The Ancient City of Hoi An

April 13, 2010

The night bus to Hoi An was nice and uneventful. The "beds" were a bit cozy to say the least, but I still got my sleep in.

We arrived in Hoi An at a bout 5 AM and made way to central market area. As per usual there was an onslaught of people trying to get us in their guest house. I couldn't handle this without some coffee, so I sat down for a while to recuperate. While eating a group of people suggested that we check out a guest house down the street, and we did. It was a nice place with decently priced rooms and a very good location.

After a shower and some tv time, I made way to explore the city.

Hoi An was the ancient trading capital of South East Asia at the time of the Champa Empire. Many of the buildings built by Chinese and Japanese merchants back as far as the 12th century are still around, as well as a beautiful array of French colonial structures in the old town, which is in fact a UNESCO Heritage Site.

I walked along the river for a bit and found a cool little cafe with real Italian coffee! I enjoyed an espresso while reading my book, and made way to the old town.

The old town is a really beautiful place with architecture that reminds me a lot of New Orleans (not hard to imagine as they were both French colonies). The weird thing however is that the whole central area is technically old town and you technically need a ticket to visit old town, or at least the buildings inside of it. One of the more popular sights is the Japanes Bridge (which you supposedly), and when I bought my ticket and asked where the bridge was they pointed to the tiny bridge I had just walked over. Oh well.

I wandered around the area checking out some pretty cool art galleries, some craft shops, an "old house," an assembly hall, and a traditional music performance. The old house was very cool. It's a very old Chinese merchants home that is in very nice condition and is still lived in to this day. They served some tea and gave us a tour which included showing us the lines from flood years which get up close to the sealing. The assembly hall was used as a hang out spot for Chinese Merchants back in the day. It has a big meeting room, some prayer areas, and a big decorated courtyard.

I was tired at this point, and got exceedingly frustrated as I continued to get grabbed by merchants, my toes ran over by a motorbike, and pushed around in the busy market. All signs pointed to a nap, and that's where I went.

I met Gaelle for some dinner in the evening where I came very close to falling asleep on the table. I did have the traditional White Rose noodle dumpling native to Hoi An. They were alright, and did the trick.

I was in bed by about nine. I guess that sleep on the night bus wasn't as good as I thought it was.

Hoi An is nice, a little overwhelmingly oriented tourists, reminding me a bit of Disneyland. It is beautiful none the less, and there is tons of history and culture around. That being said, I'll get a motorbike and get out of the city tomorrow.

Nha Trang in its Entirety

April 7-12, 2010

Yes I spent nearly a week in Nha Trang. This happened mostly because I decided to get my diving certification and be a bum the rest of the time (hence the lack of blogging).

Day 1

Today our big group went to the Water Park at Vinpearl island. This place was a trip. First of all we took the longest cable car (gondola) over the ocean in the world, it was pretty cool. The island itself is a huge theme park type resort aimed at Vietnamese and Russian tourists, meaning everything was extremely cheasy and over the top.

The water park itself was ok, but the fact that there were only about 30 other people in the whole park made it a lot of fun, even if there were a disproportionate amount of speedos.

Everyone else in the group was going scuba diving the next day and kept on encouraging me to come along, and I just so happened to cave under the peer pressure.

We got back together for some dinner after the park, but called it an early night in preparation for the next days activities.

Day 2:

The day started at 8 AM, when we were picked up at the dive shop and taken to the docks, where we boarded our dive boat.

The boat was pretty cool, and we enjoyed some coffee and tea as we made way for our first dive spot. During the ride my Dive Master, Indo, gave me a tutorial of all the equipment and procedures, and got me dressed up in the wetsuit and gear.

This was a "Discover Scuba" dive so Indo would basically control all my stuff while my only responsibility was to make sure I kept breathing.

The dive was amazing! At first I just kinda went limp and Indo did all the swimming as my body was trying to figure out this whole breathing under water thing, but after a minute or two I started carrying my weight and we explored the reefs and fish around the area.

I was warned that this whole diving thing tends to be a little addictive, and I naively disregarded the warnings, only signing up for one of the two dives. Luckily Indo was free for the next one, and for a few extra bucks I was able to go on dive number two after lunch at a new location.

The second time around I was a lot more comfortable in the water and felt like I was in a bit more control. The highlight was seeing a black and white sea snake that we followed around for a bit. Really cool.

Back in the city Eric and Niels convinced me to stay to get my open water certification. Their argument was that it was cheap, I was here, and in 10 years time I won't care about the money, but I would definitely be happy about having the certification which I can use anywhere in the world. I didn't need THAT much convincing, and booked the course with Gaelle.

Eric and Runnard left that night after we ate some tasty Italian food. And it was again an early night for our early morning training.

Day 3-5

I group these together because they are boring. Well I had a lot of fun, but nothing to really describe in detail.

The days consisted of waking up early to dive. First in the pool than in the open water. Going through the thoroughly entertaining training manual (sarcasm alert). Sleeping. And sitting at the beach on occasion. I also frequented what I liked to call baguette street. Basically there are a bunch of street vendors who sell sandwiches in really tasty baguettes called Bahn My. The insides are filled with laughing cow cheese, pate, veggies, egg, assorted sausage type meats, soy sauce, and chili sauce in various combinations. Very tasty.

On the last day I passed my final exam and celebrated at a bia hoi place with a bunch of people who were diving that day, including one of the instructors who just passed his dive master exam.

Now I have a dive log book and will be getting my certificate in the mail, so I can dive anywhere in the world. Fun stuff.

Day 6:

Today I planned on exploring the greater city of Nha Trang which I have barely seen with all the diving, but alas my plans were spoiled when I slept through my arm. I made due, catching up on some beach time and having a needed day of relaxation.

Later in the afternoon, Thau, the woman who works at the guest house, took me to eat shrimp pancakes that she has been telling me about for a couple days. While we talked at lunch I slowly began to realize that Thau may have had a little crush on me and might be looking for rich Western husband. I think she was a little disappointed when she realized that I am a young, broke student, and not in the market for wife by any means. Fortunately we were able to smoothly transition into less suggestive conversation. She is really nice and smiley, and we laughed a lot at our attempts at the others language. The shrimp pancakes were amazing, basically fried rice base with veggies, shrimp, and some squid, which you dip in a sweet chili sauce and mix with fresh greens. Delightful.

On the way home Thau let me drive the motorbike, which is to my surprise was manual. She was terrified, and I must admit that I stalled once or twice. I did get into honking like the Vietnamese do, which is at anything on or near the road. I never understood this before, but found it kind of fun when doing it myself.

Once back at the Guest House it was time to get ready to catch my night bus to Hoi An. As Iwas waiting to get picked up, Thau kept playing this song for her adorable niece , and it quickly got stuck in my head. See if it does the same for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoOu1wra3XE&feature=related

I was a little sad to leave, this is the longest time I have stayed in one place since starting my travels, and although I didn't do much on the cultural front I really enjoyed being here.

Back to the Beaches

April 6, 2010

Unfortunately the village gets going early, and at about five thirty they started fixing the tractor right outside the house.

We got going early after some breakfast at the same restaurant, I chatted with Eric, Runnard, and Gaelle and we decided to meet up in Nha Trang that night. Today our main objective was to get to Bon Me Thout so I can catch the bus to Nha Trang at 3:30, so we mainly took to the pavement so we would get there on time.

Our one stop was at a waterfall on a beautiful river. I got very lost on the hike down (Tom had to stay with the bike) and ended up shimmying down a fallen tree to get to the water. I took a dip, read my book, and relaxed. The water was beautiful, and the waterfall up river was pretty big and was a bit too treacherous to get very close.

It took us a bit longer than expected to get to Bon Me Thout, because of traffic so we were a little rushed. I had to go to a bank to get exchange some money to pay Tom, but the first couple wouldn't take my money because my hundred dollar bill was too old. I got a bit frustrated since me debit card was packed away and time was running short, but the third try was the charm at a very unfavorable exchange rate.

We made it to the station on time and I bid a teary farewell to Tom. The bus, excuse me minivan, was a little cramped. I had the pleasure of sitting in the very back corner with my knees at my chest, and the driving made thing interesting to say the least.

I met a Dutch guy named Niels on the bus and we made way to find a hotel. We underestimated the walk a little, but eventually found a strip of hotels near the beach. After some looking around we found a very nice guest house near the beach for a reasonable price and settled in. When I went down to go out for dinner, I saw Niels sitting on the floor eating dinner with the guest house staff, and I was quickly pulled into the circle.

The dinner was a hotpot full of broth on the floor surrounded by individual plates of fish and vegetables which were continually thrown into the pot. The soup was served with rice noodles and was spicy and delicious. Unfortunately only one of the women spoke English (to a degree) so the rest of our conversations were the men forcing shots of Hanoi Vodka upon us, and Niels and I playing with the cute little girl with a rice noodle beard.

After dinner we met up with the people I met in the Village for some drinks. We had a pretty good time which culminated with very late night beer on the beach. It was decided at some point that we would meet up the next to visit the water park located on a nearby island. Exciting.

At first I was a little apprehensive about Nha Trang, feeling that it might be Phuket version two. Fortunately it is very laid back here and has a great mixture of beach and city living.

Born to Be Wild

April 5, 2010

Tom came and picked me up at the guest house at 8:30 in the morning, and we "hit the road jack." First stop was some breakfast and coffee and we then made way up into the highlands.

The road was beautiful, winding through the mountains filled with farms and coffee plantations. I definitely felt a little bit like Jack Nicholson with my bag strapped on the back of the bike, and breaking into a "Born to be Wild" sing along with Tom (My obligatory Easy Rider reference)

We stopped at a flower farm that was quite pretty with lots of Gerber daisies, and then at a coffee plantation which was very cool since I have never actually seen one. Tom keeps on proudly telling me that Vietnamese coffee is the best in the world, and I don't have the heart to disagree with him. The coffee here is to sweet and nutty for me, I deal though.

First "tour" stop was the silk factory. Unlike the factory in Chiang Mai, this was all industrialized, with large machines stringing the silk and doing the weaving. It was cool to see I guess, but not too interesting.

Next up was the Elephant Waterfall, which was pretty awesome. The hike to the bottom was a bit tricky and slippery, but I managed, and the views were quite amazing.

The lunch stop was now in order, and we ate at a restaurant on the top of a hill. It was the usual array of stuff, fish, rice, a little pork, and some veggie soup, and was quite tasty. The pork was three quarters fat and Tom insisted that he eat it, leaving me the meat, which I didn't mind. I have realized that Tom can eat about four bowls of rice in the time that it takes me to eat one. And being that I only eat one or two bowls, he is still literally half my size. I guess that's genetics for you.

Throughout the day we made numerous stops to enjoy the views and avoid "Monkey Bum." My favorite was this old rickety bamboo bridge, which I was terrified to walk across, even though Tom made way casually and told me that people ride across on their motorbikes. As we were heading off someone did in fact ride across, which made my stomach sink. Next on the list was a part of Lac Lake (I think), which was picturesque against the green hills and blue sky. Under the bridge was a little fishing village with homes on the water. Tom kept on telling me that these people are extremely poor. Although I don't completely disagree, it seems to me though that their lifestyle is not poverty stricken, but rather more traditional, probably living like their ancestors have for hundreds of year.

We made it to our little village at Lac Lake (yet this was a different lake) right in time to enjoy the sunset. The lake is amazing, with rice patties and livestock thriving around it's edges. The little village is comprised of bamboo longhouses, which is were we stayed. It was very basic, just a mattress and a mosquito net. The shower was across the road, surrounded by the pig pen and chicken coop.

I spent the rest of the daylight playing Dacou with the boy living in the long house, and I met a couple people taking the same trip as me; a French/English girl Gaelle, and two Norwegian guys, Eric and Runnar.

We ate dinner at the local restaurant, and drank some traditional rice wine. The rice wine is made from fermented rice that is then dried and put into a clay pot. Then when it's time to drink, water is poured into the rice jug, a lid with straws is placed on the top (similar to a hookah), and the pot is continually refilled as it dries up. It tasted ok, a bit like a desert wine, but the experience itself made it worth it.

I slept like a baby, sitting on the back of a bike takes it out of you.

Sorry for the Delay

I know I've fallen behind a bit. Ok a lot. I'm going to try to catch up in the next couple days. I'm still alive though, so all is good.

The Mountains of Dalat

April 4, 2010

Tom met me at the quest house early in the morning and we quickly took off for some breakfast. After some tasty Pho, and some chatting, we rode of to see the sights surrounding Dalat.

We saw quite a few places, but the best part of the day was definitely riding around on the motorcycle. The motorcycle (not the usual vespa type scooters) is big and comphy and has a bit more umph than the smaller bikes. It's a Taiwanese made, 4 stroke, 125 cc bike. Definitely not what Dennis Hopper drove, but still fun. All the rodes wind through the green hills, and you always get a nice breeze and some great views.

Our first stop was the Valley of Love, a usual honeymoon getaway for the Vietnamese (hence its name). The place is extremely cheesy, but the Vietnamese people LOVE it. There were very cartoonish statues of hearts and the like all over the place, some small fair type rides, and pedal swan boats in the lake. The place is actually quite beautiful though. The valley is very small and steep with a small man-made lake in the center, and there are some great views of the surrounding farmlands.

Next up was the old French railway station, which had some cool old trains still there. The point of this stop was to meet with Tom's "cousin," Dennis, who helped Tom sell me on an extended tour through the central highlands. Although I've heard great things about these tours, I hadn't planned on this addition to my budget. They did spur my interest, and after playing a bit coy we got down to a reasonable price since Tom was going to Nha Tran for a wedding, and the trip was on the way. I told them I'd give them a call later.

After a lot of talking we finally got on the road again and headed to Datana Waterfall. Similar to the Valley of Love the waterfall had a Disneylandesque feel to it. There was a roller coaster that went down to the bottom, and I couldn't resist. It was fun, the waterfall was pretty neat, and the hike up was nice, but there was no reason to spend too much time here.

We went up the road a little bit to Tuyen Lam lake, which is another man-made lake, yet still extremely beautiful. After hanging out a bit, we walked up to the Truc Lam/Sangha Pagoda (I was told both names). The Pagoda was very nice, but nothing too special. As I explored the grounds I ran into a Monk, Trung Hoa, who spotted my Western face and was eager to speak English with me. We sat down for a while and went through some of the stories in his textbook. We mainly went over pronunciation (the r and p sounds), and had a lot of fun laughing with/at each other. I left when it was time for Trung Hoa to go to lunch, and made way to the Summer Palace #3.

The Summer Palace was built by the old Vietnames king (I have forgotten his name) as a vacation home in the 50's. The place was extremely beautiful and definitely had a royal feel to it. The best part was there was a lot of information about the house and the royal family.

We made way back into town for some lunch and some coffee. Tom has showed me some cool places to eat around town and we always have a good time chatting over meals.

Tom dropped me off back at the guest house and I researched the usual easy rider tour prices and his suggested itinerary. I couldn't resist, and gave him a call to pick me up in the morning.

I made way out in the evening and found this really fancy tasty looking restaurant. I was curious and looked at the menu. I took a couple double takes at the food prices and the looks of the interior, and decided to give it a try. I had a tasty caramel shrimp clay pot and some Dalat wine. It was delicious, and cost around 80,000 dong ($4).

I then walked around into the night market and joined in a game of dacou (seems to be becoming a regular occurence). It got me pretty tired out and I had to get some sleep for my easy riding in the morning.

Dalat has been fun, a bit cheesy, but beautiful., I can definitely see why the locals come up here to escape the city and the heat.

Off To The Mountains

April 3, 2010

The bus ride to Dalat was long, bumpy, and windy. I slept most of the way, but the highlight was eating a fresh avocado at one of the stops. It was delicious.

Dalat is a famous vacation spot for the Vietnamese. It was first developed by the French, as a cool mountain getaway from the summer heat. The surroundings are beautiful, and the town itself is very quaint, while still being quite large.

We got to Dalat at about 4, and I made way to a pretty nice guest house. The owner was a bit aggressive in trying to sell me a tour, but I got some free rides on his scooter.

I was still very tired and napped a bit before I took off to see the town. I made way to the night market and some tasty food, and after a bit of perusing through the stalls decide to walk back to the guest house.

Unfortunately I had no idea where the guest house was after walking in some circles, and I got picked up by a motorbike. The bike was a bit bigger than the usual scooters, and Tom the driver told me he was an "Easy Rider."

Back at the guest house Tom gave me his sales pitch for day rides around Dalat. Since his prices were cheaper, and his bike was more comfortable, I decided to have him take me around the next day. We would have an early start, and I quickly fell.

I enjoy Dalat so far. The town itself is nothing special, but it is much cooler here (I wore my jeans for the first time since getting to Asia) and the surrounding mountains are beautiful.

Good Morning Vietnam! (Had to do it)

April 2, 2010

I woke up in Saigon with no real plans of what I was going to do. So, like many of the other cities I've visited, I set out walking.

Saigon has quite a bit of hustle and bustle. It definitely has a Vietnamese identity, but for the most part it seemed very generic with large flashy store fronts, and gridlocked streets.

On my walking journey I came across a park where a group of guys were playing a variation sai, or dacou in Vietnamese. The variation consisted of two team on opposite sides of the court, similar to tennis, but with no net. I ended up playing with them for nearly two hours, and was a bit embarrassed by how much I was sweating, only to realize that the usually sweatless locals were drenched as well.

When the game ended I chatted with the guys for a while. It is odd to think about what our relationships would have been 40 years ago when we would have probably been fighting a war with or against each other.

I made way to the Reunification Palace, which was basically the Vietnamese Whitehouse of the 60's. Everything is quite beautiful and has been kept in pristine condition, which is refreshing after some of the other, less cared for, historic places I've been seeing. The building also has a lot of historical importance, since it was the South Vietnamese military headquarters during the war. I took a little tour, and enjoyed the grounds quite a bit.

It was now time for a break, so I grabbed a coffee and a traditional Vietnamese sandwich. The coffee here is quite good, and the sandwich was really tasty. It had the traditional cold cuts, pate, red chili's, and my favorite chili sauce (which is basically a spicy, sweet ketchup), all served on a tasty baguette. Very tasty.

I then made War Remnants Museum. I was a little shocked as it was very blatantly anti-American, going into gruesome detail of the travesties the American army committed during the war. Although I don't contest any of these actions, it seemed odd to me how one sided the exhibit was, it's not like the Vietcong was passing out flowers and rice throughout the countryside. I guess the winner gets to write the history. I was later told that up until about a year ago it was called the Anti-American Museum, wonder why I tell people I'm from Canada.

As I started my walk back to the hotel I stumbled across a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and immediately decided it was time for me to get out of the city. So, once back to my hotel, I booked a morning bus to the town of Dalat up in the mountains.

After some resting and packing I went out for some dinner, and met some pretty nice people. A French guy, an Isreali girl, and a Vietnamese/Cambodian guy from Boston. They were all pretty interesting. The Isreali girl was doing best to keep Kosher, and was very surprised when I told her I was Jewish. The guy from Boston had been travelling through Asia for four years stopping along the way to teach English in Thailand and China. He had some pretty interesting views on the area since he has been here for so long, speaks Vietnamese and Khmer, and has family around as well. We hung out for a bit, but we all had early bus's in the morning, so we bid farewell early.

Back at the hotel I found out via Skype that I had been accepted to NYU, which is exciting.

I have enjoyed Saigon, but I feel like a lot of these big cities lose some of their individuality after a while. I think that there is a point were you must decide whether to leave or spend a lot more time in a city to get to know it, and I have decided to leave for greener pastures (literally).

Next Stop Saigon

April 1, 2010

The van that was supposed to pick me up from the hostel never showed, so one of the employees gave me a ride to the bus station. It was a little sad to say good bye to everyone there, they were all extremely friendly and very good to me.

The bus was uneventful, besides for a somewhat chaotic border crossing. The bus manager took everyones passports, gave it to the border guard and then called everyone individually from the other side of a barrier. It was not bad if not for the two or three buses before us, and one guy who had to go through a seemingly random "quarantine" procedure.

We got to Ho Chi Minh, and I made way to find a guest house. I was in the main "backpacker district" called Pham Ngu Lao, and it was all very overwhelming. I finally settled on a nice room with AC for $12. The only drawback is it's up 6 flights of stairs.

The streets are bustling around here and walking around was pretty fun and interesting. I stopped into a little cafe for some food. The guy next to me told me the burgers were amazing, and I figured why not. They were actually really tasty, with a fried egg and tons of chilli sauce, all washed down with a bia hoi (fresh draft beer, brewed daily, and a cost of 5,000 dong-$.25).

I got to talking with Dylan, the guy who recommended the burger, who is from Philadelphia, and is teaching English here. Before long Justin, an ex-pat from Australia, joined in and before I knew it, it was dark outside and I had drank $2.50 worth of bia hoi. I was tired and hot, so I went back to my room for a shower. I decided to stay in and get to bed at reasonable hour in hopes of more outings tomorrow.

Although I didn't see much today, Ho Chi Minh seems like a very fun and lively place, and I'm excited to see more of it tomorrow.

Last Day of Phnom

March 31, 2010

Today can easily be considered walking day part two.

I had my usual coffee and chat with Sophie, and walked in the direction of Boeung Kak lake in the middle of the city. As I feared it was nearly impossible to even see the water without going into a posh hotel, and I walked nearly the whole way around it looking for a reasonable cafe or park. No go, damn development.

I made my way South to the Central Market, which was a scene. Tons of everything. The coolest part was an old warehouse type room where all the butchers do business. Their booths are filled with meats, pigs heads and feet, and bowls of unidentifiable animal parts. It smelt a bit funky. I bought a big bag or Chinese New Year candy and some delicious pineapple (in different parts of the market of course), and made my way.

Outside the market I witnessed a motorbike crash. The bike ran into a car and the driver flew over the handlebars. A big crowd formed right away, mostly to make sure the bike was ok. A police man came over to take a report and the driver jumped back on his bike and rode away. Everyone then went along with their business, including the car that got hit. Weird.

I started to walk again, now finding myself in China town, and soon came across another humongous market. I sifter through it, and came to find that the previous butcher station had nothing on this one. There was basically meat and fish packed in every square inch. The fish (especially the many that are dried) give it a very pungent odor. I later found out this is the Olympic Market, due to its proximity to the Olympic Stadium.

I set off again and stumbled upon the Olympic Stadium. The stadium is very dated, but very cool in a basic old-school way. I know the Cambodian soccer league plays here, but that's about it.

I walked back to the riverside (much farther than I expected) and made way to a travel agent to book a bus to Saigon. After thinking throughout the day, I ruled out going North because it's an 8 hour bus ride, and I would have to come back to Phnom Penh and then to Saigon. 22 hours on a bus in total. I also ruled out the South for similar reasons along with the fact that I don't feel like going to the beach again right now. So I booked a 7:30 AM bus to Saigon.

I made way to an outdoor cafe, and read up on Saigon over a beer while enjoying my last dusk at the river (a beautiful sight). On my walk back to the hostel I found that the night market was going on again and stopped in for some noodles and another baby duck. The market was very empty, I don't know why, and half the stalls weren't there. The food also cost twice as much as the time before, who knows.

Back at the hostel a couple of the guys who worked there were going to head to a Pontoon party and invited me to join. I was tempted and grateful for the invite, but I was too tired and had that early bus, which I now regret. Next time.

I walked around probably half the city today, and drank about 9 liters of water. I enjoyed it very much, and I'm pretty sure I'll be back here in the future.

Relaxing

March 30, 2010

This evening I had an interview with San Francisco State University, so I decided to make it a mellow day.

I began with my usual coffee at the hostel, where I chatted with Sophie again. Sophie is extremely nice, and like many Khmer people is working hard to learn English and get an education ( I actually spent some time helping her and Tony with their english studies and emails the night before, very fun). It turns out she's 29 ( I pegged her at 20-21 max) and is working on getting back into University.

I strolled down the river and found a nice spot to read my book. The book is about a USAID doctor working in Loas in the 60's and 70's, and is extremely interesting. I promised Ben, the guy I met the other night, who is actually working with USAID, I would leave it for him, so I've got to finish it before I leave Phnom Penh.

I spent a few hours at the river and in a cafe before I made way to National Palace. The palace grounds were beautiful, with tons of grass and flowers, and the buildings were also very beautiful in the typical buddhist fashion. I was a little unimpressed with the pagodas, and was upset that three quarters of the grounds were off limits. Something not shown in the map you see before paying your $7 entry fee.

I made way back to the hostel for a shower and some R&R, and went to the park by the river in the early evening. The park was buzzing, a large group of women were doing aerobics, a few people were playing badmitton, and there were a few games of Sai going on. I ate some noodles and chatted with a friendly monk until dusk.

I then searched out a good internet connection for my skype interview. I found a good internet cafe down the street from the hostel, at the reasonable price of 2000 Real per hour. My first interview was at 8 PM and the second at 9:45, and they both went well. In between I played chess with the boy who runs the cafe with his family. He kicked my ass.

I think tomorrow will be my last day in Phnom Penh. As much as I like it here my feet are itching to move a bit. I have to decide whether to go North to the mountains, South to the beaches, or East to Saigon. I think I'll decide tomorrow.

Walking Day

March 29, 2010

I woke up with the intention of walking and after a couple cups of coffee, and a chat with one of the morning hostel employees, Sophie (everyone is too nice here), that is what I did.

It was hot, I was sweaty, and I tried to walk down the river to the Royal Palace and the National Museum. Somehow I passed them both and was completely lost. I saw what looked like a shopping mall near by, and hopped in to take advantage of the AC and possibly get some information. Little did I know this was actually a casino, and how can I not play a little Black Jack in Cambodia. I got my taste, they have some silly rules here, which made me lose all my money ($10) on one hand when I doubled down against an ace, caught my 21, only to find she had a blackjack. This is definitely not Vegas.

I caught a motorbike to the National Museum (I literally walked right past it a mile ago) and was fairly unimpressed. The museum was mostly Angkorian artifacts, very similar to the ones I had seen two days ago, so I rushed through a bit. Then a search for food.

Near the museum is a restaurant called Friends, which seemed to be situated literally in a playground. I checked it out, and it turns out it is an organization that trains and educated street youth. All the employees had come up through their system, and the food was tapas style. Good food and a good cause, I was in. I had a tasty roasted veggie salad, it was delicious, and the service was great. It did end up being a bit pricey for Cambodia ($8) but thats ok.

I then tried to walk to the Russian Market (the cheap foreigner market started by the Russians). I again got lost, and had to hire a tuk tuk, which is a great thing since I was evidently extremely lost. The market was ok, I bought a few souvineer type things, and haggled quite a bit. One girl called me stingy and said she was losing money on me. I told her not to sell it to me then and started to walk away when she called me back. I then got her to cut another dollar off. Funny system.

Marketed out I walked up to S21 or the Tol Soul Prison. This was the infamous Khmer Rouge prison, where they tortured and killed their "enemies." I found the museum to be quite dull in a way. I appreciate its significants, but it was focused on the shock factor of the gruesome torture methods rather than it's historical importance. I wasn't into it. However, afterwards as I was relaxing with some much needed water, I saw a group of guys playing a game similar to hackey-sack but instead of a ball there was a spring with feather similar to badminton. I was intrigued, and asked to join. It was fun, I was awful, and of course everyone laughed at me. I learned the game was called Sai, and some of the guys had some crazy behind the back moves.

After I was tired out, I caught a motorbike to Wat Phnom, just a block from my hostel. I checked out the Wat, it was cool, the pagoda was a bit more colorful than others with neon ferris wheel lights. There were also monkeys around the surrounding park, which scared me.

After some R&R at the hostel I tried to go back to the night market only to find it was closed. I came back to the hostels street in search of some noodles and found Marco (a man in my dorm) sitting in front of a "convenient store" having a beer. He asked me to join and i indulged.

We weren't sitting on the front steps, the owners of the store set out chairs and tables for their costumers. Our neighboring table was a group of Khmer men (who may have had a few Angkors already) and they were extremely excited to talk with us. Pretty soon we were all talking and laughing, they shared their mangos with us and bought me some peanuts (the peanuts here are not cooked, so they are soft oily and very tasty). After a while I brought up Sai, and after some confusion (I pronounced it completely wrong to them) I found out the store carried Sai. I bought a couple, and we played. I gave the Sai to a kid who played with us, and bought a couple more to replace them (they were $.25).

A note on our hosts. The business' here usually double as stores and home fronts, and the owners were a fantastic family. They were fantastic to us, and work long and hard hours, which is shown in their Lexus SUV parked out front, which they take great pride in.

A fantastic day in Phnom Penh. I feel like I could stay here forever. It has such a revived feeling, and its an enormous point of pride for its inhabitants. Such a fantastic energy.

Panom Pen

March 28, 2010

I spent my last morning in Siem Reap trying to find a bus to Phnom Penh, since I slept through the morning ones. Fortunately I was able to find one for noon at a slightly inflated price.

The morning was consumed with some breakfast, a little packing, and a chat with a firefighter from Hong Kong named Eric. Hopefully we can meet up sometime when I'm in his city.

Although the van to pick me up was half an hour late, the bus ride was six uneventful hours. There were some seat shufflings which left me in the dust, and we got a good look at the Cambodian country side. It was pretty cool, everyone was finishing up work for the day, so everyone was in sarongs, lounging and bathing.

I got to Phnom Penh and made way to a hostel, Me Mates Place. Fortunately there was room since the place is really nice and cheap.

The hostel is a mere 50 meters from the river, so I decided walk along it in search of some food. I ended up running into the night market which was a spectacle. There was a huge traffic jam outside, a band playing in the center, and tons of vendors. Unlike some of the other night markets I've been to, this was aimed mainly at locals, and nearly no one spoke English, which posed a bit of a problem when eating.

Basically the food is set out and you put what you want into a basic to be prepared. This took me about 15 minutes to figure out by watching everyone else. I picked out some spring rolls, some bread (which they fried), some peppers (which they fried), and what I was told was a fried ball of duck. I was a bit surprised to find this was actually an embryonic duck, and even more surprised to find how amazingly tender, rich, and juicy it was despite the tiny embryonic feathers.

The eating scenario was all on the ground in laid out mats. It was a lot of fun, and I lounged around with some Angkor beers while picking at my feast (which only cost 5000 real, or $1.25) but I left feeling the grease seeping out of my pores. So I walked along the river a bit more, it was cooler at this point and a bit refreshing.

I was beat after this and headed back to the hotel to work on the internets. I ended up chatting with a Medical Anthropologist named Ben, as well as the bar manager Tony "Montana." Ben is doing work in the area through USAID, some pretty awesome stuff, and Tony is an extremely fun and energetic local guy. They both gave me some pretty cool tips about what to check out.

Unfortunately I had to call it quits early, those bus rides take it out of you. So far this city is extremely exciting and beautiful, and the Khmer people are even more friendly than in Siem Reap.

Angkor Wat

March 27, 2010

Adrien confused our agreed time, and woke me up a bit early, so we made our way back to the same French restaurant for some breakfast and coffee.

We then hired a Tuk-Tuk to Angkor, where we say Angkor Wat and explored Angkor Thom (the anceint city). My favorite was the Boyoun Temple in Angkor Thom, even though it was all amazing. Although the temples themselves did not blow me away by their mere appearance, when put in context (as they were built in the 12th century), the work is marvelous. Everything is made out of stone, which is all decorated with great detail. At the Boyoun temple, which is more of a ruin, we were able to explore around it freely. All the sides of the towers are sculpted into face shapes, and the stairs to the upper levels are extremely steep. I took a bunch of photos, which I will post eventually.

I was beat by the end of the day, and I made my way back to the hostel to recouperate, and decided I will go to Phnom Penh tomorrow, as I don't feel like going to Angkor again and the rest of the town of Siem Reap has seemingly little less to offer.

As I was researching my trip, I met my new roomates, who are actually from Westwood. Small world.

I then headed out for some more Amak curry with Adrien, and another one of my dorm mates, Roz, from England. We had some tasty curry, and the lady boy waiter remembered me and kept on telling me how handsome I was. Very flattering. We then headed back to pub street for a couple beers, but we called it a night pretty early as we all had early bus's/tours the next morning.

I enjoyed Siem Reap, but it is mainly aimed at tourists, and got tiresome very fast. The Cambodian are remarkable so far, everyone is smiling and extremely friendly. I have a sneaking suspicion I'm heading for bluer waters in Phnom Penh.

Siem Reap

March 26, 2010

Woke up to my empty dorm. Sweet and quite. A good night sleep did me well and I got out of the room in hopes of getting out to Angkor Wat. Until I found out it would cost me close to $50, I knew nothing about it, and it was already about 10:30.

So instead I set out to explore Siem Reap, get a guide book, and do a little research on this Angkor Wat place.

The hostel breakfast looked gross and was somewhat expensive ($3), so I set off for greener pastures. I walked into the main section of town, skipping through the traffic. Crossing the street is pretty crazy. I learned the best strategy (from a tuk-tuk driver laughing hysterically at me) is to just be brave, and bravery it does take.

I found a French restaurant which seemed a bit posh, but upon further looking, it was only $3. I checked out an omelet and coffee, and was blown away by my beautiful americano, eggs that taste like eggs, and a fresh baguette. Basically the best western breakfast I've had in a long time.

After sipping my coffee on the patio, I made way across the street to a little market in search of a guide book, and found tons of vendors literally sitting in fish. Most of them were alive to begin with, but upon ordering the women would kill, scale, gut, and butcher them, leaving an amazing aroma. It was fun.

After much searching and bargaining I found a book for about $3, and made off to find a place to read a bit about Angkor and Siem Reap. Literally two sips into my beer, Adrien (my Scottish train friend) came and sat down with me. He told me he wasn't able to find our meeting spot the previous night, and it turned out we ate dinner about 100 feet from each other.

We chatted for a bit (both feeling overwhelmed by Angkor a little) and decided to head to the Angkor museum.

The museum is a beautiful modern building, and was extremely informative about ancient Khmer culture, Hinduism, and Buddhism. We left knowing what we were in for and grabbed some noodles.

While eating we were confronted by the usual influx of child beggars. We both have mixed feelings about this (as anyone who has seen Slumdog Millionaire can attest to), especially since it is possible that many of these children, who are often mutilated in some way, could be after effects of the Khmer Rouge. The kids are always very cute and witty, some can name off tons of facts from whatever country you tell them you're from. We opted to buy some of them some noodles and mango. It was fun and a bit gratifying, knowing our money is going to the kids stomach rather than god know's where.

We split up after that for some down time, and met up again at Pub Street, which is exactly that. We found a pretty cool bar and had a couple drinks. It was fun, I got a free t-shirt from the Angkor What bar, and Adrien and I planned to meet up the next morning to explore the temples.

The Never Ending Train #2

March 25, 2010

The train to Aranyaprathet (Thai border of Cambodia) leave from Hua Lamphong station at 5:55 AM, with an estimated arrival time of 11:30.

I was up and at 'em with no problem. Swung by the 7-11 for some snacks and a 2 liter bottle of water for the journey, and made it to Hua Lamphong with plenty of time to spare.

The train cost 48 Baht (about $1.50) and was definitely a no frills trip. All the seats are bench seats offering little comfort for the inevitable naps required to the early start time. There is no AC, there are some fans that help a bit, but all the windows remain open to let in the warm breeze and tons of dirt from the country side. There is also a "kitchen," which comprised of the front few benches of my car. Yum.

I found an open bench and quickly fell asleep, only to be woken up an hour later by two women and child who squeezed in with me. I am certain this was a tactical maneuver to get me to move. I held my ground and went back to sleep, and they continued to surround me the whole trip. Although they spoke no English we had a symbiotic relationship. Across from me was the child and her grandmother. The little girl was about 4 and cycled through naps and hyperactivity. Sleeping she seemed all too cute, but when she woke up she would give me death stared that could break glass. I was able to crack a smile out of her a couple times, but I realized she didn't like me or was afraid of me because I was a farang, when she told her grandmother. The older woman was very smiley and it was fun to watch her play with her granddaughter who was very giggly when not looking at me.

The train stopped at a station at one point and didn't start again for nearly two hours. This gave me time to become extremely impatient and frustrated, as well as giving me time to talk to my new travel buddy Adrien from Scotland. Adrien was a freelance Journalist back in the UK, but is now exploring different ventures and taking a couple weeks mainly in Thailand and Siem Reap. We get along quite well, and it was very nice to have someone to commiserate with, as there were few other westerners on the train.

We finally got to Aranyaprathet at about three in the afternoon, and Adrien and I made our way to the border crossing 15 km away at Poi Pet. We got through customs alright, and smartly avoided scam visa offers.

We got in a taxi to Siem Reap, again avoiding the smooth talkers at the border, and after a couple obligatory stops at his friends stores, we made it to Siem Reap at nearly 6.

The taxi driver didn't know our hotels so he handed us off to his "brother" who drove a Tuk Tuk and knew Siem Reap better. Some arguing and 3 whole dollars later I got to th Siem Riep Hostel, with plans to meet up with Adrien for dinner later on.

The hostel is eight dollars a night (they use dollars here as well as the riel which is pinned on the dollar at 4,000 to $1) and is pretty nice. The atmosphere is very laid back and I have a sneaking suspision that I'm the only person in my 6 bed dorm. Sweet.

Fighting through exhaustion and hunger (I had eaten nothing but a bag of peanuts at this point) I showered, had a couple Angkor beers (only 75 cents) and checked the internets before I headed out.

After dropping off my laundry next door, I was picked up by a motorbike "taxi' and I surprisingly guided him directly to my meeting point, without knowing its name.

Our meeting spot was a hotel we had seen before, and I ran into our tuk tuk driver, Baran, who told me Adrien's hotel was very far away. I waited awhile, played some pool, and drank some more Angkors with Baran, who is a hilarious guy. He would squeal everytime he made a shot and make fun of me when I missed.

I gave up waiting, said farewell to Baran, and headed to night market. I think I was more stumbling in search of food with my eyes half way open (due to hunger and exhaustion not beer). I found a delicious curry. I ate it in what I suspect was four bites. Then b-lined to hostel where I was asleep probably before laying down.

I didn't get a good grasp on Cambodia today. I had food tunnel vision. Tomorrow is a new day though.

Bangkok Airport to San Francisco in only 20+ hours

This will be my last blog post, as I arrived in San Francisco earlier this evening. I think the time difference will take a little getting used to, since I'm wide awake at 3 AM - oh well, there's time to adjust.

After a long wait at the Bangkok airport, a delayed flight, a group sprint through the Taipei airport to make my connection, and a thorough search of my belongings at US Customs, I'm home but wishing I was back in Asia on a train somewhere between Bangkok and Cambodia.

I guess we'll all have to live vicariously through Sam's adventures now!

Back to the Bangkok

March 24, 2010

Our flight back to Bangkok was a bit solemn, as Emma is leaving today. We enjoyed a free breakfast at the Bangkok Airways lounge. This time there were tasty curry pastries.

In Bangkok we had our last meal together at Black Canyon Coffee, where Emma ceremoniously ate her last Pad Thai. Then we parted ways as I hopped on a bus to the Vietnam Embassy, and Emma made her way to the International Terminal for her flight back to the states.

The Vietnam Embassy was as uncoordinated as ever. When I got there I went to a free window and was immediately helped only to find the man standing at the window next to me had been waiting for a long time. I apologetically let on how typical this was.

My visa was to be ready in half an hour, and after a trip to the nearby mall for some green tea (The third time I have been to this exact place) I continued to wait in the embassy for nearly an hour. I do now have my visa, so there is little to complain about.

I then made my way down to Hua Lamphong station to a hostel that I found on the web. I went by motorbike (I wore a helmet, if that makes it any better) and realized that this is the only way to travel around Bangkok. It was cheap after haggling and the drivers calling me a Farang and telling me to pay a higher price. I countered by telling them I'm not a foreigner in my broken Thai much to their amusement. This went on, and we settled on a fair price. The motorbikes are also a lot faster and more fun as they squeeze through the congested roads.

After being offered a room at a couple sketchy guest houses, I found the hostel I was looking for. It's very nice, very cheap, and the staff are extremely friendly. They showed me were to go to replace my ipod cord, and I was off walking to the MBK center.

I forgot that I actually really like Bangkok. Most of all I love the pace of the city. Everyone is either rushing or relaxing, with no medium.

I took the long walk to what I realized was an enormous shopping mall. I thought I've seen big malls before. this one is seven stories high, with a maze of escalators in the center. I was lost and ended up wandering around for a few hours until I found the cellphone department. When I say cellphone department I mean section of the mall with numerous cellphone kiosks all hawking what I assume to be fake, stolen, and unlocked merchandise.

I haggled for my charger and explored some more leading to me to the arcade. Crazy place. I played some Time Crisis with a little kid. He was super into it, and we had fun.

All malled out I made my way out of the mall, a challenge in itself. As I crossed the street via a skytrain bridge I found myself in the midst of a group of people in red bandannas getting guided down the stairs by the police. As you may know there has been a large political protest here in Bangkok for the past week or so, the protesters being the "red shirts" ala the red bandannas. It was an interesting situation, not at all hostile, as the red shirts simply walked away with their handfuls of pamphlets.

I than ran into a peace "demonstration" in front of the Art and Culture center where there were walls and streamers set up for people to draw on and a youth break dancing crew. I stayed and checked out the festivities for a while, but I still don't have any idea what it actually was.

Then another motorbike trip back to the hostel, where I sit now catching up with the world and resting up for my 5 AM train to the Cambodian border, where I will travel to Siem Reap.

Back to Pooket

March 23, 2010

Today we go back to Phuket for our plane ride back to Bangkok tomorrow morning. Needless to say it was a melancholy morning in the sand and water before we got the 3:30 ferry back to our least favorite place.

Getting to ferry was an adventure in itself, the water was particularly choppy and making the jump from the longtail onto the ferry was a bit treacherous. Emma almost fell off of the ferry, and Sam's water bottle exploded rather hilariously as he climbed onto the longtail. We survived, and after some amazing ocean views from the boat, two hours later we were back at the Phuket dock.

We were surprised to find that our ferry had arranged transportation from the docks to our hotel, and we made our way to Tanamas House near Naiyang Beach.

This part of Phuket is a place we actually enjoyed. Our hotel was a nice little bungalow about 2 KM from the beach and 5 minutes from the airport. The staff was fantastic and shuttled us to and from the beach, and to the airport free of charge.

We made our way down to the beautiful and clean beach just in time to enjoy the last few minutes of a miraculous sunset, and indulged in a seafood dinner in the sand. There were enormous king prawns, duck satay, and pineapple fried rice (my island favorite). It was delicious, but a little pricey, and we had to run to the atm to make the check. Oops.

We jumped to conclusions about Phuket. We now know to steer clear of Patong, and find the nicer places the island has to offer.

Beach Hop #3

March 22, 2010

We woke up this morning and left our favorite island Koh Lanta. A 2 hour ferry ride dropped us in Railay Bay, a group of beaches on a peninsula on the coast of Krabi. Known for its rock climbing and scuba diving (neither of which we do), Railay is surrounded by limestone cliffs. It's incredibly beautiful, and there are no boat docks. To get to the beach, the ferry stops in the middle of the bay, and several longtail boats come out to meet it. Then we had to make the perilous climb from ferry to longtail with our backpacks. The longtails drop you at the shore, and after hopping out into the knee deep water, you're there.

We found our hotel easily, as it was one of 5 or so that lined the powdery sand on West Railay beach. We decided to splurge for our last beach stay, and we have a snazzy bungalow with a view of East Railay beach. Quite nice, I must say.

We headed to the beach for the afternoon, hanging out mostly in the water. We had some overpriced sandwiches for lunch. Unfortunately, Railay is definitely more expensive than Lanta, and it's a bit of a shock for us.

After watching the sunset by the beach, we took a short hike to the other side of the peninsula through a wooded trail, and arrived at the sheltered East Railay beach. This side is not great for swimming, as it is covered in mangrove trees, but there are a number of cool beach bars and restaurants.

We chose one, and had a tasty bbq fish, as well as a chicken kebab and some pineapple fried rice (a new favorite). Sam ordered a pina colada (which needed to happen since he's been singing the Jimmy Buffet song constantly for the last week or so), and we chatted about the island, and about how we wished we didn't have to go back to Phuket tomorrow.

Lanta State Park (Does it exist?)

March 21, 2010

Another beautiful day in Lanta. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we set off to explore the east part of the island and the Marine National Park on the Southern tip.

We set out on the motorbike and drove across the island which sports some beautiful forests and some steep hills (the motorbike got a good workout). The opposite side of the island is just as beautiful as our side but lacks the white sandy beaches thus there are not many resorts on this side and little tourism. Many of the little towns are fisherman villages and a lot of the houses have evidently been built since the tsunami.

We drove south to the end of the road hoping to run into the National Park, but instead finding a little village and kooky resort with overpriced banana milkshakes. Shucks.

The scenery was still beautiful and we decided to try our luck heading south on the West Side of the island. We made it back across with a brief pit-stop at what we thought would be some caves, but instead turned out to be an elephant trek that we weren't in the mood for.

Back on the west side we found a neat beach called Nui Beach. We had to hike down a steep little trail to the almost deserted white sand. Besides for little shade huts constructed by various travelers the only building on the beach is a ratty old bar sitting on an overlooking cliff.

After a few dips, some sun, and a little reading, we continued on our journey to the state park only to find the pavement made way to a loose dirt road that the tiny motorbike could barely handle. We gave up on our dreams of the State Park and sat down for some lunch at a beach side restaurant called Same Same but Different, which (besides for the amazing location on the beach) was more same same than different.

After a quiet rest of the afternoon at the hotel, we went North for some seafood on the pier in a town called Saladin. It was tasty and cool and even rained a little. We got a whole red-snapper and to Emma's dismay I ate the eyeballs, my grandfather would be proud. We also had some tasty peppered crab and some pineapple fried rice, all for about 500 baht ($17). Not too shabby.

I (Sam) am very very happy we spent the extra day here in Lanta. I think I could live here, or at least spend more time vacationing. Sad, but excited we leave for bluer waters tomorrow morning.

Do we ever have to leave?

March 20, 2010

So, as the title of this post might suggest, we love Koh Lanta. I (Emma) am unfortunately, having a minor/major problem with my shoulder. In fact, it seems as though every single muscle in the left side of my back/shoulder has made an agreement to knot up and cause me a great deal of pain. So I left Sam sleeping this morning to go get a massage and hopefully ease the tension. The massage helped some, but still not doing so great there, which is a bummer.

Nonetheless, we grabbed our rented motorbike and headed out to explore the island. There is definitely no better way to get around. Koh Lanta is a big island, with a lot of great, isolated, and uncrowded beaches. Today we went to Phra-Ae beach (also called Long Beach), one of the more popular spots on the island. We relaxed for a while and swam a lot. It's so hot that we can only sit in the sun for short periods of time, and take to lazing around in the shade or just perching in the water, which is also amazingly warm.

We headed to dinner at a great family-run restaurant a little ways down the island. The family built the entire restaurant themselves and its decorated with amazing shell chandeliers and exotic plants. We had some tasty Thai food, and then walked along Klong Nin beach for a while before heading back.

Lanta is so different from the last few places we've been. It has a real island feel, but without the constant tourist traps and crowded streets. Of course, the tourist activities are around and available, but it's also possible to have our own experience on the island without being pushed around by tour agents. It's pretty amazing to ride the deserted roads on our bike with the moon out, and you can see almost as many stars as you can at Bar 717.

We've decided to stay an extra day, so there will be more island exploration to tell tomorrow.

Oh Lanta

March 19, 2010

We woke up early to another beautiful morning in Phi Phi, and spent hour last few hours enjoying the beach and exploring the surrounding islands a bit.

There are two Phi Phi islands, Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley. We stayed on Phi Phi Don since Phi Phi Ley is uninhabited due to the fact that is mainly large steep limestone cliffs. We took a longboat around Phi Phi Ley to check it out, and even got to jump in the water in one of the less crowded coves (most of them were filled with large groups of snorkelers and scuba divers). The water was beautiful and so was the scenery.

We hopped on the midday ferry over to Koh Lanta, a much larger island about an hour and a half away. It's exterior was not as impressive as Koh Phi Phi, but as we took a taxi to our hotel we noticed that this was an actual island town, not a pure tourist getaway. Very cool, very laid back, lots of rain forest, and more culture than we have seen in our previous island stops.

Our hotel was great with an unswimmable yet very beautiful beach, extremely friendly staff, and air conditioning! Our room was a bungalow and although it was a bit of a walk away from the water, we were on a cool private little lake.

We spent the evening lounging at the hotel watching the sunset, then we rented a motorbike and headed up the road for some tasty foods.

We like Koh Lanta a lot.

Beach Therapy

March 18, 2010

Battling the effects of St. Patty's Day, we took to the beach for Day 2 of our stay in Koh Phi Phi. Later on in the day we roamed the island, and ended the day with a tasty seafood dinner overlooking the pier where the ferries arrive/depart.

Although our day was quite enjoyable, we decided to head to bed on the early side after an episode or two of Arrested Development - our travelling show. We were dismayed to find the top 40 remixes that played at the Apache Beach bar we enjoyed last night, were blaring into our bungalow tonight. That, combined with a warm evening with no a/c, made sleeping tough, and moods bitter.

St. Patty's Day on Phi Phi Don

March 17, 2010

Later, Phuket - hope I see you never. We raced from our hotel this morning to the pier where ferries depart for Koh Phi Phi, our next island destination. Our taxi driver got us there just in time, and we hopped onto one of the many waiting boats just in time. We took a seat at the front, only to find out early in the journey that waves splash over that part, and they will get you wet. So we moved to the top of the boat, where spray still splashed up from the water - wetting our faces and covering us in fine salt and sand. The boat takes about an hour and a half to get to Phi Phi.

Phi Phi gained notoriety because of the stellar (or not) Leonardo Dicaprio movie "The Beach," which was filmed here in 2000 or so. The island has since become a major destination for travelers, especially young backpackers. We booked a beach bungalow along Lo Dalam Bay. The bungalows are super modest, no A/C, just a fan, a bed, and a bathroom. There is also a cute porch with some chairs to sit and people watch. The inner part of the city is cluttered with tour companies, dive shops, and bars catering to international tourists.

Our beach is beautiful, and in the early part of the day, very swimmable. Around 3:30 pm, the tide goes out and the beach is exposed, still beautiful, but not so much for swimming. We went to the beach, had a couple of great swims, and settled down to read/nap/do our thing. As the tide went out, we walked back to the bungalow to take a break.

Later, we emerged and had a drink at the beach bar next to our bungalows. There we met a very nice English couple named Kirsty and Andy, who we chatted with about traveling, feral cats, and the possibility of celebrating St. Patty's. We decided it was a good idea. After grabbing dinner with them, we stopped by Jordan's Irish Pub, which was semi out of control. We got some drinks, and met some Irish travelers who joined our group as we walked back towards the beach.

We returned to Apache Beach Bar, a stone's throw from our bungalow, to find the Irish celebration in full effect. A fire show was going on, including a giant ring of flame that Sam and I jumped through, and serious jams were playing on the stereo. We stayed and had a great time with the English and Irish couples, then when the music ended, we headed to bed, very fast.

Now for Sunbathing Sam:

The trip to the ferry was terrifying. We were a little late out of the hotel and where scared we might have to spend the rest of the morning in Phuket. Nooooo!!!

We made it, got sunscreened, and took a seat in the front of boat. After a bit of a wet ride we made it to Koh Phi Phi and were immediately awestruck by the sky high limestone cliffs and white sandy beaches which contrast beautifully with the crystal clear blue water.

Koh Phi Phi is an interesting little island. It has a local population of about 1,000, and has been quickly rebuilt after being demolished by the Boxing Day Tsunami a few years ago. This however is not evident, since it has been completely rebuilt since then. The island is small, you can walk across it in minutes, and there are no motorized vehicles on the island. It also sports a cool little inner town with thin stone streets and about 10 7-11s.

We made our way to our hotel for quick change before we collapsed in the sand. The hotel is actually a simple bungalow merely 100 feet from the water. The afternoon was spent with a combination warm blue water, hot sun, and some good reads. Not too shabby.

After some downtime in the bungalow we made our way to the beach front bar to watch the sunset. Here we met Kristy and Andy. Kristy shares the common story of being laid off from her lawyer job, and instead of looking for a similar job has decided spend this time traveling. Still seems pretty cool to me. I digress. We got along pretty well, so we headed out for some dinner and eventually some celebrating of St. Patrick's day. Although the beach was empty during the day, the tiny streets were filled with mobs of people. Interesting.

We visited an Irish pub and the beach bar in front of the hotel which had transformed into quite the scene with firedancing, music, and tons of people. We did jump through a ring of fire. It was hot. We then went to sleep, we like Phi Phi.

Phuket, more like Poo-ket

March 16, 2010

Today we travel to the beach.

We started the day early in Chiang Mai, getting a flight to Bangkok at 9:00 and then on to Phucket after a couple hour layover.

Although this seems a bit boring, we flew domestically through Bangkok Airways (Thailands Boutique Airline, as we were told many a time), and it was amazing! They had a lounge room in both Chiang Mai and Bangkok which served refreshments, had free wifi, was very clean, and in Bangkok served us lunch. The lunch was surprisingly good, and probably tasted even better compared to $10 sandwiches which seems to be the worldwide airport norm. The bitesize chicken sandwiches and ice tea was our favorite.

We finally got to Phucket!!! It was about 4 by the time we got to our hotel and we immediately headed down to the beach. I was so excited to swim in the crystal blue water, only to find it litered with 7-11 bags and only about 2 feet deep forever. Let alone the fact that the beach had more trash than sand, and there were skee-do's for days. Nevertheless we were here so we frolicked in the water for a bit, even if it left a gross grime on our skin. So sad to see such a beautiful place be ruined like this.

On our walk back to the hotel we were harassed by the street vendors hawking the usual souvenirs, people handing out fliers for the various clubs, and the crowds of men already on the prowl for some mating. We locked ourselves in the hotel room for a nap, and found the earliest ferry we could for the morning. We hate Phucket.

Unfortunately people have to eat sometime. So we walked around Patong for a bit; navigating around the free drink special fliers, top 40 remixes, and strip clubs to get some Pad Thai. We did stop in a bar for a bit and enjoyed a Thai cover band who had most of their songs down pat. Back at the hotel we confirmed our 8:30 ferry time with the front desk.

15 hours in Phuket is 15 hours too many.

Oh, and the streets smelled of trash and sewage. Phucket sucks, or at least Patong does. Emma shares my beiefs:

Phuket was an unfortunate stop-over. Fortunately, we were only there for a short time. The flights were easy, the chicken sandwiches delicious, and we arrived with little trouble.

Upon arriving at Patong Beach - where we stayed - it was immediately like we were transported from beautiful Thailand into a seedy strip of bars next to what I'm sure used to be a beautiful beach. Poor Sam, so happy and excited to swim in the warm ocean immediately dropped his things when we got to the beach and began to frolic out only to discover it was about a football fields length before the water got deep enough to swim.

The city is over run with tourists looking for a drink (or twenty) and some action. We had some dinner, grabbed a drink at a silly bar where a Thai cover band sang such classics as "Sweet Child of Mine" and "Stairway to Heaven."

That's really enough about Phuket. We're hopping a ferry early tomorrow morning and setting sail for better shores (we hope)! Koh Phi Phi, we can't wait.