So Many Roads I Know

Where the heart is.

2009-05-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

Ulan Bator, Mongolia
May 30, 2009
6:46pm

I have to admit that I feel a strange sense of being here in Mongolia. Like this is a place that I would like to live. When I walk outside, I let the sun shine on my face and I can feel the wind blow through me. I can feel the hardness of this country and see it's beauty all around me... And I don't want to leave. It's a strange feeling of home that I have not felt before.

I leave tomorrow morning and I can not wait.

And so It begins.

2009-05-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ulan Bator, Mongolia
May 30, 2009
10:47 am

12 Women
3 Men
3 bottles of Russian vodka
2 rolls of toilet paper
2 large packs of baby wipes

And Im ready to go! We leave tomorrow at 8:15am,so about 22 hours from the time of this post. After that I will lose contact with the outside world until June 19th as I travel through the vastness of the Mongolian landscape. So for those few of you that read this post I wont have anymore posts until then. I am incredibily excited and can not wait to get away from the city.

My group is pretty great. We have people from all across the world on this trip but as I have mentioned before most of them are women. I dont mind. I guess that women have a more adventurous spirit then men do. We are going to have to dig holes for toilets and not shower until we get back but I am all ready for that. A little dirt never hurt anyone.

I have checked out Suhbaatar Square about a block away from my hostel. It was built during the Russian era and includes a huge open area and a gigantic sculpture of a seated Chinngis Khan at the center of the squares large building. A little later I will most likely head to the National History Museum and after that take it easy and enjoy some of the comforts of the city like tv and maybe a nice meal at a bar.

Ulan Bator is an ok city. You can most definitly see the Soviet influence on the architecture. As well, I have been enjoying the mongolian people. They are very friendly but you can tell that they have a tough composure. Our tour guide was telling us that a famous saying about the Mongol people is that they have the spirit of the Dali Lama and the toughness of Chinngis Khan. From what I have seen this holds true.

I will be able to check email until tomorrow morning but until then thats it. I will talk to everyone soon and see you in the states before you know it.

Coldest capital in the world

2009-05-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Ulan Bator, Mongolia !
May 30, 2009
9:27am

And I can feel it! But I have to say that I am grateful to be in a country that I don't immediately start to sweat in.

I arrived last night after a short plane flight from Beijing but a long layover there. Because of the snow in Ulan Bator they delayed us 12 hours. Luckily I was able to get a free hotel room and food all day long so it turned out to be the easiest layover that I have ever had. My guesthouse is pretty great. It's small but cozy and with a lot of interesting people and a nice staff. If you want to take a look at where I am staying go to YouTube and search for UB Guesthouse. There should be a video that takes you through my accomidation.

I have met some of my group already and am going to go for a wander in a bit and check out the city. From what I can tell so far I really like the city. I will write a bit more when I see more. And just to let you know in advance I won't be able to post pictures here. I just don't have the ability. So you will have to wait until I get back to the states for that most likely. Sorry.

Taking the first 'Steppe'

2009-05-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Singapore
May 28th, 2009
1:11pm

Days, Weeks, Months...they go by faster than you think. I started this trip almost two months ago. Those two months seems like forever. I try to lay back and think about the places that I have been to and seen but after awhile they all start to blend into each other. I am grateful for the pictures and for this blog that I've been writing. And now I am heading onto the last leg of my trip before I make my way home and to Beercation.

Mongolia now stands straight ahead of me. I leave for the airport in 4 hours and then I jump on a plane 6 hours after that. I keep looking at pictures and researching the places that I will be going and seeing and all I can think is that I hope it lives up to the idealized notion that I have been harboring in my mind. I am not sure why Mongolia has been that 'place' for me. Not sure what mystifies me so much about it. I just feel like I will get there, out in the steppe, staring into a vast landscape with nothing but the sound of wind in my ears, and I will be home.

Ill hope that this is the case. That I haven't built it up too much. Perhaps I have.

But I'll know soon enough...

“Take the first step, and your mind will mobilize all its forces to your aid. But the first essential is that you begin. Once the battle is startled, all that is within and without you will come to your assistance.”
-Robert Collier

Last day in the Top End

2009-05-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Darwin, Australia
May 27, 2009
9:18 am

Well its finally my last day here in Darwin and I have to say that I warmed up to the city. It took me a couple of days but I started to enjoy the relaxed pace although I have to say that Darwin was a lot more expensive than i had expected it to be. I think that Singapore would have been cheaper oddly enough. In any case, I leave here at 7pm tonight on a flight to Singapore. Ill get to my hotel at about 11pm and then sleep for the night. Tomorrow is the long day. My flight is at midnight on the 29th so I have to get to the airport and wait a bit before I take off. That will take me to Beijing and after a short layover onto Ulan Batar, Mongolia. I have to say that I am really excited about Mongolia. I met some people here in Darwin that went last year and they said that it was a magical place to be in and so beautiful. I cant wait to be camping out underneath a sky of amazing stars away from the city. I have not seen the milky way in a long time. Just so that everyone knows, I will be out of contact for about three weeks while I am traveling through the country and camping in the wilderness. I should get a post of two in before then though. You can be sure that I will have some amazing pictures and stories for you when I get back.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain

More Lichfield photos

2009-05-25T03:38:00.001-07:00

More Lichfield photos

2009-05-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

Jumping Crocs, Swimming in waterfalls, Sunsets, and Pure Fun

2009-05-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

Darwin, Australia
May 25, 2009
7:19 pm

Just got back from my trip today and I had a blast. It was really amazing. I short run down on what I did, since I am tired and need some dinner, is this:

-Held a croc
-Fed crocs from the side of a boat where they preceded to jump crazy high into the air
-Saw amazing waterfalls in lichfield
-Swam in a pristine pool at the bottom of the falls
-Saw Gigantic termite mounds
-Ate prawns and had chanpaign while watching an amazing sunset

A very sweet day. Take a look at the pics and if I remeber and have time tomorrow I will talk a little more in-depth about what happened. Cheers!

Beercation Blog

2009-05-25T03:11:00.001-07:00

So Todd started a BeerCation Blog and I wanted to share it with everyone. Check it out, read it, and Share with us. BeerCation comes soon!

BeerCation

More Arnhem Land Photos

2009-05-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

More Arnhem Land Photos

2009-05-23T04:39:00.000-07:00

Arnhem Land and some pretty sweet views

2009-05-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

Darwin, Australia
May 23, 2009
8:38pm

The sunset was amazing tonight. My first proper Australian sunset was not disappointing. We were driving through Kakado national park on our way back from Arnhem Land. The landscape was rolling by and the smoke of the controlled burning of the park curled off into the distance. There was no wind so they rose slowly and straight up. The smoke began to mask the sun and turn its yellow hue to a bright red that colored the trees and gave direction to the rest of the sky. Deep oranges, bright blues, and royal purples all fell in line.

It was a perfect end to a great day. My trip to Arnhem land was amazing and I not only got to see a cool little aboriginal village but I got to scale a small mountain and look at ancient aboriginal rock art while listening to some amazing stories from our local guide. I am a bit tired from going at it all day so i will end the explanation here and talk a bit more about it tomorrow. For now, pictures.

Ein Tag...Alles.

2009-05-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Darwin, Australia
May, 22 2009
2:07 pm

I was sitting in a coffee shop this morning reading my book and passing the time as best I can. While I was sitting there, I began thinking about how far away I was and started wondering about all the people that I know back home and what they were doing at that point...most likely sleeping.

For some reason this got me thinking of a story that I heard from Jerry Springer (Yup the smut TV show guy). Before he was the king of trash talk he was a politician and a really good one at that. And even further down the line he was an immigrant to the US. His family left Germany when he was a child. They were Jewish and escaping for a better life. He was small but he remembers arriving into NYC on boat. Everyone he said was still and quite. He was in his mothers arms and the statue of liberty beyond in the distance. When he asked his mother what they were looking at she replied simply, "Ein tag...Alles.", or "One day...everything".

She was referring to the hope of a better life for her and her family. It was the arrival to a new land that promised that.

I like this phrase. I may not be escaping from a troubled land but whenever I look at a globe or map or dream of life beyond my tiny scope of thought, my imagination stirs and all I can think is "Ein tag...Alles."

There maybe times when you travel that you get lonely and things get hard but you remember that this too shall pass. Its all part of something larger and you know it will make you a better person for it.

.......

blah blah blah blah blah. I don't even know if this makes sense.
I'm sure some of you out there are gonna barf now. Just shut up and tell me what you are up to and show me some pictures.

OK. Enjoy. Here are some pictures of the Crocodile and reptile farm that I went to yesterday. Tomorrow i am heading out to Arnhem land, which is a designated aboriginal sanctuary. Kind of like the Indian reservations in the USA. That should be really cool and I get to see ancient aboriginal rock art and hang out with aboriginals, hearing their story. Ill post some of that on Sunday.
Best

Discovering

2009-05-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Darwin, Australia
May 20, 2009
1:54 pm

So I decided to go exploring today and look around the town. there are things to do if you put yourself out there. I guess that is the most valuable lesson you learn when you travel. Get your ass up and go. I found a small little beach that is netted in so that the box jellyfish won't get ya. I may do that later in the week. I also searched the park on the side of town and went into some WW2 oil tank storage units. I have also been looking into going to the Didge Hut. You can make your own didgeridoo there and it is owned and operated by the aboriginal people so you know where your money is going. If I buy a didg from a shop around town I dont know how much money goes to them and am not sure who makes it. This way I know. I sent an email enquiring about signing up for the didg making course and am looking forward to making the trip there whenever I feel like going. I have plenty of time though so I can go whenever I want. But it does look promising. Here are a few pictures from the day. Cheers!

Homesick

2009-05-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

Im feeling a bit homesick today. I guess its because I went from crazy busy to a dead halt in a day. Most likely will be some boring posts for the next few days. Ha! O well.

Settling In

2009-05-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am starting to enjoy the laziness here in Darwin. I guess that I have been running around so much from city to city and from day to day that I forgot how nice it is to be in a city for more than two days. I finally have a chance to calm down and relax. For the first time last night I slept about 11 hours. Just catching up I guess. When I did some wandering around town today I found a couple shops that sell hand crafted didgeridoos. They are incredibly nice with awesome tones and beautiful wood. So I spent a bit looking at those and playing around. Not sure what I will do for the rest of the day but I may go to the aboriginal museum and check out what they have. There is also a movie playing at the theater about aboriginals called Samson and Delilah. Who knows, I may hit that up as well. For now, relaxing is nice.

Just because you wander it doesn't mean your lost

2009-05-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

You arrive at 4:30 am. Lucky, you think, at least I slept through the plane flight. This should be fine, right? You have options...there is plenty of stuff to do around Darwin. I could always get away to a different city and try that out right? NOPE.

I unfortunately am a bit over budget and so to catch up I am going to have to do nothing here in Darwin. Maybe catch a movie here and there. Or read my book in a cafe. Its gonna be a long 10 days.

Im ok with it though. I guess its just bad planning on my part. Maybe it will be good to slow down for a bit and let my body catch up to itself. It is cool though to walk around and see the aboriginal people though. You can definitely tell that they are the second class citizens here. Its unfortunate.

Ill see what tomorrow brings. Im still in a good mood though. Hey at least I am in Mongolia soon!

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T01:06:00.001-07:00

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T01:00:00.001-07:00

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T00:47:00.001-07:00

Last Round of Photos

2009-05-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

And when you finally go away, Im already gone

2009-05-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Singapore
May 16, 2009
12:30 pm

Fertig, tapos na, fini, färdiga, hoàn tất, เสร็จสิ้น, selesai...or simply, finished. I have come to the end of this leg of my trip from Hanoi to Singapore. Its hard to believe that the 43 days of it is done. Half of the group has left already and I will be the next to leave tomorrow night when I make my way to Darwin Australia. In a quick wrap up, I had an absolutely amazing time. The people that I have met and the places that I have been to will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have made great friends and opened up to ways of seeing and experiencing the world that was previously not there. I can confidently say that I am a better person for it.

For my last little adventure I will be going to the night safari at the zoo tonight, which I was told is pretty amazing. Ill do that with Lars. Right now we are recovering a little bit because we all had a long night staying up talking and drinking and having fun. Our last big blowout.

When I make it to Darwin I am most likely going to take it easy for a couple of days and lounge out by the pool. I've been coming up some ideas about what to do there. Most likely I will be going for a three day trip to Kakadu national park to see the beautiful landscape and original aboriginal rock paintings. I am also toying with going to Cairns and dive in the great barrier reef. I would absolutely love to do this I just have to make sure that I can fit it into my budget. So right now I am looking at all of the options that I have. I guess that we will see about that. Check out how beautiful it looks, http://www.divingcairns.com.au/

I am going right now to grab some lunch but will come back later and post some more photos from the trip and maybe some embarrassing videos of me doing some karaoke in Melaka, Malaysia. Till then.

Big flowers, Bugs, and Yeesus's Birthday

2009-05-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Big flowers, Bugs, and Yeesus's Birthday

2009-05-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Big Flowers, Bugs, and Yeesus's Birthday

2009-05-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

2009-05-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 11, 2009
4:33 pm

So I havn't posted in a few days. Thats because I was in the Cameron Highlands having a great time. I have to say that I think it was one of the best places that we have been to thus far. You start out with a beautiful drive up into the hills. The winding roads creep around the mountains and roll into towns. Out the window you see plantations and farms for strawberrys and other vegetables and fruit. When we arrived we situated ourselves into the hotel and went out for dinner. We then went to bed but not before having a night cap at the Jungle Bar. Good times.

The real fun started the next day. We were picked up at the hotel at 9 in the morning and we then started to explore the area. Our first stop took us the massive tea plantation that covers the hills up and down. It was an absolutely beautiful and picturesque scene. When I get a chance I will try and upload some pictures. We also went to the factory that processes the tea and got to see how its all done.

The next stop was the fun one. After driving for about 40 minutes we stopped by the side of the road and picked up an aboriginal guide to take us trekking up in the jungle to see the largest flower in the world. We had to start by taking our jeep 4 wheeling up a pretty steep and bumpy dirt road that in some places edges the cliff by only a little bit. I thought it was very fun but also a wee bit scary at times. When we stopped we began hiking. First we passed a bamboo bridge and then up the side of this hill, although I would call it a mountain. This is where I started to hurt. Now this was classified as a grade 2 but I was still hurting. We were at 900 meters and I am a bit overweight and out of shape...I know. It was also hot. In the end I was eventually able to scale the mountain but it took me a bit longer. I think it was worth it. The flower that we saw was the Rafflesia. It was very rare and only blooms for 10 days at a time so we were very look to see it. And it was not just one but two that were right next to each other. Very cool. We stayed for a bit and got some pictures and then started our decent which I liked. I had no problem with that. At the bottom I went for a swim in the middle of the jungle at a really cold and beautiful waterfall. I cooled down and was all good after that. A short hike later we got back to jeep and started back to the aboriginal town at the bottom and learned how to use a blow gun. I liked it so much that I had to buy a little one. Ill be sending that home soon mom! Not sure if I can get it through customs since it is technically a weapon.

Heading back to town went on to visit a strawberry plantation, an insect farm, and a butterfly farm. I have tons of really cool pictures of gigantic srange bugs crawling all over me. Again Very Cool!

The whole trip was great and when I get a chance i will post the photos so you can see how beautiful it was.

There is one thing that I would like to rant on a little bit, so I will. I know that I am in a different country and customs are different from where I live but damn. I have to say that I am about fed up with the bathroom situation here. Why is it that every toilet is a pay toilet but they all are disgusting and provide no toilet paper. If you pay then they should at least clean the damn things. And the toilet paper! They dont provide it because everyone wipes their ass with their hands. I mean are you serious! They wipe there ass with their hands and scrape out the shit. That is just gross. And then they only have soap to wash your hands like half of the time. I am never going to shake another persons hand in this country ever again! I am going to just go ahead and say it right now that the west has the right idea with good sit down toilets and toilet paper. They are just wrong here. Case Closed.

Some pictures of me from my friend Lars 2

2009-05-07T03:21:00.001-07:00

Some pictures of me from my friend Lars

2009-05-07T03:14:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of Yeesus 3

2009-05-07T03:04:00.001-07:00

The Adventures of Yeesus 2

2009-05-07T02:57:00.000-07:00

The Adventures of Yeesus

2009-05-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

Traveling Is Hard Work..., Drinking Is even Harder

2009-05-07T02:39:00.000-07:00

Penang, Malaysia
May 7, 2009
5:43 pm

So we just arrived in Penang, Malaysia today. No troubles getting over the border or anything. Its funny though because all throughout this trip thus far we have had no trouble with the local authorities but as soon as we enter Malaysia our van gets pulled over three times within the hour. I guess this is not a place that messes around. The trip was ok but half of our crew was hunggover from the last party night in Ko Phangan. We stayed up late and played pool, singing, and swimming in the ocean. This traveling thing gets to be hard work. I think that I may need a vacation after all of this is over.

As for Penang, I am not impressed. I guess that I am getting tired of seeing temples and old buildings. I am looking for a bit more adventure and less history I guess. Tomorrow I will probably take as a rest day and sleep in. After that I am going to get a haircut and probably catch a movie (most likely I will go see the new Star Trek movie). I am however excited about going to the Camaroon Highlands in two days. When we are there I get to see the worlds largest flower, which should be pretty cool. And then Kuala Lampur, where we plan on trying to find some really strange food to eat and chheck out the towers there.

So I think that I talked about our drinking monkey named Yeesus already. I am going to post some pictures and show you just how crazy this guy is. Hope you enjoy them.

Lars pictures for Kate 4

2009-05-05T05:18:00.001-07:00

Lars pictures for Kate 3

2009-05-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Lars pictures for Kate 2

2009-05-05T05:06:00.001-07:00

Lars pictures for Kate

2009-05-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

these pictures are of Kate so she can share them but it still gives you a good look at our trip.

Beach Bum

2009-05-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Koh Phangan, Thailand
May 5, 2009
6:08 pm

Ok so I have little bit of time to talk about my days here in Koh Phangan but I can't upload pictures so I will get to that whenever I can.

I should start with the elephant trip. I am going to put it out right now.....I pussed out. As soon as I got on the elephant I realized that I hated being on it. It didn't feel right. The elephant looked in pain and I felt like I was about to fall off, so I got off. When I did this the rest of the people started getting on the elephants including the 5 British 20 year old girls. Trust me when I say that I am paying for it and not just from my group. The Thai ladies that were there started to point at me and laugh at me. It was pretty embarrassing. I think that I am ok with it though because of all of the stuff that I have done I have showed my bravery....right?

Now onto the diving. I absolutely loved this. The only bad thing was that we missed the whale shark on all off the dives including todays, so all 4. We did get to see, however, alot of baracuda, bat fish, and so on. It was a lot of big fish. I have to say how absolutely amazing it was. I am really in love with the sea and feel as though I am slowely getting addicted to all of this. I can't wait to get home and book some weekend trips to the Carribean and see more and more. I am also going to get my liceneces updated.

Out of all of the places that I have been to thus far I will definitly come back to these islands and dive again. Ko Phangan is part of a group of islands with Koh Tao and Koh Samui.

We are having a blast here and I am loving my group. Kate says that I should say something about her in my blog because her really nice mom reads this from time to time to check if she is alive. So, Kate's Mom, if you are reading this here is my statement about Kate.....

She farts a lot.

Make sure that you mention this to here if you talk to her again.

Have I talked about our Monkey. He is our drinking monkey. we names him Yeesus. Yeesus because we wanted to name him Jesus but the Sweeds can't pernounce there J's. We have been taking photos with him all around teh place and drinking with him. I am proud to say that we is slowely getting a nice wardrobe put together. We have about a thousand pics with him so far so be sure to see them when I get a chance.

So in short I will get you some pictures soon but for now it is bar time and we are going to have a beer....or two :-).

Another search for the Whale Shark

2009-05-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

Ko Phangan, Thaniland
May 5, 2009
10:00am

This is going to be a short post because I am suiting up for my third dive at sail rock in 5 minutes. It is hard to post sometimes and get pictures up. I am going to try and get some of that done tonight. I have some funny stories about the elephants and our dive yesterday. So hopefully in another 8 hours Ill have some up. for now it is another search for the Whale Shark, which we missed yesterday.

Laying in the sun, riding elephants, and diving with sharks

2009-05-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

Koh Phangan, Thailand
May 2, 2009
1:30pm

So the last two days were pretty fun but with some intense traveling. After we left Bangkok we went to see the bridge over the River Kwai. It was built by the Japanese during the second world war and over 100,000 prisoners of war from all over the world died constructing it and the 500KM rail line. Leaving there we heading for the train station and to see one of the largest pagodas in the world. I forgot the name of it right now. Once we boarded the train we had a 13 hour overnight train ride, which was not too bad. we spent some time in the disco train car. I was happy to get off the train and get closer to Koh Phangan, we first had to take a large boat to the island. This whole trip took a total of about 26 hours.

Now that we are on the island I am loving it. We all went swimming yesterday, which included night swimming. Today we are going to ride some elephants through the jungle and tomorrow we are going to go diving around Sail Rock. Sail Rock is supposed to be pretty amazing and has a large variety of fish there and whale sharks. The best part is that the visibility is around 20M so we should see everything.

Ill post tomorrow about everything and hopefully get some pictures and video up with me on the elephant. I'm leaving for that in 30 minutes so I gotta get going. Peace

Sir BarfsAlot Strikes Again

2009-04-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

Bangkok
April 30, 2009
8:04pm

So this is my last night in Bangkok. It was only a short stay. Its unfortunate because this seems to be a pretty fun town. Last night we went out and drank until 2am. All the while we were trying new things like eating maggots, Thai whiskey, and trying to keep the hookers at bay. Since I didn't sleep much last night I am debating on whether I should go to the Ping Pong show tonight. If you havn't seen or heard about the ping pong show it is basically women who have superior control over their vagina and shoot things out of it. I found a picture on the internet that tells about the tricks they do. So I may go and do that. I don't know why I shouldn't. Just a bit tired right now.

On another note, a funny thing happened when we were in Siem Reap that I forgot to mention. We had decided as a group that we wanted a bit of luxury for one night so we went to the five star hotel that was opposite ours. They had an Irish bar in the basement of the hotel. This was a really nice bar. It made me think of a nice cigar bar or something in New York.

So we were the only people in the bar and thought that it would be a great idea to play some drinking games with the billiard table, it was happy hour after all. We split into teams and started betting on our shots and drinking for misses. This is the kind of game that you can drink a good bit in a very short period of time. We split into teams and I was paired up with Sven-Michaels (aka Sir Michaels aka Sir BarfsAlot). He is a skinny dude and cant drink that much but he was able to keep up through the fourth picture of beer until it happened. He burped and then barfed into his hand. What came next was nothing short of a flood of beer. He began covering the table with enough barf to fill two buckets. Then the barf started to cascade down to the floor on the nice carpet. The whole time he was doing this we were scrambling away to the other side of the bar. When we got there we sat down and continued to watch him keep barfing. I have to say that this was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen in my entire life. The best part about it was that when we was done he wanted to leave immediately and tried to hand me tab money with his barf covered hands. I had to make him go clean his hands up. Absolutely disgusting but priceless.

And so to move on to the trip, we leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 in the morning to visit some bring and tunnel. After that we board a night train (which has a disco traincar with all night partys and dancing, which I guess I will have to update on that later :-) The train will take about 13 hours and then we have another 4 hours drive to get to Ko Pha Ngang. This is a nice beach resort island where we will stay for two days. I am hoping to get some nice diving in while I am there. It will be a very long day. I hope that I am ready for it. Especially if I stay out all night at the ping pong show.

A few More

2009-04-29T19:21:00.001-07:00

A few More

2009-04-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

A few More

2009-04-29T19:13:00.001-07:00

A few More

2009-04-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Palaces, Torture, Killing Fields, Temples, Angkor Wat, Fun

2009-04-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Siem Reap, Cambodia
April 29th, 2009
7:00 am

Wow! I haven't posted for three days it seems. Lame, I know. I have been very busy though. I am leaving in an hour for a 10 hour bus trip to Bangkok, Thailand and don''t have much time to talk about the things I have seen but here are some pictures I have to show in the mean time.

Another Day to Help me Realize how shitty poeple can be

2009-04-25T05:42:00.001-07:00

Phnom Penh
April 25, 2009
7:43 pm

SO first of all just to let everyone know we leave for Siem Real tomorrow for a five hour drive. While we are there we will be visiting Ankor Wat, which is a highlight of Cambodia. I am so excited about that.

Today we had a very busy day. Left the hotel at about 8am and went about visiting the Kings Palace, a high school that they converted to a torture facility for about 17000 people, which only 12 people servived from. The most somber part of the day was seeing the killing fields where Thousands upn thousands of people died. A very strange place. They excavated all of the skulls and put those in a tomb that you can visit. The rest of the bones are still there and scattered all about the area. And I mean all about. As you walk around you are stepping on teeth and leg bones sticking out of the ground. It was hard to get through. The absolute hardest part was the killing tree that they used to smash childrens skulls against to kill them. I believe a couple thousand of children died like that. I hope that I never see anything like that again but I was glad to see it. It really puts life into perspective and lets you know the worst of humanity instead of only seeing the best such as temples and museums.

Its hard to post pictures right now but I will try and get some of those out as soon as possible. My best to everyone.

Hot Hot Hot

2009-04-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
April 24, 2009
4:32 pm

Its been a long day today. We left Saigon at 5:00am on a bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The heat here is incredible. I want to melt as soon as I step outside. Luckily, right now, it raining and hopefully it will cool things off a bit. A couple of people left our tour yesterday and we have picked up a new girl from Germany. I am enjoying the smaller group size. It gives us a chance to hangout and interact more.

I have to say that I was a little dissapointed in Saigon. It is really just like any other city in Vietnam just a bit bigger. For that reason, I didn't do much yesterday except go for a message and my first manicure and pedicure. Yeah I know, I got a manicure and pedicure but I have to admit it was not as girly as i thought it would be. Really it is just an easy way to do your nails without actually having to do them yourself, which I liked. And believe me, I gave that girl a run for her money :-). All in all Vietnam was ok but not a country that I would ever go back to. I actually did not think that it had that much to offer. I mean there were some interesting things to see but once you see them it gets old to see the same thing again in another city. I am glad to be moving on and in Cambodia now.

Tomorrow we are going to see the killing fields and the mass graves from the tradgedy that happened during the Camern Rouge regeime. It should be interesting but I am expecting it to be very somber just like it was visiting the concentration camps in Germany. After that we are heading to Siem Reap and going to see Ankor Wat, which I hear from everyone is absolutely amazing. So far I am happy to be in Cambodia and although the city is similiar to the Vietnamese cities I can see changes that I appreciate, such as stop lights. This is surprising since Cambodia is a third world country and Vietnam is supposed to be far ahead.

My overall experience has been great thus far. I am meeting amazing people from all around the world and making many new friends. I still feel as though I could do this traveling bit forever. The two people I get along with the best are Charlie and Kate. Charlie is a cool Brit that studied to be a vet. He is a divemaster and will be heading to Africa to work with lions after this trip. Kate is a cool Chick from Chicago that works in Jewlery. Right now she is on the fifth month of an eight month trip around the world.

Otherwise I am doing well and in great spirits. I hope to tell you more about the sights in Cambodia as soon as they come.

Rat Tastes Good 4

2009-04-22T02:02:00.000-07:00

Rat Tastes Good 3

2009-04-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Rat Tastes Good 2

2009-04-22T01:58:00.000-07:00

Rat Tastes Good

2009-04-22T01:44:00.000-07:00

Yup you heard right. I just got back from our homestay in the Mekong Delta. While I was there we endured torrential rain, crazy hot temperatures, mosquitos, and strange food. Our local tour guide mentioned that we could get Ricemouse to eat. A few of us were interested and asked them to prepare it. As it turns out, Ricemouse is actually a 3 pound Ricerat. They marinated it for a couple of hours and then we had a bar b que. And I have to say that Rat is actually really good. It is a mix between chicken and pork tastes with a consistency like chicken but a bit more bony. We ate and drank ricewine with the owner and loved every minute (see pictures). Im glad I had the chance to try rat. Hopefully I will get some more strange foods as I travel throughout Thailand and Malaysia. Otherwise we had a great time riding up and dow the river and checking out local businesses such as brick builders, candy makers, and a rice husking plant. O and I also got to hold a gigantic Python (also see pictures). I am a little tired and sweated out from the trip so I am just going to upload some pictures and videos for everyone to enjoy. Peace

Saigon, AKA Ho Chi Minh City

2009-04-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

After we left Nha Trang last night we had a 6 hour overnight train to Saigon. We arrived at 4:30am and went to the Hotel to drop our luggage off. A short breakfast later and we were off to the Cuchi Tunnels just outside of the city. This was a pretty interesting trip. The Cuchi tunnels were what were dug out by the Vietnamese during the war to elude the US forces. While we were there we were able to go down into the tunnel and experience it. Funny that they actually dugout the tunnel more so that westerners were able to fit into them. I didn't do the whole 100 meters of the trip. I had to get out early because they were just way to small for a guy like me and they were crazy hot. I did enjoy the history and seeing the B52 bomb craters. The highlight of the trip, however, was getting to shoot an AK-47 with live ammo. Crazy Cool. We leave early tomorrow morning for the Mekong delta where we are going for an overnight homestay. Because of that I wont post tomorrow but as soon as I get back to tell everyone all about. I hope everyone is doing well.
Peace

Ouch

2009-04-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

Some more pictures

2009-04-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

Some Pictures

2009-04-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Same Same But Different

2009-04-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Nha Trang
April 19, 2009
8:30 am

Two days ago I was sitting on the back of a dive boat with my wet suit around my waste, I had just finished my last dive for my PADI certification. The boat was rocking gently, the sea a glowing blueish green, and green mountains jetting out of the water. I tilter my head down from the sun and the cool breeze and glanced at my diving compass. I was facing north. I adjusted myself and found the direction of home, some 8,000 miles away. I could see fishermen in the distance. In that direction, I thought, was home and family, friends, love, and familiarity. In that direction was me or what was supposed to be me. All I could think, however, was that I have never felt more at home here. By `here` I mean traveling. I miss my loved ones but something tells me in my heart that this is the way for me to live. That this is who I am. And all I can think of this morning is something an expat from texas said to me last night, `Fortune favors the bold`.

We arrived in Nha trang yesterday from whale island. The very first thing that Charlie, Kate, and I did was to go and get some different food besides rice, fish, and noodles. Nicely we found a restuarant right next to our hotel called TEXAS. And you may have guessed it that it is a Texas steakhouse. The owner is from Fort Worth and imports all of his beef from the USA. We had steak and chicken wings and apple cobbler and Holy Crap it was awesome. I know that I am supposed to be overseas and experiencing different cultures and food but sometimes a little piece of home is the best pick me up. I will do some exploring today of this nice beach town. Later I am going to get a haircut which I have decided will be a MowHawk. That should be interesting and I will post some pictures of that soon. Then at 9:00pm tonight we hop an overnight train for Siagon, or Ho Chi Minh City. That will be our last stop in Vietnam before Cambodia.

Peace

Cobra Wine, Diarrhea, Blisters, Sun, Swimming, Diving and Happiness.

2009-04-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

Whale Island
April 17, 2009
1:30pm

I havn't posted for a few days but that is because I have been so busy. I am glad to say that I am now officially a certified PADI Scuba Diver. I think that I have discovered a new love and hobby. We did many dives around beautiful coral and finished my last two today with 18 meter dives. When I come back to Houston I am going to definitely pursue this even more. Thank God I am only like 3 hours away from every Island in the Caribbean. I had a great instructor named Emma who worked with me this week and taught me all that I needed to know. Luckily there has been no sun burn over the past few days in whale island. When I got back from the dive today I met the rest of my group having lunch on the side of teh beach. There they congratulated me and handed me a small bottle Cobra wine. I then proceeded to drink it (I have pictures) and then gag like crazy. Surprisingly cobra wine tastes just like nasty snake. It was worth the picture I tell you. Right now I am tanned and happy, despite a mild case of travelers diarrhea:-(. I have so many details to talk about but I am going to wait until I have pictures to post with it until I add more. For now, I am happy as pig shit and loving every minute of our trip. O and I am ok and alive. Talk to you soon.

A few More

2009-04-14T04:39:00.001-07:00

I Love Diving

2009-04-14T04:21:00.000-07:00

I Just finished my first ever scuba dive here on whale island. It was amazing and everyone told me that I did great for a beginner. I am going to take the full course so that I can get PADI certified, which will involve a couple of dives over 5 days but then I can dive anywhere I want. The scenery is great here. Our beach bungalow is 10 feet from the shore with jungle right behind us. A storm is rolling in right now that is lighting up the sky brilliantly. This is living. I will get some pictures of whale island posted soon but until then i have some more that I can share from my past stuff so far. Again if its black and white its Charlie's. ENjoy.

Paradise and Blue Water

2009-04-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

Whale Island
April 14, 2009
12:43 pm

SO three of us decided to leave Hue and skip Hoi An all together. We were jsut so damn tired of cities. There is only so many temples and buildings you can see. We wanted to dive and sit by the ocean. My mate Charlie is a certified dive instructor so he will be showing me the ropes and getting me started on diving in a couple hours. As for the trip here is was pretty long and intense. We left Hue at 2pm yesterday and took a shitty ass hot ad uncomfortable bus to Hoi An before we were able to switch to our sleeper bus for the 14 hour overnight trip to Nha trang. Charlie got sick and threw up on the side of the road while me and Kate laughed. After that one of the ladies on the bus started to dry heave into a plastic bag which was pretty disgusting but so funny that I actually almost pissed in my pants. After Nha Trang we took a two hour drive and a small boat ride to Whale Island.It is small and the only resort on the island. Absolutely Beautiful. In about a hour we will start wokring on getting me prepared for diving and then its into the water. Ill update you later on that and bring you some pictures.

More Pictures

2009-04-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Ill post more details about what I have been doing as soon as I get done with the 16 hour bus ride to Whale Island.

Pictures

2009-04-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures so far from my journey. The Black and white ones are from my friend Charlie. Enjoy

If The Boats A Rockin.....

2009-04-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

Hanoi
April 10, 2009
4:00pm

So we just made it back from Halong Bay. It was a great night. Halong Bay, which means descending dragon, is part of UNESCO's world heritage sites. It was pretty amazing. Basically it is this massive area that is filled with about 1600 limestone rocks that jet out of the water, some hundreds of feet. When we arrived at Halong bay we boarded our boat which would be our personal boat for the rest of the night. The upstairs area was a tiny dining room which served us breakfast lunch and dinner. Underneath that were our cabins with beds and full bathroom. We traveled into the bay and began to take in the beauty of our surroundings. As we ventured further and further in the bay we saw floating fishing villages and a creepy mist that blanketed the whole area. Our first stop was a cave that was in one of these rock formations. We climbed about a hundreds steps and explored. After that we jumped into our swim trunks and went kayaking through the area to this hidden bay that could only be accessed through a small cave. When we got there I hopped out of the boat and went swimming. The water was cool, the rocks were covered by lush greenery and jetted into the sky, and you could hear birds in the distance singing the day out. I was in heaven and totally at peace. When I do things like this, it just reminds me how amazing the world really is and how much our problems are really nothing. We create chaos in our lives and we jsut dont realize how simple it can be. This makes not ever want to stop traveling. Im sad that I have to go home in a few months and start working.

When we finally returned to the boat I decided that I was still in the swimming mood and began jumping and diving off of our boat while everyone else simply watched. They dont know what they missed. I had so much fun. For the rest of the night we ate and drank for hours. I love my group and I feel so lucky that I was able to meet these people who share my interests from all around the globe.

When morning came took the boat to this beach and swam for about an hour in the foggy bay. It was a perfect close to the trip. One thing I must add though is how touristy this place was. After seeing it I think it is a shame that this beautiful place may be at risk because of people like me.

For the rest of the day we are having some free time. We will go later on tonight and do some Karaoke. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel and leave Hanoi on the reunification express for a 12 hour train ride to Hue. Now we start making our way down Vietnam.

Here are some photos of Halong bay so you can get an idea of the place. They are not mine. I am working on getting mine together for this. My friend Charly on this trip is also a great photographer with an amazing camera. I will post some of his pics later. Peace

Does it hurt when I do this?

2009-04-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Hanoi
April 9, 2009
7:00am

YES! I am so sore right now. The trek from the last three days wore me out but it was absolutely amazing. One of the best things that I have ever done. When we set out we had to drive for about 5 hours to get to our beginning spot. The drive was beautiful. The country side and topography is unlike anything that I have ever seen. It is very lush and tropical. The trek on the first day was only about 2 hours so not too bad, although it was uphill for most of the journey and climbing up the side of a mountain is not easy at times. When we arrived at our first village for the homestay we came into a large valley. This village was very basic and not very affluent but it was just fine with me. We spent about 2 hours exploring the village and take pictures before we had dinner. After dinner was homemade rice wine over a fire. A very nice evening.

The second day was the tough one. After having breakfast we set our for our 5 or 6 hour trek. All of today was downhill so I didnt think it was going to be so bad. It turns out that it also included going down the side of a mountain that had to handrail, hundreds of feet drops, and a path that was littered with the most slick rocks I have ever seen. This path as Sid our leader pointed out is where people get hurt and break bones. Lucky me that I happened to have the worst traction on my shoes out of the group. After falling on my ass several times and developing some nice bleeds over my body, our cook cut me some bamboo walking stick and proceeded to walk behind me holding the back of my backpack to stop me from falling. It felt a little embarassing but it was also funny as shit. This lastest the whole of the 1000 meter decent. But after a long struggle we did in fact make it down and the rest of the walk was like a dream. We proceeded to walk through small villages, through rice paddys, into towering bamboo forests, and meet with local children who would sing us songs along our journey. Let me say that the scenery was absolutely BREATHTAKING. We where of the large tourist tracks and in the middle of true Vietnam. I canèt put it into words how amazing it was so whenever I have the chance to upload some pictures I will post them and let them tell my story for me.

That night was met with a traditional meal including bamboo, which was not very good but not horrible. After that our whole group and the local family that we were staying with proceeded to indulge in the rice wine again, which tastes different in every village because it is homemade. To make a long story short, everyone got very drunk last night and four people proceeded to get sick. I was one of those four people. Not one of my proudest moments but we have such a great group and we all laughed it off and just enjoyed the fact that we were having fun. Just to note that the rice wine is good stuff and goes down smooth so it was hard not to drink just a bit more. Thank God I slept it off last night. I feel much better.

Today should be another very fun day. We are leaving in an hour and a half for Halong Bay. When we get there we will kayak around and explore the scenery. After that we have a private boat in the bay that we will eat dinner on, swim, and sleep for the night. I am going to make sure that I sleep on deck underneath the stars. I cant wait. Tomorrow we will go to a small deserted island and spend some time on the beach and swim before heading back to Hanoi for one more night before we start the next part of our trip. Ill post again tomorrow. Peace

No ones hands up these asses.

2009-04-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hanoi
April 6, 2009
7:41 am

I went to the water puppet show last night, which is world famous. I really enjoyed the music and creativity of what they do. They create some pretty amazing things. I am leaving in an hour to go on a hill tribe trek and stay in villages with locals so I will not be posting for about three days but will be sure to do so as soon as I get back. Peace.

Where My Ho's At?

2009-04-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hanoi
April 5, 2009
3:00pm

So I went this after noon to see the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. I was intending to go in and see "Uncle Ho's" actual preserved body but they close it at 11:00am everyday. Not much for the working hours. Instead me and some people from the group went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum right next to it. I have to say that I was not impressed. For a museum dedicated to straight up propaganda, it fell short. It was funny at times to see how much the Vietnamese build this guy up to be God-like and it was also a bit strange to see how popular this is with the local people. They actually do like this guy. Other than that we went and saw some monestary in the middle of town and had some lunch. Im going to relax for a bit and then go an get a Vietnamese message at 5pm. Its a proper message though and not in whore house in case you are wondering. hopefully the waterpuppets will be fun tonight. I am really looking forward that.

Bia Ha Noi - The Local Hanoi Beer

2009-04-04T19:17:00.001-07:00

Hungry?

2009-04-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Hanoi
April 5, 2009
7:30am

Wandered the streets close to my hotel. "One Hour, One Hour, One Hour!" A local man yells on a bike with lounge seating attached. "No THanks" I say although being in something instead of walking maybe safer for me at this point with the motorcycles and bikes flying past me. With hardly any street lights or stop signs, I have already gotten hit today. Crossing the street rests on a wish and a prayer.
Hanoi is a vibrant city that is a visual overload to the senses. Everything is constantly moving and standing still does not seem to be an option. The mixing of the old and the new are apparent throughout the city. Temples, cars, bicycles with overflowing plants and herbs, thatched hats.

Food

I have been trying to eat a lot of local food while I am here. Mostly noodles so far. I really love it though because everything is so cheap. For lunch yesterday I had a huge bowl of Pho noodles and 2 local beers for about $5 USD. When I went to the outdoor market I was hit by the new and strange. I saw roasted dog, live huge toads, cages of Gigantic rabbits (that looked delicious I might say), eggs I have never seen, slugs, snakes, ect. It was an intense scene that I am going to go back to today. I may venture and try the dog.

I am going to see Ho chi Min's Mausoleum today and later see the water puppets which I hear is a favorite among the locals. Ill do this with some of the people that I met in my group, which numbers 12. We have a good mix from Aussie, UK, Sweden, and Nepal. I have to say though that I am a bit jealous of many of them. For the most part they are all on long trips like I am but most of them are a lot longer than the 3 months that I am doing. One girl is on an eight month trip. I knew that I didnt plan enough! damn.

O Well

Is that $2,700,000 Dong In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me

2009-04-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hanoi, Vietnam
April 4, 2009
7:30 am

Traveling can suck sometimes, especially when you have to be on planes for 24 hours straight with no sleep. I pushed through and despite the rank smell from the guy I had to sit next to on my last 4 1/2 hour flight, I finally arrived in Hanoi. I was smart enough to book ahead with my hotel at the Hong Ngoc 2 for a taxi. Despite not being able to communicate with my driver (remember a nod and a smile goes a long way) it was a great trip in. Surprisingly the city is incredibly dark at night. I went past miles of housing with not so much of a speck of light except for the small row of red light whore houses that I saw right outside the airport. Incredibly, people actually turn off the electricity at night here. I was only afforded the luxory of light in my hotel room, the TV and A/C had been turned off for the night. So far I am finding that Vietnamese people are very nice and am looking forward to venturing out after I have breakfast. I also feel pretty safe here as well (this may be because I am a lot taller and larger than most of the small Vietnamese people).
And so my trip begins. In a couple of days me and my group will be going on a hill tribe trek to meet up and stay the night with some of the tribes. This should put me out of communication for about 3 or 4 days but I will be sure to have some rich tales to post when I do. Until then, I will still post tomorrow and tell about my trek through the center of town.
Peace

Pre-Trip Run Down

2009-04-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Well its finally here. I am double checking everything right now and making sure that my pack it all loaded up. Im gonna go to bed here in about 2 hours and will wake up at 4:30 in the morning so that I can make it to Newark airport on time. To be frank, Im a little nervous and a bit anxious about whats to come. I fly to Washington D.C first and then fly out with Korean airlines to Seoul, South Korea. Thats a 14 hour trip. I will transfer there one more time and head to Hanoi, Vietnam from there. All in all it will be about 26 hours traveling. Because of this I won't post for a few days but you can be sure I will get something up as soon as I can. Wish me luck!

Countdown

2009-03-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

Countdown to my Asia trip

BEERCATION ITINERARY!

2009-03-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

It's out! This is our Beercation Itinerary. I think its gonna be an awesome trip. I can't wait till it starts. Thanks to Matt for putting this together. Some nice work. For a full listing of the Top 50 US Breweries go to the BeerAdvocate.

T-Shirt design for Beercation 2009.

2009-03-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

When I get back to the US in June, Beercation starts. It will be a beer adventure on the likes that no one has ever seen. A tour of America's greatest Breweries including my all time favorite beer Fattire in Fort Collins, Colorado. We are thinking of making shirts for the occation. Here is what we have for a design so far.

My Vietnam and Cambodian Visa

2009-03-24T06:53:00.000-07:00