TravelStream™ news feed for member minerguy on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/minerguy en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:32:37 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227401580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227401580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227401580/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:32:37 -0500 Galapagos and Ecuador

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Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Thanks for all the positive feedback I've heard from the first couple of posts.  It sounds like I'm doing a good job of promoting the Galapagos for them, commission free too.  What a nice guy.Second half of the tour.  Thirteen of us on the boat, 12 if you don't count the German girl that didn't talk to anyone.  The snorkeling was great (see previous post).  Not as much travel on the boat and really busy days.  The first afternoon was different as we just took our little boat out to a mangrove area on the coast.  It had a bunch of shallow areas where we could see turtles, sharks, rays, and others swimming around.  After that it was a hike and snorkel before lunch and after about everyday.  The first and last nights on the boat were pretty rough, but no one got sick.  We played lots of cards in the evenings.  Ok, now go ahead and have a look at the pics, that's why your really here anyways.  Once again watch out for the video sizes (just two of them I think).B
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227320460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227320460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227320460/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:52:34 -0500 Galapagos and Ecuador

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Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Pictures and videos from the underwater camera.  Good stuff, videos aren't ridiculously big either.  In fact if you are looking for a reason to go visit there watch this video.  If you don't want to go, don't watch.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227577440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227577440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/2/1227577440/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:24:16 -0500 Galapagos and Ecuador

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Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Here are some pictures from the first half of my boat tour on the Amigo Yacht.  The wildlife was absolutely amazing, such a unique place in regards to the animals there and even more so that they just aren't afraid of people so they do their normal thing or check you out while you take their picture.  There were better land animals for this half because we were at the older islands where they've had a bit more time to adapt and more vegetation has grown.Everyone on the boat was a ton of fun and food was great.  I'm not a food guy by any means, but still yummy.  There were 16 passengers, 6 crew, and a guide with us.  I was the only American (big surprise), but no one seemed to hold it against me.  Actually most were excited to hear a bit about the election.  The schedule for the first half was breakfast, hike, lunch, siesta, hike, snorkel, snacks and beer, dinner, more beer, and sleep.  It varied a little bit, but that's pretty close.  The water was cold even with my wetsuit and the snorkeling was much better later on.  I had gotten an underwater digital camera for the trip and got a few nice shots and videos, I'll put them in the next update.  We started on Santa Cruz in the middle and went to Espanola in the southwest and back with stops at various islands along the way.  Ok enough talk check out the photos.  Careful downloading the videos, most of them are around 50 meg so make sure that you are on a good connection.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1179766860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1179766860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1179766860/tpod.html Mon, 21 May 2007 14:09:53 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Pakse, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I had a couple of days in Pakse before I had to get going.  That gave me enough time to head up to Ban Saphai where they do weaving for the skirts that all the women do.  I asked how to get there at my guesthouse and found out that they were going to be starting their rocket festival the day I wanted to go.  The rocket festival is a pre-Buddhist tradition where the towns shoot rockets up in the air in order to anger the gods and which will cause them to make it rain.  Its done at the start of May every year in order to provoke the rainy season into starting.  The fact that the rainy season was already beginning wasn't going to stop them from celebrating.I headed to the main market to catch a shared tuk-tuk up there.  Its a good thing I had to go there because every time I tried to get a ride within town they just to me to the market assuming that all tourists wanted to go there whenever they didn't understand what you were asking for.  During the wait for the tuk-tuk to fill up I got talking to a monk heading the same way and told me he would show me around the festival and take me up to his village where they were also having one.  Every ten minutes the driver would tell me would could leave now if I would pay $10, then it became $5, but after an hour or so enough people showed up and off we went for the normal $1 fee.Everyone in town was at the festival and despite the fact I didn't need a guide I followed our my new acquaintance.  All the people there were dressed up in costumes and dancing around the temple which was in the center of the area.  They had 5 gallon buckets for drums and where singing and chanting along with them.  Once again I was the only wait face around which made me an attraction also.  I am pretty sure that if I wasn't there with a monk I would have been pulled into the main party right away.  As it was we went around and saw the different things going on dancing, shooting rockets, traditional dances, and general celebrating.Once we got to the monk's village we found his mom and relatives quickly who all wanted their picture taken which was easy enough to take care of.  Since all the rockets are homemade and up to about 2 feet in length there were a couple of "misfires" which sent the crowds fleeing.  There was also one rocket that shot straight up and landed about 10 feet away from me.  I had my back to it talking to someone and found myself being pushed away all of sudden but had no problems with it once I saw why.We headed up to the monks home and temple next.  I was reluctant to leave all the fun, but didn't know what was in store next.  Turns out it wasn't much, although I did get to take a shower (tub of water with a bucket to pour over you) which was nice because I couldn't stop sweating from all the people around and humidity.  I took a few more pictures of the monk and relatives and got their address so I can send them some copies.  We started heading back towards where the tuk-tuk dropped us off at just as it started raining.  Along the way we ran into some of the party goers whose picture I'd taken earlier and I was called in to have some whiskey and beer with them.  I ended up donating (buying) three more bottles of beer for them and wanted to keep moving knowing the tuk-tuk wouldn't be running much longer.  When we got to town, sure enough there weren't anymore tuk-tuks.  My new friend was quite worried, but I told him I would just start walking and someone would give me a ride.  He couldn't quite get this concept for a while and then seemed worried when he did.  I was over 10 miles from town and it would be dark in about 40 minutes.  Eventually he said goodbye and I got on my way.  Ten minutes later a pickup pulled over and asked where I was heading.  Same as them so they squeezed me in the back and dropped me off half a mile from where I was heading.  While I was walking around the road I wasn't worried at all about getting a ride or getting to where I needed to go, just that it would start raining again and I'd have to put on my raincoat.  My white skin was making everyone slow down to look and wonder why I was walking and I knew I'd get a ride pretty quick that way.  Thankfully the rain held off and I things worked out fine.My last morning in Pakse I went around spending the last of my kip (Laos money) a little bit on some souvenirs I wanted, but mainly on food and junk that I was just using my money up on.  Regardless I only had $9 so I did pretty well again estimating how much I was going to need.  I took a bus to Ubon Thailand, where I first had my ear looked at, and then went to the train station to get an overnight train to Bangkok.  There were no sleeping compartments left on the train so I spent a not very comfortable or restful night sitting on the train and arrived into Bangkok 12 hours after we left at 7am.My hostel there was able to get me in then and headed for a shower first thing.  After a call home for mother's day it was time to get things ready to go.  I did my laundry, got a couple of books for the plane, spent the last of my Thai money (with some left for a cab the next morning) and did a fitting for a suit I'd ordered while in Bangkok for my ear infection.  The suit was ready that night and so was I.  My alarm was set for 3:45 am so I could make my 6:50 flight.  Next thing I knew one of the guys in the room was saying "Brian its 4:50".  Oh No!  I was a 40 minute cab ride from the airport and my flight left in 2 hours.  I had about two seconds to panic and then threw on my clothes, grabbed my bag and ran downstairs.  First cab I saw said 400 Baht, I told him I wanted to go by the meter and he said no so I hopped in the next cab behind him.  I was really sweating if I was going to make it and realized I should have told the first guy ok, but 500 if your there in 30 minutes, would have been a perfect movie line.  I'd taken a cab from that hostel to the airport a couple of times and this guy was not heading the same way as all the rest had.  No way was I going to make it I figured.  We finally got onto the expressway I was expecting after both of the tollbooths.  He knew what he was doing because at 5:35 I was getting out of the cab and paid 220 with a tip!  I looked at the departure board and found my flight which was now leaving 10 minutes earlier, it just keeps getting better.  Luckily for me there was no line for check in, customs, or security and after buying a breakfast sandwich and converting my last 1000 baht to US dollars I was sitting at the gate waiting at 6am.  No way in the world would have thought possible when I woke up.  I'm just thankful that I'd talked to the guy last night so he knew I was supposed to be gone and he happened to wake up when he did.  The rest of the day went smooth, just a lot sitting on the plane until I arrived in Baltimore.  That part of the trip will have to wait for the next update though.Back in the states, Brian
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178938140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178938140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178938140/tpod.html Fri, 11 May 2007 23:44:06 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Tat Lo, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

After a lazy day in Pakse I set up a tour to go to the Bolavan Plateau to go see the tallest waterfall in Laos at 125 meters, three other waterfalls, a tea and coffee plantation, and a local village.  The tour was through the guesthouse I was staying at and six of us set off in the morning.  Our guide was quite good (again) and funny as well although I don't think that all of it was on purpose.  The first stop was the tea plantation which was similar to the one I'd visited in Malaysia although the surrounding area and scenery wasn't as fantastic.  It turns out the guide has a couple of acres where he and his wife have started growing tea plants so he was able to share his knowledge and had to repeat it a few times to get everyone to understand.  Our second stop was at Tat Fan, the 125 meter waterfall.  As my last write up said the rainy season has begun here and it actually hasn't been too bad during the daytime, mainly just at evening and overnight.  Still clouds rolled in that day covering the mountain tops and also hiding the waterfall.  Our guide told us we wouldn't be able to see it when we got there and asked for one person to walk down take a picture to show everyone.  We all ended up going and you could see the fall which didn't sound to far away, but the clouds were too thick to see the fall.  It was still a neat walk down there through the trees and cloud plus we saw a spider eating a big cicada on the walk back.We went to the coffee plantation next which looked fairly similar to the tea except that the trees are taller.  Laos is apparently known for making really good coffee although most of it goes to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and France.  Laos is a former colony of France so you still find signs in French and lots of places to buy loaves of french bread (as blessing for me).  From the coffee plantation walked past our guides tea plantations over a very slippery path, crossed a stream and arrived at the second waterfall.  This one was upstream of Tat Fan, but not in the clouds and impressive in its own right.  It had a 45 meter drop in a gorgeous green valley that had a mound in the middle you could walk out into and be surrounded by mist and forest.  I had to snap a few pictures, but that also meant the camera needed a good drying and lens cleaning when I got out.  I would have guessed the height of the falls even higher and was disappointed we couldn't see the higher one (I talked to the guide last night and that is the only day it has been hidden this week).We made our way to the minority village next.  It was a good sized village and is known for a couple of things.  One they make their caskets well before they die and store them under their houses.  Also once someone is buried they leave them in the casket for 15 years then take out the bones, rebury them and reuse the casket.  The caskets were so small it was tough to see how the could get even the small Lao people in them.  All the caskets used to be made from a tree trunk that was hollowed out with a separate lid, but they have started going to concrete ones which are cheaper (and a bit bigger).  The other unique thing in that area in their religion which in Animist believing that all living things have spirits and that they stay around after their death.  They will pray before killing any animal or to their ancestors for a successful hunt and so on.  Once a year they sacrifice a Buffalo to bring good luck for the village.  The village also had a large school which was in session while we were there so we got to watch some of the lessons going on through the windows.  I realized while I was there that it seems like I'm always taking pictures of kids while in the villages, but hardly see any adults.  I figured out there are two reasons for this, one most of the adults are outside the village working in the fields or forest and two each family has 8-12 kids so there are way more children to see than adults.  Our guide said that they eat sticky rice and chilies for basically every meal, but they must have been doing alright since they had gotten electricity a few years ago and nearly every home had a satellite and tv in it.  They also make large bamboo water pipes here and smoke tobacco from them.  This means men, women, and children.  A couple of the smokers on our tour and the guide tried it and all said it was much stronger than what they are used to.We had another long drive to the last two waterfalls which were much shorter, but wider than the early one.  Along all of the walks there was so much color from flowers growing everywhere and butterflies passing by.  I left the tour at this point and stayed in a guesthouse for two nights and arranged to meet the tour then to get a ride back to Pakse.  The next morning I went on a 4 hour walk with a guide past the same two waterfalls and onto some new villages.  I didn't really see anything new, but it was nice going into the village with just two people as the villagers weren't quite as shy (or fed up) with being on tour.  Also the guide was very friendly with them so he would often stop to chat.  The guide spoke limited english, but pointed out all the food items starting to grow in the fields.  We saw lots of rice, chilies, peanuts, bananas, and even a pumpkin plant.  It was really nice walking like this because it was basically like going on a hike by myself which I hadn't had the chance to do in a long time since you weren't talking back and forth all the time.  With less than a week left over here it gave me a chance to reflect on all that I've seen and done over here and getting my mind ready to be back in America.  It is still going to be a big shock when I get back, but know that it will seem normal again before I know it.  The rest of the time there I just found some rocks near the river or falls to sit, read, and relax.  Again something I hadn't done in a while especially in such a quiet and beautiful spot.I was picked up right on time on Thursday, just as a heavy rain was ending and my guide said that my friends had showed up at the guesthouse that morning.  I knew who he meant since in Luang Prabang Tamzin and Phoebe said they were going to be in Pakse at this time and I'd emailed them letting them know where I was staying.  They weren't at the guesthouse when I got back, but it isn't a big town so wondered around and found them eating dinner at the place I wanted to go to anyways.  They'd spent 8 days in Vang Vieng and were recovering from that so we didn't have too late of a night.  As I said I really had to drag myself away from there as it is an easy to get sucked into.  We saw each other at breakfast and then they were heading south to the 4,000 Islands were I originally entered into Laos the first time.I wasn't in a too energetic mood and decided to postpone my day trip to Saturday and went to get a haircut again before I got back.  The first one I got in Cambodia came out well and at $0.75 quite a bargain.  This one was a whole $2, but included a shave and couple minute neck and shoulder massage.  All day I kept feeling my face, the smoothest it had been since I was 10 years old.  Tomorrow I will take a bus into Thailand and then the overnight train to Bangkok where I'll have 24 hours to finish up some souvenir shopping and pack up to head home.  I'm heading to Baltimore first to go to the Preakness horse race for my annual sporting event and meeting the same crowd as went to the baseball games in Boston and NY last year (see earlier posts).  It should be a great time and a good way to ease myself back into life over there.Bye for now,Brian
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178506020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178506020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1178506020/tpod.html Mon, 07 May 2007 00:33:38 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Tha Kaek, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

A quick note on my final day in Luang Prabang.  The waterfall was everything I'd hoped for a huge nearly 100 meter tall fall over several levels.  I walked up to the top, but the most impressive view was from the bottom.  It was Lao Labor Day so there were lots of Lao families there picnicking and drinking Beerlao along with all the tourists there.  I flew to Vientiane that night which was a great decision.  A 33 minute flight versus a 9 hour bus ride.  I talked to a couple later on that took the bus and they said 4 people were sick on the bus because of the windy road.  Also, I met a girl that works at the French embassy in Vientiane on the plane and she offered me a place to stay so I saved on the taxi into town and a nights stay.  The next morning I got up early and took a bus down to Tha Kaek.  I couldn't believe when the bus actually left on time when it was only half full.  Normally you just wait until its full and then leave.  I quickly figured out why as we spent the next hour and a half stopping along the way picking up anyone heading south.  I still made it to Tha Kaek at midday.  I'd read in my guide book about how some travelers are renting motor bikes there and doing a three to four day ride out into the country in a loop, stopping along the way to see some waterfalls, caves, and villages.  All together the loop is about 250 miles and over half of that is on dirt roads that can get very rough.  The guesthouse I was staying at has a book where people who have done the loop before right down there experiences, advice, and draw maps of what to see.  I spent a couple hours looking through that and went into town to rent a bike.Many of the stories in the book talk about how the bikes are in horrible shape because of the beating they take doing the loop and many have 3 or 4 blown intertubes, a tire that needs to be replaced, and even a couple of people who's bike died completely.  The motorbikes are just little 100cc road bikes and there aren't any dirt bikes available.  I eventually found a transportation travel place and walked in seeing a hummer, jeep, and other off road vehicles, but no bikes.  I asked the guy and he said they didn't have any, but his older sister did.  We got on his bike and 1 minute later were at her house where I was able to rent the bike ($10US/day) she normally uses for herself.  That was good in that it hadn't been beat up on the road so much, but I was really hoping that I didn't do any permanent damage to it.  I treated myself to a spaghetti and garlic bread dinner that night planning on spending the next four days without seeing anything like that available.Day 1I woke up early planning on spending a full day on the road.  I'd gotten a map a the visitor's center in town that talked about different spots to see along the way and how many kilometers they were down the road.  Neither the odometer or speedometer worked on the bike, but all the roads here have kilometer markers every kilometer so I figured it would be no problem.  Well this was a dirt road and under construction every few minutes so there weren't any markers they whole way.  It was a cloudy morning which was nice keeping the temperature down, but I really didn't want it to start raining and be trying to drive in the mud all the way.  The road was in fairly good shape and I could cruise along in 4th gear.  It did get dusty whenever you passed any other traffic so I had a bandanna tied around my nose and mouth.  The helmet I had also had a face shield which helped reduce that too.  Really after reading the book at the lodge the dust wasn't near as bad as I was expecting and far worse in northeast Cambodia where I had spend 5 days.I hit the first landmark, a shell gas station, after an hour and a half where I filled up a followed the main road starting north.  Here traffic got busier as there is a big hydroelectric dam project going on which also meant big trucks going by.  Luckily I was the one passing them instead of the other way so I got to make sure there was plenty of space and time to do so.  The dam looks like it is a huge project as I spent about 2-3 hours seeing signs for different turnoffs for it and their pickup trucks driving along the road.  That did mean that they were fixing up the road and had it nice in some parts, but hadn't gotten everywhere.  Again there were no signs except for an occasional town sign, but the towns where so small they didn't appear on any maps.  It was fun to stop on the road in some of them to stretch my legs or get a drink.  They obviously don't see many travelers and I would be the center of attention until I left.At this point about 4 hours in, the gas gage had stopped working, I'd lost on rubber foot rest, and the basket in front was starting to come off from when I'd had my bag in there and it couldn't handle the weight.  I think the basket was already starting to come apart, but don't know for sure.  I tied my bag down behind me and just left my water bottles in the basket.  An hour later I hit a big bump, my water bottles flew up and the basket fell off bouncing along the road.  I went back and got my bottles, one had a hole so I drank what I could and brought the other one with me.  I felt like I was making good time and all of a sudden realized I couldn't remember seeing another vehicle in about an hour.  Hmmm, am I really on the right road.  I had tried sticking to what looked like the most used road, but there had been some turnoffs here and there.  I knew I was more or less heading north and in the right direction so I stuck with it.  At some point my gas gage started working again, but was showing full after I'd been on the road a while.  I came into a larger town and saw a station and decided better safe than sorry so I went to fill up.  It only took about 2 liters and was still close to full.  I eventually figured out that if they fill it too much the gage gets air locked and doesn't register until it comes down a liter or two.  I also saw a bank in town and figured out I'd made it farther (Lak Sao) than I planned which was a nice surprise.  I decided to get a room here and a new basket.  Both were easily taken care (and the foot rest).  It was about 2:30 when I made it into town and at 4 was eating when the skies opened up and it poured down for 40 minutes.  Boy, was I glad I was off the road and past the worst part of the dirt road when that happened.  The town I pulled into had a paved road and I was going to be using it for the next 60 kilometers.Day 2Since I was further than planned I decided to take the dirt road north for an hour just to see what was there and double back on the same road.  The road had dried up nicely during the night and was packed down well so there where no problems.  It was a very nice drive.  Clouds were still around and very low covering the tops of the mountains on both sides of me.  I passed a few more small villages and took some pictures of them with the clouds and mountains in the background, very picturesque.  I double back and got on the paved road.What a luxury that was, you could just let the bike run and not be bouncing up and down every few seconds.  At noon I was pulling into the town to turn at for the cave I wanted to go see, but headed to a guesthouse I'd read about for lunch and to get the latest info on what to see.  I spent an hour and had decided that I could make it to the cave and do the tour that afternoon instead of the following morning and comfortably make it a three day trip instead of four.  I was heading back onto a dirt road for a 50 kilometer ride to the cave.  This road has also been improved over the last couple of years primarily as tourism to the cave has increased.  The cave is unique in that it is a five mile long cave with a river running through it that you can take a boat on all the way through.  There are a few shallow areas where you have to get out and wade through the water or along an outcrop while the guides pull the boat for you.It took about 1.5 hours and I was at the cave entrance where I payed my parking fee, cave entrance fee, and hired a boat to take me along.  The boat can take up to three people, plus a driver at the back and puller in front.  There weren't any other people (tourists) around so I had to hire the whole boat myself.  The guides each have a headlamp and I had brought my own otherwise you just get to look at where ever they happen to be looking.  The cave is huge!  Not just long but the smallest area we were in was probably 30 yards across and 10 high.  At times you couldn't see both sides of the cave (over 100 yards) and a good 30-40 yards tall.  As the serious rains hadn't begun yet the water is lower so you have to get and walk a little bit more, but also go a little slower because of it and get to see more.  A couple times one guide would take me to a little side are where we could see some of the formations in the cave.  All too soon I could see light and realized we were at the other end.  We walked a little ways towards and then got in the boat and headed out.  As soon as we got out of the cave there was a big clap of thunder and dark clouds above us.  We hurried to the launch point where they dropped me off.  I was going to do a homestay in the village that night where you get to hang out with the locals, have dinner and breakfast, and take of the next day.  My guide said that I could stay with him and shouted something in Lao as I was getting off the boat.  He and the other guy continued driving up the river and I walked up to my bike.  I thought that he was just going to park and would come get me in a couple of minutes.  At this time it started to sprinkle so I walked to the other side of the bamboo I was standing buy and settled in by the base to stay dry.  Little kids where running around picking up fruit being knocked down by the rain, but they were the only ones around.  The rain really started picking up and I was getting soaked quickly.   I got on the bike and pulled under the first roof I saw where me and the bike could fit.  As soon as I did someone was coming down from his hut and waved me to come up there to get out of the rain.  That is just what I was hoping for and hurried on up.  His wife and two kids were there while he took his buckets and headed down to the river for water.  The kids took a while but eventually got used to having me there and brought me some of the fruits they had been gathering.  I think they are called honey melons, but they were the size of a large egg with a big seed in the middle.  You just sucked the pulp off the seed and sides of the skin and through everything down onto the ground below were there were some chickens and pig waiting.Word must have gotten around of where I was hanging out because the guy I'd left my helmet and water bottle with came by after an hour or so.  I had two small oranges left from the market that morning and gave them to the kids for the fruit they'd given me.  The fellow that came by asked about the homestay which I said I wanted and pointed that I would stay over in that direction and someone would come by for me in a bit.  The older boy got out his school book and was showing me the pictures in it and eventually started making a drawing of a tree.  The other person for the homestay showed up then and told me to follow him.  I went down and decided to push the bike instead of tearing up the path through the village.  I could just see the bottom of his legs under the next house and this point and hustled to catch up.  After the next turn he had disappeared, but I thought I remembered the way I had come.  I did well and came to the entrance to the village a couple minutes later where I thought he would be.  Nope, I stood around in a light rain looking about.  Finally a new person came up who didn't know much English, but knew homestay.  He was pointing that I needed to drive up the main road and it would be on my left.  I tried explaining (unsuccessfully) that I was following someone and supposed to be in this area.  All this time the baby pig in the bag he was holding kept squealing which wasn't helping me concentrate, he didn't seem to notice it at all until it ripped the bag and tried to make a run for it.  This was also when the mother figured out where the screams where coming from and was approaching.  I decided that driving up the road wasn't a bad idea after all.  The road was super slick and I had both feet down just creeping along in first gear.  Every house I passed I looked for any sort of sign of where to go and asked a couple people for homestay, but just got blank looks.It was not long before dark now and I really didn't know what to do.  I remembered seeing a sign for a lodge not far up the road (on the left) and decided maybe that is where the homestay was.  Off I went as the road conditions got worse and worse.  30 minutes later I was pushing the bike when two people pushing theirs along the side of the road waved to me to come over that way as it was easier.  I tried to get over there and discovered so much mud had built up around the front tire it wouldn't spin.  The three of us wrestled the bike over and grabbed some sticks to push out all the mud.  I was able to drive again and made it to the turnoff for the lodge about an hour after I started, I think I covered maybe 1 mile.  The road to the lodge wasn't any better and I eventually made only a couple minutes after I'd lost all natural light.The guy showed me the room and said they would make dinner which were the only two things I cared about.  After ordering I realized how much physically and mentally getting to the lodge had taken out of me and I could barely keep my eyes open while they made my meal.  I scarfed it down once it came and was in bed right afterwords.  It kept raining off and on throughout the night and one more hard rain in the middle of the night.  I didn't know what the roads would be like or if I would be stuck there.  I figured worst case I could hire a tractor to take me back to the paved road.  The use their tractors as a mode of transport and have wooden beds with sides that hook to them where people, motorbikes, hay, whatever go.Day 3In the morning  I saw what a nice location the lodge was at.  Right on the river, listening to the birds and the village right next to it.  It wouldn't have been a bad place to be stuck at all.  As I ate breakfast I watched a man a wife take down their garden that was built on a bank near of the river.  Talking to the guy at the lodge they were getting ready for the wet season when the river would rise 2 meters.  As I ate I decided I should probably try to get out of there that day as it seemed like the rainy season was beginning and the roads were only going to keep getting worse.  I also was thinking that the drive to the cave had been far easier than what I had built myself up for and while I was enjoying getting in the countryside and the sights I was a bit let down that it hadn't been the adventure and challenge I'd expected.  Well that part was now taken care of so the journey was everything I'd hoped for.Back went on the damp and muddy clothes and shoes and off I went at 9.  The road was at least as bad as I remember and there was a light rain to accompany me.  At least I could see now and knew to stay on the side of the road instead of the red stuff that built up and stuck to everything.  Slick and bumpy was ok so long as I was moving forward.  This time I made maybe 5 kilometers in an hour when I saw tracks on the main road.  I decided to give it a try and found it was packed well enough to drive on and I was able to go in third gear, slowing occasionally for bumps or to detour around where a bridge was being built.  I was really having a lot of fun with it.  Being wet wasn't bothering me and my shoes already had as much mud on them as you could get so as long as I kept going I knew I would get there eventually.  I bogged down in the red mud one more time and had to get back on the side of the road, but at noon was pulling onto the paved road and driving through every puddle I could find to clean me and the bike off.  I rewarded myself at the guesthouse with a some delicious pancakes with honey on them and warm cup of tea.  From here on out the road was paved the whole way and was just going to be wet.  It rained for most of the three hours back which made it cold because of the wind (it was about 75 degrees), but I just wanted to get back so kept pushing along.  In town I washed the bike down and returned it to the lady.  I'd already paid for four days since that was my plan, but got the last days fee back along with my passport no problems at all.As I said it turned into the adventure I had built myself up for, but only because of the rain and not the road conditions and dust.  It seems like the rainy season has begun now and it has rained at least 4 hours/day for the last three days now.  Yesterday I continued on south again on a bus trip that took 8 hours when it should have been about 5.  I really think that will be my last on of those as I'll be near here the rest of week and then have one last bus into Thailand and a train trip to Bangkok where I fly out from in a week.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177990320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177990320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177990320/tpod.html Tue, 01 May 2007 00:17:54 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Well it was another gorgeous drive to up to Luang Prabang.  The whole trip was through the mountains and windy roads.  About halfway there clouds rolled in and covered the mountain tops making it that much more unique.  I still couldn't keep my eyes open the whole way and snuck in a couple of quick naps.  Because of the steep grades and turns we weren't moving too fast and it took almost 7 hours to go less than 200 miles.  Knowing this and that I would be heading back south instead of north after this town I decided then to fly most of the way south when I leave so that I wouldn't loose a day.The next morning I headed down to the main strip to figure out what and when to see everything here.  The road is lined with travel agencies offering their tours so I picked one and set up to do an elephant trek and bamboo raft trip for the following day.  I also bought my plane ticket then and was off to see all of the temples and museums around town.  The town here is easily one of the prettiest I have ever been in.  The Mekong river comes down and makes a u-turn around town so that it is set out on a peninsula.  There is a big hill in the middle which has a few temples on and around it.  The peninsula is only a couple hundred yards across and the banks of the river are covered in trees and gardens.  Everywhere you look you see green since the mountains rise back up on the other side of the river.  The houses all seem to be in good shape and still have some character.  I found out after I got here that the UN named this the best preserved city in Southeast Asia and has funding that goes to it to preserve what they have.So I went up the hill to see the temple there and a the view of town.  Just as I started up it began sprinkling rain, but there were trees covering me and I went on up.  There was a small temple and statue there, but the view was worth it.  As I described above everywhere is green with temples dotted here and there throughout the city.  Of course the rain picked up right as I got ducked into a covered spot.  One Laos family joined me in there and we spent the next hour watching the rain and staying dry.  I'd planned on heading to a waterfall that afternoon, but was getting off the hill when the van was leaving so that had to wait.  Instead I wandered around town and at about 5 they block off the main street and all of the street vendors put up tarps and start laying out their goods.  This was by far the best market I'd been to as far as stuff that I was interested in buying (and as it turned out the prices weren't bad either).  I had bought a water bottle holder and was just bending over to look at another stall when I got pushed from behind.  I turn around and there was my friends Tamzin and Phoebe that I met in Singapore and saw and Angkor Wat.  They had gone to Vietnam after Cambodia and were working their way back to Thailand.  Naturally, the shopping ended then and we headed off for some beers and to catch up again.  It turned out being a good thing that the bars shut down at 11:30 otherwise it would have been even tougher to get up for my tour the next day.I hadn't done many set tours since I've been over here, but all of them that I have done I've enjoyed and this was no exception.  They drove us out and took us to the elephants.  They weren't huge, but the one male was a still a good size.  There were wooden benches placed on their back while the driver sat on the back of the elephant's head.  They put a little stick across the front of us as a seatbelt which I thought was quite funny.  About three minutes later as soon as we started going downhill I realized you would fall out right away without it since you just had to push against it to hold yourself up.  The big male in front used the tour as an all you can eat buffet grabbing anything green along the way and digging in.  My elephant thought it should be in front so she would just keep looking to the side to get around whenever the one in front stopped.  We went on a nice walk through some forest area over a dry riverbed and down to the river where we took a little wander through the water all the way up to were our feet were hanging.  The elephants were very well behaved and never tried to blow water back on themselves like I kept expecting them to.  During the deep water portion my camera batteries decided to die so I was trying to change them, pay attention, and not drop anything.  The guides grabbed our cameras a couple of times to get pictures for us although while you were waiting in the sun you wondered if it was worth it.We made it back to our starting point and fed the elephants some bananas and leaves.  Then it was our turn to eat.  We relaxed for  a while then drove up to the river and our bamboo rafts.  They originally loaded us all on one of the smaller rafts which ended up sitting about 2 inches below the water when we were all on.  We moved to a bigger raft with no problems and off we went.  There were three inner tubes for the six of us to sit on with a guide at each end of the raft.  The guides had bamboo poles and would put them on the river bottom and push us along.  There was a fair amount of activity on the water with people fishing, moving cut trees to the bank that had been floated downstream, a group of water buffalo, and kids playing in the river here and there.  About 45 minutes downstream the guides said we could jump in and cool off.  The water was brown for all the dirt it is carrying, but was still refreshing compared to sitting in the sun and we could grab our inner tubes to float downstream in.  I spent the rest of the trip doing that and the guide grabbed my camera and got a few shots for me.  When I signed up they said we would leave at 9:30 and be done around 3.  We didn't get off the water until 4 and then had to load up and drive back so I felt like I got my monies worth.  Back in town I had to get to the market and get some souvenirs and had plans to meet Tamzin and Phoebe later on.  My shopping was taking a while as you can't just find something and buy it.  You have to find stuff you want, in good shape, and then do the bargaining.  I kept walking buy the place I was supposed to meet up, but turns out I never found them.  It wasn't a total loss as I did get a bunch of things to bring back.  I just can't go to anymore markets until I'm ready to fly back as my back is pretty much filled.  We'll see how long my two dollar beerlao tshirt lasts.  It seems like every traveler here buys one, but I like the beer and wanted one too.I'm finally going to make it to the water fall this afternoon and I think its going to be a good one.  It seems like every tuk tuk driver I pass asks if I want a ride there and all the tour agencies include it in many tours.  After that I'll be on the plane to Vientiane for the night and get on a bus to southern Laos in the morning.  Until then ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177761600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177761600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177761600/tpod.html Sat, 28 Apr 2007 08:47:43 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

After my last doctors appointment I spent the day lounging around inBangkok and decided I didn't want to do that for another week while Iwaited to see how my ear would do.  I took an overnight train thefollowing day to Laos.  I'd planned on spending one day in thecapital to extend my visa for a few days, but was given a 30 day visainstead of 15 days when I arrived so that took care of that. Instead I got on a bus and headed a few hours north to VangVieng.  Vang Vieng is a bit different than the other towns in Laos in that itis primarily just there for the backpackers coming through.  Theyhave lots of caves and rock climbing available, but what it is reallyknown for is renting an inter tube and floating down the river stoppingat the bars that have been built along the banks as you go down. I decided to wait a day for that and rented a bike my first day to gosee the caves.  The area around the town is gorgeous.  Ihadn't seen any mountains for quite a while and these just shot up outof the ground gaining altitude rapidly while still being covered ingreen trees.  After ride which felt uphill all the way (only beingable to use 2 of the 18 gears on the bike may have had something to dowith that) I arrived and crossed the river to the caves.  Thereare four in the area I went to.  They all were a good size and oneI had to stop myself from continuing into further since it had lots ofoptions of what route to take and I was in there by myself.  I wassure I knew how to get back from where I was, but it would have beenreally easy to miss my turn on the way back.  I guess when therewas an extra bike at the end of the day someone might start wondering.It worked out that the last cave I came to was the coolest.  Thecave has a river going through it and after paying your dollar theygive you an intertube and push you into the lagoon.  There wereropes tied along the route that you pull yourself along with as youwork your way into the cave.  Once they get you in there aways inin the total dark the rope ends and you have to start paddling. It was actually quite nice and I only ran into the walls twice whilepaddling backwards and staring up.  It must have gone a good 1/2mile in where you wade through the water a little ways and then goanother 1/2 mile to a dead end and head back out.  It was atotally different way to experience the cave plus you don't have towatch your feet all the time while still trying to see the sites. I was looking forward to coasting most of the way home, but somehow theride back seemed almost as uphill as the way there.  No idea howthat worked, but sitting on an inflatable cushion and floating on ariver sounded like just the ticket for the following day.The next morning I headed down got my tube and as soon as the pickupfilled up off we went.  They take you about 4 kilometers upstreamand tell you to be back by 5:30 or you pay the $2 overtime fee. Off we went while the dark clouds pulled in right on top of us. There was one clap of thunder and two minutes later the skies clearedand it was clear and sunny the rest of the day.  The bars start uprightaway and naturally so does the drinking.  There is only one beerin Laos, called Beerlao.  Luckily it is quite good, and $1 for a22oz bottle.  The bars have also taken to making swings out overthe river to get you to come in and have some fun and buy adrink.  The swings vary from about 8 feet above the water fromwhere you jump off at to one that was over 30 feet.  Somehow thefirst one I stopped at a did happened to be the tallest one on theriver.  You build up quite a bit of speed, let go just before youstart heading back and fly out into the river.  They have done agood job a making sure you land in the deep spots even though thewooden supports that are holding them look patched together with alittle less planning.The day just flew by as did the beers and you can see how people get"stuck" there for way longer than they planned just doing that over andover.  Also all the restaurants/bars in town have tables set upsuper lower where you just kind of lay down with a pillow while theyhave tvs setup to keep you there.  Each bar picks one show andthen just shows all the episodes, you have Friends, Simpsons, Seinfeldand so on.  I managed to stay away from them, but after the dayon the river it was quite tempting to nestle down order a pizza orburger and I would have been there until they kicked me out.  That is something else unique to Laos (at least in SoutheastAsia).  They have and 11:30 curfew when all the stores have to beshut down.  The bars stay open until they guy comes around to telleveryone to go home so it is somewhat lax as he was on foot and justfollowing where the noise was.  I didn't know about that though,so when someone in a green shirt and an AK-47 across his chest camestrolling by the conversation I was in and said it was time to go homeit was amazing how effective it is.  It was done in a veryfriendly and laid back Laos way, just through me off until I got thefull story.  As for the ear it is making small improvements so I'll take that hopeit continues.  All of a sudden I'm down to just over two weeksleft over hear and I can tell I'm going to be really rushed to get seethe few places I've picked out.  Hopefully it all works out, butI'll just try to enjoy whatever I do get to see.Cheers!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177298460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177298460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1177298460/tpod.html Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:04:24 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Bangkok, Thailand

Hmm, its not a good sign that I'm writing from Bangkok again.  After going to the doctor for my ear last week I floated around northeast Thailand.  I don't have my Thailand guidebook anymore since I didn't expect to be back here so just did some searching on the internet to decide where to go.  The antibiotics that the doctor gave me got rid of the pain and pressure in the ear quickly, but it is still ringing all the time and has significantly reduced hearing.  Because of this I was just trying to take it easy and get better.  Due to the recent new years many people had traveled to their families and the buses were packed.  I spent two hours standing on one before a seat became available.  I guessed there were about 70 seats on the bus and we must have started with about 40 more standing.  I seriously had room to put my two feet down and move them one inch in either direction while trying not to bang my head on hand rail up above.  Traveling has made me appreciate not being any taller and the amount of leg room on that bus had me uncomfortably pushing my knees into the seat in front of me.  Can't imagine how anyone taller would have managed.I ended up spending a few nights in Nong Khai, which is just south of the capital of Laos, Vientiane, but still in Thailand.  It was a relaxing place over looking the Mekong river.  I rented a bike one day and pedaled around following a map that I got from the guesthouse.  There was one wat which was just immaculately landscaped and maintained.  I can definitely see those monks come back as golf groundskeepers in their next lives.  By Friday me ear wasn't getting any better with the ringing or hearing so I headed back to Ubon to keep the appointment with the ear specialist that had been made for me the previous week.I showed up to the hospital and gave them my appointment card only to be told that "the doctor was not in Ubon".  They never tried to say where he was or why they made an appointment for me if that was the case.  Once again the girls checking me in where far more interested in trying out there English than in finding me a doctor.  I was quickly getting frustrated and trying not to start worrying more about my ear and wasn't in the mood for that reaction.  Eventually one of the nurses said they could put me in an ambulance and take me to another place where I could see the doctor.I paid my $6 for the ambulance, which turned out to be a pickup with no hospital markings on it anywhere and was taken to a hearing aid center.  The driver and clinic workers seemed to be arguing about if that is where I was supposed to be while occasionally looking at me a laughing.  I was sitting there steaming and just kept saying doctor when they would look at me.  They got out their english crib sheet and after asking 5 times if I wanted a hearing test I could see they weren't going to offer anything else.  I took the hearing test and guess what?  I can't hear nearly as well out of my right ear as my left!?!?!  I never would have guessed.  They said it was bad enough that I was now allowed to see a doctor.  Gee, you mean someone is actually going to look in the ear I keep pointing at and saying is ringing and can't hear?  They drove me a couple blocks (for free) to a little clinic where 5 minutes later I was told that I had a middle ear infection.  I didn't understand most of the rest of it, but did get that is was caused from flying.  She never asked when I'd flown last (about 6 weeks ago).  I was just going through the motions with them at this point and had pretty much already decided to go to Bangkok and have it looked at.  I was given some more drugs there an antibacterial drug and sinus/running nose meds.  I went back to my room to get a bite eat and figure out just what to do.  Eventually settled on going to the internet place and trying to do some research on my own.  I found out that kids get ear infections all the time and usually they will go away one there own or after antibiotics.  Neither route had worked for me yet.  I also searched on the drugs I had just gotten and eventually found out that they weren't recommended for people with Chrons or Ulcerative Colitis due to remote but potential side affects with the colon.  That settled matters and I went right to the train station to get an overnight train to Bangkok.  All they had was standing room only which I wasn't about to do for 12 hours overnight.At 5 the next morning I got up showered and went to the bus station, somehow it was a different one than I'd been to every other time in this town, but I bought a ticket for the next available bus, at 9:45, about 4 hours away.  After those 4 hours and about 9 on the bus I was in Bangkok.  I'd emailed the hostel I'd stayed at here before about getting a room, but hadn't had a chance to check their response (I now know they never sent one).  It was so odd being back in Bangkok, both familiar after being here a couple of times and recognizing where I was and heading, but everything is so much bigger and moving faster than anything I'd seen in six weeks.The hostel had a dorm room for which I wasn't too worried about, their private rooms fill up about 2-3 weeks ahead of time, but the dorm doesn't.  I slept like a log despite having 4 other people in the room one of whom left for a flight at 4am which I never even heard.  This was the first time in 6 weeks (since I was here last) that I'd slept in a room with AC or had hot water for my shower.  Surprisingly the shower felt nice, but I didn't seem to stay any longer.  I thought they would have to pull me out of there.  I went to the hospital this morning and they are obviously set up for international patients.  I was directed to the international patients center which is across the atrium from their travel agency and next to the visa extension office.  Within 30 minutes I was seeing a doctor who told me that the little cold I'd had moved into my ear and is hanging out there.  He said that the other meds I'd gotten where ok to take and gave me two more.  One anti-inflammatory and one to help my stomach out with that one.  He said it would take a little bit of time but the ear is full of fluid deep in it and will drain eventually.  I would really like to get back to Laos and get to spend some time there before I have to leave, but am going to wait a couple of days to see how I and the ear react to the new medicines.  I have bought my tickets back to the US and leave in just of 3 three weeks from Bangkok so I really don't need to hang out here just to see it again.  Trying to fly out from Vietnam was going to be too much of a hassle as I could only buy paper tickets and there was no where to get them near where I was.  Also, I didn't know what was going on with the ear and still don't for sure so Thailand seemed like the better choice to leave from.I realize this blog is turning into medicalpod instead of travelpod again and wish it weren't the case, but don't seem to have any say in the matter (except for not writing).  There are still a few weeks left so hopefully I will get to see some new parts of the area and enjoy them.  At the moment though I've decided to focus on making sure I will be able to hear for a time longer than these few weeks and hope that works out for me.  After dealing with all medical issues I've had this year and previously you don't always go to the doctor expecting to hear that they will take care of the problem.  Sometimes you hear this is what you have and how you will have to deal with it or we don't know what you have, but here is what we are going to try.  Thankfully, this doesn't seem to be the case this time and I should be back on the road again soon.Brian
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1176692160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1176692160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/minerguy/at_my_pace_-_06/1176692160/tpod.html Sun, 15 Apr 2007 23:23:16 -0400 A year at my pace, circling the Pacific Ocean. Lots of sun, adventure, and beer to come.

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Ubon Ratchatanin, Thailand

Sorry its been so long, but I haven't seen many computers lately.  The problem now is that is difficult to figure out where to begin and I can't upload pictures on this computer so for now I'll do a long entry and can adjust them later if I want to.I'll start at the end and work backwards.  I'm in Thailand, I came here two days ago to see a doctor for an ear infection I started to develop just before I left Cambodia last week.  It wasn't getting any better on its own and I is ringing constantly, not to mention the pressure and discomfort.  I saw went the hospital yesterday and after getting checked in and being told their ear specialist is on vacation saw a doctor and got some antibiotics.  Already the pressure has decreased so hopefully the rest of the symptoms start going away soon also.  The hospital looked all too familiar from the US.  It is Thai (Laos, and Cambodia) New Year so I'm just glad they were open.  It took about 5 people to check me in.  Two filling out the paperwork for me from my passport, one with and pamphlet she was reading practicing her and English and two  just watching.  After I got through that the visit and doctor was really good.  Wrote out my prescriptions and they have a pharmacy right in the hospital.  I paid my bill, $31.50, and was out of there in about 30 minutes.  They made an appointment for me with the ear specialist for when he returns and I'll see if I'm still having problems and need to go.  When I got back to my room I looked at the receipt - $27 was for the prescriptions and seeing the doctor cost my $4.50!  Crazy after seeing all my hospital bills from last fall.That afternoon I went out for the last day of the new years celebrations.  I have never experienced anything like it.  The was such a genuine exuberance from all the people and it lasted all day.  There celebration is known as a water festival where people line the streets in front of their shops and homes armed with hose and buckets full of water.  Anyone that drives or walks by gets wet.  Then some people have baby powder that gets rubbed on your face, not sure what any of it signifies, but they are all having fun.  Anyone with a pickup truck has it out of and full of people in the bed and a 55 gallon drum or two full of water that they are dishing back to the people along the street and in other vehicles.  I started walking in the early afternoon and lasted about 2 minutes before I was drenched and pulled over to a stall to have a beer poured down my throat.  That continued for the next 5 hours.  Everyone was surprised to see a white person walking around and I was the only one I saw the whole time.  That made them more friendly and curious though which was good for me.  Many of the stationary people had their radios going or a guitar player and singer.  The first one of those I was at was the best.  The guitar player was fantastic.  They were playing songs I knew, but not well enough to sing along despite their and my attempts.  I even got about half of Jimmy Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner when he found out I was American.   Apparently being and engineer is though of very highly here.  At every place I stopped there was always someone who spoke enough English to communicate with.  One lady when she found out I was an engineer ran over and grabbed the microphone there to announce it to the crowd.  When she got back and I asked what she did, she said "Oh I'm a lawyer".  I tried picturing a lawyer in America running to announce they had met an engineer and couldn't do it.This continued on for quite a while as I just wandered down different streets and then would hop in the back of a truck to get back near my hotel and walk in a different direction.  Finally is was dark, my feet tired, and all the beers and whiskeys I'd been sharing were taking there effect so I retired as the parties were winding down.  After being in Sydney for the western new year I have to say they have very nice fireworks, but this was easily the largest and funnest party I've ever been apart of.  The only thing I can think of that it would be similar to would be Carnival in Brazil.  If you are heading to Thailand try to get there for the new year and find a town without a lot of tourists, you'll be a celebrity.I came to Thailand after two days in Laos where I mainly just hung out in the hammock in front of my room watching life on the Mekong river.  It was a super relaxing island I was staying on (Don Det) that just got electricity last year and still only has it from 6-11pm.  The Lao people all had smiles and said hi everytime you went by which hasn't been the case in the other countries.  As soon as my ear clears up I'll be heading back there for most of my remaining time.
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