8lYKg2zFrIhLLiyIechO6FCTd09E22v6O8WOKZEb18J4n3SqXJgj7wr-yq5kp-wM/s1600-h/Picture+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319732713038083474" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPG0feMVE09f44_sAW-ogvIevWSR8nete3lkG-b_CKponVSjdIagjFxdwUKm2lN6HecLwsXbVxuXb8lYKg2zFrIhLLiyIechO6FCTd09E22v6O8WOKZEb18J4n3SqXJgj7wr-yq5kp-wM/s200/Picture+010.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>First good sunset!</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaYSufDC_Xtq9egtJMwhzwzta5_Lkcnj6RClyGwnlnsz2OpULbAqrIwalntmme4b1MsQHXyCexFEJndLvkvXxQaVZp78xvCtjKixSGrVFi6iOXaIIwf3XV1uxBUkcTIEKUyuQjlB9psA/s1600-h/Picture+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319732722170834674" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaYSufDC_Xtq9egtJMwhzwzta5_Lkcnj6RClyGwnlnsz2OpULbAqrIwalntmme4b1MsQHXyCexFEJndLvkvXxQaVZp78xvCtjKixSGrVFi6iOXaIIwf3XV1uxBUkcTIEKUyuQjlB9psA/s200/Picture+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui_6VRuN-M5K07UIYXWxe86jSdM2g7x5n8ETs-7q3U711G_PhSLNKRkalRNJtNvxXQMHcQ8PlVttHyTJdN-6kGRvlOCJn06-RJhnFfH2oS2zl5lx2TOMknXNLQRSemRVHg8fmBFzbAaw/s1600-h/Picture+013.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319732723763033554" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiui_6VRuN-M5K07UIYXWxe86jSdM2g7x5n8ETs-7q3U711G_PhSLNKRkalRNJtNvxXQMHcQ8PlVttHyTJdN-6kGRvlOCJn06-RJhnFfH2oS2zl5lx2TOMknXNLQRSemRVHg8fmBFzbAaw/s200/Picture+013.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Sunset two days later (the day before I left)</div><div><br />Now its off traveling again, and back to Bangkok again. I left the island with the guy from Finland, and the British guy I met. Tomorrow they are both going over to Ko Phan-gan and I'm going to Bangkok but we will all go to the bus terminal together. We got a room together in Ranong and are planning to go to the hot springs tonight and its been fun with these guys. I'm not too excited to go back to the city and leave the beach but then I can spend some days at the big Ko Chang. I've heard good things and it should be cool to see. Then I can take a boat right from there to Cambodia but you need to have your visa first, thats why I'm getting the visa in Bangkok. Well thats all for nowand I'll make sure to get pictures on here when I'm in Bangkok, peace and love to all!</div></div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-43128050437513998232009-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:002009-04-01T07:31:53.723-07:00Relaxing in Ko Chang (the small one)Ko Chang is a really nice small island, that is very relaxed and there is not a lot to do. I like that right now. I've been on islands but they have had a parties and a lot of tourists. Here there are very few tourists, even though the main buisness is tourism, and the ones that are here just love the quiet. After the group it is really nice to just lay on the beach, talk to other people (who by now I have seen for a few days), and read my book.<br /><br />So, a couple days ago when I did the visa run to Myanmar it was very interesting. As expected, it was kinda hectic with a lot of people wanting some money, or trying to get money from you somehow, and a wierd procedure getting the visa. I booked a boat trip through a tourist thing at the guest house I was at, so I had a ride to and from the pier and the boat trip was paid for. I needed 10 dollars US for the Burmese government, but the bill I had was too old, so I paid 500 baht. I met a really nice guy who was staying on Ko Phan-gan (where the full moon party was) and he made me want to go back. I felt like I didn't see the island before, but just the party, so I was thinking it was a good oportunity to see it.<br /><br />I spent the rest of the day contemplating what to do, stick with my plan of the laid back small Ko Chang, or go back to Phan-gan. In the end I chose Ko Chang but I changed my mind about 10 times through the day. I also went to the Ranong hot springs for the entire afternoon and evening. They were really nice, and free because they are government owned. It was all paved and tile but the pools were good temperatures (controlled by valves) and there were a lot of locals there. Some locals told me stories of how the spring water had saved peoples lives. I don't know if I believe the stories but I do believe hot springs in general have good health benefits.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02IAC4UV4oZrOOLx3RQ1q3nL0bG7AO1AIwYE14yrazeq4NMUboGvBZWcFtHaP7_EAwt9ZHEITZg1kqB0SWB1WQRLaqpv-kJeECxsTDoj3ulNAyHO1CbI8X26lmuf5zuHGZNfbXFYTryw/s1600-h/Picture+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319728721963603362" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02IAC4UV4oZrOOLx3RQ1q3nL0bG7AO1AIwYE14yrazeq4NMUboGvBZWcFtHaP7_EAwt9ZHEITZg1kqB0SWB1WQRLaqpv-kJeECxsTDoj3ulNAyHO1CbI8X26lmuf5zuHGZNfbXFYTryw/s200/Picture+007.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div>The hot springs source</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoeCBEVrTboHS8pCdgy110yNozb6UFN8xovq9t5Nu_paBxAvPZaP63XjE2Mrh5bB8JB424HOXeyrwI5ukdXh6wKKvgeZNOie_-kIYr6GeGTDOzGyPGpMePPsIez7SmfI1WiJqS4iM81g/s1600-h/Picture+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319728716560979522" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoeCBEVrTboHS8pCdgy110yNozb6UFN8xovq9t5Nu_paBxAvPZaP63XjE2Mrh5bB8JB424HOXeyrwI5ukdXh6wKKvgeZNOie_-kIYr6GeGTDOzGyPGpMePPsIez7SmfI1WiJqS4iM81g/s200/Picture+006.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>the soaking pools</div><div><br />The girl at my guest house said I shouldn't walk at night to the springs because its a little out of town and its dangerous, but I did stay until past dark. So I figured I'd test my luck, but I met some nice thai people before I left and they gave me a ride back to the guest house. It didn't seem dangerous but I guess in a boarder town there is more danger than in other parts of thailand.<br /><br />The next day I got a boat in the afternoon to Ko Chang. It was a cool ride in a large long tail boat and I met a nice guy from Finland on the boat that I've been hanging out with. I didn't know where to stay but the guy I met knew about one place and a thai woman promoting her place was next door to the one the guy knew. We looked at both and chose the one the woman owned. At first I thought I'd spend a couple days here and then go to Ko Phayam but I like it here too much to leave so soon. Now I'm thinking I'll skip Ko Phayam and move on to other places in a few more days.<br /><br />This island is what I think many people are imagining when they think about a tropical island. Not very many people a long nice beach and really nice places to relax at and get food at all along the beach. There is not much internet here so even right now I'm at a guest house down the beach and can hear the waves and see the water. One strange thing is that the island you can see in the distance are in Myanmar. I kinda like it though.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_xLCeoywTbPSHko7-ExEGwVF9qLH0bsKu4DKaWcbAT7yetKt0-Hqum76iHFWFPtCN-YRlF-uOO-5lgGy6lJpyf9B4xZeUWPkPmMe3ry6uB6fT3AxnBXknI2oRXn_HCzLRQ2UQF3iQvQ/s1600-h/Picture+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319728747450762498" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_xLCeoywTbPSHko7-ExEGwVF9qLH0bsKu4DKaWcbAT7yetKt0-Hqum76iHFWFPtCN-YRlF-uOO-5lgGy6lJpyf9B4xZeUWPkPmMe3ry6uB6fT3AxnBXknI2oRXn_HCzLRQ2UQF3iQvQ/s200/Picture+009.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>My bungalow</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv40jbIb88FdDfqbER1_NLKnzkpWSBsVK6ankY_ncxCOJ6ysxsGdWL6B4MCwSKUegq6L4ShJ-4WvApcepiLLsMywBTYLqd7CxWLa-knh1tEDouLa81rOZ_dkoIo2Gs0VCFCdCTrx8-aVo/s1600-h/Picture+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319728736575700962" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv40jbIb88FdDfqbER1_NLKnzkpWSBsVK6ankY_ncxCOJ6ysxsGdWL6B4MCwSKUegq6L4ShJ-4WvApcepiLLsMywBTYLqd7CxWLa-knh1tEDouLa81rOZ_dkoIo2Gs0VCFCdCTrx8-aVo/s200/Picture+008.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>The view from my bungalow (high tide)</div><div><br />The first day I found the mellow place to hang out almost right away. Its a bungalow a couple places down the way from me with an incredibly kind thai woman as the owner. Yesterday I hung out all day and into the night and she just told me to pay later because it was late and she trusted me to pay the bill before I leave the island. That first night I went back from her place and hung out with a group of Russian people, really one Russian, one German/Russian, and one girl who is more like a europeon gypsy from Equador (she has lived all over and speaks over 5 languages). They were very cool people and I hung out with them all night until pretty late.<br /><br />The following day (yesterday) I also hung out with the russians and the guy from finland. The German/Russian had some wonderful music he was listening to and that night burned me a DVD with some of the music. Also the Russian guy used to be in the Soviet army so he was very interesting to talk to. He said I was the first American he hung out with and became friends with and realized that Americans are not that different and deal with the same problems as Russians. I thought that was a really nice thing for him to tell me. The group of them actually decided to leave today and go back to Ko Phan-gan because that is their favorite place in thailand and they said this beach was too quiet for them.<br /><br />Today I haven't done much besides hang out with the guy from Finland, and an older guy from Australia. Both of them walked with me to the internet place we are at right now. I think the next few days here will be really nice to get some reading done and just swim and relax on the beach. I also think I'm really meant to travel alone. The group is nice just because you get closer to your good friends and connected in a very special way, but alone I meet more new people and have more experiences that I think will stay with me forever. Its not just a holiday when your alone, but an experience to help shape my life and personality, and teach me about the world and other cultures in a way that could not happen if I was with other friends.<br /><br />Anyways thats all for now, and I'll add pictures when the internet is not as expensive after I get off this island. Peace and love to all!</div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-57168967160721880332009-03-23T05:05:00.000-07:002009-04-03T07:02:17.304-07:00On Visa Run to RanongIt is funny how after being with the group for a while I have gotten used to it. Today I left the group, which is Dharma, Gabe, Tyler and Sarah, early in the morning because I had to make it all the way to Ranong today. Tomorrow is the last day of my two month visa so I need to go to Myanmar tomorrow to renew the visa. Since the November closing of the airports they only give you 15 days so I'm basically getting this visa so I can travel to Cambodia slower. I want to see the small Ko Chang near here and Ko Panyam, they are said to be small mellow islands that are not so touristy.<br /><br />I actually liked Ko Phi Phi more than I thought I would. We stayed in a nice guest house up the hill and next to a water reserviour. The manager was a really nice older thai guy from up north that I hung out with the whole first afternoon. I liked him and had fun talking. He could speak good english because he was raised in a church. I guess his family would send him to live with the church during the week from the age 5 to 17, and he is from a hill tribe. The hill tribe was nomatic moving locations and used to grow opium before the Thaksin war on drugs, now they can barely make money with vegitables.<br /><br />On Phi Phi the first night we went out to the party, which happens every night. It was fun, the first bar had live thai boxing, but you had to drink if you wanted to watch. It was a funny club with boxing, pool tables, and a disco (which played all the hits from the full moon party). After the rain stopped (around midnight) we went to the beach to another club (which was also playing the full moon party hits). That was fun and we all ended up drinking too many buckets. There are so many competing bars on Phi Phi that they try to get you in with free drinks.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcPPwmpjkcSkAka6R_CH0IEAUUINn0gkeTPm9RIUOa_w9UUwzCxLjSTWJOsfq_1x7eI5omdMaXbzAJd2fO0_p3AvhlG8TasB4m8ED89hlH9_elAiS2Se_NkeHJ34JPl92IlGwpelzT7k/s1600-h/IMG_3439.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320463317214759442" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcPPwmpjkcSkAka6R_CH0IEAUUINn0gkeTPm9RIUOa_w9UUwzCxLjSTWJOsfq_1x7eI5omdMaXbzAJd2fO0_p3AvhlG8TasB4m8ED89hlH9_elAiS2Se_NkeHJ34JPl92IlGwpelzT7k/s200/IMG_3439.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodxB3wBoxy_KQOculDy5vBySREs5R9MDAoMgTl2vJ1WikaQzfO2vdJsq1y5FscxKOz9KdxlP5-Eyv85aMl1suNJSQj9p6lakPuv8WHNmrPN2dsdznEro_Gg_Qy2v17XPdiCiDFk9i1jg/s1600-h/IMG_3446.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320463321412815714" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodxB3wBoxy_KQOculDy5vBySREs5R9MDAoMgTl2vJ1WikaQzfO2vdJsq1y5FscxKOz9KdxlP5-Eyv85aMl1suNJSQj9p6lakPuv8WHNmrPN2dsdznEro_Gg_Qy2v17XPdiCiDFk9i1jg/s200/IMG_3446.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div>Partying on Phi Phi</div><div><br />The next day was a recovery day with some partying on the beach at night. I went to bed kinda early because I wanted to get up and see the island on my last day there. So, I woke up early and went to the viewpoint to see the main beaches at Phi Phi. That was really nice. I was the only one up and went on my own in the early morning before Ty, Sarah and I went on a boat trip to see the islands around and mostly "the Beach" beach, which is maya bay on the small Phi Phi, or Ko Phi Phi Ley. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Yi6d6KQq00bxEwklV2kViRUjZ6Yg98x6K0-F3LFsVgHlqTIo36Jzgk3YZy_MDB8dvWitTbcPk175G2MdadmHZJW9zNSAslw87CWFOlJpIs7-m_G90T0_PcmE6dxWRZDbjUTS24pN4Xg/s1600-h/Picture+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319724962523916146" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Yi6d6KQq00bxEwklV2kViRUjZ6Yg98x6K0-F3LFsVgHlqTIo36Jzgk3YZy_MDB8dvWitTbcPk175G2MdadmHZJW9zNSAslw87CWFOlJpIs7-m_G90T0_PcmE6dxWRZDbjUTS24pN4Xg/s200/Picture+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The Phi Phi viewpoint</div><br /><div><div>The boat trip was interesting. We were in a fleet of longtail boats that do the tour. The old man at the guest house set it up so that we would be on his boat. At first I thought it was strange because there were so many tourists but soon I realized he did set something special up for me. The boat driver couldn't speak much english but invited me to smoke. We went into the longtail boats while we were at a beach and smoked out of the bamboo bong. It was cool just being me and the boat drivers haning out and smoking while everyone else layed on the beach. Then he pulled me aside again at "The Beach" beach. It made me very happy but I was a bit out of it at the end of the day.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYrdRFMQtmdrecPIrtMqc9oWlH4Dl3yZUSawZIA0gXtZnWTPH0jVqZRwafwAW7zz1TKeL74EjfuQcF-sTq7ctKdMXc-2pstbA0eF8JCRO6Vw8LMNw41FnD5NRJiaxenIgnLcgAcJo3ww/s1600-h/Picture+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319722267067245298" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkYrdRFMQtmdrecPIrtMqc9oWlH4Dl3yZUSawZIA0gXtZnWTPH0jVqZRwafwAW7zz1TKeL74EjfuQcF-sTq7ctKdMXc-2pstbA0eF8JCRO6Vw8LMNw41FnD5NRJiaxenIgnLcgAcJo3ww/s200/Picture+002.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Me on the boat with the clear water</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnyXHWBuaD73ek3N0_9HNCpXnL2QF1sor8iTaAE5Yy4VekM0CO5azuFpc8bZgWHTLaxf4R1_1R3ssL3ebJyPNYSiC2ugfsk933dUbVDceb_dRk8yK0-DAmzuiETV4lxs3WOFYK-rJY0k/s1600-h/CIMG1371.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320463308584762066" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnyXHWBuaD73ek3N0_9HNCpXnL2QF1sor8iTaAE5Yy4VekM0CO5azuFpc8bZgWHTLaxf4R1_1R3ssL3ebJyPNYSiC2ugfsk933dUbVDceb_dRk8yK0-DAmzuiETV4lxs3WOFYK-rJY0k/s200/CIMG1371.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />froliking in the water with Sarah<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qf_P4hQbED8c60cq-58Czg12wp2CrtCUtaAQEUpnF-D5Bkdqo0Da5X2uWHRDcG-wuKW7gNaVe924pC5NKOraaqSeUvWl7r1UVxhHXjPYVINELpjXdaMdPhTaK1BUOU_oUClQFDCu8SQ/s1600-h/Picture+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319722268213429186" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qf_P4hQbED8c60cq-58Czg12wp2CrtCUtaAQEUpnF-D5Bkdqo0Da5X2uWHRDcG-wuKW7gNaVe924pC5NKOraaqSeUvWl7r1UVxhHXjPYVINELpjXdaMdPhTaK1BUOU_oUClQFDCu8SQ/s200/Picture+003.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Koh Phi Phi Don from Bamboo Island</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiSnqZ1wcktF_0yCvwAt-nHvOzcNqN82j2ZlPxbyChMi1F-_z_BgTXlIspDLomgqAN0M06hiGWmMsp92PdAkkYcbid_i-QN2M0fFqlE9RdV735nBhuDc8a7OzEaNXn0H0ql_GoE8qFuQ/s1600-h/Picture+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319722269547436066" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOiSnqZ1wcktF_0yCvwAt-nHvOzcNqN82j2ZlPxbyChMi1F-_z_BgTXlIspDLomgqAN0M06hiGWmMsp92PdAkkYcbid_i-QN2M0fFqlE9RdV735nBhuDc8a7OzEaNXn0H0ql_GoE8qFuQ/s200/Picture+004.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>My boat driver in Maya Bay</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNrxa4C2t0SD99tIYSPAcNkXQPa9bUl6yAmDI_5wke1-sCi8iwTcOsOSmRBFInmJ5gfU3F8iJUbnVAfAPrpxMnVf96YSJT8qHf738mpWktFBVqzCP_Q0wYJE-NExpPO3HqU45rOqAQ8Q/s1600-h/Picture+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319722274201965618" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNrxa4C2t0SD99tIYSPAcNkXQPa9bUl6yAmDI_5wke1-sCi8iwTcOsOSmRBFInmJ5gfU3F8iJUbnVAfAPrpxMnVf96YSJT8qHf738mpWktFBVqzCP_Q0wYJE-NExpPO3HqU45rOqAQ8Q/s200/Picture+005.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>Sarah and Tyler on "the beach"</div><br /><div>Today I just woke up early and took a boat to Phuket and then a bus up to Ranong. On the bus I </div><div>was the only farang which I like but getting off the bus in Ranong the hustle was strong. They know people come here for a visa so they try to get you right off the boat. I think I worked it out fine though and am at a nice guest house with nice workers there, and I set up the boat to get the visa tomorrow. I have pictures and got all the pictures from the whole group yesterday so I'll get them up here. Right now I don't have my camera though, I hope ya'll noticed that I put up old pictures from Chang Mai (from Sarah), and I'll try to get some more pictures up for everyone to enjoy. Peace and Love to all!</div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8146105904031907722.post-27097839937584452792009-03-20T00:47:00.000-07:002009-04-03T06:37:54.120-07:00Ton Sai to Ko Phi PhiSince my last post I hung out in Krabitown longer than expected and then went to Ton Sai. After spending 4 days at Ton Sai I followed the group to Ko Phi Phi today. It is strange how after being in a group for a few weeks, I have gotten used to it and don't quite want to split up yet. When everyone made the decision to go to Phi Phi yesterday and I wasn't sure I finally decided to come along. I wasn't sure about it because I only have 4 days left on my visa so I need to do a visa run soon. I didn't want to rush anything but figured I could see Phi Phi island for a few days and then go north to do a visa run outside of Renong.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>We stayed in Krabitown longer than expected because there is a really cool bar there called the Fu Bar. They kinda took us in. A couple guys we met showed us the place and it is connected to a tatoo shop. One of the guys we met got a tatoo from them and then Shy from our group got a tatoo. Each night at the bar was fun, we could put on our own music with our I-Pods and hang out, plus there was a chill area upstares. An Irish guy came to visit the owner because his brother lived there for a month and he wanted to see it, he ended up sleeping there (in the bar) for two nights. It was cool how they let people sleep there. We stayed an extra day because we had a barbeque of fish the last night that the owner payed for so we would stay and drink one more night. I actually went on the boat trip to a little fish farm with the owner where we bought the fish.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWbXiH889v14izDnRRn3rdfh_bpiidEvZif2Tfe-bwW3V8R098BvGUxTybHBlvoBqL-nDmyVL323Ap4Tg856cVsxCNc4Teo25A1yR-nlPEiw7Am11ggdzLGJUzzmw4ZQifotfzyUxTBE/s1600-h/Picture+031.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99eR80LXsWw-PDYJAPnxOnoVx2L4rGqtCphEatSV9Vgtu-E9lsCMgnkeBHYPzI7rovlR4zXjHkEl3X_2mxnJ38U9pGn6_OZuqmUtlTQwR7s1moBNCRxVZAgUYouKIPWYe0AtA19VLqmI/s1600-h/Picture+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315190417368003282" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99eR80LXsWw-PDYJAPnxOnoVx2L4rGqtCphEatSV9Vgtu-E9lsCMgnkeBHYPzI7rovlR4zXjHkEl3X_2mxnJ38U9pGn6_OZuqmUtlTQwR7s1moBNCRxVZAgUYouKIPWYe0AtA19VLqmI/s200/Picture+033.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIAufTW2GIHYtF2NVFUnbBbAK77k1pmp8cU5QAemQ2dVer7j6yG7i8j-vAHO_JUtVX2YxAiG8CfdrNS0qlncOSuDqjui6lWR4Rzmatx2UPN5QcHrii3XRajVohsWASOlBFiJQjnLfiDE/s1600-h/IMG_0210.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320457820916737026" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIAufTW2GIHYtF2NVFUnbBbAK77k1pmp8cU5QAemQ2dVer7j6yG7i8j-vAHO_JUtVX2YxAiG8CfdrNS0qlncOSuDqjui6lWR4Rzmatx2UPN5QcHrii3XRajVohsWASOlBFiJQjnLfiDE/s200/IMG_0210.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Inside the Fu-Bar, and the tatoo guy's<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHoXPqIPcia9QJdaLGl5o0MVJ4V1brOiu25JKoRLtOrXur4cQkIEq3Cbh7Gj3-CQl9RngGQbfXeua4IBMwkhRWI9Qfzi9FF_G53NQ0wxrk-Zjkscw-DImL6WSD7Fw9FJzE13hxrR1X8/s1600-h/Picture+032.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315190410553670658" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnyHoXPqIPcia9QJdaLGl5o0MVJ4V1brOiu25JKoRLtOrXur4cQkIEq3Cbh7Gj3-CQl9RngGQbfXeua4IBMwkhRWI9Qfzi9FF_G53NQ0wxrk-Zjkscw-DImL6WSD7Fw9FJzE13hxrR1X8/s200/Picture+032.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>The Danish guy getting a tatoo<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbALTsiNHmoqxPHHzMyc04ReC3-o033MQewIsIuKr7kYlchKD_l7hbP_rHkhUuDZrrVayguQKNxUyYERN0D0aOE5jAHYGqKsPD51UbgIO-a7pE2DB1H-4VLgGlumtZ54TMrA3qOAqMSPM/s1600-h/CIMG1248.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320457814165334850" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbALTsiNHmoqxPHHzMyc04ReC3-o033MQewIsIuKr7kYlchKD_l7hbP_rHkhUuDZrrVayguQKNxUyYERN0D0aOE5jAHYGqKsPD51UbgIO-a7pE2DB1H-4VLgGlumtZ54TMrA3qOAqMSPM/s200/CIMG1248.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr4uGdlNKyFFFeXzEjqnTupXECe7y-8XcLSzLwSiio-aC3Q9ObTAnPj5lLp44LRLWrwb8H2vgU_q4GG6de9nykOpxQEnTvHhCBb12AKkBGr6Bl0dkM4GHCRgiVEKnu52rmkXoeHLiGLk/s1600-h/IMG_3343.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320457823368722594" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitr4uGdlNKyFFFeXzEjqnTupXECe7y-8XcLSzLwSiio-aC3Q9ObTAnPj5lLp44LRLWrwb8H2vgU_q4GG6de9nykOpxQEnTvHhCBb12AKkBGr6Bl0dkM4GHCRgiVEKnu52rmkXoeHLiGLk/s200/IMG_3343.JPG" border="0" /></a></div>The chill area upstairs in the Fu Bar<br /><br /><div>Finally we left Krabitown to go to Ton Sai beach and a British girl traveling alone tagged along and ended up sharing the room with me. Ton Sai was a really nice and relaxed beach. You could hang out all day on the beach, watch people climb on the rock cliffs right there, and drink and smoke to your hearts content. Railay beach was next to it and you could walk around the point durring low tide or take some other paths over. That beach was full of resorts and had more people trying to sell you stuff on the beach. Ton Sai was nice because it was so relaxed but the sand at Railay was better. The low season has just started so we got some nice bungalows for very cheap. Also the rains have come early so every night at 5-6 a thunder storm came in.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS08rvVpD7e7JuZershj8NWU2sk3KoHoNkAmyQzoiCIeTFH5e2TQMkESbTDYEJNOm30H3P7vQaZ1kWdgkyWUB2iZ_uqe-7nHzz8vzr2aBEmkHHJFuv76RsAm3zgO7JGpAc9o3Vs547Qw/s1600-h/Picture+007.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315181924527545138" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS08rvVpD7e7JuZershj8NWU2sk3KoHoNkAmyQzoiCIeTFH5e2TQMkESbTDYEJNOm30H3P7vQaZ1kWdgkyWUB2iZ_uqe-7nHzz8vzr2aBEmkHHJFuv76RsAm3zgO7JGpAc9o3Vs547Qw/s200/Picture+007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A view of Ton Sai<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMl_MsQGNPjQPGLMJGYRhDr5Wv-CXJ1LrEv8o1Ul1-oCEXPiClOhnALBEk8GyeAdcSYU5gfWHqKkpxUDvVaGkgGaHQ4lL7C1ojPpos5UFJdzEIt2eze5dMxmfdFF5cb3eiOpG60Iu8r4/s1600-h/Picture+008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315181934377474514" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMl_MsQGNPjQPGLMJGYRhDr5Wv-CXJ1LrEv8o1Ul1-oCEXPiClOhnALBEk8GyeAdcSYU5gfWHqKkpxUDvVaGkgGaHQ4lL7C1ojPpos5UFJdzEIt2eze5dMxmfdFF5cb3eiOpG60Iu8r4/s200/Picture+008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Railay beach in the morning<br /><br /></div><div>In short the first night we went to Railay beach and hung out at a bar on Railay east (the side with not as good of a beach but cheaper bars) and then took a boat back over to Ton Sai. The next day I just layed around on the beach all day, one girl did a base jump (where you jump off a cliff with a parachut) off the cliff right above me. The next day I relaxed in the morning but then went on a kayak trip around the point towards Ao Nang with Amy (the british girl). We saw a small beach that is completely owned by a resort and then went to Ao Nang for a drink. The rain clouds came over the hill while we were there so we had to call it early and try to get back to Ton Sai before the rains came. The last 15 minute of the kayak trip it was dumping on us. Yesterday I got up early and Amy and I walked to Railay and up to a view point and to see a lagoon thing (the view point was better).</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUDkAKrnBSUXHbAuXyMSQ4YYKLVxPwyllra_gdhaXee2aDMlXoYss6U58IR2EcUqCaCzxauYLlwoincz9XiSQCcEg6ABEZomGUgPESW0rjomZs0pX9BWJ4iW0W3TY8gkdL-xRaA4_BNE/s1600-h/Picture+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315181943147207026" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUDkAKrnBSUXHbAuXyMSQ4YYKLVxPwyllra_gdhaXee2aDMlXoYss6U58IR2EcUqCaCzxauYLlwoincz9XiSQCcEg6ABEZomGUgPESW0rjomZs0pX9BWJ4iW0W3TY8gkdL-xRaA4_BNE/s200/Picture+009.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLuXPjpMohaAXtenaoeaLJkdHTU507T6XtnwNnvw4iUfCQxuhzY9glyA2c2JIq1qRh2efYsDK7gvXnwNvfCP-AmVuSw7o8a-Mk9sLOir6BsoN5tY5DC-fF7satzkoLhRBHG5fFW6zGp0/s1600-h/Picture.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315182950757322146" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLuXPjpMohaAXtenaoeaLJkdHTU507T6XtnwNnvw4iUfCQxuhzY9glyA2c2JIq1qRh2efYsDK7gvXnwNvfCP-AmVuSw7o8a-Mk9sLOir6BsoN5tY5DC-fF7satzkoLhRBHG5fFW6zGp0/s200/Picture.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The viewpoint of Railay (close) and Ton Sai (farther)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnIFRiA6N-zXdkydZ3cbGXieHyZXW7ce5LR25bWdbNv-UKrs0F5l8Q3SsouWJP8RNS-yxjJNd2zqZtiPB3dNTLV7MtYc59JVwQYfUHnQ9WIs-rr3fB77K9Lqfvvc5NThtUKca-L_jFwg/s1600-h/Picture+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315181999133070370" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnIFRiA6N-zXdkydZ3cbGXieHyZXW7ce5LR25bWdbNv-UKrs0F5l8Q3SsouWJP8RNS-yxjJNd2zqZtiPB3dNTLV7MtYc59JVwQYfUHnQ9WIs-rr3fB77K9Lqfvvc5NThtUKca-L_jFwg/s200/Picture+010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Look closely at this cave shrine<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGZmaKWP4GT3wWUR3MwyoBt89zWqSry1pHkI-SnkGTd4zq4lulnRa4Txz1wecD4cnWGlbAcl6xApOxVKbRAeMFJgFd3FU_TbNe0GvMRRIsLIeDEGVsXMZvAmA3ctM2qjsmNx5YckNGgs/s1600-h/Picture+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315182003447688306" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGZmaKWP4GT3wWUR3MwyoBt89zWqSry1pHkI-SnkGTd4zq4lulnRa4Txz1wecD4cnWGlbAcl6xApOxVKbRAeMFJgFd3FU_TbNe0GvMRRIsLIeDEGVsXMZvAmA3ctM2qjsmNx5YckNGgs/s200/Picture+011.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmJRw_TJQCLv6S_Q1byvkAgu9lmZC0gGiq4iM5KpQtY5WcbWrdhn1Rv1fFnQiypXLY3RuUu_sqc25p79rn9FMpIELYIsP5Xi6JzB1E0O_BSYs00fLVhcJH3OYhohf52tGVlCGuC3CAnQ/s1600-h/Picture+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315182954389642402" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmJRw_TJQCLv6S_Q1byvkAgu9lmZC0gGiq4iM5KpQtY5WcbWrdhn1Rv1fFnQiypXLY3RuUu_sqc25p79rn9FMpIELYIsP5Xi6JzB1E0O_BSYs00fLVhcJH3OYhohf52tGVlCGuC3CAnQ/s200/Picture+012.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Pictures from Padong beach, next to Railay<br /><br />Today we all got up early and caught a boat to Ko Phi Phi. Its much more touristy here but its ok. I bet there will be somewhat of a party tonight and the beaches should be nice. Anyway, thats all for now, and I'll keep livin the beach life for a few more days.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15579609578001667185noreply@blogger.com1